mamalim152

Something that'd make you envious

2006-04-01T12:37:00.000+08:00

I told you Alicia took me to a steak house last night. Although I think the food was fabulous, she still kept on assuming it's not as good as she had recommended. Since today is my last day in Perth, she felt that she's to potray her culinary skills. You cannot see her face well as she wanted to be the anonymous chef.

She bought chunks of chicken breasts and beef sirloin meat.

Using the Sunbeam brand grill for the cooking.

Done. A very well managed steak, not too cooked, not too raw, plus garlic prawn and scallop with roe,blanched vegetables , and very sweet juicy baked pumpkin and sweet potatoes. I told her the next time when I come, bake sweet potatoes and pumpkin would have already made me happy.

This is the chicken version of steak for my mum since she doesn't eat beef.

Every nice thing would be washed down with wine.
Heheh, people whom I love and who love me, remember that my sister can cook. You MUST claim the same treatment as I had been treated. But please bear in mind, when you are claiming your due treatment, make sure I am WITH you, for my sister MIGHT NOT remember procedures of her cooking if I am not around. Have a nice day.

Bye-bye Love

2006-03-31T22:28:00.000+08:00

Tomorrow will end my 7 weeks holidays in Perth. It's rather sad to leave good and leisure life here. All together I put on +/- 2 kg. It's definitely sad to leave the loving sister, lovely niece, garden, house, story books, fruits, food.... here,
but another that touched deeply is this darling.

Yes, it's this Madza 121 which Alicia bought for her daughter when she started learning driving. Goodbye darling. You had made my stay here wonderful. I can go to certain places around and not totally house-bound or have to wait to be chauffeured. I'm rather proud of myself for being able to venture a little here and there, knowing the timid self of me. When there's no bread, no milk, I easily popped into you to get them at Southlands. When I need Chinese stuff, I popped into you again to Chan Brothers. Oh, Alicia, don't ever sell her !

This is Alicia's car.

It's a Dutsun 1.8 Pulsar. This car has also brought me to many places further away and to many yummy yummy places , like Fremantle and the Swan Valley.

This is Eva's Volkswagen Mirage. She leaves it with her mum when she went to UK. She wants to sell it. So next time I come I might not see it again. Adieu.

Serene Is Here

2006-03-31T22:22:00.000+08:00

Today I was busy cutting and chopping. Bamboo shoots, carrots, celery, mushroom, button mushroom, capsicum, onion, water chestnuts, cauliflower, cabbage, chicken etc. I told Alicia I was going to clear off her larder. So I stir fry these ingredients together.

And brought some crispy iceberg lettuce.

Tell you the truth. It's because my niece Serene was coming over from Sydney. I have to feed her well too, right ? She's even prettier with her hair cut short. She's here for a business meeting and will be back to Sydney on Sunday.
She's holding the 'san choy pau'

Later Alicia treated her to laksa and cengdol at the Taurus Foodcourt. Then Serene drove to see another friend nearby.

What A Feast , again !!! :p

2006-03-30T10:24:00.000+08:00

This is one of the " another " farewell dinners ! Alicia has really been far too good to me. She wants me to try as much of the different cuisine here as possible.
Last night she took me and some of her friends to the Bentley Pines (Training) Restaurant.
The restaurant is in the Bentley TAFE Campus at Hayman Rd, Bentley, WA, near the Curtin University. It's a part of the Bentley Hospitality Institute where students learn commercial cookery,restaurant and bar operation. Students come as far as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and European countries. Because of the nature of the posh hotel style food and relatively low price, bookings for tables must be made in advance, sometimes a month or two ahead. Lunch is $15 and dinner $20, not inclusive of drinks or addition serve of salad.
For each table, customers are advised to order different range of food items from the limited menu. However, there's a new change of menu every month, so even if you go every month you'd sample a different menu.

For starter, we had some fruit cocktails and cocktails

These are the entree :
Warm chicken liver parfait with ginger glaze.

Tagliatelle with roasted eggplant, oregano and tomato.

Avocado and grapefruit salad with honey dressing.

See the "Boy-ta-han" satisfied looks on well-fed people !!!

Char grill of the day, it's beefsteak today.

Poached fish fillet with stir fried leek and lemon cream sauce.

Roast of the day--today's roast pork. So guess which of the above is my choice .

After the food we had the speciality coffee and some desserts. However, the desserts are not that inviting as they look better than what they taste.

The price OK ?

The hospitality lecturer showing the students how to make the coffee.

First put sugar (1 tsp will do) and 20ml of the liqueur into glass.(special heat resistant glass)

Burn over flame so that alkohol evaporate.

Put a spoon in glass when you pour cold coffee in, to absorb the heat. Then pour cream onto a spoon so that cream stay on top.

A photo of the belly-full, heart contented and mind sluggish (too much food) people.

Home-cooked Food

2006-03-26T11:25:00.000+08:00

I think you are not so impressed with my posting of the party. I can even hear you sniffing at me,"What great deal ! All the things bought from shops. Anybody can do it too !!" Well, here I am, truly I am. Manager of YKLim Food Catering Pte.Ltd'
Doing a REAL home-cooking stuff. (Home cooking because it's done at home, hehehe :p

First of all we had this big green-edged abalone or whatever the name is. it's rather expensive. This one is over $50. Boil it with pork rib and some herbs to make the soup.

This is youtiao stuffed with marinated fish and prawn paste. Deep fry and garnish with mayonnaise. They said it's nice.

Stir-fry kailan with prawns. When you fry kailan, always remember to add a dash of sugar, to offset the 'siat' taste.

Crock-pot taufu with vegetables, mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

Stir-fry chicken strips with celary, sweet peas and red capsicum, topped with roasted cashew-nuts.

The cooked abalone being sliced thinly and placed on top of lettuce and onion slices, and a hot sweet chili sauce pour over it. It's best eaten when chilled. You can use the Thai sweet chili sauce , just add a bit of lemon juice. That's what I'm doing.

Good food must be washed down with good wine !

The guests of honour for tonight. See the happy looks on them anticipating a good meal ! They are Dr. Tze Lai and Dr. Johnny Wu, Alicia's contacts. Tze had helped to examine my eye last Sunday because I had a floater in my eye. They are both eye surgeons. Tze had lately done a lot of cases on retina detachment. So young ! So clever !

A Little Party

2006-03-25T15:29:00.000+08:00

Alicia likes parties. She likes inviting people over to have little snacks. So I conclude that she is a party girl !!!
Now that I am here, it gives her more excuses of having parties. Tonight is a farewell party for me (Hehehe, I guess there'd be more farewell parties and dinners for me, wait and see !)
So tonight she's calling her friend Bee's children over for a 'little' snack.
First this is the 2 combinations of dips : sundried tomatoes and avocado light.

Then here are 4 different dips : chili red with cashew & parmesan; beetroot withcashew & parmesan; grilled eggplant with cashew & parmesan; and beetroot.

Different types of cheese.

and different types of ham.

They are arranged on trays.

Crackers go well with dips.

These are hand-made curry-puffs, courtesy of YKLim Private Limited.

There are some prawn rolls too, bought from the superstores.

Bread with dips.

Ready to serve, ya-hoooooo !

Here's two of the guests, Leanne and hubby Michael. Michael travels about to work, he had been to Africa, and the Fijis, now he's working in Laos, in a copper mine. He works 4 weeks and has a rest of 2 weeks.

The German Butcher

2006-03-24T17:55:00.000+08:00

One of the friends here told me about the German Master Butcher. You can get a great varieties of meat, ham, bacon, cheese, sausages and so many other German food here. I told Alicia about it. It's at South Street and I said I sort of know how to go there, and she laughed, saying now I'm very " act-say" (arrogant) now since I can go here and there by myself.

Different types of sausages.

So many choices of cheese....

and ham.

The Turkish Deeeee-light

2006-03-22T22:03:00.000+08:00

Last night Alicia took us to Fremantle again. It's hers as well as my favourite
town. Secretly, in my heart, I wish to relish all the different goodies before I leave WA. So, Alicia, as the fairy godmother, is granting my wishes in everywhere !
Last night she took us to a Turkish restaurant called Istanbul Turkish Restaurant, which sells traditional Turkish cuisine.

The wall murals are pictures of Turkish palaces. Can you visualise a little Turkish princess hiding behind the pillars ? Aiya, sometimes we must let our imaginations run wild !!!!

Some array of the grubs obtainable here. It says : ALL OUR FOOD IS HALAL.

The waitress happily posing for the camera when she's told that she'd be viewed all over the world, hehehe, is it a white lie ?
She also told us that we should come on Friday or Saturday because then there'd be Belly Dancing. Since we came on Thursday nite, we've to be 'Ah-Q' a bit. YEH, Belly Dancing, no see also never mind. Anyway, I think I can perform better Belly-dancing than them since I have a bigger belly, hehehe :p

We started with Turkish bread (very well-toasted) and 3 different types of dips, ie,spicy Tahini(tahini,chili,herbs,yoghurt,salt and garlic),Patlican Ezmesi (Smoked eggplant, yoghurt,salt and garlic) and Muhambura (crushed walnut,{ahem,nuts again !yumyum,},tahini,chili and garlic)

We do justice to good food. Borrowing M&M's ad : Now you see it, now you don't.

Now we're having the main course. It's a Turkish combo of mixed grill, got flamed grilled lamb and chicken Shishkebabs, doner lamb and chicken and kofte served with rice and salad. The price? $26.90 per set.

After eating , had a chat with the chef cum manager. His name is Hamdi Cevik and had been here for six years. He's very pleased that buisiness here is so very very good. I think he's making rather a good fortune.

Line Dancing

2006-03-22T16:40:00.000+08:00

Hai everybody, my eldest brother, after reading my blog, had emailed, saying this newly retired person is really enjoying life in Perth. Hehe, I can sense his envy. Right, I'm enjoying head over heels, up and down, left and right of my everyday stay here. WISH YOU WERE HERE !!!!!
Alicia had wanted to arrange me to go here or there, but I said I'd prefer staying at home. I DON'T WANT to be a tourist. Moi, my friend, arranged for me to join the line dancing class. It's also being a fad here. Some of the people even go for dancing a few days in a week, follow this teacher today, another class tomorrow, another teacher the next day..... It's actually an enjoyable thing if you know how to dance. As for me, it's main-main only, as I have no basic at all in dancing. I can't differentiate right foot from left foot, or rather, always stepped on my own feet ! But it's enjoyment alright. I'm following the beginners' class.
Then after the class, some of the girls(old girls, they like to be referred as girls) would get together to have lunch. I joined them a few times. They'd order a few dishes , like once, we had "One duck Three servings : a duck made into peking duck, eat the skin only, the flesh fried with vegies to be wrapped with salad leaves and the bones made into kiamcai soup. Another time we went to have salad feast and today we had lobster and noodles. Of course we go dutch, but each time is only about $ 10 to $ 15. So, aren't you coming ?

Too Expensive ?

2006-03-22T16:06:00.000+08:00

Here, in Perth, you can get a lot of things easily, even those things we can hardly lay our hands on, you have abundance here. But Perth is not all together that heavenly. There are certain things I find not easily accessible, or are rather expensive. Here quote a few:
First the small onions. I can't find them selling at the supermarkets at all. You can get a few at the oriental stores but it's rather expensive, more than $10 a kilo. My friends here tell me they never buy small onions, only use the large ones. So I also learn to use the large ones too. Masuk kandang lembu menguam, masuk kandang kambing mengembek.

Another expensive item is the ginger. It's always $12.90 a kilo, sometimes $14.00. These few pieces here fetch about $5.00, not to consider the exchange rate, dollar to dollar it's still mahal ! I think it'd be RM 1 something to RM 2 at our place. So SK,next time if Serene is going on confinement here, make sure you buy a lot at home, cut finely and fry in oil till crisp and dry, and bottle them to be brought here. You cannot bring the fresh ones, I think you know that. The same go for the small onions. But yesterday I was told that you can get frozen ginger at half the price of the fresh ones.

The taugeh here is not expensive, but look at them, so 'tall and slender', if it refers to my figure then I wouldn't mind, but taugeh ! Cis !
It makes me miss the short stout fat juicy taugeh of home.
My friend told me if you want to have the better taugeh, you get to grow it yourself : get a few pieces of handy towels, sprinkle water to wet them. Put green peas onto the tray lined with the paper napkins. Cover it with cloth. Sprinkle water regularly. After 3-4 days you have your own taugeh. (SK, since you are the pengetua, ask each pupil plant 10 peas, and you can have a few kilos of taugeh already !!!!!)

At The Swapmeet Market

2006-03-19T07:19:00.000+08:00

We were at the Swapmeet Market 0n Sunday. It's about ten minutes' drive to Perth city. It's actually like the Flea Market in Europe or the Thief Market in Singapore (Now I think they don't use this name anymore. When we were small we use to loiter there to see people selling their wares.)
The lady boss is Moi's friend. She and her husband would come here every Sunday morning at about 6 am to set up their store. This place is actually a big car park in front of a shopping centre. The market starts from 8 am to 12 noon. For each parking lot they use, they have to pay $3.00. This friend has two parking lots. She sells used computers and parts as well as eletronic items such as hi-fi, radio and parts.

Old clothing for sale, put on the car .

This friendly couple had been to Malaysia and Sabah many times. The wife kept on saying, Sutera Harbour,very beautiful. She also wanted me to buy the hanger which she knitted.

There are also lots of plants and herbs, if you need them.

So many fares on the ground for you to choose.

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Colourful delights.

This young man is selling different types of swords.

Old mattress for sale, do you want to buy ? I noticed some stains.....

You can even buy an old chair.

All that glitters is not gold.

Fares in front of the van, around the van and atop the van.

So, this photo remind you of our pasar malam ?

The Pizza Affair

2006-03-18T21:06:00.000+08:00

We had pizza at Freemantle. This is today's special : pizza topped with curry mutton and with a lot of vegetables.

This is the Dip. I like it because it is very crispy.

The Dip to be eaten with different sauces, mostly herbs.

This is a special pizza. It looks like a giant curry puff.

When you cut open it , the 'topping' is hidden inside.

This is the big stone firewood stove for baking the pizzas.

When I asked permission to take his photo, the chef happily posted for the camera.

The younger chef asked,"Do you want me to toss the pizza for your camera ?"

St.Patrick's Day

2006-03-17T23:56:00.000+08:00

Today is St.Patrick's Day. Alicia is not working, not because of the Saint's day but because she rests on Fridays.
She decided to take us for lunch. She insisted that we all must wear something green since it's St.Patrick's Day (?)
We took a photo in front of the German restaurant where we were to have our lunch. It was at the Swan Valley.

Three mucisians welcomed us.

A mural on the wall.

A German speciality : The Brewer's Pan, it's a frying pan fill with pan-fried potatoes, Kassler Smoked Pork Cutlets and Bratwurst Sausages.
With a bowl of fried potato skins.

And Sauerkraut, something like preserved cabbage, not really nice.

Wash down with green beer. Why green beer? You forgotlah, today St.Patrick's Day mah !

After lunch we went to visit Alicia's friend Helen, who lives nearby. She just broke her arm while trying to catch hold of her horse. This is Helen the one arm sword woman.

There's grape vines at the backyard, grapes ripen already, no sour grapes. Helen asked me to help myself.

This's my bountiful harvest. You must be envious of me, plucking my own grapes !!!

On the way back we bought some more fruits, because fruits at the Swan Valley are very very cheap.
Too many fruits ? NO NO NO , one in the morning, one in the afternoon, one in the evening, one before meals, one after meals, one when you feel like munching , one to go in when you still feel hungry...... so, not too many fruits, agreed ?

The story goes on....
At night, Alicia's friend Bee invited us to her house for nasi lemak. Bee is a good cook, I told you before.

After dinner, recreation time. See, our old memsahib is now always the main lead !

Jest For A Laugh

2006-03-16T08:49:00.000+08:00

When little Ryan was 3 years old..........

One day, two volunteer workers came to the house. Little Ryan was playing at the porch.
Workers : Good morning, little sir,we are volunteer workers for the old folks' home.
Ryan : Good morning. What do you want ?
Works : We are collecting donations for the old folks' home. Do you have
anything to donate to the old folks' home ?
Ryan : Yes, hold on please. Let me go inside and get my grandpa and grandma
for you.
Hehehehehehehehehehehehehe......

Another story :

There were 2 patients, Nono and Nana in a mental hospital. They had become rather good friends and were always seen together.
One day when they were walking by the swimming pool, Nana slipped and fell into the pool. He sank to the bottom. Nono immediately plunged into the pool and managed to get Nana out of danger.
Two doctors passed by and witnessed this bravery deed. After a long discussion they decided that since Nono could have the wisdom to save people he must not be a siao man. They decided to discharge Nono.
Before they could reveal the news to Nono, they got the news that Nana hanged himself in the bathroom. So the doctors have to tell Nono about it as well because Nono and Nana were well reputed to be the best of friends.

Doc : Nono, today we come because there are 2 news, one good and one bad. Let's
tell you the good news first. We deem you no longer have any mental
problems, so you can be discharged today. The bad news is that your best
friend Nana had committed suicide. He hung himself in the bathroom.
Nono : Who said he hung himself ? I hanged him there to dry !!!!!

The Strength Of Life

2006-03-14T19:52:00.000+08:00

I have been taking great care of the few chives plants of at Alicia's herb plot. So far, since I came here, I had harvested twice already. Once for the chives pancake, another time to cook mesiam. Then I noticed that the chives have a very strong power of life , full of vigor, full of strength, and strive to live. Shouldn't we take it as an example ?
The chives were cut in the morning. This taken a few hours later.

The next day , in the afternoon.

On the 3rd day.

On the 4th day. I think I can have another harvest before I leave Perth :)

Bubble & Squeak

2006-03-14T07:33:00.000+08:00

We had a lot of left overs from the roast pork and chicken. Alicia said the English people would make them into 'Bubble & Squeak'. Actually it was a waste not want not concept. It's a good way to rid of the left over food, you don't have to eat the same thing over and over again.
So, while the food has bubbled and served upon you, you may squeak with delights !!!!
Firstly, get the meat deboned,put to blend.

Add in the roast potatoes,carrots,pumpkin, and whatever you have. It's nice to shread half a cabbage, some onions and garlic in.

Blend to a mass, add eggs, flour, pepper and salt. Blend well.

Fry like we fry pancakes.

Ready to serve. Yummy, yummy, yum, yum.

A Tearful Farewell

2006-03-14T07:05:00.000+08:00

Eva was leaving. Alicia said that she was not going to send her off. She had work to do. She could not afford to take leave. She wanted to leave time for Eva and Brad. She........ (a thousand excuses)
Then suddenly in the afternoon she called back,"Quick get change, I want to take you and mum to the airport." Shi-shang-zhi-you-mama-hao........
At the airport, the mother couldn't help but giving the daughter a lot of advices, you must do this, you must do that, you mustn't this, you mustn't that..... ,again,
shi-shang-zhi-you-mama-hao.....

A tearful Eva , sad to leave SunnyPerth ? Mummy ? Boyfriend ? Friends ? Her dog ?
or just sand gone into eyes ?

Taken with Bradley.

With popo and auntie. We wish you all the best , and take care.

Something Interesting

2006-03-13T19:59:00.000+08:00

Australians, like we do , must have car plates on their cars. Ususlly I see cars with 3 digits.

I am rather sure this belongs to a Chinese !

This is from Victoria. Can you see "Victoria the place to be "? Must love Victoria very much.

Some have 5 digits.

If you pay a little money, about $500, you can have your name instead of a number.
So thinking of putting "Reminisces", "Suanie","Ryan" or "Lyanna" on your car ?

My Classmate Moi's Family

2006-03-13T09:07:00.000+08:00

Last night we invited Moi and her family to dinner. We had Alicia's speciality, roast pork with a lot of baked pumpkin, baked sweet potatoes, baked potatoes and turnip. I cooked a fresh abalone soup with chicken and fried some vegies. After dinner was the relaxation time.
Popo playing mahjong with Moi(pink blouse) and her son.

Moi's son's girlfriend.

Moi's husbanf Wong busy singing the karaoke. He was a teacher in Muar and came to Australia in the early 90s.

Moi's son now working on Alicia's computer.

Alicia's friend

2006-03-13T08:55:00.000+08:00

Taken with Alicia's good friend Ah Bee and her children, son Daniel and daughter Lian. Bee is also a nurse, and a good cook too. She invited us to her house for dinner. We were served new year yu-shang, steamed fish, cuttlefish rojak with kangkong, buttered prawns, lettuce popiah with chicken meat filling, and shanghai pancakes. Unfortunately I forgot to take the photos. It's not nice taking photos of empty plates, don't you agree ?

Real Beauty

2006-03-13T08:50:00.000+08:00

I never believe that roses can be so beautiful. I always thought these are just drawn by artists with too much imaginations. Flowers are from Alicia's friend Helen's ranch.

Affectionate Adieu

2006-03-13T08:32:00.000+08:00

Today Eva is going to UK for about 6 months. This is encouraged by her mum who said she ought to go 'jalan-jalan' before she gets tied down, by marriage and children thenceforth. The family had an affectionate way of saying adieu.

Yvonne embracing her sister.

Alicia hugging her daughter.

This is Eva and her boyfriend Bradley.

Bradley must be an affectionate lover. Look at the heart he planted for Eva.

Brad likes to draw. These are his masterpieces.

What Plant Is It ?

2006-03-07T11:06:00.000+08:00

I saw this tree at my friend Moi's house. The flowers look like roses but it's definitely not a rose tree. I think it may be a sort of cactus. Have you seen this before ?

In full bloom

Tips For Better Gardening

2006-03-06T21:34:00.000+08:00

You may have known already, that compost is best for our plants. Since I am so free here, I might as well write you a reminder. In Alicia's mulch, when you dig the soil under the trees, lots of earthworms keep jumping out. The soil there is of good compost. We bury every thing organic into it. At my classmate Moi's house, they have a big bin in which they dump in all the kitchen waste. They put earthworms into the bin as well.
So here you are, tips for better gardening.
First collect the kitchen wastes : peeled fruit & vegie skins, leaves, cores and such.....

Dig a hole in the ground.

Put in the waste. If you have potted plants, put waste into the pot.

Cover with soil. Then you will see your plants blooming, blooming, blooming.....

Going Home, going home, I'm a going home......

2006-03-06T20:08:00.000+08:00

Gong-gong had been here for about 3 weeks, and we can see that he was feeling bored. One thing there isn't much lontong, roti canai and borak-borak with his friends.
He said, "I must go home now. I have more important things to do in SG." You may guess what the important things are. A penny for your thought !
Since he was going back alone, he MUST be very frail so as to be able to sit in a wheelchair. Thus a wheelchair was arranged to take in to the plane (to save from seeking which gate to get in). So our old man boarded the plane in Perth on 4th Mac, being pushed by a pretty worker (Photo not taken) to the plane. But when he reached KL, when the air stewardess asked him to wait, he just brushed her aside and stroke away gallantly, very far from being a sickly fragile old frail !!!!
Before he left, he had pictures taken with his grand-daughters.

These are the two WA beauties.

Gong-gong' po-po, Eva and Yvonne.

YK Lim also likes to pose.

YK Lim taken with the two SYT. Eva is going to UK on 13 Mac, and will probably be there for half a year. Jalan-jalan. How nice.

Hot And Cold

2006-03-06T18:30:00.000+08:00

It's already March, and yet there is no trace of Autumn. The weather is temperamental. Very very hot in the daytime and cold at night, sometimes. Daytime temperature is always about 38, 39 degrees, whereas at night, can't say. Two nights ago I was sleeping in two layers of clothing plus putting on two blankets ! The night before and last night were terribly hot. Kept on waking up because tak tahan the heat. Last night woke up twice (That's something to note about because once I sleep, I usually don't get up unless very pressed by the full bladder). First time read a book. Then went back to sleep, then about 30 or so minutes later woke up again, sweating. So I turned on the cooler and sat there until I was cooled.
But the good thing is that , even though it's very hot, I don't feel sweaty.

The best time of the day is early in the morning, breezy and cool.

Freemantle At Night

2006-03-03T11:53:00.000+08:00

This is Freemantle at night. It is the place Alicia likes most, says it has a hippy air, every one in no hurry, and the whole place potrays an artistic air. I like it here because it is cooler.

Inside a cafe. Note the ceiling fans : they are big Chinese fans, swaying from side to side. I think they don't give much air. This makes me remember in Sri Gading, in the 50s, there was a barber shop ( it is still there, managed by the old barber's eldest son). At that time there were no fans. They had a large of canvas one end fixed to the ceiling, the other ends were tied by ropes. There was an old man sitting below and pulling and releasing the ropes, thus moving the canvas and gave a breeze of air. That was the earliest fans in SG.

Have a break. Flat white coffee with macadamia nut (again!) biscuit.

Frailty, Thy Name Is Not Woman

2006-03-02T18:45:00.000+08:00

This is me pulling an old mattress out to the roadside to be disposed of. I am learning hard to be a DIY woman too :)

Popo and Alicia pulling the old freezer out.

These are things to be disposed of. A mattresses, a bed ,an old freezer and some boxes. We put it outside because the authority has sent a letter stating the date of collecting these worn ites, so anyone who has old items can put them out for collection.
P.S. After an hour or so, we noticed that the bed and the mattress were not there anymore. Someone had taken them. They could still be used.

A Walk By The Canning River

2006-03-01T09:17:00.000+08:00

We took a walk by the Canning River. It was a nice evening. We could see the bridge far away. The Canning River will merge with the Swan River to go to the sea.

This is a beautiful walkway. I learn that Alfred likes here too.

The authority does a lot to prevent sand erosion, such as planting a lot of trees by the river. This is another method of sand erosion prevention.

The seagulls are not afraid of people.

There are many wild ducks. Here I only captured one.

The ducks are VIP, oh no, VID (very important ducks), just look at the signboard and you'd agree with me.

Many people walk their dogs here too.

Yeh, after your dog does his business you must clean it up.

The authority even provides plastic bags, FOC, for the dogs' disposals.

A Job Well Done

2006-02-28T19:25:00.000+08:00

The steps up Alicia's house were made of wood. As time passed by, the steps became worn out and uneven. Alicia said that if people came and tripped over and injured, she might be sued. She said she had wanted to mend the steps for a long time ( 5 years , she said). So since we are here, she made a quick decision to mend it.(She is a filial daughter, she is scared that her parents might trip and fall)
Firstly, Alan the Hercules pulled out the steps.

Alicia's neighbour Julie brought in some sand. (sort of like gotong-royong.eh?)

Alicia and Julie, the two DIY women.

Gong-gong, the imported man power from Malaysia, lended a hand too.

Posing for remembrance's sake.

Of course, Alicia's friend Alan did all the heavy work.

Alan posing. Trying to impress,eh?

The finished product. Good, isn't it? Fit for a king to alight.

Women At Work

2006-02-28T12:25:00.000+08:00

This is Alicia the DIY woman. She said the trees are growing too high and are touching the electric wires. So here she is, up the trees chipping off branches.

Hey,this is 'sub-sub-sui' work. I always do these things by myself.

YK Lim also up the trees, not for posing, but actually DID help in the cutting work. Climbing trees is also 'sub-sub-sui' thing for me. I remember when small, used to climb up the guava trees , sitting up there for hours, reading a book and eating the guavas plucked .

The cut branches must be properly disposed of. Here she placed them at the roadside as the municipal people are coming to collect them. The cuttings either to be used for planting or chipped to make mulch.

A Painful Experience

2006-02-27T11:27:00.000+08:00

All the while my children had been calling me their nutty mum. It's not because I love flying over the cockoo's nest, but for the fact that I love nuts so much. Even for mooncakes I only enjoy the nutty mooncakes. Thus, whenever they go about and see nuts, they'd not forget to get some for me. The last time Min went to Melbourne she bought me a lot of macadamia nuts as well as pine nuts, and almonds, walnuts and pistachios from the stores. Si also got me a lot of nuts when she went to Iran.
When I came to Perth I told Alicia about my likings. So one day when I came back from an outing (without her), she said,"Go to your room!" I went in, and there were two bags of macadamia nuts ! Wow, my , how I relished them. MUNCH, MUNCH, MUNCH....
and oops, the filling which I just did before I came here chipped off, and my nightmare began.....
It was a Friday night, so no dentists. The next day was Saturday, and Alicia 'seven early eight early' took me to wait at her dentist's, hoping to 'catch' him and ask a favour to do my tooth as no appointment was made. But that day the dentist was not working. The pain was undurable, not toothache, but the chipped end kept on cutting my tongue. Alicia suggested putting on superglue, then she gave me chewing gums to chew and then gum it at the chipped area, but the gum was too sweet for my liking. Then I had a bright idea: I used cotton balls to keep off the tongue touching the chipped area, and it worked. So for 2 days I was having a ball of cotton in my mouth. This morning I called Alicia's dentist, seeking his help. I went at 11 something. He did a temporary restoration for me. ($45.00). I have to go back to do the crowning.
Is this a lesson taught? Shall I eat nuts again? OF COURSE I shall :)

Happy Birthday Lim Hee Seng

2006-02-27T08:04:00.000+08:00

Have you realised that you have always been looked upon as a big tree in the family , shading us, protecting us and giving us an upright example ? Today is your birthday. We wish you the best of everything , in what you had, is having and will have . Best in health, in thought and be blessed in every way.

A Feast For The Giants

2006-02-26T14:48:00.000+08:00

This is Alicia's way of a big makan. You cannot have this everyday unless you want to be a giant too :)
First get a big chunk of pork, preferably the leg part. Rub it with salt and pepper.

Add in slices of pumpkins, turnips, potatoes, corns, onions, sweet potatoes and any other things that's nice when baked. First preheat the oven 200 degree , then bake for 1 and half hour. I presume that also depend on size of meat. Oh yes, slit the meat so that it would be cooked faster.

These are the baked vegetables.

The roasted pork, sliced.

To be eaten with apple sauce, (Note, the apple sauce here is made by YK Lim)

The skin is as crisply as the ones sold at the shops. (Oh, quick get a basin. I see your mouth watering.......)

Kuchai-kuih (Chives pancake)

2006-02-26T14:22:00.000+08:00

Screening through Alicia's garden, I came across a patch of chives, ready for harvest. Missing a bit of my home-cooked food, I decided to make it home here.
These are freshly-cut chives.

Get a bit of garlics,shallots (can't get here), dried shrimps and chillies, grind to
a paste, add an egg or two,fresh prawns, if you got , stir in flour and cut chives, add water to make a thick batter.

Fry in a pan.

Finished product. YUMMY.

A new interest

2006-02-25T18:03:00.000+08:00

It is very important for a couple to have common interest, right ? Then they have something to talk about. MJ is a game as long as there is no indulgence. Popo said, "How come last time I thought MJ was an evil game, actually it's not so....
but young people still shouldn't play it as it is time consuming. They should use their time doing more profiting things. " She is trying hard to outwit gong-gong, maybe another type of revenge ?? But gong-gong just couldn't care less, you win then you win lah, anyway, no money is involved.
Henceforth they live happily ever after.......

I leave something at Verbena Road

2006-02-25T17:35:00.000+08:00

I enjoy the stay here so much. I leave something here : I planted some plants, and had my fingers pricked by the thorns. Alicia and I are advancing in age. We might even get dementia. I have to put this down as a proof. Here I suppose the one to get dementia is she, hence....
Mamalim : This rose was planted by me,
Alicia : Where got, I planted it myself.
Mamalim : I planted it. Remember your neighbour Julie took us to the rose nursery
at Perth Hill. There I bough this beautiful red rose plant because I think your garden is too pale.
Alicia : Where I got a neighbour called Julie ? Where you ever got come to Perth ?
Mamalim : Yes I did, in 2006. I came after my retirement.....
Alicia : You never came, you never came, mei-you, mei-you, never, never ever.
Mamalim : You, you, you....
Alicia : Mei-you, mei-you, mei-you..........

Europeana , a very bright red rose, as red as blood.

I also planted the Obedient Plant , Sc.name Physostegia Virginiana Alba

The rose nursery at Perth Hill

2006-02-25T10:51:00.000+08:00

Mary Magdalene, Portmerion, Miss Alice, Comte de Champagne, Charles de Gaule , Blue Moon, Elinda, Closed To You, Golden Celebration, The Dark Lady, Winchester Catheral, Cecelia, Teasing Georgia, Play Girl, Sweet Sonata, Camille passion, Mamy Blues, Paris 2000, Sorbet Fomaraise...........

Whatever they are, a rose by any name is just as sweet , so saith my friend William Sha-si-pi-ya :)

<

Julie's Patchwork Garden

2006-02-24T15:45:00.000+08:00

Alicia has a friendly neighbour called Julie. Julie loves gardening. Her garden is called The Patchwork Garden, and in here she plants maybe a few hundred plants !!!!
She had her garden opened once and the proceeding went to charity.
This is Julie.

These are her flower plants. There are still many not photographed.

These are some of her vegetables and fruit trees. She also has apple tree, apricot tree, fig tree, not photographed because no fruits !!
This is strawberry plant.

A plum ripened already. Julie is excited to ask me to photograph it so as to send the photo to her daughter in UK

the rhubarb plant, looks like our yam plant. The stem can be boiled with sugar and it tastes rather good.

Grape vines.

Lettuce

Spring onions. So big , fatter than my finger.

Beetroot plant

Alicia's Garden

2006-02-24T15:17:00.000+08:00

Alicia's garden, view taken from the road.

Keeping a lawn is not a simple job. You have to mow it every other day, and water it regularly to keep it green and tidy. Alicia is a busy woman. Upon the advice of a gardener, she has a mulch instead. A mulch is the protecting covering of peat, chipped wood and other things such as hay , spreading over the soil to maintain the moisture. It's not easy work too. Alicia's friend Alan had spent sometime, digging out the sandy soil, then putting down three layers of newspaper , then cover up with mulch , about 4 to 5 inches thick.

The results is obvious : the earthworm comes.....

so many of them.

Her plants..... though I wish she could plant some fruit trees or nut trees......

At the Perth Mint

2006-02-23T20:01:00.000+08:00

Today my primary and secondary school classmate, Moi-Lim took me and popo for a trip. She brought us to Lake Monger where we could see the black swans, then to the Perth Mint, and around the city , and finally treated us to a sumptuous Japanese dinner. We really appreciate her kindness and hospitality.

The entrance to the Perth Mint

Ooi, I strike something !!!

Look what I've gotten ?

It IS gold ! I am rich !!!!!!

At Lake Monger , the Black Swan's Haven

2006-02-23T19:49:00.000+08:00

A beautiful black swan

Cleaning itself

and doing a swanning dance

Which is the swan , which is the duck ?

A flock of wild ducks.

The Bookworms

2006-02-22T14:31:00.000+08:00

Gong-gong building up his stamina.

Reversal of roles ! Remember popo's place should be gong-gong's ? This is the first MJ session in her 76 years !!!!

Don't worrylah, she won't get addicted to MJ. In fact most of the time she's reading.

Me reading too. This is my favourite corner.

Me and Alicia , the LIMS Bookworms.

While gong-gong feeling so much at home!

At The Perth Zoo

2006-02-19T17:30:00.000+08:00

We went to the Perth Zoo. It is not really our idea of a zoo as there's no tigers, lions, elephants... but our main aim was to see the koalas, so the insufficiency of the other animals was overlooked.

The koala bear looked like a toy teddy bear put onto the tree. It just slept, slept, slept, and slept...... such a lazy fellow.

Just hanging with the relatives at Perth Zoo :)

A baby kangaroo

The pelican , moving about majestically.

Gong-gong and po-po , second honeymoon ??????????????????

The Zoo is a non-smoking venue, but there are certain spots where you can take a puff, and our gong-gong never let go of such golden opportunities.

Some Australian Plants And Flowers

2006-02-17T20:45:00.000+08:00

Some of the Australian plants and flowers are really beautiful. I just capture them down but I don't know the names. Maybe next time when I learn of the names I shall put them down.

Dinner is ready

2006-02-16T20:14:00.000+08:00

What is this ? 5 cents for the correct answer.

Dunno ? It's a mushroom. Bigger than my hand,eh !

Steamboat, Australian style.....

With a lot of salmon.....

and prawns.

Respect your elders. Feed them well.

Gardening In Perth

2006-02-16T14:35:00.000+08:00

Today wasn't as cold as yesterday. I walked around Alicia's garden, looking at the trees. I wanted to post some Australian fauna and flora in my blog. Then I noticed the unkempt bushes of flowers. I decided to lend a hand as you should know Alicia is a very very busy person. I hope that when you see the results you might want to employ me in your gardens , as I am in dire need of a job :)

Before...

After...

Proof of my labour.

An Afternoon At Cottesloe

2006-02-15T19:57:00.000+08:00

A view of Cottesloe. It is a famous seaside resort.

The Cottesloe Beach Hotel.

A seagull.

Some more seagulls !.

What I had for tea at the Cottesloe Beach Hotel : Fig and walnut cake with rich chocolate sauce and lots of walnuts and figs, macadamia nut biscuit and frothy flat white coffee to wash down the yummies !!!

Wish you were here !!!!

A sign at the hotel.

Woosh , I am cold.

Very, very, very cold.

Bought some seafood for dinner : mussels , prawns and fish.

A Trip By The Indian Ocean

2006-02-15T19:41:00.000+08:00

At the Yacht Harbour overlooking the Indian Ocean.

These are Cyprus Pines.

An heritage home , The Gallop House at Nedland Foreshore.

Today the weather suddenly turned cold ,with light drizzles. Still Alicia was in a very beautiful mood. She wanted to take us see the Indian Ocean, she said. So off we went, comfortably wrapped against the cold wind.

Fresh Fruits

2006-02-13T13:51:00.000+08:00

Fruits bought from the Swan Valley. Grapes were picked early this morning !

Chocolate Haven

2006-02-13T13:34:00.000+08:00

Alicia holding pecan-rich ice-cream. One of them is mine !

Sampling chocolates.

The Margaret River Chocolate Factory. Here are freshly made chocolates for sale. You can come to eat ice cream and variety of cakes.

Grapes Of Wrath

2006-02-13T13:22:00.000+08:00

The Grapes Of Wrath? No no no no no... It's happy me and the happy grapes. (Happy because they will be eaten by me and not lived wastefully !

Laksa In Perth

2006-02-13T13:06:00.000+08:00

We are hungry, so Alicia said why not I take you to a place where you can eat Malaysian food? And thus we came to this shop, Ten-Ten, which was once owned by a Malaysian. You can get all kinds of Malaysian food here : laksa (curry noodles), chicken rice, fried ho-fun, prawn noodles, kampong fried rice, Malay fried rice etc. In the afternoon many students came as the food is sold at student rates. So we had laksa at student rate, $6.50. The gravy was santan-riched, with two big prawns and lots of thick-cut fish cake. I still think it was expensive, as compared to Malaysian standard .

Dad and Mum and Me

2006-02-13T11:55:00.000+08:00

Standing on the Glass Bridge

2006-02-13T11:53:00.000+08:00

Standing on the Glass Bridge

Still At King's Park

2006-02-13T11:50:00.000+08:00

Me on a bridge

Australian Plants and Flowers

2006-02-13T11:33:00.000+08:00

This unique plant, according to Alicia, is called the 'Black Boy' , but incidentally I found out that it is called 'Grass Root'. Next to it is an Australian wild flower plant.

This beautifully tree is called Variegated Peppermint. It is a distinctive elegent tree with pale apple green colour. It is a variegated and unusual form of the Western Australian peppermint tree. The other one is a baboab tree which is able to store its water and moisture in its trunk.

In Honour Of ......

2006-02-13T11:19:00.000+08:00

At King's Park, there are many big and tall trees. Each of which is planted in honour of a lost soldier.

King's Park

2006-02-13T08:07:00.000+08:00

At the King's Park.

What is this life if full of care , you have no time to stand and stare??

It is a good thing too to be able to sit and stare.

My mum and dad

2006-02-12T23:40:00.000+08:00

Mum and dad posing in front of Alicia's other house ( where the orange tree is ).

Third day in Perth

2006-02-12T22:55:00.000+08:00

Me, my father and my mother are here (Perth) for a holiday. I had wanted to come here a long time ago but due to circumstances I wasn't able to make it. We reached Perth on 10th February. I would jot down a bit of what we did here, if not I might not be able to remember as age is advancing fast :)

On the first day we went for dim-sum, after which my niece took us around Perth. My sister Alicia had not slept well the day before so she went back for a nap. Yvonne brought us to the shopping arcades, but we were not really keen in shopping. Then she took us around the city by taking buses. The are three types of buses going around the city, that is, the Blue Cat, the Red Cat and the Yellow Cat , each going on a different route, and the buses are FOC !

On the second day Alicia took us to Fremantle. I am in a non-rush world. Everywhere is so very relaxing. We had fish n chips, very nice ones, mussels in chili sauce, charcoal-roasted fresh sardines , and mouth-watering fried squids . A pity at that time I did not have a camera to capture the goodies photos.

Today is the third day of our stay in Perth. Alicia wanted to take us picniking at the King's Park. On the way she dropped by her other house. It was here that I saw the orange tree .

This is the first REAL orange tree I see in my life. I got very excited over it. The tree is in the back yard. The house is very big.

Actually they are not big like Sunkists, but they are oranges alright.