Long ngien (foo chow egg noodle)

Long ngien is a Foo Chow noodle made from tapioca flour unlike mien fen kau which is made from wheat flour. Many times this year mum has pestered me to make for her to eat but I was too busy. It's holiday now and I had better cook this noodle before the new academic year starts with its busyness. 

Ingredients:

500 g tapioca flour

2 eggs

3 tbsp wheat flour

Water

Method:

Beat the eggs. Pour in a cup of water. 

Slowly add the tapioca flour and wheat flour. The wheat flour is to make the texture slightly tougher so that it's easier to handle. Otherwise it gets too soft. 

 Add water and mix well till it is smooth. 

It must have a runny consistency. 

Heat a non stick wok or pan. Oil the wok slightly. 

When warm pour in a ladle full of batter. Tilt the wok about so that the batter fills the pan. If it doesn't smoothen out on the pan easily, add a little water. The batter is too thick. 

This is like making crepe or pan cake. 

Add a little water every now and the as the batter will thicken. 

Oil the pan slightly after two rounds of making the 'pancake'. 

Lift the 'pancake ' to the table. Roll it up while it is still hot. Otherwise it will not roll nicely. 

Cut the rolled pancake and the long ngien or egg noodle is ready. 

The stock is really up to the individual. As I couldn't find lala today, I decided to use flower crabs. I also added foo chow fish balls, mushroom, vegetables and fuchok fish paste roll. I use lots of ginger and pepper as this noodle tend to be cooling. 

Long ngien has a smooth texture. Don't even need to chew it. Unlike mien fen kau which can be hard and thick if not we'll done. 

Mother eats long ngien with yemeishu. Lyn will add a dash of rice wine. I usually add DOM to mine. Real good!!

Chemainus, Vancouver Island

2014 is actually a very exciting year for us. We visited Vancouver again...after 13 years. One of our trips there was to this quaint town at Vancouver Island. We tried all ways to pronounce the name...with the [k] sound but it is actually pronounced as [sh].

Our favorite pastime in a new place is to walk and explore. As we walked around this small town we came across this fairy tale inn. 

Little Inn on Willow- the side view. 

I don't know what view is this but it's just so cute. 

The little gate to get into fairy land. 

Just look at the sign. I was expecting some goblins and elves to hop out any minute. 

A vacation that was even more memorable this time because the kids are grown and were able to enjoy every moment with us. We also have a private chauffeur to ferry us around...my brother. Great memories created this year in June. 

Appreciating beauty...

It's been a long time since I last blogged. Just lost my momentum this year. The year is coming to an end soon. Makes me reflective. So here are some pretty pictures I took in the month of September and October. 

We visited a little English cafe in town called the Parlour. The deco is real English.  Here's a little tin box filled with pretty weeds. 

This is a rose from my garden. Nelda has green fingers. The flowers under her care bloom beautifully. But at the moment the whole garden and porch is in a mess as we are doing some renovation. Waiting eagerly for the whole mess to be cleaned up so we can see the garden bloom again. 

This is sunset at Rejang River. Took the debate team there for competition. Sunsets are my favorite but this sunset has some dirty spots. The glass of the hotel window needed cleaning badly. 

An evening out to the beach. The beach was full of people but I managed to take this very nice and classic looking coconut tree. 

Just can't be on the beach without a picture of the sea. 

Hope the next inspiration to blog will come soon. 

Brown and burnt

There was a severe draught early this year lasting almost two month. During that time many parts of the country was on fire. Kepayang Hill was not spared. One evening I received an SMS from Bernice saying that KHill was on fire. I couldn't see from my house. It was the S2 side.

I suspected then that it must be near Rocky Mountain ... one of our favorite routes. 

After staying away from the hill for almost two months, we managed to go up today. Haze, rain and of course hectic schedule have kept us from the hill this long. I no longer enjoy the hill. The route has changed because of development. The hill has been cut all the way up. 

While making our way up Rocky Mountain we noticed signs of the wood being burnt. It got worse the further we went. True enough...that was the part that was on fire few months ago as seen in these pictures. 

Totally dismayed and saddened by what we saw. 

Going up the trail...used to have low bushes left and right. Now it's barren and clear.

At the top...all brown. The trees are blackened. It's more severe at the top compared to the bottom. 

We hope to grow old climbing this hill. Now I wonder if the hill will still be here in ten years time. Need to look for a new hill nearby to climb. 

Emily of Emerald Hill

Twenty years ago I was supposed to watch this one woman act with KC but I had to go home to visit my parents. So he went alone. He praised the play sky high that I regretted not catching it with him.

Thanks to BS for posting on her fb...this time I managed to catch the play despite a very tight schedule. Daniel was at the Planetarium for a school excursion. Kc picked him up at lunch hour. Dan was bored waiting for time to pass in the dad's office. I took a commuter to Sentral at 4.  We met at 5.45 and went straight to Damansara Empire. (Waze cannot be trusted totally).

Saw some exhibitions before the show started. 

This setting is meant for photo shoots I believe. Very brightly lighted. Kc and I managed to take a picture with Pearlly after the show here. 

Saw these umbrellas hanging outside the theatre near a Korean restaurant.  Had dinner there and watched some people filming. Think they were trying to make some coffee commercials. 

Anyway back to the drama. It was excellent. The actress...Pearly Chua has done this like 200 times. She is clear and loud. Her diction is really good. Without a microphone she could project her voice loud and clear even when she goes softer. 

Expressions are fantastic. I remembered the scene when she received a telegram from London. She read through it real fast and I gasped aloud. She had just read that her son died. Most of the time I was staring at her and listening with both ears turned up (if that is possible)...not wanting to miss anything. 

We could relate and identify with Emily so well. It's part of the Chinese culture though she's a nyonya. It's so Malaysian in a way. But sad to say...that is how society is like. Like Emily...conniving, manupalative and domineering. Put so much up front for face value. 

To me Emily has led a very sad life...trying to achieve much but at the end she has nothing. I love this drama. Thought provoking. Powerful reminder to myself to enjoy and live LIFE. To love my children just as they are and not make them to be someone else. To love my husband for all that he is. Tyrant as she is, Emily has a good heart too. 

It was an interesting experience for Dan. He acted as Jesus last Good Friday and did it pretty well. Quite surprised that he could remember his scripts and act. So there was much for him to learn watching Emily hrough Pearlly Chua. 

Excellent and highly recommended. Catch it if you have a chance. 

exams and results

20th March came and gone in a wink. Five years of secondary education summarised in a piece of paper. The muggings of a whole year  and the waiting of more than three months....all in the past now.

This year I had the privilege to be the mother of a student instead of just being a teacher. I had the joy to be on stage with one of the top students in the school. It was a day of great joy for the two of us. But I was hit by many what ifs....

The names of the straight A+ were first announced followed by all As (combination of A+, A and A-). A total of 33 students. The sadness and tears when students who expected to be in the straight A+ category found themselves to be in the all As category. Even more tears for students who expected to be in either of the category and found themselves in neither.

I was busy giving out results that morning. All around me was chaos, noise and tears. When I looked at my students crying....I wondered how Lyn and I would have reacted if she was in their shoes. Tears...definitely tears too.

As I ponder on this for the past few days and every year when results is announced...I have only this to say...I hate this system. I hate to see what it does to the students' esteem. It's not that they are not good....but what we are doing is we are telling them that they are not good enough. Therefore they do not deserve such recognition. This whole system is making us drill As out of the students and if they do not achieve the As....they are just not good or smart.

Many students have all A+ but an A or all As but a B. They are no less better than those who were called on stage. This method is definitely not healthy to the child's psychology. Can we stop it??

I repeat it very often and I repeat it again. Life is not about making As. The As a student gets will not determine her success in future. Success and self worth is not equavalent to the As a student get. How I wish I can hold all of them in my arms and tell them....you've done good. You've done well. I am so proud of you.

Many students have shown their strength not in their academics but in their character, attitude, relationship with their elders. Are they praised for such fine characteristics? Do we shout to the world that here we have groomed students who are respectful, uphold integrity, kind and helpful?? No wonder the moral values of society has gone down the drain because it is of no importance.

So to all my students who are reading this...I apologise for the pressure I put on you to get As. I want all of you to know that you have done well, very well indeed for excellence is not measured by academic results alone. Think again....if I have taught you... what I said about success. If you have shown any kindness, courtesy and goodness to another fellow human today...you are a success and I am so proud of you.

Dry season

The year 2014 started off windy. The wind was so strong that many times the clothes were blown away and I was not able to sun my prawn crackers as they would all be blown off the table. This is what we call the CNY wind. Weeks before CNY the wind turned cold. Some people said it's the north wind from Russia (????). Anyway the weather was so windy and cool that it's like being up in Cameron Highlands the whole time. 

After CNY the wind is still blowing but somehow the sun has turned scorching. To make it worse we have not experienced rain for many many weeks now. Today as I walked up the hill, I noticed the leaves under my feet is much thicker....more leaves have fallen due to the dry season. The path has cracked.

This is the top of the hill where it is totally exposed to the sun. The shrubs and grass are all dried up and burnt under the scorching sun. One just need to lit a match and I think the whole hill will be burnt. Quite a scary thought ... what if the hill caught fire while I am up there. Will I be able to run to safety on time?

We need rain and we need it real quick. Read the news that they will do cloud seeding....well, was it done or ...? The dam is drying up and water pressure has gone down. Soon there will be water rationing again....