& Wednesday, September 13, 2006
There is something wonderful and exciting and fun about trying new foods.
Not that I'm particularly adventurous, but most of my "trying new food" endeavours have resulted in long-time LOVE affairs.
Take for instance,
EXHIBIT A.
Shrimp Paste Chicken.
Not that this is particularly novel, but man, if you smelt it while the chicken was marinating, and looked at the actual marinade, you wouldn't be that impressed. You wouldn't be that tempted to try. But man is it rewarding. I love this like I love chocolate. The crispy oily deep-fried aromatic skin and the succulent chicken-flesh within (yaay I rhyme!)... this is food you could sing about.
Con: After frying, your kitchen/house will stink of prawnpaste for days. I don't really mind, but some people find this disagreeable. And it attracts flies. Those irritating specimens. :)
EXHIBIT B.
Foo-chow Fish Balls.
These are not typical market variety fish balls. These chewy fishballs have PORK in them! Lovely marinated minced pork, wrapped in chewy fish-paste-thingy-whatever-you-call-it. MAN. And then they stew it in soup...... When you bite into the fishball the soup comes out and it is just so flavourful and awesome.
Con: Beware of scalding! These fishballs collect soup. HOT soup.
My lastest fancy,
EXHIBIT C.
Mayonnaise and Ketchup Flavoured Mister Potato.
No picture, sadly...
I know, it sounds weird! Mayo and Ketchup on a POTATO CHIP? But man is it yummy! I can totally taste the mayo in powder form and it's just so delicious. It's one of those odd combinations that work, just like MacDonald's frenchfries with their soft serve icecream. I like! And I just ate a whole can of it today, glutton that I am. ^^
Con: After eating a whole can, you get quite sick of it. I speak from experience. Heh.
For the past half hour I've been looking at various online cookbook-type websites and drooling. There is a puddle on the flooooor... Now for my dinner of fresh vegetables and unprocessed rice and more fresh vegetables haha...
( 7:45 PM )
& Wednesday, September 06, 2006
New blog! I suppose what prompted me to get a blog @ blogspot.com is that there are SUCH BEAUTIFUL skins around. Doesn't matter that no one reads this - the prettiness makes me happy. ^^
In the spirit of my blog title... let's sail to some beautiful places that I've been to in the past. If I can, these are places I want to return to in the future. These are places of many fond memories, places of God's amazing creation, scenery so beautiful it takes your breath away...
My favourite place of all time:-
Venice.
The city of history, intrigue and romance! They call Paris the city for lovers, I think Venice trumps it. It's so steeped in history... the magnificent church buildings, the dating back to Crusader times; heck, even Shakespeare wrote two plays set in this city (Merchant of Venice, Othello). And then they have masquerades, where people dress up, wear masks and revel around Piazza San Marco...
If you ever went there, you would understand what I mean. This place is unforgettable. I want to spend days and days discovering every nook and cranny... I want to eat hearty Italian lunches in their quaint little restaurants... I want to take numerous Gondola rides through the winding river-roads... I want to watch the sun set on the church buildings, casting everything in a fiery red hue... I want to witness and participate in a masquerade...
Venice once was dear
The pleasant place of all festivity
The revel of the earth
the masque of Italy.
- Lord Byron, famous poet.
Second favourite place of all time:-
Australia, my second home.
Having spent four years studying there, I have come to love this peaceful country set so far away from the others, in its little corner down under. The natural rock formations, the beautiful coasts, the wildlife, the starry night sky, the lush flower fields... There is so much to discover; there are so many places that I have yet to explore. I have too many beautiful pics of Australia, so here are some snapshots, summarised in the collage below...
Left to right, top to bottom
1. Christmas Tree, Melbourne city.
Yes it's called a Christmas tree. And it's red! I want one for myself.
2. 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road.
This is world-famous. And extremely beautiful. Mum didn't want to leave when we went there.
3. Rhino Rock, Mount Gambier.
Yes it's a rhino-shaped rock! Sunset and the great ocean - magnificent combination.
4. Dolphin Bay, Yorke Peninsula.
The most beautifully blue ocean I have seen as of yet. Bright blue sky, equally blue ocean - magical.
5. Tree with pink leaves, enroute to Adelaide.
Chance discovery when we took a wrong turn - what a great reward! The leaves are all pink, and there are rows and rows of them.
6. Field of yellow flowers, enroute to Adelaide.
Many years have passed since those summer days, among the fields of barley. See the children run as the sun goes down, among the fields of gold - Sting. Enough said.
7. Beautiful sunset, enroute to Adelaide.
Shades of pink and purple and blue and a risen moon.
8. Little sailboats, Melbourne.
Inspiration for 'little ship of hope', maybe? The escapist in me wants to sail away in them...
9. Carnival ride, Adelaide.
Aren't the lights lovely? I went on that ride, once every year.
Really, the pictures don't do these places justice.
I love these places.
I miss these places.
( 10:21 PM )
