Blessed Christmas to all!

If you look closely, you will notice our unique Christmas tree decorations! You could probably guess that the kids helped with the tree this year (which went up just last night!) We had a lovely day today with family and the new backyard pool.

My Christmas prayer is for God to open His floodgates and rain His blessings down on you and your family in this coming new year! Blessed Christmas everyone!

Extraordinary mondays - SixthSense technology

All I want to say is ... I WANT THIS! Can you imagine the power of this intuitive manner of working with computing equipment?

baroque moments shop opening delayed

With much disappointment, I have to announce that the much talked about opening of the baroque moments shop on etsy has to be postponed. Due to some unforeseen circumstances beyond my control, the opening will not be until the mid-2010.

I'm sorry but hey, hang around as there will be more shop talk and possibly sample giveaways in the mean time!

Sorry for the hiatus - I'm back in Hong Kong

I'm really sorry for the one liner. There is jus so much to see here that it would be such a waste to spend whatever time I have left here in the virtual world. You could say that I am doing more market research and gaining more inspiration leading up to the launch of my shop on etsy in the new year.

More pictures and words, I promise, when I am back home next week.

Warning for Malaysians living abroad: You may feel homesick after reading this

If you know any Malaysians, you gotta ask them to verify this: is it true that Malaysians LOVE eating and will eat at all hours of the day and night?

Well, I'm in food heaven. (Which really doesn't help when I keep looking at myself in the mirror and wondering why going to the gym hasn't really helped make my post-baby (of almost 2 years) disappear!)

Anyway, like my mom would say in mixture of English and Malay, "eat first, belakang kira."
Broadly and loosely translated to mean, "don't worry about the consequences of (almost always wonderful) food you are eating." So taking her advice, I FEAST! Below is only a small sampling of the food I have been feasting on.

Nasi Lemak. Truly nothing beats the humble newspaper and banana leaf wrapped version (as seen below on the left). On its right is also the same thing but wrapped in special brown paper with plastic on one side. The restaurant versions really cannot beat the concept of this fast-food meal. These are sold at a variety of eating outlets as well as make-shift stalls by the roadside, all readily packed.


Inside, you'll find fragrant rice cooked in coconut milk that is coupled by a segment of a hard boiled egg, spicy hot sambal which may or may not be accompanied by dried anchovies, roasted peanuts and slices of cucumber. The banana leaf adds another dimension to the fragrance that captures you when you open the wrapping. Oh and the best thing about this version of the Nasi Lemak is: You can't beat the hit and miss factor of the rice being slightly undercooked or not getting much of the egg yolk.

Korean BBQ. Okay, so this isn't Malaysian at all obviously but boy, what a meal it was. YUMMY! This is what we ordered: a beef dish, a squid and prawns dish, and chicken soup. This is what appeared on our table! My favourite side dishes were the hot and spicy pickled cucumber, the bean sprouts, the salad drizzled with vinaigrette and the
sweet pork. The kim chi wasn't bad too.

Satay. Satay really should only be enjoyed late in the evening when the sun has set and you can watch the satay man fan the flames that grill these delectable sweet meat on sticks. To give you an idea, the seasoning of the meat includes lemongrass and turmeric. The satay sauce is peanut based that is hot and spicy. The way I like to enjoy this is to dip in the satay sauce, take one bite, then skewer a piece of cucumber and onion respectively, dip and into the mouth! YUM. Nothing can beat the smell of satay grilling away as you enjoy your own satay.

So, I should stop here because I should go finish off my mee goreng from the local mamak store. Made you drool yet?

Extraordinary mondays - Hong Kong!

The verdict is in, I absolutely LOVE Hong Kong. The lights, the smells, the people, the trams. Particularly, the trams. If I ever decided to move to Hong Kong and lived on a tram line, I would take it as much as I can. I simply love the jerky, bumpy movement, the sound of the bells and the noise of the tram on the rails, and the whole concept of the movement of people in the most traditional form of public transport.

Unfortunately, I cannot show you my own shots as my camera loved the city so much, it decided to stay there! (Actually, Khoa needed my camera and I didn't get a chance to download my images off it before I left) However, I've found a shot by limaoscarjuliet that captures the scene quite well.

hong kong, originally uploaded by limaoscarjuliet.

What souvenirs did I bring home? I bought some clothes, handbags, some really beautifully handmade 3D pictures of iconic scenes of Hong Kong, lovely lovely jewelry from this little shop called La Fleche. (okay okay, so I'm sure one of the "e"s requires an accent but I can't figure out how to do it). More info on the shop will be in later post. Watch for it, I promise it is worth the wait.

Oh and I did really like Disneyland Hong Kong with all its kitsch and funfair but that can wait for another post when I get my photos.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho and off to Hong Kong I go...

I'm off to the vibrant city of Hong Kong for a few days. So, my updates will be a little patchy but I'll be sure to be back with loads of photos and truckloads of inspiration for the baroque moments' shop launch on 1 Jan 2010!!

I'll be back next Monday. See you then.