Birthday '12: Pre-Birthday Supper

NOTE: This post was written on the 21st of November 2012 at 11:15AM but was scheduled to be released at a later date because of its top secret (at the time lah) pictorial content. =p


Met up with Mee and Dee for an impromptu supper the night before my birthday cos I knew they'd be busy with a working lunch today, and dinner is out cos The Husband and I are going to be out on a birthday dinner date so.... as should be on any real date, no spotlights allowed. Haha.


It happened to be a rainy night – and a Tuesday when most hawker centres in Penang are closed – so we ended up at the Upper Penang Road area for Sup Kambing mamak with Roti Bengali at Sup Hameed, opposite Hotel Malaysia. Cheap and good. Perfect on a cold, wet night. =)


We didn't stay long though. Kept it short and sweet cos it was late and I was tired. (Been experiencing a bad bout of insomnia lately so sleep's been crap for me. -_-''') So after eating, it was home-sweet-home for us, and bedtime for me after a short Skype call with The Husband. Needless to say, I didn't stay up for The Crossover. *snorts*

My 28th birthday gift from Dee and Mee.

Sunday, 25 November 2012

Today was the day I fell in love with another man.

Super Hokkien Mee, One Corner Café, Behind Penang Plaza (a.k.a FIMA)

I usually frequent the Hokkien Mee stall along Perak Road. It's awesome but that hawker dude went for a leg operation awhile back and hasn't opened shop for MONTHS now. -_- Because of that, I haven't had my Hokkien Mee fix in a very looong time. T_T


The Husband, on the other hand, isn't as choosy with his Hokkien Mee. So, he does go to One Corner Café (and other stalls) whenever he craves a steaming hot bowl of Penang prawn noodle soup. Well, this week, he finally convinced me to go along with him to give this stall a chance at impressing me.

The good thing about this stall is that it has a pretty solid ordering system (unlike the one at Perak Road, which is super kelam-kabut). They really go by the first-come-first-serve rule and all special orders are written down in a book so they never forget. You don't have to bug them or remind them. No need to fight for your turn either. It just arrives when your turn comes around. I like that.


The wait wasn't as long as I'm used to either, considering how long we usually have to wait for our Hokkien Mee at Perak Road. Here, our Hokkien Mee arrived in about 20 minutes. And how was it? Well, I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised.

It was pretty good! The soup was tasty, portions were HUGE for RM5, and they were really, really, REALLY generous with the fried onions, prawns and sliced pork meat. (I gave The Husband all my fried onions and meat. I usually just eat the prawns.) We did agree, though, that the next time we're there, we'll order "kania heh" (English translation: "only prawns") and not bother with the sliced meat at all. We no likes.

Ok la. I think this is a good substitute for when Perak Road is closed. In fact, it was so good that we went back there again the next day with his parents for Round 2. HAHA. Personally, I think I still prefer the Hokkien Mee at Perak Road. (Can't be sure. Too long never eat so forget liao. :-/) But if you're asking me which one is more worth your money, I'd say Super Hokkien Mee wins hands down cos they give you waaay bigger portions with heaps more ingredients.


p/s: This stall is run by the brother of the Perak Road cook's wife. Family recipe passed down from their mom so I guess that's why both taste equally as good.


-------------------------
SUPER HOKKIEN MEE
-------------------------
One Corner Café
(Behind Penang Plaza a.k.a FIMA)
2, Jalan Bawasah,
Georgetown, 10500 Penang.

Opening Hours: 7.30AM – 10.30AM

(Closed on Tuesdays)

FRIENDLY TIP: Go early if you don't want to wait long or be sent home hungry. Dun mess. This Hokkien Mee runs out FAST. The Husband was sent back home FIVE visits in a row before. @_@ You have been forewarned!

Birthday '12: The Birthday Dinner Date

My birthday turned out to be a super cheap one to celebrate this year. Haha. Sup Kambing with the folks the night before (post scheduled for later due to inappropriate timing of content #mysterious), Roti Canai at home for breakfast from Mama, Fried Bee Hoon at home for lunch, then it was hawker centre pizza dinner with The Husband at night. Haha.


He asked me what I wanted to have for dinner for days beforehand but I just couldn't decide. He suggested Harvest Inn but I wasn't too keen on the food there. Nice ambience la but... bleh – nothing great lah. I also considered Bella Marino at Straits Quay for pizza and Wild Mushroom Soup or Tandoori Chicken and Naan at Penang Road but... aiya, mai lah. At the end of the day, it's not the fanciness of the place that matters. It's the food and the company. =) #idealisttalking


It was pretty late by the time we set off cos we got held up by planes, kids, middle-of-nowhere pee breaks and a long drive to the airport and back beforehand. (Long story lah. Lazy to tell.) So by the time we arrived at Bee Hooi Restaurant (it's actually a kopi tiam) for my favourite el cheapo pizza, it was already 9PM.


We parked illegally – no time! no time! – and made a beeline for Frankie Pizza. "Aunty! One Medium Chicken Ham, extra cheese ok?" I ordered in a hurry. "Bo liao!" she replied a nanosecond later. @_@ WTH?? Go all the way there on my birthday only to be told that I can't have what I want? Hell, no. So I asked again, "Abo TWO Small Chicken Ham, extra cheese can?" Also cannot. Why? Cos it turns out the aunty only had ONE small pizza left to sell me. SMALL??? And one only? Where got enough wor?? T_T


She must have seen the disappointment on my face so, to prove it to me, she opened her plastic bag of pizza bases and pointed, "Nah! Lu khua. Bo liao!" (English translation: "Nah! You see. No more!") BUT! Under the perfectly round Small pizza base, I spied a super broken Medium-sized one. Like SUPER broken. Maybe into five pieces or more. But before I knew it... I started begging. @_@

"Aunty... you make for me the Medium la...

Broken also nevermind. You just sell me cheaper lor!"

HAHAHA. Freaking desperado, man. Hahaha.

Unfortunately, she still said, "No." Impossible to fix cos too broken already. But... at the end of the day, my perseverance (and pitiful face =p) paid off. She tried anyways and – after a 15-minute wait – I GOTS ME MUH MEDIUM CHICKEN HAM WITH EXTRA CHEESE FER DINNUH! =D =D =D

And she only charged us RM5 for it. HAHA. Score!

But of course it was real messy to eat lah. Haha. I couldn't even lift a proper slice of the pizza without the base crumbling to bits underneath or the topping sliding off its broken base. But whatever lah. Craving satisfied! I was a happy birthday girl. =)


After that, as planned, The Husband brought me over to Baskin Robbins a few doors away for ice cream. We ordered the Proud Duck special – More is More – and got a free upsize on our order. Yay! (I really hope Vivy wins!! Her promo is really the best of the best.)

 
Since we get two scoops of ice cream (for just RM7.50!!!), The Husband chose Cotton Candy (@_@) while I picked good ol' Vanilla, my standard ice cream order.

Cotton Candy on Vanilla. 2 scoops for RM7.50.

Baskin Robbins' Cotton Candy flavour tastes like Paddle Pop, if you ask me. Only difference is it's slightly richer in taste and is like a bajillion times more expensive to eat. Haha. Vanilla is still the bigger winner to me.


Anyway, my birthday dinner date turned out to be heavily discounted. Haha. Cheap pizza with a price slash, PLUS ice cream with a free upsize. Haha. Total spending on my dinner minus The Husband's own Chicken Chop? RM5 + RM7.50 = RM12.50 only!


This reminds me of our 2003 Valentine's Day dinner date at Tijuana Burger, SS15 as well as our 2011 Valentine's Day dinner date at KFC, Queensbay Mall. The man is damn lucky he married me, man. I'm a cheap date. HAHA. #shameless

Birthday '12: Birthday Breakfast

Woke up to freshly tapau-ed

Roti Canai from the market. =)

Birthday '12: Seeing Stars

This morning's birthday loot! =D

Wait. Can I use the word "loot" if

my usage is singular and not plural? :-/

Hmmm... whatever.

#failedgrammarpolice

-_-'''

Received that starry gift from my one and only (currently lah, in the future will have one more) SIL – The Husband's older brother's wife. But what is it? Well... you guess lah. (Not rocket science.) It's from this shop:

But I'm not going to show you
exactly what it is lah. (DUH!)

This is all you're gonna get to see. Haha.

Now, go away. Nanti mata bernana. Hahahaha.

Birthday '12: Love My Tummy, Love My Skin

Shipment arrives in Penang from KL on Thursday. Delivery from sender through third party on Sunday. Item received by Yours Truly via third party on Monday. Didn't get to meet the sender personally but, at the end of the day, it's the thought that counts and the effort that really matters, right? Right.

----------------

Thanks for the gift bag, babe!

Imma go stuff my face with yummy M&S

Milk Chocolate Digestives now. Mwahahaha.

XOXO, 

Pam Song

p/s: I'm still brilliant, by the way. Told you I'd

be able to guess what the edible item was. =p

Birthday '12: First Birthday Present Of The Year

Last week, I received my very first birthday present of 2012. Pretty, little, purple, flower-power earrings from Mama. Think I'll wear them on my date with The Husband tonight. (Any reason just to dress up and accessorise, right? =p) Now to scour the wardrobe for wearables in purple... or something like that. :-/

Earrings from Mama for turning 28.

Almost 28

I no longer like birthdays.

There. I said it.

Not cos I'm getting older and getting older always sucks if you're a girl, but simply because birthdays have just lost their celebratory birthday-ness for me over the last few years. Depress-emo, much? Yeah. Some. I wasn't always like this though. 2006 was a good birthday year for me. So was 2008. I partied like a rockstar and felt like a million bucks those two years. =p


But other than that... growing older has just been blah, blah and more blah for me. The ultimate worst birthday of my life was the birthday of 2010. No other birthday can fight. 2011 wasn't all that bad considering The Husband whisked me off to Genting for a couple of days and brought me horseback riding, which I enjoyed. (I have yet to blog about that getaway. Whoops. -_-) But I think in general, it's just been downhill for me and birthdays since I crossed that blasted mid-twenties line.

So, here I am again.

Sitting on the verge

of the 21st of November.

I turn 28 in a few hours. Not a bad age to be at, if you were to ask me at any other time of the year. But not tonight. Cos tonight, I'm really starting to feel that familiar tinge of disappointment and self-pity set in. The kind which ultimately brings with it a tidal wave of emo-ness and depressive-ness that will drown me in sorrow till the 22nd comes around. Sigh.


You know, I wish I was spending my 28th birthday down in KL. Alternatively, I wish my close friends were up here in Penang where I'm at. But mostly, I wish The Husband was with me tonight. Instead, I'm in Penang without any close friends around, and it looks to me like I'm gonna be spending The Crossover alone. Again. How wonderful. Ugh. -_-'''


I think the supremely lousy way I feel tonight is compounded by the fact that I've not gotten a good night's sleep in a long, long time. That, and cos I've not been as mobile as I want to be or am used to being. I hate the fact that I'm unable to drive right now. Cos if I could, I would at least be going somewhere, doing something to cheer myself up. Even watching a movie alone at a mall would suffice at this point.


Back in 2010, I swore I wouldn't let myself feel that pathetically depressed on a birthday ever again. But this year, it looks like I've got no choice but to allow this particular birthday to uneventfully run its course. Heck, I can't even go out for a walk around the block alone to feel better, what with Malaysia being so unsafe and all! ARGH!! I just can't win, can I?

Whatever lah. 3 more hours till midnight.

I've still got time to be a sulky 27-year-old.

Catch you guys on the other side. Ciao.

Tau Sar Pneah, Him Heang, Burmah Road

The ultimate best Tau Sar Pneah (a.k.a Tambun Biscuit) on Penang Island, if you ask me. (Although some may disagree and we could end up debating this for donkey years to come. -_-''') I personally like the salty type that's sold in rolls of five as seen below instead of the one that comes in a box of 16 or 32. (Don't get me wrong through. The box type wan also very ho ciak.)

Have not had it for awhile but suddenly felt like indulging in some this week. Haha. Placed my order through Mee's delivery service in the morning (The Husband refused to stop even though we drove by the store – grrr) and it arrived at my doorstep by nightfall. Tucked into one immediately and thoroughly enjoyed the way the outer crust crumbled as the inner bean paste melted in my mouth.

YUMS! I think Imma go have one more before dinner. =p

--------------
HIM HEANG
--------------
162-A, Jalan Burmah,
10050 Penang.

TEL: +604 228 6129/130

Sentimental

Sometimes, it's not the price tag, or the size, or the type, or the grandness of the situation that matters. It's the value you put to the memory that comes with the item you hold dear that makes all the difference. And sometimes, sentimental journeys are what keep you holding on to whatever it is you have that you treasure – be it a useless ticket stub from a first date, a fond memory from a time past, or a precious family heirloom dusted in nostalgia – instead of considering it all naught and moving on to bigger, better, greater things that come your way.

Soft, Squishy, Shapely

I've never been a fan of refrigerated chocolates. They become too hard and crunchy in the fridge. Instead, I prefer my chocolates to be kept at room temperature so they stay slightly moist and perfectly melted. Like so:

See what I mean? Soft and squishy,
but still able to hold its shape. Perfect!

Oh, and always, always Hazel Nut in Milk Chocolate for me, thank you. Am not a fan of the other nuts (nor fruits that they put into chocolates), and white choc is always too sweet while dark choc is just waaaay too bitter for my tastes. Milk choc, on the other hand, is always juuuuust right. =)

10.11.12

That's me, all excited and ready

for date night with The Husband.

But of course, it wasn't the first picture I took.

I probably ended up with a billion Photobooth shots no thanks to The Husband who just felt like photobombing every single one of my pictures tonight. -_-'''

Gatal wan.

Anyway, this is the first time I'm getting dressed up for a night out with him in a long time (the last was during our first anniversary earlier this year), and this will possibly be the last time in a long time that The Husband and I will be able to go on a one-on-one romantic date together so... it's going to be a night to be cherished indeed! =D


p/s: Please excuse the wet hair, by the way. It's just waaay too hot in Penang to do any blow drying. And, well, I just couldn't be bothered with contact lenses right now so... glasses it is!

Developed A Sweet Tooth

I've never really been the girl with a sweet tooth. If I got to take my pick of either option, it would definitely be savoury over sweet. Without a doubt; without a second thought. Because of that, I've always been your typical share-a-cake, no-dessert-thank-you, kurang-manis kinda girl.

Until now.

*blink blink*

I'm mean, sure, I still drink kurang manis. And I think I still prefer savoury snacks over sweet ones. But I definitely no longer shun sweet treats the way I used to. In fact, chocolates, cookies and cakes have suddenly become very attractive to me over the last couple of months. @_@ So much so that I have to constantly and consciously hold back and pull the reins on my new-found love for all things sweet and sugary to ensure that I don't become obese or get diabetes or something. :-/

Having said that, meet my latest sweet indulgence:

 Arnott's Tim Tam Fingers.

 Only the Australian-made ones for me, thank you.

"Made In Australia. Exporting To The World."

Discovered it along the aisles of Cold Storage, Gurney Plaza and made an impulse purchase the same day I bought my latest Aesop products. Came home, stuffed my face with it and instantly fell in love. And that's coming from the girl who only less-than-moderately enjoyed chocolates and NEVER liked Tim Tams. @_@ What is happening to me??? :-/ But seriously lah. If you looked at it also you would wonder how I could have resisted Tim Tam's chocolaty charms all this while.

How to resist, I ask you?? So... eat only lah! YUMSSSS!!!

Buy More, Pay Less

So you know how I've been on an Aesop addiction lately, right? And you know how I've slowly been trying out their products by tucking into my not-so-secret-anymore stash of samples, right? Well, I finally decided on which range I was comfortable with and which product I specifically wanted to BUY. (HAH! Not so cheapskate after all, right??? *lansi face*)


Of the two cleansers I tried and didn't mind, I liked the Fabulous Face Cleanser less. It didn't foam enough for me. The Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser, on the other hand, foamed sufficiently and smelled really good so it got an easy win in my books with two thumbs up.

 The cleanser I didn't like as much.

So... Ladies and gentlemen,

meet two of my latest purchases

– Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser and

Aesop Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum.

Ok, ok. To be honest with you, I only went to the Aesop counter with the intention to purchase the facial cleanser cos it's my birthday month and, as an Elite Cardholder, I would get RM50 for the first RM100 I spend at Parkson this month. =p Haha. What?? Dun judge me la. I'm being a smart shopper.

 Aesop Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser (200ml), sold at RM185.

BUT while I was at Aesop, I saw a notice that offered an RM50 Aesop voucher for every RM350 spent via credit card. How could I pass that up?? My cleanser already costs RM185. Just need to buy another product I get RM50 extra already, you know! So... I started trying some of the items in their Parsley Seed range and impulse purchased their anti-oxidant serum, too. =p

 Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum (100ml), sold at RM200. 

I also considered their eye serum but that was almost RM300 for a much, much smaller bottle. Only 50ml, I think. My brain immediately said not worth it and my Penangite pocket was just to kiam to cough out the dough so the thought of purchasing it didn't fly although I really liked what I tried. Haha.


Plus, RM350 minus RM185 only comes up to RM165. I might as well top up RM200 (closer to RM165) instead of almost RM300 (almost double the RM165 amount), right? More worth it ma. Then IF I eventually purchase the eye serum, I can use that bigger amount to make the most of another promo or voucher later on. #foresight =p


But come, come, my friends. Let's go into the details of how much I spent... and how much I got in return. (Love the latter part of that sentence big time. =p)

Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser: RM185
+ Parsley Seed Anti-Oxidant Serum: RM200
-----------------------------------
TOTAL COST (at RSP): RM385
-----------------------------------

i.e. Only RM35 over the RM350 minimum amount needed for the RM50 Aesop Voucher. 


Birthday Credit from Parkson's Elite Card for first RM100 spent in November: RM50
+ Aesop Voucher for RM350 spent in a single receipt: RM50
+ RM10 Parkson Vouchers for every RM100 spent: RM10 x 3 = RM30
+ 5% cash-back in Elite Points: RM19.25
----------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL VOUCHERS/CREDIT RECEIVED: RM149.25
----------------------------------------------------------

RM10 Parkson Vouchers x 3, RM50 Aesop Voucher
and my Parkson Elite Card.

Total Cost (at RSP) for all purchases: RM385
– Total Voucher/ Credit Received for RM385 spent: RM149.25
--------------
= RM235.75
--------------

That's a total of 38.77% savings okayyy. Almost 40%!!
I'm so proud of myself. Super worth it, right??? =D

*beams*

 

Now I just hope I don't mess things up and that my hard work and calculation doesn't go floating down the drain someday. Like, literally. Why? Cos Aesop's Parsley Seed products come in glass bottles (to avoid contamination and/or any reaction with the usual plastic bottles) and... well, we all know how clumsy I can get, and how accident-prone I can be, right? :-/

My Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser & Anti-Oxidant Serum

in their respective glass bottles.


*gulp*

Simple Chinese Dinner For The Cina Mui

After having pasta and pasta and more pasta at home since Monday, I was somewhat thankful tonight promised some Chinese cuisine instead. Finally! Rice! Haha. Nothing fancy though. Just a bit of Baked Chicken Wings and some Stir-fried Cauliflower and Broccoli, washed down with a glass of refreshing Nutmeg Juice.

Just my kind of easy dinner. =)

Walks Together Are Good For The Soul

Taken at 5:58PM on Thursday, 1 November 2012.

I can't wait for The Husband come back to Penang

so we can take evening walks together by the sea again. ♥

iPhone 4s with iOS6 panorama.

Baked Crabs At Weld Quay Da Shu Xia, Farlim

While out for dinner with Mee and Dee yesterday night, I suggested we indulged in a seafood rarity (for me) – mud crab! Yums! Mee thought of trying some place new that she heard serves good crab but Dee and I promptly overthrew her decision and decided to go with a seafood place we were familiar with at Farlim instead. Eh, crazy meh? So rarely get to eat crab summore wanna go try try? Must go to guarantee ho ciak place lah! Cannot gamble this kind of things okayyy... Tsk tsk.


We decided to order two types of crabs. (If you're gonna do something, do it right. Make sure you go all out and put your whole heart into it. Why choose when you can have both?? =p) Our safe bet and regular order, which was the peng cim (i.e. baked mud crab with no seasoning, sauce, filling or whatsoever)...

...and the more flavourful Baked Crab with Salted Eggs.

The plain baked one was good. The salted egg one was better in comparison – tastier. But the best Baked Crab with Salted Eggs I've had (and the cheapest – RM24/kg) is still in Kepong. Gotta drag The Husband there one day lah. (The man doesn't like seafood.) It's been too long. Think the last time I went there was way back in 2010. Possibly earlier.

Anyway, as you can see from the picture above, we ordered other dishes, too, lah. Like vege and not-very-tasty Mee Tiau but... cummon. Seriously. Who cares about those when you've got CRABBBB, right??? =p

 Me with the Baked Crab with Salted Eggs.

So, yes. That was our crab fest last night.

Should totally do it again sometime. Haha!

--------------------------------------------------

WELD QUAY DA SHU XIA SEAFOOD HOUSE

--------------------------------------------------

288E-1-13, Jalan Thean Teik,

Fortune Court, Ayer Itam,

11500 Penang.
+604 8297369

NOTE: This place was previously called Red Bali. That was the place my parents and I were familiar with. This ended up being our first time at Weld Quay Da Shu Xia Seafood House.