FOR THE LOVE OF IKAN BAUNG

8 hours before dear brother was to return to Manchester with wife and their lil bundle of joy, my aunt arrived at my doorstep holding a small, loosely wrapped package in her hands. I was surprised to see her, as she normally calls before coming to our house. Anyway, it was a short visit. She didn't even come in as she had to rush home to cook lunch for her family. She quickly passed me the package and muttered it was "Ikan Baung". A quick glance inside the package revealed that the fish was still whole and had not been ...err..how do I say this...

"siang-ed"??

Realising I would never be able to do any justice to the fish, I quickly told her that my mom (the chef) would only return much later at 7pm and promised to leave it to her to prepare/cook the ikan baung. As I stood later in the kitchen, staring at the fish in my sink, I realised that waiting for mom would be very risky as my brother (the very person the ikan baung was intended for) had to leave for the airport at 8pm plus. Thus this would mean, we would need to have an early dinner. Which of course means, the ikan baung needed to be cooked pronto! Now the question was by whom??? I had no idea how to clean the fish as it was not like any ordinary fish. And my culinary skills in cooking anything masak lemak has always been questionable , if not inconsistent. After much thot, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a go.

First task was to clean the fish. And just how does one do that. The fish itself was a challenge for me. In fact, I found its shape to be pretty intimidating. After much struggling with 2 knives, a kitchen scissors and a small pestle, I did manage to have the fish cleaned (more like butchered) though it did take me a good hour to do so. Mental note: must remind dinner guests to ignore the slightly mutilated fish.

Next task was to actually cook the ikan baung. With a lot of prayer muttered under my breath, I went on to prepare the dish which was to be the main course for the family's dinner that nite. A dash of this and a stir of that..I then left the slightly cair and pedas ikan baung masak lemak in the pot and made a quick 911 call to my mom on her handphone. Rushing through the story of how my aunt, her sis had left me with the fish bla-bla-bla...I then begged her to return to my house A.S.A.P and help salvage my definitely ruined ikan baung.

Anyway, she returned as usual at 7pm and sampled my dish. Took out half of the gravy and added more coconut milk in order to make it thicker and less pedas. Voila! 15 minutes later it was ready to be served for dinner. For the hundredth time, SuperMom has saved the day again. And the daughter of SuperMom silently vowed that she'd make a point to sharpen her culinary skills before embarking on her next ikan baung escapade!

LONG OVERDUE

Yes, this entry is long overdue. I only managed to write one for the whole of last month and am trying hard to make sure that I write at least one more for this month. If only I had more time. Sigh!

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DONUTS GALORE

ok, it's official. We're all fans of Big Apple Donuts!!!

If you happen to be at the Curve in PJ, check out the shop and I"m sure you won't be disappointed. Forget the donuts you've tasted before. This is the one! It's soooo soft and soft and did I mention soft??

The unofficial mascot@spokesperson@donut-tester

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ELECTION DAY



8th March was election day and like others I headed off for the polling station to cast my vote. The center was just about 4km away but due to traffic conditions it took a much, much , much longer time to get there. There must have been hundreds of people on the road that day, all rushing to get to the polling station. As I was driving (more like crawling away at snail's pace), I was entertained by the many sights along the road. People doing last minute campaigning for their respective parties, cars/lorries/bikes brightly decorated with party flags and stickers and honks from supporters in their own vehicles everytime they passed by a polling center.

There was indeed much to see and take in on that day. The roads were lined with the young, the old and the curious onlookers. From the colourful buntings and flags to the shouts of party slogans. There were expected victories from some and unexpected losses too. And lets not forget the shockers that became the center of discussions for days on end. Yes, enough fodder for you, me and the rest of the country to talk about until the end of the month. On my part, I'm relieved I've fulfilled my responsibility as a citizen of this country and I can only hope and pray that we will keep enjoying the peace and harmony in our country's diversities of race and beliefs.

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STARTING THEM YOUNG

I'm worried about my number 3, who rarely picks up books to look at the pictures or pretend to read for mama's sake. His scope of interest at this stage is limited to watching cartoons on telly, tractor-spotting and playing and demolishing his toys (more so with the latter). So when he was noticed curled up on the sofa one night, with a book in his hand...we (mama and ayah) were most pleased. Even if it was read upside down! (tis a start anyway).

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ASIARI-COMPULSORY

Eversince hubby and I discovered Asiari at SACC mall (Shah Alam), we've been faithfully returning there once a month...at least. Food is tasty, even my picky eaters (children) have no problem licking their plates clean. The price is reasonable, the ambience most cosy. And the interior leaves a homedecor-challenged person like me...most inspired ;)

note : we're not paid to advertise for the restaurant!