Incredibly Stupid...

This week is just a horrible week. All the papers from mid-semester tests have been given back to us and I must say, I am terribly disappointed in myself. Nothing more I could say.

I really need to study hard and study smart from now on. No more distractions or what-so-ever. Just go go go until the end.

Family Fish...

I had to translate this recipe into English so that I could upload it here and it took so long! This is because I got this recipe from my mom and she had everything in Chinese. This, again, is really simple. Nothing will burn, nothing will go bad. This is so easy that you could cook it with your eyes closed (I know I am exaggerating a little, but its just to show you how simple it is).

Ingredients

• 3 - 5 spanish mackerel (depends on how many people you are serving)
• 4 - 6 garlics (depends on your liking)
• 1 teaspoon fermented black beans
• 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
• 3 sticks lemongrass
• 4 pieces asam skin
• 1 cup water
• 2 - 3 tablespoon oil (depends on your liking also)

Method

1. Chop garlic finely.
2. Fry chopped onions and fermented back beans in oil until fragrant.
3. Add soy sauce.
4. Immediately after adding soy sauce, add water, lemongrass and asam skin.
5. Mix well and bring it to a boil.
6. When its boiling, put in the mackerels.
7. Simmer for at least 30 minutes. At most 45 minutes.

PS. You can just cook until all the sauce dries up. However, I like it with some sauce so I could dip the fish with some sauce before devouring it. 

PS. You can also use other fishes that you like, as long as you can fit it in whatever you are cooking them with. 

PS. Do not cut the fish into pieces as the fish will be very fragile after cooking.

Banana Chocolate Muffins

This recipe is so easy and fast that I succeeded with the first attempt. A banana muffin recipe of course requires banana. If you have those really REALLY ripe bananas which can't be easily eaten raw, fred not. You can just throw those in this recipe and it will turn out like heaven! As this recipe uses vegetable oil instead of butter or regular oil, it is a lot healthier. So for those health-conscious people, this will be your eating-spree! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas
  
• 125ml vegetable oil
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 250g flour
  
• 50g caster sugar
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• 150g chocolate/ raisins (optional)
  

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200 degree celsius and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers
2. Pour the oil into a measuring cup and beat in the eggs
3. Measure dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder) and out them in to a large bowl
4. Mash the bananas
5. Mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas
6. Fold in your chocolates/ raisins
7. Place equal quantities into prepared muffin tins. Fill them up to 3/4 of each muffin paper, not more. Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 12

PS. I have already reduced the sugar content by half from its original recipe because I don't like food to be too sweet.

A Whole New Everything...

After hours and hours of mind-draining Marketing in Hospitality and Tourism project, it was finally here! Time to celebrate and enjoy!

Met E. at Tampines MRT as usual then we went to VivoCity and guess what? It was so packed that it became SO noisy (luckily the bookstore was quiet, if not I would have gone crazy). We had dinner at Le Marché. It was quite expensive but the food was quite nice so it balanced out a little. Still, I think its quite expensive. 

We decided to go for a movie since we had a lot of time to spare (we finished dinner at about 8 pm). So we went to get seats for a movie called "The Duchess". It was a good film as it related a lot of emotions and feelings with the audience which was great. However, it totally ruined my mood for the day because I was so sad after the film. When we came out, there were even more people and they were most probably queuing to get to the rooftop for the countdown. 

Well, we had our plans and that is to go to the bars (either Tantric or DYMK). We decided to get to Tantric first to see the crowd there. And guess what again? There were not many people there, sad to say. PLUS, the crowd there were all not really my type so we just went on to check DYMK out and it was SO MUCH better than Tantric. Although there were not as many people as Tantric, it was just such a relaxing place with the bar feeling still there. The crowd there were not as bitchy and arrogant as those in Tantric. It was just nice. I had a sprite (as I was not feeling like drinking anything alcoholic that night) and a mocktail and the mocktail was on one of E.'s friend who is working there! How fabulous! The employees there were really friendly and polite (and of course, cute).

We left around 1.30 pm and caught a train back home. The train people has extended their working hours since it was New Year's Eve and New Year. Oh well, all in all, it was such a great day.

Affection...

Love love love....

What is that? I don't know. Is there really really such a thing as love at first sight? I don't know also. Can someone tell me? I want answers! 

Is there something which you can be eaten and it will remove all your emotions and feelings? If there is, can someone please give it to me? 

How do I control my feelings? Is it part of a growing up process? Do I have to control my feelings in order to move on? in order to become a more stable person? in order become a man?

Horrible horrible HORRIBLE!!! I want answers NOW!

A night out...

Got an invitation from E. to go watch some short films produced by young people and one of his students is the main character of a film called 'toll'. It was all right. Lots of violence in the films which I don't really like much.

Anyway, the main focus was not about that but it was about this: We went to tantric and this is obviously the first time I was there. I think I may have expected too much (I know I shouldn't have). We were there around 11pm so not that many people yet and we sat down for a beer. And slowly there were more and more people and E. met one of his friends and we started chatting. After a while, E. brought me outside where it was not that cold and left me there. I was so so nervous and scared, and I didn't know what to do. So after like 3 minutes (I didn't know I could even stand there for 3 minutes!), I went back to E. as i found out that my belt came out again.

I think I was standing there and my belt was out the whole time, that was why people were staring I guess. But who cares! Anyway, we chatted and E.'s friend bought each of us a drink (so sweet) and I got a bit drunk afterwards. Normally I don't get from drinking beer. But this time I did because I didn't have dinner and just had a bun before going in. Well, same for E. so both of us got a little drunk. Around 12.30am, we went home as both of us wanted to; It was getting boring. 

Oh well, now I am not THAT eager to go to the bars anymore. Nothing interesting and quite boring if you don't get hit up or you are there without your friend(s).

Last minute...

Mid-semester test is coming again. How fast can time fly? *I wonder* Luckily, this semester, there are only 2 papers (Macro-economics & Principles of Management) and  1 online test (food safety and hygiene). I can't wait till its over because i have this great great idea in mind and it can only be carried out after the exams (like duh...). And obviously, I've only started studying today. However, not very efficient, was really fidgety.   :P

So its test on tuesday and wednesday, and THATS IT! Hmmm.... actually, not really. Still have some research and projects to catch up. ARGH!!! Can't this school give us any REAL breaks?????