Cooking at home

An average meal here would cost $8-10 each. If you take 2 meals a day for 30 days - that's ($8 X 2meals X 30days) = $480 per month just for food. It's a mind-boggling RM1344 for those who likes to convert back to RM.

In our efforts to be anti-commercialism (save money) we had to resort to cooking at home. Its much more economical (thrifty) and healthy, besides its heavenly to the taste buds as well.

Of course I do enjoy the occassional Pizza, Mac D, Hungry Jacks but the benefits of eating at home far outweights the cons. (We bring lunch to work and *ding* it in the office microwave too)

Pros:

1. Individualized taste
2. Save money
3. Healthy
4. (For singles), improve cooking skills and increase networth in spouse market

Cons:

1. Waste time to prepare
2. Waste time to cook
3. Waste time to wash

Here's an example of our meals at home.

Ayam panggang

Taugeh & Chawanmushi

Chicken Skewers from Coles

Ingredients:

• 6 drumsticks - $4.00
• 1 chicken broth - $1.50
• Taugeh - $0.80
• 3 Skewers - $4.50
• Misc (Rice, oil, condiments) - $4.00

Total damage = $14.80. That's only $4.93 per person per day and $2.46 per person for each meal.

Savings = $8.00 - $2.46 = $5.54.

Note: The author is not a miser. He is just damn good at maths.

P/s. The author chose this particular day to showcase their culinary skills due to additional dishes. We normally have just 1 meat & 1 vegetable. That's pathetic sometimes but hey hey, it means its even cheaper, enabling us to splurge on other life's more important stuff.


Head chef: The mrs. (Gastronomical genius, just a tad quirky
at times.)
Sous chef: moi (Specialization in garlic chopping)

• Looking to employ part-time kitchen helper and dish washer. Please send all applications and resume to stakhui@yahoo.com. *** Benefits include free food, lodging and occassional tickle under the chin.
  

Arts and stuff

We bought a Quilling starter pack with the necessary tools and instructions on the ancient art.

Box

It is actually quite fascinating to know that Quilling had been in existence since the 18th century.

Card

Equipped with just a simple quill, all one has to do is use strips of paper to create coil shapes.

Ducks

Subsequently, shape and glue various coils together to form almost everything that your bountiful imagination can think of.

Let your imagination run wild!

P/s. We saw all types of intricate patterns and designs at the shop. Expecting a lifetime to master the art, its actually much easier than expected. Once you get the hang of it, its just a breeze. Or maybe it's because we're geniuses in arts ;P
.

Cadbury Boost

"Hi! I'm a rabbit. Would you like some snacks?"

It is not often that I'm handed free stuff. But on the few rare occasions, I can't say "No" to gifts, especially to a rabbit.

Cadbury Boost

I've always been fascinated by the human operated soft toys. You can peep out of a small hole and go hug/molest/caress pretty ladies, and get paid on top of it all. Talk about benefits.

It is nutty, crunchy and yummy. Not too sweet, just the way I like it.

I would want to be a Doreamon, with an actual bottomless pocket I can pull awesomely cool gadgets from. 2 of the best would be the flying-helicopter-cap and the go-wherever-you want-to-be-at door.

One more thing, I want to be a Doraemon with ears. An ear-less cat just sounds so wrong.
.

Fed a shark and piglet, climbed the harbour bridge and sydney tower in a week

It is unbelievable the amount of fun you can have in a week.

Top of Sydney Tower

All geared up

You can take a long ascending elevator, to the top of Sydney Tower. If the scenery doesn't captivate you and your heart is strong enough, feel free (obviously the walk isn't free) to take a stroll outside the tower clinging by a rope and risk missing your step & falling into oblivion.

University of Sydney alumni

Tired expressions?

Then proceed to the Sydney Aquarium, which is plainly put, a big tank with tons of fishes.

Preparation Stage 1

Posing 101

The Harbour Bridge Climb, which takes 3 & 1/2 hrs remains the top to-do thing on my list. But be warned it does come with a hefty price tag. However I believe it is worth every penny.

Grab your fork?

Baby shark

Then go feed yourself to the sharks. I kid you not.

Jaws

Imagine sharing the pool with a full sized man-eating, meat shearing, limb tearing shark. The proprietor warned everyone not to dangle their fingers in the water .... Do not tempt a meat eating carnivore with human flesh.

Sting Ray

And a Sting Ray that's large enough to feed an African family for 3 years. Remember how Steve Irvin died?

Feeding time

Oink Oink

I have been told that this place stinks real bad.

Pat koala's ass

But you can go molest the koala as compensation.

Sand dunes

Frolicking in the sand

Next up is sand boarding. It is quite exhilarating if you don't mind sand going into every nook and cranny of your body. That includes your nether regions & butt crack. Bring lots of cotton balls to pluck up the holes.

Dolphin watching

To end it all, go out to sea for some dolphin watching.

What great fun it was all packed in a week, and that was the story of my 3 imaginary friends, who "fed a shark and piglet, climbed the harbour bridge and sydney tower in a week"

Road trip

Last weekend we went for a road trip.

Heading towards Newcastle

Actually the girls did, I was just the chauffeur.

Irritating like a fly

Notice the bar in the mirror? It divides the back screen of the car in halve. Not only is it irritating, but creates a driving hazard. (limits the view of your rear)

Gloomy

The girls went to Port Stephens for a colleague organized excursion. They left Sydney on Friday night and my duty was to pick them up on Saturday.

One of the stops

The journey was estimated to take 2 & 1/2 hrs from Sydney.

Rainbow...

Front view

It cost $30 each for them to catch a ride back. So we figured we'd pool the money to rent a car.

Back view

We chose Toyota Prius - Hybrid for $72 in hopes that our trip wouldn't be ruined by the ever-increasing petrol price.

After 3 hrs

Scenic drive

Although I driving there all alone, I kept alert by talking to myself, blasting the music and bopping along to the tunes.

*** If you saw a madman shaking his head vigorously with the car swerving dangerously from lane to lane along the highway, that's me. Please don't call the cops, I don't have enough points left on my license.

Farms

Inside of the Prius

Finally after 3 hrs, 45 mins & 3 wrong turns, I finally reached my destination.

Let the engines rest

The trip back to civilization was incident-free. The girlfriend kindly offered to drive half of the way back, providing me some reprieve and a chance to rest. 3 hrs later, we landed back in Sydney.

Still full tank!!

After 442km, the fuel gauge was still full. Bow to the king and bid your petrol car goodbye!


Strangely I felt the car consumed more petrol in cruising mode (highway) rather than city driving, unlike your conventional petrol car.

I later realized that when you're on the highway, your foot is on the pedal most of the time and the car runs mostly on gasoline. In the city, whenever your foot is off the pedal, the car continues its course on electric motor.


P/s. The author is clearly delusional when he absent mindedly forgot he pumped $27 worth of petrol to get the milage of 442km. Till this day he still thinks he dropped the $27. Driving alone for long distances is apparently hazardous to one's mental health. Let's hope he recovers soon.

Visitor from Singapore

Last week we entertained our friend, Wendy from Singapore. She was here for a 6 days Sydney holiday.

Considering the temperature had been decreasing at an alarming rate, we decided to extend our excellent hospitality by offering her a taste of Asian Steamboat - Home Edition.

Abalone mushrooms & Hot dogs

Leafy substance & more mushrooms

What's steamboat without raw meat? Lamb

Fish balls & Cow insides

The chef at work

It was merely normal fare, nothing spectacular. But there's not a lot of stuff that beats having hot steaming steamboat in icy cold weather.

Food tasting

Pork soup base

A wise man once said, "It is the company you dine with, rather than the food you stomach that makes the difference"

Contended customers

Yes we are using our trustworthy rice cooker as a cook pot. Beggars can't be choosers.
.