Augustdiners Travels: Krabi, Thailand (Part 1)

We're Back! Got darker as well as i wished i could contend we've shed a couple of pounds you do all those heated exercising such as snorkeling, kayaking, thai boxing, suntaning at a beach (yes! it's a form of exercising too!), as well as plenty of camwhoring.

But law is, things never goes according to plan,the weightingscale regularly went up as well as never came down. The continue was gloomy for a couple of days as well as spasmodic drizzles. food was just OK, as well as of march iwas expecting more. Didn't even stick upon thai fighting as dictated as well as slept soundly in a road house room instead. (But some-more upon these later)

What you did, as well as i mustpraise we'veperform exceptionally wellis a volume of camwhoring which went in during this trip. 7 girls,1 camera... you do a math.

Overall it was a very gratifying trip notwithstanding some teeny minor glitch. We were happy with a preference of resort, as well as if you havent guessed by right away from my prior sneak-a-peek cinema or conjunction have you actually went to a extend of clicking to a road house couple as Mr. crusader has... *Ahem*
Wechose a Sheraton Krabi Resort. Turns out it was some-more a honey-mooner place rather than a family friendly resort as a sense given by Tripadvisor.
If i have to go upon an additional day watching couples upon foot by a beach hand-in-hand, or at a breakfastarea seeking in to any other eyes, i'll substantially go insane.

OK i exaggerated.There weren'tTHAT many couples around,in actuality there wasnt even many people staying there. Those couples have been either fat, old, or gay (i know i know.. im generalising butit's true, there wasn't any hotties around, as well as i brave to contend i'm a single of a skinniest too! *and that's saying a lot*)





1/ Infinity Pool Overlooking a oceanWe have a total pool to ourselves given many couples tend to hide in to bedrooms in a afternoon.Wonder what they have been you do in there?
2/ While waiting for a rooms to be ready, you took a cart use which is accessible twenty-four hours a dayto a beach to chill. I secretly consider a buggystaff have been sleepy of saying a faces, via a stay there, we've called them constantlyto fetch us to a many ridiculously shortdistance ever.
3/ My lil monkeys, aren't they adorable



4/ The beach were not particular beautiful as well as it came with mild waves, so there wasnt most H2O sports around. The girls ! were dis sapointed which they couldn't surf, but you went for a alternative as well as boat instead. It was unequivocally affordable, you would consider which a road house is smart as well as up-charged a let of a boat but i theory business aint no good, you were obviously a only business So let for an hour was only 170BAHT which homogeneous to approx RM17We manage to boat to a nearest island, had fun with a capsizing as well as later had complaint with removing behind up to a kayak, as well as child it wasnt a pleasing steer as well as i exclude to confess it has something to do with*ahem*overweight *ahem*I consider my lil sisters compare me to a whale. (can't contend i censure them much)
5/ Yup which would be me in a water, notice how im sinking even with a hold up jacket on? =D
6/ Awww.. i consider they unequivocally have which "baywatch" potential, don't you think?

7/ After which you had a quick match of volleyball. We sucked, DUH

8/ Ever Since i set my eyes upon you, i have fallen completely unequivocally in adore with you~- My Smirnoff ICENeedless to say, we've paid for everything that's accessible upon a shelve. IM not exaggerating this time! It's super cheap! Try 45BAHT(RM4.50) for a red smirnoff as well as 55BAHT (RM5.50) for a black smirnoff,i couldnt combine most upon! anythin g else for a rest of a trip
By a way, you can get beers similar to heneiken/ Changfor only RM3.50. I-N-S-A-N-E!
9/ =D
9/ over lunch



10/ a subsequent Augustdiners form pic, whaddaya think?\
11/ The correct beach-pool celebration of a mass materials unequivocally goes to Sophie Kinsella. It's an tacit rule.I'm a great air blower of hers, she's so witty as well as it's very easy to read. Do check out her latest book- Mini Shopaholic
12/ Our lil lovable towelgirl
13/ We went for cooking near Krabi Town as well as walked around, there wasn't most to see, it was drizzling, as well as a pavements were wet, as well as dirty.
14/ We were so vehement when you came across banana pan! cake. Wh ichwas very noted to mefrom my final thailand trip. This a single was intensely oily, i had enough after a bite. But it seemed to be unequivocally popular as you had to wait for a great 20 mins for it
15/ This is actually a hair salon, but i can't guarantee theres no additional use starting upon in there, if you ever tried, do keep us updated
16/ While waiting for a motorist to fetch us, they had zero improved to do =)
Part 2 coming up shortly, there's so most some-more to share!

Book Review & Writing Tips

Love, or Something Like That.

from Paranoid Android by Paranoid Android

(no pork served)

This year, I am very happy. Two of the most detestable celebrations of the Calendar year are celebrated at the same day! Yup. I have been called worse names before (including an emotional fuckwit), but I still hate those two holidays. Chinese New Year, the days leading up to it are filled with NOISY songs, packed malls, traffic and garish reds. And the bald, big headed thingy with slanty eyes and a permanent smile on the face, whatever he is called. Businesses are closed, price of food increases by profiteering Chinamen and the never ending questions by inquisitive relatives asking the same questions which will be considered rude. Where are you working? How much are you earning now? My son wants to look for a good job, can help ah? Where is your wife?

A beautifully prepared Foir Gras with Mushroom Ragout. Seared outside, with a beautifully creamy texture inside. No hints of metallic taste, just sheer ecstasy. Sage. Am I in love?

Damn! Sometimes I feel like walking around with a sandwich board and writing down all the details of my life. And when I say relatives, I mean the kind that I get to see once in 2 or 3 years. Twice removed cousins and 3rd wife of 3rd uncle, three time removed. Or some uncle you have never seen in 10 years and suddenly comes up and offers you concerned advice. Yup, the same ones who did not give a shit whether we are starving or not after my father died and my Mum had to take care of us herself.

Tranche of Buri Fish with Wasabi Vinaigrette. Lovely morsels of Sashimi that is so fresh and beautiful with the delightfully refreshing Wasabi dressing. I swooned with each lovely nibble. Sage.

And Valentine's day. Whoever who came out with this pernicious idea should have a stalk of rose (with the thorns intact, please) stuffed into every opening of his body. And let's start with the nostrils. It is so commercialized and reeks of exploitation. Opportunists will come up with every trick from the book to equate love with how much you spend on your loved ones. A 1 dollar stalk of rose would be selling for 10 dollars on this day.

Herb Crusted Wagyu Beef with Tonkatsu Sauce. This beef was well done due to the braising prior to being baked. The smokiness of the tonkatsu sauce just complimented it so well. Heavenly Bliss. I am in love. Sage.

As long as we are on the subject of love, let me tell you about Robbie. Robbie has heart of gold and works in Oil and Gas in Bangkok. He has an abnormal fixation for Thai girls, and his girlfriends are usually harvested from some dingy bar at Soi Nana or Soi Cowboy. And he has been scammed by every clichéd scam from a bar girl's handbook for duping dumb foreigners in Thailand. From the freeloading brother in law who turns out to be his girlfriend's husband and "Honey, my mother needs an operation" tug at heart strings scam. But yet he persists with such such fervor and is a living example of the adage, A Fool and his Money are soon parted.

Smoked Salmon with Akame Herbs. Plump and beautifully smoked with the right touch of saltiness. I like the Ham Ham Sap Sap Salmon. And the meat. Beautiful springy texture. I would die for you... Sage

During one episode of his low periods when his "girlfriend" ran away after her father underwent a 250,000 baht operation, he called me up for some psychotherapy session over some drinks at Thonglor.

Girls, he said. Girls are just a life support system for the Pxxxy. Damn! Take away that, and you are left with a scheming, heartless cxxt.

You are just saying that because you have hit a bad patch, I said. Not all the girls are like that. Why are you looking for love in bars anyway. You know how these girls are?

Look. I am hitting 47 soon and am bald. Where can I get a nice looking girl for myself?

That's the problem, Robbie. You are obsessed with beauty. Why must you look for pretty, young things?

In my experience, all are equally bad. The older ones have a mouth too, in case you don't notice, he retorted. If I have to live with one, let it be pretty and young.

Nothing but the best and freshly baked loaves here. You are the bread of my life. Sage

Let me tell you a story, he added. Once in the Buriram, there was a very pretty girl who lived in an isolated village near the Cambodian border. She has never left the village before and was a simpleton. One day, she decided to take a trip to Bangkok. Armed with a 4 thousand bahts, she arrived at the bus station and started wondering around until she found herself at Saphan Kwai. She was fascinated by city life, with it's shining skyscrapers and imported goods from all over the world.

As she walked past some pubs, a group of men saw her and immediately identified her as a village girl. They were drinking some Johnny Walker Black Label, and beckoned to her and invited her to join them. "This is imported alcohol, try some!", they said. Being fed on moonshine since 15 years old and also naive and trusting, she joined the guys. She was floored by the taste. It did not burn like moonshine and the flavour was smoky and intoxicating. She gulped down every bit and soon fell into a drunken stupor.

The guys took advantage of her condition and gang banged her. She woke up later in the morning at a hotel and spent another uneventful day wandering around the city and went home.

When she arrived home, she told her mother about the wonderful sights of the city and described the big malls and beautiful clothes. But she was most excited about the whiskey. She described to her mother the taste and the smoothness and the generosity of the guys she met.

"Ma! You know how our cheap moonshine gives us a bad headache as a hangover in the morning? Well, this delicious 1500 Baht whiskey doesn't. I did not get a headache at all. But funny, it gives pain at the opposite side. I woke up with a pain down there!".

And what is the point of the story? I asked.

Sometimes, you are so infatuated and drunk with love, you wake up in misery and never realized you got banged.

Chicken Roulade with Foie and Goma Miso Sauce. The sauce was sheer delight. It was fragrant, savoury with a touch of wine in it. It is a new item. Kiss me again and again.... Sage

I have to admit, asking me to write about love is liking asking FBB to write about Shakespeare's Sonnets. Two rather incompatible things. I myself have no luck whatsoever in the same department. Women tend to criticize everything I do.

My choice of books, for example.

Why do you read such weird books. Can't you read something normal? Sometimes I want to find something to read from your bookshelf also cannot.

Normal? I replied indignantly. What is so abnormal about my books? I don't keep titles like how to murder your blabbering nit wit you call a girlfriend? Or the secret to Japanese Schoolgirl panties vending machine?

You have bad taste in books, she said. Nothing is readable. Sartre? Being and Nothingness? So boring. All the authors are unknowns.

Great. Miss Bimbo Yoyo, who thinks that Sidney Sheldon is the greatest novelist from the Western Hemisphere has turned into a book critic. I can just sympathize with you for being intellectually challenged, not having known Mann, Pynchon or Saramago. But must you make it so obvious and remind me of your disability?

Scallop Carpaccio with Truffle Butter. I nearly fainted when this was served. Beautiful with lots of truffle in the oil. Fresh and springy scallops. Oooh! How can I live without you? Sage.

And the insidious invasion of my cultural life start edging into sacred grounds. My preference for music. Back in the good old days before the appearance of ipods, the car used to be crammed with CDs. It started innocently enough.

I don't like the CDs you keep in the car. Do you have Westlife? If you don't, I can bring mine and we can listen to it when you fetch me to work. Fine. I bought a Westlife, thinking that one hour a day will not do much damage.

Your car is so dirty. I will help you clean it up. And the following day, after the clean up, I find my Kate Bush replaced with Maddona, Argerich replaced by Clayderman and Wynton Marsalis replaced with Kenny G. It was not a car cleaning session. It was an invasion. My car was totally purged of the music I like and replaced with Muzak.

I snuck in a couple of my own cds the next day and then, WW III.

Why can't you listen to good music? What is playing on the CD now? Who is this Glenn Gould playing on the piano? I don't know him. Play Clayderman. He is the best pianist around.

There. The "I step on your father's head" game has begun. To cut a long story short, after some banshee like screams with my prized 3 cd Elliot Gould Bach Inventions CD being the casualty, lying on the road side along Sukhumvit Road. She was kicked out mercilessly by me 500 meters away, with her miserable CDs, accompanied by the symphony wailing car horns in the traffic clogged road. The Jedis have triumphed, Aslan and his forces have won and the Wicked Witch has been driven out of Narnia. Bad music, I can tolerate. Bad opinions from a mindless twit? War! No retreat, no surrender. No regrets.

Artichoke Vichyssoise with Sea Scallops. The scallops were seared and cooked on top, but the bottom is still raw. The soup was light and creamy. A match made in Heaven. Sage.

And hence having survived a total invasion of my life just for some hours of carnal pleasure, I am now happily seduced by a Blackberry relationship. Very long distance and dirty weekends in hotels. Nobody touches my book, my CDs and DVDs. Bliss. And the phones can be silenced with a touch of a button. And for longer orgasm, I could read Molly Blooms soliloquy, the final passages from Ulysses by Joyce.

Calpis Bavarois with Dark Grapes Compote. Desserts at Sage is always a beautiful experience. From the warm Mint Sabayon to this. Sweet Love. Sage.

And what happened to poor Robbie? I just got an email from him. He will be getting married at the ripe age of 50 this coming April. He took my advice, enrolled for a Thai language course and dated this lovely girl working for McDonalds. From fast Sex joints he graduated to fast food. And he still drinks imported whiskey.

Me? I'll take the path less trodden and have openly declared my love for Sage in this blog. Lovely food, beautiful ambiance and faultless service. So far, their track record is unblemished.

Here's to you, you Horny Old Bastard! A Long Beautiful life with Nooi.

And A Gong Xi Fa Cai/Kong Hee Fatt Choy and Happy Valentine's to all.

Baked Ziti

Now here's a classic midweek meal, or a hot plate to bring to a potluck. Baked ziti is a lot like American lasagna, though simpler to make; it has most a same ingredients though we don't have to fuss with lots of layers or damaged noodles. This recipe is a pretty basic version, though everybody who creates baked ziti has their own singular tricks as good as twists to it. Some change a cheeses, a small a meat, a small have meatless versions, as good as a small people leave out a chopped tomatoes salsa for a truly cheese-tastic casserole.This version uses bulk Italian sausage, as good as a pass uninformed herb. In summer, that would be basil. In winter, rosemary. You could also easily have use of savory, sage, thyme or parsley. Ziti is a pretty usual pasta figure in most areas, though we can surrogate penne pasta if we can't find it. You wish a substantial short pasta figure with places to reason a salsa as good as meat. You can have this ahead, as good as possibly cool or solidify prior to we do a final baking.

Baked Ziti Recipe

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If we don't have Italian taste additive in a pantry, have use of 1 teaspoon dusty oregano, 1 teaspoon dusty basil as good as 1/2 teaspoon dusty thyme.

Ingredients

• 1 bruise ziti (can sub penne) pasta
• Olive oil
• 1 bruise bulk Italian sausage or belligerent beef or pork
• 1 vast onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 Tbsp uninformed rosemary (or basil), minced
• 1 Tbsp Italian taste additive
• 1/2 teaspoon red peppers flakes
• 1 vast jar of marinara salsa (about 32 ounces) or have your own chopped tomatoes sauce
• 1/2 bruise of mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 heaping crater of ricotta cheese
• 1 crater grated parmesan or pecorino cheese

! Method1 Bring a vast pot of H2O to a clever boil. Add about a tablespoon of salt for each 2 quarts of water. Add a pasta as good as boil, uncovered, until a pasta is al denteedible though still a small firm. Drain a pasta by a colander. Toss with a small olive oil so a pasta does not hang together whilst we have a sauce.2 Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil in to a vast saut vessel upon medium-high to heat. When a oil is hot, supplement a bulk sausage or belligerent meat. Do not throng a vessel (work in batches if needed). Break up any vast chunks of sausage as it cooks. Brown well. Don't stir that often or it will be more formidable for a beef to brown. If we have been regulating belligerent beef or pork instead of sausage, supplement a small salt.3 When a beef is mostly browned, supplement a onions as good as stir good to combine. Saut all until a onions have been translucent as good as commencement to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add a garlic, rosemary or basil, Italian taste additive as good as red peppers flakes as good as stir to combine. Cook 1 minute, afterwards supplement a chopped tomatoes salsa as good as stir well. Bring to a simmer.4 Preheat a oven to 350F. Spread a thin layer of salsa in a bottom of a 9x13-inch stew pan, afterwards dot a aspect with half a ricotta cheese. Ladle in a small salsa with a pasta, brew it good as good as supplement a pasta in to a casserole.5 Pour a rest of a salsa over a pasta, dot a superfluous ricotta cheese over a pasta, as good as sprinkle upon tip both a mozzarella as good as a Parmesan cheese. Bake in a oven until a tip is easily browned, about twenty minutes.

Serves at slightest 8 Links:Crockpot Baked Ziti - from A Year of Slow Cooking
Vegetarian Baked Ziti with Spinach - from Ezra Pound Cake
Butternut Squash Baked Ziti - from In Good Taste

Living & Leisure Buzz

Sushi Rice Recipe

December 8th, 2010 | Endorsement, Japanese Recipes, Sponsorship | No Comments Sushi rice pictures (1 of 3) Next BackHow to have sushi rice? This is substantially a single of a most fundamental questions when it comes to Japanese cuisine, thanks to a increasing recognition of sushi in a world. Home cooks who have been interested in Japanese cuisine will in conclusion wish to learn how to have undiluted sushi ricethe vinegared rice which is a building retard of all sorts of sushi. Once we master a great sushi rice recipe, we can have just about any sushi to your likingA basic sushi rice is done with reduced grain rice with three basic ingredients:

Rice Vinegar

Sugar

Salt

Other than a rice, a most critical ingredient is a rice vinegar, which is pretty most a essence of a sushi rice. The sugarine as well as salt have been combined to season a sushi rice to ones liking. Therefore, a undiluted sushi rice starts with a good rice old wine as well as we always use Mizkan Rice Vinegar. As a #1 code for old wine as well as vinegar-related condiments in Japan, Mizkan is a code which my Japanese friends recommended when we initial schooled how to have sushi most years ago. If we wish something easier, we can have have make use of of of Mizkan Sushi Seasoning, which is widely used in Japan. This all-in-one sushi seasoning has a undiluted as well as accurate season so any one can have sushi if they want.Here have been a little tips which we would like to share with we when making sushi rice:

Use only tall quality Japanese white short-grain rice. You can get a rice at Asian supermarkets or Japanese food stores.

Wash a rice thoroughly with H2O prior to cooki! ng. The rice is ready to be baked when a H2O becomes clearan denote which a starch cloaking a rice is utterly cleared off.

Use an electric rice cooker to prepare a rice.

Add rice old wine or sushi seasoning right after a rice is cooked, brew it whilst it is prohibited as well as then cold it.

Preferably, have have make use of of of a wooden bowl as well as ladle to prepare a sushi rice. Traditionally, sushi rice is done in a wooden tub called hangiri.

Always have have make use of of of uninformed sushi rice to have sushi. Refrigerated sushi rice loses its original texture.

Stay tuned for a next installment as we will be pity my hand roll recipe with you.Sushi Rice RecipeIngredients: 1 crater rice (measured with a rice crater which comes with a rice cooker, about 80% of a regular measuring cup)
1 1/2 tablespoons Mizkan Rice Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt or to tasteOR1 crater rice
1 1/2 2 tablespoons Mizkan Sushi SeasoningMethod:Cook a rice in a rice cooker. Once cooked, transfer a rice out in a bowl as well as add a Mizkan Rice Vinegar, sugarine as well as salt (OR a Mizkan Sushi Seasoning) into a rice as well as brew well with a spoon. Let a sushi rice cold to room temperature. Use a sushi rice to have a sushi of your choice.

Living & Leisure Buzz

Starhill Gallery presents A Journey Through Time IV, 2 -11 Dec 2010, Kuala Lumpur

For a fourth uninterrupted year, YTL Corporation Berhad, together with a endorsement as good as await of a Ministry of Tourism, is unapproachable to officially launch A Journey Through Time IV Asias grandest oppulance watch as good as trinket showcase around an disdainful Tourism Malaysia Gala Night.

The VIPs in attendance a disdainful celebration enclosed Tan Sri Dato (Dr) Francis Yeoh, Managing Director, YTL Corporations Berhad, as good as Dato Dr James Dawos Mamit, a Deputy Minister of Tourism.

Below: Dato Dr James Dawos Mamit, a Deputy Minister of Tourism, during a media debate of Starhill Gallery.

Starting 2 Dec to 11 December from 10 am to 10 pm, Starhill Gallery will house a worlds largest as good as widest operation of illustrious brands of timepieces of trinket to celebrate A Journey Through Time IV, featuring a ultimate as good as many innovative collection from over 100 watchmaker brands.

YTL Corporation is indeed pleased to organize this 10 day event, which features beauty, precision as good as perfection through a array of classical as good as timeless collections as good as technical innovations, thus attracting watch enthusiasts from various places around a globe, pronounced Yeoh. Having A Journey Through Time raises Malaysias form upon a world map as a place for quality oppulance products. It additionally maximises Malaysias rival edge by highlighting a nations recent avocation free status upon oppu! lance pr oducts especially with high-end timepieces.

We took a debate of A Journey Through Time IV, going in to Omega, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Carrera Y Carrera, Mariani as good as Mouawad store in Starhill Gallery.

Below: One of a Omega watches.

Next: Boucheron.

Below: A Boucheron trinket set fit for a Datin, or anyone with deep sufficient pockets.

Ms Stephanie Chua from YTL being fitted with a single of Boucheron hypnotizing pieces, a soft issuing filigree bullion chain

..which can be worn as a headband, a belt around a waist or as a neck-piece, as modelled below.

I love cocktail rings, as good as certainly do not thoughts carrying a single of a below, especially a lively starfish one!

Next , you were ushered in to Van Cleef & Arpels, a mythological Parisian jeweler.

This set below, for example, carries a ! cost tag s as follows:
Pendant - RM59,700
Black silk cord RM730
Ring - RM89,300
Earclips - RM44,100

The disdainful Carrera Y Carrera was a subsequent stop.

Carrera Y Carrera has modern, bold pieces..

..as good as superb timeless designs similar to a below. Unfortunately, I got distracted with a trinket & didnt managed to snap any shots of their watches !

Marianis trinket showcases a finish opposite look & feel due to a bold craftmanship.

The make use of of semi precious stones as good as really chunky as good as bold pattern sets it apart from a alternative trinket houses.

Another oppulance brand Mouawad during a tour.

Choose from a operation of small dainty time pieces..

..or bolder, bigger designs similar to below.

Beguiling complicated trinket for a complicated women similar to me

The singular edition Mouawad timepiece, where there are only twenty-four pieces accessible worldwide.

Dato Dr James Dawos Mamit trying upon a Mouawad singular edition watch.

A Journey Through Time IV will run from 2 to 11 Dec (10 am to 10 pm) during a Starhill Gallery. The rarely anticipated Starhill Gallery Watch of a Year endowment rite will be held upon a final day of a event 11 Dec with a uncover from eminent Australian songstress Deltra Goodrem.

For enquiries about A Journey Through Time IV kindly contact +603-2782 3855 or log upon to www.ajourneythroughtime.com.my

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