My Little Pup...

I realized that I never put pics of my little cutie on my blog before... Come to think of is, I'm a baaaad mommy.. keke... Since its Christmas and my mom donned my little one into a Christmas tree look alike, I'd just share a few pictures... keke...

Girl's Nite Out...

Had a little dinner cum drinks outing with Karen and Lucy last Friday.. If you are ever thinking of stuffing yourself silly, or simply just feel like 'pigging out', a good recommendation would be Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Restaurant. They have a good mixture of Japanese, Chinese and Western selection for you to satisfy your stomach. My favourite pick would be the cakes and desserts ending the meal with a nice cup of hot tea. Price is also quite reasonable @ S$36.80++ per pax (for Fri/Sat/Sun & P.Holidays). If you wanna dine there, especially if you have a big group, it is advisable to call in advance for reservations. We were put on the waiting list for a day before we finally managed to confirm a table for just the 3 of us. After dinner, we decided to take a walk in the mall to help digest a little. However, only after awhile, we ended up in a little cosy pub just a few doors down the restaurant. The Brauhaus Restaurant & Pub is a great place if you wanna have a nice chat and a few good drinks. Music is not too loud so you do not have to scream your lungs out when you wanna talk to someone else. Their all-time favourite on the menu would be of course the Pork Knuckles but we had no more space for food. Maybe we will try it another time. The most attractive thing for this pub would be the wide selection of beers from Germany, Belgium, Australia, India, Japan, Jamaica, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Morocco, Namibia, France, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Thailand, UK, USA and I really dunno where else.. LOL.. I have no idea who else in Singapore can beat this range...

** Mikka.. have to bring you and Yogi here.. Think you guys would like the place.. keke

i-Phone

                                 (Pic of i-Phone taken with my N97... haha...)

Today, I brought Mikka's 'brick' down to town to try to get it fixed. Yes.. the darling i-Phone that Mikka got from Karen the last time he was in town... Was really a wild goose chase. I first took the phone to the service centre in Wheelock Place and when I got there, they told me cos Singtel is no longer the sole distributor of the i-Phone, I have to go back to Singtel to get the phone fixed.. Terrible terrible.. Orchard Road (although on a weekday) in the afternoon.. Gosh.. crazy crowds.. Don't these people have to work? keke.. Managed to hop on a cab to Comcentre which was only on the other side of Orchard but I paid around 7 bucks for taxi fare.. And when I finally got to the Singtel there.. Queued for probably 10mins and the service guy told me 'please go over there and take a seat, come back in 15mins'.. ok.. be it.. went to take a seat.. after that, another 15mins.. and another 10.... While I was sitting and waiting, I couldn't help but notice that the 'Q' for i-Phone repair/servicing was never ending.. The people just came and came.. Hmm.. seems to me that the i-Phone really has lots of problems.. keke.. Good luck 'Apfel' lovers...
When they finally decided to 'entertain' me a little about the phone, they tried to restore the software.. Another 15 mins... then they told me.. Your phone cannot be restored, think its a hardware problem. He didn't offer me any solution until I asked what am I gonna do with a non-usable phone.. They had to replace a new one to me isn't it? After checking with his supervisor, he came back and asked me a real stoopid question whether do I want to exchange this for a new phone.. OF COURSE!! If not why am I there in the first place??? Gosh... sometimes these customer service people really drive you nuts... At the end of the day, I went off with a brand new i-Phone.. so, its still more or less worth the trip down..
Lucky Mikka.. New i-Phone for Christmas... keke...

~Rain Rain - Go Away~

The weather has been most depressing lately. It has been raining, raining, raining non-stop.. Temperatures have also dropped drastically. The worst part is, it is all bright and sunny one moment and pouring the next. You don't even know what to wear to go out nowadays cos if you wear too little you will start to shiver and if you're wearing too much then you'll probably get a heat stroke... *sulk* Seems like this weather is gonna last all the way to January next year. Yesterday there was even floods in a few areas cos of the excessive rainfall which is seldom. It is raining again now.. Hope that we will get sunshine for longer hours.. keke..

HD Media Player

Finally... a media player that supports RM / RMVB playback... *Hooray*
A couple of weeks ago, Adrian was talking about this mediabox that is able to output direct to the TV for playback via an external harddisk or USB thumbdrive. Was thinking it would be a good gadget to get for mom and dad so that they can sit comfortably in front of the TV instead of the PC when they want to watch shows. So after class today, I finally went down to Sim Lim Square to look for this piece of 'treasure'. Luckily Adrian already got his so I just went round looking for that specific brand - Ovation - Boy.. it is really hard to find... I scouted 3 levels before finding it. Every store that I went to to either told me that they have never heard of this brand or it can only be found at those small counters outside the shops which was not the case too. Cos those 'small counters' don't even sell media players. In the end I tried my luck in one of the bigger stores on the 4th level and..... YES!!! I FOUND IT!!! *keke* Thinking back, I think those sales people that told me to look in all the wrong places probably hoped that I couldn't find what I really wanted and go back to them to get a similar one at double the price (or even more).. The connections for this media player is very simple too. If your TV has HDMI output, it comes with an HDMI cable for direct connections. If not, it also comes with the (red/white/yellow) audio/video cable. Just connect and the player would search for the AV channel on its own. Comes with a handy remote control too... Easy!! The quality of playback was astonishingly good. Very clear.. much better than the PC monitor *chuckles*

** Mikka.. u should really check if this would work on your TV *winks*

Food Galore....

We decided to do our regular cousin's gathering last Saturday - Halloween!!!
We only had only 18 adults and 2 kids but the amount of food that we had was more than enough to feed 40 people.. LOL...
Its always nice to see a whole table full of food.. *GRINZ* We all just luuurve these food parties...
We were supposed to be each bringing a dish of some sort to contribute to the food 'mountain' so Jac did her 'speciality' - Crab bee hoon which we all love.. *yummie* Poor girl, got bitten by the stoopid crab while picking it up. Luckily the bite was not too serious, if not we would have felt really guilty.. keke... But it was a little disappointing on my end cos there was simply too much food on the table and I didn't eat as much crabs as I would have liked to.. keke... Will be looking forward to the next food party.. maybe Christmas... haha...

German Market Place (in SG)

Today I finally decided to drop by the German Market Place which I have found over the internet.
When I was over in Stuttgart, we found an Asian supermarket - BETA Supermarket (exact location I'm not sure... keke) so I thought here in Singapore, there must be at least ONE shop that sells German products.
Wanted to drop by yesterday but thankfully I didn't as they close for the day at 7.00pm.
The staff was nice, actually as mentioned, they close rather early. I stepped into the shop at 6.58pm and they let me finish my shopping anyway... LOL...
They really have a wide range of products in the shop. From beer to wurst to pickles to schokolade... *GRINZ*

I have been wanting to get spätzle to try out more dishes but they don't have this in the regular supermarkets. Mikka volunteered to send them to me if I really wanted it.. Sweet ja? keke... So, spätzle was actually no. 1 on my 'list of things to find' from the German Market Place. I was actually only half convinced that I could get my spätzle but surprise... They really have it!! Too bad I didn't have time to slowly browse through the racks. Next time I will drop by again when I need my re-stock of Hanutas.. Yes.. they have Hanutas too.. So Mikka.. next time you have one less thing to lug along.. keke...
For those who wants to drop by the mart, address and opening hours as follows :
German Market Place (Along the shophouse further up Coronation Plaza)
609 Bukit Timah Road
Mon - Sat : 10am - 7pm
(Closed on Sundays & Public Holidays)

Käsespätzle?? More like Ham n Cheese pasta

Mom and dad left me to feed myself today.. So I thought I would do something that Mikka taught me.. only that.. its more my version.. Had to more or less change the recipe a little cos I don't have Swabian noodles anymore so I replaced that with pasta.. Its still some kind of noodles.. keke.. Sauteed the onions with butter & olive oil & set aside for 30mins (normally its to be set aside for an hour but I was hungry... LOL) I cook the pasta until it is really soft this time as I remembered Swabian noodles as being more moist. After that, I tossed the ham and onions together to let it mix well, added the pasta then into the baking plate. I used red & white cheddar slices. Oven was preheated to 170°C and the pasta was baked for about 20mins.

*~Mikka's Visit~*

After such a looooooong wait, my Mikka was finally in town... To attend my brother's wedding, to go on a family vacation to Bangkok & of course... our own getaway to Batam.. keke... Just a summary of some of the things we did... *SMILEZ*

30th September 2009 @ the Singapore Hilton - Adrian & Josephine's wedding.. Also, it was Mikka's 'official' introduction to the family. I guess it must have been a real shock to him cos the family is HUGE.. keke.. Overall, the event was beautiful .. Wishing my bro n Jo - Loving each other always!!
02nd October 2009 - Lift off to Bangkok... Tiger Airways is always a favourite (cos its cheap lah.. LOL) Its only a 2 hours flight, so don't complain.. keke.. We stayed at the Grand Diamond Suites. Situated right beside Platimun Mall, I would say the location is great. It was more of a shopping shopping & more shopping trip.. Not forgetting the eat eat & eat also.. It was dad and uncle's first time to Bangkok so they opted to take the day tours instead. Not a bad idea to learn more about the culture of Thailand.
09th October 2009 - Taking the 'lovely' ferry to Batam.. We checked-in @ the Holiday Inn Batam.. Surprise, surprise... The place was 'empty' more or less.. I would say less than 20% occupancy rate.. That's BAD for a hotel, especially since it was so obvious that 2 full blocks were empty.. But anyway, one of the main 'motives' of Mikka to go to Batam is to go play golf. We headed down to the Indah Puri Golf Resort on the 2nd day to check out the place. Mikka had a 2hr golf 'training' session with a personal instructor for SGD80 bucks & I got myself a 2 1/2 hr spa package at SGD 120 at the 'Tempat Senang Spa' next to the golf club. Very nice ambiance, perfect to pamper yourself *winks* But in general, Batam is a terrible place to go to if you have no plans in mind. Absolutely nothing to do... Shopping malls suck, food is bad.. *sigh* Next time, I think I would just book a package direct with the golf club.
12th October 2009 - My birthday!! Am so glad that this year Mikka is here to celebrate my birthday with me.. Didn't do much but its the presence that's important..

~Swabian Food~

Last week Mikka told me that his mom made some Linsen Mit Spätzle - Authentic Swabian food. I was kinda curious so I went to search for this recipe. Looks typically like a meat gravy dish but boy was I surprised. The 'meat' is actually lentils - a kind of bean. Interesting... Mikka promised that we would try to make this dish when he is here with the Swabian noodles that he will be bringing me. We have to go get the other ingredients from the mart but it should be no problem.

Just for those who are curious, I have the recipe here.. *winks*

Ingredients

Fresh Spätzle or 1 package dried Spätzle (available at most German Delicatessens)

2 cups dried Lentils

1 Onion, cut in half

4 Soup-Bones

2 Cloves

1 teaspoon Salt

2 teaspoons Tomato Paste

Salt, Pepper, Marjoram, Thyme (to taste)

8 Frankfurter Würstchen

Instructions

In a large cooking pot, soak the lentils in water for 12 hours to soften them.

Press cloves into onion halves.

Leaving the lentils in the water, add the soup bones, onions halves, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer for 1 hour.

In the meantime, prepare Fresh Spätzle or cook dried Spätzle according to package instructions.

Remove onion halves and soup bones from the soup.

Mix tomato paste and seasonings into the soup. Add Frankfurter Würstchen.

Allow soup to cook for another 5 minutes to cook the sausages.

Serve immediately and serve with the Spätzle.

~~6 more days.... Mikka come~~ *Blink Blink*

Countdown to Mikka's arrival - 6 days!! Waiting is agony....
Mikka's latest craze is golfing and he's trying to perfect it every chance he has... keke...
Amidst the busy 'golfing' schedules (=P) Mikka had to make a trip down to the Ritter Sport Chocolate Factory last weekend to fulfill the many requests for Schklolade over here... *chuckle*  Not forgetting the Hanutas as well..
His Missy, that's me is also asking for Swabian noodles and Bifi's...
I just love Bifi's.. Perfect junk-food to stop your rumbling stomach for a good while.. keke..
** Don't worry Mikka, for these, I will bring you to the golf shop down in Kreta Ayer, I more or less already know where it is... =D **

German language course - A1

I'm down and out today.. A visit to the doc told me that I'm down with gastric flu.. Wonder where I got that from. Anyway, might not be a bad thing cos I have time to update my dear blog.. *giggle*

As I mentioned in my earlier post that I have been waiting for the registration at the Goethe Institute to open for term 5 of this year, I finally managed to get down to the school last Saturday and *viola* - registration is complete. I will officially start lessons on the 16th October 2009 *yay* and after that every Saturday lessons. ~Back to school~
While I was at the school, I paid for the 1st term (there are total 3 terms for level A1), my 'membership' with the school for a year and also for my textbooks for the course.. Took a little peek into the textbooks and thought to myself.. Ok, by the end of my 3 terms, I should be able to understand all these.. LOL
Sorry to say that my limited vocab of the language is still resticted to simple words like - Danke schön / Entschuldigung & 'Da bin Ich'.. *chuckles*  (sorry Mikka, but I try my best...)
Just to be more precise about the course structure in case anyone out there is thinking of taking the course too, level A1 consists of 3 parts - 1.1 / 1.2 / 1.3 (therefore 3 terms) and each term will have 10 lessons (once a week). If you have time to do the full-time course, the duration will of course be shorter cos the lessons run through the week (Mon-Fri) during the day. Just hope that everything goes fine and that I will be able to complete the entry level by May next year.

** My N97 **

Another "at long last thing" happened.. I got my Nokia N97!!!!! yay yay yay!!!

Really came as a surprise too. Actually I planned to get the phone a few months later but my colleague had a friend who was not used to the phone and wanted to sell it only after buying it for a month... What luck I got.. *chuckle*
I spent the whole of last night trying to figure out this cool toy. I really like the e-mail shortcut that you can put on your mainscreen so that you can access anytime. This is a very INTERNET phone, so make sure you have an appropriate mobile plan with surfing or you might end up paying a fortune to the mobile company cos you just can't get your hands off the phone.. LOL

German Course... At long last...

Was faithfully checking the registration openings for the German language course by Goethe Institute Singapur for the past few weeks..
Today I finally got some good news from the school.. The registration for term 5 of this year is finally open. According to the German Embassy (in both Germany and Singapore), I will have to complete my A1 / A2 (not sure for B1 - have to re-check this once again) in order to complete the Resident visa application. Which means... another 30 weeks of school (minimum) for me... Honestly, I don't remember when was the last time I really touched a text book... LOL.. Well, just hope that everything goes well and I will be able to complete my course soon. *GRINZ*

~*~G-FORCE!!~*~ *Hail the Guinea Pigs* LOL...

Saw the trailer for this movie a couple of months back and I told myself - I HAVE TO SEE THIS!!! *LOL* G-Force *The Movie* Official website

I wonder how many of you remember the 'invasion' of the guinea pigs in the Southpark cartoon series? I was just making a joke that they will make it to the movies soon enough.. hell.. it really happened.. now they really are on the BIG SCREEN.. and they became the heroes... *chuckle*

Time for coke & popcorns again... *GRINZ*

Back on Track *PC Revived*

Finally... After a few agonizing days without my PC, now I'm back on track. *GRINZ*
Was actually supposed to get it back last night but my PC doc forgot to take my CPU with him when he left the office... bugger... Nevermind.. at least I got it back, now I'm HAPPEEE......

I told Mikka baby that I saw a news report about an 'invasion' of marmots in Germany's southern Allgäu region that's driving the

Image via Wikipedia

farmers crazy.. (http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20090825-21481.html) Now he says he's going 'Marmot Hunting' on Saturday... sounds fun..
He got himself a new toy, the - Canon Photoshot SX200IS - a reeaaal good camera. Can't wait to get my hands on it too... keke..Hope he really finds them and take a few goods pictures..

* But Mikka, be careful not to step into their traps.. Remember they can kill cows too.. * *chuckle*

My biggest nightmare - PC Crashed!!!!

Last Sunday my dearest PC crashed. Having no PC is the worst thing ever. Its like being cut off from everything. No entertaintment, no games, no interaction....... Think people nowadays live by the PC.. keke... Thankfully I still have internet connection when I'm in the office. If not I think I would have started to feel like a caveman already... LOL.
It was really crazy. I was only watching my series as usual nothing else, then suddenly -POOF- it went dead and could not be restarted. Told me that a "WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" file was either damaged or corrupted. The Windows XP disc did not help as well. I could not even boot up the system in safe mode. There was nothing I could do.
Yesterday, at long last, I managed to get my regular IT guy to pick up the CPU and see what he could do to 'revive' it. He told me that he only re-installed the OS (thank God cos all my data in the hardisk is still intact) and the system could be booted up BUT only in safe mode. There seems to be something preventing the normal startup. He said he will try to fix that and if everything goes well, I should be able to get my CPU back this evening.. YAY!!!.. I keep my finger crossed.

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*Sob Sob* Da PC doctor just gave me a call... My baby cannot be 'discharged' today.
Will only be able to come home earliest tomorrow.......

** My New Toy **

Got a new toy today - my brand new electric mixer.. (thanks to dad I had to get a new one... u know what I mean.. keke)
Since I got myself a new toy then no need to guess, I have to start playing with it... LOL

I decided that maybe I should do another round of butter cake. The last few cakes that I made was edible but not good enough so i decided to try it out again.

This time round, I'm not sure if its the new mixer or what.. I managed to get a better batter and the cake turned out springy and nice... YAY!!!

The next time would be even better. Maybe I should attempt a new flavour... *chuckle*

When I finally manage to perfect this cake, I will learn how to make Tiramisu.. Have been asking my cousin to teach me how to make this for a looooooong time already but he's always so busy.. *sulk* I try to make another appointment with him regarding this again... LOL

Ich Mag Gulasch!!!! *SMILEZ*

Yes.. as what my Mikka says, I am a gulasch-holic.. keke...
When I was in Germany, I went all crazy over Gulasch Suppe... I figured that since I like to eat it, I must learn how to make it.
Bought the Gulasch spices from one (of the many) supermarket in Stuttgart on my last trip but never tried it till now... So, today is my first attempt...

Took me around 15 mins to prepare all the necessary ingredients.
I used capsicum, carrots, onions, potatoes, tomatoes and of course... BEEF!!

I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil (from what I find in most Gulasch recipes online) to sauté the garlic, onions and capsicum. Threw in the beef to stir-fry until half cooked, then lastly, the carrots, potatoes and crushed tomatoes. Added approximately 3 cups of beef stock and 1 small can of tomato puree. Lastly, the Gulasch spice that I brought all the way back from Germany... keke...

Had the whole pot boiling for about half an hour before I turned down the heat to let it 'stew' for about another hour or so... The smell was.... yummy yummy yummy...

Mom and dad was going all curious about what I was boiling.. They kept going into the kitchen and asking me.. 'Is it done?' *Grinz*

My dear brother is another darling.. I sent him an SMS asking if he would like to try my Gulasch (which was still cooking) and I got an answer almost immediately - "Ok, I come now!'.. LOL

The review of my Gulasch No. 1 - has room for improvement but overall - Yummy!!! Yay yay!!

So, Mikka.. too bad for you.. It wouldn't be bad for you and your stomach.. No.. not at all.. =P