Lately….. December 26, 2008

It seemed posting too much posts about food lately!!!! These days, I am still busy at work though it’s Christmas and New year holiday. Since I have changed a new job, started to get use to this new job, to deal with different people/ colleagues, the working environment..etc.

It’s my first Christmas holiday contributed to my WORK..not really fun to hear that but I understand that Christmas doesn’t mean anything to me. Only I feel lonely  in this kind of holiday.This feeling is difficult to describe in word….

Right now, I am listening a song by Westlife ” You Raise Me Up”…It’s a nice song and this song made me thinking about a lot of things…

Besides, the solo of the violin by Secret Garden is great too.

Lyrics of  “You Raise Me Up”

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life – no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

CHINESE FOOD (Part 4) December 23, 2008

This evening, I played badmintons with my colleagues for 2 hours. Afterwards, we had dinner together.

What we ate in this evening?

1) 椒鹽鮮魷 (Deep fries of squid with peppers and salt)

2) 鹵水拼盤

3) 京都排骨 (Sweet and sour pork)

4) 泰式炒雜菜 (Fries vegetables in Thai Style)

5) 滑蛋炒蝦仁 (Shrimps fries with eggs)

CHINESE FOOD (Part 3) December 23, 2008

Next day..( 19 Dec,2008) I had dinner with my sister and her boyfriend.  Actually it was two days before the Big Day-Dongzhi.  We watched a movie “Twilight” at cinema in the evening, then we had dinner together.

At first, the witress set the table for us with chinese dining utensils.

What we ordered for dinner?

1) 石頭嘟嘟雞鍋

2) 避風塘雞翼 (Chicken wings fries with onions and chilli peppers)

3) Fried Vegetables

4) Beef with mushrooms rolls

5) 海鮮粉絲

The below was taken in another shopping mall ” New Town Plaza) in Shatin before having dinner.

Before Christmas….. I think I have already eaten too much lol……

CHINESE FOOD (Part 2) December 23, 2008

Two days later ( 18 Dec, 2008), I had another dinner with one of my friend. Actually, we did not expect to have dinner in that evening but something happened on that day which made us think about join together to talk about our new job and other stuffs.  This time, we had dinner at Food Court in a shopping mall in Mongkok. It’s another girls’ evening gathering lol~

What we had for dinner this time?

1) 砂鍋雞煲 ( Big pot of Chicken with soup)

2) 回鍋肉 (Spicy pork with vegetables)

3) 雞絲粉皮 ( Slices of Chicken with pasta*)

*The pasta is jelly-like, transparent which made from bean or sweet

potato starch.

It seems I ate a lot these days……The below picture was taken in that shopping mall. Such a nice tree with blue lights! I love this color a lot..and of course, this Christmas tree likes a Big CAKE lol~~

CHINESE FOOD (Part 1) December 23, 2008

Last week (16 Dec, 2008), I had a Pre-Christmas gathering with my friends. We have exchanged our Christmas gifts and had a chinese Chiu Chow style dinner in a restaurant in the evening.

What we had for dinner?

1) 凍烏頭魚 ( Cold Fish)

Actually, this dish is serves as cold condition…..

2) 鹵水鵝片 (Slices of Goose with Soysauce)

3) 潮式煎蠔酪 (Deep Fries of Oyster in Chiu Chou Style)

I think eggs and flour are involved with the oyster.

4) 方魚芥蘭 (Kale with fish)

5) 竹笙鮮菌玉子豆腐 (Bamboo Fungus, mushrooms with Tofu)

6) 糖醋排骨 ( Deep Fried pork with bone)

The one of Deep fries of Oyster in Chiu Chou Style is my favourite! It’s so delicious ! :-p Wanna try ???  :-p :-p :-p

Chinese Big Day: Dongzhi 冬至 December 21, 2008

Today is Dongzhi (Pinyin: Dōng zhì). It is the most important big day to CHINESE. Dongzhi means the Extreme of Winter, which is always around December 21 or 22 every year when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest, i.e., on the first day of the dongzhi solar term.

The origins of this festival:

It can be traced back to the Yin and Yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After the celebration of this festival, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical signifcance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fu ( Returning). Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. Mostly, people will have gathering like westerners in Christmas. What do we eat in Dongzhi? After the big meal (Dinner), we chinese will make Tangyuan ( a ball of glutinous rice), which symbolize reunion.

Tangyuan is a Chinese food made from glutinous rice flour.

How to make it?

1) Glutinous rice flour mixed with a small amount of water to form balls;

2) Cooked and served in boiling water ( Can add some sugarcane while boiling water, so that the Tangyuan can be served with sweet soup~)

Tangyuan can be either filled or unfilled. It is traditionally eatern during Mid-Autumn Festival too! Tangyuan means “Family Unity” as I mentioned in the above.

The main ingredient of making Tangyuan is glutinous rice flour, the filling can be either sweet or savoury.

Sweet fillings can be:

• A piece of cut sugarcane rock candy;



• Sesame paste (ground black sesame seeds mixed with sugar and lard) – the most common filling;
• Red bean paste;
• 
• Chopped peanuts and sugar. Celebrated on the longest night of the year, Dong Zhi is the day when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. The coming of winter is celebrated by families and is traditionally the time when farmers and fishermen gather food in preparation for the coming cold season. It is also a time for family reunions.

Savoury filling is usually a pork meat ball.

I much prefer the tangyuan with sweet fillings especially with peanuts and sugar. It’s so delicious~ :-p

Pink and white tangyuan, symbolizing family unity and prosperity

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi

The Day the Earth Stood Still December 20, 2008

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Today I have read a news about our EARTH rotate 1 second slower than last year, so we need to add 1 second before Year 2009 come. It is not a joke, the Earth will stand still one day….. What will happen to Human? It is unknown…

Lately, there is a movie named “The Day The Earth Stood Still”.  Starred by handsome guy Keanu Reeves. About this movie, it seems most of the comment  are not good…. It is because of the plot. Before, I also attracted by the Trailer, afterwards when some people said it is waste of money to watch this movie, I do not have any expectation or interest to watch this movie.

The most attractive and unique point to watch this movie is because of the main character: Keanu Reeves.

In the original movie, a flying saucer orbits Earth, and lands in Washington, DC, on the Mall. Klaatu (Michael Rennie) steps out and is shot by a jumpy soldier. Gort (Lock Martin), an indestructible robot steps out of the spacecraft and proceeds to melt all the weapons, including tanks. Later, the Earth comes to realize that Gort has used very little of his power to make this happen.

While lying on the ground, Klaatu orders Gort to stop, and is then taken by the military to a hospital from which he later escapes in order to learn more about this planet called Earth and its human inhabitants. He meets Helen Benson (Patricia Neal) and her son Billy (Billy Gray); takes Klaatu on a tour of Washington, DC; and finally stops in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Klaatu reads the words uttered by Lincoln many years ago and realizes that there might be hope for Earth.

When they begin to suspect the alien man, he reveals himself, along with the news that Gort is a member of a race of super-robot enforcers invented to keep the peace of the galaxy and will destroy the Earth if provoked. Klaatu is pursued and shot and killed by the military. Before Klaatu dies, he tells Helen to go to Gort, and say the words “Klaatu barada nikto.” If she does not, Klaatu tells her Gort will destroy the Earth. Helen makes her way to the ship and finds Gort. As the robot moves towards her, she repeats the phrase over and over. The robot picks her up and takes her into the ship. It then retrieves Klaatu’s body and, through their alien science, resurrects Klaatu.

The 2008 remake about an alien and his indestructible robot will star Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, Jennifer Connelly as Helen Benson, Jaden Smith as Jacob, and Kathy Bates. Gort has not been cast at this time and will most likely be created using SFX.

The remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still will supposedly remain true to the original movie. However, there is a chance the remake will more likely remain true to the short story upon which the 1951 movie is based. In either case, the alien weaponry seems to have been upgraded. In addition to a city going dark, and a very brief look at the new Gort, the film trailer shows a cloud of black smoke, capable of rapid movement and disintegrating matter on contact.

In the 1951 movie, Gort is described as one of a race of robots created by the planets to maintain peace throughout the galaxy. If the 2008 remake follows “Farewell to the Master,” the short story by Harry Bates upon which the 1951 movie is based will be used for the ending, which will not be revealed here.

The movie: Twilight December 20, 2008

Twilight

I have watched this movie with my sister and her boyfriend last night. At first, I did not see the trailer before to watch this movie. It is a Romantic Vampire Comedy….haha… It is my comment after I watched this movie. Nothing horrible…..

The below is the summary of this movie:

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) has always been a bit different, never caring about or fitting in with the trendy girls at her Phoenix, Arizona high school. When her mother Renee (Sarah Clarke) remarries and decides to move with her new husband to Florida, and Bella decides to go live with her father, Charlie (Billy Burke), in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she doesn’t expect anything to change. Then she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a boy unlike any she’s ever met. Intelligent and witty, his piercing eyes see straight into her soul. Soon, Bella and Edward are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance. Edward can run faster than any cheetah, he can stop a moving car with his bare hands, and he hasn’t aged since 1918. Most importantly, he’s a vampire. Like all vampires, he’s immortal. He doesn’t drink human blood (they’re vampire “vegetarians”), which is rare among the vampire population. Instead, they go on regular “hiking” trips, where they feed on prey such as grizzly bears and mountain lions. For Edward, Bella is the thing he has waited ninety years for – a soul mate. But the closer they get, the more Edward must struggle to resist the primal pull of her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. And what will they do when James (Cam Gigandet), Laurent (Edi Gathegi), and Victoria (Rachel Lefevre) come into town and James sets his sights on Bella? Will true love prevail when Edward is forced to save her life and conquer his thirst? The true question is, When you can live forever, what do you live for?

About Christmas and Love Actually December 17, 2008

Christmas is coming soon… 8 days to go!  It seems Christmas and the movie “Love Actually” are LINKED in my mind. This movie impressed me a lot since 5 years ago. There are several love stories in this movie. I love it a lot because it is full of LOVE. I am touch and happy everytime when I watched it. It is a good movie which could make you feel warm and make you laugh too. I never get tired to watch it again and again.

Besides, it also gives you pleasure too. I recommend someone who haven’t watched this movie before. I am sure you will love it too! It is the best Christmas film ever!

Furthermore, the music in this movie are great too!!!

I have found some videos about this movie in You Tube. Enjoy!

“LOVE ACTUALLY”

Billy Mack – Christmas is All Around

Pointer Sisters – Jump

This is the most funny scene to me, Hugh Grant looks good and funny with this music “Jump”, this scene made me laugh a lot~

Funny Scene by Rowan Atkinson “Mr. Bean”

The touching scene by Colin Firth

A love relationship gradually build up…..between the host and maid

This scene is touching too. Both of them come from different country and speak different language. They leant foreign language for each other and they have happy ending..

Another touching scene

Funny and silly scene~~

~Nice song~ “All I Want For Christmas“

Wish you all have  a sweet and happy Christmas!!!

Thinking about the Penguin and Christmas December 4, 2008

A Penguin is waiting for someone alone on the ice…

It’s December! The weather is becoming unsteady lately in here. Most of the people caught a cold or not feeling well with this weather. The temperature will drop from 23C to 11C. Don’t know could we have a cold Christmas in this year? We will see later because we still have 20 days to go for the Christmas.

The cold weather made me think of the penguin… It looks beautiful and lovely . Besides, it’s funny when they were walking and skating on the ice by their stomach! Though they are usually group together, I used to think that they are lonely to stay in the cold place….

The cold weather also made me thinking about the Christmas…. “Merry Christmas, Darling” by Carpenters

Merry Christmas, Darling – Carpenters

Greeting cards have all been sent
The Christmas rush is through
But I still have one wish to make
A special one for you

Merry Christmas darling
We’re apart that’s true
But I can dream and in my dreams
I’m Christmas-ing with you

Holidays are joyful
There’s always something new
But every day’s a holiday
When I’m near to you
The lights on my tree
I wish you could see
I wish it every day
Logs on the fire
Fill me with desire
To see you and to say

That I wish you Merry Christmas
Happy New Year, too
I’ve just one wish
On this Christmas Eve
I wish I were with you

Instrumental Interlude

Logs on the fire
Fill me with desire
To see you and to say
That I wish you Merry Christmas
Happy New Year, too
I’ve just one wish
On this Christmas Eve
I wish I were with you
I wish I were with you

(Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas – Darling)

P.S. Don’t know I would have time to write another post for Christmas…since I have changed a new job. I am still getting used to it. Hope I will write soon.