Cleaning pots with eggshells

Last year I learned a method of cleaning the blackened bottom of pots and pans, using eggshells. The way is to flatten an eggshell and use it to scrub the bottom of the pot. (I use a hard sponge to "hold" the eggshell.) The blackened bits will come off due to the abrasive edges of the eggshells, while the pot remains unscratched.

I recently cleaned my pan again, and decided to take a photo of "before" and "after" surfaces.

Needless to say, the cleaned part is on the left. (This is in the middle of cleaning, so you can see bits of eggshells around)

Faded signs on a sign

Because this week's theme is signs.

Purchasing monuments

Where can you buy both a pagoda and a pyramid?

The answer is Bread History!

I also bought a sandwich called "Vienna chicken slice"

The pyramid has brown sugar and coconut as the filling. This was stated on the card at the shop.

The pagoda looked interesting because of its form. There was a bit of icing sugar sprinkled on top, but there was no description on its card besides the name. Upon cutting it open, I found that there was some sort of cream cheese filling (not too cheesy, which is good for me).

The bread was nice and soft, but the filling makes it not too special. Maybe I would have liked it better if it was filled with butter and sugar like a Mexico bun.

Bears at the beach!

What's this? Are these bears sunbathing?

I guess so, because we are at Batu Feringghi!

Note that the bears are of all colours, aka of different nationalities! Here's the whole stretch of the beach:

The amazing bottle

For a long time, I had been wondering why cooking oil manufacturers cannot make oil bottles that drip less when the oil is poured out. Every time I pour cooking oil, the oil gets all over the rim of the bottle, and any amount of wiping cannot make the bottle non-oily again.

Some time ago, I had the brilliant idea (more like "why didn't I think of it before?") of looking for an oil bottle online. I wanted a bottle that I could transfer my cooking oil to, and I would use this bottle when cooking, with no dripping (or at least less dripping than the original oil container).

And I found exactly what I was looking for.

The bottle comes in a few different sizes and colours.

Here's the non-drip spout:

Another advantage, that I did not look for, but was pleasantly surprised to get, is that the lid actually tips back automatically when we tilt the bottle to pour the oil out. This is due to a weight fitted on it. So there is no need for an extra step of opening or closing the bottle when pouring oil!

In the photo above, I am actually holding the bottle tilted, so that we can see the spout. If I were to leave the bottle standing on the table (like in the first photo), I would need to hold the lid open with a hand if I wanted to take a photo of the spout.

A spinner

After last week's lousy photo, I tried harder this week.

Guess what?

In case you didn't manage to guess, it's a spinning coin. Because this week's theme is motion!

Flavours of Nissin ramen

Some time ago, I bought three flavours of Nissin instant noodles. A friend had previously recommended the “Kyushu Black” flavour to me, and it was really good. I was actually looking for those noodles again, when I saw that some Shopee vendors actually sell them individually (instead of in a pack of five). The price for individual packs are of course a bit higher, but the advantage is that I get to try different flavours, and I also don’t have to rush to finish all five packs before the expiry date!

So I bought these three flavours that I hadn’t tried before. 

Apart from Kyushu Black, there is Tokyo Shoyu, Hokkaido Miso, and Uma-kara Spicy.

I first tried Hokkaido Miso (I didn’t choose to start with that flavour; I think the only reason was that its expiry date was earlier than the others :P ) It was good, but I don’t remember it being amazing. After that, I tried Uma-kara Spicy, and that was really good! It is also quite spicy; I remember putting in a bit less chilli oil, and it was already spicy enough. But at least it was spicy and enjoyable, not burning like the Samyang buldak ramen that I tried previously.

Tokyo Shoyu is the last one, and I’ve just tried it. Probably the least special of all the flavours (maybe because “shoyu” is simply “soy sauce”). I can’t remember the Miso flavour well enough to make a fair comparison, though.

But this one deserves a special mention because it came with a packet of garnish, and that garnish contained something that I totally did not expect. The ingredient list mentioned that the garnish contained fishcake (together with the usual dried scallions and stuff). This is not surprising, as some other instant noodles also come with dried fishcake. They are usually those dehydrated cubes that have a taupok-like texture after being boiled in the soup.

I didn’t notice the fishcakes when I put the garnish into my soup. However, after boiling for a while, I was surprised to see these tiny discs floating in my ramen!

They look totally like those actual fishcakes that we get in restaurant ramen, just smaller and thinner! The texture is also similar, though of course they are a bit too small to be properly tasted when being eaten together with the noodles.

I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t notice them in dried form. I don’t think I’ll be buying this flavour again (will probably only buy the spicy flavour and Kyushu Black), so there will be no chance to see them!

Lots of hawker food

It seems that teddies love char kuey teow!

 

We are greeted by the Jalan Siam char kuey teow uncle… I didn’t know this famous char kuey teow was cooked by Uncle Teddy! :P

All ingredients are ready

cooking in progress

Done!

Somehow the uncle looks quite stressed out, even when I tried to help him cook some char kuey teow :P

Then there is Gurney Drive.

Another char kuey teow stall (you can see the raw kuey teow on the rack!)

This stall seems to be selling lor bak.

Love how the bear tourist is taking a photo of the food!

Here’s the whole food court, with a lok-lok stall at the edge. (Pity I didn’t take a close-up of this one)

And bears enjoying their food!

A blossomed herb

This week's theme was blossom.

I was making herbal tea, and I guess I ended up with a cheat blossom.

But really, the herb blossomed after being cooked, right? :P

Beyond Evil

I just watched Beyond Evil. It has an intriguing plot, with secrets from years ago resurfacing one by one. The beginning and ending of every episode seems to have been perfectly crafted. The endings aren't really cliffhangers, instead they are pretty forgettable; I find that I sometimes forget where the story ended. But the next episode, even if it doesn't start directly from the ending scene of the previous episode, manages to continue the story and remind you of what happened last.

But, something is lacking... The first four episodes had me completely hooked, with mysterious words from the characters hinting at interesting details being revealed later. But, after that, the characters seemed to keep continuing beating about the bush a little too much, constantly speaking empty words just to show their bravado, so the story became a bit draggy at times.

Every episode still managed to have new happenings and revelations, so it wasn't bad... but this holds it back from holding my interest from beginning to end. At some points, I was thinking, "Would you get along with it already?!"

The characters also seem to do some silly stuff here and there, things that make no sense to me. And there is one huge point that seems unexplained (Why display the fingers there? I'm annoyed about that not being clarified.)

It's still good enough, if you like mystery. Just not so good that I would specially recommend it.

Special mention: The youngest cop was extremely cute in his role. The butcher lady was extremely pretty too, and I liked her facial expressions. Looks like they are new actors...with these looks, I think they're gonna make it in the industry. :P

Another mention: I've see Shin Ha Kyun in three dramas so far, all three are pretty good in the mystery/thriller genre. (previous ones were Less Than Evil and Pied Piper)

Chinese New Year at Kek Lok Si

Welcome to TeddyVille Museum’s CNY open house!

Well, not really...those are not real doors.

There are even bear lion dancers!

I took a selfie with the bear at the back.

The bears also have Kek Lok Si!

See the bear inside ringing the bell?

The level of detail is amazing… with the row of statues… and the bears taking photos with their iPhones!

There are even bear monks at each temple!

A stone among the pebbles

This week's theme was stone. I completely forgot about it! 

When I first saw the theme, I immediately thought of the smooth stones that I had on my porch, but I was hoping to find something better. Since I forgot and didn't look for any other stone, I went to snap a photo of one of these stones, wondering how I could make the photo more unique.

And I found a stone amidst the smooth pebbles!

(I had moved the stone a bit...)

There had been some piping works being done this week, and it seems like somehow an "outsider" stone managed to find its way here during that time. Together with a small piece of plastic (the red piece).

A Malay kampung planning for festivities

What’s this? A traditional pondok!

I took a photo with P. Ramlee in his house! :P

In case you don’t know who P. Ramlee is…

There are more bears living in P. Ramlee’s village:

The full scene:

(P. Ramlee is of course not really in that scene…)