: : A Fest : :

Helping out with the stage and logistics details for last nite’s company event was stressful with many problems along the way, one of them with me being sick for two days and leaving my collegue to arrange for everything else. At the end of it all, everyone pulled through and the show was really good. Managed to get away for a few minutes just before dinner time to take some pics of everyone. Then, I bumped into Pascale.

Pascale : Hey! Take some pictures of the food before everyone finishes it!

Wena : What now? Aiya! Too many ppl looking lah!

Pascale : Never mind! Just take just take!

So, we both walked down the buffet line to take some pictures.

Pineapple rice although they were a bit stingy with the pineapples though. Not enough of them in the entire dish.

Fried Beehoon was also served, Malay style. It was spicy and very tasty. I prefer to have Malay style fried beehoon rather than the Chinese version because of the different spices added to it.

Oh! Rendang rendang! Every Raya time, all Malaysian Chinese people go fanatic over this dish! I kid you not. Ask any Malaysian Chinese what kind of dish will he be wanting to eat during Raya time, he will most likely say this one. And this was nice although the beef wasn’t tender enough, it wasn’t too tough either. Went great with Lemang @ glutinuous rice cooked in bamboo.

A touch of Chinese added to the buffet spread : Roast Chicken. Ooh! Yummy. The pieces were also cut very generously, I must say.

We also had some great spring rolls, otherwise known as egg rolls in the USA. This version is slightly different as they did not use the usual mangkuang in it but rather used taugeh @ bean sprouts with cucumber.

Spaghetti bolognese and mixed vegetables. It was zapped up later by many many people. Believe me, it was eaten up totally.

On the left, we have the local eggplant curry cooked with dried beancurd and long beans. The local eggplant is actually very soft compared to the harder aubergine. On the right, is the latest food sensation to hit town in the past few years : fried sausage wrapped with bread. Very oily as the bread just soaks up too much oil. Believe me, it had more oil in it than the potato pancake.

Lemang! That’s on the left. On the right is ketupat but it has a different taste and texture compared to the lemang. I prefer the lemang compared to the ketupat. Both are eaten with satay and curry and RENDANG…

Now what is a fest without some satay? We had some beef and chicken satay, located on the upper left. Bottom left was the sinfully, wicked peanut sauce that goes with it. A good satay combination is always always ALWAYS dependant on this peanut sauce. The canned version of peanut sauce doesn’t even come close to the real thing. On the left we have some potato salad that testifies to the truth that Malaysian absolutely adores mayonnaise. Smothering the potatoes, that’s the way to go back it!

Fresh salad with mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing on the side. Did I ever mention that Malaysians also love Thousand Island dressing? The fashion these days is to smother smother and cover the entire thing with the sauce!

Finally, the dessert corner! Fruits, layered cake, gelatin @ agar-agar, fruit cakes, butter cakes. Yum. It was a lot of eat, believe me.

So, that’s it for last night’s dinner! It was a crazy time with much laughter all around and everyone having a great time. Came back home tired and mindless after watching all the singing, dancing, shouting, clapping. Ah well. Back to work come Monday.

On another note, have to take more pictures of food over the weekend and Chinese New Year. Something is wrong with my camera. Yep, the click button has gotten less sensitive and it’s time to see if I can get her repaired. Luckily, it’s still under warranty so it isn’t too bad. So, it’s going to the shops to be check after CNY. Hopefully, I’ll get better service at SONY than this poor chap did with HP Malaysia.

Cheerio!

: : Babyeeee : :

It was a noisy early morning today with lightning flashing and thunder roaring so loudly that the house shook so hard, I stumbled out of bed in the dark to yank out the modem cord before the modem is pulverized by 10,000 gigawatts!

Woke up again much later to a steady rainpour and to the news from Renee that Deb and Tom has been blessed with a baby girl! Awww… isn’t she cute?

Deb maintains a food blog as well and was one of the earliest bloggers to link my site to hers. Her cooking skills are amazing and one can find many tips and goodies on her site. She’s also generous with her feedback and suggestions. Now, with the little one at hand, who knows what the two of them will be able to do together?

Well, Deb, since I’m too far away to give you a huge pot of kacangma, here is a picture of one! Made from chicken and herbs as well as rice wine, it helps to ease the pain after the childbirth and helps the mother to recover faster.