Wena, Granny and Uncle Cyril are wishing all a very Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone!

Wena is busy rushing to do packing and prepare Xmas pressies before flying back to Miri this Friday night.

Toodles folks! And have fun.

Some of the goodies that I got this year.

Finally Hoops and Yoyo plushies!! Wheeeeeeee!!! Got them from my sis and her hubby. AND AND AND I got a note from Bob, the creator of Hoops and Yoyo! How’s that for a great coincidence? He offered to get me some plushies but have to decline. Already got them and don’t think Hallmark would care to send it all the way to a jungle island? Still, there’s awesome. Although getting the Christmas CD wouldn’t be a bad idea after all.

Know what would be even better? If Hoops and Yoyo are marketed in Asia. Wanna bet that they will be even bigger than Hello Kitty, Garfield and Snoopy?

And, a Sony PSP. Yes yes, a Nintendo DS is definitely cheaper but there’s no warranty coverage in Malaysia. Ain’t that sad? Although, this is the DS unit that I would like to have. Still trying to sort out one but probablya few months from now. The only warranty that I can see is either I order from the USA and register at my sister’s address for 12 months warranty or order from Play-Asia for a 6 months warranty (which is better than no warranty at all). Lik-Sang or YesAsia doesn’t do warranty coverage and the Malaysian agent is located in Japanese with no fax or email. Bah!

Anyway, I’m still thinking and still irritated at Nintendo for not having better warranty coverage in South-East Asia. At least with Sony and Microsoft, they at least have offices here. Animal Crossing is calling me.

But first! A wireless card!!!

Chez Pim is organizing the 2nd annual Menu of Hope. Pim had sent out her email this year and there’s a huge list of contributors but with a great spin this time.

The charity this time is for the children of the recent Pakistan/India earthquake. The funds would then be channeld to UNICEF.

For every USD5.00 (RM19) donated, you would receive a virtual raffle ticket and be in the lucky draw for various prizes / gifts.

NOTE : When you make your donation, please include in the Comment section of the donation page, which gift/prize you would like to be in the raffles draw. Do not comment on this blog as I will not transfer it over for you. Remember, every USD5 (RM19) is one raffle draw ticket. It’s amazing what some of the other food bloggers are giving out. Click here to check the list out.

So what am I giving out this time? I wanted to donate something Asian and something that I see everyday with Granny’s cooking.

No, I didn’t go out and publish a book. I know I should but not at the moment. Probably one day, maybe next year. Who knows? Have to source around for a publisher though so we’ll see. Not to mention the amount of picture taking that needs to be done and to get the lighting correct, etc. Phew! Anyway, onto the prize / gift.

Checking out the local bookstore, I came across this book. It’s titled Foods of my Childhood : Penang Nyonya Cooking by Cecilia Tan. It’s a reprint of a 1983 cookbook and simply mouthwatering. There’s a lot of cooking in there that Granny still cooks a lot of these dishes. The strange thing about this cookbook is that it doesn’t seem to be available online at Marshall Cavendish Publishing website. Very strange but oh well.

The dishes covered a wide variety of ingredients. From vegetables, poultry, pork to noodles and rice dishes and finally, sinful desserts. These include Duck in Salted Cabbage Soup, Hot and Sour Fish, Tumeric Fish, Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish and others. It also has a huge selection of Sambal Paste which are sauces that are to be eaten with a meal but in small portions. There’s also a whole section on pickled veggies, fruits and fish which are sour, spicy and salty. And, the best part is that there’s a small glossary section of the type of herbs and spices needed for cooking this meal. The names in Malay and English are clearly labeled so for those living overseas, it’ll definitely be very very helpful.

For the Muslim readers, there is a small chapter on Pork cooking. The pork can usually be substituted with chicken or beef. It would be interesting to see what comes out of the meal.

Nyonya cooking is an interesting Asian cooking method where it’s easy to find combinations of sweet, sour and salty tastes all mixed together. The reason for this is because of the Chinese, Malay and Thai influence. There’s 3 types of Nyonya cooking. One is the Penang style, another is the Malacca style and the last is the Singapore style. All these places were major ports during colonial and pre-colonial days. So, you can imagine the type of fusion cooking that took place then and now. If you like, Nyonya cooking is a type of fusion cooking albeit a bit of an old one. Can’t call it ancient because it’s not exactly centuries old.

If you happen to like spicy and sour food, Nyonya cooking is for you. It’s similar to Thai cooking but with added spiceness. Also, it borrows on Indian cooking as some of the dishes also uses curry herbs and spices. Remember, Penang, Malacca and Singapore were major trading ports so ships from India and China came with all sorts of herbs and spices.

In addition to the cookbook, I’m also giving this magazine along with it. It’s the December 05 issue of the Malaysian Female Magazine but their Food Magazine known as Appetite. It contains interesting Asian recipes that can be done easily to jazz up your mealtimes. And looking through it, it’s pretty simple and easy to do. It even gives you a healthy option which is something definitely different.

Anyway, the lucky person will get copies of these two books as one set. It’ll be sent to whoever that wins this particular draw. So, let’s see on 1 Jan 2006 who the lucky winner is. I’ll be sending it out next year so the lucky winner will get it in the mail.

The colors for the book and magazine is slightly different from the above pictures. I enhanced the pictures a bit but it’s the recipe inside that counts, no?

Ok folks. I’m back at the usual website. So click below.

http://www.mum-mum.info

Still not feeling too well so less writing and more pictures. Until I can get better, that is.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended BJ’s and EL’s surprise birthday party at Jambu Restaurant. Yes, they were definitely surprised and we all had a great time at the Restaurant. The restaurant is located in a refurbished Malay-style house on stilts. It houses a restaurant and a small lounge at the back. Theme is very retro and at the same thing, uniquely Asian. The menu that we ordered for the night was Tapas which was a beautifully selection. Note that the menu was pre-set so I may be wrong about some of the descriptions here.

Of course, what is Tapas without some olives? Here it is with some capsicum and onions. Couldn’t quite identify the sauce though.

And beautiful Chicken Pate on bread. I miss eating Pate so much. Suffice to say that Wena finish most of it off and ignore other bits.

I know there’s a name for this meal but it just slips my tongue everytime. There’s some tomatoes and capsicum in olive oil and basil herbs on top of some French loaf. Pesto? I’m not sure. Anyone?

And of course, deep fried calamari a.k.a. fried sotong/squid. Yum! The sauce was tartar sauce which I think was homemade. Very nice altogether.

Some shrimps / prawn lightly fried with some chillis and onions, I think. The sauce was a little bit sweetish, I think.

Now this is definitely very nice. Soft shell crab, deep fried style. Not sure what was the sauce made out of. Probably a bit of mayoinaise and chilli sauce? It was sweetish, that’s for sure. It’s not quite Thousand Island sauce but something else.

Nachos nachos nachose! With cheese, no less. Also served with some grilled beef and pickled chillis. Not Jalapenos but the local chillis.

I have no clue what this is. LOL!

A firm favourite with everyone : meatballs in tomato sauce.

Ohlala! And we have escargot to boot. Serve in a delicate butter sauce.

Some mussels as well. One selection had a bit of bread crumbs on it. Another one was with some butter. Yummy.

And we cannot miss the birthday cakes either. 3 different cakes for 4 birthday folks. Yes, 2 other birthday babies joined the gathering much later.

For drinks all around, we all had some delicious Sangria.

Jambu Restaurant is a nice place to hang out. Plus, it is halal. Details are below :

Address
32 Crookshank Road
93100 Kuching
Sarawak, Malaysia
Tel/Fax : 082-235292
Mobile : 012 291 5271
Email : jambu_32@yahoo.co.uk
URL : http://www.jamburestaurant.com

Sick with flu.

Back to bed.

Wena will be back later.