Saturday 2 October 2010

Isle of Skye (1/3) 17.09.2010

Yo~
Travelling from the west of Scotland to the east, a very nice nice trip. The journey took about 5 hours, we would have had a long journey, if we hadn't make some stops.

1st Stop: Inverurie. Friday morning, 17.09.10. Depart to Inverurie train station to meet up everyone. Only two cars were going to the Skye, so some of them just park their car at the station.
2nd Stop:  Inverness. A short break for the drivers, so we decided to stop at Tesco Inverness to have our breakfast. About 2 hours journey from Inverurie.
Outside Tesco Inverness. 8 of us were on that trip, but only 4 appear in the photo, because 1 went to toilet, 1 went to buy lunch, one took photo and the last one will meet us at Isle of Raasay.

3rd stop: Kyle. Short break for everyone before going to Isle of Skye. Pals were buying beer and alcohol for tonight! We then cross the bridge, on our way to Raasay and Skye.

Start to feel 'Wow' for the nice countryside scenery. 

4rd Stop: Isle of Raasay. We arrived at the dock a bit early to meet up Calum and wait for the ferry.
 The one with cap is Calum

 Ferry was arriving

While waiting for ferry

On the ferry to Isle of Raasay, the wind was chilly.

Saw this 'Highland Coo' on our ways up to Isle of Raasay..I am so excited, I always wanted to meet this pal, and now, here you go! Hi, Highland Coo..They are becoming professional model, they will give me nice post when there are tourists' car pass-by, and never feel shy

Way up to the Raasay

We stopped at Calum's road @ Isle of Raasay to have pre-packed lunch (sandwiches)

Walking trip started here

Isle of Raasay

waiting for ferry back to the Skye
 Finally we arrived at the Bunk House @ Isle of Skye. Quickly unload our stuff and pals just can't wait to have a sip of whiskey

Talented John doing a show before dinner. Well done!

Started: Prawn and herring coctail. Thumbs up!

Main Course: Seabass with sauce and vegetables...I can't even remember what sauce was that. ha

Dessert: Creme Caramel












Sunday 29 August 2010

Braised Pork Ribs

After reading the Braised Pork Ribs recipes from Story of Bing I decided to cook one myself. While I was cooking, the aroma of the sauce is oozing from the kitchen. However, for those who doesn't like the smell of cinnamon will probably think this is not tasty, particularly Chong, he ran away when I was cooking this dish.

If you visit the Story of Bing's blog, you probably think that I got a poor lousy photography skill. Yeah, to be honest, I must admit that there are still plenty of space to be improved!
The following recipes adopted from Story of Bing,

Ingredients:
Pork ribs
Chinese mushrooms (sliced)
6-8 Garlic Cloves
1 stick cinnamon
5 star anise
1 tsp cloves
1.5 cup Shaoxing Wine
3 cup water
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp dark vinegar (or Balsamic Vinegar)

Serve with:
Sliced Chilli in light soy sauce



1. Lightly fry the pork ribs until it is cooked.

2. Mix all the sauces (apart from water) before pouring into the pot. 
3. After the pork ribs is cooked, transfer it into a pot, together with the mixed sauces and water, cooked for 20-25 mins.

4. I served the braised pork ribs with noodles, instead of rice. (don't feel like wanted to eat rice everyday). Added some steamed cauliflower, as the braised pork ribs look meaty.

To my disappointment, Chong didnt eat much, because of the cinnamon taste. But I do like it although it is a heavy taste meal.



Hooray! We'd Won the Bid!

Last Friday, when I was busily working in the office, Chong called, and tell me his solicitor emailed him that the offer he placed had been accepted. We both were so excited! We got a flat, finally...The property had been on market since the beginning of July, Chong placed the offer one week after it. The offer is GBP5K less than the offer price. We thought the offer is in vain hope and who knows...'Good thing happen to those who wait', ha..
The market value is GBP 170K, but we got it for GBP160K, what's a good deal...Well done Chong!
I can't wait to look for the furniture now!
 The exterior of the flat, with private car park space and shared bicycle shed outside the property.



The Lounge. The dining area at the corner was the eye catching place. We was in love with that corner at our first sight.


The Kitchen. It is a bit small but should be enough for us both. A friend of mine keep telling me the kitchen 'feng shui' is not good, as the cooker directly facing the sink (meaning water and fire can't be tolerate to each other in Chinese 水火不相容). Well I am not that into 'feng shui', the most important thing is I am happy with the flat.

There are two bedrooms in this property, this is one of them, with built in wardrobe (plenty of space for me to put my clothes..ha).

The three-piece bathroom white suite comprising of WC, wash hand basin and bath with overhead power shower.

Sunday 22 August 2010

Curly Hair

I had my hair permed about a month ago. I used to like my curly hair styles, but, not this time. I feel annoying sometimes, not to my hair, but the curl serum that are available here in the UK, the choices are limited, and my hair still looks frizzy, heavy, oily, hard, etc after each application. There is no Lucido-L selling here, a Japanese brand which I used to love when I was having curly hair back in my home country. This curl cream leave my hair feel soft, curly and bouncy without the feel of heaviness. Just wonder why it is so hard to find a japanese products here? Lucido-L, SKII, Kose, and most of the Japanese ingredients.
I had been trying different products these days and almost turn my hair into 'white-mice'..Here is my saying to those products...

These are the products for curly hair which I personally feel they aren't so good. 
VO5- my friend recommended me to this product. She said using spray enable higher manageability of the curly hair. However, I stopped after the first application, because it made my hair feel hard and it not really calms frizz. 
L'oreal Curl Power Mousse- another friend told me, mousse is more manageable than spray, as spray tend to give 'hard and sticky' hair. I tried and stopped using it after a number of time. Mousse created a define and rebellious curls, however, it also depend on the amount you used. It is fine when you use a small amount for mid-length curly hair, plus a small amount of hair serum. The curl become sticky and heavy if you use more. There was one time my colleague asked me why my hair looks wet everytime he sees me, I didn't reply to him but smile. This product give glossy shine.
Frizz-ease- I have no idea why they call this Frizz-ease..My hair still looks frizzy after I applied it, and it feel hard and sticky.
TrevorSorbie curl cream- I used to think cream is easier to apply because I had been using the Lucido-L curl cream previously. This one made my hair feel heavy and sticky if you over the amount.

I am happy with these products.
The pink on the left- this is good if you use a small amount. It give a touchable texture and desirable curl, however, your hair feel sticky when you exceed the amounts. Overall, it is good.
The Aussie at the middle- I am in love with it. Aussie Dual Personality serum which give curl definition and soft feel. No frizzy, no sticky, no heavy, no glossy for whatever amount you use, and it give soft curl feeling.
Toni & Guy soft curl cream- I like this, but not as much as the Aussie. This tend to give soft curl but not ease to apply because it is not a runny type cream. Good to apply on towel-dried hair.

This is the day to day serum, can be used on any hair style. I would recommend Toni&Guy, a bit expensive but good to use.

These are curly hair mask, shampoo and conditioner.
I do not like the 'hard and crunchy' feel after shampooing, so do not prefer the curl replenishing mask. The others two work fine.

I am using this soft sponge hair care curler to maintain my curls...No curl tong, no hot curl rollers, no chemical, etc, a more 'environmental friendly' way to maintain my curls without heat damage it. Bought this in Ebay, not expensive, but need to apply for a longer time if compare to curl tong or hot curl rollers.


Friday 20 August 2010

清汤面线


简单材料:
面线 1 片
萝卜1 条 切小段
番茄 (中)2 粒 切半
西芹 1 条 切小段
鸡腿 1 只

伴料:
青葱、炸葱头油

简易煮法:
1. 先将鸡腿和材料洗净。把水煮沸,将鸡腿,番茄, 西芹,萝卜放入,中火煮20 分钟再加入面线煮熟。
2。撒上 青葱和炸葱头油。上桌。
 (用番茄煮汤,不但健康,汤水还很清甜)





Saturday 7 August 2010

Lazy day...

The day had not been nice yesterday,
the hidden sun, summer almost gone, arrival of raining day..
moody day, moody me.

Bought an express meal from Asda which taste nice
'Cheese Chicken Escalopes'
made with chopped and shaped chicken breast +
King Prawn Cocktail +
few grapes +
Prunes Juice => Brunch of the day
















Had been sitting in front of the computer all day long,
surfing & surfing...too lazy to move..
nothing special for dinner too
fish porridge serve with spring onions and fried onions...

I called it a day...

Friday 6 August 2010

Stamp of the Day

Stamp of the day. I quite like this idea. I am commuting to work everyday, and the train conductor will come to each passenger to check for the validity of their ticket. The conductor will normally sign or punch a hole on the ticket. There is this old train conductor, he will be shouting as he come along to each coach. 'Any ticket from Aberdeen? I am giving a stamp of the day...' some passengers are laughing and some make a joke of him. I think this is a fresh idea and a good way to lighten up your day. I like it very much. I was smiling after receiving the stamp of the day. He is an old man with a cute heart. ha...

Sunday 1 August 2010

回家(二)

这两个小瓜,竟然天真到在比谁家的藤条比较多。。另我笑个不停!

 整天吵着要把头发弄 'chang chang'..他是一个陪伴着妈过日子的顽童。。老爸整天叫他林孙子, 哈!

益箐与我

绣晶与我

姑丈与孙子

阿豪的二儿子。阿豪跟我同年,论月份他还比我小,但他以有了第二个宝贝咯!

妈叫他‘小阿嘛’,他的人小鬼大!

Gary 三岁开始就学打game 了,什么游戏、PS2、Nintendo DSi、Online Game 完全没问题!

朋友。。。

朋友。。。。

刚好出席洁蒂的婚礼, 恭喜你!

女人不补,很易老。

 带回英国的必需品

 虽然有点贵,但很舒服。