A Valentine's Day Gift

I don't do mushy. I can't even pretend coz then it'll sound so hokey.

But I do want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. So what better time than today (it is Valentine's Day already in this part of the world) to give out these two awards that I've been given by Veronica and Christina. Thank you both so much!

Here's to all my friends and followers (yes, every single one of you), please accept this with loads of love and appreciation for being so supportive.

I know I should put out a list in case anyone feels too shy to receive this but it's going to be a reeeeeaaallly long one, and all the linking?! I wanted to give out to not just 5 or 10 people but to everyone, so I guess this is it!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I wuv you all to bits!

(That's as mushy as I get)

Of Black Ties, Warm Fuzzies & Shark Friendly Soup

Other half and I were invited to a black tie event. Black tie-ish, with an Asian, Chinese-food bias. I had initially intended to make this a blog about the food. But the events of the evening has put this squarely into my "just for reads" category.

It was an awards ceremony, cumulating in a lifetime award presentation to Datuk Thomas Lee. He magnanimously and very emotionally accepted the award on behalf of the many others whom had quietly contributed to his successes. He received a standing ovation.

This reaffirmed my feelings of the good in each of us and gave me a warm fuzzy. A few other award recipients did likewise, esp one who mainly inherited a successful enterprise by way of management change and stated it clearly so as such. Behind all of this, the initiator of the awards ceremony itself is my good friend, Sue, who, together with her faithful crew were giving back to an industry that has given them so much. Again, reaffirming the good that people possess. I was humbled to have been witness to these events.

PS: There are a couple of food shots for those wondering what was served at the event.

Sorry .... too caught up by the events of the evening, I failed to capture all 8 courses.

Sharks Fin-less Soup (Yup, you read right. Shark friendly soup made in the traditional shark's fin soup style but with just crab meat, shitakes and tofu. Not only do I approve ... quite tasty actually)

Roast Chicken with an Asian Nyonya Twist (A Sweet honey glaze with chilli, lemongrass and torch ginger )

For further reads on the event, go to www.pargolfmagazine.com

A Virtual Potluck Party Invitation & An Award

I shall do things differently this time. But first, I would like to thank Elisabeth for yet another award. You spoil me, Elisabeth :D ..... not complaining, just tickled pink!

And being my non-conformist self, I won't be listing out who I'm passing this on to but rather, I'd like to invite all the ladies out there to my Virtual Potluck Party at the end of this month, the 28th February (btw, this is also the last day for submission of your recipes. And yes, you can bring more than one dish!) Sorry guys, this IS a Sisterhood award after all. If this party works out great, there may be more on the way!

All you have to do is to email me (email address on my profile page) a photo (jpeg, please) of your dish or preferably, use the Linky below, and it will appear on my Virtual Potluck Party post sometime in early March and linked back to you. And all those who have submitted, please grab the award and paste it on your blog. Welcome to the sisterhood! And as Elisabeth has informed me, you don't have to go through any embarrassing rituals to belong.

This will be the first time I'm doing something like this, so please bear with me if you find any glitches and do let me know about it.

Oh, and those who are already in the hood, you're also invited to the partay! The more the merrier!

Oh, and a teeny mention and link on your post would be much appreciated :D

An Award!

I'd like to thank Elisabeth of Food and Thrift Finds for presenting me with this award. I am very honored and thrilled to be receiving my first food blogger award from a professional chef who has a great blog herself. Check out all her recipes from across the globe! Thanking also Eizel of Eizel's and Kita of Pass the Sushi. Check out their blogs and their beautiful pictures. Ok, not to worry, I won't launch into an academy award speech. According to the rules for receiving this award, I'd have to tell you 7 things about myself. I suppose it's a good way to introduce me and my blog properly to the rest of the blogger world. Another part of the requirement (besides sharing 7 things about myself) is to pass the award on to bloggers who you think are fantastic. So here are 7 things about me and the bloggers whom I've picked to award this to. And I hope after reading this, you won't regret getting to know me better ..... :P

About me: (you have been warned)

Let's start with some things that play a big part in my life ...

1. Animals. I'm an animal lover altho I must admit, turning vegan is not something I can possibly get into. I am against animal cruelty ... foie gras and any of the fancy exotic foods that requires the animal to have prolonged pain .... it's out of my menu.

2. Family. (Notice I put animals before family). I know, I know, I'm a bad girl for not putting my family first. I do love my family ..... I do. They're spread out all over the globe and I enjoy the best of it when we do eventually get together. All those sharing of different cultures and food...it always leads to food. We'll get to that soon.

3. Music. I lean more towards classical music, probably due to it being ingrained in me since my younger days. I do not dislike today's music, I just can't understand some of it. I do like rock and blues and the occasional jazz. At the moment, my husband and I are nuts about Mazzy Star's "Fade into you". It's not recent but it's hauntingly addictive and it touches the depths of one's soul. Unfortunately, we can't seem to find the CD or the LP in the stores. Thank goodness for online shopping. Oh, and I think Bobby McFerrin is super talented! I watched him performing live in Leipzig in the year 2000 at the market square. It was a Bach festival. Every performer was great but he was the best! Even when it started raining, people still stayed on, getting into the spirit of things under umbrellas and in their raincoats.

4. Friends. Does anyone still keep in touch with their kindergarten friends? I do, well... only one, but we still meet up very often. We actually lost touch after kindy and strangely enough, met again in the same place where we both worked. And carried on from there like it there never was a lapse. There are the friends I made during the school years and we still keep in touch and meet up whenever I go back home. Then the friends I meet at work and via socializing in the real world and the blogging world ... I love them all! I must admit I'm really blessed with many friends and really nice ones too! My best friend? That's easy ... my husband.

5. Hobbies. I do enjoy a good book and I am totally nuts about contemporary crosswords ... my favorite crossword editor - Will Shortz. And to get the adrenalin going .... tennis! Recently, it's been suggested I try yoga instead (due to too many injuries from tennis). I remember trying it out in the early 90's when yoga was more about meditation, I literally fell asleep, crosslegged and upright. Pretty embarrassing. Maybe I'll give it another whirl now that I've slowed down some.

6. Favorite foods. I don't have a particular favorite nor can I put my finger on just one item. I'll always have some fennel in my fridge, some lemons, thyme, bacon, pasta, coffee and steak. My husband and I are, what some of our friends termed, meatarians... carnivors sound too caveman-ish. (That's why turning vegan isn't a possibility).

7. And since this is all about food blogging..... I am relatively new to the food blogging world. (And already have my first award! Yay! Thanks again, Elisabeth). So I'm still stumbling and bumbling my way through. And if I've mistakenly done some dumb things that may have caused some problems for other bloggers, my sincere apologies.

There you are. The raving lunatic.

And here are the bloggers I feel who deserve the award (I'm sure there are lots more that I haven't discovered ... yet).

1. mybflikeitsoimbg.blogspot.com

2. imapretendchef.blogspot.com

3. michelangelointhekitchen.blogspot.com

4. garlicandseasalt.blogspot.com

5. meltingbutter.com

6. boulderlocavore.blogspot.com

7. turkeysforlife.blogspot.com

8. www.russianseason.net

9. www.seasaltwithfood.com

You all deserve this award. But .... there's always a 'but' ..... remember the rules. To accept this award, you'll have to:

1. thank the person who gave you the award

2. share 7 things about yourself

3. pass the award on to bloggers whom you think are fantastic

Congratulations all!

*Note: I realized cutting and pasting might be a little difficult. So, just grab the icon onto your desktop and proceed as you would upload an image to your blog.