Pampered

I just hung up after speaking with my parents, and here I am sitting on my new desk, sipping on a fresh-brewed cup of Vanilla-biscotti coffee, and relishing the first few moments of the start to my life as an independent college student…

My dad’s last “sermon” to me is still ringing clear in my mind: “Just be happy today, each day. Because whatever circumstances and situation you are in, it is the perfect moment God has arranged for you, and that moment will never come back. So just enjoy every single moment!”

And then he ended with the usual “I love you, call often, eat well, bye bye.”

I’ll miss my parents. I’ll miss them a freaking lot. But now is the beginning of a new chapter in my life, and just like my dad said, I shall enjoy each and every single moment of it, the good and the bad.

The last four days with my parents have been amazing, though. My parents love my campus, and my new room, so much that for the past two nights we’ve just been cooking dinner in my apartment. Mostly oatmeal and eggs, because after all the fast food and heavy food both my parents and I start craving a good ol’ bowl of oats in the evening.

I feel rather bad, because for the past few days my parents have practically become my chauffeur and maid. I’ve been dragging them around the city everywhere to buy all my essentials and to stock up my kitchen, and spending so much money! Yesterday I wanted my parents to just go off by themselves to have their own little “vacation” but they refused and insisted on spending the whole day with me again. Awww…Of course I gladly accepted, because hey, I want to enjoy being pampered for as long as I can get!

So these are the places we’ve shopped in during the last couple of days:

• Korean supermarket
• Walmart
• Costco
• Trader Joe’s
• Whole Foods
• Japanese market
• Grand Central Market (DEFINITELY visiting again!)
• K-Mart (It SUCKS! NEVER go there ever ever ever!)
• Ross
• Dollar-Dollar Bargain Center

Phew! I’ve certainly been on a rapid shopping spree! But even now, my kitchen is still seriously under-stocked, and there’s still some supplies I need to get for my room. I had no idea there are so freaking many necessities one needs! Humans are fussy creatures!

My room is still unorganized, but I’ll update you with pictures once my roommate moves in (tomorrow) and we are both settled in.

So, what have we been eating to fuel up? Well, tons of fast food…But it’s been some great training for me…I sure can’t be a picky food snob anymore when I’m a poor college student! Besides…fast food is pretty damn tasty (Shh! Don’t tell anyone I said that)!

Anyway, the day before we finally managed to wake up early enough for some McDonald’s breakfast:
Sausage McMuffin with Egg. Too freaking yummy. Darn that MSG and artificial crap that makes food taste good!

For some reason I wasn’t craving pancakes that morning, so I had the McMuffin instead. But come afternoon, our minds were screaming heresy for not ordering the hotcakes in McDonald’s, so we had lunch at IHOP.

I ordered the Harvest Grains ‘N Nuts Pancakes Healthy Combo:
Pancakes made with hearty grains, wholesome oats, almonds, English walnuts, and blueberries. Topped with bananas. With 2 poached eggs.
This actually comes with scrambled eggs, but I substituted poached eggs because as you know, I love my runny yolks!
If you ever go to IHOP, GET THIS because it is freaking awesome! Drizzle on that syrup, and you’ve got one wholesome, sweet and savory meal!

But of course, we didn’t subsist only on chain restaurants. What is the fun of that? Knowing my obsession for European-Japanese cuisine, one of my dearest friends who is a former USC student recommended a little restaurant in Little Tokyo called Curry House:
It’s situated in Weller Court Shopping Centre, a little hub of Japanese stores. I let my parents take a look at the menu, and I swear I’ve never seen them so excited!
The place is really chic and modern with bright colors, and most of the servers were Japanese.

My dad, the ultimate seafood and pasta lover, of course ordered the Seafood & Wiener Jambalaya Style Curry:
Brimming with scallops, shrimp, squid, white fish, wiener & vegetables in a rich tomato stock. Made extra-extra-extra hot per request, of couse, and the rice was substituted with spaghetti.
Holy shit. It was SO freaking GOOD!!! For those of you who have never tried Japanese curry, it is a lot different from the Indian or Thai kind. Theirs is really thick, and more sweet than spicy. But this curry, though it retained the Japanese curry characteristics, was ramped up with Cajun spices. YUM holy YUM!

My mom took a long time deciding because she wanted everything (tsk, tsk) but finally she chose the Keema Curry:
Ground beef with onion, Shimeji mushroom, carrots, potatoes, garlic, red chili and soft-boiled egg. Served with brown rice.
I loved that they have brown rice options! This dish was really delicious too, though it was not as spicy and a tad bit sweeter than my dad’s dish. And I love how the Japanese like to top a lot of their dishes with a soft-boiled egg! Yum!

As for me, I went for something totally unexpected by ordered the Tarako Mayo:
Onions and Shimeji mushrooms with cod roe and mayonnaise sauce in spaghetti.
I’m not usually a big fan of mayonnaise, but Japanese mayo is just…fabulous. And the sauce in this was SO awesome! It was so rich and creamy, but not cloying at all because of the tang of the mayonnaise.
And LOVE the cod roe in there! It’s got a gritty texture, sort of like cornmeal for some crunch factor, but much softer, and when you bite into it, it releases sweet juices into your mouth and OH EM GI! You’ll have total gastronomic orgasm!
There was also a pot of some kind of red Japanese pickles which was sweet and crunchy and sour at the same time:
The three of us were greedy and actually finished the whole pot! Oops!

I was stuffed to the brim after finishing my dish (and stealing huge bites from my parents’ plates) because the serving size was way too generous, but we still ordered a dessert because nothing is better than Japanese desserts. We got the Sweet Potato Cake with Ice Cream:
If you’re wondering why it is yellow in color that’s because Japanese sweet potatoes aren’t orange. They’re yellow, and a million times superior in taste to the normal orange ones. They’ve got a deep, intense flavor, like roasted chestnuts.
The cake was actually more like a thick, dense, pureed sweet potato! I couldn’t taste the flour, and it was rich and creamy in my mouth. So good! The ice cream was just your basic vanilla. It was okay. Too sweet, in my opinion.

Oh, and did you know they also have another Curry House in that same shopping centre?
It’s a small To-Go place though, for those in a rush or for the cheapskates who don’t wanna pay tip (that might be me in the future).

I was ecstatic to find that there is a bus that comes here from my school. I shall most definitely visit again, preferably with friends!

Okay, one more thing I want to share and then I’ll shut up and be done. Anyone in LA been to the Grand Central Market?
Apparently it is LA’s largest and oldest open-air market. There are over 38 merchants selling all sorts of produce, delicacies, and unique specialty items…and the prices are SO cheap! A whole container of figs and strawberries for a freaking $1!! And grapes for 99 cents per 2 pounds! YAHOO!!
There were also lots of food vendors selling delicious-smelling foods like burritos, chicken rotisserie, frozen yogurt, Korean-Mexican fusion, Japanese teriyaki, overstuffed pupusas, etc…It was a pity I was too stuffed to eat anything, though I did consider getting the froyo. Well, there’s always a next time!

Okay, I’m running out of time…Gotta run again for Welcome Week stuff…My posts may be sporadic for a while, but I promise to return to blog as often as I can. I hope to be able to work out a schedule as I get adjusted to my weekly routine.

Till I return, please take care and remember to enjoy every moment of your life!

P.S. Take a look at this article on orthorexia…It’s scary.

Holes

You know, there is something very particular about us humans: We’re never satisfied. As kids, there’s always a bigger, better toy. As teenagers, we want better grades, cooler gadgets, finer clothes. As adults, it gets even more complicated. We not only want better and more material possessions, but better jobs, relationships, lifestyles…well, you name it.

I’ve always used to feel like I have a hole inside of me. I was always striving for something, be it a good grade, or a thinner body, but each time I got to the goal I want, the temporary joy I achieved was short-lasting. Nothing seemed enough, nothing seemed to be able to fill up that emptiness in me.

Now, I’m starting to realize that true contentment doesn’t come from the outside. It starts from the inside. You know that inner peace that those weird meditating Zen people preach about? Well, I’m not sure if it comes from sitting in a Buddha-position and humming “ohmmm” for hours. But I can testify that it comes when you deeply discover the pure, unrefined love of God.

Right now, I feel like I’m relearning and rediscovering the intricate wonders and power of God’s amazing love. The fact that He so unconditionally and faithfully manifests His love to me through every single detail in my life, and every single creation in this world fascinates and moves me to tears. With the love of the Creator God, what more do I want? With the power and riches of the omnipotent God, what more do I need?

Suddenly, a lot of things I cared obsessively about just seems so trivial and meaningless now. I can honestly say that finally, I have found something that will fill up that hole inside of me permanently and eternally.

But when it comes to holes in pancakes…there’s also just one perfect item to fill them up. Can you guess? Why, it’s eggs, of course! Preferably one with a wobbly yolk!

After making that ratatouille from the last post, I still had half an eggplant left to use up. I decided to make pancakes, because obviously eggplants are best made into pancakes. Obviously. But with the addition of kabocha, obviously it’s just gonna get better. And with a runny egg in the middle of it, obviously it’s just gonna turn out perfect. Yes, obviously.

Egg-in-the-Hole
Egg in a Kabocha-Eggplant Pancake

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 eggplant, diced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Mexican chili powder
• cumin powder
• Tabasco chipotle pepper sauce
• salt and pepper
• about 1 cup kabocha puree
• flour
• cornmeal
• 2 large eggs
• grated Parmesan cheese

First heat up the oil in a pan. Toss in the eggplant and onion and garlic, sautee over medium heat until soft and mashable. Season with spice, Tabasco, and seasonings to taste.
Put the eggplant-onion mixture into a large bowl with the kabocha:
Mix and mash in 1 egg, and enough flour/cornmeal to make a mixture dry enough to form with hands.
Take about a cup worth of batter and flatten it out onto an greased frying pan. Make a hole in the middle and crack the other egg into it. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese:
Heat it up on top of a medium-heat stove until the bottom is set, then pop it into a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven until the egg white is opaque and cooked through. Serve immediately.
Now doesn’t that pancake look so happy and contented now? An egg is the perfect thing to fill up its emptiness indeed!
You can’t see it, but there were beautiful steam rising as I shot these pictures…enough to make my mouth water and my hands tremble!
Ooh…Gotta love Parmesan! Unfortunately I was a bit sparse with the cheese because I wasn’t sure how well it’d go with the pancake, but turns out it was absolutely perfect. Duh.
The flavor? Freaking amazing. Who knew kabocha and eggplant go so well together? But then, doesn’t kabocha go well with practically anything?
The spices were right on too! Sort of a Indian-ish flavor, but in the form of brunch!
The neat thing about having an egg with a runny yolk in the middle is that you just eat around it. Stab into a bit of the pancake, then dip into the yolk. Repeat, repeat, until all you’ve got left is the single golden yolk.
I had some batter left over, which I formed into smaller patties, and rolled in Parmesan.
Then I cooked it over a skillet.
They were nice, but I much preferred the baked version.
Oh, and what is life without a bit of sweetness in it?
Yes, cupcakes! Specifically: Strawberry cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting adorned with a single blueberry.. Recipe from the awesome cupcake cookbook that Heather of Girlichef awarded me from her Cupcake Giveaway!
I baked these for my youth group whom I was teaching Sunday school today, and they lapped them up!
I myself put two of these cupcakes to test. One to see if it tasted good, and the other to make sure it really did taste just as good as the first one. Verdict: Both freaking good! And I should know, I double-checked The best thing about these cupcakes were that they were slightly tart and full of real strawberries. Not cloyingly-sweet at all!
I did a messy job with the frosting, but cupcakes are forgiving in that they still manage to stay photogenic! Oh, lovely little creatures! Thanks, Heather! This won’t be the last of the cupcakes I’ll be whipping up, I promise you!

Question of the Day: If you’re worried that I’ll be asking you something profound like “Do you feel empty inside” or “What fills you up”, you needn’t worry (Unless you really wanna talk about such things). Today’s question is easy-peasy. What is your favorite kind of pancakes?

Back to the ER

When I found  myself for the second time in the Emergency Room section of the hospital in Northwestern University, I swore to myself that I would never, ever, return to that horrible place again. Well, guess what? I ended up in the ER once again during this trip to my church retreat.

It sounds sort of funny now, but it sure was a horrible experience. I have once again proved that I am indeed the dumbest of ass. This is what happened:

For some reason, I totally forgot to bring my contact lenses case and multipurpose solution with me to the retreat. I only realized it that first night when I was getting ready to go to sleep. My friend Joanna, who was also one of my suitemates in the retreat, had already gone to sleep, so I could not ask her if I could borrow her contacts solution. So without asking, I just borrowed the bottle of solution she left out by the bathroom sink. I took two plastic cups, marked them, and placed my contacts into them and squirted enough of the solution to cover my lenses. Then I went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up early before all the others. I padded out to the bathroom sink, fished out my left contacts from the plastic cup, and popped it into my eye.

Oh. My. God. It was like rubbing burning coal or acid into my eyeball! My eye immediately started to tear up, and the contact lens fell out. I was so afraid that I might lose the contacts as it was the only pair of contacts I had brought along, so I groped about for it until I found it.

Here’s where I was a total idiot. I stupidly thought it was because the solution had collected dust in the uncovered cups, so I grabbed my contacts and cleaned it well by soaking it with a fresh dose of Joanna’s solution. Then I put it back into my eye. It freaking burned again!

And then here’s where I was a even worse idiot: I thought the pain “will go away” and decided to just bear with the agonizing pain for a while. I took my right contact lens from the other cup, and washed it extra well with Joanna’s solution, then popped it into my right eye.

Needless to say, now both my eyes were burning like crazy. My screams of pain woke Joanna’s mom, who rushed out to find me crying and moaning by the sink. She thought I just had a nightmare, so she grabbed me into a bear hug and started binding the Nightmare Demons in the name of Jesus Christ. I was in too much pain to respond.

Then Joanna rushed out of her room, saw the bottle of solution in my hands, and exclaimed, “You idiot! Did you just use that? That’s a hydrogen peroxide solution!”

I had no idea what that is, but later I found out that it was an incredibly strong solution with bleaching agents that was used to disinfect and rinse contacts lenses. The contacts, after being cleansed in this solution, had to be cleaned and neutralized for at least 6 hours before being used. In fact, bright red warning words were written on the bottle: DO NOT USE TO STORE CONTACT LENSES. DO NOT USE DIRECTLY ON EYES.

I had done both. What. A. Freaking. Idiot. How did I missed those warning labels?

Anyway, I took off my contacts and cleaned my eyes out as good as I could, but my eyes seemed to get considerably worse as time went on. Everybody thought I was depressed and upset or something because my eyes were bloodshot, and tears ran down my cheeks without stopping. Finally,  8 hours later, I couldn’t stand the pain any longer. I got my mom to take me to the hospital, and I landed in the ER.

They stuck these tubes into both of my eyes which were connected to two enormous bags of saline solution to flush out all the poison from my eyes. So I lay there in the hospital bed, with cold liquid gushing into my forced-open eyes for a whole hour. Not a pleasant experience, and I am humiliated to say I whimpered like a baby for the first 30 minutes.

To tell you the truth, as I lay there on the hospital bed, I started feeling really sorry for myself. I got really angry at God. I mean, here I was at a church retreat, as a youth leader some more, and I needed to prepare for that night’s speech! Why the hell did God allow such a thing to happen to me? I complained incessantly about how painful, uncomfortable, and awkward it was.

But then I realized that the more I complained and twisted about, the more painful and unbearable it was. So I decided to change strategy. I needed to find reasons to give thanks, even smack in the middle of such an awful situation. And once I started actively looking for reasons to give thanks, the list for thanksgiving started to increase exponentially:

I gave thanks that I was admitted to the ER right away instead of having to wait 4 hours like most patients.
I gave thanks that even though I was being a big baby, my mom and my elder (who drove us to the hospital) were being extremely patient with me, holding both my hands and trying to draw my attention away from the pain.
I gave thanks that I did not go blind.
I gave thanks that I would have a great story to share later that night.
I gave thanks that Satan found me so important as to try to disrupt my work as a youth leader in such a pathetic way.
And many more.

Strangely, as I collected all these thanksgivings in my mind, my pain seemed to lessen, and I became calm and peaceful. I was so quiet that my mom and elder wondered if I had gone to sleep.

Anyway. It turns out my eyes had slight abrasions from the acid in the solution, but they were superficial and would heal. I was advised to take pain killers and drizzle some kind of ointment into my eyes every 6 hours, and not to put on my contacts for 7-10 days. One of the teenagers I was leading had a pair of glasses that matched my own prescription, so I borrowed her glasses for the rest of the retreat.

And yes, I had a terrific time at the retreat. I led four sessions, while my friend Joanna led two. And I bonded with the youth and got to know them better. We had tremendous fun together, and their parents were pleased to see their kids having such a great time. There were times when I laughed so hard I thought I cracked a rib, and times when I were moved to tears as we sang praises together.

And yeah, the food was absolutely horrible. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it was really pretty bad. They were either too greasy, too soggy, too crispy, or too fake-tasting. They served canned fruits and stale pizza. The greens and carrots in the salad bar was withered and dry. But so what? I had an amazing time with my youth group, and laughter makes food taste so much better.

Here are some snap-shots of the meals I had:

Rice stir-fry, broccoli, hamburger patty
Pancake, scrambled eggs (I had seconds of the eggs)

Hamburger patty, Mexican lasagna

Turkey Macaroni Casserole, Spinach, Deep-fried fish cutlet 

French toast, double-serving scrambled eggs

Cheeseburger with the works

Turkey, Hamburger Patty, Chicken Parmesan, Cottage cheese, Macaroni Salad

Grilled chicken, hamburger patty, tofu stir-fry, cottage cheese

Jasmine rice, potato, tofu stir-fry, cheese, red onions

Giant Belgium waffle, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese

 Turkey chili, cheese pizza, stuffed pepper, hamburger patty

And here’s a bowl of creative mush my youth group and I mashed together with all our leftovers:

We played games and the loser had to eat it. It taste like cat vomit. I don’t even remember all the contents that went in there.

One huge challenge I faced during this in regards to food was greasy foods and rich creamy pasta. Seriously, even an innocent hamburger patty was swimming in grease. And I even ate some deep-fried stuff! Go me!

Anyway, in conclusion, I learned a lot of important things from the retreat:

• I realized what a huge difference it makes when you learn to be thankful, even in the most unpleasant circumstances.
• I got a confidence boost that I can be a great youth leader.
• I reassured myself that I won’t die from eating a few oily foods.
• I discovered that campus food is freaking nasty and I really need to pray that the food is USC isn’t this bad.
• And I learned to never, ever use hydrogen peroxide solution on my eyes again.

Citizen of U.S. of Melting Pot

“Where are you from?” That’s the question I get whichever country I am, be it America, Korea, or Singapore. And honestly, I have no idea.

First of all, there’s my American/Korean/Chinese/Singaporean accent. Thus, I have a weird accent in all three languages that I speak: English, Korean, and Chinese. So when I’m in America where I have lived for 8 years, people ask me which country I am from and whether I am a FOB (fresh out of boat). When I am in my mother country, Korea, speaking Korean and trying to merge in, people ask me why I speak so funny. And when I’m in Singapore, my hometown, people tell me to stop being so stubborn trying to hold on to my “American” accent and just relax leh and speak Singlish lah.

My passport clearly states that I’m a native-born, 100% Korean. But I blend in well with Singaporeans and Chinese, and all my childhood memories are deeply rooted in Singapore. Yet I am definitely very Americanized, having absorbed all its culture and education. I am deeply in love with America, but I have fond attachments to Singapore. I express myself very well in English, but not to the degree of the relief I feel when I express myself in Korean.

And then there’s my preference for food. You would have thought having been brought up with rice, I would consider rice my staple. Yet I avoid rice like the plague, and detest most Asian food. But in a weird way, I love Asian-fusion. The “American” food in Asia suites me way more than the real American food back home.

So, where am I from? What nation do I truly belong to? I guess my answer would be: neither. In this global age of the melting pot, I doubt I’m the only one confused about my national identity. I think we should create our own nation called the U.S. of Melting Pot or something.

Anyway, despite my claim that I dislike Asian food, my Korean blood is still indelible, evident in the fact that I just cannot live without kimchi.

There is a saying that if you don’t like kimchi, you’re not Korean. Koreans eat kimchi all day, with all meals, with anything and everything. Spaghetti for lunch? Bring out the kimchi! Oatmeal for breakfast? Pile on the kimchi! Steak for dinner? Where’s the kimchi?

I’m one of the lucky ones whose mother still knows how to make good, homemade kimchi. None of the store-bought kind with lots of sugar and MSG. Don’t hate. It’s not my fault my mom is fabulous like that. Each month she buys a whole crate of fresh cabbage and cranks out several big jars of kimchi. If you’re lucky, you might be presented with a fresh jar of kimchi, made with lots of love by my mom.

Anyway, today I decided to bring out the Korean side of me and make a dish highlighting kimchi. But of course, since I am a citizen of the U.S. of Melting Pot, I’ll also have to add some non-traditional ingredients…

Kimchi Cornmeal Pancake
Serves 2, or 4 Sissies

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 large egg
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup kimchi, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 links andouille sausages
• 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped

Mix together the cornmeal, flour, chicken broth, egg, and seasoning to make a batter. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.

Heat a large frying pan with some oil. When the oil gets hot, pour in all the batter and flatten it out.

Once the bottom is cooked, flip the pancake out into a large plate, then slide it back onto the pan to cook the other side. Serve hot and sizzling.

Hell, yeah.

Kimchi is a much more versatile ingredient than to be just eaten with plain old rice, people! This is my idea of a perfect melting pot dish…and as a pancake, no less! My favorite!

I chose cornmeal over regular flour because I thought it would make for a more interesting texture. I was right. The batter was gritty and crispy, almost like a spiced-up polenta. Very dense, very satisfying.

That’s not ketchup! I drizzled some Korean red-pepper sauce on top. Because kimchi is just not spicy enough for me!

I know many of you probably don’t have kimchi lying around in your fridge…but perhaps it’s time to step out of the regular items you buy and get adventurous! I have a few more kimchi recipes up my sleeves…I’d love if you’d come up with some yourself!
After discovering about Regional Recipes from Joanne of Eats Well With Others, I decided to submit this to the Regional Recipes (Korea) hosted by Wandering Chopsticks.

And now…since this post is already all about me, why not get even more self-obsessed and have some Q & A’s, eh?

Q & A Session!!

Brooke from homegirl can eat asks:
“What’s your absolutely favorite vegetable, fruit, and ethnic cuisine my dear?? ”

My answer:
”Favorite veggie: kabocha, broccoli, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts!
Favorite fruits: mango, durian, mangosteen, figs, oranges, um…practically all fruits except bananas and melons.
Favorite ethnic cuisine: The “American” food in Asia! Lol…don’t know what you would call that?”

Morgan from Dancing to Recovery asks:
“What is the absolute strangest thing you have ever eaten?”

My answer:
”Live octopus. It was hell-disgusting. There was like a boiling pot of soup in front of us, and the person just dunked the living, slithering octopus into the soup, tentacles and all. Then once it was dead, they cut up the still-wriggling tentacles for us to eat with some red chili sauce. It was still moving in my mouth! EEEEEWWW! This was in Korea.
In Singapore, I had some deep-fried frog legs. It wasn’t such a big deal. Tasted like chicken.”

Susan from Trying for a Tri asks:
“How has your cultural background and time living abroad influenced how you eat? (namely, your awesome creations!)”

My answer:
“Aw, thank you! Hm. That’s a toughie. I would like to say it’s all from my oh-so-genius mind, but no one would believe me. LOL.
Well, I think I probably derive a lot of my creations from my experiences with the western and European food I’ve eaten in Asia. The Japanese are the most creative with that. They may just take a bowl of Asian fried rice, smother it with some cream sauce, top it with cheese, bake it in the oven, and voila! Western food!”

And also a question from one of my non-blogging readers, in response to yesterday’s post:
“How in the world did you make yourself that hungry? Are you not eating enough?”

My answer:
“Haha, actually, I eat a lot more than the normal person in a day. I’ve stopped counting to the dot (another previous obsession of mine), but I roughly eat more than 3000kcal a day as I am in weight-gaining mode right now.
Yesterday was just a weird day. I usually wake up at 7:30 am at the latest, but I woke up more than 4 hours later. Right after that I had to go grocery shopping, so I missed breakfast, which would explain my hunger. But don’t worry…that won’t happen again!”

Okay, I’m off for dinner, because guess what? My stomach is rumbling…and I’m not stupid now to mistake it as a tummyache anymore!

And…ew. My brother’s friend just shared with me his whole history of diarrhea. Do I look like the kind who’s interested in other people’s personal poop stories? Oh wait, yeah, I do. Heh heh. Have a great diarrhea-free weekend, you guys!

Question of the day: Where are YOU from? Are you also a citizen of the U.S. of Melting Pot?

P.S. Oh, and one last thing: Did you join our Warm Fuzzies game yet? Check out the Warm Fuzzies page to make sure your name is on the list! The game starts June 8…Just 2 more days!!
And Erin, Michelle (Mish), and Keri410, I need your url please!!

From Victim to Victor

Don’t I just hate it when ED suddenly turns around and bits me in the ass. Oh, Lord. I shouldn’t have let my guard down.

Just a few days ago when my dad called me from Malaysia, I’d boasted confidently to him that I was “almost recovered” from ED. He’d warned me not to let my guard down and to keep up my fighting spirit, and I’d gotten extremely annoyed at him. “I’m a lot better,” I insisted. “ED just doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Why is my dad always right? Right after that call, ED paid me an unexpected visit again.

Since most of my church friends in college have come back home, our former youth group has been restored again. We meet weekly at somebody’s house to give praise and prayers together. And after that, we have dinner together. Last week I was the host and I chose the menu, so it wasn’t such a big deal. But this week, it was to be in my friend Joanna’s place. And ED wasn’t happy about that.

First of all, Joanna, bless her heart, is not a good cook. Her mother is even worse. When they came over to my kitchen it was like discovering a new world. They oohed–and-aahed over common pantry items like cinnamon and pepper-grinder, gasped when I used grape tomatoes in my frittata, marveled that there is such thing as goat cheese.

Second, I hate not having the option of what I’m eating. The menu was entirely up to Joanna’s hands, and I had the sneaking suspicion that she was going to prepare Chinese food…which I detest.

Why is this such a big deal to me? Well, let’s all just point fingers at ED. I still have this obsession of “making every calorie count.” I would freak out if I was forced to eat something I dislike, because it would be a total waste of calories. I don’t count calories anymore, but it’s still at the back of my mind. I still sort of associate food with calories, and if I’m gonna ingest all these calories into my body, they might as well be “worth it.” I hope I’m making sense here.

Anyway, I was pretty anxious. And I was upset that I was upset over such a stupid matter. Guess you’re not so recovered from ED after all, ED cackled gleefully. Did you think it’ll be so easy to get rid of me?

What to do? Previously, I would have gone the safe route and packed my own dinner. I would have sat glumly eating my “own food” while others tucked into “their food”. I would have been ashamed and humiliated, yet being unable to muster up the courage to eat the same things as the others.

But this time, that wasn’t going to happen. Whether I eat well or not, I was not going go back to that pathetic state anymore. Win or lose, I was going to face up to my challenge.

And guess what? It was Chinese food. But the sight that welcomed me warmed my heart:

Joanna’s mom and another friend, George’s grandmother, busy at work preparing dinner.

They were making dumplings…from scratch!!

See the green stuff over there? The best thing about these dumplings were, they were using the ingredient I had given them! It’s fresh, organic, homegrown chives straight out of a lady in our church’s garden. She had given a whole sackful to me, but because it was just my brother and I in the house and I was afraid it would go to waste, I’d given it to Joanna.

What a sweet reciprocal dinner!

They even used the leftover dough to make noodles!

George’s grandmother also made some Chinese pancakes…

These were layers of fried dough, with egg and carrots encased…

They were quite good, but I only managed to have one medium wedge because…well, some parts of the pancake was really doughy and oily.

The dumplings were steamed, filled with abundant chives, egg, and shrimp. Very juicy and flavorful!

I also prepared for us a nice big salad:

And semolina seed cake!

This is about the only cake I’ll ever eat. Not too sweet at all, with a nice gritty texture from the semolina, and crunchy from the sunflower seeds in it.

You know what? It turned out to be a pretty good dinner after all. We laughed and chatted and my mind was just totally not focused on the food at all. I don’t even know how many dumplings I ate, because it didn’t even occur to me to count! How’s that in your face, you damn ED?!! I just ate till I was content, and went back home with a smile on my face, a satisfied tummy, and an extra container of leftover dumplings and pancakes.

From today, I’ve come to this conclusion: I definitely am not recovered full yet. But I’m now no longer a victim. I am now a warrior. And all warriors need to face their battles before they declare total victory. I’m now fighting that battle, but I smell sweet success is not too far away.

A Tour of Singapore, sort of

Sad, tragic news: My dinner last night got postponed as a couple of friends I was supposed to meet got stuck at work. So no Out of the Pan. I did have a nice relaxing dinner in solitude, though, of random mix-match of things I needed to consume and clear up before I leave.

Not very interesting, but just in case you were still dying to know what I ate last night…:

• Steamed cauliflower with turmeric and cumin powder
• 20 mini chicken hotdogs
• 700gm (about 2.5 lbs) of sweet potato, sliced and baked into chips
• a big bowl of chocolatey oatmeal made from 3/4 cup oats, 2 tablespoons cocoa and 1 tsp vanilla
• …and the grand finale of 3 big-ass Jollibean peanut pancakes.

I think I eat more than a sumo wrestler, but it seems I actually need this amount in order to gain!

Anyway, since there is a serious lack of pictures, I decided to compile some everyday pictures of Singapore as a tribute to the country where I have my fondest childhood memories…

Sophia’s Picture tour of Singapore

There are so many familiar scenarios of Singapore that I will dearly miss, but I’ll only be able to portray a few…

There’s the tall, practical apartment buildings with no-nonsense and frill-free architecture…

The loud, noisy kopitiams (coffee shops)…

The hawker centres (open-air complexes with many different inexpensive food stalls)

Selling dirt-cheap food…(Can you believe the freaking cheap price?)

If you ever come to Singapore you’ve got to try its local favorite, the chicken rice (vegetarians, please accept my apology)…

The crowded food courts…

The many different food kiosks…

My favorite Mr Bean shop selling amazing Japanese pancakes…

The best ever…

And my other favorite food stall, Jollibean…

I shall sorely miss my daily fix of these incredible peanut pancakes…

The fresh, live fish available in every supermarkets…

And the abundant variety of fresh greens!! (And the adorable little old ladies in their traditional clothes)

The exotic tropical fruits…

This is what I will not be missing…

A lot of old, red-faced men drinking in the middle of the day…

The air-polluting idolatry…

The freaking crazy prices of dairy!

Cheese and ice-cream lovers, you don’t wanna live here in fear of bankruptcy…

I have received permission from my friend Jingwen to post a picture of her, so here is the face behind the “famous” person:
Excuse that weird expression on her face. She likes to make random funny faces! And notice that Burberry bag in her hands? This is Singapore’s very own Shopaholic!!

But on to the warmest, most loveable hosts ever, Wengang and Liwen:
Aren’t they a good-looking couple? They’re like angels to me; they have helped me so much in my recovery.

I will not cry. I. Will. Not. Cry.

On a brighter note, I’m quite excited (and a tiny bit fearful, but that shall pass) for tonight because I’m meeting my church youth group friends for dinner at this fabulous French-Japanese restaurant, Ma Maison. I’ve heard superb reviews about this place, so anticipate some yummy pictures~

So long, dear blogger friends!

“No Fear” fear foods

Wow! I was very happy to read all the great responses to yesterday’s post! Some of you shared your own personal experiences of ED recovery for which I am really grateful, encouraged, and pleased. Others fed me such sweet words of encouragement that they brought tears to my eyes.

NAOmni from Not Another Omnivore went even further by addressing this topic at her bi-monthly eating disorder series! She gave her own answer to the question and hit a lot of other important points which I did not manage to squeeze into my own response, so please check out her wise, powerful response here at her blog.

Just so you know, I would like to keep the discussion flowing, so this post is gonna be kept super short(What a shocker!). Well, for me anyway. For those of you who have no idea what discussion I’m talking about, please refer to the previous post, or click here if you’re just too lazy to scroll down.

Since we’re on the subject of ED recovery, I just wanted to share a couple of fear foods I’ve tackled recently. While recovery from ED is mainly a mental issue, there are some battles that still need to be fought physically and actively…Obviously, food.

We all have our different “scary” foods, but mine mostly are desserts like cakes and cookies, and liquid calories. Carbs used to be a huge fear food, but through continuously facing them and challenging myself with them, I think I am 90% there where I can eat them without feeling a twinge of anxiety and guilt. Which is great, because I’m really a carb-lover at heart.

So, here are the fear foods that I forced allowed myself to choke down enjoy:

Cakes! Japanese steamed cakes, to be exact, from this lovely bakery in Singapore called Bread Talk.

Here’s the better thing: It was a tad bit cheaper to buy four instead of just one, so I actually bought the whole 4-pack! The ED in me started running around in crazy circles, screaming, “WHAT the hell are you doing you GREEDY pig! What if you eat them all? You know you’re just gonna binge on them! AAAHHH! Put it back! You’re already challenging yourself, why not just buy ONE! Or better, not at all!”

But…as you can see…I trudged the whole bag home. There were three different flavors: Two green tea-flavored, one mango-flavored, and a chocolate-marble-flavored.

I ate the mango-flavored one first. It was light and fluffy yet dense and rich at the same time. I know it doesn’t make sense, but that’s the only way I can describe it! If you ever had a steamed cake before, you’ll know what I’m talking about. It had a nice, fruity mango flavor and fragrance, and it was damn good.

And then, here’s the best thing: After I ate that mango steamed cake, I liked it so much, I ate the green tea-flavored one too…

And then, I reached for the chocolate-marble one as well (By this time I was too absorbed to remember to take pics).

I definitely “binged” on them, i.e. ate way more than I had planned. But guess what? I enjoyed each and every bite, and I think ED just got so shocked and went into a coma because I didn’t hear him at all. And I didn’t miss him, either.

By the way, I was not that greedy. I saved the last green tea steamed cake for Liwen.

Now, on to my second fear food: liquid calories. I think most anorexics’ greatest fear is liquid calories, because of the fact that we think they won’t fill us up. ED has programmed our mind to look for any kind of food that is big in bulk but small in calories, so calories consumed in the form of liquid is a huge NO-NO.

Well, today I decided to try to put an end to that. I went out and ordered a Chendol Iced Soymilk from Mr Bean (where I get my funky green pancakes as you will see later):

Chendol is a local dessert here in Singapore, composed of shaved ice, coconut milk, starchy green noodles flavored with pandan and green bean flour, and palm sugar. That’s the key ingredients, and they are different in every stall in their additions like red bean paste, glutinous rice, sweet corn, etc. My Chendol Iced Soymilk came with soymilk (duh), red bean paste, green noodles, and palm sugar syrup.

Here’s a close-up:

I like Mr Bean’s slogan, Life’s Simple Pleasures. There are so many simple pleasures in life that we take for granted.

I poured this into a glass so as to show you a clearer view of the insides:
And here’s a nice scoop of the red bean paste and green Chendol noodles:

Lovely, eh? Interesting, too. I didn’t taste as much pandan as I would have liked in the green noodles. They were really tasteless, actually, but was great for texture. Gave a nice chew-and-glide feel to the otherwise ordinary soya drink. Truthfully, this was a good challenge, but I don’t think I’ll be ordering this again. I’m just not much of a drink-lover.

Okay, one last thing I just can’t resist sharing with you. Long-time readers of my blog would already know that I have a deep affinity for Jollibean peanut pancakes and Mr Bean cheese pancakes. Here’s an old shot of the Jollibean peanut pancake:
And the Mr Bean cheese pancake:
Can you tell why I love them? Two gorgeous hunks! I’m in love.

Anyway, they are just two major fear foods that I’ve conquered, 100%. How can I be so confident, you ask? Well, first of all, I get them every single day for my afternoon snack.  So much that the girl working at Mr Bean automatically reaches for the cheese pancake when she sees me.

Also, I get very, very sad when my pancakes look smaller than usual. Case in point: I once went to buy a Jollibean peanut pancake and the lady there gave me an extraordinarily small piece. It was like 60% the size of a regular piece! I don’t know what expression I had on my face, but I’m sure it was a mingle of sadness and disappointment and depression. I ended up getting another one.

But here’s the funny thing: the lady saw the expression on my face, and from then on, I started noticing that whenever I asked for a peanut pancake, she went out of her way to reach deep into the pile to find me the biggest piece! How nice of her!

Anyway, the reason I’m sharing this is to show that it does go away. Those accusing voices in your head? They fade away when you constantly face up to your fears. They don’t just disappear in one day, but when you repeat the process over and over, these silly little fears and anxieties don’t seem like a big deal anymore.

Damn, I babbled on way too much again. But I thought it would be nice to share a bit of hope to those in the same boat as me, while those who don’t have ED can maybe understand our crazy mindsets more.

Oh, and tomorrow, I’ll be facing some MAJOR fear foods as my friend will be treating us to dinner at our church youth group. I’ll reveal them later, but just to let you know, they are definitely NOT the kind of food health-conscious people eat. I think ED has been resuscitated from his coma, because I’m feeling a bit anxious again.

But, I shall face it. Wish me luck, guys!

P.S. Lucky Taste Buds is having a granola GIVEAWAY!! Check out her blog for more details!

Green with Envy for Spring

 

Back in America, Panera used to be one of my favorite “restaurants.” I loved their “You-Pick-Two” deals, and the freshness of their bread, and the variety of their sandwiches. So I was very happy to find Singapore’s own version of Panera in the form of The Soup Spoon.

Jingwen and I met up for lunch again yesterday, and this time Jingwen wanted to eat at someplace other than our usual Shokudo, so we chose The Soup Spoon for lunch that day. The menu isn’t as extensive as Panera’s but all the choices were appealing enough. They also had a soup + half-sandwich deal like Panera.

I wasn’t feeling for soup, so I just got the full Tikka Chicken Wrap:

“Tandoori Chicken, Mango Chutney, Mint, Cucumber, Red Onion, Romaine Lettuce”

To tell you the truth, I never really liked wraps before…because I didn’t think they were “filling” enough. I’m a carb-fiend, so a flattened piece of dough did not appeal to me. But after my delicious experience with crepes and reading all about the different yummy-looking wraps you food-bloggers have made, I was suddenly craving for one myself.

And I’m glad I did, because this wrap was a-mazing. The chicken was marinated in a myriad of spices, and I absolutely loved the smoky, spicy sweetness of the mango chutney.

The coleslaw that came with this was also really good. It was fresh, vibrant, and crunchy, with a spicy after note that made my nostrils flare, in a good way. I stole all of Jingwen’s coleslaw as well. >___< 

Jingwen ordered the soup-and-sandwich combo. She got a bowl of Velvety Mushroom Stroganoff:

…and half a Tuna Mayo Sandwich:

“Tuna Mayo, Red Onion, Green Salad, Honey Mustard Mayo”

All I can say about this sandwich is, we both agreed my Tikka Chicken wrap was much, much better.

The soup was very, very thick with lots of mushrooms and cream. It was aptly named, as each mouthful glided down my throat, chock-full of smooth, fresh mushrooms. As a mushroom-lover, I thought it was really very good, but Jingwen did not like it so much. She found it too thick and “stewy.” I gladly helped her with her portion, dipping pieces of my wrap into it.

By the way, I was wrong. Wraps are really filling. I was stuffed after finishing mine, and couldn’t even help Jingwen finish her soup! I’m definitely going to try many more wraps in the future…Meanwhile, I better brainstorm on some great fillings!
 
Speaking of brainstorming, I got to try out another one of my “Mix-it-up” bowl brainstorms for lunch today! This dish was really interesting because it was inspired by just one thing: GREEN.

As many of you already know, I love funky green foods. So I’ve been meaning to make a green dish for quite some time now. I remember I once saw a picture of a bowl of green rice. Now you know I hate rice, but that picture made me want to lick the paper, so appealing was its greenness! But that was awhile ago and I had no idea what it was that made it green. Anyway, I did not really care if I made a dish totally different from that one in the picture so long as it looked as green as it.

My first thought to recreate that greenness was pesto. But I couldn’t find any basil in my local grocery store, so I picked cilantro instead. Again, I was too lazy to consult to any recipe but just threw a whole bunch of ingredients together into the blender:

                                     Cilantro “Pesto” Sauce

• about 3/4 cup cilantro
• one heaping tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• one spoonful of pine nuts
• one stalk green onion, chopped
• one big garlic clove
• splash of vinegar
• splash of almond milk
• pinch of salt
• squeeze of lime juice

I just combined and blended them all together until liquefied into a nice, thick puree. I then prepared my “Mix-it-up” bowl with these components:

                                             Green Pilaf

The base: 1 cup cooked pearl barley, 1/4 cup black beans and 1/2 cup chopped roasted winter squash

The mix-ins: 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper and shitake mushrooms

The dressing: few tablespoons of chicken broth and a bit of lime juice

The topping: tablespoonfuls of Parmesan cheese, the cilantro “pesto” sauce, and a soft-boiled egg
 
What can I say? I’m a freaking genius.

Everything worked well perfectly together. I did not need another special dressing other than a bit of chicken broth to moisten the grains, as I really wanted my green sauce to shine in this dish.
The cilantro “pesto” sauce was an exploding firework of flavors. The cilantro in it was bright and popping with its fresh herby fragrance, the Parmesan cheese added a lovely tang and sharpness, and the pine nuts gave the sauce depth in richness and creaminess.

I’m glad I decided to top this with a soft-boiled egg rather than my usual fried egg. Somehow it made this dish seem much more impressive, and the smoothness and plumpness of the boiled egg whites  was a nice change, especially together with the sauce.

 
And of course I couldn’t resist sprinkling even more Parmesan cheese on top. You just can’t have too much cheese.

I think this dish is a great way to welcome spring. I actually ate this sweating like a horse in the sweltering Singapore weather, but each bite let me imagine the fresh budding grass of spring, the new fragrance of blooming plants and flowers in the air…

It’s just too bad that I miss spring this year.

But on a happier note, I received more questions! These are kind of late (I asked for questions on the last, last post!), but I’m still really happy to answer all of them…So here’s another (tardy) round of…

Q & A TIME!

Kim asks:

“I have a question for you…where is the link to the original soufflé omelet recipe? Those look so MARVELOUS and creative. I want to try it. I’m very lazy though…so a link would be great It’s probably like 3 blog posts down on your page, huh? I know, I’m lazy. Whatever, I can’t feel my toe. Have some sympathy ”

My answer:

“YAY! I’m so excited you’re gonna try making souffle omelets! Here’s the link to the the first time I made it, where you will find the basic steps. Let me know if you have any more questions about it. Meanwhile, have fun, enjoy, and promise me you’ll let me know how you like it! I’ll give you a nice shout-out ”

Pearl asks:

“So I have a question, Sophia – do you live in Singapore with your parents? Or do they reside elsewhere? Have you got any siblings? Okay, more than one question but hey ”

My answer:

“Tsk, tsk. Greedy, my dear Pearl, greedy. Three questions altogether at once! But that’s okay, it gives me the chance to talk about myself some more, so thanks for asking! (Hee)

My parents are not in Singapore right now, they’re back home in America, missing me like crazy. But I’ll be seeing them again in just a month when  return back to the States. Meanwhile, I’m staying at Wengang and Liwen’s house. They’re family/church friends and have been the most marvelous hosts.

And yes, I do have a sibling…a brother, two years younger than me. He has the complete opposite personality from me (he’s mild, gentle, patient, good-natured), which is good because he can tolerate my crazy temper. I used to bully him all the time when we were younger, but now he’s all grown up…into a handsome, well-built young man, so I find myself bullying those annoying, flirtatious girls around him instead to protect him! Here’s a picture of my lovely brother:

I love him so much, especially since he’s been so understanding and patient with me through my ED days…”

Ohsoravenous asks:

“If there was just ONE food you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

My answer:

"Whoa! That’s a toughie. I have too many foods I love! But if there is ONE food I just cannot live without, it will have to be oatmeal…Or sweet potato. Or pumpkin. Or eggs…GAH! This is impossible!!”

Emily asks:

“What’s pistachio cheese? Is it like pistachio-flavored cheese or a cheese-y substance made out of pistachios? Either way sounds yummy.”

My answer:

“For those of you confused out there, Emily is referring to the pistachio cheese I had in my Norwegian Salmon crepe I had here.

I’m not so sure, but I am very sure it wasn’t something made out of pistachios only. It definitely had that tang of a brie or cream cheese, and wasn’t green or sweet enough to be made entirely out of pistachios. I’m guessing it’s some kind of really creamy, rich cheese blended with pistachios. Either way, it was freaking delicious and I wish I knew the exact ingredients and measurements so that I can have it again and again. Anybody feel like experimenting for me?”

—————————————————————————————–

Okay, I’ve just polished off two tuna and cheese Mr Bean pancakes (which are also GREEN!!) and a purple sweet potato for a “snack”…

 
and now I think a nice nap is much needed…just before I move on to dinner. Sleep…eat…sleep…poop…eat…

You know, minus the mental issues, recovery from ED can be quite pleasurable…

So I bid you adieu with this question of the day: What is your favorite type of sandwich bread? Wraps? Pitas? Wonder bread (God forbid)? Toasts? Rolls? Hamburger buns? Bagels? Baguette? Ciabatta?

Mine is a good, crusty whole grain artisan bread, preferably pressed with those lovely grill marks…mmmmmm…Carbs……

Sssss….I’m spicy hot!

I’ve always loved spicy food. In fact, the spicier, the better. I’m Korean, and the Koreans love their spice. What’s more, I grew up in Singapore, where there are plentiful aromatic dishes with lots of heat not just from chili but all sorts of other spices. These people enjoy their chili so much, there is a bucket of different sorts of chili sauce in every food stall which you can ladle onto your dish to your own liking.

Because I grew up dousing chili in my rice and soup and fries, I find myself scorning people who can’t bear spicy food. I get exasperated with people who think kimchi is spicy. To me, kimchi is merely a appetite-arouser, and besides, the coolness of the cabbage eliminates any heat from the chili paste. And I hate it when the menu of a restaurant promises a “warning: very spicy!” dish and it turns out to barely tickle the tongue at all. People who can’t bear the heat are sissies, and I was damn proud of my ability to smother my food with Tabasco sauce and still not feel a thing.

Thus it was with this attitude that I approached my lunch today. I decided to make a chicken dish, adapted from Zestycook’s spicy basil chicken recipe. I basically followed this recipe, except I halved the entire recipe, used cilantro instead of basil because I couldn’t find it, and also Thai bird’s eye chili pepper (aka chili padi) instead of the Jalapeño pepper. I also added a touch of maple syrup into the soy sauce and fish sauce mixture.

Now, this is when I got all stupid and gung-ho. I’m not ignorant with my chili, I know that these little red devils are incredibly spicy. But I was sure I could handle it. So I sliced up six of these little fiery pods.

The minute I tossed them into the skillet, I knew I made a big mistake. The fiery fumes leapt up into my eyes and nose, and I started sneezing like crazy. My eyes watered up and my nostrils stung. And I had not even tasted it! I hurriedly fished out most of the chili.

Well, I was not going to waste some good chicken. I was still going to eat it even if my tongue got scorched through. I served this up with a baked potato “fan”, cooked cabbage, and iced green tea:

Crossing my fingers that the dish was not entirely ruined, I took a bite. My nostrils flared up again, and my tongue burned, but not in an entirely unpleasant way. The heat was quite bearable.

This is only my second time trying to cook chicken. The first time I tried cooking chicken, it came out disgusting dry and sour. But this time, the chicken stayed incredibly moist and tender.

The baked potato “fan” helped counteract the spiciness of the chicken. I think this is my favorite way of eating a baked potato, as it has all the characteristics of a creamy baked potato in the interior, while also treating me to a crunchy “chip” exterior. I added a dab of cucumber-chive cheese spread on top.

For afternoon snack today, I tried a different flavor of Mr Bean pancake! I had two of these:

Mr Bean pancake with tuna filling!

This was every bit as good as the cheese pancake…You might be seeing this more often! Definitely happening again.

Wow, this feels weird to have such a short post today (in comparison to the ones before). Well, hope all of you have a great new week, and here’s today’s question: Do you like spicy foods? If so, which is your favorite?

And the moral of this trip is…

Aaaah. Home sweet home. Okay, Singapore is not my home and I’m leaving in just two months, but it does sure feel good to be back home. Sorry for the outrageously long post yesterday, and not being able to share more about my reflections back from the Penang trip, but I was quite busy all day, having to unpack my bags, wash all my dirty clothes, restock the fridge, upload my pictures, and finally take a long, hot bath! It was storming yesterday, so the cool weather was such a relief from the smothering heat in Malaysia.

But anyway. I was too occupied with reconciling with my long lost wireless friend the internet last night to be able to sit calmly and think back about the Penang trip, but here I am in a less excited mood with my internet-addict thirst satisfied somewhat.

After last night’s mega-post, I don’t want to overdo tonight by going all deep and sentimental and long-winded, so I’ll keep this into a short and sweet list.

Some Facts I learned from my Penang Trip:

1. A lot of my fears are unaccounted. I’ve been wasting precious energy and emotion fretting and worrying over this trip, but guess what? It turned out pretty well. I did not die, nothing disastrous happened, and though there were tough battles, they were nothing I could not handle. I’ll keep this in mind when ED hurls all sorts of other unaccounted, unreasonable fears at me in the future.

2. Food is not such a big deal. Really. I used to obsess over every meal and every snack, panicking over the calories, worrying about whether it would taste good and thus be “worth” the calories. I still have some of that in me, but this trip to Penang and the continuous social eating has pulled me back a step from this obsessive mentality. It has been good practice to eat socially, because slowly I did not care so much for the food as I cared for enjoyment of the company. I still favor slowly and indulgently savoring a meal in my own privacy, but no longer dread but actually anticipate a good social meal.

3. A bit of junk food here and there is not the end of the world. In fact, they can be downright crappily delicious. I wanna enjoy the occasional “trash food” rather than getting so uptight and anxious that I can’t enjoy it at all.

4. Not everyone is as lucky as me to be able to afford to care about nutrition and daily comforts: My host family is not well-off at all. They’re really struggling financially, actually. They can’t afford the daily luxuries like air-conditioning, hot water, well-stocked kitchen equipment, or better-quality food that I take for granted. In order to make ends meet, they have to cut back on more expensive food expenses, like hotdogs instead of fresh meat and white bread instead of whole grain. And here I am spending twice as much money on Greek yogurt because it tastes better than plain. How incredibly fortunate am I? Before I left, I gave this family a “love gift” of R400.

5. Precious relationships can be formed anywhere you go: I am so thankful for the precious people I meet everywhere, be it America, Singapore, or Malaysia. God has really blessed me with great relationships wherever I go.

6. You can be successful just by excelling in one thing you’re truly passionate about: 3 big mansions? Just by selling good char kway teow in the streets? Seriously?

So there they are. Simple facts that I’d forgotten and of which I need to be reminded. There are more, but then they are more religious and spiritual and more suitable for another blog.

I’ll share more pictures of Penang later, but first, today’s eats!

I had lunch with Jingwen and Serene out today. I was pretty much broke after my Penang trip, and Jingwen was saving up her money to buy a puppy, so we just headed for the food court at Raffles City. I ordered the chicken and beef patty teppanyaki:

This was an abundant dish, with chicken pieces, a hand-formed beef patty, and bean sprouts fried up teppanyaki-style, and with a sunny-side egg as a bonus!

The chicken was doused with sweet and spicy Japanese curry sauce, while the beef patty was covered with a sticky, sweet teriyaki sauce.

I thought the egg was perfectly cooked with a lovely, runny yolk. The beef was okay, though the quality was not that good as I came across several suspiciously chewy spots.

The chicken, however, was quite disgusting. Now I dislike Japanese curry, because it’s sweet and to me curry should be as spicy and fiery as possible. I did not know they were going to smother my chicken with this sauce until it was too late. But the curry wasn’t the problem this time. It was the chicken itself, which was tough and strangely bitter. I could only choke down half of the chicken.

This meal also came with a seaweed/egg soup:

Basically tasted like tap water with bits of beaten egg and miserable strands of anorexic seaweed.

Jingwen ordered a smaller portion, just the chicken teppanyaki with white rice:

The same chicken and curry sauce as mine, except her chicken was much better than mine. I thought they were supposed to taste the same? No fair.

When I got home I said a joyful hello to my old snack-friend, the Mr Bean cheese pancake…

By flaying it alive. I love to torture my pancakes.

Dinner was another hello to an old friend:

Monte Cristo Sandwiches, soaking up all the maple syrup nectar. And also an otah with which Liwen surprised me:

Oh, yum. Oh, heaven. Oh, sweet Jesus.

Chomp, chomp, chomp……

………………………………………………………………………………………………

What are you still looking at? Oh, yeah, today’s question of the day: What old-time meals/snacks do you crave the most when you’re out on vacation?

And as promised, some more extra pictures of Penang:

The Penang mountains…

Roadside hawker. Since Penang is famous only for its food, I’m just featuring their famous typical street food stalls.