Yesterday I had a craving for moist chocolate cake. Normally I wouldn’t list chocolate cake among my top favourite desserts. I like chocolate very much, but somehow when converted into an alternative form in cakes, ice cream and drinks… I sometimes find the chocolate richness watered down. Some chocolate ice creams taste like nothing more than frozen milo. And in case you didn’t know, I’m not a big fan of milo. Call it a result of a childhood trauma, but the smell of hot milo in milk has this ill effect on me and often even produces a gag reflex. But good quality rich chocolaty desserts are an indulgence I don’t mind enjoying enduring once in a while. To make sure the cake has maximum chocolate richness, I thought it best to make it myself. There’s heaps of chocolate cake recipes on the Internet. I chose one from the Cadbury website as I happened to have a bar of Cadbury milk chocolate in my pantry. Here’s the recipe I used… Melt 250 butter with 1 standard 200g chocola...

The other day I made sayur lodeh (sometimes known as lontong ) and realised that I didn't have any ketupat sachets left in the larder. So I quickly jumped on the net to see if I could find an easy recipe for some kind of rice cake substitute or nasi himpit. I found out how easy it is to make actually. Just cook 1 cup of rice in 4 cups of water in your standard rice cooker (make sure your rice cooker is set to the 'rice' setting and not the 'porridge' setting). When done, tip it out onto a baking tray and roughly mash it up with a fork. Then using the back of a spoon, evenly spread out and press the rice down in the tray. Leave it to cool then slice into cubes. For more frangrant rice, you can put some pandan or screwpine leaves in the pot while cooking the rice. Easy right? No need to buy DIY ketupat sachets from the store anymore.

I’m trying not to write too much about Mishu, lest it come a Mishu-blog. But this last incident was really funny so I just had to share. First off, let me tell you something… cats are decidedly weird and random creatures. They will catch you completely off guard, looking as if they are all dozy and sleepy... and then the next minute, they can do something completely random, like tear around the room with a sudden burst of energy. So anyway, it was Sunday night and I was in bed, with pillows propped up behind me, immersing myself in my book . Hubby was already snoring away. I was feeling all nice and cosy and sleepy, when… …Out of the corner of my eye I spotted an orange creature creeping into the walk-in-robe/ensuite area. He can be quite a night prowler at times, so I wasn’t alarmed. I heard a thump, which I took to be him just playing with his ball (his toys are scattered around the house) or pouncing on a spider. Then suddenly… and I really mean SUDDENLY… I heard an excited ...

Following various questions by curious people, I thought I’d post up some pics of the different objects Mishu’s life revolves around so you can get a picture of his daily routine and how he amuses himself (and us!) every day. First off, very important: The Scratching Post. Cats just have the need to scratch something every day. So to avoid it scratching the furniture or cushions, best to set a designated spot. Mishu usually does his scratching just before meals… so every morning before breakfast, and in the evening when we arrive home, just before we give him his dinner. After scratching time is meal time. We feed him about quarter cup of dry kibble and 50grams of wet food twice a day. Every day before makan time, he will meow and rub his body against our legs, scratch his post and look up expectantly for manna from heaven… or from his perspective, the kitchen counter. After makan, it’s toilet time. Again, pretty routine… almost immediately, or not long after licking the la...

One my favourite lunch time haunts is Elizabeth’s Second Hand Bookstore, corner of Hay St and King St in Perth. Even if I don’t plan on buying anything, I enjoy browsing through all sorts of books, new and old, and looking at early editions of classics. Late last year (near Christmas time), I happened to pass by their bargain bin and decided to pick through to see if I could find any hidden treasures. And I found it. A treasure for only $2. I knew of the story from the movie ‘Love is a Many Splendored Thing’. (If you don’t know yet, I am a sucker for old movies . I still flick to the SBS channel every now and then to see if I can catch any good old classics and was ecstatic at being able to catch Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ on that channel recently. I also received a stunned look from my pastor because I knew exactly what he was talking about when he mentioned seeing the exact spot in Hawaii where the iconic beach scene from the movie ‘From Here to Eternity’ was filmed. But I’m digressin...

Just days after my post on Molotov Cocktails , I was stunned to read the news of church bombings in Malaysia over this dispute of the world 'Allah' by Malay speaking Christians. It's truly saddening to hear of such news of this kind of thing happening in my home country. Words are inadequate to describe my emotions. I actually cried as I read the news and saw the pictures - evidence of the seriousness of the situation. Photos below are taken from Marina Mahathir's blog. These photos are of Desa Melawati Metro Tabernacle Church, where Molotov Cocktails were thrown into the compound causing the fire and damage. BBC News reported that three churches in KL so far have been attacked by Muslim protesters. It is encouraging to hear some Muslims standing up to condemn this act and some groups even offering to help these churches clean up the aftermath of the destruction. If you can, please spare a moment to reflect and pray over this situation.

After numerous jibes at Mishu being a ‘fat cat’ Here is fully revealed and stripped of all his fluffy ginger glory Yes, with the onset of the summer heat, his shedding fur was becoming a chore to maintain. We also suspected that the heat was making him rather listless and lethargic. So today we took him to the groomers to get his fur clipped. They clipped his whole body except for his head, tail and legs. It looks like someone plucked off his head and plonked it on the body of a sphinx cat . I know he looks hideous and rather ‘naked’, but it actually feels nice to stroke him… he has a soft downy undercoat, which is quite velvety to the touch. So now Mishu is all set for summer!

Since I have not posted an official Happy New Year greeting, here is a special something for all of you...   A rendition of the familiar tune ' Auld Lang Syne '... played on a harp guitar by well renown Roger Wang from KK   Some people may have wondered what the phrase ' Auld Lang Syne ' means... Harry : What does this song mean? My whole life, I don’t know what this song means. It says ‘Should old acquaintance be forgot.’ Does that mean we that should forget old acquaintances or does it mean that if we should happen to forget them, we should remember them which is not possible because we already forgot?   Sally : Well maybe it just means that maybe we should remember that we forgot them or something. Anyway, it’s about old friends   ~ When Harry Met Sally ~ (Trivia time) ' Auld lang Syne ' is a traditional Scottish phrase which translates to something like ' long long ago ' or ' old long since '... or something that brings to mind d...