Mekong Mekong..in Melbourne

Mekong?

YESH!! Thats the famous (i think) Vietnamese stall in Melbourne city



If you cant find the place, just grab any passerbys in the street and ask them where's Mekong
THEY will definitely point it out to you in the right directions
(unless you suay lah)

pho noodle ~ meat, noodles and broth.
add in garnishes such as bean sprouts, ngo gai (thorny cilantro), hung que (Thai/Asian basil) and lime.

and THIS IS HEAVEN!!!!

Moi's pho ritual:
1. Bean sprouts: Add them(alot alot) raw for crunch
2. Small cut chilli : Throw in a couple of thin slices hot chilli in the hot broth for a "shiok" soup
3. Herbs: Strip the fresh purple-stemmed Asian/Thai basil (hung que) leaves from their stems, tear up the leaves and drop them into the bowl giving the broth a sweet anise-like flavor.
4. Lime: A squeeze of lime gives the broth an "ommph" taste
5. Sauces: squirt some hoisin (tuong) to make a dipping sauce for the beef meatballs (bo vien).

Lastly..
6...ATTACK!!!!!!.......the noodles!!!!!! Chomp Chomp away..

Hey..wait a minture...
Pho noodle without spring rolls??? You kidding me!!!..
they are my favourites!!!

Spring rolls aka Egg roll (Nem Rán or Cha giò) – deep fried flour rolls filled with pork meat, Vietnamese yam, crab, shrimp, rice vermicelli, mushrooms and other ingredients.
Summer rolls aka Spring rolls (Goi cuon) also known as Vietnamese fresh rolls. They are rice paper rolls that often include shrimp, herbs, rice vermicelli and other ingredients wrapped up and dipped in Nuoc cham or peanut sauce.

Slurping up the pho noodles

Truly the best Pho noodle i ever had....*blurppp*
excuse moi

I Love Kimchi~~

Seoul~~

Korean dramas = sobbie shows (i never watched a single korean drama show in my whole life)
except for "My Sassy girl"...hmm..but that's a movie leh
===> Oh boy, i love that movie so much eventhough it's like a really old one

After watching it with Tom, i kept calling myself "Sassy girl" for weeks
and everytime Tom does/says something that i disagree on, i'll go like "You WANNA die? You WANNA die?" like how she does it.. So funny~

I find the girl (cant rem her name off hand) really cute, and the guy even cuter
Tom find the girl really cute too..but he thought the guy was abit of a wuss

C'mon!! we "Sassy girls" loves guys like him!!! *yummy*

alrite, enough of this..i'm gonna talk about my Seoul trip actually..

I love Korean food! Its kinda hard to find authentic Korean food in Singapore..
My favourite hunt is probably the Korean Stall located at Mandarin Hotel's food court
The spicy shedded Chicken is a MUST-HAVE!!
Tom said that the Korean joint at Amara hotel serves really good Korean food too...

In Korea, the main course is usually served with rice, soup and a few side-dishes. They are usually Namul (Vegetable Dishes).

MY KIMCHI!!!! *tasty*

And this is my colleague with his bulgogi ===>"Korean barbecue". Thin, tender slices of beef are marinated with soy sauce, sesame oil, and other spices.

The irritating thing with bulgogi is that once the beef starts to simmer, there will be tons and tons of stoopid smoke. Moi's hair and clothes smell of Bulgogi after that!

And im not even the one eating it
*blame myself for sitting opposite him*
Grrrrrr

This is what moi had ===>spicy soup with ham and sausages.
Yesh, i know..it doesnt sound so KOREAN!! HAHA

After dinner, we decided to walk down to Nam Dae Mun Market.


From the outside, it looks kinda quiet and unappealing. But once you walked in, it's a totally different story!

They sell things ranging from hair accessories, clothes, food, cosmetics, toiletries
Anything and Everything!! Its amazing!!!
Of course, like any tourist place, you gotto bargain lah..But dun quote too low a price else they will curse u in some korean words and chase you away..
That's what happen to my colleague and myself when we tried to buy seaweed from this elderly uncle *ran away terrified*

At least moi managed to buy my fakie eye lashes and Laneige strawberry yogurt pack!
Laneige products are cheaper here!! (Of cos lah..Korean products mah..duh~)

Further down, we came to the food section of Nam Dae Mun.
I don't think i'll fancy this kind of Korean food..Like clams and sotong...Yikes
I mean i Love seafood but these are like..hmm, how should i say? Different from the usual kind of seafood

And this is probably the landmark for Seoul city!
the temple in the middle of skyscrapers!!

DAY VIEW~
NIGHT VIEW~


omg~ i'm late!!!!
Need to go down to T1 to pick up Tom's sisters, Kimmy and Lucy!!
They will be here in Singapore for one month..

Time check: touching down in 1hr time and i haven even prepare yet..
*rush off*

English word: Thank you
Korean word: kamsa hamnida (kam sa mi dan)

Rumor~ Gossip~ The wedding clashers

Moi was happily chomping on the fried bee hoon that my mom bought from the market when she suddenly asked me "Girl, Are you getting married soon?"

I practically choked on my fishcake
*Gulped down a cup of water*

"Mom, are you chasing me out of the house" i enquired
*suddenly, my fried bee hoon doesnt look so appealing anymore*

"No lah, i bumped into Auntie XXX(my ex-colleague's mom) on the way to the market and she MENTIONED that you are getting married soon"

my bewildered look======> (@_@) "

Apparently, this is the conversation she had with Auntie XXX
Auntie XXX: Hey, i heard your daughter is getting married soon
Mom (surprised look) : No, she never mentioned anything
Auntie XXX : Aiyohhhhhh, you don't know arh? The whole world knows about it!! She even put it on the website!!

First and foremost : MOM!!! if i'm getting married, YOU will be the first one to know!!
secondly ====> moi announced it in the website that i'm getting married soon??!!!!
HELLO??? pray tell me Where? When? How?
The only time that i recounted mentioning something about getting married soon was like in one of my blog entry...AND THAT was made in jest (as in a joke) like HAHAHAHA

I mean Tom and myself did talk about marriage and stuff as we feel really comfortable with each other and enjoy each other's company. And we are really very sure this is what we want for the rest of our life.
and yesh, we did went down to HDB to enquire about some information on purchasing a walk-in-selection flat...BUT we didn't as yet formalize any plans for a wedding yet
No wedding date is set
No wedding invites
No engagement rings
No HDB flat
nothing is in the pipleline as of today 18th Jun 2006

I mentioned to Tom about this and he was like "Hahaha, funny people"

So pple, if i gave the impression that im getting married really really soon, i apologise to all
And yesh, only when Tom and myself are ready to tie the knot, i'll send you the wedding invites that all of you have been waiting impatiently for..

you know what? im kinda afraid to post this entry cos im scared you guys might get
the wrong idea... again..instead of "Ohhh, you and Tom are getting married really soon..."
The thought will now be "Ohhh, you and Tom are not getting married anymore"
The human brain works in a weird manner sometimes! :P

My Lappy is SICK~

#&*!?$~/!}&#

My lappy is sick! (or as what my sista said===> Your lappy kena poisoned!)

My lappy just kena virus...Grrrr
*angry mood*

It happened quite innocently (like all virus do...duh~)
Moi was happily updating my bloggie when my bestest friend sent me an IM over MSN.
So moi opened the window and there was this message "view my pictures using this link"
Not suspecting anything at all, moi clicked the link and a message box popped up
click RUN or CANCEL
of cos, moi clicked the RUN icon lah..

Next thing i know:
my msn starts opening up conversation windows between moi and my friends and sending them some stuff before automatically closing it
i was like "FXXX, what the devil is going on?

20seconds later, i received a call from Tom
Tom: Hey, did you sent something to me?
Moi: Ya, it from XXXX. She sent me a exe file, i executed it. Next time i know, my lappy started behaving in a weird manner
Tom"HELLO!!! You do not ever open an exe. file unless you trust the source where it come from
Moi: Its from my bestest bestest friend!
Tom: Did you call her and ask her what's she sending?
Moi: Ermmm....I didnt.
*Tom probably rolled his eyes at this point in time*
Tom" I think you just got your laptop infected with a virus
Moi : *Stunned*

Then i had exactly the the same conversation with my Brother when i told him that i infected my lappy with a virus

Bro :HELLO!!! You do not ever open an exe. file unless you trusted the souce where it come from
Moi: Its from my bestest bestest friend!
Bro: Did you call her and ask her whats she sending?
Moi: Ermmm...I didnt.
Brother gave me a bewildered look and shake his head "tsk tsk"

The worst part?
Tom and Bro (kindly) advised me to reformat my harddisk to make sure that the virus is not lurking anywhere in my lappy..Sighz, this is like the ultimate anyone can get..

*i hate myself at this point in time*
The only consolation is that my bestest friend "innocently" opened the virus as well...
So im not the only naive one KKKKKKKK!!!! hmmph *stick tongue out*

Morale of the story:
Do not, i repeat, DO NOT open any exe files from anyone at all!!!!

And the Queen sincerely apologise to all of you whom she "unknowingly" sent the virus to
i'm a victim too!! *sobz*

English work : Very Dumb!!
Swedish word: mycket dumm

New York! New York! and Frankfurt

ole ole ole ole~~ ole ole~~

World cup mania...everywhere!

moi sitting infront of my lappy at 10pm and every now and then, someone living at my block, the next block, or in the coffeeshop downstair would screamed: "GOAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!"

I didnt know there's a surround sound system in my neighbourhood

My goodness~~~
i probably heard like "Goal!!" a million times BUT!! when i checked the scoreboard online, it's like 0:0 lor!!
Relax, people... don't kan cheong leh

i mean whats the big deal with Fifa World cup? Yesh, it happens only every four years (thank god for that!) but moi fail to see what's so fun abt 22 grown ups chasing after a ball?
*dodge flying saucer*

Hey! don't get violent...i mean that's just my opinion

So anyway, since moi was stopping by Frankfurt, might as well get some World Cup souvenirs to bring back to Singapore (and makes my friends envious..hahaha)

Fifa World Cup Germany 2006 Polo T-shirts for Tom and my brother's...selling like just 3.99Euros (S$8.00) *grab arh*

Shot glass with Germany flag
Moi wanted to buy the beer mugs as well but change my mind
Fragile stuff are really hard to carry back.. I kinda regret it now..but, alas
and this is a miniature jersey to hang on the car's window.
Nope, i don't own a car..

I need to mention this ===>
Shopping bags for your groceries or purchases are READ : NOT FREE!! in Frankfurt (I'm not sure whether it applys to the whole of Germany)
Moi had to pay 1 euro(S$2.00) for this plastic bag (not even a paperbag, mind you!) cos i forgot to bring my own shopping bag...
Morale of the story? BYO (Bring your own)

and guys! check this out!! see the crowd gathered at the rooftop of this building?

Alrite, lemme zoom in ===> they are actually Korean soccer fans!!!!

Yaay... it's the match between Korea Republic and Togo
i guess these die-hard fans failed to secure tickets at the Frankfurt stadium which is why they decided to put up a make-shift stage like beside the hotel moi is staying lor
(which makes me wonder..don't they have to work? Do you know that all around the world, companies are losing millions or even billions due to World cup? and im not talking about gambling and stuff)

im kinda impressed..i mean, c'mon.. would u be willing to stand 90plus minutes under the hot sun, supporting your country? (hmm, i mean i know of Singaporeans who stand in a quene for hours just to buy a Hello kitty plush toy or the Singapore Idols auditions)
And to travel all the way from Korean to Frankfurt just to watch a match from a screen on a stage?? talk about patriotism

I'm happy forKorea Republic who won in the end (like 2:1)
Only 2 Asian countries in Fifa World cup mah!! Must support support abit...

I mentioned in my earlier blog that i'm meeting up with my ex-colleague ===> Jon
He was working in my ex-company for half a year before going back to United States.

So we decided to meet up in New York since he said its not far from where's he putting up(Baltimore).
NOT FAR???!!!
it took him 3 hours drive, followed by an hour train ride before he reached New York!!!
omg~~
if i was him...........*sweat drop*
anyway, another reason he's coming to New York was to visit his cousin and family. His cousin's wife just gave birth to a baby girl! Uncle Jon....Muahahaha
so its like kill two birds with one stone..

all in all, it had been a fun trip~
sure hope to go New York again!!

New York leh!! New York has it all!!!!

06/06/06 = 666?

666 = luck luck luck (hokkien)
666 = drop drop drop (hokkien)
666 = sex sex sex (english)
666 = eat eat eat (cantonese)

666 is commonly known as the Number of the Beast in Book of Revelation chapter 13, verses 17-18.

Like i care?

Except...finally ==> "The Omen" is showing in cinemas
(I heard it's not a fantastic movie either)

It's probably a big deal to the 310 couples who solemnised their marriages at the Registry of Marriages
Apparently its the highest record in a day since Valentine's Day in 1995.

anyway, moi flying to New York (via frankfurt) tomorrow!! yaay~
finally..the last time i flew to NYC? like one and a half years ago...Gee, thats long huh?
i remembered its vividly cause we were struck in a snow storm in NYC!!!

hmmm..wait..lemme dig out the pictures...

and this is me posing for a picture...yesh, my tired look (what u expect? jetlag leh)


See!! winter in New York is horrendous...
thank god i'm going during the summer else i'll freeze my arse again..

moi meeting up with my American friend as well. He's my ex-colleague actually.
He was working in Singapore for half a year before he went back to US.

Hope i don't spend too much on this trip!