My Travel History

And... there goes 2018.

2018 - Australia (Gold Coast), Hong Kong, New Zealand, Taiwan (Taipei), Thailand (Bangkok)
2017 - Hong Kong, Thailand (Bangkok, Chiang Mai), U.K (London, Salisbury, Bath, Bristol, Bibury, Cornwall), Australia (Melbourne, Tasmania), Japan (Osaka, Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagato, Hiroshima)

2016 - Hong Kong, Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia (Labuan), Norway (Oslo, Bergen, Tromso), Denmark (Copenhagen), Sweden (Stockholm, Gothernberg)

2015 - Hong Kong, Indonesia (Bali), Netherlands (Amsterdam, Leiden, The Hague), Belgium (Brussels, Bruges), China (Shenzhen), Japan (Tokyo, Kanazawa, Takayama)
2014 - Hong Kong, Vietnam (Hanoi), Taiwan (Taipei), U.K (London, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Moreton-in-Marsh, Warwick, Blackpool, Windermere, Carlisle, York), Thailand (Hua Hin)
2013 - Hong Kong, Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh, Da Nang), Thailand (Koh Samui), Indonesia (Bali),  Finland (Helsinki), Czech Republic (Prague, Cesky Krumlov), Austria (Vienna, Salzburg), Italy (Florence, Rome)
2012 - Taiwan (Taipei), Thailand (Bangkok), Indonesia (Batam), 

2011 - Taiwan (Taipei), Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu), Indonesia (Batam)

2010 - Taiwan (Taipei, Taidong), Australia (Melbourne), U.K (London)

2009 - Malaysia (Johor Bahru), Hong Kong

2008 - Russia (Moscow), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh), Hong Kong, Macau, China (Zhuhai)

2007 - Australia (Gold Coast), Thailand (Phuket), Thailand (Krabi)

2006 - Taiwan (Taipei)

2005 - Australia (Perth), Cruise

2004 - Cruise, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Malaysia (Redang Island)

2002 - Malaysia (Tioman), U.S (Chicago)

Considering the following places to visit next year:

Japan (Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo) - trip booked
U.S (San Francisco) - trip booked

Together with another family cruise probably around July, my leave for 2019 will be wiped out totally. 

Stir-fried Chinese Spinach

Stir-fried Chinese Spinach (serves 2)

This recipe can actually be used on other vegetables as well.

Ingredients:

300g of Chinese spinach
1 teaspoon of cooking oil
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of mirin


Instructions:

1) Wash and chop the spinach into smaller pieces.

2) Heat up the wok with the cooking oil, then fry the garlic until it starts to turn brown.

3) Add the spinach, mirin and soy sauce, then saute the spinach until it wilts. It should take around 3 minutes.

4) Add the sesame oil, mix it well, then serve.

Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce

Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce (serves 2)

If you are all right with using store-bought black bean sauce, this dish can require less than 5 minutes of preparation. I use the Lee Kum Kee black bean garlic sauce, and find that it tastes pretty good. For the pork ribs, try to get Indonesian pork ribs instead of Malaysian or Australian - they really taste better. They cost more quite a bit more, though.

Ingredients:

500g of pork ribs
3 tablespoons of black bean sauce
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine


Instructions:

1) Marinate the pork ribs with the black bean sauce, minced garlic, and Chinese cooking wine. Leave it overnight or for at least 4 hours.

2) Steam it for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on large the pork ribs are.

Baked Chicken with Carrots

Baked Chicken with Carrots

Ingredients:

3 whole chicken drumsticks, cut into 2 pieces each
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1 whole carrot, chopped into roughly 1 cm slices


Instructions:

1) Dry the chicken as much as possible, then season it with salt and pepper. More salt can be added on the skin to absorb the moisture - this will help in making the skin crispy. It will also help if you use a toothpick to poke some holes all over the chicken - this will let excess moisture out of the chicken, helping to ensure that the skin will be crispier.

2) Drizzle some olive oil on an oven tray, then place the chicken (skin up) and carrots on it.

3) Preheat the oven at 200 degrees, put the tray in for 20 to 25 minutes, then serve.

Happy Birthday, Not

The thing about being in group chats is when someone wishes you happy birthday.

So I was hoping that no one from my JC group chat will remember my birthday last week. However, at 716pm, someone triggered it. Damn, I even removed my birth date from all my social media accounts, hoping that no one will remember it. Oh well, these are my JC friends who have known me for two decades, so I can't expect none of them to remember.

I groaned, and waited for the wishes to come from the rest... sporadically. Am I supposed to thank them one by one? Can I just thank all of them - those who have replied (so far)? What if more wish me after I have thanked them? Do I have to thank the rest too?

In the end, I waited till it was almost midnight, and just sent a simple message to thank them all. I hope I didn't sound too patronising.

Oven-Baked Salmon Fillet

Oven-Baked Salmon Fillet (serves 2)

This is so easy that anyone can do it. It requires little preparation, little ingredients, and little skill.

Ingredients:

1 salmon fillet, approximately 400g
Salt


Instructions:

1) Clean the salmon fillet (especially the skin) and remove any bones. Use the knife to scrape across the skin to remove as much moisture as possible. You can make some slits (length-wise) on the skin as well.

2) Dry the salmon with a kitchen towel, then add some salt to the skin. Be generous - the salt helps to extract even more moisture from the skin. Place the salmon on some kitchen towels, skin-side down, and leave it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

3) Pat off any excess salt, and season the bottom of the salmon lightly with some salt.

4) Preheat the oven to 230 degrees Celsius on grill mode.

5) Put the salmon in, skin-side up, for 8 to 10 minutes. The skin should be wonderfully crispy.

Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs

Lotus Root Soup with Pork Ribs

Ingredients:

300g of pork spare ribs, preferably from Indonesia
Extra pork bones (optional)
300g of lotus roots
40g peanuts
A few strips of dried cuttlefish
6 to 8 red dates (optional)
Salt


Instructions:

1) Wash the lotus roots, then cut them into thick slices.

2) Add the pork spare ribs to around 1 litre of water. Bring to a boil, then remove the foam from the surface.

3) Add the lotus roots into the pot, together with the peanuts, some salt, red dates and dried cuttlefish. Bring it to a boil.

4) Cover and cook over low heat for around 2 hours, then taste and add more salt if necessary. Alternatively, transfer the contents into a slow cooker and put it on low power for 8 hours or high power for 4 hours.