Addicted To Kolok Mee

A bowl of scrumptious kolok mee bound to tantalize all of your senses!

"Slurp!"

"God this is delicious!" I thought to myself as I took another mouthful of the springy noodle drenched in fragrant oil.

On the table there was silence. Just the sounds of chopsticks clanged with the porcelain bowl.

Meanwhile in my mouth, there was an orchestra of flavours. Springy noodle. Sweet juicy roast pork – all begging to invade my senses and bring me to a who le new world of satisfaction.

Topped up with crispy minced meat, mixed together in savoury lard. Simply marvellous!

Within minutes, all that was left is the greasy bowl and a smile of sheer delight on my face.

"I just love to cook", she smiled when asked why she did it.

"The secret recipe is the lard. And garlic oil. Those were the most important ingredients for kolok mee" Anna Ng says with much pride in front of her stall at the corner lot shop along the streets of Kuching.

"I have tried others and made my own research on how to cook a delicious kolok mee", she said. And she should know, as she has been in business selling the beloved local dish for the past four years.

"I usually fry the garlic combined with lard and that makes the noodles so fragrant. The chopped meat is maintained to its original taste."

"Therefore my noodles taste different from others. And many of my customers like it."

Kolok Mee is a type of noodle dish commonly found in Kuching, Sarawak.

"Kolok" in the local Hokkien dialect describes the method of the noodle is being cooked.

Springy egg noodle blanched in hot water that looks like instant noodle and served in lard with some condiments like sliced pork and minced meat. It is served throughout the day – for breakfast, lunch and even supper!

Kolok mee resembles wantan mee which is popular in the Peninsula, but with an oomph to it!

The difference between the two however, is that kolok mee is not drenched in dark soy sauce and water is not added to the noodles when served. The helping of noodles also does not come with wantan. Instead, there is minced pork together with slices of roast pork or char siew.

Kolok mee comes in two common flavours; plain or seasoned with red sauce. Either way they taste just as good! Not to mention it is reasonably cheap too. A dish can cost anywhere between three and four ringgit. Cheap, delicious and amazingly satisfying. What more can you ask for?

Since Kuching has a sizeable Chinese population especially of Hakka and Hokkien descent, kolok mee is very much entrenched in the food culture here.

To suit the local Muslim community, the kolok mee is even replaced with strips of chicken instead of pork. That way everybody gets to savour the local delight.

For John Lister Chan, 31, kolok mee reminds him of home.

Thus, whenever he leaves town, the first thing he would look for upon returning to Kuching is kolok mee.

"Because it is our hometown's special dish. You can't find it anywhere. It is famous here in Kuching", he gushes on as he shared about why he loves the dish.

"Kolok mee is our traditional food. Therefore the government should promote this dish as our local pride before it is forgotten”, he laments.

"Kolok mee has a history of many years but nowadays the locals tends to switch to other foods such as dimsum"

For every cat you see in the city, there you will find kolok mee. Literally, everywhere around the city. It is undoubtedly everybody's favourite traditional dish.

However it is more than just a hearty bowl of noodles. It is close to the hearts of many locals. To them that is where home is. This simple yet delightful dish does not just bridge the local community but has even got me, a non-local, caught up in its craze.

“A bowl of kolok mee please?”, I smile to the lady standing behind the stall. I watch her prepare the meal as she places the sliced roast pork on top of the noodles.

My memories took me back to 3 years ago. That was the last time I had kolok mee. It was love at first bite. And that was all I have been thinking of since my recent flight to the city of cats.

Anna brought the dish before me. My nose tingled as I caught a whiff of the rich aromatic smell. I delightedly picked up the chopsticks and mixed the noodles together with all the accompaniments inside the bowl, blending them together to a perfect harmony. I took a mouthful of it. And another. And another..

Ever since then, I have been having them for 3 consecutive days. And I’m not even complaining. Why? Because I simply just can’t get enough of it!"

Puppy Brown Eyes

He held my hand. His fingers entwined with mine.
Shy. I pulled away.
My mind went ahead of me.
He's just fooling with me, I thought.
So I pushed him away.
After dinner with the rest, he held on to me tightly asking me to stay.
I wriggled my arms from his hold.
I walked away.
Was I too much? I was quite flattered I must say.
He's adorable and I liked him.
But it's not possible. We are not possible.
I'm afraid he even thinks that I was into girls!
Cos I was hanging out more with them.
But the facts is, I'm in love with those puppy brown eyes.

The Other Woman

“You think I didn’t know what you were doing? Late nights, drunk, smelling of women.”

He just walked in the door, ignoring the screams of his wife.

He placed his brown leather bag down on the sofa and starts to unbutton his shirt.

“You were with that woman huh??” She grabbed his shirt violently, inspecting the fabric and demanded an explanation.

One hand on her waist.. “I smell female perfume.. How could you do this to me?? I‘ve been with you for 10 years!! And our children??”

Two little girls in their pyjamas, quietly sitting at the staircase. The smallest one hugged her doll tightly as her sister held her and they both started crying.

He just ignored her. Nothing came out of his mouth. As he sits down and flicked through the channels on the remote control.

She began to loose control as she rummaged through his leather bag. Papers flying across the room.

“What are you doing?? Are you out of your mind??” He stood up and his held on to the bag.

“HAH! What’s this you bloody bastard?!?” She held a black pantyhose right in front of his face.

“Tell me who’s that slut?? What does she has that I don’t have??”

“I’ve been wanting to tell you if you weren’t so crazy woman..”

“These pantyhose are mine..” he snatched them back. Later he held out a bright pink wig from his bag.

“Don’t worry honey. There is no other woman. He’s my ex-boss.”

Her jaws dropped as her knees weaken and like a feather she allowed gravity to pull her to the sofa.

He then placed the wig over his head, turned around and walk towards the door. He swayed his hips as he walked out the door with HER red heels.

Dreaming Of A Dream

The clock on the wall shows it’s quarter to 5pm. 15 minutes seems like forever. Just as I was about to finish the last sentence of my report, he gives me another file to process.

“What the hell? I was already packing my bag and ready to go home for dinner with family.”

His seems to be mumbling though I can’t make sense of what he is saying as my gaze moved to a picture of a pristine beach stuck on my cubicle wall.

“Boy, can I have a glass of cold Pina Colada? I asked the shirt-less waiter who was holding a tray of drinks near the beach benches.

“Yes madam..” He replied as I put on my sunglasses and continued with the book that I was reading.

The salty sea breeze kissed my skin and the hammock moved along with the wind.

The sound of waves and birds chirping were so soothing that it made my eyelids grew heavier.

“I am freezing ALL your annual leaves as we are short of staffs this month. I understand you applied for leave the next 5 days but we are going to have to freeze those days honey. Sorry..”

“OH NOOOO…… I have already booked my holiday in Redang!!!”

“Madam.. Are you alright? Here’s your Pina Colada.”

“Oh thank you.”

Wow what kind of nasty dream was that? I shrugged it away as I sipped from my drink and continued my book. The wind blew even stronger.. I lost balance and my hammock overturned.

“BUMMP!!” I hit my bum on the floor..

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON THE FLOOR??” my boss asked.

“Oh I’m sorry.. What were you saying Sir?”

“I said you leaves have been frozen. You will work extra hours from now onwards!!”

“No extra claims. Think of it as for your personal development. Since you are still new, it’s good for the big boss to see you working hard.”

The clock shows 5.05pm. Oh well there goes my dinner plans.

Season of Loneliness

At this moment here are 3 people I missed the most; momsie dearest, salsa boy and my super bubbly ex-housemate. Now that they are not around, life does seemed a little dull, boring and yes, lonely.

There’s this movie coming up, The Ugly Truth. I don’t know with whom to watch it with. Need somebody to cuddle with and share a box of popcorn, while laughing out loud in the movies (the last time I laughed so hard I cried was Kung Fu Panda). My favorite romantic-mushy-movie-kaki has already promised her church friends she’d watch it with them. It’s been awhile since I have been in the company of familiar faces. Somebody I can really connect with and just rant about my day at work and frustrations. At the moment blogging about them will just do. Not many people really listen nowadays. The last time I remembered it does feels good to have somebody to just listen to you. Take in all your crappy jokes and lameness. Sigh where are all my friends? They must be busy I think. Can’t rely on others to make myself happy. It’s only me, myself and I.

You don’t really know how much someone means to you until they are gone. It is when you really missed them and think about them everyday. Life feels different when they leave. Or maybe I’m just too used to them, it’s taking some time to adjust. But why is it taking so long? Ouch. Didn’t really appreciate my housemate until she left. Every night she would be the first person to greet me “Hello, How are you?“ with a bright smile as I enter the door. Always cheerful and happy, we’d share our stories at the doorsteps of our rooms. She’s quite a hyper one I tell you. Each night the other roommate will be far asleep in La-La Land while we were still up in the late night laughing away at our silly jokes and games. Nowadays I come home to emptiness and quietness.

Mom has always been always my comfort and joy. Truly the home is where the heart is. Where mom is, that’s home. What huge sacrifice a mother has to make to be apart from family and loved ones just to earn a better living. A mother that provides only what’s best for her children. Never thinking of herself but always putting others first. Mom, you are my hero!

Losing a companion is just as equally as bad. Somebody who is up for just about anything. Someone just as adventurous and like-minded, whom you feel connected somehow. We can just talk about anything (even about boys!), often having deep discussions over supper. What I’d miss most is about his absolutely funny and random remarks (and sometimes actions). During dance night outs he’d comment about how hot or sexy I looked and notices the clothes and accessories I wear. And I liked that. He’s such a fun guy. When we salsa or dance, nothing else matters, it’s just having the great chemistry on the dance floor and I feel most comfortable to slut-dance with him. He’s also someone whom I can pseudo-flirt and ask out for movies/dancing/dinner/theater/shopping/events/just-about-anything! So far I think he’s the only one who fits the jacket. But of course he had to return back to homeland for good and it was goodbye from him.

So.. life goes on. Like it or not, I have to pick up the pieces and move forward. But at the mean time I’d prefer to be left alone reminiscing the good times. I guess I could also use some hug.

Seducing Mr. Perfect

Hubba hubba

There's this guy. To me he's just perfect. He cooks, bakes, does house chores and loves kids. Best part is, I can totally imagine myself with him because he knows me well and accepts me for who I am. The lame-ness and airhead-ness that is me. There's definitely chemistry as we could talk and engage of different levels of discussion. He'd listen to my funny stories and we'd have a good laugh.

He's my Oracle. Gives me directions on the road as well as in life. Not to mention he's also charming, smart, opinionated, outgoing, spontaneous and funny. Like me, he loves to travel, loves food and loves love.

A gentleman like him is hard to find. Opens the door for me. Prepares me food and there was once he even grinded the pepper onto my meal which drew envy from another table next to us. He treats me like a princess. Held my hands when crossing the street. Made me felt safe. Well not that I'm insecure of anything, but it sure felt nice!

His parents? They simply adore me! His mom even suggested him to marry me. Well I always knew I'm a good daughter-in-law material. Which I actually don't mind. Tall, nice bod, has career, car, cash. You name it! Indeed an eligible bachelor. Ok maybe a wee bit too old for that. Men of his age would have a teenage kid by now. But that's not a problem to me. Men tend to look better as they age, unlike women.

However there just seems to be only ONE problem. Mr.Perfect is not available (well most of the time they aren't anyway). Not in a million years. At least not for me.

Unfortunately, he has a boyfriend.

Now how can I compete with THAT???

S+S Experience

With awesome dancers, Suhaili and Weijun!

Gala night was great although we didn't win anything (except for our fellow dancer, Suhaili which took home the award for best female dancer for Shades Of The Moon, and best choreographer AND best production for her other piece, Nerds Gone Nuts. Yeah the woman is multi-talented. However I guess Weijun was more disappointed due to the feedback we got from some audience that our dance was rather "artsy". Apparently not many people actually understood the piece. Deeming it as too "deep". Well I guess that's the challenge of being too artistic when the audiences are not. Sometimes you need not crack your head too much to solve the mystery, but just enjoy the art as it is. At the very least for its aesthetic value. Well that's what I think. Art (even paintings in art galleries) always leaves room for personal interpretations.

The art of lights, sound and movements perhaps?

Oh well whatever is it for me, I'm very much happy with the outcome. For me it was the whole experience, the whole package. Since I had no dancing background whatsoever (except salsa) and I just wanted a stage to perform. And the fact that I was an outcast (as nobody actually picked my during the auditions) but Weijun took me in. He told me that everybody who auditioned should deserve a chance and for that I'm just so grateful. Being in the gala night itself was such an honour. And for me working with such professionals like Weijun and Suhaili, I couldn't ask for more as I learnt so many things from them, besides getting to meet new people. Truly, I'm very much inspired by all these talented dancers. They have the talents, the commitment and most importantly the passion to dance!

My debut performance in "Shades Of The Moon". And that my friend, is the block.

Most of the time backstage, I would feel so small and insignificant compared to others in the Short+Sweet Dance. I understand that some of the dancers were trained ballerinas from the age of 5! Others could do headstands, splits, flips, twirls and stunts almost effortlessly which I could only dream of doing. Therefore, I'm only good at what I do, which is the choreography on the block. Oh but it was just so inspiring to see them dance nevertheless! It felt just like in the movies (being backstage) but lesser dramas of course. Dancers getting ready warming up before the show as my nerve creeps up!

Adrenaline pumping 10 minutes before show. From the backstage monitoring screen we could see the audiences as they enter the hall and fill up the seats. The stage manager cues us and the show begins! Nothing else that went through my mind as I stepped up the block and do my 'thang. In mind, all I could think of was "I just needed to get it right, every step, don't screw up!" And add in some soul to each choreographed step (which am still figuring out how!).

Auww.. Backstage with The Moonies.

I'm also thankful I didn't have any wardrobe malfunction the whole time we were on stage as it was just a thinly-strapped white baby doll dress clinging over my shoulders. Thankfully nothing snapped, otherwise it would ended up as a peek-a-boo show! And the white dress I got from Times Square, oh it was just perfect and cheap!

Dressing room 2 : Moons + Nerds + Mamis!

What also made the whole experience most memorable was sharing the same dressing room with a crazy bunch of people, Nerds Gone Nut and Mami Jarum. They are just hilarious! We would laugh our heads off watching Little Rascals together in the dressing room backstage while getting ready for the show. Plus having Fuzzy together in the same competition and same dressing room is just the cherry on top! I think we were destined to get into it together, we auditioned together, we got in together and share the same dressing room together! Although for different dance pieces. But it was fun to have him around and he's such a sweetheart for doing my hair every night before the show! Apparently he had always had a dormant passion for hairstyling since childhood! Just missing was a make up artist!

My hairstylist, Fadzli. Thanks dude for doing my hair!

All in all, it was a wonderful experience for me as I will surely not forget my debut dance performance (not to mention artistic dance!). Besides, I don't know when will I have a chance to do it again. I must say the timing was just perfect. If it was any bigger production I wouldn't have the time to commit due to my work schedules. Indeed it the experience was Short+Sweet!