Our little family

My lovely little boy is finally here! Mr KE is still at home on paternity leave and we have spent the last few days getting to know our son. It's been tiring but we are both really happy.

I said to Mr KE today that I must be coming back to my normal self because I am starting to make lists again, haha the control freak returns. Although it would be nice to have some help, it is also nice that it's just the three of us at home on our little "babymoon". We are learning as we go along but seem to have slipped into a routine already. Yes, thank you Gina Ford!

New Year's Eve

It's New Year's Eve, Mr KE and I have got absolutely nothing planned and it's great. We have had a lovely Christmas break, just the two of us taking it easy. I haven't even been sale shopping; haven't even been into town....which is very unlike me (contrast with last year) but oh well, I have other things on my mind! This year I have spending my money on buggies and baby clothes :)

So what have we been up to?

• We had roast chicken for our Christmas dinner; with pigs in blankets (cocktail sausages wrapped in streaky bacon), roast potatoes, baby carrots, peas, bread sauce and gravy. No christmas pudding because Mr KE doesn't eat it and I'm not such a big fan. Instead, lots of chocolates and sweet gooey things all day.
• On Boxing Day Mr KE went to watch our local football team with his friends while I snoozed on the sofa.
• We have been sleeping in, going on long walks in our local parks and eating lots of indulgent food.
• Mr KE has been DIY-ing while I watch TV ....yes, it's a hard life....

It's now 7pm, we have no plans for dinner (takeaway? forage in the fridge? just eat more chocolate?) and the lack of pressure is really relaxing. You know what I mean - it's New Year's Eve...must have a good time.....even if you get totally stressed out doing it!

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas - Past, Present and Future

This will be the first Christmas ever that Mr KE and I are spending together on our own - and this is probably the only Christmas that it will be just the two of us. Well, for some years to come anyway.

We normally spend the holidays with his parents in the countryside but this year we are avoiding the journey and staying at home. To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to spending some you-and-me time with Mr KE in our London nest before the pipsqueak arrives. As I have been reminded by lots of friends who have young children - spend as much time with your husband as possible, go to the pub, eat out and enjoy sleeping in. I know that they are not trying to be negative about having children, but the reality is that life will be completely different...but that's okay.

From a practical point of view, this means that I am cooking our Christmas dinner!! My mother-in-law always has christmas completely organised so usually we just turn up at their house, eat lots of delicious food and spend the whole holiday sitting on the sofa watching TV and eating chocolates. I am totally useless daughter-in-law, hahahaha.

Although we aren't really thinking about Christmas (we haven't even got a tree), I still have to make some kind of effort on the food front. I've even written out "menus" :) .... good little wife or what??

A Norfolk Garden

Mr KE and I spent the weekend at his parents' place in North Norfolk. His parents live in a Norfolk Flint cottage about 10 minutes away from the coast.

The weather was nice (for September) so I spent some time in their garden and took some photos while the sun was out. I really like their garden because it's really interesting and looks good all year round.


This part of their garden always reminds me of the sea. It looks beautiful, even in September - so you can imagine waht it looks like in high summer. At the end you can see their blue summer house. The summer house is a cosy space with doors that open completely at the front; the whole house is built on a turntable so you can rotate it to catch the sun.

You can also see one of their beloved Siamese cats in the photo.

Another view of the garden. It's divided into sections, almost like rooms.

This a view of the house from the bottom of the garden. It is actually a terrace of 5 small cottages converted into one big house. As one of their relatives said, "You've bought a whole street of houses!".


Their back door. You can see the "flint", which is the traditional building material in the Norfolk area.

Thank You!

Some very nice people sent Mr K-E these chocolates for his birthday.

Thank you very much! Now - which one shall we open first....hmmm decisions decisions...

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my Mummy who is in Brunei. I hope you had a nice day. Sorry I couldn't speak to you because I was out shopping :) while Mr K-E was doing DIY.

Remember this? Hahahaha!



(Sorry everyone, private joke between me and my mother. Happy Mother's Day to all mothers out there.)

Husbands and Wives

I heard some really surprising news today. My mother told me that Uncle X, a close friend of our family, has left (or been kicked out by) his wife. The reason? She found out that he has a very young Chinese, i.e. from mainland China, mistress. His wife is very upset. His grown-up children are shocked.

I can hardly believe it. He just doesn't seem the type at all. I feel really sorry for his wife, my Auntie. They didn't have an easy life when they were younger and their children were young; now they have reached the stage where they can relax : children grown up and married with good jobs, time to look forward to grandchildren etc etc. Instead, it's now tears and recriminations.

The worst thing is, I told Mr K-E about it and his response was: well, that's quite normal in Brunei isn't it? So many of your Dad's friends have second wives.

It's not easy being a wife. 35 years of scrimping, saving, cleaning, looking after your children, cooking dinner and washing your husband's underpants. Then he trades you in for a 20 year old; with a face and body that hasn't been worn down by 4 kids and a lifetime of putting other people first.

I had better stop now, before I blog myself into a depression.

A New Year Resolution

Looking back at the resolutions I made for 2007; most things went well. OK, I could have gone to the gym more, cooked more, had more packed lunches etc etc but hey I'm not going to beat myself up about it.

On the whole, 2007 has been a good year for me and Mr K-E. We went to Paris and Tokyo, we both got promoted at work and we've had fun together all year.

As for 2008, I'm going to focus on what is precious to me i.e my husband and close family. It's just easy to forget that sometimes when deadlines are looming and the pressure builds up.

At the end of last year, I was drained emotionally and physically - my batteries were completely dead. After this break and a good rest i.e. lots of sleep and lazing around doing nothing; I can see that I was utterly exhausted by the end of 2007. So much so that even a promotion had me in the depths of despair. I actually cried the night that I was told; I wanted the position but felt so low about work that it seemed like a bad thing, not a good thing.

Considering that I'm back at work tomorrow, I'm feeling pretty optimistic. I'm ready to take on the extra responsibility and inevitable increased workload... it's all going to be OK :)

As for resolutions:

I resolve to spend more time and energy making the people that I love happy.

Merry Christmas Everybody!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Mr K-E and I are back from the in-laws. I thought I would be able to post while I was there, but their internet connection has been very dodgy. A side effect of living "in the woods" :)

Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely time with family and friends. May the feasting continue!

Christmas Shopping

Yep, it's that time of year again. Mr K-E and I fought the crowds in Selfridges on Saturday and bought Christmas presents for his family. Whew, at least the women in his family are taken care of now. Can't say more in case they read this and it spoils the surprise!

I also chose some of my own presents, mainly makeup and body goodies from Benefit (oh how I adore Benefit) and Clinique. *happy me*

I've realised that time is running out to read all the books that I got given for Christmas last year as I will be getting a whole box full again this year. Not that I'm ungrateful of course. I just never got round to reading all those hardbacks.

Last Weekend

Last weekend, some of Mr K-E's Australian relatives were in town so we spent Saturday afternoon tramping around the Tower of London.

Mr K-E was excited when he saw Tower Bridge opening. He took this picture from inside the Tower of London.

Here is another night-time shot. Mr K-E took this while I shivered on the riverbank.

We had dinner in Browns in Butler's Wharf. I had a rib-eye steak which was lovely - perfectly cooked.

Sister-in-law C had sea bass with roasted vegetables. I thought it was very well presented. C said it was delicious too. You can also see what Mr K-E's Aunt had i.e. steak and guinness pie.

Saturday

I met my cousin at Victoria Station, dumped his bags in the left luggage and headed on to Charing Cross Road for some dimsum lunch. Victoria station was in chaos, so I gave up and we got a taxi instead.

Mr K-E joined us in the afternoon and we wandered around Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square for a bit. The usual protests were on - this time for Burma.

Doesn't Mr K-E have a lovely eye for a shot? Look at Nelson framed dramatically against that sky.

Then we headed to Harrods. Aaahh, Harrods - home of overpriced plastic shopping bags and expensive biscuits that you buy for folks back home. Yep, I bought one of those tacky vinyl bags that says "Harrods" on it as a gift for a cousin back home. No point trying to resist. Just pay the money and move on. :)

I haven't been to Harrods for years, so I had forgotten how OTT it is. I certainly don't remember this bust of Pharoah Mohamad Al-Fayed. The man really has no shame.

Ego-tastic!

Friday evening

Is it Friday already? Where has the week gone? Mr K-E is away tonight; he has been white water rafting with his work colleagues and is staying overnight in Nottingham.

He had a big night out planned with his gang, and I certainly wouldn't want to get in his way!

Tomorrow my cousin is coming over for a few days. We have cleaned and tidied up the flat; only the bathroom is left to do. I just can't bring myself to do it tonight - the plan is, get up early and whizz through it before heading to meet cousin at Victoria station. Aaah, housework.

Weekend

This weekend Mr K-E and I went to visit some relatives of his in Colchester, Essex. We travelled up on Saturday for a night out with his cousins, before a family lunch on Sunday with all his older relatives present.



His brother and sister plus partners were there too, and we all stayed in The Rose and Crown Hotel. The building dates from the 14th century and used to be an old post house. I liked it a lot although the rooms were very small - understandable given the age of the building.








We went out for a curry before heading out from drinks in Colchester city centre. All the Essex girls were out in their hotpants and Mr K-E was most appreciative!

On Sunday, we had a leisurely breakfast in Cafe Rouge before trying to find his Aunt's place. Many phone calls later, we all managed to gather for a late summer lunch in her garden.



You can see my plate in the first photo. Clockwise from the top, I had : mozzarella and tomato salad, roast chicken, poached salmon with hollandaise sauce, coleslaw and potato salad. Mr K-E's Aunt had poached a whole salmon (yum) and roasted a few chickens. There was also other food, but I was still full from our late breakfast.

Mr K-E says: I don't think you should post photos of half-eaten plates of food on your blog. But I think these photos show the general atmosphere at the lunch: a simple summer buffet, close family, eating outdoors...


The pudding selection: meringues, strawberries, chocolate torte, pistachio and cherry chocolate slices.

Strawberries, meringue and cream. Washed down with champagne to toast a birthday. *licks lips*

Old-fashioned Bryani

In my first year at University, there was a girl living on the same floor at my Hall of Residence who was called Bryony. I could never get her name right and to our mutual embarassment, used to call her bryani. Oh well, we were never destined to be friends.



Anyway, today I decided to make a bryani and consulted my Mum's faithful Ellice Handy cookbook. I think this cookbook is the same age as me, and dates back to the time when you couldn't get fresh dairy products in Brunei. Retro is cool, man.

One of the main ingredients is evaporated milk. Now that's something you don't see celebrity chefs using on TV, hahaha.












There's something so relaxing and fulfilling about pounding and grinding. I ground up all the spices fresh, and the smells permeated the kitchen even before I started cooking.

For added richness, the recipe also calls for ground almonds.









OK, rubbish photo - but trust me, it was delicious. It was a lamb bryani, by the way. *licks lips*

Five things that I hate about London

1. Eating out is really expensive.
2. Oxford Circus on a Saturday. I avoid it like the plague.
3. It's far away from Brunei where my Mummy and Daddy live :(
4. The crazies at the bus stop. But I guess you get them in every city.
5. You do get sucked into a materialistic shopping spiral. Hmmm, not sure whether that's a love or hate thing for me?

Happy (Kia Su) Mother's Day

People in Brunei celebrated Mother's Day today. What with everything else going on, I had completely forgotten about it until my Mother mentioned it during our telephone coversation this afternoon.

I have to be quite organised about Mother's Day because in the UK, everyone celebrates Mothering Sunday which is in March. So I have to buy a Mother's Day card in March and hang onto it until May.

My mother and I had a good chuckle about the general kiasu-ness of Brunei society. This morning, her circle of friends were comparing what their grown-up children had got them for Mother's Day.

(Kiasu literally means "scared to lose" and could be roughly translated as "keeping up with the Jones".)

So Mrs A was waving around a new piece of jewellery while Mrs B "complained" that her son was taking her to Empire for lunch, despite the fact that it was sooo expensive. Meanwhile Mrs C is too busy to chat as her daughters have arranged a special family lunch for her.

Hahahaha. Things never change.

Crabby Monday

Oh, oh, oh, another day another blog.

Today is the day that

• a crazy guy went on the rampage in Virginia, killing 33 people. It is the worst campus shooting in US history. I hope that I don't read this entry in a year's time and find that this number has been surpassed by yet another disturbed man with a gun.

• someone said that chocolate is better than kissing. Well, surely it depends on the chocolate and the kissing. I mean, there's kissing and there's kissing.

• I ate lots of these little crabs from Aji Ichiban. Now I feel sick. Damn it, will I ever learn to stop before the nausea begins?

My brother-in-law travels a lot and every time he is in HongKong he gets me and my sister lots of snacks. Mr K-E says they look horrible (like the facehuggers from the Alien movies) and smell even worse than they look.

There is the slightest resemblance I suppose.

Happy Easter

I had some friends visiting this weekend so I didn't go to Easter Vigil mass as planned. We went out for dinner and drinks on Saturday night, staggering in after two in the morning.

When the alarm clock rang on Sunday morning, Mr K-E nudged me and muttered - Get up, you have to go to Mass. Unfortunately, the spirit was willing but the flesh rolled over.

Oh, well, Happy Easter everybody!

I had Simnel Cake today, which is fruit cake with marzipan on top. The 11 marzipan balls on top represent the apostles; there are 11 balls as Judas is not invited.

There is another layer of marzipan in the cake, which makes it extra yummy.







When we finally got out of bed, we went to the Imperial War Museum because there was an exhibition about Camouflage on.







I can't recommend it though, I thought it was a rip-off. I expected more about modern methods of military camouflage and "future" camouflage techniques, but it was mainly focused on WWI and WWII stuff. For £7, I want more!










I don't think this taxi is well camouflaged at all, do you?






We then wandered into the West End and had lunch at Yo Sushi. I was surprised that Virgin Megastores and HMVs were shut. I don't think I've ever seen them shut during the day!

Anyway, it's been such a busy weekend that Mr K-E has not even started eating his Easter eggs. The chocolate frenzy starts tomorrow.

Sunday Lunch : Pleasant Pheasant

It's been a gluttonous weekend. Thai food on Friday night, giant burgers on Saturday and traditional (i.e. big) Sunday lunch today.



I started off early this morning with some of the ham that Mr K-E brought back from his snow boarding trip. Oh, it just melts in the mouth....







It's been a while since we have had a roast dinner, so today I thought I would perform the "good wife" routine and cook Sunday lunch. Yes, pheasant! Hahaha, I am a "good wife"! (Mr K-E's parents brought us a pheasant when they visited two weeks ago. They live in the countryside and often get given pheasants by their hunting-shooting friends.)






It's terrible how spoilt we are by supermarket culture. The pheasant had been plucked, hung and cleaned, but I was quite disgusted because it still had a few feathers on it and it was "bleeding". I remember my Mum killing chickens at the back of our house - I think if I had to kill and clean a chicken myself, I would quickly turn vegetarian.





I had to ask Mr K-E to singe off the long hairs that still remained on the bird.








I have eaten pheasant before but I have never cooked it myself so I looked online for some tips first. Apparently you need to add lots of butter or other fat to the pheasant to keep it moist during roasting as it doesn't have a lot of fat itself. So I pushed knobs of butter underneath the skin which seemed to do the trick.



When I cook roast chicken, I normally stuff the cavity with lemon wedges, onions and bruised garlic cloves; I thought it would work well with pheasant too. Then we just placed the bird onto a roasting pan surrounded by potatoes (semi-cooked already), carrots, onions and mushrooms. Add lots of salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon, a drizzle of olive oil and then into the oven for 60-70 minutes.




While that was going on, I made gravy with the pheasant's heart and liver. I fried a chopped onion in butter, and added the heart and liver (also chopped up). Add some flour to thicken, plus chicken stock, a bay leaf, some lemon juice, salt and pepper plus a little bit of sugar. When the pheasant was cooked I also added the pan juices to make the gravy extra yummy. Mr K-E doesn't like "bits" in his gravy, so I strained it. Home-made gravy is delicious.




Ta da- Traditional Sunday lunch. Mr K-E says that my roast dinners are the best, better than anyone else's. Awww, thanks honey.



I still had room to squeeze in some ice cream with caramel sauce.


Then to complete the great tradition of Sunday lunch, we are now collapsed on the sofa watching Sunday evening TV.