From up high...

Despite my constant air travels, I am still awed by the work of a mightier source somewhere out there. I used to prefer an aisle seat but recent years have seen me choosing a window seat for the opportunity to watch the world from a different perspective.

Helps to put me back into perspective with things in life, too. Humility, generosity, patience. Life is good. :)

Kura III

We were introduced to this small unassuming Japanese place by college friends. Naturally, those living in the city would know better than us 'hill rabbits' living up in the north-western suburbs. The place is small but obviously thriving, as it has been operating for as long as I have been living in Sydney.

Instantly, I fell in love with their egg udon, a simple bowl of udon with just one egg. For $8, it was quite a deal for students like us living on a budget. They also make reasonable sushi.

Salmon and avocado 

Two must-haves when we come in a group are the takoyaki and the agedashi tofu. I so love these two! The takoyaki balls are big unlike some places where the balls are tiny.

Seafood udon

As I am an unagi person, I sometimes order their unagi with egg served on rice. I add a generous dose of chilli powder and ah... awesomeness...

And on a hot summer evening, a glass of lemonade can never go wrong!

Kura III

1/6 Dixon Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

Tel: +61 2 9268 0016

Pho Nam Viet

In all honesty, this place was an accidental venue. We were craving for something Asian and no where else was still open. We were glad we gave them a try because otherwise, we would not find out that Eastwood had not too bad Vietnamese.

Prawn and rice noodle roll

My favourite: Beef pho

Vietnamese fried chicken

Pho Nam Viet
142 Rowe Street, Eastwood, NSW 2121, Australia
Tel: +61 2 9874 0929

The Entrance

The Entrance is a district centre and town of the Central Coast region. The town is bounded by water on three sides and gained its name from the channel that runs along much of its northern border that is the entrance to the Tuggerah Lakes. This is normally where we stop for an ice-cream and photo break on our way to or from Hunter Valley.

Zenya Noodle Bar

Zenya Noodle Bar is an authentic Japanese restaurant operated by experienced Japanese chefs, who have had a great deal of experience preparing Japanese dishes here and abroad. One of the owners is local angmoh, though, which confused us when they first opened.

Although specialising in ramen, which they serve in delicious soy, miso or salt-flavoured broths, Zenya also has an extensive a la carte menu. Their menu includes side dishes, mains and scrumptious bento boxes. They also offer a selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks, and also allows BYO but only for wine.

We always start with a sashimi dish and it normally is a small serving of fresh salmon sashimi ($11.80). Melt in your melt goodness.

My all time favourite is their unagi chirashi sushi ($15.80), eel, omellete, beans and pickles served with sushi rice. I like their version of eel rice because they give a generous serving and the eel is chopped into cubes. All I need to do is mix everything together with the pickled ginger, nori sesame and sweet soy sauce and tah-dah!

Karaage don ($13.80) includes a bowl of miso soup and is a bowl of rice with delicious pieces of Zenya fried chicken in their special sweet and sour sauce with chilli mayo. Wonder what is the recipe for their special sweet and sour sauce. Yums.

The chef's selection crispy skin grilled fish served with ponzu, lemon oil, grated radish, citrus pepper and beans ($15.80) whets the appetite with its fragrant aroma. However, the crispiness of the skin and tenderness of the meat would depend on the chef.

Garnished with pickled ginger, nori and sesame, the salmon ikura don ($14.80) is a bowlful of sushi rice atoped with fresh salsmon sashimi, ikura and seaweed salad. Highly recommend this.

And to help digest our food, what better than a steaming hot pot of green tea? 

 

Zenya Noodle Bar

217 Rowe Street, Eastwood, Sydney 2122, Australia

Tel: +61 2 9874 2122; E-mail: info@zenyanoodlebar.com
Monday Closed 
Lunch 11:30am to 3:00pm
Dinner 5:30pm to 9:00pm (Sunday to Thursday), 5:30pm to 9:30pm (Friday & Saturday) 

Happy Teacher's Day

Puan Lim. Puan Thean. Encik Muhammad. Cikgu Rizan. Cikgu Azlan. Puan Azizah. Cikgu Nur. Mrs. Kangesan. Mr. Lopez. Mr. Eng. Mr. Tan. Mr. Karuna. Mr. Bong. Puan Wong. Puan Pardeep. Puan Chan. Puan Toh. Puan Phang. Puan Khoo. Cikgu Julia. 余老师. Mr. Chin. Puan Tan. Encik Rahim. Cik Yap. Puan Yap. Puan Koay. Encik Muniandy. Miss Vivien. Miss Kimberly. Mrs. Lim. Mr. Boodram. Uncle Joe. Aunty Janice. Mr. Boey. Uncle Vijaya. Ken.

My teachers at Tadika Bunga Raya, Tadika Desa, ELC, SRKSS, SKTD, SMKDP, CPU@TCSJ, Nalanda and elsewhere (piano, choir, dance).

Of course, there are also the individuals who have guided me much in life without wearing the title 'teacher'.

Thank you.

Happy Teacher's Day.

Happy Mother's Day

Why are you up so early? Sleep somemore la.

What do you want for lunch? I dapau for you.

Are you having dinner with us? Want me to pack for you also or not?

Which car are you taking? If not I take you out and drop you off. Just call me when you are done.

Where are you going for dinner? With who? Where are you having dinner? He coming to take you or are you driving to his place? Makan with him only or with a group of friends? What time are you coming home?

Who is that? I've not heard his name before. Where is he from? How you know him one? Whose friend? How old is he? Where does he live? What does he do?

Are you wearing that? Why your skirt so short ah? Why your shirt so low cut ah?

Why wear all black ah? You going for funeral ah?

You know people's parents' or not? Make sure you bring something to people's house, don't go empty handed.

Brought your keys? Your water? Phone got battery or not? Got money or not? Enough to use or not?

Where are you? Highway already? Later when you get back, there's a bowl of bird's nest. I put on your table already. Drink before you sleep.

You on your way back yet or not? Not yet ar? Where are you now? Not too late ar, that road is very dark, very quiet. Be careful on your way home.

Remy is waiting for you at the door already. Are you on your way yet?

Go and do your work. Don't worry about other things. You finish your work first.

Bought everything you need or not? Packed already? Make sure you have everything you need. If not just let us know and we'll post them over to you.

Passport taken already? Your Aussie dollar and all that got ah?

Remember to take care of yourself. Eat properly. Don't play too hard. Work hard but have to balance also. And don't worry so much, you will be okay one.



I love you too, Mummy. 

Happy Mother's Day.

GE13: 5th May, D-Day

The walk from the bus stand back home last night was extraordinarily chilly. Winter winds are creeping in. Propped the handbag on the table and made a dash for a warm shower before making a mug of comforting hot Milo to consume while Mom updated me on the phone...

We waited in the queue for 1.5 hours. We were in a different saluran. I think we line up according to age because your brother was in a different queue. He had to wait for 2 hours. Miss Tai told us she had to queue for 3 hours. Then in the afternoon, your father and I went out for a drive to you know, '8' a bit la. Went to see the other polling centres. You know the surau near our place? It was very well guarded. I think it would be hard for anyone to get past that wall of people. Even at the secondary school. So many people there to make sure no wai lao would get in. And many of them were young people. It's good.

Turned the lappie on. Had a few tabs open for live updates. Slowly, the results were released. One seat for BN. Then it was three. Then it went up to seven. PR had only one. Then it was three...

Oh my goodness! So kancheong! The last time I felt this kancheong was that nail-biting match between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan at the London Olympics. Where is an open air mamak stall with wide screen projector when I need one?!

Had Mel on Skype. Then Xin Wen and Deidre on speaker when they rang the mobile. Should have heard us girls during that virtual gathering.

Are you watching the election results or not? Watch the Astro Awani one, it's faster. Wah, I think my BM has returned to me. I can speak it so fluently again... Aiyo, Chrys, so sad la. I want to fly home and educate my people (in Sarawak) already la. I so sad until I already had four Oreos, you know!

My electronic gadgets buzzed non-stop. WhatsApp continuously notified me of messages from the family group chat, Sonia and Ray (who, bless his soul, was a volunteer). So did Facebook Chat, with messages from Ming Wei. Rotated between WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype and phone call.

Yes, I had work to be handed in but I think the future of my country is more important than my PhD studies this weekend, thank you very much. But I could not stay awake. It was nearly 2:00am and after spending half the day traveling, my eyelids were heavy. 

I woke up to a Facebook wall full of black boxes. Initially, I thought there was a glitch but on closer scrutiny, it was a response to the results from the night before. Admittedly, although it was not a surprise, I felt the heartbreak, too...

以为就此告别了凉意
依然推不翻过去
走不出寂静
白色的脸有黑色的投影 － excerpt of lyrics from 窗外 by Penny Tai 戴佩妮

Many Malaysians were dissatisfied not so much with the results but with how the results were manipulated. From the updates on my Facebook newsfeed (which by the way, has never been as busy as this weekend), the general consensus is that we as Malaysians are ready to continue the battle for a better Malaysia. That we, as the Rakyat and not as me, you, aku, dia, Malay, Chinese, Indian or Others, are prepared to accept this challenge to better inform ourselves, our East Malaysian brothers and sisters, as well as those residing overseas for GE14...

Seia sekata sehati sejiwa, menghadapi cabaran - excerpt of lyrics from Sejahtera Malaysia

My opinions are personal and my opinions are not representative of all Malaysians but there are some of us who believe in fighting this battle. We believe that no one understands the frustrations of Malaysia better than we do because we have lived through it firsthand. And like how I teach my students, when we want something, we have to work for it. Nothing comes for free, not even an eye-catching crisp purple RM100 note lying on the pavement. If you want that RM100 note, you would have to get off your behind, walk towards it, bend down and pick it up to have it.

No one said that it will be an easy task. What is easy in life, anyway? Some say that we are fighting a lost cause but every battle is worth fighting because we believe that Malaysia and her people deserve better and are capable of so much more...

Kami rela menjaga namamu, sejahtera Malaysia - ending lyrics of Sejahtera Malaysia

2013, 5th of May was D-Day for the nation. We now know that Malaysians young and old regardless of background are able to work towards a common cause, to speak up. No resting on our laurels now for we have gained invaluable friends and experience. We have 5 years to educate ourselves, to better ourselves, to be less selfish, to be more Malaysian. And this education starts now for the 1Malaysia that we have in our blood and soul and not one that is used as a marketing tool...

Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku - opening lyrics of Negaraku