That's So Penang

It was one of those last minute 'Hey-lets-go-somewhere-far-away' weekends. And so, our destination was in Penang island, in which I call 'The Land of Good Food'. Because everything in Penang are DELICIOUS!

On the first night when we arrived at our hotel, my dad thought it was about time that he took us to our first night club where he used to go in his younger days.

Well, my first impression of the night club was that it was really LOUD. Like, someone screaming in your ear loud. It was so loud, I could barely hear myself think and I can feel my clothes flapping away on me when I stood in front of the speakers for a brief second.

We sat at the side of the stage where it was the least loudest, but very loud nonetheless. My dad ordered some drinks for us. For my dad and brother, a pint of beer each. For me, a glass of white wine.
Thank God. Beer isn't my kind of drink.

And so throughout the whole night, we watched the band play all kinds of requests, including a Chinese song requested by my dad. Apparently, he told them that we were from Taiwan wtf...

The band was pretty good, considering that they are able to play any song you want like a live jukebox.

It was a fun night, but honestly, I'm not sure if the night life is my cup of tea. I mean, my dad and bro managed to down about 4 pints of beer throughout the entire night, and me? I only managed to drink about 3/4 glass of wine. I didn't even finish my glass when we left!

I'm not exactly an alcohol person, but it did give me a boost of confidence to put a camera at the band's face later on.

The next day, we happened to stop by Penang hill. It was a last minute decision, but hey! Since we're there why not take a chance?

Look how steep that railway is! If only it were a roller coaster. I bet it'll be a hit!

That's the train we boarded to go up the hill. Still wish it was a roller coaster....

Check out all the people down there!

It was actually a fast ride to the top, unlike the old days. My dad said back when he was a tour manager, it was a pain to bring the tourists to Penang hill because the train was made of wood and it always broke down halfway during the trip. So, everybody has to get down and walk all the way to the top!

A pretty sight, isn't it?

I noticed a lot of people made their mark on that tree stump. Naturally, I too must make my mark.

ANNE WAS HERE 2011! 
Can you see it? If only I brought a marker pen...

You'd have to be an idiot if you couldn't be bothered to take a picture with the picturesque scene up there.

Look! Its the wooden train I was talking about!

Check out the cute little grasshoppers this lady is making! Its made out of coconut leaves.

I used to create such grasshoppers like these before. It was a great tool when it comes to making pranks on other girls. Unfortunately, I forgot how to make them. Its pretty complicated.

Later on, we headed off to visit some temples. 

Am I allowed to take pictures of Buddhas in the temple? I hope its not disrespectful...

You know, as I was checking out the statues of Buddhas and other artifacts around, I spotted this couple who were meditating in front of this large Buddha. And then, I saw the man who was sitting calmly at first, started to shake really violently. It was super freaky.

He was shaking all over for about a minute or so and then, he was calm again. But his head was moving about in a slow circle. Was he possessed?

We weren't allowed to enter that temple. It makes me wanna enter all the more!

OK, I know some of you guys might be pretty pissed with me for not taking any foodie pictures. What? It was so delicious, I had to eat it right away before I could even think about taking a photo!

See? That's how good Penang food is.

Peace out yo!

Life as a Banana

If you personally knew me well enough by now, you'd probably figure out sooner or later that I'm what people would call a 'Banana'.

Can you spot the Banana?

A Banana refers to a person who is yellow (Asian) on the outside, white on the inside. In other words, a Chinese who can't speak Mandarin, but speaks English.

Its funny that my parents could speak Cantonese fluently, but I've never been taught how to speak the language. Ever since I was a kid, I'd usually hear them argue in Cantonese. So I came up with a conclusion that the only reason why my parents never taught me Cantonese is because they probably didn't want me to understand what their arguments are about.

But I think the reason why I never picked up the language was probably because I wasn't too interested in it.

Believe it or not, I've even gone to several Chinese schools before I studied in a private school. I spoke very little Mandarin because back then, I was extremely shy and I was afraid to talk to people. So I barely had any practice with my Mandarin speaking skills and it was hard to make friends.

However, the only time I ever spoke Mandarin or Cantonese fluently is whenever I order food. Hey, when you're hungry and gotta eat, you gotta speak up; nobody speaks English at a local coffee shop.

But if I have to speak Mandarin and its not about food, there's my problem; either I couldn't understand or I have no confidence in replying. Some people say that I have an accent whenever I speak Mandarin because I sound like a white person who can't pronounce things properly.

Back when I was in private school, I was pretty much normal over there because everything was in English. Now that I'm in government school, it really hits me that I am a Banana among mangoes (yellow on the outside, yellow on the inside, get it?).

On the other hand, at least I can still manage to understand what people are basically saying once in a while so that I can survive. Speak to me in Mandarin though, and things get pretty awkward. Like this one conversation I had had with a little girl:

Translation: Have you seen my mom?

And then I'd think for while and usually say:

Translation: Err... I dunno...

And then she went:

Then a worried looking lady came up to the girl from behind, so I left and I can hear her say:

Translation: Hey, why aren't you talking to me? Oh, hi mom!

Thank God I was right about that woman, otherwise I'll be stuck with that little girl until we find her mom.

Well, that's the hard life living as a banana. I really wish I could speak Mandarin or Cantonese as fluent as any other locals around because I feel really inadequate having being able to speak only English and Malay instead of my mother's tongue.

Its true that being able to speak English means that I can communicate with international people, but sometimes, I wish I could trade the language with Cantonese so that I can finally speak to my dad's side of the family or talk to my grandma.

But for now, I guess I'll just have to accept that I'm a banana. For now.

Love at First Bite: Wagyu Beef

Ever heard of the famous Wagyu Beef? 

If not, you have no idea what you're missing. The Wagyu beef is known as the most expensive meat in the world because of it's super, super tender meat and the production of Wagyu beef is an expensive and time consuming process.

The Wagyu beef is grown from the Wagyu cattle. All their lives, the Wagyu cattle have lived a life of luxury because it drinks beer and gets massages everyday to make its' muscles relaxed and soft. Even on the day of slaughter, the Wagyu cows are killed in a split second before they even saw it coming. How?

Usually, when anybody knows they're gonna die, their muscles get tensed because they're scared out of their wits! The same goes with the Wagyu cows. No matter how much beer and how well their massage is, all the effort will go to waste if the cows are slaughtered like any other cows; their muscles will be tense once they know they're gonna die which totally defeats the point of getting soft meat from them.

So, to overcome this problem, the cows are given beer and massages like any other day on the day of their slaughter. The worker who massages the cow would keep massaging the cow, and then... BOOM! He hits the spine of the cow with an electric shock which immediately kills the cow in a second. Thus, the meat will be very soft and tender.

Last night, our whole family had the pleasure of having Wagyu beef for dinner thanks to my cousin who came back from Australia and got the Wagyu Beef we asked for.

Here, we have 5kg of Wagyu beef in our fridge. It costs about RM1000 altogether, but it was worth it!

The Wagyu beef in Australia is a lot cheaper compared to the ones sold locally here in Malaysia. The Wagyu beef we got from Australia is from the Victoria Market in Melbourne. There, you can find only ONE stall that ever sells this kind of meat.

When we were in Melbourne the last time, I believe the Wagyu beef costs about 60 AUD (RM180)  per kilo. In Malaysia, the Wagyu beef costs about RM800 per kilo!

If you notice the marbling on the meat, you'll find that the Wagyu beef has layers of fats in between its muscles which makes it even softer than any other normal beef!

Now I know what you're thinking; 'Eww... too much fats. It's not very healthy. Its not good for the heart!'. Before you girls cringe at the word 'fats', here's the best part about this beef; its fats are actually GOOD for you!

Yes, I kid you not. Research has proven that the Wagyu beef is higher in monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) than normal beef. This means it melts at a lower temperature and its better for your heart than saturated fats like butter. Plus, monounsaturated fats also helps to reduce cholesterol level.

Hmm... delicious AND healthy! Too good to be true!

Anyway, we had a great combination of food last night.

We have salad, SUSHI, pizza, and some wine to go with the beef.

Here, we pan fried the Wagyu beef with sesame sauce to give the meat some taste.

When I took my first bite out of that piece of meat, I felt a sensation in my mouth; the softness of the meat, the taste of beef and salt on my tongue and everything felt wonderful for a second. I'm in love. That's just it; I fell in love at first bite. 

It was truly delicious. And with some rice from the sushi with a sip of red wine, everything is balanced perfectly.

We certainly had a wonderful evening together as a family last night...

If I Were a Dude...

If I woke up one day as a guy, I would do all kinds of manly stuff I've always wanted to do like:

1. Growing a mustache 

I would name my mustache Joe and comb and shampoo it everyday...

2. Peeing while standing up

Its hard to do it if you're a girl. Trust me.

3. Camwhore... like a MAN

STEAK!!!

4. Going topless 

If only I could go topless whenever convenient. Especially when washing my car. But, you know, people will stare... not in a good way. Whereas guys could go topless anytime, anywhere and people don't mind!

5. Sitting with my legs open in public

Yeah... gone are the days when mom slaps me for sitting like a boy in a skirt when I forget.

Just a random thought after my SPM trials are over. Good luck to those who are sitting for their PMR exams right now. 

So what would YOU do if you were the opposite sex?