Monday, April 24, 2006

Mid-Term Break...期中假...ミッドタームブレック

The past week was a 1 week holiday (i thought it was 2 weeks, it was always 2 weeks in previous years...so I don't know why they changed it to only one week this year!!) and i didn't do much...i procrastinated big time and did not study as much as i should have....have so much work now that its so not funny.....
Also went out and i thought of providing some food photos as it seems to be my habit of doing so now....

My favourite Korean Chanpon Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup with the best panchai (side -dishes) in Melbourne.

On Tuesday went with a Penang friend to Barbarinos and Wong on St Kilda Road...you can get one main course free if you are a Melbourne Uni student and show them your Union Card..so it becomes really cheap! Basically buy one free one.....its Western ribs with Asian food....

I had the famous ribs there and my friend had the lamb....

After that we had desserts on Lygon Street at this place which i shall not name in case i get sued for defamation..haha...the dessert looked pretty but did not taste good....

My mother's friend came to melbourne and treated me dimsum with her friend at Sharkfin's House ....the pic is of a favourite of mine which i normally eat whenever i am bck in Penang. It is called 白糖糕 Bak Tong Gou..i also asked my mother's friend about the Japanese Occupation in malaya cos my mom's friend is like in her early 70s already(but she is very fit and fashionable and travels widely) and she told me about how her cousin was given the water torture (a common technique used in those days by the japanese by pumping water and then stomping on the stomache) and how he is still alive today to tell the tale...of how she and her whole family had to go hide in jelutong (an area in penang) which was then a rural area....how her female cousins hid themselves and cut their hair short and tried to make themselves as unattractive as possible as everyone in Penang had already heard about the lustful japanese soldiers raping women in China...and also how the very first bomb that was dropped in Penang actually landed a mere street away from her house.

I always enjoy talking to old ppl...which is kinda rare for young people i guess but i think the experiences of old people are so invaluable, precious and interesting.....ok...how did an intro on Bak Tong Gou end with Japanese water torture? hehehe..


Another food pic...the nice looking fruit platter at Grandma Kimchi in the City..the food however wasn't good....the kimchi was substandard and the BBQ and BiBimBap did not taste nice too. Wouldn't recommend it...but we ordered the set menu so it may be different for ala carte...anyway, have tasted much better korean food at other restaurants...

The nice wall decor at grandma kimchi...

Me+my friend then had gelati on Lygon St at my favourite gelati store next to Koko Black. I would recommend vaniglio,ciocolatto, and mango...my favourites recently....sooo yummy..although it was so sooo cold that night.....we had gelati whilst we chat at the Italian Piazza on Lygon St till like 2am! But it was a Sat night so it was still quite busy...

The conversation was pretty interesting....actually we had spent 3 hrs over dinner talking about women and men's status in society now...much longer than i thought the conversation on that topic would go for..in the end we reconciled our different views and i no longer thought he was a MCP anymore....he is VERY open given that he is a Christian who goes to Church....he also talks really frankly, like we were talking about how guys were hornier than girls and he would say 'girls can also reach organism, its just that the time takes longer and they can achieve it everytime if the guy used the correct technique'...or 'vasectomy means the sperm cannot go up the....' i was soooo embarassed...i am more used to modest terms unlike the graphic descriptions he was using....he also went against many christian teachings, and he does not believe the Bible word for word. For example, he says that divorce should be allowed under extreme circumstances and pre-marital sex is ok too...that you can do more than the missionary position...how the Bible does not really prohibit explicitly sexual positions nor masturbation...he even had the radical view that no one is born heterosexual or homosexual but that we all become heterosexual due to cultural and social conventions! This was like the most shocking thing i ever heard and something i simply DO NOT think is very Christian...anyway, in the end he changed his mind cos he was persuaded by my arguement that humans are almost all BORN with a fixed sexual orientation (this is where i am in agreement with christians) but that some people are born gay and some straight (this is where i am in opposition to christian views that everyone is born straight)..cos my friend had initially thought that no one could be born gay...after our talk he came to realise that ppl could be born gay...he was never homophobic given his own radical view that he isn't born hetero but my opinion that ppl are born with a sexual orientation changed his opinion........anyways it was an interesting night...always enjoy conversations with him...

On another note...for some strange reason, i have been asked twice in Chinatown for directions to Korean Restaurants.....i mean do i look extra friendly or something? Or do i look Korean? The first time i didn't think much about it cos it was a Korean girl from Sydney who wanted some native food but i was asked by this HK girl and her frens as well, i mean she just suddenly started talking to me when i was walking in Chinatown, and for some reason both times they wanted korean food....

also remember i wrote earlier how i met two bloggers twice by chance on the streets? Well...i bumped into one of them for the THIRD TIME yesterday night...this is either freaky or it could be yuan fen 緣份 ? i think its the later.. so unlike the last 2 times, i said Hi (anyways i also told him i would say hi if i was ever to bump into him again which i thought was highly unlikely) but sadly he was on the phone and we did not get to talk...haha, i think i scared him and his friend as i had to put out my hand and walk close to him to say hi and i'm sure they were abit taken aback by what this stranger was doing.....

anyways, university starts again tomorrow...(i am writing this on Sun AM time..)

30 comments:

executorlouis said...

Wow. Sounds like you really had a good time. Wish Monash had such generous student union cards too. Free main course! lolz. :P

hcpen said...

executorlouis: wow...two comments..thanks man! Well, my friend from Monash says u guys have union cards too but its mainly for places in the suburbs...

hcpen said...

executorlouis: just wanted to add, we get alot of nice deals for alot of nice restaurants around the CBD so next time, we can go together and you can use my student union card too!

Daniel said...

yoyo. did u see me yesterday along swanston st?? i was there around dinner time but i didnt realise that anybody said hi to me.

maybe cos i was sleep deprived. had only slept 7 hours in the past 2 nights.

hcpen said...

daniel: nice to hear from you...no it wasn't you, its this other blogger whom i've now bumped into like THREE times...i said hi to him...you seemed to have had a fantastic holiday urself!

lawboycool said...

talk about gelati, have you ever tried the durian favour at IL DOLCE, on Lygon?

hcpen said...

lawboycool: No, is it good? Where is IL DOLCE near? I wanna go try!

joshua said...

Bak Tong Gou ROCKS and RULEZ.
bestest greatest. one old stall near Malay Street in Penang right?

anyways, mucho apologies for the misunderstanding on louis' blog.

lawboycool said...

Oh yes, it is absolutely delicious and irresistible. The shop is not too far from FCUK, u wont miss it.

ça va pas la tête said...

wow, the pictures are making me hungry. ;)

hcpen said...

Joshua: Yep, its fine, all a misunderstanding...not to mention that u r from Penang!! I thought u were Singaporean...about the stall, i always go to the one in Chinatown, Campbell Street...visit often! Penang bloggers must support each other...i will definitely be visiting ur blog regularly to see whats happenin in Penang...hehe..

lawboycool: Thanks! I will definitely go try and get bck to you whether i think its nice!

Ca Va:Haha, well i am sure they have tons of nice things in KL too...or u can come down to Melbourne and i will take u around..haha...

Mr RM said...

Wah, my fren is getting REALLY popular now. Is that why he has so little time for me.... I miss you.... ha ha hee hee

hcpen said...

the searcher: Hi!!! I see u've taken my advice and changed your profile name...well u don't have to listen to me mar, u can use whatever profile u want, it was only a suggestion lah...but thanks anyways hahaha, no time for you? I ALWAYS have time for my GHB...talk to u soon!

joshua said...

HC, Penang stays the same in general, changes really slowly. Ah but if u have been back within the past year, u should have noticed without fail the hideous roundabouts which cost a bomb to be erected. bum.

and i wonder how many other Penang bloggers there are? thus far i have encountered two (u included) and i am still such a noo-b when it comes to blogging. darn i cant even format my entries to be classy. er can i link u up?

and yeah u r right, it's Campbell Street. The array of food there. But this is not the time to gloat.

lastly, Penangite(s) Unite!

Wooby 无比(膏) said...

檳城雖然很少變化,可是我非常喜歡這種感覺,
因為我柔佛的家鄉也是一樣。

總是覺得小時候和媽媽一起去過的食物檔,
至今還一樣保留著當初的感覺。
雖然過了許多年,
可是我卻依然可以在同一個地點,
看見熟悉臉孔的伯伯在賣著我小時後吃過的食物。

可是在雞龍坡這裡就找不到這種感覺。

Tsubasa a.k.a 滑翔翼 said...

吃过槟城的小吃,蛮不错的说~
可是,槟城出名的不是Asam laksa吗?怎么没介绍?
还吃过一种类似大型的“海蟑螂”的海底生物,很重口味呢~

hcpen said...

joshua: yeah...Penangites Unite! haha...also i must say ur english level is VERY high...i am really really impressed..u are so young but ur level of english is much better than the average malaysian, i sensed that from reading your blog....can i guess you r teaching english part-time? If not, you should seriously consider doing so! Also i like the way u write in ur blog, very funny, very witty!

Anonymous said...

GOSHHHHHHHHH, ur blog screams of calories!!!!!!!!!! but still very nice... :)

really wonder how they tasted like... nyam nyam....

hcpen said...

ooby﹕ 謝 謝 你 的 留 言 唷 ﹗ 原 來 你 是 柔 佛 人 呀 。 。 剛 好 和 檳 城 相 反 ﹐ 在 馬 來 西 亞 半 島 的 南 端 。 。 關 於 家 鄉 ﹐ 我 想 它 永 遠 都 會 在 人 們 的 心 裡 保 有 一 個 特 別 的 位 置 ﹐ 特 別 的 意 義 。 。 就 象 檳 城 永 遠 都 會 在 我 心裡 有 一 席 之 地 。 。

Xavier said...

ops, anonymous is me :p...

敢说敢认!!!!

hcpen said...

滑翔翼:我 介 紹 的 那 個 是 因 為 我 在 墨 爾 本 看 到 。 。 我 不 是 想 介 紹 檳 城 的 美 食 。 。 。 如 果 要 介 紹 的 話 ﹐ 還 須 花 一 整 個 post呢 。 。 哈 哈 ﹐ 檳 城 美 食 太 多 了 。 。

hcpen said...

xavier: yes, they were super delicious! About calories? Dun worry about it too much! 人 生 就 是 該 嘗 盡 天 下 美 食 ﹐ 不 用 太 介 意 其 他 的 東 西 啦 ﹐ 只 要 不 要 太 膀 ﹐ 何 必 活 的 這 麼 不 自 在 ﹖ 況 且 世 上 也 有 人 喜 歡 胖 子 的 。 。 。 最 重 要 要 活 的 開 心 ﹐ 自 在 ﹗

Anonymous said...
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q said...

oh was nice to finally see you in person actually.

but sorry i was on the phone and rushing somewhere.

well i was quite shocked but that was not a bad thing.

maybe we sdould make a point to meet for a 4th time because i was so rude the 3rd time?

Alex said...

Nice..... I'm so hungry now...

hcpen said...

Mickey: Hi! Thanks for your compliments, its just great to hear someone say they appreciate what i write on this little but personal blog of mine. Also thanks for linking to my post on 'Crystal Boys' on ur blog! I have deleted ur comment as i dun think u would want so many ppl to see ur details but i have added u to msn and also saved ur MSN blog. Thanks again!

hcpen said...

DMNK: Yes, we should come out sometime since i don't think we will keep bumping into each other like this (but thats what i thought about the 3rd time)..will email you to set a time/day for lunch or dinner sometime...and dun worry about being rude. I understand...just hope i didn't shock u too much. hehe.

hcpen said...

harvey: hehe, i feel so hungry myself after reading my own posts....more food posts coming up! n thanks for leaving a comment!

alex: i replied to ur classical music concert comment so head over there to take a look! Also, thanks for the comments!

Anonymous said...

You should get your mother to write down her memories of living in occupied Malaya. I am sure a publisher somewhere would be interested in a survivor's account!

hcpen said...

Bizknowledge: Its actually my mother's friend, not my mother...my mother is not THAT old, hehehe....