12/23 spontaneous picnic

 it never occurs to you that you could do an impromptu and spontaneous picnic lunch like this. after the rain stopped, you started to hunt for a place where you can have your lunch, you almost stop and lunch at some abandoned durian hut/stalls on the road side, but other disagree and so you finally ended up here.

with a rattan basket....

at the road side, along a small stream...

friend asked for permission to dine at this place, it's a dessert stall along the road side that's under renovation.... the owner kindly agreed and gave us the permission to use the table for lunch...

 so here's your lunch, simple and some leftover from the morning breakfast, red bean soup, steamed sweet potatoes, bread and hard boiled eggs...

and all of you dine happily. it's a special experience, and life can be simple. simple is beautiful, less is more... and you thoroughly enjoyed the hospitality of the  local people here, the hospitality that you've long forgot but had a moment to rekindle..

happy.lunar.new.year

wishing all my family, friends and readers, whether you're near or far,  a very happy chinese new year if you're celebrating.
today is the new year's eve, while most families are gathering and eating the reunion dinner, as for you,  you're in geneva, and will only get home on friday. it's just a normal business day in europe and you're used to it.
恭喜发财，新年进步，万事如意

chinese new year dishes

with chinese new year just round the corner, you try to create some chinese new year dishes

 the steamed chicken and ham is so old school that this must be a dish of yesteryears. yet in your memory you recalled your mum prepared this dish and you stood beside her helping with the stacking the chicken with two pieces of ham and dip them in the corn starch sauce.  you made this the other day, but replacing the kailan with broccoli. a very simple dish. there's a more sophisticated version available with chinese ham and whole chicken but what you made is something resembles your mum's version. it's delicious and both of you like this...

 steamed radish cake, this is more the cantonese version of chinese new year dishes because the name is auspicious.

 fish maw soup, this is also a regular and recurring in the new year eve's dinner. you make this soup quite regularly in the lowland now that you got your supply of fish maw, and this time you're using the non-deep fry fish maw, the soup is less oily and yet you got the fish maw taste and nutricient ^^

dishes with arrowhead root, this is again more cantonese than what you used to. but you love the arrowhead root anyway especially when they are braised for a period of time. it's a soothing dish to go with rice...
you guess these are the combination of cantonese dishes and dishes from your childhood. after all you married to a cantonese.
that's what you attempt to recreate for chinese new year, meantime you are somewhere munching away german and switzerland food this week.

12/23 pouring hot spring

you returned from your morning walk and the breakfast is almost ready...

 a big wok of fried kuey teow (fried rice stick) is on its way to the table. and it's delicious!!

 and you set off to the pouring hot spring and the canopy walk, it's a distance away from where you stay but manageable distance. once you're into the park, you walk your way ahead of others...

spotting the objects you want to capture... the giant fern and the national flower the hibiscus!

 it's humid and hot, but the trees create the shade for you, so all in all the short hike is bearable

 it's green as any tropical forest...

 and you arrived at the canopy station. the canopy itself is not that high but it's the fear that you need to overcome. you occasionally got jelly feet but with your determination, you're able to overcome with a little bit of excitement. but really it's not worth to come over here just for the canopy walk or pouring hot spring for that matter.

as soon as you're done with the canopy walk and get back to the hot spring area, the rain starts. it's outpouring tropical rain, pouring down hard and loud. you're thankful you had a shade and shelter just by one of the hot spring pool, so despite of the heavy rain, you're dry.  the rain last for more than half an hour...

more cookies

manage to have another round of cookies baking session over the weekend...

 first is the ostmanhut cookies, love the subtle fragrant of the ostmanhut

 it's gently releasing the aroma as you bite on the cookies

 green bean cookies, first attempt as you hauled (again) back a pack of green bean flour.  the aroma fills the house when these cookies are in the oven... the coconut cream enhanced the flavor...

the last batch of cookies is the hazelnut cookies, similar to the peanut cookies, since you have a pack of hazelnut flour at home and not knowing what to do with it, so the flour is finally put to good use. the cookies is crumbly and a tad too sweet for you, other than that, it's melt in your mouth!

you normally half the recipe as you don't have cookie monster at home, neither yourself or him will indulge in these cookies.  you bake just for the nostalgic experience and try to gather and resemble the festive memory....

have a blessed new week, as for you, it will be a week where you have to cover 2 cities... so it's time to pack your luggage...

12/23 a.morning.walk

while the rest are still sleeping, you venture out for a walk....

 the cosmo flowers just at the road side, off the chalet where you lodged....

 and the close encounter with the cloud... it's still chilly around 7am...

 you turn right and walk towards the vegetable plantation, the view along the way is superb!

 and some of the plantation that you encounter... the local leek, and different sort of vegetable patch... too bad they are not organic...

 and you chanced into the premises next to your chalet, and took a quick stroll there. the cloud is very low or rather the altitude is high, either way, it's really surreal and you're enjoying every moment.

 so close to the nature, so green...

and you imagine yourself staying in a little house, it doesn't need to be big, just a little house on the prairie, not bother by the stress of the worldly life, just being close to nature...

checking.out

you've been eyeing on this place for awhile, every time you drive through the country road to the highway, you make a mental note that you should check out this place soon.

 today you finally pay a visit, this is just a dutch cheese shop in a new and airy wooden farm house

 and you came here for the weekend brunch. knowing the type of food they served, you're here not for the food but to check out the building...

 it's spacious, light and airly with the floor length windows...

 and a second floor if it ever gets too crowded or busy... you can imagine yourself sitting here in spring and summer, it would be lovely...

your brunch, consists of a bowl of a tad too oily grilled salad, an overly salted chicken mustard ciabatta, and a apple strudels and a cappuccino....

and his warm meal of beef stew, the stew is tasteless according to him...
you will be back but will most like come for a drink and a piece of cake...

chinese.new.year.cookies

 you started your baking awhile ago, probably during the first week of january. and then you stopped as you suddenly get enormously busy with your work and business traveling.

you grind some green peas again using the coffee bean grinder, it's mainly to de-stress yourself from the pressure you have from work.  you love your green pea cookies this way with a hint of aonori (japanese seaweed powder), it enhances the green pea taste

and this is red fermented rice cookies, the red color comes from the packet of red fermented rice that you hauled back from your hometown. and overall this is a delicious batch of cooking with the hint of sesame aroma.

it was fun to make these cookies, usually the procedure is easy but it's time consuming to weight the individual ingredient.  you hope you got the chance to bake more in the coming days, you have a list of cookies to do, now all you need is to find the time and energy to bake them.

the chinese new year is round the corner!

12/23 hello mountain

woke up early for the view right in front of your window.

amazing view, and you are speechless, so that the photo do the talking, for you, you're thankful for such a mighty mountain and you know God is the ultimate creator of all these. and in moment like this you feel really close to your God!

11/23 finally mesilau

the distance between the city to mesilau is not that far (in european distance) but the it just takes you awhile to reach here. let alone the final part between kundasan and mesilau the altitude is quite a challenge to the driver.  you kind of enjoy the breath taking view as the car slowly climbs higher and higher.

 you finally reached your destination. the cloud already thickening the sky and you know the rain will come soon...

still you took the advantage of dry moment to go around the area, the mountain is not visible and it has cooled down significantly and you like the idea of not having to turn on the air conditioner (not that there's one on premise)

 and discover new things, it never occurs to you that these lily bulbs are eatable. and you follow your sister's friends to collect these bulbs at the slope where lily were plant.  interesting discovery.

 little you know that these ladies can really cook!!  they cooked a storm out in this simple kitchen area and yet thoroughly enjoy themselves

 the stir fry lily bulbs

locally grown rices, trio mix and ready to be cook!

in less than an hour, you have the food served, a couple of dishes, some are cooked on the spot, others were pre-cooked in the city.  you simply enjoyed your dinner to the fullest, for the very first time you don't have to cook to enjoy such a satisfying meal. tummy full!

11/23 kundasan

at kundasan, the final stop before your destination at mesilau.
another brief stop because the chef in charge want to do some groceries.  right here the air temperature is cooler and less humid. it's almost like the dutch spring weather, pleasant without the perspiring sweat.

 first encounter with the locally grown strawberries, they are very small

and many other green produces along the market, lots of european greens

 needless to say the local honey, in different colors and shades. he got a bottle to try, you're not that keen because you know the taste of this honey, it's an acquired taste...

and as you stroll further, you come to the stall that sells plants. it might be interesting to most of the people but coming from where you live now, these are the spring or summer flowers that you easily encounter, plant in europe.  and certainly this part of sabah is a slice of europe.