Chungy's Kitchen: Episode I

Now who can resist a simple recipe for a simple dish designed for busy students? It's easy to understand, simple to cook and take no time to cook. Oh, did I mention its very simple? =P Just wish to share my recipe and experiences with those whom live a busy life like me.

Today's Dish: Cream Cheese Chicken Pasta with Mushrooms and Leek

Ingredients:
- chicken thighs (sliced, minced or diced in cubes)
- pasta (any depending on personal preference, use ready made ones)
- Philadelphia cream cheese
- leek (sliced into long thin shreds)
- mushrooms (diced)
- coriander (finely chopped)
- garlic (whacked, peeled and diced)
- single cream
- salt + pepper

Instructions:
- Apply high heat on wok, then fry diced garlic until light brown with minimal oil.
- Season chicken thighs with salt + pepper then dunk them into wok. Stir occationally. (Tip: if you put less oil and not stir your chicken frequently, you can acheive a desired chargrill taste.)
- The diced mushrooms followed by the sliced leek enters the wok. Keep stirfrying until you can smell the aroma of all the flavours fusing together.
- Put one giant table spoon of Philadelphia cream cheese into the stirfry then followed by a suitable amount of single cream into the wok. (Tip: always pour more single cream than needed, it will evaporate very quickly. Add a bit of normal milk if needed to dilute sauce until desired texture is acheived.)
- Stir for another 1 minute and in goes the finely chopped coriander, give it a quick stir, and its ready to serve.

- Seperately, boil some hot water until boiling point on stove and empty uncooked pasta into pot/pan.
- Turn fire off and let pasta simmer for 1 minute.
- Either serve right away, or run through cold water followed by hot again to stop cooking process as well as retain the tenderness of the pasta.

- Serve pasta wth a generous amount of pasta sauce. Sit back and enjoy.

A Boob Job For Life

OK, just taking a break from revising for exams to talk about this. A while ago, my sister and I were curious to find out something regarding silicone breast implants.

Correct me if I'm wrong but... Silicone doesn't decompose as quickly as some stuff right? Does it even decompose, like plastic? Anyway. So we were wondering... If a woman gets a boob job done, but she dies and is buried. After 5 years or something like that, if one happens to dig up the grave, would one see: an empty female skeleton with 2 bags of silicone breasts balanced perfectly on her ribs? It would be such a hilarious sight! =P

I know some doctors/surgeons do remove silicone implants from dead bodies and sell them to illegal dealers. Anyway, when such situation happens, does anyone knows wat happens to those pair of silicone tits? =P

The Lost Photographs of My Graduation Trip

2 years ago, mid-July - I finally graduated from secondary school in UK. The boys and I decided to go for a graduation trip to Kavos in Greece for our last vacation together. So off we went, and what a memorable great time we had. Had TOO much sunchine and alcohol though... =P

However, I never take photographs myself. My friends did, and they sent me a CD with the pictures last year, but they were corrupted. It was not until yesterday when I tried again, half of those photographs were salvaged; the other half permanently unsalvageable, sadly. Here they are, in their full glory - my lost pictures of my trip to Kavos in Greece July 2004.

Unfortunately, the corrupted photographs were the more "interesting" ones, perhaps one day, I might be able to get it off my friend once again. =) I'm not going into any details about what happened but all I can say it was wild and fun. =P

[Just look at the amount of alcohol we consumed everyday. It was madness. We were all either half-drunk or totally drunk when we began clubbing at 9pm. Notice the chargrilled version of me. These Brits only turn lobster pink when they get a tan. Wierd.]

[The whole lot plus the one holding the camera. We also celebrated my friend Adam's birthday that night. I'm so dark I almost blend in with the evening sunset. Geeez...]

[One of those more conventional photographs taken specifically to show our parents: "hey mum and dad, having a great time here, wish you were here. Blah blah blah... =P]

[An example of one of those photographs that are less conventional to show to our parents. It's more like a... "Chungy, if you don't buy us a round of drinks we're gonna send this to your lovely parents at home..." =P]

[How we chilled and get over our hang overs from the night before every day. Yep, just lay there all morning and all afternoon. Moi? I'm the one in the middle with the ugly khaki green bermuda, badly dyed ginger hair and great physique... Back then... =P]

[My lovely quad bike! Giving a ride for my friend "lab rat" to town nearby. It is quite obvious why we call him "lab rat" right? See the resemblance? =P]

[And off we go... To town to get food supplies, with a lab rat on my back.]

Guess Who Popped By?

Yes, it's another post regarding my restaurant again... What can I say, I enjoy working there. It's not usual to see famous people dining in my restaurant as it's the only few good Japanese restaurants in Manchester, plus the food we serve is pretty good... If I may say so myself. =P

Previous celebrity visits before I joined include the entire Manchester United football team + Sir Alex Ferguson himself (I see those Man Utd football club fans drooling liao...) Imagine that, could've got a T-shirt signed by everyone in one evening... Priceless.

Celebrity visits after I joined include current Bolton football extrodinaire Hidetoshi Nakata whom came a few months ago (too bad he is bisexual - sorry girls, as reporters have confirmed it for us all). Also, fresh from Man Utd, the young and able Park Ji-sung came a few weeks ago.

[Too bad girls, he is married too... With a woman. =P]

[Apparently loves sushi and a big eater. =P]

Manchester's not all about football too! Guess who popped in today? It's ex-boyband "Blue" lead singer Duncan James! Too bad I was busy, besides... I'm not the starstruck kind of person.

[He asked one of our beautiful Japanese waitress if she knew who he was... She said no. *Silence* =P]

So, if you guys and girls out there want to meet celebrities, there is a slight chance you might be able to bump into some, at New Samsi Japanese Restaurant. =P

When I Feel Sad

It might sound really wierd to most people but... When I feel sad, I cook. Yep, Mr. Chong here cooks. As if that's not bad enough - I sing when I cook.

For the past few weeks, life have been the hardest for me in many aspects. I know I shouldn't be complaining, because there are far worse people out there compared to me. I guess at least I do something about it, such as cooking to take my mind off troubles.

For the past few weeks, I have cooked a full 4 dish meal for my family, home-made pizza twice. I also tried new taste combinations: tried making different types of fried rice. One thing I've learned from this is - it seems no matter how I try to complicate a fried rice, a simple egg fried rice is still the best.

Making a pizza is quite fun actually: you get to dump in all the wierd combination of toppings and every single time a pizza exits the oven, you get a different taste. Just remember... More tomato puree.

I was watching this Hong Kong drama series with my sister, which features a family of 4 brothers and a sister. Anyway, my point is - the elder brother is a good chef, and according to him, his technique to not overcook a dish is to sing a specific song for each dish. Hence, you will get the timing perfectly. Me? I just sing! =P

Unfortunately, after cooking a grand dish, it just sits there waiting to be eaten. The feelings of sorrowful flows back into me as I share what I have cooked, just between the TV and me. I swear this is making me fat.

3 Pimples

That's correct. 3 pimples have spawned and settled on the surface of my face. CURSED! I never really had pimple problems in my life. Must be my brother: he just hit puberty and my sister was busy popping his pimples when he was around: must have caught his germs or something.

I remember when I hit puberty, all I did was spread loads and loads of soap on my oily face everyday and it cleansed my face perfectly. Now, I have no idea how to manage them. One of them is located above my lips, one just by my lips, and the last one's on my cheek. How treacherous!

Oh well, I'm not surprised. Sister says its stress spots. *SIGH*

Oldies are More Meaningful

I was studying in my room earlier and suddenly this old song I once knew a long time ago just pop into my mind out of nowhere from the deepest darkest cavern inside me. Funny thing though, I can't get it off my mind now. I can still remember the words perfectly in my mind. I quickly downloaded the song and listened to it. Simple as it is, the words to this song is just so meaningful that it makes songs these days seem overated. Below are the lyrics to this song, unfortunately you will need some Chinese translation software to work it out in order to appreciate it.

但明天你是否依然爱我

午夜的收音机轻轻传来一首歌
那是你我都已熟悉的旋律
在你遗忘的时候我依然还记得
明天你是否依然爱我

我早已经了解追逐爱情的规则
虽然不能爱你却又不知该如何
相信总会有一天你一定会离去
但明天你是否依然爱我

所有的故事只能有一首主题歌
我知道你最后的选择
所有的爱情只能有一个结果
我深深知道那绝对不是我

既然曾经爱过又何必真正拥有你
即使离别也不会有太多难过
午夜里的旋律一直重复着那首歌
Will you still love me tomorrow

For the benefit of those whom can't translate or don't understand chinese: I would manually translate it with my best efforts. Hope its just as meaningful.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

In the middle of the night, a melody is played lightly from the radio,
this is a tune which both you and I are familiar with.
When you forget this tune, I'll still remember it,
"will you still love me tomorrow".

I've already known the rules of love,
although I can't love you, but then I don't know what else to do.
I believe that one day you will definately leave,
but will you still love me tomorrow?

Every story must have its own tune,
I know your final decision.
All the love can only have one outcome,
I deeply know, that it'll definately not be me.

Since we once loved each other, so why do we really need each another.
Even if it means seperation, we both won't feel too sad.
The melody of the night, keeps on repeating the same tune,
"will you still love me tomorrow".

Finally... Some Motivation

December's over and January's here. This can only mean: I've survived halfway past another winter. Do I even have to remind the whole world that I hate this season? With exams coming my way, there is nowhere to go but down. My sister and I even went to the supermarket to stock up of emergency exam period food rations. Hence, our flat now has enough food to last us through the entire month of January.

I guess even my sister has noticed changes in my behaviour lately other than my mum. She feels the same I would reckon, she is having her exams too. In fact, I think we finish on the same day, ironically. Both of us seemed so moodless these days, especially after our mother and brother left us. Some motivation is needed to lift us out of this cradle of misery. My sister came up with an idea: I could always count on her to come up with bright ideas - we have decided to travel to New York if we do well in our exams.

This is the first time since a long time ago that I found my lost feelings of excitement. It was a good plan. Finally, I found something to look forward to. Perhaps this is exactly what I need, something to clear my mind.

Memoirs of a Drunk Man

Last night was one crazy night, a night where I just dumped all my ethical beliefs and behaved very badly - all under the influence of too much alcohol, namely sake. Puking all over the restaurant toilet was not a good sight.

Since I started working in New Samsi Japanese Restaurant about a year ago, this is the first time the owner held a party for staff members, and it was a good one too: Free bar, free food, everything on the house, now how can anyone beat that? Arrived 10pm, and as soon as we sat down on the table, the heavy drinking began.

I'm not usually a heavy drinker, plus I can take quite alot before going down. The amount consumed yesterday though, set a whole new record. Even I can't believe how much I've actually drank. 5 bottles of sake, 1/2 bottle of some Korean herbal spirit, 1 pint of beer: they all went down my throat... Only to come right out very soon.

By the time it was 2am, everyone was leaving. I kept my composure well until then, but I knew it was coming. My head was spinning like a wild top, so I admitted myself to the toilet. Unfortunately, I din't quite make it there - I threw up at the toilet door. After beautifully redecorating the toilet, I had to lay down on the cushions by the tatami tables to recover. My head chef was nice enough to stay back to take care for me, until 5am in the morning. He even cleaned up my mess and sent me home. It has been quite sometime since I felt that I was cared for and I really did appreciate what he did for me. Embarrassed and wrecked as I was, I had to keep saying sorry and thank you.

As I'm typing this in the morning after the event with the most massively skull spliting headache, I now ask myself why I have unleashed the ugly side of me while slowly gathering bits and pieces of my memory about last night. I guess I allowed myself to do so. I had my sorrows and I wanted to feel how "drown all my sorrows" feels like, and I realised why some people turn to the cup for relief. There was a moment where, when consumed the appropriate amount of alcohol, one feels as though nothing else in the world matters anymore, and you can put everything behind you in an instant when you're emotions are not able to do so. For once since a long time ago, I felt I'm at peace with myself, wiping away all the worries both in my brain and in my heart. Of course, I also discovered the price to pay for doing so too.

It was quite an experience, but that's the first and the last time I unleash myself like this. Not because I think its not worth compensating the moment of peace with the after effects: I just simply don't want to embarrass myself in public anymore. Now that I'm sensible once more, I guess drowning ones sorrow is also not the way to go. I'd rather stay put as the "thinking and worrying too much" me.

PS: I kept mentioning where I worked but I never did take any picture of the restaurant. I found a picture of the exterior of the restaurant on the online webpage. Trust me, the interior is way more marvellous than the exterior.

2005 Review

Picture 4 people cramped into a 2 room student flat, eating steamboat, drinking port, watching TV... That's how my New Year's Eve was like. As we watched the magnificent fireworks display on television live from London Eye, my mind drifted off for some time. Perhaps it was the port, perhaps it was the slightly raw turkey meatballs I had - my thoughts slowly defused into a flashback of the year 2005. Compared to my other flashbacks, this... This is of epic proportions: lasted for like 45 minutes.

I have quite a gift for remembering memorable/unmemoralbe stuff. My friends often marvel at my wierd ability to be able to remember he most minor incidents in our childhood, therfore a flashback of 2005 is merely a piece of cake for me. If I close my eyes and commence my flashbacks: I could almost feel and picture those memories vividly as if I was there and then once again. I cherrish my memories. My review of 2005 was like watching bits and pieces of a DVD, jumping from chapter to chapter.

My conclusion was, this was a rather turbulent year for me. If you were to plot it on a chart - it has more ups and downs than the Dow Jones stock market. At some point, I felt like top of the world. I felt like I could conquer anything and faced anything that stood in my way. I felt that nothing could ever go wrong. At certain times however, I felt like the most insignificant speck of dust in the air, so useless and powerless to overcome my own problems in life. I believe I have lost focus of myself as well as my true aim in life.

I suppose I can't complain much. Life is unfair to everyone: it would be impossible that someone had a perfect wonderful year or vice versa. I suppose I just had my fare share of ups and downs just like everyone else. Its just not right for me to sit here and moan and mumble about such stuff, where I believe some other people in the world are suffering far greater than me. I consider myself quite lucky.

I guess a new year requires new resolutions. I've never promised myself anything in my life, it's always promises to someone else. This year, I will make an effort - I'm not going to just sit here and cry about my misery anymore. Since my birthday is coming, I suppose I should make an even bigger effort to fulfill my resolutions this year. Here they are in random order:

1) I realised I have been too self-centered last year as if the entire world revolves around me; this year I will listen and accept what others have to say and learn from them.
2) Made alot of mistakes last year; would learn from my mistakes last year and make sure not to repeat those mistakes again.
3) So depressed last year even my mum asked me to see a psychiatrist; hence I will try and control my emotions more sensibly this year.
4) Too lazy last year, must become more hardworking this year.
5) Developed a very selfish heart for self-defence against harm since I came to UK 6 years ago; will try and loosen up and be more generous to people and give more than receive.
6) Must eat healthy and exercise more (after exams of course).
7) Really cherrish those people around me that really love and care for me, pay more attention to them.
8) Be more considerate to everyone.

God knows what lies for me in the mists of 2006. Whatever lies ahead, I plead that God, please have some mercy on me.