Recipe For One: Chicken & Potato in Dark Soya Sauce

Quite impressive with myself this evening as I have successfully cook a nice dish. Here’s the recipe, for ONE. You need

Two chicken thigh, de-boned (25 baht)
One medium size potato (7 baht)
Sauce:1 teaspoon dark soya sauce
dashes of soya sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
half cup of water
pinch of parsley flakes
3-4 tablespoon of oil
pinch of corn flour for thickening the sauce
Items to marinate the chicken
pinch of ginger powder (or fresh ginger juice)
dashes of pepper
chinese cooking wine or rum
fried garlic/onion

Generally, marinate the chicken for a few hours with all the ingredients.
Cut the potato into small pieces (cooked much faster). Heat up the pan and put in the oil. Once it's hot, pan fried the potato until golden brown. Put the potato aside and the pour away the oil, left with about 1 tablespoon of it. Pan fried the chicken (for easier cooking, cut the chicken into moderate size, for lazy people, just leave it). Once the chicken is almost cook, add in the sauces (without the water). Oh...add a pinch of sugar to make it more tasty. Fried for about a minute, then pour in the water and potato. Cook until the potato kinda soften. Add corn flour to thicken the sauce. Voila! Serve with rice and a glass of cold water.
Estimate cost including rice (less than 50 baht).

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What's Spinning: Going Back To Basic

If you are bored with your radio station only playing Fergie, Justin, Robbie or Diddy, well it's time for you to go to the music stores to look for the following two albums.


Louise Setara....who? Lousie Setara. 18 year old lass. You may not likely find this album in your local store yet but you may want to check and ask about it. Consist of 13 nothing could go wrong tracks, it's excellent for a lazy hazy afternoon session. Her vocal came across as a mixed of Kelly Clarkson + Lee Ann Rimes, which is soulful and powerful. This is a pure classic pop ballad album with a few really outstanding tracks such as Make You Feel My Love (written by Bob Dylan) and If I Should Fall (written by Bruce Springsteen). However, there are a few tracks you may not take it easily such as the gospel-ish Cirlce and the folksie Slvie. Well give it a try. The following link let you sample the full album for a limited time. Louise Setara




Another good example of why classic pop could never go wrong. If you love Legend's first album, Get Lifted, you will definitely love this one. And if the your local radio station has yet to put Save Room on their spinning list, request for it. Not your convential R&B singer, Legend manage to blend it a lil' bit of rock and a lil's bit of pop to make his R&B the 'Legend' style. Unfortch, there ain't a site to let you sample the whole album. Well, perhaps sampling 30seconds of each track may give you enough reason to go and buy this album. Click here

Jump (Again)

And to complete this week Jump theme, here is main lyrics to Jump. Read it, understand it and ask yourself about it...

There’s only so much you can learn in one place
The more that I wait, the more time that I waste

I haven’t got much time to waste, it’s time to make my way
I’m not afraid of what I’ll face, but I’m afraid to stay
I’m going down my own road and I can make it alone
I'll work and I'll fight, Till I find a place of my own
Are you ready to jump? Get ready to jump
Don’t ever look back, oh baby,
Yes, I’m ready to jump
Just take my hands Get ready to jump
We learned our lesson from the start, my sisters and me
The only thing you can depend on is your family
And life’s gonna drop you down like the limbs of a tree
It sways and it swings and it bends until it makes you see
Are you ready to jump?
Get ready to jump
Don’t ever look back, oh baby
Yes, I’m ready to jump
Just take my hands
Get ready to, are you ready?

Jump!

What's Spinning in October?

Perhaps the last single taken off from her Confessions album. Jump, the track about moving on, taking the risk to the next level, is already hitting the clubs, the radio as well as VH1. In fact, I just saw the video being played inside the Skytrain.

The single itself will not be released until end October or early November. A must buy for Madge fans as it contains an unreleased track called History.

I'll Youtube the video here later. Not a great video compared to her previous (Vogue, Human Nature) but seeing the dancers doing the krumping is truly fantastic. I've also displayed some of the screenshots throughout the last few articles.

Are You Ready?

The recent decision of two ex-colleagues of mine deciding to leave their new job for just a few weeks/ months had me wondering. When is the right time for one to jump and how does one know about it.

When I decided to make my jump early this year, the top management told me that it’s a wrong decision, it’s a suicidal jump, blah blah blah. Well, I had to admit that this jump is not a smooth jump.

There are some regrets to it but not critical enough for me to make another jump. I guess it’s because I’m very clear of the direction I’m planning to go. Furthermore the situation that I’m in is not that bad actually.

As we are approaching into the mid-30s, JUMPING is not as easy as it used to be anymore. One wrong jump could actually be suicidal, especially if there are nothing to cushion the fall or we are jumping without a string attached, which could pull us back to where we was.

A lot of the time, we always believed that the grass is always greener on the other side. But in actual fact it is not. Though it may look green but the soil could be really wet and muddy.

The question then, are we willing to withstand this muddy soil knowing that the soil will get drier and better ahead? Or will the soil get drier?
Jumping without any direction or jumping in a desperation situation at most time is very risky. It could very well depend on your luck. You may end up at a greener Pasteur or you may just end up in a hospital with broken hands and legs. So are you ready?

Parting gifts and Legacies

The Chinese has a saying that ‘good in meeting, bad in staying together’. Staying in Bangkok for more that 7 months now, and I had experience 3 guests staying in my place for a few nights. Each provided me with a unique experience and left some unique legacies. While I’m not going to describe in detail each but I do like to raise a question about parting gifts.

Is it necessary to leave with a parting gift? I’ll have to say that it’s up to say that it’s up to the individual and basically how close one is with the host. While I do welcome gift but porn VCDs are definitely uncalled for. In actual fact, it wasn’t a gift at all but a last minute decision of not bringing it back (to avoid the risk of going through the custom).

But what I do find amusing is the legacy each of my guests had. While the first one really treated my home as a hotel, and had me worried about his whereabouts daily. Once you live in my home, I took it as my responsibility to ensure your wellbeing. And of course, his own used towel, the ciggy, the small-small stuff. While this guest is being the least demanding, but had me worried the most.

The second guest is perhaps the one that I felt most guilty of for not providing a comfortable place. With my snoring, the not-working air-cond, the coming back very late in the night…what an embarrassment. His legacy? Not much except for the wet bathroom and of course the high water bill at the end of the month.

The third guest, my only guilt is not able to take time off over the weekdays to accompany him. [Note: to potential guest, I can spare my weekends but not my weekdays, so do plan well!] Perhaps his most unique legacy is the way he likes to splash talcum powder all over himself. Reminds me of my brother, which I kept complaining about his habit of splashing talcum in my room but not his room. Similarly, this guest would leave lots of white dots/ powders all over the carpeted floor.

Please do not take this wrongly. I’m not complaining at all but to let you guys know that this is what makes us human and this is what makes our friendship stronger. Not being shy to show our true self to one another, that’s how a long lasting friendship should be. Thank you for accepting me and thank you for being a friend.

The Entourage

No, I’m not going to talk about the HBO’s Entourage.

It’s my first time in the new Bangkok international airport, the Survanabhumi or whatever airport. Just don’t understand why can’t they have a simpler name to it like KLIA or LAX. I guess it is the Thai culture, like the way Thai people have these long names.

Anyway, from my house, it took me about 40 minutes to reach this new airport (compa(red) to the old airport which normally takes about 20 minutes). The taxi fare is slightly more expensive. Including the toll charges, it cost me about 320 baht while the old airport cost me about 250 baht.

The main check in hall is not as grand as it sounds. Just like the KLIA. Though I do like the roof design, not entirely shelte(red). I’m traveling on Friday the 13th, bad luck would have had to happen to someone, if it wasn’t me then it’s them…the entourage.

This group of people (the entourage) was kinda making a scene at the check-in counter. Not being a racist and not saying which race, but normally, ‘they’ do travel in an entourage with tons of luggage. They would be speaking loudly (as if their companions are hearing challenged) with their hand movements.

Just an advice to all who are traveling in a group of say 4-5 persons. You actually do not need everyone to be at the counter. Having everyone at the counter would create unnecessary crowding as well as long queue. Well, for this group, it seems important for them to be presence at the counter. Actually, they kinda hold up both the counters for more than 15 minutes and seem to have no success in checking in. I’m not sure what their problem is but they ended up opening their luggage and frantically searching for something at the crowded check-in area, shouting speaking loudly to one another. Then one or two of their members would rudely walk in and out of the queue line, without even mustering an “Excuse Me” as if it’s his right to do so. By the time I got in front of the counter, they had yet to solve their problem, talking, searching and walking.

Okay, enough about the entourage since I still had to face them inside the plane…creepy.

Let’s go back to this Survanabhumi airport. Once I get inside the Departure hall, it’s a totally different environment. Instead of feeling inside an airport, the layout and the ambience did give you a grand shopping center feeling (i.e those shopping centers mainly frequent by the ‘tai-tai’ and the ‘Datins’). While both sides are filled with branded shops, the middle of the walkway stationed a few classy and nice restaurants (classy Shushi bar, coffee houses where a piece of fruit cake cost 65 baht, as if the fruits are all imported from Antartica).
Compa(red) to the Don Muang airport, this departure hall is definitely much much better and comfortable. Perhaps the only weakness is the less spacious walkway and also the non-spacious toilet, which kinda smelly, no area for you to put the luggage and that not so sensitive auto-basin.

The Departed vs Infernal Affairs

I noticed the billboard ad for The Departed since last week but never find it interesting until tonight that I realized it was the Hollywood version of HK's Infernal Affairs. The original movie was an excellent movie with an excellent cast. I wonder if this Hollywood version could match the quality of the original. But I'm sure a Martin Scorsese movie should live up to some expectation. Perhaps the only weakness is the non-matching casting, in terms of experience and status. In the original, both the main characters were played by top-notched actors while this one boast 2 not so top-notched actors. Anyway...this movie (the Departed) is definitely on my to watch list. Here are some comparison photos.

Something Funny...

Not sure why but I had this crazy craving for ice-cream after a meal of Green curry chicken/ prawn/ vegetables. I ended up brazing the dark alley to the nearest only convenient store. And just for a silly craving. Anyway, read this news article about Thailand's newest airport. Find it funny and thought of sharing with you guys.

SIGHTSEERS URGED TO STAY AWAY
Last week it was a tank, this week it is Suvarnabhumi airport for parents taking their children on days out.
But sightseers have been asked to give the airport a break after traffic was clogged, food shops sold out, and family picnics were spotted here and there - particularly yesterday, a Saturday.
''Please. There is no need to hurry. Suvarnabhumi will be here for decades. Next year is never too late [for admirers],'' Airports of Thailand president Chotisak Asapaviriya said.
Mr Chotisak admitted Suvarnabhumi had encountered an unexpected problem. Whole families have been going to send off a relative and get up close and personal with Thailand's latest pride. Some go just for pleasure.
Officials were entrusted to speed up the traffic flow and discourage family group photos and picnics on the road in and out of the airport. Traffic cones were placed along the curve of the exit to Rom Klao road, which is said to be a great scenic spot to capture the beautiful angles of the terminal and airplanes coming in and out of runways.
The atmosphere is much more pleasant outside, where hundreds simply enjoy the view from afar. As an airplane roared while descending onto a runway, the crowd cheered on. The plane flew above sightseers who packed the elevated Kingkaew road running alongside the airport.
Source: BangkokPost

Scooping the Soup Coup Wk#2

Wow...can you believe that...it's the end of week 2 after the coup. Surprisingly there are still a few people who ask me about the situation and ask if I'm terrified with all the soldiers around. Which is what really suprise me (since I have not watched CNN/BBC a day after the coup), but it seems that people out there are thinking that Bangkok is filled with army tanks, trucks and soldiers (no thanks to those CNN/BBC channels). They should have showed at least a few seconds of Silom Road or the Erawan area.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen a single army personnel for the past 2 days in Erawan. There had never been any army seen in Silom. Hmmm...maybe I should take some photos of Silom and the place I'm staying to tell people that everything is really normal (though the news about USA making a fuss with the financial aid could be quite disturbing).

Anyway...I'm a bit lazy to write this week..so I just pasted the 20 covers of this month Q Magazine (in celebration of its 20th anniversary).

Have a nice week ahead!

It's Just Q!