The Hainanese chicken rice experiment

Having a grandmother and a mom who are both Home Economics teachers, it doesn't come as a surprise that me and my sister love to experiment with recipes. We're a team when it comes to recreating our own version of any dish that catches our fancy. I prepare, she cooks. It's both fun and time-consuming but we enjoy it a lot.

Just last Sunday, we decided to try our own version of the famous Hainanese chicken rice. I had been craving for it after I read about it on some blogs and the Kenny Rogers experience did little to satisfy my palate. So off I went to the grocery to shop for ingredients.

You'll need:

1 whole dressed chicken
onion
garlic
lemon grass
spring onion
ginger
4 pcs. chicken bouillon cubes
calamansi
soy sauce

F@#% you, Canon!

That's it, this should serve as a lesson for me not to trust any freebie campaigns in the future. Guess what Canon Customer Care replied to me yesterday after I made another follow-up on my freebie and warranty card?

Oh the nerve! You couldn't even get your date right? My sarcastic self kicked in and I furiously typed a reply...

I googled this little misleading promo and apparently I'm not the only one dissatisfied with the way they're handling customer service for freebies they offer. Some receive their stuff three months after registering on-line and sometimes, the photography book isn't even included. Friends, again the freebies aren't the issue here. It's transparency.

They should've made it clear to their distributors that the promo was only until December 31, 2010 (if that's what they really meant in the email). When we bought the camera, we were told that as long as we register the purchase on-line then were are eligible for the promo.

So there. If you've made it this far, sorry for having to read through my rant. I just needed to blow off some steam. This will be the last time I shall ever talk of this issue. Good thing I bought a camera bag already. Maghihintay lang pala ako sa wala.

Unplugged + my Hainanese chicken experience

Less than 24 hours after our modem’s plug exploded, we’re back online! Thank you Globe for that fast turnaround time on our request. Now I can catch up on my blogging and the backlog we’ve missed over those hours that we were unplugged.

Speaking of which, allow me to share these photos I took yesterday when we tried out Kenny Roger’s Hainanese Chicken. I’ve been raring to try any version of this famous chicken recipe since I’m too broke to go abroad and I know of no restaurant here in Cebu who offers it. I tell you, food photography does wonders!

The actual dish was underwhelming (size-wise) but it still managed to satisfy my palate. Now I know why they always use a whole chicken for this. 1/4 will never be enough. 

Looks like we’ve finally found our next culinary experiment.

Sweet Valley, a decade later…

Why, oh why did I not know about this until today? The latest Sweet Valley book, Sweet Valley Confidential, hits the stands on March 29 and this will explore what our favorite characters have been up to after high school. Suddenly I became a giddy teenager once more. The books had been such a huge part of my teenage years that I grew up wanting to be like Elizabeth Wakefield. It was only when I got older that I realized she was such a Mary Sue character. Jessica, on the other hand, had much more depth since she wasn’t really depicted as a goody-two-shoes type of teenager. 

Based on the preview chapter, Liz is now living in New York and does not seem to be in good terms with her twin. A re-hash of the conflicts in the Elizabeth series? What did Jessica do this time to incur her sister’s wrath? What happened to Todd, Enid, Lila, Bruce, Winston and the rest of gang?

I hope the book doesn’t turn out to be a disappointment like SVH: Senior Year (I hated the new characters). I wonder when it’ll be released in the Philippines, huh? *makes mental note to email Fully Booked and NBS by next week*

Why hello there, Mr. Alonso!

This, my dear readers, is the reason why I will never fawn over any Azkals no matter how much I adore football. He has set the standards quite high. Hehe!

Isn't the accent quite charming?:) No wonder he is a favorite when it comes to interviews among players. The man has a good head above his shoulders, not to mention he's quite the eye-candy as well. If only you can be cloned, Xabier!

Still waiting…

It's been 2 months and 14 days since we bought Yogi, but until now I have yet to receive my 3 year warranty card and the freebies (Tamrac bag + photography book) that were supposed to come with my purchase. Frustrating is an understatement. I've emailed Canon's customer service countless 5 times already and I keep getting the same generic answer. So what's a poor customer left to do? Wait, of course.

One thing this experience taught me was to stretch my patience a little longer, especially after a friend mentioned that she received her stuff three months after she had registered for it. I'm close to the threshold... what's another two weeks, right?

Canon better make good with their promise to deliver those stuff once they have the bag available. Freebies aside, I fretted because they never delivered as what was promised on the website. The three-week waiting period stretched for weeks and is now nearing the three-month mark. As a customer, wouldn't you be frustrated as well?

For the meantime, I'm buying a back-up camera bag.

HPDH2 preview: Weasleys, FTW!

 

I’m posting this because of sheer delight that Ginny actually makes it in a preview clip and that it looks like we’ll get some considerable Weasley family time in the finale for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For those who don’t want to be spoiled, here’s a quick rave on what is shown in this 97-seconds clip from ABC Family:

 

Just Their Luck

Now where's Lady Luck when you need her the most, huh? The results of the 2010 Bar Exams just confirmed my worst fears. No, I wasn't one of the examinees. I've decided ages ago that law will never be a career option for me. But my friends? They've set their heart into this. They've hurdled four grueling years of law school that it breaks my heart not to see them on that list for three years now.

Was it because they never took it all-together? (one took it a year later)

I went through the results countless of times. Even my sister helped in double-checking. I saw some familiar names. But none of those I really wanted to see. A few phone calls and text messages later,  we managed to clear the air. I don’t think they’ll have another go at this anytime sooner.  Everyone has had enough. The bright side of everything? This might just be the sign for them to pursue other interests than a law career. The justice system’s loss will definitely be another industry’s gain.

Which is why I can’t wait for our get-together in May. The trip itinerary is still hazy. But it doesn’t matter where we’ll go actually. What’s important is that I spend some quality time with my best gal pals in the world.

All work and no play…

Makes me a dull girl? Hmmm, almost. I just realized I never once took a week-long vacation last year. No beach outings, no out-of-town trips... nada! I was stuck being a corporate slave. Or maybe I was just too much of a homebody.

But nevertheless, I'm working on changing my luck this year. Summer is meant to be enjoyed, right? And I'm doing just that. For someone who has never been out of the city in like eight years, I have a trip to Manila planned in April (work reasons). Yayyy! So excited to see my friends who are already based there. Plus I have this summer outing of our department to look forward to. Woohoo, beach time!

Then by May, it's reunion time for me and my best buddies from college. The fact that we've been friends for almost a decade now is still so surreal. One of them proposed that we go to Coron to celebrate the first time that all 5 of us will be together. The thing is, I'm not sure my budget would permit that. Kuripot na kung kuripot, but I have some bills to pay noh! I’ll just have to cross the bridge when we get there. Bahala na si Batman. I’m sure we can work something out.

Dare to DAIR?

 

I know not many people share my fondness for this ‘ship, but I credit Dan/Blair for finally making me watch a show I had been avoiding for the past three seasons. Yes people, they are this show’s Pacey and Joey whether you like it or not. They may not be the endgame couple but the reaction to their build-up wasn’t as negative as many had expected. In fact, they may have dragged former viewers into watching the show again.

 

I personally welcome this development because I am probably the only one not enamored by the character of Chuck Bass. Yes, he and Blair make a dynamic, twisted couple but there’s too much negativity between them already. It would be healthier if both spend time apart from each other.

 

So yes, I’m enjoying my Dair scenes while I can. The 6 weeks wait for the next episode is too agonizing to think about. Plus, we get Prince Louis again. Is this turning into a three-way fight for Miss Waldorf?

The Oscars: almost a week after...

Good thing Rush decided not to wear a hat...

In my super-dooper delayed Oscars post, let me just share my ecstatic reaction over the victory of The King's Speech. They won in 4 of the 12 categories they were nominated in! Regardless of what haters may say, I loved that flick. It was inspiring. Flicks about royal families always have that effect on me. (Yeah, elitist bitch-mode lang) It would've been lovely if Geoffrey Rush won in the supporting category as well because his performance as Lionel Logue was equally as affecting as Colin Firth's George VI. 

My only disappointment was that 'I See The Light' lost in the Best Song category. The winner proved to be a worthy competitor though. It is understandable why the Oscar nod went that way. But how gorgeous were Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi in their performance? They should've performed the song in its entirety!

Why does he look tanned? The picture doesn't do him justice. :(

I'll skip the gown posts this time since a gazillion blog entries have already been devoted to that. Don't you just love awards season? It's always a welcome change to see the stars dressed to their nines. Now for next year's ceremony, can they get Sandra Bullock as a host please?

There’s the silver lining!

I had been in a foul mood for the past few days. My BB Social subscription screwed up and I couldn't login to both UberSocial and Twitter for BB. Yes, I have a lot of Twitter clients on my phone. Haha! That's because I tweet most of the time when I vent out or rave about things when I'm too lazy to blog at the moment. My sister googled every possible solution but none managed to solve the problem. I restrained myself from throwing a fit whenever "no access token" or "twitter services are currently unavailable" alerts would appear on the phone's LCD. 

I don't know why or what happened, but today the silver lining I was looking for finally manifested itself. Maybe it's because we switched to the new twitter? It's the only reason plausible because battery pulls (I did countless of those!), updating the OS and reinstalling apps never worked.  Oh well, I am just so happy. Today's Friday and I'm in a good mood. I even bought my favorite Cornetto flavor to celebrate the occasion.