Black Bean Pork Ribs, Grilled Teriyaki Baby Octopus and Stir Fried Vege

Calvin's Black Bean Pork Ribs - My Specialty

I developed this recipe in Houghton, MI. I first cooked it for Shu Wei and Kate, later on to many other Malaysians.

This dish takes about 1h30m to prepare. Basic ingredients include:
1. Pork Ribs
2. Minced Garlic
3. "Shao Xing" chinese cooking wine
4.Mushroom soy sauce
5. Soy sauce
6. Oyster Sauce
7. Sesame oil
8. Diced onions and Sliced green peppers
9. Star Anise and dry chilli
10. Sugar, Salt, pepper
11. Water

Instructions:
1. First heat the oil until it is hot enough, then throw in a few cloves of star anise and a few pieces of dried chilli.
2. Fragrant them at low-medium fire to ensure it doesn't burn.
3. Next, throw in some garlic, wait till you can smell the garlic aroma and then throw in the ribs.
4. When the meat is half cooked, you can start putting in the ingredients for the sauce
No fixed amount for each ingredient for the sauce. You will need some water for the sauce too.
I just adjust the ingredients until it tastes right to me, which makes it my special dish.
5. After about 45mins, throw in the onions and green peppers.
6. Simmer it for another 45mins constantly stirring and adjusting the heat from low-medium to medium and the last 10minutes, High. Cooking this long is to dry up the sauce and ensure that the sauce is absorbed thoroughly into the meat. It will also make the meat tender too. The longer you cook the ribs, the easier the meat comes off when you eat it.

It takes long to cook and you will have to keep on stirring, else it will burn. You need to keep on stirring at low-medium heat.

Once ready, serve it and top it off with some spring onions.

Grilled Teriyaki Baby Octopus

All you need to do to prepare this dish is marinate the Squid/baby octopus with
1. Teriyaki Sauce
2. Sesame oil
3. Sugar
4. Oil
for 4 hours and pan grill it till it cooks.
Baby octopus does not take too long to cook.

Stir Fried Broccoli and Cauliflower with minced pork

This one is simple.
Broccoli, Cauliflower, minced pork, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sale and pepper to taste.

P.S. I have never cooked rice in the USA and the reason, I don't know. I never cook in my dorm, and usually my senior will cook the rice. But my senior Kenny has taught me.

Enjoy...

360 Project - Check it out

Something new that I learnt.

Merry Christmas!

~MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!~

Press play!

Last night we had chinese hot pot dinner for Christmas Eve. Funny huh?

It was spicy!!! and Yummy!! too! It's prepared by Kenny's other two housemates, Tang Wei and Gloria(picture Below).

Other Chinese guests


Here's my senior, Kenny. He is currently a graduate student in ME department specializing in Manufacturing.

After dinner, around 10.30pm, we opened out presents cause one of the girl had to leave earlier cause she had a flight at 7am the next morning.




Look at what I got...

Yeap.... huge TIGER sandals. You put your feet into the mouth. It's pretty warm. It's from one of my senior's friends. I got my senior a Motorola Bluetooth headset.



It was a pretty good first Christmas in Houghton, MI. Gonna go to Chicago for new years.

I am currently staying at my senior's place for the winter break. This is because if you are going to stay in the dorms, you will be charged more. So, right now, I am staying in my senior's room. I am sleeping on a sofa bed. But, I am too lazy to open it up into a bed cause as you can see, there is lack of space in the room.




For a 360 view of the room go to http://calvinsc.googlepages.com/KennysRoom.mov
You will need a quicktime plugin in your browser to work. Should work for most cases.

For more Christmas Eve photos, go to http://calvinsc.multiply.com/photos/album/58/Christmas_Eve_2007

Happy Holidays from ME!!

First Time Skiing at Mt. Ripley - AWESOME!

Today I went Skiing up Mt. Ripley with a bunch of friends from MTU (chinese + malaysians). Mt. Ripley is operated in conjunction with MTU. So MTU students get better rates for their season pass. Ok, it costs $35(only if you have 8 or more) to ski from 3pm till 9pm. Equipment included. Usually it costs $30 just for entry + $17 for rentals.We went there around 5.30pm and we skied all the way till 8.45p.m. I chose skiing rather than snowboard cause it was the easier ski sport to learn. And I must agree. After a few lessons from my friend, Peter, I learned how to stop and control my movement. But before I could learn to stop, I definitely had to fall many times. But it took me about like almost an hour to finally get it right. Next, I learnt how to get up the hill using the easier method, which is the T-Bar. It was hard hold on to the T-Bar at the beginning, as I have never done it. Then another senior, Aik How, taught me the right way to ride the T-Bar. As you can see, it's a wooden T-Bar where you can sit or lean against it and when it moves it drags you along. I fell off the T-Bar a few times. There was once when the T-Bar struck my arm. So, I got a lil bruise on my right arm. Every time someone falls off the T-Bar, they will stop it and resume it when you're back up. There are 3 control stations along the way, Bottom - Midway(beginner trail)-Top(intermediate trail)

T-Bar

So, after learning all the basics, I was pretty much on my own already. I started off at the beginner trail which is the green line. I was going down hill, taking the T-Bar up and going downhill again. Was going through that routine for some time until I felt I really had a hang of skiing. Crazily enough, I thought of going up to the intermediate trail (orange line on map). And I did! I was like 50-50 whether I should do it, since it was my first time skiing and the way to go up is super steep. Finally, I decided I will give it a try cause Peter was going to follow me. Peter was really experienced. He's like no fear at all. So, I held on to the T-Bar from the bottom of the ski hill, all the way up,pass the beginner trail (green line on map) and finally up the steep hill, it was fine at the beginning... I held it up 1/2 way the Intermediate steep hill, and I really lost control, and I fell off the T-Bar and I held it with my arms, I was dragged on the snow by the T-Bar until the point which I let go cause my arms were aching. Then they stop the T-Bar. I was trying to get onto the T-Bar again, but it was really hard, cause the hill was really steep and when I stand up, I'd probably ski backwards into god-knows-where. So, I was on the snow, trying to get back on my skis to grab the next T-Bar. Ok, this time I got it, but I couldn't sit on it right, and i was once again, I fell and held the bar with my hand until my arms gave up again. This time one of my ski came off and it slide away from me. I wanted to retrieve it, but I was wearing the ski boots, and it was really difficult to walk. Did I tell you the boots are really uncomfortable? It's really stiff and it is 90 degrees all the time, so you can hardly get any flexibility out of it. I was supposed to reach the top soon, but suddenly the T-Bar stalled for a long time. Maybe because of me... So, now I had to walk all the way up with those freaking tight boots. It was a really tiring hike up that hill. Again, I stress, it was really steep. Finally when I reached, I told the T-Bar operator that one of my ski came off a distance away from the station. He immediately went down the hill with no fear (well,maybe it's easier cause he was wearing shoes) and went to retrieve my ski and hike all the way up again. I thanked him and he was cool about it.

The story doesn't end there, in fact it was just about to start. When I was up at the top, I was telling myself, WHY ON EARTH DID I WANT TO COME UP HERE? OMG it was really scary, the trail was really steep. My heart started pumping faster and faster. Lucky for me, my friend Peter was really supportive, he kept on saying "dude, this is it man, YOU CAN DO IT!, there's no turning back" I was like... "OMG OMG, can't believe I am doing this!" So, I took a deep breath and said, "let's do it".

We started off a small and slightly steep hill, I went down that one, and took a stop at the level area (refer to map, a green dot that says " That first part made some adrenaline running in me. I didn't dare to go all the way down in one go. Then, again... I was like really scared... This time the hill is really steep and it's a long way down.

Now I tell myself, you got to do this, there is no turning back. So, I positioned myself, got ready... and (prayed to God to not let me die) and right after that...

OMG! IT WAS SO FAST and SCARY. I had an adrenaline rush!!

In my mind, I was concentrating really hard to stay steady and not fall, cause it you roll down that hill, it wont be pretty. I was like going about 30-40km/h And I am proud to say, I stayed in control all the way down the hill but I couldn't stop in time, it was too fast and I "crash landed". But it was one hell of an experience. I wanted to go up a second time, but I was too tired or perhaps, too scared/freaked out/excited/ to go up there and almost kill myself again. So, I went back to the beginner trail and skied till 8.45p.m.

We went for dinner right after that. We were pretty hungry.

One for the album!

Group Photo

It was a really great first experience on skiing. I am really glad it was easy to ski and I really enjoy it. Gonna try and learn more skiing technique the next time I go to Mt. Ripley again.

For more photos, check out http://calvinsc.multiply.com/photos/album/57/Mt_Ripley_Ski_Trip

And below is the Mt Ripley map, you can look at the places I mentioned above in the map.

My first Krispy Kreme Experience

Finally I have taste my first Krispy Kreme Doughnut.... in LAS VEGAS!

They had an outlet in Luxor Hotel in las Vegas


Luxor, Las Vegas

I am sorry I don't have photos of the doughnuts itself cause I was too eager to taste them. I had original glazed, glazed raspberry filled, glazed chocolate cake and glazed cinnamon cause it just came out straight from the oven!

Here are photos I got off the Krispy Kreme website.






And to those who have tasted Big Apple doughnuts or even J Co doughnuts back in Malaysia, once you have tasted Krispy Kreme doughnuts... you'll lust for it forever....

To officiate my Krispy Kreme experience, of course I had the original glazed first. Here's what I thought...

When you take your first bite, you will bite through the sugar glaze coating, that first bite triggers your taste bud to expect more sweetness from the doughnut. As you continue biting through it, you will be able to savor the fluffiness and lightness of the doughnut. Soon after your first bite... in a matter of seconds your doughnut will be in your tummy without even realizing. However, because it was my first, I savored every bite of it. It didn't have any trace of oiliness in the doughnut.

The other flavors were good too. I like how the raspberry jam complement the doughnut. Back in Malaysia, I always had strawberry filled at Dunkin Doughnuts. The Glazed Chocolate Cake was something new for me. It was really like a moist chocolate cake shaped into a doughnut and glazed. The texture is of course more towards a cake than a doughnut. The choc in it was pretty rich. I also tried the cinammon one since it was fresh from the oven. And it definitely did not disappoint me either, even though I am no big fan of cinnamon.

Below you will see me savouring every bite of my first Krispy Kreme.

Knowing that I wont be able to get Krispy Kreme near my place. The closest is in Marquette, MI which is about 2 hours away from me.

I visited another Krispy Kreme outlet at the Fermont Street Experience.

Pictured here, again Original Glazed, Glazed Raspberry Filled and Chocolate Iced Glazed.

Here's one I missed at the top

Krispy Kreme doughnuts is a must try in USA!

CHEERS to all Doughnut lovers!

To read about Krispy Kreme's secret recipe, go to http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/recipedetail.asp?sessionid=&login=yes&id=429&agree=yes

Current weather in MTU - Horrible

The weather is really taking it's toll on me. The winter here is really bad.

Everyday I wake up, I look out the window and all I could see is snow, snow and snow!

It keeps on snowing day and night and the worse thing is when it's paired with WIND!

That's the horrible part about it. It gets as cold as -15 Celsius


I have to look like this to get to class.



Sometimes it's so hard to get to class when the wind and snow is going against you.

Here are some photos of how campus looks like


And here a picture to let you see the amount of snow we get

Btw, it's not COOL to be in such a COLD town!

Check out the videos for actual conditions

http://calvinsc.multiply.com/video/item/10

http://calvinsc.multiply.com/video/item/11

Las Vegas Trip

It's been a week since my trip. I didn't have time to post up an entry because it has been busy week.

Anyway, the Vegas Trip was GREAT, with stops at Lansing, MI and Chicago, IL. A memorable first trip out of town.

The atmosphere in Vegas wasmagnificent! The buildings were majestic and the scnearies were breathtaking.

I took about 5.6GB worth of photos.

The hotels both inside and outside were really beautiful. The night scene was stunning too. Neon lights were everywhere beautifying a city which was already astonishing even in the morning.

I would love to describe every place that I went to, but there is just way too much to write. I don't really like writing a lot. So let the photos do the talking.

Look for the latest albums with Vegas labeled to it http://calvinsc.multiply.com/photos




Do check out the other photos that i took in Lansing and Chicago!



That's all for now!

The end of the RM0.01 problem!

Have you ever been caught in a situation where you have to pay a sum of like maybe RM9.31, RM9.32, RM9.33, RM9.34? RM9.98 or even RM9.99? Fret no more, as of April 1, 2008, the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs has implemented a new system of rounding for over the counter transactions.

This would help prevent both merchants and consumers to have a steady supply of 1 cents for transactions. Apparently the government spends RM18billion yearly to mint 1 cent coins.

There maybe changes in the petrol pricing system as consumers may be charged at a increment of 5cents/10cents instead of the old 1 cent when pumping petrol.

I feel that this move is a good one for me as I have been stuck in situations where I was given a whole lot of 1cent coins as change at a McD joint or sometimes certain merchants who're short on 1/2 cents, they just wont bother to give me back my exact change or sometimes when I'm short of a few cents the merchant would charge me 10 cents instead. Damn too much right?

Anyhow, this is one small little effort from the government that will help make the every day life of a Malaysian living in Malaysia better (By having a slightly lighter wallet/purse).

Would this make the Malaysians happy enough to forget about the PM's response to the BERSIH protest and Malaysia's Information Minister's interview with Al Jazeera News on the BERSIH Protest?

For more reading: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/11/14/nation/19460993&sec=nation

Images credits to thestar.com.my

Cleaning time in Malaysia? BERSIH

For those abroad who are not aware of what happened on the 10th November 2007. Here's what KL looked like.

Photo by jiunpic
More here http://picasaweb.google.com/pemudawp/BersihRally

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) organized a mass rally to demand for electoral reforms in the country as elections are expected for the country in early 2008. They managed to successfully hand over a memorandum to HM Yang diPertuan Agong at the Royal Palace.

The rally didn't get a green light from the government as fears of riots may breakout.
Here's a scene at Masjid Jamek reported by Al-Jazeera news in English



I am no political analysts and do not have a big interest in politics but reading and watching these news about what's going on Malaysia worries me. Can't believe just leaving Malaysia about 2 months now, something this big is going on.

From one of the news reports that i read, New York-based Human Rights Watch commented that, "If Malaysia wants to count itself a democracy, it can begin by upholding constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. The way the system works now, only the ruling coalition can get its messages out,".

I agree on the comment above. Malaysia has long been under the ruling of one major political party. And what goes behind the government is all biased towards certain parties, groups and even individuals.

Maybe it's time to change?
Kudos to the folks at BERSIH who's trying so hard to make a change for the better of the country and its people.


For more updates of this rally, go to BERSIH's temporary website @ http://tragedibatuburok.blogspot.com/ due to congestion in internet traffic of their original site @ http://bersih.org/

More news @ Malaysia Today

Warzone

Behind enemy lines


Cross at your own risk


Are you looking at me? (A lil out of focus) Sorry :(


Excuse me... :furious:


Is there something in my nose?


Ready to rumble!




Some features

Tank lid


Tank logo


Tank wheels


It was built by a bunch of Americans last night during midnight. I saw them building it on the way home from my senior's house.

I took these photos after brunch this morning.

What do you think?