Apprentice Chef

2011 Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner Menu

2011-02-20T01:02:00.000-08:00

This is Ong's family 2011 CNY low sung dishes at a glance.

Clockwise: Salmon Yee Sung, Red Chillies yong tau fu..red colour signifying a 'ong' new year. Steamed chicken and chillies prawn..all dishes have been sized down to fit in the table.

Clockwise: Fermented beancurd fried chicken which is the grandchildren's all-time-favaourite, mixed vegetable, "Hoi Sin pou" (Stewed seafood in a pot)- every year my mom in law has been complaining that we can't finish the soup. So this year she has added all the exotic seafood into this soup and needless to say it was finished till the last drop..in fact the base is the normal chicken soup of past years. So obviously it's the quality and not the quantity that counts! Another plate of green vege is never too much for CNY dinner since everything is meat, meat, and meat..

Clockwise: Ginger duck, Sea cumber with pork's trotter, a typical dish of the Hokkiens. Hokkien noodle, special request from grandchildren as well. Fried yong taufu in beancurd skins.

Tossing the yee sung..very messy..but it's like a must-have for every chinese new year.

Happy Chinese New Year

2011-01-31T23:03:00.000-08:00

A Crustacean Affair

2011-01-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

Someone presented these hairy crab as gift from Shanghai. These crustacean creatures are harvested from lakes and are considered as delicacies for anyone visited Shanghai. Coincidentally the time of visit during November was the peak season to savor this exotic cuisine.

Don't be deceived by it's Chinese name "Dai Za Hai" (Big "water gate" crab) and expect this crab to be big and meaty like the king crab. The crab is actually very small. It's meat is sweet but it won't fill your tummy. All that can be savoured is the fatty creamy roe. It is tasty just by steaming it with ginger and wine. Making sure that you don't over steam it to get the creamy texture. Anyway..i am not the big fan for crab and i don't really know how to appreciate this exotic delicacy.

The Supreme Virtues And Merits Of Shurangama Mantra

2010-10-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

Within Buddhism, there are many very important sutras. However, the most important is the Shurangama Sutra. If there are places which have the Shurangama Sutra, then the Proper Dharma dwells in the world. If there is no Shurangama Sutra, then the Dharma Ending Age appears. Therefore, we Buddhist disciples, each and every, must unite our strength, our blood, and our sweat to protect the Shurangama Sutra.

The Supreme Virtues And Mertis of SHURANGAMA MANTRA

At one time the Buddha dwelt in Shravasti in the sublime abode at the Jeta Grove. There was a gathering of great bhikshus, twelve hundred fifty in all.

Moreover unlimited number of pratyekas who were beyond study and those with initial resolution came to where the Buddha was, to join the bhikshus pravarana at the close of the summer retreat.Bodhisattvas from the ten direction who desired counsel in order to resolve the doubts in their minds were respectful and obedient to the Awesome but Compassionate One as they prepared to seek the secret meaning.

Then the Thatagata arranged His seat, sat quietly and peacefully, and for the sake of everyone in the assembly proclaimed the profound and mysterious. The pure assembly at the banquet of Dharma obtained what they had never obtained before.

The Immortal's kalavinka-sound pervaded the ten directions. And the Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges gathered at the Bodhimanda with Manjushri as their leader.

Then King Prasenajit, for the sake of his father, the late king, arranged on the day of mourning a vegetarian feast and invited the Buddha to the side rooms of the palace. He welcomed the Tathagata in person with a vast array of superb delicacies of unsurpassed wonderful flavors and invited the great Bodhisattvas himself..

In the city there were also elders and laypeople who were also prepared to feed the Sangha at the same time, and they stood waiting for the Buddha to come and receive offerings.

The Buddha commanded Manjushri to assign the Bodhisattvas and Arhats to receive offerings from the various vegetarian hosts.

Only Ananda, who having accepted a special invitation earlier, had travelled far and had not yet returned; wa late for the apportioning of the Sangha.

No senior-seated one or acharya was with him, so he returned alone on the road.

On that day, he had received no offerings, and so at the appropriate time Ananda took up his begging bowl and, as he travelled through the city, begged in successive order.

Having crossed the city moat, he walked slowly through the outer gates, his manner stern and proper as he honored with propriety the method of obtaining food.

At that time, because Ananda was begging in sequential order, he passed by a house of prostitution where a family of a lovely daughter named Pochiti lived. She was as beautiful as a fairy.

Pochiti's mother Matangi, knows how extraordinary the power of the artifice of Brahma Heaven is. Pochiti fell madly in love with Ananda at first sight.

Pochiti immediately pleaded with her mother to get Ananda to be her life long companion.

Because of Matangi's love for her daughter, she had no choice but to use the Kapila religion, formerly of the Brahma Heaven's artifice, to cast a spell on Ananda to achieve her daughter's wishes.

Ananda fell under her spell, almost stupor and lost all sense of reasoning. He was not himself and behaved like he was dreaming.

Ananda followed Pochiti and she drew him onto impure mat. With her licentious body she stroked and caressed him and Ananda appeared to be in a drunker state, completely out of control.

Until he was on the verge of destroying the precept substance. The Thatagata, knowing ANANDA was being taken advantage of by the indecent artifice, finished the meal and immediately returned. The king, great officials, elders, and laypeople followed the Buddha, desiring to hear the essentials of Dharma.

At that time, a hundred brilliant rays sprang from the mound of the flesh on the crown of the World Honoured One's head. A thousand petaled precious lotus arose from admist those rays.

Upon the precious flower sat the Thus Come One's transformation. From the crown of its head, in turn he emitted ten beams, each composed of a hundred rays of precious light. Each glowing ray revealed throughout all of empty space, dharma-protecting Secret Vajra Spirit, as many as the sands of ten Ganges rivers, each holding aloft a mountain and wielding a pestle.

The great assembly, gazing upward, felt fearful admiration and sought the Buddha's kind protection. Single-mindedly they listened as the Thus Come One in the light at the invisible appearance on the crown of the Buddha's head proclaimed the spiritual Mantra:........

He commanded Manjushri to take the Mantra and to go and provide protection.

And, when the evil mantra was extinguished, to lend support, and to encourage Ananda and Matangi's daughter to return to where the Buddha was.

Ananda saw the Buddha, bowed and wept sorrowfully, regretting that from time without beginning he had been preoccupied with erudition, and not yet perfected his strength in the Way.

At that time, Bodhisattva as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, great Arhats, Pratyekas, and others from the ten directions, were also present. Pleased at the opportunity to listen, they withdrew silently to their seats to receive the sagely instruction.

In the midst of the great assembly, the World Honored One then extended his golden arm and rubbed Ananda's crown, and said to Ananda and the great assembly, "There is a samadhi called the King of the Foremost Shurangama at the Great Buddha's Summit Replete with Myriad Practices; it is a path wonderfully adorned and the single door through which the Tathagatas of the ten directions gained transcendence. You should now listen attentively."

Ananda bowed down to receive the compassionate instruction humbly. Later, the Buddha explained to them the way to cultivate the wonderful samadhi, procedures of liberation, stages of Bodhisatvas and also a complete explanation of the secrets of the universal and life, formation of the world, causes of the retributions of beings, ability to distinguish the truth from the evil,..etc.

The contents of the Sutra are complete. Indeed, the Sutra is very rare and can be said to be the essence of all the Buddhadharma.

Excerpts from Wikipedia:

The Shurangama Mantra is a dharani or long mantra of East Asian Mahayana and Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhist origin that is popular in China, Japan, and Korea, although relatively unknown in modern Tibet, even though there are several Shurangama Mantra texts Sadhana, Shastra in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.

The Mantra was, according to the opening chapter (BTTS, Volume 1) of the Shurangama Sutra ^[1], historically transmitted by the Buddha Shakyamuni to Manjushri Bodhisattva to protect Bhikshu Ananda before he had become an Arhat. It was again spoken in the Shurangama Sutra,^[1] Volume 6) by Shakyamuni before an assembly of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, devas and others of the Eightfold Division of Dharmapalas.

Like the popular six-syllable mantra, and the Great Compassion Mantra (Nīlakantha dhāranī) it is a popular mantra synonymous the practice of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. The Shurangama Mantra also extensively references Buddhist deities (ishtadevata) such as Bodhisattvas Manjushri, Mahakala, Great White Umbrella Vajrapani and the Five Dhyana Buddhas especially Medicine Buddha (Akshobhya or Vajradhara) in East Asia. It is often used for protection or purification for meditators and is considered to be part of Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana or Shingon Buddhism in Japan.^[2

The Shurangama Mantra

(I)NA MWO SA DAN TWO
SU CHYE DWO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MYAU SAN PU TWO SYE
NA MWO SA DAN TWO
FWO TOW JYUJR SHAI NI SHAN
NA MWO SA PE
MTO TWO MWO DI
SA DWO PI BI
NA MWO SA DWO DAN
SAN MYAU SAN PU TWO JYU JR NAN
SWO SHE LA PE JYA
SENG CHYE NAN
NA MWO LU JI E LWO HAN DWO NAN
NA MWO SU LU DWO BWO NWO NAN
NA MWO SWO JYE LI GTOW CHYE MI NAN
NA MWO LU JI SAN MYAU CHYE DWO NAN
SAN MYAU CHYE BE LA DI BWO DWO NWO NAN
NA MWO TI PE LI SHAI NAN
NA MWO SYI TWI YE
PI DI YE
TWO LA LI SHAI NAN
SHE PWO NU
JYE LA HE
SWO HE SWO LA MWO TWO NAN
NAN MWO BA LA HE MWO NI
NA MWO YIN TWO LA YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
LU TWO LA YE
WU MWO BWO DI
SWO SYI YE YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
NWO LA YE
NA YE
PAN JE MWO HE SAN MWO TWO LA
NA MWO SYU JYE LI DWO YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
MWO HE JYA LA YE
DI LI BWO LA NA
CHYE LA PI TWO LA
BWO NA JYA LA YE
E DI MU DI
SHR MWO SHE MWO NI
PE SYI NI
MOW DAN LI CHYE NA
NA MWO SYI JYE LI DWO YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
DWO TWO CHYE DWO JYU LA YE
NA MWO BE TOU MWO JYU LA YE
NA MWO BA SHE LA JYU LA YE
NA MWO MWO NI JYU LA YE
NA MWO CHYE SHE JYU LA YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
DI LI CHA
SHU LA SYI NA
BWO LA HE LA NA LA SHE YE
DWO TWO CHYE DWO YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
NA MO E MI DWO PE YE
DOW TWO CHYE DWO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MYAU PE CHYE PE DI
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
E CHU PI YE
DWO TWO CHYE DWO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MYAU SAN PU TWO YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
BI SHA SHE YE
JYU LU PE LA SHE YE
BWO LA PE LA SHE YE
DWO TWO CHYE DWO YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
SAN BU SHR BI DWO
SA LYAN NAI LA LA SHE YE
DWO TWO CHYE DWO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MYAU SAN PU TWO YE
NA MWO PE CHYE PE DI
SHE JI YE MU NWO YE
DWO TWO CHYE DWO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MYAU SAN PU TWO YE
NA NWO PE CHYE DWO YE
LA DAN NA JI DU LA SHE YE
DWO TWO CHYE DWO YE
E LA HE DI
SAN MYAU SAN PU TWO YE
DI PYAU
NA MWO SA JYE LI DWO
YI TAN PE CHYE PE DWO
SA DAN TWO CHYE DU SHAI NI SHAN
SA DAN DWO BWO DA LIAN
NA MWO E PE LA SHR DAN
BWO LA DI
YANG CHI LA
SA LA PE
BWO DWO JYE LA HE
NI JYE LA HE
JYE JYA ;A HE NI
BA LA BI DI YE
CHR TWO NI
E JYE LA
MI LI JU
BWO LI DAN LA YE
NING JYE LI
SA LA PE
PAN TWO NWO
MU CHA NI
SA LA PE
TU SHAI JYA
TU SYI FA
BWO NA NI
FA LA NI
JE DU LA
SHR DI NAN
JYE LA HE
SWO HE SA LA RAU SHE
PI DWO BENG SWO NA JYE LI
E SHAI JA BING SHE DI NAN
NA CHA CHA DAN LA RAU SHE
BWO LA SA TWO NA JYE LI
E SHAI JA NAN
MWO HE JYE LA HE RAU SHE
PI DWO BENG SA NA JYE LI
SA PE SHE DU LU
NI PE LA RAU SHE
HU LAN TU STI FA
NAN JE NA SHE NI
PE SHA SHE
SYI DAN LA
E JI NI
WU TWO JYA LA RAU SHE
E BWO LA SHR DWO JYU LA
MWO HE BWO LA JAN CHR
MWO HE DYE DWO
MWO HE DI SHE
MWO HE SHWEI DWO SHE PE LA
MWO HE BA LA PAN TWO LA
PE SYI NI
E LI YE DWO LA
PI LI JYU JR
SHR PE PI SHE YE
BA SHE LA MWO LI DI
PI SHE LU DWO
BWO TENG WANG JYA
BA SHE LA JR HE NWO E JE
MWO LA JR PE
BWO LA JR DWO
BA SHE LA SHAN CHR
PI SHE LA JE
SHAN DWO SHE PI TI PE BU SHR DWO
SU MWO LU BWO
MWO HE SHWEI DWO
E LI YE DWO LA
MWO HE PE LA E BWO LA
BA SHE LA SHANG JYE LA JR PE
BA SHE LA
JYU MWO LI
JYU LA TWO LI
BA SHE LA HE SA DWO JE
PI DI YE
CHYAN HE NWO
MWO LI JYA
KU SU MU PE
JYE LA DWO NWO
PI LU JE NA
JYU LI YE
YE LA TU
SHAI NI SHAN
PI JE LAN PE MWO NI JE
BE SHE LA JYA NA JYA BWO LA PE
LU SHE NA
BA SHE LA DWUN JR JE
SHWEI DWO JE
JYA MWO LA
CHA CHE SHR
BWO LA PE
YI DI YI DI
MU TWO LA
JYE NA
SWO PI LA CHAN
JYU FAN DU
YIN TU NA MWO MWO SYE
(II) WU SHUN
LI SHAI JYE NA
BWO LA SHE SYI DWO
SA DAN TWO
CHYE DU SHAI NI SHAN
HU SHUN DU LU YUNG
JAN PE NA
HU SHUN DU LU YUNG
SYI DAN PE NA
HU SHUN DU LU YUNG
BWO LA SHAI DI YE
SAN BWO CHA
NA JYE LA
HU SHUN DU LU YUNG
SA PE YAU CHA
HE LA CHA SWO
JYE LA HE RAU SHE
PI TENG BENG SA NA JYE LA
HU SYIN DU LU YUNG
JE DU LA
SHR DI NAN
JYE LA HE
SWO HE SA LA NAN PI TENG BENG SA NA LA
HU SHUN DU LU YUNG
LA CHA
PE CHYE FAN
SA DAN TWO
CHYE DU SHAI NI SHAN
BWO LA DYAN
SHE JI LI
MWO HE SWO HE SA LA
BWO SHU SWO HE SA LA
SHR LI SHA
JYU JR SWO HE SA NI
DI LI E BI TI SHR PE LI DWO
JA JA YING JYA
MWO HE BA SHE LU TWO LA
DI LI PU PE NA
MAN CHA LA
WU SHUN
SWO SYI DI
BWO PE DU
MWO MWO
YIN TWO NA MWO MWO SYE
(III) LA SHR PE YE
JU LA BE YE
E CHI NI PE YE
WU TWO JYA PE YE
PI SHA PE YE
SHE SA DWO LA PE YE
PE LA JAU JYE LA PE YE
TU SHAI CHA PE YE
E SHE NI PE YE
E JYA LA
MI LI JU PE YE
TWO LA NI BU MI JYAN
BWO CHYE BWO TWO PE YE
WU LA JYA PE DWO PE YE
LA SHE TAN CHA PE YE
NWO CHYE PE YE
PI TYAU TAN PE YE
SU BWO LA NA PE YE
YAU CHA JYE LA HE
LA CHA SZ JYE LA HE
BI LI DWO JYE LA HE
PI SHE JE JYE LA HE
BU DWO JYE LA HE
JYOU PAN CHA JYE LA HE
BU DAN NA JYE LA HE
JYA JA BU DAN NA JYE LA HE
SYI CHAN DU JYE LA HE
E BWO SYI MWO LA JYE LA HE
WU TAN MWO TWO JYE LA HE
CHE YE JYE LA HE
SYI LI PE DI JYE LA HE
SHE DWO HE LI NAN
JYE PE HE LI NAN
LU DI LA HE LI NAN
MANG SWO HE LI NAN
MI TWO HE LI NAN
MWO SHE HE LI NAN
SHW DWO HE LI NAN
SHR BI DWO HE LI NAN
PI DWO HE LI NAN
PE DWO HE LI NAN
E SHU JE HE LI NYU
JR DWO HE LI NYU
DI SHAN SA PI SHAN
SA PE JYE LA HE NAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
BWO LI BA LA JE JYA
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
CHAN YAN NI
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
MWO HE BWO SU BWO DAN YE
LU TWO LA
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YI MI
JI LA YE MI
NWO LA YE NAN
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHE TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
DAB TWO CHYE LU CHA SYI
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE ME
MWO HE JYA LA
MWO DAN LI CHYE NA
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
JYA BWO LI JYA
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
SHE YE JYE LA
MOW DU JYE LA
SA PE LA TWO SWO DA NA
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
JE DU LA
PE CHI NI
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
PI LI YANG CHI LI JR
NAN TWO JI SHA LA
CHYE NA BWO DI
SWO SYI YE
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
NA JYE NA SHE LA PE NA
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
E LWO NAN
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
PI DWO LA CHYE
CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
BA SHE LA BWO NI
JYU SYI YE JYU SYI YE
JYA DI BWO DI CHI LI DAN
PI TWO YE SHE
CHEN TWO YE MI
JI LA YE MI
LA CHA WNG
PE CHYE FAN
YIN TU NA MWO MWO SYE
(IV) PE CHYE FAN
SA DAN DWO BWO DA LA
NA MWO TSWEI DU DI
E SYI DWO NA LA LA JYA
BWO LA PE SYI PU JA
PI JYA SA DAN DWO BE DE LI
SHR FWO LA SHR FWO LA
TWO LA TWO LA
PIN TWO LA PIN TWO LA
CHEN TWO CHEN TWO
HU SHUN HU SHUN
PAN JA PAN JA PAN JA PAN JA PAN JA
SWO HE
SYI SYI PAN
E MU JYA YE PAN
E BWO LA TI HE DWO PAN
PE LA BWO LA TWO PAN
E SU LA
PI TWO LA
BWO JYA PAN
SA PE TI PI BI PAN
SA PE NA CHYE BI PAN
SA PE YAU CHA BI PAN
SA PE CHYAN TA PE BI PAN
SA PE BU DAN NA BI PAN
JYA JA BU DAN NA BI PAN
SA PE TU LANG JR DI BI PAN
SA PE TU SZ BI LI
CHI SHAI DI BI PAN
SA PE SHR PE LI BI PAN
SA PE E BWO SYI MWO LI BI PAN
SA PE CHE LA PE NA BI PAN
SA PE DI DI JI BI PAN
SA PE DAN MWO TWO JI BI PAN
SA PE PI TWO YE
LA SHR JE LI BI PAN
SHE YE JYE LA
MWO DU JYE LA
SA PE LA TWO SWO TWO JI BI PAN
PI DI YE
JE LI BI PAN
JE DU LA
FU CHI NI BI PAN
BA SHE LA
JYU MWO LI
PI TWO YE
LA SHR BI PAN
MWO HE BWO LA DING YANG YI
CHI LI BI PAN
BA SHE LA SHANG JYE LA YE
BWO LA JANG CHI LA SHE YE PAN
MWO HE JWA LA YE
MWO HE MWO DAN LI JYA NA
NA MWO SWO JYE LI DWO YE PAN
BI SHAI NA BEI YE PAN
BWO LA HE MWO NI YE PAN
E CHI NI YE PAN
MWO HE JYE LI YE PAN
JYA LA TAN CHR YE PAN
MYE DAN LI YE PAN
LAU DAN LI YE PAN
JE WEN CHA YE PAN
JYE LWO LA DAN LI YE PAN
JYA BWO LI YE PAN
E DI MU JR DWO
JYA SHR MWO SHE NWO
PE SZ NI YE PAN
YAN JI JR
SA TWO PE SYE
MWO MWO YIN TU NA MWO MWO SYE
(V) TU SHAI JA JR DWO
E MWO DAN LI JR DWO
WE SHE HE LA
CHYE PE HE LA
LU DI LA HE LA
PE SWO HE LA
MWO SHE HE LA
SHE DWO HE LA
SHR BI DWO HE LA
BA LYAU YE HE LA
CHYAN TWO HE LA
BU SHR BWO HE LA
PWO LA HE LA
PE SYE HE LA
BE BWO JR DWO
TU SHAI JA JR DWO
LAU TWO LA JR DWO
YAU CHAN JYE LA HE
LA CHA SWO JYE LA SHE
BI LI DWO JYE LA HE
PI SHE JE JYE LA HE
BU DWO JYE LA HE
JYOU PAN CHA JYE LA HE
SYI CHYAN TWO JYE LA HE
WU DAN MWO TWO JYE LA HE
CHE YE JYE LA HE
E BWO SA MWO LA JYE LA HE
JAI CHYWE GE
CHA CHI NI JYE LA HE
LI FWO DI JYE LA HE
SHE MI JYA JYE LA HE
SHE JYU NI JYE LA HE
MU TWO LA
NA DI JYA JYE LA HE
E LAN PE JYE LA HE
CHYAN DU BWO NI JYE LA HE
SHR FWO LA
YIN JYA SYI JYA
JYWE DI YAU JYA
DAN LI DI YAU JYA
JE TU TWO JYA
NI TI DHR FA LA
BI SHAN MWO SHR FA LA
BWO DI JYA BI DI JYA
SHR LI SHAI MI JYA
SWO NI BWO DI JYA
SA OE SHR FA LA
SHR LU JI DI
MWO TWO PI DA LU JR CHYAN
E CHI LU CHYAN
MU CHYWE LE CHYAN
JYE LI TU LU CHYAN
JYA LA HE
JYE LAN JYE NA SHU LAN
DAN DWO SHU LAN
CHI LI YE SHU LAN
MWO MWO SHU LAN
BA LI SHR PE SHU LAN
BI LI SHAI JA SHU LAN
WU TWO LA SHU LAN
JYE JR SHU LAN
BA SYI DI SHU LAN
WU LU SHU LAN
CHANG CHYE SHU LAN
HE SYI DWO SHU LAN
BA TWO SHU LAN
SWI FANG ANG CHYE
BWO LA JANG CHYE SHU LAN
BU DWO BI DWO CHA
CHA CHI NI
SHR PE LA
TWO TU LU JYA
JYAN DU LU JI JR
PE LU DWO PI SA BWO LU
HE LING CHYE
SHU SHA DAN LA
SWO NA JYE LA
PI SHA YU JYA
E CHI NI
WU TWO JYA
MWO LA PI LA
JYAN DWO LA
E JYA LA
MI DI DU
DA LYAN BU JYA
DI LI LA JA
BI LI SHAI JR JYA
SA PE NA JYU LA
SZ YIN CHYE BI
JYE LA LI YAU CHA
DAN LA CHU
MWO LA SHR
FE DI SHAN
SWO PI SHAN
SYI DAN DWO BWO DA LA
MWO HE BA SHE LU SHAI NI SHAN
MWO HE BWO LAI JANG CHI LAN
YE BWO TU TWO
SHE YU SHE NWO
BYAN DA LI NA
PI TWO YE
PAN TAN JYA LU MI
DI SHU
PAN TAN JYA LU MI
BWO LA PI TWO
PAN TAN JYA LU MI
DWO JR TWO
NAN
E NA LI
PI SHE TI
PI LA BA SHE LA
TWO LI
PAN TWO PAN TWO NI
BA SHE LA BANG NI PAN
HU SHUN DU LU YUNG PAN
SWO PE HE

Kuching's Best Restaurants

2010-10-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

My friend took us to this restaurants chain which he claimed ranked the top 10 must-visit restaurants in M'sia by the Lonely Planet travellers. The names of the outlets are quite unique - "the/\living room", "Bla Bla Bla" and "The Junk". These restaurants are owned by the same management.

Bla Bla Bla served mostly Chinese Fusion and the Junk's caters for the European taste buds. To have the best of both worlds, go for The Living Room as its menu combines both the restaurants menu, you can get a combo of Eastern and Western varieties.

All the three restaurants are tastefully decorated in 3 different themes. The Living Room is like a cafe in a long house with all the back-to-nature ornaments and furnishing. Bla Bla Bla's decor has a distinctive Balinese style with lush garden and water features. Interestingly you have to access by stepping on the stones across a shallow pool to this restaurant. Along the narrow walkway you will be greeted by platters of fresh vegetables and fruits elegantly displayed as part of decor.

The Junk is a quaint bistro with charms and character. But the rooms are dimly lit with mood lighting, funky mirrors , odd figurines, narrow walkways and cut corners leading from one room to another makes this place feel ike a maze. It is decorate with way too many antiques and the hard rock music and chilled atmosphere made me a little queasy...

I still prefers the Living Room as the ambiance is relatively more soothing with nice soft sentimental music.

The Living Room

We ordered Chinese Stir-fried noodle, Sea Bass in "Butter Prawn" style, Roasted Duck in mango and mixed salads, along with the famous Kuching's Paku Pakis vegetable salad. It was all awesomely delicious!!

Smashed pots and pans decor at the Junk

Bla Bla Bla...not shooting at the right angle

This dish is like East Meets West - Peking duck with crispy skin. The underlying salad is taste like tangy coleslaw.This dish is awesome!

Mixed Ferns salad?

Dining in a "Long House". The cool and soothing ambiance dimly lit with citronella candles are sure to drive love birds in and mosquitoes away.

This is sea bass cooked in butter prawn styles. Nice dish!

The Junk

Healthy Juices For Total Wellness

2010-10-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

Avocado + Passion Fruit

Stuffed Potatoes Sandwich

2010-09-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

This recipe is guaranteed to satisfy any bread lovers young and old...

Very simple to make.

First, make the filling by boiling 2 big US potatoes till soft.
Mash them up in a bowl.
Add in 2 slices of cheddar cheese..or cream cheese if u like it creamier..or butter..if u can afford to grow sideway.
Throw a can of Ayam Brand Mild Tuna Mayonnaise (Am juz wondering whether Ayam Brand have a food recipe contest..if yes, pls dun copy this recipe and send ok..give me some chance to win)
Throw in some chopped scallions / onions..blend it together using spoon.
Lastly season with some salt..if u like pepper, put pepper, if you prefer chilli powder or even mustard or curry powder..just blend it in..it's basically up to you.
People who dislike cheese..juz omit the cheese and stir in mahyonnaise.
Spread the filling on sandwich bread, stack 3 pieces together.
Send it to oven and bake at 180 degree celcius for 15 min.

The filling can also be used to make toasted sandwiches using the sandwich toaster..but the output is not as tastier than baking the sandwich in an oven. Try it out!

Variation:

1) Substitute canned tuna with chicken ham and bacon.

2) Add in some cubed pineapple and call it Baked Hawaiian Potatoes and Ham Sandwich

This is the leftover filling..i just bake it without bread..yummy..

Seafood Dinner At Patong, Phuket

2010-09-15T07:28:00.000-07:00

How can we not feasting ourselves in a seafood heaven?Yes, we did it..seafood dinner for 2 conservative nights. Well..it is not easy to resist the temptations though it may be a prelude for a gout attack. Patong Beach is one of the most happening place in Phuket island-it's unsurprised for its bawdy night life. In fact one of the major attractions of this place is that it has the highest concentration of seafood restaurants ranging from budget friendly, mid-ranged to world-class-fine-dining standard. Wide varieties of fish, shellfish and crustaceans are normally displayed in colourful patterns on a giant tray of crushed ice at the front of the restaurant entrance. Basically you just have to select your dinner from all the seafood displayed. Once you have picked out your seafood, you pay for it at the cash register and then the boss will ask you how you would like each dish prepared and then the cooked seafood is back to the table . The price for each gram paid is already inclusive of preparation cost.

Good Ad-The One Concept

2010-04-27T06:44:00.001-07:00

The Sunny Side Up

2010-04-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

TGIF!! It was a glorious morning...yes, it ought to be coz it's a Friday, last working day of the week. Usually I will drive to work on Fridays coz it's disasterous getting back from work on KTM commuter train on Friday evenings. Hot saunna and packed like sardines.

I left home early and took a slow drive along the NKVE. Come on...it's a Friday, no serious business and I need to safeguard my mood for it to be beautiful the whole day through. I wanna watch the city wake up and the other office workers auspiciously begin the holy Friday.

As I headed towards the toll plaza, i discovered something special. It's the orange bright round sun! It reminded me of the sunny-side-up egg yolk. The sight and the thought of it made my stomach grumbling. Oh yeah..I haven't had my breakfast yet. Well, I was saving my stomach to have breakfast with my buddies.

Sihouetted against the early morning mist with the backdrop of concrete jungle, the sun looked bright and calm. While going at a speed of 80km/h, rushing down the slope, I had this sudden urge of capturing this moment of perfect optimism, the sunny-side-up!!

Suddenly I realised that I have to slow down to appreciate the nature, even for capturing this egg-yolk-like sun. My car was going at a speed beyond the given limit. Look at the sign at my right side of windscreen and you will know what I mean....
It’s an irony of our modern lives that while technology is continually invented that saves us time, we use that time to do more and more of irrelevant things, some are harmful to ourselves and to other people. So our lives are more fast-paced and hectic than ever. And we are blindly awaiting for days to pass by, erroneously thinking that tomorrow things will get even better.

Life moves at such a fast pace that it seems to pass us by before we can really enjoy it. So we missed the clouds, we missed the tree, we missed the birds and we missed the sun. We even forgot how to breathe properly.

We are not making enough time for ourselves to enjoy our mornings. Instead of rushing off to work in a frenzy. We forgot to appreciate the surroundings, the outdoor and the nature. We have not actually focused on whoever we’re talking to or spending time with — instead of always being connected to a Blackberry or iPhone or a laptop, instead of always thinking about work tasks, sms and emails. We are not living in the present moment. Instead, cying over the past bad experiences and brooding over something that may or may not be happening in the future.

We are carrying too much burdens that are created by our own wrong perceptions and beliefs. Erroneously thinking that it brings us greater happiness in life by possesing and clinging to them. Whatever we do, we ain't focusing on discarding the liabilities yet we let more liabilities come to our life to own us...At the end, we frentically chasing after the material world and that we have completely ignored our beautiful environment and those good people around us. How sad!

Slowing down is not always an easy task, but it's a conscious choice. It leads to a greater appreciation for life and a greater level of happiness. So, when things failed, or when you realise that your life is a mess or not going in a direction you want to, slow down your pace and take a look at this sun. It's sunny side up! How wonderful was this Friday morning. As it has taught me a lesson--the sunny side is always up (to us to choose)!

Family Trip To Phuket- Our Accomodation

2010-04-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

As we haven't been taking our parents to overseas for 2 years, we intend to reward them with a rather high class relaxation trip this time round. To avoid burning a big hole in our pockets, we have chosen to have our vacation destination within Asean since it is relatively cheaper comparing to having it elsewhere in the world. What to do..blame it to our weak currency. We put up of 3 nights in Marriot Beach Club resort. The villas we checked in was really gorgeous. It is a 2-bedroom villa with ensuite bathroom. The Master bedroom has a bathroom that is bigger than a 4-star hotel room in Hong Kong. It comes with separate shower area, twin wash basins and an XL size bathtub. Ironically, Phuket's seawater is cyrstal clear but the tap water is rather the opposite. So we preferred to soak in the sea than the bathtub. The facilities in the villa is amazing. Take a look at the pics below and you wouldn't be more agreed with me that it's more equipped than our own home. This is the very first time I came across a resort that made me felt really like home. I regret bringing so many clothes for each unit has a washer and a dryer. Furthermore, detergent is also provided, can you imagine? Best of all, it offers complimentary wired internet access. What a great idea to be on holidays and still be in touch with my friends. Of course, most hilarious was Elgin coz he can continued playing his facebook game.

How do we spend the whole 3 days in this sunny-hot tropical island, you wonder? Ah..It was like the lazy days of summer.....Yeah..it was an excuse..but there is no better way to escape from the afternoon heat by drinking icy cold Chang beer, apple cider and lager. Sipping a glass of chilled red wine at the outdoor patio while enjoying the warm evening breeze, accompanied with the Thai-styled fried chickens and barbeque spiced pork sausages bought back from the local market which was damn-delicious, mildly-hot & ardently-succulent and juicy... Do you call that overindulgence? Not at all. Obviously all of us had a good time, eat and drink the heat away.. And the verdict? Wow-wee!! I put on 2 kgs for 3 days!!!

2010 Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner Menu

2010-03-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

Every Chinese New Year her children seemed able to predict my mom in law's menu for the reunion dinner. Sorry to say that the predicament we had for CNY reunion dinner is always impressed on her to size-down the menu but she has never failed to understand this. We nobly reminded her of the world famine -save food, have just enough and no leftover (ahem!!)

Well...for this year and like many many past years, we told her not to cook so much and cut down the portion on main courses. Yet and again she never failed to fill-up the table. "Must cook more for new year, it signifies abundance of food," she exclaimed. Interesting enough every CNY reunion, the dinner would not be complete without few of her signature dishes, the "what -she-claimed-must-have" for Hokkien people's new year. The favourite four are stewed pig's trotter with sea cucumber and fish maw, steamed fish and prawns and fried nam-yee chicken. Fish means abundance and prawns means laughter aplenty. Chicken means the grandchildren will have home-made KFC for reunion dinner and believe it or not that dish is the most sought after by the grandchildren. Besides, how can the reunion be more exciting without having the low sang..That really was one of my most favourite dish!

Ang Pow Money Counting

2010-03-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Elgin: How many 10 dollar notes are there in all that ang pow packets. It's really kinda funny and confusing me..

Elgin: Better use a calculator..

(30 minutes later after opening 60 over angpow packets)
Elgin: Oh...I am pooped

Elgin: (zzzzzzzz...).

Catching The Mood For CNY

2010-03-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

This year I wasn't in the mood for new year. Too busy even to think about new year. Worse still, fell sick at the 11th hour. Terrible sore throat and flu. I reckoned tat was mandarin orange flu. But then swear..I only took 4 pips, not even an orange. That shows how potent the virus can be. Orange flu's in the air..Luckily Christina gave me some antidotes for me to pull through at the very critical moment..or else i would not be able to enjoy all the goodies for new year. This year I didn't make any of my favourite cookies coz I was too tired to engage in any baking activities..

I also did the last minute shopping for some necessary stuff as there won't be new year without those stuff. Luckily my hubby and in laws are more enthusiastic to get into the mood for new year. My hubby suddenly had a crush on those what I called "chinese new year flowers" sold in nurseries. So his parent happily went and shopped a few pots to decorate our house. The flowers cost about RM5-RM10 per pot. Not very expensive but withered away quickly coz the weather was scorching hot. Some have already bade us sayonara before ushered in the YEAR of The TIGER. Anyway, those managed to survive and gone into full bloom were really great.

(Upper) Last year's decor

(Lower)This year's decor

The chasing light..red red red color everywhere to bring in the "ong"

My hubby has bought some chocolate balls to top up my candy bowl. By virtue of valentine's day falls on the first day of CNY, these chocolates are supposed to gratify the Cupid who knocked at my door, in case the God of Prosperity don't give face to come. Na-uh...my hubby is not the romantic sort. THIS IS MERELY MY IMAGINATION AND ASSUMPTION. In fact, it is the one pot of "kum" (gold) that the bowl signifies. Since the gold wrapper made the bowl look like a pot of gold. Initially we thought of buying Patchi but the price was too steep so we settled for Rocher and Cadbury.

2010 Chinese New Year Ang Pow Packet Collections

2010-03-01T07:07:00.000-08:00

My angpow packet collections for CNY Year 2010.

HSBC Premier

HSBC

Alliance Bank

Cute designs from OCBC

Giant Angpow from OCBC

in case you're not convinced of the size

EON Bank

The most elegant design-Deutsche Bank

Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered Priority Banking

The cutest of all is from "Christina Bank"

It's the year of Tiger. When drink beer, choose Tiger Beer, Which airlines to fly? It must be Tiger airlines. When mossie bite, use Tiger Balm. Give angpow, how can we forget this one from the Tiger's bank- Maybank

ING

UOB

Bert's Garden Malacca

2010-01-18T07:38:00.000-08:00

This restaurant was recommended by my colleague. It was located at Tg Keling, Malacca. A short distance away from Everly Resort Hotel(formerly known as Riviera Bay

Resort). The restaurant is housed in an old restored garden bungalow.

Set along the beach, this is an ideal place to dine with family and friends as the ambiance is very conducive. It is also an excellent spot for the romantic loved birds to watch sunset while having dinner. We drove from KL after work at 4.45pm on one Friday evening. Luckily the traffic was smooth-flowing and we managed to reach the eatery around 7pm, just in time to watch the sunset.

To our disappointment, met the eyes were no longer the open wide blue sea but a piece of reclaimed land which was really an eye-sore.

Once upon of time, the restaurant patrons get to feed the fish from the sea while dining. With the reclaimed land project going on, the fish has migrated elsewhere I believe.

Their menu features extensive array of Asian and Western dishes of which seafood dishes are the most popular amongst all. There are many cooking styles ranging from stir-fry, baked, grill, steam and stew. The restaurant staff Raj was very helpful and attentive, recommended us to sample some of the most popular dishes as follows:

Tempura Prawns

Otak-otak

Seabass in spicy assam gravy

Nasi lemak

Baked Carpeted Chicken (chicken stuffed with mushrooms)

Garagau fritter (Small shrimps fritters)

The last course was Sri Lanka crabs in black pepper sauce...too bad..busy eating no time for photography. It was very yummy of course.

Best Ever Nasi Lemak Spots In Malaysia

2009-12-25T01:15:00.000-08:00

Nasi lemak or the "fatty rice" is the most commonly found food in Malaysia. Good nasi lemak must carry the fragrant from banana leaf which blends very well with the soft and fluffy, coconut milk-infused rice. Coupled with the fiery hot and oily sambal...hmmm, it's the most sinful food for any weight watcher out there.
There are many good nasi lemak spot in Klang Valley, below are the few good ones which I have tried.

R.A. Nasi Lemak
15 Jalan Raja Abdullah, Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 012-244 4911. Open: 6am to 11am (Monday to Sunday), 4pm to 12am (Monday to Friday).)
The rice is steamed in the traditional wooden barrel, making each grain fluffy and separate. You can choose have your basic package with the thick sambal and usual condiments of peanuts, ikan bilis, hard boiled egg or add extras from a selection of accompanying dishes, including its famously crunchy "kerisik"(fried coconut).

Village Park Restaurant

5 Jalan SS21/37, Damansara Utama, Petaling Jaya. Tel: 03-7710 7860. Open: 7am to 8pm.

Village Park’s nasi lemak is extra special with fluffy rice grains and a rich coconut taste, thanks to the special way they steam the rice over coconut milk and pandan leaves within a traditional wooden tub. Basic nasi lemak costs RM2+ but if you’re feeling indulgent, try their chicken rendang, fried chicken and sambal udang which are hot-sellers. The shop sometime closed as early as 4pm when they finished selling their nasi lemak.

Nasi Lemak Outside Central Market

Central Market (Monday to Friday).Morning only

The nasi lemak is sold on a white coloured van. Only for take-away. Standard set with slices of cucumber, fried ikan bilis(anchovies) and fried egg costs at RM2.20 per packet. The serving is huge when compared to other nasi lemak bungkus.

There are some other favorite nasi lemak spot s which are popular among KL city folks, eg Nasi Lemak Tangling at Lake Garden, Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa at Kg Bahru. Anyway, i found them so-so only. Perhaps these few outlets have other better side dishes. As for me, I normally love it plain.

There are also many outside Klang Valley. While I haven't been revisiting these places for years, I have better paused here till I pay a visit to these spot for their nasi lemak again...

Feel Like Christmas

2009-12-23T08:55:00.001-08:00

Dad, Mom and Babe Talk - What Animal Are You?

2009-11-08T06:17:00.000-08:00

Mom: Daddy, you want some water?

Dad: (Shake his head)

Babe: Mom, daddy is a camel.

Mom: What makes you say so?

Babe: Because camel can go without water, you told me that before..and mom, you are a fish.

Mom: Why do you say so?

Babe: Because the fish cannot survive without water.

Daddy: Then Elgin must be a pig, only know eat and sleep.

Mom: Yes, daddy's right.

Babe: No...mom is a pig-fish, coz you are good at eating, sleeping and also drinking water!

Korean Pancake

2009-11-07T07:02:00.000-08:00

After trying the Korean pancake, I started to fall in love with it. This is my own experiment of a Korean pancake recipe. Frankly, I didn't take the exact measurement of flour and water....simply based on my "instinct". It should be equal portion of flour and water. The batter should be in pancake-like consistency.

Frankly, the taste is quite good, a bit like fried oyster. If only you dare try out this recipe which was based on my own "guesstimation":-

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour mix with 1 cup of water
3 to 4 stalks of green onions/scallions, cut into 2 inches length
3 to 4 sprigs of cilantro/Chinese celery (this herb goes well with seafood), chopped
Salt according to taste
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 cup of shrimps
1 egg, beat and mix with some soy sauce and pepper
A flat pan with some oil for frying

Method:

Mix the flour with water and salt to the consistency of a batter for pancake.
Season with some chilli powder and sesame oil
Mix the batter with chopped cilantro and green onions.
Heat up some oil in the pan, pour in the pancake mixture to cover the entire pan.
Place the shrimps evenly on top of the batter.
Pour the egg mixture on top, add a little more oil.
Flip over the pancake and continue frying till the other side is set.

Seaweed & Chicken Ham Roll

2009-11-07T06:34:00.000-08:00

I believe sandwich is the most convenient breakfast idea.It can be a hazardous or healthy snack, depend on what lies in it...

This sandwich roll can be prepared in a jiffy.

Simply top the bread with a layer of cooked ham, seaweed and a cucumber stick with some mayo or thousand island sauce. Just roll it like a sushi. Wrap with cling film.

Preparing Lanterns Illuminating All-Night-Long

2009-10-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

As with previous years, I always go back to my hometown to celebrate this Festival with my family. Lantern festival or popularly known as the mid-autumn/mooncake festival is one of the greatest celebration amongst the Chinese community in Malaysia. Don't ask me what's lantern got to do with this festival. As far as I can remember a Chinese friend of mine mentioned that the people in their country only "play" lantern during the 15th day of the first lunar month*Chap Goh Meh* and not during the mid autumn festival. Anyway, this is what make this multi-racial country unique as I saw some of our non-Chinese neighbourhood kids also joined the cheer by playing lanterns.
I reckon it is easier to instill a culture or tradition amongst the new aged generations by associating festivals with food or things that they like. Undoubtedly, this is one of my favourite festival..hehehe..just the thought of all my favourite mooncakes will make me drool!!

Since young, we enjoyed lighting up lanterns and hang them up on branches of the trees in our garden. Ever since Ikea came to operate their biz in Malaysia, we had this great tip which we would recommend for anyone who enjoy lighting up lanterns as much as we do. There was both joy and pain in the process of lighting the lantern up. While there are LED lanterns in the market today, we still prefer the small colourful paper lanterns with the warm candle light. Once upon a time we kids were very frustrated when our little paper lanterns got burnt or when the candle easily burned out. All night long we will be very busy watching the lights and to get the candle replaced when the light went off. This was really no fun. When we were not careful enough, the whole lantern get burned. Thank God.. this is no longer an issue now that we have discovered the cheap unscented aromatherapy candles from Ikea which are great replacement for the traditional candle sticks. Below is the tip of preparing a lantern which the light is long-lasting up to 6 hours:-

My cousin's homemade jelly mooncakes

Yam paste mooncake from Dim Sum shop at Nilai

Play Dough Recipe

2009-10-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

My name is. Elgin i love to play playdoh so i go make the playdoh.

The Ingredients are 3 cups of flour, a pinch of salt, a glass of water, 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar and a tablespoon of cooking oil. If want the playdoh to have colour put food colouring.

Play Play With Play Dough

2009-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Playdough is one of Elgin's favourite games. He received a set when he was 4-year old. The problem with play is it sticks to surface of table when dried up. I would have a hard time cleaning up. Eventually the playdough will harden and Elgin would start bugging me to buy him new ones again. It was rather costly to get the child proof type as I was afraid he was tempted to put it into the mouth since the colors looked temptingly edible. So eventually I decided to make a playdough with safe ingredients myself.

Found some "recipes" for making playdough using flour. Basically 3 main ingredients are needed. Flour, salt, oil and baking powder. Then you just have to mix it with enough water and "cook" it using microwave. The salt, oil and baking powder function as preservatives together it will make the playdough stay fresh, soft and pliable for at least 2 weeks. In fact, we can keep the unused playdough in an airtight container and keep in the fridge for longer than a month. I was so glad that I finally discovered a safe and cost-saving solution. This is a perfect game for him as he can play alone.

Elgin loves to shape the playdough into all sorts of things he sees and the common ones are food items, animals or kitchen utensils. As he always observed me preparing food or making buns in the kitchen. His favourite shapes are rolled buns, plates and cups.

The playdough that I prepared is always plain as I do not want him to stain the table. When he was six, I sent him to art class and he started to learn using water colour to paint the playdough. One day when I reached home, Elgin showed me all his shaped playdough completed with paints which he placed on the table to dry up. I was so astonished to see that at this tender age, he already had a wild imagination.

Curiously, I point at the shaped dough one by one and ask him, "what is this babe?"

Take a look at the pictures below.

According to Elgin, it is (clockwise from top left to right)

A bell

A mug

A hammer

A hat

A snail

Need a close up? This second pic was taken with a flash light and from a different angle. What are you imagining about?

Baked Seafood Pasta

2009-09-28T06:29:00.000-07:00

I love to play play with food. This recipe is similar to macaroni cheese baked. Except that you add in some seafood to call it seafood pasta. You can replace seafood with any other ingredients available from your kitchen. eg. ham, bacon, sausages, mixed frozen vegetables or even any left over cold meat. For a more extravagant treat, just replace shrimps with Lobsters and crabs and you can call it "seafood au gratin". Simple recipe and quick to make. Cheese lovers will love it !

Ingredients:

2 cups of colourful shell pasta (i mixed shell pasta with fetucine)
1/2 can Campbell Cream of Chicken and Mushroom soup mixed with equal amount of water
Some seafood:shrimps, calamanri slices, white fish fillets, crab sticks and etc
1 beaten egg
1 onion, sliced
Few cloves of garlic, chopped
1 capsicum, cut into cubes
2 tomatoes, cut into cubes
1 cup milk
50 g of Edam cheese/cheddar cheese/any other strong flavoured cheese
Some parmesan powder or mozarella cheese slice (basically you just add any cheeses and amount according to your own preference- you can call it 3-cheese pasta if you add 3 varieties)
Chopped fresh parsley /basil/ cilantro/oregano (whatever herbs you preferred, dried mixed herbs are okay too)

Methods:

Cook pasta in boiling salted water till tender, drained.
Heat up a little oil in the pan, fry onion and garlic till fragant, add in pasta and the vege and stir fried for 5 min.
Transfer all the ingredients including the seafood into a baking dish.
Pour in the egg mixture with Cream of Chicken and Mushroom Soup and enough milk to cover the pasta.
Stir well with the mozarella cheese slices
Top with more cheeses
Sprinkle the top with mixed herbs
Bake covered for 15 min at 220 degree celcius. Then another 15 min uncovered to brown the cheese topping.