Hotel Arya Duta Medan [Supermarket]

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Well, recently I was involved in an incident in a well-known supermarket in Medan. I was there to keep DH accompany. All went well except when I got to the till and pay out my shopping items. 

 Yet on leaving, I suddenly were accosted by the cashier and the security guard. The cashier aggressively grabbed my shopping bags without firstly say “excuse me” and took it back to the check out lane . I was a real dumb for quite a while, then I realized I was on the verge of being apprehended of shoplifting. Then the security guard asking for the receipt again without say “excuse me” or even “ sorry”, then he went through all my shopping stuffs and checked everything against the receipt, whilst I stood there feeling like a criminal. I said, you don’t need to check every items manually,  just screen them back one by one of your alarm system, it will be much easier. They refused to answer this, never once directly accusing me of shoplifting, though this was the obvious implication.

In the end, it was inside the lotion box I bought that had security tag on and somehow the cashier forgot to remove or de-alarmed the item. Funny thing was when the security set the alarm off, they returned my shopping bags without even apologized. Both were young adults. The lack of basic manners is shocking among some people.  I was so annoyed and not happy at all. The whole incident was dealt in a most un-professional, arrogant, aggressive, ant totally  inconsiderate manner. What is my legal standing on this? They are really such a turd burglar for me. 

Recipes: Chicken Soup

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Pears are my absolute favorite fruit, I always stocked them in my fridge all the time.  When I ran out of red dates (hong zhao), solomon’s seal (yu zhu), codonopsis root (dang shen) to cook this recipe. I just used wolfberries (go ji), astragalus root (huang qi), ginger, and pear instead.
Ingredients:
-        1 whole chicken
-        2 tablespoon wolfberries
-        4 -5 slices of astragalus root
-        1 ginger
-        1 pear, peeled and cored
-        salt to taste
How to cook:
-        Pre boil the chicken first and throw out the initial boiling water. Put aside.
-      Put all ingredients inside and bring to boil starting with ginger, astragalus root then chicken and wolfberries.
-        Simmer on low fire for at least 1 hour. Last 15 minutes put in the pear.
-        And finally add salt to taste. Serve hot.  

Food Snap: Tokyo Banana [東京ばな奈]

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When I was young I had a sweet tooth, but as I have gotten older, I prefer savory food more. I haven't heard about this cute confection before until DH brought these back from Japan. Tokyo Banana [東京ばな奈] is a soft sponge cake, filled with banana custard cream. The sweetness of this custard cream suits me just fine. This confection is a perfect gift for family, friends and suitable for elderly too (I think :>). 

Recipes: Potato Patties

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Ingredients:
6 Potatoes (regular size)

Seasoning:
1 tsp butter
Salt as desired/ needed
Pepper as desired/ needed
Chopped of fried onions as desired/ needed
Chopped celery as desired/ needed
Chopped nutmeg as desired/ needed
1 Egg (split the yolk from the white)
* white egg is used to help ingredients stick together in the frying pan

How To Cook: 
- Cut potatoes into small chunks and boil until soft. 
- Pour boiled potatoes into a mixing bowl and mix manually until all chunks are mashed. (It should only take about 1 minute to mash to a creamy texture, as they turned out really soft after boiling) 
- Add seasonings starting from butter, salt, pepper, fried onions, celery, nutmeg and finally yolk. (image #1) 
- Mix manually until well-blended and creamy texture. (image #2), let cool for about 1 minutes. 
- Form up in patties manually as seen on image#3. 
- Warm up olive oil in a frying pan, dip the patties into the white eggs before frying. Fry for about 2 minutes until the patties turn brown. 
- Sprinkle corns over patties if you like. (image #4), served hot.

Royal Round Up

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 BBC America: Prince Harry Roasts William @ Wedding Dinner Dance
Kevin Wicks | 2 May 2011
The wedding service at Westminster Abbey and the following reception at Buckingham Palace were, by all accounts, stately affairs determined by ages-old protocol. But William and Kate had a chance to let their hair down at Friday night's dinner dance, which featured a select 300 of the couple's family and friends. And, if there's any truth to the reports today, the event was a proper knees-up, complete with copious amounts of mickey-taking.
And Prince Harry, ever the trickster, stole the show with his best man speech. According to The Sun, Harry did far more than raise a champagne flute to the newlyweds. He seized the opportunity to take potshots at William's thinning pate, declaring his older brother "the Balding Baron" and re-christening the royal couple "the Duke and Duchess of Hairlosshire." Did we mention that Harry allegedly did all of this while wearing a fez? (Perhaps he's a Doctor Who fan?) According to The Daily Mail, after Harry finished his speech, he threw off his stylish headgear and stage-dived into a cheering crowd.
The evening's menu was said to include "a crayfish, crab, salmon starter and a main of Sandringham lamb with veg from the estate, followed by a mix of small puddings." As the night went on, partygoers reportedly downed charmingly named Crack Baby cocktails, "a heady concoction of vodka, passion fruit, Chambord raspberry liqueur, and champagne designed by royal favorite bar Boujis." Bet those weren't among your royal wedding party apéritifs.
As for William and Kate, they were serenaded by singer Ellie Goulding, who sang her version of Elton John's "Your Song" for the couple's first dance. The newlyweds later reportedly "brought the house down" with their own take on the Travolta/Newton Johnclassic, "You're the One That I Want." Further proof that the royals are just like us: even they can't resist a good, cheesy Grease duet.
All in all, sounds like the kind of soirée even a dyed-in-the-wood anti-monarchist like Johnny Marr would have been proud to attend.
In other royal wedding related news:
• Might Prince William be separated from his new bride just four months after their wedding? The Sun is reporting that William, an RAF search-and-rescue pilot, will take off for the Falkland Islands for a ten-week stint starting in September. "The posting is essential for William as he will be promoted from co-pilot to pilot, putting him in charge of his aircraft," the tabloid says. Wives are not allowed to join their husbands on such missions. Some sources believe William is even trying to earn flying time for a combat role in Afghanistan, which is unlikely given his proximity to the throne. The Falklands, which are located in the South Atlantic, were the site of a 1982 military conflict between Argentina and the UK, who both claimed rights to the territory.
• The so-absurd-it's-amazing Philip Treacy hat that Princess Beatrice wore to the wedding has made her a viral star. As The Daily Mail notes, "A Facebook site entitled Princess Beatrice’s Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat had attracted 123,675 people with one person asking whether she was a new Doctor Who villain."
• Pippa Middleton's scene-stealing, body-hugging white gown attracted much attention on Friday, as did her flirtatious behavior with Prince Harry. But Kate's sister and Maid of Honor is taken. According to South Africa's Independent paper, she is dating a broker named Alex Loudon. "The couple have stayed silent about the future of their relationship for fear of detracting attention from William and Kate."

Recipes: Dessert Magnum

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I usually have quaker oats for my routine breakfast, which is a low calorie that could fill me up till lunch time. But not for today, as when I opened up my fridge this am, I found two bars of magnum ice cream, I quickly craved one as I seen from Magnum Cafe. A Magnum ice cream poured with cheese, chocolate and Roti Marie Regal crumbs.

Recipes: Soupy Spinach with Salted Eggs

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Ingredients:
Spinach

1 or 2 salted egg, separate the yolk from the white

2 minced garlic

Chicken stock


Seasoning:

Sugar as needed

Corn flour as needed

Water as desired


How To Cook:

- Steam salted egg yolk over medium heat for 15 minutes with a wok, set aside.

- Sautee garlic until aromatic, then the spinach. Stir fry for a while, set aside. Add some water if necessary.

- In another small pan, pour in the chicken stock and boil for a minute. Add seasoning and cook moderately. Quickly stir in salted egg whites, when it turns opaque in color, remove from heat, pour over the spinach.

- Cut salted egg yolk into small pieces and sprinkle over spinach.

- Served hot.

Recipes: Golden Fried Tofu with Tomato Sauce

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Ingredients:

- 1 block of silken tofu, sliced equally in smaller pieces

- 2 tomatoes, finely chopped

- 2 spring onions, finely chopped

- 2 or 3 spoonful of chilly sauce or tomato sauce

- Garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, soy sauce

- 3 or 4 red chilly


How To Cook:

- Fry smaller pieces tofu until golden, set a side.

- Heat the wok with oil, sauté garlic, tomatoes and red chilly.

- Add chilly sauce or tomato sauce, stir for a while.

- Add also half glass of water, salt, pepper, and sugar as needed, lastly dash in the spring onions. Bring it to a boil.

- Served hot.

Wasabi Taste Loss

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Yesterday, we were roaming the neighborhood at Pluit Village for a place to eat dinner and came across Ajisen Ramen. I come here once every few months with DH. We love it. The host always find us table quickly and we really enjoy the food. This is not supposed to be a fancy restaurant, they serve basic, well-made ramen and sushi. We ordered Tong Yam ramen, a Krakatau roll, a karaage, and a pan-fried dumplings.
However, when we had the wasabi, we found the wasabi served was quite fake/ imitation. Usually it has more a kick, very much like the “hotness” hits the back of the throat and clears your sinuses. This one was plain. Nothing.
Note that eating wasabi together with sushi is a good habit as the spiciness of the wasabi may kill bacteria/ parasites that still hide in the raw fish.
I am thinking maybe the real wasabi is simply to expensive, that’s why they have some mixture inside. Hence my question, does the fake wasabi which we get served have similar health benefits as the real wasabi?

“Maid” my day

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Before I get married, my family used to have a Christian middle-aged helper, who was very thrifty. She loved to collect items uncontrollably without being able to throw anything away.  Sometimes she tried to “recycle, reuse and reduce” all those unnecessary items which was good, but in other times it created unsanitary, dangerous and unhealthy living environment.
One day on Cheng Beng (Qing Ming/ 清明節) also known as Tomb-Sweeping Festival, a festival or an opportunity for celebrants to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites where young and old will pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, wine, chopsticks, joss paper accessories, and/ or libations to the ancestors.
But for those who do not go to the grave sites, some families will remain or gather at home as a group to burn paper shoes, clothing and joss paper accessories for their ancestors, as our neighbor did at the front side of their house (garage).
And when our helper noticed that, she abruptly ran outside and yelled out, ”Auntie, why on earth you burn all those shoes? They still remain in a very good condition. Why you burn them? If you don't want them, you can give it to me, I would love to keep them.”
All the families (neighborhood) literally just burst out laughing (very loudly), even my mom unable to hold back her mirth, and left out our helper standing alone in greatly perplexed. Later on our neighbor tried to explain to her - what they burnt was a paper shoes for the ancestors, not a real shoes. She was so embarrassed and ran away back home.
Since that day, Cheng Beng for my family had never be the same again. For us, those funny moments remained in our memory. :)

A Preliminary Remarks of k.a.m.m.a.s.a.k.a

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 As the Buddha quoting the words of ancient proclaims, ”Those who do good receive good and those who do evil receive evil, man reaps according as he sown.”

I am the owner of my deeds [k.a.m.m.a.s.a.k.a], heir to my deeds [kammadaya], born of my deeds [kammayoni], related to my deeds [kammabandhu], and abide supported by my deeds [kammapatisarana].