little miss may

After 4 months of infrequent gym visits and pigging out (in addition to wallowing in self-pity every few days), I’ve been slowly getting back into the routine of early morning workouts at the gym. I still can’t do my 5km under 40 minutes, it takes me an hour these days. In time, I guess. Or maybe I’ll just stick to a 10-minute jog each time and move on to another discipline like rowing or something.

Anyway, I used to do quite a bit of yoga as well before I quit my previous job and moved on to this one. The gym just 2 doors down from my old workplace had pretty good yoga instructors, and had more classes compared to the one that’s downstairs my current office. After I’d moved to working outside of KL, my yoga practice had been slowly declining. The excuses were that there weren’t any good instructors at the gym I usually frequent now, and it’s too far to travel to the other ones. The truth is, I’d got used to a few teachers who now have their own yoga studio at Plaza Damas - Jiva Studio, just opposite of Hartamas Shopping Centre.

Sunday morning, I joined Serena for a yoga session in Vinyasa alignment (Vinyasa: a steady flow of connected yoga postures linked with breath work in a continuous movement). Usually Vincent conducts the class, but he was away on leave so Jazzamine took over for that session.

Being familiar with the basic and a few intermediate poses, I could follow the class with ease. Except… I have not been regularly stretching and practicing by myself at home, so after half an hour into the poses, I was beginning to feel tired. My thighs were screaming for rest at Virabhadrasana II (Warrior II Pose), my arms were shaking while doing Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose). I wasn’t panting, but my breathing wasn’t as deep as it should be either.

Oh, but no no no… I couldn’t stop there. I was so gung-ho about making sure I fully participated in class to make my visit worth while, I kept going on with the half-contortionist poses, even when my arms couldn’t hold me up much anymore and I was collapsing close to the floor while doing Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose).

All that time, although I felt tired, my limbs weren’t aching. I was still game enough to do Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) with a little help in getting my feet up against the wall; Salamba Sarvangasana (Supported Shoulderstand), and Halasana (Plow Pose) towards the end of practice.

And today…24 hours later…

My arms, chest and back are as stiff as boards! Ha-ha! I grunt and sigh almost orgasmically trying to reach behind with my hand to scratch my back. Everything that required stretching was in slow motion. It was either that, or rubbing my back against a corner of a pillar akin to a bear rubbing up against a tree.

I’ve packed my gym bag for an early-morning run on the treadmill tomorrow to ease up the stiff muscles. Hope I don’t oversleep… *teehee*!

Pictures from Yoga Journal and Savasa.

Technorati: personal, ramblings

32 comments

Before I begin, I must apologise to my Muslim readers, this is going to be a non-halal post. And to my vegetarian readers too. Minta maaf, ya.

For the rest, let me tell you about El Cerdo.

“Come join us for porkies on Saturday night!” invited Serena.

Porkies?

Ok, I’m game for a little pork for dinner.

We met up with a few other friends at El Cerdo (which means “the pig” in Spanish). I didn’t know what to expect at this restaurant, I thought it was going to be just another place serving some pork chops with chips and salad.

Boy, was I wrong.

The first thing that met my eyes was this bright, red sign that boasts “El Cerdo - Pork Specialties from the West”. At the bottom a cute little round sign - which I took it symbolise a pig’s snout - had “Porkielicious Dishes” on it. Ah. More than just pork chops, eh?The ambience is nice and cosy; warm lighting, walls decorated with pictures and drawings of adorable piglets, and nice, big tables with lots of elbow space. I was taken in with the place at once. I didn’t snap any photos of the restaurant, however, since I didn’t want people to think me as a pork-paparazzi or something.

I let my friends - Serena, Andrew, Eric and Veron - do the ordering since they’d been there before and knew what was hot and what was not. Moreover, I was distracted by a hanging ornament of carved pigs with wings, with little feathers as tails that twirled as the air-conditioner blew in their direction. If pigs could fly indeed.

I was so busy chatting with my friends, I didn’t know what we had ordered until the first appetizer came along. I had snapped a portion of their menu to remind myself of the names of a few dishes, but unfortunately I didn’t catch the names for these three starters:

This dish is had shredded pork that was cooked a little bit like how the Malays cook serunding (meat floss). You could opt to eat it just like that, or even better, with some bread. Tastes absolutely delicious! My mouth is watering just remembering how the saltiness of the meat tickled my taste buds.

The rolls were served with guacamole salsa, similar to how nachos are usually served, minus the sour cream.

We had another starter - yummy, spicy sausages with bacon. This one’s quite garlic-ky too, but not too much until it overshadows the spicy flavour. The bacon is fried till crispy; I do so loved crunching down on them!For the main course, we had:

- Marinated & Seasoned Pork Shoulder Steak -
Apparently, this pork shoulder is marinated for 48 hours with paprika, herbs, onions, garlic and mild dijon mustard. Very, very tasty! Not over-cooked, hence none of the toughness you might’ve anticipated.

- Puerco en Mole Poblano -
Pork in Mexican chilli and chocolate sauce. I know what might be running through your mind right now - chocolate sauce for cooking? I was a little sceptical at first, but was willing to give it a go. The chunks of meat were cooked till tender, and the chocolate sauce gave it a very distinct taste, not exactly sweet yet not quite salty either. Sort of savoury, chocolaty, sweet all mixed together to become a very unique flavour.I totally forgot to take a picture of two dishes until it was all gone, ha-ha! These two were:

- Ong’s Steak -
Another marinated pork shoulder steak, this time cooked with bacon, a slice of smoked ham on top, onion, garlic and baked with cheese. We asked the chef Werner J Kuhn, a German, why he called it such. He said that his friend Ong came into his restaurant one day and wanted to eat something, but didn’t know exactly what to chew on. Werner then cooked up this lovely creation for his friend, thus named Ong’s Steak.

- Hickory Smoked BBQ Pork Ribs -
Grilled in spices, fine herbs, chutney and rum. Nice, but somehow I prefer the ones served at the Rib Shop at Damansara Heights.

Needless to say, we were all porked-out after eating all that meat (well, at least I was). But being the gluttons we were, we just had to order dessert to finish off the meal.

Check out our Baked Apple with Cream Caramel. The apple’s not too sweet, baked till soft, divine with ice cream.

And an absolute must-have: Chocolate Terrine, served with vanilla sauce and mint ice cream. Imagine this - a nice chocolate slice, more firm than mousse yet softer than a block of chocolate, instantly melts in your mouth, and together with the mint ice cream it’s almost like eating after-dinner mint chocs. Except a hundred times better!I’d recommend this place to any of my non-Muslim, non-vegetarian friends & readers. The meat is never tough, always tender, and doesn’t have any of that “sou mei” (overly meaty taste). If you’re not a fan of pork, they do serve other meat like lamb. Call them for reservations, they’re really, really packed!

52 Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin, Kuala Lumpur
Phone: 03-2145 0511

Babe in the City also did a review on El Cerdo. Read about it here!

Cheers!

Technorati: food

27 comments

Do you know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man
O do you know the Muffin Man who lives in Drury Lane?

Baker May strikes again! I bought these pack of poppy seeds awhile back, thinking I could bake some bagels and use these seeds as a garnish. I didn’t have much time to spend on baking today, and bagels take at least 3 hours to get done. Well then, what else could I do with poppy seeds?

I remember eating delicious lemon poppy seed muffins from Muffin Break while I was in Sydney. Oh, the craving’s back! Ok then, today we’ll make some lemon poppy seed muffins. A quick search on the Internet, and I found one from Recipe Source (visit this page for the original).

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup poppy seeds
2 tablespoons rated lemon rind

For the syrup:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
2. In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well.
3. In large bowl, beat oil with sugar, eggs, buttermilk or yogurt, poppy seeds and lemon peel.
4. Add dry ingredients to large bowl and combine just until moistened.
5. Spoon batter into 12 large non-stick, lightly oiled or paper-lined muffin cups. Bake in preheated 400F/200C oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, bring lemon juice and sugar to boil. Cool for a few minutes.
7. When muffins come out of oven, prick in a few places with toothpick. Spoon syrup over top and allow to soak into muffins. Cool and remove muffins from pan.

The batter can also be baked in a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (2L loaf pan) for 45 to 50 minutes.

RESULTS:
Tangy, yummy muffins! The poppy seeds give them a slight crunch, and unlike strawberry & raspberry seeds, they don’t stick between your teeth. I couldn’t find buttermilk in any supermarket, so I opted for the low-fat yoghurt. They’re kind of spongy and springy, not really cake-like compared to store-bought muffins. I wonder if the yoghurt had anything to do with the different texture?

I used the mid-sized, 12-muffin tray instead of the jumbo 6-muffin tray. Instead of making 12 like what the recipe indicated, I was able to make 20 mid-sized muffins. Maybe it’s because I only filled each hole with 1/2 to 3/4 batter. If you want those with a little spillover crust all around, then fill the holes up to the brim. Watch them overflow in the oven!

A little side-note on the muffin trays:
I couldn’t find these non-stick muffin trays in a lot of local supermarkets which stock the regular tin tart trays. I finally made a trip to Ikea and bought mine for RM29 each. Chan Tung sells the same kind for less than RM24 (haiya, should’ve bought from them instead!). Giant Supermarket at Klang Parade also sells these muffin trays for about the same price.

Oh yes, you might find that you’ll have a lot of the lemon syrup left after drizzling a good amount of it over your muffins. Add some of it to a glass of cold water or two, and… ta-dahhh! You’ve got yourself some good ol’ zesty lemonade… *winks*!

Technorati: food, recipes

22 comments

Simple American made his first tag on me with this meme.

Here is how the meme works. Let’s say you are in an alternate universe. One almost exactly like this one, except perhaps you NEVER ever met your significant other. You are a single guy or gal without a any current relationship, and you have just published a New York Times bestseller. A movie studio brought you to Hollywood to talk about a movie deal for three days, and as part of the wooing process they offer to host a one-on-one dinner each night with the celebrity of your choice. Who would you pick? It could be a star you want to have a shot at “hooking up” with, or it could just be someone you admire.

Day One:
Steven Spielberg. If I’m gonna get someone to direct my movie, it’d better be an Oscar-winning director, right? I’d ask him to spiff it up where a little on-screen magic is required, with all those special effects his production team could whip up. Even if my story doesn’t need any of those fancy-schmancy stuff. A bit of glitter won’t hurt. Oh, and E.T. could make a special guest appearance in my movie too.

Day Two:
Angelina Jolie. Because she a total babe and she rocks! Oh, and maybe I could ask for her to bring along her supposedly-other-half Brad Pitt too, so that’d be killing 2 stars with one dinner, wouldn’t it? Not cheating. Fair is fair, the invitation’s extended to the other half*. Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
* Terms & Conditions apply. They both have to be superstars. And good-looking. And… whatever.

Day Three:
Orlando Bloom**. If I could be a famous writer in this parallel world, then he’ll be my swashbuckling hubby. He can prance around in tights, bows and arrows for all I care (re: Legolas), and no matter what people say, he’s a better curly brunette than he is a straight-haired blonde. Look at those eyes! The charm! The smile! Swoon… Muah muah muah!

**I would’ve picked Heath Ledger, but too bad that guy’s already taken. With a baby too.

And whom would you choose for your dinner party?

Technorati: personal

17 comments

The Highs
They say that by exercising, the body produces endorphins, which are like painkillers, thus “numbing” the brain, and gives the exerciser a natural high. This in turn has the effects of a general boost in mood and happiness.

The right kind of music could elevate one’s mood. No need for any kind of research for everyone to agree on this fact.Current research indicates that chocolate is a weak stimulant because of its content of theobromine, which includes the similar compounds theophylline and caffeine. Theobromine is a mild, lasting stimulant with a mood improving effect. Consuming chocolates supposedly trigger dopamine release in the brain’s reinforcement systems – an effect, albeit a legal one, similar to that of opium.

The Lows
I went to the gym this morning, did a 10-minute run and another 12 minutes on rowing. I didn’t quite get the happy buzz that expectedly kicks in after exercising. Instead, 10 minutes on the treadmill felt like torture; I’d lost the stamina I had built up over the last year in just 3 months of irregular gym visits. In fact, it was as if I couldn’t wait to give up, get off that machine and hide in the shower.

I started the day listening to upbeat music whilst driving to the office / gym. The radio had the regular hits on Fly.fm, but my mind tuned out in just 5 minutes into the programme. My iPod filled my ears with sounds of Iron & Wine later after lunch, and though I’d let it play through all the available tracks, my fingers automatically searched the menu and selected a more sombre Damien Rice towards evening. So much for happy tunes.

During lunch break I popped by Giant to get a bulb replacement for the fused one in my table lamp. My legs took me to the snacks section where I picked up a box of Lemon Cheesecake Kit Kat, and two varieties of Ritter Sport. I consumed two sticks of Kit Kat, and 4 squares each of Ritter Sport Yogurt and Dark Chocolate. I settled down to wait for that high. Nope… didn’t quite arrive.The day was a little mundane, normal, nothing out of the ordinary. It could even be said that it was pretty good, considering that there wasn’t any urgent work to be done; no need for a late night at the desk.

Yet somehow… something’s missing.

JoMel wrote, “It’s when you are giddy with too much laughter, yet being hugely aware of the feeling of hollowness within.”

Well, this was one of those days for me.

It was raining when I was driving home in my car. Both outside and in.

Technorati: melancholy

24 comments