Yet Another Monday.

Yet another Monday but I'm very close to finishing my last school term in the UK. I spent the whole of today at the art studio finishing off everything in time for the deadline which is tomorrow. I guess it has been a successful term. I'm going to definitely miss this place.

Simple Pleasure

To touch is to feel or come in contact with something. When I touch something, I feel more connected to the object. I think it's a very sensual process and that a spiritual bond is made between the two objects. Sometimes, I find myself dipping my hands into a pot of rice just feeling the coarse, yet at the same time smooth, grains rubbing against hand. Feeling the eroded walls of a rundown building makes me imagine of its past. I also like going out for a walk alone to where ever your feet takes you, taking a very long warm bath with the lights off, waking up earlier than everyone in the house to enjoy the silence and lose myself and burning tissue papers.

Around the Art Department

There are inspirations everywhere. If you are feeling uninspired or the channel in your head where all the beautiful and amazing things flow is blocked, breathe, relax and open your mind. Look around, everything is beautiful, there is no ugliness (well, there is because of some sick people we have on this planet). Take more deep breathes, and open your mind even wider. You'll find something. I used to get very frustrated when I'm doing arts and I feel uninspired but I've learnt to be inspired by everything ! and the art department is an example. I used to find it boring but now it's simple MAGNIFIQUE !

The Winter-Spring Transition

The weather here is very unusual. I've been here for four years so it's usual for me. I guess I can say it's usually very unusual. It's supposed to be spring and it is. However, this evening and for the past few, it was chilly and wet. I didn't quite enjoy it but oh well, what can I do.

Unfortunately, this is the end of the post ,my fellow citizens of the Earth. I hope you enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures. 

SO DO YOU HAVE ANY SIMPLE (GUILTY) PLEASURES ? IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY ? AND WHAT DO YOU DO TO INSPIRE YOURSELF ? AND WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'RE UNINSPIRED ? COMMENT BELOW ! I'D BE VERY INTERESTED TO HEAR YOUR ANSWERS. CIAO.

Turquoisexual

'Turquoisexual' - a term I invented when I dosed off into my wild vivid imagination during a seven-hour-long timed piece Art exam. The term means someone who has an unhealthy (a little bit exaggerated) obsession with the colour turquoise or anything ranging in between the green and blue spectrum. I am a turquoisexual myself. I tend to soften and enter that 'peace of mind' state whenever I see the colour turquoise, aquamarine or anything like that. Here, enjoy and cool your eyes: 

Also, you get a little sneak peak of one of my final pieces for A2 Fine Art Unit 4. I will upload pictures of the whole set when it's finally displayed in the school exhibition so stay tuned !  

YOU WOULD THINK IT'S ENOUGH

( THIS IS GOING TO BE A WORDY POST SO BRACE YOURSELVES )

Living in a boarding house, trying to guess what they're going to serve us for lunch or dinner ( breakfast is always the same - english breakfast and sometimes assorted pastry ) is like an old lady playing bingo: it's a game of probability. Sometimes, it's good, sometimes, it's horrid and sometimes, it's just okay. However, we have decoded a sort of pattern. For example, on wednesday, it's roast and on friday, it's fish. Nonetheless, the probability that the food is going to be junk is very high so it's only smart to prepare. 

You may be thinking " What's all the fuss about ? Why not just go out and buy food ? ". Well, I would love to but the location of my boarding house is on top of a hill where there are no shops, supermarkets or anything. It's a bit like Hogwarts but worse since they've got flying broomsticks and we don't. The closest shop or supermarket is a 15 minute drive to a nearby town, Cranleigh. The school provides bus services to Cranleigh 3 days a week which is very nice of them.

Another disadvantage of being in a boarding house (or being in this particular boarding house) is that we have nothing to cook food with ! We've got toasters, an electric kettle and microwaves. Oh, and another thing we have is an overly sensitive fire alarm. YAY. So, we have to be extremely cautious and meticulous with our bread toasting since it's a pain in the bum if we set the fire alarm off and we have to go through all those tedious procedures. 

Even in Cranleigh, I can't tick off all the items from my grocery shopping list. So my last option is to hit Amazon and shop online. This week, I got myself a box of DAMAE RAMEN Sesame Flavour. Obviously, it's Japanese. I am much pleased with the taste considering it only costed £12.00 for a box of 30 packs. One pack is enough for a meal and the noodle is superb texture-wise. The smell of the sesame oil is so pleasant and aromatic it makes my stomach growl as I wait for the noodle to soften. 

I always use the microwave when I boil my noodles. I microwave the noodles for about 5 minutes and then put the contents in ( sauces and oil ). I added about a teaspoon of chilli oil to enhance the taste and garnished it with dried coriander. 

Well, this is the end of my instant noodle review.

Have a good one to all my fellow citizens

of the Earth !

G O O D B Y E , L O N D O N

LOOKBOOK is addictive. End of Story.

When I first started LOOKBOOK, I couldn't stop it. It was addictive and thousands of people were posting their looks and it was like I was being bombarded by an endless wave of inspirations (fashion wise). Above is my latest look. I've only got a couple of looks but I am hoping to post more soon.

My Last Months in the Pommyland.

Hello, 

Fellow Citizens of the Earth,

I apologise for being a lazy pig and forgetting about my blog. I will try to be more punctual with new posts and bitsies later on. I have been very busy finishing off my final school term like finishing off my sketchbook and the production of my final pieces for Fine Art and Photography which will be displayed in an exhibition at the end of the year. I will make sure I post pictures of the exhibition so do wait patiently ! Meanwhile, I have posted a new recipe. ( If you can't see the pictures because they're too small, click on it and save it onto your computer so you can zoom in ) 

Si Chet (H)Kout Swel ဆီခ်က္ေခါက္ဆြဲ

Si Chet is one of the most popular dishes in Myanmar. 'Si' meaning oil and 'chet' meaning cook, you may think this is yet another oily burmese dish. However, let me assure you that, oily or not, this is a simply, tasty and unforgettable noodle dish. Enough with the chit chat, I've made an attractive ( I tried my best ) glossy recipe book style pages. Hope you enjoy ! Don't forget to comment :)

       

 

Mohinga

Mohinga မုန္႕ဟင္းခါး @ Feel, Yangon
( with boiled egg and gourd fritters )

The epic Mohinga ( obviously ),  မုန့်ဟင်းခါး. If you haven't heard of mohinga ( which you should have because if you haven't, you haven't lived ! ), it is a Burmese traditional soup-based noodle dish. There are two ingredients which make mohinga special and different to other noodle dishes. One is the banana stem which gives it a unique crispy texture. Second is the fish which is the most vital ingredient because it makes the soup thick and rich and gives it the 'mohinga' taste. Mohinga is served with thin rice noodles/vermicelli and typically with various fries such as chickpea fritters, gourd fritters, onion fritters and so on. Coriander, mint and bean sprouts are commonly used as garnish along with a slice of lime. This delicacy is an ambiguous mix between savoury and . . . .  not-so-savoury so it's always a delight to enjoy this meal anytime of the day ( well, at least to me it is ). The recipe and taste of mohinga varies with different regions. For example, my family is from the Mon state and the mohinga tastes fairly different from the ones in Yangon. So the next time you're in Myanmar, try out the tastes of different mohinga(s)!

Pancakes !

One day, I decided to fry some pancakes for the family as they normally don't eat pancakes for breakfast. It is simple, easy and quick to make.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of bread flour ( any flour would do ! )
- 2 eggs ( 1 if you like it less rich )
- 1½ cup of milk
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- cooking oil ( appropriate amt. )

In a bowl, mix the flour, eggs and the milk. Stir until it has become creamy and gooey. Leave it for about 5 minutes and then heat a frying pan for about a minute on low/medium heat. Spread the oil ( using butter gives it a better fragrant ) and immediately, add the mixture when the oil smokes. Spread the mixture using a spatula and flip when the bottom turns golden. This is a quick process ( 2-3 minutes ) so make sure you don't burn it ! After using up the mixture, you can garnish the pancakes with condensed milk, maple syrup, honey, golden syrup or strawberries or a 

mixture of them ! Here in this photo, I've poured sweet condensed milk on top with strawberries. Enjoy !