Eating alive octopus

As usual, Hiro and I usually have dinner outside on weekends, which could be either Saturday or Sunday. He introduces me to delicious yet sometimes weird Korean food. Well, being in Korea does also mean that I have to try Korean food, rite?!

So last Saturday after going back from Gangnam, we looked for restaurant nearby our apartment that sells octopus. The previous two weeks we had a really nice octopus soup so I'd like to eat the same food again. We were too exhausted to think of trying new food as well as too scared of getting new weird taste.

First restaurant we entered sold the octopus soup for 50,000 won, which is damn expensive because the previous octopus soup we had was only 15,000 won. So we just got out of that restaurant quickly and looked for other restaurant. The restaurant we knew was closed that night, so we felt lucky enough to get 20,000 won octopus at this other restaurant. With his limited Korean, Hiro explained what we wanted to the waitress, and then we just waited for the food coming doing some chit-chat.

Then the food came. It was not Octopus soup like what we expected!!! apparently there was misunderstanding, and we just knew no words of how to explain it. Instead of hot octopus soup served, we got a plate of alive baby octopus. Though finely cut, still alive and moving!!!! Some body parts even tried to run away from the plate. Well, follow this link to see the still-moving-octopus and you will understand how I felt!

I was so shocked. What a poor baby octopus!!......I couldn't imagine of eating it!! I could feel its desperate defense when I tried to take it by chopsticks. It moved panicly in my spoon, and I could feel the so called tentakels sticked on my tongue and throat, as if trying to prevent itself of getting drown into my stomach. I almost vomitted, and was sure I wouldn't manage to eat the second one. Come on....!! that thing was still alive! I even still saw it in the aquarium in front of the restaurant just before we entered. Was so small and cute. I didn't have such a cruel heart to eat more!
So Hiro saved me by asking the waiter -of course using body language as well- to put some moving octopus into boiled water. Phew...

And the poor octopus suddenly became so delicious in a clear soup hahahahaha

The previous octopus soup

Fried Fingers

Accidents unexpectedly happen, dear friends....and so did to me again today.

As you read the title, perhaps you could guess when could it be. Yep. During cooking.
Our menu tonight was Japanese koloke. Differ to the koloke we are familiar with in Indonesia, Japanese koloke is like a croquette. More about this koloke thing can be read at kitchenku, but anyway the accident happened basically because I made too big koloke.

The koloke should be fried in middle temperature, that is about 170-180 Celcius degree. So we fried the first giant koloke in the right temperature. Then we decided to make the rest of koloke smaller, so I had to re-shape the other koloke before got fried. I got too concentrating in making new ones that I didn't make the fire smaller nor turned the stove off. When the koloke ready, I put it in flour bowl, then egg bowl and finally bread powder bowl. This stages made my fingers covered with thick bread powder and it was when I couldn't really feel stuffs. So when I put one new koloke into the TOO HOT oil, I put also my fingers together with it. And that's how I got my right ring and little fingers fried, covered with mixed of flour, egg and bread powder.

I screamed and cried like a kid. Was so DAMN painful, and IS still now. I already put my fingers in cold water for more than an hour, but they're still painful. I can't use my right hand properly now (T_T)

Ummm one thought just passed my mind. What if I didn't pull my fingers out immediately at that time? perhaps I got them overcooked now. Would they be as delicious as those fried koloke?! hihihihi bego!

Kitchen-ku

My kitchen is my office, my territory now. The only place to run away, hide myself behind my PC monitor and make myself busy. Place where I spend most of my time here, either cooking, having lonely lunch, cleaning or nge-net. Uhm plus daydreaming sih (^_-)


kitchenku

So fresh from this kitchen, i proudly published, daily recipes I have cooked:

Kitchen-ku

It's in Indonesian, my native language. I found out that it is so much easier to write those cooking stuffs in Indonesian. Suddenly I become incapable using English in cooking field hiks hiks hiks. I am definitely a beginner!

I know some of you don't believe that I can cook something instead of poison, so please check it out. Perhaps you wanna try some. Don't worry....the recipes have been tried already by Hiro and he's still alive or having no stomachache up to now.

OBS-GYN

Since I came to Incheon, I've visited two OBS-GYN hospitals. To talk to the doctors, and decide which one would be the best for delivering my baby. Previously, Hiro and his interpreter already visited several hospitals here, so they came up with two best ones for me to choose.

The first hospital I visited almost two weeks ago is supposed to be the best hospital according to Hiro. The staffs are kind, they can arrange any of our requests: have a VIP room where I can stay alone, give permission to my husband or my relatives to accompany me inside the labor room, can arrange a pre-natal exercise, and close to our apartment. The thing is, the doctor couldn't speak English well. He couldn't even tell us about date in English. Sad...sad. We like this hospital, but I feel somewhat uncomfortable with a doctor who speaks language I don't understand.

And so this morning we went to the other hospital that is well-known as the best OBS-GYN hospital in this city. Unfortunately there I can't have pre-natal exercise nor a privacy room on my own. The doctor speaks English fluently. The things is, she's kind of senior doctor who has her own rule and I can't say she has this comforting aura. Anyhow, she does speak English and that's important for us.
As usual, before laying down myself onto the USG table, I asked the doctor not to tell the baby's gender to Hiro. I thought it was fair enough since the father has the right to choose whether he wants to know the gender or not. BUT SHE TOLD HIM!!!! At first she told me in an implicit way: that the baby goes after the father. OK I can accept it, I knew Hiro won't understand that expression. BUT then she made it clear. Its a MALE. a BOY. Congratulations!!!!

We screamed. OH MY GOD!!! Why should she tell us?!
She said that it's a must in Korea. That it is illegal if the parents don't know the baby's gender. Things we couldn't understand logically. Damn. I was so down to see Hiro's dissapointed face. It was supposed to be a nice surprise later on!! (>_<)

Anyway.....in spite of that unexpected surprise, we're happy to see our baby. This time Hiro can already recongnize it. He can see the head, body, thigh, spine cord. Even we can see the face quite clearly. We can see the ear. We also can see the eyes and mouth, which were closed first but opened slowly later on. Dear God, the feeling was unexplainable. Look at the picture below. Can see the face? can see the big nose? - just like his father's hahaha. Hiro said he's like a monkey hahahaha....but he's my handsome boy (^_-).


My baby's face


mouth and eyes opened

How how how? Can you guys see that my baby is handsome?? huehuehuehe

Where's my confidence?!?!!?

During pregnancy, hormones plays a great role. Well yeah, trust me. It can make you very happy that you feel like flying in an air balloon passing through beautiful countryside area at one time, but at another time it can make you feel like drowning in an arctic ocean. Deep, cold, dark, unpredictable...

I got the last one now.

As my pregnancy getting older, I feel like I lost my self confidence. Let's say it used to be one important factor in my life. I believe you guys knew me as a little girl with high confidence, rite? Pity, am not right now.

My stomach is getting bigger, the skin is darkened and there're blue lines started being clearly seen. No waist left so I look like flat ironing board from behind. Not to mention my boobs. OK, big boops are probably sexy, but TOO big are scary!! especially if they're also darkened with brown spots and of course blue lines. As if my chest couldn't hold them anymore.

Next are my underarms. The skin there are also disgusting now. Blackened that i had to put my tank top shirts inside the suitcase when i was in Indonesia last week. The arms themselves are getting bigger, showing how much fat I gained in these past few months.

My thighs and legs. They're basically big, and now they're getting much much bigger; decorated with eschema. Arrgghhh!! I look like having acute skin disease.

And last, my fingers. They are swelling. I can't even wear my wedding ring now.
So I have 10 small and fat fingers that look like small fat carrots.

I am easy tired, can't walk a lot. My feet can't support my heavy body and become painful. So despite my ugly physical appearance, I also hate being a burden to people surrounding.

Can I rent Harry Potter's invisible cloak? or can I just become like Violet of Mr. Incredibles who can make herself invisible? Or simply like yahoo messenger, where I can exist yet invisible the whole day?

Am drowning in an Arctic ocean right now. Deep, cold, dark, unpredictable....

Help me. I want to get back my self confidence

My New Life

Hi Hi Hi.....

I'm in cold Korea now. 5 busy first days here, I started my life as a real housewife already!!!!
Imagine!!
I must do the housechores. From cleaning, cooking, to shopping for daily needs. Kitchen is my office desk now, and there I spend most of my time. Well, I mean, really like my office, facilitated with a PC hahahaha

We live in a 23rd floor 3-bedrooms apartment. It's still messy now since we have still many stuffs in boxes, and expecting lots more coming this week. The view from our place is gorgeous since it is at the highest floor, but my husband got this high place phobia hahahahaha. This place is also well furnitured and equipped. I got nice spacey kitchen, but unfortunately I can't access all the cupboards since they're the way too high from my reach hiks hiks.


View from our apartment

Anyway, this would be our home for this coming 3 years. It's still for the two of us, but coming year we'll have this new family member here. Please wish me the best to be a good wife and mother (^_^)

These past two weeks

Woa.....long time not writing anything here!!! At last now I got the mood and the chance.

I am not in Japan anymore since about two weeks ago. Ehm....I was in INDONESIA!!! Thanks for you friends who were willing to accompany me, and sorry to those I couldn"t meet during my short visit this time. I am in Korea already now and starting my real marriage life here.

It was busy days, but I HAD A GREAT TIME!!!!!!!!!! Oh how I loved being back in my country.

Only Vebby and Nyo knew about my coming back to Indonesia, so I had some funny and interesting time to surprise some friends. Wehehehe I always enjoyed being a surprise [narcist mode: ON]

Vebby asked Valens to come to her place to treat him dinner. So he was like the first one to be surprised. I still remembered his wide round opened rounded eyes and mouth when he saw me got off the taxi hehe

Vebby arranged an all-you-can-eat dinner at Tomodachi for Vitria, Adnan, Valens, Mariza, Carla, Rina and Arief. But Arief didn't show yet accidently I met June and Devina there. I enjoyed their surprised face and reaction. Carla cursed, Vitria screamed, Mariza couldn't talk, and Adnan with his wide opened mouth.

Surprising Arief was the best part cause i got the best reaction hehehehe. I came to CDU out of sudden, opened the door cheerfully, and made Arief shocked, called my name for many many times and fell on the floor with his tears. His reaction made me speechless. But I was very very happy to be able to meet him again. He was still Arief I used to know, with his special characters and funny jokes, but with his new hobby: making cookies (to be sold unfortunately, not be be given to me as present). But I can say here that you should try his Kaastengel. Ehm...bit expensive, so better ask lots of sample Kaastengel cookies from him hahaha.

Sheila surprised me just before I went to Japan by coming out of sudden to my apartment. She was still in Surabaya when I came there, so I got the chance to pay her back for her surprised hohoho. I loved her funny shocked face, rounded eyes and oh-so-loud scream on her door when I came there with Vebby, Nyo and Carla. hihihi GOTCHA girl!!

Nina got surprised by Vebby's joke (that she's getting married) on the phone. Vebby and I made tricky story to fool Nina and Vitria at that time, but it made Nina came over the weekend to Surabaya hahaha. So happy to meet her again. We had a great time going to TP with Vitria, and Karaoke with Adnan, Arief, Mul, and Roy.

Vebby asked Emmy to come to Banana Leaf restaurant when Vebby, Nyo and I had lunch together there. Hihihihi she was surprised that she mumbled out some weird words. After watching us having lunch, Emmy went to my house; and the next weekend we watched movie together at TP with Mariza as well.

Carla said that she would go for a movie one afternoon with some excellogix friends: Boo, Denny and Jon. So suddenly I got the idea to surprise the boys.

Hmmm but I failed to surprise Tina because bitchy arief stole the thunder. He told her in advance on the phone. HUH..!!

This visit was wonderful. Full of laughter and jokes. It was the best way to say good bye, with wide smile and happy faces. Even Ayik came from Bojonegoro a day before I left Surabaya. Perfect.



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I ate almost all the food I've terribly missed and ate some other more delicious than ever food:
Kangkung hot plate and Gurame rica at Layar
Bebek goreng canggih with its special tasty oily sauce
Kwetiaw siram at Apeng
Yakiniku at Angus House
Soto ayam at Pucang
Nasi Padang with Tina at CDU
Chinese food at XO in restaurant in TP
Soto Banjar at Kedung doro
Cocofrio ice cream
Lele penyet at Indokee in Citraland
Mie Dok dok Ploso
Javanese fried noodle at Ondomohen
Mie Ujung Pandang at Kertajaya Indah
Bubur ayam surya
La Mien at PAM's
Bakso Pak Salam
Cah Jagung and Bakwa pedas made by Tina's maid
Tom Yam soup at Banana Leaf
Terong goreng made by Tante Nanik's maid
Indomie goreng made by Vebby
Indomie Ayam with egg made by Valens
Ham and Cheese crepes at de'Crepes TP
4 Kgs Rambutan sent by Ayik from Bojonegoro

Hmmmm...writing those food down already made me drooling again. But life must go on. I was lucky enough that I got chance to eat them in such a short time.

Well, new life is starting now. Bye-bye surabaya, see you again friends. Ehm!! this time i won't come out of sudden in a month hehehe (^___^)