My New Messenger Bag

Last week, I posted the Grid-It organiser which was to complement an earlier purchase which arrived yesterday.

My notebook bag was starting to get 'tired' and the velcro fastener had somehow lost its 'grip'. It's almost a year old and I got it free from a shoe purchase at Al-Ikhsan. I liked this bag. It had a padded compartment to secure your notebook and most importantly it was a vertical bag.

So I decided to buy myself a bag for a change. Prior to this, it was always freebies. Either it came with the notebook or it came free with a purchase or from an event.  After much scouting and deliberation I found that the best options were not available locally. Therefore, I searched online. 

Looking for the right bag is tough. I would have preferred a vertical bag but they were either too small or plastered with zips and/or straps all over the outside of the bag. I like something simple. My search for a vertical messenger bag was unfruitful. There was nothing that I liked. 

So, back to the classical messenger bag. Again, same problem. Strap here, zip here and there. Handle at the top like a briefcase. Colour. All kinds of criteria. What made it even more difficult, I was looking for a leather bag.

After weeks of searching, I finally shortlisted the bags I liked. Then the issue of shipping came up as some sellers did not ship to Malaysia. Even Amazon didn't. The bags that I really liked didn't ship to Malaysia. The ones that I didn't like, shipped! What gives!

Eventually, I found a seller on ebay who would ship to Malaysia and it ain't cheap. Shipping cost me USD40 via USPS First Class Mail International / First Class Package International Service. I completed the purchase on 10th November, at about 10pm (US 9th November). The shipper sent me my tracking number on 12th November at about 4am.

USPS Tracking info.

Pos Malaysia Tracking info. Cool, you use the same tracking number.

It was a pretty long wait but I think Pos Malaysia was pretty efficient considering that the 22nd and 23rd is considered the weekend here. Two weeks in total.

So, this is the bag that I bought. Plain in the front with a zipped compartment at the back (which almost all bags have). It is fastened by two magnetic buttons.

I don't like zips, pockets and straps on the outside of the bag, but inside you definitely need some. And this bag had SOME...
1. A phone pocket which fits an iPhone nicely.
2. Five card slots.
3. Two pen holders
4. A large zippered compartment.
5. Another large zippered compartment.
6. A pocket.
7. A small zippered compartment.
8. A small pocket on the outside of the bag but under the flap.
9. Another small pocket
10. A large zippered compartment.
And you can see that it fits the notebook and the Grid-It organiser perfectly.  And there's still room for an iPad.

I'm loving it. :)

Cocoon Grid-It

I received my Cocoon Grid-It today. I'm posting this simply because I think it is pretty cool and stores my stuff in my bag minus the clutter. You can get it online. Comes in various sizes. This is a 12" x 8" and costs RM59.00.

Pan Mee (Hakka Flat Noodle Soup)

Is started with a picture on Facebook from Rasa Malaysia.  It got me reminiscing my childhood 'pulling' the noodles and dropping it into the broth. Then came the thought...  I then posted that I might just attempt to make it. Then the craving came... followed by a day-long of rain and I decided this would be ideal on a cold day.

As soon as I got home, I checked to see if I had the ingredients. The basic stuff were there but I still had to go out to get some other stuff.  I started with the stock... MacGyver style, if you know what I mean... Pot of water to boil... some Maggi Ikan Bilis Stock Cubes... 3 cloves garlic... lots of pepper and some salt. Not too much slat hough as the flavour will come from the minced chicken and crispy ikan bilis too.

Then I quickly made the dough based on the recipe and allowed it to rest. By this time the stock had come to a boil. Switched the fire off and went off to buy the rest of the stuff that I needed. I needed a pasta machine, chicken (to replace the pork in the recipe), some vege (I had spinach in mind but they were not available), ikan bilis and of course, very important... CILI PADI.

When I got home I started with the minced chicken. Diced two chicken breasts, followed by a quick chop to mince it. Added some corn flour to it, pepper, soy sauce and sesame oil. Mixed it up and allowed it to rest a bit.  Chopped some garlic and tossed it into a pan with oil... add the chicken... I didn't have dark soy so I used sweet soy (kicap manis)... some oyster sauce, some fish sauce, lots of pepper... toss a bit... add water and allow it to reduce to my desired consistency. Voila! Done... I didn't add the shiitake mushrooms as my wife doesn't like it.

Then I fried the ikan bilis till crispy and set it aside and proceeded to prepare the noodles using my new pasta machine...

This is the dough. It should be sufficient for three to four portions... but it would only be sufficient for two if was my kind of portion. Hahaha...

This is the pasta maker... RM68.50...

This shot is an after thought... took it after I finished gobbling my noodles down. That's why you can see that it's contracted slightly.

The end product.. there was something missing... something crucial to making a good pan mee... the sambal belacan... next time... next time...