It’s my lucky 13th blog anniversary! sixthseal.com started 13 years ago on 19th April 2002. It has gone though a lot since then. I’ve actually spent more than 1/3 of my entire life blogging and the number is only going to rise as I get older.
I’ve done one blog anniversary post wrapping up the best of the previous year each and every year except 2007. I was in drug rehab at the time and Internet privileges are something that only exists for rich celebrity rehabs in the US, not real ones in a third world country. I was locked up in a cell in shackles and handcuffs for the first 3 months!
I couldn’t even type if there was a device (and there was none, but plenty of manual labor). You wouldn’t think someone would be able to pluck grass while in restraints and stripped of everything except a sarong (wraparound cloth – it’s meant as punishment) but I can tell you it’s possible, and I’ve done it in the sweltering afternoon heat.
[Title translates to “Evil Website – Computer Graduate Shows How (to be an) Expert Drug User” – this is an article about me with all the photos taken from sixthseal.com by Harian Metro Ahad]
I was actually quite notorious back in the early days of sixthseal.com and got into more than a little trouble with the law for it (trust me, that was the lightest sentence I got off with since I was caught with a lot more stuff than just cannabis).
Lots of things have changed since then – I nearly lost ALL my blog archives prior to 2007 (coz I couldn’t renew my hosting from rehab) if not for the efforts of a kind reader called David from Australia who backed up my blog in HTML. I managed to recover my archives thanks to him but lost *all my comments* since the HTML files were of the posts only. I’m still glad I have them though, even though all the comments are missing prior to 2007.
I came out in 2008 and never looked back.
In the past year, I have also started up tumblingminis.com – a site I manage with my better half to share our passion for LEGOs. That’s why the feature image I put for this post is done with 13 LEGO minifigures, it symbolizes my 13 years running sixthseal.com. The two LEGOs in front represent me and my better half. I guess that makes the cameraman YOU, dear reader. 🙂
That done, let’s do the the best of the previous year’s posts, in chronological order:
Our 2 Michelin star lunch at Le Relais LOUIS XIII
25 April 2014
I travel to Germany and France with my better half for our annual overseas trip. It just happens to be our birthdays at the time and I wanted to surprise my dear with a fine dining experience at a classic French Michelin star restaurant – Le Relais LOUIS XIII in the heart of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
A meal by 28 Michelin star “Chef of the Century” Joel Robuchon at our Paris apartment!
13 May 2014
We stayed at a lovely Parisian apartment overlooking a museum and cooked with fine French ingredients while we were there. It was a lot of fun! We also sampled Apfelwein (apple wine) in Frankfurt. It was a great vacation.
Molecular Gastronomy Experiments: Silkie Black Chicken “Soup” Jelly
29 May 2014
This is one of my experiments with molecular gastronomy. I wanted to create a jelly with chicken soup – specifically black chicken soup – and intended for the jelly to be crystal clear so you can see the black Silkie chicken and red goji berries inside. It didn’t turn out as well as I imagine it would but it was a good first attempt.
My new place: Back breaking house-moving, wooden floors, dumpling festival
2 June 2014
I move into my new (and current) apartment.
Dinner at Little Beach Boat House, Port Stephens
6th June 2014
I flew to Australia just a few days after that and visited Port Stephens and other areas in New South Wales. This was the first dinner I had there and I posted while I was still in Sydney. Port Stephens has really fresh seafood too! The seafood platter @ Vues on the Bay, Port Stephens and the artisan beer batter fish and chips at CREST Café, Birubi Beach were spectacular.
Sandboarding in Port Stephens, Australia
13 June 2014
This is one of the best things I’ve ever done. We took an ATV over sand dunes in what looks like a desert (but it’s actually just beach sand claiming landmass) and I sandboarded down a sand dune. You use a skateboard-like device and basically hold on while gravity does the rest.
63 degree egg, PB&J with Nutella and bacon @ Devon Cafe, Surry Hills
27 June 2013
The best breakfast I had ever had, no question about it! This awesome little cafe in Surry Hills serves up a wonderful dish called Breakfast with the Sakuma’s which contains a full sized grilled salmon!
Zumbarons @ Adriano Zumbo Patisserie
15 July 2014
Adriano Zumbo makes the best macarons in this part of the world and I went to his signature outlet in Sydney to grab some to bring back. I wanted my better half to try them and see how they compare to Pierre Hermé (below) and the Ladurée macarons at Champs-Élysées, Paris. Macarons don’t travel well but it still tastes awesome when I got them back!
Pierre Hermé “Les Incontournables de Paris” macarons from France
18 July 2014
With flavors like Olive Oil Fruite Vert, Rose Petals and Milk Chocolate & Passion Fruit, it’s no wonder this is the best macarons we had in Paris.
Dinner by Michelin Star Le Gavroche’s Chef Alexy Fuchs Malaysian visit
18 August 2014
I brought my better half out to a RM 711.10 dinner for two when a Michelin 1 star chef came to KL to cook a limited dinner series for a couple of days. It was the best dinner we had in Malaysia, the chef hails from France so it was a good throwback to our time in Paris earlier in the year.
How to make a tea bag rocket
21 August 2014
I wanted to do something fun for the kids and they loved it!
Adriano Zumbo limited edition Tim Tams
4 September 2014
Adriano Zumbo partnered up with Arnott’s to release a series of three limited edition Tim Tams – Salted Caramel, Choc Brownie and Raspberry White Choc and I lugged heaps of them back to KL for my better half. I was in Australia at the time and he came out with the new Adriano Zumbo Red Velvet Tim Tams after I left so I got them mailed all the way from Australia for RM 144. It makes for good reading, how I micromanaged the delivery. Haha.
Angry Birds Board Game Review: Playing real life Angry Birds with the kids over the weekend!
6 October 2014
I bought an Angry Birds “board game” to play with the kids – it was crazy fun, this year saw me spending more quality time with the kids and bonding with them more.
My experience with dengue fever
17 November 2014
I come down with dengue fever. It wasn’t fun – this is my report on the experience from the moment I fell ill to the recovery phases. It’s not that bad either, but it’s certainly not a walk in the park.
Cooking a 3-Course Meal with S&P Santan!
20 November 2014
This is a cooking class/course that I took. It was actually a lot of fun! I took a lot of photos and learned quite a lot from my team-mate.
Greetings from Hat Yai!
24 November 2014
I make it a point to go for one overseas trip and one closer trip each year with my dear and this year the closer trip was to Hat Yai in Thailand. My better half and I spent most of the time shopping and eating local delicacies like pork leg rice and Thai boat noodle soup.
Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodles served inside a coconut for RM 33
2 December 2014
My better half came down to Sibu again to spend our anniversary together and I drove her down to Sarikei with my dad in tow to eat the famous Tom Yam Big Prawn Noodle served inside a whole coconut and walk around town.
8 fun things we did for our Christmas Eve celebrations!
24 December 2014
We have made it a family tradition to celebrate Christmas! I roast our own turkey every year (got a 6.5 kg beast this year) and get all the festive accoutrements like Christmas crackers and eggnog so the kids feel like it’s a special day.
Our Pandoro Party!
30 December 2014
We had panettone the previous year and this year, we had pandoro! It’s a different Christmas cake from the Verona region of Italy and the kids loved it coz it doesn’t have the fruits in panettone but contains heaps of sugar (to look like an ice capped mountain).
Our annual poon choy dinner with whole baby abalone @ Hakka Siu Poon Choy
8 February 2015
Yup, it’s our poon choy tradition going on for the second year! I got our awesome big bowl feast from a smaller shop this time so more care was taken into making it – it was so much more delicious than the previous year’s. My better half’s parents also came over and I got some craft beer for her dad and myself to go with the feast.
2015 Chinese New Year Fireworks Roundup in Kuala Lumpur
16 February 2015
This is the first year I’ve done two fireworks roundups – one in Kuala Lumpur and one in my hometown of Sibu. It’s quite fun to buy fireworks in KL and let it off for the kids to see.
The 2015 Chinese New Year Fireworks Roundup!
6 March 2015
This is the bigger and better fireworks roundup, the one from Sibu. I purchase the largest fireworks cake I have to date – a 27 kg 333-shot monster that takes 2 people to carry.
Greetings from Legoland Malaysia!
22 March 2015
We bring the kids to Legoland! The hotels and entrance made it even more expensive than an overseas trip but the kids loved it and that’s all that matters. I enjoyed it too, we managed to catch LEGO Friends Live! – a musical with real people!
My late mom’s first Ching Ming (Tomb Sweeping Day)
31 March 2015
We all flew back for my mom’s first Ching Ming and took care of her tomb, sung some hymns and said a prayer for her. It was good to have the whole family together, I’ve always thought it was more for the living than the dead.
My other social media sites:
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/sixthseal/
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/sixthseal
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/sixthsealdotcom
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/sixthseal
http://www.facebook.com/SixthSealcom
Here’s the list of my previous of blog anniversary posts:
2003: sixthseal.com 1st Birthday
2004: sixthseal.com 2nd Birthday!
2005: sixthseal.com 3rd Birthday!
2006: sixthseal.com 4th Birthday!
2007: I was in rehab. There are (officially) no posts in 2007.
2008: I just got out of rehab. There is no 2007 recap to be done coz there are no posts in that year.
2009: Seven years of sixthseal.com
2010: I was in New Zealand at the time while my mom underwent an operation for lung cancer. I didn’t do one coz I was too caught up with stuff. Time for another retrograde!
2011: Happy 9th bloganivarsary sixthseal.com!
2012: Happy Blogday – 10 years of sixthseal.com!
2013: Happy Blogniversary – 11 years of sixthseal.com!
2014: sixthseal.com turns 12!
It’s been 13 years since I started this blog and I’m going to be doing a few changes around here. The first thing is to commit to a 24 hour schedule as I originally intended – *one post per day* and the second is to do a complete makeover. The categories are hard to find and the archives even messier and I want the experience to be smooth for everyone who comes here.
Here’s a big THANK YOU to everyone who has passed by, commented or followed me since 13 years ago. I couldn’t have done it without you – thanks for reading everyone! 🙂
Ahhhhh!!! Tim Tams! The two latest flavours that I got in the Adriano Zumbo range were not very nice – the coconut cream and the choc raspberry. My favourite would be the red velvet and the white chocolate raspberry.
Congrats. Reading your post as faithfully as my morning newspaper ^^. Students shud cometh in to learn of ur excellent writings (and dreams). take care buddy.
A fun 13th year! I love that cute Lego miniature.
congrats! i’m one of your silent reader, and your blog is definitely one of my favourites! keep it up 😀
Aaaaww.. Happy 13th Anniversary sixthseal.com .. and many many more to come 🙂
Ahh….you’ve finally caught up to your 13th anniversary blog post…congratulations! You’ve been at it for a very long time….I admire your commitment, not sure if I’ll ever be as committed as you. Look forward to many many more years to come…keep it up!
Didn’t know about the drug cases. Only came across your blog when searching for Banana Leaf rice. Found the case about Lonely planet and the Banana Leaf rice restaurant .
Congratulation on continuing to blog through everything.
Happy blog anniversary and may there be many more
Woahhh that was a long recap haha!!
Happy birthday, sixthseal.com!
Keep up the good work 😀
Congrats! I started out in 2003 too!
Congratulations! If sixthseal.com is a kid, he/she’d be in Form 1 now! Sorry, that’s how I like to imagine long periods of time. Hahaha.
I can’t remember when I started reading sixthseal. Probably circa 2004. Your blog was my gateway to a world I was very curious about (I was seriously considering a career in pharmaceuticals back then). It has been a good 13 years of blogging. Cheers mate!
Read most of your posts that you mentioned.. I remember the soup jelly, Tim Tams, cooking show thingy, the colourful macaroons, most of them.. But didn’t know you have a Lego website with Yee Ling though..
13 years and still going strong if not stronger. Congratulations HB 🙂
13 years! Congrats HB!