The Liebster Award

It’s been only a short while since I have been blogging regularly so it’s such an honour to be nominated by Morag of Saudi Arabia & Other Stories for the Liebster Award. Thank you so much! I ventured into her blog not long ago as I was intrigued by the name of the blog, and have since then always enjoyed reading her posts, sometimes witty and fun, sometimes heartfelt, but always enjoyable. Please check her blog out when you can.

The Liebster Award is a blogging relay, where bloggers — particularly new ones — recommend others for the award. This way, we can better connect, communicate and get to know more about each other. It’s always a good thing to cultivate a more connected community. Hands across the world, as they say.

So here’s what you need to do for the Liebster Award:

The rules…
1. Acknowledge the blogger that nominated you and display the award
2. Answer 10 question that blogger gives you
3. Give 10 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate 10 blogs with under 200 followers
5. Notify the bloggers that you have nominated them
6. Give them 10 questions to answer

Here are the answers to the 10 questions Morag gave me:

1. When did you start blogging and why?
After 25 years in writing food and travel for magazines, I started to blog so I could write anything I want, without bothering with editorial line ups, pitching, or whether the article suits the magazine’s positioning. Just go with flow and write what I like. And it’s been fun!

2. What is your favourite thing to blog about?
Musings about food & travel. Just haven’t got to it yet.

3. What inspires you?
Ordinary people with great ideals, courage or resilience.

4. What is your favourite food?
Cookies and pastries of all sorts, from any cuisine. But if I had to choose just one thing, it would have to be ‘tau sar piah’, a flaky Chinese pastry filled with sweet-salty powdered mung bean filling.

5. What is your dream (or favourite) destination and why would you like to go there?
Favourite destination – Fort Galle in Sri Lanka. It’s a gracious slice of the old world in a peaceful, charming setting. Good food too.

6. Coffee or tea? (or something else?)
Coffee.

7. Does your blog have a regular feature?
Yes! It’s The Saturday Kitchen where I post a recipe or something about cooking or ingredient each week …on Saturday of course. Do follow! The recipes are all easy, I guarantee.

8. Who would you like to travel with – this can be someone from the past or present, real or fictional
Toad, from ‘Wind in the Willows’.

9. If you had a past life, which era would you like to live in and why?
Hmm – I must say I won’t like to have lived in the past, given how brutal life could be then. But if I had a past life, I think being one of the great ancient Chinese poets won’t be too bad. They earned a living waxing lyrical about the moon and temple bells, and spent lots of time drinking wine (and getting drunk) with fellow poets, and remain famous to this day thousands of years later! Mental note to self — just don’t get in trouble with the emperor and court eunuchs (gossipy lot).

10. What is your all-time favourite book?
Can I choose two? ‘Pride & Prejudice’ by Jane Austen, and ‘Wind in the Willows’ by what’s-his-name. Love the language and the evocative lifestyles.

10 random facts about myself:
1. I love rainy days.
2. I’m a morning person.
3. I have a chronically messy desk, but there’s method in the madness.
4. I have bird-phobia. Anything with beaks and feathers are strict no-no’s in my house.
5. Would love to take a slow boat down the Mekong one day.
6. Writing is my hobby and livelihood, so every day is fun. 🙂
7. Set home economics (ie. cookery) classroom on fire by accident when I was 15 in secondary school. Luckily no one was injured though the gas tank went up in flames.
8. I think the ’80s had the best music. But perhaps that’s just my vintage.
9. Don’t like fruits unless used for cooking or making cocktails.
10. Love a good lychee martini.

Finally, my nominations…
I would like to nominate the following bloggers for a Liebster Award:
1. Brilliant Viewpoint
2. spiritualjourney17
3. Dutch goes the photo
4. The Food Funda
5. Angel Kitsch
6. Down Many Roads…
7. YayYay’s Kitchen
8. Lazy Mum Cooking
9. Dinata Misovec
10. Thoughts of a Socially Anxious Extrovert

My 10 questions for you:

1. Why do you blog?
2. Where do you get your writing ideas/inspiration?
3. Does your blog have a regular feature? If so, what is it? If not, what would you do as a regular feature?
4. Morning person or night owl?
5. What do you do to relax?
6. Favourite travel memory?
7. What’s your pet hate?
8. Most memorable meal or food-related experience?
9. If you could travel back in time, what point in history or event would you go to and why?
10. If you were a ghost, where would you haunt, what would you do and why?

Finally, don’t forget write 10 random facts about yourself.

Hope you’ll have fun with my questions, and pass on the love to your nominated 10!