Glitteratti

Taiwan Trip : Beitou Hot Spring

2010-05-12T20:35:00.001+08:00

Taiwan is famous for hot springs. It is now part of Taiwanese culture to relax and recharge their mind and body, the natural way, in the hot springs. The warm waters of these springs, heated and charged by the earth's own energy, are believed to soothe, revitalize and reinvigorate the body.

The hot spring nearest to Taipei is Beitou. On the third day of our Taipei trip, we took a quick tour to Beitou. It is accessible on the MRT, via the Red Line towards Danshui direction. From Beitou Station, a one-station branch line runs to Xin Beitou Station (新北投站).

The special one-station train arrived at the platform.

Once come out of Xin Beitou Station, you will come to this big junction. Cross the road and head straight up the hill towards the apartment direction. On the right, it is the start of Qinshui Park.

The Beitou Library, a unique building.

Beitou Hot Spring Museum (北投温泉博物馆), housed in a Euro style building, was once a public bath.

Along the hills, there are many hotels, traditional bathhouses, luxury spa. The Thermal Valley (地狱谷) , also known as Hell Valley (地狱谷), is located near the end of Zhongshang Road on the left hand side next to the Park.

This is the most famous spot, a natural sulphur hot spring where water temperature can reach 100 deg C.

No doubt a green and lush environment. If you can bear the foul odour of sulphur and the constant rising of steam, it is indeed a good place to relax and unwind.

Mr. J & Mr. Qute

2010-05-09T16:49:00.002+08:00

My previous post on the quirky toilet restaurant has disturbed a lot of my friends. So, I decided to cheer them up with another food review, but this time at a decent restaurant. But then, you can skip this post if you are not a fan of Jay Chou.

Mr. J is a French-Italian restaurant owned by Taiwan artist Jay Chou. Mr. Qute which is located next door is his latest venture into the dessert/pastry speciality.

Whilst in Taipei, we decided to dine there after visit to Taipei 101. We went to the Guangfu South Road branch. I heard that the university branch has more to offer in terms of ambience and interior, bearing the theme of Jay’s romantic movie, “Secret”.

Address : No 43, Lane 308, Guangfu S. Road, Da-an District, Taipei. It is not easy to find, hidden at some unnoticeable side alley. This is where Jay filmed his “Wo Bu Pei” MV.

Packed with Hong Kong tourist.

A Betty Boop’s umbrella stand. The reception is full of souvenirs and fringe products, posters, stickers, figurines, etc., capitalizing on the owner’s fame.

Decorated with Jay’s portraits and medieval oil paintings

Cocktails named after Jay’s songs.

On the menu, there are choices of affordable set meal, including soup, salad, main course and a yoghurt dessert. This is the pumpkin soup.

Spaghetti Alfredo something something. I remember my order of Fettuccine Alla Carbonara, but can’t find the photo.

Chicken Risotto

The pastry chef’s arty masterpiece

Mr. Qute’s famous for these wonderful fruit tarts.

My babes are as sweet as those pastries.

Food wise, six out of ten. But the desserts fared better. Most people dine here for novelty sake or are avid fans of Jay. Given the chance, we wouldn’t mind going to the university branch. Next trip, ok?

Edible Excretions?

2010-04-30T11:00:00.004+08:00

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These days, running a F&B business is no easy job. Even Ferran Adria, chef of the world No. 1 restaurant elBulli, decided to close it down due to fatigue and the need of time to re-structure the business. For those who are thinking of venturing into the world of gastronomy, "creative dining" is the keyword.

One must get creative to attract business. Have you tried dining behind iron bars (jailroom), being served by harajuku lolita girls, or eating out of surgical equipment? Novelty is one thing, but certain concept is over the top for some faint hearted.

There is this Taiwanese popular restaurant chain which takes the restroom out into the dining area. The name of the restaurant is called Modern Toilet. Sounds gross? Well, the locals seem to embrace with enthusiasm with twelve outlets throughout Taiwan and it is expanding into China, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia. As it was raved about so much, we decided to "open our eyes" when we were in Taipei. We went to the Ximending outlet which is situated atop some fashion/apparel shops. Just take a look at the pix below, wouldn't you mistaken it as a real public toilet?

Modern Toilet Restaurant, Ximending, Taipei

Generally, the decor is cute rather than disgusting. Walls are cladded either in bright colours panels or mosaic tiles. Shower faucets are hanged along the walls. One gets to sit around glass table with either sinks or a bathtub underneath as the base. Toilet paper and marker pen are available on the table for patrons to leave notes/messages to be left inside the sink/bathtub. Smashing, even the lights are poo-shaped light fittings.

Patrons will have to plonk their asses on these stylish acrylic toilets, with services disconnected of course, if not, it will be the Chinese saying, "What goes in must come out." The toilet seat covers are designed with images of flowers, leaves, seashells or Renaissance paintings.

It took me quite a while to browse through the somewhat comprehensive menu, while my kids were busy snapping away. Fusion food are served, ranging from Japanese curries, pasta, hot pot, fried chicken, noodles and shaved ice desserts. The names and descriptions of the dishes are disgusting and will definitely freak you out if you are obsessive-compulsive about cleanliness. Ha, I did capture the dessert menu. Diarrhea with dried droppings means chocolate flavour, bloody poo is strawberry whereas green dysentery is Kiwi.

Patrons are given a printed menu to tick their orders. For drinks, they are either served in an ordinary mug, a urinal, a plastic portable urinal or plastic commercial detergent (Kao bleach, for example) container. Pick your choice.

The plastic urinal with lid is given to patrons as a souvenir.

This is my sour plum juice. The 2 sour plums do resemble goats' dropping swimming in the yellowish liquid ... eeewww

Spaghetti with meatballs served in a mini wash hand basin.

The Japanese hotpot served atop a mini toilet bowl. The serving dishes/plates all resemble some aspect of the bathroom, albeit them being not actually to scale.

The southern fried chicken with chips and corn fritters served in a mini bathtub.

Two happy faces, having a jolly time, eating out of toilet bowls.

A mega portion of rainbow colour shaved ice, laced with ice-cream, nato de coco, pineapple cubes, marshmallows etc. served in a mini squat toilet.

The dual coloured faeces-shaped soft swirled ice-cream.

Reasonably priced food. Among the three of us, we only ordered 2 sets and ended up so bloated! All these food for RM70!

Okay, I am mean and disgusting. I show you the real toilet. But, hang on. This is NOT a toilet. This is indeed a wash hand basin in the ladies. Note the tap. Amazing, isn't it?

Overall, it is a unique dining experience although the food is mediocre, nothing to shout about. The toilet humour does appeal to the youngsters and the restaurant was packed with students and office workers. The Modern Toilet chain has been "flush" with success ever since. For your info, a toilet-themed cafe was opened recently in Sungai Wang, if I am not mistaken, it is called T-Bowl.

Let me quote what the owner said,

"It is supposed to shock and confuse the senses."

In The Eye Of The Beholder

2010-04-09T13:15:00.001+08:00

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The latest TVB drama series "In The Eye of the Beholder" has come to a happy albeit ridiculous ending. Well, it is supposed to be a comedy, so take it with a pinch of salt.

- Credits -

For those who understand the Chinese language would definitely know the story about the acclaimed scholar Tong Bak Fu and his beloved Chau Heung. This drama, however, contains some plot modifications and twists. It changed the original story of the three smiles marriage destiny between the flirtatious talented scholar and Chau Heung.

Chau Heung, as we have known, was a gentle and soft-spoken beauty. Tong Bak Fu was mesmerized by her beauty and fell in love with her at the first sight. This version of Chau Heung (starred Myolie Wu) is no longer the traditional type! She had transformed into a highly-skilled martial arts fighter.

Now, under the enlightenment of the angry Chau Heung, it made Tong Bak Fu (starred Moses Chan) realize the reason behind doing a part for the country.

The level of humour in this drama is definitely the witty Tong Bak Fu, accompanied by his ardent disciple Wat Kei (starred Johnson Lee) went about in solving problems. Moses and Johnson, what a comedic pair, they totally cracked me up throughout the drama. Wish to see more of them in the future.

- credits -

Purple With Passion

2010-04-07T12:03:00.001+08:00

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Purple is an intriguing colour.

It is derived from the mixing of a strong warm (red) and strong cool colour (blue).

It is royality.

It signifies nobility.

It is associated with spirituality.

It can boost one's imagination and creativity.

It is a colour reminiscent of puberty.

Purple is romantic, purple is PASSION.

Purple is my favourite colour coz I love lavender, orchid, amethyst, violet, lilac, wine ... ...

Putting aside the normal mediocre flavours/fillings, I decided to give my cheesecake a special touch, umm... something PURPLE. Yes! RIBENA, my son's comfort cordial drink. But, I was not going to do a Ribena jelly layer over the cheesecake. What I had in mind was just putting a dash of purple in the creamy white cheesecake.

See what I have come up with. A Ribena Marble Cheesecake.

It was fun doing the swirl to create the marbled effect. Nothing technical, just run the tip of a knife randomly in the dual tone cream cheese mixture.

Looking at the soft purple swirl. Can you now feel the passion running through your veins?

Bring Back the Smiles, Please

2010-04-01T12:06:00.001+08:00

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Turning the clock back to same time last year, we were having such a wonderful, relaxing time in the Land of Smiles, Thailand - Bangkok.

A while ago, was thinking of returning for another shopping spree. But since beginning of March, the Red Shirted anti-government protesters had weaved through the city key routes causing traffic paralysed, splattered blood at the government buildings, clashed with the government supporters, all in an effort to topple the present government. Endless talks were held, but until now failed to produce a fruitful agreement. Thailand has endured this widespread political unrest for years now, causing the capital coming to a virtual standstill, resulting in a huge decline in tourism relating revenues and at the same time taking away the smiles from the Thais' faces, etc. when can this be ended?

I have promised my kids to try and visit Bangkok as much as we possibly can, er, probably every other year. You must be thinking “Bangkok again? Are you keeping someone there?” Ha, how I wish I am.

So, Why I love Bangkok so dearly?

It is rather difficult to single it out.

May be it is ...The holistic shrines, the religious Thais.

The taxis in rainbow colours.

The Grand Palace

The shopping heaven - Platinum Fashion Mall in Pratunam

The roller coaster ride in a 'tut-tut'

The mystical Wat Arun.

The tallest building in Bangkok - The Baiyoke Tower

Bustling Siam Square area, MBK, Siam Paragon, etc

Rejuvenating foot reflexology and body massage

The sweet, succulent mango sticky rice

The cholesterol-laden pork trotter rice.

The Black Canyon Coffee.

The night markets...

Just hope that everything will be back to normal in Bangkok by end of the year.

Hailstorm @ Mont' Kiara

2010-03-29T10:33:00.004+08:00

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A hailstorm hit Mont' Kiara last Thursday 25/3/2010. It started around 5.30pm with an innocent, typical downpour. I went round checking all the windows and sliding doors. Within 10 minutes, the wind gave howling sound. I looked out the balcony door, the condo towers nearby were not invisible anymore. The wind was like tornado. It was scary shit!

Then my son shouted out to me from his room, "Mommy, it is raining ice-cubes!" Urgh? Then, I heard loud knocks against the windows coupled with lightning and thunder. True enough, falling pellets were flying in all directions and some hitting the glass panes. There were even louder knocks of these pellets hitting the air conditioners' condensing units at the backyard. What a massive storm, it was really terrifying. I told my son to stay put in his room. However, my curiosity has caused me to sneak out into the backyard and I managed to snap pics of the hailstones.

The pellets are the size of a 20 sen coins, but melted quickly once hit the warmer surface.

This is what our weatherman said in the news the following day, "Hailstorms occasionally happen in Malaysia, but usually the pellets are very small and fall in a localised area. Some clouds can build-up until they are very high in the atmosphere. At certain altitudes, the cold will cause the water droplets to freeze and form ice. When it rains, the pellets fall down too fast to melt, causing hailstones.”

Unlock the Secrets of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-26T13:18:00.002+08:00

Have you seen the new Alice movie? Nope, I haven't and I don't intend to, eventhough I adore Johnny Depp. I think it is kind of boring cos this Lewis Carroll's classic tale was not quite my favourite as a child. Though I would love to go to Wonderland like Alice, wandering from one place to another, from one character to another.

Came across this party photoshoot by Sorted Affair, inspired by Alice In Wonderland and would like to share it here.

And back on our shores, shops/organizations are doing promotions inspired by Alice and Midvalley Megamall has set up a larger-than-life size wonderland in the Centre Court. They did quite a good job recreating the wonderland. I like the pair of giant wrought iron gates.

Giant mushrooms in all sizes, colours and patterns.

Mega talking roses

Kids were definitely captivated by the opulent setting. Here is the Mad Hatter's party table, overflew with tea, cakes and sandwiches.

Umm... Let's sit down for a cuppa of tea before going down into the rabbit hole for a quirky adventure.

Heartbreaking ...

2010-01-19T14:04:00.005+08:00

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Sunday night. Caught the late headlines : A tragic sight. School dragon boat capsized off shore of Penang. A teacher and a youth drowned. Four other youths aged 16 to 17 still missing.

Couldn't sleep. Praying for the victims' and the missing youths' families.
Swallowed some cough mixture that eventually put me to sleep.

I was deeply saddened to awake to the news on my facebook feed that all of the missing four boys didn't make it.

For a mother like me who has kid the same age as the five youths who perished in the tragedy, it is indeed very, very hard to endure.

Flipping thro' the papers, seeing the trauma of the victims' parents (I dare not watch any of those youtube clips uploaded by journalists), I felt so cold and helpless.

Obviously, a lot of things have gone wrong that had led to this. So many questions, so many doubts. An inquiry must be conducted and relevant authorities must provide explanation. But for now, what we can do is to offer support to the families.

My heart goes out to the families and give them strength to move on.

For the six beautiful souls that have gone to heaven, RIP.

Taipei - Preview

2010-01-15T11:12:00.005+08:00

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Gosh! Haven't logged in to my own blog for weeks! Finally get to update and share my recent trip to Taipei, Taiwan.

Not a good time to visit Taiwan at this time of the year. It is winter and it rained most of the days we were there. Even if it did not rain, it was cloudy and hence photos turned out dull and blur. The 'out-of-focus' was due to having to struggle holding a camera on one hand and controlling a swaying umbrella on the other. I gave up in the end and left most photograph-taking to my daughter and son. Well, I was the one holding the umbrella!

Just a sneak preview, coz have yet to upload all the pics.

This was taken from the cabin/capsule of the Ferris Wheel in Miramar Entertainment Park. Note the raindrops, it was drizzling the moment we touched down Taipei. Miserable weather, but it was a nice trip overall.

Not At All Inspired

2009-11-05T11:17:00.002+08:00

Yes, I know, I haven't been updating my blog as often as I used to. Not that I was superly busy or bogged down with work, I was just ... er ... darn lazy. Or should I re-phrase it to 'I was not at all inspired lately or I experienced brain freeze.'

Glance around my living room, it certainly needs some sorting out to be carried out. I need a new settee, a glass cabinet to house my son's trophies and medals, some new curtains, perhaps. I just couldn't drag my feet to go to the furniture mall.

The year end school holiday will be starting next week, I have not booked nor planned for a vacation, be it locally or overseas. Even though I have booked the air tickets to Taipei for this coming January, I have yet to plan for the trip, i.e. excursions and hotel accommodation etc. Not to mention to register my kids for holiday programmes.

Both my daughter's and my notebook have passed its useful life. I have yet to carry out any research on the various choices available in the market. Bearing in mind that to benefit from the tax exemption, I have to basically 'move fast'.

My mobile phones have also passed its age. I am eyeing the iPhone and the Blackberry. Wonder when I will physically go to purchase them, ..umm, before they eventually phased out, I guess.

I have been cooking and baking quite a lot, but reluctant to take out my DSLR to capture what I have cooked/baked. Even I have managed to take some pics using my point-and-shoot camera, I was lazy to transfer them to my notebook. Excuse being, my notebook is seriously exhausted, might as well wait until I have got my new notebook. Another Catch 22 situation!

It has been months I haven't been to the malls to do retail therapy. Gosh, This cannot be me!!!

Almost everyday, I have something to do or somewhere to go. I spent a lot of time sending/fetching the kids to and from school/activities. All these errands do suck up my energy and time.

All in all, I am just ... NOT INSPIRED. No mood to do anything.

This is what we had for dinner last night. Simple chicken curry with rice. Ha, I did throw in some nachos to fill the plate.

You see what I mean? Absolutely pathetic!

Mastering The Art of Being

2009-11-03T20:31:00.002+08:00

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Feeling stress lately.

I feel as time goes by, I become more vulnerable to the effects of emotional and physical stress.

So as not to let the stress build up, I am taking a short break, in between work and other commitments.

Am practising deep breathing method. A long, slow breath energizes the body and mind, improves focus, and help eliminate toxins.

It cools my nasal passages, clear my mind, leaving me feeling positively ... Zen.

A Lazy Afternoon By The Lake

2009-10-20T13:50:00.002+08:00

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I sit by the lake on this wondrous day,

sipping the sweet iced red tea,

watching the reflection of the lush green bushes.

The wind softly whispers through the trees,
I feel a peaceful feeling overtaking me.

This reminds me of a poem written by an Irishman, William Butler Yates, entitled, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". For those of you who have kids taking PMR would definitely have come across this poem in their English syllabus.

I will arise and go now,
And go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there,
Of clay and wattles made,
Nine bean rows will I have there,
A hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there,
For peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning,
To where the cricket sings.
There midnight's all a glimmer,
And noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now,
For always night and day,
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore,
While I stand on the roadway,
Or on the pavement gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

A lazy afternoon, lunching at Secret of Louisiana, an interesting restaurant at Plaza Kelana Jaya's waterfront. The restaurant claims to serve the best Cajun style seafood and steak in town.

Al Fresco dining

The indoor dining area

The menu

With a lake view

Iced cold red tea

Sonoma Red Wine Chicken (RM23.90), chargrilled chicken boneless leg with tangy red wine sauce. Tasty, tender and juicy.

Hawaiian Pizza (RM23.90)

Something penne with Cajun Chicken

I love the atmosphere. Well, I love any place with the sound of water lapping. The food is quite decent, worth checking out this place. If you coming along LDP towards Damansara direction, it is behind the now defunct Kelana Seafood Centre, full address as below:

Secret of Louisiana

Block D-01-01,

Jalan SS7/13A,Plaza Kelana Jaya

Petaling Jaya 47301

Tel : 03-78755230

My Sausage Buns

2009-10-06T09:00:00.006+08:00

Since two days ago, my car was having much difficulties climbing up ramps, or even surfaces with slight gradient. I wondered why? Only then I realized the major servicing of my car was loooooong overdue. I only phoned in last week to fix a date for this week. To be safe, I thought I better stay put at home and not going into the office, excuse being the ramp leading up to the car park of my office block is darn steep and I doubted my car could make it.

Umm... not bad lazing at home on a Monday morning. Finished watching all the installments of the drama series on Astro-On Demand, I was getting bored and agitated. Suddenly the thought of having homemade buns was roaring in my mind. Checked my kitchen cabinet. Yes! the ingredients needed to bake buns were waving at me. But then, what about fillings of the buns? I had only a couple of sausages left in the freezer and have run out of stocks for pork/chicken floss. Well, I supposed I could do with some sweet filling buns instead of savoury ones by using Nutella and kaya.

Mixing the dough was easy. But when it came to kneading the dough, I wished I could lay my hands on a heavy duty mixer or a bread machine. I gave up after a solid 15 minutes of continuous kneading in a boiling hot kitchen, no joke! Then I covered the dough and left it for proofing. Only that I realized the weather had suddenly turned breezy and cold. What the heck!!!

After an hour of proofing, my bread dough had almost doubled in size despite the temperature. Punched out the gas and let them rest for another 15 minutes. I divided the dough into 10 portions and stuffed in the fillings. I ended up with some sausage rolls, sausage twists, kaya buns and chocolate buns. Another hour of proofing was required before shoving them into the oven.

A mere 15 minutes later, TaDa, here comes my buns.

The sausage twist could do with some rosemary sprinkle or cheese. Was I too generous with the egg wash glazing? Come to the texture, they weren't as soft as those on the shelves of Bread Story or Bread Talk. Considering the fact that I was not in possession of a bread kneading machine and did not add in any bread improver or softener, I was happy with the result.

I find breadmaking quite therapeutic considering the time required for repeated proofing and resting of the dough. I thoroughly enjoyed this session.

Take A Breath

2009-10-02T22:23:00.001+08:00

It is 2nd October 2009.

Time really flies. I am not entirely sure how that happened. It seems like only a minute ago I went to China in May to 'offload' mom at my brother's place. And at the blink of the eye, mom was already back for over a month after a three month stay in Panyu.

Received an email from a friend the other day enquiring after my well being and suddenly realized that I haven't been blogging for over a month.

The truth of the matter is that I’m fine – indeed, we all are – but the inclination to blog, which has been on the wane for some time, seems to have temporary left me. There is so much on my mind now, so many choices to make, so many bills to settle, so many promises to fulfil... Argh!

Life is short and moments like this frustratingly few and far between.

Sometimes the most important thing is to ... STOP!

Step outside.

Take a breath.

Look around.

Do whatever it takes to be fully in the moment.

Then you will probably realize.

It really is a beautiful world out there.

Am I Happy?

2009-09-17T11:01:00.005+08:00

Happiness is believed to be one of the most important criteria for good health. However, how to be happy?

Obviously, we gain happiness when we are satisfied. Sometimes a simple satisfaction is good enough to make a lady smile.

It seems women are easily satisfied. I suppose that is the reason why women generally live longer than men.

Normally she will be happy when:

1) Her loved one says "I love you".

2) Her loved one gives her presents.

3) She goes shopping.

4) Her juniors hug or kiss her.

5) She has savings in the bank.

6) Someone says “You are so young and beautiful”.

7) Someone says ” You have a good husband or boyfriend”.

8) She adds new decorative items into her house.

9) Someone says ” You kid(s) is lovely or intelligent”.

10) She sees flowers.

Needless to say, I, as a woman will be much happier if I get a chance to be put up in six star Presidential Suite, chauffeured driven in luxurious car, wear designer clothes, carry a Hermes Birkin, slip on a Jimmy Choo and live in a bungalow with beautiful garden and big swimming pool.

Of course, I can live without all these luxuries. But, who doesn’t like to be pampered like a princess?

Electrical Power Cables vs. Fettucini

2009-09-09T10:35:00.001+08:00

My work these two weeks involve the reviewing of a counter-claim against an unscrupulous contractor, in relation to the supply and installation of electrical services to a shopping podium and tower blocks. For days, I have been straining my eyes reading sheets after sheets of schematic drawings, wiring diagrams, shop drawings, site photographs, etc.

Now that whenever I close my eyes, I can still see tangles of cables running endlessly in the air, be it Polyvinyl Chloride Insulated Cables, Steel Wire Armoured Cables, Mineral Insulated Cables, Impregnated Paper Insulated Cables or Fire Rated cables. I can see nothing else!! They even came into my dreams, turning ALIVE and started creeping in all directions! When I opened my kitchen cabinet in search of ingredients for dinner, I saw cables and cables! Oops, hang on, those are not cables, but fettucini, spaghetti and angel hair. WTH. I remember reading from somewhere that the most practical technique to overcome a phobia is to relax, calm down and gradually FACE the object/situation.

Well, that's is just what I am going to do. I am going to cook this cable-like thingy for dinner and gobble it all down.

Voila! See what I've churned out - Egg Fettucini and Chicken in Carbonara Sauce

Carbonara, an awesome, traditional Italian sauce that majority of you will not say 'No' to it, right? This is a simple dish to make but tremendously sinful, considering the amount of cream added.

Well, the more sinful it is, the more I love it.

Only If ...

2009-09-07T12:57:00.002+08:00

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有意

【烈火雄心3】電視劇插曲

主唱：鄭嘉穎、胡杏兒
作曲：周永恆
填詞：陳詩慧
編曲：Johnny Yim
監製：鄧智偉

歌詞

男：尚未學會怎麼開口示愛　並沒自信恍惚早知大概
女：等　無論被誰愛　面對你感覺　我也知道你是我心愛

＊男：樹下是我翻開手中日記　落葉密佈草地心想著你
女：等　從來沒離棄　就當我希冀　也許總有暗號要推理

合：我們原來心裡也在意　既無台詞只怪我大意
男：若然是愛我可以
女：盡情地表示
合：沒情話再試一次　就吐盡我　自己心事

合：既然從來主角也熱熾　既然從來心裡也在意
男：若期待與我相處
女：盡情地表示

合：若然是對我關注　如你在意　是否真事

Snowflake

2009-08-31T19:53:00.006+08:00

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Snowflake.

The Taiwanese Dessert Secrets.

Ever been? It's located opposite Asia Cafe in SS15 Subang Jaya.

Ice Monster @ Sunway Pyramid, Mill Wheel Pao Bing @ Metro Prima Kepong, Charmy Snow Ice @ 100 Yen Shops and Snowflake. Which is better? I guess it's what you prefer of the texture and flavour.

This Snowflake dessert house 雪花栈 is owned by a Taiwanese couple, specializes in natural and authentic Taiwanese desserts.

The deco is humbly simple with giant colourful illustrative boards. The self-service counter is right at the end of the shop. There are 3 types of different series to choose from, grass jelly, soya and shaved ice. You can pick your favourite base and then choose your toppings which vary from red beans, grass jelly, peanuts, taro balls, sweet potatoes balls, pearl sago, etc, etc.

Once you have placed your order, you will be given a beeping UFO, which is a special device that will flash and vibrate once the food you ordered is ready for collection. Darn high-tech gadget.

The serving is really huge and is definitely worth the money. All desserts cost less than RM5 except the bestseller which costs RM5.50

Of the three series, I luv the shaved ice topped with taro and sweet potato balls. It is divine...

Even the guys gave the thumbs up.

Boots Botanics - The Power of Plants

2009-08-27T15:38:00.001+08:00

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I have scraped the last bit of my Victoria Secret's Rose Body Cream out of the tub. But then, I am well equipped!! During my last trip to Bangkok, I was overjoyed to find that my fav chemist Boots has dozens of outlets spread across Bangkok and have thus went wild and almost 'sapu' whatever were on the store shelves. Last year, when I was in Hong Kong, I was so disappointed to find that Boots has since moved out of Hong Kong and eventually have to resort to Sasa and Bourjour.

The Boots Botanics products are generally awesome. I just love them to pieces. I hope the Bangkok stores keep stocking them, so I don't have to fly to UK with an extra suitcase once a year just to bring back a luggage load of creams/lotions. (not exaggerating.)

The Nourishing Body Butter contains honey and Grapeseed Oil. It is a rich emollient that moisturizes and softens. This cream works wonders on dry skin and has a pleasant "earthy" aroma to it. The honey helps bind moisture in the skin whereas the Grapeseed Oil is hydrating and rich in linoleic acid, which helps reinforce the skin's barrier to stop skin drying out.

The skin is the biggest organ on our body and using only organic/botanical cosmetics could be just another step towards living greener and healthier. Its important to take into consideration what we put in our bodies and on the outside as well. The powers of plants are evident when you try this line. You can't beat the prices and I can guarantee you will never go back to anything else once you try them.

Angels From Maidenhead, UK

2009-08-16T16:47:00.001+08:00

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Present to you, my two pretty nieces from UK. Since the start of the months long summer holidays, they have been jetsetting around Asia and are now stopping over in KL.

Angel #1 - Michelle

Angel #2 - Tia

They came round our place and all the four Tran's babies went swimming. After much fun at the swimming pool, the kids were hungry. I suggested to go to TGIF, as I thought kids might prefer cajun chicken, chips and soda. Much to my surprise, Michelle was craving for Korean BBQ. So, we went to my all time favourite Korean restaurant - Korea House in SS2 PJ.

For BBQ, I ordered a serving of Joomooluck (marinated beef) and Samgyeopsal (marinated pork). The meat was fatty, tender but absolutely yummy. Not to mention the Banchan, (i.e. the side dishes, in this case there were twelve side dishes) which come free and are refillable.

Yasmine would never skip her favourite Dolsot Bibimbap, mixed rice in hot stone bowl. I also ordered a beef soup which the Korean name skipped my mind.

Dokbokgi?? Never mind, this is fried Korean rice cake with spicy bean sauce. It was sweet, spicy and savoury. To be brutally frank, neither Yasmine nor I like it.

Michelle really enjoyed her BBQ whereas Tia seemed to be a small eater. The two little angels were so attached to Yasmine that when their dad came to pick them up, they didn't want to leave and kept clinging on to Yazzy. It was so touching.

Resuming My Kitchen Duties

2009-08-13T14:00:00.002+08:00

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The past two weeks, I got bogged down in work by the thousand pages of surveying data, joint measurement records, final valuation etc. in relation to the laying of pavement works for a main road. My colleague and I were actually racing against time to examine, compute, compare and analyse all the available data, that means having to sacrify our sleeping hours for the sake of the eventual findings. Hence, I have been neglecting my kids' well being. I had no choice but to resort to unhealthy fast food or instant noodles.

Now that I have finished the task, I can resume my normal duties at home. The following are the dishes I churned out yesterday for dinner.

Spicy Eggplant With Minced Pork

Eggplant is not easy to cook, as it soaks up all the oil. There is actually a way to overcome this. To soften the eggplant, just sprinkle it with some olive oil and sea salt and bake in the oven for say 10 minutes. Leave it to cool before stir frying it with the spicy sauce.

Fried Bittergourd With Eggs

I love bittergourd but my kids don't. I still cook it hoping that they can gradually accept it. Bittergourd is supposed to be effective in lowering blood sugar levels. I usually cook this veg by frying with thin slices of beef fillet, or with a spicy soya bean paste. Since the dozen of eggs is still sitting miserably in my fridge for more than a week now, I thought I better make use of them.

When I chanced upon Suzie Wong's cooking show, I learnt that there is a way to choose a less bitter fruit. (For those who are unfamiliar with Suzie Wong, she is the host for a Hong Kong TVB cooking show called 'So Far 蘇 Good', which is broadcasted on Astro CH311 every Sunday 7.30pm) The trick is to choose one which is pale and has bigger and more uniform bumps.

The Best Antiques Are Old Friends

2009-08-11T16:47:00.003+08:00

Last week, met up with SH, a long lost friend. I mentioned 'long lost' coz we haven't seen each other for ... umm... 29 years??! I also managed to convince Tiara to come despite a short notice and having to drag her up from her beauty sleep.

Prior to the meeting up, I was half expecting a half bald middle aged man with sunken eyes and a waistline that might have metamorphosed beyond recognition. Heck, wasn't I wrong!!! In its place was a well proportioned man with a healthy smirk to match. What a suave gentleman he is now. He has taken care of himself well and didn't look a day older since 29 years ago. He is all browned with a really toned six pack (don't ask me how I know), looks every inch a successful professional. He seems profiled like a handsome, mysterious millionaire with a tint of grey in his hair.

The initial few minutes when we exchanged greetings, it did feel a bit awkward. Once the ice was melt, the spirit of camaraderie rekindled. Thinking back, he was shy and a bit of an introvert, kept much to himself. I sat and marveled at him. He now exudes new confidence and seemed happy that we could still remember him, despite him having spent years hibernating in boring cold Leeds, Yorkshire.

He is still happily UNMARRIED, so this is open season for anybody reading this. I can assure you, he will make a good husband and lover as well. I am asking myself why he has not re-surfaced until 25 years too late.

After our nostalgic reminiscing, it was soon time for au revoir with the promise to meet in the not too distant future.

"Each friend represents a world in us,

a world possibly not born until they arrive,

and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

- Anais Nin

The Magic of Chong Qing Hot Pot

2009-08-09T15:29:00.000+08:00

Hot Pots or Steamboats are associated with winter season. However, dozens of steamboat outlets are mushrooming in perpetual HOT climate Malaysia. I am always puzzled why one wants to eat something 'hot' like that in an already hot weather. It is definitely no fun, let alone the super duper spicy Chong Qing Hot Pot.

I was in Guangzhou recently and I was treated to Chong Qing Hot Pot. This Hot Pot restaurant which is located in the Hua Du area is owned by my nephew. Here is the name of the restaurant in Chinese. Mind you, it hasn't got an English name, but the best direct translation I could think of is this : "The aroma fills the world".

The Hot Pot originated from Chong Qing, China 重庆麻辣火锅. It has few choices of soup base, the 'Ma La' soup base, the traditional chicken broth, the mushy soup base, etc. The 'Ma La' soup base definitely provides a very peppery spicy challenge.

A wide variety of meat, seafood, noodles and vege are available. Nephew MH tried to introduce to us some rare but unique ingredients rather than those overly processed food. The ingredients are all prepared meticulously such that each ingredient would take the shortest amount of time to cook. This means that meat ingredients are served in ultra thin slices.

The sheep intestines

Wafer thin bamboo shoots

Beef tripes?

Luv the fatty bits

To prevent the taste buds from getting too numb, there are wide choices of appertisers/side dishes to choose from. Or perhaps order a jug of cucumber juice to help alleviating the effects caused by the 'Ma La' soup.

Not every person likes to talk during dinner. Having steamboat is likely to keep the quiet people like me feeling fully occupied.

Although I ended up sweating buckets, it was undeniably a good opportunity that gave the feeling of family and togetherness.

Childish Behaviour and Nutty

2009-07-28T16:08:00.003+08:00

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I felt totally disgusted.

Never have I witnessed such childish behaviour from an adult with such disrespect and rudeness to other people. Instead of carrying out his humble little duties, he makes conceited, sardonic, insolent comments towards those who are simply kilometres more superior than him.

He seems to believe he is entitled to get his own way, he therefore feels free to abuse anyone who thwarts his desires. Supposed to be a respectful professional, but he is so immature to believe that having such power gives him the right to treat others the way he likes. Not to mention his bad command of English and the constant usage of obscene words.

On top of that, he is such an attention junky who wants all eyes and ears focused on him. This behaviour is actually rather pathetic, since it usually reflects a deep-seated lack of self-worth and self-confidence, may be as a result of an unhappy childhood or a broken marriage. If the person is a smart aleck because he feels isolated or unloved, he may actually work harder at being a smart aleck if he feels ignored.

I doubted that his ratio of estrogen to progesterone sways too much one way or another. So far, I think the only missing juvenile antic from him would be inserting whiteboard markers up his nostrils. Well, having said that, I wouldn't put my money on him!

So much about my rav. Carried out a thorough excavation into my kitchen cabinet and found half a bottle of peanut butter and half a bottle of Nutella which were both near the used-by-date. No choice, I altered a basic muffin recipe and came up with this variation:

Peanut Butter and Nutella Muffins

Imagine when it is straight out of the oven and it is still warm. Sink your teeth in the lava-like filling... ooooh

Ultimate Bliss!

Fullhouse NZX

2009-07-22T14:13:00.002+08:00

A lazy Sunday afternoon. Feeling rather bored and relunctant to think of what lunch to prepare, I suddenly have this urge to explore the much raved about Fullhouse Cafe at NZX (Niu Ze Xui) 牛车水. I don't mean taking a trip all the way down to Singapore but I am referring to the commercial centre in Ara Damansara by the same name. Heck, are you sure this is the correct pinyin for 牛车水? I certainly have great doubts. With a multi-million ringgit mega development, why hasn't the developer bothered/had the decency to actually find out the correct pinyin. Atrocious!

And so we embarked on our little outing. Prior to this, I heard that the Kelaya Jaya way has been closed. No choice, and went via the old Subang Airport way instead. This place is a wee bit obscure, a real hassle to get there. Plus the fact that there aren't any proper directional signboard leading to the place. Again, this makes one wondering what's the developer doing? I suppose this is the pathetic Malaysian way of marketing. The place was deserted, occupancy rate soooo low, thanks to the wonderful marketing skill and therefore I would not bother to elaborate further. The only thing I can say is that this covered commercial boulevard is a plagiarism of the Singapore Chinatown.

Fullhouse, the lifestyle store and cafe, is the only spot in NZX where you find "customers". I was told that the restaurant was based on the Korean drama "Fullhouse" starred Rain and Song Hye Kyo. The moment we stepped in, we were greeted by Korean welcoming lines and Korean songs.

The skeletal Mini Cooper placed at the entrance of the cafe does make an impact on attracting patrons.

The creative, story telling sort of menu.

Exceptionally cute, with comic strips in chinese.

Josh enjoyed the comic. We took the set lunches and ordered a side dish.

Ice Lemon Tea.

Forest Mushroom Cappuccino soup.

Pan seared Dory fish resting on a bed of mashed potatoes.

The Ham and Mushroom Spaghetti

Petit cakes

This is a 3-storey bungalow-like restaurant, complete with a garden. Each section is decorated to resemble the different spaces like the bedroom, bathroom, courtyard etc. White is the theme, very romantic. This is the view from the garden.

The living and dining area.

Lots of cute decor items scattered everywhere and they all have a price tag on it.

The four poster bed and closet full of clothes. Those ladies who have a penchant for Korean/Japanese inspired cute accessories will definitely fall for this dreamhouse.

The food was mediocre, nothing to shout about. The service was not to be desired. However, the atmosphere was relaxed and convival. I certainly would not mind going back again.

Fullhouse Lifestyle Store & Cafe

C-G-11, Block C,

No. 2 Jalan PJU 1A/41B

Pusat Dagangan NZX

Ara Damansara

47301 Petaling Jaya

Tel : (603) 7885 0836

Catwalk by Dogs - A Dogwalk?

2009-07-16T10:21:00.001+08:00

A Doggy Fashion Show by Pets Icon Grooming Academy, held on 3rd July 2009 at the Pet World Malaysia 2009 at Mid Valley Exhibition Centre. This was my daughter's first attempt in doing an event coverage using her new camera.

We were late, and without a tripod nor powerful zoom lens, the pics were just so so.

This tender soft-spoken boy addressed the opening of the show. Oops! Caught the doggie's backside.

There was certainly some themes behind the show, but I couldn't recall. Umm, something to do with the Sun, the Moon and the stars... Here is the Shih Tsu.

Obviously, this is the Sun. The white Poddle.

The Moon. The Purple Poodle.

The silky Husky.

The handsome hunter.

The 'old man' Schnauzer, spotted with a Mohigan hairdo.

Poor doogie, wearing one globe on his head and another bigger one on his back.

The sophisicated Pomeranian, wearing crystal hair accessories.

The Golden Retriever with his glittering master.

The Cat Woman ... with ??? Can't see the doggie!!!

Aah! There he was! Well wrapped.

Finale.

Doggie boutique. Lots of pretty wraps, average price RM40 per piece.

Little puppies for sale. This one going for RM1000.

What a bunch of lucky fellas! They are so pampered!! All thanks to those dog crazy people.

Right Or Wrong

2009-07-07T08:36:00.001+08:00

I am perplexed, confused, baffled ...

I felt crushed by the burden of having to choose between two alternatives. Life and relationship choices are usually very difficult to make. It is so damn hard and torturing. Furthermore, the following kept churning in my head and thus made things worse:

- People will always give you differing/opposing opinions on which choice you should make.

- Any choice can be "right" or "wrong" depending how you treat them.

- There are always convincing arguments for more than one choice.

- Not all choices have a "right" or "wrong" answer.

- You will never completely know if you made the right choice.

- Someone will always feel you made the wrong choice.

- Some people may hate you or attribute bad motives to you for whatever choice you make.

- What you choose is not as important as how you choose and what you do with your choice.

- You must take responsibility for any choice you make.

- Everyone inevitably makes "wrong" choices, sometimes that's okay.

- What is the price you pay for not making that choice and what are the rewards if you do?

The last question is tricky. I think for most of us, we tend to settle based on habit and comfort zone, and probably also add “societal expectations”. We often make choices based on what we think is expected of us, at least I know that I did that for a very long time.

But, shouldn't we not be defined by societal expectations? We are complex individuals and shouldn't it be obvious that "we know ourselves best"?

I know if we ever make the wrong choices, we run the risk of living with regrets. Oh, what the heck! I am not saying I have no regrets in life, but instead of focusing on what I should and should not have done, I prefer to focus on what I’ve learnt from the experience/mistake and improve thereupon.

Some says the easiest way is to follow our intuition (or guts) to make the choice that is really reflective of our life goals, needs, and desires, as opposed to the expectations of others, knowing at times it may not what seems like the most logical, or culturally-acceptable choice.

Assuming that our choices are just, moral, legal, and all that, I feel the one we need to make is the one that will make us feel LESS like our life is a constant battle for our sanity and more like a pleasant struggle.

Afterall, life is never easy.

And, I am still torn between two choices.

Ain't He Cute?

2009-07-02T09:29:00.001+08:00

They started with Singlish, and we Malaysians, being the "anak of Bolehland" came up with Manglish. I guess my friends in the foreign land were perplexed over what I was babbling about.

Well, according to Wikipedia, Singlish is an English-based creole used in Singapore whereas Manglish, receives more Malay influence, is the version used in Malaysia. The vocabulary of Singlish/Manglish consists of words originating from English, Malay, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi and to a lesser extent various other European languages, laced with elements of American and Australian slang. In short, it is a Singapore-/Malaysia-accented form of English. However, educated Singaporeans/Malaysians are able to code-switch between Singlish/Manglish and standard English.

So much of Singlish/Manglish, but have you come across WINGLISH?

Well, Winglish actually stands for White-boy's Singlish/Manglish. Er?? Watch this!

Ain't he cute? Love him, just want to take him home.

Sanctury In The Garden

2009-06-30T13:36:00.003+08:00

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Step into my garden

Step in and you'll see

A measure of peace

And tranquility

It's the secret of the blossoms

The buzz of the bees

The sweet song of birds

And they sing in the trees

The sweet scent of roses

Their petals so new

As they glister and sparkle

With the fresh morning dew

Run your toes through the grass

Beneath a canopy of trees

Hear the rustle of leaves

As they blow in the breeze

Let the beauty of springtime

Fill your soul with great peace

Take it with you and share it

With each one you meet

(poem by G. O'neal)

With troubled thoughts lately? Come, enter ....

The Garden Lifestyle Store and Cafe at I Utama Shopping Centre

What flower are you?

Spot on!! I am a June baby and my favourite flower happens to be Rose!

The Set Lunch Menu, either Western or local delights

Chicken chop with a name that escapes me. Sorry for the sequence of the food pix, I know they are jumble up, but can't bother to switch them round.

Joshie baby is "eating over mountain"

Beef in Spring Onion and Ginger Rice

Green pea and pumpkin soup

Spaghetti Cabonara

Lazy to upload so many pix, eventually did some collaboration and ended up with these collage.

Verdict : Food not that impressive, overpriced drinks. Just go for the relaxing ambiance.

Coffee Confidential

2009-06-28T21:31:00.000+08:00

Black as devil

Hot as hell

Pure as an angel

Sweet as love

An interesting coffee-related quote in "Coffee Confidential", a 9-episode special by TVB, hosted by Moses Chan, focused on coffee around the world. It is on Astro CH311, 9.00pm every Sunday. I watch it while ironing my kids' school uniform.

However, my favourite coffee-related quote is,

"Coffee, men, chocolate, somethings are better rich."

Don't you agree with me?

Rosy Business

2009-06-21T22:22:00.000+08:00

Didn't do much this weekend. Somehow was feeling very tired. May be was due to the haze. Just stayed home and watched TVB drama "Rosy Business" 巾幗梟雄. Actually I have briefly watched the first 20 episodes prior to my Guangzhou trip. I only missed the last five. The good part was that : in order to promote its Astro-On-Demand Dragon pack, Astro is still broadcasting this whole drama series until 21st June.

This is no doubt the best TVB drama hitherto. I love this drama so much so that I have been and am still watching it all over again.

Starred Shereen Tang 鄧萃雯 as "四奶奶", Wayne Lai 黎耀祥 as "柴九", Elliot Ngok, Ron Ng, Pierre Ngo, Susan Tse, Kiki Sheung, Kara Hui, Nancy Wu.

All photos courtesy of other sites.

The synopsis: Cheung Kiu owns and runs Hing Fung Nin, the biggest rice company in Wuxi. He marries his fourth wife Hong Bo Kei and gives ownership to her after he dies. In her eyes Cheung Bit Man is not suitable heir, and guides second son Cheung Bit Ching to become the family heir. On the other hand, Chai Kau, a poor but wise urchin - through his wit and dedication, slowly works his way up in the company.

The story sounds pretty interesting though not the best but the cast is just amazing. Having all these veteran actors/actressess collaborating, I can't think of a reason why this series wouldn't turn out great. I have always been a supporting fan of Wayne Lai coz I think he can really act. My other favourite actor is the young Pierre Ngo, I hope he will get the best supporting actor this coming TVB award.

The highlights are the many great confrontation scenes, especially when the bad guys’ evil doings are revealed. My personal favourite would still have to be the one in episode 9-10 when Wayne stood up to defend Shereen!

My favourite line from this drama: 人生能有多少个十年? 最重要活得痛快! by 柴九.

Totally agreed.

Oh, How I Miss You!

2009-06-19T14:16:00.001+08:00

Ever since I came back from Guangzhou,
I have been constantly thinking about you,
dreaming about you,
longing for you...

I closed my eyes...
I could visualize your presence,
I could smell your existence.

Just can't stop reminisce about those moments,
feeling your heat, your smell,
your warm and steamy embrace...

Oh, how I miss you, 过桥米线.

Allow me to present to you my new love.

In search for a lighter fare around city of Guangzhou, I stumbled upon this little gem that serves Yunnan cuisine. I was in a mood for a good noodle soup, and hence ordered the "Cross-bridge Rice Vermicelli".

OMG, easily the tastiest noodle soup I have had in a while. The broth was sooooo fantastic and was so out of this world. Absolutely divine!!!

Oops, I still drool whenever i think about it...

Shamian Island - An Oasis in Guangzhou

2009-06-17T11:23:00.001+08:00

Having spent two whole days shopping in the hustle and bustle of commercial Guangzhou, my feet were killing me, I was desperately needing a break. Therefore, I hopped off at Huangsha Station and spent my afternoon at Shamian Island.

Shamian Island 沙面岛 is a sandbank (well, not a true island) in the Liwan District of Guangzhou. In Chinese, it literally means "sandy surface". The island is merely a kilometre long and a third of a kilometre wide. It’s separated from the rest of the mainland by the Pearl River on the southern side (the Bund) and a canal on the other. It is connected to the city by a series of bridges.

One of the bridges that leads to the island

The canal

Shamian Island serves as a transquil reminder of Guangzhou’s colonial history. It became a British and French concession after they won in the Opium Wars during the 19th century, umm... Qing Dynasty that was.

The island is now a gazetted historical area, with quiet pedestrian avenues flanked by trees and lined by historical buildings in various states of upkeep. Traffic is restricted and the main thoroughfare is pedestrianized, which made Shamian a great place to explore on foot. The island houses several hotels, a youth hostel, restaurants and souvenir shops.

Strolling along the boulevards, you will be confronted with an abundance of bronze statues scattering on the pavement, commenmorating Shamian's colonial past as well as its cosmopolitan present.

Some give particular insight into China's changing social world.

Gosh, note the British "Royal Mail". Nostalgic; reminded me of my olden days in London. During those days, the term "internet" has yet to be invented, tele-communications would cost a bomb, so the most economical way to maintain relationship/contact was to send a letter, all thanks to Royal Mail.

Picturesque boulevards comfortable to walk along.

Lush yet tidy parks. You will find locals playing badminton, meditating, reading...

An architectural testament to bygone days

Most of the old buildings have been converted to shops and restaurants with pleasant terraces.

Unfortunately, some empty buildings seem abandoned, with their walls starting to crack and peel and their pillars being eaten by termites.

The mood here is romantic; perhaps because it’s so quiet and green, or because of the very relaxed atmosphere, or maybe all of this. Many couples choose this area as the setting for their pre-wedding photos.

Tourists need coffee as well as air-conditioning. Here is the place. While most of Guangzhou is battling along at breakneck pace, Shamian is merely ambling.

I wandered around looking at lovely buildings, snapping away, admiring the bronze statues, then sat down for a cup of coffee.

Verdict : absolutely enchanting.

Luxurious Living In Panyu, Guangzhou

2009-06-13T21:08:00.009+08:00

The purpose of my Guangzhou trip was to bring mom to visit my brother in Panyu, of which happens to be my mom's birth place. Umm, managed to kill two birds with one stone, not bad eh. Some info: Panyu is presently a district in Guangzhou though previously it enjoyed the status of a city before it was included in the administration of Guangzhou. Panyu enjoys an excellent strategic position at the heart Pearl River Delta. It is acknowledged as one of the oldest cities in China.

Prior to me landing in Panyu, I had all this while thought that Panyu is an "ulu" town. Damn, wasn't I ignorant! Well, not entirely so. Even with good infra-structures, many parts of Panyu are still very "village-like". However, highrise luxury residential properties are mushrooming around Panyu, in particularly along the embankment.

Managed to stick my nose into one of these luxurious development while I was there.

The King Manor Palace at Huanan New City

Six star luxurious suites with a poshy name

Developed by Hopson Development Holdings Limited

The main gate from Huanan New City.

Major selling point of the development : Advantageous location. Located at the the junction of the City New Central axis and Pearl River, the last piece of land on the City New Central axis. Feng Shui wise, it is backed by seven mountains and fronting the rivers.

Tree-lined path leading to the tower blocks and individual units.

Row of high-end terraced house fronting the condominium.

European classical design with huge balconies.

A grand lobby.

Packed with every conceivable luxury facilities.

Beautifully landscaped linear garden along the embankment.

Putting green and swimming pool at the far end.

The Golf driving range.

These units are not for the average wage-earning Joe. Coz easy access and absolute privacy is assured with private lift lobby that leads directly into the suites/units. Wow!

Good new is that, the price has dropped drastically due to the global economic downturn. A standard 2600 sq. ft. suite will now cost RMB 4 million (equivalent to RM2 million), compared to RMB5.5 million, when it was first being launched one and a half years ago. What a bargain! But, with all these uncertainties, who dares to take the risk?

The Myth of Guangzhou

2009-06-11T18:20:00.002+08:00

Guangzhou is the capital of the province of Guangdong, is a metropolitan city full of history. It is located in the Pearl River Delta. The name Guangzhou comes from a very old legend. The word "Guangzhou" means the city of Rams or the City of Goats, others will customarily call it the flower city. As far as China economy and progression are concerned, it should always be remembered as the origin of contact between the West and the East.

On my second day in Guangzhou, met up with mom's cousins and went for lunch in downtown Panyu. After that, I spent the rest of the afternoon in Yue Xiu Park 越秀公园 , one of Guangzhou's scenic parks that has three artificial lakes, a historical building, lots of jogging paths, and a statue that has a beautiful story behind it.

Took the subway line 2, got off at Yue Xiu Gong Yuan Station, the park entrance is 2 minutes from the station exit. Just like any park in Guangzhou, there's an entrance fee of RMB5. Spread over 200+ acres, Yue Xiu Park is one of the largest municipal parks in China, smacked right in the city centre.

As you walk a few metres into the park, the noise and hustle and bustle of the city gradually fades away and is replaced by a cool and calm atmosphere. Tall leafy trees shelter the paths that wind through the park and the lakes are full of lotuses. Chirping birds accompany you as you roam the hills.

The Sun Yat Sen Monument, located at one of the hills. It is a 37 metre tall monument made of chips of granite stones, was erected to commemorate Dr. SunYat Sen's work and displaying his will and testament.

The highlight of the park no doubt is the Five Rams Statue, the city symbol to commemorates the myth that Guangzhou was founded by Five Celestials riding five rams, who planted sheaves of corn to ensure that famine would never strike. It was pretty long walk towards the statue. We climbed more than 50 steps to finally come face to face with this mythical statue.

After the celestials given their blessings, the rams turned into stones.

I was struggling to take a good shot of the statue but every angle I aimed, there were buttocks pointing at all directions, what an unpleasant view!

Stone carving showcasing the legend. Couldn't captured the whole piece of carving coz was blocked by some obasan playing badminton!

On the south-east side of the park is the Zhenhai Tower. It is a few hundred years old and houses a museum that showcases Guangzhou's long history.

After kilometres of walking, I was sweating and panting. I decided to abandon the rest of the park and headed for my dinner instead.

Touched Down At Guangzhou

2009-06-10T21:56:00.002+08:00

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When my second brother came for Ching Ming in April this year, he invited mom to go and stay in his new residence in Panyu. And hence this trip: on 25th of last month, the week before kids' school holiday, I accompanied mom to Guangzhou.

The flight took 4 hours and we landed in Baiyun International Airport at 9.45am. The Guangzhou Health Authority was very cautious towards the 'A' flu, they sent their medical personnel on board the plane to check every passenger's body temperature before letting passengers off the plane. Everyone was to remain seated until all passengers have been checked. We were the last to leave the plane coz we have to wait for mom's wheelchair to be hauled from the cargo.

The airport was quite wheelchair friendly. I said 'quite' is because at one point, there was no lift leading to the upper floor. I struggled to lead mom up the only and narrow escalator. Luckily there was fast lane for people with privileges, and we went through the immigration in a breeze.

My 2nd brother and his son came to fetch us. Nephew MH drives a 4-wheel SUV.

Note his GPS thingy.

It took nearly one hour to reach Panyu from the airport.

This is Panyu Bridge. Only just learnt that the SEA Games will be held in Guangzhou in 2010.

This is the view from where I was staying. Mind you, it was not foggy but hazy. I find that air quality is generally very poor in cities of China.

Well, this is my first impression of Guangzhou.

Cool Definition

2009-06-09T18:35:00.005+08:00

Do you know that in IT language, the word "chips" refer to computer hardware whereas "salsa" refers to software?

Ahem, I am not showing off here, just want to share this info.

So next time, when you encounter problems with your computer, do not think the computer tech person is pulling your leg if he says to you, "Well first, we have to figure out if the problem is in your chips or in your salsa."

Mango Pudding

2009-05-23T07:15:00.007+08:00

The weather lately has been unbelievably hot, especially around sunset. My kiddos have thus lost their appetite and I couldn't bother to prepare proper dinner, just cooked up some fish porridge for mom. Good excuse to lose some weight.

I still have some chokunan mangoes in my fridge, so I decided to make something cooling, ummm... a mango pudding.

It was easy peasy. Dissolve a packet of mango flavour jelly crystal in part water part evaporated milk and bring to boil. I poured in 3/4 can of evaporated milk. Dice the mango and place them on the jelly. Leave it to set in the fridge.

And there you have it, a smooth, milky fragrant dessert to coooool you down.

Taiwanese Soya Milk in Ipoh

2009-05-20T08:18:00.002+08:00

While in Ipoh, took a short cut home through these new row of shophouses in Medan Ipoh Bistari, a shop with a big red sign caught my eyes: Yong He Soy Milk 永和豆漿. Wow, bravo!!! At last, a Taiwanese snack house in Ipoh!

永和 is actually the name of a suburb of Taipei famous for its breakfast foods, notably soya milk and there are hundreds of eateries in Taiwan bearing the same name eventhough they are not really affiliated. I am not sure how authentic the food here compared to the streets of Taiwan (haven’t been to Taiwan yet), but the prices were shockingly cheap. The drinks cost RM2+ and the snacks RM2.50 - RM3.50.

They serve their soya milk either hot, warm or cold. You can opt for either sweet or sugar-free. Their signature beverage is The Rice Soya Peanut Milk, a grounded peanut drink, very similar to our blended peanut soup (fah sang wu) but in a more liquid state.

The soya milk and the rice soya peanut milk

The snacks were generally tasty. To enhance the flavour, there are garlic sauce, chilli oil, and their signature spicy sauce as well as other condiments.

The radish cake (RM2.50) pan fried to crispiness, texture so-so.

The egg crepe with fillings (RM3.50). I can't remember what I have ordered. You can choose from either ham, bacon or pork chop.

Sticky rice roll with meat floss (RM2.50). A crunchy and savoury combination.

Twisted bun and egg (RM3.00)

Other patrons seemed to be all tucking into this Salty Soya Milk (RM 2.50). Besides the salted soy milk, there were more ingredients such as fried Chinese fritters (yau char kway), chopped spring onion and a dash of sesame oil. We ordered some meat buns (RM2.00) which mimicked the filling of Xiao Long Bao minus the soup.

Greed, greed! Due to the reasonableness of the price, we over-ordered and were bloated! But, will definitely return. Yong He is at the row of shops behind the MacDonald Drive-thru along Jalan Tasek (near Tesco), same row as Serai Sate Kajang.

Wat, Wat, Wat... What Next? Wat!

2009-05-16T22:37:00.003+08:00

Continued ... Cruising along Chao Phraya ...

We got off at Tha Tien Pier, walked through a small open market selling food and souvenirs. As soon as we stepped foot out of the pier, we were ambushed by people trying to pull the most common Bangkok scam on us: Telling us that the Grand Palace was closed and they could take us to some other temples or shopping. Has noboby told them that all tourist books warn of this scam? These crooks were not aggressive though, so we just smiled and continued walking. With temples housing Buddha statutes just feet across the fence, one would wonder how could these crooks lie in front of the God that they worship?

While walking towards the Grand Palace, we saw a sign showing Silpakorn University on the left and we just gave it a peek. At the Grand Palace, the entrance ticket cost us 250B each. If you are Thai, we can just walk pass the barrier without having to pay a Baht.

We were given a booklet about the Grand Palace but I prefer picture with short and simple words. Just to let you lot know: The Grand palace complex was established in 1782 and it houses not only the royal residence and throne halls but also a number of government offices as well as a renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha - Wat Phra Kaew. By the way, Wat means temple in Thai.

The building in the Grand Palace is divided in two structures. One is the modern building and the other half is the old Thai building structure and I think it is quite unique though.

There was a horde of snap-happy tourists and our hopes of good photos or even looking around in peace were quashed.

The King no longer lives there but you can admire the architecture and watch the changing of the guards.

The temple of the Emerald Buddha Wat Phra Kaew houses a very small emerald statute of Lord Buddha that was originally covered in clay and during a lightning storm the clay gave away and emerald was revealed. The statute has travelled around a bit, most shuttling between Laos and Thailand until the founder of the Chakri Dynasty (Rama I) brought it to Thailand. There is also a replica of Angkor Wat that is built to scale.

Around Wat Phra Kaew, there was 3 other temple buildings that are closed to public. One of them is golden (real gold leaf), built in Sri Lankan style. The other 2 are used for special ceremonies by the King a few times each year. Both these temples have beautiful cravings of the Buddha on them. There are also cravings of serpents with five heads, but the heads are of humans. Such depictions of nagas are very rare.

This is the very first scene when you enter.

This beautiful gold coated building definitely can't be missed.

The Guardian Angel?

Beautiful and breathing-taking architecture.

Strange looking creature.

Workmen around the temples to restore the mural.

The corridors of Wat Phra Kaew are murals with lots of gold leaves on them.

Under the scrorching sun, we haven't the mood to explore more. We were seriously dehydrated and just wanting to leave as soon.

My girl resting her worn out legs under the corridors of the temple.

My son was caught dosing off at the kaki lima. Poor baby.

Streamyx SUCKS!

2009-05-10T11:34:00.002+08:00

Argh! The broadband TM Streamyx in my place is down again! Was last connected on Thursday morning, then I went out, returned at 3pm, tried to log on but failed. I have carried out all the troubleshooting, the ADSL light seemed stable, but I could not open any webpage. I called their Customer Care Support Hotline 1300-88-9515.

Making complaint to Streamyx is ALWAYS an EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED process.

The machine on the other end answered and instructed you to press the necessary buttons in order to proceed to the next step. Then, have to hang on to the line listening to the so boring music until a human would speak to you. The pre-music announcement from Streamyx goes like this : "Your call is important to us. Sorry, all our agents are currently engaged. Please hold while we try to connect you."

But, this time round, I have been listening to their music for two whole days and I did not get to speak to any human AT ALL. I then sent a complaint via email, telling them to call me instead.

It took their agent more than 24 hours to call me. Went through the same old troubleshooting procedure and filed a report. Now, have to wait for 2 to 3 working days for them to 'find out' the problem. Note: Not fixing it, merely to find out what went wrong.

This is what Streamyx's agent said to me : "We will lodge a technical report regarding your internet connection issue to our Technical Department for further action. Our personnel will contact you in 2/3 days time regarding this matter."

It really sucks! Paying the monthly broadband fee, and not getting the service, is MOST FRUSTRATING. I have been looking for other Broadband ISP provider. Was attracted to the new P1 Wimax, but my condo tower just happened to be foot away from the coverage. Damn!

Really spoilt my weekend, Wesak Day holiday and Mother's Day!!!

Cruising Along Chao Phraya, Bangkok

2009-05-06T11:52:00.005+08:00

A trip to Bangkok wouldn't be complete without cruising along the majestic Chao Phraya, the "river of kings" - the longest river in Thailand stretching hundreds of kilometres. Memories took me back to my geography class during my primary school days where it was known as "Menam River".

The Chao Phraya runs through the city of Bangkok. River taxis, be it express boats, mini cruisers, long-tail boats, freighters, barges, etc provide an important mode of transport along/across the river for both the locals as well as the tourists.

As the most visited Bangkok sights, i.e. Wat Phra Kaew, The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun are all situated along the Chao Phraya, we decided to take the river express boat to our planned destination.

After breakfast, we took the BTS from Siam, and got off at Saphan Taksin station. There are signs that lead you to the Central Pier. Boats with blue flags are tourist only boats and cost much more coz they come with an English speaking tour guide and stop at every pier. Boats with yellow or orange flags are alright, but might not make stops at each pier. We intended to get off at Tha Tien pier and one with orange flag came along and we jumped on.

The boat was empty when it came coz Central Pier is the first stop. We managed to grab seats at the front part of the boat and got good view while we cruised. After the available seats were full, people stood and hanged on to the grabrails. A Thai woman, with fantastic balancing skills on her tiny feet, armed with a cute metal ticket dispenser, went round selling tickets on board. The ticket cost 13 Baht each irrespective which pier you intend to alight. Even with people almost squashed together, there was someone going around inspecting tickets.

Passed under a bridge.

Splashes of water in front of the boat. At the same time, got cleansed in Chao Phraya?

Five star hotels along the riverbanks, the Sheraton. Millenium, Shangri-la, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula, etc.

Mandarin Oriental's private boat. Hmm ... next trip must go to their "Author's Lounge" to have English style hi-tea.

Historical monuments and architectural buildings.

Wat Arun - Temple of Dawn

It was refreshing commuting on boats, for a change. Experienced Bangkok from a different , yet very interesting perspective. At the very moment, I just wished the sun would not be that strong. It was absolutely roasting!!!

Beautiful Flowers

2009-05-04T16:14:00.007+08:00

I received this bouquet the week before last.

I received this flower basket last week.

Lovely, are't they?

It was actually my daughter 'showcasing' what she has learned from her floral arrangement classes.

Well done, sweetheart.

And, thank you.

The Fall of a Star

2009-04-30T17:28:00.000+08:00

Drug scandal that erupted last weekend : Korean heartthrob Joo Ji Hoon, best known for his role in "Goong" as Prince Shin, was charged for acquiring party drugs for personal use.

Joo Ji Hoon was not charged with drug trafficking nor possession of it but was being interrogated by police suspecting him acquiring the drugs. Apparently, two lesser known Korean actresses were arrested for trafficking ecstasy and ketamine into Korea from Japan which they then sold to their friends. And Joo Ji Hoon was one of those names that they dropped. Being the most recognizable name, Joo Ji Hoon is therefore getting a lot of attention. Side tracking : the hilarious part was that these two actresses smuggled the drug past custom by inserting them into a menstrual pad!

The Japanese media reported the scandal "with particular gravity". Joo Ji Hoon has been dropped from all current and future screening. Cancellation of filming/events would eventually lead to lawsuits. It affects all of the other people involved in his projects in a very negative way.

I was shock and disappointed when I first heard about it. I am not a huge fan of his but I think he is gorgeous and a pretty good actor too. Grooming as a model turned actor, he sure has a great body.

I was personally saddened that he is idiotic enough to consume those drugs. He is such a talented person with so much going for him. I was looking so much forward to his future projects "Naked Kitchen" and "Tokyo Tower" but it seems his career may be going down the drain, at least for now.

He must be kicking himself in the ass right now and he has no one to blame but himself. He knows that doing drugs in Korea is illegal, no one put a gun to his head and forced him to consume drugs. He wanted to do drugs because he thought it was pleasurable. You do the crime, you pay the time. Simple as that. He was in such a privileged position with a promising career but he blew it. It wasn’t like he was an unknown struggling korean actor feeding from hand to mouth who couldn’t catch a break. I suppose he was in the whirlwind of being a celebrity and thus making foolish life wrecking choices.

Very disheartening that he needs to learn the hard way. But he is still young and I am sure he can rebuild his career. ... only if he can bear it through the storm and not resort to do silly things thereafter.

Give Them Power

2009-04-29T11:03:00.001+08:00

Saturday was Parents' Day at my daughter's school. Not to my surprise, she did not do well this term. She has been constantly minding her own "business" these days and hence has vastly neglected her studies. I suppose from now on I have to keep a very close eye on her, start imposing stricter house rules and repeatedly preach the following : laziness will get her bad results, lack of education limits her opportunities in life ...

What amazed me on that day at her school was the behaviour and reactions of some of the parents. They spent ages with the teacher either trying to "get to know" their daughters through the teacher's words or strenuously denying the teacher's claim that their daughters were behaving badly. Worst still, I could hear mothers firing statements like, "Her hair/uniform is my, being the mother, business and is not up to you teachers to overrule." or, "I do not believe that my daughter behaved that badly." or, "I hereby challenge your evaluation on behaviour, she definitely deserves an A+ instead of a C." I really pity the teacher who was busy fending off the simultaneous wrath of these parents.

Over the years, I have noticed how parents become so over-protective of their children and often are quick to blame others except themselves if their children do not do well in their studies. Or worse, in some instants, they even challenge to take the teachers to court when their children are “punished” in school for their wrongdoings.

What has happened to us, parents? How can we be so naive as to think our children could never do anything wrong? I don't see why as parents we must become "kiasu" if teachers in our children's school take certain actions to instil better values and proper discipline in our children.

Some child rights activists argue that teachers should try to "understand student's feelings", "be more compassionate towards the students." and "intellectually persuade the students of the neccessity of a good education." I personally think it is a load of crap. Talk is easy. I challenge this group of people to try teaching in an average Malaysian school classroom for a week, or even just for a day. If after the event, they can still consistently rely on their soft approach, quite voice and gentle persuasion to quell three dozens rioting, arrogant students, then I will shut my gob.

Of course, it is right that we should be a caring society. At the same time, we must be practical and use our common sense on the issue of discipline in school. There is no two ways about it.

Back in the 70s & 80s when I was a student, the teachers had the authority to discipline the students and parents never dare to question. Teachers these days are so scared of the students as well as their parents. Teachers in today's schools have all the burden but none of the authority. We place huge expectations on teachers to groom our children, yet tie their hands with unrealistic rules of conduct rendering the teachers have all the responsiblities and no authority, whereas the students have all the authority but refuse to act responsibly. You call this an ideal classroom environment? I contend that if we want our children to be properly educated and become responsible citizens, we, as parents, must instead provide as much support as possible to the teachers.

I fully agree that whatever form of disciplines must take into account the child's human dignity and cultivate the spirit of peace, consistent with a child's rights. I am not asking teachers to do the extreme like make students kneel on spiky durian skin or tie them up next to a nest of ants! I am merely asking teachers to be provided with a symbol of authority that the students understand, respect and fear. We can turn things round, if only the parents are convinced of the dire need for strict discipline in schools, if only the Malaysian government makes the decree official.

Calling all parents, please would you stop being so over-protective of your children - at the cost of their futures?

Mind Over Age

2009-04-27T11:20:00.004+08:00

The secret to looking young?

Well, age is just another digit.

You have to think young as it's all in the mind.

If you don't let it affect you, you will continue to be young.

I suppose at my age, I have to keep a 30-year-old mindset.

... And constantly trying to forget how old I actually am.

Good eh?

The King of Snookers

2009-04-26T16:30:00.002+08:00

Have just finished watching the final episode of the latest TVB drama series "The King of Snookers". As the name of the show stands, the storyline revolves around the game of snooker. It has excellent cast : Adam Cheng, Niki Chow, Patrick Tang, Joyce Tang and Derek Kok. Quite entertaining though, and at the same time, you get to learn a thing or two about the game. I must admit that some of the 'stunts' scene were overly exaggerating.

The game snooker, certainly did bring back good memories. During my days in London, you could find me gluing to the TV set watching snooker tournament instead of football matches. The masters during my era were Ray Reardon, Alex Higgins, Dennis Taylor, Steve Davies, and of course, my favourite player Jimmy White. Snooker, being a 'British' game, the World Championship were dominated by British players. Most of the above mentioned masters have been honoured MBE or OBE, not bad huh?

As predicted, the Hang Seng Index dipped when the serial first aired ... the Hongkies call it the Adam Cheng's effect... believe it or not?

Joyce Tang is very very pretty at her age. And Derek Kok, he is an excellent actor, he played kungfu master, he played evil, he played gay, he does every role so well.

As for Patrick Tang, this could be his big break. He started out as a calefare and finally he gets a role that actually focuses on him. I quite like him and I think he sings well. We bumped into him at the Elements in Hong Kong last year. He was very friendly and nodded when my girl asked for a photo together.

Yassy and HIM - the King of Snooker

So, for the final episode, both master and his deciple come to settle their scores on the snooker table. And, it is happy ending for everyone.

Ever since this serial has been aired, my son has 'secretly' took up the game. He cut out a mock snooker table from hardboard, gathered a few marbles and started potting and making fancy hand bridge styles.

Noticing his flair for snooker, I went out and bought him his first mini snooker table. Man, he was overjoyed!

Presenting the 桌球新人王 - Joshua T

Where Chips and Cheese Unite

2009-04-23T06:55:00.000+08:00

While watching TVB's documentary "Vanishing Glacier", I was seriously craving for some nice, warm munchies.

Went into the kitchen, this bag of Chachos Tortilla Chips was just lying there begging to be eaten. Without hesitation, I chopped up a few cherry tomatoes, lay them out over a layer of tortilla chips, covered them with grated cheese and slot them into the oven toaster to heat up. I was too lazying to slice up some onions hence the omission.

Within minutes, I presented the "piping hot calorie laden Cheese Nachos".

Note the melty orange snack food in all its gooey glory. Definitely the perfect nosh in the nights in front of the TV. Even without the addition of onions and Jalapenos, this plate of homemade cheese nachos was devoured in no time ...

Jackie Chan - Triggered Fury

2009-04-21T10:28:00.008+08:00

Jackie Chan is in deep shit for making comments that had created yet another storm.

We still remember how he got into trouble in 2004 when he described the Taiwanese presidential election as the “biggest joke in the world”. Jackie also once told the forum he would not buy a television made in China because he was afraid it might explode. Instead, he said, he would buy one from Japan.

This time, Jackie attended a business forum in Hainan and was quoted as saying the following statement,

"I don't know whether it is better to have freedom or to have no freedom... With too much freedom ... it can get very chaotic, could end up like in Hong Kong or like in Taiwan... I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled."

His comments were applauded by the Chinese audience but did not sit well with the lawmakers in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Negative reactions and commentaries have since been flying round criticising Jackie for lack of knowledge on the current China's situation and ignorant of democracy as well as the rule of law. Some even accused him for basing his statement on the discriminatory view that Chinese people cannot manage themselves and is built on the idea that Chinese are like a herd of sheep that lack self-discipline and self-restraint. How on earth could people put words into one's mouth just like that?

Obviously, he’s entitled to his opinion. I agree that having super-star status should make people more cautious of what ideas they are promoting.

Why do people insist on taking actors’ political statements seriously? Most actors never even finished high school. People with very different backgrounds tend to have outlandish opinions...at least in my experience... You can tell by the wording Jackie used that he is not exactly a super intellectual thinker. The man is a genius at stunts.

I respect his work and the career he has forged through decades of blood, sweat, tears and many, many broken bones. He has been very active in many charities, and he has given away millions of dollars, mostly to children’s causes.

So, give that man some breathing space. Let's not have Barack Obama jumping out of burning buildings, and let's not take Jackie Chan seriously when it comes to political rhetoric.

Nick is The Best

2009-04-20T09:47:00.008+08:00

Congrats to Nick

I stayed past over my normal sleeping time yesterday night, just to catch the result of the 28th Hong Kong Film Awards which was being live-casted on Astro Ch311.

When they announced the nominees list months ago, I was already all anxious to predict the result. My favourite being Nick Cheung Ka Fai, who portrayed a kidnapper who struggles to care for his wife in the action thriller "Beast Stalker". He faces off with Tony Leung Chiu Wai who played a Chinese general in "Red Cliff", top-tiered martial arts star Donnie Yen Chi Tan, who played "Ip Man", Simon Yam Tat Wah in "Sparrow", and heartthrob Louis Koo Tin Lok, who portrayed a gangster who struggles to give up a life of crime in "Run Papa Run".

As Tony Leung has run out of space in his cabinets to house more trophies, I personally think he should gently step aside and give the rest a chance to shine. Never really fancy Simon Yam, plus the fact that I fell asleep watching "Sparrow", therefore is a definite "No" to Simon. Louis Koo, the lang-chai, is always on my list of favourite actors. If it were in "Strong Connection" that he was being nominated, I might have voted for him. At the end, I was just torn between Nick Cheung and Donnie Yen. Undeniably, "Ip Man" was Donnie best role from an acting standpoint. Tough decision, isn't?

Well, the result was : "Ip Man" won the Best Film award whereas Nick landed with the Best Actor award.

With regards to "Beast Stalker", there is a saying that there aren't any beasts so evil than of the human heart alone. Greed, money, power and freedom, all comes with a price, that's seems to be the message from the film. The other lead actor, Nicholas Tse, although not being nominated for the film award, has improved tremendously in his acting. Nonetheless, Nick Cheung is the best. With his sob dilemma, his conflicted anti-hero role, he was able to convincingly portrayed compassion, dedication and unflinching brutality. Who else can do that?

Undeniably, "Ip Man" was in a league of its own, the best kung-fu film of recent memory.

Very touching when he hugged and kissed his wife Esther after the announcement, and not forgetting to thank her in his speech.

Well done Nick, you are FAB!

Sinful Trips

2009-04-15T07:09:00.012+08:00

Forget about dieting, sweating out, worry about taking in too much sugar and cream, diabetics, hyperglycemia etc, we embarked on trips to this sinful place -

Yes, the Dessert's Bar in Mont' Kiara as well as the one in Solaris MK.

Very modern interior, but tried to cut cost on the ceiling? I just cannot stand seeing ventilation ducts, cables and piping above my head.

The feast, plus we ordered icy cold raspberry smoothies and iced latte.

They claimed is their hottest release - The belgium dark chocolate fondue. It is served with 6 scoops of their speciality ice-cream, bittersweet chocolate for your dipping pleasures, with a bowl of chopped roasted almonds for you to coat your chocolate dipped edibles with.

The fruits - strawberries, bananas, oranges, grapes and kiwi fruits.

Heavenly.

The banana crepe, with caramel sauce.

Japanese peanut and sesame mochi.

A wall post.

Nothing beats yummy desserts. We stuffed our face until we were satiated and not hankering for anymore.

Only Do One Thing Today

2009-04-13T07:13:00.004+08:00

Highly recommended. Enjoy.

今天只做一件事

歌手：陳奕迅

作曲：舒文, Joey Tang

填詞：周耀輝

編曲：舒文, Joey Tang

發覺這世界永遠太少空間

因此花一天支配一切時間

發覺這世界永遠太晒心機

因此花一天思索一切道理

消失太快捉得到太少

因此花一天感覺一切是愛

茫茫人海或有幾多漂泊與淹蓋

人人尋找愛或有幾多爭鬥與比賽

越覺得剩低幾多未變的愛

慢慢地合作新詩

靜靜地同床午睡

再發現歲月換來幾次厭悶幾多親愛

有各樣劫災和充滿意外

因此我要努力繼續能戀愛

慢慢地邁向聽朝

靜靜地懷念昨日

再決定今天只要相信愛

叫皺紋散開喚青春歸來

因此我喜歡花一天感覺一切是愛

發覺這世界永遠太少深刻

因此花一天改變一切習慣

發覺這世界永遠太多蹺蹊

因此花一天擁有一切運氣

消失太快捉得到太少

因此花一天感覺一切是愛

茫茫人海或有幾多漂泊與淹蓋

人人尋找愛或有幾多爭鬥與比賽

越覺得剩低幾多未變的愛

慢慢地合唱K歌

靜靜地同遊網上

再發現歲月換來幾次厭悶幾多親愛

有各樣劫災和充滿意外

因此我要努力繼續能戀愛

慢慢地邁向聽朝

靜靜地懷念昨日

再決定今天只要相信愛

叫皺紋散開喚青春歸來

因此我喜歡花一天感覺一切是愛

喜歡花一天跟你一切是愛

TRAP (2)

2009-04-08T15:25:00.009+08:00

Continue here with our recent outing to Taman Rekreasi Air Panas. I am lazy to write, just let the pics tell the story.

This is the cafeteria by the pond which offers some local food like nasi lemak, mee goreng etc.

Big fat koi

Have enough of jacuzzi, lets head over to other areas.

What's that?

Gigantic octopus. The one that swallowed Captain Jack Sparrow.

A manmade waterfall at the adults' area.

Wondering how she could afford that smile when the octopus is resting on her head.

Nice tiny water stream.

A tree house.

My son was not happy, wonder why?

Lots of people gathered around the egg boiling area.

The 'eggs'

Proceeded to the hot pools.

A cascading hot waterfall.

The broadwalk that leads you back to the main entrance.

Overall, quite an enjoyable and refreshing half day trip.

I Am Back

2009-04-06T19:10:00.003+08:00

Oh, have I disappeared for that long? Time seems to fly so fast, I don't even realise that I haven't updated this blog for ... er almost a month??

End of March, me and my kids returned from a short getaway to the land of smile, Thailand, Bangkok be exact. The week prior to the trip, I was busy browsing the net to book hotel accommodation and to get prepared for the trip. Yeap, I only did it last minute, in fear of outburst of yet another turmoil in Bangkok.

I was lucky to have such caring and considerate aunt and niece who agreed to look after my mom while we were away. We were back in Ipoh for a few days from the start of the one week school holiday. Then 5 days in Bangkok. Absolutely exhausted when we touched down in KL. No choice but to sent my driver to pick up my mom from Ipoh.

Then it took me a week to return to routine and to get my battery recharged. Then my brother from Hong Kong came to stay for a week. Not used to having visitor in my place, we ate out every night. My brother wanted to go Ching Ming, so we went back to Ipoh for the long weekend (kids got a day off school for Ching Ming).

Went Ching Ming on Friday. Surprisingly, there weren't many people coz Perakians' Chinese school kids didn't get the day off. Spent the whole weekend eating, eating and eating. We are so bloated now. Unfortunately the gymnasium in my condo is under renovation, heck!

Will update once I manage to upload the photos.

Heart Shaped Desserts

2009-03-07T07:21:00.007+08:00

Am I too late to post my Valentine's bake?

I suppose not.

In Japan, Valentine's Day is celebrated on two different dates ... February 14 and March 14. On February 14, the female gives a gift to the male and on March 14 ... known as White Day and supposedly introduced by a marshmallow company in the 1960s ... the male has to return the gift he received on February 14. Thus, strictly speaking, a Japanese female has the luxury of actually choosing her own gift. Chocolate is the most popular gift in Japan. However, since most Japanese females believe that store-bought chocolate is not a gift of true love, they tend to make the confection with their own hands.

I did make some heart shaped dessert this Valentine's Day. Not that I have a lover to present them to, I did/baked them for the sake of my girl coz she wanted to learn how to make such delectable gifts.

An Oreo Cheesecake. This was a last minute bake. I was in such a rush that I forgot to smoothen the surface of the mixture before I put it in the freezer, hence the ugly look.

A heart within a heart.

These are done using Konnyaku powder. Red and orange hearts.

These are ice-cream agar-agar. There was a tub of Neapolitan ice-cream sitting in my fridge and I thought : why not? Note closely, there are actually tri-colour, pink, yellow and brown.

Bought these rice crackers at Jusco. Kawai ne?

My bottle of Gucci Envy has only a few drops left. This wonderful gift of Estee Lauder just fitted in nicely.

Al Fresco Sitting

2009-03-05T13:24:00.005+08:00

Damn disgusted.

So disgraceful.

Utterly frustrated with the ongoing political condition in my home state.

Yesterday news: Perak's legislative assembly convened an emergency sitting under an Angsana tree!!!

Absolutely comical.

But then, something caught my eyes: the headline on one of the English newspapers covering this incident which went like this:

Al fresco sitting

Bravo! Applaud the use of words by this journalist.

Doing It The Hard Way

2009-03-05T07:55:00.002+08:00

It has been quite a while since I last posted. Mom was not well, she was suffering from constipation. It started mild and turned severe after six days of no bowel movement. Had basically tried everything ranging from prune juice, laxatives, enema ... Eventually, had to resort to "assisted extraction" performed by me. It all because of the unscrupulous doctor who refused to do it, I have to take over the mission. Yuks!

Mom has been suffering from this defecatory disorder for quite sometime now. Every now and then, she would not have bowel movement for days. It is resulted from not drinking enough water, not getting enough exercise and from a diet that does not include adequate amount of fibre-rich food.

You must be wondering why I got her into that state when I was supposed to be looking after her. Well, it is caused by her depression, correlated with the presence of immobility and drug therapy. She refused to eat and constantly trying to reduce fluid intake in fear of wanting to go to the loo. Without food ( and of course includes dietary fibre) and energy, she hasn't the strength even to stand up, not to mention walking or doing exercise. If there is not much wasted substance in the intestine, there will be less movement of waste through the bowel due to a weakening of the bowel muscles. But, that small lump of rock-like feces that has been accumulating over five days would remained stuck in the rectum. Mom would sit on the WC for hours and strained herself. After the ordeal, she felt frail and refused to eat. And the vicious circle continues. Mom has been tremendously stubborn and not listened to anyone's advice. Literally cannot talk sense into her, all she wants is to live in her own world of innocence.

I can't bear to see her suffer. She felt bloated, had headache, swollen abdomen and felt extremely weak and lethargic. All these while, I have been giving her laxative, an non-digestible sugar lactulose to soften the stool and to induce her bowel movement. But this time round, she failed to relieve. I was so helpless. Brought her to the doctor, and all he did was busy telling me he did mechanical and digital (Erh???) extraction throughout his housemanship. But he refused to perform the rectal examinaton on mom to dislodge the hardened feces. Damn doctor. Took his prescription of Dulcolex and later found that there was no effect whatever. Mom was still bloated. Eventually, I have to do the dislodgement. Okay, I won't go into details here.

Mom felt so weak and feeble after the ordeal. It is sad to see your loved one suffers and you can't do much to help. That's why I haven't got the mood to write anything last week.

My Version of Yee Sang

2009-02-19T10:21:00.005+08:00

Yee Sang, contrary to a lot of people's belief, is NOT a Chinese traditional CNY dish. It is merely unique to the Chinese in West Malaysia and Singspore. Note: not even in East Malaysia.

This dish is basically a mixed salad, a la Chinese style, normally served in restaurant throughout the Chinese New Year. The finely shredded vegetables are topped with nuts/crisps and some thinly sliced raw fish, normally salmon. The word "Yee Sang" means "mixed or tossed raw". "Sang" is a very auspicious word, sounds like alive and is represented by the raw salmon. Personally, I do not like the dish for its bright colour dyed ginger/deep fried crisps and the overly sweet dressing.

On the 15th day of this Chinese New Year, Chap Goh Mei, I suddenly had the urge to have Yee Sang, not in the restaurant but at home. I can't called it homemade, as it is partially off the shelf from the supermarket (ready made yee sang, dried type) and I added in the shredded carrot and radish.

All the ingredients have to be arranged separately. What do you think of my presentation? Not bad huh?

My son picked most of the salmon!

Aesthetically pleasing!!!

TRAP (1)

2009-02-17T18:40:00.000+08:00

You must be wondering by now what kind of trap I am trying to set up here with a post title like that.

Well, "TRAP" is simply the acronym for Taman Rekreasi Air Panas. These hot springs that we stopped by on our recent trip back to Ipoh is located just off Sungkai. The place is simply beautiful with it's man made ponds for swimming, hot spring spas, saunas and soaking pools.

Exit from the Sungkai toll plaza, turn left towards the direction to Trolak, then turn left again and there are clear directional signs that will lead you to the hot springs. The distance from toll plaza to the park is approximately 10 km. The route passes through the Felda Sungai Klah which is a small town surrounded by the thick oil palm estate. Driving throigh the oil palm estate in the morning is darn relaxing.

When we stepped foot onto the park, we were amazed by the lush greeneries, hills and streams that abound in the vicinity. I was captured by the cleanliness of the park and its beautiful landscaped gardens, as well as fascinated by the flora and fauna. It was really wonderful to just stroll around and breathe in the unpolluted air.

The hot spring is one of the other alternative to modern day spa centres. Many believed that the natural springs have healing properties that will help to heal and detoxify toxic from your body. Those with stiff muscles, insomnia and skin related problems should consider soaking themselves here.

Water Reflexology - walk bare foot along the hot stream of water covered with stones.

There are private jacuzzi if you and your family prefer to have the privacy of soaking in a secluded atmosphere instead of joining the crowd at the big pool. You need to pay RM75-RM125/hour for these so-called family baths.

The shower area.

There is a toilet and changing area.

There is a switch to control the temperature of the water.

The steam blurred the camera lens.

Soaking in the hot water without any disturbance is a bliss.

We spend 3 hours here, marvelling at its tranquility and beauty, nestled in the lush hills and forest.

Fatt in 2009?

2009-02-07T09:25:00.000+08:00

Every Chinese should be aware of the special meaning behind Fatt Koh. Fatt Koh, or the "Prosperity Cake" is one of those traditional cakes that people make during Chinese New Year season. Both the chinese syllabus when pronounced sound like the word prosperity and wealth. However, the making of this cake has lots of superstitions involved.

For those past Chinese New Years, mom used to order Fatt Koh from the kuih vendor at the wet market in Ipoh. This year, as we were not balik-ing kampung for the new year and I am not a wet market goer, I initially convinced myself to do without the Fatt Koh.

I have been tossing and turning in my bed the night before CNY, thinking whether I should make Fatt Koh myself. By crack of dawn, I rummaged through my kitchen cabinet, only managed to find all purpose flour. Heck! Traditional Fatt Koh is made using rice flour or glutinuous flour. I surfed the net and found a recipe that uses normal flour with the addition of dry yeast.

I whisked the ingredients, fermented the yeast, varied the recipe by adding a spoonful of marmalade. In the absence of muffin trays or small chinese tea cups, I poured the mixture into 4 Japanese tea cups and 2 English tea cups. I then put the cups in the steamer, turned to high heat and waited. Keeping my fingers crossed as I wasn't sure whether it will fatt - crack open like a flower or not.

10 min. 15 min. 20 min. Time's up. Anxiously, I lifted the lid of the steamer and I had six fatt kohs smiling at me. Ha, ha, I know I will fatt in 2009! Love the smile when opening the steamer.

Taste wise, it smelled the floury and yeast taste eventhough I added marmalade. I suppose there is still room for improvement. When eat it straight out of the steamer, there was no floury taste. I just don't know why I bothered to make this as I personally do not like to eat it. Frankly, I just want to see them smile, symbolizing a wealthy year ahead.

Fatt Koh is rather fussy. If the batter too thick, it won't smile. The batter too thin, it won't smile. The cups too swallow it won't smile. The sides of the cup too straight, it won't smile. The water not hot enough, it won't smile. Seems like you need to have everything in condusive mood for the fatt koh to fatt.

Niu Year Eve

2009-02-06T07:03:00.009+08:00

25th January 2009. Chinese New Year Eve.

With the constant somber musings on recessions, economy downturn and credit crunch playing over our ears everyday, it is time to tighten our belt a little bit. So, I decided that this year, no more fancy/fine dining comprising abundance of abalone, dried oysters, scallops etc but for that little treat of a hearty family fare that is light on the wallet. However, in a Korean way - The Niu Year was ushered following a warm and lip-smacking family dinner at the Korean House in PJ SS2.

We went for the Korean barbeque. The service there was pretty good. The friendly and polite waiter grilled and served the meat. Note the array of Banchan (small side dishes), a dozen of them and they are refillable. We were given kimchi, tofu, clams, bean sprouts, potato salad, sweet potatoes, pickled cucumber, vegetables, anchovies and a few other things I can't name. So many of them, just couldn't finish. Oh, abundance of lettuce to wrap the BBQ meat. I love the sauce to dip the lettuce wrapped meat.

Sizzling, sizzling ... A range of meat to choose from. We ordered Joomooluck (marinated beef, similar to Galbi), pork spare ribs and lamb ribs. Kept wondering what they put in to marinate the meat, they are all soooo tender.

Kimchi Chigae. It came piping hot! We did order another soup whose name I can't recall. It was a shredded beef soup, it was heavenly good stuff.

The must : Dolsot Bibimbap.

We were given three complimentary dishes: steamed egg, cold noodles and Korean Yee Sang. Everything FOC is good, I would say.

Yee Sang - the Korean way, I supposed.

Mom managed to eat quite a lot as the meat were all so tender.

Kiddos were happy, snapping away.

The rather lavish meal cost much much less than a normal Chinese meal. Good value for money.

In the car, the aromatic odour still lingered in our clothes.

A Wonderful Get Together

2009-02-01T16:19:00.006+08:00

Nothing is better than to meet up with good old friends during the festive season.

We knew each other since primary school days.

We used to chat, learn, play, laugh, etc together.

Then we grew up in our own ways and we lead our own lives.

But our hearts remained close.

Our group of eight met up at the Red Box @ The Curve. WY was over the moon for giving this special appearance after a more than 10 years absence from the karaoke scene. PM stole the limelight and drowned us with all her wonderful hits. We also celebrated the upcoming birthdays of all those born under the aquarius sign. Thanks to ST for the yummy cheesecake.

A wonderful time together.

Happy Ox-picious Chinese Niu Year

2009-01-31T23:48:00.008+08:00

Though this is a little late, but it is better late than never.

I would like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year. May this Oxy year bring more prosperity, fortune, luck, peace, happiness and joy into your lives.

Since Andy Lau is also an 'Ox', here is his CNY mv.

Also, many, many thanks to those who continue to frequent my blog for updates which have been grossly lacking. I do apologize for having been disgustingly lazy. Will try to improve!

My Poor Hair

2009-01-21T06:46:00.007+08:00

I suppose most Chinese out there are busy preparing for the Chinese New Year. Everyone I bumped into recently seemed to have a hair cut already. I thought of changing new hair style. Like I always did for every new year. The trouble is I have not made up my mind which salon to go to.

For the past year, I have been experiencing serious, I mean darn serious hair loss. Sob sob, I was truly upset. It is hard for a woman to accept boldness, as hair is very important for overall beauty. Thick and silky hair will certainly makes a woman look more attractive. Luckily, my bushy hair is quite thick in a sense. Thus, the hair thinning process is not so obvious for the time being, but not for long, I suppose. It is frightening to learn that female hair loss is especially apparent after menopause. Although that will be many years later, I think I better buck up and start sourcing for a good natural hair loss treatment.

It is common sense that our hair and skin reflects the condition of our overall health. If we are healthy and well-nourished, our hair or our skin will be more glowing and strong. Thus, proper amino acids, vitamins and minerals intake will help create beautiful hair. Besides, there are so called hair food such as nuts, soy beans, flaxseed oil, yoghurt, tofu, dark green leafy vegetables, wheat germ, raisins and other dried fruits, etc. Out of this list, the only thing lacking from my diet is wheat germ. Er... can I skip that?

Layered Agar Agar

2009-01-15T06:38:00.006+08:00

Here is something refreshing for the tastebuds.

Nice colour and contrast, but time consuming though. I have to wait for each layer to be three quarter set, only then I could pour the next layer on top. The reason being if the current layer is fully set, the next layer would not 'bond' to it. Otherwise I would have to form some keys so as to hold the next layer, something like when laying screeding and floor tiles. Heck! What an analogy!

The tray of agar agar was gone, I mean consumed in no time.

At The Threshold of An Era II

2009-01-13T13:29:00.002+08:00

I have been following the re-screening of the old Hong Kong drama series "At the Threshold of An Era II" on Astro Ch314. The drama was first broadcast in 2000, starred Gallen Lo, Ada Choi, Louis Koo, Roger Kwok, Flora Chan and Kenix Kwok. Frankly, I have watched this drama for the umpteenth time.

This series is a farfetched tale about revenge that is quite ridiculous. Some of the characters are out to avenge their buddies/rivals at all means. The series main villain, Cheung Chi Lik (played by Louis Koo), is forever conspiring to destroy the man, Yip Wing Tim (played by Gallen Lo), whom he believes to have caused the death of his half brother.

The whole series is about misunderstandings and a lack of communication between the characters since all of that revenge could have been resolved if only the characters cared enough to check out the truth first.

So, you must be wondering what was that which kept me glued to the set every evening? Well, it is the theme song sang by Gallen Lo. I just love this song and allow me to share it here.

天地有情

作詞：李敏　作曲：杜自持　編曲：杜自持

未老是天　但人會變

難道證實了天與地無情

說感情難明　感覺無形

誰又和跟我感應?

是你用心　用誠意對我

然後宇宙裡充滿了激情

明白我個性　陪伴我醉與夢醒...

如果彼此心中有情

如果決定擊倒宿命

請相信最後能戰勝就憑拼勁

可衝出這一個逆境

如果知道真的有情

存天與地間的生命

一股勇氣昂然一聲

我自有呼應

這心聲可得到共鳴　太動聽

From High Street Down To Memory Lane

2009-01-08T09:38:00.001+08:00

From 6th January 2009 onwards, Woolworths, one of Britain's most loved High Street chain stores will disappear from the High Streets in UK, after enjoying remarkable longevity, almost 100 years. What a shame.

Despite its American roots, Woolworths somehow managed to assume a quintessentially British identity. The chain survived the austerity of the post-war years, the boom and bust of the Eighties and Nineties but the recent global financial crisis has finally brought the faltering retail gaint to its knees. It is hard to recall earlier recessions consigning such household names to insolvency.

Woolworths, a ubiquitous presence, was a childhood paradise of sweets, Chad Valley toys and 7-inch singles. It is also the home of the brand Ladybird. I grew up with Woolies, as it is commonly called. It is terribly sad that it is closing after a century in business.

My love affair with music started back in 1981 when I bought my first single from Woolworths. I have particular memory for many of my Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Wham purchases from Woolworths. Those were during my teeny days. I would saved up my pocket money and rushed to the local Woolworth to get the latest released single/album to add to my collection. Ha! I am showing my age I guess.

Not to forget the Pick 'n' Mix sweets counter where you were allowed to pick and mix your choice from a whole array of colourful yummy sweets. My favourites were Turkish Delights, Nougat, fizzy cola and miniature Bounty. Anyway, it really is awful to see somewhere I have so many fond memories attached to, disappearing forever.

No more pick 'n' mix. A bittersweet farewell to Woolworths!

Homemade Char Siew

2009-01-07T09:33:00.001+08:00

Going through my photo memory card, found these pics. This is a very much overdue post.

Clearing out my fridge and freezer before the Bangkok trip. Found in the freezer some belly pork with not much fatty bits on, so it won't make good Bak Kut Teh. For the past week, my son has been asking me to buy char siew rice for his lunch. To satisfy his craving, I decided to try and make char siew.

Instead of using the ready made char siew sauce, I made up my own sauce. I marinated the pork with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, sugar and tossed in a little bit of red colouring. I left it marinating in the fridge for a few hours.

Don't you just love the caramelizing effects!

Yummy and juicy

'Char Siew' actually means 'fork roasting'. The traditional way of making this dish is to skewer strips of marinated pork meat with long forks, and roast in a large covered oven using charcoal. I supposed my version, which was pan-fried with the help of a giant fork, should be named 'fork pan-frying', aka 'Char Jin'??

My boy loved it, he had a few servings until his little tummy bulged out.

The Reason for My Blog Freeze

2009-01-05T10:18:00.005+08:00

The real reason I haven't been blogging of late ... Well, a lot has to do with feeling very tired, disappointed and fed-up.

I have long planned for this one week shopping trip to Bangkok with my kids during 2008 year end school holiday. Everything was booked, settled my mom back in Ipoh with my aunt, itinerary well planned, luggage half packed. The night prior to departure, I logged on to the Thai websites wanting to find out how the weather was like, and was stunned to learn that the Suvarnabhumi Airport has been sieged by anti-government protesters. In simple words, the bangkok airport was closed, no incoming nor outgoing flights!!

After breaking the bad news to my daughter, she burst into tears and wept the whole night. By crack of dawn, I called MAS but was told that flights were on schedule. Weird! I kept calling and calling every hour or so but kept getting the same answer. Only received call from MAS two hours before check-in time, informing that the flight has been cancelled. It was a real blow to the three of us. My daughter didn't talk for a whole week. You can imagine how disappointed she really was.

I could have postponed the flight to another date, but I have chosen to cancel it coz we couldn't have anymore free dates as I have to look after my mom. My aunt has been real nice to have taken annual leave so as to take my mom into care for that week, but she couldn't afford another week off work. Tough luck!

Then, the week after, came WORK! Yes, work, preparation of a claim submission. The documents should have come to us in October and we have anticipated to complete in 3 months time. Well, things never turned out the way you expected, the documents were only delivered to us end of November, albeit in piece meal manner. Worst still, my 'beloved' client expected us to finish the submisison in three weeks time.

Ha, what a joke! Three months truncated to three weeks! That was why I was working 16 hours a day for the most of December. That only left me with 8 hours to sleep, look after my mom, doing the household chores, cooking for the family. I haven't time to do anything else, not to mention surfing the net, or updating my blog.

So, Christmas, New Year, school holidays are all over. I have already cleared out the decorations. Kiddos are now back to school. I have finished the claim submission, hoping to move on to the next assignment.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I would like to see this year. 2008 was not a stellar year by any means. I don’t feel like I did anything of any great importance. No weight lost, no major money made, no personal revelations that changed my entire life. I just wish mom will rapidly get well and be able to move on her own more stably, so that I can go out of my little hut and get some real fee earning work.

2009-01-01T19:43:00.004+08:00

Welcome 2009! It's a new year, a new era, a new beginning for many of us.

I would like to wish all of you a joyful and happy year ahead and may all your wishes and resolutions come through.

Looking back, 2008 has not turned out the way I would like it to be. Nonetheless, I won't be disheartened. I will put the past behind, keep counting my blessings and smile through the hard and good times, tough and merry moments.

I am sure many of you are looking forward to the new year though we are armed with much caution with the current bleak economic outlook. But whatever the financial papers, the experts, the feng shui sifus or the professionals are saying about what will happen in 2009, let's move forward with courage, enthusiasm, optimism, joy and hope.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009

Throw Outs

2008-11-14T21:16:00.000+08:00

Feeling bored at home. The kids are starting their months long school holiday and the thought of them lurking around the house made me feel slight uneasy. You know, kids being kids, they never bother to stack up things properly; never attempt to return things they took, back to their original position, etc. I can foresee my place will turn into a dump site, say within a week? So, I decided to carry out some 'clearing out' before things get worst.

No matter how much I throw away, sell, or spruce up, I am still feeling the need to do more. I have a gigantic pile of old framed pictures that I need to clean out this week and donate, or sell, or even just toss. Then I need to MAYBE tear down a piece of furniture in our living room and throw it out.

Oh and there’s still MORE clothing that I need to go through and get rid of. Urgh!

Eating Pasta With Chopsticks

2008-11-09T10:45:00.001+08:00

While sorting out my memory card and at the same time doing some backing up of data, I spotted some pics taken in Pasta Zanmai restaurant. Don't seem to remember 'journaling' about this restaurant. It was ages ago, three/four months? Yeap, sometime in August.

Pasta Zanmai is the latest venture of the Super Dining group of eateries which include Sushi Zanmai, Rakuzen, Zen, Kura group of restaurants. There are now a number of branches scattered in various shopping malls. We went to the one at 1 Utama. It is situated on the ground floor of Promenade, right opposite Sun Moulin Bakery and next to Carl's Jr. It can be hard to spot as it is hidden behind the Japanese grocery shop, Shojikiya. The place is quite small with semi-circular booths in the middle.

Acknowledged as a fusion of Japanese and Italian cuisine, I was skeptical initially as I thought it was a funny and weird mingle. Upon entering and scrutinizing the menu, we were spoilt with choices of different varieties of pastas, rice and other Japanese dishes. It offers a more fashionable fare, creating Japanese pasta dishes cooked with Japanese ingredients such as seaweed, miso and sesame are liberally used here. The outcome? Well, let's just say the combination is interesting; the palate requires no time in getting used to.

The interior is appealing as it is decorated creatively with huge lamp-like structures.

The open kitchen is at the back, allowing you to observe the chef preparing your pasta.

The colourful yet informative menu.

My son was somehow attracted to this slab of meat as opposed to all those mouthwatering pasta dishes.

The dessert menu is so enticing!

The iced green tea filled in a bamboo shaped glass.

After so long, I can't recall what this is called? Something mushroom, enoki in cream sauce ...

Tempura prawns in goma. Very nice stuff, definitely the best pasta dish of the day.

Sirloin steak, sexily glazed.

Ordinarily, Italian style pasta have three bases, more or less: tomato-based (bolognaise), cream-based (alfredo) and oil-based (Olio). At Pasta Zanmai, there are currently seven bases, and growing. Apart from the three mentioned above, there are the traditional Japanese style, called wafu; sesame sauce made from grinding sesame seeds into a paste; soup-based and meat sauce.

The goma (sesame sauce) versions are very popular. The nutty texture adds a dollop of luxury to any dish and also uplifts appetite. That’s why it's their signature dish.

We Asians, tend to regard pasta as an unbearably heavy meal. But this new pasta trend from Japan is breaking that prejudice. And once you eat at Pasta Zanmai, your perception of pasta will never be the same again.

Interestingly, at Pasta Zanmai, you eat the pasta with chopsticks instead of a fork and spoon, adding to that Japanese experience.

Overall, we enjoyed ourselves a lot. I would definitely return to try the other pasta dishes. Umm, and the desserts coz this time we didn't save our stomach for the dessert, pity!

Piece of Art?

2008-11-08T07:34:00.008+08:00

Can you figure out what these are? They are merely some Italian meringue buttercream and handmade fondant covered cupcakes in white and different shades of blue. You got to view it from a distance to admire the full image.

There you go, it is indeed a cupcake mosaic featuring an image of the new president, Barack Obama.

A New York cake designer, Zilly Rosen created this food artwork of Obama by utilizing 1,240 cupcakes. In this project, the cupcakes function like pixels in a computer image.

Some seems to think it is awesome.

But for me, it is so darn unappertizing. Please people, I just do not wish to see politics in my food!!!

Coloured???

2008-11-06T07:25:00.000+08:00

Something that I would like to share:

This poem was nominated by UN as the best poem of 2006, written by an African Kid.

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scared, I black
When I sick, I black
And when I die, I still black

And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you gray

And you calling me colored?

****************

Now that America has shown they can elect a black President and majority of them have put their racist tendencies behind them, it is time to repudiate all those that would continually play the race card. And, you know who you are.

Well, it's over. Let us hope for American's sake that CHANGE just does not mean the election of a black President and that from Obama's perspective it means much more. However, one thing is for certain that it will not be smooth sailing.

Despite the headline reads "Obama cruised to victory", it hasn't been easy for him. And now that he's in, it won't be easy at all. Obama is inheriting the worst economy America has had in decades. And there are plenty of people just waiting to blame everything on him. I hope he will come through the next four years well.

I was watching the live coverage from CNN. The more I watch, the more I wish there was this sort of democratic participation in Malaysia (and, dare I hope?). In Bolehland, the only time we gather in large numbers for political reasons is to protest (for more democracy). We never gather to celebrate politically. We are never excited about elections. And why should we be? ... ... ... ahem.

Japanese Homeware Giant Lands in PJ

2008-11-04T11:54:00.007+08:00

Hooray! Great news for fans of Japanese livingware who live in West Malaysia: Daiso, the 100 yen store chain, is opening a branch in - The Curve (on Level 2, next to Nichii) pretty soon. This will be their second outlet in Malaysia, after their successful first opening in KK.

Daiso, originated from Japan, is a unique combination of dollar and convenient store, carrying over 100,000 types of high-quality stylish household and lifestyle products at unbeatable prices. There are three Daiso stores in Singapore, where everything is going for $2. In Bangkok, Daiso stores are ubiquitous, popping up on corners and in malls, and even within department stores, where everything sells at 60Baht.

Now in Malaysia, all goods are going at a uniform price of RM5, hence the tagline 'Always RM5".

Before I heard this piece of news, I was planning to pop into Daiso during my upcoming Bangkok trip, to 'sapu' some cutie pastry cutters, silicon moulds, food picks etc. Now that with the opening of Daiso in PJ, I won't mind waiting a little longer, since the price, when converted, will be cheaper in Malaysia as opposed to 60Baht.

I'm so excited, can't wait!

Lou Por Paeng - Wife's Biscuit

2008-11-03T10:28:00.001+08:00

My dearie neighbour came back from Taiwan and brought back some local delicacies. Besides the famous mini pineapple shortcakes, there was also this :

Lou Gung Paeng - Husband's Biscuit

Frankly, it tasted a bit weird. I don't know how to describe, but just not to my liking. Perhaps it was the seaweed that they added in.

My favourite chinese pastry is no doubt the Lou Por Paeng - Wife's Biscuit.

There are a few legends relating to wife's biscuit.

One of them being: A needy couple used candied winter melon to make some round shaped pastry and peddled these on the street. It was such a hit that the husband decided to name this pastry wife's biscuit as a gratitude to his wife.

Yummy candied winter melon

The other being: A Teochew pastry chef brought some candied winter melon pastry baked by his wife to his colleagues in a restaurant in Canton. The chefs thought that the pastry tasted awesome and decided to tweak the pastry and sell them in the restaurant. As the pastry was first baked by the Teochew chef's wife, they decided to name it 'Wife Biscuit'. (Credit - Wikipedia.org)

But, I always relate wife's biscuit to the Hong Kong drama series, Square Pegs 戇夫成龍. The utterly touching love story. Remember the famous main character - stupid and good nature Ah Wong 丁常旺, played by Roger Kwok? The length that he is willing to go to earn his wife's (Ling Choi Fung 凌彩鳳, played by Jessica Hsuan) approval and affection is heartrending, especially the part where he painstakingly dried up the candied winter melon and baked the special pastry where he later named it Lou Por Paeng.

Beauty exists in simplicity is what this series is trying to say. Judging by the awesome lou por paeng, I totally agree.

Anyway, this is a popular snack in Hong Kong. The most famous one is probably from an old confectionary shop in Yuen Long. Years back whenever we visit Hong Kong, we used to make special trips to Yuen Long just to buy them. Tasted awesome when just out of the oven. The pastry is very flaky and fragile.

Craving for lou por paeng? No need to fly to Hong Kong these days. Just pop into the confectionary shop, Sin Eng Heong in Ipoh. Their lou poh paeng can certainly compete with those in Yuen Long.

Their other pastries are equally alluring, in particular the kaya puff, flaky, crispy, fragrant and egglicious kaya filled.

On weekends and public holidays, the acclaimed pastries may run out fast, it is advisable to order in advance, to avoid leaving empty-handed and sour-faced. Aiyah, I have misplaced their number and address. Well, the shop is on the street next to Lou Wong Bean Sprout Chicken.

Let me end this post with Ah Wong's famous line, "I'm happy as long as the one I love is happy."

Steamed Layered Kaya Cake

2008-10-29T08:07:00.000+08:00

My little kitchen has been neglected and I guess my little one felt it too because last night he mentioned that I haven't been making cakes/desserts lately. Oops, sorry dear, mommy was too busy minding other 'more important' matters, i.e. planning for the Bangkok trip.

Actually, I have been contemplating making steamed kaya cake since last week. With my mom staying with me these days, and in order to help her with her Alzheimer's condition, I constantly spend time trying to refresh her memories of the past. I talked to her about the old days, what we did, what we ate, where we went, etc. When it comes to food, I vividly remember mom loved to buy the kaya layered cake from a shop in old town Ipoh. The kaya cakes were very 'laku', no advance order, no cakes. The cakes were nice and soft, with just the right amount of kaya to add to the sweetness, yummy.

That's what led me to make this kaya cake. But, I am lazy to come out with homemade kaya. Finally managed to grab a jar of kaya from the bakery to make this tonight. The recipe I found is wonderful, the cake turned out promising. My son had so many servings even after a heavy dinner.

Which One to Choose?

2008-10-28T17:26:00.000+08:00

I've been spending a lot of time on the search engines lately - searching for good deals in hotel accommodation, reading reviews, deciding on which hotel to stay during our upcoming shopping spree in Bangkok.

Some hotel travel sites are no doubt better and more efficient than others. Sometimes, getting the best priced hotel can cause a major headache. The price fluctuates each day and at different seasons. I hate the idea of being taken for a ride if say I had made a booking and realized later that I had overpaid for it.

Back in the old days, we would have to spend a lot of time and money to make sure that we are getting the best deal. We would call up the hotels to enquire and then, compare with the prices we got through from the agents. But that would cost us a lot in long distance phone calls and also the hassle of talking to travel agents.

In the present day, we are able to access to hundreds of hotel travel websites which provide detailed information, colour photos, location map, pages after pages of travellers' reviews of the various hotels. It is good to do a hotel comparison with a one click search as that saves time from searching through several travel websites. It is just one simple interface with a few buttons you need to find out prices of hotels. I am an all-supporter in online travel booking - it's convenient, fast, simple and literally hassle-free, plus, you save on online travel booking too!

I still can't seem to make up my mind on the few hotels I have shortlisted. Do not expect accommodation to be cheap if you want to travel comfortably as a family but for solo travellers, budget accommodation rate is definitely possible. I'm still hoping to pick the right accommodation hotel in Bangkok though.

The current global meltdown is sending me some warning signals to my spending habits. I suppose I may have to give up my desire to stay in the new Centara Grand @ Central World though the photos on the official website are seriously enticing! I've decided to cut down on our family vacation accommodation options and use the savings for shopping instead.

Ayuria's Aquascape

2008-10-23T10:43:00.000+08:00

In one of my previous post, I did mention that we went to Ayuria for a swim. Then I received messages from friends asking me where this place is.

Ayuria, is the third condominium development in Mont' Kiara by Hong Kong developer, Asia Quest after its much successful Sutera and Cendana.

It is located up the hill beyond Jalan Kiara 5, next to Sutera and opposite Cendana. It is made up of three tower blocks. The jewel in the crown is a 520-foot long winding landscaped water feature that meanders around the tower blocks. This 'Aquascape' embraces a half Olympic length swimming pool, 2 lap pools, a children's wading pool, hot water spa, sauna and more. This exceptionary long pool with state of the art water garden is a most unique feature, found in no other residential development in Malaysia.

The aqua foot reflexology path

The water slide structure. Not very impressive though.

The jacuzzi

Fancy staying in this prestige and serene environment? It will only cost you RM1 million for a 1600 sq. ft. unit.