It's Strawberries' Time

Bought some strawberries and got them posed for me.

Sharp and bright red

Voluptuous

Juicy

Bring out the taste of my homemade sour plum sorbet

Accompanied my girl's strawberry milk

A dress-up for the boring doughnut

Garnishing for my corned beef fried rice wrap/omelette

A Silver

I haven't posted for quite a while coz we went back to Ipoh as the kids started their one-week school break. Trying to get internet access in Ipoh is always a nightmare, that's why I didn't even bother to bring along my laptop.

It was an easy and totally relaxing week for me. No internet, no emails, no work, no calls (coz I off my handphones), lots of good hawker food, 11 channels of Olympics coverage, Astro-On-Demand, etc. As the kids' final term exams is coming, I also spent time helping them with their studies.

So, Beijing 2008, Badminton events. We ended up with a silver medal. It was sad to watch Chong Wei being slaughtered by Lin Dan in the gold medal match. Lin Dan was made to look awesome by an ordinary Chong Wei. All along I rated the two: skills wise, techniques wise, stamina wise, the two are at par. But, mental and temperament wise, Chong Wei is weaker. Or should I say, pressure is Lin Dan's middle name.

That match, Chong Wei was completely outclassed in all departments and could not match both Lin Dan's furious pace and the Chinese overwhelming support.

Overall, Chong Wei played well. But Lin Dan played two levels better.

Well, that's life. Ups, downs, win, lose, is normal. That's what make sports interesting.

Congrats to Chong Wei, a silver is still better than none. You've made us proud.

Well Done

The Olympic Badminton matches are being held in the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.

(Photos : courtesy of members of BadmintonCentral)

Isn't this shuttle holder cute?

Eventhough I was busy with work in the office, but I still couldn't stop myself following the results of the Olympic Badminton matches online.

A late morning match when Lee Chong Wei played against Ronald Susilo from Singapore who is better known as the black horse who sent Lin Dan packing during the Athens Olympics 2004.

The result : Chong Wei beat Susilo in straight sets. It is a joke for anyone who thinks Susilo would be able to repeat the history of Athens. Brilliant drop shots and net play by Chong Wei and his smashes are getting sharper and sharper, especially his sideline smashes are deadly and very accurate near the line.

In the evening, our Wong Choong Han played against the Athens gold medalist Taufik from Indonesia who is recovering from dengue fever. This pic was taken when he stepped foot on Beijing Airport, he looked haggard.

The result: Taufik was dethroned as the Olympic champion! A superb 21-19, 21-16 win by our Choong Han. Congrats to Choong Han but also felt sorry for Taufik. Taufik had just recovered from dengue fever, did not put up a quality play, it was only 60-70% of his full potential. But all praise to Choong Han as he has managed to break his mental barrier. He did not look the least bit intimidated by the Olympic champion during the encounter.

Choong Han was on fire today, possessed! He was as fit as he can, well prepared, went on the offensive right from the start but at the same time showed great improvement in his defence. This certainly will give him confidence in advancing to the next round. I was jumping in joy and hope Choong Han will grab at least a bronze medal.

Lin Dan beat Ng Wei from Hong Kong.

Bao Chun Lai beat Kevin Cordon from Guatemala. This young Kevin is something, has great potential.

Our Malaysian shuttlers have done extremely well today. More exciting days ahead.

See who was spotted among the spectators at the Stadium?

Yeap. Mr. Bill Gates and wife, enjoying a Badminton match.

A Day To Remember

08.08.08

Fatt Fatt Fatt

Today is a very special day.

The prosperous digit eight strikes thrice.

The date signifies prosperity, fortune and good tidings.

China has fixed the grand opening of the Beijing Olympics 2008 to coincide with this special date.

All eyes on China tonight at 08:08:08pm.


Don't miss this historical moment.

Lazy, Hazy

I can see it.

I can smell it.

The haze is back.

Year after year ...

It is here to torture us again.

It is equally bad in Beijing.

The Bird's Nest Stadium is seen amid haze, just weeks ago. (photo taken from other sites)

Last minute cut-backs on traffic and industrial processes was ordered by the Chinese government, so as to bring blue skies and easy breathing for the athletes. Weather affects the conditions in which the athletes have to perform.


Not to throw a damper on the Games, the Meteorological spokeman confirmed that weather will be overcast but favourable for the opening ceremony tomorrow with a possibility of a brief shower in the afternoon.

Hope everything will go smoothly tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

My Knitting Passion

Passed by the handicraft shop at Subang Parade last week. Yvonne has put up some lovely knitted garments on the mannequins. Just love those yarn! I haven't been knitting nor crocheting for quite sometime now. I used to patronise this handicraft shop twice a week, during that two hours while waiting for my girl undergoing her badminton training. I would normally join those ladies, sitting round the big table, knitting, crocheting and chit-chatting away.

I love knitting as well as crocheting. I learnt the basics from my mom during my primary school days. I vividly remember my first knitting project being a bright red woolly hat with a pom-pom. I then proceeded to crocheting and ended up doing a vest using a beige colour yarn with glittery bits.

When I was pregnant with my girl, I was fascinated by those knitted baby garments pictured in the Mother and Baby magazines. There, happened to be two craft shops in Holborn, just walking distance from my office. I bought myself a Knitting A-Z Guide and some pattern leaflets and immediately embarked on my knitting projects. From then on, I have been churning out tiny baby cardigans, jumpers, mittens, gloves etc all in pastel colour yarn. I liked doing baby stuff coz they are irresistable, chic, tiny, use less yarn and quicker to complete. I even received orders from friends and relatives.

My knitting passion gradually died down after I moved back to K.L. Then, in 2006, I picked up this hobby again after stumbling upon this wonderful craft shop in Subang. Then, for months, I was on a knitting freak... until the time I have to force myself to stop. Why? Coz the yarn are darn expensive and I couldn't afford anymore. A sleeveless top with cotton yarn can easily cost RM500 and a light cardigan can cost a whooping thousand ringgit!

Sad. But I still enjoy browsing through those knitting fashion magazines from Japan and occasionally rummaging through my collection of knitted garments.

Here is one of my favourite, a glittery pullover, which I have given it to my dear friend Tiara as a birthday present. The body itself is knitted whereas the collar and the arm edge is crocheted.

Iro Iro

I read about this buffet restaurant in Ipoh but have yet to give it a try. The reviews were so so. Recently the restaurant has expanded its services to include steamboat and grilled food in addition to their Japanese & Western buffet. Wow! The all-you-can-eat-till-you-die buffet already can blow you off, and now, the unlimited servings of steamboat and grill! My kids were so anxious to conquer the place ever since I mentioned to them.

Their wish was fulfilled last Saturday. We went to Iro Iro Buffet Restaurant which is located on the ground floor of Ipoh Parade. Iro Iro is a Japanese word, it means various. Well, I suppose the name tells it all.

We got there half past six, and got ourselves busy right away. To start off, we headed to the buffet line.

They serve sushi, soba (Japanese), kimchi (Korean), bang bang chicken (Szechuan), jellyfish (Chinese), salads and some finger food (Western). Quite a wide variety of sushi including unagi, tamago, baby octopus, salmon, squid, prawn, shellfish and seaweed. Surprisingly, my mom did enjoy this cold buffet line.

On the western line, they serve two types of spaghetti, fried chicken, potato wedges, fried rice etc. There is also a soup counter where they serve miso, mushroom and corn soup.

Next, the steamboat counter. Two soup base to choose from, either plain or Ma Lat. We opted for the plain one. The meat was fresh, but the cuts were too big. They have an interesting array of steamboat tofu products, all shapes and sizes.

By this time, we were so awfully full that we have to skip the grill section. The lamb chop was waving at me, but sorry-lah, next time ok?

What's for dessert? Cheesecake, cuts of fresh fruits, longan and white fungus tong sui and Paddle Pop Rainbow flavoured ice-cream.

All these .... for the price of ...

They charged mom half the price for being a senior citizen.

Ok, come to the verdict. Iro Iro is no Jogoya in terms of selection and atmosphere, or should I say it is miles apart. But, for Ipoh standard, the food is excellent in value and in abundant quantity (that is if you get there early), the decor is modern with dim lighting (Ya, hence the poor quantity of my pics), spacious layout. Overall, the place is considered not bad, economically.