Happy 2011

I'd sit down and write up an entry reminiscing 2010, but I'd miss my bus if I do that. Haha!

Suffice to say, 2010 was a great year. Well it could have been better, more explosive, but...it was a good year. I look back and think of everything that's 2010, and I'm all smiles.

There's only a few more hours left of 2010, and I'll probably miss it. But with the new year hopefully comes a new chapter, and it will be a good one. I'm sure of it.

Here's to the best of 2010, and a great year ahead. Cheers!

Wildflower

How I spent my Christmas 2010

Christmas this year, had been a great one. Nothing extravagant. No hard partying. But warm, full of laughter, and full of love. And dogs. And (annoying) kids. 

But it was lovely nonetheless :)

What I cooked for Christmas 2010

As 2010 draws to an end, I reckon...I better post all these pictures up before the calendar goes to 2011 :P

Merry Christmas 2010

When I was a kid, there were many of those Christmas shows on TV. There was also a lot of books that features Christmas theme...and most, if not all of those pictures in them, had snow. White cottony snow. Beautiful layer of white blanket covering the ground, the roofs, the trees...

And I thought that one day, it would snow in Malaysia. And that I just had to wait a few years or something. Seasonal afterall...so I waited...

...till I grew up. Haha!

There was that time that my 2nd dog, Patchess, spent his first Christmas with us, and ended up peeing under the tree (or was that Fluffy or did they BOTH do it?), and bite my presents to shreds (which turned out to be a box of 'Chocolate Advent Calendar').

There were those times I vaguely remember of many relatives camping over at our house to celebrate Christmas.

And that year I spent celebrating Christmas hosting a Christmas Dinner with my uni friends, and was visited by an unexpected but very cute Kat.

Time flies. December flew by. And its Christmas tmr. And QJ will be celebrating Christmas with me for the first time in SP. :3

Cakes to bake, stew to be made, lasagne, chicken to be prepped, salad washed and toss. Cocktail and desserts. So much to be done!

Can't wait.

:3

Merry Christmas!

Christmas at Straits Quay 2010

Talk about first impression. This is the view that will greet you upon getting to Straits Quay. My jaw dropped when I saw this. It was BEAUTIFUL!

Christmas at Prangin Mall 2010

Last weekend, my nieces and aunt was down in Penang. Since I wasn't working that Saturday, I decided to grab the chance and bring my aunt out to eat the 'misua koh' that I have been raving to her about non stop. 

Christmas at Gurney Plaza 2010

A lil bit of effort from Gurney, which is...well...not bad I suppose.

Christmas at BB Bazaar 2010

+

This one's at BB Bazaar, Bukit Beruang, Melaka. Pics courtesy of Mr QJ Wong ;)

Christmas at Sunway Piramid 2010

Sunway Piramid - Old Wing. Dome castles, lil birdies, and a snow globe. Apparently you can go in there! (but damn it wasn't even snowing when we were there :< )

Christmas at Bangsar Shopping Centre 2010

Christmas is only 3 days away. Looks like I'm running out of time to post these pics! Lets get them out and over with :3

Bangsar Shopping Centre. The ones they did last year was pretty impressive. Gigantic gifts, shoes, jeweleries and what not. Most impressive of all was the 'merry-go-round' tree! It was sooo beautiful. We went there with hopes to see similar surprise for us where they used to put the tree but alas, they didn't decorate that area this year (ether that or I didn't see it).

Christmas at Mid Valley Gardens 2010

Mid Valley Gardens have very little concourse area, so they've gotta make do with what they have. Nevertheless, they never fail to impress with the stunning display they churn out for this holiday season.

Christmas at Mid Valley Megamall 2006

Breathtaking beauty. My favourite Christmas decoration at Mid Valley 2006.

I have no idea what took me so long to post this one up here. Pics (if i'm not mistaken) were taken by my sis using her Olympus SP760UZ.

Christmas at Mid Valley Megamall 2010

Mid Valley Megamall has always had the luxury of space (and perhaps budget) to come out with extravagant decorations. My most favourite decorations were from Mid Valley's work of art back in 2006 (which, shame to say, I have yet to post in my blog, and will do so right after this :P )

This year's theme was 'toys' - toy soldiers, dolls, ballerinas, plushies and bears..huge ones! Nieces would have a field day there (and we would need a leash to not lose them)

Christmas at One Utama 2010

One Utama's Christmas decoration concept this year features a little town with frozen 'ice-skating-like' river/lake. Pretty cool, considering how you can mingle with the decoration itself. 

Christmas at The Curve and e@Curve 2010

The Curve was our first stop. I kinda had high expectations on this one since the ones last year, and the ones in 2007, were pretty nice (urk. I have better pics of the ones in 2007. for some stupid reason, I didn't post any of the really good ones in 2006 and 2007. Will rectify it this year ;P )

Well that, and there's the fact that I had expected to do most of my Christmas present shopping in Ikea (which I did :P ).

Christmas Mall Decorations 2010

QJ and I went on a lil side mission first week of December to 'collect' pics of mall decorations (ok it's my fetish, not his :P ). So here's this year's collection so far.

I'll update this page with pics and links as I post those pictures on individual posts (because I'm too lazy to edit all those photos in one shot).

• The Curve and e@Curve
  
  
  
• One Utama
  
  
  
• Mid Valley Megamall 2010
  
  
  
• Mid Valley Megamall 2006
  
  
  
• Mid Valley Gardens 2010
  
  
  
• Bangsar Shopping Centre 2010
  
  
  
• Sunway Piramid 2010
  
  
  
• BB Bazaar 2010
  
  
  
• Gurney Plaza
  
  
  
• Prangin Mall 2010
  
  
  
• Straits Quay 2010
  
  

Daorae, Melaka Raya

I've always wanted to take QJ to Daorae. I've constantly raved about how good it was everytime after I go there with Shindee (and every single time I go with her, I'd complain of being too full :P ).

One of the last trips there, we noticed that Daorae had opened in Melaka Raya. Awesomeness! Now I didn't have to wait till he comes to Penang/PJ to bring him makan. /gringringrin!

Pak Putra Tandoori

Melaka is famous for many things. Satay Celup, Chicken rice balls, Tan Kim Hock products etc etc...but Tandoori would not be one of them.

Not until you've tasted Pak Putra's chicken tandoori of course ;)

KTZ, SS2 PJ

KTZ has been one of my favourite 'thong sui' places. Located in SS2, PJ, they have one of the best mango lolo (yes that amazing bowl of yellow gem you see above), and my (and my eldest sis) ultimate favourite: 'fa shang wu'. 

Swedish Meatballs and Spaghetti

Flavours magazine (by The Star) tend to have very interesting recipes come festive season. Big sis buys them regularly so I get to browse thru them (and steal recipes from her) while I'm at her place.Since I'm working now (and feeling a lil splurgy since I haven't bought any recipe books for awhile now *hint hint* ), I decided to buy this festive month's edition.

A yearly tradition of sort

Christmas is around the corner (just about a month away!) and even though I've yet to get my family to set up the tree (will do so this weekend...PROMISE!)...I'm excited!

And I know I'm not alone. :) Even this blog's 'feeling' it. It's been getting quite a number of hits from people looking for Christmas deco in malls.

So...as per somewhat of a yearly tradition of mine...I'll be doing it again this year :) (if time permits). Mall hopping and picture snapping and posting this year's Christmas mall decoration collection for 2010.... I just hope the deco will be up and ready by the time I visit...yikes!


/goes download some Christmas song to play.

I bet by the time it's Christmas, my colleagues will be so sick of my songs they'd be happy its over ;P and ban me from playing it anymore.

Microwave maggi

I was never a fan of maggi noodles cooked using microwave oven. Sis and I were pretty 'perak' la last time when we first bought a microwave oven for the house. We made maggi tomyam using the microwave..and it sucked big time. We never went back after dat day.

Year later, I saw my colleague cooking maggi curry noodles using microwave. Surprised, I asked her if it was nice, cuz my previous attempt had failed miserably (and we got icky noodles). She said it tasted the same as if cooked on fire. Curious, I asked her how she did it. She said to make sure to use hot water for the noodles (I had used tap water I think :P ) to be cooked in the microwave.

I tried that several days later and to my surprise, the exact same noodle, didn't taste as bad as it did years ago. In fact, it was actually quite good! So yeah, hot water for noodles if you want to microwave them. Crack in an egg if you want.


p/s: some of you might just go "Well DUH!" ...hahaha. Well what can I say. I still prefer my noodles cooked on the pot when I can help it.

The simple food I miss

1. I miss Nasi Goreng Cendawan from that friendly malay stall in Siswa, MMU. Their chicken rice is kinda awesome too (for those who fancy their style of sticky somewhat glutenous rice). The owners are really really nice people. One will often ask if I'm from Korea/Japan, then say "Ur BM banyak bagus ya". Another will tease me that I'm still around :P ...Once I forgot to go ATM machine before 'tapau'-ing my lunch. He went and "takpe takpe...besok baru bayar" eventho I said I'd go down and tekan some cash out to pay in a bit. The next day, I went back there to tapau and makan....he refuse to accept my money. "Saya dah halalkan :) " ....awesome people. I miss them, and the food.
2. I also miss the next stall's 'middle eastern' food...ESPECIALLY the kebab. The kebab's kinda hard to 'catch'. Either I'll be too occupied with classes (that tend to flock to the 10-2pm slots) or I don't wake up early enough to go, or is too lazy to move my ass to Siswa to tapau. And they finish quite fast. Once I went there around 12.30 noon and they were OUT! /sad. I love to have the rice, with the kebab meat, and their mayo. Add the vege and japanese tofu. Yum. Their fried chicken ain't too bad too. Once, they had some debating competition (when QJ and I first hooked up I think) and they ordered too much of the rice and friend chicken. Boy did we have a field day 'curi makan' the leftover chicken.
3. The curry 'mix' rice from food court is pretty awesome. I went there last weekend with QJ, had lunch there, and cheekily took a picture of my platter, and MMSed to Shindee saying "Yum." ...I didn't even say where I was, or that I had gone Melaka that weekend. She instantly replied "MY FAVOURITE CURRY RICE!" Hahaha!
4. I also miss banana leaf rice. One's from the indian shop in between MMU Corner and (Apollo?). There's one guy there who would always come and serve us. He'd ask the same question everytime: "Tak bawak you mia kawan-kawan ka?" Hahaha. Saravanan's banana leaf is good too. My only problem is that if I order a plate of meat, I can't finish it myself. Oh the banana leaf shop near Kerjasama shoplot row is pretty good too.
5. Nasi Goreng Thai from that stall in Ixora food court. I don't know if they are still around (cuz I haven't gone there for a long LONG time). Love the raw kacang panjang and carrots and egg and yellow fried rice. And the sambal that goes with them. 
6. I MISS MISS MISS MISS MISS MISS 886's MI HUN KUEH. Nothing can express how much I miss this! OMG SUKA!
7. I love 886's fried rice too. Really fried very well but because of my infatuation with #6, I never order it. I always steal QJ's.  Nyehehe.
8. The duck rice in the corner shop near food court (they changed stalls ade...not there nemore :( ). Great portion, great taste.
9. Chicken/duck/roast pork/char siu rice from 'Pa Bai'. Yums
10. Vege shop! (omg how could I forgot). Butter fried mushroom, yam basket, mixed rice, tofu rice.

So there. A list of 10 items I love in Bukit Beruang area, that I probably wouldn't bring some guest/visitors that I'll bring to Melaka...but love so much still. I guess its the fond memories I had there and the lunch/dinner company I had then that brings back thoughts to those places.


p/s: Its a snack so I guess it doesn't really count...but the 'bonda' kueh from the indian stall near Vege shop there...kicks ass.
pp/s: I forgot the awesome nasi lemak kukus stall in food court for dinner. I guess that makes it 11 things then :P

Happy Birthday Dad!

Seems like just awhile ago that I blogged bout my dad's birthday last year...I made that 'instant tiramisu' and my niece was still 'botak' and all..haha! 

So...Happy Birthday Dad! :D

Flying dog!

It's a beautiful sunday morning....

...and we decided to play with the dog a lil.

"sigh"

A touch of nature in the midst of the awesome food and drinks

Day 2 in Langkawi was full of water activities. And thank the heavens the weather was BEAUTIFUL (it was raining left right and centre just before the trip)

Shindee had wanted to go Temurun waterfalls. So our Navigator, QJ, and the lead convoy captain, Shah, led the way. (Yes Dear...I'd join TARA with you anytime :P )

Moss on the trail leading to Temurun Waterfalls

Off for some bucketloads of fun!

Been there a few times...can't say there's that much things to do there that's tourisy...but there's cheap good booze. Reason enuff. Not to mentionthe cheap chocolate, good food, and good company in a relaxing environment.

Hello Langkawi! :P

First Time

There's always first time for everything. And just the other day, I had another 'first time' encounter.

Taking the public bus (Rapid Penang) to and from work, is actually not much of a hassle. The bus picks me up right across bro's apartment, and drops me off about 5 minutes walk away from work. If I need to go home by bus, I'd usually ask my colleague to drop me off at the station, and I'd just hop on.

And its not unusual that I sleep on the bus. I usually wake up 5 minutes before my stop. The worst was I woke up at the traffic light RIGHT before my stop. And I had always thought to myself "One day I'm really gonna kena."

And just the other day, I dozed off (or I napped on purpose, I cant remember..hee!)

When I open my eyes and look out the window...I saw Island Plaza (about 5-10 minutes drive after my stop)

Cepat-cepat tekan the bell, and hopped off when I could. Thought of walking back, but remembered that there was a shop I was looking for at the nearby shoplot. So went for a mini-adventure of sort: something I have not done forever.

Stopped by Guardian in Island plaza and saw a bus right outside the shopping centre. Hopped on and was on my way back. So much for walking back. HAHA!

One of these days, I'm gonna open my eyes and see Batu Feringgi. :P

iPod

I've been wanting to get myself an mp3 player. Well...previously I used my Nokia but that got lost, and the other SE Shindee gave me didn't have earphones :P ...

Last August, QJ and I met up in KL (during my convo trip)...and he casually said "Eh lets make a stop at Apple store later". Not suspecting a thing, we went there, fiddled around with the units there...and then he said "Come, lets get one for you" ....

And we walked out of the store, new 'toy' in hand...and I couldn't stop grinning.

He's such a hotshot...

Because he...

...got promoted...

Damn. Never knew he looked so cute underneath that helm of his :P

Venser,the Sojourner. Planeswalker. Scars of Mirrodin

Hi!

...because it's been awhile. 

:)

Well spent.

Spent Saturday morning bro and his family (and my aunt, who was also in Penang for a short visit). Dimsum breakfast, visit pet store, then came back...took my damn cough meds and konked off for a few hours (thank god for the cooling weather). Woke up, packed, and drove back to SP with my aunt. Detoured to go shopping before heading home, then dipper (dinner+supper) with aunt and dad. Workout, bathed, then off to bed (yes I slept on my DS again playing the newest Ace Attorney game).

Woke up and went breakfast. Came back.......continued pigging :P ...until noon (slept on DS again. It's gonna snap one day ...uh...*touchwood* ) ...woke up and continued the game (lol) ...then showered and had lunch (bakuteh!) ...surfed the net and tried to watch Fringe..until nieces drove me nuts with their misbehaviors....sis called asking me to fetch her from the bus station so quickly changed and cabut from the crying ruckus...had our favourite local ice blended drink at the station...then went shopping with sis. Got movie tickets for Ip Man 2 for family for movies later at night....then drove sis to meet bro at the local electronic store. Went grocery shopping at Tesco...then went home, showered, and dragged my parents and aunt out for movies (soooo hard to get them to leave the house aiyoyo~)....got home, workout....(followed by dessert...haha!) ......then played with Fluffi while still sweating like mad.

Weekend well spent. Gotta love it when I don't end up sleeping my weekend off.. :P Now back to Monday.. :\ ...ah well.....at least now Amran doesn't get to laugh at me when I say "TGIF!!" anymore...nyehehe! WB to working life, Amran. You too Siew. (tho I doubt you read my blog... ;P ) ...have fun and take care in Miri!

Stomach cramps

So a regular day at work. Boss suddenly waltzes over. Looks at the toilet, and randomly comments...

Boss: Eh, you guys dun go and stand up the toilet seats aaa!
Colleague1: WTF? Where did you get the idea? Where got ppl stand up on the toilet bowl summore one these days?
Boss: Got la! Last time one of the clerks do that...
C1: We don't la. Where got? Last time last time la.
C2: Eh how you know? Oooo you've been spying on people! OMG!
Boss: NO LA! Can see shoe/dirt stains on the seat wat.
C1: Ooooo. Wa you study what pattern people squat summore aa?
C2: Cialat lo you!
Boss: No la! Just want to tell you all dun stand up there like that. Later accident happen. Got cases people fall off the thing, injured themselves and got paralyzed aaa! Scared the thing break oso.
C3: Aiya we all dun play stand stand wan la.
C2: Eh actually aa, noneed to stand on the thing wan ma. Stand and do it oso can wat.
C1: HAAA? YOU SIAO AA? (we're all girls...so yeah.) How you do it la?
C2: Used to it ade ma. Always go clubbing area..the toilet there very geli wan...where I dare to sit? Stand and do it la.
C1: You must have very good aim.....
C2: Practice ma!



....and all this while I was laughing...non-stop...meniarap on the table unable to do anything else but laugh.

Gotta love my boss and my colleagues.

Dragon training 101

How to train your dragon.

If you like works by DreamWorks Animation you'd love this.
If you enjoy fantasy films, you'd like this.
If you like high quality animation...you'd like this too.
If you're in for a good story...and a good time, this one's for you.

Great story. Great animation. Nice work on viking voice talent. Still need anymore convincing?

Worth all your money watching it in the cinema so go get your ass to the cinema and watch it now.


And oh. If you happen to love D&D, this one will tickle you :P


p/s: Had tomyam 2nd time this week. Steamboat this time. Shud stay away from tomyam for awhile else my stomach's gonna file official complain (and I'll be stuck in the WC for awhile LOL)

Observation (aaaaa)

Try spoon-feeding someone. Be it your 'sayang'....your sister...your mum/aunt/dad....your niece/nephew....

Unconsciously, you'll have the urge to open your mouth as well when you 'suapkan' the food. You can keep your mouth closed, but you kinda have to make a conscious effort to do so.

Maybe its doesn't happen for everyone la but many people I've 'tested' with had the same reaction.


Really makes me laugh when I saw my 3 year old niece having the same 'aaaaa' open mouth effect when she fed her dad his birthday cake. lol!

Anyways! Birthdays.


Happy (already belated) Birthday to bro.

Happy Birthday (tmr) to you Amran :)

Happy (three-in-one, day after) Birthday to you guys, Loo Mun, my instructor Fandi, and dear Karolina.

Reading

I'm good in reading people...(daresay relatively good). Changes in their behavior and what not and why they act that way...given I spend reasonable amount of time with them (verbally, internet-ly, personally).

It's something I take pride in.

Din din

Dear blog,

I made fried brinjal (steamed afterwards) with garlic and dried shrimp for dinner. Love brinjals. But haram if dun fry them before steaming. Taste yuck yuck.

Also made fried cabbage with carrot, (lotsa) garlic and dried shrimp (again ;P )

Fried chicken with sesame oil and ginger cuz I ran out of ideas what else to do with them. It actually turned out allright. Hahaha!


Making mango pudding (from scratch) tonite...pasta sauce tmr.


Gotta ♥ cooking.


Out shopping. Bai!

Likes - Ferry

Ferry rides. Love them. Eventho it makes me feel icky and sticky from the ocean breeze (and probably the heat and sweating) after the ride, I love it.

Like it best when I'm not in a hurry, and I don't have to be so bloody restless while waiting for the passenger+car ferry to arrive (ferries in Penang-Butterworth come in 2 types. car+car load and car+passenger load) and just take my time and enjoy the breeze while crossing over to the other side. I enjoy watching out for jellyfish in the water. Especially love the feeling of the wind blowing my hair...eventho it may look like a freakin mess after that....its simply a lovely feeling.

Been going out with Shindee quite often these days. Since my office is barely 15 mins walk from the jetty, I'd walk there, take the ferry to mainland, spend the rest of the evening there, and then take the ferry back to the island. Got out of the car and went to the front of the ferry. Sat on the metal post where they'd tie the ropes they secure to the port when they dock, while chatting with Shindee, enjoying the company, and the breeze.


Life is good. :)



Random. Haven't updated in a while and not gonna bother to backtrack. Don't know when I'll update again. Heh.

Best Bits of Project Alpha Season 1

Sitting in front of my PC, surfing my blog feeds on my Google Reader - one of the best ways to spend time off study/work...tho I have to admit, sometimes I spend a little more time on my reader than I should. :P

Sometimes it does make me wonder. How do those awesome bloggers be so successful, be so good in what they do (blogging, what else?). Where did they get the ideas? The inspiration to write in their blogs...Where are these people blogging from? On their desks with their Mac...? Or propped up on their bed with their laptop...? One of the best things about Project Alpha, for once, we're brought to 'behind the scenes' of those blog pages that I frequent...where it all happened.

One of the funniest episodes of Project Alpha Season 1 is the episode that Jojo brought Fourfeetnine to the gym. The gal has never been to the gym and was walking on the treadmill with her very nice (and according to her, very expensive) handbag. LOL. Though she easily tires herself from the minor exercise (and lotsa giggling) that she had to do (and ends up just lying there on the yoga mat, unable to move anything but her fingers), she instantly perks up when Jojo mentions about shopping. HAHA! It's a girl thing ;)

Through Project Alpha, I also noticed that most of the bloggers are very VERY down to earth, and that not only are their blogs fun to read, they also seem fun to hang out with. It was a very nice way to get to know our bloggers, without having them to describe about themselves in their own blog.

Project Alpha Season 2's coming up soon and I read that this time around they flew all the way to London for the shoot. Wow! Budget's certainly gone up for Project Alpha. Can't wait :D


Project Alpha Season 2 is presented by Adidas Action 3 and supported by P1 and MAS

Without doubt.

I wanna skate.

/sigh. Dunno why the fuck's it so hard to go skating. I know it doesn't snow here but we've got a skating ring here (altho its 300+km away from where I am now) ....

I don't skate. I never skated (properly) in my life. But I wanna skate (and fall and trip and tumble and eventually hopefully move a few inches).


To think of it, if I were to ask Rabbit to go down KL with me spontaneously and go ice skating, she's say "Come lets go!" with a big wide grin....if money and taking leave wasn't an issue with the both of us. LOL. Don't think our bosses would be happy with us taking anymore leave since the week long leave we took just last week. Sure, we'd both DEFINITELY fall till we bruise ourselves silly....but it'll be fun. (Ok lets pray we dun both lose our teeth or anything) ...


So....Rabbit....bila mau pigi? :D


p/s: Kid, I know you're expecting an update from my recent trip.....I haven't even sorted (or loaded) mah pics yet. ROFL. Tunggu yer~