Good Friday In Agape With Sharon

Had a long journey by bus to Johor and then Singapore... it was a tedious ride, started at 9am in the morning and reaching Johor around 5pm... That was really the most busy time of the day and it took another two hours to "crawl" into the Lion City. So by the time we reached, it was almost 10 hours of journey! Gosh.. okay, next trip, I must fly like a bird, I always seem to be telling myself that but after some time, I will forget and will take the bus again.... 

The next morning, it was Good Friday and a public holiday in the Lion City....

We went to church at 10am and Sharon was waiting for us there already!

Confirmed with her the night before and she said she had all the time to spare with me!

So nice of her....

After the church service, we went for our lunch in Jurong West... 

Took a bus there and we had lunch at the Food Republic..

Photos taken from Sharon's FB....

Sharon is very generous.. treated me lunch and some more wanted to buy something for me too

But I stopped her in time... she already had given me so much... and that included her time too!

Guess these need no introduction... 

I told her that next time we meet up, don't spend so much on goodies please...

Just meet up and chat chat will do.....  hahahaa....

We bade each other goodbye around 4pm...

And headed back to our "small nest" to rest....

Thanks, Sharon for your goodies and spending time with us!

Offer For Reanaclaire.com?

I received this email yesterday from an Eric Leighton....

Our website brokerage firm has a number of active buyers looking to purchase websites like reanaclaire.com.  Can we set a up phone call this week to discuss this opportunity?

I haven't reply to him as yet, I am still calculating...how much is my blog really worth?

Should I respond to this type of email?  Set up a phone call to discuss the rates?  How much should I propose?  Is my blog worth anything more than 100K?  Shall I tell him that I am willing to let go at $100K?  That makes me RM300K richer!

With that kind of money, I can go traveling whenever I like... I can even take my kids along... or bring some of you too...  LOL...

I can always start again a new blog called Clairereana.com, right?

Ok, if we can really sell our blog for a price, will you, would you take up the offer?  :)

 

At Kok Thai Restaurant With The Golden Girls

Went out for another gathering with the golden girls last night.  It was pre-organized a month ago prior to an arrival of another classmate who came back from New Zealand.  A few days earlier, I booked Kok Thai Restaurant for a room but upon hearing that we need to book at least RM400 of food, I cancelled the room and opted to sit outside...

Our food did not come to RM400.... we just had a simple dinner and it cost RM270 plus... and these were what we had...

Steamed chicken with ginger....

Kai Lan with Yam...

Beancurd with black fungus and *sing kwa*

Mango Slices with Jelly Fungus *hoi chit*

Claypot Seacucumber, mushrooms, fish maw etc etc....

Everyone loves this dish....

Finished to the last drop....

There was one more dish...

Fish cooked with ginger and dried chillies...

It was very tasty too...

The Golden Girls....

We had a good time last night....

Three of them I have not met since we left school in the late 70s...

And we were all amazed at our classmate who gave birth to 7 kids!!!  

We *saluted* her!! 
Mother of the Year belongs to her!!
 

Exotic And Exquisite Batik Sarongs From Ipoh Distributor

Being Malaysians, I am sure many of us like to wear sarongs, right?  It is a normal sight for young and old to use sarongs especially in our hot tropical country.  But the last time I wore one was during my confinement time!  Since then, I do not know where my few sarongs had "vanished"... either they are worn out already or already given to someone else who needed them then... LOL...

Then recently, we came to know one distributor in Ipoh here, he sells local sarongs at a very nominal price!  Elin and I were so happy to know him and he showed us his wide range of sarongs.... Elin was ecstatic because she simply loves to wear them, in fact every day!  She was smitten with the batik colours and bought a few immediately.  My colleague also bought quite a few and I ended up with two pieces as of now.... hahaha.... I am going to buy some more!!

I chose this pinkish red... so sweet and nice... 

Couldn't resist this colour though it suits someone sweet and younger.... LOL...

It is 100% cotton as well.... soft to the hands... 

If worn as a kebaya, it is really nice...

But I think I will just use it to wrap around... hahaha...

I like this one as well...

The colours are very sharp in real.. 

And this is slightly more expensive... 

If this one is sewn as a kebaya, it is really classy....

Can wear with a Black or White Blouse (Kurong Style), then it will be very exquisite...

Well, this is not the end of our purchases...

My friends have already made some orders ....
Can buy them as gifts to our love ones... 

As for the pricing, they range from RM20-30 only!
If interested, let me know...

I could arrange and will send over via Poslaju! :)

Sri Mahkota aka Buntong Noodles In Theatre Street, Ipoh

Tonight's dinner was taken in Sri Mahkota aka Buntong Noodles in Theatre Street, Ipoh.  The four of us did not feel like taking rice tonight so we went for fishballs noodles.  As usual we had to take a number before we were seated and our number was 26.  We had to wait for 15 minutes or so before our order was taken.  That showed how crowded this shop is especially during dinner.

While waiting for our order to be taken...

these were taken....

Soon our food came....

Double portion Hakka mee....

Nearer version....

 

I prefer mixed noodles dry version...

A bowl of beef soup and its condiments...

 

Mixed fish balls with beancurd...

I like these too...

When the noodles were mixed properly, the pale colour earlier became darker....

That was our dinner...

The bill came to RM23 something...

Beauty Lies In Beijing

This is the best time of the year to visit China, spring is in the air and flowers blooming everywhere.  Have you chosen a place where you want to enjoy sightseeing and at the same time, shopping and tasting glorious food?  If you are still undecided, I will share these information with you and let's decide on our first place to visit, Beijing.

 There are many attractive sights in Beijing, one will be wonderfully mesmerized by the uniqueness and serenity of this beautiful city.  Firstly, you can stroll along Nanluogu Lane also know as the funkiest hutong in Beijing. With the length of 800 meters, Nanluogu Lane is the best-preserved hutong of Yuan Dynasty (1206AD-1368AD).  I have been here and I love the to sit on the rickshaw ridden by the locals.  These rickshaw drivers provide tourists the best time of their sightseeing, riding through lanes and historical areas, feeling the coolness of the wind at the same time.

At night, people hustle and bustle around this hutong area for shopping and tasting lots of snacks from the booths as you stroll along.  Besides that, you can have a wonderful time roaming in the boutiques and souvenir shops, prices are very reasonable and you will feel every cent worth getting these beautiful gifts back to your love ones.  During the day, you can get lots of handicrafts in
Panjiayuan Flea Market which is the most famous flea market that sells lots of antique stuffs and other handicraft.  For those of you who are not into shopping but the history of this city, you can explore the real old Beijing through the old stuff and the stories behind them narrated by the locals in the area.

For food lovers, you must not escape the delicious aromatic Beijing Duck in Pianyifang.  Beijing Duck is famous globally but the best place to try out the original is right here and there are two types of preparing and cooking this special dish. The famous restaurant to enjoy this kind of duck is Quanjude Restaurant. The traditional way is to roast ducks in either closed oven or hung oven till the meat is slowly cooked.  Do try out this Pianyifang Restaurant when you are there, in fact, one must not leave Beijing without tasting their signature dish!


Watching Peking Opera Beijing Opera or Peking Opera is very traditional theatre form. You may think that it is hard for you to understand what performers are singing but it is still very interesting to enjoy the costumes, mask and beautiful headwear.   Besides these main attractions, more places to visit are of course, the Forbidden City, The Great Wall, the Chinese imperial palace from Ming Dynasty, houses extensive collections of artworks and artifacts and other treasures. Besides these two sights, some other spots like Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven also highlight your trip.   Well, what are you waiting for?  Check out these Beijing hotels for your accommodation.

Have a memorable trip!!

Memories Of The 70's

Dug through some folders this evening and saw some childhood pictures I have taken with my camera before they faded off.... 

This black and white picture was taken in the early 1970's, I think I was around 13-14 years old and my sister was only 7 that time.  Taken at the balcony of our town house and I remember eight of us were squeezed in one room with one corridor leading to the balcony.  Six of us slept in the room whereas my two elder sisters slept at the corridor with just mat on the floor but covered with a mosquito net to keep cockroaches from "disturbing" them.... 

Yes, those were the poor, old but happy days!

 

I notice I still have some puppy fats here! 

 

Many years later.... 

We are now matured and growing old gracefully... (i hope!)

Time has changed us physically and environmentally...

At least now we do not have to sleep at the corridor 

with the fear of cockroaches as our night guests anymore....

LOL...