Natural Beauty To Behold

Whenever I go visiting to Taiping, I never missed going to the lakeside because I am really fascinated by the trees! These trees are not the normal ones, they must be more than a hundred years old (i think)... so gigantic and strong...the way the branches lean over to the lake, let me tell u... they are really a wonderful sight to behold! I can just stand there and feel amazed.... hahaha.. I guess, next to food, these beautiful sights never fail to escape my eyesight...

using my handphone to snap these
in a way...doing them some injustice...lol..
but if u see them in real
u will know what i mean...

A Brief Getaway To Taiping

I went for a brief getaway yesterday.... where? Taiping... it is around 70km from Ipoh and we reached the town in 50minutes. What purpose? hehehe.. apa lagi, pergi jalan-jalan cari makan (what else but to go for a eating spree again!) I forgot to take pictures of our lunch meal....silly me, I thought I have taken it but when I checked with my camera just now, they were not there.... sigh..

We stopped by at this Taiping coffeeshop after our dinner (letswallop post)and this man recommended us to take his yam cake. Proudly he said that his yam cake was authentic styled, learnt from his grandmother/ancestors... something like that, my hokkien is no good, so I agak-agak he must be talking about that la... After his short "speech", I "obliged" by ordering a small plate... (still full after dinner)

when it came, i was like...gosh! looked so yummy one...

it tasted better than it looked! hmmmm.....

then we ordered some taiping rojak..
so much grounded nuts, man...

some sotong, fruits & homemade fried yau chow kwai...
it sure tasted very yummylicious ...
Next time must go eat again!!!

Musical Intruments

My piano is lying like a "white elephant" at home now. I thought of selling it but my kids are against the idea. No one plays with it anymore, pity the piano, I got it second hand, more than 10 years ago, sold by a piano teacher. Never used it much in fact and I am seriously considering taking up an intensive course to learn up. Serious... no joke. Anyone care to teach me??

For those who are looking for a Yahama piano, well, I read there are some pianos for sale in their website. Besides pianos, there is a wide selection of other musical instruments as well. All you have to do is to click on it. In fact I just clicked onto the grand piano sale here, for those living in the Midwest, all deliveries for the new instruments are free. Check it out if you are seriously looking for some musical instruments!

Abacus Meal

Been eating heartily for the past few days, thanks to Elinluv and I adamantly told her that for days to come, our lunch should be either skipped or taken in lesser portions. She laughed cos she knows I cannot resist food when it comes to that! She is the slimmer one cos she exercises a lot! As for me, I only know how to sit and eat... I always got my own excuses when it comes to brisk walking, either it is going to rain or my girl is having tuition and needs my chauffeuring... LOL...

Ok...back to my topic... our measly lunch.... for both Elin and I...

"abascus"
it is made of yam and flour...
very nice to "ngek ngek" the fellas..

this of course is some type of yam thingy too..
each of us had a piece of this...
So....
do u think I can lose weight if we continue to share our meals?
hehehehe....

Sweet Thoughts Are Made Of These..

When I reached home from work yesterday, I saw one parcel on the table addressed to me. I was thinking aloud.."wow, another pressie? who can it be?" Like a kid, without hesitation, I tore off the pos laju plastic and inside was a white box. Then only I looked at the sender and it was written C.A.K.E. sdn. bhd. At first I thought it was a fruit cake from a blogger whom I read was making some sales baking fruit cakes! hehehe... guess who she is...

I was wrong. It was from this lovely blogger here who has a daughter named Ashley. LOL.. I bet many of us know who that is, right? Yes, she is the one. What a lovely gift, it was so nicely packed.....

nice to have a cup of coffee with this...

A box of sweet goodies
(Barb, u thank me, I thank u!!)

A Wedding Photographer

One of my son's good friend is studying in Nottingham University and my son has just met up with him during Christmas. My son received a nice T-shirt of his university from this friend and since then, my son is wearing it very often. My son told me that if he has an opportunity, he would like to go to Nottingham to do his masters there. Well, if I can afford to send him there, I surely would love to see him do his masters. Speaking of Nottingham, I know my son has few more years to go before I can see him tying the knot but if he really settles down in Nottingham, I think he would be looking at this Nottingham wedding photographer to do all his wedding pictures. LOL...
From what I read here in this wedding photographer Nottingham, he firmly believes that a good wedding photographer should reveal all the beauty and the uniqueness of that special day so that it is well documented for the family and for their future generations. And this special photographer, from what I know about, is an environmentalist and he has this new concept of being a green wedding photographer as he takes seriously in World Land Trust where he will donates a certain percentage of his earnings to this campaign.

What's Up, Cook?

After a sumptious dinner last night, I prepared a simple one for tonight. During lunch time I "consulted" my sifu Elin for some suggestions, I told her I have a small slab of pork meat, what shall I do with it? She suggested that I could mince the meat and then steam it with 2 normal eggs and one salted egg. Ahhh.. a good suggestion....

Went to The Store to get some vegetables and ended up buying some frozen cod fish as well. I thought it would be very expensive but to my surprise, it was very very cheap... for three pieces, they were sold at RM8.90 only... Gosh!! Got fishy smell or not, I asked her.... so cheap one!

Then Elin taught me to put more garlic...
Fried it dry dry...
Then put some kicap when the oil is hot...

and...pour over the fish after that...
no smell one, she said..
very true... eat while it is hot too!!

then i stir fry this vege...with lots of garlic too..
(apa panggil, i tak tau)

aaahh...this is the steamed minced meat
with 2 types of eggs
(kai tan and ham tan)

there... 3 dishes... enough or not?
my fren , Tammy, macam can smell one..
She called me while I was at the kitchen
And asked me "What's up cooking??"

Something's Good Tonight

After my "pawning" post yesterday, my nice fren Elin must have felt some "sympathy"for me (LOL) and thus, this evening, I was treated to a very sumptuous dinner at this BBQ Korea restaurant called Riche Montana... funny name for a korean BBQ... sounds more like a cowboy name to me.

Back to Elin, I wanted to say a Big Thank You ... for such a delicious dinner with u and your lovely Joanna as well. I am indeed very touched for giving me such a super yummylicious dinner, my first time ever in a korean restaurant.

(Know what? I cannot even sit while posting this! I have to type standing up... guess tonight I have to stay up late...how to sleep with such a heavy stomach! hahhahaa....)

the front view

we were the 1st patrons for the evening...

the big chef...doing her "stint"
don't play play...

part of the food...

part of the soup...

my desserts...

Elin, thanks again for the lovely dinner

I Went To Pawn....

Labbie my dog "wrestled" with me last weekend and my bracelet broke... I didn't realize it was missing from my wrist until Aaron told me. The bracelet was hanging itself on the iron grill at the door... maybe my Labbie hung it there for me to see... (i think my dog is quite clever one... quite..) hahaha....

Since my bracelet is broken and the price of gold has gone crazy and haywire, I decided to let it go....

So...for the first time in history, I "pawned" my gold... I didn't even trade in for some other styles. I preferred the cash...and cash I got! For a simple bracelet, the goldsmith gave me RM650 after minus-ing 26% off the actual price of gold. I remember buying it for half of that price those 8 years ago...

Well, since it was already "broken" and I am a bit "broke", the cash is most welcoming...
(guess Aaron and Andy will be most alarmed to read this....)

We Love Big Face!!

Yes, my kids and I love to eat "Tai Kau Meen." Nowadays in IPOH, these type of stalls are very scarce, not easy to locate them anymore. So whenever I go to Penang, I will search for them, there are aplenty in Penang and the best thing is, they come in many types of fillings.

I found this man in Jelutong, I said, "I want each of everything"... His reply was, "I have 20 choices, how many do u want?" wahhhh....20 choices, man!!! Then finally, we settled for 10 choices...hahahaa... my gosh....each one different variety and we ended up paying 22rm for the 10 choices....

the young boss...

he was doing my 10 choices.. heheeee...

i love the coconut fillings best!! simple and nice..

this one ham & meat floss..
gosh!! what a combination!

some of the 5 sweet types
another 5 were made up of ham, cheese, meat floss
and goodness knows what...
all we did was to walloped them!!

so how about u?
Do u love these "Big Faced Pancakes?"

A Crazy Badminton Fan

A relaxing Sunday....whole afternoon spent in the room.. never wanted to come out. If Merryn and Cleff were to do that, there would be a outcry, a happy outcry.. LOL.. But as for me, a whole afternoon spent in the room and mostly on bed was a bliss today, especially with one laptop on the bed and eyes on the big screen.... Watching the Malaysia Open 2010 today was enough to lift up my spirits high....hahahaa.....

Double bliss was when Lee Chong Wei won the men's singles and Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong won the men's doubles. The last time Malaysia won was in 2007 and today 2010, we won again.... "WE"...hahahaa... I was standing up and applauding each time they got a point. Each time time I clapped, my dog Labbie barked...serious!! Really, and I tried clapping again, yes, she barked again too..... hahaha...she must have sensed my jubilation!

my blissful moments...

hope they show the repeat tomorrow :p

The Reds & The Greens

soft and nice...
the red ones are filled with bean paste
the green ones are coconut fillings

They are called Ang-koo-s... is that how it is spelt? These are miniature ang-koo-s which I bought in Eaton, Penang. Each time I go Penang, I will try to get some home, after all, I sure pass by there while driving back using the bridge way...
Who likes to eat angkoos besides Me?

I M Twiddle The Second...

What was I thinking of??

I reached home this evening a bit later than usual, parked my car and was gathering my handbag, tupperware, preparing to get down from the car, when suddenly my eyes caught the sight of Fernie's schoolbag behind the passenger car seat. For a moment, I was thinking, "hey, why is her schoolbag here?" OH GOSH!!!
Then I suddenly panicked.... I had lunch with her this afternoon and dropped her back to school after that....AND THAT MEANS.... I WAS SUPPOSED TO FETCH HER AFTER WORK!!!

YO!!! Quickly, I started my car again and Zoomed at full gear to her school....my goodness, it was already 5.30pm, well over her time to go home. All the while driving, I was thinking why had I forgotten to pick her up.... The first thing Fernie said when she got into my car was "Mi, u never thought of me?" I didn't have the heart to say "Yes" ... Sorry is a much better word...

Let It Go

My mind was in a turmoil for the last few days, due to some business which was not actually my "biz" and it was wearing me out. I couldn't sleep too well lately, my eyes cried, "close them" but my mind said,"no, i wanna think...and ...think...why, why.."
Today I found the solution... I reached my decision....it was sort of a relief.. at least for now and in days to come. Whatever is bothering me doesn't seem like a burden anymore. I have been worrying for "what is not my business." My poor head has been growing more grey hair lately due to this disturbance. Well, not anymore..now I am thinking of Elin's Korean Barbeque dinner and looking forward towards IT! So as for that problem, just Beat It!

More About Key West

I know I have mentioned about these fabulous Hotels in Key West few days ago and now I am going to write about them again. What I understand from their website, they have vacation packages for that includes fishing, diving, affordable hotels, sunset cruises and much more. One of them is Albury Court Key West, they provide bed and breakfasts, vacation home rentals, condos, bars and restaurant. Basically everything you need is provided in their Key West Hotels and that includes Key West Florida as well.
For more information and details, just click onto their videos and check out which Key West suits you best!

A "Sadistic" Sharing

I just came back from dinner with some of my outstation frens... it is quite late now and I have yet to put up this post... so tonight it will be a very short, sadistic post... not only for U but also for Me...

Why? Cos while my kids were having a time of their life in Swenson, I was not around with them...when I was with them, we ended up eating typical chinese food, not "sinful" ice cream such as THIS!!!!

isn't this a beauty?

whose spoon was this??

hmmmmm......

ahhhhh.....

oooohhhhhhh.....
wordless & speechless

California Surgeries

Here I go ranting again about my weight.... someone commented that I have a big round face, a face that reminded them of a "pancake" or "moonface." Not only on my face, I am sure that my body is just as round too, extra flesh here and there. If Only I were in California, surely this california liposuction will be my next stop. I need to trim off some fats here and there, besides exercising, maybe I should opt for some plastic surgery? LOL.....
Not only liposuction, there is also some surgury in california breast augmentation, oh, I am not too sure what those surgeons gonna do on the body. Perhaps I better start reading about this and share some information with my friends. After all, there are so many advertisements on how to lose weight without dieting, I am sure many resort to all these surgeries to beautify themselves. But the point is, will it be lasting? I still believe that exercising is the best way to make ourselves healthy and looking good. But I am too lazy to lift my feet every evening. When I reach home from office each day, the bed always looks inviting....LOL.. sooner or later, exercise also won't be able to help me and instead Southern california tummy tuck might be able to! LOL..

COME, MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

This cool rugged handsome man, Eugene is planning a Bloggers' Meet All in KL. When? During the school holidays. Where? In KL most probably.... Who? So far, no participants as yet, except for Eugene, I guess.. LOL.....

So who wants to start the ball rolling? Perhaps all of us can chip in to suggest what, when, where and the who's. But make sure the host of the Ball is there, the Big Man himself, otherwise no fun, right, everybody??? Don't lets talk only... MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

Anywaysss, for those who have experience in this type of Bloggers' Meet, please do help us with some useful information, something that we should know. (Eugene, over to u.....)

Let's start the ball rolling ... THIS IS IT!!!
(oopps.. better not use MJ's theme) (pui hau sui, kong kor)

LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN.... THE BLOGGERS' HAPPENING!!!

*i talk so much now, i might be the one who cannot make it* LOL.....

Home Buyers

Talking about migration again, I would say Toronto will be my first choice. Though I have never been to US yet, my choice is still with the rockies in Canada, I do not know why but the feeling of warmth and comfort is definitely there. My friend from Belsize, Toronto has a very nice home, though it is not an enormous house, nevertheless it gives out a sweet peaceful feeling when I was there. I simply love it the ambiance of it all...

But do I have the opportunity to settle there? Well, I hope so, maybe in few years or maybe not at all. One can never say what can happen next. But if I really do have a chance to uproot myself, the first thing I do is to buy a small cottage styled house, nothing too complicated. Perhaps Mississauga Real Estate will be able to assist me in this matter. From what I read here, they are dedicated to helping first time homebuyers with assistance on mortgages and other new immigrant homeowner programs. I will definitely "KIV" this Mississauga Real Estate for future use. :)

Kitty, Smiley, Sweetie...

Hello Kitty... Hello Smiley...and Thank you, Sweetie for sending these to me by Fast Post...

When u asked me whether I'll be home on Monday, I know I will be getting some nice goodies.. hahahaa... My brother received this on my behalf and it was in his place till this morning. I quickly took from him and tore the paper off... (macam first time receiving pressie! :)

oopss...take pic first before stripping it off totally...

thank u, girl, for remembering that I love IKEA cookies..
now after this...
i will Hide Them First!!
(just kidding :)

I Pick Up Mandy

I had a lovely surprise call from Mandy this evening. Mandy is STP's radio fren whom I met when STP aka Cikgu Arthur and contingent came to visit IPOH last year around November, if I am not mistaken. We sort of "clicked" almost immediately, she is such a friendly lady and I am sure anyone will feel very comfortable being with her. Am I right, STP? (oh, should I start calling u sir or cikgu.... but then again, we are almost in the same league, right?)

So... I said to Mandy, "Can I pick u up after 7pm?" She laughed... normally she picks up people, she said... but this evening, she is special, she was picked up instead... that is the priority of being a guest!

After picking Mandy, we went to "pick up" Elinluv as well.... how can we leave her out... cannot...
She is a MUST HAVE person too... Together these 3 Charlie's Angels (overgrown angels, I must say), went to Ipoh Garden East food court for our dinner....

we took porridge with.....

spicy hot frogs...or toadss??

ordered some satay...

some chicken wings...
and a plate of rice with dishes...
(elin, where is that pic?)

Mandy...oh mandy...
next time we go for more yummier food, ok?

Flying To Key West

Is there anyone planning a vacation to Florida and would like to find out more about their accommodation there? Well, just to share some information here that I know of about Key West Hotels in Florida. From what I read here in their website, there is a list of the best hotels in Key West Florida and you can easily book directly with your choice of accommodations. Not only that, there is also a wide variety of places to stay, from an affordable motel to the finest luxury resorts, one can have an exciting and yet relaxing stay at the beaches.
You can tune in to the Key West Videos for some clips, I am sure you will love what you see and perhaps for those who are planning to tie the knot this year in Florida, then maybe a Key West Wedding could be just perfect for you!

At Hard Rock And Walking Tall

After dinner we went to the Hard Rock Hotel... my kids and Gab wanted to go and look see, look see... the last time I went was during the eve of the opening ceremony of the hotel.. this time when we went, the hotel was like in full swing.. live band at the lobby and it was actually very classic...

We were like "ah lians" and "ah bengs", Gabriel with his equipment, snapping pictures at almost every corner.. hehehee... even this pillar below was not left out... my girl wanted to take this picture badly.. know why????

well, it certainly made our legs looked so slim..
we looked tall, right?

a picture to remember Hard Rock by..
one day, we might come here to stay a night, yeah???