Saturday, December 31, 2016

Friday, December 30, 2016

Two Meet-Ups, Three Meals On A Beautiful Day

HOW I SPENT MY DAY.... 

Sacrificed my sleep, waking up earlier than usual and out from my house at 8am to First Garden to have a nice breakfast and most importantly, to meet up with my ex-colleagues, catching up with the latest "gossips" from one another.  LOL... Those days I used to rush back to the office after breakfast but it is so different now.  Eat with peace and leisure, enjoying every moment lingering at the coffeeshop with my gang and this only happens once awhile.... 
This piping hot of meehoon with fish cost RM8 now!
From those days when I was still working, it cost around RM5.50.....
What a difference... but then... once awhile, just eat and enjoy!
As Hokkien saying, "ku ku jip pai"  
LOL... 

After the meet-up with the gang, I went home and lazed around the laptop till my second meet-up with a blogger whom I got to know not too long ago... Her name is Irene Chan and she is a sweet young lady who is still working, unlike yours truly.  Actually she came to my blog and commented and I went over and somehow, I know she is Ipoh nang too... and that transpires our meet-up and we chose this place for our rendezvous.... 
Irene suggested this place O'Days and I am so glad she did...
It is my second time here in this place.... 
And there are much more varieties compared to the last time I came... 
I arrived first and she came soon after.. 
I could recognize her immediately when she entered and vice versa....
Well, easy only after all, which lady sits alone and which lady comes in alone, right?  LOL... 
Before we began our "questioning", we ordered some desserts over our chat... 
Since both of us had a good heavy breakfast, we just wanted something light... 
And we settled for these... quality kuehs... 
They cost RM1.50 each.. no joke!
Three of these... RM4.50...
Mini Otak Otak... RM2.50
And two glasses of tangerine... not sure how much...
Cos the tab was on Irene.... 
And for those who doesn't know Irene, here she is!
If curious, this is Her Blog.
Thank you Irene for taking off your precious time to meet Reanaclaire... 
And for the Sweet Temptation's Treat.... 
Yes, do keep in touch for more meet-ups, K!!
I thought I would be skipping dinner after those sweet desserts... 
But no, the temptation for fried rice was too great!
Ended up "walloping" a plate of my fried rice before I finally call it a Day....
*patting my tummy*
A very productive and foodful day indeed!


Thursday, December 29, 2016

Reanaclaire Cooks - Steamed, Sauteed And Boiled...

I HAVE BEEN COOKING FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS... very simple homecooked food, fit only to feed simple people like me.  ahemmmm... I like rice, at least once a day if possible, rice is carbohydrates, very fast put on weight if not careful.  Needless to say, I have not been very careful for the past few days, I took rice for lunch and dinner... though small portions like two big tablespoons and after that, I walked for more than half an hour around my neighbourhood... Justified?  Self-consolation.... LOL...

So what did I whisk up for my meal?  One soup, 2 dishes....
My first dish that was steamed together with my rice... 
One free ranch chicken thigh that cost RM7...
Marinated it for an hour with salt, soy sauce, pepper, chinese white wine and ginger... 
Okra with french beans and Chinese Goji... 
Meatless Beetroot soup with carrots, red dates and goji..... 
And my Simple Lunch Meal is Born... 


Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Nice Varieties At 101 Ban Mee, Station 18, Ipoh

MY SECOND VISIT TO 101 BAN MEE AT STATION 18....

I don't mind coming for my third visit, there are a few more varieties which I would love to taste.  It opens in the morning and by noon or so, the shop will be closed, so the next time I must go earlier to catch the "Water Dumplings" before they run out of stock.  LOL... Quite a distance from my place to Station 18, but food knows no barrier.  As long as there is good company and good food, short or long distance is not an obstacle, right?
This is the shop at the Station 18...
It is called 101... I wonder why.... 
Maybe 101 specifies One and Only One Special... 
It was after 12pm when we arrived... the shop was half closed just after we entered...
Their Fresh Beancurd skin with fish paste is a Must Order....
They are crispy and nice... I wish I could take the whole lot!
But I ended up only two... maximum.... 
This is my order... the normal Ban Mee with spinach... 
Dry version also looks nice.... 
Comes with a bowl of spinach too... 
This is the normal Lor Mee.... 
The gravy tastes like those sharkfin gravy especially when black vinegar is added... 
This is the special Lor Ban Mee with Two Water Dumplings aka Sui Kau... 
We wanted to order the Sui Kau separately but unfortunately, these were the last two.... 
Each bowl cost around RM5-6... 
My third visit will be this order above... for sure!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Hakka Noodles In Pasir Puteh And Ice Kacang, Kg Simee, Ipoh

SINCE WE WOKE UP EARLY, we made our way to Jalan Pasir Puteh for our breakfast.  The shop has no specific name, even the name on the signboard has faded but the business did not.  Each day the crowd will be there for their signature Hakka noodles.  And yes, the shop is actually called Hakka Noodles.  That is it, no specific name....

This time we managed to catch some other "ingredients", once after 10am, all we could get were just fish balls.  But beware of a lady who collects the plates and stuff, she could be very "grumpy" if anyone is in her way.  Do not get into her way while she collects, just stay out of her way, squeeze ourselves in one corner while she passes.... LOL... otherwise she will grumble why we do not understand the word "Excuse Me" .... Just simply find whatever space we can squeeze into or just get out of her way.  That is purely safer.... And there is another staff who takes drinks... she is the contrast, she is just so friendly and pleasant!  She smiles each time she talks.... And that makes us wonder why one is so different from each other.... Well, humans....
This is the plate of Hakka Noodles we were yearning for... 
We ordered 10 fish balls...
And some Hakka type balls and beancurd skin.... 
For two plates of noodles and the above, it cost around RM19..
In the afternoon around 2pm, we went to Kampong Simee for Ice Kacang such as this...
First time going there, the stall is near the market... 
Heard this Ice Kacang was kind of special with pickled cucumber...
But there was not in sight... maybe I heard wrongly from my friend... 
Cost RM3.80 for a bowl.... 
Tastewise not too bad... just that the bowls need to be changed?
LOL.... 


Monday, December 26, 2016

Celebrating Not In Hokkaido But Zento, Ipoh

SUPPOSEDLY TO GO HOKKAIDO LAST EVENING.... but ended up in Sushi Zento instead.  The place in Hokkaido was fully booked for the Christmas Eve, no reservations, no seats, they apologized, it is fine, no worries, we told them.  We adjourned to Sushi Zento, waited for five to ten minutes and we were seated comfortably for the next two hours.

By then we were hungry already and ended up ordering more than enough for the three of us... Everything seems to come in "Twins" for the evening, as my friend mentioned when the food arrived.  .Actually we left the ordering to the one who gave us the treat... Both of us just have to sit back and wait for the food.... 
Twin Garlic Rice... 
Fried Chicken.... 
Fried Salmon... 
See what I mean?
Gozi... 
Another type of Gozi... 
Ramen... only this did not come double... 
Otherwise we won't be able to finish!
And Teriyaki Saba to go with our rice... 
The two happy ladies who get the Christmas Treat!
Thank you for the Japanese Super-full Dinner!!



Friday, December 23, 2016

Combat My Cholesterol By Exercising And EATING

MY LIFESTYLE NEEDS TO BE CHANGED...  All eating and no exercise won't do, I tell myself.  Alright, it is from the doctor's advice too, I need to refer back to him in three months time to check my cholesterol level again, at the moment, it is on the high side.  I know I have not been exercising regularly for the past half year, everything is moderately fine except for too much meat and lack of exercise, that is all I can say.

Now I am back in Ipoh, I cannot be lazy anymore.  Starting from Monday, I will resume my line dancing classes again, this time my dancing will be more "robotic" in the sense that no more "curly moves" as in the previous year before my fall.  For now, my dancing moves will be to a certain level, will be Hard moves and not refined, get what I mean?  LOL...

Having said that, I started off my day by waking up as early as 6.30am, went to the toilet with blurry eyes (reminded me of my workaholic days) and I was out from the house by 7.30am ... to where?  To the Green Green Grass of Polo Ground!  Am I a Good Girl.... Today?  ahemmmm.... 
The sun is not even out yet.... 
And by the time I finished 2.5 km of walk, the sun was about to rise up.... 
I was already sweating good... 
Wonder whether my cholesterol went down or not at that moment of time... 
Alas... my friend wanted Telur Goyang on Bread... 
I followed the temptation to this place in old town where they served good Eggs on Bread.. 
This is the food court... 
And I was shocked to discover later that I forgot to take the pictures of our breakfast!
Was I that Hungry??? 
How could I forget??? 
After the light breakfast, we took a few pictures before we left... 
The City Town Hall facing the food court... 
The State Mosque in Old Town Ipoh...
Birch Memorial Clock Tower.. .
And Me... with the two kids... 
And Me again.... without the kids... 
Well, that was not all... 
We went for our second breakfast since this one was just a light one... 
Well, what we had was fantastic... Hakka Noodles!
How to slim down and lower my cholesterol like that??
hahahaa... 


Thursday, December 22, 2016

AN EXPERIENCE WITH POLICE AT THE AIRPORT

During our stay in Aberdeen, my son booked British Airways domestic flight to London for us.  We did not check in any luggage, like Air Asia, we need to pay for check in bags.  So having a cabin bag will do, 7kg for a ten days stay is enough for each of us.  Before going to the airport, my son cautioned us to put our toiletries in a transparent plastic zipper bag for customs inspection.  For males, no problem but us two ladies, we took the smallest cleanser, moisturizer and whatever cream we need for the face, all as small as we could get, all below 100ml.  We felt most confident that nothing could go wrong.... until.....

We passed the screening bag machine, my girl and my boy had no problem with their bags and plastics but I was the one being "detained".... One lady officer asked me whether that bag belonged to me together with the plastic zipper and I said Yes.  Then she told me to go one side and again she asked me the same question.  Meanwhile my son and daughter were standing nearby, wondering what had happened.  Then I was told that there was an alarm when my plastic zipper went through, two times in fact and they had no choice but to call in the police.  WOW!  So Serious geh??

I was asked to open my bag which I did and she used a gadget to check through very thoroughly.  Then she told me to wait ten minutes, the police is on the way....not to worry, it is their procedure, if any alarm goes off twice, they have to call in the police to assist them.  While waiting anxiously, we were wondering... "What triggered the alarm??"  OH dear, thank God still got time before our flight arrived.... (Another tip: don't check in last minute, always go as early as possible to avoid delayed like this case)  

True enough, One big Sized Policeman arrived, he talked to the custom officer for some moments and then with a pen and paper in hand, he walked over to me smilingly.  Feeling more at ease, I asked him what happened actually.... He told me that there was some chemical reaction taking place in the zipper bag when it was being scanned.  He suspected it was Peroxide which has spilled from the container into the contents in the zipper bag and it triggered off the alarm.  Haiyah........ In the end, the zipper bag was confiscated...Bye Bye creams! 
This was what triggered off the alarm... 

Moral of the Story:  Don't ever soak contact lens while boarding a Flight, it gives us the Fright, alright!

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Double Celebration At Oceanville Restaurant, Ipoh

BIRTHDAY CUM CHRISTMAS DINNER with my ex-classmates again! Last evening we had our double celebration at Oceanville Restaurant at MH Hotel here in Ipoh.  It is a Halal restaurant as far as I know, I have never been there before and anything new, I am all for it.  The drizzling did not dampen the twelve of us and we turned up punctually at the room reserved for us.... 12 ladies are no joke... when one talks, everyone talks... so room it is for US!  LOL...

Food is the second priority, all we want is a good Fun and Laughter... we ended up having a very simple dinner actually but the price is not at all "simple."  LOL...
Requested for noodles instead of rice.... 
For the twelve of us, this is a L size portion... 
And the dishes that came after.... 
Claypot ginger chicken... 
Sweet and Sour Fish...
Four types of beans in sambal belacan...
Ostrich meat with ginger and spring onions...
Peanut and Tong Yuen for the sweet tooth....
Double celebration cake from Nancy Chong... 
The Three Birthday Girls is the reason for this gathering... 
And we ended the night with Birthday and Christmas Songs... 
Girls not only have fun... Aunties too can have fun!
LOL...


An Evening At Santa Monica, Los Angeles

AFTER A SHORT REST at the hotel, we went to Santa Monica ... my grandson's favorite place... Beach!   Not my favorite though, I don'...