Last Minute Again

Man...I'm doing it at the last minute again. I've yet to packed my bags for Macau. So many things to do on my last day in Subang...last minute shopping...meeting a girlfriend for lunch...meeting family for dinner.

Gotta start packing...but I'm here blogging -_-

Okay...It's a Lobster

I was lazing in bed watching Martha Steward last night when I was told "It's a lobster, not a prawn". My beloved Chef took the trouble to SMS all the way from Macau to correct me on my knowledge of crustaceans.

Hmm...apparently Eric read my post on Jogoya and he couldn't believe his eyes when I mistaken the majestic lobster for a lowly prawn 0_o

Don't be fooled...it's a LOBSTER

Darling...that's why you're the Chef and I'm the Chef's Wife =P

Don't worry, I won't bring home a duck when you send me to the market for a chicken...most likely I'll bring home a turkey!

A Family Affair

Just came back from a short trip to Sitiawan where I spent the last 4 days with family, young and old. We went back to celebrate Grandma's birthday which consisted of a 10 course lunch in Bei King restaurant. This restaurant is very famous for it's Foochow dishes and I used to love eating there. The keyword here is 'used'. Our birthday lunch sux. Thus the lack of food pictures. No point taking pics as the food doesn't look all that appetizing and it's definitely not as tasty as last time. We were obviously disappointed. What's worst is the view I had which spoilt my appetite further...

In case anyone is wondering what's wrong with the so called view, well..the obviously fat lady is wearing a very tight tube top with a matching daughter as accessories. Too much fat and definitely too much exposure 0_o

Lunch was a small family affair as we only managed to fill 3 tables. Quite a number of family members couldn't make it home this year. After spending a couple of days with Grandma, 14 (6 adults and 8 kids) of us headed to Pangkor Island for a short getaway. The ferry from Lumut only took 30 minutes to deliver us at Pangkor Island which is a fishing village. The smell of salted fish, dried anchovies and squid hits you in the face once you step off the ferry. Welcome to Pangkor Island =D

Everyone was hanging out at the beach near our hotel in the afternoon. I can't remember what's the beach's name...what can I say...the sand is not soft and white...it's littered with rubbish. Thus I didn't get onto the sand but sat down waiting for them while enjoying the sea breeze.

I was also tasked with taking care of the beach ball because...

a monkey might just take a fancy to it!

Found a couple frolicking in the dirty water...ahhh...young love... it defies all hygiene sensibilities

Cute kids making sand castles. Ain't no budding architects here =P I still can't get over the fact that the little gal is only wearing panties and no shirt. Haven't they heard of paedophiles?

This scene caught my attention. Coz once upon a time...I was one of them. It brought back many memories.

Suddenly, the sky got darker and darker. And in the middle of the sea, a light was shining through. I felt overwhelmed. Everything else faded away while the light held my gaze. Was it a sign from above?

Beautiful isn't it? Definitely a sign from heaven...a sign that we should find shelter. It literally rained on our parade -_-

All good things must come to an end. The kids left Pangkor with a heavy heart. They wanted to stay longer but all the adults looked like zombies. It ain't easy looking after 8 kids who have the tendency to run about and disappear at the blink of an eye. They also ate like horses. It seemed like they were always eating one thing or the other!

When we got back to the mainland from Pangkor, the kids decided they wanted McD's for lunch much to the chagrin of the adults. That's how we ended up at the only (it's sad, I know) McD's in Sitiawan =D Opened not too long ago and it's my first visit to this McD's. Okay..I admit, I'm a McD's junkie myself =P

Young Cousins (clockwise): Alvin(6 yrs old), Melvin(10), Abigail(11) and Mimi(8)

The Boys : Fendy(12), Edwin(12), Jeffrey(9) and Eddie(9)

Okay...I think I could've gotten a few of their ages wrong as there's so many of them! Man, I feel old. I'm the only one my age group on this Pangkor trip as Melaine deserted us to stay in KL -_-

Before heading back to Subang, Mum and Aunt Serene had to visit this place for lunch. It's somewhere in Sitiawan near the coffin street (coz many shops selling coffins there lar). The sisters claimed that they have been eating noodles from this vendor since their younger schooling days...which is ages ago mind you. Well...obviously we, meaning me and Uncle Wang(Aunt Serene's hubby) have to tagged along.

Welcome to noodle shop with no name(coz I didn't spot one!) near coffin street.

This is where the magic happens.


Sitiawan is still very much a 'kampung' so the price of food is still super cheap compared to KL. No where in KL can you get a bowl of noodles for RM2.40 ok...maybe you can...but definitely not with this portion.


I think only locals would be able to find this place as it's located off the main road.

Doggy near our table taking a rest.


Recycling is a pretty big thing here. Hence the creative use of an old cooking oil container to keep chopsticks clean =D


Even a Coke bottle is not spared. Coke soy sauce anyone?

Mum and Aunt Serene was craving for this. Ice kacang on a hot and sunny day.

'Loh mee' which is noodles in some slimy soup. Not really my taste.

Uncle Wang ordered the same noodles as well.

Thank goodness I ordered the 'kampua' which is just tossed dry noodles in soy sauce. Ain't too bad but the slices of black tinged meat took some getting use to.

Mum was busy eating her noodles and her poor ice kacang started to melt. Looking kinda gross 0_o

We had just gotten into the car to start our journey home when all of a sudden, the sisters wanted to buy some 'pau'. All of us jumped down again and they headed into the shop to get some while I stood under the shade to wait for them. I was then mesmerized by a beautiful cock =P

What a gorgeous cock!

He was strutting around showing off and all of sudden...

he told me to butt off!

The Sitiawan today is very different from the Sitiawan I spent my holidays in 20 years ago. Back then, bicycles are the main form of transport and my Grandpa sold vegetables a stone's throw away from our house (this is a brick house we moved to in the city from the wooden house in the estate). We have a few chickens and ducks while my cousins who has a green thumb grew beautiful flowers in the garden. In those days, I love helping to wash the vegetables which is to be sold the next day and even pack 'wanton' skins into small plastic bags for sale. For helping out at the stall, I'll get 50 cents from Grandma to spend at the sundry shop just a few steps from where we sell our vege.

Those days in laid back Sitiawan is still fresh in my mind. I'm glad I could still speak the local Foochow dialect of Hockchiang which I learnt during my stay with Grandpa and Grandma. Many of my cousins couldn't. Makes me wonder if one days the local dialect and culture would fade away with time.

These days, Sitiawan is known for it's cheap and tasty seafood. That is true and of course our family have our own favourite restaurant to visit on every trip back. Even Eric is hooked on some of the dishes =D There's nothing much to do in Sitiawan besides eating and lazing around which contributed to my expanding waist line. Only regretted we didn't manage to have the famed chendol on this trip. Going back to Sitiawan is like going back in time...life is slow where an hour feels like a day. There's no need to rush. No need to stress. Just relax and watch time glide slowly by. Maybe that's why the deliciously sweet mangoes growing in Grandma's house seem to never ripen!

Dropping the Stones

Many times when I’m reading stuffs in the newspaper, magazine, blog or gossip websites, they refer to weight as stones. They say something like “…she lost 2 stones and now wear size zero clothes” So the thing that is baffling me is not about size zero which is really ridiculous to start with coz I don’t see how a healthy gal can ever fit into those teeny weeny pieces of cloth. Actually, what’s bothering me are the ‘stones’.

How much does a stone weigh?

Can I just pick up a stone on the road and assume that’s what they mean?

Why use ‘stone’ when we already have a reliable universal system of measurement in kilograms and pounds?

It’s bad enough that in the Malaysian education system we are taught the metric system but the USA has a whole other system of their own. Now, whenever I encounter anything referring to weight in pounds (lbs), I have to manually do the conversion in my mind and divide the figure by 2.2 to get it the equivalent in kilograms (kgs). Maybe it’s just me and my slow brain…but I could only work with kgs…it comes naturally. It’s just like when someone ask how much I weight…I only know the answer in kgs. Come one lar…when we step onto the weighing machine we only want to see the smallest number okay…kgs is always going to give a smaller number compared to lbs =P

As usual, I went off topic again. So back to the stones thingy. Why are they using stones? Does stones = kilograms and pebbles = grams? Maybe it is a fancy word just to make the story juicier? I mean, stone does sound more exotic than kilograms doesn’t it? I’m beginning to think that a stone is not very heavy coz whenever the stone word is used, the number is a single digit below 4. So it’s either a stone, 2 stones or 3 stones. I’ve never seen anyone mention 8 stones or 14 stones. Weird isn’t it?

For the past few months, many people have been commenting that I lost a lot of weight. A few even commented I look prettier *blush* =D This happened after I became unemployed. Being unemployed do have its benefits after all! So the next inevitable question that follows would be how did I lose those weights?

There are a few things that did it. First and foremost is living in Macau. Our apartment is on the 4th floor with NO elevator…so have to climb (which I try to minimize at all cost) stairs if I leave the apartment. In Macau, one also has to walk a lot. Most places are really nearby (the country is really small lar) so walking is way more convenient than taking public transportation. Then there is the food factor. Chinese cuisine tend to be healthier as there’s little oil and salt being used in the dishes. The most sinful food is probably the juicy roast pork (siew yoke) that I totally L.O.V.E. Not forgetting, there are not many places for supper as well. In Macau, it’s very rare to find a fat person. If you do see one, it might just be my darling Eric, maybe an expat or even a tourist =P

Secondly, is stress. I’m a stress eater…if there’s such a thing. I eat when I’m stressed. During school, students mostly look malnourished as they lose their appetite worrying about the exam or they forget to eat as they’re busy studying. But not me. I put on weight during exams. That’s when I realized I’m a stress eater. I eat when I’m stressed. The more stress I’m under, the more food I need. So since I’ve stopped working…there’s no work stress to deal with…no need to eat so much. This of course worries me a little coz if I start working again, the weight would pile back on. I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t happen.

Lastly, it’s not exercise =P But sleep. I sleep late and wake up late. I love it and it makes me happy. When I’m happy, I don’t crave for food =D But I really should do some exercise…but I just loathe jogging or running. Does cross stitching count as a kind of exercise? It should lar coz my arm is constantly moving with the needle!

It's good that I've lost some weight coz it's winter time in Macau. Winter clothes tend to make even the skinniest gal look like an overstuffed dumpling. Really wouldn't like to picture myself looking like a giant dumpling stumbling around in Macau in my new boots!

Anyways, whenever I start to lose some weight, the first place to shrink is not my big butt, my bulging tummy or even my chubby face. It’s my boobs. Talk about losing one’s self confidence. Boobs shouldn’t play such an important role as we all know the beauty comes from within mantra, but it still affects me a little. You know how guys are obsessed with their penis size? Well, gals have the same relationship with their boobs. Gals, you have to admit it’s true. If not, how can you explain the wide range of super padded push-up bras in the lingerie department? But the guys have it easy…their equipment is hidden while ours is on show. There’s always an element of surprise when the guy’s equipment is in an excited state and the gal loses her push-ups.

I’m so mean, but I always wanted to know how do you guys feel being deceived by the very effective push-up bra? There’s also a push-up underwear for guys too if you wanna have your revenge or just to boost the male ego ;P

Cross stitch : Carp Complete

I finally completed my cross stitch carps after working on it for about 2 months. Doesn't it look beautiful? Have yet to decide whether to take it to the framers. As I've mentioned before, I made some changes to the original pattern. I changed the colour of the green carp to red whom is now known as transcolour =D. I've also decided not to stitch the red border as I feel that it would limit my framing choices such as size and colour.

Actually..I lied, this is not how it looks like now. I took this picture when I really thought I finished it...but then I was lazing on the sofa reading a book when it suddenly hit me...I forgot to stitch the Chinese characters on the left. But then I was too lazy to snap another pic...so that's why this pic below is without the Chinese characters.

I'm so proud of myself =D

These are the shiny threads I used to stitch the scales on the carps. It's 3 times the price of normal threads.
Of all the carps...I don't fancy these two the most. The red one looks kinda weird. Nothing really wrong with the gold one...just think they look awkward together.
This is transcolour. Supposed to be green but I made him red...he didn't turn out too bad did he?

Unfortunately, the black carps didn't really stand out even after I stitched it's scales. It sort of blended in too well with the water. And also it got overshadowed by the beautiful gold carp just next to it.
I like this carp the best. Maybe because of how the body is positioned...I can be so biased =P

Close up on the shiny scales. It seriously was a pain to stitch the scales on all the carps.

So...now that I've finished my carps, I'm moving on to other stuffs. Currently I'm working on some smaller stitching projects which I'll post here when the time comes. I also have a wonderful cross stitch project waiting for me in Macau. That one is a long story so I'll save the story for some other time.

Ole Ole Bali @ Sunway Pyramid

I'm so stuffed as I just came back from dinner just a little while ago. Met up with Hwee Chiang, Jamie, Alvin and Davin for dinner at a nice little place named Ole Ole Bali. The ambiance at this restaurant is very inviting and the food is pretty good and tasty. A lovely place to unwind and hangout.

Small lamp on the table that gives the place a whiff of romance.

Jamie, Me and Hwee Chiang. Thanks to photographer Davin who cut-off one of Hwee Chiang's arm coz he wanted Buddha to be in the pic as well -_-

The Wong Brothers...Davin & Alvin

Balinese deco all around us. Various portraits of Buddha on the walls giving a sense of serenity.

Funky deco hanging from the ceiling above us. I've got no idea what are they for.

Love the artwork.

This is my favourite drink...the Barley Lime. Really refreshing and it's sort off addictive. I can't stop sipping my drink as it has a very nice after taste. We ordered two jugs of the barley-lime...cheaper mar. 1 glass is RM6 but a jug is only RM18 which can fill up 4 glasses!

I forgot what's the name of this starter dish. It's a Trio something...it has fried squid, chicken wings and also sticks of fish meat on lemongrass.

This is a squid salad. I'm totally not a salad gal...only thing I find yummy in this dish is the barbecued squid =D

This is the must try...the Ole Ole Bali Nasi Campur. It comes with rice, barbecued prawns, squids and fish. Some side dishes of vege, beef rendang and the lemongrass stick thingy.

We had another dish of mixed grilled seafood which the pic refuses to be uploaded properly to my blog....even pics can be such a pain. It's so funny how they can't start eating until I took pics of all our food...lol...I can just imagine them cursing me in their minds to hurry up! Took me quite some time to get a decent pic of the food as there's little light for me to get a sharp pic...they keep coming out blurry as I don't like using the flash.

Anyways, the we all shared the food tonight as the portion is pretty generous and it's also more fun eating this way =D We ate, we drank and we talk. Alot. Talking that is. Until we were the last table left in the restaurant. We quickly got up and left so the restaurant could close up...shy only.

It's always fun to hang out with friends for great food and good company. If only we could do this more often...okay..not that often lar coz I'll get fat and go broke. Being with them brings back memories of my time in Maersk...and I do miss it.

Baby Boy or Girl?

I'm surfing the web doing some research on fertility (not that I think I have any problems) and also on conceiving a baby. It's just to get myself started on the topic since we do have plans for a little bouncing baby soon. Looking at pics of cute baby Avi is making my biological clock tick fast and loud...I think it's scaring Eric =P

Came across this website which explained Dr Shettles Method of Conceiving which is totally mind blowing. It never crossed my mind that there are two kinds of sperm. It says that the "Dr Shettles conception theory works on the principle that Y sperm are smaller and faster than their X counterparts but are also more fragile. X sperm on the other hand are seen as larger and slower yet more resilient and able to survive for longer once released". In biology class during high school, we were thought there are two kinds of sperm, the healthy swimming ones and also the crooked crazy ones.

Dr Shettles even gave instructions on how to make a baby Boy or Girl...which is really interesting to say the least.

Baby Boy

Make sure to have your gal howling her orgasm before you do the doggy for extra effectiveness.

Baby Girl

No howling required for the gal (coz if you do, you'll get a baby boy...see above) and no kinky moves. Stick to the boring missionary to be safe. The fun part is...you can have sex as much as possible before ovulation. Once you ovulate, the fun is over.

Who knows if this Dr Shettles is for real. I guess no harm trying if you're really desperate for to control whether your baby comes into this world with a little birdie or not.

Then I found this website that could predict the sex of the baby. It's based on the Chinese Gender Selection Calendar...ermm...Chinese people can be very creative when they're desperate. I think this calendar came about when the one-child policy in China was put into effect. Well...it would be fun to see if it works....when I have my own baby that is. So according to the chart here, if I try to conceive a baby in the next 3 months, most likely it's going to be a boy. Hmmphhh....

There are many websites that recommends certain supplements to be taken for a healthy baby. Most website advised to avoid large doses of vitamins and fish liver oil. But one of the more important supplement is folic asid according to AskBaby.com as it prevents birth defects. Folic asid must be taken a couple of months before conception to reap it's benefits...and must be taken daily. I've checked it out at the pharmacy after Lucinda advised me about it...Folic asid is actually quite cheap and the pill is really small. Just have to remember to take it everyday.

I think sometimes things are taken to the extreme when it comes to a baby, but then I can understand the phobia that people have. If pregnant how? If cannot get pregnant how? The thing is, everyone wants a healthy and normal baby. They will do anything to make sure the baby have a head start in life even before conceiving. It's just a normal reaction to be protective. I'm sure there are lots more of stuffs to learn about being pregnant and taking care of a baby. No doubt it'll be a lifelong learning experience. For now, lets see if Dr Shettles theory works ;P

On The Edge

So sad to be staying home on a Saturday isn't it? So I ended up in Republic which is located in Sunway Pyramid. The place is pretty alright for drinks but definitely not a place for dancing the night away. When we got there, the place was packed with guys watching the Manchester United game. Not that I mind coz Christiano Ronaldo was in action ;P

Looking around in Republic, we noticed that the crowd is considerable younger than us which inevitable made me feel old and out of place. These kids don't even look old enough to drive but have beer mugs on their tables. Since we gals were feeling a little cheeky last night, Sam suggested we sit at the bar counter instead of a table. Why the bar? Well, according to her, that's like silently giving out the signal that a woman is single. That theory didn't quite work coz we were at the bar for a freaking long time and not even one guy came up to us. I think the guys were more interested in Ronaldo than I am.

Well, the night was still fun as we finally made friends with the hottest guy in Republic. Okay...he is the only hot guy there. Sad to say...others really cannot make it lar. Or maybe the hot ones were hiding somewhere in the corner.

This is my view of the bar.
I found my beer coaster fascinating.
It says "Many keep to the straight and narrow. We live on the EDGE"

That's what I want to do. I want to live on the EDGE.

Slowly but surely

I gave myself last weekend as the deadline to finish my cross-stitch project but that got delayed. I've been procrastinating as it's a real pain stitching the scales. So I'm doing it slowly and stitch a little each day when I'm in the mood. Most of the time, I stitch late at night while watching Rachel Ray and Martha Steward on tv. I think I'm addicted to these talk shows. What so fascinating about them? Well, Rachel deals with a lot of fun issues such as getting your man to wear clothes that you want them to wear while Martha does a lot of crafty stuffs. Both of them have different styles but I enjoy watching them both. I sound like a "si lai" (housewife aunty) but seriously...try watching one episode of these talk shows and I'm sure you'll be hooked too! As I would still be in la-la land when the shows are aired on NTV7 in the morning, I catch the reruns at night. Rachel Ray comes on at 1am followed by Martha at 2am. So I go to bed at 3am =D Yeah I know...my life is really boring.

Oh yeah...just a little update on my poor poor sea monkeys who are at Eric's mercy in Macau. Apparently, there's a sole survivor. But according to my dear hubby, soon there will be none. I should have taken pics of the sea monkeys balls before I left when I still have the chance. As they say, opportunities only come knocking once.

What A Day

Yesterday started with a bit of drama. According to Mum, there's this Indian lady who was making a ruckus with my next door neighbour. She was shouting vulgarities and banging on their gate like a crazed woman...actually, she looks like one. Mum said she was shouting that our irritating neighbour (whom we suspect stole our mangoes) cheated her money and she wants revenge or something. She was making such a scene and finally neighbour's daughter came out and took the woman in her car to God knows where. Thank goodness I slept through it all =D

On our way out for lunch, Mum spotted the Indian lady loitering around our area again and the guards took a stick to chase her away. It's a pitiful sight as the woman seemed to be mentally disturbed. She looks dirty and unkept and eventhough I don't want to make any assumptions on the situation...I do believe that my evil neighbour is capable of cheating people.

Mum decided to have Uncle Lim's for lunch in Subang Parade. She prefers this branch to any other.

We managed to beat the lunch crowd.

Mum as usual wanted the nasi lemak. But ended up complaining about it -_- non-stop. She said the chicken is not tasty and the rendang is not the same. Okay...next time not taking her there anymore for nasi lemak.
As usual I have my iced milk tea.

Mum wanted ABC...which is also called "ice kacang"(nutty ice?)

This is the top view which is quite pretty.

Food in Uncle Lim's is getting worst but the price keep going up. Don't think we'll be going there very often from now on.

After the sun set, it's time to have some gals time out. Went to Sunway Pyramid to meet up Ming Yee and Joverse after they finished work. Joverse took ages to get there so me and Ming Yee went shopping. Bought myself a pair of skinny jeans which is...erm...a little too tight. I was ambitious. It sort of skipped my mind that I haven't had dinner yet so my tummy was not so bloated yet. When I tried on the jeans again at home...well...lets just say it wasn't very flattering 0_o But the sales guy did assure me repeatedly that the jeans will become a little looser when it's washed. To make sure I can sit and breathe in my new pair of jeans, I'm going on a diet. What's beauty without pain right? Now...if only I can manage 10 sit ups before I faint.

Dinner at Ajisen Ramen. This is a Samday sashimi. It's so-so only. It's also little pricey as 6 pieces for RM8++

Ming Yee had chicken teppanyaki. Forgot to asked her how it tasted.

I ordered beef teppanyaki.

These teppanyaki dishes comes with soup and a bowl of rice. I find my teppanyaki is not really tasty and it's very soggy. Not enjoyable at all and I doubt I'll be eating there again. Surprisingly, the restaurant is pretty packed with diners.

It was good catching up with Joverse and Ming Yee as it's not often we could meet like this. Couldn't believe we met in Maersk almost 3 years back. How time flies and friendship survives =D