iamMe

Char Siew Pau

2009-07-26T20:08:00.008+01:00

It's been a long time since I last update my blog and it's looking more like a foodie blog now :) I bought a bamboo steamer not long ago, and thought I should make myself some char siew pau (one of my must order dish when i go for dim sum). I made some char siew yesterday using aunty lily's recipe, http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/07/char-siew.html, and made the pau today, http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/06/char-siew-pau.html.

the final results. i am quite satisfied since this is the first time i made pau. The fillings is quite dry, I will remember to make more gravy next time.

the char siew i made the day before

the pau mix that i used

dough flaten, ready for the fillings

the char siew fillings

the pau before steaming. To know how to pleat the pau, watch those videos on youtube, loads of them :)

steam the pau for 10 min

ta-daa... looks a bit ugly, got to improve my pau pleating skill :)

Lazy Meal

2009-04-20T20:47:00.003+01:00

I tried a very simple dish tonight, tomato eggs, which turns out very nice and sweet! See the recipe here.
Sorry for the quality of this photo, poor lighting, will try harder next time :)

Blueberry muffins!

2009-04-05T22:09:00.002+01:00

I have my own Saturday kitchen this weekend, trying out James Martin's blueberry muffins, see the recipe here. I bought more blueberries than the recipe asked for and thought it does not matter . However I found out that too much is not necessary a good thing :) Its a bit runny and blueberries everywhere!

Sweet & Sour Pork

2009-04-02T20:35:00.002+01:00

I made yummy sweet & sour pork few weeks ago, deep fried the pork myself, but cheated on the sauce, its from Uncle Ben's :p

My indulgence for the day

2009-02-01T19:42:00.004Z

Pancake with chocolate, banana & pecan

Am practicing to prepare pancake for Shrove Tuesday :)

What's Baking?

2008-06-23T22:53:00.003+01:00

Other than the carrot cake, I have tried to bake (ahem!):

1.New York Cheesecake, recipe provided by allrecipes.
A friend's Verdict 'Yumm….,The cake is delicious, moisture enough, it reminds me
of the cheese cake I brought from the Singapore best cheese cake shop………

My Verdict: not satisfied with the base. It was oily and too moist. Also, the pan the I used is not big enough, the cake rose above the pan while in the oven, so it has a funny shape on top, ha..

However, the second time i baked, I try to mix and match with another recipe and it was not as nice anymore :((

look at the funny shape :p

after some decorating

2. Chocolate Banana Muffin
My housemate gave me a recipe book as my birthday present in April, so I tried out the muffin recipe from the book. Turn out to be just a normal muffin, nothing special, I dont really like it.

3. Crispy Rock Biscuit (translated to chi kao soh 脆口酥 in hokkien)
My parents brought me a chinese cooking magazine from Malaysia when they came to the UK early this year. My mom tried the recipe, and it turn out nice and they like it. However, mine is a total disaster. I've decided to add some walnut, so I reduced the flour and didnt add the sugar. It turns out to be too soggy to mold them into dough, so I just add more fluor without
weighing them till they are solid enough. The biscuit turned out not sweet enough and also too
compact.

4. Chocolate Cake
Grace gave me this recipe and its from allrecipes as well. Very easy to make and delicious as well, and its a vegan chocolate cake!

So far, the carrot cake is still the best!

a Night at the Dogs

2008-05-19T21:23:00.004+01:00

Went to nottingham with my colleagues last week for greyhound racing. I went without understanding what it is, and thought it will be something like a dog show, hee... Didnt know that its serious betting! I bet twice and lose, its just too difficult to guess which one will win! Anyway, its a good experience, but dont think I will go again, coz its not a place you'll have fun if you are not betting... I would prefer to go to a dog show rather than this :)

the greyhounds

the starting point

this is how fast they go... 500m in less than 30 secs

the finishing line

all I need is.....

2008-04-27T22:54:00.002+01:00

and...

hahaha...

Have a Good Time

2008-04-17T23:10:00.002+01:00

Yesterday it was my birthday.
I hung one more year on the line.
I should be depressed.
My life's a mess.
But I'm having a good time.

I've been loving and loving and loving.
I'm exhausted from loving so well
I should go to bed.
But a voice in my head says,
"Ah, what the hell."

- Paul Simon

眼泪

2008-04-12T17:48:00.003+01:00

眼泪流出来
而不想让别人看见的时候
你是不是
想自己那时候是在水里面
这样
就可以分不清是水还是泪
还是
这样一来
眼泪就不会流出来了... (真的哦,我试过了,嘻)

又或者可以学类的方法
类说...
当你眼泪忍不住想要流出来的时候
如果能倒立起来
这样原本要流出来的泪就流不出来了

Snowing again on a beautiful April Sunday

2008-04-06T21:20:00.004+01:00

Woke up at 6.30am this morning (yea, to go pee, haha) and cant believe my eyes when I saw the snow! But I am still as excited. After a few shots of photos (yea, from my room window :p) I went back to sleep. Woke up at 9am and decided to go jogging and snapped some pictures with my new Sony Ericsson camera phone, since its too troublesome and heavy to take my beloved olympus camera. And soon regret when I realised how bad is the quality of the photos taken by the phone :(

These are shots from my olympus camera:

cute paw prints

These are photos taken with my camera phone:

didnt realised they have this till today

a dirty-cute snowman :)

Tori kara age

2008-04-04T21:52:00.004+01:00

I got this recipe from the wagamama cook book. Its a japanese dish, but this recipe has introduced western ingredients e.g. thyme and oregano. The chicken is marinated with sake, ginger, soy sauce, sugar and oyster sauce, and then coated with egg and herbs mixture for deep-frying. I like the taste of the chicken, its extremely delicious :) Oh yea, I also made some vietnamese sauce (fish sauce + chillies + garlic) to go with this dish. The idea of the sauce and side dishes (salads and pickled carrots) is from my friend, Doreen's cooking blog :)

Summer Time starts today

2008-03-30T21:13:00.003+01:00

The UK push time forward by one hour for daylight saving time today, and so UK is now 7 hours behind Malaysia again. I didnt realised until I went to Morrisons supermarket after my morning jog to buy something. It was 9.30am when I reached Morrisons, and the sign is showing that the store only open at 11am on Sundays. Strange thing is, the main door is already opened and many people were already inside the store as well. I went up to the customer service counter to confirm, and the lady said this time is for browsing only, and I can only make payment at 11am. So I went away, feeling bewildered, why would these people here browsing for 1.5hours??? isnt that too long? Only after hearing the repeated announcement over the PA system : the shop is only open for browsing only from 10.30 to 11am, it finally clicked that.. 'hey... daylight saving starts today... tat's why... hehe'

Carrot Cake

2008-03-29T22:44:00.004Z

I made it! Hehe, now at least I knew how to bake one type of cake - the carrot cake. My mom is good at baking, but somehow I never pick it up from her. I remembered she used to bake birthday cakes for us every year when me and my sisters were kids, and we loved it.

Now that I have so much free time during the weekends in the UK, I've decided to indulge myself in baking (yeah, indulge... just love the smell of something-is-baking :) and so I've asked Grace for her cake recipes, and she has pointed me to this carrot cake recipe. Its quite easy to make, except the grating part, coz I dont have a food processor. First try, the cake turned out to be too moist, coz I use the wrong size of grater that produced too much carrot juice. Then thanks to Grace again, for taking a picture of her grater and showing it to me. and Voila, the cake was perfect at my second attempt!

The UK celebrates Easter with Snow!

2008-03-23T15:14:00.005Z

Easter marks the official start of Spring, but we had snow this morning, on the 1st day of spring! According to the news, this year easter is the earliest in last 90 years, i guess that's why. Woke up at about 6.30 to go to the loo with sleepy eyes, which brighten up when I saw the snow outside the windows.

poor cat, who took a shelter from the snow

Its Spring!

2008-03-20T23:59:00.004Z

altho its still freezing cold in the UK :) nevertheless, all life have started waking up. These photos are taken in Edinburgh..

a new beginning!

spring style furniture display from John Lewis

Happy Mothers Day

2008-03-02T22:10:00.004Z

oh no, I did not get the dates mixed up... the whole UK is celebrating Mothers Day today, and not in May as when we Malaysian will celebrate mothers day. This day in the UK falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is exactly 3 weeks before Easter Sunday. Apparently Malaysia follows the American's mothers day, which falls on the 2nd Sunday in May :) and when I 'wikipedia' it, other than these two, Mother's Day is actually celebrated on different dates throughout the world!

Anyway, since I am now in the UK, Happy Mother's Day to all mothers in the world :)

Earthquake!

2008-02-27T22:59:00.003Z

another first experience for me, but i guess its not a good one...

Was woken up by the loud noise (like a big truck passing by) and the shaking. The first thought that came to my mind was "oh dear, what is the neighbour doing at this time of the night", then i realised its not, it must be an earthquake because everything in my room is shaking! But not sure why i did take it seriously and didnt feel scared at all, after it went away within 10 sec, I just take a look at my h/p, note down the time (so that i can check with people in the morning, hee) and went back to sleep.

Didnt realised how ignorant i am till I met my taiwanese friend in the morning, and we talked about this. Taiwanese are educated on how to react during earthquake because their country are proned to this natural disaster. She told me that she was on alert 'mode' even after the shaking has stopped, because it may be a signal that a bigger one is coming!

Anyway, luckily nothing happens after that :)

See the BBC report here.

A girl and her sushi

2008-02-23T22:19:00.003Z

This little girl who used to work at Wasabi visited me last week, and made me some fabulous sushi.. yum..yum.. There are crabstick sushi, tuna with sweetcorn sushi, cucumber sushi and salmon sushi.

and in return, I made this Viv's special Banana Boat for her :p
Little girl: I bet you guys are drooling now, hiak hiak hiak....

Celebrating CNY in the UK

2008-02-18T21:29:00.008Z

with...

1. Lion Dance in Old Market Square, Nottingham

2. Chinese new year themed Fireworks at Highfields Park, Nottingham

3. Fried Nian Gaothis tasty nian gao is made by a fren here from Hong Kong... I just fried them. yum yum

4. Jiu hoo char (without the jiu hoo, haha)

Candy got me some 'bangkuang' (which is called the Yam Bean, or Jicama in English) from London, which is the most important ingredient of this nyonya dish. See my last year post where we cooked a big pan of this dish every year during cny at home.

Oh yea, and I cooked the steam chicken as well :)

5. Ang pows

Double ang pows posted from Penang by the newly wed Alind & Kong

Sunday Walk

2008-02-15T21:40:00.007Z

another first for me, thanks to my housemate, Cat and her dad for letting me tagged along. Cat's dad told me its sort of a tradition for the english to go to the pub at noon for a few drinks, then go for a walk.

With a map and Bryan Waites' Walks in Historic Leicestershire and Rutland, we started off driving from Leicester city to Manton in Rutland. The starting point of the walk is from this pub called The Horse & Jockey, which is quite popular with cyclists.

Finally got the see the sheeps up-close, hee.. They didnt look as cute as I thought they would. Hmm, in fact, I dont think they are cute at all now :p

Look at their dirty bums
Then we walked through this parish village, Martinsthorpe,where the only building left here is this old farm.
walk across this peaceful Rutland field... freed my mind
me & Cat.. i think you can guess how windy it is from the look on our face.
and finally, we saw a small part of the scenic Rutland Water..
took us about 2 hours to finish the route as instructed in the book and we are back to the pub with nice food waiting for us.

Let's welcome the year of the RAT

2008-02-07T23:28:00.000Z

This is the first year (in my life) that i am not home for chinese new year :(( sob sob... I missed all the good food especially bak kean (which my sis insist that bak kean is me, so i shouldn't have missed it), jiu hoo char and the sea cucumber soup.

I still went to work as normal since today is not a holiday in the UK. However, thanks to the chef in our office canteen, we had a chinese new year lunch today, which look like this..

not very nice, i find it too 'soupy'. but still.... its better than nothing.

& look at what I had for dinner tonight!
Yeah, its the chinese dumplings! Thanks to Enya who made these and teach me how to make them as well :)

This weekend, I am off to nottingham. Will be looking out for all the CNY events especially the lion dance & dragon dance!

GONG XI FA CHAI!!!

Interesting News

2008-02-04T22:32:00.000Z

Two interesting news on today's *free* Metro newspaper:

1. Sickie Monday

I didnt call-in sick (becoz i am a hardworking bee :p), but I have decided to sleep for an extra half an hour and catch the later bus to work, which also means I was late about 20min. However, I always work extra hours after work.... so i am still a hardworking bee, haha...

2. Shrove Tuesday a.k.a Pancake Day

Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday. Read the history about Shrove Tuesday here. On this day, christians obtain absolution for his/her sins by confessing and doing penance. This day is also called Pancake Day because it is customary to eat pancakes on this day, last chance of a feast before the Lent (fasting).

This article left me dreaming about Paddington House of Pancakes ever-so-delicious pancakes, which is only available in Msia, aaaarghh...

Too bad I have my weekly Lindy's class tomorrow, so no time for me to flip a few pancakes, keke.

Currys Weekend

2008-02-01T22:15:00.000Z

not this weekend though, it was two weekends ago :p I cooked one big pot of mum's recipe curry chicken, and so every meals on that weekend are something related to currys...

this is how it looks like... and taste just like what it's like back home :) just that the dried chillis are not fully grind.

currys with bread

curry mee hoon

the stir-fry vege to go with rice and curry chicken

Malaysian Lunch

2008-01-27T13:04:00.000Z

Last Wednesday is a special day for me, the canteen in our office prepared lunch with the theme Malaysian Day. The canteen boss used to work in Malaysian before for few years. Am totally flattered when I saw a big Malaysian flag hagging on the food counter, they even set up a quiz for us to guess the raw ingredients that are commonly used in Malaysian cooking. Although the food is not as good as they are in Malaysia, but it did satisfy my longing for asian food and currys.

The Menu:

- Beef Rendang
- Sambal Udang
- Kurma Ayam
- Nasi Lemak
- Char Koay Teow
-Fried Vegetables
- Ikan Bilis
- Fresh Petal
- Bubur Kacang Hijau
- Onde-onde (decorated with dried guava!)

all these for only £3.50. But for me, this is bit too mixed-up...

the bubur kacang hijau comes with an onde-onde decorated with dried guava...

In the mood for Chinese New Year

2008-01-19T23:58:00.001Z

in the UK.....

Yeah, thanks to Alind, I received my first double ang pow this year by post.

and thanks to Gary, I got my Bee Cheng Hiang bak kua. Things that are hard to get really did taste nicer, I remembered I dont really fancy bak kua when I lived in Malaysia. But it is simply delicious when I had them with bread last night :)

I bought some clementines (which is just like our mandarin oranges) as well from the market

Fruitful Saturday Afternoon

2008-01-13T18:09:00.000Z

I have long decided to try my mum's curry recipe and my favourite sambal belacan, so I decided to spend the whole saturday afternoon doing just that - preparing the curry paste and sambal belacan. I borrowed a mini chopper from a colleague of mine and hope to get one for myself one of these days. And to cover the smell of belacan (for the benefits of my housemate :p), I managed to cook the red bean soup with longan as well.

Cant wait to cook my curry next week using the curry paste that I have just prepared!

the sambal belacan - to go with my fried rice and fried beehoon :)

the red bean soup with dried longan, in my new bowl brought from Japan Centre in London

Viv's Spaghetti alla Carbonara

2008-01-06T20:34:00.000Z

I have been watching Rick Stein's Mediterranean Escapes on BBC every thursday last November while I am cooking myself. The kitchen is attached to the living room in the flat that I stayed previously, thus I have the luxury of watching the TV while I cooked and eat! I enjoyed the show alot and didnt missed a show.

Came upon his recipe book one day while I was shopping at Marks and Spencer and decided to try the spaghetti alla carbonara recipe from Sardinia. Since the recipe is from the Mediterranean, I cant find the original ingredient and have to use the substitute instead, like the Sardinian pecorino sardo cheese and Pancetta, which I replace with Parmesan cheese and british smoked back bacon. I didnt even know what is Pancetta in the first place, and like what most people will do nowadays if they need to find out about something, yeah, just google it, and you will have your answer. Pancetta is an Italian type of bacon produced from belly of pork which is seasoned, then rolled up and dry cured.

Here is the result:

Happy 2008

2008-01-03T21:35:00.000Z

Spent my new year's eve with a bunch of friends in London. We had our dinner at Wong Kei in Chinatown before heading towards the Embankment, but it was already too late. All the entrance to the viewing areas are already closed because there are just too many people. Gotta get there earlier next year ;) if i am still here la....

Happy New Year! and may all your resolutions becomes reality, kekeke....

as you can see, our view is blocked by a big building. We can only see this teeny bits of the fireworks :(

Frankfurt Christmas Market

2007-12-23T16:41:00.000Z

No... I did not went to Frankfurt :) In fact, it took me just an hour of train ride from Leicester to Birmingham for the christmas market. For the past seven years, Birmingham City Council has hosted this event in conjuction with its twinned city, Frankfurt. It has lots of stalls nicely decorated, and you can find all things german... wooden toys, glass, german bread, chocolate, beers, wine, german sausages, pancakes, crepes, sweets, etc... Enjoyed myself despite the notorious UK weather which is cold and windy. But it did mixed well with the food. I had hot sausages with bread and the popular Glühwein, which is hot mulled wine, for lunch. I think its my first time to drink an alcohol drink so early in the day. A nice German lady also let me taste some Grünkohl, which is made from Kale, a kind of vegetable. It almost taste like the 'chai boi' soup we had during chinese new year for the hokkeins ;)

After the christmas market, shopaholic me cant resist the temptations of the huge Bullring shopping centre, so whooorf i went and got myself a pair of boots and a wool jacket for the cold winter. Then the gastronomic side of me takes control again and I am back to the christmas market for more food. This time is the deep fried cheese with pepperoni in a skewer.

Cant understand why they can drink cold beer in such cold weather!

a stall selling biscuits, sweets and cakes

the cute wooden toys

the tempting chocolate

this is Grünkohl, made from kale which is a type of cabbage.

grilled sausages

my cup of Glühwein which left me feeling bit high

can you read this? It explains the history of Frankfurt Christmas Market and how to make Glühwein- by boiling red wine with Glühwein spice.

my skewer of deep fried cheese with pepperoni

Goodbye my friend

2007-12-21T20:01:00.000Z

thank you
... for all the lifts
thank you
... for listening
thank you
... for being my lunch-mate
thank you
... for waiting
thank you
... for sharing
thank you
... for eveything you've done

this is dedicated to Mr Mckee for being such a great friend, rain or shine! I will miss you! See you in Tenerife!

New Photo Editing Experiment

2007-12-06T17:04:00.000Z

Took some nice photos over the last weekend, and decided to give them some 'artistic' finish (in my opinion la, which you may not agree, hehe). All these editing is done by using the simple magic tools provided in Picasa. I always like black and white pictures, but sometimes it can be quite boring, thus the I have applied some dash of colors on the background.

Here are the results. Tell me if you like it, or even if you dont like it.

This is taken at Victoria Park

the heart shape sign attracted me at first in the one

christmas decoration lights in town

i like the tree in this one, and the structures

Christmas Deco

2007-12-03T17:43:00.000Z

Yo yo yo, its the time of the year...

Since Christmas is a BIG thing here, they started to put up christmas street deco in November, and the lights-on event in Leicester city centre happened on last last Sunday. The whole city is in christmas mood, christmas songs are played in every shops, sales advertisements all over TVs, people rushing to do their christmas shopping, hunt for evening dress for christmas parties, etc.....

I have two upcoming company's christmas parties to attend, and I dont have any decent dress! help!

Anyway, here are some photos to share.

Same spot - Day and night view

the christmas trees and lights all over the city centre

the moving cartoon characters around town hall fountain for the children

children's playground set up at high street just for christmas

p/s: hmm, wonder how London looks like now!

Viv's Nasi Lemak

2007-12-01T12:07:00.000Z

made in the UK ;) Went to the chinese supermarket in Leicester last Sunday, and came upon this ready made nasi lemak sambal paste, so I decided to cook nasi lemak, since I missed it so much. I also bought the pandan leaves from the shop, can guess how much it costs? about £1.20 for about 15 leaves, I think. The 'end result' is not too bad, considering that this is my first time cooking nasi lemak. The ikan bilis is super crispy, and its given to me when my sis visit me last month. According to her, she bought the best grade! The sambal didnt taste so good though. Next time got to prepare my mum original recipe, but first got to get myself a mini chopper!!

nasi lemak & the sambal prawns

the expensive pandan leaves

Football Match

2007-11-29T18:27:00.000Z

Yeah, another first for me. Watched a football match live here in Leicester with a colleague. He got two free tickets from another colleague, and ask me to tag along :) The match is Leicester City vs Cardiff City, score 0 -0. Was waiting for goals, Leicester City has quite a lot of opportunities, but they missed it everytime. The stadium is almost full with fans, mostly locals.

The mascot on Leicester City football club is a fox. My colleague told me its because Leicester used to have lots of foxes, even in the city!

Anyway, I heard that they didnt performed really well, and are in the second league. The rugby team in Leicester, Leicester Tigers, is more popular here, coz I heard they are really good.

See here for the match report.

Introducing Taramosalata

2007-11-26T17:12:00.000Z

Taramosalata... what a name! is a new food I tried last weekend, recommended by my sis who lived here in the UK previously. I bought it from Marks and Spencer, and thought that it is an english food, apparently its not. Its Greek food, made from cod roe with lemon juice, and its pinkish in color.

Try it with toasted bread on a Sunday morning, tasted raw to me at first, but after a few bite, I do enjoy it. Unfortunately, I had stomach ache just shortly after eating it. Nevertheless, I tried it again this morning (hehe, cant waste it just like that), and nothing happens. so, it was not the taramosalata that caused my stomach ache yesterday after all :)

I do have a small problem with the food here, always ask me to finish within 3 days after I opened it, and these includes milk, youghurt, ham, cheese, and yes, taramosalata! My breakfast for the next 2 days will be the pinkish thingy with bread!

quite a big tub to finish within 3 days!

on my bread :) yummy

Highlights of the week

2007-11-24T12:19:00.000Z

Finished reading Paulo Coelho 's The Alchemist within a week! It's a record breaking for me.... :) What a suitable time to have read this book about answering your personal calling and live your life in present. I need the strength and the inspiration the book gave me to go on in search of my dreams here :)

Within this week, I've got two bad news from two of my colleagues that they are leaving, one today and another this Dec. They are the only two are really sincere and friendly to me. I am not sure how am I going to passed the boring days in office, oh god. Guys, i.e. Sagar & John, I am going to miss you two.

I got a little present from Sagar yesterday, a chinese platter set with chopsticks! Just what I am looking for for months here, but cant find any chopsticks! Hee...

My first glimpse of snow

2007-11-19T18:05:00.000Z

I had a preview of what snowing is gonna to be like yesterday night... yeah.. my first glimpse of snow. It was about 10 something when I went out to throw rubbish wearing a jacket, shorts and my flip-flops. First, I noticed the ice on top of the rubbish bin, touched it, then I look up at the sky...and I shouted 'oh god, snow!'

Then I quickly ran inside the house, jumping around, looking for my camera, battery and memory card. I took out all these coz I thought I wont be using my camera for a long time since I didnt plan to go anywhere. Then quickly ran outside again, and ran back in when I noticed I went out with my house slipper... haha.. changed to my flip flop, ran back out again to take pixs and standing in the pavement just to feel it coming down on my face... ha..A man passed by, and I think he must be thinking i am crazy.. standing out there with shorts and flip-flops :p

Anyway, I still think its too early to have snow! It didnt last long though & its just a mild one, the snow melted once it reached the ground. I checked again at about 11.30pm, the snow has started to melt.

Here are some pixs to share.

Wedding Bells

2007-11-17T11:42:00.000Z

will be ringing tomorrow for Alind & Kong... It is unfortunate that I cant attend a best friend's wedding, coz I am stuck here in a town called...Leicester :p

Wish I could be there to join in the fun, especially with all members of the crazy family. I can already imagine what chaos the chi muis will caused tomorrow with their wicked plans to test the bridegroom & his 'heng tai'... hehehe

Enjoy guys! and my spirits will be with u... all chi muis :-)

Here is a blurred preview of their photos, I think I cant post any pics here coz they will have their own website...i think.

Cold Spell

2007-11-17T11:27:00.000Z

The temperature has gone down down... down... On last thursday morning, whenI went out for work, its extraordinary cold and all the cars on the street have been covered with a layer of ice....

I was shivering while walking to where I usually wait for my colleague. His car was no where in sight and i guess he must be late because he needs to take care of the ice.

So glad when I saw my colleague's car approaching after i waited for a while. The meter inside the car was showing outside temperature is -1 degC!!!! When we past through a park,the grass on the field has all become white color.

Funny when I first saw the scraped ice on some people's car, I thought it has snow the night before! hehe, now i know....its only ice!

Eurostar is moving to St Pancras

2007-11-13T17:24:00.000Z

tomorrow...and why am I so excited??? coz the midlands train thatI take from Leicester to London stopped at St Pancras station, this means I do not need to go to another station if I were to travel from Leicester to other europe countries, esp P-a-r-i-s..Hee..

The station does not looked like it is ready for eurostar this wed,thereare parts of it still covered up, and lots of construction still goin on.But, I think the plan is still ON...

a pix i took when I was in London last weekend...

Leicester & Rugby

2007-10-24T18:20:00.000+01:00

Here's some highlights of my first month at Leicester:

- Work work work from Mon to Fri
- Window shopping, house-keeping on Sat and Sun
- I cooked dinner almost everyday!
- I prepared my own breakfast! No nasi lemak for me... sob sob.
- I managed to open a bank account at Barclays, finally...
- I watched Rugby World Cup for the last few weekends... cant believe it :p Never thought I would enjoyed the game, it is very rough to me. But, since its one of the most watched games here in the UK, England is in the finals and everybody is talking about the game, so.... I must not be left out. Enjoyed the semi-finals between South Africa and Argentina, its the first time I see them scored 5 points by taking the ball and run superfast to the line.
- I went to an english pub, entertained by our project engineer who sings there!
- I had dinners at a chinese restaurant which served nice dishes, and dont have to pay!
- I went to try out Fitness First yesterday, and the Step class sucks....bored me to death!

and finally....Kimi is a champion!!! hehehe

A Gift

2007-09-29T11:30:00.000+01:00

...the gift is a bear
from a friend who is dear
so that i will not be lonely
along my journey...

note: picture courtesy of Mr Rock

I simply do not understand

2007-09-26T14:32:00.000+01:00

I accompany a friend of mine, also a Malaysian, to open a bank account today. We went around all the 3 neighbourhood banks, and none successful. My friend just got her employment letter today, and she thought it would be easier to open an account that way. However, all the banks, ask her for the proof of address, which can only be in the form of other bank's statements or utility bills such as electricity, water, gas or a land line. If this is the case, most of us as foreigner who just come to UK to work, will never get to open any bank account. How can they expect us to have utilities bills since we just moved here, and also most of us will be renting, the bills will not bear our names. So we asked can the proof be in the form of a letter from the landlord, together with the bills? And the answer is still NO. So so so disapointed.

Having said that, it still depends on which bank officer you meet and whether you are lucky enough. A friend of us went to open an account in Liverpool, and the guy only ask for her passport, its that easy! This is a very rare case though. So try your luck!!!

Hopefully when its my time to open one, I will get lucky, haha...

Portobello and the London Freewheel

2007-09-23T22:05:00.000+01:00

Its a Sunday, and its sunny... A good day to go out and enjoy! I went to Portobello Market in the morning. They have dozens of little antique shops, colorful buildings, restaurants, clothing shops, souvenir shops & stalls selling 2nd hand stuff here. We had fun window shopping, and I bought 3 postcards to send to my dear frens back home. Too bad some of the shops are not open on Sundays.

portobello market signage

a shop selling wallies decorations

Lush Times - this is the shop that impressed me most. They sells bath and hair products. The smells are so sweet, and they make the products just like food... haha.. i almost tempted to eat the soap bars :p

antiques

colorful buildings

After Portobello, we took a bus to Piccadilly, and walk to St James Park for the Hovis London Freewheel. Today Londoners get to cycle around London's famous landmarks with peaceful minds (the roads are closed to motor vehicle). This event is actually aimed to encourage more people in London to cycle. Hmm, but for me, I think its just too dangerous to cycle in the city centre.

thousands of cyclists participate in this festival, seeing them reminds me of someone, hehe...

cycling acrobatics performance

panda cycling???

a guy doing a test... but i am not sure what it is... hee..

London

2007-09-21T15:32:00.000+01:00

I am here for 3 weeks plus already... just cant believe it. I have fun here holidaying everyday. Weather has been good for the first two weeks since I arrived. No rain, and we have sunshine almost everyday. Now, autumn came and the weather starting to get colder and colder. I already feel very lazy to go out :p Dont know what will happen to me when winter comes, hee. As for food, I enjoyed their sandwiches (which I bought from Tesco, Marks & Spencer or Sainsbury) at first, but after a few days, I started to look for asian food. Luckily, the place I stayed at that time, which was Bayswater, offers lots of choices on asian food. The famous roast duck is there. So far, I have tried the roast duck and fried rice in bayswater; Briyani rice at Khan's; nasi campur & meehoon goreng in Malaysian Hall; wanton noodles, rice with curry and sweet&sour pork in Chinatown; even go as far as Oriental City in Colindale for nasi lemak ;) Now, I am running out of money and since I stayed at a friend's house now, we cooked quite often.

Below are some of the places that I visited:

Trafalgar Square at the background- a place always packed with tourists and pigeons.

Piccadilly Circus - my sis told me before I came, this is not a circus, its a roundabout! with the famous Eros statue in the middle

Chinatown- we had our lunch at a Hong Kong char chan teng, which served very delicious seafood curry with rice.

Kensington Gardens - so peaceful

Royal Observatory at Greenwich - where east meets west

Malaysian Hall at Queensborough Terrace, Bayswater.

Tower Bridge - taken during sunset. Its very windy on the day we went to tower bridge, but we still waited from afternoon till it gets dark, so that we can take the different looks of tower bridge ;) This is also the 1st day of the London tube strike. No train for us to go home after our little day tour.

a street performance at Covent Garden. This guy is imitating the scene in the Matrix.

London Eye - took the ride during sunset. The view is worth the £13 we spend.

Big Ben - We walk across the bridge to big ben after our ride at london eye.

Buckingham Palace- for the changing of the guard.

Camden Town - lots and lots and lots of shops selling all kind of things, especially weird things, haha.

British Museum - Not really enjoying myself here, coz I am not a museum person, haha. They have mummies here and lots of ancient sculpture.

I will be visiting Oxford next monday.... yoo hoo..

Half a world away

2007-09-07T21:58:00.000+01:00

Hmm, I have not been updating my blog lately... been very busy, lazy, etc... yaya, all excuses... Just wanna update all my blog readers that I am now half a world away fr Malaysia. I am in a place where this sight is common :)

ya, you guessed it, its London!

Been here for a week plus. I have fun and visited lots of places, but was home-sicked, and I miss all my frens back there. Will update more when I settled down... stay tuned.

the Children I met @ Siem Reap

2007-07-11T02:19:00.000+01:00

One common sight around Angkor temples... is the children. We met a lot of them at each temples trying to sell us books, postcards, water, and some just asking for some donations. I would say some are really charming, they don't really disturb you after you said no to them, and their face immediately lighted up when I handed out sweets to them. I love giving out sweets to them, seeing their smiling faces brings warmth and joy to my heart.

The only bad experience we had is at the floating village where a bunch of kids came near our boat to sell us bananas. SC decided to buy one from one of the kids, soon after she paid the little girl, the other girls starts to cry and shout louder "banana, one dollar... banana, one dollar..." and all swamp to SC like asking her why you didnt buy from me??? Believe me, their voices are really loud till our ears can still hear the echo when our boat starts to move :p

As usual, here are some pixs to share.....with the subject - Innocent Faces :)

this girl pose for me and ask me to take her picture when she saw me with my camera. I think she looks beautiful.

at floating village...banana, one dollar....

two little boys at Beng Mealea temple... they kept asking for more sweets ^_^

Mom with her kid. We bought some candies which is super sweet and some utensils made fr coconut from mom.

hmmm, why do you look so sad, little girl???

my first on Panorama

2007-07-05T03:35:00.000+01:00

During my recent trip to the Angkor Wat, I've tried to take some pictures using the panorama feature on my olympus camera, and later use the photomerge function in photoshop to combine them. Here are some of the pictures.

If you look carefully on this pix, its actually not perfect, because i have moving objects (ppl walking) in the pix. I use the clone stamp to cover up some of the area, but its still not perfect... hehe, have not master the use of clone stamp.

and this pix, you can see two green boxes on the temple... thats where they are doing some restoration now. May be I should make them dissapear too.... but just too lazy :p

the big tree at Ta Prohm Temple

Next on --> Siem Reap

2007-06-28T06:05:00.000+01:00

Viv's journey continues..... to Siem Reap. Cant wait to see Angkor Wat :)

Siem Reap... where in the world?

map extracted from google map

Viv's Mount Kinabalu Guide - Part 2

2007-06-21T03:49:00.000+01:00

I did mentioned that the next post would be on what to expect during the climb, but I think you should know how much is required for the climb prior to the climb, and thus part 2 is....

Part 2 - Plan Your Budget

Assumptions:
1. You are climbing the Summit Trail (Timpohon - Peak - Timpohon)
2. You are climbing with 3 other friends
3. Accommodations are budget hostels
4. Food are excluded
5. Calculations is based on Malaysia Ringgit (MYR)
6. Foreigner did not take the porter service & rental of walking stick

I did the calculations for both Malaysians & foreigner.

* for non-heated rooms, their rates are RM30 for M'sian, and RM46 for foreigner

The above climbing fees are provided by Sabah Park, go here for more info. As for the accommodation rates, please refer to Sutera Sanctuary Lodges.

For those who did not bring food, you can order the packed lunch from the Park HQ for the day climb (which i forgot how much it cost, sorry..). At Laban Rata, a plate of fried rice will cost about RM15, but the portion is big, so you can share between 2 person =)

Viv's Mount Kinabalu Guide - Part 1

2007-06-20T02:29:00.000+01:00

OK, I promised to write something on my recent trip to climb Mount Kinabalu. So, here's some useful tips and guide for you.... if you are going to scale the mountain soon =)

Part 1 - Prepare for the Climb

A. Make your accommodation bookings
So you have decided to climb Mount Kinabalu, the first thing you must do is make your accommodation bookings. The journey from KK town to Kinabalu Park HQ took about 2-3 hours of uphill and winding drive. Thus, for 1st time climbers, its better for you to arrive at the Kinabalu Park HQ the day before your climb for a good rest, and you can also take the opportunity to register yourself for the climb tomorrow.

Kinabalu Park HQ

You have to make bookings for accommodation at the Kinabalu Park HQ with Sutera Sanctuary Lodges for the first night, and at Laban Rata for the second night. Sutera Sanctuary Lodges have few types of rooms for you to choose from. If you are on budget tour, take the hostel. I stay at the hill lodge this trip. Its a nice room with 2 single beds and attached bathroom, I like the extra thick blanket especially :)

the Hill Lodge

Our room

If you do not have a place to stay at Laban Rata, then you are not allowed to climb. Another reason for you to book earlier is that heated rooms/shower are only available at Laban Rata Resthouse, the rest of the huts at Laban Rata are not heated. It can be freezing cold at night, and just imagine you have to take cold shower....

They have two restaurants there, namely Balsam Cafe and Liwagu Restaurant. You can have your dinner there, pack your bag for the climb tomorrow, and go to sleep early.

One of the restaurants - Balsam Cafe. The daily climbing briefing is done here at 6pm by the park rangers.

B. Your Physical Preparation
Boost up your stamina & prepare your leg muscle & knee/ankle strength for the climb ;) For those that goes to gym frequently, all those hard work will pays off now. Just do some stepper exercise during the month before your climb. For me, since I have no access to gym before my climb, I have been training outdoors for two months. I exercise about 5 days per week, with combination of jogging, swimming, cycling & stairs climbing. Swimming is good for you to train your lungs for even breathing, this is especially important during the 2nd part of climb, where you are at high altitude & and air is thin. My friend did not really train for the climb, but she got to the top too :) because she has no problem with high altitude and cold weather. Just that after the climb, you will have muscle pain.

C. AMS - Acute Mountain Sickness
You've got to pay attention to this. Even you are very strong, this may be the obstacle for you to reach the peak. AMS is caused by a lack of oxygen while you climbing to higher elevations. This usually occurs in individuals exposed to an altitude above 8000ft (2400 m); & Laban Rata is at 3262m, Low's peak at 4095m. Some people get it, & some dont. If you have AMS, the symptoms would be headache, nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting, disorientation & shortness of breath. I suffered mild AMS after Sayat-sayat hut at 3810m, I started to vomit and have short breathing. To try prevent this, bring along some panadols, & take them before the night climb. Avoid alcohol and sleeping pills the night before and stay hydrated. I am not sure though is there any special medications to prevent AMS. Go here for further reading on AMS

D. Things to bring - Day Climb
The climb to Mount Kinabalu summit consist of two parts. First part is the day climb from Timpohon Gate to Laban Rata (Summit Trail). There is another longer trail which is call Mersilau Trail. Both trail will intersect at Layang-layang hut (@ about km4). Since I am climbing the summit trail, the guide here will be all based on the summit trail. Total distance for day climb is about 6km, and the average time used to climb would be around 4-6 hours. Although the weather can be quite cooling, but because you are climbing, you don't really feel cold, thus you can wear normal t-shirt. Here is the list of things to bring:

1. Disposable rain coat (it usually rain in the afternoon)
2. Plastic bag to cover your bag pack (in case it rain)
3. 500ml or 1 liter of water (depends on you. There are untreated water for you to refill at every resting hut, and toilets too)
4. Energy food (e.g. Raisins, energy bars, banana, chocolate, etc.)
5. Small towel (if you really can sweat)
6. Good shoes (hiking shoes is the best, sport shoes is sufficient, but may be slippery)
7. Camera (with enough batteries)
8. Deep Heat (rub lots of these on your legs before your climb, you can re-apply while you rest at the huts too)
9. Knee support (wear this if you have problems on your knees)
10. Walking stick (if you have one; if not, they are available for rental at RM5 each at Kinabalu Park HQ)
11. Toilet papers

E. Things to bring - for the stay at Laban Rata
1. Slippers (when you take showers)
2. Sleeping bag (if you stay at non-heated huts)
3. Toiletries
4. Mee cup, bread, tuna, 3-in-1 drinks packet e.g. oats, milo (the food at Laban Rata is quite expensive, so if you bring these, you can buy the hot water at 60 cents, & make your own food)
5. Medicines

F. Things to bring - Night Climb
Second part will be the night climb from Laban Rata to the summit. The distance is about 2.7km. You will usually start the climb at around 2am, and its roughly 3-4 hours climb to catch the magnificent sunrise..above the clouds. Since its a night climb, the weather will be freezing cold & windy, at about 5-9 deg C. So, you got to prepare yourself for it.

1. Warm clothing (Winter jacket, those waterproof with Gore-tex would be best, thick trousers, long-sleeves shirts. For me, because I really cannot stand cold weather, I wore my long-johns too)
2. Thick socks
3. Gloves (wear your winter gloves inside, and wear another layer of cheap gardening glove outside, so that you can throw away the dirty & wet glove after the climb)
4. Beanies
5. Head Light
6. 500ml water
7. Energy food
8. Minyak Angin (in case you have mild AMS and feel dizzy. Sorry, I dunno what is it called in English)
9. Camera (dont forget this, the view at the summit is really breath-taking)

Don't carry too much during the night climb. However, its advisable to bring along a small bag pack. This is because when you climb down, the sun would have rise and thus the weather starts to get warmer. You can then start to take off your jackets one by one & put them inside your bag pack =)

Coming up next, its what to expect during your day & night climb! Stay tuned...

Viv on holiday....huh Again??

2007-06-19T08:20:00.000+01:00

Hmmm, Viv seems to have lots of holidays recently. After Mount K, Viv went back to work at site, where she got to stay at a beach resort, then move to a golf resort (envy leh....kekeke), & after that, a company's trip to Tioman Island. On the last day of viv site work, viv happily packed all her stuff, & drove her old loyal car to Mersing, which took her about 2 hrs drive from Sg. Rengit, then another 30 min drive to Tg Gemuk Jetty at Rompin to meet all her other colleagues... They had fun at the treasure hunt (organised by Berjaya Tioman), snorkelling trip to Reggis Island, swimming in the pool, playing pool, cycling, drinking & dancing by the beach at night =) & the most unforgetful & tiring event... is the drive back from Mersing to KL, which took viv about 6 hours :((

to Chill Out

2007-06-04T15:37:00.000+01:00

this would be a perfect place...

at the peak

2007-06-04T14:57:00.001+01:00

Viv made it to the peak... with the help and encouragement from her guide, francis and fren, rae sher ;)

Viv promise to write on 'a guide to mt kinabalu' here for those who plan to scale the mountain soon.

Training Log - Week 14

2007-06-04T13:51:00.000+01:00

Week 14:
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - Run (30 min)
Wednesday - Run (35 min)
Thursday - Run (40 min)
Friday - Steps (20 rounds) Swim (10 min)
Saturday - Swim (30 min)
Sunday - Rest

ok, this will be viv's last training log, coz Viv has completed her target of 14 weeks of training for her Mt Kinabalu climb. but do not worry, viv is still currently do her training regularly, it has become part of her daily routine :)

next destination...

2007-05-16T15:36:00.000+01:00

is Mt Kinabalu...

All I did today is pack, hehe. Thanks zee for the backpack, mr rock for the jackets, and yc for the sleeping bag...

oh, did I pack too much???

Trying out for fun

2007-05-16T15:31:00.001+01:00

a ride at Desaru

2007-05-12T13:02:00.000+01:00

Viv borrowed a bike from generous W-LJ and brought it to the place where she work, on and off about 1.5 month already ;) Here is a good place for cycling, many singaporeans come here to cycle during weekends. When Viv is staying at Desaru last two week, she took the opportunity to cycle along the desaru stretch. It was a fun ride... under the sun, sea breeze, soft white sand beach, nice blue sea, cheeky monkeys, greenish golf course, fresh air... where can we find all these in KL huh???

the bike in my room

a nice holiday spot

the beach.... & the bike, of course... hehe

viv went for a jog too, along the beach. these are her foot prints :p

some ppl went there to fish

some playing water sports

some sharing their precious moments

while boring Viv make sand turtle... kekeke

finally, the wonderful collage :)

Training Log - Week 13

2007-05-12T12:57:00.000+01:00

Week 13:
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Stepper (30 min), Body Pump
Wednesday - Stepper (10 min), Body Pump
Thursday - Body Pump, Run (30 min)
Friday - Run (30 min)
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Rest

Coming up real soon is my first climb to Mt. Kinabalu... yay!

Crazy Family Dinner Gathering

2007-05-09T14:01:00.000+01:00

is held at Jogoya, in celebrations of two pretti girls birthday!!!

the family with frens

Happy birthday, two pretty gals :)

Training Log - Week 11 & 12

2007-05-05T15:47:00.000+01:00

Week 11:
Monday - Body Pump
Tuesday - RPM
Wednesday - Body Pump
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Swim (30 min)
Saturday - Run (30 min)
Sunday - Bike (1hour) in the morning; Run (40min) in the evening

Week 12:
Monday - Run (35 min)
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Swim (30 min)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Bike (40 min); Beach jogging (30 min)

Since i am staying at a beach resort on week 12, so i try to jog on the beach. Its really tiring, coz my feet tend to sink into the sands, and also because of shore's slope. Not to mention that it took me about half an hour to clean my sports shoe after that :( Till now, there's still some left over sands in my shoes, hehe...

wonderful Mount Irau

2007-04-22T14:19:00.000+01:00

was first introduced to Mount Irau by our Mr 001, who is also our guide for this hike ;) Before this, I dont even know the existance of Mount Irau, hehe. Mr 001 went in Jan and upon his return, he kept telling us how nice it was, so a trip was planned. On a beautiful April morning, a group of 13 young men and women start their journey to Cameron. Mount Irau is famous as mossy forest, and the trek starts near Mount Brinchang. We start our climb at about 8.30am and reach the peak at about 1pm. It was a long climb for us, coz we took our own sweet time to pose to the cameras, and avoid the muddy spots, hehe. I heard the experience ones can climb within two hours ;p Anyway, its not an easy climb, and its muddy all the way. Nevertheless, i enjoyed the climb, the view is magnificent, weather is cool, there's no leaches, mosquitos, etc... and the climb is challenging :) So, here comes the photos...

the view that greeted us en-route to mount brinchang

our clean shoes...

mountains and clear blue sky

half of our journey, break time for some goodies

the difficult climb ahead (* legs shaking *)

this is what i meant by mossy forest

smile :)

a monkey took his photo here last time, hehehe

the best pitcher plant pix that i managed to take. Some are really small.

finally, we reached the top. Actually, there are no nice view from the top. Most importantly is to enjoy the journey up.

chocolate mousse shoes

pix courtesy from mr Pitt. cant resist to put this photo here, hehe, pretty young ladies and handsome young guys. oops, one missing... & tats the famous mr pitt.

Training Log - Week 9 & 10

2007-04-22T04:23:00.000+01:00

Week 9 (@ sebana cove):
Monday - Run (40min)
Tuesday - Run (30min)
Wednesday - Swim (30min)
Thursday - Run (20min)
Friday - Run (40 min)
Saturday - Bike (1 hour, the route has one hill climb only)
Sunday - Rest day

Week 10 (@ sebana cove & Cameron Highland):
Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - Rest day (sore throat again)
Wednesday - Run (30min)
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Rest, travel to Cameron
Saturday - Climb Mount Irau
Sunday - Rest day

Mount Irau is quite a challenging climb, but I love it. Will post about the climb soon :)

Tell me if I am rude

2007-04-10T14:55:00.000+01:00

Recently, I pay a visit to the 'fine' country :p, and took a ride on the MRT. It was quite crowded. So I was standing, holding on to a pole. The train reach a stop, and a lady (in her forties i think) came in and stand just beside me on my right, face to face. She slowly take out a pack of tissues, and then put a piece of tissue to her nose and start blowing...with loud sound of heez...heez...heeeeez... Finally, one 'wonton' is finished, and i felt a sense of relief immediately. But wait, she took out another tissue, and start blowing again... and another..... I have no choice but to keep looking on my left, where a couple sweet-talking to each other. I think they must be wondering why this girl keep looking at their directions. The ultimate, when the lady bit of tissues drop to my bag which I put on the floor, I took my bag and walk to the other compartment of the train, although she did bend down to pick up the tissues and say sorry... But I just felt too disgusting, and at that moment, I just dont feel like saying 'its okay'.... It is certainly not.

a ride on a sunny saturday morning

2007-04-09T14:25:00.000+01:00

viv woke up to a fine sunny saturday morning, and decided to go for a ride around sebana cove. So she rented a bike from the resort for RM10 an hour and off she went, exploring.... Here are what she found =)

the golf course

the unknown flower

the tough slope. I have to stopped halfway and pushed my bike :p

the rented bike

monkeys party

the beautiful lilies

Where is Viv?

2007-04-09T13:52:00.000+01:00

Where are you now?
What are you doing there?
When will you be back?

Here's some pixs to answer the above questions :)

the long, dusty, hot, sweaty walk fr office to working place

ah, its near now. This is a topsides module

the temporary stair case to climb up the module

we have sea view in our working place :p

view from the module. the building far away with white roof is the office.

finally, i reached this cool room with air-con. This is where i work, commission the system for my client :) As you can see, its not really clean and comfortable, but then i am thankful to be inside this air-con room, pity all the workers who work under the hot sun for the whole day!

will be back to KL for a short holiday this week, yay :)

Training Log - Week 7 & 8

2007-04-07T07:34:00.000+01:00

Week 7:
Monday - Running (20min), Body Pump
Tuesday - Swimming
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Run (30min)-Walk(5 min)-Run(10min), Body Balance, cardio dance
Friday - Run (30min)
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Step Class

Week 8 (@ sebana cove):
Monday - Swim (30min)
Tuesday - Run (20min) + Run on treadmill (10min) - coz its raining outside
Wednesday - Run (30min)
Thursday - Rest day
Friday - Run (40 min)
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Rest day

Hmm, week 8 training is bit special, coz its done outdoor at the sebana cove, and not the usual gym that i go to. Now, I enjoy jogging outdoor, with the evening sun setting down, cool breeze, and magnificent scenery =)

Here are some of the beautiful sunsets. (now i bring my camera with me when i went jogging)

Viv is now at...

2007-03-29T13:15:00.000+01:00

Viv has been assigned to a job in teluk ramunia, and is now staying at Sebana Cove Golf & Marina Resort. Arrived here on Monday after a nearly 6 hours drive from KL, alone with viv's ipod nano, some junk food and 100plus :) Took the exit from Kulai, then passed thru Kulai town, kota tinggi, desaru, and finally reached my destination. Still dunno where is viv? Here is a map =)

map extracted from expedia.com

Sebana is a nice resort overall, and viv like it. Its a good place to return to after a hard day's work. Viv even found a good place to jog, with nice sunset view; and they have wifi here... that's why viv can write her blog now, hehe. Went to the pub on tuesday nite, and they have a really good philippinos band here.

resort style rooms

the pool

the marina

my jogging track, by the river

i like this pix, u like it?

viv contemplating the river... before it went dark

yours truly posing =)

hmmm, btw, does viv looks like she is having a holidays rather than working??? No, no, no... its hard work for viv at site... Viv promise to take some photos of her work place later ya.... stay tuned!

Viv is currently reading...

2007-03-24T15:05:00.000Z

the Zahir... its a story about a rich and famous man, whose wife went missing. And in his attempt to recapture a lost love, he will discover something unexpected about himself.

and yes, viv has finished reading like the flowing river. and here, viv would like to share with you the last story in the book - the storm approaches... and this is exactly how viv is feeling rite now...

...It is that same silence that surrounds me now, and which is gradually being replaced by the sound - very soft - of the breeze in the maize fields around me. The atmospheric pressure is changing. The storm is getting closer and closer, and the silence is beginning to give way to the gentle rustling of leaves.

I have witnessed many storms in my life. Most storms have taken me by surprise, and so I've had to learn - and very quickly too - to look farther off, to understand that I cannot control the weather, to practise the art of patience, and to respect nature's fury. Things do not always happen the way I would have wanted, and it's best that I get used to that.

Many years ago, I wrote a song that said: ' I lost my fear of the rain because when the rain falls to earth it always brings with it something of the air'. Its best to master my fear, to be worthy of the words I wrote, and to understand that, however bad the storm, it will eventually pass.

.....

I can see the storm approaching. As with any storm, it brings with it destruction, but it also waters the fields; and, with the rain, falls the wisdom of the heavens. As with any storm, it will pass. The more violent the storm, the more quickly it will pass. I have, thank God, learned to face storms.

-Paulo Coelho-

KL Marathon...

2007-03-18T12:47:00.000Z

While my fav F1 driver, kimi, is having his first race this season (and he won! reports here), Viv is in a race too =) Yup, you've guess it, the kl marathon. This is a last minute decision, coz viv are suppose to work at site, but then it was postponed. So, while most of the ppl still in their dreamland, Viv woke up at 4.45 am, freshen up, and waiting for Nigel to come fetch her. Nigel participate in the half marathon, which start earlier, at 6 am. Here is a pix when the half marathon'ers start off.

viv took this pix using her camera phone, so the quality is not really good. but, dataran merdeka in the morning is really nice, the view is spectacular... esp the clock tower against the dark blue sky. Viv took part in the 10km run, which starts at 7am. And guess what, before we start off, the first few full marathon'ers already finish their race (they start earlier at 4.30am)!!!! Its amazing!! Viv is truly impressed. The champion, who is from Kenya, clocked in 2 :17 :38. I heard they run about 18-19km/h non-stop! Results here. Nigel name is inside also, well done, Nigel!

As for Viv, she finished her race within 84min, which is within the time limit allowed (90min), #277 in her category, and got herself a cert and medal =)

This organizer is definitely better than the Subang Jaya run that I participated previously. At least, we have two water stations with *chilled water and 100plus along the 10km course. And thanks to the cheers of some volunteers, policemen and the adidas group (with the impossible is nothing banner), viv actually do run faster, altho she is damn tired ;) Viv is proud of herself today.... and she definitely goin to bed early tonite.... Zzzz...

Training Log - Week 5 & 6

2007-03-18T12:35:00.000Z

Here come the logs =)

Week 5:
Monday - Running (20min)-Walk(3min)-Run(10min), Yoga
Tuesday - Running (20min), RPM
Wednesday - Rest, viv fell sick
Thursday - Run (10min), cardio dance
Friday - Body Pump
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Run (20min)

Week 6:
Monday - Running (20min), Body Pump
Tuesday - Ressst
Wednesday - Running (20min)
Thursday - Running (25min)
Friday - Rest day
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - KL marathon (10km)

Yours truly improved quite a lot on her running, she now feels quite comfortable while she run, just that she sometimes still feel bored ;) any tips? anyway, still a long way to improve herself till she can join the half marathon...but yay, lets keep on running....

love her comic

2007-03-14T03:10:00.000Z

was exploring the web, and I found this...the bitter stickgirl. Here is one of my favs =)

lousy cupid.... (yay, lets blame it on the cupid, keke)

Training Log - Week 4

2007-03-11T15:30:00.000Z

Sorry that this report comes late.... anyway, here it is...

Monday - Running (20min), Body Pump
Tuesday - Running (20min), RPM
Wednesday - Running (10min), Step
Tuesday - rest day
Friday - Swim (30 min), managed to swim 3 x 50m, hehe, but not non-stop of course...
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Biking (40min), my first offroad ride =) very very interesting

under the spotlight

2007-03-09T06:45:00.000Z

do you want to be someone under the spotlight? or... just an ordinary someone who share the same bench with everybody else?

Vanness in Concert

2007-03-05T01:58:00.000Z

went to Vann's concert in genting. Oooo, I just lurve his dance moves...

Here's the video:

CNY at home

2007-03-02T15:25:00.000Z

Back to my hometown last week for the celebrations of piggie new year. There have been some important events during CNY for the recent two years for Poh family. Last year, it was my sis wedding, and this year, our cute nephew, Zheng Xi is born. So, we have a cute baby to play with this cny. Here are some pixs to share:

all these taken from our garden =)

baby Zheng Xi posing for his ah yee

guess what is this.. haha

the jiu-hu-char.. this is how much we cooked every year

bak kean... one of my fav cny dish... yaya... which is also my nick name during school time

Training Log - Week 2 & 3

2007-03-02T10:00:00.000Z

Here's my lousy training on week 2 & 3 because of cny mood, hehe. But yours truly are back to full action this week...

Week 2:
Monday - Running (20min), Body Pump
Wednesday - Running (15min), Step

Week 3:
Tuesday - Running (20 min), Walking (20 min)
Sunday - Swimming (30 min)

Hehe, really pai seh for this lousy log. Oh... but wait, I got one big achievement, that is i managed to swim one lap of 50m without stopping :)

Like the Flowing River

2007-03-02T01:57:00.000Z

Been reading Paulo Coelho's book - like the flowing river, lately. I first got to know paulo coelho from a nice article he wrote which my fren sent me through emails - about Closing Cycles. His short stories always keep me inspired and to live in the present. Here's one of them:

The Funny Thing about Human Beings
A man asked my friend Jaime Cohen: 'What is the human being's funniest characteristic?'
Cohen said: 'Our contradictoriness. We are in such a hurry to grow up, and then we long for our lost childhood. We make ourselves ill earning money, and then spend all our money on getting well again. We think so much about the future that we neglect the present, and thus experience neither the present nor the future. We live as if we were never going to die, and die as if we had never lived.'
-paulo coelho-

and this is so true....

Training Log - Week 1

2007-02-12T15:13:00.000Z

ok, I've decided to put up my training log here, coz im lazy to create a new blog just for that, and also, just in case, to prevent me from getting lazy n quitting. keke. So, below is what i've been doing last week:-

Monday - Running (20 min), Body Pump
Tuesday - RPM
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Rest (hmm, not that i wanna rest, but I've got a company's dinner)
Friday - Running (20 min), Yoga
Saturday - Swimming (i dunno exactly how long i swim, but i was in the pool for 1 hour, hmmm, i guess i'll put 30 min, hehe.)
Sunday - Cycling outdoor (14km). Thanks S for the bike and counting the mileage for me, hehe.

Good News

2007-02-12T14:55:00.000Z

okie, after the bad news... now... is the good news =) I've got my passport back today, and yes, its approved, hehe...

and so...I've got three upcoming holidays :-
May - climbing Mount Kinabalu
June - exploring Angkor Wat
July - walking, eating, sleeping n dreaming in UK =)

坏消息..

2007-02-12T14:38:00.000Z

最近,心里有点烦
朋友那边传来几个坏消息
吓得我都慌了,有点不知所措
咳,怎么都这样呢?
我的坏消息
去年的十一月就传来了
到现在,以为都遗忘了
其实, 并没有...
心里面
还是有那一块
以前是痊愈不了的伤口
现在是个美好回忆
我想
我们应该谢谢坏消息
因为它
让我们更坚强 :)

cycling at FRIM

2007-02-04T14:27:00.000Z

this is the 2nd week i went cycling at FRIM.. for about two hours in the morning. havent go off-road yet though.. but am progressing well, hehe... really hope im gonna make it soon ( and with my own bike, ahem... =) FRIM is really a nice place for cycling n jogging with frens or families. Can always see a bunch of school kids, groups of friends, parents with kids & couples enjoying their healthy day out :)

oh ya, cant believe it, i actually have lunch at the curve, went back home, take a nap, then went back to d curve again with some frens... for some shopping & dinner.. ahaha...seems like im a loyal supporter of the curve ;p

am tired!!

2007-02-03T15:01:00.000Z

this evening, just to see how much stamina i have, i went jogging, and after that swimming, and im very very, extremely tired now, hehe. and I just did like 30 min of jogging, then rest for half an hour, coz jovy's picking me up to 3K swimming pool. Then, we swam for like an hour (not non-stop though, a lot of chit chat in between actually, hehe). And, a rewarding dinner that follow-up is nice. We had our dinner at pizza vs satay, we ordered the satay pizza and nasi lemak ;)

now am wondering how the guys did the triathlon... how to build up that kind of stamina...yayaya...training training training, of course. Think of it, 1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run... I think am fainting :p

a letter... from He Bei

2007-01-22T07:18:00.000Z

Recieved a letter from my sponsored child not long ago... here it goes...

Am so excited when i read the letter. Her hand-writing is definitely better than mine, haha. Glad that I signed-up for this child sponsorship.. Make me realised... there are many many more unfortunate people out there, who has no money to buy food, no clean water, no educations.... I should feel grateful each n every day that I have a shelter above me, n good frens to share my happiness n sorrow... I really shouldnt be complaining & upset over those small little things.

If you are interested to join, pls visit WorldVisionMalaysia.

can consider...My First Ride

2007-01-22T05:45:00.000Z

Woohoo... its a day to remember... my first ride.. after a long long time.. Yup, I know you could not believe it, a kampung girl, from alor star, dunno how to ride a bicycle?? how can that be??hehe...Well, its true... Used to be a timid gal, who failed to achieve some of the things ppl usually learn when they are small little fearless kid ;p But nvm, its never too late... hehe
Would like to take this opportunity to thank both of my 'instructors', hehe, W-Lj and Zee...

posing before the ride..

looks cool eh? but actually struggling, hehe

ah...W-Lj...my cycling instructor =) a capricornian, who is confident, strong willed and calm, and a supernice guy who took the trouble to load his bike onto his car & vroom about 20km to teach me cycling ;P Thanks Ti, for inspiring me to learn swimming n cycling, showing me how to enjoy while working offshore, & by sharing your wonderful pixs..now i know few cute ways to pose for the camera :p, & of course, for being a fren =)

Puppy Love...

2007-01-15T15:37:00.000Z

Went to a dog event on Sunday... Malaysia K9 Day 2007. This is my first, and I fell in love, with dogs, hehe.... Thanks to sharlene =)

Pixs of those cuties I found...

oh yes, this friendly husky licked me on the face, n I love it ;P

a clever dog, swim to get the bottle for his owner

run... run... run... dog's run

Demonstration of hold, bark & escape

New member @ Poh Family

2007-01-15T15:07:00.000Z

On the 15th of Dec, one cute boy is born... with the name of baby, xiao huai dan 小坏蛋, etc... =) after 7 days, a name was finally given... Zheng Xi 政熙 . Hmm, nice name, i like it. Baby Zheng Xi is super cute, with his double eye lid and a very obvious dimple on the left cheek :)

Great time with good frens

2007-01-05T16:07:00.000Z

@ 23rd dec, a bunch of girls pre-celebrated christmas, new year, mou ren's birthday, n 庆功宴 of mou ren visit to msia... @ paya serai, PJ Hilton

KLCC... day n nite

2007-01-05T15:41:00.000Z

author's note: finally, a pix of KLCC at nite... always wanted to do this, but always forgot to bring my camera along :))

Rainy Season

2006-12-12T02:46:00.000Z

My heart
get visited by a rainy season
since cold november

o why do rain has to come?
may be
just like the plants need water
my soul need it to grow stronger

so I believe
after the rain
there will always be sunshine
& when it comes
I will treasure it, cherish it, & make the most out of it

the Power of Jerry fans, haha

2006-12-03T15:39:00.000Z

Kaka, uploaded the videos i took on Jerry during the Malaysia World Vision event last Tuesday , 28 Nov, to youtube.com, & got so many views from fans all over the world... & got 5 honors for the video... one of them... #4 Most View (this week) =)

Happy Birthday to Jovy...

2006-12-03T13:47:00.000Z

This girl got all smiles on her face now, even when she sleep... since she came back from singapore on tuesday =) Very very lucky girl, got a chance to meet her fav star up-close & have personal chat with him....

and she is soooo happy till she forgot all bout her birthday, so we decided to throw her a surprise birthday dinner. The gang ask me to ask her out to 1-U, without letting her know the rest of the gals will be there waiting for her. Since she got her mind full of *ahem, u know who he is... its not so difficult when I ask her to go 1-Utama with me to buy somethings... & when she ask me what I wanna buy, & I cant answer, she dont even suspect anything, hahaha...

幸福的女人, 祝你永远都那么幸福哦... 生日快乐

p/s: earlier in the day, we went to jalan bukit bintang to take this pixs, hahaha... yup, we r a bunch of crazy gals... ;p

A nice malay song

2006-11-22T15:21:00.000Z

a nice malay song... introduced to me this afternoon by a colleague of mine

Kenangan Terindah by Samsons
Aku yang lemah tanpamu
Aku yang rentan karena
Cinta yang t'lah hilang
Darimu yang mampu menyanjungku

Selama mata terbuka
Sampai jantung tak berdetak
Selama itu pun aku mampu
Untuk mengenangmu

Darimu kutemukan hidupku
Bagiku kaulah cinta sejati

Chorus :
Bila yang tertulis untukku
Adalah yang terbaik untukmu
Kan kujadikan kau
Kenangan yang terindah dalam hidupku

Namun takkan mudah bagiku
Meninggalkan jejak hidupmu
Yang t'lah terukir abadi
Sebagai kenangan yang terindah

Darimu kutemukan hidupku
Bagiku kaulah cinta sejati

p/s: see the mtv & listen to the song in youtube here =)

Back from Shanghai..

2006-11-22T15:18:00.000Z

Just a short post here.. Im back from Shanghai on Sunday nite =) Still tired till today, hehe. Will sort out my photos, & post them soon... stay tuned...

Shanghai... here I come

2006-11-11T07:42:00.000Z

As I was quite down recently, restless & dunno where do I go from here.. So when JY suggested that I go Shanghai with her, I say yes immediately. Should be good for me, I think I really need some fresh air... I have been too stressed up last two weeks...

Will be flying off tonite... yeah!

just in case u wonder where is Shanghai, hehe =)

map extracted from www.Expedia.com

My first in 10km run =)

2006-11-06T14:10:00.000Z

Joined the Subang Jaya 10km run yesterday morning... This is the first time for me.. & may be the last time also? haha. Still remembered when Sharlene ask us to join, I thought why not? Should not be a problem for us, coz we always go to the gym, now I know how wrong am I. Anyway, its not really 10km for me.. coz im too excited when I see the MPSJ building, so I ran straight in, actually I suppose to run further down & make a U-turn back to MPSJ, hehehe..

Am totally exhausted today, physically & emotionally. Cant walk properly today coz my legs are so sore...& yup... emotionally also, my frens who know whats happening to me would know why...

Ya, that's life, full of ups & downs...

开车

2006-11-02T00:55:00.000Z

This is a song from 阿桑(Ah Sang). & this is how I feel now...

上
上一次的快乐是多久了
你
你走了我的计算变差了微笑在我脸上又被僵住了
那是第几次又说起你了
开
一个人开车是最寂寞的
但是别别扭开收音机来听听歌
因为有些歌曲是很伤人的
太容易就会想起你了
如果那天病了约会换了我们就不遇上了
或许就能够微笑幸福靠着
比你更好的另一个
有时爱像开车危险又快乐
遇上红灯就停了
勉强是不对的我们都知道的
差别的是谁会先下车
伤
再伤的伤口都会痊愈的
难
再难的难过也能走过的
一个人的下午也是美好的
只是聊天的人又少了一个

In general, it just means.. love is like driving a car, dangerous & happy. But we have to stop when we see the red light. We all know that its not right if we have to force. The only difference is who will get down the car first.

p/s: sorry, the tranlations is not very good =)

Holidays over! back to work!

2006-10-26T08:38:00.000+01:00

Back to office today! So Sien, after a long holiday...

Looking back, I didnt actually do a lot of things.. mostly sleep & rest at home, went movie marathon at 1U (two movies in a day), & joined the usual group of TC *short form for tham chiak* members from FF gym to the historic city Melaka for good food.

Its really not a good choice to visit Melaka on a public holiday! All the restaurants are crowded with ppl. All these ppl are willing to queue outside the shop under the hot sun for dunno how long just for the food... Aiyoh... That's why we missed the best 'lap lap kai fun'in melaka, the shop just opposite OCBC, & have to settled for the 2nd best in town. And its a relief when we didnt see a queue outside the satay shop. The pineapple sauce is really nice. We then decided to let our stomach takea break, so we went to a newly opened shopping mall. Actually the main purpose is to get away fromthe hot sun, & enjoy the free air-con, hehe, in the end, everybody got something.. (hai, what to do, nike got sales, & it just looked too tempting). Initial plans for dinner is satay celup, but alas, the queue is there again, & this time with umbrellas under the rain..omg.. So, we decided to turn around & had portugese food for dinner instead. Hmm, I would say the best I had is the fruit juice from a road-side stall just beside tan kim hock shop, kekeke.

Now, just lepak2 in office for two days, then its weekend again! The much anticipated event of this weekend.. David Tao concert in Bukit Jalil this Sat!!! woo hoo hoo...just cant wait...& someone is coming back next Monday!!! ;D

the making of... tau foo fah

2006-10-22T16:39:00.000+01:00

Since I have a long 5-days holiday, with not much things to do, so after a lazy afternoon nap, I went to ah sek's house to learn how to make the tau foo fah!!! When I reached his house, Ah Sek, the tff sifu was waiting for me with all the ingredients ready, hehe... Under the sifu strict & patience guidance, *those who knew ah sek will know how strict he is :D & the fact that he is a tuition teacher* ....tadaaaa.... here is the results

Cant believe it! Tff is ready in about 1.5 hours... Altho my sifu said I already took too much time, but then im excused since this is the first time =) Im not praising myself here, coz the credits goes to the sifu & also the recipe owner, the tff standard is really upto par with the nice tff stalls out there... texture is extra soft with nice rich soy bean smell...

p/s: wanna take this opportunity to thank the sifu for being patience with me.... who seldom got her hands dirty in the kitchen, kekeke...