melindawong

bollywood theme staff party

2012-02-08T16:11:00.001+08:00

Attended my company's staff party for year 2012, with the theme being Bollywood. So everyone was required to dress according to theme. A colleague lent me her beautiful leopard print saree, which I thought at first wasn't my kind of pattern, but in the end it looked absolutely nice. =D

Had alot of photos of me with my colleagues, especially from my department. But I am just gonna post one of us three, teehee.

The party started off with hidden envelopes with vouchers in it, so we had to find those envelopes. And then proceed to presenting awards, quiz and then lucky draw.

Won a steam iron through lucky draw.
And then group photo:

espressamente illy : delish

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000+08:00

Recently had a small photoshoot for Espressamente illy.

Went over to PavilionKL with @aliyazarei (the driver of the day and the exec). Food was tempting! So delicious smelling. GAH! It was about 3.30pm or 4.00pm when we arrived at the outlet and our stomachs were slightly grumbling. But food was not meant for us, oh well. =)

Was holding a normal Canon digicam (well, it has SLR functions as well) and my own DSLR with prime lens (as I effing forgot to bring my kit lens T_T but ah well, you may enjoy the bokeh, I supposed?)

But hell yeah I got awesome shots.

beauty lessons

2012-01-08T00:12:00.002+08:00

@silvennia bought some vouchers on beauty lessons and invited us to join her to fill up the spaces for one class. So we did.

Had a hard time finding the place because too many shoplots blocks to go around and around. Managed to get there in one piece and immediately we started the class. The class starts with face care session.

Blur is blur, haha! Ruth (our lady beauty instructor) took this photo of us. We identified our skin type and tried the facial wash suitable for our skin type. We did half, to see the difference before and after the wash.

@cappyfish is the fair maiden. I jealous her skin! @tincancat is another beauty in this class! She has really nice features.

Ruth giving us pointers on drawing the eyebrows and eyeshadow applications. We were introduced to Mary Kay products. I would say, the products are pretty good and gentle to skin.

And these ladies were taught how to apply. In this class, we used blue hues.

Experts in makeup @silvennia topped us all. I was the n00b in this, so taking photos of other people applying makeup...hahaha. So below is the before (on the left) and after (on the right) photos =).

Overall I enjoyed the class, thanks to friends being there. Makes me feel like getting Mary Kay products to test - but considering I have quite a number of make up items in my drawers that haven't finished using... aiks!

merry christmas

2011-12-26T16:39:00.002+08:00

Best Christmas present ever.

Christmas Eve was spent having western cuisine with Mummy dearest and sister Melissa. We head to Kaki Corner in Taman Billion. Boy, the crowd and the traffic was ridiculous. One way streets weren't helping either. But we had good jolly food.

Christmas Day was spent with friends, first to Berjaya Times Square for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Tom Cruise is sure hawt! *_* Humour everywhere in the movie. Thou shall watch it! Had Sushi King for lunch (again overloaded!) and was gonna tapau some KFC for dinner but the queue was terrible also.

So we decided to head out, and the traffic from B3 all the way to the exit was horrible! ;_; People started to honk and all (not like that helped to speed up the queue, so it was pretty stupid to honk). So we were stuck in the basement carpark for about almost 40 minutes and then traffic everywhere on the roads heading to Red Wok Restaurant in Bangi. Lovely Chinese halal food in that family restaurant. Had stomach-full of everything! Portion is large on each dish as well...

So, I know this greeting is late, but:

Merry Christmas everyone!

fillet mignon

2011-12-15T16:50:00.000+08:00

aglio fettucine

2011-12-08T14:00:00.000+08:00

Nothing like a good ole' pasta from La Bodega.

smoked mackerel salad

2011-12-01T13:30:00.000+08:00

A salad a day keeps the doctor away.
Smoked Mackerel Salad. =)

travelog : exploring singapore (day 2 - part 2)

2011-11-28T15:00:00.000+08:00

Upon exiting the Asian Civilisation Museum, I saw this building and I must take a photo of it! We didn't have enough time to wander inside and out, so we left the building as it is, and ventured off to our next destination.

The Esplanade Park, the place we will have to cross to see the merlion! I must say, this park is huge with abundance of shady trees, and the breeze was all so nice! It felt so comfortable and empty benches were beckoning us to have a rest.

Some buildings we saw, and photos of them.

Taddaaaaa! We reached the Merlion Park! There was a mini merlion right behind the actual merlion. In our dazed to see merlions, we didn't realise that the one in front of us was the real actual one... because it wasn't gigantic huge....

But it was windy, and having water sprinkled gently on you (well, due to the course of the wind), it was very cooling. I like it. My friend and I had a lot of camwhoring with the merlion behind us, but I am not going to put them up because I looked so tired like I haven't slept for a gazillion years. ~~Most probably true~~

We walked around to find something to eat - our lunch perhaps? We saw Starbucks and all, but those were too pricey for us (ftw, conversion of currency). My friend bought an aiskrim potong by a seller who somehow spotted us and noticed that we were Malaysians.

Had Chicken Rice as we really didn't know what to eat, ahahaha... Can't really remember what place it is, but I do remember was we walked up the staircase to this place and it was crowded! Alot of office workers were here for their lunch and there were so many choices!

Our next destination is the Singapore Philatelic Museum! I've never been so excited! It is a museum dedicated for the love of STAMPS! I don't deny that those bunny banners are a bit childish, but this is what makes it fun! We were game on for kids' adventure. ;p

AMAZING decor! So many things to see! (Though some decorations or display seemed a bit random, but I like because of its artistic nature).

This was at the counter! Not sure whether they were using it for real or not, but damn, I'd like that as my letterbox. ;p

We saw some kids opning those cupboard-like boxes, and stamping on those booklet, and so we decided to join in the fun. The game is, each letterboxing stamp is the answer to the question in your letterboxing passport. So, they ask you a question, and if you know the answer, you'll know where to find those hidden letterboxing boxes. It was fun!

Below are photos....including camwhoring with random postboxes...

Like I said, they do have amazing displays.

What I really love are all these traditional stuff. It makes me all fuzzy thinking of vintage and craftwork. Wouldn't you?

They have a section dedication to airplanes and aviator stuff. Look at the effing displays of miniatures! And the photo shows only one side of the wall.

Besides that, they have a flight game where you can play! Now, doesn't this sound awesome? Picture of a boy on the game because he didn't want to budge even though his parents had hollered for him. Hogging the game...

This museum wants to make learning about stamps fun. So they also made a section for younger children. picture shows only one part of the room, but on the other side, there is a digital table where rabbits (well, digitally on flat screen of a pool-like-table) will come over to your fingers when you placed your hands on the screen.

On the green patches, there were holes in it and this was what you can see..... rabbits?

...into a thunderstorm

2011-11-23T14:21:00.001+08:00

Yes, it was raining!
Above is one of my favourite picture from the lot. ❤

Adding more photos to my previous post: dark stormy day.

Credits still goes to LiAz Photography!

mcdonald's for breakfast and lunch

2011-11-22T13:26:00.001+08:00

And so my favourite delish from McDonald's. Sometimes, just skrew those nutrition values and also the 'Don't eat fast food because it's unhealthy!' talks. Once in a while, it's fine right?

I would like to applaud McDonald's (one of its outlet branch) supervisor/manager (well, basically person-in-charge) for his quick thinking, calm response and good PR skills. I am not going to mention which branch here, but I do hope the people in charge of each McDonald's outlet will take similar action towards customer complaints.

I am a frequent McD customer, as I always take a quick breakfast bite (sometimes twice a week) and usually I order the same meal. Yes, I am predictable like that. So, today I ordered what I usually ordered, but the cashier (probably a new staff) had keyed in the wrong item which amounted to me having to pay extra on the menu. At first I wasn't so sure and didn't kick up a fuss (because I am just not that kind of person). I did told the cashier that usaully the total bill wouldn't exceed RM8. She just said, "Oh..." and then continued to pack my order, ignoring my query. Like I said, I didn't kick up a fuss, because I wasn't so sure myself.

Back at the office, with my receipt, I checked with the old receipt which confirmed my doubts. Yes... she had keyed in McValueMeal instead of WeekdaySpecial. Hence the pricing difference. It was RM1+ more that I had paid. I called up the branch, and wanted to complain, but was directed to Customer Service at HQ. I said, "Okay, I'll lodge the complaint at the HQ, but I would just like to tell you that this happens...."

Why I did that?

If I didn't tell him (presumably, the person in charge) what's wrong or what's the complaint about, then more people will get into the same "extra-charged in the bill" right? I didn't want that to happen! Imagine I wasn't the only one who realised that, and that more people lodge the complain....just because of this small mistake...

Okay, so the supervisor/manager got my name and number, and said he would call back as he wanted to check with his cash register to verify and confirm my complaint. After that he called back, apologizing for the mistake and said that the outlet would refund the extra charge or a complimentary meal. So I took the meal.

And I was a happy girl. Haha~ =)

Applaud for the good PR, Mr Shahrul.

11.11.11 tweetup

2011-11-20T14:30:00.000+08:00

A very beautiful place! Like a castle!

It was a private event at Al-Rawsha on the 11.11.11. Tweetup with some friends @kazwan @rainingheaven @rararawr @khiromar @absolutefusion @IcedNyior @shamhardy @kruel74 @loveykatz @azri83 and did I miss out anyone?

Fantastic place, very huge and suitable for big gatherings and private functions. They also have private rooms. It's not hot, cooling in fact.

What I ordered? Grilled meat, if not mistaken. The sauce is nice, love the sauteed mushrooms, and grilled peppers. The carrots and long beans veggies have a sourish taste tho, seemed to be marinated with yogurt maybe? But carrots are soft~ I like soft carrots.

Al Rawsha Restaurant

No 8, Jalan Kampung Pandan
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Website: www.alrawshakl.com

dark stormy day

2011-11-19T14:30:00.000+08:00

We were waiting for the other members of Inception photoshoot (yes, yes, it is an Inception-themed photoshoot) at Putrajaya and it was about to rain, so we thought to catch a few shots.

LiAz Photography took this shot of me. I really like it! ❤
There are more from where that came from, but a few more shots to satisfy my blogspot (haha!)

Credits goes to the photographer, LiAz Photography. Model featured here (chehwah) is me. Apparently friends seemed to like the flying umbrella picture. ❤

tapas at la bodega

2011-11-18T17:35:00.000+08:00

Pollo Yakitori Picante Con Alioli : Spicy Chicken "Yakitori" with Alioli

Sometimes I am amazed with my cameraphone. Picture above is so clear and sharp!

My boss and I had lunch at one of our outlet, La Bodega in Bangsar Shopping Centre. She had to do some food quality check and so we went. Thankfully, all the dishes are well made, well cooked, and well presented. We decided to order tapas and shared the dishes. Very filling, for two people and only 4 tapas dishes!

Tortilla Española : Spanish Omelette with Mushrooms and Onions

Quote my boss: The best omelette ever. I second that.

Albodigas 'Saint Climent' : Lamb meatballs in rich brandy sauce

One of my favourite tapas! Meatballs! The sauce is very delicious!

If not mistaken, this dish is called Champinones Al Ajillo : Button Mushrooms sauteed with olive oil and garlic

I really like dining at La Bodega. ALL of the outlets. The waiters and waitresses are very attentive and alert. Also the place is clean and has a homely and comfy feel. The food, I would say, is excellent! However some of the dishes pricing are slightly steep for me as the reason the ingredients used are high grade quality ingredients.

La Bodega outlets can be found at Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru and various shopping malls: Bangsar Shopping Centre, Pavilion KL and Empire Shopping Gallery.

PS: This is a backlog post =)

two sidelines at nando's

2011-11-17T14:30:00.000+08:00

This picture was taken at: Nando's Restaurant @ Bangsar Village 1 (Bangsar Baru)

I love to order both my sidelines as Old Style Chips/Peri Chips, because hey, that's how I like it. ❤

I started eating Nando's ever since I realised that Kenny Roger's servings are too filling and their chicken slightly blant (or original taste). Nando's have a choice of mild to super hot peri flavour, which I am currently at HOT peri! It's yummy spicy!

PS: This is a backlog post!

blood donation

2011-11-16T14:30:00.000+08:00

Last month, on 29th October, we went to donate our blood at Pusat Darah Negara. Thank God the queue wasn't long, and it was a Saturday. Quite a number of people are there, for what reason, I don't know.

The nurses are so nice and friendly (or that I am being treated like a teenage kid?) and asked me some question while taking my blood pressure and all the basic procedures. The questions she asked me were where am I going later, and why wasn't I in shopping malls now (it was about 2pm). I told her I would be going shopping after I donate my blood! She laughed.

Because I didn't have anything to eat before coming to the centre, so I ate at their cafeteria (for free!). It was complimentary, and that day was nasi lemak day! I swear that it is one of the most delicious nasi lemak I've ever tasted!

Then we were ushered to the donation room, where the nurses jabbed you and all. It wasn't even painful. Ant bite is more worse!

So watching the blood bag filled up with warm juicy red blood....

After the blood donation finished, we were served a light meal to get out energy bag. Sausage bun with milo, as well as some medicines pills. Also a keychain that has my blood type on it! So cute and squishy!

travelog : exploring singapore (day 2 - part 1)

2011-11-15T13:00:00.000+08:00

Day two!

We travelled to the city with MRT! That's because we got tired of walking so far ahead (still tired from the previous hardcore walk). We landed at Raffles Place station and walked around the area, before heading towards the Merlion.

Came to a building called Six battery Road, formerly known as Standard Chartered building. Such lovely building as the lobby has a very nice smelling organic (or floral) fragrant. The wall of their reception counter has this vertical garden and it was really an amazing sight to see!

The many places we passed before we reach yet another museum!

We have arrived! Camwhore first! A must picture of both of us in front of Asian Civilisation Museum. I must say, the museum has a very huge impressive collection of EVERYTHING, and I meant it. It was so huge, and there were so many artifacts, you can spend a whole day in there! I'll let the photos do the talking.

Admission is free (thanks to the 3-day-pass that we purchased earlier)

I'm trying to summarize what we did there. I swear, the place is huge.

Day two was filled with more stuff compared to day one, so I am gonna leave this post as part 1 (hahaha, I slightly lazy to clean up the backlog actually and also trying to keep photos minimum in one post for easy loading - ceh~)

So stay tuned for part 2!

little pantry @ ioi mall

2011-11-14T19:00:00.000+08:00

We went to Little Pantry at IOI Mall after our make-over class (makeover class thanks to Silvennia, who purchased such good deal on Groupon and shared it with us!)

Little Pantry was a nice quaint place with alot of decos in pink and white. Reminds me of playing with dolls and having tea with dolls. The waiters are dressed in chef-like attire, with apron (no chef hats tho!) while the waitresses don dark pink french maid outfits.

There was a buy 1 free 1 pasta promotion, and so we all chose to have the pasta. The pricing was affordable (about RM12 above for a dish of pasta). The taste of the pasta that we had was quite good except that their fettucine was quite dry despite the sauce was delicious. We had Beef Bolognese and Mushroom Fettucine (if not mistaken?)

They have a small private room that you are able to dine in there, fully decorated with beautiful interior. I think it's very suitable for a nice photoshoot session! Not sure how much is the rental of the private room and such, so anyone who had done photoshoot or had booked the room before, please let me know =)

Overall in my opinion, service is average, interior and atmosphere would be highly satisfying and beautifully decorated, pricing affordable and taste of dishes is satisfying.

Little Pantry

Opening Hours: Mon - Sun:11:00-23:00

Address: G02 & G18 Ground Floor, IOI Mall Puchong, Bandar Puchong,

Facebook: www.facebook.com/littlepantry

travelog : exploring singapore (day 1)

2011-11-13T20:00:00.000+08:00

One of the most colourful city in the world: Singapore. I traveled to Singapore early June this year (9-11) but seems like only now I am free to post some photos on my neglected blog - especially on the photography part.

Shame on me. So many photos and not posted.

Traveling by backpacking, reaching the city by a midnight bus. Five in the morning, having breakfast after passing through numerous custom check points. What were we doing? I don't know. Reluctant to take taxi due to budget constraint, but ah well, it was better to do the walking.


The Hive Backpackers at Boon Keng (www.thehivebackpackers.com)

Little did we know we were very far from our hostel, but thank you Lord for we were able to check in at eight thanks to the availability of the room and also a little confused on where the entrance of The Hive Backpackers. We came from the back of the building and failed to see The Hive's entrance and we stood around for a while as we thought that the place wouldn't be open that early.

Thanks to the snooping around, we found the entrance! (A bit stupid of us hahaha~)
Checking in and the hurrying out again as not to lose daylight!

We walked around Little India looking for a spot to have our lunch before heading out to the city.

One of my favourite random shots below, taken at Little India at one of the restaurants while having our brunch.You may think it's silly to have taken a photo of the cashier counter. I admired the neatness of the stacks in such small space.

We decided to walk all the way (and yes we did!) and visited a few of their museums.

We visited the National Museum of Singapore first to purchase our 3-day pass. It was a 3-day pass for only SGD20, unlimited access to all seven museums.

The National Museum of Singapore was a very interesting place, unlike Malaysia's museum. The Singapore one focus on modern display and simple understanding of the history and its beauty and uniqueness. Also, equipped with media presentation such as stunning displays, interaction with videos and short plays as well as music or voice. It makes learning about Singapore so much fun and at ease. You'd have to go there to see it for yourself.

The museum was split into a few sections for Singapore Living Gallery: Food, Fashion, Film&Wayang and ending with their History Gallery.

And as for the stroll of photos because we all love photos and description will be lengthy so let the pictures do the talking!

Singapore Living Gallery : Food

Singapore Living Gallery : Fashion.

There was an exhibition going on called "The Black Beauty". I really love the display, even the walls are made of felt-like fabric, so nice to lean and run your palms through.

Eventually, the fashion part came to the place where sewing machines and equipments and bobby pins were displayed.

Singapore Living Gallery : Photography

The place where they display old cameras from the olden days! Antique and cleverly displayed with a lot of photo albums for your viewing pleasure.

Singapore Living Gallery : Film & Wayang

And finally, the Singapore History Gallery.

We ended our day with dinner before heading back to The Hive, as it has been a long day of walking for us and we do need alot of rest the next day. Just Acia is a restaurant located at the MRT station of Dhoby Ghaut. The food is not bad, and they served unlimited refills for drink (I chose hot chocolate) and the combo comes with dessert.

limau deserves one

2011-11-12T14:30:00.000+08:00

Yes, my pet orange cat deserves a post.
And this shall be it, with her photos using my 50mm lens (prime lens?)

This is Limau doing her yoga pose while....cleaning herself.

Shoo kyute right! Too bad it was bright and sunny hence the pupils are small and narrowed. It would of course be awesome if her eyes are big rounds like an owl's.

The way she always looks away from the camera when I try to take photos of her. Actually, it's quite hard to take photos of animals, especially when they get curious, shy or scared (worse, if the animal doesn't belong to you and the owner is somewhere else).

There are times where Limau tried to pounce on the camera lens, thank goodness my camera and lens are still fine. Or that she will come close to the camera, and paw at the lens.

One of the best photo of the lot, that can be Limau's profile picture:

diyana + syauqi engagement

2011-11-09T14:00:00.000+08:00

Dulang hantaran from the bride's side

A wonderful experience for me, as this was the first time I attended a Muslim engagement. Of course, many questions played in my head, like, what will the adults be doing? Why will there be a discussion? What is going to happen now? How come so many rings are involved? Why can't the groom be present or unable to see the bride? Hmm...

Learnt that, the bride's side will always give additional 2 trays. The groom's side will send five trays,
and the number of trays are usually in odd numbers.

Of course, many questions will be left unanswered because this was tradition and it has always been like that. The era has changed and that most couples had made their engagement one of their pre-wedding shoots. Yes, it is a big thing!

So, Dyrenz and I were the earliest there, not all of Diyana's relatives were there yet. After a while, people started to fill the space of the carpeted hall, and that was when I decided to see Diyana in her room. Well, best to greet her right? Up I went to her room and caught a few photos:

Beautiful Diyana, waiting in her room after her makeup artist had left

There will be a discussion among the adults (parents of both bride and groom) when the groom's side arrived. The discussion will be about the wedding date. I've always thought that the wedding couple are the ones setting the date of their wedding, but I've learnt that in Muslim culture, the parents would be the one setting it. But of course, I do have a feeling that all these had been discussed beforehand to ease the process.

The discussion didn't take very long and the beautiful bride was called downstairs to the pelamin (wedding dais). I think this is when the groom's family will greet her and acknowledge her as their daughter-in-law-to-be as they both embrace.

Diyana at the dais, beautifully set up


Engagement ring looking absolutely stunning on her finger

Of course, not be missed, the trays given by the groom's side, lovely pastel colours with pink roses!

The five trays from Syauqi's family side

It was an eventful day, as after the engagement was over, a bunch of us friends sat around to catch up with lost time and then later head for a drink or two at nearby mamak. Yeah, mamaks like good old times. It has been a while since I met with everyone, so it was a good chitchat session.

Ah, door gifts of the engagement, handpacked by Diyana herself! I admired her for doing almost all the preparation and planning herself, with of course, her family member's help. =)

Sweetsssssss in a cute jar! Marshmellows, jellybeans and sugared gummies ❤ ❤ ❤

Congratulations to both Diyana & Syauqi on their engagement!
Looking forward to the wedding day! =)

dia de la hispanidad at la bodega

2011-11-08T18:29:00.000+08:00

VisionKL October 2011 issue

Dia De La Hispanidad. A Spanish National Day celebration at La Bodega.

It was very lively, I attended it, and was the photographer for the night.
However, no event photos here, but my design for the advertising of this event.

Invitation card (front and back) on a postcard size

Standee

thirsty tuesday at la bodega

2011-11-07T17:31:00.000+08:00

Thirsty Tuesday idea teamed up by my department for La Bodega. This was done in August.

All done in Illustrator included the drawing.

oktoberfest at la bodega

2011-11-06T17:13:00.000+08:00

Teaser poster for our upcoming events

Teaser poster before the event and lineup.

This was done for Oktoberfest party where the drinking keeps on going and going!

And so the events of the night was later announced:

Standee/Lineup

breakfast bunting for the press room

2011-11-05T17:21:00.000+08:00

Bunting done to promote sumptuous breakfast at The Press Room (Bangsar Shopping Centre).

Photography was done outdoor by me (well, except the last one) with only kit lens and under the shade of the sunlight. =D

thursday kind of blue

2011-11-04T17:07:00.001+08:00

Print Media

Concept and design in Ilustrator.

For print media in The Expat (August 2011 issue), VisionKL (August 2011 issue) and web media in Facebook.

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