Inspired Momx1

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T12:17:00.001+08:00

A double 'V' for lovey dovey couples

A single 'V' ~

for singles.. you can be just as happy as him on this special day!

Errr.. What's this??!!

(Updated: He says this is his own version of sunglasses sign worr)

Hubby is not in town so today will be just another day to us. We will most likely have a simple celebration on my birthday which falls two days after Valentine's Day. :)

Here wishing everyone :

Feeling Safer And Secured In A Full Body Suit?!

2012-02-13T08:00:00.002+08:00

We live in a country where we experience hot and humid weather throughout the year. My boy always pops me this question: Why can't we wear jackets all the time here, how I wish we had snow here! Well, he thinks donning a jacket is kind of cool! Too much of 'cool' advertisement, I guess. LOL.. The nearest we can travel to a temperate destination here in Malaysia, citing few examples, Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands and Frasers Hills. We can enjoy the cool breeze whenever we go on a trip there and we simply love the weather there.. Nothing beats having a hot piping steamboat at one of those cooling places. Sit back and relax while we enjoy taking in the breathtaking view and cool, fresh air, one should not miss sipping on a cup of hot beverage at one of the cafes around the tea plantations while indulging yourselves with a slice of cheese cake. Awww... Simply out of this world!

There's an anecdote about how Lee Kuan Yew/Mahathir keeps all civil offices at a particular temperature to ensure that it's the most conducive working environment. A research by Helsinki University of Technology confirm that indoor temperature can significantly impact on productivity and most performing 'comfort zone' lays between 72° F (22° C) and (77° F) 25° C.

Does cool weather really affect our state of mind and being? The answer is Yes! My boy tells me he has to struggle not to fall asleep in the heat of his classroom so I suggest that he tries to get himself a seat under or close to a fan, air-conditioning is out of the question as he goes to a public school. :( During our recent trip to Bangkok where most of the time we walked to where we wanted to go, we would take every chance we could get to slip into a cool, air-conditioned shopping mall or stop at one the many eateries there to rest our feet while munching on some snacks. Hahaha..

Painting your house walls in cool neutral tones can also achieve a comfortable and cool sanctuary within your home sweet home. Hop over to http://www.colourlovers.com/ now for the latest home and interior-design focused palettes and patterns.

Many people underestimate the value of a good night's sleep. People who don't get enough sleep are regularly affected by fatigue, irritability, impaired memory and concentration higher incidences of stress and the list goes on. The ideal room temperature to have a good night's sleep lays between 60° F (16° C) and (65° F) 18° C but this varies from person to person.

In Malaysia, we really need air-conditioners to turn our tropical homes to temperate havens. We have a relatively new 2hp installed in our living hall and an 1 hp in the boy's bedroom. We have been on the lookout to replacing the air-conditioner in our master bedroom though as it acts up quite often recently. As it has passed the one year warranty, we have to pay from our own pocket for repair. More often than not, we don't get enough sleep when it breaks down and pity my hubby and the boy the next day, having to put up with a grouchy and grumpy wife and mother from sleep deprive. Long story short, it's time to get a new one! :) I swear I will get a reliable one that last this time!

I googled to check on the brands of air-conditioners available and what they've got to offer and found this cute YouTube video by Fujiaire:)

Wuakakaka... My boy and I had a good laugh after watching the above video over and over again! How the hachoooo... sneeze that lands on the female giraffe's hair and messes her neat hair buns. That got her mad and she actually pressed her partner down and knitted him a full body suit covered from the bottom of his long neck right up to his head! :D

As far as I know, most air-conditioner units come with a standard one-year warranty that covers all parts and labour. After some research done on the internet, I found Fujiaire offers more than just that! They are offering something that no other brand has, three-year FULL BODY warranty programme on their units (Not just the compressor but the actual indoor unit as well!!!) All their air-conditioners come with a standard one-year warranty that covers all parts and labour. BUT, if you register online at http://www.fujiaire.com.my/ within two weeks of purchase, you get extended warranty up to three years that covers parts only. Hey, we really need a reliable air-conditioner that lasts to enjoy a good night's sleep everyday!

It's nice to know that a company that makes a product that Malaysians simply can't live without — cares, even after the purchase. To add icing to the cake, you can register online, minusing the hassle to send in those warranty cards you never get around sending!

Come on, hubby.. Please get me a knitted full body suit that covers me from head to toe.. I give you my words, I assure you will have no regrets for granting me that and most importance of all you come home to a more secured and happy wife everyday!.. Muahahaha...

Sunday Outing With My Valentine

2012-02-12T20:09:00.001+08:00

My little valentine. :)

We went to The Big Bookshop Warehouse Sale at Subang Avenue Shopping Complex (beside Carrefour Subang) this morning. We had this complimentary dessert coupon from TGIF on our last visit so our plan today was to dine at their Subang Parade outlet after the book sale, without hubby as he is on a working trip.

My boy's 'Kids Eat for Free' meal ~ Chicken Fingers and fries

My order ~ Sirloin Steak (medium well) with mild mushroom sauce

and side dishes of garlic butter broccoli & Cheddar mashed potatoes. Yumz!

Complimentary mini desserts

We ordered a glass of refillable Iced Lemon Tea to share. I got a pleasant surprise when the bill came and the staff congratulated me for being selected to be one of the lucky ones to enjoy a sizzling fajitas FREE on my next visit! He then explained to me how it worked. The friendly staff told me the free fajitas is not sample size but real plate size from the menu with beef, chicken or combo to choose from.

All I had to do was to login to their website indicated in the receipt, answer a few questions in the online survey form and when I was done, a code was generated. This code needs to be copied onto the receipt and brought along to any Friday's outlet to claim the meal. Ain't that great? :)

My haul from The Big Bookshop Sale. The book sale is on now until 19 February 2012 (Sun).

Only RM1 each!

RM2 each!

There are loads of fiction novels going from RM5 each only for paperback and for hardcovers, RM10 each, I think.

RM5 for this pocket size dictionary. Bought this for the boy to check new vocab while on the go. He seems to rely too much on this walking dictionary aka yours truly which sometimes gives inaccurate answers.. ^.^

RM6 each

Bought these from MPH Bookstore.

Introducing to him the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. Hope he likes them as much as he likes Geronimo Stilton

We truly enjoyed our day-out together today! The poor boy had to do his homework until 11.30pm on a Saturday night as it was a school day at his school yesterday in replacement of the CNY long holidays.

As I am writing this post, the boy is off to his art class. He loves going there and I guess he finds a way to de-stress through drawing. He likes to scribble, be it some stick men, designing 'new' gadgets and whatnots on papers after revision, probably that's also one of his ways to de-stress after sessions of 'grilling and drilling' by his 'perfectionist' mother. My poor boy..

3D/2N Getaway To Fraser's Hill

2012-02-11T08:47:00.002+08:00

Rawang town

We reached Rawang town around 11+am, hubby asked if we were hungry and wanted an early lunch there. We were still quite full from our breakfast at KFC earlier so I suggested to have Hainanese western food at Nam Cheong in KKB later. Hubby and I had tried the food there, though nothing to shout about but I was eager to let the boy try out.

We continued our journey to KKB. As it was the 5th day of CNY, Nam Cheong was still closed so we settled for Yogi Cafe located few shoplots away.

Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB)

Yogi Cafe

It was a cyber cafe cum food cafe. The food there was not bad and the price was equivalent to KL's hawker stalls. KKB is a small and sleepy town, nothing much to see so we continued our journey after lunch.

We spotted a waterfall along the winding road to Fraser's hill and stopped for photo taking. Contrary to me who grew up in a 'kampung' environment, my boy and the hubs are literally city kids. I took off my sandals and soaked my feet into the cooling water with my boy followed suit. He exclaimed the water was so cooling! :)

Fraser's Silverpark Resort

We checked-in at Fraser's Silverpark Resort around 3pm. I got discount coupons from an online discount company at only RM58 per night for a studio unit and from the reviews I read online and honestly for the amount that I paid, I didn't put much expectation on the resort, afterall, we just need a clean and safe place for two nights' stay .

Just a week before we left for the trip, I read from a blog about a family's horror stay at the resort which was labelled 'A hotel from hell'. Oh, Gosh.. I tell ya, I would be lying if I told you I wasn't bothered by the remark! It even crossed my mind to just give up on the coupons and make a fresh booking somewhere but what the heck you have to experience it to believe it, right.. I am glad I didn't as the resort turned out to be not too bad afterall!

The first impression when we set eyes on the resort was it was a bit rundown, the walls were mouldy and desperately needed a fresh coat of paint. The hotel lobby was a bit busy as it was still CNY holidays, it took a while to check-in. The staff at the counter was friendly and helpful she even took the trouble to give us a map and explain to us the places of attractions around Fraser's Hill when I told her this was our first time there. I learned from some of the reviews online that we could actually ask for a better/refurbished unit and I made a mental note on that. We were given a studio unit on the 5th floor with magnificent mountain view.

The interior of our studio unit

The furnishing was a bit dated but acceptable to my standard though hubby complained about the curtains, the one hanging above the double bed in particular, being dusty. We had some minor problems with the water heater but the maintenance guys came in a jiffy to settle the issue.

The view from our unit

We all love the mountain view from our balcony though the sight of mouldy and paint peeling off from the walls was not so pleasant to the eyes.

We did nothing much on the first day of arrival other than having early dinner at Food Garden, a place not far away from where we stayed, which we frequented the most throughout our stay there. It's actually a food court with mostly non-Chinese owners except one.

The Paddock

The next morning, we went for horse riding at The Paddock. Hubby purchased one ticket each for his boy and yours truly. As there was only one guy working, we didn't get to ride on different horses at one go so we opted riding on the same horse together instead, more fun! Hubby then commented that we should have purchased the adult and child ticket for a ringgit saving but what the heck..

Horse riding

Storme is the name of the horse that we rode on and this is where he stays when his service is not needed. Oops.. Was he a she or she, a he? Hmmm...

Archery site

The boy wanted to try his hands on archery too but he didn't seem to have strength to pull the string hard enough so an observer he was... as you can see from the above picture. ;) ...

Boating at Allan's Water

We then went to Allan's Water for boating. It seemed like the weather was on our side the whole day, bright and sunny. Yeah!

I was so in love with the colourful and many species of flowers that I just couldn't stop clicking away.

Buildings at Fraser's Hill town

And I so love the buildings there, so English feel... I wish I had a bungalow there. Hubby heard when I mumbled to myself, guess what he said to me ... Yes, if you wanna stay with ghosts there, those English colonial cottages are so spooky, you know or not? (He stayed in one, hmmm... 30 years ago during his dad's company outing).. What if Michael Jackson suddenly pop out in the middle of the night and start dancing break dance?? Cheh! Scaredy Cat... I am not scared at all.. not a bit! ;)

Buildings at Fraser's Hill town

A peek of where we stay on the top left of the picture.

Puncak Inn at the bottom right. Just right in the town centre

Biking

I rented 2 bikes from a souvenir shop beside Puncak Inn at RM10 per hour each and we had loads of fun! It has been like more than 10 years since I rode on one.. The one at home was just too small for me, gotta go get myself one soon!

Fraser's Hill Golf Course

Food Garden not far from where we stayed

Some of the food we had

The playground

The playground just beside the food court. Our boy had loads of fun there. The weather was cooling and just nice for some exercise.

After horse riding, boating and spending some time eating at Food Garden, we proceeded to Jeriau Waterfall. It took us roughly half an hour just to get to the other end of the 8km narrow and winding road and that's not all! We had to walk further in to get to the waterfall with muddy water though it was definitely an experience for those who hardly walk the distance! Fei Lou, hor... nyek..nyek..

Jeriau Waterfall

Pine trees can be seen eveywhere in Fraser's Hill

Doesn't this tree branch look like a dragon tail?!!

Smoke House was our last destination after Jeriau waterfall on the 2nd day of our stay

We ordered Bangers & Mash with onion sauce (RM20) and Devonshire Tea Set for two (RM18x2)

The tea set comes with 2 scones, a slice each of apple pie, butter cake and chocolate cake and also cream, jam and butter.

The boy posing at The Smoke House

This was the bungalow that hubby and his family stayed during a company outing 30 years ago. It has since refurbished and converted into different types of guest rooms.

We spoke to the marketing staff there and it looked like the place was newly refurbished and brochures were not available yet so I snapped the price list pasted on the wall for future reference.

The only chinese school in Fraser's hill. I joked with hubby about the possibility of moving here. The school is so small that it almost guarantees no stress when it comes to exams.. Hahaha... There is also a kebangsaan and Tamil school located not far away. We stumbled upon the kebangsaan school when driving around looking for where the residents could possibly live. Yeap, we had so much time to dispense that we literally drove into all roads passable by cars on Fraser's Hill! Hahaha.. Back to where the residents live, looks like they live in blocks of flats built on a piece of flat land, no landed houses spotted other than bungalows and cottages and that explains how scarce and precious flat lands are on a hill like Fraser's.

Some of the bungalows there, there're a lot more such as Singapore House and all but I just took some random shots.

We checked out early on the 3rd day and it was all the way smooth traffic back to our home sweet home.

To sum up, it was overall a relaxing and enjoyable trip. I especially love the serenity of the place. Would I want to go there again? Absolutely YES!! I would choose Fraser's Hill anytime to Genting Highlands! This time, I will go for the 'spooky' bungalow as I just found out they rent their properties by individual rooms too. I know, I know, I am weird. Hubby commented it was boring there though with nothing much to do. Oh, well..

The 9th Day Of CNY~An Eventful Day!

2012-02-01T16:06:00.005+08:00

It was a holiday yesterday at the boy's school in conjunction with the Jade Emperor's Birthday which was also the 9th Day of CNY.

We had two hours' revision in the morning before heading out for lunch at the boy's favourite Chilli Pan Mee shop. After lunch, I drove to the nearby CIMB to deposit the boy's savings from his accumulated monthly allowance. The area was so packed with cars and I failed to get a legal parking lot after making a couple rounds, ended up I double-parked by the roadside and asked the boy to wait for me in the car with the engine running. I was the fourth in line at the cash deposit machine but as the machine kept rejecting notes, it took at least 5 minutes to complete each transaction. The traffic condition outside the bank was horrendous with cars honking non-stop. I peeped from behind the glass to the direction where my car was double-parked and everything looked fined, no towing trucks, no signs of the two cars that I blocked wanting to come out and all.

I continued to queue patiently, now the 2nd in line. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice calling mommy, I turned around and to my horror, I saw my boy standing beside me. He told me I was blocking the whole road (He assumed it judging from the car honking from all directions!). He then decided to LOCK the car door manually with the car engine still RUNNING and rush in to alert me. When I asked if he took the key with him, he said he thought the key was with me! Boy, I was so mad with him that I couldn't stop nagging at him. I ran back to my car and true enough the car was locked with my handphone and handbag inside!

A young man who worked nearby saw the situation and offered to lend me his handphone so that I could call hubby. Lucky me he was at his office not far away but then it still took him an hour to come to our rescue due to the havoc traffic condition everywhere and having to make a trip back to our house to get the spare car key. The young man and a security guard at the bank assured me that the two cars that I blocked (I double-parked, you see) would not leave so soon as they were staff at the bank. That brought some relief but my greatest fear was still the towing truck, they wouldn't care less what your story would be, they only know that for every illegally parked car they tow, they get paid. Overhearing my conversation with the guard, the boy offered to pay the fine should my car gets towed. He knows he has a 4-digit savings with the bank and he thinks he is rich! That sparked my anger even more and I raised my voice and carried on with the nagging.

He then offered some solutions, one of which was to borrow the car key from the same car model as mine. *rolls eyeballs* Only if it could be that simple... *Sighs*. Next, he walked to the car, peeped through the car window in deep thoughts, trying to figure how to get the door open. When he realised nothing worked, he mumbled to himself.. I am stupid, I know I am stupid.. I am stupid.. the sky then suddenly turned gloomy and started to pour. Not raining la.. just that someone was sobbing away. :( What a day!

Kung Hei Fatt Choy!! Fatt Ah!!!

2012-01-22T20:27:00.002+08:00

We were at a shop selling Chinese New Year decorative items when these Chinese gold ingots caught the boy's eyes and he brought three home at RM2 per piece. He didn't want the plastic made ones and insisted on the real gold (made of metal and painted gold la). LOL...

Little facts about Chinese Gold Ingots

Chinese Gold Ingots are regarded as a very auspicious symbols of wealth and fortune, and as a feng shui wealth cure are placed in the wealth area of your home They were originally used in ancient China as a currency, and we can say that in their roots they were somehow analogous to our nowadays gold bars.

In less than 4 hours, we will bid farewell to the Year of Rabbit and usher in the Year of Dragon.

Here wishing everyone who comes by my blog:

KUNG

HEI

FATT

CHOY!!!

FATT.. FATT... FATT AH!!!

Room Rentals

2012-01-21T23:16:00.000+08:00

When we first got married more than 10 years ago, we had a single storey house in USJ, Subang Jaya. The 3 bedrooms except the master room could hardly fit in a double bed, imagine how small those rooms were. Our house constantly received relatives who came visiting from outstation, some came to register their kids into colleges or universities while some, sightseeing and shopping. They would usually put up at my place for a week or so. Though I was happy to have had them in my house but it was rather embarassing when they came in a big group and some of them ended up putting up in my living hall! I could not turned them down as my beloved mom approved their stay at my house on my behalf. Asking them to stay in a hotel was cruel as most of them were not well off. I was fortunate (and still am) to have a husband who was (and still is!) very giving and treated my family and relatives like his own. As bus service was not so reliable and regular at the area, he even took the trouble to chauffeur them around when time permit. Oh, well..

No more headaches for me ever since I discovered a room rental website portal, ibilik, Malaysia's largest Room for Rent/Homestay/Short Term Rental website with over 100,000 listings posted online all across Malaysia. I always recommend this website to my relatives and friends in need of a place to stay and they are now spoilt for choice on types of rooms and locations that fit into their budget and needs, what's more they don't have to put up in my living hall anymore! LOL...

A Story Behind A Mandarin Orange

2012-01-21T15:31:00.004+08:00

I must jot this down for record before it slips my mind. Our boy's class teacher gave each of them in the class a mandarin orange two days before the school closed for CNY. Our boy got his with a cute tiny leaf still intact on the fruit which his pals oohed and aahed that it was indeed 'special', you know that kind of mine is better than yours among kiddos. Hahaha...

He put the orange on his desk and went kepoh-ing. When he walked back to his seat, he suddenly noticed that 'precious' leaf on his orange's gone! He then sensed someone staring at him with his hand firmly pressed protectively on his school bag as though it would fly away. Our boy quickly walked to that boy and demanded his precious orange back. That boy refused but my boy insisted, 'Kuai dian huan gei wo' (return to me quick) and after a while, he finally got his precious orange back. :)

Our boy has always been a good-natured boy and will give in to other's request most of the time. I had been worried about him being bullied by his peers but I am relieved that my worries were virtually unfounded. I am so proud of him and gave him lots of praises over this incident for standing up for his own right!

A little fact about Mandarin Oranges:

Our boy's Mandarin orange looked something like the above picture,

only that the leaf was like.. errr.. 3x smaller. Hahaha..

Why are Mandarin oranges one of the must-haves during CNY:

In Cantonese, the word for Mandarin orange and gold are phonetically similar. Both are pronounced as "kam". Hence, Mandarin oranges represent wealth. When visiting relatives or friends at open house, it is also the norm to bring "kam" along as gifts. However, when giving away oranges, the number of oranges must not be odd, and usually an auspicious amount is given.

Aikido 7th Kyu Grading Test

2012-01-07T10:02:00.004+08:00

Grading test about to start.. Can you spot the boy from the pic?

Last round of practice before the test

Our boy had his 2nd Aikido test - 7th Kyu grading on the last day of 2011 which he passed with yellow belt. He started Aikido classes a year ago. We initially signed him up for unlimited classes but changed to once a week classes after 3 months. He would have advanced faster if he had attended classes more often but we simply don't have the luxury of time. Now with us moving further away from the dojo, he can only afford to attend classes once a week. Not that there isn't any Aikido dojo around where we live but for now, we'll stick to the present one as the boy prefers it this way.

Other than attending Aikido and art classes, the boy is joining his 1st dhamma class in our neighbourhood tomorrow morning. That's enough to keep his weekends occupied and for now, we have no intention to send him for tuition classes, not yet as the mommy thinks the load is still manageable for her but of course a SOS distress signal will be sent out when things start to get out of hand and that is the time when she has to let the outsourced tutor takes over. She hopes this day will never come as she still prefers to coach her son personally. *fingers crossed*

2nd Day Of School

2012-01-05T17:32:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. We have been under the weather since coming back from Genting last Monday. Blame it on the weather, so freaking hot! I am also busy spring cleaning the house and as though that isn't enough to keep me busy, the air-cond in our master bedroom decided to opt for early retirement! Grrrrrr....

I have been waiting for the air-cond guy to come and install our new air-cond since this afternoon but he called two hours ago telling me that he just realised he has got the wrong unit from the store and was making a detour back to change it at their Batu Caves store! What la! Thought I could clean up the bedroom before fetching the son from school. Looks like I'll have to work overtime tonight. Haiz..

The boy, though nursing a flu is happy to be back to school again. I bought him a pair of spare shoes and 2 sets of uniform as he has outgrown the previous ones. He is happy to have a class teacher this year who is 'capable' of smiling. Hahaha.. His class teacher was so thoughtful that she even prepared some little gifts with a note for everyone in the class. His class teacher last year was the opposite, she barely smiled and my boy told me she would only 'smirk' and never once did he see her smile. :( I talked to the teacher before and she did smile to me or maybe her smiles are only reserved for parents. *bleh*

He brought back homework on the first day of school yesterday. It was a short essay about the students' daily lives and the topic was "My first day in school". It's a weekly short essay and they are expected to write at least half a page. He still needs me around to input and help him out on this and I hope with lots of practice, he can gradually get the hang of it and write his own essay.

I have to work out his new timetable together with him over the weekend and a daily routine must be in place by next week! As he is in the afternoon session and nursing a flu, I still let him sleep in a bit in the morning but we have to get back to the routine by next week! Flu bugs.. please please please go away.

The Westin KL Again!..

2011-12-31T12:02:00.009+08:00

The Westin Executive Club at its view

We spent our Christmas Eve at The Westin KL again this year. I did a review on the hotel here and here. Gotta get this post out of the way before this year slips by in no time! How time flies! Today is already the last day of 2011! Gosh! I can't think of what I have accomplished in the whole year of 2011 now that it's almost gone!

Back to this post, this time we opted for an upgrade to the executive club room on the 33rd floor. The room size was no different from the usual one. Only that with the upgrade, we get to enjoy having complimentary breakfast and evening cocktail at their Executive Lounge located on the same floor where our room was. On top of that, we get to help ourselves to non-alcholic drinks (juices & can drinks) throughout the day. The spread of buffet breakfast was somewhat limited so hubby and I went down to The Living Room for breakfast the next morning. They had this grilled BBQ steak counter last year, not this time though. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the widespread of buffet breakfast thoroughly. Burps!

The boy had awoken and was lying on the heavenly bed playing on his iPad when we came up from breakfast. We then took him to The Westin Executive Club just across our room to have something light for breakfast before going down to the pool for a swim. What I loved about the club was the staff there didn't bother to ask you for your room number, not at all, you can just grab something to eat, walk back to your room to relax and walk back in again to eat. The boy made himself at home, had a few finger food, few sips of juice, played his games on the internet in the computer room, walked out, helped himself to more food and juice, declared he's full and dashed back into the computer room for more internet games. No one bothers, so liberal.. Daddy had a cup of coffee while the boy was eating. I had always been a small eater so I just roamed about the place snapping pictures.

@ hotel lobby

Dinner @Room Eighteen, Fahrenheit 88

Food wise, nothing to shout about, I just wanna clear the vouchers purchased earlier.

It was already 5.30pm by the the time we made it to the hotel lobby. We fetched the boy from his Aikido class and braved through the jam around the golden triangle before we finally got there. As the evening cocktail started at 5.30pm, we left our luggage in the room and walked across to the executive club. For those who love alcohol, you can mix your own cocktail with gin, vodka, rum, whiskey, tequila and whatnots. Hubby had a small glass of whiskey mixed with don't know what and his face turned all red! Different types of snacks including sushis and cheese cakes were served. I loved the cheese cakes to bits and had 3 pcs of it. Yummy!

X'mas decor at Fahrenheit88.

Looked familiar to me especially the sleigh which I had seen at Pavilion KL last year.

We were so bloated after the evening cocktail earlier at the hotel followed by dinner not long after. We took our time strolling around the malls within the vicinity and took some pictures.

X'mas decor at Pavilion

Didn't go for a ride on the mini merry-go-round. My boy said he's too old for that. Hahaha..

Swimming in the pool the next morning before check-out. Had a break in between to enjoy his lolly ice.

As the hotel extended our check-out time to 1pm, we rested in the room while the boy enjoyed soaking in the bath tub after the swim. Checking out was a breeze as this could be done at the Executive Club as well. The staff even offered to extend our access card so that we could come back to have another round of complimentary evening cocktail later on! How nice of him! We didn't accept the offer though as both of us were not alcohol inclined. ;)

After checking out, we left our car at the hotel and walked across to The Pavilion KL.

Part of the 143 United Buddy Bears on display in front of The Pavilion KL

Enjoying his 3-scoop gelato ice-cream @Art's Cream Gallery, The Pavilion

Tokyu Street in The Pavilion KL

Still full from our breakfast, we ordered something light from Food Republic, a plate of fried carrot cake, fried rice and fried oyster to share. The place was super crowded, my boy had to resort to writing a note that read "Reserved for Leong ('s) family" which he folded to make a stand and placed it on the table. LOL.. He was left alone at the table while daddy and mommy went hunting for food and drinks. He later told me he was annoyed by the people who came non-stop asking for permission to take away our chairs. Hahaha...

This post will be my last for the year 2011. I have so much to catch up on my blog and I still have loads of photos unsorted. Never mind, there's always a next year to do that. Hahaha..

By the way, where are you guys going for New Year countdown tonight? Ours will most likely be on our bed.. snoring away.. Hahaha.. We are going up the hill tomorrow for a night's stay to mark the end of the school holidays.. School reopens next Wednesday and I am glad I can finally claim back my daily 6 hours' ME time! Yeah! *evil grins*

Before I end here, I would like to wish everyone who comes by my blog, "A Happy New Year 2012"! :)

Merry X'mas & Happy New Year!

2011-12-24T10:33:00.001+08:00

It's Christmas Eve!! We are going for a short getaway this afternoon. :)

Here wishing my blogger friends........

Merry X'mas

Happy New Year 2012!

Revisit to Master Toast@The Scott Garden, Old Klang Road

2011-12-23T08:56:00.000+08:00

Hubby's squid sambal with rice. He gave both thumbs up!

It was the first weekend after we came back from our Bangkok trip. My fridge was literally empty so we went to Tesco, The Scott Garden for some grocery shopping. We woke up late, had our brunch quite late so naturally we had our lunch late too, around 3 pm when we were done shopping. Hubby wanted to try their squid sambal he didn't get to savour on our last visit there. So here we were again at Master Toast.

My plate of spaghetti bolognese... taste wise, so so only

My boy, still full from his brunch ordered fried nuggets that came with

A big portion of fries

2 glasses of mango smoothies to be shared among us

The boy with his X'mas pressie.. Yes, X'mas came early for him this year! :)

Dinner @Tony Roma's, Siam Paragon, Bangkok

2011-12-22T14:39:00.004+08:00

We ordered neither of their signature steak combos

Instead, we ordered this

and this... scroll down for the real pictures

Bread roll with butter and french butter.

The bread was warm, slightly hard on the outside but soft inside, what a lovely way to kick start our meal.

Iced water for 3 pax - 35 Baht

Half Onion Loaf served with BBQ mayo dipping sauce - 195 Baht

Eventhough it was their smallest portion but the serving was still rather big! We had a hard time trying to finish it. The rings are all tangled up somehow in what actually looks like a loaf of bread, size-wise anyway, and the onions are thin-cut and sweet which, mixed with the grease flavor from the deep-fried batter and salt produces just the right flavor. It’s the ultimate junk food – fat and salt – with the sweetness of dipping sauce, something that tastes like thousand island sauce to balance it and there’s probably thousands of calories in one loaf but who cares?? :)

Our cheeky boy with his newly acquired lighted doggy key chain or some sort

The boy's Bacon cheeseburger - 395 Baht

It was huge and the unfinished portion went to our official Bandaraya's tummy. Burp!

Family Feast - 995 Baht (St. Louis style ribs served with BBQ chicken, fried shrimps, corns on the cob and coleslaw. The portion was HUGE!)

The menu says it's ideal to be shared by 2 but we couldn't finish it, had to pack and take away the corn cobs and one chicken thigh. .

The pork ribs were simply out of this world! Tender and flavorful, with the sauce that complement the meat so brilliantly. We literally sucked the bones dry. Tony Roma's, famous for its ribs around the world certainly lives up to its name. Why can't we have this in Malaysia? :(

We planned to go back again for the pork ribs only this time but somehow didn't get around doing it.. I will surely come again on my next visit there hopefully soon!

By the way, any suggestions on where to go for the best pork ribs around town?

We Caught Puss In Boots In Bangkok!

2011-12-22T08:20:00.000+08:00

We could only made it to the cinema to catch Puss In Boots when we were in Bangkok, our first movie since the school holidays started! Funny as it might sound, but we had been down with flu and fever even before the school holidays started. :(

We went to SF Cinema City on the 6th Floor of MBK Mall. It was just a 5 minutes' walk from our hotel using the connecting skybridge. There were only 2 types of tickets available on that night for 'Puss In Boots' show: VIP and Digital (3D). The boy opted for VIP that cost Thai Baht 250 (approx. RM25) per ticket. He doesn't like watching movies in 3D as he claims it causes headache and eyes strain. I must agree with him on that. We went to watch 'Arthur Christmas' in 3D last week and I really disliked the experience.

Welcome Drink that comes with the ticket

Mommy, Let's Toast!

We were seated at their nicely furnished VIP Lounge while waiting for the show to start

Inside Cinema 6 where there were only 7 patrons including us threesome! For the premium price that we paid, we were provided with a blanket and comfortable settee chair to laze on while enjoying our show.

One thing worth mentioning here. Before a film is screened the Thai national anthem will be played. Everyone, both Thais and foreigners stand throughout the anthem in a show of respect to the beloved King of Thailand. A pleasant experience, especially to our boy, I must say. :) I did that 2 years ago while watching an IMAX movie with hubby at Krungsi IMAX, Siam Paragon where he had to kick me in the butt to get me off that comfortable settee when the anthem was played. Kiahahaha...

Gai Wo Bao (Chicken Nest Bun) 鸡窝包

2011-12-18T09:09:00.002+08:00

Chicken Nest Bun.. what a weird direct interpretation.. Hahaha.. It's basically a lo mai kai (steamed sticky glutinous rice with chicken) wrapped in a bun.

Hubby brought home 2 nicely boxed 'Gai Wo Bao' the other day. Gai Wo Bao is one of the famous item originated from a dim sum restaurant in Sri Petaling. Hubby bought them from a dim sum restaurant in Bandar Puteri, Puchong, guess they have a new outlet there now though I can't confirm that.

To me, it's just a combination of a big bao (minus the filling) and a lo mai kai. For RM5.80 or was it RM5.50, I would rather have a big bao and a lo mai kai separately, more filling to the tummy at almost the same price. Sorry, I am practical person by nature if you don't know it already! tee hee hee..

Bangkok Trip - Day 1

2011-12-17T12:36:00.004+08:00

My plate of mixed rice RM6

The boy & daddy had KFC for lunch

After checking-in our luggage, we took a brief stroll to Food Garden at LCCT for lunch. We had more than 2 hours to kill there before catching our flight to Bangkok. Compared to the eateries within LCCT premise which are always packed with people, Food Garden which adopts food court style, is spacious with plenty of seats for patrons.

Pre-booked 3-pc pancakes for the boy. One went into the boy's tummy when this pic was taken.

The meal comes with a cup of 100ml water when pre-book online

My loyal companion

About to land at Suvarnabumi Airport..

Were those paddy fields submerged in flood water or mere fishing pond?

A shuttle bus waiting to transport us to the airport arrival hall

My boy so happy to get a seat

Too bad.. all of you gotta wait for the next bus

Students from Alice Smith Int. School KL, occupied almost half of the plane were there for a holiday..

Who says tourists shun Bangkok? Look at the sardine packed shuttle bus!

We walked down to 1st Floor of the airport to buy taxi coupon from the public taxi booth. We never had any unpleasant experience with any airport taxi drivers in Bangkok after our many visits to Bangkok. Not this time though! Should have gotten on the train located on the basement floor. We managed to do just that on our trip back home and I will blog about it soon. It's so so so CONVENIENT, PUNCTUAL, HASSLE FREE & ECONOMICAL!

Walking to the public taxi stand

By the time we checked-into our hotel room, it was already 6.30pm Bangkok local time (Malaysian time 7.30pm). I wrote a review here about this hotel during my trip there with my dad and sister last year. We rested and refreshed ourselves in the room before going out for dinner. Since I stayed in this hotel before, I was quite familiar with the hotel surrounding.

We took a 5 minutes stroll to Tesco Lotus, Rama 1 Road and decided to have dinner at this Chinese Restaurant called Mr Chow. I am game for Thai Food, Tom Yum Goong in particular anytime, but with the boy tagged along, we played safe and had our usual Chinese meal for our first meal in Bangkok.

Crysanthemum Tea with lotsa crushed ice. free refillable with jasmine tea. Guess this's the norm there as everywhere we go, we have more ice than the beverage itself.

A tray with sauce, chilli, pepper etc and not forgetting tissue box too.. a norm there too..

very service oriented.

Chinese Fried Rice

Pork Noodles

Fishball Noodles

Fried Wanton

On our way back after dinner. Can you spot the plant trimmed into the shape of an elephant in the background?

On our way back to the hotel, we saw this pad thai roadside stall located next to Siam@Siam Hotel. We ordered 2 plates of pad thai before we wrapped up our first day in Bangkok and retiring to bed. 40 baht each. Taste wise, nothing to shout about, a bit too sweet to our liking... not a single piece of meat or prawns detected, only some taugeh, eggs and dried bean curd. We'll give this stall a miss the next time we pass by..

More updates on our Bangkok trip coming up soon.. :)

Long Live The King & Happy Father's Day!

2011-12-16T14:00:00.004+08:00

The above King's portrait was a typical one of many seen around the city throughout our 6 days' stay in Bangkok. This one was placed on the overhead bridge connecting to MBK, Siam Discovery Centre, Siam Centre, Siam Paragon and Siam Square. Our hotel was just across the overhead bridge so basically the bridge and our legs took us to all the shopping malls around Pathumwan area. :D

The King of Thailand celebrated his 84th birthday on 5 December 2011, our last day in Bangkok. It's Father's Day in Thailand as well. We didn't know that until a waitress approached us and went on to promote their menu on offer in conjunction with Father's Day when we walked past an eating joint.

The King's birthday is celebrated nationwide in Thailand. We could see buildings and shopping malls elaborately adorned with flags, portraits of His Majesty and buntings, predominantly in the colour yellow.

Writing a birthday wish to the King

We had the honour of signing the autograph filled with birthday wishes for the King. The autograph was placed on the overhead bridge adjacent to entrance of Tokyu Shopping Centre (located within MBK). Throughout our stay in Bangkok, we never failed to spot portraits of the King everywhere we went, not even in our hotel room when we turned on the TV.

Being first time 'overseas', my boy had very good impression of Bangkok, especially the public toilets. He tells me not a single toilet he visited had stinky smells like what he experienced in Malaysia and they actually smelled good! Public toilets that smell good! LOL.. What a statement made by an 8 yo if you know what I mean. :D

When it was the boy's turn to write a birthday wish to the King, a small group of students lining behind us waiting to do the same, cheered him on and even spelt out the word 'Thailand' for him when they sensed he hesitated at the word. They thanked us profusely after we were done with the autograph. We can feel how much Thai People love their King from the sweet gestures shown by this group of students.

Long Live The King Of Thailand!

Oh, No! My Spaghetti!!

2011-12-15T13:13:00.002+08:00

"I wonder if my spaghetti is ready to sell or not.."
"I wonder if my spaghetti has spoilt or not.."
"I wonder if my spaghetti is sold out and I need to cook more to serve my customers!.."
"I wonder if....................................... Please.. let me check my restaurant.. only for 1 minute.. pleaseee... *puppy eyes*

Nope, I don't own a restaurant but my boy does! He would apply his persuasian skills and kept pestering me every 10 minutes hoping I would nod at his request to check his restaurant. *blek*

He got hooked with a FB game named 'Restaurant Story' downloaded to his iPad from the Apps store free. A big mistake for not setting a rule clear enough and instead I let him played since the day we got the iPad, 3 days in a row! He suffered withdrawal symptoms for two days, rushing through the exercises I gave him to prepare him for next year.. and mistakes were everywhere... and it really drove me up the wall!! Arghhhhh!!!

After two days off iPad, I took him for a KFC breakfast this morning, I showed by example by taking a novel with me and he followed. He chose 3 Geronimo Stilton to be read while we had our breakfast. *Bliss* He's now discharged from rehab centre, eh like a drug addict only this boy.. Haiz..

A rule is clearly set now: iPad/PSP/PC are only allowed on Saturdays and Sundays are a bonus if he behaved well throughout the week. Haiz... Being a mother, what's more a Stay at home one is ....................... really tiring!! I am still enjoying every bit of it though.. :)

Underwater Odyssey Christmas 2011 @ 1 Utama

2011-12-12T20:59:00.000+08:00

The boy posed happily with his brand new iPad2

At Skin Food Store 1 Utama

We were at 1 Utama Shopping Centre last Saturday to attend a prizegiving ceremony held at Skin Food Concept Store.

After the prize giving ceremony, we still had about half an hour to kill before the boy's Aikido class. We hung around the mall taking pictures and were just in time to catch an orchestra performance held at the mall's Oval Concourse.

1 Utama Shopping Centre decided to go with a nautical theme this year. Dubbed "Splashing Over The Big Blue”, their theme this year is very different from the traditional Christmas themed "Ye Ole Christmas Town" last year. Giant-sized clamshells glittered in gold and silver, seaweed made from transparent fabrics and Christmas lights adorned the mall.

I shall let the pictures do the talking.

I would still prefer their Christmas decorations last year where the whole Oval Concourse was being transformed into a Christmas village. Oh... I am feeling Sooo Christmassy.. Now I can't wait for Christmas to come! :)

Sistem Analisis Peperiksaan Sekolah (SAPS)

2011-12-08T13:45:00.000+08:00

I found something very interesting this morning. In case anyone doesn't know of it yet, you can check your kids' marks, position in form and class and overall % from standard 2 onwards....just like an online report card. Here's the link.

I checked my boy's data and it seemed like the mark for his science subject was wrongly entered by his class teacher. He scored 99% for his Science (Chinese) paper but 80% was entered in the SAPS system though his report card showed correct entry. He scored an A in Pendidikan Seni but a B was keyed-in. *Blek*

Now I wonder if I should highlight the mistake to his class teacher. Hmmm...

We Won An iPad 2!

2011-12-06T22:29:00.002+08:00

I didn't know I was crowned the champion in the Skin Food 12 Days Challenge until our third day in Bangkok when I was checking my emails and FB from the hotel lobby. My boy was with me while hubby was resting in our hotel room on the 5th floor. The internet connection was soooo slow at the hotel lobby and I had to wait so long for each page to load with the boy kept buzzing in my ears if we had won. I let him read the FB announcement of winners by Skin Food and he went Wow! We won, We won! He quickly excused himself and dashed back to the hotel room and broke the good news to his daddy, leaving the mommy behind at the lobby. *roll eyes*

We are going to collect the iPad 2 from Skin Food this Saturday and the boy is counting down to the day, he just can't wait to lay his hands on the brand new iPad! Thanks Skin Food!

On top of that, I also won a set of 3 novels by Maggie Stiefvater from Scholastic Books. Skynet delivered the books to our doorstep this afternoon. I must acknowledge that December is indeed a lucky month for me! ;)

Central Bangkok Is All Dry!

2011-12-06T10:21:00.000+08:00

We just came back from a 6 days 5 nights trip to Bangkok, arriving home around 1 am this morning.

Central Bangkok remained dry and sunny throughout our stay there, not even a drop of rain water encountered. It was my 4th time there, hubby's 3rd and the boy's first time there and we still look forward to going there again!

I will update more on our trip once I get all photos sorted out.

Master Toast @The Scott Garden, Old Klang Road, KL

2011-11-28T13:15:00.000+08:00

I am still holding quite a few of coupons purchased online and decided to pay a visit to The Scott Garden in Old Klang road last Sunday to utilise one of the coupons at Master Toast.

It was our first time there and being unfamiliar with the shopping mall layout, we felt like we were stuck in a maze though the place wasn't so big! LOL... Apparently, Master Toast was just across the entrance to Tesco foodcourt.. Aiyo..

The interior was cosy and nicely decorated

My cheeky boy making his order

Roselle drinks for daddy and Mango Fizz for the boy

Lemon Grass drink for myself - so refreshing!

Add-on order: Chee cheong fun RM4.20 (promotional price)

The sauce that goes with chee cheong fun

The boy's and daddy's order: Egg & Ham Croissant

My order: Cheese & Ham Croissant

We, the boy especially gave a big thumbs up as the croissant was so fluffy and fresh and the vegetables that came with it were oh so fresh! RM6 for a croissant with filling of your choice and a glass of drinks. Not bad huh... We could see competition was fierce as Subway located next to Tesco foodcourt was having breakfast promotion too and the place was so packed with patrons compared to where we dined where only 2 tables were occupied when we left about 11am.

Giveaway Contest Winners!

2011-11-24T17:58:00.002+08:00

Th result is out! I have a winner for my Giveaway Contest!

The winner is *drumroll.........*

Agnes!

Thanks Agnes for your strong support throughout the 12 days marathon challenge and not forgetting the rest of you too! Please email your full address and contact number to mdengwm@yahoo.com. I am picking up the box of macarons this Sunday and hopefully the parcel can be sent out by Tuesday as Monday is a public holiday here.

As a token of appreciatian for all your active participation, I am pleased to announce that I am giving away two more small prizes to the 1st and 2nd runner-up! Mery and Cynthia!

I will get the souvenir for both of you during our family trip next week. Keep you posted when I am back, okay.

Thanks again everyone and have a nice day ahead!