My Written Characters

Mui Ne: Enchanted Land in Vietnam

2016-08-24T16:30:00.001+08:00

I'm glad that I was here during the early stage of the traditional fishing villages getting popular as leisure destinations. I got to know that Mui Ne was an isolated stretch of beach with a little inhabited fishing village. Today, Mui Ne remains quiet and serene despite the rising of resort-style development along the coastline. There is no scuba-diving or snorkeling activities here but kite-surfing for those who likes adrenaline rush.

GETTING THERE

Experience the sleeper bus which operates daily from Ho Chi Minh City. The coach stops by right in front of your hotel. Likewise, you also may catch the train runs daily from Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet. It might be a bit more troublesome as the railway station is located at District 3 of Ho Chi Minh City and it arrives at Phan Thiet Railway Station which is 5 km from Mui Ne.

GETTING AROUND

Taxis are abundant. Beside the ordinary car taxis, motorbike taxis are also everywhere!

It is almost impossible to get lost in Mui Ne as everything is located along the 15 km long strip of highway. Since the traffic is light, the most convenient way to explore the surrounding is to rent a motorbike or bicycle from the resort you stay or travel agencies. However, be careful as traffic fatalities is not uncommon. You can see Vietnamese riders don't even follow the traffic rules. Perhaps investing a travel insurance is a wise move if you plan to rent a motorbike here.

PLACE TO VISIT

The locals offer a convenient jeep tour for tourists to explore Mui Ne in one day, which covers Red Sand Dunes, Mui Ne Fishing Harbour, Fairy Stream and White Sand Dunes. If you have more time, it is even better to get around by yourself so that you can stay longer at each destinations.

1. Red Sand Dunes (Đời cát)

Mui Ne is famous for its enormous red sand dunes. The vast sand dunes stretches endlessly. It was said to be an iron mine formed hundreds of years ago. Interestingly, the shape of the sand dunes changes hourly as the result of winding. Well, if you want to capture some stunning images of sand, this is your infinite destination!

Make sure you catch the sunrise at the peak of the red sand dunes. It's one of the best sunrise in the world! It is also the ideal time for a visit as the sand is still cool. Ah, you may see an irony scene whereby the sun and the moon are on the same sky!

You will spot the local people visiting this unique place too. They love to spend their family day here. Guess what? The red sand dunes is the top destination for sand-boarding! Sand-boarding is somehow similar to snow-boarding. Don't be surprise when someone offers you to rent a plastic sled. You may want to give it a try if you see the smiley faces of the kids!

I love the scene in which women carrying baskets slung on a pole walk around to sell off the local food in the baskets, silhouetted against the pre-dawn sky. We grabbed one and the food was truly authentic! They were sour sweet and savory. Worth for a price!

2. Mui Ne Market and Fishing Harbour (Làng Chài Mũi Né)

The fishing harbour humbly rests under the shade of a line of coconut trees along the main road. It is charmed with calm waves all year round and thus becomes the home of fishermen since years ago.

Its spectacular surrounding attracts passers-by to embrace the breath-taking scenery. At twilight, you can listen to the bustling rhythm of daily coastal life, whereby hundreds of colorful boat anchoring off for a new day, while hundreds of boat returning with loads of catches.

Early in the morning, the fishing harbour turns into a seafood market, crowded with both locals and tourists who wish to get fresh seafood at a bargain price. You can see boats returning also in the noon time, which supply fresh seafood to the seafood restaurants in the opposite of the road.

3. Fairy Stream (Suối Tiên)

I must say that whom named it is a genius! Tucked between beaches and fishing villages, the muddy stream is surrounded by amazing limestone formation. It is indeed another wonder of nature!

The stream is very shallow. The color of the water appears dark red because of the red sand and yellow clay. The further you paddle, you find the colorful sand hillock! The sand is in many different colors such as red, yellow, orange, white and gray.

Many says it is a tourist trap. I saw many went down barefoot to the stream and lost interest once they have done taking photos and check-in their social media (that's irony :x).

Out of the attractions in Mui Ne, surprisingly, Fairy Stream has become the greatest guide to offer me a valuable lesson.

As we were walking down the stream, we noticed people returning once they did not see any difference from the beginning of the path to where they were. I ignorantly believed that there must be something at the end of the stream. The further I walked, the less people I saw. The color of the ground gradually changed, and the colorful limestone was no longer seen. The water has become warm and we were surrounded by red sand cliffs and later bright green trees. Upholding the belief, I was lucky enough to have a local family accompanied and together we reached the end of the stream -- a waterfall.

We thought it is the end of the journey but soon we realized it is the root of everything we experienced. The waterfall is the source of water whereby the stream is formed!

Upholding one's belief is a challenge, don't you think so? We hesitated, we tramped, but we made it in the end!

4. White Sand Dunes

The white sand dunes are even more impressive than red sand dunes. Its wonderful Sahara-esque formation is alike to how I imagined a desert to be. The vast land, however, is less accessible. Anyway, definitely it is worthy for a travel. In fact, the journey is quite pleasant as the country road is very scenic and windy. The only thing I don't like is that there are noisy quad-bikes speeding around, making traces of wheel-prints and fainting the otherwise peaceful atmosphere.

Despite the beautiful landscape of the sand dunes, there is a lotus lake amid the white sand hills. The fresh water lake has full blossomed lotuses, just like an oasis in the desert!

FOOD

Feasting through Mui Ne? Barbeque, noodles, spring rolls, local street food, snacks...just to name a few. The best way to discover them is probaby by renting a motorbike as you can stop by anytime when you see someone selling food. Where to get them? It's hardly possible to get an address but just remember the game rule: wander around, eat whatever you see!

Hereby I highlight only some special dishes we hit onto:

1. Seafood

Oh well, who don't love seafood? Mui Ne offers nicely cooked, fresh caught seafood to satisfy your cravings! There are a lot of seafood restaurants to be chosen from. The price range is reasonable.

This might be a good news for adventurer. There are other exotic dishes like snakes, crocodiles and turtles on menus too!

2. Bánh Căn

This local specialty is a tasty soup served with rice cakes and hard-boiled egg. It is simple but delicious!

3. Bánh Xeo (Vietnamese Prawn Pancake)

It can be found in seafood restaurants and roadside of Mui Ne. Usually served with sweet chili sauce, its crispy crepe stands out to balance the taste of the stuffed beansprouts and shrimps.

-Jun 2016-

Kuala Terengganu: A Quiet Trace of Eastern Peninsular Malaysia

2016-06-01T18:16:00.002+08:00

Located in North-Eastern Peninsular Malaysia, Kuala Terengganu is relatively an off-track destination for tourists. Speaking of Terengganu, people usually think of Redang Island or Lang Tengah Island. But hey, this makes the visit to the state even more interesting!

WHERE TO VISIT

It is a place where Islamic features are widely being portrayed. It has the most stunning mosques in the world! The mosques are constantly refurnished to retain its majestic architecture.

Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque (Floating Mosque)

As the first real floating mosque in Malaysia, the mosque combines both modern and Moorish architecture. The white structure sits snuggly on the estuary of Terengganu River, appears to be enchantingly elegant and inspirational!

Crystal Mosque

Taman Tamadun Islam features miniature mosques around the world. Today, it combines various attractions including Monument Park, River Cruise, Convention Center, Crystal Villa and most importantly the iconic Crystal Mosque in one place for a tremendous cultural experience.

Yvonne and I were offered for a free tour by the students from UniSZA, an islamic University in Terengganu. We gladly put on the Muslim suit as instructed. The students told us they often do voluntary services here so as to promote their culture to the tourists.

The Crystal Mosque sits in a river overlooking part of Kuala Terengganu. The mosque is also listed as the top 20 Mesmerizing Mosques that highlight the wonders of Islam. If you visit it at night, the mosque even comes alive with a colorful light display!

With student guides!

Most of the hotels are located nearby the jetty where tourists are transferred to Redang Island. You don't find boutique hotels else where. Whilst I was amazed by the beautiful setting of the jetty, a local artist even told me that they were going to have a music show right here, on the next day! Having a stroll by the waterfront was a pleasant and relaxing experience too!

Terengganu's Chinatown is another MUST-visit. I did not expect one in Kuala Terengganu. Neatly located in the city, Chinatown resides the heritages of Chinese. Today, it is becoming a commercial hub which helps to shape Terengganu.

The town itself is within walking distances yet you would need some transportation to reach the attractions beyond the town area. There are mini vans, taxi and bus available. I like the sweet design of the bus in particular! I don't find it silly at all to slow down our car and capture a photo of the bus. Hee~

You may want to visit some Chinese temples in the town. Else, walking into shop houses would give you some surprises too. You could easily find traces of Chinese culture everywhere.

We went to Turtle Alley, a narrow walk way in between two buildings. Terengganu beaches used to have many turtles laying eggs and thus I think the people wish to raise public awareness by setting up some colorful mosaic arranged in turtle shape, as well as some information about turtles.

Today, the century old shop houses and buildings are attractively painted. It might take up some time to check all the alleys out. Specifically, each lane carries a different theme. Explore as much as you could!

Remarkably, the contribution of local Chinese communities is recognized by immortalizing their tributes in bronze cast plaques, along the wall of one of the alley. You could easily find the alley as there are a cluster of colorful umbrellas hanging above. I was told that the combination is to symbolize unity in diversity.

I was glad to see the batik, a Malaysian specialty, is stitched into a canopy of rectangle blocks along one of the alleys.

To my surprise, the place was well-preserved and clean in overall! The streets are paved with colored bricks while the side alleys have been given a refurbishment with murals and plaques.

The central market (Pasar Payang) is a popular shopping bazaar. Here, you can get all kinds of good and produce, for instance fruits, vegetables, salted fish, clothes, utensils, bed sheets and whichever you could name it.

I heard that Terengganu sells good keropok and thus I bought some. It turned out to be real GOOD!

WHAT TO EAT

If you're to hunt food, Kuala Terengganu definitely brings you a twist of flavorful local cuisines, in addition to a reasonable price. I had a mouthful of good food throughout the journey. Here I list out some of my favorites!

Fried keropok lekor
_Pantai Teluk Ketapang_

You shouldn't leave Terengganu without tasting their keropok lekor, which is made of processed fish fillet mixed with pinches of salts and flour. This traditional snacks could be found elsewhere in Terengganu and they are best served with their complimentary chili sauce. I had both in fried and steamed version, but I still prefer fried lekor.

Fried Squid
_Pantai Teluk Ketapang_

They serve good deep fried squid too! The sweet fresh squid from the sea was dipped in special sauce and it is pretty cheap.

ABC Dessert
_Pantai Teluk Ketapang_

You could also find authentic ABC dessert here! Well, the portion is quite big.

Nasi Kerabu

Terengganu has abundance of rice based dishes such as Nasi Dagang, Nasi Kunyit, Nasi Kuning, Nasi Berlauk, Nasi Lemak and Nasi Kerabu. Madam Bee's Kitchen is a peranakan restoran that serves authentic nyonya cuisines. The reason why I like their Nasi Kerabu is that unlike the one I had before, this dish was relatively light and delightful despite having fried garnishing alongside. Their rendang chicken was juicy and tastefully too! Ah, if you're thinking of the colour of the rice, the rice is tinted with natural light blue dye extracted from the petals of bunga telang.

Tomyam Pok Teh
_Adeq Sue Ikan Bakar_

This is their signature dish. You may want to sip the fragrant broth until the last drop because it was soooo goood! No doubt they serve other marvelous seafood too. The place is not easy to find but just set your GPS right!

Not to mention, in the town itself, there are a few cafes having unique design for you to explore too. Eat, walk, and eat again!

To wrap up, spare a few days to spend at Kuala Terengganu if you like peace and tranquility. It is not a mainstream for tourist. You will learn to appreciate local culture. You will learn to slow down your pace for a relaxing lifestyle. You will eventually fall in love with this little humble town!

Fresh Seafood @ Pulau Aman, Penang

2016-05-30T15:26:00.000+08:00

Who don't like SEAFOOD?

I truly adore seafood of all kinds. Hmm, I know not everyone feels the same. Having a seafood feast is always a hearty moment for me!

Tambun itself is a seafood paradise. Yet the tiny island, Pulau Aman, has even fresher goodies to offer! Located just off-coast Bukit Tambun, Pulau Aman is a rustic Malay fishing village. Despite the hustle and bustle in the state's capital, it remains an ideal getaway for residents to pay a day trip. Travellers of modern world also tend to stay overnight to have a quiet respite in this serene and peaceful island.

GETTING THERE

The journey to Pulau Aman takes approximately 45 minutes from Penang Island. From the Bukit Tambun jetty, it is accessible by a five-minutes boat transfer.

Get your two-ways boat transfer from ticketing corner

The wooden jetty

On the boat

WHAT TO EAT

I was thrilled when I saw a stall selling snacks along the road in the village. Malay style snacks are always right to my taste buds! Highly recommended to grab a quick bite on their lekor. They offer ordinary lekor (fried fish crackers) and a special version topped with mayonese and cheese. The lekor was so gooood~

We were ~~unlucky~~. It rained heavily last night and thus fishermen did not go to the sea. Therefore, we don't see freshly caught sea creatures. There were only clams, flower crabs, some fishes, and mantis shrimps to be chosen.

Things did not turned to be that bad. We still managed to have some vigorous mantis prawns from the seller. Later, we would need to carry our bucket of sea produces to the floating restaurant next to the stall. The restaurant would help you to clean and steam your seafood, without charging you a single cent.

But BEWARE! Their service was extremely poor. Expect a long wait before your food arrives.

The steamed seafood was sweet and addictive. Forget about tiny, little mantis shrimps we usually see, the large mantis shrimps here are fleshy, naturally sweet and firm! Once again, it is an undeniable truth that there is no better way to enjoy fresh seafood than having them steamed.

You may want to get some accompaniments to your dishes. Try out their signature Mee Udang. It is plain yellow noodles in a thick tomato gravy, topped with three large shrimps. Not too bad, but perhaps it is just too much if we want to say it is legendary.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

Having a pleasant walk by the beach, siput-finding, fishing are some other activities you can do for your spare time. A kind reminder, bring along your mosquito repellents!

Pulau Aman

29.05.2016

Photo credit Mei Jie & Jin Yee

Alor Setar: Ori Bee Farm

2015-10-27T16:00:00.002+08:00

I was attracted to some photos of this palace I randomly viewed. Since then, I was so eager to pay a visit and finally, I have left my foot steps here. Hooray~!

It was a hard time to locate Ori Bee Farm (Ladang Madu Kelulut Ori 银蜂园) as there was no specific landmark around. We have been passed through stretches of paddy fields along the main road.

In the light of a GPS coordination (6.162525,100.311558), finally we have found the legendary farm! If you are a first timer being at Alor Setar, do not seek for the farm's address as it would bring you to somewhere else. My humble suggestion!

As a matter of fact, I was expecting it to be a real bee farm which rears a vast number of bees. However, I did not manage to see any bee here. In the first place, I was trilled when we were welcomed by a Doraemon at the entrance! A DORAEMON! I have been loving Doraemon in any event. For the most part of it, I have totally forgotten to look for a bee here. Ang Ang Ang~

The next best thing that caught my sight was the lovely couple next to the entrance. So adorable right???

I was later awed by the luscious creatures on the ground. Pumpkin! Could you resist theseeee?

Surprisingly, there were only a few goats and rabbits. The goats were seemingly exhausted and in a hunger. I guess this was why my friend kept looking for grasses to feed them! Oh the poor goats~

I was like a kid, making countless rounds in the farm, quietly admiring the exceptional but well made decorations. I simply love each of them so much! Taking a stroll here was a heavenly pleasant experience to me!

I wasn't prepared to be here. My friend and I have been talking about the farm since months ago but it was a sudden and random decision to make it on this day. I was so regretful that my camera wasn't charged and my phone was admitted for servicing. Else, I could really spend more than an hour here.

Check out the round round sheep I got!

I didn't notice the hanging creatures in the first place. I was lucky enough to catch them up before my camera's battery got exhausted.

Other than the exquisite creatures, they have other interesting particulars too!

Not to forget the charming goddess that cheered up my day!

Yep yep, the most significant one was the gigantic windmill. See how happy my friend was!

Together with the colorful spinning bees!

And me!

Are you moved? Some of the finer details of the decorations are damaged. If you're tempted to get there, be fast!

Greetings!

2015-05-26T01:25:00.002+08:00

Hi readers, it has been a while and I'm back here!

So, where have I been? Uhm yeah, I'd graduated from my university last year. Say congratulations to me but I'm sorry that I still do not have sufficient time allocated for neither writing a blog post for it nor processing the hundreds, maybe thousands of photos. What makes me feel it more is that my junior, few days back, told me she is going to graduate soon! Time flies!

You must be wondering what I'm doing right now. Yay I'm pursuing a full-time job just like everyone else. In fact, most of my coursemates are doing their postgraduate studies, which I admire and wanted to so badly. Life is unpredictable, huh? You don't always get what you want and walk in the path as what you have planned. The stories in these past months are long and tiring. I hate making choices the most yet sometimes I just have to. Anyway, the good news is I actually got the job that I wanted to.

Leisure-wise, don't get me wrong, I'm at the midst of achieving my jalan-jalan Malaysia. Compared to the life as a student, it's really hard to commit when you're at work. In the past few months, however, I managed to visit a few states. Blog posts are on their way as well!

I do not know where I will be but I do have a clear direction in me. I do not list my dreams but I do have working hard for them. Be it day or night, be it wrong or right; as much as my inner satisfaction shines, my breathe goes wild and I'm feeling alive.

I hope you're doing good too :-)

Love,
Ee Theng

REVIEW [Theater]: Text, Body and Space

2014-10-24T18:59:00.002+08:00

This is a late update of the review I'm so thrilled with. It was a unique theatrical experience that tried to convey the historical events of the local chinese people.

How late was it? Hmm.. Georgetown Festival was held on August. August, September, October..... and so, nearly two months! Sorry! I was so busy with something else these days~ ='(

A minimalistic theater brought by a local theatre troupe and the director from China. Yeah, minimalistic! Why? The main reason is the setting of the theater itself - the place it was held and the way it was presented. The cost is minimized, the distance between audiences and the cast is minimized, the storyline is minimized, BUT the feeling is maximized, the creativity is maximized and the lesson brought out is maximized!

How a theater can be successfully brought out in a creative way, using the limited resources?

Background/Setting

This was the only theater that I managed to catch up with during the festival. It was held at an abandoned bus station, which was renovated recently for artistic purposes. I was eagerly anticipating and walked in with full of expectations. The most recent event that I'd been was the solo gallery show by Ernest Zacharevic - Art is Rubbish; Rubbish is Art. I remembered the bus station was re-designed with plentiful of street arts and of course, full with crowds.

Street view from Google Maps

Building view from Google Maps

Speaking of the venue, I was surprised as the building itself is not spacious enough to make a proper stage. It heightened me more when the organizers have actually made the roofed space as the ticketing area, leaving spaces right behind the bus depot as the stage.

I took this photo when I was visiting the gallery. This is the right corner of the stage? Eh?

Believe me, this is exactly the stage for the theater! (Taken from The Malaysian Insider)

The night view of the space. (Taken from The Star)

Any idea how the abandoned space was transformed into a great stage? I will show you how they did!

Technically, the theater crew divided the space into as follow, bearing the risk of heavy rain (It is open-air). I was sitting legged on the wood floor. The show started. The lighting was basic and I realized, the cast did not use a mic! Yay, we were sitting real close to the cast and every single movements and sentences could be heard clearly and soundly.

Full floor plan unveiled! The stage was transformed live from stage 1 to 2.

Storyline

It was claimed as a multimedia environmental theater. It combined shadow puppetry, contemporary dance, multimedia visual design, and many more surprises throughout the scenes. The intimacy of the small theater played in the town has traversed the drama's intellectual, moral, cultural roots and historical significance.

It was all started with a young man who was eagerly looking for his cultural root. The storyline has never been smooth as the cast kept giving way to audiences' cold sweat. They have been suffering from enduring the tough condition during journey wherein they traveled all the way from China to Nanyang, where their cloaked fears were bloodly presented. Live, or die, was the only choice the people able to make. The surviving people have lived peacefully when they made themselves on the ground of the destination. Later, the scenes jumped into the period of British colonialism and the cultural identities were stressed. Ironically, some of the people insisted to protect their tagged identities, some of the people temporized by receiving benefits from the other party, while some of the people remained neutral. The actors/comedians drove the characters to a greater height using their charisma. Audiences got to see what the young man see, and got to feel how the young man feel.

Now, let me amaze you with some of the photos taken from Facebook of the show (from ZXC theatre and Shipng Photography):

The young man who was the soul of the story

People who were struggling to stay alive during the journey on the sea

People started to live peacefully and mixed around with local people

Shadow puppets fantasizing the cross-over and elapse of time

Unveil of the Stage 2, where more nerve-wrecking scenes were played

The changing of scenes was fast and appropriate

Contemporary dance under the pouring rain

Summary

The approximately 90 mins of the show was full with surprises! The creativity has undeniably made a spin on the audience's head. I particularly love the visual design and the post-show sharing session that get the cast and the audiences one step closer. The message of loving the roots of your people has been effectively delivered.

Beliefs and creativity definitely can transform nothing into something.

Even if you have nothing to laid on, you still can make something big happen if you do it wholeheartedly. It applies to all, to all of us.

Ratings:
1. Setting ☆☆☆☆
2. Storyline ☆☆☆
3. Cast ☆☆☆☆
4. Sound & Lighting ☆☆
5. Creativity ☆☆☆☆☆
6. Cost-friendliness ☆☆☆☆☆

When Art Meets Science

2014-07-23T21:43:00.002+08:00

I find it a huge challenge at the interface of art and science. Since young, I was amazed by how fancy portraits of cellular structure, molecular components and many more are made visualized on the books. I wondered how the graphics are drawn. It remained imaginative till then.

Scientists must embrace the art world in order for invention to occur - John Maeda

But now, a musical party powered by biotechnology?

The correlation between music and biotechnology caught my attention since years ago. The first musical album related to which I came across is the "Sounds of HIV" by Alexandra Pajak. Interestingly, she translated the genetic code of HIV into musical pitches. The album is still available in Amazon.

I did not pay much attention on that since then. Recently, I came across to the term "Chromochord" at random and it reminds me the possibility of relating sciences to humanity. No doubt, scientists are humans. At random thought, however, I think most scientists are insane :P

Alright, let's go into this fantastic little creation. Chromochord, as named by its inventor Josiah Zayner, is able to play protein like piano keys. "Chromo" refers to the colored lights whereas "chord" refers to the strings of a musical instrument.

A chromochord

The chromochord is a small black box which consists of a microprocessor and 12 vials containing engineered oat protein. If you'd love to read more about the protein engineered, just click here. I'm not going to describe any deeper into it as you can find both scientific and non-scientific explanation on the term by simply Google it.

The engineered oat protein

In brief, the theories behind this small box include quantum mechanical transitions and protein conformational changes. Using LED as the light source, protein in each vials responds to the light differently. The response is then measured by a spectrometer. This modulates a set of musical notes and music is then generated by the built-in software in a computer.

So, doesn't it sound awesome when someone says, "I'm strumming a protein instead of a guitar" ?

I love how the young inventor intending to create a way of communication between nano-world and humans. He wishes the people could experience the protein life and feel their existence.

Zayner and Trigueros

It is even more appealing when Zayner paired up with Francisco Castillo Trigueros, a music composer. The Zayner-Trigueros collaboration gave rise to the production of a beautiful music. During the musical installation, the room was dark. As the calming music was played, deep-blue blobs morphing into one another was projected on the wall. Everything was perfect and beautiful. During the second day of musical installation, the music started to become distorted. Trigueros was dissappointed and felt discouraged. Then Zayner revealed his intention. "In our bodies, there might be a million proteins in a cell. Some of them get damaged - things happened, " Zayner suggested, "In the end it's not perfect, but it's still beautiful because of that imperfection." Oh man, these are wise words!

Check out the small clip below to LISTEN to the protein singing ~♫

Here's the full cycle of the oat protein playing:
https://soundcloud.com/castillo-trigueros/chromocycle-protein-lov

And, I'd love to share another video wherein Josiah attempted to play another version of chromochord at 3.50'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJoFazIJ3w4

They are still working on to produce more versions with more shaped sounds (what they've done is merely MIDI though). They even want to listen to bacteria. Perhaps this is insane but I personally think that this is incredible! Someday later, shall we talk to whoever/whichever we wish to?

Disclaimer: All photos and videos on this post belong to the respective creator and are open access.

New Layout!

2014-06-02T23:54:00.002+08:00

Yeah yeah yeah~ I'm back here with the new layout!

My blogging history stretches back to the year 2007, even before I joined Twitter and Facebook. It has been 7 years! The first blog post wasn't here though. I remembered I wrote the post out of despairs. I had no where to express my feelings and I started to blog. Later, I switched to another blog, which is the current one. The initial intention was I wanted to improve my Chinese. Why? Despite the fact that I'm a Chinese-educated student, my writing has become weaker as I could barely write them for education purposes. Recently, I feel like writing in English. Hah? What a fickler I am?

Back to the story of the layout. I seldom make a change but now I feel that there is a need to. Reason? Hmm. I guess, I'm stepping onto my mid-twenties. In a few months time, I will be in another course of my life, i.e. I'm going to graduate from my university! Sooooo looking forward for the brand new journey!‎ヽ(^o^)ノ

I'm in doubt that whether there will be a wonderful breakthrough in my life later. I think the style of this new layout describes me best.

♔ The image was removed from the header and the blog title was remained.

I think my blog title is nice. Don't you think so? :P

♔ The feedjit which expose the traffic count was removed.

Perhaps the obstinacy in me has been replenished?

♔ Tabs were added!

No specific intention but just to replace the "About me" section.

♔ Cute favicon added!
Look up on the tab of the window. Spot this new icon of mine =)

♔ I'm in Bloglovin!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Overall, I changed my layout to feature more simplicity. I glamoured this place with a touch of faint pink as well. I hope my new layout looks more to the real me.

I love my new design so much and I hope you like it too~ ♥

October Cafe, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

2014-05-31T19:35:00.002+08:00

Located at The Peak Vista, Tanjung Lipat, October Cafe is the first leisure cafe in Sabah. You can have the best coffee and the best bread in town. Every crispy bites of their bread enlighten my taste buds. Their pastries are somewhat different from the cafe I tried in elsewhere and worth for another visit. The atmosphere is heart-warming and relaxing for my first visit. After which, I visited them again and the cafe was crowded with diners. As it gained its popularity, I guess we have to make a queue since the seats are very limited.

The cafe is nicely decorated from exterior to interior, with a feel of a vintage coffee house.

The owner of the cafe is a korean barista and the qualifications and awards he earned are show-cased in the small corner of the cafe. He has a collection of coffee-maker as well.

The menu is pleasantly presented on the brick wall. They have a variety of hot and cold beverages. The savory snacks are, however, only available before evening.

Not to forget, the cakes here are pretty good too.

Tiramisu. I was surprised to see the plate and the forks.

The honey bread. Topped with nuts and cream.

French toast. Topped with fruits

Korean Street Toast. With a ham and carrot omelette fillings.

This is not Bruschetta. Have no idea what it is but it tastes good.

Ahh, they have homemade bread and pastries also. Perhaps you can grab some home after dining.

Hot cappuccino. Perfectly brewed but it was not thick enough.

As updated Jan 26, 2014

Ultimate Food Trail @ Sandakan, Sabah

2014-05-31T15:19:00.001+08:00

1. Kueh-Tiaw with deep-fried pork 炸肉大粉

The central market was surprisingly clean and neat. You can find a variety of local delicacies in the 3rd floor. This noodle can be served in dried style or in soup. The fried meat is alike to char-siu but definitely the taste is very much different. Grab yourself a bowl in the early morning before they are sold out.

2. Spring noodles 弹弓面

These noodles are specialties of Sandakan. As how they are named, the egg noodles are very springy.

Served in a variety of sides: dumplings, roasted pork, minced meat, seafood, roasted chicken, roasted duck etc.

Spring noodles with char-siu @ 933 Kopitiam

Spring noodles with roasted duck @ 933 Kopitiam

Spring noodles with mixed seafood @ Pukat Fishing village
The best spring noodles I ever tried.

3. UFO tarts 牛屎挞

UFO tarts @ Gold Crown 金冠面包中西饼点
Best when served hot

UFO tarts @ Tac De Cafe 亚弟牛屎挞
This is much more recommended though.

4. Egg Herbal Tea 鸡蛋茶

Egg Herbal Tea @ Gold Crown 金冠面包中西饼点

5. Coconut pudding

Sabah has the best coconut pudding everywhere. The coconut pudding here makes a different breakthrough. The taste is much more better than that in Kota Kinabalu. Must try!

It's at a seafood restaurant in Bandar Kim Fung, which I can't recall the name of the restaurant. The location of the restaurant is just behind the food court (Pasar Kim Fung).

6. Pan-fried Dumplings @ Pasar Kim Fung

Every bites earn you a rich flavors of the crispy skin and the bursting juicy minced meat fillings. A dip into their accompanied sauce makes it more tasty.

7. Seafood Bah Kut Teh 海鲜肉骨茶 @ Good Taste Bah Kut Teh

Deviated from the usual Bah Kut Teh, the Bah Kut Teh here is highlighted with the seafood! Regular pork is served as well but the popular one is the big juicy prawns in the dark herbal soup. Another menu worth for a try is the mihun (rice noodles) dipped in the Bah Kut Teh soup. It is another level of tasting Bah Kut Teh where the mihun absorbs the aromatic soup fully.

Our order as recommended by the tauke: mihun, spinach, prawns, meat balls, pork ribs, fish slices, crunchy fried crullers (yao zha kuay), and a special order: fish slices in salted vegetables with beancurds.

Big fresh prawns!

Grouper fish slices. Slurps!

8. Sweet delicacies @ Ba Lin Rooftop Garden, Nak Hotel

This bar located at the rooftop of Nak Hotel is glamoured with its supreme night view and romantic atmosphere. They serve western food and a variety of alcohols and beverages. Nonetheless, the desserts there remain the best reason for my returning visits.

Ole' Belgium Chocolate Lava Cake (Signature)

Tiramisu with Rum

Mocha Mosse

9. Steamed rice with fish 鱼饭 @ Nam Choon Kopitiam

You should never miss this! It's not hard to spot this humble kopitiam, known to sell chicken rice and fish rice. The price is reasonably cheap and the combination of the rice and fish is unbeatable! Choose the type of fish you want and they can be served in deep fried, steamed or in dou ban sauce.

10. Seafood @ Sim-sim Restaurant 海鲜

The food was good but the service was terrible for my first visit. The second try was an opposite one. Depends on luck people!

Grilled scallop with kung bao sauce

Steamed Fish

Crabs ala Gam heong

Grilled squids

Springy Mantis shrimps

As updated April 10, 2014

Pieces of VIVA presentation

2014-05-29T11:53:00.000+08:00

I've been spending nearly a year for my final year project, staying back at the laboratory from day to night, skipping holidays to work on the project. Yes, nearly a year! This is how my final year for undergraduate studies goes.

Finally the day has came - the VIVA presentation for the project. I've worked on this project to the extent that it was an inseparable part of my life. I hate theories but the hand-on practices grabbed me the invaluable experience and knowledge. I valued it so much and wanted to give the best shot for the presentation. Despite that I'm a last-minute-practitioner, to my surprise, I prepared the presentation slides wholeheartedly earlier on.

I laid back comfortably during that day. The memories of the hardship played gracefully in my head. There was nothing else but gratitude in the deeper inner me. Later, I emailed my supervisor my slides. Alright alright, I failed to defense the devil soul of slackness in me eventually and I did not do any preparation for the presenting part. It was a last-minute work again though.

I was told for the rescheduling of my presentation on the day before. I wasn't panicked. I wasn't nervous. I wasn't scared. I had the faith on myself that I knew my project the best and I could do it even without a proper preparation (so much confidence huh?). My slides were ready and so was my mood. I was glad that I spent the last three-hours preparation with a course-mate. She patiently listened to my presentation and gave me supportive suggestions, and I was warmed up to do better. I did my final correction on the slides and had a good sleep.

My presentation was at 3pm. On the day, I went to the presentation room before noon. I watched how the examiners and the other lecturers 'boomed' the presenters with tons of questions. It was no surprise. The Q&A section went along with what I expected. Honestly the questions were quite easy to be tackled. I gained my confidence.

I checked into another presentation room after receiving a text message from my supervisor. I was told to notify him again before my turn for presentation. Hmm, probably this was because the presentations have been delayed and he did not want to spend his time waiting. I was at the right moment to enter the other presentation room as he was there as the examiner. The questions he asked were very match to his style - thorough and critical, but he would definitely help the student if the questions couldn't be answered. Yes, his style. I've been asked in this way from time to time. He wants the answers in less than few seconds. You are not given time to think all over. You have to be fast and responsive. I was slow. I was panicked to look into his eyes. It was SCARY. I felt like I would be eaten up if I did not able to answer. He asked a lot of questions every time I met him! I COULD NOT ANSWER ANY.

He would tell you the answers if you could not. This, instead, challenged me. I got rid of my idleness and did some readings. Guess what? With some essential knowledge in your head, you would be equipped with confidence. I'm not scared of not able to answering anymore. I could talk to him in the same way as how I talk to my co-supervisor, who is a truly joker. The loneliness on working for the project has been slowly replenished.

And here I go. I texted him before my presentation. No reply. I sent another message telling him that I was about to start. No reply. The uncertainty triggered my nerves. The coordinator called my name. I hardly stepped on the presentation spot. He wasn't here yet. My examiner asked me if my supervisor was coming. I answered without a second thought, YES, he is on his way. She smiled, sarcastically. I started my presentation. The presentation was delivered smoothly according to the flow I set earlier on. I had no idea of what I was doing. I couldn't keep my eyes off from the glass door. A few people passed by and I truly hoped one of them was him.

"That's all for my presentation, thank you."

He did not show up.

"You went really fast." My examiner said. Yes, I knew. I skipped some important explanations for some points I highlighted. I believed that other than my examiner, who has my dissertation copy on her table, all the other lecturers had no idea of what I did. I regretted. During the delivery of the presentation, I couldn't focus and I just wanted it to be ended as fast as possible.

The Q&A section lasted for about 30 minutes. My examiner did not asked any question but the other lecturers did. The first few questions were in my expectation and I think I answered them well. It took me some time to give explanations. I tried to confuse one of the lecturer. This was totally WRONG! He noticed my intention and started to 'attack'. He was smart. I think I challenged them. I felt so much offense and I started to become defensive. I got mad. Apart from my examiner, I did not want to entertain them. This was even WORSE. Once I became defensive, they asked more questions. I explained from basics to detailed. Then, I started to become ignorant. I felt tired. I felt reluctant. I did not want to answer those questions anymore. They were meaningless! I couldn't remember what I was asked and what I answered during the session afterwards. At last, I forcefully made an end for the nerve-wracking session. I told them those things are written in my dissertations. My examiner, kind enough, helped me for the proof. One of the lecturers still did not give up and kept asking. I did not listen to the question. Ignorantly, I said these haven't been studied yet. And they denied. It was killing me. Finally, he let me go and I returned back to my seat.

The next presenter started her session. I listened. I couldn't focus but overwhelmed with sense of disappointment. I felt some warmness on my cheeks. I was not going to be emotional but.. Shit~ It couldn't be helped. The scenes of I standing alone to present, of I having no support while being questioned, and of I having no one to be laid on when I needed, uncontrollably reflected how foolish I was. I was left alone. HE JUST DISAPPEARED.

Nobody would have an idea of how I feel that time. I couldn't find anyone to understand me, neither I, myself. Treating someone wholeheartedly and never expect the same goes back to you, maybe?

My presentation, a broken memory for unknown reason.

Oh ya, not to forget the happy part of the day. I wore my baju kurung for the first time. It was the only clothes my dad chose for me few years back. Thanks to that, I felt cheered up with the blessings. =)

The first slide of presentation

With another poor course-mate delivering presentation

Colour match with Vianne. So lovely =)

A favorite lecturer of mine :)

Other friends. They still can recognize me =P

It's about the time to wave this chapter of life a warm goodbye. To whom who I cherish, I'm always glad that you appeared in this chapter of my life.

White Water Rafting @ Kiulu River, Sabah

2014-05-25T14:43:00.000+08:00

I would say that the water rafting at Kiulu River is a tame and joyful one. It is great for beginners. If you're on a family trip, this would be the best as both elderly and kids may join and share the fun. It is not so extreme as that in Padas River with its grade I-II rapids along the river.

Kiulu River is rather near to Kota Kinabalu. An hour-ride on car could get you there. The pricing is around RM70. You may get a lower rate if you're in a bigger group.

We were in a big group though - another fun outing of a group of coursemates. For me, it was not very thrilling but it was truly fun time spent with the awesome people out there!

After a safety briefing, we suited up our life jacket and helmets, and then get set!

I love the clear white water. Due to this reason, I was willing to be capsized as frequent as we could. The first time was kind of unexpected. The whole raft just got inverted after we knocked on a large rock. Everyone were falling down from the 'seats'. I was sitting at the behind and unfortunately, someone fell down on me. Arghh~ Okay, it was fun though, especially when you know that it was really safe in the water. The water level was not deep and you actually can swim down all the way. After which, I urged the falls and it was getting more exciting! This compensated some sort of disappointment on the not-so-extreme rapids =D

The very last part of the rafting activity was body-rafting! Wow! The moment when you comfortably floating on the clear water, you looked into the blue sky, and the moment when you got rushed by the small rapids, IT WAS SO FUN!!!

Too many photos captured during the rafting. Here's just few of them.

Bersungguh-sungguh kayak series..

Happy posing series..

Water-splashing series..

Epic facial expressions series..

Body-rafting series..

As updated Feb 19, 2014

White Water Rafting @ Padas River, Sabah

2014-05-24T14:22:00.002+08:00

If you're an adventurer, make sure you don't miss rafting when you're at Sabah! Believe me, it would definitely thrill you as you rush down the wild rapids!

Situating in the interior of southwestern part of Kota Kinabalu, Padas River is only accessible by train. Yes, a 2-hours ride in an antique train. A truly antique train! I'm not sure if it is fully operated with a steam engine, but I did see steam bubble out from the train head. And, I was extremely excited when I heard the whistles and horns from the train! Heh, it was my first time to take a ride in an antique train. The feel was, sooooo good~

The ride through the countryside gives you a breathtaking scenic view of nature - the Kinabatangan river embraced by the luxuriant forest. While surrounded with the sounds of railroad, I was sophisticated with the calming and refreshing wind blown on my face. SOooo relaxing~

You wouldn't want to miss this. You could notice the train actually stopped by from time to time. Apparently, this train is the only transportation the villagers have to connect themselves with the world outside. I was told that the village across the railway is habituated by the Murut, an indigenous ethnic group in Borneo. At each stop, you could see a 'train stop' and people get into and out of the train.

I met a mak cik carrying her shopping basket with her. Later, I got to know that it was a handicraft from the Bajau people. As far as I concern, the multipurpose basket is handwoven using Serdang leaves. I know the image is blur but I just want to show here. I remembered my mum once asked me to get something like this from Sabah. She is a keen collector of those stuffs though.

Before you get there, you have to make your journey to Beaufort train station. To make it there, you can either take the Sabah State Railway from Jesselton, which would be a really slow journey, OR simply get a cab from Kota Kinabalu.

We were in a group of 12 people and thus we took up the package from Riverbug. It costed us ~RM120 covering the transport to and forth from Kota Kinabalu, the train fare, the rafting activity and a lunch.

It was my first ever experience water rafting experience though. We were first briefed on the safety measures and some basic techniques. Now, here we go for the adrenaline-stimulating adventure!

Interestingly, the 7 rapids are named with amusing titles. Along the 9-km excursion of class III-IV river, they were introduced by the rafting guide one by one before we reach the points. The names are imaginative and you can relate them with the extremeness of the rapids. Of course I couldn't remember all of them and I googled them afterwards: Merry-Go-Round Rapid, Break Point Rapid, Scooby Doo Rapid, Cobra Rapid, Washing Machine Rapid, Lambada Rapid and Head Hunter Rapid.

Still in steady mode before we encountered any rapid. Kayak, kayak, kayak~

The water is muddy yellow in colour!

Spinning spinning and sank!

Going through the first few rapids, it got more and more interesting!

Hah! I got you. The trick to get us sank. =D

And here we sank again~

It wouldn't disappoint you if you love extreme water sports. Even someone like me who don't do extreme water sports are addicted to it! The only hesitation I have is the long long journey required to get there. :( Or else, I think I would do it really frequently (and if I'm rich enough =P).

As updated June 19, 2013

Girls' Gathering @ Chin's Stylish Chinese Cuisine Restaurant, Penang

2014-04-12T18:38:00.003+08:00

Yea yea yea. It's our annual gathering again! Uhm, time flies and it was a really special occasion for this year - our 10th anniversary! 10 years of friendship? It's not easy huh! Big big love my dear friends~♥

Uh well, we'd been discussing and planning for this special day since then. It came to a decision for a more luxurious decorated restaurant. The reason behind was, to PHOTO-BOOM of course! :P

You could have heard about QEII in Penang. What about Chin's restaurant? Honored as one of the top fine-dining chinese restaurant in Malaysia, it is strategically located in the heart of Georgetown. It prides itself to offer an affordable luxury combining delightful cuisines and fashionable decors.

So here we are. We reached before evening and managed to have a fascinating view of QEII. It was a sunny day though.

The main gateway primes the magnificence and stands on the calm water of the harbor.

Yoohoo~ our next door is the ferry!

Our director of photography struggled to arrange our positions.

Cheesseeee~

Behind the scene. Oops!

Uh what?

Candid?

Yeah~ First, let us take a SELFIE!

Okay enough enough~ Here we go!

The signboard of the restaurant. Grandiose!

Simply love the design of the entrance! It's the time when east meets west!

We were leaded to our dining table attentively.

The first thing that strikes my eyes was the uniquely hand-painted plate on the dining table!

What's more was, each of us got a different design!

Compilation of my favorite plate-arts. To my knowledge, they are for sale exclusively here.

Oh ya, a friendly reminder - make sure you selfie with the plate first before they are collected by the dining attendants. Too bad, the plates are not meant to be used.

Let's take a look on the stylish, contemporary decor of the restaurant.

The glass-enclosed dining hall allows diners to have a sweeping view of the sea comfortably.

The table setting is enriched with traditional chinese culture. Behind us are the tall shelves displaying wide selection of wines for diners to choose from.

Even the ceiling is decorated creatively.

Here comes the tantalizing menu of the restaurant. There are a choice of set meals with prices ranging from RM78++ to RM218++ per pax. You can have a pork-free dining experience featuring Hunan and SzeChuan cuisine. Each dish is enhanced with aromatic spices for an awesome goodness of flavor.

We kicked off our meal with a variety of cold and hot starters. Oh ya, I'd love to mention this. The lighting in the dining hall is dear and near to my heart! There is a spotlight on each dining table. Thanks to that!

Century eggs in grilled pepper - topped with luscious sauce

Behind are garlic cucumber and Hunan shredded seaweed, giving an appetizing bite.

Sesame prawns on toast - crispy and delightful

Heavenly blessed joysticks - Skewer presented with baby abalone, seashell meat and sea fungus. The immersing oil is spicy and pungent. Not a taste of mine though.

**Blessed joysticks ("Shang Shang Qian") denotes an easy draw in chinese lots.

Fried golden needle mushrooms - I love the way the taste enhanced with red chilies

The next is the specialties of Chin's - Aromatic Crispy duck.

Personally I dislike duck meat except this one.

The duck is shredded at the table end and you have to assemble the meat yourselves.

Tadaa! My very own piece of crispy duck roll on a thin sheet of pancake, accompanied with scallions, cucumber and hoisin sauce.

Make sure you add some chili padi and the taste would become much more pleasing!

The main course includes double flavored wild fresh water fish, cumin mutton skewers, hot wok mixed seafood, "Gele mountain" hot chicken, sauteed hot & sour chinese cabbage and fragrant plain rice. I missed the photos because I went to the washroom and then, only managed to capture on the mutton skewers. Yes, you can see how tasty the dishes are as awfully, my friends didn't even wait for me and ate them all. Ouch! >.<

The dishes came in a generous portion and prepared in a twist of dedicating savory. Remarkably, the poultry was tender and perfectly matched with the unique sauce and fragrance.

The steamed fish is behind the mutton skewers, if you could see it.

The dessert - pumpkin cake with sweetened bean paste. It combines my favorite pumpkin and red bean paste for a delightful twist!

Another dessert is a vanilla ice-cream topped with a milk chocolate. Girls always have a second stomach for dessert, yes or no?

The way up to the upstair. Colorful lightning.

Discovered another exquisite dining hall upstairs after dinner.

Different from the design at the downstair, the ceiling is tiled with chinese calligraphy.

Walking out from the glass door, wow!

The bar counter.

The spectacular night view of QEII

Group photo of the night! It was such a pampered and entertaining meet-up. See you again next year my dear girls!

Updated Feb 3, 2014.

Mabul Island @ Semporna, Sabah

2014-04-06T20:40:00.001+08:00

Here's the update of my dream-like vacation to Tawau, Sabah! It was November 2013, time flies! Three girls, 3 days 2 nights, free and easy. Let's begin!

Ah~ the comfy hotel we stayed! Yes, this is in the Semporna town. This small town mainly consists of hotels, bars, and oh yeah, seafood restaurants!

You'd never want to miss seafood in Sabah. It is definitely a food heaven for seafood lovers. Spot the crowd in the restaurant! Too bad there were only three of us. We couldn't order more food. The cooking was above average but what worth to comment is, they were really FRESH!

Steamed fish with mango salad

Have no idea of what it is called but this is my favourite vegetable stir-fry in Sabah

Crispy deep-fried sotong (squid)

Steamed scallop with garlic

Good morning Semporna!!!

Here we were, the perfect gateway for beautiful islands. It rained and therefore we had to wait for another hour for the boat. Never mind, we'd never get bored to hop around the town! Could you see that? Semporna is actually a fishing village!

The floating restaurant! Too bad we didn't manage to have a try

Souvenir stalls

Another best-selling souvenir - Pearls

Hooray! After a thrilling experience on the boat, which took about 45 min, finally we stepped on our destination-Mabul Island.

No doubt, the one behind us is the boat we took to get here.

And hooray again! You'd be definitely amazed by any single view in your surrounding!

Look like a village? The chalets on the island

Each step taken are on paths like this

Lunch before the explore

Omg~ Loving this colour!

Oh ya, do not forget to view the starry sky here at night! LIKE THIS~

Photo session~ Method 1

Method 2?

Oops!

Ahh~ Breezing~

Wey?

Couldn't hide our excitement, AT ALL!

Define 'crystal clear' please?

Like..A boss =P

Found a path behind our dorm. Time for adventure!

Aha~ A real village! People are living here.

Convenience shop. On the beach!

Another world after walking past the village

The full view of the village

Wow wow wow! Couldn't believe the breath-taking scene in front of us!

Yeah, chilling under the bright sun

A local boy we met! So cute!

Time to get back... for a dive! We signed up for a discovery package, which is opened for non-divers. After a briefing session, we started to get panicked. Mastering the basic skills was not easy though. We can't swim either! BUT, this was the best part of the journey! The world underwater is truly stunning!

I was so AMAZED by everything under the sea! On the first move before the dive, we were lucky enough to see a sea turtle swimming around us. I was really scared at first but its appearance firmed my curiosity and gifted me the courage.

Everything went smooth and naturally. Officially missing the sea turtles and colourful fishes now. :(

On the boat, suit's up!

It was like a dream. Thank you our pretty instructor!

Setting back to the shipside, wait for the sunset

Hmm.. Couldn't get a full egg-yolk

Wait for the dinner! Were very hungry after the dive

Buffet-style dinner

The night

The best activity at the night - watch the sea turtles!

Unforgettable night working hard for presentation while everyone was sleeping!

Spot my bed -- the bench

Watching the sky getting brighter. A new day yet to come

Some of the people even slept here

Leaving the beautiful island, we headed to Tawau town..just for another seafood lunch!

There are a lot of restaurant to be chosen from. No worry, they are cheap and fresh! We had ours at Kam Leng Seafood.

Clam with Gong Bao sauce

The sauce was thick and spicy

Their signature dish - 7 stars Sashimi fillet!

It is a leopard coral grouper by the way. Would be a good try even you're not a sashimi-lover. They added shredded ginger and the flavor was much enhanced.

Another must-have. The steamed scallop.

Another vegetable that I couldn't recall the name. Yummy~

Crab crab crap~ Soft-shell crab

Will continue to update more on the places explored in Sabah. Semporna is definitely a place full with warm and fun. Please, no more criminal cases and please, sustain the peace and the pureness of the people there. Miss you, everything in Semporna~

Updated Nov 9, 2013

CNY [Horse Year 2014]

2014-02-20T18:30:00.000+08:00

Horse year, my year ♥

Owning only few days for CNY holiday, every moments deserved to be an important event. And these would be my power reservoir to become a better me in the new year.

Get a brand new outfit for the brand new year ♥

Reunion dinner on the preceding day with family.
The warmness that should never be missed.

Red packet "angpao" from parents for good luck.
Not forgetting to go around to get more angpao from other adults! This is the best chance to get extra pocket money. Hee~

Yu Sheng (tossed raw fish salad) on the 7th day, for continued wealth and prosperity.

Jade Emperor ritual prayer after the mid-night on the 8th day.
The day is more important than the first day for Hokkiens.
Fireworks, celebrations and good food~ ♥

And of course, gatherings of family and friends!

Tomyummy Noodles House 东炎不败 @ Perak Road, Penang

2014-02-09T12:15:00.000+08:00

Tom Yum Noodles with Fried Fish Slice and Green Salad

I'm a Tom Yum lover.

I'm blessed with the growing chains of restaurant selling good Tom Yum all around Penang. I would never miss to taste each of them. Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

This is the first branch of the restaurant. The restaurant features an open kitchen with an attached counter placing the fresh food. There are a great variety of noodles and sides to be chosen. The mix-and-match becomes so trendy these days uh~

Tom Yum Ramen with Bacon, Bean Curd Sheets and Green Salad.

I would love to highlight their soup. The soup base is thick, spicy and savory. I guess their extraordinary soup base is what outweighs them from other restaurants and stalls. I'm particularly in love with the bacon. Bacon + Tom Yum soup would be the reason for my next visits. For the fried fish slices, I'm not in a flavor of them. My best fried fish slices of choice would still be from the humble stall near the Queensbay mall.

Price-wise, it depends on what you add. You can get a bowl of noodles from RM 5 to RM 20.

Taste-wise, I would say that it is at the rate of higher than average.

I dined in at a late hour. I didn't want my supper to be too heavy with such a large portion. I requested for a small bowl and here it goes! So cute! ♥

Things go irresistible when Tom Yum comes in. Slurps~

Field-Trip: A Gather of Coursemates

2013-12-26T14:18:00.001+08:00

Time flies and we're in our final year now. We'd been spending our time in hustle and bustle. Study, study, and STUDY!

Field-trip? Hmm.. It's a really strange term for us. Staying back at laboratories and rushing for laboratory reports are what best define our student life, especially during our final year. Yeah, final year project! FYP FYP FYP~ Sounds haunted? Haha~ This is something more than enough to drive you crazy.

If you don't believe, check this out. We're so short of time and managed to grab our lunch in the bus. Tabao lagi~

And we couldn't afford any waste of time--nap whenever and wherever we could!

So... Whatever it is, here we go!

-First Trip-Fermentation-@Dec 3, 2013

Ready, set and GO!

Station 1: Cocoa Boutique, Kota Kinabalu

Hmm.. Out of surprise, we visited a Cocoa Boutique. I feel nothing more than speechless to visit a boutique shop for our field-trip. It supposed to be something to gain us some insights on chocolate making. Though, it is a boutique shop! Seriously, we were like tourists. We listened to the short briefing on their poster presentation, had sample chocolate bites in our mouths, and were persuaded to buy some chocolate from them. That's it! Wow!

The excited gang

Briefing briefing~

Never miss anything! Claps! =)

Cocoa Ferment Trough

A variety of flavors to be chosen from

Chocolate-making in progress! Camera, action!

Hey I know it's dark-brown in color but it isn't chocolate~

Managed to selfie with our gorgeous Mdm Ros! =)

Ice-cream Potong spotted!

Let's Potong~ =P

Souvenir giving

Station 2: Botanical Garden, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park

This site was a spontaneous decision since we had a spare time for more visits. Lok Kawi Wildlife Park? I'd been here twice. Honestly I don't like this place. For me, a zoo is somewhere business hits on. Supposedly, wildlife are native faunas which live in a natural and undomesticated state. When it comes to exposing public on wildlife, I do think that a conservation park instead of a zoo should be established. Animals deserve to live in their natural habitat but not in cages.

Orangutan? Proboscis monkey? Gibbon? Otter? Sun bear? Ehh~ No no no. We're going for the Botanical Garden. Regrettably I'd never know that there's a botanical garden in this park. Here we go!

First thing, check in yourself!

A lot of nature treasures in this garden

Green green world

Hmm? A free ride?

Station 3: Sabah International Dairies Sdn. Bhd. (SID)

Do you love milk? It's hard for me to resist the rich, smooth texture of milk and other dairy products. When it comes to the art of coffee, textured milk is the key for perfect lattes and cappuccinos. The finest crafting of milk is so appealing while fresh milk is an essential for me. Nom~ So, let's explore the milk-making process!

The meeting room was crowded by us

Our President of the day =P

Chocolate-flavored milk for the children, and us. =D

The generous sharing from the managerial personnel there. We learnt a lot man!

Viewing every departments of the factory

-Second Trip-Virology-@Dec 16, 2013

Makmal Diagnosa Veterinar Kota Kinabalu (Veterinary Diagnosis Laboratory)

And now, we made our way to another visit for Virology with Ms Tinie. Here they provide comprehensive and cut-edge services and clinical diagnosis for cows, goats, flocks, cats etc.

Here we go!

Wow~ Aisha~ Super Model! The smile kills me. Bahaha~

We were briefed from laboratory to laboratory.

All about micropipette! Ahh!

Light refreshment after visiting

Ah~ You want grab the food from me? No way! =D

Ehh?

Tired. Shoo~

This amazed me! An egg under candle-light. I saw it moving!

Nonetheless, the field-trips marked some great moments for us to gather and have fun. Every fantastic moments that I've been experienced with my dearest course-mates and lecturers are something I'd really cherish. And of course I grabbed most of the photos from them. Hehe.

Here's my greatest gratitude to the organizers of the trips. Hey future biotechnologists, you guys are AWESOME! Let's have more fun soon! =D

诺亚方舟3D电影

2013-09-29T14:30:00.000+08:00

距離3月2號已經有210天，當晚的每個細節仍然歷歷在目。怪獸老大秒殺的淺笑、瑪莎髮尾滴落的汗珠、主唱大人深情的告白......不好意思，我的位置看不到石拔和鼓手爸爸，所以只記得他們獨奏的神況。

從來沒想過，一場演唱會，足以讓我沉溺在那美好中好久好久，遲遲無法忘懷。而今晚，同樣是周末的晚上，我步入的是一場電影版演唱會。所謂的電影版，竟然是和當晚的盛況沒太大落差的電影。同樣是五個人出現在我面前，只是這次少了其他瘋狂的五迷在身邊一起緊張、一起歡呼、一起高歌、一起感動、一起喊安可。

人在沙巴，所幸唯一一間有播放的戲院不遠。只是，那討人厭的3D眼鏡、不舒適的座位、還有未達標準的音響都讓這場電影變得不夠完美。撇開這些，我必須享受當下的熱情和感動。打從一拉開序幕，我的雙眼就沒辦法離開銀幕，身體沒辦法冷靜，耳膜也忍不住要隨著節奏起舞。

人在現場，絕對比3D還要不真實

整場電影下來，不管從攝影、調音、燈光、還是特效，製作團隊的用心都不容忽略。他們有把每個細節都顧慮到了。每個人的眼神和表情，都完整地呈現在我面前。（又是那狂甩的秀發！=D)

怎麼說呢？我的感覺是那些特效有點多餘了，我說的是後製加上的特效。每個人的臉好清楚，士杰和其他三位和聲在後頭玩鬧的樣子也一覽無遺，似乎沒有什麼逃得過攝影師的鏡頭。雖說大部分的拍攝都在鳥巢取景，好幾千萬人潮的壯觀仍奪不去那份親切感。我，有一點點身入其境的衝動。為什麼只有一點點？只能說，大部分的我早就好像回到了3月2日的那夜，萬人體育場的激昂和感動。

或許是太高清了，我覺得比較像是真的在看電影。闊別兩年前的《追夢》，我反倒覺得這次比較像電影。或許是因為，追夢時的我，對於看五月天演唱會這件事，還只是個夢想。稍微的演唱會鏡頭，就足以帶我到無邊無際的想像，彷彿我參加了一樣。反觀今天，我已達成了夢想。夢想實現的那一刻實在太不真實了。狂撒的汗水和眼淚叫人更覺得自己輕飄飄的，叫人不敢相信。

嚴格來說，我不算是五迷。我只是單純的喜歡五月天的每一個人，喜歡五月天的音樂，就像那些音樂單純地教會和提醒我好多事情一樣。謝謝五月天，讓我知道夢想的重量。謝謝五月天，讓我有繼續尋夢再追夢的力量。

啦～～～這，是我們的旋律。

每次沖動留下的都有所不同

然而有天你會懂就是那些讓你不同

每滴眼淚掙脫後都帶走懦弱

感動總在衝動後苦澀回憶都會溫柔

Kitchen Story (Tomyam Chicken Stir-fry & Spinach)

2013-08-11T06:13:00.000+08:00

Staying alone in the house is something unusual to me, yet I'd stayed here for nearly a couple of weeks. Instead of dying of boredom, I'd decided to treat myself good by entering the kitchen. I'm not good in cooking as I often get the dishes over-cooked. Well, the meals here are for myself and who cares? I should have cooked myself rather than eating out, which is not budget-friendly and otherwise, not delicious yet unhealthy. Okay, cooking alone and eating alone sound so pitiful. Why not I spend some moments to jot them down here?

To kick-start my kitchen story, and to lower the risk of failure :P, I opened my refrigerator and got mummy's homemade tomyam paste. To be more accurate, mummy actually cooked it by blending in a variety of spices into the store-bought tomyam paste. The flavor is totally different from the base tomyam paste as mummy's special recipe made it a right twist! Usually, I would just add in the cooked paste to fry noodles, rice, or cook a soup-based delicacy.

I usually stored spinach in my refrigerator. I first came across this kind of vegetable from Popeye. I wanted to be as cool as popeye from small. Popeye's spinach is always in a can. My parents, however, do not know that spinach means for in English. Until I was grown up and shopped for groceries, I noticed the packaged vegetable with the "spinach" tag and I was overwhelmed that I actually eat it quite frequently. The two points that I love spinach so much other than from Popeye are, spinach is rich in fibers and more importantly, it is easy to prepare!

Running out of ideas, I decided to prepare myself tomyam chicken stir-fry. I took out chicken breast and left-over spinach, then turned my kitchen alive.

Spinach with Egg

Ingredients

Spinach

1 egg

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 onion (minced)

1/2 tbsp sambal shrimp

2 tbsp cooking oil

salts and pepper

Method

First, the thick stems of the spinach were cut off and discarded. The spinach was then washed and drained.

One egg was mixed with pinches of herbs, salts and pepper.

1 tbsp of vegetable oil was heated in a skillet on medium high heat. The mixed egg was fried first.

The fried egg was collected. Upon adding another tbsp of oil, garlic, onion and sambal shrimp were added accordingly and cooked until they turned brown.

Spinach was added and cooked for 30 seconds. The fried egg was then added and cooked for another 1 minute.

Tadaaa! The dish was ready to be served.

**I used sambal shrimp to add an extra umami as I did not have fresh shrimps in hand. Surprisingly, the sambal belacan promoted the taste just right.

Tomyam Chicken Stir-fry

Ingredients

1/2 chicken breast

2 tbsp homemade tomyam paste

1/2 yellow onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic

1 Red chilies (sliced)

1 tbsp honey

1/4 lemon or lime

2 tbsp cooking oil

Salts and pepper

Method

The chicken was firstly chopped into smaller pieces and marinated with tomyam paste and desirable amount of salt and pepper for two hours (would be better if marinated overnight for a rich flavor).

After heating up 2 tbsp of oil in the skillet, garlic, chilies, and onion were added accordingly.

While the ingredients were turning brown, marinated chicken pieces were added and cooked until tender.

Pinches of salts and pepper were sprinkled and the dish was ready.

I had the two dishes with white rice, they were about 650 kcal. Yum～ It feels so good and satisfying! =D

Okay...this is my only entertainment right now. Shoo shoo boredom and darkness! =]

Biotech Night 2013-The Night of Elegance

2013-05-26T16:58:00.000+08:00

Used to be late at class and sleeping at lecture, I seldom interact with my coursemates in the past two years. (Oops!) It was the night we actually enjoyed and knew more about each other.

Course's Annual Dinner

I was one of the person-in-charge for the annual dinner. I did attended most of the meetings yet feeling quite sorry as I did not really contribute. The event was held in Hotel Shangri-la Bandaran Kota Kinabalu. Disappointingly, the meal was below average and costly. The sound system was just a basic one with a simple monitoring hardware. Overall, it was quite deviated from our theme, "Elegance". Though, our class-representative Mr. Dexter and other event crew did a great job and the event was fun and smooth!

On our way to the venue for preparation

While waiting for "dress-room"

I was doubtful to attend the dinner at first. Monica offered her dress to solve my urgent need at last minute! As a beginner in make-up, it took me a hard time to dress up within an hour. Luckily, Florisa offered another helpful hand to make it possible. Oh ya, the heels I wore were borrowed as well. =P It was definitely a grateful night! :)

The owner of the dress

My make-up artist. Thanks!

It was a memorable one! I grabbed some photos from friends and here they go...

One and only portrait of mine - PA part-timer of the night

Part-time again!

Lazy bug. Well you helped a little for my hair-do

My sister was so smart! :p

The Technical Team Leader. Sorry that I was not helpful.

Fun and sporting boy

I like to bully you 'cause you're cute!

Rock star of the night!

Girls~

With lecturers.

Girls, camera, girls, camera

The gang who always take the seats at the back of our lecture room

Catcha!...

Juniors? No, I think we're of same age :p

No worry, I'll be helping you to put on eyeliner next time

Charming emcee. Someone said we are sisters, do we look alike? :o

"Juniors" again!

Tee hee~

Spot the face expression of Mr Dexter! :p

Almost same style huh

The flower lady~ So lovely

One of the best mate! Pretty as always

Glad to meet you girls here

Most of my coursemates are here!

The bar counter loves us

搭上方舟，我的第一个五月天

2013-03-04T12:00:00.000+08:00

亲自到五月天演唱会，是我一直以来的梦想。有人说这哪算梦想，可是我觉得只要是自己想坚持完成的，都可以称为梦想。梦想可大可小，却让人有着一种动力朝它前进。就是那一股力量，在过程里追梦者真切地感受着自己的心跳。每一分每一秒，都是活着的证据。

五月天在马来西亚的第一场演唱会，我错过了。那时候，或许还没有那份热忱吧！之后，我只能期许自己存够钱，飞到台湾去，就为了看一场梦寐以求的演唱会。

弃神山，搭方舟!

如果按照去年为自己拟定的计划来看，三月二号其实是登Mount Kota Kinabalu 的日子。登神山是自己的目标之一，一直找不到朋友一同去。好不容易有机会了，全额也缴清了，一个月前突然宣布的演唱会让我毫不犹豫地放弃登山。朋友都说我傻了。

从沙巴飞到吉隆玻，不为别的，就只是想要实现自己小小的梦想。所幸一路有人陪同，让这段旅程一点都不孤单。琪也让我们暂住她的宿舍，为旅费减轻不少。