peacockflower's world

2012 Chinese New Year Greetings & Decor at Pavilion KL

2012-01-22T18:00:00.000+08:00

Wishing All Friends, Relatives & Visitors
A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS
CHINESE NEW YEAR 2012

2012 LUNAR NEW YEAR OR THE YEAR OF THE WATER DRAGON
will start from 23 January 2012 and end on 9 February 2013.
To kick-start the Chinese New Year, the Chinese communities around the world
will have a grand celebration for 15 days.
Get to know more of the CNY festivities, culture and tradition here.

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Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012 Greetings

2011-12-24T22:29:00.000+08:00

WISHING ALL DEAR FRIENDS AND READERS :

HAPPY HOLIDAYS,
MERRY CHRISTMAS,
AND A VERY BLESSED NEW YEAR 2012

May your hearts be filled with God's pure joy
and perfect peace,
Your gathering with laughter....
May your home be warmed with His enduring love
at Christmas and long after.

Have a wonderful celebration of God's gift of Jesus,
our Savior and Redeemer!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all visitors and friends to my blog. I truly appreciate very much your visits, kind comments, and your continuing support and encouragement through the years. God bless!!

Rest In Peace, Clare Chan

2011-12-23T23:30:00.000+08:00

My dearly beloved mother-in-law, Clare Chan (John's mum) went home to the Lord on Monday, December 12 2011 at 8.44 pm at Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) where she was admitted two nights before due to heart failure.

She was blessed with a peaceful and almost painless transition... we thank our merciful God for His abiding love for our loving mother who was faithful to Him till the very end, like an innocent child who always looked forward to going to Church to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

My beloved mother-in-law, Clare Chan (08/12/1924~12/12/2011)

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Halal Chinese Minmax Restaurant in KL, revisited!

2011-10-20T22:38:00.000+08:00

The many times that we've patronized MinMax Restaurant, PNB Darby Park in Kuala Lumpur with our family, we've never been disappointed with the food served. Our very recent revisit to this lovely halal Chinese joint for lunch was early this month to celebrate both of our sons' birthday together, killing 2 birds with one stone! ;)

We decided not to order a la carte. Instead, we browsed through the many special set menus available with varying prices according to the type of dishes and number of pax, and ended up choosing the RM298.00+ Lunch/Dinner Set - Special Menu F (9-10 pax) that included the following dishes:

Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Seafood Treasures and Fish Lip
Pan Fried Silver Pomfret Fish with sambal sauce
Deep Fried Crispy Sea Prawns with salty sauce
Deep Fried Chicken with lemon grass in Indonesian style
Braised Dried Oyster with Seafood Treasures in clay-pot
Deep Fried Crispy Squid with salted eggs yolk
Stir Fried Seasonal Vegetable with anchovies and garlic

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Superb Magnificat Choir from Medan, Indonesia

2011-09-26T00:14:00.000+08:00

Magnificat Choir from Medan in Indonesia, comprising of a group of very young, talented and dynamic students, led by its founder, Fr Redemptus Benedictus Simamora, was in Kuala Lumpur recently to perform a musical concert at the Church of the Divine Mercy in Shah Alam on August 5 & 6 and at the Holy Family Church in Kajang on Sunday, August 7.

The event was jointly organized by the Parishes of St Thomas More, Subang and St Francis of Assisi, Cheras in aid of their respective church building fund.

We had the wonderful opportunity to watch the 80-strong choir (with the youngest, a mere 13 year-old) giving a superb performance at Holy Family Church that was almost filled to capacity.
Our singing Parish Priest from Church of SFA, Fr. Valentine Gompok, sportingly started off the concert with a rendition of 2 songs.

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Equatorial Seafood Restaurant in Rawang, Selangor

2011-08-31T23:43:00.004+08:00

Sometime last month, John and I had a luncheon date with our elder son, David and his family. David loves introducing us to eating places that we've not been before.
This time he drove us all the way to Rawang, about an hour's journey from Kuala Lumpur to lunch at Equatorial Seafood Restaurant.

Kellie, our daughter-in-law was the one who prompted this joint since she had enjoyed the food there with her office colleagues a couple of times before.

Service was quite fast as we were the first group of customers to arrive.
Being a Sunday, I could see that business was sluggish, unlike the weekdays that would attract many workers from the nearby industrial area as mentioned by one of their staff.
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Restoran Chai Lee, Sekinchan and other places in Selangor

2011-07-10T15:37:00.001+08:00

My beloved John and I have been to Sekinchan in Selangor a couple of times before with our retiree group, just to have an outing together and enjoy its well-known seafood fare. But going there for lunch with our darling son, David, was much fun in a youngish sort of way. He's an avid photographer and enthusiastic about seeking out new sights to explore along the course of the journey. And, that'd give us, his parents, opportunities for sight-seeing, something he knows will delight us so. A good opportunity too to spend quality time with our elder boy!

Hence, with some mapping and driving direction tool installed in his iPhone, our adventurous boy managed to locate a few sites to enjoy. One such place was the drive through coconut and oil palm plantations before reaching the catwalk at Bagan Sungai Tengkorak, Tanjong Karang, where we got to admire the picturesque view of the sea and mangroves on that bright sunny day with gorgeous blue skies.

Welcome signage to Bagan Sungia Tengkorak, Tanjong Karang

The catwalk at Bagan Sungai Tengkorak

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Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-24T23:35:00.002+08:00

To All Celebrating the feast of The Risen Lord Jesus...
John and I would like to wish you and your family...

An easter greeting card specially created bearing a crucifix and an image of the flower and fruits
of Passiflora edulis (Purple Passion Fruit), depicting our Lord's passion, death and resurrection

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Benteng Coffee House, Quality Hotel Kuala Lumpur

2011-03-24T01:27:00.002+08:00

Spend smart and eat smart!

That was exactly what John and I had in mind when we rounded up our family members, my sis and niece, and an old friend to Benteng Coffee House at Quality Hotel in Kuala Lumpur for a hearty buffet lunch of local and international cuisine.

We gathered there to celebrate the first day of Chinese New Year which fell on February 3rd this year.
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Prayers for Japan

2011-03-22T17:38:00.000+08:00

On March 11, a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred near the east coast of Honshu in Japan, followed within minutes by destructive tsunami tidal waves that devastated northeastern Japan, leaving villages vanished, thousands of people confirmed dead, injured or missing, and millions affected by lack of electricity, water and transportation. The earthquake and tsunami disasters also triggered a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, a catastrophe that's overwhelming and extremely worrying for the whole world.

The power of moving water is greater than most of us can imagine. Nothing stands before it. We are just puny creatures in great need of the saving power of God, our Creator. We're driven to our knees in prayer, seeking and imploring our Heavenly Father for His inexhaustible mercy and love :

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CNY 2011 Decorations @ Pavilion, KL

2011-03-19T01:23:00.002+08:00

A belated post just for my own record and rememberance!

On the 4th day of the Lunar Year of the Rabbit, I specially requested my beloved hubby, John, to drive me to The Pavilion just to have a quick look at the Chinese New Year (CNY) decorations which are usually very elaborately done and eye-catchy. Fact is, both of us simply love to patronize shopping malls like the Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere just to enjoy the festive decorations during the season of Christmas and CNY.

These were the shots I captured as I made a quick dash to the Pavilion's entrance while my beloved parked the car somewhere nearby at a no-parking zone, waiting to take off should any traffic policeman appear suddenly.

At Pavilion Kuala Lumpur (Bukit Bintang entrance) - big fat bunnies
(symbolizing the Lunar Year of the Rabbit) greeting visitors/shoppers
and lovely arches with decorative pink plum blossoms and red lanterns,
symbol of prosperity in Chinese culture

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Shabu One Steamboat Buffet, Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur

2011-02-07T23:16:00.001+08:00

Hehe...overindulgence of food had already started even before the Chinese New Year that commenced on 3rd February 2011!

My darling John, his mum and I were treated by our sons and daughters-in-law to a glorious steamboat buffet at Restaurant Shabu One on January 30th, in celebration of their dad's birthday, a day ahead! A great halal (pork-free) place for all Malaysians to eat healthy food, the steamboat-way, where one can eat-all-you-can within the 2-hour dining time allowed. Lovely too that maximum dining time was not strictly imposed that day and we got to spend great bonding times with our family members...eating, yakking and jollying, almost an hour longer!

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2011 Chinese New Year Greetings

2011-02-01T00:40:00.000+08:00

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2011
THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT

the most important and auspicious annual festival
celebrated by the Chinese communities around the world
will be celebrated for 15 days,
starting from February 3rd till the 17th!

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2010 Christmas Season and onwards to 2011

2011-01-10T23:55:00.008+08:00

I know..I know.. Christmas 2010 is over! But all the same, we can celebrate Christmas today and everyday, as Jesus Christ is always with us and within us, yes?

Christmas decor inside God's dwelling, Church of St Francis of Assisi in Cheras

Before I ramble on,

Wishing You And Your Loved Ones
All The Very Best For The New Year 2011
And God's Abundant Blessings Always!

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2010 Christmas Greetings!

2010-12-22T21:14:00.003+08:00

Yay! Just 3 more days to celebrate
the birthday of our beloved Jesus Christ,
Savior and Redeemer of the world!

COME, LORD JESUS...COME!

CHRISTMAS GREETINGS TO EVERYONE

Happy holidays!
Have a joyful and blessed Christmas!
Best wishes for a great New Year,
that's filled with peace, joy, love, good health and the best of everything!

God bless you and your family!

P/S: Picture on the left is our Christmas tree with purple and silver theme this year while on the right is my beloved hubby, John and I, captured during our very recent local pilgrimage to the Church of Christ The King, Sungai Petani in Kedah. It has a large and beautiful wooden sculpture of Our Lord just in front of the altar.

Here's also thanking all visitors and friends to my blogspot, for your continuing support and encouragement through the years. Your visits and kind comments are very much appreciated.

Church of St Theresa in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan

2010-12-05T23:47:00.005+08:00

A double celebration for the Church of St. Theresa in Nilai - the Parish Feast Day on 1st October 2010 and its Diamond Jubilee this year, marking 75 years of existence!

Exterior view of Church of St Theresa in Nilai, its grotto and an extended tent on its right,
to temporarily house the statue of St Theresa and cater for the expectant large crowd

Previously known as the 'Lil' Chapel on the Hillock or Chapel of St Theresa and founded in the year 1935, it had been elevated to the status of a Parish since 1st February 2010 with Rev. Fr. Raymond Pereira as its first resident parish priest.
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2010 Advent Project: A Bible Quote A Day

2010-11-28T18:28:00.036+08:00

The season of Advent for Year 2010 starting today, November 28 marks the start of the Catholic Church's Liturgical Calendar Year! Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day and will end with Evening Prayer I (First Vespers) of Christmas in the evening of December 24.

It's a gracious and opportune time to draw closer to Jesus and allow His Spirit of love, peace and joy from within us to shine forth in our daily living. This is the season of joyful hope and anticipation for the coming(s) of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World and Prince of Peace, whose birthday we will celebrate on December 25th.

To prepare my heart, mind and soul to receive Christ, the perfect gift of all times, I thought it best to dwell on God's Living Word, by searching for some favourite quotations from the Bible daily and jot them down here. It'll be an ongoing project throughout the duration of the Advent season, updated daily whenever possible.
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Savoury Steamed Pumpkin Cake Recipe, using rice flour

2010-11-07T14:23:00.030+08:00

Pumpkins were sold sinfully cheap at the Giant Hypermarket last weekend! Just RM0.89 for a kilogram! So cheap that I simply couldn't resist buying one that weighed 1.7 kg for just RM1.51!

What should I do with it now, I wondered after my purchase? Probably try to steam the Chinese-style savoury pumpkin cake myself, a snack that I've often bought and relished. And what I set out to do, I accomplished three days ago! Ta..da my home-steamed savoury pumpkin cake as photographed below! Yum-yum!!

Frankly, I've never cooked a pumpkin dish all my life, let alone skin one before! Gosh...I didn't know it has such a hard skin and that it was so difficult to skin a pumpkin! I tried using a sharpened meat chopper and then a kitchen knife which took me more than half an hour just to skin the pumpkin! Thank God there weren't any blisters on my palms the next morning.
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St Pio Spirituality Centre, Ulu Tiram in Johor (Pt. 3)

2010-10-14T23:50:00.005+08:00

26 September 2010: St Pio of Pietrelcina Feast Celebration

Continuing from Part 2 of pilgrimage....

A large crowd of pilgrims and devotees probably totaling between 600-700, from near and far had converged to St Pio's Spirituality Centre, Ulu Tiram in Johor on 26th September, 2010 to join in the celebration of St Pio's Feast Day.

Signage of St Pio Spirituality Centre. To the left is St Pio's Grotto

The glorious Sunday morning began with the recitation of the Holy Rosary which was then followed by Litany to St. Pio of Pietrelcina before the commencement of the Eucharistic Mass Celebration at 11am. The main celebrant of the multi-lingual Holy Mass was Fr. Michael Raymond OFM Cap, the Custos of Malaysia-Singapore Custody, and concelebrated with three other Capuchin Friars, namely, Fr. John Anandan, Fr. Michael Teng and Fr. Alexander Ravi. It was held in the grounds of the monastery where several tents were erected to cater for an expectedly large turnout.
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Church of Holy Family in Ulu Tiram, Johor (Pt. 2 of St Pio's Pilgrimage)

2010-10-13T23:42:00.002+08:00

Continuing from Part 1 of St Pio's Pilgrimage.

The actual feast day of St. Pio of Pietrelcina is September 23 but will be celebrated usually on a grander scale on the first Sunday after that date. Hence, the 2D1N pilgrimage to St. Pio's Spirituality Centre in Ulu Tiram, Johor by 3 busloads of pilgrims, comprising mostly of parishioners from SFA Church in Cheras, St Fatima Church in Brickfields and SFX Church in Petaling Jaya.

Saturday, 25 September 2010:
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Pilgrimage to St Pio's Monastery in Ulu Tiram, Johor (Pt 1)

2010-10-11T23:48:00.011+08:00

A visit to St Pio's Monastery in Ulu Tiram was first suggested by Rose Yeow, co-ordinator of BEC MARS of the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Cheras early this year, as a project for its members. And, months later, her spouse George, a licensed Tourist Guide, was inspired to organize a pilgrimage there to celebrate the Feast Day of St Pio (the actual day being September 23rd). What a lovely coincidence, an added booster with George Yeow's expertise and spirituality!

Thus, with the joint effort of the husband-wife team and support from the BEC members and George's regular travelers, the final count of pilgrims who traveled there were 129 persons! Fantastic, huh? The Capuchin Friars must have been mighty pleased! God sure works in marvelous and unexpected ways, touching so many yearning hearts who desire to draw closer to Him. That included my beloved John and I, of course!
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St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam (Pt.2)

2010-08-22T00:21:00.011+08:00

Continuing from Part 1 of our pilgrimage tour...

July 26, 2010 - The actual feast day of St. Anne :

About 5pm:
We arrived at the Church of St Anne in Bukit Mertajam, about an hour's journey from the Stella Maris Holiday House in Penang island where we were residing. There were two Masses that evening to celebrate St Anne's Feast Day, one scheduled for 5.30pm while the second one at 7.30pm and we chose the latter so that we'd have more time to do the Stations of The Cross and personal devotion to St Anne.

Church of St Anne in Bukit Mertajam with a beautifully-designed multi-tiered Minangkabau roofing

5.30pm - Way of The Cross:
George Yeow, the charismatic tour organizer suggested that we pray the Way of The Cross following the stations erected up the hill slope behind the Shrine of St Anne (old church), and not those newly erected stations around the new church's flat grounds as originally planned. He shared that it'd be more meaningful with the climb uphill and also to trace the Church's origins. Optional though for those who preferred otherwise due to poor health or whatever reasons. Of course, my beloved John who has lumbar spondylosis were among the few who chose to remain at the foot of the hill though he did reached the 2nd station in his feeble attempt. :-(
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Pilgrimage to St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam (Pt.1)

2010-08-14T23:15:00.010+08:00

This was our first pilgrimage to the Church of St. Anne at Bukit Mertajam, to attend the actual feast day of St Anne on July 26! Shameful, huh...when thousands of non-Catholic devotees from near and far take the trouble to pay homage annually to St Anne for favours and prayers answered while we (my beloved John and I) who are baptized Catholics for more than 4 decades are just lukewarm in this matter. Why? Just that we're not so habitual in asking saints to intercede for us, except the Blessed Mother of God, of course.

About time that we change our mindset! If we can ask our earthly 'saints' to pray for us, why not the heavenly saints in God's midst! Stronger cable, right? Aren't we all One Body of Christ, the Family of God, believing in the Communion of Saints that includes the Holy Souls in Purgatory too?

Hopefully this is the beginning of many more St Anne's pilgrimages to come where we can gather together as a huge and diverse family of God to celebrate Jesus Christ, our Risen Lord and Redeemer!

Clockwise from left: St Anne's Church, Statue of St Anne and
a broader view from St Anne Square, Bukit Mertajam

Nevertheless, this recent pilgrimage had truly been enriching and an eye-opener, with our hearts and minds now humbled and warmed towards St Anne. She was the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! A powerful prayer intercessor as millions have attested, holy St Anne is the patroness for miners, healing, housewives, childless couples, marriages, and families. Having witnessed an amazing miracle (read about it here) right before my eyes on St Anne's feast day itself had really astounded me to the core of my heart! Praise the Lord!
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St Anthony Church at Carey Island, Selangor

2010-07-28T20:12:00.004+08:00

Last June, 20th to be exact, my beloved John and I followed a one-day pilgrimage tour, organized by George Yeow, to Carey Island to attend the Feast of St Anthony of Padua who is the patron saint for lost causes and lost items. It was celebrated with a Sunday Mass and Benediction at the St. Anthony Church by Rev. Fr. VA. Michael, who's also the Parish Priest of the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Banting.

St. Anthony Church in Carey Island, with several tents erected to accommodate the large crowd

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Coffee Terrace @ Genting Hotel, Genting Highlands

2010-07-02T18:24:00.000+08:00

John and I had targeted to dine at Coffee Terrace, situated in Genting Hotel for our next visit to the highlands. Why? As our dear friend Stephen always says, "Eat smart!"

Opportunity came sooner than expected when we went to Genting Highlands for the Engelbert Humperdinck 2010 Legacy of Love World Tour about a fortnight ago with Stephen and his beloved spouse, Sook Wan.

For buffet dinner, Coffee Terrace offers a special 50% discount off the adult rate (RM59++) for senior citizens, if check-in between 5.00-6.00pm. This was just perfect for us all, as we fall in that category and perfect timing too, with ample time to dine before Engelbert's concert show that will start at 8.00pm!

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peacockflower's world

2012 Chinese New Year Greetings & Decor at Pavilion KL

Christmas 2011 and New Year 2012 Greetings

Rest In Peace, Clare Chan

Halal Chinese Minmax Restaurant in KL, revisited!

Superb Magnificat Choir from Medan, Indonesia

Equatorial Seafood Restaurant in Rawang, Selangor

Restoran Chai Lee, Sekinchan and other places in Selangor

Happy Easter 2011

Benteng Coffee House, Quality Hotel Kuala Lumpur

Prayers for Japan

CNY 2011 Decorations @ Pavilion, KL

Shabu One Steamboat Buffet, Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur

2011 Chinese New Year Greetings

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2011 THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT

2010 Christmas Season and onwards to 2011

2010 Christmas Greetings!

Church of St Theresa in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan

2010 Advent Project: A Bible Quote A Day

Savoury Steamed Pumpkin Cake Recipe, using rice flour

St Pio Spirituality Centre, Ulu Tiram in Johor (Pt. 3)

Church of Holy Family in Ulu Tiram, Johor (Pt. 2 of St Pio's Pilgrimage)

Pilgrimage to St Pio's Monastery in Ulu Tiram, Johor (Pt 1)

St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam (Pt.2)

Pilgrimage to St Anne's Church, Bukit Mertajam (Pt.1)

St Anthony Church at Carey Island, Selangor

Coffee Terrace @ Genting Hotel, Genting Highlands

CHINESE NEW YEAR 2011
THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT