ƸӜƷ•¨¯`•My Recuerdos•¨¯`•ƸӜƷ

The Lazy Zone

2011-06-19T22:09:00.001+08:00

Home is where the heart is....and the TV with Astro Channels. Yes, exams are over and I am scoring really high on being a couch potato. Wish I could say the same for my papers but I guess let bygones be bygones. All there is to do now is to pray hard! I won't be taking classes anymore for my remaining papers but will be doing them on my own and meanwhile apply for positions. Right after my papers I was doing some research reading on writing cover letters and putting together a resume. Took me 2 days to put everything together and sent in to the respective online application systems. Keeping my fingers crossed for a reply (keep yours crossed for me too, please?) and trying to be productive meanwhile.

I've been itching to make cookies since before the exams and I finally got to make my oat and chocolate chip cookies!! It took me only a little while to whip up the batter but a good one hour and half to bake them all.

The products!!

This is my first time using rolled oats in cookies and I think they are pretty nice. The cookies turned out pretty chewy yet still had a crunch to them I think I might try toasting the oats next time for more crunch and nicer smell. I'm actually not an oats fan (I really don't like eating them on their own) but I'm trying to find ways to incorporate them into my food since they are really good for cholesterol and stuff.

I have a lot of kitchen projects lined up so I will be cooking up a storm in my Mummy's kitchen in my holidays. Oh yes, I will also try to spend as much time as possible with friends who are in or back in Ipoh. So give me a call or drop me a line in Facebook (yes, I reactivated it). I am psyched to meet up and catch up!!!

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I'm going to end my post with a random picture taken long long ago which I dug up from my folders. They are from my first (and I hope last) visit to the T-bowl restaurant in Sunway Pyramid. It's a toilet bowl concept store, which means their decor is made up of toilet bowls and so forth. And their food is also toilet themed.

Ice lemon tea in a piss pot

Fried inouki in a mini bathtub

"POO" ice cream in a potty

Now I know this toilet concept is really popular, but sadly it never grew on me because the toilet setting makes me really skeptical of their hygiene and makes me think of things I'd rather not think about when I'm eating. Actually, their food was pretty terrible. Even now, I remember the food being bland and carelessly prepared, so it really gives me no reason to want to go back. At least I got interesting pictures out of them. =)

Not Shepherd's Pie

2011-06-06T21:13:00.002+08:00

Hello my dear readers. I am still in my stick-at-home-and-be-a-hermit situation. My room has turned into a mess of papers and my dad has been nagging me to study in the downstairs computer room because my room turns into an oven during the day. I'm too lazy to move my paper 'nest' downstairs so sad to say, I've seldom ventured down.

Speaking of ovens, I made pies the other day for my parents' cell group hosting. My mummy asked me if I had any ideas for the food and I jumped at the chance to make shepherd..err..cottage pie??

Let's straighten this out for once. The pies that I made are essentially a meat filling topped with mashed potatoes and baked in the oven with a sprinkling of cheese on top. Now, I've always called them shepherd pies but Ben told me that shepherd pies have lamb fillings. So if you don't have lamb in it, it's not shepherds pie. So..fine, I took to calling them cottage pies since I normally use minced beef as the filling and that's the 'official' term for beef filled pies. But this time, I used minced chicken instead. I Wiki-ed and apparently cottage pie is only for beef filling. So the conclusion is, I will call my pies CHICKEN COTTAGE PIES.

Ta Da!!!

My mum sparked the idea for 'mini' ones using the muffin trays. Hehe.

Happy to report they disappeared quite fast. Cottage pies are perfect for those who love pie but have not mastered pastry making yet. You can always buy ready made filo pastry to make an actual pastry pie but cottage pies are so easy and fuss free that you won't mind not having pastry in it. They're yummy too!! I mean, who doesn't like mash???

So that's one of my kitchen produce since coming back. I'm ITCHING to make chocolate chip cookies but I guess I'll have to wait until exams are over before I mess around the kitchen again. I know I'm not the only one who is up in steam over exams. Good luck to those taking ACCA and CAT papers!!And not forgetting those who are worrying over assignments and their respective exams!!!

Just some random pictures I took a few weeks back when Yoong came for a visit.

The path is long and hard, the journey will not be easy and the destination is yet unknown.
But I will persevere!!!

Goodbye Facebook, for now.

2011-05-27T22:57:00.000+08:00

Yes, I deactivated my Facebook account, temporarily. I have been toying with the idea because I've been feeling that I spend too much time there and finally clicked those buttons this afternoon. Not that its wrecking havoc on my studies but I just decided to observe myself to see how I function without Facebook. I have resolved to keep my account deactivated at least until my exams are over, so don't worry I haven't left Facebook for good.

As is customary, I am back in Ipoh for my exams. Since coming back, I have confined myself to my room with my revision. I've ventured out (on my accord) only twice so far. I'm anxious over this sitting because doing OBU in conjunction with the papers is quite a brain killer. I want to be done and over with ACCA exam papers by the end of this year. It's not only because I am sick and tired of repeating papers, but because I look forward to what happens after the completion. It has been a hard year for me so far, but I discovered that I am able to handle things that come my way and just how much support I have.

Okay, before I end I have food pictures to spam (don't I always?). I have quite a lot of pictures which I have yet to organise into a post. Will get there eventually...all in good time. Meanwhile, here's a MONSTER Nasi Briyani from Laksa Shack.

Don't ask me why I was eating Nasi Briyani in LAKSA Shack. I eat everything BUT laksa when I go to the Laksa Shack. HAHA!!! Their non-laksa items on their menu are pretty good and the portions generous. Their fish-n-chips and pizza are quite good too. Yes, I know I am random.

One last random thing before I go back to my books:-

Stay with me. Bye bye!!
p.s : That's a mango up there if you're still staring.

White Dresses and Nude Louboutins for Me, Please!!

2011-05-20T16:48:00.011+08:00

Kim Kardashian and Coleen Rooney agree with me. LOL. I know I don't usually write fashion posts but I was browsing through the Daily Mail website and noticed that the both of them were sporting the same look but in different styles. Let my shopaholic side speak.

LOOK at those LOUBOUTINS!!!

Left : Sexy , Right : Smart/Demure

I can't help but to wonder if Kate Middleton's royal wedding gown has started a white dress+white lace+white embroidery fad but I do love white. And not only brides can wear white ok. Pffft!!! Look and Pippa Middleton. She looked stunning during the wedding.

Back to the obsession, I never got the whole nude coloured shoes until I saw those Louboutins!!! I'm totally biased towards their red soles haha!! I personally prefer Kim Kardashian because the straps on her Louboutins make them look not too clunky and I'm totally in love with the white-on-white embroidery on her dress!! Coleen Rooney looks good too. The best part about the two pictures up there is that the two of them look so chic without baring much of their decolletages.

Weehee!! I guess you can tell the exam stress is getting to me.My subconscious is instinctively reaching out for retail therapy to balance out the madness P2 and P3 induces. Alright...back to my books!!

The Final Answer : KOLONY

2011-05-13T22:36:00.005+08:00

Remember the mysterious symbol I blogged about a few weeks back about the strange sign above the KLCC?? (Click here to read post) Well, the symbol is in face the CELCOM KOLONY symbol.

WHAT IS KOLONY?

KOLONY ))K(( is an SMS-based social network that connects you to your friends. It’s spreading far and wide throughout the nation and fast! It’s an awesome phenomenon that is going to infect everybody! Already over 1million people have been infected! Your phone is now going to do so much more than just connect you to a friend. It will expand your network. DING, BOMM, FREN and POPP are going to become part of your daily lives. KOINZ are going to make your world turn. You’re not going to be able to shake this infection off!

This is taking calling and texting to a whole new level!! Read on to find out the potential of turning your phone into the ultimate social portal using Celcom Kolony!

1. Send KOLONY to 25333. (You just need to have an Xpax, U.O.X., S.O.X. or Celcom mobile number to join!)

2. After you get your nickname, check out some of the ways you can socialize on Kolony:

DING – Ding your buddies and leave them a message to cheer them up.

Send KDING to 25333

BOMM – Have an update to share? BOMM it away to all your FRENs!

Send KBOMM to 25333

FREN - FREN for life? Make as many as you can in Kolony!

Send KFREN to 25333

POPP – Get to comment on what your buddies say!

Send KPOPP to 25333

3. It gets cooler!!! Send KHELP to 25333 to get a full list of keywords that you can use to explore the rest of the world of Kolony and find out about Kolony’s cool activities!!

You think it can’t get cooler? Think again!! Read on!!!

How does it all work? You will need KOINZ to perform the activities mentioned above in Kolony. And how do you get KOINZ? SIMPLE! You just need to make calls on the all NEW XPAX PLAN! Every single call you make on the NEW XPAX PLAN will earn you FREE KOINZ that you can use to stay infected in Kolony.

1^st – 5^th calls made in a day = FREE 10 KOINZ per call
6^th & more calls made in a day = FREE 20 KOINZ per call
The FREE KOINZ will be granted the next day.
Alternatively, you can also purchase KOINZ to enjoy KOLONY services: RM0.30 for 10Koinz, RM1.50 for 50Koinz, RM3 for 100Koinz

NEW XPAX PLAN

What’s more? With the New Xpax Plan, besides earning FREE KOINZ for you to stay infected on Kolony, you get enjoy super awesome LOW RATES! Yup! You heard us right!!! Calls are ONLY 28 sen for 10 minutes to Celcom network and 5mins to other networks. SMS are ONLY 1sen to Celcom numbers and 5sen to other networks!

Just head on down to any Blue Cube outlet or Celcom branch to pick up a New Xpax Plan today and start enjoying these low rates & join Kolony!

Or check out http://www.xpax.com.my/new_plan.html for more details.

Disclaimer : This is a sponsored post

Eye Candy @La Senza Body Kiss Launch, Pavilion KL

2011-05-09T11:43:00.018+08:00

I was in Pavilion for the La Senza Body Kiss Launch Party on Saturday. Just for those who don't know, La Senza is a fashion lingerie and sleepwear retailer. I'm a huge fan of La Senza because their lingerie comes in pretty colours and all sorts of funky and pretty designs for panties, not to mention being very comfortable. And FYI, I don't care nobody sees my underwear!! Pretty and comfortable underwear gives you better confidence. Seriously!!!

The Body Kiss Launch was held in the Pavilion KL branch. Pui San, ever my partner-in-crime, ad I arrived in good time for the launch and we saw the shop assistants getting things ready for the event. It was a ladies only event.

They had a table full of sweet goodies ready for the guests.

Goodie bags were given to the first 100 people to enter the event. I was among them and got a pretty notebook and a cute fold-able bag. Thank you La Senza!

We were told to help ourselves to the goodies on the table. I guess you can tell the main attraction on the table right?

Colourful macaroons!

So pretty! There's something mesmerising about macaroons don't you think?? Some people don't understand it though. While I was taking a pretty yellow lemon flavoured macaroon, I overheard two men lurking nearby sniffing and remarking,"Why are those ladies even eating those cookies?They are just biscuits full of colouring. Tsk tsk tsk."

Another special treat for us were the chocolate medallions!!!

Specially customised with La Senza's logo!

Seriously, they are edible!

Chomp!!

Believe me now??Haha!!!

After the refreshments, we were all invited to watch the lingerie fashion show which was launched by the four models which I saw walking around before the event started.

(Picture from LaSenza Malaysia FB Page)

The fashion show was to promote La Senza's new line, the Body Kiss bras, which come in seven colours; blue, turquiose, purple, pink, black, beige and (my personal favourite) orange. I took loads of pictures during the catwalk. Took me some time to filter and upload these pictures. I am not responsible for any nosebleeds okay!! Blame them on the sexy and beautiful lingerie models.

(This beautiful model was my favourite among the rest. I'm biased so you'll se a lot of pictures of her throughout this post!!)

The orange!!My fav!!

There were questionnaires in between the shows but I didn't get picked to answer anything, so no vouchers within grasp for me. Awww...am seriously considering purchasing attention grabbing red wig!!!

Everyone was jostling for space to take photos.

It is times like these I appreciate my height. Hoho!!!

Reason I like her is cause of her fantastic figure and unique features!! Exactly like the La Senza poster girl!!!

These confident and sexy ladies kept the atmosphere at a hype.

Talk about confidence!!!

Look who's strutting her stuff out on the (imaginary) runway!

Told 'cha I am biased.

Fun and flirty.

There were curious men peeping in from outside, some even edging in but were politely shoo-ed out again by the organisers. LOL.

I want the lollipop!!!

That model was wearing the cutest panty prints!

I feel a Spanish vibe coming from her!

See what I mean about the cute panties??

They rounded it off by making me jealous of their legs.

Can I have your cap pretty please??

The lovely La Senza ladies.

Give them a round of applause!!

One last pose!!

Thank you La Senza for treating me to a wonderful tea and also congratulations to the beautiful models of La Senza for embodying and displaying the sexy and fun spirit of La Senza so nicely that day!!

Another picture from the LaSenza Malaysia FB Page.

Disclaimer : This post is written in personal interest and I am not in any way paid or given any benefits for writing this post.

Fast & Furious 5 with P14G @ TGV KLCC

2011-04-29T02:35:00.010+08:00

Two nights in a row, I was part of the night traffic in the heart of KL. The first time I had to use a GPS because I had no idea where the PanGlobal was. If you're wondering what I was doing there, click here to read about the World Bloggers and Social Media Summit 2011 Soft Launch in the Luna Bar.

The second night I decided to be brave and go without a GPS because the venue was in KLCC. The challenge would be to get lost with all the signboards pointing towards KLCC.I got there with no hiccups or random detours!! Was so proud of me!! Snapped this picture while waiting for the traffic light.

The Twin Towers in Twilight. I never realised how mesmerizing the towers be up close.

Louisa, who was in the car with me was laughing and jokingly saying that I'm being tourist-y. But we didn't build this just for tourists to take pictures right?? Anyway I wasn't in KLCC just to test my (still inferior) knowledge of the KL roads. I got the invitation to the premier screening of Fast 5 from G+ organised by P14G and the venue was in TGV KLCC. Louisa was my plus-one since I had two tickets.

I'd thought I was late but I was one of the first at the counter. The person holding the tickets wasn't there yet though, so while I was waiting, a photographer came and told me to pose for a photo for the P1 FB page. Wahhh...I felt so self conscious because I was pretty disheveled. Noone told me we were going to be photographed.

The little slip they gave me after I was photographed.

I don't wanna see myself! So not going to tag, sorry P1!!!

Finally got my tickets after that!!

Louisa and I bought popcorn and drinks to share, not realising that popcorn and drinks were provided inside the theater. =.= Ahhh....never mind, ours was fresh, warm caramel-y popcorn.

There were questionnaires before the movie started. I have no luck with winning those kind of things so my heart didn't twinge so much watching the cameras, speakers and phones being given away as prizes to those who were picked to answer. Perhaps I should invest in a red wig to get more noticed when I lift my hands up for these questionnaire. (despo-mode)

Fast and Furious 5

It was a GREAT movie!! I'd expected to be filled with heavily modified, beautiful cars with expensive engines, purring on scene, with ~~slutty~~ sexy,barely dressed women draped all over them and the owners, flaunting their fantastic assets. Surprisingly, there was only about one scene with the fantastic assets display. Yea yea I know I'm so cynical. Fast 5 totally broke my stereotyping of 'car' movies.

The plot seemed typical, jail convict (Vin Diesel) escapes with help of friends and is hunted down by a special agent (Dwyane Johnson) and while staying on run, he decides to rob a mafia boss to buy his freedom. He can't do it alone, so he recruits a team of highly skilled people who somehow have no qualms about helping a criminal on top of the Wanted list. Oh ya...and cars come into the picture everywhere. However, it was anything but a typical car movie! It was action packed with loads of shooting and explosions and destruction of vehicles and whatever happens to be in the way. The cast did an admirable job potraying their characters. I loved the Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel battle of wills!!! Although I don't understand why Dwayne Johnson was always perspiring and dripping with sweat in almost all his scenes when everyone else looks cool and unruffled.The movie covered practically every emotion known to humanity with liberal sprinklings of humour throughout the movie. It's really interesting how this movie has you rooting for the bad guys. I enjoyed it. It was gripping, exciting, clever and funny all at the same time. Go watch it!! You won't regret it. Take it from me!

Here's the trailer for the movie for those who want it.

World Bloggers and Social Media Summit 2011 Soft Launch @ Luna Bar, Menara PanGlobal

2011-04-28T23:23:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since I attended a bloggers event alone under Nuffnang. So when I got the invite to the soft launch of the World Bloggers and Social Media Summit 2011 under Glitterati+, I thought,"Why not?" and just confirmed my attendance. It was held in the beautiful Luna Bar, Menara PanGlobal.It was my first time driving out to the city on my own and GOD BLESS the inventors of the GPS. I would have never made it there without Aunty's Garmin!! I was about 20 minutes late for the event due to the insane after-work traffic. I arrived in a rush and nearly tripped in my heels rushing up. They had the event displayed on the screens around the hotel:-I checked in with Nuffie Thara and got my wristband at the entrance, and was ushered into the bar area alone. I couldn't spot any other Nuffnangers so I decided to just mingle with whoever made eye contact with me. It worked quite well because it led to me meeting some very interesting people from different companies. And I even bumped into someone I knew. It is indeed a small world! I won't mention names because I'm unsure of their privacy preferences but thank you all for your excellent company that night. You know who you are!

The bar area

Now, about the launch. I guess it is rather a significant media event as there were some local celebrities (i.e. Amber Chia and Deborah Henry) there with plenty of representatives from several organisations. I was at a disadvantaged position from where I stood though and couldn't follow what was going on at the main front. The emcee couldn't even make himself heard above the noise in the bar. I TRIED to get what was going on, but a tall girl in heels standing in my place could only see this:-
After the music died down and the confetti landed on the floor, the emcee initiated a game called where people had to be a walking FaceBook wall and collect 'like' stickers to win. It was quite amusing as they had to wear something like a giant cardboard collar around their neck.
By that time, I'd headed to the lounge area with my new acquaintances where the famous pool is. Yes, a pool in an open area where you can lounge on the comfy sofas and enjoy the beautiful night view of the KL around you. I won't show you any of the night view pictures I took because they don't do the view any justice (it is times like this I think I should get a semi-DSLR!!).

The lounge/pool area..

There was a yummy spread for us. They had a chocolate fondue!!

Oh, by the way, you can see the tips of the KL Twin Towers from the pool area.

It was quite a nice atmosphere to sit and chat with friends. I can imagine a perfect pool party with drinks, good food and lively company. Ahhh...and I should mention that I didn't take any alcoholic beverages even though there was a free flow as I was to drive home. I had some trouble locating my parking space due to my absent-mindedness but managed to find the car after 30 minutes of scurrying up and down in my heels. Now I have blisters the size of 50 and 20 cents on my feet. Aside from that, I had a wonderful night.

Chocolate Eggs??

2011-04-24T22:43:00.007+08:00

Happy Easter everyone!!!

I hope everyone had a good Easter, whether you are celebrate it or not. I was in church just this morning for Easter Service. It was refreshing to be reminded again of the significance of Easter. :) City Harvest didn't have their usual elaborate drama production this year, but the numbers were as many and the church packed to the brim. Wonderful.

For those who don't really understand Easter, its to remember the day that Jesus rose again from the dead. He was crucified, nailed on the cross and left there to die (that was Good Friday), was laid to rest in a tomb but 3 days later, he rose again (Easter). I've been told we (Christians) are sick to celebrate someone's death. To clarify, we're not celebrating death but we're celebrating the REASON Jesus died, where he took the weight of all the sin in the world when he died and gave salvation to the world. And he conquered death in the process. My sins and your sins are forgiven. Salvation can be yours if you would only receive it. I won't get preachy here but I welcome any questions regarding this. :)

The chocolate eggs, Easter bunny and chicks...I consider them an addition to the celebration of Easter. I love chocolate eggs myself, especially toffee filled ones and I got these two sweeties from a friend:-

Hope you all enjoyed the sweetness of Easter too!!!

Piling on the Mamak Calories

2011-04-16T13:22:00.000+08:00

I think I joined the Mamak cult when I first came to KL about 2 years ago. Yes, when meals don't magically appear on the table (lovingly cooked by the awesome cook a.k.a Mum) and you have to budget for all your meals, you stop being fussy and your perception of certain foods change. Where I once equated Mamak with roti canai and tosai, now with the abundance of chain Mamak restaurants like Pelita, Kayu and the infamous Murni here, the roti menu itself sounds like a tour around the world "roti cheese, roti Jepun, roti bomb, roti Hawaii..."

Anyway, I was at Murni Discovery in Aman Suria the other day with my brother and Pui San. I prefer this branch to the SS2 one because it is cleaner and nicely lit (normally I can't see what I'm eating when at the SS2 branch) .

My 'I-Love-You' which is supposed to have Ribena, Sprite, lemon, nata de coco, lychee and watermelon but they missed out the watermelon this time, So sad.

My Claypot lou shi fun

Pui San's Nasi Lemak Murni

It was a MONSTER of a nasi lemak. Has pandan chicken, chicken curry, squid, prawns and petai in addition to the traditional nasi lemak. She was trying to convince me to help her finish it but in the end had to take away half of it because I was too bloated from my own noodles.

Mango Special

One of Murni's must haves!!!

Joshua's Nasi Goreng Chicken Chop

Now tell me, who won't join the mamak cult with such awesome fusion food at affordable prices???

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On a seperate event, I went to Mango Mania in Bangsar for Emily's birthday treat. Had their Mangoo Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Brownies.

Makes me want to venture into the world of ice-cream making.
Anyone up for a apple and martini sorbet??

MILF & Stingy Apple iPod Replacement

2011-04-11T23:11:00.004+08:00

Look what Louisa and I noticed while reading the newspaper the other day:-

Still don't see anything??

Let me zoom in..

I wonder if the writer giggled while typing out the article title. We were certainly tickled by it.

If you have been reading my updates here, you'll remember me lamenting about my poor iPod Touch which I had to put to send for warranty. Well, I have been haunting the Machines in The Gardens at every opportunity to check on the status of my replacement and they finally called and told me my replacement had arrived. Finally!!!

We went to Pastis for lunch. It's been a while since I visited them. I love their pie with mash (click here to see) and their Virgin Mojitos (here and here!!!)

I simply must show a picture of the Test-tube Virgin Mojitos.

It doesn't taste out-of-this-world but its fun to drink it with friends. Hehe.

I didn't order it this time. I don't like their new location in the shop. I prefer it when they were still in the open area in front of Isetan because now the tables are lining the walkway outside and it feels a bit weird sitting there. But moving on to the food.

Fried Chicken Wings for appetisers

Louisa likes chicken wings, so buffalo wings and chicken wing appetisers are the norm with her around. The salad and chilli sauce that came with them were awesome!! I burnt my fingers while eating them though because they were fresh out of the fryer. =.=

Louisa's Pasta Carbonara with Turkey Sausage...

which tasted okay, only the sausages were definitely not turkey. Looked and tasted like regular chicken sausages with cheese.

I ordered the lunch set Breaded Chicken Chop.

It was a whole chicken breast which was quite succulent. Only thing I didn't like was the presentation. The fries were rather soggy and I feel that crinkle-cut fries should NOT be served in casual dining restaurants. Either serve skinny fries, mash potato or real potato wedges. Crinkle-cut tend to get mashed up or broken easily, making the servings look careless. No-no.

One good thing about Pastis is that their salads never fail to impress me. Their vegetables are always fresh and crisp. Salad lovers can always count on them. We decided to forgo dessert because the food left us so bloated. I went to Machines to collect my replacement iPod, which came wrapped in a piece of cling-plastic and a sheet of paper with Apple's terms and conditions taped around it. And they didn't even give me a plastic bag or any form of box with it.

Seriously, this was all they handed me:-

Errr...I'm sorry, but this is APPLE we're talking about here. So stingy in their replacements that the new iPod can't even come in a proper box?? I mean, it was THEIR product which died on me in like less than 6 months after purchase, and I kind of expected a gesture of goodwill from them to at least give me a whole new iPod box complete with earphones and the such. And they didn't even replace my screen protector. Bravo Apple. Now I know how much you value your customers.

Anyway, Louisa was laughing at my incredulous reaction towards my replacement iPod. I've been trying to convince her to get an iPod but she has been resistant. She put an end to my coaxing by getting herself a new Sony Walkman MP3 Player.

Point proven. LOL!!!

Lunch with Louisa @ El Meson, Bangsar

2011-04-07T22:10:00.012+08:00

At Louisa's recommendation, I decided to give the lunch set at El Meson along Jalan Telawi 3 facing Bangsar Village 2. I'm guilty of always being in the vicinity of the mall rather than exploring the rows of interesting dining places that line the streets just outside.

El Meson is a Spanish-themed restaurant with a moderate crowd on most days. The lunch sets come in 2 courses or 3 courses, with the customary appetiser, main course and dessert. The course one does not include dessert. Louisa and I decided to take one 2 course set and one 3 course set to share the dessert. The waitress was young a Filipino girl who didn't speak English well, and she gave us weird answers when we asked her about the items on the menu. Like when we asked, "What is the Soup of the Day??" and she kept saying,"Nicoise Salad with Chicken or Pate on Toast.". In the end, we had to ask her to call another waiter who took our orders. The girl was good-natured though and laughed along with us at her mistake.

I chose the Nicoise Salad with Chicken for my appetiser.

and Louisa had the Soup of the Day which was Broccoli Cream

My salad dressing was a pretty nice combination of olive oil and herbs. The chicken was a bit dry but otherwise was marinated well and flavourful. I didn't fancy the Broccoli Cream because it was weird to me but Louisa liked it.

We both had the Pork Tenderloin with Gravy and Mash Potatoes.

The meat was slightly more done than I would have liked it but I enjoyed it otherwise. The gravy was smooth and creamy. I loved it. I couldn't place the ingredients though. We were so full when the waitress took away the plates that we were half-inclined to forgo dessert. Louisa had recommended El Meson's infamous Molten Chocolate Cake which I had placed the order in earlier. A waiter came up and told us that the Molten Chocolate Cakes were 'not fresh today' (?) and offered us anything else from the menu. In the end I just decided to go all the way and settle for a Chocolate Cake.

I didn't regret my choice. The texture was buttery smooth and so chocolate-y we were smiling with the sugar high after-effect. Haha. Not bad for a total of RM54.50. I shall come back one day just to sink my teeth into the Molten Chocolate Cake!! Who's with me??

This is WEIRD!!!

2011-04-06T10:50:00.006+08:00

I've always been told that our city lights cause us to be unable to see the night sky and stars because the lights reflect on the clouds in the sky. Well, I do still look at the night sky. I realised something though. Have you ever noticed that the lights from the KLCC towers make weird reflections in the sky??? No kidding!! My camera couldn't capture it (not-so-pro compact camera ma) so I tried and search to see if anyone else noticed the reflection in the sky. And I found a pretty clear picture in this website here.

Clear pattern!!! I wonder if it was intentional or it meant something????

I also noticed something familiar about it and then I realised that it has been on TV recently:-

Anyone care to explain??

Disclaimer : This is a sponsored post.

Moleskine Launch @ Borders The Gardens MidValley

2011-04-01T21:05:00.001+08:00

During one of Aunty's last minute shopping trips to The Gardens, we spotted a sign in Borders announcing a launch party for Moleskine's new line of organisers. What caught my eye was that the itinerary said that Man Bai was to perform. Aunty, who is a huge Moleskine fan asked me to inquire about it. So I stopped a random passing guy (whom we later found out was the brand representative) who told us pleasantly that we were welcome to take part in the launch if we wanted to. So that is how we 'gatecrashed' the launch party.

The people who contributed to the new line.

We bumped into Azlan Iskandar!!! Aunty just had to have a picture with him.

There were speeches and photo opportunities for the media. We were served wine and hors d'œuvre-s. It was a small party which was at the launch. Then came the moment I had been waiting for.

Man Bai!!!

He sang 'Kau Ilhamku' for the audience. It's one of my favourite Malay songs!!!

Once we had enough of the event, we headed back where Aunty showed me her entire collection of Moleskine-s. It was indeed an impressive sight to behold:-

I love organisers but have not developed the habit of utilising them fully. Baby steps...one day I shall put a beautiful Moleskine to my use.

Before I end this post, random food pictures for my readers:-

I finally redeemed my free Half Onion Loaf from Tony Roma's

And some good Chinese stir-fry to round this off:-

A yummy sight to induce growling tummies yes??? Now lets all just go raid the fridge and get a snack.... =P

Oriental Treats and English Tea

2011-03-30T19:16:00.000+08:00

The weather has been insanely HOT the past few days. It's so hot that I'm gonna die!!!! Ahem..alright, maybe a little exaggerated but thank goodness its starting to be less hot and the opposite extreme is happening. Rain rain rain!!!

I have been pretty busy recently. Been in The Gardens quite frequently without planning to. And did I mention that my poor iPod Touch has been sent for warranty. My poor baby...one part of the touch screen is no longer sensitive and the WiFi receptor doesn't seem to be working. And it's barely 6 months old!!! The customer service guy told me chances are I would be getting a totally new unit for replacement because Apple doesn't normally do service and repair. Fingers crossed I'll get my iPod back fast!!!I miss it!!!

Anyway, let me put up random food pictures as is customary. I had Dragon-i's famous 'Xiao Long Bao' with Aunty when I accompanied her on one of her last minute travel prep shopping trips. Haven't had these yummy dumplings in a while. The skin was a little too thick that day but it still tasted so good fresh from the steaming:-

Xiao Long Bao

My dragon-fruit juice

On different day, Yoong and I met up for lunch in Sakae Sushi because she was craving Kakiage. Recently a lot of people have been hysterical over Japanese food and warning me about radiation poisoning. Sigh...honestly, there's nothing to be afraid of if you all will just read the news. I'm feeling alright and am still alive and blogging here, so don't worry.

My favourite salmon sashimi

Yoong's kakiage!!!

Totally random picture next.We saw this bird shit covered car on the way to the KTM station.

Okay okay...sorry for ruining your drooling-ness over my food pictures. I have more food pictures from tea at San Terri's in Bangsar Village. Another separate occasion (this is what happens with blogging inconsistently.I pool all the pictures into one post).

My Black Sesame Mousse

My first time trying this and it was actually quite nice!!

Michelle's Oreo Cheese

Aunty's Green Tea

Okay. One draft down...more to go!!So stay with me!!!

McDonald's Breakfasts Overload

2011-03-27T21:08:00.001+08:00

For the past two weeks, the staff of McDonald's Malaysia working the morning shifts have had to cope with unusually huge breakfast crowds. Long lines in front of every cashier (until spilling out of the shop in some cases) and the kitchen a bustle trying to keep up with the breakfast orders. Why the sudden enthusiasm for McDonald's breakfast you ask??? For those who are still in the dark, McDonald's have been giving away free Big Breakfast-s as appreciation for being voted a favourite brand and winning the Gold Putra Brand Award for the second consecutive year.
That is the poster I took from the official McDonald's Malaysia FB Page. You can actually click to view the full size, save and print it out to redeem you Big Breakfast with a minimum purchase of RM5 before tax. They accept the printed coupons; don't worry I'm not tricking you. The coupons are valid only until 31st March 2011 though so hurry hurry if you want your share of McDonald's breakfast!!!

I was part of the mad breakfast crowd 4 times, the first 3 times was three days in a row. Ikidyounot. It was unintentional because I told friends and family about it and ended up being included in those breakfast excursions. It seems like the crowds get madder as time passes and more and more people are aware of it. This was the crowd at Bangsar the other day:-

I didn't take pictures of the rest of the people lining up OUTSIDE the shop!!!

Anyway, these were our Big Breakfast-s courtesy of McDonald's Malaysia which I finally took pictures of. Total cost of RM15++ for the four of us.Thank you McDonald's!! I'm pretty sure you brought a lot of families together with this offer.
Salutes to the McDonald's staff who were kept on their toes trying to cope with the crowds. They must be longing for the month to end so that things will be 'normal' again and they only have to cope with mad lunch crowds.

-----------------------------------

Before I end this post, just let me spam more food pictures (isn't this what I do best here and you love from me???). I was at Betty's with Aunty and Michelle for lunch. Been quite some time since I was here and their food is still excellently sinful!!! We shared the Soft Ribs which are Aunty's special favourite:-

Yummy yummy!!!
So while you drool over the pictures, I shall go and research detox and slimming plans.
Wish me luck..

Sweet Stuff+ Earth Hour with Starbucks!!!

2011-03-26T19:03:00.009+08:00

So here's the cheesecake which I mentioned in my previous post :-

If you're wondering what flavour it is..here's a 'small hint'. (LOL)

Haven't tasted it yet because it was for Aunty to bring to a dinner with her friends. The feedback was positive although they said that rhey can take it more SOUR?? Fuh!! Well,it went there whole and came back halved. Anyway, I think I've had a sugar overload for today. I was at The Gardens for lunch with Aunty and the girls. We had Pineapple Fried Rice and I shared a super spicy Tom Yam Gai with Aunty. Cooled down with Guai Lin Gou from Koong Woh Toong after that:-

That's good stuff up there!!!Bittersweet!

Next, I seconded Emily's campaign for Krispy Kreme and we got a dozen Original Glaze doughnuts. It's been a long time since I had a Krispy Kreme. WHY did the Sunway Pyramid branch close down??!!! The tiny little kiosk near the cinema doesn't count okay!!

Krispy Kreme-s!!!

Dinner was at Subway and after that, Michelle drove us all to Damansara to join their SS's family for Earth Hour. While we were passing BV though, we had the misfortune to encounter a very very STUPID driver. He came flying out of the parking lot at top speed and blocked the road. And then, without any signal started reversing at top speed. Michelle honked at him because she was afraid that he'd reverse into her. And the scrawny, cheap-dyed hair fellow at the wheel turned around and showed his ~~cheap-ringed~~ middle finger at her. Wow...VERY CLASSY NO??? Tsk tsk...what would your mum say to that, Mr Free Finger?? Well I don't know what his mum would say but I have one word:-

Putting the episode aside, we reached Damansara in good time and went to the Centrepoint Starbucks to redeem our free Frappes with our Starbucks tumblers.I saw the poster on Facebook so I thought there'd be a lot of people; but we were the first in line and the very friendly staff there set to work right away, whipping up our drinks. So here's what we redeemed:-

Green Tea Frappes
and Chocolate Cream Chip Frappes....

AND Vanilla Cream Frappes!!

I know, I know. You're thinking, "My goodness..that's a lot of tumblers!!!" We were holding up the line and a lot of people were staring. I think the guy at the counter is going to remember me as the 'Girl with a Bag Full of Tumblers'. But we had the equal amount of people to enjoy the drinks. So I'd like to thank Starbucks for sponsoring us a very delicious Earth Hour. My Green Tea Frappe was perfect and your staff at Centrepoint are a pleasant bunch. Give them a raise!! LOL. Cheers!!

Appetising and Unappetising

2011-03-26T00:44:00.003+08:00

Just as I posted about how the weather was cold, it decided to prove me wrong and turned BURNING HOT for the past two days. My goodness. Now I know what a melting ice-cube feels like. I really don't like perspiring and being sticky all over. Ugh. Okay, lets move from this sweaty topic. Thinking about it is making me feel like reaching for my antiperspirant.

Let me show you the chocolate cake I baked the other day. My celebratory cake for Michelle's results. Unfortunately the cake wasn't very celebratory because it didn't rise properly and I wasn't pleased with the texture. But at least it was edible and still tasted good. Nice and chocolatey..only I'm (being the baking monster) not very happy with the texture.

Chocolate cake!!!

I made a lemon cheesecake at Aunty's request earlier today. It's happily chilling in the fridge and I'll get a picture of it tomorrow. Hehe...dessert making is a joy when there are people to eat your desserts!! Joy!!

On a different topic altogether now, I went back to my room before cell group and I nearly fell down when I walked to the front grill. I stepped on something and my foot slid under me. And when I look down, this was what I saw:-

Lets take a closer look:

Empty crab shells. What the HELL??? Someone in the house obviously didn't manage their trash properly. Strewn all over the front door like that. It looked so terrible and the smell coming from it was awful too!!! Gosh..I'm disliking my house more and more. Don't get me started on what the kitchen is like.

Anyway, this week's cell group was a short session but Faith surprised us all with a quiz!! OMG. It was a short quiz testing how well we knew our CG, our church and the Bible. I didn't score well on the church part but thankfully got full marks in the Bible knowledge section. . I think the question I liked the most was : "Who was the first person murdered in the Bible??" Haha!! Was a fun marking each others answers. I decided to join in felowship and went to Jalan 222 for a very late dinner before heading back to Bangsar.

Hokkien Mee

Full of lardy goodness...
I felt full after eating half of it but in the end I finished it. Fat-ness!!!

Icy

2011-03-23T22:51:00.009+08:00

The past few mornings have been rather chilly. Brrr...but I like it.
Better cold than hot, I always say. Anyway, today was the 2010 SPM Results Day and Aunty asked me first thing in the morning whether I'd like to follow her to meet Michelle as she went to collect her results slip. I decided against it in case my presence there would contribute to more 'pressure'. Anyway, let me post up my congrats again to Michelle for her excellent results. You did good girl!!

I went to Louisa's place to hang out a while before going to college. She had her air-con on full blast as usual despite the cool weather. I think have permanent goosebumps from her air-con. Afnan was there as well and the three of us had a few rounds of Scrabble with her new Travel Scrabble set. Woohoo!! I LOVE Scrabble!! I used to play it like crazy and I find it pretty addictive.

Picture from Round 3

After Scrabble I went to college and dropped by the library to search some stuff. It was FREEZING there and I got my stuff done quickly before running to the Computer Lab for my slide-show course class. Yea, I'm attending computer classes where I'm supposed to learn how to use Microsoft PowerPoint. The stuff that has been taught so far were just refreshers for me since my Mum taught me how to use PowerPoint way back when I was just a kid. Today's class was unfortunately super boring because we weren't given any mini projects to work on and test our skills. I was so bored and the cold didn't help. Thank goodness he ended early!!!

I headed back to Bangsar and went to Starbucks as a celebration of sorts for Michelle's results. We saw a group of rowdy guys fighting outside the BV Entrance. Goodness. Luckily they had stopped when we ordered our drinks and snacks. I shared a Green Tea Frappe with Aunty which was a bit chunky but still nice.

Banana Chocolate Muffin

Marble Cheesecake

Oh yea, we spotted a giant mushroom on the curb. It's the type of mushroom that pop out of the ground when it rains. This one is a tough survivor and has grown to about the size of my palm!!!

Looks like a mini umbrella growing out of the grass!!

Michelle poked it lightly with dried grass and I went,"Nooo...". Haha!! I wonder what I looked like, squatting by the curb wit my camera at night. Well, I'm afraid it won't be there anymore tomorrow morning. Good luck Giant Mroomy. You're a tough one.

Family Buffet @ 88 BBQ Steamboat Buffet Restaurant!!

2011-03-21T20:43:00.013+08:00

I miss school holidays. Not because holidays are rare to me ever since I plunged myself into ACCA; but because at that time, the holidays fell on the same dates (parents would take leave according to our holidays) and we could plan holidays and family outings together easier back then. Oh I miss those days...these days, with most of us 'children' all grown up and in college, our holidays are scattered around the calender.

This time round, my parents came down to Klang for the weekend and we marked the end of the school holidays (which we had no part of) with a family steamboat buffet. We went to 88 BBQ Steamboat Buffet Restaurant located in the Bukit Tinggi area. Their concept is similiar to the 2+1 Steamboat in Ipoh. The price is similiar too. RM23.80nett for adults, RM18.80nett for students and RM8.80nett for children if my memory serves me right. A tip though : don't sit inside the restaurant. I'll tell you why later on.

Anyway, we wasted no time in getting our dinner. Yoong and I were snapping pictures like mad. So some of the pictures are from her btw. The mission for the night was to fill this up with FOOD!!!:-I like how they wrapped up the hotplate with foil. Much more hygienic than the one in 2+1. Also they had a genius way of allocating the butter which is used for the hot plate. They wrap it up in plastics and all you have to do is poke a hole in it and squeeze:-

No waste and no mess!!!

As usual, sizzling BEEF and MUTTON!!!

The plates of food we took for the hotpot:

They actually had an aquarium with live prawns swimming about. Benjamin made it his special mission to bring jumping prawns back to our table for sacrifice into the hotpot:-
He's got a knack of catching those swimming creatures!! Yoong and I asked him to stop after a few because it was kinda morbid to watch your food being boiled alive. T.T

Pot full of goodies!!

I was too busy eating and only snapped a few pictures of the soupy stuff:

Oh remember I was going to tell you why not to sit inside the shop?? Well it's because every table has their own barbeque stands. The smoke rising from this things were extreme:-

Love the grilled seafood!!!!

And we took a load of skewered prawns for grilling too. Not the live ones caught from the aquarium but ready skewered. It was like a prawn fest. We took so much and were so afraid that we couldn't finish but all of it disappeared so fast!!!

Can you hear the sizzle??

The end product!!!

My fav picture of the night thanks to Yoong:

Posing only. I didn't eat all those....I think.

We had a good time and enjoyed the process of boiling, barbeque-ing and frying our food. I had awesome pistachio ice-cream for dessert after all the hot stuff plus there were free flow of drinks included in the buffet. However, we left on a slightly sour note when one of the cashiers tried to overcharge my aunty by insisting my cousin pay student price even though he was under 12 years old. So silly. So though we enjoyed it, don't think I'll be coming back to this place anytime soon. Hope you enjoyed the food pictures. ;)

Blueberry Cheesecake

2011-03-17T20:33:00.002+08:00

Jessica's cheesecake obsession is still on the high. Since I wasn't successful in persuading her to bake a cake that would require the oven, I did manage to inject some variety into the cheesecake. So instead of Oreos, we had blueberry cheesecake!!! Pictures!!

*Applause*

Jessica, you're a good tou dai (apprentice). I pass you with flying colours and a star. HAHA!!! Now lets work on finding an eclair recipe that actually works. :P

Only For Those Who Care

2011-03-17T14:43:00.000+08:00

Have you ever had to be alone in a place that you disliked??
You don't know why or what is wrong with the place but somehow, you don't like being there. You try to make yourself stay there, telling yourself "Maybe it's just me". You try and you try, but it just consumes you. The four walls seem to be closing in. No matter how you try to make yourself comfortable, distract yourself, go out and tire yourself; something just eats away at you. No matter how tired out you may be, you can't sleep in that room. If you manage to fall asleep, you wake up in the middle of the night in a panic. And hopelessness just seems to descend and suffocate you. The night seems to stretch on as you try to sleep again. You pray and weep, and somehow manage to sleep again. But you wake up with that same feeling in your heart. You try to be positive and start a new day afresh, try to fight and do work to get through the day. But by the night; again, there you are. Unable to sleep, weeping and praying. What do you do??

I ran.
The place that I'm referring is my rented room. I've been staying there since the beginning of this year. Ever since Ben left, I'd been having real trouble dealing with being in my room. I know I've been complaining in FB about some issues with the landlord but that's only part of the story. At first, I had thought it was just my emotional side that's causing all the horrid feeling I had while in my room. Because I got another emotional blow with results following his departure. So I kept running away from it after failing to adept there by forcing myself to stay in. I literally ran from my room.To friends' places, to family even going home to Ipoh to recuperate. And each time I will feel better and then be determined to overcome my fear issues being in the room. But each time, I just crumble back to the same state after spending just a few hours in the room.

How did I stay in the room for 2 months and not have any problems and then suddenly I feel so bad I have to literally run from it? I think it was because I hardly ever spent time in that room whilst Ben was still here (most of the time with him and his family) and suddenly, having to spend majority of my time in it, the reality of the place just hit me. And of course the series of unfortunate and unpleasant events with the landlord and my stuff being stolen. I just don't like the place now. And it doesn't seem to like me either.

'Move' you say?? Yea, I have given notice but I'll not be moving out until April. So I still have to deal with this. It might not seem like such a big deal but unless it's a real challenge for me. To not even be comfortable in your own room is like losing your sense of peace. Not being comfortable not only in body but in mind. I've never experienced anything like this before and I just can't fight it anymore. Weeks of trying to adept, fight, ignore, change...it just left mentally and emotionally drained. I can't afford that. I have work to do. My OBU Project is important and my revision. It doesn't work trying to study in there to distract myself. Everything doesn't work.

Those who know me, you'll know I've always been a fighter. This time, I'm not winning this. Whether it's the room or me, I'm just tired. For now, it's a waiting game for the day I move out. I'm spending as little time possible there to avoid the negativity. It is through these times I realise how blessed I am. With support pouring in. Friends, who unquestioningly comfort me. Family, who always accept me with open arms. A very loving and supportive boyfriend, even from afar. Especially Ben's family, who have been the epitome of hospitality and kindness to me; taking me in and helping me gain back my peace. I can do my work again. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

1 ♥

2011-03-15T20:25:00.004+08:00

It's been a year since you and I became 'us'.

Happy Anniversary, my dearest Ben.
I love you...

And thank you for the present. ♥
:)

Art Revisited

2011-03-12T20:12:00.000+08:00

All too soon, I am back in KL!! And this time there was no train drama.
The weather has been quite rainy and cool here. A bonus during the nights. I went to CG yesterday and it was good to see the lovely people of W31 after quite some time.

Anyway, I got in touch with my inner artist today thanks to Emily. Gosh, one of the few things I miss about school was my position as the Interior Decoration Committee Head during my Librarian days. Where Buncho paints, art blocks and nylon paintbrushes could make my day; and I was allowed to go crazy and decorate notice boards the size of entire walls to my liking. Those were the days...where most of my the juniors under my committee probably cursed me for my over-enthusiasm in the decoration. No apologies there.

Reminiscence over.
Let me show you what Emily and I came up with!!!

Masterpiece No 1

This was a reject when the blue part didn't turn out. So I went a little morbid on it with the grey paint. HAHA!! I totally enjoyed the randomness off just adding stuff here and there like the drowning fellow clutching the float and the lightning.

Actually, the effect we WERE going for was this:-

Masterpiece No 2

Now isn't that much better??? This is something which I did for my art assignments years ago and I love this technique because it's simple yet produces nice effects. Was fun to show it to her. So yup, we're satisfied with today's art project.

Ticket Drama

2011-03-09T23:41:00.002+08:00

I am currently blogging from Ipoh.
Yes, I am back but unfortunately it's only family time this trip back. I will be heading back on Friday because I got a call from Sunway, right after buying my ticket back to Ipoh, that I'm expected to show up for computer and presentation classes. Else I'd have stayed longer to keep my Mummy company at home.

Speaking of my train tickets, there was a little drama involved there. Aunty sent me to the station on Sunday to get my tickets. I'd wanted to go back on Monday (7/3/11) evening since I was meeting my lecturer in the morning but the girl at the cashier told me there were only morning tickets left. So I asked for Tuesday (8/3/11) tickets. I bought the 9:45 a.m. Tuesday morning tickets.

On Tuesday morning; when I was all packed and ready to roll, I decided to take a look at my train ticket before going to the station. And something just seemed wrong with the ticket. So I scanned everything carefully....and then HORRORS!!! I saw that the date on the ticket was 7/3/11 !!! That was a definite OMG moment. I hadto ask Aunty to take help me look at the ticket to confirm what I was seeing was correct. Arrggghh...it was so embarrassing!!!

I had to call Mum and Dad to tell them what happened. Mum took it quite well (because my brother Joshua has done this before) but Dad wasn't pleased with me. Sadness..I felt pretty bad too. Probably there was some mis-communication with the ticket counter but I really SHOULD have checked the ticket right after buying it. I guess I have taken KTM too many times until I become lax about all these little details. Valuable lesson : ALWAYS CHECK YOUR TICKET CAREFULLY RIGHT AFTER PURCHASE!!!

Anyway, my story had a happy ending. Aunty took me out to breakfast with Michelle and a client of hers before sending me to KL Central to see if I could get last minute tickets; which I did. An economy class 11:45 a.m. ticket. So here I am!! Honestly, I'm a pretty blessed girl with a lot of people in my life who look out and care for me. Thank you, my angels.

For a pretty restless being, I'm now enjoying the quietness of Ipoh for once. To those who have been in the know, it's been a pretty rough month for me. Mentally and physically taxing; so I appreciate for the first time in a long time these three words : Home sweet home. And on a footnote, I have also discovered that I also have more than one home to go to in times of trouble and discomfort. Like I said, I am blessed.

I must always remember to appreciate this and never take what I have for granted.

Emerging

2011-02-28T23:49:00.002+08:00

An update to bring my blog to the present.
Here's what you missed while I was neglecting my blog:-

I'm doing my OBU with Sunway KL, so YES I am still in Subang.
I moved out of the hostel. Good riddance.
CNY was pretty quiet and I didn't do any shopping for clothes this year.
After CNY, was busy rush shopping with Ben for his stuff to bring to Aussie.
Ben has gone to Aussie to further his studies and I'm missing him like crazy.
RESULTS came out and I failed my papers.
I am trying to figure out my life.
I went to help out with my Yee's kids over the weekend and I'm exhausted.
I switched to TuneTalk but I'm still using the same number. Sorry DiGi. But I still have my DiGi Campus number.

That's about as much information I can give in bullet points.
Since it's going to be a new month tomorrow, I'm going to start afresh and try to be as productive as possible which includes updating my blog more regularly.

Goodnight people.
Pray for me.

FOOD FOOD FOOD in Bangkok Malls!!

2011-01-20T22:15:00.000+08:00

Bangkok has absolutely fabulous malls!!!
Although KL does have nice malls, I think the malls in Bangkok can give ours a run for the money. HUGE malls. I adore walking in nice malls; not only to shop (note: student allowance) but to enjoy the beautiful sights in there. It somewhat therapeutic for me to walk past nice displays of nice clothes, bags, etc..

Well, one nice thing about the malls there are the food courts. Food there are reasonably priced and satisfyingly good. I also tried the various snacks around the mall which I don't see in Malaysia. So food picture parade coming on:-

First mall I stepped food into was Central World. I liked the interior and the general atmosphere of the mall. If I had to compare it to a Malaysian mall, I'd say it's kind of like The Gardens but bigger and nicer. LOL. We ate at the food court where I had the best Slushie I ever had:-

Coke Slushie

It's made from actual Coke and that tall glass was only RM2 if I remember correctly. It was a promotion and we liked it so much that we ordered more. It really was like nicely frozen Coke. Ben and I got very excited and our heads were swiveling left and right looking at all the food shops in Central World. I swear, everywhere we looked; we saw something that we wanted to try!!! And try we did!!

Spiral Potatoes

It's a whole potato which they cut nicely into one whole long spiral and you eat it from the stick.

They come in flavours and you can choose your flavour upon ordering

Me with our Sour Cream and Onion Potato!!!

It actually just tastes like potato chips. It's the novelty of eating a potato that way which made us buy it. Pretty ingenious way of making money yes?? I mean, I paid RM5 for that!! Can almost buy a can of Pringles!!

Ice Monster

Apparently this will be making its appearance in Malaysia soon. I wasn't much impressed with it because it's just shaved ice with syrup and toppings. I would rather pay for a sundae. But I guess some people would like the toppings.

Green Tea Ice Cream

I chose the flavour and it wasn't as great as I expected.

We also tried the Coffee Beans of Thailand. Not the franchise Coffee Bean but Coffee Beans by Dao. Apparently Thai people would go to Coffee Beans over Coffee Bean any day.
I must say they did have quite a nice variety of drinks and cakes to offer. A nice change from what we're used to at home. That's what I love about travelling, you get to try new stuff!!!

My After Eight Chocolate Drink

Aunty's

Came with caramel instead of sugar to pour into the coffee.

Emily's

Ben's

Jessica's Oreo Cheesecake

The drinks in Coffee Beans were between 90 to 100baht (about RM10) but the cakes were slightly pricey for me, going up to 120baht (about RM12).

Siam Paragon was another nice mall which I was impressed with albeit it being a very very high end mall (think Starhill Gallery but bigger!!) and I didn't get to do any shopping there.

Strawberry Drink from a random cafe:

Ooh ooh ooh...I MUST absolutely show you all what I had from the McDonald's there!!

Pineapple Pie!!

Aaaaaaaannddddd......

PORK BURGER!!!!

It was so yummy!!!!

And they had McCafe there and we had their drinks.

I didn't get to do as much shopping as I thought I would. But I did pick up a lot of t-shirts and trinkets in Platinum; another mall which we went to which is kind of like Sungei Wang. I honestly think that Malaysian blogshop owners and those little stalls that sell t-shirts get their stock from there because I seriously saw a lot of things there which are sold in Malaysia for almost double the price. I also got Giordano jeans from Central World at a steal. Aside from that, I didn't get my shopping high. We did pretty good though. This is all our shopping combined together:-

Can open shop yes??
(90% of this is Jessica's!!!)

I wish we could have all the malls in Bangkok in Malaysia too. Ahhh!!! Envious of the variety they have there!!! I must faster save/earn lots of $$$$ then go places to shop!! ONE DAY!!! Certified shopaholic I am.

Before I end this post, let me show you the picture of the ONLY tom yam and pineapple fried rice I had in Thailand that trip:-
Yes I'm serious. It's kinda hard to find tom yam and pineapple fried rice in Bangkok and those two up there were from the Siam Paragon's food court; an they costed a bomb. Wasn't very nice either. Beef noodles and kuay chap are more commonly found in Bangkok. I guess Haadyai is the place to get the fiery authentic Thai tom yam. I remember that from my previous trips there. Somebody please bring me there!!!

The Temples in Bangkok

2011-01-16T00:50:00.000+08:00

More pictures from Bangkok. Yes, I am making sloooow progress in my updates. Pray my blogging spirit will return to me in full force. For now, it's small spurts at a time.

While I was there with Ben and his family, we spent a large part of a day visiting temples. Buddhism being the national religion of Thailand, there are many temples there which are part of the tourists attractions. The temples are amazingly well maintained and it was interesting for me to look around in the temples. I'm not a Buddhist; so it was interesting to see the inside of the temples.

Bangkok traffic is absolutely crazy! I'm serious; the traffic there will make the peak hour traffic in KL look tame. But putting that aside, I think the taxi service there is excellent. They use Toyota cars as taxis (and our taxis are...??) and the fare rate is very reasonable. And their taxi meters are NOT tampered with. Me = totally taking a pun on our taxi drivers!!!
We took taxis to the first temple and then the 'tuk-tuk'-s next.

First stop : Wat Pho Temple.
Beautiful structure and nice greenery in the grounds.

Inside the temple:

The temple's focus point : Reclining Buddha

There were a lot of clinking sounds when we went in and we wondered where it came from. The sounds were from the coins people were dropping into the little pots lining the length of the temple. You pay the counter for a handful of coins, and you drop one coin into each pot. If you have exactly the amount of coins to fill each pot with one, luck will come to you.

The other temples we visited were beautifully decorated as well. Honestly, I'm impressed at the amount they spend on the maintenance and beautifying of their temples.

I guess every government would allocate generously for the places of worship of the nation's main religion. Makes me really want to go to Rome and see the cathedrals there.
Still more pictures from Bangkok uploading as I'm finishing this off. More updates on the way. Don't give up on me!!!

My Bangkok Trip : Jatujak Through My Lenses

2011-01-13T21:51:00.002+08:00

Thank you, thank you for not yet giving up on the person well on the way to abandoning this blog. Been too busy and lazy to blog. But I have the mood (and internet connection) to blog. So let me tell you about my recent trip to Bangkok.

I was in Bangkok from the 18th to the 23rd of December. That was my first time going out of Malaysia in years. I actually had to make a new passport for this trip. I went there with Ben's family. It was a kind of last minute trip since Aunty asked me during my exam whether I'd like to join them; so with my parents' approval, the plane tickets were bought and before I knew it, I was on the plane to Bangkok.

We stayed at the Asia Hotel which was quite nice and convenient since it had a stop near the Bangkok Train Line. I shared a room with the girls.

The hotel beds

We had breakfast at the hotel. It was buffet style at this was what I had every morning while I was there. It was okay but got rather tired of it after the second day.

On the first day, we all woke up very early and went to the Jatujak Market, which is the World's Largest Weekend Market. Seriously, it was HUGE. It is practically a whole village divided into cubicles and cubicles selling all sorts of things. We travelled using the Train I mentioned earlier. It's something like he Malaysian LRT but much much cleaner and more efficient. The whole time I was there, we never had to wait more than 5 minutes for the train to arrive.

Waiting for the train

The parking space near Jatujak

We walked and walked and walked till my legs were quite sore. And we didn't even cover a quarter of the Jatujak. It was full of interesting sights and sounds and smells. I saw more things than my camera could capture; in fact I was very busy trying to see everything that I didn't pause much to snap pictures. But I did take some pictures. Let me show them:-

The rows and rows of stalls with the crowds

Ben and I bought a lot of drinks along the way because walking under the sun (even though not hot because it was windy) was thirsty work. All of us had a Thai coconut each:-

Then we found this interesting coffee place where we had a very nice iced mocha:

Their customers leave them stickies with messages on them!!

One of the funny messages stuck there:-

We had beef noodles for lunch that day. The stall where we ate was a tiny little space where both sides are lined with single stools facing a plank table. I liked how they decorated the place though. See:-

The just strung up some photos on the wall. Pretty.

I noticed that most food stalls in Bangkok have these side bowls with sugar, chilli flakes and chilli for you to add to your food according to taste:

My yummy beef noodles!!

Jatujak is actually divided into several sections according to the things they sell. We didn't get to see most of it but I could definitely see a distinction between the sections as we walked along. See here is the plants section where all sorts of things for your garden can be found.

These are fruit trees with labels of what fruit the trees will bear:

And quite a lot of this cute decorative plants being sold everywhere:

Cute yes??

The food and beverages stalls were everywhere though. Very convenient and we just couldn't resist picking up refreshments along the way.

Ben and my Bubble Milk Tea

Wasn't very nice but served its cooling purpose

One of the funniest snack stalls which I saw. I was giggling while looking at their offerings:

Chocolate coated bananas!!

If you click to see the full size I think you'll raise your eyebrows too. Hehe.

Jessica found an iced dessert section and went totally wild:

There was one area where a lot of ang moh-s were sitting around and drinking. And yea, it was like before 10 a.m. at that time. The atmosphere there was nice though.

The art section in Jatujak was interesting too. I absolutely love carvings and the some of the ones on display there were so intricately done and just exquisite. I wish I had such talent!!!

But ultimately, it was the foods that caught my eye the most. Haha!! It is a market after all. And food is one common factor shared by all mankind. Don't you just love seeing how different are the things other people eat??

This was some kind of fruit and they painstakingly put them on tiny little plates to sell:

MEAT!!!!

That was their version of char siew.

And see this:-

They actually fried the quail eggs one by one and put them on fried rice like that! I was tempted to try but it looked like it had been sitting there quite long so I didn't.

I did see a lot more than the pictures I took. How I wish I can somehow printscreen the pictures of the things I saw from my mind to show you all!! Don't worry though, those aren;t the only pictures I took. More are uploading as I end this; so stay with me!!!!

2010-12-30T21:36:00.002+08:00

Yes, it's criminal I know to have abandoned my blog so long.
Truly not my intention but I hope all you dear readers will forgive me as I had a tough exam sitting plus I've been away for holidays and have been busy with family and friends since I got back.

I have a lot of pictures from before exam to my Bangkok trip til now to update about. I'll update asap so scroll down to keep an eye open for my posts alright.

I just moved from the hostel to a new room (what a relief!!) and have no established internet connection yet. Fingers crossed that this will be solved soon so that my blog revival can be done quickly!!!

Stay with me!!!

Lunch at Frames Cafe, Sunway Pyramid

2010-12-01T23:29:00.001+08:00

Another one of my posts which have been sitting in my drafts patiently waiting to be published. I have a few posts where I upload the pictures but didn't get around to putting words into it. Since the pictures are already uploaded (and the food in them look SO NICE) I just don't have the heart to just skid over it in my updates.

This was weeks ago. Aunty and the girls came over to pick me up with Ben and we had lunch at Frames Cafe in Sunway Pyramid before heading back to Bangsar. I remember that on of the Battleground finals or semi finals was being held there on that day. We had a pretty awesome lunch that day and I took some nice food photos. Looking at the photos are making me smile remembering the satisfaction and enjoyment.

Ben's Mixed Grill Platter

consisting of prawns, beef, chicken and naan pieces:

My burger

It was a total MONSTER of a burger but very very delicious as the patty was hand-made and so thick and juicy!!! I can still remember that first heavenly bite. Mmmm...

Aunty's Thai Style Fried Noodles

We all shared dessert after finishing our main courses. I say this again : I ADORE Frame's desserts! They are so pretty to look at and they taste absolutely sinful. I kid you not. Scroll down and look:-

This was sorbet. It was served in a hollowed orange.

On a pedestal like structure:-

Cool yes? It was GOOD.

And we had their CHOCOLATE CAKE

Everyone had their forks ready to spear when I was snapping this and it was gone within a minute. Literally disappeared. I still remember the smooth, sinful taste of chocolate from that cake. Oooh....I wish I had some now.

No wonder I piled on the pounds. . . . .

Dessert Parade

2010-11-21T00:10:00.002+08:00

This is one of my draft dwelling posts which finally get posted up. I'm currently back in Ipoh preparing for the December 2010 ACCA examinations and my activities are just study, eat, sleep...you know the drill. So I've nothing exciting to blog about live. For the sake of keeping my blog alive, I will just upload nice food pictures which I took weeks ago but didn't publish.

I have a lot of pictures of desserts so prepare to look at a lot of sweet stuff. These pictures were taken during the period where I was reviewing the HTC Aria (you can click here to read my reviews) and my updates were full of HTC Aria pictures. It seems rather a waste not to post them up. So yes, outdated I know but I need fillers to revive flagging interest in my blog. So here you go.

I've been told that I can practically be Paddington's ambassador since I'm always posting pictures of their 'Pot of Gold' here. Well, Paddington's is Ben and my chill out place and we like their tea-time set, where the 'Pot of Gold' is the most worth it. Check out the giant one we got the last time we were there:-

Then next are very colourful drinks pictures which I took in One Stop in Jalan Ipoh. Was there with Ben and his family for dinner. It was my second time there.

My drink

The purple stuff is dragonfruit and I've forgotten what the bottom part was.

This was Ben's very tropical tasting drink

We all liked it a lot; looks wise and taste wise.
Jessica even ordered a second one.Haha!!

The next dessert pictures are from House & Co in BSC. Ben's spectacles broke and he had to wear contacts while waiting for his replacement. Everyone kept telling him how much better he looked without his specs. Haha!!! Well, when it was time for him to collect the spectacles, I had to be the driver because he had to have his contacts off for at least half an hour before trying on the new pair. So there I was, navigating the roads in the Avanza to pick up Aunty from Bangsar Village before heading to BSC. Fuuhhhh...it felt a bit like taking my driving test again!! Only with a bigger car and 4 other people in the back. xP But I can happily report that I 'passed'. Even the parking part (I did reverse parking, don't play play!!). Anyway, pictures of CAKES!!!!

Layer cakes

The round round stuff on this one is those sweets/biscuit things I ate when I was a kid!!!

Mosit Chocolate Cake

Mars Bars Cheesecake

Okay, I made myself hungry typing this post. O:
But strictly NO SNACK for me at this hour because I actually gained weight when I came back. All that sitting around for hours at the table with my books. Sighh...I guess I'll just have to resign to this fate until exam is over...sadness. If only those pictures were edible.

Happy Birthday Dear! (Part Two)

2010-11-19T19:21:00.002+08:00

So after all the pre-celebrations for him, we spent the whole day together on Ben's birthday. He took leave on his birthday (honestly, I would have killed him if he hadn't.) and we woke up early on his birthday. No, we aren't exactly early birds, but since the both of us had RM5 vouchers for Sunway Pyramid ice skating, Ben thought it'd be nice to utilise it and go skating together. I'm recently quite into ice-skating since I have him as my kaki. So no objections from my side.

Us with our gloves on.

I don't know how to skate properly....yet. I'm so envious of those people who glide around the rink like it's the easiest thing in the world. ONE DAY. . .I will be one of them!! Meanwhile, I shall just do my best to upgrade my skills. I'm currently balancing on one foot while using the other foot to swipe on the ice to propel myself and scoot,scoot, scoot on the ice. Occasionally I will give myself heart attacks by being overambitious and end up either falling down or wobbling around with my hands waving to get my balance. Go ahead, laugh all you want. I think I'd laugh at myself too if I could see myself on ice. I think it's something to do with my small feet!!!I'm 5'5" and I wear a size 5 or 6 okay. I've fallen down so many times and Ben has never fallen even once. He's getting the hang of it way faster than me.

Anyway, that day we didn't skate as long as I'd like to since Ben got a blister on his ankle and he didn't want to make it worst by skating on it. So we headed to Fullhouse for lunch. They have two new dishes to their lunch sets; so Ben and I ordered them. The sets include soup of the day, ice lemon tea and dessert along with the main course, so lunch in Fullhouse is really value-for-money.

Pumpkin soup

(I forgot to take pictures of our drink.Oops)

His Al-Funghi Spaghetti

My Teriyaki Chicken Burger

Our desserts

After lunch walked around Pyramid for a while before going back to my room for me to get his present and give it to him. Hehe. I didn't give it to him until after we reached his place. We fell asleep after lazing about since we were tired and woke up around dinner time. At first I had thought to bring him to Buffalo Steakhouse but ended up changing plans to Chilli's in BSC after reading some reviews (I've never been there before, you see.); and also because it didn't make sense for us to fight through the evening jam to get there since we just came from that area.

Chilli's was packed when we arrived there but we didn't have to wait long for a seat. We did have to wait a while for our food though. Since it was Ben's birthday, I thought it appropriate to add some kick to our meal; so we shared a Presidente Margarita.

It was quite strong. Lucky we shared else Ben won't have been allowed to drive.

The food arrived just as I was starting to feel the alcohol kick in. I ordered my favourite Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers. I was so hungry that I managed to finish everything on the plate. I adore the dip that comes with the Crispers!! And I revealed to Ben that we are allowed to change our side dishes; he never asked the waiter before so he didn't know. We both changed our Corn Cobs to Mash Potato. If you still don't know, I'm obsessed with Chilli's mash potatoes. Especially their Loaded Mash Potato. What we both did that night was order Mash Potato which is sprinkled with cheese and bacon and ask for the gravy that comes with the Loaded Mash Potato.

MASH POTATO!!!!

We went home full to bursting and very satisfied. You can never go wrong with Chilli's!!! We rounded up our day together by watching Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs in HD on Ben's Xtreamer. I didn't get to watch it when it was in cinemas and I've been wanting to watch it since I'm a big fan of animation. It was lucky I ate before watching though!!!The whole point of this movie is looking at the FOOD. Goshhh...some of the food in there look kind of like the make believe 'food' you can form with PlayDough. Makes me want to play with my younger cousin's PlayDough sets. I really love how they played around with various food in the movie. Snowing ice-cream, Jell-O castle, melted cheese-dip volcano...Can somebody invent that machine NOW??!!!

We called it a day after the movie.

---------------------------------

Thank you for letting me share your special day, dear.
Again, Happy Birthday to you, my dearest Ben. And Happy 8th month to us!!
Though we didn't do anything elaborate, the simple feeling of being with you gives me the greatest joy.
I love you. :)

Happy Birthday Dear! (Part One)

2010-11-16T00:02:00.005+08:00

I know, I know...I'm a long shot away from winning the 'Most Consistent Blogger in the World" (if it exists) but I've been busy spending whatever time I can with my dearest before I left for Ipoh to prepare for the nasty ACCA December 2010 sitting.

It was Ben's birthday on the 15th of November. My darling turned 20 that day; (no more saying you're 19!!!) and I got to be part of the celebrations for him which spanned over a few days. He's so loved. He got two pre-celebrations before his actual birthday which I'm going to tell about.

The first one was spawned by Jessica. We were busy chatting on MSN on Wednesday night about his birthday, and asking each other what plans we had for his birthday when she went, "Hey, lets make him a cake!!!Haha!!". And from there I went, "Ooh, lets make him CHEESECAKE!!" and it lead to a series of elaborate plans to surprise him. We had to do it the very next day itself since he works only till Thursdays and there would be no more chances to surprise him after that. So I had to secretly make my way from Sunway to Bangsar while he was at work (convinced him that I had a meeting to go to) and make cheesecake with the girls, and waited to surprise him when he came back from work.

We made him Maltesers Cheesecake since Maltesers are his favourite chocolates.

Home-made Maltesers Cheesecake!!!

Check out the cool decor.
It was so much fun decorating it with sweets. We didn't plan it and just randomly put them on the cake and shifting them here and there. Chocolate overload!!!

M&Ms

Maltesers

Kit Kats!!

I was made to hide behind the washing machine with a camera to jump out and take a picture of the birthday boy's surprised face. I'm delighted to report that the surprise was a success, despite some very funny gun jeung moments.

My darling's super happy face when I jumped out!!

With the cake!!

His family also had a family dinner for him the day before his birthday in Jake's. The food there was quite nice albeit being rather expensive. We enjoyed ourselves very much that night though.

Starters - Chille Beef with Corn Chips

My New Zealand Rack of Lamb

I asked for mint sauce and it was very tasty.

His Australian Grain-Fed Sirloin

We all shared some yummy dessert too.

Pecan Pie!!!

I adore pecans and this pie was good!! Would have been perfect if the pecans had been fresher and crunchier. But I still loved it!!

Apple Pie

Nut Brittle (Cashew Nuts)

This was awesome and addictive!!! Wish I could MAKE them!!!

We also shared a Tennessee Coffee (coffee with Jack Daniel's whisky) after that. It was nice but dear didn't like it much and I found it quite strong towards the end.

All of us went back to Bangsar for a short while; where there was a momentary rush for the toilets, before going for a short drink and chat in Starbucks. We had a funny picture moment before we went where Charlson and Ben posed for me with tucked in shirts and buttoned up collars.

Such good boys!!!

After we came back from the drink, we were lounging around when another impromptu idea popped up and they (Aunty and the girls) decided to have a countdown to his actual birthday for him. And no joke, a real countdown, with a BANG and confetti and stuff. They gave me this confetti cannon and had me standing in one far corner ready to blast the cannon off when the countdown was done. It sprinkled confetti and paper ribbons all over him when I set it off. Haha!!

Here's the video which was shot by Jessica:

We spent some time cleaning up after the blast. The stuff was everywhere in his room and we all had to help clean up. Everywhere strewn with the cannon contents.We were laughing and giggling non stop the whole time and laughed even more watching the videos taken!! It was a really really fun night!!! And I was so glad I got to be a part of it!!

Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DEAREST BEN!!!!
I still have to update on his actual birthday. Makes me smile to remember the fun we had.
Stay with me!!!

HTC Aria Review : Overall Summary

2010-11-12T01:09:00.003+08:00

Small in size but big in functions, the HTC Aria is certainly a phone which one can be proud to own. Granted, it may be smaller than its predecessors (HTC HD, HTC HD 2 to mention a few), but it proves to us that good things come in small packages. Lets take a run through of the specifications shall we:-

Runs on Android OS, v2.1
TFT capacitive touchscreen, 256K colours
5 megapixel camera with auto-focus, Geo-tagging, face detection
3G data connectivity
WiFi (b/g)
GPS (aGPS)
Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Google Talk, Picasa integration
HTC Sense UI
MicroSD card slot,supports up to 32 GBs (2GB card included)

I have written four reviews before this, covering what I have found out about the HTC Aria, from the basics right to the more detailed descriptions of its functions. You may read them by clicking on the links below.

1. HTC Aria Review : Unboxing
2. HTC Aria Review : Getting to Know You
3. HTC Aria Review : Delving Deeper
4. HTC Aria Review : Tell Me More

So now, this post will wrap up everything let you see the full picture about the HTC Aria.

DESIGN
The HTC Aria is certainly easy on the eyes. The sleek shape and the shiny black surface gives it a cool yet professional look at first glance. It feels good in the hands and not too heavy for a phone it's size. The yellow interior gives a pleasant surprise when you open up the external cover.

DISPLAY
The HTC Aria's clear and colourful screen display certainly justifies it's 265k colours display specification. The layout is user-friendly and the touchscreen responds quite well.

FUNCTIONS AND FEATURES
Calling and Texting
Call quality is clear on the HTC Aria. Typing text on the phone is quite manageable compared to other touchscreen phones thanks to the intelligent predictive text input. Texts displayed in conversation mode are convenient and a nice change.

Apps

Apps are installed using through the Android Market are downloaded are installed straightforwardly and relatively simple. I had no problem getting any of the applications installed to work. Some apps require internet connection while some do not.

Internet Connectivity and Web Browsing
I like that the HTC Aria has a choice to either connect to the internet solely through WiFi or enable mobile browsing using the data plan. The browser in the phone loads quite fast and is similar to a computer browser.

CAMERA
The 5 megapixel camera takes quite nice pictures. The shutter speed is quite fast and captures pictures on the press of the button. The user may adjust camera settings such as ISO and white balance while using the camera too. Howver, the HTC Aria does not have a LED flashlight nor a secondary camera in front. So pictures must be taken in good lighting. Video recording is just passable.

BATTERY
The battery lasts quite long (9 hours according to my experience) under heavy usage. However, I would have expected an even longer lasting time under heavy usage as it is claimed that the HTC Aria's battery can last more than 15 days on standby. So it pulls up my expectation for it lasting under heavy usage.

CONCLUSION

Pros

Beautiful phone. Nice size and easy to hold.
Texting and calling can be done at ease.
Able to support GPS (PAPAGO) and does not lag.
Plenty of useful and interesting apps available in Android Market.
Able to share mobile network with PC when plugged in.

Cons

Battery life falls short of expectations.
Video recording not impressive.
Screen size feels a little small sometimes when using certain apps
Phone functions sometimes get laggy when WiFi is on.

Overall though, the pros make up for the cons. The HTC Aria is a phone which you can use with confidence, whether for communication, work or entertainment!! It rightly deserves it's place among the most coveted smartphones in the market today and is just waiting to show it's potential to more people who are looking for something new and fresh to impress them!!!

**This will be the last review that I write before I submit all my reviews to Nuffnang for the judging. Wish me luck!! Fingers crossed for the result and hopefully the HTC Aria will return to me. Thank you dear friends and family who have been very supportive. Thank you readers for your encouragement and interest!! Do continue dropping by!! And most of all, THANK YOU NUFFNANG AND DIGI for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I have enjoyed my time very much and this was a lovely experience. Thank you!!!

The HTC Aria Smartphone is currently retailed in Malaysia for RM1799. But DiGi has a GREAT OFFER for you! Just by signing up for the DG Smart Plan, you can get the HTC Aria Smartphone for as low as RM799! That's up to RM1000 saved for you if you get the HTC Aria Smartphone under the DiGi Smart Plan!! That's right, DiGi is your smarter choice!

For more details, click here to view the DiGi website or visit your nearest DiGi store!

HTC Aria Review : Tell Me More

2010-11-10T20:50:00.007+08:00

My two weeks with the HTC Aria are almost up. Friday will be the day I finalise my reviews and submit them to Nuffnang. I feel like I'm passing up my final year project to my professor. Little bits of nervousness here and there. Wish me luck dear readers!!!
Anyway, I know you want to know MORE about the HTC Aria, so I'll cut the beating around the bush and just dive in!! Read on!!

According to the HTC Aria specifications, it is stated that the HTC Aria is able to last up to 372 hours on standby (that's more than 15 days!!) and up to 6 hours of talk time. I decided to keep track of the battery life and embarked on a day of heavy usage and monitored the battery level.

Starting time: 11:29 a.m.

By 8:27 p.m., it flashed at me to connect the phone to the charger.

You can actually see your battery consumption!!

Not bad. It lasted 9 hours under heavy usage. I had the WiFi and GPS Satellite turned on, and those two are battery consuming. I was text-ing non-stop and made a few calls. I also surfed the internet with the browser, played games, downloaded apps, listened to the radio a little while...basically, my fingers were all over it the whole day. And it only started complaining after 9 hours. Cool. I couldn't test out the 15+ days standby mode though because I couldn't leave the HTC Aria alone for more than 10 minutes, much less 15 days. LOL!!

And I stumbled upon another function option for HTC Aria users. If you connect the HTC Aria to your PC, a list of options will appear. Pay attention to the last option please:-

"Internet Sharing - Share phone's mobile network with PC"

It means that you can use the HTC Aria like a internet modem if you have a data plan subscribed to the phone!! If you're in a place with no internet connection,just plug in the HTC Aria and select that option, and you have mobile internet access on the PC. Isn't that great??

Also, you can import your contacts from your GMail, Facebook and whatever account your syncronise with the HTC Aria. That's quite convenient in my opinion because you can immediately check the person's contact number or e-mail through the phone and immediately compose a text or mail to that number istead of having to copy it out ad entering it into your phone!!

I mentioned in my first review that the HTC Aria size sits more comfortably in a small hand sized person (me) but might be a wee too small for people with big hands. I got mixed feedback to that statement. Well, it all really boils down to preference. Some like it "the bigger the better!!" while other might be vice versa (but generally girls like it slim). So I decided to do some size comparisons of the HTC Aria to other phones. The following pictures are generated using the Phone Visualiser courtesy of phonearena.com.

My humble SE Naite compared to the HTC Aria

For existing HTC users; the HTC Aria is the same size as the HTC HD Mini!!So the HTC Aria is considered a mini compared to the standard HTC phone size like the HTC HD 2. I know many guys are eagerly anticipating the HTC Desire HD so I included it in the size visualisation too. Here's an idea, if you want 'couple' phones, girlfriend can take the HTC Aria and boyfriend can take the HTC Desire HD. =P

I also compared it with the very much hyped about latest iPhone 4 and the Blackberry Torch.

Here's what it looks like in real life!!!

How I wish at least one of the phones in the picture actually belongs to me!!!!

I have not forgotten about my promise to write about the HTC Aria's camera and recording functions. The 5 megapixel camera included in the HTC Aria is quite standard since most phones these days come equipped with up to 12 megapixel cameras. Pictures taken with the HTC Aria's camera are of fair quality.

I must stress that picture quality is not dependant on the megapixels but on the lenses quality, Therefore, it will be unreasonable to compare pictures taken with a phone camera to an actual camera. I'm sure photography enthusiasts will agree with me on this point. Still, the pictures taken with the HTC Aria are quite nice. I like the touch to focus option on the screen meaning you may choose where you want the camera to focus on. Below are more unedited sample pictures taken with the HTC Aria.

My trusty Canon Ixus 95 finally being photographed!!

Outdoor view

I generally take a lot of pictures of food since that's my main blogging topic.
Food pictures taken with the HTC Aria are quite clear and drool worthy.

One thing quite nice about the camera is that the picture doesn't get too grainy when I zoom in to snap pictures. I zoomed in right to the ceiling and snapped the lights and the picture still turned out fine:
And sistas, I know you're dying to know about the camera's self potrait(a.k.a camwhoring) credits.I only took one picture of myself the entire 2 weeks (sorry sorry!!I'm seriously bad at this!!!).
Is it okay??
The smile detection does work. It focused on my face when I smiled.

More pictures!!!

The macro focus on the camera is quite decent and auto focuses quite fast.

Note that my pictures were all taken in adequate light conditions. The HTC Aria's camera is compromised in dim lighting since it does not have a LED flash. Also, one slightly frustrating factor is that the phone keeps exiting camera mode when you try to find the button to capture picture.

However, I still like the camera function because it's still good for snap and share. I can twitpic with the HTC Aria or upload to FB instantly with the 'share' button!!!

Moving on to video function. I managed to find something interesting to video. I was in Sunway Pyramid on Sunday to catch the Battleground semi-finals. I recorded some of the performances as a sample for you readers to watch.

A picture of the crowds

And videos of the performaces!!!

I didn't find the video recording impressive. In fact, it was quite grainy even in the afternoon light. The video sound quality was not so clear and couldn't capture much of the surround sound. It is adequate for casual recording but not if you are very particular on video quality.

So there you go, you have seen more of what the HTC Aria can do and how long it can last under heavy usage. And it does look good compared with the other in-demand phones, don't you think so?? Looks like it's not to be looked down upon, yes??? After all my stories fo the HTC Aria, are you in love with it yet?? I certainly am!!!

The HTC Aria Smartphone is currently retailed in Malaysia for RM1799. But DiGi has a GREAT OFFER for you! Just by signing up for the DG Smart Plan, you can get the HTC Aria Smartphone for as low as RM799! That's up to RM1000 saved for you if you get the HTC Aria Smartphone under the DiGi Smart Plan!! That's right, DiGi is your smarter choice!

For more details, click here to view the DiGi website or visit your nearest DiGi store!

HTC Aria Review : Delving Deeper

2010-11-06T23:51:00.007+08:00

As promised in my previous review (click here to read) on the HTC Aria Smartphone, I shall reveal to you my findings and further understanding of the HTC Aria as I got to know this fabulous smartphone better over the course of days. My focus for this post will be on 'smart' part of the 'smartphone' (get it??), showing you more info on why the HTC Aria is among the most coveted smartphones in the market today.

Let me start by touching on the platform that made all the wonders of the HTC Aria possible. The Android OS. Now I'm sure a lot of you have question marks on why ~~techies~~ everyone gets excited at the word Android. Confession : I actually had no idea until I got this HTC Aria to review and started doing my own research.Let me try to explain in laymen terms, like how your desktop or laptop (computers) runs on Windows/Linux/Mac, handphones also run on operating systems; iOS, Windows Mobile, Android, to name a few. And it is a race between the different phone manufacturers (e.g Apple iPhone, Blackberry and HTC) to develop better operating systems for ease of usage for the customers who buy their phones, YOU. So there you go. The Android OS which the HTC Aria runs on was developed by Google, which basically means; Google is managing the HTC Aria for you. This is in fact, HTC's unique factor since most smartphones run on Windows mobile (HTC previously did run on Windows Mobile) and HTC runs on Android. Now do you know why people get excited about Android??

The magic button in the HTC Aria that turns the phone into anything you want is the Android Market icon here:-

With your GMail account, you may log into the Market and download applications and games for the HTC Aria. There are 50,000++ apps and games for download. Some of the apps are paid apps (you have to pay to download them) but there are plenty of free apps available for you to download.

All these turn the HTC Aria into anything you might want for your entertainment!!!

So play games on it!!

Pretty addictive!!

FB on it!!

Watch YouTube videos on it

Check your mail with it.

Read news on it!!

This app will refresh automatically to get the latest news. Keeps you updated.

And if the news has funny words in it, check it up in the dictionary!! On the HTC of course!!

You can even learn languages with the Google Translate app!!

There will be a voice teaching you how to pronounce the sentence if you click the loudspeaker icon.

Having Google running your phone for you sure gives it a cool touch, huh??
It has also taken the appointment book in the HTC Aria one step higher. Now, normally when you key in a reminder for an event or appointment into your phone, the standard info keyed in would be the date and time and place. Like this:-In the HTC Aria, there is a space for you to fill in the venue where your event would take place....
and this gets really cool. If you click on the venue, Google Map will automatically pop up and plot the place for you on the map so that you may see where it is!!

Then from there, you can go further and get directions to your venue with Google Maps.

Or alternatively, you can download a GPS from the Android Market and enable the GPS satellite in the HTC Aria to get live directions while you drive. Yes, the HTC Aria can serve as a GPS!!! I tested it out and the GPS is pretty accurate. And yes, it has a voice and talks like the actual GPS device too. Haha!!
You can access all these with WiFi internet or mobile internet. I don't have a data plan with DiGi (yet) but to get unlimited internet access for a day, I just enabled the mobile internet and hit the RM5 usage tier; and then I could use the internet without any extra charge for the rest of the day. That way, I could use the GPS, surf the internet, update my Facebook and Twitter and download apps, etc, etc through the HTC Aria for a day using the Digi internet access. The internet speed was fair. Let me show you the results of the speed test I did:-
So now do you see the endless possibilities with the HTC Aria?? There will be more and more apps being created and released into the market for download, so you will always have the latest apps available for your download through the Android Market. And for your info, the apps available there are same as the ones available in the Apple Store when you use the iPhone. In fact, some of the apps offer full version in the Android Market while only the Lite version is available in the Apple Store!!

Angry Birds Lite on my iPod
Angry Birds Full Version on the HTC!!!

Also, the apps will constantly be upgraded by their creators, so no worries in being outdated!!
Carrying the HTC Aria is like carrying your phone, dictionary, newspaper, GPS, appointment books and game device with you, all compacted into one!!! Now isn't that cool??Let me just show you another one of the cool apps I downloaded before I come to the end of this review. This app lets me doodle and draw on the HTC like a sketchpad. Such fun!!!

This one's a bit blur so I transferred the actual file from the phone to the computer

Ta-Da!!!

I drew this with only my finger on the touchscreen so it's a bit wonky. Hehe!!!

Yes, I do so love the HTC Aria. I'm happy to have managed to finish up this post which covers the most exciting functions and features of the HTC Aria. Please pardon any inaccuracies in the technical language since yours truly is a accountant in training and not very fluent in techie lingo (am learning and improving though.). It's been a little over a week since Nuffnang and DiGi have entrusted it into my hands for my reviews and it has been splendid to explore and write about my findings. I hope you, dear readers like my reviews, and wish me luck that I will be able to keep this HTC Aria as my own for the reviews!!!

And wait!! There's still more to tell about the HTC Aria. Look out for my next review where I shall focus on the Camera and Recording functions of the HTC Aria. It should interest you readers since the phone camera is a handy and much used feature of phones. So expect a colourful post coming up soon!! Stay with me!!!

The HTC Aria Smartphone is currently retailed in Malaysia for RM1799. But DiGi has a GREAT OFFER for you! Just by signing up for the DG Smart Plan, you can get the HTC Aria Smartphone for as low as RM799! That's up to RM1000 saved for you if you get the HTC Aria Smartphone under the DiGi Smart Plan!! That's right, DiGi is your smarter choice!

For more details, click here to view the DiGi website or visit your nearest DiGi store!

HTC Aria Review : Getting to Know You

2010-11-02T22:22:00.004+08:00

So the HTC Aria has been with me for a few days now (four days to be exact). And I am happy to report that we have progressed quite smoothly since my initial introduction to it, where I had a very enjoyable time appraising it's looks (click here to read). My fingers have developed quite a familiar touch towards the HTC Aria, and I have discovered several interesting things about the HTC Aria which I am eager to share with you.

I have much that I want to write about, but to avoid making you scroll down a very very long post, I shall segregrate my discoveries into a few posts to make your reading easier. Therefore, this post will cover the general features and functions of the HTC Aria which has been yielded to me so far.

THE BASICS
So starting from the basics. I have been using the HTC Aria to make calls and send texts. Calls made using the HTC Aria have lesser background noise compared to my old phone and the loudspeaker is quite clear. However, I discovered that it is a good idea to press the screen-lock button on the top right during your call because the touch-sensitive screen can be activated by your face pressing on it.

The touch-screen being still active during calls isn't a bad thing though because you can still use the phone as normal while making calls; I did it by plugging in the hands-free and *walah!!* I had both hands free to type texts while talking on the phone. This is useful for busy people who have to talk on the phone and send e-mails at the same time.

Ring ring!!Who's calling??

One of the cool features in the HTC Aria is that the phone ringing automatically becomes softer when you pick up or move the phone. You can even entirely mute the ringing by flipping it!! This can save you from embarrassment if you forget to put on silent mode.

I absolutely LOVE typing text with the HTC Aria!! The texts are showed on screen in a conversation mode much like MSN. So you won't have to open 'sent messages' to remember what topic you were talking with your friend about when you text too many people at once. (Speaking as a very very heavy sms-er!!)I know many people are wary of touch-screen phones because the touch keypads are often very tiny and makes typing correctly a challenge because you can't feel what key you are pressing and often, the touch sensors sense differently from where you meant to press. Well, with the HTC Aria's very intelligent predictive text input, typing on the touch QWERTY keypad is a breeze!! It automatically predicts and corrects your typing for you, enabling you to use it with confidence!!

Predictive Text Input!!

For those who might find the keypad too small, the accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate can turn the keypad horizontally for you, for a bigger keypad!!

PERSONALISATION
The HTC Aria's display can be personalised to show off personal style and for convenience purposes. The home display allows you space to add shortcuts. Meanwhile, if you swipe the screen to the left or right, there is additional empty space for you to put widgets, shortcuts or folders.

Main display

All the other display pages!!

There's one for you to put your favourite contacts for speed dialling!!

And another one which shows the weather. It's pretty accurate!!

SOUND
The music player of the HTC Aria allows you to play MP3, MP4, WAV (most important is MP3!!) etc etc, and you can see album art on it (I like this!!). the speakers project surprisingly good sound, much better quality compared to some phones which are purposely manufactured for media playing.
I had some trouble setting music as my ringtone, but finally discovered that it can be done very easily through the music player. There is even an option for you to trim the music so that your ringtone is the favourite part of the song. Cool!!

CAMERA
The HTC Aria comes with a 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels camera with auto focus, face detection, video recording and geo-tagging. I have not fully put the camera function to work but I have taken some random pictures to give you an idea of the photo quality.

Raw, unedited photos taken with the HTC Aria Camera.
(click to see full size)

The camera does not come with a LED flash, though. Not that I use the flash for photos but the LED light is very useful as a flashlight for seeing in the dark. (LOL, don't throw eggs at me!!!)

INTERNET SOFTWARE
You can opt to use your service provider's data plan or WiFi for internet browsing on the HTC Aria. The HTML browser allows you to browse and view web pages much like browsing on a computer. It may appear small but you can enlarge it by pinching the screen or adjust the settings for the font sizes.

My blog on the HTC Aria!!!

Check the stock market on it too!!!

Since the HTC Aria runs on the Android, Gooogle Maps, GMail and Google Search are a great feature of the HTC Aria. It can tell me where I am!! Useful for a person with pretty bad sense of direction. *point points at self*

That's not all!!! Let me introduce the Android Market, which in my opinion, the most exciting feature of the HTC Aria!!! The Android Market allows you to download and install applications into the HTC Aria. With over 50,000 apps and counting in the Android Market, it opens a world of possibilities literally at your fingertips!!!

I quickly downloaded very important apps on the first day itself. LOL!!

I have lot more to tell about regarding this area but it will all have to be included on a seperate post itself, since it is moving to the more advanced functions and features of the HTC Aria. Are you impressed with the HTC Aria so far?? Well, I promise that it's only going to get more interesting from here onwards. So stay with me as I continue exploring and revealing the HTC Aria!!!

The HTC Aria Smartphone is currently retailed in Malaysia for RM1799. But DiGi has a GREAT OFFER for you! Just by signing up for the DG Smart Plan, you can get the HTC Aria Smartphone for as low as RM799! That's up to RM1000 saved for you if you get the HTC Aria Smartphone under the DiGi Smart Plan!! That's right, DiGi is your smarter choice!

For more details, click here to view the DiGi website or visit your nearest DiGi store!

HTC Aria Review : Unboxing

2010-11-01T03:10:00.000+08:00

1I am very excited to be given the chance to review the HTC Aria by Digi and Nuffnang. The HTC Aria is among the most coveted phones in the market today, taking its place among the iPhone 4, Blackberry Bold, Blackberry Curve and Garmin Asus. For the next two weeks, I will be exploring and getting to know this very in-demand smartphone and posting my findings in the form of reviews for your reading. Do keep checking here to read more future reviews.

I started with the fun part of getting a new phone. Unboxing it. Don't you like the feeling of breaking the seal on the box and slowly opening it to reveal the contents; which pieced together, makes the complete phone which you can then hold in your hands and admire??? Well, I had a very pleasant time doing just that and snapping many pictures along the way. So let me share my experience.

Ooh, the HTC Aria sitting so snugly inside!!

These are the full contents of the box:-

Along with the phone, are various instruction manuals, warranty cards, and accessories.

The earphones

Charger and USB Cable

Love the charger because it has a USB port, and I can choose to charge it on the wall or simply plug it into my laptop. I like that option since I begrudge my phone being so far from me while I use the laptop. I'm a heavy multi-tasker, you see. =P

A 2GB MicroSD Memory Card

I had a tad bit of trouble figuring out how to open the phone up to insert the necessary items but with the help of the manual (see, people do still read manuals!!!) I managed to 'de-shell' it. I like how the back cover fits around the inner component of the phone like a shell. It means chances of the back cover getting loose and battery falling out in the future are slim.

Opening it up!!

Isn't the yellow coloured interior cool???
Reminds me about Bumblebee in Transformers somehow.

I slotted in the SD memory card and the sim card provided for me by DiGi.

Started it up!!!

HTC, quietly brilliant.
Nice slogan.

Now it's time for me to show you the phone from different angles. I have included the measurements for you to be able to visualise the size more accurately. The phone surface is a cool, shiny black which makes the screen stand out. However, it is also very prone to finger marks. I had to polish it several times while taking pictures. ;)

HTC Aria

This is how it looks in my hand. Doesn't it look at home??

The phone fits in my hand quite comfortably. I was pleased by this because I have small hands and am very particular about phone sizes. I favour slim phones because I can hold them with ease. The HTC Aria's thickness is just average for a smartphone; but since it was designed well, it doesn't feel too thick nor too thin. Though, I think people with big hands, especially guys might find it a wee too tiny in their hands. The HTC Aria's weights 115g and feels solid. I can pocket it without feeling it's weight on my leg.

The 32 inch, 320 x 480 pixel, TFT capacitive touchscreen which displays 256k colours!!
I have to say, I really do love the screen display. It has such clarity and so colourful! Very nice on the eyes. The screen is also a good size, which is quite vital for a touchscreen phone. I gave it a few test swipes and it responded quite well.

More close ups of the HTC Aria!! Notice the detail in the design.

The speakers located at the top

The four touch icons and the lone button at the bottom

The button is also a motion sensor where you can swipe across it to navigate around the phone instead of swiping on the screen. I didn't find much use for it though except for photo taking.

Alright, now that I have shown you what the HTC Aria looks like, do you agree with me that it is a beautiful phone?? It scores high in looks with me. But looks isn't everything isn't it?? The HTC Aria is a smartphone after all and is advertised for it's excellent functions and features. And that's exactly what I intend to find out next; the HTC Aria's functions and features!! Look out for my next review on the HTC Aria alright?? Stay with me!!

The HTC Aria Smartphone is currently retailed in Malaysia for RM1799. But DiGi has a GREAT OFFER for you! Just by signing up for the DG Smart Plan, you can get the HTC Aria Smartphone for as low as RM799! That's up to RM1000 saved for you if you get the HTC Aria Smartphone under the DiGi Smart Plan!! That's right, DiGi is your smarter choice!

For more details, click here to view the DiGi website or visit your nearest DiGi store!

Digi Angels Internet Gathering

2010-10-29T12:39:00.005+08:00

In September, Nuffnang held a blog contest which was sponsored by DiGi. The contest garnered over 2000 participants. Why?? Because the prize was an iPhone 4!! Well, I did not join the fight for the iPhone, but I was invited by Nuffnang to the Digi Angels Internet Gathering where the lucky winner of Digi iPhone 4 the Win was to be announced. It was held in Grand Modesto's along Jalan P. Ramlee where we were treated to a delicious dinner before the announcement was made.
There were some games and slideshows in between the courses where I got to know the other bloggers sharing the same table as Ben and I. Our group name was the Digi Salad (yes random I know, but we really had no idea what to call ourselves) and it was really fun getting to know them. Danny, Zach, Phillipe and James, it was great to meet you guys. Coincidentally, Zach was one of the finalist for the iPhone 4 contest and was eventually announced as the lucky winner of the iPhone 4!!! Congratulations Zach!!!

Salmon on Toast

Thin Sliced Chicken Breast topped with Tuna Mousse

Sauteed Mushroom with Spicy Garlic Sauce
Black Pepper Tuna with Light Mayo Sauce

Caesar Salad

Spiral Pasta topped with Tomatoes and Seafood

Homemade Crepes stuffed with Mushroom and baked with Spinach Cream Sauce

Pan-fried Chicken Breast with Creamy Porcini Mushroom Sauce

Italian Milk Pudding with Blueberry Sauce

Tiramisu Modesto's

Vanilla Ice-Cream with Coconut Shavings and Raspberry Sauce

I also had a taste of the iPhone 4 in my hands in one of the games that night where I represented my group in in playing the new DiGi game available in iTunes App Store.

The food and prize-giving was not the only thing on the itinerary that night. All the bloggers present that night had a chance to be the official reviewer of the 5 of the most coveted smart phones in the market.

Some of the phones (iPhone 4 and Blackberry Curve and Garmin Asus) were given to pre-chosen bloggers for review. The rest were open for lucky draw (we put our names in a jar upon arrival) and guess what?? Yours truly got picked as one of the reviewers.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity,
DiGi and Nuffnang!!!

So for 2 weeks, this will be mine for use and explore to write a review.

HTC Aria

And even better, if DiGi likes my review, I will get to keep the phone. Fingers crossed for inspiration for a good review!!! This opportunity is also open to all DiGi Angels who attended the Digi Angels Internet Gathering. If you are interested in reviewing any of the above 5 phones, do submit an e-mail to digiinternetgathering@nuffnang.com !!!

So my dear readers, do drop by again to read my take on the HTC Aria!!!
Stay with me!!!

My First Ever Eating Competition- I WON SECOND PRIZE!!!

2010-10-24T20:37:00.000+08:00

Sunway Pyramid held their Ultimate Food Challenge over the weekend. There were application forms in Sunway Pyramid before this for those interest to fill in and submit but I actually found out about the Challenge through their Facebook page. They had so many eating contests sponsored by different food outlets in Sunway Pyramid. You may see the full list here:-I actually applied for the Bubba Gump Shrimp Eating Challenge and roped in Louisa to apply with me. We sent our e-mails and were speculating excitedly about the contest. However, we didn't hear from them until a few days before the competition started. Louisa was out of town by then and I was left alone to participate. They offered me a choice between the Octopus Prime Challenge and the Popeyes Meal Challenge. Although I LOVE octopus, I opted for Popeye's since 23rd was my birthday and I already had plans.

I woke up on that morning feeling hungry. I distracted myself by reading some eating competition tips where they said not to starve myself and take something light if hungry. Ooh..so I had some leftover mac 'n cheese from the previous night's potluck. I ended up having to rush all the way to Pyramid because I forgot I had to be there an hour early to register!!!

Ultimate Food Challenge by Sunway Pyramid

I had a cheer team of my own. Joshua, Vemal, Jessica and Ben turned up to give me moral support. Thank you all!!! I was super duper nervous before it started. Jessica tried to loosen me up by chirping," You're not here for competition, Joyce. You're here for LUNCH." Haha!!! I was practically shaking and shivering when my name was called to go on stage.

"OMG I'm nervous!!" I was saying

This was what I had to eat:A Popeye's Meal consisting of one coleslaw, one mash potato,
3 chicken tenders and one biscuit.

I gave my all and gulped down the food. Utilising my strategy of swallow swallow swallow. It paid off!!! I got second place!! The winner was a girl (skinny little thing) while the second runner up was a guy. Hah!!! Just goes to show that guys may be able to eat a lot, but not necessarily with SPEED. I had several cameras pointed at me, capturing one of my most un-glamorous moments. Goshhh...I ate like a glutton in the middle of a crowded mall and it's all captured on God knows how many cameras!!! Ahhh..well, pictures from Jessica's camera:-

Nervous....nervous....

See what I meant about glutton???

But anyway, I came in second. At least I got something for it. Haha!!!

Want to see me in full action?? Watch this video recorded by Ben.
Only don't be scared of me forever after watching this. Haha!!!!

Prize giving!!!

My prize

MORE food!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

I am quite pleased that I managed to bag second place in my first ever eating competition. I wonder if this is a sign. . . . Haha!!! No no no, this so cannot be a career for me. Lazy person like me who doesn't exercise, all input and no output. I'll become obese. Let's just keep it at just for fun. That's all for now.

My 21st Birthday

2010-10-23T23:35:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday to me. I hit the Golden Key age. Yes, I'm 21 years old this year, not yet time for me to lie bout my age.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!
To all of you who wished me; whether face to face,
by texts, calls,
FB messages. MSN message,
and even a video recording!!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!

So, you must be wondering how I celebrated this significant coming-of-age??? Well, I spent the whole day out being treated to yummy food in different locations. Hehe!! Sorry lah if you were hoping for more exciting pictures. I have never been the party girl; or rather my circle of friends don't club, so no party pictures. If you want some party pictures from me, then drag me along to your next fiesta okay??

Ben came early morning and ~~kidnapped~~ drove me from place to place, popping surprises along the way. Haha!!! We started the day with just the two of us; but several people joined in at different points of the day and we ended up a merry party. To know in full detail, ask me. It was a long, enjoyable day which I can't type all here. But I will do my best with my pictures!!!

One of our stops was at Serai, Empire Subang. They actually had their 'rare' Berry Pavlova on display that day (because it's my birthday. Haha!!!). We ordered it along with the Moist Chocolate Cake, which wasn't moist. Hehe...But the pavlova was so nice!!

Berry Pavlova

Moist Chocolate Cake

Next stop, Betty's Midwest Kitchen at Aman Suria. This time we had something savoury in addition to our desserts.

'Dog Food'

And no, not literally dog food. It's fries with cheese and gravy.

Bread Pudding

Apple Crumble

From there we moved on to Sunway Giza. It was my first time there and literally all the shops there are FOOD shops. Wow. I didn't glimpse anything particularly eye-catching though. All mostly franchises. We went to Zun and had 'guai lin gou'. We were disappointed though. The 'guai lin gou' that they was too bitter and watery.

Guai lin gou

The honey served in cute little pots

Ben and I

Mini mini pots in a row!!!

Everyone. this is Monster. Ben's birthday present to me!!! Hehe!!!

THANK YOU DEAR!!!!

Epic fail attempt to look like Monster.

After Sunway Giza, I was too full to take in anymore so we all voted to head back to Sunway Pyramid. It Ben very long to fight through the weekend jam to get back there though. Upon reaching there, we hung out around until dinner time where they all brought me to TGIF's where Abel, Sasi and Vemal. Thank you guys for the gift voucher. I still don't know what to get with it!!

Mudslide

I saw this coming. They told the waiters it was my birthday and true to TGIF's style they made me stand on the chair (I was wearing a short skirt, whoopee doo!!!) and sing and give a speech. Haha!!! Fortunately, there was a bigger party next to our table also celebrating a birthday, so I wasn't so out of place in that area. Well, after my efforts, we got this:-

Thank you TGIF. My second candle blowing for this year.

After we were all done and settled the bill, we had a group photo!!!

Sasi left early... =( so he's missing from the picture ). But anyway, thank you Joshua, Yoong, Khai Meng, Abel, Vemal and Sasi for taking the time to come and celebrate with me. I love you all. And most of all, thank you my dearest Ben, for going all out to organise a lovely day of indulgence for me. I love you.

Sweet Stuff

2010-10-20T02:24:00.001+08:00

Under Michelle's request, we went over to Ben's SumSum's house to make cupcakes. This is our third time baking cupcakes together and this time we were more prepared and ambitious. We had Hershey's Chocolate Chips (oooh!!!) in stock, an assortment of colouring at the ready and rainbow sprinkles!!! And we tackled the recipe by doubling the recipe at one go instead of doing it one by one. Fuhh!!!

After about two hours plus hard work, we had 42 cupcakes sitting on the table. But the fun part had just begun!! Ben and I made butter icing and we coloured them with the colouring and made pipings so that we all could ice and decorate the cupcakes. This time there was enough icing to go around. Let me show you some of the very sweet fruits of our labour:-

Hehe..and let me show off two of my creations!!!

Sugar overload with the icing. Ben even spread Nutella on some of them and it was so RICH. Oooh...!!! One thing I learnt from this round of baking is to stick to the brand of sugar that I'm used to. Ben and I bought King's icing sugar and it was SO sweet!! Too sweet in fact. Of all the cupcakes we made, I could only eat 3 of them. Another factor is they looked too cute to eat!! Hehe!! Icing is so much fun!!

And speaking of sweet stuff, Uncle brought us to Suchan for tea the other day while on the way back from dropping Ben's car for servicing. Ben did the ordering and we shared 3 cakes.

Banana Torte

I'm not a fan of bananas so thus I didn't really enjoy this one because it had banana slices between the layers. I would have liked it better if the banana had been creamed and layered between the cake since the chocolate layers were rather dry and could do with some moisture from more cream. A banana lover would appreciate this cake more than I did. =/

Tiramisu

This Tiramisu was pretty good!! It had a nice coffee flavour and the red sauce thing was nice too. The nuts coating the cake was not as fresh and crunchy as the one in Serai but overall it was enjoyable. Aunty particularly liked this cake and even jokingly suggested ordering a second one.

Explosion

This one was my favourite!!! It's actually Chocolate Meringue with hazelnut cream. The meringue literally melted in my mouth and the hazelnut hint in it made every bite such a pleasure for me. I love hazelnut and chocolate!! (Never leave me alone with a pot of Nutella. Damages can be very serious.) I loved it!!!

I've been quite obsessed with meringues and pavlovas recently thanks to Ben. Haha!!! We tried to make some together but total fail in our first attempt. I'll tell about it in my next post; but for now, this stops here!!

Stay with me people!!

Pictures of My Days

2010-10-17T22:51:00.001+08:00

Draft clearing still in progress. My posts folder is starting to look pretty clean!!!
I have several pictures uploaded here, from different days (pardon the delay) so I decided to just tell the stories according to the pictures to save myself from more delay in posting. Haha!!! Bear with the random-ness alright people??

Anyway, I made my first ever Caesar Salad with Ben a few weeks back. Caesar Salad happens to be Ben's favourite salad so I decided to try my hand out at it, to his delight. I found this rather nice and easy to follow recipe here online. We've made it twice since and it turned out good. (Phew!!) A little tip : anchovies can be forgone in the recipe and replaced with crunchy fried bacon strips.

Home-made Caesar Salad

Anymore salad recipes to recommend we try???

I also attended a charity dinner with Ben and his family which was also in conjunction with the Ti-Ratana 13th Anniversary Celebration. It was held in the Desa Waterpark and was quite a huge affair with the Minister of Health being the Guest of Honour and it was co-hosted by Xandria Ooi. It was a vegetarian dinner and there were performances to entertain us along with lucky draws (Aunty won a cutlery set) and an auction where proceeds go to charity.

One of the outstanding acts, an acapella group called Just a Sound

Unfortunately, halfway through, it started raining REALLY HEAVILY. It was no joke. The rain came pouring down, beating on the roofs and somehow, it dripped through the roof and everyone got wet. And we couldn't do much since the hall we were in was right in the middle of the waterpark with a long walk between us and the cars.

Super heavy rain

Everyone resorted to whatever means they could to keep the rain off their heads. Ben and I didn't bother and just sat there and let ourselves drip.
His little nephew was oblivious to the rain and was quite cheery though.

So cute yes??

-----------------------------------------

I got another Starbucks Tumbler thanks to Vemal. This time I got the Grande size. I have the Tall one for bringing coffee to my classes and my newest one have been well utilised ever since I got it. I do love Starbucks Tumblers!!! They're so useful AND pretty!!! Plus you get RM2 off your drink in Starbucks if you use the tumbler.

Dark Mocha shared with Yoong the other day

-------------------------------------------

I was at Pastis again with Kar Ning and Yean Shan the other day. Kar Ning brought the both of us to The Gardens after braving the traffic of KL to familiarise herself to the route to her future internship location. Applause to her for not panicking on the roads of KL. Honestly if it were me, I would have been seriously stressed and end up taking public transport rather than have to go through all the road horror.

I've been promising Kar Ning to show her where Pastis is since I don't know when so I'm glad she finally knows where it is. Haha!! We shared the Virgin Mojitos again.

Test-tube Virgin Mojitos

Kar Ning's Bread Pudding

It was surprisingly melt-in-your-mouth good!!! Wow!! I love the crumble that Pastis serves. They give just the right touch to their desserts. I was a little disappointed however, that they did not change their Dessert of the Month. It is still Carrot Cake which has been there since September. Oh well..

Okay..now this wraps up another post. Now to work on the next!!!

Adam Lambert Concert @ Bukit Jalil Indoor Stadium

2010-10-15T18:03:00.001+08:00

This should have been up long ago. I'm trying my best to keep my blog up to date as possible but the slight damper is the slow hostel line which makes uploading photos a pain. And I know some of you just scroll through my posts and look at pictures instead of reading, admit it!! LOL!!! So that's why I make the effort to post up photos in my posts.

So yes, I went to the Adam Lambert concert in the Bukit Jalil Indoor Stadium. Ben and Yoong went with me and we got into the Digi Zone with the tickets I won from the blog contest. (click here for more details). We arrived slightly later than we planned to but managed to get quite a nice spot with quite a good view of the stage. While walking to the stadium, we passed some PAS demonstrators with signs like "This is not our culture" and so forth. There were also SWAT looking police there for the crowd control. Quite cool yet scary to walk past them.

Our tickets

The stage

I'd thought my tickets were for seats but the Digi Zone was a standing area. And it was a huge crowded area with many people wearing Digi Uniform, meaning they were Digi staff. Hmm..not so exclusive actually. I didn't really mind it; only there was one particular Digi staff who was totally obnoxious and kept picking on Yoong for "pushing" her. She was the one who kept fanning herself and fidgeting and bumping into Yoong. I was watching. Hell, she's like probably in her early 30-s and she yelled like a spoilt child throwing a fit at my cousin, who's 19. How mature. Like hello, have you never been to a concert before, aunty?? If you don't wanna be touched, pay money and go get a seat (since you probably got the tickets free from your employer) or better still, don't come; so that you don't ruin the mood for people.

Fortunately she moved away from us, because other people nearby "pushed" her. And we could enjoy the concert. The concert started late though so there were beach balls released to the crowd to distract us.

These clapper things are annoying! They blocked my vision. LOL.
But they're necessary at concerts for crowd noise and atmosphere, I guess.

There were two opening acts by a Malay guy (Ikhwan I think) and Malaysian Idol 2, Daniel Lee. And finally, at about 9 p.m., ADAM LAMBERT appeared on stage!!!!I only have a few pictures of him since I recorded most of the time. My camera doesn't take nice pictures in the dark anyway. So I borrowed pictures from Ben's blog. His camera took clearer pictures than mine. To see more of his pictures click here.

As I had anticipated, I was blown away by Adam Lambert's vocals. He sang most of his popular songs like "For Your Entertainment", "If I Had You", "Whataya Want From Me" and more. He sounds EVEN BETTER live than on recording!!! You know his ability to scream out notes really high and long which happens to be his signature?? Hearing it live was more impressive than hearing it on American Idol. Wow!!!

The crowd energy was not that great however because I suspect that Adam Lambert held back a little due to all the hu-ha that was stirred up over his concert in Malaysia. I mean, he was greeted in Malaysia by protesters stirring a fuss about his sexual orientation and being told to behave himself and so forth. The concert was about displaying his vocal skills and his amazing talent as a performer and international star. I certainly enjoyed myself, and I'm very sure that many who were there that night went back feeling more amazed and more of a hardcore fan of Adam Lambert. :)

I WON ADAM LAMBERT CONCERT TICKETS!!!

2010-10-14T00:40:00.003+08:00

I was casually scrolling through my e-mails when I saw that Nuffnang had e-mailed me:-
My heart kinda missed a beat because I had given up on hoping for the tickets since I didn't get any e-mail on the stipulated date that they said they would announce the results. And here was fresh hope. All the suspense came back and I clicked to open the mail.
OMG!!!! I jumped up and down on the spot. Wow!!! I quickly dialed Yoong's number and waited for her to pick up the phone. I'd promised that I would bring her to the concert if I won first prize and she was WAY more hyped up about the Adam Lambert concert than I was.

*Toot toot*
Yoong : *picks up phone* Yea jie??
Me : YOONGG!!!!Guess what???!! I WON THE ADAM LAMBERT BLOG CONTEST!! FIRST PRIZE!!!!
Yoong : *high pitched screaming* AAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!!!!! *clattering sound* *fumbling sounds* OMG!!! Jie you're the best!!!!!!!!!! AAAAaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!! *more high pitched screaming*

Haha!!! I felt so elated and excited!! To read the blog post that won me the tickets, click here. Ben just beamed at me when I told him that I won the tickets and asked me when and where do I collect my prize. My boyfriend, the composed one. Anyway, we went to the Nuffnang office to collect my tickets in the morning before he was due at work.

Three exclusive Digi Zone tickets worth RM 298 each

We had breakfast in a Hainanese coffee shop called Yut Kee after that. The place is supposedly award-winning but I found the food there only so so. Only thing I really liked was the soft-boiled egg.

Soft-boiled eggs

Kaya Butter Toast

Chicken Chop

Next up : My Adam Lambert Glam Nation Tour post!!!

Celebrating October Babies

2010-10-08T22:26:00.001+08:00

I just realised that I have mentioned the Vanilla Sundae from Theobrama Chocolate Lounge like several times in my previous posts but never shown you all a picture of it. I guess that's because I always dig into it immediately after the guy behind the counter hands it to me. Haha!!! But I did snap a picture of it once the other day. So here you go:-
The Vanilla Sundae is priced at RM1.50 and it has Belgian chocolate flakes sprinkled over it. Very worth it in my opinion. I've been recommending it to several people and I'm afraid I'm costing McDonalds some revenue since most of my friends pass over the Sundae Cone if there's a Chocolate Lounge nearby. Oops!!!

Anyway, regarding my title; October is here and it's the month of many birthdays. Seriously, a lot of people I know have birthdays in October. Even yours truly is an October baby. (small hint : October 23rd!!) Even in my cell group W31, there were 5 of us with October birthdays which includes Yean Shan, Siao Sen, Jessica, Amos and myself. They had a cake for us after cell group. So this was my first candle on a cake I blew out for this year.

We ended up in Murni again for dinner, where Abel was literally threatened into not being anti-social and joining us all (he had a choice to either walk home alone in the dark or join us for dinner. Hehe!!).

My (customary) Roti Hawaii (beef)

Abel's Chicken Napolean

It's actually a cheese sausage wrapped with ham, then wrapped over with chicken breast meat, dipped in batter and deep fried. I got a bite on Abel's offer. It was an interesting combination, very meaty but didn't taste fantastic. Would have probably been better if they had marinated the chicken breast meat that came with it. It was very filling even though it didn't look like a lot.

Footnote:
I can't believe I'll be turning 21 soon (I'm not old enough yet to lie about my age okay). I've never really been big on birthdays but I look forward to what this particular birthday will bring...

ADAM LAMBERT GLAM NATION TOUR LIVE IN MALAYSIA 2010

2010-10-07T17:47:00.006+08:00

YESSS!!!! ADAM LAMBERT IS COMING TO MALAYSIA!!! The Adam Lambert Glam Nation Tour Live in Malaysia 2010 is a dream come true to Malaysian fans like me!!!! And guess what??DiGi will be giving out 10 exclusive tickets to the Adam Lambert Glam Nation Tour Live in Malaysia 2010 to four lucky DiGi Angels and their guests!!!! To be among the lucky DiGi Angels, all you have to do is write a blog post telling DiGi what you love about Adam Lambert, and why you should win the exclusive tickets from DiGi. For more details on the contest and contest prizes, please click here.

So, what do I LOVE about ADAM LAMBERT???

1. I LOVE the very fact that HE IS COMING TO MALAYSIA! We don't get enough world-famous artists making stops here since they head to larger countries with larger number of fans. Adam Lambert stopping by here means he cares for the Malaysian fans!! Talk about giving us our entertainment!!!

2. I LOVE how he makes eye make-up on guys look cool!!! Come on, how many guys can pull off a smokey eye without looking goth-wannabe/sleep deprived/punched in the eye?? And even if they can put on the eye make-up, how many can give the cool smoldering. whataya-want-from-me look like this huh???

*goes weak in the knees*

3. His obvious good looks. That charming smile, the cheeky look in the eyes, the funky hair. I LOVE!!!

4. And it gets better. I LOVE how Adam Lambert has STYLE!!! He can rock any look with that hot body!!!

5. And lastly, tell me how many guys who looks good, with a great bod, able to dress well can SING well??? I LOVE Adam Lambert's VOICE. The soulful yet powerful tones just gives you delicious shivers when you listen to his music. And no one can deny that he had amazing stage presence during his American Idol days.

Ooooh!!! Have I converted you yet???
I would really really REEEAAALLYY LOVE to go to the concert and see Adam Lambert in person and performing live!!!!! DiGi holds the golden ticket to it!!! And I really want those tickets!!!

Why I should win those exclusive tickets from DiGi??
So that I may experience a glorious and wonderful night of my life, being entertained by ADAM LAMBERT, one of the rare male singers that I go CRAZY over; and then I may spend the next day calling and text-ing all my friends with my DiGi line, making them jealous by telling them about my glorious night until all my credit runs out!!

Cheers!!!!