Lunch at Jogoya

Hubby and I took some 'couple time' off on one of the weekdays recently to have a Japanese buffet lunch at Jogoya Restaurant at Starhill, KL.

It was hubby's first time and a second time for me. I wasn't much excited this round compared to the first round when I ate and ate. Hubby and I love the sashimis, grilled eel, steamed garoupa, fresh oysters, steamed crabs, stir-fried beef and the soup. The garoupa was as big as me and the oyster was huge. The fragrant coconut was very nice - sweet and refreshing. The free flow of Haagen Dazs didn't seem to be satisfying as it was very hard to scope out from the ice-cream tub. Oh, of course, there's lots to offer - the tempuras, stir-frieds vegetables, claypot stuffs, pastas, handrolls, sushis, grills and teppanyakis, alcohol and wine, coffee and tea, fresh fruits and more..

I guess I shouldn't have taken my breakfast that morning and should have went on an empty stomach to fully feast on the spread they offered there.

Happy Mother's Day

Tomorrow morning, we'll all be going back to my hometown to celebrate Mother's Day with my mum as well as her birthday celebration.

As I was driving to work this morning, I heard a live call on radio about this lady who lied to her mother about busy to avoid going back to visit her mother during one Mother's Day weekend. Her mum was really upset. The most unfortunate thing that happen in that same week was that her mother passed away very suddenly and she didn't even got the chance to see her to say goodbye for the last time. It brought tears to my eyes to think of that.

Today, I had lunch with two lovely mothers and bought quite a number of gifts to give away to some friends who are mothers. Most of them were surprised by the gift, but for all that these mothers went through, and for all their devotion to their families, I thought that would bring joy to these lovely mummies...

Here's wishing all mummies, Happy Mother's Day to all.

Would love to share this story tand some beautiful verses that I received via email quite some time ago.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother".

But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars." The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."

He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,

Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,

Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,

But only one mother the wide world over.

~George Cooper

When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts.

A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.

~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.

~Marion C. Garretty, quoted in A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul

God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. ~Jewish Proverb

The Mother's Day artcraft card that my darling Brendan made for me :-)

Pulau Ketam

As it was a public holiday last Friday, the whole family joined some friends and their familieis for a half day trip to Pulau Ketam. We boarded a ferry we booked from the South Port of Port Klang early in the morning to avoid the crowd.

It was the first time for the kids to ride in a ferry or a boat. In fact, it was hubby's and my first time going to the little Island. As we didn't want to go far and didn't want to spend unnecessary money to go on a trip admist all the jam and crowd, we decided to go 'local' after debating whether to go for an outstation trip or somewhere nearby.

It was quite a pleasant experience for us but I think the place could do better, with rubbish strewn everywhere under the houses. I see bottles, baby diapers, packages of rubbish all over. These stuffs takes hundreds and hundreds of years to be disposed of.

With only a population of around 20,000 people, the place is actually quite tranquil. Transportation is only via bicycle on land, with no sight of any vehicles or motorbikes on the road. There isn't much things to do there but the number of visitors coming to the Island after lunch hour does surprise us. We found out that most people go there to see the sunset and for seafood. I personally think that the seafood in other places are much more delicious.

On the way back to mainland, we made a quick stop at the fish farm. The most scary thing about the place is that it is guarded by 5 rottweilers. We were all told not to touch anything at the fish farm as the dogs will come charging at intruders who touch the things there, thinking that thieves are in action. This is because they are trained to identify thieves who normally come in the middle of the night to somehow steal some of fishes and things on board.

Overall, it was worth our Labour Day break outing.



The ferry we took to Pulau Ketam

Visit to the fish farm, which is on floating platforms and drums in the middle of the sea

Our very fresh seafood lunch.

Boats and vessels in the water.

The small little village in Pulau Ketam

Sound of Music

I came across this video on youtube and was overwhelmed with joy just watching the video.. Imagine how much this could turn someone's dull day into a bright one! There were more such similar stunts and I'm so amazed at this video that I just have to share :-)

It was a publicity promo for a Belgian tv program that is looking for someone to play the lead in "The Sound of Music" musical. Performed in the Central Station of Antwerp, a city in Belgium, more than 200 dancers performed to their version of "Do Re Mi" on the morning on 23rd March 2009.

Superimposition

Just for the fun of it :-D

Eryn and her princess dreams..

Brendan & his various 'poses'

Poh-poh's garden

My mum has interest in all things related to health and herbs and plants with medicinal value. so much so that she's taken to planting some stuffs in the little garden and balcony of my parents double storey house back in my kampung.

My favourite would be her little apple tree and the mulberry tree. The apple is small, but surprisingly sweet and crunchy and doesn't taste like apple at all. My kids love it so much.

The fruit from the mulberry tree has an extremely sweet taste! Brendan didn't like the look of it and didn't want to eat it but Eryn took a bite and kept asking for more. I learnt from my mum that the tree has medicinal values and the leaves can help anemia, dizzy spells, constipation, kidney problem and many other health problems.

My mum has what you call 'green fingers'. Her soil are extremely fertile as she uses only organic fertilising, through decomposition and natural fertiliser. There's corn (yes, the sweet and expensive type of jagung), strawberry, limau purut, to herbs and vegetables like kesum, mint and many more I can't recognise.

I've suddenly developed a love for certain herbs and plants, and wish I have a big garden for all that. I need a bigger house, well... a bigger garden actually.

Chap Goh Meh

It's chap goh meh (the 15th day of the chinese lunar year) and it happens to be a holiday! Wow, another year has passed and I shudder to think that age is actually catching up slowly, but surely.

I'm no longer that energetic person I used to be, going here and there and visiting here and there. I'd rather stay home and just take it easy. Actually, I attended the Selangor open house for the first time in my life at Sunway two days ago, not even knowing what I went there for. I was taken in by my aunt who told me to take my mum and kids to see some lion dance performance. The lion dance troupe were superb but the crowd was madness.

I remember CNY the way it used to be when I was little. My grandparents house were in the middle of some kampung, surrounded by lots and lots of trees and neighbours were far apart. My grandma and aunts would slaughter dozens of chicken and ducks and prepare a grand feast. We were always so excited on the first and second day of CNY, waking up early, shower and dress in our new and beautiful clothes that my mum would make for us.

Most of my 13 aunts and uncles would turn up at my grandparents' place. We kids will have a hell of a time, running around the kampung like we always do. Firecrackers were aplenty. We also observed the traditional CNY stuffs like not sweeping on the first few days of CNY, not washing our hair on the first day, and eating what we call CNY food which actually bore meanings.

Those were the days....

credits here

Full bloom

After coming back from hubby's hometown, we came back to KL for a few hours before we headed back to my hometown on the third day.

The biggest surprise that greeted me was the plant that I almosted wanted to throw away for a long, long time. The flower bloomed and was swaying from side to side, as though, waving its petals to say a little "Hi!" to me!

Oh, this is definitely a good sign of great things to come...

2009 - year of the Golden Ox

I hear the sound of firecrackers from afar. But there's not many of it and it seems pretty quiet this year compared to the past year.

This year, we left for KB on Friday night 9pm, stopped for an hour plus at a petrol station near Gua Musang and proceed back to hubby's hometown. We arrived there at around 6am!! I hate the long journey there. Oh boy... CNY in KB is very different - the mood is not really there, maybe the chinese celebrate it in their own way, the Kelantanese style, and food is basically Kelantanese food. Well, not the typical chinese celebration but more of the Kelantanese style. The migration of chinese from China to this part of the world has definitely changed their mindset and lifestyle, even weddings are different! At least for me.....

We headed back to Kluang on the 3rd day of CNY, i.e. on Wednesday. That's always the most wonderful part of CNY where we get to embrace the full chinese new year atmosphere. Food was aplenty, and my dad will cook up a storm of dishes. Prawns, hainanese chicken, mixed vegs, fish, noodles, sea cucumber, spring roll and more are a must every CNY. All home-cooked and yummy..

It was a great time of get -together once again. We had a gathering in an aunt's house. Out of the 13 aunts and uncles and 41 cousins plus around 20 grand-cousins, only a quarter of us were there, but that was enough to bring up the mood and environment.

The kids had fever in KB caused by viral infection, followed by cough and flu. Brendan even vomitted a few times. There's lack of water there and I suspect that the water there is very unhygienic. Overall, they enjoyed their trip - the eating, the playing, the dancing and more..

I'm just hoping that this Ox year will be one that will wade through the rocky waves and comes out bullish in the coming years...

Family gathering - part of my mum's family

Brendan and Eryn with my good friends' kids. Brendan and Keysha are born 2 months apart. Eryn and Chloe are born 2 months apart as well.

Brendan & Eryn playing with some of my cousins' kids

The kids buckled up in their seat belts with their poh-poh behind.

Chinese paper lanterns

Over the weekend, I did some simple paper lanterns and luck fishes to be hanged around the house as CNY decorations.

I took out some old ang pow packets and started doing it just for the fun of it. I use recycled and unused ang pow packets for my DIY decorations.

Here's some simple instructions on the lucky fishes which is easy to make for kids and adults alike. Err.... I hope it's simple to understand here :P

The paper lantern the kids helped to make. looks kinda messy but it's great fun!

School has re-opened

It's been a week since school re-opened. Brendan was happy to go back to the same kindy he attended last year.

I'm not surprised with the many books that he brought back home but I was surprised that one of his book is a standard one book! I'm even more shocked at the content as they are so much more difficult that it was when I first started kindergarten at 6 years old.

The funny thing is, despite having so much textbooks and so much books nowadays, the standard of a lot of teachers are deteriorating and most students can't even speak proper English! I was told by the principal that all these textbooks are preparation for Brendan when he enter Primary one next year! Wow!!

I remember attending tuition the year that I sat for SPM. I've known some parents who has started sending their children to tuition as young as 6 years old. Gosh, am I laid-back or what? I wonder what has gone wrong with our education system, and I do certainly wonder how would my children cope in school - with the tons of homework and carrying that heavy bag behind their bag in the not too distant future.

Here's a pic of Brendan's textbooks. The exercise book has not been taken into consideration.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Blessed Christmas....

Tong shui supper

There's this road in Puchong Jaya which has a row of vans all lined up by the side, offering desserts and supper. It offers lots of interesting stuffs for passer-bys and we too decided to stop by for our bowl of tong shui which the kids love so much.

Brendan was more keen in the green jelly actually while Eryn went slurping spoon after spoon of the nicely boiled tong shui, filled with lots if ingredients in it.

Definitely a thirst quencher.

2kg in 2 months?

Gosh, I've put on 2kg in two months!! My pants and skirts are all getting tight. I've been eating a lot and eating late. And now that it's the holiday season, it's all about eating and eating and eating.

I participated in the BNI Treasure Hunt from KL-Penang three Friday agos and went up to Penang again two Fridays ago to visit my newborn baby niece. It was never a moment that we don't talk about food.

From the Ipoh chicken hor fun, to Penang Assam Laksa, to Bukit Tambun's seafood, it was all about eating - breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, supper. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, and there goes my pants. I brought up two extra short pants two Fridays ago and I couldn't even fit into it!! I ended up wearing the same pants for 3 days! Aarrggh......

Age is catching up. I'm no longer what I used to be - eating and eating and yet not putting much weight, except for the period after school when I came up to KL to study. I was an athlete in school then and was used to afternoon trainings. After coming to KL after that, I put on a lot of weight, probably due to the stop in trainings.

So, am I gonna give up eating? No, cos I can't go on a diet with gastric problems. I'll try my best to eat heathily, which I've always been doing actually. Hmm.... maybe less carbo and more greens and fruits..

Well, it's not all about eating to be exact. We do have our shopping moments, fun moments, jalan-jalan moments (ya, right! but don't know why food still comes top of the list)...

at Queensbaby Mall with kong-kong

and....................... FOOD GALORE!!

We have a new baby!!

Well, no, I'm not having a new baby. It's my little baby sis (well, she's no longer a baby now), who had just delivered her baby girl on 5th December, two Fridays ago.

It was a surprise for everyone as she had planned to travel back to our hometown in Johor from Penang. She had gone for her normal check-up in Penang that Friday morning and the doctor says there's no sign of her delivering at that moment.

She went to work and felt stomach discomfort, thinking that it could be her usual constipation problem. She proceed to go home around 3pm+ and got ready to pack her things home, with her tummy discomfort. She felt a strong pain only at around 4.30pm and called her husband home. Her hubby called the doctor and was asked to rush to the Pantai Hospital in Penang.

By then, she was already 8cm-9cm dilated. She delivered a 2.75kg baby girl within an hour.

Couldn't have imagine her delivering her baby while on the Plus Highway...

We visited her the following day and the day cleaning and mopping the house for her before she came home with the baby.

Eryn says "the baby is so cute!! Can we take it home?" *pengsan*

Roti kahwin & Madagascar 2

The real Kluang coffee and toast buns definitely originate from the town itself, little Kluang.

Brendan & Eryn love the butter and kaya toast buns in the Kluang RailCoffee shop. In our last trip back, we took them again to their rather newly opened branch for tea, after watching MADAGASCAR 2 and the kids eat it with so much satisfaction and the pure enjoyment on their face shows it all. They will lick on the melting butter at the side of the buns and savour every single bite of it like there's no tomorrow.

Hubby ordered mee jawa while I prefer to stick to my usual kopi and the toasted buns too.

MADAGASCAR 2 was great and it was the kids first visit to the cinema. The thing that made them sit throughout the movie was the popcorn. Brendan enjoyed the experience but Eryn was getting bored after the popcorn ran out.

In the next few days after the movie, the kids went shaking their heads and butts and singing "We wanna MOVE IT! MOVE IT"...

Kong-kong's birthday

It was my dad's 60th birthday last Saturday, and we went back to my hometown to celebrate it.

We organised dinnner and got some family members and dad invited some of his friends. It was a small celebration, but everyone enjoyed the food and company.

We had the dinner in Star Restaurant which was packed. There were 3 other family celebrating birthdays day and the birthday boys and girls were all senior citizens. We thought it was wierd when we hear the birthday song being played on CD twice before we realised that two other tables were celebrating birthdays there. Ours was the third family. After that, another family, sang the birthday song for the fourth time in the restaurant!

I wonder whether my kids and grandkids will be celebrating my 60th birthday in such a warm and cosy dinner in the not too distant nor far future :-)

Credits here

Eryn's tooth problem resolved

Remember Eryn's tooth problem and abcessed gum?

After the numerous phone calls to various dentists and to UH, and 3 visits to 3 different doctors, I decided to go to Pristine Dental in Jalan Gasing. Ms Prema, the clinic nurse was extremely helpful and gave me the trust that their doctors are very child-friendly and professional in their line of work.

I am glad that I stick to my decision of not wanting to extract Eryn's tooth which could give her psychological problems, speech problem and the spacing of her teeth.

Dr Priscilla attended to us and she was just so friendly and helpful. She suggested pulpotomy, which is actually the cleaning on the inside of the tooth and fill the empty space up - pretty much similar to filling except this is for the front tooth.

I was terrified of the idea at first and whether Eryn would face the trauma. I decided to go with my gut feeling and rejected the idea of going to the specialist under general anaesthetic. Hubby and I trusted Eryn to be strong and she was definitely stronger than what we thought.

Eryn sat quietly and didn't squirm or scream. She only cried pain for a while when the doctor injected a long syringe into her gum to numb it. After that, she was extremely cooperative and open her mouth wide for the doctor to see. Eryn was very happy over the whole experience as she felt so appreciated and the fact that everyone praised her for being good.

The whole thing was faster than I thought, probably around 15 minutes or so. The doctor, gave her an injection, drilled the back of her tooth, cleaned it, remove the old pulp, cleaned it again, fill it up and it's then it was all done. Fast, efficient, good job.

All doctors I spoke to or saw recommended extraction and in fact, most parents actually chose the option. I'm glad I defy that option and took all troubles to my own research and checking. Eryn is one brave girl. In fact, she's looking forward to her next treatment in two weeks' time she says she wants to have nice teeth.

It may not be suitable for all kids as Ms Prema told us that one little boy actually kicked one of the dentist real hard and some kids were screaming and crying away. For me, to make this personal decision, took me lots of guts, sleepness nights, phone calls, prayers, and most importantly wanting the best and having the trust in my little girl.

Here's Pristine Dental add : 52, Jalan Gasing, Section 5 (Tel no. : 03-7781 6289). It's located in a very nice bungalow with a beautiful surrounding, near a traffic light.

50th Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday, we attended one of hubby's aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary. It was planned by hubby's cousin (the couple's daughter) and another auntie. It was a very special affair, held in one of his auntie's resident.

It's actually my first time attending a 50th wedding anniversary and this was quite an interesting and fun party, attended by some relatives and close friends. The food was great. The company was superb. The activities were aplenty - singing to oldies and Japanese songs, freestyle dancing, waltz and cha-cha, flowers presentation by grandnieces and nephews and a funny skit that brought stitches to all. Brendan and Eryn changed into their indian costume for the flower presentation. They were delighted to receive angpow by the golden couple, given to all the children in the house.

Brendan and Eryn just loved the dancing but was terrified of the two lovely golden retrievers in the house. It's a memorable time for all. With the love, support and understanding that brought this couple this far, it was an emotional time for hubby's aunt who was pleasantly touched by this great surprise party.


Brendan and Eryn at the koi pond

The kids joining the adults in the energetic dances

More dances by Brendan & Eryn in their indian costumes

Sushi and sashimi from Sushi King and local delights

Tempura in the making, plus the yummy soft-shell crabs

The cute cupcakes I ordered from Mama Min

Other random shots