Or Hwu Restaurant, Yong Peng

Me went to look for a friend at Yong Peng before me begin a new chapter of life in the society. Upon arrival, we headed straight to a Fu Zhou restaurant, Or Hwu, which was once introduced by Ah Sien in his Astro AEC show.

The Fu Zhou Noodles

Whenever me visit Yong Peng, Fu Zhou Noodles is a must have. Dearest would sometimes drive me there just to have a good plate of this. That night, my friend and me both agreed that this plate of noodles was extraordinarily delicious as compared to usual, and we wonder why.

Stir-fried chicken with Chinese Red Wine

My friend ordered something new for me to try, Chinese Red Wine Chicken. Not really a new dish to me as it is my aunt'savourite cooking but me don't usually order it when me eat out.

After filling up our stomachs, it's time to gossip again. Catching up with friends never disappoint me in getting some breaking news.

Now, my friend no longer allows me to visit her at night when me is on my own. She called me endless time after me left Yong Peng for about half an hour or so. And, me almost scared her to tears because me left my mobile in the car.

Thanks and sorry, at the same time. Cheers =).

Black Sesame Paste

Beloved is a big fan of black sesame. And that includes black sesame paste of course.

Black sesame

Years ago, when me was still studying at college, me used to bring beloved to one of the famous dessert houses in Kuala Lumpur to have this sweet soup. We would still drop by sometimes, but once a year utmost. Hence, to satisfy my beloved's taste-buds, me tried to make this Chinese dessert on my own.

Black sesame paste

It was a success. Beloved loves this smooth sweet soup which was filled with the fragrance of black sesame very much.

Satisfied.

Pre-birthday

Honestly, it is way too early to call it a celebration. However...

Cake eaten;
Greetings received;
Lucky stars accepted;
Effort seen;
Sincerity felt.

Thank you.

Red Bean Onde-onde 'n' Grated Coconut Onde-onde

Red bean onde-onde (orange) and Grated coconut onde-onde (green)

There were some spare red bean paste and grated coconut cooked in gula Malacca after me made the Red Bean Pancake and Kuih Dadar some time ago. To avoid them from sitting in the fridge for an excessively long time, me turned them into red bean onde-onde and grated coconut onde-onde.

Inner view of the red bean onde-onde

The verdict was not bad, yet dearest prefers the usual onde-onde which has gula Malacca as its filling.

Deep-fried red bean paste doughnuts

The leftover red bean was in real abundance. Hence, me made some variation and turned them into deep-fried red bean paste doughnut.

Tom yum flavoured deep fried mee hoon kueh

In the end, me had the batter in excessive amount. Again, to prevent wastage, me turned them into “deep fried tom-yum mee hoon kueh”.

Inner view of the deep fried tom yum mee hoon kueh

Inspiration.

Medical Checkup at NUH, Singapore

After about 2months of waiting, getting the pre-employment medical checkup done is finally the last step in getting the employment pass. Undoubtedly, the medical checkup was done at the hospital that I will be serving in the near future.

1) The original contract 2) The medical checkup form 3) Staff voucher (10-30% off)

Before heading to the staff clinic for the entire checkup, seeing the HR lady was essential to get all the document done. It was already past twelve when me left the HR department. As the clinic is closed from 12.30-1.30pm for lunch, me was only able to get the checkup done after their lunch break.

Bubur Terigo

This extra hour gave me the chance to explore a bit at my going-to-be workplace. It also allowed me to have a quick refuel at their food-court.

One corner view of the food-court

This hospital food-court is the best hospital food-court I have ever seen. It looks just like a usual shopping mall food-court if I don't tell you this is actually located at a hospital, doesn't it? You name it, they have it – e.g. roasted delight, fishball noodles, yong tau fu, Indian food, Malay food, sandwich bar, dessert shop, cakeshop and et cetera.

Variety counts.

Kuih Dadar

Aunts and beloved are so crazy over grated coconut bun recently. At least a packet of coconut bun can be found at my place almost every week. Me, someone who doesn't fancy coconut bun have to agree that the coconut bun they bought is seriously quite tasty.

The grated coconut bun bought from a traditional bread shop @ Batu Pahat

Inspired by them, I decided to try my hands on Kuih Dadar.

Kuih Dadar is a Malay kuih which can be easily bought at any Malay stalls in Malaysia. It has grated coconut cooked in gula Melaka, wrapped in pandan-flavoured and coloured crepe. Preparing it yourself is fun and satisfying when your final product turns out to be good and your tasting panel loves it.

Home-made Kuih Dadar

Beloved loved the fragrance of the grated coconut very much. Satisfied.

IT Fair, BP Mall

IT Fair at BP Mall, 1st view

Unbelievably, me, a semi-computer-illiterate helped out at Batu Pahat’s IT Fair, which was held at BP mall from the 10-12 April 2009. And, surprisingly, me sold about 15 Hp/Compaq laptops and/or desktops, all on my own over the last 3 days.

IT Fair at BP Mall, 2nd view

Working at the IT Fair over the last weekend allowed me to bump into a lot of people who I had not met for a long long time and/or some even lost contact with.

IT Fair at BP Mall, 3rd view

Unexpectedly, my one of my high school teachers, Pn. Ong could still remember me as a graduate from year 2001, when she came to the booth I was in charged of =).

My assistance over the 3-day IT fair was free of charge; no pay, no commission. In addition, I lost a few hundreds shopping when I earned no allowance.

Went for a quick shopping while working, LOL

Yet, my IT knowledge has increased significantly after being bombarded by all sort of different questions from random people at IT Fair. Pleased.

Tau Sar Piah, Penang

Nothing expensive. Something simple which satisfied me.

I am a lucky girl; always having friends who treat me wholeheartedly no matter where am I. I am easily contented with something simple they do for me. I will never forget the kindness from everyone of you.

I am grateful that I have made another bestie early this year. We talk about everything and anything although we have only known each other for a short period of time.

The delightful Tau Sar Piah

This was the only box of the famous Tau Sar Piah my friend bought from her trip to Penang. Her trip-mates were shocked, realizing that this only box of savoury biscuits she bought was for me instead of her family or workmates. I have to say that this Tau Sar Piah tasted extraordinarily good because of her sincerity and effort.

Greatly appreciated.

Tomb Sweeping Day

Tomb Sweeping Day, which is more commonly known as Qing Ming Festival was on the 4th April this year. It has been at least 5 years since I was last involved in Qing Ming; to do some grave visits and pay my respect to my ancestors.

The well-prepared dishes for the ancestors

Everyone prepared some dishes to be brought over to my uncle's place that day. It was a good chance for family members to gather around and have a little chat while waiting for the departed to “enjoy” the dishes. That morning, we talked about the difference of how we (2nd vs. 3rd generation) were brought up, the games we used to play and the food we used to eat. The ever sweet childhood memories from everyone of us.

Flowers for the ancestors

Apparently, I was still playing the same games my aunts and uncles used to play, such as "masuk", "five stones" a.k.a "batu seremban", "eagle-catch-little-chickens" and "marbles" a.k.a. "guli". Electronic games (PS, Nintendo etc) and computer were not that common at my young age. Typically, old-time games involve a lot of kids to get the fun whereas kids nowadays usually find it more enjoyable to have fun with non-living electronic appliances. That's the difference caused by the ever improving technology.

Grandpa from dearest's side

Grave visit was not easy as rain always come in the afternoon.After several attempts, we were finally able to show our loyalty and respect to my dearest's father at the gravesite this morning (picture above). Fire-crackers could be heard and the flow was still quite heavy at the cemetery this morning though it was not as great as last weekend.

Grandparents from beloved's side

We revisited my beloved's parents' gravesite (picture above) this morning though we were already there last Sunday morning. And, I saw this ice-cream man again (picture below), early in the morning, around 8am. Life is really not easy.

Ice-cream man doing business at the graveyard, early in the morning

Nonetheless, he gets the chance to enjoy the beauty of the sunrise every morning.

The beautiful sunrise view from the graveyard, Minyak Beku

There's always plus and minus in everything we do. How you look at it is how it affects you =).

Mua Chee, Pasar Besar Batu Pahat

Mua Chee, glutinous rice dough coated with peanut-sugar mixture, a traditional snack that is similar to the famous Japanese mochi nowadays.

Mua Chee

I was craving for one when I was watching a Taiwanese traveling show introducing the chewy and flavourful Mua Chee. Suddenly, an angel read my mind and offered to buy me one from the old-stall located at the wet market. Beloved used to buy me some from this same stall when I was young. Thus, I thought the owner had retired and the stall was no longer there. Surprisingly, the angel told me the stall is now run by his grandson.

Thanks for the special delivery Mua Chee.

Therefore, the nostalgic Mua Chee was delivered to my place the following day and straight into my mouth. Sweet.

Shinjuku Incident + Fast and Furious 4

"A movie a day doesn't help to keep the doctor away," said me. "Bring an apple along to play the trick," my friend replied amusingly.

So, we went for 2 movies over the weekend; Shinjuku Incident on the first night and Fast and Furious 4 the following night.

Movie: Shinjuku Incident

Shinjuku Incident, a movie that talks about the survival and life of groups of asylums in Shinjuku. It is also Jackie Chan’s first move from his “Mr. Nice Guy” image to something more hard-edged and morally ambiguous characteristic, which has been used as an attraction to this movie.

Movie: Fast and Furious 4

Fast and furious 4, another action movie, filmed by Justin Lin, the director of Tokyo Drift (one of my favourites) that talks about speed and crash-boom-bam. Undeniable, this movie is a visual treat in every sense, including girls, cars and speed. It ends not long after the peak of the movie, which makes it less draggy.

Both movies possess their own strengths. Personally, I prefer Fast and Furious 4 over Shinjuku Incident, as later has delivered too many negative messages. What I mean here is not the strong violence, but the viewpoints of the characters in this movie. Characters in Shinjuku Incident have ended up living chaotically all because of their negative mindset. Don't take things for advantage. Life would be happier if they know how to appreciate and be grateful.

I'm thankful =).

Bird's Nest

Two bird's nests were found at my current and upcoming sanctuaries.

Bird's nest found at the upcoming sanctuary, shifted by construction workers.

Apparently, bird's nest is known as a secret ingredient that suggests greenery in Feng Shui. Therefore, there is a saying that having bird's nest at home signifies well.

Bird's nest found at my current sanctuary

Few days ago, the little one (as shown on the left bottom corner of the picture above) was learning to fly and had been standing at the same position for at least 2days. I guess it had not mastered flying yet and thus unable to go back to its own nest (as shown on the right upper corner of the picture above). I felt really sorry for it and decided to give it a hand. Nonetheless, it was terrified and tried to escape when I touched it. Fortunately, it was not hurt.

At present, birds chirping can be heard every now and then from my living room. Peace.

Red Bean Pancake

Love in first bite when I had it 6 years ago in one of the Chinese restaurants along Little Bourke Street, Melbourne that serves Hang Zhou's dishes.

I ordered this Chinese dessert again when I went to Crystal Jade, Singapore for a yum cha session few weeks ago. It came with a disappointment as the crepe was a bit too thick and the filling was not in abundance. Hence, I decided to give it a try from scratch.

Homemade Red Bean Paste

This home-cooked red bean paste was flavourful yet not too sweet as compared to those pre-packed ones in the market.

Homemade Red Bean Pancake

The crepe came with an egg fragrance and my tasting panel gave a tumb up for it. From my viewpoint, the skin was not crispy enough and thus further modification is needed.

Nonetheless, this red bean pancake gave me a good satisfaction with the enormous amount of red bean paste I had in it. LOL.

Hong Kong Miu Kai, Sri Petaling

Prior to A-mei’s Star Tour Concert, energy refuel was needed to allow us to sing, shout and give her our hands for 3hours non-stop. After a few rounds at areas nearby Bukit Jalil, this restaurant selling Hong Kong foodies was spotted.

Inner view of the polo custard bun

This polo custard bun came to a save when I was craving for the one at Shark Fin House, Melbourne. The colour of the custard was orangey, quite different to the one I would usually have at Shark Fin House, but was equally good. Thumbs up!

Some other foods that we ordered include:

Claypot Seafood Yee Mee

Special Seafood Fried Rice

Pan-Fried Radish Cake and Deep-Fried Prawn Dumplings

All and all, I love my all time favourite, polo custard bun the most! *drools*

A-mei's Star Tour, National Stadium Bukit Jalil

A-mei was in Malaysia for a live concert at National Stadium, Bukit Jalil dated back on the 20th March 2009. I am glad to have attended this born to sing star's concert as the performance, stage and songs were all too great to my amaze.

The tickets

The seating plan

We were seated at the red area as shown on the picture above. It was quite a good spot with a good distance. Not too far away from the stage yet not too close. If it was too close, I might have ended up having neck issue and hearing problem the following days.

Here are few of the remarkable stage and lightning arrangements that I fond of. That was a night to mark indeed. The feeling was great and impressive!