Merdeka! Merdeka! Merdeka!

This is the biggest celebration ever for Malaysia. Today marks our 50th years of independence since 1957 (please visit here for more info about the events lined up) and the fact that it is Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (i am sure it is all planned way before hand), that explains why the hoo-haa.

Last nite i came back early after work because i dont wanna get stuck in the traffic again (after the encounter prior to Sky Bar) since I know a lot of people will be heading to Bandar Utama for the Merdeka Eve's celebration in 1U and Ikano/The Curve. I heard there was fireworks and stage performances, as usual, just like the years before.

But this year, I decided to stay in and watch the fireworks at KLCC from my condo. This is obviously the first time i am doing this and since my home has a very good view of the Petronas Twin Tower, i figured it would be a great experience.

Me and my mom waited for about 20-30 minutes after midnite but still there was no sign of fireworks at KLCC. Instead, we catched some fireworks show from different places (partially hidden by the tall buildings). We went to sleep in the end with disappointment.

Today my mom talked with my aunt and found out that there was no fireworks planned for KLCC because the government forbids any celebrations that is held near to the Dataran Merdeka. Apparently they were scared that it will distract ppl from going to the celebration organized by the country itself. Sigh.. i should have known earlier so that i can get a good nite sleep.

Well, lesson learned. But besides all those disappointing and frustrating moments, 31st of Aug 2007 is still a day that i will always remember. For a better reason.

Happy hour @ Sky Bar

This is the sequel of our last clubbing session @ The Sanctuary. We had so much fun in the first one so we decided to invite more people for this second and last round of clubbing for John's trip this time.

There were a couple of suggestions as to where we could go, but finally we decided on Sky Bar @ Traders Hotel. I've never been to this particular hotel before so i didnt know it is so close to KLCC. A nice and comfortable hotel - i wouldnt mind staying there for a night even though my condo is actually pretty close to KLCC. Haha.

The evening started off really bad, i would say. It was beginning to rain the minute i stepped out of the office. When the rest of the gang would go to the club after work, I wanted to drive to Low Yat first to exchange an audio cable i bought a few days before (it is used to connect my PC to the LCD TV so that i dont have to stick my face to the computer screen whenever i am watching a movie - no need to guess, i took a wrong one). The traffic seemed ok during the first half of my journey but it became a nightmare when i reached the tunnel under the Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak intersection.

The cars were crawling, bumper to bumper! I spent one freaking hour on that particular stretch only. Maybe it wasnt the worst traffic that i have ever encountered, but it was quite bad. Luckily i had John with me in the car, so we switched our attention from the frustrating moment by teaching him to speak Cantonese. It was very interesting and entertaining.. *shhh*

After making the exchange, i took another 30 minutes from Low Yat to Traders Hotel cos i missed a junction and had to make a BIG U-TURN! Great...


Sky Bar @ Traders Hotel (finally).

Let me give u a tip if you are planning to go to Sky Bar in the near future. Dress code: smart casuals; meaning no shorts, singlet, slippers or sandals. The management reserves the right to refuse entry to any patrons not attired accordingly.


The magnificient KLCC view from the Sky Bar.

The concept of this bar is very similar to Luna Bar @ Pacific Regency Hotel. But the view here is definitely better than the latter.You can catch the Petronas Twin Towers at a very close distance. One drawback tho, it is quite stuffy and hot cos the place is open. U cant feel the aircond.


The happy and tipsy group.

There was something crazy going on that nite, but what happened in Sky Bar stays in Sky Bar :)

Anyone fancy some icy moments?

There has been a lot of times where people commented that i looked like a clubber. Do i? Is it because of the way i dress? Of cos I admit that i go to the bars and clubs every now and then, but i am definitely not a frequent goers.


The Santuary @ 1st Floor of The Curve.

Anyways about two week ago, I went to The Sanctuary @ The Curve with a bunch of colleagues - mainly to let John to be wild for a bit :) It has a combination of 4 different themes, Sutra, Cocoon, Papillon and Ice Bar. The ice bar thingy was kinda cool (it reminded me of the times when i was in Flagstaff, US) as it has a running temperature of -15 degree Celcius at all times. Since the room was pretty small and they've predicted that it would be highly sought after (u know how Malaysians are so crazy with cold weather because we do not have winter season here), we were only allowed to go in and stay for 15 mins - provided we ordered a drinks each. I wasnt prepared at all and all they gave me was just a piece of jacket, so i am more than happy to leave as i was told. My fingers and toes were numb! -__-


The "Smirnoff" bar.


Proof of their running temperature of -15 degree Celcius.


The gang.

Besides the infamous ice bar, there is nothing much to brag about. They have a corner with two pool tables so we had a couple of games before the crowd came in later that night. I havent been playing pools for so long, that i think now i sucks big time. Maybe part of it was because i couldnt focus much due to the alcohol consumed. Hee..

Overall, it was a good outing for us cos we shared a lot of funny stories. The only thing that i wasnt so comfortable about this place was the waiters/waitresses they hired. I noticed all of them are mostly foreigners, prolly Thais or Myanmars or Vietnamese so they couldnt really understand us whenever we wanted to ask them something. Could have done better if they actually get someone who can speaks proper English to serve the customers.

Guests from PHX

Since we moved in to the new office, I have been very busy (that of cos again justify the reason why i was missing in action in this blogger's world). First was to unpack and re-organize all our stuffs. Then we have a couple of visitors coming from PHX - everyone wants to come visit the new place! A lot of meetings, conference calls, briefings and trainings, all at the same time. I never really get to sit in my own cube for more than 2 hours.

Cindy was here last week and it was the first time she has gone out of US, hence obviously she never been to this side of the world before. She was quite anxious about the food that is available here, cos most importantly, she cant eat any spicy food. Knowing Malaysia has a lot of authentic cuisines, she actually thought that she would have to eat peanut butter jelly sandwich for the whole trip in KL (Yes, fyi, she brought it with her all the way from US). Haha, that is so cute of her.

Being a true and nice Malaysian, i assured her of the varieties of "safe" food that she can get here. We have a wide selections of American or western food such as pizzas, pastas, sandwiches, steaks, burgers, etc, just name it and we can definitely figure out something.

So below are a couple of shots that we took @ KLCC before our team dinner in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The food there was ok, but the service was magnificient. They even pulled out the chair for me whenever i came back from the buffet bar. And they always have my napkin folded after i left the table and laid it nicely on my lap when i was seated. This is really a big thumbs up!


Suria KLCC with the Twin Tower in sight.


Siva, PY, Cindy, Jane and John.

It has been a while since i last went to the KLCC park tho it hasnt changed much. The fountain, the crowds, the birds - it is good to relax abit and get away from the computer screen.


Buffet dinner @ Biba's Cafe, Mandarin Oriental Hotel.


Group pic.


Night view from the KLCC park. Nice...

Albeit being cautious and picky of the food she ate, Cindy bought a box of mooncakes for her family back home in PHX. How "sweet"! :)

Here are some of the pics taken during one of our lunches in Dave's Pizza Pasta Vino, 1U. The pizzas and pastas served are delicious, especially those who likes thin crust pizza. But, it is huge! Check it out.


Olive oil pasta (forgot the exact name).


1/2 meter pizza, i didnt expect it to come in rectagular shape.


XXXL pizza. *slurps*

Thanks to my two female model. You did a good job :D

Safety Tips for Women

Simple but memorable

They say true frens stay with u forever, and i have always believed in that. They are the one who will always stand by your side whenever you encounter any problems, be it at work, at home or even relationship.

I have a bunch of close frens whom i have known for 13 years. We shared a lot of happy memories together and we still do now. Every now and then, we would meet up and chat for at least a couple of hours in our regular mamak stalls or kopitiams. I admit, i am pretty amazed at how committed each of us are in this friendship.

2 weeks ago, they planned for a mystery birthday celebration for me and Danny. It was a 2D/1N trip but i was kept in the dark of where we were heading to. All i knew was to bring anything i need to stay in another place for a night and wait to be picked up from my condo at 7.00pm. No matter how i tried to dig, no information was given.

When i got in the car, Danny and I were blindfolded and brought to the mystery apartment. We heard footsteps and whispers. But i had no idea where i was. As soon as we were allowed to have a peek of the apartment, i was really surprised to see that it was decorated nicely with balloons. I felt like i was a kid again!


Our birthday appetizers, from Dunkin Donut.


Balloons everywhere!


Yippee!

We had steamboat dinner in Sucasa Service Apartment (finally i knew where i was) while watching the Summer Concert by 8TV. We played a couple of games, one of which is the "food hunter". There were 4 types of food hidden in the apartment and both of us were supposed to find and eat them. Some were covered with chilly paste, some were soaked in soya sauce, etc. Gross... *eww*


Cute birthday cake.


Each has a cute egg with drawings on them, but none were eaten. Haha..


Danny and me.

Altho it was just a simple celebration with a bunch of frens, nothing fancy but i like it very much! Thanks so much for the hard work in organizing and making this celebration a success. And also thank you to those who came that nite - Sok Yee, Ji Ric, Loo, Soon Kuan, Chee Yee and Ka Boon. Love u guys! *muaks*

13 of Threes

I know i havent done a good job lately, SA already started to complain that i didnt blog any. So now i am trying to post this little thingy that he has tagged a while back.

Three things that scare me
1) Small insects start crawling up my feet
2) Losing my loved ones
3) People jumping out from no where

Three people who make me laugh
1) My small cousins, they always amaze me with their small lil mind
2) Silly people who do silly stuffs
3) Myself, cos apparently, someone said that i am entertaining...

Three things I love
1) Of cos my family
2) My precious accessories
3) Three may not be enuff for me to list them all out..

Three things I hate
1) When things aint going the way i hope them to be
2) When i am blame for things that i never did
3) Liars

Three things I don’t understand
1) Why my life is so complicated
2) Why some people just wont stop bugging u when they are told millions of times
3) Why people can be so cruel

Three things on my desk
1) My phone, i feel like im disconnected from the world without it
2) My graduation pic with mom (i didnt put the one with my bro too because when i did, a lot of people asked me if that is my boyfren)
3) Notebooks and brochures from the shopping mall next door

Three things I am doing right now
1) Getting ready for a conference call with my new manager from PHX
2) My brain is still finding its way back from Dreamland..
3) Blogging about this (finally)

Three things I want to do before I die
1) Have a family of my own
2) Visit around the world
3) Can i have more than three?

Three things I can do
1) Being flexible?
2) Sing and dance (i think)
3) Little bit of this and little bit of that

Three things I can’t do
1) Make the Petronas Twin Towers disappear (im no David Copperfield!)
2) Turn back time
3) Take back all the words that i've regret saying

Three things I think you should listen to
1) Mom, when all she care is about my safety
2) Loved ones, they will never let you walk in the dark
3) Myself, cos u should know how to differentiate some good and some bad

Three things you should never listen to
1) Liars
2) Politicians
3) Devils

Three shows I watched as a kid
1) Thundercats
2) Doraemon
3) Smurfs

Makan trip @ Ah Lit Village Restaurant

It has been a long time since i last went for a makan trip with my friends. So when my colleagues planned to make a foody trip to Ah Lit Village Restaurant @ Seri Kembangan, i jumped with excitement. Not just because it was a fun outing with a bunch of great people, but i also heard that the food was magnificent. It was even featured in the paper sometime back!

Yesterday, we made a deal among us to leave work early because the journey to Seri Kembangan is pretty far. It was located at the other part of the town (closer to my place), not to mention the heavy traffic during rush hour when everyone is trying to get back home on a Friday nite. -___-

The traffic wasnt THAT BAD (considering that it was drizzling a lil), surprisingly, until we reached the seri kembangan area. If any of you dont like to stay in Ampang because it is very jam, then im sure you dont wanna stay in Seri Kembangan. It is WORSE! Lots of cars on the road and since i am a stranger to that place, i was forced to cut the queue most of the time because i was driving at the wrong lane for turning (when i was supposed to go straight). So sorry.. luckily no one really gets mad at me.. *puts up an innocent face*

But the food was worth the heavy traffic there. It is indeed very good and delicious. Prolly because we were too hungry, we ended up ordering 9 dishes for 12 of us. Initially there were just 7, but we added more while waiting for others to arrive. :)


Their menu (click for larger image)

First up was their famous Deep Fried Threadfin (Ma Yau). The fish meat was taken out from the skin and then minced before putting them back in like a paste and fried. Boneless and delicious.. *yummy*


Deep Fried Threadfin (Ma Yau)

Also another signature dish from the restaurant is the steamed village chicken. The meat was smooth and tangy (that is the reason why ppl like to eat village chicken - cos village chicken tends to run more and thus they have a lot of muscles). Half of a chicken looked more than what we have expected but nothing goes wasted...


Steamed Village Chicken

The sweet and sour pork ribs was really one of my favourites that nite. I dunno why they called it "Jit Kong", it doesnt make any sense to me. But all i do understand is the food is unresistable! It is crispy and juicy at the same time. The sauce was just perfect.


"Jit Kong" Pork Ribs

I know some of you may not like this, i dont either at the beginning. The sound of eating snails just doesnt appeal to me that much. But when the garlic sauce snails came to our table, i was surprised to see that the "snail" doesnt really look like a snail. OK, maybe i havent seen a snail without its shell before, but it wasnt as disgusting as i thought it could be - like a lizard or snake. PY was never gonna eat something like that either, but she ended up loving it! It is good that she gave it a try to prove that the dish was actually very nice. We all love it too! That is what i say put your perception away for a while and be open! :)


Snails cooked with garlic sauce (do they look any disgusting to u?)

To balance out the meat that we are having, we ordered a plate of stir fried choy tam to give our stomach a break. It was just a normal vege dish but we are still contented. We aint that spoiled :P


Stir fried "Choy Tam"

Coming up is another dish that will definitely scare away any foreigners who come to visit Malaysia. Haha. It's a frog (called Tin Kai in Cantonese) cooked with lots of ginger. This is the first time i had frogs served this way. Normally it's cooked with dried chili (kung pou) or in a porridge.


"Tin Kai' cooked with ginger sauce

Yam basket is very popular among my colleagues. Dont ask me why. But the yam that we had is not the same as the American definition of yam. Apparently, yam = potato in US. Weird huh..

In the United States, sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are often referred to as "yams". Sweet potatoes labeled as "yams" are widely available in markets such as those that serve Asian or Caribbean communities.
- Wikipedia


Yam basket with mix vege and meat

This kangkung dish is ordered by Eric. There is a story behind this, but not gonna post it here.


Fried Kangkung

Alert: What u are going to see below is a very high cholesterol dish!

Squid fried with salted egg - definitely a killer. Beware if u have high blood pressure, dont say i never warn u in advance. BUT if u can eat this, it's just amazing! I love it! *fingers licking good*


Squid fried with salted egg

The bill came up to RM220.60, very affordable considering the amount of food that we had. We were all very satisfied with this makan trip. I will surely bring my mom and relatives to come here and try it someday.