Unbelievable End

My heart is still thumping
Ever so rapidly
I clutch at it
For fear that it may just drop
Gasp
I struggle to catch my breath
My hands are cold
My teeth chattering
I gaze with unseeing eyes
I cannot believe it
And
A thousand thoughts rush through my head
So many memories flash before me
It starts to make sense!
Like missing pieces to a puzzle!
No wonder!!

I run
To a corner
I huddle
And I start to sob
I deny it
It is not true
I scream
I make excuses
I refrain from thinking
But I cannot
For it is there
All can see
Which I had stumbled upon
So innocently
Though the truth
I know not if I can accept
How can I make myself accept
With time
Will it be better
Will I heal
The chill that I feel
That emptiness
That hurt
Deep within
Will it go away
No wonder!!!

I shudder
At the betrayal
What a startling revelation
To end my year
So unexpectedly
;(

Beef Rendang With Steamed Rice

Yvonne Lee in her book Madness Aboard! Welcome to Plane Insanity likened part of a flight attendant's job to singing. She said that all flight attendants sang the coffee or tea, chicken or beef rhapsody. (p.43)

And so when I was sang to during my flight, lol, I made my choice. I decided on Beef Rendang with Steamed Rice. The other item on the menu was Chicken with Tomato Rice.

My meal box

It was about 10.00 p.m., and I was tired and sleepy. The flight had been delayed for an hour, and I had already eaten my dinner. Nevertheless, I sampled a bit of the beef. Hmn. It was full of flavour and was very tender. Not bad, really. If I had been hungry, I would surely finish my food. :)

Famous Amos Handmade Cookies

The other day I walked past Famous Amos at the domestic departure hall at KLIA and the air was filled with that tempting aroma of freshly baked cookies - rich, buttery, sweet. Indeed Famous Amos gives out free smells all the time, as written on a sign board in its outlets nationwide. However it would be the first time that I would be tempted to buy because of the irresistable aroma!!!

I bought 100g of Butterscotch & Pecan Nuts and sat munching my cookies while waiting for my flight. For some reason, it had been delayed. Sigh.

Back to my cookies, there were fresh, crunchy but saccharine sweet, especially after popping the third piece into my mouth.

But as I was feeling so very down that day, I just needed that sugar rush to cheer me up.

Wedding Dinner @ Grand Straits Garden

Wedding dinners are not my thing. I have enough fingers on my hands to count just how many I have attended over the years. Not very many, in fact. And certainly not at all at Peninsular Malaysia.

Opportunity arose this time to attend my family wedding dinner reception at Grand Straits Garden at Danga Bay, Johor Bahru. A Google search came back with favourable reviews of the restaurant and its halal seafood.

Well, and I must say that I enjoyed the food there a whole lot. The seafood was fresh, the flavours were light, and the ambience was good.

Grand Straits Garden Combination

My serving ... I loved everything on the plate!!!

Braised Shark's Fin Soup with Dried Scallops & Crab Meats

Oh look at my bowl of Shark's Fin, filled to the brim ... yum ...

Crispy Roasted Chicken
It was quite yum except that I got the hard and dry breast meat part .... so I did not really enjoy the chicken as I would love to ...

Wok-fried Prawns Cluster with Sze-chuan Spicy Sauce
Now the prawns were HUGE ... and the texture was really good .... smooth and succulent ... this sauce was sweet and sour, but tongue-burning spicy ... phew!!!

Steamed Grouper Hong Kong Style

I got the parts of the fish I did not like too ... so I did not enjoy it too .... but what I found amusing was that the groom was served the head, and the bride was given the tail .... much like Chinese people always say, "有头有尾 ". Lol. It's sort of a symbol of completeness. It's so apt. I like. Lol.

Stir-fried Scallops Topped with Hawaii Nuts & Pine Nuts
This has to be my favourite ... the scallops were fresh, sweet and succulent ... the macadamia and pine nuts were crunchy .... and the broccoli crispy ... such contrast in texture!!!

Fragrance Fried Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ... by then I was too full to appreciate this dish ... lol

Douple Happiness Exquisite Pastry
... but I loved the desserts!!!! The pancake was filled with lotus filling and served warm, while the green little mochi-like buns had pandan lotus and were served cold ... both were sweet but it was a great end to a fabulous dinner

Sweet Red Bean Paste With Sago in Coconut Milk
I also liked the red bean soup which was served warm ... I'd have a few bowls if I had not been too full!! Lol ....

The decor was very nice too. The lights were kept dim, and exuded a very cosy and romantic atmosphere.

So pretty ...

The main table layout was very nice ....

Oh, there's complementary cake too. Over here in Sarawak, it's usually fruit cake. But at GSG, we got a cream-filled chocolate sponge finger. I shared half with aunt and found that it tasted quite good.

Well, I must say that I enjoyed the dinner lots and lots. Btw, congratulations to my dearies, J**** and SY!!!

My Favourite Burger

At 1.00 p.m., Burger King KLCC was packed with people. The queues at all the counters were so darn long. I joined the hungry people and stood in line till my legs ached. It was a good 10 minutes before it was my turn to order. Luckily everything was ready and all the girl had to do was to assemble the tray for me.

Whopper & Whopper Junior

Same thing ....

112g grilled beef patty compared to 62g in Whopper Junior

The burgers never disappoint. I love everything in there - the flame-grilled beef, the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles mayo and ketchup. Yum.

I always wonder why BK does not have an outlet in Sarawak. Sigh.

Madam Lim's Kitchen Again

Madam Lim's Kitchen at Jusco Maluri serves Nyonya, Chinese & Thai fusion food. I'd eaten here twice already, and had been absolutely happy with the food.

When Bro suggested we go there for dinner, I jumped for joy. Yayy!

We ordered ...

Fishball & Seaweed Soup

Mixed Chicken & Seafood Padprik

Stir-fried beef with ginger

Claypot Tofu

We also ordered a stir-fried brinjal, but I forgot to snap a pic. Haha.

Well, bro & sil enjoyed the meal, but I found the dishes to be less impressive this time. Perhaps I was still full with a huge bowl of Yong Tau Foo curry that I ate for lunch. Perhaps I over-anticipated the meal. Or perhaps I was just tired of outside food.

Now, let's see. There were only 2 miserly fishballs inside the soup, and a lump of seaweed. I thought it was quite pathetic. Taste wise, it was alright. The padprik had too much spice, imo. The padprik here tasted more like Nyonya sauce. I preferred the Malay warung kinda padprik, if you know what I mean. Both the beef and the brinjal did not quite nail it for me. It was almost there, but not quite yet. Something lacking. Salt, maybe? The claypot tofu was alright, albeit too sticky.

Not very pleased with the food, but I did like my Assam Boi Lime Juice a lot!!! The lime was tangy and refreshing, and the steamed lime stuffed assam boi provided a bit of saltiness to it. Yummmm.

Dim Sum Breakfast @ Koo Hiong Restaurant

Last time, we used to drive all the way to PJ to have good dim sum. Then the well-known Hong Kee opened a branch at Taman Connaught. The other dim sum cafes here felt challenged, and upgraded their standard, now offering better quality dim sum at competitive prices. So, a bit of a business rivalry is good after all.


That morning, our dim sum restaurant of choice was Koo Hiong, located just down the block from Hong Kee at Taman Connaught.


It's a small restaurant and tables are limited, but as you can see, folding tables are placed along the corridor and by the road outside the shop. This could only mean that business is thriving and they needed to cater to more customers than their shop could accommodate. According to sources, business is exceptionally good on Sundays.

And so, we ate a few types of dim sum here. There were lots more variety, but for some reason, all of us did not feel gluttonous that morning. Lol.

Shrimp dumpling 虾饺 ... not bad ... has got succulent prawns inside

Shao mai 烧卖

Spare ribs 排骨, Phoenix talons 凤爪, 2 types of bean curd rolls 鲜竹卷

Stuffed bitter gourd

Deep fried prawns wrapped in tofu skin

Deep Fried dumplings

Macro shot of Deep-fried dumplings

Loh Mai Kai 糯米鸡

Rice rolls with prawn stuffing 猪肠粉

Well, I would say that the dim sum here is not bad. The prawns used in all the stuffing was succulent. The spare ribs were tender. The loh mai kai was soft and flavourful. I found the phoenix talons to be slightly on the dry side, as I would have preferred it to be more gooey. For all the dim sum pictured and 3 glasses of Chinese tea, we paid RM35. I thought it was quite a bargain. ;)

Merry Xmas 2010

Wishing everyone a blessed Xmas 2010.

Sharing the pretty festive decor at various malls.

On the homefront .....

The Spring, Kuching

The Spring, Kuching

Across the South China Sea ....

City Square JB

Tebrau City JB

Sunway Pyramid, Selangor

The Mines Shopping Fair, Selangor
Mr. Bean Christmas theme

KLCC

The Gardens, Mid Valley City

Giant toys @ Mid Valley Megamall

Mid Valley Megamall

And the grandest of them all, in my opinion is .....

Red, green and white ....

Another shot ...

There's even snow!!!!

The infamous crystal fringed with red poinsettas and lush greenery

Right inside the main entrance .... lotsa people busy posing for photographs ...

The majestic Centre Court decked in rich colours ...

The Pavillion KL is the mall to visit if you are looking to feast your senses on the opulence and splendour of Christmas colours. The theme this year is "Christmas Enchantments", and I would think that most shoppers are enchanted by this experience.