We are MOVING away .....

Hope the title didn't " GOTCHA "

Nope, not moving house, not moving overseas, still slaving around ....

Just that my blogspot is about to explode anytime, yes i've used up 85% of the allocated free space!! That was the result of being such a lazy dude....i uploaded all my photos directly from the camera without whatsoever adjustment, every single piece is above 1MB...damn it!! So before i ended up having to salvage the explosive, i better get a new home !!! Don't know which idi*t snatched my .com domain so i've got to be contended with .net instead.

Here you go, please welcome to my new virtual home.....i promised to put you in a SMILE with my newly created header !!! enjoy....

http://jacss.net/

do update your link ya ...

A Bento Project

We have been rotting at home this weekend bcoz dady was away to Bangkok for 3 days ...... (fung lau fai wut)!! Sounds like it's quite often to Bangkok rite..... what to do, that's where his manufacturing plant is located. But of all, he chose the Lent period to go ..... sigh, no eye see !!

So i had planned ahead this "project" since i figure i'll have more time at home plus there will be "no one" pressuring me to do revision with the boys.....yes shhhh, the 'dictator' not at home, we'll all have absolute freedom. The boys can spoil themselves in front of the PC pounding the keyboard enjoying their games while i can indulge myself in the kitchen for as long as i like without that annoying calls!!

Anyway, back to the project i was talking about, if you have not known yet, there is a
"WHO R U" bento contest/challenge going on, organised by another bento enthusiast javapot, for more details, check out here.

It is meant to be a bento that should be telling about who I am.....pretty interesting but surely challenging !! I personally think that a bento box would be way insufficient to know the multi-faceted & versatile me......hehe, so i chose to tell what i LOVE & Passionate about currently in this phase of life !!! Hope i didn't go against the rules.

Bottom bento box consists of the main dish, which is suppose to be ala 'nasi lemak' style (modified version) with seafood, 'sambal', japanese fish cake, edamame & carrots !!

Upper bento box consists of fruits & desserts i.e. a fairy cupcake & shaped watermelon, cherry tomatos, cheese, chocolates & sweets !!


NOW, let's get to know me more.....

1) NASI LEMAK :

Yes, i am one of those typical Malaysian who couldn't live my normal life without a dose of our famous delicacy "nasi lemak". And had it not bcoz of health reason, i wouldn't have to limit my intake to not more than once a week!! I always believe there's reason for one to be 'fat' and now you know WHY heh??!! It's a holy poisoning food yet an authentic delicious food of ours, isn't it?

-The 'santan/coconut milk' rice was replaced by denbu rice shaped in sakura, which also symbolises my LOVE for everything japan !!

-The little boys plain onigiri rice symbolises "my love, my blood & my life", which are none other than my 2 little TWIN BOYS !!

'Nasi lemak' will not be complete without its' main ingredients 'sambal' and some accompanying dishes!!

2) SAMBAL (on the left of the yellow silicon cup) :

Here is my version of 'sambal' (big onions, blended dried prawns, fresh small prawns & a can of 'cili giling'). I'm an avid fan of HOT & SPICY food.....yes, another typical malai girl !!! My tolerance level towards spicyness has grown over the years and i consider myself 'crazy' over chillies. For that i had 2 red hot 'CILI PADIs' on top of the sambal as a symbolic food??
Today 'cili padi' has become part of the necessity in my meal. I'm used to had a pc or 2 of the chopped 'cili padi' on each spoon of food that goes into my mouth, but that standard has way long been surpassed so instead, i now need to have at least 4 to 5 pcs of chopped cili padi on top of each spoon of food..... in order to be satisfied / 'puas' !!

3) SEAFOOD (on the right of the pink silicon cup) :

Being a top in my list of favourite food, I chose it as the accompanying dishes to my 'nasi lemak'.... i.e. stir fried squids & prawns with dried chillies & onions !!
**arghh** .... Letting out a big sigh as it is yet another heart-attack food!! As age is catching up, i'm also moderating the intake of seafood :(

4) JAPANESE FISH CAKE (in a bag figurine):

If you have yet to 'catch' what it symbolises.....read on. Sadly but i'm a person who enjoys INDULGENCES a lot!! I spoilt & pampered myself too much & unnecessarily at times....so much so that mom called me 'pai kar jing' (a gene that she alleged i picked up from dad)......i can't believe i'm telling you guys this!! The LV bag figurine symbolises my love for branded bags .....carrying one never failed to boost up my self-esteem. But now that i had nearly 10 pcs to rotate, i will have to put a stop to getting more...but but wait, i've yet to own a pc of Chanel & CD .....yikes :( !!!
Apart from that, i love going to spa pampering myself with sauna, a session of jacuzzi bath, massage, facial, manicure & padicure....all of which are money suckers and that's why you see a $$ sign on the floral carrot slice. Therefore, being employed is important to me...haha bcoz i can't imagine not spending my own money for such indulgences!!

5) In my DESSERTs box:

Like any woman, ladies & girls, i too have a sweet taste bud. It feels romantic to be able to enjoy a good dessert after a fulfilling meal. The chocolates, gummy hello kitty sweets & cupcake are all sweeeet !!

-Watermelon is my all-time favourite fruit that kills thirst instantly with its' sweet & abundance of juice!!

-Cupcake symbolises my newly found passion for baking & the art of cake !!

-2 lady birds symbolises my extreme desire for freedom in whatever i do (btw those cheese only laid as a base for the lady birds to sit on)!!

That's all for the time being, hope you had a good time knowing 'my love' / 'my passion' & those little bad sides of me !!!

Btw, it's my virgin try in a Bento Contest so bear with my simple work. Wish me luck & do give support if you like as i'll be lying if i said i don't wish to get those exciting gift that awaits the winner!!

Anyway, if this little challenge also interest you, wait no more as closing dateline is soon approaching.

Happy Bentoing !!

Japan - Hakone Onsen

continue from here

We checked out from our hotel on the 3rd day but asked that our luggages be kept by the hotel as we left for a 2 days 1 night stay at HAKONE. Sach took 2 days leave to join us on the ONSEN(hotspring) trip where she also became the tour guide.

You can skip reading the below introduction of the place if u r not about to visit the place.... :)

from wikipedia

Hakone (箱根; [1]) is a mountainous area west of Tokyo in Japan. The Hakone checkpoint on the historical Tokaido road marks the beginning of the Kanto region.

The affordable method of reaching Hakone from Tokyo is to take the Odakyu Odawara Line from Shinjuku station. The fastest train on the Odakyu Line is the Hakone (はこね) Limited Express train (特急 tokkyū), which runs twice an hour for most of the day. The 85-minute journey makes only two stops enroute and costs ¥2020. Note that some trains, called Super Hakone (スーパーはこね), use newer train equipment, while evening rush hour runs from Shinjuku are called Home Way (ホームウェイ). The slower Odakyu express train (急行 kyūkō) runs twice an hour at a cost of only ¥1150, reaching Hakone in two hours.

Modes of transport in the Hakone region are many and varied:

The Hakone Ropeway from Sounzan down to Togendai on Lake Ashinoko via the boiling sulphur pits of Owakudani

Most people opt for the Odakyu Hakone Free Pass [2], which includes a return trip from Shinjuku and allows unlimited use of all of the above forms of transport for several days. In addition, pass holders can receive discounts at many hot springs, museums, restaurants, and other locations by showing their pass.

The 2-day Free Pass costs ¥5000 from Shinjuku and ¥3900 from Odawara. A 3-day pass can be purchased for an extra ¥500. Additionally, if you have a Free Pass from Shinjuku you can use the Hakone Limited Express train by paying a surcharge of ¥870 each way.

The volcanically active Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, centered around Lake Ashinoko, is a popular tourist attraction well known for its onsen (hot springs) and its views of Mount Fuji.

The journey took slightly more than 2 hours as there were quite a number of transits made in order to reach the resort we stayed!! So Sach has brought along some snacks for us to munch during our long hours ride in the train. We all love the jap. snacks but for me not to the extend of making dozen of orders as souvenirs....yes, that's what Jen did, nearly all the snacks she tried, she wanted to buy home & each of them in dozen or more, oooOOH....haha !!!

During the long journey, we not only enjoyed our food & the beautiful scenics of the red leaves, we also shared a lot of laughters & funs as well as exchanged our different cultures & backgrounds!! I gotta admit that i GAINED a lot from this trip..... of course in relation to the vast culturals differences between us !! An example that worth a note is the power & status of MALE gender in the japanese society! In my opinion, though the Chinese too emphasise a lot priorities on male but i reckon that it wasn't as strong as the japanese.

I was told by Sach that once a jap. woman is married, she is no longer valid to carry her family name in any of her official identification document including I/C, passport & etc. This could have easily includes addressing your name in any official environment!! I was then only discovered that her family named as i had always known was actually her husband's family name. And should a woman failed to change all the identification after marriage, she has actually committed an offence, LOL!! At least we Malaysian don't have to do these right?? And according to Sach, it was due to these complication that the divorcing rate in japan was not as high as other part of the world....oooOOHHH !!??

We all also know that the jap has been renowned for their well-mannered attitude & strong disciplines/principles!! Again Sach proved to me just how truth this claim is .... !! If you are as blur a sotong as i used to be, let me tell you....i was once very curious why the address of the jap name always end with the word ' san ' ??? Like Suzuki san..... Takeshi san.... Well d answer is simple... it actually means Mr. Suzuki..... Mr. Takeshi..... which absolutely answered my stupidity!! Then Sach further shared with us that apparently the jap. is very very veryyyyy....... particular about having the title 'san' being addressed together with their family name, without which they would feel offended. Some even consider the addresser 'rude' if the title 'san' was not being used alongside the family name.....another big oooOOHHH from me!!!

Then she related a story of an ex-boss of her that attended the company's finance conference where many counterparts from around the world gathered!! As usual .... many greeted her jap ex-boss by HIS OWN NAME without following by the title 'san', instead of his family name .....so much to his discomfort until finally he couldn't tolerated anymore and this ex-boss actually have to resort to telling his fellow colleagues that he prefers to be addressed by his family name i.e. Negesi san ......ooohhh ....LOL that's how extreme it can be !!!

There were also many other interesting stories we shared during our journey but i can't be telling all lar....already side track so long !!!

Anyway, with such chattings, time passes by like a blink of an eye. Sach has arranged with the resort to pick us up by a van from the train station.

Here we are finally arriving at the Hakone resort hotel.

some photos inside the resort hotel

(with absolute authentic zen taste....)

It was indeed blissful that we were spared from doing the check-in.....u know what i mean with the language barrier?? Then very soon we were brought on a brief tour of the resort with some basic rules to comply while staying in the resort. With a local around, the hotel staffs were also spared from having to do the briefing in foreign language, LOL !!

Outside of the resort hotel, one of the waiting lounge, the signage outside the onsen bath, our room no. plate & the welcome snack in our room

Next obviously was our bedroom.

That Traditional type of Japanese flooring is called " TATAMI " ooh.....i didn't know that!! As there are only 2 single beds, i offered to sleep on the 'tatami' as it was my wish to experience sleeping the typical jap. style, *wink-wink* Anyway, as we chatted until very late that night, i dozed off like a pig and could hardly differentiate the bed, LOL !!!

Once we had enough of ransacking the room & settled down our belongings, off we stormed out to begin our further exploration of the entire resort area particularly their ONSEN offerings!! I learnt that there were many onsens around (public or private) & most of the hotel in Hakone (modern or japanese style) has onsen facility!! I believe most people would just use the onsen facility at the hotel one stays in and it is not like you have to travel to a public one though i was told there is also a public onsen which is mostly visited by locals only.

Below here was one of the OPEN Private Onsen (outdoor limited headcount) which only limits to a certain headcount at one go! There was a washing & make-up area. I think this is one of the smallest onsen in our resort meant for a max of 3 persons. As you can see, though it is a private onsen within the resort compound plus one that is separated by gender, it was only covered up to about 6 feet in height by the sides and the top part is entirely open.....imagine this is suppose to be a 'naked' type onsen ??? So i gave this a big PASS...no no no madness i call this !!! Btw, don't you think it's too BRIGHT to be naked too.........LOL LOL!!

Next we moved on to the ENCLOSED Public Onsen (indoor but unlimited headcount) which is also separated by gender....ooh, common i can't imagine one with open gender, oOHH !!! Photo at the bottom right. As this is a public place with many visitors walking around in naked..... photography is obviously prohibited but i still managed to steal a shot or two!!

After touring all the available onsen services....we actually had to discuss about the options, haha....like what we prefer (indoor=warmer/outdoor=very cold), which one offers more privacy, thus more comfort & less embarassment bla bla bla .... obviously at the amusement of the local, my colleague Sach!! Actually Sach has told me months earlier that no one would bother to look at our body...which was so true! From old, young to fat & skinny, all giving you free show, so .....

Option chose & we went back to our room to get ourselves ready as you can see below there were attires provided for usage at the onsen. Literally said, all necessities (toiletries-Shiseido brand, sandal, pyjamas & etc) were well provided at all the places we stayed. Even winter jacket was provided...look at the black ones we wore in the lift below !!! Thoughtful .....

Among us, I was the most shy/embarass/awkward one.....i mean, you don't blame me i'm sure.... who wouldn't want to show if it was 36-24-38 that one possesses, right... rite??? Arggghh....but i was determined to try the onsen no matter what & the whole objective of visiting the place is vanish & meaningless if onsen is not tried!!

Now that it was over, i don't mind sharing.....while we were at the changing room, i was full of anxiety & anticipation! I don't know how to react/response upon seeing my co-workers' ....emm, ahem ...... "body".....i mean & worst still i can't imagine what people thought of mine at d sametime !!! And so i delayed the stripping process....like don't know which piece to strip first, then the eyes peeking at others at 45 degrees, wahahaha !!! Then in no time, others had already fully stripped so meaning i've no more room to delay....okay, die means die, strip naked lar!! Thank god there was still a face towel being allowed to be taken to the onsen & that was the life saving tool at that moment.....i'm sure u can imagine which part i would've chose to cover, LOL!!

There gone my first time....and i will 100% absolutely be doing it again & again with no regret as i love every minute of soaking in there. Btw, once you are down the water level, it was pretty gloomy so everythg is not so clear....geee :) But i must admit that after the onsen bath , i felt a tad tired actually!

Ooh ya, prior to & after onsen, we also need to take a shower at an open cubicle with a little stool to sit on....blek!! I never had such a lightening speed shower, LOL!! Once we have washed ourselves, there was a huge make-up area to use which offers a comprehensive range of facial care products, ranging from cleansing foam, toner, face moisturiser to body lotion, then hair gel & dryer, cotton bud & facial cotton.....absolutely complete!! All one has to bring is probably make-up set....if only that you need to!!

By the time we were done, it was time for dinner & our package was inclusive of a seafood dinner set!! That was like a long awaited wish finally came true, an all girls night out without having to bother about time to go home, hubby & kids!! Wonderful time with sake, beer, grilled seafood & beef, specially baked rice & dessert. Not forgetting laughters !!

After dinner, there wasn't really much to do apart from chatting & relaxing on the 'tatami' with cups of green tea along side the fragrant of dried petals above the burning candle!! Chatting from a sitting position to lying down & finally till dozing off ..... that was me spending my night on the 'tatami' !!

The next morning before breakfast, we rushed out for another onsen session as it was a facility too precious & luxurious to be slipped by !! Guess what....this time around, i striped naked super fast already, LOL !!! I was quick to be done over with the embarassment, haha

After another great breakfast & check out, we embarked on our journey to another remarkable location. There are many other places of interest in Hakone but a short 2 days are not sufficient to cover even 1/2 of them!! So we were contended with only 1 hotspot, i.e.

• The Great Boiling Valley (大涌谷 Ōwakudani) is a volcanic hot spot full of sulphurous springs. Owakudani can be reached by cablecar from Sounzan and the lake.

We boarded a cable car to reach the place which has a clear view of the Mount Fuji. Absolute awesome views except the sulphur ground.....scarry!!

Once the cable car reached the level where the sight of Mt.Fuji was all obvious & clear, everyone in the cable car gave a big big round of applause!! According to Sach, it was not all the time possible to have such a good view....lucky we!!

Arrival at the station of the Owakudani.

Another clear view at the station.

As this place was at an extremely high level i suppose, the wind became terribly strong that i started to worry for the kids & those skinny girls if they would be flown away!! We had to tightly grabbed on to our hat & shawl or else they would have d same fate of flying away!! And it has the coldest temperature during my entire stay in Japan!! It was nevertheless the most exciting & thrilling moments.

We tried the black eggs (黒玉子) at Owakudani. Boiled on site, their shells are a mottled black due to a chemical reaction with the sulphurous water, but the inside is quite tasty.

According to Japanese legend, every one you eat will add seven years to your life. 5 eggs (and hence 35 years) will set you back just ¥500.

** I think i ate 2, so i have 14 more years to my life ** LOL

We spent quite bit of time up there. Apart from enjoying the weather, the strong wind & beautiful sceneries, we also did some souvenir shopping, haha !! Once we were done, it was nearly 3pm+!! The journey back to Tokyo took easily 2 hours plus.

It was nearing dinner time again when we reached back our hotel in Tokyo. But the trip really made us very exhausted so we had a brief rest at the hotel before gushing out to fill our tummy!!

Foods are really GLORIOUS!! Even a random pick at a bigger train station could offer the unexpected !!! I'm just gonna show all the food that i managed to capture as my memory really failed me in trying to remember which one was for which meals, when, where & etc.....

Doing online ordering of Jap version pizza, udon soup & beef rice.

I had many rounds of the below sake that mixed with squeeze orange juices.....

This was one of the TOFU meal where most of the dishes had tofu as the main ingredients!!
We all love these so much...esp the cold soba, the best i had thus far !!

Some appetizer & desserts

4 hectic days in Tokyo & Hakone, we were left with 1 day on Friday supposingly a free & easy day for Jenn & myself. Both of us feeling extremely exhausted only did some final catch ups on shopping & eating.....and i reckoned that we can do without the Friday actually, what a waste!!

Saying adious to Japan was really heartbreaking!!

After this trip, i knew i will become a japan fanatic....haha

I'm trully blessed that my dream to visit Japan finally came true & i'm sure it will remained at the top in my vacation memories for a longest time!!! With god's blessing, i will be back to Japan for sure!

SAKURA ..... SAKURA ......

*** Aiya....sorry ahh, still not enough talking about my 'yap pun mui' leh ***

She managed to snap some beautiful shots of the SAKURA outside the office building recently and shared them with me !!

If not told, i didn't know that SAKURA has a short life of about 2 weeks+ only & it's now in season!!!

What a waste hor ??

** FOR YOUR PLEASURE VIEWING **

Aren't they marvelous ??
Also a beautiful unique creation & gift of god ??

Btw, i didn't know that even a japanese can be very fanatical over the sakura;

" Sach mentioned that it's her dream to be able to see the sakura (since it's seasonal) before leaving for heaven one day "
......oooh, that's so touching ??

And a few shots of the night life of the sakura with illustrative lightings!!
She said many likes to enjoy a cup of SAKE by these views, who wouldn't right?

Have a good weekend !!

My 1st BENTO Book

I was greeted with a BIG SURPRISE on a late morning of yesterday in the office!!

As usual the courier guy left a bulk of letters on my table which i had brushed a side for 15mins until i was more settled down to check them out!! My eyes were caught by the big envelop & when i flipped it over to check for details.....**dang** i saw the sender's details....that was my japanese colleague with a note in red stated it was A BOOK only !!!

My heartbeat immediately turned into a messy tone....bumping up & down, left & right in excitement with my lips wide smiling happily as i already could expect it to be a BENTO book !!

During my visit to Tokyo, i had several times mentioned to her that i'm interested in looking for some kawaii bento book but some of the few smaller bookstores that we visited did not house many good selection!! Though we knew that we could have easily find one in Kinokuniya but time & chances just don't opened up the opportunity for us to visit one....yes, i missed giving Kino a visit !

Anyway, the moral of the story was " SHE REMEMBERED IT ".....she remember that i long to own one but hesitate to get it back home as it is a bit pricey here!!

She told me that she stumbled upon the book & found it really interesting (thou she didn't make such bento). And so she thought of me ....... isn't the thought & effort of flying the book all the way from Japan beating thru the expensive freight charges suffice to make the recipient choked with emotion???

Yes....yes....for a moment i was stunned glaring & admiring the book with disbelieve until i didn't realised my eyes turned teary......ooh man !!! what an emotional girl heh.......

By Akinoichigo: the popular one here....we all visited her website before, no??
love all her creations.
Christene said it was one of her favourite too ... where she would flipped over whenever she had to be kept in long wait during her course of work with the Court....sorry dearie, stealing yr stories here....*wink* !!

Soon after calming myself down with the terrible excitement, my attention was shifted to those little stamps affixed on the envelop......gosh, oh my.....why in the world all the things from japan are so CUTE......tell me???

" take a look at the transformer stamp "
yes, my guess was correct, the boys fight over the stamps

Geeee....you see la, even the little sticky note melted me, won't you??

MOO - MOO note

I have been working for the past 8 years with people around the globe with distinctive backgrounds & cultures. But many of which are only limit to a strict working relationship!!

And I reckon that it's not all easy for a distance working relationship to blossom into a level beyond just that, yes with her it is also about friendship together with several other Asian ladies in the group (a Philippino, a Taiwanese etc...) which i would definitely treasure & appreciate it.

Thank you dear, *muak-muak* !!

That's a little insight stories about :

** A Surprise that Came by When You Least Expected It **

p/s: ooh no....more homework now !!!

Another RARE weekends.....

Quite a lot of things that worth a mention !!

I've been longing to make a "proper" bento if not really a very nice bento for the boys without restriction factors during school days, such as "to be able to withhold our warm temperature"!! This simply means home bento is the best idea !! Usually with the busy events & lazy bugs biting during the weekend, it's really hard to find time to accomplish this task! But this past Saturday, i liked what i cook for our lunch !!!

Hubby got some "sashimo" / the above fish from Cold Storage at very good bargain!! It has always been a 'hit' whenever the family dine at any Japanese restaurant. But maybe due to my lousy frying skills, the boys weren't as fancy as we had initially thought!! Anyway, huby & I do enjoyed eating them!! The moulded rice has been mixed with salmon furikake & there were also other fillings within the rice!! And i had finally finished the last batch of disney animal seaweeds i brought back from Japan!! Though the bento nearly fulfilled the complete criterias of having carbos, protein & veggies, nevertheless, i had expected the boys to give the lettuce & cherry tomato a pass!! Kids never like those anyway....so they were there just to please my camera, haha!! Btw, those brown strips in the triangle silicon cups were "wo lai yeh's yuk kon"/bbq dried meat which was the 1st attacked by the boys !!

This morning, huby finally managed to pick up the courage to send his boys to the long postponed SUNDAY SCHOOL (btw, they should have started since 5 years old) !! I have yet to question him why?? Maybe his grandpa visited him in his dream & gave him a hard knock on his head, bwahahaha.......!!! I personally reckoned that the 1 & a half hour session is a tad long for the kiddos, i'm just very afraid that the boys would soon become very bored of it & hesitate to attend!! And i bet my MIL would be very happy that the grandsons had finally officially on its' way to embrace the religion....she had been hinting & pestering huby to fulfill this obligation of him!!! As Ash Wed, Good Friday & EASTER is approaching, this was their first assignment in the class today !!

For non-christian, these are PALM LEAVES....(the boys told me so, haha) which are used to wave at Jesus on his journey to be crucified....somethg like that lar (as i'm not catholic, stories picked up from huby)!!

I'm glad the boys gave a pretty good review to the start of their sunday class & the fact that they took the effort to colour the leaves after returning home proved their positive attitude...**proud** !!

To reward them after the class, we visited for the 1st time the newly opened IOI Mall Extension mainly for lunch actually!! The boys picked PapaJohn pizzas & the food was pretty good except that we found the portion a bit too small !!!

Then...then...then, DAISO (the RM5 shop) has begin operated since Saturday (28/3) and i knew my visit to IOI mall will never be complete without a visit to it though I didn't really expect much since my bento gear collections are pretty huge already!!

Guess what, the place was "people mountain people sea"....so damn jam pack!! I was even more surprise to discover that the range of products in this branch has more varieties & more extensive than that of The Curve!! So, of course i didn't came out empty handed !!

Without much a do, here you go:

don't you also find these corning wares SO SO SO pretty?? they are not just pretty outside but also quite taxing in weight, so i presume d quality is good !!
and each cost only RM5.....dang !!

Though i saw many new items here which were not available at the other branch during my last visit there, unfortunately there were not many bento related accessories!!! Most of them i had already owned. Anyhow, below were some of my picks!!

i like the 'red bowl' for soup/rice, nice !!

While i was busy at the section for 'silai aunty', the boys were with their dady at where they were meant to be!! They had their pick of items as well !!

And for the longest time i had been looking for those "transparent case" to house the boys mountain of car toys!!
See their range of ferrari cars below & aren't they looked neater this way ??!!

Finally i end this post with yet another snack bento for the boys tomorrow..... simply because:
~the water chestnuts were super sweet & juicy so i had them added into the konyaku jelly &
~the frozen corn seeds were shockingly FRESH & SWEET, i never expected frozen food to turn out so well. just microwave them a little & add some olive butter with a pinch of salt, they tasted like those we get to eat from the Nelson corn!!
at the bottom is a pack of MILO chocolate nougat !!
the colour combination also pretty awesome, rite ??

There goes my busy weekends & i hate to wait for another week to be able to do another posting!! i'm desperately dying to finish off the final episode of my japan visit, i.e. my virgin ONSEN (naked hotspring) session !!! LOL LOL LOL, stay tune lor.....

Bento week # 22

Since posted the boys' series of bentos a month ago with the mom ranting & rafting about her discovery of his little boy Scot refusing to eat & rather suffered the hunger pangs, i have sort of figured out the causes/reasons/rationale behind those ' little drama ' !!!

This little boy has, for his life been a more picky eater compared to his kor-kor, Sean. Since he doesn't "LIVE TO EAT", he is obviously LESS appreciative of food or in other words he is not the "wai sik" type!! And his eating patern is base on NEEDS absolutely....yes, he "EAT to LIVE instead".....as opposed to his parents, *wink* !!!

So after into much talks, persuasion, discussion & consultation (wtf..... like big project pulak...), i could sort of grasped the 'root' of the problem. It appears that those short 20 minutes of the recess time was TOO PRECIOUS to him that he was all willing to forgo his food ....... just for the sake of some 'FREE play time' !! Being such a hyper kid that i knew of him, i don't doubt this at all. It must be pretty hard that he has to be confined in the strict class room environment!! Furthermore, it's really shocking to see the teachers walking around in the school compound with a 'CANE' on top of the pile of books that she was carrying ......as if it was one of her 'teaching tool' :( Being the parents, we can only hope that our kids would not often be the victim of the cane!! Having said that, i can sort of relate to the kids' feeling of restriction & the desire for freedom..... yet on the other hand i would very much like to welcome the enforcement of 'discipline' into the boys' life, what a dilemma ehh??

While the boys related their stories to me, i was made to understand that Scot usually refused to remain seated at the allocated seat in the canteen, thus missing his meal (as their meal was served on the canteen table). Instead he prefers to bring his lunch box to other common areas (flag area/pathway/walkway) and join his little cronies that brought their food from home & did not subscribed to the school meal package!! They were as if having a picnic on the floor, an idea which i'm delighted to receive!! But but .....wait, kids being kids, i can truly understand my son who would not be obligated to sit & eat his meal!! This is especially so when he gets extremely excited PLAYING !! His big brother did 'tuk pui chek/poke his gold finger behind Scot's back' and said Scot used to run around during recess time & i can absolutely picture that!!

Run... chat...push...giggle...run again...bull shit...absolute freedom.......there goes his 20 mins easily !!
and i strongly believe that's how he missed his meal !!
the sad part is, being at primary school level, they are suppose to be entrusted with a responsibility of taking care of themselves during meal time, yet my "well-taken-care-of" boy was just not ready for such huge responsibility yet!!
i truly hope that this phase will fade off soon....bcoz that little tummy really needs some food (even if it's not nutritious type....i.e. canteen food) to sustain the long 7 hours of schooling.....my poor boy!!

Anyway, the above scenarios happened more extreme during the 1st 2 months since school started & as time goes on, i began hearing that Scot sometimes would ate either few mouthfuls of his canteen meal or selective dishes in his bento box....depending on what tricks mummy had used !!! Soon.... as he is more & more willing to take canteen meal, i tend to reduce the size of his bento portion too!! Mostly i would slot in some "add-ons" such as fruits, desserts or other side dishes that could go well with or substitute his canteen meal !!

"strawberries, edamame, cheese cube, marshmellows & baked kamaboko with ham & cheese"

"oranges, fried chicken meat balls & french beans"


"ham sandwich, 1/2 egg, banana fritters & green apple slices"

"leftover food (veggies, meat, milk & egg mixture) quiches"

Here are some of the SATURDAY BREAKFAST meals at home :

Yeah....my dearie SCOT... while i was busy snapping his food, he volunteer this pose, paused & insisted that i snap this photo, arghhh.....he just knows his mom well !!

Btw, he eats well at home under our supervision !!!

"a piece of sushi rice, some pesimmon & dark berries"

OOH ya....i think this was the last meal in these 2 TOMICA CAR lunch boxes before SEAN LOST his box.......this poor boy got nagged by his mom for a whole week, i tell you !!!
I was damn pissed, upset & heartache that i ended up writing a long letter (together with the photo of the lunch box in colour) to the school principal seeking his kind help to locate it back....i know i was betting with luck.....boo hoo!! And I clearly known that i'm super 'kiasu'....so damn petty but ....what to do, that was what my mind wanted to do at that very moment!! But actually i was putting this request as a secondary point in my letter that has other primary issues to attend lar !! Anyhow, i'm glad that the assistant principal did entertained my request & personally gave me a phone call to talk about it.....then i forget about losing the 30ringgit, **grin** !!! Since then i never let the boy use the box & let it collect dust!!
"spit on those parents that allow their kid to bring home things that don't belong to them"

"various pasta meals as it was one of Scot favourite"



Soba mee but it was clearly a wrong idea as i don't have sauce bottle in proper size so the soba soup got spilled & dirty his bag & books!! ** no next time **



"mini sausages & crabsticks pizza with grapes & baby mandarin oranges"

That's some of the boys' bentos recently !!
Hope you don't get too bored with my rantings.....LOL !!

Btw, we survived our EARTH HOUR tonite (back home around 8:45 after dinner & had a night stroll around our 'taman'....the 30-45min went past so fast) !!

Have a good Sunday tomorrow!!

8TV_ULTIMATE POWER GROUP - LIVE (22/3/09)

It was our first experience watching the shooting of a LIVE TV Singing contest organised by 8TV, namely the ULTIMATE POWER GROUP at SRI PENTAS, Shah Alam tonite !!! As the name denotes, it is a singing competition that features group singing instead of individual. Each of the candidate entered the contest on a solo basis, after which those who are eligible to go for the final are then 'grouped' together to form individual group based on compatibility criterias!! So Tricia (the twins' little aunty/huby's cousin sister) was grouped together with 2 cutie pie girls & formed a group called "YA TOU" (or nga tao in cantonese)!!

all 18 - 20 years old.... " pok pok chui ahh "

Sean with the 'leng lui' ....

yeah.... that's her, the cutest lar i must say!!

The competition begins with the selection of 12 groups of finalist!!

Tricia's mom has been extremely supportive of her princess that she constantly reminded her contacts in Facebook to support her.....that was so sweet of a mom, doesn't she?? Of course we were invited to join this wonderful show & luckily my huby was keen to go. I even persuaded my mom to follow since she is a long time 'fans' of such singing show (she has attended numerous times on those organised by Astro)!! Our atmosphere became more merrier when my dad & younger sis also joined us.

sorry for the poor photography skills :(

It was only the 1st round of competition yet the number of audiences that turned up for the show was so shocking. We gathered outside the studio waiting for our group to be called for entrance. Luckily that we got the privilege as family members to enter the studio yet we were seated very far from the stage as others family members had filled up the front seats!!
I was immensedly amazed when the supporters of YA TOU were extremely large....in fact it was the 2nd largest crowd if not the 1st!! It was great feeling seeing such a big crowd of supporters!!

I must say it was pretty interesting to learn & encountered some of the "back stage" actions during a live show like this!! These were things that we don't get to see in front of the square box i.e. TV. The 2 hosts came out to interact with the audiences before the show went on live with the objectives of reaching some consensus to put up a good show together!! The hosts would tell us when are the appropriate time to applaud, shout & scream.....then they would asked us to practise putting up the respective banners to check that the judges or some important scenes were not blocked.....and they also seeked that we don't turned on our camera flash just so that the contestants' vision, hence performance were not affected !!! During commercial break, the hosts will appeared again to provide us the feedback of our behaviours & so on .....
I really enjoyed the show!!

I must agreed that my heart went bumping when YA TOU was called out as the 1st group to perform. It turned out that their performance was absolute CUTE....fantastic & excellent, i must reiterate that i did not exert any exaggeration.....as the judges instantly fell in love with their performance, thus given them a very very good & encouraging comments, phew....i even sighed a relief!! Moving on with the performance of the remaining 5 groups, it was obviously that YA TOU was ahead in the show!!

When the results were released, YA TOU was the ONLY group that gained the special "PASS" from panel of judges to proceed to the next session without having to be subjected to elimination session. All supporters of YA TOU were spared from sending any SMS.....phewwww !!! I was tremendously proud, feeling very thrilled over the victory....though there are still a long journey ahead to reach the final stage!! Can't begin to imagine the feeling of the parents.....

great job & good show YA TOU !!
after the result was released, being the winning group, they were like super 'STARs' posing for photography & being interviewed, LOL !!!

Hopefully YA TOU will continue to be consistent in their performance moving forward. We shall be back to Sri Pentas to support you !!! Keep up the good work....

Tricia on far left.



To catch them, please note:

Every Sunday, 8:30 pm on Channel 708 ~ 8TV !!
btw, if you like them....do give support ya !!

Bento week # 21

Despite the continuous busy life....food is still important & in most days, 2 of my meals in the office are home-made BENTO, so obviously the preparation consumed quite a bit of time of my 24 hours a day. Furthermore, i'm not only doing bento for myself & the boys, but also for hubby as he has recently started to accept bento (but strictly for breakfast only). Guess like any other men, he still yearn for a much needed catch up with his cronies during lunch!!!

So imagine the number of bento photos lying in my camera....so it's understandable that i've gotten more stringent in the selection of bento photos for posting.......!!

I have many many back dated posts queueing up behind but i know that my 'constipated' bento photos needed to be released before they got out of control. And the effort of 'beautifying' those food that goes into the stomach in split seconds (yet shit out the next day) would have gone wasted if i don't treasured them up here!!!

Alright, enough of justifying & lets enjoy my MARATHON bento photos........yet again !!

Here are all the ADULTS BENTOS :


Cha SOBA that goes with some fried chicken fillet, carrots & sweet peas!
Desserts are banana fritters & green apples!

Sweet potato sesame BUN that goes with roast ginger chicken alternating with potatos slices!
Green salads with dressing & strawberries with honey!

TOP
L: Blanced longevity noodles at the bottom of brocollis, carrots, cucumbers & prawns!
R: Edamame & baked ham & cheese in kamaboko



Meehoon that goes with soya sauce chicken & egg!

PIZZA making day using a pita bread !!!

L: 3 pcs of Inari, minced meat ham on japanese tofu at the bottom & 2 pcs of buffalo wings!!
R: Longevity noodles repeating ....

PANCAKES day!!
Salads, Inari, pancakes

Prawns, carrots & long beans on a pool of longevity noodles, more inari with lychee & grapes!!

PASTA day!!


Bunny marinara pasta & pasta with oyster sauce minced meat !!

SOBA mee & Fried MeeHoon with salad & grapes

BREAD & SANDWICHES !!

PITA bread & Hot dog bun with greenies & veggies (tomato, pumpkin, lettuce, carrots, zuchinni)
salads (blueberries, macademia nuts, raisins, cherry tomato & green leaves)

Have a nice Sunday tomorrow & Happy Bentoing !!!

The "aftermath" of my 2009 birthday .....

It's just another passing of "A" BIRTH date....at an age you won't probably feel great anymore sigh !! :(

... am not really expecting ...

yet i'm so glad, so blessed, so happy that i have LOVED ones that remember this supposedly ordinary day, what's more having a few good old frens to throw a little small celebration at my place to commemorate d occasion......

** the aftermath ~ i have these to cherish **

tempura prawn...

steam fish...

scallops with mix veggies...

minced meat on tofu...

AND how can i forget to snap the photo of the all-time-HIT sweet & sour POPcorn chicken???

agar-agar mix jellies...

set of earrings & bracelet with ....... errrrggg.......a baking book ????
my fren certainly knew my latest passion, LOL !!! and u know what was the change?? a change from giving me "sexy lingerie/pyjamas" to a "COOK BOOK", i can't believe it *laughing* !!!

a yearly 'treat' from my pal, a cousin sister..... we had a change of taste this time & tried Korean food !!!

from my ...... ahem .....

btw, not forgetting the many greetings & wishes from friends at facebook/MSN/email/ via sms, it really does make a different !!

THANKS folks from the bottom of my heart !!

1st Pregnancy TAG !!

I find this tag interesting & easy so i'm giving it a go this time!! thanks Annie for sharing your stories & for tagging me!!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Initially it was a shock but soon happily receiving it as a GIFT of GOD.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Absolutely never thought of it

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? late 20s

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? A test from the pregnancy kit & later confirmed with a gynae visit

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Parents & in-laws

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Of course. Despite the gynae kept pointed to me the sign of the 2 'birdies' but i still can't figured out the shape from his lousy monitor. So, i was still 'hoping' that it would 'miraculously' turned out a pair of 'loong foong thoi'....(haha, greed eats in me!!)

9. DUE DATE? 1st week Dec 2002

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? No

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Spicy food as usual & cold drinks

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Serious break-out on the face that nearly caused me into depression!!

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD SEX? Twin boys

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? Yes, i had wished for a boy & a girl

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
a whopping 23 kg!

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Nope, never heard of such thing at that time....haha (it was just not a practice here)

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? Yes, of course

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Luckily no.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Assunta Hospital

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? No labour as it was a planned ceasarean. I was told that the whole procedure only took less than 45mins...

21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Huby

22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Gynae, paediatrician and nurses

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? C-Section

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yes, Post surgery pain killer for nearly 2 weeks bcoz i'm a person very vulnerable to pain, LOL

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 2.65kg (twin 1) and 2.3kg (twin 2)

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 11th Nov 2002

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Sean & Scot Heng

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? They are 7 years old (by year)

SEAN kor-kor

SCOT di-di

kor-kor kissing di-di

Anyone feel free to do this, please go ahead !!!
The End !!

Japan - Tsukiji FISH Market

Before moving on to our DAY 2 exploration, here are some of the snacks that we managed to savour the night before at Ginza.....they looked famous coz the queue to buy them was sooooo long !!!
BAUM kuchen & Mount BAUM chocolate

Day 2 we were on a free & easy day with Sach being our local tour guide!! She has really lined us a very comprehensive itineraries!!

The 1st location was to Asakusa Kannon Temple !!

from WIKIPEDIA :

Is the oldest and most popular temple in Tokyo. It is located in Asakusa, in Taito-ku, one of the 23 wards that form the metropolitan area of Tokyo. Next to it is the Shinto shrine of Asakusa Jinja. The temple is dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon, which is known in Chinese as Kuan Yin or Guan Yin, and in English as the Goddess of Mercy, and is derived from the bodhisatva Avalokitesvara that originates in India.

According to legend, the statue of the Kannon was found in the Sumida River in the year 628AD by two fishermen, brothers Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari. Their village chief turn his own home into a shrine, and placed the statue there for the villagers to worship it. Soon the reputation of the Kannon spread throughout the country and devotees flocked to the temple to venerate the statue. Although the statue is kept here, it is not shown to the public. The first temple was completed in 645, giving it the earliest date of a temple in Tokyo.

Although a Buddhist temple, the Sensoji is the site for Tokyo's largest and most popular Shinto festival, the Sanja Matsuri. It takes place in late spring, spread over 3-4 days, during which the streets around the temple is closed to traffic.

At the entrance to the Sensoji is the Kaminari Mon, or "Thunder Gate". It holds a huge paper lantern painted in dramatic red and black to suggest thunderclouds and lightning. Passing it is the Nakamise, a shopping arcade of about 200m, lined with shops selling traditional (and not so traditional) souvenirs. This leads to the Hozo Mon, or second gate. Beyond it stands the main temple building while to the left is a five storey 48m high pagoda.

Next to the Sensoji is the Asakusa Jinja, a Shinto shrine built by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1649 in honour of the three men who established the Sensoji Temple, namely the two fishermen Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Takenari, and the village headman who built the temple, Haji no Nakatomo.

Jen has brought with her a question for Sach pertaining to "why most of the shrine has 5 levels/storeys in its' built??" Being a typical city girl, she couldn't answered of course so off she went to the reception to get an answer. Any take what's the answer??? Well, something which sounded very familiar.....that each level actually represented 5 significant elements in life i.e. air, fire, water, wind & ground ..... something like that la!!!

Apart from praying & appreciating the rich & beautiful historics of the shrines, there really isn't much to do around this place. So we had moved on very quickly.

During our strolls, i noticed CYCLING was a common transport among the japanese women, most probably housewives as they were spotted carrying their young kids/babies around!! I suppose this must be a very outskirt area!! And according to my jap colleague, most of the women in their society would quit their career to be a full time housewife and to babysit their child once they have a one. In fact she said it was very rare for them to hire a stranger maid to live together like what seemed to be a common practice back in our home country!! This certainly justified when i started to notice that there were absolutely no sights of any indon, myanmar, bangla around......as compared to our homeland......yikes !!!

Sach led us to a nearby shopping street as it was meant to be a shopping day too.....where lots of souvenirs, interesting local stuffs, foods & snacks were seen!! This was the place where i purchased most of my snacks esp. those rice crackers, any flavours, any shapes, any packaging.....just about any sizes.....!! I even bought a soft luggage bag here as i knew i needed extra storage for my goodies. As Jen was in search of hand bags, we spend nearly 2 hours around here sourcing for bags & etc. It was difficult to choose as most of the bags were well designed with extremely good quality yet at affordable prices. So guess what, Jen ended up buying nearly 4-5 handbags of various shapes, colours & sizes!! Apparently, those were meant to be given as souvenir to her siblings & relatives......gosh, thk god that's not my practice !!!

By the time we realised the clock was clicking away fast, we quickly moved on to the next stop which was supposedly a street full of shops selling kitchen gadgets!! Our dearie "yap pun mui" thought it would be a place for us since we had bento, baking & cooking as interest....that she purposely customised this place into our itinerary....hahaha
But unfortunately, most of the kitchen gadgets looked too FRAGILE to be carried on the plane back...so i had given them a pass most of the time !!! Furthermore, with such an expensive currency, most of the stuffs were selling at killer price !!!

btw, japan had their trains allocated certain time of the day for women passenger only.......COOL, rite??

Anyway, below was just one of the baking tools shop, looks nice right??

Finally, my eyes were caught up at one of the shelf in front of a shop that displayed some bento related gears i.e. nori punchers & drawing pen case!! I was thrilled & didn't hesitated to pick up 1 set each for myself. The price here was much cheaper than those sold at Tokyu Hands but some bento mamas only placed order after i left this place!! So peggy & christene bought them a little exp've at the mall....hehe

By the time we were done with all of the above, it was already close to 12pm ..... die, we were terribly behind our schedule.....blame it one shopping for sure!! Our initial plan was to reach the HIGHLIGHT SPOT of the day around 10am BUT but ......

Anyway, the highlight location for our Day 2 was :

TSUKIJI FISH MARKET

from wikipedia

Tsukiji fish market (築地市場 ,Tsukiji shijō) is the biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world and also one of the largest wholesale food markets of any kind. The market is located in Tsukiji in central Tokyo, and is a major attraction for foreign visitors.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, commonly known as Tsukiji fish market is located near the Tsukijishijō Station on the Toei Ōedo Line and Tsukiji Station on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. There are two distinct sections of the market as a whole. The "inner market" (jonai shijo) is the licensed wholesale market, where the auctions and most of the processing of the fish take place, and where licensed wholesale dealers (approximately 900 of them) operate small stalls. The "outer market" (jogai shijo) is a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sell Japanese kitchen tools, restaurant supplies, groceries, and seafood, and many restaurants, especially sushi restaurants.

"Most of the shops in the outer market close by the early afternoon, and in the inner market even earlier"

The market opens most mornings except Sundays and holidays and some infrequent closing days within the week^[2] at 3:00 a.m. with the arrival of the products by ship, truck and plane from all over the world. Particularly impressive is the unloading of tons of frozen tuna. The auction houses (wholesalers known in Japanese as oroshi gyōsha) then estimate the value and prepare the incoming products for the auctions. The buyers (licensed to participate in the auctions) also inspect the fish to estimate which fish they would like to bid for and at which price.

The auctions start around 5:20 a.m. Bidding can only be done by licensed participants. These bidders include intermediate wholesalers [nakaoroshi gyousha] who operate stalls within the marketplace, and other licensed buyers who are agents for restaurants, food processing companies, and large retailers.

The auctions usually end around 7:00 a.m. Afterwards, the purchased fish is either loaded onto trucks to be shipped to the next destination, or on small carts and moved to the many shops located inside of the market. There the shop owners cut and prepare the products for retail. In case of large fish, for example tuna and swordfish, cutting and preparation is elaborate. Frozen tuna and swordfish are often cut with large band saws, and fresh tuna is carved with extremely long knives (some well over a meter in length) called Oroshi hocho, maguro-bocho, or Hancho hocho.

The market is most busy between 5:30 and 8:00 a.m., and the activity declines significantly afterwards. Many shops start to close around 11:00 a.m., and the market closes for cleaning around 1:00 p.m. Tourists may visit the market daily between 5 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. and watch the proceedings from a designated area.^[3] However, due to the increase in numbers of sightseers and the associated problems they cause, the market decided to ban all tourists from the tuna auctions during the period between 15 December 2008 and 17 January 2009.^[4] The market reopened to tourists after this period with the provision of security guards and new rules prohibiting flash photography.

Inspectors from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government supervise activities in the market to enforce the Food Hygiene Law"

Well, if u read those sentences above in 'red', you could have guess it right that we were greeted by a "CLOSED" market once we arrived the place around 1p.m.......it was a big disappointment for me as i've learn (by reading) about this place way before the trip & was well-prepared to throw myself out despite the fishy stench to capture those extravaganza moments (if what i read was true) !!! Anyway, i can't be complaining.....if u know what i mean..... Besides that, i suppose Sach was just not the type that appreciates the wet market (being the typical city girl that she is) !! I'm pretty sure she hasn't stepped into this market before as she needed to refer to the location map all the way to this place, hahaha

Anyway, along our way to the market, i came across many eateries along the street which i reckon should be interesting to explore .... if only my huby was around.....sob!! Unfortunately, it wasn't really a custom for the japanese (city) woman to eat by the road side. Sach even said, in Tokyo most of the FAST-FOOD outlets are only visited by MALE patron and it was very RARE to see women eating in those places, dang.... **i can instantly smell it** LOL LOL !!! means we will only be eating at no-cheap places, ngek ngek ngek !!!

Having said that......when i was in a real life situation facing these filthy sights & fishy stench.....i nearly wana 'puke', arghhh....guess i'm no better a specie than Sach !!!

So when the market had actually closed, what were we doing there??? Apparently, the only purpose Sach brought us there was to sumptuous the MOST fresh, original, juicy, moist, tasty, delicious, appetizing, delightful, mouth-watering SASHIMI & SUSHI ........arghhh can't described more of it !!!

There are 2 rows of little sushi shops beside the market, with only 4-5 shops still operating & many has closed!! Sach went to check around the shops and she finally decided for the ONE & ONLY that has many customers queuing in front of it. Ahead of us were at least 4 more groups waiting before it was our turn. In between the conversations, we overhead some Koreans in front of us. It seemed that the guide book that recommended them to this place, so guess there must be reason why it was pack crowded !!

Only god knows how torture it was having to stand in front of the glass door with full view of people opening their mouth wide for those much awaited sushi, moreover with the stomachs growling like a thunder storms!!! the 45 mins standing was like a 'life-time' punishment that i don't seemed to see an end to it.....

Anyway, once it was finally our turn to gulp down those sashimi, i really forgot all the pain, all the torments & the dissapointment of not having to encounter the operation of the exciting fish markets !!!

See the 'hansem' sushi boy.....he was extra ordinary 'chatty' despite the language barrier!!

And see one happy customer there !!!

**** really really missed the sashimi now ****

more interesting photos below

After our delicious sashimi meal, we walked towards the PALACE city. In fact it was a rainy day that day so we had to walk with umbrella all d time. But the aftermath of the drizzles was an extremely cool breezing, so chill so nice, simply marvelous walk!! Too bad, the Palace which was surrounded by a man-made river has been closed for visitors so we only got to see it from outside......still it was no regret !!

And we proceeded with our shopping spree (window type inclusive)!

Firstly, Sach wana showed us a unique area where the most HIPPIE-HOPPIE YOUNGSTER, FUNNY FASHIONS, WEIRD DRESSING, SEXY CHICKS, SCARRY MAKE-UPS could be seen!! sounds interesting heh?? And this place was called SHIBUYA. We just randomly hopped into one mall, looked as if window shopping but with eye-brows raising all the time, occasionally exchanging cunning smiles between us & obviously with many hidden comments!! really speechless....

Thou we were impressed with what the place has to offer but it was nevertheless a very quick stop over as the day was getting late, so our final stop was at TOKYU HANDS, a creative lifestore !! It was a place which was listed under the "MUST SEE-MUST GO place in Tokyo" i googled....little that i know that it was a place where lots of bento gears were sold, what a happy discovery to end our shopping spree !!!

Our legs nearly turned soft with the amount of walks we did on this day....so we ended our day with a chilled out night at a pub which served fried food on skewer !! Another round of NICE FOOD !!
Despite the language barrier & the exhausted mind, i was pretty surprise that the 3 women could kept talking & laughing hysterically (office gossips, MEN, colleagues, works are all part of d topics)!!

Now, nothing would possibly stop women from talking if the 'click' was there !!!

I think i must have snored the hell out that night, so tired.... can die !!! **blush** !!!

to be continued with final episode ....

A GIFT to " Yours Truly " ....

I had always wanted to do a LIFE JOURNAL of myself
(even if it's only photos with very minimum text).....
u know .....those that u used to see in a wedding reception ..... (fr baby till who you are today)???
actually during our wedding, we did had one which was a lot simplified & even it was only like 8 years ago, i can't seemed to locate the file anymore !!!
Furthermore, in those donkey days, anything to do with internet & PC was literally very very "green" to me !!
Can't believe what i'm actually up to today .....internet, various forums, blogs, various softwares & applications (flickr, slide, facebook just to name a few popular ones) are all part of my life.

And it was after much persuasion & persistence that i managed to pick up the courage to fulfill this wish of mine !!!
Moreover, having it done up on a JOYOUS occasion would be auxiliary meaningful !!!
However, i had very little time to do scanning of all the photos, hence re-shooting them using my digicam was the fastest & easiest way. So please bear with the poor quality of the photos.

Btw, as Slide only allowed 50 photos in each slide, i had to break them up into a few slides ...

30+ years ago, a little girl was born on this day !!
Enjoy her grown up !!

CHILDHOOD & TEENAGE
2nd DD of a 5 girls siblings

born in ipoh & moved back to PJ at the age of 3. life then was pretty poor where mom even reckoned that i came at the wrong timing but it turned out that i actually brought much joy & LUCK to my parents!! 2nd of the siblings, my birth cert no. ...then i/c no. & any other numbers that associated with me, all brought lottery winnings to mom !!! at one point, the winning came in time to replenish milk powder for me.....awww, so pity & sad !!! then mom said i was also an easy baby as if knowing life was difficult...feeding, sleeping & caring all came with no problem !! due to the 'large' head, round big eyes & chubby face, it was common that i was mistaken as a baby BOY....until one day, a contractor uncle that was waiting for his lunch (cooked by mom who was a freelance cook then) helped to change my soiled diaper & was greeted with REAL surprise when it was not 'birdie' that he saw, hahaha LOL!!
as a student, i was also blessed with a little smart genes (i mean academically)...not much guidance & force was required whether in homework, revision or studies!! received very little attention from both mom & dad who has to work full time!! with many other things in life to mend as well as having 4 other siblings to divide their time, i don't really blame !!

AS A YOUNG ADULT

(most rebellious stage....& nightmares for dearie MOM)

apart from being a 'bully' among the siblings, i don't gave mom much of problems during the 1st half of my teenage life!! but things took a turn in life when i reached the peak of my teenage hood. i became 'wild'& rebellious .... wasn't sure if it was the influence of friends. i like going out & hate to be confined at home ....the desire for freedom was so extreme... very much against the wish of any parents!! the mother_v_daughter arguments & struggles became the weekend affairs!! during high school, party was a favourite !! started visiting 'picadilly disco' tea party at form 5 without parent's knowledge....hahaha!! used to get the blame (for the bad example) when younger sisters misbehaved (coz my elder sis was totally the opposite of me, she's the very angelic type)!!!
so i'm the 'tai kuai tao' !!!
at times in order to "TRADE" for the permit to go out, weeks of household chores are the price to pay for!! there was even once i went out taking with me the ONLY set of keys to the house & coincidently the door to my parents' room was accidently locked from inside..... resulting them having to sleep in the living hall while waited for me to come home with the keys. disaster isn't it but worst thing was, i BROKE my promise of reaching home before 12 midnight. so the moment i slided the door ajar, i saw mom standing right infront of the door 'receiving' me with a 'fling' of her hand....yes, supposingly a 'slap' but i managed to avoid it, thus landed on my arms instead.....did i said i was then already a 20yrs old????

anyway, i sort of got the 'licence' to go out at night after finishing form 5 but very much with restriction still. i could still vividly remember my virgin visit to a night disco on the day spm exam finished....phew......it was like a bird finally got loosen off from the cage!! mom has to endure much worries raising the teenage me....i've yet to even mention puppies loves !!
the only PLUS point i see in myself was despite the many 'child problems' in me, i rarely had my parents to worry about my studies!! i never got myself slack in studies. i hate reading but i read 'seriously' for exams!! 'red marks' in exam never happened, i'm not any top student yet i absolutely had no idea how i managed to pick up 8As in spm. mom was extremely proud....the only time she was seen swollen with pride over me. but i was not all time consistent, didn't do that well in pre-u, hence not getting into local U but moving on to college, i gained back the fame for winning 2 consecutive years' book prize (best academic performance) !!

COURTING & MARRIAGE

(mom letting out a SIGH OF RELIEF....)

the past rel/ship right before huby ended in a sad 'tragedy'....leaving much torments & suffers in mom, yet again....sigh....sob!! btw, both huby & I were introduced thru friends in 'modesto'..... surprise??? LOL !!!! huby is not any regular...it was 'fate' lar!!
i think.....the constant worries of a mom finally came to a halt when i finally tied the knot with a man that mom deemed to be a 'good man' that takes good care of me for the rest of my life (& changed me too...hahaha) guess....there was some truth in it as few of my fellow school/college friends turned good friends today kept asserted that i had changed 180 degrees.....ooh yakah?? well, not really giving credits to anyone but i do believe those rich, thick & bitter experiences in different phases of life DO contributed & led to the next phase of life, hence forming an entirely different characters/behaviours in a person, no??!!
In fact, yes i heard mom said it clearly :
"she finally could put down the 'burden of me' off her shoulder (wink) "!!

btw, now i can see my wed. photos here since they had been lying under the bed for ages!!

BIRTH OF MY CHILDREN

now, having my own children, i'm all prepared to go thru what my mom has gone through raising me up.....except that it is 'BOYS' that i have to handle which could give rise to entirely different problems, arghhh.....so sked !!! sometimes i do wonder if 'god' would punish me (at least with what mom has to endure) if i ever have a daughter to raise in the future, LOL !!!

FINISHED ???? thanks for your time !!!

Pheww....hope u didn't suffered any shock seeing the transformation of me !!
Yes, i was NOT the lucky one that could maintain my youthfulness, I aged so much, didn't I?? .....much to my heartbreaking BUT somehow....'someone' once knock on me that :

With much integrity & dignity, "ONE SHOULD GROW OLD GRACEFULLY "
And i'm so gonna stick to this principle!!

mom the most 'wai tai' one, 'man sui' !!
" from now onwards, my birthday would mean bringing mom out for a good meal "


happy birthday once again !!

Japan - KAMUKURA

continue from here

7 Dec 2008
China Airline
Flight from Taipei Int'nal Airport to Narita Int'nal Airport, Tokyo
Departure Taipei Airport - 9:25 am
Arrival Narita Airport - 1:20 pm
Boarded limousine - 1:50 pm
Arrived VILLA FONTAINE Hotel - 4 pm

With a companion (taiwanese colleague, JEN) the 4hours++ flight passed by like a blink of eyes!!! The very 1st breathe of air in this land of the rising sun gave me tremendous excitement!! Weather was really surprisingly good (10-15 degrees), i could take it so much better than i had initially thought!!
However, something got me feeling so inferior (being a malaysian) at the airport, thou passing thru the japanese custom was a bliss process!! u check out below .....

don't u feel it too....arghhh !!

then, being the 'jakun' that i am, 1st thing while waiting for the arrival of the coach, i quickly go release myself or rather check out the japanese toilet that was much talked about !!!

apart from being simply amazed, astonished & impressive with such 'luxurious gadget' to a m'sian (despite a common thing in japan), i spent QUITE a few minutes in there....ransacking every buttons that i can read....bwahahaha !!!

in the midst of checking into the hotel, our dearest japanese colleague (Sach) arrived to greet us. thank god with her presence to handle the conversation, we managed to bargain some discounts for 2 nights of our stay, phew !!! then we got our luggages settled down and that's when Sach offered us some of her winter clothings & accessories....just in case we didn't bring enough, so thoughtful of her !!!
and i have stories here.....u know what, the japanese has been well renowned for their great fashion but to what extend it reaches, i've yet to uncover....until it became a reality right in front of my eyes!!! the ladies i came acrossed thru the journey from the airport to the hotel were enough to make me see the elevated level of their fashion taste!! everyone was in suit/jacket/coat with 3 colours seen mostly (black, white, brown)...so smart, can die!!

all the men looked like "ah mark kor"
all the ladies dressed up like they were a CEO/MD here...LOL LOL

seeing how the japanese dressed up, my self esteem suddenly plunged down, i continued to feel inferior & hated the bulgy jacket that i borrowed from mom !! I even instantly told myself that i'm not gonna put that on....and as if god knows, Sach brought me in time a long black smart jacket..... phew..... without hesitation i put that on, hahaha (so vain)

Sach & I

by the time we were done with our luggages, it was nearly 6pm...so time for dinner!! it was a sunday, so Sach had reserved a place for our very 1st night dinner of shabu-shabu. our hotel is located at SHIODOME, a business area which Sach chosen bcoz it was one of our corporate hotels & other guests had given a fair review of it. and it just happened that Shiodome is quite near GINZA, a prestigious area of the Tokyo city i suppose...just like our KLCC area in K.Lumpur. so it was Ginza that we had our shabu-shabu. the 1st night was usually the most excited one....with everyone having so much to update & talked about....boy... both Jen & I were so exhausted that night !!

.... fresh beef slice, shabu-shabu & sake .....



the night ended pretty fast.

Moving on to the following day (a Monday), Sach has arranged us to join a local tour while she had to work:

" KAMUKURA WALKING TOUR "

btw, before proceeding with the tour, we had our breakfast in the hotel.
below are snap shots of the spread of our breakfast which we had to swallow for a freaking long 4 days....no change of menu at all !! can die eating breakfast like this...but no choice, foods are awfully pricey there!!

eeokkk.....

"KAMUKURA, which can be reached in just one hour from Tokyo is an interesting place to visit for people interested in history, going on a hike through the green hills, or to enjoy water sports. Kamakura was once the capital of Japan and remained so up until about the 14 century".
"Kamakura has an interesting mix of shrines and temples making it a good place to visit, especially if you are unable to visit the more historical city of Kyoto".

The local tour covered 2 places of interest:

Great Buddha

Hasedara Temple

The coach that we boarded brought us from our hotel to the travel agency office where we gathered & waited for other tourists joining in the tour! In the tour was an Aust. family of 3, a chinese couple from America, local japanese guy plus 2 of us making a total of 8 people, small group. The tour guide was a polite & nice lady in her end 40s who spoke quite decent english!! After finishing the tour, i realised why it was named a walking tour....bcoz there were quite a bit of walkings involved in the tour. From the travel agent's office, we walked to the nearest train station then it involved several transit of trains before boarding the Enoden-line to Hase station where another 7 minutes walk would take us to the GREAT BUDDHA. The tour guide has to repeatedly flagged the flag so that none of us would get lost amidst the crowd at the train station.

Once alighted from the train at Hase station, this was what i saw right beside the station :

u say i become thrill or not??

but then it was big dissapointment after visited this 100yen shop...not a place for bento gears, blek!!

Since the weather was extremely cooling, the walks became so relax & such a chill-out thing to do!!

THE GREAT BUDDHA

"The Great Buddha or Daibutsu in Japanese was constructed in 1252 A.D. It was originally housed in a building but it was destroyed by a tidal wave in 1498. The Buddha is 13.35 meters tall and weighs 121 tonnes, making it the second largest Buddha in Japan. The largets statue being Todaiji Temple in Nara".

Jen & I enjoyed the beautiful scenics


here, the tour guide performed a 'ritual' of 'self-cleansing' before entering the holy temple


One of the many highlights around Tokyo city during the season was this type of huge & tall GINGKO tree with very GOLDEN yellow leaves !!!
JEN was extremely amazed & felt in love with these gingko trees that she took so many photos of them !!!

with the tour guide & spotted some kids eating BENTO.....geee, so cute!!

After finishing with the the Great Buddha, we proceeded with a lunch!!

our bento lunch (a very simple one though)



Next, our stop would be at :

Hasedera Temple

The Hase Kannon Temple - Kamakura

The temple is set in beatiful Japanese gardens complete with carp ponds and water falls. It is also elevated enough to provide some great views of Kamakura and Yuigahama beach. Entrance is 300 yen for adults and 100 yen for children.

Be sure not to miss the cave or "Benten-kutsu". You can buy candle sticks and put them on the altar after lighting them. There are 16 statues all carved into the walls of the cave. For tall foreigners, be sure to watch your head as teh ceiling gets very low.

On a usual account, i hate walking....esp. with our hot weather BUT somehow in this walking tour, i enjoyed so much walking along the streets to our destinations. Take a look and you should be able to understand why .....

With the cold weather, unique scenes, smart & beautifully dressed up japanese around (thou some might be riding bicycles), how can i not enjoyed the strolls?? There were simply too many sights that captured my eyes & melted my heart !!!

Finally reaching the entrance. Don't you just love the BONSAI tree??

As described by the definition above, it was indeed a beautiful japanese garden...... yes definitely with an authentic taste!!! Despite not being a very green person & don't usually appreciate gardening, i can't deny how much i admire, adore & value the exquisite scenery of this garden....it was really beyond words could tell !!!

just look at these marvelous huge spread of RED LEAVES .... don't they just made u went awwww !!!???




finally a 'real' japanese garden with koi fishes ... it was just amazing how it made me feel that the air i inhaled was so god darn refreshing !!!


there was also an open dining area where many elderly local folks were seen savoring their breakfast with a sea fronting view ....


this was the view that could be captured from the dining area


By the time we finishes with these 2 locations, it was nearly 3pm. Along our way back to the train station, we were allowed 1/2 an hour of browsing along the souvenir streets as well as the 100yen shop (for those interested)!!

We reached our hotel shortly before dinner time so we had a quick wash, short rest & headed off to GINZA again for ramen dinner. The restaurant was just a random pick in one of the shopping mall as Sach could not accompanied us that night.

Sach had taken the next 3 days leave to accompany us to several popular hotspots around Tokyo and hosted us to many mouth-watering meals for which were really worth sharing here, so stay tune ya !!!

so 'paiseh' that it took me so long to get these updated....i was so afraid that my memory would failed me in treasuring these wonderful vacations i had in life, thus far!!

more photos here

Bento week # 20

Some asked if i no longer doing bento
Some commented so long never see my bento updates

i'm drowning in guiltiness !!!

The answer is of course i'm still doing bento but it has obviously gone a different direction now with the transition the boys faced from attending kindy to the primary school since beginning of the year. Time was also trying very hard on me lately bcoz i had a super paranoid huby that 'forced' me into spending more time on the boys' homework & studies!! As much as he was happy with my blogging & bento life, he has no choice but to pressure me in foregoing my precious time spent on these 2 hobbies, as his boys' education is above anything !!! To a certain extend, i even felt 'stress' from the pressure he enforced albeit in an indirect mode!!!

I wasn't sure if it was officially a 'problem' but Scot has been reluctant to eat in school, for reason i've yet to ascertain despite much effort!! The same problem was not heard during his time in the kindy. His teacher as well as the 'cook' aunty used to tell me & my mom how many bowls of noodles/porridge both my boys ate. So meal time was never a worry.

Now that in their primary school, we enrolled the boys in the school meal for RM40 per month. With the school preparing meals to them (same way like in their kindy), apart from not wanting them to face much different from their life in kindy, i also do not want the boys to feel left out if they see their friends eating school foods & they are not.

At the same time, i would also prepared a light bento (mostly snack) :

- just as "add-on" should the school meal is too light or;

- serve as an "option" should the food on that particular day is rejected by their taste bud or;

- serve as "tummy-filler" during the 30-45mins after school
(with the traffic congestion during dismissal time, plus extra time spent searching for the boys who would run around & the journey travelling back home, my mom said it could easily takes this long to reach home before the lunch is serve) By then, it could already be 2pm or later.

I thought in that way, i need not have to worry about their meal. However, my recent discoveries proved me wrong. For the past whole month, everyday after work without fail, i would diligently question my boys separately what was the food served on that day. When both boys told the same answer, it means there was no lie. Next, i would asked if they finish the canteen food. Luckily my boys were franked in this regards (much to my surprise), they would tell how they disliked the food hence, did not eat them. Sometimes, there were also other excuses/answers provided. Then obviously i expected them to have eaten their bento instead but to my SHOCK, Scot DID NOT also touch his bento !!! It means this fella has been starving his little tummy from 7 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon, a time when he would whacked a whole big plate of rice !!!

I'm fine if the bento came back intact but they finished the canteen food. But it was not so in my little Scot's case!! My heart really broke into pieces when again & again i came home to receive the same news. Sometimes i would rather he be not so frank....sigh!!! Kakak has been assigned the critical task of checking their lunch box first thing upon reaching home. Anyway, his big brother Sean would there to protest should he hears any lies from his little brother!!

Usually i would check Sean's comment & most of the time he would says:
" Neh Scot lar, he said he is full so he push his plate of food to me " and Sean whalloped them at times, slaphead!!

I felt extremely bad with what Scot has been enduring, i wonder if the food by the canteen COOK was really that SUCKS !! I wonder if Scot was not feeling easy with the adjustments he has to endure!! See the poor fella is getting more & more skinny as compare to that MEATY Sean !!!
I need not have to tell who has rounder face, do I??

Anyway, with the restrictions faced in the current situation, i don't have many choices in the selection of food for the boys' bento!! Anything too cheesy, too milky would not be tolerable. Anything is to be consumed fresh is totally out. Time endurance is an important factor. That maybe why my bento also sucks in taste lately.....

To combat his recent problem, during bedtime, i would even threaten them & began telling 'liar stories' on how his stomach would be visited by all the worms & insects if there are no nutrients, and how his stomach would started to break if there are no food for it to work which leads to gastric and such....LOL LOL, terrible liar mom !!!

Anyhow, as a mother, i can only try, try & try again....giving him a simple bento to encourage Scot to eat. I'm going to show a whole list of the simple bento for the boys & you tell me if they r really such dampening to the appetite !!??

Chocolate bread slice alternating with butterscotch bread tied up in a gift with cheese slice, with quill eggs & baby mandarin oranges!! **too bad untouched too **
Btw, i bought these 2 TOMICA lunch boxes recently from NST's booth at Desa park city Waterfront....that was a lovely place to stay man ....!!

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Fried rice la

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Sweet French toast, gummy sweets, almond chocolate & baby mandarin orange!!

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The above green box was obviously for SCOT as i've purposely slipped in 2 bbq driedmeat sandwiches for him with loads of other tummy fillers!!

Unlike the below blue box which was meant for SEAN, i didn't gave him the sandwich as i knew he eats canteen food, just some 'extras' !!!


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more snacks here

sausage, kiwis, fried fillet & car shaped rice

dipping biscuit sticks, seaweed rice crackers & edamame

yoghurt drink, grapes, fried fillet & macademia nuts

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At one point, i felt so unmotivated until i had to resort to making SUPER MINI SANDWICHES like the below.....it was only a triangle sushi mould (now....am sure u know how small it is)

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Even, yummillicious cakes like the below also were not appreciated. A customer bought them to our office last Thursday & each of us had 3 pieces. I only dare to take a bite of each, can die if i eat them all. So i cute them into smaller pieces for the boys but also untouched. They were only whacked after their piano & drama _ speech class which ended at 9:15 on Friday night. The class started at 7:30 pm, a time their stomachs said too early for dinner so they went to the class empty stomach too (as they ate their lunch quite late)


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That's THE END of the snack bentos for the boys !!!

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I'm sorry if i had already blurred your vision with the bento marathon above!!
But i'm not about to finish yet. As i really dunno when i would have time & energy to post these if i don't skali do it now.....continue posting more bentos photos for you to drool.....

I'm way far out from calling myself a bentoist as i don't follow the rules at all.
No recipes, no instructions .....no tutorials!!
All i mind was to make FUN with bento then post them up here (lest there are ppl who appreciate them)

Again, these are ADULTS BENTO (not for my kids, ok!!!)


Easy peasy LYCHEE Fried rice with "Ah Pek" & "Ah Moi" (fishballs & taufu skin) sitting on a pool of ladies fingers


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Yam rice with sweet & sour meat ball, some filamen sticks & flower egg sheets!!
Some macademia nuts (thks unc.Bob for this) & raisins as appetizer!!



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Sweet potatoe rice, weiners with brocollis!!
a buffalo wings & some curry potatoes on a pool of stir fried cabbage!!

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Macademia nuts + raisins + lettuce = GREAT SALAD
Bitterguard chickens to go with the moulded rice
I was clearly seen clearing off my DENBU (the pinkish thingy on the pooh cheeks)

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On days i needed more GREENS .....

This time, i'm really ending this super long bento post !!!
Hope i've contributed some ideas there.....

Happy Bentoing !!!

Happy Valentine's Day !!

HELLO,

Here's wishing everyone (be it single, attached, married couple, young or old) be showered with

LOTS & LOTS OF LOVEssss
not only today but through out this 'ox'spicious year!!!

With the recent spending in the various greeting seasons/festives together with the current economy turmoil, i am in no mood of throwing any celebration for this unimportant date, hahaha
Thank god, we both has the same consensus of dropping this event from our celebration plan as there are simply many more important dates to cherish !!!
Some more, with those 'sponsors' made on my recent "vacations saga", i've no heart to ask for more....blek !!!

But am still glad that my 'ah beng' still took some trouble to get this super pinkish & sweety card, though he kept nagging how expensive cards are today, grrrrr .... :(

Wonder if it was because of this simple VALENTINE's BENTO i made for him yesterday??? it was rare to see him burst into a laugh over my bento
**wink wink**

*** so easy to please him ***
(left over rice, unfinished raisins by kids, long overdue sausages....tsk tsk tsk)

STAY LOVELY DOVEY today yeah.....

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!

More CNY BLOGGERS gatherings......

It was Mar-07 that i started blogging and in a short span of 1 year++, i managed to befriend many beautiful women (i think mostly mummies except min-min 'siu cheh')!!

They may be different in their own style & character....from funny, humourous, gila-gila, cheerful, super friendly, serious to even quiet but all of whom are genuine people seeking for true friendship....just like me!!! i'm so glad that i found my fellow blogging friends!!

This CNY, i had 2 rounds of bloggers gathering, some whom i had met before & there were also some for the first time.

Peggy & Christene mentioned about a picnic sometime back during our earlier meet-up & that eventually led in one during the CNY, on the 7th ('yan hat' i.e. everyone's birthday) at

Taman Rimba Kiara located at TTDI !!

Apart from peggy family, chris & annie-q with their kids, Barbara also came with her huby & lil Ashley whom i met for the 1st time. Great that our friendship officially started from here....haha

Everyone was to contribute a dish or something but as it was a brunch session (around 11 a.m.) i wasn't convinced to be able to cook in that short morning, some more have to think of a dish that was friendly to be consumed at the park!! So safe that i just 'tapao' / packed something over.... less stress & less hassle!!

So it was 'dim sum' that i brought.....fish balls & siew mai!!

btw, sorry for d styrofoam yea....kittycat, i tapao wan ma & hardly thot of bring own container for that purpose, haha

Superwoman peggy cooked 'lor mai farn'/glutinous rice despite that she had to go church before proceeding to the park....phew, wonder what time she had to start cooking, super or not??
Barbara brought char siew pao....thank god i didn't duplicate (only got a few 'paos' to fill my boys' tummy in the car on our journey)

superwoman amah looked veli sslim in this pic...so i gotta post, haha

Annie brought drummets, chic wings & wedgers....good snack for the kids PLUS some cute tulip & flower carrot...the only bento styled dish seen, hahaFinally, Christene brought a basket full of fresh fruits but i forgot pic ....

Peggy was there early & when we arrived, kieran was already playing badminton with his dady. I should have thought of bringing my boys' racket too.....sigh.....as my notty scot was seen 'fighting' over for the racket with poor kylie, sorry girl, kor-kor very notty!! Good thing lil kylie was strong too....didn't let the kor-kor bully!! Scot cried a little but the episod got over very quickly coz he was then seen running about in the park again with Sean & Kieran! Bet the 3 bigger boys had a great time monkeying together!! I wonder if annie's boys (fearles n cruz) could get along with the big kor-kors? But the seemed to enjoy the nature of the park!!

Initially my ah beng lou kung was shy to join in (as we thot it was all ladies ma) though he was a bit worried over the idea of having picnic at the park.......

he said: "not sked of robbery ahh" hahaha....my huby just thinks too much!! After i told him that peggy's & barb's hubbies also around, then only he crawled over!!! So there were 3 men guarding us the angels !!

There was a pond nearby to the shade where we settled and i guess all mummies like me do worried over the kids playing by the side. Luckily there were several 'kakak' around to mind the kids so we can at least had a peaceful mind eating & chatting !!! When there wasn't any topic that we would avoid, it means the 'click' was there!!!

Here are the 2 Ashleys of Chris & Barb. Despite having met Chris 2 times earlier, i have never met her lil Ashley as her mumy claimed she can only managed 1 without the maid, so it was Kimberly that she brought along each time :P) So finally had a chance to meet this cutie pie.....both Ashley(s) are such sweety in their own way, aunty here dropping saliva, slurrrrp !!!

Unfortunately, i had to made it short & left around 1:30pm as i had another full moon lunch party to attend...thank god not too far away at B.U.

here's the group photo

It was a great outing, i certainly enjoyed it.

Most of them had already blogged about this & here i seemed to be the laziest one!!
barbara's , annie's , christene's different versions

more photos from my camera here:

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The following Saturday, i attended another bloggers' gathering at WEN's place. Some of you might have know this pretty tai-tai has recently renovated her house!! During that period, i casually teased her if she gonna show us her newly transformed home and little that i expect that our initial conversation would turned into a fun & enjoyable bloggers' meet-up!! Your place was great for hosting btw.....esp. the playroom that kept the kids busying!!

We agreed on a pot luck session & in order to gather a good combination of dishes (for both adults & kids), there were series of emails exchanged to finally arrived at the menu list!!

With the exception of ginie & wen, it was my first time meeting Paik Ling, JO-N & Chanel. Only JO-N & myself brought our hubbies along ..... guess they survived the boredom!! Naturally men took longer time to "boil" than we women, agree??

I brought along yee sang from spring garden, klcc as without it, the atmosphere wouldn't be that CNY which always associate with noise !!!!

... you can see the face of the 2 hosts below ...

our potluck dishes

Since i read that none of the rest actually published the beautiful dishes the ladies cooked up/bought, i shall take up this pleasure task :

wen jokingly said that the theme of the pot luck was "chinese lunch" so i ma followed the theme & cooked up a pot of "LAP MEI FARN" ..... geee.... good that u guys helped me to clear my stock of chinese sausages, 'lap ngap', 'yun cheong'!!! I so freaking scared that we had to finish them all by ourselves (these unhealthy stuffs were bought by my mom actually) , hahaha

WEN cooked "LONGEVITY NOODLE"...the main food that kids survived in !!

The 'leng lui' host also fried chicken drumsticks for all.

next is a HIGHLIGHT.....

GINIE bought ROTI JALA from kajang, near her place which i suppose must be a famous delicacy over there.... coz it was so DARN DELICIOUS lar (roti so soft & curry so rich). My fussy mouth huby whacked so much of them, they tasted even tastier the next day (too much of food until all of us have to pack home some). My huby agreed that we can consider getting this for any party in d future, haha

Paik Ling mui despite not feeling too good can also fried some NUGGETS...the kids' all time favourite!!

Some treats for the kiddos....!!

coconut agar-agar, gummy sweets, chocolates & cookies

JO-N made us some rich FRUIT SALADS

some familiar faces
THE pretty HOST & Iris

Chanel & her kids

sorry...i really can't resist but to comment here, this lady is such a funny & talkative lady (just like paik ling & wen)...... except that it was VERY VERY MUCH opposed to the impression she gave by just reading her blog.....hehehe

now, how true the phrase "never judge a book by its' cover"....hahaha

i super like this shot......so candid & these 2 shy-shy & 'si man' mummies (JO-N & Ginie) were seen laughing so happily (your basket bag so cute.....)

arghhhh...... look so engrossed the boys are!!!

I reckoned that all the kids were very angelic that afternoon as there were no sign of fighting/screaming/crying seen or heard......phew isn't it a relief??

That certainly left all the mummies chatting their way out peacefully......so much of laughter & noises heard from the dining table where the ladies gathered instead.....LOL !!!!

Before dismissing.....we managed to snap a few shots of the group ....courtesy of kakak!!

awwww.....see the 2 pretty sweeties !!! (thks jo-n for d honour...u know wat i mean!!)

That was a memorable time for us & like everyone else, i look forward to many more of such wonderful moments in the future!!

HAPPY BLOGGING FOLKS !!

More updates on 2009 CNY

1st Day of CNY

More updates but no worries as i will also wrap things up for celebrations in A-Setar ....

The boys had gotten much more familiar with the celebrations this year ....... in other words they responded & behaved much more matured with some of the rituals / customs of this festival!!
Mumy had earlier taught the boys to remember what should be the 1st thing to say in the early morning of 1st CNY upon seeing ah kung & ah ma!!
They did not disappointed mumy, both of them willingly greeted :

" Gong Xi Fa Cai "
" Shern Thee Jien Khang " / Good Health

to both their grandparents !!!

Even to the rest of the aunties & uncles they met, they automatically 'sang' in that tune of phrases!! But they still obviously don't appreciate the red packets yet. When they were too engrossed playing, they will asked those ppl who gave them angpow to give them to their mumy instead.....slaphead !!!

Our 1st day of CNY was quite boring spending it at home doing nothing basically. Until about noon, all the sisters & the bunch of nieces & nephews started to pour in !!! That's when all the hoos & hahs were heard & some fights among the boys started !!!

The usual affairs around the household would be a series of cooking & eating non-stop with people taking turns to the dining table!! Poor MIL, maid & other women in the family had to continuously replenished the food on the dining table!!

Until about 3pm, everyone finally gotten their stomachs filled up and the next thing was to move on to huby's granny's home.......again for a quick exchanged of "angpows"!! It was getting more & more hilarious to me....the entire visit from the moment we stepped into the house (which was already fully crowded with people), exchanging 'angpows' among the married women, chit-chatting for a while until we left the place, it only took less than 1/2 an hour to complete.....what a joke!! What a hurry obligation that was???

Back home, everyone started to get busy with preparation for the party at night. I think this family gathering would be an annual event at FIL's new home starting from this year. Huby mentioned that his unc.Andrew already talked about having a whole lamb roast for the next CNY, hahaha
For myself, since there's not much help that i could offer, i volunteered to made some agar-agar & get the fruits cut. The menu for the party was 'nasi kandar'.


While the adults had a good time & spacious atmosphere to catch up on life, the kids had a wonderful time indulging in fire-crackers playing !!! It was the boys' first time playing with the spark....they both got very excited yet anxious with this 1st time encounter!!


check out some happy moments of the kids below :

For me, it was worth giving a mention here when i finally had a long & fun conversation with an uncle whom i had kept some fear towards..... all these while (why???....i don't know....probably due to the teochew egoism shown on the face, blek)...... it was as if an "iceberg has finally broken up"!!! Boy.... unc.andrew was so talkative that the wife & daughter had to come over to interrupt our conversation as it was already so late and the ladies yearn to go back home. Aunty alleged that he drank a lot but uncle claimed that he was not drunk.....arghhh, i don't know who to believe, hahaha
Our 1st CNY ended very late that night !!!

Annually, the boys' "TAR KU"/eldest SIL would get new pyjamas in similar theme respectively for all the boys & girls. And this year was Ben 10.....check out their uniform below!!

" So cute.........the nephews & nieces from the eldest at 16 years old/Form 4 to the youngest at only 1 year old "

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2nd Day of CNY

Our 2nd day of CNY was also filled with more cookings & eatings. There were so many mouths to feed yet on such days, not many restaurants are operating, so needless to say it was quite impossible to avoid cooking......poor thing !!!
I think the maid got a shock too.....after the whole morning working to get the breakfast done & the cleaning over with, there she needed to start preparing cooking for the next meal i.e. lunch 'pulak'.....scarry thought though !!! Can't imagine if i have to host such a big family, i would have die of depressing man ......
Anyway, after one of the meal, i heard that the family would be paying a visit to the 6th uncle who still happened to live in an estate house!!!

WHAT??? An estate house??? What's that suppose to mean???

Not only it was a big thing for the kids to experience, it was indeed an EYE OPENER for a city person like myself !!! I kept asking SIL & huby was it in a jungle or something....lots of mosquitos ahh.....need to bring mosquitos repellant or not???? geee....gotta admit how excited i was & how much i was in anticipation.....such a "jakun" i know!!!

When i finally reached there...... ooh boy......i knocked on myself & said:
"and for all these while i was complaining that my FIL's shophouse was very 'kampung'/rural"
"now after seeing the real estate house, i finally got hold of what a 'kampung' house should looks like"


It was even more 'HORROR' to discover that the house was actually partially surrounded by a huge "GRAVEYARD" !!! Oh my god, didn't that also sent some shiver down your spine ???
I was barely left with words.....quite speechless i must say!!!
Uncle bob even said there used to be python around the house........** faint **
Until today, it is really hard to believe that such a place still exists for living and that was a relative that i'm talking about here!!! Don't you think we are so lucky in comparison???

notice the graveyard at the back


I think many people would have expected to see some sort of 'shock' expressions from me....
yeah i saw my SIL laughing at me, then aunty janice mentioned to me that uncle andrew also said surely jaclyn would be surprised with this experience!!!!
in other words, everyone was so right in expecting the shocking reactions from the 'jakun' blogger here!!! hahaha.......what an encounter that was!!!

My boys in return seemed to enjoy running about the estate playing with some puppies, chickens & birds !!! Even the goat farm (kandang kambing) that was so stinky, they didn't mind minggling around !!! When they needed to wee-wee, huby tried to coax me to bring the boys to the toilet........of course without any success, he had to settle the boys instead. My SIL even teased me to try out their toilet as she said it will be an experience to me.........
which i replied with a big NO THANK YOU lor !!!


The wife aunty Mary was such a nice lady....forever so charming & cheerful with her smiles, cooked everyone with a late lunch with the curry 'kampung' chicken being the most popular dish!! No doubt the dishes were delicious despite the fact that we have to endure eating them with flies everywhere......now...... talking about hygiene & cleanliness, hahaha




6th uncle cracking the coconuts & the juices were so sweet


Overall, this experience left me with the MOST FRUITFUL memories of the 2009 CNY, which also painted some worthy treasures in my LIFE !!!!

We left AlorSetar on the 3rd day of CNY after another sumptuous meal at home!!!

That's the end of our wonderful celebrations back in huby's hometown !!!

more photos to share here

2009 - CNY Reunion Dinner

For the past years, MIL would usually visited the 'usual' morning market nearby alone and never asked me to follow around. If only that she asked, i would willingly obliged to follow actualy but she was just too nice to me..... some more hor, usually when i woke up, the sun was already hot burning my butt.....yea, very lousy DIL !!!

But this year with TESCO newly opened in AlorSetar, MIL 'ajak' us to go marketing together, obviously with the comfort of our own free time & under fully air-conditioning environment!! A last minute groceries shopping were done with me pushing the trolley following behind her and her occassionally asking if i like to eat this/that or if the fish/crab were fresh or not.....me of course nodding all the way (as if i'm expert....haha) !!! It was a rare things that the MIL & DIL would do together & i must admit that i appreciated the moments very much!!

After the marketing, upon my request MIL brought me to her regular hair salon for a hair treatment......it's a good thing to do back in the 'kampung' since it's so cheap there!! At the sametime, MIL also said the boys needed a hair cut. So after having their hairs snipped up, i ordered that their hair be washed before styling with hair gel, otherwise it's pointless if they need to wash their hair again at home !!! The boys were so obliging sitting quietly while indulging in their scalp being scratched & massaged much to their comforts!!! Scot even told me the other day that he enjoyed mumy scratching his head when i bathed for him at home....just like what the salon 'cheh-cheh' did to him......gosh, what a spoilt brat !!!

Then back home, i actually left the maid to help MIL with the cooking preparations & of course i also helped a bit lar. On the preparation jobs for our reunion dinner, it doesn't looked very complicated & massive to me anymore as compared to the cookings involved when all the daughters were back (more mouths to feed ma).....most probably bcoz MIL thought the DIL wasn't a good help to her so she better not tortured herself with any massive cookings. Instead, MIL ordered some special home cooked dishes from her 'kawan' around the neighbourhood. It was a decision that i would raised even my feets to agree..... no need 'susah-susah' if getting helps are pretty handy !!!

Here are the overview of our re-union dishes

The curry duck, stewed pork yam (wu tau khao yuk) & 'lobak' were purchased dishes!!

Apart from that, MIL also cooked a steamed fish & of course the SIGNATURE DISH especially for the family....

SLURPPP ....... GENG mou ???
The SIGNATURE DISH consists of
" Abalone, scallops, sea cucumber, 'fatt choy', brocollies & macademia nuts "

Here is the little family of 7.
The 2 vacant seats were one for the camera woman (obviously) & the other one for BIL !!!

I must say, it was a very memorable & enjoyable reunion dinner this year, in the comfort of the new dining area, new marble dining table, the smell of new paintings around, the brightness of the lights & cooling air in the evening !!! While the parents & sons engaged in the conversation of their mother tongue dialects i.e. teochew (which still means NUT to me), i automatically "SHUT" down my hearing system & fully enjoyed savouring all the mouth-watering dishes
**grin & wink**

The routine task after the reunion dinner was to visit the church for the CNY mass.
It was quite a pretty fast affair this year as the mass finished before 12 midnight.
Then, it was the 'angpow' packets preparation time at home before saying hello to
'chao kung'.....zzzzzzz

So, how was your re-union dinner with your family??
Here's hoping that everyone had an enjoyable one too !!!

more photos to share here :

2009 PRE - CNY

Today is a public holiday for KLers......
in conjunction with the Federal Territory Day!!!

What a nice day to begin with.....sent the boys off to school (as Selangor doesn't enjoy the PH), went for a morning walk/jog with huby before sipping a cuppa coffee & enjoying a much needed milder breakfast (noodle soup....not that mild thou) !!!

Then back home for a peaceful wash & Jacss is hereby declaring
a " BLOG DAY " today.....
i'm trying my best to clear as much back log as possible, after which, tomorrow it'll be back to WAR day in the office with the field audit work just started !!!
I'm actually stucked in between updating the most recents or the long outstandings.....but knowing that the 'gong xi' atmosphere is still around, i better get the latest & the recent excitements first up !!!

As usual, i preferred to be back to my in-law place a few days prior the CNY-EVE.....just to enjoy some peaceful 'kampung' life with the small number of members around the household. Huby only has a bachelor younger brother around (who would most of the time not around thou) so with both my PIL busy with their sundry business, it was as good as only having the 4 of us at home!! I really like the privacy we had on these few days before the arrival of the 1st CNY when all huby's 3 other married sisters would be back. With each SIL having kids from a min of 2 to each to a max of 4....the total of headcounts actually blossomed up to 20 pax trying to squeeze into every other corners of my FIL's OLD shophouse !!!

It was a havoc to me & ....... boy, the memories of myself trying so hard to get use to the "LIFE" back then in the big family when i just got married were still vividly loitering in my mind!!! Having said that, today even after many years, i still couldn't exactly got rid of the discomfort feeling of squeezing myself in the compact home, where you will be confined to the only living area for eating, TV or even short nap to take place .....i mean if only one has experienced it.....where u will have to endure napping with 'strangers/relatives' all around you without any privacy!!! I mean it was obviously ok for my huby as he was grown up there & it was his siblings around but for me, i still consider myself 'strange' having to live up to their lifestyle !!!

Thank GOD, this year onwards we do not have to endure such discomfort anymore as my FIL has finally gotten his guts to get a new home for his big family.....a house that is purely for living finally......hahaha, i felt so bad, i didn't even stepped into the shophouse this year!! A decision that i reckoned should have been made many years ago....considering the great expansion of the family's size.... more so when affordability was totally & absolutely NOT an issue!!!

So this year, the Heng family (or rather Jac) was exceptionally 'HAPPY'....'BLESSED'.....and....'DROWN in COMFORT' greeted by the new home that FIL built!!!

** ngek...ngek...ngek **

As you all know, i'm a " very obliging girl ". An uncle has requested me to update on my FIL's new home here, just so that they who lived thousand miles away from us would be updated with the happenings surrounded their love ones back in their home country!!

Here you go uncle Bob, lets tour the new house below :

As promised earlier, FIL indeed honored his promised of building a so-called "badminton court" at the garden compound of the semi-D corner unit......
The moment we arrived home, both huby & I got a shocked to see that the garden area has turned into a big compound beside the house......as if it was meant for restaurant / little food court, hahaha
Then there are 2 living halls, a dining area, a dry kitchen & a wet kitchen or an outdoor cooking area !! 3 bedrooms with 2 baths.
It wasn't exactly a very grand interior but having to do renovation to such an old house would mean quite a massive job, from changing the tiles for the entire house, fixing all new lightings, 5 units of air-conds, painting, wire, electrical & plumbing works, it totaled up to a real BIG damage!! But i see that my PIL are pretty happy about it, everyone was i believe!!!

When we arrived, the house was still in quite a mess with thick dusting everywhere....can't expect MIL to clean the whole house alone!! So for the next 2-3 days, the maid has done a superb job with cleaning under my supervision & i helped to manage with tidying up & arranging little-little stuffs!! Unwrapped & cleaned the sofas & dining set, arranged the sofa position, decided on the decor items around, shopped for household items that were lacking (for bathroom, kitchen & etc)...thank god TESCO has opened in AlorSetar !!! It was as if my own new home that i was dealing with ...as both my PILs are quite indecisive type when it comes to how to arrange or display things, what to buy.....they leave them up to me when i asked so i nearly treated it as if it was my own home, hehehe
Even my cheeky boys commented:
" mumy, ah kung & ah ma also not staying in this house, so this is our new house (as PILs still prefer to go back to the shophouse to sleep)....while laughing & skipping happily away "

alamak.....such a long stories even before starting the main point.....CNY updates!!
to be continued ....