Pages

Search This Blog

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Happenings after CNY

Nothing much eventful, but just thought I'd share some of my food adventures with you. My dad is a person who's pretty adventurous and open (which is why he's the only person who doesn't really nag me about not cutting open my skin on purpose anymore), and he likes to try out new restaurants. Of course, as well as a few other events that happened.


Since I'm the only one at home (older sister working, younger one at school), I was his chauffeur on a few occasions, as well as his meal companion.


***


We made a visit to my mother's friend's place. To imagine that the aunties that I see every year have known my mother for over, what, 20 years? Yeah, I think so, since they talked about my older sister waiting for my mother after work. Around 20.

Korean liner. Did it by accident, actually, but I kind of like it~
The adults caught up with each other, while my dad, my sister, and I alternated between watching movies (awesome surround sound system), and playing Logo Quiz on my new gadget.

This is Cookie. Only half of my face shot because she was moving too much.
It's been a while since I got to cuddle something furry, and since Jessie the beautiful Chihuahua passed away due to age (over 80 years in dog years), Cookie the cat was the only furry creature in the house. Though a bit non-friendly, was nice to hold a furry animal again. Damn, I miss having a dog.


And I've developed a liking for "wiener" animals - like Dachshunds, corgis, and Munchkins. All long, and short-legged. =D


***


On one food adventure, while accompanying my father to the hardware shops around the area looking for mosquito netting, we stopped by a restaurant for lunch, one which I often overlook, located right beside my old driving school (the lady at the counter still recognizes me, I guess it's because of a really f**cked up incident).

论茶篇。Chinese literary work about the different topics that different types of people talk about over tea.
The place is called BHYJ Tea House and Restaurant, 宝红印记. It's essentially a tea house serving and selling pu er tea, and a place for Chinese-style meals. You could have individual meals, or order common dishes with rice.


The place was furnished in what I would call a semi-village way - there were faux bamboo/wood furniture in old Chinese styles, but the flooring and the kitchen were all quite modern. No idea what the menu looks like, because the menus were sent for updating when we visited.


My dad took care of the ordering, and this is what we had for lunch.

Beancurd with pumpkin sauce, topped with minced meat.
Chinese wolfberry chicken.
Super le expensive...
The place is not economical, though. A meal for two, plus a fried rice to take away, totaled to almost RM100. I would say the taste and quality of the food was reasonable, though.


***


I had finally completed my Japanese sesame seed pestle-and-mortar set. I found the bowl at Daiso Mid Valley, and the pestle at Central Hypermarket. Both about RM5 each, and then the next day after visiting central, we found the set at Daiso, complete with the pestle, all for RM5. RM5 wasted.





I actually wanted to purchase the suribachi mortar and surikogi pestle for one thing - BLACK SESAME ICE CREAM. I have developed an innate taste for practically anything Japanese. Well, I found the recipe, but I was too damn lazy to move everything off my laptop to look for the bookmarked website to copy down the recipe, so I resorted to a black sesame recipe by Cooking With Dog.


Ingredients: bananas, soy milk, honey, grounded black sesame, and ice cubes. I would freeze the banana(s) before hand, and PEEL THEM BEFORE FREEZING. I thought it wouldn't be a problem so I just popped the bananas, unpeeled, into the freezer. BIG MISTAKE.


Instead of peeling off completely as it would usually, the skin of the banana just separated, and it took a small paring knife and a few minutes of work to completely peel them.

The first time I made actual healthy smoothies, without adding tons of Oreos, chocolate, and/or Kit Kats into the mixture. =D
Anyway, grind the sesame seeds (with le awesome pestle and mortar, or with a food processor), throw everything into the blender, and WHIZ AWAY!!! Turned out to be awesomely delicious. I would recommend more banana, and grinding the seeds a little more finely, but not for so long that they start to secrete their oils (it will create a paste).


The combination is good for your skin (black sesame), and a pretty good source of protein (soy milk), and B vitamins (banana).


***


My dad was out, sister at school, mother at work, so I had to make my own lunch. I didn't want to eat instant noodles already, because all the flavors available were spicy. There was some leftover fusilli pasta at the back of the cupboard, so I thought I'd use it up.

The first time I went into the kitchen and produced something impromptu that is actually EDIBLE.
Just before I started cooking, my grandma came out of her room, and told me there were some defrosted prawns, if I wanted to use them for my cooking. I thought: hey, why not?


Cleaned them, seasoned them. Then did some random stuff to them. I kept the nicer looking prawns for something else, roughly chopped the rest, put in too much cornflour, sauteed some garlic, then pan-fried the "prawn patties" with the garlic, while cooking my pasta (more al dente than usual) with garlic.


Drained the pasta, put in some olive oil to the pasta, back in the pot, then stir fried together with the rest of the prawns. I swear, I'm gonna die indirectly oh high cholesterol. I added some dried herbs, whatever I could find in my pantry. Turned out pretty good!


***

Happy Cafe, nice place for a nice meal out.
There's this cafe which my family and I pass by very frequently on the way and back from school, work, or grocery shopping. It's lit up with flashing lights and night, and the place looked like some kind of Hawaiian shack or something.

Warm honey milk. I've developed a taste for the honey and milk combination since I was working at Dami. The key is good quality honey. It's the aroma and flavor of the honey that punctuates and compliments the taste of the milk.
Turns out, it's a Western food joint. Not super-sophisticated, but they had free Wi-Fi (my new survival item), TV (125 Hours was playing), and a selection of beer (Corona included). I was at the start of my current cold, so I had a warm drink.

Creamy salmon pasta. Choice of spaghetti, macaroni, and fettucine, I think.
Grilled lamb chop with red wine sauce. No alcohol~
My sister and I agreed on sharing a pasta and a meat dish. I chose the meat dish, she chose the pasta. Both turned out to be quite delicious. And for the fairly good service, ambiance, taste, and quality, I'd say the prices are well worth it.


***


I've a friend from another country who's coming in March, and I've been wondering where to bring him for food. Being a traveler and a pretty good cook, himself, I would assume that he's tried out the local stuff already.


Suggestions from friends included fish head bee hoon (one of my own favorites, but the good one is at Taman Desa), or nyonya food. Nyonya food is characterized with the fusion of Chinese and Malay cooking, which is a reflection of the Chinese-Malay Peranakan culture.


Just a few doors up from Fusion Haven and TM Point, a nyonya restaurant called Familiar Faces was recommended by Ken Min. We had a rather impromptu appointment for dinner, and Familiar Faces was where we went.


I swear, I'm never going early to any social appointments anymore. Sure, I'd give you 5-10 minutes, because I know how hard it is to find parking, and maybe something came up. Boh? But any more than that, I'll get pissed off.

The texture was like... tender beef/pork? Nothing really special, but at least I tried. Never gonna try dog meat, though...
Red star.
ANYWAY, we ordered common dishes to accompany rice. There was even deer meat. And where the menu was supposed to say "fish stomachs", they printed "gas bladder". Like seriously? Wouldn't you care to consult a bloody dictionary before proceeding?

Stir-fried paku veggies with sambal.
Deer meat with black pepper sauce. Ratio of veggies to meat is 1.5 : 1.
Thai-style fried tofu. Comes with a sour-spicy sauce.
Fried egg fu yong.
My favorite - salted egg squid. Almost any sauce that is made from salted egg yolks is awesome!
The food, however, was good. Flavorful, reasonably generous, good service, and quite economical. 5 dishes, rice for 4, 3 drinks, totaled up to RM75 for 4 persons. Not bad, right? But the space in the restaurant is quite limited, so you might wanna reserve in advance for large parties.


***


And yesterday, on the 23rd of February, I embarked on a journey with my parents and my sister to Mid Valley (again, again). The main reason was to pick up some stuff from Harvey Norman, but we walked around the mall for a bit while waiting for the targeted shop to open.

Next to a juice bar. Only could get a tilted shot because of said juice bar.
Ace Hardware, you need to get someone to proof-read your price labels before printing. Only 8-digits?
I didn't know the Kardashian Kollection was available in KL. Oh, well. Even Bershka is here. Went up to Ace Hardware to look for water-conserving tap filters, but found none.

Nando's has some very creative ways of transmitting information.
Lemons are a good source of vitamin C, and is a good bleaching agent. This is how I look when I wake up 4 hours too early, with no coffee and no make-up.
We had "breakfast" at Nando's, and I found this. Italy does not have Nando's? Pray tell me why. Because Nando's is just fucking awesome. I also have a habit of sucking on lemons...

F1 racing, anyone?
Supposedly, the Formula 1 season is coming up (a friend told me he saw the practice sessions in Sepang on TV), and Clear and Rexona, an anti-dandruff shampoo brand and deodorant brand respectively, kind of collaborated for an event at the Center Court.


There were trips to Monaco up for grabs, and there were "racing booths", complete with F1 sound effects, and almost the real thing. To win the prize, one has to beat a certain time record, I think.

My new dream car, alongside the Nissan Skyline, and the Hummer.
On the way to Amcorp Mall, we stopped at a traffic light, and just as I was mentioning the Porsche Panamera, we saw one. Super fast, and driven by a really hot Caucasian. =D

Grammar!!!!!!!!!!
My mother and sister went crazy in Romantika, a sort of gift shop, which specializes in things like boxes, glasses, decoratives, faux flowers, etc. I weaved randomly through the aisles, but nothing interested me. Even if I bought anything, I wouldn't know where to put them - my room now looks like a post-war zone as it is.

It's been a while, Paddington Bear. I used to delight in watching this cartoon. So cute with his coat, hat, and marmalade~ Oh, childhood!
Book Xcess wasn't a real "destination", but we went in to take a look. I would have gone fucking nuts, because the prices were ... crazy.

According to this book, Italians don't have breakfast, and all of them have a very good sense of style.
The first thing that caught my eye was the display rack in the front, and on it were assorted volumes of Culture Shock!, something like a series of guidebooks to different countries. Almost automatically, I searched for Italy, found it, and immediately went into my cart.

This book describes everything down to your diet to maintain healthy skin.
Then while helping my mother look for word-search grids, I spotted this baby. I was, at that point, chuckling, giggling, and cackling like a completely demented woman. I mean, FROM RM120, REDUCED TO RM29.90?!?


Even the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows cost only RM24.90, when the original price was RM109.90. I'm definitely getting all my books here from now on. Crazy cheap prices!!!

Caramelized macadamia cheesecake. As it is, I don't really like macadamias.

Before getting home, we stopped by Padi House for lunch. My dad ordered some set, which included a cappucino, and a cheesecake of his choice - caramelized macadamia cheesecake. Nothing much to shout about. The cheesecake was delicately flavored, punctuated by the slightly bitter caramel.

Grilled salmon.
I usually reserve the melted mozzarella-pesto "sheet" for last. Note: SNAP YOUR BLOODY ASPARAGUS, don't cut them. By snapping them, you will be able to find the tough, stringy parts.
My sister ordered a grilled salmon dish, while I ordered a pesto fondue chicken again. I'm loving pesto, and who can say no to mozzarella and parmesan cheese?


***


Right now I'm having almost nil privacy. Being used to having the entire room to myself, and doing whatever I please until daybreak was a habit. Now I can't even keep the light on for too long... And worse: NO MUSIC. There are so many videos on Youtube I haven't seen, but hey, hakuna matata!


UPDATE: Upon closer inspection, and clarification from a friend, Italians do have breakfast, but not the hearty type that we're used to. Instead of nasi lemak, or a full English breakfast, they make do with a small pastry and a cup of coffee/cappucino.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 30

Full list here.


Day 30: A Song That Makes You wanna Drive Fast and Crazy


The list is looong. And since I gingerly put together an answer for many of the previous challenge questions, I'll compensate here~





How can you go wrong with a Need For Speed Most Wanted soundtrack? Like seriously, this is almost the only NFS I'd play. Still stuck at #5 on the blacklist, though... Even the system remembers that I like to start my game with Nine Thou.





Named after the epic late Hide of X Japan (who performed the song with his other musical unit, called Hide with Spread Beaver), Pink Spider is the first track on my visual J-rock CD in my car. Driving to campus on a gray Monday morning is much more awesome with this on full blast.





This is not a religious hymn, or at least it's not to me. To my ears and mind, this is another epic song by L'Arc~en~Ciel (lyrics written by hyde, if I'm not mistaken). The song is performed by hyde's other group VAMPS, and sounds a little different than the studio original. Jesus Christ is an English J-rock song, the guitar is just... awesome!!!


***


There's another last optional question, and since it's optional, I shall be a lazy bum and not do it!!! Instead, I might be doing a synced post with a fellow friend and blogger. So, this concludes the Improved 30 Day Song Challenge!!!


Remind me not to do another challenge for a LOOONG time. I'm going nuts already.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 29

Full list here.


Day 29: A Song That Makes You Wanna Punch Someone in the Face


It could be a song that I hate so much that I wanna punch someone, or a song that fuels my anger. Actually, both are irrelevant. So, how do I answer this question?





Not that I have anything against this song or Fergie, but London Bridge is just a really annoying song for me. Even more annoying than continuous Bieber.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 28

Full list here.


Day 28: A Song From Another Favorite Album


Repetition is this challenge's middle name. Ugh.





Danson Tang's Love Me was my first "idol" album - Taiwanese singer who did some acting as well. He was the Taiwanese guy I went ga-ga over, apart from my Japanese "beaus". My favorite song of the album is the title song, Love Me.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 27

Full list here.


Day 27: A Song You Wish You Could Play on an Instrument


KUON's Eternity -Memories of Lightwaves-. It's the opening theme to Final Fantasy X-2's PS2 game. Beautiful, yet sad at the same time...





I guess music can have different interpretations depending on the person, even if the creator meant it to mean one thing only. This song kind of means destiny is a part of everything - meeting that special person, and the memories that are left behind when your paths divide. Amidst the pain, there is always something to value in the end.


Not sure if this makes sense, but it kind of means that love can surpass time, dimensions, and everything in between.


The piano itself is a beautiful piece, much like To Zanarkand and Suteki Da Ne? from Final Fantasy X.

You Exist in my Song

Without any defense
And without a sheer thought
You just appeared in my world
Bringing me surprise
A love that wasn't mine to control anymore

But you just had to be this way
Disappearing without a word
In my absent-mindedness
Without so much of an utter
From my world
Leaving behind just memories

You exist deep in my mind
In my dreams
In my heart
In my song

I still remember in the past
We walked past that busy street
Shoulder to shoulder
No matter if we're strangers to acquaintances
We still feel each other
A gaze
A heartbeat
A unsuspecting happiness
Something like a dream
Destiny?

You exist deep in my mind
In my dreams
In my heart
In my song

In a world so vast
Why did we meet?
Could it be fate?
Could it be written in the stars?

You exist deep in my mind
In my dreams
In my heart
In my song

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 26

Full list here.


Day 26: The Perfect Song to Listen to While You're Angry


Typically, I would listen to any heavy song - metal. Among some of my favorite heavy metal: Girugamesh, Rammstein, and sometimes the GazettE, depending on the single. Versailles, Kagrra,, and others are a tad too "light" when I'm pissed off.





At first I thought this was a Rammstein single, until thousands of Youtubers said otherwise. Otherworld, performed by Bill Muir, is the theme song played in Final Fantasy X while you're battling a Jecht-like fiend which has two floating pillars that heal the main character.


Raspy, heavy voice; heavy drums and electric guitar. This is awesome when blasted through really good speakers/headphones really loud. It's music like this that helps me calm down when I'm pissed.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 25

Full list here.


Day 25: A Song You Discovered on TV


Does Korean drama count as TV? I think so... Even if I watched most of my Korean dramas from DVDs. ANYWAYS.





My first K-drama was Boys Over Flowers, but it was You're Beautiful (Ninami, Shineyo!) that made me fall in love with Jang Keun Suk~ (And I love any K-drama that makes me cry like a broken faucet) Here are the lyrics: hangul, romanji, and the translation.


The original version was by 9th Street, but Park Shin Hye did a cover of the song for the sake of the drama, where her character was supposed to record a single for the use of an upcoming drama. The song is essentially a break-up song, themed with regret, hurt, and disappointment. More or less describes me perfectly, to a certain extent (I know, I know, I'm whining again).

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 24

Full list here.


Day 24: A Song that is Anti-YOU


A song that isn't me... This is tough, 'cause I listen to a lot of the songs I listen to because they're relative to my feelings and thoughts.


And there could be a few different interpretations to this question, so I'm not quite sure how to approach it.


I think I'll go with this interpretation: the song that isn't my style. In general, anything that is punk, monotonous rap, or screamo isn't my type. Maybe I'll go with...





Isn't about the music, but rather the lyrics. The chorus sings, "break up happily, I wish you happiness". I believe in karma, and I actually don't wish happiness on anyone who would hurt me.


But then again, it's also a song that describes me: letting go is like taking a ride on a slow train - after a while, everything becomes clear and much more cheerful.


这个…好像很明显的是乱答一番…

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 23

Full list here.


Day 23: A Song That is YOU


Emphasis on the YOU. A song that best describes me. The only song that comes to mind...





My mother can dislike Taylor all she wants - so many of Taylor's songs describe how I feel most of the time. Songs like Red, especially, when I broke up.


The reason why it's ME. Because I'm beyond naive. Sure, the song says "'cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them", but I'm 19, and it still applies to me.


Most of the story - going to high school, meeting some old friends and saying hi, then trying to stay out of everyone's way. Had some crushes, met some people in school (primary, high, and university) who became my best friends, whom I've shared many secrets with. Fell in love, went for dates, gave almost everything I had just to get heartbreak in return.


I won't say I'm a person who lives for love, but indeed, love is what keeps me going. Having a person for me to dedicate my entire being to is what helps me tolerate all the other bullshit that happens in my life.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 22

Full list here.


Day 22: A Song from a Band You Heard About Before They Were Cool


I usually hear music when they're way beyond their prime, or when they're already hot. Very rarely do I hear a song before they're hot, and from a band... Well, I'll change the challenge to "a song that you heard before it was cool". Within my local vicinity, anyway.


MissChievous did an inspired look based on Alexandra Stan's Mr Saxobeat, and having nothing to do, I watched the video, and looked up the music video as well. The song was good, catchy, groovy. And a few days later, it exploded all over KL. In the UniGym at campus, at malls - it was everywhere.




This is the only song that is CLOSE to the challenge question.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Improved 30 Day Song Challenge: Day 21

Full list here.


Day 21: A Song From Your Favorite Album


I prefer tracks over albums, but in the rare case that I get to buy an album, I love the entire thing. Two notable albums I own: Kelly Chen's 心口不一, and L'Arc~en~Ciel's Awake. Both were gifts, one from my dad, and the other from my sister for my birthday.


I had a Ricky Martin cassette once, which was my first ever "album", but it's long been missing.


Guess my favorite album would be Awake, since it's the only CD I bothered putting on replay in my car... And also due to the fact that I'm almost completely Japanese biased. =D




As One is the heaviest track on the album, featuring heavy drums, electric guitars, and also raspy vocals by hyde. I couldn't find the original track, but the live version is just as good. =D

Snake Year 2013

Warning: super long post ahead, with many pictures (relevant or irrelevant).


One word to describe Chinese new year 2013: BUSY.


My older sister is now working in Singapore, and my mother had many other things to do than the usual CNY stuff, so I had to help with the CNY preparations. Not that I never helped in the past, but I had to be prodded every few minutes to get things done, and usually it was only one or two things.


As per usual, my mother made so many kuih lapis (layer cakes) for CNY. Instead of just wiping the table tops and all the tiny, boring stuff that I used to do, one day I would be assigned to just clean the bedroom floors, then take care of the curtains, then, for almost literally the first time in my life, go out with a shopping list to the morning market.


Family flooded in within a weekend, which was a teensy bit claustrophobic, since I had my room all to myself, subjecting it to my mess, and all of a sudden it had to be pristine (sheets changed, floors glistening) for my other family members to sleep in. It's not really convenient to move 6-8 stuffed toys of different sizes.

Face masks!!!
My father came home with mostly sheet masks for my mother (occasionally myself), lots of chilli peanuts, and a few collector's items. And with my father's return means I could change from my old Nokia C6-00 to a Samsung Galaxy Note. =D

EVE

Anyways, CNY eve was celebrated with conversations, jokes, and who could forgo the reunion dinner? Due to my grandmother's injury, we had to take the menu planning into our own hands.

Beer butter herb shrimp. Lots of butter and shrunken prawns.
An aunt brought some stewed sea cucumber, as well as some fried fish stomachs for the herbal soup. Another aunt stir-fried some vegetables, my mother steamed a couple of fishes with shoyu and ginger, and the most untouchable dish - dirty shrimp in beer butter sauce, made by yours truly~


I subscribe to a ton of people on Youtube, and Nicko's Kitchen is one of those channels. He's based in Australia, and we had a lot of shrimp/prawns at home (lots of beer and butter, too), so my mother asked me to make it for the dinner.


I have a few family members allergic to prawns, alcohol, and the sheer amount of butter needed for the recipe... just not really diet-friendly. ANYWAYS, cleaning the prawns was a pain to my stomach, the cooking was stressful (we started cooking later than planned), but it turned out (almost) beautifully. The prawns shrunk a little too much for my liking, though...

My favorite ice cream flavor from Baskin Robbins.
Dinner was awesome, and after dinner, the preparation for everything else commenced, but not before my parents went out to get some Baskin Robbins ice cream for everyone~ Chocolate chip cookie dough OMG!


I helped with the peeling of the ginkgo nuts (though I don't eat them) for the next morning's vegetarian pot. Then drove myself nuts trying to remember which incense sticks to use for what, and which to light when, etc. After all the incense and candles, there's all the paper money and whatnot.


Actually I didn't help with the incense and candles and stuff, but according to my grandmother, I was the daughter of my family (theoretically speaking), and both my other sisters were busy, so I had to subject my eyes and lungs to torture.

Just two of the many bottles of wine we had in the house!
A quick shower to get clean to welcome in the new year, and we had a drinking-snacking-chatting session until 3am (very nice wines, courtesy of my uncle!).

DAY 1

The ridiculous thickness of the pomelo skin. My dad and I were digging and digging and digging, before finally peeling it open.
Next morning woke up at 8am (as opposed to the originally planned 7am) to help my mother with the cooking of the vegetarian pot, and some other stuff.

Same T-shirt (different color), three different styles - sporty, casual, and *ahem* sexy. I also brought along my new purple Longchamp~
By around 11am, we were out, my sisters and I coordinated our tops. My mother's trip to Bangkok brought home many sets of threes (cheaper, supposedly), and we agreed on wearing a somewhat chibi owl print T-shirt for CNY.


I paired my T-shirt with a bright red layered pencil skirt (auspicious red), accessorized with a long pendant necklace, and a few random pieces as arm candy, one dangling earring which wasn't visible for most of the day, and since I had no other shoes, with the above-the-ankle heels.

Over-blended the brow filling product too much...
I was tearing my hair out regarding what make-up to wear, but due to my laziness and the lack of time, I opted for a "pin-up" look - winged liner and red lips. And I also had to "brown-ify" my eyebrows to match my now-lighter-brown hair.

Waiter preparing the auspicious yee sang. Crunchy bits of fried crackers, julienne fruits and veggies, with pomelo bits and jellyfish strips... GNAM!
The fish dish of the day. The deep fried fish skeleton was mostly edible.

After a round of snacks and light drinks, we went out to Super Tanker Restaurant at Damansara Kim for our new year lunch. For some queer reason, there was talk about animal slaughtering, debates about what a sea coconut is, and many other topics, which I found hard to participate in.

Such an obedient little baby! He was so adorable!!!
The kids were adorable, though... There were 3 kids there, all under 5 years old, and SO BLOODY ADORABLE OMG! One of the girls were super cute with a little cheongsam and bobbed hair; the other little girl had wispy braids and eyes that looked straight into your soul, rimmed with long, curled lashes; the youngest little boy was cute, quiet, and sucking on his thumb the entire day!


When we were back in the host house (my uncle's apartment in Bandar Utama), out came the cards and blackjack started.

Camwhoring behind the couch, feeling a little tipsy.
Some of the ladies huddled in the kitchen, chatting over mandarin wedges. A couple of guys enjoyed themselves on the couch with golf and/or their devices. While I was like a butterfly, moving from one island of activity to another, in the end finishing my beer WAYYY to quickly, and resorted to camwhoring.

My dad passed his specs to me for safekeeping, and I did, in my own way.
Next stop: Wangsa Maju. Usually the house would be jam packed with people, but because we were way more than late, the house was practically empty. But it slowly filled up, jammed with people, and while I was snacking on butter cookies and watching Hong Kong new year movies, the dining table once again became the blackjack table.


I didn't take dinner that night (lunch was really, really full), but joined in the drinking session (more like wine-tasting, actually).

DAY 2

I shall call the second day of new year shopping day. We went out to Mid Valley, and started walking. The places we spent the most time? Kiehl's, and Harvey Norman.

Don't need to spend much money to make my tummy happy =D Delicious kuih talam (coconut and pandan cake) from Nyonya Colors.
But not before we had breakfast at a restaurant with shitty service - everyone who went to the counter came back with a black face. Nyonya Colors is a local food restaurant in between The Gardens and Mid Valley Megamall, on the lower ground floor, I think. They have awesome kuih talam!

Kiehl's Fortune #817.
At Kiehl's, we got a fortune cookie. It was actually for my little cousin, but she didn't want it, so my dad and I opened it. I've come to actually like eating the fortune cookie (damn it, I love cookies!), and the "fortune" within the cookie wasn't really a fortune, per se, but more of a quote.

Love Kiehl's chemistry-inspired table... Featuring my younger sister's old Nokia~
We had lunch at Nando's, by which time I thought I was already getting anorexic. Just 1/4 of a chicken and I was full. I used to be able to eat lots, but now any more than a few decently sized morsels, maybe a glass of juice, and a little carbs... and I'm already feeling sick.

This bugger sneaks around my house now... It keeps crashing into things...
Since Harvey Norman was next to Nando's, my dad thought to go in for a look. Here's some advice: if you put two gadget-freak guys together in a gadget/household store like Harvey Norman, plan your other shopping routes. We spent about 1-2 hours there, but here's one of the loots of the day... (there's actually more)

DAY 3

Day 3 of CNY is called lazy day - while my dad and younger sister labored around the house (usually it's me), I slept in, checking me email every so often. When I (finally) got up, I started backing stuff up on Kies Air, then it was out for lunch...

3 cups for 3 stooges - Oreo Chocolate ice blended for the younger sister; pearl milk tea for dad; and a pop eggs milk tea for moi.
Of all places, we opted for Face to Face Noodles House. I really, really much prefer the self-service system at campus, but that's a different location altogether. A few doors down from F2F was Ochado, and that's where we went to use the Wi-Fi.


Just because P1 is a friggin' bitch and is almost completely useless. We've used up our quota, so we surf with really, really, REALLY low speeds. And usually loading one 5-minute Youtube video with only ONE person using the Wi-Fi already takes about half an hour.


The slow Wi-Fi was one of the causes of an argument in the house, and the source of much of my frustration. Thankfully, dad plans to upgrade to Unifi soon. =D

My second-hand Galaxy Note, and it's new portable charger =D
So right now I'll just have to get a few other things done, then I can reformat my new Note, and recustomize it! Did I mention that I got an unexpected power bank from my older sister as well?

DAY 4

C'est make-up shopping day~ Ken Min has been wanting to get some make-up for some time, and I'll need to teach him how to use the products soon...


I woke up later than I wanted to, but I got a pretty good parking space. We had McDonald's for breakfast (I didn't get the tamagotchi toy that was supposed to be in my Happy Meal!), then started the shopping quite gingerly.

Quote Love Soap: "The most astonishing feminine hygiene wash ever? You decide!" I mean, it's feminine wash... Unless you have 24k gold flakes in there, it's not that much astonishing at all... Spotted in Shins.
We took a look at the cosmetics at Daiso (really, The Mines and Sunway Pyramid has much more variety), then went down to Shins to look for brushes for Ken Min. There were the environmentally-friendly bamboo handle brushes, the basic ones, then...

My expression when I found the Real Techniques brushes. GIF from Google.
Pixiwoo is one of my favorite make-up gurus on Youtube, because their looks are just so beautiful, and they're more professional than Michelle Phan. Real Techniques is a line of brushes that Samantha Chapman created, and I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FIND THEM HERE BY ACCIDENT!!!

Sam's photo on the back of an angled foundation brush.
Real Techniques Travel Essentials. I supposed this is mostly for foundation and concealer (face work).
But they were expensive, so Ken Min settled for the basic 6-piece brush set (large face, 2 flat shadows, angled, brow-and-lash brush, and a pouch) from the bamboo handle brush line.


We got most of the stuff he needed at Watson's - over RM100 worth of cosmetics from Kate, Maybelline, In2It, and Silkygirl. In the process, there was a lot of testing of products on the back of the hands, on the jawlines, on the face, etc. Forgot that we could have brought in a video camera and vlogged the shopping~

Kah Yeng's haul from Daiso. Clockwise from top left: eyelash curler, super fine false lashes, eyelash glue, contour-and-highlight powder, cheek color, false lash holder, and eyelid glue.
It was then back to Daiso to get Kah Yeng's supplies. Instead of powders and products, she bought mostly accessories, i.e. false lashes (really fine ones, so she could trim then use for two purposes), eyelash curler, etc.

Left: Ocha-Ryo - green tea ice with black sesame balls, red beans, and mini pearls. Right: soya ice with grass jelly, pearls, lotus seeds, and barley (I think).
Lunch was Snowflake, if you could even call that lunch. I've missed having Snowflake, and I just realized we also have a habit of leaving tabs unpaid. (facepalm) I would usually take the Japan combo 2 (soya ice, mini pearls, red beans, and Taro Balls), but I decided to try the Ocha-Ryo.

Saw this in the Barbie store's display window. Seriously? Bella doesn't look like that, though I do like the William and Kate dolls.
A short camwhore session later, Kah Yeng joined her family, and Ken Min and I went to Rock Corner for a spin (tried searching for Davide Sonar's CDs, if there are any, but didn't find any), then proceeded home. And after editing a few photos, blogging a bit, I had to change to go out for a CNY open house in Tropicana.

C'est my sister et moi. Both almost completely in black.
I wore my little black dress from Kitschen, paired with purple (accented with pink and yellow) faux feather earrings to match my giant (eggplant) purple tote. I wanted to do a smudged look, but can't really be bothered to do a full-blown, picture-perfect smokey eye look, so I compromised where I could.

Artistry shadows in Sand, Basic Beige, Java, and Ash Black. shu uemura Creme Shadow as base. Face, jawline, and nose contoured with Bobbi Brown blusher.
The end result was a dark brown smokey eye with shadows from a neutral palette, accented with outer half lashes. I saved myself a lot of hassle by just using black shadow instead of liquid liner, and used a soft shadow brush to do my brows.


An open house at this particular family is usually accompanied by attentive adults and really good food. Here's what I had for dinner.

Herbed grilled chicken, veggie spring roll, chicken lasagna, spaghetti pesto with mushrooms and seafood (hence the giant mussel: deliciously fresh!)
Salmon mousse with tortilla strips.
Chicken and lamb satays, chicken drummets, mini chicken and mushroom pie, and another serving of chicken lasagna and another veggie spring roll.
Salsa dip with crackers before dinner officially commenced.
Johnny Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whiskey~ Super deliciously smooooooth!
茶果 - Chinese flavored local cakes.
Cinnamon apple crumble version 1 - with custard (vanilla, I suppose, because there were black specks throughout the custard). Courtesy of Auntie Lee Choo~
My favorite dish of the night - cinnamon apple crumble with vanilla ice cream! Home-made by Auntie Lee Choo. The only apple crumble I will eat (for now, until I find another one that is as good as this, though I doubt that I will).
Kenzo has a really innocent, friendly face (but sharp, growing teeth).
After a short play session with the Shepherd puppy Kenzo out in the back, we headed home. Today will be Valentine's day, and since I don't have a date, I made a rough date with Kah Yeng and Ken Min to go out for dinner for the occasion~