Black tofu

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Have you eaten black tofu? No, I presume. Let me tell ya, it tastes as good as the usual white tofu that we normally eat in Chinese restaurants. The best part is that that it's organic - which mean it's healthy aka no artificial colourings nor preservatives. I have no idea how the manufacturers turned these food into black considering they shouldn't be using any colouring at all. I'm guessing that they used black soybeans to produce the black stuff. Fyi, I ate these for the first time at Summer Palace so I'm pretty sure you can find it there. The black colour indeed sparks curiosity. Go try it. You know you want to~ XD


So...black tofu, anyone??

Thank you for the music

Friday, September 26, 2008

Dear Nuffnang, I'd promised you that I'll ♥ you forever if you grant me tickets to the premiere of Mamma Mia! The Movie. You have my words & I would like to express my utmost gratitude to y'all who made my day. Thank you for the joyful night of music & laughter! It was such an awesome movie that never failed to keep me entertained. Honestly, I was tapping my feet in unison to all the songs featured in the movie for the whole night. The song selections were absolutely perfect - it's as if ABBA has created them for a future musical.

To those who have yet to watch it, what are you waiting for? The plot is easy to digest & not too cheesy. Though I can't guarantee it for guys who strictly don't enjoy musicals at all. I mean, most guys just don't fancy men singing, dancing & prancing around gleefully. Right? XD

IT'S FINALLY HERE!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

After what seems like an eternity, we don't have to wait no longer. Why? Cuz...


...PlayStation 3 has reached Malaysian shores.

Sony Malaysia decided to launch the gaming console by introducing the 80GB version in the market priced at RM1,599 (console only) or the Soul Calibre IV bundled package which is priced at RM1,799. And no, neither I nor my cousin bro bought the unit cuz it was still pricey to us. I went to 1 Utama where the official launch was held as I was curious what Sony Malaysia has planned for to hype up the event.

We were pretty late for the event, sad to say. Reason being cousin bro was out almost the whole day & I didn't have a car to drive there myself. By the time we're there, almost half of the activities were over. The most interesting agenda of the day was most probably the first-come-first-serve cash voucher for the PS3 purchase. Perhaps you're not aware that there were ppl spending the night at the event venue several days before the actual day. Ain't that madness?? o_O

The stage & booth set-up wasn't too bad. I would say it was pretty happening in a way cuz it was at the Highstreet Outdoor area. There is no way that you'll miss the event as every vehicle that passes by the New Wing would definitely see it. As you can see below, this is the main stage of the event (my apologies for such a bad pic cuz my sis took it :/).


There was a section that displays the console & Sony's breakthrough technology - Bluray. Just look at the beauty of the sexy black PS3. Oh my!


The power of connectivity - BRAVIA TV, Sony Handycam & PS3. (Noticed that we were actually taking a pic of us appearing on the TV screen XD)


Gaming enthusiasts had the opportunity to experience the power of the PS3 at the gaming section where the 24-hour games marathon was held the night prior to the event. Seen here are ppl playing Soul Calibre IV (Not the best PS3 game. Why no MGS4? How about DMC4??)


Not to forget the chicks galore. As per usual. *shrugs* Well, they were actually cosplaying as some random female game character to compete for the Best Game Girl title. A little too thin but still hot, nevertheless.


How can I not take a snapshot with at least one of them, right? XD


Cousin bro was complaining that I didn't inform him about the cash voucher thingy. Heck. It's not like he had the time to go camp at the venue. After all, he had to fetch my aunt from the airport that night. Tough luck~ I'd have to admit that it was a good deal but...was all the long queueing hours & sleepless nights camping outside the cold worth it? This is very subjective. What do you think?

Mid-autumn come & go

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Mid-Autumn Festival this year turned out to be rather depressing. Mainly cuz it rained cats & dogs last night, during the time that we do prayers & light up lanterns, candles etc. What was supposed to be an open space celebration in my garden with several members of my family turned out to be a solo thing - me being so semangated to play lantern alone. For the past few years, we've been using self-made lanterns as we use blackout candles that are longer lasting. Well, this year...I had no idea why Grandma decided to buy two fish lanterns; knowing that the candles are tiny & burns out easily.

It's quite pricey to be paying RM8 for just a fish lantern. Nevertheless, it always looks good cuz it's an all-time fav lantern shape.


C'mon, how can a self-made lantern like this one can be compared to the one you buy outside?


Overall, it's a pretty boring celebration this year. Maybe not. There could other places organising a huge one with lots of ppl joining in the fun. It's just that I was too lazy to go anywhere. And I don't eat mooncakes either. Oh well...perhaps the jelly ones, yes. *shrugs*

A chance encounter with the Cruiser

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

After cousin bro's graduation ceremony, we left & headed to our usual dim sum restaurant for lunch. We were travelling on the LDP highway when suddenly a four-wheel drive cruiser was tailing us. Another one of my cousin bro who was driving asked if that vehicle is hitz.fm Cruiser; so I turned around & confirmed his statement. It's a coincidence that the Cruiser was travelling the same road as us.

It seemed that the driver & the passengers in the Cruiser saw me turning around to catch a glimpse of them. Guess what they did? The driver pressed on the pedal - increased the acceleration just to get closer to our car. And he started flashing at us using the headlights in order to get our attention. I turned around to look at them again - this time they started waving at us as their car got nearer each time. LOL. I waved at them too & burst out laughing XD.

I seriously couldn't help but laughed at their sillyness. Without wasting any time, I took out my camera cuz I wanted to capture a shot of the Cruiser & hopefully the guys in it waving happily at me. Now guess what they did again? They knew that I was pointing the camera at their direction & purposely drove closer to our car - without switching off the headlights - did some goofy pose & kept it there for about a few secs just to ensure that I took a pic of them. ROFL. So adorkable!


Not expecting their next move, the hitz.fm Cruiser switched to the left lane & moved faster so that our cars were parallel. Then, the guys started waving excitedly at us; at the same time checking out who's driving & the chicks ppl who responded to their silly acts. They seemed to thrilled about following us. Haha. In the end, the Cruiser took a left turn & headed off elsewhere. Even then, they smiled cheekily at us for the last time before they disappeared out of sight. Oh boy, what an experience it was~

Here's the conversation I had with my cousin bro (the driver) after the incident.

CM: Oh man...we should've followed them.
Me: What for?
CM: Who knows they might recognise us & give us shit loads of freebies. Or perhaps, concert tickets.
Me: There's no upcoming concert at the moment.
CM: It would be CDs, then.
Me: Nah. I don't need their CDs. Don't fancy much English songs nowadays.
CM: We could sell them. They're originals, y'know. *smirks*
Me: Right... -_-"
It was one of the most random incident ever happened in my life. This makes life's so exciting & bizarre, no? ^^

Finally graduated!

Sunday, September 07, 2008

After waiting for almost a year, my cousin bro has finally received his degree certificate. He's officially declared a graduate yesterday. Congrats to him! It's a pity that he didn't managed to take a good studio shot of him wearing the gown, mortar & holding his scroll. Honestly, I really wanted him to for it but the price was extremely expensive. Why on earth is the photograph charged at minimum RM450? I know that it comes in a package in which several sizes of the photographs will be printed. Still...RM450?? Nah. Way too pricey. Money minded ppl they are, I tell ya.

It was the first time I attended a graduation ceremony & everything was so prim & proper. Can't possibly believe that time flies by so quickly. About 10 years ago, I thought attending university & graduating one day seems so far away. Look at us now. We've gone through all of that & now we're stepping out to face the harsh realities of the real world. There're times when I can't seem to recollect all the memories of things that I've done for the past 10 years. All that had happened seem so vague now -_-. Well, I guess there's no reason to dwell in the past as we have more important things to do look forward to. In about 2 months, it'll be my turn to walk down the hallway; ascending the stage to receive my scroll & smile to the camera with the Chancellor. Not long after that, I should be working my ass off just to earn an extra dollar.

This is life. *sighs*

Anyways, congratulations to our dear Chun Hoe! He deserves a good treat for being the first to earn a degree in the house.


Click the thumbnail to view more pics of his graduation.

I've got an iPhone 3G!

Thursday, September 04, 2008

TA-DAA!


I'VE GOT AN iPhone 3G!!


NOT! Lol. Did you guys actually believe that I got one?? Well, it actually belongs to my uncle in JB. Yeah I did mention about it in my previous post so here it is - some snapshots of the real thing as shown above. Didn't bother taking more snapshots of it cuz it's the same like the iPod Touch, just as I've said it many times. The only difference is the firmware which allows users to make calls & send text messages. If I'm not mistaken, the applications are similar to the iPod Touch.

Here's the peculiar thing. The 16GB version is supposed to have 3G embedded in it but I don't see any secondary camera. I thought 3G phones should have 2 cameras so that the one facing the user can be used to make video calls. There is none in this case. Indeed this gadget is cool but in terms of usability, I would rate it mediocre. Typing messages was such a hassle using the Qwerty keyboard. It's too cram & small thus causing typo errors to happen too often that it's supposed to be. I find it rather annoying too cuz the fingers tend to touch the wrong letter. What's more, typing becomes less precise using only the finger cuz the touchscreen doesn't detect stylus nor pointy objects.

Overall, it's a pretty cool gadget to play for fun but I believe the it's not worth spending over RM2000 in Malaysia. My aunt bought it for my uncle cuz she managed to get one of her Singaporean clients to sign a 2-year contract with SingTel who's entitled to buy the iPhone at dirt cheap price. It's not even close to RM1000. Can you imagine that? Lucky Singaporeans! Though the phone is exclusively available at SingTel outlets, it's not unlock. Ain't that great? Even those imported from US are network-locked to AT&T which requires a HyperSim or software unlock so that we poor Malaysians can insert our SIM cards in it. And that already costs a whopping RM2200 plus.

My uncle had no idea why his wife bought such a high-tech phone to use. She know nuts about handling this thing while my uncle is still in the process of learning on how to fully utilise it. In which I think it's very unlikely he'll succeed cuz he doesn't even know how to download apps to add on to the phone. Furthermore, he has no access to Internet at home whereas he's definitely too busy with his job instead surfing the net in the office. Oh well, it's not too bad a phone to flash around & show off. I bet iPhone won't be reaching our shores very soon. Not surprising. :/

Merdeka Trip Part 2

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Here's a recap of what I did during the remaining days of the weekend holidays. Lots of time wasted, really. Oh well, time doesn't wait & we all know too well.


Day 2

Me, my sis & I woke up pretty late that morning due to long drama session the night before. It was already late when we left the house. Had lunch first with my uncle before we entered Singapore. Our initial plan was to shop around Parkway Parade where my aunt works but soon enough, my cousin & I decided to take our grandparents to visit our uncle who's currently living in Choa Chu Kang. It only takes approx 1/2 hour to reach Choa Chu Kang from Woodlands but we went straight to Parkway Parade. Imagine spending another 40 mins to drive out from that mall back to Choa Chu Kang. Not knowing Singapore roads well; driving oh-so-cautiously so as to avoid getting caught by speeding cameras & getting slapped with a summon that costs a bomb - all these definitely did not help us reach the destination any faster. To top it off, Grandma's naggings about us getting lost half way that lasted almost an hour made matters a lot more worse. Yeah, I know how much it sucks but she's my granny anyways. What can I do?? *shrugs* Meanwhile, my sis was stuck at the salon doing her hair & that saved her from all the commotion during the journey. Lucky her!

Finally, we found our uncle's house & we met up with my cousin sis too. Had yum cha session somewhere near & dropped by at Lot One Shopper's Mall. It's a pretty decent mall selling nice clothings, shoes, bags...you name it at decent prices aimed - mainly aimed at middle income earners. The interior is surprisingly good too despite the plain exterior I saw upon entering its car park. Saw aplentiful of pumps that I was so tempted to buy but knowing my Grandpa was there wheelchair bound & may be bored if we spent too much time looking at clothes, I'd rather not hog everyone's time. Then, Grandma decidedly chose those designs that I don't quite like & kept on complaining why most of them have sharp, pointed nose made me fed up. Of course, I was silently calculating the price after conversion at the back of my head just to make sure that I don't overspend. Seriously it's tough shopping in Singapore if you keep on taking the currency conversion into consideration. You practically can't get anything cuz everything seems so pricey. Look, I can't help thinking like that especially when the price of those less branded pumps cost merely $35.90 end up becoming RM70++ a pair. Not so worthy, isn't it? Now I kinda regretted not getting one after returning home cuz the designs there were much, much better. Boo-hoo!

Of course, we can't just go home without snapping some pics? Am I right? ^^ After all, it's not like we always hang out with my cousin sis & uncle in Singapore.


Just as we were about to leave the mall, a note was placed on our car's windshield.


Heck! Didn't expect the management was freakin' anal about vehicles parking at the wrong space. Fyi, we parked at a space specially for handicaps reason being my grandpa couldn't walk far & needs to use a wheelchair. Parking at the handicap spot was the best option cuz it's the closest to the entrance. I don't blame if the management didn't know if there was old fellow who couldn't walk but believe it or not, a vehicle with a Singapore plate number also parked at a handicap spot next to ours & didn't receive any note. Not fair~ Unless the vehicle just parked not long ago & yet to receive the warning letter, I have every right to say that the management is discriminating us. This sounds very sensitive so let's hope that whatever I said it's not true.

After dropping off our uncle at his apartment, we drove my cousin sis back to her university. And off we cruised our way to Woodlands checkpoint, then home.


Day 3

We were supposed to be heading back to KL today. Me, cousin bro & my sis being sleepyheads again ended up waking up from slumber pretty late. Say, around 11am. No one was at home except the 3 of us. Cousin bro drove us out to eat yong tau fu & later met the rest of my family at Sutera Mall. Didn't fancy the place that much cuz it reminded me too much of Sungei Wang, except that it's newer. It's like lala land where the lala ppl gather. There's a shop that sells goth-styled clothing, seriously. Honestly, it looks damn cool but it's just plain inappropriate to wear it in public especially in Malaysia. I wouldn't mind putting one on if I'm at Harajuku or Akihabara. Some teenager wannabes were seen walking around in lolita dresses & gothic outfits which attracted so many stares from passerby. My uncle was dumbfounded when he saw them & asked what on earth these young kids are up to. I answered, "They're cosplaying~ XD". He was like...bwuh? o_O

Next stop was AEON Tebrau City. OMFG. Huge place. Enormous. Bigger than ever. Comparable to 1 Utama. Awesomeness. Walking on such a long stretch of the 1st floor was a daunting task. There were so many shops to walk around & see. It was the last day of Mega Sale therefore I told myself that I need to at least get something before I return home. In the end, I bought two blouses from G2000. Hell yeah I know their stuff have hefty price tag. They're having sale though & some of the blouses have 50% off. Without the discount, I wouldn't have consider buying any cuz their blouses are bloody expensive. Like RM179 each depending on the fabric type. Now I only paid RM179.90 for two items instead. Not too bad, huh?

It was too late to drive back to KL which was why we made a last min decision to stay over for another night. Cousin bro took an emergency leave since Grandma doesn't really like travelling in the late evening. As you know, we would be reaching home during nighttime. We did her favour by opting to go home tomorrow.


Day 4

We're going home for real this time XD. Again, we woke up late but we quickly packed our belongings & stuffed them in the car. Went for lunch at a coffee shop operated by a lady who hails from Ipoh. Wooo~ Nice food, I tell ya. Gah, one of these days I should go to Ipoh for a gastronomic feat. We bidded my uncle farewell & travelled home. We're going to see him again anyways as cousin bro's convocation is coming up this Saturday. My uncle wanted me to stay back for a few more days but I couldn't agree to do so. I needed to be home in case the employer that Mum recommended would call me up for an interview. It wouldn't be too nice if I requested the interview to be held the following week. I'd totally stay longer & have more time walking around Singapore; maybe shopping for lots of interesting items. Pity, isn't it? Nevertheless, it's good to be home. I miss my bed. XD


The End.

Merdeka Trip Part 1

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Sorry for the lack of updates. I just came back from a short holiday trip in JB. It was the Merdeka weekend & my grandparents had decided to drop a visit at my uncle's house. It's a norm for us Malaysians to go for trips on National Day as we usually have nothing else better to do besides hitting the malls. We just don't join in the fest & watch the parade like other countries do. But that doesn't make us less patriotic or love our country lesser than others. Let's just say we love our motherland a lot, not the one who governs it. And we have our own ways to show our love but on a less extravagant style.


Day 1

Travelling to JB alone already took us almost half a day. By then, we were already too exhausted to enter Singapore. Had lunch at one of the restaurants nearby my uncle's office. He ordered this rather unique kailan dish which is cooked using 2 different methods - fried & deep fried. This means one side of the dish has dried, crispy kailan leaves with its texture similar to nori sheets while the other half of the vege is like your typical fried kailan dish. Very interesting dish, indeed. Oh btw, he's using an iPhone 3G 16GB. OMFG. Effing cool design (just like the iPod Touch) but so-so on the functionalities. More on that later.

We settled down at my uncle's cribs while he returned to the office. Driving to Singapore was out of the question as we were too exhausted. Besides, it was late in the afternoon which means it would be pretty late by the time we reached there. And we need to return to JB again to stay for the night which left us very little time to do real shopping. Moonlight Resonance DVD was the only thing available to entertain us. What more can I expect when there's no Astro nor Internet to satisfy my daily needs. Nevertheless, I didn't mind cuz the house is really comfortable. It's so quiet & peaceful that I can sleep soundly & wake up feeling fresh later.

Our tummies started making noises when evening came. Off we went to a mamak to fill up our hungry stomachs. It's been ages since I last dined on mamak food. Oh, I so miss eating them. Mamak food in JB is a little different from what we have here in KL. For instance, there's no Indomie in JB which I think is quite a turnoff cuz I'm a huge fan of Indomie. How can they not have such tasty instant noodle?? I'm not entirely sure whether this applies to all JB mamaks but my uncle doesn't seem to know anything about Indomie either. So I'm assuming that Indomie is just not popular there. I ordered fried Maggi as a substitute to my fav Indomie. It turned out pretty delicious though it was a little too spicy for my liking. And then I had roti planta, a must-have dish each time I patronise mamak stalls (during the day, of course). The difference here is that there's no sugar but only margarine in it. This makes it rather bland & a tad too oily but the thin texture of the roti made up for it. Roti tissue was really good. I'm totally loving the thin, crispy pastry coupled with sweetened condensed milk. It was a little too sweet but still heavenly~ XD

Nothing fancy to talk about for dinner. The only thing was that we ate at 10pm cuz we had to wait for my aunt, uncle & cousin bro to return home. What's more, my aunt took the wrong bus home from Singapore & wasted lots of time stucked at the Causeway. We had crabs for dinner however I don't quite fancy crabs so I shall refrain from giving any comments. I just don't know how to appreciate it, if you ask me. After all, I didn't even touch the crabs. *shrugs*

It was foggy that night & cold air filled the surrounding. Cousin bro, my sis & I stood outside to enjoy the cool air since we were too stuffed from the late dinner & didn't want to go to bed early. It was the perfect time for shooting pics but it's a pity that my camera couldn't really capture the scenery well. This was the best I could do.

The quiet night sky

My pathetic attempt to capture my own jump in the pic is shown below. Here's a blurry vision of me jumping while my sis tried really hard to take a pic of me.



To be continued...
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