Ipoh Day Trip

During the Christmas weekend, I decided at the very last minute to go to Ipoh for a spontaneous day trip. I think mostly was because I missed the Ipoh food! hehe...

So, took a morning train at 925am with the cost of RM22 (economy was RM12, but sold out) from KL central station.

my bag and the railways. lol.

after 3 hours, I reached at around 1230pm at the Ipoh train station. While waiting for Aaron to pick me up, I decided to take a walk around the town while looking for my lunch. hehe...I think I know a good place nearby!

yeap, I was looking for the tall flat! (I think is the tallest in Ipoh?) :P

why the flat? That's because there are good restaurants besides the flat! hehe...easy for me to remember. :)

I went to Nam Heong, the genuine original Ipoh Old Town white coffee shop. haha...

The original Ipoh Old Town White Coffee! tasted more or less the same, I have to admit I am not a big fan of coffee. :)

they have plenty of food choices there though, but in the end due to sudden cravings I settled for this one, the prawn mee hun. :) taste good! but portion a bit little, barely scratch my belly. LOL.

Owh, while walking around the town, I took some pictures of the town. Shall post them up in the next post. Well, I am actually missing the Ipoh food again now, hope to go again soon! :) Ohya, then I came back on the 6pm train, cost me RM12. So the return trip was RM34, cheaper than bus huh? :P

Post Christmas post - The girl with the dragon Tattoo Book Review

A lot of people asked: " How did you spend your Christmas?"

Well, for me this year, I didn't really celebrate it in "bigger" scale, neither had any fancy dinners or lunches, but rather just spend some a quiet evening at home during Christmas eve and also traveled to Ipoh as the "acting" Santa. hehe...

Anyhow, I did finish a book from Stieg Larsson during the Christmas weekend! It's the first book of Millenium Trilogy - The girl with the dragon Tattoo.

picture courtesy of wikipedia

The book is generally a thriller fiction, took place in Sweden during winter and summer time. It started with 3 different stories about three different people in the beginning, then it ended with these three people had their stories cross linked with one another's. It's about a journalist-Mikael Blomkvist, a genuis hacker who was a sexual victim- Lisbeth Salander, and Hendrik Vanger-CEO of Vanger Enterprises.

Mikael lost his libel case of damaging the reputation of a billionaire Wennerstrom. He had the solid proof of the billionaire's wrong doings, but because of his carelessness, he fell into a trap of publishing another fake evidence together with the real evidence. He wanted to fight back and he retreated to Hedeby working for Henrik Vanger under his invitation and employment to solve a mysterious case in the Vanger family while gathering more info on Wennerstorm.

Henrik lost a great-niece that was very close to him, Harriet 40 years ago but he still received a pressed flower frame every year during his birthday, which was sent as the last gift by Harriet before her disappearance. Harriet's disappearance intrigued Henrik a lot and he had been spending the past 40 years investigating and looking for Harriet, refusing to believe that she was already dead.

And when Mikael was researching the case for Henrik, he came across some clues that were not discovered in 40 years. Soon, he came across Lisbeth and her great gift was soon discovered by him. He requested for her help and she agreed. Together two of them discovered a great truth about the Vanger's family and also Harriet's disappearance.

The whole story was full of twists and suspenses, and the author wrote it with simplicity yet breathtaking story line. Brilliantly written, as one of the reviewers said.

Food for thought

Even though it was a fiction, but the author brought forward a great truth in today's society. There are countless girls or even boys being sexually violated nowadays and the numbers are not decreasing as the days go by. Everyone in the society plays a role in preventing all these cases, as well as helping the victims to stand on their feet again. But how much have we done? Or do we even know all these cases exist? Do we even bother about it? It's time to look at it in a different way.

All these victims are most of time ignored and neglected as they tend to keep quiet about their experiences. Some they get over it and start a new life, but most of them fail to do so and they continue to live in the dark and rejected world of their own. and undeniably, some of them are blessed with great gifts but because of their miserable experiences, they hide it and sometimes misuse it.

So, do you know anyone personally that has become the victim of sexual violence? Have you done anything about it yet? :)

Dental Care

This post brought to you by Toms of Maine. All opinions are 100% mine.

Long lasting fresh breath is always something very crucial especially during the morning. A lot of times even though after brushing teeth, the morning breath is still smell horrible after one hour or so. Thus most of the people will take candies or mouthwash from time to time in order to keep their breath fresh and presentable. 

Ideally, a good toothpaste or mouthwash should be able to provide lasting fresh breath as the toothpaste should be able to provide protection to the teeth for longer periods. Therefore, after searching and trying, I think Tom's Of Maine is one of the toothpaste products that can provide the solution. It may not be all day long but definitely can provide longer lasting fresh breath. So there is no need to worry about talking to your boss or friends in the office on early mornings!

I remember there was once I woke up late and I did not take any drinks or food before going into the office. All that I did was just to brush my teeth with the Wicked Fresh and my breath was fine and I was able to talk to my boss and in a morning meeting freely. 

Another good news, there's a contest going on which you can find out more on That's Wicked Fresh contest page. If you wish to know extra more, join Tom's of Maine on Facebook or you can follow them on Twitter @TomsofMaine. Let's find out more! 

Labuan Island

Labuan is quite a nice place though, very quiet and i would say not much happenings especially during the day time. During the night time....hmm....i am not so sure. :P

One thing about Labuan is it's tax free! everything is cheap here from chocolates to alcohols. Imagine you can get 6 Toblerone (100g each) for RM26? and a Barcadi rum for RM50? think about it again! hehe...

Well, besides that, i think some of the sceneries are quite nice as well. Especially this particular restaurant i went for lunch with my manager and a client, it's the Mawilla Yacht Club Restaurant.

the view from the restaurant. :) just beside the beach, how convenient?

the beach, not so clean i know. haha..

the view isn't that bad, as long as you are not showering in the sea! :)

yeap, the restaurant! hehe..i mean the signboard. lol.

Grand Dorsett, Labuan

Grand Dorsett Labuan Hotel is a 4 stars hotel located at 462, Jalan Merdeka, Labuan. For me i think it's quite nice, and the location is quite strategic where it is near to the town as well as on front of a shopping mall called the Financial Park complex.

Here are some pictures of the room I stayed in.

small "hallway" when you enter the room. Notice there's a minibar on your left. :)

the bathroom, the bathtub is on the left.

the bed, it's a king size double bed. lol.

the small living room. lol.

overall, it's quite a nice place to stay in. relaxing, and quiet. good for a holiday getaway. :) and yea, i like the swimming pool! ahaha..

Labuan

Just some quick update. Now I am "disappearing" to Labuan for a short term assignment, shall be back in KL soon. hehe...

staying in Grand Dorsett.quite a nice hotel, definitely a place for honey moon? hahhaa...quite relaxing. hehe..will blog more about it in the next post. :)

Tron Movie Review

Yeap, watched "Tron Legacy" by Joseph Kosinski, starring Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, and Garrett Hedlund. Again, it's a science fiction, a second movie this week. :)

yes, I watched it!

The graphics of this movie were terrificly, superbly awesome. I like the way the motorcycle and jet planes was conjured around the rider. It was just purely beautiful. haha...I don't think i mind to watch it again just to watch the animation again. :)

The storyline was quite interesting, it's about a warfare in a virtual world where the creator of the virtual world is threatened by the creations. Somehow it's more like the fight between the humans and the digital beings. But at times the storyline can be a bit confusing if you are not concentrating. :)

Poster picture courtesy of en.wikipedia.org.

Food for thought

Striving towards perfection is always a good thing, but being totally obsessed about being perfect like CLU in the movie will have adverse effects. So quote from the Confucius, being moderate is good!

Have a nice day people. Overall it's a nice movie, worth a watch in the cinema, especially the graphics and animation! I just like the illuminating lines! hehe...

Salmon

I always have a thing for salmon, as in cooked salmon rather than the raw ones. Whenever I am in a restaurant, I always tend to order the grilled or baked salmon. But then, i always try to control as they are quite pricey as well!

Recently i went to taste the salmon in Chili's and IKEA's food court.

Chili's Grilled Salmon with Garlic and Herbs, cost RM 37.95

Chili's SMOKEHSE (I think is smoked something something, LOL) Salmon RM37.95

IKEA's Herb Baked Salmon RM 16.70

Frankly speaking, I think I prefer the Chili's SMOKEHSE ( that's from the receipt, I really forgot the full name...). i think it came with more taste, maybe was because of the sauce. hehe...

others, erm...the grilled salmon was ok, good texture and quite big portion although not as thick as the SMOKEHSE salmon. :) IKEA's Herb Baked salmon was so so, but it's cheap though. :) hehe...and you can actually buy back the raw salmon at the store downstairs and cook them yourselves at your own likings. cool huh?

So, next time when you are bringing me out, you know what to order for me huh? :P

Inception Movie review

One of the movies that impressed me a lot was "Inception" written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Leonardo DiCarprio. It's a science fiction, which happens to be one of my favourite genre of movies.

Picture courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

The movie was about mind games, or to be more specific, mind wars which the characters in the movie discovered the method to create a warfare in human minds while the host of the minds were sleeping. Dominic (Leonardo) and his partner Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) were one of the elite teams in the mind wars business. They were specialized in extracting information (often classified information) from renowned or rather important people's minds.

In one of the cases that they got into, they were forced to perform "Inception" which involving planting a total new and foreign idea in a person's head. That was another level of mind wars business and this time they brought in more people to enhance the team.

The whole story unfolded in a very intriguing manner that the moment I entered cinema until the moment I left the cinema, I was in a very tense and alert mood as the storyline of the movie was all the time on the climax. I really wish to watch it again, and hearing there is Inception on DVD pleases my heart. Let's get them now!

Food for thought
The storyline of the movie prompted me to think about one thing that happens in our daily lives. A lot of times, we tend to choose the "reality" that we want and trick ourselves in believing things that we choose to believe. For example when things are too troublesome or painful, we tend to choose to force ourselves to believe that they aren't there or they never happened.

Running away from the reality is not the way we should deal with things. In fact, even we run away, the problems will still be there and the real reality is not going to go away. Therefore, face them and confront them!

Have a nice day people. :)

Confucius Movie (Mandarin) Review

This movie has been around for quite some time and I found it in one of the DVD stores. So decided to buy it and watch it at my free time.

"Confucius Movie" is directed by Hu Mei, starring Chow Yun Fat as the ancient chinese philosopher Confucius.

Poster picture excerpted from here.

The movie talked about the life of Confucius in brief, in fact i think a bit too brief that certain important history in Confucius' life weren't really portrayed.

However, the movie was a mediocre production and it's suitable for those who are interested to know about Chinese history (especially during Confucius time) and no idea where to begin with. The movie gave the rough idea of how it is like during the time in ancient Chinese empires.

Food for thought

In the movie, one phrase struck me though.

"If one can't change the world, one ought to change the condition of the inner heart. "

Indeed it is quite true, sometimes during the time of trials and tribulations, we often trouble ourselves over things that we couldn't change and bury ourselves with grievances. Instead of giving up just like that, one should change the way he or she thinks and perceives of the world thus changing the way he or she reacts to the surroundings. In another word, adapt to the surroundings, to the culture around us. That doesn't mean we should conform to the bad things, but instead change the way we could adapt ourselves without being overwhelmed. That will make our lives brighter and more fruitful. :)

If you have the time and resources, do grab the movie and watch! Have a nice day people. :)

Chronicles of Narnia: The voyage of the Dawn Treader Movie Review

"Movie?" smsed Mr V.

"What movie?" I replied.

"Narnia." Mr V smsed back.

"I'm on, what time and where?" I agreed.

"Time Square and 7pm." SMS received from Mr V.

So, I watched Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of Dawn Treader directed by Michale Apted, starring Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley.

Picture excerpted from here.

The show this time was about Edmund and Lucy were called back to Narnia to help the kingdom. This time around, they accidentally brought their cousin, Eustace along. Eustace was quite a pain in the neck for them before this, but things change after the journey to the Narnia.

When they landed in Narnia, they were in the middle of the ocean and rescued by The Dawn Treader, which was under the order of Prince Caspian. This time around, they were going to the Lone Islands to look for the 6 Lords, which were the close and trusted friends of Prince Caspian's father.

During the voyage, they discovered about the existence of the mysterious mist, which was from the Darkness Island. The journey to the Darkness Island and the route of exterminating the Darkness Island wrote up the whole story.

Picture excerpted from here.

Food for thought

In one of the scenes, Aslan appeared to Lucy telling her that "Do not lose yourself, believe in the values of you.". I find this part quite true and meaningful. Sometimes in this world we tend to look at other people and the things or blessings they have, we envy them and we forgot about the values that are in us. We forgot that we are valuable ourselves and we have different kind of blessings or roles than other people. We are important too, in another way.

So, while admiring other people, learn to look into the mirror and admire ourselves too. Who says self praise is a bad thing to do? :P hehe...

The movie is definitely worth a watch in the cinema, full of interesting twists and special discoveries! :) Have a nice day people.

Glutinous Rice Chicken (Nuo Mai Kai)

It was Saturday late morning, as I was thinking of what to have for my lunch, suddenly someone knocked on my room door.

It was my landlord (landlady to be exact) and she passed me this.

guess what's under the bowl?

yeap, it was the glutinous rice chicken(Nuo Mai Kai)! home made version!

The best thing was, she made it herself! Another home-made dish! She added chicken, marinated sausage (lak cheong) and mushroom! It tasted superbly wonderful. The best lunch ever. :)

Thank God for a wonderful landlord/landlady. I am so blessed. :P

Invasion Book Review

"Invasion" by J.S Lewis is a science fiction, suitable for the young adults and the teens. I think it is quite well written in terms of the language, it's casual and easy to understand.

Invasion

The fiction is about a young boy, Colt losing his parents in one night and surprisingly discovered during the funeral that his parents might be murdered instead of killed by accidents.

A series of events unfolded and Colt soon to realize the world he had known before was totally different from what the reality really was. There were aliens involved in the process, and his family was involved in exterminating those vicious aliens from invading the Earth.

As he was trying to avenge his parents, he was soon to be drawn into the CHAOS, helping them to fight against the biggest threat on Earth.

The story was nicely told in a simple yet clear language usage. However, I personally think that the author could have added more twists and climax into the story line. The introductory part of Colt's life and his family was rather too long thus causing the fiction to be dull in the beginning. The real action part towards the end when all the aliens appeared was rather a bit short I suppose.

Nevertheless, it's a good book to read, especially for the teens. Definitely a healthy book to keep them occupied.

Food for thought

The part in the fiction where Lily started sharing to Colt about her real background touches me in a way. Lily never shared with anyone about her background until she met Colt. The reason that she trusted Colt so much was because Colt had the same background as her "Because you are the only person I've known could understand".

We always like to listen to our friends sharing about their deepest doubts or pains, and expecting them to trust you as they are willing to share with you. However, that's not the case always. There are things that people might not want to share with you, not that they don't trust you or treasure you, just that sometimes they didn't think that you could understand as you might not have gone through what they have experienced. Not that you wouldn't want to understand, just that you couldn't understand. :)

Have a nice day peeps! :)

Tuesdays with Morrie

As I was browsing through the books in the Times, Pavilion last Tuesday, the title of this particular book caught my attention.

It was the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. It's about an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lessons.

After going through the book, I figured it is going to be the book that I would like to recommend to most people, especially my friends. :) It wasn't a thick book though, just a small book with less than 100 pages? If you are focus enough, you can finish it within one afternoon.

The book basically is about Mitch Albom, the author, spending quality time with his professor, Morrie Schwartz during the last moments of Morrie's life. Morrie used to teach Mitch during his college years and they always hang out together after the class, particularly during Tuesdays to talk about everything that was happening in their lives. It was sort of like mentoring sessions for them.

So, as Morrie was dying, during the last moments in his life Mitch came to visit him and had regular sessions with Morrie to learn from him about life lessons. And what not, they meet up every Tuesday until Morrie passed away.

For me, i would say it is a good book, worth the time reading, don't miss it. :)

Books

It was the Awal Muharram holiday on the 7th of December, 2010. So, there was a holiday for me! hehe...

Waking up at 1230pm (very "early" huh?it's a holiday in the middle of a week, i can't help it!hehe...), i decided to visit the bookstores in Petaling Street and also in Pavilion.

So I went, and I bought 3 mandarin books from the Shang Hai Bookstore in ChinaTown (Petaling Street). All of them cost only RM50.10 after 30% discount! that's so cheap!

Thank God for good books, including the "Hot deal" of the decade, Millenium Trilogy-The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. Thanks Tze Yang for the intro and book! So i guess these few weeks I will be dating these books then. :P

Social Network

Unless you are living up in the mountain and in the cave as a caveman, you are connected to someone in certain ways. I find it quite true.

I went and watched The Social Network the other day. It is a film directed by David Fincher starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella and Rooney Mara.

It is a film that talks about the forming of the social network called "Facebook" and the lawsuits that the creator, Mark Zuckerberg faced after creating the Facebook.

theatrical poster excerpted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_Network

Yeap, if you are interested of how Facebook got into the phase like it is now today, go watch the movie! I am sure you will be amazed and enlightened! and by the way, if you still don't have a facebook yet, SET UP an account now!!! ahhaa...

I have got mine, how about you? hehe...

Food for thought

Somehow, when comes to business and profits sharings, best friends can also end up in lawsuits against one another to get back own share of money. As the old yet precious saying goes, money is the root of all evils, thus it is always wise to avoid the money matters with good friends. :)

Besides, we are community beings, and we need and have to be connected to others, don't we? :) Facebook helps us in that matter, but it is not necessary the only method to be connected to the people around us. So, what is your way of staying connected? :P

Home-made rojak

Being away from home for quite some time will always cause us to miss home cooked food all the time. That happens to me from time to time. hehe...

But I really thank God for His blessings that He gave me this wonderful family that is willing to rent me a room, and sometimes they bless me with homemade snacks or desserts!

so cool huh?

This time around, they made some rojak, and they blessed me with quite a plate! nice!

homemade rojak, with taufu, vege and bean sprouts. not bad! quite nice actually! hehe...

Thank God for His blessings. :) Sometimes it's good to count our blessings huh? It makes life happier! :D

TGIF special tradition.

One week ago, I discovered something new about the restaurant TGI Friday. They have a special tradition in celebrating birthdays for the customers.

Uponi arrival at the restaurant, you can just tell them one of your friends is having his birthday on that day, and they will arrange the things for you.

the whole restaurant stuff will come and celebrate for your friend! of course the cake you need to buy and give to them la. hahaa...

the staffs were very friendly, they even came and talked and joked with you while you ordering and waiting for your food. of course, they helped to "prank" your birthday boy as well.

poor KK, had to stand on the chair for some pranks. hehehe...

the friends just sit down and relax. hahhaa...

the whole restaurant even sang together for the birthday boy! so happening! haha..

kinda cool tradition huh? I wonder any other restaurants are doing this as well? :)

Unstoppable

Second movie in a week, haha... this time watched "Unstoppable" by Tony Scott, staring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine.

The movie started with very normal daily routine in railways companies and also a bunch of kids getting excited to board the train for their educational tour. However, because of a small minor egoistic and ignorant mistake, it snow balled into a history making disaster. Even so, two ordinary men, one newbie and one about to retire engineer, saved the day despite the world was laughing at their genuine fighting spirit and guts. Even the word "Extraordinary" can't stand on its own without the word "Ordinary".

Food for thought

Despite the management and the so called experts were proposing another solution and opposing Will, Frank and Connie's suggestions, they pressed on to what they believed to be the right thing to do according to their experience and moral.

Sometimes, things we think that are right aren't right until we prove them huh?

The American Patriot's ALMANAC book review

People say History is boring and it's hard to finish the historical books. Well, I would say it's different with The American Patriot's Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb.

It's a book with 365 days of historical stories happened in the American History. Everyday, the writer would relate to what had happened in that particular day or duration in the history. Besides, on each day, there would be another 4 to 5 events listed in the page that happened around the same time of the day.

I would say the way the writers organize the American History into story telling in 365 days is something very creative. It kept someone like me, who didn't do well in the history classes, interested in the history again! I would suggest to the parents to have one of these books in the house for the kids to read them. Alright, I shall check out what has happened today in the history! Have fun reading!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

TGI Friday!

Anyone up for western food?

I just went for TGI Friday last Tuesday with a bunch of friends for birthday celebration and year end dinner. It was fun though, despite the food price. hahhaa...but overall, it was alright considering the portion of the food we got. :)

S/W Mac and Chez pasta. RM 23.90

Salmon pasta, RM26.90

Tenesse Chicken, RM29.90. Very yummy, the sauce a bit sweet, but taste just nice with the chicken and the mashed potatoes. I love it!

Tenesse Burger, RM24.90

LA Almond Salad, RM24.90

BBQ Burger, RM21.90

The food was excellent, the atmosphere was great as well. It was very relaxing, quiet and just nice for catching up with friends. The staff was friendly and they even chatted with us for a while, some jokes and so on. I would say i will go there again sometimes soon! :)