...believing in signs

it all went downhill

.... when you lost your ring and can't be bothered to tell me, or concerned that you lost it, or didn't even suggest to get another, and only let me find out that u weren't wearing yours after a long time of not seeing you

.. also it went downhill when my ring turned black around the same time you lost yours

was it nature's way of telling us that we weren't meant to be together? i don't know

experiments going on... #2

continuing from this post, i've been making more cupcakes. pics below are the testimonials. i still feel i'm not READY yet to market out but i think i'm getting there. currently i have 2 orders, one for kids xmas party and another for an engagement...

i'm kinda getting nervous on the engagement one cause it's an ENGAGEMENT party!! it's supposed to be ONE of the happiest days of your life and i'm sure you would want it to be perfect!.. what i'm worried is the icing... it's not fine enough and not detailed enough... well wish me luck.. and dun worry, i'll definately get some pics taken! :D

to those who have tasted it.. i really appreciate your feedback on the taste and texture and those reading this, let me know what u think bout the designs...

oh.. talking bout designs, i don't know how to make fondant or marzipan and to sculpture it. i believe it takes an artist to sculp something as cute, fine, detailed as cartoon characters, people, animals, and i don't think i wanna go into that... my next after perfecting these cupcakes, i'll move on to pies (dessert pies - either mini or large)... i'll keep you guys updated on that.. but first, need to get as much feedback as possible...

and another headache, i don't know how to price my cupcakes!! i've gotten a "range" of prices but i don't "feel" it... hhahahaha.... anyway, to my friends, enjoy while you can and to my readers, enjoy the pics :D (feel free to email me if u want to order some ya! *wink*)

these are done with royal icing, as i remember, everyone said it was really sweet, cause i cover the whole cupcake with it... design wise, still from the top of my head!

lol, this was a fluke, i was interested in trying out choc ones (my previous attempt failed) and it did sort of came out nicely! i used a good quality brand of choc powder so ya... even the buttercream icing was made out of choc! YES!! (though i did failed in the "leaf" design)

this was me running out of icing ideas, but don't u think simplicity is the best? i distributed all these mini ones to my office ppl... some were hard to please (cause they bake too!)

then i got a new colour - ORANGE!! these cupcakes was JUST cooked, that's why it's "white". i didn't leave it long enough to have the brownish, baked look. though i screwed up abit with this recipie, it came out hardish.. hahaha...

Sight Seeing in Melaka

everyone knows Melaka is a sight seeing place... so what do u do there exactly... here's a brief list of things we did on our last trip.

there's the red bus (double decker bus). we didn't go on it cause we had cars. it's a good way to sight see around Melaka this way but then, with the heat that's extra hot, i'm not sure if it's a good idea! unless u wanna get a tan! then go ahead!!!

then there's night life.. don't really know much of night life there other than Jonker's Walk and Geographers! lol... we were brought here to Rally's and it was an ok place until their band turned up.. really put us off with their songs!! guess they serve the locals... LOL

while walking around the RED buildings in town, u'd see this top guy playing with his tops near the river, you can give a try in spinning one but it can be dangerous if u don't know where you're throwing the top!!

us hanging around (in the sun) among the red buildings :) there's lots of shops behind us selling drinks and souvenirs, great place to take pictures, and just soak in the "history"..hmm......

you can also opt for a river boat ride that brings you along the famous Melaka river... not sure if they have a narrator on board but yea, another point of view to see Melaka.. i haven't been on it before... maybe next time!

Jonkers Walk is not as busy in the day compared to the night, but at least in the day u can see the colours, paints and buildings properly! here's one of the famous shops there, the Orang Utan shop. it sells funky t-shirts!

hehehe proof that i've been to melaka... actually this is my first time seeing this wall! all the times i've been here we never actually came to this part of Jonkers Walk, not in the day that is!


then there's this Menara that you can go up on to see the WHOLE view of Melaka.. or as far as the eye can see! if u're scared of heights, better not, cause there's no where to hide in that viewing compartment and the glass is just at your face! somehow we enjoyed this cause it had air-con in it! lol... the ride was abit too short though could have been longer and slower.... wonder how it is at night.. hmm...


then i'm sure if u went around Melaka you would have seen this big ship! it's a museum mind you! and an air-con one! LOL.. (yea we tend to go to air con places! you would too!!) the museum's about Hang Tuah and his fellow buddies, how Melaka was started, the ships that came to shore, and their businesses here in Melaka. interesting if u like history stuff :)

so, don't take it as it's only this to do in Melaka! there's more places to go, to see, to do, it all depends on your likes and the tours you wanna take to see. some ppl go there for food (like us), some go there for history purposes, some go there for shopping.... so yea, there's always something for everyone! Happy Holidays!! Cuti-Cuti Malaysia! ;)

Amoy (fish shaped cake) @ Melaka

Amoy is a fish-shaped-cake (as how Sixthseal puts it). i knew it was something different yet i somehow knew how the taste would be.. i mean, cake + pandan kaya/pandan mooncake filling? i'm sure u can imagine how that would taste. anyway, i was kinda shocked/excited when i read Huai Bin blogging bout it on the 1U /Korean version he had. :D told him Melaka also got heheh

to the Melaka version is called Amoy (i don't know why) and it's being sold in a shop at the corner of Jonker's Walk. first i saw the funny looking machine making there lil cakes and went to kaypoh to see what's it about... practically it makes from the start till end (the finished BAKED product!)... the staff was just hanging around checking if the machines are pouring enough batter, filling to the molds and taking the cakes out from the mold... interesting...

these are sold Buy 5 Free 1 for about RM7 or something, can't really remember and packed in a cute lil box. it had pandan filling. the guy said it's like filling in mooncake... i thought it was pandan flavoured custard filling. but anyway, it's kinda nice, not too sweet, lovely for tea time but must eat it when hot and fresh. if it's cold, it'll just taste like old cold cake.

so if u guys wanna try it out, head towards the nice air-con shop, can't remember the name of the shop... (selling dry foods, chicken biscuits, tarts, herbal tea...etc) at the start of Jonker's Walk (just opposite the chicken rice ball coffee shop) and you can see the machine on the left, and u can purchase it there at the machine. don't know why not IN the shop though. it's a great snack but then again, there's always the Melaka cendol! LOL

Satay Celup, Ban Lee Siang @ Melaka

Ban Lee Siang is another satay celup outlet. i'm not from melaka but somehow everytime i go to melaka i would eat Capitol's satay celup and no other. so this time i went with a different group of ppl and we ended up here.

surprisingly this place was sort of packed though it was like 11pm at night. didn't see no line! hahah.. so we sat down and well waited for our lil plates and forks and drinks. saw the lady putting in the gravy but she didn't put that extra goodies that i saw Capitol uses... so anyway, was willing to try.

i think it was the mood and the tiredness of being the whole day out, that we didn't have appetite to eat. i had a few sticks and well, the gravy was not that bad but the crave was not there to indulge... guess next time have to go with an empty stomach and well, with the mood to eat satay celup.

if anyone has been there, feel free to comment on your take of this version of satay celup.

Chicken Rice Balls, Chung Wah @ Melaka

and i FINALLY tried THIS chicken rice ball in Melaka!!! we had to go in the morning about 10am to get a seat! that too we were lucky as it was already quite full in there, but at least we didn't have to line up outside the shop till over the bridge!!! hahahahhah

see no line! :D

this place has nothing fancy, it's just like any other ol coffee shop you see at the side of the road. the only thing they have here are their balls (chicken rice ones that is!) and steamed (or was it boiled) chicken.. i don't think they have anything else other than this... oh and of course drinks. even their special home-made chilly sauce was superb, very garlicky though.

the chicken meat is sooo tender, it nearly melts in the mouth, makes you feel like u can eat the whole chicken! even the soy sauce that came in the dish was just right, not too bland, not too salty. some of my friends said the chicken was oily but i think they were just complaining for being forced to get up early! LOL the rice was nice a soft and tasty too, you could even eat it on its own (no i'm not copying from Gardenia heheheh)

and so, if you REALLY wanna try this place out, you got 2 (maybe 3) choices.... 1- go early in the day (before lunch time crowd), 2-wait in line in the SUN and maybe 3- try your luck in going AFTER the lunch crowd, not sure if u'll get any food... lol

Shimmers999 recomendation : 9/10 :D (9 because it's not air-con!)

Papa Joe @ Portugese Settlement, Melaka

Papa Joe's restaurant is in the Portugese Settlement and yes, he's a Portugese. i believe he also speaks Portugese! what's unique about this restaurant, is that they have a small bar INSIDE it... meaning, it's like a separate room, separated by a heavily tinted glass door...

anyway, we came here for dinner and i was excited on what dishes that has been pre-ordered for us. Papa Joe personally welcomed us and served us, so nice!

Portugese style of Otak-otak

asam prawns! LOVELY!

... the KILLER DISH!! DEVIL's CURRY!!!! 50% of us cried while consuming this! yes, it was THAT spicy!!! but it was LOVELY!!!

grilled fish - half eaten (was too hungry, only remembered half way through to take a pic)

i'm sure we had omelette and veg dishes but again, being busy during the day going here going there, we were really hungry at that moment, and again we whacked everything!!! :) i'm not too sure bout the prices, but i'm sure its reasonable as well.

just before leaving, Papa Joe brought out his guitar and started playing a few tunes for us! all were in Portugese, there was one love song, friendship song, happy song and even popular ones like Jingling Nona, Labamba.... etc. he was good on his guitar and his singing was powerful!! what a surprise for us!!

so if u're looking for authentic portugese food, try out Papa Joe's restaurant!! it's a lovely place, with friendly ppl and good entertainment!!

Ta Chi House @ Malaka

Ta Chi House is located in Melaka town (opposite the Catholic church - can't remember the name of the church now). it's a corner lot. this place belongs to the family of one of the Melaka CHOICEes. we came here for lunch the minute we touch down in melaka. :) u can imagine how hungry we were!

for starters we had asam beehoon (i think). some of us didn't like it, some said it was ok. this shows that the Penang tounge is quite different from the Melaka tounge! :D

then we had the mains... lovely!! and this was my first time eating paku-pakis!!! O_O we were sooo hungry we whacked everything!! AND had space for CENDOL!!!!

chicken ponteh

sambal petai and ikan bilis

lemak paku-pakis

asam (gulai) fish

cendol with DURIAN!! they were quite generous that day!

normal cendol - still as delicious!

bubur cha cha

nyonya chang!!! YUMMY!!!

the prices for food here are reasonable and it's at a location where u can have your 1st meal in Melaka or your last meal.. cause it's situated on the main road coming in from the highway. that's how we did it, it was our first meal coming in, and on the way out we had our last cendol!

so yea, come here if u want simple home cooked nyonya dishes. great way to start/end your journey! :D

my 1st trip to THAILAND yo!! (Phuket) - DAY 1

i've always wanted to go to Phuket, since i don't know when, thought i'd go there for my honeymoon but looks like that's not likely to happen.

anyway, it all came about when mum said she wanted a holiday, we were planning for Bali, but her BBF said it's kinda boring there... hmm.. i thought Bali would be interesting... so, we decided on Phuket. so i went online to FireFly and did intensive research on the available hotels (had to have by the beach) and shopping/nightlife area, and found that Patong would be the one. managed to get a package for 2pax, RM1100+ which includes, flight, acc (junior suite mind you) and buffet breakfast for 3D2N. i thought it was a good deal! mum's friend joined us as well!

i also managed to get a driver for us to pick us up to/fro airport and hotel, and booked my Phi Phi island hopping trip with him. found him through an aussie couple who did a review on him online. you can check him out, his name is SAM.

also, because mum will be hanging out with her friend, i'll be on my own most of the time, so can say, 1st time traveling alone (in a way). so first things first, got to find out what the singles do in Phuket and my my what i found out was quite overwhelming. u really got to have an open mind to hear what they have to say and what happens in Phuket / Thailand...

found this forum where it's moderators are mostly whites (they are called "falangs" in Thailand) and been reading their threads and posts and they sounded like a lovely bunch! half of them lives there and half of them married thai girls! and members of this forum always hang out at a specific bar in Patong. this bar is like the meet up point for all the members of the forum who goes to Phuket to meet each other. so i joined the forum, and started to make friends, one even voluntered to bring me around Phuket but it didn't happen as he was sick. but it was ok, i had fun, just hanging out with them, all they do is play cards, UNO, dice games and drink! LOL

so the 1st day was not much, by the time we reached and checked in and changed to come out, it was nearly dinner time, so the 3 of us (me, mum and her bff) went walking along the beach road, finding for food, looking at stuff and finally found a place to eat and they serve pork openly!! oh my!! lovely! also i tried McD's pork burger! yum yum!!

after dinner, we got ready to go for a ladyboy-lipsynch-cabaret show, it's called Simon Cabaret! it's where they wear big huge feathers, costume and perform on stage with hit numbers in english, chinese, japanese, thai... they were quite good, as if they were actually singing!!! after the show, we then walked up and down Bangla road to see the night life coming to life! saw soo many ladyboys in sexy dresses and makeup, live bands playing, millions of bars left and right, massage parlours!! you'll get a headache taking all this in!!

we couldn't take pics of the show in the theater that's why i didn't have any. here is where after the show, the performers will come out to the side of the building where u can take pictures with them, but mind you, they'll expect a tip from you. i took these pics at a distant! :P

mum and her bff went shopping abit at a mall nearby i went to get my BRAIDS done!!! so excited!! so i found this decent saloon (didn't really trust the ones on the side of the road/by the beach) and got half my head done for 400 Baht. yea i think it's abit expensive but guess there was quality in a way, and it's a saloon, nice chair and air-con! lol then met up with the ol ones and continued our journey down Bangla Rd and back to the hotel

then when the ol ones are tucked in bed, i headed towards the bar where one of the forum members own :) just sat there, had some drinks, made friends, recognise some nicknames and now see their faces, played UNO and just chilled out till nearly closing time (i was soo dead by then). i didn't go around exploring the bars/clubs cause i was alone. i knew i would be "safe" at this friends bar so that's where i stayed. on my way back to the hotel, there's this karts/stalls at the side of the road selling grilled meat-on-sticks... just had to try some, and they had PORK!!! heaven i tell u!!! imagine, having a pork grilled stick at the side of the road!! sweeet!!! didn't know how much it costs cause the lady took all the coins i had (wanted to get rid of it... ) it wouldn't come up to 50Baht (RM5) or so.. correct me if i'm wrong. after a few sticks, i went back to the hotel and slept like a pig... had to get up early the next day for the Phi Phi trip. the van was to pick me up at 8am!! O_O

this is Soi (lane) Eric, where it has many mini bars on both the left side and right and extra tables in the middle incase it gets crowded. my friends bar is on the right side, somewhere in the middle... i haven't seen a mini bar before, quite impressive

hiatus?

nah, it's more like busy...

kinda hate my current shift, work alt wed, thurs - sat, cause that's when my social life starts!! (hahaha yea right social life pppfftt).. i mean... ppl start to ajak you out for dinners, movie, meetings, church outings and all around thurs - sat.... and i'm always going for it LATE because i finish work at 9pm.. sheesh... and when i meet them so late > get home late > sleep late > no mood to work next day...

why not go out on my off day? u may ask.... heck who goes for outings during sun- tues?? sunday would usually be family day so no play play with friends, then monday is first day of work, no mood to go out and then there's tues.. so fun begins wed - sat and that's when i work!

damnit!

no wonder i'm soo tired...

and Marco, it's my blog and i want to rant about being tired even if i cari my own pasal to make myself tired... so dun bother ok

Leslie J. Frankfort - the final walk

here's a brief account of the final leg of grandad's journey with us. the wake was held in the Immaculate Conception Church in Pulau Tikus. and the whole event took place for about 8 days.....

here's a picture of grandad that i printed (our printer was not too good). this picture was when he was having a great time at my cousins (Laura) wedding in KL about 4 years ago - he was 90!

the flowers on the coffin were from all 3 daughters and the other one was from the Green family.

this is from Mon Cherie (behind Convent GreenLane) home,
the old folks home my grandad was staying - nice people :)

these are from my fellow CHOICEes!
am very grateful for your support, thank you lots and God Bless! *hugs*

these are from the Yew family (left) and the Devan family (right)
love the roses!

Here's the prayer group from the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit leading the prayers, they came nearly every other day for support. they have their own booklets, guitar and even portable speakers (check out the white speaker like box on the floor) and headset-mics (the guitar player)! canggih!

the day of the funeral, the journey starts from the wake to the church, just round the corner...

Funeral Mass

my dad saying a reading



final prayers



then to the hearse - it was quite a nice car/van, was too busy to take a pic of it (oh, you can see the white car in the pic below - right side)

i was getting the car to pick up the others for the convoy


at the crematorium @ Mt. Erskine

then the everyone went their own ways home to rest, have a quick nap, and change for evening prayers and dinner with family. i'm not sure if it was decided on purpose or it was pure coincidence, that the venue for the dinner was held at grandad's favourite restaurant! even the head waitress recognised him - though i'm not sure if anyone told her what had happened. it was obvious everyone was tired, from 8 days of the wake, 24hrs flying from US and UK and driving from KL to Penang, but we tried to put on a smile and made it a light, happy moment to be meeting everyone again.

Godma (Aunty Lottie), Aunty Shirley, Aunty Yvonne, Mum (Merle)



Laura, Aunty Gaik Sim, Godma

Uncles Eustace, Cosmas, Ritchie, Gerard

dad (Terry), me and Laura

on the 7th day, it's important to have the 7th day prayer and we had it upstairs of the PEA (Penang Eurasian Association). We said the rosary and everyone had a chance to say what they remembered about grandad, it was interesting as i got to know somethings about grandad i didn't know as he spent most of his life in America. it was quite a simple, intimate moment for all of us to remember him that way.

his ashes behind the picture


then of course dinner downstairs :D

when we finally arranged for the burial of the urn, we went over to my nanny's grave in St. Anne's Cemetary where she's laid to rest there. there's already prepared two lots in her grave and grandad's taking one of them.

and so this was the very looong week for all of us. it took a toll on us physically and emotionally, it's been 3 weeks already, mum and dad has recuperated, but i've yet to, as i went straight back to work after that.. and still working

anyway, grandad, hope all's well "up there" and i'm sure you're laughing and dancing with nanny, and all your family that has gone before you. remember us and pray for us here. Lots of Love :D

do you know what tired is?

tired is when...

you have to tend to family issues when a grandparent passed away, the wake, the layan-ing of people coming to pay their respects and attempt to do the "night shift" with dad, and that failed as you only managed to stay up till 3am by watching your mum play cards with her friends and watching reruns of tv sitcoms on your laptop. do that for 4 days + 2 days after working hrs. then comes the funeral mass in church, the crying at the crematorium, the dinners and tour-guide responsibility of being a cousin and niece to your overseas relatives and sleeping at 1-2am in the morning... EVERY morning

next traveling 500+ kms away, doing about the same thing, layaning people and sleeping late and driving around and traveling 500+ kms BACK again....

AND go to work the next day for 7 days in a row, and when you have only ONE day off, you still need to get up early to meet your own personal appointments and service your car AND back to work the next day for 5 days straight!! before you have ONE day off to pack for your phuket trip the next day..

wait, it still doesn't end, once you're back from phuket, u're back to work the next day for 3 days!!....

AND then, only then, you'll get 3 days off with NO plans whatsoever, at that time, you can only HOPE that no one calls you back to work.....

tell me.. tired or not?