...such stuff as dreams are made on...

Hiatus

2009-10-09T22:59:00.002+01:00

Not sure if anyone still follow this blog since I haven't updated it for a while... a lot of things have happened over the past month... I will blog about them soon... just need to sort out my life for the time being..

Will be back... soon, I hope...

In the mean time a note to myself... Happy Birthday!!

A year older... but not necessary a year wiser...

Oh well...

Why??

2009-09-14T00:29:00.000+01:00

Why do holidays come to an end so quickly??

SIGHZ...

I am not ready yet.

Lost

2009-09-13T09:50:00.005+01:00

I am utterly useless when it comes to driving around KL these days... all the roads have changed so much that I don't recognise them anymore!!! There are so many new highways, express ways and one-way streets...

I wanted to get to Damansara the other to meet my friend for lunch... it's probably about 20 mins away from my house BUT BUT BUT...

I GOT LOST... REALLY REALLY REALLY LOST!!!

I was already within the area but somehow I managed to miss a turning and before I know it, I am on a highway and I had to pay the toll fee before I could turn back... then just when I thought I found the way... I missed another turn and this time it took me a while before I could do a U-turn to come back... only one my 3rd attempt I managed to get to where I wanted... and it took me more than an hour to get there!!!

SIGH....

I need a satellite navigator!!! At that point, I wished I could hear the irritating voice telling me "In about 400m, turn right and then bear right..." or "You have reached your destination".

A stroll down memory lane

2009-09-09T15:51:00.009+01:00

Gone are the good old days when I was still in secondary school... time flies so quickly that I forgot how it felt to be young, carefree and stress-less...

Had a sudden urge to reminiscence about the past... so I took a stroll down my memory lane...

The metro buses that I used to take after school in the hot sun... where I usually fall asleep on the bus because the bus drivers used to wait until the bus was full before it starts moving...

The hawker centres that I used to have my lunches after school if I didn't want to go down to my dad's shop...

The traditional grocery stores @ kedai runcit that I used to walk by on my way to my Chinese lessons at the temple...

The Kong Siew free school at the temple where I would go for my Chinese lessons after school... hahah.. I remember that most of the time, I would be there too early as lessons doesn't start till about 2.30pm but school ends at 1pm... so I would do my homework and then sleep at the back of the class while I wait for my lessons...

Chee Cheong Kai @ Petaling Street... I probably walk here almost every other day either on my way home or to lessons or to have lunch or to go to my dad's shop... it is pretty much part of my life when I was growing up... of course, back then it wasn't as nice and there was no roof cover!!!

The famous longan drink stall... It's so hot that I used to stop here and have a drink... this stall is now so famous that it has stalls in proper shopping mall and I think someone told me that the owner is a multi millionaire leh... well, I guess the profit margin is really high... one bowl of longan drink is now about RM1.50 I think when it used to be only RM0.60!!! Talk about inflation...

Some of the familiar sights as I walk towards my dad's shop...

And of course... Sang Kee Restaurant...

I used to resent having to help out at the shop and having to eat at the shop all the time... but over the years, I guess I realise that it is part of my childhood, and I do miss it from time to time... while others seem to find it interesting (it was featured in a tv show and various local newspaper articles!!) I supposed I took it for granted...

Oh well... I have to admit when the main cook is on form, his dishes are really quite good... and whatever it is, I grew up here and the shop served my family well...

10 years down the road from when I graduated from secondary school in 1999... what have I accomplished? Where am I now?? Have I moved on with time?? Have my surroundings moved on??

And where will I be in 10 years time?? Only time will tell...

Home Sweet Home...

2009-09-01T18:00:00.003+01:00

Back in KL for the next 2 weeks...

It is good to be back... because as we all know it... there is no place like home!!!

It's also one place where I can hide from everything...

Goodbye, my dear

2009-08-25T20:57:00.004+01:00

This is where our paths diverge...

But I am thankful for the sweet memories that you have given me...

Take care, my dear...

I will always love you...

And I will miss you very much...

Algarve

2009-08-19T21:15:00.014+01:00

Beach holidays!! I love it because you can just laze around and not do much... hehehe...

This summer, we decided to pack our bags and head off to the Portuguese beach resort of Algarve...

The weather there was really fantastic, with the clear blue skies and sunny days...

Vilamoura, the yacht-cluttered Marina... kinda reminds me of Monaco, albeit not as posh!!!

And most of the nicer hotels are on this side of the area... there is this hotel called Tivoli if I remembered correctly that was really luxurious and even has its own private beach!! But no... we stayed at a cheaper hotel... hehehe...

Given that it's a beach holiday, of course we spent most of our time just lazing around in the sun... hahaha... everyone was trying to tan themselves... I did my nails.. hehehe... read novels, had ice creams and ice-lemon tea... sigh... how I wish I was there again!!!

And oh... one of those nights... our hotel had this tribute to MJ performance... hahaha... I found it quite funny initially but then to my amazement, the guy was really quite good... he had all his costumes, the socks and shoes.. and even the hair (and skin colour!) right... if you look at him from far... you would have thought MJ came back to life!!! :P

Given that it's me... there must be something about food... hahahaha... seafood there was really quite nice... we had grilled fish, fish kebabs... super tiger king prawns (yes, it's really big!)... fish soups, calamari, garlic clams... etc.

Well... the boys wasn't really too keen to spend all their time on the beach (which Bin Bin and I was happy to do so!!)... so we headed off to the Marina for some water activities...

The boys with their "catch-of-the-day" from our deep sea fishing trip?

Of course not... me going fishing?? no thanks... I don't have the patience to do so...

We went for the power boat ride instead...

It was quite fun in the beginning... and the ride brought us all along the Algarve coast... there are so many different beaches but each and everyone of them was packed with people!!!

We also visited some sea caves, which were really pretty....

But after a while, I didn't feel too well on the ride anymore.... bleh... me and my sea-sickness... :(

The other activity that we did was PARASAILING... it took quite a bit of convincing from Naveen before I agreed to do it... sorry, yours truly is a coward... I wasn't sure whether I wanted to be hanging in the skies above the sea!!!

Getting ready and going out to the sea with our guides...

And before I knew it, it was my turn to go up... I was really scared initially!!! Luckily Bin Bin was with me... bleh :P

We went higher and higher and higher and higher... until everything was so tiny... see... we were held to the boat by this tiny piece of rope... sigh... I am such a coward...

But after a while, I began to relax because although the boat seems to be moving at a really fast pace... we were really just floating...

and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous... the bird's eye view was really superb...

and I started to actually enjoy it... hehehe... see my V sign??

But then... the guide cheekily dipped us in the sea on our descend even though Bin Bin said that she didn't want to get wet!!!

Then it was the guys' turn to go...

... and they were like... we want to go higher... and we want to dip and swim in the sea....

The experience was really more enjoyable than I thought it would be... and it was certainly less daunting that it seemed!!! So... I would recommend you to try it!!!

After this holiday, I made a promise to myself that I would go for a proper beach holiday every year because it is really a "holiday" compared to those trips that you try to get too much done!!!

Yun's Visit

2009-08-10T21:02:00.003+01:00

Yun came for a visit to collect her new VAIO laptop... it's a long story on why she needed a new laptop... but to make it short, it would cost her about the same to buy the same laptop in Germany than to buy it in London and fly here to get it!!! I'm not complaining because it's so much fun to have her around and I miss her!!

Given that she can't really take holidays, it was literally a weekend trip and we tried to make the most out of it... and to make matter worse... I don't know why every time she comes to London, there will be delays... the last time it was her train from the airport... and this time, her flight was delayed for more than 5 hours!!! poor girl...

Anyway... we did quite a lot of things that weekend...

We went to King's Cross Station as she wanted to see the 9 3/4 platform from Harry Potter... hahaha... she looks so cute... going off to take the Hogwarts Express...

Then she also went to watch Phantom of the Opera and we also watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince...

We also went SHOPPING!!! hehehe... although I am the self-declared shopaholic, Yun bought lots of stuff that day including at Zara, H&M, Primark etc. hahahaha.... see it runs in the family...

And of course... how can I not bring her to have all her favourite foods?? We went to Sake No Hana for Jap food, then we had tea-time at Cafe Concerto, Rasa Sayang for her favourite Prawn Noodles, Dim Sum and Lobster Noodles at Royal China... hehehe...

As you can see, we had so much to do in that weekend that we completely forgotten to take pictures together... boooooo.... :(

So... my lame attempt at taking some pictures together at Liverpool St station before I sent her off!!!

Miss you already Yun!!! And I will be so sad next time if you go home for good... no one to come and visit me anymore.... sob sob sob sob....

Portobello Market

2009-08-05T22:46:00.002+01:00

The last time I went to Portobello Market, I was still at uni and I think halfway through, it started raining so we left without early... I remembered it being quite fun so when Nav asked what we should do on a nice sunny Saturday, I suggested Portobello Market...

I also had a cravings for roti canai that weekend and there is a Malay Malaysian restaurant there called Makan Cafe which I remembered was quite nice...

It was quite fun and there were lots of interesting little stalls to explore... from selling delicious strawberries, to posters, clothes, toiletries, paella, cheese, olive oil, pan cakes, deep fried seafood, antiques and etc... you name it, they got it... kinda reminds me of pasar malam!!! hahaha... I used to love pasar malams when I was young...

But the highlight of my little outing was CUPCAKES... haha... actually, I was just looking for the cupcakes that one of my directors told me about... he said that they were really good although a little bit pricey... I was actually expecting a little food stall... but when I asked around passerby who were eating these cute little cupcakes, I was directed to the Hummingbird Bakery!!!

I didn't realise that it is a proper bakery, and one that is supposedly quite famous for their cupcakes!!! I mean the queues were like... super long outside the bakery just to buy their cupcakes...

Aaaaaawwwww.... don't they look so pretty and cute???

And... their best selling red velvet cupcakes... they were so popular that they had a cake version of it as well!!!

Well... to be kiasu... I queued up as well... just to see how good their cupcakes were... I bought 4 different types to try out... I quite like the peanut butter and black bottom ones... but they do come with a pricey tag... just 4 of these cost me £7!!!

Oh well... it was an experience... and at least I did something different on a Saturday afternoon!!!

Confession of a Shopaholic

2009-07-19T21:14:00.009+01:00

No... this is not a post about the movie nor it is about the book... this is instead, a true confession of a shopaholic... yes, yours truly have to admit that I AM A SHOPAHOLIC...

In the last two and a half months, I have been shopping and shopping and shopping...

When Yun and her friends bought stuff from Yesstyle, I asked her to buy a couple of items for me... which includes this cute little striped tube dress...

But, I ended up liking the items so much that I convinced Bin Bin to shop with me on the Yesstyle website on our own... and between just both of us, we bought US$150 worth of clothes... so that we could get the free delivery... (yes... I am very into stripes these days... in between the online shopping periods I also bought another stripe dress from H&M...)

Then Bin Bin went to US to visit her friend... and I asked her to buy another Coach bag for me!!!! Don't you think that the bag just look so lovely??? aaaaahhhhhh... so now, from having no Coach items at all... I find myself being the owner of two Coach bags and one Coach wristlet in the span of less than a year!!!! gosh... see how addicted I am??? but in my defence... the bags were bought from US outlet stores and they are really really really cheap...

Not stopping there... I joined the rest of girls in shopping on ASOS as they are having their summer sales now... I also convinced my colleague to shop with us... and even Yun ended up picking a few items... see... I am not only a shopaholic that is harmful to myself, I am also brain washing everyone else around me to shop...

The icing on the cake??? Bin Bin and I went for our bi-annual Barcelona trip recently for the summer sales!!! More shopping... We shopped non-stop for two days, covering at least 6 Zaras, 7 Mangos, 3 Stradivarius, 4 H&Ms, 3 Pull&Bear, 3 Bershka etc... I went with an empty luggage but not surprisingly I came home with my bag full of clothes... although I did buy lots of stuff for others ok?? I am just addicted to shopping... be it shopping for myself or buying things for others!!!

I know I have been really naughty... but I just can't help it... that's why when Grace asked me whether I want anything from Vegas... I couldn't help but gave her a shopping list for some Abercrombie and Fitch items...

BOOOOOOO.... SHAME ON ME....

Maybe I should go for some shopaholic anonymous counseling group.... I just seem to enjoy the shopping experience so much that I always have the itch to buy something new... now, I find myself already thinking of my next shopping spree when I go home in August... it's bad isn't it???

VVVVRRRROOMMMMM....

2009-07-16T23:07:00.009+01:00

Although this is not my first time at a F1 race, nevertheless... it is still very exciting for me... thought that I should go to Silverstone before they take it of the F1 calendar...

Watching a race live is definitely a great experience... the buzz and excitement itself gives you a different perspective to the race... and yes, although you probably have better coverage on tv, the real life experience wins the competition hands down...

Just listen to the engine sound... and the action... words can't really describe the experience...

I really did enjoy the whole race and the weather was fantastic that day...

Although Button didn't win the race... he did a decent job in front of the home crowd... and at the end of the day, Vettel was a deserving winner...

The only thing which spoilt the experience for me was the journey back home... we left the race track at 3pm and it took us a whopping 8 hours to get home due to the traffic.... gosh... if this taught me anything, it is that leaving 10 mins early from such events is the smartest thing to do....

Portsmouth

2009-07-14T22:25:00.000+01:00

Another one of our random decisions... this time it's to Portsmouth...

Portsmouth is a port town and home to the British Navy History...

Not too sure whether you can see it behind us... but there is a famous man-made fort in the middle of the sea called Spitbank Fort...

The Spinnaker Tower by the waterfront... this thing supposedly cost £21m to build... wtf???

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the HMS Warrior

Well... since we weren't too interested in the naval history... we ended up spending most of our time at the Outlet village at Gunwharf Quays... hahaha.... there were quite a few famous brands there including M&S, Gap, Nike, Burberry, FCUK, Crabtree & Evelyn, Karen Millen. Ted Baker etc. but but but.... the stuff there weren't that nice... so Bin Bin and I didn't really do much shopping...

The guys on the other hand... with their 30 min spree through the whole village, actually bought quite a lot of stuff!!! Each went back with at least 2 shopping bags!!!!

Oh... and of course... how can we not stop by the Portsmouth FC... it was probably the highlight of the trip for the guys... hahaha...

Brighton

2009-07-08T22:11:00.003+01:00

The weather this summer has been much better than it was in the past few years... it's usually sunny and bright on the weekends...

That's why we went to Brighton!!! hahaha...

The burnt remains of the West Brighton Pier

Clear blue skies and nice sunny weather... the only thing missing is a sandy beach since Brighton is a pebble beach...

Hehehe... Bin Bin didn't seem to mind the pebble beach at all... with her little "picnic" by the beach...

Everyone in their black sunnies...

And then it was pimms and lemonade time by the sea front!!! Now, that's life... ok, you can't see the pimms and lemonade yet cuz the guys were queueing up for it...

The flamboyant Royal Pavilion, which is really famous in Brighton... The exterior has an Indian theme, whilst the interior was decorated with Chinese decor.

Plans

2009-07-04T23:25:00.006+01:00

When I was younger, I used to have all these plans and knew exactly what I wanted... back then when everyone around me was still unsure, I had everything planned out... I had plans to obtain a scholarship, to study at LSE, to work and live in London, to be an actuary, to have my own flat etc...

But somehow... these days while everyone around me seem to have a plan, be it to get married, to have a baby, to change jobs, to change industry, to move to Hong Kong/Beijing/Ireland/Singapore etc, to take a sabbatical break, to leave London, to pack their bags and go home...... for the first time in a very very long time, I don't have any plans at all...

Have I stop to desire for new challenges? Have I grown so comfortable in my own little bubble that I don't feel the need to plan anymore? Have I driven out all my enthusiasm in my quests for all the plans that I have made in the past??

Why is it that I don't feel compelled to plan for something??

After all, I have been in the same country for the last 7 years, in the same job and the same company for the last 4 years, lived in the same area for the last 3 years...

Am I afraid?

Am I lost?

Am I tired?

Am I getting old?

Or am I really that happy and satisfied with what I have now?

Sake No Hana

2009-06-26T22:41:00.000+01:00

It was quite random but Bin Bin and I decided that we haven't had Japanese food in a while, so we decided to splurge a bit... we went to Sake No Hana, which is one of Alan Yau's venture... this guy is just famous here in London and could do no wrong... every place that he has opened was such a hit...

This is the Japanese version of Hakkasan, and with a price to match as well... although no Michelin star yet... but we only went because there was a top table promotion which gave us 30% off (well, usual is 40% off but on Friday dinner, it's only 30%...)

And I must say that he lived up to his billing, it was probably one of the best Jap food that I had in a while... The tuna and salmon sashimi was absolutely fantastic... you know it's good when they just melt into your mouth...

Their special hand rolls were really yummy... not many Jap place in London does hand rolls and when they do, it's often uninspiring as it will just be the normal california or prawn tempura roll... I just love those hand rolls with a twist and especially those with eel... hehehe...

We also had the miso cod... it was interesting... it's not what I expected and definitely not like the Nobu miso cod... but it was still delicious...

Since we loved the sashimi so much, we went for second helping, this time we tried the yellow tail and fatty tuna instead...

It was really so good and with the top table offer, it's definitely worth trying out... without the offer, it might be a bit too pricey for me.... so fingers cross that the offer will stay...

One thing though, we didn't really like the waitress who served us... the whole time, she had this really black face on and didn't seem to like us that much... perhaps we don't look too rich... bleh... and we were a bit upset to overhear her telling the table next to us that today's special was wagyu beef at the end of our meal... and throughout the whole time, she didn't even mention it to us!!!! Grrrrrrrr.....

Giving back to the community

2009-06-23T23:24:00.002+01:00

Due to the credit crunch, this year my department has decided that we will not be having our annual Away Day and Summer Ball... well apparently these events cost the firm the annual salary of a manager wor...

SO... instead, we are going to be participating in a community event... my team was assigned to paint a nursery which runs on charity for those children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods...

We painted the nursery in this really bright yellow!!!

(And oh... by the way... the guy in the right picture who is standing up is the legend actuary in my department, he was the one who founded the department and usually when he predicts something, it's always right!!! And the other guy in the same pic is my reviewer/group manager...)

Everyone working hard...

And ME ME ME... I also painted the walls!!! (And obviously the lower end of the walls...)

Well... I really did enjoy the whole event even though I didn't end up painting a mural... and when the teachers thanked us, I felt that we really did made a difference to them!!

I am all for giving back to the community and doing this kinda stuff (like when I was in uni, I was a volunteer student tutor)... as you can make an impact on someone else's life... I guess in a way, it also taught me to be appreciative of what I have and what I have been through... true, I may not be born with a silver spoon, but at least I am more privileged than any of these children and they have been through so much more than me...

That said, I do miss the away days... where we get to be pampered and go to the spa... hehehe... :P

MiMi's Cooking

2009-06-20T22:47:00.000+01:00

One of the things that I miss most now that MiMi is back in KL is her cooking... so, here is a post to thank her for all wonderful meals she cooked for me and especially for my friends here...

For the big dinner.... she prepared lots of dishes...

MiMi slaving in the kitchen since morning...

Hard at work...

Showing off her cookery skills...

AND...

THE RESULTS...

TA-DA....

Her so called boxing chicken (because it's called 铁公鸡 in Chinese) and sweet and sour pork...

Oooh... abalone (courtesy of Rui) and yeah... salted egg yolk prawns... my personal favourite and special request...

And there's also vegetable and soup... see... how happy everyone was?? MiMi spent the whole day in the kitchen and the food was gone in 15 minutes!!!!

Sigh... it's so good to have dinner ready when you come home....

MiMi in London

2009-06-18T23:09:00.000+01:00

Some pics from the places that we went when MiMi was in London...

Dinner @ Ran Korean Restaurant...

Ran is probably one of my favourite Korean restaurants in London... and now that they have refurbished the place, even more reasons to go! (it is also one of the few places that MiMi actually said the food was good!! :P)

Dim sum @ Yautcha

Dim sum here is kinda fusion... if you are not looking for traditional dim sum, I must say that it's really good, although it's quite pricey... bleh... the fried sotong is really good!!!

We went to Yautacha when tai ka che and Andrew was still around...

Designer goods shopping @ New Bond Street

Look how happy MiMi looks in front of the LV and Burberry shop... hehehe...

Dinner @ Cha Cha Moon

Didn't really plan on bringing MiMi there but then she saw the advertisement for it and wanted to try it out... I do think that the food used to be nicer there before they change the menu!!!

Sunny day @ Canary Wharf

Lunch @ Royal China

One of the few chains which has never failed to deliver... reliable and good food... whether it's for dim sum, lunch, dinner or its lobster noodles!!! yum yum...

Hahaha... I know I know... most of the pics are of food and restaurants that we went rather than sightseeing... but MiMi has been here and she is not into the touristy sightseeing things like museums, galleries etc.... she did commented before she left that this time round, she probably tried out every type of cuisine in London from Japanese to Korean to Thai to Vietnamese to steak to British (fish & chips) to Indian to Chinese to Dim Sum to Malaysian!!!

Hahahaha... what to do...I come from a family where eating is our favourite past time... bleh :P

Frankfurt (and Mainz)

2009-06-15T23:22:00.001+01:00

Our last destination was Frankfurt ... because this is where Yun will be based for the next few months for her internship... we helped her to move some of her stuff over here from Cologne...

We did a quick stop-over at Mainz before heading to Frankfurt...

Views of river Main...

The town hall in the old town of Mainz...

The main square of Mainz...

Which is probably one of the more touristy area in Mainz as there isn't much there...

That day that was probably the nicest day of our whole trip and temperatures soared up to the mid-twenties... and this of course... means that it's ice-cream time!!!

Everyone enjoying the ice-creams...

After that we headed to Frankfurt.... again, we have been to Frankfurt before so we didn't really do much... not that there is much to see in Frankfurt anyway...

Well, Frankfurt hasn't changed much from the last time we were there... but what about us??

Have we changed??

Now.... and then in 2005...

2009...

and back in 2005...

One thing for sure, we are all older... not sure whether we are any wiser though... hahahaha....

Triberg (Schwarzwald)

2009-06-12T22:28:00.002+01:00

Triberg is a small quiet German town located in Baden-Württemberg, in the heart of the Black Forest... and it is famous for its cuckoo clocks...

The house of 1000 clocks... in this shop, there are as you can guess 1000 cuckoo clocks of all sizes... it ranges from 20 euros to some which are a few thousand euros!!!

Some of the typical German snacks that we had... pretzel and currywurst... and hehehe... hard bread...

We initially planned to go to the waterfalls after our little snack... but alas, the rain started pouring and in the end we had no choice but to go back to our car and drove somewhere else first...

So we went and look for Cafe Schafer... apparently where the black forest cake is being invented!!!

Well... to be honest, the original black forest cake was too alcoholic for my liking... and not sweet enough to be a treat... but oh well... I guess the Germans like it strong...

After that we drove to the World's Largest Cuckoo Clock...

Inside there they have exhibitions on more clocks...

And oh... apparently the natives in this region wear this kinda hats... if you are single, your hat should be red and if you are married, it's black... hahahaha....

Nearby, there are also plenty of nature trails into Black Forest... I guess they called it black forest as the colour of the trees are really dark...

When the rain finally stopped, we made our way back to the waterfalls....

This waterfall is supposed to be the largest waterfall in Germany... for a such a little town, it was a lot of records to boast of man...

On our way back, we stopped by at this farm where they also have another cuckoo clock display... oh well... this place if famous for them...

I really think that this is one of the nicest part of Germany... and I would definitely recommend a visit...

Heidelberg

2009-06-10T21:49:00.001+01:00

Our next stop was Heidelberg... one of the famous attraction here is the Heidelberg castle... also known as Schloss Heidelberg...

The castle is quite popular among locals and coupled with the good weather that day, there were lots of people on the castle ground...

The castle is kinda in ruins due to war, fire and it was even struck by lightning a few times!!!

And from the castle, you get quite a good view of the Heidelberg Old Town...

More views around the castle grounds...

There was even a wedding reception that day while we were there... Apparently there are about 100 weddings a year at the castle...

After that we went to the Old Town... and walked along the river...

The Old Bridge is also one of the landmark in the area...

It also provides a good view of the Heiligenberg mountain...

Crazy people jumping on the bridge like they never seen one before... :P

And the Karl-Theodore-Brücke... it used to be the city's main gate entrance...

There are lots of restaurants near the Haupstrasse and the one that we went to was really quite good...

See, everyone is giving thumbs up after the meal...

Cologne

2009-06-07T21:07:00.003+01:00

Cologne was our first stop in our Germany trip... since Yun has been in Cologne for several years now, I have actually visited Cologne for a few times now... so we didn't do much sightseeing...

One thing that wasn't there the last time I was in Cologne was this locks... according to Yun, these locks symbolises your relationship or friendship... there were lots of them on the bridge from one end to the other!! And many have messages on them... aaawwww.... sweet...

The Hohenzollern bridge over Rhein river...

You can also see the cathedral from this end...

Somehow there is always construction work on the cathedral when I am there!!!

The main street of Cologne...

The many pubs as Cologne is famous for its beer...

The medieval bits of the city...

Picture by the park...

We then headed off to this famous local restaurant to have some Früh, one of the local brew...

And of course... pork knuckles, sauerkraut, bratwurst, schnitzel etc...

Amsterdam

2009-06-04T21:56:00.002+01:00

Since MiMi wanted to experience the tulips season, we went to Amsterdam during her visit... we took a train from Cologne... I think it's so much nicer to go on holidays via trains instead of flying... so much less hassle!!! And not to mention, the trains bring you all the way to the city centre...

Since our hotel was just next to the Heineken Brewery, it was our first stop...

There were lots of things to do and see in the brewery... in terms of architecture, the Guinness storehouse at Dublin is probably more interesting, but this one has a lot more activities and things to do... which makes it more interactive...

There were lots of places for you to pose for photos, a 3-D ride like motion master, demonstrations, replicas for you to tryout the various stages of beer making, foosball tables etc.... and we even made a Dutch music video which we sent to our brother in Australia... hehehe...

And of course, the free pints of Heineken.. hahaha...

After that, we went around the city centre including the museum park...

The canals...

Dam Square... and their version of the London eye...

Hehehe... we were fascinated with the Dutch's idea of fast food... buying croquet from the vending machines!!!

And we also searched high and low for this pancake shop, which was supposed to be quite famous in Amsterdam... (well both Yun and I went to the same place the last time we were in Amsterdam as our friends brought us there...) but we couldn't really remember where it was!!! Just that it's near the Anne Frank's house!!!

We also visited the red-light district at night... but sorry... no pictures... well... you are not allowed to take any pictures and doing so may risk your camera being confiscated...

The next day, we spent the whole day at Keukenhof... I just love this park... it is so so so so beautiful during the tulips season...

There are hundreds type of tulips in every colour that you can think of... the lush of colours everywhere... it really makes you happy!!!

We went photo crazy and snapped I think at least a thousand shots between us (although most of them are my elder sis' photos...:P)

I shall try not to bombard this post with flower photos!!!

More pics from Keukenhof...

After a fun-filled day with the tulips... we went for Indonesian food as Amsterdam is quite famous for its Indonesian restaurants... it was surprisingly quite good...

The last day, we headed off to Zaanse Schans... a small little village with well-preserved historic windmills...

It has several windmills which are still working to date...

And is popular among tourists... they also have good cycling scenic routes around this village...

More windmills....

We also visited the cheese factory here...

Recently, I am quite into cheese (especially those smelly cheese... hehehe) ever since I went to a restaurant with a cheese room with my colleagues... so I bought a big blob of garlic and herbs cheese... hehehe... smelly...

There was also a clog factory in the village which we visited....

How does my clogs look?? hehehe..

And oh... just so happened it was the Queens birthday that weekend and they have this huge celebration and parade around the city centre... so we joined in the parade for a bit before catching our train back to Cologne...

Even though it was my second trip to Amsterdam, I still found it quite enjoyable and there seems to be still lots of things to do... perhaps it's the company then :)

Sardinia

2009-05-31T22:46:00.000+01:00

Went to Sardinia during the Easter long weekend break... as usual, we started off by saying that we want to go somewhere that is nice and warm... preferably, a nice sunny beach weekend... but somehow, we always end up in being in a beach town when it's cold and rainy... sigh...

On the day that we landed... it was cold, rainy and gloomy... sounds like London... and here we are, thinking that we can escape from the grey London weather...

Nevertheless, we still did some sightseeing and walked around the historic old town of Alghero...

Most of the old town area are cobbled narrow lanes with a number of churches...

Surprise surprise... we woke up to sunny weather the next morning!!! Since it was such a pretty day, we drove to Cappo Caccia to see the Neptune's Grotto... it was a beautiful ride there with the blue skies and the sun shinning so brightly...

But much to our disappointment, the grotto was closed for renovation... what a pity as the guide who arranged for our airport transfer told us that the sea caves are really beautiful... sigh...

Guess we have to be content with taking pictures near the caves then...

The guys planning and mapping our drive... hehehe... the Christopher Columbus'... as usual, I just sleep in the car and made no contribution to navigation... hehehehe....

We decided that since Alghero is known for its beautiful beaches, we had to check them out...

And true... the beaches were really nice... kinda reminds me of the wonderful beaches that I went to in Bermuda... but don't let the pictures fool you... it may look sunny and hot, but it was way too cold and windy to really lie down on the sandy beaches or swim in the water!!!

And one of the beaches that we went to, it was so windy that they have kite surfing!!! So cool...

The following day... we went to some of the vineyards near Alghero...

The wine that they produced in this region was especially for seafood since the island is famous for its Catalan-style seafood, particularly its lobster...

They actually sold alcohol like the petrol station by the litres man!! Look at the pump... and it was dirt cheap lor... the true meaning of buying in bulk!!

The guys with their funny poses again outside another vineyard...

The actual farm where they grow grapes for the wine...

We also went to Sassari, one of the larger cities on the Sardinia island...

Well, I think from now on... we should just avoid beach towns during the Easter break... because it's never warm enough for us to enjoy the beach properly!!! I mean there is a reason why it is the off-peak season!!!

Absence

2009-05-28T23:34:00.003+01:00

Haven't been updating my blog in the last month cuz my MiMi was around... now that she has left... I'll upload some posts soon... lots of backlog posts to update!!!

MiMi is no longer in London...

2009-05-25T23:27:00.001+01:00

Sob sob sob... MiMi left London already... no more packed lunch for me... and no more home cooked dinner... have to eat out everyday... sob sob sob... :(

I miss my MiMi!!!!

My MiMi is here!!!

2009-05-10T15:49:00.003+01:00

Yipeee.... my MiMi is here... it has been almost 2 years ago since she came to visit me... this time, she is staying a bit longer than she used to and I am glad that she did... I usually don't get to spend so much time with her since I only go home once a year and even that, I can't take more than 3 weeks of holidays, so it's really good to have her around...

Hehehe... my MiMi doing her tai chi style exercise in the house...

And because my MiMi is here... I get all these yummylicious food to pack to work for lunch... hehehe.... everyday, she cooks something different for me... even my colleagues commented about it the other day.... he was like... so... what's for lunch today??? hehehe...

She even bought me this cute little container which keeps the food warm for me... cuz my office lar... so stupid, we don't have a microwave for health and safety purpose but now with this container I can have hot food for lunch!!!

All thanks to my MiMi, the greatest and most wonderful mum on earth... every time she comes and visit me she solved some of my problems... the last time she came, she made this thing to mix my hot and cold water cuz my old flat did not have a water mixer tap in the kitchen... see... she is really so "geng"....

KT's Birthday...

2009-04-25T13:02:00.004+01:00

We went to Royal China for dim sum for Mr Yeo's birthday as he wanted to have lobster noodles... but my my my... it was a LOOOOOOONG wait for the lobster...

After we ordered, the waiter came back to tell us that today's lobster haven't arrived yet due to transportation problems (when it should have arrived before business starts!) and that yesterday's leftover lobsters were no longer fresh... he said that we can have our dim sum first and perhaps the lobsters would arrive later...

After two rounds of dim sum and harassing the waiter to ask him when the lobster will arrive... we almost gave up and wanted to leave...

BUT it was a good thing that we still wanted the lobster even though we were too full to eat anything else... as the lobsters finally ARRIVED!!!!

After our satisfying meal, we trotted off to Regent's Park as it was a really nice and sunny day...

Aaaawww... isn't it nice? To see flowers blooming everywhere and the sun shining so brightly??? heheheh... see even Bin Bin and I decided to match the flowers with our colourful tops...

We ended up playing frisbee at the park... to burn the calories from the dim sum... hahahaha... just kidding... I think Zhi Rui was the only person who was running for the frisbee every time!!! And even when he was talking on the phone...

After that, the guys went to the pub to catch the Chelsea-Arsenal match in town... We ended the day by heading to Rasa Sayang for dinner... It's a relatively new Malaysian-Singaporean restaurant in Chinatown and they serve a good selection of local food including chicken rice, fish head noodles, prawn mee, hokkien mee, roti canai etc. (Yunz, next time you come can go try the prawn mee here instead... it's quite yummy!)

My MiMi will be here soon!!

2009-04-21T22:42:00.003+01:00

Yes!!! The last time MiMi came to visit me was in November 2007!!

Can't wait for her to be here... to have my MiMi around!!!

And to eat her cooking... if you think that I can cook, wait till you try my MiMi's cooking!!! hehehehe... hopefully, she will cook the bird's nest soup for me again...

Will be on holidays next week... but before that... sigh... I have tons of things to do at work... which means that I will have to stay late at work for the next few days... so will probably not have much time to blog...

Sigh... I have not been very good at updating my blog recently...

Dublin

2009-04-19T23:07:00.021+01:00

According to Mr Yeo... it's the largest city in the world... because...

it's doubling and doubling and doubling...

hehehehehe... ok... not that funny...

Anyway... Sook Leen and I made a trip to Dublin to visit Grace since the last time she was supposed to come to London, both she and Jun Liong fell ill and couldn't make it in the end...

This is my first time to Dublin... and my my my... it's actually quite an expensive city!!

A simple lunch with just the main course was about €20! (Although the pork belly that I had was really good... crispy on the skin and juicy with fats... hehehe...)

Grace told us in advance that we were going for a trek.... well, that's nothing unusual!!! She is really into the adventure type or activities and would pick stuff like going to the zoo, the forest reserve, go ape, hiking etc.

And so, we went to Glendalough Woods for a trek...

Hehehe... us trying to pretend to be natural and that we are not looking into the camera...

I was quite glad that we went for the trek... especially with the really nice weather that day, the scenery were breathtaking...

And this bit of it kinda reminds me of Snowdonia...

The girls having fun...

And then Jun Liong started playing with Sook Leen's Canon camera where you can actually select a colour and snap photos with only one colour...

I think it's really cool... the photos turned out to be so artistic... like you're doing those photo shoots... very professional.... too bad my Sony doesn't have this function...

We had so much fun playing around with the colours... then we met some of Jun Liong's and Grace's friends and played a round of frisbee with them... we were so engrossed that we were nearly late for our dinner reservation!!!

We had dinner at this gastro-pub called the Hungry Monk... and the food was simply delicious... I really enjoyed the meal... particularly like my starter, which was this scallops and clams dish... and my pan fried sea bream with risotto... hehe... actually they don't serve it with risotto but with some vegetables that I don't eat... so I requested them to give me something else... hehehe...

After dinner, we went back to Grace's flat and opened a bottle of red wine to chill out and chat... it was a tiring day but really fun!!!

The next day, we went to the city centre to do some sightseeing...

First stop is their version of Green Park, Saint Stephen's Green Park...

Aren't the flowers just so pretty?? :)

Trinity College...

Old Library and Book of Kells at Trinity College...

I think this is the street that is equivalent to the Soho in London...

Temple Bar... was trying to look for an O'neils... cuz that's the only Irish pub that I know of... but didn't see it...

The shopping area which is across the river...

Dublin's Millennium Spire...

And of course... the famous Guinness Storehouse!!!

Even though I'm not a big Guinness fan... but I thoroughly enjoyed the visit...

All the different Guinness bottles in history...

It's not only a museum where they keep track of all the different advert campaign, bottles, print labels etc. in the Guinness 250 years history... but it also provides you with a tour of how the beer it's brewed....

And the building itself is an architecture art... apparently, the middle of the building where the lifts and escalators are is shaped in a pint glass... and the views on the top floor is one of the best in Dublin city...

And included in the entrance fee is your pint of Guinness...

So there you go... me and my pint of Guinness!!!

Had a really good time and it was good to see Grace again... hopefully, we don't have to wait too long for our Northern Ireland trip!!!

Sang Kee

2009-04-13T20:49:00.005+01:00

For those who don't know... that's the name of my dad's restaurant...

Growing up, it was just part and parcel of my life... I used to have my lunch after school at the restaurant, had numerous family dinners there, spent countless hours to tend to the shop (which I resented at times...) and did many chores including washing the dishes, cleaning the squid, peeling prawns, preparing 鱼生 for chinese new years, waitressing, cleaning up tables etc. when we didn't have enough people working in the shop...

Sure, I do like the food there... some of my favourite dishes include: 炖汤(soups), 三王蛋(century egg and salted egg steam eggs), 奶油苏东(buttermilk fried sotong), 生虾生面(fresh king prawns fried noodles), 铁公鸡(fried chicken wings), 古老肉 (sweet and sour pork), 扣肉(pork belly with yam), 马来风光(sambal belacan kangkung), 虾米冲油豆腐(toufu with fried garlic, onions and dried prawns), 蒜米煎银雪鱼 (deep fried cod fish) etc.

But I never thought that it would be "famous"... I mean there are times when I so much rather go down to Petaling Street and buy other food such as Ipoh keow teoy, beef noodles, porridge, asam laksa etc...

Surprise, surprise... the restaurant made it to one of the popular eatery shows in Malaysia (which by the way, my friend actually watch it without me telling her to do so and emailed me to say... why did you not tell me that your dad's restaurant is featured in it???)

And not only that, it's being featured in this book about good food in South East Asia....

And a food critique blog entry... on 星州米(Singapore fried vermicelli)

http://blog.chinatimes.com/casey/archive/2008/06/28/293011.html

I guess because I grew up eating the food, I took it for granted and never appreciated it as much as others!!!!

The next time you drop by KL, do try it out for yourself... like I say, I told my mum that if anyone turns up with a picture with me, they'll get a free meal!!! Hahahaha.....

April's Fools Day

2009-04-01T23:19:00.005+01:00

Or, should I say Financial Fools Day!!! This year, April's Fool coincide with the G20 summit which is being held in London and due to current economic conditions, many has taken the opportunity to protest against capitalism. In particular, the protest is targeted at those in the financial services (especially bankers!!!) as the public is now blaming them for the recession...

An online map dubbed "the big square mile" was released on the internet and many financial services organisation were listed on it to assist protestors.... AND... uh oh.... my company is one of them!!!!! Ooooh nooooo...........

.... There was an internal mail where everyone was encouraged to dress down or work from home and wherever possible, to avoid going to clients that day.... loads of hoohaa over it...

BUT...

In the end.... there wasn't much action... at least near my office... there was a march towards BoE but then.... they seemed peaceful... and if not... having fun with many on bicycles and some in wigs... one even dressed as a cat!!!

Well... elsewhere... nearer to Bank... there were much more action...

The Burn the Bankers compaign... with a fake dead banker...

Anti-capitalism protest...

Lines of police forming human shields near BoE

It did turn a bit ugly when the protestors broke into RBS...

Crowd outside BoE

Will anything come out of this?? I dunno....

Yipee...

2009-03-25T23:05:00.003Z

My iPod touch has arrived!!! Gosh... I really did succumb to peer pressure, did I not?? Or is it kiasuism?? Hahahaha... since everyone around me has one... I finally have my own iPod touch!!!

Any fun apps to recommend?? No prizes for guessing which is the first apps I bought... hahahaha..... now I can play cubes whenever I want!!! hehehehe... :P

(I also use it for more educational / intellectual stuff ok?? er... like reading the news on the tube like what Bin Bin suggested me to do...)

Newcastle

2009-03-22T17:04:00.010Z

The guys just decided one night (while they are drunk) that we shall all go to Newcastle to celebrate Zhi Rui's birthday... so the following weekend, we rented a car and drove all the way up north on Friday night...

And after a long long 5 hours drive between Naveen and Bin Bin... we arrived at Newcastle!!

Once we had some sleep... we went out to the city centre for breakfast...

Newcastle city centre tour... it was a bit nolstagic for both Drake and Bin Bin since they both went to Newcastle university...

The guys, trying to act cool... hahahaha....

Since it was really windy (although it was sunny! yipee!)... and I'm telling you, the wind was so strong that it was so difficult to walk against the wind to cross the Gateshead Millinieum Bridge... and the bridge was actually swaying in the wind furiously...

Anyway, to run away from the wind for a bit, we decided to go into the Baltic Museum...

There was this really interesting exhibition called Learning To Love You More. It's an art project by two American artists by creating inspirational assignments for people to participate in and express their creativity.... for more information go to learningtoloveyoumore.com

The assignments list...

This is assignment #67 Repair something

And this guy actually repaired this war-torn building.... DIGITALLY.... hahaha... thought that this was really funny and creative...

And after that, we just loiter around the shopping mall to wait for night fall... where we went clubbing till the wee hours of the morning!!! Which we haven't done in such a long long long long long time... Sorry... didn't bring my camera along so no pictures!!!

The next day... we went to catch the football match between Newcastle and Everton... We stopped by at the Shearer's Bar before the match...

Everyone holding their tickets... and the whole trip is Zhi Rui's birthday pressie...

Group photo!!

Me pretending to be a fan by stealing Nav's Newcastle scarf...

The stadium is really big... and I was quite surprised that we got really front row seats... the pitch was really close!!

See... we were so close that we could see the mascot clearly...

Well... the match turned out to be really uneventful... no goals at all... Newcastle drew Everton 0-0... and all the action seems to be on the other side of the field!!!

Anyway... though it was a random trip... it was quite fun although tiring... it must be even more tiring for Nav and Bin Bin who drove there and back!!! Thanks!!!

Addicted to...

2009-03-18T22:14:00.003Z

CUBES on the Ipod touch...

Now I'm itching to get an Ipod touch...

Signs of aging?

2009-03-12T21:06:00.001Z

I chose not to go for the department's end of busy season drinks and instead went home to have dinner and watch tv... somehow I just didn't feel like drinking (even though it's free and unlimited... okay.. unlimited to a certain extent...) and I didn't feel like socialising...

Is this a sign of aging? I used to be all up for this kinda events and usually stay till quite late... but now... I look forward to a night relaxing at home...

Sigh... I think I am getting old... or have my priorities changed? What do I look for now to achieve the so-called "quality of life"? I am not sure anymore...

Woohoo...

2009-03-10T22:17:00.006Z

I have internet connection again!!! Finally... I'm connected... at my new place... yes, I have moved!!!

More posts coming soon... and I have lots of back-dated posts to upload as well....

I'm back.

P/S. I have now added some back-dated posts for February... scroll down or check the archive!!!

Camden Market

2009-02-22T20:35:00.001Z

Nav decided one random weekend that we should go to Camden market...

And I'm glad that we did... it was something different... (as compared to us staying at home with me watching shows / playing cubes on his ipod touch... and him playing poker)

Aawww... isn't it pretty?

Heheh... I bought my little beanie that day so I made him take pictures of it with me... hehehe...

Camden is also known as London's Little Venice due to the canals that surround the buildings... one could really pretend that they are in Venice!!! hahahaha...

And of course, the famous Camden Market... it's quite interesting to visit markets... and Camden Market is really unique... the stuff that they sell there... it's really different...

And some bits... it does remind me of Petaling Street hehehe...

Nav was so excited over these little stalls...

And he especially liked these sign plaque stalls... he just kept on buying and buying different things.. like a little kid in willy wonka's chocolate factory!!!

<

/span> There's a gothic and edgy feel to the whole place which I found very interesting...

In the end, I really had a fun day-out and was really glad that I didn't succumb to my laziness of not going out during winter time when it's soooooo sooooo soooo cold!!!

Chinese New Year Dinner 2009

2009-02-20T23:07:00.002Z

Yes... for the zillionth time... we had steamboat... it seems like nowadays, we have steamboat for everything... for christmas, for chinese new year... and sometimes, we even go out for the szechuan steamboat on random dinner nights!!!

Anyway... we had quite a lot of guests this time...

And had loads of food...

And of course... how can a Chinese New Year dinner go by without gambling???

Trust the Hong Kees to be the professional gamblers man... they brought these gambling stuff that I usually see in the Hong Kong drama tv series lor... it's like in those olden days period drama scenes where they gamble on the streets.. those 古装，武侠片lor...

Everyone in action... hoping that the Ox year will bring them prosperity and wealth luck!!!

Everyone scrambling to put their bet before the games begin!!!

Hahahaha... I think I look like those gambling addict lor in this picture... but I won quite a bit of money in the end ok??? :P

Hopefully, the year of Ox will bring everyone good health, happiness and prosperity!!!

Nice Monaco

2009-02-10T22:44:00.015Z

I know I know... this was last year's Christmas trip... but I haven't had to chance to blog about it.. so here it is... I'll try to keep it short and simple... hahaha.. partially it's because I don't remember the name of the places anymore!!!

--- NICE ---

View of the city from the top of Colline du Chateau...

Couldn't resist putting this pic cuz Yun looks so cute... hehehe..

Palais de Justice

The beach... everyone keeps on telling me how beautiful Nice beaches are... but then... clearly, tis is not the season for beach.. it was so windy and we're certainly not strutting around in our bikinis!!!

Roman ruins...

The Russian Cathedral... don't ask me why there is a Russian cathedral in France... they obviously got the place wrong... hahahaha...

Cours Saleya - the flower and fruit market

Night view of the city... beautiful eh?

--- MONACO ---

Don't know why... we both wore chequered skirts that day... sisters power!! hahaha...

Monaco city...

The Monte Carlo Casino by day...

By night... it looks even prettier...

Monaco is definitely the place for the rich and famous... you can find designer shops tucked everywhere!!!

From PRADA...

to HERMES...

to GUCCI... you name it... they have it...

Changing of the guards at the Monaco Palace...

Views of Monaco Ville...

The three housemates from hardbread land...

Some random castle... which I don't remember the name anymore... this is the result of blogging about it 2 months later!!!

Oh.. and the gorgeous scenery from the cliff near the oceanographic museum and aquarium... the view was absolutely magnificent!!!

And of course... the Jardin Exotique @ Exotic Gardens... Yun loves the gardens so much...

More cacti and cactus

And in the gardens, they have these really beautiful limestone caves that we could visit...

Monaco F1 Grand Prix!!! Wish it was the actual race though.... :P

--- EZE VILLAGE ---

This is a small village between Nice and Monaco... there is a medieval town here that is situated on top of the mountain...

It really feels as though we were lost in time and were stuck in the medieval times...

And more cactus for Yunz...

But I guess in medieval times.. you don't get michelin stars restaurants... hahaha... but we gave it a skip cuz it was a bit too pricey...

And oh.. there's a perfume factory that we could visit... now I understand the difference between eau de toilette, eau de parfum and eau de cologne and perfume extracts!!!

--- FOOD ---

Last but not least... how can any post of mine doesn't include pictures of food!!! hahahaha... some of the yummy food that we had...

Winter Wonderland

2009-02-02T21:08:00.008Z

If you think that it doesn't really snow in London... think again...

It all started on an innocent Sunday afternoon... when the snowflakes started falling... but as usual, everyone dismissed it saying that the snow wouldn't settle and by the next few hours, it would be melted and gone...

But guess what... it DIDN'T... the snow was heavier and heavier and by midnight... everything was covered with snow already... still everyone weren't convinced and even made plans to go to work the next day...

Surprise surprise!!! It was the heaviest snow fall in the last 18 years, causing all trains and buses in London to be cancelled, and airports and schools to be closed... everyone couldn't get to work unless you try trudging through the snow!!!

Just look at how thick the snow was...

And how deep my shoes sink in when I stepped on the layers of snow...

Everything was covered with thick inches of snow... all white everywhere...

Had to work from home... but it was so difficult given that even the phone network was also affected by the snow and we couldn't have face to face meetings...

Still, I couldn't resist and went downstairs to enjoy the snow a bit...

Snowman snowman... cute snowman... and we even have a family of snowmen...

Huge snowball fights...

The snowman is even taller than me!!!

This is truly winter wonderland... I could almost imagine myself being in some Scandinavian country or a ski resort!!!

CNY Reunion Dinner

2009-01-24T12:52:00.006Z

I was reading my younger sis blog and she said that she loves the Petronas ads and one of her favourite ones is last Chinese New Year's one with the poor little orphaned boy... being curious, I clicked on the link that she provided to see what it's all about...

Please go home for reunion dinner, if you can...

I haven't been home for reunion dinner for 7 years in a row already now... in all those years, have I made sufficient efforts to go home?? Or have I been to engrossed in my pursuit for materialism that I have forgotten the true meaning and symbolism of reunion dinner?? Have I ever thought about those who wants to but does not have a family to go back to for reunion...

Perhaps I should have made more efforts to go home for reunion dinner... I'm sure my mum misses having the whole family at home for Chinese New Year... and how much it would have meant to her for everyone to be having dinner together...

I'm sorry MiMi... and I promise you that next year, I WILL MAKE THE EFFORTS to go home for Chinese New Year... I don't want to look back and regret years down the road that I made the decision not to go home... even though I could have...

Farewell, my friend...

2009-01-23T23:56:00.000Z

I can't believe that it's almost 9 years since I first met you... I could still remember that I was with Emilia at the activities room during my ASEAN orientation and you were reading the paper... Back then, we were just acquaintances... and it was only nearing to the end of JC that I remember it was during those massive late night gatherings under block C with lots of people that I got to know you better...

We both left Singapore and never did it cross my mind then that it wasn't the end of our friendship... I remember you calling me at home one day telling me that you were going to LSE as well and that we should meet up in London... and you were indeed one of the first few people that hung out with when I first came to London...

Looking back now... I must say that we have done a lot of things together... we've been friends at college, we were hostel mates, we went to uni together and did the same course... we have also been housemates, we have travelled together to Venice, Milan, Budapest, Paris, Greece and many other places... we studied and graduated together, we went on to be colleagues and studied for our actuarial qualification together...

And through all these times, you were there to help me out through my studies, my exams, my projects, my interviews, my career.... giving me encouragements when I started doubting myself, giving me advice when I'm planning to do something stupid... you were also there for me through my break-ups and failed relationships... you were the one who were always telling me off for being negative and not believing in things... you were the one who have always reminded me that "LIFE IS GOOD"!!!

I guess I have always taken it for granted that you will always be around...

But now, you are to embark on a whole new journey... it's time for you to leave... you may be done with London, but you will certainly not be done with me!!!

Thank you for everything that you've done for me... you have been a really wonderful friend to me and I really do appreciate our friendship... I hope that even though we will be miles apart, our friendship will not be weathered down... and our paths will cross again in the near future...

I wish you best of luck and no matter what happens and no matter where you are... always remember that you have a friend in me... this is something that distance and time can't take away from us.... OUR FRIENDSHIP!!!

I will miss you! Take care and I wish you joy and happiness in your new life in HK... Farewell, my friend....

The big freeze

2009-01-12T21:48:00.002Z

It has been a really cold winter this year!!! Temperatures were down to minus 10 in central London...

Initially... the canals near my house were frozen...

Then even the lake at Canada Water was frozen man....

COLDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!

Yuni's Birthday!

2009-01-08T20:51:00.000Z

This year, Yuni was in London on her birthday which is on Christmas Eve... I really wanted to make it special for her since I don't get to celebrate her birthday with her that often... wanted to bring her to Aaya, the new Japanese place by Alan Yau's brother... but unfortunately it was closed on Christmas Eve!!

I've tried a few other restaurants but many are closed... in the end we had to settle for Ran... well, don't get me wrong... I do like Ran a lot... but I wanted to bring her some place more special!!

Anyway, I hope she enjoyed the food at Ran!

Sister pictures... hehehe... don't think she looks like me though...

I also got her some little cakes from Selfridges... initially I wanted to surprise her at midnight... but her train was so delayed that by the time she got to my flat it was 3am already!!

May all your wishes come true dear... if anyone deserves it, I think it's you!!!

Well, happy birthday!! I hope you had a good time!! :) And hopefully, 2009 will be a great year for you...

Back to work

2009-01-05T20:27:00.003Z

It's back to work at the office today and surprise surprise... I walked out of the door to be greeted by snow!!! The first snowflakes of 2009 for me...

Had to brave the cold and snow to get to work... though it was a pretty sight with the snow gathering on the small field that I pass by everyday to get to the tube station... didn't have my camera with me so couldn't snap a shot...

Oh well... more freeze to come as weather forecast predicts that the cold is here to stay all the week and there might be even more snow on Wednesday or Thursday...

Brrrrrrrrrr....

2008: My year in review

2008-12-31T23:21:00.005Z

JANUARY

Clare came to visit all the way from Australia... after leaving the UK for a year...
I watched my first football match in the UK after I've been here for more than 5 years!
Started our biannual shopping trip to Barcelona (although now I'm not sure it's worth going anymore considering that the £/€ exchange rate now is 1-1 already!!)
I made a promise to myself to walk away... and I'm glad that I did...

FEBRUARY

One of my cousins from HK came to London for a business trip... I'm quite glad that since my trip to HK last year, we kept in touch and they would always let me know that there are in town...
Made pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year!! =) hehehe... thanks to Zhi Rui!!

MARCH

Bade farewell to Chong... things may not be as rosy as one would expect, but I really do hope that everything will work out eventually for you...
We started our weekly Sports Day and I'm proud to say that it's still going strong... it has been a good year for me in terms of exercising!!!
Booked a spa weekend with Sook Leen and it was really good... probably should do it more often and pamper myself...
I'm glad that we both made the decision to try things out... thank you dear, for giving me the opportunity to be part of your life and for being part of my life...

APRIL

Espana extravaganza... and not Barcelona this time!!
Went travelling with new faces... Yan Bing, Wally and Shandip... it was good fun at Spain...

MAY

May Bank holidays road trips!!! Never knew Britain could be that beautiful... Cornwall was amazingly breathtaking... also went to Salisbury and Stonehenge with Sook Leen and Grace...
Summer BBQs!!!!
Watched the famous Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain performed

JUNE

Home sweet home!!! Haven't been home for the past two years... and there's really no place like home...
Grace's wedding!!! My first experience as a bridesmaid!! =)
Bon Jovi's Concert - Prior to this, I didn't know a single song from them... but I did my homework and at the concert... surprise surprise... I actually knew more songs than any of my friends... hahaha...

JULY

My first experience of a live poker tournament event... although I was there to support Bin Bin, Nav and Drakey... and not to play myself!!! It was an interesting night and I now know someone who had won a poker tournament before!! Kudos to Bin Bin!!!
Yi Hua came to visit with her family and I accommodated all 6 of them in my tiny flat!! hahahah....

AUGUST

Went to Brussels for the second time... it's a nice little city... but hopefully, I won't be there for the 3rd time... hehehe...
Olympics, Olympics, Olympics... yes, the craze here in London was unbelievable... my colleagues were counting the number of golds that team GB was raking... sadly, Malaysia didn't take home any gold... but hopefully... one day we will!! I truly believe in the Malaysia Boleh spirit!!
Home again.... for the 2nd time in the year?!?!?! Hahaha... I don't go home for 2 years and all of a sudden, I'm home twice a year...
Well, this time... it's for Cheau Yann's wedding... and I was one of her 姐妹!!

SEPTEMBER

Went to see a fortune teller... and she said some very interesting stuff... but... at the end of the day... I firmly believe that my life is in my own hands, and I'm not about to make this a self-fulfilling prophecy!!!
Met up with Li Leng, one of my high school friend which I've not seen for about 7-8 years prior to that... and we went for a makan trip to Ipoh together with Grace and hubby...
Australia!!! Haven't been on a family holiday for so long!!! As we are all grown up now and have our own lives now... I don't know when we'll be able to have another one in the near future... the good old days...
GIRO - my first overseas conference... made a couple of new friends, did some networking, enjoyed business travelling, visited southern Italy including Pompeii, Sorrento, Capri and Positano... felt more like a holiday than a work trip!! =)

OCTOBER

My birthday!!! Thank you dear, for making it so special for me... I had a wonderful time and it meant a lot to me!!
Surprise birthday trip to Madeira!!
Am officially a qualified actuary with my 3-year anniversary of working...
Made some of the most important and difficult decisions in my life... made the decision to buy a flat... even put down a holding deposit for Maple Quays... but in the end, I also made the decision to walk away from the deal... I don't know whether I will regret it as I walk past it everyday... it was such a painful experience for me!! God knows how many people I consulted!!!

NOVEMBER

My first business trip... to Bermuda...
And I even flew by business class... now that is travelling with style...
Found out that one of my very close friend is planning to leave London for good... felt a bit sad as it will mean that things will be quite different and our friendship may drift away... but I sincerely wish you all the best and I will definitely miss having you around!!!
Had a not very nice experience at work... but I'm determined not to let it affect me...

DECEMBER

Yuni's visit!!! I'm really so glad that Yuni came over to spend Christmas with me...
Went to Nice with Yuni and two of her housemates... it was an interesting experience to travel with them...
For the first time in many many years, I sat at home to countdown on New Year's eve and watched the fireworks on TV instead of being out...

Well... whether I like it or not, the clock keeps on ticking... so GOODBYE 2008... and WELCOME 2009!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

A not so Christmassy Christmas!!

2008-12-27T22:55:00.003Z

Yeap... this Christmas is probably one of the most un-Christmassy Christmas that I ever had in London... hehehe... not that I'm complaining... it was still good fun nevertheless...

We started off the night with Szechuan spicy hotpot dinner... hahaha... since there were only a few of us around this Christmas and it was easy to just have hotpot...

The few of us who were around this Christmas... and my younger sis came to spend the Christmas with me too!!! (I had a great time with her... so glad that she came!!! More pictures and posts to come!)

Yummy food cooking in the hotpot... on a cold winter Christmas, it was really good... and I think it was as good as the hotpot that we had in the restaurants!!

Everyone in action...

And after dinner... we actually played Win, Lose or Draw!!! Hahaha... surprisingly our impromptu preparation turned out to be good fun... we managed to entertain ourselves for more than 4 hours with the game!!!

And the conclusion? Bin Bin is not the only one whose animal (dog, dragon, cat etc..) drawings all look the same... Peter Tan's animals were equally bad... and my hammer looked like a dress to everyone?!?!?

Christmas Parties!!!

2008-12-20T13:11:00.007Z

"Level 5" Group Christmas Party!!

@ The Langley, Covent Garden

Though the food wasn't fantastic... it was quite fun... especially when some people drink a tad too much...

Say cheese!!

********************

Then, there was my department's Christmas dinner...

@ Vinopolis, Southwark

Don't know why but there was this bizarre performance of this woman hanging on a sash throughout the dinner!

Food could have been better, especially the main course... but oh well, it's the Vinopolis, and they are more famous for their wine and not food!

I always end up eating too much during December festive season... feeling very very bloated and fat now... bleh...

Intentions

2008-12-19T22:54:00.001Z

I don't know what your intentions are... but somehow, I don't think they are good... so please, stay away!

Bin Bin's Birthday

2008-12-13T13:33:00.012Z

We celebrated Bin Bin's birthday last weekend and went to.......... Bentley Oyster Bar & Grill....... even though Bin Bin doesn't eat oysters!!! Well... Mr Yeo organised it.... and he wanted to have oysters.... so.... that's why we ended there!

I love oysters as well... although I can understand why a lot of people are not a big fan... An Associate Director once even told me that he thinks oysters taste like phlegm!!! What??!!?!!

Anyway... apart from oysters... they had quite a good selection of seafood and meat as well... and the wagyu beef fillet served with stilton garlic butter that I had was quite good...

Mr Yeo was trying to scare Nav with the oysters... hahahah... only Bin Bin and Nav don't eat oysters...

Karen, me and Bin Bin...

And of course... a birthday cake for the birthday girl... although Bin Bin complained that she had to go and choose and collect her own cake... hehehe.... I did offer to get the cake, but Mr Yeo said it was sorted!

Happy Birthday girl! May all your wishes come true!!!!

The big family picture... :)

Splurge...

2008-12-07T22:11:00.004Z

Was supposed to go out to Oxford Circus to shop for a birthday gift for Nav... But he was undecided what he wanted for his birthday... and with many retailers already offering pre-Christmas offers on top of the Christmas shopping crowd...

I ENDED UP SPLURGING AND BUYING SOMETHING FOR MYSELF INSTEAD!!!

Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh...

I'm such a shopaholic...

Sigh...

This is what I bought...

A Gucci wallet...

Oh... I absolutely love the classy buckle...

And the smooth leather...

Sigh... but... I needed a new wallet... because the one that I'm using currently is torn and I have been using it for the last 3 years... and I had a £50 voucher from Selfridges that everyone gave me for my birthday... and it doesn't help that I have been working late lately as I always tend to shop when I'm stressed... just to pamper myself a bit...

FINE... I know I'm making excuses...

(feeling guilty)

^_^

bleh..

Impossible

2008-12-04T20:28:00.005Z

It is really proving to be impossible to find a nice flat within 5 minutes walking distance of the Canada Water tube station that is affordable to people who don't earn a 6 figure salary man!

Since I have been having problems with my water boiler and my landlord can't seem to fix it, I thought I'll find a new flat when my lease ends at the end of this month... I have been viewing numerous flats and all there are out there... are flats which are old, tired and without a good kitchen and shower... and the good ones... they get snapped up so quickly and at an exorbitant price...

I saw this ad on the rightmove website which was added a week ago for a flat at Water Gardens... and by the time I called, the agent told me that it was already taken and the asking price was a whopping £310 a week! Hmmmm...

And then, I went and view this flat at Pump House which I really like... I put in an offer for £270 a week, and I have been told by the agent that the landlord received another offer for £280 a week... so obviously the landlord didn't accept my offer...

I mean... everyone tell me that the house prices are falling and rent prices will follow suit... it's a tenant's market now and landlords are desperate to rent out their flats... why am I not seeing this???

Aaaarrrggggghhhhhh...

This is just proving to be impossible... do I need to move out of Canada Water?? Sigh...

Christmas Wish List

2008-12-03T00:00:00.005Z

Have been eating lunch at my desk these days because it's too cold to go outside... and so while I was surfing the net, I came across this gorgeous bag!

100% Napa leather body, trim, handles, and comfortable shoulder strap
Removable laptop sleeve is generously padded for protection
Fan-fold section for files and papers
Lots of internal pockets for organization
Convenient easy access front pocket for smaller items
Designed for laptops up to 15” or 14.1" widescreen
Colorful striped twill lining
Rear strap for optional attachment to upright rolling luggage

Drooling over this bag now... but it's quite expensive... I scoured the web pages and the cheapest that I could find is a whopping $127... and with the GBP so weak against the US Dollar... sigh... belated birthday or Christmas gift anyone?? :P

My 1st Business Trip

2008-11-30T23:06:00.003Z

This is my first proper business trip since I started working and I was sent to the exotic Bermuda Island!!! :)

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory. Bermuda has a highly affluent economy, with a large financial sector and tourism industry giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005.

Since it was my 1st business trip, I was a bit overwhelmed... luckily one of my colleagues in Bermuda sorted out all the work visa and accommodation for me! Phew...

He even came to the airport and drove me all the way to my hotel!! He checked me into the Hamilton Princess Hotel, which is one of the popular hotel for business.

Well... although it's not one of the many beach resorts in Bermuda, I guess it's quite pretty and nice in its own way... and it's closeby to the office so that I could walk to work and to the client's place!

Since I was quite exhausted from the travelling... I had room service for dinner... gosh, the luxury of having your dinner brought to your doorstep... definitely one of the perks while you're on business!! hehehehe....

Bermuda is an offshore financial centre, which results from its low direct taxation on personal or corporate income. As such, there are large numbers of leading international insurance, reinsurance, investment funds and special purpose vehicles companies that are based in Bermuda, making the territory one of the world's largest reinsurance centres.

I mean, on the morning where I walked to the office from my hotel... which is about 10 minutes walk away... I actually passed by 5 different brokers/reinsurers!

Bermuda is probably one island where you can actually find an abundance of actuaries!!

Since I was only there for a short business trip, it was quite an intense day... I was up at the office by 8.30am and didn't end until the client kicked us out of their office at about 6.30pm!!!

After the long day, I decided to go out and explore the restaurants around the city instead of having room service... I did a quick search on the internet and found this supposedly famous pub which is within walking distance of the hotel...

Tried some local dishes... Bermudian fish soup and their famous rockfish marinated in Gosling Black Seal (a type of local rum)...

I was really extremely lucky as I found out 3 days before my trip that Tuesday was a public holiday in Bermuda! (I was supposed to go from Monday to Wednesday)... which meant that I actually had one free day to explore Bermuda on the Company's expense... hehehehe.....

So on Tuesday morning, I set off to do some sightseeing...

Hamilton City Hall and Arts Centre...

Flatt's Village... apparently this is where my colleague stays... I guess the life of an expat here is not too bad!!!

And one thing that I notice... is that all the houses in Bermuda look exactly the same... they have the same architecture and designs... the only thing that differentiate your house from your neighbours is that you paint it in a different colour!! Which is quite cute considering that it made the whole place very colourful!

My colleague suggested that I ride a scooter to St George's town... it is quite common for tourist to rent a scooter to do sightseeing... but I was too afraid of riding on my own.. so I took a bus instead...

St George's town is a scenic UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest, continually inhabited British settlement in the New World. It boasts small winding streets with typical British Colonial architecture with fountains, gardens and squares, cobbled streets and plazas.

But unfortunately, since it was a public holiday in Bermuda... everything was closed!!! Boo hoo hoo... oh well, still I walked around and did "window" sightseeing of the Town hall, St George's Harbour, Somer's Garden, King's Square, St Peter's Church etc.

Since there wasn't much left to do... I took the bus to the beach... Horseshoe Bay beach is arguably one of the most beautiful and popular beach in Bermuda...

It's like a picture from the postcard... really awesome...

I really love this beach... the water was so blue... yet, it's clear and sparkling... the sand was really soft and had a pinkish hue to it (it's one of the characteristics of Bermudian beaches... and I think I remember reading somewhere that it's because of the crushed sea shells and corals that the sand is pinkish!)

Then there are the limestone cliffs that rise up on both sides of the beach which present a really picturesque setting... the weather that day was also fantastic... blue skies...

I ended up spending the whole afternoon by the beach... hehehe... the rest of the team for this project was in Hannover (Germany) and since it wasn't a public holiday in Germany they had to work and I was supposed to dial in for a conference call with them... I actually took the call by the beach... :P

Couldn't resist taking a pic of this cute little boy who was trying to build a sandcastle...

The hotel that I was staying in had a sister hotel which is near to the Horseshoe Bay... the hotel that I stayed in was in the Hamilton city... which is a more practical hotel for business while the sister hotel is more of a resort as it has a golf course and access to the beach...

And since I was a guest in the sister hotel, I could enjoy some of the facilities here... which I took advantage of since I need a place to freshen up after my afternoon by the beach...

The hotel also provides a courtesy ferry ride back to the other hotel in Hamilton...

Thought I'll take the ferry instead for a change and enjoy the breeze...

I also managed to have a quick tour of the Hamilton city before the it gets dark... well, on the first day... by the time I got off work it was already dark and so I didn't manage to walk around town at all...

Views from the pier and downtown city...

The Parliament House...

Sun set at the Harbourfront Restaurant where I had my dinner...

And the Barcardi headquarters which is on my way back to the hotel...

All in all, I guess I did quite a lot and made the most of my one day "holiday" in Bermuda!!! Hahahaha... the next day... it was hectic at work again...

And oh... just remembered something... which I found really funny... apparently in Bermuda, the official attire for men is BERMUDAS??!!??!! I found it hilarous to see men in bermudas, shirt, tie, suit jacket and knee high socks... even the guys at the office and at my clients wore this assemble lor... sorry the pic is not very good as I was trying to steal this shot without anyone noticing... hehehe...

And before I end... the highlight of my trip??? BUSINESS CLASS flight back to London... my 1st ever business class flight... and I'm absolutely bawled over the service that you get... my flight was landing at 6.30am in the morning and I had to catch a train down to Chelmsford to work at another client site, hence my manager allowed me to book a business flight...

The BA business class lounge... where you have unlimited free flow of drinks (alcoholic and non alcoholic), fruits, cheese, crisps, sandwiches etc. while you wait for the plane... the lounge also has various type of magazines and newspapers for you if you're bored... there's also free wi-fi for you to connect to if you want to surf the net...

Then on the flight... you get a seat which can be fully extended into a bed, plush cotton quilt, wash bag containing Elemis in-flight skincare and your own reading light.

There's also a kitchen stocked with a selection of hot and cold snacks and beverages... there's even luxurious cakes in the kitchen for you to eat in between meals!! And the in-flight dining is excellent... you get a 3-course meal... mind you, it's a proper meal with proper cutlery... not like those that you meal tray that you get on economy... I had a cous cous smoked salmon salad for starters, medium-rare beef fillet with garlic herb butter for mains and caramel cheesecake for dessert! Even the breakfast was great lor... you get a selection of fruits, yoghurt, bacon roll, muffins, croissant, fresh juices etc.

I think this is the first time I ever finished off all my food on the plane... and with flights like this even my motion sickness was absent!!! :P

And that's not all... when I landed at Gatwick.. there was an arrivals lounge as well... I could take a shower there and have breakfast before I actually get to work!!! And the arrivals lounge is like a hotel... I guess with the price that you're paying for a business class ticket... you get the luxury services....

It was really an eye-opening experience for me, I must say!!! But hehehe... sorry I didn't take any pictures while I was on the flight... didn't want to look like I didn't belong there... heheheeh...