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Showing posts from May, 2018

Seat of Power

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Remember the qipao that mum bought on the first day of Chinese New Year? It was specifically sourced for the "2018 Chinese New Year Grand Gathering" that was organized by the Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia or more commonly known as HuaZhong. As it was a major event with our beloved PM ( ex-PM at the time of publishing ) as the guest of honour, mum had to go out quite early in the morning. While mum was out, KH and I had our skank session at home. Got KH to sit at the edge of the bed, while I saw on him. Must say that I never had such an experience on any 'chair' before! A much needed release. Picked mum up at around 1:00 PM. Helped her take some photos in front of the giant banner with Najib's head. She told me that she met Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan at the event.  Tea time was a carb fiesta with miku , nian gao coated with crushed peanuts, and bakzhang! At night, I treated Sis to an ageLOC spa session. LumiSpa, Galvanic Spa, the works! 

Sister and Staycation

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Years ago, I bought a cool blue and white shirt from an online merchant. The sizing was a bit off actually-- I couldn't button it all the way up. During my Vancouver trip in 2014, I brought it along, but by that time, I couldn't button it up at all! Opps. This year, I dug it out from an old suitcase, threw it in the washer, and decided to give it another try. Gosh, I could finally fit into it. Thank you Nu Skin TR90! So, I wore that to work on casual Friday. That Friday, I got a FB message from Nicky05's darling who had spotted me at my workplace. He recognized me from my shirt ( I had posted in FB earlier in the day ). Turns out that we both work in the same office complex. Such a small world. I ate lunch with SK at Bankara Ramen , Avenue K. CNY was still heavy in the air because while we were eating, a lion dance was going on in the cramped restaurant! Then it was coffee at Juan Valdez . To celebrate my sister's birthday, we had a movie night at IOI Mall. For

Canine CNY IV: Bacon, BFF, & Birthday

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The Tribe made a date with mum and I to have a porky breakfast at  Bacon and Balls , Happy Garden. Although we tried to order a variety of stuff, we ended up with loads of eggs and bacon on the table. Just different combinations of it. Thank goodness we asked them to omit the bread. But I did like the Signature Meatball Platter. Platter is not a suitable word to use actually. It's actually a tasting plate of four types of meatballs-- pork, chicken, beef, and lamb. Halfway through breakfast, the neighbouring vegetarian shop had a lion dance. We went out to take a look at the 'breakfast entertainment'. The lion dance troupe looked like they forgot their morning coffee. So lethargic. And the red crackers went out so quickly that it might as well had been a sneeze. In the afternoon, had a coffee and cake session with KH, Apollo, and  Don . Met at MTree Hotel in Puchong Jaya, not a place I would have ever visited if not for Don's recommendation. There's a cafe

Canine CNY III: Lovely Lunch

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By CNY3, we were back in church because it was a Sunday. Sis and the two monsters arrived at my place early for breakfast. A favourite for the monsters was my maternal uncle's miku . Each of them ate two! And they still wanted more. After church, we went to lunch at Apollo's home, at the invitation of his mum. A feast was prepared for us-- a total of ten dishes! Fish maw egg drop soup. Egg roll. Stir-fried jicama. Curry chicken. Stir-fried vegetables. Fried pomfret. Roasted chicken. Vietnamese rice paper rolls. Deep-fried meat dumplings. Braised chicken with sea cucumber. All of us retreated to the living room like beached whales after that huge meal. The monsters dug out all of Apollo's party games: Ice Breaking Save The Penguin ( Little Monster's favourite ) Pop Up Pirate ( simple and fast ) Falling Tumbling Monkeys ( takes ages to set up )

Canine CNY II: Family and Food

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On the second day of CNY, we made a trip to Perak to visit relatives. Supposed to start our journey bright and early, but we were delayed by an hour because mum overslept! A very rare occurrence. In usual cases, she would be so worked up over the trip that she would hardly get any sleep. The whole night long she would be going up and down, packing this and that. Our first stop was at my maternal uncle's place in Pekan Baru, Teluk Intan. Had my breakfast there of yummy Anson CCF. And as luck would have it, my maternal cousin from Bagan Sungai Burung came in an Estima filled to the brim with my boisterous nephews and nieces. Definitely livened things up. My aunt prepared lunch, and we ate before leaving to visit my mum's younger sister. I don't remember ever going to her house. By that time, the heat was so unforgiving that we nearly melted. The third house we in our list was my dad's sister-in-law. Whenever we visit her, it's usually in the morning, but this

Mall Celebrities: Wefie Winston

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Spotted cutie Wefie Winston at the Gardens Mall, taking a wefie with his sister during the first day of CNY. Fair and lovely, no? And a loving sibling with a smile that lights up his face. Wouldn't mind taking a wefie with him in bed. Bwahahaha.

Canine CNY I: Church and Chow

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Bright and early on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I put on my new red Private Structure briefs, red gingham shirt, and a pair of black slacks. Went downstairs to greet my mum and brother with Chinese New Year greetings, and got first few packets of ang pao . We got to church a bit earlier than usual to help out. Mum was with the liturgy group preparing for the Rite of Commemoration of Ancestors, while I was with the hospitality group, getting ready for the distribution of mandarin oranges. The turnout was huge too, so we added many chairs outside of the church. With the cooperation and coordination of all the ministries, the mass went smoothly, and it ended with a lion dance at the entrance of the church. We went looking for lunch at Midvalley Megamall because most of its shops are usually open, even on the first day of Chinese New Year. As it was already late, and we just chose the first restaurant that looked decent-- Enoshima , along the boulevard. Not expensive

Canine CNY 0: Doggy Dinner

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The Year of the Dog in 2018 was celebrated with much feasting as tradition dictates. And to feast, one must make preparations. Since the morning of the eve Chinese New Year, mum, Bro, and I were out of the house sourcing for the freshest ingredients. Mum showed me a picture of a cute dog-themed lou sang that she received via What's App, so we decided to recreate that for reunion dinner. Drew up a list of ingredients and went shopping at AEON Taman Equine. Got all we wanted, and then proceeded to the nearby Fun and Cheer to complete our CNY decorations. Dog-themed stuff were already going for 50% off. Back home, mum started on the cooking, and I figured out how to assemble the lou sang . As usual, we had 3 dishes per person: Snoopy Lou Sang Stewed sea cucumber with shiitake mushrooms, pig tendon, and pig stomach Pak cham kai Fried Threadfin Salad Pan-fried prawns Steamed pomfret Stir-fried garlic chives Lotus root soup Just a little bite from every dish would

Finding Flowers

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At the last minute, mum and I went hunting for CNY flowers near OUG. The weather was absurdly hot, making the visit to the flower nursery a real enjoyable one. I had no qualms getting out of the car with my hoodie on. For the benefit of the CNY shoppers, the nursery 'augmented the assets' of the plants to ensure a maximum 'prosperity attraction' index. Baby pineapples with gold wrapping; bamboo pyramids topped with choi san ; flower pots with all sorts of lucky charm embellishments... You get the picture. Although there were a whole lot of varieties there, we left with the classic chrysanthemums. That short trip for flowers nearly melted the scalp off our heads. so mum suggested that we go for some cendol . Found a decent food truck under a tree, and we got our hit of ice shavings in syrupy santan soup. Couldn't resist ordering a plate of rojak as well. Ah, bliss.

Pasar Politics

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With just less than a week before CNY, the  OUG morning market was a hive of activity. Even BN Seputeh tried to 'show their concern' by organizing a community event on Jalan Hujan Rahmat 2. They commandeered half of the road to put up a stage and many tables. The displaced market vendors must have been so pleased. Hampers were given out to elderly residents and those with disabilities. And of course there was free food for the public. Senator Datuk Mustapa Kamal also 'turun' padang to distribute free reading glasses ( bet they can detect fake news ). He tried to help mum to get a suitable pair but none they had were suitable. Countless cameras were clicking with his every 'charitable' move. Come evening, I joined SK at a party with her ex-colleagues. A pot luck with lots of food. There was grilled chicken wings, char siew , vinegar pork knuckles, savoury rice, and a birthday cake.  And booze too. Someone brought their kids along, so we even had an