will i am's delayed diary

By the third day of CNY, The Tribe would be back from my BIL's hometown of Melaka. First stop would be at my house to pai nien . All of us had breakfast together-- a mix of wantan noodles, nasi lemak , and keropok lekor . Usually, mum would cook lunch but this year, Apollo's mum invited us over for lunch. She prepared roast chicken, braised chicken feet with sea cucumber, fish maw soup, stir-fried vegetables, soy sauce tofu, and sweet and sour fish. Mum supplemented with curry chicken. Apollo grew mushrooms for three days at home, so he was thrilled when we said, "Let's go for coffee!". Unfortunately, it took us a while to find a place that was open. Gave Coffee Smith a try, a cafe from Taiwan. The interior was a mix of different textures-- wood, zinc, brick, and chipboard. And most of the furniture was mismatched. Guess they couldn't make up their minds. We sat at the large timber table near the entrance, and the automatic door kept opening at the sli...

The second day of CNY was reserved for our day trip to Bagan Sungai Burong, a fishing village located in Sungai Besar district. Right after English mass at St. Ignatius Church, we drove out via LATAR Expressway. Google Maps gave me an estimate of 2 hours, but we took an extra 45 minutes to arrive. Upon arrival, we were welcomed by the two naughtiest of my nephews. The rest were busy gambling. The young ones raided my mum's handbag for red packets! They even demanded some from me: Wild Nephew 1: Give me an ang pao! Moi: I'm not married, I have none to give. Wild Nephew 2: But you're wearing a ring! Give me! Give me! That's just two of them. There were a total of 14 nephews and nieces. Yikes. I didn't pay too much attention to the kids as they were obviously starved for attention! I left them to roughhouse with my brother. Hehe. My mum wanted to see the boats, so the kids brought us to the riverside to take a look. Ecstatic that they were given the ho...

Every year, we celebrate the first day of the Lunar Chinese New Year at church. The Year of the Rooster was no exception. To get the best seats, we arrived an hour earlier. The other benefit of arriving before the throng is that it is much easier to take photos. The interior of the church was decked out in red, with a couplet flanking the crucifix above the altar-- something about the abundance of God's grace. The red carpet from Christmas still ran across the middle of the church, but it was now matched with red lanterns. The nativity scene was replaced with a set of oriental table and chairs, red cloth, and cherry blossoms. Outside was more cherry blossoms but there was something extra-- giant golden eggs. The whole morning I was on my feet running around, helping out the Hospitality Ministry with the mandarin oranges distribution and ushering parishioners to the pews. Felt like a record turnout this year. The lion dance was kinda short this year because by the time that we had...

Too soon, just way too soon to lose a valuable member of the BFF. Though silent, you were always bursting with creativity. Never quite delved beneath the  surface of your happy-go-lucky demeanour to discover what turmoil lived there. Your departure has truly left a void that cannot be ignored. F, may you find peace returned to nature and the heavens. R.I.P.

CNY eve is always reserved for last minute cleaning. I swept and mopped the floor. Cleaned my room and washed the car. Did all this while mum was busy in the kitchen preparing for reunion dinner. Mum suddenly declared that she needed to grab some stuff from AEON. I thought I could collect my mum's supplementary credit card from the Equine Park branch, but the branch was swamped with customers. Last minute banking. Plenty of last minute shoppers too. KH worked that day, but there was an early release. He came all the way from KL to Taman Equine to look for me. Brought him for a quick lunch at Spice of Penang . Quite a crappy place actually. Avoid it. KH went back to my place for a short visit before leaving for home. This year, it was only the three of us at the reuion dinner-- mum, my brother, and I. SK FFK-ed to spend CNY in Linggi with CK. Because there were only a few of us, she dished out a variety of items at smaller portions. The dinner table did look a little empty, bu...

How many times did you lou sang before the Lunar Chinese New Year? 2. How many times did you lou sang during the Lunar Chinese New Year? 2. What type of yu sang do you prefer? Jellyfish . Now it's your turn.

Something felt amiss went I arrived at the OUG morning market one fateful day. Traffic was surprisingly smoother. According to universal law, the traffic gets worse during the countdown to the Lunar Chinese New Year. Petty traders at several locations were missing and some coffee shops weren't open. Crazy! Then it made sense. I saw clumps of DBKL enforcement officers near the Market Place OUG. As I approached, I realized that a huge canopy had been raised out front. Some camera crew were filming. To my dismay, I spied Jabba the Hut making a speech. Shocking! But as I got a closer look, I realized that I was mistaken. It was actually our Federal Territories Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan. The esteemed minister was there to officiate the opening of the Market Place OUG and tell the predominantly Chinese voters there to open their eyes, and use their brains to think. Please love Barisan Nasional because Barisan Nasional loves you. Yes, we know . I didn't stay to listen more....

The 10-year wedding anniversary is traditionally called the tin or aluminum anniversary. On the modern list, it is referred to as the diamond jewelry anniversary. Either way, it is the "first of the major milestone anniversaries," according to About.com. Yes, happy tin anniversary to KH and I! Tin. Aluminium. Lol. Can't believe it has been ten years already. Here's a quick summary: Started in 2007. LDR till 2012. Nearly got married in Vancouver in 2014. 10th anniversary in 2017. To celebrate our ten years together, KH arranged made dinner reservations at  Fuego, Troika Sky Dining . When we met, he was lugging a Nescafe Dolce Gusto machine that his colleagues bought him as a farewell gift ( it's gonna be his third job since relocating back to KL ). Troika Sky Dining was a new experience for both of us. When the elevator opened on floor 23A, we were greeted by a reservation desk that served the many restaurants on that floor. Fuego is located at an o...

Not sure if you've noticed, but the new condominium along Jalan Klang Lama ( before the Taman Desa turn off if you're coming from MV ) is home to three food and beverage outlets. If you're into ice cream, there's Inside Scoop. Looking for caffeine? Go to Little People . I had visited that cafe with Sharky and KH some months back. Lastly is Kimi-Ya , a Japanese restaurant. Stopped there after church one Sunday afternoon just to give it a try. I slowed my approach because a missed turning would mean having to double back to the U-turn near MV. Recently the building management also started a free valet service for customers. Like most Japanese restaurants, the interior of Kimi-Ya was simple and used a lot of wood accents. For my first visit, I ordered out of their spring  kaiseki menu that featured Amberjack. I was not disappointed with their chef's seasonal creations. Hover your mouse over the photos to get a description. Zensai: Sashimi: Yakimono: Nim...