In Anticipation... Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!! Hope that 2011 will be a fantastic one for you all...

I've been a bit busy with work to pay any attention to blogging. I have tonnes of photos to edit too but haven't had time to work on it.

Wishing everyone a great year ahead....

Merry Christmas!!!

The Christmas tree is up and decorated.

The dogs are ready to party too...

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Blessed Christmas & Happy New Year!!!!

Twelve Days to Christmas...

Wow... It has been a busy December.

The Christmas decorations are up and I've been going around to take some photos...

Here is my favourite one so far.

Twelve days to go... Have you done your Christmas shopping?

Don't Skimp On That Filter

This certainly was a relief...

Never underestimate the significance of getting a UV filter for your lens.. I was glad that this protected my lens.

How did this happen? My "free" Canon bag strap broke earlier and it fell on the ground. The impact caused the crack.

Anyway, planning to get a Hoya UV filter to replace this.

All I can say is *PHEW*!!!

Shadows

I've been quite lazy to blog lately.

Looking at these photos isn't going to help either...

Cheap Eats @ Whampoa Drive

On my final day in Lion City, we both finally were able to find the hawker centre near our hotel.

Somehow, we both regretted not having gone to the place earlier...

EV's sister recommended Whampoa Drive's hawker centre to us for its famous rojak. We never got to try it as it opened at night. We both decided to pay a visit for brunch on our last day.

This was the first thing I spotted...

Universal Fun @ Lion City - Day 3

Finally.. I'm able to blog about my day at Universal Studio, Singapore.

It was a really really fun day.

Yellow

Just a preview of things to come...

I'm still in the midst of editing my photos... So many...

Universal Fun @ Lion City - Day 2

After a restless night, we had a relaxing late morning breakfast at the nearby Tuck Shoppe, which is just down the road from our hotel.

The cafe had the usual food - toast, soft-boiled eggs, curry/chicken rice and even wantan mee.

Structures

Just my attempt at learning to take some pictures of structures...

This is what I saw while passing under the Esplanade Drive to get to the Merlion.

Universal Fun @ Lion City - Day 1.5

After dumping our bags at the hotel, we decided to grab a quick bite before deciding our next destination.

We dropped by the Balestier Road Market which is just down the road from our hotel to grab a quick bite. I decided to order chicken rice and kway chap. I had kway chap when I was in Kuching previously and liked it.

Universal Fun @ Lion City - Day 1

I'm still editing my numerous photos.

Some of you have inquired about the size of the room I was staying while in S'pore. Anyway, I'm uploading a few pics here for you to have a look. It is quite hard to estimate the size in images but I will describe it in words. :P

Best Pop Corn Ever!!

We discovered this pop corn while shopping at Hershey's World at Resort World.

There was a significant queue at this shop. When I went in, it turned out to be  Garrett Popcorn.

The shop had cheese popcorn as well as some other interesting favours such as butter/plain, pecan and cashew on top of the usual caramel.

It is MARVELOUS!!


I love the savory taste of the cheese popcorn. If ever, you're visiting Universal Studios or Sentosa, do get a bag of these.... it is really worth the wait.

I went for a medium bag of Mixed Chicago - cheese + caramel.

Room with a view... of sorts

A short post as I'm blogging from my mobile..

My hotel room is small but comfy. It's one of the new budget hotels around SG. I often wonder if the hotels in Japan are smaller?

Anyway, its good training for me should I plan a trip to Japan next year...

Photo-shooting has its ups and downs due to the cloudy & hazy weather. I often wished I bought some filters but hopefully can be fixed in post-production.

Lots of photographers around...

COWs Update - 14 months

Time passes by so quickly.

I could remember almost a year ago when the little COWs were just learning how to adapt to their new environment.

Now, they can do almost "adult" tasks...

Need a Break...

I can't wait for the weekend to come...

It's absolutely tiring to wait for the long weekend to come by. Rusty is tired of waiting too.

Anyway, before I forget; here's to wishing our Hindu friends a Happy Deepavali and Happy Holidays to everyone else! Don't go overboard on the muruku..

Light Dinner @ Italiannies, Empire Subang

It's funny but true, you CAN have light dinners at Italiannies.

It was just one of those days... hot and sticky - making our appetites quite light. All I wanted to do was just to take ice cold drinks.

As for food - we went for the set which offered 1 appetizer and 1 main.

Jumping Jack!!

I was studying up on action photography and was introduced to the different shooting modes of my camera.

Then, one morning, Rusty provided the best opportunity for me to try this out. Turning on the AI SERVO mode, I pointed at him and just shot...

Bitter Gourd Speciality @ Restoran Fu Kua, Taman Megah

If you're mad about bitter gourd, this is a good restaurant to go to. EV recommended this restaurant as she had gone to it with her parents previously when they visited from Kuching.

We ordered four dishes for the three of us.

I couldn't remember if it was the Marmite Pork Ribs or the Sweet & Sour Pork Chop was good. So, we ordered the Sweet & Sour Pork Chops ("Pai Kuat Wong"). It was served differently as the pork chop was cut into small pieces. The pieces of pork was soft and easy to chew - good for older folks.

My parents love bitter gourd. I, on the other hand, could never tolerate it being cooked as the bitterness just seeped into everything that it is cooked with. So, they had to order a separate vegetable dish - stir fried kai lan.

Anyway, I felt a bit adventurous and tried the rest of the dishes my parents ordered.

The stir fried bitter gourd with salted egg tasted good but according to my mom, it was not as good as the one cooked at this other restaurant in Subang Jaya (which is no longer open).

The bitter gourd soup is highly recommended and seems to be the "specialty" dish of the restaurant. The soup was absolutely bitter but funnily though, the bitter gourd pieces did not have any bitterness at all. I wondered if my tongue had lost all its ability to taste other flavours. LOL!!

The soup is a boiled soup with minced pork, pork stomach and pigs blood pieces. Sounds disgusting but the soup tastes great!

The entire meal was around RM53 which included drinks and rice. Can be slightly expensive but if you're crazy about bitter gourd, this is the place to go!

Belated B'day Celebrations @ My Elephant, Section 17

Happy 20-10-2010!!!!

This post is late by 2 months... My friends and I had a belated birthday celebration for some of us who had our b'days in June and July.

A friend recommended a Thai restaurant, "My Elephant" which is situated in Section 17, PJ for lunch. She is pretty much a regular there and so, was able to navigate us around the menu of yummy Thai food.

We decided to order a number of signature dishes such as a Thai Papaya Salad, TomYam and Red Curry.

The papaya salad was spicy, sour and salty at the same time. The saltiness comes from the fish sauce which complemented the raw papaya slices in the salad.

We definitely enjoyed the mixed platter which is one of the popular appetizers served at the restaurant. Crunchy and not oily at all!

We ordered two types of Tom Yam - one spicy and non-spicy. The prawns were scrumptious and soup was tasty.

The Thai Roast Duck Red Curry was fantastic! The dish had a good balance between the "lemak" (coming from the coconut milk) and spicy chilli. The pineapples were sweet and was not acidic after it was cooked.

The restaurant served a unique type of rice, i.e. "red" rice which is less starchy. It went very well with the dishes served.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in this little gem in PJ. I would certainly go back again for my Thai food fix...

Peanuts

Something playful today...

If someone were to say to you "Peanuts-la".. Is this what you think of?

LOL!! Hope that you will have a great week ahead where your tasks are like "Peanuts". ^.^

It's Been A Year Already??

How time flies...

It is so strange that October is the month for anniversaries. LOL!!

Indian Rojak @ Section 17, Petaling Jaya

It was a pretty hot afternoon yesterday.

So, I was in the mood for some Indian rojak & so, took a drive down to Section 17, PJ to "tapao" some.

It is absolutely delicious! The portion is huge with lots of unhealthy fried bits with shavings of cool cucumber , turnip and bean sprouts.

The peanut sauce is slightly spicy and tops off this local "salad".

All this for RM4.

The rojak stall is located along the main road of Section 17, very close to the medan selera near the flats. I highly recommend this stall...

10.10.10

It's a very unique date. I only wished that I had published this post at 10pm...

Speaking of dates, it just so happens that I've just hit the 2nd anniversary of me getting more serious with my photography hobby.

Looking back, my style certainly has changed within the past 2 years. I've certainly moved on from a newbie to a slightly less newbie photographer. LOL!

Tired

I'm just exhausted.

I can't understand why.

Perhaps this picture sums it up...

Here's to the mid-week... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

P/S: I'm probably exhausted from a pretty rough week, as well as battling back pains.. yet again!

PP/S: This picture was taken about a year ago... Funny how I didn't got around to post it up.

B&W

Another attempt at B&W...

I just converted this photo from a coloured one. Felt that the effect of the light was more suited to a B&W photo.

I wondered what Rusty was thinking about.

Comfort Food @ Oriental Cravings, 1Utama

There are some days when you just crave for some comfort food...

I've been to Oriental Cravings a few times but did not quite have the time to photograph the food or decor there.

So, one particularly cold day in July, I went to have some comfort food...

Pastry Indulgence @ The Bread Shop, Bukit Damansara

Happy Malaysia Day!! Hope that everyone is enjoying their day off.

I believe that spending a great lunch at a cafe is a great way to enjoy the day...

Hot beverage to start off the day... I thoroughly enjoyed the hot beverage at The Bread Shop...

The COWs 1st Birthday

Finally... Both little COWs have turned 1. They've moved up from babyhood to toddlerhood and the "fun" is just beginning...

My sister and bro-in-law held their party at Marmalade Cafe, Plaza Mont' Kiara. I've been to the branch of Marmalade Cafe at Bangsar Village II quite a number of times and like the healthy food there. The cupcakes are good and the Oreo cheesecake is just spectacular.

1st Milestone

It's amazing how 1 year goes by so quickly... Here's to many more happy milestones... ;-)

Stay tuned.

Quiet Month...

It's been a quiet month on my blog. Yeah, I've been a bit lazy to do my updates. I've got tonnes of photos to edit and burn but didn't quite get up to it.

So, what have I been up to?

1. Parents went to Chiang Mai for a holiday - leaving me to take care of the dogs and etc.
- I have to rush back from the office during lunch to release both dogs for their toilet break.
- Good that I can have lunch at home which is cheaper and healthier.
- Bad that I had to race up and down, paying double tolls for the time they were away.

2. More work
- Yes, I had some work to do which was both interesting and frustrating at once.

3. Rush, rush, rush on my b'day yesterday
- Yes, I've turned another year older. Am I wiser. Errr... Jury is still out on that.
- I had to rush quite a number of things yesterday. It feels like last year all over again when I was under immense pressure to get something up to show to my client.
- This year, I had to prepare for a small demo but thank goodness it's only for the R&D team.

4. My photos?
- Aaaaaahhhh.. I'll post something up on a lovely small eatery I visited a couple of months back...

Anyway, it's a Friday. Time to take it easy.

Have a great weekend folks!

Fusion Japanese & Italian @ Pasta Zanmai, Empire Subang

It's ashamed that Japan never met Italy in the World Cup this year. However, you can always try a mesh of these two countries at Pasta Zanmai.

Empire Subang is fast becoming a very popular spot for us locals around Subang Jaya, Sunway & USJ. The lower ground floor is dedicated to food and it is home to a couple of big restaurant franchises - Chilli's, Italiannies and Rakuzen.

Excitement In The Air

There's a tinge of excitement in the air. Can you feel it?

Rusty certainly can...

Germany vs Spain. Ooooo...

An Afternoon With The Dogs

Wow. Time certainly passes by quickly. We're already in July...

I'd guess for Snoopy & Rusty - time is something they have a lot in their paws.

Stretch Your Muscles!

I've been suffering from back pain for the past week or so. I've visited the physio twice for treatment which was some improvement but there was still pain.

Charlotte learning some "qi-gong"

What a Lovely F/22 Day

It's a bright, sunny Sunday morning.

Makes you feel like sitting in some shade, having a great brunch.

However, I'm out of bacon and eggs & so, had to contend myself with a slice of waffle smothered with peanut butter and kaya.

Snoopy, on the other hand enjoyed her morning sunbath along with her brother Rusty.

Did Someone Mention... FRIDAY??

Yep, the weekend is just around the corner. It's so close that I can feel it.

Both Snoopy & Rusty also sense a BATH is heading in their immediate direction this weekend too.

Have a great weekend. Hope that your Friday is as productive as possible... Yes Yes... Football this weekend too. ;-)

I'm Ready For My Close-Up

Last month, my company had a team-building event up at Bukit Tinggi. I had already explored the place inside and out in my last trip and so, wasn't very keen on taking more photos of the buildings again.

However, armed with my 17-70mm, I was interested to see what kind of landscape shots I could capture.

Weekend Brunch.... @ Dome

What I enjoy during the weekend, besides the pleasure of waking up an hour later, is scoffing down a delicious breakfast/brunch.

Some weeks back I accompanied EV to brunch at Dome. She had the desire of trying out the breakfast menu ever since we dropped by the place for coffee one day.

Mom's 65th B'day

This post is long overdue...

Mom celebrated her 65th birthday last month.

It was a simple affair, we opted to just have a simple dinner nearby and some cake. Mom said that she didn't mind as her birthday fell on a working weekday.

Bak Chang.... Yum!!

Happy Bak Chang festival!

Kekekeke... Actually, it's the Dragon Boat festival but most of us remember only the yummy rice dumplings during this time of year.

Wear Your Colours, Support Your Team!

It's time to be excited.

A Great Time Waster...

I wonder.. if the one image will say it all....

Hehehe... This has been taking up a lot of my time for nearly a week now. I love it!

P/S: This photo was taken with my Sigma 17-70mm lens.

Esquire Goodness...

Esquire Kitchen is pretty much an institution in KL. One of my earliest memories of it was having dinner with my family when I was three or four years old at the one of the oldest restaurants situated in Sungai Wang.

Over the past 30-odd years of my life, the food has remained pretty much the same, except for a few new additions. The decor has changed slightly but the main theme of the restaurant still remained the same.

Ninjas Sell Burgers?

I'm finally getting around to this post about one of my favourite burgers...

Even Gundam loves these burgers...

Kuching Hawker Food

I certainly enjoyed the hawker food in Kuching.

In fact, my most favourite food is Kuching Laksa. Kuching Laksa is very different from the curry laksa served in KL. The main difference is that it has prawns and egg slices served with it.

The bee hoon noodles are also a bit thicker than your regular bee hoon. Absolutely delicious...