Thank you, facebook.

I signed up to facebook sometime last year. I only have 2 friends then. Now after 1 year...I still have 2 friends! I have left it idling for too long, it's time to do something....!

I've got a lot of catching up to do now. So, I have been logging into facebook quite often these days. And guessed what? I have news from my long lost pal of 20 years! Okay okay, we were only 3 years old then...Lmao!

What's the morale of this story?....if you are looking for any of your long lost friends or relatives etc. try signing up to facebook. Who knows? Good news may come knocking on your computer screen.

I've got to say this...THANK YOU FACEBOOK!!!

For Old Time Sake!

I moved to KL some 20 years ago or maybe longer and most of my close relatives are here too.
So, I didn't have an excuse to go back to my hometown or do I need one?

Yes, I think I want to go back. Just for old time sake. I want to stroll down the streets that I used to walk on so often decades ago. I want to visit the market that I so frequently go to decades ago. I want to taste the food that I haven't been able to eat since decades ago.

Yes, I want to go back! KAMPAR! You are next on my places to visit list!

Happy Deepavali!

I would like to wish all my Hindu friends,

HAPPY DEEPAVALI!

and Happy Holiday to all of you who are not working today!

Damn, you know how lucky you all are! Enjoy all you can, man!

I finally did it!

Remember the food link that I mentioned earlier? Okay, I finally did it!

So, I've posted my first food venue up and my target is at least 2 venues a week.

Not sure if I can do it but I hope so. If you want to view my new blog, just click the link on my bloglist or here. By the way it's called, jeeneze@foodheaven.

Nothing better to do??

The Mayor of KL, should be a very busy man. Running up and down KL town to see if everything's okay? Or is he?

One day, he got bitten by a 'bug' (this bug probably stimulates a certain part of your brain cells and create a brainstorm in your head!) Yah, he got bitten and he suddenly decided to change the road names in KL! So, let's start with the more famous roads...it will create a greater impact. There we have it, 'JALAN KEJORA' to replace Jalan Alor!




He must have thought that after 35 years down the road and with so much memories down this lane, it's time for a CHANGE!!! We should leave the pass behind us, start a new life, a new beginning, REFORM! Who cares if this road is well-known locally or internationally. I've spent 3 years planning for this change, thinking what is the best name to use! Who need the people's view, I can see the future....!

So, the new road sign was put up and....soon...very soon...or maybe even within seconds...these are the people's reaction...

Huh?What?Stupid?Crazy?Why?Gila?ChiSin?
Nothing Else Better To Do Ah!

Well, well, well, you guessed it. After about one week of out cries from the people of KL, Malaysia and tourists all over the world, thousands of protest messages posted on webs, blogs, etc. they say...

"Okay, okay, we heard you! We'll definitely look into this seriously and weigh the situation carefully and we promised to...and we surely understand...and we will take care of...and...BUT be patient, we'll announce the decision next week!"

Finally, the FT Minister said, "Jalan Alor stays".

Well, we shall see...soon. I am thinking...what is the next important thing that our Mayor has in his mind?

I am living in Heaven!

I cannot deny nor would I, that I'm living in Heaven...of Food that is.

Malaysia is a food Heaven! The varieties of food we have here is enormous! I think if we were to eat one type of food a day, it can stretch out to years without us having to repeat a single dish!

Wow! That's amazing. So how are we supposed to go hungry here? I think it can never happen here unless of course you are out of cash. You can almost get food at whatever hour of the day here except if you're picky with your food or if you stay in the jungle.

I love food, not a picky eater with a few exceptions. I like to go for good and cheap food. Not so much into fine cuisines (a bit koo hon lor). I'm sure there are people out there who shares the same idea as I. That's why I'm thinking of starting a new link for this purpose of sharing good & cheap food experience. It's simple, whenever I come across any nice and cheap food, I will post it on this link and.... hopefully some of you out there will drop by and also share some of your experience with me.

Sounds great to me! Let just hope it works...

It's Elayne's Birthday

My oh my! How time flies, needless to say right? Happens all the time!

Recently, Elayne celebrated her 13th birthday on the 8th Oct, and how she's grown...from the little baby I used to hug and carry to a little young lady now.

Well, on that day, I asked her;

me: I'm going to get you a cake. What type of cake do you like?

E : Hmm...I like cheese cake, strawberry, chocolate, vanila, coffee....well I like all of them.
Can I have them all?

me: Huh? Can finish all meh? They'll make you faaaat!

E : I know, but I really love them all. Can I not have them? Pleassse...

me: Okay, I think I know what to do.


So, woalah! This is what I got for her! Smart leh?

Mua Chi and Lor Mai Chi

I was watching my favourite Astro Chanel (703) one day and they were showing some street food and of course there's Mua Chi!

One of my favourite snacks. I first came across Mua Chi while I was in Penang some decades ago. My first try of that warm sticky ball and mmmm....I'm in love...! Can't seems to have enough of them till I have to ta pao some back when I leave but of course they didn't last the journey back.

After years of eating this delicious snack, I somehow still prefers the ones that I first had. I guess it could be because of the 'first taste is the deepest' thingy? Now Mua Chi has evolved from simple peanut, sesame and sugar with plain steam glutinous flour to various types of flavours like black sesame, taro, pandan, red bean etc. And I still prefer the original plain ones.

You may wonder why am I writing this Mua Chi thingy...okay, I want to try to make them myself! Instead of buying them from the market which is so much simpler and convenient, I want to try my hands on this recipe. If you must know, I like to learn making the things that I like to eat, just in case no one makes them anymore in future.

So, hang on. Once I succeeded in making this delicious snack, I will post it up this blog. Be patient, sometimes it need more than one try.

By the way if you are curious why the title of this blog includes Lor Mai Chi, well I realized that lor mai chi is the reverse version of mua chi. Made from the same ingredients, one with the peanuts wrapped inside, the other coated outside! Interesting!

Global Meltdown!

Talk about the Greenhouse effect, global warming, animal extinction, coming soon? Important? Yes, but what is happening now is more important. The Global Meltdown!

It's a Global Recession! Crude oil price down, stock market down, currency rate unstable, insurance company in trouble, banks in trouble...!

Everywhere around the world, financial experts are cautioning its people to be prepared for the worst global recession ever! But not our government, yes, Malaysian leaders said, "Our country and its people need not be afraid for we are fundamentally strong!" Another proven record that we are ruled by brainless people? Or maybe they meant themselves?

I really don't care much about what they say. I know I need to do something because I'm actually worried about this current situation. I guess everyone is, looking at the market trend for the last few weeks. Shopping complexes are less crowded, the queue at the cashiers are short, traffic flow seems smoother.

Being in retail business, this is really terrifying! It means sales will go down more and this month is already down by at least 50% from last month's figure. Most people are adopting the wait and see, be cautious now, spend less, keep your money plan. I think this goes for me as well.

Keeping the money is not much a problem but where to keep them is a problem now. Someone told me that keeping your money in a bank now is not save either. If the bank goes into trouble, you will not be able to recover the full amount of your savings! RM60,000 is the guaranteed amount irregardless of how much in the account you have. If you have less than this amount you are quite save or else....phoof! All your hard-earned money gone! Sounds horrific! So what's the best next thing to do now?

Buy gold..? Is gold the only stable source of commodity during this inflation period? Well, I'm not so sure but at least it's real, permanent and solid! Maybe I should take out my savings and buy myself a few gold bars and bury them under my house...!

Or just hope that we can ride this tide out with the least damage.

I miss my dog!

Out of the blues today, I suddenly remembered my dog, Twinkle.

Given to me by a friend, she was 6 months old then. Quite a cheeky dog. She was all over me seeking affection and attention. I spend a lot of time with her for I wasn't working full time then. I taught her tricks and we build up quite a relationship. I loved her dearly.

We had 2 years of wonderful time together when one day it happened. She was doing her usual thing in our garden while I was upstairs doing my chores. Someone had left the front gate a jar and no one noticed it. And that was the last time I saw her.

Until today after 2 years, I do not know what has actually happened to her. Did she wandered off herself or has someone just walked in and took her away? I have searched the whole neighbourhood for her and even put up posters but she was never found. I just wished she was okay or being picked up by someone who would give her a new home and loved her like I did.

I missed her dearly!

Datukship for Shah Rukh Khan?

What's the point here? What has this Bollywood Star done for Malaysia?

He's not even a Malaysian! The reason? He promoted Malaysia when he came here to make a movie he stars in? I'm speechless! Our rulers, our administrators, I think are somehow....sigh...no words can describe them. Help! we are ruled by brainless people!

Or maybe not? I wonder how much RM Shah Rukh paid for this Datukship title.

So, when can all the other Hollywood, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Philippines, China artists whom has filmed their movies here get their Datukship titles? I just wonder...

Melamine Scare

Has been hearing this term quite a lot lately. I don't know much about this thing other than it is what my food utensils are made of. So I decided to google to find out what is the scare all about and this is what I found;

Melamine is an organic compound that is often combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a synthetic polymer which is fire resistant and heat tolerant which can then be used to make plastic, fertilizer and fire retardant foam.

Melamine itself is not toxic or dangerous and products made with melamine resins do not release the chemical and do not pose health risks, according to producers. It can be used in almost anything but not in food! Because inside the body it can cause kidney stones and renal failure.

So, why do they add melamine to milk powder? Answer;

The white powder is cheap and rich in nitrogen. When added to watered down milk it can fool quality tests that gauge milk protein levels.

What are they thinking about? Trying to reap good profits at the expense of other human. I think they are not human! Should be shot or hang! No, they should be make to consume all the products that they made! Let them taste their own medicine!

Now it seems the contamination can go down to any items that is made of some kind of milk base substance manufactured in China. Candy, chocolates, biscuits, ice-cream, etc. The latest is found in fruits and vegetables?! Wei, this is too much.

Seems like nothing is safe now, eat chicken - bird flu, eat beef - mad cow, eat mutton - hand foot mouth disease, eat pork - JE, eat seafood - high cholesterol, now eat fruits/vegies - melamine!

Wa lau eh, eat die, don't eat also die!

At Home with Amber

Read in the Star paper today, "At Home with Amber".

Amber is Amber Chia, Malaysia's high profile model who gained international fame after winning the 2004 Guess Watches Timeless Beauty Contest, which was a global model search for Guess Watch's brand ambassador worldwide (found out from wikipedia lah).

Ok, back to her home. So she bought this house somewhere in Old Klang Road that cost her RM2mil. And it was only a 3 storey corner unit? I'm not so sure I would like to pay that amount of money for a corner unit. But according to her, it is worth every single sen of her hard-earned money. If that's what you think Amber, good for you.

From the pictures taken, the outside of the house is no extra ordinary and the inside...well, maybe she likes it that way? She did mention that the interior furnishing of the house is worth around RM600,000 but she only paid RM100,000. Of course the rest are sponsored! Celebrities, you know, get most of their things free! How unfair!

Anyway, another reason why she chose this house is of course, its location. One of the most important criteria to consider when purchasing a property. She said it is a perfect base for her as her job requires her to run all over town. This I totally agree with her. I would surely consider to get a house somewhere at Old Klang Road but I'm not going to pay RM2mil for a corner unit though.

Time is bad, sales is bad!

Sales is bad, is it because time is bad?

KLCI dropped, US Dow Jones dips below 10,000 points, Sydney sharply lower, Wellington tumble, Jakarta plunge, Seoul down sharply, Shanghai losses, Tokyo sharp drop, Taipei sharply lower....are the headlines of the biz news today.

Does this mean that there's a global economic down turn now, high inflation rate sweeping across the globe? Everyone is cautious and is not willing to part with their income easily.

So, keep more spend less. No wonder our retail industry is so badly hit with sales dropped at least 30-40% since July and is still plunging. Is there anything we can do to save this plunging market? I wonder. And I'm worried if this goes on, I may not be able to sustain the business any longer.

When can it become normalized again? I guess nobody seems to be able to answer this question promptly. I hope soon.

Pirates of the modern world!

After watching movies like Pirates of The Caribbean or cartoons like Peter Pan and Captain Hook,
I could only imagine what pirates are like. And I always thought that pirates are a thing of the past until I read the news about Pirates of Somalia!

Huh? Pirates? In our modern world?

On second thought, I'd say, why not? We still have thieves and robbers, so why not pirates?
This primitive profession has been around I guess since human's existence. It's just a matter of evolution.

I could imagine the cavemen fighting each other for food and sometimes maybe taking other tribe's women. Then it's Robin Hood robbing the rich for the poor. Then it's the cowboys robbing the Red Indians and vice versa. Soon when people start using the water/sea as a form of transportation, there we have it PIRATES!

So, pirates are just robbers at sea. But I guess the pirates now are far more modernized than before. No longer using swords and canons now. They are using sub machine guns and bazooka! Hah, sei mei! If you are still imagining pirate wearing a bandanna and an eye patch, look again!


Pirates of Somalia! They look more like terrorists to me.

These are the pirates responsible for hijacking several ships in the Eyl waters off Somalia in which 2 of them are from Malaysia. They got quite a good deal from MISC, US$2mil for each ship! Not bad huh, being modern pirates...

I overslept!

OMG! It's 1pm!

It's a record, I think for 20 years I haven't slept in till so late! It's because I slept at 5am this morning. No special occasion, just playing some lame game on the computer.

I felt so lousy, so lazy. Not a good idea, no, don't think I want to do this again. Now I've to get back on my feet again, draggy though. Can't think well, brains not functioning!

Okay, got to stop here before I start writing craps!

canonmalaysians.com

This site is created by the person that I've been idolizing since I was in my 20's.
He was my boss then. Being at such a tender age, everything to me is so fresh and exciting. I was like the frog that just came out from its well. So this cool guy has got a kind of character that sweeps through me like... Okay, okay. I'm lying. He sacked me! So, how could I forget him!

I was working in Canon, my first job in a big corporation. An 8 to 5, 5 days week job. At that time, I thought, "Wow! This is it, I can work here for the rest of my life!"

Well, of course it didn't happen that way. I left Canon after 2+ years. I got sacked, remember?

So, here I am now being an ex-canon. When I found out this site from my dear friend Angela (another ex-canon) I have been following this site ever since. A great site!

I contacted some of the ex-canons and we had lunch. Of course I also contacted the honourable blogger of this site, Kafu and we had lunch and talk about old time. (for him lah, I'm not old yet)
After not seeing him for...i think about 10++ years, amazingly he still looks the same. His secret? He said...is that he grows old from the bottom upwards and it hasn't reach his face yet.

Quite some guy, don't you think so. The other ex-canons that I met and some that I still keep in touch with are Angela Woon, Kelvin Chen, Joanne Lee, Shirlyn Gan, Andrew Kong, Philip Tay, Lee Peng, Beh Chin, Tracy Lye, KC Han, Albert Leong, Jack Lim, Ah Fook, Gary Ng, Lim Weng Soon...if I forgot anyone, please forgive me.

If anyone, be it canons or ex-canons or non-canons, who wish to visit this site, just type the title above. (No, I'm not the official advertiser for this site, just thought it is worth visiting if you're interested)

In case you wonder why the site doesn't have any news or pictures of me, it's because I did not consent to it. Maybe in future?

Help! I'm growing...sideways!

Because of Hari Raya and the holidays I have been eating, quite a lot.

I'm sure I have put on some weight, not sure how much, don't want to know.
But I can feel the extra weight, somewhere. My abdomen is the worst hit I guess.
How do I know? I can feel it, when I bend down to wear my socks and shoes, when I try to put on my jeans, when I sit down. All these actions which I can do so effortlessly last time is now getting into me. I even find it hard to breathe sometimes. And of course I can see it too, I've got mirror at home, mah.

NOooo! I'm getting fat! Must lose some of these useless tissues. How! Slimming courses? Fitness Centres? Special Diet? These will cost me a bomb! No, no, no!

I think the best way is.... 'Do Not Eat'. No, not starve myself. Yes, eat less food and eat fewer meals. This way I can lose weight and save some money too. Great! I'm going all out for it!

Any takers out there? Think about it, lose weight and save money!

A sad moment.

My granduncle passed away yesterday. He's 93.

I have mixed feelings as I see him lying in his resting place. I felt sad and I can't understand why. This man I hardly know yet I felt that we had a special bond.

I tried to recall something about this man. All I could remember is he came to visit my grandma a few times ( I was staying with my grandma then) gave me 'angpow'. We visited him too, he was staying in Teluk Intan then. A very gentle and soft spoken man.

A very faint memory of him I have. But I know my grandma loves and adores him. She spoke of him quite a lot, how he helped her when she's in need, financially and emotionally. A really loving brother. I think grandma must be real sad now as she is not able to see her brother for one last time (she's away in Hong Kong). All she could do is called back and reminded us again and again to go and pay our last respect to him. Okay grandma, your wish is granted!

To my granduncle wherever you are now, may God bless your soul!