Kind soul in the city

Thursday night, I was at WIP in Bangsar Shopping Centre to catch up with some ex-colleagues from Microsoft. After few hours my eyes were drooping like an old dwarf… don’t get me wrong it was actually a very happening place! Tons of working professionals and foreign expats there as if to justify the long weekend has only just begun. We also bumped into more ex-colleagues at Bar21 later… just that my poor body couldn’t take it especially after a strenuous 75 mins of pilate workout earlier. :(

 

So I called it a night after one pint of Guinness Stout and proceed to the ticket machine. Good Lord, I realised the machine only accepts 10 dollar notes and below and my purse was all 50 dollar notes no less!  The management office is already closed as it was already approaching 1am.

Then this big, dark and tall Indian man in a white security uniform walked towards me… I was a little skeptical but anyhow I explained to him about the situation. He asked me how much is my parking and then he said, “Okay no problem, follow me.” We went back to the machine, he took out his wallet and then… you wouldn’t believe it. He actually paid for my parking fee!

I was astonished. I mean, in a cynical city like KL, we are always wary of bad people but never in my mind would expect something like this to happen...

He refused to let me pay him back the money after I thanked him… he just smiled, greeted me and then walked away. I couldn't locate him after that even though I tried going back there to look for him in the past few days...

Pietro (yes, the DJ celeb!) and Yvonne

We definitely need more of this kind of people to make this cynical world a little warmer for us cold hearts to live in, don’t we? I mean, when was the last time you made someone’s day? A stranger in particular?

.

Pressroom

weekend treat

:)

Posted via email from Einnahpets

I miss London

It’s been almost three years since my last visit to London already. Local friends who visited London often come back despising the city bec of its miserable weather… haha which I can’t blame them at all. Recently, HongYeen went to London and I piggy backed her luggage to pass a parcel to grumpy but she refused to leave her hotel. I told her, ‘babe if you don’t get out of here now you never will coz this rain is a constant in London!’ LoL  

I took these shots myself outside Buckingham Palace back in 2007! Arty right?

So what is it that I miss about London? Well mainly for nostalgic reason. This is the city I grew up in partly, which wasn’t really that long (about 8 years) but significant enough to have shaped me become the person I am today… in a good way of course.

Call me mad but I really miss the gloomy weather when it’s wet and cold (really! =P); the stiff upper lip Brits who are actually warm at heart; the packed tubes during peak hour; the notorious list goes on.

I miss the best hot chocolate in the world only at Bar Italia, Soho

(not to mention their tiramisu too)

I miss the yummilicious cakes and bakery at Patisserie Valerie… and PAUL, and Maison Bertaux (the latter is my uber favourite!)

I miss St. Katherine Dock… The place where I used to go after school (and sometimes skive from it) to watch yachts docking and undocking. Ahh... I so miss my Vietnamese friend Khanh, my partner in crime back then.

I miss watching these musicals and plays. I can never get enough of them

Okay. Here’s what I would do if I were to go back to London again.

• Get lost in West End.
• Walk from Oxford Street to Regent Street to Carnaby Street to Picadilly Circus to Leicester Square to Covent Garden (ALL IN ONE DAY) and see if it’s really that fun and untiring as it used to for me.
• Go for old books hunting in Tottenham Court Road.
• Revisit British Museum for the 6th time (or is it 7th) and this time really pay attention to the gems and not the ceilings or the visitors.
• Relearn to appreciate the odd rock sitting in the middle of the empty room at Tate Modern Gallery and go for their expensive lunch which I have missed out during the last two visits.
• Drag someone to Portobello Market and Camden Market with me
• Read a book on the grass field of Hyde Park when there’s no rain. Or Regent’s Park. Or Green’s Park. Or any park I don’t really care as long as there’s a lake with ducks and swans.
• Check out that cafe at The Waterloo and see if it still exists.
• Stroll along Southbank and Embankment.
• Watch The Lion King and Chicago musicals.
• And if I still have tons of extra cash to splurge, let’s go crazy at Bond Street.  yours truly at Pizza Express in 07

I almost forgot to mention eat and drink too! But I’m such a lousy foodie coz I can’t remember all my favourite restaurants now. Well, battered cod fish & fatty chips for sure! And Belgo for the mussels of course!

I wish to go back in 2011.

The Begin of Roaring Tiger Year

Chinese New Year this year is a quiet affair for my family because two siblings’ family couldn’t make it back to Malaysia so we had a few rounds of video conferences instead.

Nevertheless, I still think it’s a good holiday and despite this terrible flu, I have definitely gained a few extra pounds over the two weeks of watchless ice-cream, cookies, beer and yummy food overload! But that’s what life is all about isn’t it? You indulge, okay you over indulge a little bit more than you should, and then you work hard to shed off the calories after that. That’s why I love holidays!! ( Hence diet starts tomorrow! )

 

It’s not a complete Chinese New Year without the customary 捞生lou sang in Malaysia. (wiki explanation here)Yee Sang is a traditional aspicious dish that symbolises the ushering of good luck, good health, wealth and longevity for the lunar new year. Lou Sang is merely the act of mixing together the Yee Sang dishes, which consists of the usual assortment of vegetables, sweet sauce along with slices of raw fish (usually salmon).

We also went to a Guan Yin temple for prayer and giving blessings to the homeless. It’s very little we are giving but it makes us think harder about gratifications and how we sometimes take things for granted without realising it.

Feasting out at grandma’s place on the 2nd day of CNY.

 

Goofying around with niece and nephews

Back in KL, we had an open house where my sister and BIL had invited some friends over.

Today relatives (cousin and family from Taipei) came for a visit

Family aside, happy that I managed to catch up with Claire(before CNY) and Cynthia(after CNY) separately despite our busy schedule. Had dinner with Cyn at Bangkok Jazz last night, their food is not bad at all. But I wasn’t feeling very well still so called it a night right after dinner and no piccies.

And now, holiday is officially over! Will be back to the grind tomorrow. Have a good week ahead ya’ all!

What if my nose gets blown off?

  :(

to all you lover birds out there

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Putrajaya Night Marathon

I survived the run yay! The run was alright but I'm currently down with fever urgh better not fall sick with CNY coming! Positive chi… Anyway, these pictures were taken with my Samsung i780… I miss my Blackberry which is still in the workshop. :(

Putrajaya at night

Check out the mosque in the background… looks like a space craft  from a distance

Beng Loon and I before the race

It wasn’t the best run I’ve had, I have to admit. For those who followed my tweet probably know I wanted to give up at the 4th km. I was so dehydrated and has lost the motivation to continue. The last 3km was a struggle… by the time I finished I was so thirsty I almost robbed a box of mineral water!

Lessons learnt:

1. long distance without training is totally not recommended unless you have strong stamina (I haven’t trained for 5 weeks!)
2. mind focus is very important
3. running in the morning is better than at night because your body is preparing to shutdown during this time instead of picking up something strenuous
4. will strength is more powerful than physical
5. must check and reorganize playlist before the run
6. must learn how to say no next time when you are not fit and well enough to run 

Bangkok (Part 2)

This is the first hotel that I stayed in Bangkok called The Pathumwan Princess Hotel. It’s recommended by my Thai friend actually. The location is so strategic that being right smack in the middle of all the major shopping centers and a BTS makes things so much more convenient for us to plan our activities around.  It is just next to MBK Shopping Centre and about 10 minutes walk from Siam Square and Siam Paragon.

Hotel entrance

Their service is commendable too. Well, although it’s just a four star hotel it sure feels like five star service to me.

 The room *duh* very spacious

Notice the hand towel is nicely folded into an elephant? Okay sorry can’t zoom in for you to see

  The lobby

  The restaurant that serves continental breakfast in the morning

What surprises me is this little Christmas gift that they slipped into our room when we were out for dinner on Christmas Eve.

I had a very enjoyable stay at this hotel for two nights and would definitely recommend this to all my friends and readers. Price range is about 4500 baht a night for a deluxe room.

Pathumwan Princess Hotel

444 MBK Center,
Phayathai Rd., Wangmai, Pathumwan,

Bangkok 10330 Thailand

Website: http://pprincess.com/

Amarin Thai @ Mid Valley

Met up with the girls last week for our very first New Year dinner

but girls being girls right we only know of places we don’t like

and always having this problem of deciding a venue where to eat

it’s almost like a disease everytime we meet 

if you are a guy reading this, doesn’t it sound familiar? lol

however this time we crisply decided to go for thai food

which made me a very happy girl that night

coz I’ve always wanted to try out Amarin Thai at Mid Valley!

 this steamed fish with thai herbs is highly recommended by Piffles

yes it was very yummy and we were so obsessed with the soup

that we almost drank it all

Green Curry Chicken is a recommended dish in the menu

very thick curry and well balanced in flavour

Stirred fried chinese Kai Lan. Nice! 

Piffles and Dotty sharing their recent Langkawi holiday stories with each other

everytime when we sit on the same table

we just can’t stop talking about chocolates, holidays and shopping

then it’s dessert time! need I say more? *bliss bliss*

we chatted till the shop closed and the hubbies called to get them home

then we called it a good good night

Piffles you are so right about this.

We seem to have the same pose and smile everytime we take pics together!

Must change pose next time okay???

Christmas in Bangkok

 Last year’s Christmas was rather privileged for me coz I get to play in Bangkok for the whole week.

It was my virgin visit to Bangkok despite it being a neighboring country.

 I really like this city also known as The Land of Smile. It's so vibrant & colorful, great food, friendly people and things are so cheap here!

the walkway outside Siam Paragon at night

On Christmas Eve, firstly we went for predinner drinks at this famous rooftop bar Sirocco. Took us a while to find the place after reaching Saphan Taksin BTS. The Lebua State Tower is about 10 minutes walk and once we reached the place, we were greeted by the friendliest smiles at the elevator. Up at 64th floor(rooftop), the view completely took my breathe away…

just look at the scenery!

The bar was so nice, the weather was breezy and it wasn’t even crowded considering it was Christmas Eve night! It was Perfect.

I was so reluctant to leave Sirocco but knowing that better things were in store for us ahead, we adjourned to The Oriental Hotel for dinner.

Mandarin Oriental is slightly less than 10 minutes walk from Sirocco. We were ushered through a few walkways like a maze inside Mandarin Oriental, and the hotel boat took us across the Chao Phraya River where the restaurant was located.

The restaurant name is called Sala Rim Naam belongs to the Oriental Group. (google it yourself since I’m no food blogger here) It’s supposed to be one of the best thai restaurant in Bangkok, well it must be since you gotta book a table at least 2 months ahead and they only accept Amex card for reservation... it tells something right.

I could definitely attest to the whole experience was really extraordinary! Food was totally awesome from starter to dessert. Did the fish cake drop from heaven? OMG it's so good.

After dinner the waiter has politely asked us to stay for a moment and we were pleasantly surprised. Flashes of lights from the fireworks so was so near us I wanna catch ‘em with my bare hands. That magical moment that lasted for two minutes and with an ugly truth, tops the year.

And on top of everything, wish I could show you that grinning face after opening my Christmas pressie and saw a 16GB iPod Nano inside. That was how my memorable Christmas 2009 went by.