Tea Garden, JB

I quite like to go for an afternoon coffee at Tea Garden whenever I'm in Taman Nusa Bestari. Situated nearby Sutera Mall, this modern kopitiam, with its nostalgic settings, is quite a popular hangout with JB folks. I understand they have three branches, another two in Taman Johor Jaya and Jusco Bukit Indah.

Check out the nostalgic feel in this kopitiam, with old fashioned wooden chairs and marble tables.

 

An outside view of the eatery, where most of the folks love to sit outside. Quite a relaxing ambience for a chat over coffee, sandwiches or local delicacies like nasi lemak or laksa.

 

Chef Salad - RM8.80. A healthy meal just nice three hours before dinner. There are some grilled chicken meat together with the serving.

Minced Chicken Pizza - RM6.90. I got a craving for pizza that day and decided to try this. Looks good, right?

And, not forgetting my cup of kopi - RM1.60.

Bully by kids....

These are true stories...

Encounter #1 -
I was queing to pick up some dishes at an economical rice stall, ran by a chinese national family. They have a 4 year old kid who loves to run around and also, helps collecting empty cans drinks from the tables. Well, as I moved my arms to get the fork and spoon, I accidentally but not forcefully hit that kid, who was behind me. And, you know what.... he whacked his entire arm at my abdomen!! I was laughing when I see a small , young kid attacking me. And, later when I offered my empty can of drink to him for collection, he make up a gun sign to point at me. All my colleagues were laughing too!

Encounter # 2 -
I was shopping with my kid at the toy department. My kid was sitting comfortably on the shopping trolley cart and since it's the toy department, he wanted to get down from the trolley to check out the toys. Thus, I carried him down and without my knowledge, one 8 to 9 year old malay kid dashed by and my kid's slipper hits his head while I was lowering him down. He scolded me in malay and then ran away.I can't make up what he said..LOL

Encounter # 3-
I was at a clinic. There were three chairs with two chairs at the left and right having toys on top of it. I guess the toys belongs to the clinic and some kids were playing with it . I sat on the empty chair in between the two chairs with toys. Suddenly, a 5 year old kid came out and start scolding at me. I have to shift to another chair behind... *sigh*..

Kids nowadays...are really 'garang'.....

Let's Eat Restaurant, JB

This is becoming one of my favourite restaurants to dine in. Let's Eat is an HK style restaurant, similar to those 'char chan teng' that you find everywhere but I especially likes to come over here , probably I'm shopping nearby at Tesco or Giant, the nice food and affordable price, strong WiFi connection and a clean environment.

 

Chicken Chop Rice - this is great, the chicken chop is very fragrance and nicely grilled. Mixed the gravy with the white rice and it whets up your appetite. Cost..can't quite remember, didn't note down.

  

French Fried Rice - RM6.90. My kid's favourite and he almost can finish the entire plate. I'm also beginning to love this fried rice.

  Salt Fish Fried Rice - RM7.90. Imagine the crunchy salted fish all over the hot fried rice. Need not say more... :)

 

Shredded Pork Vegetable Shanghai Noodle - RM6.90. A healthy and delicious bowl of soupy noodle with shredded pork meat. I love the salty soup which was enhanced by the pieces of salty vegetables.

'Ying Yong' (tea mixed with coffee - HK Style) - RM5.80. My favourite beverages and always ordered it whenever i'm in a HK restaurant.

Let's Eat Restaurant is located at 23, Jalan Molek 2/3, Taman Molek 81100 JB. Tel - 607-3522023

Massage Vs Exercise - the after effect

Which one you prefers to go for a nice relaxation moment? A nice, good massage in the caring hands of a skillful masseuse or work it out in the gym? Well, I'm sure most folks will choose the former which I did too.  How nice to lay down on a cool bed with someone applying friction to your muscles all over the body, from head to neck, from neck to shoulders, from shoulders to your upper body and later to your lower back, and all the way to your thighs, hips and feet! It's a relaxation sensation especially when it is applied with aromatic oil, in a dark cool room!

Exercise in terms of playing games or even working out at the gym is very different. You gotta huff and puff, sweat, challenge yourself mentally and physically to reach your workout goals or winning a game.

However, all these 'pains' have their reward too .... 

Last Tuesday night after work, I was face with a decision, to go for massage or a run at the treadmill in my company's gym?  I finally gave in to having a massage and it was indeed a good Thai massage. However, I realise that everytime after each massage, I don't get the 'after effect' compared to a good workout where my body and mind are truly relaxed.

Thus, I find that if I want to feel good and less stressful especially on the next working day, it's better to workout. Probably, I go for massage on weekends.:)

Tea Break@Lavender, Permas Jaya

Well, my family and I were busy shopping for Chinese New Year stuffs last saturday afternoon in Jusco, Permas Jaya and thought it's a good idea to refresh ourselves for a tea break in Lavender. After all, we really like Lavender as the place is pleasant to dine in, regardless if it's breakfast, lunch, tea or dinner. I like the ambience and environment over  there while the management never failed to come out with simple but creative decor for festive seasons.

 I planned to cut down my coffee intake to 2 cups per day, and since I've met my quota for the day, I decided to have hot lemon tea. (well...still got caffeine..LOL) I don't really like hot lemon tea all the while but thought of having it for no reasons.

Compare to the icy version, the hot one was much sour and squeezing the lemon juice doesn't help either. :) Anyway, I feel refreshed after having a cup of it, probably due to the sour taste and a little bit of caffeine in the beverage.

My favourite tea bite in Lavender - Thin crispy kaya toast. The kaya spread were of the pandan type, which makes the toast tastier. I feel hungry now while blogging this post. :)

Peace of mind....

One of my intentions in starting this blog is to create a relaxing little corner in the cyberspace and suddenly it dawns on me to write something on peace of mind. Afterall, I want to make my blog a 'feel good' web log.

I love to read self-improvement books and have talk to lots of folks including psychologically trained, folks from higher management to blue-collar folks, religious folks of all kinds of faith, other nationalities and etc. So, here goes- my opinions on how to have peace of mind.....

1. Sleep well
- That's the number one stress buster! Sleep well and you feel refresh and feel good the next day which increase your productivity or enhance your creativy in whatever you do, whether work, play or sports. Deprieve your sleep and you waste another day that God has made for us. You will likely wanted to get home quick and hit the slumber after dinner, when you have lack of sleep. The day is simply lousy and you easily get pissed off and moody the whole day.

2. Exercise
- Exercise hard and rigorously and you feel good after that. There's a study that the body will release a kind of happy or feel good hormones called Endorphins. To me, I simply love the after effect of a good workout.  It made me less stressful and more productive. Anyway, if you have been idle for a while, it's advisable to do a medical checkup before embarking on any exercises.

3. Turn your negative thoughts into positive thoughts
- The power of attraction, negative forces attracts negative stuffs and vice-versa. When you're down, you are actually radiating negative energy to others and in a way, brought the other party down too. Write down your negative thoughts and think of an alternative rational response to it. This is actually called cognitive therapy.

4. Maintains good relationships with friends and family members
- Having good and healthy relationships always yields hapiness and blissfulness. So, try to maintain good relationships with your colleagues, friends, family members ...etc. Of course, not everyone can be buddies with you, thus, it's good to avoid some folks which can hurt your sanity but who knows, he/she could be your best friend someday. :)

5. Be religious
- I always find peace in my religion, especially when stress bogged me down. If God is with us, what can be against us?

6. Eat well and right
-  Eat good food and in moderation will always helps in reducing our blood cholesterol and provides us the immunity from diseases. Drink less liquor and smoke lesser. :)

7. Manage your finances
- This is something which I'm very poor at now but imagine if you're financially stable and strong. This will have cut away most of your daily concerns. It's easy to say this anyway but it's good to have some knowledge on financial planning.I guess can read lots of books and attend some seminars on this topic.

8. Stay healthy
- Visit a doc if you think something's bothering you. I remember I have some chest pains before and quite worry about it and my doc's advice was asked me to part my RM20+ to do an ECG for peace of mind. I did it, all clears and my worries stopped. So, if you have a toothache, see a dentist. In addition, if you need to talk to a psychiatrist, do it and remember you're not insane in doing so!

9. Don't sweat the small stuffs
- It's really not worth our attention on those minor and tiny stuffs in life. It spoils our mood and elevates our blood pressure. Just let go!!

(*disclaimer - These are just my opinions and I'm not trained in healthcare :) See a doc if you are not well!!)

Mee Hoon Kuey - a popular noodle soup in the South

Mee Hoon kuey in hokkien or popular known as 'pan mee' or 'min fan kou' in cantonese can be found almost everywhere in Malaysia but I find that it's especially popular in the south - JB and Singapore. It comes in a variety of noodles - the popular 'no shape' ones or 'tear' noodles, the spinach green type, the long ramen look-alike type and etc. I love the 'tear' ones...where the noodles comes in many big chunks.

This is what I always love to had ..and I grew to love this noodle soup only when I come to the south. It was kinda unknown to me before that. And to make this noodles soup delicious, the soup is very important. It should be sweet and absorbed the fragrance of the ikan bilis which should not be too hard but 'chewable'. There should be lots of vegetables on it and the soup should not be too complicated.

The singapore version has lot of ingredients in the soup which includes eggs and that could backfired , where it affects the soup. However, I tried some nice stalls in Singapore and the lots of ingredients they add in makes the soup even nicer.

 

Here's one that's cooked with spinach noodles. Overall, I still prefers the JB style where the soup is clearer and lighter.

 

Check out this newly opened outlet at Permas Jaya, Jalan Permas 10.