29.3.10

 Sunday nights are always dreadful, it's the end of the weekend and you gotta hit the bed early to get ready for a new week, a new working week. And for folks like me who commute between JB and S'pore, it's even more terrible as I gotta braved the jam at the causeway with hundreds of folks. Anyway, though majority of us doesn't love mondays, I remember once I was out of job for four months.


That period was even more dreadful! Every day is the same, be it a sunday or wednesday. And the thought of having your savings depleted day-by-day doesn't help either while you needed to save as much as you can. This means, you can't indulge yourself with an expensive meal or buying something you like. You wake up waiting for phone calls on interviews and that always sounds like a long wait. You felt depressed, irritable and you have a foul mood. Mostly folks who are out of jobs stay up late and woke up late,and sometimes feels useless.


Here's something I would like to share based on my short 4 months' experiences in the doldrums:-

- Get a temporarily job or part time job while waiting for your main job. At least, you still earned some income and keep yourself busy. You might found better opportunities which you'll never know! I knew a friend who switched to properties and earning big bucks now!This is a booming time for property agents!

- This is a good time to take a break, thus, if you can afford it, go for a holiday! Imagine you can be away for as long as you can, but of course make sure you have enough to cover yourself.

- This is a good time to improve yourself. Do some self- study or enrolled in courses, if you can afford it. Take certification exams, you got lots of time to study.

- Stay positive. Wake up early, workout, eat well. Make some plans.

Back to the working class, mondays are not really that bad as it seems, at least you have a job. Well, that's what I always remind myself when I packed for S'pore for another work week. At least, I still have an income and besides providing for my family, I can too, enjoyed good food and buy stuffs that I loved.

Monday blues ain't that bad after all... have a good week folks! :)

22.3.10

Well, had a good (and consider expensive) breakfast and lunch last friday to celebrate the coming of the weekend at two of Singapore's popular makan haunts. :)

Here's BREAKFAST - Half boiled eggs with coffee at Ya Kun Kaya Toast. A healthy or maybe not so healthy (depending on your point of view) meal to start the day.  Anyway, Ya Kun's coffee is one of the best in Singapore, having almost an outlet in every town here.

Together with 4 pieces of kaya toasts, this breakfast set cost S$4.20.

LUNCH - Sirloin Steak from Aston Express, a humble but nice looking western food stall at a typical HDB foodcourt in Bedok. The steak comes with two side dish which we picked from a variety of dishes. I had mashes potato and coleslaw (sounds very KFC, right?)

The steak, which marinated with mushroom sauce, is juicy and delicious! Cost - S$10.90 with the two side dishes.

18.3.10

Lately, there was a time so good that I don't have much problems and I put God on such a far distance from me. Life seems ok and been enjoying it.


Then, one morning something struck me after I woke up after 10 minutes. I started to worry about my pending outstanding works,decisions that I needed to work out for my family, signing up for an exam and some other long standing tasks/goals that I needed to work it out. All of a sudden, the worries started running around in my mind and I beginning to feel anxious!!

It also suddenly dawns on me a partial of the verse from Luke 6:23-25:

But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep. 

I slowly beginning to think of it and understand that it's not that you're rich or happy that bad things will happened to you, but when your life is too good and comfortable , you will ignore the Lord God and that's when trouble starts. I started to pray and hope the Lord will deliver me from my problems. I feel that it's not that we can't have a good and comfortable life but in reality, I believe there's no such life cos life will always have problems.

And, another insight strike me later of the day. I can't remember where is this verse located but I have read it before :

“Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-4).”

 

 Thus, it's not that bad a thing to suffer or struggle cos it will leads us to bigger things. Well, time to work on my outstanding tasks, whether being work or personal and hope the Lord will guide me. I will become better soon!



Have a great weekend, folks!




15.3.10

 Well, I got a job to do over the weekend, to bring my parents and my cousin sis and her hubby around in JB. Actually, there's really nothing much to do in JB except shopping, thus, I tried to bring them to some of the best makan places that I know besides shopping. 

Since we went to Tebrau City and it's near Taman Molek,  I brought them to Let's Eat Restaurant in Taman Molek for lunch. I have blogged about this place before which is a HK kinda restaurant or 'Char Chan Teng'.

Here's my cousin sis and her hubby at Let's Eat Restaurant.
Some of the food we ordered - Szechuan Pork Noodle, RM6.90. I love the soup, it's really sour. Very appetising!
French fried rice - RM6.90. My kid's favourite and this fried rice is really good. My parents said it's one of the better ones they have tried. :)

Above and below, a refreshing glass of ice lemon tea (RM3.30) and below, ginger boiled coke (RM3.90).
Well, I didn't really snap all the food but I guess they have a great time here. :)
Let's Eat Restaurant is located at 23 Jalan Molek 2/3, Taman Molek 81100 JB

Ok, below is dinner where we had it in Bai Her Restaurant, which is famous for its Curry Fish Head, prepared with no coconut milk.

Here's a vegetarian Tofu dish - RM9.
A healthy plate of vegetables to supplement the not so healthy food below. Cost - Rm10.

Their signature dish - Curry Fish Head, RM37. Lots of fish meat prepared with ladyfingers and other vegetables. Surprisingly it's not spicy while delicious. And, best of all, it's not that unhealthy since there are no coconut milk in the curry.
My dad and cousin bro-in-law's favourite - Braise Pork. A mixed of fat and lean meat, this is really an appetising one where you really feel like adding more rice to go with the gravy. The fat really 'shake' when you pick it up. :)
A candid pic of cousin sis, her hubby and my mum. And, that's our sunday - makan, shop and makan again :)


Bai Her Restaurant is located at 8 Jalan Molek 2/1, Taman Molek, 81100 JB.

12.3.10

OK....I thought I heard or eat the last of fermented tofu or 'Smelly tofu'  in Singapore, since I had it almost a decade ago  in China Square Food court here. The answer seems no, cos my dad asked me to bring him to Lau Pa Sat today, after hearing from my bro that there's one stall selling the ..erm..delicacy.

So, we headed there, and it's really been a while since I stepped onto Lau Pa Sat, one of the popular food haunts in Singapore. And well, here's a plate of the still smelly but it tasted real good fermented tofu.Finally, I'm eating it again, though not a big fan of it. LOL
I also ordered the below from the stall which sold a variety of Taiwanese delicacies. Here's a fried pancake, which is made with some vegetables called 'kauchoy' (cantonese). It's like a size of a medium pizza and well, it's crunchy!! I think I called it 'Kau-choy' pancake.

Below is some 'popiah'-like stuffs which has chicken floss in it. Well, this is my first time trying out these taiwanese delicacies.
This is the stall which we bought from in Lau Pa Sat. I like the way the stall is being decorated, looks very 'taiwanese' indeed.
A view of the Lau Pa Sat foodcourt. A favourite place with both locals and foreigners working around there.
And, not forgetting my cousin sis and her hubby enjoying the bites.... A happy face and a satisfied face!!

8.3.10

After my badminton competition last wed night, I was deep in thoughts. Well, it's just for participation and have fun but suddenly this dawns on me. When I was a little kid, though never been to any training, during Sports Day, I will always tried my best to run to get into the class team. The attitude is always 110%, though there are other kids who are much active than me or physically stronger than me. But as kids, and not just myself, we have that innocent little faith that we believe we can do it, though we may lost but in the end we always tried our best and best of all, without fear of failing and full of confidence.

How great if we tap into this natural instinct that we used to have when we are innocent little kids, not just in sports but in work too. Have no fear but believe that we can do it even we may not have the skills. Of course, we do always have the required skills in work or when we participated in our favourite sports.

Now I know why in Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Well, sometimes let's not complicate things by thinking too much but JUST DO IT!

4.3.10

Finally I got to visit Johor's Putrajaya - The Nusajaya City. It was located at the mid-west of Johor and very near to the western side of JB city. I took the highway which can access the second link to Singapore from Taman Bukit Indah and it was a 20mins drive. It's really nice to be there - quiet, clean and nice structural buildings. However, the place is still very much in development and have around five government buildings in a place called Kota Iskandar, a yachting centre and an housing estate.

 
I can't recognised or rather noted down each building but remembers this one - the Dewan Negeri Johor. It was a nice and artistically designed building!
  
A nice and refreshing pool greets you as you walk in from the car park.
  
Lots of water flowing at the heart of the building towards the front.
  
The signage.
The inside of the dewan - beautifully design staircases and structures.
 
Above and below, the others 'jabatan' or government offices of Johor State. I understand there's one where you can pay water and power bills, I guess it's the one below.
  
A closer look at this building. I was actually enjoying photography here.
  
Below is Johor's Chief Minister's office. It's really a majestic building!

  
Walking into the building, here's a closer look at the interiors of the Chief Minister's Office. I really feel like I'm in the middle east. :)
  
 Somehow I love capturing pics which detailed the lights and shadows.
And, last but not least, a family portrait minus my daughter, who's soundly sleeping in her aunt's arms.

3.3.10

It's been a while since I updated my blog. It's really been busy lately with a lot of pending work in office as well as I slowly crawling back to my usual routines after the long holidays. Well, I also gradually go back to my makan ways and during the last weekend and I'm back at Chaw Yuan restaurant, located at Nusa Bestari in JB.

Perhaps this place offers one of the better dim sum in town, at least to me and it's my favourite place to go for 'yum char'. Their dim sum starts from 11am till 5pm daily while they also served cooked food for lunch and dinner.

Ok, here are the dim sum that I had with my family and in laws over the weekend. Check it out -
 
Sesame seed balls or 'chin dooi'. My kids loves it and these are crispy!
  
Carrot cake... yummy!!

  
My favourite porridge - Century egg porridge. I usually had a bowl of it. Not a big bowl, though, just nice!!
  
Another one of my favourite dim sum - BBQ pork bun. I even 'tah pau' (take away) 15 buns!
  
Hk Chee Cheong Fun .... a must for dim sum. Serving small enough to savour the smooth and wide noodle.
  
It's been awhile since I had 'paper fried chicken'. Anyway, I still preferred those that I found in Ipoh.
  
Shanghai 'Xiao Long Bao' - It's quite rare to see this dim sum sold in a HK type dim sum restaurant.
  
All time favourites - 'siew mai' and below 'har gau'! I never failed to order these two delicacies every I time I go 'yum char', as well as most of the folks!
  
Below is a view of the restaurant. Well, I really had a lot of dim sum last saturday. :)
 
Chaw Yuan is located at 1, Jalan Jati 2, Taman Nusa Bestari Jaya, 81300 Skudai, JB.