.....times of refreshing.....

When I went to work on a quiet last Thursday morning and  look at my table-top calendar, a very spontaneous sentence came out from my mouth as I told my colleague how fast the year is coming to an end. I realise how foolish I am when I uttered these words as it's a well known fact the year is ending (not the world, ok?). Perhaps I enjoyed December too much and don't want it to pass. :)

Anyway, I wish you a great year and may you have good health. Health is really important, do take care. Sleep well, eat well, exercise, do not overwork, maintain your psychological well-being by staying happy and have courage to face your fears and challenges. If there's something you have been procrastinating all along, start doing it now and always remember courage is not the absence of fear.



Let's continue to blog and share our life experiences with each other. Have a wonderful time celebrating the start to 2012!

Finally I visited Johor Premium Outlets after its official opening on 11 Dec 2011. Located at Kulai and can be seen at the NS Highway, this one and only premium shopping area in South East Asia really attracted lots and lots of crowd over the Christmas weekend! I love the place, it's open and outdoor compared to those typical shopping malls. I think it's big too as my feet were really tiring while I gaze at the branded stuffs from shops to shops. Well, I gotta myself quite a good bargain, a skecher sports shoes sold at RM518 outside for RM399 here. My wifey also got a handbag.

This is the view from the entrance

The Burberry sign looks very prominent while coming in...

I took the old trunk road from JB to Kulai via Senai and although the distance was not too far, it was not easy initially to locate the place. Senai was quite jam too due to road constructions. Following directions from their website, where after McDonalds Restaurant, we turned left and headed to Inderapura Jaya. We turned at 9 o'clock after the second roundabout and reach JPO not far away. For more information on how to get there, click on this link.

Some pixs here -

Nice fountain!

Nike.... i love this one!

A great view from the back of the mall

woah....70% discounts of branded goods... !!

JPO in the evening...

It's lovely at night!

A closer shot at one of the 'tower's

My kid ....who keep on complaning on how tired he is... but still managed to pose for me

Christmas at ION Orchard

Here wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May you have a great, warm, lovely and nice Christmas!! Take this time to wind down, relax, reflect and relieve all of your stresses and worries. Have a good time with your family and friends. Forgive and forget, give with a merry heart!

Christmas at Tangs Orchard

And, thank you for patronising my blog! :)

The main street of Yong Peng at night...

While on the way back from KL last Tuesday, we stopped by Yong Peng again for dinner. Well, no doubt we went for their famous foochow food which is like a magnet that attracts folks who pass by the NS highway to drove in to this peaceful town. Besides foochow food, Yong Peng is also well known for their fish ball noodles and a biscuit confectionary shophouse which was once advertised in a Singapore TV program.

One of the nicer ones are Hock Swee Hin restaurant, located at almost the end of the main road and at the corner leading to the NS highway to south Yong Peng's exit point.

This shop seems to be around for very long and quite crowded

A view of the eatery while my little princess kept herself busy

 We had a simple meal with a few dishes and rice where we usually ordered these -

'foochow soup'

I don't know how to identify this soup except that we always mentioned  foochow soup and the lady boss knew what we want. It's best to add some vinegar to it before sipping the soup.

A vegetable to go with...

'Red Wine Chicken'

This is another one of our favourites where the chicken meats are cooked in some red gravy with wine. I love this dish and it always whet up my appetite.

Till I travel up north again next time for another meal of Yong Peng's foochow food. :)

With cousin sis, Claire...

Well, Claire and family were around town this week and since they stayed quite near to my working place, I thought it's a good idea to give them a treat. :) It only took me 15 mins to reach the restaurant and they were already there shopping, since it's a mall too.

We went to a chinese restaurant and order a package meal. The place is neat and clean and nice ambiance too with good services.

It was not very crowded then as it's already around 8pm plus when we patronised the eatery. Here are the food we ordered -

Fragrant steam rice

Soup for each one of us - Watercrest Soup

Some vegetables cooked with egg... hehe...dunno what's the name ofthe vege..

Claypot honey chicken

Dessert

It was great to meet them again since CNY and we really got a lot of catching up to do, not just with the mommy Claire but her kids too. Will see if I can meet them again before they leave Singapore for home.

Group Pix...

I always believe it's important to stay calm and serene throughout our life instead of tiring the mind with panicky and anxious thoughts. I knew some friends of mine love to think negative and as a result, they feel anxious and depressed. I especially knew one guy who is an assistant manager and had his own business too. He had a daughter and a working wife. However, he still anxious and keep deliberating on the bad things in his life, like how tough to run his business, how difficult to manage his subordinates...etc. I'm sure he's enjoying his life challenges if he take on a more positive approach to his problems and maintain his calmness.

When one is calm, relax and alert, he/she can take on problems easier compared to those who are anxious. For example, if one met with a car accident, he/she can calmly work out on how to move on rather than those who are panicky and just froze. Just an hour ago before I wrote his blog, one impatient car driver just overtake me from the right in the opposite lane when I was about to turn into another junction, with my signal on. I'm sure he can reduce the risk in his life with some calmness and patience.


Some of the ways I thought of in order to help us maintained our serenity is through regular meditation or exercise. I prefer the latter and that's the reason I work out, though there are, of course other physical benefits. After a workout, I felt much calmer throughout the day or next. It's like medicine to me. Even a 20 mins run did me good.

I woke up to a beautiful shiny Saturday morning where my kids and wifey were already up. Wifey was making a simple breakfast while my kid was playing with my ipad and my little princess was watching her favourite Hi-5 DVD which I bought yesterday in Singapore. We were planning to go slightly up north today to Skudai and have dim sum there for lunch. It was a real hot day by noon.

After that, off we went to Aeon Bukit Indah as I needed to get something from Daiso and there was a nice Christmas decor at the centre of the mall. At least, out of the four Juscos in JB, this one has tbe better decor. They also lined up some programmes at the small stage. Lots of folks were snapping pictures there and I also didn't lose out, despite only equipped with a iPhone 3GS. (yes....going to upgrade very soon... :D)

Xmas at Aeon Bukit Indah, JB

Wfey and Nicole having a good time there...while my kid shy away from the pixs

We went to nearby Sutera Mall later and it was more crowded than Jusco, as usual. There was a Unifi roadshow and I took this opportunity to inquire about it but I don't think my area has fibre optics installation yet. Anyway, might consider switching to streamyx as it's more economical and stable compare to others.

Santa welcomes us at Sutera Mall....

Finally, I had my fix of kopi at Paparich, which is around Sutera Mall before we headed home. I also ordered their signature mexican bun to go with it. It's really been awhile since I had it.

 It has been a pleasant Saturday afternoon!

Well, it's the school holidays but I also think it's a good idea to send kids to simple, fun and enjoyable courses. There are lots of it out there be it physical ones like learning to play a sport, mind enriching ones like crafting, painting, singing, dancing or academic types like improving a language or maths. Though I believe it's a time for the poor little things to rest, it's also a good time to spare some of their leisures to indulge in some activities, rather than staying at home and glue to the TV or PC or PSP...etc.

Though nothing that special, I sent my kid to his kindy's extra classes during the holidays and besides learning, they also have fun. It was a Saturday morning and his kindy brought them to a playground for some fun, had some dipping into the water at a small inflatable pool as well as teaching them on how to shop in the supermarket by giving them a RM5 voucher. Next, he is doing a mental arithmetic course too.

All these occured in the morning and he had his own kiddy time for the rest of the day.... Meanwhile, my wife and I having a nice bowl of Old town Hor Fun and coffee while waiting for him to play and shop in a nearby mall....hehehe...

yummy... my fav hor fun!

and my kopi-C

 I always believe keeping ourselves occupied, be it a kid or an elder. That's makes us feel alive! Have a good week , folks!

I have a sensitive throat. Whenever I took deep fried or spicy stuffs, I will usually get sore throat and worse still, throat infections! I will end up taking MCs, taking antibiotics and cough syrup. My throat will be irritating and that triggered coughs. Sometimes, in order to work by avoiding taking the sleepy cough syrup, I will end up with difflam cough lozenges, which I always leave some at home and in office. Well, that's my basic problems!

As usual, I had this sickness on and off till my Indian colleague recommended me to take honey. He told me that honey is a medication and is effective against sore throats. I don't buy that at first, not due to the reason I don't believe in him but I am lazy to sip the teaspoonful of honey every morning. This was until I spotted this pure manuka honey nuglets at cold storage in Singapore. I thought how convenient is it, though it may contains more sugar contents than those in jar but then, it is also made of pure manuka honey.


I don't know if it's really effective but it seems so far so good after taking it for 2 months. It seems to prevent sore throats and  tasty some more. I am kinda got addicted to it and been topping up once it's finished. It cost around S$6.90 with around 12-14 nuglets in each pack and come in different flavors. They have ginger, lemon, propolis and original.I prefer propolis and original.

Anyway, I guess I will still go for the usual bottle manuka honey as I believe it contains less sugar than these nuglets. On the other hand, I think honey is really good... no wonder they called it food for the gods in Greek culture.

It was a great and beautiful Sunday! Firstly, I attended church again after been away for a few months. It was surely a refreshing experience for me especially singing the worship songs. I have been skipping church lately but now, I hope to attend regularly again.

After church, and a simple lunch, I took a nap before heading to my kid's kindergarten graduation night with my family. It was raining heavily! My kid was performing that night and as parents, we are definitively excited and get ready our cameras and etc. Firstly he received his certificate for completing his kindy. (hahaha...I didn't recall I got one during my time....) Then, he performed in his dance.

Receiving the award and certificate

Getting ready to perform with his kindy mates

A closer shot before he performed

Here's a short clip of his performance. I am proud of him tonight as he kept himself composed and calm during his performance as he used to be quite shy (like me... :P ) I'm looking forward to his 'actual' graduation from the varsity 15 or 20 years from now ...hahaha...:)

Have a great week!

As an Ipohrean, I definitely missed the food back home! Thus, it was comforting to find Ipoh typed of food in JB! I had this Dry Curry Hor Fun in one of the eateries here near Sutera Mall. Well, it's delicious though it's not like the original dry curry hor fun back home. This one is wetter but then, their hor fun is quite smooth. I will certainly go back and try the famous one near the MGS in Ipoh.

Next, a big cup of kopi kao...what an indulgence!
And, that makes up a perfect afternoon!

What a surprise! I went to collect my cholesterol report where doc asked me to check regularly of late due to my high cholesterol for almost a while. I'm expecting it to be high as usual but somehow it drop to an all-time low! In my previous tests for years, it usually floats around 260+ but this time round, it went down to 170+. woohooo....

I guess my routine of running longer helps as I have doubled my running time to 40 mins to hit 4-5Km, took oats regularly, consume enough fiber, reduce fatty stuffs, took fish oil and as well as medication. Well, doc still wanted me to continue the medication and I have to do another test in 3 months time.

I thought mine is a lost cause but it seems like it still controllable. Will continue to live an healthy lifestyle!

Since it's halloween, let's have some fun in storytelling. And, of course, I mean, stories of the supernatural which I heard or encountered.


Story 1 - In Genting, we were staying in an old but refurbished hotel since there are no more rooms in other hotels. The place was really nice, with new carpets and a great scenery of nature. The room looks great too at an affordable rates. We rented two rooms. I had a great sleep in the cold weather. When I woke up at almost late morning, my wife's niece was checking where her shoes were and to everyone surprise, it was in our room next door. Well, she couldn't have walked back to her room bare footed the night before, unless someone had wore her shoes again to our place. However, when she went back to hr room, it was late and nobody claimed to wore her shoes over. Unless that someone is not human.....

Story 2 - My wife and I always love to follow my bro-in-law and family to explore places around. These are not so famous places in Malaysia but still it's consider a recreation spot. One of the places we went too was a waterfall, where there's an hiking trail all the way up to some mountains. We had some pictures too and looks good on the camera. When I viewed the picture again on my PC, I saw some sort of a Japanese geisha head formed out from the stream. Well, that could be due to camera trick or was it really an ghostly head as it looks quite real.I have deleted the pix,btw.

Story 3 - when I was a kid, I stayed in those government flats which overlooked a nice park with a beautiful pond. The only problem with the pond was that it was a great place for people to commit suicide. I remember clearly I was awoke one particular night with dogs howling and an evil loud laugh. That was too much for a kid to take, who already scared shit with the numerous ghostly tales with the pond. I will never forgot this experience!

Story 4 - My school is well known for being haunted but I was surprise there are ghosts too in the daytime! I was in primary school going to the loo and while I was busy doing my business halfway, I heard a loud shriek from the back of the long toilet. I quickly ran off and err...did I wet my shorts? Thinking back, well, it could some mischief students shouting but then, how come the shout was so sharp and long, and in the school some more?

Story 5 - One of my friend had a 'third eye' who can see supernatural beings when he was young. Luckily, the 'gift' is no longer there now and it also was 'mild'. He told us whenever he drove pass a certain winding road at a small town, he will always see a lady ghost sitting on the tree. It will always be at that Same area, sometimes she sat at the opposite trees and so on.

Happy halloween folks!

Along the stretch of Still Road in Singapore, there is this food court which was hiding beside the road but they make great fish slices or fish head noodle, whether in soup or dry. I seldom eat fish soup noodle before I come to Singapore as I think it's not that popular in the north. However, there are loads of it in Singapore, just like lots of hor fun stall in Ipoh, char kway teow in Penang or Pan Mee in the Klang Valley.

I don't fancy fish soup noodle that much as I am not a fish lover but fish soup cooked like this place has kinda change a bit of my views.

fried fish slices noodle soup

The soup was their trump card, there are fresh milk inside, ginger added as well as a little bit of white wine which makes it so fragrant, tasty and sweet. There are big chunks of fish slices which makes it allright to pay S$5.50 for a bowl of noodles as by the time you finished the meat, you are kinda full. They used the 'thick vermicelli' as known locally here and in JB which is similar to the 'lai fun'.

That's the stall....

And, I usually had this during rainy days, which makes it even more appetizing! Have a good week, folks!

I chanced upon this cafe while sending my car for a wash in Taman Johor Jaya last Sunday. Well, I always love tea time on weekends and it's a really a good idea to have a one while waiting for others to wash my car....yeah...lazy me....! Initially, I was surprise that the nicely decor cafe do not have air-cond. and it's not comforting drinking hot coffee on a hot afternoon.

Anyway, though I just had coffee and their club sandwich, I guess their food was really good. The Long black is fresh and aromatic while I like their idea of adding a little wasabi onto the sandwiches. It blended well with the cheese, veggies and slices of ham.

Bay Street 66's club sandwich

Long Black ....

Check out the eatery here -  BayStreet 66.
I will probably try their main courses next time.

Voila! I started running around 4-5 km lately instead of my usual 2km+ and I managed to do it last Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday's session was tougher as my muscles were also sore and slightly aching and increasing the speed on the treadmill makes it more difficult. Although this is peanuts to seasoned runner who easily clocked 10Km in an hour or less, nevertheless, I feel great! Had my badminton last Wednesday and the run did help my singles games, though I lost all :( . Look forward to another few good runs this week.

Talked to my runner friend and he advised to try 6mins+ per Km, where typical amateur marathoners usually did. That sounds like a tall ordeal to me as 8 mins per Km is tough enough for me...hahaha... Anyway, my goals is to reduce my tummy size and improve my stamina, not to run marathon.

Anyone of you love running? Can share your thoughts with me on how to be a better runner.

I always love Saturdays and who does not.... after all, it's a day where you don't have to work tomorrow. And, I love most was the time spent with my family during coffee or tea time, usually after running our errands after lunch in shopping centres. Nothing beats having a cup of nice, aromatic coffee on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

We were back to PapaRich for tea time again, after hanging out in Sutera Mall at Skudai. And, yes, I like their coffee the most. It's slight salty, quite similar to the white coffee at Wah Nam Kopitiam in Ipoh. I wonder what coffee beans they used.

Thick, aromatic kopi kao at Paparich

Usually a toast is a must for coffee

and...since I'm hungry, I ordered a plate of chicken slices hor fun...

After a refreshing light meal, we went further down to Jusco Bukit Indah to shop till dinner time before we calls it a day. Well, just like any other folks, this is usually how I spent my Saturdays with my family, unless we go up north to somewhere. And, again...I love most is a cup of coffee on a Saturday afternoon.....