.....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!