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

29.1.15 back to training ...

Thank God my ankle is almost fully recovered and I have been running consistently lately, though I only trained for 5KM. I ran for three consecutive days already since Sunday and managed to hit my usual pace. That was great though I was huffing and puffing due to inactivity for almost 3 weeks and it seems running 5KM quite a challenge to me. I guess I will get better with training. I even woke up at 6.50am this morning to run, despite with only 5 hours plus of sleep. :)

Well, last Friday was the last day of the buy one , free one coffee from Starbucks. I decided to treat my colleague with a free similar coffee as well as a raspberry cheese cake. I love the cake, it's slightly salty, sourish and sweet. Then, I ordered my favourite ice blended dark mocha in venti size. It was an awesome afternoon as I worked in Starbucks till around 5pm.

Raspberry Cheese cake - It's slightly sourish and I love it!

My favourite Ice blended Dark Mocha

The queue was kinda long there too on that day where lots of folks take away the coffee. Looking forward to another 1-1 promotion. :)

27.1.15 Finally..... :)

ChrisAu 12:37 AM bloggers , Yew's Cafe 34 Comments

Finally Poslaju didn't disappoint this time round as they knocked on my door and delivered a nice parcel to me. I was lucky, just arrived home 15 minutes earlier and there they came. Anyway, I already expecting the parcel and what's to be delivered and special thanks to SK for taking the time to produce my playlist. Well, these are the songs that I wanted to buy online where I can listened to it whenever I go for a run or taking my long journey to work. I also received my first CNY card from SK after so many years !! Well, as you know, nowaday folks no longer send CNY cards, instead they whatapps and etc. Again, thanks to SK for taking the time to produce the CD for me. Greatly appreciated it!

LOL ... SK even printed a ramen on the CD. Now... whenever I see the CD, I need a ramen fix. haha...

Meanwhile, over the last weekend, it was my little princess birthday and we decided to go to some nice posh restaurant to eat. And, here we are again in Yew's Cafe.

My kid had a pasta. Very creamy with lots of ham!

My wifey shared a avocado cream chicken chop with my little princess

I had a black pepper lamb chop.

My long black coffee... they always makes good coffee!

A slice of chocolate cake for my little princess but she ended up wanting ice-cream. So, the brother finished the cake. haha... It was soft and lots of dark chocolate.

And, her scoop of chocolate ice cream.

Enjoying her ice-cream

Too busy ....

Have a good week , folk!! :)

23.1.15 MOS burger for a depressing evening...

ChrisAu 12:52 AM 16 Comments

There was this depressing evening where I didn't workout and run due to my sprained ankle as well as my local gym was closed for renovation. I was so keen to workout my upper body and does some non-running cardio exercises like rowing and cycling in order to sweat it out after work. The closure of the gym and my sprained ankle really gave me a hard time last week as I don't seems to be able to do anything. I was feeling kinda grumpy without exercising and not feeling good.

After checking out some sports apparels and football jerseys, I was wondering what to have for dinner. I usually had my dinner late at around 9pm or 10pm and since I am not going to the gym, I found myself checking out dinner at an 'early' 7pm plus. It was crowded everywhere at the malls and foodcourts and seeing that MOS burger was empty, I decided to go for their Wagyu burger set and hide in a corner to wind down. The beef seems good with the bun but the portion seems a little too small for me.

Wahyu burger set

Have a good weekend! :)

21.1.15 Wonderful lunch !

ChrisAu 11:50 AM Aston grill , Sinpopo 14 Comments

Had a nice lunch with my colleague at the Katong area in Singapore today, before my long afternoon of two meetings. We decided to drive out and ended in Aston's Grill around 112 Katong mall. I always like Aston, as it was not too expensive but they do served nice steaks.

My Sirloin Steak of Medium done, with two side dishes of rice and coleslaw. I gotta had rice as I don't know what time my meeting ends in the evening.

After the steak, we walked to a few shoplots nearby and was at Sinpopo Cafe at Joo Chiat Road. I was here 2 years ago for their Durian Pengat. Then, the place do not have air-cond. as it looks like an old kopitiam. Now, they still retained their retro style but much classy. I ordered a Flat white, it was smooth and nice!

My cuppa of flat white

Just a short post today. Have a good mid-week!

19.1.15 Random notes#1/2015

ChrisAu 12:13 AM random notes , 46 Comments

1. It was a busy weekend as I have several tasks to settle over the two days. I worked from home on Friday and though it's from home, a little distractions here and there ended up I am still working on a Friday night. hahaha... Well, I got some time to run groceries and have a long lunch as well as met up with a friend but the consequences are I needed to 'pay' back those hours when I am free at night. :)

2. Anyway, my insurance agent sent me a letter via Poslaju without informing my wife and I and we gotta travelled all the way to Pasir Gudang to retrieve the letter. I was thinking ...not again ... and I can only go there on Sunday since they are not working on Friday and Saturday, the so called 'new weekend'. Somehow, I thought the Poslaju folks, being a courier service, should at least called the recipients to check if they are at home or not or come back later rather just dump a note to collect at their warehouse. And, I was not surprise to see a long queue of folks waiting to collect their stuffs on a Sunday, the 'first' working day.

3. On the other hand, my son was slightly down with a throat infections and seeing that it was just the start of school, we decided to let him take a MC on Sunday. His condition is not serious and the doc didn't even subscribed him any antibiotics but we let him 'ponteng' a bit la.... for family time. hahha ..and a longer weekend for the family.

4. I did a medical check-up last weekend and went to retrieve my report today. When the medical personnel saw me, he told me I passed with flying colours with 100% marks on my medical report. hhahha.. Well, all the readings are below the borderline which include my cholesterol level, and that's a good thing, even though I remember I had two half-boiled eggs the morning before. However, my wifey's cholesterol readings seems on the borderline and I got her some red yeast supplement to control it, which is recommended by the pharmacist. Anyway, cholesterol level is something that fluctuate up and down depending on the food intake.

5. Meanwhile, I always look forward to a nice and simple dinner before I returned back to work in Singapore. Have had a nice dinner in Pekin Retaurant, Taman Sentosa.

Vegetables platter with lotus root

Beansprouts

Fried tofu with vegetables and mushrooms

Fried fish

Herbal Chicken

Ostrich meat

Have a good week, folks!

16.1.15 JB's new weekend blues again ...

ChrisAu 12:44 AM new JB weekend , 25 Comments

Well, schools has restarted and it was a quiet last Saturday night for me as my wifey and the kids have to sleep early due to the new weekends in JB. It was pro and con as I can enjoyed my Saturday nights soccer on my Unifi tv, but then a day is wasted spending time with the family. I really miss the old Sat and Sun weekends in JB where Sat is always spent driving around to nearby towns, malls, theme parks and etc. I am sure a lot of parents working in the private sector who were off on Saturdays and Sundays agreed with me too.

Meanwhile, to ease the blues, we had Japanese food last weekend, as the kids love it. We were back at Umatei restaurant in Permas Jaya.

My bento which consists of agedashi tofu, salmon, teriyaki chicken and edamane

My kids bento - edamane, vegetables, salmon and salad.

makis for all to share

MY wifey's favorite temakis

As well as her favourite 'popiah' rolls...

Have a good weekend!

14.1.15 Sweat it out ...

ChrisAu 1:19 AM fitness , 32 Comments

I was back for my workout after a good 1 week rest for my ankle, though I did some very light jog last Sunday. It's great to be back to the gym as I really felt uncomfortable without sweating it out and somehow, I don't feel as good in work as well as slightly moody for the last few days. Though my workout this evening is much simpler compared to my usual routines as my usual gym is closed for a week's renovation, it's still great! I went to my company's gym and did a slow 4KM run at the treadmill and glad my ankle didn't give me any problems, except some very slight discomforts after I am home and shower but it seems allright. I also did some workouts with the limited equipments over there. It was quite late when I was there and I managed to catch a selfie. hahaha... Usually, I will feel quite 'paisey' to catch a selfie of myself in the gym. for an old guy like me.

After my crunches and last set for the day.

Enjoying my new shoes ... tempted to snap a shot of it while sitting on the workout mat..LOL

And, as usual, I had a fabulous breakfast earlier of the day at Ya Kun where I ordered 2 half boiled eggs, a kaya toasts and a kopi-C. I don't take half-boiled eggs that often, probably once in 2 or 3 weeks due to cholesterol management.

My yummy breakfast set

And, I'm back to my favourite bento ... it's been a while since I had Japanese food, where I last had it 3 days ago in JB. What a great meal and evening!!

My favourite Shikado Wazen consisted of Salmon sashimi, chawanmushi, teriyaki chicken, tempura, miso soup and fruits.

13.1.15 Getting younger ...

ChrisAu 12:00 AM Johor premium outlets , One two eat cafe 24 Comments

I brought my family to Johor Premium Outlets again last weekend, which was two visits in two weekends, after never been there for almost a year! Well, no branded stuffs to buy but I thought of getting a new pair of glasses, with progressive lens. Yes, I am getting younger :P and reading seems to be challenging, though I put off the idea of getting these expensive lens as my current transition lenses were only 9 months old and I like it very much! But of late, I was really having problems reading small alphabets at reading distance and thought it's really time to get a pair. A progressive lens is a mixed of distance, intermediate and reading lens in one specs and it should very natural to the eyes as the distance zone is located at the side where I will look far while reading is located at the bottom of the lens where my eyes will look down naturally to read. I got the cheapest pair at RM870 and that's a good price from JPO compared to other outlets as well as my family optician has moved to her newly opened outlet over there.

Back in JB, I spotted a newly opened kopitiam in Permas Jaya called One Two Eat Cafe, and thought it's a good idea to try it. I love the ambience there and the place was fully of CNY music!

Look at the long dragon lantern there

I ordered a lamp chop as it looks good on the menu and cost only RM18.90. It's tasty with black pepper sauce but I find the portion is too small.

And a kao kao Vietnamese creamy coffee to end my day!

11.1.15 Injured....

ChrisAu 1:46 PM ankle injury; badminton; pastamania , 35 Comments

Not quite a good start to 2015 as I sprained my ankle while playing badminton last Wednesday. I was playing my second singles match and the tie was already at 17-19. I moved backwards to retrieve an almost baseline lob from my friend and suddenly, my left foot just twist to one side. I immediately fall down on the court with a shout and my racket flying to the sidelines. hahah... The folks there were so anxious and running to check on me. Anyway, it was not so painful and I rubbed some cream on it. The pain subsides, though I can felt a bit discomfort while walking. However, I can walk normally after a short rest.

Saw the doc the next morning and it seems to be a minor sprain, not that serious and no swelling. My doc asked me not to play badminton for 2 weeks which I nodded. Then, the silly me asked her if I can continue running and the doc replied with stern 'No', except brisk walking. hahaha... Anyway, I took the anti-inflammation and painkillers and my feet seems to be back to normal again on that day itself. I will see how it goes where I may do some light jogging few days later.

Went to the gym and did only weights workout with some rowing for cardio. I felt so uncomfortable without the sweat... sigh ... I'm really addicted to the feel good feelings after a good workout and sweat.

Anyway, I went to Pastamania for a fix of a bacon aglio olio and a chicken soup to comfort the depressing me. :)

Chicken soup for the depressing soul...

And bacon Aglio Olio with lots of cheese ...my comfort food

Thank God it was not serious and I guess I am back to my usual exercise routine soon. It seems better today, no pain after day 4.:)

7.1.15 Enjoying food in cold weather ...

ChrisAu 12:00 AM Cameron Highlands; Lavender Garden , 28 Comments

I thought I am done with my Cameron Highlands trip posts since it's just another place locally but then, I haven't post one important aspect of blogging, which is the food! OK, before that, enjoy some beautiful flowers first to calm your mind.

These pictures were taken at the Lavender Garden.

Lavenders!

Colourful!

Red and purple!

They are planting tulips!

View from the top

View from the side

A variety of the flowers there ...was it some chrysanthemum ?

At the Orchard

Then, I brought my little princess to pick strawberries and we ended having fresh strawberries there. It was so nice eating the sweet and sour fruits on the spot. (after paying!)

Strawberries dangling from the pot

Strawberries farm

My little princess was delighted and busy!

I love this ... raw grapes

Then, I was at an evening market in Tanah Rata where they sold all sorts of produces from the highlands. While my wifey and her sisters were busy shopping, I was busy eating by enjoying the hot and fresh sweetcorn and tapiocas sold there. It was heavenly, having something sweet and hot in a cold weather!!

Sweet tapioca ... tasted like the Japanese type! I like!

ooh... the corn was very sweet and it was very hot!! I had a few sweetcorns during those few days.

And, last but not least, since we knew a local who stayed there, we were brought to places with affordable yet simple but fresh food for our meals. We ordered mostly vegetables since they are so fresh there. I guess some other eateries will likely hike up the prices since they knew we are tourists.