: : Magenta : :

Finally! To wine and dine at Magenta, minus the wine, of course. Had to forego this luxury as watching my figure. This time, I went with Aline and Jonathan who were in town for their wedding reception in Kuching. So, it was the night after the reception that we went to have something at a quaint restaurant called Magenta.



Located in a very old house on stilts, we were greeted by the sight of candles and loads of interesting furniture.



At the foyer, we were greeted by Mr. Toad, although we only saw him on the way out. Poor Mr. Toad.



Aline and Jonathan ordered the fresh lime and soursop juice for their refreshments. As for yours truly, only iced water (how boring).



The garlic bread tasted great, according to the both of them. Me, I was trying to control my appetite and managed to win the battle against the bread. However, I lost to the next round.



Now who can resist the tempting fried calamari? I gave into my urge to eat it and had quite a few pieces. It's not the squid that is bad for me but the batter.



Aline had the chicken peri-peri which came looking like a stupendous work of art. It was great! The entire dish looked so grand and the garnishings were tasty too! The chicken was done just nicely and the peri-peri chilli added a nice flavour to it all.



Jonathan had the salmon hollondaise which turned out to be this delicious cream sauce. Looks good, no? Not to mention the garnishings. Everything is so edible and so eye-catching.



This was my meal : teriyaki cod. I stayed away from the sweet popatoe EXCEPT for one small bite. The cod was a small thing but nevertheless juicy. The sauce was sweet so hidden carbohydrates there (probably one of the main reasons why I did not lose any weight today but gain 0.7 kg!!!). I also polished off this little fried thing. Yep, another carbo. Darn it. Ah well. Musn't let the fact that I've accidently eaten carbohydrates wear me down. Must continue on to the goal of losing weight! I'm also puzzled as to why the cod dish is more expensive than the salmon. Hmmm...



So, that was our meal. It was a very lovely evening and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Magenta is located in an old house on stilts with a wide concrete entrance. There were beautiful decorations everywhere and the lights were spectacular. It's just next to Garden Steamboat along Nenas Road but you'll need to make a U-turn at the traffic lights to enter the compound. Parking is not a problem as the property is quite spacious.



Address Details :

Magenta Restaurant
32 Lot 141 Jalan Nenas
93400 Kuching
Sarawak
Malaysia
Tel : 082-237 878
Email : magenta_restaurant@yahoo.com
7 p.m. - 12:30 a.m.
Closed on Mondays

If you intend to eat at Magenta over the weekend, it's better to make reservations as they can get pretty full. The staff are very friendly and will be around to assist you at all times.

Anyway, that's all! Now back to eating my normal low carbo diet. Ah well.

: : PERKATA Charity Sales : :

Sorry about no updates. My streamyx connection is down (what else is new?) and been a bit tired lately.

On another note, I'm helping out at the PERKATA Charity Sale this Sunday 2nd May 2004 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Ironically, I'm not selling food but am doing Body/Face Painting. The sale is held at the PERKATA School opposite the Blind Center, along Jalan Ong Tiang Swee. The sale is in aid to raise funds for the school which is for handicapped/physically challenged children. PERKATA stands for the Sarawak Association for the Welfare of Intellectually Disabled Children, translated in Malay, of course. There will be a lot of food, drinks, souvenier and games stalls available.

On the 2nd of May, there will be another 3 more sales going on. Those are at St. Joseph, Chung Hua Middle School No. 3 and one more which slips my mind at the moment.

So, see you there then! After all, the PERKATA Charity Sale is for a good cause.

: : Ham, Cheese & Lettuce Roll : :

It is always a challenge to think of what to have for lunch everyday. Was thinking hard about it when I remember the roll that my sister mentioned. So, decided to do something similar : a ham, cheese and lettuce roll.



Wasn't so hard to do. Just use a leaf of lettuce, put a slice of ham on and some cheese. Then, roll everything up.



Ta da! The finished product. Then again, it look like a snack. I made the mistake of putting in too much cheese that it became too salty. So, took 3 layers out and left only 1 in. Also, should have washed the ham a bit to reduced the saltiness. Think the next time I do this, I'll use a less salty slice or more lettuce.

So, that was my lunch today. For tomorrow, there is a little crock pot bubbling in the kitchen this very moment. Bringing herbal chicken soup to work. Yum yum!

: : Monday : :

Went up to one of the pantries in the office and stumbled upon a surprise birthday cake for one of my collegues in the IT department. So, decided to take a snapshot of the cute itty bitty little cake.



Now, isn't that a cute little thing? Poor little bear stranded on an island with some candles and a coconut tree. Haha! I did not have a piece though. Had to stick to my diet. Good thing too! Found out this evening that I put back on 2 kg after my Miri Trip! Yikes! So, back to eating salad and controlling my protein intake.

That was the bad news. The good news is that I've lost 2.5 inches (6 cm) around my hips! Whoopee!

: : Home Sweet Home : :

I'm back. After spending a great time back home. Was so nice to catch up with old classmates, old teachers (!!!) and old friends. Also caught up with my parents and the Khoo kiddies kidos. They now have a cat that looks exactly like my old cat Smokie! Unfortunately, no camera at that time so no pics. Not as heavy as Smokie though and this time, it's a she. Surprisingly, her name is Satu (No. 1). Guess she is the big boss of the house. Actually, she's the neighbour's cat who found a home at the Khoo's.

And, unfortunately, I cheated at my diet. Guilty of eating peanuts, sweet potatoe and some starch from the food that we had last nite for dinner!

Pictures up in the next few days.

: : Devong on Belachan : :

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

11:28 a.m. The Mother.

Devong's school project is all about the senses. Today she brought to school the sape CD for listening. She also brought some belacan for smelling. "They are going to die!", she laughs.

7:22 p.m. The Daughter (Devong)

Sam said, "Ew!"
He close his nose. "That smells like poo. And looks like poo! Is it poo?"
I said, "it's belacan!"
He said, "what does your mother use it for!"
I said, "for eating. It tastes good."
And he said "ew!"
Ha ha ha.

Devong goes to school in Rotterdam as her Mummy is working there.

: : Investing in Malaysia : :

Jark was asking about investing in Malaysia. Well, you're in luck as it coincided with a talk I had with my father just this morning. We were talking about the new promotions : Malaysia ~ My Second Home. It speaks about foreigners wanting to live in Malaysia can now buy property with a minimum fixed deposition of RM150,000 with any Malaysian financial institutions AND a monthly offshore income equivalent to at least RM7,000 if single or RM10,000 if with spouse. It gets better if one is over 50 as only have to prove either a fixed deposit of the same amount OR a monthly income as stated. There are a few more critirias but it doesn't look to be that much of a problem.

Now, as for investment opportunities, details of investing in the manufacturing sector can be found at :

Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA)
Level 5, Plaza Sentral
Jalan Stesen Sentral 5
Kuala Lumpur Sentral
50470 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA.
Tel : +603-2267 3633
Fax : +603-2274 7970
Email : promotion@mida.gov.my
Website : www.mida.gov.my

As for the Malaysia ~ My Second Home promotion, enquiries are to :

Ministry of Culture, Arts & Tourism, Malaysia
Tourism Dvision
Level 33, Menara Dato' Onn
Putra World Trade Center
45 Jalan Tun Ismail
50694 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Tel : +603-2693711 / 2696 3133/ 2696 3132
Fax : +603-2694 1146 / 2693 2399
Website : www.mocat.gov.my

: : Herbs : :

So I'm into the 6th day of the Atkin's diet and onto the 4th session at Unisense. It's getting slightly easier to plan what to eat for the next day but not always. While preparing for tomorrow's salad, I was looking high and low for some herbs other than the ones used for curry and assam. Then, I came across this set of herbs given to me by my old boss. The herbs were part of a dinner gift for a Spanish theme function at Hilton (although RM200 per head sounds a bit too stiff for me, even if dinner, wine and entertainment are provided).



And here are the herbs, in simple tin canisters with simple labelling. However, the smell of the fresh herbs were so good that it's a lot better than the ones found in supermarkets. Titled Italian set, it says on the box that there are gourmet herb and spice mixes from Rakey Watsom Australia by Peter Watson. Well, the aroma wafting out of the little silver tins definitely scream "Quality Herbs are in the House!" I will go through each tin from left to right and what it says on the label.



The first tin is the Italian Herb Marinade that goes well with grilling and barbecuing. It contains the wondrous smell of oregano, marjoram, basil and sage. I'm tempting to seriously try it out but we need to get an oven first. Yes yes, I know, I know. I should be getting one. Soon.



Now this tin containes herbs for Italian Salad and Pasta Blend. As the name implies, it is good for salad as well as pasta. What is inside it? Garlic, parsley, basil, sage, oregano, marjoram and rosemerry, black pepper and dried capsicum. I mixed some of this into the mashed egg yolk with a bit of Dijou mustard and mayonnaise. Was preparing a dip for my sliced cucumber breakfast meal tomorrow morning.



The last one is a Gremolata. What is Gremolata? It's an italian mix of chopped garlic, parsley and citrus zest (usually lemon rind) that goes well with Osso Bucco, Italian cooking with veal. Sounds so divine. On the tin, it's mentioned that it would make a great salsa topping verde by adding in some olive oil, capers, anchovy and pound them all together. Wah! It's a pity that I'm not allowed to eat tortilla chips at this moment. Ah well.

You can read up on advice by Peter Watson here. Seriously, a lot of very good advice on how to prepare a good marinade and use spices. If you wish to order his spices, here is a website that sells his products. Other than that, he doesn't seem to have an official website.

What am I bringing to work tomorrow? Here they are :

Breakfast
Egg yolk dip mixed with chopped celery, dill, mayonnaise, Dijou mustard until smooth. Dip to be eaten with some cucumber slices.

Lunch
More cut celery, cucumbers, egg whites. To be mixed with some dressing (olive oil, the herbs mentioned above for the salad, bit of Dijou mustard, black pepper). Along with some chicken that is boiled but cut into little cubes. Will rub some pepper and salt into it.

The problem with dieting is that one has to think well in advance what to eat for the day and how to prepare it. Even now, I do not have all the ingredients available as Atkins is more suited for Western dining rather than for Asian cuisine. Although it's not entirely impossible to do so, it's not easy to always avoid sugar in the food. The sugar can be both natural and artificial sugar. Ah well. Because of this, I've been preparing my meals at home to bring to work.

What's for dinner? Well, since I'm flying off to Miri for the weekend, my dear and wonderful parents are cooking me a meal. We're eating some lovely roast pork that was given by Auntie Mimi (who is a wonderful cook, never EVER turn down a dinner invitation!) as well as some veggies. Probably have to skip desserts for the time being.

Having mentioned that I'm off back to Miri, will not be posting any pictures up over the weekend. So, toodle-loo!

: : Planning for Lunch : :

Tonight, I spent some time thinking about what to bring for lunch tomorrow. Better to bring my own food to work as to avoid eating carbohydrates and sugars that are found in Asian cooking. Granny has been a gem by not adding in sugar and cornflour into the cooking. She cooks everyday to keep herself occupied and she loves shopping as it allows her to get out of the house. She also wants to lose weight so ends up following my diet (albeit partially) as well.

Looking through the Atkin's recipe page, thought the Devil's Egg recipe sounded really good. And it got me thinking of how tasty it really is when my sister's fiance made it in the USA last year. So, decided to give it shot. After work today, went to the supermarket to get the stuff.



I boiled 3 eggs, cut the celery, chopped up the ham. There's actually more celery and ham here as I wanted to have some salad for lunch as well. So, Devil's Egg for both breakfast (1 egg), lunch (1 egg) and a snack (1 egg). The worst thing is feeling hungry in between meals as at the moment, I'm still not use to not having any carbohydrates in my system.



The egg yolks from the hard boiled egg. Oh yeah, one thing I noticed was that the egg white did not have a perfect round hole for me to put the egg yolk in later. Any ideas on how to make the perfect egg? Oh yeah, Granny mentioned to boil eggs with some salt so that the shell doesn't crack. Good idea.



I mashed up the egg yolk with some dill, Dijon mustard, pepper, chopped celery and bits of ham. Then, I realised I forgot to get one important ingredient : MAYONNAISE! It ended up so dry that it was pretty hard to get them to put it back into the egg white. Having said that, I will not post up the picture of the finished product. Looks too terrible.



I also packed the leftover celery and ham for lunch later. Also added in some cucumbers (about 1 cup) and will be bringing along some pork pate. Pate is just about the only stuff that I will eat that has liver in it. Will be eating the pate by covering the cucumber with it. Cannot eat bread so it's either lettuce, celery or cucumber that will ate as the base for the meal.

All in all, I seem to have covered quite a fair bit but there's still not enough protein to make me fill full. Never mind. Let's see how it goes tomorrow. Will probably still eat something at the cafeteria in terms of meat but not so much to feel full. Must also remember to eat my supplements as well.

It's now the 4th day into the Atkin's Diet and so far so good. It's not that bad once you know how to do it and my cousins have also been on it with great results. But, since one is eating less food, one should also supplement the diet with multivitamins, Omega3, blah blah blah. More info at the Atkins' site. This is a good article on what to expect when starting Atkins for the very 1st time, especially when one experiences fatigue or light-headedness. If you're wondering whether I bought the book, I didn't. I spend a lot of time reading the articles available online and believe me, there are a lot of information there. Takes awhile to know what to eat and how to do the diet properly but eventually you'll get there. Best is to consult the doctor but bear in mind that not all doctors like the idea of eating less carbohydrate. This article and this one is informative when it comes to discussing with your doctor. It is mentioned, though, that the Induction phase is not good for vegetarians.

Do I feel better? Yes. I feel less tired and more energized. I get better sleep. The other perk is that I will lighter (wanted to say that out!). Oh yeah, also important to read this article.

My other plan for tomorrow : put my food in the furthest fridge in the workplace so that I end up walking to get to my food. That would roughly be about 80-100 m to and fro from my table. Now to be discipline about it and stick to the plan.

: : May Lin's Last Meal in Kuching, Sarawak : :

It was on Saturday that we had our last meal with May Lin who was going back to Penang after spending a few days in Kuching, Sarawak. So, the few of us trooped down to Hai Pa Wang to eat some delicious crab since she didn't have time to eat it during other days. Now, this was our lunch and basically, the last time I ate so much carbohydrates. Who was at the lunch? Well, there was me, May Lin, Min Yen and Tim.



The vegetable was standard fare. As usual, we ordered midin @ young fern but this time, we had it cooked in some garlic and rice wine. Yeah, we went gaga over this veggie because it tastes great and very different from the other types of vegetable available. Plus, May Lin couldn't get this fare over in West Malaysia so she was enjoying every taste of it!



This is the seafood udon. We actually wanted to order another type of udon dish but didn't recall what was the name of the dish. Instead, we had one that look a lot like Cantonese style cooking. However, it still tasted very very good and we all finish the whole lot of it. Me especially since I will not be eating carbohydrates for awhile anyways. More on that later.



This is May Lin with the black pepper and honey crab. Sorry May Lin but this was the only picture that I had with the crabs so guess you get a free shot at being famous on mum-mum! Notice how big the plate is? Nearly as big as her! Hee hee! Anyway, we had 4 crabs because we thought the crab would be small but NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! It came out really big and we were struggling very hard to finish the crab. Couldn't quite taste the honey but definitely could taste the black pepper. One things for sure, the chef was very generous with the black pepper and the sauce. The crab came out tasting pretty good and we did managed, in the end, to polish the entire plate.

Address Details :

Hai Pa Wang
No. 286 1st Floor,
Yun Phin Building,
Jalan Pandungan,
Kuching, Sarawak.
Tel : 255126, 235126
Fax : 429064

Now, if one wants to eat at this restaurant for dinner, please do call up for a reservation. They are very very PACKED at night so it'll be difficult to find a free table. However, lunch is a different scenario and one can just pop by and eat the food. And you know what? I've never seen a waiter in the restaurant. A lot of waitresses but no waiters. Hmmm...

This was my last carbohydrate meal for the day. Or rather, for a very very long time. In an effort to lose weight (famous last words), I'm now back onto the Atkin's diet which I did for about 3 months last year right after Chinese New Year. It's not easy but so far, still at it. The tough bit is making sure that one doesn't accidently eat a piece of bread! Have also signed up with Unisense to see whether I can lose weight or not. So, let's see then.

: : After 15,000 pieces of crap, we got a cover : :

Yep, got that right. Amazing how much pictures are taken and then reviewed before selecting the best shots for Sport Illustrated. I'm amazed. Imaging having to take that many shots when covering the Iron Chef.

via dpreview

: : Belly Dancing at Mazmazza, Singapore : :

Got this in my email today.

Hi All !

Ladies - you might be interested in this. Guys.. u might
let the ladies in your home have good times - for a change!

Have fun with yr frenz & families
Enjoy your Hi-Tea with Belly Dancing performance
Dine & enjoy Arabian style in an Arabian Nite atmosphere..
"Let your hair down" & Join in --- LADIES ONLY !!!
$20/- only !!

24th April 2004 (Sat)
2pm @ The Sultan Room
Mazmazza Cafe & Restaurant
67 Bussorah Street
(mediterranean egyptian cuisine)

Limited Seats !
By Reservations

Call 62977473 / 62977472
or 93864450

Book Now !!!

(Check with us on other available dates)

Best Regards,

YOUSRY ELSAYED MANSOUR
Director



Sorry guys, ladies only. Food is good though so if you still want to have dinner there, try out the Baba Ganoush and pita bread. Seriously, it was very very tasty. I also like the fact that it's not crowded and noisy.

: : IMBB ~ III : :

The list is out at Renee's site as well as an interesting write-up. Be prepared to drool all you want.

As for me, *sigh*. Forgot about it and couldn't get hold of my cousin. Must ask around the family on how to cook the cake. It was a way on how to cook a cake in Bario. Wanted to try it the old-fashion way and see whether it works or not.

Ah well.

: : Comments from bchink : :

Hmm... suddenly there are a lot of comments from bchink. To answer your queries here :

SAGO : Well, it's definitely not tapioca. It's actually a palm. More details here. The sago is extracted from the tree bark and not from the root.

TAPIOCA LEAVES : Malas to check. :p Kangkung kangkung lah!

BEST KUEH CHAP IN SARAWAK : It's more of a matter of taste. Can't remember which posting you were referring too.

MANI CHAI : Cat veggie in foo chow. Ah. So, I'm going to ask you, why ah?

SABAH VEGGIE : Depending on where you order Sabah veggie, it will come to you as a particular strain of midin@fern (Sarawak) OR a type of veggie similar to Mani Chai (West Malaysia). It really depends. But, in Sabah itself, if you ask for Sabah Veggie, people would look at you in a strange manner.

KOM PIA / JUIN NUIN : Only a foochow would have a lot of things to say about Kom Pia. Anyway, the comments speak for itself. Was too lazy to update the posting.

THOUSAND ISLAND SAUCE : Was trying to trackback to which posting this comment was attached to. Cannot remember the context of the thousand island sauce.

Wonder if it's my neighbour?

: : Coffee Master ~ Carpenter Street : :



Well, after the dinner with Lindsey, May Lin, Tim and Min Yen, we went off to Coffee Master for some dessert. Instead of the one at Somerset Gateway, we decided to try out the new outlet at Carpenter Street.



This was Lindsey's drink : a beautiful Sunrice Ice-blended where the orange was blended with ice and some milk, I think. Or was it yogurt?



Mocha ice-blended was for me. Something simple : coffee and chocolate goes extremely well together. Although a simpler and cheaper way to making mocha at home is to mix Milo and Nescafe together. Yum.



Tim ordered the chocolate vanilla ice-blended which, translated into understable English, is chocolate and vanilla ice-cream blended with some ice and some coffee. Looks good eh?



Milk is for the little girl, May Lin. This is the iced honey milk. Goodness galore. Went very well with the peanut cookies we ordered.

Address Details :

Coffee Master
13 China Street
93300 Kuching.
Tel : 082-250 958 / 242899
Mobile : 016 867 6480

It's in the small lane past the old Chinese Temple but before Bishop's Gate. The small lane is running parallel to Bishop's Gate.

That's all then. Cheerio.

: : IMBB ~ III : :

Totally forgot that today was the cakewalk and couldn't get hold of my cousin to ask her to this recipe. Argh! Next time. Anyway, enjoy the various postings all over the web. Renee will have a list of postings up soon enough.

Ah well.

: : Meeting up with Lindsey ::

Let's see, it must have been nearly 7 to 8 years that I haven't seen this cheerful and chirpy young lady. Lindsey from my childhood days, where she and her brothers and my sister as well as myself used to goto church youth activities together and borrowing books from this children's library at the GCM. She was in town for the next few weeks so took her as well as May Lin and Tim (who were back from Malacca on holiday) as well as Min Yen for dinner at Da Chin Hua. Both Min Yen and I wanted to try out the BBQ pit that is on the table



One thing's for sure : it was HOT! With the charcoal in the middle of the table, we could feel the heatwaves coming out of it. It also didn't help that there weren't a single ceiling fan anywhere. This concept of hanving a BBQ pit in the table only works for cold climates and definitely not in Malaysia. Still, it was something new that all of us wanted to try it out.



For the BBQ, we ordered some fish as well as chicken. They came in think slices.



These were the ingredients for the BBQ : L to R - Salt, some spices which we couldn't identify but had chilli and oregano in it, oil for browning the stuff and oiling the wire rack so that the food doesn't stick to it and good chilli paste. Yum. A mix of Indian spices with some Italian (oregano) and chilli powder (all over Asia, one can find chilli powder). So, it was a lot of fun but it was too hot in Kuching to appreciate the warmth of the grill. Think it'll kick off better in winter. Ah well.



And so we mix the herbs with the fish and chicken. The oil was put onto the meat as well as the wire rack. We had to keep a constant watch over the food so that it doesn't brown too fast and that the flames that were firing up from the oil drips, caught anything else on fire. Phew!



We also ordered some bak choi which the waitress claim is not. So hmmm... it was cooked in oyster sauce and garlic. Very filling, alrite.



Excellent lamb with cumin seeds. Yummy. We had it before and so, we had it again. A bit fatty though.

When was the dinner? On Thursday night. Da Chin Hua (the restaurant) is located at 3rd Mile, behind the Amway office. If you're planning to eat there, remember to dress lightly because it can get very hot.

: : Seattle Coffee : :

It was great meeting up with Vivien after a long abscence of about 6 months, I think. Could be more. Big gang of us from the office met her today for dinner and after that, adjourned to Seattle Coffee at Merdeka Palace. We were all waiting for time to pass until the clock hit a decent hour for clubbing.



The biggest fruit tart I've ever seen in Kuching city (nearly typed Kuching Town). Delicious looking kiwi fruit (yes, it tasted tart but there was a huge mountain of whipped cream underneath it). The cheesecake was very rich but went very well with the coffee and tea.



A simple cup of Green Tea goes a very long way towards good health. It also works wonders with wasabi sauce. One sip and the wasabi effect is gone completely. Like magic. I'm always amazed by the wonders of green tea to reverse the effect of the green wasabi sauce.



We also devoured some slices of carrot cake. Yum yum yum. Although, I still prefer the one that my Auntie Maria bakes. Hmm... now that's an idea for the cakewalk.



Hot chocolate with whipped cream! All-time favourite. Only thing missing was marshmellows. I love making hot chocolate with full cream milk only (taught by my sister). No, they didn't do it this way at Seattle Coffee. Rather, it was me dreaming about the wonderful tasting fresh cream milk that I had in the USA.



Mocha freeze was what I had although I think something just wasn't right with the drink. So, switched it to a cup of Earl Grey Tea instead. Nothing goes wrong with a dried bag of tea leaves.

While walking Vivien back to her car, we saw this :



Personally, the colour scheme is not for me, regardless of what my friends think of my wardrobe. However, it tells me that the rider is very confident as well as flamboyant to ride such a brightly coloured bike. First thought that came to mind was BARBIE! Hee hee... sorry, couldn't resist mentioning that.

: : Coasters : :



Courtesy of the 'On the Border' Restaurant outlet at Denton, Texas. From my US trip in December 2003.

Cool no?

: : Honey Bee : :

Been so busy lately that I'm plump tuckered out at the end of the day. Phew! I do have a day job to maintain to earn my bread and butter lah!





Anyway, Granny ask me to drink this : Longan Honey. She recommended mixing it with hot water. It's about RM45 per bottle but looking at the details made me wonder whether this was a GM food, similar to the honey potatoe that is on sale in town. Hmm... well, haven't tried it yet but should have an interesting flavour, I'm sure.

I've also been busy bringing Granny to the eye doctor for her follow-up checkups. She's doing alrite and as sprite as ever. A bit hyper as well. She's an amusement to all the nurses there.

Cheerio then.

p.s. Will be blogging less these days. Feeling a bit lazy after blogging everyday for about 6 months. Ah well. I need some rest or motivation, whichever comes first.

: : Hong Leong Charity Run : :

RRRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!!!

And that was my alarm clock going off at 5.45 a.m. in the morning as had to be at Padang Merdeka (Independance Field) at 6:30 a.m. Volunteered to help talk some pictures for friends and no, it is not for the press. The event? It was the annual Hong Leong Charity Run.



It was a beautiful morning and one thing about getting up early, is that one can get awesome shots like the one above. The sun was to the left of the building so the striking light lite up the entire building so that it comes so sharp and the foreground (the trees) were silhouttes. After CY Leow's posting and beautiful pictures of Kuching, I was inspired. So cliche but what the heck! Since it was the truth. Although, I'm not a good photographer. Why? Because I tweak the pictures using softwares to enhance, or rather to correct my mistakes. A good picture is when one doesn't need to make so many tweaks to make it look awesome. Ok, so I'm a perfectionist.

By luck, I met Syarfina and her cheery Mother as well as her younger brother. Her mother was so sweet. She went to get me a bottle of mineral water and some chewing gum, even though I wasn't running. Thanks, Makcik! So, I was clicking away and being noticeable in the crowd with my tripod. I find that it gives better pictures using a tripod and it wasn't so cumbersome to carry around after all. There were quite a number of photographers, both from the press and also from the crowd. Everyone was clicking away and most of us had digital cameras.

So, took pictures and pictures of people running. Trying to get shots of the 'defining moment' but I still need a lot of practice. Didn't really get enough of those shots. Ah well. A lot of pals went and got drinks for me. So kind of them.



Free drink were abundant. Not only mineral water but also 100 Plus - Berry flavour. Verdict : such a terrible drink because there wasn't the fizz to remove the weird taste. Doesn't even taste like Berry. Urgh! Min Yen mentioned they were giving Gatorade a run for their money but it was so terrible. Never again.



The Milo was a lot better. One can always find a Milo drink stand at any sports meet, be it a small school sports event or a major one like this Charity Run. Usually, the drinks are dispensed for free so it was a great thirst quencher. Better than the 100 Plus-Berry flavour.

Well, that was my Sunday morning. After that, had breakfast with another collegue at Carpenter Street but no pictures as was really tired by then. We ate the famous Kolo Mee at Bishop's Gate.

Phew! I'm off then. Till next time.