Eating out: Cocos Cafe

I just came home from Ipoh yesterday. It was good to see all of my relatives again. My grandmother is in good health and the operation removing the lump was a success! Thank God! Mom's brother, Uncle Johnny opened a cafe in Ipoh last year. This cafe is located right opposite Tesco in Ipoh.



Cocos Cafe opens from noon till late. My aunt oversees the beverage counter and kitchen so that everything is in order. We went there for dinner on our first night in Ipoh. It gets pretty crowded over the weekend. So be there early...



This is the interior design of the cafe. It is done by my cousin, who's a designer located in Ipoh. Cozy ain't it?



There is also sofa for those who prefer quieter ambience. Bring over your wine and the waitress is more than happy to welcome you here. Or, just order one of the specialty drinks from Cocos Cafe.



There are more than 80 choices: from sandwiches to Asian food to steaks. We had few dishes served in claypot, Chinese cabbage in Cantonese style, chicken chop with mushroom sauce and noodles. As for the prices, it is very reasonable and good news is that, no price increase after the petrol price hike.

Japan: 19-24 June 08

We spent only 4 nights in Japan. This time, we covered main cities like Tokyo, Nikko and Yokohama. It is beginning of summer and it was drizzling on most of the days.



Our first day was in Nikko. We went to Nikko National Park. It is filled with trees and more trees. The luscious green was very refreshing. Next was the Futarasan Shrine, which is a Unesco World Heritage site. In Japan, the difference between a shrine and a temple is the object of worshiping. In a shrine, people worships natural wonders like sun, water, trees, etc. Whereas, in a temple, people worships Goddess of Mercy, Buddha, etc. Then at night, we stayed in ryokan. Ryokan is Japanese inns that the flooring is tatami and there is onsen (hot spring) for guests. Pictured above is female onsen. If you know Chinese characters, I'm sure you'll understand the words here.



On our second day, we headed back to Tokyo. The first stop was Asakusa Temple.



These are some of the Tokyo skyline. Tokyo is definitely a concrete jungle. According to the tour guide, the wife will complain if the hubby goes home early. Men are expected to work long hours and into the night. Geez..



Later that day, we went to Shinjuku. Most shopping centers are located here too. We went into Isetan. Boy, things there are expensive! A simple umbrella can easily costs more than RM70! In order not to shock ourselves further, we went down to where the supermarket is.

Not sure about my parents, but I beamed the moment I stepped into the lower ground floor. The entire floor is filled with food! Glorious food! Photo above is only a fraction of them.



At night, we dined in a local restaurant. This is a tofu specialty restaurant. We ordered few dishes like the tofu skin wrapped avocado and tuna, chicken teppanyaki, tofu salad, garlic fried rice and vegetable pancake.



The next day, we went to Mt Fuji and White Pagoda. As it was raining, the road to Mt Fuji was blocked. We ended up in its showroom where it showed the history of Mt Fuji. White Pagoda was nothing spectacular, but the surrounding is. Lunch was the usual Japanese bento, with udon, tempura, pickled vege and etc.



After spending the night in Yokohama, we returned to Tokyo. Lunch was in Odaiba's Aqua City shopping center. From there, I managed to take a shot of the Rainbow Bridge. At night, the spectrum of colors light up the bridge. We had pork chop for lunch, in which I did not finish...



After lunch, we went to Toyota showroom. This my third time there. I took photos with cars that aren't available here in Malaysia. After that, we had dinner in Chiba before checking into our hotel in Narita and bye-bye Japan...

My Heart - OST Heart

I would to share this lovely Indonesian song that I heard it while touring Japan. The moment I listened to this song, I was instantly mesmerized by the melodic rhythm. It is sung by Irwansyah and Acha Septriasa. They both have duet few songs together. Try it...

Macao: 17-19 June 08

The Venetian is located at Cotai Strips, which is only 5 minutes from Macao International Airport. It is the largest integrated resort in South East Asia. Surrounding The Venetian, there are 3 other upcoming humongous hotel and resorts. There are the Four Seasons, City of Dreams and Galaxy.

We were there for 3 days. It was rather a short noticed as we decided to go Macao a week before our departure. We had a wonderful time staying in The Venetian, despite the rain on the second day on our stay there. There were so many photos to upload that it's impossible to upload one-by-one. I had to resort to combine 4 photos at one go. I shall let the photos do the talking... *clockwise from top left*



The night view is absolutely magnificent. The vibrant colors really lit up Cotai Strips. This day view is taken from my suite, that is facing a small golf course and swimming pools. This is the indoor shopping. There are 3 canals altogether, Grand Canal, St Mark Canal and San Luca Canal. No photos are allowed in the casino. I went there early in the morning where most betting tables are still unoccupied and quickly snap.



Ahhhh, my suite for the 2-night stay. The king sized bed for Pui Kwan and I. The big bathroom with dressing table. This door leads to the toilet. The sofa with cushy cushions and matching color curtains.



Our first dinner was at the Macao Tower. We reached the 360 Cafe around 6.30pm and quickly snapped few shots of the city. It was definitely a clear night.



The food is definitely sumptuous! There were more than 100 varieties to choose from. For starters, there were cold seafood, soup and bread and titbits. Main course were filled with Portugese and Indian food, sushi, sashimi, live seafood, steaks, noodles, vegetarians and more! Desserts is absolutely thrilling, haha. Tiramisu, souflee, fruits, egg tarts, ice creams, puddings, cakes and more! It costs RM100/pax but it is worth every penny. The view is awesome and the food... enough said! :p



Many faces of CarolineL in Macao, from the indoor shopping to the suite. I had a wonderful time!

Home!

Finally home from Macao and Japan after 8 days. My muscles are aching from excessive walking, my mind is tired from the turbulence and I am definitely craving for my bed and duvet.

The trip to Macao was okay. Venetian itself is awesome: suite is spacious, gondolier is friendly, food is tasty, etc. Will upload tons of photos tomorrow.

As for Japan, we went to Nikko, Kinugawa, Yokohama and Tokyo. We covered places like Mt Fuji, Chinatown, Chiba, Odaiba, ryokan hot spring resort and much more. Also, photos will be uploaded tomorrow.

Unpacked my luggage earlier in the evening but gotta do packing tomorrow. We're going to Ipoh on Thursday!

Off to Japan

Pheew, just got back from Macao and we're on our way to KLIA for our next trip to Japan! We had a wonderful time in Macao, tons of stills to upload later.

Won't babble much now. Be good and stay tune. Ciao!

Off to Macao

Will be flying to Macao in an hour's time. We'll be staying in Venetian for 2 nights. Glorious and sumptuous meal awaits us. Woooot. Our city tour starts tomorrow at 1pm. Definitely will not miss our gondola ride at the Venetian *ahem* singing gondolier wei...

Gotta go now. Be back on Thursday! mwahs!

A little prayer

A couple of weeks ago, my grandmother is diagnosed with breasts cancer. She is 80 this year. What is the odd for a person her age getting cancer? Furthermore, it is not benign, it's a malign. A person of her age should die of old age, not this. It just breaks our hearts after getting the news.

She should be enjoying her golden age with her grandchildren and great-grandchild. But now, she's waiting to be admitted to the hospital :( Her oncologist suggested to remove one-side of her breasts, including lymph nodes. On the relief side, there will be no radio/chemotherapy. She can't avoid the "wholesome goodies" that her oncologist will prescribe her though.

What she needs the most now is our support and prayer. Can you please pray for my grandmother too? Thank you. Dear Lord, we leave her in Your hands. Thank you Father that You will strengthen and take care of her. And continue to let her enjoy You, praise You and experience You. Amen.

Taking a break

Thanks to the strike, I am going hiatus from being a series maniac. I don't watch a lot of series as compared to those who also download anime and even Asian dramas. I only focus on good rated shows :P pssst who would want to waste his/her bandwidth on downloading terrible shows?

My first series that I ever download has got to be Lost. I'm sure everyone has heard of it. It tells the lives of the survivors after a plane crashed into a mysterious island. I watched it over AXN during its marathon screening and I am hooked ever since. This show is now into its fourth season before it was affected by the writers' strike. There will be 2 more seasons before its finale. Can't belief that I have been watching since 2004. How loyal...

Then came Heroes. I still remember vividly that Astro advertised Heroes on tv and on dailies. You can't get anymore attention than those. I watched the first episode and I am hooked instantly. This show is about ordinary people with extra-ordinary power, destined to unite to save the world. It sure sounds yummy. Belief me, the beautiful people starring in the show is equally yummy. Anyway, Heroes will be back in this September. Season 3 ended abruptly because of the strike and it was such a killjoy watching the ending.

Beside these 2 shows, I am also watching Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. It is about the life of the Connors between Terminator 2 and 3, where they need to battle the machines. Their only mission is to stop SkyNet. This is rather new and it is only shown upto episode 9 in its first season and it's affected by the strike too. However, the producers have signed on agreement to run the second season. I am quite fascinated by the storyline. Give it a try...

The last show is Dexter. I never heard of this show until Vincent told me. It came highly recommended. Honestly, the first episode is rather boring. You gotta be patient and continue watching the second and the third, and fourth. Before you realize, you are almost finishing the whole season, haha. Dexter is a blood spatter analyst who works for the Miami Metro. He also has an addiction to killing, which make the show oh-so-interesting. The downside is that, there's hardly any beautiful faces in the show, not even Dexter *pfft*

Eating out: Golden Phoenix

Not exactly celebrating Father's Day, just out for a dinner. It has been a while since we last makan at Equatorial's Golden Phoenix Chinese Restaurant. It is also a halal restaurant. My dad is missing its prawns. So, off we went to Equatorial Hotel. The same hotel where I will be holding my wedding dinner come November ;)



This is how the Chinese restaurant looks like. Nice lightings... It is usually empty on weekdays. However, since it is a Saturday, there is more crowd. We ordered a vegetable, fish and prawn.


Vegetable, priced at RM15

Suen Mai Lai Yau Bak (stir-fry Baby Nai-Bak) tasted good, not too oily nor salty.


Prawn, priced at RM30

This is Thai-King Prawn. This has got to be one of the best dish served in Golden Phoenix. Aside from the Salad Prawn, this is what we usually order. This tastes a little sweet and spicy, with a kick of saltiness.


Fish, priced at RM33

Next up, is the Spring Onion Fish. I like it how they stir-fry the spring onions: soft yet crunchy. The chef uses young ginger too, which add in an extra kick to it.

Looking forward to Father's Day luncheon tomorrow. Here's an early wish, Happy Father's Day!

Dusk and Dawn

I have always loved sunsets. The spectrum colors up the sky each dusk like its telling a story with a beautiful ending. I am sure sunrise is as mesmerizing as sunset, no doubt, but I just couldn't wake myself up at the break of dawn to watch the sky lights up.

I walked outside my house and I saw this orangy sky after dinner. I quickly grab my phone and capture it. Of course, there are other prettier sunsets than this. Considering I won't be traveling to the coast anytime soon, I have to be satisfied with this for now, heh.

Brief moments later, the sky turned colder. The tropical color faded away in merely a minute. Somehow I felt that it's bidding farewell. And I was there to acknowledge every moment. Ahh...

I must say the most beautiful sunset I have ever.. ever seen is none other than midnight sun in Norway. It was last summer and it was freezing with strong wind. The sky was clear and the sun was at its lowest point before it rose up to welcome a new day. The feeling is so surreal. The image is forever engraved in my mind and soul.



Look at it! Can you believe that our mighty sun has already set? This photo is taken at midnight! Yes, 12am! 0000 hours! You might wonder, if the sun is still up during midnight, what about at dusk and dawn? The sun never sets in Scandinavia. It shines brightly at 9pm, 11pm, 1am and even 4am. During summer, you will experience midnight sun, whilst in winter, you will experience the great northern lights!

That would be my dying wish, just to catch a glimpse of the amazing northern lights!

Eating in: Cakes!

I was in Jusco yesterday and there was a promotion going on. Soft cheesecake is selling for only RM9.90 instead of the usual RM12. There were a tray of cut cheesecake in cubes for sampling. Being deprived of cheesecakes LATELY *ahem* I went to sample it. Though not as rich as other cheesecakes and being health-conscious now, I decided to buy one.

It's not a very big cake, but still I managed to slice into 10 pieces. Hui Bao and Nelson were here yesterday, so each of them had a slice. There are still few slices left in the fridge. Anyone?

Earlier today, my mom wants to bake Green Tea Chiffon Cake. So I helped her with whisking the egg white with sugar and washing the utensils. Tired ler, my arms are sore from the pilates lesson yesterday and I had to whisk the eggs till foamy. Not easy hoR...

Pictured above is the mixed batter after pouring into the tube pan, ready to be put into oven.

This is how the chiffon cake looks like after baking for 30 minutes. It is still cooling down as I'm writing this. It is another simple recipe that my mom pulled out from our daily.

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

6 eggs, separated
150g sugar
100g self-raising flour
2½ teaspoon of green tea powder
70ml fresh milk
3½ tablespoon of corn oil
Pinch of salt

1. Beat egg yolks until thick. Add 100g of sugar. Then beat until creamy.
2. Combine milk, green tea powder and oil, stir slowly into egg yolks.
3. In another bowl, whisk egg whites and salt until foamy. Slowly add in remaining sugar and whisk until mixture is stiff.
4. Pour a quarter of egg yolk mixture and flour into egg white. Stir well.
5. Add remaining egg yolk mixture and stir until well blended.
6. Pour batter into tube pan and bake!

Remember to preheat oven in 180°C. Bake if for 30 minutes. Remember to invert the tube pan to cool.

Macao, here I come!

Short post.
Going to Macao next week: 17-19.
Flying with AirAsia.
Going with parents and Pui Kwan.
Staying in Venetian, Macao.
Wooooot.
End.

The Other Side

A little while ago, I received a forwarded mail from my aunt. It was rather a long one and in it, were many short stories how we should faith in the Lord. This particular one captured my attention the most.

If you have yet to read this, do share with your friends and loved ones :)

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing. I know my Master is there and that is enough."

Eating in: Spaghetti Aglio Olio

This is my very first attempt cooking spaghetti Aglio Olio. I have been wanting to cook this for months. I am quite bored with the usual bolognese. So today, I am ready for Aglio Olio! It took me around 10 minutes to prepare the simple ingredients.

These are the ingredients used for my lunch. Very simple and easy to cook.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio

Cloves of garlic, chopped finely
A pinch of chopped parsley
Generous amount of extra virgin olive oil
Chicken fillet, cubed (you can opt for mushrooms or portebello)
Dry spaghetti
Salt & black pepper, add to taste

1. Cook spaghetti until al dente (7-8 mins).
2. In a non-stick pan, sauteed the chicken fillet with olive oil. Moments later, add in garlic, parsley and salt.
3. Drained the spaghetti and add into the pan. Toss until even, then serve on plate.
4. Garnish with cheese or chili powder, like I did.

Wahla~ It's an art eh? Haha, it tasted good and healthy! Next time, I am going to replace the chicken with mushroom and shrimps :)

Shout out

1) When one said he won't do you a favor, then stop asking! No matter how many freaking times you ask, the answer will be the same. So stop asking!

I just could not understand why people will not take NO for an answer. Like those salesmen promoting the products in complexes. They will keep on hovering and talking even though it fell on deaf ears. Anyway, this isn't the case, it's something else. Just use that for an example.

2) Get things over with! Don't dwell in the past already!

I've moved on and you should too. You don't have to spend another nickel or your precious time on things you hate anymore. Remember to leave the past behind you. Dream about your future, for those are the moments you should look into.


3) None of the item 1 and 2 is about me. But this is.

I am very furious over item 1 and 2. Grrrrrr, I can't leak the details here though. It is quite personal. Yea, everyone should focus on things greater in life, ie help the needy, enjoy your life, treasure your family and friends, etc. Do not let worldly desires consume you. You should know better than that. If you don't, then go figure out.

Eating in: Keropoks!

Yeap, today I deep fried the keropok (crackers) I have at home. The one of the left is prawn crackers from Sabah. This is given by Shally's parents when I visited them in April. While the round grey one on the right is given by my neighbour, fish cracker from Terengganu.

It took me almost an hour to fry these keropoks. And a whopping 30 minutes to wash the wok *tsk* I had to scrub off the stain that was sticking like a lizard holding on to its dear life on an F1 car!

This is how it looks like after being enlargedfried. Just compare this and the first photo. Huge right? And it tastes yumz! Even after 2 months storing, it is still fresh. I did let them sun-dry before frying though.

I now have 3 big air-tight containers filled with keropoks. How nice if there are acar to eat with these keropoks.

Ma parfum

I lurvee perfumes. I can't remember when I start using it but to me, it is a necessity every woman should have. Though I can't really recall how many bottles I have used. Amongst them are Hugo Boss, Issey Miyake, Ralph Lauren, CD, etc.

There are the ones I currently own. I'll brag about them can?

This has gotta be the most expensive one: Hermes Eau de Merveilles. And I got it for free! Lucky me! As you can see here, the box has Burj Al Arab imprint. That's because I stayed there a couple of years back, woooot. I checked the market price, a bottle of 100ml can easily costs more than RM400. And I have 2 bottles at home ;)

I also own these...(l-r) Lancome Miracle Forever, Givenchy Very Irresistible and Estee Lauder Bali Dream. All my perfumes are bought abroad. I never liked purchasing cosmetics or fragrances on those fancy counters in our local departmental stores. The sales girl(woman) kept on pestering to buy more and more *pfft* Hello! I will buy if I wanted to, I don't need you to tell me what to get, duh!

Anyway, Miracle Forever is purchased in Thailand, Very Irresistible from Japan and Bali Dream from Singapore. All of these are duty free fragrance purchased in the (airport) departure hall.

All my perfumes are displayed here. You can see there are 2 extra bottles, which I have not mentioned earlier. Kenzo Flower is a birthday gift from Gan couple of years back. While the fancy blue cap bottle is Escada Pacific Paradise, also a birthday gift, from Pui Kwan.

That's all for now. I hope to add few more bottles to my collection :)

Movie Carnival 2008

We went to 1Utama for lunch after my pilates. While on our way back to our car, I noticed the central atrium were filled with people. I usually don't really bother about these fairs, but this caught my eye: Movie Carnival 2008 - When Dreams Come Through. I don't consider myself as a hardcore movie-goer, but I do watch most of them, either in cineplexes or on my computer (can download ma).

I saw 2 human-sized creatures hovering shoppers. I looked closer and I saw Alien and Predator! No wonder some shoppers were frightened, haha. I quickly walked over to shoot some stills. Few souls braved themselves to stand next to Alien and Predator.

Moments later, Spidey and Hellboy came out and joined them. By now, there were many children tailing them everywhere they walked to. I tailed them too, to take stills ma, otherwise, how to upload them here right? ;)

There were many movie booths surrounding the atrium. There was X-Files. But I wonder why Steve Carell's Get Smart posters was at the side of the booth, hmmm....

Many people stood by the Battle of Red Cliff booth. Apparently, there was competition of some sort. Looks like fans gotta wait for this upcoming film by John Woo.

Even Incredible Hulk made an appearance, though only his fore-arm *ahem* What was it trying to grab? The girl? Nah, she's safe, there's red tape that reads Do Not Cross stopping it.