What is important to you?

This morning, i planned to write about some food. But later in the morning, i think my mind change completely on what i wanted to write. While at work today, i received news my ex colleague was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. I think at that point of time, i didn't know what to say, my first response the person was what??. My friend told me the news came via SMS from him to a few of us. And he wanted the group to know about it. It must be the most difficult sms to write.  I cannot imagine how he feels.

I had to excuse myself from training for a while to go to toilet to compose my thoughts. On my way back from work, i started to tear up in the car. ( Yup, i got weird stares at the toll ) MSN/Gmail and Yahoo today were alot of emails going back and forth on this topic. Our whole group is worried, scared and most of all dumbfounded. We'd probably never expected this to happen to someone who supported us all in times of need.  It's one thing to support your colleague at work but i must admit when faced with this situation, i am not sure how we can do except give him the best support/ prayers and hopes.

I guess what shocked us the most is how mortal we all are. If we do not already know this, this is a reminder to all of us that we really are.  And i am also reminded how mortal each one of my family members are.

My family has been robbed of members by cancer in it's many forms, and it never gets any easier if you hear such news. Quite depressed today, i told my mom about this ( she knows most of my friends and all ) i think she also didn't know how to comfort me today except just listen.

I hope my friend gets well. Our whole OD gang hopes as well.  I am positive he will.

Probably need some time to come to grips with this. So if you think your priorities in life is something else. Think again. You don't know it till it hits you.Will start posting later in the week. I am really not in the mood to write about something fluffy.

Obaachan

Por Por is the lady in Sam Fu.

I thought quite long on what to put for the title of this post. And this is not a food post by the way, so if you are not interested, stop reading here.  Obaachan is japanese for grandmother.

Over the long weekends, when everyone was celebrating outside for the new year, my family and i had to attend one of the family obligations that are inevitable but still sad at some point. My maternal grandmother passed away. She was 101. I still remember that night on the 28th at 11pm when my aunty called. I picked up the phone as usual ( and it's the fix line - the fix line rarely rings at home ) - that late an hour, you know it is something not too good. Poor mom, i could still remember her shock look when she came down to inform us and she was actually not sure what she should do next. All she could do was call dad who was in Ipoh (coincidentally at that time ).  I took over the call to make the arrangements to go back to Ipoh. I could hardly sleep at that night. Suprisingly, i did not cry, and it was not unexpected as she was old ( there were signs she was not to be here for long ) yet it was just sudden.

My grandmother was an interesting person. She is no taller than 5 feet. At the age of 90+ she was still waddling around in the garden in her clogs bustling around the house. Compared to my paternal grandmother who was frail, she was quite a picture of health, subscribing to a diet of plain, steamed food most of the time. Oh... if only she knew what crap her grand-daughter stuffs in her mouth - she should be shocked!  At the same time this, small lady in sam-fu loved - ...... WWF, that's Wrestling for you not World wildlife fund. And any time there was wrestling on TV, she will be infront of it.  Oh, and hindi movies as well :) Or was it tamil movies....

However, looking back at her life, i found actually it was quite an acheivement ... she had 8 kids, 3 boys ( one died @ the age of 15 ) and 5 girls ( my mom the youngest girl ) , 14 grandkids and 7 great grand children.  She survived second world war, had a relative beheaded in those times,  go through the pain of losing her son in a freak accident and brought up the rest of the kids when my grandpa died in the late 60s.   For me, she was always the grandma who could cook well. When i was younger, i used to stay in Ipoh when dad was on sabbatical and both she and my paternal grandma had a tough time trying to cook for me as i was the fussiest pot in town when it comes to eating. Ah yes, i could only take in milk and char siew pau when i was a wee lass - talk about healthy eating.

She also used to make awesome fatt kou for new year ( that uses toddy as a base for the rising agent ) and ... everyone in the family/neighbourhood could not get enough of it. In fact my dad remarked her lamb stew was absolutely to die for - it can't be help though, she used to cook for the whole family ( about 30+ people staying in Lahat Lane, Perak ) and with big mouths to feed, the demand for excellence is there.

However, in the late 90's family wealth split the family. My grandmother was still a traditionalist, favoring the sons a bit more than the girls, causing my aunts and my mom to have some disagreements with her. Actually looking back now, some of the decisions she made, could when she was not of sound mind, for soon after, her Alzheimer's symptoms became more apparent. For my mom, despite all the ill will between her and the brothers, her mother was still her mother, and she made the effort to see her and visit her.In fact, my brother and i could not miss out on visiting her. They were amusing visits though, sometimes she could not recognize us, on her good days she could - or sometimes we were mistaken for god knows who. Best is when she always ask me... "Have you graduated from University?"  Initially i found it annoying, after awhile i just nodded agreeably. So far she never told or said to me -"why are you so slow in graduating?"

At her wake, we decided as a family not to cry instead we wanted to celebrate her life. One of my cousins dug up old pictures of grandmother and the family and we had a riot in the dining room. She used to avidly collect photos of her children ( her self as well :) ) and there were so many pictures that we never even imagined - the above is one of them. We also discovered my grandmother loved hand bags and in most pictures she had a bag of different shape. They were Prada worthy! We all had a good time remembering her through those pictures.

Goodbye Grandma. We will miss you.

Suprise!

Hmm i got something in the post from foodbuzz today :) i heart suprises after a crappy day at work. Picture post later!

Oh no...

Oh no...my dad now thinks i am very good at finding things on the internet for him... hmmm....

Dad was listening to the song circle game on Wah lah toi... when suddenly

Dad: eh... kid...

Me: Busy typing @ laptop... Hah?

Dad: download me that song................

Me: Huh?? what song?

Dad: that song lah - circle of life... by Joni mitchell...

Hmm daughter has become a source of song download.......u think i what? napster? tee-hee....

You would think...

...that after 1 year plus, someone could no longer hurt you after time has passed? Apparently not. Ouch.

Standing Ovation

Damn, after coming back from the hols, i've been up to my eyebrows in work. All blogging is going to be slow *sulk*, i hope my project kicks off .. cause i get the "feel" it is not going well *shucks*

Anyway, i managed to finish loading pictures... so hopefully more posting on weekend but... something to make you smile. Well it did for me.. This is taken in a toilet in Gotemba in Japan. It's an hour away from Tokyo.

This?? In a seating toilet? What do you mean??

LOL

JAPAN IS A FUNNY COUNTRY

i am flattened out :(

I haven't been updating so frequently. Been working flat out the past 2 weeks and running around back and forth different places. My aunt was also hospitalized last weekend for a fall, so i have been helping mom and dad run lot errands. Work is a bit of overwhelming as well.

Hopefully after my break - i will rejuvenate (^_^)V. Hopefully.

Er ........ happy valentine's day ... not

Is it me again? My blogspot fonts have gone 'nanas, N.E.W.A.Y Happy valentine's day people. I don't celebrate because i have join Boss Stewie's campaign on Happy Single Awareness day - LOL. It's that time where it is freakingly expensive flowers and food. Somehow even when i was dating- that ain't my thing. People- when will u learn, if someone loves you, they will give you things willing 24 x 7, 365 days in a year. Not one special day only in a year, or two or 3 including birthday's and anniversary. Most importantly sometimes it is the things people do for you that tell you they "heart" u :) so don't get upset if you did not receive any.

However, today is still a good day - my ex-supervisor who is now my HOD invited me and FF for lunch! We have not had lunch with her in ages - and it was a good lunch that we 3 used to enjoy like the good old times. Sorry no pictures - shy lah in front of my boss. She might think i am nuts - lol - ... wait.. she already thinks i am nuts.

Wah it is ages since i updated - sorry lah.... after CNY break - the work load went into hyper drive and i was on DETOX. DETOX man!! Hopefully i recover after this week... Long and important projects needs to be done.

Anyway have a good valentine for those who celebrate - rest of the world - happy singles awareness day! (Click the link - there is a wikipedia entry hahaha)

Reunion Dinner- Petronas Style

How many of you all think Reunion dinner is chore, you need to make the long journey back to your home town, slave over hot stoves? There are some who wish they are able to make that long journey home. I love this year's Petronas Ad.. here is the longer version. So emo after watching this... the kid is cute as well.

Laziness

Sigh .... i feel so lazy at times.... I have been lazy to blog because .. well CNY is a round the corner. Work seems no stop recently due to the festive holidays. I swear in one day i have about 5 meetings. What's with people and meetings?..

By the time i hit home, i am pooped. But... here's a nice shot i took in Bangsar Village 2. FF and i went ( about 2 weeks ago ) on a clothes hunt in bangsar for the new year. We were utterly without new clothes for the CNY. While waiting for her, i thought i will take this picture... The security guard in BV2 thought i was up to no good. But seeing me topple upside down to take this, i think he suspected i was either 1) mad 2) some raving photog. I believe it was more of the later.

This Stops now!

This is not a food post but support a cause post. I am sure a lot of you all read about the bus crash recently, that saw lives lost unnecessarily. It was something that could have been prevented but was not. As a result, people have died. We keep having repeats of this accidents but not much has been done to prevent future accidents. It's all talk no action only. But we can do our bit to ensure that this stops now. If you feel as strongly as i am on this matter - log on to Bus Crash No more and sign this petition.

To the family who lost family members in this accident, my heart goes out to you all.

Anyang-Hae-Sae-Yo Korean Food @ Nak Won at Taman Danau Desa

Treasure Hunt Update: We got 15 place but we didn't win any prize. Guess who won again? But we had a great time in Penang with a new treasure hunt team. More write ups later!


It was not meant to be -....... Korean Food at Ampang ( Little Korea ) was definitely not in the cards. First the rain ( no pun intended ) then the traffic. However, we insisted on still having Korean Food. So, the Neko unfortunately got stuck with the task for looking for alternative Korean Food with the help of TC. Some how or rather- i was not the main organizer but then ended up tasked with getting 1) Booking 2) Sending out directions 3) Arranging for transport. All i got was Barley Tea from the Original Organizer- u know who u r * Hmmph*

So I directed everyone to the Nak Won's Branch in Taman Danau Desa. Initially they were supposed to be in Hartamas- luckily i called to book spaces and found out they moved to Danau Desa- Luckily!!! Otherwise everyone else would have whacked me.

When i first stepped into the place- i felt like i was in a Korean home. Oh No, there is Choi Ji Woo in the Big TV screen. They were playing Winter Sonata... Noooooooooooooooo... Sorry... I really don't like sappy korean dramas - too mama drama. hehehehe. Anyway, deco wise the place was pretty nice, only i find it a bit crowded with 6 of us sitting in very tight spaces. Also interesting- the waiters are not so english speaking and definitely NOT Korean speaking people. However, they r very well versed in the way to eat certain stuff and certainly do not lack helpful tips on how we can enjoy our meal better. ( or look less jakun here hehehe)

Here is walking contradiction grinning ear to ear. We dragged her in last minute to cheer her up. Poor thing, she looks so stressed these days. Nothing like good food and good company to help cheer up a person. Btw, the men seem truly amused with the funnel in the picture. Each of them keep tapping and knocking and fiddling. It is lucky it didnt drop down on us.

Assortment of sauces that comes with the set, you will need to use this for the B-B-Q meat later. And the chilli sauce, far left taste great with other stuff.

Korean BanChan (Side Dishes)

I started to realize something real quick once the dishes started to arrive:

• starter takes up more table space then the main meals
• You need alot of people to eat korean BBQ
• Don't OD on starters - we were fascinated by the Apple salad and the salted veggies - so we keep stuffing our selves
• Refill is sometimes not a good thing - means you OD.
  
• I will start smelling of grilled food in 20 minutes time ... sigh - end of the day - no one is going to notice
  

I must say the combination of starters is pretty interesting- means you get to eat hot, sour, sweet, salty in one go. We all have our favorites. The kerang was sent off by all - looked a bit too raw for all of us but we had more fried brinjal etc.. In 15 minutes i started to fill up already - and this wasn't even the mains.



We ordered Grilled Beef. Frankly, except for TC we are real beef eaters. And this was the star of the night even though the picture is not very flattering. The good thing is- they cook it in front of you and cut it up for you. The taste? AWESOME! I mean - it's so good- i can't even explain. What the heck marinate did they put into it? After eating this, the pork an chicken pales in comparison. Btw, the best way to savor this is, wrap the beef in the buckets of lettuce we had. Add a slice of raw garlic. Put some of the sauces inside and stuff it in your mouth. The combination? Think Remy and Cheese... droolz.......................... ( btw: waiter had to give us Korean Food Noobs a tuition before eating )

Japchae -Korean Stir Fried Glass Noodles with Seafood

Seafood glass noodles was next! Again, a really great choice. There were really large prawns in this er... puddle of glass noodles and it was so tasty! 5 THUMBS up from everyone!

Bibimbap

Vegetarian Bibimbap - I think. Can't recall any meat in this dish. Please note, pot is hot. They serve it in a HOT HOT stone bowl. Everyone enjoyed this as well.

Bindaetteok-Korean Pancake

My other favourite- korean pancakes. Yummy! The waitress saw that our table was overloaded - she went round distributing the pancake on everyone's plate. You must try the pancake with chilli sauce below.

Grilled Pork - Wah- it was also yummy but then nothing compares to the beef.

One thing good about this place is that, the meat is great very nicely and it is not dry nor tough. my last yakiniku experience in japan and other places, didn't turn out that well - but here - done to perfection.

Everyone looking so gee-darn satisfied

At the end of the dinner they serve you watermelon and also a cup of crushed barley drink. Iced. Lovely! After all the heaty food, it is good to drink this. In fact, you can top up if you want more barley. However i think this is an acquired taste. NY and me found it great, FF thinks it is a bit weird. TC .. He finds anything pretty much yummy. He is not to particular like the rest of us. Anyway, one cup was all i had. Had too much tea before that.

Do actually make your booking for Nak Won. It's pretty pack with locals and koreans alike. Other brances of Nak Won is in Jalan Ampang. But check out these other reviews here, and here

Restaurant Nak Won
7-1-1 Jalan 3/109F, Taman Danua Desa
Phone: 0162259800

-_-"

I am having work boredom... people .. the sianz have returned big time.

Lack of postings........

I haven't been posting a lot recently as work is been a "bleargh" for me. Every day i am pretty much pooped after reaching home. Diwali is also hectic as i got new "baby" ... yes i bought a new PC from HP and spent the whole afternoon figuring out Vista.. One word ... i am a bit confused - tee hee..

I will be away over the weekend - back to home town for some R&R, probably more food sampling... So see you guys next week. Hopefully my lack of blogging spirit picks up next week.

To all out there - happy Diwali.

P/S: There was this really sucky jams in all the shopping outlets - did anyone else get caught? Amazes me to know the radio was announcing jams in shopping centers not the major roads. Must be a lot of bored people in KL today. (^_^)

SIANZ

I wish there is such a word in english but it basically means.... no mood. Still catching up with work that has piled and i prefer to blog, do up my pictures etc, etc, etc.... Then my boss tells me i need to go to Hong Kong for a conference next week.. eh? much as i like the honor and the ability to travel a bit more but what about my projects?? :( .....

Anyway- second round of food pictures coming up from Europe - soon. Also.. i went to ninja jones today *throws shuriken" at readers... Wah... i am amused by a restaurant. Pictures later. This is not a food blog post just a complain post. If there is ever such a thing.

Fragile.....

I haven't been blogging alot recently cause work is starting to pile up on my end due to my long hols. So don't fret.. pictures of vienna and all will come up soon. I shall catch up by Raya Weekend... I get alot of emails from friends asking me " w-h-e-r-e i-s y-o-u-r p-i-c-t-u-r-e-s-?...."

I just wanted to post something that happen today ( not to me ) but something lil' bro told me today while he was at work at a client's office. He is based in a customer's place for a project and while working with his team there was a commotion outside the main hall. Thinking it was the usual clowning around people do in the office he gave it a miss. But the noise increased so he went out to look.

A man in the office collapsed and was struggling to breathe. All his colleagues where trying to administer CPR to him and calling the local hospitals. Seeing that CPR is not helping, lil' bro called 999 to get the ambulance. By that time 6 minutes already has passed. Because he had to rush off some where, he left the client's place and return 1 hour later to find the man dead.

It's a bit sad actually, imagine you are at the office thinking it is a normal day and suddenly.. gone.. Poor man. God rest his soul. Makes me think... life is pretty darn short isn't it. Don't waste it. Cease the moment.

P/S: so proud of lil bro for making the 999 call ^_^

Do-Re-Mi-Fah-So & letting go...

The past few days are like a mad rush in getting last minute preps for my trip and helping ff scan pics for her wedding. Contrary to what my daisy path says- ( that's when i found out my dad booked our trip for 24th instead of 27th), i am actually flying off to Vienna tomorrow night. Somehow i should be excited but i am actually a bit.. stressed right now. The trip was supposed to help me destress and not increase the stress.

Stressed because..... i feel guilty leaving work ...........argh............. workaholic again
Stressed because..........is my 3 fellas at work going to manage well? Can they cope?
Stressed because...... urgh........ my mailbox is sure to bomb when i come back
Stressed because... do i have enough clothes packed? Did i leave anything out?? I feel as if i am like going with an entourage! 7 pairs of pains, 3 bags! ( 1 hand carry, 1 luggage, 1 camera bag )... am i trying to beat paris??

Funnily enough all my stress is related to work.. what the? i need to let go. the office won't die without me. they just take longer to finish that's all. Frankly, i am looking forward to being away from the office. No foul ups, no laziness, don't need to put up with people who like to "taichi" their jobs away.. i don't need to think of solutions for others.

For once, there will be no 24 hour on call thingy, no need to look at lap top screen, no need to read thick documents and most of all... no big bosses bugging me. Especially when they pop up at your cubicle with the sentence "So, neko, how's things with.... ?" For 2 weeks, at least :)

I still need a life anyway.... Ok people out there, you take care :) see you in two weeks. Hope neko relaxes on her hols. And lots and lots of food shots i hope. i hear there are 56 people on the trip. Malaysia invades Austria i tell ya...

When my brains left me

It's official. I do have blonde moments as other girls well. I can't i believe i did something so stupid! :P. Sent my yellow baby for it's first 1K service and i forgot to bring the service manual. Nevertheless they proceeded to service my car but clever neko thought the manual was AT home... But NO.......................... service manual was not at home. In fact it was no where to be found in the house......

Called Herman my car guy for help!! "HOW??? Cannot find :(" i bleated to him.... Luckily he volunteer to check it first thing in the morning when he reached the service center. Now that is what i call customer service...... let's hope and pray tomorrow it is there. Otherwise i am really a confirmed dufus.

Remembering Steve

I have been so busy lately, blogging took a second priority ... :( plus no nice restaurants gone to recently. .......

While flipping the papers yesterday, i just realized what date it was yesterday. (ARGH i was reading yesterday's paper's today )Remember this bloke? ( yeah, i am going back to my thick aussie accent ) yeah, it's been a year since he passed on.

I still remember the time when i first saw him in Australia and i was thinking - is this guy for real?? I mean, sometimes i thought he was a bit too much. But slowly he grew on me. In fact, my parents were big fans of his. Every time his show came on... there they were ... glued to the tv.

Well... i have nothing much to say except- crikey mate, we all miss ya.

Merdeka! In some sorts :)

Actually, i am quite looking forward to this long weekend :). It's been a very tiring week - albeit short full of meetings. But am grateful for the 3 days break. Usually, i don't like merdeka celebrations but this time, it's more of a personal "merdeka" for me. Started the day with Hatha Yoga- *ouch, ouch, i pain liao", cleaned my room and then took pics of my babies (bumblebee, russell and comet)

Now who says relaxing is complicated and expensive :) Have a good weekend everyone :)