A treasure trove in Penang

This was my 4th trip up North to Penang. Past visits were hurried. And if they were for conferences, you're only let loose in the afternoons where there's a mad dash to get about and buy stuff. This trip was different, the main reason for the trip finished just after lunch, leaving us with the entire afternoon for leisure. I was very clear on the objectives of the afternoon, GOOD food and second books.

I got both.I'm not going to blog about food. ( not this entry, perhaps later ). Am dying to talk about chowrasta Rd where up in a dingy looking old market, there's a haven of second hand books. Amazing! I would have spent more if I had the energy to wade through the stacks and stacks of books lying around and beside me.

Luscious MAngo

This year's cake didn't get squished. The car ride from bakery to apartment was slow. I avoided all pot holes and drove like an 80 year old granny. Truth be told, one side of the cake got a little smudge when it slided down on the drive downhill.

The cake tasted heavenly. Bought from ( free advert for them..but it's yummy so who cares!)

Celicakes ( the ultimate in cakes)

Celicakes.Sdn.Bhd

66, Jalan 27/70A. Desa Sri Hartamas. Off Jalan Bukit Kiara. 50480. Kuala Lumpur.

+603 2300 0773

My feet hurt

It's been a whole week that my feet have hurt. I'm not sure what the cause is. I did wear kitten heels on Monday to showcase my newly painted baby pink pedicured toenails. Could it be the added kilo and a half putting the strain on the arch? It's a pity birkenstock can't be worn to work. ( I could but it would be a violation of rules of what to wear to work)

Another good book by Margaret Forster

I started this book last night, bought it some weeks back and had decided to stash it away until which time I felt in the right mood to enjoy good fiction. Forster writes well. I confidently say this because her books have not disappoint.

Memory box is about a mother who leaves a box for her child. This child ( now a woman ) has to decide whether she wants to pursue the clues left in the box. Unlike most books, the child doesn't feel the need to miss her mother.

I'm going to read this book slowly...to enjoy it fully

Roti Bawang

I hear....if you eat this, you need to run 7 km to burn it all off:)

The best Briyani ever

Easter was spent back home. An hour and a half away from the hustle and bustle ( and pollution ) of Kuala Lumpur. It rained most of the weekend. Which was good cos it kept the temperature down and I had a cool Easter weekend in the great Malaysian outback. I managed to have my quota of briyani. This restaurant has been around since I was...eerm 6 years old. the briyani is the best I've tasted ever. Okay so maybe it's rather biased. but it's very very good. ( Am I allowed to say this??) This briyani is from Ratha Restaurant. The top most picture shows the restaurant on a cloudy Saturday morning. I was on the way to the bank to sort out accounts.

Visitors from Australia

My very good friend ( who slaved through housemanship with me back in the dark ages in hospital Melaka) decided to uproot self a couple of years back from Malaysia to Australia. A brave move. Despite going our separate ways, we've pretty much kept in touch ...I email and he calls. I finally had the opportunity to play hosts to him and his girlfriend last week when they stayed over. And they brought me this present.

I first saw it at the flea market at the Rocks just before we climbed the Sydney bridge ( I blogged about this earlier.) Had decided to return to buy it but i never did. So I'm very pleased with this present:) It's actually many stamps cut and pasted one over the other giving a 3 D effect. It's still on the table. I haven't decided where I wanna put it yet.

Kampua Mee

Sabah and Sarawak joined Malaysia in 1963. In many ways they still remain alien to most Malaysians living in Peninsular Malaysia. 50 years on, and Air Asia has made it very reasonale to travel to most parts of East Malaysia we see ourselves being exposed to a different culture. The East Malaysians are fiercely protective of their states. This is the second time I've eaten this mee. It's called "Kampua Mee". Despite looking insipid ( most mee is doused in dark soya sauce) it is very tasty. The red pieces are pork bits.

I hate scales

This is a desperate attempt to get my scales and arpeggios right. I've stuck it on the fridge.

Kittens galore

I went home to vote. We were there super early because my dad had to go to work directly after. No crowd...we were done in 15 minutes. I got back and napped shamelessly. When i woke up, I decided to walk around the garden a bit. And there they were...5 little kitties playing with each other and a couple of stones by the drain.

Old Timer's Disease

I've been reading Gervase Phinn's novels and in his 4th and last book ( main theme is working as a school inspector in the DALE countryside ) one of the children said " my gran has old timer's disease she sometimes forgets her knickers." These kids, they never cease to make you smile. I know that line certainly did.

As usual ( and this seems to be a recurring theme ) I've been horrendously lapse re blogging. No, I'm no longer going to blame facebook, I'm taking the blame here. It's a series to events leading to this

1) Bought the pirated version of brothers and sisters ( a separate blog on this is required ) and watched the dvds in succession one weekend. As a result, the laundry was UNdone, the floors were not cleaned and my study was dusty and messy

2) Another weekend was spent in Kuching Sarawak. My third visit there to date. I must have "old timer's disease", cos the trip was like my first there. Couldn't remember much...even the airport looked different. I later found out it's a new airport. Consoling!!

3) The last weekend I drove back home to VOTE. And so now we're in the midst of forming a new government. Politics is messy. And Malaysia 's is no exception. The week following the poling results, there has been disagreements in two states re election of head of states.

4)My hair loss is now *beam* a thing of the past. So the next thing to tackle is premature greying. I've signed up for yet another course at Yun Nam. ( despite vowing never to have anything to do with them after my first encounter...)

Anna is right, I do blog in spurts. Going to try and be more consistent.

Tokyo in Winter

I had this wonderful opportunity to Visit Japan a few weeks back. The only drawback was the cold temperatures awaiting us there. This picture was taken in Ginza, which is an upmarket area in Tokyo where all the lovely expensive shops are. I bought socks there. It was freezing and my tights didn't seem to be working so well after 2:00pm in the afternoon.

We must have looked like tourist, cos we got interviewed by a local japanese TV channel. Quizzed about shopping and what we'd bought. Frightfully embarrasing to explain to them the only purchase of the day were SOCKS...and when they wanted to see them..I stuck my legs out in front. Yes about 20 minutes before being interviewed and 1 minute after buying them socks, I had ( literally ) sat at the side of the road to wear my knee lenght socks over my tights....for warmer legs.

Whoever says Japanese are short people lied. As you may be appreciate in this picture.. they're all taller than me