JOanna’s Life

On boxing day, my mum & i went gai-gai @ 1 Utama Shopping Centre.

It was the second time my mum is here after its expansion few years ago. It was still new and many shops weren’t open at new wing then. So it was a "WOW" for my mum and we, Yup, it’s "We" have difficulty locating the shops with its new interactive directory. Maybe i’m just not so IT-savvy??? It was my first time using too. An advanced technology but hmm… Maybe 1-U is just too big.

We reached 1-U around noon and we had a dinner appointment at 8pm at The Curve with mum’s ex-colleagues some 20+ yrs ago. Both of us just wanted to take things slow and easy for the day. No rush, No rush for the last day in KL. Just wanted to have some mother-and-daughter time together *wink*

Since we had a light breakfast before we left Uncle Vincent & Aunty Ling’s place, so we had…

                                                 Pretzel @ Auntie Anne’s RM 4.00 

Located at Lower Ground at the new wing, its location is not to be missed. Right beside Cinnabon, we had a pretty hard time deciding which to eat. Pretzel shall it be. So it was, Almond Pretzel with Chocolate dip. Dipping is free of charge for every pretzel purchased but extra dipping costs an additional RM 1.00. Both of us love the freshness and the chewy texture of Auntie Anne’s pretzel. The almond bits turned out to be my mum’s favourite. Slightly caramelised almond was crunchy and it complemented the chewy texture of the pretzel perfectly!

Btw, you can find many Auntie Anne’s branches all around in Singapore but i never patronise any of them. Back in Malaysia, even it is priced at RM 4, i would still buy…. Because… It’s cheaper than Singapore!!! Lol..

A snapshot in Padini Concept Store. A deco i like a lot and i love the Mini Cooper in red!!!

                  Isn’t it interesting for a red mini to appear in a store? Cool eh?

By the grace of God, Children Ministry in my church had launched the new name ROCK KIDZ with a loud BANG yesterday!

The various departments, with the exception of GEMS, were renamed and revamped. For my department (for p2&p3), we changed the name from Praise Kids to jkidz, meaning Jesus’ Kidz.

" jkidz, a place for children to know Jesus and His love; to feel secure, free, fun & exciting; to know that they are favored, loved & blessed; and to shine in God’s glory"

 

Daniel 11:32  I belive children in jkids know their God to do great exploits!

It was a day of much fun, for both the children and the teachers. Many teachers turned up to help in the launching by coming to set up & decorate the place as early as 6.45am. Praise the Lord for such decicated and committed Teachers and Helpers!

For jkids, green and orange top with jeans was the standard dresscode. Indoor games and activities suitable for individual age group were carried out. Lots of running, balancing and aiming for the kids. *was wet with sweat in less than half an hour after the games commenced*

Cheering for the teammates and Teachers "Ra-Ra’ing" the children were seen everywhere. Losing team gotta do FORFEIT and it was really really fun looking at the teachers and childrens doing "my side-my side", "chicken dance" and writing "John 3:16" using their butts.

For me, all these created a really awesome bonding session with the kids!!!

Meanwhile, at the main services, we had a dance item performed by some of the children and teachers in Children’s Ministry. The Sunday’s video announcement was also done by 3 children. Simply awesome!

Indeed, it was a joyful occassion and i am blessed abundantly!

   "Oh holy night… The stars are brightly shining…." Yup, i’m still in my Christmas mood…

We are slow, really slow. When everyone is away for Christmas, Friends-Get-together will have to wait. To wait for everybody’s return.

So here we are, on a friday evening after 1+ week of Christmas, gathering together with cheer and laughter, celebrating the season I love the most.

Not greeted by any snow, a bunch of young-adult-to-be was still overwhelmed by the decoration the owner of the house set up for this Christmas . Hmm…Or is it last Christmas *bleah*

                                                          A well decorated living area

                                                Even toilet can look so pretty!

Thanks to Joleen’s uncle & aunty for their graciousness to gladly let us occupy the beautiful living area and the garden even when they are not around. Thank you for your trust in all of us, not going to tear down or cause a havoc at your place *grin*

A game of Jungle Speed revealed who’s fast and who’s slow. Oops, sometimes is not slow, is just being distracted. Focus… Focus…

Game of Taboo is new to me. A game of wits and vocab. A game that could reveal how much you and your friends aka teammates think-a-like. Telepathy perhaps.

Boon: "Err…Err…Triangular…Triangle shape…Hmm…"

JOjo: "Pyramid!"

BINGO!

Though actions are not allowed yet some (like me) always have the tendency to act, like starting to rock when i was trying to describe rocking chair.

When "Fish—Pineapple" means "Allergy" and "Fish—Allergy" equals to "Pineapple", it just shows how much you know your friends. "Arh..Choo" means "Sneeze" is easy but when did another word for "Menu" is "Recipe" ? Many would shake their head in disbelief. Maybe only Ren Chun and I could understand. Maybe telepathy do exist. By the way, when did people start applying "salt" and "mayonnaise" over your body??? I think this will only happen to Bryan. Phew~

So what’s a Christmas gathering without food? And what do you think of a buffet line cater just for less than 10 of us?

                I felt like a ROYALTY!!!

Yup, we had one whole buffet line with yummy-licious food just for the 8 of us…

Some of the highlights are the Chicken Fajhita (left, last row) which is Spiced Cube Chicken served with lettuce, tomato, onions wrapped in Tortilla Pancake. The chicken cubes are flavourful and together with the Tortilla, Awww… Heavenly! except that the Tortilla tasted a little like pita bread.

Pineapple Rice with Chicken Floss is not worth mentioning when the floss was no where to be found. Buttered Oatmeal King Prawn was nice, but the prawns weren’t too fresh (shell sticking to the flesh). Grilled Norwegian Salmon with Lemon Asparagus Sauce was just alright. The salmon was a little tad dry, soaked in cream and oil was visible at the corner. Lemon Asparagus Sauce? Hmm…Couldn’t tell.

Another well-received dish was Scallop Mornay (left, middle row). It is fresh scallop with robust flavour of  herb cream sauce covered with baked cheese. Delicious!

Hot Bor Bor Cha Cha (center, row three) and assorted French Pastries (right, row three) ie: Brownie, Cheese Cake and Eclair were our dessert. Chewy sago cubes in the Bor Bor Cha Cha added the texture of the dessert. I am someone who can’t resist pastries. So no complain.

Appetizer Platter : Large Prawn with Cocktail Sauce, Salmon Rose on Rye Bread and Danish Stuffed Egg with Cavier

Some of the other food we had that night were Boston Clam Chowder served with portioned butter and soft roll, Roast Sirloin of Beef with Black Pepper Sauce which i didn’t try at all (it was thinly sliced until it was all too dry), Chicken Ala King which was creamy and tender, Mixed Vegetable Deluxe with 3 types of Mushrooms which turned out to be Cauliflower and Broccoli cooked with mushrooms.

And what’s a good gathering without friends and lots of joy & laughter? I enjoyed catching up with them, enjoying their presence, jokes and laughter. We celebrated Ren Chun’s 20++ birthday before we left to catch the last bus. Our birthday baby is a banker-to-be and i’ll be getting a visit to Wala-Wala soon when he gets his first pay! Heez… Been wanting to go…. *wide grin*

It was a laid back relax gathering with nice friends and good food. All in all, a night i’ll remember.

The Food featured are catered from:

ISS-CDCS Catering Pte Ltd

46, Senoko Drive,

Singapore 758229

Tel: (65) 6758 3393

Fax: (65) 67551220

Email: sales@iss-catering.com

http://www.iss-catering.com

It is located at the Kluang railway station, at Jalan Station, right opposite Pejabat Pos Kluang and Telekom Kluang; right in the heart of Kluang town.

A place which my friends from Singapore gave up till RM40+++ of toast, half-boiled eggs, nasi lemak & mee siam. Mind you, the nasi lemak costs only 50cents. How did they do it? Good appetite+great companion+delicious food, i supposed.

It is SOooo well-known that even the Johor state minister visited the humble little coffee shop and when ex-PM, Dato Sri Dr Mahathir visited Kluang many years ago, they hosted our VVIP too!!! It was also featured in one of the flight magazine (which i couldn’t remember which airline was that) many years ago. Run by Lim’s family, a well-known family that runs a few coffee shop in Kluang including Hoover in Kluang Baru and Barney’s Western Restaurant located in town center. Kluang Rail Coffee offers franchise and their outlet can be found in various shopping malls in KL and Malacca.

                                         Round Kaya Toast with Butter @ RM 1.30

The one thing not to be missed when is their toast. They are famous for their Charcoal Toast, layered with thick layer of butter and homemade kaya. Absolutely addictive and i can assured you, one is never enough! You can find there different types of kaya butter toast, ie: Roti Bulat (round bun), Roti Keping (Square Bun) and Roti Jagung (wholemeal bun). I love them all !!!

You can also find some other variety of bread like Tuna Bun and Sambal Bun. Taste wise, not too bad but i prefer to have the kaya toast *bleah*

                                                 Pulut Panggang @ RM 0.50

Pulut panggang is a malay kuih, made by wrapping chilli fried shredded coconut core glutinuos rice in banana leaf. One of my favourite kuih. The one served here is chewy and with a delicious core!

                                          Nasi Lemak @ RM 0.60

For 60cents, you don’t expect a big portion. The nasi lemak is wrapped using banana leaves with adequate sambal and a few peanuts just for the tiny pack. Sometimes you can find ikan bilis in your packet. Due to popular demand, one supplier is just not enough to supply nasi lemak for the whole shop. So, there are three suppliers which explains why some have ikan bilis some don’t. Nonetheless, all are delicious. Sambal cooked to perfection, spicy and a hint of sweetness at the same time.

                                                  A common view of what’s on every table

A plate filled with packet nasi lemak, mee siam, fried mee, curry puff and pulut panggang is placed on almost every table. One can also find hard-boiled eggs on the same plate for you to eat with the nasi lemak. Normally patrons will help themselves to it while waiting for their coffee/tea, toast and half-boiled egg to be served. Oh, did i mention that their half-boiled eggs always have the same consistency? Runny Yolk = Yummy~ Whee~

                                        The Ever-Consistent Half-Boiled Egg

Coffee served here is of fine quality, the robust flavour of freshly brewed coffee is simply irressistable. Selling @ RM 1.10, no wonder Starbucks and Coffe Bean do not have any outlet in Kluang.

Normally i would order Teh C Kosong meaning Teh C without sugar. I only order this at selective kopitiam because it must be "gao" enough to drink it without sugar. You can get a cup of Teh C filled with the aroma of evaporated milk, why do you need sugar anymore?

Other than eating in, many would also "da bao" back especially their curry puff.Selling at only 30cents, the crispy curry puff with potato stuffing is a hit and often sold out early in the afternoon. The shop also produce their homebrand coffee.Each packet of 20 coffee bags is selling @ RM 7.00. One can also purchase the homemade kaya selling @ RM 3.50 only.

This place is a must place for visit if you ever happen to come to Kluang, a little dot in the center of Johor state. It is a favourite Breakfast/Afternoon Tea place for the Kluang community and also a must go "tourist spot" whenever outstation friends come to visit my family.

I realised, just this morning, that i get scare easily.

Not the scariness i get from watching horror or thriller movie.

This feeling comes from within, from the inner core of my spine shooting right up to my brain, I’m scare!

But…Wait! Scare of what???

I’m scare of my friends.

Not because they looked scary, nor they are a bully.

I must say i have a bunch of good and helpful friends. A bunch of loveable people. I’m blessed!

What i’m scare of is : IF EVER MY FRIEND GOT ANGRY OR UPSET WITH ME! *friends are important to me*

Does that mean recently i upsetted my friends? I’m really not too sure about it, but probably.

Why?…. There are two incidents which made me feel scare.

1. My friend didn’t reply my sms. Or even yes, the reply is pretty short and to the dot.
2. My friend was upset *i supposed* with many of us due to our poor response to her sms (which includes myself,not replying).

Let me explain,  i really didn’t mean to left her hanging out there waiting for my reply. I was back in M’sia. Most of the correspondent were done through email which i didn’t have access when i’m back. The sms was sent to my SG number which didn’t have roaming. The day i came back to SG early in the moring to rush to work. I saw the sms, i didn’t reply then i forgotten all about it.

I think maybe, just maybe… What goes around comes around.

Now is my turn to feel the feeling of "hanging out there" when my sms’es are not being replied and such. Stop getting the attention i used to get. Feeling upset too, and knowing really well how my friend had felt.

What’s happening???

I’m sorry. Truly sorry.

I’m scare…

An impromptu lunch date on the last day of 2007 with my dearest brother who started working in Johor Bahru (JB) on 22nd November.

I hadn’t been seeing my brother for quite some time for now. Our timing are so different. I once mentioned that we always take turn to go home. Hah.

Dear brother picked me up at city square. I was famished while waiting for his arrival. He promised to bring me to the best Chicken Chop served in JB voted by The Star. We parked at the side of the road (mind you, is yellow line) after making two rounds at the place looking for a parking.

Located at Jalan Dhoby. I started to wonder was there a lot of Dhoby shops here last time.

The humble looking shop didn’t appear to be any award-winning cafe. A narrow & small shop. Simple chairs and tables. Nothing fanciful. Nothing extra. Very simple deco with old pics and old posters hanging on the wall. Just a very plain shop operated by 3 Malay lady. Did i mention that its kitchen is very small too?

But the dining crowd at almost 3pm justified its popularity. 

A simple menu was presented to us upon our arrival. The Award-winning chicken chop was the first item on the menu. The menu is quite extensive (consider the shop is really quite small) ranging from Western dishes, Chinese dishes, Varity of Noodles, Soups and Sandwiches, drinks & dessert. For fried rice, you can opt for spicy and non-spicy. They offer fresh juices, local kopi, tea etc, "westernised" coffee like coffeecino and canned drinks for their drinks menu. They also have ice-cream for dessert. The price is pretty cheap, but of course it’s higher than dining at a roadside coffee shop.

        IT ROO Fried Rice spicy style @ RM 5.50 & Watermelon Juice @ RM 3.00

Grilled Chicken Chop with Black Pepper Sauce topped with fried egg (extra cost) @ RM 11.50

The fried rice is just a plate of very normal fried rice. Not spicy enough to give the kick. My brother even ate with chilli sauce. The famous chicken chop didn’t earn my praise. Nothing to shout about. Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe i’m not cut for chicken chop. Or maybe i didn’t choose the fried chicken chop which is the original version. But overall, it was not that bad. It tasted alright. It was just me wondering what made it to be voted as the Best Chicken Chop by The Star in 2003. Or was it then in 2003 was its glorious moment and it went downhill? The chicken chop was served with green beans and slices of fried potatoes. The fried potatoes was nice. The green beans tasted like canned beans.

The watermelon juice is a little bit too sweet. But it complemented the fried rice and chicken chop well.

Overall, the ambience is pretty good. A nice place to have a meal with your friends and family. Located at 17, Jalan Dhoby, Johor Bahru, Johor. Malaysia.               

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

Yup, I know i’m a little bit late, but i was enjoy myself at home, lazing around the small town called Kluang =)

The second day of new year and CCO is pretty quiet. Many are still on leave and nothing much is happening around. Yet, i’m back from home early in the morning. You may say i’m crazy, traveling to and forth from Kluang-Singapore just to spend a mere 24+ hours at home. But tell you what, i love staying at home just to be with my parents than to stay in Singapore. I’m more attracted to home. That’s my nature.

For 2008, I know i’ll be greatly blessed, filled with God’s blessing in everything i set my hands on.

But Why??? Why do i have such confidence?

"6 Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

8 The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. "

                                                      Deutronomy 28: 6 & 8

For the Word of the Lord says so. And thou shall be it.

For i truly believe i’m the beloved of God.

I know that God is going to increase the quality and the quantity of my works, for when there’s quality thus produce quantity. Whatever i set my hands on is definitely going to prosper. The blessings of God is going to be so overwhelming that i shall be a blessing to many. It’s going to overflow in me.

Amen!

I’m slow, I must admit.

I didn’t mean it. Officially i made the Tung Yuan or Glutinuous Rice Ball on the 1st day of 2008 but i had my bowl of Tung Yuan on the exact day which was 22nd Dec at Taiping.

A little background on this festival widely celebrated by Chinese:

"The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (冬至) is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the Dongzhi solar term on or around December 22 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest; i.e., on the first day of the Dongzhi solar term.

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓) or balls of glutinuous rice, which symbolize reunion. Tangyuan are made of glutinuous rice flour and sometimes brightly coloured. Each family member receives at least one large Tang Yuan in addition to several small ones. The flour balls may be plain or stuffed. They are cooked in a sweet soup or savoury broth with both the ball and the soup/broth served in one bowl."

                                                      Adapted from Wikipedia

My mummy will always tell us that after eating that bowl of Tangyuan, we are older by one year.

I enjoyed making Tangyuan. I could recall many years back, the shape of my Tangyuan wasn’t all round. Because Dong Zhi always fall on 22nd Dec, so close to X’mas, shape of 2-D (meaning flat) Christmas Tree would appear in the pot of Tangyuan. Other shapes like cubes, rabbit, tortoise were the rest of the funny characters one could find in the pot of Tangyuan in my home. And i’m very proud of my creation. *grin*

So what did i make this year?

On the first day of new year, i straight head to the kitchen hunting the remaining 1/3 packet of glutinuous rice flour in the cupboard to start making Tangyuan. Too bad, who ask my mum to let me know that she left some of glutinuous rice flour for me to make Tangyuan? hehe…And i dragged my mum into the picture, of making the Tangyuan on the first day of 2008.

Kneading the glutinuous rice flour was new to me. What i used to do is just mix the flour with water only. Mum said the Tangyuan will be more chewy if the flour is kneaded. Double "chuo’ing" meaning shaping the dough before putting it to boil will make the skin smoother. By putting the cooked Tangyuan into cold water will cause it to be springy. Is it true? I think so. Cos the Tangyuan was so delicious this year!

                                                      Tangyuan in Red Bean Soup

This year we didn’t have the normal ginger pandan soup. We had Tangyuan in Red Bean Soup. Why? Because my mum boiled Red Bean Soup early in the morning for me. So no point if i were to cook another pot of sweet soup. Anyway, Japanese also eat like this what? Why couldn’t we do the same except that Japanese eat with Red Bean Paste and mine was soup-lah! It’s a nice change. I love to eat Tangyuan & Red Bean Soup. So it was a combo for me.

                                           Happy Belated Dong Zhi!