At the Wake..

8:03 am - I was awaken by a call from my sister. I told them the previous night that I would be spending the Wesak Holiday at a friend's house, obviously to party like mad after working hard the past 2 weeks.

"Grandma has passed on!!" Sheela said while catching her breath..

The words shocked the sleepiness out of me, as I contemplated on my next course of action. It wasn't until 11:00 that I made my way to my Grandma's house in Likas, and what a sad reunion it turned out to be.

You see, I have been one of Grandma's favourite grandchild, but as I grew up, I also grew further apart from my dad's side of my family. Fond memories flushed through my thoughts when I entered the house, amidst the sobs and wails. How I used to love playing until late evening at my grandparent's garden. How my grandma used to kiss and hug me everytime we met. And how fond I was of Grandma's smell when I kissed her. It was all very sad.

My other family members were already there when I arrived. My sisters and mom were all seated in a line on the stairway. My nephew being the little monkey that he is, was oblivious to the emotions felt at that very moment.

Slowly visitors came in and paid their last respect. I was surprised that even for a petite and quiet old lady, my grandma had many visitors. Perhaps it was her easy attitude towards matters and her cooking that made her reputation.

Mmm.. I can easily recall all the curries and dhals, Korma, sambals and murtabak that she made. I always looked forward to Fridays as she would make a large batch of murtabak and dhal that I would eat till I was stuffed. It wasn't the ordinary murtabak you get in Mamak Shops, but the ones that was made with love and care put into it. I used to observe her making murtabak, how she used to take flour out of the flour jar, and get a fresh batch of ghee, how she kneaded the dough to perfection, roll it and then pan bake it. The whole house would have the sweet smell of melted ghee and it meant happiness to me.

Now, her legacy is gone.

Al-Fatihah to Allahyarhamah Hajjah Sarbanun..

You will forever be in our hearts Nek..

How Noble is Noble?

Got a text message from my sister (Sheela), while I was trying to grip a thick notebook, a pen, my over sized wallet, my bank book and at the same time trying to key in the account number on the auto deposit machine at RHB Gaya Street.. Immediately when the phone beeped, everything I just mentioned just now fell to the floor, which gave me my 5 seconds of fame for the day as everyone in the bank turned their heads to look at clumsy me..

The message read : Will you be able to come back by 12:30?

Hmmm.... I wondered why she asked me the question. So I quickly finished up my bank transaction, and left the premises, while replying her text : Can't promise. I'm still at the bank. Why?

Sheela: Boss wants to bring us out for Dim Sum lunch.
Me : Hahaha... Maybe next time la.. thank him for me will ya..

So I leisurely drove back, and when I reached the office, I saw my boss's car parked outside. Apparently he was picking my sister and Wana up, and when I appeared, Sheela walked over to the car and asked me if I wanted to join. So I did..

Dim Sum... Hmmm.. Will we be driving up to KK again?

Apparently no.

Nexus Resort Karambunai has a Chinese Restaurant. Duh!!


I was made to understand that the Dim Sum here is pretty good.. Good Dim Sum? How come I've never heard of this place before? Or have I just ignored it all these years? How come none of my foodie friends never talk about this place?
The interior was just average. I was actually expecting more, perhaps like the Chinese Restaurant at the Hyatt. When we walked in, there were 3 occupied tables, mostly Hotel Guests I presume.


I also felt that the menu selection was limited. I guess I'm used to the trolley pushing servers that brings 'Loong' (Baskets) of tasty dim sum for selection. To be honest with you, I was also once a trolley pushing server when I first started working after SPM, so I know my way around the loongs and menu like the back of my hand.


So Boss made several selections, while Wana and Sheela talked gossip and made tiny laughters.


The usual came out : steamed bun, siew mai, har kau etc...


It was good! Not great, but just good.

And like always, with friends, stories came pouring out. Eventually every single morsel was gobbled up, when I realised that I didn't take any photos, except for the Sesame Balls, which was served pretty simple... Almost like a boat with oarsmen in it.

When the buying stops, the killing can too.. Yeah doc :)

This is my friend Doc

And this is my friend John

We had dinner at KKBox, at Kompleks Karamunsing. The concept of the place is to eat and sing (or is it the other way round?), a family recreation centre based around good old karaoke singing.

So all in all, we paid RM 155.25 (including taxes and service charge) and the dinner was buffet style. A good mix of Chinese, Malay and Japanese food. And the verdict?

The food was substandard, as it was mostly the usual stuff you get around KK. Most of the food was dry, especially fried up items such as chicken wings, and... uh.. Oh yeah. That's it! NOTHING LEFT. It was only 8 pm and most of the food was gone, and all that was left for me to pick were scraps, and bits of garnishing. I only partly enjoyed the Loh Mee which I thought was a bit tasty, unfortunately it was cold. They also served Shark's Fin Soup.. which turned out to be tang hoon soup, cooked with so much starch, you could almost mould it into shape... Yup!! Well, you know what they say on tv nowadays, "when the buying stops, the killing can too".

Anyway, the Japanese counter provided customers fresh sushi (that's what you think!) so i ordered Tamaki or California Roll, which unfortunately was also bad. Hmmm... The seaweed wrapping was damp and leathery in texture, while the filling was of freshly cut cucumber, which was bitter, and crab sticks. I assure you, the combination was quite an experience when you try to swallow a mouthful of this stuff.

The only item I enjoyed eating there was the fruit, because absolutely nothing was done to it, except for cutting it and serving it on a platter.

The mantra which should be uttered here is "change the cook, change the cook, change the cook".

Well, at least I tried to enjoy myself singing. Thank god for Doc and John, otherwise it would've been a disastrous night.

Last but not least, here is a picture of my darling niece, practicing for the circus. :P

While I was going to work,

This is what I saw this morning. I've never seen such a long cloud formation that stretched more than 50 km.. How do I know this? Because the clouds were over Mt. Kinabalu at the far end!




And while in the meeting this morning, I took snapshots of my friend.. I am at that stage when I experiment a lot with my camera.

I need to start writting about food again, but I'm just too busy at the moment.

KGO 9-11 May 2008

Karambunai Amateur Golf Open Championship - Day 1

I wish I had Wings

Had late supper with my friend Doc (who is very very shy, as seen in this photo) at the Anjung Senja, which is near KK Waterfront, opposite of the Parkson Grand Department Store. Wanted to compare cameras (that reminds me, I need to get one soon) as Doc had a really cool Sony, sophisticated enough to look professional.

I frequent Anjung Senja once or twice a month as they have good barbecued chicken wings, Satay, Bakso and the usual fried rice or noodles.

Our drinks came while we waited for a while for our chicken wings to cook. Was disappointed when the chicken wings came as it was slightly on the salty side, whereas it's standard in KK for barbecued chicken wing to be sweet and savoury. At first we ordered RM 20 worth of chicken wings but I am glad that they only had RM 10 left, as I couldn't possibly take in more sodium.

The atmosphere was pretty calming, as many people come out to 'lepak' with friends here and the antics of children running around would be enough to keep anyone entertained (isn't it a school night? Why are children still awake?!).

What I don't like about the place are the rats, and when I say rats, I mean big @#&$ rats. I don't blame them for being here, but I do blame the proprietors and patrons for not being civil. Food scraps are simply thrown onto the rocks where the rats are and you know how these creatures thrive when given the opportunity. These rats have even gotten brave enough to wander very close to people. I wanted to take a shot of one, but they're just to fast for me.

Wouldn't you want this?

Talk about wishful thinking and the 'Laws of Attraction', I want to post this up so that I can one day experience the real feeling of receiving a RM 1 Million Cheque.. :)

Have I grown thin?

Give me your opinion.

I posted a new photo on Facebook last week and I keep getting messages telling me that I have grown thin. I don't want that, because my significant other likes me because I am FAT!! Don't want to be thin..

I took this photo this afternoon so you be my judge.. Please..

Office Food - Airline standard or Hospital Standard

This was what I had for lunch today:

Curried Chicken - Watery

Japanese Tofu with Minced Chicken - Just Nice

Winter Melon and Chicken Soup - Just Nice (No photo)

Season Vegetable in Chili Seafood Sauce - Didn't eat it as I am allergic to eggplants

And the verdict - Food is delicious when you are in good company. Despite the watered down curry chicken, I enjoyed my lunch, because Wana and Vin humoured me with their antics. All the same, the food is provided by the company and cooked at the Golf Club, which means it is of high standard. Can't complain since it's free!! :)

My camera-shy friends : (In descending order Mazlina, Az, Vin & Basran, Candice and Yana, Wana and last but not least, Shamsul and Samsiah)

:P

Dance..Colour...Lights...

Additional photos from

Sabah Fest

for your viewing pleasure

Sabah Fest - Colours of New and Old

My first thought was "oh dear! It's that time of the year again".

It's not that I dread attending Sabah Fest, but it's the horrendous parking problem that they have at the Sutera. Each and every time a function is held there, I would normally be the one to get the farthest parking spot of all. I tried coming early, and still I get parking a gazillion miles away. Thank god the event is held at night, otherwise I would be dreading walking in the sun. Even at this time, walking is still a contemplative option, since the heat and humidity has gone from terrible to worse lately. Ah well, no point complaining.

It all started when my sister Shana decided to tag me along for the event this evening, 2 hours before the event. I didn't even have time to think about it, what more agree to it, while she went on telling me to get ready by 6:30pm and that I would drive and fill up petrol on the way. Hmmm.. Feels like a tornado just passed by! But Shana is like that.. YUP!!

So reaching the dreaded area, I had to make one complete circle before locating a parking spot almost a kilometre away from the venue. Lucky me!

So we started walking when we stumbled upon two old friends from my previous office, Mel and Mel. One Mel went in as she had something to do while the other Mel stayed on eating what seemed to be a Tapau of rice and fried 'Ikan Basung' or Spanish Mackerel. I must say, she is one tough gal for being able to just sit on a drain edge to eat, bearing the heat and humidity while everyone else walked by. Me on the other hand, have started sweating (good choice Mizal for wearing a long-sleeved black sweater), so I excused myself to proceed into the lovely air-conditioned ballroom of Sutera Magellan.

WOW!

What a sight. Cultural demos everywhere, people selling stuff that are great and the best thing was meeting all my friends and of course my dear ex-boss, Datuk Irene, who was spotting a very lovely (no doubt very expensive) Irranun shawl. Good on her for making tradition chic.

The myriad of colours, smells, sounds and texture was overwhelming. It instantly revived my pride as a fellow Sabahan, and I felt very nostalgic seeing all that was happening before my very eyes. Over 3o ethnic groups and some 180 dialects, Sabah is ever teaming with wealth and tradition.

And of course what everyone was waiting for; the Cultural Show. The clever use of stage has always been the trademark of the organisers. The widest possible stage would be set up, which would include the bottom part so that the audience could absorb every possible experience there is.

The choice of featured ethnic this year is no doubt impressive, however, my only comment would be on the proceedings of the event. Apart from the noisy toddlers in front, on my sides and behind me, I was quite distracted by how the event was rushed. Most of the time, before the emcees could thoroughly introduce the ethnics and their dances, music would already start, making it difficult for me to follow through the story that this event was telling. Indeed the theme was interesting as it circled around the story of a mixed ethnic wedding, but it could have been better if timing wasn't off.

All the same, I enjoyed myself tremendously. To absorb all the experience within one night made me excited which made it rather difficult to sleep. I loved the young performers and I adored the elderly performers. At least tradition is not all lost with time.