0 When online farming takes over

A typical conversation with mom.

"I've got a special tree, I'm gonna post it now. Go grab it."

"Could you harvest my crops?"

"Please send me Special Delivery boxes, I don't like mystery gifts!"

"Strawberry pigs are worth a lot, you know."

"Aww..this sucks. My farm won't load!"

"Did you see the french cottage in my farm? It's lovely, I love it," Mom said.
"No Mom, I couldn't find it," a confused me replied.
"Right at the corner," she insisted.
"Err....ohhhHh, I think I see it...the roof at least," I smiled.

I sure miss those simple 'how-are-you' days.

0 A colourful bug comes a-calling...it's got to live somewhere!

Uhuh...I know why you're here. You've just lost your home to development.

Land clearing - There goes the only green lung in our neighbourhood

So you decided to check out my lil balcony garden

I'm sorry for your loss, y'know. I guess no aid will be coming for you guys.

0 When the tornado hit my potato chips...

I chanced upon a healthier version of potato chips in Cold Storage, Solaris a couple of weeks ago and it was a hit amongst my health conscious friends. I'd only bought one then.

So yesterday when I was shopping in Cold Storage, Berjaya Times Square, I bought a couple more of these seaweed potato chips.

Brought it home and..

Can't wait to dig in

It's healthy y'all

What the...?

I've heard about the "Storm in a teacup", but this is the first time I'm seeing the "Aftermath of a storm in the potato chips". Utter devastation.

0 16 Sierra, Puchong

Land scarcity, these  words are here to stay (no reversal for this one, is there?).

A gated community is the "in" thing these days, no thanks to many horror stories of house break-ins. The buyers preference of living amongst gardens and beautiful landscaping pushes Developers to build with not just security in mind, but with a green concept in tow. No doubt a project that requires more land spread. 

I personally find living between concrete highrises and traffic deadlocks unattractive. It is only the lack of choice that pushes us so far.

So if poor me wants to buy THE landed property of my dreams at an affordable price, then out is the way to go these days. ..like waYyy out... towards Putrajaya...towards 16 Sierra, the brainchild of IOI Properties.

Like here - 16 Sierra Show Gallery

  

The tip of the iceberg - large area to develop

We (Machoman and I) popped into the show gallery a couple of months ago where we were informed that Adenia and Areca (both Terrace units) had been sold out.

The only available units for sale was for Odora, a 3-storey parkhome / townhouse (Type A/B1), priced between RM400k - RM550k. 3Beds/3Baths. Leasehold 99 years expiring 2109.

The price coupled with the fact that it was a leasehold townhouse in a very new neighbourhood put us off, but since the show unit was a short drive away from the gallery, we made our way there.

GahhHh! Grey, yellow..not a favourite of mine on any building because it resembles the tarred road we drive on everyday, with the yellow lines! I wish they could have been more imaginative in their colour choices...why not magenta or a spot of brick red..

Odora Townhouse

The living area - I got them to pose for us..just kidding

Dining area

Upstairs - nice hangout concept

The Bedroom

Another bedroom - so love those purple pillows

From the balcony, look at the vast expanse
of land being developed

Impressive as the show unit was, the other aspects just didn't make us comfortable. A huge development means on-going construction for maybe years? I just can't imagine how this place will turn out...will it truly live up to its green tagline? 

For the moment, it looks like rows and rows of concrete, at least from this view. I would only think about buying it if it were priced at RM300k perhaps ..lol.. did you just lol at me?

We chanced a stop at the 2-storey terrace units offered at 16 Sierra, though it was already sold. 4Bedrooms with attached bathrooms, priced at RM500k onwards.

Adenia

Adenia units in a row

Areca

Maybe 16 Sierra will be a great place to live in time to come, just not now for me.

Since I'm such a fussy-pot, should I then consider buying an old house in an old neighbourhood? ..But they say nothing beats living in a new house..*decisions..decisions* and it would be great if I weren't so fickle in my tastes.

0 Happy Chap Goh May ..come and gone

How time flies, the final day of the Lunar Year period is already upon us. It's been a flurry of activities and I'm going to miss the family camaraderie, the customs, the festive food and beautiful decorations.

We had our reunion and tossed the yee sang for prosperity, as is customary on the eve of every Lunar New Year, in our family.

Prosperity, Abundance, Fortune..probably the most overused words these couple of weeks. Though not a bad thing, it's getting a lil unoriginal. But who cares, right? Well wishes are well wishes, no matter how it's worded. So..

"Kong Hee Fatt Choy.. Here's me wishing you joy and prosperity this Rabbit year. May good fortune befall you and may your bank account be provided for in financial abundance."

Tried out a new restaurant for our reunion dinner

Heritage building, typically Penang

Bringing the family together

Yeah, that's our table alright

The start of every reunion dinner -
Yee sang (Raw fish salad)

Mix it all up and say some "auspicious words"

The higher the toss, the more prosperous

Burp! I'm done

0 No Happy Valentine's Day for you cos I'm not celebrating it

"Why celebrate Valentine's Day? Everyday should be Valentine's Day!"

If you haven't heard this line to death already, I applaud you, for I am simply flabbergasted with these people and their sense of reasoning.

If everyday's a Valentine's Day, then there's really no reason for you not to celebrate it on this day either, is there? I personally do not know anyone who's really lived up to these words, yet it is so easily spoken.

It's almost akin to saying "Don't celebrate Mothers Day. She should be loved all year round".

Does celebrating on a particular day automatically mean we love someone less on other days? Obvious answer. I can only say that you're probably not used to being affectionate and these words are an easy escape. You would not otherwise, be saying the same line every year.


"Too commercialised!"

Uhuh..so I guess you don't celebrate Christmas, Chinese New Year or any other festival. Is there any big festival be it religious or other, that's not commercialised yet? I would love to know.

Let me put it this way, if you're being forced to buy something beyond your means, then honey, the problem's not with Valentine's Day, it's with you.

Just as, if we see someone doing something they shouldn't, it would be really naive to think that they would only be doing it on this particular day, don't you think? 

I celebrate many special days and it has never dented my wallet nor has it made me immoral or lose my sense of right and wrong.

Tomorrow, I'll be having my meal at a fast food outlet with my loved one. No, the price has not gone up or changed. Why not cook at home? Hey, we do whatever we feel like doing on any given day, no special day dictates that.

I will be wishing my loved ones, "Happy Valentine's Day". No, that doesn't cost a cent either nor will it turn me to the dark side. I'll also top it up with a hug and a kiss. I think I just made a bunch of people happy.

Sometimes, I buy a gift. Sometimes, I don't.

What I will not do, is put on a pouty face and go round saying, "I don't celebrate V-Day. It's overrated, too commercialised, we should love everyone everyday", to everyone who wishes me.

Because if you really understand what love is, then you will know it's really not about you and your not celebrating Valentine's Day, nor will you feel compelled to justify it to your friends and family. You would have just wished them back, "Happy Valentine's Day", because they're celebrating it and you want them to have a happy one.

0 The Bacon Bakkwa beckons

Like a fly to unhygenic places, that's where I went to find my favourite snack, the bakkwa, a dried BBQ meat usually made of pork or chicken.

And what better time to do this than the Lunar New Year when the air of festivity is high and you find flimsy stalls sprouting up like mushrooms all over town, selling mandarin oranges, bakkwa, meat floss, pomelos and what not.

I know that bakkwa is sold all year round in shops which mass produce this in a cleaner environment, but where's the spirit of exploration, eh? I tire of the "same old same old" from these professionals.

So I scoured the neighbourhood for THE bakkwa which will bring me out of the doldrums.

I started off by buying a couple of slices from Hock Bee Hiong, a stall I found in Serdang (Photos below). It was alright, pretty standard fare with a tinge of sweetness in the meat.

Starting up the charcoal

Raw and BBQ-ed - the common bakkwa

Cooking up a sweat

What a typical stall looks like

And then I found something "Wonderful" along Jalan Ipoh.

No, not this meat floss

This one... Bacon Bakkwa!!

Maybe not a new discovery for others, but it sure is for me. I so love the flavours that come out of this, sweet and salty, and all that glossy fat definately contributed to its rich taste. It just has that oomph I can't explain.

Ok...last one, last one! Addictive stuff!

0 You just know when someone's still in the holiday mood..

And this happened in Public Bank, Solaris..

We took a number, waited for the Customer Service Officer who, by the way, was not attending to anyone. Rather, she was chatting away with another officer, while typing on her PC. 

We were about four, five numbers away from our turn. Strangely, there were no other customers around.

The queue number remain unchanged for quite sometime. After a fairly long wait, we walked to the teller counter to enquire on the delay.

The minute the officer saw her Supervisor approaching us, the queue numbers on the electronic board kept going until it was our turn. I assume that Customers before us left without completing their transaction.

"How can I help you?" the plump mature, somewhat unpleasant looking, lady asked.

"Our ATM card is damaged, could we get a new one?" we responded.

"Have you brought your passbook along for verification? Without it, we can't issue you a new card?" she replied slightly irritated.

"We didn't bring it, but can't you verify this from our MyKad?" we responded.

"No. you have to bring it." she insisted.

Stupid policy, we thought but refrained from arguing further. I never got this from Maybank the last time I had to change my ATM card.

The next morning, we went to Public Bank, Taman Tun armed with the passbook. This time, a young smiling chap, attended to us. Without much ado, he issued us a new card and did the necessary verification using only our MyKad. The passbook? ..Never asked for it.

0 Sri Ayutthaya, Wangsa Maju (Pre-New Year)

ArgGHhhhh!!...A procrastinator's favourite expression. 

Only a day left before Jo takes a flight down to our hometown. 

I had to see her, to pass the "ang paos" (red packets) I had prepared for the singletons in our clan. She would be my messenger since I wasn't going home for the Reunion Dinner.

We had arranged to meet at Wangsa Maju LRT after office hours, but my poor sense of direction made it impossible. I gave her a call and we settled on somewhere near Wangsa Walk instead. 

It was also getting late and I hadn't eaten. Hunger led me to Sri Ayutthaya, a fancy Thai Restaurant located just round the corner.

The lack of parking bays at other dining outlets and the thought of tucking in at crowded, greasy open stalls was unattractive to my complaining stomach.

So here's where I landed, with no regrets.



A double-storey restaurant



The entrance

Tom Yam Seafood Soup

Belacan Ladyfingers

Kerabu Chicken feet - an awesome dish

Yam Soft Shell Crab - must try!

Fried fish in Thai sauce

Pineapple Juice (Umbrella not included)

Nice decor

Last to leave, hence the mostly vacant seats

The fountain outside

Jo found me easily enough in the restaurant, devouring my meal and greeting her between mouthfuls....so all's well, all's swell.