13 Sungai Buloh : The Nurseries and Growing Passion for Plants

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
~ Hans Christian Andersen

And he is right. It's food for the soul. The Sungai Buloh Nurseries is a great place to "stop and smell the flowers". I enjoy journeying into this floral wonderland, which I take as a form of meditation by the way.

Meet Mr. Gnome. "Hi!", greets he.

Welcome to Happy Land!

See why this place is a haven for gardeners? The plants are enthusiastically green. The flowers look like they're singing in chorus. Lush! As a friend always puts it.

Rows of green!

If this be my garden, I'd be ecstatic!

These purple flowers are called "Mona Lavender". From personal experience, easy to maintain. All it takes is a bit of watering and trimming. I've had mine for two months and it's flourishing. In fact, it's flowering again, just weeks after the first blooms went!

A pot of mona lavender costs between RM5-RM8 at the nurseries.

Mona Lavender

The rose and its thorns are often talked about and inspire poetic words of wisdom. A couple come to mind ~ There's no rose without a thorn and A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

Beautiful, isn't it?

Beautiful Red Roses

But if you want a plant that isn't too challenging, try a cactus. I have two which have crossed the ten-year mark and continues to grow passionately.

Cactuses and Succulents

You won't just be attracted by the plants in Sungai Buloh. There's a large variety of pots, soil, fertiliser and decorative items on sale.

Coconut shell hanging baskets

An exciting selection of flower pots!

Sneak a peek behind the road stalls. You never know what you may find. I discovered rows of .....Christmas trees! Don't mind me, I'm terrible with plant names. I've generally labeled all cone-shaped greens with pine-like features as Christmas trees.

Behind the nurseries - Christmas Trees!

There she grows. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree..

That's about it. Hope you enjoyed reading about my walkabout in plantdom.  I'll be posting more of these as my interest grows.

To get to the nurseries, just follow Jalan Hospital and look for a left turning into Jalan Lembah which is somewhere after Sungai Buloh Hospital (on your right). View in wikimapia.

3 Genie Wong : Limited Edition EP

My story on talented singer-songwriter Genie Wong was published earlier in the year on I.M. - Jazzing Up Borneo Airwaves - IM Magazine

Days ago, Genie released a limited edition EP in the form of a thumb drive. Cute isn't it? I ordered two for Christmas. I figured this would make a great gift for a couple of friends. It contains three of her original songs and two special editions, plus a music video. For RM25, I thought it was a steal.

Photos provided by Genie Wong

Have you heard any of Genie's songs? This is a recently released music video of Liar Liar, a cosy number that's easy to get addicted to. It's one of my favourite hums.

I chanced to talk to Genie a little about her music video. Just two questions.

What was the inspiration for your video?
Genie: Simplicity. The message I convey in my songs are simple.

What was the hardest thing you faced while recording this video?
Genie : Hahaha..I can't stop looking at the camera. It was like 'in my way' and I didn't know what to do with my hands!

Genie Wong on I.M. Magazine Jul/Aug issue - autographed copy (top-right).
She also made the Top 10 Inspirational Stories of 2013 list in the Dec issue.

If  you're keen to get your hands on the Genie Wong Limited Edition EP ..and it is "limited" with only 200 units being sold, contact her via Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/Geeniee.Wong

OR

Catch her live in Penang at the 10th Penang Island Jazz Festival this 7th and 8th December. She'll be singing in the Fringe events hosted by Creative Malaysia, under the banner of "Sixth Sense". Don't be shy to approach her to get your copy of the EP and ask for her autograph as well.

Sixth Sense is scheduled to perform at these venues on these dates (visit website to view) : http://www.penangjazz.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/creative-malaysia-programme.jpg


Official Website: http://genie1978.wix.com/geniewong

8 Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS)

Other than the Kia Sportage which I saw some 'long-time' ago, no other car has tickled my fancy. That probably sums up my interest in cars. I am laid back about it. I don't go looking but I do love going to motor events.

I made my way to the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show last weekend, paying RM20 for a ticket in. The place was packed like sardines because there was a power failure earlier in the day. I had a great time checking the scene out regardless.

It was a less exciting affair for my car-enthusiast man because several top motor brands were not part of the show.

These are some of the cars that were on display. I was particularly excited by the sight of Nissan's Navara which had a tent on top. Would I love to travel with that...!

Top: Honda EV-STER
Bottom, from left: Honda CR-Z Mugen RR , Nissan Navara

CR-Z Mugen RR

I did a wee bit of shopping. This GPS navigator was going for a steal at just RM199. The brand name is a little weird but apt. I guess Gogopal is subtly telling us to just keep going and never worry about ever getting lost - go, go, pal!

Gogopal GPS with accessories

There was some sort of car body design contest going on. It's cute in an overdone kind of way. I gotta hand it to these guys. They're very passionate about what they do.

Design Contest

I wouldn't mind a ride in one of these vintage cars! Imagine an Elvis song on play .. *sigh*

From top-left: Ford Thunderbird 1957, Ford Pickup 1955
Bottom-left: Corvette Stingray 1964, Chevy Master Deluxe 1938

The lucky draw prizes are extremely attractive. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll win a car too.

Filling In Lucky Draw Forms to Win a Car

Finally, my favourite part of the show ... for purely narcissistic reasons. Oh, you're giggling now, aren't you? Close enough.

Sharan, Das Auto

Event Details: 15 - 24 November 2013, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) Kuala Lumpur.
Visiting Hours: Weekdays 11.00am - 10.00pm / Weekends 10.00am - 10.00pm

10 Barley-cious : Tom Yum Fried Barley

I've been experimenting barley with different flavours. Over the course of my cooking adventure, this is one of my yummy finds ~ Tom Yum Fried Barley. The best thing is it goes great with any meat including seafood.

A close friend of mine balks at the idea of eating barley, the savoury way. Well, I never imagined that I would one day be having my barley this way too but there's no turning back now!

Gorgeous?

Yom Yum Fried Barley

This didn't involve a lot of work nor it is the authentic way of cooking tom yum since I used bottled paste.

A little garlic saute, a dollop of tom yum paste, meat, chili and barley, stir-fried together. Then, it is garnished with chopped spring onions. That's about it.

Read about my other yummy barley shares here at www.sweethomechefs.com

6 The Kitchen Project : Wire Shelves

It had to happen sooner or later. My collection of spices and sauces had grown beyond the space my kitchen cabinets could offer. I was squeezing things here, there, everywhere, piling containers and canned foods as high as I 'safely' could!

"Hah! You dropped two bottles and made a huge mess on the floor!"   < --- Enough said.

I knew that I had to do something about it so I spent days surveying for shelves - the easy, convenient kind.......and hopefully, it wouldn't cost too much too.

Just when I'd almost given up on finding something that tickled my fancy, I walked into Daiso and the matter was solved. Daiso is a popular low-priced store in Malaysia. Many items are sold at RM5 flat.

I picked out these wire shelves for my kitchen. It's quite brilliant really. The back piece is a mass of squares designed to hold multiple shelves. They were selling it in various colours and sizes. I stayed with white. It's my favourite colour. Oh, who am I kidding. A lot of colours are "my favourite colour".

Daiso shelves at RM5 per piece

I was so psyched about it that I added a few more spices and cute containers to my collection. And... spent the weekend labeling each one.

Labeling bottles and containers

Man of the house put the shelves up for me. A quick drill and screw was all that needed to be done.

I hereby present my new kitchen shelves! What do you think?

Ready for use!

These wire shelves aren't suitable for large or heavy glass bottles. Just warning anyone who's keen to set up the same.

Close-up!

Well, that's one thing I don't have to worry about anymore. Tick off to-do list!