20 Eats : New Year Lunch At TGI Fridays, The Curve

It was a slow moving New Year's day for us. We had returned home late from a countdown party. No one was keen to leave the warmth of blankets and the heavenly feel of a soft mattress that early.

I pulled myself out of our cosy bed, reluctantly greeting the late morning sun and checked on my pigeons. Then I sent everyone New Year greetings and switched the TV on, lying comfortably on the sofa as I pondered on life. Haa..kidding. I was too much in a state of inner peace to be thinking about anything other than Lets-Not-Do-Anything-Today.

There was a tingle of newness in the air as though I'd stepped into another life. It was already late afternoon when we decided to lunch at TGI Fridays. Hubs was asking, "Is there a word for lunch and tea like 'brunch' is for breakfast and lunch?" I don't know. Anyone?

TGI Fridays, The Curve

I settled for a chicken dish with turkey stuffing on the side and cranberry sauce. The Christmas menu was still available then.

Roasted Chicken with Cranberry Sauce

Hubs went with fish and chips.

Fish and Chips

We shared a bowl of mushroom soup.

Mushroom Soup

TGI Fridays is a great place to hang out with besties for long hours. Cosy ambiance, cheerful staff and comfy seating. Love.

TGI Fridays, The Curve

TGI Fridays, The Curve

It was nice coming here on New Year's. Now a fond memory - my first meal in 2018. Do you remember what you had on 1st Jan?

TGI Fridays
Address: The Curve Mall, 6, Jalan PJU 7/3, Mutiara Damansara, 47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

19 Eats : Steam King Seafood Restaurant, Kota Damansara

Eleven days into 2018 and it's full steam ahead workwise until the next holidays for many people. But that doesn't mean the festivities is over, at least not in my case. It doesn't help that my Birthday falls in January and that Chinese New Year is looming.

Anyway, Hubs and I celebrated with a delicious meal at Steam King Seafood Restaurant. It has a typical Chinese eatery ambiance with tables draped in red tablecloth and chairs wrapped in bright yellow covers. Hubs and I were their first customers that evening and we had the place to ourselves. The chef had just arrived.

We ordered one of their best dishes which is Seafood Beancurd Curry. Slurp-worthy, tasty, I was ladling spoonful after spoonful onto my half plate of rice. It is one of the yummiest curry soups I had tried!

Seafood Beancurd Curry

Sweet potato leaves stir-fried belacan style is a Malaysian classic. I enjoyed it thoroughly of course, having had this countless times and never finding fault with the aroma and flavour. It's a taste we've been familiar with since young and is considered local comfort food.

Belacan Fried Sweet Potato Leaves

We also ordered a plate of Stir-fried Spicy Lala. Now this is us getting greedy! That's three dishes on the chilli side for this gloomy weather.

Spicy Fried Lala

Yet we couldn't resist adding another after drooling over the Creamy Butter Chicken  pic in the menu. Was this good? Yes! 

Creamy Butter Chicken

The meal came with a complimentary bowl of steaming hot ABC soup. Five dishes for two people? Mmm..

Steam King Seafood Restaurant

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable meal and we went home satisfied.

18 A December To Remember

Out of all the months in the year, December is most magical for me. Peace, joy, love, all these words sum up the general atmosphere. People seem happier - school is out, holidays are in. This means lots of family gatherings and meeting up with friends.

I hung greeting cards we received on our Christmas tree this year. It's a nice feeling, this warmth that creeps up on me every time I look at it. The holiday season was not as hectic for me this round. I was most efficient having spring-cleaned my home in November and getting all the decorations up. I'd also gotten the presents wrapped and sent out!

Christmas Tree

My aunt and cousin flew in for a visit a couple of weeks before Christmas. We had a fabulous time shopping, catching up and teasing one another mercilessly. 1Utama and The Curve were the first places we hit. My aunt's luggage was filled to the brim on the first day itself. We felt very proud of her ..haha!

In a bid to avoid crowd and queue, we woke up at 5am the next day just to take my aunt to the legendary Big Bad Wolf book sales at Mines Convention Centre. I got ten books for myself. The rest were for my nephews. With the ones I purchased earlier from Popular Book's RM5 sale corner, I figure it could last me a year. I read pretty fast and have a habit of not putting a book down until I'm done. That's why I make sure I don't start on a new book until I've done my chores and run my errands. Also, my eyes need a break!

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

Books I Bought

Pavilion Mall is always stunning at this time of year so aunt and I headed there for a look-see. Lucky us came across a LINE pop-up store at Tokyo Street corner - they were giving out free gifts to anyone whose Birthday fell in January. My aunt and I qualified! We showed them our MyKad, the LINE app on our phone and voila, we were given a cute tee, a bag and stickers. My aunt found it unbelievable - "So easy to get free things one meh..."

Christmas At Pavilion, KL

Free LINE Merchandise

My aunt went home, there ended her adventures in KL. Then came the Winter Solstice Festival. This year, I made a different version of 'tangyuan' (glutinous rice ball). I rolled some up with organic moringa powder - it turned a lovely shade of green. We enjoyed it with honey chrysanthemum tea.

Moringa Tangyuan

When my cousin informed that she would be popping by my house one Saturday, I decided to bake her a cake. I woke up early, whipped up a batter for butter cake and kept my fingers crossed as it went into the oven.

It was wrapped prettily and passed to my cousin. She buzzed me later asking for the recipe, saying that they loved it so much. Sigh ..best day ever.

Butter Cake For My Cousin

Christmas day itself was a quiet affair. We skipped doing the 'open house' thing this year. Hubs and I were feeling the after-effects of too much celebrating. It was nice to just chill at home. The feasting and festiveness hasn't ended and we both needed the break.

Rest Is The Sweet Sauce Of Labour~ Plutarch

12 Heralding The New Year With Music And Fireworks

Happy 2018 my wonderful friends,
I wish you a year filled with joyous moments,

And if you're hit with life's twists and bends,
I wish you strength and perseverance.

May you be blessed with all things good,
May your days be warmed by love and kindness,
Let no negative situation ruin your mood,

Do what you need to find your happiness.

Release the chains of hurt and regret,
Live a life of adventure and cheer,
Remember these wise words - forgive and forget,

It is the secret to feeling better. 💝

Happy New Year! 

~ Sharon D.

Ten, nine, eight ...one, boom! Fireworks lit the sky. I stood rooted to the quiet spot, mesmerised by the flowery display of light above. I wasn't the only one I realised. A group of firefighters had their hands in the air with their mobile phones on video mode. It put a smile on my face to see that. Sure wish I'd thought of taking a photo of them!

You must be wondering how I found a 'quiet spot' in such crowded place. Easy, just stick to the men in orange uniform by the roadside. I'm not sure about other places but being a regular countdown attendee at Publika Shopping Mall, I'm experienced enough to know where to stand for a great view of the fireworks and that debris can get into your eye if you're not careful. Best to have your glasses on.

A short video on the fireworks I oohed and aahed over:

Hubs and I actually started our adventure at 9PM, heading to the food court first for a meal. We explored the outdoor mall area only after that, maneuvering through crowds patiently and finally settling on a spot near the stage where live music was playing. A number of the songs were familiar and catchy, suitable for the crowd to join in.

Publika - Counting Down To The New Year

To tell you the truth, whilst I enjoyed the singing, I was really hoping to catch 'Hands Percussion'. I'm pleased they left it as the last performance of the night just before the countdown. They had the crowd at first drum beat. The energy was fantastic!

Amazing, huh?

Hands Percussion

I'm glad I still enjoy late night New Year Countdown celebrations. What can I say? Young at heart and still happening. Lol. Watching live performances by various artistes was a great way to end to my 2017. The fireworks were a magical start to 2018. Happy New Year ..cheers to another wonderful one!