0 Feasting on Durians

Tis the season.. for Durians and  I've had my fair share of feasting, in a small way.

I say small because I can't get past more than three pieces per session without starting to feel uncomfortable. Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. My friends have fallen victim to Mr. Sore Throat. I can hear croaks of disapproval whilst I continue my little Durian expedition.

Durian has come a long way, more complicated than how I used to see it back in my kampung (village). You pick one and gobble it all up. That's all there was to it. These days, there's D24, D2, Musang King, Red Prawn and what sort.

"What? ..Any one lar, Uncle. I just want to eat!" ,I explained to one Durian seller years ago. It was then that I was introduced to varieties and the price that came with.

Now, I'm more Durian savvy. So, when close family friends from my hometown ..?? ..my BFF.. stayed over one weekend, hubby and I took the opportunity to introduce them to "Musang King". Like me before, they had never heard of it. 

We baited them with words like "Creamy", "Rich", "Heavenly", "Premium" and "Stanley Ho". 

By the next day, everyone including us, was pumped up for a taste. We landed ourselves in SS2 at Donald's. There was a good haul of Musang King for sale there.

Choosing our Durians

 The nice weather serves only to whet our appetite.

Blue skies and the outdoorsy feel

The feasting began as soon as the Durians were selected from the basket.

Breaking the Durian open

Oh-so-luscious

My, my!

Musang King is well known for its delectable flesh and pricier tag, costing between RM20-RM35 per kilo on average. It's a once in a season treat for us and in great company, it's extra special, very much like the ice-cream ordered on top of Ais Kacang (Malaysian ice dessert).

0 Green Matter

Not kryptonite, not The Hulk..just the greens.

I had to give Putrajaya Floria 2012 a miss because my days were packed to the brim. Aaah, it was just one of the moments where I wish I had more hours in a day.

BUT I was no less inspired to do the right green thing after reading through Autumn Belle's blog posts. The world would be a better place if all of us, the apartment dwellers, played our part in greening it. I think of Mother Earth's sustainability out of a sudden...with sorry realisation that I haven't really done much.

It would be a dream to see tall buildings laden with plants on every floor because everyone is growing something. Chirping birds, butterflies, laughing neighbours. The building would be alive with lovely flowers, vegetables and cheerful banter from happy residents...I think plants make people happy!

This is my haul from Ikea. I'm starting small. My know-how on plant survival isn't very impressive..I know nuts.

Fresh Stash

One of the plants in my Ikea blue bag is the Ficus Ginseng Jade. I bought it because it seemed "solid". Whether this is a logical move is beyond me. I'm shamefully judging the plant by its looks and it looks like a survivor.

Ficus Ginseng Jade (I don't suppose it's edible)

The plants hanging on the wall have been with me for close to seven years. At the advice of my aunt, I've trimmed it "botak" (bald). She says it'll grow out prettier if I do.

Trimmed hanging plants

The common houseplant that's crawling up my wall began from a very small pot some eight years ago. I don't really know what happened. It just gained in size and off-springs. I have another three indoors.

New and old plants

These pretty clay dolls have been added to liven things up a notch. They've been in my storage cabinet for a couple of years. Not a hoarder...ehm. I just knew it'd be of some use one day....

RM5 each from Daiso

I hope I know what I'm doing. I wish I knew how to take care of flowering plants. I am praying that my plants don't wither if I travel for week-long periods.

I ...........should stop spraying my new plants with water every couple of hours or so.

0 Stop! Love is in the air ..

And then there are days when people just touch you with their creativity. I saw these heart-shaped traffic lights in Subang Jaya more than a month back.

Love is in the intersection

I'm not sure if it's still there but it made an impact on how I felt all over. I was smiling inside out. I guess I'm easily entertained.

It was a good stop. I was reminded about love, to drive with care for the sake of loved ones, to be patient with my fellow drivers, to put up my hand in a friendly wave when I wanted to cut in - all that warm fuzzy feeling and happy thoughts in one traffic light.

In the midst of all that mushy-ness, there were questions that plagued my curious nature, unimportant, but keen-to-know.

Was this done in the stealth of night? What were they thinking? Are they rebels of conformity? Can I join the gang ...? ..Kidding.

Black cut-out cardboard

Some people think it's a bad joke. I think if you're going to speed over the red light, it doesn't matter if the traffic lights are round, square or triangle!

A person of good character will always know right from wrong. No shape or size of a warning signboard will change that. The "Do Not Litter, Fine RM$$" signage is perfect example, with bags of rubbish dumped under it, don't you think?

2 Sri Sinar Terrace House - Jalan 34D/38A Segambut (Kepong)

We (hubby and I) came across these neat little 2.5 storey terrace houses in Segambut a couple of months ago. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths - perfect for small families. Only two rows were constructed. It is located within an old neighbourhood facing the Nova II apartments.

Priced from RM500k onwards, it is a tall order for property agents to get these homes sold. I'll elaborate and this is my personal opinion.

Granted, it sits on freehold land but it isn't exactly prime area, nor a gated community. The surroundings speak for itself.

Notice the cars parked along the left side of the road (from the photo below). These are, I presume, owned by those living in the older houses across the road since the new units are still vacant. I can only imagine how congested it would be later on. 

In light of this, I'd definitely opt for the lots behind if I were considering a purchase.

Surroundings (new houses on the left)

The units behind

On a positive note, the finishes look neat on first impression and the overall design is pleasing to the eye. If it were built elsewhere in better surroundings, I may even think about putting a down-payment on it, in all earnestness.

I had to use Wikimapia to find the exact location

Other landmarks : These units can be seen, on your right, from the main road leading into Anjung Tiara (Semi Ds).

Click here to see an advertisement I found on PropertyGuru if you're keen on looking into it further.

2 At the launch of Selangorlicious 2012

Selangorlicious - a food blogging competition to uncover Selangor's best kept street food secret. The great thing is, you don't need to be a blogger to participate! Yeay!

I was at the launch of the month-long event with a friend. We arrived early. It was an easy find as Paradox Art Cafe was just around the corner from 1Utama's open car park.

Here we are, for the first time

It seems like a cool place to hang out. Private enough for good conversations and a relaxing time. That's the impression I got as we walked in.

We helped ourselves to a glass of coke. ..coke....is this coke??? Diluted - Watered down brown soda, there you have it. Gasp! Horror!

I'm particular even if it isn't something I drink often.

Cosy ambiance

 
The organisers did an amazing job making everyone comfortable. There were lots of activities and I'm really glad for the variety of games. "This old lady" is always all for laid-back fun stuff like, "Guess the number of cookies in a jar". Hey, I'm just not into things that's gonna work my heart rate too much @.@

The rest of the evening was spent cheering other people on so that they'd succeed in completing the game challenges to qualify for prizes. One thing's for sure, the organisers are a generous lot. 

There was also a live twitter contest going on and I would have participated...if only I'd figured out how to post from my phone... BAH! My will to try withered as I engrossed myself with my glass of coke.
 

Games in progress

The Marshmallow Nightmare
..stuff those in your mouth and repeat a phrase

Sort by colour as fast as you can!

Math isn't one of my strong points. That night, it was put to some use - "This times that equals that, times that again..." and tadaaa..

The book I won from guessing the no. of cookies.
I love it so much!

Soon after, YB Elizabeth Wong was invited to the stage to officiate the event. I sat in awe listening to her. She's such an inspiration, humble in her words and dressing, with none of that hoity-toity air about her. The speeches were to-the-point so it wasn't long before we were ushered to the buffet table.

Yummiest dish of the night - Grilled Lamb

Aww..they gave us cookies to bring home

We made new friends, laughed, ate heartily ..what an awesome night, and it's all thanks to Tourism Selangor.

For details on the competition : http://www.selangorlicious.my

0 Kuih-muih at the SS2 Food Court

The SS2 Food Court is one of my favourite haunts. There's just so many hawker stalls to choose my food from.

And if there's one thing I never do, it is to leave without buying some kuih (local cakes) home.

Check out my haul below... there's curry puff, kao chan kuih (9-layer cake), salted egg + bean paste puff, pink steamed cake, white steamed cake and steamed pandan kuih with kaya.

How does it taste? Yummy, of course - well made and delicious. They weren't stingy with the ingredients nor are these small sized bites. I love the colours, that's for sure! ..because it reminds me of the colours of Malaysia.
 

Local cakes

Salted egg + Bean paste (Mooncake style)

Inside the curry puff

I bought all these from the kuih stall located in the center of the food court, across "Little China".

0 The Yellow Wonders of the World..

Some kind of wonderful has happened. Once in awhile, you find something phenomenal...and it CAN be a fruit..Alleluia, I sing praises for the mango!

If there were a list for the yellow wonders of the fruit world, I'd have voted for Indian Sweet Mangoes to be in it. It is plump, juicy goodness that I can't get out of my head. Sweet yes, but not killingly. I guess that's one of the reasons it appeals to my taste-buds.

Can you imagine chomping into a fresh fruit with juice splashing out of the sides of your lips. You take a moment to savour its sweetness in your mouth before it all goes down.

Then, you take another bite.. then another and another and then, "poof". It's all gone. Omigosh! DID I BUY ENOUGH?!!!!!

Succulent mango

Palm-sized and luscious

RM12.40 for these beauties

You can buy it here at Syed, Bangsar

Indian sweet mangoes at RM12 per KG

       

2 Repressive!

A shackled press
An economy in distress 
Yet they say there’s no mess

They quote, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds”
Even when our pocket bleeds
 They insist they’ve met our needs

This land is free
Wait… not free, for a fee
They want our “unquestioning” loyalty

History books have been changed
Insecure works of the deranged
 Our children, shortchanged!

We ban artists
But keep sexist Czarists
In our Parliament they exist..

Voiceless against violence
Helpless against rising vice and public nuisance
Cowered into acceptance by Little Napoleons

Have we lost all sense
In this quicksand of nonsense
We’re stuck deep but still we keep up the "fine" pretense…

~ Sharon D. @ 02 June 2012

0 On A Hot Day Like This..

HOT HOT HOT. It's a hot day but I am blessed because I can see blue skies and feel the warmth of the sun on my skin. The wind plays against the leaves of my houseplant.

My heart is at peace with all the beautiful things going on around me.

My thoughts are on "bright and cheery" this afternoon. Oh and also on something really cool ..... 

Popsicle maker!

Watermelon and lime, the perfect blend

Frozen goodness

Tadaaa..now, isn't that "cool"?

0 Stop Looking At Me Like I'm a Criminal...

Monday, my 3rd day in Midvalley. I should be getting a medal for this.

I stepped into the newly designed Carrefour hypermarket to shop for some stuff for the household. It was impressive. The floors were shiny, the aisles were spacious. I like the whole modern concept except for the arrangement of the shelving units. There were no shortcuts to the grocery supermarket area. It was a long u-turn down.

I was generally fine with the idea (maybe it's one of those so-called things called marketing strategy) until I was informed by the cashier that I couldn't pay for my box of plasters at her counter. She didn't look too pleased about it. Here, I wondered if I should have been the one carrying the displeased look.

Perhaps she had been informing the customers of the same all day, to the blind eye of the Management, who probably thought that having customers pay for their purchases at two different counters is a brilliant idea...really?

Mine had to be paid at the pharmaceutical counter where I had picked the items up. I thought of the great u-turn, looked at queue..it was daunting enough to prompt me to abandon it. So I told her to leave it aside because I didn't want it anymore.

With all the items scanned and totalled, I flipped out my credit card to settle the amount displayed on the cash register. The cashier took it from me but gave me the up and down stare after looking at the name on the card.

"Whose card is this?", she enquired. People with Indian-sounding names should only look a certain way, I guess.

Wearing a grin, I told her it was mine. Lucky for me, she left it at that.

If there's anything I learned in life as a person of mixed parentage, it is that it would be a great disservice to my precious time to argue with someone with a funnel view of things. Incidences like these are aplenty and to take them all on would make me an extremely grumpy person. I aim to sprinkle my life with happiness, not frequent eruptions of anger.

Granted, I understand that the cashier has a job to do but I just don't get why people are not treated "Innocent until proven guilty" . Being polite wouldn't hurt either.

Having said that, I will take my shopping elsewhere.

2 There she goes..

I hang on to things until they go kaput. It's what my mother does and the practice has been passed on. You just don't throw out old things for something new when the old one's not broke.

So I hung on to my trusty old oven although the timer was off by miles and the heat was uneven. I use a kitchen timer to keep track. If I missed the bell, then there goes everything that's in it....black as charcoal it will be!

There was no chance of that happening though. I was glued nearby the whole time. It's just me. I like seeing how things flourish in the oven. Is that normal behavior amongst baking enthusiasts?

It was a matter and time before it gave way and it did. It just went "plinkk!" and "praaacCcKKk!". A burning smell wafted through the air. I switched the electricity off immediately. I was baking a chicken when it happened.  

I bid my oven adieu that day...sobs. 

Three weeks of my life was spent in an oven-less state. Can't say I liked the feeling. It left me restless and agitated.

Boom!