I saw this written on the wall of the president’s office a couple of times. Each time it never failed to bring me into deep thoughts. 
"Birth was not our choice, death is also not our choice, but we can choose how we live our lives."
This is a long overdue post. Last CNY i had the privilege to invite my lovely bunch of colleagues and some close friends to my house for a mini gathering.
My mum was really excited. She was really looking forward to whip up something to serve my guests. I would really say she’s a really talented cook, and boy oh boy…. she really can cook very well. My physical size is a good testimony to that. My friends always say, I’ve got really good self control and always on firm grounds after i’ve decided on something, but I tell you, when it comes to dinner time at home, I always feel very vulnerable and weak, and slowly i find myself giving in to temptations for 2nd and 3rd helpings. Haha….
Anyway, back to the CNY gathering. As usual, my mum prepared lots and lots of food, to feed us, food lovers! I was really glad to be able to meet up with Florence, after not seeing each other for 1 year. ;-) To sum it up, I would say overall, It was a great fellowship!
Yesterday marked my 10th day of brisk walking at this serene Stutong Park. Oh well, execution of new year’s resolution started a bit late, but like the old saying goes…. Better late than never!
I had the company of a faithful friend, Siao Mei throughout the 10 days journey. She is always a great encourager, and her persistency always gets me to budge from my seat, get changed, put on my running shoes, beat the traffic and make it to the park with her after work.
I’ve always adored this park, but somehow none of the people around me seems to like it. I personally find it a great place to brisk walk. Alone or with company of friends. In the past 10 days, I’ve had squirrels crossed my path, and have seen monkeys swinging from the trees. You must be thinking that this park is somewhere outskirt and far from town. It is actually located just 10 minutes away from my work place! (Without heavy traffic) Check this out….
The walking path
Booth you see along the way as you walk the 1.6KM trail.
On wed, we had the privilege of having Chai Yun and Yee Ling joining us!.
Yeeling and Siao Mei waving their hands frantically telling me in mandarin “Bu yau phai wo! Bu yau phai wo!”
And that day, we had a greater privilege of having a great brisk walking “See Fu” with us, telling us that we have to lift our feet and walk that way in order to burn more calories!
I’ve always wondered wat this wooden thingie is for, AHA! Now I see it’s value.
Siao Mei, YeeLing & Chai Yun
And NO, she really wasn’t trying to cover anything. She was sincerely trying to do sit up.
Hai…. It’s never a nice feeling to quarrel with someone. It began to make me think why does it happen in the first place? Did i feel good after the tiff my Mr Er Fei? Not at all I would say. I was very focused on winning the "battle" when i was in the midst of it. Though I did quite enjoy when he couldn’t refute the points I threw across, and when I could have the last say, however after the tiff, I have this awful feeling and somehow I wished it hadn’t happened at all. Post mortem was done…. Conclusion…. The war broke out due to these…
1) Misunderstanding….
2) More misunderstanding….
3) More prolonged misunderstanding….
With all these (1), (2) & (3) + PRIDE, we both present to our collegues… World War 3.
One consolation was, we patched up and we had a open talk and clear the misunderstanding before we both left the office. Though I ain’t sure when he apologised, did he also felt like strangling me… haha…
Freda, my ex-collegue from KK came over last week for work purpose. 
Wow! It was a great to spend time and catch up with her. Time really flies, it was just like yesterday when i packed my stuff and came back to Kuching. But gosh! That was like 2.5 yrs ago!
Both of us spend most of our meal times together, since she’s here for work. No spare time la, except lunch and dinner time. He he… We made full use of our meal time to meet up!
Therefore, I have nothing much to write except… he he… about FOOD again… #For benefit of all people, I’m also gonna list down the price#
In fact I had a very interesting discovery this time round. There’s this particular Italian restaurant which I thought the food was only so so. The 1st time i had my meal there was a year ago. Since then i never stepped into the restaurant anymore.
As i was driving around RH Plaza area, giving the liberty to Freda to choose where she wanna eat, suddenly she said, "AHA! We eat there.", pointing towards Bella Italia. In my heart I though… "Ooouww, not nice leh…" Somehow I just obliged and we went in.
I never regretted listening to Freda, after I took the first bite into my pizza. WOW! Check it out.
Pinnochio Pizza (RM22.80)
Dessert - Panna Cotta (RM5.80) - Looks pretty simple eh. But friends, don’t play play ya. I am not a dessert lover, but THIS is really really good. The pudding is so smooth that they just melt in yr mouth.
Freda had Rissotto Salmone (RM20.80), also very yummy. No picture for this. Too yummy we forgot to take picture.
Some of the food we had the past week.
Sesame Fish (RM12.90) - Room 205
Midin (RM12) - Bla Bla Bla
Cashew Nut Prawn (RM32) - Bla Bla Bla
Soft Shell Crab (RM25) - Bla Bla Bla
Seafood Platter (RM43) - Magenta
Soft Shell Crab with ebiko Salad - with spicy mayo and soy vinegrate as dressing. (RM20) - Magenta
Tiramisu (don’t know how much) - Magenta
Local Kueh
Laksa! (RM4) - forgot the name of shop. It’s next to Airasia office
Been to Miri umpteen times, never knew that there’s such simple yet nice food right behind Mega Hotel. Thanks to Sam’s friend who recommended it to me the last time I met em. Noodles w Chicken Feet. In fact, u can also ask for mixed, not just chicken feet. I had this, Lau Shu Fen w Chicken Feet. Yummy!
Last Sunday, i sent a sister home after Sunday Service in Siburan. Since her house is so near to the famous "Sunday Market", i decided to drop by and see what it has to offer.
It was about 1pm, and most of the traders were already packing up to go home. As i surveyed the market, i realised there were some stalls where heaps and heaps of people still gather around.
I soon find myself standing at one of the crowded stall. Ahaa! It was a sweet potato stall. Check tis out.
RM1/kg!!!!
This explains the crowd. Got myself RM0.50 worth of sweet potato.
As i walked away, the stall next door caught my eyes.
Wah….. such great difference in price. RM5/kg! it is 400% more expensive than the ones i got. In my heart i gloated over the fact that i got a bargain for sweet potato. I try to dismiss the fact that they are of different colour, thus probably different in quality too! But wat the heck. All sweet potatoes are sweet potatoes.
Suprisingly, my tummy began to growl. Seems like the big plate of rice at Siburan didn’t do any good to my fast developing appetite. My eyes caught a local Kueh stall. I’ve always liked "Chai Kueh". I went on to ask the Aunty….
Me: Aunty, how much is this? #Pointing to the Chai Kueh#
Aunty: I sell em for RM0.40 but now i offer em to you at RM0.20
WAH!!!! Can also get discount for kueh one ah? My first encounter. Hmmm…
Me: Ok Aunty, i want RM1.
(Sounds like I am asking the Aunty for 1 ringgit when i translate what i said in Hockkien to English. I didn’t exactly ask for RM1 from the Auntie. I said in Hockkien, "Wa Ai Jit Ko", which means, gimme RM1 worth of Kueh.)
Aunty went on to pack the Chai Kueh for me. Then she went like…
"Aiyo! I packed 6! Ah, never mind. RM1 for you."
HAHAHAHA…. ended up the Chai Kueh only cost RM0.167 each. Took a bite of the Chai Kueh, this is how it looks like inside.
YUMMY DO eh!!!!
It was getting late. I am supposed to go back to church to practise a song, for a sister’s engagement dinner. He he….. Before i left, i manage to spot another crowd.
He he…. One guideline to follow whenever we are in a foreign place/land, always look out for the crowd. That is where we can be quite sure we can find some good food or good deal. This rule has thus far been quite helpful to me.
With the last 15 minutes i have, i made my way to join the crowd. WOW! check this out!! Grapes at RM5/kg, apple RM0.30 each and RM3/kg for dragon fruit.
I was just having a "Dragon Fruit" conversation with 2 sisters on the way back from Siburan. It was like God’s answered prayer. RM3/kg was such a bargain to me! Looking at my watch, i know i don’t much time. Managed to pick three huge dragon fruit and got the Tauke to weigh em for me. He came back to me and said
"RM4.20"…. hehe… and i said, "RM4.00". Hiak hiak hiak hiak hiak…. Got these for RM4.00…..
Gave one to a dear friend. Enjoy!
Was indeed a very "fruitful" trip. In my heart i thought, hmmm…. will wanna come back here again next weekend, probably after Sunday Service. I know for sure, I’ve already got someone interested to follow me!
My sister, BIBI always like to call me Kiam Siap. Nope, i think that’s not true at all. Kiam Siap ppl don’t spend even on wat they need. I do! I am just holding on to this priciple…..
"Maximising the buying power of every Ringgit I have"
