Dried Meat

This shop sells dried meat, a delicacy that is very popular and usually offered as gifts during Chinese New Year. This is one of the more popular dried meat shop in KL, called Kiew Brothers. This is the headquarter that is located in Chinatown.

Upon our arrival, there was already queue waiting to purchase the fresh dried meat. The meat is barbecued, taste sweet and smoky. We love to eat it as snack. This shop offers variety of meat, ranging from the popular ham to chicken, prawn, beef and lamb. My favourites are ham and chicken. What about you?

Miniature Lion

This little lion is a miniature version of the lion used for Lion Dance performance. Lion Dance performance is commonly seen during Chinese New Year. The performers would be invited to perform at one's house and angpow (red packet containing money) would be offered to the lion as a gesture of appreciation. It is also considered auspicious to invite the Lion Dance performers to one's house during Chinese New Year.

I have posted photos of Lion Dance performance during last year's Chinese New Year. You can view them here:

1. Lion Dance
2. Another Lion Dance

Happy Chinese New Year

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year celebration. We celebrate Chinese New Year for 15 days. This photo shows the many decorations available for one to decorate our house. Usually the favourite colour is red. Red is the auspicious colours that will bring one good fortune!!

I wish everyone an auspicious Year of Ox. May this year bring you peace, harmony, love, good health, success, fortune and good luck! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!!

Festive Cheers Decor

This shop sell dried meats. You can see 2 workers barbecuing the meat outside the shop. I love the beautiful decorations of this shop. With the big bunches of red cherry blossoms and a huge God of Fortune with lots of gold ingots, red lanterns and banners adorning the door, this shop really add festive cheers to this street!

Many houses in Malaysia would have similar decorations by today, i.e. eve of Chinese New Year. Families will gather tonite for a family reunion dinner. It is customary of Chinese family to sit down together for a reunion meal on the eve of Chinese New Year. I look forward to enjoying our reunion dinner tonite. And of course to the countdown before the clock struck midnite!

Flowers for CNY

It is also a common practice to decorate one's house with beautiful flowers during Chinese New Year. Seen here are bunches of pussy willows and artificial cherry blossoms.

Auspicious Plants for CNY

As it is Chinese New Year season, I will not post Sky Watch photo today. Instead I will continue to share photos of Chinese New Year for the next few days.

Today's posting show various plants that are being sold for its auspicious name/meaning during Chinese New Year. You can see lucky bamboo, lime, miniature pineapple and many others (unfortunately I don't know the names). Most of these plants are bought to decorate one's home during this festive season!

CNY Cookies on Sales

A shop selling various kind of cookies for Chinese New Year!

Reflections of Lanterns

I saw this reflection in the drain as I was walking to Cheng Ho Teng Temple in Melaka. The red lanterns were hung as part of the decoration for Chinese New Year.

My World Tues - Fashion Statement

I met these young girls while shopping at Berjaya Times Square in KL. Their fashion sense fascinated me as it is very much influenced by Japanese anime or manga characters dressing, called Cosplay. Check out their hair colour, eye make-up and nail polish.

In the shop next door, there were some Cosplay elaborate costumes and accessories on display. I understand that these clothes are very expensive. It takes a lot of creativity to dress in a full set of costume tastefully. I admire the focus and intensity of interest among these youngsters to dress in Cosplay costumes in public!

Do you have youngsters Cosplay dressing in your city?

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This posting is my participation for the My World Tuesday meme.
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Photos of the costumes displayed at the shop next door.

Festive Traditional Clothes

One more week to go before the arrival of CNY!! We caught this shop in Chinatown displaying colourful, traditional Chinese clothes for children. They add a festive cheers to the Chinese New Year celebration.

By the way, I was just informed by my close friend that for the new year of the Ox, it is advisable NOT to wear RED on the 1st day of CNY. According to her, it is predicted that the year of the Ox will bring some natural calamities. By wearing RED on the 1st day, you will attract the Ox and thus the calamities will follow you for the rest of the year. By RED, she means any colour that carries the tone of red, e.g. pink, purple or bright orange. So it would be safer to stay away from this tones.

Not certain how true the above is.......but I am going to stay away from those colours. Call me superstitious....but prevention is always better than cure! :o)

My Little Niece - Ying Ying

Can't resist sharing this adorable photo of my little niece with all of you! I love those round eyes that were staring into my lens as I caught her in this photo!

I have posted another photo of her last year.

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Found this good news about a popular Malaysian advertising creative director, Yasmin Ahmad. Over the years, Yasmin has produced many impressive tv commercials for Petronas. It is the tv commercial that I always look out for during the major celebrations in Malaysia, such as National Day, Hari Raya, Chinese New Year or Deepavali. Kudos to Yasmin! You have done it again!!! Here's the news clip on Yasmin's winning ad from AdWeek:

Burnett Spot Wins People's Choice Prize, Jan 8, 2009

Malaysian effort for energy company Petronas takes top honors among 5 Gold Clio winners
-By Becky Ebenkamp, Brandweek

LOS ANGELES "The Love of Tan Hong Ming," a spot by Leo Burnett in Malaysia for oil and gas concern Petronas, has won the People's Choice Award for favorite commercial.

The award was bestowed after several months of online voting among five 2008 Gold Clio-winning spots. In addition to the Petronas ad, the other nominees included efforts for Cadbury Dairy Milk, Guinness, Sony Bravia and Sony Walkman.

The winning commercial was acknowledged last night during the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards on CBS.

A public service spot, "The Love of Tan Hong Ming" tackles the topic of race by showing how children are colorblind. A young, bashful Chinese boy is interviewed about the girl he likes. When his crush comes on camera, it is revealed that she is in fact Malaysian -- and that she likes him, too.

The Clios are presented by Nielsen Business Media, which is also the parent of Adweek. The awards for creative excellence celebrate their 50th anniversary in May.

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Watch the winning TV commercial, Tan Hong Ming below and enjoy the innocence of children! They are so fun to watch. This ad has made the name Tan Hong Ming so popular!!!

Taipan Commercial Centre

Subang Jaya is notorious for its traffic jam! So it's not surprising that busy traffic in the USJ Taipan commercial centre is a usual scene. From day till night, the traffic here is usually congested.

You can see many cars are double-parked as the drivers are too lazy to drive further to search for parking space, or pay to use the private car park. It seems like a local trait among our drivers to have cars parked directly at the entrance of a bank, mall or coffee shop as they are too lazy to walk, even just a short distance!

Is this happening in your part of the world too?

Sky Watch Fri - Seri Wawasan Bridge, Putrajaya

I was in Putrajaya again on Wednesday afternoon. Unfortunately, the sky was very gloomy. It was already drizzling lightly when I left my home in Subang Jaya. But that did not deter me from driving to Putrajaya for another fun time of photo shooting. This time, however, the sky didn't brighten up. At least it wasn't raining so I could still spend about 2 hours taking photos around this beautiful place. It was such a simple pleasure just sitting along the railing in front of Selera Putra food court, with the beautiful view of Seri Wawasan Bridge and Putra Mosque, enjoying the breeze, watching groups of tourists overwhelmed by the surrounding beauty of Putra Square and shooting away with their cameras. I just love it!

There are several impressive bridges in Putrajaya, the administrative city of Malaysia. It is always fun to hunt for those bridges while in Putrajaya. So, here's a photo of the Seri Wawasan Bridge, viewed from the Putra Square, where the Putra Mosque is located. The sky looks rather flat in this photo due to the gloomy weather. I have seen many beautiful photos taken on this bridge, that in my opinion is the most beautiful one in Putrajaya.

According to the Travel Malaysia Guide website, Seri Wawasan Bridge was inspired by the sails of a Bugis schooner and connects Precinct 8 to the Mixed Development Precinct. It has a single span of 240 metres supported by stayed cables suspended from leaning concrete pylons. At the other end, equilibrium is accorded by a combination of cable backstays and structural steel tie-back.

The Seri Wawasan Bridge, meaning Bridge of Vision, accommodates a dual three-way carriageway and a pedestrian walkway. Its modern materials and dramatic sweeping curves make a bold statement that Putrajaya is a city with its vision focused on the IT era.

So far, I have only shot photos of 3 bridges in Putrajaya. There are 5 more bridges that I have not covered. Probably I should make it as one of my resolutions to take photos of all the remaining 5 bridges. But covering Putrajaya is a huge task. As I have said earlier in my posting, the signages in Putrajaya is not helpful at all. I would suggest that the signages on all bridges to be put up as all these magnificent bridges qualify as tourist attractions! The signages would help us to find routes to the bridges easily. Then I will have less of this "I can see you, but I can't reach you" situation.

My other postings on bridges in Putrajaya:

1. Sunset at Seri Wawasan Bridge

2. Bridge Leading to PICC (Seri Gemilang Bridge)

3. Putrajaya Bridge (Seri Perdana Bridge)

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This posting is my participation for Sky Watch Friday. If you are keen to check out the sky in other cities in the world, do visit the Sky Watch Friday portal.

Chinese New Year - Dried Meat

Various kind of dried preserved meats are now available in Petaling Street. These meat are usually served during Chinese New Year. Hanging at the back of the owner is rows of waxed ducks. Below them are preserved pork belly. The meat on the foreground are waxed duck thighs. Then there are various types of sausages to choose from!

ABC Wednesday - 'Z' is for Zon Sita

'Z' is for Zon Sita. To be frank, I don't know what does it mean by sita. But the words 'Dilarang Menjaja' means hawker stalls are not allowed. The picture clearly showed what the words mean if one can't understand Malay language.

For all ABC Wednesday posting, please visit here.

My World Tuesday - Ushering Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration falls on 26 Jan this year. That is less than 3 weeks away!Our shopping for Chinese New Year had begun even in December!

On Sunday, we went to Chinatown to enjoy the Chinese New Year decor. We saw this shopping mall decorated with lotsa red lanterns ~ a very common feature for CNY. Flowers related to CNY such as peony, pussy willow and plants such as bamboo are already on sales. CNY music was blasting away. It was so merry walking along Petaling Street, where Chinatown is located. One can't help feeling that CNY is just around the corner!

What is the life in other parts of the world like? Check it out at That's My World Tuesday portal!

Monochrome Monday - Temple Street

This is the street where I grew up! It's called Temple Street. There are several Chinese temples along this street. It's an interesting street as it also has a mosque, a Hindu Temple and a Tamil church along it!

Usually during Chinese New Year, our street would be beautifully decorated in red. The red lanterns have been put up as in December in conjunction with the coming celebration!

My Fave Recipe - Black Pepper Chicken

A friend brought back from Sarawak a bottle of crushed black pepper for me. I decided to use it when it's still fresh. Thus on Friday I tried a new recipe using the black pepper and it turned out delicious. I am glad to share the recipe for the Black Pepper Chicken. Seen on this photo, I served it on a bed of lettuce and some cucumber and pineapple slices. They vegies go very well with the chicken.

Recipe for Black Pepper Chicken

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Ingredients:

• Half a chicken, cut into big pieces
• 1 big onion, chopped
• Cooking oil
• Cornflour mix with 1tbsp water

Marinade:

• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp cornflour

Sauce (Mix together all ingredients):

• 1 tbsp crushed black pepper
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp Lea & Perrin sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp plum sauce
• 2 tbsp vinegar
• 150 ml water

Method:

1. Season chicken with the marinade for 30 mins.


2. Deep fry chicken in oil until golden and crisp. Dish up.


3. Heat 1 tbsp oil and add onion and cook till onion turned soft. Add sauce that has been mixed well into the onion. Mix well. Then add cornflour & water into the sauce. Cook tills sauce thicken.


4. Pour the sauce to the chicken and make sure it coats all the chicken pieces.
   
   
   

Eagle at Bird Park

We saw this beautiful eagle close-up at the Bird Park in A'Farmosa Resort in Melaka. The bird show was very good and our nieces and nephews truly enjoyed the performances. My sister even said it's better than the show at KL's Bird Park!

Sunset Watching - A Simple Pleasure

Sunset over the Eye on Malaysia (EoM) in its new site, in Kota Laksamana Melaka. I caught this photo from across the Melaka River, near where the Holiday Inn Hotel is. We just sit by the river with the guys who were fishing and enjoy the sunset. It's an excellent location to watch sunset! The sky was a huge canvas with ever changing strokes of paint and colours! It was a simple pleasure just sitting there and watch the sky beyond us changed, with the EoM in the foreground. It gets better when the light at the EoM was lit up!

Check out this location if you are in Melaka!

How are skies in other part of the world looks like? Check it out here!

Now Fresh, Now Cooked

These are mud crabs on sale at the restaurant in Pulau Ketam. You can choose from the bin the fresh crabs. The restaurant waiter will weigh it and you can decide how many crabs you want based on the offered price. The crabs will then be cooked to the way you like it. We opt for sweet and sour.

ABC Wednesday - 'Y' is for Young Children

'Y' is for Young Children! These are photos of my nephews and niece enjoying a good time in the pool during their recent school holiday. The young children really had a good time in the water. It's so fun watching them! They are so real, no pretence at all! It's so easy to be yourself when you are with them. I love spending time with them. We taught the children swimming during the holiday. They has lotsa fun and learn to be comfortable in the water. I hope this would be the beginning of more water adventures!

For all ABC Wednesday posting, please visit here.

My World Tuesday - Taking A Break

A fortune teller at Petaling Street taking a short nap.

I am always intrigued by fortune tellers. How often are their reading accurate? I like to believe that the reading is accurate if it is a good reading. And if it is a bad one, I would just take it with a pinch of salt. Ha ha....so these days I would avoid any fortune reading! What's your experience like? Mind sharing?

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Find out what is it like in other parts of the world at "That's My World Tuesday" portal.

Old Charms

I am finally back from my 2-week holiday. What a great break from daily routine!! I have even turned off my mobile during those period and guess what? I got to enjoy a peaceful holiday with my family, away from sms-es and calls!!! I will attempt to do this again for my next family holidays!

Thank you to all of you who have visited this blog and left your comments and greetings. It will take me awhile to catch up on all the postings. I wish all of you a very Happy New Year and a blessed year ahead! I would like to share this message that was sms-ed to me with all of you. It says " Life is short, forgive quickly, give generously, love truly, show gratitude to those who have helped you and never regret anything that made you smile or cry as life is a journey of discovery. Happy New Year and may it bring you happiness, good health and continued success!"

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Today's photo was taken in a really old temple in KL's Chinatown. I like the old charms feel of the entire place, ranging from the architecture of the building and even the friendly, elderly people there. You can see in the photo, there are 2 friendly faces arranging the incense and paper used for prayers.

In Chinatown, it is easy to find elderly people to share a table with in the dim sum or coffee shop. These elders are very warm and welcoming towards young people. I always enjoy sharing a table with them at the dim sum restaurant. They would gather there after their morning exercises and catch up on their daily exchange of happenings in each other's lives. It's fun to just sit there and enjoy their conversation while I sip my cup of Chinese tea and enjoy a hot, steamed loh mai kai (glutinuous rice). It's a simple pleasure that always leave me with a warm feeling.

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Today's posting is my participation for Monochrome Monday's meme. Find out what are the other Monochrome Maniacs up to!!

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Walking in KL

As I was walking near the Sultan Abdul Samad building, I chanced upon this guy walking pass this beautiful structure. I can't help it but to click away!

Night View of One Utama

While stopping at the traffic light, I managed to capture this modern structure that is part of One Utama Shopping Mall's new wing.

Sky Watch Fri - Moon with Transmission Tower

An early moon captured near a telecommunication transmission tower in Pulau Ketam.

More sky photos can be seen here.

Theme Day: Jan 09 - Best photos of the year 2008

Happy New Year everyone!! Another year has gone by so soon! Yup, I may be saying that coz as I look back at 2008, I feel I have not done enough in those 365 days.

The main achievement for last year is I have been going to the gym on a regular basis! I am amazed that I am able to keep to my resolution of living a healthy life by exercising regularly.

It has been a year since I joined the gym. I have been able to visit the gym at least 3 times a week! I find it amazing as I have never been a highly discipline individual, especially where exercise is concerned. But I have been able to achieve this in 2008!!!

So, what are your resolutions for this new year?

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For 1 Jan 2009's theme, Best Photos of 2008, I have picked photos that I had shown an improvement in my photography skills to be shared with all of you. I hope you would like them too!

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants of Jan's Theme Day!