Work vs Family

I'd purchased the air tickets for my parents to fly over from Kuching about two months ago. To ensure smooth running of my holiday with my parents, arrangements were made and hotels were booked. Necessary payment were done. Itenerary was planned. My wife did her own planning and had allocated the week for our very own family holiday. I was excited.

However, just about a week before my parents arrive, I received a letter from the management requiring me to attend an important meeting and training which coincide with my holiday itinerary. The management deem the meeting to be very important and was made compulsory to all senior staff. I was in dilemma.

I was repeatedly reminded to attend the meeting. But after a deep thought, i had decided to choose my family. The management was unhappy. Questions were asked. I stood firm on my decision.

It's not the money that i concerned, though thousands of ringgit for the tickets and arrangement were already paid. It's what I treasure in my life. Work will never end, but parents and wife will not be with us forever. My parents are aging. Dad is 79, while mum is 71. I would do anything to make them happy, and spending my hard earn money to have them with us in our holiday is just priceless.

So i chose my family, my parents and my wife. Work will have to be brushed aside.

Gift From Inah

Fellow blogger Inah the micronucleus girls was back in town for her short holiday recently. And i got the chance to meet up with her together with fellow blogger Lily and her husband Nurman over a satay dinner. Blogger Danial Ma was there too.

The dinner was sort of like a 'kill two birds with one stone' thingy. The gathering was meant as a meet-up, and for me to pass the gift to Lily and Nurman for their wedding. They got married a couple of months ago but I couldn't present myself there then. The wedding gift was long prepared, kept in my store room, waiting for the time to meet up so that i can pass it to them.

Inah got me some souvenirs from down under. Thanks Inah!



For more details of the gathering, please click on to Lily's entry HERE.

Oh ya, one thing worth mention, Lily still got her newly-wed glow, sweet as ever. And Nurman seems to be 'bigger' nowaday (Good job, Lily).

Alor Star and Nazzman

I was on an official trip to Alor Star last week. To Kangar and Alor Star to be exact. I'd been to these two places several times, but never really explore them. This time round I got a tour guide ;-D

Nazzman our fellow blogger was kind enough to travel from Gurun to bring me around. I didn't have much time actually, and was only free for a morning. So Nazzman brought me to nearby places of interest. We visited the Galeri Seni, Museum DiRaja, and Pekan Rabu to name a few.



While in the hotel lobby, I caught Nazz termenung... agaknyer dia tengah pikir.."Naper lah Putu takde adik yer...??" .. " Biler lah Nazz dapat kawin..??".

And the following photo was specifically requested by Nazz to be shown here, ditujukan khas kepada Cikgu AJ dengan caption "AJ, Nazz tak boroi macam AJ yerr!"

I managed to give some photography tips to Nazz. He picked up really fast, and put them to practice. The photo below was taken after the tips were given. Hensem tak?

Thank you Nazzman sebab sudi bawa Josh gi jalan-jalan. Lain kali datang KL Josh bawa Nazz jalan-jalan pulak yer.

Sushiiiiiiiii !

Our best friend is back. Honey larling was excited and we organised a get-together dinner. Since all of us love Japanese food, decision on where to dine was simple. Sushi King was nominated unanimously. Four of us (Danial, Honey Larling, me and my wife) went in a car.

As usual, Danial was busy with his camera. And that was the first time i tried out my new camera. Awesome!! It produces crystal clear pictures even at low light. I was actually craving for yasai itame (vegie noodle) but was informed that they had removed this dish from their menu. Sighh.... why like that??

Here're some of my favourites: Unagi (grilled eel) sushi), soft shell crab roll, and ebiko (fish roe). Yummy......



To convey our message on how good the food was, take a look at these photos of Honey larling and me.

New Toy

Finally, after months and months of survey, I'd made my decision and purchased this toy two weeks ago.

I'd been using Canon SLR since teenage. When digital photography started to bloom in the market 10 years ago, i shifted to Sony cybershot, a compact and simple digital camera. And a few years later, I switched back to SLR camera and purchased my first DSLR Sony alpha 100. But then, Canon I'm still very much attached to Canon cameras, thus prompted me to buy this beautiful baby, Canon 50D.

I bought two lenses. One Sigma 70-300mm telelens with macro function at 200-300, meaning to say, macro shots are possible at close range when switched to 200~300mm. I'm excited.

I opted for the 18-200mm kit lens, due to it's flexibility and reliability. Now I don't have to change my lens everytime i need to snap shots of different ranges. This lens come with Image Stabilizer, capable of stabilizing lens to capture photos at low light to avoid blurriness.

And of course, a good camera can't go without a good camera bag, and a good flash. I got myself a sling camera bag. The external flash is cool!

Looking forward to have free time to try out this toy! Jom jom!

Josh & Yaz

Jumaat lepas sempat Josh jumpa dengan Yaz kat Putrajaya. Dengan baju melayunya, siap dengan sampin dan songkok, Yaz nampak macam baru je bertunang. hehehe.

Kita jumpa pun sekejap je. Sempat la kita minum-minum sambil bercerita tentang kehidupan Yaz kat KL selama sebulan nih. Banding dengan gambar, Yaz in real life lebih 'gagah perkasa'! Gelak ketawanya TETAP MENGGEGARKAN. Tak lama lagi Yaz akan pindah dekat rumah Josh. Boleh lah kita gi makan-makan, minum-minum, lepak-lepak kat kopitiam yer Yaz.

Sempat Josh snap gambar dengan Yaz sebelum hantar dia ke ERL station. Entah kenapa, beberapa kali Josh snap gambar, Yaz tetap nampak macam Zorro dengan matanya kena cahaya matahari.

Pastu pusing-pusing sikit keta, tukar-tukar sikit posisi, baru lah Yaz nampak macam manusia. ;-P

Nice meeting you Yaz! All the best for your future. Harap-harap dapat tempat yang baik dan sesuai dengan citarasa Yaz.

Psst... kawan-kawan semua, Josh rasa Yaz dah tembam sikit. Betul tak? Josh x berani tegur haritu, takut kena tumbuk. Maklumlah, Yaz kan gagah perkasa.

Makan Laksam

Somehow, I'm kinda fond of east coast food. Nasi kerabu, nasi daging and not to forget laksam. To have these yummy dishes, i always like to go to this particular restaurant not far away from my work place. Not too crowded, and not too stuffy. And the staff are friendly.

Laksam... the taste of the thick fish gravy is indescribable. The 'ulam' or raw vegie, finely chopped.


But sadly, this restaurant had shifted to a new premise, far away from the office, to a not so 'nice' environment. aiyaaaa.... Now I got to hunt for new shops nearby, if they have these dishes.

Josh, Pak Uda, Izat

Cikgu AJ a.k.a. Pak Uda texted my last Friday, informing that he'll be in Kajang on Saturday. So we immediately arranged our 'date'. On Saturday noon, we met each other for the first time, after knowing each other via blog for quite some time. Ada sorang budak Pak Uda bawa, ingat anak dia... rupa-rupanyer anak saudara.

Cikgu AJ was rather malu-malu tapi mau. Very friendly and pleasant looking. His nephew, Izat, was playful yet very shy. We had a few cups of coffee.

Cuba tengok betul-betul dua gambar kat bawah. Cuba teka perbezaannyer.


Jawapannya: Gambar 1, Pak Uda lupa mintak Izat duduk atas riba dia..... terbongkarlah rahsia kebuncitannya.
Gambar 2: Cepat-cepat Pak Uda tangkap Izat, paksa Izat duduk atas riba.... Tertutup lah perut tu....

Kan Cikgu? Kan?

Australian Scallop

Oh boy... I'm drooling as i type this entry...the fantastically succulent and aromatic scallops i cooked a few days ago still lingers in my memory.

My precious wife summoned me to the kitchen, showed me these scallops and said bluntly, "I bought these Australian scallop, it's only RM13 each (my gosh...my wife is rich). And I don't know how to cook. You cook lah, for our dinner."

They're a bit larger then my palm. First time seeing scallop in such 'giant' size. Luckily, being a skillful cook (chewaaah), i knew exactly what i should do. I cracked open the shell with a knife, push open the shell wide enough to allow clear vision of the adductor muscle (that's what we normally called scallop), cut it off from the shell before opening up the shell fully.

The scallop is entirely edible, but two major parts are preferred: the adductor muscle (round, white and meaty) and the roe (the orangish eggs).

Fuyooo.... i was excited.

Before we cook them, the internal organs got to be removed. Marinate them with a bit of white wine and minced young ginger.

To cook them, I heated up the pan, and sauteed the scallops with butter for three to four minutes. It cannot be overcooked or it will be tough and chewy. Seconds after the scallops turned from translucent to whitish, it's cooked.

To serve, put them back to the shells which we'd thoroughly washed and boiled. Garnish them with greens from my garden. And Tadaaaaaa............. butter sauteed scallops.

Oooooo...... salivating..... But i don't think i can afford to have these often. But don't know lah, my 'rich' wife may buy some more.

Sarawak Laksa Again

Three dishes stand out when we talk about Sarawak food. The famous mee kolok, the irresistable (to some) ikan terubuk masin, and the mouth watering Laksa Sarawak. To reflect my origin and that i'm a proud Sarawakian, my wife and i cooked Sarawak Laksa last Saturday. A few church members were invited. Namely Mr. Wan and family, Mr. Lau and famaily, and our young pastor Desmond. I blogged about the cooking of Sarawak Laksa early last year.

My wife bought some bean sprout in the morning and soaked them in the water. Interestingly, they continued their growth and caught my attention. I snapped this photo right before we shower them with boiling water.

The ingredients were served separately. One need to mix them together according to one's own taste and preference. The usual condiments are fried eggs sliced in thin shreds, bean sprout, shredded chicken, shelled prawns, lime and sambal udang.

It's the first time for Pastor Desmond, and the laksa had managed to 'squeeze' out huge amount of sweat off him. Too hot. hahaha...


It's our normal weekend inviting friends to come over for a meal, and catching up on each other's latest news. Sorry folks, i was not in the pic. No one really know how to handle my DSLR correctly.

Jom Sarawak Laksa! Slurps..