First LRT Ride!

2nd day of 2011 Chinese New Year.

We have always wanted to let Ryan experience riding the LRT. However, with so many people during the normal weekends, we have postponed the idea till now....

So, on the second day of Chinese New Year after a lunch at my sister's place, we decided to take him to ride the LRT down to KLCC just for the fun of it. Since we stayed near the Kelana Jaya LRT station (which is the last stop), we could easily find a place for him on the very first coach so that he could have an unobstructed view of the track as the LRT glides towards our destination.

Needless to say, he was all excited every time our train passed another train on the opposite direction. On arrival at KLCC, we found the place packed with tourists and lots and lots of foreign workers out on a holiday. So, instead of walking about, we find ourselves a nice spot in Chinoz. I ordered a nice pint of cold German beer and some food while we watched the traffic goes by before taking the train back 3 hours later .....

Needless to say, we as parents are as excited as him on his first LRT ride ...!!

Kids say the funniest things !!!

1st day of 2011 Chinese New Year.

Kids sometimes come up with lines that will totally either amaze and surprise you OR totally embarrass you.

For courtesy and since this is the Chinese New Year period, we have been teaching Ryan to say "Gong Xi! Gong Xi!" while holding his hands together and he picks it up rather quickly.

On the first day, we asked him to great us `Gong Xi! Gong Xi!' early in the morning and in return (as in our Chinese tradition) gave him his red packet (ang pow). He gladly takes it and attempt to put it into his pocket. (We have told him the night before that ang pow has money inside and he must be careful with it while we were packing our ang pows for the new year).

Before we went out, we called our helper (maid) and gave her an ang pow, telling her that it is our tradition as Chinese to do that for the new year. She gladly (of course) took the ang pow and said 'Thank You sir and maam".

Then I jokingly asked her to hold her hands together and say `Gong Xi! Gong Xi!' as a gesture to greet guests during the new Year. As she hold her hand together to utter those greetings, Ryan intercepted with his version of the instruction.....

"Say Gong Xi! Gong Xi! Got MONEY wan.....!!!"

OMG! (Slap forehead)....We were definitely amused since he said it in front of our maid...but I would probably dig a hole to hide out of embarrassment IF he were to say it right before our guests or friends ....!

Creative ??

Happy Chinese New Year Everyone. Here's wishing everyone a very FRUITFUL, PRODUCTIVE, PROSPEROUS and HEALTHY Year of the Bunny!

Ryan is now 2 years and 8 months but the way he is learning and picking up lines, remembering things and doing stuff on a daily basis now, never ceased to amaze us. Many at times, we seemed to forget that he is not even 3 years old (Too bad for him, cause I tend to be a little harsh on him treating him like he is 3!! ...sorry son..if you read this some years down the road when you are older).

On the 3rd day of New Year (after an eventful day running around and posing for pictures for his camera crazy daddy and his auntie (sai ku cheh) who just got her new Nikon D3100 DSLR), while relaxing at home and playing with his toys (which are boxes by now), he came up with his version of an AEROPLANE, complete with a pilot !!!!

I remembered making one just like this more than 6 months ago while playing with him and had not revisit this since. Amazing! He made this purely either of his imagination (which he has lots), or creativity or merely remembering the one I made before. Whichever the case may be, THIS IS SIMPLY THE MOST CREATIVE AEROPLANE THAT BOTH OF US HAVE EVER SEEN!!! (Sorry, being parents, we are bound to be pretty bias on our judgment...Hahaha).

Ra Ra ah ah ah.. Roma Roma ma ....Gaga Oh la la

My little boy has always taken a liking to music even before he started to walk. And he has always been shaking his bump and his body when we switched on music in our car stereo but he is into HOT HOT music with lots of tempo and beat...

It is therefore no surprise that one of his favourite singer is none other than LADY GAGA!

He has been listening to her songs off and on for some time now, whether in the car or when we go karaoke but it never occurs to me that he can memorized them.

I was driving him to school this morning and while waiting a the traffic light, I was unconsciously singing ..."Ra Ra ah ah ah...Roma Roma ma ..." and before I could go to the "Gaga .." part, he looked at me and to my amazement, said "BAD ROMANCE!!!"

And I said "What?" and he repeated himself ..."BAD ROMANCE!"

I asked him who the singer was... and he said " GAGA!"

Emmmmm....not bad for 2.5 years old boy ....and it took me weeks to remember the first line and even longer to remember the name of the song ....

"Stan Notty Coner N Cly!!!"

Yupe...
That's exactly what I got from my little rascal the other day.

And this is the exact words that we used to reprimand him when he is extremely naughty. We have decided not to use the cane as much as possible and we have not start either. We found out that the most effective way to punish him is to `banish' him from our side, either make him to go upstairs with kakak or to make him stand at a designated corner of our house known to him as the `Naughty corner'.

We would scold him and told him to go to his naughty corner and stand there and cry all he wants and he is not allow to leave the naughty corner unless we ask for him or he starts to say sorry for being naughty.

So, the other day, I accidentally split on water on the table. This little cheeky fella saw and asked "Who make?"

And mommy pointed at me and said " Daddy made".

He immediately pointed his accusing finger at me and said "oooooooooorrrrrrr...."

Then with a stern and serious face, said, "Go....Stan Notty Coner and cly!"
followed by "no notty !!!!"
followed by "go upstairs !!!!"

We were stunned and at the same time amused. I got a shot of my very own medicine...hahahaha
So, had no choice but to say sorry to him and said 'Daddy no more notty' .....

123456789 and 10

Date : 23rd Jan 2011

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!" he shouted ......

We stopped whatever we were doing and asked him to repeat it one more time......

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10!" he shouted again in one breath !

We were ecstatic. We finally got him to count from one to ten. We have been trying to teach him counting for months now. He has been pretty good with `1,2,3, and 4', always got stuck at `5' and will be able to continue from `6' till '10' if he paid attention to what he is doing. But never once has he been able to count from 1 to 10 correctly.

Our repeated attempts to get him to count correctly again proved futile as he was now in his cheeky and playful mood and just refused to focus and concentrate.

Just the other day, he wanted me to sleep with him on the mattress on the floor of the living room while watching his favourite Ultraman DVD. I was just too tired and was really comfortable sitting on the sofa. So, I told him to count to TEN before I would go down to sleep with him.

Count to TEN he did but he took a shortcut!

`Eight, Nine, TEN!' FINISH!' he shouted back.....

I had to leave my comfortable sofa and crawled down to sleep with him on his mattress while he put his leg comfortably on my stomach because although I did tell him to count to TEN (and he DID), I didn't specifically told him when to start counting .....

I guess I better be MORE SPECIFIC now with my instructions .....

Cravings for Pasta

Like I have mentioned in my earlier post, the cravings changes everyday and what is surprising is that things that my wife loves before, she dislikes. Food that she can't stand before, she craves.

Every lunch and dinner is pretty challenging nowadays as her cravings or the the food that she felt like taking changes everyday.

Just a couple of nights ago, she has a craving for pasta. Luckily we still had some left over spaghetti at home. So, it was a quick spaghetti aglio olio with basil leaves, fresh chili, corned beef with broccoli (since I read somewhere that broccoli is good for pregnant mothers as they are loaded with folic acid besides the fact that it is the only vegetable I had in the fridge at that point in time.)

I wonder what her next cravings would be .......

Stomach Pain excuse!

Fourth morning to play school.

For the first three mornings, he has been hesitant to get up to go play school and used the excuse that he was still sleepy and wanted to continue to sleep. However, we still managed to get him to change, get him into the car and once he gets to the school and seeing all the children there, he would be fine.

The fourth morning was no different. He was his usual grumpy self, rolling all over the bed and complained that he wanted to `oi oi' (sleep) some more. When we managed to finally get him to change and brush his teeth, he refused to go downstairs, knowing that he has to go `school'.

After much persuasion, we managed to get him downstairs and put him on the sofa to wear his socks and shoes. As we are preparing to leave, he came out with a new `excuse'....

He pulled up his shirt and rub his stomach and said, "Stomach pain pain...no school.." and lied on the sofa.....

.....AND he is only 2.5 years old !!!! OMG!

I wonder what excuse he will come up with next in order to avoid school...and this is ONLY the FOURTH DAY!!!

First day at School

Today is the day. The first day to school. We have just changed his daycare/school from the previous one to this new one known as Little Footprints. He has been attending daycare for the last six months but were sick so frequently that we have opted to change to this new center which looks better managed, more passionate towards the welfare of children and definitely looks much cleaner.

After more than 2 months not having to go to `school' we were apprehensive of how he would behaved this morning. We could not get him to sleep any earlier last night and we dread having to wake him up this morning.

At 8am, I gave him a gentle push and told him to get up. The first thing he did was giving me a frown and said "I don't want to go school!" (We didn't even tell him the night before that he was supposed to go school. How on earth did he knows, beats me!). Then "I don't want to go `mum mum' (eat)" followed by "I don't want to go `kai kai' (out)". Then he turned away and mumbled "Ryan want `ngoi ngoi' (sleep)"....

So, in order not to agitate him any further, we went to have our shower and let him lazed around a bit more. Then as expected, he wanted his milk. Made him his milk and he was having it with his eyes half closed..I was worried as to how to get him to dress without him making a big fuss!...

Luckily, after he finished his milk, he got up, still holding on to his pillow. I tried my luck and asked him to brush his teeth. Surprisingly, he agreed. OK..first hurdle done!..While he was brushing his teeth, I suggested that he changed his clothes and diapers. "OK daddy!" Phew...2nd hurdle done! So we quickly changed him but the moment he saw his uniform, he kept on saying "No school! No school!" Luckily his uniform is just an overcoat, so, we planned to let him wear it only when he gets to school.


Got him to wear his socks and shoes without much of a fuss (though he looked rather grumpy) and got him into the car. 3rd hurdle overcame! Phew.


But the moment we reached the school, he started to cry "Don't want school! Don't want school!". Well, we have no choice. I grab him and carry him inside. The teacher came out and helped him to put on his uniform. There were many other children crying with their parents and the moment he saw that, he stopped crying. He was more curious now. We led him into the playroom with toys on the table. Within minutes, he was busy playing with the toys accompanied by my wife.
After a couple of minutes, while he was busy playing and watching others, we `excused' ourselves silently from the playroom and stood watching from the glass window. While others were either busy crying or running around, he sat on his stool, clutching his bolster, watching others. Since he looked OK with the environment, we left.

When I went back to pick him up at 11a.m. he was already busy mingling around with other kids and was happy to see me. The moment he saw me, he went to the teacher and told her "Ryan go home!" He immediately grabbed his bolster and went looking for his schoolbag. Found it at one corner and immediately dragged it to the door, ready to leave.

A round of good byes and flying kisses all round to all the teachers, he was in the car heading home. First day at school wasn't that bad. The only problem I didn't anticipate was he didn't allow me to get back to work without making a big fuss....(But that is another story..)

2011 Count Down

Where to count down with a good view of the fireworks for Ryan? Last year, we had our count down at the Sunway Resort Lobby Lounge where we could get a rather good view of the fireworks except that we have to `fight' with everybody else for a good place near the window to watch it properly. So we called up Sunway again for their New Year eve count down specials. Besides the similar package available for the Lobby Lounge at RM80++ that comes with a free drink, their West Lake Chinese Restaurant package was pretty attractive too.

They served international buffet for that night with free flow of drinks (depending on whether you take the free flow juices or free flow house pouring eg wine, beer) with a DJ and a live band as well. To ensure that we get a table next to a window where we do not have to `fight' for a good view, we booked a table next the window where Ryan could view the fireworks comfortably while I could take some pictures when the count down begins.

The theme for the night was Chicago/Shanghai in the sixties and red and gold seemed to be the theme colours for the night.

Enjoying ourselves on the dance floor and Ryan enjoying his food.

Ryan enjoying his party pack and dancing away.

5 ....4....3....2....1.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!! and let the fireworks begin

It's another memorable count down for us and more so, because we did it as a family looking forward to a better 2011 knowing that we would have another additional family member joining us when we have our count down for 2012.

Wee Wee and Poo Poo

We have been trying to train Ryan to let us know when he wanted to wee wee and poo poo for a month now. Previously, we have taught him to tell us when he wanted to wee wee or poo poo but he would normally tells us after the event is over....sigh...

With him now approaching 3 years old by May, we really wanted him to understand the importance of going of letting us know when he wanted to do his `business'. So, we have decided not to let him wear his diapers during the day, so that if he had an `accident', he will be all wet and his pants soiled and he HATES that!

And it actually helps. He has started to inform us that he wanted to wee wee. Initially it was like a mad rush and `accidents still do happen' especially if we could not get him to the toilet bowl or take off his pants in time.

Last week, it seemed that we have been pretty successful not only with his wee wee but his poo poo as well. And he enjoys flushing the toilet.

So, as parents we are relieved that he has gotten the hang of toilet training and above all, I think we could save a `small fortune' by using less Mamy Pokos...hahaha

Cravings for Potatoes

As I was saying in one of my earlier post, wifey's cravings has been going crazy this pregnancy. Her appetite and nausea before and after food is so bad this round that she has the phobia of eating. She feels horrible when she is hungry but after eating, she gets her nausea and heartburn. :( It's definitely no joke being pregnant with all the changing hormones creating such havoc.

Last night, she suddenly had a craving for potatoes. We have initially wanted to boil ABC soup but it was a little too late to buy all the ingredients. Managed to get some potatoes though. So, instead of ABC soup, we did a mash potato with butter mixed with corn beef (one of her favourite), served in roasted potato skip with a touch of olive oil.

End result was pretty satisfying. She loves it (and finished the entire potato which was a great relief to me) and surprising, Ryan liked it as well. It must have been the fried corn beef.

Emmm...I wonder what her next cravings would be. I sure hope that it is not going to be abalone or shark fin soup but something much simpler and definitely cheaper like ABC soup!

Happy New Year 2011

Hi my dear blogging friends,

Wishing you and your loved ones a blessed and happy new year and may 2011 brings you even more happiness, good health and prosperity.

It has been a tremendous blessings knowing you and allowing our life's paths to cross somehow.

God Bless ....

From Daddy, Mommy and Ryan ...:)

10 weeks!

Date: 29th December 2010

Came back from our regular checkup. He/She is now 10 weeks old and is about 3.57cm. Heartbeat is strong and consistent. We can even see his/her limbs. 2 more weeks before the first trimester is over. Wifey is eagerly waiting for it. Her morning sickness is definitely worse than Ryan's. And her cravings ...swings from butter cake to jelly (agar-agar) on a daily basis. Pengsan liow...hahahaha

Last night out of the blue at 9:30pm, she wanted to eat jelly. Fortunately, we reached a compromise and she wanted egg caramel. At least that is still manageble as I can whipped that out in 20 minutes to satisfy her .....The other night, she wanted butter cake late at night. Baking is not exactly my strong point. So I offered her my finger spread with butter instead!! HAHAHA.

Also managed to contact the confinement lady who worked for us during Ryan's arrival. Fortunately, she is still available for June/July next year. Another hurdle solved. Was a little worry when we couldn't reach her for the past several weeks via her mobile.

I'm actually glad that I have started his blog as I find myself referring back to it to prepare ourselves for his/her arrival this round. And looking back at our journey with Ryan brings back many fond memories of Ryan when he was still so tiny ....:)

Korea - Jeju Island PART 4

Continuing on our recent trip to Seoul Korea, we have heard so much on Jeju Island. So, we booked ourselves with one of the local tours for a 3 days 2 nights tour to this island.

The flight was only an hour away but the trip was pretty expensive. Our tour includes a two way Korean Air air ticket from Seoul to Jeju, 2 nights stay at a 4 star hotel (breakfast inclusive) and a private English speaking tour guide.

On arrival, we told our guide, Peter, that we had not taken our lunch and he took us to have the best black pork BBQ ever. Apparently Jeju is famous for their black pork which came from the domestic black pigs. The pork was so juicy and tender even after we BBQ them unlike those we had back in Malaysia. (They were so delicious that we insisted that he took us back to the same restaurant for lunch before we board our flight back to Seoul).



After lunch, we were brought to this stretch of road known as the Mysterious Road as cars or buses are known to apparently `roll' uphills magically when their engines were switched off. Well, our car did `roll' up the hill and the explanation were pretty interesting.

The road `looked' like it is going downhill but our car has just `rolled' all the way up from the `bottom'. If you look carefully, all the traces of water actually ran `uphill' and not `downhill'.

Next, we were taken to visit the Dragonhead Rock also known as Yongdu-Am located at the western end of Jeju. Because we touched down at Jeju Island at around 2pm, by the time we arrived at Yongdu-Am, it was almost dusk, yet the place was still packed with tourists, all trying to get the best spot to have their picture taken. I'm not sure though which part of the rock resembles a dragon head but the structure does look interesting.

With the fast fading light, it was rather difficult to grab any good shots and without my tripod, all I could do was to support my camera on some rocks and took 3 shots at different exposure and using an HDR software to produce the shot above.

By the time we arrived at the hotel it was almost 8:30pm and we were dead tired but eagerly looking forward to the following morning.

Something new for this Christmas!

Since the days when we were staying at our little condo, we had this little 3 feet fibre optic Christmas tree. I think we had this tree for at least the last 6 to 7 years. I remembered paying something like RM150 for it then and we had not really buy much ornaments to decorate it as we always find them super expensive.

Since moving to our current house, this old faithful tree now seemed a little small for our living room. For the first year when we shifted in, we placed it on top of a cabinet to make it appeared taller. Last year, we had it on the floor with all the presents but we could hardly see it. So, this year, we have decided to get a taller one, maybe a 5 footer.

We still wanted a fibre optic tree as it takes out the hassle of having to put on the strings and strings of lights (which always get tangled up!). We were also hesitant knowing that it would cost us a bomb just to buy the tree not forgetting the super expensive ornaments to make it look at least presentable. Then a colleague of mine recommended this shop down at the Petaling Street where he said is a wholesaler and could get me a good discount.

So, off we went 2 Sundays ago, found the shop but unfortunately all the 5 or 6 footer trees have been sold out. We were left with no choice to take the last piece available... a massive 7 footer!! And we got a pretty good deal for it too. The tree only cost RM360! The normal 7 footer tree displayed at the shopping centers alone is retailed at over RM600! We got ourselves some brand new ornaments and the final bill came close to RM500. And finally we have our dream tree, a massive 7 footer with enough ornaments to make it look presentable.

And Ryan of course had the most fun. He has been pestering us to get him a `BIGGG XMAS TUEE' after seeing them at the shopping centers.

Well, putting up the Christmas Tree was a family affair. Everybody was involved. While daddy, kakak and Ryan was busy hanging up the ornaments, little Zoewe was waiting patiently for any ornaments to fall off so that she could grab them to play with. She simply adores balls, especially the shinny ones. Since Mommy can't climb, she took over as the official photographer to capture all these previous moments.

You can spot her as a reflection on one of the ornament, snapping away. And the final product, a massive 7 footer complete with silver and gold ornaments and with ribbon too! We are so proud of ourselves .....hahahaha.

All I've to do now is to get me a mistletoe so that I could kiss my wifey ......;)

Our 2nd Adventure begins!

Yupe. Our second adventure has started and it's been 6 weeks now. Wifey is expecting our second miracle and this little one is a `Made in Korea' kimchee boy/girl. We are obviously excited about it and wifey has been wanting a playmate for lil Ryan for quite a while now.

It seemed that the morning sickness for this one is worse than when she had Ryan. Last week was really bad when she felt nausea the entire day with no appetite to eat and can hardly drink any water.

To make matter worse, one of her tooth which has a previous hairline crack, cracked. It was so painful for her that she hardly got any sleep for 2 nights. We have no choice but to make an appointment with our dentist.

When we told him that she is 5 weeks pregnant, the first response was `OH. Sorry. I don't think we can do anything about it. Can't even give u an X-ray."

We were naturally stunned and worried because how on earth is she going to endure the excruciating pain for the next 8 months? We asked him again whether can anything be done. After thinking for awhile, he said, "I could give you some anesthetic."

The obvious next question that we would ask would be "Is it safe?"

He took out the leaflet, circled a part of the description and pass it to us and said "Read this please .." That part read something like ..."...this has not been tested for pregnant women. However, it has been extensively on pregnant women with no known side effects...."

He looked at us and said "OK?"

I was like "Do we have a choice?" Anyway, after giving it some thoughts and knowing that she would not be able to stand the pain for the next 8 months, we went ahead with the anesthetic. On inspection, it was confirmed that the tooth did crack and has to be extracted. In fact it was so bad that it actually broke into TWO during the extraction.

She was given panadols for the pain which only offered minimal relief. It was a painful day for her and equally painful for me to see her going through it.

Thank God, the pain went away the following day. And thank God, that the nausea only comes in the morning and she has started to have an appertite to eat.

And her cravings is like..."fried rice now, boiled carrots next, brocolli the next instance and longan water in the middle of the night!" Hahahaha...

Like I said earlier, it would not be an adventure if it is not exciting and this one proves to be a real adventure from the word `GO!'

His First CONCERT!

27th November 2010

Months ago, we were informed that Ryan will be taking part in his daycare center's concert this year and he is going to dance. We were apprehensive, stressed and worried whether how the concert will turn out.

Knowing now `sticky' he is to us, we just can't help but wonder whether he will just freezes, stopped, cried and called out `mommy' or `daddy' at the top of his voice, right there in front of all the other parents. And with his recent craze over Ultraman, we were even afraid that he will break into one of his favourite Ultraman stance the moment he sees us down in the audience.

We actually have no idea what he is going to do or what he is going to wear. It was meant as a total surprise to us ....And surprise we were!

Well, the day finally arrived. We managed to get him up by 7:30 a.m. (which itself was a rather big achievement). Got him cleaned up and sent him to Yuk Choy School at Taman Megah. He was making a fuss when we drop him there but we had to and left promptly for our breakfast so that he could get changed into his costume.

His concert was supposed to start at 10:00a.m. His grandmother, uncle, auntie and cousins including his kakak turned out in full force to support him.

After the principal's speech, all the children came out in their costume for the national anthem and OMG, there he was in his cute brown and yellow mouse costume. He looked a little lost and seemed to be searching for us. As he was marching down, he saw his grandma, pointed at her and shouted `Po Po!' We were like ...oh oh...he is not going through with his dance routine...

Anyway, his class was next. Out they came marching in a line and there he was, our little MOUSE dancing to the tune of `The Lion sleeps tonight'. He was shaking his bum, and trying as hard as he could to follow his teacher's every move in front. The moment the song finished, he marched forward and waved at his mommy! OMG! The teacher managed to get him back to his position while he danced next to the tune of Macarena! As I was taking the shots, I just could not help laughing looking at him shaking and waving his hands. He was the shortest of them all and in the cutest costume and there he was, trying his very best to do what he was taught!

And that moment, PRICELESS! AND WE ARE SO PROUD OF OUR LITTLE MOUSE!

Korea - Seoul PART 3 (Mount Seoraksan)

Mount Seoraksan is located approximately 3 hours drive from Seoul. After a visit to the Daepohang fish market, we continue our journey and finally arrived at the foot hill of this mountain after a hearty lunch (pictures of which I will post later). Being early autumn, the leaves have not change colours much in Seoul but one can see the green, yellow, orange and red leaves at the foot of the hill. The view is simply spectacular.

The place was totally crowded and according to our guide is one of the favourite tourist destination not only for foreigners but locals as well. Many will attempt to trek up the mountain and visit the many old temples located up on the mountains.

Mount Seoraksan has many peaks, some of which will be shown in the pictures below. Seoraksan is the third highest mountain in Korea.

We arrived at about 12:30pm and had to wait till 2:30pm for our cable car ride to the top. While waiting, we walked the grounds of the Seoraksan National Park which offered a spectacular view of hundred years old temple in clear running streams and trees in their midst of changing their leaves colours.

The ride to the top was merely 5 minutes. Once there, we tracked down to a small temple supposed to have been there for the last 1200 years!

Next it was a 20 minutes track up the highest peak, the Daechongbong Peak which is 1708 meters or 5603 feet above sea level. Once there, the view was simply breathtaking.

This is one destination that everyone who visit Seoul or Korea should try to explore.

Korea - Seoul PART 2

We had the pleasure to stay at the Grand Intercontinental Hotel near COEX where the G20 Summit was to be held. The hotel service and room is superb and is near to the subway which made it easy for us to catch a subway to go downtown, not to mention that there is also a huge underground shopping mall at COEX itself. (where wifey did most of her last minute shopping).




I've visited Seoul before and this round I was determined to discover Korea outside Seoul. So, I booked myself for a day trip to one of their most famous mountain - Mount Seoraksan. The cost is about USD170 and it will take 3 hours drive to get there and back.

I was lucky that there were already 2 other Singaporeans who have booked the same tour and hence I merely joined them (they required a minimum 2 pax for each tour). The tour operator picked me up from my hotel at 6:45 am the next morning and we were on our way.

It was a cold 6 degress morning. I was a little worried when the van that we were travelling stopped a couple of times by the road side when the tour guide told us that they were having some mechanical issues with the van. I was just hoping that we could get back to Seoul in one piece, especially when we are supposed to be going up and down the mountain roads!

On the way to Seoraksan, we stopped by a traditional fresh fish market at Daepohang (apparently one of the fast disappearing scene with rapid commercialisation). It was simply breathtaking looking at their way of life and the sheer numbers of fresh sea food available!

After a quick tour at the fish market, we went on our way to the summit of Mount Seoraksan ....

Tanjung Rhu Langkawi Day One

Just a quick update.

Just arrived at Tanjung Rhu Resort in Langkawi for a 5 days 4 nights holiday. Took Air Asia and it was the first time for Ryan to take a flight. We wanted to test and see how he fares taking a flight.

As expected, he was totally excited and overwhelmed at the airport. We managed to get him a window seat and he was enjoying himself watching the clouds.

Tanjung Rhu as expected, is amazing just we remembered it. This round, we got upgraded to a much larger room with a sea view balcony. As at this moment, I'm updating this blog while watching Ryan frolicking and having a great time in his own private jacuzzi in the room.

Will update pictures of this trip once I finished uploading the pictures of our trip to Seoul.

We took a package that is includes all food (room service, mini bar, fine dining etc) and drinks. So it's going to be nothing but eating, drinking, swimming, relaxing and back to the eating routine.

Looking forward to have a round of golf at Gunung Raya Golf Course too.

Korea - Seoul PART 1

I was rather busy with my work recently and desperately needed a break. So, when my wife had to go to Seoul Korea for a 3 days meeting, I gladly tag along. Seoul or Korea did not give me a lasting impression when I was there 7 years ago. I was determined to rediscover Seoul and Korea now that I am there for the second time.

My mother in law has been very gracious to come over to take care of Ryan with the help of the maid for the week. (Thank God for mother in law!!) And we have installed CCTVs at home where we could log in from the web to look at him whenever we want.

We left on late Saturday night via Korean Airlines. The journey took approximately 7 hours. I could not sleep much and was really tired when we touched down at 6:50 a.m. in Seoul. Took a cab to our hotel (Hotel Grand Intercontinental) located at COEX (where the G20 Submit was held recently). While waiting for our room, we walked around our hotel, grab our breakfast and took some pictures.


View of our hotel. It's autumn now in Korea and the leaves had just started to change colors. I was hopeful for more dramatic pictures of red, orange, yellow and green leaves. The morning temperature ranged from 2 to 6 degrees, hitting 12 to 18 degrees in the afternoon.

After checking in, we took a nap (which ended up to be a pretty long one!). Since it is autumn, the day is rather short and the sun set by 4 to 4:30pm.

We went for a relaxing walk at a typical Korean temple near our hotel.

Some of the pictures captured at the temple.

A view of some modern skyscrapers from the traditional Korean Temple grounds.

I have the entire following day to myself. A quick check with the daily tour brochures and I decided to book myself for a day trip to Mount Seoraksan located 3 hours away from Seoul and it turned out to be a trip which totally changed my perception of Korea. Watch out for the pictures coming next .....

Ultraman - Reliving my childhood moments!

Ultraman! OMG! I never knew that this little figure brings back so many fond memories of my own childhood.

This is Ryan's latest craze now. Whenever he goes, he wants to bring this `Man' with him. Even sleeps with it. Needless to say, he has been imagining that we are his monsters and he is the ultimate Ultraman, kicking, punching and ever crossing his arms to sent out a burst of deadly laser ray. And raising his arms to `fly away' victoriously with that ever recognizable `huiiizzzzz' sound when we, the 'monsters' pretend to roll over and `die'. Many of my friends have been cautioning me of letting him watch this seemingly `violent' shows...but hei...I grew up with Ultraman and I turned out OK. Yes...there were years when I too were secretly hoping that I could pull out one of those cool penlike gadgets and turned into this superhuman figure that would chop and kick the monster butts and dispense them (at the very last minute with my beeper going `beep beep beep beep) with a burst of my deadly laser rays....

Looking at this figure, it reminded me of my childhood, when television were a rare commodity (and they were only black and white then) and only a few household in the neighborhood would have one. Unfortunately, my grandparents could not afford them. So, when the evening arrived (usually around 4pm) when the show was scheduled to be broadcast, I will make sure that I get the best `seat' outside my neighbour's home (with TV) to watch my favourite hero. And I can remember all our `friends' doing the same thing, glued to the TV for that 30 minutes, `saving' the world in my imagination. Occasionally, when it rained, the neighbour would let us into the house to finish the show.

So attached I am to this hero, that I could still draw him simply by memory today. I remembered that I even drew a couple of my own `comics' of him fighting my very own created monsters and with my own storyboard. I would faithfully coloured them and then sell them to my classmates for RM0.50 !! (Rm0.50 was a lot of money back then!). I would pay a fortune to buy them back because they represents a portion of my childhood and growing up.

Over the years, I grew up and move on to other heroes. But just when I thought I have forgotten him .....he came back into my life...and I'm glad....to relive my childhood moments once again....:)

BTW, this is Ultraman Tiga, created in the 1996 and 1997. The one I watched was the original Ultraman created in the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Have there been items / shows etc that brings back sweet memories of your childhood??

Butter Cream Chicken

There were two dishes that I like and have always wondered how they were cooked. Since I started developing some interest in cooking the last couple of years, I have always wanted to try cooking these two dishes.

So, a couple of nights ago, I've decided to give this two dishes a go.

The first is butter cream chicken cooked with curry leaves. Actually it was rather simple. First I marinate the chicken with some Chinese wine, black pepper, salt and sesame oil. Then coat them with corn flour and deep fried them. To make the sauce, I simply put butter, whipping cream, milk and curry leaves into a sauce pan. Add black pepper, salt and sugar to taste. (If you like it hot, adding some chopped `chili padi' would do the trick). Once the sauce starts to shimmer, simply add in the deep fried chicken and thoroughly coat the chickens with the sauce and serve hot. Verdict (from my wife and in laws....) yummy...hehehe..:)

Next, deep fried kai lan. This dish is pretty expensive when ordered in restaurants. It does look intimating to start with and I thought that it would be rather difficult to attempt. Anyhow, I wanted to quench my curiosity. And surprisingly it was rather simpe to prepare. First, separate the kai lan leaves from their stems. Cut the kai lan leaves into long thin pieces. Marianate with some salt. Next, prepare the wok with oil. Ensure that the oil is hot before placing the cut kai lan leaves in. Simply fried till the leaves are crispy. Once they are crispy, take them out from the oil, drain excess oil and serve while hot. (The only set back...this dish is time consuming to prepare and too much oil used)

2 more recipes into my personal log ....eemmmm...what should I attempt next?

An Evening with Zainal Abidin

Date : 13th Oct 2010

We have always passed by the Dewan Filharmonik Petronas at KLCC without bothering to find out what they are playing. The thought of going for a concert has actually NEVER occurs to us (and we were paying USD just to watch Broadway shows in New York!).

Then a good friend bought us a ticket last Sunday for the afternoon show. The classic Psycho movie accompanied life by Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO). We went with much anticipation because going to an orchestra performance is like so...emmm...formal and cultured...hahaha... We were worried whether we were dressed right etc etc etc.

Well...I have seen the show a dozen times before ..but...to literally see, listen and feel the drama, suspense and passion from a life orchestra right before your eyes is another experience all together ....Needless to say, both of us were hooked and we booked ourselves the next show ...a night with one of my favourite local singer..Zainal Abidin ...


It started with a sand art presentation by one of our local sand artist, Loong Bee. It was quite an experience seeing him creating beautiful displays by simply using sand and a pair of very skillful hands.

We got ourselves a box seat nearest to the stage. And the moment finally arrived, he walked in in all his charisma...the man himself ...Zainal Abidin.... He went straight into belting out a medley of old malay folk songs accompanied by the MPO led by conductor Kevin Field. Songs like Chan Mali Chan, Burung Kakak Tua, Enjit Enjit Semut and Kenek Kenek Lah Udang never sounded so beautiful, sung with vocals so strong and powerful, backed by instruments so majestic ...

It was just 30 minutes with the man ...and...when he sang Ikhlas Tapi Jauh, he brought the house down! (The tune is still playing in my head ...). His parting song, Hijau was one of my all time favourite, singing out the need for us to go green and the preserve our mother nature was just simply breath taking ...

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And for the very first time in our lives, we actually queued to get the souvenir program booklet autographed by him ...and to grab a quick picture of course ...(it was an anxious moment though, cause my DSLR was giving me a memory card error the moment I switched it on!!!)

It was a wonderful night, all the more so because I have my wonderful half with me to share it. To cap it all, we went for a nice Japanese dinner at Zipangu Shangrila. (And all this time, where was Ryan you might ask ....at home with our maid while daddy and mommy are enjoying themselves ...hahaha..)

And you know what, we have booked the next show tomorrow night. Another favourite of mine, a hands percussion presentation by MPO.....Just can't Wait !!!

Rice Cooker Chicken Drumstick ....

Wife was exceptionally busy this week, organising a big event for her company. So, I'm left with my little monster at home together with the maid. I was lazy to go out for dinner because firstly, I really don't know what to eat (and I'm sick of eating noodles for dinner since I have been having that for most lunches) and I had enough of Ryan not wanting to sit still and insisting of getting down and running all over the restaurant. There is really no peace in eating that way.

Instead, I've decided to cook something real simple and quick at home. Someone in a restaurant taught me and I think it's probably the simplest and fastest way to cook a chicken dish.

I bought two chicken drumstick, strip off the skin and cut into smaller pieces. Marinate them with soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar, oyster sauce, ginger slices, garlic slices and plenty of chinese wine. Leave them alone for 15 to 20 minutes. Put them into a rice cooker and cook for 15 minutes. And they are done.

So for dinner last night, it was a simple meal of soy sauce chicken drumstick cooked with my rice cooker and baby spinach soup. Not only (I think) was it a better meal as compared to eating hokkien mee outside, at least I can eat more peacefully at home, not having to stress over Ryan running all over the place.

Temptations @ Ara

30th September 2010

My wife's birthday.

Initially I have wanted to have a nice quiet dinner, just the two of us at Zipangu Shangrila KL and made the reservation for it. Wanted to give her a surprise but on second thoughts, knowing how busy she is with her work, I gave her a call a day in advance to inform her. And luckily I did, because she will be attending some function at Petaling Jaya on that day in the evening and it would not make any sense for us to travel back to KL for dinner.

So, after some thoughts, I guessed the best option would be to turn our home into a mini restaurant to serve our VVIP guest for the night.

Did some quick planning on the menu and informed my maid to be prepared for some cooking that day and that evening for our special guest. For desert, my maid helped me to prepare one of my wife's favourite...Tiramisu.

On the day, I took half day off from my work and went about shopping at Cold Storage at Solaris for the ingredients necessary for the evening dinner. I wanted to make sure that the food are prepared well in advance so that I don't have to be stressed out serving our VVIP guest that night. So, the afternoon was spent in the kitchen, busy preparing with my maid who turns out to be a great help.

And at 7 p.m., Temptations @ Ara is finally ready to serve our special guest for the night .....

The menu for the night .......

One of your her favourite drink. Soda with lemon, lemon zest, ginger with a dash of mint, served chilled.

Soup : Seafood Chowder with clams and shrimps

For the first starter : Asparagus wrapped in bacon, pan seared to perfection, served with a dash of mustard

Followed with the second starter : Pan seared Scallop served on a bed of green salad with home made tartar sauce and thousand island dressing.

Next, we have Lightly pan seared tuna slices served with tartar sauce.

For the main course, pan grilled medium rare ribeye steak, marinated with shiraz, served with black pepper sauce.

For desert, sweet wine tiramisu to wrap up the evening on a sweet note.

My two very special guests for the night. All in all, it turned out to be better than dining at any other restaurant down town.

Toys! Toys! Toys!

Who said that times are bad? Who said that people would only spent on absolute necessities?

We certainly don't think so after visiting the Mattel toy warehouse sale held recently at the Atria Shopping Center.

I was informed by a friend of this fair 2 days in advance and it was also advertised in the newspapers. Since Ryan is a fan of cars and planes and since Mattel do carry Hotwheels and Matchbox models, we have decided to have a look 2 Saturdays ago.

It was supposed to be the very first day and the warehouse would start from 10 am to 10 pm. So, when the Saturday arrived, we woke up leisurely and after getting Ryan ready, off we went to Atria. I thought we were early. It was barely 10 am. I figured we could have a good breakfast at Seri Penang before heading up to the warehouse sale held on the 1st floor.

When we reached Atria, we could not find an empty spot on the ground or the 1st level car park, which is highly unusual at 10 am on a Saturday. With no other choice, we drove up the open car park on the highest level and found ourselves a empty slot. As we were making our way down, we saw parents carrying bags after bags of ....TOYS!!!! (and it was only 10:30 am)....

I told my wife that we better head on to the toy fair first before having our breakfast. I was shocked when I reached the entrance. The entire floor was packed!!!! There were empty boxes everywhere and there were also parents hanging on to boxes filled with toys and they were still grabbing for more! I could hardly get near to see what is on offer. It was like a big mad house!!! My `kiasu' gremlin got the better of me that very second. With one hand hanging on to Ryan, I squeezed myself in between some grumbling mothers, fought my way past some frowning fathers, and grab whatever Hotwheels or Matchboxes that I could laid my hands on. There were no price tags. I asked and nobody seemed to know the actual price and by the way everybody is buying, nobody seemed to care.

While I was busy scanning for more toy cars, my wife was on a mission of her own, squeezing in between humid bodies grabbing whatever she thinks will be a good buy (with absolutely no idea of the price ... go figure). After 30 minutes, I had enough. We have managed to grab about 15 items in a small little box, a pale comparison to many who have theirs in two or three large cardboard boxes.

I signalled my wife that we should pay and get out as Ryan is starting to get rather impatient, not to mention me. When we got to the payment line, another shock awaits us. 5 long queues, all waiting to pay. It was another 25 minutes or so before I finally got to pay for my stuff. Were they cheap? I have no idea. I spent over RM300 on toys that morning. But judging from the boxes others are pushing along with their feet, it's merely kacang puteh (peanuts) to Mattel.

As I was about to make way out, I remarked to the cashier that it was quite shocking, looking at the crowd at 11:30 am on the first day of the sale. She looked hardly surprised and calmly told me that people were already lining up waiting for the warehouse sale to start as early as 8:30 a.m!!!!

We walked off, leaving behind scores of parents still waiting for new boxes and bargains to be offered and long queues of parents still waiting to make payment for the toys they thought were a real bargain. As we walked past parents just arriving with their children, I said a silent prayer and wishing them good luck, all the best and happy squeezing and shopping.

FOUR!!

No no...don't start thinking that I am contemplating marrying FOUR! One is already a handful. And no, I'm not thinking of having FOUR kids either. One at this point in time is enough to drive me up the wall.

Four is currently Ryan's favourite number or the only number that comes to his mind the moment if he is asked to give an answer in numbers.

Daddy: "How old are you?"
Ryan : "Four"
Daddy: "NO...two!!"
Ryan : "NO...FOUR!!"

Ryan : "Nen Nen (Milk Milk)"
Mommy: "How many (although the correct grammar should be how much)?"
Ryan : "Fourrrrrr..."
Mommy: "Three !"
Ryan : "Fourrrrr..."
Mommy : "Five??"
Ryan : "No ..FOUR!"
Mommy: "Six?"
Ryan : "NO NO FOURRRRRR!"

Ryan : "Lizat (Lizards)"
Daddy: "How many lizards?"
Ryan : "FOUR!"
Daddy: "NO..only three ...One, Two, Three .."
Ryan : "...Four!" (smiling cheekily)

Getting Patriotic

Date : 30th August 2010

We received an email that Ryan's daycare will be having a mini merdeka celebration for the children and they are requested to dress in traditional costume to go to school as part of the celebration.

An quick sms to the principal confirmed it and was requested to dress him in Chinese tradtional costume. So, we took the opportunity during the weekend to shop for suitable piece for him in Sunway Pyramid. After walking around several shops, we still could not find a suitable Chinese traditional costume for him (besides being extremely expensive).

Then, remembering that we are so near to Hari Raya, there would be plenty of traditional costume on sale. So, we decided to get him a Malay costume instead. We got a few pieces for him to try on and finally, he chose a green one complete with a sarong. We had wanted to get him a songkok as well. Unfortunately, the songkok was a bit too large for him and, coming with a price tag of Rm25, we finally opted against it.

Honestly, I think we had more fun shopping and getting him to wear the costume than him and quick frankly, I think that he looks pretty good in it too ...don't you think?

Another Round of Roseola Viral Rashes and Fever

When we brought Ryan back from the daycare on Monday evening, we noticed that his body was warm. Checking his temperature, confirmed that he was running a fever of about 37.8 degrees. Gave him his paracetamol and the fever subsides but only for as long as the medicine effects last. So, for the next two days, we had to constantly monitor his temperature which fluctuates between 37.8 degrees to as high at 39 degrees. On the third day, we noticed small red rashes on his body and we feared that we might have contacted the roseola viral infection again. (He got it once in June recently).

So, we took him to his favourite but expensive `uncle' for a checkup. One look and he confirmed it. To make sure that it was not dengue, a blood test has to be taken.

This super naughty rascal didn't even flinch when his finger was poked the first time. But because he did not drink enough fluids, the doctor was having a tough time getting enough blood for the necessary test. So he had to poke him again and this time, he had to squeezed enough blood for the test. It must have been painful. (His mommy dare not even look and had to look away). But...he didn't cry out loud. He frowned with pain and anger and JUST STARED at the doctor. He all actually had a good laugh over it.

Well, just like the doctor said, the fever subsided on the third day but the red rashes were all over his body and even more this round as compared to the last. It's so pitiful looking at him BUT he is as active as ever !! There is no stopping him from having a good time, playing with his favourite toys ....his daddy and mommy.

His rashes are still there today but is slowly subsiding. I just hope that he will recover fully over the weekend. And meanwhile, daddy will continue to be the monster and he will continue to be his Ultraman, giving me a good whack every now and then.

Finally brushing his teeth!

We have been trying to get this little monster to brush his teeth for ages now. We have bought him his toothbrush and toothpaste months ago but he just refused to do it.

I have to almost use force every morning using a wet cloth to clean his teeth and risking getting my fingers bitten by him (which can be an extremely painful experience).

Well, the good news is he finally agrees to brush his own teeth with his toothbrush and even insisted on having his own toothpaste. The trick is daddy has to brush at the same time. And the major factor why he enjoys brushing his teeth now is because he gets to squat next to the wash basin and plays with the running tap water while he brushes his teeth.

Well, at least he is willingly doing it now every morning before he goes to his daycare and every night before he goes to sleep. And I don't have to risk getting my fingers bitten again.