The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo Yo Ma

马友友和他的Silk Road Ensemble为了庆祝十周年纪念，到世界各地巡回演出。新加坡是最靠近我们的一站，我当然愿意专程飞去新加坡看这场Gala Concert。

音乐会以Silk Road Suite作为开场，把我们带往那个遥远、神秘又色彩浓烈的土地。曲毕，马友友趁团员们搬动乐器和椅子的空隙，向观众娓娓道来各曲子的故事。他说起故事来声音犹如他的大提琴般动听，大家都被他的斯文儒雅折服。

马友友不只有音乐才华、温文儒雅，最重要是他非常谦卑。整场音乐会他就只是安安分分地扮演一个普通团员的角色。即使是在安哥的部分，我久等的大提琴独奏也没有成为事实，他就是专注于让年轻演员发挥。不过，即使没有独奏，我们依然为了他以大提琴歌唱而陶醉。

我最爱的音乐会曲子，就是以下这首Air to Air。曲末那段奔放，让我在音乐厅内莫名地流下了眼泪。不是悲伤、不是喜极而泣、不是感触。只是莫名的，被触动了真我灵魂的感动。


这是一场属于无法归类的音乐会。乐团团员没有制服、无拘无束的，有一种由衷的快活在他们的音乐里浮动；有一种对音乐的热爱在诠释着无国界的艺术执著。

I Know

The Empire Strikes Back不只给我们一览Jedi的奥秘，也为“女人都爱坏男人”作了个完美示范。

"I love you"
"I know"

这句对白几乎成了Han Solo浪子形象的最佳诠释；也把高不可攀的Princess Leia拉下凡间。有一种属于两性间的紧凑，在他们之前展开，蔓延，结果……

（在The New Hope时星际大战迷还不知道事情的真相，支持Han Solo+Princess Leia或Luke+Leia的或许各占一半，但在Return of Jedi真想揭晓后他俩的爱情就显得非常顺理成章了。）

翻箱倒柜

翻箱倒柜也得把马友友给找出来！或许他愿意为其中一两片CD签上大名也不错哦！

阿妈叉烧

我老妈子是非常神奇的。睡个午觉醒来，到厨房转了一圈，我家餐桌上就多了一碟叉烧了。

“怎么我都没吃过你做的叉烧？”我问。
“我还有很多东西会做都还没有做过给你吃”她答。

在我家，餐桌上随时都会有惊喜！

My Simple Yet Perfect Sunday Lunch

Not by me, of course!

Who has to cook when you have an excellent cook that can do wonders at home?

Harvest In Cafe Perfect Gathering

It's Jit Sin High School Chinese Orchestra Annual Concert again, and we have been looking forward for this gathering. I have been eyeing for Harvest In Cafe for quite some time but never have chance to try so I decided to organize our gathering there.

We reached there about 5:45pm and found that the shop will only open at 6pm. While wandering around the premises (and take photos, of course), I noticed that there's actually a lot of people already waiting there! Wait for the clock to strike 6! Must be very popular!

When the shop finally opened, we were the first to go in and I walked straight to this cosy corner that I have surveyed from the outside earlier. To my surprise, all the tables there were already reserved. Actually, MOST OF THE TABLES in the restaurant were already reserved. We were lucky to even have a table of our own!

Once we get the menu, I immediately understand the popularity. It's relatively cheap for well-decorated-Western-restaurant in Penang. (For reference, a black pepper chicken cost only RM9.90 and you can add RM4.90 for a non-canned-soup-of-the-day, a drink and dessert. The best part is, there's no service charge or government tax. What you see on the menu is what you pay!)

The main dishes that we had

How to go? Drive along Burmah Road (from New World Park towards Pulau Tikus direction). After Penang Chinese Chin Woo Athletic Association, turn right. Go to the end of Burmah Square and turn right again. You will see a very welcoming restaurant with Grey exterior. That is Harvest In Cafe, at 10, Irrawaddy Road 

Opening hour: 11.00-3.30pm, 6pm-10pm. Closed on Sunday. Closed for dinner on Tuesday.

天行者

大家都知道我们姐弟仨是超级Star Wars迷，但你可知道The Empire Strikes Back是我最爱的Star Wars电影呢？且让我在倒数的每个周五缓缓为你逐一道来。

Luke Skywalker一开始便以Tatoonie的单纯农家孩子讨尽了星际大战迷们的欢心。虽然他自The New Hope开始便是故事的重心所在，然而即使他在运用浑然天成的Force成功毁掉Death Star后，他也只不过是个初出茅庐的黄毛小子，就如武侠小说里那些不小心跌入山洞刚开始一段奇遇的小子。纯真、且对未来充满抱负的。

到了The Empire Strikes Back，当他开始了坎坷不平、充满斗争和痛苦的道路，他的人格才完全成型。

而我们作为观众的，在The New Hope里和Luke一起偷窥了Jedi能力的一角，到了The Empire Strikes Back，我们终于和Luke一起展开神奇的Jedi旅程。文明的、古典的、正面的、简朴的、高贵的。

George Lucas把最好的都给了Luke，又把最好的Luke都给了The Empire Strikes Back。

Thank you Micheal~

I booked a return ticket from Tiger Airline to Singapore a few months back. For those who know me must be asking. Why? What bring me to Singapore? Well, Yo-Yo Ma & The Silk Road Ensemble (SSO) of course!!

I am so excited about this and have been looking forward for the trip. However, this afternoon, some Asia-Pacific tele-agent called me and told me that my flight on 30th April morning has been delayed to 9pm 30th April!!  DELAYED!!!! Expecting me to fly when Yo Yo Ma is playing his cello!!!??? NO WAY! I tried to explain to the tele-agent but obviously both of us need translator to translate our English to each other. Finally, I gave up and decided to call Singapore Office directly.

I was greeted by a gentleman name Micheal. Initially he offered me free ticket to fly to other places on the same day but I am not going anywhere when Yo Yo Ma is playing in Singapore! After offering me a few options that I keep on rejecting, he finally told me that "I will try to explain to my superior and get you on the flight one day earlier without additional charges". I am so glad!!

Everyone has been telling me all sorts of terrible stories about Tiger Airline, but, Micheal proved that a good warm customer service make a different!

Thank you Micheal~

荷叶裹幸福

繁忙地工作了一整天后，回到家，等着暖你的胃的，是一碟热腾腾的阿妈荷叶饭，幸福就是这么简单……

打开荷叶，香香的糯米饭就在圆形中央，很可爱~

有时候不是我吓赖，可是，住跟妈妈，想不肥也难~

The Empire Gives Back

经恩恩提醒，惊觉约莫再过一个月就是The Empire Strikes Back的三十周年纪念了！到官方网站走走瞧瞧，发觉Lucasfilm还举办了长达一年的“The Empire Gives Back”慈善活动，到真是把The Force用在正确的管道上了。

接下来的几个周五，就让我来告诉你为什么它会成为我心目中永远的最佳Star Wars电影吧！