Why choose this song for my first blog post of 2013? Because I want to show you how much I love all my siblings:
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| My REAL siblings |
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| My Other Siblings |
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Together
I haven't post anything for almost a month, and I would like to start my 2013 with a song:
Why choose this song for my first blog post of 2013? Because I want to show you how much I love all my siblings:
Why choose this song for my first blog post of 2013? Because I want to show you how much I love all my siblings:
Saturday 29 December 2012
The Best Garlic Rice in Penang
Up to date, Chai Diam Ma still serve the best garlic rice in Penang.
We love this dish so much that we keep on going back to this small little shop whenever we have time. (Well, time is a super important factor in this case. The speed of them processing the food is incredibly slow, where you have to factor in 1 hour of waiting time even if you are the first customer of the shop!)
Besides Garlic Rice, I have tried their various udon and macaronies too (but yet to try their sandwiches and pizza) but I'm not impressed. However, I love the ambience, and the Garlic Rice make sure I keep on returning to this restaurant.
We love this dish so much that we keep on going back to this small little shop whenever we have time. (Well, time is a super important factor in this case. The speed of them processing the food is incredibly slow, where you have to factor in 1 hour of waiting time even if you are the first customer of the shop!)
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| Shop Exterior - you have to pay attention when you walk along Queen Street |
Besides Garlic Rice, I have tried their various udon and macaronies too (but yet to try their sandwiches and pizza) but I'm not impressed. However, I love the ambience, and the Garlic Rice make sure I keep on returning to this restaurant.
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| Vegetarian Udon |
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| Bacon Udon |
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| cute arts on sales |
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| Very nice to see, too hot to sit :) |
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| Cozy corner |
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| They even have an art gallery upstair |
Saturday 8 December 2012
The Happiest Place On Earth
This is my 3rd visit to a Disneyland. First in California, second in Hong Kong, and here I am, back in California Disneyland again.
I am not so keen of re-visiting this place. One have learnt too much truth to actually think that this place is magical. When you see Chips and Dale walking around, I bet you are not as excited as the kids as you know someone is inside, and that someone may not even love chipmunks.
I really wish to spend more time exploring LA. However, since I have promised the little girl if she accompany me to US, I will accompany her to the theme parks, so here we are, taking photos with Mickey and friends as everyone does.
Well, based on what I said earlier, you may think I wouldn't really enjoy myself in this theme park. Haha! you are so wrong! I love every moment of it! How could you not fall in love with the happiest place on earth? Laughters are everywhere, the kids are putting smile on everyone's face, the aura in this place is pure happiness.
To ensure we don't regret in the future,we decided to get ourselves a USD125/pax park-hopping-1-day-ticket. Our first target is the Car Land at California Adventure Land. Unfortunately the Radiator Spring Racers was broken and the FASTPASS were concluded for the day early in the morning! Well, still, Car Land is a great place since I love Radiator Spring. I even met Mater and it's fun! (We did came back to check for Radiator Spring Racers later in the afternoon and the queue was 2.5hours long. Sigh...... I don't have time for this.)
We then got ourselves enough dosage of 3D/4D, roller coaster, and got ourselves real wet too before we head to Disneyland Park.
For Disneyland Park, we have only one thing each in our must do list: I MUST be on the Star Tours while Ching Ching will not leave Disneyland without the Space Mountain. Our strategy was to get the FASTPASS of these 2 rides first, then have some shopping before come back to these rides later.
After getting our Star Tours FASTPASS, we ran to Space Mountain only to find out that the FASTPASS were concluded for the day too! We were so disappointed! The queue was so long and I don't think I would like to spend one or two hours standing in the queue doing nothing in Disneyland. The Disneyland worker taking care of the Space Mountain FASTPASS must have felt our "pain", (or we must be just too cute to be ignore :p), he decided to show us a magic, and pulled out two overdue FASTPASS from behind of my ears, and let us walk down the Space Mountain FASTPASS lane immediately! So touched!
As a die hard Star Wars fans and a person that grow up with Disney cartoons and movies, Star Tours is like a dream come true for me. The ride itself got nothing to shout about (3D / 4D rides no longer impress me nowadays, a bit boring actually :p), however, walking in the queue while "boarding" felt like boarding on a space ship that got something to do with the Rebel Alliance, besides, R2D2 and C3PO are talking (and beep-ing) non-stop, assisting you during the boarding. After the ride, you will come to a store selling everything about Star Wars, from T-shirts to models, from light sabers to phone covers, caps, mugs, pins, stationaries, lego, jackets etc. The Force is strong in here. I almost went crazy!Since I do not have specifically any other rides in mind, I spent almost an hour in the store admiring all these cute figures and got Wei, En and myself some cute T-shirt.
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| Having fun with Mickey-Ears-R2D2-hat |
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| I'm having Jedi training |
After having fun with everything Star Wars, of course, we still find time for pirates and wandering around the park. Our last itinerary in Disneyland was the parade at Main Street U.S.A. (no fireworks on the day of our visit). After the parade, we rushed back to California Adventure Land for World of Colour. There were already a lot of people gathering at Paradise Pier. We have to squeeze ourselves in to get a spot that both of us at least can see the Mickey's Fun Wheel. (Make sure you got yourself a FASTPASS for better viewing location. We were too busy having fun, forgot to collect our FASTPASS for World of Colour and ended up got to stand at some lousy location).
When the show started, everyone was awed. The vibrant lights illuminated fountains dance to mesmerizing music. The classic characters of Disney and Pixar appear magically on the mist screen. That's really a magical, vibrant 25 minutes! Don't miss this!
Other posts for this trip:
Sunday 2 December 2012
为了Julia Child
其实，在Julie & Julia之前，我根本从来没有听过Julia Child的大名。看了电影后，也不知道是不是为了Meryl Streep的个人魅力，还是为了Julia Child的真性情，反正我就喜欢上这个大情大性的著名美食家。这一次到美国西岸，做功课时无意中发现了一家名为La Super-Rica Taqueria的墨西哥餐厅，说是Julia Child当年的心头所爱，我就毫不犹豫地把它列入我的行程。我食量小，所以偏爱taco这种小吃，吃起来完全没有内疚或罪恶感。再加上美国西南部本来就受墨西哥文化影响，把墨西哥食物当午餐是再正常不过的选择。
我们在Pacific Coast Highway一路走走停停地来到了Santa Barbara。正好肚子有点儿饿了，人有点儿累了，正是最适合让好食物来暖肚的时刻。GPS把我们带到一家毫不起眼的小店，那时候已经过了午餐时间，也不觉得也别多人，但总是陆陆续续看见有人捧着一大盒的食物从里头走出来。我带着探索的兴奋，走进了这家远富盛名的老字号。
食物正如网上所说的那样，多样化、精巧、便宜。我在写着菜单的黑板前发呆，最后决定把抉择的责任交给看起来最老经验的掌柜。他很尽责地介绍了几个非吃不可的经典，我凭感觉随口说了两个，就会去座位等他叫我们的号码。号码响起后顾客得自己到柜台取食物。由于没有为顾客提供服务，我们省却了给贴士的烦恼。真好！
我们在Pacific Coast Highway一路走走停停地来到了Santa Barbara。正好肚子有点儿饿了，人有点儿累了，正是最适合让好食物来暖肚的时刻。GPS把我们带到一家毫不起眼的小店，那时候已经过了午餐时间，也不觉得也别多人，但总是陆陆续续看见有人捧着一大盒的食物从里头走出来。我带着探索的兴奋，走进了这家远富盛名的老字号。
食物正如网上所说的那样，多样化、精巧、便宜。我在写着菜单的黑板前发呆，最后决定把抉择的责任交给看起来最老经验的掌柜。他很尽责地介绍了几个非吃不可的经典，我凭感觉随口说了两个，就会去座位等他叫我们的号码。号码响起后顾客得自己到柜台取食物。由于没有为顾客提供服务，我们省却了给贴士的烦恼。真好！ |
| 才美金7.88 |
这是非常正宗的墨西哥菜，肉味洋溢。我最喜欢的是他们的salsa，香菜、番茄等很有层次地为酸辣之外增加鲜香口感。绝对价廉物美。最重要是分量适中，我们轻轻松松就可以把它吃完，不必互相推卸责任。
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| 厨师很熟练的准备着食物 |
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| 想象着，当年Julia Child就坐在这靠窗的位子， 享受着飘溢的香味和人来人往的热闹…… |
Other posts for this trip:
Friday 23 November 2012
Pacific Coast Highway
During the planning of my US trip, there are 3 things that I really really wanted to do:
1) Drive a convertible along Pacific Coast Highway -- checked
2) Sunset and Sunrise of Grand Canyon -- checked
3) Camping in Yosemite National Park (Well, you can never get everything you want in your life simultaneously. I can always plan my camping trip next time.)
Can you see me grinning from ear to ear as I checked on my bucket list?
I am not sure if there are any lists about "100 road trips you must take in your life time", or "50 routes that you must drive before you die", or "500 highway of the world" etc. If there are any such lists, they MUST make sure Pacific Coast Highway is in the list.
First of all, it is all about the Pacific Ocean. This world's largest ocean is persistent energetic and has the most expansive view. We were basically surrounded by endless shades of blue and it is simply magical.
Secondly, driving along this twisting, cliff-hugging road is an exhilarating experience. I really love driving all the hair-pin curves, especially with this marvelous weather. The fact that I can end up falling 3000 ft below if I happen to loose control also give a healthy dose of adrenaline rush and make the drive more fun.
Thirdly, the sunrises and sunsets are irresistible. We stopped our car at the middle of nowhere when the sky turned warm orange. Witnessing the huge egg yolk slowly fading into the Pacific ocean was magical.
Fourthly, you are going to fall in love with all the wonderful small towns along the coast. We stayed in Cambria for one night, and we both love the quite yet lively small town. We also had a brief stop at Morro Bay for picnic, and we love that place too!
We drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 days time and spent 1 night in Cambria. It was too rush even though we still enjoy every single second of it. If you wish to plan for a road trip at Pacific Coast Highway, make it at least a 5 days trip. There are so many things to do and there are so many great things to see.
1) Drive a convertible along Pacific Coast Highway -- checked
2) Sunset and Sunrise of Grand Canyon -- checked
3) Camping in Yosemite National Park (Well, you can never get everything you want in your life simultaneously. I can always plan my camping trip next time.)
Can you see me grinning from ear to ear as I checked on my bucket list?
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| Monterrey Bay |
I am not sure if there are any lists about "100 road trips you must take in your life time", or "50 routes that you must drive before you die", or "500 highway of the world" etc. If there are any such lists, they MUST make sure Pacific Coast Highway is in the list.
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| Big Sur |
First of all, it is all about the Pacific Ocean. This world's largest ocean is persistent energetic and has the most expansive view. We were basically surrounded by endless shades of blue and it is simply magical.
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| 17 Miles Drive |
Secondly, driving along this twisting, cliff-hugging road is an exhilarating experience. I really love driving all the hair-pin curves, especially with this marvelous weather. The fact that I can end up falling 3000 ft below if I happen to loose control also give a healthy dose of adrenaline rush and make the drive more fun.
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| Got myself a Chrysler 200 |
Thirdly, the sunrises and sunsets are irresistible. We stopped our car at the middle of nowhere when the sky turned warm orange. Witnessing the huge egg yolk slowly fading into the Pacific ocean was magical.
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| Sunset at Highway #1 |
Fourthly, you are going to fall in love with all the wonderful small towns along the coast. We stayed in Cambria for one night, and we both love the quite yet lively small town. We also had a brief stop at Morro Bay for picnic, and we love that place too!
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| Morro Rock |
We drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 days time and spent 1 night in Cambria. It was too rush even though we still enjoy every single second of it. If you wish to plan for a road trip at Pacific Coast Highway, make it at least a 5 days trip. There are so many things to do and there are so many great things to see.
Other posts for this trip:
Tuesday 20 November 2012
马夫妇
我的宝贝妹妹终于成为马太太了！
我这永远长不大的妹妹在我怀里撒娇好像只不过是昨天的事，一转眼就已为人妻了。说起来，我认识我的妹夫的时候，他只有十四岁。那时候我回母校当临教，他就坐在班上前排，满脸稚气，笑起来非常可爱。（我当时怎么也没想到，这个调气小男生十五年后会成为我的妹夫，不然当时应该稍微刁难刁难。哈哈！）
一转眼，十五年过去了，他俩由相识、相恋、分离、再相恋终成眷属，我只是很老土的希望他们幸福永远……
我这永远长不大的妹妹在我怀里撒娇好像只不过是昨天的事，一转眼就已为人妻了。说起来，我认识我的妹夫的时候，他只有十四岁。那时候我回母校当临教，他就坐在班上前排，满脸稚气，笑起来非常可爱。（我当时怎么也没想到，这个调气小男生十五年后会成为我的妹夫，不然当时应该稍微刁难刁难。哈哈！）
一转眼，十五年过去了，他俩由相识、相恋、分离、再相恋终成眷属，我只是很老土的希望他们幸福永远……
Monday 19 November 2012
Looper
（不好意思，在draft发现了这个，请允许我继续写完它）
Looper绝对是个惊喜！
我会去看这部电影，完完全全是为了Bruce Willis和Joseph Gordon-Levitt。（真不好意思，明星效应有时候对我挺有效的），当然，也因为科幻片一直是我的死穴。
由于我总是坚持在进入电影院前不看电影简介或影评，我只知道它是个time travel的电影，却不知它不只是time travel电影那么简单。感觉上有点儿像在看HERO，相当惊喜。娱乐性的电影加上一些令你思索的情节，是近年来拍得较好的科幻片。
（由于我秉持不在部落格里透露剧情的宗旨，这儿倒是没有什么可说的）但我看到一半被Pierce Gagnon的演技慑住，这可是一定要说的。这小瓜才五岁大，演技让许多专业演员汗颜。有时候我真不明白，那些童星们究竟要以什么样的幻想力才能驾驽这些深沉的角色呢？
Looper绝对是个惊喜！
我会去看这部电影，完完全全是为了Bruce Willis和Joseph Gordon-Levitt。（真不好意思，明星效应有时候对我挺有效的），当然，也因为科幻片一直是我的死穴。
由于我总是坚持在进入电影院前不看电影简介或影评，我只知道它是个time travel的电影，却不知它不只是time travel电影那么简单。感觉上有点儿像在看HERO，相当惊喜。娱乐性的电影加上一些令你思索的情节，是近年来拍得较好的科幻片。
（由于我秉持不在部落格里透露剧情的宗旨，这儿倒是没有什么可说的）但我看到一半被Pierce Gagnon的演技慑住，这可是一定要说的。这小瓜才五岁大，演技让许多专业演员汗颜。有时候我真不明白，那些童星们究竟要以什么样的幻想力才能驾驽这些深沉的角色呢？
Tuesday 13 November 2012
一位女医生的游学故事
我有一位好朋友，自幼立志要当一位济世为怀的好医生。在年少轻狂的时候，她甚至曾经想过到落后国家当义医的。（不过，遇上命中天子后当然只能打消这念头，组织个大家庭去。）我相信所有认识她的人从来不会怀疑她的医术和医德。
今天和她叙旧，说起她到美国深造的故事。她说自己曾逃课两天去观光（说得很愧疚似的，也不知道普通人逃课当饭吃）。而她观光的地方可神了，去探访医院！！她见我露出一副不可置信的表情，微微压抑兴奋心情，稍微害羞地解释：＂Massachusetts General Hospital是家历史悠久的医院，里头的Ether Dome是世上首个以Ether作为麻药的手术台。＂为了要证明她不是特别怪异，她还得补上一句：＂这医院是有tour的，我刚好碰上。＂我不当场踢爆她，但我相信她必定是抱着虔诚的朝圣心情，特地跑到Massachusetts医院假扮成凑巧遇上hospital tour的。
我很好奇，世界上究竟有几个医生身在异国旅游时会舍旅游景点而跑到医院去'观光'？
认识她二十多年了，她还是常常让我觉得不可思议！
今天和她叙旧，说起她到美国深造的故事。她说自己曾逃课两天去观光（说得很愧疚似的，也不知道普通人逃课当饭吃）。而她观光的地方可神了，去探访医院！！她见我露出一副不可置信的表情，微微压抑兴奋心情，稍微害羞地解释：＂Massachusetts General Hospital是家历史悠久的医院，里头的Ether Dome是世上首个以Ether作为麻药的手术台。＂为了要证明她不是特别怪异，她还得补上一句：＂这医院是有tour的，我刚好碰上。＂我不当场踢爆她，但我相信她必定是抱着虔诚的朝圣心情，特地跑到Massachusetts医院假扮成凑巧遇上hospital tour的。
我很好奇，世界上究竟有几个医生身在异国旅游时会舍旅游景点而跑到医院去'观光'？
认识她二十多年了，她还是常常让我觉得不可思议！
Monday 12 November 2012
关于名牌……
对于女性朋友来说，我应该是个超级大闷蛋吧？有谁换了发型、发色，身上带着什么新饰物、新手袋，我发现的几率总是超低的。再加上我对名牌的敏感度极低，即使发现了，也很少会显得特别雀跃，和我谈潮流真的很“无瘾”的。
或许是因为我心中有一把很奇怪的尺，对于衣物我自有一套价值衡量法：撇去通货膨胀不说，以今天的价格衡量，我觉得jeans顶价只值马币八十、T恤顶价只值马币三十，然后，如果衣物剪裁特别合身或质感特别舒适（或印上和Star Wars有关的图案，点中我的死穴），我愿意top up马币三十至五十不等；女性钱包布制的顶价马币五十、皮制的顶价百五、肩袋布制的顶价八十、皮制的顶价两百五，然后如果风格特别出众或我一见钟情，我愿意补上马币五十至八十。你做一做心算就知道，我要么和名牌无缘、要么就只等大减价。我家里的handbag要么是人家送的，要么是薇薇败家后弃之不顾的，我最常用的是在丽江古城里用人民币五元买了个说不定是世界上独一无二的手绣东巴文手袋，这对我而言才值钱呢！
所以啊，我总是搞不清楚名牌包包、衣物和鞋子的价值，这些不涉及精细手艺（如手表）、高科技（如gadgets）的东西凭什么印了一个盖章就身价百倍？
去年到欧洲时也到过名牌店outlets，不过那时有玩伴，我们倒没有花什么心思在血拼上。这一次到了美国，倒真是叫我大开眼界。
和我们同车的团友们买名牌的宗旨：
一、要买就买那些在马来西亚有名气的，不然买了回大马穿/用也没有人知道你用名牌
二、这儿的价钱比马来西亚便宜约一倍，不买就亏了（奇怪，不是不买就半分不亏吗？）
所以，那些富太们在"outlet day"特别没有心思旅游，一直嚷着要把别处的行程给删了，或是央求导游把观光时间给缩短。反正大家都plan了一套strategy，打算快点儿到达目的地展开攻掠。到了名牌店outlets，大家立刻龙精虎猛，一鼓作气就冲进名牌包包店把墙上架上的大包小包钱包硬币包一扫而空。她们不知怎的让我想起蝗虫，走到哪儿哪儿空。Buying power让人乍舌的同时我还是搞不通，一个人究竟需要几个手提包啊？
不过，她们的疯狂我都懂，你盲目爱上某种事物的时候，逻辑是不存在的。譬如说，你要是把我们姐弟仨丢在一个全和Star Wars有关的outlet，我们一定也是这么疯狂，那时，又轮到富太们对着我们搔后脑了。哈哈！
或许是因为我心中有一把很奇怪的尺，对于衣物我自有一套价值衡量法：撇去通货膨胀不说，以今天的价格衡量，我觉得jeans顶价只值马币八十、T恤顶价只值马币三十，然后，如果衣物剪裁特别合身或质感特别舒适（或印上和Star Wars有关的图案，点中我的死穴），我愿意top up马币三十至五十不等；女性钱包布制的顶价马币五十、皮制的顶价百五、肩袋布制的顶价八十、皮制的顶价两百五，然后如果风格特别出众或我一见钟情，我愿意补上马币五十至八十。你做一做心算就知道，我要么和名牌无缘、要么就只等大减价。我家里的handbag要么是人家送的，要么是薇薇败家后弃之不顾的，我最常用的是在丽江古城里用人民币五元买了个说不定是世界上独一无二的手绣东巴文手袋，这对我而言才值钱呢！
所以啊，我总是搞不清楚名牌包包、衣物和鞋子的价值，这些不涉及精细手艺（如手表）、高科技（如gadgets）的东西凭什么印了一个盖章就身价百倍？
去年到欧洲时也到过名牌店outlets，不过那时有玩伴，我们倒没有花什么心思在血拼上。这一次到了美国，倒真是叫我大开眼界。
和我们同车的团友们买名牌的宗旨：
一、要买就买那些在马来西亚有名气的，不然买了回大马穿/用也没有人知道你用名牌
二、这儿的价钱比马来西亚便宜约一倍，不买就亏了（奇怪，不是不买就半分不亏吗？）
所以，那些富太们在"outlet day"特别没有心思旅游，一直嚷着要把别处的行程给删了，或是央求导游把观光时间给缩短。反正大家都plan了一套strategy，打算快点儿到达目的地展开攻掠。到了名牌店outlets，大家立刻龙精虎猛，一鼓作气就冲进名牌包包店把墙上架上的大包小包钱包硬币包一扫而空。她们不知怎的让我想起蝗虫，走到哪儿哪儿空。Buying power让人乍舌的同时我还是搞不通，一个人究竟需要几个手提包啊？
不过，她们的疯狂我都懂，你盲目爱上某种事物的时候，逻辑是不存在的。譬如说，你要是把我们姐弟仨丢在一个全和Star Wars有关的outlet，我们一定也是这么疯狂，那时，又轮到富太们对着我们搔后脑了。哈哈！
Sunday 11 November 2012
金门桥
我总是喜欢金门桥，它的建筑构造独特辨识度高，红漆让它在蓝空下特别叫人瞩目。八年前我到San Francisco时，在Golden Gate Park消磨了一天的逍遥时光，这一次则有幸乘船在桥下绕过，又有机会在桥上走走。我见过了艳阳下闪耀的金门桥，也见过了浓雾中若隐若现的金门桥。
不错哦~
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