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Into my third week here in KL and I am pretty much still a tourist here,
despite the many trips up I've been since I was a kid. 
The confusing highways that link most of Klang Valley's towns,
not to mention the many toll plazas as well, the pretty citylights, the traffic jams, and the list goes on. 
I'm very lucky to have my extended maternal family here who are always so generous and kind to take me around, try new places and experience different things that ultimately make KL what it is.
Last weekend, we went to this quaint post-war shophouse located along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, right smack in the middle of KL city,
called Coliseum Cafe and Grill.
It was here since the 1920's and I can say that it still has that significant 20's vibe
in terms of decor, faded walls, Victorian-esque cutlery with an embossed print on the edge,
and the old-school bar with old funky-looking white men drinking around it
My uncle and aunty used to have their dates there back in their varsity days,
so that night held a little nostalgic value for them
the famous sizzling grilled steak was grilled right in front of us, before being served.
same goes to the sizzling chicken plate as well. 
 fried ice cream for dessert pretty much summed up our meals in a good heavenly package :)


a night at the coliseum

21.8.13

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Into my third week here in KL and I am pretty much still a tourist here,
despite the many trips up I've been since I was a kid. 
The confusing highways that link most of Klang Valley's towns,
not to mention the many toll plazas as well, the pretty citylights, the traffic jams, and the list goes on. 
I'm very lucky to have my extended maternal family here who are always so generous and kind to take me around, try new places and experience different things that ultimately make KL what it is.
Last weekend, we went to this quaint post-war shophouse located along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, right smack in the middle of KL city,
called Coliseum Cafe and Grill.
It was here since the 1920's and I can say that it still has that significant 20's vibe
in terms of decor, faded walls, Victorian-esque cutlery with an embossed print on the edge,
and the old-school bar with old funky-looking white men drinking around it
My uncle and aunty used to have their dates there back in their varsity days,
so that night held a little nostalgic value for them
the famous sizzling grilled steak was grilled right in front of us, before being served.
same goes to the sizzling chicken plate as well. 
 fried ice cream for dessert pretty much summed up our meals in a good heavenly package :)


more
2 weekends ago marked the arrival of a new lunar new year, the year of the Snake, which is placed the 6th in the Chinese Zodiac Calendar right after the Dragon. And, being a true-blue Malaysian-Chinese who was brought up in a way that traditional Chinese customs and culture are important to follow suit, the reunion dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year depicts the get together of families, the joy of catching up with extended family members and, well, a lot of trumpets being blown. haha Usually, we would all gather at my grandparents' place to enjoy my grandma's home cooked dishes, but it has been around 5 years since my paternal family stopped cooking at home for the reunion dinner since it was too tiresome for my grandparents and I guess, nobody really wanted to wash all the dishes. Deep down. 

This year, we booked a table at this pretty famous restaurant, Daiman Pekin in the Mount Austin area, which was around a 20-min drive from my house. We went there two years ago and the food was just so-so, so I wasn't very thrilled to be there, in terms of food. However, to my surprise, the menu this year was way tastier than previous years. We tossed the usual 'yeesang' with salmon slices (my fav!), abalone with broccoli, yam rice, steamed fish with ginger slices on top, really good drunken prawn and the list goes on. My highlight among all the yummy dishes was the scallop soup, definitely! This year, instead of the monotonous shark fin's soup, we opted for scallop instead. My paternal family wasn't all that into activism against shark's fin soup, well, activism against any cause, as far as I can remember. So, for them to actually go out of the way from the usual wealth-signifying bowl of soup, was surprising but it made me smile, nevertheless. 

the heavenly scallop soup
my familia
After dinner, we all gathered at my second aunt's place for a game of blackjack and for the midnight countdown! Since we're pretty much amateur gamblers, nobody dared to bet more than RM2.00, except for my grandpa. I think it was his lil secret to distribute some to his grandkids. hahaha We headed out to the streets to check out the ongoing fireworks that lit up the ivory sky, and also to fire some of our own. 

 My aunt from Singapore bought some 'Kongming lanterns' or Chinese sky lanterns for us to let out into the sky. The sky lanterns are basically like small hot air balloons that rises into the air once lit because the flame heats the air inside the lantern and thus lowering its density. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which the lantern sinks back to the ground. But by then, it might have flown to God knows where.lol


A very prosperous and happy Chinese New Year, from my family to yours!


Lunar New Year's Eve // of good food, good company and good sights

23.2.13

, ,
2 weekends ago marked the arrival of a new lunar new year, the year of the Snake, which is placed the 6th in the Chinese Zodiac Calendar right after the Dragon. And, being a true-blue Malaysian-Chinese who was brought up in a way that traditional Chinese customs and culture are important to follow suit, the reunion dinner on the eve of the Lunar New Year depicts the get together of families, the joy of catching up with extended family members and, well, a lot of trumpets being blown. haha Usually, we would all gather at my grandparents' place to enjoy my grandma's home cooked dishes, but it has been around 5 years since my paternal family stopped cooking at home for the reunion dinner since it was too tiresome for my grandparents and I guess, nobody really wanted to wash all the dishes. Deep down. 

This year, we booked a table at this pretty famous restaurant, Daiman Pekin in the Mount Austin area, which was around a 20-min drive from my house. We went there two years ago and the food was just so-so, so I wasn't very thrilled to be there, in terms of food. However, to my surprise, the menu this year was way tastier than previous years. We tossed the usual 'yeesang' with salmon slices (my fav!), abalone with broccoli, yam rice, steamed fish with ginger slices on top, really good drunken prawn and the list goes on. My highlight among all the yummy dishes was the scallop soup, definitely! This year, instead of the monotonous shark fin's soup, we opted for scallop instead. My paternal family wasn't all that into activism against shark's fin soup, well, activism against any cause, as far as I can remember. So, for them to actually go out of the way from the usual wealth-signifying bowl of soup, was surprising but it made me smile, nevertheless. 

the heavenly scallop soup
my familia
After dinner, we all gathered at my second aunt's place for a game of blackjack and for the midnight countdown! Since we're pretty much amateur gamblers, nobody dared to bet more than RM2.00, except for my grandpa. I think it was his lil secret to distribute some to his grandkids. hahaha We headed out to the streets to check out the ongoing fireworks that lit up the ivory sky, and also to fire some of our own. 

 My aunt from Singapore bought some 'Kongming lanterns' or Chinese sky lanterns for us to let out into the sky. The sky lanterns are basically like small hot air balloons that rises into the air once lit because the flame heats the air inside the lantern and thus lowering its density. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which the lantern sinks back to the ground. But by then, it might have flown to God knows where.lol


A very prosperous and happy Chinese New Year, from my family to yours!


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Last weekend, we had an early Xmas celebration when all our families were in KL and my, was it fun! The weather was having our backs the whole day, through preparation and at night. It was definitely NOT a silent night at all, haha! We got all the foodstuffs ready in the morning. Got the chicken wings and prawns marinated in salt, the seafood cleaned out and marinated as well and got out the good ol' barbecue set. There was a huge platter of food to be barbecued that night and a whole variety to choose from. Jess made potato salad and my third aunt brought loads of cheese-stuffed sausages on sticks. So, it was inevitable to feel bloated after all this yummy foodies! Great company + great food = a great party.

Mint Soda with sea cucumber specially made by my third aunt

After filling up our tummies, we, kids, tried our hand in barbecuing! I must say, our grilling skills are the best! We over-grilled the squid-rings, over-grilled the kembong fish and under-cooked the corn on the cob. Brilliant! haha The younger cousins helped out by fanning the flame, which they were too good at, 'cause ash kept flying out! All in good fun, all in good fun!

We initially wanted to make s'mores but since we ran out of chocs, we roasted just marshmallows!

After finishing our makan session and clearing up the porch, we played and sang along to some Christmas songs and danced like as if we were in a 50's Xmas dance out at Central Park, minus the snow and Christmas lights. Then, it was PRESENT EXCHANGE TIME! Present exchange has been like a tradition  in my family every Xmas since I was little. We all would buy one quirky gift and all the collected gifts are numbered. We had to pick a number from a bunch of them and see which present you get! This year, I got a bottle of aroma therapy scent. The other presents  See what I got last year here!


Since my third aunt's birthday falls on Christmas day, we brought out a cake, singing 'Happy birthday' in all kinds of languages! hahaha Before feasting into the marvelous cake we bought  from RT Pastry House (yum!), everyone took a whole album of pictures of everybody!

 

Christmas is more than just presents and good foodies, it's a time where we appreciate what we have and have a jolly time with the people we love and care about. I'm thankful and cannot be more grateful to have such a jolly and fun family to be with this Christmas. Hope you're having fun with your loved ones this Christmas! 


A Jolly X'mas Barbecue Party!

24.12.12

, , ,
Last weekend, we had an early Xmas celebration when all our families were in KL and my, was it fun! The weather was having our backs the whole day, through preparation and at night. It was definitely NOT a silent night at all, haha! We got all the foodstuffs ready in the morning. Got the chicken wings and prawns marinated in salt, the seafood cleaned out and marinated as well and got out the good ol' barbecue set. There was a huge platter of food to be barbecued that night and a whole variety to choose from. Jess made potato salad and my third aunt brought loads of cheese-stuffed sausages on sticks. So, it was inevitable to feel bloated after all this yummy foodies! Great company + great food = a great party.

Mint Soda with sea cucumber specially made by my third aunt

After filling up our tummies, we, kids, tried our hand in barbecuing! I must say, our grilling skills are the best! We over-grilled the squid-rings, over-grilled the kembong fish and under-cooked the corn on the cob. Brilliant! haha The younger cousins helped out by fanning the flame, which they were too good at, 'cause ash kept flying out! All in good fun, all in good fun!

We initially wanted to make s'mores but since we ran out of chocs, we roasted just marshmallows!

After finishing our makan session and clearing up the porch, we played and sang along to some Christmas songs and danced like as if we were in a 50's Xmas dance out at Central Park, minus the snow and Christmas lights. Then, it was PRESENT EXCHANGE TIME! Present exchange has been like a tradition  in my family every Xmas since I was little. We all would buy one quirky gift and all the collected gifts are numbered. We had to pick a number from a bunch of them and see which present you get! This year, I got a bottle of aroma therapy scent. The other presents  See what I got last year here!


Since my third aunt's birthday falls on Christmas day, we brought out a cake, singing 'Happy birthday' in all kinds of languages! hahaha Before feasting into the marvelous cake we bought  from RT Pastry House (yum!), everyone took a whole album of pictures of everybody!

 

Christmas is more than just presents and good foodies, it's a time where we appreciate what we have and have a jolly time with the people we love and care about. I'm thankful and cannot be more grateful to have such a jolly and fun family to be with this Christmas. Hope you're having fun with your loved ones this Christmas! 


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family ties eva + charmaine kitty girls gangnam style goes little IMG_0157 little cousins cousins grandaunt + granduncle dwarves memories same, yet different gates

i'm very blessed to have such a huge extended family and the great thing is that we are all pretty close
so come chinese new year or whenever we visit one family, we will end up visiting a lot of them
and so, going to a lot of houses
while the adults chit-chat and catch up over peanuts and tea
we, 21st century kids, either watch TV, play games on the iPad, fiddle with our phones or goof around
but this time, i got to capture some of the charm in old houses and spend some jolly time with my cousins


rest of the pictures // flickr



SEREMBAN // of family ties and a jolly time

23.12.12

, , ,
family ties eva + charmaine kitty girls gangnam style goes little IMG_0157 little cousins cousins grandaunt + granduncle dwarves memories same, yet different gates

i'm very blessed to have such a huge extended family and the great thing is that we are all pretty close
so come chinese new year or whenever we visit one family, we will end up visiting a lot of them
and so, going to a lot of houses
while the adults chit-chat and catch up over peanuts and tea
we, 21st century kids, either watch TV, play games on the iPad, fiddle with our phones or goof around
but this time, i got to capture some of the charm in old houses and spend some jolly time with my cousins


rest of the pictures // flickr



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