Beware the Batman - Mask spectacles

Went to another outlet to claim yet another sundae today , then I saw this.

As it is, due to the um, protests, some outlets have begun to sell their premiums outright.

Thus, even though I claimed a free vanilla cone, I just had to fork out RM3 without being held hostage to purchasing a meal I really don't need.

The Travel Blacklist checker

Yep, another Matta Travel Fair is just round the corner.

However this time, don't be caught offguard if you have taxes due to the government.

Cos even if you owe them RM200 from milleniums ago, your dream destination will be a no go.

I mean, you took all that trouble to plan for your trip, I'm sure you'll want to save yourself and your family members from the embarassment of being stopped at our Immigration counters, right ?

Plus they've made it so easy for you to check . Just enter your Malaysian IC number in the space and click submit.

Type "Semakan Status Perjalanan" 

into google search and click on the corresponding link.

Should look something like the site above.

21 so far

Yup, I have had 21 of these for free so far.

A typical Adeline Tsen. Albeit older.

Ladies are watching it for the romance. Husbands are fascinated with the seduction.  
That's what the show Rindu Awak 200% has effected on us Malaysian Chinese women . The part where Hubbies of the other race, wonder if we'll train our guns on them.

See, yesterday I was in a mall. And I got stared at ...by the partners of wives and girlfriends in tow. I wasn't even wearing heels and had zero make up on.

Really now, I just hate that. They're with their women and when they make the effort to turn back and take a second look at you again, on the escalator ? Well, I definitely run the risk of offending the 'love of their life'. 

Worst still, me being Chinese and the majority of the lookers being Malays, if you've been watching that 200% show, their women WILL think we're trying to snatch them away. Hey, look, that honour goes to the PRC's. We have a common enemy but of course they can't tell the difference.

That Adeline Tsen girl in that show, does nothing but stereotype us Chinese women , as predatorial man eating felines who like to dress like typical desperado sluts ( she somehow manages to do that even though she's not skimpily attired ) in skyscraper heels ( she wears hooker platforms) , rust coloured hair ( she puts that big bow on for that bimboish look ) and generally put us in a very bad light. 

She schemes , plots and lusts for that very dishy looking fellow. Ok, at least she got something right. He IS an eyeful. That dish has some mesmerizing razor lips, mmmm mmmm pecs and the height factor that makes Chinese women go a little bit stupid.

P&G / Mydin - mini hot water flask

Ok. This has got to be one of the best designed , not to mention cutest mini flasks around.

Available in Dark blue or white, both sport similar cartoons.

Mydin logo on top, various ethnicities holding hands at the bottom. Dayak warrior in feathered headress and shield is just adorable.

In the background is the iconic KL tower and the KLCC twin towers.

Found a dog repellent at Daiso

Update January 2015 : it is near impossible to find now even in Penang. Lots of peeps having dog problems yes ?

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Yes, I am soooo glad I found this product. 

Seriously have no idea if it works cos I just bought this even though it's raining cats and dogs. Supposed to be ineffective when water gets on it.

How it repells is by way of smell. The smell attaches itself on the offending dog upon contact and won't come off for 2 weeks.

Cruel ? Of course not. Especially when the pet's owner is arrogant plus nonchalant even though her doggone terror comes and barks at your gate as if you encroached on it's territory ....mistress of a mutt 

22.08.2014

What unimaginable grief and anguish your families must have endured since July 17th. 

I do not have words enough to describe the magnitude of that empty hollow I feel inside me. I dare not say much, because I am so afraid that the tears will not stop if I do.

Hope you understand.

Welcome home.

Smoke magnet

Problem's been bugging me for quite some time now.

Somehow or other, I seem to have an inbuilt signal which draws smokers towards me. Can be talking face to face to Mr Meek, Short and Skinny , when all of a sudden, he gets the inspiration to whip out his Malboro.

The more annoyed I look, the harder they'll suck.
Most times I move, to the next table. Still doesn't work.
They WILL find me.

Have tried coughing. Loudly. Desperately.

My reward ? That corner of the eye look which makes me wanna snip it off their lips. Or douse them. With a Bomba hose.

Frustrated I query the ex smoker.

Tomorrow we are in mourning , however..

I don't know whose idea it was to go pick The Penang Bridge as one of the nationwide venues for observing a minute of silence . Whoever is in charge of traffic will have to block both exits and entry points . If not please, hope there will not be chaos,cussing, swearing and honking by ignorant and irrate motorists.

A switch of venue to the Penang International Airport would be more appropriate.

It's yours

Small tidings but still somebody's already having 

fun with it.

Didn't see that coming. Cos me, I'd just put it aside and never ever use it.

Ya ok, go on. Take it.

It's yours.

Bolster fight

I sat across these 2 Japanese boys the other day at Aeon. While their mom was busy shopping, they were both busy engaging in a bolster fight.

Size doesn't matter

Am one of the odd women who are against dieting. Makes me murderously cranky and I totally hate that. So I eat, and I'm lucky ( you heard right ) to have a partner who's a glutton big eater actually.

However, when it comes to clothes...yeah...I have some trouble, I used to have to get pants from H&M in Europe ( it's definitely more exciting shopping overseas ,somehow the store just lost it's magic when they opened up here ) and some backwater shops around Victoria Station. 

Lately I've found a better store that doesn't discriminate against us plus sizes for tops , but that's allllll the way in Istanbul. Trick is I do buy locally but that involves choosing my pieces painstakingly and very carefully, so they make me look many sizes smaller than I actually am. 

It's a gift, lol, and I always have to end up arguing with the salesgirls who insist I'm much smaller.

Coming to this picture, well, at first glance I thought the rider on the outside was a delivery man. Until I realised, omg, that's a Harley too just like the other guy in black.

They're both in Harley togs too. 

My anti dieting policy shaken to the foundation. 

7 Eleven - Slurpee colour changing tumbler

This may be nothing compared to the commemorative Big Gulp tumblers in the US, but it's still something .

For Slurpee fans, the purchase of this tumbler allows you to fill it up at RM1 only , thus giving you a huge discount of RM1.70 off the regular price ok ?

 Big deal for some schoolkids in Penang.

The other big deal is that once the ice goes in, the cup changes colour from white to pink. Really cute !

Veloo Villas - no fork and spoon

Update January 2015 : today, they do provide forks and spoons. Only the nonchalant couldn't care damn rude service remains.

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The Veloo Villas of today, is far flung from days of yore. 

The premise has undergone a revamp minus the dothi wearing waiters and cooks. Foodwise, they too have succumbed to the easy , addictive fix of monosodium glutamate and soy sauce for almost all of their dishes. 

What a shame

This came straight off a news portal. 

The fact that a 152kg grouper had been landed by local fishermen, again has gotten all local and international gourmets excited again. 

To be frank, I'm outraged. Against the slaughter of a creature that took this long to grow. 

Our oceans are already depleted as it is. Why can't you make do with smaller fish ? 

It's a delicacy they say.

She did it again

It was 11pm and I wanted to buy some eggs just in case I needed a bite of some Maggi Assam Laksa later on. 

In my area, there is one grocer , open till the wee hours of the morning , who stocks wet market fresh eggs. As I'm very particular about the eggs that I cook being super fresh and free of chemical wash ( that means I wanna see the salmonella incubating spots on the shells ), I never purchase them from supermarts, hypermarts and chain convenience stores.

So I tell the lady grocer " 5 eggs please " because sometimes I like to go into a kedekut mode. Kedekut means being a skinflint by the way. It's embedded into my genes and occasionally rears its ugly head . Like in this case for instance.

Anyway , she  is the second lady grocer I have come across in my life , who is so fierce, her husband carefully brought the tray of eggs to her with a fearful look in his eyes. 

The other person, gave her hubby a black eye. 

Word most dreaded

Shortlisted. 

I hate this word. It means either we get it or we don't . 

As a greenhorn, of course I didn't know that. Short to say that my anticipation and expectation was sky high. Then when reality sets in, because you wonder why it's taking them this long to announce, gee, you start getting really worried to the point where you might grow white hairs. So, you take the next step and you call them. Very meekly and in a very apologetic tone.

When the truth is conveyed..." truth is you didn't make the shortlist " you are devastated. Crushed. You see the world spinning and your ego gets flung out to join the listless orbit of space trash. 

Yakult - mini bolster & felt shopping bag

Pictures don't always convey the truth. What you think looks unattractive on site, is starkly different in front of you.

That fact that I'm about to post up many pics of this bolster shows you how much I like it already. 

You'll want one too, so in case the promoters ever give this out make sure you grab it. Or you WILL regret this. 

Hot pick up and a certain Mr Hech

This was my hot pick up.

It's huge, but not so huge that 2 persons cannot help me lift it up . I mean, I could if I wanted to, but then again, I'm so clumsy, I don't even trust myself in handling it.

Under half an hour

All that's contained inside this bag, was picked out in under half an hour. 9 items all in an as time was short and they were about to close for the day. 

How I deal with such a scenario...

" Like it ? Ok ? Take it " 

Put it all in one corner, get the nice lady to do the totalling and take the next item off the shelf. Very clinical but works everytime. However, such a technique annoys the hell out of other shoppers. They've done their deed with utmost consideration, care and pain, while you burst in and grab so many items in record time. Maybe if it were me, I'd feel inadequate too. Especially, if that person started barking out orders like a boss. 

My H must look like an N

 NT ( you know who you are ) is not just my virtual fb friend in inverted commas , I've actually met this very sweet and lovely person, in person once ( I'm terrible , I know ) many, many years back . 

Why am I bringing her up ? Well, she posted a congratulatory note to me , in regards to this announcement earlier today. 

So I did some digging cos I like to see my own name up there in the stars. My goodness, I have got to write better cos I'm guessing my H must look like an N to others

Grilled skatefish with oomph ! - keeping this one a secret

The standard of ikan bakar or grilled fish, in Penang has deteriorated from a few years back already. Which is why I almost gave up on ordering the dish . Some hawkers have begun to compromise on  the ingredients that give the marinade that oomph factor , others scorch it till it becomes 

a bit too burnt to the extent that the skin turns rubbery.

 Though Ikan Bakar is a Malay dish, what I'm having here is the Chinese hawker version. Basted in a basic Thai sauce from a can and grilled on a banana leaf. 

Well what sets this place apart is that this particular hawker only has one rival , only one in the whole country comes close to this stall . And that rival is not in Penang but that middle stall alllll the way south in Tebrau Market, Johor Bahru which I haven't been to in ages, so I don't know if it's still around or not. Just bringing it up as a comparison. 

Watsons / MFM - Star Platter set

Sometime back, Groupon had this RM89.50 set on the block. The Manhattan Fish Market ( MFM ) outlet I patronized , got so swamped by customers, they even ran out of ice cubes ! Not an enjoyable experience as chaos reigned in the quest to rush orders out. It was sheer madness ok ? 

Dave Bautista can act !

Now look, I never intended to watch the movie. Got dragged in by the one who wanted to. And when the whole odd motley crew got sent to the maximum security space prison, I squinted my eyes. 

Wait a minute....despite all the make up, I know this character....that look, now where have I seen those small eyes ? Judging from his massive build, he's got to be a pro wrestler. Sharp daggers mamachita ....nice angle btw. :)

Cheap . Not Chubb

The brand as you can see, is called Powerhouse. 

Slashed from RM169 to less than RM40 , the digital safe, is certainly very cheap, but not a fireproof, breakproof Chubb. Compact and cute , it reminds me of those safes found in hotel room closets. Available in 2 colours...beige and black, I grabbed two units. Apparently the stock had just arrived and we were the first few to purchase it. Yes ! 

No, they didn't call

Without prior warning , out of the blue, 2 notifications appeared in my e-mail. The first ,went straight to the junk mail ( yet again ! Few times already over the years ) while the other, streamed into main inbox . Both contain items I've been looking forward to. One is ok, not bad, a wee bit substantial,  the other a small but nice treat.

Problem is this. Why don't they call to inform ahead of time ? Really surprised. Was I uncontactable ? Perhaps my line is faulty ? If it is faulty, who is to blame ? I won't even know if they tried and failed to get through to me. 

However, come to think of it, if you do indeed, live in  remote area , or have to put up with horrible or zero cell lines, then this will be a blessing . Need I add, only if you have net access and check like you know what the heck you're supposed to be checking.

Essentials that went MIA since Raya

Maybe I was too late ( man yat pou) Maybe you can blame it on the large community of expats in my surrounds, but it took forever, since I came back from Langkawi, to get my regular dose of this fresh milk brand called Farm Fresh from Johor.The company doesn't even need to advertise . It's that good and everyone knows it. 

Singaporean netizens expose Penang nudists

I have to say that due to the conservative nature in this region ( not just Malaysia) , many of us are fascinated by the mere existence of nudist beaches. Up till now, I too am guilty of not being able to digest this oddity like an unperverted adult. All I've heard are second hand stories of what an ugly , horrible sight it is indeed. 

Memories of The Andaman

They surprised us with this nice little twin ketupat, discreetly placed in our room in conjunction with Hari Raya. Aawwwww...it was such a lovely touch, a small tear escaped from the corner of my eye ! 

Batu Feringghi - Ya Habibi it's Arab season 2014

In Penang, there's durian season and there's Arab season .

Here at Lebanon Restaurant for the umpteenth time,it WAS hard to find a seat. But we did so eventually. 

Lebanon is so popular amongst them , that I had to wriggle my way through clouds of fruity shisha, hairy bermuda legs and billowy black head covers with dainty mouthpieces . 

 Peering out at passerbys, the little beach strip looks more like a village Souq than a Malaysian night market.

Yes, Batu Feringghi has awoken from it's lazy slumber. Everyone stays open for far longer than usual, when the Arabs, Yemenis , Qataris etc etc etc and etcs roll into town. 

So why am I showing you kebabs and lamb ? Well look, if they eat behind curtained partitions, would they want to be featured on my blog ? I don't think so.

Compensated without asking

When people make mistakes, it's up to us whether we wanna single out their folly and pick a bone with them or not. Even if the mistake they made , makes you feel humiliated to the core like what happened to me earlier this morning.

Whatever am I rambling on about ? 

This morning I received some incredibly good news, which 2 hours later, saw those in charge, scrambling to tell me that they'd made a mistake.  Needless to say, I felt deflated as a trampled balloon. Called them back for an answer ( in a very sadddddd and depresssed  tone ) and was informed that it was a miscommunication between two teams . Still in disbelief, I queried the person on the other end of the line because I mean, how on earth does one make a major mistake such as this ? Tried very hard to cover line that person on the other end. Me, fighting back emotions in order not to cry.

9th best beach in the world

As per title bestowed by National Geographic on The Andaman's beach strip , I can't say I agree 100 percent with that because I'm more biased towards thinking that the Terengganu shoreline, especially after Paka, is absolutely da bomb. 

However, what Teluk Datai beach does have is this.

Isolated desolateness with a classy holiday spirit.

Isn't this beautiful ?

Shin Mi Seafood Restaurant

The owner used to teach in Kedah before . 

After the tsunami battered this area, he bought over the 100 year old premise , and has not looked back since.

Breakfast was a mixed bag of marbles

We're up here so early by the crack of dawn, because we have to catch a flight out later. Besides, I wanna savour my breakfast without having to rush like crazy before returning the rental car to the guy at the airport.

As the resort is located 25km inwards from the corner of Perdana Marina itself and the area is pretty isolated, of course it makes perfect sense  to get out early to avoid any problems that could probably crop up and mar the wonderful short holiday we have enjoyed so far.