Metallic Lindor Swiss milk chocolate ball by Lindt

I'm feeling absolutely in the mood to welcome 2016 right now. 

Before I drag on any longer , lemme get this post up .

Vintage pumpkin teapot from the 70s

I remember staring at a similarly coloured brown dachshund teapot with a whole row of cups hanging by both sides when I was little .

Thus when I chanced across this teapot , the very familiar looking glazed ceramic with the crackled effect ,got me intrigued .

Could it be from the 60s or 70s ? 

M & M ' s - yet another round tin before the year is out

Following the cookie tin I posted up not long ago on the 25th of November , this has got to be the second release in the run up to Christmas . Not if you take into account the tiny dispenser unit . Didn't feature that because I think it's annoyingly tiny .

A nostalgic visit to the SS15 Rojak Stall

Last time I ate here was ten years ago . Today , people are still lining up but there's been some changes . 

Like the permanent structure for instance as well as more elderly customers .

Kembara Balada Movers - tarp art

Was just going about my own business when this small truck pulled up at the rest stop.

Wow .....pretty amazing huh ? Hand drawn onto the tarp cover .

Yeah , I've pretty much admired street artists and cartoonists from like ....forever .

Abang E Capati

The best way to bridge any rift , when bridges are being burnt is through good old tasty food .

 If we are intent on a tit for tat , then much will be lost . When we can sit down on one table ( ok let's be more current and realistic , under one roof ) and eat as one family , things can get as good as the old days and suspicions can go fly kite so to speak .

Caprish ? Once you have read between the lines , here let me show you another of the most under rated cuisines in Malaysia .

These Kedah folks , they do not ever brag about their cooking . Never 

 And I don't understand why . 

Maybe they were taught to be humble about it . Maybe they think their skills are nothing to shout about  .

Thus , it was a long time coming and this year has finally revealed itself to me as to just how good the Kedah Malay chef really is .

Put your feet down please

This behaviour is widely seen even in chic cafes in the northern region of Malaysia . If you see this in central and southern regions , one can straightaway tell where they originate from ....well most of the time .

When sitting on a chair , one leg goes tucked under the other thigh .

And as you can see , in this case sometimes 2. 

Sometimes because their parents also sit in this manner , their kids grow up with the impression that this is perfectly acceptable behaviour when it is not .

4 sweeties on a dial

I still remember their first advertisement on telly .

Was a black ceramic model .

Today , I am the owner of a white one , of which the beautiful Tang Wei is brand ambassadress to .

The lady in white - another creepy Penang story

At around 11pm just now , I  witnessed a horrible accident . We were at the traffic lights. Caltex , left hand side of Jln Masjid Negeri. 

The boy on the scooter decided to beat the lights and slammed straight into the side of the red car.

The impact was so great , the airbag in the car had deployed , the front left side of the windscreen cracked. When the smoke had settled I went towards him. Front of the scooter a write off .

Unwitting Espetada promoter

 Quick scan over facebook showed that even Bayan Bay was jammed up from 11:30 am today .

-____-'

No point going anywhere .

So we decided to ditch lunch plans and go use my newly acquired pizza card . 

Sent kiddo down and he came back with a " The lady said we'll have to wait 2 hours for the pizza "

Muah : " TWO HOURS ??? " 

Are they kidding ? Really ? 

This calls for a family discussion . Sigh , don't wanna battle the jams ... they win .

This time , we're all at the counter . 

Muah : " Can we pay you now and wait for delivery ? " 

Girl : " No can do . You'll have to go through the call centre for that . However , the offer is not valid when you order via delivery service "

Muah : groaning " Ok , tell you what , we will wait "

Girl : " You will have to wait an hour for your pizza " 

I shoot kiddo, a one eyebrow up look . Daft or deaf ?

Still my kid .

Muah : " Right....we'll be right here waiting . Not going anywhere . Gonna camp it out . Might as well make ourselves comfy " and nope , I'm not kidding . 

Park ourselves there and whaddaya know , they gave us our order in 15 minutes together with this calendar .

Great method of getting rid of too cozy customers , in a decent manner by the way  . 

A filipino advice

I think anyone who has never had a Filipino as a best friend , should try to make at least one during their lifetime .

They will stand by you in your darkest moments and sing with you when you have hit the top .

Domino ' s Pizza 2016 card

And ....it's out .

We enjoyed a lot of savings with this card last year . If you want to enjoy the all year long offer too , kindly go grab it from the nearest outlet right now .

Don't even wait. I did that last year and got the 2015 card months later .

Location : Malaysia 

Soon to be a privileged view

The stretch of beach along Bayan Bay is quite a sight . Waters are shallow and there's a cluster of fish farms next to Jerejak Island . Years ago , I put a hand held fish net in and to my surprise , caught some fine krill .

However , this is how Penang is developing today . 

The view is just as stunning but I seriously will not dip my foot in that dirty water.

The botak hill has attained an hour glass shape and while the rest of the importees will argue that progress is good , to board up a beautiful view such as this is just plain wrong .

Update : today's The Star newspaper carries this article. Defelle definitely fell for the bait . 

www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/23/project-okayed-this-year-not-2013/

Photo stopped

Christmas is not yet past but here we go again . These Coca - Cola tins are being hunted and traded like nobody's business. To date , 8 designs have hit the streets . And some people already have the whole lot and are selling them online as of right now .

Me...I'm not going all out to go get them though I know that some of you definitely cannot resist the urge to do so . Bound to be some drama in the hypermarts over this .

Cadbury - purple plastic tote bag

When Atong , the ever smiling Myanmar guy spotted me the other day , he suddenly became extra talkative with his Indian colleague until she asked me straight up

" Do you have a twin sister ? "

A dollar store moment

I like trinkets and this reminds me of the watchman or nuns set of keys .

But there was no barcode attached and so I approached the first sales assistant that popped up on the aisle. 

Urban Decay - Limited Edition Gwen Stefani Eyeshadow Palette

Gwen Stefani has been rocking that retro alone for way too long already .

It's time we joined her .

The apartment next door that beat a whole shopping complex

Each Christmas and Chinese New Year , I always look forward to the seeing this apartment block on Kelawei Road , all decked out for the festive season .

Alternative spools for vintage typewriters

Managed to open up the top and inspect the ribbons on the Olympia SM 9 and Traveller de Luxe typewriters. Ribbons were either dry as a leaf or about to run out very soon. How else would I have gotten them for a song ?

It was either I depend on messy carbon paper or get new ribbons .

Thus my quest began .

Olivetti Lettera 32 - the cursive typewriter

How I managed to find this typewriter is one thing .

Sat on it for around one week before I posed the all important question to the seller.

" Is this a cursive typewriter ? "

When he said yes , I wasted no time in securing it .

Fajita and the trio

Chili's Fajita dish now comes with dips hung this way .

They're cute and encourage you to dine in a more petite manner . But when it came to me , it was a hands on job .

Marks & Spencer Star Wars Tin of Biscuit

 Put yourself in Darth Vader's shoes and wonder out loud if he would be honoured to see his masked self on a Marks & Spencer biscuit tin .

Imagine Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo forcefully open one and begin to munch on the golden syrup and chocolate ones , while leaving a trail of crumbs all over the floor . Would that make him breathe harder  ? Maybe .

But the instant I saw the price tag , I grabbed my chest. No not really because that would have made the 3 guys across drop dead . Made me sweat a bit , it did .

Frostop - premium root beer

Don't usually try something like this straight off the shelf . In fact , I walked away but he insisted on buying it for me since he knows just how much I love root beer .

Costs around 12 ringgit or so although it says $1.39 ( USD I presume ) on the top corner of the dark plastic bottle .

Wantan mee al dente - Boon Seng , Jalan Dedap

Most lady chefs do not make the cut when it comes to whipping up this dish . They just do not have the skill required to coax the noodle into the right consistency nor tweak the sweet treacle into one with an aftertaste which customers will come back for.

Olympia Traveller de Luxe - my first vintage typewriter

 This typewriter below, is one of the reasons why I am willing to chat with any "ulat" or scalper who may be able to get me whatever it is that I am impatient to lay my hands on , almost instantly .

The general notion is never to talk to strangers but to me , hey , willing buyer , willing seller and these people are exactly the shortcut which I need . They're just trying to make a few bucks and they will go all out to assist you . Unless , you got yourself a trickster , which always presents a risk , in Malaysia , if they're local folks , out of 50 times maybe you will get one cheating case . Today marks my first time dealing with one in a flea market and I am so glad it turned out so well .

Though he had tailed me from an antique dealer , the instant he knew that I sensed him behind me , he opened his mouth and made the offer. He was eager to offload what he had . Revealed that he was formerly a printer technician .

 And it certainly helped that he looked like Donnie Yen with tatoos lol . I told him to show me the goods . Because he was so cooperative , we decided to wait 3 hours and meet up again with him closer to his home .

Just like this black pomfret

In Penang the black pomfret is much lusted after compared to the white pomfret . So , when we found this other place in Juru  , where the price was still so low , I don't think you can ever hope to buy it at this price in our local wetmarkets.....we feasted to our hearts content .

Sons and their girls

I have 2 sons . When I gave birth to the first , someone said it straight to my face, that I was so clever for picking such an auspicious period to bring him into the world .

Today he is grown up and mingling with girls . But I don't feel so clever especially when I have to put up with certain things that come with the package of being a youngish looking mom .

Don't get me started on the 2nd , today , is just about No.1 

Snoopy and Charlie Brown cup - MBO Cinemas

This year , marks the impactful entrance of global marketers such as Index Promotions and now Zincgroup, giving the local premiums market , a huge run for its money .

While I am delighted with their presence and hope that this once and for all signals the end to some pretty pathetic freebies out there, in all honestly , I only wanted to get Snoopy .

Tiffin service like literally

Certainly caught me by surprise.

Was waiting for my turn when all of a sudden, he turned up seemingly out of nowhere.

New waiter ? New staff ? Never seen him around before .

Yet the way in which he took care of my tiffin literally , made me feel like I was in the wrong place. 

This could not be a hawker stall . Had to be at a something something star hotel minimum .

I could not be in a greasy kopitiam .

A state in mourning

Lol

Picked this up today from yet another silversmith , for an unbelievable token sum .

It's Doraemon , for those who don't know .

Kinder Joy Christmas Mascot

Four Kinder Joy plastic eggs sit nested inside this cute mascot .

2 for boys and 2 for girls.  

Barley Pumpkin drink is macrobiotic bs

* the following does not apply to health freaks and slimness obsessed people

See this drink above ? This is the second time I am drinking this ghastly barley-pumpkin concoction in Penang and after turning green from 3 sips , frankly I am fuming .

Now , why would we want to drink something that tastes so bad and so , so , sooooo wrong.

Lindt Lindor silver milk can

Obviously meant for Christmas ,by way of design I just went nuts when I saw it. 

Gold can is all over the net , so I'm really not sure how come we have a silver one in this region .

Front view .

White conifer landscape with a white reindeer . Nice .

Lindt Lindor red heart tin

Eight Swarovski crystals embellish the metallic red tin . I did not edit the gold and blue fire . They sparkle so beautifully , you will want to get one for yourself . 

Side view .

Sits in nicely without a teeth grinding sound to it .