Food review: Dim sum @ D'sara Jaya on weekend

Someone recommended Tw to try out the dim sum restaurant @ DJ. So we took the trouble to try on this lazy Sunday. Dont know why I had cravings for dim sum when I woke up this morning after a 30-min tv cartoon session (Sunday morning is cartoon session by all tv channels mah).

Well, here are my comments on the dim sum session : )

Food Enjoyment 6/10 - dim sum is served reasonably fast & fresh with loads of A to Z variety of dim sums, but I noticed it was mostly served cold from the trays. Workers there also are trained to have high hygene work attitude by wearing mouth masks. I just didn't get the point as to why they must be trained to wear masks. They wore masks as though they are not allowed to speak directly to their customers. Only with good customer service that we customers will be happy & will return. I didn't get the I feel good feeling on that part.

Restaurant atmosphere 9/10 - Place is clean with moderate air conditioned, although chairs & tables are mostly replaced with new customers without many empty tables at any time. Probably its the weekend crowd. If u are a tourist / new to the place, when u stepped into the restaurant, you will instantly feel that u are at the right place where most of the locals will go for dim sum. The weekend crowd for sure sets in the right...mood. Additional standing steel fans & red tents are added for better comfort to their customers who got to sit outside. I got the fan right beside me that I barely sweat with the hot tea during the hot eleven-ish am morning sun. Good arrangement on that.

Price 3/10 - To me, dim sum there was overpriced. For a breakfast to hit almost RM50 for 2 pax is very pricey. Dim sum there is majority of RM4-RM4.50 each plate (about 25% more than normal dim sum in PJ which is about RM3-RM3.50 per plate). But by looking at the weekend crowd, I am quite surprised when PJ people are feels its worth for the food & get charged for 25% more. Crowds are mostly there for family and friends gathering. Don't see much couples there.

Overall: Dim sum here is fresh & tasty, with nice atmosphere for a Sunday dim sum & hot Chinese tea treat. The premium price charged however is a setback if I will ever return next month / even next year...

RGDS,

Ph1ng xoxo

Just a light reminder to "Love your Life & to Love yourself".

Dinner talk

Photo credited to www.flickr.com/photos/14304964@N05/4242875458/



Today I got mood to cook...dinner. It was a working day as usual so cooking can be a tiring activity after that. Well, I gueess the reason why I had the mood was because I wanted to prove myself of using the kitchen & wok for at least 3x per week. Don't wanna lose my cooking skills.

So I got everything transferred from the freezer to the refridgerator before going to work. N left office an hour earlier than usual about 6pm.

I was fascinated to see the food I prepared in the end. That time, it was already 740pm.

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Let's see what was on the dining table tonight.

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First, I cooked some luncheon meat slices coated with a beaten egg. Had fun coating and tossing the slices. Heehe.

Then, throwed some raw n soaked vegetable into the already hot wok. Of course, I did not missed the finely chopped garlic before that. The more garlic, the better.l;-)

My 3rd dish was tomato based chicken. Somehow I love cooking that dish and always find it in most of my dish list. Like the blend of tomato paste in the sauce when it's slightly mashed up. I also make sure that the chicken masuk rasa. Both my cousin n bf ate it before n loved it too.

N before the wok was put to rest for the night, I heated up a big piece of otak-otak. My sis in law bought 2 packets from Muar when she visited her hometown few days back. She was there from evening to night. Lucky to still get some otak-otak stock at night. Lol. There is 1 piece left in the freezer. Will eat it when got craving again-)

There goes my 4 dishes. N I am waiting for David to return from office to finish up his share.

Regards,
KimoraIvy

1st day @work

This alarm clock photo is credited to blogexplosion.com


I almost forgot to set my alarm yesterday night. How dumb.


So I set 2 alarms at different time; one at 7am, the other one to ring at 7.10am so I can prepare and target to leave to office by 7.40am.


Somehow, I woke up. But I woke up by myself without the help of the alarm. I slept and woke up again. Ei, alarm din ring. Weird. Did I wake up a few minutes earlier, which I normally do? But the sky looked bright already, so I decided to wake up.


I looked at my hp timing. It was FREAKING 7.22AM already (22mins later from my alarm time set & 20 mins to leave)!!!


What the hell... I would be late! I jumped out of the bed to prepare myself. All in a big rush. and a big mess.


You could imagine the way I gulped my glass of milk (Intentionally, I bought some milk the night before to have a good sip during my breakfast before my first day at work). But the sips was cursed with my alarm not heard and turned to those quick & big gulps.


I swear to put my hp away from my bed. I reasoned out the whole incident. Apparently, my hp was covered with my blanket (as though covered from the cold like the owner) that I missed the 2 alarm rings...!


But in the end, I wasn't late. I reached the reception area on time, but the person in charge came late instead. Damn, I could have a wonderful breakfast & sipped my glass of milk happily earlier... ;-/


I would never take the alarm for granted now. And no more blanket incident!

Well, well. Don't you find this Darth Vader's designed alarm clock interesting? I do...;)
(This photo is credited to uberreview.com)


Kim.ra Ivy

My precious 2 weeks break

My 2 weeks break period is going to over tomoroz...

Did catch up with lots of proper sleeps lately. Well not really proper since I woke up in the early mornings as it was a hot night continuosly... Hot flush + hot weather don't do me good. I hope my mood gets better soon. So far, I haven't snapped anybody, which is normally not my thing...

I started off reading a novel...Finally, after years of reading more text books than anything else, which I could peacefully rest my text books aside now as I hd graduated. But I still hv not finished reading it yet. Sigh. The story was interesting, bout the hardships the author went through as a child during wartime in Cambodia together with her other 5 siblings and parents, of course. Khyme Rouge ruled at that time.

The reason I read the novel because the title of the novel got my attention rightaway when I look at it; First, they killed my father. Since chapter 1, I was dying to know how did her father got killed, but I stopped at the mid part & no indication on her dad getting killed yet. While I was busy doing this & that and going up KL-Mlk-KL-Mlk-KL... I think I will finish this by end this week only.

Last Wednesday, I catched up on bowling too... Happy hour session so I played 4 games in 1.5hours. Damn tiring. The next day, not only my right butt muscle ached, I could barely walk right. I was partially limping. How sadz. I didn;t know I played so... hard until I got all the pain on my body. I bowled with my left hand and it was sort of injured too. Well, at least to me both my hand and leg felt injured... At least today I feel more relieved from the pain cuz it's healing.

2 days time, I would be starting my new job. Very crucial thing for me. Told myself I should be excited and not go wondering if I will give a good first impression to my bosses. So particular on that. I need to find ways to excel in worrying about first impression when I encounter something/somebody for the first time & worry less...

Tw is overseas for now, and with my next job nearer to my stayplace now, I think I would be finishing the novel even faster, I so... hope. But I cannot deny I'm missing his presence already... in the things that I do, esp. when I'm gonna have my own meals soon... ;-/

Rgds........ ,
Kim.Ivy

The move

Today i feel broke again. Cuz thinking about paying back the firm its bond money again made my heart broken. Dnno if my move is right, when i think n think n rethink... Sigh.

Without the move, I won't have the.. headache. But whatever troubling me to move on will continue to stick to my head.

With the move, I gotta deal with money issue. Wont receive bonus mid year lagi... no extra income in that sense. Aisehhh... lagi heart broken. Cuz can't do any big purchase. Oh noesss...

Anyways, i should leave that short term loss aside and i should be looking at the brighter side of the thick... wall. My friend once posted, at a period after her move, that the grass is greener on the other side. Hmm... i shall ponder on her words this week. u can just interprete it a hundred ways.

But in the end, the important factor is, does the move do you good, better, or worse?!

Actually, seriously, n to explain in the simpler n plain way, no one could tell... until you make the... move and feel results of the move for yourself overtime.

The phrase "only time can tell" is so appropriate for my situation right now.

I chose to use this motto in life and made the move.

So, whatever you have in your head right now, be brave to make the change if it's for the better, enjoy the change and move onnnnnn...! ;-)


Rgds,
Ivy

Laptops mishaps

Over these 2-3days, I heard some terrible mishaps to my friend's/friend's friend's notebook. The more I hear it, the more I got terrified.

...

1st one got the computer system not running cuz she spilt some coffee over the notebook.

... ...

2nd one was more recent which happened tonight while I was sipping my curry mee from home. It seemed her car boot got hijacked & her notebook got stolen just like that while she was having farewell makan with her colleagues.

... ... ...

And the 3rd one came about to my ears when he has his laptop not working. I was informed that the graphic card got fried. I was also made aware that he needs to fork out AUD$1300 needed to repair the card of his AUD$2200 purchase. Wow!

A lot of damage costs will need to be spent to rectify/replace the mishap. Felt stupid for being careless? Nah, sometimes your mind could be out in the mornings that the carelessness comes into picture without you knowing.

Unlucky? This just happens. Nothing you could do about it? Perhaps considering to take precautionary steps like taking insurance over your assets/belongings if you know there is a hefty price to pay for the damage? Risk mitigation, businessmen would call it. It's just like paying MRTA for owning that exclusive duplex condominium which comes with super tight security & few kilometres long of jogging trail at the park surrounded by a lake, right in the heart of the KL city. Or perhaps paying heavy car annual insurance premium for owning that luxurious, imported sports car with to die for rims & stylish opening on the top... Hmm.... I'm fantasizing owning one myself already... ... .

Whatever it is, please be careful of your own belongings; be it your iphone, GPS, camera, notebook or even passports/MYkad identification. Imagine saving your cash for so long and working hard to get what you dream of having & quickly it disappears from your sight forever! Seriously, it would not take a lot of time and effort to just give regular checking/carrying when you are out there... . It will make you an even more alert/aware sort of person in everything that you deal with... .

Regards,
K.Ivy Leong

Ache

Yesterday was my last day of leave before I return to the desk place at office after a good looong break for Xmas and New Year. Hmm, I wonder if Kakak has spring cleaned our desk for us during New Year. If yes, surely our documents go haywired again (last year, I almost thought I lost my document after searching for few days, then I found it at the area where I plan to throw the unwanted papers! Sigh... Cannot claim for OT time for searching high n low for the docs also. Bigger sighhh...)


Anyways, let;s forget about office stories first. So it was my precious few more hours before I headed to bed. And I was hoping of doing something beneficial that afternoon. Can't be waiting whole afternoon for Tw at condo doing nothing, right? And wah... , suddenly I felt so bersemangat. So drove home to condo fast-fast, changed to my lightest shirt and shorts and headed right to the gym session yesterday. No wait, did some house sweeping before that... otherwise, I'd feel more guilty cuz I didn't sweep for weeks/months... ;-/.


Then I found out the nearest block B treadmill has been spoilt for like ages. So irritated. Owners pay maintenance fee also dunno for what use... besides having new touch up paintings on the condo walls. Because of that, I went from block C to B then to A to find my old 'friend'. The one and only treadmill to be shared by over hundreds of residents. And so the 'precious' treadmill I named it. Walk for almost 5mins. Ok good. No need to warm up already.

Registered only then I found out there was someone else earlier & more bersemangat than me, happily using my precious treadmill. Wth. Nvm. Give face. So while waiting, did some cycling stroke side weight pushings (or any better name u can call it;P). Panting but wth, still need to wait for my treadmill. If not look stupid in front of the guy. Give face again ;-p. So continued cycling till I forgot time.


When he stopped the treadmill speed, which I continue to forget the time on how long I waited for the precious treadmill, he indicated to pass to me the treadmill. Finally. But I think I didnt forget something. That I smiled less friend-lish to him than I normally do to others. Cuz cycled and weight pushed too much while waiting for him till I was tired already. Hu huu... I think I spent the most time in that day's gym session. Not on exercising but waiting for my turn on the precious treadmill. Huhuu... .


My stamina was low @ beginning. So low that I felt like stopping at 2.5mins of running. Wth. So I made a deal with myself. If do treadmill above previous record of 10min, I will get what I wanna do later that night. N guess what, I did 10(+1min) and had my supper @ mamak that night itself! Wah, that means, gone larh all my running effort that afternoon... .


Nevermind, next round do more runnings. Today woke up to work, both left, right muscle thighs felt painful. Hand muscles also ached. And the pain still stays till now. Sigh. But at least I got the chance to use the precious treadmill. For all the energy in me to gym, it finally had a start, and the progress is still miles away... . Wah, can't believe I wrote such a long story out of gyming! ;-D


Ps. Oh, and before I forget, Happy New Tiger Year, people (I hope I got the Tiger Year correct)! And watch out for Chinese New Year soon... !

Rgds, Phing

10.49pm

It's Tuesday now, about 10.49pm. A quiet night. Tw was back from his 2 days stocktake audit work in Johor. Claimed that he has been driving on the road for over 7 hours today. I pity him...a senior to the rest now, what to do...Js hang on there till you need not do stocktake anymore! Hee... . Saw his eye rings. Quite bad compared to mine. That's when I know that I need to shooh away and give him a good sleep... . Mmm... .

Ivy

LOL

Huhuuu.....See if you laughed out loud as me when you read this. Got it from Yahoo.

SYDNEY (AFP) - – A flatulent pig sparked a gas emergency in southern Australia when a farmer mistook its odours for a leaking pipe, according to officials.

Fifteen firefighters and two trucks were called to a property at Axedale in central Victoria state after reports of a gas leak, the Country Fire Service said.

"When we got there, as we drove up the driveway, there was this huge sow, about a 120-odd kilo (265-pound) sow, and it was very obvious where the gas was coming from," said fire captain Peter Harkins.

"We could not only smell it, but we heard it and it was quite funny."

Harkins said the pig's owner was "a little bit embarrassed to say the least," and it took fire crews a little while to compose themselves.

"It was fairly obvious what it was. I think we dealt with it fairly professionally and had a bit of a giggle when we got back to the station," he told public broadcaster ABC.

Life is full of interesting people with interesting stories. Weee.......

. Kimora Ivy Leong .

Swim with the current

Rays of hope, a brighter future to come by...

Some tips I wish to share with you guys when you are facing with problems in life.

You got to also think that when you are facing a big problem, another person is facing as big problem as you, or may bigger problems. Try out some ways to encounter in the ways best suit you.

Here are some tips I find to be useful, sourced from http://www.missionarycare.com/brochures/br_coping_with_change.htm:

Swim with the current.

When the wind blows, don't build windbreaks, build windmills.

If life gives you lemon, make lemonade.

When the river flows, don't just build a dam, put in a hydroelectric generator.

Stubborn rigidity may defeat you while flexibility may get you through the current.


Remember that it will end.

Every stream or river ends at a lake, sea or ocean sooner or later.
Then, you will experience stability and normalcy again.
Keep this in mind as you feel like you are being helplessly swept along in the current.

Remember, it will take a full year to adapt to the change in a different city, feeling like home, not until you experience every season and every holiday in the city.

Hope that helps those that are in need of some directions in their lives...

Love and Regards,
KimoraIvyLeong

What *fb worths...

I've known some friends who are constantly using *fb everyday; 8.15am, 8.20am, 8.29am, (breaktime-ie. work hrs). 5.31pm...and, so on.

Happened to browse through online and the value of what *fb is now is Amazing.....!

According to the source http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13754128, a Russian group bought a 2% stake of *fb for $200mil. If we calculate it correctly in our head, or... calculator, *fb's latest valuation would be a big, fat, amount of,

10 billion dollars!!!!!!!

Thanks to all of us, who have been patronising *fb, now we know a social website like this can worth so much.... 0.o

Gigantic white cookies experience

Last Friday, Aunt Monica came to KL and brought us 4 pieces of gigantic white cookies (2 pieces stick together as 1 gigantic piece) for Tak Wei and I. When Tak Wei's sister heard of the cookies, she got excited cuz it has been a while since she ate the gigantic white cookies. She said it is called, Melting Moments cookies.

I was so (?)clueless(?). Believe me, I have not seen that before. Must have been a kampung girl, for eating goreng pisang, and more goreng pisang all these years. What to do, we grew up eating Malay kuihs simply bcuz it's my dad's favourite! La la laa...

Anyways, I took a bite yesterday. Boy, it is so soft in texture, and melts right in my mouth, at my first bite . I didn't bother finding out what it was made of that day. Must be too busy online-ing other crappy stuff gua.

Anyways, I finally had some spare time today, so I went to check out more about the gigantic white cookie.

Here is what I found from Stephanie Jaworski's website http://www.joyofbaking.com/MeltingMoments.html:

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"Sometimes it is hard to decide which is better, Melting Moments or Mexican Wedding Cakes (Russian Tea Cakes). Both are round balls that are coated with confectioners sugar shortly after baking, and both are a shortbread-like cookie that rely on butter for their wonderful flavor.

But there are a few differences between these two cookies; one is that Mexican Wedding Cakes contain ground nuts, and the other is that Melting Moments replace some of the flour with cornstarch (corn flour) so the cookies literally "melt-in-your-mouth".

Melting Moments are easy to make and are perfect for those who like to do their Christmas baking early. They store very well, up to two weeks, but since they are so fragile I wouldn't advise shipping them.

As far as the ingredients go, because there are not a lot of competing flavors in this cookie this is one time when buying a good quality unsalted butter is advisable. Also, use 'pure' vanilla extract not the ones that are labeled 'imitation' as they are made with synthetic vanilla (from glycoside found in the sapwood of certain conifers or from coal extracts) and leave a bitter aftertaste. The best pure vanilla extract I have found, although it is quite expensive, is Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract that can be found in specialty food stores and by mail order. If your budget doesn't allow this expenditure or you cannot find it, don't worry, there are quality brands to be found in your local grocery store.

Incidentally, you may have seen Melting Moments that look very different from the picture above. Sometimes the dough is placed in a piping bag with a fluted tip and then piped into rosettes. The finishing touch is to top each cookie with a red or green candied cherry. Other times the dough is rolled into a crescent shape with the ends sometimes dipped in melted chocolate."

After reading the article, I still think it was my first time eating Melting Moments yesterday. I wonder if that's the one they served during CNY...still no clue till now.

Rgds,
Kimora Ivy Leong

Chocolate chip cookies' lovers, read this...

Hey,

Was browsing through some recipes on Sunday afternoon, and happen to read an introductory on the origin of choc-chip-cookies, a.k.a. c-cube. The article is written from Stephanie Jaworski in her article link http://www.joyofbaking.com/ChocolateChipCookies.html.


"The Chocolate Chip Cookie was invented by Ruth Wakefield, who was the owner of the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts. The story goes that one day in 1930 she decided to add small chunks of a Nestle's Semisweet Yellow Label Chocolate bar to her butter cookie dough.

The cookies were an instant hit with her customers and word of their popularity reached the Nestle company. Nestle must have realized that adding small chunks of their chocolate bar to cookie dough would appeal to the mass market because by 1939 Nestle was selling chocolate morsels (or chips).

What a brilliant marketing plan it turned out to be when Nestle decided to package the chocolate chips in a Yellow bag and then bought the rights to the Toll House name and Ruth Wakefield's chocolate chip cookie recipe. They called her recipe "The Famous Toll House Cookie" and printed it on the back of the Yellow bag of chocolate chips."

Hope you will appreciate yr next c-cube bite after reading the above story...!

rgds,
KiMoRa iVy LeOnG

Gorgeous skin, anyone?

Your bf is looking out for gorgeous women?? He's bored of your look??? Afraid no more, cuz I have found some food tips that can make u one of them (open the weblink http://health.yahoo.com/experts/healthieryou/9617/what-to-eat-for-gorgeous-skin/)...

Here are some of my comments that I wish to share (some comments are extracted from the weblink article):

For a gorgeous skin, you should start munching...

Strawberry (substitute with orange/grapefruits), citrus fruit, red pepper, brocolli

Ivy's comments...

The first 3 may be hard for me to endour daily, but the last one is definitely my favourite (nyam2). I am also very keen with the homemade facial mask option. Using natural ingredients is the direction we should head to at this era.

For a gorgeous skin, you should also start munching...

Sunflower seed and almonds

Ivy's comments...

Loaded with vitamin E, antioxidants. Protect skin from UV free radicals. Guards cells' outer membrane. More hydrated skin. Whao, this combo really attracts me. But note that eating too much almonds maybe health hazardous too (according to my friend's mum). Here, 1/4 of recommended 23 almonds per day may be just right for me.

For a gorgeous skin, you should also start munching...

Fortified cereal, lean meat, pork, poultry, oysters

Ivy's comments...

Since iron is needed to complement the work of the red blood cells to transfer O2 which can create a glowy skin effect, worth biting more cereals and meat during breakfast and lunches now. (Who stole my pack of koko krunch, now? damn)

For a gorgeous skin, you should also start munching...

Dark orange, leafy green and red vegetables

Ivy's comments...

Attention to all women with non-tofu-smooth skinface. Pls take note of this food category. It's for a completely drastic transformation for (us).

For a gorgeous skin, you should also start munching...

Wild salmon, Atlantic mackerel, walnuts

Ivy's comments...

3 words. Fish and seeds. Got it.

For a gorgeous skin, you should also start munching...

Whole wheat and grains

Ivy's comments...

Less sugar and carbs can reduce zits? Cool discovery! Nasi lemak is out of your breakfast meals now, ladies. Unless you are fine with zits.

For a gorgeous skin, you should also start munching...

Water

Ivy's comments...

Counting for exact 8 glasses of water per day? Please don't. Your glass may be smaller than mine. Likewise. Wee... Just drink plain water when you are thirsty. Drink less, save water. Save water, save the environment. Got the point, now?


Disclaimer: These tips are aimed to create radiant skins for the women out there...and not the entire person as a whole.

Dare you to date with these tricks

Here are a few tricks on dating ideas, whether it's ur 1st/10th or 100th date. Must advise, however, to use the tricks which u are comfortable with, or u will end up being so silly in front of your date partner-loh...

source: http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/advice/100-date-ideas?link=rel&dom=yah_personals&src=syn&con=art&mag=rbk&ha=1 written by Amy Keyishian

Dinner and a Movie

1. Go out for pizza — ask them to cut the pie into the shape of a heart.

2. Try live entertainment, such as a band at a local bar, instead of a movie.

3. Pick a TV show, get a season's worth on DVD and make a running date to watch it together every night.

4. Head out to a midnight cult movie, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Showgirls or Donnie Darko.

5. How about dinner and some stargazing at the planetarium's evening show?

6. Try brunch and a matinee; fancy restaurants are way more affordable in the a.m.

7. Pick up a bucket of fried chicken and head for the drive-in.

Seductive Secrets

8. Put on your sexiest stilettos; sip fancy cocktails at a hotel bar.

9. Bubble bath for two. Candles. Champagne. Need we say more?

10. Oysters are said to be an aphrodisiac, so head to a seafood place and slurp them right out of the shell.

11. Take a dinner cruise: The motion of the ocean sets off sensuous signals inside us (think water beds).

12. Gooey, sexy, delicious: Get a fondue pot and have a feast. Add a French movie and French-kiss all night.

13. The sultriest music? Jazz. Try a trip to a jazz club or a night at home with a CD by Cassandra Wilson.

14. Make a finger-foods-only dinner and feed each other.

15. Cleavage is nice: Bump it up a notch with a push-up bra, a scoop-neck top and a sparkly necklace.



to all guys out there, happy dating! rmb, do your research before having any date sessions, and this link will be a great start to have an exciting date!