Big Crustacean, Little Satisfaction, Minor Inconvenience, Major Frustration

Suddenly felt like eating baked crab tonight so I quickly called upon my crab kaki – Mee and Dee – and before I knew it, we were standing in front of an extremely bubbly aquarium at Northam Beach Cafe, picking a big, fat mud crab for dinner. Haha. 🦀


I know, I know. The Chinese believe that shellfish are "tok" (Hokkien for "toxic" or "poisonous") and that one with cancer shouldn't eat "tok" food yada, yada, yada. 🙄 But heck it la, no doctor of mine has said that shellfish is off the menu; only red meat and processed foods. So if crab is what I want, crab is what I'll hunt! (Hey, another rhyme! ✌️)

And boy, did I get a big one!

Big, right??? Mind you, this bad boy wasn't the biggest mud crab in the aquarium. There were a few others that were significantly bigger! But bigger = more expensive. So, no thank you. We decided to stick to a reasonably-sized crab with a price tag we could swallow. LOL. 😅😂

BUT... I so, so sad in the end!

The crab somehow didn't taste like I expected it to. Damn these blasted chemo tastebuds!! 😡😩 I mean, it was ok la. But it wasn't great. And for the price we were paying, I was expecting greatness. Argh! I only managed to down it when I drowned it with the leftover sauce from the Sweet & Sour Fish we ordered earlier. (Wah, I am on a roll with the rhyming tonight! 🤪)

Halfway through the crab, I pula felt like I maybe kinda wanted to eat Kin Chi Bee Hoon. So after crabbing, The Husband and I went off in search of some good, old-fashioned Kin Chi Bee Hoon at Kimberly Street. Balik balik... guess what?

Tak sedap also. 🤦‍♀️

It was just bland and tasteless.

What the heck is going on!?

Bride's Special Dance

Worth a watch... and a million tears.

Bride's Special Dance from LaFrance Films.

A very special Father-Daughter dance at a wedding... without the bride's father present. Mark – the dad – passed away earlier in the year from pancreatic cancer. ='( Andrea – the bride – instead, had her first dance with Mark's father (i.e. her grandfather), followed by her brother Luke, then her brother Nick (who sang the song), then finally, with her new father-in-law, Scott. Heartbreaking and heart-warming at the same time. Butterfly Kisses with a difference.

EATON Nasi Kunyit, Batu Lanchang

If there's one place to get Nasi Kunyit

in Penang, it's gotta be EATON, Batu Lanchang.

5 packs of Eaton Nasi Kunyit plus 1 pack of baby Ang Ku Kuih

(the latter's for The Husband) from Dee and Mee.

Penangites often turn to them to get traditional baby 1-month "mua guik" boxes to give to friends and family to announce the arrival of a newborn. Red-dyed eggs with Ang Ku Kuih are usually included. (Can't remember if there's anything else in the box aside from this. :-/)


I used to love it when babies of people close to us are born because that means Nasi Kunyit is coming!! Whoopie! But that was before I grew up and realised that I could just walk into EATON and buy a packet of Nasi Kunyit from the stores without occasion. HAHA.


Unfortunately, a lot of people with kids nowadays are moving toward the new move of giving out KFC meal vouchers and TGV/GSC vouchers instead of this traditional gift box filled with yummy goodies. I wonder why. This is SO much better (to eat) and is definitely more meaningful! Some traditions – especially the yummy ones – are not to be broken!!

EATON Nasi Kunyit with Curry Chicken.

It ain't fancy food but it's the best in all the land. =)

Sudden Realisation Of A Repeated Boo-Boo

It's already the 5th of July.

 *blink blink*

Dang.

The past two weeks have just been so crazy busy for me with work and traveling and other random to-dos that I haven't really had the time, or the strength, nor the mental capacity to keep track of dates or days... much less the day and date of something as intangible as...

OUR LEGAL WEDDING DATE. @_@

Yup. I missed our legal wedding date altogether, on our very first legal wedding date anniversary. (We exchanged vows before man and God on Saturday, the 9th of July 2011, but we were actually legally married 6 days earlier on Sunday, the 3rd of July 2011 – the day we took our couple shots and held the first wedding banquet.) Hahaha. 

Won't be the first time I've done such a boo-boo though. =p

When we first started dating a whole decade and a year ago, The Husband somehow kick-started a tradition of celebrating Monthiversaries when he came over to my house with some flowers one fine day. Blur, I went, "Hmm? So nice! For what ah?" And that was when he told me that it had been a month since we first got together. He remembered the date we got together but I forgot. Whoops. =p

You see, The Husband is waaaay better with numbers and dates than I am. (Accountant much? =p) Plus, he has a great memory to boot. Me? I suck at remembering a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g. I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning! Uh huh, my memory is that bad. :-/

So, yes, a decade later, it looks like

I've done it again!! HAHA.

Kinda, but not really...

Cos The Husband has made plans with me for us to celebrate our wedding anniversary – the real one – at some place nice in town. (His initiative, not mine. How sweet. =D) But... I did consider doing something nice for him on the legal one, too, since the real anniversary is already on him instead of me. Oh well, looks like my plan's gotta wait for 3 July 2013 then. =p

Kuala Lumpur "Bridal Shower" Day Trip, June '11: THE Bridal Shower At T forty two, Bangsar Village 2

Has it really been more than a year since my girl pals tortured me at BV2?? Whoa. Time does fly. A part of me feels like ditching this post altogether and just DVD-R-ing my bridal shower pictures away cos... I mean, it has been so long ago after all. Still worth talking about meh? :-/


BUT... the other part of me feels that if I don't do this... I'll never end up looking at those good-time pictures again, and I would not have really commemorated the moment(s) my wonderful friends planned for me in celebration of my last few days of singlehood. Not cool either. :-/

SO... I SHALL BLOG THIS AND

YOU SHALL ENTERTAIN ME

BY READING IT. SO THERE.

(Or am I entertaining you instead? Hmmm...)

The venue that was selected for my bridal shower – as recommended by Duh Roads – was T forty two at Bangsar Village 2. And I can see why. It was pretty, and also pretty girly inside. With significant amounts of pinks, and little white flowers to boot.

 Table mat.

 Menu cover.

 White daisies in a tea tin.

Half the group weren't there yet when I arrived with Duh Roads (who picked me up from the airport after my terrible flight down and belanja-ed me lunch at d'Italiane Kitchen, Sunway Giza). So while waiting, we went through the menu. By the time we were done flipping through it, the rest were there. So... on with the bridal shower!

First, they ruined my public image:

And they had lots of fun doing it, too.

As you can see, I was not amused.

I can never show face at BV2 again. -_-'''

Thankfully, soon after, our girly-girl tea arrived and all attention was instantly diverted to the food instead. (PHEW!) We may be girls, but we sure have our heads screwed on right and our priorities straightened out. FOOD. ALWAYS. COMES. FIRST. Hahahaha.

Macaroons!

That day, I realised that I don't know how to appreciate macaroons

other than appreciating the way they look. They break funny. @_@

 I attacked the scones instead. Full concentration as you can see.

Don't mess with the bride-to-be when it comes to her food.

Oddly, there were A LOT of knives at the table.

 Flavoured tea in colourful teapots with matching tea cups!

If you're wondering what that present is on the bottom left wonder no more. My wunnerful MOH, Miss Duh Roads, actually prepared a take-home box of goodies for me... and for all of my girls present, too!! (She even included one for my mom for me to take home to her.) My box had a different tag on top, of course. =p

With different insides, too! But... unfortunately, I don't know where that picture went. So cannot show you di. -_-''' Aiya, cut me some slack lah. It's been a year. =p But it was really, really sweet cos she actually BAKED heart cookies for us in butter (light brown cookies) and chocolate (dark brown cookies). She then included some fragrant tea (Twinings brand wan wei) and a candid picture of The Husband (my then fiancé) and I that she or Lamé took when they were up in Penang with us a few weeks earlier.

TheLauderOne pulling a face. 

As you can see, not everyone appreciated the picture though. =p I assume it's cos she doesn't want to keep a picture of her cousin. (Newsflash: In case you didn't know, although TheLauderOne and I are tight friends, The Husband and her happen to be cousins, too.) That face cannot possibly be because she doesn't want to keep a photo of me. #narcissistic


Oh, and remember how I said Duh Roads baked us cookies in our gift boxes? SHE BAKED ME A SUPER PRETTY STRAWBERRY CHEESE CAKE, TOO!!! 

 Isn't that to die for?? It tasted awesome, too.

Not too sweet, light enough to enjoy, and

ooo, the crispy bottom was divine. <3

I was having a really good time with my girls.

Duh Roads and TheLauderOne – my two bridesmaids who were present.

The other one was still in India learning how to drill into teeth.

...but then they suddenly stopped playing nice.

 Plotting and planning.

 I get scared when they talk behind upside-down menus.

*gulp*

And scared I should be cos after the food, came the "fun".

*blink blink*

I won't share what they made me to do but at the end of the day, we basically got banned from our activities (BV2 guard came and halau-ed us), and I ended up a few bucks richer in three currencies. Haha.

 Sing Dollar, Ringgit Malaysia and Aussie Cents

– I have international appeal. HAHA. Wth.

I love my girls for their effort in making my Bridal Shower a blast. Even if it means that we're all not going to be allowed into BV2 again without a leash. =p

ESPECIALLY since all of them who were present are still unmarried ladies... PAYBACK'S GOING TO BE GREAT. MWAHAHAHAHA. That shall be my reward!! Just you wait Duh Roads, TheLauderOne, estherlauderlyn, Lamé and Lissa. Just you wait! When the time comes, revenge will be sweeeeeet. *evil glint in eye*

My girls from L-R: Lissa, TheLauderOne, Duh Roads,

Yours Truly, Lamé and estherlauderlyn.

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Related Posts

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• Kuala Lumpur "Bridal Shower" Day Trip, June '11: Getting There [Monday, June 13, 2011]
• Kuala Lumpur "Bridal Shower" Day Trip, June '11: Lunch At d'Italiane Kitchen, Sunway Giza [Tuesday, June 14, 2011]

Celebrating The First Day Of Spring!

Late last night, The Husband and I grabbed my camera and went down to the living room to try our hand at egg standing. (It was all over Facebook and when I explained to The Husband that it was "some-weird-equinox-something-something-day-of-the-Chinese-New-Year thingy", we decided we had to see it for ourselves to believe it. The Husband was doubtful; I was hopeful. But barely 3 minutes later... TADAAAA!!!

The Husband and his standing egg.

OMG, it's doable!!! @_@ But not for me. T_T The Husband's egg obliged us with a stand-up miracle but my egg simply refused to stay upright. Then, within minutes, The Husband's egg tipped over, too. Haha. So we spent the next 10 minutes or so trying again and again and again – with other eggs and even the very same one that stood before – but to no avail. Bleh. So potong. Oh well, at least I've got some pictures to show for our late night efforts. :-/

And egg, standing on its own!

Muar, January '12: Hello, Year Of The Dragon!

Chinese New Year is usually my family's getaway time together. We pai chia the oldies in the morning, then immediately zoom off to Cameron Highlands to chill, relax, spend time, enjoy each others' company... and escape the blistering CNY heat. =p It's been that way since F-O-R-E-V-E-R. Since as long as I can remember.

But this Chinese New Year, I'm married. :-/

Because of that, things got very different for me. What is usually the most chillaxing time of the year suddenly became the most travel-crazy and hectic stretch of days ever! Culture shock kau-kau, man. Next Chinese New Year, I think I'll take leave BEFORE and AFTER the Chinese New Year holidays so I can relax, recoup and not burn out from the rush. Haha.


It all began with the eve of Chinese New Year, to be honest. Not at all in Muar, nor in the Year of the Dragon. Yet. 2 nights before CNY, I popped over to Delicious for the tail end of Reunion #1. On the eve of CNY, The Husband and I had Reunion #2 with my family over brunch. After that, it was back home to pack, pack, pack before shooting off for Reunion #3 dinner with Papa's side of the family. And all that before CNY even really started!! Phew!


But if you think that's it? It's not. Cos hey, we haven't gotten to the part where I talk about Muar. Which is the whole point of this post anyway. Haha. Because immediately after Reunion #3, we convoyed down to KL. Sleep, wake up, dress up in my CNY outfit, and immediately head off to Muar to make sure we get there in time for Reunion #4 with Mama's side of the family pula. And finally, after four long-drawn paragraphs, I've reached the point of my post. HAHA.

Passed many kampung houses sitting along

the trunk road on the way to Muar.

Crossing the bridge to get over to Muar town.

Arrived at our destination and immediately

had to start giving out ang pows...

 estherlauderlyn with her red packet from The Husband and I.
(This girl immediately take ang pow and write name wan. Don't mess.)

...then spent the rest of the afternoon mingling with the family. (Or did we end up sleeping the afternoon away? Hmmm... Cannot remember liao. Getting old. =p) All of whom I already know and have spent time with before. (The Husband and I dated for many, many, many years before we wed.)


Evening soon arrived and brought with it the highlight of Reunion #4 – CNY dinner at Sin Kee Ting's very fancy new banquet hall that fits, like, a bajillion tables. @_@ The following are some pictures I took while we were there. Lazy to write liao. You all read captions, ok? TQVM. =)

A luminous dragon waiting by the sidelines with its fire ball!

Left profile very ganas.

Right profile very girly. @_@

My drink of choice that night. I kinda like

the new label design they've got going on.

Lou Sang!! My very first one this year!

So sad. First day of CNY only lou.

Ready to rumble, toss and tumble!!!

Making a mess and loving it. The only kind of mess you can make
around the oldies without getting into trouble for it. =p

Lou-ed.
 

The only part of the Lou Sang dish that I eat. =p

Dinner was great until the dragon came out to play. Cos that's when all conversation between us stopped. The music was so, so very loud and noisy that nobody could get a word in at all!! It was like tong chiang drums on the loose in the banquet hall; not a dragon!

And as if not talking wasn't bad enough, they decided to not let us eat, too! So they terus turned off the lights and left us sitting in the noisy darkness. Boom! It was like, "WATCH DA DRAGON! OR ELSE!" Hahahaha.

Neon dragon glowing in the dark.

Leeching off someone else's flash.

After the show, and we were finally

allowed to talk and eat again, heaven came:

Heaven in a mouthful, I mean. =p

I don't know what the heck was in that cold, little, white ball we had for dessert but it was AWESOME. Gotta have been the best part of dinner for me. At the end of the night, The Husband, KJ and I found that we didn't quite have enough to eat so we went off to find some Ramli Burger. Haha.

A Ramli Burger store in Muar – not great. I miss

Jones Road's Ramli Burger. That one is da BOMB!

But burger is not where the night ended for us. There's more to come but I think this post is long enough as it is already so... stay tuned for the continuation! =)