on our own today

Usually, it's the 3 of us who go to Mid Valley for Zs' violin class every Saturday afternoon.  Today, only me and Z made it because Jack attends a post-birthday party of a colleague.  We can't tag along because we will be out of place.  It's our first time to go to Mid Valley and came home on our own too.  Well, there's always a first time and at last it happened this afternoon.  It was both a good thing and a bad thing. 

Bad thing:

1.  No couple date today.

2.  No splurge at the grocery because the financer is not present hehehe. 

3.  I have to carry all the things bought from the grocery. 

Good thing:

1.  It was exciting because we (A&Z) were on our own.   It was only A & Z that hired a cab and confidently asked the cab driver "Mid Valley?".  With a question mark because some drivers do not go there or they are not familiar with the place specially if they are not from the city center.   

2.  It gave me some kind of confidence.    

3.  I was able to do some errands on my own within the time frame of Zs' class and we're able to come home earlier than from previous Saturdays.  While at the grocery I found this limited edition of Mentos.  What makes this chewy dragees a secret?

                                 sssshhhhhh ... lemon, lime, and orange?! ☺

4.  Jack deserves a time-off and to enjoy.  It's his Saturday night out with 

colleagues not as co-workers but as drinking buddies.  He needs it to shed some toxics that we're giving him hehehe and he does it very scarcely too so I support him ☺. 

                               so, so, so ... this is their dinner.  was sent via viber. 

If only I wasn't so excited to go home and order pizza for dinner then we would have waited for the free shuttle bus going to Bangsar train station.  This would makes me feel more confident hehe ☺.

So while Jack is on his partying, we have our pizza party too ... yum! 

                            A & Zs' dinner ☺☺☺☺.  savings RM23.80 it's 1 pizza free.

Bye for now!  Mr. Wash is done and it's my turn to hang the clothes. 

So, what do you think will the party ends?! wwweeeeeehhhhh!! ☺☺☺☺☺☺

a happy hearty-Friday!

your heart ..

            .. whatever state it is in

            .. whatever shape it's having

            .. whatever desire it's holding to

            .. whatever it's feeling now

            .. whatever it says

            .. whoever it longs for

            .. whoever it is for

            .. whoever makes it sad

            .. whoever makes it happy

please take good care of it, please take good care of yourself

release the toxins, release all the negativities

have plans tonight with family or friends or pamper yourself

indulge once in awhile, take time to breathe

embrace love, embrace laughter, embrace life

have a happy-hearty Friday! 

* inspired from this morning's strawberries ☺...  

Jalan Alor or Jalan Kejora

        At first visit, I found the place confusing. It was difficult to decide of where to eat, what to eat and my focus was so everywhere from the noise of the honking cars and the conversation around us spoken in different tongues.  Sigh!  It took me sometime to blend in with the environment and maybe, I was just too overwhelmed with everything and too tired from all the walking.

        I'm not a first timer to such a place because Cebu has Matias, Larsian, Sutukil, Part't Ebelle, fish ball carts and more only at Jalan Alor it's one whole street of food and food shops.  Z still has this nostalgic feeling of the satay he tasted last December in one of the food shops at Jalan Alor.  For a few times he mentioned about it and finally, we gave in to his request.  Whew!  There are so many to choose from.  As late afternoon begins to embrace the night, this place becomes so alive with people from different places and drivers starts getting impatient.  It's a functional street and I can empathize with those behind the wheels as people starts to be massive.  While choosing your spot always be at the safest corner to avoid side-sweep incident although I haven't heard of one yet. 

This time we chose a different food shop and I was too distracted as not to bother knowing its name.  We sat near the red telephone booth and all I can remember is the annoying Oloiya's theme song that has been played again and again the whole time we were there in full blast.  It's a chicken store nearby and it's a torture because their music is not soothing to the ears.  Anyways, choosing a new shop means to explore, to give others a taste and human as I am, to compare notes.  It was a good decision because the food were prepared a lot better (as my taste bud can remember) from the previous.  We ordered:

• combo satay (beef and chicken)    - for you to get the taste well of the satay you need to bite halfway through.  Don't worry it's not that long.  The peanut sauce enhances the satay's flavor but at that moment I don't need it.  It was sufficient as it was. 

• broccoli with shrimps - delish! the shrimp's sides were slit and that black thing were really removed.  Appreciated the effort a lot.  The broccoli were still crispy and the shrimps were in a good size too.

• Hokkien noodles (tastes good but the noodles were cut short, I prefer the lengthy ones). 

• Squid in sambal sauce (didn't meet expectation).  Kaching!  Hmmmm RM59.00 with a bottle of beer and a glass of orange juice. 

When I think of Jalan Alor I miss the Matias' times with friends and family back home.  Just wait!  Four more months and it will be sticks after sticks galore at Matias (a barbecue heaven).  There is also Manang Fe in Mactan but too far for me ☺.

Jalan means street.  And Jalan Alor (recent information I have obtained hehe), has long been changed to Jalan Kejora still it was introduced to me as Jalan Alor.  Jalan Alor is in the Bukit Bintang area.  Bukit (means Star) Bintang (means Hill).  Maybe, they want to start synchronizing with the universe so they changed Alor to Kejora, a Malay word which means Venus.  Interesting!  But this caused a lot of not so nice feedback specially when Jalan Alor has gained its popularity for years already.  But whether it is Jalan Alor or Jalan Kejora, it's still a jalan of various food☺.

Then, it was time to go home with a full stomach again.  It was time for the crew to stash our plates too .....

with this white pail :O! ☺

A wonderful Thursday afternoon to all of us!

  

movie watching ... a back to back

Down the memory lane a bit.  One of the usual boyfriend-girlfriend activity of me and hubby before was movie watching.  It was one of the many reasons why piggy bank was malnourished bwahahaha.  Back to back with it is eat out.  Movie watching lessened when Z came in, priorities changed.  Of course I was not sad.  Sure?!  Yeah! Sure?! Okay, a bit but I think the next years were the worst.  Why?!  Degree of separation.  Movie watching became a scarce thing to do as a couple along with the theater's rate which also sky rocketed over time. 

          Now that distance is a thing of the past, movie watching is back in green.  For now while Z is not of legal age we only watch those with General Audiences (G) or U here in KL and P13 movies.  We also can't afford to watch everything due to financial instability risk factor that involves in too much movie sprees. ☺. 

          Z and I were on house arrest from Monday to Thursday then bailed out from Friday to Sunday.  Freeeeedoooomm!! Friday was spent with Turbo.  The cinema was like exclusively reserved to us, there were only 18 who watched in that time slot. 

Okay so about the movie.  It was fun and I think it's the first time to have snails in forefront.  The movie is full of quotable quotes and it touched about dreams, dreamers, persistence, siblings, friends and happy endings.  It was a good movie for children and even to adults who might lost touch in their inner dreams and believing that we too CAN despite the negativities surrounding us.  In a way, it ended just like that of the Cars I movie.  When McQueen triumphed, Route 66 blossomed again.  In Turbo, Theo succeeded, gave life and improved business revenues at the strip mall where Dos Bros Taco was situated along with Tito's friends Paz(car mechanic), Bobby and Kim-ly (both shopkeepers).   Should you watch the movie?  Yes, watch it with your family and if you can wait for a free download please do so.  It's a lot more practical.  And, please don't forget to remind your children that this is just an animated movie. It's only in a cartoon movie that a snail can be fast and can vrroom in a man's speedy race.  But thanks to the writers' imagination because it introduced a new character in the movie industry and employment to everyone who are behind the production.

          Wolverine was our date last Saturday.  I didn't watch the previous X-men movies and even if I have the luxury of watching all the copied old movies now, I'm just not so interested yet.  The X-men cartoon series are still in memory and it's an enough background for now. 

It was an action movie but I crave for more moves.  As usual, there was love interest, greed, and jealousy.  Logan escaped the city seeking solitude in the snowy mountain to be one with nature after he killed the love of his life Jean Grey.  His adventure re-started when he was at last found by another mutant Yukio and brought to Japan.  "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts".  Not Yukio but the man Logan saved in Nagasaki in 1945, Master Yashida.  He offered Logan to turn him into a mortal but with an ulterior motive ... to only obtain Logan's power for his selfish ambition and obsession.  Yashida faked his death and made Mariko his grand daughter the sole heir.  As Mariko and Logan escaped to the island from the Yakuza's attacks, Logan unmasked his past to Mariko.  Love moved in.  Mariko's abduction/assassination was her father's and fiancée's stage play which only caused them misery and death in the long run.    Master Yashida inside the robot thing called Silver Samurai fought Logan. Mariko helped Logan ends her grandfather's years of hard work through piercing his grandfather's head from Logan's cut claws.  They won over Master Yashida and in a brief moment, Logan had a chance to end his hallucinations and let go of Jean Grey.

          A life of a mutant and that of an immortal are two things which I think are interesting, super awesomeness, and a want to have.  On a different realistic note, it's something I'd rather avoid.  Life is already complicated at times and when you have these super human abilities, I think it just prolongs insanity and complicates life a lot more.  And when all of your friends and loved ones are dead and you're left alone, it will also be a real struggle to keep on living hahaha.  Hugh Jackman perfectly suits his character as Wolverine.  I also like the action moves of Rila Fukushima as Yukio.  She's so slim yet can fight strongly and skillfully. 

What are note-worthy for me are:

         

• There is goodness in everything and that evil can never prevail.
• A broken heart can always recover, just give it time.
• Running away can't help undo the past instead accept and open up to new opportunities.
• Protect the ones you love and not use them as pawns for your ambition.
• Love endures and bears all things.
• Love indeed moves in mysterious ways.

Jack was I think expected too much and he said it's not how Wolverine fights.  Hmmm, or maybe it was just the kind of action moves required for such scenes?  For me, it was entertaining and I give it my 3 stars same as Turbo.  And again, just wait for a free download if you can help it.   Until the next movie.

To a promising week ahead!

sweet baguette anyone? .. RUSCO

If pan de sal is to Filipinos, baguette is to the French.  No .. no .. no!  I will not be comparing both as they are both famous and delicious from where they both originated.  With both, I can eat them with toppings, turn them into a pizza, as a sandwich, dunk in a hot cup of coffee (can French do this? because I do this with my baguette ssshhh☺), eat plain, toast and however I like them to be they will always end up filling my tummy heavenly!   

How about a sweet baguette that comes from Japan?

R U S C O -- "The tastiness of the rusk is from the finest ingredients.  We invite you to come and enjoy the crispiness and sweetness of Rusco!" -- from their leaflet

            It's a new store at Pavilion Mall Level 6 Tokyo Street.  I love how the open shop is presented.  No window or door just an aisle booth.  I love the big sized glass jars on top of the glass counter which contains the colourful rusks.  There are 8 flavours to choose from -- Honey, Sweet Chocolate, Raspberry, Green Tea, Black Sesame, Blueberry, Caramel Almond and Valencia Orange.  They have taste test for each flavour and Z was all smiles from ear to ear again.  I love the Chocolate from first bite up to its after taste.  The chocolate came in strong and that's what made me liked it most.  I find the Black Sesame too much -- flavour and aroma.  I haven't tasted the Caramel Almond and Valencia Orange yet.  As to the others, the tastiness of each flavour is mild and present in each rusk. 

Unwrapping time ☺!

• I love it's crispiness very friendly to my gums. 
• It's not greasy.
• A nice gift alternative. 
• The sweetness is not an overkill because of the added flavour. 
• The packaging is very presentable.  The box is sturdy and I think there is paper bag for every box you buy. 
• It's new so it's worth a try.
• I find it quite expensive with its size.  RM2.00 a piece or Php 13.49 (Forex on net today).  By getting the big box RM 72.00 with 8 flavours and 6 pieces in each mini bag you get RM0.50/piece savings the most. Oh well, let us not forget that packaging and overhead are always part of the costing ☺.
• Without the knowledge of being it an innovated baguette, it could end up me saying, "it's like eating the packed toasted bread with butter that I used buy at the grocery store".  Only Rusco's the softest toasted bread ever with different flavours and sugars on top. 
• I salute Rusco for the innovation.  It's jazzing up a plain baguette into a colourful and flavourful one.

My recommendation?  For experience, I repeat bullet #6.  For frequency?  It can only dictate you.  Part of their opening is a gift voucher which you can avail on your next purchase.  In our case, it will be RM10.00 off on the RM72.00 box.  So, I know now my personal answer for the frequency question☺.  As for you, I remain my last statement hehehe.  

To a colourful weekend everyone!  

What a day was yesterday.

        It was like me riding Hippogriff, in high spirits and positively claiming this line "Pay day is nearing, yahooo!".  This line is too familiar if you had read my last post.  If not, try to scroll down please☺.  

Days passed. 

          As I was looking for something my attention got diverted.  I felt uneasy.  In a breeze the "pay day" I so looked forward to just popped up.  It's there floating in mid-air slowly torn into pieces.  Am I under a genjutsu?  The pieces transformed.  In slow motion of bold primary colour with matching sparks, like a butterfly that metamorphosed, a line is produced that says "Hello! It's me Reality." and ends with a mischievous grin.  "Holy guacamole!"  I was thinking out loud. "Reality?! you're so funny!".  I turned around.  Walked my way to the kitchen, heaved a sigh, released a tsk!, shook my head, and smiled while I turned on the gas stove to boil water.

Poof!

 

          It was time to prepare tea as hubby was on his way home from work then dinner time.  Gosh!  Don't worry guys, I'm not crazy or going to be.  Knock on wood! hehehe.  

        Yeah! It's been 5 months now but well, I think I'm just stuck in a moment.  Ding! Dong! Reality check!  I am past the 15-30 or bi-monthly wage scheme, no longer an 8AM-5PM skilled worker, and no longer a 24/7 on-call employee.  In short no more pay day to look forward to for me hehehehe.  I think, it was just pure excitement to go back to Harrods that prompted me to write the line.  Hmpf!  Despite the no pay day thing, I am still more than grateful because it means "we are together".  Jack, Me, and Z.  <big, big smile>

        I don't know but there is something about yesterday that I just can't give it a specific description or maybe I just don't want to acknowledge it.  Lately, there has been no instrumental music I listened to yet yesterday I listened via youtube.  When it stopped Z turned on the online radio.  While he was doing his thing I was searching for my SB tumbler pictures which I couldn't locate.  I can't even locate his 1st birthday pictures which annoyed me the most.  Then, it brought me to open a picture.  It was in 2011, it was a picture of me, Imma and Mace.  As I was composing the email for them, a very familiar song played ... "if you can remember... keep smiling, keep shining knowing you can always count on me for sure ...".  Can you guess the title?! ☺.  I was teary-eyed and I'm not kidding.  Whew! Wow! What a day was yesterday. 

        It's almost my finish line and before the last dot, I want to say thank you to these people who helped me regain composure.  Relaxed my nerves and gave me the energy to create this new post.

 TWG Sakura tea leaves - Meiann (my sister for real hehe).  She gave me this tea.  As described: "An ode to spring, this fragrant TWG blend evokes Kyoto’s most celebrated season. A scattering of cherry blossoms and green tea with a presence of rose yields a most aromatic and elegant fragrance."

tea pot and strainer - July Simara.  This was her present to me from Japan.

tea cups - Roxan Delfin.  Her present to me ages ago when S. Korea was still their home.

        Either I miss my family and friends back home or them, I am grateful that I have family and friends who are supportive and who gave me memories which I can always look back to --- good and bad?! ☺

Good morning everyone and "Money can't buy happiness.".

A blessed weekend to all of us!

       

my want shop .. . Harrods World Signature Shop and Tea Salon

It's one store you can't help but notice at Level 1 Park Mall KLCC Suria Mall.  It's between between British India and Godiva very near to the escalator.  It has this huge and super huggable teddy at the entrance.   As lavish, as fascinating, and as royal its roots this store is also about.  It's Harrods World Signature Shop and Tea Salon. 

Their shop is overwhelming with stuff.

          They have cookies, teas (leaves and bag), chocolates, bags, purses, British Monarchy souvenir items, key chains, baby clothing, aprons, and more.  I am a fond of knickknack, tin can, cute stuff, and anything that my eyes are held captive.  If of course I can afford it hehehe and If I can't, window shopping will do -- not just once but more than you can think of hehe.  For me, this store is like a treasure box that I want to keep coming back.  Take note, it's a want :).  And because I want to have one, I got myself this very useful, all around bag in one of their previous sales years ago. 

A Tea Salon or café that makes me drool.

         

          Inside the shop is a counter for their coffee, tea, sweets and pastries.  Passed the signature shop is the salon.  We were greeted by a courteous staff upon entry and I was wowed by the simple yet elegantly furnished small venue.  It was cozy, clean, and aha! can be used as a secret rendezvous.  Kidding aside, it was dinner time and I'm glad that the 1st floor café was closed for an exclusive function because I prefer the original Tea Salon for my 1st ever food trip experience at Harrods.  I sat facing the furthest wall.  On my left is a view of Suria's dancing water fountain and on my right, 3 steps away is a wall of picture frames of old Harrods in London.  It's actually 3 columns in the middle of the whole right side wall.

Our picks:

         

1Seafood Pasta Olio-olio - Among the 3 meals, I love my Seafood pasta the most.  The taste was just perfect for me.  It was not salty nor bland and it got a kick.  It's an ultimate Seafood pasta because the shrimps, squid and the scallops were of good sizes and there were enough pieces too.  It's not like the previously tried Seafood pasta where I have to locate the whereabouts of the seafood.  How disappointing.  But at Harrods I was so happy with my SSSSP. 

2Traditional Fish and Chips - As the name itself traditional but it was the most expensive.  Until now I can't help wonder why it was so expensive hehehe.  Okay, let me assess.  The chips were big in slices, fish was succulent, the coating was crunchy, it was not oily and it got a seal of good taste from my son.  Oh! I'm positive with my words.  It must be the fish? Is cod really that pricey?  Anyways, as long as Z loves it then it must be good.  Still, I can't get over with the price.  hehehe.   

3Salt Beef Sandwich - If you are not a mustard lover like we do, I think you can just ask the waiter to serve it on separate.   Jack finds it dry, with less beef and only strong mustard.  His verdict for the sandwich is only 2 stars.  It didn't match up with his expectation.  He had a previous experience with Salt Beef or Corned Beef Sandwich so he has a basis for comparison hehehe.  Tsk!  Too bad.

4Ice Cream single in Vanilla  - I was so envious while Z was happily digging into his vanilla ice cream.  It was topped with a strawberry and I don't know the name but it looks like a thin sugar brittle.  Below the ice cream were like crumbs of nuts or something like that hehe. 

Red wine not in picture.  They don't serve house water but they have mineral bottled water.  All meals were big in portion.  It's meant for sharing.  Yes, we didn't finish what we have ordered and we're not shy to ask for a doggie bag.  We paid anyway and why would I allow the half eaten portion wasted?  The joy of dinner was still continued at next day's lunch.  Isn't it awesome? 

An ambiance I can loaf for hours. 

          Yes, Harrods is pricey whether it's a thing or food.  It's not like any fast food chain that you can immediately say, "Okay, let us eat at Harrods."  But for people with deep pockets, it's nothing.  Despite it, YES, I will never get tired of visiting Harrods.  And the next time I'll sit down, it will be for a Tea Time or sweets overload.  Pay day is nearing, yahooo!

          I love the experience, I appreciate the good customer service, I like the utensils used, I like the ambiance, and I love the English feel.  I love monarchy. :).

          Hail to the Queen.  Congratulations to Prince William and Princess Kate.  Welcome to the world Prince Cambridge!  May you'll be blessed and protected by your granny Princess Diana.  Feeling close to the Royals?!  Let it be! :). 

 Good night everyone and off to our dreams.  Don't forget to pray!