Lillian's Birthday at Brussels

We had a sisters' night out to celebrate Lillian's birthday. We decided to go to Brussels at Paragon. We were told that the food there is good and that there was a certain wine that is sweet and very suitable for ladies.

First time we stepped foot into a beer cafe

We were a bit sket but the place didn't look the least bit dodgy. We were reassured when we saw a family eating inside.

We didn't know how to order so we sought help from the waiter. We finally ordered a Pumpkin Soup, Brussels' Summer Fruit Salad and a Pork Knuckle. The waiter was so kind. He told us that half a knuckle would be more than enough for both of us and it was.

Deciding on the drink was another problem because we know nothing about wine or beer. We tried but couldn't identify the wine my friend recommended because she couldn't tell us what it is called. So we simply picked one and ended up ordering Timmermans Strawberry Lambic which was surprisingly good.

Our dinner. The salad was my favourite dish.

Birthday girl with her beer and a bit of port knuckle, I think.

After dinner we waited for the fountain show and imagined we were in Brussels!

My senget-senget photos of the fountain

And ended the night chatting over some minty mocha drink from Pacific Coffee.

Birthday girl happily enjoying the magazines at Pacific Coffee

Well Done

I had a delightful surprise when I saw my trainer's response to my assignment.

Dear Melinda

That’s brilliant work!! Your diligence and commitment has paid off…!

The 4 quadrants of concepts for your subject are solid and detailed with many key facets woven into each of them. There will be very little amendments insofar as the content is concerned; unless the Holy Spirit convicts of new ideas. Usually, we have the first cut and we will continue to pray and refine.

I will use your lesson plans as a very good example of lesson planning. Well done, Melinda….

God bless
Pauline

What an encouragement! Now for the practical. My biggest challenge would be getting out of the preachy-teachy mode and into the facilitator mode. Not going to be easy.

Help me, Lord!

Cramp

Last Sunday I suffered a cramp in my right foot while walking at Queensbay Mall. Too much exercise in one day. Non-stop walking for 3 hours. 

Chatime Initiation

I saw many people posting on Chatime on Facebook. Their drinks looked interesting but I was unsuccessful in my attempts to persuade Hubby to try.

Last Sunday I managed to find a kaki in Baby Sis. We were at Queensbay for some girly time out and went for our first Chatime.

We liked the Matcha Red Bean smoothie with aloe vera topping very much. The Blue Mountain Green Tea was just ordinary.

But the thing that really caught our attention was the endless queue of people waiting to place their orders. This franchise can really make money.

We shared both drinks.

Bombed Evening

We wanted to celebrate Baby Sis' birthday (again) with Macaroni Pie and Bombe Alaska at Yeng Keng Cafe.

You can imagine how devastated we were when the chef told us that the staff who was supposed to place the order for the Macaroni pie forgot to do so. This pie requires a minimum 4 hour pre-order so
we requested for and was given a substitute dish, Grilled Chicken with Mushroom Sauce.

We also ordered the Choon Pneah. It was excellent and that made up a wee bit for our disappointment over the Macaroni Pie.

However, our main agenda for the evening was to try the Bombe Alaska. Alas it too was a disappointment!

In the first place the meringue was smooth. We always like peaks on the meringue. Secondly there was no finesse in using a blow torch at the dining table. We found the experience very scary. Thirdly, taste wise the cake used in the filling was too dry. We won't be back for more.

Clockwise from top right: The Bombe Alaska looking pale, the flambe session commences, ready to serve, birthday girl cutting the Bombe Alaska with Coffee Lee looking on, digging into the Bombe Alaska

Fortunately they were smart enough to charge us for only one portion of grilled chicken with mushroom sauce instead of the two that they served. Then they gave us a 10% discount on the bill.

We shall return, but only for the macaroni pie. See picture below taken last week when we brought our cousin from Ipoh to try out Yeng Keng's Hainanese cuisine.

Macaroni Pie on the left and the yummy serving on the right

Done

Submitted my four lesson plans and one 30-minute lesson worksheet to my trainer last night.

Received further "revelation" in the night and this morning.

Looks like the lesson plans and micro-training session are going to evolve until the day I present them.

No way that they are going to look like anything I've submitted.

I envy those people, usually the guys, who can work last minute and thus save a lot of revision time or those others, again usually men, who can work on something and not go back to fine tune it once it's done even though they have time to do so.

Tupperware Mania

Tupperware mania is sweeping through Ken Ray. I yielded to temptation and bought this item yesterday because unlike normal Tupperware this item is microwaveable, albeit at not more than 1 minute per session.

The item was also on offer and comes with a handy carry bag and a set of fork and spoon. When the set arrived its fresh green colour totally captivated everyone at the office.

They were also green with envy 'cos the colour of the set they bought earlier wasn't as attractive and it didn't come with a carry bag.

So that was a good purchase although I don't think I'll have an immediate use for them now.

On the other hand they'll be perfect to pack meals away from home when my grand babies come along.

Farewell for Jewel

23 February was Jewel's last day in Penang and so her mom organized a lunch for all of us at China House.

At China House. Clockwise starting from L: Raymond, Eugene, Lillian, Jewel and I. Behind the camera is Kenny.

We said our farewells and thought that that would be the last we would see of her until she comes back in September.

Then something came up and her dinner with her Dad was canceled. So we were given another opportunity to spend more time with her. Of course, her Khai Yeh was ecstatic with joy to have another go at harassing her with questions that tie her up in knots.

Somehow his questions always seem to corner her and when she cannot answer anymore she'll give her trademark "I don't know." That would make him laugh which would in turn make her blush. And that's mission accomplished for the Khai Yeh!

The expression on Jewel's face here is priceless!

The happy, carefree, stress-free look she has on here speaks volumes.

And the reward for her long-suffering was Pulut Mango!

Note: All the photos look different because they were imported from two different iPhones after being tweaked using different apps. That's our latest pastime.

Holiday Gifts

We have a tradition in KRPG. Whenever one of us goes for a holiday he or she will return to work bearing gifts from wherever they have been.

This week two of our colleagues came back from vacation with these gifts.

Sweets from Shireen (Singapore) and key chains from Esther (Kota Kinabalu)

Nowadays young people really travel a lot. Even the ordinary wage earner. I feel like a "katak di bawah tempurung" compared to them.

Blessed Birthday, Baby Sis!

Baby Sis turned 52 yesterday and she decided to celebrate her birthday at Fig Tree Hill.

Right at the top of her guest list was the Consul-General of Thailand His Excellency Khun Voradet himself. Her other guests included a jeweller, an adventure tour operator, a confinement home proprietress, her dance partner and me. A very interesting mix indeed.

We had to bring in all the food for lunch and that's no easy task. Only my sister who would go through all that trouble. I would have simply opted for a more convenient venue.

She's also very creative. So here's a photo of Baby Sis with the Armani chocolates that replaced the normal birthday cake. Nothing so common or mundane for her.

BLESSED BIRTHDAY!

My beautiful sister with her unique birthday "cake"

Puzzled

Are these bonsai plants that, left untended, have grown into trees or trees that have been bonsai-ed?