Pleasant Surprise

This afternoon when I was lying down as usual for my little indulgence of a afternoon nap my youngest daughter shouted "Mummy, mummy, there is a man at the gate!!!" It was the delivery man from the florist delivering a beautiful bouquet of orchids. It is a beautiful bouquet of New Year Greetings from my wife's elder sister in the United States.

Best wishes to you too from all of us and have a great 2009!!

New Year

In just a matter of hours 2008 would be concluded, yes another year is going ……… soon 2009 will be here. 2008 is a good year for me and is looking forward to 2009 …….. a year older is a year wiser sometimes ….. hehe!!

New Year resolution??? Hmm….. maybe trim a couple of kilos!?…err more like ten or more ..hehe!!! Let's move on!!! Don't stay behind ya!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The Old Piano

We have had two pianos since we moved into our own home about 17 years ago, not at once but one after another. The first piano was a gift from my mum-in-law to her favourite granddaughter, my Princess, whom she always refer to as her "seh kian" in Foochow. My wife learned to play the piano on the very same piano that was given to my eldest daughter. Her grandmother had hopes that she could be a performing pianist one day after she herself was not able to do so because of world war two and her daughter failed her ....... I was told.

That piano did not stayed with us long because it was infested with wood eating creepy crawlies and so it had to be put to sleep.

The second piano came from my mum when she moved house, she does not play the piano and it was a space eater to her. She was really relieved when we agreed to take that piano off her hands. That was my sister's piano which my father bought. My wife got it serviced and tuned for Princess to practice on for her lessons which she hated.

That poor piano was also idle in our home for a long time until one fine day my only daughter decided to play it and with some guidance from her mum, she is playing it real well with no formal lesson. She is really interested in playing the piano and had progress to an electronic keyboard which she bought herself. My son used to play high speed Fur Elise and some other pieces on that piano from memory. Now he plays the guitar like his father used to ........ he can play better.

We decided to sell the piano as it was once again idle and getting real close to expiry. It was sold about a week ago and now it is only a memory.

Merry Christmas

It's the time of the year so have a JOLLY, MERRY CHRISTMAS .......... Cheers!!!

My Primary School Headmaster

While surfing the net I found out that my primary school headmaster recently passed away ten days short of his eighty six birthday. Let us have a minute of silence in respect for this kind, caring, sincere and selfless person Mr. Chua Cheng Chye.

I was really touched by his sincerity and kindness even when I was just a kid in primary school. To me he is the greatest man that I had ever known. I am really proud to say that he was my principal in Anglo Chinese Primary School.

Early Morning Walk

Last week I had the luxury of going for a very early morning walk and it was really refreshing especially there is no traffic. I was up before six and the full moon shinning through the windows caught my eyes ...... it was a different sight, enchanting. Normally I would just go back to sleep but this time the setting moon seems to invite me to go for a real early morning walk.

Before six-thirty I was out of the house, the cold morning air was really refreshing and reminded me of my camping days when I was a boy scout while in school. The whole neighbourhood seems to be asleep or just wanting to wake up except for the roti canai sombong people and a few coffee shops that were getting ready for the breakfast crowd. The open air market traders were trickling in to claim their space and some of them looks half awake.

Further down the road I turned into a housing estate beside a kampong and everything was quite and peaceful, even the usual barking dog refused to get up to bark at me. Cock-a-doodle-do, yes the familiar sound of a rooster crowing ....... it feels good to be reminded of the time when were staying in the kampong. More and more roosters started crowing like as though they were having a long distance discussion with each other ..... are they?

It was dawn when I reached the express way and it was a really peaceful not even a car in sight ...... wonder how much longer before this kind of scenario is never to be seen or experinced again. By the time I got home, the traffic was already starting to get busy ...... Good Morning.

It's Strong

Looks and feel can be deceiving, yes the trellis is now supporting almost the whole weight of the four plants and there is no sign of stress at all. Since setting up the trellis, it had been subjected to mini-hurricane like rain and thunderstorm, scorching sun and the extra weight of some birds. Looks like my engineering sense is good and my handy work is like a piece of fine art ...... hehe!! blush!!blush!!

To date we already had a couple of the cucumbers and it was really good. The French beans just started to flower and the Goa beans is kind of a slow. Petola?? errr ........ well there is no petola, I made a mistake because I did not labelled the seedlings and what I thought is a petola is actually a cucumber. The petola did not germinate and I planted another cucumber instead. Aiyoh!! Very shy-lah!!

Cinemas

It was ages ago since I watch a movie in a cinema ....... anyway it is impossible to do that now cause all the cinemas in Malacca is gone. Cineplex is now the big screen and I have not been to one yet mainly because I am not a movie kind of person. Most or almost all movies on the big screen nowadays will make its way to the television after awhile so no big deal ya!!

My first experience with the big screen was maybe more than forty years ago in Federal Cinema. At that time this was the newest cinema with air conditioning and the sound system ....... err no idea just too young to know the difference then but one thing for sure it was really loud. It was a family outing and the movie was my father's choice and being a big family we occupied almost the whole row!

The movie was a Mandarin movie entitled "The One-Armed Swordsman". I remembered there were lots of violent in this movie and the hero only had an arm. His weapon was a broken sword and literally singled handed he killed almost the whole army. Till today I still cannot understand why he cut himself across his own body almost severing it into two while annihilating the army. Crazy movie.

In those days air conditioning was really a big thing and it put you a class above the rest if you have it. Cinemas at that time were equipped with powerful industrial fans and even on a hot day it was not hot in the cinemas, a little warm maybe.

Sitting were divided into circle seats, first, second and third class. Circle seats were located on what we call the mezzanine floor today, the most expansive and comfortable place to watch the movie from. The first class was the furthest most from the screen on the ground floor, the second class is in between the first and third class closest to the screen. During our school days we were able to watch a movie at a fraction of the cost with some special signals to the usher...... hehe!!

Today these once magnificent buildings are left to rot with the exception of Kammah and Lido. Kammah had been turned into a social club while Lido into a supermarket. Rex, Central, Sun and Savoy demolished while Federal and Cathay is in a real sorry state. What is left of Capitol were just it's walls and Oriental is just a place for the ghost.

Home Meal Loaf

Plain loaf, whole meal and off course the best loaf is always the Home Meal kind which is only available at home .... not any home but only a home with a baker :) The aroma of freshly baked bread is a real fringe benefit in a home which produces home meal bread ....hmmm, yum! yum!!

Freshly baked home meal bread is best eaten with salted butter and the humble kaya, it is so good even the crust is a must eat.

New Monitor

Yesterday was a real busy day running here, there and everywhere including Pikom Fair. The highlight of the day was off course the new monitor.

A day before the fair my son and I went round some computer shops to check out the choice of monitors available and to compare specifications among the different brands. After talking to the sales people in the shops we conclude on a Samsung 22 inches wide screen latest model.

Yesterday was the first day of the fair and I am back!!!

Computer Problem

My computer monitor gave me a black and blank look when I switched it on this morning ........ after checking here and there I pronounced that it is dead. Always without fail or a complaint for the past six years it always light up from Windows 98 to XP and almost Vista. Looks like it's useful life had expired.

Hey!! Pikom Fair is on this weekend, good timing .......... should I get a twenty two inch wide screen? ;) any sponsors?......hehe!! I am currently using my Princess laptop at the moment.

Spring Cleaning

Last Monday was spring cleaning time again, the yearly ritual of having a clean home to welcome Christmas and the new year. We live in the equatorial area and there is no spring time just sunny or rainy time but we still use the term spring cleaning.

This year I was lucky because my old worn out back acted up a day or two before Monday so I was allowed medical leave ........ hehe!! It's a real scary thought of having to clean all the 30 windows with 6 panes each totalling 180 pieces not counting those from the door panels and upstairs too. This year the home minister engaged the help of a foreign professional, her mum's maid from Indonesia and it took her more than a day just to do the downstairs only. My wife did the upstairs herself and the kids did their their own rooms.

In my younger days when I was a kid, spring cleaning was much more severe because my father liked lots of unnecessary things like ornaments for display and framed calender pictures. Cleaning the ornaments and picture frames of the dust and cob webs that gathered over a period of more than 360 days was really a tough job. Everything that hang on the walls and ceilings have to be removed and cleaned. Display cabinets have to be cleared out to be cleaned and the items on display will also need to be cleaned. Not only the floors need to be washed but the furniture too. It was crazy!!!

Thanks to our home minister for keeping our home clean everyday and super clean now, Christmas and 2009 here we come!

A Fresh Loaf

Today the familiar aroma of freshly baked bread once again filled the air in our home and it was really good. Yes the home minister had got a new bread maker for our home and it is a Kenwood this time.

We had not had home made bread since our first bread maker died on us about a month ago. It was not easy to shop for a bread maker because it is not popular here. My wife knew that Jusco had some Kenwood bread makers in stock and we went to have a look but was disappointed because it was not the model she had in mind. According to the sales person that was the only one left and there will not be any new stock coming in.

A couple of days ago while we were in Jusco, my wife noticed something that looked like a bread maker amidst other electrical appliances on display ....... it was indeed a bread maker and it was the model she wanted. Having had a lot of experience of being a regular customer she knew exactly what to do to and got a hefty discount ........ hehehe!!! It is now sitting pretty exactly in the same place as where the previous bread maker was.

It is great to have home made bread again...... yum!! yum!! Join me for a slice...

Note: This loaf was made with left over ingridents and it did not rise properly so it is kind of a funnily flat shaped on top......... hehe!! According to home minister the yeast had retired. Will post a photo of the second loaf when available.

Wolferstan Road, Malacca.

Driving down a road is very much different from walking on it especially if the road is familiar to you for a very very long time. I just recently found out how much had changed when I took a walk down Wolferstan Road recently, lots of memories too. I have had very many a time driven through it to get to my destination without noticing the changes except for the obvious ....... guess it is just to get from point A to B.

I started from Bayview Hotel and remembered that Wearnes Bros was located just opposite. Wearnes Bros were dealers for British cars and the memory of brand new Mini cars, chain saws are still very fresh in my mind not forgetting the then very popular Minor 1000. My father was in the automotive industry and sometimes he bring us there to do his business while we waited. Beside Bayview was Malacca Motor Supply selling Opel and GM cars in the past and is now a 24hrs convenience store.

Further down the road opposite where the Renaissance now stand was a shop selling branded shirts like Arrow, Lifting and Van Heusen. Opposite this place where the Orchid Hotel now stand was a florist ........ my mum used to do some of her gardening shopping here. The big mansion now CIMB bank is still standing with full of glory but can't say the same for the ruined Capitol cinema. Hey! the aquarium shop in the lane just beside the CIMB bank is still there and it looks exactly the same as I remembered it about 40 years ago ......... could it be frozen in time??

Wisma Bendahara, the very first shopping complex in Malacca is now very much an eye sore, from day one when it opened, to me it looks sleazy! Just behind this so called shopping complex was at one time a very famous place called Malacca Coconut Island or MCI in short. Most Malaccans in my generation knows about what this place is famous for and I shall not disclose its secret.... hehe!!!

The Savoy cinema now is no longer there, beside it stands the 9 storey flats which was the first high rise and tallest building in Malacca. Being the first tallest building in Malacca it was really a popular place for people to end their sorrows the quick way. Before the flats were build it was the Malacca fire station.

Ahh!! yes!! Bee Loon, the brand that was on every school going kid waist and collar, not on the outside but on the inside ....... during my time no free advertising. I got some of my school uniforms and a scout uniform from this place too. When they first started they were located in the street behind and at that time it was just a home industry.

Wolferstan Road is now Bendahara Road ........ some people in Malacca have this strange urge to rename roads as and when they like it. Why?? Your guess is as good as mine.

Dinner

My "Only Daughter" ................remember the one that is thinking of becoming a Chef ........... finished her SPM today and she prepared a complete dinner for us. This is her first time to prepare a whole dinner by herself for us and it was delicious. I do not know what are the dishes called but I'll describe them ............ err!! she doesn't know what they were called too!!!!

It was potato wedges, American potatoes, baked with butter, fresh sweet basil and rosemary........ I am guessing. The wedges were topped with fried minced pork in some kind of delicious gravy and real creamy kind of cream .......... it was a simple meal but delicious.

KFC

KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken is the first fried chicken fast food to be in Malaysia and I have no idea when did it happened. I have no memory when did I ever had my first bite of KFC and from which outlet, all I can remember is that once in a very long while it is OK to have KFC.
My last experience before this recent visit to KFC was just eeee.....yucks!!! it was a terrible experience. It was a couple of years ago and I suddenly had the urge to eat KFC and so off we went to the outlet in Jusco Malacca. The ambience was terrible, gloomy and musty ......... the chicken pieces were pathetic looking, smell of stale oil and loaded with oil .......... what happened!!!!! I swore I would never eat KFC again after that ........ what a let down.
My wife was rewarded for outstanding performance at work with quite a fair bid of KFC vouchers and so we went for a KFC treat last week. This time base on Princess recommendation we went to the very first outlet that was established in Malacca in Mata Kuching Road. The place here is more welcoming and as usual I ordered my usual original recipe which is my favourite. Yes it is the real KFC here and it's finger licking good.