Magic Wok - First post in 2013 (after more than a year of hiatus!)

Looking back at my last post (November 2011)... I realised that I have been missing for more than a year! Workload took a huge chunk of my time in 2012 - the rest was spent with family. Of course, I would still read blogs from those whom I follow from time to time... subjected to free time. At the moment, I would just simply use Instagram to post up the photo of the food that I had eaten which was then uploaded into Facebook.

Despite the convenience of using Instagram, I still love writing... perhaps I was just lazy and being pampered by all those apps in iPhone these days. I don't have time during the day because most of my times were spent down in the factory and when I got back to the office, I had to do paperworks and that didn't include my outstation trips. The remaining time had to be spent with the family when I got home. At night, the wife would normally hog the laptop and thus I didn't have much time to post anything. Forget about Tweeter - I have already stopped using this app after a few months.

Right! Now it's 2013 - new year with new resolution! Chinese New Year is around the corner and all the necessary preparations have been made to celebrate this joyous occasion. After all, this time of the year is the time where I get together with my family and relatives - the only time when all my siblings and parents would sit down for reunion dinner. I truly cherish this moment and that is also the reason why I am looking forward to this holiday. It's a tradition to wear everything new on the first day and I assure you that my wallet has been bleeding one month earlier leading toward February 10th.

My first ever post is on Magic Wok - a relatively established restaurant in Damansara Jaya whom I have never thought of going before even when I moved to PJ. My first visit there was during the Winter Soltice festival but I didn't bring anything there then. We went there again to celebrate Keith's 2nd birthday - and this time I brought my DSLR along. Normally we would go earlier to avoid the dinner crowd.

We were the only patrons at that time and so we got all the attention :) it was a restaurant with adjoining bar where a lot of people having happy hours next door. Sometimes they would seat you there if the place was packed!

Claypot tilapia with white pepper and roasted meat - the soup was nice enough without overpowered by the white pepper. It was all bones in the end!

3 meat combination - forget the charsiew, siew yoke was decent (skin was crack-a-lacking) but not memorable and the only good was the roasted duck which I thought was good but still not comparable to Sun Ming Kee in Cheras.

Signature Magic Wok fried rice - wok hei is assured and with the siew yoke thrown into the rice, each and every bite was a bliss

Braised pork knuckle (boneless) akin to the dong po yoke - nothing was left in the end except for the layer of fat on top of the meat. We even sapu all the gravy with the accompanying steamed buns. It was good without being too salty and the meat was very tender with fall-off-the-bone texture.

Nai bak with yam - comfort food that most people would find pleasant to the tummy

Fried chicken with sliced ginger was definitely the highlight of the night! We would have ordered the second helping if we didn't take into consideration the calory. The chicken meat was aromatic, juicy and still juicy on the inside as we sank our teeth in... and please help yourself to the crispy ginger slices which we could not get enough of!!

Leo's verdict - this place is family-oriented and the service was quite fast. The servers didn't make a lot of fuss despite Sher Ryn and Keith boy running and playing around. Oh yes... I'll end this blog with a family portrait taken during the dinner. 

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

MIA

It seems that I have not been updating my blogs as much as I want to... works have been very hectic and currently I have a new project going on which will involve a lot of traveling soon. And I have to juggle between my factory and my project... it's the beginning so a lot of hands on stuff to do right now.

FYI, I will try to squeeze some free time to write blogs whenever possible...

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

I'm back from Bangkok!!

There is something about Thailand that makes me want to go back there again and again. I tried to figure out on what was the pulling factor - was it due to the fact that I have 25% Thai blood running inside my veins? Never mind the fact that I am clueless when it comes to speaking Thai. My maternal grandmother who came from a small town north of Bangkok was married to my grandfather (Chinese) and moved to Malaysia. Therefore my mother didn't know how to speak Thai as she practically grew up in a village that only speaks Cantonese. When she told me about this, I didn't take it seriously. I mean... seriously.. who would care or remember all these when they were small?

Now, I love almost everything about Thai - the food, the people and their culture! I am now learning to speak Thai although it is still in the beginning stage :) In Malaysia, I would go everywhere just to sample good Thai food but no matter where I go, nothing beats eating the food in the country itself. Even som tam that is sold on the side street was great! My last trip to Bangkok was in July 2006 with Jenn but we were still green on the capital of Thailand then.

Opportunity came when Jenn had to attend seminar in Bangkok! Plans were made quickly just to utilise our time while in Bangkok. We were so excited that both of us lost our motivation to work a few days before the trip. It has been a while since the last time we stepped into KLIA just to board a plane. I think it was 4 years ago when we went for our honeymoon in Italy and French Riviera and after that we had to settle for LCCT as we flew via Air Asia most of the time.

Look at Jenn's excited face

Finally, we boarded the plane through Gate H8

Sunset never looks so beautiful - taken from our window seat as we were approaching Bangkok airport!

A summary of what we had done during our trip!
Seafood

Prayer at Erawan Shrine

McDonald - it's a must for me everytime as I crave for their Samurai Pork Burger :P

Shopping (of course!)

This is only a fraction on what we have bought... wait till you see the rest! LOL!!

Bird nest @ Chinatown

Aromatheraphy massage @ Healthland Spa, Sathorn Road in Silom. Got ourselves couple room and pampered for 1.5 hours. A must go if you are into massage as they have many branches in Bangkok (google ok?)

Walking around the street of Bangkok. It was an eye opener to see how people in Bangkok carry on their daily lives. Not much difference from Kuala Lumpur but I think that they are more contended and happy.

Romantic dinner by the famous Chao Phraya river.

Enjoying the night view of Bangkok city from our hotel room. Will post more about this hotel on the next blog

Bacon!!! Can't get enough of it!

Not much of sightseeing this time as we were really busy shopping! Remember that I wrote that Jenn practically want to change her wardrobe?? Well, she almost reached her goal :P we went there with one bag and came back with 4! Our legs were tired due to the walking and we went for foot massage almost everyday after shopping.

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Finally! A well-deserved holiday (^_^)

Let me recap - my last oversea vacation was to Krabi sometime in January 2010! After that, Jenn got pregnant with baby Keith and we were grounded for quite a long time. Fast forward to June 2011, Keith is now 5 months ++ and more manageable. So far, Jenn & I had gone to a few short vacation (local ones) but both of us are yearning for overseas. Destination is not an issue as long as it's not in Malaysia.

Fate has it that Jenn has a seminar to attend in Bangkok in June 2011. Yippee! We took this opportunity to rejuvenate (LOL!) ourselves. Plans have been made - as a matter of fact, I have already drawn up the itinerary for our 5D4N escapades to The Land of Smile from the day I booked flight tickets :P mostly shopping spree and eating... well, some sightseeing maybe! Jenn practically want to change her entire wardrobe so a trip to the famous Platinum Mall is inevitable.. lol! I think that my wallet is going to bleed.

This time we are flying using MAS instead of AirAsia as we found a good deal - RM800 return trip for both of us! It has been a while since we last took plane via KLIA. Looking forward to this trip... and probably won't be able to access the web until I come back this weekend! Take care

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Happy 4th Anniversary

Dear Jenn,

We have known each other for the longest time. Well, I don't really count the exact days but until 2011, both of us has been friends for more than 17 YEARS, dated for 7 YEARS, and married for 4 YEARS.

There were times when I wished that we dated each other sooner. But it made sense when you told me "we might not have lasted that long if we started the relationship earlier". Both of us were so young then and what we wanted could be different after a while. That is why I thank you for being my best friend for 10 years. Even though we had our own lives during that period, we never failed to keep in touch with each other once in a while - we SMS-ed just to say Hi, we met up for sushi just to catch up with each other's life, we called when we want to know if each of us is doing OK.

I would have never thought that we could be a couple after so long. In fact, I think that it was fate that put us together when we were single again. Sparks flew and all in a sudden, we were flirting with each other once again :) I was the happiest guy the first time I got to held your hand after several attempts of courtship. Of course like every other relationships, ours was bound to have ups and downs. I had made you cry but somehow we managed to make up after that. I knew that I could not afford to lose you.

Imagine my reaction when you said YES when I popped the ring & asked for your hand in marriage. Our marriage registration on 22nd April 2006 marked the beginning of us as husband & wife. And our wedding ceremony on 27th January 2007 was witnessed by all our family members and our friends.

After 4 years of a beautiful marriage, you have given me Sher Ryn and Keith. Not only that - you have been my best friend, my closest confidant & my wife! And I thank you for that :)

P.S: I'm looking forward to many years to come as we strive to raise our children together. Although it will not come easy, I know that I'll pull it through. Simply because you are always there by my side... I love you!

whoopsie... spent too much time writing this instead of working! HAPPY 4TH ANNIVERSARY my dear...

Our 4th Anniversary @ Millesime & arrival of Leo jr

I'm very happy today as I write this post! Why? Because I have become dad for the second time (^_^) Leo jr. arrived at 7.30am this morning and I'm proud to say that both mom & baby are doing just fine. The new addition makes it 4 members in the Leo family! To some family, this will be a perfect one as one daughter and one son complete the family. To us Chinese, it means more as the combination of girl "女" and boy " 子" form the word GOOD "好". Here is my first photo of my son & I in blogspot!

Since Jenn has to go through the confinement period, that means we couldn't celebrate our 4th anniversary which falls on 27th January next year. Even after the confinement, we still have to take care of our son who will only be like a month old at that time. And I certainly believe that Sher Ryn will not make our lives easier but being more demanding. You know - sibling rivalries. Being a small child, she will try every little thing to vie for our attention & jealousy will ensue. Significant amount of time is required to educate her as well as to raise up the son at the same time.

Therefore, a week before she delivers I planned a surprise dinner for the two of us at Millesime. In fact, I called to make reservation a few days earlier. It was raining on that evening and since it was my first time going there, I had no idea on the exact location and ended up merry-go-round with Jenn. Tucked at the corner of Menara Kencana Petroleum, it wasn't easy to spot.

Since they don't serve a-la-carte menu, we had to go for the degustation menu priced at RM150++ per person which consists of 3 starters, 1 main and 1 dessert. ThE white truffle promotion was still ongoing but looking at the RM120++ per dish, we skipped that.

Complimentary breads were given with French butter - love the wholemeal bread with grains + butter!! What a perfect way to kickstart the evening.

Amuse Bousche for the night was Smoked Salmon Tartare served in a shot glass. Love the intense flavour of the smoked salmon but one gulp was all I took to down the stuff! Wish I had more!

Carpaccio of Baby Octopus with Arabian Sea Prawn Orange, Shaved Fennel Salad & Black Olive Dressing - first of all I didn't know that octopus could be done this way and secondly, the black olive dressing gave a tinge to my tastebud and went very well with the octopus as well as the prawn.

Ragout of snail with celery & parsley creamed mushroom soup - simply love the earthy flavour of the mushroom soup which somehow managed to cover up the gamey smell of the snail but not all as I still could taste the gamey smell.

Sea scallop with Peruvian White Asparagus & Black Truffle Vinaigrette - the presence of black truffle provided an earthy taste to the otherwise bland scallop & the asparagus was simply superb - crunchy and sweet! My favourite dish of the night!

Provencale Herbs - Parmesan Crusted Cod Fish, Lemon Oil & Rosemary Juice - the fish was cooked to perfection. The herbs crusted fish was aromatic while maintaining its moist and flaky texture. The presence of lemon oil further enhanced its flavour to another level. Wish that I ordered this as my choice of main was a disappointment!

Anjou Pigeon Breast Pan Roasted with Zucchini, Leek Flan & Goose Liver Cream - this dish would have been superb if it was well-cooked. After a few mouth of the pigeon meat, I realised that the meat was RAW (not slightly raw but RAW!!). I complained to our attending waiter & he immediately took it to replace, but my appetite was already ruined. I just asked them to proceed with the dessert. They were apologetic though...

Baked Fresh Fig & Seasonal Berries en Sabayon with Egg Biscotti & Amanera Ice Cream - the egg based biscotti was good! not overly sweet and complimented the fig & berries very well. But the Amanera Ice Cream definitely stole the thunder with its fruity flavour.

We ended the dinner with our choice of Chamomile & Earl Grey tea. It was then that I instructed that my surprise gift to be brought out on a dessert plate! Jenn thought nothing of it until she saw this lovely little box placed in front of her :) my plan worked as she looked very surprised! The present was my gift for our 4th anniversary & Valentine's Day which were quite close to each other.

The look on her face was priceless as she opened the box and saw what was inside! I knew that she lack of diamond earring in her jewellery collection and that was why I bought it & it was a design that I knew she'd love. Knowing her almost half of my life helped a lot :) she almost cried when she read the wooden card that I made for her personally - thanking her for giving me such a wonderful family and being such a wonderful wife. A simple kiss to the lips was all she did, but it was a kiss full of love!

Leo's verdict - apart from the surprise gift that went very well, it would be perfect if my main dish was perfect as well. Chef Max Chin was there at night & I'm pretty sure that it was his staff that made the error. Considering that I was paying RM150++, it shouldn't have become this way. For this dinner (and the gift) I have blown my monthly budget over the roof.. LOL! Oh well, at least my wife's happy and that's what matters the most!

Millesime
G1-01-3, Menara Kencana Petroleum
Solaris Dutamas, KL
Tel: 03-62110648

Disclaimer:
1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.
2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

Goodbye My LOVE!

It was love at first sight when I saw you 7 years ago! But I couldn't afford to have you back then so I could only admire you from far. My our affair started in 2008, 5 years after dreaming about you almost every night. Having you in my life is a JOY! I have never got so much satisfaction being with you. I gave you the best possible stuff and always pamper you in every way I could during these 2 years period!

But then, there is what we called priority! Family always come first... and even though I'm reluctant to do so, I have to bid you goodbye. My heart is crying inside as I know that I'm going to miss you soooo much! I really hope that you will find someone who will love you as much as I do... treats you as good as I do OK? I'm going to find myself a new one very soon... just wanna tell you that I am going to remember you always!

For now, I am going to enjoy each and every second being with you! Take care my beloved BMW E60 525i M-Sport (^_^)

iPhone4

Truth to be told... I have never imagined to buy (or some might call it upgrade) iPhone4 after using iPhone 3GS for slightly more than a year! Prior to the iPhone, I had been using Nokia phone most of my life (of course, from the date I started to use mobile phone). Having friends who are iPhone fanatics aren't helping much either. Most of their conversations revolve around Apple's phenomenon that has got a lot of people around the world to contact this so-called iPhone-fever.

For me, I bought iPhone for few reasons;
1) LOOK - I think most of you will agree if I say that iPhone is gorgeous.. well, except for those diehard Blackberry users who stick by their belief
2) Functions - good picture quality (let's not compare to digicam or DSLR ok?), smooth flowing graphic (bye bye Nokia), sensitive touch screen that I absolutely adore and lots more
3) Apps - hundreds or perhaps thousands of applications that are made available for iPhone! You have seen the ads, you know the drill :)

Then my brothers and sisters and some other friends started to poison me with their Blackberry... I almost bought one unit but in the end, after a teh tarik session with my ex-colleague who has been using iPhone since day One.. it didn't take much persuasion to make me believe in iPhone once again! Went to Maxis TTDI one Thursday to enquire about the availability... guess what! They still have some stocks.. registered my name, waited for more than 2 hours before finally getting my latest gadget! You have no idea on how crazy those people are... I have seen one guy buying 4 units of iPhone4 for his family (he just sat next to me).

So here I am... using a new iPhone4! My wife who had ordered Blackberry Bold for me as secret present (my birthday was yesterday by the way) had to cancel the order and offered to buy me accessories instead... and hence the silicon casing which is useful as my Sher Ryn loves to throw my iPhone. Now I only have anti-glare screen protector to buy hopefully by this weekend!

I have a confession to make - I have actually JAILBREAK-ed the iPhone on the same day that I got it! my friend helped me to do it in less than 10 minutes! I couldn't believe my eyes to see how simple it could be. Hopefully Patrick, one of my best friends who happen to be Apple's Sales Manager, didn't read this!! LOL!

But on the other side, I can now download a lot of applications that I have not been able to buy in the past... starting with Papago M7 GPS (USD20), Street Fighter (USD7), Documents to Go (USD17), and other exciting apps waiting for me to explore :P

anyone on iPhone4 as well???

Disclaimer:1) I'm not paid to promote/endorse any particular event, restaurant or person in this blog. ALL are based on my unbiased personal opinion.2) My reviews are based on my personal taste and preference and therefore may vary for others.

DARN!!! And I thought that my town is safe!

I always read news on the houses that were robbed or broken into, where the house owners lost their valuables. I also used to think that those people were really unfortunate to face those predicaments, but I never really gave it a serious thought that my house was also at risk. That is, until it was broken into for the first time last night (my very first experience with theft).

My house is located in a neighbourhood where a lot of cops are living there. That is why the thought of my house being broken into never crossed my mind (seriously). There is also one kindergarten which is located directly opposite my house which practically make the area a rather busy one. And yet I miscalculated... I totally forgotten about the concept of work & holiday. Work - the cops still have to work and not stay at home. Holiday - it's school holiday and most people have taken leave to bring their children on vacation. That makes my house vulnerable to those buggers.

We were returning home from my in-law's place after dinner around 8pm and the first thing that Jenn asked when I parked my car was "Hey! Why didn't you lock the door?" My very first instinct was "S**T"!!! I dashed into the house just to find the place was ransacked... total mess! First thing to do was to check on the loss... jewellery and some cash were missing! Important documents were fortunately left untouched.

A careful look at the aluminium grill revealed that it was prised open by force

The cupboard where the valuables were stored was ransacked!

All the cabinets were not spared too...

The door was dusted by the police to check on the fingerprint!

It took me whole night just to make report at the police station. It pays to have connection with the police force, as they were more efficient and faster to get evidence at the house. After collecting fingerprints, taking photos and recording our statements - I have to tell you, ala CSI-style :) of course, do not expect the likes of David Caruso and Gary Sinise lah! They left.. and then we cleaned up the house.

Later at night...

I couldn't sleep... my eyes were wide opened, imagining on what would it be like if we were at home at that time. With a steel rod by my side (precautionary move), I was worried that they might come back again. Then I realised that rushed into the house without checking if the thieves were still inside, jeopardising my family's safety. I was so concerned with the loss at that time...

Then I looked at my wife and Sher Ryn who were sleeping soundly by my side. I gently stroked my daughter's hair and thanked God that she's alright! Things that are lost can be earned back, but there is only one life. We were so pre-occupied with other things in our lives.

P.S: Next time I'm going to do is to install alarm system. I don't feel save and secure anymore after this incident.

Family safety is always the first! How often we forget that! :)

Sher Ryn is ONE!!! Have I done a good job???

That's right!!! Time flies so fast that my daughter has reached her first anniversary in March 2010. To her dad & mom (that's me and Jenn), it is a proud moment. For a typical Chinese family, it is a big deal too. Preparations had been made a few days before the big day - my mom ordered 2 cakes, self-prepared the "red" eggs, jelly, steamed chicken as well as some fried chicken. It was just a simple celebration with some close friends and families were invited.

Sher Ryn was fascinated with the reddish eggs

Received ang pow from her grandparents (a rather big one too!) which has been saved aside for her future education.

My dad, mom, Sher Ryn, Jenn & I... she has grown a lot huh?

Well that was in Kuala Lipis... we went out to KL to celebrate the day after. Bought a simple mango cake from Zen by Secret Recipe with one candle!
She was soooo happy that she clapped as we sang Happy Birthday song to her! I really love these moments.. and then it was time to cut the cake! Of course, with a little help from Jenn :)

For dinner... it was Delicious's Caesar's Salad with Smoked Salmon and breaded chicken fillet with some dipping sauce (forgot its name)

God I miss the time when she was small! She has grown into such a healthy and happy little girl who sometimes turn into a monster when she's grumpy or when her demands are not met.

Happy family moment in the concourse area of Mid Valley Megamall... pretty sure that some of you would recognise those flowers from Alice in Wonderland movie :) but let's focus on us ok??

LOVE this picture - taken while walking to The Garden from the Megamall's Starbuck entrance. There is a mini water fountain in between the two malls and Sher Ryn was intriqued by the water show. All I had to do was to show interest in what I was looking at and her head would eventually followed mine :P

Not an easy to task to raise a newborn baby for a year but I am pretty sure that it will get harder as she reaches teenage years. My friend once told me "For the first 12-18 years you will worry on how your daughter will turn out and the rest of your life worrying when your daughter is going to turn in"... LOL! It made sense now... being parents can be paranoid~

Oh well... as long as I give it all raising her up with care and discipline, all I can hope is that she will turn out just fine. As for when she's going to turn in, there is always CURFEW!!!! Sher Ryn's arrival has made my life brighter and seem to be meaningful...