Pangkor Laut II

Here are more pics from our trip.

I like this close up pix a lot and think i'll blow and frame it up in our hall. Its actually the outer side wall of the jacuzzi in the pool area. The rocks used are in different shades but still maintain a very natural look. The effect of water cascading and bouncing off the rocks give an energetic feel to the entire pix. If you ever go to Pangkor Laut, see if you can spot where this pix is taken. *wink* There are lots of beautiful pixs to take if you are on the lookout.


View from our balcony

As you enter...

The bathtub to relax in

the sea villas... (with the crooked foundation ..)

Pangkor Laut

I just came back from a perfectly GORGEOUS holiday... Pangkor Laut certainly delivered what I hoped and expected.

Resort was beautiful, food was excellent and even though it was a school holiday, it was wonderfully peaceful. Guess coz this is more of a "honeymoon" destination. :)

We got up really early one morning - 6am (on a holiday!) just to catch the sunrise. Totally worth it!

Breathtaking sunrise

Sundown....

I love the architecture and landscaping of the resort too..

AND the food here is to die for!!! Total package was rm2.5K (4D/3N) inclusive of all meals. Brekkie was buffet style, lunch and dinner were ala carte but you could order anything so we both went for the full course - appetizers, mains and dessert. Our lunches (published price on the menu) and dinners averaged rm350/meal and one of the dinners cost up to rm 500! Wow, thank God we came via package so we both felt it was even more worth it! haha! 3 dinners and 3 lunches would have easily cost us rm1.8K! heh. SO to show you how good the food was, feast your eyes...

1st lunch @ Royal Bay Beach Club:

Caeser's salad for me. delicious! Fresh, crunchy lettuce with shreds of parmesan, croutons, sundried tomatoes, topped with fried garlic (rm45)

Nicoise salad for hubby - beef chunks at the side, tuna marinated with vinegar, cucumber, tomatoes and fresh lettuce. Hubby said it looked better than it tasted but i'm a sucker for presentation. hehe. (rm45)

Pizza for me: Galileo its called, dunno why but it sure was yummers. Its the thin crust, AUTHENTIC kind which i like vs Pizza Hut's 1inch thick bread (that's how they make you feel full while stinging on the toppings). galileo's topped with minced beef, generous amount of cheese and sundried tomatoes. mm hmmm. (rm42)

Hubby's Prime Beef Burger. Hubby's said the beef was juicy and delish, onion rings at the side were good too but the pickles were odd.. didnt touch it much. (rm50 - er i think. can't really remember)

We had ice cream and it was really good - if you ever go to Pangkor Laut you must finish every meal with their ice cream. The ppl don't really know the brand but they did say its imported from Switzerland. 2 scoops would cost you rm19.

NEXT.

1st Dinner @ Uncle Lim's.

Complimentary soup of the day. Crabmeat with eggs - absolutely delicious

Steamed seabass with ginger and soy sauce. I liked it but hubby said the fish was a bit dry.


House specialty: Deep fried soft shell crabs. Wasnt crispy enough but ok-la. not much of a fan but hubb's wanted something 'fried'.

Spicy scallops with asparagus.

We had veg too - just siew pak choy which came in a really big plate..

Needless to say, our gluttony won over reason...

Total bill came up to a cool rm500+

(opens eyes big big)

Diet Week:Day 3 & 4

hookays

i have been surviving WITHOUT rice for 2 whole days ok.. it feels like agesss.... sigh

Day 3: Veg and Fruits - all you can eat. bleh.. i stuffed myself with celery, broccoli, melons and grapes. (my boss wasnt very supportive and didnt agree to 'waste company money' to get me my salad during our department lunch outing.) So i had a sliver of beef, a small chop of lamb and er... a buffalo wing. But they were all miniature size - really!

So apparently day 3 'eliminates the potato' that was eaten on day 2 because we start to get our "carbohydrates from the fruits". System is now prepared to start burning excess pounds. WOo hoo!! We are still suppose to have cravings which should diminish by day 4. Hmm funnee coz i find that i lost my cravings for sweet stuff ALREADY! my coliks were all having TGIF's sundae which is full of vanilla ice-cream, whipped crea, caramel, nuts..... (in other words - heaven) but i DID NOT TAKE ONE BITE! ha.

Day 4: Bananas (up to 8) and milk (3 glasses). yeah, also the veg soup. I adhered to today's menu. wat an achievement! Cooked up a different veg soup. This time I added Green Pepper, China White Radish and omitted the cabbage. Hm... I think i prefer the soup I made on day 1. I think the radish doesnt suit this soup - gave it an odd, 'musky' or 'damp' kinda taste. I'll stick to the previous soup recipe except I MADE ONE BIG WHOLE POT and now my hubby has decided to ABANDON the project so i have ONE BIG POT OF SOUP all to myself.

yay.

oyea, bananas in Day 4 are suppose to replace the potassium and sodium lost during the past 3 days. (Which makes me wonder why did we all have to suffer and lose it in the first place? sense the resentment here? I'd better lose some serious weight i tell you). Oh and it says - you will be surprise at how easy this day will go...

yea.

Diet Week: Day 2

okies.... i started the day with:

- 1 large baked potato for brekkie. Wrapped it in aluminium foil and tossed it into the oven for an hour. Smelt absolutely delish with a generous amount of butter on top (SCS) and some McCormick's fresh herbs. mm mmm.

the rest of the day was not as great :( Day 2 is all about vegetables apart from the highlight for breakfast. So i had some stir-fried broccoli for lunch. Basically got through the afternoon with bottles of water to curb the hunger pangs... alright, alright .. so I had some milo.... and a cup of coffee. Hee hee...

For dinner, i reheated the soup from Day 1 ( it didnt taste so yummy anymore..) , stir-fried some brussel sprouts which were at least nice and crunchy, and had some pumpkin which i let simmer till it was really soft. WHOOPsss, those really arent dried prawns you see there - ok?



Hubby had some leftover kueh kapit! Hah! your secrets out too!

and for the first time in my life, i do believe i managed to drink 10 whole glasses of water.....

AND as of 10pm, i weigh 1 kg less than yesterday! Now is that motivation or what?

Diet Week!

Finally, I managed to convince my hubby to go on a 7-day diet with me. Reason for this? hee hee, we'll be going to Pangkor Laut, the luxurious resort owned by YTL group soon. (like next week) Soooo.. this trip includes non-stop eating at the hotel for all 3 meals... I can foresee us putting on some serious flab there, so to minimise damage... we are going on a diet this week in preparation for our non-stop eating holiday - ironic huh?

anyways, this is a tested and proven diet in my company. Most of the top managers have tried it and if followed to strictly, you stand to loose at least 10 pounds in a week! wah!

so day one was today.. but wahhhhhhhh!!!! :( i broke it :( partly coz i took a guest at our Church to lunch and not eating seemed 'not right'. BUT! i just ate a teeny weeny bit of beef and noodles lah.

Some basic 'rules' of the diet first:
1. coffee, herbal teas are allowed but no creamer or sugar!
2. 10 glasses of water everyday throughout the diet programme. this is a tough one for me.. usually i drink like just 4 glasses?
3. there's a vegetable soup recipe that we can eat everyday in unlimited quantities - i just made it and its YUMMERS!
Veg Soup Recipe (the original version)
- Onions
- Celery
- Green pepper
- Tomatoes
- Cabbage
- flavouring
- water of course

Day 1
NOTHING but fruits in unlimited quantities! Any fruit but melons like watermelon and honeydews are best. avoid those with high sugar content like pears and grapes. Er.. so me and hubby 'cheated' coz we were so hungry after a long day at church so we had our lunch ( his was worse than mine - curry chicken rice oozing with oil and coconut milk .. hmph.)

I didnt follow the exact soup recipe. We're allowed to subsititute any veg according to our taste but best to avoid beans as they are high in calories. i omitted green peppers coz i wasnt sure how they'd taste in soup. Added carrots and garlic, salt, pepper and some Know chicken stock cubes. hmm I didnt know celery would taste good in soup but it certainly added a distinct green taste which made the whole soup more flavourful.

So day 1 is suppose to prepare our system for the upcoming program. Sigh, I hope we survive coz I've had like 3 bowls of the veg soup and I'm still hungry :(

Tree for all Seasons

My hubby and I always make the most of things. *nods head*
We do not simply waste our hard earned money on unnecessary things for our house *nods head again*

Behold our first Christmas tree - classily adorned with traditional WHITE Christmas flowers (I do believe such a thing exists, if only for the sake of my blog. After all, if there's a WHITE Christmas, there ought to be White Christmas flowers too right?)

So being very wise in our decisions to spend our money, see what a little creativity got us in decorating our house for CNY....

Behold! OUR CNY tree!! I must say, we should be the very first people to lay claim on this innovative idea! Very soon, shopping malls would be copying OUR idea...
Just reuse the christmas trees, and adorn them classily with BRIGHT ORANGE mandarin oranges! Saves time on redecorating, saves money on decorations. Looks just as good hey?

:)

CNY: Part III

- picture blog -

3rd day: Lunch @ Sg. Buloh (my maternal grandparents)

My little nephew all decked up in a traditional costume.

yo wassup!

This photo is for you to enjoy dad:

CNY: Part II

- picture blog -

Eve @ Bentong (Ed's dad's side)

Reunion dinner (the meatballs are delish! Being entertained by upcoming pop stars

In case you're wondering, that's my very own HOME-MADE hamper/basket to my hubby's grandmom. had lots of fun picking stuff to pack in - don't play play woh, got Eu Yan Sang flower mushrooms, Ginseng slices (aiyah, not noticeable in this pix), FERRERO ROCHER (gee, wonder if his grandmom will eat it hee hee), pineapple tarts, the must-have mandarin oranges AND nian-gao plus a bright red ribbon to make the basket look very CNY! had a field day taking pics of it. Difficult to get good lighting late in the evening.

A very significant point in me life -*nods heads*

1st day - uneventful

2nd day: Dinner @ Puchong (Hubby's mom's side)

woo hoo! fun part - our first year of giving ANG PAUs! everyone had to line up and 'feed' us with good wishes - heh heh. bring it on! Being on the giving side is more fun!

Part III comin up...

CNY

I'll bet every Chinese blogger is busy writing about Chinese New Year.

This is my first Chinese New Year as a married girl! Yup gotta go back to my hubby;s hometown. Psst! Good thing its just nearby so we can be there for the reunion dinner and come back right after. hehe!

Of course we got caught in the spirit of CNY, (I least I did) buying lots of cookies, shopping at hypermarkets to buy drinks (this is a good time to stock up on 100plus), mandarin oranges, Bak Kwa (dried pork), mushrooms. etc for my parents, in-laws and my grandma, wah! dont even want to know how much I spent!


Check out hypermarkets and all their stacks or rather towers of sweets and canned drinks!

carrefour's very own 'twin towers'

Coke must also compete - who's the tallest of them all?

fuiyoh! complete with a dragon too! even the malays are busy buying our honey mandarins :)

The rest are snapshots of the decos that i bought and the humongous load of cookies and snacks we stocked up on. Hopefully our frens will finish em all....

My really red and festive placemats complete with chopsticks and chopsticks holder. They really add a festive cheer to my dining table!

Check out the almond ones on the front right corner - they are delish! so buttery and yummy but they crumble too easily though... bought them from a fren's contact.. cost rm16.

None of us had much mood to work today... hey CNY is just around the corner! we had fun opening our dept hampers and having a lucky draw to divide the goods! haha.

GONG HEI FATT CHOY!

The Lure of Shanghai

Waa ha ha, in case you think i'm gonna write about the delicious Shanghai Dim Sum or the vibrant city nightlife, you're absolutely WRONG.

I am going to write about what I always do when I go abroad - shopping! Yep. and Shanghai is a shopping haven for imitation goods heh heh!

Although i must admit i didnt intend to spend that much this time round. My last trip to Shanghai (in 2005 i think) really put a dent in my usually medium sized purse.

The imitation goods used to be found in this big open market - even the ang mohs are a plenty there buying 'Samsonite' luggage bags and 'Nike' goods. We found out that it shifted but no one really knew where to. When my colleague and i got there, we didnt waste ONE minute checking with the hotel staff, taxi drivers etc where all these wholesalers shifted to. We found out that its now located at Qi Pu. erm dun ask me what's that. My mandarin sucks.. though i did manage to pick up some pretty useful words to negotiate with *wink

So we spent 2 fruitful days (8.30-6pm!) covering Qi Pu. (its opens at 5.30am! and closes by 6.30pm) Its actually an area where there are lots of old shopping buildings about 5 storeys high.

ok

Don't get me started on the toilets! We had to abstain from drinking water throughout the day from fear of needing to use the totally G_R_O_S_S toilets. Do you know the girls toilets are made WITHOUT cubicle doors?!! i can see everyone squating there just like that! Some were even sms-ing while doing their 'business'!!! I headed straight to the one at the end so no one would be able to see me - BIG MISTAKE. The last one is where all the ^&**&)# goes to!!!! AWWKKGGDSSGHHHH!! because every cubicle (if you can call being separated by waist high cement walls that) is joined by this drain running across at the bottom and it all leads to a hole that's found at the end of the toilet! THAT"s where i went! oh no, but i really needed to go so i just mentally shut all my senses, did wat i needed to do and got out of there as soon as i could!
Good Grief, they dont have individual flushing systems! A 'cleaner' lady would just take a pail of water and flush from the front so all the *()#*% would go sailing towards the end of the toilet and fall into that one hole.

YUCKS!

anyhoo, sorry for that but i still can't believe i had to endure that. well, i guess for the sake of shopping.....

ok. Back to my shopping... You can find most of the popular international brands there: LV, Gucci, Coach, Samsonite, Lesportsac ermm.... Prada, Miumiu, Hugo Boss, and of course Rolex, etc the list goes on! woooo *drools*

haha. i bought a wallet for my dad and a leather 'Dunhill' belt for my hubby. The finishing is almost like the originals (yea, like i know haha).

Bought a pair of nice pearl earrings for my mum coz she lost one of the earrings from the last pair i bought her.

There's lots of cK underwear there as well! This time round the selection was even wider! yippee and the quality was really good! just like the ones i bought the last time i was in Shanghai. Shan't post the pics here anyway *wink.

AND here are I my treasures:

- a MUCH needed new COACH wallet



and a MUCH needed new shopping bag Miumiu! wooo see the beautiful leather... feels so luxurious too :)






too bad we didnt have enough cash for shoes :( i wanted badly to buy some chic knee high boots

:( :(