The New "Toy"

This is the new Dell Latitude E6400 at work. :)

With Windows 7 Professional, a bluetooth (and hence cordless) mouse, a nice Targus knapsack and lock. This laptop is recently provided at my workplace.

Love the Windows 7, which is a combination of the goodness of 2 worlds - nice to use (like Windows XP) and beautiful (like Vista). Since I'm no authority on computers, so I'm not going to elaborate on the new Windows or the detailed specifications of this computer.

So far, I'm happy with this computer. For a laptop, the speakers are good... music sounds reasonably good when played with this Dell Latitude compared to other laptops I've tried before this.

In terms of battery life, I'm happy and like the fact that under active usage, the battery can easily last for 6 hours and more without problem. This is real mobility... real freedom. However, the laptop is little heavy.

A Sunday at Market

At the Central Market (or Pasar Besar) of Ipoh... Below are just some random shots taken over the phone on one of the few privileged days when I could be at home.

At one of the beansprout stalls there. Ipoh is known for its good qualitied beansprouts, possibly due to the greater alkaline content of the water there.

Next, a vegetable stall with various vegetables readily weighed and packed up...

Kampung eggs...

Vegetables and fruits..

"Yong tau foo"... I've actually got 2 more pictures that show a colourful variety of yong tau foo, however I've not uploaded them here as the pictures were blur due to my own unintentional movement while taking the photos. After all, I only took the photos when I think it's time when people are least likely to notice that I was taking photos. Didn't want to appear as though this was the 1st time I went to the marketplace when in fact, I've been my mom's companion to the market since I was in school (the *bonus* of having daughter at home).

The fish market... I've got a few more photos too, but they're not uploaded as those pictures may appear gross to those who either do not like fish or those who do not consume meat.

So, the above are where we normally go to at the market. Just in case if anyone were to think if I don't consume other meat, well I do, which is chicken. But on that particular day, we did not buy chicken. As for red meat, I hardly take them nowadays, especially pork.

Contrary to what most people here think (i.e. that pork is synonymous among the Chinese), I actually don't like pork and so, I generally don't eat it. Speaking of this meat, roasted suckling-piglet particularly scares me because it makes me imagine of "eating up" a baby who's still nursing on its mom's milk. So, that keeps me even further away from the meat during festive occasions (so, people... please never serve this dish on my wedding if at all I marry).

Back to the topic... Last, but not least, after buying a number of things from the market, we went to a vegetarian restaurant located opposite the market.


I'm not a vegetarian, but I like some of the dishes served by vegetarian restaurants. Long ago, I had a different impression about vegetarian dishes. However, after being exposed to such dishes when I joined my vegetarian colleague cum friend from my former workplace for lunch, I started to realise that there are nice vegetarian dishes around.

Delicious "Lui cha"

Just discovered this stall at "Big Tree" at Pasir Pinji in Ipoh. Prior to this, I've only tried the "yong tau foo" at Big Tree. But recently, my mom and I discovered this stall that sells tasty 'Lui cha'.

The stall's name in mandarin reads "lao ma zi lei cha" (yes, I can read Chinese now... ;P ), or "lou ma chi lui cha" in cantonese (being the frequently-used dialect on the streets in Ipoh), which simply means "mom's lui cha".

From what I know about the cuisine, it's the native cuisine of the 'ho po' hakka people. The stall owner is a lady, who told us she learnt to make 'lui cha' from her mom-in-law who belongs to the 'ho po' community.

The dish is healthy and nutritious because it's a blend of a few types of vegetables. It has got only vegetables. I'm not sure about the ingredients to prepare the dish though. 'Lui cha' is in the form of soup, which is popularly served with rice.

A Mishmash of Things

1. On the road at Seri Kembangan...
This is the usual sight at Jalan Besar in the morning, especially at the opposite side of the road. That's the only road leading to KL, which also along the marketplace.


The town looks different from where I live now. However, I can easily disguise as a local girl there - most people there speak Hakka dialect and this is when knowledge of the dialect comes handy... self-praise is no praise.  ;)

2. Another "number of my car"... 1st prize 'siot'. So, who says that free number got no "cai"? But I strictly don't gamble and thus, did not get windfall.

3. I craved for carbonara the other day. It's okay to indulge in more fatty food once in a blue moon...

4. Jar of home-made cookies from Sheou Lee (thank you!!). With raisins, very crispy. Wonder if brother Ian Yap (trained chef, but has retired now) is going to bake anything after his last cooking project back in 2005... :P I suppose I'll finish the cookies way ahead of the Chinese new year because they're delicious!

The 2+2

The 4-coach LRT... finally. These random pictures were taken during a joyride (as opposed to a necessary ride to work or back). At last, I've got no more complaints that I've still yet to try the new train ever since it was launched to the public in December 2009.
Since the pictures were taken from the 2nd last station, there are plenty of empty seats and thus, the freedom to take out the phone to take pictures as if I was riding on LRT for the first time in my life.
The interior...
The section for passenger(s) on wheelchair...

Spacious-looking...

On the outside...

The air-conditioner is much colder than those of the 2-coach train. Possibly because it's new, and also that when a train is twice its original capacity, there needs to be higher capacity air-conditioners in order to ensure sufficient ventilation. There's also a slot at the windows which may be opened in case of emergency.

Bizarrely, the train came around when I didn't expect it to come. What's more, I sneaked the opportunity to ride on it for fun and out of curiosity. Yay.... I'm sure LRT rides will be much more comfortable when all trains are 4-coached.

Christmas Trees, Locally

Christmas Trees at Random

This is definitely outdated as I haven't got time to update earlier. It's already a week after the last day of Christmas... for instance, Christmas is celebrated on January 5th in Russia. Photos found in my phone:

Christmas tree at Mid Valley... colourful.




Christmas tree at the humble Ipoh Parade... colourful too.



And one at The Legend Hotel, KL... love the blue lights. Seeing the grand piano there made me imagine what could it be like to be up there playing it.