Good Morning

"
I love this part of my home that greets me every morning.

This time of the year, the sunlight just shine through the glass panels and whisper "good morning"...

I am going to miss this place, but I know it is time to move on.

Tiny Chairs

We were at the KL French School for our H1Ni jab and I notice these Petite and colourful chairs.

Margaux asked if I can bring one back for her... So I took back the image instead.

Home Alone

Everyone has gone back to Melaka for the long weekend, I am home alone (not by choice, a mere professional hazard).

Thursday night, without them, I made a last minute decision to join a friend for dinner @ Nero Teka. We had cold cuts, cheeses and salad, and yes, a bottle of Sicilian wine. Everything was nice except the salad. Despite the sun-dried tomatoes, olives etc etc, the salad was so blend. I wonder why, people don't take salt anymore? Or, the chef has forgotten? Anyway, we asked for some lemon, squeezed in the juice.... walla, much better...

Woke up late on Friday morning, and I tried to work. Needless to say, I failed.

Instead, I spent valuable time reading fashion blogs and FB. Then in the afternoon, I got Soon to visit the new house I intend to renovate. After draining his brain, I dropped Soon off at this place.

Soon after I dropped Soon, the rain started to pour. Alas, I hate driving in the rain (with my impaired eyesight) but I needed to be KLIA in an hour. I know what you are thinking, but no lah, I wasn't flying off to some exotic location for a secret rendezvous, but to have dinner with my good friend Janet, at the airport, who has 3 hours of transit to kill. No romance!

After driving about 40 minutes, which is usually the time to reach KLIA from home, I realised I was totally on the wrong direction. I was indeed driving to Ipoh, believe it? Moron I!!!!
I made a turn and tried to figure out how to get back to KLIA route ... and to cut the story short, I made several more wrong turns, and 1 hour and 15 mins later, I ended up back in Damansara Heights, where I begun! I was so tired and was so so so tempted to call off the date. Nonetheless, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving Janet alone in the airport by herself in KL, my territory! I braved myself against the thunder storm and against the heavy rain, and continued my drive to KLIA. Another 15 minutes into driving, into thunders and into the lightning, I came to my senses, and canceled the trip to KLIA. The rain and thunders were making me nervous, I couldn't see the road!

I woke up early this morning (Saturday), had only a bowl of yogurt for breakfast... (ya ya, I miss my daily thé-au-lait; Eva is not here, I can't find my teabag!) .

At 2pm, I got real hungry and decided to lift my butt off the fanciful designer chair Stevie bought for his new apartment (which in the interim, stored here), and make myself a real gourmet lunch. Here it goes:

A packet of instant noodle, discard all the flavouring, add some cabbage, Sichuan chili paste (老乾媽), roasted peanuts, a few drops of premium organic peanut oil (that cost me RM60 for a mere 500ml!) and a dash of Hungarian pablika. 加料: lightly-fried egg.

I finished it in mere 5 minutes, Yummmmm!

I cooked these two dishes for dinner with Margaux, my sister and brother yesterday.

The first dish is Lu Zhu Roi and the second, Kangkong Belacan. Well, the first dish, i am not sure how to do the hanyi pinyin and I am not sure what it is called in English. It looks and taste like Cha Shui but it is not.

I will get back and give a recipe in a couple of days time. I am too sleepy now.

My Sofa

I spent quite substantially to purchase this sofa 6 years ago from Fiske. I love it even more now!

Interior

Love it so much (except the sofa)!
I thought I may as well post it here before NYT archives it and you can't get it on the link anymore.

Friends

Basically I have 2 friends in Melaka, Sharen and her husband, Soon.

Soon is an interior designer, he has very very good taste. He also preps for media shoots.

Soon is currently renovating an old house on the street of Jalan Hang Lekiu, I will show you some pictures when that is done.

Sharen and her sister, Jasmin run Limau Cafe, also located at Jalan Hang Lekiu, Melaka. Limau Cafe used to be located at the Jonkers Street until few months ago when the landlord decided he wants the place back.

Limau cafe is the prettiest cafe (more a juice bar) or the only pretty cafe in Melaka. You must go and see it, and you MUST try any of their juices.

Together with Stevie, Coco and Mitch, I supposed to have early dinner at their home. They brought back some fresh river prawns from Sarawak, and willing to share only with some true friends, like me! Ya!!!!!!

But, Soon texted me this afternoon and told me he has to cancel the dinner. Sharen was admitted to the hospital for dengue.

That is sad. Not because the dinner is canceled, but Sharen got dengue. This is not any other fever...

Mum, Coco and I went to the left-over jungle at the back of my parents' and got some young papayas and young papaya leaves for Soon to extract the juice for Sharen. My two friends who suffered the same fate got this cure...

Now we play doctor...

All Pictures of Limau Limau Cafe and are courtesy of Stevie Wonders

Day 4, CNY

I am so happy waking up finding it drizzles this morning.

Weather in Melaka has been scorching hot since I got back. We have moved our dinners to the front yard most of the time, and content with having our chit-chat outdoor. The air is so still one can't believe it.

This drizzle has brought me smile.

Perhaps, I should do some serious work today before going downtown to have lunch with Sharen and AhSoon.

Love

Second day of Chinese New Year and cousin came visit. He said he just came from his sister-in-law's home.

This sister-in-law of his, had elementary education. She didn't work when she was married to my cousin, she stayed home and took care of their children. Life was simple.

This sister-in-law of his, my late cousin's wife, I admire.

She lost her husband, my late cousin, to an irresponsible bus driver, and left to die at a roadside, at a wee hour. No one ever found out who that driver was who cause the death of my cousin. I don't know how she had endured the pain, not even knowing who killed her husband.

Anyway, when she lost her husband, she had 3 kids, the eldest was probably 5 years old, 2nd was a daughter and 3 years old and the youngest, also a daughter, less than a year old.

She then moved out from her in-law's house, my nasty uncle's, and rented a small place near her own mother. She found a low paying job, to raise her family.

Today, her eldest son is 32. She has never remarried.

At the same time, I have another 2 good friends, both male. Both lost their respective wives to killer cancer. One got married within half a year of his beloved wife's demise, the other, 9 months. Both said, it was for their children.

My cousin's wife, remain unmarried, also because of her children.

There is another kind of man. They will proclaim all the love for their child, provided it does not cost them inconvenience and money. This kind of love talk, is cheap. Talk only.

At home in Melaka

It's second day of the Chinese New Year celebration. At nine a.m, mum saw me and Joanne busy on our computers and said "It's funny, all of you have computer for breakfast!"

Joanne, feeling guilty(?), said, we are being connected to the world, and update the world of what you are doing. That way, all your family around the world will know what you are doing.

What a world...