Jeneris by Ahren

Today I met Karyn for lunch because we're now working 3 stations away. Yey! I let her choose the location and summed down to 5 spots. 

This was the selected lunch spot which I passed by everyday without noticing. 

Jeneris by Ahren at Nu Sentral

Actually the place is more known for their coffee and pastries but it was lunch time and I was hungry for something more. 

Karyn and I both selected the chicken mushroom pie which came with corn chips on the side. 

 

The crust of the pie was a little too hard for my liking. I startled my chips twice and they jumped on my lap. The filling was warm but I would like to have a little bit more. 

I wouldn't mind coming back here to try their other food because it looked delicious. Maybe I'll try one of their pastry for breakfast someday. 

I'm looking forward to trying lunch at various cafes with Karyn. 

Later dayz, 

Bibimbap

I'm not a foodie nor am I adventurous with food. I tend to order the same thing every time rather than taking risks because I don't want to not force myself to finish the food that I dislike. 

I was pushed to order "something else" by a friend and in that little spur of the moment, I went ahead and got something else than my regular food and guessed what? I didn't like it. 

Anyway, today I want to talk about bibimbap. I'm not a Korean food fan nor do I dine regularly at Korean restaurants but because I tried bibimbap in Ko Hyang for the first time and I fell in love with it. 

I don't usually order rice based meals when I'm out but I could not resist getting this when I'm at a Korean restaurant. The gravy, the mixture of dishes, the egg and the rice blended together created such a nice combination. 

I did try another non rice dish and it was horrible. I regretted my decision to order that dish instead of my usual bibimbap. It was a waste of money on my end and I just couldn't resist bibimbap (most of the time) when I go to Korean restaurants, which is not often. It's for the best cause I don't want to get sick of it. 

Maybe I should try the regular ones next time, I always get the one with the hot pot. 

Later dayz, 

A smaller size

When I began my fitness journey, I started with low expectation and made losing weight my motivation. 1 year since I started pilates, I bought a new pair of jeans because my old ones were getting loose. 

Few months after the new jeans was bought, I decided to put both jeans together for comparison as I'm looking to purchase another pair of jeans soon since the newer one too has gotten loose. 

Comparison and realization like this has further motivate me to continue working out and knowing that there's hope, there's something to hold on to and I am not fated to be fat because of my genetics.

Later dayz,

Solving the classroom murder

My besties and I had our first gathering of the year - second sleepover overall. I know I know .. a bunch of late 20's ladies still having a slumber party sounds weird but it's fun. It's even more ridic cause I live 5 minutes walk away. 

Our snacks for the night. We spent the night talking and playing games. Lily knocked out first and then the other three of us continued staying up for a bit more. 

The next day we woke up to breakfast, a quick shower and then off we go to the Code Factory in Jaya One. 

We had been on a few escape rooms before and this was our chosen prison of the day. Honestly escape room sometimes creep me out but I like the excitement of finding each clue and taking another step to solving the mystery to escape. 

Rated 2 stars and .. we lost. It was disappointing, I was quite hopeful we would get this but darn it, we lost. It's okay, another escape room someday and another victory will be ours.

Before we went in, we had to sign a form and leave all our belongings including handphones in the locker. 50 minutes and 2 hint chances were given and we still lost. 

Till the next room!

Later dayz, 

Eating in Malacca

My intention of heading down to Malacca this round was just to enjoy Jonker Street and just to get away from the routine of life.

On the first day, once we checked in we headed few steps down the road and went in the first restaurant that we saw which was Restoran Peranakan. 

The restaurant was half full but we were served quickly. The food came fairly fast too and I'm not sure whether cause I was hungry (it was 2 pm) or the food was delicious. 

The tofu was sister's favorite and father said the ayam ponteh was delicious. The other dishes were just okay. 

The waitresses were not exactly smiling but they were running around tables so it's understandable that they're busy. 

The first evening we were at the mall and decided to just settle for food court which was nothing spectacular. 

The next day, we went out to Jonker Street after the hotel breakfast and I did a u turn when I spotted this. 

Potted ice cream. I bought chocolate cream chip but my mint leaves flew away. The ice cream was just plain, nothing extraordinary but I appreciate the "soil" chocolate on top. 

Bonus : you get to keep the pot for gardening. Actually saw an auntie picking these up in the trash. 

For lunch, we queued up for Hoe Kee's chicken rice balls just to see what the fuss was about. The other famous chicken rice ball shop was Chung Wah but it had a longer queue. 

They took our order while we were in line and after 10 minutes, we got in. 

Chicken served with cabbage, ball rice and loose rice. 

The ball rice tasted the same as the loose rice but it has extra flavour due to being pressed together - molded into a ball. 

For big rice eaters though - the loose rice would be more sufficient.

At night, we were walking out to Jonker again to look for dinner but halfway there, we decided to queue for Nancy's Kitchen. Everytime we walked past this cafe, there's always a queue and just like a tourist, we stood in queue for half an hour. 

Our order took an hour to arrive and most of the famous dishes were finished. Bummer. 

What I didn't like was our 5 dishes were served separately. When the first 3 dishes came, we were famished and started eating. If we waited, the dishes would be cold. 

The following 2 dishes came 10 minutes later so we were left sitting there waiting with our remainder rice. The food was mediocre and just alright. I was disappointed that the famous dishes were all gone. 

Another night market walk. It's ridiculous  to see these trishaws all lit up Frozen or Hello Kitty theme. Overrated. Plus they were riding around town blasting Let It Go. Oh my gosh.. where has the traditional trishaw disappear to. 

Before we left Malacca, I wanted to try this little egg ice cream that I saw people eating. 

I was fairly disappointed because the one I got was colored ice. It was not creamy. 

There were other places which I wanted to go as well but didn't manage to. I wanted to go to Baba Charlie - a famous kueh place but unfortunately when we reached, there was a tour bus outside and the place was so packed so we left. 

I was debating whether to go for Capitol Satay Celup but it was some distance walk away and it was raining the evening we were nearby the area. 

The next time I'm in Malacca, I would probably want to stay out of town, maybe somewhere closer to the A Famosa Resort area just to experience a different environment than the crowded busy town. 

Later dayz, 

Abstaining from instant noodles

A year ago, I decided to abstain from instant noodles. I know this is a weird thing to do but here is the reason why. 

Occasionally when I get to the office in the morning and it's raining, I would get this craving for hot soupy noodles. Instant noodle cups were the only available option on the shelf and I usually gave in. 

However the regret kicked in almost immediately after I finished my cup. I felt bloated and disgusted with myself when I'm done. It just has that sickly aftertaste and my mind is just telling me that I had made a poor choice for breakfast. 

Not only that, I get hungrier faster when I had instant noodles. Within an hour or two after my meal, my stomach started growling again and it annoys me for surely instant noodles should last me longer than crackers? 

Therefore I decided to quit instant noodles, not only for office breakfast but for everything. It got to that point where I felt disgusted with myself for allowing my body to take in something that made me feel awful afterwards. 

Of course I did not quit noodles totally, I still enjoy the ones freshly cooked from the wok. I just stop consuming the ones which are instant and stop ordering the ones which they cooked using the instant noodles, if I'm aware of it. 

It's been a year since I quit instant noodles. I'm going to try staying away from them as long as I could. Yes, there was temptation. Last June, I had a craving so badly that I paced up and down the shelf before I grabbed the cup and shoved it in my drawer. Then I decided to forget about the instant craving and got something else for breakfast. 

I guessed partly it has become a challenge for myself as well. See how I can discipline myself and how I can abstain from it. I admit, I did not read up on the danger of instant noodles, I just wanted to quit because I felt bloated and disgusted with myself. 

I might not quit them forever but for now, I would like to see how far I can push myself. 

Later dayz,

The Baba House, Malacca

This is actually last year's post but I just want to share my experience when I was in Malacca back in December. I'm usually the type of person who does a lot of research and read up before selecting a hotel. 

This round I picked the Baba House as the family choice for our vacation. This little house is located very near to Jonker street - basically 5 minutes walk away. 

Upon entering the place, you can see the interior decorations are Baba Nyonya themed. 

Huge mirror in the lobby reception area. I checked in without any problem. A deposit of RM 50 paid upfront first and then we went to the room. 

Some people mentioned that it's best not to get the ground floor room as it might get a little noisy with people walking in and out but my room was on the second floor. 

There's an elevator but we took the stairs as it was just a floor up. 

I like the environment of the place. It looked very cultural and different from other hotels that I stayed before. 

This was our "balcony", a little sitting area out of the room complete with chairs and the fan. The door is our room. 

Here is the breakfast area taken from the top. The eating area is open with nice lighting but with a roof so no fear of the rain. 

Breakfast area. I read about terrible breakfast but I thought people were just being picky and expected too much but I experienced it first hand and the taste was really flat. 

The baked beans were cold and the juice was diluted. Our booking came with breakfast so we just took it.  

The hotel has a parking space behind the hotel and there's a friendly security guard there. We didn't even drive out to anywhere since the hotel is located within walking distance to all the attractions. 

One thing I didn't like about the room was the translucent bathroom. It's a little too exposed. To be fair, other rooms that I've peeped in during the cleaning does not have this problem so maybe it only applies for certain rooms. 

Fishbowl sink outside the bathroom. Our room have two queen size beds and we added an additional mattress on the floor. We have a flat screen television and everything is just good enough for a night rest. The biggest advantage this place has is obviously the location and it's also reasonably priced. 

I would recommend this hotel to people but I probably would not stay there again because I would like to try other hotels around the area. Just skip the breakfast and get something out there. 

Later dayz,

Quitting the gym

One of my biggest wish while I was still studying was to be able to join the gym when I am able to earn. So I did just that in October 2011. I was so excited to finally be on my weight losing dream. I made everyone signed up with me as motivation and encouragement.

credits google image

At first I went to the gym 3 times a week but as the time goes by, I find it hard to keep up and almost 2 months later I quit with a heavy heart (that time) cause it was a longtime dream of mine and I wanted to feel like I ‘belonged’ somewhere, like if I kept my membership I will be deemed still trying rather than quitting.

It was after a long few months’ consideration and my attendance to the gym had been reduced to perhaps once or twice a month that I decided it was not wise to keep hanging on for sentimental value.

Here are the reasons why I quit the gym :- 

1.       At the time of joining, the traffic to the area was not bad but over time a 5 minutes’ drive became 20 minutes. I arrived home from work at 6 or 7 pm +. Time for dinner then had to wait an hour before heading to the gym with the 20 minutes’ drive. The workout time was so limited.

2.       Lack of guidance. I have no idea what I’m doing and what I’m burning. All I ended up doing is running on the treadmill and I hate cardio. Hiring a personal trainer cost me at least a thousand and I was reluctant to do so. I mean, it’s a big hole in the pocket.  

3.       I know this can’t be helped but I didn't like the air conditioning. I am weird. I like to feel my sweat after a workout and it’s impossible to do so when the cold air kept blowing me dry.

4.       Focus on me.  I kept looking at other people’s achievement and felt sad when I couldn't run as fast or my thighs are not so small etc. I resent those skinny people who are at the gym, wondering if anyone is looking or laughing at me. 

I started working out at home when I found Blogilates. It solved all my problems and I had no excuse.

1.       I can just roll out my mat upon entering the house, do my work out, take 10 minutes break and head to the shower and do anything I want. I don't need to go through the jam or to find parking. 

2.       Cassey had prepared her monthly calendars and I just followed. It’s that simple and painful at the same time. Plus, her videos are free and I'll forever be grateful to her for this. 

3.       I roll out my mat in the middle of the room and let the natural air flow. No air con, no fan. Just sweat it out. 

4.       There’s no one to compare to and as time goes by, I realized I just need to compete with me of yesterday. I learned to love myself compared to the time when I was in the gym. 

I have been sore and in pain but as time goes by, things get easier when I hit a routine. All I needed was my mat and some weights. 

There’s still one thing though, I still hate cardio. I really need to get myself pumped with adrenaline and just go out for a run. Perhaps I should get serious about aerobic and dance.

If you know any good dance tutorial channel, let me know. 

Later dayz, 

My 2015 Resolutions

New year, new blog, new beginning. 

Let me start the new year with my new year resolutions. Resolutions might be overrated and usually people don't keep them but I see them as an opportunity to start again. I made too many resolutions in the previous years and some of them are just the generic resolutions that everyone made - study harder, lose weight etc. 

Here are my 2015 resolutions which I will strive to achieve :- 

1. Find time to write again. I used to blog and write during my free time. I intend to catch up on my weekly prompt writing as the community of people are so supportive. 

2. Write a complete novel. I have never written a complete story before because I just couldn't say goodbye to the characters and tie up the loose ends. I also tend to skip details and jump right into the action therefore this will be a challenge for me. 

3. Read 15 books this year. Last year my target was 20 but to be realistic this year with my time. Since I want to write more, I need to divide my time between reading, writing and other aspects of life. One of my target book for this year would be Stephen King's IT. 

4. Take more photos of myself this year. I'm usually the type of person who dislike being in front of the camera but I think it's important to take more photos on occasions to keep for memory. I'm also finally at the stage where I'm more comfortable to be in front of the camera. 

5. I've been doing pilates for a year plus now and it's time to add some flexibility into the mix. Just like pilates, I'll be learning yoga on my own just because I want to prove to myself I can do it. I also want to explore the inner peace aspect and do the cool poses.

6. Choreograph a workout dance. A simple private one for myself. I've always prefer moving to the beat and aerobic rather than just running. I have some favorite catchy songs and I want to try dancing to them in proper movement. 

These are my resolutions for the year. Actually most of them are like little projects which I hope to achieve by the end of 2015. 

Later dayz,