The Little Sages

How many of you have been with, really been with the elderly for one day? To observe them, to talk to them, to listen to them. Many of you may have in mind grandmothers are old, fragile and slow. Slow they maybe, but they can still be living a fulfilling life. Coincidently I have two such octogenarians at home, here is a page out of their daily lives. Grandma A loves to sleep, but on doctors order the family tries to prevent her from having an overly sedentary life style. But at around 8pm at night right after dinner: Grandma A: I go to the toilet ah Family member: OK, walk slowly ah (20 minutes later Grandma A still has not returned from toilet) Family member looks around and finds Grandma A already in bed! Conveniently her bedroom is halfway between the toilet and living room, so Grandma A stealthy went into her bedroom on her way out from the toilet. This is her modus operandi! When it comes to dinner time: Family member: Grandma eat more vegetable Grandma A:

If you have been a “foodie tourist” in Ipoh, Nam Heong would have been a perennial stop-over on your tour list. The rag tag team plus the cow boy team from outstation were already hooked on their food after our own “foodie tour” of Ipoh, and we were happy to find that Nam Heong had opened a branch in our hood. But as with all franchises, does the food match the lofty standards of THE original Nam Heong, Ipoh? Lets have a look. In terms of ambience, it is pretty good, a definite winner over the original Nam Heong. But here you have to do your own ordering using an ipad available at each table. This took some getting use to and would cause problems for those who are less technology savvy. Though the normal menus were still available on the table.   We ordered all the signature dishes. First-up came the signature chicken hor fun. In terms of taste yes ! it matches the original Nam Heong Ipoh. But what sets this hor fun apart from the rest is the reddish oil made from the

One of hubster’s favourite joints, and finally I get to have a try at it! Restaurant Char Siew Yoong is one of those places that are really off the beaten track, its closest landmark would probably be behind PGRM building in Cheras. It is famous for its char siew (bbq pork) and siew yoke (roasted pork belly). Char Siew Yoong is like your typical kopitiam – noisy and crowded, you need to overlook that for the great food that is about to follow.    The queue for take-away We ordered the char siew and siew yoke rice with a soup and vegetable on the side. The char siew was marinated to perfection, probably one of the best char siew I have eaten in KL. The best part of it is the char siew meat, with just enough fat sandwiched between the lean to make it juicy and it really brings out the flavourful taste. No wonder this restaurant’s name is “Char Siew Yoong” this is their ultimate number 1 dish. The siew yoke for me was just as nice, though hubster is a loyal fan of the char

It has been years since I last walked the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur. Was pleasantly surprised by the quirky and vibrate knick-knacks we saw along and around Central Market. So we did the touristy thing and started snapping photos of everything, from sourvenirs to handicraft to food! Come take a photo tour with us of the things we saw. Circuits that have seen better days (at one of the oldest coffee shop downtown) Aspiring T Shirt Colourful bowls Owl bags looking back at you Cath Kidston look-a-like Love and Rock the classic mix Cutie cups Cutie bowls Owl bags (there seem to be a serious owl trend this year) Figurines of traditional Malay attire Automotive toys Coconut husk lamp 3-D pop out greeting cards Wooden carvings Painted lacquer Entrance to the age-old Central Market Seller of traditional "putu bamboo" Making of traditional "putu bamboo" "Jewere

On a bright Saturday morning, the rag tag team decided to head out to Bangsar Shopping Centre for some dim sum. Initially, we intended to go to Ming Room, but in a spur of the moment, decided to try something we have not tried before. We did NOT regret that decision. For the quality of dim sum in Grand Imperial turned out to be quite splendid.  Being a loyal fan of Tim Ho Wan’s baked BBQ buns, we started of with these, as it was also not common to find these on a Malaysian dim sum menu. The buns in Grand Imperial had a nice taste to it, but fell short of the towering standards of Tim Ho Wan’s legendary baked buns, as the crust was a bit too thick and not as crunchy. But there were still nice. For the first time I felt compelled to describe egg tarts as “tender”, but that was exactly how they were. The egg filling in the centre was so soft to the point of being tender, the crust was flaky and good but not extraordinary. Still the egg tart was a winner for me. Next came the

Whether you are living in a temperate, wintery country or hot and humid tropical country like ours, the season of Christmas always seem to have something magical and joyful about it. Maybe it’s the Christmas decorations seen all over town, in each shopping complex or maybe it is the cheerful Christmas carols playing continuously. Whatever it is, there just seems something sublime about the atmosphere. A quick tour of the shopping complexes around town, we found Bangsar Shopping Center turned into a fairy-like winter wonderland. While at Mid Valley, the decorations had a distinct British flavour to it complete with Paddington bear, locomotives and the arch-typical red telephone booths. Amidst all the festivity, we wonder should Christmas be only about decorations, Santa, elves and presents? This year I received an interesting invitation to attend a Christmas carol service. Located at the rooftop of Lot 10 (yes the rooftop), was a beautiful church that was holding its a