We went to check out the HSL Massive Chinese New Year warehouse clearance sale at Pandan Indah. It is lunch time after finished shopping and we decided to head to Ampang Famous (The Original) Yong Tau Foo 釀豆腐. With our expert navigator, Kevin, we arrived there without any problem and got a nice parking lot just in front of the restaurant.

Mention Ampang, Kuala Lumpur and the locals will inevitably ask if you have tried the Hakka yong taufu (assorted vegetables and bean curd stuffed with fish paste).

This restaurant is very popular with the locals and visitors from as far as Singapore. This restaurant was even voted for having the best yong taufu. During lunchtime, particularly on the weekends, it is always crowded and be prepared to wait.

This restaurant is mainly self-service. Patrons need to scout for their own table before heading for the counter to place their orders. There is hardly any menu. The easy and quickest way is to ask for a mix selection.

The Hakka yong taufu differs from those from other dialect groups in that high-quality, dried, salted fish bits are added to the fish paste. The dish is best eaten dipped with sweet or chili sauce (all homemade of course).

The Yong Tau Foo is priced @ RM0.70/pc. We ordered 40+ pcs and 6 herbal tea and the bill with GST came up to RM39.40.

This restaurant is closed on Tuesday.

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Kevin trying out his luck scratching the Jackpot Lotteries while waiting for the food. He could be the next multi-miilionare if he strike the coming RM12m Jackpot Draw on 12 Feb 2007.A mix selection of Yong Tau Foo

The Travel Sale that everyone is waiting for! Click Click Click and you will be very lucky if you get the cheapest fare as advertise.

No wonder Air Asia called it craziest Sale. I tried booking the free seats for KUL/BKK on Air Asia during the last 1,000,000 free ticket promotion but can only get1 free 2 way ticket, 2 one-way free and 1 two-way got to pay.

It is a sales gimmick, if you key in 2 pax or more you wont get free ticket. You will only get free return ticket if you key 1 pax and when you key in the next pax, the free ticket both way is no longer available and only 1 way free is available or sometime 1 way free also not available.
It is also crazy as it take very long to process 1 ticket and it took me 2 hours to booked 3 tickets!


For MAS I tried booking some destinations (BKK, XMN, Hanoi), the fare are much more than the advertise lowest fare. It look like another sales gimmick. The lowest fare is probably only for a limited few and after that the fares are just market price. But the online booking processing time for MAS is quite fast. Maybe because it is 1 am, tomorrow when everyone is clicking to book their tickets, the processing could be much slower.
Please also note that a lot of conditions are imposed and you have to pay penalty for any changes to the book flights later.

GOOD LUCK if you are booking online.

Chinese New Year is steeped in superstition – here are just some of the ones you could come across:

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• The entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. On New Year's Eve, all brooms, brushes, dusters, dust pans and other cleaning equipment should be put away. Sweeping or dusting should not be done on New Year's Day for fear that good fortune will be swept away.
• Shooting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and welcoming in the New Year.
• On the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, every door in the house, and even windows, has to be open to allow the old year to go out.
• All debts had to paid by this time. Nothing should be lent on this day, as anyone who does so will be lending all the year. Back when tinder and flint were used, no one would lend them on this day or give a light to others.
• If you cry on New Year's Day, you will cry all through the year. Therefore, children are tolerated and are not spanked, even though they are mischievous.
• On New Year's Day, we are not suppose to wash our hair because it would mean we would have washed away good luck for the New Year.
• A home is thought to be lucky if a plant blooms on New Year's Day, as this foretells the start of a prosperous year.
• It is considered unlucky to greet anyone in their bedroom so that is why everyone, even the sick, should get dressed and sit in the living room.
• Do not use knives or scissors on New Year's Day as this may cut off fortune.

Whilst many Chinese people today may not believe in these do's and don'ts, these traditions and customs are still practiced. Most families say that it is these very traditions, whether believed or not, that provide continuity with the past and provide the family with an identity.

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This is where the restaurant is located @ 1231, Jalan Sekolah, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor

Chinese characters usually have one or more meanings and some of them are particularly loved by Chinese people. Here is the top ten list of the lucky ones. Please note Pinyin is also used here, which is the Chinese spelling system for the characters. For example, fu is the pinyin for good luck in Chinese. But fu is only the phonic part of the character and it also represents other Chinese characters that sound the same.

1.) Fu - Blessing, Good Fortune, Good Luck Fu is one of the most popular Chinese characters used in Chinese New Year. It is often posted upside down on the front door of a house or an apartment. The upside down fu means good luck came since the character for upsite down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for came.

2.) Lu - Prosperity
It used to mean official's salary in feudal China. Fengshui is believed to be the Chinese way to health, wealth and happiness. If you are interested in Fengshui, you may check out the book 'The Feng Shui Kit.'


3.) Shou - Longevity
Shou also means life, age or birthday.




4.) Xi - Happiness
Double happiness is usually posted everywhere on Chinese weddings.




5.) Cai - wealth, money
Chinese often say money can make a ghost turn a millstone. It is to say money really can do a lot of things.



6.) He - harmonious
'People harmony' is an important part of Chinese culture. When you have harmonious relations with others, things will be a lot easier for you.



7.) Ai - love, affection
Don't need to say any more about this one. Just want to point out ai is often used with 'mianzi' together. Aimianzi means 'be concerned about one's face-saving.'

8.) Mei - beautiful, pretty
The United States of American is called Mei Guo in the short form. Guo means country so Meiguo is a good name.



9.) Ji - lucky, auspicious, propitious
Hope all is well.




10.) De - virtue, moral
De means virtue, moral, heart, mind, and kindness, etc. It is also used in the name for Germany, i.e., De Guo.

The next topic about Chinese New Year is Decorations before the New Year. It has been a long tradition and custom that Chinese buy all kinds of items to decorate their home but all this items have a special purpose and meaning to bring in good luck, prosperity and good health for the coming New Year.

Prior to New Year's Day, Chinese families decorate their living rooms with vases of pretty blossoms, platters of oranges and tangerines and a candy tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. On walls and doors are poetic couplets, happy wishes written on red paper. These messages sound better than the typical fortune cookie messages. For instance, "May you enjoy continuous good health" and "May the Star of Happiness, the Star of Wealth and the Star of Longevity shine on you" are especially positive couplets.

Plants and Flowers

Every traditional Chinese household should also have live blooming plants to symbolize rebirth and new growth. Flowers are believed to be symbolic of wealth and high positions in one's career. Lucky is the home with a plant that blooms on New Year's Day, for that foretells a year of prosperity. In more elaborate settings, plum blossoms just starting to bloom are arranged with bamboo and pine sprigs, the grouping symbolizing friends &endash; the plum blossom also signifies reliability and perseverance; the bamboo is known for its compatibility, its utility and its flexible stems for furniture and other articles;the evergreen pine evokes longevity and steadiness. Other highly prized flowers are the pussy willow,azalea, peony and water lily or narcissus.

The Chinese firmly believe that without flowers, there would be no formation of any fruits. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to have flowers and floral decorations.

They are the emblems of reawakening of nature, they are also intimately connected with superstition and with the wish for happiness during the ensuing year.

Oranges and Tangerines Etiquette dictates that you must bring a bag of oranges and tangerines and enclose a lai see when visiting family or friends anytime during the two-week long Chinese New Year celebration. Tangerines with leaves intact assure that one's relationship with the other remains secure. For newlyweds, this represents the branching of the couple into a family with many children. Oranges and tangerines are symbols for abundant happiness.

Candy Tray The candy tray arranged in either a circle or octagon is called "The Tray of Togetherness" and has a dazzling array of candy to start the New Year sweetly. After taking several pieces of candy from the tray, adults places a red envelope (lai see) on the center compartment of the tray. Each item represents some kind of good fortune.

* Candied melon - growth and good health * Red melon seed - dyed red to symbolize joy,happiness, truth and sincerity * Lychee nut - strong family relationships * Cumquat - prosperity (gold) * Coconut - togetherness * Peanuts - long life * Longnan - many good sons * Lotus seed - many children

Balut is a popular Filipino street snack and is essentially a duck egg with a fetus inside, typically between seventeen to twenty days in gestation.

Most foreigners are grossed out by the idea.

In the Philippines balut is so popular that it is equivalent to what the hot dog is in the U.S. There are balut vendors who push around carts full of fetal treats and bark their wares in a sing-song chant of “baluuuut, baluuuut!” Balut is also a popular aphrodisiac for men. But even with the good vibes and positive spin surrounding balut, the stigma attached to eating it overshadows all the warm and fuzzy aspects of this very Deep End Dining dish.

Balut is a USUAL snack for filipinos and most foreigners have the fear of eating it. Balut was ohce eaten by contestants in FEAR FACTOR.

If you are in Phillipines. Try It. I have tried it many many years ago when I went there to attend a seminar.
Well I tried the balut........followed by San Miguel Beer.

Good news for budget travellers as another LCC will be flying to KL soon as per AFP News below.. We will have more choices and more people can fly to Australia @ maybe RM1.99 return.!!!! AFP NEWS

Jan 23, 07 4:19pm Adjust font size:

Budget carrier Jetstar will launch flights to Malaysia in September, making it the sole Australian airline to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main airport operator said today. Malaysia Airports managing director, Bashir Ahmad, hailed the development as a major achievement for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and said it would boost the country's efforts to attract tourists. "We started negotiations with Jetstar a few months ago," Bashir said in a statement. "This will be the first Australian airline operating in KLIA. It is indeed a tremendous breakthrough for Malaysia Airports," he said. "This operation will not only help to enhance the network and connectivity, but also complement the government's effort to further encourage more low-cost carriers to operate to KLIA." Jetstar, a budget offshoot of Australian flag carrier Qantas, will start thrice-weekly flights from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Airbus A330-200s from Sept 9, said Malaysia Airports. The news follows the unveiling of Malaysian low-lost long-haul carrier AirAsia X earlier this month, which has also said it intends to fly to Australia, although no details have been released. Jetstar will become the second foreign-owned budget airline to operate flights to Malaysia, after the Filipino carrier Cebu Pacific Airways commenced operations in December. Australia is a popular destination for Malaysians, who holiday, study and work in the country. Malaysia's Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy last week said the country was seeking more landing rights in Australia to increase flights to the key destinations of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. - AFP

Buddhist Tzu-Chi Merit Society will be collecting items that can be recycle on every 3rd calendar Sunday at SS 15 Subang Jaya between 8-11am. If you have any old items and want to throw away, you may want to bring to this collection center.

Why Should I Recycle?

Most of the things we use can be recycled into something new and it couldn’t be easier to do…

Why throw it all away?

The transformation that takes place when you recycle is quite amazing. For example

• in just seven days, your paper could come back as another newspaper
• in just six weeks your metal can could be recycled and used as part of a fridge, a car, a plane… or simply another metal can!
• your glass bottles could be recycled into house insulation, and

  

• plastic bottles could be made into a cosy fleece jacket!

Most gets dumped in landfill sites - but a lot could be recycled.

And when the possibilities really are endless why throw it all away?!

And you know what, this blog page is also 100% recycled electric pulses.