chocolate strawberry cake

When a small human proclaims that her favourite cake is a chocolate strawberry cake, it's time to get busy in the kitchen!



It wasn't even her birthday (it was 2 months ago) but she has been reminding me about the cake and asking me to make her one, for the past 2 weeks. So this weekend I finally rolled up my sleeves and got her to assist me. She helped pour the ingredients into the bowl and eat the diced strawberries meant for the filling. Good thing I had one punnet of it.



I used this recipe for the chocolate cake. The first time I made it, it was too sweet for me. So this round I cut down the sugar to one cup and it was perfect! Still moist and super chocolaty. I think it's important to use good quality cocoa powder as it just gives your baked goods a push from very good to wow. I also prefer Dutch processed cocoa powder over natural cocoa powder as I found the taste more complex and rich, and I simply love that deep dark chocolate colour. Brands like Callebaut, Valrhona and van Houten are Dutch processed, whereas Hershey's, Nestle and Ghirardelli are natural.

There's a science behind the 2 types of cocoa powder but it got a bit too Heston Blumenthal for me. I mean, it's good to know but unless the recipe specifically calls for a certain type of cocoa powder, I don't think it matters much. I have always used Hershey's in chocolate recipes until I discovered Callebaut and Valrhona. If you're interested to read further, you can check out the insightful piece by the team at Serious Eats (brilliant work, as usual) here.



Let me give you a bit of background to the picture above. We have a fridge with a faulty thermostat and sometimes it freezes everything in it. It's most frustrating when it freezes my green vege because they end up wilted and mushy. Sometimes it turn our drinks into blocks of ice too. I had a jar of thickened cream in there waiting to be turned into whipped cream for the cake.

So, the thickened cream got frozen and I took it out to thaw. When I opened it, I could see the top layer was dry and cracked. Still, I scooped everything out into a bowl thinking that it should be fine since it smelled OK. I could see bits and pieces of stuff but that didn't stop me from tossing in icing sugar and whipping it up. About 2-3 minutes later, the cream started to curdle and separate. Bah.

I remembered coming across a blog post on making butter out of cream. So I continued whipping it until the whole thing separated. What you get is effectively butter and buttermilk. Then I put it into the fridge to harden up the butter. Once it hardens, used a cheese cloth to squeeze out the buttermilk. Since I have added icing sugar to the cream, I decided to make honey butter with dijon mustard and smoked paprika.

I made a divine grilled king prawns with the flavoured butter. Wash prawns, slice in half, season with salt and pepper, lather with butter and grill. Easy peasy dinner with minimal cooking involved.

cheap or practical?

I have this thing about not over paying for something or a service that I could well accomplish with my own hands. It's very likely something I inherited from my mum, because she wouldn't eat out at a place where the food doesn't taste as good as her own cooking (and she's a great cook) or she could easily cook up the dishes. She also makes most of my clothes when I was younger and all the curtains and cushion covers in the house too (until today), just because she can.

Of course, I'm not as accomplished as my mum so I only DIY when I feel very strongly over the subject. For example: "$150 for a customised cake?? Are you effing serious?"

It's just a cake. I can bake a cake.


Ta-dah! For her 3rd birthday, my girl got a melting ice cream cake. It was the easiest cutest design for baking on a weekday night. I couldn't have done it without Youtube.

It's actually a very kids unfriendly lemon cake with raspberry buttercream 😅. I made this mainly for the teachers to share, because the kids are getting...


Chocolate ice cream cone cakes with buttercream and sprinkles!

What's more challenging than the baking and decorating is figuring out how to store and transport the ice cream cone cakes. I ended up cutting holes into a piece of cardboard and standing them in a cake box.


It was a hit with the kids! I brought it in just before lunch time and some of them wolfed down their lunches so that we could get along with the program 😄

I baked them the night before and the cones had gone soft in the morning, even though I kept them in a tight container. I poked a hole in the bottom of the cone, as some has suggested, but they still went soft. That was a disappointment. Luckily the chocolate cake was quite yummy.


This is what she got last year. It was an earl grey cake with lemon buttercream. I know, I know, not a very popular cake flavour for kids but she was the only one. She wasn't really into cakes last year anyway so it was mainly for the adults.

I think this once a year baking trend is here to stay since customised cakes cost a bomb and I'm an absolute cheapo. As long as she doesn't mind home made cakes (or doesn't start requesting for fancy stuff like Paw Patrol or PJ Masks), I would continue to make them. Like how my mum used to do.

Singapore, a self walk day tour

Singapore, the little red dot on the map, our new home for the past 8 months.

Yes, it's small and some say boring. It is an island after all, roughly 2.5 times of Penang island currently (still growing with all the land reclamation). But I think it really depends on what you're looking for. If you have young children like me, Singapore is quite an awesome place.

My cousin, his father, his wife and young son came to stay for a few days. So my daughter and I played tour guides and showed them the must-see sights around Singapore.


#1. Our tour starts at Boat Quay. Boat Quay sits at the mouth of the Singapore River, where the Fullerton Hotel is at. As you go further inland, you will get to Clarke Quay, then Robertson Quay. These are the 3 main quays in Singapore and you can take a river cruise from any of the said quays. The bars facing the river is very touristy, mind you.


#2. Bird by Fernando Botero. Location: Next to UOB Plaza, Boat Quay.

One of the very first things I noticed about Singapore are the various public sculptures. And I mean many many sculptures, so many that there is a public art walking tour that you can go on if you're into this sort of scene. I must mention there is a Dali (a Dali!!) in front of UOB Plaza.


#3. We walked towards Fullerton Hotel and right next to Cavenagh Bridge is First Generation, by Chong Fah Cheong, a local artist. This bronze sculpture is part of the 4 sculptures making up the People of the River sculpture series, but probably the most photographed. The faces of the boys are filled with such joy and the mid-action of reckless abandonment is so strikingly captured. The first boy to jump looks like he's floating in the air. What an amazing work by the artist.

The Cavenagh Bridge is one of the oldest bridges and only suspension bridge in Singapore. It connects the Asian Civilisations Museum to the Fullerton Hotel. Completed in 1869, the structure was built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Singapore (source link). It used to accommodate light vehicles but is only for pedestrians now.


#4. Right outside the lawn of the Empress Place Building, sits several giant mirror balls by Baet Yeok Kuan, also a local artist. It looks very outer spacey and the kids love them!

The Empress Place Building itself was formerly government offices during Sir Stamford Raffles's day. Quick fact: Sir Stamford Raffles is the founding father of modern Singapore. The Empress Place Building now houses the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM), which specialises in the history of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia, basically regions where the ethnic locals has their roots in. The ACM has a family friendly programme on the last Saturday of each month. Actually, most museums in Singapore has some kind of children friendly activities on the weekends (mostly at no charge), so do check out their ongoing events before you visit.


#5. The iconic Esplanade - Theatres by the Bay, also known as the "Durian". They offer guided tours for a small fee, where they also answer the perennial question of "what are the durian spikes for?" This picture was taken along the river promenade heading towards the Esplanade.


#6. Clear view of the CBD, taken near the underpass below Esplanade Drive. Those concrete steps didn't used to be there but I thought they look a nice spot to sit and chill and watch the skies change.


#7. Marina Bay Sands, taken from the Esplanade Bridge. As you walk all the way to the end of the Esplanade Bridge, you will see the infamous....


#8. Merlion. Interestingly, the Merlion was originally at a different location - the mouth of the Singapore River. It was moved when it was blocked by the construction of the Esplanade Bridge.

We had to walk all the way back out to get to Makansutra (hawker stalls, overpriced, crowded, food OK) just next to the Esplanade. In front of the Esplanade is an outdoor theatre, which hosts public music or dance performances. On that Friday, there was a percussion band performance and comedic mime show. There's almost always some performance on Friday to Sunday nights. Sometimes, there are art installations too, such as this...


#9. "Intersections" is a colourful yarn and ribbons geometric work that glows under black light.

Make your way up to the roof of the Esplanade building for a panoramic view of the city and Marina Bay. It's called the Roof Terrace and it's free!

The next day we went to the Gardens by the Bay. It is possible to walk there from the Esplanade but we were running late and would've missed the last Garden Rhapsody by the time we get there. The walk is a nice little loop and if you plan it well (and pray it doesn't rain), you would easily have a half day tour covering the main highlights of Singapore.

The Gardens by the Bay is big-ish park (by Singapore standards where land is scarce) that sits on reclaimed land. In fact, the entire Marina Bay area was created by reclaiming land. Which is why if you're walking down Beach Street today, you'll be wondering why it's called Beach Street when there's no beach in sight. Singapore has a long history of land reclamation. The first land reclamation project started way back in 1822 (source link) with the creation of Boat Quay.

Anyway, at Gardens by the Bay there are 2 main conservatories and several themed gardens. There is a charge for the conservatories and other than this, the rest of the sights are free. There are various sculptures to see around this garden but my absolute favourite has to be the giant floating baby.


#10. Planet by Marc Quinn, which depicts his infant son.


#11. An amazing (and free) water play area that is guaranteed to occupy your kids for a long time. At the foreground is the Fish Fountain, which is very suitable for children aged toddler and below. There's also a sandy playground behind the amphitheater. We usually go there in the evenings as it can get quite blisteringly hot in the afternoon; the whole area is not shaded.

While the Supertree Grove looks quite impressive during the day, by night time it takes on a rather surreal ambiance. I still remember the feeling when I first saw the glowing trees in the dark – it was like stepping into Avatar. And I do think it was also because they played music from Avatar for the light show that time, which enhanced the Avatar feeling. The Garden Rhapsody show comes on twice a night, at 7.45pm and 8.45pm. The songs changes from time to time depending on the theme at the gardens. On Star Wars Day, they played music from Star Wars!


#12. The mushrooms are part of the Children's Festival installation.

There's a handful of restaurants at the Supertree Grove and a few more scattered around the gardens (including a McDonald's). Food is OK but the queues can get pretty long during the weekends and public holidays.


#13. Here is a map of the walk we did, starting at Boat Quay and ending at the Supertree Grove.

Happy walking!

a new dawn

It started with Tun Dr Mahathir quitting UMNO in February 2017 and setting up his own party, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. In the run up to GE14, Pakatan Harapan proposed that Tun Dr Mahathir will become the new Prime Minister should they win, thereby paving the way for Tun Dr Mahathir to lead the Pakatan Harapan coalition for GE14.

On Tuesday, 1 May 2018, former finance minister (1985-1991 and 1999-2001) Tun Daim Zainuddin openly supported Tun Dr Mahathir at a gathering in Kedah.

On the very same day, Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, former international trade and industry minister (1987-2008), had called out to Malaysians to reject UMNO and support Pakatan Harapan. A no nonsense lady, she resigned as the Chairman of Supermax Corporation Berhad two days after its Chairman Datuk Seri Stanley Thai held a special press conference to apologise to Datuk Seri Najib for campaigning for the opposition in GE13.

Having all these veterans coming out of retirement to speak out against the incumbent government and go on a grueling campaign trail, I take my hats off to them. It was a very exciting time, like watching a team of Avengers being put together. And the end... the end was more than what we could hope for.

Below is my post-GE14 thoughts, taken from Facebook:

Yes Tan Sri Rafidah, I too was hopeful but didn't actually believe Pakatan Harapan or any other party/coalition would ever wrestle control over the federal government. I mean, it has always been BN and with all the gerrymandering and mid-week polling day... Seriously, Wednesday?! That was really frustrating for me because we're not based in Malaysia at the moment.

But the rakyat has proven me wrong, and I'm so so so happy to be wrong! This shows and prove to everyone who has ever said "aiyah, I'm only one vote" that the power truly lies in our hands. That exercising your vote wisely is one of the the greatest responsibility you will ever have in this life.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS.

I'm very very proud of all my family and friends who travelled near and far to cast their votes. When we were watching the live results, my dad and I was pleasantly surprised that the voters turn out rate was more than 70% for almost all Parliamentary seats. That's bloody awesome for a Wednesday polling day.

I'm so excited for what lies ahead for Malaysia. PH better do a good job. I'm sure they won't do worse than BN, but I do hope they will see through what they have promised us. If we can vote out BN, we can vote out PH too. So please make the next 5 years count.

My husband and I discussed what our future plans would be like if PH wins GE14. Would we return to Malaysia? Most definitely, when the time is right. Malaysia is being reborned and she needs talent to help her grow again.

My dream now is that some day, we Malaysians do not have to work/live overseas for a better future. Not just for monetary reasons, but security, education, health care, etc. My dream is that overseas Malaysians would now have a reason to return. And my friends and I would be able to sit round a table and have teh tarik, not only when we "visit" but whenever we feel like it.

Congratulations, people of Malaysia! Let's make Malaysia great again!

so, it's been a while

It looks like I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon.

Well, I was never really consistent in the first place anyway. It's just like the time I joined a gym. First month I go there 3 times a week. By the second month, maybe twice a week coz things are getting busy at work/life. By the third month, once a week or lesser. After 6 months, I just go there for a shower when I work late nights. It's one of those personal projects that was meant to end in a natural death.

I started this blog as a platform for me to practice creative writing, for fear that all I could compose in the future are formal emails and boring words. But in order to write, I have to be inspired to write. There must be something that I feel passionate and strongly about. Rambling on without a point is not my style.

I don't know why inspiration has been hard to come by. And even when I do find inspiration, I get lazy. You see, writing a post takes up a lot of my time because my words are thoughtfully selected (see above point on creative writing) and I try to include pictures and colours to make the post interesting. That's a lot of hard work when one has a full-time job and is a full-time mother outside of working hours. Even my Facebook doesn't get much updates so you can understand why my blog has been abandoned since October 2015!

Anyway, I'm trying to hop on the bandwagon again 😊 I haven't really figured out what I'll share or how much. Maybe some cooking posts since I cook so much now. Some family stories and anecdotes, maybe.

Hmm... I think I'll get the ball rolling with some sights around Singapore since I'll have visitors this week and I'm playing tour guide. I'll also copy and paste a post I made on Facebook on the phenomenal tsunami rakyat, for memory's sake.

Wait for them!

nobody told me it would be this hard

I just read this in the news –

It's very sad to read something like this. I myself am a new mother, about 14 weeks, and I too have struggled with breastfeeding.

I was drafting up a post on breastfeeding before this, but in a slightly different vein. I wanted to document my breastfeeding journey, both the good and bad, the real experience so to speak, so that I could encourage others. But now, I'm not even sure if I should.

Every new mother would've been told or read about how breast milk is best for the baby. If you join a breastfeeding support group on Facebook or elsewhere, you would then get access to many many updates from mothers on (i) that they have successfully exclusively breastfed their child until a year old or older, (ii) posting a picture of milk bottles with a "modest" 15oz acquired through one pumping session on their 3rd day post-partum and then asking the group whether that will be enough for her baby, or (iii) posting a picture of a freezer filled with nothing else but breast milk. While I understand that they're trying to encourage mothers to breastfeed, I sometimes feel these updates are rubbing my failures into my face. It's hard not to take it personally, especially when it hits so close to home.

I don't have a freezer full of breast milk. Whatever I express today will be enough only for tomorrow's feeding.

My baby took mostly formula milk until she's about 4 weeks old and even now she still tops up with some formula milk, depending on how hungry she is.

When anyone asks me whether I'm breastfeeding, I felt I will be judged unfavourably if I told the truth. So I glossed over it.

The first time I tried to pump, I spent 10 minutes and yielded 5 drops of clear yellow liquid. In my humble opinion, that's hardly enough to feed a hungry baby mouse, and I'm not even sure if that baby mouse wants it.

I cried many many times, not because it hurts so much when my baby suckle, but because I felt like giving up and I would be less of a mother for failing to fulfill the most basic of my child's needs.

When the pediatrician asked whether I'm fully breastfeeding, I said no. He asked how much. I said about half half. He gave me a look, as if to say I should try harder. I wanted to hit him, but I said nothing and my little one has a kinder pediatrician now.

Finally, I spoke to friends who are mothers. Many of them struggled with breastfeeding the first time. They also top up with formula milk and has no or little spare supply of frozen breast milk. I realised that I'm not alone in this, that what I went through is more common than I think. But people don't talk about this, about struggles or failures, for fear of being judged. Had I known from the very beginning, I wouldn't have been so hard on myself.

Mothers are not told enough that breastfeeding is not the only way.
Mothers should not be made to feel ashamed or guilty for not breastfeeding.
Mothers should be honest and not only share success stories.
Mothers should not judge other mothers for the choices they make.

After all, the most important thing is our child is growing well and has a happy mother. Whose business is it that you breastfeed or you don't breastfeed? As long as you shower your child with lots of love and care for him/her in the best way possible, does it really matter that you can't or don't breastfeed?

You will still be the best, and only, mummy in your child's eyes.

life fact #1

musical x wings

I'm having so much fun with today's interactive google doodle which celebrates the 180th anniversary of the birth of John Venn. I was testing out all the combinations and made these:

My favourite has to be the soprano and the clown car!

John Venn introduced the Venn diagram, which is a diagram that demonstrates a logical test on a collection of sets. For example, what is a mammal and is tiny? In the google doodle, one of the possible (or logical) overlap between a set of "mammals" and a set of "tiny" is a mouse.

I don't quite remember learning about Venn diagram in primary school, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhat incorporated into secondary school math class where it's applied in probability theory.

A ∩ B
A ∪ B

Ring a bell?

Anyway, I'm thinking how amazing this Venn diagram would be in the development of logical thinking in small children, who would then have the potential of growing up to be logical adults. Just saying.

Read about the designing of the google doodle here.



Born in 1834 in Yorkshire, England, John Venn's first vocation is that of an Anglican priest as he was descended from a long line of church evangelicals. It was after his return to Cambridge University aged 28 years old to lecture, that he developed the diagram of his namesake.

a slap to the face

Since Sunday evening, my FB page was all abuzz with people rushing to share this particular link: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-cannot-succeed-unless-equal-opportunity-given-to-non-muslims-says. It was an article on certain statements made by Obama during the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative town hall meeting, held in conjunction with his visit to Malaysia over the weekend.

While I applaud him for being quite bold, I did not feel the ground move. He merely reiterated what Lee Kuan Yew had written in his book, and what we Malaysians are well aware of but do not openly discuss.


Regrets, I have a few...

I'm not writing this to go into on how wise he is or how Najib probably doesn't want to be friends with Obama anymore. I made an interesting observation amidst all this: none of my Malay friends have shared that link or like the shared link (none that I have observed anyway). Now that I think back on it, almost all my Malay friends chose the silent path when race as a subject crop up. I'm far from upset at them, but it does beg the question, what is so taboo about speaking up on unfairness or a show of support for equality?

Obama wasn't criticizing the Malay race. He voiced out what we all already know: that the Malays are one-up from the other races of the land. It's a fact. A way of life that the non-Malays cannot question and the Malays do not complain about.

Any factions who are oppressed or marginalized need a defender to speak up for them. I would like to see that things can go on the way it is if a 19 million strong voice actually spoke up for the non-Malays. But the sad and ugly truth is, most Malays do not want to get involved. Being involved means that they want their special rights to be taken away, and it affects not just them but their future generations too. I must agree that it's always nice to have insurance to hedge against the unknown. In their shoes, I wouldn't want to be worse off than when I started either.

What this effectively means is, although the President has spoken, we all just syok sendiri only. Nothing can change and nothing will change until the government changes. BN cannot take criticism and cannot care less if people don't agree with their ways. As predictable as the ticking hand of a clock, the government has quickly defended itself with logic that’s so off tangent and at the same time evasive. Read all about it here.

A system or society built on meritocracy is really not such a bad thing. If you run a cafe, and your cashier kept getting all the bills mixed up, would you keep him? If you run a hotel, and your hotel manager is rude to guests and spends all his time chatting on the phone, would you keep him? I'd be surprise if you said you would, for it's human nature to only want the best, especially if you're paying for something. Running a country is very much like running a business. Everyone must do their job well so that the business will flourish. And if you understand this, why would you want anything less for your country?

** Edit **

Included here a screenshot of the article by The Star, the government's preferred daily publication. I would deeply regret it if such a fine article is archived in the future and no one gets to read it anymore...

to make you feel my love

This is so sad... you know they're not putting up a show...

Make You Feel My Love - Glee Version from Dany Glee-1D on Vimeo.

moonlight and cakewalk

Today Google honoured one of my favourite composer of all time, Achille-Claude Debussy or just Debussy to most of us. It's one of their nicest doodle yet, featuring one of Debussy's best known pieces, Clair de lune (Moonlight).



Doodle creator: Leon Hong

Born into a poor family in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France on 22 August 1862, Debussy is the eldest of five children. He began piano lessons at the age of seven, which was paid for by his aunt. In 1872, at the age of ten, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, then one of the biggest and most prestigious music college in Europe. He spent 11 years there. In 1884, he won the Prix de Rome for music, and went on to study in Rome. Winning the Prix is quite a feat itself, considering the many talented individuals who vie for it. Imagine, Degas, the guy who painted all those ballerinas, failed to win the Prix.

Debussy's private life is rather scandalous. After courting a string of women, he finally settled down in 1899 with Rosalie Texier, a fashion model and also a friend of his former long-term companion. In 1904, he courted a married woman, Emma Bardac and fled with her to England in 1905. They had a daughter, Claude-Emma, more affectionately known as 'Chouchou', for whom he composed his Children's Corner suite. Debussy died of rectal cancer at his Paris home on 25 March 1918. Tragically, his daughter died the following year, barely a year after him.

Today is the 151st anniversary of his birthday. Without a doubt, Debussy is one of the most prominent figure linked to Impressionist music. Have a listen to Clair de lune from his Suite bergamasque and Golliwogg's Cakewalk from his Children's Corner Suite. Savour the brilliance!

i'm waking up, i feel it in my bones

I'm really loving Imagine Dragons's Radioactive at the moment. Of the few times I heard it over the radio, I simply assumed it was Coldplay's new single because Dan Reynolds sure sounds A LOT like Chris Martin. But of course, if one is familiar with Coldplay, you'd realise Radioactive is not quite Coldplay in terms of lyrics.

They also have an awesome video for the song and I was simply blown away when I saw the stuffed monster! It's a rock video - with loads of teddy bear. How ridiculously cool is that? Haha!



As good as the original is, I can't help feeling Lindsey Stirling and Pentatonix did an equally good cover version. Lindsey is like rock violinist goddess and Pentatonix is this up-and-coming a capella group. Their version is edgier and raw, with a little hint of hip-hop. Just a little.



They're both so good I can't decide which I like better! What do you think?

why we need a change

In my heart lies a lot of hope and an equal amount, if not more, of despair for what lies ahead of us. It seems silly to be so emotionally invested in something I singly have no control over, yet hope is all I have.

For more than 55 years our country has been ruled by the BN coalition. While our country has seen much progress under the leadership of Tun Dr Mahathir, the recurring mandate has also made the government of the day complacent, so much so that even the 2008 political tsunami did little to change the way our elected leaders conduct themselves.

Based on the 2 paragraphs above, some of you may now think I'm pro-PR or even anti-BN, or that I'm here to preach my political views. Far from it. To be frank, I have none. What I am though, is anti-corruption and pro-efficient and effective government. I'm here to convince you, if you are not already, on why we need a change.

I have an early fascination with politics and government policies. I learned that the Malay votes will usually go to BN and that as a Chinese, we should vote for the opposition so that there's a check and balance. But you know what, in my first elections, in that year when Tun Abdullah Badawi became our PM, I voted for BN. He was after all the much needed breath of fresh air. While he hit all the right notes and started off rather promising, things more or less reverted to "status quo" towards the end of his term. I truly believed he was sincere about the changes he promised, but he obviously lacked the support.

To say I was disappointed was an understatement.

Corruption became a norm. How many of us bat an eyelid whenever a policeman asked whether we want to "settle"? Year after year, without fail, the AG will report findings on overspending in government agencies. Everyone knows winning big contracts from the BN government is mostly about who you know, less what you know. What happened to PKFZ, the missing jet engine, Scorpene, National Feedlot Corporation? All these involved billions of ringgit - our hard-earned ringgit. Why is there no transparency on how Petronas spend its money?

In the newspapers we read about victims of snatch thefts being slashed by parang or laying in coma or worse, dying, again. Every time university admissions roll around, there'll be some poor kid with perfect or near perfect results who couldn't get into his university or faculty of choice. Do you remember that a big portion of your salary goes to your first car because public transportation is not reliable or easily accessible? Did you realise that there are still people who earn just enough to survive and there are hard core poor in big, modern and progressive KL?

How many times have you heard all that? It's so common to expect nothing serious to be done and we Malaysians are a forgiving and forgetful lot. But let's just sit down and really think about it for a bit. Is this something you want from your government? Can things be better?

BN has asked us for another 5 years, but how many more 5 years can we afford them, and at what cost? I have no answer as to whether PR can do a better job or whether they will end up equally corrupted. They may make a huge mess of things but I'll take my chances. I think BN should be given an opportunity to reform, and that can only happen when they are not in power. It takes time and effort to get rid of old habits, as any good man who tried to quit smoking will tell you.

Not too long ago, I decided I wanted to work overseas and leave this country for good, like many of my peers. I was made to feel like I don't belong here and it all gets very old, very tiring after a while. It doesn't seem like anything is going to change ever, and I fear that it can only get worse by the time I have children of my own. Other than my family, there doesn't seem to be any compelling reason for me to stay on.

Just when I was so sure, my dad said to me, if you really want things to change, you must stay and be part of that change.

He's right. Running away is not the solution. This Sunday, when I go to polls, know that I will bring with me all my hopes for this country. My vote is for our children and their future generations. Malaysia is not perfect, but we have so much potential, don't you agree?

nooka x hello kitty

Almost sounds wrong.

Now, I'm not much of a watch person (haven't been one since the past decade) but this is simply too cute not to want!





It's on sale on Kwerkee. Check it out if you're a fan of Nooka or Kitty. I'm still deciding: black is cool and emo but white is original. Hmmm....

giant bird nest

This is quite cool.





Admittedly, I was more excited than this initially, as I thought it was a bed. Can you blame me with pictures of kids laying down in it amidst all the soft pillows? By O*GE Creative Group, a 3-member design house based in Israel, it's actually a "prototype for new and inspiring socializing space, which can be seen as a morph of furniture and playground". I suppose that means it's supposed to be a discussion area to brainstorm new ideas?

I think the concept's a little confusing. If I were to use it for socialising (and it's strange coz it would feel like sitting on a bed with a bunch of friends), I would probably want a table to put my drinks and food. Heck, even if I were to used it for work, I would want a table!

But it's still cool (if it's a bed).

of macarons and xmas

The week in pictures...


#1. What greeted me on Monday morning.


#2. They turn out to be quite delicious, and not the diabetes inducing confectionery I was expecting. Finally I understand what the big deal is about.


#3. The office Christmas tree we pull out every year out of storage and only put away 2 months later.


#4. Not bragging but I wish I could get my gift wrapped like this too.


#5. My present from my secret santa. Thanks!


#6. The kind of gifts you don't really want to receive.


#7. Gloomy skies...

project 33A: beauty in destruction

Exposed bricks, after the window was torn down.

H&M, finally!

Malaysia's first ever H&M is opening next week and I'm soooo excited.



I plan to be there before their doors open (kiasu) and I'm sure one million other girls will probably do the same.

The local website is already up so you can browse through their items, with prices indicated. But what I most like about their website is the Dressing Room, where you can dress up models in your favourite look. It's highly customisable - you can change the model's face, their hairstyle, tuck in the shirts, unzip the cardi, roll up the sleeves, etc. Needless to say I've been spending way too much time playing with the Dressing Room. Below are some of my favourite creations.


Casual, work and glam *hearts* So I plan to try on exactly the stuff above and hope it turns out still awesome on a shorter person


These are rather yummy too, but the printed skirt (first pix) and jersey top (last pix) are not on the website yet. Hope we get them in stores soon!

I'm wondering whether there's some special pre-opening thingy next Friday. Suppose I could just walk by and see if there's anything going on. Then perhaps if I ask nicely, they may just let me in. Then I can avoid all the crazy girls on Saturday and actually find dresses/tops/pants in my size! Ah, that should be my reward for refraining from shopping at Zara so that I could spend it all in H&M ;)

better kind than clever

I get customised news links from LinkedIn, usually on work-related articles. Today I read something worth sharing, from Harvard Business Review.

Read it directly from HBR here.

It's More Important to Be Kind than Clever
by Bill Taylor

One of the more heart-warming stories to zoom around the Internet lately involves a young man, his dying grandmother, and a bowl of clam chowder from Panera Bread. It's a little story that offers big lessons about service, brands, and the human side of business — a story that underscores why efficiency should never come at the expense of humanity.

The story, as told in AdWeek, goes like this: Brandon Cook, from Wilton, New Hampshire, was visiting his grandmother in the hospital. Terribly ill with cancer, she complained to her grandson that she desperately wanted a bowl of soup, and that the hospital's soup was inedible (she used saltier language). If only she could get a bowl of her favorite clam chowder from Panera Bread! Trouble was, Panera only sells clam chowder on Friday. So Brandon called the nearby Panera and talked to store manager Suzanne Fortier. Not only did Sue make clam chowder specially for Brandon's grandmother, she included a box of cookies as a gift from the staff.

It was a small act of kindness that would not normally make headlines. Except that Brandon told the story on his Facebook page, and Brandon's mother, Gail Cook, retold the story on Panera's fan page. The rest, as they say, is social-media history. Gail's post generated 500,000 (and counting) "likes" and more than 22,000 comments on Panera's Facebook page. Panera, meanwhile, got something that no amount of traditional advertising can buy — a genuine sense of affiliation and appreciation from customers around the world.

Marketing types have latched on to this story as an example of the power of social media and "virtual word-of-mouth" to boost a company's reputation. But I see the reaction to Sue Fortier's gesture as an example of something else — the hunger among customers, employees, and all of us to engage with companies on more than just dollars-and-cents terms. In a world that is being reshaped by the relentless advance of technology, what stands out are acts of compassion and connection that remind us what it means to be human.

As I read the story of Brandon and his grandmother, I thought back to a lecture delivered two years ago by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, to the graduating seniors of my alma mater, Princeton University. Bezos is nothing if not a master of technology — he has built his company, and his fortune, on the rise of the Internet and his own intellect. But he spoke that day not about computing power or brainpower, but about his grandmother — and what he learned when he made her cry.

Even as a 10-year-old boy, it turns out, Bezos had a steel-trap mind and a passion for crunching numbers. During a summer road trip with his grandparents, young Jeff got fed up with his grandmother's smoking in the car — and decided to do something about it. From the backseat, he calculated how many cigarettes per day his grandmother smoked, how many puffs she took per cigarette, the health risk of each puff, and announced to her with great fanfare, "You've taken nine years off your life!"

Bezos's calculations may have been accurate — but the reaction was not what he expected. His grandmother burst into tears. His grandfather pulled the car off to the side of the road and asked young Jeff to step out. And then his grandfather taught a lesson that this now-billionaire decided to share the with the Class of 2010: "My grandfather looked at me, and after a bit of silence, he gently and calmly said, 'Jeff, one day you'll understand that it's harder to be kind than clever.'"

That's a lesson I wish more businesspeople understood — a lesson that is reinforced by the reaction to this simple act of kindness at Panera Bread. Indeed, I experienced something similar not so long ago, and found it striking enough to devote an HBR blog post to the experience. In my post, I told the story of my father, his search for a new car, a health emergency that took place in the middle of that search — and a couple of extraordinary (and truly human) gestures by an auto dealer that put him at ease and won his loyalty.

"What is it about business that makes it so hard to be kind?" I asked at the time. "And what kind of businesspeople have we become when small acts of kindness feel so rare?"

That's what's really striking about the Panera Bread story — not that Suzanne Fortier went out of her way to do something nice for a sick grandmother, but that her simple gesture attracted such global attention and acclaim.

So by all means, encourage your people to embrace technology, get great at business analytics, and otherwise ramp up the efficiency of everything they do. But just make sure all their efficiency doesn't come at the expense of their humanity. Small gestures can send big signals about who we are, what we care about, and why people should want to affiliate with us. It's harder (and more important) to be kind than clever.

mentaiko love

I happened to have 100 grams of bacon bits, a handful of spaghetti and some delightful mentaiko. Naturally, it's bacon mentaiko spaghetti for dinner!


That's a failed poached egg on top, if anyone is curious.

Mentaiko is the marinated roe of pollock and is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. It's salty, a little spicy and tastes kinda seafood-ish. The flavour can be quite robust, so a little goes a long way. Here's another picture.



I still have 2 sacs of mentaiko in the freezer, so maybe mentaiko toast with... pumpkin soup tomorrow?