Hi Andrew!

World, please welcome Andrew Louis Soosay. Born at 3.62kg. His eyes remained shut throughout our visit. Cute baby!

Andrew is LC's newborn. LC is one of my best friends - I've known her for 10 years now. She was my very first colleague, sat next to me in my first job. She is pretty, petite, outgoing and bubbly. What I like most about LC is her infectious laugh. When I first came for the job interview, I heard a lot of talking and laughter from the office. I thought "amboi, siapa la yang happy sangat tu...must be good to work here". And on my first day, I found out whose laughter it was.

LC, AR who have been with the company for 3 years quickly clicked with SH and myself, the two newbies. We lunched, shopped, hang out and bitched a lot. After a while she left the company to join a neigbouring company, still within the same building. We still lunched, hang out and bitched though not as much. Eventually one by one of us left the company. Still we would meet up from time to time to catch up. Over the years, I lost touch with AR and SH but somehow managed to maintain contact with LC.

My friendship with LC is one of the easiest to maintain. We share stories of our love, flings, work, friends, families, the works. It is an unconditional, non-judgemental friendship with lots of understanding, acceptance and respect. In these last few years since she came back to KL, and has baby Alyson, we only met like once of twice a year with one or two phone calls/sms in between. Unlike some friends who once you haven't seen or spoken to in a while, you just don't don't know what to say when you finally meet, LC and I always find it easy to pick up where we left off and catch up with one another. I guess low-maintenance and great chemistry kept us together over the decade.

Now with her second child, Andrew, LC will be busier at home. But I'm sure our friendship will remain as is, and I hope it will be for many more years to come. To LC and family, congratulations and my warmest and best wishes to you! Love ya, and thank you for being my friend! And oh yes, to Andrew, welcome to the real world! :D

Steak and Such!

If you like thick, juicy steak then the Argentinean Steak House at Chulan Square is worth a visit. It's not easy to find a good steak place in KL, let alone the rest of Malaysia. Most people would suggest Victoria Station but I would disagree. I like my steak thick, juicy, tender with lots of fat! Yes, fat. The bad bad fat that could kill you. Years ago Jake's was my favourite. Then one time they no longer had the T-Bone. Recently I went again but I was disappointed. The meat tasted so-so and dry. So I was very grateful to have found this! 

Bangkok - If it swims, we have it!

This is by far the best seafood restaurant I've been to in my life. Am not generally a seafood lover, but sekali sekala I do indulge. This restaurant is very clean, spacious, well organized, has good service and most of all.. SEDAP!!! Oh..for future reference, the address is:
Seafood Market & Restaurant
89, Sukhumvit Soi 24 (Kasame), Sukhumvit Rd, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
www.seafood.co.th Tel: 0-2661-1252-9 Fax: 0-2261-2073

If you see the sign "If it swims, we have it", you're there!

Bangkok - Seafood restaurant

Well, this is another WOW in Bangkok. The seafood market. Let me recall, in future kalau nak order at least ada reference:
1.Crab leg - steamed
2. Lobster - stir fried w/ chilly
3. King prawns - grilled with butter (OMIGOD!)
4. Oysters - biasa la..fresh! (No pearl though :D)
5. Mushroom and sprouts - stir fried w/ garlic
6. Red apple (Jambu madu called red apple, boleh?) and Mango - fresh..(ohhh manisnyeee)
I like their service - ada personal waiter assigned to bawak shopping cart..tunjuk je apa nak, ada fresh plates on the side..every dish boleh tukar pinggan, masak pun laju and sedap ya amat!
Makan sampai tutup!

Bangkok - The boat ride

The boat ride is meant for happy couples. Because there is really nothing to appreciate other than cuddling each other with the wind in their face. Other than that, seriously, apa nak di appreciate? The water was dirty, brown some parts black and smelly like shit. Skyline? Tarak! Masuk the canals lagi la..kotor ya rabbi...ada jugak tu budak2 swimming...antibodi misti superb giler tu.

At least Hong Kong tu ada la skyline...and the water bearable la jugak...
Walau apa pun, boat ride ni I think is a must otherwise people will say...Auww..napa tak naik the boat? Tak gi canals? Well, go ahead, don't take my word for it..you might just love it.

For me, if I'm ever in Bangkok again, I'd spend my days at the Mandarin Oriental's coffee terrace...sehari suntuk pun takpe! Love the setting and food is yummy...esp. the home-made ice cream! Slurpppp!

Bangkok - from the Menam Chao Phraya jetty

Was waiting for the hotel boat...Came here by train. Nothing fantastic la Bangkok. I don't get it, apa yang orang sebok sangat datang sini. Ok fine, the westerners ok la understood..they are easily impressed by Asia, the men - prostitution, but the ladies, I mean the Malaysian ladies..they said shopping. Shopping? Shop what? Fake goods? I think all they have here are all available in KL. Nak murah? Gi la Petaling St. Am sure ada..walaupun aku tak nah gi :D The city itself is hot, humid and dirty - macam the not so nice areas like Jalan Pudu, Tun Perak and the likes, which I avoid unless dah sesat.

"Are you feeling hot?" Soalan yang memang nak kene penampo! Heck, penampo AND penumbuk - 2-in-1!
"Of course!" Jawapan diiringi muka masam kelat. Wished I was more creative in showing my disgust!

"Do you know that I don't walk in Asia under the hot sun like this, unless it is an emergency? This is the first time I'm walking for sight seeing purposes. I only walk during winter, in Europe! If in Asia, it's gotta be at nite or dawn or in the rain pun takpe!"

Please la...trip to Bangkok proved my theory, yet again, that there is little point in visiting other cities in ASEAN or SEA. I'm in KL - Malaysia. I'm already in the BEST of ASIA!!! Don't waste money, don't waste time, just stick to Europe! :D

Bangkok - more of the Palace

Cantik kan? Aku memang gemar amik gambo senget camni. How else wud I capture the tip of it.

Bangkok - Palace close up

Work of art.

Bangkok - from the compound of the Grand Palace

Not easy to get this clean shot, you know. Ramai orang berpusu2. Some sebok nak baca the writing on the wall, some sebok posing for their cameras. Ada gak yg perasan I wanna capture them and were actually stalling, lingering within my view! Huh? Move, Idiots, move! Dah la aku kepanasan! Finally, I snapped...the camera, I mean...

Bangkok - Grand Palace

This was truly a sight to behold. I like this building. Was not impressed with the rest of Bangkok but this building got my "WOW!" I love the east-meets-west architecture. To me, this looks way too modern to be built back in 1872. I'm sure it has undergone numerous renovation and restoration but still..such structure built during those times..unbelievable.

Yang ni pulak gambo peonies. According to Feng Shui, Peony flower (pic oso can) can help bring us potential suitors and admirers. This is widely known and widely used la by Feng Shui believers, inc. me :D Memang betul la kot..potential suitors nya memang ramai dan tak putus tapi the ONE yang suitable masih tiada :D 

Safety first!

Ni gambar peacock, which according to Feng Shui, is a safety charm. Feng Shui also recommends that we put peacock feathers at home and in our car, ESPECIALLY in the car to protect us from mishaps. Sorry la Che Din, this advice should have come in much earlier. I had this pic for a long time tapi lupa nak post it here...

This pic was taken during Chinese New Year Celebration at our office. They say lion dance is for good luck. Found this pic from my folder today so I decided to post it here. I believe it will bring the blog luck as well...hehe... 

My Good Old Passport

Ini passport lama. Expired. Can't believed how much traveling I did over the last 5 years. Thanks, old passport for witnessing my happy times abroad! Eh..actually tak boleh buang lagi passport ni, US Visa ada lagi tak transfer...