boon's log 2109.5: Goodbye Ah-Ma...

Aw Yang Lye Yoo [1926-2009]

IL's grandmother passed away on Wednesday.

Though we are sadden by her leaving, but we believe it is one of those things that may not entirely be a bad thing - such that she does not have to bear further sufferings. Toward the end of her journey in life, she has been through a lot, moving in and out of the hospital and being bed-bound.

She has truly lived life to its fullest, being loved and and cared for by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchild.

I still remember vividly, a few years back, IL and I used to spend our Saturday nights in her apartment. It was not a big apartment - barely 1000 sq foot, but all her children and grandchildren will assemble there once a week - she will cook dinner for all of us, we will eat and then watch TV and just lepak there. We had to take turns to eat at the dining table, behind the altar - like 4 to 5 at a time. It was a cozy time together, sometimes we had to spill out to the outside of the apartment when it was overloaded when some of the outstation cousin/relatives come back.

Her wake will carry on for 5 days and funeral planned for Sunday. We will miss her tremendously. Goodbye Ah Ma... We love you...


boon out...

boon's log 2109.01: Are movies stars overpaid?

IL and I were on (sort of) movie madness mood, just last week. 2 Sundays ago, we went and watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine and then on Thursday, we went for the opening of Angels and Demons. We have not been going to the cinema for ages and then the sudden urge. Well, and of course those are good movies to begin with - else we would not have gone to the cinemas - rather watch 'em in the comforts of our home.

Anyways, while waiting for Wolverine to start, the cinema showed the typical MPA (Movie Picture Association) warning not to use recording equipments bla bla bla and warned against buying pirated media (CD, DVD). Just then the lady next to me - whom I believe works in one of the factories in the FTZ (don't ask me how I know), it's one of those things... - said, "Yeah, and keep on paying the Movie Stars shitloads of money!"

Just then it kinda hit me - are the movie stars really overpaid? I mean, what makes their job so much more difficult than say, an engineer? or a Production Operator? I did a little digging and here is what i came out with (latest average per major studio film):

1. Tom Hanks - $25million
2. Will Smith - $25million
3. Jim Carrey - $25million
4. Brad Pitt - $20million
5. Russell Crowe - $20million
6. Ben Stiller - $20million
7. Harrison Ford - $15million
8. Reese Witherspoon - $15million
9. Jodie Foster - $15million
10. Matt Damon - $15million
11. Cameron Diaz - $15million
12. Angelina Jolie - $12million
13. Renee Zellweger - $12million

I mean, after all, most of the stunts were done by stunt-reps anyways. Are they really worth so much? Why should we be fueling their pockets with so much of money, so that they can continue to live their hollywood lifestyles, which in turn creates an example for the teenagers and young adults? While there are so many others who studied so hard to earn a degree / post grad degree and then slave themselves, working overtime - only to earn a fraction of what these folks earn.

Anyways, I guess, one day, hopefully, the MPA will discover that one of the ways to curb the USD$1 pirated DVDs that are sold along the streets of Penang is to cut the salaries of the movie stars.

So, having read this, do you or do you not support pirated DVDs? I think it is pretty clear, ain't it? ;)

boon out...

boon's log 2009.07: Foodie Sunday: breakie with the dragon

This is one of the rare weekends when the grandparents are in town, but we did not get to have breakfast with them - they were busy with toilet repair in their condo. So, the 3 of us had to head out for breakfast on our own.


Dragon-i's Lai Mian

Ab initially wanted McD (again!), but IL insisted that she's been having too much of it already and should take a break from it this weekend - CL bought her McD on Tuesday, I think. Anyways, second in her list was Noodles (like that in Kungfu Panda). And her mom also promised her ice cream. So we decided to head down to Queensbay Mall - all under one roof.


Dragon-i's Xiao Loong Bao

She loves the Shanghai Dumpling (Siao Loong Bao) and the Noodles (Lai Mian). And she realy packed them in. Everyone seemed to have the question - "Where did all the food go?!" Not too very long ago, I've the same phrase used before too ;) Like father, like daughter, I guess! ;)


The kitchen used to be very busy, but rather empty and not so much activities...

dragon-i's typically loaded with people - we tried getting a place during Mother's Day last week, and there was a queue just to get your name registered in their book (!!!). But this morning was a totally different story - we just waltz in freely. and there was no line and ample tables - we can even take our pick which table we wanted. And food was speedy enough.


Ab's short wait for her Xiao Loong Bao - seen here with her pony tail :)


It took them less than 7 minutes (really!) to get the first bowl of Lai Mian on our table. Then came the Xiao Loong Baos. So, if you really want stress-free Dragon-I visits, try it at 11:30AM. This was truly my best dragon-i experience so far.


the "terra cotas" guarding the "dragon"

After that, we shopped for a little bit before heading down for NZ Ice cream... and then headed home for a some R&R... relaxing Sunday, indeed.

Oh, and unlike Rafa - as what they always say, "May the best team win." Indeed, the best team has claimed the EPL title this year. Kudos to the Red Devils. But I have to agree the Reds have really done well this year. Good season, indeed, but could have been better. :)

boon out...

boon's log 2009.04: Perak Poli(tic)wood

That's what I think the state of politics in Perak is in. It is so Hollywood, in this case Perak Poli(tic)wood. How absurd can things get, such that a Chief Minister goes back to his own office for 7 hours and then re-escorted back out of the office? There is also no doubt about how visible "double standards" are being practiced. And no doubt, the respective authorities will come out and justify their "double standards" practices. To me, it does not matter. no need to waste time explaining!

The Rakyat knows.

No matter how much they justify or explain their actions, how much stories (or lies) they try to tell us and jam it down our throats, no matter how much media control and banning of the ugly truth (though the PM declares media freedom)- it does not matter anymore. I am confident that the Rakyat today is wise enough and is capable to discern the truth from all the lies, hypocrisy, falsity, deception, dishonesty and deceit. We are no longer the gullible bunch we were 50-over years ago, who will just take whatever the authorities drops on us. And it is really sad that the authorities still act and think that we are (a gullible bunch)!

It is so evident from the recent Perak Embarassment and the May 7th incident - the ugly side of things, and how visible-to-the-public that the authorities is trying to cover up and sweeping things under the carpet.

I mean, C'mon! Don't take us as fools. At least give us some credit. In this time and age, what kind of lousy (if not, stupid) tactic is "banning the airing and publishing of the truth"? Ever heard of the Internet? Ever heard of Cellphones with Cameras? Ever heard of Email? The method of banning the media from displaying the truth is so stoneage!

Fed-up... really fed-up.

Having said all that, bottomline is - enough is enough. Does not matter which party they are in - just STOP wasting time and money and arresting innocent uncles and aunties who just wanted to have a cup of coffee at their local coffee shop and act like mature and responsible people's representatives. Every minute spent/wasted in this nonsensical dogfight, is actually wasting the rakyat's tax money. We did not pay them to do all these hollywood-stuffs in front of us.

by the way, here is the image that everyone should have seen it at least once. this is the same image that the authorities tried to cover up and prevent from further distribution. Oops...




boon out...

boon's log 2009.01: Randoms - Free Gas, Ab's dim sum again, and "amazing" Perak

IL and I were out lunching with our colleagues last week (think it was Tuesday), but the moment we climbed into the car, the "gas indicator light" toggled indicating that we needed gas. But EY suggested that we gas up after we makan. So we met up with the rest of the folks at McD SunShine Square for their lunch promotion.

So, after filing up our stomachs, it was time to fill up the car's "tummy". The nearest option was the Shell down the road. Abandoning the remaining 5 in the car, I went over to the pump. I was about to stick the Bonuslink card into pump register, when I noticed, to my surprise, the LCD screen showing "Lift nozzle and start filling" - I was expecting something like "Insert Bonuslink card or Credit Card". Stunned me for a little bit as I looked around for Candid Camera or You've been Punk'd crews around! I turned to EY who was also shocked. I lifted the pump and shoved it in and started filling (as indicated by the LCD screen). And it was working! At that point of time, being the Asian as I am, I scolded myself for not lifting the V-Power but the normal unleaded instead. But just before that thought left my head, the pump stopped and the digital screen showed 30.00 - it was then I was thankful that I did not lifted that V-Power pump in the first place - ;).

Went back into the car and EY went, "Act normal and let's get out of here!" Haha! The person at the register must have mistakenly keyed in RM30 to that pump and forgotten cancel the transaction. Well, it is not everyday that you can get free gas, right?

So, look at the LCD screen FIRST, the next time you are at the gas station before you stick in your credit card.

Oh, and we (kinda) bumped into Mithz while driving back to work - he was enjoying his sweet juicy papaya at fruit stall by the FTZ guard post.

***

My parents returned from their S. Africa trip on Thursday and were staying over the weekend in Penang. And as usual, it's dim sum for breakie when the grandparents meet grandchild. So, it's Northam Suites for dimsum last weekend. They serve up a pretty nice spread and delicious dim sum. Plus, with a Citibank (or HSBC) credit card, you get a 50% discount off. It was a nice time catching up with my parents on the happenings in Ipoh and also about their trip. Sounded like they really had a good time.


Dim Sum at Northam Suites, Penang


Ab enjoying her egg tart at Northam Suites, Penang

***

By now most of you must have heard about the High Court's ruling that Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is the legitimate chief minister (menteri besar) or Perak. It is truly refreshing news indeed, especially after what happened in the State Assembly last Thursday - an incident that was reported in many international media/press - imagine, a Malaysian state's assembly making its way into the international media. It is truly "amazing" and somewhat embarassing at the same time.

But the question that still rings in my mind is that we needed to go all the way to the High Court to fully comprehend the Monarch's powers? We need to have a high court judge to clarify what the ruler's real powers are? Did someone also mention that he was Lord President before (1982-1984, according to Wikipedia)? Well, we may never get the answers to these questions, if you know what i mean.

Well, an interesting turn of events indeed. Oh, and SO coincidentally, the Ruler is not in the country, and Mr Nizar will only meet up with the Prince tomorrow. So, looks like there ARE still some signs of democracy in this country and that the judiciary can still be depended on. Let's hope that what happened in the last 3 months will be learnings for our leaders and not to be soon repeated (if not at all). I guess the policital saga in Perak is far from over, but with this ruling, it truly does turn the tables for the National Front.

boon out...

boon's log 1809.07: Foodie update - Hai Oan Penang Hokkien Mee

In my previous update on Penang's Top Ten Hawker favourites / hangouts, I mentioned Hai Ann (or Oan)'s Hokkien Mee. Here's are more details... and photos.


Hai Oan, Burmah Road, Penang

CL is back from Perth for family reasons and is staying over at our place. We decided to head down to Hai Oan for breakfast - the place where there is something for everyone.


Hai Ann (Oan) Hokkien Mee Uncle

No, I do not know his name, even after all these years eating there. I find it kinda odd to just spring the question at him, out of the blue, "Uncle, Lu eh mia si hamit?" Anyways, he will always remain as our Hokkien Mee Uncle.


My personal favourite - Loh-cham-Teng

Though he is known as our Hokkien Mee Uncle, our favourite is still his Loh-Cham-Th'ng (Loh mee & Hokkien Mee Mix). We normally upsize it, adding bak kut (pork ribs).


Char Kueh Kak

IL's favourite is the Char Kueh Kak (fried raddish/carrot cake with beansprouts and eggs), which is sold not in the shop's interior, but by the roadside, next to Hai Oan. It is self-service, if you want to enjoy it in Hai Oan - so, you will need to do a little bit of walking.


Loh Bak, though not the best, but still desirable...

You can practically find Loh Bak at any hawker centers / shops in Penang. The one at Hai Oan, though not the best in my list, but is still desirable - CL's favourite.

Ab's favourite at Hai Oan is the Koay Teow Th'ng. I did not manage to snap a photo of this this round - perhaps next time.

boon out...

boon out...