Leisure: Chinese New Year Decorations 2011 at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur

Hi All,

Welcome back to the edition of decorations of malls where Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Have you visited the shopping malls for their Chinese New Year decorations? If you have not, then it's time to go now as next week is the final week of shopping before Chinese New Year approaches. Today I am going to take you down to Pavilion Kuala Lumpur to check out the Chinese New Year decorations over there. It was a fascinating atmosphere here at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur as it was so beautiful and so red indeed. The decorations was among the best among the shopping malls as ME & Kimmy were happy to visit the mall. This year's theme for Chinese New Year would be Petals of Spring, drumming with prosperity happening from 6th January to 17th February 2011.

After you enter the entrance of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, you will see a huge lion in front of it and supported by 2 small lions in between them. It was a great decorations. Inside the centre court, the decorations was awesome too with some decorations of the tanglung and most importanly the rabbit symbol because this year is the rabbit year for the Chinese Community. I would recommend you to come over here to experience the great decorations at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Also check out the photos that will be shown over here and for the full photos view, please visit my Facebook for more information. Enjoy! MALL DECORATIONS RATING: 5/5

Festival: Happy Thaipusam 2011

alexleow-kimmy.com would like to wish all Hindus a Happy Thaipusam. Enjoy yourself in this festival and remember to be extra careful on the road.

Thaipusam (Tamil: தைப்பூசம்) is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (Jan/Feb). It is also referred to as Thaipooyam or Thaippooyam in the Malayalam language. The word Thai-pusam is derived from the month name Thai and Pusam, which refers to a star that is at its highest point during the festival. The festival commemorates both the birthday of Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of god Shiva and his wife Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman.

Skanda (or Murugan) was created during one of the battles between the Asuras and the Devas. At one point, the latter were defeated several times by the former. The Devas were unable to resist the onslaught of the Asura forces. In despair, they approached Shiva and entreated to give them an able leader under whose heroic leadership they might obtain victory over the Asuras. They surrendered themselves completely and prayed to Shiva. Shiva granted their request by creating the mighty warrior, Skanda, out of his own power or Achintya Shakti. He at once assumed leadership of the celestial forces, inspired them and defeated the Asura forces.

Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War.^[1] It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan.^[2] Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi to idol for the purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to Shanmuga to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Him.

Devotees prepare for the celebration by cleansing themselves through prayer and fasting. Kavadi-bearers have to perform elaborate ceremonies at the time of assuming the kavadi and at the time of offering it to Murugan. The kavadi-bearer observes celibacy and take only pure, Satvik food, once a day, while continuously thinking of God. On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common. The simplest kavadi is a semi circular decorated canopy supported by a wooden rod that is carried on the shoulders, to the temple. In addition, some have a small spear through their tongue, or a spear through the cheeks. The spear pierced through his tongue or cheeks reminds him constantly of Lord Murugan. It also prevents him from speaking and gives great power of endurance. Other types of kavadi involve hooks stuck into the back and either pulled by another walking behind or being hung from a decorated bullock cart or more recently a tractor, with the point of incisions of the hooks varying the level of pain. The greater the pain the more god-earned merit.

The largest Thaipusam celebrations take place in Singapore, Mauritius and Malaysia. It is a public holidays in several states in Malaysia including Selangor, N.Sembilan, Penang, Perak, Johor, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur. The temple at Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur offen attracts over 1 million devotees and 10 of thousands of tourist. The procession to the caves starts at the Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur in the heart of the city and proceeds 15 kilometres to the cave, an 8-hour journey culminating in a flight of 272 steps to the top.

In Malaysia, although rare, scenes of people from different ethnic groups and faiths bearing "kavadi" can also be seen. Thaipusam is also increasingly being celebrated by ethnic Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia. Thaipusam is also celebrated at other cave temple site, the Sri Subramaniar Temple in Gunung Cheroh, Ipoh Perak and at the Nattukottai Chettiar Temple along Jalan Waterfall in Penang. Temple Secretary P. Palaiya Sri Subramaniar Temple in Gunung Cheroh reported that about 250,000 devotees participated in the festival in 2007, including 300 "kavadi" bearers, while 15,000 came with milk offerings.

Cinema Movie: Great Day (天天好天)

Release Date: 13 January 2011
Language: Mandarin / Cantonese
Subtitle: English / Chinese
Genre: Comedy
Running Time: 1 Hour 31 Minutes
Director: Chiu
Cast: Jack Lim, Wan Wai Fun, Royce,Vivian, Jiang Han

Synopsis:

Great Day tells the story of two Uncles who live in an old folks home. Aggravated by an argument, the two men decided to escape from the old folks home to find their children just to show off whose children is better with the help of Ah Hock and Ultraman. The fun catches in with odd circumstances, but in the end of the day it's going to be a big reunion at the old folk's home.

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My Comments: Welcome back to yet another great day as we approach the weekend already and which means we can get to relax and enjoy. For ME, the most anticipated local movie of the year had finally arrived and of course I can't wait to watch it. From the producers who made Tiger Wohoo! last year, this year I expect it would be the same great movie too. The cinema was full and packed with audience who also eagerly waited and anticipated regarding this movie.

Of course, my expectation was real high towards this movie as I have been waiting for it a few months before its launch. Of course, it does not dissapoints me as well. The storyline meanwhile is very meaningful and it tells us to be good to our grandparents or parents. Since Chinese New Year is drawing near, the most important thing is we need to remember our parents and go home to visit them. I've seen a lot of people cried in the cinema because the movie is very touching as well. The jokes in this movie was pretty less compared to Tiger Wohoo! last year but they mainly focus on the touching storyline this year. Don't worry because you still can laugh on certain parts of this movie that makes you laugh until your stomach pain. It was pretty impressive and congratulations to ASTRO for producing one of the best movie for its Malaysian audiences. The casts meanwhile improved a lot during their last year movie and they had done a lot better.

I would recommend you to watch this movie as not only we need to support our local production, but this movie is really good to watch as well. Do bring your parents to watch this movie because when you bring them to see this movie, you care about them and you have shown your sincerity on caring about them. I am sure they will be greatful about you for taking care about them. Remember to book your seats early to avoid dissapointment and I hope you too enjoy the movie as well. Have a Great Day everyone! :) MY RATING: 5/5 ; KIMMY RATING: 5/5; ALAN RATING: 5/5;

Food Hunt: South Sea Seafood Restaurant, Kampung Baru Subang

Hi All,

Welcome back yet another food hunt and today it's a special day for us and we would like to thank our brother Ho Wing Onn as he treat us today for a wonderful meal together with my collegues who is working in Hauni Malaysia. About 6 of us turned out today including ME, Kee, Wei Wen, Chris Ling, Sim and Wing Onn. We reach there restaurant about 7.00pm and the crowd starting to build up and it was full after 8.00pm onwards.

We've ordered a total of 6 dishes and we had a great time enjoying the food. Among the famous food that we've ordered would be Geoduck Clam (RM13.80 per 100gm) (RM138.00), BBQ Crab (RM120.00), 'Wat Tan' Noodle, Lala Clams (RM36.00) Drunken Prawn (RM118.00), Yee Sang to celebrate Chinese New Year and of course Tauhu as well. Let me introduce to you some of the food over here. The Geoduck. Many people will be asking what is GEODUCK Clam and basically it's a white clam and it looks like a snail. It was served cold with ice and you can either eat it with soya sauce and wasabi OR you may eat together with Herbal Soup. Please see pictures. It was great and special as I have not tasted it before and finally I have tasted it and I love the taste very much but the price are pretty expensive as well but once it a while, it would still worth it.

The BBQ Crab meanwhile was very nice indeed. It was BBQ into perfection and I love the taste too. The best thing is, the skin was peel off perfectly and you can just peel off gently to enjoy the meat inside there. Amazing! Another dish is the Drunken Prawn. It was absolutely great and the prawns served are very fresh and tasty. The drunken soup was also nice and muahhh! Love the taste of every bite! The Yee Sang meanwhile was tasty too as it was not too sweet and it's a perfect way to kick off the year whereby Chinese New Year is coming soon. Others dishes that we've ordered are pretty normal and most importantly, the seafood that we've ordered is very tasty. The Lala Clams meanwhile was just normal and nothing special but still considered nice too.

I would recommend you to come over here to try out the great taste of the crab, prawns and geoduck as well. YES! I have to admit that the price is pretty expensive but the satisfaction you get is really worth it into maximum and into perfection. The bill came, special thanks to our brother Ho Wing Onn who treat us and the bill came is around RM468.00. Do come here and try it out! The service level here was great too and fast! No harm if you felt expensive and try it once in a while! Happy Eating and enjoy your incoming Chinese New Year! :) MY RATING: 5/5 ; OTHERS RATING: 5/5

*Food & Drinks rating are based on the food & drinks we've ordered and not overall food & drinks.

Address:

No. 229, Jalan 2A,

Kampung Baru Subang,

40000, Subang, Selangor.

Telephone: 03-78461401/03-78645813
Business Hours: 11.00am - 12.00 midnight

Website: www.southsea.com.my

Food Hunt: Simply Penang, Sunway Pyramid

Hi All,

Welcome back to yet another edition of the Food Hunt and today ME & Kimmy had visited Sunway Pyramid for our pre Chinese New Year shopping. It had been a great day for both of us where we have to start our shopping earlier to avoid the large crowds that will be doing their shopping later.

We reach Simply Penang Restaurant as about 7.30pm and the crowd was just average and not much. We managed to get a great place to seat and once we are seated, we looked at the menu and then it took us about 5 minutes to looked at the menu and ordered. Frankly speaking, the restaurant offers a lot of varieties of food and you will be tempted to try out the food over there. I've ordered Penang Famous Curry Mee (RM8.90) with a glass of Barley Lemon (RM3.50). Kimmy had ordered Thai Tom Yam Fried Rice with Chicken Wing (RM9.90) with a glass of Soya Bean (Cold) (RM2.80).

The food here are pretty nice and do look up for the Chef Recommendation Logo because these tagged menu food is one of their speciality dish over there. The Penang Famous Curry Mee was one of the best dishes that serves at the restaurant. It was very nice and you can added more curry as you like. I love the Penang Curry Mee served at the restaurant. By looking at the curry, it was pretty red and you may know this is one of the best that you cna get over here. DO COME AND TRY OUT! VERY RECOMMENDED! :). For the Barley Lemon, it was nice too. The taste was not too sweet and not too sour. I love the food that I've ordered today. Bravo! For Kimmy's Thai Tom Yam Fried Rice with Chicken Wing, it was pretty dissapointed. She said that the taste was moderate as she did not get the taste of the Tom Yam Flavour as it was very mild. The Soya Bean meanwhile was just normal and nothing is so special about it. She told alexleow-kimmy.com that DO NOT ORDER the Thai Tom Yam Fried Rice with Chicken Wing.

Overall, the price was standard and similiar to those cafes like PapaRich or Old Town. The portion of the food was just nice where it's not too small nor big. I would say the price is pretty reasonable. The bill came and it costs us about RM27.60 plus the tax. I would recommend you to come over here to try out the Chef Recommended Dish as stated on the menu and I guess it would be nice. For me, I will be back to try other dishes as well in future. Stay tuned! MY RATING: 5/5 ; KIMMY RATING: 3/5

*Food & Drinks rating are based on the food & drinks we've ordered and not overall food & drinks.

Address:

LG1-41, Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall,

Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

Telephone: 03-56219008

Business Hours: 10.00am - 10.00pm Daily

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Leisure: 988兔氣揚眉過好年 Chinese New Year Album

988 - 兔气扬眉过好年

Release Date: 15-12-2010
Quality: 320 kbps

Track List:

01 幸福满满

02 歌舞庆新年

03 恭喜发财利是来

04 恭喜大家过新年

05 年节时景

06 鼓声咚咚

07 欢喜欢喜

08 新年颂

09 恭喜恭喜恭喜你

10 许愿过好年

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My Comments: Once again 988 released their 2011 Chinese New Year album and the songs inside their album is quite impressive as well. After listening to their songs, their songs are not so impressive as MYASTRO but have the same standard and quality like OneFM, NTV & 8TV. I would say this album is acceptable and good to listen also. I hope 988 can target most of the buyers from all walks of life because their song are mainly for older age people and not so suitable for youngsters. I would recommend you to buy this album as well. Most of the songs here are good too. MY RATING: 4/5

Food Hunt: Man Sifu Enterprise Fish Head Noodle, Sri Petaling

Hi All,

Welcome back to yet another edition of Food Hunt and today ME & Alan had discovered a new place for Fish Head Noodle again and it was highly recommended to all of you. We kicked off our unexpected journey over there as I service my car over there and only to find out when we pass by the restaurant. Then I told Alan to drop by to try out the Fish Head Noodle over here.

We reached the restaurant at about 12.30pm and it was so less people that time sin it's Saturday afternoon. I believe during office hours, it will be crowded and packed. Once we sat down, we were served immedietely and I've ordered Fish Paste Noodle with Original Soup (RM7.50) while Alan ordered Fish Head Noodle (RM7.80) with Original Soup. For drinks, Alan ordered Chrysanthemum Tea (RM1.60) and I've ordered Cincau Ais (RM1.20).

It took about 5 minutes for the food to come and it was a surprise that the service was very fast and superb. The mee came and the first thing I would like to test is the soup. I would say the soup was marvellous and super nice. I drank the whole bowl of soup until the bowl is clean as well as Alan. We had a great time enjoying the Fish Head Noodle and we love it. The portion of the mee is very big and it's very worth it and in the meantime, the restaurant is equipped with air-cond and you can actually enjoy the cool air inside and you only pay a cheap price. The bill came and it's around RM18.10 WITHOUT Service nor Government Tax. GREAT! Please do drop by and try out the fish noodle over here as the price is reasonable and the portion was big and most importantly, the food was very nice. Besides ordering the Original Soup, they also offered Tom Yum Soup or Herbal Soup at an additional price. I have not try that and plan to go back there to try when I have a chance for other soups flavour. Enjoy! MY RATING: 5/5; ALAN RATING: 5/5

*Food & Drinks Rating are based on the food & drinks we've ordered and not overall food & drinks.

Address:

59 & 61, Jalan 1/149J, Bandar Baru Seri Petaling,

57000, Kuala Lumpur.

Telephone: 03-90561128

Business Hours: 9.00am - 10.00pm Daily (Please Call For Rest Day)

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Food Hunt: Otak-Otak Place, Tropicana City Mall

Hello All,

Welcome to the first edition of Food Hunt in 2011 where ME & Alan had visited Tropicana City Mall because I have to visit Kitschen to buy a shirt and finally I bought it and I am very happy today. After that, I have suggested to Alan to try out the Otak-Otak Place branch in Tropicana City Mall as normally I see, it was packed with people especially during the weekends.

We reached there about 8.30pm and the place is not so crowded today as it's a weekday. I've browse through the menu and it took us about 10 minutes to pick up what to eat. I've ordered Otak-Otak Fried Rice with a can of Sarsi while Alan ordered 'Mee Bandung' Muar with a cup of strawberry longan. The Otak-Otak Fried Rice was just moderate and not so tasty as it seems. The most importantly Otak-Otak was very cold and it should be nice if it's served hot. For Alan's 'Mee Bandung' Muar, he could not accept the taste and it's sucks to the max. He said it's not nice at all and DO NOT order. For the strawberry longan drink, it was nice and the only one nice from the dishes that we've ordered tonight. Overall, the both 1 Utama and Tropicana City branches are both the same as they served poor to moderate food but not good at all. I would not recommend you to come over and try out the food and you may opt for other restaurants. MY RATING: 2.5/5 ; ALAN RATING: 2/5

*Food Rating are based on the food & drinks we've ordered and not overall food & drinks.

Address:

Lot L1-58, 1st Floor,

Tropicana City Mall,

3, Jalan SS20/27,

47400 Petaling Jaya.

Telephone: 03-77280403

Business Hours: 10.00am - 10.00pm Daily

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