What is Life? Some reflection needed over an usual year end...

I gobbled up this booked over my recent short vacation back home. The book was bought over a charity cause, through a friend. This simple 50+ pages book was written by an unfortunate teenager, whom able to reflect his own life since diagnose with disease almost a decade ago. He appreciate life more than others... which made me reflect on how fortunate we should be, and appreciate life more.

Many lessons one can absorb if one make an effort to understand on each simple sentences written in the book. We should not take things for granted. My take, each consequences happen for a reason. We just need to accept that's a fact of life, while understand why those could happen to us, but not others.

There was also one interesting quote which captured my attention, from the book.

"Whenever you hear someone, even if it's a voice in your head saying
 'No, you can't do it', it means nothing except a test in your faith. Strengthen your resolve.
  Faith make things possible... not easy "

Another important word - Faith. Having faith in life is as important as having food each day. Without faith, life can be meaningless.

I intentionally left behind the book at home, hoping that some other could benefit from the writings. Have a good 2015 year end, looking forward for a better 2016.

My 2015 Dive Diary

As usual, I didn't clock more than 2 dives in a year. Our dive resorts were exactly the same of last year, it was just at a different order. Thus, I wouldn't blog them in any detail. It's just marking our memories here - cool friends always make our life more meaningful.

Bubbles Dive Resort - Pulau Perhentian - Sometime in May 2015

• Extremely fun trip with just the 6 of us
• It's a relax, quiet and back-to-nature trip, be it on shore or underwater
• Flew with firefly, stayed one night in Kuala Besut, all in 1 room
• It was a LEGO trip, each of us has a character represented
• Dives were leisure, no rush and ever relax during interval.. hammock waits for us
• Woke up with the turtle, it was turtles eggs laying season, they made their way to Bubbles.. almost every night
• A place to find dark yet starry sky, met my 1st comet in life.. but I forgot to make a wish :P
• Foods were good, nothing fancy except home cooked styled and yet no MSG
• Certainly hope the business and service maintains, it will be out annual get a way place

Fresh food served

Yummy puff served during tea time 

LEGO diver getting geared up too 

Dive center

Turtle Hatchery

Mini turtles are in under

It's ME 

Joyful kids

Clear water 

Lunch at Besut Sakura

Laguna Resort - Pulau Redang - Some time in July 2015

• This was a trip, with non-divers.. marked our 8th year anniversary (from an overseas trip) of an ever 8xx group
• 1st ever back-to-back trip after touched down from a 26 hours long haul business trip, was glad I made it without any unforeseen delay
• Nothing much to shout for the resort and dive trips, it feels like a city in an island.. crowded and concrete
• Dives were not great with the large boat, but visibility and sites were alright
• Did some post of my UW picture from the GoPro.. (I was previously lazy viewing my videos)
• Fun with the group

Dinner when we arrived K. Terrenganu 

Breakfast at KT 

Walk at the Turtle Alley

Hey buddies! 

Blue sky was the best!

My buddy

Sunrise

Sun rises with moon still around 

Burning sun rising 

Nyonya lunch @ Mdm Bee's before heading home 

Dinner at Summer Park, Bkt Tinggi

Short and sweets report... nothing fancy to share. It's more of my fond memories captured here. Till then.. awaiting for another great diving year ahead.

My bread making journey...

I could see most mommy will bake for kids, I would say mine is bake for colleagues. Glad that I have a bread lover colleague, no matter rainy or sunshine, she won't hesitate bread or flour to be precise.

Marking the close-to-1 year journey of bread making. I had fun with this kitchen gadget, good buy, in particularly its yeast separation function. My success rate is close to 95% thus far. Despite at once, silly me who missed out the yeast entirely.

Panasonic Breadmaker SD-P104. It cater for smaller volume, between 250g-300g of bread. Perfect size for me, as I could get it finish daily, eat freshly. With the ready "pao" flour, I made steamed bun too, aka "pao". My preference is always wheatmeal bread, with a ratio of 250g High Protein and 30g wheatmeal flour. I didn't quite like the recommended recipe, as it would harden the texture of bread.

I didn't take my picture when I did loaf of breads. Until I joined a FB group where we need to submit our so called "homework"... there goes my creativity and eagerness to try on various variety of breads. I started to make buns with Dough Mode. Perfectly well for a person like me who hates kneading flour. With the breadmaker, I wouldn't need to stress my wrist and its just effortless.

I don't mind taking out the ready dough, flatted them on a table mat, release the excess air in the dough, then let it proof for another hour.

My breadmaking journey thus far...

Otak-Otak bun

Black pepper cheese bun

The inner cheese

Green tea loaf

Pork belly steamed bun

Read bean akuzi swirl loaf

Wholemeal fluffy bun

Wholemeal long loaf

Pan baked Mozarella cheese bun

2014 Dec - Year End Villages Hopping Trip

It's a super dated blog post. Seems the effort should not be wasted, with the pictures all ready for posting... plus there was great food exploration around Perak, a place consider half or quarter of hometown. Guess it was the most fruitful year end food and cycle expedition.

Taiping
Food :  Keling Mee & traditional black soya sauce Char Kuey Teaw @ Larut Matang Hawker Centre
Stay : Taiping Tune Hotel

Keling Mee & Black CKT

Kuala Kurau
About 45min drive away from Taiping.

Visited place : Salted Duck Egg factory @ Joo Hong Chan Telur Masin
Activity : Cycle with my foldie into the fishing village to hunt for foods

Duck eggs size separation

All packed

Food : Traditional fried prawn cake & local coffee @ 建成利

(The fried prawn cake is a few doors away from the coffee shop and temple)

Fried prawn cake

Back to Taiping in the evening, unfortunately it was raining. We hoped the following morning will be sunny.. too bad, it wasn't and we couldn't cycle around Taiping Lake.

Dinner in Taiping : We wanted to taste the small packeted nasi lemak udang, but Siang Malam food court was closed on a Sunday. Instead, we landed on a Hainanese coffee shop that served their famous chicken chop and CKT. What a combination, it was @ Yew Lee 有利茶餐室

Taiping Lake

Ayer Tawar
A small town between Sitiawan and my dad's hometown. We stopped by for late lunch, because we found the place for lunch in Sitiawan was close that day. Craved for red wine chicken noodle. Instead, we settled here, an old place we use to patron for the past years, @ Sin Han Siong Restaurant

They serve pretty good home cooked dishes too. I like their simple and yet old fashioned setup. From the opposite road, I always think the building is leaning side way.

Red wine rice noodle

Bruas
Following stop... my dad's hometown. Had a night stay over, enjoyed the cool weather and nature. Too bad, some plantation road was too muddy for my little bike to cross over. We had to turn away and return home, as it was slightly drizzling that morning. Nevertheless, air was fresh.

Pantai Remis
Food : We had our dinner with uncle @ Ling Song Kee Restaurant
(Felt a little nostalgic, cos the last time we were there was with my late grandmom)

Main street - Jalan Laksamana

Ipoh
Before returning home, we stopped by Ipoh. Our last stop. Another must-stop town with lots of good food.

Accomodation : MH Hotel, at the new township opposite Ipoh Parade.

Little pantry in the room

Foods hunt :
1. Choy Kee Bakery - Famous for their egg tart. Packed for tea time.

2. Biscuit QunKee - Right oppostite Choy Kee, I personally like this egg tart more, as they had pork floss on it. Salty taste egg tarts, its exactly a nicely blended taste. Probably its just me, one with a weird taste bud. :D This place famous for their kaya puff.

My favourite - pork floss egg tart

3. Seng Kee Food Trading 成记香饼 - Right within Gunung Rapat itself, there are many home made cookies, as comparable with the ever famous and tourist type of Yee Hup. Simple village home where they bake those cookies with old coconut shells.

4. The Happy 8 Retreat @ Old Town - I could not remember what we had for dinner.. but obviously we had gone for a hangout place.. just with a glass of non-alchohol mojito. A place with nice natural wood furniture, stream within the restaurant, unfortunately the design of its gents and ladies were not strategically built, was pretty near to one of the stream-sounded dining area. This place has its own backpacker or boutique hotel upstairs. Well design.

5. Nam Heong Food Court - We settled for lunch after check out from the nearby hotel.  High end food court, and I called it a food court for lazy butt. You can find most Ipoh famous food here, decent quality for some (since I didn't taste all), but expect to pay premium. Why did I called lazy butt, because you don't need to queue up to grab your own foods. You need to place your order via the online tool, waiter will come fetch your payment and there goes your food will be served to your table.

Food court setup

6. 189 香饼行 - Tried another recommended biscuit stall before departing Ipoh, this one with sesame. Quite nice and tasty too. 

Ended the year well... Bye 2014.