10 Things

After all the Xmas partying and merry making, I had planned for the family to just spend time away from everybody else and just be with each other to reflect on the year passing, take stock of the situation and to plan the way ahead. So we checked into the Westin the day after boxing day. It really felt glorious and it was as if we were in a faraway place. Visiting the Pavilion for the first time and upgrading to the Executive floor helped enhanced the holiday feeling. I got all of us to review the year past with 10 things accomplished this year and 10 things I want to do next year. Both must be things never done before. It was a much participated and lively session that had elements of a business deal that ended in negotiations and deals. We hope to fine tune our individual lists before the New Year.

Christmas Party time

It started on 21 Dec for us at the office with our Annual Xmas party. This time at Modesto's in Hartamas. The very sumptious 5-course Italian Christmas fare was absolutely fabulous. Everything they served was delicious. We had our traditional gift exchange as well as the usual Xmas gift from the management to everyone. The theme this year being about 'change' we gave everyone a kaleidoscope but it was a DIY pack. Having eaten to our hearts' content, the party continued at RedBox karaoke till 4! Good outing. Then on Xmas eve, the usual family gathering for feasting and gift exchange for more than 30 people at Mike's. The merry making and good food was topped off by the ripping off wrappings from presents at midnight. Most quirky gifts of the night for me were hand-made car dustbins that comes with matching pyjama bottoms. We got Summer a much deserved and long awaited iPod Nano. Zane, a cards and chips set for gaming. On Xmas day, Mum was up and about early preparing turkey porridge for hi tea with our guests. There were some frantic last minute preparations and shopping for hosting the perfect party. In the end, all went pretty well with all the food coming out in leisurely succession. Sauvignon Blanc with lumpfish caviar and condiments on water table crackers, butter, cheese-french brie, mackerel pate, smoked oysters, Spanish olives with pimento. French bread, fruit cake, sugee cake and banana crumble rounded up the start. Then the turkey porridge filled the table with it's own set of condiments of young ginger, chung, chillis, soy sauce and pepper. It was delicious. Ah..the delights of leftover turkey! More Sauvignon Blanc accompanied the stragglers still with the starters. It seems that we just couldn't stop decorating pieces of crackers with black and white toppings into our mouths. To wash it down, an unwooded Chardonnay was uncorked. Next a Chilean Sav Blanc was uncorked. Surprisingly nice, a tad too much fruit for me. My preference was the NZ Oyster Bay which has the lightest hint of grass, lemons, melons and a very stylish finish. Almost like drinking water only safer. Out came the mutton curry and chicken curry when the late afternoon hi-tea turned to dinner as we drank heartily on Carlsberg's Christmas Brew. Good times with good friends. Merry Christmas.

Zane's Outward Bound is an inward journey for us.

We drove back to Lumut, nine days after dropping Zane off at OBS for his 'maiden' away from home stay. This time to take him home. He's been there from 1Dec-10Dec. I was apprehensive about who this person I was about to be reunited with. Will he disown me? Will he hate me forevermore? I had to find out. And we did. The dark, scrawny looking, famished, yellow teethed, sun burned boy was beaming when we saw him and we each had our own questions to flood him with, but the first question each of us asked was the most telling of what's going on inside us.

Me. Did you have access to your handphone? (Indicating concern as to why he didn't try to call us if he had a chance. Maybe he was still angry...)Notice no "how are you? or Hi Son?.. Mum. Did you brush your teeth? Summer. Was it fun? Hanim. Did you have fun?....and uncontrollably hugs Zane.( Having previously warned Mum that it would not be cool to hug Zane in front of his peers...)

I was relieved that he didn't hurl things or abuses at me. Seeing him behaving restrained and aloof that BBQ nite was even more suspenseful. It was much understood as he later revealed that he didn't want to lose his cool about having so much fun at OBS. A place that he so begrudgingly went to at our insistence. He said he enjoyed kayakking the most. The 12km paddle to Pangkor Island and camping overnight was the most fun. It was the highlight of his trip. The most torturous was perhaps the solo camp overnight in the jungle. He was facing his fear of the dark. Then there's rock climbing, hiking, rapelling, abseiling and all the wonderful stuff every young person must experience. We had more than our son back that weekend, we had a more enlightened teenager who has broadened his horizon a little. Thanks Godmas Hanim and Ann.

Michelin Star Dining

My host Chow in front of my devoured main course

Last Wednesday night I was invited to dinner by my Client, Resorts World the marketing arm of Genting Berhad. This was no ordinary dinner as it was to taste the culinary creations of Chef Christian Moine, a Michelin Star chef from France. The Olive at Genting Highlands was to be the most apt dining outlet for such an auspicious occassion. It was a rainy afternoon that continued with our journey up the highlands that made it much colder at 6,000feet. It was nice and cold for me as we were escorted to our table where our host WH Chow, the VP for National Marketing was waiting together with other guests for the night. Soon as we were joined by Chow's lovely marketing assistants, Therine and Evon, the dinner began. First course of the six course meal was; Shellfish Guacamole paired with Perrier Jouet Grand Brut NV Champagne. The mass of shellfish topped with greenish guacamole heaped onto a chinese soup spoon was pleasant mouthful of exotic, contrasting flavours of the raw shellfish with the avacado. The champagne provided a lovely, heady aftertaste on the palate. The Marseille style fish soup looked like a small serving of traditional tomato soup but the taste was rich with fish sprinkled with french croutons. Next came the Roasted Dublin Bay Prawns with Citrus Vinaigrette paired with Chateau Loudenne Blanc, France. We were debating the origin of the prawns which tasted fresh and flavourful yet tender. The semillion/semillion blanc was refreshing and easy to drink matched the prawns very well. With the prawns comes the fish, the Turbot with Golden Chanterelle Emulsion was next. It's a slice of fish sitting in a creamy sauce reminiscent of cod. Very tasty and fishy. The main course came in the form of; Veal Rubbed with Tumeric and Meat Jus with Coconut Milk. Visuals of curry and Indian influences came to mind when we read this. But was soon forgotten when we devoured the tender slices of veal that was in a delectable sauce that tasted nothing indian. It was absolutely appealing to the senses. The medium done veal was velvety in texture. The pairing with Crozes Hermitage Les Meysonniers, M. Chapotier was skilfully done. Both brought out the best in each other. The typical French red has a very big nose, complex and characterful and the taste was subtle and finish very stylish. So very French. Pre-Dessert was Wild Strawberry Creme Brulee, which was fantastically delectable and raised my expectations for the main dessert which was; Pan Roasted Mango and Vanilla ice cream. It fell short of spectacular when compared to the pre. The dessert wine was outstanding revealing complex bouquet and big fruity bursts of flavours. Muscat Beaunnes de Venise, France. We took our coffee in the Olive lounge which was quite elegant and cosy. When we strolled to our ride home in front of Genting hotel, the front was like London on a misty day with temperatures to match. It was indeed a lovely evening of world class food which I truly enjoyed. Merci Beaucoup Genting. Merci Beaucoup Monsieur Moine!

Zane is Outward Bound

For his 15th birthday, his godmas gave him, (what I consider a very appropriate) a present in the form of a 10-day outdoor programme at The Outward Bound School in Lumut, near Pangkor Island, the place that the late Luciano Pavarotti called Paradise. That was back in September and even back then he was less than thrilled at the OBS gift. Now as the days drew closer to December 1st, the day to report to 'camp' he became very grungy and irritable. The eve of his departure was the worst. He was in such foul mood that I had to convene an emergency family meeting to ground him and allay fears both for him and us, the family. It started off rather well we thought but it didn't end very well as fear got the better of him and he 'resigned' to the fact that there was no way out of this 'fate' that had been befallen him but to just 'do as he is told'. That was not what I had started to achieve but after the tempers died down, I realised that we never have been apart for more than 2 or 3 days and this is the first time he'll be gone for 10 days. As for Zane, this temporary 'incarceration' is a major interruption in his otherwise full and contented life on his computer, PS2, iPod, Canon G9, Astro Channels, Archie comics and his must loved badminton trainings. At this stage interruptions are NOT welcome. I can imagine. That night we all went to bed each with a heavy heart but tired-out from the stress we gave each other. The next morning Zane was up early, went into pensive and contemplative mode and wrote a post on his blog here We took a quiet drive to Lumut via Bidor where we had lunch at the famous duck noodle restaurant. Upon arrival at OBS Lumut, we were greeted by a troop of young boys and girls who were warm and enthusiastic against the backdrop of a seaside cove that front the whole facility. It was quite lovely and picturesque. An exciting new environment. I felt that Zane was very much at ease when he saw people his age and of different shapes and sizes all gathered there, some happy as a puppy, others as sour-pussed as he. He was quickly inducted to his group where his trainer was on hand to brief and walk him through the registration process. A while later, he handed me his excess cash in foreign currency and off he went to his group leaving us to fend for ourselves as we wandered around to catch a glimpse of him to say goodbye but to no avail. In the end we could only wave him goodbye from a distance and drove off. Me, happy knowing my son feels fine with the place and more importantly, will have his leadership qualities taken to a higher level. I drove away thinking how good he looks in the group of young men and ladies.

Kijal,Terengganu-Oktoberfest '07

The Start at Genting-Karak Highway The Middle-At the end of the Karak-Kuantan highway The Arrival. At Kijal Golf with The Buffaloes Me. Pre-departure GP Photo-Pre Departure Rest Stop-Temerloh Cruising home Bends are best

Last year I rode my Ducati, got the attention it warranted, initiated a relationship with the then MD of Auto Bavaria on an esoteric level. Partied for one night and rode the delicious curves of Cameron Highlands for 2 days. See post here

This year, I rode a BMW K1200R courtesy of Auto Bavaria. Developed a working relationship with the recently promoted MD of the Sime Darby Motor Division, working on the Auto Bavaria BMW business div. Partied for 3days/2nights drank German beer, played golf, drank more German beer. All of the fun activities for the annual Oktoberfest this year was held at Awana Kijal in Terengganu. A decent place for sun sea and surf for a couple of nights stay with biker friends. This year's Oktoberfest came quite late in fact on 16 to 18 November. Right smack in the monsoon months of the East Coast. As luck would have it, there wasn't any rain, the weather was perfect and we even managed fourteen holes of golf and we couldn't finish only because of failing light. So we were mostly dry throughout the ride.

My initial feelings for the ride this year was filled with apprehension as I hadn't been riding as much and I'd rather spend holidays with my family. Just as I had checked into my room, after the long ride from KL, I had begun missing the family. A melancholic, forlorn feeling indeed.

But as human survival instincts would have it, the trip turned out to be fun and memorable. Especially the male bonding stuff and the side trips to the backroads of Kijal that reveal spectacular views and curves for negotiating with the bikes. The ride back was as much a test of endurance as it was a test of BMW bikes for me. I rode the R1200S back to KL and I'm pretty much smitten with BMW bikes by now, on the never-ending highway that ran mostly straight. And the friendship and camaraderie formed will last a long long time. Thanks Mathias, Chippy and AB!

Going, Going, GoneForHoliday for G4H

At last after almost three years since our last one in Bali, we bundled everybody including the Gan children onto Air Asia Flt. No. AK760 boarding 0600hrs bound for Hanoi, Vietnam for our much deserved company holiday. 

The 4-day/3-nite break was from Thursday, 1 Nov - Sunday, 4th Nov 2007. It was a tour organised just for us by a KL travel agent who coordinated the ground arrangements with a Hanoi one. It was very well paced and not frenzied or frenetic. 

The cool weather in the northern hemisphere where Hanoi lies made it all the more unhurried and leisurely. We did the mandatory tourists spots like, Ho Chih Minh mausoleum, his house, his cars, his gardens, the French quarter, the Old quarter, and sampling the beef noodles or Pho. 

Then the next day, it was a 3-hour road trip by bus through the Vietnamese countryside, off to one of the places I had wanted to see before I die; Halong Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The town of Halong, looks like a French seaside resort, very quaint and charming. The 3,000 plus limestone islands surrounding the bay remind me of Ipoh and Batu Caves. They were quite a sight to behold in the sea. Throughout the trip, I thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with my colleagues, the hanging out at our makeshift 'casino' in all the hotels we stayed, and also spending so much time with my family. It was really quite bearable and very relaxing. The pictures hopefully tell the story.