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Monday, March 28, 2016

"Jet Lagged" after my fun-filled 3D2N at Melaka

Feeling "cooked" since morning.

Guess some of you are aware that Laogong and I were stuck in a terrible 4hrs jam at the customs on Friday as we travelled from Singapore to Melaka for our long weekends. Yesterday's jam on our way back was slightly better but still it took us 2.5hrs to pass Msia and Sg customs.

Surprisingly, Laogong who never likes jams, was pretty cool about the jams. I do agree with him that the jams created the opportunities for us to spend time together "doing nothing" but chatting about ourselves. Back at home, we often had to juggle with our multiple roles as employees and parents etc. We hardly have any time to chat about ourselves and we had not gone on a holidays as a couple for over a year. We did have staycations but I think staycations do not serve its purpose as well as travelling further away from the borders. 

Laogong and I believe every couple should maintain their  marriage and not only focus on their parenting roles after we have kids. Should we not maintain our marriage and roles as spouses, we may experience the empty nests symptoms after our children grow up and have their own lives. We need to acknowledge our individualism and couplehood, so that lives go on for the parents even if the children are able to fend and provide for themselves. 

It was sweet Laogong who suggested to go on this getaway. He felt that I needed a break from my busy work schedule and we need some couple time. I would like him not to spend too much time on the road and yet watch our budget. Melaka seems like a good place for a short getaway. I personally like its laid-back feel and rich peranakan heritage. And of coz, its rich varieties of food.

Some friends asked me why am I revisiting Melaka again less than one year since my last trip to Melaka. Well, Melaka may seem small but we still have some unsettled "business" there. 

Last year, we didn't walked through the Jonker weekends night market because of the hot weather. However, this round it was windy on our first night, so we decided to walk and eat our "dinner" at the night market. 

We not only tried various nice food such as satay, otah, fried oyster, coconut ice cream, bbq korean quail eggs and coconut jelly, we also bought many good priced loots...

Satay, Otah and Fried Oysters



Coconut Jelly (again)!


All-time favorite - Coconut Icecream


My Loots for myself and my little Js

This round we didn't shop in the shopping centres and we didn't sing KTV, but we tried local food in local-recommended eateries/restaurants. 

It was really nice of my KL friend, Stephen, to drive down to Melaka to meet us for a catch up. It was even nicer of his Melaka friend, to recommend us to eateries frequented by locals. I always believe the eateries frequently visited by locals serve more authentic local food than those recommended by travel websites or bloggers. 

Satay Celup
I was a bit disappointed for not having the satay celup last year. And was glad we finally get a taste of it this year. However, I still prefer the first satay celup I had in year 2007, which was thicker and more flavorful. 

Nevertheless, it costs only RM1 per stick here... Where to find such good deal? We had 73 sticks with 3 drinks and it costs us only RM84.. Burps! 


Local Nyonya Food
There are so many Nyonya restaurants in Melaka but this one we went to was recommended by Stephen's friend who was born and grew up in Melaka.

The rice was uniquely blue and flavorful because it was made with morning glory. We also tried the tau gua rojak and the chendol. Unlike the chendol I had before which focus on the gula melaka taste, the chendol we had were served with thick coconut milk. 





Indian Nann
Stephen told me the Indian eatery he brought us to was never to be missed. It was a pity we overate at dinner, and hence we could only order 2 Nann and 1 chicken dish to try the taste. I will definitely go back again soon! 




Last but not least, Laogong and I are big fans of A&W. So how can we miss it during our trip? I still love the waffle with ice cream and the root beer float most! 


We really don't mind going back to Melaka again soon. But the next time we go, maybe we will think about how to make it a family-friendly trip ^^

Talking about family-friendly trips, I would be sharing more about the family trips we had been to and will be going to in the other new label "Familytrips". In this new label, I will like to share the suitability of each trip location and what to take note of when travelling with young children. Sharing of family local dayouts will be posted under "DayOuts". 

Though I feel cooked after this couple trip, I feel more bonded with Laogong now. I seriously look forward to more of such couple trips ^^

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Bye Feasting Feb and Hello To the Busy Months Ahead...

Wah Seh, time flies.. Happy Holidays and Feast February flew by and here comes the many busy months ahead...

Sorry for not catching up on my blogging (again)! I know I said sorry so many times already..  

Yes, I am now doing my quarterly review of my new year resolution. I am happy I had at least started to be more open and less scared to meet new people in my job. I had slowly grew more confidence of my job skills too. Whether I am an effective or value-adding worker or not is not for me to comment. But I have more faith in my job skills now and I feel obliged to making a difference for people who rely on me for work related assistance, guidance and support.

But sad to say due to my time constraint, I decided not to continue my dance classes. I guess it is really not possible to relive a life which we had stopped living for the past 7+ years. Sometimes we have to learn to move on... Sigh.. However, I will plan my schedule carefully so that I can exercise minimum once a week soon. 

Next month will be a tough month for me as my helper is away for two yearly home visit. This time she is going back for a month, meaning I will need to be a super super mama for a month. I do believe I can do it but I will definitely be tired as I intend to wake up early to bring Jamie to her school bus by 6am, prepared James for school and cooked some food or soup for Jamie's lunch before I set off to work. My very supportive boss had approved my change of working hours for the month of April and my very understanding colleague had agreed to adjust our audit schedule to meet my revised working hours. Also have to specially thanks my super supportive mother-in-law who swopped her working hours to morning shift so that she can take care of Jamie in the afternoon. I really feel so loved! I totally believe I can make it through April! 

I had been telling myself I want to brush up on my cooking and baking skills. Here comes an opportunity to cook and bake for the family! I even found some steam cake recipes which I will like to try making for Jamie to bring to school for recess!

Seriously, I am also having itchy backside and really wish to start my travel adventure again. But I guess I will need to control this "itch" as I will not be able to travel until after July, partly due to work and partly due to my low savings. Must jiayou to save up as I will like to visit all my overseas friends in Msia, BKK and Taiwan again! 

Apart from saving up for my travel adventures, I will like to tone up further to look pretty in my good friends' wedding in November! So happy to be attending weddings again! Yay! I know I look very good already but no one will hiam me looking prettier hor :P

Last but not least, I will want to work hard to keep up on my blog posts. Following the so many happenings coming my way in next my busy months, I will like to share how I cope these busy months and my new life experiences and memories gained. ^^ 

Stay Tune k! :)