Dinner at the Grand Imperial Restaurant

Grand Imperial Restaurant has around 5 to 6 chains all over Malaysia including 1 in London at Buckingham Road. It has won a Brand Laurette for Food and Beverage under Chinese Cuisine. The food is reasonable with classy ambience. We went downstairs to savour the food at this restaurant that was conveniently located on the third floor of the rented apartment. If you own an HSBC credit card, there is a good promotion during Chinese New Year.

While dining here last night, we were told that there is a tim sum in the morning starting at 11:30am every day from Mondays to Fridays. Later on we shall go downstairs to have a bite.

Need to lose weight

For a healthy BMI, I need to lose some weight as I currently obese. This is one of the side effects of medication. I still work diligently on my good, old, faithful laptop, making sure that it is not infected with computer viruses or trojan horses. It was never sent for servicing since I bought it many years ago. Maybe it is high time for a new laptop, but then again, why waste money when the present is function just as good? It is just a bit slower, but then again, I am used to it. It is like my baby gadget that I cannot do without. My whole career depends on it to function well, every time. This food blog has morphed into a personal blog where I write just about anything under the sun.

Happening Food Gallery at Penang Times Square

Food Gallery is touted to be the biggest food court in Penang with free WiFi. Initially there was much activity here, until some stalls left and the place almost became vacant. Now it is filling up with new stalls like nasi lemak stall, yong tau fu stall and steamboat stall. Tim Sum restaurant is undergoing renovation nearby and prefer to block up its space instead of sharing with Food Gallery. There is Astro on LCD TV installed with drinks, dessert, fruits and ice cream stall in the center. Food Gallery is run by the boss of Times Square and he hires mainly Nepalese to oversee the cleaning and selling of food.

Penchant for Nasi Lemak

I love nasi lemak, a traditional Malay dish that is popular here and commonly served in almost all the hotels in Malaysia. It is made up of rice flavoured coconut milk, topped with sambal ikan bilis or anchovies with sambal belacan and half of a fully boiled egg, painstakingly wrapped in banana leaves. Today, I had 2 packets for lunch which is a reprieve from the previous days of plain old Quaker oats. I try to eat healthily if possible as oats can help reduce high cholesterol. Life is easy peasy and I just paid more than $20,000 being 7% of my condo in KL called Rhythm Avenue in USJ 19

A Life of Abundance

It is a blessing to live the life of abundance. There is more than enough to last a lifetime provided caution in spending is not thrown to the wind. As long as I live within my means, there should be no problem in tiding through during retirement. With no children to support and their education to spend, I have more than enough savings as of today. Life is easy peasy with a dream job to work in a home office. It gets too cosy to the point of being lazy at times with the freedom to take frequent power naps in the next room.

Conmen on the Prowl

Just 2 days ago, I received an SMS supposedly from Bonuslink stating that I have won $19,000 from Shell. Being curious while apprehensive, I called the number given and was congratulated that I have won the money. The guy on the other side of the phone then quickly asked for my bank name and account number so that he 'can' bank in the prize money for me. Then what made me suspicious as I had expected all along was when he asked how much I have in my bank account. I refused to tell him and he persisted, saying that I will know how much I have made if there is a difference. I lied to him that I have only $1k and he sounded happy. Then he instructed me to go to an ATM machine and give him a call to teach me how to receive the money! What Balooney! Then I asked if he is a con man and to this he could not understand. So I ask if he is a 'penipu' to which he called me 'bodoh' and used an expletive which I responded in kind before hanging up.

Booked Ming Garden Restaurant for Christmas Eve

Last night, I booked a table for 10 persons at Ming Garden Restaurant, Penang Times Square during Christmas Eve on the 24th December 2014. My second sister who is doing her PhD in South Hampton together with her Caucasian boyfriend, also a PhD candidate will be coming to Penang for a week here for holidays, flying in from KL after having spent a few days there. The table for 10 persons cost $1,288 for an 8-course Chinese meal consisting of

1) Lobster with 2 Combinations
2) Double Boiled Superior Soup with Assorted Seafood
3) Roasted Suckling Piglet with Glutinous Rice
4) Steamed Goby Fish with Soya Sauce
5) Braised Goose Web, Sea Cucumber & Mushroom with Vegetables
6) Fried Assorted Rice with Scallop
7) Double Boiled Snow Jelly with Chinese Herbs in Coconut Shell
8) Twin Happiness

The actual number of diners will be exactly 7 persons, but I heard that my sister’s over 6-footer boyfriend is a very good eater, hence he can have double helpings.