Bravo to China!

The much-anticipated Beijing Olympic has come to an end! There goes my potato-couching weeks whereby I literally stuck in front of the TV watching Astro's 11 channels BOB (Beijing Olympics Broadcasting) non-stop.

My favorite events include diving (synchronized and individual, both 10 m and 3 m), artistic and rhythmic gymnastics, track and field and swimming.

Guo Jing Jing and Wu Min Xia are China's impeccable Diving Divas!
(photo credit: sportsphoto.cn)

Record-breaking gold medalist--Michael Phelps from US is the swimming legend winning 8 gold medals in Beijing Olympics! (Photo credit: Getty Images/Shaun Botterill)

Russian gymnast, 21-year-old Evgeniya Kanaeva, won the Gymnastics Rhythmic Individual All-around gold medal. This is her graceful pose with the apparatus. What a beauty!
(Photo credit: Xinhua)

Like most people, I was totally in awe with the spectacular opening ceremony on 8th August 2008 (what an auspicious date!) directed by Chinese director, Zhang Yi Mou. The 3 hours ceremony is like a movie infused with rich Chinese history of culture and breathtaking fireworks. Bravo!

Awesome Beijing (bird nest) Stadium and breathtaking fireworks!

Not to mention super kawaii Olympic mascots--BeiBei, JingJing, HuanHuan, YingYing, NiNi which is cleverly read as "Beijing Welcomes You" in one Mandarin syllabus. What a brilliant creation!

BeiBei (the fish), JingJing (the panda), HuanHuan (the Child of fire), YingYing (the antelope) and NiNi (the swallow) are the official Beijing Olympics Mascots (Fuwa)!

Congratulations to China for harvesting 51 gold medals leaving her runner-up rival, United States with 36 gold medals.

There's a Chinese saying that goes: one minute of on-stage performance but off-stage 10 years of practising/rehearsing. It is so easy for the audience or spectators to judge the performance of these athletes but their victories came with much rigorous physical training and discipline. They endured sports injuries that tag with daily training. I take my hat off to these athletes who challenge not only themselves but the human physical limits.

Olympics is the most-anticipated sports event ever because of its mythological origin from ancient Greece and the ultimate goal of uniting human race through sports. Indeed, it's One World, One Dream!

, Farewell Dinner @ ME (My Elephant)

One of my best friends, Irene, who came from Canada to visit Romona and I. Although she had just left Malaysia about a week ago, the memory of her stay is still fresh in my mind.

Her stay in Malaysia is considered short and sweet! Although she was just in the country for less than 1o days, we manged to squeeze in some exciting itinerary for her.

We drove back to Muar for the mouth-watering local delights such as otak-otak, Hainanese chicken rice, o-chien (oyster omelette's) etc; did pilates and hot yoga @ the gym; grab some irresistible deals @ the mall (after all, it's not Malaysia Mega Sale for nothin').

The night before she left, our ka che, Romona, took us to this hole-in-a-wall restaurant in Section 17--My Elephant for Irene's farewell dinner. It was such a meaningful dinner as we indulged in fine Thai cuisines while reminisce the 9 days we spent together.

(left to right) Tai ka che, Romona, bride-to-be, Irene and me!

Most importantly, we salut to our bride-to-be, Irene, who will be married to Ken in October. Unfortunately, Romona and I won't be able to make it to her wedding in Canada. But we wish her a very blissful married life with lots of children, so here's to her and Ken, cheers!


The restaurant has simple interior design but the ambiance is surprisingly conducive and relaxing.

The restaurant is packed with patrons even before dusk!

Red + Thai jasmine steamed rice , a healthier version of Thai staple diet.
How can one miss the rich and fragrant green curry?

This is called paku, one of the jungle green (I guess because it's wild fern??!)

They have five types of Tom Yam, this is the original tom yam kai (chicken).

Signature dish, snow fish--sole fish coated with sea salt and baked (not fried) to perfection! Excellent with special mint sweet chilli sauce.

OL Lunch #1 -- Organic Salad

Lunch for an OL (office lady) is usually outside the office area in a cafe, restaurant or anywhere but in the office. Well, not for me!

Ever since I've moved into my new office, I have been pretty much "lunching" in my own office. It's quite ironic considering the fact that I am a foodie who absolutely love food.

Due to the piling assignments and test papers (my students give me... sigh), I have my work lunch in the office while marking them. Hence, it may not be a bad idea to post a series of OL lunch with variety.

The first OL lunch for today is organic salad which is high in fiber, low in calorie and pleasing to the eyes (thanks to its vibrant colours).

To get the recipe, check out OL Organic Salad on my food blog.