Thai Green Curry Laksa (Taman Free School)

        I passed by this stall many times wanted to order something from it but always got disappointed because it's not open.

        It's a beautiful Sunday today and while we were discussing where to have our breakfast, I decided to visit here for breakfast (but never have any specific thought about this stall).

        So to my surprise, it's open today!

        We ordered thai green curry and this is how it looks...

        First of all, before really digging into the taste of spiciness, we're impressed by:-
        (1) The portion
        (2) The very nice serving dishes, and
        (3) The friendliness of the seller

        Oh come on every now and then we tend to see the lousiest manners hawker or ones always reflecting how hard to earn a living being a hawker by serving lesser portion but higher price. But this one is totally different!

        And the seller would come by to give us extra soup, sat down to chat with us about Kathina in different places, and offer us nice desert without extra charge (of course we were receiving these offerings with gratefulness and not here to spread the idea so people can go there with an expectation to get free stuff).

         He serves other Thai food too, such as Maeng-Kam, Thai Fried Rice and so on. He highlighted all the spices and fresh ingredients are imported from Thailand (supposing he's serving with a group of people who help to provide him the supply).

         I told him about my experience that always found his stall not open and he told me that was because he went to places for charity work. And the receiving of selling these food will go to charity.

         One thing I must highlight - the taste of the food very not local. With all the spices and chillies (ah, it's hot-and-spicy from tongue to tummy, mind you), I could almost feel like I am in Thailand.

         Wanna know where is the location? Here's the pointer:

       If you come from Green Lane McD:
       (1) Take your 12 o'clock when you come to the round-a-bout.
       (2) Immediately turn left and then right after you passed a small car park.
       (3) Go straight until you come to a junction on your left where there's a no entry sign.
       (4) Walk in and it's the first stall on your right.

       What's better when you enjoy good food, great manner and the proceeding goes to charity?

       I am very grateful for this wonderful morning, to have eaten such filling meal both body, mind and soul, and to have met such inspiring person.

       Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! (*with Wai - palms pressed together in a prayer-like gesture)

It's Penang World Dance Day, peeps

    It gave me a heartache when I heard from a friend that this year's Penang World Dance Day receives no monetary support from any of the YB (Yang Berhormat, people's representatives in Malaysian politic).

    While standing at the crossroad not knowing how to make thing happen without having the right supports, Aida finally decided to continue such wonderful event out of her own pocket.

    Unlike the United States (and probably many other countries that take arts seriously), Malaysian tend to look at arts differently. Like they are so impractical (unless they make you good money), and irrelevant to our daily lives (because they are just hobby).

    So when Aida made up that decision to carry on with her plan, she'd prepared to accept the worst - spending money to receive very very little respond. She contacted different instructors from various dance genre and received their kind support to provide workshop without charge. And thank goodness the results were total opposite.

    Instead of worrying not enough participants to join the classes, they have got overwhelming signup until they have to close registration one day prior to the event.

    The event was a big success and everybody went home that day with happy smile on their face.

    Now what if this event is being supported by our government? With more funding to conduct such event, more participation can be expected, and the media will be much much more interested in reporting.

    Don't you think it is something that helps society to build arts awareness, forms a platform for teenagers to get involve in healthy and positive self exploration, and most of all, we show other states in Malaysia - Penang, once again, sees higher and further than the rest?

    With my own eyes, I see joy and happiness through different languages spoken with movement happening without barriers and obstacles. And I don't know how much discount have penangpac given but that little box of donation was filled with heavy gratitude.

    Do you think arts is nothing? See So You Think You Can Dance in the United States. It has successfully bring together people throughout the country (and the whole world) to the awareness of how dance can be a good market.

    Care or care not the growth and future of youth and children via different path than being doctor or engineer and architect, it is all up to your own wisdom.

(photo courtesy of Allspire Photography)

It is time!

I paused for a while when my friend sent me a link to blogfest.

I hesitated.

I have always loved writing but things like becoming a part of blogfest has never crossed my mind. Perhaps that is why I am still way below the line from being known as a blogger. And I thought it's always very very common to be fairly unpopular as a blogger since my topic of writing is not so much of those HOT STUFF like travel, food, cultural or parenting.

But then I ask myself, "what for I write if I don't want to reach readers?" I can always write in my personal diary instead of blogging. I must have that intention of bringing forward the idea of my writings if I am a keen blogger.

So I quickly make up my mind and participate the upcoming event, which is going to be held in Penang next week.

I should make my work public, at least to a bigger group of potential reader. After all it is the passion in writing that has helped me through the times where I felt lost and realized lessons.

So if you are one of the readers here and blog at the same time as well as being one of the participants for the BlogFest 2010, please say hi when we meet on the event! It is always nice to know we are connected in the way we like - writing.

Touch of Heart

Every now and then I will find myself in a place where I'm almost surrounded by emotion of being touched. I guess it just appear to me that our heart always long for something, of which I think is the feeling of belonging. And all these contentment and happy tears came to me through, sometimes words while other times, body language.

I guess that is why I find myself resonate with contemporary dance, although myself can't dance even a bit of those unexplainable movements. Our vocabularies are limited thus we continue searching for more ways to express. So often I found - one act that touches and melts our heart is always the unsaid thoughts through the caress of silent touch as the connection takes place when emotions collide.

I've attached 2 amazing piece from this year's America So You Think You Can Dance Season 7. Take a look.

The message is clear like being claimed by Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 - September 14, 1927) ,

"If I could tell you that, I wouldn't have to dance it."

What I See When I See What I Am Seeing

The past Sunday wrote me a note via my work.

It reads:

There is a place that our conscious mind and knowledge cannot reach. It contains the real and true side of us and it carries its own perception towards things around us. On top of that, it knows what we are yet to know and it will only unleash when it sees you ready.

I did not know what it was trying to tell me until I look at the photos that I captured. And I am totally convinced that it constantly repeating itself to me through various ways.

And then I spend the following few days trying to understand that message.


The feeling is so strong: Something is definitely coming my way.

What do you see by the way?

Sometimes Something Just Don't Standout Until You Really Pay Attention

We were waiting for our movie to start in the cinema and watching the commercials playing. This one came into picture almost a 9 months ago and I am still impressed every time I see it replays. But I don't know why nothing beats this time that hits real hard when I hear the sentence - DREAMS BECOME REALITY.

Yes, a dream is the goal that we seek to achieve being drafted and painted in our heart and mind. We have it guiding us through our lives breaking all obstacles and defeat every challenges just to making sure we do not stop trying until we get there.

All dreams are immature fruits and only through our continuous attempts it will ripe.

Don't stop believing. Dreams are reachable!

Freezes time

No one can ever do this, I mean freezing time.

Although much of the intentions are focusing on making some particular special moments to stay without fading (mostly happy times) but none of these idealistic idea has ever succeed in doing so. That makes taking photographs a very useful way of keeping such memory.

Ever since I got a camera of my own, I have found out that the seconds we go through everyday are as precious than any valuable jewelries in the world. Every little split seconds that we spent on doing something or even nothing is not repeating itself anymore and whether we have used it doing anything or nothing is considered done already.

To me, of course I cannot really capture every single second with my camera but I have learned to become more appreciative with the happenings around me. Not to say immersing myself into the moments like an addict but to really see the beauty of it's existence even if it seems meaningless.

caption: 25 years they've been standing there silently
giving all the supports that countless travelers need to get from and to mainland.