First day of The Year of the Ox

And so, today is the first day into the Year of the Ox. And usually, the night before, my Dad and I would stay up late to greet the Choy San. But I was too tired (and knocked out) to do anything else except to sleep it off. And before 12, we would have the Tea Ceremony where we would serve tea to my Parents as signs of respect followed by distributions of Ang Pows. Now, it has gotten merrier with the two girls around. Krsitine has been screaming and shouting with joy ever since her Aunt came back, despite past incidences. She is quick to forgive and forget, which I hope, as she grows older, learns from the lessons. And I hope she is not that easy to forget matters as there are some things you cannot just leave it.

Despite my broken tripod, we managed to get in some family shots and all, with my Nikon D50 being the most repliable camera at the moment. And it was fun to take those shots with the Infra-Red remote too.

For dinner, my Mum insists on paying for the Japanese Buffet, Shogun at Sunway Pyramid. Driving there was interesting because I was using the Nokia 5800's trial GPS which was quite accurate until it reached the underpass lights where it tole me to turn right and then right, which is effectively, a U-turn. I would not be surprised if this is old map because the Sunday parking ramp was completed last year. Still, if I took the two right turns, I would end up in Mentari Park instead, which is just across the Sunway Pyramid. Anyway, the Shogun Japanese Buffet costs RM10 more because of the Chinese New Year but my Wife was quicker than the Main waiter which got us in without charging the two girls. I won't tell you the secret tip just yet. (You'd have to come visit us and give the girls Ang Pow first, Ha ha ha ha ha!). The buffet is, for the first timer like me, (OK, this is my first time ever to a Japanese Sushi Buffet). Its quite impressive with many Japanese dishes and also, some western dishes for those who do not like sushi but was dragged along with the crowd. And don't worry if you do not finishe the food as they would just clean your plates off (But don't la, waste is still waste)

And after the session, all I can say is, although the food was a lot, but there was nothing special. But for me, its the sushi, the range of drinks on the dispenser and lastly, the Maggi mashed potatoes. However as much as I wanted to try the oyster and also the Shark's Fin soup (which mysteriously disappeared while I was chasing after the girls)

This are some of my new things for the Year, the wallet and belt
from Parkson in Pavillion. I have slimmed down again and this
time, I should let the girl punch in another two holes on the belt.

Kristine during the Tea Ceremony. Maybe I should consider
getting a fish-eye lens...... nah.

Kristine after the Tea Ceremony. Too much photography

The same goes for Kaelynn too.

We had a surprise visit from someone. Who it was, you can
recognise her from the intricate painting of the blood red
AB+ on the third toenail of the left leg.

One of the interiors of Shogun. I tried taking this without flash
and its quite ok except that the Nokia 5800 has that camera
sound even though I put it to silent mode unlike my Sony
Ericsson T630. Although the staff did not "mind", I try to be
as discreet as possible in case I get thrown out.

This is my favourite area of the buffet where the sushi was.
But I do feel uneasy taking stuff as there is always the Chef,
ever so ready behind the counter. I felt as if he is watching
us taking the food since he has "nothing" to do.

On the left is the tempura section but that night, I was not in the
mood for deep fried stuff (OK, so I could not find the crispy crabs)
and on the right are the sort of "Western"stuff. I like the lighting
very much because the whole place is dim but with most of the
lights emphasising on the food itself. I like this kind of lighting but
after a while, if you're not aware, it makes you moody and gloomy

Watch how the girls eat! And guess what? I have to eat most of
the food after they have "finished" with it. Kaelynn spilled the
orange drink twice but the waiteresses were quick to clean it up,
much to our embarassment

And then, for no apparent reason, they brought in a portable stove
and gave us this nice bowl of soup with a lot of noodles inside it. It
has a lot of different mushrooms, and fish. The soup tasted alright
though but still tastes a bit salty.

This, my friends, is MY first selection. Hee hee hee hee.
Although the food tasted OK, but later, my Wife said
that everything was quite salty. For me, I though
everything had MSG in it.

This is the mashed potato from the Maggi dispenser (you can find
them in some of the bigger Petronas statons along the Highway)
which the girls did not want. Its made from powder and is quite
watery but I guess, you'd need to let them cool and settle for a while
before it gets more solid. I liked it because its almos the same mashed
potato drink I used to make everyday when I was studying in UK.
Unfortunately, under the Home Ministry's Food Poisoning and Good
Taste Act, I am now forbidden to divulge any of my recipes since they're
mostly labelled as tastelessly inedible.

In the end, Kaelynn decided on fruits and ice-cream since
both girls really did not eat much.

Halfway, they wanted to go out and I brought them around the
new wing. And in the middle of the court, they started dancing
together. I would like to upload the video but decided not to.
You'd just have to get me to show it to you on my Nokia 5800

Trust me when I say this, "The toys were already
on the floor when the girls came."

RM59.90 for this. Very nice but, although I am tempted,
I cannot see the reason for buying it. Moreover, how am
I going to explain this to everyone back at the table? But
it has given me some ideas though.......

On the way back to Shogun, we passed by the
Fish Spa. This was the latest fad which hit KL
a year ago. I mentioned it to my Wife but she
has reservations about fish eating dead skins.
What happens if the previous customer's dead
skin opened to reveal a wound and the blood
would then infect the water....... true also, hor?

When we got back home, the girls found my hidden stash of Ben1o
Omnitrix. And so, after much persuasion, I let them play with it.
Originally, it was for my future projects since the casing was very
unique. But, there is a reason why I do not want them to play it.

This is because the green LED is very bright