The Mines

The Mines, which previously known as Mines Shopping Fair launch its new name & logo on 10th March 2010. Over the last 2 years, CapitaMalls Asia had transformed The Mines to a contemporary neighborhood shopping mall with a major upgrading work inclusive of creating additional retails space, revamped the Carpark system, changing new wash rooms, created additional link bridges and new sets of escalators inside the mall.

I didn't know at all that the name of this shopping mall has changed nor did i know that previously it actually known as Mines Shopping Fair. All this while i just know it as Mines Wonderland and i'm still wondering what had happened to the 'original' Mines Wonderland. Whatever it is, shopping mall is still a shopping mall and the only difference is the canal that flows in The Mines.

supposed to be the main entrance


a small stage for one of the 1st anniversary celebration programs


here's the mall, of course only part of it :)


'the mines' which i wish is mine :)


i don't know why i like this little bridge so much ;)


the little bridge again


canal view from 'my little bridge'



closer view


canal with many empty boats


gentlemen enjoying the ride


Akiko san, do you remember this 'ikan'?


view from top (may be from first floor ka..)


can i join?


towards North lake (Nando's by the canal)


waiting for a ride?


closer look at the immortals



tempted to ride?


here's the fare hahahaha - a 15 minutes cable-car-ride to Genting only costs RM5


of course there's a price for pleasure - so who say money cannot buy happiness? May be yes but for temporary only


North lake at left hand side and South lake at the right, joint by the canal which runs through The Mines
(what am i writing? :)


'jetty' underneath www.sayyasuka.com


a pedestrian walk towards South lake



a reminder to myself - there's a light at the end of the tunnel


South lake at the end of this canal



typical view along the canal



fighting for food



It's time to go back and i noticed this - coffee & tea but hey, we're not selling coffee & tea :D


on the way home - sunset in KL

Things i know after this almost whole day trip;
- RM1 per entry for parking during weekdays
- real time number of vacant parking bay and location displayed electronically
- there's a surau on level 3 near to reject shop and book store
- impressive+clean 'ladies & gents' and all are f.o.c
- time runs so fast.. hihihihi

SAYASUKA

Latest update on Japan

Latest update on Japan tsunami

The world's window on Japan

Fungus hitam, cendawan telinga, telinga pokok

Nak story pasal fungus hitam (makanan kegemaran kitorang semenjak dua menjak ni..). Fungus hitam ni juga dipanggil cendawan telinga, telinga pokok atau telinga awan (sebab bentuk dia macam telinga). Tumbuh di atas kayu2 mati dan akan mengembang berganda-ganda bila direndam membentuk seperti tompok2 awan. Tak reti nak explain - senang tengok gambar2 kat bawah nanti.

Fungus hitam ni biasa digunakan dalam masakan2 cina secara tradisi turun temurun sampai la ni. Ia dikatakan mempunyai anticoagulant yang menghalang pembekuan darah dalam saluran darah (bukan la darah tak beku kalau luka..jangan suspen) dan sumber iron/zat besi. Kekurangan iron dalam darah boleh menyebabkan badan cepat letih sebab ia juga bermakna tak cukup oxygen dalam darah. Selain daripada tu fungus hitam ni juga kaya dengan protein, vitamin D, B1 & B2 dan juga dikatakan mengandungi dua kali ganda calcium berbanding dengan susu. Secara tradisional, masyarakat cina makan fungus hitam untuk melancarkan perjalanan darah. Semua benefit tu disebut kat sini

 Walaupun manfaatnya banyak juga tapi cendawan hitam ni kurenggggggggggg sedap atau memang tak sedap lansung hihihihi. Cendawan ni tak ada taste macam cendawan2 lain. Habis tu, apasal saya suka pulak? Ni nak habaq ni.....Biarpun cendawan ni tasteless tapi ia akan absorb rasa apa yang kita masak - kira dia ni pak turut la..kalau campur sup ayam, dia akan rasa sup ayam, kalau campur ikan, rasa ikan dan seterusnya..hatta kalau campur dengan maggi macam kat sini fungus ni pun ikut la rasa maggi tu. Jadi apa nak kisah kalau fungus ni tak sedap? Lagi satu yang paling saya suka ialah kekenyalannya semasa dikunyah (macam 'gearbox' pulak)

Nak beli kat mana? Rasanya, semua pasar2raya ada menjual fungus hitam ni. Kalau kat Tesco, ada yang fresh (tak yah nak rendam2) dan ada yang kering (lebih jimat sebab bila rendam jadi banyak). Pada pengamatan saya ada yang 'telinga nipis' ada yang tebal sikit - saya lebih suka yang nipis sebab lagi syok nak kunyah.

sejemput fungus hitam kering sebelum direndam



ready to go...123 soak!



selang beberapa minit kemudian (dalam 15-20 minit)



tu dia...dah banyak kan



sampai tak muat bekas, ready untuk dimasak




tadaaaa, kali ni fungus hitam + sup ikan dory :) - chop chop saya tak masak semua yang kat atas tu tau..balance yang dah kembang tu simpan la dalam fridge..untuk santapan esok2 pulak

SAYASUKA

Touching message from Sendai quake survivor (11th March 2011)

This is definitely not 'sayasuka (i like)' entry -  this is about a tragedy of Mother Nature and humankind. Everyone knows that Japan is located in the most active earth's plate movement region - therefore earthquake and tsunami is inevitable. This is not about bad karma. This is not about God being merciless - more info here

I did not plan to write anything about this disaster but I found out this message while browsing and it has deeply touched my heart so i'm going to keep it here. It's written by a Chinese (citizen - i suppose) lady survivor in Sendai in relation to (some) people in China 'let-it-sink's perception on Japan. Why? Because some of them got stuck in history of Nanking/Nanjing massacre which allegedly happened 74 years ago - more info here



images from here

Here's the message from that poor lady...

This is a mail from my friend
She asked me to post for her
She is in Sendai, Japan
Rescued early morning today
After being trapped for 8 hours
I hope you can finish reading
Hope you are a good person
Respect others
Even if you want to insult
Please don’t leave traces here

——————————

Aren’t we all comrades?
Just because you are in China
Just because you don’t have family or friends in Japan
You can say words like let Japan sink?
The Chinese people in Japan aren’t people?

What is hate
Who can tell me what hate is
When you’re standing on a roof surrounded by sea water
When in that water, is your home
When in that water, are your friends and family
Do you still know what hate is?

He kills you, so you must kill him
Then I think patriots with this kind of ideals
Can go to Japan for school or work
Then choose a rush hour
Take a knife, and kill whoever you see
I promise you can kill 100 people
I promise you can kill all types of people
I promise you can become the headline news
I promise you can fulfill your heroic dream

But you have to know
That in those 100 people

Maybe 10 were innocent children
Maybe 10 were house wives on their way home with groceries
Maybe 10 were workers working hard to provide for their families
Maybe 10 were elders
Maybe 10 were youngsters hanging out
Maybe 10 were part-timers delivering take-out
Maybe 10 were people waiting for a bus
Maybe 10 were passerbys
Maybe 10 were those who don’t know why you killed them
Maybe 10 were Chinese

Even if there really is someone you want to kill
I advice you
Choose carefully before you act

I don’t know how the Nan Jin massacre looked like
I hate those Japanese soldiers
I hate that they killed our people
But today
I felt like I saw a massacre
Standing on the roof
If you want to see
Look carefully
Sendai is you patriots’ heaven
Corpses are right there
There are some torn limbs
There are whole bodies
If you have good eyes
You can see the small hands of young children
If you focus
You can even see some corpses hugging together
Do you have any sympathy
Do you know that before Mother Nature
We humans are one family

My boyfriend works at a company by the coast
Till now we haven’t been able to contact each other
I know, we can’t see each other ever again
Who told you that only the Japanese died in this tragedy
Who told you that this tragedy is karma
Yes
It’s karma
The man kind’s karma is here

Right now I want to live
I want to live well
Right here in Japan
I want to live well
I’m afraid that if I died
Many people will blame Japan

There were over 80 people stuck in the building
In those eight hours
It’s true that they treated me like a Chinese
I have anemia so I felt like I couldn’t go on
A house wife with a baby beside me
Gave me some milk powder
The 20 year old girl sitting beside me helped me find water
Just like this
I’m still here
Perhaps it wasn’t the milk powder that saved
But their spirits saved me

Among the 80 people there were only two cellphones that worked
Everyone let the Chinese call home first
I was the second who got to call
Everyone lined up to call home
Till the end, some Japanese friends didn’t get through to their families
They understood there was no need
They gave up

After around 4 hours
Some girls were hugging and sobbing
Some were crying to themselves
Some were lying on the ground looking up at the sky
Some were still trying to call for help

I sat by the wall
Looked at the Japanese house wife beside me
She kept talking to her baby
Soothing the child to sleep and breast feeding
I miss mom
I want to go home

There were too many things I can’t forgot in those 8 hours
I’ve never been through so much pain in my life
Thanks to God
I was saved

What else do I want to say
I know I have so much more to tell everyone
But I’m so tired
Tired from crying
After the corpses are found
I might have to go identify them

Mom
Can I not go?
I don’t want to go
I’m so scared
I’ll see so many dead bodies
I don’t want to go anywhere

I hope this mail will get sent
Please help me publish
Maybe a lot of people will scold us
But
I hope you will know a bit more

I’m tired
Too scared to sleep
There are still small quakes
I have nowhere to hide
Mom
Are you watching?
I’m alive
Please don’t worry
Sleep for a while

——————————

Before Mother Nature
Do we still have racial differences?

supposedly translated by her/him

 * sorry Akiko san, i haven't called you yet but i know that you shall be safe and sound in Kyushu island
* my sincere condolence and sympathy to the victims and those affected

Length of Fingers Can Predict Your Math and Verbal Skills...

Which of your fingers is longer, your ring finger or your index finger?
If your ring finger is longer, there’s a good chance you have a strong aptitude for math and spatial functions.
If your index finger is longer, it seems your verbal skills are likely your better suit.
These are only assumptions based on a fascinating recent study, but as you’ll see they are rather logical assumptions.

In the finger length / SAT exam scores study, researchers at England’s University of Bath measured the ring and index finger of children and then compared them to their SAT scores in the math and verbal sections.

And there was a very significant correlation: the kids whose index fingers were longer than their ring fingers had performed better on the verbal section, while those whose ring finger was longer did better on the math section.

Scientists have known that the amount of the testosterone and estrogen hormones a fetus receives in the womb impacts finger lengths and cognitive skills. Testosterone lengthens ring fingers and is associated with greater math and spatial functions, while estrogen lengthens index fingers and is associated with greater verbal skills.

So it would seem a rational conclusion that, if you consider yourself more mathematically or verbally inclined, you’ll see a correlation in your own finger lengths.
It would seem an irrational conclusion, but nice wishful thinking, that if you want to improve your math or verbal skills you pull for a while on the appropriate finger … but who knows, give them a tug and see.
Finally, try this, too: email this article to your family and friends and ask them whether they consider themselves more of a “math” or “words” person, and if they see the proper correlation in their ring versus index finger.




The longer ring finger would indicate this fellow has a particular aptitude for math.

Article by Brian Vaszily, founder of IntenseExperiences.com (here)

SAYASUKA

Go Genting cari makan

Kat Genting memang banyak tempat makan2. Maklumla sejuk2 macam kat sini memang best makan2 dan cepat pulak rasa lapar. Bagi kitorang, tempat best ialah kat Kopitiam or food court di aras 2B kat area First World. Kenapa best?
- sebab banyak tempat duduk
- less crowded
- less common (e.g. KFC, Burger King, Marry Brown, Kenny Rogers dll tu kat bawah pun ada maa...)
- banyak pilihan
- ada sijil halal (tak semua kaunter ada ehhh..)
- ada Thai food (yang ni special punya)

mee hun tom yam @ RM 9.90/bowl + GST RM1.00 - sedap giler dan banyak cengkadak especially kepala sotong kegemaranku, fillet ikan (bukan fish cake tau, ori punya ikan yang macam rasa ketam pun ada hahaha..confuse, tapi memang sedap)




bubur nasi + century egg @ RM 8.80 (yang ni biasa saja, Idin yang order hehehe)



tengok..Idin pun suka tomyam ni walaupun dia tak suka kepala sotong




siap kasi habis lagi..huhuhu
Kesimpulan selepas kenyang - mesti nak makan tomyam ni lagi




Opera & Tiramisu cake

Sebelum balik, sempat ber supper di Bakery Express (masih kat area First World). Harga kek2 lebih kurang
@ RM 5.00/pc tapi terkejut beruk masa bayar total for 2 slices cuma RM4.50 saja!! Rupa2nya diskaun 50% hehehe Alhamdulillah....
Memang diorang tak announce tentang diskaun ni, langsung tak de tulis kat mana2 & waiter tu pun tak bg tau except printed on the receipt saja. So kitorang buat kesimpulan, selepas 9.30 dapat half price dan hanya orang yang besa beli saja tau. Masa kitorang tengah menikmati kek tu, ramai staff2 Genting datang borong kek2 sbb diorang mesti la tau dan dah besa borong after 9.30pm :)



yummy @ 50% diskaun

Kesimpulan selepas makan - nak cuba lagi next time and make sure beli selepas 9.30PM, agak2 ada diskaun lagi ke? :)

SAYASUKA

Go Genting

Genting is one of our favourite 'lepaking' places, not because of the casino thing (of course !) but the fact that it offers 'mediterranean' climate all year round. Cool air, nice ambience and happening - a place to see lots of happy people and romantic couples :D

up up we go, via cable car @ RM 5/per person - one way ticket. Going up from Skyway station at Goh Tong latest going up schedule by 11 pm and going down latest by 12 midnight from Genting. A 15 minutes ride covering 3.4km distance.



bus service from selected locations, including Rawang KTM station (from Rawang? never heard about it though..)



one of the oldest land marks of Genting




which 'blinking' logo can be seen from KL (at night laa..)



latest land mark - First World Hotel




kind of 'weary' out door theme park but full of excitement as usual with screams and laughters



same old scenery since many years ago...



indoor area at First World



mini Venice canal - sorry guys, I klik your photo without permission



back side :)



not only feel at Venice, but feel at Paris too hihihi just joking



and US too



sale sale sale



at First World lobby - dark passage under the trees where we like to 'lepak' and chit chat



never mind the motionlesssssssssnake



First World at nite from different angle



Idin at different area near to outdoor theme park - sawadikap...someone greet him in Thai this time. Previously, a taxi driver at cabel car station asked him, "Where are you from?" and he replied.."from Rawang"..hehehehe. Shhhh...that's why he likes to go Genting - he feels 'international' hahahha..sorry babe, just kidding

SAYASUKA