Of Wedding Dinners and Ceremonies....

Wednesday, OCT 11, 2006: I attended the wedding dinner at Tropicana yerterday and I found it quite different from the usual as the ushers are mostly guys, in fact, ALL guys. For a pleasant change, we girls get to sit down and gossip about them while our hubbies did all the work (from checking the name liststo ushering people to their seats to bringing drinks to them - the whole works).The groom had around >10 buddies (or brothers or "Heng Tai") and as they were all new to ushering, they were all very excited ("Chin sai mei jou ko" – Last life didn’t do any work – as one of the wives told us ahahahaha). So we had a good time laughing at them especially when the real waiters were just grouping and loitering around as they didn’t have much work to do, as the bulk of the work was already taken over by the buddies… ha ha…)Then another wife told us that his husband was so eager to be at the dinner early that he called her to get ready at around 3 to get ready (right after his golf game). His wife was actually still working at that time but had plans to leave early but she never expected him to call as early as 3!! Then of course other wives chipped in and said, “Yeah, at around 4 my husband asked me to get ready and wait outside my office so as not to waste any time. I had to get my children ready by 4:30!” I felt a little lucky as Brandon came to fetch me at 5:30 but was already waiting at the back of the office by 5:15pm. You see, the ushers has to “check in” by 6:30.

Another funny thing was the “coat” or “blazers” which all of them had to wear. One of the wives told us that her husband never liked wearing “coats”. Even for his own wedding, which we attended and witnessed, he just wore it for awhile to enter the dinner hall and took it off after a while….. However, for the sake of his buddy, he borrowed the coat to wear and kept it on throughout the wedding morning on Sunday and also throughout the “usher session” yesterday. Hmmm… love must definitely be in the air to be able to make such drastic “sacrifices”. The wife was saying, “He’s not even as excited as this during our own wedding!” to which we all laughed.

Then they talked about the convoy of 6 cars which followed the Groom’s car to Klang (the wive’s house). They had everything “planned” and even had walkie-talkies in several cars to ensure everything goes well. The reason why we found it so amazing is because these husbands of ours usually NEVER planned ANYTHING… but yet seems to have planned this wedding so meticulously. Most of the guys/buddies are married for a few years and most already have kids, so the wives reasoned that them being so excited this time must be due to the fact they wanted to “re-lived” their “glory days” as it’s been a while since there was any weddings for them to “plan” ahahhaaha… So it was a chance for them to let loose their suppressed childish self inside …hahahhahah…

Anyway, I had a good time too and I noticed that their photos were quite good. Since they had the wedding ceremony on Sunday and dinner on Tuesday, they had a bit of time to process and show off their wedding ceremony photos as a slide show. He had a few photographers and there was this particular short photographer who likes to take pictures from the bottom, or from-the-floor-up angle. Even during the dinner, when the brother’s (about 10-15 of them) was having a “group hug” (sorta like rugby players grouping together to get the ball), the photographer actually crawled into the middle among the legs of the guys and slept on the floor to take their pictures. Something really different I suppose….

Gong Xi Fa Cai! 2007 Part 2 : The legend continues....

And it’s back to work again for most of us after the long auspicious week of resting (for some), or frenzied visiting (for others). Notably, it’s the 9th day of the CNY today, which incidentally is actually the first day of CNY for the Hokkiens. For those who are not familiar, according to verbal legends, long long time ago in China, there was an ethnic cleansing activity done on the Hokkiens (maybe due to some “kongsi gelap” or triad fight). The Hokkiens seek refuge in their sugar cane farm but their enemies were persistant with their searched and destroy agenda and proceeded to burn down the farm. The Hokkiens prayed hard to the Jade Emperor (one of the Chinese Deities) and miraculously, the skies begin to pour and dowse the fire and washed away the assassins. Coincidentally, this happened during the midnight of the 8th Day of the Lunar New Year, when the Hokkiens came out of hiding, unhurt and safe from being wiped out. Since then, the Hokkiens celebrated their Chinese New Year on the midnight of the 8th day of the CNY by giving thanks and praise to Tin Kung (God of the Sky) for having mercy on them on that fateful night and preserving the existence of their clan. It is also noted that it usually rains on the 9th day of CNY. Like it did just now during the Lion dance performance in my company.

While we're on the subject, I have another story to tell regarding the lion dance. How did the lion dance came about? Well, according to Chinese legends (again!), The Year (Nien) is a fearful monster which terrorized humankind once every 12 months, at the beginning of the Lunar Year. There were no Superman or Ultraman then to battle the stealthy Nien so people live in fear of the Nien for many years, each time spring arrive. One day, a monk from the mountains (Not sure if he’s from Shaolin Temple though but legend has it that he has a big head and a big fan) tamed a Lion and converted the Lion into a vegetarian. Together with his vegetarian lion (which explains why Lion dances usually come with that Green Vegetable as a reward for the lion), they found that loud noises and the red colour will scare the Nien Monster away. And with that discovery, the Chinese were free from The Year Monster. From then onwards, the Chinese celebrated this overcoming of fear as Chinese New Year, which incidentally is also called “Kuo Nien” ( which literally means “overcoming the monster, Nien”). Each year during spring, they will make lots of noise via fireworks and lion dances (lead by a monk with a big fan called Tai Tao Fatt in Cantonese) and put up lots of red decorations and give red packets to each other as blessings and protection from the Nien Monster.

That’s my story for this Chinese New Year which I hope will somehow bring forth some insights to the rich Chinese culture that has been brought down many generations since thousands of years. There are many more myths and legends that come with the Chinese New Year (like the deity Nuwa making humans from clay on the 7th day of the lunar calendar and thus making it everyone’s birthday every 7th day of the CNY). All these makes the celebrating of the coming of the lunar year so much more meaningful and exciting. I view myself as almost at the end of the Chinese generations in my family to observe the Chinese traditional practices/prayers (yes, I guess I shame my ancestors as I don’t know how to set up the altar etc …with the excuse of westernization and modernization *blush*). As such, I only hope that in my writings, I can at least carry on some of the Chinese Legends and Cultures for my future generations.

Chinese New Year 2007

The Big Chinese New Year is finally here. Yes, the Golden Boar (I wont use the other “non-halal” word as a respect to muslim readers) has arrived and has been bestowed the honour to bring luck, prosperity and happiness to one and all. The “Dog” has done a good job before handing over the year to the Boar by starting the stock market rally, treating many happy punters to big fat bonus just before the Chinese New Year holidays. And the Boar continued the rally by bringing in foreign investors to make Bursa Malaysia history (KLCI hits 14-year high in record volume on the first day of trading after the CNY break!).

It’s been a “boar-ing” new year for me. Maybe it’s due to the fact that I had to report for work on the 2nd day of CNY which dulls the whole event. Not even the ang pow which I received from my boss could cheer me up. Somehow everything seems sluggish. Even on the first day of New Lunar Year, we didn’t do much but eat and sleep a lot… signature habit of the boar? Ha ha. Up until today, the 5th day of Chinese New Year, we haven’t done much to celebrate except to sleep and eat dried meat, cookies, and Yee Sang. When we visited friends and relatives, we end up eating more dried meat, cookies and Yee Sang. In fact, the biggest event that happened to me this year is having Yee Sang with my Malay friends. Now, that was a very meaningful lunch for me - to be able to have a happy “muhibbah” lunch with my friends (ex-MBA classmates). For one of them, Azhar, it was his first time tasting Yee Sang and he found it very good (even though we found the Genki Sushi’s Yee Sang a little too bland). So that’s even more meaningful. J Incidentally, I want to add that Chinese New Year is not a Religious Celebration, but a spring festival to celebrate the coming of Spring, so that’s why you see Chinese who are of various religions celebrating it together.


Eating Muhibbah Yee Sang at Genki Sushi

Besides that, nothing interesting happened to me thus far, so I will keep this blog short and simple. Oh, a frown on Brandon’s face when I say nothing else is interesting reminded me to thank him for making me the “unofficial” product endorser for Nike Golf. Have been wearing nothing but Nike Golf shirts, Nike golf culottes, and Nike golf shoes for the whole of CNY… ”I would like to thank God for getting me where I am today and Thank you, Brandon for making all this possible.” Note that I am saying this ala Grammy’s style. Ha ha… Have a great Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Fa Cai, to all who are celebrating and to those who don’t, hope your long holidays was a great one.

Chinese New Year 2006

Happy Human Day - 04 February 2006

I can’t believe it. So far, this chatterbox has nothing to write about for Chinese New Year this year until now. In fact, I haven’t much inspiration after King Kong. Was even too lazy to write about Geisha, although initially I thought the story was a tat too simple to be a blockbuster. However, after watching Last Samurai today, I realized that these kinds of shows amazes the westerners as it brings forth the deep and mysterious culture and heritage that only we Asians have the fortune to have. And seriously, if I didn’t watch Last Samurai and Geisha, I wouldn’t have the slightest idea what these rich cultures (or ways of lives) of the Japanese were all about. These traditions that the Japanese fight fiercely with their lives, carries profound meanings and intense substance that most of us do not understand. After all, the Japanese can proudly boast that these cultures belong to them and them alone.

Of course, we Malaysians also have many things to be proud about. Our multi-culture and multi-ethnic group population makes us even richer with cultures and traditions even though much have been altered, enhanced and omitted through the years due to various reasons such as inconvenience, social welfare and adaptation. Even the Chinese New Year traditions albeit rich, are not resilient to these evolutions.

Yee Sang, for example, is a locally “invented tradition” where the Chinese in China, Taiwan or Hong Kong do not practice serving this dish as part of their Chinese New Year Cuisine. In

Malaysia

, it’s a must have traditional CNY cuisine to symbolizes good luck, increasing prosperity and successful business. In fact, even in

Malaysia

itself, the Yee Sang has evolved from being served only on “Human Day” (the seventh day of CNY which incidentally is today) to almost everyday even before the CNY starts! Those who are doing marketing courses can cite Yee Sang as a classic example of successful marketing. Extremely successful in fact, as the margin for a plate of these colorful cheap vegetarian ingredients plus a few slices of fish and a packet of crisps, can be up to 300%-400% (especially if served in a fancy restaurant)! Hmmm, come to think of it, the restaurants are getting all the “good luck, increasing prosperity and successful business” which the Yee Sang brings. Having said this, I would still pay for it as I like the taste and it reflects our own significant CNY culture (aiyah, only once a year).

As we put our chopsticks together to indulge in boisterous flipping, mixing and tossing the “al cheapo” ingredients (except if you’re having abalone Yee Sang (Note: aha, the ingredients itself show an evolution of tradition here. It used to be only raw fish as the name Yee Sang suggested but the innovative Chinese has invented various other ingredients such as abalone, jellyfish etc)), I am sure you get that quintessential feeling of family togetherness/bonding/affirmation of ties/social unity all at the same time! Well, that is what cultures and traditions are all about - creating unity and family/friendship bonding. If we don’t uphold them (not necessary to fight with our lives like the Last Samurai), then the cultures and traditions will be lost forever! And strong family ties and friendship will slowly fade away.

Have a wonderful Chinese New Year 2006 – The year of the Dog. As I write, the Hokkien families are already beginning to prepare for the second family reunion dinner tomorrow which continues to midnight to “Pai Tin Koong”, (the Ninth day of CNY where Hokkiens offer prayers to the God of Heaven or Jade Emperor). This is another tradition that should be proudly passed down to the younger generations. Excuse me while I peep out my window to get a glance of the beautiful fireworks released by authorized parties (note that the usage of firecrackers as tradition to scare away the “Nien” (New Year) monster/dragon has been omitted in view of the welfare and health of children and insomniacs).

Alright, I will end here with some auspicious or lucky sayings (Traditionally these lucky sayings, which usually rhymes, are written in beautiful calligraphy only red strips of paper called “Fai Choon” to be pasted onto the doors to welcome good luck):

May you have a year of health and joy,

And an abundance of good fortune which you can enjoy!

Happy Chinese New Year, Gong Xi Gong Xi!

Kelly Rivers

p/s. The above article is not an endorsement or declaration of all the Malaysian Chinese New Year traditions and cultures. It is just a recollection of my personal experience and thoughts in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. The article is written just to promote the festive mood and bring you well wishes.

Sea Park School Alumni - Tang Lung Festival 2005

SAT, SEPT 24, ARA DAMANSARA: Last weekend I went to a tang lung celebration (yeah I know, it’s 1 week late but hey it’s a great way to dispose leftover mooncakes ha ha) … organized by my High School Alumni, The Sea Park School Alumni. It was a great event as I haven’t seen my high school mates since leaving school 13 years ago. I brought my 3 year old son and there were lots of other kids there to play with him. He mixes well with other kids … and was immediately made popular by his electronic dragon lantern which has blinking lights, and can walk, flap its wings and sing…. The sound emitted from that dragon is truly annoying (it’s like chipmunks singing “Old McDonalds”… I am sure you have experienced those noisy electronic lanterns and how irritating they can be… but the children just love it. Just for the record, I didn’t buy it. My mom did. My mom must be silently punishing me for all the noise I made in her house ha ha). My son was dancing along to the music and it caught a little girl’s attention and they clicked immediately. Hmm... talk about ease of picking up girls ahahahaha kidding…

Well, the event went well, with lots of people from my year coming, most of them whose name I have totally forgotten (sorry *blush*). There were lots of food and you can easily identify who used to be Scouts as they were extremely good at BBQing. The ones that they made were all just right… they knew just how much margarine and honey to put on those wings in order NOT to serve cancer-inducing burnt chicken wings. Well, I took the easy way out and serve myself and my son with those boiled sausages and fishballs. Mmmm, taste good all the same. Of course, there were still plenty of bee hoon, potato salad and of course leftover moon-cakes but my carnivorous son wasn’t too keen on those.

To make it sound grand, there were people who came all the way from the US, well, at least 2 people I know came back from the US. I didn’t get to mingle with everyone as I was busy watching over my son in case he sets fire to the beautiful house. It was doubly hazardous with the BBQ fire and the candle-lanterns. The highlight of the night, besides the Malaysian Idol Grand finale (oh, for your information, most Sea Parkians thought Daniel would lose), was the lantern walk where all the kids get to walk around the park with their lanterns. Of course my son had to aggravate the neighbours’ dogs which made them howl and bark and woke the whole neighbourhood.

It was my fault really, as I told my son, “Oh look, can you see the dog lying over there?” and my son gave an evil grin, “Oh yeah, a dog, mua ha ha ha, woof woof”. He was imitating the naughty Sid from Toy Story. This triggered the other kids to start teasing the dog as well. It is no wonder that I stepped on dog poo after coming back from the Tang Lung walk. Hmmm, now I am a believer that God sees all and punishes accordingly.

When I came back into the house, my friends immediately picked up the stench and asked me, “Phew, you smell bad.”

I tried to defend myself and blamed it on the poor rabbit. (Oh, Tuck Loong, did your rabbit die after being inflicted with so much torture from the kids? The poor rabbit was trembling the whole night with the kids trying to poke it and scare it into insanity with the silly “Old McDonald’s” song).

It was a blessing that the commotion of a burning lantern at the park took the attention away from me and my pong. As a devoted father quickly ran to replace the burnt lantern, I quietly went to the side of the drain to scrub away the ugly patch of dung which stubbornly stuck to my shoes like glue. Gosh, wonder what this dog has been feeding on, UHU glue?

All in all, it was a good outing. We have Tuck Loong (the current President) to thank for offering his beautiful house for our destruction. Thanks to him, my son has learnt to use his crayons on my walls. Oh, Tuck Loong’s daughter is a budding Picasso as Tuck Loong has generously converted the wall of his porch into a huge canvas for his daughter to draw on. And I am truly sorry that son influenced other kids to turn your Sunflowers into Light Sabers, but rest assured that my son has nothing to do with your Rabbit’s continuous shivering. Oh, did I mention that Mei Yin’s kids were like angels? What’s your secret Mei Yin? They were so well behaved (except for the time they became willing victims of Hui Theng’s abduction. Earlier in the evening, Hui Theng had tried to runaway with 4 children but they only manage as far as the playground).

The other day I heard my friends saying, “Assunta’s Alumni is sooo “tight” (US colloq. for intense). It’s really awesome!” Let’s hope that our Alumni would be envied by others in days to come. With the current growth rate of our alumni, it wont be long before we can proudly tell other people that Sea Park School Alumni is ssoooo awesomely “tight”!

Chinese New Year 2005 - Part 2

Happy Valentine's day and Human Day (Part 2 - 15 Feb 2005)

Wow, I didn't realize that my quest for a "Hot date" would gather so much feedback and interest! For those who sniggered at my ability to find a hot date (What? Can an Auntie get a hot date? Dream on!), well, wait till it's your turn. Oh, btw, let me remind you that I am not a girl but NOT YET an auntie (sung to the tune of Britney Spears, "I am not a girl, not yet a woman").

For those who gave their well wishes and prayed for me, thank you very much as you have proven that the power of group prayers does work! Initially I didn't think anything would happen. Well, I did receive a few disappointing sms, emails and calls from guyfriends asking me if I managed to find a hot date for the night. But they did not follow up with an invitation. Their main purpose of calling was just to see whether cobwebs have grown on me and another was worse, he asked me for directions to Mont Kiara as his hot date is waiting for him there! I even got turned down when I tried to camouflage my endeavor with a "lo sang" invitation. Harrummpphhh...!!! Anyway, these are really close buddies of mine and I guess they were just poking fun and rubbing salt coz they know they can.... Ha ha... (errr... guys, I guessed right, RIGHT?)

And then my luck changed when I received a phone call from a girlfriend who happened to be at the next building finalizing her air tickets. Not wanting to depend on the opposite sex for some valentine's fun, we decided to go to the movies after I dropped off the hardcopies of my final assignments at the college. And then all the invitations started coming in through the phone. At first, I thought I was just sympathy calls from well meaning friends but it wasn't!!! There were like 20 continuous smses for us to join a group of friends at a Japanese restaurant in Mont Kiara. Boy, I wondered what is wrong with men and their timing. I couldn't even concentrate on the movie as I was busy deleting the smses!!

Anyway, to cut the long story short, we had a great dinner and proceeded to Neway where we croon (croak rather) to our hearts content. The best thing was - we manage to claim our 3 free bottles of Hennessy from the Director himself (Hmm, another long story which shall be told another time - thanks to our dear friend Michelle -> No worries Mich, there's still another 2 bottles left!). The night was filled with joy and laughter and everyone laughed their hearts out. As we bid our goodbyes at around 4am, we wished everyone Happy Birthday as today is the seventh day of the lunar year, i.e. a day to celebrate the creation of human (according to the Chinese believe).

Well, I took half a day off today to recuperate from the hangover and I came in earlier to write this update as many were interested in knowing how my "hot valentine's day" went. Hmmm... not as romantic as it should traditionally be, but still it was just simply superb.... Thanks B for spicing up my life and saving the day!

Till the next edition, Happy Birthday everyone!!!


Regards,
Kelly Rivers

Chinese New Year 2005

Happy Everyday to you! (14 Feb 2005)

My CNY begins today. Yes, the gruesome exams which has almost taken over my life is finally over. Yes, no more assignments and books for a very very long time.... I finally understand the feeling of lazing on the couch, with dried meat on one hand and a Chrysanthemum drink on the other, watching endless DVDs and Astro with no worries of unfinished assignments! Yes, that feels good. Too good. In fact, I wanted to finish watching both Kill Bill 1 & 2 in one sitting after watching Jiang Hu, New Aces Go Places and other Wah Lai Toi series and variety shows. Well, as I had to come back to work today, I content myself with watching only Kill Bill 1, after all the Chinese movies on Astro (Awww, how unfortunate to be working on the supposedly first day of CNY which coincides with Valentine's Day). I figure I could continue with Kill Bill 2 tonight. More dried meat, soft drinks and lazing around for me... Yippee...

Anyway, there are countless things that I want to do, like clearing all the DVD backlogs, going for exercise (this is a lie but I have to TRY to fulfill my new year resolution), learning cooking and baking (this could be another lie too ha ha), picking up music and singing (too much complains on my croaks during karaoke sessions!), updating my blogs page, visiting places etc etc. But first thing's first. There are still truckloads of laundry which I have conveniently put aside due to the exams. My room looks like a tsunami has just swept by, my car needs a good wash and spring cleaning (yes, my car has become a warehouse for my notes), and the utility, phone and credit card bills needs sorting out. I still haven't changed my IC to the new card format yet, knowing very well that this is the last year to do it.

Well, with so much time in my hands now... I guess I can insert a chore at a time while indulging in more dried meat, soft drinks and DVDs.... Have a great CNY and Valentine's Day. Happy Happy Happy Everyday to you!!! J

p/s In case you're wondering why there's no mushy love stuffs in this edition, well, maybe tomorrow I'll have a story to tell (that's if I land myself a real hot date tonight). Hmmm... if you don't hear from me tomorrow, you can guess how well the date went ahahaha

Chinese New Year 2004

January 20, 2004

. Chinese New Year edition -

Chinese New Year Greetings with a twist... Pepsi Twist!

With the frantic simultaneous Chinese New Year spring cleaning during the weekend, it's no wonder that KL has been a little hazy lately. Luckily, the heavy rain yesterday night cleared the air a little so we can at least breath some dust-less air (not dustless, just less dust..... haha). However, the rain indirectly has caused tremendous traffic jams in and around KL. It was still slow moving when I left at around 11:30 last night!

Talking about traffic, I am quite surprise to see so many people still in KL. This morning when I left around 6:25 am, traffic was already building up. What was I doing up so early you ask? Do I hear some of you say, "It's not like you to be so early"? Well, it's a stupid mistake really. The alarm clock was telling the wrong time and with me going home so late last night, little did I realize that it has run 1 hour ahead of the actual time! So the alarm went off at the preset time (6:30 am) and I was ready by the time the alarm clock shows 7:15 am.

As I was about to leave the house, I realize that my watch was showing 6:15am. I couldn't believe it! A quick check with the handphone and kitchen clock confirms it! Darn! Wasted one whole hour of beauty sleep! Oh bummer, might as well just go for breakfast! Hmm.. the Roti Bom and Milo Tarik is the main culprit for my drowsiness now (not to mention all the fat around my waist! I must change my principle of "not letting food go to WASTE" to "not letting food go to WAIST"!)

Anyway, back to traffic conditions. It's really funny how traffic is getting more and more congested nowadays. Hardly any more room to move about! Have you ever listened to those daily radio traffic updates? Most roads in KL are reported having slow moving traffic or have been converted to a massive car park (imagine an almost stationary traffic on a major highway!). Even during this week when some of the cars have already gone back to their respective hometowns to celebrate the festive season! Does this mean that most families have emigrated to KL and thus are celebrating the festivities in KL? Well, I don't have any statistics with me now but the shopping complexes, hotels and even city council have done their bit to improve the festive mood around here with street lights, lanterns and Chinese New Year songs. Nevertheless, I am sure it's still a far cry from the boisterous and jovial sub-urban reunion celebrations!

Well, no matter where you're celebrating the new year, I am sure it will still be as joyous, fun and exuberant as it has always been the previous years! There's no stopping the Chinese from their traditions of "gift exchanging" and generous ang pow giving! So here's wishing all those celebrating Chinese New Year, good health and a happy, prosperous Chinese New Year. Hopefully we'll be able to slot into our busy schedules to meet up during the Chinese New Year as part of upholding the Chinese New Year visitations tradition! Those who are not celebrating, have a nice, and enjoyable holiday! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Celebrations... (Wedding Anniversary 19/1/2006)

If you are looking for a romantic western eatery to celebrate a special occasion, I know the place just for you. On Monday, Brandon and I went to San Francisco Steak House in Summit USJ to celebrate our wedding anniversary. The place looks quite ordinary from the front but when we reach the interior, we were pleasantly surprised by the spacious and warm cozy ambience.

Then we ordered. The waitress was extremely friendly and funny. She even joked about the lobster saluting to us when she showed us our live lobster. We ordered 1 live lobster to be shared and they allow 2 different flavours for it, i.e. Cream Cheese Mushroom and Bake Tomato. Both was extremely good because the lobster was really fresh (it's live!) and I love the succulent sweet taste of the lobster meat. A bit pricy for an Australian Lobster (or was it Boston..not sure lar) at RM19 per 100gm. Averagely, 1 lobster comes to about 800gm - 1kg. Ours was 950gm.

We also had escargots, which was quite good. The garlic and cheese was abundance.

The sharksfin soup however was not too good as it was done in western cream style. I would prefer the Chinese clear soup style.

Anyway, food portion wise was quite reasonable. We shared most of the dishes and I was very full and well, Brandon (being his size) was just nice. If you spend above RM100, you get a complimentary special Sugar Coffee (sugar is burnt onto the outside the glass and you're to sip the black coffee while laying your tongue on the sugary glass).

You also get a couple of complimentary roses, which the waitress will playfully force the guy to give to the girl. If you are celebrating an occasion, they will bring a piece of cake complete with a candle for you. Actually I think they will give complimentary photo also but I think they forgot as we asked for the bill right after the main dish (Brandon wanted to go Karaoke after that).

Best of all, if you have children, there's a playground for your kids complete with slides and other play things just beside the lounge where you can have a seat to relax while waiting for your dessert or waiting for a seat before your food comes. There are magazines there if you're waiting for someone to arrive.

The bill came up to about RM260 or RM280 (cant remember coz I didn’t pay for it) but I think it was quite alright for a nice evening out, complete with a full course of starters, main dish and dessert (and a beer). We couldn’t even finish the small piece of chocolate brownie.

Go have a try... you will feel that you want to celebrate every special occasion there!