December Kangaroo | Goodbye Year 2014

It's the last day of the year, and I decided to write a quick update of my December. Yes, as you all know (or not know), my birthday falls on one of the days in tis' chilly month. One of the special day. *ekhem*



Attended Jo Ann's brother wedding and got the chance to go back to my hometown after 3 months and finally get to see baby Aiden! Eh, why no pic?!?!?!?! I also don't know why I didn't take picture of the baby. I'm so used to not taking pictures these days since I don't blog that much anymore. :( Sad case. Never mind, I have loads of time to take his picture when I finish my finals.

A simple dinner gathering with le friends and family at "A Pie Thing", since I've always wanted to try the food here after I saw my friend posted the picture up long time ago. Some friends are missing in the pictures because they were not in Malaysia. :(( Well, I don't really mind that much actually.




Requested le boyfriend to make a bad-ass cake and here's what he did. The Kit-Kat ft. M&m's Chocolate Cake. Inspired by 9gag!? Haha, it's quite nice actually. A little bit too sweet but still okay since I love both m&m's and kit kat. 
I was kind of mad when he asked me what to get me for Christmas. Being a female and all, I got angry and disappointed because I expected him to get me something that I really want without asking me "What I want". You feel me? Because I never asked him what he wants for his birthday. Well... maybe that's because he will tell me what he likes or want to buy all year long and I'll just pick one of those things he mentioned. LOL. So, I ended up telling him to make this cake if he really don't know what to get me. Then I gave up and told him about the crochet tool thingy that I wanted to buy but never did because it's too expensive. So, in the end, I think he got me 3 things. Homemade cake, crochet hooks, and macaroons. I've ranted about the macaroons too last time because he bought them for his friends but none for me. Hahaha. I can be a really jealous person okay. 
But if you ask me, I think handmade gifts are the most heartwarming ones, no matter what they are. Unless they are some sculpture of some feces or something. 

 
Okay, random. Just wanna slot in a picture of this beautiful cat I saw in a pet shop the other day in Seremban. Damn chio this cat, some more want pose give me and see other place.




Finally got to try the foods in Magnum Cafe. I don't really eat ice-cream much but this is definitely a thumbs up from me. I forgot what the thing in the mason jar is called. But it's super duper omg delicious man. Plus it contains strawberry!! But only one lah. Was curious of the fries with chili chocolate dip. Seriously, don't order that. It tasted super weird because the chocolate dip was actually a bit bitter and spicy. No sour or sweetness. So I guess you can say it's pretty bland. Since the fries was already tasteless. Nope, no sprinkled salt or anything. So, better stay clear if you're not into "void"-taste food. 
#shortfoodreview

We went skating too. And yes, I actually asked him to skate with me for quite a few time already but he always rejected my invitation.... Because we both don't really know how to skate. Lol. But we finally did it due to someone's change of heart. Birthday girl has a lot of special powers? Haha. 
Even though we're both amateurs, it's okay, it's still fun... when you're not falling down with your face on solid ice. But I got home with a really big bruise on my left thigh. Yay~ my Christmas present from IOI Would love to skate or roller-blade again though, because it beats running anytime. LOL



What face is that? *cry + laugh*

I think I have to rephrase some sentences. I think I got 4 presents instead of 3. 
Fourth present: Date + Magnum + Skating + Thai Food. Which is just awesome. 

And also, I got a gift for myself too this year. A really special one. :)


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Since it's the end of the year, it is also time for New Year's Resolution!!! To start off, of course I need to see back what I have written last year as my 2014 Resolution and see if I have achieved them or not. 
  1. Get BETTER results! I challenge myself to get CGPA of 3.75 or more for the next year. 
  2. Get lean and stronger. According to my IBM, 46kg should be my target. 
  3. Learn to get committed to things and do the best I can for it.
  4. Change to a better person. Don't get caught up in negative things and always stay on the positive side.
  5. Change my attitude because sometimes I can be rude to people, better be as nice as I can.
  6. Travel to Australia! (in the process of planning) but still, anywhere new is fine for me too. 
  7. Try to finish what I started. Like the cross stitch projects and also the books that I'm reading.
  8. Be more romantic. It's a good thing no?
  9. Get to know more people and build my network!
  10. Learn how to save money. My money is flowing out like a waterfall. And also work hard to earn them when I have the time. 
Well.... Wow, that's a lot of red. Unfortunately, I have not achieved many of them...... I think I scored no. 8 because... because I said so okay. Some things I should tell my past self when I was writing this down. #rantagain #complainagain
To be fair, my CGPA is almost there but I foresee it going down again after my last semester. But I really do hope I can maintain above 3.67 THE LEAST. Else, PTPTN waive bye bye.
To be realistic, girls.. don't aim for lighter weight. Aim for healthier lifestyle. Muscle is still weight, and you need that weight. You can get rid of fat but your weight doesn't determine how much fat you have. So, don't be obsessed with figures, focus on how you feel and look. Which I think I'm healthier this year. Or not. I have really poor self-control over food.
I'm not really committed to most of the things in my life. I realize I'm doing everything half-assed, it's like I'm losing faith in myself in doing things. I don't know.
As you can see above, I always get caught up on negative things and not always think of the bright side. I'm more moody this year round, not sure why.
I'm still rude... to SOME people.
Nope, Australia? Nope. But I went to Ho Chi Minh City, which is quite nice actually.
I still have a cross stitch project left half-done. But I'm more on amigurumis now, which I'm OBSESSED with currently.
I'm still a introvert. I still like to keep most things to myself and I didn't give any effort on knowing new people, because I'm just happy with what I have right now.
My money is still flowing out like crazy, but I'm learning to make some on my own too even without part-time promoters job.

I'm like comforting myself for not striking out most of my last year resolutions. *cries/laugh face*. No, I'm not giving reasons why I cannot do these things, I'm just turning it around and make it sound like it's actually a good thing not achieving what I have written. LOL.

I'm not making a "looking back this year" part like I used to due to time constraint and I'm really sleepy right now and I'm panicking over so many things but I still don't attempt to finish what I should be doing and I should be smacked with a fly swatter for being like this and oh okay never mind.
I don't know if it's my calling or what but ever since I started making this amigurumi few  years back, I wasn't really interested in making them like I'm doing it right now. Maybe it's just a temporary thing like my cross-stitch hobby last time. But honestly, I can't help but think about it all the time ever since few months ago when I was more active in this hobby which is last September. It's only been 4 months or more but I do enjoy making them. I used to make them by referring to patterns written by others but now I'm making my own patterns and even sketching out the things I wanted to do. I still love drawing and I still love doodling, this has never changed. And I have to admit, I'm still impressed at my art work that I drew long time ago. LOL. I admire myself some times. I don't know if I have really high confidence or what but I really think that I have talent for making amigurumi because somehow I have an eye for details when making them. I'm really passionate about making them look how they are, I even research a lot on different techniques even though I have ABSOLUTELY NO TIME to do these because I was suppose to be busy with my FYP and midterm. So, I ended up with a really bad result for one of my subject I'm taking this trimester and my FYP is not going very well. I have to say it's going way below what I've expected also. Even though I keep telling myself I should be busy doing that, I still ignore it and make amigurumi. It's like my way of escaping reality. I know it's toxic to be thinking this way. I wanted to really focus on it, just until next month where all will be finalize and be gone with. I'm also stopping myself from going out and hanging out with friends too... but I ended up doing nothing at home. Which is a really annoying thing. But I'm okay with doing assignment, once I get started, I'll finish it. But for FYP.... I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to continue. Even though I said I like coding, I definitely hate coding for this so much that I'm so sick of it and never want to program for something like this again.
Even though one is good at one stuff, it doesn't mean one likes to do it. Sigh.
I'm also thinking of just work at home selling my dolls in the future and make it bigger or something. Start an entrepreneurship. Just forget about engineering. What bullshit is this, studying for a degree that you barely like. Seriously, don't study a degree for the sake of getting a degree. It'll make your life miserable and it's just wasting your time and money. What kind of society we're living in that makes everyone feel this way. I believe everyone is born in this world for a reason, everyone is good at something but often they don't have a chance in pursuing them because of $$ problems. Sigh.
 I blame my ignorance for this, for not changing my own fate when I had the chance. But what done is done, at least now I know that I don't really like studying in this field.

Wow, this new year post is becoming a rant instead. I don't meant to upset anyone with these though. It's just what I'm currently thinking right now. And I can tell you, I always think too much.

I should set a more realistic goal for next year.

  1. Pursue your dreams and don't stop till you get there, even if it's just a tiny little step, just take it one at a time.
  2. Don't let anyone tell you what you should do or not do (with reasons, not baseless ones)
  3. Live healthier, eat healthier.
  4. Learn to manage your money flow.
  5. Learn to manage your time.
  6. No more doing things at last minute. Just focus on one thing at a time and not everything at once.
  7. Be happy everyday and remind yourself that you have people who loves you.
  8. Do more good deeds. Volunteer or donate when you are making your own money.
  9. More cooking! 
  10. Explore.
Just something I thought of in a whim. I think I need to write this down in my journal so that I can see it everyday and be reminded of them. 

Happy New Year!

Amigurumi Pattern | Chocobo from Final Fantasy

This post has hit 12k hits since published (29/12/2014)! Thanks for all the interest people! It's currently Dec 2016, and I am finally making my second chocobo. Yes, my second one. I have never had the chance to remake it in the end until two years later. I am going to add some more photos and fix some patterns for this chocobo, as I realized I wrote a lot of mistakes. Enjoy!



Have been wanting to write this up and post this every since I made it, and finally, it's up! The instructions may be incomplete because there's some part that I just did without noting it down. But I think it's really self-explanatory, you can figure it out without having to tell you what to do with that section/part. 
But of course, if you have any question, leave me a comment in this blog post or you can e-mail me too. I'll be happy to help. :) 

**I also sell this item on my Etsy shop. If you would like to have this item but you don't know how to crochet, you can order them from me. **

Materials
3.00mm crochet hook
Minlon Acrylic yarn (or any sport weight yarn)
# yellow
# orange
# brown
# white
eye washer
pipe cleaner/wire
Embroidery needle

Crochet Pattern | Totoro Beanie for Babies



Hey there! I'm going to write a beanie pattern today and today's main star is Totoro! I'm in love with Studio Ghibli's work but as for Totoro the movie... Let's just say it's not one of my favourite. Hahaha! But it's very popular and he is the signature mascot for Studio Ghibli too. I made it because it was requested actually.

Din Tai Fung, Empire Gallery | Worthy Book

I'm going to write it this post as soon as possible as I have a knack for procrastinating and dragging things. I have so many things on my hand right now. Busy time of the year for me!

So, recently I have been invited to a food review as a blogger. It's been sooooooooooooo long since my last blogger event. This is actually my first blogger event of the year. Yes, it's been really too long. Plus, I haven't been blogging much lately for any review. So, it's actually kind of a surprise for me to get the e-mail from them. *lol*


Thanks to Worthy Book for inviting me. They also gave me a copy of the book itself which I think is quite nice of them. I never really heard of Worthy Book actually until they approached me. I gave it to my mum after I came back from the review and she has already bookmarked like 1/3 of the book. *laughs* So excited to use the vouchers. Hahaha.

So..... What is Worthy Book you say?
It is basically a book filled with vouchers. It's actually pretty cool and very useful for people who eat outside frequently, IMO. You don't really need to think too long when you're wondering what to eat tonight and you can even save tons of money by using these coupons. Plus the content is very informative, easy and pretty to look at. 
They have TONS of restaurants' voucher in there, so do not worry, there's like 180 vouchers to choose from. So just pick what you like and start enjoying the food and  save up some moo-lahs too. 

If you're interested, you can go to this Issuu page to see the contents of the book. I'm really impressed by the fact that they utilized Issuu actually. Normally I use it to browse through handcraft's magazine.

Worthy Book Website | http://www.worthybook.sto.my/
*Please note that you cannot print the book out on your own, it will not work okay. I know there will be people thinking like this. So FYI first before anybody ask funny questions*

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They actually gave me a printed doc on their profile which I think is very useful! So, I'll just probably tell you some of the things I find interesting lah okay. To sum it all up.
So Din Tai Fung actually started quite long ago, like in the 1970s and in year 1993, The New York Times actually rated this restaurant among the top ten restaurants in the world. As in the recent year 2013, DTF ranked No 1 int he "101 Best Restaurants in Asia" list (released by US-based food website called The Daily Meal). This is quite a feat actually. 
DTF has branches around the world including Japan, US, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, China, HK, Indonesia, Australia and Thailand. So it's pretty much in the global zone. 

I've actually eaten Din Tai Fung before but the last time I went there was long time ago. But I get to try a lot of dishes and now I know which one is worth ordering and you guys can try it out too. So, I'll be starting out with the appetizers first.

Din Tai Fung House Special, RM6.90
I'm not really sure what this is actually but it seems like a Chinese-styled salad. This appetizer has a really strong taste plus it taste sour and vinegar-ish and a bit spicy too. Quite a nice start in my opinion to just increase our appetite.

Stewed Wheat Gluten, RM7.90
I normally see this when I eat chinese vegetarian dish but I never actually ordered them because of the fact that they look like tofu and I don't like eating tofu. LOL. So, to my surprise I actually find this likable since it's a little sweet but I think it's a bit tad oily for me. 

Fragrant Pork with Crushed Garlic, RM15.00
The texture of this dish... I think I have to describe the skin texture as a bit doughy on the outside and very crunchy on the inside. Perfect for snacks.

Spicy Sichuan Chicken, RM15.90
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This is actually served chilled. I thought it was a bit weird because I rarely eat cold chicken. This dish has a really strong taste and is very flavorful because of the sauce and also quite spicy. It's very good I think, really like this. 

Spicy Pickled Cucumber, RM6.90
........As for this, I think I'll just have to describe it as just "crunchy" and a bit "salty".... lol, it's just cucumber, I don't really think I need to explain much. Well, the chef has really good hands since he can arranged them so nicely on the plate.

All of the appetizer above are served cold.

They also taught us the right way to enjoy XLB which is to add 3 parts of vinegar with a dash of soy sauce on our grated ginger. But of course, this can be based on your own personal preference too. You should eat the XLB first and then eat the ginger to balance the taste. 
As for me, I actually prefer to eat the XLBs together with some soaked ginger, it just taste so much better like this. 

Pork XLB, RM11.20/6 pieces, RM17.80/10 pieces
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Best eaten when served when it's all hot and steamy! The skin has perfect thickness and the soup is just really delicious and I love this! "Steamed to perfection" as they said. 

Steamed Shrimp and Pork ShaoMai*
The flour skin on this one is a bit thick and very doughy, so I didn't like this that much.

Steamed Vegetable and Pork Dumpling*
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I would never thought vege dumplings will taste as good as this. It's a pleasant discovery. They actually used Xiao Bai Chai for the filling and I think they are an absolute delight!

Crab Roe and Pork XLB, RM16.20/6 pieces, RM25.80/10 pieces
I prefer the pork better and I don't like really like the crab-by taste this one has.

Hot and Sour Soup, RM10/S, RM15/L
The soup is very appetizing and it actually reminds me of the oyster noodle I normally ate in Shihlin. :P

Noodles with Minced Pork in Bean Sauce, RM15.50
I actually really like to eat this particular Chinese noodle dish. Normally I'll order this in a Chinese restaurant if I'm craving for noodles. So I'm kind of a fanatic for jajangmyeon. But unfortunately, I didn't take a liking to their version of the noodle because it tasted quite bland. Maybe it's because it wasn't mixed very well and it was served separately on small individual plates for all the bloggers. So, I'm not going to be so hard on it. Maybe will try this the next time I have a chance.

Spicy Vege & Pork Wanton*
Tasted the same as the vegetable dumpling except for the fact that the flavor in this one is stronger since it's enhanced with the sauce.

Shrimp Noodle Soup* 
Liked the fact that they used very fresh prawns and they taste very sweet. But as for the overall taste, the noodle is quite bland for me too. Or maybe I've tasted too much heavy food before I had this so it didn't really appeal to me that much anymore. Haha.


Pork Chop Fried Rice, RM18.50
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 I'll only recommended the fried rice because the rice is very soft and not the hard chewy version fried rice. It's really mild but still fragrant. As for the pork chop it was heavily seasoned with salt so it was a bit too much for me. Just tasted okay. 

Stir Fried Pea Sprouts, RM19.50
When this dish arrived, the smell was just overwhelming. *lol*. But I guess the vegetables they served are really fresh

Stir-fried Baby String Beans with Minced Pork, RM21.50
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 One of my favourite dish! Loved this. No explanation needed.

Golden Pumpkins with Salted Egg, RM17.50
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My first time trying something like this. It was really savory for me. The pumpkin is sweet. It's crispy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside. But overall, the salted egg overpowered the pumpkin taste but I still enjoyed it. 

Steamed Taro Dumplings, RM8.80/6 pieces, RM13.80/10 pieces
Steamed Red Bean Dumplings, RM8.50/6 pieces, RM13.50/10 pieces
I don't really like red bean but I had a taste. It was very much sweeter than the taro dumplings. The sweetness of the yam dumplings is actually on the perfect level but I can't really smell the yam taste. The skin was very thin and chewy and inside was rather gooey. Not really one of my favorites because of the gooey texture.

Chilled Grass Jelly Topped with Purple Glutinous Rice, RM9.00
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This dessert was very refreshing since it's cool and very fun to chew too. I like to be playful with my desserts so this is great for me. Haha. *Weird way to put it, I know*
 

Steamed Chinese-Style Layer Cake, RM6/S, RM10/L
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 Omg, you guys seriously have to try this with the amazing black sesame dip okay. The cake is a bit tad dry if eaten on it's own but it's super nice when dipped into the condiment. Really love this, will order this the next time I go there!

* - For items marked with this symbol, I think I've missed out on noting down the prices of these items or I can't find them in the menu. My apologies. I tried to find the prices online too but their website doesn't have prices on the menu. 


After our dinner, of course a group photo is a must. Met a lot of really nice and very pro bloggers. I was very intimidated at first because everyone has their own name cards for their blogs and I was like... "I have tissues". LOL. They seemed very very active in blogger's event. Well, as for me, I went there because of the free food frankly. 
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Sorry, I can't stop myself from being honest. I wonder why they even found my blog. But it was really an honor to be invited. Hope there will be a next event for me. Hahaha.
Thanks for reading!


Din Tai Fung
(They currently have 5 branches)

The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City
Lot LG 207, LG Floor
Tel: 603 2283 2292 
Business Hour: 10am – 10pm

Pavilion KL 
Lot 6.01.05, Level 6 
Tel: 603 2148 8292
Business Hour: 10am – 10pm

Empire Shopping Gallery 
Lot G15, Ground Floor 
Tel: 603 5022 2522 
Business Hour: 10am – 10pm

eCurve 
G17-G20, Ground Floor 
Tel: 603 7728 3218 
Business Hour: 11am – 10pm

One Utama
Lot G343a, Ground Floor
Tel: 603 7732 0027
Business Hour: 10am – 10pm