Figure 1. Rayban 5098 and Monocle’s December issue
Of the measly twenty votes I received here, it came down to Choice No.2 – the Rayban 5098. Many thanks to Patient No. 9 for accompanying me and telling me how bad my previous selections was.
Figure 1. Roger Fong loves Jane Ma: Love is in the Air
Love is in the air. Or at least for Roger Fong and Jane Ma whose billboard I just spotted at the Tg Aru and Sutera Harbour cross junction earlier tonight . First glance, one would have easily mistaken it for another flight company ad with the clouds background. That said, the billboard ad was brilliantly executed with a beautiful short message. It reminds me of that scene in the first few minutes of Love Actually – ‘If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspision love actually is all around.’
Figure 2. My first dancing partner — Emily
Earlier tonight, I dined with Emily at Little Italy after many postponements. At the junction where the billboard was situated. ‘Where are the two people looking into?’ she questioned. ‘Air… because it says love is in the air. They are in love so there’s probably love in the air for them to see.’ I paused. ‘Or perhaps they are looking across the opposite billboard – the one where we usually see this huge billboard with a huge portrait photograph of our current Chief Minister?’ I added, chuckling. What do you think they are staring into?
UPDATE 23 DEC: A close source informs me that Roger is a pilot. And Jane is an air stewardess. Both working for Malaysia Airlines – which explains the theme around ‘Love is in the Air’.
Figure 1. The location where the passport might have dropped.
I walked over to the hotel reception and placed one hand on my Dad’s shoulder. ‘Dad, dai gin si.’ I muttered while Mum was busy rummaging through the contents of my shoulder bag. ‘I’ve lost my passport.’ I said with some certainty. One thing for sure, it wasn’t on me. Or in my bag for that matter. It was somewhere. Somewhere in China!
Mind you, this is every traveller’s biggest nightmare. And to lose mine in less than an hour upon landing in China. Epic! Of course, I tried retracing my steps – which lead me with two possibilities – it was either inside or outside the taxi which took us to our hotel on DuoBao St. Both possibilities leave us with just one option – making a police report.
Figure 2. Across the road from the hotel
Dad and I made a quick dash to the nearest police station – Police Station A. The attending officer accessed our situation and diverted us to another police station which was in charge of the district where we were staying – Police Station B. We were greeted by three police officers who at first were quite clueless on the correct protocol to follow. Rarely, they have to deal with tourists and missing passports. It was a time-consuming process. A statement needs to be recorded. A police report needs to be written. The embassy needs to be notified. Headache betul.
Yet in the middle of everything, Police Station B received a call. The lady officer picked up a faxed copy of my passport and verified some numbers. Apparently, someone just handed in my passport at Police Station A. Yat tin kong sai lar! We hurried back to Police Station A to be greeted by the same officer who grinned at us this time round. We were told that an elderly man found the passport outside the hotel where our taxi stopped.
Who would have thought that I had the chance of finding my loss passport in China? Miracle, I tell you.
Figure 1. Mushroom bacon yakitori at Nishiki Japanese Restaurant
They usually come in bamboo skewers. In pairs. Except that, someone had a piece in her mouth by the time I manage to grab my camera out. One can never go wrong with grilled bacon. Yummy! The green pepper and mushroom add substantial new flavours to the food itself; making each bite a heavenly experience in itself. Definitely give this dish a try the next time you eat at Nishiki.
Do take note, the above dish is a non-halal.
Figure 1. Women’s evening wear were designed by students of local SIA art college.
As I am typing this entry out, my ears are glued to this song by Andy William – Music To Watch Girls By on my playlist. Which could certainly have served as great opening song when the models started parading on stage at the annual Sabah Supermodel Search/Manhunt Semifinals earlier this week of which I attended with a few friends in support of a classmate who participated as well.
Liang, Donald, me and Jeremy
Mavis, Patient No.9 and Amy
Figure 2. Men’s formal wear were prepared by the guys themselves.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be in the best position to tell you which one catwalked the best. Or perhaps which one wooed the crowd more. Well except for this guy, Contestant No. 12 who really knew how to worked up the crowd with his poses (see one here). Absolutely humorous. All the girls were pretty, tall and apparently young. The guys on the other hand had some weak contestants which stood out among the other better-looking guy contestants.
Figure 1. Harumi’s Japanese Home Cooking: Simple, Elegant Recipes for Contemporary Tastes
The weekend before last, there were two significant book sales here – Popular Bookshop and Time Bookshop. Not too long ago, a book warehouse sale was unheard of. Choices were fairly limited back then. You would have the independent retail bookshops such as Iwase (now closed) and Penguin on Gaya Street. But they weren’t pro-sales though. The choices of books at Popular’s sale was fairly limited (I went to the one in City Mall) but Time’s had a larger inventory – easily ten times more than the books Popular had for sale and up to a discount of 90%.
Figure 2. Books gotten at Time’s warehouse sale
Okay, I did manage to get a few books myself except the cooking book above which was a gift from Patient No.9. You’ll be in a for a treat if you are into fiction books.
Times and Popular seem to be adequate for the current market. Though I wouldn’t mind if a Kinokuniya opened here. Wouldn’t you?
Figure 1. New Man Tai noodles in downtown Kota Kinabalu
Was supposed to meet up with Hongyi for friend noodles at the new Man Tai branch on Gaya St the day before but changed the venue last minute to the food court in Wisma Merdeka. Does anyone miss the fried noodles there?
