Chinese New Year 2010 in KK

Saturday, 13 Feb 2010

2:30 pm - Arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA)

- Fetched by Papa and Felix

Had fried mee hoon cooked by Felix

Enjoyed Mama's 'tong yuen' (glutinous rice ball)

Rested at home

8:30 pm - Reunion Dinner at New Wong Kok Restaurant

Family - Pa, Ma, Me, Seng Chor, Eva, Felix, Alex and Jordan

Relatives - Aunty Mary, Uncle Jan Fah and cousin Flora (aka Kaubo)

Sunday, 14 Feb 2010

1st Day of Chinese New Year

Breakfast at home

Seng Chor drove to town for a short sight-seeing.

- Passed by Suria Sabah and One Borneo shopping complex.

Lunch and Dinner - cooked by Mama.

After dinner, took family photo.

Monday, 15 Feb 2010

Breakfast at home

Felix fried mee hoon for lunch.

Dinner at the Chungs - Uncle David, Aunty Doris, Michele and Elaine.

- All home cooked dishes. Mama cooked meat balls in pickled sauce.

Tuesday, 16 Feb 2010

Breakfast at home

Mama cooked lunch and dinner.

Sent Felix to KKIA.

Then, to Wawasan Plaza and Asia City to buy handicrafts.

Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010

Breakfast at home

Visited Seng Chor's aunty (Sa Ko), cousin Susan and family at Kingfisher III

5 pm - To Tanjung Aru Beach - Seng Chor, Jordan and I.

First time for Jordan to walk and 'play' on the beach - kicking sand and sand castle.

Dinner at home - Steamed Fish

Thursday, 18 Feb 2010

8:30 pm - To Dentist Yong

Me - filling

Seng Chor - scaling

Take-away dim sum from Foo Phin.

Take-away Mee Hoon soup for lunch.

Dinner with Jenny at Upperstar, Damai.

- Bumped onto cousin Susan and family with Sa Ko

- Raymond (Susan's hubby) paid for dinner.

Dessert at Qing Bou Leong - Pumpkin sago drink and Qing Bou Leong.

Friday, 19 Feb 2010

Breakfast at home.

Take-away Mee Hoon soup for lunch.

2:00 pm - Get-together with Phine-phine

Had cakes and coffee at Secret Recipe, Suria Sabah.

Good time of catching up.

Family dinner at Supertanker.

Dessert at Qing Bou Leong - Seng Chor, Jordan, Eva, Alex and I.

- Had Mango and Honey Dew Sago

Saturday, 20 February 2010

Breakfast at home.

Mama cooked lunch.

4:30 pm - Flight back to PJ

- upgraded to Business Class because Economy Class was full.

- Seats more comfortable, and more food.

- More space for Cheeky Boy to run!

8:30 pm - Arrived home

9:00 pm - To Patrick's house for CNY dinner.

Slide Shows from Sabah

From Left: Chee Keong, Seng Chor, Jenny, Yoke Kheng, Dr Cabokia and Jordan (sleeping)
The @tmosphere

Veda Blue @ City Mall

Kinabalu Rose Cabin

Mount Kinabalu Heritage

Family Photo at Kundasang

Kinabalu Rose Cabin
(Saturday, 30 August 2008)

My Papa at Mount Kinabalu

This is my Papa's 3rd time to climb Mount Kinabalu. His first climb was in 1996. He was 56 years old. This year, he climbed twice - January and August/September. He is 68 years old this year. He keeps himself fit by climbing the small hill near our house in KK almost every day. He enjoys it.

At first, we thought that this would be his last climb. But when he heard that Seng Chor and his friend, Chee Keong hope to climb again using a different route, known as the Mesilau Trail, my Papa got excited again.

He was really excited about the last climb. He was packing and re-packing his stuffs many times - at home and at Kundasang. He showed Seng Chor and Chee Keong the stuffs that he was taking. He would take the stuffs out from his backpack and check through a few times. It was rather amusing to see him doing it - just like a little boy packing his school bag for the first day of school.

He didn't expect the strong wind. He had a slight fall and scratched his face and left leg slightly at the peak. He enjoyed perfect weather on his first climb in 1996. In his second climb, he experienced the rain. So, my Papa has overcome different types of weather at the mountain. Overall, he had a good climb.

From the Tempohon Gate to Laban Rata Rest House
Sunday, 31 August 2008

At the Peak of Mount Kinabalu
Monday, 1 September 2008

Last Day in KK – 2 September 2008

It’s our annual dental check-up. As usual, my Mum booked the appointment for Seng Chor and me. We did scaling for our teeth. Seng Chor was apparently tortured for about half and hour. He still has gum problems. Mine lasted for about 10 minutes. No major problem except for a tooth which requires filling. I will have to get it done in KL as my gums were slightly swollen after the scaling.

Why did we do our dental check-up in KK? The price is actually about the same. The main reason – no time for both of us to go for check-up in KL. It’s more convenient to do it during our holiday in KK. Hehehe!

After the check-up, Mum took us for Dim Sum at Foo Phin which is very near to the dentist. Yoke Kheng accompanied Jordan at home. So, we packed Char Siew Pau and Siew Mai for Yoke Kheng.

We didn’t do much for the rest of the day – just packing. Mum cooked a simple and lovely lunch for us – ABC soup, scalded vegetables in oyster sauce, steamed prawns and Char Siew/Siew Yuk (BBQ roast pork from the market). The prawns were extremely fresh. Dad went to the market early in the morning to buy them. Jordan enjoyed them too. He ate quiet a lot of rice but didn’t drink much soup. Yoke Kheng and I had 2 bowls of soup each. Yummy!

Later, Mum boiled barley that she bought from Kuching. It tasted slightly different but very nice. We had it before leaving for the airport at 4:45 pm.

Our flight was at 6:20 pm. We reached the airport in good time. I was in Mum’s car. Seng Chor, Yoke Kheng and Jordan were in Dad’s car. Jordan was sleeping. He was also sleeping when we left KK last year. What a coincidence! Anyway, he woke up before we boarded the plane.

This is the first time I had meals in an Air Asia plane. Yoke Kheng and I ordered chicken rice. Seng Chor had nasi lemak. Jordan enjoyed the anchovies in the nasi lemak so much that we had to order a separate meal for him. Seng Chor and I shared the rest. According to the air steward, it was the last pack of nasi lemak on the plane. Phew! Otherwise, Jordan will be complaining.

It’s amazing that our plane arrived KL half an hour earlier! Seng Chor commented that the pilot should be summoned for speeding. Hahaha! It was good for us.

I was already in tears before we left the house. I cried again at the airport. I miss my parents so much. Mum will be here in December before I give birth. Dad will be here during the Chinese New Year next year. Looking forward to see them again.

Kundasang – 3rd, 4th and 5th Day in Sabah

We spent the next 3 days at Kundasang. Mum, Dad, Jordan and I in Dad’s car, while Seng Chor drove Mum’s car with Chee Keong and Yoke Kheng. We left the house at 10 am and arrived at Kundasang before 12 noon.

We stopped by some handicraft stalls for toilet break and snacks. Then, we headed straight to the Kinabalu Rose Cabin - our accommodation for the next 2 nights.

My Dad has actually booked 3 rooms but then because of miscommunication, they reserved only 2 rooms for us. Finally, we settled for one family room – with 2 single beds, one double bed and a double decker single bed. It was a big room. No complaint about the room except for the heater. It is rather difficult to adjust the temperature – it’s either too cold or too hot. Somehow we managed after a few tries. Some of us used the bucket to mix the water before bathing.

After lunch, we visited the Mount Kinabalu Heritage. Mount Kinabalu Heritage Resort and Spa (formerly known as Perkasa Hotel) sits graciously atop a hill 5000 feet above sea level with a spectacular view of the majestic Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia. Unfortunately, it was drizzling. So, we were not able to see Mt Kinabalu. About 45 minutes later, we returned to Rose Cabin to rest.

Dinner was lovely. I would strongly recommend Rose Cabin because of the food. The restaurant offers the best of Local, Chinese, Western cuisine and fusion. I will miss the corn soup and French toast. Nice!

That night, all of us slept after 9 pm. The guys had to wake at 6 am to prepare for their mountain climbing the next day. As for the ladies and Jordan, we joined Jenny’s church for worship at the Mount Kinabalu Heritage. Coincidentally, they were having their retreat in Kundasang. Jordan was active as usual. He spent most of the time playing with one of the boys there. Praise God that I was able to sit through most of the sermon by the camp speaker – Rev. George Ong from Singapore. He spoke from Jeremiah 1:4-10 with the title “Compelled by the Call”. Below are the 3 points he shared:

1) An amazing call in the light of insignificance. (v. 4 – 5)
2) An affirmative call in the light of inadequacy. (v. 6 – 9)
3) An awesome call in the light of impossibility. (v. 10)

Rev. George is a humorous guy. He shared quite a few of jokes throughout the message. He has actually written numerous books on jokes. Jokes aside, the message was simple, straightforward and meaningful. God’s call was amazing because He knew Jeremiah even before Jeremiah was formed in the womb. It was an affirmative call though Jeremiah felt inadequate. The call was awesome because Jeremiah felt that it was an impossible task to accomplish. Indeed, like Jeremiah we should be compelled by God’s calling in whatever we do – whether we are serving or being served.

We didn’t join the group discussion. Instead, we headed for the Kinabalu National Park.

Kinabalu National Park is designated as Malaysia’s First World Heritage site in December 2000. A botanical paradise, it is home to over 1,200 species of orchids, 26 species of rhododendrons, 9 species of nepenthes, 100 species of mammals and 326 species of birds. In the midst of it stands the majestic Mt Kinabalu measuring some 4,095 m tall. ( Lily Kugan)

At the National Park, we visited the exhibition hall. Jordan enjoyed looking at the stuff animals and butterflies. After lunch at the Liwagu Restaurant, we went back to Rose Cabin.

In the evening, we had a good view of Mount Kinabalu and managed to capture some photographs.

That was the second night at Kundasang.

The next day, I had a wonderful English breakfast – toast (strawberry jam and butter), egg, sausages and baked beans. We didn’t do much for the rest of the day. We checked out at 1 pm after lunch. Then, we went to National Park to wait for the guys to come down. They arrived at the base at almost 4 pm. After collecting their certificates, we drove back to Kota Kinabalu. We reached home around 5:30 pm.

Once again, we had a sumptuous dinner at Supertanker. Mum and Dad invited Uncle David and Aunty Doris (family friend) as well. Jordan was once again treated with a special privilege. The owner of the restaurant gave him 2 pieces of jelly at one time. He really enjoyed it so much.

That was our last night in Kota Kinabalu.

Another Memorable Trip to Kota Kinabalu

The Teohs and Yoke Kheng left for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah on Thursday, 28 August 2008 at 9:20 am. We arrived at the Terminal 2 at around 12 noon. My parents greeted us.

For lunch, I requested my Mum to cook porridge – I had 3 bowls – medium-sized. Yummy! We didn’t do much for the rest of the day. Seng Chor and his friend Chee Keong drove around the city. They were supposed to buy milk powder for Jordan and get some stuff from the pharmacy but didn't. In the evening, my Dad took them hiking on the hill near our house as a prelude to the Mt Kinabalu climb on 31 August 2008.

At 6:30 pm, we (Seng Chor, Yoke Kheng, Chee Keong, Jordan and I) left the house to pick Jenny (my ex-University mate) for dinner. We had a lovely dinner at The @mosphere. It is situated on the 18th floor of the Menara Tun Mustapha (formerly known as Yayasan Sabah). The restaurant revolves a full circle in one hour, giving a sweeping 360 degrees views of Kota Kinabalu. Cool, eh? The food was not too bad. I enjoyed my mushroom soup. I had a sip of the drinks ordered by Seng Chor and Yoke Kheng. Nice! It was a peaceful dinner because Jordan slept throughout on the sofa. Hehehe!

After dinner, we went to Veda Blue at City Mall for ice cream – thumbs-up for this local ice cream store – Made in Sabah. Unfortunately, there was no durian ice cream. I settled for mango and ? (I forgot – Hahaha.) I think it was some nuts with chocolate flavour. Anyway, I enjoyed it.

That was the first day.

On the second day, we went to our favourite Dim Sum place – Foo Phin. I ate quite a lot – siew mai, char siew pau, pai kuat, chee cheong fun, fish ball, carrot cake and lo mai kai. What a satisfying meal! Next, we went to CKS Hypermarket to do a bit of shopping for snacks.

We had the famous fish paste noodle soup from Tien-tien Restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we (Mum, Seng Chor, Chee Keong, Jordan and I) went to 1 Borneo Hypermall for window shopping. It was our first visit. Well, it was not exactly window shopping. Seng Chor bought gloves, ear mittens and long johns.

For dinner, we went to my Dad’s favourite Chinese restaurant – Supertanker. Food and service were excellent. My Dad ordered steamed fish cooked in teochew style, ostrich meat, Sabah vegetables and special sauce pork ribs. Jordan enjoyed the jelly dessert very much. Because he enjoyed it so much, the owner of the restaurant gave him another one! It was entertaining to see him gobbling up the jelly. There was a charming smile with every bite.

That was the second day in Kota Kinabalu.

Next post – Trip to Kinabalu Park, Kundasang.