Makan-Makan di Melaka: Day 3

It was our very last day in Malacca and we were hoping to make the best out of it. We had Taiwan Beef Noodle at this Taiwan Mee Shop along Jalan Gajah Berang. We had a few dishes that morning: pork leg, beef noodles as well as pork noodles. They are must-try dishes.

Next, we headed to Jeta Groves Melaka Nyonya Delights for its famous Durian Chendol and trust me, this is so much better than the one you found on Jonker Street.

We ordered Mee Siam too, just for a try of it but, it was too spicy for me. I believe most of you could take up spicy food so, this dish will be a piece of cake for you. Still, the focus is definitely the durian chendol. It follows durian season though so, if you want to have it, you better head to Malacca fast before durians are out!

Of course you should not forget about bringing back something from Malacca home: pineapple tarts. My favourite and specially from Madam Goh. I had eaten those non-Madam-Goh pineapple tarts and seriously, they cannot be matched. It seems you had to place an order one day in advance to get a bigger container of pineapple tarts. Else, you could only get a smaller one which is definitely not enough.

Now that marked the end of my Malacca re-visit, what’s next? Ipoh!

How to Communicate in a Relationship

The absence of talks is the main reason behind failing relationships. Nevertheless, this is not incurable and can be healed by effective communication. Communication is a bridge that connects two people and most of the times, it is the unspoken words that make a difference and not the ones that you managed to voice out. We are talking about the body language here, in particular, your body and your eyes will give our vibes to people around you and they manifest you actual feelings. Your body does the talking most of the times; you need not say things to your partner.

Unfortunately, our body may malfunctions and gives out vibes that we never intended to send. For instance, your body, when tired, may give our cold vibes to your partner; much against your personal wish. This justifies the need for a healthy and spoken dialogue. A bit of conscious effort and some effectual communication strategies and your relationship could be back on track.

There are a few tips on how to communicate effectively for maintaining healthy relationships.

Listen

Communication is not just talking. We all know that but, we conveniently choose to forget. In a relationship, you must not take any chance; listen to your partner and know what his or her sufferings are. Maybe it is all in the head and you can talk things out. But maybe, your attitude is the cause of issues which you will have a lot more things to sort out. If that is the case, the more reason for you listen as listening is definitely is a good start.

Appreciate

We get into relationships with wonderful people but, with the passage of time, we just forget how wonderful they are. Their niceness becomes mundane for us and consequently, appreciated becomes a rarity. That is another root cause of decay in relationships. The attitude of taking things for granted creeps into a relationship and kills it from within. To maintain the beauty of any relationship, do not be lazy. Know that the magic once created needs to be maintained and polished, time and again. To do this, all you need to do is to shower your beloved with appreciation. A simple word of praise and gratitude can wash away a million of misgivings.

Face It

Before things go out of control, take matters in your hand and talk to your partner. Do not just sit on your hands and do nothing. Yes, time heals but, it cannot possibly have the same effect all the time. It might just complicate life further for both of you. The last thing your relationship deserves is your neglected and ignored looks!

Interact

Talking it out is not enough. You must interact with your partner on a regular basis. However, you need to realise that talking should not come out as a duty. There should be a natural urge or drive to talk your heart out to your partner. Remember that there was a time when that person was our oxygen and blood; survival without talking to them was impossible. Interacting naturally is the best step to relive those moments and figure out what has changed.

Compromise

Get this fact straight – this is not a war and you are not foes. Compromising on some simple things would not make you weaker or less stronger by any chance. People who say that maintaining your individuality, despite being with someone else, miss out on one key fact of life – in a relationship, two is actually one. You do not grow along side each other in your separate worlds, rather you grow together. Compromise is not a sign of defeat – it is a sign of maturity and mental growth.

Seek Professional Help

Ego hurts and if you let it get into a relationship then it hurts even more. After you have tried almost every imaginable thing to make your relation work and still, the spark has not re-ignited, then you must not shy away from the idea of seeking professional help. And please, professional means professionals – do not get your family or friends involved which will bring more harm than good.

Never Give Up

Keep in mind that you are with a person you liked the most at one point in life. That person is still there under the new demeanor – it is only the situations that have changed. Do not make rash choices or decisions just because things have been rocky for sometime. Every relationship goes through the tough phase but, you need to keep your faith intact and try hardest to make that beautiful chemistry work all over again!

Source: iloveindia.com

Makan-Makan di Melaka: Day 2

We started our second day in the afternoon at Donald & Lily’s for nyonya cuisine. I had been craving for pongteh chicken for a period of time and I have not had enough of it yet. We had nyonya laksa as well as their cendol.

Next, we headed to Nadeje Patisserie for their famous mille crepe. It was not my first time to try out mille crepe; I fell in love with it the first time I tried it when a friend of mine bought a few slices back from Malacca. Then, it was his birthday when a friend of mine in Penang told me about this site, Humble Beginnings, where they take orders in for mille crepe.

Unfortunately, they do not offer Tiramisu flavour but Nadeje has it – and that was why we were heading there for a taste of it. Luck was not on our side. It was sold out, what a bugger.

After our tea break, we headed back to the hotel for a short break before we continued our food hunt at night. A local friend of mine hosted us that night and I had told him how much I wanted to go to the back alley stall. I had always wanted to go and had been telling my boyfie about it all the time when I talked about Malacca. Luck was not on our side again as it did not open for business that night due to family matters.

However, that did not spoil our night. My friend brought us to The Portugese Village to have great seafood at 7 Pescados Fishermen. Patience is a virtue, people. We waited for almost two hours for our food and trust me, it was worth the wait. The crabs were my favourite and the prawns though a little spicy, it was good too. After we were stuffed, we had a mango-ish mango juice at Joe’s Only One Mango Juice. Why did I call it ‘mango-ish’? Go and have a sip of it and you will understand. This stall is located at the same place as those seafood restaurants so, you will be able to find it.

No, it was not the end of the second day yet. We went for a second round that night; headed to Merlimau. I had never tried the famous Portugese grilled fish though it was my fourth visit in Malacca. We had those three dishes shown above at Medan Ikan Bakar Alai. I enjoyed sweet and sour ‘bamboos’ and prawns more than the fish. Well, I personally do not like to eat fish but it was not that bad. At least I got to get a taste of it.

..to be continued

Makan-Makan di Melaka: Day 1

This is it: the getaway that I had been looking forward to, apart from Penang and Ipoh, for a very long time ever since I got back from Shanghai last year. It has been three years and I really miss its delicacies.

The best thing about this trip was the boyfie was finally able to take a break and we were able to make this promised trip came true. Plus, it was our very first trip together *excited* He drove all the way from Penang and stayed a night in Kuala Lumpur before we headed to Malacca on Friday morning.

We stayed in this newly renovated hotel, Arenaa De Luxe Hotel at Jalan Ujong Pasir. I was not convinced by its pictures shown in its website but, blimey the place blew my mind totally. It is highly recommended if you are looking for a budgeted lodging in Malacca.

We had Hainanese chicken rice balls at Hoe Kee Restaurant for lunch. It is common to see people queuing up to get seats in this restaurant. In our case, however, there was no queue at all and the doors were closed. I thought they are not taking in any customer anymore.

Next, we had cendols at Jonker 88. In the past, I always had durian cendol. This time, I decided to try out something new: passion fruit cendol and it was not that bad.

As we continued walking along Jonker Walk, we passed by this store that sells durian puffs and decided to give it a try. It was good though. If you would like to give it a try, head to Poh Keong Entreprise. They sell durian ice-creams too.

We then headed to Capitol Satay Restaurant  for dinner. This place is infamous for its long queue. We were really fortunate that we got our seats in less than twenty minutes. The first timers did not really like it but it was a good experience. In my case, I was in my special days so, I did not had much compared to my previous visits.

For supper, to end our first day, we had duck noodles, chicken feet and ‘eight treasures’, as shown in the pictures above, at SS Food and Beverage Station. This place is famous among the locals in Malacca. I found the noodles alright but enjoyed the chicken feet, though a bit spicy, and the dessert.

..to be continued

How to Keep the Fire Burning in a Relationship

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then she comes with a baby carriage..” – a popular refrain, which does the rounds with friends when one of them falls in love.

Every married couple feels that the fire seems to fade away as they grow old together. They fear a loss of value in each other’s life, fear the fact that their own beauty and sex appeal is fading and before we know it, many marriages went out of control. All such situations occur because we do not take stock of the situation ahead and have delusion that the romance will continue forever.

Therefore, before it gets too late, take stock of the situation and know how to keep the fire burning in a relationship.

Do Something New Today Together

Keep trying new things together is definitely one hellish way to not let the fire die in a relationship. That is the main reason why relationships have a lot of passion when they have just kicked off because of the fact that it is new and you are still discovering each other. But slowly, as time passes and this newness starts fading, you might begin to feel that the passion that kept both of you going is also fading along with it.

Therefore, it is very important to keep trying new activities together and experimenting with life, with each other and with our own lives to keep the fire burning.

A relationship that is always exciting and holds the element of newness and mystery in it is more likely to keep its spark.

Get Rid of The Extinguisher

When the fire seems to fade away or runs into one of the dangerous territories, anything and everything that can decrease the passion.

For instance, phone calls during dinner, conversations only centered around a period of financial crisis, reading the paper and not paying attention while one partner talks, complaining and nagging on the part of one partner and silent sulking on the part of another – these are all the things that act fire extinguishers that will put out the fire, in other word, passion!

Prepare for such mood dampeners from the beginning so that either you do not let them come between you or they only end up bringing you closer. Being prepared beforehand about certain situations will help in narrowing the divide or prevent it from occurring.

Space, Not Distance

You will run the risk of widening the gap if you do not allow enough space between the two of you and consequently, creates distances that can never be exceeded. It would definitely serve you well to lead separate social lives even as both of you live and share lives together. Relationships are meant to bring two people together but it should not pose a threat to anyone’s personal space, individuality and individual space to grow in relationships.

Never enter into a relationship with the intention of feeling complete but with the intention of sharing your life with someone worthy of your love, respect and concern.

When spouses allow each other space to grow and feel complete within themselves, the relationship reaches a level of maturity and trust that is matched by very few. And ultimately, you will need nothing to keep you together.

Source: iloveindia.com

Chi Wei’s Farewell@Souled Out Café Bar

I left my blog untouched for almost a week now. What does this supposed to mean?

It means I need to get some life!

And I did, which happened just last night.

However, it was not our usual get-together-having-fun-criticising-people-and-gossiping outing. Cw had accepted his new job offer in Singapore and will be leaving tonight. He has probably boarded his flight now.

Therefore, we all came together to have a dinner with him and, for the very first time for this group, we were chillaxing at a bar for after-dinner! The guys were having beers. Girls? Margarita and mocktails. I am one of the girls who took a glass of mocktail. Surprised?

Don’t.

The highlight for the night is the bombs: Jagerbomb! My very first alcohol since the last ones I had 2 months ago. It was really good and I was relieved that I could turn in when I got home even after consuming Red Bull. I had to work the next day which sucks a lot.

Like Bu said to me before, our circle is shrinking, never expanded. Similarly, like Cw told me over Gtalk, our number in Malaysia is dwindling. Let us all hope our bond will surpass all geographical boundaries.