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Dinner Date with Jo at TORII

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Last week we tried out TORII, a Japanese ‘izakaya’ style grill at TTDI, which is the first outlet of a branch at Batai, Damansara Heights.. Jo and I have always wanted out this restaurant cause its perfect for our date nights, where we can have some small bites over a few drinks and just chill for the night.

TORII has a full range of grilled skewered meats and vegetables, in addition to a selection of fresh sashimi, soups, rice or pasta, and also a very inventive and interesting selection of appetizers that are ideal to share.

They also carry a huge range of the finest whiskeys, from Scotch to Japanese and also numerous cocktails for those who prefer something sweeter.

Bonded Unagi & Foie Gras (RM29.90). Consists of grilled river eel, egg, and pan-seared foie gras. This bite was as rich and creamy as it’s name suggests. Slightly salty and creamy, it was just the right size not to be too overwhelming.

Kampachi Uni Jalapeno (RM34.90) with citrus ponzu sauce & black truffle salt. This appetizer was, to me, the perfect start to the meal as it was punchy and acidic, well balanced with the sweet and creamy uni. It was my first time trying uni and I was a little hesitant at first, but I can tell you that it’s a turning point in my life! It was sweet and creamy, totally not what I expected!

Avocado De La Mer (RM19.90) which is baked seafood, avocado, mushrooms, piquant miso & cheese. The cheese was nice and crispy on top and the seafood, including lobster pieces, were cooked perfectly.

Broiled Lobster Chowder & Crab Croutons (RM18.90). The broth was very flavorful and the crab croutons were very surprising! I thought the cubes were just bread but it turned out to be crispy soft shell crab! Very clever indeed.

Triple Peaks (RM26.90) which were toro, uni & amaebi on rice molehills.

Sizzling Beef (RM35.90) which were sirloin slices with BBQ sauce & crispy garlic. I removed a few slices to show you the perfect cook on the meat! The sirloin was super tender and instantly melted in my mouth!

Autumn Risotto (RM27.90) of crab claw, egg yolk, and asparagus. The rice was cooked perfectly ‘al dente’ and the crab claw were super fresh and sweet. Crack the yolk, mix it into the rice, and enjoy!

Torii Fried Rice (RM25.90) with foie gras, herbs, & garlic chips. I can never resist fried rice and this was probably one of the best I ever tried.

Finally we moved on to the stars of the show! Haha, I am personally not a heavy eater so I do prefer the skewers as they were a bit lighter and as you order by the skewer, you can definitely try out more things!

These Veal Chunks (RM15.90) were definitely my favorite amongst all the other amazing dishes! Simple in execution, but amazingly difficult to perfect. The veal was cooked to absolute perfection! Great crust on the outside and amazingly tender inside. They melt on the first bite!

What more perfect combination can you possibly ask for? YES! Kirin Beer and Japanese grilled skewers, a match made in heaven. The beer was served ice cold, and perfect to go with one skewer after another. Consume one dish, take a drink to cleanse and freshen the palette and then start again! Hahaha, Jo definitely enjoyed the pairing as well.

Cheat day so might as well enjoy myself!

Next up was Chicken Wings (RM8.90) and again, amazingly simple but cooked perfectly. The wings are only seasoned with sea salt, and then grilled. The skin was super crispy, so crispy that I initially thought they were fried.

Then we had Rock Lobster (RM11.90) with scallion & garlic chilli sauce. The rock lobster were juicy and tender, and the sauce provided just enough kick to complement.

Lastly we had Squid Tentacles (RM10.90) with sea salt & tangy salsa. This dish was similar to the rock lobster before but the squid tentacles provided a great bite as they were crunchy and juicy.

Hahaha, I know right, I can recall how full we were that day after writing all this, but nonetheless, we also had dessert, which were also very good! This is a recurring theme of this post, everything was very well cooked and some dishes were very inventive and interesting!

First we tried the Green Tea Crème Brulee With Chocolate Lavender Ice Cream (RM24.90). The green tea crème brulee was soft and tender, and a strong macha flavor, a little sweet and bitter at the same time.

Then we had Nuttla Gyoza With Chocolate Ganache & Whiskey-N-Raisin Ice Cream (RM24.90). The gyozas were very crispy and light and Jo really liked their take on rum and raisin ice cream. The substitution with whiskey made the flavor more intense and less sweet compared to the typical ones.

Overall I rate the food and ambience very highly, and we had a great night out. We really enjoyed the Kirin Beer together with all the dishes served at Torii and we will definitely return to try out the rest of the grilled skewer menu!

Good news to those who are interested to try out Torii because they are having promotion for Kirin beer! Enjoy RM10 per Kirin glass on every Wednesdays & Thursdays (all night) but only in Torii TTDI !

♥

March 7, 2016
Happy Monkey Year!

Waw, time flies when you’re having a good time doesn’t it! So fast, that 15 days of CNY flew by in the blink of an eye. I hope everyone had a great break and to those who celebrate CNY, Gong Xi Fai Cai!

This year is pretty different and more relaxing to me and Jo because we have our own place and we dont have to rush to 2 dinners on CNY eve. Imagine the terror of rushing to the first dinner at 6pm then right after that we have to rush to the 2nd dinner at 9pm T___T. I dont really like the idea la because we dont get to spend enough time alone and with the relatives.

As usual, we celebrated CNY eve and first day in KL with Jo’s family then 2nd to 4th with my family back in my hometown, Kuala Pilah. I was telling JO I feel glad that we dont have to get stuck in any CNY jam!

Like I have mentioned, Jo’s kampung is in KL so we get to spend some time at the gym before reunion dinner hahaha. I know la, we sound like losers becasue CNY still go to the gym lol. I was on Kayla week 19 I cannot stop half way ma so might as well complete week 19th instead.

Then last min bao ang bao session! Every year I cant decide which ang bao to use hahahah.

After gym, we headed home to shower and dress up for reunion dinner at Jo’s cousin place. There’s only 3 of us (Jo, mil and I) so we thought it’s better to join the relatives for reunion dinner. The more the merrier and we only do it once it a year wtf.

It has been a year since we last met Jo’s niece (she used to stayed with us back in Puchong). She has grown much taller and more talkative! I had a fun time playing hide and seek and taking selfie with her hahha.

In 1 yr, Jo’s cousin gave birth to another cheeky baby girl! Super blessed to give birth two pretty girls man!!

Totally forgot to take picture of the yummy food we had during dinner lol…

On the first day, we woke up around 8am to have simple breakfast at home then get ready to for house visiting! It feels so great to have our own place now because we get to have our little space before spending whole day with the relatives T_T

First day of CNY, as usual we went to Jo’s cousin place to have lunch and meet up with all the relatives from his mum side!

Matchy pastel colored outfit for the first day of CNY.

I told Jo she will be our fake daughter for CNY until she is big enough to say no to taking picture with us hahahaha. So far, whenever i say come take a selfie she will just run to me and pose =)

CNY for a married couple who have no kids is quite torturing because ppl just wont stop asking “When r u planning to have one?” I feel bad to reply “Not planning to have one” because it’s CNY but I feel so annoyed with all these stupid questions. Even my mil would join the force and keep hinting =( Aiya, if you guys love kids so much just give birth one for urself la dont kacau my life =.=

As usual, didnt bother to take pic of the food again because we had KFC wtf. Spent the whole day at the cousin’s place playing hide and seek and LEGO with our rental daughter.

Mil has plans for dinner so Jo and I just went to have mamak and went back home to watch Mi Yue lol. Not sure about you but I really like spending CNY like this, very quiet and stress free!

2nd day of CNY is when my CNY starts proper!!! Balik kampung to visit my family and gamble! Our family tradition is that everyone must wear red or bright color!

First thing we did when we reached my place was to serve tea to my parents and get ang baos!

Our family portrait! So happy that we have one more new family member to celebrate CNY with! Welcome to the Siow family, Dr Lim =)

My kampung style OOTD!

Lunch my mum cooked Taiwanese dumpling (served without soup, my fav) and Gin bought Lou Sheng!

Then we had our Catan session! Our whole family is super addicted into this game hahaha.

Of cox we gamble with relatives too! This Gin very kia su la use mandarin oranges as paper weight ==’

Steamboat for dinner!!!

Then at night we had a little fireworks competition with the neighbors lol, ok la the house behind us win ==’

The wind was too strong that night so ended up our lantern burnt before rising hahahahahhaha.

3rd day of CNY, we had lunch at home again hahaha. We dont really go out for meals back in my kampung because nothing is open and we are too lazy to drive around.

Then we visited all the temples in my hometown!

Another tradition of ours is to donate red lanterns to the temple every CNY. So each of us donated 1 pair with our names on it.

Just like 2nd day of CNY, we gamble, play Catan and non stop eating!

Dad told us to resume work on the 5th day of CNY so Jo and I went back to the office on the 5th and did some prayer and pretend to work haha

What I did was to turn on my computer then I skyped my colleagues 888888888888888888888888888888888 mean FATT hahaha. Then turn on Cai Sheng Dao song super loud !! haha

On the 6th day of CNY, we finally get our own time to hang out a bit before going back to work.

When I say date I meant eating clean and heading to the gym lol.

I hope everyone had a great CNY too! Last but not least, I wish everyone has a prosperous year ahead, eat healthily and work hard!

I know the biggest enemy everyone meets after CNY is the extra pounds that you have gained from feasting lol.

Don’t worry, check out my previous post to find out how to loose the extra pounds from CNY break!

♥

March 2, 2016
#BoboFitness – Post CNY Workout at Home
Happy Chinese New Year and Gong Xi Fatt Cai to all. I have been looking forward to CNY since a month ago ‘cause CNY is my favorite festive season! We get to enjoy dishes that we don’t normally eat at home like those CNY biscuits, BBQ dried meat, and all sorts of other fattening snacks, hahaha. I told myself you’re only allowed to eat whatever you want during CNY so make it count! As most of you should know I have been hitting the gym and eating healthily since a year ago so usually I will try to avoid eating oily and fattening food on a daily basis.

But since it’s CNY I told myself I’m allowed to eat whatever I want so I’m taking it as a little holiday for my body! The scariest part of the holiday is that I will have to pick up everything and go back to my normal routine when I’m back from my CNY break. I’m not sure about you but I always feel nervous and demotivated to go back to the gym after a short break. I feel that my body is not ready to sweat and my brain is telling me NO to all the running and jumping.

I have experienced this a few times before and usually it happens after a short break so I sort of created my own little circuit to do before I hit the gym from a break. I usually do this circuit at home or the night before I go to the gym. It helps to warm up my body a little and also give myself a mental preparation that it’s about time to go back to my usual routine. To those who made their 2016 resolution to be healthier or workout more, this is something you can use too =)

The circuit that I put together is pretty simple and can be done at home without using any equipment. You can do it anytime and anywhere too =) It’s pretty simple, all you need to do is to follow each workout that I listed for example if it’s written 15 reps means you repeat the same workout for 15 times. Repeat the whole circuit (7 workouts) 3 – 4 times. Take a short 1 min break in between circuits.

*Before you begin please make sure that you run on a spot for 1-2 mins to warm up your body a little.

R you ready?

JUMPING ROPE

JUMPING ROPE X 50 reps

Instruction-

Swing the rope upwards and over your head through small rotations in the wrist. As the rope is about to touch the floor, quickly jump upwards to allow the rope to swing under your feet and behind your body.

SQUATS

SQUATS X 20 reps

Instruction-
1. Stand tall with your feet hip width apart and your arms down by your side
2. Start to lower your body back as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees and pushing your body weight into your heels
3. As you are lowering into the squat your arms will start to raise out in front of you for balance
4. Keep a neutral spine at all times and never let your knees go over your toes
5. The lower body should be parallel with the floor and your chest should be lifted at all times not rounded.
6. Pause then lift back up in a controlled movement to the starting position
JUMP LUNGES

JUMPING LUNGES X 30 reps (15 each side)
1. Start in a split stance position, your torso upright, and your knees about bent at a 90-degree angle. Push your chest out and lower your rear knee toward the ground in a lunge while keeping your front shin
2. Push explosively off the ground, jumping and switching the position of your legs while in mid-air, landing into the lunge position with the opposite leg forward. Repeat, switching legs on each jump.
BURPEES

BURPESES X 15 reps
1. Begin in a standing position.
2. Drop down into a squat position with your hands on the ground.
3. Extend your feet back in one quick motion to assume the front plank position.
4. Return to the squat position in one quick motion.
5. Then jump straight into the air as high as possible.
PLANK

PLANK x 1 min
1. Start by placing your forearms (elbow to wrist) firmly on the floor and linking your fingers together.
2. Raise your hips and torso off of the ground and rest on the balls of your feet, ensuring that your elbos are directly bgelow your shoulders as shown.
3. Brace your abdominals and ensure that your body reminds in one straight line from head to toe as shown.
PUSHUP

PUSHUP X 15 reps
1. Begin on all fours placing your hands on the floor slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your body should form a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders. Squeeze your abs as tight as possible and keep them contracted for the entire exercise.
2. Lower your body as low as you can, making sure that you tuck your elbows close to the sides of your torso. Pause, then push yourself back to the starting position.
AB BIKES

AB BIKES X 30reps (15 each side)
1. Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. For this exercise, you will need to put your hands beside your head. Be careful however to not strain with the neck as you perform it. Now lift your shoulders into the crunch position.
2. Bring knees up to where they are perpendicular to the floor, with your lower legs parallel to the floor. This will be your starting position.
3. Now simultaneously, slowly go through a cycle pedal motion kicking forward with the right leg and bringing in the knee of the left leg. Bring your right elbow close to your left knee by crunching to the side, as you breathe out.
4. Go back to the initial position as you breathe in.
5. Crunch to the opposite side as you cycle your legs and bring closer your left elbow to your right knee and exhale.
6. Continue alternating in this manner until all of the recommended repetitions for each side have been completed.
Congrats, you are done with your work out and burned off some of the calories from CNY!

It feels good to sweat and get your heart pumping after a workout right? I sort of like the feeling of sweating and sore muscles after my daily routine, I feel motivated and accomplished!

Last but not least, remember to keep your body hydrated at all times ya! If you feel dizzy throughout the workout just stop whatever you’re doing and take a deep breathe, just sit down and rest for a few minutes =)

Give yourself a shoulder pat because you are one step closer to accomplishing your 2016 resolutions!

HAVE FUN!!!

♥
February 1, 2016
#BoboRenovates – My Eubiq Home

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Remember a few weeks back I mentioned in my Dayre post that Eubiq were at my house advising us on how and where to mount their power tracks? Well, they were finally ready to install and you can’t imagine how excited we were! The installers from Eubiq came over last Saturday, and all in, installation took about two and a half hours! I’m going to tell how guys about the whole process!

But first, if you have not heard of Eubiq, they were established in 2000 and developed their patented GSS System that allows you to add, remove, and reposition power outlets anywhere along a power track.

This revolutionary GSS System grounds all conductive subjects, and it is near impossible for hazardous shocks to the user as no two wires are in contact at any time.

You can read more about their products and applications here, and I will continue with the installation process!

We would be installing Eubiq power tracks at our kitchen, TV console, study table, make-up table, and also on both sides of our bed. All measurements were taken during the consultation and the tracks are then fabricated and pre-cut to make installation quick and simple.

All the tracks are properly marked to show their length and positioning.

In addition to power tracks, we also got two types of power adaptors, the Premium ITL3 Adaptor, and Premium BS3 Adaptor. These have a shiny chrome ring and a nice finish on the face! So cool!

Here I am, “supervising”, hahaha. Actually I was just being ‘kepoh’ and disturbing the installers to keep taking pictures.

Since our house was already fully renovated before we engaged Eubiq, we were limited in terms of placement and also the ability to recess their power tracks in our existing walls and furniture. First of all, at my make-up table, they removed the existing power socket, and then hooked up all the wires to the power track. Then they drilled and mounted the power track to the wall and, as simple as that, they were done!

You seriously cannot imagine how happy I am right now cause I no longer have to go hunt for extensions or additional adaptors so I can use multiple styling tools at the same time!!!

Up next it was time to get rid of this ugly looking mess at my bedside.

The installation process was similarly quick and my bedside now looks much, much, more high-tech and premium, not to mention clutter free as I can get rid of the ugly extension plug!

Next it was time to get rid of another big mess at my study table. This time they decided the best way to mount the power track was just to mount it on my table top, sparing my brick wall from a lot of drilling. Again, if we engaged Eubiq before our renovations started, we would have mounted the power tracks into the wall!

This is a much neater solution and now I can plug in my camera charger, phone charger, and etc without having to kneel down and knock my head on my table every time!

If you plan your workstation early, you can even install USB and HDMI outlets into the track, and then use it as a hub to connect to your computer or TV! This way you can just plug in stuff to the track instead of digging behind your computer hunting for the damned USB ports!

Next up, it was time to install the power track for our TV console and similar to our study table, we went for the easier option to install the track on top of the console instead of in the wall. Usually when I need to plug in my air purifier or chargers, we need to open up the console and then plug things into an extension plug.

Now we can just plug in whatever we want right on top of our console instead of opening the front and have all the wires hanging in front of it. Like I mentioned earlier, you can customize your power track to have all your TV connections built into the track itself as well.

Last of all it was time to tackle our kitchen power outlets. This is a bit more time consuming as compared to the rest because we needed to integrate two light switches and a switch for our induction cooker and hood each, right into the power track as well!

First they removed all the existing switches and drilled mounting holes for the power track.

There was a small issue cause the wall and paint was a bit softer than they anticipated and a piece cracked off after they drilled the hole. Not a big deal as I quickly made a call to my trusted painter Ah Leong and he arranged to come touch it up for us! If you noticed , this power adaptor is also slight different as it has a power cord built in, where I can replace my long and ugly cord that came with my rice cooker not to mentioned save a power adaptor to use elsewhere!!!

The end results! Fitment was excellent and now all my switches are smaller so I have more track to use. The Eubiq power tracks support up to 30 amps so no worries on tripping fuses when using multiple appliances at once! This power track also comes with accessories such as a towel or tissue rack and hooks to hang stuff to! Super awesome for aunties like me!

Last weekend I also removed the Eubiq power track from my study to use it here when I was filming my cooking show as they are so pretty and looks much better than regular extensions!

Special thanks to Eubiq and their team of professional installers which made everything quick and easy! For more information on Eubiq, please visit their FB page or website, or please visit their physical stores in Midvalley or IPC Shopping Center, and most importantly, as a special promo to my readers, do mention MyEubiqHome to take 10% off of any items free consultation on installing power tracks for your new or current home!

♥

January 29, 2016
Rakuten Shopping Hacks

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Today’s post will be another #BoboTip for my readers, hahaha. Does everyone shop through the popular site, Rakuten Online Shopping? If you don’t, or have not heard of Rakuten Online Shopping, let me briefly intro you a bit on Rakuten.

Rakuten launched in Malaysia way back in November 2012, and currently carries over 210,000 goods from over 900 vendors. These vendors include popular household names like large electrical appliance chains and even leading pharmacies! Besides that, Rakuten also caters to a diverse mix of categories such as fashion, accessories, health and beauty, electronics, toys, games, furniture, books, sports, and everything you can think of. By the amount of time I’ve spent on this site, I really think their global tagline of “Shopping is Entertainment” really applies to me, hahahaha.

Anyway, today I’m going to teach you guys how some #RakutenShoppingHacks and I’ll show you step by step on how to get the best deal possible on something that I recently bought.

The most important aspect of this “hack” is to understand and fully utilize their Super Points system to your advantage! Obviously the first step is to sign up for a free account to start accumulating Super Points. Do keep in mind that 1 Super Point = RM1 that you may use towards your next purchase!

Right now, Rakuten is having their 5x Rakuten Super Point programme, and you get 5x the amount of points as per normal (5% points rebate instead of 1%)!

OK, so the item I’m buying is a Samsung Note 5 for Jo, who wants to replace his 2-year old phone. I found a good deal from this popular vendor.

Notice that during the 5x Rakuten Super Points programme (5% rebate on purchase price), I will earn 134.95 Points (instead of the usual 1% rebate on purchase price; 26.99 Points).

In addition to this, Rakuten gives out free vouchers EVERY WEEKEND! How awesome is that!

If you are not making purchases on weekends, also keep in mind that Mastercard holders enjoy an additional 5% discount every WEDNESDAY! So, if your 5% discount amounts to more than the RM5 coupon they are offering this weekend, buy on Wednesday using a Mastercard! So for my purchase, using a Mastercard to purchase on Wednesday would saved me RM134.95, much more compared to the RM5 weekend voucher!

So now I’ve purchased the phone and earned 134.95 Super Points, I’m going to buy a phone case and I do not intend to spend any money on it!!! Hahaha.

OK, notice on their front page that says Grand Opening? Yes, new stores that have recently joined Rakuten Online Shopping offers discounts up to 50% off!

I just happened to find a new vendor selling consumer electronics and accessories, so, perfect for me!

This vendor is offering a 10% discount on all items, so, my next combination is:

Grand Opening Sale code (10% discount) + 134.95 Super Points

I got an original Samsung phone case for FREE!

Imagine the possibilities and hacks you can come up with to get the best deals possible! If you are furnishing a new house, this will be perfect for you, remember to buy the most expensive items first for example a refrigerator or LED TV, then use the 5x Super Points programme to earn points to buy cheaper items such as blenders or kettles for close to nothing!

Also, remember to sign up for Rakuten newsletters to receive all the latest sale and seasonal campaign information. This way you won’t miss out on specials and weekend vouchers that you can use towards your #RakutenShoppingHacks!

Please share with me and other fellow readers your best #RakutenShoppingHacks so we can all shop wisely!

For more info please check out http://www.rakuten.com.my

Have fun shopping, everyone!

♥

January 15, 2016