Considering the fact Valentines day and the 1st day of Chinese New Year were on the same day this year, we have decided to postponed her birthday celebration until much later.

On the 27th of February, a total of 10 of us made our way to Souled Out Cafe & Bar in Desa Sri Hartamas to celebrate her 21st birthday.

This, is the infamous Lisa Khoo. HAHA! Never fail to have all sorts of funny and weird poses for the camera! Like seriously, its like her trademark LOL!

Food was great, no complains at all, albeit abit pricey, but what do you expect? We’re eating in Souled Out. Haha, though I must compliment the portion of the food, they’re huge for the price we pay!

See what I mean? LOL!

Anyway, if you’re wondering whether we brought the funny hat and glasses, no its not from us. The management of Souled Out forced them on Lisa! HAHA! Guess its like TGIF, Souled Out too had its own style of making birthday celebrations memorable.

Like this, it was taken and processed all within 15 minutes!

I was actually quite amazed by the efficiency. I’m not joking! Call me jakun, okay. Haha!

Of course I have a better quality one taken using my D40. =P

So, Lisa, hopefully you did enjoy your belated 21st birthday celebration, despite the mishap at the end of the day. =P Hahaha. Well, it IS memorable in a way. LOL!

Happy belated 21st, once again!

P/S The rest of the photos can be viewed here.

Both of my closer friends have graduated from ACCA, and will be starting their employment stint with Ernst & Young on Monday.

Congratulations to you two, Andrea Mah and Kay Sim! Well, Kay Sim if you’re reading this, don’t be jealous the title of the post only includes Andrea’s name, this is entirely because the post is suppose to be about her graduation party in Novotel Accor Hotel! XD

On the 26th of February, Andrea’s parents treated a bunch of us, mainly her close friends in ACCA and also from her High School to brunch in Qing Zhen, Novotel KL!

Andrea, Ee Leen, Kay Sim, Edmund, Jun Xiong, Edgar and I were probably the few remaining remnants of the original Group 3 of CAT Jan 2007 who attended the party.

I remember when Andrea first know me back in CAT, she actually thought I was gay. (Argh, darn it! 1st impression epix fail max!) That was probably due to the fact I wore a pink long sleeve shirt with a super brown golden hair on Orientation day. T_T whyyyy laaa did I went to dye my hair back then?! Hahaha. Anyway, we became fast friends with a whole big bunch of us! However, as we progressed, the harsh cruel reality of ACCA eliminate us from the bunch one after another.

Soon, I was eliminated from the pact by the F5 examiner. =/ but well, life went on as usual, thank God we still keep in touch! and yeap, now that the 3 year period is up, Kay Sim and Andrea are the only ones from the bunch who manage to graduate together. Guess Ee Leen, Edmund and I will have to wait for the next one then! EH EE LEEN WE MUST GRADUATE TOGETHER WEI!

Qing Zhen was a great place to feast, despite it being a Chinese Muslim Restaurant (HOW CAN NO PORKKKKK??! T_T). The ambience of the place was very nice, though the restaurant itself is actually quite small.

The whole lot of us really reminisced on alot of stuffs, some really funny too. Considering the fact that all of us haven’t really gotten together like this to CATCH UP in a very long time. Okay, maybe they did but since I was quite distant from the pact now because I’m mixing more with another bunch due to classes.

Well anyway, all the best in work and in life, Andrea Mah Jia Yi! Do keep in touch! I’ll see you IF I manage to get into Ernst & Young okay? XD

The rest of the photos can be viewed here.

P/S – Oh yea, do thank your parents once more for the amazing treat! =D

The kid among us finally turns 20! Face the fact, old man you’re now officially in the 20s Club! Considering the fact you’re living in the future now, I’m not LATE in wishing you nor posting this blog post up okay. its still before 12am when I draft this post, haha!

Anyway, wishing you the best returns for the year, and celebrating your first birthday out of Malaysia! Take care of yourself, buddy. Make the 20th year of your life the best!

Hmm, I wonder.. now that you’re in Brisbane, will any of your fans sob over the fact they can’t celebrate your big day with you or pass you any presents? XD Haha, just joking! Well, we’re definitely sad you ain’t here so we can smash a cake on your face!

So, blessed 20th birthday once again! May God showers His neverending blessings onto you and keep you safe and sound always.

If you’re wondering where it is, its located beside Prince Cafe, the row behind Murni SS2. You couldn’t possibly miss it, especially during nightfall, considering the fact its so brightly litted up.

The ambience of the area was considerably okay, it kinda gives a very China-ish feel, probably due to the red long chinese wordings backdrop. Surroundings aside, the menu is always the main point!

One glance at the menu, the prices are going to tell you they aren’t cheap, lol. BUT its not overly expensive as well. Seeing as to how much investment they dumped into decorating the interior, the prices of the food are always going to be the place they recover their investments!

My Pork Dumpling Ramen! For starters, the ramen was really smooth, its soft and tender without being too thick, which at the same time reminds me of the ramen in Dragon-i. The soup didn’t disappoint as well! The pork dumplings were awesome, I don’t know about you, but being a fan of PORK, anything pork-ish tastes good. XD

If I didn’t remember wrongly, my bowl of Pork Dumpling Ramen cost RM8.90.

My brother’s Seafood Sichuan Ramen! At first glance, you would notice a healthy amount of seafood given, which is great! (Look at the size of the prawn!) I didn’t take any of it though, but by judging from my brother’s expression throughout the meal, I know that dish didn’t disappoint him one bit. He was the last to finish up everything anyway, talk about savouring your food slowly. XD

That much of seafood sure didn’t come cheap, if I wasn’t wrong, it cost RM14.80.

Going out with the family for dinner, is awesome. There will always be side orders! XD The much popular Siu Long Pao (小龙包), which in my opinion, rivals the ones at Dragon-i, but of course in terms of overall, I still very much prefer Dragon-i’s Siu Long Pao.

Nothing much to say about the dish, except for the fact that it wasn’t dry, the tasty soup contained inside the Pao was very much delicious! RM8 for the side order.

I gave my experience at One Noodle SS2 a 7/10!

The One Noodle
No. 66 & 68, Jalan SS2/67
Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
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I shall quote fellow author, Ying Wei on Twitter, “February 22nd 2010. One of the few BEST day of my 2010. w00000000000000t”

Official results for December 2009 sitting will be released tomorrow (approx 12PM-1PM Msian time). Let’s just pray hard it will be everyone’s BEST day.

We reap what we sow, so for those of us who have worked hard for our exams in December 2009, we definitely deserve to pass! We’ve done our part, and now its up to Him.

All the best to all CAT/ACCA students!

P/S – Panicking? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. You have a friend in me here. *gulps*

Ahh, so they say, you’re only 21 once. Not the usual tradition to celebrate my birthday ala any grand methods, I decided to ask my mum to open up the house for a belated birthday bash. (I had a progress test on the 8th of February)

On the 11th of February, a total of 34 guests turned up at my humble home, which consists of both ACCA old and new batch, high schoolmates and also churchmates. I think this was the 1st time I had THAT many guests in my house, hopefully it wasn’t too stuffy for any of the guests.

I was lucky to have the services of both Eugene and Christopher to take on the roles of official photographers, only that it was all done using my kuchimeow Nikon D40! As compared to the giant gears both of them are used to using. =P

The Old Man, as everyone called me. or 老人家 as my mum labelled me that day. LOL! You know, I never knew how the cake got there without me noticing anything, not to mention the size of it. Its either I’m really blur or my parents are good at keeping it out of my sight!

As the food was served on the table, we gathered around for the traditional birthday song! Somehow, I wasn’t always used to being in the limelight, but surprisingly I was actually glad I could celebrate my 21st with these bunch of close friends.

SMK USJ 12! =D

Sunway ACCA! =D

FGA USJ IMPACT! =D

Nothing beats having the sounds and laughters of your fellow friends to usher in the 21st year of your life! So yea, anyway thank you all for coming once again.

While everyone continue to dig into the food (oh my mum signature Nasi Lemak! Andrea was waiting for it after 2 years. LMAO!), I went around to take pictures!

My favourite lecturer back in CAT, Ms. Gita! Its amazing how we could still keep in touch till now, that I’m doing my final two papers in ACCA. She taught me in my 1st semester of CAT! Can you imagine how long ago was that? I’m glad we still keep in touch after so long. =D

After some time, I realise some of the ACCA bunch were planning something in my kitchen, since I was kinda restricted from even stepping near the kitchen. My goodness! Well I kinda know they were going to do something to me, just didn’t know what, what more when Sue popped a question during dinner time, “Nick, you gotta promise me you’ll be sporting tonight!”. That just didn’t sound good at all man LOL!

When I was halfway mingling around outside, Ding Yan emerged from within the house, singing the happy birthday song, with a plate of cream and a candle sticking out.

You know… it was actually pretty obvious what I was gonna get. That was the exact same thing I said. HAHA!

I just didn’t have any idea how the execution was gonna take place. Whether I’ll take it point blank at my face, or any other disgusting means you could think of. Only thing that followed was, Melody creamed my face. I mean… okay that’s not so bad, considering what I had in mind.

Then, Melody and Ding Yan started arguing. Seemed like some failure in coordination. Oh well, that didn’t really matter to me, I have more than enough time to make a counter attack. XD I instantly grabbed a handful of cream and WHAM! all the way onto Ding Yan’s face. and of course I got it back in return too HAHA!

… and everyone started screaming and ran away from the both of us. Typical. HAHA! Everyone was afraid we might smack our hands onto anyone near us.

Both of us cleaned up after the ordeal. And I couldn’t take the smell of cream thats starting to make my whole body feel sticky, so I went to change my clothes. Good thing Ding brought an extra clothing too (wonder if he kinda knows he’ll get something like this xD).

Everyone went back to doing their thing. The weather was extremely hot though, it was as though all of us were chatting in an oven, despite the ceiling fan outside and air-conditioned inside.

This is EPICNESS! – Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil!

The DSLR Trio, as Pei Yi named us long long time ago.

This picture does tell a story on its own. Hehe, I’m just glad everything is resolved now. =D

Not forgetting OurCoffeestops authors! though missing a few. =)

My highschool buddies, Vincent and Kim Leong! Classmates since Form 1 to Form 5. =D

The beloved sister, Riley managed to come for my 21st birthday bash! =D

The main photographer for the night, Eugene Lee Eu-Juin!

There were times I stood and look at everyone and I thought to myself. How amazing human ties can be. You know, some of them that I grown close to, if not for a significant event I wouldn’t even have gotten any opportunity to know them.

Take Eugene for instance, if not for prom, and not for me asking Christopher for assistance to take on the jobs of the Official Photographer, I wouldn’t even have met him. If I hadn’t known him, I wouldn’t even have any chance of knowing Su Yi, considering she’s a junior in ACCA. Of course, I wouldn’t have also known Jason Goh (smashp0p.net) and many others. (Just incase he reads this and sound me for not highlighting him again LOL!)

Truly, God is great. I really thank Him for all the friends He has placed in my life.

Some of them decided to stay indoors, thanks to the blazing heat outside. What else other than Monopoly Deal to keep themselves occupied? XD

Meet my nanny, Lydia.

Apparently I was discharged that night itself. Haha!

Sue (or Suet Yee), the brains behind the whole face creaming thing. =D

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR COMING ONCE AGAIN! Thank you for the gifts, some of them were really unexpected. I teared when I see some of them, really touched. Some of them wrote me love letters, haha. Its the heart that counts at the end of the day!

Lastly, thanks, Melody. for everything. =)

So, here’s to the ultimate legal age of 21!

P/S – The rest of the pictures can be found here.

Dear Mr. Lee Eu-Juin,

Time sure do fly at an insane speed, only 1 week ago we were at your house attending your farewell party, eating our hearts out, enjoying the atmosphere at your house, playing monopoly deal, and of course taking pictures and what not. Looking at the date now, its 2 days from your schedule flight.. boy, time sure passed freaking fast.

It suddenly occured to me, after bringing you out to makan satay at Pondok Satay USJ8, that this might be the last time I’m gonna see you for a very long time.

We didn’t know each other for a great period of time, infact we knew one another for less than a year, and I would say it was a chanced encounter between you and I, and I would just like to say what a great friend you’ve been. Gosh, thank God for prom event!

Just as how you described my 1st impression, me too had the same ‘wow’ factor when I first met you. LOL! Obviously I was also awed by your gear, its like 1st time in my life I’m staring at gears I possibly could never afford even by selling my ass man. HAHA!

Ever the humble you, you have definitely added much colours into our lives.. and I’ll definitely say you’ve been a blessing. I would definitely miss the times of the spontaneous yumcha sessions, or the outings you’ve always called Ying Wei and I for. Definitely gonna miss those.

Not to mention our almost daily L4D2 sessions! Hahaha!

Not to mention also our daily skype sessions, the constant arguments about whose more good looking HAHAHAHA! Crap man, those are classic moments.

Anyway, now that you’re embarking on a new chapter of your life, this would mean new friends, new commitments, new environment, etc. just don’t forget this bunch of friends you earned in Malaysia, as much as you dislike the country.. just keep in mind we’ll always be here for you!

Continue to look up to Him for guidance, and may God bless you in your whole new Aussie experience! All the best, and do take care man! Godspeed, Eugene Lee Eu-Juin!

Note: Eu-Juin is flying off has flown off to Melbourne on the 14th of February.

*****************

Dear Mr. Ho Tjah Tjin,

It also occurred to me that I might not be seeing you anymore again until next year at least, after Friday night’s service in church. How I had taken time for granted, ever since the formation of OurCoffeestops, I had came to know you better.

Chris, you have been a supportive friend, both in terms of my walk with God and also as a friend. Perhaps when I just joined FGA USJ, you’re probably one of the few familiar faces around and obviously (naturally) I stuck with you. Sure, we had our share of differences but I actually never came across any differences that kinda drift us apart

Perhaps you never realise it, but you’re probably one of the few friends that I have who are always there when you needed someone to talk to. Unless you really had something urgent to accomplish haha. and I thank you for that! Our jiwang sessions, mamak at Tanjung/Sri Melur… all of a sudden I miss all of those.

It also suddenly struck me, while I was in church tonight, that come every Sunday morning services, or even IMPACT on Friday nights, there won’t be a familiar face waiting in church. I kinda grown used to seeing you in church, that it never actually occurred to me you’re not gonna be there. Not to mention the ever so familiar ‘woohoo’ or whatnot which is ever so distinctive!

Ps. Dennis said, “I don’t know what will become of this church without you”. It hit me, seriously. Guess what will come will come, and God will have His ways.

Chris, though sometimes we seldom talk, but I just wanna let you know, you’re a valuable friend to me. I don’t deny you played a part in shaping who I am today, since I look up to you sometimes and thanks for being a great role model!

OurCoffeestops will definitely be much lonelier after your departure, considering the fact Sarven will also be leaving to Sarawak soon. We will definitely miss your wackoness, your loud voice, and your spontaneous acts in various situations which often got us all cracking up.

Brisbane, huh. I’ll be stuck in Malaysia, and you probably know that haha. You can be rather skeptical at things sometimes, but worry not you can be rest assured that we’ll always lend our ears to your problems. At least I will, heh.

You know how when we set up OurCoffeestops, we used to say the ultimate aim of the site is to stay in touch after all of us are scattered around the world. Now that the ultimate aim is almost achieveable, it… doesn’t feel nice at all.

I mean, you’re probably one of the few USJ-ians left of Coffeestops that we can always lepak in your place, considering the fact Wei Ling loves Kampar, so hmm it will be rather lonely for Ying Wei and I after your departure.

Gahhh… anyway the fact that technology is so advanced now I shouldn’t really be sobbing over both of your departure, but Chris, you’ve been a great mentor, and a friend.

All the best to you, get a wife in Brisbane, fulfill the prophecy bestowed unto you (HAHA!) and of course, don’t ever forget your bunch back here in Malaysia. Thanks for everything you’ve done for me, and of course the rest of us here. You’ve definitely been a blessing, and I thank God for placing you in my life! Godspeed to you too, Christopher Ho Tjah Tjin!

Note: Christopher is flying off has flown off to Brisbane on the 18th of February.

*****************

So, right.. farewell, buddies! Go rock Australia in the name of Jesus! =D Malaysia will feel much empty without the both of you.. so do return when you ever have the time, guys!

Yours Sincerely,
Nicholas CK Wong.
A friend you can always count on!

As we all stepped into a new decade of the 2nd millennium, we at OurCoffeestops would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers a blessed and wonderful New Year! Happy 2010!

A new year, a new resolution, lets all hope all things would get better in the new year. Mend the broken friendships/relationships, rejoice at the fact we lived, and of course we hope all things end well for you readers. For I quote Ang Jian Wei, “every beginning has an end, and every end has a beginning!”

A new year would also mark the start of a new life chapter for some of our authors, so I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone all the best in your future undertakings! Fellow authors, spread your wings and fly, know this that no matter where any of you are, we are family.

From the sincerest of hearts,
Nicholas CK Wong.

Did you know?

The Petronas Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world until Taipei 101 was completed in 2004, as measured to the top of their structural components (spires, but not antennas). Spires are considered integral parts of the architectural design of buildings, to which changes would substantially change the appearance and design of the building, whereas antennas may be added or removed without such consequences. The Petronas Twin Towers remain the tallest twin buildings in the world. -taken from Wikipedia.

Having the chance to be around Suria KLCC after our exams, Ying Wei and I took the opportunity to add the Twin Towers into our portfolio! Trust me, they look easy to take, but the towers were 88-floors high, and to cover the whole structure we would need a considerable amount of distance.

Armed with our kit lens (well more like my kit lens, Ying Wei was on his 18-200mm lens), we spent some time out in the garden taking pictures using several angles. I know I was lying down most of the time!

Of course, we took the opportunity to do the ‘tourist’ although we’re Malaysians and have been to KLCC countless times, but hey not with a DSLR and taking pictures of it. xD

For once, we were actually awed by the structure of the towers, though it was Korean technology, but our former premier, Tun Dr. Mahathir was the one behind this history-making towers.

The Petronas Twin Towers is worth making another trip back, BUT it will be during the night. Given the pictures in the Internet, they have one of the most beautiful scenery with the lightings.

Well, my pick of the day gotta be this.

Though it was edited, but I love how it turned out =)

More of the pictures can be found here!

I figured it would be better if you guys watch the Official Trailer first before reading what I have to say about the whole experience. My personal experience.

Now that you’ve watched the trailer (or not), if you’re really a Michael Jackson fan, this is one movie you cannot miss! Seriously, I teared in the movie yet at the same time the whole experience really put a smile on my face.

This man, Michael Joseph Jackson, is (was) a legend. The crowned King of Pop, to be honest, if you ask me, if he hadn’t passed away so suddenly, This is It is definitely gonna be his comeback.

This whole show, isn’t a documentary about Michael Jackson’s life. It is the whole footage of his rehearsals for the concert, the backstage clips, funny moments he shared with his dancers, the musicians, the directors, etc.

You can really see the amount of effort he had put into the whole rehearsals. The energy he had, it really got me pondering how on earth can he die so sudden? Well, regardless, he’s no longer with us, and definitely the world has lost one great, possibly the greatest ever pop star.

I really felt like standing up and dancing to the silver screen occasionally, lol. There’s this man seated infront of me, who can’t stop humming/singing to his songs, well I don’t blame him, because I was singing his songs silently too. =) Even the children acknowledges his greatness, there was this kid behind me, who was singing loudly to MJ’s Beat It!

For those of you who wished to catch it on the huge silver screens, do be quick about it, apparently it’s only gonna be in the cinemas for 2 weeks! =0

Hmm, I guess instead of mourning over his loss like the rest of the world, I would opt to rejoice at the fact that he lived! Rejoice at the fact that he had helped enlighten people throughout his work! Rejoice at the fact that his songs are so influential, it became a world phenomenon! Rejoice at the fact that, perhaps you and I have had the chance to grow up with his songs, to know such a legend existed. =)

Thank you, Michael Jackson. You’ll forever be the best in my heart!

P/S – well, if you insist on having movie ratings on the show, check it out here!