Heavenly Paradise@AdelineAng.com

What do I miss from Malaysia? Tons! The place, culture, people, food, and the list goes on… In terms of food, sweet buns are some of the food I’m missing so much. They bring back nostalgic memories from my childhood and teenage years. I remembered the wonderful aroma when I stepped into the bakery shop in Malaysia, and the mouth-watering that my eyes feasted on. That was why, I won’t complain to go shopping at the bakery, picking up my favourite buns for breakfast and snacks.

In Canada, however, there’s no fresh Asian baked goods in small cities. In order to satisfy and taste buds and fulfill my cravings, I have to do something….I have to make buns on my own from scratch! Sausage buns, sweet buns with red bean paste, Polo buns, Mexican buns etc., I love them all :)

Time flies. Miles and I celebrated our first anniversary as a couple recently. When it comes to anniversary, there are different ways to celebrate it. It could be a romantic candle light dinner, a bouquet of flowers, a nice gift etc. A nice surprise, in my opinion, is a wonderful way to celebrate anniversary.

Having told that there will be an anniversary cake, I had no idea what the cake will look like, besides for it being a heart-shaped cake.

Surprise! A nicely decorated anniversary cake that Miles prepared in the midst of his hectic exam schedule. How sweet! p/s: very neat handwriting for one who doesn’t grow up learning Chinese.

The “interior” of the cake; red and blue (Miles’ and my favourite colour, respectively) marble patterns, with chocolate ganache in the middle, and topped with buttercream icing.

Of course, we shared the cake with friends too. It was one of the best homemade cake I ever had; rich but not too sweet. Very well done (someone mistakenly thought it was store-bought)!

Happy Anniversary, Miles! Thank you very much for the lovely cake :)

It feels great when the dawn is here before 7 a.m. nowadays. Unlike winter, getting into work in the dark and getting off work in the dark.

On my way to the bus stop this morning, I was greeted by the warm and friendly sunshine. Crisp morning, clear sky, and gorgeous sunshine! It’d have been a spectacular view watching the sun rising from the horizons. Unfortunately, Fredericton is not anywhere near the east coast :P

Among all the seafood delicacies, fish is one of my favourites. I enjoy eating fish, catching fish (fishing), and admiring fish. Fishes seem to have a good time swimming in the water, especially those living in a fish tank that don’t have to worry much about predators.

Keeping fishes as pets is certainly not my forte. I remembered keeping a Betta fish as a young kid, but it survived only a couple of months. Since then, I realized that I enjoy seeing them but not keeping them ;)

Miles’ Dad is a fish lover. There are four fish tanks in the house that are homes to many colourful and active fishies.

The Goldfish.

From left: Japanese Algae Eaters (orange), Neon tetras (red and blue), a Yoyo Loach (black and white patterns), and a Pleco Algae Eater.

From left: a Cichlid, a Green Severum (dark colour), and a Gold Severum (light colour).

This past weekend was Easter weekend. Besides a turkey meal, and many other delicious treats, we had a chance to enjoy this lovely Easter Bunny Cake!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter celebration!

It has been a long haul before the nice weather finally arrived! Nonetheless, I’ve to admit the fact that this year’s winter was short and we don’t usually get 10+ degrees until closer to May. I won’t complain too much, for all I can say :P

Last Thursday was a sunny day; a good day for me to try out my new camera lens *v*

On the walking bridge, which used to be a railway.

The sun was shinning brightly.

The seagulls were enjoying the sunset too :)

This guy has already started roller skating!

People were taking a stroll at the park.

Running….

The moon was gorgeous, almost a full moon, but not quite. Focusing on the branches, blurring the moon.

Focusing on the moon, blurring the branches.

A second attempt of the same idea. Focusing on the branches, blurring the moon.

Focusing on the moon, blurring the branches.

The broken ice chunks on the Nashwaak River, Fredericton North about two weeks ago.

Very abnormal winter indeed! I remembered there were times where Fredericton was visited by snowflakes in mid-April. This year, however, there were some relatively warmer days (above the freezing point) in January that bike enthusiasts were out riding their bicycles!

This past weekend, it was a record-high temperature of 15 degrees Celsius in the winter month! People were out in t-shirts and shorts, and started outdoor barbecuing! As of last Saturday, Fredericton area received about 135 cm of snow, as compared to the norm being 225 cm. The same time last year, there had been 275 cm snow accumulated in this capital city. In other words, the amount of snow we received thus far was only half of what we got in the last winter!

Cooler nights (below freezing) and warmer days (above freezing) for the past two weeks turned out to be good news for maple syrup harvest! The tappers couldn’t ask for better weather condition. Once the night temperature rises above freezing point, the maple saps will divert into new buds and leaves, which then ends the harvest season.

Welcome to the Malaysian Cultural Night 2010! About 30 students from the Malaysian Students’ Society of University of New Brunswick have put together a cultural night in the city of Fredericton on February 20th, 2010.

It was part of my university life; joining the board of committee and organizing events for the society members, as well as the community. The highlight was no other than the cultural night, which I considered as something of great challenge, knowing that the preparation work can take up to 3 months, if not more. Thanks to the society members who put in time and effort to make things possible, despite their busy schedules as full-time students.

This year, I was invited to be one of the masters of ceremony (a.k.a. emcees), while Miles filled in as a photographer.

It was a good-size crowd of 150 people; students, faculty members, and people from the community.

The backdrop of the stage.

Clementines! Yes, it was still Chinese New Year…

Red packets (a.k.a. Ang Pau)! They contained numbers for lucky draw.

A big and gorgeous bouquet made of “Bunga Telur” (a.k.a. Egg Flower). These flowers were given out as door prizes.

Rangoli, sandpainting with finely ground coloured powders, is known as a popular form of Indian art.

The Malaysian flag.

Food…food…best of all, it’s Malaysian food! Limited ingredients, restricted hours of preparation, and lack of manpower; despite all these, the food was made possible, scrumptious, delicious, appealing…. *thumbs up*

Want to find out more about Malaysian culture? Check out the exhibition section.

Performance of Silat, Malay martial arts.

Chinese Umbrella Dance.

The great finale–Lion Dance!

It was an eventful day. By the end of the evening, I was ready to hit the sack. What a wonderful way to introduce the Malaysian culture to the crowd which comprised of different nationalities, Canadian, Thai, Indian, Filipino, Chinese, and many more. Furthermore, it was a rewarding experience of tasting the Malaysian cuisine, learning Malaysian cultures, as well as enjoying cultural performances, without visiting Malaysia :)

Tim Hortons, the all-time favourite “kopitiam (coffee shop)” in Canada. I don’t visit Tim Hortons very often, but I make an effort to take some pictures when I’m there. Here are some of the pictures from Tim Hortons for the past six months or so.

The fall treats from Tim Hortons. Pumpkin spiced muffin and doughnut. There was even pumpkin spiced tea offered, around the Halloween season.

Cinnamon raisin, blueberry, whole grain, plain…. lots of options available for just a bagel. Can’t make up your mind? Try this “everything bagel.” Toasted “Everything bagel” with cream cheese (choice of plain, strawberry, or garlic & herb).

Hot breakfast sandwich, with a seasoned egg patty, a slice of processed cheese, and choice of sausage or bacon, on freshly baked tea biscuits.

Yummy breakfast sandwich!

Hot breakfast sandwich for the bagel lovers!

Candy Cane Doughnut; chocolate doughnut with chocolate glaze, and candy cane sprinkles. Needless to say, it was for the Christmas season!

Pastry filled with cream cheese and topped with raspberry jam.

Caramel Apple Fritter, made of chunks of apple and spiced of cinnamon.

Canadian doughnut, in conjunction with the Winter Olympics Games 2010 held in Vancouver, British Columbia on Feb. 12th to 28th.

It has been three weeks since I last blogged. Bad…bad…bad…! Anyway, it has been a lot going on for the past couple of weeks; Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Malaysian Cultural Night, Engagement Party etc.

Here are some sweet pictures I’d like to share from the engagement party that Miles and I attended last weekend. The colour of the theme was YELLOW!!

The main cake and multiple cupcakes displayed in tiers.

Yellow roses icing on top. Very nice!

Food…food…and more food!

Elegant cupcakes; white cakes with buttercream icing. Yummy!

Elegant flower arrangement on the serving table.

One of the many dessert trays; lemon tarts, sugar cookies, cherry squares, red velvet cupcakes, cherry balls, chocolate peanut butter balls, and Oreo balls.

Shrimp (a.k.a. prawn) cocktail with seafood sauce in a shot glass, garnished with dill leaves.

Saint John, the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, with its population of approximately 70,000. It is also known as the oldest incoporated city in Canada.

The night scenes in Saint John, on a quiet evening.

How did you celebrate Christmas? To me, Christmas a great time for traveling and and having a get-together with friends. Other than that, there is not much to look forward to, since I’ve no family here in Canada. To cheer up my Christmas spirit, I might give myself a gift or two for Christmas. I know, it sounds pretty pathetic…

Last year, however, I celebrated Christmas with Miles and his family. A truly Canadian Christmas celebration; Christmas tree, treats, gifts, food etc.

I couldn’t remember the last time I was excited about Christmas and anticipated for the Christmas morning to come. Even though I never truly believed in Santa as a young kid, I was always looking forward to receiving my stuffed Christmas stocking on Christmas morning.

It brought back my childhood memory when I received a stuffed Christmas stocking in the morning! I’ve never had that many Christmas gifts in the past. Unwrapping each gift brought great excitement. That was one of the greatest fun celebrating Christmas!

Christmas decoration on the dining table.

Turkey and ham, with homemade beets and pickles for on Christmas day.

Homemade minced meat pie.

Plum Pudding. A must-have Christmas dessert in Miles’ family. It has a similar taste to fruit cake.

Hard Sauce, goes with the plum pudding. It is made of butter and icing sugar, and tasted like cake batter.

Christmas tree with gifts from Santa!

Cracking the nuts can be fun; walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.

Let it snow…let it snow….let it snow… The white and fluffy snow is not only pretty to look at, but also fun to play with!

We had joy
We had fun
We had seasons in the snow
But the snow that we played
was just never last too long

* Modified from “Season In The Sun” by Westlife.

The womanized “Winnie the Pooh.”

The cute snowman blushed as being kissed on both cheeks.

One year after another, and twenty four hours a day never seems enough; each minute passes by even before we realize it.

Canada, or Fredericton to be precise; a place that I called my second home, for more than a quarter of the chapter of my life thus far. I couldn’t be grateful enough for all the blessings that’ve been showered upon me, in this foreign land that I used to know no one and no one knew me.

Live the life to the fullest, and cherish every moment in life. Welcome to the year 2010! May this year be a fruitful and a blessing one to you and me!

Stylish? Practical? I’m perplexed looking at the so-called “winter boots” on the market. Most of the women boots look pretty and stylish. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take long to realize that they have poor insulation, and with no water resistance! What good it is to keep one in the winter?

Oh well, I shouldn’t say that. For someone who hops into the car from home, drive to work, hop from the card into the work building, and hop back into the car and drive home after work, maybe, those boots won’t be a bad option.

For me, a few hundred metres of walk to the bus stop everyday, and a few kilometres of walk for groceries or to downtown when the buses are not available.

Where can those boots get me to? No where! It doesn’t take long before they get soaking wet from the snow, and leads to wet socks, and freezing feet.

So, be practical!

I’ve a good pair of leather boots that I’ve been wearing for the past six winters. It has good water resistance and well insulated. However, over the years, soles are losing treads and the traction isn’t the best. There were times where I almost slipped and fell on the icy patches, and worse still, I could barely balance myself walking down a steep slope. That was terrifying…

The solution to this is, studded boots! Same idea as studded winter tires, they will give more traction as compared to regular winter tires. These studded rubber strap, “Stabilicers,” can be placed around the bottom of my boots.

Off I went! Instead of avoiding the icy ground, I can now walk in a straight line without much complications.

Thanks to Miles for the great idea. It’s a nice Christmas gift, that allows me to walk in the winter with confidence ;)