The Science Behind Ordering Tea in Malaysia

Sipping my cuppa in these past few days has flown me back to my early days living in Malaysia. For those who wonder : Indonesia and Malaysia are located very near to each other. somehow, seeing the physical appearance and knowing the culture, you will think that these two countries are very similar with each other. But hey, how it was wrong! One of the example is about the “tea” we call it “teh” in the local language.

In Indonesia, when you order a tea, you will be served with a black tea + sugar and that’s what i expect when i got here. I ordered tea then… TADA…! What i had was Milk Tea that was super sweet. >_< Day after, i asked my colleagues and these are what they have told me :

Teh = Tea + Milk ( condensed Milk )
Teh C = Tea + Milk ( evaporated Milk )
Teh O = Tea + Sugar
Teh O Kosong = black tea with neither sugar nor milk
Teh tarik = Pull tea? haha.. they will pull the tea in between of two cups to mix and cool it down. personally, the taste of Teh and Teh Tarik are very different for my palate. I like Teh tarik better than Teh. It’ll be slightly foamy and i love foamy texture! :9
Ais = Cold
Suam = Lukewarm
Kurang Manis = Less Sugar.

When i head them i was like.. What? On the other hand they ask me, “You don’t have it?”. I shooked my head. Tea tradition in Indonesia is quite simple or is it me who doesn’t know? most probably the 2nd. 😛

in general, Indonesian don’t really drink tea + milk which then bring me to the other side of the story when my friend visited Indonesia for the first time last year. They didn’t understand why :

Most of the tea that they ordered came in Jasmine Flavour
When they ask for tea they have been given “Teh O”
When they ask for Milk Tea which is equal to ( teh susu) they have been given 1 glass of Tea ( teh ) and 1 glass of Milk (susu). This story like smack me on my forehead!LOL. =)))) Don’t get us wrong. My friend ordered it at the small stall. in a middle or high end restaurant/caffee they will know.

Seeing these two sides was interesting for me. Over the time when my Indonesian friend visited Malaysia they will shared with me in surprise. “You know what i ordered TEA and they served me a MILK TEA?!” I can’t help myself but chuckling. Been there done that.

Isn’t it amazing? how similar and how different we are? I am kind of enjoying any difference that i found over the time in any country that i visit. Keep your mind open and hopefully you are able to get your desired type of tea!

Wish you were here so that we could talk over a cuppa. Cheers! 😉

The Glimmering Lights of ICT Shah Alam

“Have you ever lost in thought at night while looking at the glimmering night lights? Have you ever feel at ease by doing nothing?”

It was on one fine night when we drove away to the other state near to kuala lumpur. Our goal is to sit and just to enjoy the sceneries at ICT Malaysia or should i say i-City? It is a place where they put lights, bulbs, lamps, you name it at the buildings, trees, and most of the items within the park. So, yep. You should come at night since it won’t be as beautiful during the day.

When you enter the premise, there is a chance that you might not be able to see the lights directly. It’s because they have several entrance. For mine, i had to go through some attraction first before i finally able to see the garden. From afar you could see how they lit the place inclusive of the ferris wheel.

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Getting nearer to the inside of the park you will see how they put all the lights on the trees. It is somehow brings a tranquility atmosphere for me. What i would suggest is that grab your Cotton Candy and then sit and just enjoy the view! Yummy!:9 I can’t get rid of my hobby to sit and do nothing which then conclude my visit. LOL. i really spent hours doing so.

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other than the garden, there are some attractions like haunted house, some sort of Ice Castle?, a little theme park, wax house, and a small amphitheatre. It’s a good place for a family because you could find something for everyone. Well, in the end wish you were there so that we could make a wish to come back under the wishing tree. Cheers! 😉

Beautiful Thean Hou Temple on Chinese New Year

No matter when you read this… HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

Living in Kuala Lumpur has opened my eyes to how different Indonesia and Malaysia are. One of it is related with the Chinese culture and tradition. Here, in Kuala Lumpur, i could feel it more than in Indonesia especially during this special occassion of Chinese New Year (CNY).

First of all, please be aware that if you want to enjoy the Chinese New Year festivity, please come before the eve because nearing the day or on the day itself it will be quiet! Most of the malaysian chinese will come back to their hometown then enjoy the family dinner, visiting relatives, etc. Putting it in the simple term, it’s the personal time to spend with friends and family. Some shops will still be open but some will be closed for certain period. Don’t worry though, Mall will still open. Uh oh.. i could go on about this but let’s focus on one of the ‘Main’ temple in Kuala Lumpur – Thean Hou Temple

Many of my friends said that i should go during CNY because they will lit the temple with Lantern so there i wasvisiting the temple back in 2016. There is no public transport to go there so either you drive or simply use the taxi services to go there. For me it was a mix of taxi + a bit of ‘hiking’. It was sooooo packed and we simply ‘parked’ ourselves on the way there. Hence, my friend and i decided to just take a walk uphill. phew…When we arrived.. Aw… it was all worth it. The lantern was AWESOME. It ignited the place with red colour.

You could enter the temple and go into the prayer area. Please be mindfull and do not interrupt those who pray. inside the temple, you could go around and go to the higher level. For me, i could stay in such place and do nothing. The weather was great when i was there and the light was beautiful.

Beside the main building, there are some places that we could visit too. There is a garden behind the main temple. It could be quite scary though cause there are a lot of statues inside the garden. after going to the garden, we could walk down and find a pond where there are quite numbers of animals inside. Well, it was too dark for me so i carried on to another garden. In this garden you could wander around and try to find your Shio explanation. it was quite fun to read 😀

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I spent sometimes in the Temple but i had to end it as i need to save my hungry stomach. Actually, on the way out of the temple you could find stalls at the road side. However, i couldn’t really take it cause i am not sure if it’s halal or not. They look tasty. So, if you don’t have any meal preference as i am i think you will enjoy yourself there!

Overall, i think this temple is worth a visit if you have ever come to Kuala Lumpur. Come by when it’s CNY. Even if it’s not during that time, the temple is located on a hill. At the very least you could still take a peek of the city from uphill.

Oh.. i wish you were there so that we could see the city together. probably next time! Cheers!;)

Triana

My First 5 KM – KL Music Run 2016

Once upon a time story, there was a couch potato girl who wanted to change for a better. She started to work out regularly and gaining some confidence in physical activities. Here she was…finding herself in a Fun Run Event!

This is another overdue story, that i was suppose to write a year ago. haha.. 😀

Okay, first of all. i had some injuries years ago so my knee and ankle are not as good as they are suppose to be. Nearing end of 2015, I started to train myself and somehow ended up joining this RUN! It was a fun run with 5KM range. at that time, I thought to myself, “hey! i could do it” so i signed up for it.

It was pretty basic process to join : sign up and pay the fee. You will get a receipt for a kit collection. The basic kit comes in a small cloth bag. It consists of a tshirt, head scarf / Bandana, and rubber wrist band. this is all to be used on the DAY!

KL Music Run 2016 was held at Sepang Circuit. The run itself divided into several parts where in each part they will play music based on theme. I think the length for each parts was around 1 KM each. We had : Rock, Pop, Old School, Hip Hop, and Dance. You could vote for the songs to be played in each part through their website. In which “hit” me a bit when i saw Avril Lavigne – sk8r boi was in OLD SCHOOL LIST. OH NO!!!!! it was one of the biggest hit during my teen years yet now it’s old school. hiks. Anyhow, i kept on running while keeping my tears inside when i heard the song in the Old School section. *wipe*

During the run time, i realised why people call such run as a fun run. It was not a competition so you could setup your own pace. It was crowded so anyhow you can’t really run in fast pace. The other thing was the attire. we had the same t-shirt but basically you could accessorize and wear other stuffs too. Other than that, Within the section, there were some point of interests where you could see some performances, taking pics, and other group activities. I was caught by a bubble pool and forget my run for sometimes. haha.

However, After all of the obstacles and countless time of stopping by, i could finally see the Light! here comes the finish line! I remembered how I passed the line and being given a medal to finish it. It was great but the thing that matters for me more was the fact how my knee was not screaming after running. it was an achievement and a hard work paid off. all of those sleepy head training times paid off! yeay! please note that 5 KM might not look that much but it was a lot when you have your handicap.

Hold on… Running wasn’t all this event about. There was an aftermath event. They set a stage and had DJ played the music. I like it! i love the songs and the crowd. It was an interesting way to end the activities within the day.

Oh dear.. now, here i am reminiscing the past..wish you were there so we could run together and forget the havoc in our life for a little while! cheers! 😉

Walking to and Inside KL Bird Park

The main reason why i ended up in this place was because my Malaysian friend running out of idea where he should take me to. He knows i love to walk and he really made me walk A LOT! LOL. This was the road that we walked through that day. I didn’t mind cause there are some parks along the way and i am huge fans of parks so it was a fun walk.

KL bird park

Was the walk paid off? Yes, eventually. This park is very good for family with kids. I could imagine that kids will enjoy this. It’s still enjoyable for me.. but i used to have lots of birds so it’s kinda make me home sick.

KL Bird Park is a large aviary with some parts where you can have a direct interactions with its habitant. The birds and monkeys. Yes, monkeys. They also have some shows so please take a look at the timing ’cause you don’t want to miss it. My favourite one is the one with the parrots. I had a parrot as a pet so it’s nostalgic show for me. Other than the show, the main star that capture my attention was the Peacock. He tried to get the female attention but too bad it seemed like it didn’t work at that time.

My suggestion is that visit this place in the morning so that you could have enough time to enjoy the whole sceneries.

Cheers!

Triana

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery is Where You Should Start Your Journey in KL

Kuala Lumpur City Gallery ( KLCG ) is one of my top recommendation in the list of Place to visit in KL. I’ve stopped myself from going in now cause i have been there countless time but everytime someone ask me about where to visit in KL i will always recommend this place. This place is awesome as a source of information and as a plus it’s also easy to reach by using public transportation. A tourist friendly place that is not going to rip you off.

When you first reach this place, immerse yourself in its surrounding. There is sultan abdul samad building and the famous dataran merdeka right in front of it. KLCG also surrounded by some museum and old buildings that could be a good place to capture some pics! 😉

Before you enter you could start by taking picture with I Love KL sign ( i got some ). Once you enter you could see that there is a map on your right side. This map is good to guide you on where you should go as it already has the marks of the places of interest. They provide the print out map so take one and keep it handy for your journey. there is an entrance fee to explore KLCG but i would recommend you to take it. Anyway, this ticket later could be exchange with some items near to the exit gate. Talking about bringing a trinket home. 😉

KLCG

Continue on the journey inside KLCG, you will be able to see some KL history and some small exhibition which will change from time to time before you finally reach a stair to the main attraction. There is a movie and the city miniature which explain about the city and its future enhancement. I enjoy this site because it could give you a general idea about this city in a glance.

After the movie, the path will bring you to the Arch gallery. The items are cute and artsy. It’s a bit pricy though. Well, it’s handmade so the price is quite understandable. I usually will stop by and wander around a bit just to give some refreshing for my eyes. There is a cafe where you could relax a bit before you continue your journey elsewhere.

All in all this is a good place and before you leave don’t forget to exchange your ticket with something! 🙂

Cheers!

Triana

CitraWarna 2015 and the MUD show

2015 - Citrawarna

Citra Warna is an event whereby each of the states in Malaysia will show their talents. My bad..i don’t really have a good pic of this event so i couldn’t really share the visual with you. However, i will still love to note down this event as part of my travelling notes. 😀

There are quite numbers of performance but my favourite would be MUD Performance. MUD is a performance about Kuala Lumpur history and how this city is being formed. It was a mesmerizing performance..well, if it’s not good i won’t be able to stand of my feet to watch it for hours. >.<

if you miss MUD performance in this event, don’t be sad. This show is actually being performed twice daily. I bet your experience will be nicer than mine, cause the usual show is held in a theatre with decent seat and AC! click on this link MUD SHOW and grab your ticket there.

Hope you enjoy it and you may want to put CitraWarna as one of the event that you would like to see when you visit Kuala Lumpur!

Cheers!

Triana