2015 :)

Hola! Mel signing in 2015 :)



Sharing with you all lovelies is my piano cover from last December, feel free to play it while you continue reading :D

Happy New Year! :D (bet no one is as late as me :P) and have you made your resolutions for this year?

For me, I didn't have the urge to have a list out of it, but somehow am setting some goals and things to be changed from time to time, then I post on Facebook haha.

2014 had been fruitful, and I'm really grateful for that. Gained new experiences, explored new places and country (Japan!), and had experienced growth in terms of emotions and managing my own thoughts.

Well, for this year, as usual, I hope

IT'S A GOOD ONE.

and it will :)

Be loved, be happy, be healthy, be open, be brave.

To feel, to love, to care, to enjoy, to connect, to create.

My kind of resolutions :D

What's yours? Do share with me and I may get inspired from 'em :)

Have a great year ahead people!

Till then, x.

Look At Us.

Heyy.

Finally get back to blogging after a semester of my degree life, officially ended Year 1 :)
This is probably the longest break I'll get in my entire degree life, so here I am!

Well, look at us.

What is happening to us humans?

The tragic incident of MH17 that has broken many hearts around the world, why would you fire the missile to a passenger plane at the first place?

We can never understand and exactly feel the pain of the families and friends of those on the plane ;

We cannot tolerate the inconsiderate and selfish decision of the party that fired the missile.

Deepest condolences to the families and friends who have lost their beloved, and may God do justice to the land.

For us, treasure your life and people around you as we don't know and will not get any warnings on when will you lose them, or when will they lose you. Follow your heart and be yourself, live the life to the fullest, in the good way of course. Especially to those who are closest to you, please don't show them your worst as you know they can tolerate. Instead, love them more than you can. Let's practise this together, okay? I'm learning as well :)

Beginning of July, I joined the 100 Happy Days program, that is self-voluntary and free. I post a photo a day about something happy on that day, on Instagram (or you can choose to post on Facebook or other sites). I think it's a good way to push and motivate ourselves to eye on the positive things in life, instead of focusing and lingering on the negative ones that will not make life any better in any ways. Visit http://100happydays.com/ for more details and more convincing statistics! :D

Glad that the black boxes have been found and are in secured hands, may the truth be revealed and us humans could wake up from what we've done, make the Earth a better place to live in :) 

Have a great week ahead, feel the love and pay the love forward! :)

没那么简单。

你, 好吗?

写东西的冲动来了。几天前，中学时期一起写写的朋友和华文老师找上，说一本文学季刊向我们学校征稿，还问我手上有没有稿子可以交上的。

想想，我几时停止了，写，那我曾经很爱的文字。

虽然不像朋友们又投稿又得奖的，但文笔算是比上不足，比下有余? 

我真的，把它撇下了。

曾经想过，部落格内容的界限在哪里?

我被不同的答案影响过，所以风格改了又改。

真实的自己，似乎也在修修改改中，

被改掉了，被藏起来了。

正式宣布，

我回来了。

我写我喜欢的文字，让我在生活中，在思绪中，理出个所里然来吧 :)

或者，用文字把自己表达出来吧。

2013, 2014.

女孩上大学啦。

明天，

是第一学期的最后一个上课日。

从迈进象牙塔前，到如今身在塔内，一直都在听的‘大学 —— 人生的转折点’，

并没有发生在我身上。


学业，我一生没有那么无助过。
不如以往，真的出乎我意料，我没有表现好。


是真的不好。

我还在摸索中，还在适应中。

是，很慢。

我深信我站得起来，但是一次次地被打倒，我开始犹豫了。

我开始质疑自己，
自己的能力，自己的选择。

就这样，在振作和质疑的循环下，

值得庆幸的，

是

我还没放弃，

而且我还有一群人在背后的支持鼓励安慰骂醒。

虽然我知道，

我没什么值得让你们这样为我。

谢谢你们的包容，

谢谢你们的坦诚，

谢谢你们的真实。

感谢有你们。:)

不需要一一列出吧，

心知肚明就好，对不?

没那么简单，但我会好好的。

届时不要被那真正站起来的巨人吓着了:P

愿你，一切安好。

2nd Piano Cover ; Henry - Trap

Hello people! :)

2 weeks ago, made another piano cover as you can see from the title, K-Pop this time :D

Unlike my first cover, I didn't instantly blog about this cover cuz uni life has been reaching a mad hectic peak and finally now I get a year end break to catch some breathe of the world :P

So now, a little story about this cover.

As time goes by and I'm growing up, people tend to ask me what do I look in my boyfriend or future partner.

I always hope that he is that someone who can play music well. 

So I can lay back to enjoy his music, or me playing music for him, or playing a duet maybe and etc etc etc hehee :P
I believe many girls share the same hope as I do, right? *wink* Although mine has already faded, almost completely. (focusing on better qualities than the music in him can give :P)

Well, I do find guys charismatic in a way when they're so focused and enjoy in playing their music.

Of course, their music have to be beautiful as well :P

Back to the cover, this guy Henry from Super Junior-M first attracted my attention was through his first solo track - Trap.

He played his violin for the intro of this song and it's so beautiful that I clicked that replay button just to listen to the intro again lol. His vocal didn't attract me though (so sorry~).

When I searched for the official MV of this song, I was fascinated once again when he was on the piano this time, playing the keys so effortlessly. 

Always am admiring guys for how effortless they can be when playing octaves and some big big stuff,
that girls will have to put so much effort in to achieve.

Henry's musicality is superb and it's a really grand intro for this solo track of his.

Then I decided to give it a try, to see what extend I can reach this time :P

In a nutshell, I decided to make a cover for this song due to that intro, and the song is good as well :) Not a K-Pop lover but I do listen, but not into it though.

Played everything by ear this time as well, and improvised some parts.

It's quite tough for me as I'm not good with octaves and all, but I'm glad that I pulled it off although it's another rough work from me, tried my best.

Hope you'll enjoy and hereby presenting to you my second piano cover, Trap by Henry :)

Feel free to drop any comments!

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison, Isetan Food Street

Feel so blessed that I get to enjoy food and this restaurant I'm gonna blog today is defo A BOMB.
Had brought some friends to this restaurant and I get 100% thumbs up from them!

Pork, is a non-halal food in Malaysia due to religious reason, and so we hardly find restaurants offering pork chops in Malaysia. In restaurants that serve Japanese cuisine, it's even rarer.

Had my first bite on Japanese style deep fried pork fillet was back in 2012 (it's just last year heh :p) in Taiwan. Was so in love with it and hoped that I could indulge it in Malaysia as well :3

One fine day in March 2013, MY DREAM CAME TRUE when dad brought the family to this restaurant located at Isetan One Utama.

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

A restaurant located silently at the corner after you walk in the side walkway that branched out from the center circle of Eat Paradise :)

Tonkatsu is a japanese word where Ton stands for Pork and Katsu stands for Fillet. (Thanks daddy for the explanation of the terms^^)


Interior
It's not a big restaurant, but the mirrors on the wall give the whole restaurant a spacious impression :)
Few walls are filled up with pieces of denim in different shades of blue, very unique indeed.

Denim pieces and some framed up wordings on the walls~
with yours truly and her meal :P

Food
This restaurant offers a variety of deep fried food, from poultry (pork the star *heh :P*, chicken) to seafood (oyster, prawn).

Offered by the restaurant, diners feel safer having meals here :) or it's just me? :P
I do think it's a show of respect by the restaurant to us diners, by serving quality and health-concerned food.

A glimpse of side dishes offered here :)

Potato Salad 

LOVE IT!

2 choices to the meals offered here: Ala-Carte or Set Meal.

Ala-Carte consists of the deep fried food and cabbage, while ordering the set meal you'll get a bowl of rice, pickles and miso soup with pork (known as tonjiru). 

Steamed rice or multi grain rice are the options offered by the restaurant, good! Health point +1 :D

And note that, rice, cabbage and miso soup are REFILLABLE! FOC :D really suitable for those who are starving, haha I mean really hungry :)

Sneak peek of the set meal now, let's go! :)

Little radish ball :)

to improve digestion~

Wondering why raw cabbage is refillable?

Answer:

Spot the difference?

TADAAA!

Sesame sauce dressing :D

Testimonial from bro's friend (this is real!)

'The sauce manages to convince me to take in vegetables! :)'

Miso soup with pork (Tonjiru)

So sorry for this low quality picture ><

A little salty for me though it's tasty.

Pork star is here! :)

Love every bite of the fillet, like seriously hahaha.

Juicy and the tenderness is just nice for some chewing! :D

Spot the white stuff on top of the pork fillet?

It is sesame!

Feel free to mix it with your rice or your fillet, super super fragrant and yum! :D

Overview of the set meal :)

There's sweet sauce, spicy sauce and salt for the sauce columns.

Spicy sauce isn't that spicy as the name yells at you haha.

Sauce bottles are on your table, so just add according to your choice and preference :P

Tonkatsu Don

Perfect to those who prefer rice with some gravy, with onions and egg :)

Little tip on choosing your pork fillet:

Rosu Katsu - lean meat with a layer of fats

Hire Katsu - pure lean meat

So to those who love pork fat, and those who opt for a healthier choice, haha you know what to pick :)

and you can request a change to Hire Katsu for Tonkatsu Don, without extra charges^^

To the drinks:

Barley tea

to refresh your mouth for a better sensation of indulging the food :)

Pink guava, if I'm not mistaken.

Once ordered by bro, and it's quite good :)

Overall, food and ambiance are great, price is okay for the big portion of food :D

Just that it's a small restaurant, so maybe can call up earlier to reserve or go earlier. Unless you don't mind waiting, which is sometimes kinda uneasy for me, especially when my stomach is growling for food hahaha.

Do like their Facebook page :) Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

Tonkatsu by Ma Maison

Ma Maison@Eat Paradise, Isetan 2nd Floor,

1 Utama Shopping Centre.

03-7727 3337

contact@mamaison.com.my

Business hours: Mon-Sun 11.00-21.30 :D

Big recommendation from me, alongside with my family and friends! :)

Go grab a bite of deep fried pork fillet and other awesome deep fried food now :D

Piano Playing :)

After watching talented people and friends making covers out of songs, I finally did mine few days ago, Jay Chou's 明明就.

The making of this piano cover is a bitter sweet experience for me. From selecting what song to cover, to recording the song, it's really a pain for me haha! Finally understand my friend's exhaustion in recording repeatedly for the best, and playing the song for so many times until feeling robotic hehee.

Dedicating this piano cover to Jay Chou, because he has been such an inspiration to me in music, as a musician. Love the lyrics and melodies he composed, and his ability to play by ear is just WOW! I wanna be like him, hahaha :D

HE HAS SO MANY NICE SONGS THAT I LOVE, it's so hard for me to choose a song or a few as medley! Eventually picked this song, spent some time figuring some melodies and chords of the song, by ear.

Yes, I insisted on playing by ear :) it's like seeking more problems for myself when there's music scores nowadays to play from, but I'm willing to listen to the track so many times and play the song out, I do.

Playing by ear, besides being inspired by Jay Chou, my first inspiration will be my piano teacher. Watched her playing LeeHom's 'Kiss Goodbye' that she heard on the radio before she came for my class, I was really amazed! And challenge accepted I whispered, in my heart :P

My first official song played by ear will be 光良 Michael Wong's '约定', in its original key :) yes and from that day onwards, I insisted to play in original key, when I play by ear. This may sound like torturing myself, but I really always wanted to do more and do better :)

Thank God for the little gift, in music. It's really a beautiful gift, and I'm really grateful to own it. Will definitely work harder and improve in my techniques and all :)

Presenting to all, my first  piano cover.

Sorry for the pretty rough work, still lacking in techniques and interpretation. Will improve I promise :)

Feel free to drop comments, thankyou! :D

Hinz Cafe @ Bandar Menjalara, Kepong :)

Hey! :D
Was blogging about something non-halal, but then I'm allowing this post to jump queue first :P

Shoutout to those living in and around Kepong! :)

Am always eyeing on cafes, hoping to have a nice cup of coffee and maybe desserts/meals in the very comfy atmosphere that only cafes can pose. However, the cafes I see friends and people heading are mostly in Petaling Jaya, Puchong or Shah Alam. How I hope there are cafes in Kepong then I won't have to travel far and pay at the toll hehee :P


And here comes Hinz Cafe! :)

Saw a friend of mine liked the cafe's FB page and I clicked into it, saw it's located at Kepong, liked the page, then totally forget about it.

Until recently.

My buddy from student reporter team suggested a cafe at Metro Prima, Kepong, then this Hinz Cafe page just popped up in my news feed. So I went to suggest, offering another option lol. Somehow after some discussions and all, we decided to go to Hinz Cafe for our gathering :D

Wanna go to that cafe at Metro Prima one day though, hahaha.

Continue with Hinz!

It's located at Bandar Menjalara, the so-called Steamboat Area in Kepong :P
beside Hometown Steamboat which is currently one of the popular steamboat restaurants at Bandar Menjalara :)

A good place to have a catch up session with friends ^^

Simple yet warm concludes the whole atmosphere of the cafe :) simplicity rocks!

Some simple decorations and ornaments, at corners of the cafe.

Heart-shaped bottle <3

Some polaroids taken at the cafe~

Little cute symbol for the washroom :P

Move on to the food, only managed to try out their desserts and coffee this time as we went in the afternoon.

There's another side with a list of beverages~

Signature dessert - Brandy Banana Chocolate

A pudding outer layer with chocolate mousse and banana on the inside :)

*Am I revealing too much? :P*

Rich flavors and great texture, love! :)

Tiramisu Kahlua

The alcohol version of tiramisu cake :)

Quite okay~

Black Forest Cheese

Love the cheese :)

Tiramisu

Love the coat of mixed nuts, adds much texture to the cake!

And the raspberry (?) jam reminds me of Ikea meatballs lol,

they serve the same function to both dish tho :P

Cafe Latte :)

Mocha :P

For price, coffee is at the normal cafe price. Desserts are pricey than average but definitely worth it! :)

Considered a new cafe as it only started serving the crowd only since July 2013, however they already had quite a number of customers, which is a good sign :D

Will definitely come back for another round! For their set lunch :)

Working hours~

Do check them out on Facebook : Hinz Cafe :)

Hinz Cafe

73, Jalan 11/62A, Bandar Menjalara, 52100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

03-6270 0008 (make reservations for desserts maybe, heard that some desserts sell off fast!)

Sealed this post with the group pic of the gathering that day outside the cafe :)

Till the next post, the non-halal post, bye! :D

*back to revision for the last paper of finals :P*