When I grow up, I want to be...

a/an _______________.

14 years ago, like many of you, I was given a green manilla card, amongst other personal details, with one question requesting for three answers.

# Cita-cita:
1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________

14 years down the road, we laugh about it- the silliness of it all or whether you've stuck by your words to be who you want to be (at least one of the three occupations listed).

I thought about this today, except I didn't laugh. It is silly. I mean, c'mon who sticks to doing what they wrote in that green manilla card more than a decade ago?? Not that I remember what I wrote or what my other friends wrote... but in reality, hardly anyone becomes what they wanted to be when they were 7.

We were taught of the more 'glamourous' occupations- peguam, doktor, juruterbang, jurutera, akauntan, arkitek, polis (eh m'sian police also can become kaya raya, muncul in tv, rub shoulders with big time politicians one all ok), guru (teachers of cos must promote their own profession mah), penyanyi, etc. Hence, the three blanks were often filled with either one of these 'glamourous' occupations.

I am of no exception.

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Now, fast forward to present. I am not an accountant, what I thought I would become when I took up accounting as my university major. Yeah, for the past 4 years I believed I was going to be one.

To be honest, I must admit that amongst my sisters, I am probably the most undecisive, confused and hopeless in this thing called "making career decisions". And I know it's a very big problem especially if 'career' is the one thing you have to constantly think of for the rest of your qualified-to-be-employed-life.


"Y Lim, whyyyyy...!!"

Truth to be told, my present job is NOT my first job. I am not ashamed to admit that I job hopped after the 1st month of employment. But I am ashamed to say I left a high paying graduate-entry position in a prestigious local bank with turnover of billions per annum, great staff benefits, and possibly a great future in the banking industry for a lower pay, non-accounting related, career advancement prospects uncertained job.

I know, am i crazy, stupid, bodoh, gila or what.

I do not regret quitting the banking industry, I know I am not happy there (despite the lucrative pay and benefits- whyyyyyy!!!), but would things have been different if I took my parents' advice of joining the Big 4? Would I have lasted longer in this field? Would I have 4 months of experience now, instead of 1 month there, 1 month unemployed and 2 months neither here nor there? There are just so many question marks. When I quitted, should I have just looked into other industries but doing an accounting job instead of a totally irrelevant industry with a totally irrelevant job scope?

p/s- Please don't mistaken that I don't like my current job. In fact, I am pretty happy to have the opportunity to go out and meet people, deal with products that I can relate to, and the opportunity to travel (even if it's work-related). I am just doubtful of my career advancement prospects. AND don't get me wrong, I am not going to quit my present job anytime soon.


Wasted degree or still maybe probably mungkin can be useful?

Am I a disappointment to my parents, to my family and my educators who thought I could go far in this field? They who put so much faith and hope on me, they who supported me financially, and they who advised me, I did nothing but disappoint them.

Now, what got me into thinking all these is a conversation in the car with my sister. She told me I could have gotten far with such impressive credentials, that I should continue to pursue my professional qualifications, slave and survive for a few years, but the sacrifice will be worth it as those in the accounting field can earn up to RM5k or more in a mere few years compared to those in the marketing line. And in the end, I could still go back to the marketing line and climb the corporate ladder with such qualifications and accounting experience (p/s- FYI, 11 out of 10 CEOs have accounting background).

Of course, it's always easier said than done. But should I do a U-turn and be back at square one again?


*Please leave your comments if you have any advise for me. Would really love to hear your opinions especially if you're in the accounting field too. Also, which professional course is better- ACCA, CIMA, CPA, ICAEW? Thanks!

yee fatt tai chow @ ss15

some weeks back, i was looking up some food blogs for good tai chow. my most frequented and which still remains as one of my favourite tai chow place would be tian tian lai at sunway. however, i decided to try somewhere different and i stumbled upon this dish which looked pretty delectable, fried yee mee kong nam style.


fried yee mee kong nam style

the yee mee is fried to crisp and, very much like the sang har meen style. the crispy noodles are then laden with gravy similar to wat tan hor with prawns, snow peas, cuttlefish, carrots, chinese cabbage and... century eggs! actually what attracted me to this dish was the century egg, have been a big fan and will always be one!

(ps: many years ago, when i was told how century eggs became century eggs without going through a century, i stopped eating them. how silly! its so yum!)

back to the noodles, well it tasted pretty bland to be honest. other than the century eggs being the saving grace, the noodles and the gravy is just so-so.


kung po mantis prawn

craving for mantis prawn then, we ordered it to be done kung po style. it did not disappoint, nor was it fantastic.


stir fried string beans with brinjal

string beans have always been a favorite of mine, hence it's only appropriate it makes an appearance on the dinner table as the green dish to balance the meal. string beans with brinjal spells Y.U.M.

that's all for today, blogging from work, what do you expect??
:D


restoran yee fatt
1, jalan ss15/4c,
47500 subang jaya.
(opposite nasi kandar pelita)

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

kedai kopi kong heng @ ipoh

malaysians' favourite- satay! (chicken, pork, pig intestines, pig blood)

when in ipoh, ask any locals to suggest kopitiams with good food and nostalgic ambience, a few names come into mind: nam heong and sun yun loong for the white coffee, thean chun (also known as house of mirrors) for the char kuew teow, and kong heng for the satay, popiah and caramel custard.

shameful to say, i have never tasted kong heng's satay for the past 14 years i was born and bred in ipoh! it was only when i moved to kl and started reading these food blogs that i discovered such gems within the quaint little town of ipoh. well, as they say... better late than never!


barbequed and chewy

initially we were recommended by khian to have the famous caramel custard but unfortunately we were abit too late as they have sold out. not knowing what to order, i saw a plate of satay on everybody's table and decided to follow the crowd. if everyone's having it, it sure must be good eh? we were thrusted with a plate of satay consisting of chicken meat, pork, pig intestines, and pig blood. i was quite confused, not knowing how the system works but later on found out that they will thrust you with a plate of assorted satays, you eat what you want and you can reorder the type of meat you like, just leave the ones you dont want and they will calculate based on how many sticks you ate.

oh just a word of caution: the leftover uneaten satays will be 'reheated' again and served to the next customers. i'm thinking that the pig blood satays must have been recycled alot since generally alot people don't take satay to that extreme!

while the chicken and pork tastes quite normal (until i can't really make out whether its chicken or pork that i am eating), the pig intestines won our hearts as it was our first having such exotic satays and chewy, just what intestines should taste like! moreover, it's bbq'ed! ok think i sound like a carnivorous -___-


chee cheong fun in soy sauce and sesame oil

just thought i'd try the chee cheong fun out but was quite disappointed as it wasn't what i had expected. the petaling street chee cheong fun is still among the best! my definition of chee cheong fun would either be the hk style with prawns and char siew fillings or just plain ccf in sesame oil and soy sauce- YUM!


egg tea ('dan cha')

last but not least, we had the 'dan cha' instead of white coffee as we both have never tried this before. i saw the next table ordering this and decided to follow suit. 'dan cha' is a type of herbal drink with a hard boiled egg. we found it a very interesting combination, something herbalish to wash down the sinful teatime.


kedai kopi kong heng
75, jalan bukit timah,
ipoh.
business hours: 7am-4.30pm

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

ong kee chicken tauge @ ipoh

onn kee (tauge ayam)

they say, "if you have not eaten chicken rice balls, then you have not been to malacca!"

well, the same goes for ipoh. if you have not eaten the famous kuew teow chicken tauge, then it's almost as good as you have not been to ipoh!


jalan yau tet sin, ipoh

located along jalan yau tet sin, ong kee is a rival to the more famous lou wong. if you are a local or know any locals, they will probably tell you that ong kee is a better choice as lou wong is too commercialized and often very crowded. so, being once a local and listening to another local, we opted for ong kee instead of lou wong.


translucent hor fun

the best noodles to go with chicken and tauge would of course be the famous ipoh hor fun, which is translucent and smooth. this pairing is match made in heaven, the thought of slurping down smooth hor fun and then picking up a piece of smooth steamed chicken with soy sauce is already enough to make me mouth water!


steamed chicken with soy sauce and sesame oil

to be honest, there was nothing spectacular about the chicken. it was nice nonetheless, just how the chicken should be.


big fat juicy tauge

another ipoh famous must-eat is none other than the big fat juicy tauge (beansprouts). many say that it is because of the water used to plant these beansprouts that contribute to the bigness fatness and juicyness. ipoh is surrounded by scores of hills and mountains (with natural water source), so such claims is not without its truth. whenever we make our family trips back to ipoh, we will without fail bring back a big bagful of beansprouts home (very cheap too).


awesome meatballs

this my first time having the meatballs and i must say it is not too bad, although my fav meatballs would still be the ones from wan hou steamboat- big and juicy, yum!

chicken tauge hor fun is a must have when you are in the small little ipoh town of good food. i wonder when will be my next time having this again...

till then, happy independence day and a long weekend!


ong kee tauge ayam
jalan yau tet sin,
30300 ipoh.

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

Vietnamese cuisine @ O'viet Restaurant

mixed grill platter- rm24.90
a combination of traditional vietnamese appetizers such as fried spring rolls, grilled beef and chicken, sugarcane shrimps, healthy greens and paper rice to make your own yummy rolls

this review takes us back to at least 2 months ago when calvin and i met up with my fellow ipoh besties fang, her sister yi hua and another bestie jacqueline (who's now in columbia university which is in NY and not columbia, HAHA dont be confused and so n00b like me). with the new wing and all at sunway pyramid, it was still a tough task for me to find a proper good place for a meet up lunch.

calvin and i have tasted the food here, so it was kind of a 'tried and tested' place, but we didnt have the same dishes as we had the first time, so in any way this is still a food review!


paper roll you can eat!

we both were given the ultimate task to order food of course. we decided to have a more family-like lunch where food are shared instead of individual meals. for appetizers, the mixed grill platter was ordered as it is always recommended to have a mix of everything if you don't know what to order!

i would give 2 thumbs up for the appetizer especially the paper roll, nice to see and nice to eat too!! it was quite funny to see everyone trying to wrap the roll without tearing it. wrapped with a little bit of greens and chicken/beef slices, and then dipped with either the peanut sauce or the nuoc cham sauce (a type of vietnamese sauce), it was indeed a delightful start to a great wholesome meal.


don't you feel like taking a bite too?

the main dishes arrived not long after and we had them with rice.


chicken with basil


grilled lemongrass fish on banana leaf


chef's recommended toufu

as this was eaten and digested about 2 months ago, i have misplaced the receipt and couldn't remember the exact price and name of the dishes. but if my memory serves me right, the chicken with basil was ok with the basil not too overpowering but taste relatively normal chinese-style cooking. the grilled fish was another unmemorable dish- grilled fish, on a banana leaf and with the littlest (if not any) hint of lemongrass. last but not least, the toufu came as the most disappointing dish, an absolute miss from what we had expected since it was labelled as chef's recommended.


durian pancake- rm5.90 for 2pcs

all hopes not lost yet as we patiently anticipated for the durian pancake. we both have had this before, so it was not a surprising dessert. it tasted ok, just what it is supposed to taste like- fluffy whipped cream and durian flesh enrobed in a pancake wrap. recommended if you're having durian cravings in a vietnamese restaurant.

overall, it was a hit and miss lunch affair with the mixed grill platter and durian pancake receiving some accolades while the mains were generally disappointing. the bill came to a total of (if i remember correctly...) rm170++ for 6 persons, so it's not exactly cheap.



o'viet restaurant
g1.45 ground floor, sunway pyramid old wing.
tel: 03-74920018

[disclaimer: the opinions expressed here are based on my personal views, tastebuds and preference and may vary for others. please dont sue me, i dont have money. kthxbye.]

of pot luck and good luck

photolog of pot luck party at kenneth's place last few weeks before college exams (hehe i think i was the only one totally relaxed, no exams anymore, hehe).

read jen's full account of the night because i curi-curi to blog from work :-p




kenneth must be a seasoned pot luck party host (those orange plates tells it all!)


ze wonderful roazt duckz courtesy of jen


calvin's secret recipe seafood pasta- le yum!




very oreo'ish and cheese'ish


thoughtfully cut to share!


HAHA look at that reluctant frown!


while param downs it like wet wet water man -_-


calvin is the gold medalist for 'eating the most ceasar salad' sport


testosterones bringin' the house down!


alamak why so few girls wan???




an almost perfect jump after 42 shots *panting, inhales*

alex can kick your ass!