Chinese New Year Gathering

      

Yeah...it is Chinese New Year (CNY) now. And what i love the most during CNY is of course getting angpau from relatives and married  friends. Hehe.. Besides this, what i enjoy the most is the gathering!

 

  Friends from primary, secondary, and even tertiary school will come to visit each other and start to discuss the fun of their recent life. Some are working overseas or locally will also telling their experiences to us. I enjoy listening to their stories indeed. Other than this, we will be having house to house visitation and at the same time eating for all the time. That's why some are starting to diet now..LOL...

     In my opinion, whenever i am having any gathering from different group

of friends, i can observe their changing in their appearances, thinking, behavior and insights. The main contributor is the time factor! Their experiences, encountering and the turning point of the life perhaps have giving them different view of life. So am i ! I appreciate a lot of my recent life and i will stay happy always..:-)

Besides this, there are some interesting Chinese customs link :
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/china/chinese-new-year-dress/1870
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/china/chinese-new-year-customs/1648
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/china/chinese-new-year-dragon/1624
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/china/chinese-new-year-decorations/1627
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/articles/china/chinese-new-year-food/1633

     

   Here are some pictures during gathering..

Happy gathering with a cute baby

Foods and angpau..XD

My friends

I love Korean Drama !!!

     The Korean drama which i love the most and would like to introduce to you is Secret Garden Korean Drama. It's famous nationwide and always be the top of the episode rating. Thumb up for this. Hope you enjoy watching.;-)  Here is one of the episode of Secret Garden Drama. http://dai.ly/iiXK7O

Secret Garden Synopsis

Well, the synopsis of the drama is as here.The drama tells the story of Kim Joo Won (Hyun Bin), an arrogant and eccentric CEO who maintains the image of seeming perfection, and Gil Ra Im (Ha Ji Won), a poor and humble stuntwoman whose beauty and body are the object of envy amongst top actresses. Their accidental meeting, when Joo Won mistakes Ra Im for actress Park Chae Rin, marks the beginning of a tense, bickering relationship, through which Joo Won tries to hide a growing attraction to Ra Im that both confuses and disturbs him. To complicate matters further, a strange sequence of events results in them swapping bodies.

To watch, please click :

-the official website: http://tv.sbs.co.kr/secretgarden/
-online streaming:http://www.mysoju.com/korean-drama/secret-garden/

 

Chinese New Year celebration

Dragon Year (2012)

        Time is passing fast, it just like a blink of eyes then it's the arrival of Chinese New Year...and now i am busy celebrating Chinese New Year. :-). Chinese are celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY) for 15 days. How do we celebrate CNY for 15 days?

        Here is it....Usually we will be having reunion dinner on the eve of CNY follow by the first day of CNY, the whole family members will be having varieties of meatless breakfast together before heading to friends or relatives' houses. Why is it meatless meals for the 1st day? It's due to in our belief, we do not want to kill or sacrifice any living creatures on the earth especially poultry. Whereas for the second day, there will be a great meal for the day and it's mostly meats. Each of these dishes indicate an auspicious meaning. For instance:

• Fish- means every year also have balance or a lot of cash in the bank account or purse/ wallet.
• Prawn- means happy always.
• Mushrooms-means one brand new year is doing better or going smooth than the previous year.
• Chinese herb soup- means going smooth for throughout the year.
• Meat cook with pineapple- pineapple indicates bringing luck and wealth to the family.
• Lettuce- means have a lively life and stay active throughout the year. 

"Yu sang " (Prosperity toss)

        On the 7th day is also known as "ren ri" which means the day where the Gods create a human and let go to the earth.We will be having "Lou Sang" dinner together. "Lou Sang" is also known as prosperity toss in which it usually consists of strips of raw fish (commonly-salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. "Yu sang" literally means "raw fish" but since "fish" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance", therefore, "Yu sang" is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. 

     On the 15th day of CNY, is also Chinese's valentine's day. On that day, the guys and girls which are single and available will bring their own mandarin oranges heading towards the river. They will write down their wishes or contact number on the skin of the oranges, make the wishes and then throw into the river. After that, people will use a net to take others' mandarin orange in the river. Hence, if possible, they might become a couple then. That's the end of CNY. :-) 

More information on the foods, please refer:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/830840
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/627/
http://www.straight.com/article-586036/vancouver/little-yu-sang-fine-water-dragon-year

Healthy and easy prepared breakfast

       Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and yet people always tend to skip their breakfasts. The reasons of skipping breakfast are: rushing to work? ; no time to prepare? ; don't know how to cook? want to sleep more? so on and so forth..

       So here’s the dilemma: we all want to eat healthy, but sometimes it’s just impossible to cook or prepare food at home every day. I have been in most of these situations in the past! When I was in secondary school, I never cooked and it was really hard for me to figure out which snacks were the healthiest to eat. I just do not care and sometimes is skipping my breakfast. And now i am studying food science course, I look for the healthy foods all the time.

        I always eat breakfast but I’m definitely a creature of habit – oatmeal being my go-to breakfast of choice. And while I do eat breakfast every day, I also love sleep. So on those days where eating breakfast conflicts with getting more sleep, it’s a hard choice to make!

        For all of you who are in similar situations, i would like to share some healthy breakfasts with you. Hope you enjoy preparing breakfast! For more healthy eating foods, please refer to these links.
http://www.nursingschoolsearch.com/blog/2008/07/100-food-blogs-to-inspire-your-healthy-eating/
http://dietrecipesblog.com/
   
Breakfast Option #1: Whole grain toast topped with 2 sliced up hard boiled eggs served with a sliced apple or grapefruit.Sprinkle with small amount of black pepper (optional).

Breakfast Option #2: 1 cup of whole grain cereal, 1 cup low fat milk or 1 cup unsweetened soy milk. Top with bananas and/or blueberries/or strawberries.

Breakfast Option #3: 1 slice of whole wheat or sprouted grain bread with 1 Tbsp sunflower butter + ½ sliced banana and 1 Tbsp honey drizzled on top.

Citrus fruits

        Citrus fruits??? Oh, I know...there are orange, lime, pineapple, lemon, grapefruit, pomelo .... When we are talking about citrus fruits, we do know they are containing abundance sources of vitamin C, E and A. Also those vitamins normally provide natural defense to our body system. So besides this, what do you know about citrus fruits? It's okay if you do not really know, and i would like to share the benefits of pomelo to you here.

       Pomelo is an auspicious fruit in our chinese custom and it could bring us fortune and luck as in our belief. Every time when we are praying during our big day, we will use pomelo as the tribute. It has a pleasant and fresh aroma and the flesh is sour and sweet. I wonder how good is this auspicious fruit to be consumed, therefore, i do some readings on pomelo. Hope you enjoy reading.

        The scientific research carried on the pomelo indicates that pamelo could aid  in  increasing our body's resistance towards infection. It contains abundance of vitamin C which has the power to detoxify the blood and make your skin glow. If you are trying to lose some pounds, then pomelo is a good choice. This is due to it contains no fats yet it will ensure that you body is strong as you try to go through the weight loss regime. If you are having difficulties in controlling your blood pressure, you should consider taking the pomelo as it is rich in potassium. Furthermore, even though it couldn't be treated as hypertension drugs, it still able to help you to control the condition effectively.

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Health Benefits of Pomelo

        The skin of the fruit is rich in bioflavonoid. This property is helpful in reducing pancreatic, intestinal and breast cancer. In fact, it suppresses the cancerous cells from spreading further. Unfortunately, we did not consume the skin of pomelo. Hence, researchers have to work on it in order to extract the bioflavonoid compound from the skin.

       Other than this, pomelo helps in retaining the elasticity of the arteries at the same time improves the digestive system of the body due to its powerful antioxidant property. Although the fruit has high ascorbic acid content, it produces an alkaline reaction once digested.This fruit can also be used as a remedy for diabetes, insomnia, fever and sore throat.

Exercising Caution

        Some people are allergic to Pomelo mostly due to Vitamin C content. So immediately consult the doctor if you see any rashes or eruptions after consuming this fruit. Excess consumption of Pomelo may also lead to kidney stones, constipation and other complexities, which you need to discuss with your doctor.


More Information Links on the benefits of Vitamin : 

• http://content.onlinejacc.org/cgi/reprint/42/2/246.pdf  
• http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/health-benefits-of-pomelo-9323.html 
• http://archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/61/1/82
• http://www.ajcn.org/content/69/6/1086.full.pdf+html 
• http://www.ajcn.org/content/72/5/1095.full.pdf+html 
• http://www.ajcn.org/content/67/2/240.full.pdf+html 

New Food Product -Tofusion

            Tofusion???  It sounds like confusion....Is not it? Haha.... Well, let me explain to you what, how, and why is Tofusion existed... Alright, actually Tofusion is an alternative to Mayonnaise which is low in fat and calories, dairy and egg-free, high in protein and contains no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. 

            Usually the Mayonnaise in the market contain high fat due to the percentage of soy bean oil used in the processing. The oils used is about 65% and it does contribute a lot of calorie to our body when we are consuming it. Therefore, our group have invented this new alternative product which is a much healthier choice for all age categories during food fair event which was held in Subang Empire shopping gallery.

          Nutrition-wise, our key ingredient, silken tofu, contains a low amount of calories and little fat. Furthermore,the difference between the Mayonnaise and our product is that we do not use any eggs. Hence, Tofusion is also suitable for people where cholesterol or egg allergies are of big concern, also for vegans and religious vegetarians, who abstain from egg consumption. Other than this, we use very little oil which is about 4 times lesser than the Mayonnaise. We have chosen sunflower oil which is high in omega 3 & 6 to form the emulsion in the product. Can you image how healthy is it? 

         On the other hand, Tofusion is actually originated from the main ingredients of the product that we used which are silken tofu and passion fruit. Tofusion is high in protein, vitamins and minerals such as manganese, copper, iron, tryptophan and omega-3 fatty acids. Tofusion is especially high in vitamin C and antioxidants because of the lemon and passion fruit. The taste of our mayonnaise is pleasantly different from the usual mayonnaise. The lemon adds a zesty flavour to it and will leave people wanting more. Our product can be used on both sweet and savoury foods.

You might prepare your homemade mayonnaise too by following these recipe:
  http://www.food.com/recipe/eggless-mayonnaise-34260
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/saucesdipsspreads/r/veganmayo.htm 
http://www.helpwithcooking.com/sauces/mayonnaise.html
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Sauces_Condiments/HomemadeMayonnaise.htm

Pumpkin's power

      My mother has been coughing for more than 2 months. She went to consult many doctors even eastern doctors! However, those medicines do not really work for her. So during chinese new year, one of my relatives has visited us. She told us that she also having a similar coughing as my mother.

     She had tried out many medicines and consulted almost all the doctors, however it doesn't heal her coughing completely. One day, she came across with the medicine magazine. She read many remedies for coughing and found out pumpkin with some honey added and steam it will heal the coughing problem. There were also clinical tests have been carried out and it's proved. Hence, without hesitation, she had tried it! and with 3 pumpkins she consumed for the past few weeks have completely cured her coughing. It's amazing. I'm doing that for my mother, and her condition seems to be getting better.

     Besides pumpkin flesh, the pumpkin's medicinal parts are its seeds. It works as well as a diuretic and anthelmintic, and helps prevent cough, cold, and flu. Pumpkin seeds include a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and are also known to lower cholesterol. 

     There are hundreds of vegetables around us, and they are all good for our health. Try to make daily recipes reasonable so that we can keep ourselves healthy. Vegetable power can eradicate world maladies. That's how God make us to live well. 

   To know more on pumpkin's power, please refer to these links.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Remedies/pumpkin.html 

http://cjking.hubpages.com/hub/Health-Benefits-of-Pumpkin

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=82 

http://docakilah.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/the-health-benefits-of-pumpkin/

My industry experience (co-op) for 2 months

        "Yeah....! Finally i completed my co-op for 2 months. I feel excited when i was working on the last day. " It sounds familiar to me as i heard those words coming out from junior. This recalls me back to my co-op too in year 2010.

     

        Back to the year of 2010, I worked in Bintulu Pharmacy (Semenyih) Sdn Bhd. As we know, UCSI university will usually finding a job for us. However, i was so disappointed as they simply located me to work in McDonald as a call receiver. Alright, as a phone receiver i think it is not appropriate for a food science student plus the location is far away from my residential area. That was really made me feel irritated. Therefore, i decided to find a job myself. Fortunately, i got this job in pharmacy near to my house after interviewed.

        During these two months of involvement, I learnt to check the blood glucose level and hypertension level for the patients whereby i was taught by the pharmacist. Other than this, I had learnt the basic skills in operating the price tag device, credit card machine, cashier machine, fake notes detector device and filling in the paper of the receipt printing device, blood glucose meter and blood pressure monitor and others. I never knew that i could learn many skills in the pharmacy. I appreciate a lot to the staffs in pharmacy for teaching me. :-)

        Besides that, i also got the opportunity to join their annual dinner in Subang Empire Hotel. It is a 4 stars hotel which i was informed by my employer. Amazing and glamor! These are the words which i could describe on that day. I learnt the precious social life in the dinner! Happy ever moment in my life. Have a look on the pictures..:-) More detail on alpha pharmacy, please click on this link:
 http://www.bigsale.com.my/UserAdvDetails.aspx?adv=543

 

      On the whole, the most that I learned during the training is the communication skill with customer.As a sale assistant in the pharmacy, I have an obligation to pledge to provide quality service to the customer as to conform to the customer requirements. Apparently, the enthusiasm in providing the service to customer and possess confident in communication with customer will always convince them. In my opinion, to have a healthy body, consume some supplements might aid in replenishing the deficiencies in the body. As I believe prevention is better than cure.  

new IT learning experience

          Today is my second class for tutorial for IT. However, i was late for the class due to the massive traffic jam on the road. I was about to run to the class when i reach University. Hated jam so much!

          I am not good in IT basically. I still remember back to my last few semesters, i had JAVA for my compulsory subject. I have no idea anything about JAVA until the lectures kick in. I was shocked when our lecturer told us that to learn JAVA, most learners need to have a strong fundamental in C++. Imaging a food science student taking JAVA who rarely have any knowledge in IT, memorizing all the strange codes, writing our own coding, command prompt it out and so on...it is terrible indeed.

          What for a food science student learning JAVA? Will that be useful to us? or Are you kidding me? Learning JAVA without having any C++ fundamentals? Those are the questions often appear in our minds. On the first day of lecture, our lecturer told us that learning JAVA is useful for scientists or researches in their findings in which they possess a lot of data. It is convenience and efficient for them to trace out their error with "abundance" data in hands. So after that, we start learning JAVA tutorial in science base.

          At the beginning of the JAVA class, i feel it is alright for me. Who knows after few lab sessions, i start worrying i could not cope with it. I have a strong feeling that i am dying in this subject. It seems to be a nightmare for me. Every time when we are having a tutorial exercises, i will feel depress due to the troublesome JAVA codes. Even a little "comma, full stop or bracket" is able to drive you crazy! This is the most craziest driving part which i often experience when doing JAVA exercise. Hahaha... However, i did manage to get through my JAVA exam eventually. Thank Gods.

          This semester i am taking IT again is due to challenge. I wish to prove that i could overcome the challenge. In my opinion IT is much easier than science subjects (at least better than JAVA). Other than this, i do hope to learn something pretty different, fun and interesting besides science facts.

         Here we come the second class. We learn how to writing blog to share our ideas, insights, opinions, feelings or information which you would like to share. Furthermore, we did learn ebay and HTML. At the beginning of the lab session, i am still feeling blur. However, with the assistance of my tutor and friends, i feel that learning IT is fun and interesting.

       Here is the link where i start learning my HTML..You may try out yourself too. http://www.w3schools.com/html/tryit.asp?filename=tryhtml_intro

        In addition, i do like my tutor better than my lecturer indeed. In every tutorial, tutor will explain step by step with clear and understood. The most important thing is she is enthusiasm in teaching us at the same time she is willing in giving her helping hands. :-)

        Lastly, i do hope i will have fun learning along with the tutorial classes. :-) Do have your own fun too..