Hair colour

I've planned to colour my hair today since weeks ago as today is a public holiday. At first, I decided to go back to Image de Coiffure in Ipoh Garden South. I did my hair color there previously. But it costed me a bomb..RM230 if i remember correctly. They said they used the latest hair colouring technology from Loreal and it's better for my hair as it's ammonia free. I really wonder how the chemical works without some sort of bleaching effect. Anyway, i called them to ask for the current price and i was told that for hair colour, they charge from RM190 onwards, depending on your hair length and thickness. The price is not inclusive of haircut though. I sounded a bit hesitant, and the man who answered my call quickly told me that a 50% discount will be given for charges of RM180 & above. Although the price seems attractive, i was not very satisfied with the way the man talked to me on the phone. He sounded a bit arrogant and unfriendly to me..

Well..after that, i called Philippe Sum and checked their price. It was quite affordable, at RM139 which include haircut as well. So i went and did my hair there. I coloured my hair dark brown with a bit of red. Look nice now but i hope it will last me for another 6 mths or so. Fingers crossed..

Oops...photo a bit blur and my hair colour is not showing..hmm..maybe under the sun will be better.

Belimbing buluh - also known as bilimbi

Have you try this sour fruit before? It's a local fruit, well-known among the Malays as they called it "belimbing buluh".

We have a belimbing buluh tree in our garden that grows healthily. Look at the clusters of fruits! haha..

We can't really eat that much, can we? It's so sour that those who have gastric may not be able to take it. I gave some to my colleagues. They love it! :D The Malays like to cook it with fish or curry. But I like the way my mom make it with prawn or meat and a bit of sweetness. Emmm...yummy! Every time my mom cooks this dish, it finish off too fast! :p

It contains a lot of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) which contributes to the sourness and it has phosphorus and calcium too. Very nutritious, right? So, would you like to try some? ;) Highly recommended for those who like sour food. ^v^

Contact lenses

I've been wanting to wear contact lenses again for quite awhile but was worried that my eyes are too dry for them. I used to wear monthly disposable contact lenses (B&L Softlens 38) but after working in a lab for some years, my eyes could not bear the dryness developed from wearing contact lenses for long hours. But wearing spectacles was uncomfortable and inconvenient too. Somehow, I couldn't find an optical shop who can adjust my glasses to my comfort. My glasses were pressing into the bridge of my nose and leaving almost permanent red marks everyday. Now, a pimple has developed on both sides of the nose bridge.

So I decided to give it a try again. I mean to wear contact lenses to work again. Was planning to get a pair of bi-weekly contact lenses for trial at my regular optical shop. But ended up visiting my uncle's optometrist instead. Well, mom and I were sending some muffins to him on the way to get my contact lenses, and he suggested why not try to get them from his optometrist (SL Chan Optometrist at Persiaran Greenhill, Ipoh). His whole family get theirs there. Ok..so i gave it a try.

Service was good. My eyes were tested with all sorts of high-tech equipments. My regular optician only have 2 types of equipments. Impressive! But.. they are overpricing the products! I usually get two boxes of 1-day Acuvue Moist for RM140 and 1-day Acuvue TrueEye for RM180. And the girl told me they are selling the "TrueEye" at RM260!!! My goodness! But what to do.. after consultation, the optometrist suggested me to get Acuvue OASYS. She said there's a promotion now, buy 3 get 1 free. So, 4 boxes are RM330. And she was so nice by saying that since my uncle recommended me here, she will give me a discount of RM30. Feeling a bit reluctant, I bought the 4 boxes of contact lenses including 2 bottles of multi-purpose solution which she recommended me to use since i have dry eyes.

Feeling that my regular optician may charge a lower price, i called to check. And they are selling 4 boxes for RM240!!! That's like RM90 cheaper than this shop if she charged me the original price without the RM30 discount. Wow... what big difference. Though better service.. i think I will get my contact lenses from my regular shop in the future.. which is Starlite Optical in Yik Foong Shopping Complex.

My choir attire - All white

My choir requires us to wear a white long skirt with white blouse and white shoes for the Christmas performance. I had a headache looking for white long skirt in Ipoh. I searched everywhere and most of the places only sell short white skirt. I was thinking, if i couldn't get a long skirt, i'll get a long white dress. But the requirements are strict. No sleeveless and skirt must be below knee level. Even shoes are restricted to covered shoes if you are planning to buy a pair. Difficult task for us...

Finally i found a long white skirt in a boutique at Ipoh Parade, called K2. It's like a Bohemian long skirt. Cost me RM49.90. Man..i hope i'll wear it more often other than the performance cuz i don't usually wear long skirt. Otherwise, it will be a waste of money. Anyway, I came home and tried it with some of my white blouses. None of them seem to match the skirt and i even looked shorter with the long skirt.. sigh..

In the evening, i went to check out Rozette boutique in Ipoh Garden south. I like to shop at this boutique as the clothes selling here suit me well. The owner recommended a blouse with lace which compliment well with my skirt though we both think that white with white is not very pretty. It's just TOO WHITE. Anyway, dress code has to be followed.. so I bought the blouse nevertheless. Purple belt and shawl will be provided. So i guess the attire will do alright? I hope... but what kind of white shoes should I wear?

Another headache..and more money to be spent....

Lemang with rendang

Hari Raya Haji is around the corner and lemang stalls are seen mushrooming along Jalan Ipoh/Chemor. You can only find lemang stalls near Malay kampung. Mom and I were scouting for lemang this morning for our guests who are visiting in the afternoon. We tried getting it at the stadium where the Malay community has their morning market. But we were a bit too late as the stall already closed. We were late because we went to Parkson for a brief shopping session. :p

Well..if you do not know what is lemang and have not try one, you should. :) A brief explanation of Lemang according to Wikipedia :Lemang is a traditional Malay food made of glutinous rice and coconut milk. It is cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick lined with banana leaves. This way, the rice won't stick to the bamboo. It is best eaten with chicken rendang.

Before and after the lemang is cooked.

Both photos from other blogs.

We found the lemang stalls along Jalan Ipoh/Chemor and we bought 2. Guess how much they charged us? RM12.00 per stick! Gosh...i think they overcharged us because we are Chinese? Anyway, we asked the lady if she knows anywhere we could get chicken rendang and hola! she's actually selling some. So, we happily bought 3 packets for RM9.00 and we paid RM30.00 for everything. :)

Here are the lemang after cutting into small pieces.

And the delicious chicken rendang to go with it. Slurrppp..