Archive for ‘Work’

May 19th, 2012

FRANK-ly & FURT-ively

by elena.kwok

It’s another day of flying but this is a long flight but thank goodness we are transiting in DXB. Hoo-ray you’ll know why later. We are off to Frankfurt again for the Paperworld Show which will be held in Messe Frankfurt. This is Hub’s first Frankfurt trip and I just now he’s going to love it. It’s cold cut food every Morgen, BABY!

Cafe NERO

Aaahhhh my love for caffeine has no country-boundaries. I can only find NERO in Dubai Airport which I have to have a cuppa each time I transit there.


Hot Boiling Soup

Never have I ever loved sizzling, boiling, bubbling hot soup ever. Back at home, I never like my soup that spiking hot but this hotness proved a big deal for chilly days. I had ‘goulash’ the tomato based soup whereas Hubs had.. HMM I don’t remember :p


Snow White

This year, I didn’t encounter much snow. The most snow I had ever laid in was in Slovenia. Bountiful of white scenery!


The place we stayed is near The Zeil; a.k.a. shopping street which I don’t make use of. I just love being at The Zeil.

Part of MyZeil


My Daily Grocery Place, 'Galeria Kaufhof'


Trenchilly in Effect

Hubby’s first winter was windy… KAKAKAK


Trenching!

Chilly… my hands are numbed, cheeks are harden and lips are pursed -> free BOTOX (gud)


Schnitzel with Baby Pots, Lemon and Mint Sour Cream Sauce

Craving for something fried but not utterly wholesomely fried. I love the baby pots though!


I think this was the Frankfurt Plate

To me, it looks like different kind of meat chunks in a platter; ham, sausages, pork belly, wieners, etc. Oooo plus mustard of course!


Beef Carpachhio

My first experience of Beef Carpachhio didn’t went too well. I had half and the remaining portion, I switched with Hubs. Lol! But I love the rocket though. They are fresh and kindy minty in a way.


Asian Food in Frankfurt?

It’s not easy to find taste Asian Food in Germany but we managed to walked into one which is just near the hotel we called HOME for a few days. It’s in one of the alley of Zeil and we went there a couple times because it’s not only good but affordable too. See the dishes above? It didn’t went over EURO25 for both of us; and that’s a catch!


Kaktusfeige - My FAV Beer

Kaktusfeige is my staple drink in Frankfurt. Morning, noon and night. Cheaper than H2O itself and it keeps me warm. I miss you, ‘Kaktusfeige’.


A MUST DO in FRANKFURT

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Let me introduce to you to ZUM BITBURGER

Special Menu of the Week


Table with a View


Left is owner Andreas (Andrew), to the Right is Beer-Master?


Gloves Off; Time for….


‘B-EEEEEEEEEEEE-R!


So fresh it’s bubbling to the top.. WHEEEEE!


Best EVA Corn Soup

So delicious, Jake and I had to spoon-fight for it. Next time, we will order 2!


OMG check out that poached chicken

Everything was amazing on this dish. The potatoes, the poached chicken which was voluptuously meaty and juicy and poppy. And, no they are not fish fillet though they look like one and the spinach was a nice portion and the sauce was marvelous.


Hub’s Platter is always abundance of protein

Again, I don’t remember what Hub had but it was yummy too because I curi makan his dish. The erm… ’soft serve’ potato was one of a kind.

So, we truly recommend to come and try this amazing place. Address is:

Zum Bitburger Frankfurt, Hochstraße 54, 60313 Frankfurt

How to get there? I don’t know how to explain but when you see the building below, turn right!


“Oper Frankfurt”

Psst…. pass by the row of branded shops like FERRAGAMO, LV, PRADA, GUCCI, COACH, LONGCHAMP, etc I don’t know what else is there then you’ll find the opera house.


Goodbye Frankfurt; see you 2013
December 12th, 2011

I’ll Be Hiding Behind My Desk (4-awhile)

by elena.kwok

HI EVERYBODY!


Just to let all of you know that my blog will be temporary shut tight.
Just for a few months until I get my bearings right.
This time, work has taken its toll on me.
This time I’m waving the white flag, you see.


But I don’t think I’ll leave my poor blog to rest,
You’ll never know what’s coming I couldn’t guess
Mom keeps telling me God is giving me a test,
She said, ‘We are the KWOKs’ we do all our best!’


There’s too much work too little time to play,
There’s too much stress not wanting to go away,
New work, new levels, new strategies,
New is the now, old are enemies.


More to think about each and everyday
More deceiving people with hearts of clay
Less time to ponder the dreams I have
No one to tell, pretending to be deaf


Stuck in between which has always been
Stuck in the middle, need a shoulder to lean
Hoping for miracles to come along
Gotta take a stand, gotta feel belonged


Missing what I love to do is far beyond
Sometimes I wish everything would begone
What’s there to wish if there’s no hope
So just move along, just gotta cope


Every end born a new beginning
Every path I take is worth considering
I might fall but will never fail
Because I know I’ve tried, I never bail


Love overcomes all things impossible
Love deceives all that are vulnerable
Love is around when you are dependable
Love is real if you are capable

April 13th, 2011

Major Dubai Upload

by elena.kwok

DUBAI!!!

Dubai was a beautiful place. I would love to go back there for the FOOD but I wasn’t fond getting driven by crazy cabbies. Somehow, I find Malaysian drivers are quite polite.

We’ve taken quite a number of pictures of the sand, the skyscrapers, the food and most importantly, the scenery.


The interior of  Wafi Mall

The Pyramid


The Horus


We are very serious when we choose our dish for lunch



Noodle Factory Menu which is simplified.. and yes the prices can be a little notch higher


Jake’s Yaki Udon with Lemongrass Chicken & Tiger Prawns


Elaine’s Korean Kimchi with Grilled Beef


And… my Singapore seafood laksa in coconut curry broth

(so, we’ve got Japanese, Korean and Singaporean)


The view from Noodle Factory


Nice to see only :)


Please find Jake’s masterpiece below.. this picture looks so real and yet it looks like pastel art drawing

Taken at the junction near Dry Docks

(it was man-made to look like part of the docks)


The Burj Khalifa

The musical fountain


Candylicious attracted both the young and the old


At The Top is where we shall go

Security Check


Dubai strives for inspiration and it really gave me some. Thank you!


We were lucky enough to buy the tickets on-line early. It was sold out on the day we went.


View from The Top but we weren’t exactly at the top. I would probably go weak in my knees if I was on top of the world


There’s still a long way to go…


Pricey souvenirs


The names of People who contributed to Burj Khalifa, both physically and mentally


Our amazing view from Novotel, World Trade Centre


Dow Cruise (Dinner + Sightseeing)

It was COLD…..wind blowing cold air.. shivers


DHS 1 to cross the river using this mode of transport

The many skyscrapers of Dubai.. I just love the building designs


SALMONTINI –  fine dining (Elena-jakun)

Classy decor


It was snowing inside Mall of Emirates :p


Even the utensils are scaled


I really loved the lemonade with mint leaves


The best seafood soup or should I say broth… EVER!

(can you spot the chunky salmon, tuna and mackerel and dory?)


My dish which was Salmon with couscous and spicy Harissa sauce

(eventually, I surrendered cause I found out I’m not a fan of couscous)


Jake’s Duck with Risotto which was cooked to ‘perfecto’ @ ‘al-dante’

(which eventually became my dish and I would prefer risotto over couscous)


OMG… Fudge Sundae = Paradise


This is the cafe’ for the wealthy.. they rest and have a cuppa and we enjoy the view



Guess what branded stores are these below:

ANSWERS: Top: DIOR, Middle: GUCCI, Bottom: Louis Vuitton


What a fantastic wrap! Bread with mint leaves, bay leaves, goats’ cheese, pickled and condiments


Mixed Skewers


FYI, Sephora will be opening at Starhill Gallery soon! Be sure not to missed it!


On our way to The Palm



Pictures below are of Atlantis, The Palm


For our last day in Dubai, we went for Desert Safari

Dining Area


There were performances too by the locals; belly dancing, fire show, etc.


THE END

March 11th, 2011

Frankfurt Once More

by elena.kwok

OH yeah… it’s been some time since I’ve halted on blogging. There were so much going through my mind and life that for a minute there; well probably for days, I thought my blog would be shutting down.
There’s just not enough time for me to sit down in front of my lappie and blog; let alone cropping pics and resizing them. I’m leaving for another exhibition later today and finally, I have the time to sit here and start typing (sorry didn’t managed to post them before I left for KLIA -  so this is a week due).
In between packing and tidying, I found the time to re-size some pictures of Frankfurt. Forgive me, I did not fair well in beautifying them. Besides, there were only a few. There’s not much of Frankfurt these days that wowed me besides the food and the cold weather I have to endure.

Anyways, just a short description with ‘points’ of the days I spent in Frankfurt.

  • COLD
  • DRY
  • FOOD
  • CASTLES
  • INFECTION
  • PAPERWORLD
  • ACCESSORIZE
  • JET-LAGGED

There you go… COLD is for the weather. DRY is also for the weather as it was sooo cold that our skin dried up pretty much till it was flaky. Yuck! I know! Therefore, we got ourselves Nivea’s SOS Therapy which cannot be found here :p. And then there was FOOD which was yummy at times, bland at times and what’s with the big portions? CASTLES…seriously, Elaine loves castles. Everywhere she goes, she has to visit a castle. No matter a town away, how high we got to climb, she must visit a castle. By the way, she’s looking for castles with existing bedrooms. She wants to witness how does the bedroom of a medieval era looked like.  For me, I enjoy looking through the ruins and its structure. Now, that fascinates me. And then, there’s INFECTION. Urrgh.. I was actually having coughs and sore-throat while flying. So with the air pressure + the altitude, I googled and found out I was having ‘Otitis Media’. It sounds resonating but I actually thought I was going deaf in one ear. So, I visited the ER, got my consultation, prescription and that’s it. Don’t worry, I’m all fine now. The reason of Frankfurt visit is of course for the PAPERWORLD exhibition. This year our booth was slightly bigger  – YAY! ACCESSORIZE… omg so many Accessorize shops in Frankfurt. I got myself a beautiful necklace and Judith plenty of girly stuff and of course souvenirs for family members. After getting used to the cold weather in Frankfurt, it was time to fly back to Kuala Lumpur. We arrived the night before CNY so it was kinda rush. Then, that’s where the JET-LAGGED comes in. That’s my description of Frankfurt. Photos are below:-

Macarons

Funicular is coming!!!

The famous Dr Muller a.k.a. Erotic Shop

Our networking dinner at Messe Frankfurt

My favourite drink of all time in Frankfurt, KAKTUSFEIGE

My Breakfast

Lurve these eggs

Yup.. this was the URGENTNA I mentioned

The handwriting isn’t easy to read…

My inflamed ear with antibiotic cotton stuffed into my ear

Our booth before and after

January 4th, 2011

Deck The Days With….busyness?

by elena.kwok

Hi guys. I know I’ve been in and out of blogging. I shocked myself looking at my very own blog calendar. Oh dear me! I had only posted one post for the month of December! So sorry to readers who visited my blog and found nothing new!

Since Christmas has come and still hasn’t go; the New Year’s coming right up and school break ends, I”m gonna’ be a busy working mommy once again. Hopefully and I’m crossing my fingers, that I will still have time to leave updates here.

The next update will definitely be the Christmases Day I had and the one I missed! Until then, I’ll leave you with a short poem that I’ve improvised throughout the days between work, bed-time, and free time.

Christmas has come and go, New Year’s still at dusk
Hope you guys enjoyed yours, hope they were a blast
What a wonderful year, the year 2010 that has passed
Hello 2011, we’ve long waited for you at last

Bad days we have encountered
Good days we have pleasured
There are many more days un-assured
So be prepared, equipped and geared

Whatever that you have lost
Be glad to let go of the woes
Friends and families we love most
Appreciate them, dun let them on a noose

A New Year with a new beginning
With daily resolutions not over empowering
A simple life worth every penny living
With love and care utmost perfecting

Political issues arises here and there
Both at home and in office elsewhere
Why not close one eye and lend an ear
Because forgive and forget saves a tear

Problem arises each every day
Mostly simple, a few stuck in hay
There’s no backward, no turning away
So live fully, work hard and spend some time to play

Lets go forward and see what the day brings
Nothing comes easy, money doesn’t make you king
Lets be hopeful and spread some wings
Do what you love and be grateful for everything

I’m afraid I’ve to leave this poem with a heavy heart
Because sometimes, I can’t stop after I start
Be sure to come by and read my blog
New updates are coming; moving like a slow jog