MGX Pre Registration Party - Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta

After the much desired getaway at Los Angeles (LA) and San Francisco for a week, a group of us finally flew over to Atlanta, Georgia for the annual Microsoft Global Exchange Conference! MS employees from all over the globe would meet up once a year attending the conference and track sessions for a week.

It's my 1st time to Atlanta and I reckon the town is little dead and quiet.... nothing much compared to the other states in the US. LOL! I was here for another week before jetting back to Malaysia.

We had the pre registration party at Centennial Olympic Park with lots of food and endless drinks and entertainment.

The grand entrance of the park into the party zone... MS actually booked and closed off the park for half a day just for us... weee!! :P



The conference held at the Georgia World Congress Center...



Registration time!!!



Lining up to get our passes...



The CNN Building


Party time after registration in the evening!!!!!!!!!!


Sweet cravings... Assorted cookies and desserts and tarts and more! :P






The MACH hires...


You can have free flow of food from stalls opened at the park!


Bestie and me!



Entertainment zone... just to chill and relax! :)


Me!!! :D



Photo time @ the photo booth.... snap snap all you want for FREE! :P


Dressing up camwhoring! LOL! great fun indeed! :D




Like I said, camwhoring :P


Live concert!


Smacking your name on the wall using paints! :)


Almost night time after all the party.... More photos soon! It's Raya eve today and we're granted a half day leave from work... very sleepy, need to go home to have my beauty sleep... :)

Primary Gathering - Yippee Cup, SS2

What's up people? Weekend gone, start of a brand new week again! Thank god it's Raya Holidays soon... half day tomorrow... weeee.... :P

Anyway I attended my primary school's gathering a couple of weeks back at Yippee Cup... We have not met for more than 10 years or so... LOL! Imagine graduating from primary at the age of 12 and having to meet everyone who I hardly even recognise any more.... but it was good fun to catch up with everyone again...

The top 8 usual questions:

1. Do you remember me?
2. How are you?
3. Hong long we last met?
4. Which class were you ate?
5. Which secondary school and college you attended?
6. Where are you working now?
7. How is working life?
8. Single? Attached? Married?

And the list goes on and on during each conversation with a new person!.... :P

Scroll down for more photos... Everyone changed sooo much especially all the ladies.. :P







On the same day I was happy to also meet up with my long time buddies from APIIT college... :) It's been a while since we last met too... :)

Food Spree @ Ipoh - Sun Yuan Foong!!

During the month August, we had a company offsite meeting at Gurney Hotel, Penang. So there we headed anticipating the food of heaven! :P It was a short stay over, 2 days 1 night trip.

We made a stop over at Ipoh for breakfast before making our way towards Penang.

Undeniably Ipoh too has its wide spred of yummy food around...

I've blog about this place before. Do visit http://joanchew_1911.blogspot.com/2007/08/food-spree-at-ipoh.html

The amazing coffee... LOL! :P


Yam puff stuffed with delicious bbq minced pork...


The famous egg tarts... you need to walked over across Sun Yuan Loong restaurant where they are selling dim sums!


Chicken rice!!!!!!!!


Assorted yong tau foo noodles...



You must never miss their toast topped with egg and accompanied by sausages!


Microsoft Kick Off Meeting - Penang!!!

After approx 4 hours drive + stop over breakfast time, we made it to Penang. One the first day we grouped together and headed to the charity homes for cleaning activities! :)


The view from the hotel room...


My buddy & I camwhoring while practicing in the room for our night time talent show! haha!



Buffet dinner by the pool side! Ken & me! Newly married! HAHA! Congrats Ken! :)


My team at the back stage!


Food Spree @ Penang!

Aside from the endless food spree at the hotel due to meetings and such, we made sure we had enough stomach space to fill it with food from the hawker stalls.. hehe...

Egg with oyster!! good stuff you should never miss while in Penang....



I had my fair share of Asam Laksa... :)

Fruit rojak!


Asam laksa for dinner again... I added in more fishballs! yum yum! This is from Gurney Drive... the huge hawker center at Penang!


Spicy Wan Tan Noodles with "Char Siew"!


On the way home we stopped for more food at Ipoh... the famous steamed chicken!



Bean sprouts...


Tada... assorted chicken livers!!! That's about it folks... we indeed over-indulged over the weekends.. haha! Ok more photos soon... Stay tune!!!! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - A Special Dedication to Someone Special...

This is a very special dedication reaching out to a very special someone. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 2008! :) Thank you for every single little thing. I can never ask for more. :) I'm happy that our paths crossed.

For my fellow blog readers, beware of upcoming spamming photos of us! LOL! Bear with me, I'm just doing this once a year. :P

Memories in 2008....

Our trip to Australia 2 weeks ago! :P


Our trip in Los Angeles & San Francisco in Juy 2008! :)


Our trip to Seattle in Feb!


Bangkok in May...


Hong Kong 2008!


Singapore the kiasu land in 2008!


Port Dickson!!!!!!


Memories in 2007...

2007 year end trip to Hong Kong!


Bukit Tinggi...


Cameron Highlands.. :)


Genting... haha! :)


A trip to Kota Kinabalu :)


The food lovers in action in Singapore!


Round 2 trip to Singapore again... :P


Our journey just started here... :)

A trip to the Ocean Beach....

There are heaps of nice beaches in the US. Just chilling around doing nothing and all while enjoying the ocean breeze. That's what defines LIFE!!!!!!!

Ocean Beach is a beach that runs along the west coast of San Francisco, California, United States, at the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to Golden Gate Park, the Richmond District and the Sunset District.

So over to the Ocean beach we headed after our shopping spree at Petaluma Premium Outlets. :)

Sunny evening....


I love the white convertible car we rented... expensive but really nice :P


The ocean beach... with tons of people spending their time relaxing by the beach. Imagine owning a home waking up facing the big blue ocean everyday!


The nice cool vehicle we rented for half a day :)


Weeee :P




Pathway for you to cycle and jog too!


The nice beach...


How you're doing? :P





More photos!



Enjoying the sunny weather :)




More photos soon.. stay tune!!!!!!!!!!!! Big Day tomorrow :)

Shopping @ Petaluma Village, Premium Outlet!

We ate and we shopped till we dropped! Shopping in the US is soooo cheap I tell you. Branded stuff at outlets are sooo cheap you want to buy them all.. LOL! :P

My fave stuff would be Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy, DKNY and many more! Weee... I'm a certified shopaholic! And now having to clear the bills is the worst part of all... hahaha... :P

I did shopped in Los Angeles, but also continued shopping at the San Francisco Premium Outlet! :)

Driving on the highway, about an hour drive to the Petaluma Village. Premium outlets are usually a distance away from the city. You need to get a car to go around....


Nice building on the way there...


Finally here after an hour drive...


Shopping time.......... yeah! :P



Taking some rest.... hehe...


Fion Lee.... a colleague of mine


Travelling partner :)



More shops of named brands...


Putting our goodie bags in the car before continuing for more... tsk tsk :) It's the best theraphy to rest and relax...


Western Dinner we had....

After shopping we came back to the town centre and had a group dinner together at some posh restaurant that I don't remember the name... all I remembered that the food was quite expensive... I rather go shopping with the money we forked out for dinner... kekeke...

Assorted bread as starters...


Red wine... goes perfectly with your steak!


Grilled beef steak, accompanied with vegetables and mashed potatoes...


Grilled salmon...


More beef!


Escargot!A dish of cooked land snails... Don't ask me, I never fancy them :P


Spaghetti Bolognese...


Fresh salad topped with tuna!


Some soup we ordered and shared.... More photos soon... tsk tsk... long day today... have a good day working everyone... looking forward to the weekends... :)

Driving across Golden Gate Bridge!

Ahhh back to more photos of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco. We rented a car and drove across the bridge enjoying the breadth-taking view before making our way to the Petaluma Factory Outlets for more shopping... :)

We rented a car at Thrifty! Renting car is more expensive at San Francisco compared to other cities...


We got a really nice car, white convertible! :P


The view outside :)



The nice white car! :P


The famous bridge... we stopped along a tourist spot for more photos!


Making our way there...


Us!


Overlooking the big blue ocean...


Me Myself & I....



Wide angle lense!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Fion & me! :)


More photos of us and the gang! :)







Lunch time @ Lori's Diner...

Back to the neon lights, flashy architecture, and rock 'n' roll of the fabulous 50's! The interiors and atmosphere of the place brings you back to the old times while enjoying fantastic food!

Lori's Diner was designed to pay homage to the most American of icons: the Hamburger, French Fries, Coca-Cola, Malts and Ice Cream Sodas.

They have burgers, sandwiches, hotdogs, western food and also pizza & pastas!


You can opt to sit along the bar watching your food being cooked! LOL! :P


Nice interior...


Fresh lime juice!


Seafood Marinara... tomato based pasta with assorted seafood... yum yum with ample of cheese too!


Accompanied with bread and butter as starters...


Food Lover :)


The grand entrance..


Shopped at H&M that sold pretty clothes at affordable price considering you're in the US!


More photos soon... :) Have a good week!

Mum & Sis Birthday Lunch @ Kampachi, Equatorial Hotel

A trip to Kampachi is like a trip to heaven. It has a reputation for being an excellent Japanese restaurant serving authentic Japanese cuisines from Sushi to sashimi to grilled delicacies and more!

Kampachi Restaurant was offering buffet lunch on a Sunday and there we headed for mummy and sis's birthday celebrations. Both their birthdays fall on the exact same day! :P

Great atmosphere and pretty quality food considering it's a buffet. Worth trying, I think it's approx RM 100 per pax!

Address: Kampachi Restaurant, Equatorial Hotel, Sultan Ismail , Kuala Lumpur


My 1st serving of sushi and sashimi! I love them and I want to eat them all! LOL! :)


Chicken Sukiyaki with assorted vegetables....


Cawamushi a.k.a steamed egg!


Appetizers... peas!


Grill section!



Fish!!!!!!!!!! From cod fish to salmon and more!


Grilled salmon teppanyaki style topped with crispy garlic :)


Grilled beef...


Udon and teriyaki chicken... yum yum!


The soup section!


Nice Japanese lanterns...



Dorayaki! I opted for the red bean & peanut butter...


Mochi with red bean paste...


Grilled prawns! There goes my cholesterol level :P



My little sis... such a big big girl now...


The special someone and me! :) That's about it folks... more photos soon... have a good weekend!

Ming Fei's Birthday - Dinner @ Milwauke Steak House, Kepong

This birthday post was soooo over due! :P

It was Ming Fei's birthday celebration in early July and the gang headed towards Milwauke Steak House at Kepong for dinner. I love their grilled Salmon and chicken leg! Pretty good stuff at reasonable price too.

Anyway HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY..... :)

YIPEEE! It's Friday today... gosh the week just passed by without realizing again. It's a busy busy day today with meetings, meetings and more meetings! :P Looking forward to rest and relax during the weekends... :)

Chicken Maryland! Side dishes like corn, sausage,mashed potato and salad! :P


Grilled Lamb Chop!


Breaded chicken stuffed with cheese and ham.. this course is damn filling...


Signature fish and chips!


Grilled Ostrich meat...


Lamb Lamb!


My course for the night... grilled salmon!


The girls and birthday boy! My old time buddies from primary school... :)


The couples in action!


Nice chocolate birthday cake!


Us again! :)



The bubbly and hot babe! :)

Calling ALL Developers & Technology Enthutiasts!!!

Hi peeps read on if you're in LOVE with Technology! :)

You are exclusively invited to attend the program briefing for The League of Extraordinary Developers Challenge 2008 (LED Challenge) which will take place next week, from Monday to Thursday (22nd to 25th September 2008) afternoon.

During this event, you will learn about everything you need to know on the LED Challenge as well as how you can leverage on Celcom’s Mobility Solutions Platform (MSP) and Cradle’s entrepreneurship funding in this contest. The industry experts from Microsoft and Cradle Funds will be there to share with you how you can make the most out of the contest, and to realize your true potential.

To register for the event, please RSVP your contact details and the date that you choose to attend to this email (developerleague@celcom.com.my). Don’t forget to give your contact number so they can contact you for further details.

Seats are limited, hurry and sign up now!

Pier 39 & Fishermanwharf!!!

As you're walking 2 blocks down from Pier 39, you'll make your way towards the famous Fishermanwharf - a popular destination featuring rows of seafood restaurants, street vendors, and souvenir stores combined with a major fishing pier.

We stopped by at a nearby cafe for tea and more scenic photos we took around! :)

Experience the horse carriage ride! :P


Pretty white horse :)


Hot and sunny! Great weather!


You also get to fork out more money if you want to rent a bike... hahaha...



Other mode of transports!


Snacks available... you should never miss their clam chowders!


We chose this place for some food, Boudin Bakery and cafe @ Fishermanwharf!


The fresh seafood market!



YEAH! Clam chowder! Approx US 7 for one serving!


More strawberries!


Wooo I wonder who own these bikes...


Seagull...


At the harbour pier front... awesome view... I can just spend my day there doing nothing at all... haha!




Wee.... soooo windy and nice! :)


Crab lovers?


Freshly grilled...



Tourist junction :)



Another mode of transport...


Dream dream dream... I miss the place... :) More photos up soon... :)

Pier 39 - San Francisco!

Back to more photos of Pier 39! This is one my favourite spot at San Francisco aside from the awesome view at Golden Gate Bridge!

PIER 39, San Francisco's Premier Bay Attraction, is a festival marketplace featuring 110 specialty shops and 12 full-service Bay view restaurants serving fresh seafood, California cuisine, and casual fare.

You get to shop for tons of souvenirs here, enjoy the ocean breeze and view and also yummy FOOD around Fishermanwharf and more! :)

I LOVE Strawberries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P


A happy me! :P


Very nice set up stalls here from food and drinks to souvenirs!





You get to board on cruises for rides too...


More shops!


Very very windy as you can see... lol! :P



More photos of the Harbour Front!



Alcatraz! Didn't managed to visit this place as I need to rush to Atlanta the following day! :( I heard the view was beautiful inside....


Harbour Front


Fresh market selling fruits and more! yum yum! Strawberries are my fav!!!!!!!!!!!! :)



Awww the sea lions... haha!




Boat ride taking you over to the Forbse Island Restaurant!




More boats you see! :)


The all time famous Hard Rock Cafe! :)


Yippeee! Shopping time! :P


Random photos :) Ok more next! The yummy food we had at Fishermanwharf just 2 blocks away! :)

Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco!

Finally it's back to the office today after a long long break. Hardly rested after my Australia trip and also business travels to Singapore and Port Dickson. Phew... what a week... :)

I've heard sooo much about the Golden Gate Bridge and having step my foot there was simply amazing! The view was breath taking and simply BEAUTIFUL! :)

This is definitely a must stop tourist spot when you visit San Francisco and not to be missed!

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean.


Overlooking the big blue ocean! :)


More photos of us! This is a great great spot for photos! hehehe...


Love this pic! :P



Huge nice looking rocks...haha!


Me camwhoring as usual... haha! It's a skills I obtained over the years :P



I missed the place sooo much!



Acting cute! :P



How I wish to own a place overlooking the ocean waking up enjoying the ocean breeze... :P


Look far away...


The girls jumping for joy! :P


Bestie & me! :)



One last photo taken by dearie! Nice shot of the sunset! Awww..... It's the start of a brand new week! Lots of work to catch up on... will blog soon... stay tune! :)

Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory

Just got back from Port Dickson yesterday afternoon and off I was snoozing in the evening and was almost late for daddy's birthday dinner at One Utama hotel. tsk tsk... :P Thank GOD I woke up and managed to made it on time.

A big big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dearest daddy who is celebrating his 56th birthday this year. :)

Ok back to more photos of Ghiradelli Chocolate Factory during my trip to San Francisco. I LOVE chocolates and indeed it was Heaven. :P

The Ghiradelli Chocolate Company is a manufacturer and marketer of chocolate premium products. Here you get to enjoy the nice view and yummy ice creams and practically everything made out of chocolate :P

Look at the crowd? People lining up to buy the ice cream... hahaha!


Nice fountain at the main entrance called the mermaid fountain!


A photo of us! :P




The big big factory!


Nice flowers... I just simply love the flowers you see at US! Nicely bloomed! :P



We managed to secure a seat at the shop and there we go ordering their famous ice cream!


Everything was freshly made....


Thick yummy chocolate...


Even waffles were made fresh!


Their extensive menu from ice cream cones to sundaes! :)


Can't remember what we ordered but the portion was HUGE! :)



More ice creams... yum yum... :P



The surroundings...



The big signage at the grand entrance....


Weee... I'm the happiest girl alive :P


Ok that's about it folks... It's the big festival today - Lantern Festival! HAHA! More reunion dinners tonight! Back to work again tomorrow... phew... :P

Next Port Dickson....

I'm up and awake at 4 in the morning needing to start packing some stuff since everyone would need to arrive at Avillion Resort, Port Dickson by 9 am later today... :(

I'm soooo sleepy and tired and gosh I have not even unpacked my stuff from Australia and Singapore... sob sob....

Will be back by late tomorrow... More photos soon... before I realized it weekend would be gone and start the Monday again... :)

Next up would be more photos of Ghiradelli, The Chocolate Factory at San Francisco :) Some photos for your sneak preview :P


Lovely yummy ice creams.... superbly nice :)

Blogging from Kiasu Land... :)

Awwwwwwwww..... the conference finally ended after 2 days. I'm looking forward to get back home sleeping on my bed and no more in hotel rooms. :P

It was a great sharing session and having the opportunity to meet other counterparts from the region like Australia, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Phillipines, Indonesia, Singapore and New Zealand.

Shall be back from kiasu land late tonight... now blogging to kill time while waiting for the flight from Singapore terminal.

More photos soon I promised... Stay tune kayz and have a great week... one more working day tomorrow and I'll be off for my team offsite at Port Dickson on Friday for a 2 days 1 night retreat.

*tired & exhausted* :)

Must post photos from Melbourne... I just LOVE the koalas and kangaroos... sooo CUTE! :P

Back to more US Photos....

Lombard Street - San Francisco

Let's continue with more photos from my trip to US shall we? :) I'll blog more about Australia in a later post. Too many lovely photos for your preview :P

I'm doing some last last minute packing now as I'll be off to Singapore for a 2 days 1 might conference later in the evening. Ok let's zoom in now to Lombard Street, another tourist attraction at San Francisco. We walked and we walked from Coit Tower and made our way to Lombard Street. I could barely feel my legs anymore after that... LOL! :P

Lombard Street begins at Presidio Boulevard inside The Presidio and runs east through the Cow Hollow neighborhood. Here you get expensive and exclusive houses owned by the rich and famous I guess? HAHA! Imagine owning houses here and having thousands of tourists visit it every day... COOL!

Me myself & I on a sunny afternoon...


Travelling partner...


Very nice houses...



My colleague - MK & I


Eda and Edmund! :)


See what I mean???? Having to walk up all the way!! *fainted*


Exhausted but good exercise....


Lombard Street a.k.a the Crooked Street...


More photos of the surroundings...




Nice flowers....


WAH really crooked... :P


Nice shot by dearie.. :) That's about it folks.. Will blog again once I'm back from the land of kiasus.... :)

Back to the land of Malaysia....

Hi peeps, aloha and I'm back finally after a week at Australia... Gosh it was a really tiring trip with lots of actions in place and I'm just dead tired after arriving late last night after all the trauma for the week! :P

First of all Air Asia cancelled our flight last minute on the day we're supposed to take off last Friday, hence I needed to make a last minute arrangement via other airlines available. Can you imagine they cancelled on the same day itself? :( I'm soooo gonna complaint!

The damage was soo much more having to take MAS with a transit over at Singapore before taking on Qantas Airways to Brisbane. No more booking for a long distance flights with Air Asia. Upon arrival at Brisbane airport, we needed to make our way to the Gold Coast airport which was an hour away to board our next domestic flight to Melbourne.

Everything was soooo EXPENSIVE from food to drinks to souvenirs and practically you need to pay for everything you use...

On Qantas airway....


Approx 7 hours flight to Brisbane...zzzz...



Finally arriving.... :)


At Brisbane International awaiting our transit to Gold Coast airport...


Some fast food joints at the airport... FOODDDDDD! I was dead hungry...


Snack time while waiting for our flight to Melbourne... yummy black pepper meat pie... Eating with Aussie dollars is no fun... everything is freaking expensive... this pie alone cost about RM 20! hahaha.. :P



Old style omelete with cheese, tomatoes and ham...


We flew via jetstar from Gold Coast to Melbourne... another 2 hours flight... zzzz...



I shall blog more laterz.... so what we did upon arrival in Melbourne? Stay tune.... I have to unpack and start packing again as I'll be leaving to Singapore on Monday night for a conference... sigh....