My Lost Youth - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Often I think of the beautiful town

That is seated by the sea;

Often in thought go up and down
The pleasant streets of that dear old town,

And my youth comes back to me.

And a verse of a Lapland song

Is haunting my memory still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I can see the shadowy lines of its trees,

And catch, in sudden gleams,

The sheen of the far-surrounding seas,

And islands that were the Hesperides

Of all my boyish dreams.

And the burden of that old song,

It murmurs and whispers still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I remember the black wharves and the ships,

And the sea-tides tossing free;

And Spanish sailors with bearded lips,

And the beauty and mystery of the ships,

And the magic of the sea.

And the voice of that wayward song

Is singing and saying still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I remember the bulwarks by the shore,

And the fort upon the hill;

The sunrise gun, with its hollow roar,

The drum-beat repeated o'er and o'er,

And the bugle wild and shrill.

And the music of that old song

Throbs in my memory still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I remember the sea-fight far away,

How it thundered o'er the tide!

And the dead captains, as they lay

In their graves, o'erlooking the tranquil bay

Where they in battle died.

And the sound of that mournful song

Goes through me with a thrill:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I can see the breezy dome of groves,

The shadows of Deering's Woods;

And the friendships old and the early loves

Come back with a Sabbath sound, as of doves

In quiet neighborhoods.

And the verse of that sweet old song,

It flutters and murmurs still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

I remember the gleams and glooms that dart

Across the school-boy's brain;

The song and the silence in the heart,

That in part are prophecies, and in part

Are longings wild and vain.

And the voice of that fitful song

Sings on, and is never still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

There are things of which I may not speak;

There are dreams that cannot die;

There are thoughts that make the strong heart weak,

And bring a pallor into the cheek,

And a mist before the eye.

And the words of that fatal song

Come over me like a chill:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

Strange to me now are the forms I meet

When I visit the dear old town;

But the native air is pure and sweet,

And the trees that o'ershadow each well-known street,

As they balance up and down,

Are singing the beautiful song,

Are sighing and whispering still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

And Deering's Woods are fresh and fair,

And with joy that is almost pain

My heart goes back to wander there,

And among the dreams of the days that were,

I find my lost youth again.

And the strange and beautiful song,

The groves are repeating it still:

"A boy's will is the wind's will,

And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

Experimenting Pizza

My kids love eating pizza and knowing how picky my kids are, I'm thinking of making my own version of pizza. Well, there are so much of ready made pizza base, pasta sauces and such available in the supermarket. What I need to do is just pick and pay.
Furthermore someone once told me too much experimenting will risk much time and effort on. Rather than failed after putting much effort in it, might as well we do the instant way.
I kinda agree with it. Anyway, I am certainly not a chef, just a mummy of two. And my kids love to pick food that they don't like. Rather than wasting it, might as well I made food that they will eat.

Seafood pizza, where I uses frozen pizza base, spread on some pasta sauce. Topped with some diced crab meat and loads of prawns. Then I drizzled some thousand island sauce for more taste and covered with manually grated cheese...loads of them as my kids love cheese.

For my preferred pizza, I uses tortilla bread for the thin and crispy effect. But because I put too much sauce, the based became a bit soggy. This pizza is having chicken pepperoni, pineapple , loads of black olive and covered them with cheese which I manually grated.

p.s. this picture is taken with my hp hence the quality is as such.

An Afternoon at the Street Market

Last Sunday, Alya and I went to the Curve. The purpose is to find things for her school project. Not that I couldn't find the things that she wanted around my area but being me, Curve is always the place for me to look for "things". Well, I called this "mother - daugther bonding time".

After tired walking around the market, we shared Ice Shaken Lemonade with a cake for our afternoon tea.

Al Rawsha Restaurant

First time I had dinner at Al Rawsha was 2 years ago. My ex-schoolmate invited me for a gathering at Al Rawsha and during that time the restaurant was located somewhere along Jalan Aman which is quite near to our old alma mater.

Then I got to know that it has moved to a bigger place near Jalan Kg. Pandan. And I'm really impressed with the new building and how they decorated the place. It is much more spacious and the ambiance is really nice.

This restaurant is name after a famous legendary rock in Beirut, Lebanon. It is said that the cliff overlooking the rock is famous for its restaurants, which serves exquisite Lebanan cuisines.

I took this picture from inside the car hence you can see a shadow overpowering the building.

It is like walking into an Egyptian neighbourhood and it smells so nice. What is missing is just belly dancers performing to the guests.

They have an upper level seating area if the patronage exceeded the capacity for the lower level seating area.

At the middle of the building is the place for the drinks to be prepared.

List of delectable food for those who like middle eastern cuisines.

When the food arrived, I forgot to snap a picture so what's left is just the pan fried chicken and the bread.
The bread is excellent and the chicken is really nice.

Al Rawsha Restaurant

No 8, Jalan Kampung Pandan
55100 Kuala Lumpur
website: www.alrawshakl.com
email: rawsha.restaurant @ gmail.com
Tel : 03-9200 6600
Fax: 03-9281 4585

Pancake Anyone?

My kids have started complaining about the lack of  their mummy preparing breakfast. They said canteen food is too little portion for them and cannot satisfy their hunger.

Ok...ok.. I know I haven't gotten the energy to make breakfast for them recently. So I tell myself, this has to stop. So for the past few days, I have been making something for them.

Last couple of days, I cooked porridge late in the evening so that they could eat before go to school and bring some for their break.

Yesterday evening, I prepared extra rice and some dishes so that they could bring in the morning. And this morning, I made some pancake for them using the premix that I got from Cold Storage.

I got some small packet of maple syrup for them to eat with.

I know, it doesn't look appealing enough compare to other online cooking that had been blogged. Will try to improve them.

Anne Klein Watch

Bought myself a watch via online website. It is a pre-order purchased and I waited for only couple of weeks for it. Nothing fancy, just something simple.

Come to think of it, I didn't actually plan to purchase anything when I was browsing the net. I was bored to the skull when I came across this particular watch and it striked me that this piece maybe the one that I want. Funny isn't it how we tend to justify things that actually is not essential for us.

Garlic Toast @ ChillaCup

When I feel like having some unconventional garlic toast bread. Off I went to ChillaCup (as this is the only coffee shop that open from 7am besides mamak's restaurant) and I order garlic toast bread.

From my observation, ChillaCup is using the big toaster (something like what the hotels are having) hence the toast comes out looks like it has been oven baked.

For this garlic toast bread, they cut the thick bread into two slices and slide in cheese (not sure what type but it is delicious). Then they toasted it with some parsley sprinkled on top, thereafter they drizzled some maple syrup. I believe the maple syrup gave the distinguished taste that differentiate their garlic toast bread from others.

But hey, I think we have our own taste bud. What may seems delicious to me might be so and so for others.
You gotta experience it yourself.

Midnite rambling.....

My sister has gone back and naturally I would feel sad to see her go. Of all the three sisters that I have, she is the closest to me. And she really took care me.

The sadness didn't appear on instantly. It would be creeping slowly few days after she left. By then I would be feeling melancholy and until I shed some tears, this feeling won't go away.

Foolish it may seems but that's who I am.

Breakfast @ Chilla Cup

After a month of fasting, I craved for morning coffee and English style breakfast. And ChillaCup has nice coffee with good choices of breakfast. Plus they open from 7am so it fit perfectly into my morning schedule.

Each paid customer will be given a ChillaBuzz and once their food is ready, the customer will be buzzed and they would need to collect their food at the counter.

Excellent taste of Americano, drink it black or add some milk for creamier taste.

I chose scrambled eggs, baked beans and sauteed mushroom to accompany the toasted bread. They do have brisket, grilled tomatoes or has brown for other option.

I love to eat my toasted bread with maple syrup.



Big Bad Wolf 2011

Ever since I got to know about BBW annual event, I have been waiting for it restlessly. Once they announced the date, I have marked my calendar so that I won't forget about it.

This time, they have it at MAEPS, Serdang.

I reached MAEPS around 10.10am, the crowds have already gone in and the queue is not that long.

There is about 1.5 million books available to choose from. Just outside the entrance, I could smell the books and I felt like I was transported into another world of books....and books alone.

I'm totally lost in it. I love the smell of the books.



Once I stepped out the hall, I can see a long queue to enter the hall.

There it is ...my precious.....muahahahahaahahah!!!

Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line


Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.