2000 red and golden lanterns, nine giant longevity koi, 12 Chinese Zodiac characters set the Chinese New Year decoration to a prosperous, auspicious and lively atmosphere.

Yes. Pavilion KL did all above for their CNY decoration. The theme of this year is  Circles of Prosperity, with a giant coin at Centre Court.

Rows of lantern.

A post shared by Matt Siow (@matt.siow) on Feb 7, 2013 at 1:57am PST

Cool snake, a mutant.

A post shared by Matt Siow (@matt.siow) on Feb 7, 2013 at 2:19am PST

Each of the Chinese zodiac comes with fortune rating at bottom. For Goat, it doesn't seem to be good. *sad*

Besides, you will expect Count The Koi Blessings at Centre Court. A symbol of affluence and victory, the 9 Longevity Kois circling a giant golden coin bestows fortune and long life for everyone.

Bridge of prosperity and longevity

A post shared by Matt Siow (@matt.siow) on Feb 7, 2013 at 2:41am PST

This impressive bridge is 10.6m long and 2.4m wide, by crossing the Bridge of Prosperity, your wallet will be thicker with bank notes. hahahah

Golden lanterns

A post shared by Matt Siow (@matt.siow) on Feb 7, 2013 at 2:06am PST

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Follow me at Instagram @Matt Siow

Note: Copyright of all photos in this post belongs to me. Any form of reproduce must have consent from me.

The 2012 Christmas season is back and all the malls have put up trees, ornaments, lights and whichever suitable as decoration.

For this year Mid Valley Megamall decided to use old village as their theme.

It comprises of Barn at North Court, Log Cabin at Centre Court and Art Crafty & Christmas workshop at South Court.

#1 Overview of Mid Valley Centre Court

#2 Log cabin at Centre Court

A log cabin is a house built from logs.

#3 A plush bear sitting in the cabin.

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

As you can see, there are quite a number of bird house around.

#9

#10

#11 North Court: Barn

A closer look at the left of this barn, you can see there is a moving wheel to draw water.

In overall, the whole theme is interesting and display how Christmas is being celebrated in traditional days. The lighting used for the trees is not lively, a bit dull to look on.

Starbucks Malaysia will be offering complimentary grande size Frappuccino when you check-in to Foursquare at any Starbucks store during Earth Hour from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on March 31, 2012.


So that's the reward for you guys during Earth Hour.

But what is Earth Hour all about?

Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature, also known as World Wildlife Fund) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Source: Wikipedia

Where Earth Hour began?

In 2007, WWF-Australia inspired Sydney-siders to show their support for climate change action in the first ever Earth Hour event. It showed that everyone, from children to CEOs and politicians, has the power to change the world they live in. In Sydney, Australia, 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights out for one hour to take a stand against climate change.

We in Malaysia celebrated the first Earth Hour on March 28, 2009.

Source: Earth Hour website

You want to play a role in this Earth Hour?

Firstly, reduce the electricity consumption at all time; efficiency please!

Next, spread out the message (like a virus) with 4 steps:

Step 1
Invite your friends and colleagues to like Facebook Page

Step 2
Post this to your Facebook wall to let your friends know you’re part of the world’s largest grassroots environmental movement. "I'm switching off the lights for Earth Hour. Show your support too at http://earthhour.org"

Step 3
Tweet this to show your support and use the hashtag #EarthHour in all your Earth Hour tweets. "@earthhour I'm switching off the lights for #earthhour. Show your support too at http://earthhour.org"

Step 4
Find your local Earth Hour Meetup group and invite your friends and family to join too.

The campaign's website, wwf.org.my, allows Malaysians to make “go green” pledges.




That's all for this post, long and complicated enough.

Switch off your lights!!

As I have tweeted earlier; "Planning to write 12 (twelve) posts for this Christmas month". I will kick off the 2nd post out of 12 posts.


So what is so special about these 12 posts?

First came into my mind is, it is month of December which is the 12th month in a year.

Second, I treat it as gifting posts where we suppose *forcing to exchange gifts in the upcoming Christmas and celebration for 2012.

What am I going to blog about? I don't plan ahead #lost direction, but it's roughly on Christmas decoration, food and travel.

And I have 'alive-line' to finish up by this Dec 31. Quality matters most!

Hopefully I will not disappoint all of you who read my blog.

Trivia about number 12

> There are 12 months in a year.
> Time is measured in two groups of 12 hours

> The Twelve days of Christmas
Source: Wikipedia

> Twelve people have walked on the moon
> Magnesium has the Atomic number 12

So this is the end of second (2) post. Stay tuned for third (3) post #advertisement time and any suggestions, I am more than welcomed.

First (1) post: Johor Premium Outlets
Third (3) post: Instagram is coming to Android

Currently McD is running Limited Edition Coca-Cola Can Glass contests.



Be the first 125 to win a set of Limited Edition Coca-Cola can glasses from 15th to 27th April 2011. Happening right here at 1:25pm daily. Only at McDonald's!

And yes I won it today coming position 22nd. Cool, I can redeem the whole set for FOC



I can said it's lucky no.2 because today was my second try after yesterday failure and I come in 22nd out of 125.

This contest is easy and an interesting collection although I didn't have the Olympic Coca-Cola collection. All you need is enter the apps at 1.25 pm (heavy traffic), register then tag 50 friends and see whether you are in top 125.

You can just join by entering McDonald's Malaysia fanpage.

Here we go, the photos of part of decoration at my house.

Bunnies everywhere in Malls in celebration of CNY (The Star)

Saturday January 22, 2011

By Oh Ing Yeen
Photos by Low Lay Phon

RABBITS are hopping about the malls this Chinese New Year as it is the Year of the Rabbit.

Incorporating cute bunnies into their theme, many malls are decked with rabbit statues, motifs and some even have rabbits for visitors to see and play with.

While some malls are decorated with a splash of red, others are going for a pink scheme as Valentine’s Day also falls within the lunar new year season.

Say cheese!: Charlie Allen from Swanage, England, taking a photo of his wife Joyce next to one of the huge rabbit statues in front of Sungei Wang Plaza.

Sungei Wang Plaza

Five huge rabbit statues in pink, red, yellow, gold and orange are displayed along the Fiesta Street to welcome shoppers.

The theme is Springtime Expressions. The stage is transformed into a training ground of a wushu academy, with beautifully carved pillars, flags with Chinese characters and a Chinese-styled roof. The flags are akin to those at a wushu academy but with auspicious words on it instead. This is where the wushu performances by the Wushu Federation of Kuala Lumpur will take place,

Along the walkways, red lanterns are hung from frames ornamented with Chinese knots.

Berjaya Times Square

Be greeted by a pair of mystical lions guarding the vermillion entrance gate as you make your way past the classic-arched doorway into the courtyard along the pathway and admire the traditional Chinese architecture.

Themed “A Reunion of Tradition”, the main attraction is the gigantic dinner table at the Courtyard measuring 3m in diameter, showcasing 15 auspicious dishes often served during the lunar new year. Be marvelled at the realistic food replicas, displayed on two rotating tiers.

The railings are decorated with red cloth and majestic-looking lanterns hang from the ceiling.

Sunway Pyramid

Sunway Pyramid brings a sweet nostalgic touch of the 60s with a diversified street market consisting of pushcart and basket peddlers and kiosks selling porridge, yau char kwai, bubble tea, Chinese New Year hampers, decorations, cheongsam, samfu, food, titbits and gifts.

At the stage area, the 4.9m giant Chinese Opera heads are an eye-catching feature. One can also watch the various Chinese Opera performances such as Chinese Opera: Lady White Snake and Chinese Contemporary Dance: The Warlord and the Concubine.

The main highlight is the Fleurs’ Spring Flower Market where a variety of flowers and auspicious plants are available for sale.

Mid Valley Megamall

If you have yet to get your preparation started, make a visit to Mid Valley Megamall’s Chinese Spring Village from now until Feb 6.

The mall has transformed their ground floor into a Chinese Spring Village setting with replicas of traditional building. The whole setting is complimented with blooming cherry blossoms, red lanterns, craft galleries and rows of street vendors and carts offering Chinese New Year must-haves.

In the mood: Delicate paper cuttings, oriental lanterns and well-lit cherry blossom trees enhance the ambience of the Curve’s theme ‘The Joys of Spring’.

The Curve

Themed The Joys of Spring, this year’s Chinese New Year campaign celebrates the popular symbols of spring. Shoppers can look forward to seeing Chinese paper-cuttings throughout the mall incorporating the various Chinese zodiac signs as well as delicate oriental lanterns. The main highlight of these paper-cuttings is the zodiac sign of the Rabbit, which is known in Chinese culture as the wise and affectionate animal. Well-lit cherry blossom trees also add a delightful display of colours to enhance the celebrative ambience.

For more information, contact the Curve’s Customer Care Officers at 03-7710 6868.

1 Utama

Centred on the Chinese word “Hei”, which means double happiness, 1Utama has set an auspicious theme for the Chinese New Year celebrations from Jan 12 to Feb 6.

The shopping centre is dressed in cheery pink, pearl white and gold. Pastel lanterns line the walkways, while fresh flowers, chrysanthemums and peonies provide bursts of cheery bright colours. Have a feel of walking in the air as part of the flooring is decorated with Chinese-style clouds and the Chinese word ‘Hei’.

Tropicana City Mall

Chinese New Year is in full bloom at Tropicana City Mall, adorned with beautiful oriental motifs and peach blossoms around the mall. In line with its peach blossom theme and in conjunction with Valentine’s Day, a pink colour palette is chosen, for a fresh and sweet touch. A peach blossom arch greets shoppers at the entrance and cherry blossom lanterns are hung from the ceiling and along the walkway.

Go down memory lane: Take a walk along the Chinese Village in Cheras Leisure Mall for the nostalgia of the good old days.

Live bunnies are also on display. To usher in the Year of the Rabbit, a line-up of good fortune offerings and exciting events await all at the mall until Feb 20.

Cheras Leisure Mall

Take a walk along the Chinese Village in Cheras Leisure Mall for the nostalgia of the good old days. Six two-storey traditional shophouses are set up, where CNY cookies are sold. Banners with auspicious greetings hang from the ceilings. The link bridge at the mall is also decorated with cherry blossoms, providing many photo opportunities.

Bangsar Shopping Centre

Bangsar Shopping Centre incorporates elements of the Forbidden City and Wuzhen, an ancient water town in China.

The gazebo and bridge with Chinese elements further enhances the traditional Chinese ambience.

Walk further into the mall and you will see a rabbit section with 16 rabbits of the Netherland Dwarf, Holland Lop and Dwarf Hotot breeds.

The exterior of the mall is decked in lanterns to liven up the festive spirit.

Pavilion

Tubby Prosperity Rabbits greet shoppers at the entrance of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur with two 2.4m rabbits at the Bukit Bintang entrance and two 1.2m ones at the Porte Cochere entrance. There are 500 red lanterns throughout the mall and 188 hanging at Spanish Steps. The oriental lion head display by the Kiew brothers feature 12 lion heads and 11 drums display. The giant Lion Head is 10 times larger than average, measuring 2.1m high and 2.7m wide. The different coloured lion heads represent the different clans in Chinese history. In addition, there are peony arrangements throughout the mall.

Kids attraction: (from Left) Lola, Bugs Bunny, Tweety & Slyvester and their carrot house at The Mines.

Take a stroll down the Cherry Blossom Walk especially during the night to admire the decorations and lights.

The Mines

The Mines is bringing the evergreen international cartoon character — Bugs Bunny and his lovely Looney Tunes friends — Tweety and Sylvester in their stylish yet traditional Chinese New Year costumes to spread good luck and celebrate this festive season with shoppers. Themed as “A Prosperity Chinese New Year with Bugs Bunny”, the mall has been transformed into a marvel Bugs Bunny’s carrot house, with eye-catching red lanterns to complement the festive mood. The peak limelight of the decoration is none other than the gigantic carrots, a symbol of good fortune, prosperity and longevity in Chinese culture.

Fahrenheit 88

Red rabbits run amok in Fahrenheit 88. Placed within floral arrangements, the red rabbits are shown in various poses, providing shoppers many photo opportunities. Red and pink diamond-shaped lanterns adorned with tassels hung from the top.

It’ that time of the year again to toss Mandarin oranges into the sea, or river as the case may be. Today is Chap Goh Meh, the 15th and last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations. Chap Goh Meh or Yuen Xiao in Mandarin is also the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day.

The practice of tossing Mandarin oranges is uniquely Malaysian. To be precise, it originated in Penang where unmarried women would gather at the seaside on the night of Chap Goh Mei. There, they would toss oranges into the sea, hoping the fruits would be picked up by eligible young men who would then become their husbands.

In China and Taiwan, the 15th day of the new lunar year is also known as the lantern festival, and streets and temples there would be decorated with giant paper lanterns.

New twist: Men tossing 'banana'

When it comes to romance, the Chinese celebrate “Valentine’s Day” three times a year.

The first two (Valentine and Chap Goh Meh) are quite common but there is actually one we missed out. They can also look forward to Qi Xi, the day when Qi Jie, the weaver girl from Heaven, is allowed to meet her lover Niulang on the seventh day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar.

According to legend, magpies would form a bridge across the Milky Way to make it possible for Qi Jie to meet her lover. The lovers were separated by the God of Heaven when He found out that the girl, who is a fairy from Heaven, had married a man on Earth. Thus, the day they meet is also regarded as a Chinese Valentine’s Day to commemorate the eternal love between the two.

At the stroke of midnight (Feb 21), the “Jade Emperor celebrated” his birthday, which was on the ninth day of the Chinese New Year. Can refer as 'Bai Tin Gong'

Until early this morning, the temple was filled with smoke as devotees inched their way around holding joss sticks above their heads.

Grand event: Devotees and visitors thronging Chew Jetty where a shrine-like structure called the Gate of Heaven was set up for the Jade Emperor God’s birthday

The annual thanksgiving day is a grand occasion for the dominant Hokkien community in Penang.

At the Tai Kong Tong Temple, more than 800 beggars and homeless folk were treated to a meal of rice, chicken, fish, egg and vegetables.

Offerings like roast piglets, rice wine, ang koo (bean paste cakes), mee koo (red tortoise buns) and huat kuih (prosperity cakes) were surrounded by towering “dragon” joss sticks and sugar cane stalks.

Despite having to pay more for the sugar cane this year the “must have” item was offered in abundance to the deity.

Story behind
According to a folklore, Hokkiens in Fujian province sought refuge in a sugar cane plantation when they were attacked during the Sung Dynasty.

They emerged unharmed nine days later and offered sugar cane to the Jade Emperor God as thanksgiving.

Source: Thousands of Hokkiens pay homage to deity

Major malls in KL have prepared up to welcome the Year of Tiger. The festive spirit is further boom by various state-of art work by artists.

So are you ready to usher the new year. I stressed that I'm not bothered about the "Fu" (Tiger)  which mean bitter or bad. But I see tiger as strong, brave animal which can rock the slow pace economy and health to all.

Overseas wonder: The decorations outside Pavilion are lit up at night.

Traditional: A few adorable Cloth Tigers dominate the main concourse to spread the festive cheer at Sunway Pyramid.

Some of these festive must-haves are symbolic to everyone who celebrates.

Ang Pow
Ang pow-giving is a customary practice during Chinese New Year, where red packets or envelopes with money inside are given out by married individuals to those who are not married, especially the children. Giving the ang pow is a symbol of goodwill to bless the children with health and good fortune in their studies or jobs. The ang pow colour is usually red, which means good luck and prosperity.

Mandarin Oranges
In Cantonese, mandarin oranges are known as kam, which means gold and these are must-haves as they signify wealth and good fortune to come. These days, mandarin oranges come in boxes flown in from China and are given away as gifts to friends and relatives.

Lion Dance
The lion dance is a form of traditional performance in Chinese culture that has become ubiquitous during Chinese New Year to ward away evil spirits. These days, lion dances are also performed during opening or launching ceremonies and special functions.

Tasty treats: Yee Sang and Nian Gao (below) are among the must-haves in the food department.

Lanterns
The lighting of lanterns symbolise brightness that brings hope and luck, and homes as well as temples will be lit up with these during the celebration period.

God of Prosperity
Chinese New Year has to do with everything auspicious and everyone looks forward to the God of Prosperity making his appearances to bring good luck and blessings like giving out sweets, mandarin oranges and also ang pow.

Bamboo
These days, handy and decorative bamboo plants or twisted bamboo canes are among the must-haves for the home, as bamboo is said to symbolise resilience, nobility and longevity.

Yee Sang
This multi-coloured raw fish salad makes its presence during Chinese New Year where it is tossed with friends and family members, and the higher one tosses, the better it is as it signifies greater fortunes. Fish, or yu, stands for abundance or excess and surplus of luck and wealth through this new year.


Nian Gao (Sticky Cake)
The sticky pudding, where the Chinese characters nian and gao translate to year high or tall, respectively, is eaten to symbolise the “raising of oneself” in each coming year, as with the Chinese saying Nian nian gao sheng (or higher leaps every year).

Everything Red
Red is an important colour as it is supposed to give good luck, which is favoured by the Chinese, especially during this festive period when you go house visiting.

However, red is not played up as much these days.

Vegetables
Price of vegetables that is believed symbolise good tidings are expected to go up (30 %) as higher demand and lower supply.

These include pak choy (cabbage – which gives the meaning of wealth), sang choy (lettuce – longevity), spring onions (chung – wisdom) and leeks (suan, which rhymes with “counting” in Mandarin).

Mandarin oranges stay affordable
A container of mandarin oranges cost US$1,500 (RM5,000) compared with US$1,200 (RM4,000) last year.

The difference of US$300 is about RM1,000, making a box of mandarin oranges dearer by about RM2 compared with prices last year.

Best asam laksa
I'm interested to read On The Beat section which highlights the best asam laksa in country. So here is the quote:

Sparkle of magic as we get together (The Star)

The roads in Penang normally come to a gridlock especially on the second day of CNY as tourists start to make their way here.

My family house is in Kampung Melayu, Air Itam, which is not too far from the Kek Lok Si pagoda temple and Penang Hill.

It’s a lot worse for Penangites staying in Tanjung Tokong and Tanjung Bungah with traffic on the road leading to the hotels in Batu Feringghi almost certain to come to a standstill. The asam laksa at the nearby wet market (Paya Terubong), I swear, has to be the country’s best

I spend my Christmas eve with my family at home. nothing much to do. We went tot Jusco Seremban 2 at Christmas night with mum and sister. Mum bought a shirt for CNY.

On Boxing Day, after went to Ah Poh's house, night my family have steamboat buffet + bbq at Lobak. Lots of choices include seafood, meat, vegetables and desert. Its RM 18++ per person.

Since its buffet, of course get the 'exotic' food first. I eaten most BBQ: fish, chicken wings, calamari and prawns. The soup base has two flavours, one is chicken soup and tom yum.

The restaurant

Choices of fresh food

DF Restaurant of Steamboat
Taman Permata
70200 Seremban
Negeri Sembilan

This new year, I'll be going to Times Square on Friday.. So sad to countdown myself.

Year 2009 will end in 3 days, so fast *dreaming.

Jusco Seremban 2