Sibu Trip - Birthday

On Dec 26 night we had a small gathering of close friends and relatives at Sheraton Restaurant to celebrate the birthday of my parents-in-law.

Though the birth dates of my parents-in-law are different, my wife (being the eldest daughter in the family) decided to celebrate the occasion on this day when most of the immediate family members could attend. For birthdays, the first dish was of course the indispensible mee suah. This fried version was served with boiled eggs and black chicken soup. It was superb! I like the Eight-Treasures warm all the time. The pan-fried black cod was beautifully cooked! No wonder my parents-in-law couldn't stop smiling! The #1 daughter-in-law from Brunei serving. This is the best yam cake dessert I've ever tasted! Roseline's youngest sister with her hubby. The beautiful dutiful daughters with their loving parents and Second Aunty. Sa-rang-hae-yo! Two nice shots for the family album!

Training in Kuching

Aaron together with his colleagues left for Kuching early this morning. They will commence their first module of 40 hours of intensive training organized by their firm from tomorrow until Friday.

Praise God for my friend and ex-cell group member Vincent in Kuching! He kindly fetched Aaron at the airport upon arrival and proceeded to worship together at Trinity Methodist Church. Thanks Vincent!

Photo showing Roseline together with Aaron and his colleagues at the airport this morning.

Abel's birthday and Chap Goh Meh

Last night we celebrated Abel's birthday and Chap Goh Meh dinner simultaneously. We had a good private time together as a cohesive family. Abel, may God's blessings always be upon you. You are a good wonderfully awesome son and we love you very much.

And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Ephesians 2:22 NIV

Time really flies. It seems like only yesterday when Abel and I looked like this. xD

Small and cosy

Aaron invited some of his ex-classmates from St. Joseph's Miri over for dinner last night. We could tell that they were delighted to see each other again. It was a small and cosy birthday gathering. We were also so glad to have Pastor Connie Yong and her sister, and our church member Lucy Kong in our midst too.

Happy birthday son!

Today is the birthday of our eldest son! Aaron was born on the auspicious 7th day of the Chinese New Year in 1986.

Aaron, we ask that
The Lord bless you and take care of you;
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6.24-26


Here's how Aaron looked like when he was young. Pic taken with his Grandma and Mom.

A New Year in Feb

Yes, we're back! Gong Xi Fa Cai everyone!

We celebrated a wonderful new year in February. Obviously my in-laws were very glad to see all of us and their grandchildren congregating at their home in Sibu.

Chinese New Year is also very much a special time which families and extended families get together.


Preparation for the reunion dinner was hectic but fun. I relaxed and pretended to be busy in the kitchen majoring in minor things (like taking pics). This year our celebrity chef was Roseline's younger Bro 2, Jimmy from Kota Kinabalu. Whenever Jimmy's in the kitchen, you can take a nap and still be assured of getting quality food! Two thumbs up to Bro 2!


Mary from Brunei, and wife of Roseline's younger Bro 1 also displayed a fraction of her culinary prowess when she cooked Cream of Fresh Mushrooms soup. The taste was heavenly! Ichiban!


And the 4 kg Roast Lamb leg Mary cooked! I've never tasted better roast! Of course, I begged her for the recipes. Now with the secret in my hands, watch out for my tryout on these 2 favorite dishes my sons love! By the way, would you like to be my food tester?


To symbolize abundance, prosperity and vigor we had yusheng as the first dish during the New Year Eve's dinner. For side dishes, we had steamboat with a combination of seafood. My father-in-law, worried as usual that there would insufficient food to go around, secretly ordered a 8-course dinner takeaway without our knowledge! He was quick to remind us - it is customary to nian nian you yu! Yes sir, point noted!


Roseline has 3 younger sisters; Lucy, Elisabeth and Karen. It's great to meet up with Lucy (Sis 2) whom I haven't seen for a few years. Karen (holding the orange) is the youngest. Absent in the pic was Elizabeth (Sis 3, residing in Sydney) who promised to be back next year with her beautiful family!


My nephews and niece Lee Ching had a fantastic time of fellowship with Aaron and Abel. As they grow up and move forward, it is inevitable that they will see less of each other while pursuing their own dreams and aspirations. My niece Abby was fondly missed for the first time in such a reunion because she had to go to Perth earlier. But we were compensated with a bonus when Lucy's sons (whom we have missed for ages) Sean (studying in Florida) and Simon (studying in Perth) joined us.


We had an awesome time when we visited the cosy home of our family friends Thomas and Josephine. The temptation not to jam when you are with the Lings is difficult to resist; we had a good time doing Praise and Worship. May the Lord continually bless this gifted family of musicians who serve Sibu Wesley Methodist Church faithfully! Watch the jamming clip at my YouTube.

You are most welcome to view more Chinese New Year pics here.

Happy Chinese New Year 2008!

This is the first time we are doing a Chinese New Year greeting through blog.

As you can see, I managed to capture some poses of my family as they were getting ready for the photo shoot.
May the New Year bring you good health, prosperity and abundant blessings!

Happy 2008!

Happy 2008 everyone!

Don't laugh. My two sons and I were pampered to a botanical masque early this morning at home! You should rejuvenate and revitalize your complexion on the first day of the year, said my wife. No smiling, no talking while the masque is being applied. As you can see, we were very obedient.

As I surfed the net for fresh ideas on New Year's resolutions earlier on, I stumbled onto a new word 'wordsmith'. Interesting! It is what you become - a 'wordsmith' when you have failed to meet the first goal in your New Year resolutions, according to Lake Superior State University's annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness. Alamak, I immediately realized I have been a 'wordsmith' all these years.