Buds, Blooms & Petals...

Breathtaking... Bali (2008)

2009-06-14T16:46:00.009+08:00

Thought I would share some nice photos from my trip to Bali last year.
We had a great stay at The Ritz-Carlton located at Jimbaran, on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

View from the walkway to the famous Spa on the Rock at the resort.

So green & relaxing ...

Silverish rays from the sky illuminating the vast ocean.

Koi fish swimming playfully.

Sunset from the lounge...

Beautiful blooms among the attraction in the resort.

A day trip to Ubud is just not enough. Look at the inviting padi fields... lush green... feels like heaven.

Delectable ice-cream from a shop in Kuta.

Hippeastrum

2009-06-14T16:11:00.005+08:00

My aunt has "green fingers"- whatever she plants grow abundantly in her garden.

Here's a blooming attractive hippeastrum, or popularly known as amaryllis.

Ain't this screaming for attention?

Serene Tanjong Jara Resort

2009-06-10T16:22:00.008+08:00

Just been to the east coast last month... what a nice getaway from the city to a land of slow & steady.

Kereta beca, anyone???

Settee for a lazy lounging by the sea.

Blue sea & sky welcoming us... such peace & beauty.

Flowers from the garden adorn the koi pond at the Spa Village.

have you been to the latest bar in town?

2009-06-10T16:06:00.003+08:00

Come lah visit my bar http://thepetalsbar.blogspot.com/
More designs will be posted soon ...

the petals bar

2009-05-15T13:28:00.004+08:00

introducing ...

flowers by dana

Flowers for special celebrations...

2009-05-05T17:14:00.010+08:00

These are two bouquets of carnations that I made for Mother's Day & a birthday celebration. Thanks Mei Wah for helping with the order & delivery.

One of my favourites- a simple round bouquet wrapped in banana leaf. Altogether 12 stalks of blooms, surrounded by fillers of statice, yellow peacock and bear leaf with Song of India (that's the yellowish green leave). Final layer are some 5-finger leaves to enhance the shape of the bouquet.

This is a 6-stalk carnations decorated with the same fillers and foliage. A touch of golden ribbon gives an elegant look to the bouquet.

Bed of ribbons...

2009-05-05T17:06:00.003+08:00

Ribbons, ribbons, ribbons... am glad with all these colourful ribbons that I made, especially the gold ones. The material is very hard, making it tough to twist or tied, but the end result is very satisfactory :)

Now I have many choices for all the bouquets...

Flowers for Wonderkitten

2009-05-05T16:56:00.006+08:00

This is a table arrangement that I designed for Wonderkitten http://wonderkitten.blogspot.com/, in conjunction with Pipit Wonderful Market.

Glad that you love this gift, Lois.

The event was held at Berjaya Time Square last Saturday. A monthly bazaar for artist & designers to showcase their creativity & skills, this is the event to mark in your calendar if you are looking out for interesting apparels, jewelleries, hand-craft, stationeries etc.

Breathtaking... Kenya (2005)

2009-05-03T22:05:00.003+08:00

I took this amazing sunset while on safari in Masai Mara National Park.

This is Crater Lake, tucked away in a hidden corner of Kenya's Great Rift Valley. There's a certain volcanic chemical that makes the water so green.

I'll post more photos once I locate the album.

Breathtaking... Kyoto, Japan (2004)

2009-04-30T22:18:00.011+08:00

Some gorgeous flowers and garden during my visit to Kyoto in Sept 2004.

2009-04-30T19:52:00.007+08:00

Hot & fresh from the wok, these are some of our favourite dishes that we always order when we have dinner at one of the restaurant in Seputeh.

Choong Kee Seafood Restaurant is a very simple, your local Chinese eatery that serves good delicious food to the community around the area.

They also serve this "dan-tong" (steam soup) in ceramic bowls. The selection is different everyday. From watercress with kei-chi soup, lotus roots with peanuts soup, herbal soup to ABC ham-choy soup- all cooked slowly with delectable pork ribs, which I enjoy dipping in red cili padi soya sauce.

Located at the only row of shop-lot in Taman Bukit Seputeh, they only serve dinner and close every Tuesday.

My flower book collection: part 2

2009-04-30T19:17:00.006+08:00

A visit to MPH warehouse sales yesterday proved to be successful. I've added another book to my collection- Jane Packer's: Flower Course - for a really good bargain. An excellent book like this with colourful illustrations is a real treasure. I am very impressed by the simplicity & elegance of Jane's floral arrangements.

This is another book that I got from the previous sales. Simple Flowers Style by Paige Gilchrist is full of simple designs for home settings.

Flowers at Delucca Grand Opening

2009-04-30T14:45:00.020+08:00

April 25th marked the grand opening of Delucca, the Italian Restaurant. A friend, who is one of the owner, extended an invitation to toast to the occasion.

As I arrived at the entrance, I was marvelled by some most gorgeous flower arrangements. Though massive, they exude the beauty of each bloom and definitely demand attention.

Do check out this new restaurant in town for some authentic Italian fare in modern setting. http://www.delucca.com.my/. Portion is quite generous (for me at least) because after the second entree I was more than full.

Make her day beautiful .... Happy Mother's Day

2009-04-29T22:26:00.018+08:00

To create a little flower is the labour of ages- William Blake

Mother's Day is on 10th May. Pink carnations are associated with this special celebration. Why not shower her with love and appreciation with a simple bouquet and some sweet indulgence- cupcakes!
I've made some simple bouquets & would like to share with you here.
Please also visit http://www.cupcakeindulgence.blogspot.com/

Ho Kau Kopitiam, Lorong Panggong

2009-04-28T17:15:00.006+08:00

Back at Ho Kau Kopitiam this morning. Without second thought, I ordered the daily special, fried meehoon + mee + fried egg. As expected Uncle Ho asked: welldone or medium rare? My choice- as you can see here.

Half way through the plate, I noticed Uncle Ho was scooping up some of the pre-prepared meehoon and frying it again. I realised then that you can order it mamak-style: fried with eggs (minus the spice). Then you’ll have a hot plate of mee to go with the coffee/ tea.

Can you believe it?- I went for 2nd round. I ordered the steam white bread with kaya & butter- hot & soft- just the way I like it. Today's special includes woon chai ko- but all finish. Some customers actually ask Ms Ho to reserve it.

On the way out, a guy asked me whether I am a reporter after seeing me snapping away with my camera at the food. I just explained that I started a blog and just want to share with others about the existence of such a oldie worldie local coffee shop, which is almost in extinction.

Simple local breakfast

2009-04-27T21:35:00.001+08:00

I am a big breakfast person. Somehow or rather, my tummie opens up wide & big in the morning. Early today, I was in Petaling Street to run some chores and I thought since I was here, I should check out this chee cheung fun stall which is tucked at the corner of Lorong Panggong, off Jalan Balai Polis.

It was about 8am, and to my disappointment, the stall is not open yet. Luckily, there’s a kopitiam just further in the lorong with people sipping coffee and enjoying nasi lemak, steam/ toast white bread, half boiled egg, char siew pau, siew mai and loh mai kai. I walked in and saw this oldie worldie setting with most of the tables occupied. I ordered my usual cup of coffee min-tim (kurang manis) & a set of toasted white bread with juicy kaya & butter spread. It was a bit dry but did the trick to fill up the tummie.

The atmosphere was homely. The proprietor, Ms Ho seem to know all the customers who dropped in. They are all regulars- working adults, the elderly and students from college ATC nearby. I found out later over a chat that Ms Ho is the 3^rd generation running the family business of about more than 50 years- WOW!

Her dad, a bubbly gentleman with spectacles was whistling to some chinese songs (I guess from the 60's) while busy frying some eggs for the nasi lemak and special sandwiches. A young lady ordered luncheon meat & freshly-fried egg (uncle will ask whether you want it welldone or medium rare- mmm... personalised service). And guess what, as the sandwich fly passed me, I can feel my saliva started flowing out uncontrollably. So I ordered one as well- a few bites: hot & fresh, simply yummie- just how simple food like this can give such satisfaction.

Actually, the daily breakfast menu changes every day.

Mon- nasi lemak

Tue- fried mee/ meehoon & woon cai ko

Wed- mee soup

Thurs- chee cheung fun

Fri- char keow teow/ woo tau ko/ choy tau kueh

Sat- hokkien mee

Sun- holiday

I’ll be in town again tomorrow morning. Definitely I’ll have my breakfast at Ho Kau Kopitiam along with my small camera.

My flower book collection: part 1

2009-04-27T17:14:00.004+08:00

Guess the best way to learn more about flowers is through books. My first flower book collection is this Paula Pryke’s Flower School. Here Paula shares her knowledge on the skills to master the art of floral design. I am very impressed with her signature styles & designs- simple and yet elegant.

Flowers A to Z by Cecelia Hefferman provides important facts about each individual flowers.

I’m listing some of them:

agapanthus, amaryllis, bells of Ireland, calla lilies, camellias, daffodils, delphinium, euphorbia, forget-me-not, foxgloves, gladiolus, gloriosa lily, hydrangea, hypericum, iris, liatris, lilac, nerine, ornithogalum (Star of Bethlehem), peony, ranunculus, roses, snapdragon, sweet pea, tulip, viburnum, yarrow and zinnia.

I’ve learnt so much from this book- the names, varieties, colours, scent, vaselife, freshness, availability, cost, meaning, arranging tips and growing tips for each flower.

This magazine Wedding Flowers contains some of the most gorgeous bridal bouquets created by prominent designers worldwide. It also features a section of elegant bouquets in a spectrum of colours and hues- lovely pink, passionate red, zesty orange & yellow, glorious purple & blue, pure white or multicolour.

Here’s another by Paula Prykes Simple Flowers- full of brilliant ideas to create arrangements for home, workplace and even special occasions.

Okay, so far all are about western designs. How about eastern? I can’t miss out on knowing something about the Japanese flower art.So I bought this beautiful book Keiko’s Ikebana- a contemporary approach to the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging written by Keiko Kubo. Combining traditional techniques with modern tastes, Keiko introduces some of her authentic, simple & graceful arrangements (as you can see on the cover).

Favourite flowers of all

2009-04-27T16:24:00.001+08:00

Women love flowers, don't they? Most go for roses, lilies, sunflowers & gerbera.
Mine is definitely the beautiful Lady- Orchids. I read that there are over 30,000 varieties of orchids. And the most common ones are Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Oncidium and Phalaenopsis.

I tried to grow some, only one plant bloomed last month (as shown here). And the bloom lasted quite a while, almost 3 weeks. I'll like some tips to grow orchids.

And here are some gorgeous "Bella" from a farm in Rawang.

I also made a simple bouquet for a friend, Fabiana who loves this yellow "Dancing Lady" in her natural way, without all the plastic wrappers or ribbons. I added some bear grass and gave a finishing knot with bark string.