President Sarkozy

So I have the uncanny ability to get a glimpse of states-persons when on vacation. I saw Queen Elizabeht II in England, Jean-Pierre Raffarin, PM of France (yes, France has a PM), and now Anand and I saw President Sarkozy last weekend.

President Sarkozy was in Quebec City for the Francophone Summit. He was here before he flew off to see President Bush. In these photos, he is unveiling a plaque, and the Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest is with him along with other VIPs.

There was tight security when Sarkozy arrived, snipers appeared on the roof top and also on the helicopters.
Here are the outriders that lead the security convoy.

Porter Airlines

We decided to take Porter Airlines to Quebec City. Unlike other airlines, Porter's terminal is located in the Toronto City Center Airport. From our condo, it only takes 15 minutes by taxi. And we can arrive at the airport 30 minutes before departure time.

The whole experience was excellent! There was hardly any wait to clear security. There was a wonderful lounge for us to wait in with complimentary drinks (juice, pop, water), coffee, tea, and other goodies. There were also newspapers and many Mac computers with internet access for passengers to use while they waited for their flight! I would take Porter again!


Anand on one of the computers. He's on a business call.
Part of the lounge where all the complimentary drinks and goodies are.

Porter's complimentary water. Nice touch, since we can't bring in water anymore.
This is the plane we flew on.

Victor and Anthony

Big brother and little brother....ahhhh....so cute.

Victor Eng Jiat Jiang: The Journey of Birth

The day of delivery started off with Cleo having to sort out work related matters such as delegation of work to her colleagues as well as finishing tying up loose ends in terms of audit reports.

Upon reaching the hospital we had to patiently wait for our turn to be admitted, surprisingly there were quite a number of people waiting to be admitted for delivery. Cleo looks surprising clam, I was not as I was quite apprehensive due to the fact that it would be my first time entering the operating room...scared of fainting. The first pic shows my mom going through Victor's baby book.

For those of you who wants to purchase 4D...our que number is 1010...please share the winnings with me...hehhe.

We took the decision to store Victor's stem cell, this is due to the fact that on our side of the family (Cleo and mine) there has been history of blood cancer. It is sort of an insurance in the event (touch wood) that Victor faces complications in the future....we decided to pay for the full amount to store the stem cell for 21 years...which resulted in me being "broke"...I have to sacrifice my golfing on the greens...family first, self later.

Upon admission, the nurses in Ward 2A took Cleo's various vital details such as height, weight, blood etc.

We decided to have a single bedded room, but the room was not yet ready thus they put us in a two bedded temporarily while waiting for the room to be ready. Cleo is checking out the admission kit which came with all kinds of "goodies" such as towels, napkins etc.

Prior to being "rolled" into the operation room, Cleo was hooked up to a machine to monitor the baby's heart beat to ensure that all is hunky dory. The other purpose was to ascertain as to whether the baby was in the right "state' to be delivered.

In the first pic Cleo is being prepared for her C-Section and the second pic she is being wheeled to the operating theater. While in the operating theater I could not take any pics of the C-Section procedure. All I can say is that I will never ever forget the scenes such as the the blood, mucus and the various bodily fluids that is associated with the procedure. I did not faint but nearly emptied my stomach contents...thank God I manged to keep it all in.

This pic was taken immediately after Victor was welcomed into the world...he was crying non-stop due to the fact that he was very cold. The mid-wife immediately wrapped him up and put him under a warmer....I was so moved that I was on the verged of shedding tears of joy.

Victor in the room with the family for the fist time after being examined by the mid-wife and doctor. He passed all the necessary test such as hearing etc.

First time pics with the family...

Victor, welcome to the world...

Paternal Responsibilities

I have been a father for nearly 3 years now, I am going to be a father for the second time in a few hours. Besides ensuring that my family has a roof over their heads, comfortable life and the usual paternal responsibilities related cliches I have come to realise that its not what I as a father provide for the family in monetary and material form that matters most...what is important is the time that I spend with my family and most important are the values that I impart to my kids. Values such as respect and humility. Patience and being humble. Always do your utmost best...and the most important of all...respect for your wife...you can be an asshole...you can be public enemy number 1...but if you respect and seek your wife's advice as an equal partner, you can always be assured of a safe and warm sanctury at HOME...a place where you can seek comfort and solace from work and peer related pressure.
William@Mobile

My Kitchen: Hainanese Cuisine

After seeing an advertisement int he papers for this restaurant and being Hainanese, we decided that it would be a grave crime if we did not at least give this place a try. I was initially very skeptical as to whether this restaurant would be serving authentic Hainanese fare.

However upon entering the restaurant I was pleasantly surprised to find that they have a menu of Hainanese fair that is typically served during Chinese New Year.

The menu has an extensive range of hainanese fair, but some of them are not really original...I mean hainanese got nasi lemak one meh?




We ordered quite a few dishes. The rice balls are a definite must try, its way better than the ones you get in Malacca. The mutton soup is also highly recommended. The Hainanese Chicken Chop is soooooooooooooo good that I am salivating while I type this. In total, we ordered about 9 dishes inclusive of 5 drinks. Price wise it is reasonable. Cost my parents only Rm85. The vege and steamed chicken is nothing to should about.

Rating out of 10? I give it 9...the chicken chop and rice balls contributed 5 points.

Rainy and Gloomy Day

These few days are not good for golfers...its been raining heavily...sigh..no golfing on the greens until at least early next month...welcome to the Malaysian Monsoon season.
William@Mobile

Head of the Trent

After 2 years, Anand and I finally made it ot Head of the Trent. It is an annual rowing regatta (largest one-day regatta in North America) at Trent University, where I did my undergrad. It is also an alumni reunion of sorts.

The highlight is standing on the bridge and waiting for the rowers to row underneath you. Then you cross to the other side to see who has won. It is fun! Since this is held in the Fall, it is usually cold and damp.

For those who like to drink, there is a Beer Garden.

Gourmet Garden

I have been thinking about Malaysian food for quite some time. So last Friday, Anand and I went to this food court in Markham that sold Malaysian food. Markham is about 30 minutes drive from Toronto if there is no traffic jam. It is a suburb that is mainly populated by people of Chinese descent.

So in this food court, there were 4 shops. One selling the usual roast duck/chicken/pork, another selling Philipino food and another selling Cantonese food. The fourth and most popular one is Gourmet Garden, selling Malaysian food. The menu is extensive! Even have bak kut teh, poh pia (weekend only), asam fish, ayam percik. Anand and I ordered Char Keow Tiao, Petai Asam Udang and Roti Canai with Chicken Curry.

Anand had never eaten petai before. He said it tasted like paper. Only the next day did he understand why I said it is also called stinky beans. Value for money is good. Taste is good, except that the Chicken Curry was salty. My Char Keow Teow is good but not the same as home. Maybe the Keow Teow we get here is not the same. The funny thing is that we both felt heavy after dinner. Not sure if it is due to the fact that we pigged-out (large portions - the Char Keow Teow can be shared with 2 people), or is it the MSG?

So we'll go back and test again :)

Geylang: The Red Light District of Singapore

After dinner in China Town, we decided to head on to Singapore's famous Red Light District for some sight-seeing. Officially we went to Geylang in search of Sui Yu Tong (Tortoise Soup)..but somehow we got distracted.

To get to Geylang, we took the MRT from China Town to Aljunied MRT Station which is situated at Lorong 25 Geylang. Upon exiting Aljunied MRT station I was amazed by the amount of people loitering outside the station, rubbish was everywhere!! I turned to Kar Wai and said "I feel like I just arrived in Jakarta". Unfortunately I don't have the pictures as I have not figured out how to use the night mode photo capture on my camera yet.

We started our journey from Lorong 25...we walked everywhere, back alleys, main roads, truck roads etc. Did we see any ladies of the night? Nope, nothing close to it. What we did find were loads of places to eat.

There were loads of restaurants selling all kinds of food. Frog porridge is apparently a crowd favorite, so is roasted duck. Almost all of the restaurants that we came across sells duck and frog.

There was even a durian stall selling durians for SGD2 each!! That is dirt cheap. but unfortunately we were not in the mood to eat durians.

We walked and walked and walked for more than an hour and finally decided to call it a day and headed back to Lorong 25 for the MRT Station.

Did we find any action?

Yup, indeed we did...and it only cost me SGD0.80 per tube. Kar Wai's mouth is now clean and fit for kissing. So line up and pukker your lips!!!