This year our management decided to change the usual course dinner to buffet lunch at Hotel Equatorial for our company Chinese New Year staff gathering. All agreed as we were finding the course dinner a bit boring and monotonous. The venue was the Coffee Garden which overlook the swimming pool and the waterfall.

The brunch starts at 11.30 am. It was a bit early for all of us that used to eat after 12noon but all of us felt hungry after looking at all the delicious spread.

This is the station that serves satay, roti jala and fried oyster omellet (oh chien).

A plate of freshly fried 'oh chien'.

For porridge lovers, there is a choice of century egg porridge and Teochew style porridge with all these accompanying side dishes.

Spread of bread and other dishes! =)

Plenty of fruits, cakes, ice-kachang, ice-cream and also gandum and smooth tau foo fah.

After a hearty meal, we went around taking pictures of the hotel and its beautiful surrounding gardens - which is one of their unique features.

Although Chinese New Year falls on the 7th of February 2008, decorations for this special occasion is seen in most parts of the town. This sign board is most appropriate since 2008 is the Year of the Rat.

Decorations of beautiful lanterns and lion dance competition at Gurney Plaza.

Bird's eye view of Hotel Equatorial lobby.
Gigantic lantern at the main concourse of Queensbay Mall.

This dragon stands up in the entrance of an apartment and a pagoda tower beautifully lited up.

Ushering in the Chinese New Year is a stream of red... lanterns, lion dance, banners and red rats.

Unfortunately, my finances too -.-

But still, Happy CNY!

This year we celebrated our dad's birthday at the Spice Market Cafe in Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa which is located on Batu Feringgi, Penang. The hotel itself went through a major renovation lately.

This cafe with a choice of indoor and outdoor sitting is in the Garden Wing (we choose to sit indoor cos its cooler). As you enter the cafe, you will find different types of spices and utensils being displayed.

There are many stations serving a mix varieties of food - Malay, Chinese, Indian, Western and Japanese. Here are the different choices of cold seafood - baby lobster, prawns, mussels, yabbies and flower crabs.

Japanese corner - sashimi - salmon, tuna, tako, unagi and varieties of sushi.

Here are various types of food from different stations.

After tasting all the food, the last stop is the desserts and sweets corner - delicious cakes, ice-cream, fresh fruits and pancake.

With very efficient service and the quality of food, this is one of the better hotel buffet around town. At RM 87.00tt per person during weekdays, it is worth spending especially on such an occasion. Diners paying by certain credit card are also entitled to a discount.

After dinner, we took more photos inside the hotel. It was an enjoyable evening and we definitely would like to return to Rasa Sayang again to try out the other dining outlet.

Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn. Bhd. recently launched their new motorcycle, the FZ150i under the theme "Innovation and Power". Under "innovation" comes the first fuel injection engine for locally assemble motorcycle and as for "power" comes 150cc. The bike comes with delta box frame and is liquid cool. With all these features we thought it will cost a "bomb" but they tag it less then RM8,000. Killer for those bike enthusiastic who cannot dig too deep into their pockets. This model comes in three colours - red, black and green, all metallic and all the colours were vibrant and catchy. More information can be found at their official web site http://www.yamaha-motor.com.my/ This model was definitely well receive by the audience and everybody give a standing ovation at the end of the launch.

As for this colour........... well, is their "concept bike" and cannot be found on the road!!!. Luckily, hubby took the opportunity to take a snap shot with it before they ship it to their warehouse.

After the launching we were treated to their annual dinner. Food and drinks were plenty. We were even treated to an early "yee-sang" dish. The "God of Prosperity" took time out to hand each of us a mandarin orange and an any-pow - guess the aim was to give us early prosperity.

The launch was held at Genting Highland Convention Centre. As it was near Chinese New Year, the hotel and the theme park was decorated with Chinese lanterns.

Happy Chinese New Year everybody!