Hi there. My name is Laura Wong. In case you're wondering, yes I am a Chinese. I may or may not have a slight obsession with green tea and daisies. A follower of Christ and a shopaholic.

As I am writing this, it is the first day of 2016 (even though I am certain that this post will not be published on the same day due to my lack of efficiency). Just like every year, I'd spend some time reflecting about the year before. 2015 had its fair share of ups and downs, unexpected events and a lot of blessings!

Winning Unilever's Future Leaders League

In August, right after I was eliminated from the Maybank GO. Ahead Challenge, I joined another business competition organized by Unilever. To be frank, I felt defeated after being eliminated, but I did not want to stop there because I knew God has placed this dream in my heart- to win a competition and travel abroad with my own ability.

In case you are not familiar with Unilever, it is the company that manages famous brands such as Magnum, Cornetto, Dove and Vaseline. It was Unilever's first time hosting the FLL competition in Malaysia (3rd time globally if I'm not mistaken), so it's pretty new. This competition differs from Maybank's MGAC as we were to come up with a marketing campaign for the brand, Cornetto. Being a Finance & Economics major, I have minimal knowledge of marketing, and the same goes for both my teammates. Despite the odds, I still went for it anyway.

My team and I worked really hard and to our surprise, we won the National round! I must say it was not an easy process at all. Thinking of creative ideas was one thing; but working around busy schedules, coming up with designs, and cooperating as a team makes the process more challenging. I am truly grateful for the team I have with me for they had to bear with my demanding requests and my temper.

Also, I cannot express how grateful I am for God's perfect timing! Previously, I was so upset that I lost the MGAC because that was my ticket to travel abroad. But now, I earned myself not only an iPad mini, but a ticket to London! I never thought I will be able to travel to UK so soon, but I must say that I am very excited about it. Cant wait!!

Seeing medical improvements

This is something I normally do not share publicly but it's too good to not share! Five years ago, I discovered that I have a spinal disorder; scientifically known as 'scoliosis'. It is a condition in which my spine is curved in a S shape. Given my age and the maturity of the bones, the doctors said that it is not possible for my spine to be straightened unless I go through surgery. I have considered surgery many times, but refused in the end because it is not only super pricey (costs about RM50k T__T), but my mobility is limited after surgery.


I have gone for many chiropractic services and have spent lots of money on them but have only seen minimal improvements. The doctors said that there will only be slight variations to the curvature of my spine given my condition. This year however, I stopped going for any chiropractic service. I decided to stick to only exercises (by that, I mean dancing) and back massages.

And I still kept praying over it.

In November, I went for an annual X-ray check-up and I was shocked to find out that the curve of my spine reduced by 11 degrees! Despite the minimal difference from the surface, 11 degrees is a huge improvement as doctors said the variation should be 5 degrees or lesser. In fact, it's pretty much impossible! I am truly grateful to see such improvements even though I stopped all chiropractic services. I'd like to share more about this; but I'll save it for next time.

Joining theater class

Performing has always been my thing. Even though I’m currently pursuing Business, I’ve always had a soft spot for performing. There is just something about performing which excites me every time. It’s not because I seek attention, but performing helps me to build confidence and to showcase what I love to do.

I’ve been involved in several performances; from dancing to singing to storytelling- but not acting. I secretly liked acting, but I’ve never gotten the chance to try it out. To my surprise, theater was one of the choices for my electives in semester 2!

Since I’ve never taken up acting lessons, I did not know what to expect from this module. I still remembered how I started to have doubts about choosing this subject once I entered the class. I was late by a few minutes, and my new lecturer seemed extremely unhappy about it. Her face went red and she started lecturing me about being late for FIVE minutes. T__T On second thought, I considered on switching subjects because I was now afraid of the lecturer hahaha.

Turned out Ms. Pat (the lecturer) is super nice and friendly after all! Unlike the usual classroom setting, Ms. Pat made our classes interesting by introducing new activities and games each time. There were many games that made us look stupid, activities that made our body ache, things that made some of us cried and so much more. Despite being extremely stern about punctuality, she is one of the reasons why I look forward to attending theater class.


The last 10 days prior to our public performance were my favorite. For our finals, we had to come up with a 20 minutes play in a team of 6. Preparing for the performance was so much fun! It was our baby as we did everything from brainstorming, to script writing to directing to preparing the props and outfits. I wished I have the recording of our play, but I don't. :(



From this module, I've learned that acting is not just about expressing using our face and body language. It's more than that. I never understood what Ms. Pat meant when she said "Acting is a about being yourself."- but today, I do. Acting is about immersing yourself into the character, behaving like the character and telling the truth even though they aren't the truth.

More opportunities to serve at church

In the last few months of 2015, I was given more opportunities to serve and grow in church. Some time in October, I was asked to share a testimony with the 4Twelve peeps. Now I have always been singing in church but I have never shared a message before, so this was a challenge. That day, I shared about how I have transformed from a person who used to shy away from crowds to a person who is confident and bold to tackle new opportunities. What an eye opening experience it was to be able to share God's greatness!  

Also, I got to perform for a charitable event in church. This time, I was singing non-Christian songs. Been singing Christian songs all my life that I think the church peeps got to see a different side of me that day hahaha. Grateful to have Ryan to play the guitar for me, and for interacting with the crowd when I was being all awkward. Quite an interesting experience considering that it was my first time performing gigs but definitely not my last!



2015 was indeed a year filled with opportunities! There were many "first time" experiences last year, and I believe that God is going to open more doors this year. 

For those who did not know, I recently took part in an international business challenge organized by Maybank. Known as the Maybank GO. Ahead Challenge, this competition tests not only your ability to solve business cases, but also your creativity, aggressiveness and capability to work under pressure. Unlike many other business competitions which you can prepare yourself for, this one in particular is the opposite. The tasks given are unpredictable, and they can ask you to do bascially anything under the Sun. It is more than a challenge.

There are four rounds to this competition: Online Test, Campus Level, National Level & Global Finals. Sadly, I did not make it to the Global Finals as I got eliminated during the final round at the National Level (there were 3 rounds of elimination in National Level). I've got to admit that I was rather disappointed because I was just one step away from entering the Global Finals, but when I got my emotions straight, I realized that I wasn't entirely at the losing party. I've discovered my potential and gained so much experience which even money cannot buy. This challenge gave me a clearer picture of what will it be like in the corporate world. Hence, I would like to share the four main takeaways from this challenge. 

1. When life gives you a lemon, grab it, squeeze it and make the best lemonade ever.

One of the reasons why I've lost in the last round of the National Levels was because I was bounded by fear. I was afraid of this particular judge (who is also the producer of this competition) because he was so fierce. I would describe him as the Asian version of Simon Cowell as he never leaves anyone without a heated argument or a mean comment. Based on my observation, no matter how good a speaker is, he/she will never be able to talk out of that judge as he always finds his way to counter back whatever opinions he/she has.

Due to his personality, I often held back my ideas or arguments whenever he was around.  I was afraid of trying because I kept telling myself that I will be the losing party despite how good my reasoning was.

Little did I know, it was my fear that kept me away from gaining a spot in the Global Finals.  

In the corporate world, you will face people like these. Not everyone is going to be nice to you, and some might even treat you worse than the judge I've just described. However, if you're going to be afraid of them, you wont be able to stand out. You're always going to be one who gets pushed aside. If you are just going to remain quiet and to not try showing what you've got, any opportunity that comes along will be wasted.

As Nike said, "Just do it."

2. Put on layers if you have to 

During the Maybank GO. Ahead Challenge, every task given to you has a time limit. And trust me, time is never on your side during those moments. Each task requires you to do more than your own capability, Not only your time management is tested, but also your ability to extract as much information as possible within a limited time.

I've learned that I got to show the judges what I got despite the limited time and lack of solid data. I needed to prove to them that I am 100% confident with my data even if I'm not. During the National Levels, our last task was given to us at 12 in the morning. Yes you read it correctly- it was 12am not pm. Being a morning person, staying up anytime later than 12am is a torture for me. What more to work on a business case at this hour!! However, I've learned that there are going to many times like this in the future. You may be tired, drained or exhausted, but you don't get to choose when is the deadline. If your boss wants a particular job to be done by a certain time, you have to complete it.

This taught me how to portray confidence in every situation; whether you are prepared and well equipped or the other way round. Despite how physically drained I was, I had to put on layers of confidence and energy to show the judges that I can work under circumstances like these. It's not a pleasant sight when you show your future bosses or board of directors that you're tired or sleepy.

3. Never undermine your own potential

Upon joining this competition, I never thought that I could make it this far. Honestly, I thought I would have lost at the first stage itself because the questions were so tricky, and I did not even complete the questions on time. But look where I am now. I'm not trying to boast, but I was one of the youngest contestants who made it so far as most of them are either graduates or final year students.

I've always thought that I suck at spontaneous presentations. Yes I may look confident in my presentations as some of you may have seen it, but that is only because I have plenty of time to prepare for them. However, through this competition, I've learned that I can handle spontaneous presentations pretty well. It may not be the best but at least it brought me to the last round of the National Levels.

Every time I passed an elimination round, it gave me more reasons to believe in myself (because I always felt that I will lose each round hahaha). Knowing that I passed each round, my spirit was lifted up and I felt that I have potential after all. I was driven by that to improve myself further and to become a stronger competitor in the following challenges.

4. You don't get to work with the people of your choice

In this challenge, we are often required to work in teams. Yes, every contestant was evaluated individually, but we are also tested in our ability to work in teams. For each challenge, we were assigned to different teams. Hence, I got the opportunity to work with different people from various backgrounds: medical, engineering, computing & more.

It's always nice to be able to work in teams because teams allows teammates to combine skills and knowledge which could lead to a better performance as compares to the ability of an individual alone. It's a plus point for you if you get a good team with competent members, but if you don't, you just got to deal with it. In the corporate world, you don't exactly get to choose who you want to work with. One thing I've learned is that you got to make the best out of everyone's weaknesses. If you're just going to dwell on the weaknesses, both your team and you are not going to move anywhere. Sometimes, we just got to accept it and just give our best.

I wished I got the chance to work with people from abroad, but it's alright. Maybe next time.

As the title suggests, this post will be about potential activities which you can do in Penang! I was on a short getaway with my friends for 3D2N, since we are on our semester break. It was a spontaneous and last minute trip- to the extent that we still had no idea on what to do on the night before. We thought that we would figure out what to do on the day itself haha.

These are the things we've managed to cover within a span of 3 days!

1. Take pictures with murals

One of the usual activities to do when you're at Penang is to take pictures with the murals at the Street Art of Georgetown, so we decided to go with the flow. Our tour guide, Eric, said with confidence that he knew where the murals were located, so we decided to trust his instincts. Turned out his sense of direction had become rusty, and it took us half an hour before we could find out the exact spot.

Given my poor sense of direction, I should not judge.... yet I cannot help but to judge hahaha.























Aside from taking pictures with the murals, you could also rent bicycles to ride around the streets. We got our bicycles at RM10 each for unlimited hours! Eric, on the other hand, had to rent a three wheel bike because.. he cannot cycle hahaha!!! Initially, we wanted to get a tandem bicycle instead, so that one of us could ride him around. We gave up on that idea immediately after we tried it because it was so difficult to control the bike. It's nothing like riding a bicycle on your own. Since we were going to be cycling with cars and motor vehicles surrounding us, we felt that individual bicycles would be the safest.

Don't know why we chose the hottest time of the day to cycle. We cycled from 1-3pm and we managed to cover almost all of the streets. It was pretty adventurous I would say, as we had to constantly watch out for cars and any moving objects coming our direction. Also, we were clueless on which route to take, so we followed our instincts. It was cool as there was something to discover in every direction; whether it is rows of shophouses, food stalls or even more murals. Sometimes, impromptu decisions can be fun!

By the time we were back from cycling, our skin tone went a few shades darker. Some of us had awkward tan lines while some went red from sunburn. Eric's case was the funniest; he did not only become more tanned, but he was red all over. Best part was when he took out his watch- you could clearly distinguish the shape of his watch on his wrist because his arm was so so red hahaha! Too bad he didn't allow me to take a picture, or I would have posted a picture of it over here sigh.


Another place you could visit is the biggest waterfront settlements in Georgetown: Chew Jetty! It is part of the Penang Heritage Trail (located nearby the street arts), hence you can walk or cycle there. At Chew Jetty, the houses and the shops are built on stilts along the wooden pier that extends to the sea. I love how the houses and shops still uphold traditional lifestyles and cultures. Despite being a tourist spot, some of the houses are still occupied with citizens.












2. Try all kinds of hawker food

Penang is well known for being a food heaven. Since we had two locals with us throughout the trip, our hunt for yummy delicacies was made easier!

Char Kuey Teow 

Our first meal in Penang was Penang's famed dish: Char Kuey Teow. Eric claims that this Char Kuey Teow is one of the best in Penang; and indeed it was! This Char Kuey Teow clearly deserves its title because #1 this kuey teow really taste so good #2 there was a crazy amount of people who queued up for this and the number of customers coming in every minute is insane. Often in business terms, large customer base = good food so.

This plate serves for RM5 and it comes with prawns, "si ham", dried Chinese sausages and bean sprouts. For those who are interested, this shop is located in Siam Road. You will see an uncle using charcoal stove with a road side hawker stall. Customers usually wait at the coffee shop, known as Hock Ban Hin Cafe, which is located right across the hawker stall. The average waiting time can range from 45 minutes to 1 hour, but it's worth the wait. Disclaimer: It is not recommended if you're in a hurry. I cannot confirm whether it is opened every day but it starts operation from 3pm onwards.

Loh Mee, Chai Tow Kway & Wan Tan Mee.



Loh Mee is one of Penang's must try dish as well. It is made up of yellow noodles and dark-colored gravy cooked with pork rib, and it is usually served with a spoon of chili. Somehow this isn't my favorite dish because I don't fancy eating yellow noodles.

The Chai Tow Kway (also known as fried carrot cake) is really yummy! The carrot cake was tender and chewy, and I like how the crunchy tauge and fried eggs go so well with the "kway". Wanton Mee, on the other hand, isn't exactly popular in Penang, but my friends noticed that there were many customers ordering the dish that night, so we decided to give it a try. Turned out it taste pretty good! The gravy was on point (ran out of adverbs to describe taste of food help) and the char siew was delicious. However, I am slightly disappointed with the size of the portion. It is quite small and it only has two miserable wantons. :(

These dishes can be found at Macalister Road. As for the prices... I cannot confirm the price because the guys settled the bill hahaha. #failfoodblogger Even so, I recalled that each dish costs less than RM6, super cheap and reasonable!

Hokkien Mee 

For those who are unaware, Penang's Hokkien Mee has a vast difference as compared to the one we have back in KL.The one from Penang is served with prawn-based broth and noodles, as opposed to the charcoal friend Hokkien Mee we have in KL. Basically in KL, we call Penang's hokkien mee as prawn noodle or "har" mee.

Eric calls this dish the "real" Hokkien Mee lol.

I cannot comment much for this particular dish because it was spicy, and my tolerance for spicy food is terrible. :( Those who knows how to enjoy spicy food will probably enjoy this more than I do. I'm pretty sure it tastes good because there were so so many people who were at the hawker stall even at 8am in the morning.

Also, no picture because I was too hungry and food was all that mattered then. Definitely cannot qualify to be called a food blogger hahaha.

For those who are curious on where it is located despite my unexciting description, the hawker stall is located at Burma road, opposite a police station. It is priced around RM4.50 each.

Gu Bak Koay Teow 

It is basically beef noodles with its main ingredients include beef balls, beef slices and offal. The broth was really appetizing and the beef balls were my favorite. Each bite releases the subtle flavor of the broth- so satisfying!!!

This dish can be found in Lorong Pantai and it costs RM10, which is slightly on the pricier side. This is because we added more ingredients into our dish. The regular one should cost few bucks cheaper than this!

One thing I've realized that all Penang's famed dishes have in common is that they are mostly noodles. Did anyone notice that or is it just me??

3. Grab a drink at Starbucks in Batu Feringghi 

This is not your typical Starbucks you see on the streets of KL. If you have not came across pictures of the new Starbucks outlet in Batu Feringghi, you're missing out some good things in life!

One of the limited activities we had in mind was to visit the huge Starbucks located at Batu Ferringhi. I think I've mentioned before on how I really love places with beautiful interior and great ambiance. It impresses me when people put effort into designing a place.

I think it is worth while to drop by as you don't usually get to enjoy a Starbucks this pretty back in KL.

4. Hike up the Penang Hill

Or at least attempt to.

Initially, we were going to take the challenge of a 3-hours hiking session up the Penang Hill. Apparently, the hill is very steep, and it takes lots of physical & mental preparation to hike up the hill. We were pretty motivated to hike up the hill- Gabby even bought a new pair of shoes for hiking hahaha. To our dismay, it rained the night before. We could have continued with our plan to hike, but we decided not to since the hill is very steep. Don't want to come back home with any broken body parts lol.

In the end, we decided to go jogging and attempted workouts at Youth Park hahaha. The name of the park suggests that it is catered for youths, but it was full of senior citizens instead when we visited the park lol. Young people these days are so confined indoors tsk.

Still, we didn't want to miss the Penang Hill, so we decided to go up the hill by using the funicular train. The train leaves every 20-25 minutes and it costs RM4 for students & RM8 for adults. There are different charges for foreigners though. Please note that if you want to obtain the student price (RM4), you will have to bring your student ID along with your IC or you will be charged with the normal price (RM8). Those without IC will have to pay RM30, which is ridiculous for a 10-minute ride.