Everybody loves bubbly

Everyone loves the bubbly champagne, don't you?
Special occasions are not special enough without champagne.


I turned from someone who dislikes the dryness of champagne / sparkling wine to a huge fan of them after being in a duty free island for one year.


Veuve Clicquot is fabulous, so does Moët et Chandon.
Once saw the VCP Rose at the airport (Jakarta if not mistaken). I totally understood what's "love at first sight" that moment.

"The Vintage Rosé 2004 offers a deep pink colour with highlights of copper and delicate, light effervescence. The nose, extremely elegant, at first reveals flavours of ripe red fruits that burst on the tongue, before gradually giving way to violets, lilacs and light "pastry" notes."

I should have bought it. It's merely less than USD 100. Darn.


Dom Pérignon can be saved for my big day :)


Oh, I love Prosecco as well. It tastes great, and not as arrogant as Champagne.


Lotsa love to all the bubby lovers...
I want to undergo the fermentation process in Champagne, France.

Eat, Pray, Love

If only I could eat less, but pray more (frequently) and love more (passionately).

Elizabeth Gilbert traveled to Italy, India and Indonesia to search for everything. I wish I could do the same. Well maybe I can skip the spiritual trip to ashram; I don’t think I will have the stamina to do what she has done in India, ever.

I love food. Or rather, there’s always a love-hate relationship between me and food. You can easily win my heart with food. How can I eat without putting on any unwanted fats on my body? Oh god, this is definitely not something to preach please.

I am never a religious person but I never doubt the existence of God (or Gods / Goddesses). I just don’t spend enough time bonding with Him.

I don’t love passionately.

I love mom and dad, but I don’t spend enough time with them.

I love Whisky and Vodka (my dogs, okay), but I don’t spend enough time with them.

I love my late grandma, but I don’t think I have spent enough time with her. I wish I’d have more days to love her.

Love is a strong word. It’s never easy to love someone easily, unconditionally, deeply, but, being loved is always great…

I am so blessed to be able to read more books these days. Can’t believe I weep as if I have been dumped upon finishing A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Even worse than what happened when I have read and watched The Kite Runner.

My working desk is now officially my display desk. All the knick-knacks that I brought back – photo frames, little gifts, soft toys, McDonald’s premium items and books are all displayed nicely here.

I love the designer’s Evian bottles the most. Jean Paul Gaultier is the second edition while Paul Smith is the third. I got to know that the latest version is now Evian by Issey Miyake. Where can I get it? Please let me know.

Will be nice to have the first edition – the one by French Designer Christian Lacroix as well. I would love to have a complete collection of these gorgeous Evian(s) :)

Lotsa love to all who love, and to all being loved.

Sugar Rush

Sugar, Oh, Honey Honey...

You're my candy girl, and you got my wanting you...

I know I have put on so much weight but how can I resist those angelic donuts and cheesecakes?
No, I can never say no to them...

OK, instead of buying half dozen like how I used to be, I bought only three - savory cheese, sinful coco loco (chocolate inside out) and green tea.

Well, the exact reason behind the three donuts is - I wanted to have U Hu! Hu! cheesecakes as well. Stood in front of The Loaf, Pavilion for 5 minutes, feeling disappointed as I couldn't find my favorite green tea and caramel flavor :( So I got only the chocolate (right) and raspberry.


Having these cheesecakes in paper cups brings up some of me of my childhood memories. Do you remember how you carefully scooped ice-cream from the similar cup, with a flat wooden spoon? No fancy flavors, it's always chocolate, vanilla or strawberry.

My pre-dinner desserts - U Hu! Hu! Chocolate Cheesecake and Cheese doughnut from J Co. The doughnut was simply irresistible, so heavenly fluffy.


The cheesecake, on the other hand, was slightly disappointing. The upper layer of chocolate remains sinful as how I remember it used to be, but the cake, tasted so bland that I thought I was eating soaked sponge cake.


Anyway, they made my day. This is my real sweet escape...


Lotsa love to all the beautiful ladies who love sweet stuffs. Eat them without any sense of guilt!
Life is too short for bad wines, bad food and of course, bad desserts!

Delicious

I love the combination of white and cyan-blue (or maybe turquoise).

The name of the restaurant says it all. Everyone loves delicious food.

My first acquaintance with Delicious was some years back, that was at Bangsar Village, when I was still young. Paid a visit again three months ago, to one of their branches which is located at the upscale Dua Residency. (Man, I would love to have one of the units here...)

The signature bird cages were the first thing I saw the moment I set foot in the restaurant. The interior designer has definitely done a fabulous job for such concept. Everything blends harmoniously.

Well-heeled & white-collared executives / professionals were most of the patrons here during lunch hour. Did I not mention that all the posh cars were parked in front of the restaurant as well?

 * * *

Yesterday, I met Mei for lunch in Delicious again, but at Bangsar Village this time.
While I was studying their menu and Facebooking at the same time, she appeared and this first thing this woman said right after the courteous hello was - "I think we are wearing the same blouse."


Half stunned, I looked at her blouse, laughed so hard and asked "From Topshop?" She nodded. More laughs. Mine purple while hers blue.


"Hey, we are like 16 years old now, erm no, maybe 14, you know, like those teenage girls who like to dress the same as their friends."


What a coincident. We should buy some lottery tickets together as well :)

Raspberry cooler. I think this is done with some mashed raspberries and topped with soda water. Well, was not too bad anyway.

Mei had the French Onion Soup. It looked very tempting for me though, with the generous cheese... Should try it during the next visit.

Classic Reuben sandwich. Frankly I was not so pleased with the slightly burnt toast but it tasted real good. The melted cheese saved everything though. I always love this sandwich as it comes with sauerkraut but I find that their sauerkraut this time was a bit bland? Oh, I am missing those from El Cerdo now :)

Traditional Beef Meatballs Spaghettini. (Photo taken during my previous visit to Delicious at Dua Residency). The pasta tasted great and I love meatballs. I think in order for me to gorge the whole plate effortlessly without any sense of guilt, I should have starved myself for hours first...


This lovely restaurant serves international cuisine- decent salads / appetizers, pastas, sandwiches, pies / quiches to main course like lamb shank or the local everlasting rendang can all be found in their menus. I should go back - for more food and desserts, and their Death by Iced Chocolate. (It's so good and so tempting that I sipped a large portion of it, only realizing I have not taken any photo of it, sorry)
 

 

 Delicious, Dua Residency

Travel back in time ... to Bali

I am reminiscing those enjoyable pleasure moments I'd had in Bali.

I feel like traveling again. Where to? Istanbul. I like exotic places.

However, there is always a but following - I don't think I can splurge on any vacation at the moment. I have started to feel guilty on all my over-indulging vacations. I should have some plans for my future. Maybe I can travel in my memories, in histories, in photos this time. That cures :)

It took me 2 hours to reach Ubud from Nusa Dua - for the very famous "Babi Panggang" - grilled pork. It looks very 80's for me, this little packed wooden hut :)

All pork ribs are made to order. Aren't these huge, tender-looking pork ribs sinfully tempting?

The menu. All written on different boards and hung on the wall...

Awards & certificates are all lined and displayed on the wall too. Frankly I was amazed by all the accolades given to this really humble place. I was already sweating like the pork ribs being grilled while merely sitting in the restaurant for less than 10 minutes.

(You don't wait to be seated. This place is always packed with tourists / locals from all over the places. You either grab a place with the fastest speed, or you share the long table with other guests, which is sort of fun as you get to make new friends)

I had rice with the gigantic grilled pork ribs. The special chili sauce (drizzled on top of the rice) was so good that I thought of buying a whole jar of it for my mom, she will love it for sure. My tour guide (who is also the girlfriend of my ex-colleague) gave me a "WHAT?" look when I told her that I wanted to buy the sauce.


Well, I didn't buy it at the end.


The ribs, the rice and the sauce were perfect match. So tender, so flavorsome. I kept quiet the moment I sank my teeth in the tenderness of the ribs. I hadn't got much time to talk apart from telling her that it was really good. I spent most of my time lingering in the ultimate pleasure of having the ribs.


I didn't regret for not eating other signature dishes such as Babi Guling or Bebek Pengil. It's okay, I can always go back, but with a travel partner this time :)


By the way, I was quite shocked when I got the bill as it was relatively pricey for a place like this. Oh, millions of Ruppiah :)


Headed to Tagallalang after this lunch, smelling exactly like I have been marinated and put on the pit, grill to perfection. Well, that doesn't sound really sexy for me, I like myself smelling like Versace.


Naughty Nuri's Warung and Grill
Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
(Across the road from Neka Musuem)
http://www.naughty-nuris.com/

The Ubiquitous Depression

I am not quite used to living my life aimlessly at the moment. That somehow depresses me. I can feel the depression everywhere, sinisterly teasing me.


Came back to the city 5 days ago. Realized the biggest advantage of me being in the city is - I can finally wear perfume again!

(I was once allergic to perfume in the island where I suffered from rashes on all the spots I wore perfume, how strange that such thing only happened in the island. God knows why was it).

Apart from clearing some knick-knacks in one of my luggage, I have not unpacked my 25-kg suitcase. My clothes are still folded nicely in there. I am expecting something, I know too well but I don't want to put so much of hope in it anymore.


Went back to my late grandma's place today. It was hard to believe that she has gone. In the car, I was asking myself what do I expect to see when I have reached the house she used to stay. I got the answer the moment I set foot in the house - I sensed loneliness, and silence that I never like. How she smiled when she saw me, the way she asked me about work and how she teased me for working too hard and should spend some time looking for a partner rang vividly in my mind again. I don't like this, I really don't. I want her back.

Sunset in the island. Is that what they are talking about? The curse thing? People who once worked here will come back eventually? I don't know but well, I don't mind going back as tourist though. I seriously missed the dining sessions. I want Chardonnay and Merlot by the beach.

Merlot at Laundry Bar, The Curve, Mutiara Damansara

Being born and raised in the city, I know too well that my heart is way too connected to this fast-paced bustling place. However, sipping Merlot in a mall was just somehow not as satisfying as what I used to do in the island - where I was accompanied by the evening breeze, sound of waves and sometimes, the famed sunset.


Maybe I should really be more aggressive and get my time occupied with works. Work chases depressions away. I want to be a workaholic again :)


Off you go, loneliness and depression, don't pretend to be my friends.


Lotsa love and bless me...