E3°

Thick hot chocolate - Apostrophe

2012-01-15T18:02:00.001Z

During one of my many midnight fantasising of web browsing chocolate desserts recipes and chocolate reviews, I stumbled upon a video of a bunch of tourist pouring their hot chocolate out of their cap. It was so thick that if it was any richer, it was the mix for a gooey batch of brownies! Or at least that was what I naturally come to think of when I saw the video.

I then learn that Apostrophe was responsible for it and it shook me, as I have passed by Apostrophe a gazillion times in Westfield (London) after the video, I had a keen mindset of trying this hot chocolate the next apostrophe I see.

Finally today, we found a new branch of Apostrophe in the south wing of Gatwick Terminal! I was sooooo happy I even suggested to have lunch there, fully aware that 3 hungry as fuck young adults would never agree to have toasted paninis for lunch.

I couldn't wait for em to decide so I went ahead and got a take away of their 'delicantly thick hot chocolate'

The color and the texture of it

Update from up here!

2012-01-10T05:56:00.001Z

Sooo... I just had an expensive cup noodles for MYR 6 (£1.20)

Okay maybe not expensive when you put it in £, but for this post to succeed, please disregard how much this cup noodle is in pounds! Heh. But seriously, MYR 6 for a cup noodles is expensive. We had no choice. We were hungry. We even had 'assorted sandwiches' for MYR 10! I am not going to do the money conversion here lol. The sandwich wasn't even the glam ones served with rocket leaves and wedges, it's the ready to go ones sold in train stations in packets for people who are too busy to sit down and for lunch! Pfft!

The food's not bad at all actually (I'm not talking about the instant noodles) I guess their pre booked meals are surprisingly delicious for aeroplane food!

Till I'm home,
Toodles!

4 ladies at Pizza Express

2012-01-05T07:35:00.084Z

Who knew how draining shopping actually is that I reached home at half 6 in the evening and passed out right away! Didn't wake up until 6 this morning. Gotta say, I love it when I don't wake up because it gets too quiet (it happens to me) So yesterday, we took the train to Birmingham New Street for some shopping time.

Me and my sister spent an hour (or more) in Forever 21 when the other two ladies got absolute nothing from the massive sales going on in the three floors high shop! That's just silly. I walked out of the shop with a very big grin on my face. We had a hard time deciding on our pizza, so we got a bottle of rose to start us off.

then half of us had our desserts coming in first. I really wanted something gooey and rich but I don't want to try another chocolate fudge cake. I seem to only be trying that wherever I go. So I got something lighter like doughball with nutella. Whereas, my sister had a slice of banoffeepie coming in for her. Besides our two desserts for starters, we got a serving of garlic bread and a portion of doughball (8pieces)

Basically, the doughball from the starters menu and the desserts are identical. I wasn't thinking straight, I was confusing the doughball dessert with cookie dough. Silly me! But either ways, the doughballs were warm and packed, the butter that came with the starter was delicious. I love butter.

I settled for a Piccante rather than a whole pizza because we just had pizzas on the first day of 2012. Plus, I really want to enjoy my slice of pizza in the comfort of my own home with a good family movie playing.

With some sprinkled parmesan and the rockets out of the way, my warmly served pasta was magic on my tongue. The tinge of spiciness of the beef and sausage went hand in hand. I only wish I had chili flakes to strengthen the taste.

And since a glass of wine in the daytime is not exactly my cup of tea (hah!) the kind lady got me a cup of gü's hot chocolate. The aromatic love in a cup got my gobbling down to the bottom of the mug in second. Not so lady-like of me, but.. life's too short to take it slow with something this good

It was a tiring day, but I was happy. Looking forward to another lunch date! I actually do prefer lunch over dinner, anytime. Somehow lunch is more casual and more fun. Don't you think so?

.. Thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was hurricane

2012-01-03T09:33:00.001Z

Happy 2012, E3!

2012-01-01T23:17:00.077Z

A recap on my last day of 2011, I tried baking at 7am on New Year's Eve. I failed, terribly.

But I'm gonna keep all my failures in 2011. No more baking for me.

I went out for some last minute shopping with my sister during the day. We were both hungry so we cut the shopping trip short and headed for dinner at Harvester at 6pm instead. This is my 1126 kcal dinner. I hate(& love) how they have calorie count by every item on their menu.

Two huge sundaes, two main courses & two unlimited drink only amount to £29.45! I am going to make this my favourite restaurant to go to now. The sundaes are HUGE and they only cost £4.09! Plus, the waiter, MannB was really kind and he kept checking if we liked our food. I think Harvester aims to provide healthy comfort food for health conscious people but not exactly fully healthy kind. I don't know, that's just my grasp of the place.

I got myself half a spitroast chicken with a side of mashed potato. My corn cannot be any smaller already, what was the point of serving such small corn. lol. I got the hot peri peri sauce and it tasted like nando's! I'm not complaining, it's the nearest to cili padi. And for desserts, I rewarded myself with Rocky Horror! We were actually too full for desserts but how could we walk away from so many choices of ice cream sundaes?

I came home to a phone call from someone unexpected. Totally made my night before I fell asleep while watching movie with my sister. I woke up a quarter to midnight! Phew! How lucky of me to actually wake up on time for the countdown! We stayed in, watch a good family movie and by the stroke of midnight, our neighbourhood was loud with fireworks! It's a different way of ushering the new year in this time, but I want to make 2012 all about those who matters. What better way to start the year than the way I did last night? :)

I went down to fix up something sweet to start the year. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles. Mango & orange juice, a cup of full cream milk with two flavoured oreos (chocolate & ice cream) & 3 english pancakes! That's how I missed May & another friend's call.

Then I went out at half 1 in the morning to see my friends who came from Milton Keynes. I had this bad feeling about something before I left home and I was right. Always trust your instinct, ladies. I was playing with my phone at one point into the night. To compare to my usual self, I was surprisingly not that attached to my phone last night. I know because my phone had a save amount of battery left when I came home this morning. So when I took out my phone to take a picture of my friend, I took a picture of myself and I wanted to post it on instagram. Without a moment of hesitancy, one of my friend snatched my phone away and next thing led to another, my nail was bleeding from the inside!

I don't know what was he thinking!! Maybe I was a little annoyed with him earlier,

so breaking my nail made worsen things. I couldn't talk to him at all.

Forget it. I have to, no choice. Many things happened that night. But I guess overall, I had a great night out. I was laughing a lot, I had a lot of fun and I didn't succumb to things I didn't (still don't) want. That should be the attitude for this year! I shall, & will not put myself into situations that I feel uncomfortable doing. Life's too short to please others all the time.

Happy 2012! :)

I'll start talking about Christmas

2011-12-29T06:32:00.003Z

I'm actually watching Cheaper by he Dozen on my laptop as I blog on my cell. I can NEVER get bored of that show and the sequel, it's seriously a good family show! I can't press on that enough, seriously.. It just gets me everytime! I love the show, but my tech dependency leaves me terrible at concentrating solely on one thing. I just don't have that patience anymore.

So on Christmas eve, I woke up early to make dinner. But before the hell in the kitchen started burning up, we went around doing Santa duty! We went around delivering gifts and cards!

It was such a beautiful day. It was chilly but the sun was up. We went to the Cannon Park mall and I found a Korean marketplace!! I still couldn't find any rice cake though, but it's okay, I'll have some soon in Daorae or have it in my all time best Korean restaurant in London, Assa!

I'll blog about Christmas dinner soon! Maybe after this if I can't sleep. Hope I'm not too late, E3! Merry Christmas!

Jamie's Italian VS Frankie & Benny's

2011-12-28T09:31:00.000Z

Last night, my sister spilled wine over my babyboo (macbook) and the keyboard went psycho on me. It's not fully functioning at the moment. What a time I choose to blog! -.-

Right, now let's get back on track. Last Friday, 23rd December 2011, my sister officially turned 25 years old. Due to some misfortune two nights before then, we were contemplating to cancel our reservation at Jamie's Italian in Bull Ring. But we decided to go with the plan on Thursday evening. I made an arrangement for a bouquet of gerbera to be delivered to the restaurant. Traffic was slow on the highway that afternoon so we pushed our reservation to 2pm instead.

Bare in mind that this is my 3rd visit for the sake of what I am to say in this post about Jamie's Italian. The place, never fail to put a smile on my face. I really like how high the ceilings are from the ground and how it gives out a homely warm vibe.

I ordered an Osso bucco Milanese, it looks amazing!

But the taste was pretty bland.

OSSO BUCCO MILANESE £13.95
British veal cooked ultra slowly overnight with tomatoes,

wine & herbs served with white polenta and crispy Salina capers

8oz ANGUS SIRLOIN STEAK

£16.95

Sirloin, from Tillyfour Farm in Aberdeen,

with grilled mushrooms and dressed peppery watercress

ANGLESEY SEA BASS £16.95

whole-roasted sea bass served with crunchy sweet and sour vegetables

POSH CHIPS £3.25

With insanely good truffle oil and Parmesan

SEASIDE RISOTTO
£8.95/£15.95
Clams, mussels, prawns, cockles, fennel, chilli, white wine & herbs

(Continuing @8:13am, 28th December 2011)

My fussy sister decided to have her desserts first and she only wanted the brownies, AND unfortunately, Jamie's Italian on that afternoon, ran out of brownies. Both my visits to JI, I've never tried anything from their desserts menu, looking at it again, I remembered why. Somehow, nothing tickled me. The first thing I asked upon entering the restaurant was their recommended desserts. The kind waitress suggested the Sicilian Cheesecake, adding that it was their very own chef from Birmingham's creation, but I never got around to try it that friday noon.

There was a messed up with our waitress and the ladies at the reception who kept my sister's bouquet. So what followed next was our appetizers and mains that came first rather than our desserts like she hoped for. But what truly disappointed us was how they left the flowers at the counter two tables behind us, next to the desserts with a scoop of ice cream sitting next to it! My sister kept looking back for her desserts and kept going on and on how she could see her ice cream melting! I wasn't sure if she noticed the flowers, I only dare suspect she did.

I blame myself for the lack of prior planning, but I had expected better service from them seeing they do provide top notch, excellent service with everything else - except this simple birthday request.

Then I hurried to Forever21 to return a beautiful purple dress I bought a couple of weeks back. A couple of weeks back WHEN I had the confidence of losing a few pounds, I finally accepted the fact that I can never shed those extra kilos. Best part about that 3 storey F21 is the costa coffee ♥

Then we head home to try Clement's cake he specially baked for my sister! Note, this is his first time baking and decorating for a cake. Hence the very thick slices of Kiwi and cracked icing. And smudged wording. But it is sweet now, isn't it. Blogging while referring to the picture now makes me feel like mashing up some mix to make a cake. I'll not act on impulse tonight, especially when I should be sleeping.

The cake was delicious! Here's the sweet couple :)

Not ordering any desserts after dining at Jamie's Italian had some serious effect on me, I gobbled my huge slice of cake within seconds! Since I finished first, I called up Frankie & Benny's to see if they were full. We've noticed the restaurant a long time ago but we've never actually tried it. I see this franchised restaurant similar to Chili's; may not be equal to Chilis but somewhere around there.

It's warm interior was different from JI's. The wood furnishing and the open kitchen concept was very italian. Yet the dimly lit place and records of oldies bursting through the speakers had a little american touch to it. Of course Frankie & Benny's was not as classy as Jamie's Italian advertised itself to be. And menu wise, Jamie's Italian was surely Italian; simple, upfront & organize. While Frank & Benny's seemed to be over crowded with choices.

After the similar experience I've had that day with Jamie's Italian like I've had with the previous two visits, I was eager to have something strong & simple to satisfy my tongue's command. I got the Steak Wrap for £10.45 with a side of mashed. The mashed was amazing! The texture was just about right with this very strong cheesy aroma to it, so creamy each bite lifted me up a little from my seat. My steak wrap was pretty alright. It was mediocrity with onions and pepper. And surprisingly, I quite like it. Call me cheap, but I'd really prefer a simple dish, well served and made than a difficult dish, but supposedly heavenly, gone wrong. My ex makes better steak wrap, but this was edible, good and affordable.

My sister got a Chicken Penne Romana for £9.55. I liked hers because her pasta has a tinge of spiciness to it and I do like putting chili flakes in everything I eat. Blame the asian within, I crave for extremity when it comes to spiciness of my food. But the slices of chicken in the pasta was tasteless. Still, the bits of fried bacon made up for it.

This was Clement's New York Strip Sirloin Steak (£16.95) He liked this better than Jamie's whereas I personally thought his steak here might have been overcooked on the outside. But hey, who am I to say and really judge on how to cook a steak.

I asked for the same birthday request with our waitress. What happened was that the entire restaurant blacked out and the speakers around the restaurant was bursting out with the Birthday Song as our waitress approaches our table with a plate of Chocolate Brownie Fudge Cake (£4.75)! She was singing along! My sister wasn't the only one surprised, I was too!

The cake was okay. When it comes to the chocolate dessert, I have to give it to Jamie Italian's.

& I got myself a White Chocolate Brownie Sundae for £4.45

I've been trying real hard to write again for the past two days,

I guess I am allowed to show my face with a cup of love ;)

Our bill only amounted to 60 over pounds if I am not mistaken. It was a long day of food galore, I was previously on a strict diet before the 23rd of December.. But somehow, that friday seemed to open my appetite, like a pandora's box. I haven't stopped eating since. I haven't literally stopped eating since! Or maybe Aunt Flo is about to visit again, I don't know.

Back to the point of this post, Happy 25th Birthday my dearest sister. Being at home here with you everyday still feels like when I first entered high school. We are growing by the second, yet somehow, it doesn't feels like we're growing from each other at all. Birthdays, they are here to remind me how we're older than the year before, because every other day feels like we're still in our teenage years. I'm glad I can carry a piece of my childhood as I embark on my journey into adulthood.

Love Always, & always,
Your younger sister.

How about a quickie?

2011-12-18T03:20:00.000Z

I'm down with an allergy streak AGAIN! Urgh! So totally ruining my night! The day hasn't exactly went well but I'm not drown with sadness. I've just started Gossip Girls Season 5, I know, why so long? Well, I really didn't want to be left hanging at episode 1 waiting desperately for a whole week before episode 2 comes out. And like I said, I don't like being left hanging, so I finally made a decision after dreading a certain issue for months now. I'm not upset but I'm just, not all happy? I downloaded google chrome and my palms are sweating because the central heating is on, I can't sleep while I'm feeling hot.

Look at the day I've had, don't you think I deserve some midnight snack like ice cream even if it's 3 in the morning?

I'm back & blogging!

2011-12-08T01:04:00.000Z

I think I'm back for real? I'm supposed to be doing my research for my dissertation but seriously... I hate doing research, and the idea of doing academic writing? That has got to be a joke! Unfortunately, I can't take this as a joke if I do not want to be a returning student on the fall of 2012. Every year, I have something new to say about myself as a learning student or a 'designer'-to-be (The word designer seems a bridge too far at the moment) and every year, it's something different! I'm not sure if they're good changes but they're new changes alright.

I'm not doing enough at this stage. I'm a final year student and I draw like an amateur. I design like an amateur. My imagination shrunk all together, I am just too literal with my work these days. Am I trying too hard?

Until I run out of excuses to not do my research,

XXX

Blogging is still a habit

2011-11-14T02:28:00.002Z

Every now and then, I would have the urge to turn on my blogger and blog something irrelevant to the world's current affair. It takes a little getting used to to stop blogging all together, especially when twitter limits you to express with 140 characters. So now I'm considering on going back to blogging. Hmm.

A Tuesday w/ Me

2011-10-19T11:51:00.002+01:00

I went to bed near to 4 or slightly after 4 the night before, so waking up at 8am was almost impossible for me. I managed to get up at half 8 in the end. It was freezing! But thankfully sunny!

I am having this huge dilemma doing my poster projects due in early November. Hah!

I was in the studio for 6 hours, but I couldn't sit still! I was constantly walking around, buying pens and markers, buying food, making tea. Blah.

Oh look what came in the studio? :)

Besides chocolate, I hadn't had anything to eat all day so I heated up a box of fried rice & finished the whole thing! I usually don't eat so much rice but I guess I was really hungry. Then I had a cup of strawberry drink to flush dinner down while waiting Desperate Housewives. Ahh, blissful moment.

'You snooze, You lose'

Oh ya, before I end.. I've been meaning to get a blazer because I've got a couple of pretty dresses (I wanna wear) that reveals my fat flabby arms, so I thought a blazer would be a great solution! This one is from F21 but it's padded. Yes? No?

I'm closer to the clouds up here.

2011-10-14T03:31:00.001+01:00

I'm going to start with what I've been doing: I came back to school on the 3rd of October but school actually only started the week after that. I've already been briefed about my dissertation & projects. Two's due this 2nd of November, which means, no (or minimal) partying on Halloween. Then another one end of November. And dissertation hand in date is before Christmas. Then it's my major project & degree show fund-raising! Woots! I can't believe I am in my final year now. I am not skilled enough to be an illustrator, how did these 2 years passed by so quickly? I've learned nothing! I mean I did, heaps of stuff, but nothing significantly big.

Anyhoo, I've been trying my hardest to contain my attention. I envy those who can just sit and study for hours, I would kill for that strong will. I did a little more stuff to my room and although I really want to blog about it, my short attention span isn't exactly making it happen.

Besides many failed attempts to succeed academically, I'm gonna write a thing or two about last night. It'll be nice to revisit my own blog to see something new. I got ready 8pm (I know that's a wee bit early) but I've got nothing to do considering eating only takes 2 minutes for me now. There was a Chinese Party last night, so after agreeing to attend for awhile, I started getting ready early because I wanted the o2jam Pony Curl hair! & I was skyping too :))

Here's some pictures of the night! Too lazy to blog heh.

I got home just before it turns 7! What a long night. & this is the hair! :) Alright, I'm done!

Off to take a shower now! Toodles! x

I'm not gonna explain what this is

2011-10-07T01:02:00.000+01:00

How it all began..

2011-10-06T12:01:00.001+01:00

I'm going to start blogging about my summer real slooow so bear with me if you're up for reading what went on with me during the last 4 months. I'm just going to start this one with my girls. I am not the most responsible and reliable person on earth, but I do try to squeeze in as much meeting as I can with the people I had hoped to meet up with before I went back. First & foremost after my family, my trip back was to see my closest friends & best friends that just turned (or were about to turn) 21. It's a pity we couldn't all meet at the same time, at the same place, but I managed to see most of us except for Melissa O., Kesha & not so much of Fei Cui.

This was the first night Jessica came back from Japan.

Look at ~~almost~~ all of us! :)

We spent a memorable night out at Bed, Belissa Row. Me & Jessica ordered horrible drinks and we ended up talking about nothing to everything at Gurney Drive. Sometimes, it doesn't really matter where we are, it's just nice to have each other.

Hello, UK!

2011-10-01T22:31:00.002+01:00

I am back! I had a terrible flight experience back this time, I guess there's a first for everything. It was the longest flight ever! I wasn't very cooperative, I was half hearted and absent minded most of the time. But whatever it was, I am so very glad and thankful to be back here on my purple sheeted bed. The one that I have been sleeping on all day, I hear my tummy grumbles, but I was actually too sleepy to get up for food. That's how exhausted I was and still am. I am feeling lazy to go out tonight, but I don't really want to make tonight the first saturday I am staying in in 4 months.

Anyways, the purpose of this post was to announce my return to the UK, hence, also my recommencement of blogging. Hopefully, I will have the patience to talk about my eventful holiday break back in Malaysia. Off to slug around before I shower for my saturday night! :) ♡

I'm leaving on a jet plane

2011-09-27T23:31:00.001+01:00

I am packing again! Can't believe 4 months have just gone pass by me just like that!

Did I had too much fun or did I just took time too lightly again?

I'm back!

2011-09-08T08:46:00.000+01:00

Blogger has been causing login problems for me. There has been so many nights and occasions when I feel like ranting it out on words, but could not do so. I thought of having another blog, because after all, what else am I going to do without a blog? But I couldn't proceed with that thought, e3anna.blogspot.com has been with me for so many years, it holds a lot of value, not merely just an e-journal. Although my blog is now under my mom's account (I don't know how or why) I'm grateful for the fact that I have the access to my dashboard.

I've got so many things that I want to let loose. There are things I can share a little with my girls, but there are some other things not another single soul other than mine, knows. It's hard with all these bottled thoughts. At some point during one of those deep ponders, I wonder if I'm going to lose my mind. But I'm glad to be back ;)

#CurrentObsession

2011-08-15T01:17:00.001+01:00

You're like that new hit on the radio. I would put you on repeat and listen to you and only you.

But eventually, something else and something new would come along to replace you.

Home?

2011-07-25T05:09:00.002+01:00

If I'm not needed to 'supervise' 3 workers from an aircon servicing company, I wouldn't be here blogging. Since my mom insist that I change into a longer pants, put on my bra and stay awake to make sure all 3 of them stays within my sight throughout it all, I'll spend time blogging. I don't exactly see them right now, I hear one drilling over the room wall. One hammering behind that wall. And I don't hear the other one at all. But I don't get it, like my room is not small enough! I don't want to be observing them at work in a confine space where there will be dusts from the drilling when I am down with a cold. What was my mom thinking?

So instead of doing what mummy told me to, I'm actually here trying to write my 2nd post for this month while I juggle between Facebook, Twitter & watching MacBarbie07's youtube videos. What I've been meaning to blog 2 weeks ago was how much I've missed home. How I can be away for so long and still know every corner of the house in the dark. How 20 years have gone pass and many things have not changed in my house. & I suppose that was the reason why I wanted to blog 2 weeks ago. How safe this home is. Even when the world seems to be spinning faster than ever and got me unaccommodating to society's new change, home is truly where everything stays the same.

Thus explains the reason why I want to blog today. Home has always been my safe world, a place that stands still and promises to remain where it's at for all eternity. The same reason I believe that is sucking the life out of me. It wouldn't be outrageous to say that I'm an entirely different & better person staying alone, although a less arrogant way of putting it would be that I am walking on that path to being a better person. Being away & alone, I do learn to love myself better. I value myself more and maybe because I was in a situation to be responsible for myself, I was being more responsible. I've been back for more than a month and I've done nothing. I've not done a single sketch nor have I turned on my Adobe Illustrator. I feel redundant, but not to a point where it bothers me to take action. I literally feel like home is sucking the life out of me. Home is a place that never grows, hence I'm never going to grow staying here too. Home gives me so much comfort but it's when I'm struggling and hating that I'm growing. It's sad to feel like I'm ready to go back 'home' to a place that I've never wanted to call home.

Kualalala Lumpur on the 9th July 2011

2011-07-10T18:29:00.001+01:00

Sorry to disappoint many of you, but I did not participated in Bersih's mass demonstration. I was actually a part of something beautiful and much more peaceful than that instead. I was at a wedding in KL.

I braced and prepped myself for what our journey to KL on the morning of 9th July would unfold. (Even death, like I tweeted) But... the traffic was unbelievably smooth all the way to Rawang before the 2nd roadblock extended our estimated traveling time to 6 hours. We also got lost looking for our family friends' place. But because we began the drive at dawn, we arrived just in time for lunch.

Getting ready for the wedding was horrible! I didn't realized I forgotten to pack a strapless bra for my dress until I was sliding into my dress!! So instead of having a fuller boobs like I should have wearing a proper cupped bra, I had adhesive pads on :( And my mom couldn't stop laughing at my amateur make up skill so after reapplying a new set of eye shadow (I swear I feel like my eye lids were tearing off from the frictions) I wore a pair of falsies! I think it really does bring out your eyes, but I failed terribly at it so the left side was more obvious. Guess this is another 'practice makes perfect' thing!

The ceiling was high and I think they couldn't have picked a better venue for a small wedding dinner that this place. It was such a good night that I thought if I have to get married, it'll also be here. Upon the bride and groom's entrance, the bride's sister ushered them in by dancing and singing Bruno Mar's Marry you. Shortly before their other siblings and cousins joined in. It was so beautiful that my eyes started welling up in tears.

Both the bride and groom then gave a short speech. It was bittersweet to me because I really could've cried out loud if I let myself. It was just so plain beautiful. My mom was sobbing away next to me, I guess that explains my sensitivity. The speech got me thinking about my wedding. Before I knew it, I was already feeling the pain of leaving my parents when I'm married off to my 'somewhere-out-there' husband. The power of imagination. Sigh.

This was the first dish, it should be the four season. I didn't look long at the menu.

This was really goooooooood!

Then I stopped taking pictures of the other dishes. lol. The entire night got me thinking about a lot of stuff. Isn't it scary & magical at the same time that the person I will be sharing the rest of my life with, build a home and family with is actually somewhere out there roaming on the surface of the earth? I wonder what's he doing.

I didn't want to get married, even up to when I was 16, I thought marriage was ridiculous. And even if I had to, I didn't want many kids, one or two and that would've been enough. But last night got me pondering over many silly unusual thoughts. Maybe waking up to someone I want to live my whole life with would be my ordinary miracle. Maybe this beauty is only awhile before we start resenting each other, but at least that way, it's safe to say I've lived enough to live through that. Maybe I'm still young, or maybe I'm not really young anymore. The bride last night was 28 years old, that means that if I were to get married after aiming and getting a proper graduate job, I would only have 7 years to meet my 'husband', get to know him, do the whole dating thing and be sure that he is the one I will be spending my entire life with! Don't you think that 7 years is ridiculously short for that? No, life is not a movie. Only in movies, you fall in love at the first sight and instantly know that she's the one.

Maybe I'm meant to attend weddings that are not my own. But since 'Maybe' only has a possibility of happening,

Maybe I'll fall in love,

marry my soulmate

live happily ever after!

London St. Brasserie

2011-06-21T03:30:00.002+01:00

Seeing that it is 4 in the morning, the Sun is already rising and I am feeling feverish over from suffocating, no air movement, room with tightly sealed windows, I thought I could do something I've been putting off for a long time - like starting one of the 4 pending posts.

On the 29th of May (Sunday) Ryan officially turned 21, the boy turns into a man, merely just by age. The party on the night before in Sakura was amazing. I know we all definitely had a great time and Ryan got pissed drunk. So upon his hangover morning, I was running back and forth from the toilet and kitchen attending to all his needs. From a glass of water to a box of juice, I also forced a couple of pills of panadol down his throat to stop his throbbing headache. It was expecting that the pre-planned lunch and dinner in Central London was cancelled. He did try to get up and carry out his birthday plan but he was feeling very light-headed and very much still hangover. Yet he didn't want to just let his big day pass by without any form of celebration. In the end, he booked a table for 10 at London Street Brasserie even after a negative experience from a friend of his.

They had this 2 meals for £14.95 deal going on until 6.30pm daily, and yes we were actually there before half 6. I think we were already comfortable planted in our seats by 6.

It took a while for the table for 10 to fill up, but we made our orders long before they arrive.

For starters, this is Ryan's Mutton Kofta Kebab

My King prawns

I don't usually order prawns, unless it was included. But I've been trying to be more adventurous with my tongue. In the sense of culinary! I might learn to appreciate the better delicacies in the world. Might. So far, no successful attempts. I didn't like my prawns, I'm not sure if it was just my stomach of rejecting prawns all these years or if these prawns were really tasteless.

Our mains: Ryan's Hot smoked Lochinvar Salmon

Which did not tasted too awful.

My Chargrilled Chicken

I thought it was delicious, especially my mashed potato. But the chicken was tasteless and bland for Ryan.

My opinion on the place was that, it serves a normal range of food. And if it wasn't for the 2 course meal deal, I'd think it is rather expensive for the food they serve. Portion size wise, the pictures are self-explanatory.

The night took a different turn when his friend started poking around his salad and found a living worm! This disgusted many of those who finished their salad and sadly, it prompted the rest who didn't to go on a bug-hunt. Luckily (or not) Ryan found a dead one on his plate. Their new finding got them two free meals and two free desserts. And since they knew it was Ryan's birthday from the start, they made his dessert platter a little more special than the rest of us! It was complimented with a glass of champagne.

Dark Chocolate Fondant with Pistachio Ice Cream (£6.70)

The chocolate fondant was good, the melted dark chocolate was overly rich and warm. To many, the Pistachio flavoured Ice cream with the Chocolate Fondant complimented each other very well, but not to me. I thought the Pistachio ice cream came too strong. I believe vanilla would've done a better job.

The wind blew a smile at me

2011-06-08T17:39:00.000+01:00

Sometime back during the Easter break, we continued our journey down to Dorset from Bournemouth's beach because the night before, I saw the Durdle Door on my friend's facebook page and seeing that the Peugeot is still on the rented clock, I figured we might as well make full use of it. The highway just outside of Bournemouth was bad, the traffic was congested and everyone else was feeling a little drowsy, but as we enter narrow alleys walled by distorted village-houses, we started waking up to the eccentricity of the area. The Sun shone out the quaintness of the place, each turn we make only brought us deeper into a more magical place than the one before.

The joke was on us when we thought we've seen it all as we parked by the gate that fenced further footpaths along the coast. I was like a puppy being let out of the house for the first time! I was impatience with my friends having to deal with carpark payments, so I went through the gate first and started gearing up my camera. I put on shades and I let the nature wow me away.

The place was even more spectacular behind my shades due to the sun exposure that basically blinded us from seeing anything further than 5 miles from us. But the place was just breathtaking without any sky-scrapper or any other human ruins. I thought I've seen it all living in a peaceful town with many weekend city visits, but this just proved me wrong. This place is mesmerizing, you literally feel exposed and breathable just by standing there!

We saw a couple all dressed up for wedding shots! Makes me want to be photographed in such an unbelievably beautiful place! My wedding photographs, I mean..

The place was enchanting.. Standing there trying to capture the place with bare eyes was similar to breaking out of a spell, the bursting sun was overbearing.

I was afraid to near myself to the edge, but with 3 steps back, I believe the view was as enthralling as it is 3 steps further. It feels like I was on top of the world being at such a height. No, it isn't like being by the shore overlooking the never-ending sea line. This is definitely different. This compels you to a smile and unchains you from all unearthly gravitational pull. I've mentioned breath-taking, but I can't wind up any other word simple enough to deliver what I want to say.

The place was amazing. The stairs are very steep so you would have to be very careful when you walk if you intend to take a hike around the place. The place is all pebbled and grassy, so best be on your walking shoes. It could worn you out with tonnes of walking, hiking and wow-ing so be prepared for that.

We intend to stay for the sun to set but knowing the longer day time in Spring and Summer, the sun wasn't going to set anytime soon although it was practically dinner time. But this mishap was made redress with chilled Capri-suns and sandwiches :) What a lovely, lovely day.

Room Makeover

2011-05-26T01:17:00.000+01:00

Waking up at 6 in the morning wasn't hard. Trying to kill your time from 6am until most shops open, now that's tough. I was making blue Tang Yuen while watching Toradora when my laptop crashed. I don't use Firefox unless I need do, and this morning, my anime needed to run on Firefox. 3 episodes out and it wiped off my screen. It was terrible, but I had my gluttonous dessert to keep me going.

2 hours off and I was bored! I was drilling my door yesterday morning when my sister shushed me up. So fearing of such recurrence, I sat on my hands and counted for time to pass. It wasn't long before I heard footsteps from upstairs, and that indicated that they were awake and I was liberated to make noise! So I readjusted my pinboard and added a shelf! The shelf was a little tricky to stick on, it requires drilling but I hammered a couple of screws in halfway before screwing them in the wall.

I got new bedsheets from IKEA (£15.99)! I wouldn't go for this style on normal circumstances but seeing that I do adore purple and my room is basically orange, this was like specially made for me.

I dismantled my red sliding table that spoiled me. The roller table made things much easier, I stopped getting out of bed. The hardest part of this make over was changing what needed change. I get too familiar with things and I did literally sat by the table and considered keeping the table. But it wouldn't have been a makeover if it was only a change of bedsheets. My computer is nowhere near my bed, far to be exact. - Words of a minimalist. But yes, it is a distant where stretching is unreachable. Now look, my wall looks like a wall now. I got a stand lamp from IKEA (£5.10). I needed a floor lighter seeing that I cannot find any white light bulbs here! I'm still collecting train tickets to fill up the wall :)

Then I bought this £8 magnet board. It needs screwing too so if you're renting a place, I suggest you either sit it on the table or against the wall rather than screwing it in. I placed it on the side of the wall where my head sleeps because according the Ryan.. it is unlucky to hang a mirror above where I sleep or directly facing my bed. - which was part of my initial makeover plan.

I shifted a couple of things. My clothes no long hangs behind the door and my room is more spacious than ever. I bought a mirror for the price of £6-7. It isn't exactly body length but you get most of yourself out of it. It came looking like this:

And I made it this in 2.5 hours time. Nail varnish and a couple of acrylic paint tubes.

See, it isn't exactly neat. But in my eyes, it does look very self-made, which was what I was going for. That little hippie touch and child-like coloring wasn't planned so I will be retouching it from time to time, especially on those places I missed out. The direct inhalation was bad!

& voila! My fast and easy makeover. Next would be a new bed. That will be for when and if I come back next year! :) Until then, that's all about my room here in the UK for now.

Dear Future-Me

2011-05-19T07:56:00.001+01:00

There will be days that you will feel hopelessly low, yet you'll never really hit rock bottom. You're sort of stuck - like I have been feeling lately. Days like that comes in batches and they come so frequent you stop counting long time ago. The sun will shine for you like it just did for me. Tomorrow it’ll probably rain or the sun might continue lighting you up but when you’re lifted and motivated to do something, you have the power in you to change your world upside down, right side out. Because I just made that happened. And as hard as the bad times get to you.. the sense of accomplishment will make you sparkle and glow so genuinely the Gods beyond the clouds could see it from up there. There has been many mornings when I lie awake unmoved and uninspired, I may have let many good encounters passed me by as I hide behind the curtains watching the world outside my door happen. But I’ve not once stop believing in myself. I know someday, I’ll make it work. If you’re stuck or lost your faith, think of me. Think of your younger self. You believed in yourself. You never thought you were good enough, but you know you’ll eventually get there.

Always & Always,
your 20-year old self.

Assa - Korean Restaurant

2011-05-18T08:25:00.000+01:00

I was looking for my birthday post to link it in here because I had lunch at Assa on my birthday but I can't find the damn post! It's driving me nuts! How is it that I did not blog about my birthday lunch, cake from Paul then club afterwards?? I must have posted the pictures on facebook instead. Urgh, what a bad move. Nevermind that now, pointless to rant about it.

So today, shortly after I woke up from a 5-hour nap at about 6 in the evening.. The phone rang and at the end of the line, a silly girl invites us for a drive down to London just for dinner. The idea of being back in that city was a nostalgia for my party days. When she brought up Assa, I was instantly sold! That was the ultimatum, how could anyone deny Assa? A korean restaurant in central London that serves at a very reasonable price. Yes, the place is a little shabby and small, the service isn't top-notch but if you're looking for an authentic korean experience in London, this is it. This is all it! I once went to Koba, a very appealing Korean restaurant that seems to have much more to offer. Its modern interior and uniformly dressed staffs came with a pricier menu, and it wasn't worth it. I am speaking this as an international student who has no absolutely understanding of converting the currency for frugality purposes, I was sure that was my first and last visit. Speaking of this, I've actually tried out quite a few korean restaurants. I do enjoy Myungga too, but that's a tale for another time. Getting back..

The drive on the highway worn me out and got me all slopping down the backseat bonelessly. I was no longer excited about Assa, nor was I interested about anything else other than a toilet; my bladder was building up. When we were driving through Piccadilly Circus and through Oxford Street, I was sparkling up again. I was reminded of all the things I love about London, and I started resenting myself for being grounded for far too long. The drive down to Central London took us slightly more than an hour. But looking for a Car Park took equally the same time (if not more)

So here's a word of advice, if you are intending on driving down to Tottenham to try out Assa, there's a National Car Park (NCP) just around the corner. Very convenient. But, the downside of having a national carpark open for public in central London is that, it is £12 for 2 hours.

(Click on NCP for Tottenham Hale Station Address)

The last time I went, I made a reservation and 6 of us were seated in a private room downstairs where there was a Karaoke Set. I believe they have entertainment license for after dinner events, but they're all in korean language so for the rest of us non-korean speaking people is to no avail. This time, we called at about half 7 to make a reservation for 8.30pm but we were told to try a walk-in instead as any attempted booking less than 3 hours prior intended booking time is not valid, so if you want to book you and your friends a spot for dinner, I suggest you make a call as soon as you can on that very day as Assa is usually full. Even on weekdays.

The inside (Ground level)

Our Beef & Kimchi Hotpot (£15)

This is just a mediocre dish for me, but my friends do enjoy this dish a lot so we would have this practically all of our visits. It has mushrooms, Korean vermicelli/clear noodle (sweet potato starch noodle), shredded beef slices, generous amount of Kimchi, chilis, Tofu & Onions. I think that is basically all that's in there. The soup base is clear and sweet, but not in a sugar-sweet kinda sweet, it's a sweetness that is rich in its broth and taste. It has a tinge of sourness to it from the Kimchi but it blends in just perfectly.

As you can see above, the pot is pretty shallow and it comes on its own without any rice or noodle (except some clear noodle included in it) So what we would usually do is order extra servings of yellow korean noodles, I don't know why but springy noodles are delicious! If I'm right, they cost only 50p for one. & feel free to ask for extra soup when your pot runs dry. This is what that makes this place amazing and guaranteeing. I mean I for one enjoy soupy dishes, and I can be a little reluctant to pay £15 for so little soup and so much stock. Okay maybe I'd pay +/- £2 for extra soup but the fact that the staffs are always happy to oblige this simple request totally swoon our hearts away!

This is our new favourite: Hot & Spicy Rice Cake. I tried the one in Myungga and it was just-too-damn-good! The one in Myungga came with clear noodle/vermicelli but this came with yellow noodles, fishcakes & rice cake. I usually go for soft & slightly better done noodles but with this dish, I go al-dente! The sauce is addictive! It's thick, sweet and spicy and it'll blow your mind off! I can't really remember how much this was but it should've been no more than £7

That concludes my dinner. And it should've been been enough but we got greedy. You see, the same silly girl exhilarated our 'ready to settle' mind with Bubbleogy in Soho. And guess what else is in Soho? Amorino. But let's start with Bubbleogy.. Bubbleogy serves Bubble Milk Tea, which has become quite an Asian thing - thanks to Peter Chao. I do miss having Bubble Milk Tea as I would always have one every Friday after school but it don't necessarily mean that I would go to the world's end just to have it. But if it is half the journey to the world's end, I might just consider traveling to that extend.

Bubbleogy from the shopfront looks chiq and bubbly! Like Snog. The variety was limited but not easy to choose. The usual size of a Bubble Milk Tea is 500ml for £3.25 and a large one at 750ml for £3.75. For just 50p extra, I went for the large one without any further consideration. But I took a long while deciding on a flavour at the counter. I was looking for the usual Tea base but all they had was Jasmin Tea, which in my experiences with Tea, was bad. I really didn't like the rest of the flavours like Almonds & Melons, I even contemplated to go for Vanilla but that didn't went through. I saw 'Cocoa' just behind the counter but it was not on the menu board. I thought Chocolate would've been the safest choice! Nothing could go wrong with chocolate but nooo... I could barely finish half of mine, it was awful! I can't tell if it was too thick or if it was too bland. They could've faked it with chocolate sugar water for me but it was absolute crap! But bubbleogy did have colorful straws :)) & I may have took one or two (or three) more than I needed just for fun.

Then it was time for Amorino, that one Italian that has never failed me. I only have £4 cash with me at the moment but a card privilege would have to be above £7, so I got the Extra Large Cup for £7.80 and I added an extra Dark Ciocolatto flavor to the cup. They usually fill it up full or overflowing but they only gave me half this time. HALF. What a disappointment. When I got into the car, it caused quite a rave in car about going back to the shop for a top-up to the rightfully amount of ice cream I should've received. But I thought it was just ice cream, and it was drizzling. The Bubble Milk Tea was seriously making me sick from the inside so I didn't bother fighting for more ice cream. I only took a spoonful of Amorino and gave the rest away. On top of the awful desserts-gone-wrong, I was slouching and sucking my stomach in all the way home to hold my bladder!

After the quiet torture, I finally get to let it all out before climbing over the gate to get inside the house. Climbing over was fun, that is sadly one of the two highlights of my night. Everytime I break a rule or cross a line, I feel youthful and revolting as well as guilty. But hey, tomorrow, I'm going to be a day older than I am today. If I don't live now, when will I ever live?