Friday, April 28, 2006

(: Any Suggestions? :)

... and now the tables have turned!

:)
The Melbourne Skyline


Anyone have any good suggestions for places to eat in Melbourne?

I would prefer somewhere around the main city area or other hot spots like St. Kilda.
(Please don't suggest somewhere in places like Geelong, even though it is FANTASTIC - I won't have access to a car there and don't have THAT much time to go sit in a train for 2 hours)
(Also, dowan all those veeeery expensive places - unless it is really THAT good)
(Oh, oh... and don't suggest Malaysian food places, k?)

(Man... that's quite a fair bit of conditions, huh?)

Anyway, would appreciate all the feedback I can get.

Cheerio,
J

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** Words Of Wisdom **

~~~~~~~oOo~~~~~~~


" Chocolate causes certain endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by making you happy.... Therefore, it counteracts depression, in turn reducing the stress of depression. Your stress-free life helps you maintain a youthful disposition, both physically and mentally.... So, eat lots of chocolate! "

--Elaine Sherman, Author of the Book of Divine Indulgences

~~~~~~~oOo~~~~~~~


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~ Weird Key Word Of The Month ~

"Malaysian Hotties"

And this time, I'm No.1 out of 151,000!

(erm... yay?)

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Thursday, April 27, 2006

A Somewhat Coded Post

I feel so happy and contented when I am sitting on that couch, watching DVDs with a bowl of delicious minestrone soup.

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Tuesday, April 25, 2006

~ Of Great Writs ~

Just a short post.

Went to the Actors Studio Bangsar to watch Habeas Corpus with Pat, HY, Lisa, Kwong Heng, Soo Jin and his friends on Sunday night....

Here's what it's all about (in their words):

Set in the southern English seaside town of Brighton, Habeas Corpus races along at a cracking pace, dispensing sight and verbal gags as it does so. Bennett’s genius is his ability to portray ordinary middle-class Brits, warts and all, in an amusing and very real way. His characters are beautifully drawn and in the case of Habeas Corpus just a little bit larger than life.

The whole thing revolves around the mid-life crisis of Arthur Wicksteed, a family doctor and serial philanderer. (He is the one who is not getting enough). We also meet his long-suffering wife, Muriel, his flat-chested sister Constance and his hypochondriac son, Dennis. Then there is the formidable Lady Rumpers and her nubile daughter Felicity (It is indeed she whose knickers Arthur is trying to get into). Constance is being pursued by passionate clergyman, Canon Throbbing, and the whole shebang is kept in place by the redoubtable Mrs Swabb… the Wicksteed’s maid.


Well, how can you NOT watch a play with a character named Canon Throbbing?
Haha.

Anyway... it was a great way to pass a few hours...
Think about it... for only RM50 for adults/ RM30 for students, you get:
- side splitting laughs,
- very well written lines,
- the classic black British humour, and
- good acting from the ensemble cast.
(The British accent wavered a little here and there - totally forgivable though)

:)

Go check it out if you want - it's playing until the 28th of April 2006.

Hey, and just so we are clear about this: I have in no way been given any incentive or payment to advertise for them, ok?

I just find it sad when there is a good play with a bad turnout during its performances....
(when we watched on Sunday, it was barely half full)

That's all for now.


Ciao,
J

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Friday, April 21, 2006

** A Taste Of Mary's Chutney **

This review is a kinda overdue so I'll try to make a little special.
:)

[ BEGIN EDIT ]
(June 2010)

Great news - Fast forward to 2010 and according to the esteemed Masak-Masak, Chutney Mary is still good! Isn't it amazing that a restaurant can maintain it's quality even after 5 years?
:)

(I have added the link to her review at the bottom of this post)

Cheers,
J

[ END EDIT ]


Chutney Mary, a new restaurant in the Bangsar Telawi scene,
Just opposite La Bodega, serving modern North Indian cuisine.

Chutney Mary Exterior

They specialise in tandoori, briyani and curry,
We tried the Tomato Fish Curry - it was VERY yummy,
The Tandoori Chicken was also good,
Very tender, try these you should.

Clockwise from Top Left: Bread and Lamb Curry and Briyani, Tomato Fish Curry, Tandoori Chicken

The serving sizes there were fair,
But the appetizers were bigger than the main fare,
The Kulfa was very nice for dessert,
Mango or almond, though so sweet it hurts.

The Kulfa

One of the flaws is the expensive drinks,
RM12++ for a Mango Lassi? Cut throat, I think.
The service was friendly and generally alright,
In a funky but romantic setting, with dim lights.
So?
All in all, a good night.
Chutney Mary Interior


*ta-da......!*
:)


Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Chutney Mary @ Bangsar

Taste: 7
Ambience : 7
Service : 7
Price** : RM 55/++ per person
Parking: Hard to find and/or Expensive

** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 03-2282 9923
Opening Hours: 11am - late

NO PORK SERVED




OTHER REVIEWS:
- Masak-Masak


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Flawed

Why do we always hurt the ones we love?


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Thursday, April 20, 2006

What Do You Think?

Story time....:
*fade in*
Once upon a time, there was an idealistic chocoholic who used to draw in her free time. As she progressed in life and started to work, she got caught up in the rat race and stopped drawing (and getting sufficient sleep) completely.

Then, one night as she was feeling stressed out and stared at her laptop, putting together yet another report that no one would really appreciate, she stumbled across an old sketch book from her university days.....
*fade out*

:)

Curious about how bad/ good my old drawings were?
Well,... I'll share one with you all.... just to air it out a little:





So, what do you think?

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Monday, April 17, 2006

Hooray! It's Monday!

Pffft.
(Yeah right)
Anyways....

Twas a really hectic weekend.... I just blink and suddenly, it's Monday again.

I had to work on Saturday and Sunday but thankfully the weekend was pretty balanced. On Saturday night, I had dinner with the usual bunch at this new Indian restaurant called Chutney Mary in Bangsar.
(Yeah, yeah Pat, I'll put the review soon)

On Sunday, I met up with some ex-colleagues from PwC....
How quickly a year went past.
*sigh*
I can't believe I hadn't seen (some of) them for so, so long.
There are also a few that seem to have disappeared off the face of the earth... just left the company and were never heard from again.
Oh well.

Hope that your Mondays are starting off well.


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Friday, April 14, 2006

Nope, No Update

I am busy so there will be no update today.
..
..
..
..
Hey, wait a minute!
Did I just contradict myself?

Blergh.
This is what happens when your brain is running of coffee, I suppose.

Anyway, hope you all have a great weekend ahead.
I'll be working, so those who know and love me can feel free to give me calls/ smses to rub it in.

Ciao!

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Thursday, April 13, 2006

<~ The Never-Ending Quest ~>

*sigh*

Oh where art thou, career of my dreams?

Where?
WHERE?
WHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRREEEEE??

Haaaaah.
*breathes out*
That feels better.
:D
Back to work now!
*back in happy denial*

Lalala.

(Me? Stressed? - Naaaaahhhhhh.....)


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Tuesday, April 11, 2006

==== Another Day, Another Weird Keyword ====

*Rolls on floor laughing*

Promotion For Tender Juicy Hotdog???
(I'm No. 11 on the list)

Haha.
That's funny.

Anyway.... I'm getting more R&R today.
Happy Awal Muharram everyone!
(3 cheers for public holidays!)

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Monday, April 10, 2006

(*/*) All That Jazz (*\*)

Sawadeekap, kiddies!
This week we shall be venturing to Bangkok Jazz @ Chulan Square, Kuala Lumpur.
:)

Without further adue:
The Dinner

Chulan Square is a (rather) new, hip and happening area just off the Jalan Bukit Bintang area in KL (aka. as the Golden Triangle area) which houses a variety of interesting restaurants. There are about 6 restaurants there, ranging from Western to Asian food.
The Chulan Square Area

That night, since we had a hankering for some Thai, we ventured to Bangkok Jazz.

The restaurant has a really nice contemporary feel to it. It does not have the usual exotic Thai fixtures, but instead maintains simple, clean lines with an understated Asian touch here and there.
A Peek Into The Interior of Bangkok Jazz

We decided to kick off the dinner with the age old Thai classics: Mango Salad with Prawns and the irrefutable Tom Yam Soup.
The Tom Yam Soup and The Mango Salad

The salad is a definate must try - the mango was fresh and tasty but not too overpowering (too sour/ too stringy), as mango salads sometimes are, and it came served with a nice big prawn.

And the soup?
Well,I thought it was great - smooth as well as juuuuuust sour and spicy enough but then again, I have a pretty high tolerance for spicy-ness....
(Some like it hot! *wink* *lol*)
(Still, 5 out of 9 people voted that the soup was too spicy for them...)
(...especially Pat who thought that he was SO lucky to get a larger serving until he took that first sip of the soup and completely burnt off the nerve endings in his tongue)

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
:)

Anyway, moving on we selected a variety of mains to share and eat with our rice. Behold!


(Clockwise from upper left) The Greencurry Chicken, Thai Styled Steamed Fish, Naked Duck, Mixed Seafood and Basil Beef

In general, the portions were a little small and the taste was so-so... nothing to fault about it, but nothing that made it very special either.

The best of the lot was the Green Curry Chicken - the meat was tender and the curry was flavourful without being too santan-y.
The Naked Duck (Hey you! Stop snickering!) was "ok" too but well, once you get past the amusing name, it's just battered up deep fried duck la. Also, the general consensus was that the Thai Style Steamed Fish was good too...
(*whispers: "... but I thought it was pretty normal..."*)

A major plus point for this restaurant tho is that you get an automatic table booking for the jazz lounge downstairs when you dine at their restaurant...
(I suppose this is subject to how busy they are so please call ahead)

A Peek Into The Lounge Area of Bangkok Jazz

The lounge is not very big but there is a nice open general area near the stage and many little cosy sofa sections around that where you can listen to the live band with a little more privacy. There is also a decent variety of drinks there and the prices are not too expensive.

So, all in all, Bangkok Jazz was a great night out...
The food was in no way fantastic and was a tad expensive, but the ambience of the restaurant as well as the convenience of being able to saunter down to the lounge downstairs and enjoy the music more than made up for it.


Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

Bangkok Jazz @ Chulan Square, KL

Taste: 6
Ambience : 7.5
Service : 7
Price** : RM 70/++ per person
Parking: OK
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 603 – 2145 8708
Opening Hours: 11am – late

NO PORK SERVED




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Friday, April 07, 2006

^#^#^#^# T G I F #^#^#^#^

I am uber happy that it's Friday....
... but I SO don't feel like working.

*yaaaaaaaawn*

Just 2 more hours to go though, and it will finally be that ever so fleeting and precious time called The Weekend.
(Oh hail thee most precious of days!)

er-hem.
Anyway. It should be an interesting weekend.
Dinner'll be Bak Kut Teh this Saturday instead of the usual hoity-ish restaurants.
(J's purse says: "YAY!")

Hope you all have a great weekend too.

(Psssst. Remember to do your taxes though, fellow minions! It's getting preeeetty close to the due date.... )

Ciao!

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M - (Trying To Be) The Opera

God.
*scratches head*

Where do I start?
(=_=)

I'm really stumped.

Ok.
I suppose it would be good to begin on a more positive note:
M The Opera at the Istana Budaya was passionate.... and erm, the costumes were really pretty.
Oh, and I think there were some people that performed amazingly!
(One being Doreen Tang who was the female lead, Sepi, as well as George Chan who was the "baddie", Kerabat)
The posters and decorations outside the theatre

Still, overall it was a disaster - so all over the place...
One moment traditional Malaysian dancing then it was a quasi-Japanese routine with kungfu-ish dance movements. Then a mass ala-Seventies-choreographed dance as well as a smattering of modern dance for good measure.
The stage before the play

The language usage was boggling too.

I dunno why some Malaysian plays try so have so hard to do the whole fusion thing.
It usually just ends up being very inaccessible.
(Not everyone understands Malay and English and Japanese so well la)

I know that there are subtitles on the screen above the stage but the words just didn't quite jive most times...
Eg.
English subtitles on screen: "Oh! I feel so sad"
Malay spoken on stage:"Oh! Kepiluan hatiku bagaikan malam yang bla bla bla... (for the next 3 minutes)..."


(This left poor Pat and Boon looking mighty confused, I must say... the look on their faces were like: "WTF? It's one line in English on the screen....! How come the guy on stage is still yattering on in Malay?")

One of the scenes

Anyway.... so many other bloggers have already given their 2 cents worth about it and the play is already over la...
(I watched it on it's last day)
... so not much point in me criticising it too much.

I just don't understand how come the main stream reviews of the play (like in NST, Kaki Seni and the Star) said that it was a good watch.

Oh well.
At least they tried, right?


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Thursday, April 06, 2006

~ To Each His Own (Addiction) ~

The other night in La Bodega, Pat said that I do tend to spend too much time snapping away with my trusty Canon camera nowadays....
That makes 2 people who have said that!
*pout*

What's wrong with taking a mind-numbing amount of photos from many different angles anyway? I mean, that's what digital cameras are for, right?
(In any case, how else will I be able to do my restaurant reviews?)

Haiyah.
No one understands the pains I have to go through for my art.
*drama*

So,does this mean that I am a photo-holic too?
Hmmmm... the list just keeps getting longer.

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Wednesday, April 05, 2006

(: TAG! You're It! :)

I was tagged quite a while back by Pat but just never got around to doing this meme...
Anyway,... here goes nothing!

5 Things You Can’t Do
* Go without coffee and the internet for more than one day
(Brrrrr… just the thought of going cold turkey gives me the chills)
* Speak Mandarin or any other Chinese dialect properly
* Eat weird parts of animals
(Snout? Ears? Intestines? Not for me, thankyouverymuch)
* Figure out what I want to do with my life
* Fit into the jeans I used to wear in uni

5 Things You Can Do
* Eat lots of chocolates
:)
* Surf the net for hours on end
* Read an entire Terry Pratchett book in one sitting
* Smile
(even though I am crying on the inside….. haha. So drama)
* Remember lyrics and obscure lines from movies for no apparent reason
(“We are the knights that say: Ni!… (Ni!Ni!Ni!) … and we demand… some shrubbery!”)

5 Things That Scare You
* Looming deadlines
* Cellulite
* The Future
* Hurting/ Disappointing the ones I love
* George Bush

5 Things You Love
* Chocolates
(Like you didn’t see that one coming!)
* Good food, good drink and good music
* Travelling
* Shopping
(Yes, sadly I do not fall far from some stereotypes of my gender)
* My friends and my family
(Sings: “I can’t liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee-eeee-eeeeeeve…. If living was without youuu-uuh-uuhhh…”)

5 Things You Hate
* Malaysian motorcyclists
(I know I am guilty of gross stereotyping here, but hey, 90% of them are idiots… so, the other 10% will just have to put up with my bias)
* Work
* Overzealous, condescending know-it-alls
* Muzak
* Paris Hilton

5 Random Facts About You
* I still watch Anime
* I get into fits of laughter when I see or hear about someone in intense pain
* I used to listen to Marilyn Manson
(and still do, when I am in a wickedly bad mood)
* I think morbidly obese people are gross
(unless it’s genetic or hormonal, then it’s not really their fault)
* I love fwuffy bunny wabbits and cute kittens

5 Things You Want To Do Before You Die
* Find a career that I actually enjoy AND does not pay an obscenely small amount of money
* Take a year off and travel around the world
* Buy an insanely large expanse of rainforest and protect it from poachers/ illegal loggers/ other idiots
* Speak Mandarin fluently
* Attain enlightenment

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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

~ La Bordello ~

The Dinner

La Bodega (which means "The Winery", if you were wondering) is probably THE household name for Spanish Tapas in Malaysia. In fact, it is a veritable anchor in the ever-changing Telawi street area in Bangsar (which has seen the demise of many a bar/ restaurant over the years)... You can choose between the La Bodega Cafe, Bistro or Lounge.
(The menus are pretty much interchangeable tho, so don't fret)

That night, we chose to go to the La Bodega Lounge situated upstairs.

I love the cosy environment there...
The comfy couches (as worn out as they are), the warm hues of red and orange.....
The art-y black and white photos are a total heart stopper tho...
(I never really REALLY looked until about the third time I dined at Bodega)
(What do I mean? Go check it out yourself la)

The Interior of La Bodega

We decided to start off the night with some tapas...
There is a wide variety to choose from, with hot tapas, cold tapas, healthy veggy tapas and hearty meaty tapas... Anyway, we chose the Button Mushrooms in Butter Garlic Sauce and the Fried Prawns with Garlic Mayonnaise:
The Mushrooms and The Prawns

The mushrooms, that come served with bread, were lovely! - succulent without being overpowered by the rich sauce - definately something I would recommend.
The prawns tho I would say are only so-so... They remind me of a badly done version of an Ebi Karaage - teeny prawns in batter, same kinda taste, but just not as crunchy.

We then moved on to the Seafood Paella for our main:
The Seafood Paella

The paella (which is a fancy Spanish way of cooking rice) was moist and flavourful, with the wholesome taste of the tomato based sauce going well with the mussels, clams, squid and prawns.... Yum.

It was a tad small tho.... so we went on to another round of tapas, the Beef Sausage with Feta and Wine Sauce, as well as a basket of fries:
The Sausages of Beef

Avoid the Beef Sausage unless you love paying for expensive processed meat.

It's not that it tastes bad or anything... In fact, I think that the sauce is quite nice... It's just that I refuse to ever pay RM18++ ever again for what is effectively 3 gourmet sausages, halved and served with some sauce.
("Overpriced hot dogs", as Boon put it)

Another let-down was the Red Wine Sangria. Although it was generously filled with yummy chopped up fruits, it just tasted so watered-down....
(Hmmmm... maybe it was because we ordered the Happy Hour Sangria which is only RM38++)

I must say, the rising fuel prices must be affecting La Bodega terribly because the food servings seem to have shrunk drastically....
:(

I remember a day when me and Pat couldn't manage to finish off a 2 person serving of the paella... Now, I think either one of us can easily finish it off on our own.

La Bodega was busy as usual, so the service was a bit slow but thankfully, friendly.... Other than that, it was a good night: decent food (albeit a few hits and misses), decent prices and a nice place to chill out.

Restaurant Review
Summary Sheet:

La Bodega @ Jalan Telawi, Bangsar

Taste: 7
Ambience : 7
Service : 7
Price** : RM 50++ per person
Parking: A real P-A-I-N
** Approximation - 3 course meal, excluding drinks
Telephone No.: 603 – 2287 3803
Opening Hours: 11am – 1am

NO PORK SERVED


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Monday, April 03, 2006

@>~ Song Dedication ~<@

For someone out there.....

THE BOOK OF LOVE

The book of love is long and boring
No one can lift the damn thing
It's full of charts and facts and figures
and instructions for dancing


But I…. I love it when you read to me
And you…. You can read me anything

The book of love has music in it
In fact that's where music comes from
Some of it is just transcendental
Some of it is just really dumb

But I…. I love it when you sing to me
And you…. You can sing me anything
Image hosting by Photobucket
The book of love is long and boring
And written very long ago
It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes
And things we're all too young to know

But I…. I love it when you give me things
And you…. You ought to give me wedding rings
And I…. I love it when you give me things
And you…. You ought to give me wedding rings
And I…. I love it when you give me things
And you…. You ought to give me wedding rings
You ought to give me wedding rings



Note:
Yes, I am feeling soppy today.
Ain't nothing wrong with that!
;P

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Eye Candy... Yum

The annual Cleo "Perve At A Bunch Of Our Home-Bred, Fed On Sambal and Belacan Malaysian Hotties!" time...



Mmmmmmm... "babelicious"?
Looks interesting....


Not bad, not bad......


Waaaaah.... look at those biceps....!


Wah.. ini 8tv Adam also ada masuk?


Hmmmmm........

Nothing wrong with a little eye candy during a lazy weekend, right?
:)

[begin edit]

If you want to view the full listing of the 2006 batch of bachelors as well as view the results of the manhunt, the head over to this site....

[end edit]

Anyway, hope your Mondays are starting off well.
Ciao ppl.

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