Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad.

You've always been there for us

And I know you always will be

You're the one who taught me everything

And you've helped me see

That you made me who I am today

By being that special person,

you know no other way.

I'm writing this to say

Thank you for being you

For always being there

For always being true

We love you dad

And today's your special day

So face your future

We're behind you all the way :)

This day was all about food. Food. Food. Food. All to celebrate a birthday that surely overkilled one of the seven sins - gluttony.

The day starts off in the dining hall...

Breakfast spread for Dad by yours truly :)

A present? 

From me?!

 

Will a 4.0 be enough, sir?!

For lunch, we head on to...

@ Westin Hotel, KL

A buffet spread awaits! 

And there goes my willpower, when I needed it most...

And finally, for dinner we move on to Villa Danieli @ Sheraton Imperial, KL!

Outside the restaurant, by the poolside.

Murals painted upon the ceiling; dim romantic lighting; stone walls.

Very authentic Italian feel to the place.

And so we ordered two sets to share, and another two mains. Had to order at least one thing per person in order to qualify for the 50% off with our Starwood card :D

Any feelings of guilt went away!

     

Pasta e fabioli (set - appetizer)

breaded scallops with creamy vegetables served on shells

.Only two sets = two soups when there was four of us. The waiter felt bad so he brought along two mini-soups in cups :)

Capesante in tecia (set - mains)

breaded scallops with creamy vegetables served on shells

A little too salty, but no doubting the quality of the scallops.

Risotto ai frutti di mare (set - mains)

mixed seafood risotto

Not too bad, but the rice tasted 'grainy', and could've had more seafood in it!

"Cappeletti"

homemade pasta filled with braised beef cheek tossed in ricotta cheese and tomato extract

Absolutely loved loved loved this! The cheese and tomato sauce was divine; the pasta had just the right texture; the beef, oh my... it was marvellous :)

Carpricciosa

basil, mozarella, beef pepperoni, grilled zucchini, and kalamata olives

Was too salty for my liking! Had the chef cook us up another pizza.

Vegetariana

basil, mozzarella, and grilled vegetables

Had this as grandma can't take beef, and surely can't be too salty. Good change!

Here comes the cake!

Pera alla cioccolato gelato (set - dessert)

pear cake with chocolate ice cream

Unlikely combination that went well together. Well, almost anything with chocolate gelato tastes great, no?

Semifreddo di grappa con la salsa del espresso (set - dessert)

grappa semifreddo with espresso sauce

Not sure what the heck it was, but tasted like a more fuller creme brulee that was absolutely delish!

A sweet end to a pretty sweet day :)

Happy Birthday Dad!

The Amazing G-Race 2009!

Rewind a few months and a year back. It is morning, I am panicking because two members suddenly bail. 

Shit.

Urgent and panic calling ensued, with reinforcements arriving in the most unlikeliest of forms - two chronic smokers who are almost perpetually late to class.

That was last year's edition of Sunway University College's (SYUC) Amazing G-Race.

We got 4th.

Good enough?

No, not really.

Fast forward to 25/4/2009.

The timing this year was perfect, the Saturday just after our Finals.

The team this year was chosen, not grabbed from bed.

Together Me, Josh, Omer, and Kok Seong formed "We Are Not Americans But We're Going There"! (kinda catchy right? :P)

Fancy our chances? Definitely.

*running around, so pardon the nonexistent pictures

The team with the fastest time, including bonuses and penalties would be declared the winner!

Again, the starting and ending point was SYUC.

There would be five intervals, each colour coded, where five to six teams would be flagged off each time, with 5 minutes separating each.

We were pooled in the Green interval, which was third. 

Was basically tons of running around Bandar Sunway, completing miscellaneous tasks that challenged us, both physically and mentally! Props to Omer and his long long legs! :P

Stupid sinus killed my stamina early on. How, oh how do i get rid of thee in the morning!

At one point during the Sunway Pyramid length of the race...

We had to watch a CK advert twice, and with lyrics in hand, perform the same ad with as much energy and spunk as possible :)

Singing CK's "We Are One" ad in Parkson, Sunway Pyramid!

Josh was the lead, the rest of us were backup singers.

And yes, we keep time with one free hand.

You know how at the end of many product ads there's this deep voice resonating saying out the product's tagline. I was that too. And an awful backup singer.

I think.

Later on, we arrived at Rock Cafe (aka Medan) where we received instructions to go to the padang. We sensed the end was near!

There, we were faced with a roadblock, a task that only one member can perform. Choose to stick your hand into a box of either i) grasshoppers, ii) sludge, or iii) mud mix and find the pingpong ball with your coloured interval! I bravely took up the challenge, and into the grasshoppers we go!

After that we raced back to the cafeteria. This was the end, we knew it! But first, we had to devour a whole plate of extremely dry biscuits. Josh, was starving by now. Be my guest, hah! A hungry person does not think straight. Half-way through the plate he was a little sick, because it was so dry, and no water is allowed during this process!

PITSTOP! 2nd team to arrive! Where the hell did those other guys come from?

First thoughts, "Damn, they look like the only exercise they've been getting is from DOTA, and shouts of "DABLE KILL, I KILL YOU!"

We were in limbo. How would we place?!

The prizes that awaited the top 5 teams!

1st place: 2 CKin2U men's and 2 CKin2U women's fragrances worth RM250 each + RM200

        2nd: 2 CKin2U men's and 2 CKin2U women's fragrances worth RM250 each + RM150

        3rd:  2 CKin2U men's and 2 CKin2U women's fragrances worth RM250 each + RM100 

 4 & 5th:  RM50 each

In 5th place... not us?

In 4th place... not us?!

In 3rd place... NOT us?!

In 2nd place... NOT US?!

WTF?!

Champions of The Amazing G-Race 2009 are...

!!"We Are Not Americans But We're Going There"!!

[L-R] Omer, Josh, Me, Kok Seong

"We Are Not Americans But We're Going There" with Veron (SYUC Student Council...accountant?)

Just continues to prove the uncanny incidence of teams with lame names winning shit.

:)

From Banana to Eggtart?

My extended family, is huge. Thing is, they mostly speak Chinese - Hokkien, Canto, Mandarin, you name it. Another thing is, my inability to converse similarly. However, over the years I have mastered the art of listening, and for the most part understanding their banter and chatter in my unacquired mother tongue; so familiar yet foreign. Therein lies the source of my moniker as a 'banana.' That is, "white on the inside, yellow on the outside!"

Okay, so there comes these holidays.

3 months.

And I'm thinking.

Damn.

Why not...

Attempt to turn from a

To a

Okay, that looks pretty damn good.

With such a transformation, I will remain yellow on the surface, with a slight tinge afflicting the white inside. 

Oh, and since its summer, I plan to get a bit darker. Thus, the light brown crust :)

But how you say?

How do I go from 'Banana' to 'Eggtart'?

To go through such a drastic change, look no further than your mother.

That's right.

The one who knew-the-language-but-chose-not-to-instill-it-into-you-until-you-had-your-own-desire-to-want-to-learn-it and didnt-want-to-"waste money"-on-a-tutor-so took-the-task-upon-herself.

First lesson dealt with learning basic vocabulary encompassing life - numbers, days of the week, family, name, and such. Am simultaneously learning how to write in Mandarin, so brain overload occured in just over an hour!

Moments later...

"Who's your Daddy (爸爸)?"

Holey Sin!

"Food, Glorious Fooo-oood.. 

What wouldn't we give for

That extra bit more...

That's all that we live for

Why should we be fated to

Do nothing but brood

On food,

Magical food,

Wonderful food,

Marvellous food,

Fabulous food,

Beautiful food!

Glorious fooo-oood!"

Yes, Oliver Twist sprang to mind.

How he would have killed to be me. Or one of the millions of others who have tasted this holey sin.

You can't miss nor resist the brightly colored neon-lights fronting the store, the simple yet boldly endearing sign, the satisfying faces of stuffed patrons, and not least the long queue of eager yet-to-have-climaxed Malaysians, all clamouring for the latest morsel to arrive that had boldly claimed - in your face - to "melt in your mouth." 

Its Krispy Kreme folks!!

With the first store opening just yesterday in prime location @ Berjaya Times Square, we in Malaysia are finally blessed :P

Though avoiding the crowd and potentially one month of free doughnuts by skipping the opening, I made my way there the very next day! Sean popped along, and we went to see (and experience) whether all the fuss and hype of its innate superiority to the J and Apple varieties held any truth.

They have this funky machine known as a 'proof box' where heat and humidity is set and where the doughnuts go on a 20 minute oscillating ride to allow the dough to rise!

They're then dropped into a hot oil bath, cooking both sides before passing through a tantalizingly gooey glazing waterfall! *drool*

This bright red neon light fronts the store

That's hot.

The wait justifies everything.

And everything is justified by the following:

Hehe, well I couldn't take 'em all because I was rushed out of the line to pay up and get out :(

Trekked back to Pavilion to enjoy our gems, toying with the prospect of going into J.Co's for a drink while eating these beauties :P

Sean had a tough time picking the first one... they all look so good!

The New York Cheesecake was sublime!

The cheesecake filling was topped off with cream cheese icing and graham cracker crunch: a beautiful start to this forbidden relationship. My favourite so far :D

I have indeed climaxed.

And it seems to be contagious...