Cafe Uno for Karen's birthday ^^

it's karen's birthday! and that called for a 'house' (plus soo fen ^^) outing for makan session! or maybe we just wanted to find an excuse to go out makan. haha..

anywayz... our target was Cafe Uno, partly due to the buy 1 free 1 promotion on studentbean.


the interior wasn't too bad. we were kinda worried that there would be not enough seats seeing as it was a sunday, but lo and behold, it was almost empty (customers were too busy fighting for seats under the sun outside.. ??? i suppose that's to our advantage).


and of course, we never waste any time. time waiting for food to arrive = time for cam whoring. out came the tripod!



then some lengzai waiter offered us his services.


back to the essentials.. the food! let's see what we had...

Pollo Milanese - tender chicken with crispy coatings of ciabatta crumbs and Grana Padano cheese, served with Genovese pesto and spaghetti pomodoro (the spaghetti was my favourite!^^)

Siciliana - delicious Prosciutto cotto ham, artichokes, olives and anchovies (yup, ikan bilis pizza.. cool rite? it's not my favourite though. but well we alwz have to be adventurous?)

Risotto marinara - spicy seafood risotto with mussels, king prawns and squid in tomato, chilli and white wine sauce, dressed with fresh herbs

Salumi misti - Parma ham, pepperoni, Milano salami and roasted ham

Linguine pollo e gamberetti - pasta linguine with sauteed king prawns and chicken breast in white wine and tomato sauce, lightly seasoned with chilli and fresh basil

Penne con pollo e Gorgonzola - penne pasta coated in creamy Gorgonzola sauce served with succulent slices of chicken breast, baby spinach and Grana Padano cheese

and of course, a meal is never complete without deserts!

Tartufo nero affogato - a rich chocolate ice cream bomb, coated with cocoa powder and toasted hazelnuts, served with a shot of hot espresso coffee

Coppa d'autunno - rich walnut fudge sundae with chocolate and vanilla ice cream, crowned with whipped cream

Tiramisu - classic italian dessert with mascarpone cheese, coffee, Marsala wine and a light sponge dusted with chocolate

on the way back, just couldn't resist taking a shot of the city chambers. haha..


and so with happy full stomachs we went back.. for a totally x-rated midnight surprise. Lolz..

marshmallow advice...

although people alwayz say that barbequed marshmallows are nice.
never EVER try to grill marshmallows, or at least not longer than 5 minutes.
not unless you wana create alien brains...

touching... beautifully imperfect

found this through naomi's blog...



this brings to mind that we are all so full of our own imperfections... but yet sometimes still demand perfection from others and especially in relationships. sad, but true. that's just human nature i guess.

"there's no such thing as a perfect man or a perfect woman in the world, there is only perfect love built together by imperfect men and imperfect women." -- Soulmate

spring = pigging?

spring is here.. but whilst people were bringing out their chairs to the lawns or strumming guitars under the sun, what have i been up to? major pigging session... the perfect antidote to the depressing study break.

sweet & sour chicken with fried rice - new from china express! i was too tempted by the aroma floating from yi lyn's room. hence you can see what happened.

ferrero rocher, my all-time favourite irrespective of country. thanks to the half-price promotion at somerfield last month, i got to polish off the whole box (oh well, almost) all by myself instead of having my choc supply slowly and silently diminishing thanks to my bro! muahahaha..

sensation thai sweet chilli! gosh.. i just feel like buying a carton home. it breaks my heart that i won't be able to eat it anymore. sigh.. the taste and texture is so heavenly that words simply fail to describe it. omg i really sound like a pig... next i'll be growing a pink curly tail..

i really didn't mean to buy two.. just that saintsbury had this buy 1 free 1 sale y'know...

muller yogurt... really turned me into a yogurt fan. i remember my first taste of yogurt in intec.. eww.. but yogurt with boon koon at times square (yogurberry?? ) is still the best i've tasted yet.

this is another brand of chips i'll miss dearly. not the roast ham & mustard though mind you. i personally think that tastes weird, but for the sake of the other two flavours, sacrifices are inevitable. flame grilled steak was first introduced to me by stephan (his lunch). however, the real prompting to buy it came from tesco. at 78p for 6 packets, how can i not?

marshmallows! a bit sweet though.. bought it from poundland. i remember hating it when i was younger. who cared that it came from overseas. who cared that children in enid blyton story books gushed over them. but now.. i guess my taste buds mutated. Lolz..

i was so intrigued by liquorice when i read in enid blyton's book that a wizard stupidly thought that a kid was a more powerful wizard than him since he could eat rubber (liquorice). oh well, from my point of view, it really tastes like rubber. try it if you dare.

mint boils. i always wondered what boils were. they're just sweets. haha..

as you can see from what's left, it's not bad. there are nicer ones though. i love thorntons' dark chocolate variety.

chris mee.. or almost.. haha.. tastes good! it finally got me out of eating maggie mee for every meal. it's a lot of work though, since i have to prepare the fried ikan bilis, the onion oil, the egg, the meat..

but after such major pigging sessions.. i guess it's time for healthier alternatives? haha..

personality test

since kee san recommended the test so highly, i decided to try the personality test myself. the results? well, some really seemed to hit right on the nail. Lols.. some not quite so. it's fun though. you can try it for yourself.;p

Your view on yourself:

You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:

You like serious, smart and determined people. You don't judge a book by its cover, so good-looking people aren't necessarily your style. This makes you an attractive person in many people's eyes.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:

You prefer to get to know a person very well before deciding whether you will commit to the relationship.

The seriousness of your love:

Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education

Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:

You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:

You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:

You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:

You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

Good Friday

Good Friday at New Mercy Church was rather interesting. they had numerous stations set up, each depicting a scene leading to the cruxification of Christ.

station 1: the last supper

station 2: the garden of gethsemane

station 3: Jesus before pilate

station 4: Jesus whipped and crowned with thorns

station 5: the receiving of the cross

station 6, 7: Jesus falls, simon helps Jesus

Station 8: the woman of Jerusalem

Station 9: the stripping of His garments

Station 10: The good thief

Station 11, 12: Mary and John below the cross, the death of Jesus

Station 13: the laying in the tomb

Station 14: the resurrection

this was the first time i've been to such an interactive good friday. i really brings you through each stage, letting you relive a small portion of what happened more than 2000 years ago. Easter and good friday is not just all about eggs and bunnies.=]

Edinburgh - pre-departure to Amsterdam

after my SPA interview on Friday, i stayed on in edinburgh to meet the rest of my travel mates later on in the day. it was nice to stroll aimlessly along the streets of edinburgh. it got pretty boring after a while, but still i saw some pretty interesting sights.

a man in kilt blowing his bagpipes at full blast for the opening ceremony of a shop. it was quite refreshing to hear that a new store was being opened, since most other shops along the street were closing down.

the scot monument built in memory of Sir Walter Scot.

princes square.. not a bad place to chill and relax

bokeh! i'm so proud of my point-and-shoot.;p

some intestine-looking water basin along high street. looks like i'm not the only one wondering what it is.

high street

the national gallery

daffodils!

dinner... a cornish affair (since i won't be able to go to cornwall.. might as well eat my share of cornish pastry first. sob..)

the tantalising angus burger beckoning to me as i waited for my friends... i will definitely try one before i go back. i mean, where else would i find hairy coo meat??

my spot... i discovered that i can actually sleep anywhere, especially after numerous sleepless nights sorting out projects and assignments.

we all finally arrived at the edinburgh airport where we were supposed to spend a night. the airport is comfortable man! with cushiony chairs. haha.. it was rather cold though.. but nothing can beat milan airport where we had to sleep on the cold hard floor!