Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Vincenzo

Yesterday Teong Rhen and I headed over to Bangsar for my birthday dinner. We tried this Italian restaurant along the One Bangsar strip called Vincenzo. Like all the restaurants in the One Bangsar area, Vincenzo occupies a 2-storey banglo with its own garden and quaint landscape.

I liked the ambience and rustic interior design of the place. We were shocked to find that the inside was fully booked at 6:30PM so we had to settle for the garden, which wasn't at all a problem because it had just rained earlier and the weather outside was simply perfect.



Unfortunately Teong Rhen had a terrible migraine and my appetite wasn't very good therefore we only ordered one main course each, otherwise we would have dug into a 3-course meal but I suppose there's always a next time.


Having decided to go for something typically Italian, I had the Ravioli Ricotta. My verdict? Very good with the first few bites but I got really sick of it halfway. I like ricotta very much but to me it only works well in desserts (lasagna aside). This dish was a tad too rich, what with the pesto sauce and cream and everything. Great for sharing, though!


Teong Rhen went for Pan-Seared Halibut with Scallops. I LOVE. The halibut, placed on top of a medley of sautéed vegetables, was very fresh - which is most important when having fish. The scallops were seared medium rare which was perfect cos I was able to taste the sweetness inside. Great dish! No regrets.

I wanted so badly to have their famous chocolate torte which looked SO amazing but I was on the verge of throwing up thanks to the ravioli, so we'll save the desserts for next time.

Overall... I liked Vincenzo. Great ambience - green and serene, good food, helpful waiters... price-wise - not very nice to our wallets. In fact I wouldn't say it was really worth it. But like I always say (and it's actually very bad =P): ONCE IN AWHILE NEVERMIND MA.


Oh well.

Vincenzo Restorante Italiano
One Bangsar,
63H Jalan Ara,
Bangsar Baru,
59100 KL.
Tel: 0322871686

Monday, 26 May 2008

The Big 2-1



So I turn 21 today. No big deal. Not that I was expecting a 180 degree change when I transit into "adulthood"... coz, obviously, that would be stupid.

I'm glad I celebrated it in style =) Was seriously depressed for not being able to hold a tea party at Bisou, especially after seeing someone else have a tea party with the EXACT same food I was going to have when I went to pick up my cupcakes. BLAH. But Sky Bar was fine and I'm glad it went well (the damn heat aside). I was also sort of dreading treating 24 people to drinks... haha... but upon seeing the bill I was SHOCKED that it was much less than what I had expected to spend. HEEEH. Extra money for me now ;) It wouldn't really have mattered anyway because everyone enjoyed their drinks and that was most important.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to come to the party. Oh and thanks for the lovely gifts!!! Thanks Teong Rhen for everything. And Pei for following me to Bisou twice. And Ho Wai for going all the way to get Wondermilk cuppacakes to surprise me. Thanks to those who weren't there but were kind enough to call/SMS/write on my Facebook wall.

Pictures, as usual, are already up on Facebook because those with cameras are just so efficient. And since the purpose of this post would be defeated without some pictures, here they are! =)

















My wonderful gifts!!!


A diamond encrusted cross from my beloved parents.


Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean Breeze perfume from dear Teong Rhen.


Eastern European silver bracelet and a key from his parents.


A lovely dress and a pug puppy folder from Pei!


Kumar & Clark Clinical Medicine from Ho Wai, Mich, Merv, Tracy, Ben & Joon for the nerd in me!


The super nice and cute mug + notebook from Yilin, Red & Adrian! SO TOTALLY ME!


6-coloured lip gloss from Edwina, Kwan, Amanda, Huiling & Suisse!


2 bottles of nail polish + photo frame from Amrita, Maya, Malini, Abhilash, Divya & Priya [who unfortunately couldn't make it coz she was unwell. Poor girl =(]


And a box of chocolates from Renuka!


Love 'em all =)



Awaiting gifts from : PRISCILLA MICHAEL, CHONG JIANG MUN, ELIZABETH SONIA.
hahahahahaha. I know la i very mengada SO WHAT.

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Damn You Archie

EDIT (22 May): DAVID COOK WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unbelievable. Sad for the cry baby, though, but if you were to put the whole competition into perspective Cook really deserves to win hands down. So happy ;)

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I had a terribly LONG day, having to wake up at 6:45 this morning for a clinic visit all the way in Mantin (N. Sembilan). I was seriously dreading it because all the past clinic visits or whatever shit visits we've had were such a waste of time, so I assumed this would be the same.

Turns out it wasn't! I actually enjoyed myself very much. We followed a nurse into an orang asli settlement to follow up on a 24 year old who gave birth 4 days ago. The place was actually in a jungle! But it was pretty nice and serene - streams, durian trees, wooden bridges... the simple life.

The scary part was that the house we had to go to was somewhere on top of a hill, and the only access to it was by foot. And mind you the slope leading up to it was dangerous and muddy! Shelva and I had to hold on to each other coz we were so afraid we would fall! Well we finally made our way up to the quaint little house. Obviously not very nice and comfortable, and we were sweating like pigs there because it was so hot and stuffy. But that didn't bother us because upon seeing the baby we were very amazed! A 4-day old baby! WITH A LOT OF HAIR. Cute la. And this is ME talking. I, who have no feelings whatsoever towards kids, actually thought he was cute. Maybe I'm changing la I dunno la and I tell you a secret ok I actually like OBGYN a lot =/

OK ANYWAY. We observed a physical examination of the baby and the mother, palpated her uterus... (And it was very awkward when the nurse kept massaging her [as in the mother's] breasts. Not a very nice sight.)

The most interesting thing we got out of this home visit? Was when we found out the mother actually walked DOWN the slope at 2AM in the morning when she went into labour, gave birth at Seremban Hospital at 5AM, and went UP the slope back home the very next day. How she could do it is beyond me. I mean there we were, 5 reasonably fit students who struggled to climb up and down, when a 9-month pregnant woman could descend in the dark and ascend the very next day! Geez! So embarrassing.

After the home visit it was back to the Maternal & Child Health Clinic. Saw some interesting things like a prenatal ultrasound. Saw the fetal heart beating. It was awesome. Oh and I palpated a pregnant woman's uterus AND ACTUALLY FELT THE FETAL HEAD!!!!!!!!!!! Very cool OK.

All in all it was a fruitful visit. The new IMU nurse (forgot her name) was VERY nice. Taught us quite a lot, like what to expect for OSCE and stuff. Finally, one of the visits arranged by IMU was good. =P

Rushed to the student lounge after lectures back in IMU. I never liked the student lounge. It has a weird smell. But today I had to go because............... I HAD TO WATCH THE AMERICAN IDOL FINALS! Coz I no ASTRO in Bukit Jalil =(

Unfortunately it ended up being so disappointing because David Cook just lost it. All 3 songs were absolutely the wrong choices. I really really struggle to say this but Archuleta will win. People always ask what I have against Archuleta. I admit at first I did like him after watching his rendition of Imagine because it was simply mind-blowingly good (as we saw again in the finals), but as the competition progressed I realized all he could do was ballads. He has a great voice, no doubt, but I can't stand his FACE! Face problem! He looks perpetually worried, as if he's on the verge of crying every second. SO. DAMN. ANNOYING.

But today he stole the show. And I am mad. Because this was the worst David Cook had ever performed.

But it's OK. Even if Archuleta wins, he will probably be like Taylor Hicks. I mean even if he comes up with an album, who's actually going to listen? Would you want to listen to 12 boring ballads non stop? NO! BLEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. David Cook will make it big. You'll see. =P