Ironman!

We watched Ironman last week and we really enjoyed the show. It was full of action and funny at the same time; and even the 'lifeless' objects had a character of their own! Think 'Jarvis' and Tony Stark's robot helpers... :)

And oh... Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman was just superb! I first saw him on Ally McBeal, and there was just something about him that got me hooked to the show (he seemed the perfect guy for Ally). I was so sad when he got himself into real-life trouble (yet again) and had to leave the show so suddenly. I think I even cried watching the episode where he left Ally (I can't recall how or why though.. just that it was very sudden). Well, I guess the producers had no choice, since he got himself arrested. Hmm.

I really hope the success of Ironman gives him the chance to redeem himself and get his career back on track. Hopefully we will see more of him in the future (in movies; not in the tabloids for getting into trouble!)

House tales...

We've made a bit more progress fitting up our new place. Hubby efficiently took the lead in the curtain-hunting (thanks to Madame AAL's recommendation); and we decided to seal the deal by paying a deposit last weekend. One more thing done- hurrah!

This weekend, we picked out all the lights for the house, received a quotation for those, and now we're just waiting for a proper quotation for the installation fees (there's some hacking to be done to re-align some lighting points), so I think the lights are pretty much sorted already. Yippee! :D

We're also slowly trying to clear up our current place a little bit, and start throwing things out, but our progress has been slow. We're so busy on weekends- church activities, doing stuff for the new place, and also planning for our England trip; so it's been a tad stressful.

Just the other day I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the serious need to clean our current place (it was REALLY messy, dirty and dusty), but I simply had no time nor energy (plus I had to rush off for music practice). When I got home from church, I was so grateful and pleased to find that hubby had vacuumed and mopped the floor! That simple gesture of love really helped to ease my anxiety (hubby knows I worry and stress out quite often)...

He's such a dear, isn't he?

Up, up and away!

The company I work for organised a carnival recently, and the main attraction was the hot-air balloon ride! Ok, so it was just up and up (no away) but still, it was rather interesting. We basically just went up for a couple of minutes and came back down again... :)

There were activities for the whole family- a colouring contest for kids, pony rides, games, and this rather cool 'inflatable boxing ring thingy' where the aim of the game was to knock your opponent off the pedestal. Hehe.

Truth be told, I'm terrified of heights. Fortunately it wasn't too high up, and the basket wasn't swaying too violently. It was hot in the basket though; felt like the flames were going to singe my hair off any moment.. at the end of the ride we were sweating! :p

Quite a cool carnival, eh? :)

Duck King, Jaya One

We checked out the new Jaya One recently, which seems to consist mainly of office space and F&B outlets. This idea seems to be rather popular these days- reminds me of Plaza Damas and Solaris Mont Kiara.

Part of the landscaping..

We had dinner at Duck King, which apparently is quite famous in Indonesia. I was quite tickled when I saw the bill, as all the items were listed in Bahasa Indonesia (although the menu was in English).. somehow the names just sounded so cute! :)

The 'Ikan Krapu Soun Sereh' (Fish with Lemongrass and Vermicelli) was quite interesting...

This was our favourite- the 'Mun Tahu & Ayam Cincang' (Beancurd with Minced Chicken); such a simple dish but it was oh-so-delicious! One side of the beancurd had this yummy layer of something (I think it was seaweed), so that was a nice touch.

'Nasi Kecap Asin Min Babi' and 'Nasi Hainam'

Is it me, or does this duck look rude?!? *chuckle*

Canton Bay, Sunway Pyramid

I am Cantonese, but I have never really thought much of Cantonese cuisine (actually I don't really know which dishes belong to which clan), but Canton Bay in Sunway Pyramid turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The 5 of us ordered dishes to share, and all of them were actually quite good.

The Hot and Sour Soup came in a big bowl (for only RM 10) and each of us had a small bowl each. Talk about good value! Clockwise: Salt and Pepper Squid, Claypot Beancurd and Mongolian Beef- all of them were yummy. Basically, everything made me want to eat heaps of rice :p

We decided to try the Aromatic Duck, which I thought was just so-so. Found it a tad dry, actually. Plus, we had to wait a-g-e-s for the dish to arrive.

Definitely a place we would go back someday (although I think I'll try the other types of duck...)

She sells seashells on the seashore...

My mum returned from a 2-week trip to Vietnam recently and she bought some rather strange things home. She loves buying souvenirs when she goes on holidays, but this seriously takes the cake...

Lugged all the way from Halong Bay-

Just to give you a feel of how BIG this thing is...

More shells :)

Isn't this the biggest 'la-la' you've ever seen?!? :D

First glimpse of our new home

Hurrah- we've finally gotten the keys to our new place!! We made an appointment to pick up the keys a few days ago; we both took half a day off work, since we didn't want to wait another 10 days for the next available weekend appointment. Heh.

This is the first property purchase for the both of us, so we didn't (and still don't) really know what to expect. Overall, we're quite pleased with the results; it's not perfect, but we've heard from others that the quality really is quite commendable. Hopefully, things turn out ok, and we're hoping and praying that the issues we've raised with regards to our unit can be satisfactorily addressed.

I really love the grounds; it's quite resort-like! And the pool is simply gorgeous :)

The Plasma TV is the noticeboard- cool eh? :)

We're really excited about our new home. Of course, there is SO MUCH to do, and we spent most of this weekend sorting a couple of things out. We did the first round of cleaning, had the built-in wardrobe people over to carry out the on-site measurement, made some progress in our hunt for lights, gave the curtains / blinds a bit more thought, etc. Phew.

Tiring and stressful though it may be, we really thank God for the privilege of being able to own a place of our own. Praise God- He has been exceedingly gracious to us indeed!

A Birthday Fondue!

We didn't buy a cake this year, but we did have a lovely Häagen-Dazs fondue! We were in Sunway Pyramid, and since there were 5 of us, we decided it was just nice to share one amongst ourselves (and this was after a huge meal as well :p). Well, as they say, there is ALWAYS room for dessert! Hahaha :)

I wouldn't necessarily say you'll be getting your money's worth of Häagen-Dazs ice-cream (I counted 14 mini scoops), but it's good fun dipping the bits and pieces into the yummy chocolate!

To finish it off, I made a wish and blew out the candle! :D

Charming Café Café

We finally had the opportunity to dine at the lovely Café Café. We were there to celebrate my birthday; and it was quite an experience indeed. The place is quite hard to find- it's tucked away in a little corner near Dewan Bahasa, and one would never expect such a charming establishment to be hidden here. Stepping into Café Café was like stepping into a whole new world... I would have liked to take more photos, but it was very dark inside, and the restaurant was packed! There was a big group of about 20 people, who proceeded to play some games (reminded me of pub quizzes, haha) after they were done with their dinner. The crowd turned the romantic notch down a little; but the food more than made up for that! :)

We ordered a set menu- where we could share the starters and the dessert, plus another main course. We started off with the Pan Seared Foie Gras, which was absolutely delicious! Needless to say, those two thin slices disappeared in a flash. Sigh.

Next on the menu was the Baked Escargot with Parsley Butter Sauce; which was swimming in all its garlicky goodness. There was more than one escargot in each pot, so that was a nice surprise. Haha.

And the main courses? Check them out...

Burgundy Wagyu Cheeks

Lamb Shank in riesling with herbs and boiled potatoes

The Wagyu Cheeks were wonderfully tender; it tasted very rich though, and I can't imagine eating a lot of it at one go. Hubby's Lamb Shank was a little unusual (somehow we've never associated lamb with a tomato-ish flavour); so we didn't think that was particularly fantastic. For dessert, we went for the Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream (with White Truffle something somewhere in that concoction). We had to wait almost 20 minutes for the dessert; but it was worth it. Dessert was soooo good!

What a perfect way to end a gorgeous meal! For more information on this lovely place, check out http://www.cafecafekl.com/.

Lan Kwai Fong Café, The Curve

There are so many restaurants to choose from at The Curve. We were looking for a quick bite one Sunday, and decided to try out the Lan Kwai Fong Cafe.

Hubby's throat was a litte scratchy, so he went for something soupy- the Pork Chop Noodle Soup. Not bad :)

I tried the Szechuan Minced Pork Crispy Noodle Soup, which was a bit too oily for my liking. And it wasn't that tasty either (thought Szechuan food usually has strong flavours)? Oh well.

Can you see the layer of oil? :p