The Carnaval Cranium

Had another reunion with my ex-colleagues for buka. After the last Meat Meet, we weren't sure of where to meet up. But when Shah recommended another meat place in our email correspondences and after reading about the restaurant, we couldn't say no! We went to this place called Carnaval Churrascaria, Brazillian Buffet at Damansara Jaya. It was a buffet but not in the traditional sense. It was a 'brazilian buffet' and apparently this is how buffets are in Brazil. The only food at the buffet bar were the salad and pasta.

As for the meat, the waiters and waitresses go from table to table with them, in long metal rods and politely ask you whether you'd like a helping. They then cut the meat off the skewers with scary knives literally 3 inches away from your face! A bit scary but it's a new experience because its the one buffet where you don't have to stand up to refill. They bring the meat to you on your table non-stop and it's a silent war between you and the waiters: who gets tired first? We thought we had won when the waiters stopped coming by, and we had to call them for more meat, but then ultimately the waiters rallied and we had to give in after so many rounds.

They do not have a lot of sauce (although I didn't ask them whether they had any more) apart from the mint and salsa sauce on the table. But it was good enough to go with the various meats. I think I had: grilled chicken, curry chicken, chicken ham, garlic beef (one of the most recommended here), beef rump steak (lovely texture) and lamb shoulder (all the fats, YUM!). Not to forget the grilled prawns and chicken sausages. Oh, I just have to mention that the garlic bread here is absolutely delicious. Seriously. And the whole grilled pineapple strips too. Goes well with the chicken ham. Never had anything like it before.

I'm definitely going here again.

After the totally awesome buffet, we planned to go to a place which is secluded, cozy, private and a place where we could make a lot of noise. We couldn't find such a place. So, we headed over to a quiet kopitiam nearby and chose a secluded corner to play Cranium. We caused quite a havoc over there until early morning. We spent the whole night laughing our heads off having fun. Thank you guys, hope to catch up with you guys soon!

Since it is the second day of raya today and it's Malaysia's Independence Day, I would just like to wish a Happy Merdeka Day to all Malaysians. What I love about Malaysia? The people, the food, the gorgeous beaches and islands and did I mention, the food? Yes, I love Malaysian food and also the fact that you can get any type of food in Malaysia. Thank you Malaysia. I love you.

Meat Meet : Izan's Surprise

Hello dear readers. Some of you might have arrived at your hometown or are preparing for raya tomorrow. Me? I'm on the road, on my way to visit my grandfather and meet up with my relatives in Perak. My husband is driving at a leisurely pace. Especially because it's quite scary that there has already been a reported 78 fatalities on the road in just four days! (Got that from yesterday's New Sunday Times, front page). Please stay safe everyone.

Anyway, since it's a quite slow and long ride, I've decided to blog while singing along to songs in the car on shuffle :)

Some time in July, i met up with my friends at Meatworks Solaris Mont Kiara. These friends are my ex-colleagues from the previous firm that I chambered in and practiced at. Most of them are no longer there so it's harder to meet up as everyone works at different places as of now. However, we keep in touch with everyone via email and make it a point to meet up and plan a gathering every other month or so. Keeping up by email with these guys means that every single topic will run up to 'hundreds' of emails. Even if sometimes I get too busy to reply to the emails, I will always read the emails at the end of the day because these guys are very funny in a weird and crazy way. I love them! They were the reason why working there was so fun and enjoyable.

After several aborted meet-ups, finally we get to agree on a date which fell on Izan's birthday on the 15th of July 2011. Izan was one of my chambering mates who is like an elder brother that I never had. He is one of the few people that you meet who is very kindhearted, always smiling even though through rough times and trustworthy. I don't have many guy friends but Izan is definitely one of the very few that I am really close to. We grew very close and we were inseperable during the gruelling yet invaluable chambering/pupillage period together with Christina and Joanna (blogged about Joanna in Gold to Sweep Away the Sorrows)

Anyway, what happened on that day was, eventhough it was Izan's birthday, he didn't expect us to actually celebrate it. Christina and Shah bought a cake for all of us to surprise him after we ate our delicious yet extremely filling meal. I must say that the ribs at Meatworks are really good. It is comparable to the ones at Tony Roma's.

It turned out that Izan was actually surprised! I had a good time catching up with the guys. We had so much fun that we didn't realize that we stayed well pass the shop's closing hours. The waiters were very polite not to ask us to leave but we got the hint when all the other tables outside the shop were cleared up and lifted in.

We decided to continue chit-chatting at a mamak nearby. The most hotly discussed topic at the mamak was about the Obedient Wives Club and polygamy. We were debating about it. More often than not, when lawyers meet we argue. It's all about agreeing to disagree but not before debating it to death! The fun thing about this group of friends is that you just know that in the middle of a serious discussion someone will crack a joke, intentionally or unintentionally. I had a good time :) More posts on good food and good company will follow suit.

Till my next post!

Shai's Shindig

Last week, we had an iftar cum birthday celebration of my BFF, Shai at KGPA. The whole shindig was organized by her hubby who told her they were celebrating her birthday, but 'forgot' to mention that he invited 27 of her closest friends as well.

I have never been to KGPA to break fast before and was very surprised at the quite extensive variety of food on display, and also the number of people that day. It was quite a lot. While most people were queuing up for the BBQ, pasta, roast lamb, ikan bakar (grilled fish), yong tau foo, roti canai, murtabak, kueyteow goreng, roti john, nasi ayam etc etc, I went mostly for their Malay cooked spread. I attacked their sambal tempoyak, ikan patin masak gulai tempoyak and also their steamed ikan patin. That was seriously the bomb! I couldn't stop eating. I had a few rounds of the scrumptious food.

Despite the large number of people there that night, I think it was quite a cosy affair and we managed to catch up with close friends and celebrate Shai's birthday. According to her, her hubby has never done anything like that for her so she was very pleasantly surprised that he managed to gather quite a number of her friends all under one roof. Miss birthday girl Shai who I've been close to since some 15 (yes, FIFTEEN!) years ago was all dressed up for a (supposedly) date with the husband and looked very pretty in Gallo that night.

Me? I came straight from the office on a weekend. Again. I was wearing the new jeans that I am so in love with right now which I bought with my cousins at Seven For All Mankind. I love it, I think it's a great fit on me. I also wore my mom's bespoke top, Poplook's cardi and shawl from Pari-pari. See more pictures on the look in Shadows Upon All Mankind.

Till my next post :)

Shadows upon all mankind

Finally, I have the time to blog! I'll be on leave for one whole week this Eid al-Fitr raya holidays. Forced leave. My husband is still working today and tomorrow though. So while he is at the office, I'll blog away :)

Here's a lookpost on what I wore to Shai's Shindig taken earlier in the afternoon when I left the office on a weekend (:p) for Shai's birthday surprise.

My new favourite denim jeans : 7 For All Mankind

Vintage dusty peachy pink silky top : My mother's bespoked top from Shan Lyn

Kimono cardigan in cream : Thepoplook.com
My new favourite shawl in navy blue : Pari-pari
Handbag : Charles & Keith
My all time favourite sandals : Electra Gold by Fit Flop

Used to be My Playground

Don't we miss being carefree?

In this Next Instalment of Reflections of Raya : (Part 1, 2, 3)

I've come up with a theory: You can never really get a grasp on how fast time flies, until you step into your old playground and face your memories. This used to be the playground I hung out with some my closest school friends whom I spent each and every day recessing with, the SB . The first time we went there was when we were 14 years old. It's been more than ten years since, and stepping into the playground, with the swings suddenly a lot lower than it used to be, the slides no longer high and daunting (in fact, it can no longer fit you!), you suddenly realize just how big you've grown and how time has flown.

There was a sense of bittersweet nostalgia when my friends and I approached the playground after the aqiqah of Izaida's beautiful baby Putri last raya in September 2010. Two in our circle of friends now have babies and another is pregnant. Sometimes I just can't get my head round to that fact! I know, I know but that's how I feel. There was a quiet agreement between all of us, as the memories came flooding back. It was our old stomping ground. The place where we played together, fooled around together, laughed together. And yes, took lots and lots of photos together (camwhores are made, not born). We even pretended to be Spice Girls at the playground. Haha.

There were a few kids playing around so happily there. Undeterred, we were determined to give that old swing another go. Except there were kids playing on the swing. So we waited on the see-saw opposite the swings. And waited. And waited. And eyeballed the kids until they kind of got the hint (hehe).

As much as so many things in our lives change, there will always be some things which stay the same. The carefree and problem-free days when we were young, innocent and naive may have gone, but the little amusements, small happiness and distractions are still there.

And then for a brief moment in time, there we were, grabbing back a little part of our past, a little part of the happiness of our innocence and carefree youth for a short time. It's good, once in a while to step back into that part of our lives. As much as it reminds us of happier, carefree days, it would also help us to focus on our responsibilities in our daily lives, and just how far we've come since those days =)

Just a reflection on this beautiful morning.

(P/s : I just had my mum's gulai tempoyak ikan patin, sambal tempoyak and telur masin for sahur. It was THE BOMB!)

What I wore :

Butterfly Brooch : From Penang Butterfly Farm
Psychadelic chiffon baju kurung : Ready made from Ampang Park
Geometrical Purple Shades Vintage Handbag : Saxone Vermont
Jellybean Joy Shawl : Debutante Avenue

See-saw.. The playground we used to go to and take pictures at when we were 14 years old..

We kinda miss swinging like the 'ol days, don't we?

We are too tall to enjoy the slide now.. hehe

Oversized us.

Back then XOXO didn't mean hugs and kisses

And we have lift off

Tutti Frutti to end the hot day

Reflections of Raya 2010: 3

After a month of fasting, one of the best parts of Raya is of course, the open houses! I truly look forward to the open houses because that is the time where we get to be in the company of our dearest relatives and friends who we haven't seen in a while. Last year was no different. And not to mention the FOOD. The array of kuih raya (cookies) and the food spread inclusive of the obligatory rendang and lemang/ketupat.. *drools*

I was invited to Hudaa's open house last year, and that only means one thing: Hudaa's famous BAKSO. Seriously it is to die for. All of her friends know that come Raya, that is one of the few must-haves. Hudaa, Lisa and Zaza are close friends who all have something in common: Brains with Beauty (I'm sure you will agree with me). Now, I don't get to meet with them often, so it's nice to just get to really sit down and catch up with them, regardless of the fact that we'll be sweating while enjoying the extra hot bakso and going back for seconds (and thirds and forth serving). Hihih. :)

Last year was also the first time in a long while I got to properly spend raya with my sistahh Sarah Rusli. She was in Russia studying medicine for the past 6 years and she rarely comes back during raya. She came back for my engagement though (Hehe). That probably gives an idea of how close we are =p I'd do the same, if she was getting engaged in Russia. Her open house was held all day long and I ended up spending hours there just chilling. Her place overlooks KLCC and the city, which was quite peaceful and tranquil. You know that the only time Kuala Lumpur can ever be called peaceful is during raya when everyone heads back to their hometowns. Took a lot of zany pictures with my fellow mental institution mate Ruzana, Shai and Shimbad. Well what can I say? Too much rendang, ketupat, kuih kacang and satay makes you mentally unstable! Lol.

I love looking at these pictures. Stay tuned for more :)

(Continuation of Part 1 and Part 2)

At Noorul-Hudaa's with Zaznuriah @ Zaza and Lisa Surihani :)

Great company. So beautiful these three ladies. <3 oh, that's the picture of the addictive bakso
Spotted : Hudaa's cat lazing around.

Me and my nuthouse inmates Ruzana Ibrahim and Sarah Rusli at sarah's little garden (still pretending to be sane here)

silver lining :)

by the airy rooftop pool

With Sarah and the city skyline <3 <3

I know you're wondering... Don't say I didn't warn you! Crazyness sistahsss <3

With Shairil Ezani and Shima Adrina @ Shimbad. Had hours of fun with these girls although Ruzana had to leave early. Love them to bits :)

Till my next post. :)