cafe cafe

Whirlwind Eryn came... and went. Highlight of her trip besides her loot of 10 new clothing items (thank God I have to work) must be our dinner at Cafe Cafe.

"Jess, aren't you excited I'm coming over? Where're you bringing me to eat?"
"Uhh, I don't know... Chilli's?"
"YOU BRING ME TO CHILLI'S EVERYTIME I COME KL! I WANT SOMETHING SPECIAL!"

Cafe Cafe is a quaint little restaurant that's easily missed, even though it's facing the busiest cross-junction in KL. I think it's because the exterior (including windows) is painted in black. Once you enter, though, it's a new world oozing decadence and gothic glam. I think the owner is gay. He must be. Hahahaha.

The ambience is hush-hush romantic. Tea candle, flower arrangement, ancient piano at one corner, bookshelf at another. Normal dinner conversations are conducted in whispers. I sat straighter and pursed my lips Datin-like as we perused the leather-bound menus.

Suddenly a wisp of smoke rose from Eryn's fingers. "Shit! I opened the menu too close to the candle... the edge melted!" We collapsed back onto our chairs in laughter. Plan to project graceful, Datin-like image: Fail. Nevermind she's in an ill-fitting camisole that showed too much bra and me in singlet and sports jacket.

We had crispy brie for starters. It tasted like... coconut-flavoured hairwax that grandfathers like to wear. We grimaced after the first bite, but were determined to finish the slice because it's RM23 for a small slice of fried cheese. Laughing did make the feat easier, though. We then sampled the tomato-based soup (picture not shown because it just look like normal tomato soup, if you still need picture then go Jusco and check out the lable on Campbell's canned soup) which strangely, tasted like dhaal mixed with fish curry. Your normal roti canai gravy. We couldn't stop laughing as our tastebuds exchanged these insightful opinions.

Eryn had spaghetti with king prawns, scallop, squid and some other random seafood bits. It was quite yum until she generously sprinkled tabasco and stirred everything around. I rolled my eyes. Then...

Eryn: Waiter, can I have some cheese powder?
Jess: (omigawd did she say CHEESE POWDER instead of parmesan? this is so not Pizza Hut!)
Waiter: *gestures towards slices of cheese on top of spaghetti* THOSE are cheese already, ma'am."
Eryn: Oh? Okay, hahaha. *turns towards Jess and whispers* Oi the waiter damn cute!
Jess: (eyeballs rolled further and got stuck at back of cranium)

I had braised lamb shank with sun-dried tomatoes. We didn't like it (I love the two small baby potatoes though). So we launched into another discussion about WHERE they sun dry the tomatoes and laughed like hyenas. And food miraculously disappeared.

Eryn has horrendous photography skills. This is the best picture of me during dinner. My camera is too light and it's difficult keeping it still? Yeah right. Only if it's coming from someone who uses a 10kg digital camera. And yes, I'm in the midst of scolding the photographer to hold still when this was taken.

On the other hand, my angled artsy-fartsy candid shots are godlike! Doesn't Eryn look absofuckinglutely gorgeous and dreamy with a tinge of melancholy here? If you disagree then go away and play with your Barbie Doll.

Eryn, I hope you get your Working Holiday Maker visa too. Then it's me and you conquering the world, baby. (shuddup UK is big and foreign enough to be a whole new world for us)

update

Remember the Porsche I was ranting about after I came into work? I bumped into it again on my way home. This is tres unsettling. Of all the millions and trillions of cars in the country, of all the miliseconds and routes people take to go home... I have to see the car again. But this time he's in another lane so I didn't really have to ram him off the galaxy.

I'm not making this up I swear. I shall be careful henceforth with whatever that comes out of my mouth. Because they might just come back for a second (hopefully not third) visit.

Did I mention that I bumped into Matt Bellamy at the McDonalds opposite the office this morning?

starbucks

After experiencing orgasmic pure coffee in its freshly-ground euphoria from Boo's Mobile French Press, I swore to pile my 3-in-1s into a pyramid and torch them while chanting cleanse me from inferior coffee that taste like gnat's pee.

My usual Grande Latte. Boo's bag of Sumatran extra bold coffee beans (instrumental to the most beautiful song of the day "feel free to make some for yourself whenever you want"). Boss's reinforced rule for everyone to come in at 9 instantly become less-picketwieldingworthy.

But I'm still not letting the horrendous morning incident go. Lately there seems to be a bevy of annoying drivers on the road who passed their exam to create a deluge of accidents (or near ones) via a never-ending string of insanely stupid decisions. The human race would be extinct several centuries ago if the Earth was populated with 30% more of such drivers. Yes, I'm talking about you, Uncle, in your posh Porsche Carerra (Carrera? whatever) going at 40km/h on the fast lane. You want safety and drive slow-slow go get the typical uncle-ified Volvo, dagnabbit. Don't effing block my way just because my Lisa is small and unwashed. Especially not when I have bleeding vagina and is late for work.

MFB press launch

Last week we went to a press launch of our client's new spokesperson. I wasn't that much of a willing participant because there wasn't any free food involved. But then I'd be ogling a famous Hong Kong actress from mere inches away. In the end, lust won.

I've never heard of this little Thai restaurant/pub before this event. It's... cosy (the diplomatic version of small). And that's about it. I didn't develop any sudden urge to come back again in the near future to order half the stuff on their menu. Anyways after 2 Bangkok trips I think it'll be hard to get me excited about Thai food in Malaysia.

Bernice Liu looked right into my eyes and smiled. And I almost collapsed from shaky knees. She's so hot! And her Canadian accent is so endearing! But nothing beats British accent-lah. Poshness to the max. No I'm not saying it because I got my UK Working Holiday visa.

I'm saying it's one of the major reason I wanted to get my visa in the first place.
And now, lao-niang is GOING TO LONDON IN JUNE, bucks and bitches!
*head bang to a Mika song - because they make me happy*

Luna Bar looking fun even in broad daylight. It's right upstairs our launch event and the maintenance guy was kind enough to let us in (must be my cleavage). So THIS is what Luna Bar looks like. Heard plenty about it but haven't been. Very nice concept but... cosy. Pubs with a pool and possible bikini-clad hot mommas splashing water at each other while giggling should make it a point to cram in more tables and chairs. Around the pool. And binoculars for seats further away.

Lunch was an explosive affair at Chilli's Bangsar. Why explosive? As usual, we ordered too much food. And I was determined to break my 7-glasses-of-bottomless-tomato-juice record. Only managed 5 though. But we only had an hour for lunch so I guess that's still some achievement. I stopped when my jeans buttons almost shot out and kill Aggy across the table.

For more group camwhorisation, go to my Multiply yar.

KFC moments

What is your KFC moment?

Is it full of cheer (Angie) and good spirit (Sonia)?

Or is it always filled with surprises (Maria) and the unexpected (Gab)?

Does it make you want to take a different approach and view to life (and food)?

Wherever we end up, long lunch on Fridays is my favourite bonding time with my bunch of lovely colleagues. And this week we graced KFC with our crazy antics and hyena laughter. And of course, Gab's excellent demonstration of, uhh, that.

Having colleagues that are also good friends is definitely worth more than what money can buy.

And realising that was my KFC moment today. (I so should get paid for this post)

weddings

Four weddings down for 2007. And it's not even the end of March. Wassup with you people? Year of Pig very auspicious to pinch your friends' and relatives' hard-earned sweat and blood money is it? Siiiigh. No, no. I'm not upset you're married and I'm still single, I see plenty of me around at the dinners. And we're happy me's too, mind you. I'm upset when you send the wedding invite to my hometown address and get my mum upset. And when she's upset why I'm nice to children and old people and kind to animals and financially sound but single, she'll say, "Must be you're too fat-lah, can you please don't eat so much!" and I'll get upset.

When you're almost 28, being single can never be BY CHOICE anymore?

But to my married (and marrying) friends, may you stay married long long time! And have sex legally and make plenty cute pinchable babies and so on so forth.

For more festive lovey-dovey pik-chas, go to my Multiply yar.

random thoughts on music

Thanks to Leo who introduced me to the wonderful (and speedy) downloading world of Azureus, I can now access album upon album of wondrous music from all over the world. eMule is one slow-moving ass and should be banished from the face of the universe. Hmm the same should be said regarding illegal downloads, but...

Listening to one new album a day makes the Ogress one contented monstrosity. And it's very crucial because I cannot find contentment in sleeping hours nor making music with the band these days. My most precious finds of the past 2 weeks are:

The Gossip. Very interesting bandmembers. Very yummy drummer. Listen Up! is fantabulous. How do they make simple music arrangement sound soooo good? Hmm I like my fair share of cowbells from time to time.

Lily Allen has the most delectably enchanting British accent. And boppy tunes I can't categorise. I'd say it's airy, cool ska-pop with garage beats. In layman terms, her music makes me happy. And want to go live in England and cycle around town in a yellow sundress and red flip-flops. My favourite song is Littlest Things. Check out the piano riff from the 70's French softporn movie Emmanuelle (thanks for the background info, oh Si king of google and wikipedia). Faster go see the beautiful Sylvia Kristel on youtube!

Now that the The Wreckers is born, we can see and hear more of the gorgeous Michelle Branch. Good ole' country pop that makes long drives and lousy traffic conditions bearable. Just what KL-ites need. No favourite song because the music's almost the same.

the baby

Everybody, welcome The Baby to Earth. She's born two days ago to the prettiest girl in my Form Five class and the class monitor of my Form Three class. The Baby weighed 2.69kg at birth and isn't she the CUTEST LITTLE THING OMIGAWDITHINKMYMATERNALINSTINCTSGOINGHAYWIRE?

The Baby hasn't been named. Should I start an online naming poll?

toilet paper

I think the best indicator of how well a company is doing is its toilet paper. Parallel to Papa Whale's incessant complaints about business getting worse, so has the quality of our toilet paper. The current batch looks and feels like recyled and then re-recyled old grey toilet paper.

I'm not expecting Cutie Compact quality-lah, but at least buy back the previous brand? Treat our asses nicer and we'll work them off for you, ok?

I'm employed

When I read things like this I don't know if I should laugh or cry. That's why I don't read the papers or own a telly. I choose what I absorb into my system over the internet thank you very much.

The Tourism Minister Tunku Adnan lashed out that all bloggers on the Internet are liars, out of which 80% are unemployed women. "All bloggers are liars, they cheat people using all kinds of methods. From my understanding, out of 10,000 unemployed bloggers, 8,000 are women." (source in Chinese)

Oi, I am respectfully employed.

emo rocker

I'm still having a fever. After 2 weeks, I still need my Muse fix every single day. I still have to look at their performance in KL again and again on Youtube. And every single day brings me closer to my interview at the British High Commission. If I get my WHM I'm going to be one step closer to the UK and Muse's concert at Wembley. And the Carling Music Festival in August. And Damien Rice in September.

If I get to go, I'll experience living in another country.
If I get to go, I'll have to learn to let go of a lot of things.
If I get to go, it's back to discovering life all over again.

If I get to go, I'll miss my favouritest boys in the world.

Attempting to make our own music is a very exhausting feat. That's why there're dozens of half-completed songs and hundreds of ideas not penned and recorded. Or maybe we're just plain lazy.