little miss may

I’ve always been fascinated by the traditional Irish Claddagh ring, with two hearts clasping a heart and surmounted with a crown. The expression which was associated with these symbols in the giving of the ring was: “With my hands I give you my heart, and crown it with my love.”

This Christmas I decided to paint the symbols that formed that ring, as a gift to myself, and a gift to all of you.

For there is no greater gift than love.

I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like

After months of wanting two wheels again, I finally made the investment in a brand new Trek 7.3FX WSD bike. It’s quite a beauty, with its matt gold finish and cool girly decals. I must say that I preferred a black one, but that would’ve set me back and extra 600 bucks which I wasn’t prepared to fork out for. But no matter - gold is good, eh?

My two girlfriends - Thao and Linda - and I went West to the Sydney Olympic Park for a ride a couple of Sundays ago. We got there extra early before the crowds rolled in, and a good thing we did too ‘cos the weather wasn’t behaving and rained later in the day.

The Parklands Circuit was where we rode around, following the bike path to wherever it would take us. It was pretty scenic if you didn’t mind the awful smell from the mangroves. There were even lookout towers where you could climb up, have a look at the surroundings, and spot the unmistakable Ikea building in the not-so-far distance.

The circuit was a cool sight with ducks, fishes and all, but I think I dig the UFO-looking fountain opposite the ANZ stadium the best. You could literally ride through (under) it if you want, and get soaking wet. Thao and Linda did, but because I had a camera strapped onto my bike (plus, I didn’t wanna get my new wheels wet!), I decided to give it a miss.

It felt good to pedal as fast as I could and feel the wind on my face again. Made me miss my mountain biking days back in KL, though I must admit I now prefer the “cleaner” rides i.e. no mud splatters up my arse compared to having to wash my bike down after every trail trip.

Yep, I think I’ll stick to bike paths and roads now.

Just one more week till Summer is officially here… woo-hoo! What’s everyone been up to? New jobs, new playthings, new gossip?

I’ve been… errmmm, I’ve not been overly busy. I was telling misti earlier this afternoon that Blogland seems to have lost quite a bit its luster… Well, to me anyway. Even on the days when I’m home with nothing to do, my mood to write wasn’t quite there. Ah, but fear not - there still are days (like this one) where I bite procrastination by its arse and get a long overdue post going!

And what better topic to write on than food?

We discovered this gem of an Italian restaurant called Puntino Trattoria, just a stone’s throw away from where he lives. The first time we went there, it was a quiet Tuesday night. We had the homemade lasagna as one of the mains, and heavens, it was the best one we’ve ever tasted!

A few weeks later we went back, bringing his friends Mario and Emi along with us. Since there were more mouths to feed, we tried a few more antipasti and mains. The lasagna was still his favourite though.

I liked their pizza of the day the best. You’ll never know what you’re gonna get, but each one’s spot on with uniqueness of taste and texture. And guess what? The pizza maker is a Malaysian from Penang! It’s quite amusing how we always converse a little in Malay whenever I’m there. I wonder if he tries to make the pizza extra nice for us because we share the same roots… lolz.

No visit is complete without dessert! The panna cotta is a must-have; oh-so-smooth and creamy custard-like dessert that melts in your mouth. They have a variety of cakes too, as well as the traditional tiramisu (I still prefer my homemade one, though).

More updates coming soon - and I hope I won’t slack off for another 6 weeks before that happens!

Okay, I get the hint… It’s time to post!

Thanks misti, kyh and carcar for patiently waiting in line.

I must say I’ve had an interesting spring September. And in a few blinks of my two eyes, it’s already October.

Moz came a-visiting last weekend, and we beer-ed and dined at the Belgian Beer Cafe, catching up on our goings-on. I would’ve shared some photos of the absolutely delicious Tintin au Congo mussels, Belgian-style sausages and beer we had, but unfortunately my skills at the DSLR still sucked big time. My photos came out bleah, but I’m sure Moz will share his with you… when he gets around to doing it!

And for those in the know, Chen was in Oz too, except at the other end in Perth. We didn’t meet up, but it was really nice to know that she was in the same continent as I am for the last few days.

Now, on with the yummier show…

I had the day off yesterday to celebrate his birthday. We made a sinfully indulgent visit to the Lindt Chocolat Cafe after a long, hot walkabout in the city. That tall glass of iced dark chocolate was just what the doctor ordered - perfectly chilled to cool the tummy down. And what visit would be complete without trying out their rich, chocolate cakes? Mmmm… worth every bite. And lick.

Not two hours had passed and it was time for dinner. Well, it wasn’t because we were hungry after downing all that iced chocolate and cake, but reservations were for 6 p.m. and we didn’t want to miss out on some delicious modern Japanese dining at WAQU.

The 5-course dinner was fabulous. Every portion was just the right size, and the flavours were vastly different and interesting, from one dish to another. The star of the night, I have to say, was the beef tenderloin steak he had. Seared to just the right medium-rare level, and oh-so tender to the bite.

Mmmm. Heaven.

Happy birthday, hon.