Food, books, camera and jewellery

There is a reflection of a dreamy stare upon the 13" widescreen laptop of mine. That is a glaze devoid of feelings and yet able to expertly communicate the feeling I am having now. It is one of tiredness and a wish for the familiar comfort of my bed. Yet I am a few blocks away from home, sitting at Starbucks like a freeloader and indeed I am one.

I abhor the costly prices of beverages and food at Starbucks or Coffeebean. I still view myself as a customer because I have purchased something from them before and has been doing so occasionally. That should entitle me to occupy a chair and table in the establishment as and when I like.

I am debating whether to make my way to the Sitex exhibition. Perhaps I could pick up a good deal or two as the vendors are scramble to offload their mechandise during the final hours of the exhibition/sale. I have heard of Creative players going for as low as $10 or $20 as the sellers just wish to recoup whatever bare minimum they can. Or was it even lower.

The week was a delicious one as I scintillated my tastebuds with treats from many gourmet eateries. There were a couple of misses as well and they proved to be quite expensive too. Thanks mainly to Women's Weekly's one for one coupons, I was able to enjoy chicken rice at Chatterbox, pasteries at Bakerzin, Michelin Star pasta at Restaurant Bologna and so on.

The regret was definitely Window on the Park buffet which is merely a collection of average tasting hawker food. There is mixed rice with the standard dishes and some fanciful veal or mutton which really resemble burnt rubber. DIY laksa was fine and the nonya desserts collection was paltry. Even the chocolate fondue fountain could not temper the disappointment and sense of loss with the $40 bill.

Chatterbox was worth it for the novelty of uberexpensive chicken rice. It certainly delighted my palate as the chunks of cold, melt-in-your-mouth chicken meat entered my mouth. The warm and fragrant rice was a direct constrast which only served to complement the whole gastronomic experience. I have long learnt not to associate price with taste because very rarely if ever do astronomically priced food warrant the price tag. Value for money, I would go for an egg or Kaya toast at home any day. The view on the 38th level of Meritus Mandarin was unspectacular, simply because everywhere our sight falls on appears to be a construction site. The view was ameliorated when the sun went down and only the bright streetlamps and christmas lights reached my retinal.

Bakerzin never disappoint as I ordered an apple tart and a warm chocolate cake. It was a mistake to be eating both simultaneously though as the strong and sweet chocolate overwhelmed our taste buds, rendering the apple tart slightly sour and offbeat. However they are both princely in dessert terms when eaten on their own. The night was completed by a meal at NYDC. It was not part of SWW's promotion but I have vouchers for it so I might as well use them. Hawaiian Pasta definitely will rank high up in my food heaven. Speaking of which, the seafood pasta at Bakerzin deserves another look from me soon.

Speaking of vouchers, the $50 NYDC vouchers were used in 2 settings. I also managed to acquire in my possession a $50 Border gift card and $60 worth of Times vouchers. They were won by simple written submissions to the New Paper, CATS classified and Library Board. I think another $60 to $80 is on the way and I can make another onslaught at Times soon. My latest trip earned my 4 books: Eclispe, Un Lun Dun and two other books which I struggle to remember. I bought them because the authors won the Man Booker prize and the Pulitzer prize, accolades which the publishers unabashedly printed on the front of the books.

Then you have Ristorante Bologna. If ever I were asked for a definition of exceptional service, I would not hesitate to use RB as an illustration. Yet to just praise them for having wonderful waiters would grossly undermine the restaurant. The Squid Ink ravinalli with such generous helpings of fresh prawns mimicked the effects of ecstasy and heroin to a great extent. The bread they served before the main course was made to shine with their special olive sauce.

Mushroom Pot is something C would like. There is something similar with all steamboat places and to be successful you really need a good soup base. MP delivers on that count and the meat and vegetables added more brownie points to them. However I get tired of steamboat easily so I definitely will not return there by myself soon.

Last of all Friends at Chomp Chomp brought an end to my gastronomic adventure together with a high note. The ambience is wonderful and because the whole restaurant was empty even on a sunday morning, it felt like I had booked the place exclusively. I enjoyed a 3 course meal with each of the courses being just less than filling. That of course when added up do just nicely. The mushroom soup with white truffle essence was a mouthful. Truffle is actually a type of mushroom but you cannot be blamed if you detect a hint of dark cocoa in the soup, such is the richness of it. The perch fillet was just fried fish in a big plate but it was not unpleasant. Lastly the desserts consist of a marble cake and an upgraded($8 more) chocolate cake. The chocolate cake had sticky thick fudge oozing out of it and the cold ice cream almost made the whole experience spiritual.

I have no idea why I lunged into such a lengthy chronicle of my dietary memories. Perhaps it was a welcome break from my writeup. I am left with the last part on discussion and I really need to find extra motivation to finish it.

The picture I sent in for Spring@Northeast was selected and published. That earned me a cool Nikon S3 camera as a prize. I was just deliberating on whether to borrow a camera for my Japan trip. My present Kodak camera is a tad too bulky and sells me straight out as a tourist. If I want to utilize or practise my addictive bargaining skills, I should be better off appearing as a local. I would not look out of place in Japan I guess with my fair skin and oriental looks. Some people thought I was Taiwanese and M actually asked if I were from Korea.

My mother was also delighted when she saw the article I wrote on her behalf appear in Nu You magazine. Perhaps she was astounded by my chinese pensmanship or she was just really happy with the pendant which she would soon receive. That comes hot on the heels of her Risis Bamboo inspired Jewellery set. Since I am too poor to buy proper jewellery for her, earning them as prizes would not be too bad either.

So the debate within my head rages on. Sitex, writeup or just go home and wait to go for dinner with my parents?
Clueless, blur and unmotivated.