CNY Eve

So...an old pal called and asked if I wanted to meet up for a CNY meal.

Despite exams looming, I said '好啊！没问题！'

She made immediate reservations to a restaurant of her choice.

I asked for the name of the restaurant to which she replied 'I don't know. It's too long. I'll email the link to you.'

The following describes my reaction when I saw the name of the restaurant in which we will be dining on Chinese New Year's Eve 2012.

Award-winning restaurant with 2 Michelin stars, who needs massive family reunions and unconditional love! *silent sob*

Love the red, white and black theme going on.

Our menu for the day.

For starters: Salmon carpaccio

Egg Cocotte

...which I finished before remembering to take a photo.
The bowl's pretty cool though

Cold Jerusalem artichoke soup

For mains: Ox cheek with celeriac mousseline

Pan fried sea bream with vierge sauce

For dessert: Mango mousse and coulis with sorbet
Chocolate mousse with bitter chocolate sorbet and oreo cookie crumb
All the while staring at young, sexy chefs preparing our food.

Look at them go...
Who would've thought men would look 10 times hotter when julienne-ing a pineapple

So that was the night we stuffed ourselves silly with food to fill the emptiness that this city has brought unto us. Nevertheless, the effect was short acting and I returned to my flat longing to be in close proximity with my loved ones at 30 Brooke Drive, Rejang Park and Lim Han Swee. Yeeup...I forgot the full address for the other two residences.

Reminiscing

It just occurred to me that I have learnt SO much during my time in boarding school.

My boarding school is the epitome of British...especially meal times!

For breakfast, we have your regular toasts, bacon and cereals. And then I was introduced to waffles. Oh, they're not your American or Belgian sweet batter waffles. These are deep-fried potato waffles.

Poached eggs! We don't do poached eggs in Malaysia. Why don't we do poached eggs in Malaysia?? They're delicious!

Of course every Sunday we have the full monty for brunch: fried eggs, bacons, sausages, baked beans, mushrooms, breakfast rolls, croissants and toasts.

And then we have lunch. Pork with apple sauce, roast beef with yorkshire pudding, stews of all sorts and fish and chips EVERY Friday. I love fish and chips every Friday. The Brits may complain all they want, but my school food was heavenly ESPECIALLY fish and chips on Friday. Mushy peas! Why aren't we served mushy peas with fish and chips in Malaysia??

Granted, they may sometimes look like baby sick, but they're absolutely yum-dilly-icious!!

The salad bar was an adventure itself! Rice salad...as an Asian who eats warm, fluffy rice as a staple, I was appalled with rice salad! Grains of dry rice served COLD with corn kernels and bell peppers. ABOMINATION is what it is. But I also discovered the joy of smoked mackerel, pickled gherkins and chicken caesar salad tortilla wrap. Mmm....

Then comes dessert. Sponges with custard, fruit pies with rich cream, trifles and one I have always found so very odd...The cheese platter. For months, I always wondered why they served various sorts of cheese (philly cream, cheddars, brie) alongside grapes and apples as well as different types of crackers. What was this strangeness?? Cheese for me goes in sandwiches, burgers, pizzas! Not with a celery stick and so ta pia!

Mulled wine is another label I learnt in boarding school. Never have I heard, seen or tasted mulled wine until my uni years. It's a concoction of citrus juices, zests, spices and wine warmed to bring the flavours together. I think it smells wonderful.

Flapjacks...chewy, delicious and oozes with butter. But after I've learnt of the buckets of butter poured in to make the thing, I've avoided it like a plague.

I miss my old boarding school. I miss the excitement of facing something new each day. But it's okay. This time next year, I'd be in another phase of my life learning more.

Yes, I was almost obese during my time at boarding school.