time for another team gathering. this round it's dinner time, at none other than indian restaurant.. :) it's at nirvana restaurant of fortuna hotel, somewhere around little india area. they serve good north indian cuisine, I like their chicken and garlic naan and veggie fritters. as usual we had 3 drinks each: plain water, drink-of-our-choice (mine is always fruit juice while the rest normally order mango lassi), and masala tea.

catched the banquet foc, courtesy of 8 days. I was quite sceptic at the beginning, wasn't even interested to read the review while flipping through the magazine. but it turned out to be a great movie. too bad it ends tragically with all lead characters being victims, and being killed. but then again, that's the most suitable ending.

have been heavily indulging in lots of good food lately. steak on wed, sushi on thu, pasta on fri, and salmon on sat. I'm curious on what the weighting scale will report next time I step on it.. :)

went to basil alcove on friday. after some effort (read: look for the phone number and then call the cafe itself), we managed to locate it outside fortune centre, middle road. they serve good food, presented nicely and priced reasonably. but the portion is quite small, though.

chicken served with avocado













aglio olio













visited samar, arabic restaurant at kandahar street. they have a unique interior concept, with carpets, low tables, pillows, yellow lights, fan and clothes hanging onto the ceilings. ordered karkadeh drink which was quite refreshing, made from hibiscus leaves.

went to esplanade this evening for dinner at al dente trattoria. stayed for some time to watch the a capella performances by local groups.. they're great.. and the concerts are free.. :)

virtually stumbled across a few long-lost elementary school friends. I had difficulties recognizing one face.. and I still do. another friend still looks the same even after being a mother of a cute little boy. another one is recognizable only from a certain angle, luckily she posted quite a lot of photos of herself.. long live Friendster! :)

had sirloin steak for dinner yesterday, from a stall located in a hawker center between queenstown and commonwealth MRT. very descriptive, right.. :) there's just one bus stop between the 2 MRT stations and it's just beside the bus stop. the stall offers very few dishes and it only opens mon-thu, dinner time. but it looked like almost every table ordered from that stalls yesterday. the steak itself is yummy, although it could be more tender. it comes with fries, coleslaw and bread. priced at $8.

Deringan alarm pagi hari. Tangan terulur sigap membungkam bunyi. 5 menit extra untuk tidur lagi. Bunyi nyaring pun kembali. Mata yang terbuka setengah tak rela. Langkah berat menuju kamar mandi sambil mengumpulkan nyawa. Sikat dan pasta gigi. Sabun dan handuk. Baju yang diambil sekenanya dari lemari. Bedak tipis disapukan ke pipi. Anting mungil disematkan, telinga kanan dan kiri. Rambut disisiri. Tas disambar, pintu dikunci. Langkah tergesa, setengah berlari.

Uh, lautan manusia. Bis dan kereta sama saja. Penuh penumpang dengan berbagai aroma. Berdesakan layaknya sarden dalam kaleng. Harta bisa melayang kalau meleng. Wajah-wajah datar tanpa ekspresi. Beginilah hari senin pagi. Hidup segan, mati tak mau.

Hup, sampai juga di meja kerja. Letakkan tubuh di kursi beroda. Pencet tombol hingga komputer menyala. Eh, apa ini? Setangkai mawar segar nan wangi. Tanpa duri. Teronggok manis menanti. Secarik kertas merah jambu. "Dari seorang pengagum", tertera disitu. Pipi merona malu.

Oh, indahnya dunia. Seharian tak bisa konsentrasi. Siapa ya, sang pengagum rahasia. Setiap orang dicurigai. Supardi. Ah, tak mungkin, dia sudah beristri. Sugara. Dia lebih cinta mobil daripada wanita. Sukarya. Terlalu sibuk cari muka. Supeni. Sepertinya lebih suka sesama lelaki.

Dering telepon menggugah lamunan. Wah, ibu pimpinan. Ada apa gerangan. Tak biasanya memanggil bawahan. Mimpi siang bolong terpaksa disudahi. Segera bergegas memenuhi panggilan. Wah, naik gaji. Bibir melongo tak percaya. Semua terlalu indah adanya.

Alarm kembali berbunyi. Tangan terulur sigap membungkam bunyi. Namun bunyi itu seperti enggan pergi. Mata terbuka setengah tak rela. telepon genggam diraihnya. Siap memaki suara diseberang sana.

"Dimana lo? 5 menit lagi giliran lo presentasi. Ibu manager kelihatan sangar sekali. Tunggu saja saat lo unjuk gigi. Kita harus dapet deal kali ini."

Dan didapatinya dirinya masih di kamar mandi.

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karangan diatas judulnya karangan asal. dibikin dalam rangka iseng aja. dilarang komplen, wong namanya juga cuma asal..

nonton the host di GV marina. free tickets courtesy of visa bill pay. film yang aneh.. untung gratis.. :) kalo bayar sih ga worth it. ceritanya ada monster pemakan orang yg bikin rusuh kota. trus seluruh film nyeritain tentang usaha satu keluarga buat nemuin anaknya yg diculik sama ini monster.. dah gitu doang.

lagi berniat redeem segala macem voucher yg ga kepake-pake. jadi ke marina walk, nyari silk road noodle bar yg nawarin beli 1 gratis 1. ternyata, tokonya uda tutup. dah dirombak gitu pula dalemnya. bangkrut gara2 bagi-bagi voucher kali ye.. :( akhirnya redeem voucher o'brien sandwich.. kenyang banget sampe malem.

be patient toward all that is unsolved
in your heart
try to love the questions themselves

do not now seek the answers,
which cannot be given
because you would not be able
to live them.
and the point is,
to live everything.

live the questions now.
perhaps you will then
gradually,
without noticing it,
live along some distant day
into the answers.

(Rainer Maria Rilke)

another round of food posting..

first, an overdue posting. visit to pondok jawa timur at far east plaza scotts road last week didn't leave much impression, thus the reason for late posting.. ;) their soto madura was not bad, but their nasi goreng jawa was really tasteless.. it's a total disappointment. but they served real teh sosro, although not in bottled version but at least, the real teh botol taste!

now, a current posting. tried sfigato pizza at bukit merah lane this evening. the food is really yummy! it's really worth the walk and the money. pizza costs $4 for 7" and $10-$12 for 12". pasta and lasagna cost $3.50-$6.

beef lasagna with cream sauce:













carnivore pizza (bacon, ham, chicken sausage, pepperoni, mozarella and tomato sauce):













panna-cotta dessert: