A splash of cognac does make the chocolate milk very special!

3/4 glass of chocolate milk, chilled (prefer Diamond's)
1/4 glass of cognac (prefer NYAK VS)
Caramel (easy to make : put two tablespoon of sugar on a pan, splash with halfspoon of orange juice and let it burn)

Swirl the caramel on the bottom of a glass.
Pour the cognac, then the chocolate milk.
Sip.

Cool, refreshing, lovely.
That's three words to describe my new addiction.
Sour Sally Frozen Yogurt.

Comes in two flavors, plain - natural yogurt flavor - and green tea - a nice twist! - all are customizable to be combined with your choice of topping.
I'm currently in love with a naked green tea.
But some mango chunks on top does put a zing in the taste and I love it too.
Well it depends on the day...

Not just the yogurt are refreshing, the stall is an eyecandy on its own.
Decor is rather girly, and I feel like entering a cosmetic shop everytime I visit Sour Sally.

Oh and for those who care, the yogurt contains zero fat (so what?!).
So go on, indulge.

Everybody loves good steak.
And for me, good steak is one of life's essentials.

Went starving waiting for my friends at Pacific Place, I walked to Kemchicks Supermarket at the lower ground.
The ordering system was quite simple, I went to the meat display, chose one chunk (around 180g) of Australian striploin, then asked them to marinade and grill it for me medium rare.
You only pay for the meat, the marinading and grilling is free.

Took one can of beer with me (from the big supermarket fridge), and waiting for my steak to come in al fresco way - not actually al fresco, but the stool area was surrounded by fresh vegetable and fruits - so the experience was there.
I was actually sitting facing the display of deli *excited*.

Came along my steak.
To my disappointment, it was grilled medium well.
Did I brief them wrong? I was pretty sure I ask for medium rare - and when I ask for clarification, they confirmed - "Yes miss, it's a medium rare."
*Sigh*

While the meat itself must be great, it was somehow deteriorated due to the overgrilling.
Yes, a steak has to be grilled medium rare, otherwise it's a sin.

A disappointment for the meat.
But since I was quite enjoying the whole experience, so it wasn't that bad anyway.

Oh so yummy!

I love taro so much when it's fashioned in turnover pie, how could the girl resist?
This is a cheap turnover pie with the crusty pie skin and hot hot comforting taro filling.
The taste is just so yummy, with taro bits and sauce that isn't too sweet.
My takeout, a fulfilling, lovely warm snack.

Hope it will be available in Indonesia soon.

After the long haul meeting, my dear client took us to Oakwood Kuningan for a supposedly nice lunch.

The place itself, nice.
We agreed it's Little Singapore in Oakwood hahahahaha.
There weren't many eateries to choose from. Ranch Market al fresco dining seemed like something very popular in demand. And since we're not in any mood for table queue, so off we go elevating upstairs. And for a minute we thought we're in Scotts Road.

We opted for Yo! Tokyo, Chopstix' Japanese sister.
Both are joined to the hip.
Both are crowded.
They managed to fit us in a small table at the back.

As with Chopstix, the menu were displayed with photogenic photographs (yes, owned by a renowned photographer, I know).
I was drooling over a lunch bento containing of squid head stick, shrimp croquette, Japanese rice and miso soup.
For the drink, couldn't think of anything else from teh tarik.

Now the moment of truth.
After a suitable interval (yes the joint was packed), our meal arrived.
My bento looked like a glorified Hoka Hoka Bento.
And when my eyes told me so, my tastebuds couldn't help but agree.
Okay, correction, the squid head on a stick tasted similar like Old Chang Kee, but still... similarly close.
It's crispy and not as greasy as Old Chang Kee, and it felt like chewing on a rubbery concoction up there. Mmmhh... my mind kept on telling my tastebuds that it's a tasty treat.
While the miso soup and the Japanese rice wasn't any better than Hoka Hoka Bento (yes believe me), the shrimp croquette was actually delightful.
It was fluffy, nice, not greasy at all. Flavor was light and easy to the tongue. The texture of the mashed potato was nice, more like a hash brown. But hey, dude, where's the shrimp? (still managed to complain!).

All in all, that was it for the quick lunch I didn't expect a lot of.
Although I think it was a bit pricey for that expectation.

At least the establishment is somewhat refreshing to the sore eye.
On the other hand it indicated that we 're desperate for holiday. That bad.

Found you, found heaven!

To add up to the pile in my shower cabinet, came a range of refreshing, tangy, simply lovely Coconut Lime scented body care from Bodycology!

I'm a sucker of bathing delights and always keep a handful of brands and scents so to keep up with my many moods, unless I got stuck with one of course.

This brand Bodycology captured my attention a week ago.
Few ranges of bathing delights smelling of lovely scents remind us a lot of BBW and VS. The bulk and the packaging however, remind me of Philosophy. The price, drugstore cheap!
One whiff of the Coconut Lime transported me to island getaway, I was instantly sold.

After a week, found myself still drooling with the range.
Their shower cream is that good. It comes in 16 oz bottle, lathers well and creamy, not drying to the skin and the coconut lime scent does stay even after the brisk rub of towel.
The sugar scrub is also nice, does their job without leaving red scratches on the skin, smell a bit sweeter than the shower cream.
But the real bliss comes from the body cream. The texture is amazing. Not just sitting pretty on the skin, they are absorbed wonderfully to my skin and keep it moisturized for hours.
The scent is amazing - they linger on my skin, and even gets sweeter by the hours.

I just love, love, love Bodycology's version of Coconut Lime. Tangy yet sweet and not heady at all. Simply lovely and refreshing, reminds me of some sort of state I can't manage to have right now ;)

Anyway I'm going to try another scent, Sparkling Grapefruit anytime soon and see if it's much better than the cloying, in-your-face version of TBS grapefruit.

Great quality and affordable price. What could you ask for more?

Tony Roma's versi affordable!

Interiornya mirip -mirip Tony Roma's juga malah *oke, enggak se80s itu*, tapi cukup nyaman di mata dan ditempati selama makan.
Di bagian belakang ada ruangan dengan sofa - sofa besar yang tampaknya cukup lucu sebagai tempat ngumpul - ngumpul dan ngobrol.

Waktu datang aja gue udah disambut dengan Fried Shrooms dan Buffalo Wings... enggak deng itu memang karena temen gue udah pesan duluan =p.
Jamur gorengnya enak banget! Karena jamurnya sendiri rasanya udah enak, jadi bumbu minimalis dan breaded fry yang melapisi si jamur itu malah semakin melengkapi rasa. Gorengannya pun enggak terlalu garing, tapi dalamnya lembut dan hangat... nyammy.
Buat chicken wingsnya, hmmmm so so aja sih. Gue jarang sih nemu chicken wings yang sampe enakkkk banget kecuali chicken wingsnya pizza hut.

Buat daging - dagingan *this is why we're here, rite?*, ada pilihan steaks dan ribs.
Karena kemaren itu berpikiran masih pengen nyoba yang lain - lain, regular beef ribs (2 slabs) jadi pilihan.

Dengan ukuran flintstone, ribs ini masih terlihat cantik. Cara makannya tetap bisa sok cantik karena dengan gampang kita bisa melepas daging dari tulangnya. Tapi enggak enak bukan makan ribs pakai pisau dan garpu? Jadi mari kita pakai handyclean dan membiarkan saus daging iga itu blobor di jari - jari tangan!

Waw... ribsnya beyond expectation!
Dagingnya bertekstur lembut, rasanya juga lembut bercampur dengan asap (malam itu katanya dibakar dengan kayu mahogany) dibalur saus barbeque yang look and tastenya home made... beda lah sama yang botolan.
Piringnya juga rame*penting buat orang - orang macem gue yang sangat mementingkan kuantitas*, dengan garlic bread, red cabbage coleslaw dan jalapenos... nyammy!

Ternyata regular cukup koq buat sampai kenyang. Niat awal gue yang masih pengen lagi nambah cajun steak *sangat fotogenik di menu!* atow minimal strawberry shortcake pun harus dibatalkan.
Gue sudah cukup bahagia dengan ribs, jamur goreng dan chicken wingsnya itu. Dan kita cukup membayar 160 ribu untuk semua kesenangan itu, termasup thai iced tea dan lemongrass iced tea.

Gue masih penasaran dengan cajun steak dan strawberry shortcakenya sih... Maybe next time? Raincheck ya.

Wow, nyammy!

Ini salah satu restoran tanggal muda yang recommended.

Walaupun dari luar kelihatan biasa banget, tempatnya swanky! Sayang aja hiasan dinding berupa nama - nama negara itu sebenernya lumayan ganggu buat beberapa orang (gue sih, tepatnya).

Servicenya oke, mas - masnya dengan ramah dan sabar menjelaskan setiap menu - menu yang kita tanyakan, dan pintar juga merekomendasikan pilihan yang oke. Termasuk juga merekomendasikan steak wagyu yang nggak tercantum di menu.

Pilihan kita waktu itu jatuh pada Portobello Mushroom, Stonegrill Mixed Grill, dan Stonegrill Tenderloin.

Waktu pertama kali si Portobello Mushroom itu datang, wow... lengkap dengan batu panasnya segala.
Mas - masnya menjelaskan sambil berdemo, ini sehat, masaknya nggak pakai bumbu tambahan... yang memang justru bikin rasa si Portobello Mushroom ini nikmat banget, empuk dan chewy.

Sehat dan nggak pakai bumbu tambahan ini juga berlaku buat steak - steaknya. Steak yang datang dihidangkan adalah potongan daging mentah (dengan batu panas itu tentunya).
Dagingnya cuma perlu dipanasin sebentar (medium rare, tentunya), tapi rasanya udah beneran enak banget. Dagingnya empuk banget dan juicy sekali. Ya kalau dagingnya nggak benar - benar enak, sistem masak model begini pasti kacow.

Buat dessert, direkomendasikan es krim dengan fresh berries. Mmm... yang ini agak so - so lah, ekspektasi gue es krim yang di-smother habis - habisan dengan berries soalnya. Tetap enak kok, anyway...

Pengalaman masak - masakan steak ini bikin gue teringat Hanamasa, cuman aja di Stonegrill panggangannya nggak mengeluarkan asap yang bikin bete. Hmmm ya ngeliat total bill yang harus dibayar, masa masih harus kena asap sih?

Reading this book is like browsing through a photo album.
No, it's not about the party life, drugs or the casual sex. It's the soulseeking part. And that sting of loneliness even when we're in the middle of a party - ick!

Although it's said to be a memoir of early 80's life, I can tell that it's happening right here right now. We inhaled the same air as our anonymous hero here.
This man used to have that big life everyone dreamed about - fancy job, supermodel wife, shiny happy friends - until one day the wife left and he started using Bolivian marching powder to erase her from his mind.
He fumbled with his own identity ever since, the shiny happy friends he used to have were fizzing away, his career leapt to nothingness (lost his job) and his downside of family affair. The worst that yet to come was that his life to fall apart.

His struggle for life was told in the wittiest way. The author really know how to plot and write amusingly. I wasn't able to put this down until I really finish it. Witty, witty, witty.

While reading this, I can relate to so many people I know... almost everyone is pictured here.
Nonetheless to say, it's a portrait of me as well - crisis of identity, schizophrenic, lonely!

Fancy place, fancy sushi, fancy price.

The taste was good, but the service wasn't (or was it just our bad day?).
The waiter just giggled away when we asked what the specialty is. And explaining, "Semuanya enak dan sering dipesan." didn't help either.

We ordered Zhuma Special Roll and Zhuma Special Udon anyway. Signature dish would always taste above average.
They were.
Zhuma Special Roll was everything nice rolled up sushi. Not in your regular seaweed nori of course. It's nicely pulled together with nori made from white sesame. The combination of taste was wonderful, complemented with the brittle taste of tobiko.
Zhuma Special Udon was good. Hearty portion, hot soup - you just can't go wrong. But nothing so special since it's something you can easily get someplace else.

Finished up with some Tempura Ice Cream, that tasted like prepackaged stuff - not something prepared in the kitchen. But it's still good.

Again, maybe it just wasn't our lucky day *sigh*.

Bosen bengong - bengong di rumah, gue iseng bikin sendiri coffee scrub buat luluran tadi pagi.
Walaupun pakenya aga males (ga ada yang pakein soalnya hahaha), tapi wangi kopinya sedap banget dan bikin kulit selembut sutra - sayangnya ga bertahan lama.
Pemakaian jangka panjang katanya bisa membantu menghilangkan selulit dan warna kulit ga rata... menarik juga.

Resepnya gampang buat dibikin sendiri :
1 bungkus kopi kapal api yang gilingannya ngga terlalu halus
3 sendok makan brown sugar
1/2 cangkir olive oil
5 butir Evion (dipecahin kapsulnya)

Semua bahan dicampur jadi satu dalam toples (atow tempat bekas body butter dan sebagainya), trus dikocok lama, pokoknya sampe rata lah.
Kalau ada yang menggumpal bisa dipecahin pake ujung jari.

Setelah scrubbing, jangan lupa pake body lotion. Gue pake vanilla body creme... yummy yum yum... jadi kaya vanilla latte hahaha

After heavy breathing books of big city life - that quickly turns to uniforms, I found again gentle breeze through Adam Davies' books.

This book is fresh, funny, unpretentious and deep at the same time.
Jack Tennant - a military byproduct with balancing act - is going home.
Home to him was a sorry affair with an estranged father, an obsessive compulsive mother who rarely talks and a brother who's mind drowned in alcohol.
And a memory of Lemon, who were drowned to death when he was a child.

It's very rare that a book could squeeze tears out, put a smile on the heart and big guffaws at the same time.
Every page is life well encapsulated, with carefully chosen words that makes you think, "Oh wow... Adam Davies does have a way with English."

Good choice for a well planned "curl up on the sofa" days.

Overrated and overpriced.

I frequent Jesslyn K Cakes for the sweet and garlic bagel. Last week I decided to try something new and asked the shop assistant what's special.
She ushered me to good looking pastry called Apple Ring and told me it's a favorite.
There were no description, no price tag but there were no suspicion as well.
I took two of them. They looked lovely, like a small basket and shaped to attract.

Lovely things usually costs more.
Like this one did to me.
I was shocked it cost me Rp. 20,000 each.
"For such small pastry? You got to be kidding!" I screamed to the cashier who look unpleasant.
The shop assistant tried to convince me that it was so worth it.
Ya ya ya... we'll see about that, I hissed and paid anyway.

Moment of truth proved... this pastry was good but not that good for that amount of money!
Frail pastry covering whole apple, baked evenly and smeared with a blob of cream on top of it.
Considering the prices of other Jesslyn K Cakes' products, it was a so so product priced as delightful cake.
Maybe the shop assistant was just tricked me to buy the product - why not putting the description and price tag as with other product? It wasn't premium anyway. I'd rather buy their good quality small sponge cakes for the price of Rp. 7000!

Wouldn't recommend, wouldn't buy it again.

Outstanding.

This is an old classic yet I never had the chance to get the book until that qb closing down sale.

My expectation when I started the first page was, this would take a long time to finish since I'd find it hard to digest.
Expectation didn't fall short.

Took me a month to finish the book. yes it was hard to digest because of the profound words and metaphoric terms Mo Yan used in the book.
Moreover, the book was that beautifully written that I wanted to savor it page per page.

The story was amazing.
It's about a superstar deputy being sent to a province in China - to investigate a rumor that people in that province were eating boys.
The province was called Liquorland because it was inhabitated by more liquor than people and they produced the best liquor in the world.
A province of debauchery certainly wouldn't settle for pork or beef or even camel humps for the best delicacy - they cooked small boys and called them "animal in form of human".
How interesting the way Mo Yan described the preparation of this delicacy called Stork Delivering a Son.
It was detail, right amidst the word fascinating and horrifying. A bit gruesome but anyone would continue reading.

Characters of the book were strong and vivid - I found them only in literatures.
Mo Yan put some sort of intermezzo - correspondence between himself as a character and protege Li Yidou and immersed the chapters very gently in the end it boiled down that there were no embarcation line between imagination and reality.
Mo Yan was killed, Deputy Ding Gou'er was killed, murder everywhere... even Tarantino wouldn't have thought to plot such ways.

Distilled, the book was full of moral story but it's vaguely told. Amazing!

Am looking forward to experience another Mo Yan's work of art. Until then, may you live in interesting times.

Divine!

I tried this out while stumbled upon Missha store in Senayan City. The color (RD 001) that first attracted me.
It's candy apple red, and not a bit of sparkles contained. I'm a lip gloss girl, but hates sparkles that are abundantly dashed in pretty colored lipgloss. I thought, okay, let's give this one a try. I tried smearing the color on the back of my hand. It wasn't sticky at all and very, very sheer. Perfect.
I wasn't in need of another lip gloss (got two tubes of Juicy Tubes and Stila Lipglaze already in my cosmetic case) - but a girl can never have too much beautiful things, right?

The color was perfect and it's quite cheap anyway.

And then the moment of truth.
I first kissed this lip gloss after a good session at the gym. The color complemented my flushing face.
A simple coat gave me that look like you've been making out for hours (I wish, hahaha).
The application was easy, and it smeared nicely on the lips. Really felt light, smooth and not a bit sticky at all.

What's more, it also happened to last over a cup of coffees.

The only sad point is that I can't apply it single handedly like Stila Lipglaze or Juicy Tubes.
(Stila Lipglaze are still my number one for practicality and result, but the price is never a good news).

I don't really care about other colors anyway. But this candy apple red will be a staple for daily flush!

me so pretty.

reached this one on watson's shelf because the packaging was damn so cute!
graphic was this little chinese girl and her panda friend playing along, like all sense of happiness in the world.
the description was clear enough, peony with a hint of cut grass and tuberose.
I didn't know what peony smells like but I love cut grass smells and tuberose, although never tried to mix them together.

there were no tester at the time so I bought it cuz of my curiosity of what peony smells like.
that and the oh so cute packaging!

unwrapped, I found the plastic bottle lovely! lovely! lovely!
the little chinese girl smiling will makes up everyone's day.
and the scent of this body spray was so nice.
the three notes complemented each other like acapella.
it was unexpected.
not sickening sweet, not too harsh, not overly fresh - just nice sweetness without being too girly and whispered fresh without creating a storm.
and it did stay on the skin too.

I might pull this one my daily habit.
but I did say that to every pretty little bottles I happen to buy...

oh what a funny book!

at first it's not that thrilling anyway, rather boring.
the pace was like bathing in lavender oils.

but as the turmoil steadily developed, it's damn so funny!
pretty dark comedy, with off the key jokes and not too profound characters.

the story itself was quite simple.
a lost girl found home at establishment called Nirvana - a truly nirvana for misfit residents.
there were gigantic counsellor who counsel herself over spliff, gorgeous rebel, man who was totally wired to the internet, last of hippie chick and other creatures that seemed like out of this world (although I found them endearing).
one day, this girl jen got a job interview by a chance and it turned out to be a detective play for a BBC personality with alter ego.
daytime, accomplished executive producer on the red carpet, at night, stapled stan who favored hard core underground bdsm.

stapled stan rocked the nirvana upside down. while the simple life of the nirvana got all crackled because of protecting stan.
stan kept on fiddling and got nirvana in trouble with organization called koi korner.
threats and danger danced around the air, but that just strengthen the bonds of nirvana and so they bit back.
and suddenly jen lost herself in stan's house of charm.

there were happy endings as well as unhappy ones -
with one of the nirvana resident's head being chopped off and few more funerals.

reading this got me laughing and smiling at the same time.
recommended for a bedside companion or tubside companion when you're lucky!

yeh right.
who really wants to know the truth about love anyway.
love does hurt and everything else.

skeptical was the first thing to enter my mind reading the titles.
I really thought it's one of those damned helpless self help book.
it was qb's closing down sale and my hands were already full,
but it was like dan rhodes himself cried out, "please just get me out of here!"
let's help the guy then!

well it's not like one of those mountain moving books that leave me titillated, but I think the whole book deserved the title.
(and again, it was discounted 70% - nothing spectacular).
but I think the verbatims were all overrated.

nonetheless this is a good read.
composed of pretty stories that were almost fairy tales if not for the bitter end.
there were 7 stories :
carolingian period, the violoncello, glass eyes, mademoiselle arc-en-ciel, landfill, the painting and beautiful consuela.
not all the stories amusing. some were losing characters and trailed off somewhere on the street.

but I managed to find few gems in the haystack!
glass eyes - which I thought it's going to be regular love's moment of truth, but it wasn't.
I love the twist when coquetitta's boyfriend made the big sacrifice and lied.
landfill is another of good read. I bet this story will make any girl's heart soar to the sky! ;)
beautiful consuela is a bit of those stories made into movies but it still did put a move on my heart.

ain't love grand?

the book deserved the title.
but accomplishing the book, a thought went to my mind.
at times when we are so fragile we know we can't handle the truth -
whether it's sweet or sour - we'd just refuse and pretend nothing happened.
please don't tell the truth about love, cuz we're not there yet.

my, is ignorance bliss.

wow wow wow.
I wonder what storm did they create when putting those name together?

this hidden gem was introduced by prita last week.
we were in the mood of soupy snacks (er... not snacking exactly!) so decided to land here.

the restaurant itself was not bad, but not spectacular either.
the small size and the secluded place and the minimal crowd is ideal for courtship or just catch-up between friends or even briefing creatives.

I told the friendly waitress that I needed something hot, filling and lovely to end a hard day.
the reply was that I had to choose between few lovely names (and lovely pictures of course!)

after few lines of discussion, I settled for lamien with braised beef flank (chef's reco), quarter roast duck and crab meat xiao long bao.
a freeflowing jasmine tea was nice also.

the interval was very suitable.
our jasmine tea arrived first.
the hot, lovely tea seeped through my body nicely.

and then came the lamiens!
looking fresh and inviting, we couldn't help waiting another minute.

my choice of lamien was just perfect.
the broth was hot and tasty, not too salty.
and the lamien, oh, it's soft and tasted really fresh!

a few moments enjoying the lamien, came the roast duck and xiao long bao.
I've had had experience with ugly roast duck, delicious roast duck, and everything in between.

this one looked great! but looks can be deceiving, right?
the skin looked crispy, not overglazed on top of the lean, pinkish brown meat that wasn't too dry.
looking at the portion, this could easily fed two.

and then came the moment of truth.

wow wow
the glazed skin not only looks promising.
it also tastes of heaven...
the duck was roasted perfectly so the crispy skin cracked nicely inside the mouth, filling with taste of plum and, I suspect, a bit of honey.
just underneath the skin was a strip of lean fat, that gave me a second round of good taste.
as the tastes merged continually,
the meat decided to join.
wow wow.
this must've been the best roast duck I've ever had.
the meat was moist and tender, flavourful with its own taste.
together we were singing "potong bebek angsa"

the xiao long bao was also a surprise.
it didn't look very convincing at first, but after breaking it gingerly in my mouth, the crab meat and broth was nice to have.
however I love din tai fung's better.
but still this one was lovely.

the warm and lovely experience closed by cool mango pudding.
although the presentation was too fussy, this one also tasted excellent.
lovely, lovely.

and that kind of experience didn't have to empty our pocket.
two lamiens, quarter roast duck, crab meat xiao long bao and mango pudding only came to Rp. 150,000.
very reasonably priced, especially considering the excellence.

the meal left me with filled, satisfied feeling - exactly just as my brief to the waitress before.

I made a mental note to step inside the storm again someday... inside it's home cooking par excellence.

wow! this one is a winner!

the verbatims may not be the long train running, but it's that good I keep it on my bedside.

a home appliance product manager name mark boyd longed to be gorgeous. standing next to his perfect coworker who's not only drop dead gorgeous but whiz kid as well, he worked twice harder.
but as they said, "be careful of what you wish for cause you might just get it." he stumbled into land of gorgeousness just like that and everything he touched became bestseller instantly.
chaos started as the mixer won't stop running and mixing along miserability, insecurity and of course, vanity.

wow.
bruno bouchet mixed satire with profoundness so perfectly and outcome a wickedly funny mixture that is finger lickin' good.
the twists are freshly squeezed and most of it were unexpected.
not too much drama, yet it's still juicy and provoking, very much resembles ourselves in the daily reality.
characters are handmade and personally crafted, yet so real. I could name persons who are monica, terry, rae and greg.
although the scene is not advertising, I found the jargons I use daily - not so surprising since mr. bouchet himself is a copywriter.

the only downside is that the last chapters were quite draggy it's soapy, especially mark's solo run. I've had had too much marks yet still I couldn't manage to put down the book.

in the end, I'm all shook up and happy :)
will surely grab another of his books!