Memoirs of a Geeza

dublin office

2009-04-06T18:24:00.000-07:00

i would like to write and have been wanting to write for a long time. yet i seem to have nothing of great importance to write.

today i shall write to remind myself in a years time to randomly bet one pound on a high return horse during the grand nationals and win 100 quid again. oh mon mone u iz the shiznit yes you are.

toshiba

2008-09-29T15:08:00.000-07:00

working in a top end restaurant makes one stronger i suppose. its not easy, it was never going to be easy. first day of taylors college and that was what we were told. 16 hours a day, 6 days a week of constant work and getting fucked by your superiors physically and mentally is not a thing everyone can do. after the first day, i was putting down wagers that i wont last a week. 1 month on, im still going about my life in my new employment. much have been learned and besides the screwed up heels and the cuts and burns on the hands, all is good and one is still alive.

its depressing to be honest. no social life what so ever. l`amours and girlfriends are totally out of the question. one would ask? why?

raya is tomorrow. not a day was fasted nor am i going for raya prayers. work as usual from 7.30am. why?

to be strong

when you pray, pray for me.

selamat hari raya and maaf zahir and batin

sugar

2008-06-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Its my birthday and ill work if i want to.
actually no i did not want to work 4pm-12am on my 23rd birthday but hey, c`est la vie,non?

On a more serious note, i felt so much love coming from all the ppl from all over the world well-wishing me on such an occasion. thank you.

what would i do without you....... facebook reminder.

hypo

2008-05-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

the geeza finally comes out of his little hole. his a free man.

been there, done that, got the t-shirt. aint doing it again!

p.s. no pub food for awhile geez

ODD

2008-05-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

if i knew writing dissertations was this much fun, i would have started much earlier....

Sungmas

2008-04-13T19:14:00.000-07:00

I Got Cash

by the Brooklyn Funk Essentials

I got cash in fuck you quantities
Know what?
That makes you uncomfortable?
Fuck you and the Range Rover you drove in on

Fuck your Saab convertable
And fuck your twice weekly trips to the analyst
Stupid mutha fuck

Fuck the Hamptons
The fly infested south of France
I'm paid asshole,
I got more cash than God can count
so why don't you just.... die?

Choke to death on your damn designer bagel from Balducci's
Low cholesterol, naturally

Fuck your big ol' Sunday New York Times
Fuck the Wall Street Journal
And News Week
And the lot
Including Nation, Village Voice, Guardian and the rest
Stupid set of priviliged mutha fuckers
Think its fashionable to have an alternative view

An alternative view

And fuck, if you can
Your pencil thin, Evian drinking, calorie counting, caffiene limiting, sodium sparing, nutrasweet sweetening, read view mirror preening, carrot nibbling bunny

Go drown in a lake of Diet Coke, fucker

I got cash, what else matters?

I got cash

Slave

Fuck your fencing and screw your squash,
Piss on your Paulo and your Pavarotti,
Fuck all that shit you call music and pretend to enjoy

I got cash,
Mega cash,
I'm happy with that,
Oh go and sit on your ski rug,
Money talks you little pussy,

You let your politically correct pals know,
That i think you're a dick also,
You dirty asshole

And your idea of multiculturalism
Japanese resturant on Monday,
Indian on tuesday,
And on Wednesday, Caribbean,
Not too spicy please

Well
I got stash on stash and it ain't novo cash.
Moneys in my family for generations,
My great great great grandfather made the bag,
Selling European slaves in Africa

I got cash mutha fuckah,
And you can't tell whether or not I'm joking, can you?
Dumb fuck.

give them a go. wont regret em.

BBPA

2008-04-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Not drunk is he who from the floor
Can rise again and still drink more,
But drunk is he who prostate lies,
Without the power to drink or rise.

The English Pub- A History

kurva

2008-03-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

call it ignorance. call it stupidity. call it arrogance. call it what ever you want but if you are having trouble, just do a mix match of the above and add the relevant.

try calling an ol friend, thousand miles away, in seek of refuge and motivation from work and horrible weather. And after having 'listening' to this person bitch about tom,dick and harry (the person is bitcher) and i think we went back to tom for abit after that, turns the conversation to me.
how delighted to get my saying in an international call i was footing right?

well, with the usual bla bla about work and school, the person turns round with the response of, and i quote:
` why you doing all this? i mean you`re only a chef right? it should be easy no? you just cook. why all these classes and dissertation? '

fuck me, chefs around the world just cook dont they? easy job. why learn the likes of food safety, human resources, accounting, legislation, trends, int. gastronomy, etc..?? i mean, even an obvious 'intelect' whom bitches about life in malaysia can point out that it has no relevance what so ever.

oh god fathers, why do i even bother keeping in touch with people whom have successfully demotivate me further in my struggles. why fuck you very much. you`re so kind.

the next time i want to waste time, ill stand by the window and wait for the daffys to sprout out.

Derma

2008-02-14T17:15:00.000-08:00

FUCKING HALLMARK!

cherry

2008-01-12T16:02:00.000-08:00

some thing i stumbled upon recently, something that happened once upon a time. yes i do miss the jegom (junior environmental group of malaysia) days.

nyet

digestive

2008-01-01T07:49:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years Sweethearts

Hope 2008 brings more love and peace for all
As we blanket over the shit of 2007
Bo Selecta Lads

estd 1759

2007-12-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

the geeza and 32ct counterparts would like to wish all a merry and jolly Christmas.

May you stuff yourself with turkey and its trimmings, and wash it all down with mulled wine and eggnog. Over indulge on pressies and carols.
pictures will be added once the geeza stops `sante-ing`.
bo selecta

Magic

2007-12-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

Checked out the Bunker Bar just off Covent Garden last night, after being recommended by Isk. Its a nice chill out place to enjoy a few pints/glasses before a nite out. Place wasnt packed and it was layed out on the likes of a beer hall with wooden tables and benches to go Skoll on.

They make their own lager in their microbreweries which you can see to the back of the hall, having three flavourful Freedom biers to choose from amongst other european bottled beers. Full of flavour and smooth the beers, wish i could say the same about the food. Service staff a bit slack too.

Oh well a decent place to head back to.

P.s. dont ask for a pint of Guinness here. Its impolite.(from experience)

On another note, i just watched Top Gun again for the ive-lost-count time, and i cant stop being amazed and glued to it. God, as corny as it sounds, wouldnt it be nice to pick up a hot lass at the bar by serenading the Righteous Bros` You`ve lost that loving feeling`?

On another nother note, damn nikki for introducing me to Placebo. On repeat is Pierrot the Clown. Damn you woman. Damn

Puzo

2007-12-16T07:59:00.000-08:00

ah a december post, finally. we`re getting nearer to christmas and everyone seems to be all jolly at work.(referring to xmas carols blasting on the kitchen radio) where else moi cant be shiot(as usual) to do anything. i just blame the miserable weather which just makes you so screwed up, u end up holed up in the comfort of 32ct for the whole weekend.

Was never really much of a `gig going` person in the past. Something about the word `gig` which makes me think its gonna be loud trashy music, with the only ones on a `high` are the `musicians` playing. For some odd reason, i relieved my stereotype self some time back to check out the London Gig hosted by the kids at Imperial College.

The music at first was trashy, which made me seek refuge in watered down cheep booze, but after awhile the music became more acceptable. (except the geeza who played the OC Hallelujah song twice in a 10 odd minute set). Everyone was rooting for Rendra who it seems, performs in KL and has a following in London.

sarah,joe,nani

Then after a double shift on thursday and friday, it was off to turnmills in farringdon to join the boys for some intense beats being spinned. To be honest, not really down with the whole garage/house scene as have always been an oblivious rnb goer. but im getting there man im getting there. This place is massive with 3 rooms playing and it was a matter of `cucuk langits` till 6am, with a really good line up(i was told). tho after awhile i realised the ratio of guys to girls was really really reallly bad. and doing this after a double shift so freaking had its toll on em old legs on saturday.
Oh well, anyone up for xmas party part 2 this friday heh?
the crowd goes bo` selecta...............

picture taken from nyet

perrier

2007-11-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Been occupying myself with movies in recent times. I find it awfully therapeutic, to switch off and be part of the various characters, scenarios and locations seems awfully appealing at the moment. Its either that, or its an easy excuse not to get down and dirty with the growing workload of a student.

Watched Wes Anderson`s The Darjeeling Limited some days backand am still trying to figure out if i enjoyed it. Yes i think i did enjoy the Royal Tenenbaums back then, yet i find myself on a half/half on this movie. It was colourful, funny, yet with meaning and substance inter-laced. (just a matter if you got it). Yes, this was definitely an arty farty movie, if you catch my drift. *pooot*

American Gangster was wicked(my man, my man) but im looking forward to the french movie coming out in mid december about a lovey dovey menage trois relationship with characters falling into duets throughout the movie. Something like Huit Femme(8 Females) i suppose.

Being a movie buff at this precise moment, makes me wonder. With the Oscars coming in February, we should nominate really good and enchanting actresses whom have caught our hearts in the many scenes and roles played so far. The `Airport` scene was heartfelt, the `Numb` scene was played flawlessly, captivating viewers through words and emotions, where else the sincerity of character in the `Serious Talk` scene was just mind boggling. Put your hands up ladies and gentlemen...........

Erinacious

2007-11-21T14:46:00.000-08:00

i cried for you before, i wont do it again.

you claim to be having the `best premier league` in the world,
you claim to have the best players in the world,
you claim to have the power of rooney, gerrard, jt, and the geeza who sold his soul to the yanks.
you claim to have all good and mighty in the name of soccer.
you cant even qualify for fucking Euro 2008.

you`re better off playing tiddly-winks next summer when all eyes are on austria/switzerland.

i shed no more tears for you

St James

2007-11-15T12:49:00.000-08:00

fuck me, no turkeys for christmas din dins, AGAIN?

nyet

if anyone remembers, there was a shortage of turkeys last year in malaysia.
duck lice, duck lice la.

bupa

2007-11-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

i read this somewhere and i liked it.

Its true that light travels faster than sound.
When i first met you, you came off as a bright person.
but god fathers, when words finally came out.....

Last Saturday-house party-boris-tower bridge-converted loft-spacious-60 odd ppl-good crowd-red-white-beer-bad lesson-mixing-no no no-

nani,mel,hafiz

cha,joe

yaz,boris,nani

celups

After getting my shit together on sunday, went to go watch a french movie at the curzon soho. Curzon shows some really good international movies, that lil breather when you just get a lil fed up of hollywood. highly recommended.

Watched Blame it on Fidel, which is a french movie set in the 70`s about the life of a girl raised by pro-communist parents. Good characters, good story line.

Next on the list,
Bricklane
Les Chansons D'amour
My Kid Could Paint That
The Kite Runner
The Darjeeling Limited

Any takers?

Liguria

2007-11-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

Thank you to the people who made it to Pillars tonight. Couldnt have made it without you guys.
Restepa.

Artois

2007-11-06T15:36:00.000-08:00

why is it so hard to say goodbye to yesterday?

3:32

2007-11-04T19:32:00.000-08:00

Event Info
Name:	Dinner Event at Award Winning Pillars Restaurant
Tagline:	One night only of Menus inspired by the Roux Brothers
Host:	BSc Culinary Arts Final Year Students
Type:	Party - Dinner Party

Time and Place
Date:	Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Time:	6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location:	Pillars Restaurant, Thames Valley Restaurant
Street:	St Mary`s Road, Ealing, W5 5RF
City/Town:	London, United Kingdom
	View Map

Contact Info
Email:	taufikrazak@gmail.com

A 3 course dinner organized by final year Culinary Arts degree students.
A really good deal taking into account immaculate service, semi fine dining ambiance, and top notch food.
The menu for this Wednesday would be:

Starter
1. Creamed Artichoke and Cep Soup.
2. Spicy Fresh Crab Salad served with Peppered Tomato Mousse.
3. Pan Fried Foie Gras with Spiced Breadcrumbs
4. Salad of Rocket, Parmesan and Truffle.

Main Course
1. Wood Pigeon in Red Wine with Baby Vegetables and Crushed New Potatoes.
2. Escalope of Veal with Walnuts and Roquefort .
3. Roast Fillet of Sea Bass with Parsnip Puree and Caramelized Garlic.
4. Baked Potato with Creamed Morel Mushrooms and Vegetable Tagliatelle.

Dessert
1. Hot Chocolate Soufflé served with Dark Chocolate Sauce.
2. Whisky Jelly with Orange and Drambuie Sauce
3. Roast Figs with Honey and Pistachio served with Vanilla Ice Cream.
4. White Chocolate Mousse with Passion Fruit Bavarois.

Tables are Limited, reservations are advised.
Reservations and enquiries can be made at: 020-8231-2200 (Pillars)
07956458178 (Joe)

About Pillars Restaurant- http://www.thl.tvu.ac.uk/thl/restaurant/restaurant.asp

lafuma

2007-11-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

Battersea Park for fire works display was a really good idea. Masses in the thousands cramminginto a park , 5 quid per person and watching a 15 minute pyrotechnic show.

Damn the long lines to the burger stalls. the bonfire

babi buffet in kings road

might need to tilt to the left

tomato mousse

2007-11-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

Come lets drink and watch the fire works and commemorate the geeza who once planned to blow up Parliament.

Kinton

2007-11-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

I enjoy deep frying calamari. I really do.

Derma Care

2007-11-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

The journey of the captain and his first mate goes back over a year now. Having crossed many seas, discovered new lands and uncovered treasures any pirate would have dream of, the duo were off again into the horizon for yet another adventure.

The Chest of Marlboro was always a great myth in the pirates world. Words of its wonders and riches had gone back for generations but like any other great myth, no one has ever gotten to the bottom of it or even close. Until now.

The captain, a staunch Muslim, had always had a problem when it came to his first mates. A very fussy and particular character, he had only really connected and trusted one other in the past, but they parted ways nearly 2 years back. Now, to fill in the shoes, the captain has found his perfect first mate, one who he can talk to with true honesty, one whom will `aye captain` when expected but still have the balls to speak up in true honesty, one who can take the mood swings with a smile, one with very similar visions, a true friend. The first mate is a staunch Jew.

The Jew comes on board with a similar past. Coming from a history of bad captains, the Jew has been fucked around and treated like a down right pariah pirtate by dozens of previous superiors. Initially being nice and getting along fine, the work relationship always turned bad for some odd reason, and always ending on a bad note. This time the first mate is finally content with the superior. Someone who can treat a first mate with respect and honour. And for once in the first mate`s life, the dark past is not to dark to be talked about.

The route is set and mapped out. The direction is north west. just after the Ramsay Quay. The treasure is close and they both know it. With such chemistry on the boat, they knew they`ll be able to work themselves around the known treacherous waters of Yorky, and row on towards the Quay. Both know of the long journey ahead, but are in high spirits. For ahead, is the treasure that had always been the talk of the tavern. A treasure, both mates grown up to believe and dream of, was seating there for them. It was definite. For something so definite, neither could choose anyone else to be by their sides when the moment comes on opening the chest up(however gay that makes a pirate sound).

Days go by, turning into weeks and now they have been rowing for a number of months. The journey has been jolly for both sides and as they row closer to Yorky, the weather starts to play up. In a freak storm with 20 metre high waves, gustling strong winds and sheer darkness except for the lightnings that strucks with loud bangs of thunder. Both are in the shit. They know they have travelled so far to jump ship(boat) now. But it might be the case. It was virtually impossible to keep the boat on a straight path but with sheer determination and faith, they might be able to pull through. The first mate panics. Probably not wanting the treasure as much as thought, the first mate jumps out of the boat with nothing less of a goodbye and tries to swim off for land.

The captain is dumbstruck. Shouting out the equivalent of `par punde` in pirate jibberish, the captain can only look in dismay as his second in command swims off. After awhile, the first mate is out of sight. The captain knows its impossible to get to the treasure now. It just was. You cannot row a boat alone around the Yorky and move in to the Quay. Its unheard of. The captain sits down to gather his thoughts. All he can do is hope. Hope that the little shit realizes that maybe jumping ship was a horrendous idea, and they could have overcome the seas together. However much hate the captain now has, he still believes the mate is needed to get to the Chest and tries to believe that the mate will be back to continue the journey.

After a while, water starts moving in fast into the boat, and it s getting to his ankle. Now to the knees. He doesnt want to. He has goals ever so close. He wants to realize his destiny as a pirate. To uncover the holy grail of treasures in pirate world. He has no choice. He still hopes the same for a second. two seconds.

He jumps ship.

6:13

2007-10-29T23:14:00.000-07:00

we love today what we hate tomorrow

allergy relief

2007-10-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

working in london has so far been quite fun and amusing at times. try working in a restaurant with people from all over. a melting pot of faces and culture.
the ukranian who has a good sense of humour,
the brazillian dude who self proclaims on being number one,
the manja polish lass, '
the bolivian girl who keeps grabbing other`s ass cheeks(and says shes just testing afterwards), the polish woman who puts on depressing love songs all the time on the radio(especially when u dont feel like listening to micheal bolton),
the head chef who is really into house music(`yo taufik, check the beat,check the beat. u hear that? wicked beat mate`),
the algerians,
and the singing chef from the carribean(belting out to the tunes of barry white and the likes).

shit, and thats just the kitchen staff.

service staff from montenegro, poland, us, sweden, germany, etc.

oh and that queer brazillian dude who i had a conversation about faith with.

dude: so, ur islam. ur arab from malaysia
joe: no, im a muslim. i believe in islam but im not an arab. you dont need to be an arab to believe in islam.
dude: (starting to look a bit uninterested and as he walks away splurts out) im brazillian. and i only believe in massive dongs up my arse.

par punde

democracy

2007-10-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

bless your heart, you .....you...well, you know what u did.

Dove

2007-10-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

a lil raya do at number thirty two.

last sunday saw the occupants of 32ct playing host to a lil raya get together. knowing joe for his enthusiasm in celebrating raya, i just wanted to get it over and done with. turned out it wasnt that bad and it was a good night after all.

it was fun cooking up for the family open house back in kl during raya. thats because you had ppl coming expecting lontong, rendang,etc, and i served up the likes of home made pizzas, lasagna, pommes gratin and thai green curry and to get the bemused looks on some of them, u just know their thinking `what the fuck?`.hehehhe. the food usually went down well with the younger relatives. my justification is, you go for 3-4 open houses in a day on a sunday, u really wanna eat the same stuff everytime?

anyways, this time, Yazmin made the laksa lemak (that oz is getting too malay for gods sakes), i had the honour of making the chicken rendang and ketupats, and there was also malaysian posted kuih rayas/cakes and milo panas/ sirap bandung in between. oh it was a nite of indulging.
pictures galore.

faheem and yaz in gear

eddie (in gear) and omar

joe in his baju melayu with apek

jez and naj

uncle rahim content

doing the raya robot dance

kitchen invasion

pukka tukka

sham and patrick

acab and renee

boris and joe

omar, nani and fytrushka

Bombay Mix

2007-10-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

it was Hari Raya yesterday in the uk. happy happy joy joy. no, on the contrary. I have personally lost interest in the celebration ages ago. Before one mutters blasphemy, let me explain.

Back in the day, Hari Raya was fun. Actually enjoying and anticipating to go back to kampung. Being able to hang around and play mercun with the cousins, the `maaf zahir and yeah whatever, give me em green packets' moments, the non-stop eating, the uncles and aunties who go `dah besar dah` everytime they see you, and everything in between.
We were young, we were free.

Fast forward that along the years, and you have almost a charade of the whole balik kampung thing. You are much older, you discover that maybe you dont have much in common with the cousins, family spats are more common amongst the big familia ( u gotta remember whos talking to who), cousins get married and opt out to celebrate with their new families. You dont want to go back,period. but then it matters if i dont go back to `celebrate` as we are forced to give a shit if others bitch of our absence.

Raya last year, like the two years before, saw me doing the whole protocol thing in the morning, and spending the rest of the day in a dodgy snooker parlour in town with a cousin or two. that bad, that bad. Then, why stay another couple of nites like u would back in the day, just come up with some cock and bull story to all who gives a shit, that uve got work, exam, etc the next day. so then, ur off the hook. balik kl and dont need to do the whole `act` till Hari Raya Haji.

Today, I was heavy hearted to go to Malaysia Hall for the prayers as i felt i hadnt the right to go (due to obvious reasons). but i chose to go, just to see if i can get some sort of raya feeling out of it. I didnt. Prayers had finished by the time i got there. Lotsa kids hanging around outside. I left after 20 minutes. I did meet a friend from KL which was pleasant. But yeah, enjoyed more working in the kitchen later in the day.

We need to sort things out. I would like to enjoy and truly be part of Hari Raya in the future.

A year ago, i received a msg wishing me Happy Raya and the msg also had something on the lines of `forgive everybody and hopefully everyone forgives you`. It meant alot to me as the whole maaf, zahir and batin thing had been said for granted all this time. Part of the protocol what?

From there, I would like to play my part, and sincerely apologies to the people ive done wrong through out the year.

Wishing you a blessed Eid.

Regards,
Joe

18

2007-10-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

"The whole conviction of my life now
rests upon the belief that loneliness,
far from being a rare and curious phenomenon,
is the central and inevitable fact of human existence."

Thomas Wolfe,
"God's Lonely Man"

Speed Stick

2007-09-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

last night,
i finally ease myself into the comfort of my duvet,
as i close my eyes,
i turn myself to the left,
and out of no where,
whispered my calling,
but there was no reply;not even `the` grunt,
in dismay, i turn over to my right,
and in the company of the shuffle,
i end the night.

buxton

2007-09-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

merseyside,
abundance of students filling the streets,
making you feel like one,
endless cab calling despite being geographically small,
walk damn it. its good for you.
strong winds that creeps through your skin,
even stronger accents; u cant help to go 'you wot mate?'
Genting First World showers, to be enjoyed with weird ass jelly soap of course.
good set up, settle in fast and ull be the talk of the town in no time.
get on with it,geeza!

p.s. cute white nikes goes well with cute missus.

joeshappyendings.

1.5Litres

2007-09-20T19:41:00.001-07:00

a picture from a balcony at tate modern, overlooking st pauls cathedral. nice lovely day, beautiful sky. pity the geezer on millennium bridge wanting to jump into the thames. at first it was all exciting with the police boats and ambulances all taking their places and all. after awhile, you wonder how fucked up his life is? poor geezer, dont know if he jumped.

vittel

2007-09-20T19:27:00.001-07:00

Last couple of weeks in the kitchen has been a bitch. I find myself easily fucking up my fingers. One week it was cutting my finger with a piece of broken plate.
Then I thought why not fuck up the other hand with hot oil which resulted in big air bubbles and screwed up skin on two fingers. Its getting better so it aint as gruesome as it was initially.

Its pretty screwed up to bang up ur fingers like this. I did it while doing something im suppose to enjoy and build a career out of. but when it happens often, it gets awfully depressing. I must really suck at my career of choice man. well, i know thats not a nice way of putting it and its part of the job. oh well, shit happens doesnt it? whether its a kitchen in london or a green charade back at home. get on with it geeza`.

Dual Alarm

2007-09-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

say hello to my little friend...

no this isnt my latest pick up line. its my current daily liner, amongst `niamah` and `par punde`.
got myself a little inspired by a recent 32CT visitor who seems to indulge herself with really old movies. SO, i thought what the hell, ill give it a try. there were a few movies on my mind, thus splurging something like 350 ringgit on 6 dvds. oh well, can lar.

I really enjoyed Scarface which keeps me wonder y lar i didnt pick it up much earlier on. Though it was a bit funny seeing a younger Al Pacino and Michael Pfeiffer. His character had some sort of gay vibe in it which was amusing, and she played a real bitch well. To be honest , part of her character reminds me of someone. oh well, not a film critic so ill just end with , iz good shit.

Breakfast at Tiffany`s next.

petroleum

2007-08-30T10:52:00.000-07:00

why do we indulge ourselves with nicotene? im talking bout the need and urge to puff up, eventhough everyone knows its bad, makes u sick and leads the masses to premature deaths.
my mum calls me an idiot for smoking in this day and age when doctors and researches have concluded basically that ciggies are bad with big effects.
I was reading the paper today on the way back from work. In one page, it had 5 large pictures of gross effects of ciggies, one of them being a really disgusting inflamed throat. there was also an accompanying article of the detrimentals of nicotina with the header, `still want a smoke?`.
I thought nothing of it and 2 seconds later was more into the report about Beckham fucking up his foot again.
I know for a fact, i can get seriously ill and probably die from them, but i still do light up on average 20 times a day, even more if im in the company of alcohol. its not im oblivious to the facts, but its just that i enjoy and still continue.
heck, ill probably be smoking now while writing this, if it wasnt for a `no smoking in house` policy.
i think the problem is, im arrogant. and i think alot of us are too.
arrogant to believe shit might happen to others, but not me?
i dont know.

lager

2007-08-30T10:48:00.000-07:00

i was called last nite at 2am by a concerning friend from Brunei, whom thought my last post about the carnival including the booty shaking terms, made me sound like a 'dirty old man'. let me clarify that, i am dirty but im not old.
no seriously, that was how it was man. no other way of putting it niks. thanks for the call tho. call again sil vous plait.

2007-08-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

i sigh now everytime i have to listen to that song bout `i rather dance with u than talk to u` or the `oh you silly stupid past time of mine` song. im tired of being told that im suppose to know the drill.
dude, happy first man.. seriously.

100 sheets

2007-08-28T18:23:00.001-07:00

notting hill street carnival 2007. one word to describe it. WICKED! one of the biggest annual european carnival in london was held over the weekend. monday being the final day for miles long of booty shaking Caribbean and afro music. 1.5 million ppl was reported to have flocked the streets for this booty of a carnival.
i dunno but theres a weird chemistry between booze and drums. a sense of all hells lets loose. everyone was having a good time, shaking this and booty pumping that. extraordinary.
lotsa colourful costumes, intense beats, and alcohol sums up the event. and the food which was very carribbean with jerk chicken and the likes. unfortunately, didnt get some this time as the lines were longgggggggg.
was reported in the papers today that 2 dudes got shot at and another stabbed at this year. the organizers continued to say its been the best carnival so far without much incidents, killings,etc.
PAR PUNDE.

the area we hanged out had 3 cops changed in over the duration of a couple of hours as we kept getting the dancers to harass and booty shake them. one copper replied to a `OH YEAH!` when i asked him if he was enjoying himself yet. good man.

cant wait for next year.

phillips

2007-08-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

no more fucking about you geezer,
step up to the plate and prove urself.
or else take ur plonkers and fuck off back to mumsy.

i work long hours in a kitchen, i watch too much gordon ramsay. im tired and pissed.
shits going pete tong.

100% cotton

2007-08-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

getting 3 hours of sleep,
awoken to the housemate leaving for his flight home to kl,
working a 15 hour shift till midnight, oh not that bad, had half an hours break along the way,
sleeping at 2am, looking forward to another 15 hour bliss in the kitchen tomorrow on a scheduled sunny sunday.
happy happy joy joy.

grante achatzor

2007-08-08T07:30:00.001-07:00

this is what i come home to, this is my shelter

siapa cakap london best?

par punde

ey, im yellow!

2007-08-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

this is suppose to be me in the simpsons. have a go here to get simpsonized (it wont look like u, but who cares, ur yellow and u can go 'd`oohhh'?)

cucumber lasagna

2007-08-08T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;

Take note people, it doesnt do much when u try to impress someone with this sonnet, even more when the person ur trying hard to impress is from your own generation of public schooling Malaysians. However beautiful the words are, it just shows u can actually remember something, something 'everyone' had to memorize anyway back in the day. Take my word for it, dont use em words. I would conclude ur better off with a really good knock knock joke.

ari puta

2007-07-19T17:51:00.000-07:00

With the release of the final chapter of Harry Potter round the corner, let me share what one daily has speculated for the final outcome in the end.

Harry Potter dies.
Harry Potter lives.
Ron dies.
Hermione dies saving Ron.
Harry gets drunk.
Hermione has Hagrid's love-child.

Mere speculations i remind you from a trashy sorta daily. Or is it?

From the first review published today as commented in another daily, it seems 6 main characters dies in a bloodbath.

I hope im not spoiling anything here. if was to me, i would think harry commits suicide from all the pressure and depression that comes with his 'screwed' up life.

un, deux, ménage à trois?

2007-07-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

The progression of the past weeks have seemed awfully stagnant. With the summer hollies, (and the fact that the chef at work found out my current situation) i find myself working an average of 4 to 5 days a week now. To be honest, i find myself joyfully settling in with this restaurant. As mentioned before, it isnt a michelin or rosette star restaurant, but still has the courtesy of serving customers decent and most importantly fresh food.

I, refered to as `student` or `2-fik` by the superiors, is currently incharge of taking care of the 'middle' section. Part of the job includes making full monty brekkies and egg benedicts in this 'breakfast all day establishment'. It does get annoying doing a freaking fried breakfast at 8pm, but thank god we dont do black pudding in the brekkie. The job does however has its perks. Most importantly, freshly ground black coffee in my grasps as easy as a lil pls to the servers. It is heavenly good to drink decent coffee as oppose to the instant shit i can afford at home.

With the job, i also have realised that ive commited myself to a responsibility, a responsibility that needs me up at 7am on some mornings. a responsibility that sometimes and has been from 9am till midnight. a responsibility which sees me shit tired to do anything condusive for my self amusement. I....I.....feel like a person who works, earns money, grows old,dies.(with all the 'minor' details sewn in between).

I got myself out of that state last nite. It was Faheem's birthday. Had dinner at this small but good restaurant in Ealing called charlotte. It was a semi fine dining restaurant i would have thought. Thats until i saw most servers blundering all over the floor. This sweet french girl had eyebags, overworked, running around always in a hurry, literally plonking things here and there as she went along. The best was when she took our orders while scratching her well arched out tummy. And i was just next to her trying to give a straight face. Par Punde.

Then there was the other dude who replied to eddie's queries of an alcohol free beaure blanc to go with his fish. I qoute, "you can either have another sauce or you can go for the beaure blanc, because the alcohol would have evaporated anyway, so it would be OK". I was in shock. Yes i am aware of the sciences of cooking with alcohol, but it is the principle of the whole act which he did not seem to understand. This answer by the server despite a notice in the menu encouraging customers to request for their own dietary preferences. Oh yeah, he also got the year wrong when introducing the red. Par Par Punde.

Food was simple, yet satisfying scrumptious and definitely cheap.( had the 3 course set for 19 quid). Go for the food and enjoy ur company, leave the high standards of service at home).

Pictures galore...

-whitebait and garlic aioli.

-braised beef pie with seasonal baby vegies

-chai pannacotta with berry compote

-its easy peasy to know when im happy.

-a glimpse of dissaproval. i agree. served too warm for my palate.

-with 32CT's guest, Bobbi.

-machas

*pictures courtesy of part time photographer and part time marlboro man, eddie.

summer daze

2007-07-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

forgive me for my abrupt absence,
for i have found myself in a state of daze,
for i am a man, a virgin to seasons,
caught in the summer breeze,
enjoying the scenary wonders of bosomy summer.

1st July- Par Punde

2007-07-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

Went out last nite for a couple of drinks. Needed to release some steam from work. What better way to head down to Soho for an annual gay festival wachamacallit. adrain, fytushka in tow.

error 1- smilling to a malay looking guy who was giving me the `i know u look` in soho. turned out to be a filipino gay dude who came over and asked me if i wanted to join him in the club opposite.

error 2 - going into a sorta gay-ish club to be physically harrased(he touched my chest man!) by some random gay dude who kept repeating `shake what ya` mama gave ya` to me
and fytrushka. Punde!

then headed off to a pub to take one last puff with a pint. freaking ban on indoor smoking comes into effect on the first, with no smoking in bars, clubs and restaurants. just like new york, scotland and the likes, lets see what happens to the industry next. bad sales were reported from both ireland and scotland in its initial stages of the ban. but come on, how do u have a round of drinks without a fag? 2nd hand smoke kills others bla bla bla.

Last kopek pictures,

twat

2007-06-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

for the love of god, pls remind me your purpose in life again?

penunggu

2007-06-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

you wait one year for it,
it finally comes,
then as u start enjoying it, as u get settled in the moment,
its over, finish, habis,kapeesh,
u anticipate it for another year.

Par Punde

swipe only lar

2007-06-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

latest addition. Im starting to get the hang of this thing you ppl call shopping.
a pair of chelsea cobblers on the way. anyone wants to part 70 quid for me birthday?

p.s. 3 guys walking into laura ashley to buy `mummy presents` is gay!
p.s. the girl at laura ashley thinking faheem and i are brothers is sick! i mean seriously?
Par Punde!

why?

2007-06-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Why do people act differently when in the presence of others?
Why the sudden urge to `maintain` one`s self infront of others, when one has already proclaimed not giving a shit bout what people say?
Why the necessity to act all anal with people from your own sphere, when there are outsiders in the picture?
Why indulge people from your own sphere with this part of you? We aint interested! We fucking hell aint impressed by it!
Why fuck things up?Why fuck our mutual respect?

hyde parko

2007-06-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, went for a lil needed breather in Hyde Park. A nice warm sunny day for a picnic with yaz, fytrushka, eddie and faheem. Lotsa people as usual, free music from the 02 festival, great Belgian lager, cheap nachos and a football. i like hyde park sundays. ppl just chilling out, enjoying themselves and doing their thing. question: why dont i choose to hang out at the serene parks of klcc or titiwangsa? parks are a big interest to londoners for a stroll, exercise, lunch, picnic,etc. but for kl-ites, the parks arnt really worth going to unless u want to get posted in the malay tabloids for close proximity or some shit like that. Though, elaine did mention of the park in KLPAC which was suppose to be good. To be honest, the only piece of green i miss of kl is the surroundings of Royal Selangor Golf Club(RSGC).Untouched, Natural, Quite, All in the middle of the hustle and bustle of KL.

damn paparazzi

ahh.....hyde park

team USA

girls and ball

stella and ball

hyde park lake

swan feeding

beautiful creatures

after a long day of doing nothing and lazing about in the park, we were hungry.
Four Seasons, Bayswater. Just order duck noodles. nyum nyum.hehehehhehe. Par Punde!

*pictures courtesy of eddie

Babi Q

2007-06-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

Planned: Last Saturday, have about 25 ppl come over to 32CT for a lil barbie for din dins. Celebrating upcoming birthdays in the household and to have a lil piss up with the start of the hollies.

Not Planned: Pissing with rain all day till about 5pm and the closure of the tubelines between hammersmith and acton town. Thus, 10 ppl ffk-ed.

Outcome: More lamb, chicken, sausages, booze for the hosts. A lil get together, meeting up with classmates and a few others, ending on a pissy note.

diana helping out with the barbie

naj,yaz,joe,yasmin,faheem

hijaz & fytrushka

with apek and lenglui

with yasmin

birthdayboys butchering cake (courtesy of adrain&diana)

abang dengan adik

joe,fytrushka,ayumi,yaz,faheem,eddie

10.9 Millimeters Matter

2007-06-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

this is what i come home to, this is my shelter

after 5 months of waiting, topping up prepaids, buying idds, rejected credit checks and what not, one is finally capable of getting a line and thus a new phone. one is content with one`s samsung U600. until one starts fiddling with the keypads to find out one`s fingers are too big for technology. one thinks having a 3.2 mgpixel camera in one`s phone will even out one`s dilemma. lastly, one ponders why keypads are smaller these days as oppose to the golden eras of the 3210 or 3310?
what does two say?

nasi lemak & 100+

2007-06-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Headed to Covent Garden yesterday to check out the last day of `promote malaysia' festivities. On the agenda through out the week was promoting everything malaysian, including films. They were screening malaysian movies. On the list was the likes of Red Kebaya(which ive actually enjoed), cinta, and for some stupid reason, Cicakman.

Yesterday, was food stalls and the likes of handicrafts, batiks, knick knacks and paddy wacks. They were also selling maggis by the carton. MSG at its best.mmmm. oh and whats a malaysian event without a fashion show rite?

Damn alot of melayu ppl there lar. weird. damn weird. cannot say babi just like that.cannot.

awek melayu passing by. yazmin not happy

awek melayu gone. yazmin happy.

penjual 100plus (cheating ppl at 50p a pop)

flags and booths promoting Malaysia, these ppl are more interested in......

this guy

and this lady

6 pound nasi lemak & 50p 100+ (i opted out for the 4 pound 4 sticks of satay)

then it was off to hyde park to play footie with the boys,

damn nasi lemak,

yaz`s camera subject

oh and that huge dog who came over to sniff me and then later pictured taking a massive dump where a bunch of arabs were playing footie. par punde

mayfair king size

2007-06-09T16:44:00.000-07:00

Exams are finally over(pushing the finally a bit taking into account i only started only four months ago).So, heres the situation, i joined in February into semester 2 of the final year, as they started the year term last September. Which means im done with the second sem, and will be doing my examless first sem this September. confusing eh? anyways, came to the conclusion that i am unofficially a degree holder now (just aslong as i show up and submit assignments next sem). Booyakasha.
on holidays now for 4 months. Can someone explain and possibly justify the exorbitant price of education that was paid for a year when i have a 4 month holiday for summer?
Par Punde
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

found myself being dragged(i voluntereed) to the exhibition of students at Yaz`s Blake College of Arts.
Conclusion to checking out three makeshift rooms full of `artistic` work:
1. No elaine= No Understand.
2. No added info about piece below artist`s name: No Understand.
3. These awfully young ppl doing mostly diplomas and certs are really interested in pursuing the interest of sex and sexualism.
4. The frame used by a Arugi Ramayani was quite nice.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

i have found a blog i actually enjoy reading. have a go.
quite fun when u read bout a person taking the piss of political figures and parties.

friends whatttt???

2007-06-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

caught in the papers today,

*a new drama on ITV1 about love,desire and betrayal called Talk To Me. with the tagline:

-i would do anything for my best friend, including his wife-

Par punde!

a funny yet sick notion, to think about it.

cha, apa nie cha?

2007-06-05T19:48:00.001-07:00

*my final exam for pastry, a propasal to make a centre piece entirely out of sugar with a british political theme. good on paper, badly executed. chef couldnt figure it out. anyone wants to have a go?

p,s, eddie shut the f up here!

90

2007-06-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

*a tribute to the smoking eye, whom is enjoying herself as an intern. im at 90!

p.s. i miss my 5pm beers.

pulling the trigger

2007-06-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

Lils and I have just realised that most trigger-happy snappers that i know have a picture of me in a state of peace. Something, although taxing and arduous, i still look forward to contributing more to, giving my 110%, all for the benefit and love for photography.

the end of 32CT?

2007-06-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Some of us at 32CT are feeling the strains and the dodgy-ness of staying in acton. If it isnt a weird Somalian dude trying to get through into the block, its either hoodies (local yobs) or eastern european thugs making malice on the streets. Its pretty cool to walk around in the day time, but i must admit even i get the chills walking back late. thinking twice about whipping out the phone, ipod or any other possesions is usually the case. Dont get me wrong, acton has alot to offer, being a melting pot area for the polish, afrikains, indians and a couple others, stuff is cheap and u can get halal meat on every corner, besides being strategicly located in between uni(ealing) and central london. although, having a nice stroll after a nite out is not usually the offering here tho.

Went to go check out some flats in affluent/tourist flocking Paddington in central london today. Question: What do u get for 140 pounds a week in a place like paddington?
Answer: A SHIT HOLE! a complete shit hole of a `room` being about 4 metres by 2 metres, plus an added wc and bathroom. package comes with A window. par punde. i thought the agent was playing some joke when he showed us this `very pleasant studio flat on the lower ground floor of a white stucco-fronted conversion`, being smaller than most domestic helpers back in kl i would presumely have.

Its just mad to finally realise how freaking expensive property is in London. yea i know the usual `london mahal doh` and all that but fuck me, its crazy man. thinking of purchasing a studio flat in central will hit u at a cost of around 300 000 pounds plus.

My conclusion: stay out of central central london. if that isnt possible, work hard, oh fucking yeah work hard to win that 2 million pound lottery

par punde`

2007-05-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Backed with 2 assignments due in a couple of weeks, which i havent started yet.

Extra reading and lotsa remembering quotes and referencing , for early june exams.

Im coming down with something. something bad. must be the sudden change of weather. its suppose to be spring but its shit cold and pissing with rain everyday. blah.

starting work on thursday at balans. chef wants me to do 28-30 hours over 3 days. fun shit!

faheem and yaz made laksa today. wicked!!

so much going on at the moment. trying to figure things out. have a problem with keeping with my priorities. feeling a bit off-track atm.

pick-me-up juice running out.

nnaammbbbaa ffooorteee tiuuuu. tiuuu poouuunnnd

2007-05-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

I hate shopping, always have, always will. Something about the mixture of crowded spaces, noisy spaces and departing with your cash which puts me off. I dont really get why one would endure such hardship of being mingled amongst the rest around the racks. Or walking on the crowded streets ie oxford street, where it is imposible to walk in a straight line longer than 5 yeards before u need to adjust ur direction caused by either a slow geezer, a bunch of
WAG crazed youths/young adults out shopping, tourists, or something of that sorts.

I went shopping today. I sorta enjoyed it.

I enjoyed more the whole roast duck we tapau-ed from china town to eat at home.
12 quid for a whole duck. bargain man!!! fatty but pukka in its own sense.

pastry daa....

2007-05-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

I must say pastry classes are getting awfully interesting and challenging with the weeks we`re going into. We were doing petit fours and lil deserts in the start, but now its more `hard core` in my sense (taking into account im not really the best person to talk to pertaining to the making of sweets and such). The work we are more into this term is more to centre pieces and the different mediums of coming up with one, ie chocolate, pastillage, nougatine,sugar,etc.

The last 3 weeks have been solely on chocolate work. Interesting, yet fucking messy at the same time. The need for total control and management of work is vital. (And a lot of tissue wipes!) It was around the festive season of Easter which explains the production of animals??

evil looking choc egg 1

evil looking choc egg 2

evil looking choc egg 3

choc squirrel with choc truffles

nougatine 1

nougatine 2

Today we were introduced to the art of sugar pulling, blowing and pouring(not necessarily in that order). Really tricky, working with hot sugar (140 degrees celcius), burned fingers, gotta go easy on the colouring. i was feeling butty-boyish. made a heart for you, based on a flat circle with a flower to the side. butty boy butty boy!
sugar 1
sugar 2
sugar 3

Sat nite at 32CT

2007-05-07T07:57:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, we got jez and naj over for for a nite of good food, wine and poker.

Goat cheese in filo

Roast leg of lamb, roasted veges, aglio olio

choc & thyme souffle

Screw the starters and desserts, the lamb was pukka!

Pukka Tukka

2007-05-07T04:05:00.000-07:00

at 8.30 in the morning, waking up to a nasty hangover.......

Faheem: hey,where the fuck are you?

Joe: err, what? what time is it? im at najs`.

Faheem: the taxi leaves from Ealing at 10 for Bray. Cepat lar bodoh.

Joe: Oh shiiit. ciao

Thats how the day started. I was on the other side of London and i was gonna miss my ride Waterside Inn in Bray. Thank god, i made it and had enough time for a quick wash up. (diana was pissed as i was 30 mins late)
We were off to wine and dine at Michel and Alain Roux`s 3 Michelin star restaurant in Bray. It was a class trip and we only had to pay 20 quid for lunch.( shit the things i have to do for class! hehehe)
The place is by the Thames, really nice and quaint town, and awfully picturesque for the 20 jakun londoners.

We started off with champagne and canapes in their lovely garden with a extending jetty. The platter consisted of:

deep fried extra thin chips of basil, purple potatoes,etc
whole anchovies on toast with a basil oil
quenelle of foie gras on toast (i didnt get any. faheem polished them all)
a type of olive bread stick

group picture

with apek

canapes

Alors we were ushered in by the extensive amount of penguin dressed captains and servers to our tables. it was as if there was a server to do one job each. a dude to serve the Chablis 2003, one for uncorking the Chateau Falfas 2004, one for pouring stilled water,and one to serve the sparkling.

Starters was a delightful choice of:

Broad bean soup with prawns and mint

Ballotine of foie gras cooked in a cloth, flavoured with a damson compote, brioche toast.

Main course was a choice of:

Pan fried fillet of sea bream with an olive crust, gnocchi with herbs, virgin olive olive oil sauce with pesto.
or
Sliced breast of guinea fowl poached and served in a lemon thyme scented consomme, garnished with farfalle pasta and seasonal vegetables

Dessert was a choice of:

Selection of chocolate desserts

Rasberry tart "Princess" served with a sweet basil sorbet

The meal was ended with wicked french coffee and petit fours.

Overall the food was really good. I felt the dishes were assorted with really distinctive flavours complementing each other. Really enjoyed the foie gras(havent had much of it in recent times), the fish was good and the tart went miles with the pukka sorbet.

I think i enjoyed the whole visit as a whole and not just concentrating solely on the food. The whole experience of being pampered by french servers, the ambiance, the location, the reputation and the company at the table. hey, how often do u get to a 3-starred michelin restaurant to wine, dine and all that.

the group

un cafe avec diana

housemates

Thames

joe, diana, faheem, mike, ray, adrain, denise

alain roux

glasses

waterside inn

waterside inn's jetty

night out

2007-05-05T18:18:00.000-07:00

Had an early start with going for a work trial in a restaurant in high street kensington. This place isn`t exactly fine dining and michelin star-ed and all that, but i thought it would give me a lil start to kitchens in London. http://www.balans.co.uk/ is sorta like an all day restaurant serving all kinda grub from Thai curry to duck breast to all day breakfast plates. The kitchen isn`t too big but its run by a relatively cool Africain, and the good news is that most food is done from scratch.(just how i like things! i have a problem with kitchens relying on convinience products). Chef likes me, pays good, I start next week.

Then i was heading back from lilas place, when i bumped into naj, jez and adam. Seemed they were on their way back to naj`s with booze in tow, and i had no choice but to join them. RIght, drinking started early and by 10pm, some one had a brilliant idea to go out on the town. It was to Leicester Sq. Ended up in Storm which was literally SHIT! 20 odd ppl. no one on the dance floor. It was SHIT!

After a couple of drinks, headed off to another place where we (I) got rejected by the bouncer(racist doh!) coz he thought we (I) was sick. Ended up in Cheers. Had a good boozy night. Couldnt remember much. p.s. early morning to waterside inn for lunch.

drinks at najs

jez doin her thing

the boys

start to a good night

storm

storm was bad man

moving on

cheers

cheers( who u pablo?)

things went pete tong from here

peciahh

pecccciiiaaah

house warmin/yaz`s 19th surprise party@ 32 CT

2007-04-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

After finally settling in 32 CT, we thought it would be a good idea to have a lil house warmin` party. The date we chose coincided with yazs` 19th birthday, so we had a surprise party for her too.
The guestlist wasn`t long as we didnt have much space in the living room, so in the end it was about 15 ppl who showed up; classmates, collegemates and plain mates.
Faheem, eddie and I came up with the menu for the night. Roasted veges by eddie, chilli con carne and an apple pie ala mode by me, and faheem did pear toffees.
Yaz was shocked(naturally) with all the ppl whom she didnt really know anyways. after getting everyone aquainted, we were off to a good night. some pictures.....

*shy yazmin

*19 birthday muffins courtesy of ed & i

*the food

*ladies- lils,kym,amylia,yaz

*diana,danny,joe,adrain

*the smoking balcony- teh,lawrence,charles, joe,lils,fytra

*yaz and naj

*balloons by faheem(sheesh)

*yes a good night

free

2007-04-18T06:49:00.000-07:00

the distance hurts to say the least,

terms of endearment repeated profusely,

but still a hollow void somewhere,

sheer emptiness,

till the day we unite or drift apart,

which ever comes first,

shall we be free,

shall I be free.

You've Lost That Loving Feeling

2007-04-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

artist: The Righteous Brothers
song: You've Lost That Loving Feeling

You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.
You're trying hard not to show it, (baby).
But baby, baby I know it...

You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,
You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...wooooooh.

Now there's no welcome look in your eyes
when I reach for you.
And now your're starting to critisize little things I do.
It makes me just feel like crying, (baby).
'Cause baby, something in you is dying.

You lost that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,
You've lost that lovin' feeling,
Now it's gone...gone...gone...woooooah

Baby, baby, I get down on my knees for you.

If you would only love me like you used to do, yeah.

We had a love...a love...a love you don't find everyday.

So don't...don't...don't...don't let it slip away.

Baby (baby), baby (baby),
I beg of you please...please,
I need your love (I need your love),
I need your love (I need your love),
So bring it on back (So bring it on back),
Bring it on back (so bring it on back).

Bring back that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
'Cause it's gone...gone...gone,
and I can't go on,
noooo...

Bring back that lovin' feeling,
Whoa, that lovin' feeling
Bring back that lovin' feeling,
'Cause it's gone...gone...

Pastry Class 101

2007-04-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

pastillage centre piece

pastillage centre piece2

vanilla, choc & jam fudge

lemon tart & choc somethin`

fruit tartlets

rasberry somethin`

sable & almond crisps

Amused?

2007-04-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

tube amuses me
ferrari amuses faheem
lift mirrors amuses us
i amuse myself
finally, ciggies amuse me the most

First Assignment- Restaurant Review

2007-03-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Going to dine in a restaurant in London and producing a review of the experience afterwards seems a bit arduous for me, having not clocked in much hours yet in the `London Dining Scene’. With that in mind, I tried to gather some information on this week’s restaurant online beforehand; also to give my curiosity a little comfort. This proved out a little hard as Dragon City Chinese Restaurant in Alperton did not have a website of its own, although I was able to read through a couple commendable reviews on the restaurant. I did however discover that the restaurant is situated on top of Loon Fung Supermarket, a large retailer in oriental foods and produce.

We were greeted at the door by hostesses and showed to our tables. My first impression of the restaurant was on its décor, minimal to say the least. The monotonous bland colours reminisce a cafeteria as oppose to a restaurant, as I slowly observed the lack of windows, fake roses to one corner and Pretty Woman being played through the speakers. I suppose they wanted to awe their customers solely on the food, thus leaving out details probably only a hospitality student might pick up.

For starters, I was delighted with the Crispy Aromatic Duck which was served with pancakes, vegetable crudités and a sweet spicy sauce. The duck had a beautiful shiny crispy skin and yet one was still able to taste the succulent meat inside, matching well with the other condiments. There was not the usual strong duck aftertaste which I am personally not fond of, giving me thoughts that the bird was well prepared.

In between courses, the service staff together with the manager was prompt and fast with clearing and resetting the plates. Hot Chinese tea was refilled with every last gulp and the odd requests were looked after. I did however realize that, as we were having a £13 per person set meal pre-arranged by the restaurant before hand, none at my table knew what was going to be served. No table set menus, no announcement with each dish by servers, and with the lack of proficiency in English, it was hard to get the servers to tell us exactly was on the table.

Next to the table was a sequence of Egg Fried Rice, Singapore Style Fried Noodles, Fried Shredded Beef in a Sweet Sour Sauce, King Prawns in Chili Sauce and lastly followed by Chinese Mushrooms in Oyster Sauce. I felt the vermicelli was awfully stogy for my palate, not allowing all the flavours work together; while the beef used looked and tasted more factory-produced, leaving the imaginations wonder on its origins. On a more positive note, the prawns were fresh and enticing with the combination of sweet of the crustaceans and the spiciness of the sauce blending in well. The mushrooms too were cooked to perfection, with a lovely thick soy sauce to coat the likes of oyster mushrooms and black fungus. The meal was ended with a plate of oranges, usually used in Chinese restaurants to cleanse the palate.

My overall view of the place was that it was a mediocre establishment , with the food tasting literally as it is – beef in sweet sour sauce was exactly that. No mystery and certainly not trying to configure the various flavours and textures that came to the palate. To be honest, I was hoping on a more traditional fare, with the abundant uses of aromatic herbs and spices the Chinese are known for in their food, marble stoned tables to dine on and calligraphy adorning the walls. Not being fooled, I will continue to look for an establishment which matches my perception of dining Chinese.

my ultimate burger

2007-03-15T10:48:00.000-07:00

My ultimate burger. Yes so ultimate, yazmin was in awe(as of the 2nd pic).

Ingredients:
2 toasted white breads with butter
radish salad as first layer
sliced tomatoes and red onions
1 halal beef+chicken pattie(wtf?its a combination of 2.only from morrisons).
1 sunny side up
grated mature cheddar
and finished with lobs of colemans mustard and nandos hot sauce

eaten together with sidedishes of:
home made coleslaw - lotsa cabbage, prunes,nuts,shreaded carrots, radish, lemon juice and mayo
sweet potato oven chips - self explanatory.

IZ GOOOD SHHIITT!!!!

the day i became a tourist........

2007-03-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

*booya

*alfred

*oh jerry

*fuhrer

*obnoxious lil` ........

*brother from another mother

*scary mofo

*wet willy

*my 'after a day bein a tourist' look

Looking back a bit

2007-03-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

The day was planned and thought about as a duly routine months before. I was already thinking about the cold, the food, the people, the people whom i dont understand a word from, the overpriced everything inc ciggies, and the most dreaded, the sharing of toilets.

*toilets are sacred to me. i spend alot of time(and ciggies) on them. Not really doing much tho, just spacing out, pondering and thinking. Sharing toilets means i cant use the loo as my `thinking seat`.*

I was thinking the song by chantel 'wachamacallit' a lot. leaving on a jet plane. how cliche? it felt right at the time. with the packing, last catching up with friends and `friends`, relatives, and elaine. i had sufficient time to do all that was necesary and i thought i was doing quite well.

The day came, and no chantal was playing. it was still a rush. like every other day for me. a rush. a sleepless nite, talking on the phone to elaine for most of the nite, a coffee in the kitchen with my mum, got ready and next i know, im hugging my mum outside the gate, ready to klia, with elaine, faheem and yas in tow.

i have to admit, i must have had a drink too many. feeling awfully shitty. and guilty as i know my beloved didnt want to have her last picture of me in her head as being stoned. i appologise sayang.

*lets skip all this and i wanna fast forward to a point on that morning*

last hugs with all, esp elaine. i have been cool about this throughout. not thinking too much about it. but fucking hell it sank. when? as i showed my boarding tix and made it down the escalator to the immigration. i looked back. and to see her in tears. shit. i didnt remember planning for that. that sight hit me hard. it made me shed a tear.

In the morning, it was all over....

2007-01-27T17:08:00.000-08:00

Booze, alcohol, stars, and 5/8 of the moon,
46 boat lights in the horizon?
The truth is spoken,
Lucky Strites, Malibu, Carlsberg, Heineken, never ending Sapuro,
The wine that spelt,
Secrets are told, arms are embraced,
A dance as promised, Im suppose to lead,
Hugs and kisses,
Being in the line of the moon`s shine,
A night together which wasnt suppose to end,
Her dozing of to the left,
From the right i watched her at peace,
No cuddle, no kiss,
But i was happy.
and in the morning, it was all over.......