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Monday 11 June 2007

wanderlust





travelling gives me a different kind of high. nothing beats the feeling of waking up in the morning in a nice hotel in another part of the world. somewhere i haven't been, somewhere my wanderlust hasn't taken me before. thoughts of exploring the place seduces me and my itchy feet couldn't wait to drag me out of the covers and into the shower and out into this city that's new to me. my thirsty eyes would drink with passion the nice architecture, the paintings and sculptures in the museums and my ears would strain to hear even the smallest details of bygone times. rome is a travellers' haven. every corner screams of history and the beautiful structures around are a feast for the eyes- the colosseum, st. paul's cathedral and not to forget the exhilarating painting of michaelangelo on the cieling of the sistine chapel. i used to just read about them in textbooks in school but now, i have seen them with my own eyes. their food is a treat to the palate. it was in rome where i tasted the best tasting tiramisu in this quaint ristorante beside the colosseum and oh, have i mentioned that the people are lovely? paris is not i expected it to be although the eifel tower did go beyond my expectations. it's so exquisite that i could stare at it forever. i would have stiff neck by then. the arch de triomph along the champs elyssee is lovely but then the people are, not so. london is rich in history as well. i love travelling along the tube to reach  one destination to the other. i love taking the london eye with big ben on the left and the tower bridge on the right, two of london's most famous tourist attraction. it is a cold country with four seasons in one day. you'd be lucky to have one whole week with the sun out during summer. but despite that, the people are warm. dublin in ireland is, well, dublin. barcelona is next in my list and athens, and monaco and new york and bangkok. i could go on and on and on. all the cities in the world is a nice place to explore and i'd only be too happy to go where my wanderlust will lead me.

Wednesday 6 June 2007

of eating out and desserts




  As you all know, me and my husband love eating out. We are in a constant journey of  discovering new places to eat. After we got the house, we stopped doing it for a while because we were so consumed with doing things on it. Buying this and that, new décor and what have you. But then we soon tire of it and now we are back in business, of discovering restaurants and good food that is. Here is my discovery list…
Curry Garden – we used to like Mumbai in town but since its closure, we were left out in the cold with no nice Indian restaurant in our list. Then while cruising along Katherine drive we saw this nice looking establishment. Just the name alone told us that it is an Indian restaurant. We told ourselves we will try it one day. That day came one Friday evening when out of the blue, my hubby said he wants to try out that Indian resto we came across in Katherine drive. We phoned for a reservation and an hour after, we were in. I was amazed. They have very nice décor, very clean environment and most of all, nice ambience. The waiters are nice and they have great sense of humor as well. And then, the food…the food is lovely. Their garlic naan bread is to die for. I don’t remember everything we ordered. All I could remember is that we enjoyed great food that evening.
Spice lounge – to celebrate my 33rd, I wanted to go to a fine dining restaurant with a twist and Spice Lounge it was. It is a bar, restaurant and disco lounge rolled into one with a mix of jazz and soul music added to it. The place is divided into two levels. The bar and music lounge is on the ground floor with the restaurant on the second floor which is overlooking the stage and dance floor. I enjoyed the music and much more, the menu. For starters, I had the King Prawn Garlic, skewered king prawns grilled and tossed in garlic butter. The prawns were tasty and juicy. For the main course, I had chicken tikka with naan garlic bread. This is my favourite combination. And for dessert, it was just cheesecake for me. But nothing just about it, it was lovely…and then we danced the night away.
Ben and Jerry’s – forget haagen daz, forget baskin robins, this is the ice cream to die for. My favourite is chocolate fudge brownie. Laden with real chocolate brownie pieces, you will forget your name with every spoonful. I was only too glad to discover that they have it in fat free frozen yogurt. With that, I can indulge in my favourite ice cream whenever I want to. Another favourite is the cookie dough. It’s vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate chip cookie. They don’t have it in low fat version but hey, any girl is entitled to treats every now and then.
Fatty Arbuckles – if you want quality American style food, Fatty Arbuckles is the one. The décor alone reminds you of an American diner in the sixties, the one we usually see in old movies. The friendly service is distinctive and the food is great with very generous portions in very affordable prices. Just one order of burger will get you really stuffed. They are located at the Galleria in Hatfield and Stevenage.
Banana Java chip – a tropical fresh banana puree with chocolatey java chips frappuccino is the latest extravaganza offered at Starbucks for summer. A combination of banana mocha and java chip, producing the ultimate frappuccino of all time. I’m saying goodbye to my favourite mocha frap this summer and saying hello to this new beverage from Starbucks.