I've attended birthday parties, but I've never attended a party for a pet. My crazy friend, Shelyne, decided to throw a small party for her pug, Bobby. She's been obsessed with pugs in the past few years, and when she finally got one – well, let's just say he's spoilt like every other lucky pug out there. Also, Bobby the pug has the same birthday as me! :)

The party was held at the public dog park in Bandar Utama (the one right next to One Utama Mall) where people are free to bring their dogs of all shapes and sizes. There are even obedience classes on weekends, for anyone to join. It's a great place to teach your dog to socialize and learn a trick or two. There is even a lake, for dogs who like to swim, they can! I've actually witnessed my friend's golden retriever leap right into the lake for a quick paddle. Also, be sure to bring your plastic bags and pooper scooper to keep the park clean and sanitary.

We spotted a few cute doggies and their owners, walking and lounging around in the warm evening sun. It rained right before, so the ground was a little wet.







Back to Bobby, he had some (dog) friends over for his party, and some random (dog) party crashers too. This lucky little boy even got his own birthday cake, a dog-friendly cake (not human friendly though) from Blink Pets Bakery; and some treats as his birthday present. Shelyne made some vegetable stew and also contributed some chips and soft drinks for the humans.














Happy One Year Bobby!

As much as I dread and welcome my birthday (dread getting older, welcome the plethora of food coming my way; "this way please" - points to tummy), I had a fairly good and relaxing one this year. I even got to pick out my own gift, and the restaurant I want to dine in. That was the difference from last year, where everything was not planned in my hands.

My boyfriend is the absolute best, chauffeuring me to work on my birthday (yes, I had to work but it was a Friday) and taking me out for a nice Japanese lunch. My wonderful colleagues got me a lovely chocolate-peanut butter and banana cake from Fat Boy Bakes for our 4pm tea time in the pantry.

Then came dinner. I chose Brasserie Enfin, located in Oasis Damansara. Now I love Oasis, it is one of the most beautiful places to go for drinks at night, and they have a lovely collection of restaurants, with a nice long stretch of water features in front of them.

Brasserie Enfin is located on the first floor, above a burger place called Bad Boy Cooks (owned by the same person) and a florist.






More dried branches, bunched into trees, greeted us at the top. There's something so fairytale like about it that made my heart warm. Also I am anticipating good French food for the night. Helmed by award-winning Chef James Won (owner too), this is bound to be delicious.






We sat down and screened through the degustation menu that they offer. They serve a choice of two, three or four course meals, where you can choose and pick from a few choices for each. We decided to go for the three-course meal each (RM128, or RM188 with a glass of wine and champagne; per pax) and forego the dessert because we have scores of ice-cream and cake desserts back home. Waste not, want not.








The first course arrived, mine was the salad greens with honey bacon brick, and a pea, apple and mint béarnaise sauce. The salad greens are a medley of green pea pods, sprouts and edamame. The béarnaise sauce was lovely and it went very well with my bacon brick, which was nicely honeyed but not overly sweet. I swear, Panda was just a little jealous over my choice.

He went with the mushroom ravioli with chamomile carrots, roasted beetroot with rose essence, bacon crumbs and citrus beurre blanc. I had a taste of it and it was pretty good too, the mushrooms were wonderfully flavored, it went really well with the beurre blanc (despite the fact that beurre blanc is usually only used for seafood dishes). However, for a man his size, it was a tad small. Mine still rocked, but I was nice enough to feed him some forkfuls of my bacon brick.




Waiting for the second course, I looked around and took some other photos of the interior. Gotta love this VIP table (for large parties) that has a fake mirror (which is actually a normal piece of glass) that allows you to peek in and see what the chefs are doing. Pressure's on boys.








Our second course arrived, we both selected the same thing: Pan seared Hokkaido scallops, Japanese caviar and ocean trout roe, rested on whiskey sabayon and grapefruit gelée. The Hokkaido scallop was humongous, and very well seared. so we were both very happy campers. I love caviar and the mix of salty caviar, both black and orange, against the slightly sweet and creamy sabayon on top of a bite of the scallop - beautiful! The ocean trout roe also adds a nice flavor, love the way it explodes in your mouth, leaving that ocean-fish taste behind.

I was more impressed with the brilliance of using the grapefruit gelée. Taking it after having the rest of the seafood, the gelée sort of removes all that fishiness in the mouth, leaving the palate clear again for the next meal. It's a small thing, but it's ingenious.




By this point, we have a hunger that is only 40% satiated and we are anticipating our main course. I thank the hunger stars that it didn't take too long to come out. :)





With mains in front of us, we are all set to dig in. I had the roasted rump of Dopper lamb accompanied by garlic confit, lavender edamame, minted peas puree and miso root fondants. The lamb, cooked to perfection at medium (all chefs like to cook lamb/beef at medium, asking for well-done makes them angry, because it's a waste of good meat to do so) was tender and juicy, and each bite goes perfectly well with my minted peas puree. I love the garlic confit, simple because I love garlic and I wished they had given just a little more of that. The miso root fondant (technically a melt-in-your-mouth sweet potato) was a good break in between meat-eating.

Hi's main was the roasted pork belly with braised shallots in red wine vinegar, royal blend of mushrooms, braised roots and fruit pâte. The serving of pork, was very generous, with a large square of crispy pork skin on top. You can imagine his glee, crunching on the skin and devouring the fatty meat with the sweetness of the fruit pâte. The braised shallots were also interestingly nice, not overly oniony but sweet with a tinge of vinegar.







Overall it was a good meal experience, nothing much to fault, really. The service was impeccable and the ambiance is gorgeous. The only thing I have to pick on is that the restaurant is a little warm, and has quite a few mosquitoes lurking about. I got bitten on both legs about 5 times. Other than that, great. My tummy was super happy, and my palate is satisfied.

As mentioned earlier, I got to pick my own birthday present this year. I needed a new wallet badly (because my Charles & Keith ones are already getting out of fashion after 2 years, and it's a fat sort of wallet), so I chose from Ted Baker's latest collection. I wanted the Pezie wallet with the diamond bow clasp in matte mint leather, but those were already out of stock. So instead, I got their latest Wenny wallet, with the square crystal matinee in black matte leather, with gold hardware and zips.




One of the reasons why I love this wallet is because of the beautiful silk lining of flower prints in the clasp compartment (where I keep my moolah) and also the back lining of the card section. The detailing is beautiful, and the quality is great. Lots of places to keep cards and stuff, an outer zip compartment on the back for coins, which is convenient because my old wallet requires you to open the wallet and dig inside for coins. I also love the detail on the inside where they debossed a very apt saying 'you get out what you put in!'. The Bovine leather used is also very smooth and soft, which is what I love!

The only small bone to pick with this wallet is the crystal matinee, which has very sharp edges and also made of glass (not real crystal as they called it), in fact, so sharp that it made a small tear in one of my smaller bags' interior. Much care is needed, not for the wallet, but the things surrounding it. This is one bad ass wallet, haha.




Much thanks to all who remembered my birthday (because it's tradition for me to take it off Facebook each year, to avoid unwanted flooding of wishes from people who don't personally know me enough to remember the date) and for those regulars who call each year without fail, love you all. My family, colleagues and also the love of my life. It's been a great year turning 26. :)

It's been a lovely and blessed birthday turning 25.

I am surrounded by loving friends, colleagues, family and most importantly, the love of my life. I am so thankful for each and every one of you. It's been one of the happiest birthdays I've had, and I couldn't ask for more.

Birthdays, these days, for me are not about the presents. Not anymore. As a child I used to count and compare the presents I would get and the more I get, the happier I am. Growing up, the quality of presents mattered more than the quantity – being a vain teenager and all.

Right now though, what matters most to me is the company I'm harboring and the people I'm spending my birthdays with. I've started hiding my birthday off Facebook to weed out the 'friends' who aren't really friends at all. And I'm glad I did it.






My colleagues have by far been the awesomest (cause they see me everyday) and been feeding me with good food and booze pre-birthday and on the actual day. I can't be more thankful for all those good times. :)






My boyfriend brought me to a really lovely restaurant, Ril's in Bangsar, knowing exactly just what I want. And what i want is MEAT. I am a proud carnivore and I am not ashamed to have my meat close to raw (medium rare) and I had 300g of that delicious meat slab. If you want really good steak that's worth your money, this is the place to go.








Aside from all the love, pressies and the food I'm getting, I am also very grateful for the many things (big things) that are happening in my life currently. I can't exactly divulge in exact detail yet, but I will be working on a collaborative project with Absolut Vodka x 3editions. Details/teaser here. (UPDATE: Read all about my Absolut x 3editions journey here!)


That's one of them. There are just so many wonderful things and I am very excited about them.
Looking forward to another amazing year! :)