After a fun hi-tea outing at Levain, I decided to bring Daphne to Alexis for she love cheese cakes a lot and I’ve heard a lot about Alexis so I guess it would be suffice to give it a try..
Been visiting Midvalley and Gardens for quite a number of times during that 1-2 weeks so I thought going to somewhere else would be fun and something new..
So I brought her to Alexis at Great Eastern Mall in Jalan Ampang..
*Alexis – Bistro, Wine Bar, and Jazz Club*
For her appetite and likings, I’m very sure Alexis is the right restaurant for her because she likes pasta and cheese cake a lot..
And due to certain reasons, we had our dinner around 9.30pm..Alexis opens til late (around 1-2am) so it’s a nice place to hang around for little bit of chit chatting..
To get to Great Eastern Mall, you can follow the Google Maps HERE..
*Daphne and her Domo-kun*
Ever since she got her first Domo-kun she just couldn’t let it go even for just a second..
Owh well, it’s her bird day big day so I guess it’s fine, like it’s just once in a year, why not..
*Yours truly*
It’s been quite some time since I last celebrated someone special’s birthday..Not trying too hard to make it great, something simple and cozy place is just right..
Not to forget, it was one of the very few nights that I felt silence on her BB
Without further ado, we ordered our dinner..
*Beef Carbonara*
I ordered the Beef Carbonara, it was fantabulous! Very creamy and not too dry..Too bad Daphne cannot try her favourite Carbonara..We should go again next time and request for Chicken Carbonara!
I know this is like one month ago but what the heck, here it is..
On 23rd December 2010 was Daphne‘s 23rd birthday so all I did was planned a somewhat all-day event for her, late lunch cum hi-tea and a dinner..
Start off with hi-tea, I brought her to Levain Boulangerie & Patisserie at Jalan Delima, Off Imbi, which is just beside 798 Sports & Wine Bar..
It’s just somewhere behind Indonesian Embassy..Check out the place on Google Maps, click HERE..
Thought of bringing her for breakfast or lunch but I’ve heard of how packed it is so I thought late lunch would be a better idea..
*Levain Boulangerie & Patisserie*
From the outside you could see the French-influenced building looking elegant and posh in the middle of the busy city, between the very busy Jalan Tun Razak and Golden Triangle of Jalan Bukit Bintang and Jalan Imbi..
*Front door*
Once you enter the door, it’s a whole new world in there, French-world..People queuing up for their food and making orders of drinks off the menu on the wall..
Levain offers premium breads, pastries, cakes and confectioneries, usually served in world-class hotels, at competitive prices that appeals both to locals and foreigners living in or visiting Malaysia..
The breads and pastries are all placed nicely waiting for customers to select their choices..
It’s the time of the year again and lots of Chinese New Year (CNY) themed movies are showing on screen now and/or soon..
If you are a close friend of mine, you would know that I don’t usually watch Chinese movie in the cinema, what’s more a Singapore or local production..
But this time, many thanks to UIP for the pair of tix to Homecoming‘gala premiere’ whereDaphne, Joshua, Nigel, Kel Li, Bryan, and I watched together with the casts, namely Jack Neo, Mark Lee, Ah Niu, Afdlin Shauki, Rebecca Lim, Jacelyn Tay, Huang Wenhong, and Koe Yeet..
*Taken from Google Images*
The movie plot sets on 1-2 days before CNY where all of the characters try to rush home for reunion dinner in the spirit of balik kampung..Hence the title Homecoming..
Mark Lee plays a famous chef and his dialogues are all very punny and funny when he mixes Cantonese and Mandarin..Koe Yeet plays as Mark Lee’s daughter..
Jack Neo is cross-dressing as a housewife, Karen Neo, and Ah Niu plays as her son..
The story focuses on Mark Lee who can’t have reunion dinner with his daughter, Jack Neo and the son Ah Niu rushing to KL to have a reunion party with the family, and newly-wed couple Huang Wenhong and Rebecca Lim realize the importance of reunion dinner with the family..
The angle changes from time to time among the 3 events but overall it’s actually inter-connected in a way or another..
All I can say is that if you know me well you would know I can hardly speak Mandarin and sometimes understanding it..
This movie primarily conversed in Mandarin with a little of Cantonese, English and also Malay..With my little understanding of Mandarin and with the help of subtitles, I actually laughed throughout the movie, no kidding!
The jokes are mostly from Mark Lee’s puns, Ah Niu’s character as a rebellious son, Jack Neo’s character of a typical Chinese mother/housewife, and a some very subtle jokes about current events about the actors/actresses..
*L>R – Huang Wenhong, Ah Niu, Jack Neo, Mark Lee..Image taken from Google Images*
If you know local news very well then you would most likely be able to catch the jokes..
Afdlin Shauki actually played quite a role in this movie as a taxi driver and at some point I think his acting is much natural for his character as compared to other local productions..
IMHO, the movie have a very obvious message to the viewers regarding the importance of reunion dinner and family ties..
I actually teared at some scenes, which I think I could somewhat relate myself in that situation..
As compared to lots of modern Hong Kong CNY movies which are quite silly, I think this movie fared pretty well and we could relate ourselves in the balik kampung spirit..
I would give the movie a FANTABULOUS 8/10 for its jokes and puns, and some touching moments..
P/S – Don’t ask me if Homecoming is better than the other local CNY movie or the other way round..I’ve mentioned, I don’t usually watch Singapore or local productions so I can honestly tell you this is the first Chinese movie of Singapore or local production that I’ve watched, and I love it!
Here’s the trailer for the movie Homecoming, directed by Lee Thean-jeen..
Happy Rabbit Year to everyone who is celebrating CNY directly or indirectly due to the public holidays..Hehehe..
On 10th January 2011, Guinness Anchor Berhad (GAB) launched its 2011 Chinese New Year Campaign, Celebrate Together With The Best..
It was a rainy day and glad it stopped in time because GAB had prepared a stunning grand performance consisting of 9 Dragons and 99 Drums outside of Pavilion Kuala Lumpur..
*The awesome crowd*
The event was hosted by Angel Wong aka Chui Ling and Goh Wee Ping (correct me if I’m wrong)..
It was a stunning performance by a group of children from various acrobatic schools..
*The 99 Drums*
The 99 drummers whom I think were mostly primary school kids..It was a great effort from their hard work and practices..
*2 of the 9 Dragons*
The 9 Dragons were too pretty impressive, whom I think are slightly elder, maybe in the age of lower secondary..
*Acrobatic stunt*
Thinking that Malaysia has some world-class winning Lion Dance troupes, it’s not surprising to see these kids performing such stunts in front of the large crowd..
Consumers can look forward to GAB’s special promotions of the availability of a 26-can special festive pack of Tiger, Guinness and Heineken at selected hypermarkets and supermarkets nationwide..
After the big-scale performances and inaugural launch of the GAB 2011 Chinese New Year Campaign, we proceeded to Grand Palace Restaurant in Pavilion..
*GAB VIPs lou sang*
Newly appointed Marketing Director of GAB, Ms Yap Swee Leng, gave an opening speech , she said, “Chinese New Year trends may come and go, but the tradition of reunion and gathering amongst families and friends is still the most important custom for Chinese during this festive season.”
GAB VIPs gathered for a lou sang session to kick start the CNY dinner of the night..
More yum seng and food session..My first lou sang session of the year
Goldfrapp is an English electronic music duo consists of Alison Goldfrapp (vocal/synthesizer) and Will Gregory (synthesizer)..
They were formed in 1999 but only gained international success in 2005 with their third album, Supernature..
Goldfrapp has been changing its musical style from time to time and is now more incorporated as an electronic music band..
That being said, Goldfrapp has made themselves quite a name as a dance band..So don’t be surprised if you heard any in the clubs or discos..
“Rocket” is the first single from its fifth album, Head First (2010)..This song has a heavy influence of 80′s music and culture..
IMO, it’s a very nice song with a soothing and joyous rhythm to it that will makes you move your body and lip-syncing the lyrics..
It’s something that may even bring the younger generations explore more into the 80′s music..
Here’s the lyrics and music video for “Rocket” by Goldfrapp..
Goldfrapp – Rocket
starting something, thought it could be fun
i started something, couldn’t go wrong
danger, heartache, i’d always knew
there’s no winner, in this game you lose
but i still wanna know how she got in the door uninvited
oo-ooh i got a rocket
oo-ooh you’re going on it
oo-ooh you’re never coming back
this is secrets, stories unfold
flow by pleasure, losing control
danger, heartache, something has died
no good pretending, i’m leaving this time
but i still wanna know how she got in the door uninvited
oo-ooh i got a rocket
oo-ooh you’re going on it
oo-ooh you’re never coming back
oo-ooh i got a rocket
oo-ooh you’re going on it
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/goldfrapp-lyrics/rocket-lyrics.html -]
oo-ooh you’re never coming back
you’re never coming back
you’re never coming back again no no
you’re going out on your own
you’re never coming back
you’re never coming back again oh no
you’re going out on your own
oo-ooh i got a rocket
oo-ooh you’re going on it
oo-ooh you’re never coming back
oo-ooh i got a rocket
oo-ooh you’re going on it
oo-ooh you’re never coming back
(you’re never coming back)
