Zynamic Gala: May 2007

Home finally - Food Orgy

Date : Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Time : 11:59 PM

Arr.. after 35 hrs of flying and transit, I m HOME finally!!!

March straight to the food mecca at EastCoastLagoon Food Centre. Hv been drooling over ECL's & DK's supper entries for the past month. Hiakz.. hiakz.. hiakz... now is time to savour some genuine food therapy to conquer the jet-lag!

Hohoho....Eating definitely holds the accolade of being my official favourite pastime. Eastcoast Lagoon Foodcentre boasts a tropical setting complete with outdoor umbrella seating, timber trellises and lush landscaping. Wat betta place to enjoy ur food while overlooking the beachfront and enjoying the seabreeze.

Without further ado, Makan time!!!
All-time-favourite: Oyster Egg (aka Or-Ning: oyster fried with egg, no flour added), dip it with the chilli sauce, ooh SHIOK!!!

How would i forget the chicken satay with peanut sauce?? Mmmm....The burst of flavours which nvr fails to tingle my taste buds.

Main course of the nite-BBQ stingray covered with sambal chilli. Eat it with special chilli made with small prawns & onion aka cencado. Hot & Spicy-wat a blast!!

BBQ squid are good too,

try also the fried prawn cake, highly recommended by the stall's Auntie.

Leng Heng BBQ Seafood & Claypot Deluxe

East Coast Lagoon Village Stall No. 6 (Near the beach)

Opened 3.30pm till 11pmClosed on Thursdays

You must be wondering how I can devour so many different types of food at one seating. Well, the trick is to order various dishes and then share your food, so you get to try everything. =) Super duper full now.. i must hv eaten like a hungry ghost =P How nice to be back again..

Labels: Days of My Life, Lets Tuck In, Singapore

posted by the little red devil at 11:59 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 29 Witnesses

Hi from Champs-Élysées

Date : Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Time : 7:32 PM

I had a full 15 hr in Paris in between flights connection. With a shopping list in hands (requested by friends & colleagues), Jimmy & i set off to downtown.

A special day trip ticket which allowed unlimited travel on metro & bus could be purchased at EURO 17.05. Our first stop: Galeries Lafayette - a 10-story department store. The high-fashion displays and grand architecture of Paris' resolutely old-world Galeries Lafayette are perhaps the main attraction for visitors to this famous store. One can find almost all the Paris leading collection of chic and bold international fashions here. Let me warn u first, definitely not a lenient place for ur thin credit card and purse. FYI, foreigners are entitled to 10% discount at most of the stores here, and dun forget to ask for the necessary documents in order to claim back the 12% VAT refund at the airport!

Almost broke, we continued our journey to Champs-Élysées, an avenue that stretch from the Concorde square to the Arc de Triomphe, which is well-known as the most beautiful street and the most famous shopping area in the world. There are tons of international big brother brand flagstore and chic restaurants/cafes along the streets.

Shopping craze ended at LV Paris flagstore and we all decided it was time to pamper our stomach after a long day.The mussel lover would find an inexpensive home away from home at Leon de Bruxelles, a chain of restaurants, but unlike any chain you've seen before. The food was of good quality, the prices were reasonable and the atmosphere were fun. You'll find mussels cooked in umpteen styles - Provencal, white wine, Chef's surprise, to name a few. There's a great selection of Belgian beers draft. To the convenience of customers, one could find the suggested beer to go with listed in the menu by the side of each main course.

I guess its pointless to tell u how good it tasted. U just got to try it urself!

Mussels' aftermath--

All rite, time to catch a nap and prep for the next flight!

Labels: Lets Tuck In, Paris

posted by the little red devil at 7:32 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 13 Witnesses

Time to Go Home

Date : Monday, May 28, 2007
Time : 4:45 PM

Dear readers, imma leavin' Brazil and heading home now.

Will probably blog lesser but i will try my best to drop a few line here n there.

Subscribe to my RSS reader if u dun wanna keep on coming back for nothing new.

See ya soon in June!

XOXO, beijos!

My luggage.. nothing left in this apartment which i have been staying for the past 1 yr(on n off). Seems like lotsa things to carry back, but the heaviest of all is the invisible baggage that weighs one down. I nvr mentioned this but i was a runaway soldier. I ran to Brazil partly due to memories and people tat i dun wanna face. And now.. i going back again.. hopefully leaving all the haunting past behind.

One thing that keeps me going all these days..

Things gonna be better =)

Labels: Blogging?Blocking, Out of the Box

posted by the little red devil at 4:45 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 32 Witnesses

I dun mean to see ya naked

Time : 9:42 AM

'AWWWWWW!!!!'
'PONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'

An ear-piercing screeeeeaaam + a door-slam at less than in inch from the tip of my nose. Erbbbbb... I m deaf + shocked + stunned for a good 10 seconds or more.

I can register the image of a round, shapely and maybe smooth butt in my pupils a minute ago and then kaboom a pink color wooden door just shut the full monty behind. WTH!!! I din mean to see ya naked anyway, watever u hv i oso have. Imma aint a pervert who enjoy watching you doing ur big proj in the loo!

I have lost count of how many times i encountered this situation since i came to work in Brazil's office. I dunnoe WHY this particular lady in my office can nvr remember to lock the door properly before she start to undress. Sometimes i wonder, are you really dat rush?? If that is the case, why must u wait until the last minute then looking for the loo??!! The worst part is: it isnt my intention/fault to disturb you in your midst of ur system-clearing project. You are the one who din lock the door in the first place, y still shouted like there was an alien-invade. I m pretty sure I m not the only one who knocked at ur door. You shud hv seen that happen since it is not the first time you left the door unlocked! Duncha think you are being inconsiderate and if I were to have a faint heart, i would have suffered from a heart attack by ur life-threatening scream.

This happened in Singapore too. Once, I was looking for the restroom inside the cinema just after the show. There was only one ladies restroom near the exit. The moment i pushed open the door, a gal inside screamed and slammed the door in front of my face, attracting all the attentions of the leaving audience. I felt like to hide into a hole immediately if there is any in front of me.

There was also this incident when i was on my flight to Chile. The lavatory's light was green so i pushed the door open, and hell... i caught a brazilian gal with her pants half-pulled. I was kinda awkward but the Brazilian gal was kinda polite. She came out in a minute, fully-dressed this time, smiled at me and apologised.

I dunnoe if this happened in the Gents too. Anyway, people, the point is: try not to wait until your tank is fully loaded before you start looking for a place to release. Even if you are in a rush, please do remember to lock the cubicle's door. By doing tat, u can take your own sweet time, indulging in ur private moment without worrying any unwanted interruption. You dun want to embarass yourself neither do others, BE CONSIDERATE! Also, try to look underneath if u can see any hanging feet before u push the cubicle door, just in case.

Labels: Rumbling.. Mulling.. Howling..

posted by the little red devil at 9:42 AM

| Close-Up Evidence | 8 Witnesses

Arpoador Beach & Azul Marino

Date : Saturday, May 26, 2007
Time : 9:53 PM

My last Saturday in Rio, Met up with Marlin who was also in town for lunch.

We went to Azul Marino, a small seafood restaurant by Arpoador beach. Arpoador is the border between Ipanema and Copacabana. The name comes from the rock formation, that gives you a wonderful view to both neighborhoods. Ipanema Beach is renamed Arpoador Beach once you go past Rua Francisco Otaviano. Arpoador Beach is a favorite with surfers, and there are spotlights for night surfing.

The restaurant-Azul Marino is situated on the beach lane- Rua Francisco Bhering which is open for pedestrians only (see map).We parked the car some distance from the restaurant and took a stroll along the beach.

The most captivating part is the seaview in front of the restaurant, listening to the seawave, the laughter of the beach bums, and the music played by the buskers made the food taste better than ever. We would like to take the alfresco seat but the pigeon flying over our heads seemed rather unfriendly. We had to give up the option not wanting any extra ingredients dropping from the sky while we gobble up our meal.

Complimentary entree was fish broth. We ordered casquinha de siri (stuffed crab meat) and some fresh oysters for starters. High on the hog!!

Main courses were Moqueca de Peixe(Fish Moqueca) and grilled seafood platter. The moqueca was nice but not as fantastic as the one we had in Siri Mole. The grilled seafood platter was okie but half of the hotplate was filled with fruits & vegetables. Felt kinda cheated by the menu's description. Nothing to rave about.Dessert choices were somehow simple and limited, the fruit salad with vanilla ice-cream looks good thou. =)

In short, its was a close but no cigars, I dun feel the 'Oomph' from the food but the ambience was definitely a highlight esp to aesthetics sucker. It will make a good choice for lunch after a suntanning session at the beach.

My greatest satisfaction?? Hahaha.. wat else but oggling at the beautiful beautiful Ipanema Gals for the whole afternoon! I wonder why they could still wear the skimpy bik- even durinng sucha a cold weather. o_O

Labels: 'In' Store, Brazil, Days of My Life, Lets Tuck In

posted by the little red devil at 9:53 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 16 Witnesses

Molest!!

Date : Thursday, May 24, 2007
Time : 9:30 AM

I dunnoe if i were standing at the high risk spot, or I'm the one that falls into the high risk group.

Jimmy and I were doing our weekly marketing at the fresh market. I was standing at the exact same spot where the lunatic woman's attack took place few mths ago. I was wearing my not so perfect jeans while looking at the big round melon and it happenend!!!

"PIAK!!" a steady sturdy PAT on my butt!!! I was pissed and stunned at the same time. I raised my hand and turned my head in the next nanaosecond, all geared up to give whorever the ham-sup-low (aka shameless detestable despicable maggot!!) a big slap on da face. Then an innocent baby-like broad smile on a wrinkled face appeared

in front of me and suddenly my anger disappeared and i found my heavy hand awkwardly hanging in the air; pretty much like the scene in Matrix. The wrinkled face belongs to a short skinny old folk(i cant tell whether is a HE or SHE) who apparently was not having a clear mind. You can tell he/she did not know what he/she did to me was wrong and.. his/her smile.. that genuine, undisguised smile on that pickled face melted my heart and all my anguish and insults magically vanished like vapor. Its kinda weird, one second ago i was as mad as a hatter and the next moment i was as calm as a hurricane's eye. Just the other day, i was commenting on Walter's post, abt how contagious a smile can be, and then it happened on me.

However, still having the phobia from the last loony's ambush, my i

nctinct reaction was to hide behind Jimmy immediately. Everybody including the fruit stall's owners were laughing at me and the naughty old folk. And wats next, i found myself grinning foolishly too. Keke.. wat a day...Wat to do, i cant blame him/her because he/she has a mental problem, Jimmy said i got a blur blur look which makes me an easy target, Boss said maybe my butt looks like a magnet to the molester's hand, AND i said: Hey, Duncha think u can grab my arse without getting slapped juz becoz u got a baby-like smile. Mind u, I bite!! Grr~~

Labels: Brazil, Days of My Life

posted by the little red devil at 9:30 AM

| Close-Up Evidence | 26 Witnesses

Path to the Sky

Date : Monday, May 21, 2007
Time : 12:18 PM

Weekend was again wonderful AND over-indulged in food. =P

Saturday, 5 of us drove up to the mountain for our weekend excursion. This time round, Edward suggested 'a place near heaven'! Keke.. Boss jokingly commented he did not wanna go to Heaven, becoz its a place full of Saints, and Saints aint fun at all. Keke.. if given a choice, if there is really a place called 'Heaven', would u wanna go???

Alrite.. back to our excursion, we drove all the way up to the mountain thru Petropolis. Since none of were prepared for the long traveling time so as our stomachs , we stopped by a bakery at Petropolis for a leak and and a feast. =P

Journey continued to Noguiera, (a town near Petropolis) with 5 full stomachs in the car: less grumbling but more snoring.. Poor boss for being our driver! However, when the journey reveals its destination, its absolutely worth it!

Welcome to Le Siramat! It is a Mountain Resort situated at the top of Caminho do Céu, literally means 'the path to the sky'. It's a beautiful place, and I strongly recommend it to whoever is after a calm and relaxing retreat with magnificent views on the valleys below. We were all in cloud nine because we were literally surrounded by clouds!!

The view and the weather worth a zillion dollar but the food were fairly passed. The trouts were are too dry and the serving sizes were too little. I still prefer the one that we had at Araras. The Spanish wines however were a refreshing experience for the tastebuds.

In order to satisfy our very much disappointed tongues, we proceeded to our foodhunt again on Sunday. After hearing much about the infamous Satyricon- a must visit Mediterranean Seafood restaurant in Ipanema, we decided to bear the risk of burning our shallow pockets. It was a well-known restaurant which frequent by the Stars (eg Madonna) & political big shots.

Turned out- Madonna choice was so-so. The food was nice but not really fantastic. with the money tat we paid(US95 each) , we are definitely looking for better taste and more creative dishes.

Okie okie.. dun blame me of causing u hungry again.. I already tried my best to refrain myself from posting another picture-heavy post. Yes.. believe me, i really DID!! =P

Labels: 'In' Store, Brazil, Days of My Life, Lets Tuck In, Sheepish Breakaway

posted by the little red devil at 12:18 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 34 Witnesses

Tanaka-San

Date : Friday, May 18, 2007
Time : 1:44 PM

Antonio, a waiter tat we got to know from our favourite hangout joint, work two shifts a day. He works in Farani in the evening, which we normally go for dinner at; during the day, he works in another Japanese restaurant in downtown which is called 'Tanaka-san'.

Jimmy & I was thinking where to hv lunch at, and we decided to try out this place since Antonio has since been highly reccomended this restaurant. According to him, this is the ever-first japanese restaurant in Rio!

Situated near our office in Rua da Assembleia, Tanaka-san welcome its guest with a small door leading to the 2nd floor.

The restaurant was nicely decorated, and the ambience was good. We were happy to see one Japanese chef standing behind the sushi counter, concentrating at his work. The sashimis displayed in the freezer looked promising indeed! We chose to sit upstair as downstair was already half-seated.

One can choose from Rodicio(all-u-can-eat) or ala-carte. Being two hungry ~~gluttons~~ connoisseurs in nature, we opted for the Rodicio which is R$50++ per pax. (USD 25 or SGD 38++)

Lets started with some entrees and appetiser. A sake is not be missed for a complete sashimi meal!

then came the sashimi springroll: a crispy layer outside the sushi rice with sashimi and a little bit of mayonnaise as the inner ingredients.

the next dishes to come was the beutifully presented salmon roll with rice croqutte:

now its turn for some real deluxe, *drumrolling* deng deng deng... the long waited sashimis(SSSSS):

do i need to say more, the glow & the color of the sashimis speak for themselves..

wanna try sth special?? tuna sashimi dipped with sesame seed and teriyaki sauce. The aroma of sesame seed mixed well with the teriyaki sauce, giving the tongue another level of tantalizing effects.

Not extraordinary 'nuff?? Tried this!!! Spicy tuna special - tuna sashimis with a tint of red chilli to spice up ur tastebuds:

Not 'nuff of salmon YET?? This one was my favourite: Sliced salmon with sliced lime and minimal teriyaki sauce with sesame seed. Perfect ending of a sashimi feast!! Giving u a freshening sensation without destroying the original taste of sashimis.

There were some others variety to choose from but there were only two of us! Our desires still craving for more, but our stomaches could not afford to accommodate more foods. Thats the reason why i think all of us need a portable stomach. You know, sth that can be taken out, cleared and put back, continue serving for our craves!! =P

I shall not elaborate more on how excellent, how tasty and how ingenious the chef combines different raw materials with the sauce. Words is soooo redundant suddenly and if i may juz add-this is a meal full of wat u people called multiple oral orgasm! Ooooo......... i gotta need more!!

Labels: 'In' Store, Brazil, Days of My Life, Lets Tuck In

posted by the little red devil at 1:44 PM

| Close-Up Evidence | 35 Witnesses