A Sicilian Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Jins (one big, one small)
1 maniacal heel-clicking goddess
1 Datuk's son (small)
1 red wine addict (with floppy cockatoo hair)
2 small girls (matured - from the surburbia of Kluang and Bentong respectively)


Method:

1. London --> Palermo

Run frantically to catch Ryanair plane (FR3918). Upon arrival in Palermo, find an Englishspeaking/Russianeducated/overlyhelpful Nigerian who will check you into your cosy little apartment and direct you to your first (and last) touristtrap restaurant.

2. Palermo

Interlaced between the mad Fiat Punto Drivers, infinite piles of dog poop and dysfunctional pedestrian crossings, look out for a pseudo-notsoquaint-European-Moorish-almostKualaLumpurlike town with a strange charm of its own. Cross from the perpendicular roads of the new town to the maze and destitute of old Palermo - a ghostly war-torn town in the afternoon siesta hours.

Soak up the buzz of seriouslygoodexpresso, the vibrance of the wet market produce, the confusion and clash of Moorish/Baroque/Norman/Medieval architectural styles, and how could we forget - seriously goodlooking tour guides.

Marvel at the similarity in street food culture to home - Makeral rolls, Battered artichoke and broccoli, porchetta (glorified roast pork).

Drown in the heavenly wine and Palermitan delights of L'incanto.

Palermo city

3. Palermo --> Cefalu --> Palermo.

A short train ride away from Palermo lies idyllic Cefalu with its beige-pink moorish buildings, cosy piazzas, sloping narrow alleys and towering volcanic surroundings - the set of Cinema Paradiso. The calm mediterranean waters and rocky reefs offer a great backdrop for Charlie-Chaplin heel clicking and a multitude of poserpics.

The famous Charlie Chaplin heel-click.

Seven in Sicily

On the rocks

After climbing all the way up the hundreds of steps of La Rocca to find the temple of gods closed, indulge in fresh coffee, tiramisu, and pistachio tarts as the sun sets over the cozy Piazza del Duomo. As you lull yourself away from the peace and contentment of this little seaside gem, marvel at Big Jin's induction into the Mafia family and how ageing women grow old together, slow dancing in the streets.
Cefalu

Back in the city, the haven of Kursaal Kalhesa gives a true flavour of the epitome of a classy Palermitan Saturday Night out. Its cocktails, open loft ceiling, eclectic library and velvety sofas provide the perfect setting for a maiden feeding grapes to a datuk's son. Uplift yourself with Sicilian wine and local favourites in the wild, gravelly, rainforest ambience of the restaurant above.

4. Mondello.

Something about the sea never fails to strike a chord with me.

Giuseppe sits picture-perfectly on the shore, stately as if she knew she would be the model for our countless photographs, yet serene and unassuming in her poise, the looming mountain range silhouetted against the background of a bluish, somewhat foggy sky. Giuseppe is one of many of her kind, yet unique in her own right. As I write this, I am reminded of The Little Prince and the rose he was in love with. "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important". You love something not because it is unique; it becomes unique because you love it. So it is with Giuseppe. I have not seen a more picturesque scene in all of the trip than that of Giuseppe reclining on the shore in the waning sunlight at dusk, detached from all the touristy buzz on the sidewalks behind her.

Important ingredients and method:
At least one girl with a sweet tooth, a crepe stall, a ginormous jar of Nutella.
Ice-cold Moretti beer.
Deep and profound discussions on life and vanity and
Mix, blend and whisk all of the above for the perfect chilled-out evening.

One posh restaurant, formerly awarded a Michelin star.
One ashtray medallion bling.
Half a dozen pompous maitre-D's.
One table full of boisterous wineglass-smashing fellow patrons, and an irate waiter.
Plenty of good wine to guzzle.
While waiting for the bus to arrive, stand everyone in a circle and repeat "haa haaa", one after another.

Mondello

5. Palermo --> London.

Musty, spookish catacombs with a fetid air, or was that just my imagination?
8000-odd clothed skeletons of every size, age and occupation.
Random comments like "This one looks handsome".

Cooking tips:
Drown the dish in great conversations, majestic company and MTV.

Memorable Garnishings:
"haaa haaaa"/"poinsettia"/"yum-meh"/"everybody's dancing! dancing!(tiu tiu tiu)"/"If I don't have some wine soon I am going to kill someone"/"HARDY BOOZE"/"to the left, to the left"/"I'm so happy"/"Xie zhe li mien de qie zhe!"

"Poinsettiahh."

Written by Guan Leong.
feat. May (=
photos courtesy of Sau Yin and Nits.

Pictorial: Oct-Nov '06

I've decided to put up some pretty photos on my blog every now and then to systematically chronicle what has happened in the past one or two months. And they're not filler posts, okay! Lol. So here we go.

OCTOBER
Chicago Musical at the Cambridge Theatre, when Jenn Yi came to visit. And yes, I saw Ashlee Simpson. Not that I'm particularly proud of that. Heh.


Zhon Wei's pre-birthday celebration at Four Seasons, followed by a long and chilled night at Guan's.


Hari Raya with the Pengarah at Encik Adib's (our new JPA Student Advisor).


Burger night at Chuan and Nits's. Followed by Taboo and shisha.


NOVEMBER
Steve Tyrell at Ronnie Scott's. No shots of Steve himself though, cos I was too absorbed in the music and the everyeverything to be bothered to take out my camera. (= Oh, and there's a picture of me doing the touristy thing in front of the Eye. Teehee.

And the journey continues

So I left Malaysia on Thursday afternoon, with a somewhat-heavy heart and most certainly heavy bags. Settling in this time around has been a lot swifter and easier owing to a very fortunate transpiration of events that led up to our 20-odd boxes and suitcases being moved into the storage room inside our flat without us having to lift a finger ourselves! Plus, no boxes of mine went missing this year so that's a plus point... lol. I arrived in London on Thursday evening, and by Saturday night we were pretty much moved in and settled in, most of our stuff unpacked. And lookie here! I've even managed to put up a photo collage in sepia on the wall! (=

Speaking of missing boxes, the other day while unpacking my things I realised that I didn't have my folder with all my certificates with me in London, and I don't remember seeing them at home in Bentong either. Rightaway a dreadful recollection of my missing box from last summer struck me, and I concluded that the folder of certificates must have been in that box for it was to be found nowhere else... and that was a horrible shock indeed because this year I know I would be needing all those certificates to apply for a summer internship. I got so angry at the people who were responsible for it, whoever they were; until my mom called later in the day to tell me that the folder was actually at home sitting in an unopened box in my room. Phew! So... my apologies to the people who took my box/the people who lost my box, for thinking all those nasty murderous thoughts of you (just joking) but if you please, I'd STILL love to have the box back anyhow, thank you very much.

The guys minus Lance are at the moment keeping themselves occupied with the Playstation 2 - I hear boyish yelps, bursts of laughter and other assorted noises every now and then - Melissa and Lance have gone a-swimming and so that leaves me all alone to my muse, while listening to jazz - just the way I like it. (=

Autumn term of third year is going to be a time of attending career talks, filling in application forms, revising and re-revising my CV, doing online tests/assessments and going through interviews and the heartbreak of being rejected, which leaves much to be desired, really. Time to think about my future, to put it very plainly.

But moving on to more cheerful things - I'm looking forward to more 'kau yook fan' sessions at Oriental Canteen with Chuan and Zhon, Starbucks Fridays with the Chem Eng crew, karaoke sessions with the gang, Steve Tyrell at Ronnie Scotts, watching Kung Pow with my fellow Kung Pow-crazed housemates Alan and Yew Vern, and cooking up yummy dinners every night in our kitchen. (=

Anyways, more piccies of the house...

Our bedroom

Close-up of my desk

Ravioli hanging pretty from our bedroom door

Our kitchen

And the hallway

Vacanze Romane

Dear You,

If you're planning to go to Rome anytime soon, can you please please please be an angel and buy me a poster like this one?

Not sure why but I only fell in love with these posters after my Italy trip, or I'd have bought them there myself.

arrivederci,
-may-

P/S= I only want a black&white one (=

Italy in pictures

Click twice to enlarge! (=

Venice, Murano, Burano

Rome, Vatican City

Capri, Pompei, Sorrento

Scotland

The places

The people

Random scribblings

An image that really tugged at my heartstrings today: (picture from postsecret.blogspot.com)
The virus that's been visiting every Malaysian household in Cromwell House and the Malaysian society in IC has finally found me and caught me. I've been down with fever, cold, cough, sore throat and headaches since Friday night and it ain't pretty what with the really harsh weather we've been experiencing lately in London. I missed a whole day of lectures plus a dikir barat rehearsal today. I reckon this is winter at its peak... What would I not give to be somewhere where the sun shines, where it's warm, where the greens are lush and the breeze gentle... *sigh*

MNite is this weekend and I sure hope I recover in time for that. I can't believe how quickly the year has zoomed by, cliched as it may sound, it feels like not too long ago that we were rehearsing for MNite 2005. I mean, it REALLY doesn't feel like a year has passed lor... Easter will be here in no time at all, and then summer, and I will be back home in Malaysia hopefully with an internship. And somehow all this applying for internship business makes me yearn to be home all the more, when I think about all the things I could be doing (and eating... I haven't stopped fantasising about cucur udang and yau char kwai). Who knows what this summer will bring? Perhaps I will be staying in Ampang with Eric doing an internship at GSK or Shin-Etsu; perhaps I'll be staying at home in Bentong doing an internship at Rubberflex; perhaps I'll be staying at home in Bentong with no internship at all! I must say at the moment I'm really keen on the GSK one and I'm sure it'll be fun, hanging out with Eric and Debbie at The Mustard Tree (sorry ya become lamp post for two months *giggles*), playing with my little cousins Thaddeus and Charmaine at home, meeting up and catching up with friends... Ah but I should stop daydreaming so!

10 things I've always wanted to do

..in no particular order:

1. To play jazz piano like Herbie, Errol, Jamie, Diana...
2. To witness the perfect sunset by the sea, with someone special
3. To drink in the beauty, the serenity and the intricate grandiose of the Alhambra
4. To walk under a canopy of sakura (cherry blossom) trees in springtime Japan

5. To own a Steinway&Sons grand, a beauty like this one..
6. To be able to write like this
7. To curl up in a warm, plush couch with a mug of hot chocolate by the fireplace on a cold winter's night. And to fall asleep to the soft cackling sounds of the burning firewood...8. To pick wild berries in the countryside
9. To see the Aurora Borealis
10. To have a pencil-sketched portrait of me made. A nice one, that is. Hehe, maklumlah kan... vain.. d=

Jamie Cullum at Hammersmith Apollo

[Edit: Because Winston's photos were so nice, I decided to add some of his to this blogpost (= Thank you Wincy!]

What a night! One of the best surprises 2006 has presented me so far is finding out on the night itself that our seats were in the third row of the stalls, all the way up in front, and not upstairs in the Circle area, as I had all along thought! Indescribable, the feeling. The grand piano was barely 10 metres away from me and when Jamie came to stand in the front of the stage I could ALMOST reach out and touch him! Almost, if I tried hard enough, lol. d= I had an absolutely fantastic time, the crowd was much more enthusiastic and alive than the Royal Albert Hall one (stuffy old working class men in suits... bah). The music - nothing less than spectacular. He did a cover of The White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, which was pretty darn impressive because he performed the whole song - vocals, keys, bass, percussions, beatbox - all by himself, by recording the latter three parts separately and looping them while singing and playing the piano. Oh, and when he sang 'I'm Glad There Is You', I could have died of awe, I tell you. Lol. Looking back at the photos on my camera, I find it hard to believe that they were taken by me, on my humble Nikon Coolpix 3700.... *happy sigh* (=