Spontaneity

Not sure if anyone else feels this way, but one of the woes (?!) I face when meeting friends is deciding on where to eat. If both of us are the 'anything' or the non-fussy type, unlike those who consider back and forth over what they can or cannot eat because they are sick/diet conscious/just simply fussy, it gets even harder because two people are just leaving the decision making to the other party and on this occasion, I made the decision! Met up with Suxian again for our appointment at Scotts Square and we had dinner after. Because we were both hungry, we just decided on this restaurant at Scotts Square itself, called Delicious I think? Fastest time we took to decide on a place for dinner, really. Very pretty menu. 

Curry fries with beef and somewhat curry-like sauce. We were choosing between a side or a dessert, and decided on this because we saw the diners at the next table having this and thought it looked good. But the curry was too strong for my liking. Still enjoyed it though because it's fries, but I couldn't help the nagging feeling of trans-fat, saturated fats, cholesterol at the back of my head. So we didn't finish it. Lesson learnt: Not to order things that other people order however nice it looks. I shall stick to my chef's recommendations. Haha I always tell my Mum that I trust the chef's recommendations stated in the menu to choose the food I want to order if I have problems deciding. (googled the menu and couldn't find this on it anymore. I'm guessing they took this off. The diners at the other table beside ours told the waiter that this wasn't nice and maybe this was a common feedback.)

Suxian's pasta with beef bacon (went to google the menu and found that this is called Napolicious). It was a really huge portion, though it doesn't seem like it. The plate was really huge to begin with, hence the pasta looks so little in comparison. There was a lot of beef bacon which I took quite a few of, since she preferred the pasta more. Haha I always prefer the meat over carbs. It was rather nice and quite worth it for the price since there was an ongoing promotion at that time. 

My aglio olio with added seafood. Again, quite a big portion of pasta, which I couldn't finish. I still have no idea what those white pieces on top of the pasta are. It tasted like cheese, yet not really. I liked the seafood because it was fresh and in a generous serving. The pasta was a little bit dry though, but I like pastas in general so it was fine. Not an expert in pastas so I shall not comment. My gold standard, like I always say, is the TCC's seafood aglio olio. This was okay but I wouldn't try it again. 

This is why I like working. I like a job where I can leave my work behind in the office and I'm always all smiles when I sign-out because I finished yet another day of work and can go home to rest or meet my friends for dinner. And during dinner, we give each other the run-down about the events of our day, catch up and basically talk about anything. This is how friends are. Not needing to be in contact every minute of the day (this sounds more like lovers..), yet no awkward silences when we meet. This is exactly how I imagined days to be like when I start work. The simple joys of life. 

So, to link my title to this post, I guess spontaneity is not such a bad thing afterall. You never know what it might bring or what you might find, not just in terms of food here, but for other things in life. I kind of spontaneously decided that I wanted to graduate and never looked back since. Not such a bad outcome at all. 

Spontaneously accompanying Suxian to the Yusof Ishak house during the first week of school in year one after lab when we barely even knew each other at all and asking her to join us for lectures and meeting at Woodlands to go to school together, a great decision it was because I found such a good friend. 

I can actually go on and on about more spontaneous things but I guess I'll save those reflections for another day.

You're just someone I used to know

That feeling when someone you used to know has moved on without you in their lives.

And the fact that they appear happier than they were when in your presence never ever feels good.

But then, we never really know, do we? People choose to portray what they want to. And I, no longer privy to their deepest thoughts can only know what they want us to know.

I really resent the fact that everyone has to move on. That someone I used to know so well is now a stranger to me. I hate to be the only one feeling this way, thinking about the what-ifs and what would have been while the other party feels like they're better off without me in their lives. The thing I resent the most is that I'm erased out of their lives like I never made a mark on their porcelain perfect lives.

Yet, if I claim that they would match so well in my life, why am I still living normally? I guess it's just the familiarity and the closeness I miss so much. Yet it's not meant to be. I know that someday, I will realise the reasons why but for now I really can't comprehend the reasons behind the broken friendships that I once thought would last for a long long time.

Still, I continue to trust and put my faith in God's hands because God will never forsake me and some day when I find the reasons behind these, I know I will be so thankful for the trust I had in His plans.

Favourite cake

Does anyone have a favourite cake? I know all I talk about is food and the occasional drabble sometimes, but I really love having nice food! Sometimes when I anticipate that I'd have something more unique, my bubble is totally burst when someone suggests food court. Like !$^*))@%&(&%$#. Not that I always want to have expensive food or anything, I do eat at food courts, coffee shops and hawker centres during my lunch time and I enjoy hawker fare like yong tau foo, dumpling noodles and all.. But my point is that if someone is going to suggest food republic or something, I rather eat something nicer by paying a little more.

So here's my favourite cake, or just one of my favourites, or just another in my whole long list of favourites. Hahaha. The starbuck's Chocolate peanut butter stack! What more can I ask for? All my favourites in a cake. But I really do need to state that I cannot finish one entire slice on my own! CVD, Diabetes and HTN will all come looking for me if I do finish one whole slice. Meant to be shared among two or more people. Look at the thick layer of caramel. This is also my grandma's favourite. She actually told me to learn how to make. But how, I cannot find any recipe for it. With so many different layers of. chocolate and peanut butter,  I doubt it'd be any easy work so I'm much better off buying one slice from Starbucks. Better than baking one entire cake and having to try very hard to desperately finish the cake.

Next up, two cakes I tried recently at Pique Nique because my Mum had a one-for-one voucher!

Red velvet cake. First time trying a red velvet cake! I know this is so random, but  the powder(??) or rather, cake crumbs at the top always remind me of a golf course, though it's not green at all. No idea why. Really pretty looking, but sadly was a little too dry for our liking. I liked the cream cheese though! Better shared. I always think it's good to share desserts, then you get to try a bit of everything, right?

Chocolate caramel cake! Wow this was really really good. Don't be fooled by its plain and ordinary brown looking exterior, it's full of goodness inside. Okay I know this sounds like some tagline out of an advertisement, but really! Topped with a chocolate shortbread and layer of ganache, beneath lay a layer of salted caramel (which I tried for the very first time) and mini cubes of chocolatey things (really have to use 'things' because I have no idea what they were) and the last layer which was chocolate mousse. But as always, I wouldn't be able to finish this on my own. Too much of something good can become bad as well. Reminds me of a quote from Joy Luck club about Lena and her ice cream. 'I wondered why eating so much ice cream made me feel so terrible', something like that. 

Pot of Earl Grey tea which we ordered as well. We were pretending to have high tea when it was already six in the evening. Hahaha. It was nice having a cup of warm tea after having the cakes. 

Sometimes when life gets too routine, I can't help but fall into the trap of thinking that everyone with a certain condition behaves/thinks the same way. But this is so untrue. No two people are ever the same, so how can I treat them all the same? Which is why I admire people who can remain dedicated in their job even after 20 years. Hence I constantly remind myself that 'Everyone has a story.' Everyone is a dearly loved son/daughter/father/mother, however they might behave. I believe by having constant reminders, this will become a habit in time to come. And while I once mentioned that one should never compare oneself with others, I believe that everyone should strive to be a better person than they were the day before. And that is how we improve.