Taiwan and Japan - August 2008

Barely a month after our wedding, I had to go back to work traveling....

First stop Kaohsiung followed by Taipei before continuing my journey to Nara, Japan.




I was craving dishes from this lil place in Laohsiung which serves everything cow - head to tail. Too bad, I was ill the moment I arrived Taiwan until I left Japan (so, many restos' name elduded me). Imagine fever, gastroenteritis and colitis for a week! My fault..... I saw the doctor in Kaohsiung but I didn't start on the medication until I got home since I had to drink every night.



I do not mix medication with alcohol..... for fear of not ever waking up in some hotel somewhere. Of course, I got a nice dose from my Dr Barry when I got home for not putting my health first.


One of my lunches : pasta (very delicious though!) Food onboard JAL : Taipei to Kansai Airport
MAS : Kansai to KL (of course the usual chicken and beef satay were served first)
Main course..... and thereafter lil sushi were served just before landing.

I liked Tutto Bello in Taipei where I had :

a. Pumpkin and Truffle Cappuccino with Crispy Pumpkin Gnocchi (oh, what a comfort to my tummy!)

b. Challans Duck Fillet with Fine Herbs, Plum Juice and Aged Balsamic Vinegar (ok, a tad heavy for the tummy)

c. Warmed chocolate cake with almond ice-cream (I changed from tiramisu ice-cream)

Other nice places were the Club Floor of Splendor Hotel, Kaohsiung where we had teppanyaki and shabu-shabu at HSR station in Taipei.

No picture tho.....

08.08.08

Along with the opening ceremony of Olympic Games in Beijing, news abuzz that many got married on this date : either the number combo looks great, or 8 being a lucky number esp. to Chinese or it's just to have an anniversary date which is easy (or easier) to remember.

I am not superstitious but I do not pooh-pooh at the belief of some people AND I really have to share a part of an awesome news.

Barry and I got back from work on 08.08.08. Both dead tired. And myself, stressed as my nephew is leaving for UK to pursue his lifelong dream (am not kidding) to be a doctor yet there is a lot of costs to be looked into.....And I know that he is still actively seeking financial assistance. I wished I could help totally but thdre is a long way more to go..... I just hope that God sees his determination and efforts (great kid - just graduated pre-u and made it to the Dean's list cum laude!) and things will be easier on him with a good scholarship.

Anyway, as usual, we will check the mailbox on the way up to our condo. As the envelope was nicer than usual, I ripped it open the soonest as we reached home.

And.... it was a letter and a form. Letter states that I've got a free something real nice and superkool worth almost RM2000. No commitments, no purchase, no signing on anything, no scam...all I needed to do was to call to them to confirm choice of item (out of 2 options) and collection location with the form duly filled. All because I was loyal to the service of that company for past 10 years (giving them quite good business too)!!

Surreal.... a rare surprise of a "loyalty programme".

I. am. just. thankful.

Our wedding....

Our wedding ceremony : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137135&l=af8bb&id=780090246

Our wedding portraits : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137259&l=22de4&id=780090246

Sneak Peek - Wedding Photos

Fiona Lim of Fifoto posted 28 of our pics from our wedding at Westin Resorts and Spa, Langkawi on her website. Do take a peek (the first 28 pictures are from our wedding) :
http://www.fifoto.com/weddings/portfolio/beach/

Over 110 friends and family celebrated our special day in Langkawi - we were very touched that we have so many people from all over the world so supportive of us to travel the distance and be with us. We thank each and everyone who sent their best wishes.

Barry and I have been very blessed to have found location, music, photographer etc at the first try.

We knew Westin Langkawi would be the ideal location the moment we stepped on its grounds... we liked Fiona even as we laid eyes on her website ooking at her works...

I decided on my wedding dress with Bill Keith and came out of his boutique within 20 mins... his brother who connected us was amazed that I made up my mind so fast..... And the red Chinese silk has been with me for 8 years since I purchased it in Beijing and did not know what to do with it until before the wedding. Thus, the qipao in red.

I fell in love with the white jade necklace with a touch of blue-green amazonite when I first saw it at the jewelry store. And for weeks I would go into the store just to finger and caress it.... wanting to buy but held back by its cost..... I bought it eventually just a day before I left for Langkawi as you can see it on me in the pictures.... and, no regrets.

Our cupcakes were decided over an evening of leisure hanging out with Tina and Scott; with us stuffing ourselves silly with her chocolate cake. And some great friends Elsa and Sai brought them from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi.

12 bottles of Bollinger Brut champagne kindly supplied by the kind people at work while we added on a further 6 bottles.... red wine chosen by a superior who is quite the wine expert and the white by the hotel F & B Director. Barry chose sangria.

I chose the food and flowers and the dresses and the gold bangle for the bridesmaids.... all in a matter of minutes. Barry helped with his input on decor and picked most of the music and Jerry totally helped us with the music for the night while I picked my favourite classical piece, Canon in D by Pachelbel for my wedding march.

Barry selected the wedding vows and Mike Barry, dad of his great friend helped us with it.

Weather was perfect. Sunset was beautiful that day.....

Everybody we spoke to had fun... and so did we.

Everything just fell into place. It was perfect.

We wanted the wedding to reflect us... we wanted to have a classy, elegant, pure, fresh, clean yet fun feel to our wedding. We got all that and more.....

More pics coming soon....

Pre-wedding Photos : Malacca 8 June 2008

Barry and I have been married for a week today!

Everything went smoothly; from pre-wedding photo shoot in Malacca on 08/06/08 to our civil ceremony on 08/07/08 and our destination wedding in Langkawi 12/07/08.

Here are our pre-wedding photos. We had a lot of fun that day with lil Claudia, our poodle and the photographers. Many thanks to Caleb for helping us with Claudia.

We had long decided on Malacca as we loved its rustic look and feel. Along with its blend of Asian and Western influences, it is the perfect place that very much depicts our union.






































Thanks to Fiona Lim of Fifoto Photography and her team for their works of art. Check out their website www.fifoto.com

Coming up next...... photos of our wedding in Langkawi!

Third Floor, JW Marriott Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

I had a quiet dinner yesterday at Third Floor. Our table was the only one occupied when we arrived at 7pm. We were joined by a table of 8 person at Third Floor just as we were finishing dinner.

Amuse bouche - savoury tart
My pan seared foie gras with poached peach and balsamic (RM88)
Lobster with spicy tagliatelle (RM168)
I know this does not look too great here.. but it really is divine!! My wagyu beef cheek with Sarawak pepper and red wine shallot sauce served with mushrooms, mash and vegs. (RM88)

No matter how many times I told myself not to have beef cheeks after foie gras, I seem to forget that whenever I make my food selection. I love both foie gras and wagyu beef cheeks equally.... a lot!

My dinner partner also ordered poached peach served with sauternes jelly & vanilla ice cream. It was wiped clean. So, it must be pretty good.

downed with Taittinger champagne - thankfully I could still fit into my wedding dress after!