Princess of Darkness

Friday, September 29, 2006

Sean's birthday and Dinner at Rotherhams

Yesterday was Sean's birthday, he finally turn 22..hahaha he as old as me now! At midnight, he we went to Casino to claim his free birthday meal (what a budget couple except that I had to pay since it wasn't my birthday). Sean had steak and cheesecake, average taste for average price.
Sean decided not to have any kind of party this year for some reason which is fair enough. Most of our friends are far too busy with their uni works plus Sean doesn't want to make a fuss on turning 22.

Instead of having so many people on his birthday he chose to have a nice cosy dinner with me, his sister and her husband at Rotherhams Restaurant on Riccarton. Sean's sis and her husband have been there before and they love it and so does as everybody else. They all say that this place is a must try restaurant. I have to admit that I've been walking up and down Rotherhams st for countless times but not for once notice this small restaurant until recently. We walked in through a small door and I was impressed with the inside. Nice decoration and pack of people holding wine glasses. Very posh I must say. Waiters and waitress are well dress, I love their uniforms (black suit with long stripe..very smart). I can't quite remember the name of the waiter who looked after us last night but he was good and very polite. He showed us the table which isolated us from the big noisy party room and that give us plenty of privacy. As usual, this kind of restaurant try to sell you drink but unfortunately most of us are sick therefore no alcohol for this table.

We started our dinner with a selection of breads..I love the garlic bread and tomato bread. Then we had a dozen of oysters which cooked in 9 different ways. Very impressive...The oysters were huge and juicy. By the look of the plate it can make your mouth watery without you putting them in your mouth. For the main, we all have different things so we could try from one another. I had lamb duo, Sean had roast chicken, Jing Yi had baked fish and Tee Chek had Salmon. All the dishes were lovely, good presentation and the taste were undescribable. To make our meals complete we had desserts. Sean and I ordered Cheesecake while Jing Yi and her hubby had Rhubarb, apple & raisin crumble. We were so after this full meals at Rotherhams. Such a nice way to celebrate Sean's 22 birthday. I will definitely bring my parents there when they come at the end of the year. However, I must warn you that the price is not as pretty as the meals. Thanks Jing Yi and Tee Chek to look after the bill of 195 dollars. They are such a lovely couple.

Oyster: Natural -Lime dressing & wasabi infused caviar-Kir Royale sparkling wine granita-Mild curry vinaigrette Cooked : Kilpatrick-Rockefeller-Garlic butter, herb crust & Parmesan-Bloody Mary oyster shot-Frozen Jäger Meister oyster shot

Baked fish, roasted cherry tomatoes, Savoyard potatoes, broccoli coulis, steamed Black Rock cockles

Lamb Duo: Seared rack of lamb coated with mustard & herb crust, tomato & courgette frittata, garlic confit : Braised lamb shank, roasted root vegetables, lamb jus, rosemary biscotti

Baked fillet of Marlborough salmon, seared scallop, Jerusalem artichoke mash, wilted greens, crisp filo pastry, Pinot Noir syrup

Roasted chicken breast topped with brie cheese, pumpkin, shallots & spinach tart, mesclun leaves, wild Arugula pesto, aged Balsamic vinegar

Rhubarb, apple & raisin crumble, hokey pokey ice cream, cinnamon flavoured shortbread, vanilla bean anglaise, whipped cream

Raspberry & white chocolate cheesecake, brandy snap basket, wild berry coulis, vanilla ice cream

For more info: visit http://www.rotherhamsofriccarton.co.nz/

Monday, September 25, 2006

I love you mom

Mom is probably in the operation room now, having her left hand surgery. We've been talking about it for quite awhile about her having an operation since her left hand has been nothing but a pain in the arse for her. Her doctor said she needs to extend her joint because the bones in her left hand are really thin and ready to break anytime.

Her rheumatoid condition is stable which is good but I'm not going to talk about it as it always brings tears to my eyes. All I want now is to be by her side, sitting right next to her bed and talking shits about people that we don't like or anything. However, life is unfair while she's in the hospital I'm sitting in my room typing this stupid thing. Nothing else I can do. I feel so useless and hope that I could catch a flight back to Thailand but like I've said reality is nothing but arsehole.

Her operation will be done soon but I doubt that I will get to talk her until tomorrow. Okay I better be strong ..for her and for myself as well. I can't stress over this, God will look after mom plus mom is a good person..no she's a great person so nothing bad going to happen. Love you so much mom. I love you more than anything in the world and I really wish I could be there for you, not only because you're in hospital but because I want to be your good daughter and I want to be as half good as you are. You are my mom, my best friend and my role model. I can never repay the love that you give me. One thing you should know mom...no matter we are so far away from each other but in our hearts and in our minds we are right next to each other.


*Update: I just finished talking to my mom. She's fine, the operation went smoothly except that they didn't extend her joint. The surgeon said after he opened up her left hand, he found that the condition of her bones is still okay and could last long for a couple of years (or more). Therefore, no need to put in a metal bar to extend her joint..yet. However, he did take out all the fascia and fat from mom's left hand. The operation took around almost two hours but they didn't release mom out to her room until just now (2 hours after the operation) as she was on anesthetic. According to my dad, her room now is pack of people who love her and want to be by her side. I'm so jealous, I wish I could be one of them. Anyway, I'm glad that mom's alright and now it's just the recovery.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Thailand in crisis

This morning at 4a.m. I heard my cellphone was ringing so loud (darn me..set the ringtone on high volume), I couldn't recognise the phone number but found out later that it was my friend. He called up from Thailand to let me know that now the military is taking over Bangkok...oh my gosh..military coup in Thailand. I just can't believe it, i mean I wasn't surprised about this incident as there was a rumour about it for quite awhile but I just can't believe that they're doing it at night time and when the Prime Minister is not in the country.

Same thing was happend 15 years ago, bloodless coup. So it's nothing new to Thai people really.. Yet, the whole thing makes me wonder how mess up can Thailand be. I love my country and it's painful when this sort of things happen. It's so unfair to our beloved King, he has done so much for us, Thai people but look what we're doing..we're doing nothing but divided among each other. It sucks...

It took me almost an hour to get a hold of my family in Thailand. I assumed that the telecommunication in Thailand was overloaded as we all try to reach our families. My parents are fine and so my brother..thanks goodness. I was so scared and worried that some people might take the advantage of this uncertain situation to commit crimes. Lastly, I'm not on anyone side. I don't care that Taksin (Prime Minister) or Sonthi (Coup leader) will rule the government, all I care is peace in Thailand and finding the most harmless way to solve everything. I know both sides, military and P.M have tried to find the compromise..but obviously it's not good enough.

God bless Thailand.

Monday, September 18, 2006

More recipes

I finally have time to update my other blog, http://microcosmicspace.blogspot.com
So if you love cooking or want your girlfriend/boyfriend to cook nice meals for you, go check it out. It's easy and simple to follow.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Hello Spring!

I love spring season so much, it's not only because I get to use my short sleeve t-shirts but also I get to spend more time outside the house/class/building/etc. I'm an outdoor person, not saying that I love all sort of outdoor activities. Yet, the radiace of the beautiful sun makes me want to stay outside rather than being kept inside by the cold.

I went to town today for lunch nothing so fancy about it. If there was something special, you would notice it since the title of this blog. Anyway, after having lunch at the Asian food court I had to digest my big stomach by doing thing that I'm good at..that's right window shopping. I walked around town for like almost two hours then realised that I have an appointment at 3p.m. However, on the way home I stopped by at the Merivale Mall and continue what I'm good at.
Nonethelss, I ended up spending money on two gorgeous italian made bowls at a nice modern houseware shop which I can't remember the name of the store outside the mall on Merivale road. I shall find the name of the shop and let you know.

Anyway, I had such a fabulous time during the day but at night not so good. There are many ways to get rid of my boredom such as, talking on the phone with my mom, read books, cooking and do works at uni. Sadly, I did all of those but still couldn't discard it so I headed to Blockbuster store to get dvds out.

What I have here are (all the dvd boxes are right next to me) Blood-Rayne, Shinobi and Initial D Movie. Blood-Rayne is a no-no choice, it's the most dorky movie I've ever watched. Trust me on this a
nd don't even bother to look up on the internet regarding on the storyline because you are simply wasting your time and your bandwidth. In spite of that stupid Blood-Rayne, 15 minutes ago I watched 'Shinobi' and I have to say I really loved it. No matter its story is a bit trite but it's one of the films that I really enjoyed right from the very beginning until the very end. Highly recommend guys! If you have time, go check it out okay I'm sure you will love this movie like I did. For the initial D, I will watch it tomorrow and it's better be good. I can't bear two bad films in two days, it's just too painful. I loved the initial D anime version so the movie better not spoil it.

That's all for tonight..my eyes are closing and my brain is lacking. Hopefully, the weather will be nice tomorrow so I could have a picnic in my backyard or go out for a walk around Hagley Park. Gosh! I just love Spring time..even better than summer and definitely more preferable than autumn and winter season. Except the fact that I always get hay fever during spring and summer and have to apply sunblock lotion every two hours..what a pain.

Note: I watched Initial D movie this afternoon and I'm very disappointed. Comic and anime are way better than the movie.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Lunch at Sticky Fingers

Sticky Fingers...what a funny name, it makes me think of sticky rice for some reason. I'm in such a delightful mood today, probably because of the weather and I got to walk around town on such a nice day. Not that many people in town as well...maybe they are all at the beach..don't care!

I told Sean when I picked him up from his house that today I feel like having lunch at some nice cafe or restaurant, so his job is to choose where to go. He chose Sticky Fingers on Oxford Tce as he's been told that the food there is not bad. We picked to sit outside because of the warm sunshine and I already put on heaps of sunscreen...so I'm safe. My first impression for this place was a nice cosy restaurant and friendly staffs.

We both h
ad Sticky Fingers Chocolate milkshake, it tasted like a normal milkshake but it's a bit overpriced ($6.50 per glass). Such a painful price I have to say..oh well we all learn expensive lessons. Anyhow, on the menu there are a variety of dishes to choose from. My eyes were drawn to French Toast when I fist skimmed through their menu, I think I'm a French Toast fanatic. Everytime I go out for brunch or lunch, if I knew that they serve French Toast all day or until 2.30p.m. I just got to have it...it's my illness. Sean was so hungry so he had Canterbury Pizza, I also ordered a bowl of fries ($9) to share. We waited almost 25 minutes til our food arrived, I wouldn't say it's reasonable time by my standard but I wasn't starving or anything so no harm for me (but Sean kept on saying where's his food..hehehehe). My French Toast was delicious, except there's no banana...it's like not a 100% french toast you know! Oh well..I'll live. I love Sean's Canterbury Pizza, they also put cashew nuts and covered them with mozzarella cheese. Yum!

French Toast ($15.50)

Canterbury Pizza ($22.50)

We left the restaurant at 2.19pm with $60 bill, expensive lunch I must say. At least now we know what to order and what not, it's a good experience and to be honest I had such a good time because I hardly get to eat outdoor. I usually eat inside the restaurant. Overall, I like this place but probably will visit once in awhile.

Note: The toilet is clean and I love their wash basins.

Movie Rating

In a past few months, I've been watching lots of movie. Some good and some crap so here is my rating for those movies (that I could remember). If you don't agree with my ratings, that's your problem because this is MY blog:

  • Mrs Henderson Presents = 8.5/10 (Judi Dench is really good at portraying herself as a snobbish, elegant and creative lady in this film)
  • Napoleon Dynamite = 7/10 (My favourite part in this film is when Pedro's cousins shook their heads to the bully)
  • Nacho Libre = 9/10 (I like every single bit in this movie, Jack Black and the little fat boy rock!)
  • Fearless = 7.9/10 (Typical plot but the action is outstanding, based on true story. Jet Li really can kick people ass)
  • Ultraviolet = 5.5/10 (Lame plot and very confusing, unrealistic action but Milla Jovanovich was quite hot in there)
  • Break up = 8/10 (Good opening and good ending)
  • Ladies in Lavender = 8/10 (Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are nothing but astonishing actress in this touching film, they both really make me feel that they're sisters..real sisters)
  • Hoodwinked = 8.5/10 (Hillarious and worth watching, Anne Hathaway can sing)
  • Roman Holiday = 7/10 (Gorgeous Audrey Hepburn blew me away)
  • Final Destination 3 = 6/10 (Typical gross blood splashing movie)
  • Keeping mum = 5/10 (Not as good as I expected, wouldn't recommend)
  • Millenium Actress = 9/10 (Anime)
That's all I can remember so far.

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Boring class and hot hunk at Sunglass Hut

Date/Time: 08.09.2006, 10.26 am.

This class (cosc110) is so irritating, lecturer doesn't know what he's doing. He's pretty much talking to himself, if you suffer from insomnia, I'd recommend you to come to this class and trust me you will be cured.

Waking up early is a good thing but when you don't have enough sleep from the previous night then have to wake up early, that's a real pain. The worst of all, you put a lot of efforts to come early just to find that the printing table is nothing but the most disgusting piece of equipment on campus. Some people used the table and didn't clean it properly or maybe waiting for their parents to clean it up for them. These people should be sent back to primary school and learn how to be more considerate for other people. That's something that hacks me off.

.................................

Date: 09.09.2006

I just got home from uni, yep I'm a freaking good student (sarcastic). I went to uni even today is Saturday. Nah, I just have to clean my screen then I need to apply emulsion onto the screen.

Anyway, today wasn't so bad I actually did lots of thing today. I've been craving for water chestnut in a past couple of days but the thing is all the shops that I go, they either sold out or just don't have it. It's really funny because when I don't feel like it, it's everywhere. So after many attempts, I decided to call it quit and wait until I go back to Thailand for holidays then I can eat as much as I want.

Sean and I had chinese food for lunch then we headed to Riccarton Mall. Actually, I wanted to go to town to buy a pair of sunglasses but the weather is a bitch today. Therefore, we agreed that walking in the mall would be better as it's much warmer than outside. I actually have at least 3 or 4 pairs of sunglasses and they all lovely. Two dior sunglasses are a clear sort of sunglasses which I love the most but I think it's time for me to move on to something big and black. When I was back to Bangkok for the recent holiday, I went to Khao sarn road and I boght a pair of a freaking cheap sunglasses, 5 dollars. It looks very stylish but the lense is so gay, oh well what do you expect from a 5 dollars sunglasses. It's just that this sunglasses doesn't protect you from UV light, it's more like absorb UV light to your eyes.

Nevertheless, we stopped at Sunglass Hut (next to EB games). I tried heaps of sunglasses but I set my heart on the frst pair that I tried on and it's a Prada PR13GS. At first I wasn't sure that I should get it or not because of the price, 384.90 dollars. It's a hell load of money but then I realised that 2 of my dior sunglasses each cost 500 bucks and the quality is marvelous, it's worth it. Also, most importantly the sale guy at Sunglass Hut is so so so so hot. His name is Sam.. Not only me got something that I like today, Sean also bought a really nice jacket from Barkers. I'm not too sure about the fabric but I can assure you that it feels really nice. So we both had a good day today except the part that the money flew out of our wallets.

It's dinner time now, I should go heat up the leftover from last night. I had korean bbq at home... no need to go to Korean restaurant anymore. hahahaha..oh I need to heat up miso soup as well. Laters.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

3 years and 8 months


Yesterday was our monthly anniversary, I know it's lame to have an anniversary every month but like I said before you don't know what will happen tomorrow so why not make the best of it today. Actually, we had a dinner plan in the evening but we both had such a hectic schedule yesterday with our uni works, and we had our lunch at 2.30p.m. So we agreed to save the amount of money that we want to spend for the dinner for Sean's birthday which is in around 2 more weeks. I've been having lots of expensive dine out recently so missing out one nice dinner wouldn't hurt.

As a result of having such a late lunch, by 8.30p.m. we headed out for a cheaper type of dinner...Chinese food. We went to a small restaurant named Hao yes on Riccarton road (not exactly on the riccarton road but yeah..). It's owned by the boyfriend of Sean's sis friend. The food was really nice and very reasonable price. Average price is from 8-12 dollars per dish, the only part that put me off is there was a piece of uncooked chicken in my dish but apart from that it was really nice.

I came home, took a shower and went to bed. Uni is my first priority therefore I've been going to uni early everyday, and when I say early I really mean like early as 8 or 8.30am. Good thing about going to somwhere early is you get more chances than other people as you awake before them and that means you have more time. The only downside is you don't get to sleep in, but if you sleep early (which I don't) then there's no problem. Okay I better stop yapping babbling now. Can't wait for weekends...hehehehe.


Sunday, September 03, 2006

More food and drink

After a very long talking to Sean about my night at Liquidity, he decided to try it out..and of course with ME. So we made a booking at 8.30pm, this time I want to sit inside. We arrived there on time and surprisingly there wasn't that many people at the place which was different from the night before. On Friday night, the place was packed of people but last night only a few tables were taken.

Our table is inside the restaurant, a nice mod
ern table with a semi-circle couch (very stylish I must say). If you read my previous blog, you should know by now that I was fond by the taste of teriyaki tuna pieces, and yep I ordered it again and not one bit of disappointment. I wasn't that hungry last night so I had sesame & peanut prawns with a mango coconut salad dressed with chilli palm sugar dressing & rice karengo crisps. Sean had lamb loin (of course it was recommended by me).

In addition, our meal would be nothing without drinks therefore we each ordered something good for ourselves. The drink that I ordered has such a corny name, it's called Brad Pitt but trust me it doesn't tast
e anything near its chessy name at all. It's a combination of Amarula cream, Kailua especial, cream de cacao, butterscotch schnapps finished with chocolate syrup and cream. Sean had something very simple but dapper, New York Cosmo but then he was driving last night so no alcohol in his drink. Nevertheless, the taste of it still make you want more.

The atmosphere inside the restaurant is very private and cosy unlike outside. So if you w
ant to hang out with friends, enjoy drinking and talk out loud my advice would be sitting outside by the fire (yep they have a bond fire with a nice leather bench outside, but make sure to make a booking before hand as it's a HOT seat). Anyhow, if you feel like having an initimate moment with your partner or catching up with your family, sitting inside would be the best option so you can hear each other without yelling.


Here is a glass of Brad Pitt, does it look anything like him? I guess not.

We fled around 10pm as more and more people started clubbing and since we both are not actually a clubbing couple so we decided to give those people more rooms..hehehe.

However, our
night was so quiet and there was nothing to do apart from watching dvd. By the end of the night after watching three different kinds of movie which are action, comedy and horror, we both had sore eyes and decided to call off the night. We began our 'movie marathon' with Ultraviolet followed by Hoodwinked and end it with Final Destination 3. Ultraviolet was alright, stupid plot but Milla Jovanovich was hot in there and the action was okay. Hoodwinked was hillarious, it's worth watching. Yet, fnal destination 3 was nothing but rubbish nothing can beat the first thrill of the first final destination. Oh well, that's all for today I guess. Sean's sister is cooking laksa today so I'm going to drop by his house later for lunch. Yummy yummy laksa.



Friday, September 01, 2006

Liquidity


I just got home not long ago and I think I better write all the stuffs now before I forget. As you can see the title which is 'Liquidity' is the name of Bar Restaurant in Christchurch. I went there for a nice dinner with my friend. We got there at 7p.m., we decided to sit outside as the weather wasn't too bad, also we sat near a big torch heater so that was alright but inside the bar looks really nice as well maybe i will go back again but this time I will sit inside.. I had never been to Liquidity before but I heard from people that this place is not that bad plus the review about this restaurant on internet is pretty good. So I decided to try it out.

We started off with cocktails, I had New York Cosmopolitian which is a tois of 42 below vodka, strawberry liqueur and cranberry juice. My friend, Lu had Blended Daiquiri, appricot on a tropical island with a delicious blend of Bacardi and fresh tropical fruit. My drink was fabulous, it's not too soft nor strong. It's very easy to drink. I mean sometimes you get put off by having a first bitter sip but I didn't have that kind of problem at all. Anyway, while we were waiting for our main dishes I had Teriyaki Tuna pieces...this dish is a must try, it's recommended BY ME. Nice teriyaki sauce poured over half cook half rare tuna pieces (dice size..big dice). My mouth is actually watery now...I want to eat it again.

Teriyaki Tuna pieces

I can't remember how long did it take until our main dishes arrived as we were busy talking and enjoying our drinks. I must say the dishes were well presented and could make you go wow. I had sumac dusted Canterbury lamb loin with fried goat's cheese polenta with saffron roast vegetables & mild harissa. Lu had grilled snapper with karengo, pickled cucumber, coriander & toasted buckwheat salad with pomegranate-nam pla dressing. She didn't really like her salad for some reason probably it's because they put buckwheat ..i don't know. On the other hand, I surely enjoyed my lamb loin except grilled garlic. Garlic is not exactly my thing but I don't mind deep fried garlic, i love the smell of it but I woudln't want my breath to smell like garlic.

Lu with her snapper

Tonight was pretty much like another chill out night, our conversation was about friends, love affair (hehehe) and what is going to happen to us once we get older. Sometimes things or objects around you really get you to think about your life and to those people who you love. I know this might make no sense but oh well..that's pretty much of things that we talked over our meal. Okay let's cut this crap, let's go back to the food at liquidity.

It's time for dessert since we already finished our mains. Oh and don't forget that we finished our drinks as
well so time for another round. This time I had Bermuda Triangle, does it sound dangerous and mysterious to you? it surely sounded weird to me when I first saw it. The taste was very impressive, it's nothing like the name. I didn't fall into the bermuda triangle nor feel like i'm in new york (previous drink). I love the smell of these cocktails, smell so fresh and it should be perfume smell rather than cocktail drinks. Anyway, Bermuda Triangle is a complex mix of Bacardi, guava liqueur, banana liqueur, muddled with fresh guava, strawberries and banana. I asked for less alcohol for this drink since I have to drive..no drink driving people. Lu had Yin Yang, muddled strawberries, lime and orange, complemented with Smirnoff blue and strawberry liqueur. I had a sip of her drink and i can assure you...her drink was nothing but prodigious.

Anyhow, we took quite awhile to make up our minds what to have for dessert since there are so many choices and they all sound spectacular. After long thinking I chose milk & white Chocolate Tiramisu with hazelnut brittle and hokey pokey, lu set her mind on warm apple almond tart with cinnamon dried figs, vincotto & vanilla bean cream. I have to say that when our dessert was served, other patrons couldn't keep their eyes off our desserts. Lu let me try her apple almond tart and I must say that it was really nice, very crunchy outside but soft and warm inside. My tiramisu was lovely, good combination of milk and white chocolate, a sponge tiramisu was satisfying.

Tiramisu

I almost forget to mention about the service, a
ll the staffs were lovely and helpful. Full of smiles on their faces which you hardly get here. The only downside of this place is the toilet, it's not that horrible but compare to a nice, modern and voguish design of this restaurant. The toilet is just like a public toilet, I mean they could do better than that. Nevertheless, overall I give this restaurant 8.5/10. Lu and I didn't leave this place until almost 10 p.m we surely had a great time there and we definitely had a great talk. It's good to be with your close friend once in a while, it makes you feel good about yourself and to be with someone who knows you well.

We went
to Sumner beach after that, actually I felt like driving so yeah. We stopped at Starbucks Riccarton for a coffee before I sent her home. I certainly had a nice night and wish I could do it more often with my other friends. So if you're in town, don't miss you chance to try Liquidity on Oxford Terrace or you can visit their website at http://www.liquiditybar.com/

I think I should go wash up and go to bed. *yawn* Have a nice night people and live your life to the max!