Xmas (eve): food & pressies...

Ho ho ho!!! (this is the only time when u can shout ho! three times without getting slap)

So how's everyone doing so far? It's Boxing Day!!! Still Overhang? Tired? Stuffed? do tell...

How did we celebrate the festive ho ho ho? well... let's see

1. hair & outfit - checked

2. secret santa pressie - checked

3. camera - checked

4. battery for camera - full

wat else? ooo yeah...memory card for the camera. yes!!!! wot an idiot! only to forget to pull it out of my lappie. arggghhh!!!! so J, thanks for camera-share otherwise this post will be full of text and am sure no one gonna read.

where did we go? unlike last year, we decided to do it in a restaurant and opted for one of the restaurant in Empire...thinking 1. ambiance 2. good food 3. can BYO so all of us can be merry.

and so we thought...

let's start by ambiance or what's lack off? U would think for a 6 star hotel/resort, they would glammed up the place for the festive season - NADA! Seriously. Ambiance my arse i tell you...Nothing in the lobby. Wat a BIG disappointment! So any better in the restaurant itself. NOPE!

And u would think for the price we paid, 60 bucks each + 10%, we would get at least a party pack or crackers or santa 'paper' hats. nope! They could have at least told our PO on the phone cos she did check and they said," Dunno, cos their manager haven't tell us." wateva!!!
All we get was a tiny potted part of a branch of a tree as our centrepiece for the table. I am gonna say it: is this the worse looking trying-to-be-a-without any effort- Xmas tree. Seriously, such a disgrace for a six star hotel. Tho' they did have a xmas tree by the entrance but still...all of us agreed our very own's last year one looked sooo much better.

some of us...

we didn't take much pic to be honest, but believe me...there are a few more of us hehe! check out the slide show...

food...

well, the reason we opted here is for it's sit-down 7 course dinner rather than buffet. com'on buffet- you can stuff yourself any other day, and it's xmas eve...so a nice dinner sounds better.

our menu.

our tien tien chilli sauce tomato gazpacho followed by the yummy scallops

yes...the duck was missing cos i ate them all too quickly before i had a chance to snap haha! yes! it's nice.

green apple sherbet (yes, elim-keep scrapping the ice-wait for it to melt haha); last mains: the *cough cough* overcooked, superdry salmon.
dessert: enuf said- bitter chocolate...

some complained: where's the turkey? or lamb? or roast beef? where?

secret santa

half way through our dinner, we opened our secret pressies YEAH...and guessed who gave who & who gave what- the look on the face is interesting. Somehow i hv a feeling santa mama jwong will be buying me again this year and suffice to say, i was right! haha! last year she got me a picture frame and this year...quote & unquote "the biggest present, i'm sure... 2 in 1: both practical & novelty" check it out...

I'm glad Bird Bird like his piggies!!! And yes...Jwong, if you want to borrow the duckie water dispenser or 'want it back', let me know in advance ok!!! hehe!

and just before we leave...we just had to make the most out of what we have there, with the lack of ambiance and the so-so food, Group pic. Well...at the very least: we had a good time-friends gathered together to celebrate the ho ho ho...though some of us incl me...think we will not be spending xmas there next time.

our brothers & sisters moment...

MERRY XMAS 2007...

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Ho Ho Ho!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!(yes even those who bloghopped here, and/or googled your way here)

Not gonna do a looooong post as it's Xmas eve and I think MC does it better best, or sings it best...so enjoy.





classics!!!

Word of note: Be safe and play safe.

***
realllllly loooooking foooorward to our xmas eve dinner. 'suit up!' haha! (ok, watched one too many how i met your mama!)

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mince pies...

I WANT MINCE PIES...anyone got any for me to eat...sudden crave of mince pies today!

i remember when i first arrived in UK many moons back, and saw them for the first time and thought mince pies contained minced meat. Dun ask me why? and i thought to myself...why? and why only eat them during xmas? cos over here, we have chicken pie lah, wat other mini-pies eaten all year round.

Only to find out they are filled with raisins and those soft buttery crust hmm....yummm. tips: best served warm...so chuck it in the oven and indulge. (pic)

Ok, not all mince pies taste nice. Some are overly sweet, some are just plain yucky, some are too tough to even bite cos of the sugar on top of the crust.

Recently when fatimah was back, she grabbed me a box from fortnumandmason and let me tell you, it's one of the best i ever tried. man! why only one box? why? not enough bah. haha! the texture, the sweetness, the crumbleness of the crust are all just right. No joke! really really nice. (mouthsize-just right)

Few days ago, i went to the stop in KBtown where they sell loads of imported food and stuffs, guess what? the lady there said, "all gone within 2 days." wat? gone... no more mince pies...only christmas puddings and fruit cakes. (which i dun fancy at all)

i dunno, there is just something about mince pies, to me, that brings out the festive moods and shout: Xmas is here or coming. In some cases, it says it's over so eat me quick. So please anyone, be good and grab me some, if you are heading back. ho ho ho!!!

Another festive pastry i missed here is the panettone.
I remember buying a big one back (again) many moons back from an italian bakery in central london. And it's yuuuummylicious. Traditionally or the norm is filled the glazed fruits or raisins. But for me: Definitely the chocolate one. com'on. Again, anyone coming home, hehe...thanking you in advance. ho ho ho!!!

ps. i'm missing Valerie cafe in London. They served some of the finest (chocolate) cakes. hmm...

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are u ready?

have you guys & dolls been good this year?
you better be, cos santa is coming to town in less than a week. (pic)

and we got our xmas eve dinner sorted. yeah!!! kudos to Jwong as she was 'made' the PO for the event and even got the secret santa pressies sorted. I know who to buy but dunno what to get him/her...any idea what to get for someone who...nah i'm not giving any clue away.

So get ready! cos it's time to be merry and jolly and maybe a little tipsy. who knows? ho ho ho!!!

so those who can't be with the bidarlahs for Xmas...well...:P too bad hahaha! go and arrange yours now. ho ho ho!!! check out BiGblog for ideas.

Dear Santa

i have been a good boy this year; ok! lazy at times, ok! stubborn at times, ok! talking rubbish most of the time but nevertheless i've been good. So pls let my 'secret santa' know that i really really want, wat i really really want, i wanna wanna wanna a pair of vintage sunnies, or a few more zero's in my bank account preferable at the end, not the front and before the decimal point, or a soft leather cover for my new e-gadget.

But i know as there is a cap on the value for all of us, i wont be having any of the above. So as a compromise, i will settle for a picture frame (like last year) or some novelty stuffs. ;)

waiting for you to fill my stocking
bidarlah

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card...

I was just told by our miss Scarlot that she sent us a xmas card, but i hv not received it yet. opps! too soon, or in this case abit late, i received it today. finally and it's so architecture.
when u 'pull' it or shall i say, open it up... wah la...cool huh...inside it reads: to the fabulous gang...Dr paris Lu (?why?) + W, R + I, E + C (can't wait to meet you!), J + G, J + erm...your other half!! Hope you all have a lovely X'mas! With all (our) my love, Jacqui + Adam. (p.s. hope the ex-londoners like this card- seen a familiar landmark?? clue: used to see it on the way back to Aldgate East!!)

YES I DO!!!! memories...

well like they say, it's better late than never. rite! THANK YOU!!!

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the nite...

Goodness, didn’t know there are quite a number of you visited the blog & texted me requesting for the party pics. Is tat all? Not asking about me hmm…! Give me time as It’s Christmas yo! And I got to work on Boxing Day. All or most photos for the nite can be found in sidebar link and if not check out later. (i hope this post won't be too long..............................but there is so much to talk about-really!) updated: 5:51pm 15 more pics added to the set. Enjoy!!!

First of all, well done to Mao & Wan for their hospitality and effort in transforming their place into such a brilliant party venue filled with Christmas glitters: xmas trees, ornamentals, spirit & colours. Three cheers for you guys! It was such a brilliant nite, dun you guys think? Everyone was, me & Zar was wowed and taken away by the décor. Yes! Better than most hotels décor. No kidding! We even get a little red carpet for the nite.

The décor The ‘TREE’

The arrival

More o less everyone sticks to the theme and made a real effort in dressing up. Well done guys! We shld be doing this more often, any excuse huh. Next post will be the ‘best dress’ & ‘wat were you thinking’ section! I got my vote on someone oledi. who's yours?

We did not start dinner till quite late cos we mingled around, but mostly taking pics haha! Group pics, couple pics, baby pics, individual pics, artistic pics, pics that cannot be shown to anyone else.

The entrees/ mains / desserts

Food was amazing for the nite. There were so much food, let me see if I can remember all, if not, chef please leave a comment and let everyone know about them. Starers: lamb kebabs, goose pate with peaches on brochie, carrot/celery/cucumber sticks with dips scrambled eggs on pastry.

Mains: everything except the turkey (from hmm…a hotel to aid him which he seriously needed), stew beef, roast beef, mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallow, salad, roast potatoes.

Desserts: apricot truffle (hmm…not that well received but I had the most for some reason later) and (superbly) rich chocolate cake from a local restaurant.

The dinner was really well received and we almost finished everything I think. After the meal, we sat around the table and enjoyed the accompany, the drink, the spirit of xmas, and find ways to finish the leftover esp the turkey stuffings which everyone seems to find it a bit disgusting cos it looked like belacan haha. So we played ba ba sam & paper scissors stones, the losers had to eat one slice. Clever huh! We almost finished half of the stuffing goodness! It was really fun cos we then doubled the number of slices to eat. Muahaha! Thank god I did not get to sampled it. Who got it? Hmm…Gab, Mao, Elim, Liang Siew, Andy and Zar.

Post dinner, we all relaxed in the living area, and time for pressies. Wan opened his pressies, followed by our secret santa’s pressies. It was fantastic, most of the pressies Wan got and wat we gave out to our secret santa’s are practical-ish. Not naming who got wat, or who gave wat, let me see: there were nipple cream, panties, yoga balls, candles, aromas stuffs and shooters. Cool huh.

Ooo…joli was really touched and cried when she found out Oscar couriered her belated bday/xmas pressie. Trying to upstage the bday boy huh…hehe! And this year, our bday boy gave yes! gave a pressie, actually 2, cos in the xmas spirit, it's all about giving rather than just receiving. Names were pulled out of a bag and the winner got a voucher to stay in Empire for hmm....either 1 or 2 nite with breakfast included. How nice! Santa then got really generous and gave another one away. why not me??? i'm a good boy yo! Jin/Siew & Jen/Andy won the vouchers. Lucky!!!!

We ended with more drinks and games. Awesome. Ooo…I initially chose to eat the over-sugared truffle as a penalty rather than drinking. Not good! Not that I lost a lot of time, mind you cos the game is the one who sat next to the winner faced the penalty thus I ended up eating quite abit of truffle last nite. Chris (sat next to me) drank quite a load too. well done! Then switched to my favorite drink: V&C. Got to admit that by the end of few round and games, I had my share of it. I needed to a breather as everyone knows I am a light drinker. Slept for a while and headed home. Head was really heavy and felt like puking (too much truffle haha!) but did not. Just head to the bed.

ooo...fun times, i heard the host(ess) got hangover, apple & abe got high & tipsy, a few others got a bit too merry (drunk) ho ho ho!

MERRY XMAS EVERYONE!!!... Now we planning our new year’s eve! Guys ready for 2007.

ps. if pics are abit dark (in some pc), just increase your pc's backlight or intensity o wateva, for better viewing. It works!!! It will take longer for me to change the lightness individually.

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merry christmas....

short post
guys and dolls, MERRY XMAS...hope you guys abroad hv a joyful ho ho ho nite & dun party too hard. be safe and see ya guys soon. HO HO HO!!!!!

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last minute...

for those last minute shoppers, who just dont know wat to get ur friends or lover who have a great sense of humour; may i present or suggest a USB pen drive. Wat? u guys say. well...this one is hmm...just say pen drive can never look the same anymore more, plus it's a humping one. muahahaha. Thus simply called Humping Dog!!! just plug it in ur laptop and watch the dog humps. enjoy!

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one update...

OMG...its only one day left to our X(wan)mas party. Is everyone ready?

dress/outfit - hmm...i got to say, i'm still deciding mine but i heard almost everyone is ready. Jo/Jen got a dress, Dr & bday boy got their customised, Zar got his, goodness!!!...i'm sweatin!

music - note to self: bring Mimi Xmas CD, and elim got other compilations

food - heard chef of the nite been grocery shopping for a few days oledi.

red carpet - organiser take note (in progress)

camera - note to self: charge battery & bring it.

pressies: Secret Santa - checked; Wan's - checked.

decor - i heard it's amazing.

xmas hat - hmm...need to check with Z.

So guys let's make this an event to remember. MERRY CHRISTMAS 2006 EVERYONE!!!!!
ps. do come back here to see the pics, update later.

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pressie...

hehe! so so happy! received my 1st xmas pressie this year, and it was a surprise gift. Well i kinda knew oledi as Mag mentioned she got me something previously, but i did not know wat was it?

meet up for dinner last nite after the briefing for the Walkahunt, to receive and open my pressie. Fully wrapped. check it out...wa la...a Little Britain mug with chocolate & marshmallow. in the voice of andy: i want that one!
thanks mag! hope you hv a merry merry merry xmas and a happy new year in KL.

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x(wan)mas invitation...

so here's the long awaited invitation...

our double celebration themed party: it's father wan & X'mas party.

theme: Christmas glitters.

venue: Wan's (father xmas) place

time: 7 onwards

dress code: ladies in dress ONLY & guys: NO shorts & t-shirts.
it is mandatory! dun be a smart ass and try to twist words & theme around.

as part of your costume, pls bring your own santa hat. tat will be more fun cos u dun want to be left out. (bring on the wigs, tiaras, philip treacy, ho ho ho)

ooo...those who have picked their 'secret santa' pressie (under a tenner), please wrap them up and kindly put the name of the receiptant on the pressie & upon arrival shoved it under the xmas tree. putting your name is optional so we can then play guess who buy wat for who. ho ho ho!

ps. jen & andy pls check ur email. we picked on ur behalf.

pps. dun 4get father xmas bday present as well ho...

let's just make this night a fun one. so please dun come in yr normal attire and be a grinch. ho ho ho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10.30pm
ppps. the party organiser (not me!) request for rsvp. contact him directly or leave a comment by this weekend. It's vital for head count for food & seating purpose. AIN'T KIDDING!

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X (mas) movie...

Truly classic holiday films can be viewed once and only once every 365 days - lest they loose their meaning outside the holiday season; which just makes the good ones that much more special.

There are loads of films catered for this hohoho joyous season, which help to set the spirit & holiday mood. In the voice of someone, ‘I personally prefer’ haha! Yes, my favorites (may not be classic) but will always reminds me of Xmas are:

Home Alone 1, and Home Alone 2 (the dove)
this is probably i watched them during xmas then and the movie is set around xmas. i hv been wanting the doves shown & used at the end of the movie. so u better be good.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
cool effect, cool costume, cool set, and check out the grinch-reminded me one of my ex-collegue in UK who i always teased him around this time of the year for being one. (pic)

okie, i know there are loads loads more classic xmas movie but i hv not watch them myself so cannot relate to them. wat's urs?

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ho Ho Ho!...

As posted earlier, I’m resisting the urge to blog about the upcoming festive season as I felt it’s too early ho! Ho! ho! See I just can’t. Simply need to scratch it ho! Ho! ho! Saw on various blogs incl. nora’s, fashionisspinach, and loads of others already started, and in KL all the shops have decorated their displays, even here, so the time is here, and plus…our xmas dinner is in the planning stage. (more about that soon!)

window display in KL (look out for moi)

Won’t be blogging abt the origins, nor abt the existence of Santa Claus. Hoho! Simply sharing my view on Xmas. Yes! Time for sharing. Time for love. Time for giving & receiving (pressies). Time for reflection.

I’m not a christian nor do I go to church except the project we are doing now, which I must say is facing some crisis at the mo. So those who goes to the ‘blue’ church in town, well, they won’t be singing & praising the Lord in church this year during xmas mass, as there ain’t one currently. Anyway, I was saying…I’m not a christian but I simply enjoy & like the sound and stuff that surrounds xmas. Embrace this festive season everyone! Come’on as it’s only once a year! Ho Ho HO! Everyone knows me, i'm all for any excuses of a get-together (and if possible, themed ones) party, why not?

Xmas to me, is all about the food, colors (red), snow(in UK), mistletoe (snogging), food, drinks, friends coming together enjoying themselves, food, snowman, pressies, chocolate, sales (UK), holidays, Mariah Carey (music), brussels sprouts, musicals, board games, Santa Claus, smell: woody, and lastly: food.

Ok, here is my favorite X’mas songs. Wat’s yours?

Miss you most (at Christmas time)

Baby All I want for xmas is u

Jingle Bell Rock

Have yourself a merry little Christmas

How can anyone not liking: Rudolph the red nose reindeer.

Santa Claus is coming to town.
(Have u guys & gals been good this year? ... in the voice of Bubbles: Naughty!) Ho Ho Ho!

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