What A Great Year, Indeed!

The year 2010 had been a tremendous blessing to me. I sailed through the year with conviction that I did pretty okay in my career, my social life and my home and family life. I felt this way after a brief moment in self-reflection mode. I am very happy with my accomplishment in these areas, at least, by my own definition and, by no means, I meant arrogance.

I could have done more in terms of learning more new things, read a couple more books and write a few more entries to my blog. Nonetheless, I feel quite contented and blessed throughout the year. May the year 2011 be another great year to continue this great blessing, not only to me, but to everyone. Let's stay positive! Happy New Year!

Koh Lipe : The Real Island Paradise

Koh Lipe, dubbed as the Maldives of Thailand is indeed an island paradise. Far from being qualified as unspoiled, I would considered Lipe as quite commercialised already. By that definition, I mean, the standard of accommodations, the number of hotels and resorts, eateries, the standard of the tour operators, the massage services etc..

Well,to make Lipe sound more remote and exotic, I would say, it still hasn't had any ATM machines or banks in sight. The walking street still remain untarred for most of its pathways and you can still see plenty of long-tail boats used for fishing and for more economic reasons, as taxi boats. I personally think that the motor behind these boats kills off the very charm of the boats.

To start our journey, we took a flight from KL to Langkawi. Air Asia seemed to be the answer to our travel destinations these days. Starting off in the wee hours of the morning, our senses were woken by the deliciously hot and spicy nasi lemak, arguably, Malaysians' favourite for breakfast. In less than an hour flight time, we began descending into Langkawi International Airport. Instantly, we dashed to the duty-free shop to purchase some wines. We bought a bottle of Sancerre and a bottle of Coonowarra Merlot.

With about half and hour before our ferry to Lipe scheduled to depart, we quickly get hold of a taxi and we had to constantly remind him of our press on time. Like any island folks, people tend to take things a little too easy here. Telaga Harbour is fortunately, only about 15 minutes away from the airport. I must give credit to our driver.

We boarded the ferry with only nine of us onboard, six passengers and three crewmembers. From afar, we should see Koh Lipe and Koh Adang ahead of us and Koh Tarutao slightly on our right. We were very impressed by the ferry ride, mainly due to the easiness of not having to worry about our luggages. The entire ride was blessed with calm water.

In less than an hour ferry ride, we then transfered to a long-tail boat to go to the shore. We were greeted by a local who spoke to us in Malay. We were then directed to the immigration booth to collect our passports, which were required to be surrendered at Telaga Harbour. We thought, it's so cool to be the immigration officers here, as the beach is just right in front of the office. The officers were not clad in uniform to our amazement!

We quickly took notice of the map directory and began finding our way to Castaway, a boutique bungalow by the beach. Like any first-timers, we would most likely make the mistakes in finding the best route. Yes, we actually went through puddles of water from Pattaya Beach to Sunrise Beach. Along our way, we saw the ugly side of the island which seriously lacks proper waste management. We saw how locals living with stagnant water and rubbish around the courtyard. We began to doubt the beauty of Lipe, which is what it's known for.

Finally, we checked in to our wooden bungalow and were quite pleased with the amenities and ambience. It reminded us of kampung living, which I lack the experience due to where I come from. I regard myself very much of a city gal. Hence, I would not fail to bring with me, my extensive range of toileteries and comfort snacks, whenever I could. If I could get comfortable here, means, it has to have a sitting toilet and a comfortable bed. We had both in Castaway.

We strolled along Sunrise Beach and tried getting ourselves acquainted with the walking street. We particularly enjoyed the Thai Pancake and Blended Thai Iced Milk Tea. The free wi-fi service by Castaway was a real bonus and we sat at the verandah together with Castaway's signature prawn crackers and great tasting chili paste. We washed it all down with Singha and a perfectly chilled Sauvignon Blanc. To top it up, we had a fantastic view of the beach and the soothing sound of the waves. This is officially declared as paradise!

The next day, we ventured to Pattaya Beach and Sunset Beach. To start our day, we dined at what seemingly the most popular breakfast joint alond the walking street. We had all our breakfast at this joint throughout our 4-day stay here. The crowd was an interesting bunch, mostly Caucasians couples and families. We also did some shopping and snorkelling. It felt good to snorkel with our own gear where everything fits well.

We also did some trekking uphill to find a very secluded beach called Billa. We made it there but had to beware of the mosquitoes. Billa beach was indeed tiny and guarded by a friendly dog. We only spotted two persons here.

As food played a significant part of our travel this time, we stuffed ourselves with different varieties of Thai-style curries. Our staples were mostly phad thai and tom yum. I was more into the place to dine as most restaurants offered identical menu. We were very delighted with mango sticky rice for dessert.

Another notable discovery is the Mountain Resort. It offers the best beach around, in our opinion. As Lipe is a small island, I think we would have walked the entire walk-able parts of the island. We were still stunned by the lack of popularity among Asians to this island as the Caucasians made the majority of the visitors here.

We made a pledge to come back to Lipe whenever we could spare some time off at work. Well, we made that pledge with conviction while sitting at Mountain Resort's restaurant overlooking Koh Adang. Well, as there are still so many places to venture, we felt that Koh Lipe is the most relaxing beach holiday we have ever had...

Vintry

After a great dinner at Robertson Walk, we decided to take a stroll to Clarke Quay. Guess what we found? A cosy place with a wine library! It's been opened for more than three weeks now and it will be officially open on 25th Nov 2010 next to Royal Selangor showroom at Clarke Quay.

With more than 600 labels and a wine consultant from Malaysia, whom currently pursuing the prestigious Master of Wine qualification, Vintry looks, all in all, very promising. After its three outlets in KL and PJ, venturing into the Singapore market seems like taking a big step forward. Timely? I am not sure as I'm just an infant trying to understand all about wines and the wine industry.

After talking to the supervisor there, I'm glad that wine tasting can be done more easily now with those modern wine dispensers. With as low as S$ 2 per tasting, it will be my regular hangout soon!

I can't wait to visit Vintry and I am even more eager to see Vintry at Jaya 33 soon with my favourite people. Yes, a gathering before Christmas and New Year is almost too compulsory to miss...Let's experience wines and salut!

Palate Training

Recently, I was privileged enough to be extended an invitation by a Sommelier to a nice fusion dinner and to taste some really 'Super' New World wines. Not the Chilean or Australian wines that come to mind, but countries that you may never heard or think of producing wines. Yes, countries like Japan, Israel and India. I count my blessing to have received and accepted such a rare occasion where such wines are featured, courtesy of the Wine Sommeliers.

I arrived at the secluded venue with a thirsty palate. Curious, perhaps is the right word, as I was wondering what wines are we going to taste. We started off with a sparkling Malvasia secco, which reminds me of a confectionary shop. The aromas of clotted cream and melting butter was obvious and the taste equals the confectionary products. I was expecting something fruity like peaches, white currants or even apricots but, oh boy, instead my palate was enlightened!

A moment later, our appetiser arrived and we adjourned to our second wine. It was a Viognier made in collaboration with Michel Rolland, the famous winemaker. The colour was not too appealing to one of our Sommeliers. On the nose, it smells typically of Viognier, very floral and it went quite well with the deep fried tofu in century-egg sauce that we had. But I still prefer sipping on my Malvasia instead, which really brings out the creaminess of the dish.

After a while, we began opening another bottle, a red this time. The red wine comes from Yamanashi, Japan and the flavour intensity was quite subtle at first before a good swirl, but strong enough to have a good nose. The colour was an attractive lighter shade of red or pristine light ruby, I would say. The aroma was very pleasant on the nose, very floral, perfume with little fruit notes. It reminded me of a gourmet rose syrup if there is such a thing, I thought. I began sipping this unique wine and I find it to be quite complex too. A lot of flavours started to appear to my mind but I rather let it be, than putting a vocabulary into it (since I may lack of it) as I was busy pairing it with my heavenly salted fish pasta dish with Thai basil. For the first time, I had so many glasses of wines to pair with one dish.

As I begin to feel what luck I was having, to be seated with these people and having conversations purely on food and wines, I felt a little challenged too. It never occurred to my mind that this day would arrive as I began to slowly awakening my palate which was pretty much untrained before. As we were talking and trying to find the right vocabulary to describe the tastes, our next bottle of wine was opened. This time, we were going to have a Kosher Merlot made in Israel. Thank goodness I had chosen duck as my main. The full name of the dish is Duck Leg Confit with Plum Mustard Sauce and Yam Cake. It went really well with my Merlot and our discussion was on how Kosher wines are made. My loaned iPad came in handy, in Googling the answer to some of our questions.

Lastly, the dessert came. This time, I had my Japanese wine topped up as I thought, it would be brilliant to pair this wine with dessert. I was right, the wine went gorgeously well with my Pandan Infused Panna Cotta with Gula Melaka! My palate felt so alive for the very first time! I was really enjoying all the explosion of flavours and aromas that I began to feel that I could get used to all this.

The night ended with a bottle of Syrah from India. It was a really good expression of the varietal, spicy and peppery.

After that night, I began to continue furiously, on my journey towards more wine tastings. I was lucky to have my hubby who is constantly there for me. We tasted a really good Chateauneuf du Pape recently, a rather bland and deep-coloured Dornfelder, a Barbera and a few more. I hope, it does not end here...

Die a Natural Death?

Recently, Flamboyant Maestro visited the little island down south. We met on a fateful day, a night before the F1 proper begins. He isn't a fan, judging from his conversation topics, hence his presence has nothing to do with F1. Nonetheless, F1 certainly had created a worrying moveabout plan.

He uttered the words, "what happened to your blog? It has died a natural death!" Okay, it didn't quite hit me to my very core but I began to feel obligated to pen something down before September ends... I would like to thank him, nonetheless :)

I am way below my target quota. Yes, it is shameful. I feel responsible for this. At least, from now on, I will try to make an attempt whenever there is a writing bug itching me and Internet connection. Yes, both play very critical role. And also when there is nothing else I have to do, although there seem to be a lot lately. I feel the strain but I am slowly picking up.

I hope for the next few months, I will try to remember Flamboyant Maestro's warning when it gets too quiet sometimes... Let's this be my motivation, or should I say, threat but a nice one...

August Musings

It is already August and I wonder in amazement how fast time passes. I see a baby who has now started walking, I see holiday plans made months ago materialised, and I just came to know that the Hungry Ghost Festival this year is coming to end. I am now in Dubai, stranded in my hotel room for two days as it’s Ramadhan and over 40 degrees Celcius outside. Don’t get me wrong as it is my personal choice to stay indoor and not to disturb the peacefulness of observing the holy month with my worldly habits.

With the gift of Internet connection, it’s quite natural to immerse yourself into Facebook and MSN. It’s really a treat when people of your interest surf up and appear on your laptop screen. What’s more to ask for when meaningful and interesting conversations do take place. Life is so digitally driven these days and I wonder whether humanity able to reverse it.

I just realised that, our very existence has a lot of influence on other people whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not. Hence, it’s a moral obligation to try to think and cherish one another. I did such a gesture of treating my relatives to a lunch when I was back in KL. But that wasn’t enough. I may have neglected more people whom I was close with. Well, I hope to live to each day without anyone feeling that I have abandoned them. It’ll be my least of an intention and of course, I hope that I could feel braver each time in expressing those feelings.

I have another hope after witnessing a wonderful photo album on Facebook. May this world be blessed with enough wealth, trickle down to reach the very people who needs it.

Loss

This is way overdue. Yes, no excuse of everyday life's passing is good enough. I begin to wonder why these days, it is so difficult to trust kindness and honesty and yet so easy to feel or see the evil side of people. Is the reality distorting me?

I am always an idealist. I want to see the good side of people but I grew tired of it after awhile. Tired to be proven otherwise, when others are so disappointing. Yes, I have some encounters lately that betrayed my trust towards people. Well, it only concerns the materials and a little monetary loss, hence I can be forgiving.

I shall reflect upon myself again and keep reminding myself not to fall prey, as there are always people out there waiting to profit from our carelessness and kindness. It is stressful to live in today’s world, sometimes. People are always ready to laugh at others, to take from others without consent. It’s disappointing.

That brought me to ponder upon what I have read recently regarding the Japanese culture. There is always a conflict in understanding the way of life in the east and the west. The westerners are always rationally driven and in Japanese culture or cultures which have influences of Confucianism, people tend to be more dependent on other people’s kindness. We expect other to reciprocate kindness here. But of course, in some instances the universal trait of human, which is greed, still prevails after all.