Birthday Dinner at Morton's Steakhouse

Leecher got himself lucky since I did not have any birthday celebration for 2 consecutive years. We ended year 2014 with a belated birthday "celebration"/dinner on Boxing Day courtesy of Kaiwei & Yanni. See, even our friends were so sweet to plan a celebration for me while my own hubby just fake ignorance. Haiz, what is the world coming to?#marriedlife

The guys arrived earlier and ordered one round of drinks before sending this pic over to the chat group. Yanni and I arrived later - thanks for the pickup! - and joined them, while they head for their 3rd round. We had to gently remind the boys - Leecher in particular - to slow down since we still have a bottle of red to finish.

I have always enjoyed Morton's lychee martini, but I decided to go for Chocolate martini first. Sweet, but the alcohol content still kicks a punch!
 

Morton has renovated their place since the last visit (a good 4 years!), from cozy to modern. The restaurant was brightly lit, and even boost a view of the open concept kitchen. We sat at the other end, hence we couldn't catch the chefs in action apart from through the lens. Even though the place has changed, the service remained. Top-notch, if I may add. 

 
Leecher eyeing for his dose of red wine, since we'll be having steak.  
 
 We started off with a lovely loaf of bread. The crust was crispy, the bread was so delicious - either on its own or paired with butter. It was a torture not to order thirds (we had seconds!) as we need to save stomach space for the main dishes.  
 

A bottle of red to go with our mains.

Steak, my favourite! The meat was tender and juicy, literally melting in your mouth. Omg, I'm feeling so hungry right now.
 

Mac and Cheese for sharing, awesome comfort food. This is easily one of my favourites, given that mac & cheese tend to be cloying after a while. One of the best mac & cheese I had was at Overeasy & I found the same love at White Rabbit, since both belonged to the same Lo & Behold Group.

Jumbo lump crab-cake, still as yummy as ever.    

Thanks for celebrating my birthday with me :)  

 

Morton also celebrated my birthday with a complimentary chocolate lava cake, topped with vanilla bean ice cream and candle by the side. Leecher blew out the candle on my behalf, for I didn't want to "celebrate" the birthday due to Baby Bro's passing a year ago. Anyway, the cake was delicious, but what stole our hearts away was the New York cheese cake. Once again, Morton doesn't disappoint and I'm looking forward to the next visit! 

Morton's The Steakhouse 

Mandarin Oriental Singapore
Fourth Storey, 5 Raffles Avenue
Marina Square, Singapore
Tel: 65 6339 3740

4th Wedding Anniversary

4 years of love, happiness and occasionally, the tears and quarrels. Marriage life is never easy, but we survived another year.  

Happy Flower Anniversary, my love ❤

Sisters Trip: 2D1N in Golden Palm Tree Resort, Malaysia (Part One)

This took place way before my dear Sister gave birth to cute Asher - wanna pinch his cheek right now! I know, extremely outdated but hey, I spent a long time writing and editing the pictures, so must post right? It all started with groom-to-be Amos heading to Bangkok for his stag night. Our dear bride-to-be Miaoli felt 心里不平衡 hence, we decided to head overseas for her hen's night too. After several rounds of discussion, KL was the destination for the trip. I like our swift decision-making process - or what we like to call chop chop curry pok. A couple of days later, we confirmed the hotel, air tickets and transportation - great team work, girls! Now, we just need to wait for the day to arrive. 

Early in the morning, we arrived at the airport with our bags ready to spend the weekend away from home! We took the early flight and landed at KL Budget Terminal (LCCT) shortly. A kind soul helped us with this picture but we were shoo-ed away *points to hand appearing in pic* However, we were all camera-ready for the picture apart from Qian, lol.  

The hungry monsters were unleashed once we cleared immigration. We settled for breakfast at Old Town White Coffee before making our way to the resort.

Miao's bridesmaid entourage consisted of 7 people: Qian, Fling, me, Kai Ling, Sylvia, Christina and Jacqueline. Thanks to Facebook, we all know one another so it was easy to get along even though we met Jacqueline for the first time. However, she's so easy to get along with, so we broke the ice in no time. Two sisters couldn't make it for this trip, hence it was down to us to make the "party" fun!

  

Fuel for recharging before we embark on the journey to the resort. The laksa was decent enough though it could be better. Somehow, I always have the impression that Old Town food in Singapore paled in comparison with Malaysia. 

Old Town White Coffee (Closed)

Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), Jalan Klia S3

64000 Sepang, Klia, Malaysia

Having filled our tummies, we took a cab to Golden Palm Tree Resort. The journey took around 40 min via Airport Taxi. We purchased a prepaid ticket at the airport and hopped onto the cab which brought us to the resort. This resort has since been renamed to AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort. Nevertheless, I still think Golden Palm Tree suits it better because 

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image courtesy of google

The resort spreading out like a palm tree on water. Pretty, isn't it? Located near the Sepang F1 tracks, this resort blends tropical relaxation and real adventures with a beachfront right at its door step. 

 

We waited for the buggy's arrival to send our bags to the villa that we had booked for the night. The 5 of us squeezed in the buggy for the short 5 min journey to the Clubhouse before embarking on foot to the villa.

There are 4 different types of accommodation offered - superior rooms, family villa, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom villas. The superior rooms are located on the main trunk of the palm while villas are located on the palm itself, spreading out into the sea where you will get a panoramic sea view.

The resort is relatively small such that you can travel everywhere by walking. There are (pretty) bicycles scattered all over for you to cycle within the resort. We decided to walk since it was so much convenient.  

The clubhouse which also housed several restaurants. This is where the "palm tree" branches out in several directions according to the type of villas. 

We alighted from the buggy and began the walk to our villa.

Hello, our accommodation for the night :) We booked a 2-bedroom villa for the 6 of us. Let's take a room tour! 

The living room was quickly filled up with our barangs, lol! The villa was spacious at 122sqm. Even though wifi was available, we faced frequent disconnection till I no longer feel like being connected to the world since it was so troublesome. We also found out that wifi is the strongest at the clubhouse, lol. #firstworldproblems

 

Lining up the snacks that we brought along. I'm definitely feeling hungry now looking at these goodies. 

The master bedroom features a canopy king-sized bed, overlooking the sea! Boy, I can wake up to this view everyday and not feel bored. There is also a large private terrace with table and chairs, to enjoy the sea view.

 

Spacious marble bathroom with sunken bathtub, separate shower and massive walk-in wardrobe - the kind of bathroom area that I loved, but impossible to fulfill unless I have tons of cash to burn. 

The 2nd bedroom comes with twin beds and en-suite bathroom.

The bridesmaids all ready to kick-start the weekend!

AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort (formerly known as Golden Palm Tree Resort)

No. 67, Jalan Pantai Bagan Lalang, Kg Bagan Lalang,

43950 Sungai Pelek, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Tel: +603 3182 3600

Leeds Castle, Kent Day 2: Stables Courtyard

Looking back at these pictures made me yearn to travel again, even though I just got back from Melbourne 3 weeks ago. Well, guess I will have to wait for next wanderlust to happen :) Instead of dwelling in my "sadness", I channeled my energy to another chapter of London travelogue! The first part of the conference zoomed past with a tea/coffee break in between. As evening came, the "tedious" part of the conference officially ended and we retreated back to our respective rooms to freshen up before pre-dinner drinks in the Castle Library.

All rooms were randomly selected, but the bosses get the better rooms in the Castle, where there are 20 sumptuous bedrooms, where five of which have four posters bed and original art deco marble bathrooms. Besides the castle, there are other accommodation available in the Maiden Tower as well as Stable Courtyard - the furthest away from the Castle. My room was assigned at Stable Courtyard; a 15 min walk from the Castle compound.

Staying at Bedroom 2.

With my keys in hand, I began my walk to Stables Courtyard. A few of us were stationed there as well, so we got company as we walked and soaked in the scenery. Those wooden benches were reminiscent of my schooling days, where we'll wait for one another before/after classes and copying working on our lecture notes/tutorials.

The whole building with just 3 bedrooms, haha! Bedroom 2 is on the 2nd floor - hmm, thankfully my luggage is not that heavy if not I'll have difficulties dragging it down on the day of departure.

Stable Courtyard rooms are luxury en-suite rooms refurbished to the highest standard offering indulgence and comfort. I wasn't expecting modern bathrooms, but boy - I'm liking the bathtub and the shower area :) The bathroom was so big that I can put in a mahjong table with 4 chairs.  

Overlooking the Culpeper Garden, which was originally the site of the castle's kitchen garden. 

  

While heading back to the Castle, we were greeted by this lovely peacock roaming freely. What a pretty sight! *out came all phones and cameras to take pictures*

Then, the peahen came along. The peacock (male) is usually an iridescent shade of bright blue and the enormous trains (tail feathers) to help attract mates. On the other hand, the peahen (female) tend to have duller colours like brown, grey or cream. An interesting fact - only the female peafowl build nests and incubate the eggs while the males show no parental involvement at all #soirresponsible, haha!

 As it was getting late, we hurried off to the main Castle and headed for pre-drinks session. More on that in another post!

❤ ❤ ❤ Read the rest of my London-Kent Castle adventures here ❤ ❤ ❤
① Leeds Castle, Kent Day 1: Arrival in London 

② Leeds Castle, Kent Day 1: Breakfast & Shopping in London
③ Leeds Castle, Kent Day 2: Hello, Leeds Castle 
④ Leeds Castle, Kent Day 2: Team Dinner