Strada Dinner

Strada is the first restaurant that I've tried when I first arrived at Nottingham (here is the entry). After the first good experience, I haven't yet ate in there for quite awhile. This time I was there with Shuv for dinner and they had a new menu.

Complimentary bottled filtered water

But each bottle only fills two glasses

Cesto di Pane Misto: Ciabatta, Grissini, Walnut bread, tomato foccacia and sardinian crisp bread eaten with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. This bread basket was delicious. Best shared with a friend :) My favourite was the long crispy stick and the walnut bread. Shuv likes the tomato foccacia best.

Linguine alla Pescatora: Sauteed tiger prawns, squid, mussels and fresh clams in white wine, garlic, chilli and tomato sauce. This was yummy, great taste and generous portion of seafood.

Risotto alla Zucca: Pumpkin and butternut squash risotto with sauteed pancetta, wilted spinach and pine nuts. That's a lovely fried strip of bacon, really good. Risotto is very filling too.

Total: £8 each (with 2 for 1 voucher)

Adventures of The Gym

I guess by now you would have already known that I'm quite outdated in the sense that I've not done many things that people do in their daily routine. Today, I shall announce that I have broken my record: I've gone into a gym, for once!!! First in my lifetime, slightly too late for my age but better late than never.

The adventure began to unfold as Shuv invited me to check out the gym at Hilton, which is situated opposite Waitrose. It's a small gym but equipped with sufficient gears, swimming pool, sauna and steam room. The monthly membership fee is £35. Since I've never stepped foot in a gym and I realised I need to do something about my weight, I decided to give it a try.

At 6pm, I wore my track pants, baby-t and sport shoes, threw the swimming suit in my bag and walked to Shuv's place. At 6.10pm, we were in. We were given a towel each and lockers were provided. The first thing we did was hit the jogging machine (apparently it's called a treadmill). Having a strong runner at my side, I was quite embarrassed by my horrible stamina. I was walking most of the time and could not even last more than 5 minutes when I do run. But hey, I kept walking for an hour and the end result was I burned 300 cals (so say the treadmill). I remember feeling really dizzy after the vigorous walk. :/

After a torturous hour at the treadmill ("walking mill" in my case), the next thing in our agenda was what I was initially excited about: swimming! I haven't swam for ages and I really wanted to do so. Unfortunately, after much "jogging", I was exhausted and just after a few laps, I had a cramp on my right leg. I had to stop. My arms were tearing apart anyway~ Oh before that, they had a smaller pool with jets in it (found out THAT'S the jacuzzi), had a nice "massage"  with Shuv :D

Then we spent a couple of minutes each at the steaming room and the sauna room. Couldn't last very long in there, I felt like I was out of breath. I wonder how I could stay in there for so long when I was young...

Coming out of the gym was great, the air was cooling and I didn't feel hungry. I felt very good about myself :D Boy, I even skipped Waitrose! Aren't you proud?

Sis

Finally, you're back home! Had KFC too, hehe~ Enjoy your holiday! xx

What to do?

The course is ending soon. What the future holds for me depends on what I can seek for myself. I've made a decision to stay on a year longer before venturing into more uncertainty. Whether my decision is correct relies on what I do during the coming year. I want to figure out what I want to do, what I enjoy doing and what I am good at. I need to increase my abilities, enhance my skills and enrich my interests. There are random things floating in my head but none solid enough to pursue without fear. If I don't find anything soon, I'll be screwed. The bad news is: I don't have much time left to figure it out. Ding dong!

Reminiscing

The weather here has been rather gloomy and dull. Strong winds, wet rain and hidden sun. Even when the sun is up, it doesn't generate any heat. Being stuck in my little room, I went through most of the songs in my iTunes. Ah, the memories these songs bring back. The dreams, the tears, the laughters and best friends. I want to write my own songs, I want to play my piano again, dance like there's no tomorrow, laugh heartily with no worries. I want to be young again.

Warehouse Tryouts

I'm acutely aware that I'm rounder than before but hey, it's not stopping me from trying out some nice dresses. This time, we (Shuv and I) went to Warehouse to hunt for some dresses for her sis (Shu Yee). I refrained from putting the dress that she bought because it's her personal surprise and I don't want to ruin it for her. Anyways, picture time!

I love the violet colour

But I look quite pregnant here

This is nice too. But the sequins were dropping out

The back

I personally like this very much. Very cute ^_^

I'm too round for my own good :(

God's Facebook

I don't normally put up random stuff I see online but this is hilarious! Check it out: God's facebook account.

Credits to ImageShack

My Birthday Lunch

Shuv, Nush, Mariyam, Chris and Huw planned a surprise birthday lunch for me. Because I was craving for KFC so badly, we had finger licking good KFC for lunch! It was so goooood~ I had so much fried chicken, enough to last me till winter :)

I was trying to pull the bow but it that was the max I could go :/

The girls baked me a chocolate cake, my favourite :D It's perfectly done. The texture and the taste was just right. Moist enough to melt in my mouth, not too sweet and rich with chocolate. In the middle of the cake, there's a layer of white vanilla that gave the chocolate cake a tinge of variety. Heavenly!

"F" for ______

This is Chris, the conductor for my birthday song

My surprise :D I was expecting a card but the cake was quite unexpected. Well done ladies!

That's my cake!

Fantastic four

We camwhored while the candles were brightly burning on the cake

I was trying to blow the candles one by one (just for the fun of it) but it took so long. Finally, it's time to cut ze cake.

Me opening presents! (Notice the cake with the vanilla layer in the middle)

Presents: blue bowl, belgian chocolates and Thornton's chocolates (esp chocolate raisins)

Let me tell you the "bowl" story. Well, I broke my bowls twice this year and ever since, I've been eating out of my pot. I just couldn't be bothered to buy another bowl since the pot is fine. The girls found out about it and they bought me the bowl I need! And it's a sweet blue bowl, not just a plain Wilkinson 50p bowl. My cereal shall taste a 100 times better, hah! So there, my darling bowl~

Later at night, Shuv, Nush, Pete (Nush's bf) and I decided to check out a Chinese and Malaysian restaurant - Mr Man's Restaurant at Wollaton Park. Oh, it's so pretty and the food is quite close to what we get in the restaurants at home!

Shuv looking through the menu. Finding familiar home food served in UK is very exciting!

The interior

Chinese tea: I need to request for some good chinese tea from home *hint to Bf*

Sweet and Sour fish. I was expecting a whole fish instead of fried fish in a batter but this was still good.

Duck in plum sauce: This is highly recommended

Beancurd with minced meat in a claypot. Taste more like "Loh Hon Zai"

We camwhored outside the restaurant. It was freezing cold that's why we were hugging each other.

There's a little man-made stream and pond at the side.

It wasn't very pricy, surprisingly, and we made a resolution to go there again soon. Hopefully when the sun is up and we can take better pictures. The wind was extremely strong and chilly that night.

Just to show off some of my presents. I've kept the bowl safely in the cupboard.

My birthday card

The chocolate theme for my card is absolutely appropriate. 

There's a story behind the chocolate fountain. Well, I was hogging the chocolate fountain during a friend's party. They noticed I was standing beside it, eating strawberries dipped in melted chocolate the entire evening and took a picture of it. I think I had at least 25 strawberries on my own that day.

I heart my card

And the chocolates too!

ps: the bowl had been tucked away safely from my butter fingers. No camwhoring with it just in case...

A Day at Loughborough

It's quite rare to get a bank holiday (meaning holiday for everyone lah) in UK, unlike in Malaysia where we get tons of various holidays (No complaints here!) like Sultan's birthday, Agong's birthday, my birthday, Chinese New Year, Hari Raya (Malay new year), Deepavali (Indian festival of lights) et cetera.

Therefore, instead of staying in my little room, I decided to go to Loughborough to visit some friends and their homes (and pet). I also took the opportunity to view my future accommodation in Loughborough.

I got up at 7.30am, hoping to catch the train at 8am. The night before, I drew up a map to guide me from the train station to Sek Hao's place. The streets early in the morning was rather deserted but extremely dirty. There are a few pubs just down the road and the sidewalk was piled with litter. If not for the 3 years of "Petaling Street (The Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur) experience", I would have been quite shocked.

Raining in the morning

After arriving at Loughborough, Shuv, Sek Hao, Shu Yee (Shuv's sis) and her bf, Jonson (also my future housemate) decided to go for a movie. I opted to spend some time in Waterstone (bookstore) instead. I quite enjoyed my time indulging in a good book. The only fallback was the lack of seats in the bookstore.

The one and only cinema in Loughborough

Loughborough town

Came across this funny looking statue on the way to Waterstone. Makes me feel slim, hehe...

After movie (or reading for my part), we went to The Basin for lunch. It's an oriental restaurant that serves dim sum and japanese food. I hope to get a part-time job here, hehe... We ordered quite a lot and for UK standard, I think the food is nice. I shall now let the pictures do the talking.

I miss good Chinese tea

Notice their cups and bowls are square?

This is a BIG portion of porridge

Century egg!!!!!!!!! :q

Food served

Served like the dim sums at home, but the dim sum trolleys are missing :(

My favourite: Siew Mai!!

Oh my darling, oh my darling~

Bf's favourite: Unagi don

Cha Siew Cheong Fun (pork rice flour rolls). Reminds me of SS2 "Wai Sik Gai", the Hong Kong Shrimp Cheong Fun in SS2 (a place in Malaysia) is really good.

Lin Yong Bao (lotus paste bao)

Cha Siew Bao (pork bao)

Siew Long Bao (pork meat with soup)

It's served in an iron "cup"

Loh Mai Gai (sticky rice + chicken wrapped in lotus leaf)

Different from the ones at home. It's not brown.

Still yummy nonetheless

After lunch, we had some Cranuim fun at Jonson's place (which is also my future accommodation). The place is quite homey though it's a bit far from town and train station. But I think I don't mind walking. Good exercise. In the evening, we spent some time at Castle de Coombs. Chris and Estelle live nearby in a nice cosy house, which I like very much :D They kindly showed us around the house and curbed my curiosity. Fell in love with the place immediately. And I finally got to meet...

Digby!!

He's so cute. Loves to eat (like me). Knows lots of tricks especially "pat" where he'll pat your hand with his tiny soft paw (and you will then need to feed him after that).

The flower bed I saw on the train back to Nottingham. Ah, spring~