Our world has grown

Barack Obama has inspired the whole world, like no one I've ever known in my lifetime. And although I can be skeptical about every president-elect's promises, but I wish and hope that for once, a true leader has stepped up. Now, if only there was someone his equivalent living in this country ...

His 2 little girls, (I think the youngest is 7), can write an essay on "My Family" and say : "My daddy is the POTUS". How cool is that? That's how young Obama is. And how it is possible, that with the amount of time he has, he might just be on track to be one of the greatest persons who ever lived. He has a lot on his shoulders right now, people's hopes and dreams. Let's hope he can carry them out.

His victory speech is truly inspiring. And did anyone hear the song "Yes We Can" on hitz.fm this morning?

MIGF 2008

Avanti Italian-American Ristorante, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa
[Italian-American]
RM108++ without wine, RM188++ with wine

Chalet, Hotel Equatorial KL
[Swiss]
Lunch = RM95 nett, Dinner = RM220 nett

Chynna, Hilton KL
[Chinese-Modern Cantonese]
Light lunch = RM120++ without wine, RM170++ with wine
Dinner = RM168++ without wine, RM248++ with wine

Dynasty, Renaissance KL
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM148++ without wine, RM188++ with wine

Enak KL, Starhill Gallery
[Fine Malay]
RM145++ with Festival Mocktail, RM185++ per person with 2 glasses of wine

Iketeru, Hilton KL
[Modern Japanese]
Light lunch = RM168++ without wine, RM248++ with wine
Dinner = RM230++ without wine, RM310++ with wine

Il Tempo, Ampang
[Italian]
RM300 nett without wine, RM400 nett with wine

Imperial Rama, Highlands Hotel, Resort World
[Thai-Chinese Teo Chew]
RM288++ without wine, RM368++ with wine

Ishq, Crowne Plaza Mutiara
[Contemporary Asian]
RM100++ without wine, RM150++ with wine

Kabab & Quarma, Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
[Northern Indian]
RM99++ without wine, RM138++ with 2 glasses of wine

Kim Ma, Palace of the Golden Horses
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM138++ without wine

Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental KL
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM228++ without wine, RM468++ with wine

Med.@Marche Renaissance KL
[Mediterranean]
RM188++ without wine, RM258++ with wine

Nerovivo, Jalan Ceylon
[Italian]
RM128++ without wine, RM188++ with wine

Pacifica Grill & Bar, Mandarin Oriental KL
[Contemporary-European]
Without wine : RM190++ for 3 courses, RM220++ for 5 courses, RM270++ for 7 courses
With wine : RM310++ for 3 courses, RM420++ for 5 courses, RM550++ for 7 courses

Red, Hilton PJ
[Mediterranean-Asian]
Light menu = RM100++ without cocktails, RM138++ with cocktails
Full menu = RM168++ without cocktails, RM1988++ with cocktails

Senses, Hilton KL
[Modern Australian]
Light lunch = RM168++ without wine, RM248++ with wine
Dinner = RM318++ without wine, RM498++ with wine

Si Chuan Dou Hua, Parkroyal KL
[Chinese-Szechuan/Cantonese]
RM138++ without wine, RM158++ with wine

Summer Palace, Putrajaya Marriott Hotel
[Contemporary-Szechuan/Cantonese]
Light menu = RM128++ without wine, RM188++ with wine
Full menu = RM168++ without wine, RM288++ with wine

Tamarind Springs, Ampang
[Indochinese]
RM200 nett without wine, RM275 nett with wine

The 39 Restaurant, PNB Darby Park KL
[Contemporary Malay]
RM139++ per person without wine

The Emperor, Sheraton Subang Hotel & Towers
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM200++ without wine, RM240++ with wine

The Olive, Maxims Genting Hotel, Resort World
[Continental]
RM320++ without wine, RM448++ with wine

Tuscany, Putrajaya Marriott Hotel
[Italian]
Light menu = RM115++ without wine, RM180++ with wine
Full menu = RM175++ without wine, RM295++ with wine

Villa Danieli, Hotel Imperial KL
[Italian]
4 courses = RM155++ without wine
5 courses = RM188++ without wine
6 courses = RM222++ without wine
7 courses = RM266++ without wine

West Lake Garden, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM108++ without wine, RM188++ with wine

Zing!, Grand Millennium KL
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM138++ without wine, RM188++ with wine

Zuan Yuan, One World Hotel PJ
[Chinese-Cantonese]
RM188++ without wine, RM260++ with wine

The Malaysian International Gourmet Festival 2008 : http://www.migf.com lasting the entire month of November. I got all the above from an email.

So, before your eyes pop out, anyone up for McDonald's? Or Nando's perhaps? Even Chilli's seems like a steal :P [Gosh, are there even people who spend that kind of money?]

Oh, btw, that day I had BBQ Chicken at their newly-opened outlet at 1Utama New Wing (across from the also newly-opened Cold Storage, ex-Giant). I had their Jerk BBQ (I know, what a name!) and my friend had their Korean Chargrilled (something like that). Both were fabulous! The chicken was so tender. I liked my friend's chargrilled more because it had no chicken skin. And the price was quite affordable - RM14.50 for a set lunch inclusive of drink, soup and ice-cream dessert (I forgot if there was tax or not). Anyway, I'm definitely going back there. They use olive oil for their cooking! This might just be my new favourite chicken outlet place, Nando's move over :P

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia - indescribable! Pure fun, made even better by a stellar cast. Meryl Streep and her sidekicks Julie Walters (popularly known as Mrs Weasley in Harry Potter) and Christina Balanski (who, forgive me, looks like a man but has a great voice) are amazing. They stole the show - Donna and the Dynamos.

But most of all, the movie was fun. It was fun to see that some actors could actually sing. Particularly Meryl Streep. She was quite "sampat" in the movie, she let herself go, and it was completely endearing. The lead, Amanda Seyfried, looks like a young Kate Hudson (but of course, Kate Hudson's prettier).

I think making this movie mustn't have been easy. They have to sing, dance and act. I loved Donna and the Dynamos because they were completely unself-conscious. This is a movie to keep :)

P/S I got stuck in a traffic jam in Dataran Sunway at 9.30am this morning, because it was flooded with cars from The Sun Motorhunt. Then it reminded me of my first (and so far, only) treasure hunt to Cameron Highlands last year. I'm gonna keep my eyes out for my second hunt, any kaki's?

With 1 nanny to a kid, (that's a total of 6 nannies) no wonder Brangelina is able to build a United Nations family, when most normal human beings struggle with a family of 3. And of course it's nice to raise kids when someone else does the cleaning up after. You just have to play with them.

And pay for them, of course.

It's another long weekend! The last one before holiday-filled December (a month which consists mostly of 4-day work weeks, yippee!)

I shall be spending this weekend at 2 weddings. I've lost count of how many I've been to this year. I think I've attended 7, and had to decline 5 (but the yan ching still goes). There should be only 1 more before 2008 ends (not counting this weekend's 2). And I've already got 2 invites for 2009.

I like weddings. Seeing the bride and groom try to get through the day's tedious proceedings, and the groom being so caring of the bride, knowing it's almost 10 times worse for her having to go thru the long make-up sessions and wearing those heavy gowns around.

And I like the dinners, because they become a reunion of sorts - seeing people you wouldn't normally take time to meet, everyone gathering just to say that loud yam seng to the couple on stage. And everyone catching up with everyone's life - who's jumped the corporate ladder to where, who's getting married, who already is (and didn't let us know), who is ballooning for 9 months, who just had a full moon party. Life just whizzes by the older we get.