Daily Schedule

Morning Rise and Shine - eggs, swiss mushrooms and crispy bacon
the organic free range egg yolk was really staring at me :P
I'm not really a breakfast person, I know I know...chill people...I know that breakfast is the MOST IMPORTANT meal but....but....but...

sigh...
I'm not a breakfast person full stop. But I HAD to eat because it will be my only meal till 12 hours later. So I HAD to force food down my throat but the thing is I'm not trying to produce foie gras outta my liver.

sometimes I have Asian breakfast like instant noodle with lots of beans sprout *at the bottom* with cilantro at the top....wuahahaha I managed to buy beans sprout from the gourmet supermarket...yes beans sprout in Switzerland.

A cuppa of fresh kiwi fruit juice, cappucino, my fried eggs sprinkled with Japanese seaweed sprinkles to give my egg some savoury umami-ness...It's meant for rice but then on eggs was so so so yummy. Finally I needed some fiber so a single yellow plum

and sometimes when I needed more fiber, I'll prepare a large bowl of salad to go with my breakfast of more crispy bacon and eggs again sprinkled with umami japanese seaweed.

Preparing breakfast was easy and fast. I can't really cook so I'll just dump watever that I can find in the fridge, wat I FEEL like eating for the day and begin cooking...:P It takes about 10 minutes to prepare some edible breakfast....but EATING it was a major task...it took my 30 mins to down me breakfast.

SEE I told ya I'm not a breakfast person, it's so difficult to shove food down my throat. BUT I HAD TO EAT. 

and finally washing them was pretty easy peasy....just dump everything into the dishwasher after some brief rinsing and scrubbing. Then off I go to prepare for work.

Walking to work was again easy peasy....like 5 minutes? But I took 20 minutes or was it 30 minutes or longer??? BAHAHAHAHA. Coz there's too many pitstops. I'll tell u why in the next few pics.

First of all, it's such a feast to my eyes to have all these darlings greeting me GOOD MORNING MONKEY. PLEASE BUY US!!!!

All the beautiful pearls in outstanding size, lustre and color. A few months ago, I couldn't bring myself to purchase that gold pearl earrings at Mikimoto. Now that these are cheaper bcoz it's a trade show, perhaps I should.

My eyes were seeing double....it's actually the dual layer of security glasses
I rubbed my eyes again....60.06 carats huh? hmmmm in Fancy Intense Yellow...it's Ok lar bcoz it's not that yellow but 60 carats!!!!

Then there's my favourite and most expensive of the yellow diamonds - the FVY classification Fancy Vivid Yellow. Don't they make ur heart skips??? Mine almost popped outta my chest.

oh why hello there Beautiful.....I'll never be able to afford you but looking at you everyday every morning on my way to work somehow brighten up my day so so so much. Very MUCH!!!

So that's why I took 30 minutes to get to work...but I'll usually arrive by 8.30am and another busy day has started.....back to back non-stop. There's no weekends here. >.<

Bcoz I'm so in love with Yellow Diamonds, dearie Reezal decided to impress me with his custom made canary yellow suit. It only take a fashionista like him to carry this so well :)))

oh well no pics of me working, coz too busy, mind was so focussed, passion for work was so deep. I don't know how long can I do this afterall it was my 7th trade shows.  Each and every year, I'll say this will be my LAST....my last trade show...it will be MY LAST. And each year I came back -_-" 

Veal Sausage on a bed of sauerkraut - my one and only lunch throughout those 2 weeks. It was on the day before the trade show begins. Before the mad crazy period.

Thank you so much to media friends and friends of the industry who hand-carried lunches to my booth for me :)))) U guys are the sweetest. :)))) If any of you decided to lose some weight, this would be a great job for u. *wink*

This was me on the last working day....so eppy...looking up into the sky for the first time. Yeah coz I don't see daylight...every day once I'm done with work, the sun has already set and it's dark outside.

There's alwiz lights at the end of the tunnel isn't it? Hahahahaha...I call this square with a huge hole in the middle...the cupola of Horology Church.
Hallelujah my work are done!!! I don't have to see u anymore, at least for another 11.5 more months to go.

Foie Gras mousse with figs
I had my dinner everyday....outside...entertaining.....
sometimes it's good food...sometimes not so but most of the time it's really good.....I've been having a lot of hits and misses throughout the years and have bookmarked some restaurants and banned a few

and I've been to a few honest italian trattoria which served pretty authentic home-cooked italiano cuisine. Just simple fresh produce cooked by mom and pop

On certain nites, when I am not entertaining, Chris da Boss would insist that I go to his apartment for dinner with a few other guests. When u have home cooked food, u can't decline an invitation but jumped at it....hahahahaha

and his speciality is chinese - Toufu with minced pork

Monkey: "where the hell u got this piece of awesome toufu? Looking neat there."
Chris da Boss: "Asia Market!!!"
On another nite, he cooked Bak Kut Teh *Smacks forehead*
Monkey: "U made this Yu Tiao?????"
Chris da Boss: "Asia Market!!!!"

oh gawd...u can practically get everything these days around the world including Fried Yu Tiao!!!!

Stir Fried Kangkung with belacan.

Monkey: "Don't tell me u bought these kangkung at Asia Market!!!!"
Chris da Boss: "Yes!!! Asia Market!!!"

it must have cost a bomb but surprising not.....only CHF 1.50 = RM 5.80 per bunch
I think RM 5.80 for kangkung in Switzerland isn't expensive at all considering everything is so exp like a piece of sausage is already CHF 8.50 = RM 32.30

Chris da Boss: "Our dearie government asked us to eat kangkung, so I'm promoting it even in Switzerland"
-_-"

Prawns stir fried with lotsa garlic and dried chilis

Steamed chicken in chinese tong guai and wolfberries and red dates
Wow this dinner is tooooo much!!!! It's a luxury to have all these here in Switzerland!!!

When it's not dinner with clientele, the press/media/jourmalist or the bosses or chinese meal at Chris da Boss...it's more work-related dinners.. Here we were recee-ing a venue for future event. It's so beautiful and classic.

The Marketing Team were bz snapping pics as Owner of the place explained wat Hermes did here at their last event. The painting was original and this place is a few hundred years old. We couldn't helped it but Walt-ed around this room like Queens.

 the crazy mad loud fun Gals of the marketing team

I usually went home half sober...coz for there's another mad crazy busy day in a few hours. I gotta wake up at 6.00am again...for the routine repeats itself....cook breakfast, shove food down throat, go to work, work WORK WORK work, dinner and entertainment, drinks and parties and sleep~~~~~~

Can't afford to partay too late into the nite. I'm no longer 18 nor 22 years old. Very soon I am gonna hit 18 + 22. Hahahahaha. Right???

Dinner with Media Friends

 

The once a year affair saw us gathered together in a tiny lil city called Basel. Home of Roger Federer and nope we were not there for any tournaments but for the world's largest watch and jewelry fair.

Basel is notable for its art museums and theaters *which I never seem to find time to visit*
Switzerland's oldest univeristy is oso situated here. Not to mention all the big pharmaceutical companies are based here in Basel such as Roche

Monkey usually take time off to take dearie media friends out for dinner and drinks. It's alwiz comforting to be with someone that you know at a foreign place.

Because it ain't a holiday, there wasn't any SLR to snap any nice pics...all were compiled from various models of mobile phones from various people.

I was so eppy that all of them made it for the dinner and still managed to smile jovially. But most of all everyone had a lot a lot of fun

despite having jet lag....hahahaha poor Kenneth. Browsing through the pics, there was a missing someone...Princess Sophea.....

Group shot and we were still looking pretty sober with a mural of a man peek-a-boo-ing at the back. Princess Sophea was so tired here, he almost slept on the table.

All of us took the ever reliable convenient and fast tram to the restaurant and Rubin gave me a horror look
Rubin: "U should have prepared a limo for Princess Sophea. She ain't gonna take the tram."
Monkey -_-"
yeah my bad...next year I'll prepare a limo just for Princess Sophea kay?

guess we were the loudest table in that restaurant. Food was really good too :)
Princess Sophea: "My dear Rakyats!!! thank you so much for a wonderful nite...Beta is very happy tonite."
-_- yeah I had the loudest and funniest and most FUN ppl in my life ever. I am sure other markets were so envious of me. Kekekekeke.

Anyway it's really good to be back to Malaysia :))))

Swiss Cheese Fondue

What is goin to Switzerland without having at least one Cheese Fondue?
after all it is Switzerland's national dish
made from a selection of cheese *prollie leftover kekekeke*, seasoning and Kirsch and some wine I think

eaten with cubed bread this is a communal dish
coz u definitely can't eat it all by urself
not even by Baby Wei and Monkey
arghhhh too heavy

I guess by then, both of us were craving for chilis and asian food
kekekekkekekekekeke
Basel don't really have great food :(

Besentiel Restaurant, Basel

yummy beef balls with even yummier fresh cream and extra virgin olive oil on the side

it was supposed to be a dinner for 4
and through the days of planning, the number sky-rocketed to 25
hahahahahahahaha
as the saying goes, the more the merrier

 

a simple mango and avocado salad topped with toasted cashew nuts

we were dying for greens after so many days of meat, meat, MEAT, meat, meat.......

duck pate with pear/apple

I didn't have this.....so dunno whether it is good or not :P

Baby Wei had this :-)
white asparagus soup with smoked salmon to elevate its flavour with its natural saltiness

asparagus is in season now.....they were FAT and juicy
errrr like the length of your 30cm ruler with the thickness of a german sausage
:P

grilled turbot fish with rice

I don't know how they master the art of cooking rice so delicately without a rice cooker

Monkey's braised beef cheek with red wine sauce
I think we ate so late like 10pm that I couldn't finish most of my food

the beef was served with a yummy parmesan risotto
I think the secret is the broth used in cooking the risotto

another Swiss colleague of mine had perche fish - a popular lake fish fr the beautiful Swiss Lake
served with a fennel and orange salad

I was so stuffed I didn't had any dessert
the word panna cotta was painted on the plate

another drunk colleague reads: "Paaarrrmmaaaa Chitta"
-_-"

a scoop of ice cream served with Vodka
oh wait where's the vodka?
well u r supposed to pour it over and eat em the way u have ur Affogato

this place is casual and they dun mind us big noisy group :P
kekekekeke
guess it is the only time of the year, the place is buzzing with live!!!!

Besential Restaurant

Klosterberg 2, Basel,

Switzerland.

Tel: +41 61 273 9700

www.besentiel.ch

Movenpick Restaurant, Basel Switzerland

Movenpick the art of Swiss ice-cream is their tagline :)))))
how could u not have Movenpick in Switzerland rite? rite? rite??????

established in the 60's, it is now owned by Nestle corp
Movenpick has got this strict "no artificial addictives" policy
so rest be assured u r getting the real thang!!!!

and here u dun just get ice creams and loads of desserts but also Swiss food :)))))))))))))))
we had some other Swiss food - raclette, a traditional swiss dish
of melted yummy gooey cow's cheese with loads of onions

since we were tad too lazy to grill it our own, the restaurant has got this ready to eat version
kekekekkeke

I know....chicken wings in Switzerland????

Monkey u can do better!!!!
but this one was house specialty and it was yummy~~~~~

some sweet onion soup with loads of cheese on top
to warm up a cold day~~~~~~

since Basel was just 1.5km away fr the German border...
veal sausage is a must :))))))))))))))))))))

the main dish of the nite was this!!!!!!
wwuuuaaaaahhahahahahahhahahahahaa
Caramelita was the name of this creation

we went bonkers over its gastronomic selection in the menu
yum yum super yum!!!!!
but sayang coz we only managed to have it once....
well we dun get the luxury to hop over to Movenpick all the time don't we?
hehehhehehehe
:))))))))))))))

Movenpick Restaurant

Markplatz 30, 4001 Basel,
Switzerland.
Tel: +41 61 261 31 00 ‎

www.movenpick-icecream.com

Spring Equinox in Switzerland

Beautiful aren't they?
these potted flowers were sold at CHF 1.90 = RM 5.70 at the supermarket
u can either transfer it fr the pot to your garden patch or just leave it as it is...

the colors were madness
I didn't know which one to choose!!
well if I were to buy...not like I can buy coz I can't bring them home
but if I am a Swiss, I'll have a new pot every single week
and ended up with more potted flowers at home than food :D

It was just the timing of work that we had to stay over in Switzerland for bout 2 weeks
and in time to celebrate Easter and Spring Equinox there
*well not like I celebrate it but it's good to join in the fun*

Equinox happens 2x a year - spring and autumn

well usually 20th or 21st March and 22nd or 23rd Sept
equinox is different fr solstice - the longest/shortest day

anyway equinox is the period whereby Earth and Sun's being on the same axis/plane
well so u get equal day and night...

in short whether u are on the north or south pole u get equal amount of day/nite and sun

Period.

*I am really bad in explaining technical stuffs hence leave all these to JS in the future*
**I am now doubting if my understanding is even CORRECT or not!!!*

there have been a lot of myths around this phenomenal since the ancient civilisation
but one thing for sure it does disrupt satellite communication bcoz of the alignment 

of these satellites, the Sun and Earth

One thing for sure....Earth Day was celebrated on March 21st *well used to*
Earth Day = Equinox Day
now it has been changed and Earth Day = April 22

*apa lar!!!! slaps forehead*

anyway ppl do take care of Earth
bcoz that's our only home
not like we can move to another place to live if it's beyond the state of living

so stop polluting

only use what u need
a little goes a long long long way~~~~~~
do your every bit yea :)))))))))
and of coz educate our next generation
*I believe education in this case is so damn important...gosh wat does the government teach our kids these day?????*

**throw more babies in the dumpster????**

and to end this post....
the ever popular Swiss Cheese fondue
believe me the alcohol content in it was HIGH
originated fr Neuchatel - the home of watchmaking *Read bout Monkey attending watchmaking school here*

it's a mixture of cheeses and kirsch
usually eaten with bread only
so kind of like communal dish in Switzerland

but it's pretty a heavy dish
the pot and the after effect of the dish itself...kekekekee