I am so sad about Malaysia Airlines

Yup I know...today's posting is supposed to be a continuation from Versailles
then this silly Monkey forgotten to upload pics from the other computer
last time it was one computer for the whole household........those were the days
Today, there's 5 to be used among the 2 of us
sometimes it got so confusing I forgotten which file in which folder in which computer

just like last nite, I was seeking hi and lo for important photos to be submitted to a publication
"Where is it???"
JS: "errrr I think it's in the iMac."
"NO it ISN'T!!!!"
JS: "definitely not in the Macbook Air. Maybe u can try the Macbook Pro."
"grrrRRRRrrrrrrrrrr................."

so back to Today's posting...it's gonna be Airline food
many ppl despised food served onboard
coz it's pre-packed food which was cooked like hours earlier, or days????
while some ppl really enjoy airline food coz every airline has got some special menu

well, I'm neither.....it depends...
I'm a bitch coz I'm choosy...usually I'll ask wat they gonna serve, checked their menu
then decide to have it or not....
later if I see other ppl are having some yummy food then I'll change my mind
:P beeaaatttchhhhh

One thing I never turn down is MAS's satays...
coz it's yummy
well....allow me to rephrase...it USED to be yummy until 2011
now wat??? did u change caterer? or recipe? or more like CUT COST???

it's so disgusting these days...are those chicken hair on the meat???
wat happen to nasi impit/ketupat that u used to serve???
sometimes I get my piece of onions and well in this case there isn't...
only the 1st pic on this blog has got a slice of the white onions coz it was fr a different route/flight

and notice the first pic looked more appetizing???
agree???

and what happen to the satay sauce???
there's more peanut butter innit now
:(((((
not the way Malaysian Satays should be unless I'm in Garuda Airlines and they are serving Indonesian Satays...
*well indon satays has got more peanut butter in their sauce*

Since the satays were untouched, I had to settle for main course
well u gotta feed a hungry stomach don't ya?
judging from its looks u know it ain't yummy rite?
my local mamak has got better food than this

in the end I was left hungry, nibbled all my fruits
*while JS was bz nibbling nuts like a squirrel*
when they served dessert and cakes...
I was already smacking my forehead....
sorry no pics, coz I couldn't be bothered anymore...

just shocked!!! what happen???
since when did the food standard became this bad???
well it wasn't one of the best airline food...but tolerable...and now....
I'm gonna find time to write to MAS this week...
oh wait...I wrote to them 4 months ago with regards to my loyalty card and no one has gotten back to me....and I re-wrote to them 2 months ago...
*bangs head*
**why should I be the one banging my head??**

my most shocking revelation was NASI LEMAK
MAS has got wonderful nasi lemak...and I alwiz alwiz look fwd to it!!!!
it has got the best sambal and the rich grains cooked in creamy coconut milk

and now....the sambal is gone....only prawns cooked in chili sauce
the creamy rice is now....errrr slightly brown spiced ginger un-nasi lemak rice
wat happen to my crispy anchovies and fried peanuts???

*bangs head*

:"(((

yeah I am an ungrateful bitch for all the complains
when some kids elsewhere are dying of hunger
and here I am whining about food

ok wait till u pay for your ticket and got these in return
especially when u've been flying with them for so many years
and noticed how the standard dropped year after year

as at 1st January 2012, MAS has cut 7 more routes to save costs
Adios Rome
Goodbye Capetown and Johannesburg
Tata Buenos Saires and also Dubai
:"((((

this isn't the way to save an ailing company
even the head steward was telling me this in deep sadness in his eyes
"......:((((......management decision....despite majority opposition....."
I gave him the :(((((( face too...

I will definitely head to Kiasu-Land to get my connecting flights next time
Singapore :)))))))))))
well I can't vote any airlines as the best coz there's so many more I haven't been into
even those that I've tried, each has got their own specialty in terms of service and hospitality
and price too :)))

so in the mean time, I better learn to "fast" like JS on board
*or nibble on nuts*
especially on 13 hours flight when food is a problem...

oh wait...I can fly with so many other airlines...
Emirates :)))) Etihad :))))
KLM :))))) Thai Airways :))))
Singapore Airlines :)))))
Cathay Pacific :)))))
and even Qatar Airways :))))))
and yes I WILL FLY WITH AIR ASIA TOO!!!!

MAS pls buck up!!!
and this was only FOOD...
I haven't go to the part where u are never on TIME
and u change ur planes configuration as u wished n passengers only got informed upon check in....wat can we do by then??? this is a SCAM!!!!
gRRRRRRrrrrrr

Read about really old posting of some airlines:

 *Cathay Pacific*

*MAS: Mana Ada Standard*
*MAS's Nasi Lemak last time!!!! was so good*
*another miserable meal onboard*

Palace of Versailles, France

Beautiful clear blue sky
we woke up early and took the city fast train 20km away fr Paris to Versailles
with good planning, we skipped the slow train, hopped into the fast one and arrived 18 minutes later and to beat the daily's massive crowd. we were there by opening time 9 am

Can't choose a better day to visit this palace
Sundays are the day when most places are closed for commercials/ shoppings
so museums and sight seeings are the best bet :)))

from the train station there is another 5 minutes walk
along the huge boulevard we caught glimpses of Palace of Versailles
never imagine it could be this big!!!!!
even our cameras can't fit this whole place in!!!

the main HUGE steel gate leading to the courtyard
these days there's a separate entrance for visitors so the main gate is perpetually closed

once u r in the courtyard there's another GOLDEN gate
phewwwwwwwww
well after all it is the WORLD'S LARGEST PALACE *by total ground measurement*
**Forbidden City in China is the largest by total building measurement**

the camera couldn't fit in the front facade so we snapped just a quarter of it
need a wide angle lense for this
I felt like a Queen already just by standing majestically there

the other side with beautiful gold trimmings on its roof

started out as a hunting lodge/ chateau for King Louis IV
it was then turned into a PALACE
and the royal family then resided here until the French Revolution

it was also King Louis IV who moved his government and court into Versailles
so we can truly said that the French Monarchy was ruled from this very palace

*pic stolen fr the web*
the main facade and the top floor is the King's chamber

part of the front facade was under restoration
Palace of Versailles was declared a UNESCO site in 1979

The queue was not that long despite the massive crowd
coz the ticketing booth was automated just like an ATM machine
just select ur language and a couple of more buttons, deposit ur $$$$ and voila!!!!!
soon we were on our way exploring this huge place with glee :))))

the Royal Chapel
wooooowwww so grand~~~~~~~
my eyes were not on its beautiful Gold organ
nor the roman columns
and all its exquisite marbles adorning its wall
or the sculptures embracing it

but on the painting on its ceiling
the paintings depicts the King as the chosen one by God to rule the Earth

more beautiful paintings commissioned by His Royal Highness to important painters during his time
u wanna have an idea how big this place is????

behold.......it has got:
2,300 rooms
2,153 windows *poor maids*
1,500 drawings
15,034 engravings
2,102 sculptures
67 staircase
5,210 pieces of furnitures

I guess numbers are just numbers
u just need to be there to marvel at its beauty
and imagined how to live the life of French Monarchy back in those days
when ppl are starving...has got no food....ppl r dying of plague....the Hundred Years' war etc
well that explains the French Revolution and how the Queen was guillotined in public
*well Malaysia Government, this will soon happen to u*

 Paintings of King Louis IV and all his successor

the emblem and symbol of France back in those days...
the Fleur de lis
it's actually a lily
but these days...everyone called it...Louis Vuitton's logo
-_-" ppl pls go read up and educate urself.....Louis Vuitton tsk tsk *smacks forehead*

are those real candles up on its chandelier???
as u can see not every inch of its wall were not adorned with richness
it's either plastered in beautiful rich colored wallpaper
or priceless paintings

soon we were moving slowly at the famous Hall of Mirros
it's a long narrow hall/passage way
served as a function hall and also waiting room for guests

*pic stolen fr the web*
the majestic Hall of Mirrors minus its visitors hahahahah
it's a very beautiful ballroom

on one site it's full of mirrors like the above
nope Monkey wasn't on the line but was listening to the audio guide in english

I dunno wat is this with French....they think we are Japanese and alwiz handed down Japanese guide/brochure/catalogs etc to us
gone are the days where France is thronged by the Japs...it's so passe ok???
these days...it's the chinese

this was very important!!!!!
else JS won't take the trouble to capture this pic :P

this table is holy moly important!!!!!
it was the very same TABLE and CHAIR used to sign the TREATY OF VERSAILLES
that ended WORLD WAR 1
yes WW1

squeezing our way through into the King's Chamber
but this room is called the Bull's Eye Salon
notice the round window at the top?

this room was used by courtiers as a waiting room before entering the King's Chamber next door
it's so confusing...there's so many rooms with so many doors leading to so many places
they need a map here with exit signs just in case of fire :P

woooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooowwwwwwwwww
wat a beautiful view from this window
to the garden and a lake
yep the view from the Queen's room

the Queen's chamber
also the very same bed Marie Antoinette slept on
yes if u were wondering...her bed faces that nice window with that beautiful garden specially created for her

spot that small white door on the right of the bed?

it was an escape door
the very same one she used to escape and hid in the King's room with His Royal Highness during the French Revolution in 1789

I was reading on their daily royal etiquettes and it was quite elaborate
every morning the Queen is received here with a grand ritual after the maids cleaned her
this very same chamber was occupied by 3 different Queens of France and Marie Antoinette being the last one before she was beheaded in public during the French Revolution

all 19 Children of France was also born on this very same room
the child birth of all of them was another HUGE ritual
phew....I don't want to be a Queen anymore~~~~~

that very same room has for this fantastic view!!!!!! The "Orangerie"
GAHHH I WANT!!!
what a beautiful garden!!!!!

OMG!!!!!

what a luxury!!!!!
JS I WANT!!!!

he said Monkey can only snap a memorabilia of this~~~~
with Berr of coz :)))))))))))))
mind u this is only a small section of the Gardens of Versailles

the entire property has got A HUGE HUGE HUGE garden
no no no....allow me to re-phrase that....GARDENSSSSSSSssssssssssssssssSSSSSSSSSSS
not Garden....O.O

and all this beautiful bronze flower pots that discolored over time
so many of them~~~~

and all the beautiful angelic sculptures
not to mention fountains

now it's time to explore its gardenssSSSSSssssssss
check out the background :P
gardensssSSSSsssssssssssss

wah!!!! JS we need a bicycle!!!!
really!!! look at this place!!!!
we will never finish it by today

there's the summer palace to visit and another villa/chateau of Marie Antoinette!!!!

*pic stolen fr the web*

 hmmmm....where are we now???

Latona Fountain with beautiful sculptures

tee hee hee I was bz amuzing meself with the beautiful swans
they came coz they thought I m feeding them :P

after a while, the 1st swan knew it and don't bother to come to me anymore
kekekekkekekekeke
can see the swan's expression like hmmm ceh!!!! -_-
while the 2nd one was smiling :))))
can u see it?

and so we continued our walk around this 800 hectare of gardens~~~
WAT??? 800 ha is 8,000,000 m2
O.O

hence this post will be continued tomorrow
:)))))))))

Laduree, Paris

ohhhh this elegant exquisite name is alwiz associated with MACARONS!!!!
well they are after all the FATHER of MACARONS!!!!

okie technically macarons was invented ages ago, but it was Laduree who got this idea of using 2 pieces of macarons and sandwiched them in between fillings of lovely ganache

Laduree was established in 1862 by Louis Ernest Laduree
they were bought over by the Holder group who also owns PAUL bakery
with such takeover, one can expect massive investment and heavy expansion
so Laduree is available these days in almost important cities
like Geneva, Monaco, Zurich, Tokyo, UK, US, Italy and also a few Arabian countries

today they have expanded to more tea salons, pastry shop, ice cream parlour
and their very first beauty lines of makeup will be launched next month in JAPAN!!!!
all the makeup collection will be inspired from the lovely colors from all its Macarons creations

usually in betwee shopping or sight seeing, we'll take a coffee/tea break

in any country that we visit even in Asia
so in Asia we'll do the Asian style
*read bout our Thai tea break in Bangkok last year here*

Coffees in the middle of the day is compulsory for us :P
yep we are coffee addicts...without one in the morning, the entire day gonna be unproductive
so another cuppa in the afternoon or after meals are like a booster
however we dun have coffee after 5pm, unless it's a decaffeinated

generally most ppl do tat
this has prompted Starbucks to revamp its business module
it has been announced this week that they will be selling a different type of brew - alcohols
else the number of customers decline as the sun sets....
I wonder if this gonna happen in Malaysia...hmmm....

now let's set our eyes back to Laduree and this sweet lil tart
Lemon Tart
there's too many items I wanna stuff my face with...but I can only choose one
*esp with JS's slitted eyes staring at me*

I'm a sucker for tarts so tarts it'll be
but...but..there's so many tarts!!!!
GAH from apples to berries to cream based, custard ones, with toppings and meringues
GAH!!!!!
decisions decisions decisions

it's even more difficult that getting a nice pair of shoes or that oh-ahhh-bag
coz if I really like them, i'll just get the same in different colors
*which I usually do*
but with food....it's perishable and my tummy has got such limited storage...
maybe 20 years down the road, scientists would have invented an external stomach
*u know the way how external disk works*

the lemon custard fillings were silky smooth....
once it's on ur tongue the curd just glides and danced in ur mouth
almost like eating butter
bit with a lemony tang

only setback was it's way too sweet but french lurve their pastries SWEET!!!!

but still better than the Greeks....I get toothache eating Greek pastries
its crust was pretty good too

perhaps time to horn my baking skills and try some other tarts again
the oven at home been zzzz way too long
tee hee hee

Do take some time and visit their beautiful lady-liked website
so u can continue to drool at their products :P
www.laduree.fr