Birthday Celebration

Munchy, Monkey and Brian C
this was a test shot to set the right ISO and white balance for the camera, but for the sake of fun, I've posted it here. Most of the test shots were of me doing monkey faces :P >.> T_T ~.~

JS gathered all these lovely ppl for Monkey's Birthday celebration. There's been many many celebrations, I will try to post as many as possible :)))))Thank you all my dearie friends for the wishes, calls, messages, presence, gifts but most of all your friendship which have enriched my life so much :)))


Peakie D bought a bouquet of beautiful stargazer lilies and a mixture of other flowers in my favourite pink + fuchsia colors. The smell was really intoxicating :)) They are now sitting pretty on my Armani dining table :)))


They were late for dinner and.....hey where are u?
Peakie D: "Damn the car wax boys took too long!!!!"
Monkey: "I just wanna see u not your car!!!!"


Soon everyone settled down before the first drink was served....
JS took all the efforts to prepare the wines lineup for the evening. Plus wine notes. Yeah I know, I will soon enroll him into a sommelier class.


When the actual Sommelier Guillaume presented the bottle, Peakie D let out a scream so sudden that the bottle almost dropped. Phewww...of coz it didn't drop, don't worry.

KRUG Clos d'Ambonnay 1996!!!!!
my first!!!!
JS's first!!!
in fact it was everyone's FIRST!!!!
WAHHHHH we are no longer d'ambonnay virgins!!! wuahahahahahha

wat a special treat to have this ultimate champagne
single vineyard single vintage from the house of KRUG
I am still rubbing my eyes, was it a dream that we had this bottle???
did we??????

d'Ambonnay 1996 is very very rare
its grapes were harvested from a single tiny plot of land, 0.685 hectares only!!!


oooohh la la la la J'ADORE beaucoup!!!!

the nose was slightly tight when it was fresh, over the evening the champagne evolved and was more opened up with such richness + umami-ness. The finish was seriously long, rich, deep and intense. Definitely not your everyday kind of champagne. Thank you to JS for being so generous :))))


Sakuramasu with radicchio tardivo
it's a slightly smoked cherry salmon served with the bitter radicchio and topped with bottarga pieces
So beautiful and delicious :))))))))




Angel prawn with Hanabo, was so so so sweet and fresh.
We were amazed with all the wine and food pairing. JS gave Chef Kimura the wine list earlier to create a menu accordingly.



Capellini with Hotate and Sakura Ebi
this was a new dish which all of us adored so much. The texture of the pasta was further enhanced with crispy seaweed and sakura shrimps. Could taste some mentaiko as well. This all of us agreed in unison that JS can replicate :P But he will definitely needs a lot of trial and errors. OK I don't mind to be your guinea pigs at home....as always.


Akkeshi oyster with summer truffles
this was so so so so yummy
and at this juncture we were moving on to the only single white wine - a Pugligny Montrachet


Munchy was still so stunned from the champagne
he rubbed his eyes in disbelief so much, that they were red by now.
HO HO HO HO HO HO


Landes white asparagus with petit pois
white asparagus are in season now...the best ones are usually from Germany. *I think*
anyway I have been having white asparagus since a month ago in Switzerland until today. HO ho ho ho ho ho ho, yes I'm a lucky bitch so I won't complain :P

the lil peas were really fresh, paired with thin sheets of parmesan crispy. Excellent spring dish :)))) I can eat this everyday.


My hiking Si Fu Brian C was deep in discussion
everyone will usually give him the mouth-wide-open-jaw-dropping look when his age is unveiled. Yes that's why he's my hiking si fu after I found out that was his secret.

So folks, come join us and hike up mountains if u wanna look good, youthful, with beautiful skin like him :))))))) also eat all u want and still able to maintain a slim body :)))))


Bamboo fish with artichoke Barigoule
this fish is really ugly looking but its meat is so rich, fat and delicate.

Tourte of Unagi and Foie Gras
hmmm JS snapped the not so nice looking plate. In fact my dish was perfectly cut with a huge chunk smooth lookin foie gras in the middle.

Chef cleverly sandwiched the foie gras and soft sea unagi. Yes it's sea unagi coz the meat was really white and fleshy. Amazing dish....applause!!!!!


I gave half of my dish to Munchy who will never refuse food. hahahahha coz I wanted to save space for many more dishes to come....and the wines :))))))


JS photo-bombed this pic....hahahahahaha
how can u appear in between a lovely couple?? tsk tsk tsk ish ish ish, this I must teach u.
hahahahahahaha

Chef Kimura came in to thank us for the wines, he had to come out from his kitchen in between bcoz he was so amazed by this glass - a Richebourg, one of his many favourites.

But when asked for a pic, he was so shy, he kept refusing. I guessed he didn't wanna appear in between us....kakakakakaka.

Finally our main came, a roasted Saga beef with Kyoto Shimeji
this dish was very very well executed.


Creme d'Anjou was really refreshing. With meringues and raspberry, plus some lime zest.

and the Birthday Cake part came.....Maitre D Puji was being very careful here with the candles...
I was glad there's only one candle :P


it actually wrote "Eppy Birthday Notti Monkey"
aiiikkkssssss shy....
now I know the entire team at Cilantro read this blog *shy* ~.~

THANK YOU CILANTRO!!!!!
:))))))))))))))))))


Too many wishes to make but I have too many cakes and too many candles for the last few days
so I guess with the number of candles I blew on each cake, it was sufficient to make different wishes at each go. Wuahahahahahahahaha.


"Chef!!! You are back again!!!!"

This time, chef cannot NOT take a pic with ME hahahahahahahaha



My Hiking Si Fu Brian C


Monkey and Peakie D
I lurve her customized clutch with all the Champagne CAPS!!!!
I WANT ONE!!! but if u have time, I don't mind 2. HO HO HO HO HO HO.

This was a delicious mango cake
so light and soft and yummy!!!

our wines lineup for the evening :))))))))
all were superb and I guessed the only bordeaux wrong!!! -_-" yes I know, especially after the trip home from Bordeaux, of all the wines, I guessed that one wrongly....hahahahaha It was a good Latour nevertheless.


a deconstructed sweet potato Mont Blanc with bitter chocolate ice cream
very very clever :))))))))))))


No dinner is completed without petit four
we wanted more caneles but they ran out of stocks!!!
but it was also my fault bcoz I forgot to buy some at Bordeaux. Canele originated from Bordeaux.

Thank you folks for the great time and friendship.
I had a smashing time last weekend.....
Love u all heaps :))))))))))))