Fish maw and shark's fin.

Contrary to the very unromantic title of the entry, I am actually going to talk about my Valentine's day! :P

Actually I have always been kind of a V-day cynic. I always think of it as an overtly-commercialized day-- I mean, seriously, just try eating out on V-day, and it will be superbly crowded, and everywhere will most likely be fully-booked; if not, there will be no ala-carte meals-- you have to order the Valentine's set meal. -__- Flowers will be exorbitantly expensive-- like a 200% mark-up.

Of course, that's not all. Somehow the boyfriend and I, we have what I call a V-day jinx. :( Every Valentine's day, we would end up fighting and just have a really horrible day. :((( The boyfriend and I were racking our brains over how we celebrated V-day over the past few years: on the first year, V-day was good, though it was a horrible experience dining at Victoria Station, 'cause it was jam-packed, and the waiters keep on rushing you to finish your food so that they can accommodate the long queue of patrons outside! Imagine, cutting into your salmon steak with your dessert sitting in front of you. Needless to say, service sucked. But overall, it was still a good day. However, from then onwards, it kind of went downhill. T__T On our 2nd V-day, we forgot to make reservations (or something like that), and we just kept driving around and around trying to find a place to eat, but to no avail, 'cause everywhere was full, or serving horrible set dinners. By that time it was 9-plus, and I was hungry and bratty, so we fought. :( Our 3rd V-day, we were supposed to go to Aquaria KLCC, but it ended in tears (by me) and harsh words too, sigh. So for our 4th V-day last year, I told the boyfriend, nevermind, let's not celebrate V-day, what if we fight again wtf. Scarred already. :(((


But this year, somehow we were just under the understanding that we would spend the day together. :) And also, I lost a bet, so I had to pay for Valentine's dinner WTF. He was betting that he knows the full name of the MP of where I am staying in S'pore... Mr. K. Shanmugam, Minister for Law,Second Minister for Home Affairs WTFF. Is it worrying that I stay here and I don't even know the guy's name, and the boyfriend has only visited me twice in S'pore, and he knows???!!! But haihhh, ya la, I lost the bet. T___T



Our V-day started late! We only woke up around noon, after which I waved at him goodbye and went for my facial, haha. I was like, 'Valentine's day is all about love, and that includes loving myself' WTF. So by the time he came to fetch me, it was already 4pm. *sheepish*

Just when I was going to open his car door and clamber in, he told me to go to his boot to take something for him. I was grumbling under my breath whilst walking to his boot, "stupid man, think I am maid ar' *grumble grumble*.



Then I opened his boot and this flew out!!!





:)))))))


'Cause they were filled with helium, they came out with a huge "WHOOOOSHHHH", and at first I thought it was a flock of colorful birds flying out wtf. But immediately I was like 'AWWW'!!!. And just stood there smiling to myself, and not knowing what to do (should I stuff the balloons back into the boot first or do I ran to the boyfriend in the driver's seat and thank him first wtf). :P This is just like a Toyota (I think) ad I saw a few years ago!! The girl in the ad unknowingly opened her boyfriend's boot, and out flew many many pink balloons, and they all flew to the sky!!! So pretty!!! Back then, I saw the ad, and I thought to myself, how nice would it be if a guy does it for me. :)))


We went to Coffee Bean for coffee and retricted amounts of cake, because our dinner reservation was at 6-plus, and the boyfriend disallowed me to eat anything too filling (although I haven't eaten at all in the day T_T), in case I lose my appetite for dinner.






Jing saw my outfit for the day, and she told me, "Che, I am quite surprised you wear like this! I thought you will sure wear a slutty/romantice dress for V-day!"

Me: "Aiya, need to keep men on their toes mah" wtf.



I told the boyfriend to surprise me with any cake, and here is what he chose:



Our festive cake. -__-


Strawberry mousse cheesecake, but not nice! Boo. Lesson learnt, never be cheesy, haha. But I thought the boyfriend was very cute when he wanted to cut the pink heart-shaped chocolate into halves for us to share, but he was very adamant to do so, 'cause he said we cannot be "broken-hearted', hahaha.




And now to reveal why my entry is titled so! 'Cause we went for Chinese food for V-day! Damn off right, haha. But I am a non-conformist like that wtf. I told the boyfriend sometime ago that I was craving for shark's fin, so we decided that on V-day we shall satiate my craving. :P





We went to Pak Loh Chiu Chow, in Starhill Gallery.


When the boyfriend first told me that he was thinking of going to Pak Loh, I was like "huh isn't that a tokoh kebangsaan" HAHAHA.



The interior:





Btw, the 'Chiu Chow' was referring to Teochew! So yeap, Pak Lok serves authentic Teochew cuisine. :)





Reading through the Teochew 'manual' along with the menu. It tells you all about the Teochew people-- their history, their dialect, and of course, their food. :)





Kung Fu tea (really, that's what it's called!), served before the meal.


We had a face-off to see who can emulate Kung Fu masters more, haha.


Hahahah cannot make it, damn kaku (stiff)!




/boo quite like a kung fu hero right! All those TVB dramas paid off wtf.



Our food:


Braised shark's fin with bamboo piths and crabmeat.


What I was craving for!





It looked pretty unappetising, actually. T_T But it was really good! It tasted different from the usual braised soup, instead it's more like the 'Buddha Jumped over the Wall' soup! Ok, I do realise that this part will only make sense to Chinese. T_T

Very very rich and flavorful soup, you can tell that they put in alot of ingredients to make the soup so tasty and thick!




Stewed superior abalone in oyster sauce.


I have something to admit, I don't really like abalone! Don't know why I don't know how to appreciate fine and expensive food. T_T Did you know that there are abalones which cost about 1 grand for a piece!! :O I can't imagine eating something so dreadfully expensive. T__T




Chiu Chow special soyed duck.


One of the Teochew specialties! Very tender, and I like the herb-tasting sauce. :)





Steamed freshwater prawn on a bed of glutinous rice.





Roasted pork.


Thinly sliced, and roasted to perfection! But of course, it takes 30 minutes of prepration time for this dish. :/




Double boiled ginseng tea with white fungus.


I love my ginseng soups, but to me, ginseng is better for savoury soups, and NOT as desserts! Boo. Give me my Chinese pancakes!


All the dishes listed above (sans the roasted pork) came in a set dinner (not their V-day set), for RM128 per pax. Each dish is served ala-carte for the respective individuals, so it feels a bit like eating Western food, haha. 'Cause you know Chinese food is always about fighting for food from the Lazy Susan, haha. The boyfriend thinks the food is really good, so much so that he is planning to bring his parents there! :)


And I say, Chinese food is a great idea for V-day! 'Cause the restaurant was relatively quiet (not many couples), so we really got to talk and enjoy each other's company. :) So you know where to go right for your future V'day right! Esquire Kitchen wtf. :P


Outfit:




Star print blouse with ruffled front and pearl buttons: Thrifted
Denim shorts with gold threading: Valleygirl
Tan mary janes: River Island
Happy Svarovski earrings: Chanel



He got me a box filled with imported magazines. How frivalous, and perfect for me, haha. :P


We watched Benjamin Button after that, which I mentioned here. Before the movie, I told the boyfriend, "wah, you quite brave ar, to watch such a sad, tear-inducing movie with me on V'day!" To which he replied with a stricken look, "HAH?? It's a sad movie?? I thought it''s a happy love movie" HAIHHH men. -_-

But yay, our V-day jinx is broken! We can have happy Valentine's days. :D



The day ended with him blowdrying my hair, whilst I sat there and flipped through an imported copy of Cosmopolitan. :)