tree.vs.forest

this is a moral story.  since you believe that one should not give up the forest for a tree (restaurant hopping wise), so you decided to try another place after pinchos 21. so you came here for another round of food

while the calamari is alright, the aioli dipping sauce was bleh.... you would accept it as yogurt dipping sauce but aioli? no way!

this is by far the most satisfied tapas dish with mushroom

croquette gambas was a generous portion, but you couldn't taste any shrimp fragrance let along hardly any bites of the dutch rose shrimps....

then you thought they couldn't go wrong with this plate of cured meat, while this is acceptable but it's not the best that you have tasted so far.
though you're being adventurous exploring the other eateries place but you have concluded that there's probably one place that you will be back again.

===
praise the Lord that the surgery of my mil is successful, she is now discharge and resting at my sil's place.
===

good.eat.markthal

you're here for the pintxos (or tapas) from this basque country outlet.  everything you had were great, the dining experience almost bring you to bilbao and donostia  once again... it's that good ^^

markthal.blossom

back to markthal, honestly speaking it's not as big as the barcelona's marcado de la boqueria or madrid's mercado san miguel. in fact, there are only two floral shops but the variety of flowers is enough to blown your mind away ^^.

happy sunday and with this, it's officially summer time!

family.dinner

went out for a family meal this weekend.  technically it's not an occasion to celebrate but you'll know it will be a long while before your mil will be mobile and joining you'll for a dinner at restaurant.
your mil is bound for a scheduled surgery next monday

you know everything will go well and it's just a matter of time before the family can dine out like this again.

praying for a successful surgery for her, and for a dear friend who will be undergo another surgery on next tuesday.

::markthal::

it's been a long while since you wanted to visit this place and finally you made it today.  it's a lovely, lively, cheerful and inviting place to be.
for now just a glimpse of the playful indoor ceiling, more to come later!

purple.soupy.weather

both weather and body wise...

a bowl of sweet (purple) potato in gingery soup ticks all the box.
on a side note, you're definitely getting better ^^.

hakka.abacus.beads

when you're not well, you usually crave for your childhood food, in this case the hakka abacus yam beads that you learnt from your mum, no recipe, just memory and gut feeling.
it turned out always well, and because of your body weather, you're craving for a soupy type, thus the hot broth is so comforting to your body and your soul.

front.garden

thought you're not feeling well, but there's interesting development in your front garden.  the bulbs are blooming and dancing in the wind.
it's typical spring weather with better sunshine and deceiving you to wear a little less warmer than winter, and as a result a not so well you.
you're currently fighting the 'flu wannable' with lot of vitamin c and drinking a lot of water, rest whenever your body feels like of course. hopefully it will be over in a few days.

under.the.water

a bit under the water.  you think flu bug has finally got on you.  early symptoms with sore throat and muscle pain, light headache......

 not having much appetite, you took out the extra hakka abacus beads that you've frozen and heat it up in soupy version.

the hot broth is comforting and heartwarming. this dish is a very childhood dish of yours. although you don't make this very often nowadays but when you do, you'll thoroughly enjoy every single beads.
let's hope your body will be able to fight against the flu bug with the extra fruits intake and vitamin c dosage.

unrequited.love

in the language of flowers, daffodil means unrequited love.  daffodils are the first sign of the arrival of spring.

perhaps it's the deceiving spring weather that looks sunny but still wintry cold. you're now a little under, with sore throat and hopefully your body will be able to fight against the symptom.

::blushing::

a quick friday lunch out with girlfriends....

 to a cafe that owns by a dutch celebrity

 a thai inspired dutch open face sandwich...

 follow by coffee and cakes... lemon meringue, raspberry cheese cake and chocolate cake

your artist friend in action, transforming what meant to be a heart latte art to a silhouette....
the cafe was fully packed on your arrival and the clienteles are primarily dutch women. so you're the unusual bunch that make your presence. the food is typical dutch standard, likewise the cakes. but the coffee is the only thing that you would return for...

carrot.cake.slice

you haven't baked for a while, partly due to the 21 days of prayer and fasting, partly also you've lost the zeal in baking. most importantly is you stop at a piece or two and he is also not a cake eater, as such you always ended up with too much...
you try this healthy version of carrot cake, healthy in the sense it's without oil but the trade off is the cake doesn't rise like a normal carrot cake.  you'd call this carrot slice.  it taste good and legit like any carrot cake, moist and dense.

instant.print

 warsaw scenes

 cafe scenes

 winter scenes

miscellaneous or random scenes...
with the amount of time you spent at home, you started to look at the things that you have purchased, use briefly, stored away and forgotten about it.
it's great to rediscover the polaroid pogo zink printer, not a new gadget or tool, something from a few years back but as you have the paper, you're eager to print some photos again.
non-ink printer, name card size but you're pretty excited through the entire process, from selecting the photo to printing...

::travel::

the fact that you're grounded you have a bit of time to do travel reading and research.  honestly speaking planning for traveling always takes up a lot of time and energy but it's necessary if you want value for money.  so your post summer vacation is set, ticket is booked ^^. 

full-moon.feast

 it's been a lot of parties and gathering lately, there's a lot to celebrate and today it's a full moon celebration of a baby girl.  that explained the appearance of red eggs and angku kuih.

 and a variety of curry and chicken to satisfy the guests.

 plus many more snacks for the kids....

needless to say, it's another "full" day stomach wise. you enjoy mingle around and chatting with your friends whom you've not seen for awhile.
fasting wise, you failed big time with all these occasions coming along in the month of march, but you're doing well with praying.  at least you consciously channel your energy and focus to the Lord by spending more time in praying, interceding for some matters.


===
psalm 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give You , the nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession
===

midday.celebration

first of all, it's not your birthday.  perhaps it's the season in life that most of your friends are now crossing the 40's border.  today yet another birthday celebration of a friend who is joining the big 4-0 club.

 the first month of lunar new year is almost over now and yet you're still being served with the cny cookies and some indonesia store bought specialties.

this was an intimate gathering of just a few girlfriends, most of them you met for the first time but it didn't take long to break the ice. it's also a rather unusual setting on friday mid morning to early afternoon.  you enjoyed a brief moment away from work any how and was fed full with a chinese fondue lunch.
today you're thankful for friendship and embracing life in 40's.


===
Galatians 5: 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness
===

spring.sunshine

you've notice increase of daylight and sunshine lately, even as early as your breakfast time, the sun kiss is warmth.  however, the temperature can still be single digit in the morning and late evening. thus, it's typical early spring, a confluence of wintry cold and spring warmth.
looking forward for spring to come!
===
jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,And whose hope is the Lord

===

four.years

it's been four years!  japan seems to be distant to you already but four year ago, this day will always have a special place in your heart and in your spirit. you're not going to repeat the story all over again, but it's that great earthquake that you experienced in tokyo that woke you up from a big spiritual slumber.
saying a little prayer to japan today and missing the friends that you made while you're there, and like you,most of them are now in different parts of the world.

===
matthew 6:18 so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly
===

weekly.market

another weekly market shot. by now many may have noticed you're ground.  the fact is you're in between projects, waiting for another big one to start.  you try to enjoy your less busy and "ground" time more positively by seizing the moment to go to gym daily, but still you're not having day off, so you do spend quite a lot of time behind your laptop.
the truth is, you want to be back to project soon and you know it will be coming before long you will be complaining about too much jet setting.
with the 21 days of prayer and fasting, these are your "loot" from the market, mainly fruits and the positive sign of seeing more of your favorite fruits nowadays.

===
psalm 22:3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel

our praises to the Lord will not make him even greater, but will make His presence greater and bigger in our life. so let's praise God every day, regardless of our circumstances
===