...try a new dish?

One of my 2010 New Year resolutions is to step out of my comfort zone.

Learn a new language.

Pick up a new sport.

Stop procrastinating.

Try new dishes, or ever better - pick up cooking.

I have not embarked on my cooking aspirations. But I have tried a couple of new dishes, which have been delightful to say the least. One of which, included German food at Brotzeit.

Brotzeit has two outlets in Singapore; and although I have walked past both outlets many a times, it never really occurred to me to dine there (which explains my New Year resolution).

Anyway, for a lack of ideas and at a friend's suggestion, I went to the outlet at Raffles City some weeks back. The setting at the Raffles City felt somewhat more inviting than the one at Vivo City. At the very least, it felt more relaxed and welcoming– a good place to chill out over a couple of drinks and light snacks in the evening.

My friends and I ordered a mixed salad and seafood platter to share.

The mixed salad - Salatteller mit Huhn, was generous with the greens and was accompanied by grilled spicy chicken sausage, chicken ham, feta cheese, walnuts, cherry tomatoes and sour cream dressing. The greens were fresh and crunchy, and the sausages were not too salty or “artificial”.

Next was the seafood platter - Fischplatte. The seafood platter came with smoked salmon, marinated tuna, marinated prawns, white anchovies and crab salad with a basket of selected German breads. I loved the breads – very different from the usual served at American outlets. As everyone would be aware, one of the most important things about seafood dishes, is that the seafood itself must be fresh and free of the “fishy” smell. The chef did a great job with the seasoning, accentuating the original tastes of the various seafood types without overcooking.

What’s a meal at a German restaurant without German beer? To top it off, some of my friends ordered German beer. Though I can’t remember the names and flavours – None of my friends complained, which is a testament to the quality of the beer in itself.

I think, I would be back for more. In the meantime, time to brush up on some basic German.

Guten Appetit!

…attend a literary festival?

Twentieth of March marks the first day of spring, though one would hardly have guessed that given the rather grey skies and the incessant drizzle last Saturday. Daffodils, traditionally the first sign of spring, were thin on the ground as I walked through the gardens in Oxford. The golden daffodils which blanketed the grounds of my school in Kent and the college gardens in Cambridge were my favourite memories of spring, heralds of Easter and warmer days. Sadly, the long, hard winter has meant that one will have to wait longer this year for such a sight.

But I digress. I was in Oxford last Saturday for the opening day of the Oxford Literary Festival, which will be running till next weekend. Sponsored by The Sunday Times, the festival this year hosts a series of talks and book-signings by authors, including well-known ones like Martin Amis, Philipp Pullman, AS Byatt, Jung Chang, Tracey Chevalier, Richard Dawkins, Joanne Harris, John Le Carré.

The trip up from London was annoyingly slow and I arrived late for the first event on my itinerary – Lord Douglas Hurd (former Foreign Secretary under Thatcher and Major) and his collaborator Edward Young, discussing their new book, Choose Your Weapons. It was a fascinating dialogue comparing and contrasting the underlying philosophies of eleven Foreign Secretaries over the last two hundred years, starting with Castlereagh and Canning during the Napoleonic Wars.

Castlereagh, cautious, diplomatic, and the architect of the Congress of Vienna is the role model for all who believe in preserving the balance of power and general peace through co-ordinated efforts of all great powers. Canning, on the other hand, is the brash, noisy role model for those who believe in the supremacy of a nation's own interests and a moral obligation to spread liberties around the world. The two authors themselves were biased towards different styles, which made for a lively debate on stage and a wonderful question and answer session after. The best moments came however, when Douglas Hurd provided some comic relief with tales of his time in office, including his trick of deploying a good-looking, charming diplomat from the Foreign Office to sway Margaret Thatcher’s opinion when all else fails to convince the Iron Lady.

After a quick lunch at The News Café near the High Street, I wandered around some of the colleges, many of which I have not visited since picking colleges in sixth form (or rather, not picking, as I eventually decided on a college in Cambridge). Sadly, the boyfriend A’s college, University College, was not open to the public that day and A was not around to use his old member status to get me in, having stayed in London to work on a deal.

The rain was falling more heavily over the marquee set up at Christ Church College by the time I returned for my second event. Antony Beevor is a well-respected military historian with a number of best-sellers to his name. He has an extraordinary ability to make even dry military manoeuvres come to life; his Berlin- The Downfall 1945 entertained me for hours. He was there to talk about his new book D-Day, which describes the Normandy landings in 1944. Astute and honest, perhaps brutally so, Beevor’s observations about the Normandy advance were sometimes surprising; the British for instance, did not emerge looking very intelligent or organised.

The real highlight of my trip however, came right at the end of the day, at a talk given by Neil MacGregor, the Director of the British Museum. Since February, Mr MacGregor has been giving a series of wildly popular lectures on BBC Radio Four called A History of the World in 100 Objects, based on exhibits from the British Museum. He brought along eight items from the museum spanning over 10,000 years of human history, and described in fascinating detail the religious, cultural and political context behind each of these, stressing in particular the associations one could draw between seemingly un-connected items. For example, the first coins in the Middle East to depict a Muslim ruler were soon replaced by coins depicting verses from the Koran because of the religious prohibitions around depicting human forms, the same prohibitions that forced the Javanese makers of shadow puppets in Indonesia to exaggerate the forms of their puppets (e.g. with extra-long arms and extraordinarily shaped heads) in order to preserve an art form under Muslim rule.

Mr MacGregor is fast becoming a media star (The Times calls him “Saint Neil”) and it is not difficult to see why. He has the enviable track record of turning the British Museum around, reducing its debt and greatly raising its profile with a series of exciting exhibitions. Although soft-spoken as befitting the stereotype of an academic, his erudite exposition of history and culture in his lectures nevertheless holds one’s attention and provides many an “aha!” moment. I am now a fan and will be digging through the BBC iPlayer’s archives for previous lectures.

Having thoroughly enjoyed the first day of the literary festival, I do wonder if I should make a return trip for the closing weekend…

... get an EVIL camera?

I have been very eager to write about my new toy and H has just beat me to it! However, I can't help but still blog about my 1 month old EVIL camera.

So we know what a DSLR is and what a Point-and-Shoot is. Mine is one of those new litte cameras with the removable lenses - Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens (EVIL).

EVILS are for people who want is all and my new Olympus EP1 is all that:

• Drool-worthy picture quality to rival a digital SLR
  
• Small and light enough to fit into the Birkin or Longchamp (while still packing in the sunnies, lip gloss, blackberry, kindle, keys and such)
  
• Blend in or be 'invisible' without the obtrusive big black camera body and lens to take more intimate and candid pictures since the camera doesn't 'arrive' before you do
  
• Vintage-chic appearance to match military-inspired combat pants (when being slightly rough and rugged is de rigeur) or the retro sundress

I am told that the first 10,000 pictures one takes are a write-off. They're not good enough and you should never show them to anyone. But we're amongst friends and this is about my journey learning photography. Here are some pictures (within my first 1000) from a lively market in Bangkok - Pak Khlong Talat. It was an incredible day. The friendly Thai people at the market fed me food, packed my bag with free vegetables and were always camera-ready...

…… get a new camera?

We must be going dog-crazy, but we’ve just acquired an entry level digital SLR for A. For common-folk like us who just want to be able to take reasonable-looking photographs and videos for keepsake, a digital SLR was quite a step up and I hope, not an overkill. To assuage my guilt for buying this expensive new toy, it is going to be my birthday present for S and A whose birthdays coincidentally fall within days of each other.

The main reason for the new camera was to get clearer pictures of dear A in action! It was just so difficult to use our old point-and-shoot camera to capture those moments of A bounding across the grass, chewing her Frisbee, giving us a quizzical look, swimming and playing with her friends! One moment she’s in the frame, and the next, a blur streak on the taken photograph. Another precious ‘Kodak’ moment appears, and before we could click on anything, the moment had passed again! It was absolutely frustrating!

Of course, some time and effort is going to have to be invested in learning how to use our new camera in the first place. Thank goodness for the Internet! We did a little research on the web, joined a photography forum to canvass opinions, chatted with friends and off we went hunting for our new toy. I don’t expect it to solve all the problems we’ve had so far, and we’ll almost certainly still have some blurry photographs, but for now, let the experimenting begin!

...go for a swim at the public pool?

I have been trying to get my fitness routine back on track after the CNY holidays. After a couple of bodycombat sessions, a couple of jogs, I finally made it down to the pool. I can't even remember the last time I went for a swim at the public pool in Singapore. It was probably in Sec 4, when I had to take part in the House Captains' Race during the annual swimming meet.

I must say things have changed quite a bit since my last trip to a public pool. Public swimming pools are now more equipped and even have water rides for the children. A trip to the pool used to cost only $0.50 for 2 hours (I think), now its $2 per entry! What used to be paper tickets are now replaced by plastic cards. Ticket attendants are now replaced by automated machines that dispense your tickets and automated gates which open after you insert your ticket.

It was quite a good experience - I was very proud of myself that I managed to complete 16 laps. The original plan was just to TRY and do 10 laps. Stamina in the water is very different from having stamina on land. Even when I was at my fittest, swimming 1 lap left me slightly breathless. Ok, so I stopped for short rests in between, but I thought 16 laps was quite good, considering the shape I was in.

After last Saturday's swim, I'm looking forward to heading to my neighbourhood public pool more often, and will try and make this a weekly affair! Oh wait, maybe not tomorrow, there's a party tonight. :)

... celebrate Pi Day?

Yes, I'm referring to Pi, the mathematical constant we all learned in geometry class back in the days. In my office, we celebrate Pi Day every year on March 14, or the following week day. While somewhat geeky, I think Pi Day celebrations are awesome-- I mean, what's not to love about copious amounts of pie consumption?

This year, I was appointed pie coordinator of Pi Day and my job was to solicit at least 10 of my colleagues to either bake or buy a pie for Pi Day celebrations. Naturally, I wasn't going to be a very successful pie coordinator if I myself did not pre-commit to bringing in a pie. However, given the number of people who love baking and food in my office, this turned out to be a walk in the park. Within an hour of sending out an e-mail, I had eight others respond positively and by the end of it all, we had 12 pies, which is a lot of pie for ~50 people! Now what pies were these? Well, we had a southern sweet potato pie; a blueberry crumble pie; a strawberry rhubarb pie; two reese's inspired pies; a vanilla custard and fudge pie; a chess pie; an apple, cranberry and apricot pie; a chocolate chip cookie dough pie; and a vinegar pie. Yes, a vinegar pie, no typo here. That was the pie I ended up making after going back and forth between Momofuku's crack pie and a vinegar pie. Vinegar pie won because it sounded wackier than crack pie. I liked it very much, as it tasted surprisingly light with just a touch of tanginess. I loved the crust more than anything though-- Martha Stewart's pâte brisée recipe is truly excellent. My favorite pie that day though was the chocolate chip cookie dough pie. Yum... I love Pi Day! Looking forward to 2 Pi Day (Yes, we celebrate that too!)...

The vinegar pie I made, lightly dusted with powdered cinnamon.

... attend a BSO concert at Symphony Hall?

Last Thursday, I finally attended my first BSO concert at Symphony Hall. You see, I've never been a big fan of going for classical music performances-- I always thought that music alone, no matter how alluring,  is not sufficient to keep me interested and I would surely fall asleep. The last time I went for a concert, I was a freshman in college. However, since Hilary Hahn was performing, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos was guest conducting and the BSO has a <40 = $20 deal, I figured, why not?

Upon entering Symphony Hall, I was immediately struck by its elegant and simple beauty-- it was a relatively intimate setting by concert hall standards with shallow balconies. Acoustically, it is supposed to be one of the top three concert halls in the world.

The evening started off delightfully with three pieces from Enrique Arbós' and Frühbeck de Burgos' orchestrations of characterful piano pieces from the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz’s Iberia. 

Next up, Hilary Hahn performing Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 1 in D, Op 19. This was the performance I had basically bought the ticket for. I love Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet and thus had high expectations. Hilary Hahn wore a striking one shoulder dress in a brilliant red and showcased her technical abilities with this very technical piece, giving an almost flawless performance. The music itself did not quite live up to my expectations though and I was somewhat disappointed. Perhaps this is one of those pieces I will grow to love with time.

Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade Symphonic Suite, Op 35 was next and perhaps due in large part to having previously seen and had also thoroughly loved the Kirov's performance of the ballet (Incidentally, one of my favorite ballet dancers, Igor Zelensky, danced the role of the golden slave) set to (and also named) Scheherazade, this was, by far, my favorite part of the evening! There were two main musical themes that were repeated throughout the ~45 min performance that really grew on me. There is absolutely no way someone can actually fall asleep during this performance-- at times, the music was lyrical, bright and almost fleeting, while at other times, the music was powerful and majestic, relentlessly (in a good way) capturing the audience's attention. The BSO gave a brilliant performance-- no wonder the BSO is one of the "Big Five" American orchestras.

Doesn't this sound like a lovely way to spend an evening with friends?

indulge in a little retail therapy?

I must confess that unlike some of my gal friends, I actually do not enjoy shopping that much (Not all the time, at least). I tend to do my shopping when preening away my time while waiting for my next appointment, or straying into one of those random shops I happen to walk by while journeying from point A to point B.

But on days when I do shop, I am like most girls in that I do find retail therapy therapeutic – After all, making the purchase is just a means to an end. It is the emotions attached to the journey that completes the experience...

My friends know that I am not a “red” person. Since I was thirteen, I have little to do with red. My wardrobe is filled with black, white, blue and brown. My shoes are black or brown. In summary, I don't have an adventurous sense of fashion. That said, not that I do not like "red" as a colour, but I often find it hard to carry it off...the colour would be too loud, too red, too much like an Ang Bao, too much of ...something, always.

So understandably, getting my first pair of red shoes (childhood doesn't count) was a big deal. I remembered being quite excited about it – it was probably akin to driving a car unsupervised for the first time after getting your car license. I thought about what clothes and accessories should go with it and imagined how they would look together.

Alas, it was not meant to be. I lost my first pair of red shoes the first time I wore it two years ago. I had gone visiting at a friend’s house during Chinese New Year and left the shoes outside the house. When it was time to go home, I found to my dismay, my red shoes lost to me forever.

I never gotten around to buying the same pair - maybe subconsciously, I don't want to remind myself of the lost shoes.

While I got over the shock of losing my first pair of red shoes (which was the first time it ever happened to me) fairly quickly, the second pair of red shoes did not come by as easily as I thought it would be. In the last two years, I have seen countless shoes that were red...But none to my liking. Until that fateful Saturday afternoon, when my eyes was drawn to it...there it was, on sales (the all important word that prompts most girls to action), waiting to be purchased.

And I was relieved. All the careful selection, comparing various shoe sizes, "test-walking" the shoes were worth it. It was the right size, the right price, just the right pair for me.

So there it is, my second pair of red shoes, contently rested at my shoe rack now.

My search for the red shoes has ended. I hope I do not lose this pair again.

…watch a Molière play?

How does one translate a seventeenth century French farce and update it for modern times? Substitute Parisian society for the media-obsessed modern equivalent and include topical references to a Tory politician’s "toxic spray-on brand of fake compassion" to get a few laughs. Crank up the frothy energy, keep up the rhyming couplets, and maintain the metre. Lastly, cast a movie star as (wait for it), a movie star and watch the box office receipts take off as it becomes the hottest ticket in town.

Martin Crimp’s take on Molière’s most well known play, The Misanthrope, took a little getting used to. The rhyming can seem forced at times, the tone smug and too clever, yet it seems to capture the spirit of Molière’s most well known play.

For all the attention on Keira Knightley as Jennifer (Celimene in the original), the American movie star in London, the real star of the play was Damien Lewis as Alceste, the British playwright disillusioned by modern society and the “misanthrope” of the title. I remembered him well as Major Richard Winters in the HBO series Band of Brothers, a role which embodied the real soul of the series and its moral centre. In The Misanthrope, Lewis is far from the restrained character he portrayed previously. As A observed, he has even taken his voice a notch higher to take it from mature mellowness to a high-pitched angst.

Lewis projects the right mix of blustering anger, comic absurdity and frail vulnerability. One cares for Alceste and roots for him, even at the height of one of his hyperbolic speeches denouncing the hypocrisy of society. He remains true to his ideals in believing that one should always speak the truth, even if it exposes the hypocrisy of others and even if you suffer for it. His love for Jennifer can seem jealous and rather oppressive yet when she rejects his proposal to run away and leave the glamorous showbiz life, I genuinely felt sorry for him.

Knightley’s performance was better than I had expected. Adopting a plausible New York accent and an endearing flirty manner, her Jennifer alternates between the bitchy, gossipy movie star and the vulnerable, lonely girl who seeks solace in her love for Alceste and her old friendships. She does look impossibly thin however, in that slinky black playsuit she wears in most of the scenes.

Sadly, the play closes this week but farce appears to be in fashion at the moment, and I am looking forward to catching Noel Coward’s Private Lives sometime over the next few months.

... take a family holiday?

When was the last time you had a family holiday? By that I mean a trip with mum and dad along with siblings and your other halves (if any).

It must have been something like more than 10 years ago since we took a proper family holiday - not going to visit grandparents (in KL), go visit Shar (in BKK) or visit HK (our almost second home) but a proper holiday to a destination solely for the purposes of eating, shopping and (yikes!) sightseeing!!

The last one I can recall was going to Sydney and Melbourne, just before I left for university in 1999. That seems like such yonks ago....Back in those days, it was only the 2 of us - me and Shar.

Now we have KLL. She's completely changed our lives and we're all so excited to go on this holiday.

So where are we going? We're visiting Japan!

Having spent countless hours on the internet trawling through websites, restaurant reviews, ryokans, hotels (thank you google translate!), flights and all the necessary preparations for such a long awaited trip, we've finally nailed down our itinerary and hotels and I'm flying off in less than 12 hours! Shar is flying in with Na from BKK, mum, dad and KLL from SG and me and O from LDN. What an international family we have become...travelling from different countries, crossing timezones, to meet in one place.

More importantly, this trip is also to celebrate dad's 60th birthday!! We decided to forgo the predictable birthday "surprise" party/large banquet but instead, do a small gathering of 7 in Japan.

In my opinion, this is one trip we will not forget and will cherish the memories in time to come. Remember: nothing is more important than family. (just like how I still recall all the wonderful times we had in Sydney and Melbourne).

So why not start making plans of taking a family holiday this year?

….go for a swim at the beach!

I confess I’m more of a couch potato than a beach babe, but we decided to bring our little one to the beach a few weekends ago to test out the saying that GRs are born to love the water and swim!

I don’t think I’ld ever have woken up at 6am on a Saturday morning otherwise, but I thought we should try to get there nice and early when the beach is more likely to be deserted so that she could swim to her hearts’ content without having to worry about scaring other people or their kids! We reached the beach before 7am and she simply loved every minute there! Running around the soft sand (albeit a tad littered with plastic bags and stuff) and shoving her little snout inquisitively into the sand, she was quite a hilarious sight.

She walked along the shoreline tentatively, jumping back when the waves came in, finally settling on a little spot that was sheltered and the waves gentle. We went barely knee-deep into the water and tried to gently cajole her in, but she flatly refused. It took her instincts of retrieving to finally get her into the water and swimming, and all we actually needed to do was to throw her tennis ball into the water and get her to ‘Fetch’!

We had a blast the next hour playing fetch in the water, trying out her first doggy paddle swimming strokes and running with abandon on the sand.

Here’re a couple of pictures of her at the beach!

... celebrate your 30th birthday at an "old" place?

Nostalgia is in the air.

Perhaps it's because we have reached a milestone in our lives, or just a plain feeling of wanting to revisit some memories, nostalgia seemed to be a theme in the two 30th birthday parties I have attended thus far.

During the Fridays preceding her birthday, KC dragged us to some of the bars and clubs that we (or rather, she and the rest, I was not there all the time) used to frequent, for "old times' sake", as she put it.

So, off we went - the first weekend, we went to St. James - at Movida and then to the Boiler Room. It was quite interesting, to say the least. I have never been to Movida in the many times I went to St. James, so it was an eye-opener. The crowd was, well, mmm, much older than 30, haha. The Boiler Room was, as usual, rather crowded and the band was energetically belting out contemporary rock and R&B hits, but their crude jokes left much to be desired, and marred a good night out. Or perhaps I was not drunk enough to ignore those crude jokes. :)

The second weekend, we went to New Asia Bar. I felt the club has lost some of its former glory and it was scarily empty the last time I was there last February on a Friday night. It was more crowded this time round, but we left and headed to ChinaOne instead. Enough said.

In the end, KC had her birthday party at Cuscaden@Chijmes. Not really an old haunt but another branch of an old haunt. It was a cosy party, with a small live band and lively banter amongst old friends.

YL celebrated her birthday next, at the Night Safari! I must say I thought it was a rather unusual place to have a birthday party. There was even a party bus which ferried everyone from Bishan MRT to the Night Safari. The whole group caught the "Creatures of the Night" show and went on the tram ride.

We stopped to walk along the "Leopard Trail", but got split up into 2 groups when one group gamely walked through an enclosure of flying squirrels, while the other group went another way. The flying squirrel group was rewarded for their bravery and they managed to see the leopards, while the other group saw none and had to contend with photos that the other group took! It was a novel way to celebrate a birthday and it felt very much like a school excursion. We even took a group shot at the Night Safari sign to commemorate the event!

...check out David Collin's work at Ritz Carlton Residences, Bangkok

Last week marks the launch of the Ritz Carlton Residences in Bangkok. The architect is Ole Scheeren of the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). Ole was for a very brief period of time one of my tutors at architecture school but more interestingly, he is Maggie Cheung's equally gorgeous half.

For the launch of the Bangkok Ritz-Carlton Residences, the developer decided to showcase 2 designs - one by OMA and the other by David Collins. I wonder if it's because I've grown out of the avant garde, cool and aloof, slick and architectural interiors... But I unexpectedly fell in love with the David Collins interiors and found myself slightly disappointed with the OMA design. It is a collaboration with Alex Lamont, who is based in Bangkok and well-versed in quality furniture with a deep understanding the materiality of resources from the region. The brilliant collaboration was expressed in an array of dramatic marble, intriately designed floors, exotic wall coverings and leather furniture. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures of the show units (although I am certain it would not be long before they would appear on the internet).

For now, I'll just like to introduce his works to you. David Collins is the interior designer behind some of London and New York's highly acclaimed interiors. David's interiors combine British luxe style with Hollywood glamour and are simultaneously simple and luxurious. He has designed many of London’s key bars and restaurants including the Blue Bar at the Berkley Hotel, The Artesian Bar at The Langham Hotel and The Wolsey on Picadilly as well as Nobu, Locanda Locatelli and the eateries at the National Gallery. Collins has increasingly been designing stateside in New York and counts Madonna as a residential client. Word is that he;s working on something in Shanghai and possibly getting a project in Singapore. Breath abated. But for now, here's some visual lust to share:

At Home with David

Private residence, London

The London NYC Hotel, Manhatten

Private residence, Kensington, London


Private residence, London

Penthouse, Tribeca, Manhatten

Dining with David

The Blue Bar, Berkeley Hotel, London

Nobu Berkeley Street, Mayfair, London

In Bed with David

David's private residence, London

... spend a weekend in NYC?

New York City is one of my favorite weekend destinations for many reasons: good food everywhere; top notch museums around the city; endless performance arts options; lovely boutiques selling one of a kind items; street-side vendors etc.

So last Saturday, I took the Bolt bus from South Station and arrived in NYC at lunchtime. During the entire 4-hour ride from Boston to NYC, I was contemplating my lunch options (I already had dinner reservations). In the end, I settled on Ippudo. Upon arriving at Penn station, I immediately made my way to East Village for what I've been told to be the best ramen I'll ever have. When I got there, I was told that I'll have to wait 20-30 minutes so I took the opportunity to pop by David Chang's Milk Bar and got a slice of crack pie (It was good, kind of like pecan pie without the pecans, but I had much higher expectations) to go. Back at Ippudo, I was finally seated at the bar. I ordered their famed Akamaru Modern ramen and side order of menma. The menma was nothing to rave about  but the noodles were cooked to al dente perfection and the broth was flavorful, complex and addictive. For the first time in my life, I slurped up every last drop of ramen broth. The Berkshire pork chashu was tender and even the boiled egg was an excellent mix of creamy egg yolk goodness and cooked but not rubbery white. $14 for a bowl of ramen, even in NYC, is a little steep but I suppose one does have to pay a premium for the best ramen ever!

Next up, dinner at WD-50 in a somewhat non conspicuous location in the Lower East Side. We looked at the menu but didn't take long to figure out that we were going for the 12-course tasting menu. I am a new fan of wine from Washington state's Columbia Valley so I had a glass of  Soos Creek's 2005 'Artist Series 5', a blend of cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. It was one of the most lusciously smooth and elegant reds I've had of late, with a hint of black raspberries. Aside from the beef and bearnaise, which we didn't really care for, and the way too raw lamb loin, the savory courses on the tasting menu were all very good. Everything bagel ice-cream with smoked salmon threads and crispy cream cheese was the brightest star among them all, and the only savory course I wish I could have more of. Alex Stupak's desserts, on the other hand, were out of this world. Caramelized brioche, apricot, buttercream with lemon thyme ice-cream was amazing. I've always been a fan of the lemon + thyme combination but these two flavors were so perfectly well balanced in this ice-cream that I suddenly realized what was wrong with all the lemon + thyme confections I have had and loved in the past. The cocoa packets consisted of a leathery chocolate pouch with crunchy oreo-like cocoa bits inside. The chocolate shortbread balls enclosed condensed milk ice-cream that exploded delightfully when I took a bite. But my favorite that night was cheesecake ice-cream with pineapple, raisin, saffron and lime. My friends know how much I love tangy flavors in my desserts, especially lemon and lime. Here, the pineapple and lime flavors were the ideal complements to the creamy cheesecake ice-cream. The raisins added an additional textural dimension to the dish, while the saffron gave it an elegant but restrained touch.

The next morning, we began our day with an awesome Mexican brunch at El Toro Partido in Harlem: a quesadilla stuffed with fried Oaxacan cheese and a huarache with tinga de pollo. This was the first time I had tinga de pollo and it has now joined my list of favorite Mexican dishes. To accompany our meal, we were offered two tasty salsas-- a spicy light green salsa with chunks of avocados and a brownish-reddish chipotle (i think) based salsa. They were both very good but we really loved the green salsa-- it was spicy and refreshing with bits of creaminess from the avocado chunks.

After taking a quick walk around the gorgeous City College campus, we proceeded to the Time Warner Center to pick up some goodies from Bouchon Bakery en route to the Lincoln Center. Their chocolate bouchons were exceptional-- moist, very nearly light, perfectly sized and as pretty as chocolate brownies get. The rectangular bacon, cheddar and chive scone was buttery, exploded with umami (how can it not with bacon?) and texturally one of the best scones I've ever had.

After almost two full days of non-stop eating, I finally arrived at the Lincoln Center for the New York City Ballet's All Robbins performance, which is, incidentally the real reason I made my way to NYC. I have watched countless Balanchine ballets but have never watched a Robbins ballet. Dances at a Gathering, set to Chopin's beautiful music was loveliness, playfulness and simplicity all in one. The entire cast was extraordinary but I was particularly impressed with Maria Kowroski (green) and Jared Angle (purple). The second dance on the program, West Side Story Suite, was a complete contrast from Dances at a Gathering. It was energetic and as one would expect, much more contemporary. Georgina Pazcoguin's Anita was sharp, spunky and stole the show with her rendition of "America". Robbins' style is certainly distinct from Balanchine's-- more modern although still classical and in a way, more dramatic.

This, in my opinion, is as perfect a weekend as can be.