Dinner @ InContro Restaurant

Last Saturday, I had a rare chance to dine at InContro restaurant at Millpoint Road, Perth. It is not often I get the chance to indulge in fine dining, what more FREE fine dining~! Muahahaha...

InContro Restaurant is situated just next to the Swan River overlooking the beautiful riverside view of the city and its night lights, boasting of its mediterranean fine dining at its best. It is no wonder that it is not easy to get a booking at this place~! If it was not for my hubby's business acquaintance's birthday, I think it would be a long wait till I get a chance to dine here. At first, I was a bit shy to meet these people for the first time but when I heard that the dinner will be held in InContro, my shyness is squashed out of me. It can wait till my hunger is satisfied~!

Our seats on that day... 

The menu for the day.... Sounds so nice... 

 Too bad I was so shy to take pics of the food initially... then as I realized all the asians on the table (regardless of age and gender) all were taking pics of the food, I decided to follow suit... hehe... 

Arancini, some sort of creamy rice with mushroom and minced meat with lightly fried batter.

Tiered entree... Barramundi, Rottnest Scallops and crumbed calamari rings....  The barramundi is SO yummy... whereas the scallops is so big....  

The main consists of 3 types of meat... this is one of the unforgettable ones, lamb shoulder braised so soft it melts in your mouth~! 

 I was mentally prepared to be hungry as fine dining is supposed to be cute adorable portions of yummy food and I have a BIG appetite during winter. But as you can see from the menu, there was a wide selection of food so it settled snugly with each other. 

Eton Mess... Candy floss with a smooth cream and strawberry chunks. 

3 types of custard, one with frozen raspberry, strawberry cheese and cocoa mix. 

Of course, I didn't manage to snap all the pics... O well... My photography skill cannot fully capture the beauty of the barramundi fillet I had... omg.. Gotta love this place~! Special thanks to the lovely bunch of people who accommodated us~!

Amnesia

I had a dream one day, sometime during my prime.
I dreamt that one day I woke up without a single memory in my mind.
I forgot who I was, who I am and who I was supposed to be.
I forgot my family, my friends, my love and my hates.
I had no clue about social norms, peer pressure, and expectations.
I had no memory of rituals, practices, and habits of every kind.
What I had was a clean sheet of paper to start all over again.

And I was happy,
I'd imagined myself seeing the world again with a fresh pair of eyes,
re-discovering the world without glasses of my pasts.
I'd imagined myself being happy because I had no idea what I am expected to do,
I can instead focus on what I always wanted to do.
To try things I have never tried for fear of failure and humiliation.
I'd imagined dancing under the rain with the rainbow as my company.
I'd imagined crying because the sunset is just the most beautiful thing I have EVER seen.
I'd imagined singing with my friends and getting to know them all over again.
I'd imagined laughing again at jokes I heard tons before.
And I'd imagined being happy without burdens of my past.

But I dreamt  that slowly my memories trickled in,
Fears and expectation, pain and responsibility,
Failures and success, strength and weakness,
painted in my mind for my eyes to see.
I may not be who I wanted to be,
I may just be who I longed not to be.
Slowly, my innocence was dumped because it is too impractical,
my loves abandoned for responsibility,
my friends turned into acquaintances,
my laugh replaced by mere smile.
And I return to who I was before, with only a sliver of this memory of when I had amnesia.

(Source: 9gag)

Not a rhyme.
Hope you enjoy. And to set the mood, click on the link below for the song that accompanies. :)

file.mp3

Ignorance is bliss

If there is one thing that life has taught me again and again is that 'Ignorance is bliss'.

Take an example if someone in your life looks lonely, the old me would so totally make effort to bring this person out, try to engage in more group activity so this person would get to know more friends and give friendly counsel to this person. The old me would make extra effort to ensure that this person feels welcomed, taken care of and loved. But more often than not, I realise the real reason behind their loneliness is selfishness and unwillingness to compromise for the team. And this trait sooner or later makes me loathe them. 

Another example is really small thing like someone giving me the finger when they drove past me. The old me would recite a poem of curse words for their and my victim passengers' ears only, except more often than not the other driver would have driven quite faraway by now to even hear a single word of it! My wasted effort! And then the rest of my day would be plagued by that single incident when some dirt bag decided to give me the finger. Pek chek or not?

In reality, good events and bad events alike happens randomly every day of our life. It is in fact our minds that puts meaning and significance to these events. This is where ignorance comes into play. Emotions are sometimes like energy, it moves from one person to another. It is great if we are talking about joy and happiness but then I am talking about anger, resentment and frustration. By being ignorant to these feelings, I am putting up a firewall from downloading these negative emotions from the other person.

(Image source)

Take an example of the driver who gave me the finger.. the main purpose of giving me the finger would be to pass on his/her frustration and resentment unto me. If I ignore this action and perhaps laugh instead, the resentment is passed back to their court. Thinking about this gives me total bliss. I did this once, and the female driver's eyes almost pop out of her head trying to give me the evil eye which makes me laugh even harder. 

There will always be someone out there who tell you you can't. When we were younger, it was our parents limiting us because they wanted the best for us. As we grow up, it would be our teachers or the general community telling us what we can't do and where we should stand. Heck... my primary school years were terrible because teachers had a hard time 'breaking me into the education system'. One time, a teacher got so mad during a misunderstanding and scolded me and my friend. He told me if we cried, he would stop yelling at us (mental a not? close neighbour some more) and I ignored his request (the other girl did cry infact, so fake but he syok... mental kan?). Then he screamed some more then I ignored him some more. Then he screamed even more and called me rubbish. Cruel... cruel words from a mere teacher who teaches 10 years old kids then and who is STILL teaching small kids to this day (Never could say 'hi' to him afterwards cause it just seems like a mental person!!).

Some are good la, like don't smoke don't take drugs etc etc... But others are just so plain ... (can't find a word for it, you just know it when you hear it). If you have a dream that doesn't hurt the people around you, isn't illegal and doesn't break any ethical or religious view, shouldn't you have the freedom to do it? And if you have a sincere opinion that is different from others, shouldn't you have the right to express it? And in the event that it really is impossible, shouldn't you have the freedom to try and fail instead of never trying at all? When Galileo said the earth is round, did he not receive the backlash from his then community? But you will never have this freedom until you begin to ignore the negativity these people pour on you. When Thomas Edison was busy working with his creations, he did a lot to ignore the negativity around him!

Just wanna share this short video about a mum who ignored other people's harsh words and focus on what she love and appreciate. Ignore those people who fails to inspire her and tried to bring her down and focus on those who inspires her and how much she can gain... *So touching... Sniff*

Sometimes pursuit of perfection is the reason behind our misery and frustration. I find that the pursuit of perfection in workplace is alright but when this invades your expectations in relationship, that is when you try to control the other person. It doesn't matter what they wanted, what they needed (in my opinion) is what matters. Although I see how flawed or lonely their judgement could be and how logic and so-totally-relevant my counsels are, more often than not the messenger gets shot.

Once I tried to break up some friends who were so wrong for each other, the more I try to resist the more they persist. How many nights have I stayed awake fretting about their current condition? And then when I ignore them, that is when some of them breaks up on their own accord because you know what... their pressing issues are so OBVIOUS! So the best way is ignore, ignore those negative feelings of pity, loathe, resentment, anger, and frustration and focus on the happiness, camaraderie, comfort, and love. Sometimes the lonely person I mentioned is left alone while I pursue more meaningful and inspiring friendship. Sometimes this means I let these people continue on their lousy relationship without uttering another word and then watch as they suffer terrible heartache when their relationship fails and this may strike me as cruel but guess what? Sometimes the simplest lesson must be taught without the teacher, we can advise, nag and lecture with whatever might or however long we can but the person would not listen and may start to resent us. Like advising someone about cutting down on their intake of coke is going to fall on deaf ears, maybe they need this one time when their health is slightly affected to understand the good intention behind those words. They need those heart break to realise what to look for in a relationship.  Releasing your control on the situation and start trusting God in His infinite wisdom.

(Image source)

But there are also times when ignorance will bring our downfall, like those who never listen to my advise. *Evil laughters* 'I told you so' was never a pleasant thing to hear after a heartbreak. So use ignorance sparingly...

So till next time,
XOXO

Review: Hadalabo foaming wash and super hyaluronic acid lotion

These past few weeks have been so hectic!! In a short period of time, I have returned to Malaysia once! From transiting through kl to my hometown to meeting up with family members, preparing wedding stuff (namely photography, venue, invitation card design, and menu) and not forgetting my fiancee's graduation. Omg... Now that I am back, I have to unpack my baggage, repack them and move them to the new place. At the same time, ensuring all important mails have been redirected to my new address, make sure the main utilities have been transferred to our name, choosing furniture and discussing essential renovation works. Did I mentioned that calling those companies just to change one single detail takes minimum 30 minutes?? From being put on hold to safety checks and finally to actually change one small detail... Gosh... It really makes me appreciate simple things and simple procedures. That is why I am reviewing one of the simplest and satisfying product so far, i.e. Hadalabo Super Hyaluronic Acid Foaming Wash and Hadalabo Super Hyaluronic Acid lotion today~!

(1) Hadalabo Super Hyaluronic Acid Foaming Wash 

Price: US$11.50 on sasa.com

Content: 160 ml 

Manufactured in: Japan

Packaging: Cute and basic. The basic stop on it's neck ensures that there is no accidental spillage when you pack it in your travelling bag! 

Comment: This is so convenient for a busy person~! Just 2-3 pumps, and you have enough marshmallow type foam to cover your face without the tedious job of foaming up. So nice~! I think it wins me over because it is just so basic, containing no fragrances, colourants, oil and alcohol. I currently alternate this with another whitening wash but due to convenience, I end up using this cleanser most of the time. With its patented super hyaluronic acid, it is also incredibly moisturizing... so good for winter~! Plus this cleanser is slightly acidic which is close to the skin's natural ph, so you won't have the tight sensation after wash~!

Advantages: Convenient, reasonably priced, moisturizing, free of fragrances, colourants, oil and alcohol.

Disadvantages: Just very basic. (Actually I think this is an advantage instead of a disadvantage, but some people prefer multi-function, right?) 

(2) Hadalabo Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion (I love to pronounce this as Lo-ti-on after watching Phil Wang's character... lol...)

Price: US$14.10 on sasa.com

Content: 170 ml

Manufactured in: Japan

Packaging: Convenient again~! It comes with a nice cap instead of a screw on bottle... Arigato~!

Comment: The texture is really unlike most lotion I have tried before. It is slightly viscous but it doesn't feel sticky at all~! The best thing is that it doesn't smell of alcohol and it really is so moisturizing!! I used the wash and this lotion in Malaysia and I can totally skip on emulsion and cream without fearing those dry white patches!! It is so shine free and without the fragrance, people doesn't credit my skin's smoothness to any product. *Evil laughter* 

Advantages: Convenient, moisturizing, non-oily, free of fragrances, colourants, oil and alcohol.

Disadvantages: Not very easily absorbed, you just got to pat pat pat and lightly massage it in. 

 So now you know... actually maybe you already know... this product is so popular. The products claimed that every 4 seconds, one bottle of the lotion is sold~! Omg... This review is so overdue!! But then there is so much product, and I only have one face... so bo bien... Anyway, have fun trying it out~!

Faith...

I once read that there are three things that we should not lose in our lives and they are peace, hope and love. Inner peace that comes from understanding and accepting who you are, what you want and what you need. Hope for something better and love for others and yourself. As I grow up, I realise something else is missing. And that one thing should be FAITH~! Although it seems faith and hope are interchangeable, it does not bear the same meaning. Faith comes from believing and trusting within yourself rather than succumbing to what is on the outside.

I find it slightly ironic that what with technological advancement and medical miracles happening nowadays, one thing that we find lacking is faith. We have seen with our own eyes what can be done when it was deemed impossible not too long ago, yet the first thing that comes to our mind when time turns rough is that 'it can't be done'. Have our eyes been dulled by the magic that has been occurring all around us that we do not know how to stir the magic within us?

I have been doing quite a lot of reading lately (by my own standards, anyway... apart from academic papers too... ) and I came across the book 'The Secret'. Although some people may wave it off as hocus pocus, I decided to finish it. I realise it can be very beneficial as it talks about having faith in our current times. It seems like a new generation version of the Bible as it contains bit and pieces of the Bible. The only reason why it sounds like Hocus Pocus was because instead of having faith in God, it uses Universe. Interesting, right? 

I used to think that hope is enough. The silent voice within me that whispers endearment and console of what tomorrow could bring... but hope is not enough! Hope is like a candle amidst the strong wind, beautiful but so easily diminished; faith is like a strong conviction, a fluorescent light that shines bright and when you close your eyes, you will still be able to see the shadow of the light.

Sometimes, I get bogged down by daily grinds. Sometimes, I fear I am not being the best that I can be. Sometimes, I doubt that I can see the light at the end of my tunnel. And sometimes, I am haunted by a sudden willingness to just let go of everything (and I mean everything). But this book reminded me what it means to have faith and HOW to have faith (So important!!). If you feel bummed out or down most of the time, I implore you to take a read of the Bible (if you are Christian... but if you are not, the book won't eat you, ok?) and The Secret and I leave you with this verse from a song:

We walk by faith and not by sight. 

When things go wrong, I will be alright, 

Cause someone greater is watching over me. 

So whatever you do, take care and have faith~!

XOXO

Moving soon...

Hi, guys~!

If you added me on twitter and instagram, you'll know that I have been talking nonstop about my move this month. Yes, it is going to happen~! After hours of packing, cleaning, browsing through catalogues, day dreaming, measuring and day dreaming some more, we are almost ready to move to our house. I am so excited about having a house to call my home. Although it is pretty small, have to really ignore someone's scrunched up nose and folded up arm when someone saw our house, I am pretty happy and grateful with what I have right now. Yeah, one can always dream of bigger house, bigger car, bigger lawn and yap yap yap about not having enough, but right now I am screening those out. Life is about enjoy, and enjoy it I shall. :P

To commemorate my big move, I am moving my blog... not a major move la... but move nonetheless... When I finally move into my new house, I am gonna change it to Jellster@blogspot.com. Not major change, right? Pretty obvious what I am trying to delete. So if you follow me on your blog, appreciate it if you could change it sometime next fortnight. And hope we stay connected. :) 

XOXO...