Monday, May 31, 2010

Say my name say my name...

As I took my membership card from the gym's towel counter today, I thought about writing this post, all about my name, SHIRLEXIA TAN.
There are people who know the story behind the name, but I'm going to tell the world about it just one more time. You know we aren't born with an English or so called Christian name, so when we were in school, we started to search for the coolest Christian name possible for ourselves. So I started out as Shirley but I think it was 1997 or 1998 I decided to change it to Shirlexia.
I thought Shirley is too ordinary and old school, I wanted a glamorous and unique name. I added Alex (my favourite sportsman back then was Alex Lim)to it and that makes it Shirlex. I don't remember how the 'ia' came (I think probably because I used to like a Chinese badminton player called Xia Xun Ze?), so never mind, I'm Shirlexia since then.Yes this is Alex Lim, the guy who plays a part in my name! LOL!
Till now, if you Google search 'Shirlexia' you can only find me, Shirlexia Tan... *proud~ehm~ehm~*
But because of the uniqueness, majority of people find it hard to pronounce, spell or even remember... Sad case...
Look at my credit card and gym membership card...Shelexia Tan... Is that my long lost sister???
This one more jialat... Shirlexta Tan! Like Shirlexstar Tan man, so ngam with the star on the card! Oh, did they do it on purpose?
I just don't understand! S-H-I-R-L-E-X-I-A! Isn't that easy? They can even make mistake copying my name! Ish...
Best of all, when I asked to replace the cards with the correct name on it, both of them said it's ok lar, wouldn't hurt one, can just use this card... ==|||
And over the years, people keep calling me different names, but definitely not Shirlexia. College time my batch of Malay friends love to call me simply 'Shelex', in Perth Rev and Lina, even their parents call me 'Shirley'.
So here's a quick tutorial to pronounce my name properly...
'Shir' is simply pronounced as the same as the 'Shir' in 'Shirley'(bloody hell, what am I talking about?). 'Lex' is simply pronounced as the same as 'lex' in 'Alex'. And then 'ia' is just like how you read out the 'ia' in 'Malaysia'!

Let's try this together.
Now,

1


2


3...

SHIR~LEX~IA~

Good~Well done! *clap~*

Catching up with XT @ Pasta de Gohan, Sunway Pyramid

One of my best mates, Xiao Ting was in town last week and we managed to have a little lunch catch-up despite her tight schedule. That was also the first time I met her new boyfriend, Kelvin.
Since we were all in Sunway Pyramid, I suggested that we try Pasta de Gohan.
Something like Pasta Zanmai, Pasta de Gohan served pasta cooked with Japanese recipe. The price is about the same. But I reckon Pasta de Gohan has more variety of flavours to choose from as compared to Pasta Zanmai. They have like dry ones, soup ones, white ones, red ones, green ones... So many it's hard for me to just choose one out of them! But of course Pasta Zanmai has more variety of nice side dishes to choose from.
So in the end, these are the food we had...XT's Cream Chicken & Mushroom Soup Spaghetti.
Kelvin's Doria Scallop & Chicken.
Shirlexia's(that's me!) Cream Prawn & Basil & York Spaghetti.
My deardo's Half & Half set where you can have two choices of pasta each in half a portion with soup and salad.
I actually picked this one... Cream Bacon & Spinach Soup Pasta.
Tom Cream Bacon & Cabbage.
And then we got a tiny little pizza of the day (Kimchi & Bacon) for RM2.
I must say my Cream Prawn & Basil & York Spaghetti is very nice. The gravy is nice while the prawns are fresh. I tried deardo's Half & Half Set's, the Tom Cream Bacon & Cabbage actually tastes really yummy! It's pretty unique with some sourish taste, but the Cream Bacon & Spinach Soup Pasta isn't good. I also don't fancy the Cream Corn Soup. I don't know about XT and Kelvin's ones, but what I would conclude is that you should opt for the dry or those with gravy only, the soup ones aren't worth a try. XT & Kelvin... Fresh from a new hair-cut! Same hairstylist as mine!
Shirlexia also fresh from a new hair-cut, but deardo... :p
After 15% discount (we just decided to sign up their membership card for RM10 and we are entitled to 15% discount on the total bill), the bill came up to RM121.80. Not too bad a price still. I would strongly recommend you to try this one, although I've heard people saying they still prefer Pasta Zanmai than Pasta de Gohan, but you should try before making the judgment. Don't ask me, I have no idea why we were being so serious in our pictures that day... We normally take funny and ugly pics!
By the way, great catch-up with Xiao Ting! I hope everything goes on smoothly with her and Kelvin and I can't wait to get your red bomb! :p

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel)

I finally watched this movie out of curiousity as a fashion lover.
So as you know, it's a movie based on the life of Coco Chanel, the very famous French fashion designer. As I was expecting loads of beautiful scenes of Coco Chanel's designs, the movie turned to be concentrated to her life more to parading her designs. It talks about her growing up as an orphan, then as a singer and hat designer, and how she fell in love with an English businessman and how he died in a car accident... With probably only about 5 minutes in the end showing her making dresses and the movie finally closed with a fashion show showcasing her designs.
At first I was a bit disappointed, but then I thought hey maybe it's just true that she only started to work harder as a fashion designer as her man died? And I must say the entire film, despite being almost two hours long, isn't really boring. Perhaps it's because Coco Chanel's life is actually quite interesting, perhaps Coco Chanel's cool character is really nice to watch(well at least I think so), perhaps looking at her self-made clothes that are so different compared to the others in that era in the movie just overjoyed me, or perhaps Audrey Tautou just impressed me once again! I really adore her man!
And what I really like about the movie is that it didn't try too hard to make Coco Chanel looks overly great! It's something like watching Ip Man and you'll wonder... Wah~Hai Mai Ah? Yao Mou Gam Wai Dai Ah?(wah, is this true? Is he so perfect or great?). In stead, they just show you her real character and life, like she is not perfect, she slept with different guys, she wished to stick to the rich society, etc... Only this point is enough for me to give a thumb-up for this beautifully made French film!

**Yve Vonn, trust me, you wouldn't want to miss this too!

Right before the long weekend...

I've been pretty occupied with loads of activities the past few days and will be busy for the next few days, despite having no job at the moment. While I'm hoping to find a job VERY SOON, let's just say I'm pretty much enjoying the break browsing the internet, having fun at the gym, swimming and have makan sessions with the bf, family and friends. :)
Here are some of the makan sessions...

My first REAL visit @ Chili's, KLCC
Okay, another big WHAT????????
Yeap, I went to Chili's once in Mid Valley only for a short catch-up with Yve Vonn and Bob back then when Bob was getting married. And we only had some snacks, so this time around it's a REAL visit for a late dinner.
It wasn't for any special occasions lar, it was just deardo has wanted to bring me there for a while since Chili's is like his favourite restaurant and we happened to be in KLCC the other night. So yea...
He had the Beef Bacon Burger and I had a Southwestern Cobb Salad. Look at the THICK patty!
Ordered a salad since it was already quite late, but it really filled my stomach up!
I'm not a real big fan of Western food you see. But I must say the burger patty is pretty yummy. And I'm very happy with my salad too! The whole loads of veges and cheese satisfied me a lot. While the crispy chicken is nicely done, it's chicken breast... :( Well, put it in another way, it's healthier! :p And the plate of salad is really filling! Camwhoring...
Taking a pic because it was Shirlexia's first real dining experience at Chili's!
Hope to come back another time to try some other stuff in their menu soon, especially when they are now opened in Empire Subang! Hooray~~~!!!

Thursday's dinner @New Restaurant Ipoh Chicken Rice, Jalan GasingI've tried this restaurant years ago with Uncle Yip, but this time around we got to order more stuff since there were 4 of us(yeap, that's good thing about going out in a gang)!
The Ayam Kampung was already sold out so we had no choice but to order the normal steamed chicken. We also had some other sides to go with our Hor Fun Soup...Thai Glass Chicken Feet. RM5.
Xiu Yok and Char Siu. RM20.
Pork Balls, RM8.
Bean Sprout for four, RM8.
Half Steamed Chicken, they called it 'half bird'... RM18.
We all had Hor Fun in stead of rice. RM1.80.
I really love their roasted pork (Siu Yok), as the skin is superbly crispy. It's sooooooo definitely a MUST TRY! And their bean sprout are nicely cooked too, as in not too cooked and just crispy enough! Love them! The guys... From left, Ricko, KH and no other than my deardo.
Well, I think the funniest part of the pic are the two staff at the back... :p
I'm absolutely loving my new hairstyle! What do you think???
Overall, very satisfying dinner!
Together with a pot of tea, the bill came up to RM75.80, which is quite reasonable! :)

Thursday night out @ The Talk, Jalan Telawi, Bangsar
Oh yeah! Since it was a holiday on Friday, we continue with a second round!The Talk in Jalan Telawi is quite a unique place to have a sip of something. It's a Bar and Bistro serving liquor and Japanese food! I don't know about you, but I thought it was pretty funny to look at those Mat Sallehs sipping Hoegaarden while enjoying sushi with a pair of chopsticks!
Anywayz... Pictures for your pleasure... The bf was having an Orgasm... Like a real one???*cough~*
KH opted for Pina Colada.
Ricko tried out the Grasshopper!
Shirlexia had something she couldn't remember... Eh I wasn't drunk! That was without liquor!
Edamame as snacks, just like how Crayon Shinchan's parent love to do go with their beer!
Serious punya faces...
Gila punya faces...
We were all doing something else but KH is doing... Vibrated punya faces! LOL!
Eh, money! When are you returning our money???
I'm not normally a drinking kaki but once in a while some hang-outs at places like this feels really good! KH said the place is normally pretty cozy and quiet with some soft music on but we had a noisy night with some soft rock music on... So yea, didn't enjoy that so much. But I must say the atmosphere isn't too bad. And I love the fact that they serve Japanese food! :p

More to come, so stay tuned!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

月满轩尼斯 Crossing Hennesy

喜欢张学友、超爱汤唯,却因为之前闷到了极点的亲密而对岸西的作品有所保留.......
结果看过了月满轩尼斯,心中的感觉就是很有满足感、很开心,很开心看了一部好电影!
不像欧洲电影,中年男女的爱情故事在中文电影里确实是罕见的,在偶像明星当道的时代来拍一部这样的电影是冒险的。我不否认,其实张学友和汤唯并不很match,有一点超老少配的感觉,那种火花其实没有很明显。但是整个故事情节的可爱、单纯却那么的吸引人。连deardo也称赞这部电影就是有点艺术,但不闷且搞笑、很生活化、很棒!我个人也特别喜欢张学友那一堆有的没的怪怪的梦!
演技方面,个人觉得没有任何特别好的啦,就连汤唯的演出也只是“麻麻地”罢了,反而很佩服她进步神速的广东话!张学友饰演这种傻傻的角色算是驾轻就熟吧!很喜欢鲍起静的角色,也很喜欢她自然的演出!李修贤和朱咪咪也为电影加分不少!
总之,很棒的一部电影啦!Well done岸西!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Deardo's Happy 'Abalone' Day~!

So... It was deardo's birthday last weekend. Since it was the first birthday since we started dating, we've had a few plans which weren't really confirmed before his big day came, but in the end none of them works because... His parent were in town! Since it was quite close to their 30th anniversary, they've decided to celebrate both big days together, and yes I'm very glad I was invited to join the celebration! :)
The day was actually filled with food! Non-stop of food!!!
The day started with lunch at home with deardo's cute mum's cooking. And then we went to Pavilion to basically do something I really hate... WINDOW SHOPPING... Oh well, when I'm incomeless I really hate that lor...

Dessert @ MOF, Pavilion
We had dessert break at MOF, a cafe that serves Japanese dessert I've always wanted to try! I think this time around I must thank deardo's sister for bringing us to try this!I didn't have the names of the stuff we ordered, so here you go...Red Bean with Matcha red bean ice-cream served with some dumplings.
Red bean with soya ice-cream served with loads of almond flakes and dumplings.
Three scoops of ice-creams with our choice of flavours: Matcha, black sesame and watermelon sorbet.
I must say I love the green tea with red bean ice-cream a lot. I don't know, but I always think green tea and red bean make brilliant combination! But our favourite of the day would be the red bean with soya ice-cream with almond thingy. The soya ice-cream is not as sweet as other ice-creams while the almond smells and taste really really good! That's the one I would like to have for a second time! Deardo being funny while the rest stayed calm... Kekekeke....

Dinner @ Ah Yat Abalone, SS13, PJ
Yeap, the plan was to have abalone!!! I don't know about you, but before this I only had abalone once, and that was home-cooked one like ages ago. I remember not liking it too much lar, but I couldn't really remember much since I seems to lose a lot of my kid time memory all the time. The two unyummy appetizers that costs us bloody RM10! :S
We went for the set meal for 6 persons (although there were only 5 of us), which comes with abalone, shark fins, suckling pig with some other dishes. It was actually a very economic set meal at RM389.
Here's the list of way-too-much-of-food we've stuffed ourselves with that night...Unlike the usual shark fin soup, this one is without the egg.
And unlike the usual shark fin soup, this one comes with big pieces of shark fins! Ducum Tan, are you seeing this???? :p
Half a suckling pig... Not the best suckling pig I had.
Next up, not very interesting Deep Fried Shrimp Balls.
Here comes the abalones!
Some fish with ham, mushrooms and veges.
So vegetarian you wouldn't believe it...
Fried Sau Mien with some taugeh, mushrooms, pork... Very weird combination too... :S
The set meal also comes with this papaya dessert.
And some special jelly and pastry...
The dinner was quite a disappointment. Except for the abalone, shark fins and suckling pig, the rest of the dishes are just too plain and very 'vegetarian'. Well, I guess we can't ask for too much for that cheap price lar, right? But the abalone and suckling pig aren't as good as expected while the shark fins soup was a bit tasteless. Deardo's parent trying out abalone for the first time!
Shirlexia getting ready to have her abalone too!
I still think I'm not a fan of abalone. Not especially these mini ones I guess. I actually think those canned abalone tastes better. :p Finally, we get to have a pic together, only the two of us! :D
You know what, deardo's dad was right. We were really being bad human being for eating shark fins (you know lar how they get the shark fins and throw the shark back into the sea) and suckling pig (they don't even get to grow older :( )... Really shouldn't have such feast so often...Another family photo with me in it! :p
I can now totally understand why 3e said I've obviously put on some weight... :S

Guess what I gave my deardo as his birthday gift???Ta da... The Transformer toy which is quite amazing in a way, but you should be feeling 'amazer' at the price!
I actually still cannot believe I've spent almost RM300 to buy him a probably useless Optimus Prime transformable figure when I'm jobless with zero income... ==|||
Anywayz, looking at how happy and excited he was playing with it, it's all worth it lar!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONCE AGAIN, DEARDO!!!
I LUP YA~~~~!!!