cafe grumpy

was originally intending to get some work done in NYC but halfway through the trip, i realised that wasn't going to happen and it was high time i stopped pretending. had been deliberately low profile and not gotten in touch with friends based in the city just in case i was deep in the throes of revision. but having thrown in the towel, i got in touch with V whom i last met in NYC easter 2012 when i was in town to buy my wedding dress. different story there - didn't tell anyone i was in town in case i needed the entire 5 days to find a dress, which eventually took all of 30mins, and unceremonious as it could've been. mission accomplished on day 1 and was left with 4 days to explore the city. not complaining! funny how history repeats itself. this time we met in the west village near where V lives and had a nice girly catch up over chai lattes. typical! she's a dear friend (12 years and counting!) and every time we meet, i learn so much about her and what she's been up to. the last time she had just graduated and just been accepted to grad school, this time she's a jobbing opera singer (!!!) who's teaching chinese through music on the side. busy busy with summer camps and i can see her warm nature and teaching heart even over coffee. always so encouraged by friends who step out of the typically singaporean box (you know what i mean) and dare to do something different.

girlfriends

after a mere few days of rich ang moh jiak, including three breakfasts before 10am one jetlagged morning, my azn palate was yearning for comfort food. i suppose that's the funny thing about being singaporean born and bred. i'll take a bowl of good pei dan chok over the fanciest three star meal any day. salvation came in the form of my dear friend R, who in addition to being incredibly overachieving is also one of the most resourceful people i know. she's an amazing directory of NYC finds, despite only being there as a summer intern herself, and on a friend's recommendation, we went to somewhere not in chinatown but on bowery (?) for my chinese fix. the lovely lovely thing about R is i always leave time with her feeling more aware, more informed and more curious. she's funny and articulate, immensely self-aware and honestly one of the first person i turn to any time i need therapy.

stk

reso for 2145h, seated at 0012h, mains arrived at 0034h. after 2.5h at the bar and 6 x long island ice teas on  an empty stomach, the steaks were the best i've ever had. clever business model? i think so.

there were about 40+ of us at dinner and V, planner supreme, took one for the team by making multiple resos for dinner. was somewhat miffed that it took so long to get us all seated and swear it was part of their sneaky marketing ploy to run up a massive drinks tab. but it was a good night, balmy on the roof top, good music downstairs and everyone was having too much fun to really mind the wait. tell a lie, i did mind the wait and had i know we'd only get round to dinner the next day i'd have done some defensive feasting to line my tummy. it was one of those hypersocial nights where the mister and i divided and conquered (haha, such nerds!) he'd introduced me round the night before so on day 2, he kinda threw me in the deep end left me to socialise on my own. not that i minded, although there was an awkward moment where one of his friends introduced me to someone and the music was so loud the someone mistook me for his wife. and it was an awkward 10 minutes and quite the comedy of errors before i hurriedly rectified the miscommunication. don't often tell people what i do because it's not very interesting, but did get talking with a medical doctor (qualified and all!) who left the profession to start his peanut selling company. often joke about how it's only when someone chokes on a peanut that the doctor becomes the most important person in the room, and meeting mr. peanut was a funny twist on that otherwise old anecdote.

oh! and we also celebrated the mister's 30th a couple of days early. they'd cake and candles - the works!

frame of mind

so this has got to be my all time favourite part of the year. done with exams, thrilled with results, and at the very start of a nice long summer break. it's hard not to come across as smug and self-satisfied, apologies in advance. third year's the longest year of medsch and i'm just so relieved it's over. found out earlier this week and heaved a huge sigh of relief after my panic in NYC. grateful for a good mind, or a pseudo good mind at least, and that uni the second time round isn't too taxing. big believer in having my cake and eating it, and as a graduate, much as i love clinic and patients, i've other priorities. like a husband, and a marriage that i think being present for is very important. not that we have to travel as much as we do, but why not? also, always conscious that it's prudent to make the most of time together before any future babies come along. then again, the mister's insistent that we'll treat any future kiddos guai lo style and lug them everywhere with us. baby wearing and the like. but that's him, and his visions of the future. i'm a little less enamoured, a little less involved. it's no secret that i'm not fond of children, and pull a face every time some screaming kid disrupts my otherwise tranquil brunch experience. and pull a bigger face any time i think some entitled parent is, well, being entitled. biggest fear is becoming said entitled parent by virtue of popping out some mini-me. but we'll see how that goes. 

it's shaping up to be a good summer. off to aix tomorrow to visit one of my favourite girls. not seen her since our wedding two years ago, and last stayed at with her family four years ago on my grad trip. booked pretty last minute (while in the throes of revision last week and desperately needing some extrinsic motivation) and psyched to make it happen. we've lavender fields, vineyards and truffle farms to look forward to. plus a cellulite-busting walk one of the mornings.

briefly back to londontown then cruising quaint villages and small towns along the coast, followed by a couple of days in lisbon. a little riddicks to make two separate trips to france within the same week, albeit south then north. i hate the sentiment YOLO seems to encompass but can't describe it better? work hard, play harder? again, so gross and trader-esque. if nothing else, NYC taught me that finance types mess with my sense of perception. nothing against them flashing their cash, but my inner medic just cringes with self-loathing every time someone drops what's possibly my first year's salary on a night out. will be back in singers at some point then back to school! 

a little something i'm really happy about is not having to leave central london. fingers crossed i'll be able to connect the dots and it's not something i've spoken of much for fear of jinxing it but it's looking like i'm going to be at zone 1 hospitals for the next school year. can't begin to tell you how excited this makes me. being able to walk to clinics is the dream :) excited for the break, and excited to be back to work eventually. 

here's a photo of my celebratory fish&chips after the last paper. did have multiple celebrations, really. dimsum lunch, fish&chips tea, lebanese supper etc but it was all cautious celebration because results were only coming out the next day. and when those came out, pulled out the stops and celebrated proper with the grads over a blow out lunch where i broke out the wine i'd been saving. happiness is in the big and the small. thankful for a great group of friends who've gotten me through the year, and again, as always, grateful to be where i want to be, doing what i want to do :)

till then, the NYC series will continue and i might pop back with the odd holiday update. 

john's

friends had booked jean georges' for a late dinner but we got hungry in the afternoonn and went on the hunt for pizza. mind you, this was after a full lunch, fried chicken at blue ribbon and pastrami at katz. sometimes i wonder if we've got worms because the constant hunger is really not cool.

decided to try john's as we'd heard good things about it and it wasn't too far from where we were. 

the only problem with it was that they don't sell pizza by the slices and their 14 inch pies are not for the fainthearted. we did get one to share with the works, and some. did not disappoint and we sat there like two chubby kids stuffing our faces with the cheesy gooey goodness :) never mind we'd three michelin stars waiting...

somehow made it back to the hotel to freshen up and wash away the tell tale pizza grease from our greedy faces and clean up for dinner. and being classy, we dressed to the nines then took the subway to trump tower, as you do. that's what i like about NYC. you can be as well or down dressed as you like and no one gives two hoots. thought it'd be more awkward being so dressy dressy on the subway but no :) phew! and obviously was too cheap to spring for cab fare across the city. 

JG was good but not spectacular. what i found more interesting than the actual dinner was how our russian friend was so typically russian. from not trusting the waitress to bring his drink from the bar to the table when we were seated, to ordering the caviar (USD40 supplement...) because he grew up eating it by the tub, and then later comparing every course with mickeyDs, and saying it paled in comparison to a big mac. i suppose that's the thing about russians and not to generalise but he trusts no one and took forever to open up. we were also with a lovely brazilian couple, born and bred noo yawkaa with peruvian heritage, and a nigerian gent who's based in LA. fun bunch and lots of laughs, often at the poor russian's expense. i balked at the bill and the mister was quick to appease me by saying it wasn't going to happen again anytime soon. it's not my (our?) scene and i wish we'd spent the money on something more tangible. but it's all done and chalked to experience.

early days NYC

we tried to be productive on the flight to NYC, having taken a rather inconveniently timed mid-afternoon flight. companions can't be choosers - using the mister's miles and our annual BA companion voucher meant the available redemption flights were sadly limited. but heyy free ticket so who's complaining? the light was good on the plane and i took this of the mister hard at work.

when we got to NYC, it was straight to the lower east side. arrived at night and had a fashionably late lobster dinner at lobster joint. took a ton of photos but look like the complete gluts that we are, so they're not here. some on fb though, if you're kaypo enough to see! early bird gets the deck chair? spent the next couple of days lounging by the pool and emerging when it got a bit cooler. the mister also pretended to work, and i might've flipped through a book but it was defo more play the first couple of days.

met friends at the standard bar for drinks one evening. caught the sunset from le bain (the bar / club section with a pool). there was some confusion and a couple of our friends were turned away for being sloppily attired (it was summer, for crying out loud!) and having just come from soho house, were unimpressed by the stroppy service. can do without? we were dressed o-k but it's not fun when the group is split and shuffled.

ventured to the roof top bar but the downstairs a/c part was prettier (above photo). what i found quite funny was the waitresses who seemed to be constantly wardrobe malfunctioning with boobies escaping from their dresses. i enjoy a peep show as much as the next person but after awhile it did get tiring. fashion tape, anyone? and unforch as a medic, body humour fails to get me any more.

left for dinner just us two and explored the japanese offerings at the LES. great rec from weylin of epicurative fame!

nyc

earlier this month, the mister had to be in the big apple and i jumped at the chance to tag along. never mind i'd my end of year exams the day after we returned to the UK. this must be the 'unhealthy lack of fear' my mother refers to when she laments my poor life choices. but hey, i'll take revising in manhattan (haha) over revising in london any day, if you get what i mean. 

then halfway through our 8 day trip, i had a little wobble after realising i hadn't done any work at all. what was i thinking? which part of 'revise for exams in nyc' sounded like a good idea?! revision whinge aside (yes, i know it's lame. sorry, will stop now!) nyc was such a blast. we'd a few days of holiday before the mister got busy busy with 14h days and i was left to my own devices. not that i minded, because all the better to catch up with friends without having to be dragged along the wine and dine circuit. ok, so i was the gracious +1 a couple of times and the mister's colleagues are a likeable bunch. but there's only so much jean georges my unrefined palate can take, and so many breakfasts (our record is three full brekkies in one morning before 10am) i can stomach in a day. 

i suppose that's the thing about being social. i tell a white lie and say i'm a housewife. which isn't far from the truth at this stage (reading week otherwise spent in domestic drudgery!) because it's just too much effort to tell randoms i used to be an attorney (uhmurican vernacular!) and am now in medsch. and then have to justify my life choices (again, back to that unhealthy lack of fear). as a quick aside, i've a consultant friend who tells people on the train he works at morrisons (budget supermarket) to avoid being pumped for free medical advice. too funny! anyhoos, most of the other wives are stepford wife types and i evidently far from blend in because much as i wish i'd a trophy wife body (haha) i don't. but i've been juvenile and flouncing around in crop tops and short shorts that have my 20 year old sister cringing in embarrassment on my behalf. had this conversation with the mister about how being in a foreign land is freeing because i'm not about to run into anyone i know and i can look as hobo-like as i want without the repercussions of someone ratting to my folks. in fact, i've developed the bad habit of rolling out of the hotel in my pjs. because the lower east side is casual like that, no one bats an eyelid.

the beauty of facebook is when my inner attention ho posted a photo, tons of friends started to share unsolicited advice about where to eat. i suppose it's all par from the course when one announces they're in nyc. but it was a bit overwhelming and we actually did have plans for most of the trip and were double/triple booked on some days. by some happy coincidence, we were already going to most of the places fb commentators(?) recommended, but were unfortunately less than impressed with a couple we did try on friends' suggestions. note to self: only trust the mister when it comes to f&b! 

jetlag hit quite bad this trip and i'd be up by 6am most days. which doesn't bode well for the mister because there's no tanglin halt peanut pancake to appease me with. and when i can't sleep, he can't sleep. in addition to the pj-wearing in public habit, i also cultivated a napping habit with 2h naps every afternoon (after my fitful 6am starts!). but that just meant i could stay out (and awake) beyond 10pm.

oh and wanna hear a moral dilemma? was walking with a girlfriend after drinks when we saw a lady cyclist kind of go limp then fall off her bike. it caused quite a stir and my inner lawyer was all 'it's uhmurica! don't anyhow volunteer help if you don't want to be sued!' while my inner medic said 'how can you NOT check on her if you're the first person on the scene and equipped with the necessary skills?' no prizes for guessing which side won and i somehow did an impromptu spine + hip exam (she'd fallen on her side) and it seemed to be heat exhaustion. a passerby gave her some water and she pepped up. but gosh, momentarily scary and i'm glad it didn't seem to be anything more serious. of course, the usual safety netting like 'go and see your doctor tomorrow if you're not feeling better', 'ring an ambulance if you start to feel worse' etc. and my favourite magic phrase 'i'm acting in my capacity as a lay person with knowledge' because cannot pretend to be doctor when not. but, you know, it felt good to be of some use.

will post more about nyc over the next couple of days. do check back if you'd like to see :)

supperclub

was reading recently about a sweet couple who have one anniversary tradition - a bottle of veuve. and was wondering what ours would be, if we'd to pick one. i'm not a big fan of tradition because it seems ritualistic and having to do something the same way every time sort of stresses me out. what happens if i drop the ball?! but what we did enjoy very much last year was dinner at luiz's japanese supperclub. he's an absolute sweetheart who's become, dare i say, a friend over the years. consistently high standards and executed with such military precision. we know it's going to be a good night every time we head round to his. so, being the one trick pony, we invited friends to join us for a belated anniversary celebration there. the best part is, i think i was a little too subtle / discreet about that in the original invitation. when i sent a reminder with the confirmed timing and address etc, i also was presumptuous enough (social graces fail...) to say 'no presents please'. which of course set off a slew of merciless ribbing, because the mister said that no one realised we were even celebrating our wedding anniversary.  in my defence, our friends last year and really gone to town with lavish presents and i was trying to sidestep a repeat. so, naturally, the group proceeded to take the mickey the whole night, with round after round of 'cheers to your anniversary, jo!' which the mister gleefully would join in on. because, really, that man is in denial that he's been married for two years.

to be fair, there was more than our anniversary to celebrate. among the seven of us, there was one birthday, two new jobs, one passing of the english bar, one phD completion, masters students both safely clearing the academic year and, well, me. trundling along with end of year exams in two weeks :(

luiz blow-torching the foie gras sushi for the nikkei surf & turf sushi trio

mentaiko spaghetti

tuna tataki

pan-friend beef & veg maki rolls

shiitake gohan and crab, avocado & chevirl salad to accompany the mains

freshly baked madeleines

(also served but not pictured are the deep fried chicken nanban and tempura of courgette flowers, oyster mushroom and peppers)

social weekends

i go on like a broken down record when it comes to being sociably anti-social. this weekend was no different but with the buffer of last weekend in kent being just us, we just about managed. 

once again we'd the privilege of dear friends visiting from sg, and our little tribe of london transplants to catch up with. as we're both so busy in the week, the mister makes a point of having some alone time. it's not quite date night (oh how i hate the term) because, seriously, every day is date day/ night without kids. but it's nice that he's intentional about things, and about me, and i'm grateful for a husband who makes me feel speschul. so we'd a leisurely italian dinner in the 'hood before bracing ourselves for the onslaught of activity the weekend proper heralded.

saturday brunch bright and early with dear friends, who we realised are either lawyers or employed by sovereign wealth funds... finance can skew people's perceptions of money but our friends are incredibly grounded and sensible, something we don't take for granted. L and i have been friends since we were 6 and i'm beyond thrilled she's now based in london with her delightful husb. it's one of those happy situations where i thought she was amazing and no one would ever be good enough for her. then she met J and suddenly they made a lot of sense. it's not often that someone surpasses the already high expectations i have of an adequate +1. and yes, i'm a horribly demanding friend when it comes to not wanting my girlfriends to settle! the problem with brunch is that everyone rocks up late and there was a hangover casualty who shant be named and shamed. he texted the mister but rang me, to which we concluded that i strike fear in his heart and have to be politely rejected over the phone. we also had a bit of a laugh at his expense, because the mister was all, "dude. it's 1030. i've already done good work, been to the gym and gotten ready for brunch. what've you been doing with your life?" fair point!

and because we were 15 (!!!) minutes late turning up for brunch, the restaurant almost turned us away despite being empty. something about missing the breakfast hours. but the kind waitress took pity on our famished faces and the kitchen made an exception. i've never seen six people order so quickly!