happy birthday to me :)

This year I had one of the most memorable birthdays. I received a record 16 happy birthday SMSes and struggled to reply to all of them throughout the day. Wonder if it's cos of Facebook, another great perk of this earth shattering creation :P. Wonderful to know that some people whom I didn't expect would remember, somehow did :)

I spent the day going for a full body scrub and massage, lunch at my favourite cafe Toast and then to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. Very exciting, but sadly lacking the magical fantasy feel of the first. Still, some thrilling moments and oh, Peter is really quite charming and cute in an arrogant laddish sort of way. I do not find Prince Caspian as delicious as my friend thinks. His playboy look is so not appealing. I digress...

After the movie, I joined Mum and bro for evening mass to give thanks to God for guiding and blessing me all these 27 years. And then it was off to teppanyaki dinner at Keyaki, Pan Pacific. This place does wonderful teppanyaki, but it will set you back about $100 nett per person for a teppanyaki set meal (I feel 2 people should share a set as the amount of food is really a lot). We had chawanmushi; minced salmon salad; miso soup; salmon; tenderloin beef steak; scallops wrapped in omelette; lobster, prawns, mushrooms, leek and tofu cooked in a delicious stock made from prawns, lobster, fish and chicken; bean sprouts; fried rice and rum and raisin ice cream with honey dew. The chef also made a special arrangement to give me a slice of tiramisu as a birthday icing on the cake. I was bursting at the end of the meal and am sure it contributed to my gasy tummy a few days later--punishment for eating too much!

This was not the only meal treat I got. Angela and Alex treated me to a delicious fish and chip lunch the next day and Vivien and Matthew brought me to French restaurant Au Petit Salut for a lavish dinner the same night! I had clam soup served in an espresso cup and flavoured with saffron, garnished with saffron threads on the top, lobster salad (with the whole lobster!), foie gras, tenderloin steak, dark chocolate and grand marnier souffle and a chocolate lava cake with a lighted candle as an extra birthday treat. The food was really fabulous and I'm so touched by my friends' generosity :) On top of that, I received 2 presents from them--an ethnic looking bag with a kimono-like pattern from H&M in Hong Kong, and a deep purple fabric cover notebook from Prints, as Vivien says, for all my creative doodling. I am glad she thinks I am artistically inclined. She insists I can draw, but I really don't think much of my doodling abilities.

I am glad that people actually read my post on what I want for my birthday. So I got my first Lisa Ono CD and Gab is passing me the Amelie soundtrack soon--yipee! More cool music on the way. Also Di decided to pay for a retro green shirt for me when we went shopping. Thank you for the love, everyone. I never expected my birthday to be so big this year. It's not so bad turning 27, an age that I feel is neither too young nor too old. I'm at a point in my life where I am totally at peace with myself and the world, am sure of myself and confident of my abilities and self-worth. I'm also glad to say I've never really made a big mistake in my life. I'm going to keep celebrating and enjoying life, and loving the people who mean the world to me. You know who you are :)