LOVE IS LIFE.....Mwahs! (Part 2). Fuuhhyoooo hoo hoo!! We Rocked the Nite Away!!

Before you continue reading my posting, I want to say this :

(WARNING!! WARNING!! This is a mighty, mighty, mighty.......loooonnnnggg posting....quite possibly it will take you a very long time to download as well as I have more than 60 pictures posted here I think. So, please, if you reckon that you do not have the patience, passion, or love, please discontinue reading this posting. You may want to revisit another time when you do have the time to spare.)

I would like to share everything that happened on January 17 at Avanti Italian American Ristorante, at Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel. Especially, to those who could not be there..it was a MEGA mistake! Hehehe. Because we rocked the place and the nite away.....eventhough there were only 8 of us!!

This is a Director's cut...not the Editor's cut...so, therefore, I'm going to give you a blow by blow, a frame by frame of everything that had taken place. Because I know that you all do not want to be spared out of any detail at all aye? So, here it is...my birthday bash "docu" that will be presented, not in a moving visual (I hope I can do that. Heh), but in still photos, that have been arranged in a frame by frame manner. I'm telling you that you guys had missed a birthday bash of the year. It was a BLAST....like Rose had said in her blog.

Oooppss...before I forget to say at the end of this all, I would like to say *again*, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, SO SO SO VERY MUCH, to all those who have made my birthday this year a perfect celebration....I cannot thank enough all of you guys (you know who you are...), for all your kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, friendship, love, and passion. Indeed, it was my hope to see as many friends as possible at my birthday bash. Unfortunately, many could not come....like CK, F&Y (in Singapore), Rozi (in Brunei), Azmanje (away in China), Lanlove and Faridah (had to work late), KJ(away performing her Haj. Alhamdullillah!), Mobile Mom and J (had to work late), Zaki (also had to work late), Shamsidar and Rosman (also had to work late), and Cookie (unfortunately he was ill). I understand that it was a working as well as a school nite and we had anticipated it to come. No worries. I'm sure we will have another round of birthday bash if CK, F&Y come back *wink wink* hehehe. I also want to say Thank You ever so much for all the lovely prezies and "angpows" from Pete and Petulia, Anis, Rose, KC, CK, F & Y, Rozi, Mood, and also my Dahlingest kid sistah and my son, Darling!! And all the beautiful birthday wishes via SMSes that I didn't stop receiving even from as early as 10pm on the eve of my birthday. Thank you! Syukur Alhamdullillah for all your friendships and love.



Ahhh....the Project Manageress, my kid sister June, arrived with Adien, and checking on the finer details of our table. She has worked so very hard to make my birthday bash a perfect one. She had arranged everything so articulately and impeccably that I believe nothing was missed out. Everybody complimented June on her superb job in arranging the bash that there was no room for imperfection. June must have learned it from me *muahahaha!*. Anyway, introducing Adien, our dear and close family friend from Capetown, South Africa, who had arrived only the night before from China, enroute to Capetown, who was so sweet enough to attend my birthday bash. I'm truly honored to have a friend who had come so far :) Thank you Adien!



Amboi... Miss Project Manageress....bossy nye dia tu haaa. Adien must be wondering what else isn't right because everything is so perfect. Thanks to Avanti's diligent and superb staff, I just couldn't complain anything. June, Adien and Anis were the first to arrive. As a matter of fact, they were already in Sunway since 5-ish pm because they took Adien sightseeing around KL and so as not to get into the massive traffic jam in Sunway (and along the highway), they decided to be in Sunway early. June had been extremely over efficient with her polite reminder service as she was sms-ing everyone reminding all not to be late....to take into consideration the traffic jam as well as the possible rainfall. So typical of June. Apparently Anis told me that all day June was on the phone with Anuar of Avanti, making sure every detail of the bash wasn't missed out.


Ahaaaa......the "Lady" has arrived!! For once, I wasn't late to my own birthday bash. Thanks to June's reminder service. It is great to see Adien again after a good 6 months I think. Oooo Miss PM (Project Manageress) is seated....after she was satisfied with everything I suppose.


Pete arrived after us...he was also "on time" (again thanks to June's SMSes). Oh boy..it was so good to see Pete again after a year. The last time we met was at my birthday bash with Yasmin's at Atrium, Sunway Lagoon, last year. At the last minute, Petulia could not make it due to family commitment. We missed you Petulia !!



Gembiranye sakan!! What a pose aye Pete and Anis?? We must frame this one laa...dontcha think so? Huh?



En Anuar, the Manager of Avanti Ristorante, showed me to my seat (apparently they had planned that I sat there to avoid me from seeing all the pleasant surprises that would come from behind me...Fuyoooo...wait till you see what I mean!). See how beautiful the table setting is. And the table cloth is in my fave color...baby blue. Exquisite. We love to go to Avanti because of its ambience, its superb service, its fabulous menu...simply sinfully delicious. The buffet is so excellent. I was treated like a Princess *a borrowed title someone gave me!*...and oh boy! I sure felt like I was a Princess *without my diamond studded crown!* Hahaha.



June and Adien sitting down looking so pretty. June was wearing a brand new kebaya that I had gotten for her for Raya but she decided to wear it to a more special ocassion *like my birthday. Yay!). Doesn't she look pretty and all? Of course, she had to sit on the opposite of me because she had to do all these "signal languages" to Anuar. Ahaks! She was the PM...the choreographer...the Director....of the bash. She called the cues. Yup. And Rose was so busy keeping me VERY BUSY that I didn't even notice when she called the cues. Maybe Rose's part was to keep me extremely busy and keep my mind away from whatever the Ristorante's staff was "brewing" aye?


Ms PM....no matter how stressful she was that nite, she still could joke around with Pete and Mood. She must have gotten the finesse from me. Heh.


A picture for the album with Rose and Adien.


Somemore picture....


And more....



Rose and the "Lady".

I said.....don't forget to take pictures. We had 5 cameras that nite. And our cameras alone (we had 2), had taken about 160 pictures in total!! Phew! Our official photographer for the nite was Darling. Poor Darling...because of that, we didn't have many of his pictures. Kesian Baby Mom :( :(



Amboi.....June and Pete posing....cun la wei! Darling insisted that he wanted to take candid shots. He said that candid shots are more original....well yeah...if I look like Miss World, I wouldn't mind. Even June wasn't so keen on this candid shots business. As it turned out at the end, candid shots or not, all of our pictures turned out pretty nice. Hehehe.



Before checking out the menu, we decided to go for the cameras first. Well...after all, everyone was dressed to kill. So we had to take lotsa pictures laaa.



I was telling Pete..."Hey, I didn't order this mocktail. How come the waiter sent me this?" Pete said.."Just drink la...compliments from the house maybe! Okay...let me take a picture of you."



We were having a difficult time to decide what to eat because everything on the menu seemed nice and delicious. Tak boleh decide la pulak....tu la, spoilt for choices. Life must not have too many choices...else we cannot decide. See what I mean here?



Again.....cannot decide!!! See what I just told you already????



See what I said already????? Anis was giving Adien a crash course in Italian language and then Italian food. Ahaks!! Mood had just given up....he decided to settle for pizza. Muahahaha. Way to go Mood. I would have done the same thing if I were spoilt for choices.


Mood was asking me "Did you order that food? What is it?". Actually I had NO IDEA!!! Because I didn't order my food. The Miss PM did all that for me. She and Darling had planned what I should be eating that nite. Fancy nye!! See Mood's pizza?? Now what did I tell ya...you can never go wrong with ordering pizza if you are spoilt for choices in an Italian ristorante. Trust me. You can go wrong with ordering a pasta especially if you ain't too familiar with its source. But never with a pizza.


Makan apa tu Mood?? Oh yes..he did order for some soup as well I think.



Adien enjoying the soup that Anis had recommended him. And he seemed to be loving it.


Rose and I had decided to share our food because we know too well that Avanti's serving comes in big portion. So we had ordered for Cappriciossa pizza (not Cikgu okay???) and Ceasar salad. So have a look at the salad. Doesn't it look like it just came from the farm??


Pete ordered some salad also...but I cannot remember what it was. But it sure looked very nice.



I thought I was sharing with Rose the salad...but instead Anuar gave me something else. And when I asked him what it was and told him that I didn't order that one...he replied "it comes with the ceasar salad that you ordered". So I said, "Oh okay".



Sharing some interesting stories...after all, we haven't hang together for a year, Pete!!



Introducing the chef, fully imported all the way from Milano, Italy....Chef Stefano Maccagno, who had so effortlessly prepared for "the LADY" her birthday dinner tonight. June and Darling had apparently planned my dinner with Chef Stefano...what I ate that night was their idea together...and Chef Stefano had prepared something very special (that isn't available on Avanti's menu at all). So, what I had that nite was a dinner set specially made for me : Marinated King Prawn Skewer served with avocado and grapefruit, Cappuccino Mushroom Soup with focaccia Biscotti, Lobster Ravioli with crab ragout and light Genovese Pesto, Baked Fillet of Black Cod Fish in Lemon Grass served with braised potato, clam jiuce, truffle oil and crispy beef bacon, Lime Sorbet, Pan Seared Chicken Roulade with Spanish Frittata and Spinach, Tiramisu parfait on Unicorn ice, and coffee and tea. Phew!! Phew!! Fuyyooo....you really think that I had finished all THAT beautiful and super-delicious food? Nahhh!!! I shared my food all around the table. It was fantastic. Chef Stefano was a brilliant chef. He came to see me to wish me Happy Birthday and to ask if I was happy with my dinner. I said, "Oh wow......i can only say oh wow!!!". That should summarize whatever I want to say to him. He was excellent. Everyone concurred that.




One more with the brilliant Chef.



Somemore with the cute Chef from Milano.



My Lime Sorbet came in this beautiful plate..it was awesome. The sorbet was awesome. Very yum yum!! We had forgotten to take pictures of all the food that Chef Stefano had prepared for me. We had forgotten! Alahai....menyesal la pulak. Can we replay?? In the movies, we can always replay.




Now.....this is MY SURPRISE...SURPRISE....SURPRISE!!!! Look at what came from behind me. A trolley with such beautiful, beautiful, beautiful surprises on it.....an exquisite bouquet of flowers that June and Darling had ordered from Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel's florist (they were white roses, white calla lilies and I don't know the name of the other flowers)...but the color theme of my bouquet was baby blue/turquiose (that matched everything else that nite...my color code hehe), then a delicious chocolate cake from the Hotel as well that June and Darling had ordered, and this absolutely awesome Unicorn *uh-huh...a UNICORN. WOW!!* ice carving that looked so so beautiful. Sigh.....everything was so perfect on the trolley. Now what did I tell ya huh? See for yourself.....













Check out my birthday dress. I decided to wear "all white" that nite. OK tak I look?? I was wearing this white kebaya (with a white tube inside), and a white Pakistani long skirt, and a Balinese shawl to take away some of the "whiteness". Okay tak?? Huh?? Adien dubbed me as "Miss Hollywood". Hahahaha! I asked him why. He said, "I have the style of Miss Hollywood". Fuyo. Thank you! Thank you!


Check out the decor and settings of Avanti. Nice kan? Cosy and romantic kan? *wink wink*


Bergambar lagi??



Weii...sudah la sikit2....


There were 6 candles on my birthday cake. I don't know why June had arranged for 6. Hmmm....maybe she thinks I'm 60 years old? Heyyyy....do I look 60 years old to you?? Huh...huh?? Hellloooo!!! But on the brighter side, I think I look pretty gorgeous for a 60 year old grand-lady aye?



This 60 year old lady is about to cut her birthday cake and she ain't sharing!! Stay away from my super-delicious and chocolate-rich cake!!



Belum potong kek lagi sebab tak nak share. Muahahaha...



Uh-huh.....last last kena potong jugak la. So there you go. The cake cutting ceremony. The entire staff of Avanti was singing the birthday song together with us. What a nite stealer we were! Gempaknye we all malam tu.



After the cake cutting ceremony, Anuar presented to me a beautifully-framed dinner set menu that Chef Stefano had prepared for me and June had taken so much effort to get it all framed up so nicely and wrapped it with my fave baby blue ribbon and all. June had printed the menu on a special art paper with a special birthday certificate. So unique, so sweet, so beautiful and such a wonderful surprise.





June and Darling had printed a very special booklet about Capricornians on this artpaper and they got it binded into a very nice colorful booklet...everything there is about Capricornians! So nice!



Look at this gorgeous unicorn....and check out what it is carrying.



This special and beautiful unicorn ice carving was carrying my lovely dessert...my delicious Tiramisu Parfait!! My dessert was specially flown to me by a lovely white unicorn (well...unicorns are white anyway....it goes with my dress aye?)...Chef Stefano also made me some lovely white chocolate that he created like an arch over the Tiramisu Parfait.....white chocolate to match my white dress. Lovely :)



Fuyyooo Hoo Hoo......my lovely dessert...tak boleh share!! Memang pun I tak share around the table. Too small a portion to share hahahaha.



Okay prezzies time !!! Yippeeyay yay!!!



Opening the wonderful prezzies...this is the best part...saving the best for last as always!


An exquisite white gold with diamond solitaire earings from June and Darling. Phew! Phew! Fanning myself......Thank you!! I love you kiddos!!



A pretty white watch from Mood....how did he know that I was going to wear all white that nite?? Hmmm.......Thank you bro!!



4 lovely glasses with herbal teas inside the glasses from Pete and Petulia. I love them!! Thank you guys. You are the best!!



A beautiful full leather handbag (Tod's) from Adien and Mariam. Fuyo oh wow oh wow!! I love it, I love it!! Thank you very much Adien and Mariam.





A very very pretty and sweet dinner handbag and "angpow" from Anis. Thank you sis. I love the bag. So la very pretty one!! When can we go partying so that I can wear the bag?? Bar Savanth maybe? Or QBA????? Hehehehe



Ooooooooooo........my lovely lovely flowers. The only bouquet I received this year :) But oh so beautiful. And so blue. June knows that blue is my fave color and so she had ordered it in a blue ensemble of assorted flowers wrapped in blue/turquiose wrappers and ribbons.

We didn't take any picture of the lovely birthday card with the FAT "angpow" (or big smackers as Darling always call it!) from Rose& Cookie, CK, F & Y, and KC & S. As well as the fat "angpow" from Rozi. But I will take the pictures and post in in my Part 3 okay. Thank you guys.



This is it! The end of my birthday bash on January 17. But hey.....watch out. This ain't the end. Because my birthday celebrations are still rocking......I'm still celebrating and this will not be the end you will hear about my banterings or chatterings or boastings about my birthday okay? Muahaha. The end of my birthday bash ROUND ONE!! Again...I had a most perfect birthday ever...and I can't ask for more. Syukur Alhamdullillah. Thank you guys and gals for celebrating my birthday with me and for making it the best ever. You ARE THE BEST!

Catch me in PART THREE......Tara!