Roots of Extravagance

I'm FINALLY done with my Japan trip, and have probably managed to scare away all potential readers who complain about lengthy entries and all. Well, I'm sorry if descriptive writing is not your cup of tea, and I'm sorry if you're not interested in Japan or travelling, and I'm sorry for.. actually fuck it.. I'm not sorry for any of the above.

But anyway, for the remaining readership of 5 (as in ppl who REALLY read and not the illiterate "oooh.. look at the purdy pictures" browsers); as promised, my entries from now on will be shorter (I hope), lighter, and perhaps more contemporary. No, I still don't intend to make this a blog purely a contemporary journal of my life, as I still intend to fold space and time and dig up the memories seared onto the deepest recesses of my subconscious and blog about them, including random things and thoughts that run through my dark mind and soul. But alas, patience is a virtue, dear friends, and all that would have to wait; for tonight, we celebrate the contemporary.

The Bible says that a Curse lasts for 3 generations, and if extravagance is a curse, then I'm sure as hell that I am not the root of the curse. As proven tonight, it has to be my father, so going by the logical chain of thought, I would be the 2nd generation, or perhaps the 3rd, if my grandfather was cursed with extravagance too; but that I doubt. Anyway, I digress, the main point here is that, the dysfunctional family of mine savoured a scrumptious dinner at the Top of the M earlier tonight.

Chic and Sleek

Situated at the 39th floor of the Meritus Mandarin, the Top of the M is a restaurant that has won numerous accolades for its food and ambiance over the previous decade. Serving a menu of French cuisine, the dim candle-lit ambiance set under the concept of a revolving restaurant which gave a panoramic view of the Orchard skyline, was more than fitting for a romantic night out (as I had leveraged to my advantage in a previous romantic encounter). A bonus to the ambiance was the Three-man band who went table to table to serenade love songs or the like at your request, a seeming rarity in restaurants these days (again, I have used this to my advantaged before as well, but oh well, all under the rug now). But romance was not the order of the day, celebration was. The celebration of a belated birthday dinner for the Brothers of Destruction, and an even more belated celebration for the graduation of the Count himself, my father's pride, most talent son, heir to the throne.. blah blah.

See the Pride in my Father's Eyes

As part of the celebrations, all manner of beasts were invited to join in the festivities. Vineyard snails (Herb and Garlic Escargots), Fresh Oysters, Lobsters (Bisque), Lamb (Rack) and Cows (Tenderloin Beef and Veal) all presented *ahem* noble sacrifices to the Count's family as part of the festivity. Of particular note were the Escargots and the Oysters. I had previously encountered the Escargots, and they rekindled my love for them as I savoured the essence of the herbs and garlic baked to perfection in a pan with fitting holes specially designed for the snails to be at their aromatic best. Each bite of the precious 6 escargots sent a titillating sensation of aromatic flavour through the millions of taste buds.

The oysters efforts were equally noble; looking refreshing on a platter of ice, the oysters showed off their smooth moves by sliding out of their shells into the dark intestinal abyss of the Count. They say that freshness is measured by the ease of which the meat is able to slide out (spot the innuendo), and the oysters tonight were all evidently fresh and supple.

Brothers of Destruction of French Appetizers

The individual main courses were in the staple of small-serving-French-cuisine, but in cases like this, the quality counts more than quantity. While not as mind-blowing as the appetizers, the main courses still did manage to hold their own and proved more than satisfying. The medium beef tenderloin was appropriately red and juicy, providing great ease-of-cut using the knife, yet not excessively bloody.

The perfect finish came in the form of a VERY aptly named The Seven Sins; 7 different chocolate delights served on a long platter with enough endorphins to probably put any gal off sex for a month, probably. Consisting of Chocolate Creme Bulee, Chocolate Muffin, Chocolate Mousse and an assortment of lesser known French Dessert Delights, the platter was delectable to say the least, with each bite off the different desserts sending a chocolate-flavoured orgasm through the nerves on my tongue, followed by an endorphinic post-orgasm high obtained from chocolates; playing up to my sweet-tooth's fancies and leaving me one happy Vampire.

The Seven Sins never looked this Deadly

The bottomline: $467. But the experience of celebrating your two proud son's birthdays, the pride of celebrating your eldest son's graduation, and a compensation to make up for years of bad parenting: Priceless.

Mother still Visibly Distraught over the Prices

Father moments before he saw the Bill

Father really knows how to throw a feast it seems, and gave words of wisdom on the way back to the car. "I believe that the money was well-spent, after all it was to mark your graduation after so many years, and its only fitting that you enjoy yourself and have a good dinner." Well, aside from finding out where my extravagance came from, I'm quite sure that tonight, I saw hints of where the Experential in me came from too.

My Kisses taste like Mint-Chocolate