Being on leave has its merits and on Friday, DL and I finally decided to take our craving for good paella to the next level. Hence we headed out to the Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant in Lorong Kilat.

For those who are directionally challenged (like moi), this quaint little restaurant is located in Jalan Jurong Kechil. This is in the Beauty World vicinity, off Bukit Timah. I'll post the address at the end of this post so you can check it out for yourself and please call to make reservations! The restaurant is especially busy on the weekends.

It has been many years since I've had good paella and DL and I have tried out a few places which were alright but not great. Until we heard abiout this little place. Firstly, we had no idea where it is all that we knew came from HungryGoWhere.com, then we had no idea exacly how far out this was. But at the end end of the day...it was worth it!

The service was warm and friendly, and even thought he restaurant was almost filled to capacity at 8pm, they still managed to get us some seats outside. Since it was a Spanish restaurant, we naturally had to order a Sangria. Our very friendly waitress (whose name I regret not asking) recommended the Sparkling Sangria, which is made with sparkling De Cava wine. Made with oranges, lemons, red and green apples, this is one heck of a refreshing drink. Especially after one hell of a painful workout. It had the right amount of zest and wine, making it a great companion to the food we later had.

First up, we had asparagus wrapped with bacon. This was alright. Nothing to crow about but the good thing was that the bacon was nice and crisp and the asparagus was not overdone.

And then came the Quijote Special Paella. Please note that it will take 20-30mins for the paella to be prepared, so you may need to sample some appetisers first. Or have the warm bread with herb butter...Yum! Done el dente with fresh mussles, clams, prawns, squid and chicken...Food orgasm! I thnk was groaning in despair when I was telling the owner about that particualr tidbit. The rice was fragrant and very well flavoured, the seafood fresh and succulent.

Every bite was really heaven...and then our intrpid waitress was like...would you like some chili with that? Let's just say that if you like it spicy, then the chili is a fantastic accompaniment to the paella. This is strictly not for pussies as the chili really gave the dish a good spicy kick. Hello tastebuds!

We were being a little greedy thereafter and also had the roasted beef. Done kebab style with thick cubes of meat, finely sliced chorizos, onions and capsicum, this is a meat lovers dream. The chorizos' natual saltiness gave teh meat an additional boost and it was just well seasoned without being overwelming. The only downside was that the meat was a little tough. The wedges were a real winner though - thickly cut and seasoned with sea salt. I was happily eating up the entire bunch :P

Sadly, by the time we had the beef, we had no more space for dessert! Dang it! But no worries, there is always the second visit, where I hear the squid ink pasta is waiting for me...along with another jug of sangria :o)

Overall rating: 4/5 for excellent food, great ambience and warm with plenty of smiles.

Don Quijote Spanish Rsetaurant
17 Lorong Kilat #01-09
Singapore 598139
Tel: 6465 1811

Thanks to the ever excitable Alice and our long-time sidekick Owen, I finally made it to Coldplay's Viva La Vida concert at the Indoor Stadium on 23 Mar 2009.

This is only concert No.2 this year and I'm blown away again. Now, I've seen a few of their concerts on DVDs but I have to agree with Owen. They kick ass live! So much better and fluid as well as musically tight. At this point, I have to totally disagree with my lousy boss - no, they do not sound like the CD. It was worth all the $250 that I forked out! Well, except the part where Chris Martin forgot to sit on my lap to sing to me. It's ok ah, I forgive you ;o)

The most enjoyable bits have to be with the entire crowd singing with the band. The best moments for me were definitely (1) everyone singing to Yellow with as giant yellow balloons drop on the crowd (2) When Chris Martin performed Fix You. My all time favorite Coldplay song which means so much to me

(3) Lovers in Japan with massive confetti showers! (4) The entire band bounding into the crowd to do this cheeky cover of The Monkees' I'm a Believer.It was worth filming, even though, my arm felt like it was crumbling after a while ;P



And finally...the encore with The Scientist which brought about this strange little nugget of conversation:

Owen: I KNEW they would end it like this!
BW: Now, now is your chance to yell, I love you Chris! It's so quiet! Do it!
Owen: I love you! I wanna have your baby!
BW: (bewildered) WTF!
Owen: It's old skool, man!
BW: Well...(looks around randomly) do deee doo dee doo

With such great bands being brought into Singapore. Who knows, I may actually be ready for Radiohead one day? Relax ah, baby steps, I can actually hear some people go OMFG.

Time. Will we ever have enough time to do anything that we want?

Just a few weeks ago, a good friend of someone I'm close to suffered a sudden heart attack and passed away. Just like my cousin's husband a few years ago, he also left two small children and his wife behind. It's heartbreaking when such things happen so unexpectedly. Like my cousin’s husband, he too was at the prime of his life and healthy when the tragedy occurred. When I learnt of what happened, it reminded me of my cousin and it brought back all the feelings I had then. Y'know that feeling of total helplessness yet sadness for your friend's loss?

And when things like that happen, the only thing that you can do is stand by the family (or in this case, my friend) and offer what support you can. Inside, your heart breaks but outside, outside, you remain strong. Maybe this is me but I don't believe that all of us crying will solve anything. I'm a hugger-comfort person kind but if you start crying then I'll do my impression of a fountain too.

I hate it when things like this happen. It calls into question your own mortality and begs the question, what have you done with your life so far? And, should such a thing occur to you, would you have fulfilled all that you set out to achieve? The answer, most likely will be no. But then again, while many people lament about what they have not achieved thus far, I sometimes wonder, do they even reflect upon what they already have on hand?

While I believe in setting and achieving goals, what I also believe in is achieving the small goals that help fulfill your life. Like the saying goes, it's the little details that make the bigger things so much more satisfying. So, you haven't amassed your million dollars or the condominium in the suburbs but you already have the great job, the wonderful family and the friends who you can rely on. What more do you need? Material gains can only get you so far.

Maybe my view is a little simplistic but then again, life is complicated enough. Why throw in more complications? On my part, I'd like to think that I have almost everything that I have set out to achieve. If you’ve known me long enough, you’d know that I don’t need pots of money and holidays to be happy. I’m happy sitting in a café, debating nonsense with friends, taking a long solo stroll somewhere or even being at home experimenting on food with my family. With the exception of one tiny part of my life; it weighs on my mind a little more these days and reminds me that yes, I need some romance in my life too. But then again, should I not have it, I'd also be fine. Not entirely fulfilled, but I'll be at peace with it.

So, to my friend, my deepest condolences and take care, the shock will wear off in time. Know that you will always have support and you know where to look when you need someone to talk to – or do your impression of a fountain.

After waiting for an eternity, through Paul Greengrass, Darren Aronofsky et al, screenwriters, casting choices, the bloody court case and of course, salivating over the trailer of the 10 billionth time, DC, me and a whole bunch of geeks plus some innocent bystanders got to watch the preview of Watchmen.

And and and, you urge…

Well, well, well, I say…directed by 300’s Zack Synder, Watchmen a faithful adaptation of the classic graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Down to how each scene is blocked. The sets are sumptuous and each detail lovingly etched. For the fan boy, there is trivia by the fistful. Whether you get the reference to Snyder’s previous movie or hear Tears for Fears in the background, each scene works. The characters are still relevant today but what makes Watchmen a classic story is not simply a straightforward case of good versus evil. It looks at the superhero psyche and then dissects it with an unflinching knife. Who are these masked men? Are they really heroes? Do heroes even exist today, given the wars, the circumstance, the decisions that they have to make? Or superhero/vigilante – where is the line?

The movie on its entirety though, will probably take some getting used to, especially if you are watching it for the very first time. While the graphic novel cuts much closer to the bone in examining its issues and providing a fuller picture to the interweaving storylines, the movie works well on an action and intellectual level. It’s not just a campy superhero action movie with no depth. If you are looking for something chop socky and quick, look elsewhere for this is a movie that takes time to breathe and tell its story.

The cast is near perfect, turning in performances that make you wince, yet feel for them at the same time. Even the ever blue Dr Manhattan. Most of the classic lines are intact and hearing them said for the first time, really blew me away. The violence is fast and hard-hitting, bringing to mind the fighting in 300 but on a more brutal level, bearing in mind, these guys are superheros.

If there was one thing that was a disappointment…it was the soundtrack. What happened to the music in the graphic novel? Why are we now stuck with the 99 Red Balloons song? The only song that remains from the novel is Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin' which is powerful, yet oh so relevant.

The other concern that I had was – how will this fit with the people who have not read the graphic novel? DC was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that was tossed out. While fanboys may delight in the details and mull over one part of the story which was dropped, even I felt that what came up onscreen was the best they could do.The rest, I say, should be saved for the DVD.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5