The Laser Pointer.

Hi friends! 
It's a known fact that Simba loves animals to an extent that you and I could never understand. This will always stay as a realm of the unknown.

Let me now quote you a recent encounter I had with him.


I was packing up my things from work and chanced upon a new laser pointer given by a conference I had attended recently. As I don't usually do presentations in my job and even if I do I don't use it, I wanna offer it to someone else who might find it useful. I didn't ask Simba first since I was very sure that he doesn't need it, so I went on to ask my bro. However, Bro said he already had a brand new one himself, so I went back to Simba and asked, "I found a laser pointer, do you want it?"

To my utter shock, his eyes gleamed with delight and he accepted it with a joy so contagious that I too smiled instantaneously. Of course I couldn't fathom why. Simba hates presentations; he is always overwhelmed with anxiety speaking in front of a crowd. Hence, to satisfy my curiosity, I asked him why. 

And guess what he said?

"Oh I always wanted to use it to play with my neighbourhood cats but they are just too expensive for me to lay hands on one."

LOL!!!! Omg. He must be kidding me.

So then, when we head out for dinner that evening, he brought it along and played with it, searching for cats and annoying me in the meanwhile.

I think I told u before that there was once I was running late for our date and he was downstairs waiting for me all along. When I finally came downstairs, I apologised profusely but he shoved my apology off and responded with a grin on his face, "Oh it's okie, I was playing with your neighbourhood birds."


LOL! SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, KILL ME PLEASE.

My friends are awesome!

Emo Nemo.

Work, tiring.

I know I need a break. 

I know I need a friend, 

and am glad that I met up with old friends, friends whom I feel comfortable with. :D 

A friend who loves u for who u are can just make everything better.

 

Sometimes There's No Friend like an Old Friend.

The Proposal. Marini's on 57. Part II

Felt pangs of hunger while we were watching sunset from the top of the Petronas Tower. :D

Our dinner reservation was at 8.45pm; I'll be too starved if I waited till then, so we settled down at a cafe which serves a fairly limited selection of pastries.

Their o-neh o-neh is such a large piece, contrary to our small but plenty ones in SG. The coconut shavings were little, the coconut fluid was too watery; it is like drinking plain water. On top of the disappointment, the Ice Milo was bland too, diluted to the point whereby you thought you were drinking some sugary water.

However much to my surprise, the curry puff tasted alot more flavorful, and better than most of the puffs I tasted.

He complained of diarrhoea and hence took quite a while in the rest room (which was an excuse to do something else). He brought his briefcase along, so I teased him once more, "You can leave your bag behind, I will take care of it for u." He muttered under his breath, "No no, sometimes the toilet no toilet paper," and scampered away. Lol! Simba has never been a tissue paper bringer!

Starved and exhausted from the morning flight, we plopped down into the comfy couch and waited excruciatingly for the time to pass.

Dirty loafers and purple socks weren't one of my proudest moments. My necklace is one of my favourites; I love warm colours imprinted on each of these triangular pieces that make up the necklace. (I have not been able to resist the accessories from Lovisa, an accessory shop which originated from Australia, since I am so drawn to the sight of girls using their eyes to feast on them from shelf to shelf in the shop.)

Marini's on 57 was the renowned restaurant he chose, one which has earned acclaims from many reviewers. 

An overall view of the restaurant taken from its website:

I didn't know there is a Tower 3 in addition to Petronas Towers 1 and 2 until PH found it out when we patronised the restaurant's website (That's when she was pretty sure he is gonna propose.)

The restaurant was the loft of Tower 3, and being on the 57th floor we could view the entire KL city's skyline from our position.

At 8.30pm after we rode the elevator to the topmost floor, we were led by an amicable waiter to a table by the window where we get to see the picturesque scenery on the grounds of the restaurant.

I was impressed but at the same time unsettled as we walked along the aisle of the restaurant, with bits of me feeling pressurised by its ambience. Frankly, I felt pretty awkward and out of place in the restaurant; every lady there looked probably in their early 30s, but is elegant and irresistibly stunning in their lavishly embellished evening dress and stiletto heels.The way they sit, behave and talk to their other half made it seem like they totally belonged there. 

Back in the hotel room, I was just casually preparing for dinner; I slipped on my $30 Missypixie maxi dress, topped with a $30 cardigan from UBay Times Square, accessorized with a $30 Lovisa necklace, and put on a undoubtedly comfy pair of $150 Sperry loafers and a pair of purple polka-dot $2 socks from Korea. Lol!

I knew there's gonna be a proposal a week ago, and I actually didn't go shop for a more formal evening dress! You can't imagine how unprepared I was!

So then, unwillingly, my presence stood out among the mature and beautiful ladies. Lol! But being just me who can be so immersed in my little world with Simba (Me and Him Against The World), I avoided gazes of the other guests' and became quickly engrossed in both admiring the beauty of the scenic view beside us and the beauty of the Italian food right in front of me.

Ensconced on our comfy alyssa armchairs, we were also delirious to see the lit up city through the window-to-ceiling glass panes.

Soft lighting makes the pictures we took look serene and romantic;
it's literally seeing Simba in a new light. LOL!

Not only were the rose petals and candles found on our table, they were also scattered on the bottom ledge of the window beside us.
We were also the only couple taking the window seat (I knew later that the taking window seat will incur extra charges).

Thus, I had to act ignorant and make fun of him again. "Why are we the only ones having rose petals and candles on our table?"
And he said, "Cos we ordered the full course set menu." LOL! I was stressed, not only by the gnawing anxiety in guessing where he would propose (whether in a restaurant full of guests or elsewhere), but also from containing the urge not to burst out laughing when his responses got lame!

Anyway being a rather unromantic person and someone who loves nature, I said, "But I don't like the rose petals. Why are they killing roses???" It got Simba dumbfounded for a while before he said, "Ohhhh... It's like that one la... Romantic ma."
LOL

I like that the wine glasses were focused more than me, it's like I'm blending into the ambience of the restaurant, to put it in a really nice way. Lol.

We were greeted by a menu containing the 5-course set meal that would be prepared for the night. (All appetizer, mains and desserts were personally handpicked by Simba together with his reservation. Ya, I didn't choose anything.) According to Simba, we would be tasting the most unadulterated Italian cuisine.

Showed my uni friends these photos, and when Kevin commented that the wine glasses were ultra big, I said, "Yup, ours is the biggest; none of the other tables have such big wine glasses. I have never seen wine glasses this big!"
The genial waiter, knowing that Simba had made an eventful life-changing decision to propose, first asked him to order sparkling water while waiting for me to pick the wine. Then when the sparkling water came, he said he wanna put forth his recommendation, and recommended one of their finest white wines which, of course, cost a bomb. And to my utter shock, he put on a calm smile and generously ordered a bottle of it instead of just two glasses! Lol. Two glasses are fine, but a bottle??????
A bottle costs nearly S$300!! I could easily buy 10 apparels with that amount of money!!

"WHAT IS HE THINKING?" was the exact thought that run through my mind at that moment! However, again not to spoil the whole mood, I kept quiet and gave him the most genuine smile (I wanted so much to protest but well... Decided to give my man a chance to make every decision for me that evening).

Anyway, TW said I was really patient about it since I guessed it beforehand and was faking ignorance the whole day, and if it had been another girl, she would have demanded, "Just give me the ring la."

I didn't use to think that in fact waiting to be proposed requires mastering patience.

Patience is golden.
Patience is golden.
Patience is golden.

Girls, be patient and I assure you that you will still get that deserving moment when he finally proposes!

Studying the menu to see if I could imagine that I have tasted any before but gave up eventually to leave that imagination to the creativity of the chefs'.

He took a picture of the glowing KL tower, and then laughed at how silly I looked. 

To keep us occupied while waiting to be served with the antipasti, we were introduced to the taste of an appetizer, which was some sort of pie with seafood stuffings. I couldn't recall its name since I was having butterflies in my stomach being in such a classy place and the waitress who introduced the dish spoke too quickly; I only remembered it was awesome to a very significant extent but couldn't pinpoint which seafood was stuffed into the pie. This shows how stressed and distracted I was! Lol!
(The appetizer was complimentary, so obvious right!)


Occasional winks from the waiters and his unusually frequent visits to the toilet have made me accustomed to acting as if nothing peculiar was gonna happen. Once I caught a waiter winking at him and with his face flushed he responded with an sincerely awkward answer, "The people here are so friendly, aren't they?"

Anyway, the white wine indeed lived up to its name of being the most recommended one in the restaurant. Every sip is sweet but not too sweet, and has a strong alcoholic taste, which was just right for me
The waiter poured the wine into the glass and told Junwen to test it before he served it to me. And looking at how sincerely he held and swirled the wine like an expert made me laugh. I'm so bad!





The antipasti was Panzanella Alla Toscana. Munching on almost raw meat and almost raw vegs is definitely not my cup of tea so I gulped down a whole lot of wine after swallowing some tomatoes.
This dish was a no-no for the both of us.





Intermittent greetings from the waiters punctuated our conversation throughout our dinner. Everything was still a surmise at that point of time but other than entirely trusting PH's intuition, the overly enthusiastic waiters/waitresses were pretty much the biggest hint.
I lost count of how many times the waiters came over to ask if everything is good. Their attention was mainly focused on us and I felt about 3 pairs of eyes watching us the whole time. The moment I dropped the napkin (I dropped it twice), the waiter rushed over to put a new one on my lap. The moment I stood up to go to the washroom, the waiter would usher me there and wait outside, and opened the door for me when I was done.
This picture was voluntarily taken by the waiter when I was absorbed in randomly taking candid shots of everything around me!

My anxiety attack started to act up, since I didn't really like that much attraction and to be interrupted throughout the dinner, so then again I had to banter with him, "Why do they keep coming to us? I don't like! So scary!" Lol!

After many words of affirmation from Simba, I calmed down but that was when the waiter led us to the balcony outside of the restaurant for us to take photographs of it and with it.

The view of the twin towers from the restaurant was top-notch; the towers stood tall and had a prominent glow in the night sky. They were also one of the main culprits that no stars could be seen all night. Lol.

One of my favourite pics of the evening.

Couldn't decide what pic to post and what to discard so wanna put all of them here! :D

There were two waiters who followed us to the balcony and put in tremendous efforts to help us with the pics. Lol! They held my camera and kept themselves busy in taking pics of us from different angles. I'm so gravely thankful to them and their spontaneity! :D

One of the Mains - Pennette alla Norma.
The waiter gave us a lucid description of every dish served and for this he said it could be savoured together with the mint leaves. We can pluck out the mint leaves from the plant and add them to our dish if we could tolerate the taste of mint. Me can me can!

The large piece stacked on top of the penne pasta is eggplant.

The mint plant became part of the ornament on our table.

The other main was a selection between 2 options, fish and beef. 

Of course without any hesitation, I chose beef. 

Filetto di angus Col Midollo.

120 Days Grain Fed Australian Angus Beef Tenderloin, Roasted Bone Marrow & Baby Carrots.

So enticed by the taste and smell of the medium well steak! I would go there again just to taste a morsel of it.

It was just a pity that I was full after the eggplant pasta and the curry puff I had in the cafe earlier on, as I found it myself struggling hard to finish it when it was so heavenly! :D

He chose fish.
Branzino Arrosto Con Finocchio.

Roasted Mediterranean Sea Bass, Fennel Puree, Taggiasche Olives & Crotacue Cream.

Then their specialty dessert was served - enormous cotton candy on a plate! We saw many of these on other guests' table too, and those couples beamed at the sight of it.

We were led by the waiter through a trail of rose petals to the other side of the restaurant, a private outdoor patio that contain a few coffee tables and some Adirondack chairs to have our dessert.

The waiter draped a shawl over me as he noticed that I was trembling when in fact I didn't but I accepted it since the colour is so pretty! I was wearing a cardigan underneath so I looked so kuku. Lol.

The secret patio was a placid place initially, if not for the waiter who came by again and again to interrupt us.

The tower from our position.

I didn't know cotton candy will settle if not eaten immediately. Cotton candy is a spun candy which comprises of mostly air, so although it looks sinful and voluminous, it is actually made up of a smaller amount of candy.

We grabbed a few bites by sticking our hands into it and then tearing bits of it out. It fell below my sky-high expectations as it didn't taste special, so I guess cotton candy tastes the same everywhere, whether it is made by a genial uncle in a funfair or a candy maker in a restaurant.

The waiter was actually trying to get Simba's attention as it was time for him to propose but there was no slightest action or hint of getting down with it yet. I wasn't expecting the eager waiters and waitresses to daringly stand behind me and holding a bouquet of roses to gesture Simba to quickly pop the question! I also didn't realise that he was actually communicating with them through eye contact. I was happily popping cotton candy in my mouth and drinking wine like there's no tomorrow. (Simba didn't want to drink too much wine, fearing that his face will flush red and that he will appear drunk in every photo that night if he drinks too much. So I was on my own in finishing the bottle of wine.)

Then the waiter came and gave me some tissues and utensils, and finally... he said, "Hi, we are gonna serve our last dessert now. So, Mr Tan do you have anything to say?"

He blushed, nodded and beckoned the waiter to leave us alone. However, the waiters and waitresses stayed just behind us, waiting for him to say whatever lines he has prepared. To their disappointment, he got very shy and harried, so he spoke so softly and rushed through the lines he has industriously prepared, skipping some in the process. I wasn't surprised at that moment since I expected it, I just laughed throughout not knowing what to say or how to react, but although I expected it, I was still very moved at the moment. The feeling was indeed indescribable; you can only comprehend it when you are being proposed to. :D


It was pretty funny that he spoke in English this time when we usually conversed in Chinese, so my immediate thought was that he made it so formal.
I could only vaguely remember what he said (the lines that left the impression was the awkwardly funny ones.)

"I have something to tell you... We have known each other for 1,XXX days (couldn't remember the exact number that he mentioned).
....
...
.."

Before he kneeled down and slipped the ring on my finger,
he was so overwhelmed with anxiety that he said formally, "So to this day, I would like to propose to you." LOL!!!

I would like to propose to you. LOL!!!

He opened the red engagement ring box (those typical ones that we see in dramas) to reveal the shimmering diamond ring, and I asked "Should I stand up?"
He was too busy to answer me, so I stood up, and he kneeled and asked me the most critical question of the night, "Will you marry me?"

I was in a haste too, so I said yes twice, and beckoned him to stand up. LOL.

Thinking back, I don't know why we rushed through it, him rushing through the lines and me rushing to say yes. I think we were both very very embarrassed to have strangers witnessing it.

The waiters cheered and clapped, and coherently requested for us to kiss. I'm glad the pic turned out to look great. Colleagues and Uni friends who have seen this pic, said it was so sweet! 

The picture of him kneeling down was captured by the waiter's compact camera but it was really blur as the lighting was not in its favour. :( 
No amount of image post-processing could savage it.

A toast to the newly found phase in our lives!

The nice chef made this soulful, lively dessert to congratulate us!

It was just too bad that my camera could not capture a high definition shot of the diamond even in the macro mode.

Simba asked me to flaunt the flashy diamond. 
He said he would take another pic to replace this since I looked like I have no eyes, but I said this was okie since I looked very genuinely blissful! 

The gift in his briefcase that he wholeheartedly put his life onto protecting was this handmade photo frame, and it sent me instantly to tears. The only one thing everyone was in sync with was his lack of artistic talent, so this artwork reflected his tremendous effort to make it look good.

When he finally confessed to how he made all these preparations, I found myself suppressing the urge to tear. :D

Then I gave him some alone time with the proposal "props" as I knew he has been waiting for some crappy pics with them.

We were congratulated again and again when we made our exit. I was drunk by then since I was almost done with the whole bottle of wine. Lol.

The lanterns that lit up the rose petal trail They were quite a hazard since Simba and I didn't realise that we kicked it until both our pain receptors and the sound of the impact told us so.

Simba later asked me which photo I like the most from the whole set, and I chose a photo of us. Guess which pic he chose when I asked him back? Yes, it is this pic of the lantern. LOL. 

We did more justice to the bouquet in better lighting the following day before we head out.