Sorry for the lack of update, been really busy this week, with the birthday and all. I made the mistake of drinking chai tea latte last night, so here I am, wide awake at 7 in the morning and can't get back to sleep. :( Might as well blog about my Chicago trip last weekend. Har har.
In short, the Chicago was really fun! The company sure made up for the bristling weather, I have to say. I'm just going to put pictures and narrate, cuz I'm just lazy like that. Ha.
Random fact of the day: Renee could tie a knot on a cherry stalk using her tongue! *jealous*
Anyways... moving on...
The first thing I saw when we were driving away from the airport was White Castle. "WHITE CASTLE" I screeched, to everyone's surprise, and we promptly went to get some. I have to say, White Castle is something close to my heart - when I was in Michigan, we would go get burgers after drinking occasionally. Anyway, the point is that you can't find WC anywhere on the west coast, and after watching "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (which, by the way, is the best show ever)", I've been itching for one of those mini-burgers!
Forget the grease, forget the fat content in the patty, I was so happy when I sank my teeth in one of those. Ahhh, the soft bun and the fatty patty. Two bites and it's over. Ha.
Qi and Nicole looks damn happy to have them to, might I add.
Which after I was still hungry and the rest had to go to Chinatown to find supper for me. I love you guys! Ended up going to this place near Joyee's (I forgot the name, but it was something Kee), and as usual, I ordered more than I could handle. :P
I ordered oyster omelete (they have this here??!!), frog legs with okra (I love Chicago already) and japanese tofu with golden mushrooms. The oyster omelete was a bit bland and quite disappointing. Maybe they should import some REAL chilli over. The frog legs were a-okay, but a tad too oily. Maybe I was expecting too much (I mean, this isn't Singapore after all! ). The japanese tofu was pretty good, but Joyee's was WAYYYYY better (pls scroll down). Either way, I ate like a pig. I think Oo-kaw was damn amused, even though at the start of the meal, the girls were frantically trying to convince him that I am a bottomless pit. Thanks girls. -__-
A happy and full Keira, with Nicole! ( I love ya girl! )
This is our hotel lobby. I love it! The rich chocolate decor was done so tastefully, I want to model my room after it! Note to oneself: Get silk brown cushions for bed. The room was not too bad too. We stayed at the Inn of Chicago right off the Magnificent Mile (Michigan Ave, where all the shopping is), and it was pretty nice, other than the fact that 1) the hotel staff sucks (called them twice to get my toothpaste, and the second time, she told me to go down to the lobby to get it because she was the only one on duty. 2) the bathroom was so tiny that essentially you can hop straight into the bathtub after brushing yr teeth at the sink.
The next morning, we trooped down to Giordano's for deep-dish pizza (I keep thinking of the clothes chain in Singapore every time they mentioned the name). I have been fantasizing about it for some time now, cuz the last time I was in Chicago, I went to Pizzeria Duo and the DD pizza was superb! Imagine a pizza with about 2 and a half inch of stuffing. Yum! Yvonne said that this was better than that, so I was super excited! I originally demanded that I have one pizza to myself, but after much consideration, all of us shared 2 mediums (which is a good decision in the end. Haw haw.)
The pizza took about half an hour to come, and it was essentially good. I think this one had spinach, tomatoes, ground beef and garlic in it, and my only complaint is that it's wayyy too cheesy for me. I'd rather more stuffing and less cheese.
At the end of the meal, my plate was piled with a tower of cheese. Yvonne said that the cheese was precisely why she preferred this place. Ha, shudda asked her more specifically before the meal. :P In her defense though, the crust was superb. It was flaky and very flavorful.
Happy but hungry troopers!
After which we took off to shop on the magnificent mile, and I have to admit, we are such pigs! After maybe like half an hour of walking around, we decided to head to Grand Lux Cafe for dessert. Ha ha. I love Grand Lux cafe, which is a branch of the Cheesecake factory, and I make it a point to go there every time I am in Chicago.
They have pretty good desserts, and we ended up getting the flaky apple pie (baked fresh, and topped with vanilla ice cream), and the creme brulee duo. The apple pie was a wee bit cold when it got to my table, but it tasted good nonetheless. The creme brulee was pretty disappointing tho. Both the vanilla and chocolate had impossibly hard layers of sugar, which is the mark of a bad brulee, since brulees are supposed to have just a thin and flaky layer of sugar. The vanilla brulee had too much egg in it, and ended up tasting like egg tart fillings (which Qi was like "I like egg tarts though!" Ha.).
A very shaky pic of me with the apple pie. :P I like the decor of the place though. Very cutesy.
The John Hancock tower. I went to the Signature bar the last time I was here, and it overlooks the whole of the town, which was pretty sweet.
We continued shopping after that, and I introduce to you guys...ta daaa...
The Dying Fashion Sense of ChicagoI got bored of shopping after a while (I have a very short attention span for shopping), and I got so inspired by the massive amounts of ugly clothing that I started taking pictures of them.
Curtains, anyone?
Welcome to Yunnan!
Welcome to Yunnan part II!
Disco grandma! *flashing strobe lights*
Maternity suit meets dreamcatcher.
Man, now I know why Chicago people always hide in big coats.
Pictures courtesy of Forever 21 and Mango. (*gasp*, and you thought Mango was perfect. Guess not!)
On a sidenote, the sales assistant must have thought I was crazy, snapping away at these clothes. I wanted to take a picture of one of them, decked in this ugly outfit that I can't recall, but I thought it was too rude. Should have pretended to be a tourist and asked for a picture. Ha.
The girls were so sweet! They wanted to have a birthday dinner for me! But since we were so full, I suggest we get something light and spend the money for booze. Thanks girls! :)
*slurping at soups we got*
We ended up having vodka with lemon-flavored Perrier (which is one of my favorite drinks) and red wine. Qi and Yvonne were buzzed after the second drink or so, but Nicole and I found it so impossible to get buzzed that I suggested we alternate between the vodka and wine. Ha.
Getting ready was so fun, cuz I got the chance to do eye-makeup for Yvonne and Qi, who are ambassadors of almost no makeup. :P Nicole and I got fake lashes at Sephora, and she spent half an hr complaining while putting them on (which wasn't easy) in the bathroom. Good times. :P It's really amazing how you can don on so much eye makeup and it still looks like nothing on cam. Grr.
At the club called Vain. It has three floors of dancefloor, the top floor being the VIP floor. We were invited to the VIP area, and got free champagne and drinks for the rest of the night. :)
Went to Joyee's for our last lunch, and maaaan was it good. Again they put me in charge of ordering, which was a mistake. Ordered too much and were too stuffed in the end. Ha.
This is my favorite dish of the whole trip. Japanese tofu with mushrooms! I cannot say enough about this dish. A must-order if you ever go. The flavorful oyster and chicken stock, together with tofu lightly fried on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, was a deathly combination for me.*stomach growls* Not oily at all, which was atypical of American chinese fare.
Pineapple fried rice. This fried rice was pretty good. I'm usually not a big fan of fried rice, but they fried the rice with prawn paste and lime to make it taste extra special!
The chicken on prawn crackers was a disappointment. I remembered having this dish two years ago, and it was sooo good back then. The chicken was succulent with a hint of ginger, and went really well with the crackers. Sigh. Too bad.
The dumplings in hot spicy sauce was a-okay, but nothing spectacular.
The vermicelli was too oily, though the korean style spicy soup was pretty good. Light, but spicy.
Nicole sipping on the avocado freeze, which happens to be my favorite. Shudda ordered that instead of my crappy and overly sweet watermelon freeze. *sulks*
Anyways had a great time girls! San Diego this fall! :P
Random note: I've been searching high and low for the piano sheet for leather, and I can't find one with the piano solo at the bridge! So pissed off! Grrr.
In response to HB's request, here I am blogging about my dinner party. It was a dream. There were about 20 of us, and since I took over the restaurant, there was no one to disturb us. Just good times, with good food, good company and good wine. :) Also, the cake I ordered turned out really well, and I got a lot of compliments for it. Heh. Thank you guys, those who showed up. Love ya all. :)
Thanks Marie for totally ignoring the black and white code. :P
Some people came up really smartly dressed! Thanks John!
My BFF and I! :)
The complimentary starter - Salmon mousse with salmon roe in a small tart pastry, accompanied by microgreens. Man, this thing was so tiny but so good. The salmon flavor simply explodes in your mouth, and essentially yummy!
Jenn got the New Zealand mussels:Shallot & Garlic Sautéed Green-Lipped Mussels, Saffron-Lemon Grass Broth which was reeeally good. The cream sauce was very flavorful with hints of lemongrass and seafood.
Deron got the Leaning tower of beets:Gold & Red Chioggia Beets, Haricots Verts, Lightly-Dressed Heirloom Tomatoes, White Balsamic Vinaigrette which is surprisingly good! The beets with the heirloom tomatoes blended really well and the end taste was very smooth and light. And I love the blend of colors! Definitely will get this the next time I'm back.
After our first course, we got surprised with homemade mango sorbet, which was not overly sweet and very light. It even came in a tiny cone on a artist's palate! Cute!
Indulging in my sorbet.
I got the duo of duck Pan-Seared “Muscovy” Duck Breast, Long-Grain Rice Pilaf, Confit Jus 
The quail Tehachapi Apples, Wild Mushroom, Iranian Pistachios & Bosc Pear- Stuffed Quail
I didn't try the pan-seared petit fillet Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Blue Cheese, Madeira Reduction. It looked pretty good though. Ha.
I was so touched when they chorused the happy birthday song. :) Renee took the liberty of sticking the candle onto the tip of the other cake. Punk! :P
They have uh very cooperative servers there. Ha.
