Another day, another year…

I turned 61 over a week ago and of course, the day had to start with the traditional Foochow longevity noodles…

…for long life and good luck in the coming year.

We had just left the house when I got a call from the guy from a courier service agency telling me that he was already at my house so we had to turn back and look at what he brought me…

– IKEA goodies from my dear friend, Mandy, in KL. She certainly timed it very well for my birthday present to arrive on the dot – right on the day itself. Thank you so much, Mandy – it sure is so very thoughtful of you.

We took Melissa’s friend who was here on a short visit to see some of the sights around town and later, we stopped here for an Italian lunch to celebrate…

*ipad’s pic taken by Melissa’s friend*

To start off, we had these bruschetta mozarella (RM12.00)…

…and we shared their white pizza – the Pizza Italia (RM29.00)…

…which was so so so good. It had three types of cheese – mascarpone, parmesan and mozarella…

…that gave it this beautifully delightful richness complemented by the strips of ham (that tasted like bacon). Gosh!!! All of us really enjoyed that a lot and now I just can’t wait to go back there again for more!

We also had the spaghetti marinara (RM19.00)…

…which was good but of course, how different can tomato-based pasta sauce get?

This grilled salmon dish (RM48.00)…

…was simply superb as well. Yes, I would agree that it was a bit pricey but anyway, birthdays come once a year and Melissa loves salmon… a lot! Besides, she insisted on picking up the tab this year as she is now drawing her own salary and would like to give me a treat on my special day. Isn’t that so sweet of her? Thank you, darling – you’re truly a gem!

We did not have any dessert as my missus had ordered a cake, a black forest…

…from this guy, Marcus, at Delta Estate here who makes the best cakes in town so we went to get it and headed on home to enjoy it…

…and as always, when it is a cake from Marcus, it never fails to satisfy!

Around mid-afternoon, I had a surprise visit from my friend, Lim, and his family and they brought me this cake…

Wow!!! Of course we had to save that for another day – we couldn’t be eating cake all day and even if we did, I am pretty sure we would not be able to finish all that we had. Thanks, Lim – thanks for remembering and thanks for going through all the trouble to get me the cake for my birthday.

But wait a minute, everybody! Just when I thought that was all for this year, I got these from another dear friend in KL…

…and this too…

…for my birthday and also for Christmas. She sent them through her mum who stopped by KL on the way back after a trip to Taiwan. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Those are my favourite among all the cookies from Marks & Spencer – she certainly knows me very well…and I hear that the panettone costs a bomb in KL!!! *shudders!*

It certainly was a great birthday – with my loved ones around and all the greetings on Facebook, the smses and the phone calls and with all the gifts I received, I must say that I am indeed blessed in no small measure. Thank you, all, so very very much.

That night, Melissa and the mum and her friend were left to their own devices as I had to attend a wedding banquet – one of my ex-students got married that day but that, of course, would have to wait till another post. Hang on!