Christmast food review @ Fuzion, Sunway

It was one of those days for a food review. The lifestyle writer and I were invited for a Christmas Media Preview at Fuzion, Level 1 at Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa on 5th November.

Everything looks prim and proper at the desserts section, where every Christmas-type dessert filled the length of the whole table - macaroons, cupcakes, ginger bread houses, chocolate cakes, cookies, etc.

As media, what we were supposed to do is to sample the food (aka. get a free lunch) and promote the menu in our respective companies.

 Three flavorings for the fondue.

For the mains, they placed the food on a table for the photographers to take some shots.

There were photographers from NST, the Expatriate, the Malay Mail, etc.

Lamb shank stew with rosemary herbs.

 Duck ballotine with truffle, braised green cabbage and young carrots

 Sauteed sea bass fillet with porcini mushrooms and white asparagus

 Roasted sirloin with herb and mustard crust.

 

 The drinks.

After all the photos we shot, we are supposed to sample the food. Looks great, right? How bout the taste ?

 The ballotine was rather bland, also owing to the fact that it was served cold.

I guess I'm saying this because I'm Malaysian, and I prefer flavorful meats. The lamb shank was okay for me.

The sea bass was dry.. I guess they overcooked it. 

I found the sirloin tough to chew. It was a little rare for my liking also.

Feeling rather unsatisfied, after the christmas course I ventured over to the sushi section. As I was about to take the salmon, I noticed the plate had a puddle of 'salmon juice'. Plus the fish had a slight smell too. (I had a slight stomach discomfort for the rest of the day after lunch).

If you noticed to the left of the frame, the utensils and leftovers were left on the plate for some time before they were finally collected.

As 'official' media channels, I guess you can't give your honest opinion too much, especially when you're getting a sponsored meal. I also talked to some of the journalists present, they also had the same reservations (whew.. that means I'm not alone in my thoughts).

Overall I was disappointed with the food (I'd give it a 5/10), also considering the fact that we were dining in a 5 star hotel.

Anyway, please do give this christmas meal a try. Perhaps the mains will taste better when it's finally revealed to the public.

Merry Christmas and cheerio!

At the stroke of midnight

Woke up to a cloudy day. The Bureau of Meteorology predicted some rain, but I didn't expect it to be this heavy.

Got my first Christmas gift today: a devotional book titled ''Streams in the Desert for Graduates". Its a pretty good read I must say, even though I can say I have hardly read at all this year.

Its amazing how the author of this book, L.B. Cowman still found the strength to  move on even though he and his family were dealing with a number of changes in their lives, including the sale of a business they had owned for 20 years, their eldest son leaving home to join the Navy, and their second son leaving for college and having a massive brain hemorrhage thereafter. The next month, his mom had to have emergency surgery and was hospitalized for 30 days, while his wife and daughter were in a car crash and suffered whiplash. No matter how much we complain about life, I guess there are still some other folks in this world who're having it worse than us.

About 630pm, I arrived at church for the Christmas service. The Christmas songs were pretty cliche, like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", but what's Christmas without them? After a lengthy sermon, the service ended and we proceeded to the back hall for some supper. It was pretty good; some pies, fruit salads, fried dimsims and brownies. Unfortunately my stomach was still feeling queasy, so I couldn't eat much.

Gave a friend a set of framed up pictures of Melbourne as a gift. I like them alot, and I hope she likes the gift, as I wouldn't have the opportunity to give her presents in a very long while. Another group of friends wanted to continue the celebrations by singing some carols, but I declined. Was walking home when the rain picked up again, and soaked my shorts and shoes. Bah !

Straightaway turned on MSN when I got home. A friend is busy working her ass off in the office when she could be out partying and enjoying herself. Another friend inquired if I was free for shutter theraphy tomorrow. I said I would be available, on condition that it wouldn't be raining. Hmmm.. here's something to keep me busy on Christmas day.

Had a long hot bath to release the stress in my tired muscles. Heard the pealing of the bells, probably from St Peter's Cathedral smack in the middle of the city. Put on Brooke Fraser's Scarlet in Windows Media Player.

"Scarlet"

Middle of nowhere

Finally you can breathe

Nobody knows your name

It's easier

Shut your eyes tightly

Clench your fists 'til they almost bleed

Cautiously, lightly

Gently expose what's underneath

And all you feel now

Is the scarlet in the day

Even if it's real

You can't stay...

[Chorus]

So there you go

You're gone for good

There you go

You're gone for good

Your mind is swollen

From months of thought without release

They've taken their toll on you

This very moment

Of timid and fragile honesty

Is precious and rare and fleeting

And all you feel now

Is the scarlet in your day

Even it's real

You can't stay...

Its now officially midnight, 25th December 2009 in Melbourne. Once again, Merry Christmas everyone ~

The advent of Christmas

Today was quite warm, so I thought I might as well go out of the house and do some photo walking.

Yep, this is Melbourne at 730pm. Still pretty bright eh? You betcha!

Rush hour is still in progress, but most of the office folk have gone home.

I rushed to the Yarra and set camp there. A boat carrying some rowdy school kids passed by. They must be really enjoying themselves.

It took another long wait for the sun to finally set and the city lights to be brought out to their full splendor.

The ferris wheel does its own business as usual at Birrarung Marr.

Somehow, the night sky looks more enticing to the west compared to the east sky. Hmm..

I'm currently practising some ''creative'' night photography techniques after watching a DVD tutorial. Hopefully the lessons would get me somewhere eventually.

Bourke St Mall is brightly lit up with a belt of LCD lights to usher in the Christmas shopping season.

And here we have it, the current mascots for the Christmas windows in Myers. The piglet looks lovely, doesn't she?

The family of piglets eagerly place cookies and milk at the fireplace for Santa.

This exhibit is well worth the visit, so do pop by if you go along Bourke Street. It will be there for almost two months, so there's almost no reason for any Melburnian to miss it, unless you don't give a damn of course.

Cheers.