Cohabitation: A preparation or an alternative to marriage?

I did some colouring myself!

As a young kid (I'm not exactly very old yet), I always question the way of life. Why do we have to conform to the laws of the society and why the stigma of living together before marriage (in other words, cohabiting) exists? In the modern context, cohabiting before marriage is no longer an eye-raising subject. In fact, it has become so common, more common than news of me partying 3 nights in a row.

When the couple chooses to live together in an emotionally or sexually intimate relationship, they are actually staying together like a married couple. Many would view this as a test-marriage or even a preparation towards marriage. But some resorted to cohabitation as an alternative to marriage because either they are avoiding marriage, gay or they are in a polygamy or polyamory (I shall deal with the polyamorist next time) relationships.

Is it not our say whether cohabitation is right or wrong because every situation or needs is different. I might, for example agree with cohabitation as the preparation of marriage. Let's just say that I've heard too many stories about couples getting into a divorce less than a year of marriage. And therefore, I have to make sure that the man that I want to live with the rest of my life is not some freak. When cohabiting, you'll discover many traits or habits that you've never seen in 5 years of courtship! A compliment must go to the partner whom managed to camouflage it so well....

Cohabitation is no longer about sex 0r no sex before marriage. It's about living together, trying to tolerate, share and love each other. A cohabitation might lead to marriage or it might lead to a breakup. I would say it's best to breakup during cohabitation than to get a divorce after marriage. Don't you think so? But study tends to show that cohabitation is bad for couples than jumping into marriage straightaway because couples tend to have lower tolerance levels, higher chances of cheating and less commitment from both sides since they are not legally married!

Actually there's more to consider when cohabiting then his bad hygiene habits like wearing the same underwear for two consecutive days or whether he puts the toilet seat down. Those are not going to be a major problem of living together for the rest of your lives. But what actually does need to be considered is his/her personality, attitudes and commitment. Bad attitudes can be hidden when dating or living together for a few days but not when it comes to everyday for months! It will definitely show. So this is a good chance to see for yourself the other half's true colours.

I don't know but I would surely try cohabiting before signing the documents. Getting a divorce is not easy and it involves so many parties, documents and time! Cohabitation breakup is easy - either one party just pack your bags and leave. And less monies for the lawyers! Muahaha....

(I love writing a good post for ponder on Fridays. It's my best day of the week.)

New Additions @ The MAS First Class Lounge

I've blogged about the First Class Lounge and its booze here but it seems that the new additions to the already wide spread of booze is continuing. So cheers to that! They are in fact constantly trying to improve on their food selection and also the drinks selection especially for fussy people like me. With the constant bugging and constructive criticism... we all can have more booze now!

One of the new champagnes that the lounge is serving now is the Louis De Sacy Brut Grand Cru. This LDS vineyards is in Verzy and the Sacy family has settled there since 1633. There is not much write up on this Champagne as it's one of those boutique champagnes that is limited in production and probably lacked publicity.

It's not a very expensive Champagne. Maybe in the range of RM100-RM200 duty free. On the palate, the champagne is toasty with lots of citrus notes but I think it's wee too young. The bubblies aren't that refine too. Maybe it's not my kinda champagne.

Another new Champagne being served at the lounge is the Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve. And since I've tried this Champagne before, I didn't consume any of it that day. This bottle of Nicolas Feuillatte has been aged 3 years and it has very delicate bubbles. It might not taste like a DP or a M&C but it certainly has a distinctive taste of its own because it has hints of almonds and hazelnuts.

Actually my favourite of all Champagnes is Nicolas's Brut Rosé! It's dry, full-bodied and light. You can taste the berries and currants and the salmon-pink tone of the champagne is so soothing! This Champagne goes very well with Japanese food which is evident in all my Japanese meals at Yoyogi in Singapore! Btw, I don't think you can get the Rosé here unfortunately, you can now as told by my friend. You can get it at Asiaeuro.

Check out its website. It's impressive.

At the same time, I had this opprotunity to try something which I've never thought I would give it a go. It's the Sheridan's Coffee Layered Liquer. I never give coffee liquer a second thought nor would I ever learn to appreciate it but I have to admit it does taste good. And pretty interesting too for myself. The bottle itself is unique because it's a combination of two different liquids into one bottle and yet it's separated. The noozle allows one to pour the different liquer one at a time depending on your preference.

You can read one of the interesting reviews here.

It actually tasted better than Baileys although it's a little bit sweet. I like how the white is separated from the black! You can get this at below RM100 duty free which is really a good deal! Even the bottle itself is worth keeping.

CHEERS!

I was told that Zouk KL will be playing a tribute to MJ tonight at mambo jambo...

The world's most expensive coffee

Would you cringe at the thought of forking $600 for a pound of coffee named Kopi Luwak?!! No, it's not your average "kopi" at the "kopitiam" that is laden with edible 24k gold. It's actually a "civet cat coffee", a direct translation of Kopi Luwak. This coffee is from the islands of Sumatra, Java. No other coffee can rival its price nor its taste because this coffee has a very unique flavour and an interesting background.

It is actually coffee made from coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civet populations but the beans inside pass through their system undigested. While the bean is in the little guy's stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee.

The beans before it's roasted...

Believe it or not, the coffee has a rich, heavy flavour with hints of caramel or chocolate. Other terms used to describe it are earthy, musty and exotic. The body is almost syrupy and it's very smooth. Although I have not tried it for myself, I can't believe someone out there would actually pick up the animal's feces and made good money with it!

One small cafe, the Heritage Tea Rooms, in the hills outside Townsville in Australia, has Kopi Luwak coffee on the menu at US$33.00 per cup, selling approximately four cups a week, which has gained nationwide Australian press. It is also available now in Selfridges London at the "Edible" range of its exotic food & beverages section. What makes it so expensive is that there's only a mere 300kgs of beans produced every year.

Now would you give this coffee a try? Provided you can find it and have a couple of hundreds to spare.

I Love Illy

I've been converted from a non coffee drinker to one whom enjoys a cuppa once in a while. And my new lover seems to be Illy. Not Mr. Illy himself whom is the Chairman and CEO of the Illycafe company but simply his coffee. Honestly, I do not regard Starbucks as a place for good coffee. Nice ambiance, free wi-fi and convenience - yes but definitely not gourmet coffee.

Actually I do take coffee for 1 simple reason - to cure my constipation problems. Whenever I do have trouble not being able to sh*t, I'll take a cup of nescafe and then about 1 hour later, I am all ready to visit the toilet. It works everytime and this is a cheap fix! It's funny how I seem to order tea whenever I'm in a cafe like Starbucks or Coffee Bean and I find myself a little out of place. But it never bothered me because I do not like coffee. Period.



However, after having Illy, I fell in love instantly. Although I do not take espresso like a coffee hardcore but I enjoy a good cup of cappuccino. And the odd thing about me is that I do not add sugar into my cappuccino nor my tea. I'm slowly but sure learning to take sugar out of my drinks.

The one place that I like a fix of the occasional caffeine addiction is the Espressamente Illy which is in Pavilion KL (located beside Esprit). Espressamente Illy is an Italian interpretation of a gourmet coffee bar and it has many outlets worldwide. I love that outlet and the smell of a cup of freshly brewed coffee is just so inviting even for a non-coffee lover like me. I hope I wouldn't turn out to be a caffeine addict. Or else I've gotta live on a liquid diet of coffee, wines, champagne and single malts.

Ahhh they say, once you go black, you never go back.
(in this context, it's the coffee I'm talking about)

Porky Experience

Yay, it's Friday... Shucks... I still need to work tomorrow. Don't you just hate working on a Saturday? Anyways, moving on to more happy things - which is food and wine obviously! Sorry that I have to highlight something porky on a holy Friday. Thank God it's Friday!

Had an invitation for dinner by one of the restaurant owners at the restaurant that I frequently eat at with my friends and we had a table for 16! I have never sat at a table for 16 so can you imagine how big that table was?!! Nevermind about the table, how about having roast pork for appetizers? Sounds good but you know what's the best part?



The roast pork was cut and served on the spot in the dining room! One of my friends bought the whole suckling pig for this dinner and they called the man with the best slicing skills at the kitchen to do the honour of slicing up this pig in front of us while we marvel at the freshly served roast pork. We had different cuts from different parts of the pig and this is the first time I truly get to differentiate the taste and texture of the different parts at the same time. The part at the neck was really good!

I thought that we would be eating only roast pork for dinner because we had so many plates of it until I was quite stuffed. Then, came in the sharksfin soup and then the braised abalone with sea cucumber. While I was at the abalone dish, I can't help but think of giving up because I'm so full! But it's no good to waste and thus I force myself to finish it. Then the fresh patin fish came... Not one but two in different sauces! Aiyoh... I can't help but to savour the fish because the meat is so smooth!



Some parts of the roasted suckling pig was used to boil this porridge and I can't believe that after 1 hour, we can truly savour this porridge. It was so good and full of roasted pork flavour and thus I finish it. Heheh... Lucky I was wearing some loose clothing and my belly really needed that space to fill up all the food I've been eating. Finally, the dinner ended with a fruit platter and half the pig was eaten.



With that many of us, there will also be that many bottles of liquor. We had some champagne, white wine and red wine. The wines that we were having are "recessionary wines" meaning it's around RM80-RM100 per bottle and I'm surprised that some of these second wines are really good like the Angelique de Monbousquet which is the 2nd wine of Chateau Monbousquet from St. Emilion.



I also did try a new champagne and it's the Philipponnat Grand Blanc. It's made from a blend of Chardonnays from the Côte des Blancs and from the Montagne de Reims. I find the palate to be light, a little toasty, dry and fresh with a creamy texture and white fruit flavors. It certainly went very well with my roast pork! Hehe... Maybe I can try some roast pork rice with champagne next time for a little sinful indulgence but of course I can't be drinking that at some kopitiams. Probably have to "ta pau" some roast pork home and try with the air condition switched on!

It's truly a memorable dinner because I have never been to a dinner with some one cutting the whole suckling pig in front of me. Of course El Cerdo doesn't count because it's pig is not even half of this pig! I also get to "ta pau" 2 big slabs of roast pork home for my dad's supper and the next day's dinner. Lol...

Last 10 Units anyone?

I'm on my way to work and I managed to capture this while waiting at the traffic light. Would this type of marketing work? As in would advertising the remainder units help sell the units better? I'm a marketer and I know these are gimmicks. Always tell others that there's only limited units left and it'll sell like hotcakes because believe it or not, people like to buy things that are limited. And thus limited editions!

Besides that advertisement that caught my eye, actually that building they're trying to sell is an eyesore. Not because it's ugly or what but because it made my journey to work a living hell, I am cursing it! The traffic used to be quite smooth due to an alternative route to my office but then some smarty pants developer try to make money out of the already congested place by building a considerably high and big office building and so the road had to be closed for good to make space for the darn building.

In the first place, why would the "relevant authorities" gave permit for that building to be built there?!! Ish... it's so annoying. Why am I so easily annoyed lately?!! (switches on to emo mode)

Life is like a box of chocolates

Yes, I believe so. Sometimes you get the ultra sweet ones, sweet ones and some bitter ones. You'll never know what you're going to get if you don't read the labels. So, it's like life. You'll never know what you will go through because there ain't just no manual for you to read about your life.

I know I've never been really emo here. I don't flood my blog with unhappiness but sadly life doesn't just consist of chocolates, cigars and wine. Frustration and unsatisfaction happened to be in that equation as well. No matter how contented and happy I am with the current enjoyment and friendship, I do feel unhappy at times.

And to b*tch about work here is a career suicide. To b*tch about relationship here is like announcing to the world what a failure I am in handling the affairs of the heart. I know that this place is no longer my private enclave because it has very much become a venue for updates of my current affairs. Even my parents now could be dotting every word I typed! And thus there will be no room for vulgarity and obscenity here.

I believe, to be frustrated or even disappointed is only human. How could you expect a mere mortal like me to be constantly happy? I have my job frustration but I don't show it too often because I see no point being unhappy all the time. Is working supposed to be a two-way thing? I think one's boss should learn to recognise employee's hard work. And why is a job well done is always a not-good-enough-job?!!

A modern context of employment is almost equivalent to slavery. We use our best resources to make money for the company which in return we beg for our wages. Isn't this an irony? And suddenly I began to feel that working has lost its meaning. It's no longer a passionate affair but merely something I do to afford the things I enjoy. So is it just me or there's someone out there who share my sentiments?