Morning Coffee vs Late-Night-Cuppa

Do you know one of the things that I miss most during the fasting month? Having a good cup of coffee in the morning. It just drives me crazy (bordering on lunacy!) whenever I pass by a Starbucks or SF in the morning on my way to office and the smell of freshly ground roasted coffee permeates through the air, provoking my senses in more ways than one, and with no absolute consideration to my addiction - seducing me with its full bodied aroma - that just makes me sigh and melt into a puddle of goo with just a whift.

Today, I crumbled. Right down to my knees, (almost) begging the barista for:

"Onegrandelowfatvanillalatteextrashot."
**blink**blink**
"Please."

Sure. It satiates that greedy monster in me and guilt that conscience of mine for downing a cup full of empty calories (and skipping the gym - again). BUT it's still not the same as having that particular brew of coffee first thing in the morning. It doesn't evoke that same brand of courage that makes it bearable enough to pull you through the day. Instead, all a late-nite-cuppa (LNC) does to you is to be your only companion as you try to work through the night shift, a small badge of courage against that dreaded feeling of having to meet a deadline. And LNC tends to not be a loyal friend, especially when you need it the most. It'll abandon you without much of a warning, to fend for yourself against that feind - sleep.

Hanging out @ Espressamente, Pavilion

You know how yesterday I mentioned that I've cleaned up my room? And that I've pretty much settled all of my working matters? And how, all I have to worry about now is study?

Obviously that didn't happened since I was out and about (again) today. Hee... If Ms Sheila - my lecturer - reads about this, and is physically here, I'm pretty sure I kena ketuk kepala dengan buku teks yg seberat 2kg tu. Adoi... *rubs away imaginary pain*

Anyway, I had a good reason to be out today though. After months of empty talk and promises, I finally made plans to meet up with an old friend from college, who has been back since January and whom I haven't met for 2 years! It would've been more ideal if we could meet up with the rest of the gang, but some of them are busy with working lives, one is panicking over her exam (which I should be doing), and the other one is still in UK furthering her studies. So... Two is still a company right?

We met up at Pavilion for lunch, went shopping, and ended the day with coffee and cake. I'm still on an Illy's high, so we went to Espressamente @ Pavilion for my daily dose of coffee, after buying some pastries at The Loft. I went ahead with their Coffee Set, and ordered Cappucino Viennese with an extra shot of espresso, and the apple crumble. I have to say that I've never been much of an apple-anything person, but this... this basically converted me to a worshipper. I think this is going to be my new go-to place whenever I'm in need of a good hearty bite of apple crumble. See the picture, and I'll let you be the judge.

It was great hanging out here @ Espressamente. The staff were cordial and attentive, the atmosphere was good, the coffee and apple crumble are fantastic, there were plenty of magazines to browse through, and we had a good window seat for people-watching. I'm not much of a people-watching person, but it was nice to see the world go by while you're in your comfort zone. The company of an old friend is definitely a comfort zone for me, and it was great catching up with Azzah, get up-to-date to where the rest of our classmates are now, reminiscing on the good ol' days...

Thanks for the day Azzah! We definitely have to meet up again very soon, and this time with the rest of the gang!

PS: I ran my first 5k today! Huuzah!

Lunch @ Espressamente, Bangsar Village

Have been a cranky person the whole day. I blame the lack of sleep, and the physically strenuous activities yesterday. Hardly had the energy to open my eyes, yet even more, to function properly. I think the only thing that was on my mind was food and sleep. Because that was the only thing that I can properly do well.

My pick-up point would have to be lunch, where we had Sandwiches, Pastas, & Coffees at Espressamente @ Bangsar Village, an Illy's based cafe. My mum had been raving about their set promotions, so we decided to give it a go. My dad, sis and I ordered the Sandwich Set: a juice + any sandwich of your choice (RM16). My youngest sister had the Pasta Set: soft drink + any pasta of choice (RM17), whilst my mum had gotten herself the Coffee Set: any Illys coffee + any cake of choice(RM14). Considering that most of the a la carte items on the menu were above the RM10 range, I'd say these are definitely value for money.

The drinks came first, and I have to commend that they didn't skimp on the juices as these was fresh and not overly sweet. Both of my sisters orders came next, and the pasta came with a side of sliced baguette with garlic-infused olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a small serving of parmesan cheese. Not bad.

There were mix-ups with the order, and my dad and I had to suffer a very very long wait that had forced me near tears. (I warned you that I was a very cranky and moody person today.) Despite being one of the first few to order during the lunch hour rush, our food came last. My sisters and mum had moved on to dessert at this point. But the manager had been very gracious to apologize and offered desserts on the house. I was just too happy to finally get my food!

I ordered the Foccacia Pollo: grilled pesto chicken, mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes and arugula leaves layered in between two thick slices of chilli foccacia bread. The ingredients were fresh, taste appropriately balanced and and the foccacia bread was soft and chewy. It was good, although I find the pesto a bit bland. But I love the combinations, and the portion was big enough for me to struggle to finish it (which I eventually did).

We had the apple crumble and chocolate cake for dessert. The chocolate cake was smooth, rich and very chocolatey without being too sweet. My preferred the apple crumble as it had a good bite, and a nice balance with the crumble.

Of course, Illy's is known for the quality of its espresso-based coffees, so it's almost criminal for a coffee-lover like me to give this a pass. I had the Marocchino: a shot of illy espresso, a dash of chocolate and topped with steam milk. Imagine this as a concentrated Mocha served in a shot glass, but to not be drank like a shot although the end result is the same. The coffee was velvety smooth and darkly rich, and I savoured it in small sips the best I can. And the caffeine effect came almost instantly, which was exactly what I needed, and I was my bright sunny self again (to the delights of my family, who had unwillingly became victims of my crankiness).

Now that I am fully charged-up with caffeine, need to roll-up my sleeve and get back to that overdue workload of mine. Shall blog about my caving and white water rafting trip once I get the pictures from my friend.