Confessions

I have to admit...

Sometimes I feel self-conscious about being taller than you.
I feel like we're being judged as a couple, even if it's not out of malice.
People just react to unconventional-looking situations.

I've noticed people staring, and it used to make me sad. I used to worry about how funny we look in photos, and how we'll look standing at the alter on our wedding day.

But then God teaches me to not conform to how the world thinks. 

I'm no longer the shallow person I used to be 6 years ago. 

You have the stature of the fullness of Christ.

And that's what matters.

I love you <3

Rustica - Italian restaurant in Manchester (Review)

Italian restaurants are ubiquitous in Manchester because they just work. Italian cuisine is a crowd-pleaser - safe for the fussy / vegan / vegetarian / pescatarian / heat-wuss (no curry please!) / unadventurous (black bean chicken feet??) dinner companion.

So when my friend suggested Rustica for a nice Thursday evening dinner, it didn't provoke any passionate reaction either way. Truth be told, I am ambivalent to popular "Italian" cuisine available in Manchester. They aren't great, but nice enough for dinner with good company. The only Italian restaurant to every get me excited is San Carlo, my personal favourite Italian joint in Manchester. I'm sure there are nicer (pricier) ones to be explored, but not on my budget.

This was my first time in Rustica and I must say off the bat, the service is very attentive. Our glasses were never left empty and the waiter was incredibly accommodating to our multiple requests. We noticed a long table next to us, fully set for a party of 12. Moments later, a giggly gaggle of ladies on a hen party bounded in. Our waiter was waiting on the hen party, us as well as quite a few other table, so a big thumbs up to him for juggling so well.

We ordered some garlic bread as starters (sorry, no photos as we were too hungry!). They were lovely. My perfect garlic bread would be lightly crusty on the outside and soft, fluffy and chewy on the inside. The worst thing someone could do to my garlic bread would be to toast it to death, such that the crust hardens or dries out. Eugh. Rustica's garlic bread was just nice.

Linguine con Gamberoni - King prawns, chilli and tomato sauce. 

Where I come from, those are NOT king prawns, but regular prawns but oh well, when in Rome...

Fettucine Salmone e Gamberetti - Pasta in a smoked salmon, prawns & cream sauce. 

My favourite of the lot. This wasn't my order but T generously let me have a taste. I'm partial to seafood but I think what made this yummy was the texture of the pasta ribbons. I love flat ribbon pasta!

Spaghetti Bolognese - Thin Pasta with Minced Beef and Tomato

Meh, I could make this in my kitchen. S ordered this and I think she just wanted some good old comfort food. Incidentally, S is half-Italian, with a robust Italian grandmama with high standards of Italian cooking. It didn't bowl her over, but she liked it enough to polish it off.

Pizza Mare e Monte - Tomato, Mozzarella, Prawns and Mushrooms

I didn't try this but it smelt lovely. Bubbly cheese and fluffy risen bread is truly a lovely sight.

Risotto Rustica - Risotto with strips of chicken, peppers and tomato sauce

This was my order. It was delicious to start with but became quite cloying towards the end - not the fault of the restaurant. Risottos are always on the heavy side anyway. This was well seasoned, the chicken was slightly dry but it didn't stop me from enjoying it. I love tomato based sauces, so this was right up my alley.

Overall, our Rustica experience was nice, and that might be more to do with the excellent company and service than the actual food. I don't feel compelled to return. The food wasn't memorably bad but it wasn't memorably fantastic either, which in these times, isn't good enough to get patrons to part with their hard-earned cash.

This summer in cinemas near you

Definitely not to be missed!

Episode 3 with Bond and Shamu

Shin and Wan Phing are back! In our third episode, find out what Shamu the killer whale in San Diego's Seaworld has in common with James Bond.

Along with more important topics like British chocolates and British suntans. Click here to listen.

Shin & Wan Phing's second show

In our second podcast, Shin & Wan Phing are back with more niceties as they look for sponsors to replace their laopok (old) mic and promote the award-winning Arndale toilets.

Other very important topics include toilet phobias, Tyra vs. Oprah and why you should never Google your illness.

Click here to listen. Leave us any comments and suggestions, as we would love to hear from you!

The Shin and Wan Phing Show! Our first ever podcast.

Hello!

Welcome to the Shin and Wan Phing Show, otherwise known as SAWP in short. Why? Because we are Malaysians, and Malaysians love to abbreviate things, such as KL for Kuala Lumpur, or JB for Johor Bahru.

Or even KH for Kemahiran Hidup and many many more lovely short forms like BKT (bak kut teh) and CKT (char koay teow).

Shin and Wan Phing are two Malaysians living in Manchester, and in our podcasts we talk about anything and everything that is interesting to the Malaysian abroad.


In our debut show, Shin and Wan Phing talk about eating nasi lemak and how the belacan smell will cause us to fall out with our English neighbours, what we love about Stylist magazine and why we cried during Disney's Brother Bear and Pixar's Up.

Click here to listen. Do leave us any comments and suggestions!

Soldier-boy shoe shopping

I don't shop very often at all but when I do, I spend ages hunting for the perfect bargain. I really like fashion but don't believe in spending more than I have, which at the moment is not very much.

I like looking at the latest fashion trends but don't normally follow them. Classic, evergreen trends are definitely my kind of thing. I only buy shoes when the old pair has worn out and is beyond repair. Even then, I will wait until a sale is on.

And nothing beats the post-Christmas sales, with reductions as much as 90% off the original retail price. The downside to this is that Christmas and New Year is normally spent with my favourite man D. D really dislikes coming shopping with me. As it is, he finds shopping a pain, but coupled with my 3-hour deliberations over 10 different pairs only to decide none of them are discounted enough to buy, I think I push the boundaries of his patience.

I've tried all kinds of tactics to make the experience tolerable:

Approach 1:

Get him involved in the selection process.

Advantages: This works really well if he's interested in women's fashion

Disadvantages: Guys tend to decide too quickly, not taking into account the full breadth of options available.

Road-test report: 4/5 stars - D has, once upon a time, helped me pick out the most amazing, durable, affordable (£40), expensive-looking coat. However, this doesn't always happen!

Approach 2:

Give him something to play with whilst you shop.

Advantages: He can watch your bags for you.

Disadvantages: If he's particularly good at the game you give him, he might beat the game prematurely, run out of levels and get bored again.

Road-test report: 3/5 stars - he does indeed run out of levels in that tennis game on my phone.

Approach 3:

Don't take him with you. Leave him with your brother in the arcade.

Advantages: He bonds with your brother and you get to shop without the time pressure.

Disadvantages: They might not want to leave when you return to meet up with them for dinner.

Road test report: 5/5 stars - everyone's happy. He's up-ed his Guitar Hero skillz, I've found the perfect pair of shoes to replace the boots with a hole in the sole (yikes!)