Some Like it Haute

after breakfast, i watched the movie 'the island', starring ewan mcgregor and scar-hot-lett johansson.

initally i was very put off by ewan mcgregor's inability to shake off his wide-eyed-bambi persona (a look that outlived its purpose in moulin rouge) but you later realise, when explained in the movie, that he was supposed to possess the mentality of a 15 year old. damage control accomplished.

this movie about clones as 'insurance policies' and their 'sponsers' felt like an adaptation of kazuo ishiguro 'never let me go', in which clones were portayed as non-humans with very human-personalities. though not quite on par with my sci-fi favourites minority report and gattaca, i felt the film was effective in ushering a new perspective on issues- issues that would make us question whether it is worth killing a live to save another.

i especially liked the part when ewan mcgregor as lincoln 6-echo asked his sponsor, tom lincoln 'how much he cost'.

"five million" TL replied..
"is that alot" L6E again asked and TL justifies, "small price to cheat death..."

could we forget to value life if death were so easily averted?

the residence is awfully quiet as quite a few hallmates are currently on a cruise, organised by the international office, to oslo. well at least the noise-makers are gone..

i used another one of the precious homesent cooking sauces for dinner tonight. CURRY! well, chicken curry paired with garlic coriander naan to be specified. fingers replaced spoons and forks as cutlery of the night as everyone gamely tucked into the curry and naans.

i am glad the curry matched everyone's palate (probably the first time in history where the germans, french, finnish and singaporean ever agreed on something). a testimony to this achievement was the toasting of more bread whose sole purpose was to mop up any lingering traces of curry sauce on the plate. haha.. i think my tastebuds have gone soft as i actually felt the spice biting my tongue and had gone through two glasses of water by the time dinner ended.

i thought of preparing dessert as well and mango lassi seemed like the paradisiac accompaniant to the spicy entree. but i decided against it due to the lack of originality and created a self-made unnamed concoction instead. i even borrowed wine glasses from a hallmate to create a more asthetically pleasing treat.

using almost-the-same train of thought as mango lassi, i used mangoes (canned ones since it was impossible to find fresh mangoes) to form the base of my dessert. the next step required me to hack a bar of white chocolate and hazelnuts into ickle bits and so that i could layer them over the mangoes.. before smothering it with orange yogurt.

food-wise, i favour constrast- why esle would i choose to have ruffles original with vanilla icecream? i was seriously banking on the contrast between the velvety tongue-nipping yogurt and sweet soft mangoes.. not forgetting the added punch provided by the white chocolate and crunchy nuts. i was a little apprehensive about the eventual turnout and MAYBE i should have had a bite before serving it. yet, the subsequent nods of approval and empty wine glasses not only provided relief but allowed me to bask in stepford-wives glory.

feeling incredibly inspired. i just need more people to cook for.