Cavalock and The First Giant Paintover

The Baker-at-Home had a belated birthday treat with her friend at Olivia recently. Our first time there and we really enjoyed the food and company. Some mild amusement provided by three overdressed aunties and one uncle at the opposite table who can't seem to stop taking selfies outside the joint and then inside. Seriously? Anyway, one of the few times I had actually had a tapas kinda meal. Not exactly a tapas fan but the food at Olivia won me over. Like I said, amazing food and I can understand why it's a full house almost every night.

From this to that, the biggest figure I ever painted so far, the Aleguzzler Gargant. Had a blast painting it and really hope to use him in a game soon. Games Workshop changed or rather added the new Mercenary rules that allowed different armies to bring in figures from other factions. All to make us buy figures we would not normally buy. The Baker-at-Home's friend carried five big boxes of Games Workshop miniatures from London back for us. Very grateful for that. That's enough painting to keep me busy for the next few months.

Cavalock's Day Off

Yes, I know it's weird to call it a 'day off' when I'm out of the rat race but damn it, I can walk again! Dropped by mezza9 for lunch last week, after a harrowing five months away from town. Oh, how I missed my tasty little crab cake. And its always a joy to walk up and down stairs again although there's still some minor resistance or pain. It's more the descending part that hurts.

Anyway, another cause for rehab milestone to take note as I finally had my own Ferris Bueller's Day Off in which I worked out and played for almost 12 hours straight. Hit the gym again for the first time since my operation in March and right now my body is aching all over (again). Not a good idea to push myself too hard as I still tire easily. Then a quick lunch at Daily Cut (damn the new menu! What happened to my sweet potatoes base?!?) before meeting the guys who took half-day's leave and we played card games and board games till 9pm. Wanna know how dedicated or some would say 'crazy' we are bout gaming? After my Daily Cut lunch, I met the guys at one of their office's cafe where we played till 2pm cos one of them wasn't on leave. Then the rest of us drove to a gaming shop at Marymount where we continued gaming till 6pm and broke for dinner. After that, more folks showed up after work where we played more board games!

That there is Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done the boardgame. Excellent fast-paced game where you only have one thing to do each turn, or maybe two later in the game. Five different actions to choose from, you can either only move, build, crusade, muster or travel. Your opponents have the same choices and you gotta strategise and see where they travel to or who they are fighting cos the Slavs and Prussians get stronger after each fight.

"Move your knights, erect buildings, and go crusading to spread the influence of your Order. When the Orders get too strong, King Philip will become nervous and disband all Templar orders, ending the game.

Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done uses a combination of rondel and mancala mechanisms. Each player has their own rondel, which they can upgrade over the course of the game, that controls their action choices during the game. Your faction gives you a special power to control your rondel, and the buildings you erect will help you form a strategy."

Played the twice this year and my overall strategy is to get another knight out in the field as soon as possible and build the churches fast as they give you 'influence' or victory points. The more you build, you more points you get.

Cavalock and The Pigeon Beef Masquerade

Back to Esora we go! ... or is it 'went' since we were already there. Anyway, was my second dinner at the Mohamed Sultan Road restaurant but the fourth or is it fifth time for the Baker-at-Home, which I guess makes her enough of a regular for folks there to recognise and engage her in some friendly dinnertime conversation. Unlike myself an all-out introvert, the opportunity to engage in or at least eavesdrop on such fascinating banter is always a delight.

Well, we had the sake and wine pairing to go with our the eight-course dinner. Although we would have loved an all sake pairing. Worth every penny, excellent meal. The pigeon was amazing and in a blindfold test I would have thought it was beef. And ladies and gentlemen, this is why I am not a food blogger!

Foie Gras, mango, myoga

Fried sawara, caviar, asparagus, yamawasabi

Sashimi

Hamo soup, winter melon, sudachi

Grilled kinmedai, pea, hamaguri

Grilled pigeon, nasu, fushimi pepper

Ayu Donabe

White peach, yogurt ice-cream, tohobjin jelly

As always, we had a little parting gift. The slice of Castella cake was a perfect addition to breakfast the morning after. Seriously, the Baker-at-Home and I would be surprised if they don't win a Michelin   Star soon.

Well, I have been hitting my regular stores over the last week in my cast and clutches. And after having to explain to at least three different storekeepers my current condition, I have decided to spice it up the next time someone asks me what happened to my foot. Telling folks I tore my tendon sounds extremely boring, so I'm currently wavering between "fell while skiing over the Swiss Alps" or "hurt myself during a hip-hop dance off".