oh, charisma!

Celebration for my first and last birthday as tunang orang is in full swing! Woohoo!

(Padahal birthday belum sampai pun hahahahaha)

To start things off, my sisters actually wanted to surprise me with the Bobbi Brown products I listed in my birthday wishlist this year but told me that every single item on my list is out of stock at the Tampines outlet!!! Apa maksud seh!!! Nasib kentang yang kena masak dengan masala thosei or what seh!

Haiz, takpelah. It turned out okay in the end anyway, because my sisters eventually got me a suuuuuper nice purse from Charles & Keith to replace my disintegrating MNG one! Been trying to put off buying a new replacement purse because I'm six months away from getting the one my mamat bought for me (to letak on the dulang) but serious masuk ICU tak boleh make it ah geng. Orang selalu cakap benda lapuk dimamah waktu kan? Aku punya MNG purse jangan cakap dimamah waktu ah dok, ni dah macam dimamah anak dinosaur, kau tau tak. Cannot tahan lah tunggu lagi enam bulan!

Super duper wuper love the interior because ada my two favourite Ps - purple and polka dots! Plus it comes with a nice little slip-in handle so I can sarung it into my wrist whenever I bring it out to lunch or quick trip to Tampines Mall and still have my hand free to hold other stuff. As if that was not lovely enough, sisters also treated our supermother and I (May babies, yo) to dinner at Charisma D'Venue WOOHOO!

Very good choice for dinner because the food is sedaaaaappppppp pleaaaaassseee~~~

 

Their nasi biryani was very flavourful and the lamb shank was really tender and had the right amount of rempah! Thought the ayam masak merah was ok ok only though, but as some of you might know by now, I'm very very very cerewet about ayam masak merah and apart from my own supermother's ayam masak merah, I seldom find ayam masak merah that can truly match my taste... so that probably explains why lah eh.

The grilled lamb shank and rib-eye steak were cooked perfectly and I really loved how easy it was to cut and savour the meat, the whipped potato tasted good and fluffy whereas the baby potatoes were so-so. The sauce that went along with the two dishes was pretty nice, but I think I've tasted better. Seasonal vegetables? Sorry, I tak rasa walau secebis pun sebab ada certain seasons I ni allergic sayur hahahahaha. 

To add on to our main dishes, we had three sides - the Charisma Grilled Chicken Wings (also known as their ayam percik), Tempura Broccoli (solely for my mum the veggie-killer, none of us even touched a morsel) and Charisma Calamari. No idea how the tempura broccoli tasted of course, whereas the Charisma Calamari was ok ok aje lah I feel. Didn't really like the texture of the batter, have tasted better elsewhere. The Charisma Grilled Chicken Wings were reaaally good, though!!! The satay sauce that was used on the chicken wings power kedemak! Right kind of thickness, right amount of peanuts well blended with the sauce, and I thought the spiciness was simply awesome. No wonderlah Dear Dyan raved about it in her entry on Charisma D'Venue!!!

Must also say I'm impressed by their friendly and prompt service! We were attended to promptly everytime and one of their staff actually came by just as we were about to finish eating to chat with us and get our feedback about the food, service and ambience. And can I just mention that their serving portions are freaking H-U-G-E???!!! Kasi bapak serigala makan for tiga hari tiga malam pun takkan habis siak.

Really glad there's another restaurant option that bakal pengantin can choose for their wedding reception lor - I went through their Facebook albums and some of the food servings really looks damn good, man!!! Anyway, some pictures of the venue kapoked from Charisma D'Venue's Facebook:

(Source: Charisma D'Venue)

The interior looks really nice and clean and I think the ambience will be very good and cosy for small intimate receptions! Kind of reminds me of the cosiness and intimacy that the lovely hall at The Colonial @ Scotts offers, although I personally prefer The Colonial's interior design lah. Think it's less accessible than Charisma D'Venue though, plus I think parking's gonna be quite a bitch for guests at The Colonial.

(Source: The Colonial @ Scotts)

Their rental prices are cheaper than I expected, by the way! Oklah, prices tak cheap gila lah, definitely lebih dari void deck but somehow I expected it to cost more than it actually does. Ada their own in-house caterers but can bring in your own caterers if you want! But kena bayar additional costs of course haha (Thanks fellow BTB Azeah for this gem!)

Oh! You all know which gem of a venue has closed for bookings because it will undergo renovations from May 2013 to end of 2014 tak? Ah yes, The Grassroots Club! I heard about the venue possibly undergoing renovations since late last year but the estimated period was recently confirmed by Azeah and another BTB Nora (Hey babe! Few more months aje lagi, jia you!) who asked the management themselves. 

Sigh. So sayang for BTBs who are getting married within the next few months until end of 2014 who might have found The Grassroots Club the ideal wedding venue for them lor! Really like the venue and I always recommend it to family, friends and other BTBs whenever they say they're looking for spacious air-conditioned venue that can cater a very big guestlist. My mamat and I ever agreed that if The Grassroots Club is located in the East, it'd be the most perfect venue choice for us! Unfortunately it isn't, so kena settle for another spacious but unfortunately non-airconditioned venue in the East lor.

But I guess on the flipside this is good news for 2015 BTBs because this means that when The Grassroots Club function hall opens its doors again to the public in 2015 after almost a year of renovations, the venue will look lagi nicer and lagi newer and lagi gorgeous, insya Allah! Kalau kahwing kat situ in 2015 mesti masih ada bau bau carpet baru, dinding baru and lighting baru, you! But of course, with all the bau bau baru, messsti ada bau bau harga baru jugak lah ye.