Rock Bar at Ayana Resort, Bali

THE NIGHT IS STILL YOUNG: Partying till the sun goes down at Ayana Resort’s Rock Bar, which as the name suggests, rests on rocks jutting out into the sea. A wonderful place to enjoy an apertif and see the sunset before retreating to one of the resort restaurants for a sumptuous dinner.

Love this place, I really have to go back again soon.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 – My best camera yet!

I had been uninspired for the longest time, which to some extent explains the lack of updates here in recent months.

Sometimes, it really does take a new toy to reignite your passion for a hobby.

For me, it’s the Fujifilm X-Pro1 – a camera I had long considered out of my budget (despite my spendthrift tendencies), and with a sluggish AF, didn’t seem to worth the money. But it came into my radar again after I read that the latest firmware version has raised the AF speed to more acceptable levels.

Given that film was getting way too expensive to use, and that I felt the Ricoh GXR system has offered little to look forward to with no new lenses in the horizon, I decided to sell off all my existing camera gear on the local online photography forum Clubsnap to fund my transition to Fujifilm.

And I am so glad I did.

READY FOR PRIMETIME: My fully accessorised Fujifilm X-Pro1.

I chose the 18mm f2 and 60mm f2.4 to replicate my favourite lenses in my Nikon/Ricoh setup. The image quality of the 60mm is just stellar, and I daresay it rivals my Zeiss ZF 100mm f2 Makro-Planar. I intend to use it mainly for portraits, street photography and flowers, just as I did with my first “pro” lens, the Nikon AFS Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8. The 18mm, being wider, is great for general photography, and it's quite compact too. It's not as sharp as the 60mm, but sharpness isn't everything.

Well, I couldn't just stop there – the X-Pro1 is such a gorgeous camera and it deserves the right accessories to bring out its best. After endless hours of research online and a trip to the usual camera shops in Singapore, I finally managed to put together my ideal set of accessories for the camera.

Mozaic Bali

A couple of weeks back, I headed to touristy Bali with Joanne for a short but memorable getaway. It was our first couple trip and it had to be special.

So our choice of abode: The Alila Ubud. Located up in the highlands of Ubud and perched on the beautiful Ayung River Valley, staying at the Alila was truly a lap of luxury. Stunning infinity pool, perfect weather and impeccable service ("Hello Mr Lin!")... We only wished we could stay another night. In fact we nearly did.

But anyway a great trip, for me, isn't complete without good food. On our first night, we went to a French restaurant, the Mozaic Ubud, said to be one of the finest restaurants on the island. 

The Lounge, where we ordered our choice of courses and had our apertifs.

I had the Chef's Tasting Menu, while Joanne had the Discovery Menu, which emphasised more on local tastes. Both were 8-course menus. The other two options were a vegetarian menu and a chef's choice menu, where the chef will customise the meal based on your preferences.

A little snack to go with my cappucino-tini.

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010.

The Amuse Bouche

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010.

Brown rice bread and beansprouts bread were served with salted butter. I love bread and this was really good. The butter was especially delicious.

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010. 

Langoustine tails in a citrus ceviche (Sturia caviar, vodka cream, micro coriander & wild lemon peppers)

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010. 

Pan seared Tasmanian salmon fillet (in a pinot noir glaze, sauteed wild mushroom & ginger aromatic)

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010. 

Baked rabbit and foie gras pastilla (slow confied rabbit, apple ginger puree & calvados gastrique)

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010.

Victoria rack of lamb (braised endive's, peaches & Guiness beer emulsion in a jasmine-balsamic coulis)

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010.  

Valrhona "Guanaja" Chocolate Mousse (Kaffir lime, cilantro & green pepper corn gelee in a Sechuan-wine reduction)

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010. 

Petits Fours

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010. 

There was also the Ginger flower sorbet (organic strawberries, aromatic lime leaf & black rice tuile) served after the rack of lamb, which I didn't manage to get a good shot of. My flash actually ran out of battery after the rack of lamb, and you can probably tell from the pictures. 

All the courses were excellent, but my dish of the night had to be the rack of lamb. I had it medium well, and the texture and taste were just the way I like it. Succulent but yet firm. And the accompanying potato puree (which also came with Joanne's course) was heavenly. 

But at the end of the day, it was the company that made it a memorable meal. Joanne and I both loved the place and I don't think we'll have any qualms about going back again when we drop by Ubud again. 

© Lin Zhaowei, 2010. 

More to come...