The Eleventh Year

[O'maJ has rebranded to Tomahawk on 1 May, 2021.]

The man and I have been married for 11 years, and we've been together for 16. He reminded me so. I didn't take stock and I'm not counting. So ermmm... okay. That's quite a lifetime. He quipped and said he hasn't dated any girl for this long. LOL. NOT FUNNY. SO LAME. Are we in one of DC's multiverse or living in one of its alternate universes?

We didn't chart out celebrations for our eleventh wedding anniversary. We didn't buy each other gifts either. (Absolutely no flowers, thankyouverymuch. I made an exception for our tenth.) I simply made the effort to prep breakfast for the man this anniversary week; be a little more thoughtful and not nag him when he forgets to switch off the lights and fans, or when he drops crumbs all over his armchair. Oof. He made the effort to ask me where I wanted to take the dog and what I wanted to eat. Actually, he does that all the time. He simply made himself available to fetch me around in the car this week, amidst his super busy call schedule. We simply reveled in the mundane. There is romance in the everyday if you know where to look.  

18 October 2020 was a Sunday. There're years when we might feel like doing something special. Then there're years when we don't. This year, we didn't want to have a champagne brunch or a heavy dinner. My stomach isn't equipped for those anymore. Sunday was spent at the park with the dog, and tapau-ing a delicious lunch from the usual favorite Tiffin Bhavan on Campbell Lane in Little India, and we tapau-ed a ban mian dinner from a random food center in Potong Pasir. Hahaha. We spent the day chilling out and in thanksgiving, grateful for our health, a paid-up roof over our heads, not burdened by any family debts, and not having to worry about how next year's bills will be paid. 

On the eve of our wedding anniversary, we went to dinner at O'maJ, and had wine. It was like... the usual weekly dinner I suppose. Except that we were very focused on having truckloads of beef. I haven't had steak like this for a long while, and I didn't mind it. Limited stomach space meant that we could only have the 1.1kg wagyu tomahawk ribeye, and a salted fish burratina served with honey on crisp focaccia. No carbs, and nothing else. The man couldn't resist having his favorite hearty beefy tomato soup. 

The tomahawk came with the usual sides of sautéed mushrooms and garlic mash, but it also offered condiments of freshly grated horseradish, and freshly ground pepper. We get to choose between four peppers- Sarawak white or black pepper, dried green peppers that lent a lime flavor, and dried pink peppercorns that are more fruity. We chose the green peppers to go with the beef. I'm not a mustard person, but freshly grated horseradish is another story. That is such a luxury! Peppers and grated horseradis paired so beautifully with the beef. Mmmmm.

We didn't even bother about which vintage of wine we should have because we aren't connoisseurs. We just wanted something palatable and easy. I was happy with a familiar pinot noir. We picked O'maJ because we didn't want to leave the dog at home. 😂 The girl was on her bestest behavior. She was very smug and proud to be out and about with us.