Milan 2012: Day 6

For breakfast, because we both didn't want starch and I had to clear the fridge by the weekend, it was another plate of buffalo mozza with pan-fried fiori, beans and tomatoes. How lean is that.

Today was another full day at the university for Yi, as her students were in the middle of their projects which were to be presented to students and lecturers the next Tuesday.

It was a rainy day, the slow protracted drizzle kind of rainy day. What I love about Milan is there's no wind and even on a single-digit temperature day, it isn't cold. I will never go to Wellington, NZ ever again because the wind and cold there in the fall is beyond horrid.

E, assistant to the CEO of Domus and NABA, had invited us for dinner at her apartment that evening. We were thrilled that dinner was going to be a home-cooked meal because by then we were both quite bored with the same kind of menu everywhere we went. It is always a treat and honor to be invited for dinner at home anywhere, and I especially appreciated E's hospitality because she left the office at 6 pm to get home to prepare dinner for us.


For starters, we had salami, smoked mozza, savory pastries, piclkles, baby carrots, sweet cherry roma tomatoes and a white aperitif.


E's friend, J and wife, brought their beagle, the most well-behaved dog I've ever met. Momy was so well-trained that she stared at the food without plunging her face in even though she could easily grab some off the coffee table. While we were having dinner, I could see Momy in the kitchen from where I was sitting, staring up at the pots of food but she never leapt up the counter or made any attempt to get at the food.


We arrived just when W, Evelina's husband, was cooking the pasta. It took us about 45 minutes to get to their place so E must be a super efficient cook to get her mixed stew dish ready so quickly!


I nearly got ourselves a beagle in April this year but since we were to be in the States for a month, I had to give the puppy up. I wonder sometimes how it's doing and whether it's as good as Momy.


W's fresh fettucine with porcini was delicious, so good that Yi and I didn't leave much room for the beautiful salad (not in picture) or the mixed meat stew. Just looking at the photo makes me hungry.


E's mixed meat stew was made with beef, chicken and sausages. This is comfort food, and served with bread, it was perfect for the chilly weather. I've got to get the recipe from her!


I'm not sure what this is but there's custard inside.


We had two digestifs, one of which was grappa (not in picture) and it was stronger than vodka!

It's amazing to meet new friends and feel so comfortable with them. J and wife were wonderful and I enjoyed their stories and interesting insight about so many things. W is one of those people who are so warm  and friendly that they smile with their eyes. And he must read a lot, because he has such discerning observations and awareness about the world. E is so bubbly, warm and open-arm invitingly friendly that I am glad I didn't know her well enough because if I do, I'd miss her (which I already do)! We had an absolutely wonderful evening, and I've never had a dinner where the topics could range from buildings (the green building being built in Milan, the La Sagrada Familia, the church under the Milan Cathedral), food (Italian, Chinese, Malaysian, recipes), politics (corruption, bureaucracy, how things can be better), phonetics (why we should pronounce words a certain way, and Italian is pronounced the way it is spelt), travel (Istanbul, Malaysia, European countries), movies (Yi's turn down of the artwork for the album for The Fifty Shades of Grey lead to references to Deep Throat and The Last Tango In Paris, both of which I never saw but implied I did because I didn't want to be seen as ignorant, lol) to why Brad Pitt did the Chanel 5 commercial! Now, I can't think of many men I know who can hold interesting conversations on such diverse topics. We didn't leave until nearly 1 am, and yet I wish we had more time together!