So far there have been two big social events in January.

First up, we had Sue and J's farewell party at Opera Bar. Sue and J moved to Hong Kong in early January. Andrew and I returned home in November 2009. Since then my brother has moved to Hong Kong, my sister has moved to London and now one of my closest friends has also left the country. Andrew and I are trying not to take it personally. Good luck Sue and J! We hope you have many exciting adventures.

Andrew's birthday was the next "big" event. It was really only a quiet one as you should stop expecting people to make a big deal out of your birthday after you turn eleven. Andrew and I started his birthday celebrations with drinkies at Orbit Bar at the Summit. You'd think it was a place only for tourists but even as a resident Sydneysider you can appreciate the view. It's a lovely place to be at sunset. We then headed to the Chophouse where we proceeded to eat way too much meat. Great meal and great service. For his birthday this year I got Andrew a voucher for an hour flight in a Boeing 737 simulator. He's planning to try some aerobatics on his flight. I'm glad that there aren't any real passengers.

You know you're in for a big night when your dinner party of eight people has eight bottles of wine between them. Yes, that's right...a bottle of wine each. Last Friday, we went out to celebrate J's 30th birthday and I think everyone involved had a big one. We started out with steak on a sword and grilled chicken at Petersham Charcoal Chicken and finished the evening with cocktails and karaoke at the Royal Hotel in Leichhardt.

I think it's quite evident from the photos that we all had more than enough to drink throughout the course of the evening. I'm nicknaming J's birthday event, the night of silly faces. The photos make me giggle.

Happy Birthday J! I hope I have as much fun when I turn 30. (photos)

Sue has quite rightly pointed out that I'm yet to post about her Wedding day. Oops! I do have an excuse... blog etiquette requires that you post only after the person who "owns" the news, posts on their own blog. So, I was waiting for Sue to post on noodlebowl and then work got crazy busy and before I knew it, it's a month after the fact. So, let me remedy the situation.

Sue-Lin and Jason were married on a gorgeous Autumn day on a hilltop overlooking a vineyard in the Hunter. Sue's beautiful dress sparkled in the sunlight, J grinned cheesily, the bridesmaids were HAWT (of course) and groomsmen spunky, the guests cheered when J and Sue were announced as husband and wife. The reception was held at Rothbury Estate in the cask hall. Any reception which includes mashed potato and gravy, champagne and a band who attempt to sing the YMCA for the girls who requested it even though they don't know the words has to be good. Congratulations Sue and J! We hope you have a long and happy life together. May it be filled with shoes, noodles, potatoes, chicken, fun, laughter, and most importantly, Love. (photos)

Although, I think Sue was slightly happy that I was yet to post. She said that when reading FuShMuSh she could pretend that she still had a wedding and honeymoon to look forward to. Sorry for spoiling your day dream Sue!

It's been non-stop this week. It's been a crazy week for my head, my diet and my liver. We love Natalie very much, but we're glad she has gone back to London. I'm not sure I could have kept up the pace for very much longer *G*.

While she was busy gallivanting around Europe, Natalie missed out on our engagement celebration and Sue and J's engagement celebration. So, on Tuesday, Natalie treated us to an engagement dinner at XO in Surry Hills. I'm such a food ignoramus, I thought the name of the restaurant meant kisses and hugs. XO is actually an Asian invention, a spicy sauce made from a combination of dried shrimp, dried scallops, garlic, and other seasonings. It's named after a popular but very expensive type of brandy, which is fitting as XO sauce is quite expensive as well.

I can add XO to the funky bathrooms list. They have cool sinks, where the water comes from a pipe which drops out of the ceiling. I sneakily managed to take a photo. Although, I kept putting the camera away when I thought I heard someone coming. I'm not sure many people would understand why I would want to take photos in a bathroom.

When dinner was over we headed next door to the Clock for the necessary after-dinner cocktails. We had hoped to partake of the lovely concotions at Bar Cleveland but their cocktail bar is only open Thursday to Sunday. Strike one for Bar Cleveland! (photos)

Last night saw another Foods of the World dinner party. This time it was a yum-cha extravaganza hosted by Sue and J. Dishes on offer included: har gau (prawn dim sims), bbq pork rice rolls, bbq pork buns, sang choy bau, 5 spice chicken, salt n pepper squid, gai lan, fried rice and pork with 3 mushrooms. For dessert we had a range of specially purchased "Chinese" paddlepops (we couldn't find fortune cookies!).

Now for all you gwei lo, here is Sue-lin's easy tutorial for making and eating sang choy bau:

	Step 1: Select lettuce leaf It is very important to select a lettuce leaf that is cup shaped. Structural integrity is also an important consideration. Try and select a lettuce leaf with a back bone.		Step 2: Add Filling Add filling to the lettuce leaf. Do not add too much or you will compromise the structual integrity of your sang choy bau.
	Step 3: Add Sauce Add sauce to taste. Be careful it is very hot!!!		Step 4: Eat mmmmm, delicious! Try and see if you can fit the whole thing in your mouth at once!