Looking back on 2008

Every year come this day I will be overwhelmed with emotions, both happy and not so happy moments will start replaying in my mind.

Work

Joined a new firm and I've not looked back since. Although the person who hired me has left, I still would like to thank him for thinking of me or I would not have been part of this wonderful team whom I dearly call my extended family. It's gonna be a rough ride for the months to come but I hope I will continue to be part of the family for I'm already in love with them. Nevertheless, what shall be shall be, and like I always say, fingers, toes and everything crossed.

Family

I'm happy for Sis as she has finally found the love of her life and we are also in love with the Andrea. He is a sweet guy and they are such a lovely couple together. No relationship is perfect and I wish them the best and am looking forward to their wedding bells.

This year is not the best for Mummy as she was down with another heart seizure and we also found out she's allergic to seafood. She is currently on a medical study for her heart problem and we hope it will give her a better quality of life. After one near death incident I've come to appreciate her more.

Self

Nothing much has changed on the personal front except that I hope to make it through my final term at school. It's gonna be another hectic 3 months but I will persevere and hopefully do well. As I'm not one to stick to my new year resolutions so I've stop making a list of things that will not/cannot be materialized. Instead, I prefer to go with the flow and play it by ear.

Here's wishing all my loved ones and friends a Happy and Healthy 2009! May all your wishes come true.

Boxing Day

Missed Ed and Shuping's housewarming and so we planned for a post-Christmas get-together. The drive in to JB was pretty smooth except for a slight issue - I was glued to my books and failed to realize our car was already at the immigration counter and it was too late when I looked up as this was what I heard, "Next time look at the Officer when you are here". My fault so no basis for argument. She had the last say. Darn!

Finally set foot into the finished product of the Goh Villa located at Taman Austin Perdana. It was a lovely 4 bedroom semi-detached nicely done up for a family of 5. First stop, we were whisked off for a session of Thai aromatherapy message with compliments from the boss. Thereafter we adjourned for dinner at one of the eatery famous for their bittergourd soup. I forgot about taking pix of the food as I usually would because I was famished having had 1 popiah for brunch - record breaking for a foodie, I know. Food arrived and we devoured every bit of it, it was super-licious.

Ed & Shuping's Princesses, GG and Anthea. The girls have grown so much and they're such great hosts during our stay, especially the cheeky lil Anthea (in blue). Cute bellas ; )

This was where we had our breakfast. The weather was perfect with the sun and just enough breeze to warrant alfesco dining. Dunno the street name but Ed says it's along Johor Jaya. It's next to it is the Petronas pump station if that helps.

The roti prata or roti canai commonly known to the locals was nice even on it's own. Notice the red patch on the gravy? It's actually sambal chilli. Sounds strange when Ed first me about it but the marrying of chickpeas based curry gravy and sambal hit the right notes. Good one!

The way Ed likes his prata... chickpea curry, sambal and a good amount of sugar.

Lunch was at Ed's cousin's Bah Kut Teh stall. Unlike our local version of peppery soup, theirs had a subtle hint of herbs, combined with the sweetness of pork it was mama-licious.

Group pix of the JB 2D/1N trip, minus Hubby who was the photographer

Christmas Day

Fah Lalalala Lalala... This has always been time I most look forward to as there is no better time (and reason) to eat, drink and make merry with your loved ones and friends; people you care about and want to share this special moment of the year with.

Have a Wonderful Christmas!

As the year comes to a close
and the snow flies once again,
family and friends should be together,
it is that love we wish to send.
May you have a Merry Christmas,
may your wishes all come true.
May you enjoy all of your tomorrows.

Welcome to Taiwan!

I finally set foot into Taipei after months of waiting. The weather was perfect, ranging between 12 to 21 degrees celsius while we were there. Taiwanese are a nice bunch of people, hardly are they loud nor rude, unlike the 'neighbour'. I highly recommend Les Suites Ching Cheng for their excellent service and I luv the interior decor that exudes warmth and coziness that feels like home away from home. I will definitely go back again.

Ivy, Me & Angie before the welcome dinner (taken outside Fifi Teahouse)

My favourite pix (taken with Audrey). Strike a pose!

Group pix

Day 2 at Jiu Fen. Local delicacies are aplenty here.

Hot chicks outside the National Museum.

I ran a mile away when I smelt this.... You are right... Smelly Tofu. YL, Angie and Audrey had a go at it and they luv it. Apparently it tasted good... Next time maybe.

A whole block of peanut candy that's shaved into powdered form to be eaten with ice-cream wrapped in popiah skin.

Taiwanese luv dogs and you can see them almost everywhere from the streets to the malls to the restaurants. This adorable doggy is the boss of the shop - the collar says it all.

As if there aren't enough disasters around us, at 3:45 pm today news came of the 6.0 richter scale earthquake in southern Taiwan. At about the same time the money changer had arrived at our office and we were at one point hesitating whether to go ahead but since we've committed to him there's no backing out. Anyway, S assured us that Taipei is safe so the trip is firmed afterall, but will avoid tall buildings per Hubby's advice. Also, since the news hasn't made headlines until now I assume it is still okay.

Finally! Result for Ethics & Governance individual project was released today. Got an SMS text from Emily and immediately I felt butterflies in the stomach as it's one tough paper that I hope only to pass. Darn! Though I tried to manage expectations I was still disappointed when I saw my grade - managed a pass only. Shortly after few other SMS-es came through and lots of exchanges followed as a good handful of us scored 15/30 which is rather bizarre. Some suggested to call the school for clarification but I didn't see the need. Then, at 5:30 pm I got another SMS from Emily to say the school made a blunder and have made the necessary adjustments... I had no expectations at all in case I'm disappointed again. But I was wrong!!! I stared at the screen in disbelief, from a pass grade to distinction. Felt relieved for a while but nothing is for sure until the exam results are out. 3 days and counting.

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Hubby decided he wants a real tree for this Christmas so we headed down to Thomson to check it out. He wanted the scandivanian tree as it feels more homely, I'm however indifferent be it real or fake tree, I just want the tree up soon. Since we're both going to be away this weekend we won't be able to get the tree ready until next weekend. No tree but we have put up some Christmas decor to kick start the mood a little. Until I have the tree up, it doesn't feel like Christmas as yet.

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4 days to Taipei! I'm looking forward to the food, shopping, and the list goes on ; )

Korean Drama

Gotta admit it, I'm slow to warm up to Korean drama. Actually I've only watched 4 to date namely, Summer Love, Da Chang Jin, My Lovely Samsoonm, and Coffee Prince. Guess I've been influenced by my dear die-hard fans of Korean Drama colleagues. Anyway, here's my current favourite - love the onscreen couple Gong Yoo and Yong Eun Huey, aren't they cute?

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It's that time of the year again - the time of the year that everyone looks forward to regardless of age. A time to ring in the festive season. Angie has organized a girl's nite out on Dec 19th and we've been requested to dress in anything but LBD... Am so looking forward to the evening where we'll kick off with a nice dinner at Ember followed by drinks at the Screening Room. Yahooooooooo!!! Tis the season to make merry ; )

An Enchanted Evening...

Had our year end party last Friday at Raffles Hotel. The function room was transformed into a kingdom with black & white table set up, candles, flowers, chandeliers, all added a nice touch to the evening's theme - Fairytale.

So many things happened over the past 2 weeks. I've to sit down and think it through before I can put it down on writing. Nothing major, just some changes in plans which is part of life, always expect the unexpected. Or should it be what to expect of the unexpected? Ok, dun think I'm making much sense here.

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The office party is barely 2 days away and I'm nursing a gastric flu, of all times... it was a sudden attack as I was feeling perfectly fine all day yesterday until about 7-ish. Decided to drop by the 24-hr clinic in Bishan enroute to MIL's place. I was relieved to know there was only me and another patient waiting to collect medication and I wasn't expecting the whole process to last almost 30 minutes from registration to consultation to med collection. This is not the worst. The patient before me had to make a U-turn as the nurse had forgotten about the MC, and even a simple request like this would take up 5 mins. Why? Because one of the nurse was busy with her work and the other whom I thought was going to attend to the request had walked over to pick up the ruler and then went to the side of the counter and starting scratching the unreachable part of her back with the measuring tool. I found the scene absurd, but it's not over yet. The phone rang... (I could only relate what I heard).

Nurse: Good evening, XXX clinic... Oh, your wife is having diarrhoea, vomitted and too weak to walk ah? She's pregnant... You want house call huh? Wait a minute. (she walks over to doc's office).

Nurse: Patient's husband called to say.... How?

Doc: No... call mobile doctor (can't hear the exact conversation but it was a clear no)

I hope the doctor can sleep well at night as I'm sure this is not the first time he has turned down house calls if he was so quick to suggest alternatives.

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It's my first year-end party with the Firm, YL's first time organizing an office party, so we both hope it'll all go smoothly as planned. Of course with any events you have to expect last minute glitches and that'ss how it is. As always, I'm hoping for the best and prepared for any last last minute hiccups - can't get too uptight about it or you'll never enjoy the process. It's all about having fun, right? I'm sure to update my blog with party details.

Finished my last paper at 1:30 pm. Had lunch with Hubby at Botak Jones - it was not worth mentioning so no photos nor reviews. Am now at Vivo City sipping Iced Hazlenut Latte and updating my blog... hehe... This is my definition of LIFE IS GREAT.

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ESPN reports "McLaren's Lewis Hamilton roared into the record books as Formula One's youngest champion on Sunday when he snatched the title in last-lap drama at the Brazilian Grand Prix. He did it! The race has proved to me that in order to win you need not only excellent driving skills but also good strategy. Given the erratic weather at Sao Paulo the drivers and their team had to strategize the number of pit stops and when. Massa had it good throughout the race in his homeground and was in leading from pole position right through the last lap - he was basically racing with breeze. On the other hand, Lewis was not that lucky and the last moment of the race and he sent my BP level up a few notches 2nd half of the final lap... he almost didn't make it to championship title. Boy... it was close but such an interesting race to watch. In a nutshell, losing my beauty sleep was well worth it.

Final Season of F1 Grand Prix

It's 12:50 am as I pen this entry. Why am I still up at this hour, especially since I have a morning paper tomorrow? I want to witness, fingers crossed, the crowning of F1's first ever youngest black champion driver. TWO possibilities to ensure the best possible outcome in view of Hamilton's standing at today's race - (1) He finishes off 5th of higher OR (2) Filippe Massa doesn't make it to Top 2. Let's hope he does not commit the same mistakes he did last season, which should not be the case, but that is provided he keeps a clear mind and focus on the race. Once bitten twice shy....

Okie, the race is about the start soon. I'm going to watch the race and 'study', concurrently.

Makan Treats From The East And North East

After weeks of waiting the upgrading works at Changi Village hawker center is finally completed. I know the first thing that comes to mind at the mere mention of Changi Village would be the well-known Changi International Nasi Lemak that serves a never-ending queue of customes. However, there are other stalls that's worth exploring and one of our prefered stall would be Rong Ji (pictured below). Came to know about them through a local variety food program and has since been their loyal customers for years now. I've tried both their Hor Fun (Ipoh & Chicken Chop), Bak Chor Mee and Wanton Noodles, and my vote goes to the Hor Fun. Although I have to agree that the authentic Ipoh Hor Fun is unbeatable for it's smooth as stain texture, this is no where near, but the taste is commendable for a local standard. If still unconvinced, they are also on Makansutra's billboard. Note though their friendly competitor - Amigo - next door, too, serve both versions of Hor Fun and has their own pool of loyal customers but Rong Ji is still my choice if I have to decide between the two.

The Chicken chop is crispy and the gravy is light yet flavoursome.

This is a newly opened Fried Hokkien Noodle stall just across from Rong Ji. Their signboard screams plain and boring, but it was the Live To Eat certification that caught my attention. I say it's a cross between Tian Tian Lai at TPY Lorong 1 and Thye Hong @ Food Republic, though I would prefer it if they had used a bit more stock while frying the noodles, as it was a bit dry. Despite this I rate them 3.5/5. I'll try them again.

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Woke up to a rainy Saturday morning... Perfect! Unfortunately my Mee Siam supplier across the road is closed for renovation so had to crack my brains on alternatives. Finally, we headed down to He Ji at Jalan Kayu (few shops down from Jerry's BBQ) for wanton noodles. We were quite excited when we saw that their noodles are made from duck eggs, because the first time we tried similar noodles was in Johor, Pontian, and it was absolutely fantastic; the noodles has a nice crunch to it from the first strand you pick up to the final bits after a satisfying meal... It was heavenly... BUT we were disappointed by this self-acclaimed "people from all over the world knows about them" noodles. Crunch at first bite and it was soggy thereafter. Nonetheless, they were quite generous with the charsiew which was also mediocre (2.5/5).

I'm a fan of dumplings and theirs was acceptable. If only they had water chestnuts and black fungus like how my Mom does it, then it would be good. Taste wise - 3/5.

Non-spicy vs spicy vesion. I think the former looks more appetizing though Hubby said there's nothing to rave about.

"It takes some skill to spoil a breakfast - even the English can't do it." ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

Happy Deepavali to all!!!! If only the government declares tomorrow an holiday too, that would be lovely. Wishing thinking on my part.

Hubby said it doesn't feel like a long weekend which I totally agree. We're "grounded" at home due to my upcoming exams. Have been trying very hard to focus on my revision but there's always one thing that I'm easily distracted with... it's none other than food. The thought of Saturday dinners never fail to excite me. Simple as it may seem - due to my limited culinary skills I have to admit - to many but it's that little effort that goes a long way.

Hubby likes rocket salad and I'm into Mozarella cheese, what better to prepare than this appetizer? Drizzled with a light splash of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and a touch of Italian herbs... the way I like it.

Hubby's main - Opps! I forgot what fish was that...

My main - Salmon fish, rich in Omega 3, good for the brain which is much needed for my exams ; ) For the sauce, I simply mixed 2 portion of sour ceam with 1 portion of mustard and a squeeze of lemon juice.

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Last evening I managed to complete the jog from home to Punggol End. Boy! I was huffing, puffing and sweating like a pig when we hit the jetty but it sure felt good after concurring 2 rather steep uphill slopes. If not for safety reasons I would like to make that my usual jogging track as the road is well sheltered with little traffic.

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Today's Straits Times featured an article on HORROR LIFTS. Hubby witnessed one such act recently, i.e. the person before him defecated in the lift... he concluded the person must have had a severe case of food poisoning thus the inability to control his/her bowels... The next thing that came to mind was, what if the culprit was caught red-handed? How embarrassing can that be? Also thankfully I wasn't there or I would have been the culprit next in line, as I'm pretty sure I'll instinctively puke along the lines of the "object" and that makes 2 horrifying sight. Gross....

How can I be so lucky twice in a row?

I am indeed.... For the second time I placed my costume order and am disappointed yet again. So, I may not be the Green Pixie afterall. Just as I thought I'm at my wit's end this fairy comes to mind.... Tooth Fairy (photo below)! For sure it won't be out of stock and I may even make everyone laugh "till their teeth drop"... You don't call you a tooth fairy for nothing, you know.

All In A Week...

This is me trying to contain my week's happenings in ONE blog entry. Please bear with me. Life will resume to normal after my exams.

BIRTHDAYS

Celebrated TWO birthdays last week. Shane (Angie's baby) turned SEVEN on October 16th and my little niece, Isabel, turned FOUR on the 20th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

P.S. No photos of Isabel's birthday as the little girl got a bit shy and shunned the camera when we sang her the birthday song. She was probably caught off-guard when the 12-adult choir starting crooning ;P

Shane's birthday cake with compliments from MIL (Audrey). It's Chocolate Amber cake from Bakerzin. It was ooohhh so good... I don't fancy mousse cake but this one had me asking for seconds... This gets 4 out of 5 for me.

"Is Elizabeth Taylor fat?Her favourite food is seconds ~ Joan Rivers

The birthday boy was ooohhh so shy...

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Tried a similar starter at Swiss Culture (Sky Garden @ Suntec) and decided I'll try cooking it for Hubby. The recipe was fairly simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients: Clams (rinsed), 25g butter, garlic and onion finely chopped, parsley, salt & pepper, white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc).

Method: Melt the butter in a hot pan, saute the onion and garlic, add in the clams and saute for a min. Add wine (about 2 cups) and let it simmer for about 5 mins. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Voila!

Eve's version of Aglio Olio. Another easy recipe for a lazy weekend.

Ingredients: Fresh pasta (used Fettucine), Mushrooms (Shitake, Portabello, Porcini), Butter, Onions and Garlic finely chopped, XO, Sundried Tomatoes, Salt & Pepper to taste.

Method: Melt butter in a pan, saute onions and garlic till fragrant, add in mushrooms and continue to saute for about 30 secs, then add in XO and continue to saute till the mushrooms start to sweat a little. Once it's done, add in the cooked pasta and sundried tomatoes. I added in the oil from tomatoes to lend a touch of flavour. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese before serving.

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food ~ George Bernard Shaw

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The office is getting all excited and ready for the party! Ivy got this wig from Hong Kong. Cool huh? Model in the photo is none other than Preyati *LOL*

After much deliberation, I finally decided to dress up as the Green Pixie for the Christmas party for I need to coordinate with my other 2 lovely organizers, the pink and earth fairies. Because of this outfit I need to put in extra hours of work each day.... on my flabby arms, which I desperately need to transform them from soft as Tofu to firm as Tau Gua. It's gonna be a challenge as Mom said I've inherited her Crab Tong arms... Thanks Mom, for rubbing it in : (

P.S. Above photo is the "before" look to attract buyers... I'll try to post the "after" look when I've tried it on, yes, provided I look decent enough to be photographed.

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Flipper is on leave!!!!!!!!! Hurray!!! This morning Flipper sms-ed me to activate his out-of-office message, so, happily, I walked over to his office and saw that he had taken the laptop with him... Duh. Anyway, told him to activate it with his BB.

Celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary last Friday in a rather quiet and simple fashion. Had planned to try out the Spanish restaurant - Tapas Tree - at Changi Village but it had to be postpone due to unforeseen circumstances because our dear Vicki is never comfortable being home alone, especially so on rainy days, so there you have it, we stayed in with our dear friend. There she was happily munching on her treats while we chomped down the following...

Fiery buffalo wings from Jerry's Grill. KF Seetoh rated this dish 'die die must try'; and we further reiterate it with 'die die also must order'. It's by far the best I've tried.

Gourmet wood fired pizza from Spizza. Our order for the evening was Elisa. This is as best as we can get near home.

What is a decent meal without a nice bottle of wine? Before, I disliked Shiraz, but Nick has managed to reintroduce Hubby & I to this dark skin variety of grape. There is a lot more juice in grapefruit than meets the eye.

Great food is like great sex. The more you have the more you want. ~Gael Greene

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The F1 Grand Prix fever in Singapore may have died down weeks ago but another fever started, right here! Presenting to you my very first F1 accessory. How cool is it... If only they have a baby version for doggies, I'll definitely get it for Vicki - She is of course not pleased that this huge piece of thing but I needed a model other than yours truly ;P

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After about 2 weeks of anticipation our orders shipment finally arrived, but my dress was missing in action so I'm back to costume searching (again). It's fun but the ones I fancy are either out-of-stock or one size too big. The party is 1.5 months away and I'm still searching for the perfect outfit. Urgh!! It's so frustrating...

Carol said it's pricey to order but if I'm paying about the same to rent a one that has been recycled countless times and have to put up with the smell of mothballs, I rather pay for a brand new. I'm sure it costs more but definitely worth it.

Selamat Hari Raya Adilfitri

After weeks of craving we finally made our way to Geylang Serai for our all time favourite, Ayam Pecek. Discovered it 4 years ago and have since been eating it faithfully every Ramadhan period, but the ones this year is by far THE BEST! The wings were meaty and juicy and the lemongrass in the dipping sauce added an extra punch to the already delectable dish. Sedap!

Spent the evening of Hari Raya at thy royal palace - The Meadows. No show on the festive makan, instead we had a good spread of snacks. In addition, to mark the festivitiy, I ordered a blackforest cake from none other than Pine Gardens... alcohol free.... Ok.... who am I kidding right? When I called to place an order the staff on the other line was cool about it until when she asked for the wordings on the cake. She repeated twice to me there's alcohol content despite my assurance. It's only when I further assured her it's for a modern Malay family then it was case closed. However, that was not the end of it... upon collection of the cake another staff member looked a little stunned when she saw the wordings on the cake and I had to assure her once again and repeated what was told before. Hubby said I should have pulled a fast one on them and insisted that I've placed a special order without alcohol and then watch them scramble... that would be funny. Having said that, I do appreciate their professionalism - Caveat Venditor was well practiced here.

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Yesterday was also Children's Day and a very special one for new parents, Karen and Ronnie as they welcomed their first child, Rachel. Visited Baby Rachel today and she was so adorable. Dunno why but moments like this never fail to inspire me to re-visit my maternal instincts. No comments. We shall see about that.

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Exam is slightly less than 4 weeks away and I've yet to start on the revision. Old habits never die. Keep telling myself I will do it tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after... Not much room for procrastination, gotta start real soon.

Forumula 1 Weekend

As of yesterday, 27 September 2008, I'm a converted fan of F1. Thanks to Sis, Hubby and I attended our very first F1 race, what's even better (besides the free tix) is that it's the world's first night race held right here in our homeland. Before, I used to think it's boring and meaningless watching the race, but not anymore. On the contrary it's quite an experience - the noise of the engine though deafening brings the thrill to another notch and as the drivers were racing for the finishing line it was adrenaline pumping moments for the spectators, or fans per se. And I'm now officially one of them. In spite of the blazing sun and in between breaks we had an enjoyable time watching the race.

The Singapore Grand Prix ended a while ago and I'm a tad disappointed Lewis Hamilton of McLaren didn't win the Singapore race. However, he is way ahead in the championship lead and looks set to win for this season - touchwood - if all goes smoothly at the remaining 4 races this year. This being his 2nd F1 race, Hamilton is already making news. You go man!

Some photos to share...

Formula 1 pass aka tickets. It comes in a set of 3 - one for each day.

The entrance

Some other races were held in the day. This was taken before the Porsche race.

The grand stand was filling up just before the qualifying race.

One of the F1 driver negotiating a sharp bend which was where we were seated.