One-2-Zero's Journal...

A note to my dearest friend, Vicki

2010-09-05T10:36:00.008+08:00

Dear Vicki,

If I had known this is going to happen I would have tried all means to prevent it from happening. It pains me now seeing you suffer and yet there's nothing I can do to help relieve the pain. If there's anything I could ask for now is for you to talk to me and tell me what you need. You have stopped barking when you see the hamster, but I can tell you are still excited at the sight of her because your tail still wags uncontollably. You no longer walk around the house like you used to, instead, each step is taken with tremendous effort. You have lost your interest in your favourite pastime - eating - because even bah kwa no longer excites you. The best you could do now is to try to make your way to the kitchen for water, and that's all that could excite you for now. But my friend, you need to eat to be strong again, you need food to take your medication. I'm sorry we had to force feed you with milo last night as I needed to get the medication into your system to aid in your recovery. Do you know how much fear there is in me when I know it's time for your injections? I dread the moment, no, I'm not afraid of needles, I'm fearful that you might throw up again after the Vitamin B shot because the nurse told me it should not happen after every shot but twice it happened. I know it hurts a I can tell from your expression. Trust me, I will try to do anything I could to make you feel better.

Don't worry about wetting the bed or not peeing on the designated area. I understand. It happens and we just have to take it one step at a time. Dogs are like humans, your health deteriorates with age but with the right medical care I know you will get well soon. You are a strong girl and we will overcome this together.

Random Thoughts

2010-08-23T22:49:00.003+08:00

A friend posted on her FB that the Singapore government thinks there should not be a retirement age. Agree? I watched the discussion on CNA last night and my stand is neutral. Let's just say this topic can be debated from a few angles. Lucky folks who claim their job is their passion - how much truth is there I don't know - may well agree with the statement because if you are indeed happy doing what you're doing then it's no longer a job (or chore) rather it's a joy to wake up to a brand new day pursuing your passion. On the other hand there are folks who work because they have to make ends meet. Case in point, I know of someone who is a late bloomer in the marriage department (not by choice)and with 2 young kids to support, although he's of retirement age there's not one day he would even come close to dreaming of that possibility as yet. Finally I think I belong to the this group of individuals who would argue that as long as the spirit is willing we would still like to stay active by continuing to work. Of course, by then, I probably would have qualified for 'my job is my passion' working class. Woo hoo!

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The header reads, "Food blogger who demands free meal sparks outrage oline." What was he thinking when he started the food blog. Was he expecting to leverage on his blogger status to earn free meals? Come to think of it I don't recall reading any reviews on hawker fare - I may be wrong - since the time I found out about his blog sometime last year. I think one should still pay for their share of food even if it's an invitation from the restaurant. Nothing is for free and if you do accept the kind offer then you're definitely expected to write a positive review in return in order to draw in the crowd, and you would not be doing your blog or the readers justice unless you are sure it's of neutral stand. But how is that possible, right? Well, Mr. Brad Lau, your blogging days are over. Next.

从出江湖

2010-06-22T21:52:00.003+08:00

Hello! I'm back. Long time no blog and many things to update, but where should I start...

The last 2 months have been an eventful one. First and foremost I finally made a trip to Seoul to meet up with Sis dearest. We spent a good 8 days in Seoul and Jeju and Andrea joined us for the weekend in Seoul. An advice from yours truly, there's no need to visit all the palaces, all you need is just one ticket to the Grand Palace and it's show hand. The weather was good except in Jeju where it rained for 1.5 days out of the 3-day trip. Nevertheless, I'm happy as I stayed at the Hyatt Regency where BOF shooting took place and, most importantly, I saw the chapel where Goo Jun Pyo almost said his wedding vow..... but the bride wasn't Jandi.... Otherwise food was good and the shopping was even better if not for my limited luggage space. It sounds crazy but I kind of miss Myeongdong - it is truly a shopping paradise day or night.

Next up I joined hubby in HK where I spent 2 days "exploring" the city while he was hard at work. Visited most of the malls and my best purchases are from none other than H&M. I wonder what is it about Singapore that they are not spreading their wings to this part of the globe yet? I'm still waiting. Spent a day in Macau and I'm quite sure I won't be back for a long time. Nothing impressive to say the least. Of course no trip is completed without good food. Sadly, we only got to experience decadent local cuisine at the final hours of our trip, last 4 hours to be exact. On the day of departure we headed out to Central before checking out and chanced upon a roast meat shop that was visited by Anthony Bourdain and so we had to give it a try. The roast meat didn't blow us away but their charsiew roasted to near perfection with the right balance of lean and fatty meat was satisfying. Just when we thought we are kind of contented another HK cafe caught our attention, and glad it did because they are suppose to be a hot favorite among the locals and even our very own Anna (FM 100.3) and Bryan Wong did a feature on their famous milk tea and toast. It was fantabulous!

My professional life has been least interesting until a month ago. I'm not going to elaborate on the details except that I'm glad alls well ends well. Fingers crossed!

Oh yes, this I have to mention. We finally put out act together and gave our walls a much deserved fresh coat of paint. Bade farewell to neutral tones and replaced it with shades of purple and grey. And, no more gold wall, silver reigns.

Before I forget. Note to Mr. Goh Cher Chay; I look forward to receiving your comment(s). Having difficulties locating the source? It's on the left bottom of each blog entry. Give me a call if you still can't find. I'll be more than happy to assist you my dear friend : )

Sepang Grand Prix

2010-04-19T21:44:00.010+08:00

Long time no blog! Not that I've run out of topics but dear PC has been cranky of late, and, of course, laziness got the better of me. What have I been up to? Lots actually. There's too much to talk about if I were to start extracting my memory board from March 9th (last date of blog entry was the 8th) so I'll just pen down the best event thus far.

To start with, Hubby and I made our way to Sepang (KL) during the Labour Day weekend for our first Grand Prix race. It was a last minute decision and all it took was 2 nights of planning and off we went. The supposedly 5-hour journey with 1 stopover took close to 7 hours to complete, coupled with wet weather. I used to think my Sister was crazy to travel the distance but I will now officially take back my words because it was all worth the trouble. Yes, the hour long of travelling from hotel to Sepang is not what I would have enjoyed doing but the moment when you set foot in Sepang circuit nothing else matters, not even the sweltering hot weather or the grey skies could dampen thy spirits.

This is the closest we got to Lewis Hamilton - my favourite driver - when his car skidded during the qualifying round. I was disappointed he didn't make it through Q1 but his superb and opportunistic driving skills saw him racing from position 22 to 6 at the end of the race, notwithstanding pit stops. Call him a brat but he surely is God on the race circuit, just like how he did it at Shanghai GP last weekend.

What's next? I'm 3 days away from Seoul trip with Sister. I've put together a list of Seoul Eats from restaurants to tent food to street food and will try to devour as much as I can. If all fails, I will go back for more, this time with Hubby in tow. I will make sure to update my blog soonest.

2010-03-08T21:56:00.013+08:00

下一站幸福终于播完了。。。这部戏真的很感动。每一次看了就哭，不过还是很想看因为故事内容真的很好。现在只能等买DVD 还有Soundtrack. 总之是百看和百听不厌。也因为这部戏让我发现到吴建浩的演技进步了很多（他在戏里的造型，帅！）而且也让我发现了安仪轩这个演员的存在。当让，还有可爱的小小彬 - 他的出现让剧情更加精彩。

现在的感觉很怪。好象是少了一样东西，应该是 withdrawal syndrom 吧。

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What's with the men these days? First it was 陈建彬 whom divorced his wife of many years to marry someone much younger; and now the recent buzz is on Jack Neo's affair with a girl at least 30 years younger... Yes, I deem her a girl as she's only 22 and 3 years older than his eldest son, so I wonder what went through his mind when he was with her? Doesn't it feel like sleeping with the daughter? Although all eyes are on them now but I think the losing party may not necessarily be Jack - all thanks to his wife who made a comment to the press saying, "aren't men all like that, and it's no big deal." Hey, lady, you may have shown the magnanimous side of you to the nation but what's with that comment? Are you instigating that it's okay for men to stray? Well, if that's her mentality then it's hardly any surprise that husband dearie did what she thinks is common and okay. Alright, I do pity her but her cool as cucumber attitude is just too good to be true. No?

This Wendy person, though she may be young but her bold actions were hardly that of a 22 year-old. The papers wrote she waited for him outside his house till wee hours of the morning and actually went into his house when he dared her to show up during their exchange of SMS. Maybe when one is in love, as she claims, one loses their mind. I'm not sure if she has thought of the repurcussion of her doings but it sure doesn't look like she's regretting it. Finally had a good look of her at today's New Paper. All I can say is, could be better *LOL*

So with this episode, I wonder if parents will hesitate to let their girl participate in movie acting lest another Jack Neo is on the prowl...

Epicurious

2010-02-24T22:36:00.006+08:00

Dined at Eipicurious today. It's funny that for the many times I've been to Robertson Quay I've never really noticed the existence of this cosy little restaurant until now; but it's never too late. We chose alfresco dining overlooking the Singapore River, and since it's weekday night, there's hardly any crowd except for a few Japanese kids practising their skateboarding and a handful of joggers. Otherwise it's a nice place to spend the evening and end the day with a hearty meal, homecooked style. Comfortable and unpretentious is how I would describe them to be. One can drop in anytime - apparently reservation is not necessary - in their most causual outfit and never feel left out. Also, they pride themselves for using the freshest ingredients they can afford and all preparations are done from scratch - good to know. I also want to commend on the excellent service, Darren, who attended to us is one of the friendliest service staff I've come across. Just like the setting of the restaurant he is warm and unpretentious. Actually I thought he has slight resemblance to Jordan Chan aka 陈小春.

Their mushroom soup made of button and shitake mushrooms is a meal on its own, thick, creamy, yet smooth. And the slice of country loaf garlic bread toasted with cheese on the side (I'm guessing it's Cheddar)... had me yearning for second helping but was too shy to ask ; ) At $5 a bowl this is a steal.

Beef and Vegetable roll served on a bed of coleslaw and mashed potato with sesame on the side. The paper thin beef wrapped around the french beans would have tasted a bit bland but the tomato dressing was the saving grace. I hardly fancy coleslaw until I tried theirs. Finely shredded mixture of cabbage ad carrots with a light drizzle of mayonnaise did the trick. So instead of your usual mayo soaked salad this had a lot more crunch. Not forgetting the mashed potato, nicely done up with a hint of toasted sesame. The sesame was probably toasted and grinded before mixing it with the potatoes. Unique.

The lamb cutlet was acceptable for me as it's slightly gamey so it may not work for some. The mustard dressing on the side is a bit too salty which I can do without. This dish didn't excite me but it's edible.

Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02, The Quayside
Tel: 6734 7720

Currently watching

2010-02-06T23:12:00.001+08:00

爱他就要他幸福。。。下一站幸福，你看了吗？

Pineapple Tarts

2010-02-02T21:49:00.004+08:00

What is it I like most about CNY? Feast and Binge time! It has to be me eating lotsa pineapple tarts and love letters. These are my all-time favourites. Last year we bought a bottle of pineapple tarts from The Hiding Place and just when we're deciding which ones to sample this year my neighbour came a knocking and we got a bottle of enomous looking round shaped pineapple tarts. We were told these tarts are pretty popular and our dear neighbour, trying them for the first time, decided we may like them too and, yes, they were right indeed. The first thought that came to mind was, 'what a massive sized tart!" But boy, I grinned after the first bite... the pastry melts in your mouth but as it's made so thin you immediately come in contact with the overly generous serving of pineapple jam that has a good balance of sweetness and sourness to it so every chew just got better and better. And because it's the size of a tennis ball all you need is one helping to keep one satisfied. Rating: 4.5/5

Le Cafe Confectionary & Pastry

264 Middle Road

Tel: 6337 2417

Resort World Sentosa

2010-01-17T21:11:00.010+08:00

Last weekend I had the pleasure of a sneak preview of one of the two of our nation's newest addition, RWS (Resort World Sentosa). Here we go...

Hard Rock Hotel

The hotel launched a soft opening last weekend; staff and guests were invited to stay over for at special rates in exchange for their feedback post stay. I wasn't keen as non of the hotel's facility was ready and of course it was a definite no-no for Hubby as he already has clocked enough visits (7 days a week to be exact) to qualify for sentosa residency if there's ever one.

Hotel Reception

Hotel Lobby. The seats are uber cool and comfortable too.

The bar counter is conveniently located in the centre of the lobby so no one can miss it. There'll always be waiting staff around to take orders and if they do spot you they'll come up to you without you gesturing to them. Tried their mojito and it was quite refreshing for a Saturday afternoon.

In case you can't see the it clearly, this is the Rock Shop

Need I introduce this place? Go there if you have money to roll and maybe you'll end up on the prestige list to quality for free room nights at the Crawford Hotel.

Entrance to the casino. Come to mama... put money, win money? Pray hard lady luck is with you.

See the gantries? Due to tight security I was not able to get in for a quick tour. But do I want to pay $100? Hmm... not sure but unlikely

If you have the money to roll but averse to risk then go to the Galleria for some retail therapy. There's Cartier, Bvlgari, Chopard, Bally, Shanghai Tang, Swavroski, you name it they should it.

Universal Studio

(Verdict: It's worth the $70 entrance fee)

The Revenge of The Mummy

One of my favourites - Far Far Away Land

Another angle of Far Far Away Land

Magadascar

Ah ha! This one I like. This roller coaster is going to make your world go round...

What Is Your Race?

2010-01-16T15:34:00.006+08:00

Hi, I'm Chinese-Chinese, what's yours?

Yes, that is the question that people should ask when meeting someone for the first time rather than what is your name. When the government announced end 2009 that children of mixed parentage are allowed to pick their choice of dominant race between the two, I was a little surprised by the new Act. Shortly after came the inclusion of double-barrel race.... but is it really necessary and is it that important? Not that I cannot appreciate the implication (I try to) but why complicate matters when all these while Father's race has always been the dominant one and I don't think we have that many unhappy folks out there or am I missing something here?

I do not deny that Singapore despite being a multi-racial country, pledge ourselves as one united nation regardless of race, language or religion... sadly racism exists. I think the government's move is to try to eliminate that issue but I doubt it will help much, rather, it is underscoring the subject of concern. Must we really segregate ourselves by race and is that the only way to identify each other? IMO, we cannot afford to have race separating us. In fact because of race, we are divided somewhat. We should be proud of who we are and not what we are.

Soon guessing the race of someone of mixed parentage is akin to picking Toto or 4D numbers as there will be many permutations. Let me think..... Chinese-Indian; Malay-Indian; Chinese-Malay; Javanese-Chinese; Indian-Malay and the list goes on. Oh, I think the other issue raised is that Eurasians are currently classified under Others for their race but with this new policy the issue is somewhat not totally ironed out, because on application forms under Race, it shows Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others and with many - I assume - choosing to go with the double-barrel race will still have to tick that choice. So, are we changing for the better or worse? And with this we surely live up to being a MULTI-racial society.

Warung Sudi Mampir

2009-12-21T21:36:00.009+08:00

Satays are reserved for dinner or supper but I made an exeption last Saturday. Not for any satays but those from one of the acclaimed satay legends of the Lion City, Warung Sudi Mampir, who has since relocated from Haig Road Food Centre to Malay Village during the upgrading works. My lucky star is kind to me I thought. On a regular day folks have to wait at least half an hour to enjoy their satays but mine was all done in 10 mins, however, my excitment was short-lived and soon turned to disappointment. The gentleman (not sure if he's the owner) is very friendly so that's a plus but when I took the first bite of the satay I was speechless.... to say that it's over-rated is not exaggerating. Unlike most Malay satays who uses minced meat theirs is akin to the Chinese style which uses sliced meat, which is fine but the meat was tough and burnt. Don't get me wrong. I like my satays flavourful and slightly burnt but this is literally burnt. Read from another food blog that they use chicken breast meat so maybe that explains why; not that the mutton was any better. The tripe was equally unimpressively dry.

Ask me anytime and I'll tell you I prefer Malay satays over Chinese ones as I like the spices they use to marinade the meat and, for truly good satays I can easily wipe it out sans gravy. Their meat just tasted sweet, sweet and sweet. The gravy was reasonable although I would have preferred a finer texture. Oh, and not forgetting the rock hard ketupat...

So, the die die must try review from Makansutra, I did, and I won't go back again unless convinced otherwise.

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Finally finished round one of Christmas shopping and gift wrapping. I've always enjoyed gift wrapping but not when you have more than 10 items staring at you. Next year, I will ask for pre-made wrappers.

Hacienda

2009-12-14T22:01:00.008+08:00

Since my last trip to Melbourne I have been introduced and hooked on Eggs Benedict. I would describe it as Ya Kun's half boiled egg but with a firmer white.

Much have been read and after getting countless positive review of Hacienda's die die must try star item on its menu, I headed down to Dempsey and sure enough it was treated to a hearty brunch that I polished every bit of the yolk sparkly clean - like how my sista puts it, "the italians don't need dishwasher going by their (good) habit of wiping up every drop of gravy on the plate." This cholesterol loaded dish is enough to make my day. I've not had better ones since TCC @ Melbourne and this is by far the closest. I was at White Rabbit last month and ordered the same item but was kinda disappointed.

Soon I will be heading down to PS Cafe and Hatched to sample their version of Eggs Benedict and I hope to be surprised. With the right egg-titude thou will find the perfect place for my sinful treat. Stay tuned.

I was beaming (together with the bright yellow yolk) when this was served. Together with a generous serving of Argula salad the dish is perfect.... except if they had provided better cutleries for the muffins. Don't get me wrong, it was nicely toasted and goes well with the eggs except it was a little challenging trying to cut the muffin and so I had to undress the dish to get to the bottom of it which is kinda messy. Nevertheless it's treat for S$13.50!

Another item worth mentioning is the mushroom soup with truffle oil. It was blended just right and you could still enjoy some mushroom bits that gives the soup an extra crunch. And of course the truffle oil did what it had to do; it added an extra punch with its aromatic flavour. For S$8.50 this starter will raise some eyebrows, or at least mine.

Jingle Belles (of RRA) Rock!

2009-12-08T20:57:00.015+08:00

The party of the year took place on Friday, December 4th. This year the day started with RRAmazaing Race where we gathered at McCafe by Isetan Scotts. At 10:00 am all 3 teams with their respective clues in hand made our way to the various pit stops. Our first clue was cone shaped building where eclipse take place daily from 11:00 am to 11:30 pm, and we guessed it right, did you? Yes, it's Sun with Moon at Wheelock Place. That was a breeze but what awaits us was a 'simple' math sum to be solved. Thereafter the remaining clues led us to Wisma Atria in search of the Queen that was trapped in the golden cage; G's favourite Santarina in the Christmas tree outside Mr. Armani at Ion; and the roman centurion (AMEX) at Marriott Hotel. It was good fun, especially when we had to strike 3 egyptian poses outside Ion but nothing beats the cheerleading outside Marriot... sheer embarrassement... but in the name of fun ;D

After an hour of huff puff all teams had to make our way to The American Club for lunch. I reckon most of us were too tired from the cardio workout and hence our usually ravenous appetite had dwindled to just mere snacking. This is my lucky year as I won the 2nd prize of S$1,000 travel voucher! How timely as it would come in handy for our next vacation. As usual we had the gift exchange that has become a tradition of sorts. This year we were suppose to get the other party gag gifts and it turned out 17 of the 19 are nice gifts. Well, it's always easier to be nice than risk being offensive.

My nice gift from Yew Luang - a caricature of yours truly as the ultimate foodie. Love it!

Me and Yew Luang

After some much needed power nap I was all set for the evening. My pick this year is Velma Kelly from Chicago for the evening's theme, The Musical. Kudos to Ginger and Kenneth who make me look the part. This is my first time putting on a wig and it looked quite natural - some even thought I had my hair chopped! They are a brilliant team that I would recommend to anyone who needs a makeover, be it theme or formal parties.

Ginger, Me & Kenneth

Shirley (Sharpay Evans; High School Musical); Christina (Cats); Pam (Audrey Hepburn; Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Isn't Pam lovely? All heads turned when she made a grand entrance to the ballroom.

The Hollywood has Nicole Kidman while RRA has Raha Mustapha. Make a guess... "Cartier... Tiffany... Diamonds are a girl's best friend." It's M.O.U.L.I.N R.O.U.G.E, baby.

Gerard (Aladdin)

One of my favourite photo. Karen (Cats) & Yew Luang (Tracy Turnblad; Hairspray - best dressed award)

If you are wondering who is the Ang Moh guy? That's James aka Edward Spastic Hand (he left the scissors back home in the UK)

Lynn (Cats) and Guillaume (Billy Flynn - Chicago)

The party went well especially the charity auction that collected close to S$15K for The Children's Cancer Foundation. Glad the committee took our advice as it was the highlight of the evening. Angie would ditto that I'm sure ; ) However, I was disappointed with the evening's menu. It looked good on paper but nothing close to our expectation. The starter (foie gra, brioche, red wine poached pear) was edible but the consomme and my main of Cod tasted nothing but salt, it was quite a letdown.

Post party celebration

DIY Pasta Workshop

2009-11-27T10:08:00.016+08:00

These days many budding entrepreneurs are proclaiming that they self taught in whatever skills/knowledge they have to impart to the audience and culinary skills is one of those. I've been scouting around for a cooking workshop for a while and finally decided to go Cookyn with Mervyn http://www.cookyn-with-mervyn.com/. The workshop is managed by a lovely couple, Mervyn (the chef cum host) and Amanda (the hostess) in an apartment conveniently located at Novena, it's the shophouses opposite Novena Church and is a stone's throw from the Novena MRT station so it's still easy to get there even if you don't drive.

Mervyn's workshop is very hands-on so be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Ours was a small group of 4 but we had just as much fun learning about the ingredients, kneading the dough, mashing the potatoes, etc. It's amazing how one simple dough made up on flour and eggs and be transformed into various types of pasta, all you need is a dash of passion, a good dose of patience and most importantly a strong pair of arms to get things going.

Chef preparing the ingredients

Putting my best hands forward for better makan to come

The semi finished product of mine and Hubby's. The 'massaged' dough was set aside for 30 mins to rest. Mervyn says it's ok to leave it outside if the room is airconditioned, otherwise it's better off resting in the fridge given our humid climate.

Ingredients for pasta sauce. The scallops from sashimi grade scallops from Green Grocer is worth trying.

Picking out thyme leaves

First encounter with electronic salt & pepper dispenser. Cool stuff!

The potato peeler preparing for Gnocchi and.....

..... let the party begin

Having fun with the pasta machine

Simple Potato Gnocchi with Gorgonzola cheese finished with sprinkles of spring onion

Ravioli (feta cheese and sundried tomato pesto) with brown butter sauce. Learnt that while making ravioli it's important to seal all ends tightly to prevent air pockets from forming or it might disintegrate while boiling.

Angel hair pasta with Lup Cheong and Curry leaves. An innovative recipe that's simple to prepare and good to eat. It's a sure winner for cheena in-laws if you want to introduce them to anh moh chiak ; )

Quick and easy Seafood Marinara pasta complete with a drizzle truffle oil. Oooh lala... this is comfort food for me.

After sampling 4 pasta variations we downed a substantial serving each of the Strawberry and Rubhard Crumble. For those who are not familiar with Rhubarb it looks just like celery except it's maroon in colour and very important to note that only the stem is edible, the leaves are POISONOUS. The dessert wasn't to my liking as it was slightly sour - may taste better if more sugar was used - but as usual the crumble is always enjoyable.

It was a light-hearted session and not only did we end the day filled to the brim but alsoa good exchange of food ideas and shopping finds (for the ladies). Meanwhile, I'll continue to practice and perfect my pasta making skills and look out for more cookyn parties to attend.

The O'Mearas

2009-11-14T10:38:00.007+08:00

3 weeks ago I received a surprise email from Bob to share his joy on Bobby and Kate's wedding in late Summer. Emotions overcame the happiness and joy I share with Bob and Sue while I was viewing the photos. Bob was my first boss when I joined ATK and it was and still is one of the most enjoyable working relationship I've had; the chemistry we had was tremendous plus I was also close to his family. I still remember sending them pineapple tarts and love letters during CNY, and Megan (2nd daughter) used to love our local chocolate wafers so much that I actually sent her a few boxes of those too. Sounds a bit crazy huh? Oh yes, and I miss those annual Saint Patick's Day party @ The O'Meara's residence where all guests were decked out in shades of Green with lotsa food, booz, fun and laughter and it's always a tradition that no soul will leave the party skipping the pool. It was FUN, FUN, FUN :D

For the past 10 years we have been keeping in touch through occassional emails and yearly Christmas cards. Recently Bob sent me another reminder to visit him and Sue. The email reads, "when you are coming to the States to visit? We have saved the guestroom for you... Sue and I are not young anymore..." Another teary moment for me - no prize for guessing, I have shallow eyes. The last time I saw them was at my wedding so I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them again. Chicago, look out for my arrival (soon)!

Boomz! She SHINGZ-ed it again

2009-11-08T11:08:00.001+08:00

A Decade of Togetherness

2009-10-10T16:47:00.008+08:00

October 3rd, 1999, I embarked on a new journey of my life stories. It has been 10 years since and nothing much has changed maybe except for a few 'faint' laugh lines, frown lines, dilated pores and what have you. A colleague saw Hubby for the first time and commented that we don't look like married couple especially since I told her it's been a decade since we exchanged our wedding vows. Hmm... she said it's a compliment and so I took her word for it. Of course like all marriages there are up and down moments and the rule of thumb for me is to never give up trying to make the most out of the relationship and never stop trusting each other. Because when either of it fails then trouble bestows.

Before

Celebrated the special day at Angsana Bintan Resort. Ferry ride was comfortable, however, the weather was gloomy and rained shortly after we arrived at the resort. Thankfully the sun was out again an hour later and we made our way to the beach for some Vitamin D therapy. Since we were not planning for a romantic (and expensive) dinner by the South China Sea we were happy to feast on seafood BBQ by the beach, but it started pouring near dinner time so we had to make do with buffet at the resort's one and only cafe. To sum it up, the service far exceeds the meal. No need to elaborate I believe.

If there ever is a reason I need to head back to Bintan again it's definitely the spa that's luring us back. I've heard so much raving reviews of the award-winning spa that the pre-requisite for staying at Angsana is only if I could book my treatments and so I did. Plus, I managed to book the outdoor pavilion! Ooh la la. The masseur, Athi, was one of the best I've had; her strokes were firm and at the same time gentle enough for me. That coupled with the nice weather and by that I don't mean the sun, instead it was raining, so, imagine the sound of raindrops hitting against the cemented floor and the wind blowing against freshly scrubbed and well moisturized skin. I was quickly transported to dreamland, soundly asleep but not too deep to still be able to enjoy the experience. One session is definitely not enough so we headed back for an hour of Indian Head Massage the next day to loosen up the tense shoulders and give the tresses its much needed pampering treat. Again, it was a delighting experience.

Lunched Banyan Tree just before we headed home. Contrary to the negative reviews on TripAdvisor the food was pretty decent - good but not great. However, if there's one item I will advice against ordering that would be the beef burger. The patty was a letdown as it dry and hence tough and the only saving grace on the plate was none other than fries. Ask for alfresco dining and you won't regret it comes with a panoramic view of the South China Sea, a feast for the sight.

After

Quotes of wisdom and wit...

'Our marriage was many years ago but our celebration continues till this day' ~ Gene Perret

'Love is an ideal thing, marriage a real thing' ~ Goethe

'Love is blind, marriage is the eye-opener' ~ Pauline Thomason

'It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life' ~Rita Rudner

And this is for the husbands out there...

'Only two things are necessary to keep one's wife happy. One is to let her think she is having her own way, the the other, to let her have it' ~ Lyndon B. Johnson

Currently listening to... Wondergirls - Nobody

2009-09-24T21:46:00.001+08:00

Ramadan

2009-09-14T21:49:00.009+08:00

This is one of the annual pasar malam that I look forward to in Geylang Serai that marks the beginning of the month long Ramadan aka Hari Raya Puasa. An assortment of goodies from clothes, shoes, bags, household items and food, you name it, are being lelong-ed. All the shouting from the stall owners helped boost the ambience and even non-Muslims like myself are soaked in the festivity - nevermind I don't understand the language as festive mood is highly infectious. Over the years I've made many trips to the pasar malam but this year I made an attempt to bring the camera with me. Glad I did.

After long hours of fasting the body needs something that is nutritious (is known to contain natural sugar than an other fruit) to kick start the digestive system before taking in any solids. Hence, dates are commonly seen during Ramadhan period. Here you see a choice of dates ranging in size and price. To date the most expensive I've seen was going at few hundred dollars a kilo... which I reckon is fit for the royals.

That's Hubby checking out the kueh kuehs

Food and more food to suit everyone's choice of a good snack

This is my all time favourite. Ayam Pecik. It's spice marinated chicken wings sandwiched between 2 bamboos (or some stall uses disposable chopsticks), grilled over the charcoal and when it's done, dipped in a special sauce to zest up the tastebuds! The best I've tried so far are the ones last year. This year's was a disappointment albeit the sign that says 'Power Sauce'. Not only did it lack the power, the meat was bland with the slightest hint of spice.

I have until this weekend to go back for another attempt to find the best Ayam Pecik in Geylang Serai. However the spirit is willing but the legs are not. We'll see.

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Carol's first attempt at Roti Boyan, the filling is made of potatoes and spring onions. On it's own it tastes simple or maybe just plain, but not when it's accompanied by a generous dose of sambal chilli. Ooh la la! She said the pastry is thicker unlike her MIL's but I say, it's a good attempt for first-timer.

Ris Low: Miss World Singapore 2009 Winner At Her Best

2009-08-31T22:54:00.001+08:00

I've watched this video at least 3 times now and still can't help laughing at our dear Ms. Low with each repeat telecast. She can't even express herself in simple words... what is 'booms'?!!! Does she mean to make an impact? Worst, she can't even get the word daring right, instead she got it as rrr-ring. What is happening here??

RMIT Convocation 2009

2009-08-30T11:41:00.006+08:00

August 28, 2009 marks another milestone in my life. 我终于毕业了!

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.

"Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference." ~ Arie Pencovici

Benefit Colour Correcting Eyelid Primer

2009-08-25T21:08:00.007+08:00

Enough of all this saying about beauty is in the eye of the beholder or about beauty being only skin-deep. I'm a self-confessed beauty junkie and because I've ultra sensitive skin I reckon any product that works for me works for most people. Nope, not going to run through my procurement lists, instead I'll make note of good buys or in other words, worthy "investments" for the benefit of all beings. Stay tuned for more to come.

This compact size colour correcting eyelid primer works for me and a little goes a long way. I have oily T-zone and even my eyelids are not spared. Usually by mid-day my eye colour is as good as none but no longer is the case. Now the colour holds longer - right through to the evening - and no more creases that really bothers me big time, I mean used to : )

Rating : 4 / 5

Wine & Dine - A Thai Affair

2009-08-18T22:31:00.003+08:00

Attended a Thai cooking workshop held jointly by Wine & Dine magazine and Royal Plaza on Scotts. It's better than the last one as the menu was easier to prepare and most importantly, we had our fill before calling it a day. Haha...

Goodie bag. Aren't they generous?

Chef Abraham Tan from Carousel Restaurant displaying his culinary skills

Starter - Lab Phad (Thai Spicy Duck Salad)

Main course - Kaeng Keok-Wan Gai (Thai Green Curry Chicken)

Dessert - Khaw Neow Ma-Moung (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Mango). This is easy to prepare and I'll be sure to serve this at the next Thai Affair @ Punggol.

I was hoping the chef will show us how to prepare the curry paste from scratch but instead he recommended that we use either one of the pre-made pastes as it's convenient and still taste as good. I've tried the green tub and would recommend it too.

Snacks were served after the workshop. I'm not a fan of most Thai desserts but their pumpkin kueh won me over.

Hubby won 2 Sakura 'Gais' (Chicken). Prize to be delivered hence the namecard. How LUCKY! The boss explained that he will personally deliver the chickens, frozen and packed in a box. Well, I can put what I've learned to use - Thai Green Curry 'Gai'.

I wasn't as lucky though, because my prize consisted of a pair of Schott glasses and one-year free subscription of Wine & Dine magazines *wink*

Weekend Eats

2009-08-10T20:11:00.011+08:00

To sum it all up, my long weekend was food and more food, and of course I did catch up on my snooze.

On Friday we had a good dinner to start the long weekend. Hubby and I found this great chicken rice place at Siglap which I'm sure many foodies are familiar with, Chuen Chuen HK Style Cafe at Siglap. They were fomerly from the old Bugis hawker centre which you will also recognize from the 'Lost and Found' poster, a programme hosted by Channel 5. I vaguely remember eating their chicken rice during those days and if I'm right they still taste as good. The rice was fragrant and didn't leave a trace of oily aftertaste. We ordered a set meal to share so that leaves some space for some food sampling. Their homemade tofu on a bed of baby kailan and japanese mushrooms was worth a try and the marmite ribs though tasty was lacking in its main ingredient, yes, marmite. So, it was good but not great. Overall, the food was decent and affordably priced and I plan to go back to sample their breakfast menu - this time I'll make sure to bring along my camera for decent-looking photos.

Dinner on Saturday evening with Bro and Candice. I was out the whole day so didn't manage the whip up a decent homecooked mealm instead we ordered in a Proscuitto Ham and Funghi pizza and Beef Lagsane from Pizzadorne. But what I did manage to prepare was NZ mussels the chilli crab style.l; Unfortunately it was too starchy this time round. What is a meal without wine, right? We started with a bottle of Gewϋrtztraminer and later a bottle of red made up of 6 different varietal of grapes that bro had brought along. To me, it was peppery on the nose with a slight hint of vanilla and clean on the taste but definitely not for early drinkers as they may not find it easy to drink.

Sunday! Happy National Day!!! Didn't start day bright and early but surely I had a great meal to start the day with my family. This time the venue was The Imperial Treasure Nanbei restaurant at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Airport Terminal 3. I was all excited about eating Peking Duck but the taste was masked by the thick and not-so-refined looking pancake. Kinda disappointing as I've had better ones. However, the soup was divine, even Mom and Dad gave their thumbs up.

Nothing exciting about Monday (hence the colour) as it spells the end of the long weekend. Looking forward to the next one - Hari Raya Puasa - 41 days and counting...

2009-08-04T22:41:00.006+08:00

Joined Carol, Madi and the kids at their first picnic outing, I think, at Pasir Ris Park last Saturday. The weather was beautiful and there wasn't much crowd compared to East Coast or Changi Beach. Food was a simple fare of cream chicken and corn soup, summer salad, mashed potatoes and a bottle of sparklies. The kids had fun especially Isabel as she was the more adventurous one compared to Evan - the poor boy was close to tears when they tried to make him run bare-footed on the grass. Let's give him some time to acclimatize to what nature has to offer, he'll get there I'm sure.

Glad we've discovered another picnic spot near home. Will plan a mini bbq there one of the weekends.

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I was out sick yesterday and Hubby who was recovering from flu picked up the bug again, except this time his condition was worse than before. His current temperature measures at 38.5 degrees, so he will have an early start to the National weekend cos he's on 3 days medical leave! Poor Vicki was also ill. Sent her to the vet on Sunday only to find out she was running a temperature of 39.1 degrees. I decided she might as well get her pearlies cleaned up so took this opportunity to also get her health screening done to check for diabetes, liver, kidney and heart function. I was there to witness the Vet drawing her blood and it was a heart-wrenching sight to say the least. She struggled a bit at the first attempt and the flow was slow but it got better at the second attempt; perhaps she turned around and saw me that kinda gave her some reassurance?? Thank goodness the results came back looking good. Phew!

A Lesson From The Chinese Bamboo Tree

2009-08-02T15:24:00.009+08:00

I've come to realize long time ago that life is never a bed of roses and I continue to believe so. Sometimes, hard as you might try things don't happen the way you want it to be, rather, the tide is against you and the harder you peddle the stronger the undercurrent... very disheartening indeed. From each of life's lesson I just hope to emerge as a stronger and hopefully wiser person after the chapter is closed. And as the poem suggests, do not be discouraged...

You take a little seed, plant it, water it, and fertilise it for a whole year, and nothing happens

The second year you water it and fertilise it, and nothing happens

The third year you water it and fertilise it, and nothing happens. How discouraging this becomes!

The fourth year you water it and fertilise it, and nothing happens. This is very frustating

The fifth year you continue to water and fertilise the seed and then...take note. Sometime during the fifth year, the Chinese bamboo tree spouts and grows NINETY FEET IN SIX WEEK! Life is much akin to the growing process of the Chinese bamboo tree. It is often discouraging

We seemingly do things right, and nothing happens

But for those who do things right and are not discouraged and are persistent, things will happen

Finally we begin to receive the rewards

Dessert Workshop by Gobi

2009-07-26T19:43:00.013+08:00

The last time I attended a cooking workshop was with Mommy and I was probably under 10 then. Still remember it was organized by Maggi. After so many years later I attended another demonstration yesterday, a dessert workshop by Gobi 's Chef Khoon in conjunction with Wine & Dine magazine's GSS promotion with The Central Mall. You've gotta try their macarons if you feel like having something sweet to end the meal, it goes down well with coffee/tea too. Anyway, we were shown how to make (1) Black Forest cake with Krisch Crème Anglaise and (2) Summer Swish without the need of a sophisticated mixer. The latter is their latest add-on. It looks easy but I think it's easier to buy off the shelve. For one, I prefer my Black Forest done the traditional way and two, I'm not a great fan of crème. But since I did learn something from the workshop I will attempt to 'improvise' it my way and try to create an edible version that's to my liking. We shall see what comes of it.

Bite size of the Black Forest with Kirsch Crème Anglaise served to all participants (actualy cake as shown below)

P.S. Sampled Summer Swirl but was so hungry I ate it without snapping a photo of the pretty looking dessert ;D

Crazy over BOF - Yearning of the Heart

2009-07-24T22:42:00.001+08:00

Aging Gracefully

2009-07-20T21:42:00.006+08:00

Recently one of the hot topic being debated/discussed about is what childbirth does to a woman's appearance. Zoe Tay, the Queen of Caldecott Hill had everything what many women yearn for - a beautiful face that even a certain plastic surgeon commented on her assymetrical facial features that is close to perfection - but all these were yester-years' report as she is now the centre of attraction, for the wrong reasons. It's undeniable that the Queen has aged and so we do we, but the difference is we do not carry the celebrity tag and as such the aging process is a given that goes unnoticed. While some folks may say that at the age of 41 and with 2 kids in tow (she's reportedly a hands-on Mom) it's natural to look a wee bit older than your peers. I reserve my comments.

Though some people may agree that looks aren't everything but how much truth is there to hold? In Korea I was told young girls receive plastic surgery treat as their birthday gift and apparently it's compulsory. Japan, of course we all know has the highest number of well-heeled customers going to them for beauty aid. Now, even Taiwan, Thailand and China are seeing an increase in what we label as plastic beauties. I remember reading an article about this Chinese woman who opted for plastic surgery to correct her looks when she was told she didn't get the job because of her 'cannot make it' looks.

Although Zoe and some others have insisted on not seeking aesthetic treatments as an alternative, I beg to differ. I want to age gracefully and if it doesn't happen naturally then I won't hesitate to seek help. No, I won't try to turn back the clock as it's impossible I know; I just wanna try to look as presentable as possible. Yeah lah, call me vain, I don't care.

E.M.B.A.R.R.A.S.S.I.N.G

2009-07-13T22:43:00.006+08:00

Our 4-wheeled friend decided to throw another fit this morning; The clutch died on us again, 2 years after it was fixed. I was furious when Hubby said it's likely we'll be without a car for 2 weeks and no way am I going to bear with the inconveniences for what I'll be potentially spending so I decided to call Opel for a "heart-to-heart" talk with them, but little did I know Hubby dearest played one of his biggest prank on me to date. Here's what happened.

I made the call to I THOUGHT Opel Customer Service...

Me: Hi, may I speak to Patrick please.

Lady: Please hold on.

30 seconds later...

Lady: Hello.

Me: I'm holding for Patrick.

Lady: Oh, the line bounced back, I think he is on the phone.

Me: Sure. Can someone help me instead as it's kinda urgent.

Lady: Yes Madam, how can I help.

Me: Ok. I'm calling on behalf of my husband, owner of car number XXXX. This morning our car was towed in for service as you can see in your records and

Lady: Oh Madam, sorry, I have no idea of your case, can I get Patrick to call you back?

Me: No problem. He can call me on my mobile or office.

5 minutes later...

Patrick: Hi, this is Patrick Chin, returning your call.

Me: Hi Patrick, thanks for returning my call so soon. I'm Evelyn, calling on behalf of my husband, David Wong, owner of Opel Meriva car number XXXX. His car was sent in, rather towed in to the workshop this morning for a recurring problem and it's really frustrating.

Patrick: Sorry, you said Opel... how do I spell the next word?

Me: *furious* What?!! You work for Opel and yet you are telling me you dunno how to spell Meriva? It's your Meriva model, spelt M.E.R.I.V.A!

Patrick: Errrr... but I don't drive Opel, I drive a Mitsubishi.

Me: What??? You drive a Mitsubishi? You are not calling from Opel?

Patrick: No, I'm not a car salesman.

Oh shit! I was quick to hang up the phone after a quick apology and called Hubby to check on the number. He checked his phone (and had he cheek to laugh) and told me he gave me the wrong number and coincidentally the person I called also goes by the name of Patrick, but the only difference is, he's Hubby's client, MD of a stage lighting company. Gosh! I was dumbfounded and utterly embarrassed by what had just happened. I only hope he does not register the car plate number, otherwise I've told Hubby to not park near his office lest he has elephant's memory.

This is one of my many embarrassing moments and truly a classic one that will go down memory lane.

2009-07-05T14:49:00.008+08:00

I am an avid fan of potatoes in all forms but this weekend armed with Alison's tip, I decided to go light and easy so I bought a couple Japanese (yellow) sweet potatoes to satisfy the crave. She told me to replace the plate with pandan leaves to add more flavour to the already delightful snack. Not only was it tastier than before, the house was filled with the aroma of pandan leaves while the potatoes were being sauna-ed. The weather may be gloomy outside but this heartwarming snack is a sure winner if you need a simple pick-me-up that's easy to prepare.

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Received a call from SIM asking me to send them a completed form and a copy of my NRIC to verify my name, as it appears what they have on file differs slightly; It's the first and last name thingy. This is also tells me my convocation is nearing! No idea on the date yet although reliable source of a classmate noted August 27th as the big day. 2 more months to go if that's indeed the date.

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The new IPhone 3GS is launching on Friday. Just when I was discussing with Hubby if I should upgrade (as in the physical phone) I found out later the new software upgrade has been made available to existing users too. Need I say more? Ok, enough of the whimpering; recession is still IN so gotta practise austerity. Alright. The SMS is cool because I can type my messages on either landscape or portrait format, plus I can even take a photo and attach it to my message (by the looks of the camera icon on the bottom left of the screen). There's something that says Cut & Paste which I wonder what it's all about. Another added feature is the Voice Memo and many others which I've yet to explore until I attempt to watch the video on all the pluses of owning the phone, which I can't quite disagree yet ; )

Chris's Beacon Point Restaurant & Villas

2009-07-01T23:46:00.014+08:00

Chanced upon Chris's Restaurant & Villas while planning the Melbourne trip. It was a toss between them and another resort along Apollo Bay and I'm glad we picked Chris's. Although I can't speak for the rest but our stay at Chris's was more than pleasant, it was out of this world if I may say so. Hubby managed to negotiate for a good deal, all thanks to an overdue advertisement that was no longer valid effective 4 years ago! And thanks to us it has been removed since. Anyway, we managed to negotiate for 2 nights Studio Accommodation plus 1 complimentary 3 course dinner for AUD 560.

The room is spacious and comes with a fully equipped kitchenette with cutleries and utensils. Impressive! The selling point of the room is it's picturesque view, right from the comfort of the bed that I temporarily called mine, overlooking the sea. It felt so good the first thing that comes in sight the moment you pry open your eyes after a restful night is the blue sky and when you sit up you are greeted with more pleasing sight of the greeneries and the ocean. What better way to start your day!

Pix was taken from the same angle but at different parts (and weather) of the day.

Ocean view from the balcony

Day One's Dinner

Hubby ordered mussels on white wine cream sauce. It was the best-est we've tried. Not even the blue mussels I bought from Jasons was close to it.

Mine starter is the house speciality, seafood soup. Thumbs up for this! If I had a baugette I would have polished the plate squeaky clean like an Italian would ; )

Main dish of Sea Bass and Tenderloin in reduced red wine cherry sauce

Day Two's Dinner

Greek Salad

Seared Scallops on a bed of lentils

Rabbit and Figs

Lemon Creme Brulee. Never a fan of this dessert but it was well worth saving space for

Yours truly with Chris, the man and his great culinary skills that have fed many satisfied foodies that went back for more great meals.

Goodbye MJ

2009-06-28T22:41:00.008+08:00

On Friday morning when I tuned in to CNA I was received by an appalling news flash that says, "Michael Jackson has died". Was my eyes playing tricks? No, I wasn't seeing things, it's true, the King of Pop has passed on but he will forever live in the hearts of million of fans for his eccentricity and talents as a popstar. The man had a remarkable career. He may be gone forever but his music will live on. He will remain a true legend to all, including yours truly.

Found this lyrics (one of his songs) for "Gone Too Soon". This probably speaks the mind of many right now. How Apt.

Like A Comet

Blazing 'Cross The Evening Sky

Gone Too Soon

Like A Rainbow

Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye

Gone Too Soon

Shiny And Sparkly

And Splendidly Bright

Here One Day

Gone One Night

Like The Loss Of Sunlight

On A Cloudy Afternoon

Gone Too Soon

Like A Castle

Built Upon A Sandy Beach

Gone Too Soon

Like A Perfect Flower

That Is Just Beyond Your Reach

Gone Too Soon

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight

Here One Day

Gone One Night

Like A Sunset

Dying With The Rising Of The Moon

Gone Too Soon

Melbourne Part II

2009-06-16T23:03:00.014+08:00

Yarra Valley

Great Ocean Road

The drive along Great Ocean Road that stretches 243 km along the south-eastern coast of Australia was an exciting and spectacular experience for me. We rented a Mitsubishi Outlander, a 2.5 litre SUV, so you can imagine how thrilling an experience it was for me! Yo hoooo...

A bit of history - According to Wiki the road was constructed to provide work for returning soldiers and dedicated as a Memorial to those killed in WWI.

The 12 Apostles

Cape Otway Lighthouse

The lighthouse standing at 91 metres above the ocean sits on a magnificent tip of southern coastline and is the oldest lighthouse on the mainland. Weather forecast that day was 4 degrees but with the wind factor it was -14 degrees!!! I was freezing but the breathtaking view made up for the cold. Beautiful...

Spotted this Koala bear on our drive back from 12 Apostles. They are such endearing animals I wish I could bring it home with me.

Melbourne Part I

2009-06-07T18:55:00.011+08:00

Melbourne here I come!!! Have always wanted to visit the Victoria state, don't ask me why. Perhaps my pal is there - she happens to be in KL of all times. Melbourne is what I would describe as "A World on a Plate". To add on to that the cold winter weather is something that I and I believe many fellow Singaporeans yearn for - trust me, your skin and hair just takes a change for the better, or at least for me my pores that always in awe have taken a sit back and my hair is silky smooth. I LUV WHAT THE COLD WEATHER IS DOING TO MY SKIN AND HAIR!

First meal of Day 1 - Spinach Kebab with Chicken filling. The generouos filling and toasted wrap made a nice, warm and filling meal to kick-start my vacation.

Alas! I stepped foot into the RMIT campus. The compound is massive and seems never ending. I walked all the way from building 1 to maybe 30+ all the way from La Trobe Street to Lygon Street and we talking about a 2 to 3 tram stations mind you.

Yours Truly in the canteen of RMIT waiting for my smoothie

Of all times there was an industrial action undertaken by the National Tetiary Education Union enforcing work bans at Universities DownUnder on the day my exam results are to be release and 1 of my exam result was affected by it and since I was in the area I decided to inquire at the student info counter. But to my disappointment, nothing was posted, not even locally of my WER result : ( Looks like I have to wait for God knows how long. So, yours truly is not quite there yet and not sure if I'll get to convocate in August : (

Not quite there but no harm taking a pix I guess

St Kilda

Next stop was St Kilda that is known for their pastry outlets and so we popped by Monarch and savoured their Blackforest cake (Charsiew, it was not bad...) and Monarch's famous chocolate kugelhoupf that goes well with my earl grey tea. It was a little sweeter than I would have liked it but the chewy bit was nice, just the way I like it.

Mighty Melbourne (juicy) burger @ Grill'd that was made up beef patty, beet root, etc, plus a serving of thick cut chips with tomato salsa. Yummy-liciosu!

Freezing cold at St Kilda, even my toes were screaming cold...

Lygon Street aka Little Italy for the foodie

Dinner @ Universal Pizza, Lygon Street. This is the place to go if you are craving for authentic Italian food. This restaurant was voted as Best in Lygon.

Me, not a fan of bacon has never eaten so much bacon in a trip. Baked, oysters in wine and generous portins of bacon on a bed of sea salt. The pix says it all. Slurpy-licious.

Carbonara risotto. It has a smooth texture with a tad of sweetness that doesn't shout ger-lat!

Dockland's Habour Town

Breakfast is the most important meal of my day so no way am I going to compromise with mediocre meal, so I braced the 30m-minute wait at The Coffee Club for my serving of egg benedict with spinach and mushrooms. And boy! It sure was worth the wait... it was done just the way I like it and the mushrooms and spinach went well with it. It was so good I devoured every bit of it right down to the last bread crumbs. Great start to the day before I hit the stores for more shopping.

Hubby's order of Lifestyle breakfast of ham with melted cheese and avocado and poached egg

Victoria Market

This is the place to go for fresh produce. Our first stop was the seafood section and because we late many of the stalls were preparing to end the day and the seafood was going at irresistable offers. We couldn't resist and succumbed to the temptation; bought a dozen oysters (shucked) for dinner. It was so fresh I could taste the saltiness of the sea. Pray hard my tummy won't protest tonite.

Being Singaporean our "passion" to queue led me to this mobile doughnut station. It was nothing near to melt-in-your-mouth krispy kreme and I thought they could do more justice with the sugar coating.

2009-06-04T00:40:00.003+08:00

On the eve of departure and we are hit by the worst of news - Australia's count of confirmed cases increased by 47 on Saturday to 254 to over 500 as of this morning. I never want to put on mask onboard the plane but if I have to do it to save myself from the virus, I will. In addition to masks I will also be popping Vitamin C supplements to boost my immunity. Don't wanna sound paranoid but the pandemic is speading like wildfire. Better to be safe than sorry.

Am feeling the jitters now. Few more hours to go and the verdict will be out. Am keeping everything I could think of crossed. May the force be with me!

An Eventful Day - June 4th

2009-06-02T23:21:00.011+08:00

To many it's just another day, but it will be a special one for me as it marks 3 events - all happening in a day - which I have mixed feelings for...

Apprehensive, because after 4 weeks of agonizing wait my exam results will be released on Thursday. On one hand I am looking forward to it as the wait is tormenting, however there's also the fear that the truth is gonna hurt. Although I always believe that one should hope for the best and prepare for the worst, it's almost always easier said than done. I will continue to HOPE and PREPARE for what may come.

Happy, because I'll be seeing some folks that I've not had the chance to catch up with after I left my ex ex ex employer, ATK. Time flies, it's been 3 years since I bade goodbye to them and although I make it a point to meet up with some friends on a regular basis there are still those whom I didn't manage to meet. So, for that I'm looking forward to the upcoming Alumni get-together.

Keyed up, because I'm finally going to Melbourne for the long overdue vacation. The cold weather, never ending list of must try restaurants, vineyard tour, Great Ocean, awaits me! I think the most memorable part of the trip is gonna be my first time driving overseas on one of the world's most scenic roads on a Mitsubishi Outlander! I hope for it to be a gentle giant and have mercy on my pathetic driving skills ;P

The countdown begins.... NOW! Arrrrrrrgh!!!!

Is Sorry The Hardest Thing To Say?

2009-05-26T22:21:00.006+08:00

Saying sorry can be the hardest word to utter and there's always a concern that you may not be forgiven. However, it is never too late to apologize and is the call of integrity to do so. How someone choose to receive it is up to them because all we can do is to make good and hope for renewal through our courage of being accountable.

In essence, it is never too late to apologize and one should never estimate the power of apology.

'When one person is sorry it doesn't matter, but when two are sorry about the same thing, thats when it does.'

Turtle Soup

2009-05-17T17:38:00.005+08:00

The foodie in me is always on the look out for good makan places and more so now that I've all the time I can spare. So, off I went to try one of the many Chinese delicacy, Turtle soup. Headed out to Ser Seng at Macpherson for my first meal of today and I wasn't disappointed at all. Hubby and I ordered a portion each ($13) and yam rice and the soup was packed with goodness. Don't ask me what went into making of the soup but by the taste and looks of it I can tell they were generous with the use of Chinese herbs. Not only did I walk away happy and contented, most importantly I had my collagen fix.

The restaurant is a small setting and sits about 60 pax at max. By the time I left slightly past 12 noon the crowd was already streaming in slowly by surely.

Ser Seng Herbs (Turtle) Rest.
39, Tai Thong Crescent
(behind the former 24-hr Mapherson hawker centre)
Closed on Monday

2009-05-14T22:17:00.004+08:00

Just got back from the airport after sending Sis and her Amore off at the airport. Dad, Mom, Bro and Marisa (Sis' BFF) were there too. They had so many luggages it was no surprise when the counter staff acted suspicious and asked for documentations, contact details of arrival transfer, details of company, etc. And it didn't help when Amore's passport has a whole collection of immigration stamps, so I reckoned they must be wondering what is this Italian guy up to. Thankfully they managed to sort it out after talking to to the driver in Korea.

As expected Mom got teary at the departure gate so I made sure to bid our swift farewell and took no chance at letting her shed a tear... We know her too well to want to take the chance.

We're gonna miss Sis for the next few months until she's back for "vacation". Take care my dear Sis. I may always call you airhead but deep down you know I love you to bits.

Sisters don't need words. They have perfected a language of snarls and smiles and frowns and winks - expressions of shocked surprise and incredulity and disbelief. Sniffs and snorts and gasps and sighs - that can undermine any tale you're telling. ~ Pam Brown

Where The Sidewalk Ends...

2009-05-04T19:08:00.009+08:00

Would you ever guess that it's a private dining restaurant owned by - if I may use the term - celebrity couple Jessie Soo and Wee Khim? I for one didn't know this place existed until 2 weeks ago. It's a black & white house located at Hooper Road (along Bukit Timah Road) and the set up is very homely and cosy with warm lightings and the hosts were very professional, making it a point to address all of us by our first name. Impressive! Oh, before I forget, the dinner was organized for Professional Administrator's week and we also took the opportunity to celebrate a special gal's birthday.

Don't expect too much of the food as it tasted like home cooked meal with a touch of class. However, I must commend them for the lovely finger food - chopped tomatoes on mini baugette and stewed onions (below) and feta cheese on pastry crust (we enjoyed it so much it vanished almost immediately and hence no photo taken).

Grilled mushrooms and eggplant. It was light and refreshing and the mushrooms were oozing with sweetness.

Angel's hair pasta prepared with anchovies and tobiko. The pasta was done al dente but I thought it was a little dry for my liking although it was tasty.

My choice of maincourse - Lamb. The meat was tender but a bit too well cured (correct term used?) that it didn't taste it.

Shirley and Yours Truly

Relaxing moment with Lynn and Audrey

Enjoying the beautiful voice of Jessica. What a way to end the lovely evening.

2009-04-12T21:52:00.008+08:00

Lectures are officially over for now until the exam jitters hit me (again) between late April to early May. Many months of hard work and late nights, all for a piece of "paper". But is it worth it? Definitely! Not only did I become wiser *ahem* but also the friendships gained over the past 15 months. Let's hope alls well ends well.

Leadership Management & Organization theory group.

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Sis turned 33 on April 10th so BFF, Marisa, planned a small do at Helio Asia Spa at Paragon a day before. One tip from yours truly. Don't try their manicure/pedicure cos I can do a better job for sure. Nevertheless, the 90 min shiatsu massage and 30 min foot massage was decent, and the hot tub was heavenly. Ladies, bring along your bikini as I won't recommend you put on the outfit that's provided by them.

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Amore aka Andrea made Sis her birthday cake. Yes, it's the most popular Italian dessert. It was good except for the slight overdose of cocoa powder, otherwise, I luurve it.

Giant and Dwarf

2009-04-03T18:06:00.005+08:00

The difference between 1.86m and 1.55m... When Ah Luang meets Ah Guam... Hit me if you can...

Hate It or Like It, It's Happening.

2009-03-26T23:20:00.003+08:00

Someone told me she hates recession. And I replied, probably the only ones hoping to be retrenched are the long service employees, and by this I mean employment of 10 years and above. I consider the 'returns' as a mini windfall, good enough to tide you over for a few months.

Perhaps this is also a good time to think of a 2nd career? Hmm... what would I like to do? Most people would want to try something different or endeavor on something they are passionate about. What about me? I thought of setting up a pushcart that sells hotdogs - easy to prepare, easy to eat and easy on the pockets of consumers too, what better than this. No, that's not my passion but food is an essential part of our life, be it for someone who eats to live or live to eat. So, do lend me your support when the day comes. *wink*

Looking forward to the weekend as I'm joining Sis and friends for a night out. I just wanna spend more time with her before she goes away *sob sob*

2009-03-08T15:24:00.005+08:00

They (Pizzardone) finally made their way to Punggol. They were featured on Channel U's foodie programme but I didn't get to savour their pizzas the last time so here it is. To my disappointment the curst was a bit chewy for my liking and my order of Napoletana that consists of Anchovies, Capers, Mozerrella toppings was too salty. For the price of $13 for a 21" pizza is a not overly pricey but I sure was hoping for a satisfying meal which turned out disappointing. Nevertheless, I'm not about to write them off yet so I'm going to give it another try before the final verdict.

2009-03-07T18:08:00.005+08:00

Sis finally broke the news to Papa and Mummy on her intention to join Andrea in Korea, and that is pretty soon as we are talking about mid to late April. I'm sure the family is going to miss her loads, especially me. Granted we were not the best of pals growing up but that has changed since. Looking back we used to fight over the slightest things and it could take up to days for us to reconcile... those were the days. If I have to describe her it would be, alluring in her own ways; exuberant; wacky at times but always a great fun to be with. All in all, I know she loves the family : )

To me, the best in having a sister is you will always have a friend, no matter what.

It's not going to be easy so we've decided to spend some quality time together before she heads off to her new love nest.

'While we were born sisters, we grew up to be friends' ~ Catherine Pulsifer

2009-03-05T01:05:00.005+08:00

I've been pre-occupied with school assignments that I've not had the chance to blog as often now. This is the last semester and I'm dreading every moment of it. Back-to-back lectures 3 nites a week, endless essays to complete and packed deadlines, how can I be enjoying life at the rate it's going? Worst, my panda eyes are back!!! Sigh... I swear I will celebrate after the last lecture on April 9th. I'm really counting down to the day.

So many things happened over the last weeks or so. I think the most significant event would be my medical report which was collected 2 weeks ago, and glad to announce I'm healthy except for borderline high cholesterol which I'll have to abstain from seafood for a while. Oh, I also found I need to go back for my Hep A & B booster shot soon as the readings are pretty low. oh dear... One more item on my to-do.

Oh yes, I finally had the fruit cake baked my Carol. Good job! Even hubby thinks it's nicely done. Keep it up ; )

Gotta snooze soon as I need to prepare for a group presentation tomorrow. Not sure how I'll fare. Stay tuned.

2009-02-14T19:06:00.004+08:00

Found out only at 5-ish that there is a beehive 50m from our apartment! I've never been so up, close, but not personal with bees. I got goose bumps just looking at the swarm of bees flying around. Ewwwww!

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Sigh... Looks like Tinker and Belle (yes, I changed their names again) cannot be pals after all. Not sure if they simply cannot see eye-to-eye or are they fighting for Rhino's attention, because I noticed this morning that Belle was quite badly hurt from their hamster fights. So, to end Belle's agony I've isolated Tinker and she'll be crooning, "All by myself, dun wanna be... All by myself" tonite on Valentine's Day. Sorry Tinker, this may be a permanent arrangement because you have to pay for your mistakes.

2009-02-09T22:59:00.003+08:00

15 days into the year of the Ox and today is commonly known as 元宵节. Most families will come together tonight for another round of reunion dinner, which I did with my in-laws. It was a simpler affair but the food was good and so was the company. Cleo told me she was looking forward to the Yusheng and when I started counting I've had 9 rounds (including tonight) of Lo Hei sessions but it's still not enough. Hubby bought 2 sets of fusion Yusheng which we'll just have it for fun later on.

The readings for Oxen has been unfavourable although it's our year, for crying out loud... Nevertheless, I will try to overcome all odds there may be and try to make the most out of every opportunity that presents itself. As I believe you coin your own fate to a certain extent, and when there's a will there's a way. Life is never a bed of roses and it's up to oneself to make good of it.

'We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope' ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

2009-02-08T23:01:00.003+08:00

Stuart is a female thus I have to give her a new name and it's going to be Star. Effectively this afternoon Star was joined by 2 other new family members - Twinkle and Rhino. The intention was to get another hamster to keep Star company, then I was told there's a chance of them fighting so I decided to get 2 hamsters instead hoping one of it will be a neutral party. So far so good, they have been living in harmony - World Peace!

When I start shopping I can't stop... the shopaholic in me tried to refrain from spending but could not hold back my 'excitement' when I saw the cute cages. At last, I decided to get them a decent cage they can call home. It's such a pretty cage I can't help but keep admiring it ; D

Btween the 2, I still can't differentiate between Rhino or Twinkle, but I'll get there, somehow

My New Found Respect - Shin

2009-02-02T22:44:00.007+08:00

She is not an acquaintance of mine. I got to know her through Carol, whom introduced that I read Shin's blog http://shinscancerblog.blogspot.com/. She's a proud mother of 2 and fought a long and rough battle with cancer - the number 1 killer - and passed on peacefully last week. Watched her documentary clips, her memorial clips, and I have nothing but respect for this lady. She adopted a positive attitude and lived in good spirits throughout, until the last hours of her life. There was a touching scene when she walked her husband through the collection of knick knacks for her 2 lovely kids, Josie and Toby... that brought tears to my heart.

This brings me to ponder about life... will I have the same courage to face the truth when hit with reality? What will I do? Most probably the first thing that comes to mind would be, "Why me?" Life is too short for so many whys, so might as well make the most out of it and try to live it to the fullest. Death has no mercy nor sympathies. Live each day like it's your last as I don't want to look back with regrets.

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Found this orange plastic ball right outside the gate and when I peered in I realized it wasn't just an empty ball, there is a hamster in it! It's too late a Christmas present and no one gives hamsters for CNY. Anyway, I've decided to home this little thing albeit the displeasure of dear Vicki. Have not named it yet as I'm not sure of it's gender... perhaps Stuart if it's a boy ;P

"Stuart" arrived in this orange ball.

Little "Stuart's" temporary home

2009-01-25T00:12:00.015+08:00

Started the day early as we had to send Papa and Mommy to the airport. They are off to Ho Chi Minh with cousin & family. Had originally planned for dim sum breakfast at T3 but the restaurants were closed so we settled for mee rubus at HK Cafe. After sending them off I spent the next hour shopping in T3 - bought sweets & stuff from NTUC and some accessories. Feels a bit strange to do grocery shopping at the airport but it was a great as there were no crowd so no need to endure with the long queue.

Afterwhich I spent the afternoon in search of new outfits, with green theme in mind. It was easier than I thought and I went home with a green dress and a ruffled chiffon top. Fruitful trip!

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Wishing all a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous and Bountiful year ahead.

GONG XI FA CAI !!!

2009-01-10T16:50:00.015+08:00

My fond memories of CNY used to be the times when Mom, Sis and cousins (plus yours truly of course) would gather in the kitchen chatting away while making pineapple tarts and loveletters for the family. Although nothing beats homemade pastries and the aroma that follows I didn't quite enjoy the preparation process of the pineapple filling, as it's too time consuming.

It has been many years since we called it quits and all these while I've been looking out for pineapple tarts that 'meets my expectations'. I've had a few good buys, but nothing beats the ones sold at The Hiding Place @ 3 Jalan Kayu, because I waited a few years... Why so long you must be wondering. Each year bottles of freshly baked pineapple tarts are prepared for the home's CNY charity bazaar at no cost by a kind-hearted bakery shop owner, and they sell out really fast. But this year, I'm in luck!

This is it. A container of 25 pineapple tarts at S$18. A bit steep at 72 cents a piece but good food is worth paying for - and waiting too in this case.

The pix says it all. It's L size and takes 2 bites to finish. The crust was light and buttery, although I would like it with some milky taste. However, the scrumptious filling was lovely as it's not too sweet and you can still chew on the fibers of the fruit. Some fillings I've had before are chewy and tasted like jam. What I like about the tarts? With each bite it gets better... Double the size , double the enjoyment of savouring these delectable goodies. Yummy! Btw, they were rated top by Women's Weekly mag in 2007.

I'm contented, I'm happy ;D Now I'm feeling Chinese New Year-zie...

To SIN or not to SIN

2009-01-07T23:43:00.005+08:00

I've a mission on hand... to try and search for dairy-free cakes. Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck and found only one site - http://www.theconsciouschoice.com/cake/index-buzz.htm - that provides the service but they don't come cheap. Well, these business have a targeted clientele and I'm out of the league for sure. Yes, I can be health conscious but I still want to have my cake and eat it. On second thoughts, maybe I should just settle for a sinful chocolate cake.

Anything is good if it's made of chocolate ~ Jo Brand

Looking back on 2008

2008-12-31T18:04:00.008+08:00

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

2008-12-28T09:41:00.005+08:00

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

2008-12-27T23:24:00.008+08:00

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.

2008-12-25T11:47:00.006+08:00

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!

2008-12-10T21:56:00.007+08:00

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.

2008-12-02T23:43:00.005+08:00

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.

2008-12-01T23:02:00.003+08:00

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

2008-11-22T23:10:00.010+08:00

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...

2008-11-19T20:04:00.006+08:00

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.

2008-11-12T11:23:00.010+08:00

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.

2008-11-03T16:27:00.006+08:00

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

2008-11-03T00:50:00.005+08:00

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

2008-11-01T12:09:00.013+08:00

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

2008-10-27T14:52:00.007+08:00

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?

2008-10-22T19:31:00.009+08:00

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...

2008-10-21T21:49:00.005+08:00

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*

2008-10-14T12:20:00.004+08:00

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.

2008-10-07T23:08:00.015+08:00

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

2008-10-02T22:36:00.010+08:00

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

2008-09-28T23:12:00.007+08:00

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.

2008-09-23T22:30:00.005+08:00

2009 is said to be the year of the Lean Cow, therefore it's recommended that offices and houses have some form of greens - paintings, ornaments, plants, etc. - because you need to feed the cows and grass is their staple diet.

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Today when I casually mentioned to Hubby and YL (seperately) that it's the year of the Ox next year, and it's my year, both responded with, "Oh! You are 36 next year"??!!! Hmmm.... me and my big mouth.

2008-09-17T15:28:00.009+08:00

Singaporeans are queueing again. But this time it's not for collectibles, rather, they are trying/hoping to collect money, if any, from the troubled insurer, AIA. This morning as I stepped out of the MRT station I was received by a long queue of people waiting to get into the building. I thought you only get to witness such a scene on TV... There were people of all ages, races, some casually dressed while others look like they took time off from work. The collapse of Lehman Brothers is a rude shock to many - first thought that came to my mind was, who's next? I hope AIG will pull through this one or you have another pool of jobless folks on the ground. We'll know soon.

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Mom was admitted this morning for her procedure. Sis was with Dad when I called. Mom was wheeled in at 9:30am and they only saw the nurse at about 2pm. Thankfully, everything went well. I remember the last time when Mom had her Angioplasty I was alone. It was a much shorter wait but any wait outside the operating theatre is a long one regardless. Although there's only 1 per cent risk but you don't want to leave it to chance.

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Conversation with the taxi driver on my way home from the hospital.

Driver: Why are you in SGH?

Me: Visiting my Mom.

Driver: Heart problem?

Me: Yes.

Driver: Operation huh? I was a patient of SGH few years ago for 5 days. Doctor wanted me to undergo angioplasty but I refused, and I told her I'm afraid to die...

Me: Oh....

Driver: I started attending medical healing at a church in Tampines St 82 and I've recovered... Won't allow doctors to poke needles into my body, etc. I read some where people die later from too much dye used during the procedure...

Me: .......

Driver: I believe only in Jesus Christ... I believe only in my Jesus Doctor... Want to bring your Mom there? I can help.

Me: It's ok. We're fine.

Driver: Really. I can help. Gimme your number and I can contact you.

Me: Hmmm.... it's ok.

Driver: Believe me. Jesus Doctor can help your Mom.

Me: I'M MALAY, sorry, cannot attend church service/healing

....... silence........

2008-09-13T09:36:00.019+08:00

911... A day to remember for all...

For everything there is a season,

And a time for every matter under heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;

A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal;

A time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to seek, and a time to lose;

A time to keep, and a time to throw away;

A time to tear, and a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate,

A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

The same day Champion and another ex-colleague, ML celebrated their birthday. Apparently it's the first time Champ is in town for his b'day hence we made an effort to throw him a party - 2 to be precise; lunch & evening drinks. I can tell he is one happy person that day and it's the least we can do for him. One of the guests commented that a good leader has followers, and I would like to add, "A good leader inspires, influences and motivates people to achieve constructive change. They make a difference and facilitate positive change." I was too shy then to voice my views, rather I choose to pen it here.

The latter part of the party was equally fun. The evening saw bouts of ideas, suggestions and jokes being shared and exchanged across the table. Although it was all fun there had to be ONE dull moment. Because when asked for his opinion he had this to say, "It's for me to know and NOT for you to find out"..... There you have it, another Flipper moment.

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On another positive note, I scored High Distinction for one of my individual assignment. I'm still basking in the joy of the news. Thanks Sis! You were there when I needed help (to login to the portal). You made my evening.

2008-09-07T22:34:00.006+08:00

It's Ramadhan month again. We "break fast" at Charsiew's kampung on Saturday. Before that Hubby & I made a trip to Kampung Glam @ Jalan Sultan to get some food. Compared to Eunos it's about one ninth of the former's scale and what was disappointing was I didn't get to eat Ayam Pecek. Nevertheless, we made 2 food discoveries, a nasi padang outlet - Sabar Menati Restaurant on No. 48 & 50 Kandahar Street. They are known for their beef rendang. It was indeed good but a tad salty for my liking. FYI, Anthony Bourdain was one of their many celebrity customers. The other (can't remember the name) is best known for their tulang but we didn't get to taste it yet. Akan datang.

Sumptious spread. Charsiew prepared 2 dishes, Ayam Masak Merah & Fish Sambal.

My all time favourite - Petai

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It's been some time since we caught up with Chee Meng & Bee Kuan. We take turns to buy dinner. This time it's our turn to pick up the tab and it was at the House of Lobster @ Simei ITE. We were busy chatting and eating away and forgot to snap photos, but still manage to take a shot of their house specialty, Lobster porridge - picture speaks a thousand words. The broth is so flavoursome that I will finish every drop of it, nvm if I'm already filled to the brim. Unfortunately, they have closed the outlet at Simei (Sep 7th to be exact) and will focus on the other surviving branch @ Woodlands ITE. I wonder why choose to open outlets in ITE? Cheaper rent? For sure you won't find many students lunching there.

'Worries go down better with soup' ~ Jewish Proverb

Pampering Moments

2008-09-03T23:37:00.007+08:00

Hubby's long awaited new 'home' for his camera and lenses finally arrived.

My long-awaited new 'home' for my un-ironed clothes.

And finally..... I got my hands on the iphone, with compliments from Hubby *Muack*. Still trying to get use to its functions but it's a pretty cool phone though, minus MMS function.

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Was suppose to get my phone pouch from epicentre @ Wheelock but they closed early today. It was still a fruitful trip nevertheless as we had our dinner at Shashlik, L6 of Far East Shopping Centre. It's a long-standing restaurant managed by Hainanese elders aka Hai Nam Ah Kor. Food was not too bad - a bit expensive though - but don't expect great service. When I asked the waitress which of their soup does she recommend and her reply was 21-25, which is all that's listed on the menu. Anyway, our order was ab fab!

Will I go back there again? Maybe. Rating: 3/5

This is item #21 - Borsche (sp?) soup made up of cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, with a dash of sour cream. Doesn't look appetizing, not until you've had our first sip.

Shashlik Steak with Russian Salad (boring & served seperately so not in the photo). The meat was lightly seasoned with salt & pepper, no frills. Hubby had the Garlic Steak which I thought was not that great.

An Eventful Week

2008-08-31T11:42:00.006+08:00

Thursday

Sis sms to says Mom is experiencing chest pain. I packed up immediately and left for A&E at SGH. Papa was alone as Sis had an event that day. Remember the last time we were there was about 5 years ago when Mom had her first mild attack. Anyway, doctor did all the tests and ascertain it was another seizure. It has been twice lucky as both times Papa was with her.

I've never spent so much time in A&E. We waited... and waited... and waited... and the by the time Mom was wheeled into the observation ward it was past 8pm. Staff nurse told me they were experiencing a high number of adminssions for cardiac cases that day plus all the wards are full so we have no choice but to wait.

Saturday

Mummy was happy because she can be discharged. Did all the paperworks and headed home. But this is not the end as she is due back on the 16th for Angioplasty.

Shortly after dinner I received another call from Sis to say that Mummy's not well. She looked horrible with swollen eyes, redness all over and at one point, went into a seizure. Luckily Papa and Sis were home. Doctor said Mummy was distressed with her condition that her BP level dropped significantly. This time, she was diagnosed with food allergy and the culprit is prawn. So going forward no more prawns, period.

I'm quite impressed by the service level at TTSH, although more could be done at the screening area as they are obviously under staffed. Admission was pretty swift but wait for the on-call doctor was looong... saw him only at 1am. Young chap who can't even say the medication in full. He asked if there was any Med and for a while I was thiking what Maths?!!! Sorry lah, after all the saga I really can't think straight. And the parting words were, "Cool. Your mom is fine...".

"The groundwork of all happiness is health" - Leigh Hunt

Of Mergers & Acqusitions

2008-08-25T23:55:00.007+08:00

PLANET FITNESS IS NOW TRUE FITNESS!

What a pleasant surprise. Why? Because I've been contemplating a move to a yoga focused outfit as I've not been visiting the gym for many months now - Hub said - sacarstically of course - I'm a philanthropist.

Anyway, with this news, I'm looking forward to workout sessions again especially since one of the many perks is the facelift and upgrade of all 6 fitness centres. Plus, I get complimentary passes to True Yoga. *wink*.

Flipper aka CMI is out till Wed and potentially Friday. YES!!!

2008-08-24T15:59:00.012+08:00

Charsiew, Isa & Evan were over for dinner last nite. Dinner was a simple fare of Sukiyaki beef & chicken. Couldn't find Sake so had to substitute that with H2O and 2 pieces of Royal Honey Choya plums and the outcome was pretty good. Charsiew packet home some tanghoon and vegs. Smart move as that is the best part of Suki as the noodles has all the goodness of the essence infused in it. Would be perfect if there were more ingredients to go with it. Dessert was of course pancakes with vanilla ice-cream, mandarin oranges & blueberries. But my dear Isa said she doesn't like blueberries.... We had a good time and I think they did too ; )

Popped by the new wing of Downtown East for a quick bite at Super Dogs. You have to try their fries, it's just the way I like it, other than crisscut fries from Carl's Jr. Their burgers are good too. In a matter of 40 mins we had our lunch, bought my loaf of bread from prima and picked up some groceries from NTUC. Just when we'e run out of ideas on makan ideas on a lazy Sunday afternoon, we found the place.

'We think fast food is equivalent to pornography, nutritionally speaking'. ~Steve Elbert

2008-08-22T23:29:00.020+08:00

New look for my blog. Why One-2-Zero? This was my nickname during Secondary school days as the Beng Seng and Lian Huay clans could not get my name right so one brilliant guy decided to make things simple and hence the "name".

Charsiew told me I've been attending crash courses of late. Last weekend was flower arrangement, and today, 3 hr makeup workshop with Bobbi Brown.

The workshop itself was not as fun as I like it to be, but some of the participants were quite interesting to observe. The lady next to me lamented that her dark eye rings are quite prominent. Let me start by saying it was already prominent in the first place (quite bad actually) and with the help of concealer it did look better. But then when she slapped on the eye shadow, panda resurfaced... because this is mauve look, my dear. The look is smoky eyes created by shades of brown and charcoal. So what do you think?

Then you have the kiasu participant who will apply more than what is necessary. One lady did it all. Too much moisturizer and sunblock and when she had her blusher on she looked like a baboon . Overall, I did pick up some good tips and Hub thinks the look is nice, so it was money well spent.

P.S. No photo to show off as the eyeliner had smudged by the time I got home 5 hrs later...

'Anything is good if it's made of Chocolate' - Jo Brand

National Day Perks 2008

2008-08-21T00:50:00.007+08:00

This is my earlist blog thus far because I just finished one of my essays due today.

Ladies in the office and almost everyone on the street are talking about the latest NDP perks. The most talked about is the extended maternity leave, 4 months to be exact. Unfortunately it's implementable in Jan 09, so my dear friends who are due this year gotta bang balls as it's kinda of close and yet so far. Well, the only thing that interests us is the IVF bit. Hub brought back the kaypoh evening papers and I tried to read up it but catch no ball. Will get Hub to explain tomorrow. Am very sleepy already... time to snooze.

Hub said he's been hearing so much feedback about boss from me that he could write a book. And so he asked me to dedicate a part of my blog to those daily feedbacks. I will try lah, no promise I will have things to write everday... Today he asked me what to do with his expense cheque; offered to quick cheque for him last week but he no hiu me so I boh chup too. Guess what? He still lives in the stone age, because he said he dun trust quick cheque and would rather queue in line and even though the bank tellers told him to use the facility he insisted on the 'traditional' banking service. Luckily I'm not seen with him at the bank, otherwise it's damn malu. What an oddball.

2008-08-18T23:45:00.005+08:00

Why am I still up? What else.... working on assignments, all due in 3 week's time, back-to-back. How exciting.

2 new colleagues started work today so we had welcome lunch at M Hotel. True to what I've heard they do have quite a good spread but lacks quality. The Otah tasted a bit sour; the prata, nicely sliced up, was too crispy and there was not even a decent serving of curry to go with it. But their durian mousse was good. C absolutely hates durian and made a nasty comment calling the King of fruits toilet custard. Huh?!!!! Ok to not appreciate the fruit but no need to so blatant, right? Tsk tsk... Already topping the hate list, with this, C will now move on to the dart board.

Someone told me today she is not at all proud that Team Singapore finally clinched silver medals for our nation 48 years later. That someone said they are afterall imported talent. To make matters worse, we are the paymaster of their rewards... this is so true. Taxpayer's money, my money...

2008-08-16T22:52:00.011+08:00

My first flower arrangement. Nice? Attended a 1.5hrs crash course at Simply Flowers @ The Central this afternoon. I am the only participant today so I got all the attention I wanted. It's not difficult, really. The trainer said flower arrangement is all about creativity and 'feel' and you can never go wrong with fresh flowers arrangement as they already look good on their own, which is true.

Since we were at Clarke Quay we decided to try out Tampopo, but it started drizzling a bit so we decided to stay put in The Central and dined at Matutama instead. Previously we didn't manage to try them as the few times we were there the queue was impossible, but today we were there early, at 5:30pm. The menu has only 4 types or ramen + 3 or 4 pathetic side dishes so we reckon if they have been doing so well their ramen but must be good. But we were wrong... Hubby was utterly disappointed with his, so much that he refused to pay so I had to pick up the tab. Anyway, mine wasn't that bad although it pales in comparison to even the ramen stall at Maxwell market in Hubby's opinion. Lesson learnt, doesn't mean if there's a queue then it has to be good.

Congratulations to our table tennis team for making it to the finals! They will make history after Tan How Liang. Be it gold or silver medals, they have made themselves and the nation proud. Way to go!!! And since I'm on Olympics.... I can't stand Jade Seah... she is darn unnatural... Pat Chan is still the best.

2008-08-13T23:19:00.003+08:00

Dear hubby has been working very hard since Monday (note: his office was closed in-lieu of National Day). He just called to say he's not coming home tonite. Me poor darling : (

Caught up with Y and C over lunch today. The last time was 1 year ago so lots to yak. C is doing very well and looking stunning as ever. Although it's been years since we left the company but since we're either in touch with some folks or have bumped into other folks we had a good info exchange session. They say 2's a company, and when you put 3 women together what do you get? Juicy gossips.

2008-08-09T00:15:00.008+08:00

I have adopted a new nickname with immediate effect, and that is Dora. A bought me this to commemorate the occassion. I dun have much idea of Dora except that she is an explorer who shares the same hairdo as yours truly. Good for now I think.

I applause *claps* Beijing for the great job they have done for the Olypmpics opening ceremony. It was spectacular!! Kudos to them, they made all the Chinese that were watching the show proud as it could not have been better. I enjoyed most of it especially the globe thingy with performers running around it in the air followed by a duet of the theme song by Sarah Brightman and a singer whom I can't identify with - I have to comment on the Male singer's attire... could he have not at least put on a jacket instead of his good-enough-for-marketing outfit? It's the Olympics, for cying out loud. Actually, I can't really understand what Sarah was singing but her stunning performance more than makes up for it.

Am feeling a bit patriotic after watching the fireworks from the bedroom... HAPPY NATIONAL DAY!!! I have not checked the TOTO results yet... maybe I've joined the million dollar round table already??!!

Slightly less than 2 months to Oct and we've yet to secure confirm bookings for Bali-SIN, and this is Monday we are talking about. How frustrating can it get? Booked our flights at the beginning of the year and still not making any headway. I remember Krisflyer's staff used to be able to push for confirmation when the request is put forth but when I called this week all the guy could say was, "I don't know, there's nothing I can do". So, what can I do, but to wait for miracle to happen. So much for planning ahead. URGH!!!

90th Birthday Bash

2008-08-03T23:27:00.012+08:00

Celebrated Ah Por's 90th birthday on Sat. Albeit suffering from dementia, Ah Por is still going strong at 90 and more good years to come.

Celebration started in the day the traditional way, with longevity buns and mee sua

Managed to take this photo before the party started

Family portriat

The night is still young... My first time - dinner & karaoke. Everyone was good spot that evening and we were entertained with lots of singing...

and more singing

Ah Por flashing her megawatt smile for the camera

All present except for Uncle Jln Jamal, Francis & family, Daisy, Ah Yao

Procreation Blues

2008-07-28T23:54:00.009+08:00

The report reads,"New measures to boost birth rate to be introduced in August... "Hopefully, with a new package of measures, which will be announced next month, and a strong collective desire towards supporting family life in Singapore, our baby count will increase. Employers have to support better work—life practices, friends and relatives have to chip in to help, and most of all, Singaporeans must desire to get married and raise families in the first place. All these require a societal mindset change." Singapore is also studying the procreation policies of countries like Sweden and the United States.

IMO, if it has to do with $$ as it seems to be the case for many, then there's not much the govt can do as afterall raising a family is not about incentives. In the long run, onus is on the parents to raise their child(ren) bonus or not. There's only so much the govt can try to intervene, I think. Ultimately, decision lies with the couple.

Just a thot. Maybe they should introduce wedding bonus before baby bonus because wedding dinner packages are getting so expensive these days it's hardly affordable.

Hmm... If it be not such for me, what care I have good it be?

Passion or Lust?

2008-07-27T17:24:00.004+08:00

2 mornings ago while onboard the LRT I was standing next to this young couple who looked like tertiary students. They provided everyone with a good 5 mins of live entertainment. They were smooching so loudly and hands all over I think even those standing 2 metres away were trying hard not to watch. This makes me wonder if these people so shameless displayed their passion in public, what happens when they are behind closed doors? Their world probably turns topsy turvy - in a good way I hope.

Sad to admit I'm finding it difficult to work with my boss aka Flipper. He is good at flipping his words hence the nickname; and he always never register much in that head of his. G asked if I felt like hitting his head when I'm upset and he is so right. Hmmm... some of us came up with real nasty party ideas to get back at him and it's most probably the tongue twister. This is a bit challenging - Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

Finally got the wine for Grandma's 90th birthday bash. With a small budget to work on and only a handful of wine drinkers - or appreciates wine - at the dinner we got 8 bottles of Wolf Blass Red Label (Merlot & Cabernet Sauvignon). and 4 bottles of German Riesling. I've ordered the longevity buns and noodles (mee sua) and Charsiew took care of the cake, I think we're all set for the big day, except we need to make sure to collect the $$$. Okay, women all petty creatures, but we get the work done (this line is for my darling to note...).

Pork Rib Talks... Oven Walks

2008-07-21T21:18:00.005+08:00

Dun ask me what title is that as I'm also not sure. Simply adopted it from the show "Coffee Talks Hawker Walks". How lame.

Tried preparing a meal with my new "toy" last Sat and it turned out pretty well. We bought 1.5 slab of pork ribs only to find out later they are meant for Bah Kut Teh. But at least it tasted quite good with my seasoning (it was done spontaneously) that consists of oyster sauce, plum sauce, sesame oil and a good dose of shiraz glaze... and it was ab-fab, man! The sausages went very well with grilled cherry tomatoes and olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme.

Tried a new bottle of wine - Lengs & Cooters, Shiraz. It's easy to drink and light-bodied with a hint of spice.

Finally managed to squeeze out some time to visit Sean, E and SP's latest (and hopefully last) addition. He's a pretty big baby for a 2 month old and adorable looking like most babies. He's also a smiley boy because I caught him similing a few times, though I'm not sure who he was similing at.

Happy Birthday Vicki

2008-07-16T23:30:00.007+08:00

Time flies... 11 years ago I could pick her up with one hand, today she weighs about the size of a small bag of rice... Vicki celebrated her 11th birthday yesterday. Had a quick dinner at MIL's and off we went to grab a cake for our dearest friend. I was pleasantly surprised to see this cake on display as it's exactly what I'm looking for. Perfect!

Vicki in her 'birthday suit'. Bought a few pieces of outfit for her and all but 1 fits nicely. This one she's wearing is my favourite piece but it's one size too big.

Bangkok 2008

2008-07-15T23:14:00.019+08:00

Day One

Finally, we got to check-in to one of Bangkok's hippest boutique hotel nestled in the heart of chinatown, Shanghai Inn. Who would have guessed the existence of such a cool looking hotel just by looking at the unimpressive facade of the building. Never judge a building by its looks; it may seem rundown but there's a gem within.

Hotel Lobby. Cool huh?

Our room. What you see on their website is really what you get, no more no less, no surprises.

Read positive reviews of Yin Yang Spa located in the hotel so decided to give 'em a try. Had foot reflexology with extras - ginger wrap. It was so hot and hurt a bit... Asked hubby jokingly hubby how he like my knee to be done - well done or medium. Our knees were red and sore from the treatment.

And since we are chinatown it makes sense to treat ourselves with at least one round of sharksfin, birds nest and other delights.

Day Two

Another must visit for us is the Chatuchak market. We're always there with the same mission - hoping to find good buys for our place, and so we did (again). Bought 2 sets of lightings for our dining area. Happy!

Who would have thought of finding a French cafe in the weekend market? We did. I. It's always nice to find a decent cafe for a cuppa and rest our legs after the amount of walking under the sweltering heat.

The words are too small but I think it's Lann CHA

Day Three

No photos because we were out all day shopping. First stop was to Platinum Fashion Mall, and it was no turning back. Bought T-shirts, shorts, dresses, accessories... almost everything except for shoes and bags.

(Day Four) My Nightmare...

I think I will think twice about taking CX on my next trip to Bangkok. We had the privilege to travel with at least 2 groups of PRCs from Guangxi (that's what hubby thinks) on our way back. It was the most excruciating experience I've ever had since the first time I flew on a plane. They were rowdy to say the least. One very helpful ah soh even volunteered to stack up their food trays by the emergency exit... can you beat that?!! Thank goodness one of the flight attendant was firm and made her re-distribute the trays to her respective friends... Geez...

Hubby said the flight attendant tried to stop one of the lady who stood up to collect her bag immediately after landing but realize it was pointless as the entire village soon follow suit. This is what you call, Monkey see money do. It was one of the most horrigible (horrible + terrible) plane ride I've experienced.

Makan Feast

2008-07-12T09:30:00.005+08:00

This week has been non-stop wine and dine. First stop was Le Nicolas at Keong Siak Road - food tasting for Christmas party. Their set lunch at S$38+++ is well worth it. I ordered beef tartare for starters and lamb for main, and I enjoyed every bit of it; savoring the sweetness of chopped raw beef and the seasoning that goes with it; the lamb was done perfectly to my liking. Divine...

The 2nd stop was Au Petit Salut. A and P received their promotion at the same time and it's our office's practice that new promotees have to buy the lunch/dinner. Food and ambience was good, although I would choose outdoor dining if were to go back again. There were 16 of us, yet only 1 waiting staff. I had a good time, but YL wasn't as lucky because she was seated opposite boss who is what I would call 'de classe'. He ordered the most expensive item on the menu and got YL to share it with him and his table manners is worse than a 5 year-old... He stuck his finger in the mouth to.... shall not be descriptive lest I lose my appetite.

Last evening we had dinner at Pietrasanta at Portsdown Road. It's a cozy Italian restaurant owned by a nice couple - hubby runs the kitchen while the wife manages the operation of the restaurant. We had pizza, parma ham with mozarella, calamari, escargot, kurobuta pork (I will save the fats for S the next time as tasted creamy), and dessert was tiramisu and lemon cake. I thought it's your regular cake but it wasn't. It's actually marshmellow with shredded lemon rind. You would appreciate it better if you don't dislike marshmellow like me.

So much for a foodie... Hubby and I are off to Bangkok for the weekend soon. Charsiew said it rained a bit when they were there. Let's see if we can bring the sun with us ; ) Till then, have a good weekend and update soon.

Public (Transport) Encounters

2008-07-07T23:55:00.006+08:00

Type 1 - passengers without backbone. She leans against the pole and reads a book, not sparing a thought for other passengers, like me, who are trying to balance on 3-inch heels. I tried to be patient then I lost it and slipped my hand behind her boneless back to grip the pole. Of course Missy wasn't pleased but sensed that I wasn't about to give up, she stepped aside.

Type 2 - passengers who are running late for reincarnation aka gan(3) qu(4) tou(2) tai(1). Everyone was waiting to board the bus and then this aunty had to squeeze her way to the front. At that moment a thought crossed my mind... perhaps I should just reach out and squeeze her butt and she won't even know who had just molested her... since she likes to squeeze then squeeze her I will .

Type 3 - what you see is not what you get. I can't decide if the lady standing in front of me is pregnant, fat, or fat and pregnant. She was in a baby doll dress, pumps, and I swear to God her tummy was sticking out. Obviously my first reaction was to give up my seat, right? But I shouldn't have... I found out she's not pregnant... Wah.... I was so embarrassed I could feel my face turning red.... got off at the next station to cool down.

New Toy; New Term

2008-07-05T16:48:00.012+08:00

This is my new 'toy'. I reckon the little toaster that has served us well for 5 years deserve a break as it has been more functional than what it's suppose to do. I'm quite excited at the thought of going back to baking, grilling and whatever it allows me to prepare... pizza, lagsane, grilled vegs, meats, and the list goes on. I remember the first time I picked up baking was during Home Economics in school. I must have baked at least 10 dozens of rock buns over a stretch of few weekends; So much that my Dad had to plead with me to stop. Also miss those days when Mom and cousins would gather at our place to bake pineapple tarts for CNY. So, an oven not only puts food on the table, it's also a platform for bonding moments.

School started this week. Have to let go of one group member as one of the project requires only 3-4 pax. The choice is clear for me that JA will be out, and I'm also thinking of T as well. This will mean go riddance the passenger and Mr. Sotong. But I'm undecided with Mr. Sotong so will have to kill some brain cells this weekend and have a good think about it. Sian ah!

Finally booked our weekend getaway next Sat and the designation is none other than BKK. I'm quite excited because we've booked ourselves into Shanghai Inn hotel. It's not your 5* hotel, rather, it's a boutique hotel located in Chinatown. I just love their concept after viewing their website for the first time. Hubby read thru the reviews and it has been good so far, so fingers crossed it will turn out well. Sawadee-kah!

Oink-a-licious Weekend

2008-06-29T18:14:00.016+08:00

The much raved about Kurobuta Pork from Australia. Generously marinated with red wine and garlic sprinkle with rosemary. My favourite butcher, Francis - apparently the first Indian butcher to sell pork in S'pore - from Oh Deli never disappoint me with his superb marinade skills. In a nutshell, it was finger licking good.

The meat was grilled for 20 mins in the toaster and ready to be consumed.

Francis recommended we try the regular pork chop (also from down under) and Hubby & I were soon won over; The first bite felt like ham, and no marinade was needed, a few drops of olive oil did the works. However, I think it was a tad too salty for me so I'll try basting it with shiraz glaze the next time around.

Fillet Mignon - tenderloin with bacon and a light touch of honey mustard. Grilled in the toaster for 10 mins. The result was medium rare and super tender. It's the best homecooked steak I've had so far.

To top it all, Mom prepared her special marinade pork ribs for dinner tonite and it was very tasty,, so much that Hubby had 4 ribs at one go. Suggested to Mom to try the same marinade on soft bone pork the next time as I'm sure the taste will be better and more tender, too.

Health Is Wealth

2008-06-27T00:04:00.013+08:00

Finally had my long overdue pap smear test on Tuesday. And I've just introduced a new gynea to my long list, she's Doc Chen Chern Yi. She has an office at the GP opposite my block so it's pretty convenient. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about consulting a neighbourhood gynea, not that I'm a snob, it's just my personal opinion. Anyway, glad I made the trip as Dr Chen comes across as personable and patient, IMO. Oh, and she's very gentle too, as I've heard nasty stories of other female gyneas. After the routine Q&A we proceeded to the procedure and why am I not surprised she found fibroids and two 2cm cysts of different kinds on each of my ovaries. One of them is Dermoid Cyst and the other is still unknown at the moment, because she can't determine over a scan. Following which I had my blood drawn for tumor marker test which I should know the result soon. Hopefully the reading is not too high, otherwise I'll have to undergo laparascopy (again!). If all goes well, then I'll see her 3 months later for another scan and then take it from there.

Doc says I'm an interesting case after she learnt of my OB&GY history... Hmmm... So, my fertility health does provide some kind of challenge to her. Perhaps I should stay with her since I think I quite like her, and it's convenient. Worth considering.

And while we are on the topic of health. A colleague asked me today if I happen to have memory lapses and I replied, "Yes. Of course. It happens and this has nothing to do with age". Not sure if I did the right thing as my intent was to console her. She's near menopausal and her "hard disk" has been acting up a bit lately. Anyway, if what I've said can make her feel better, then no harm I guess.

JD Moments

2008-06-23T20:57:00.009+08:00

Bright and Alert on a lazy Sat afternoon...

JD had two firsts last weekend. First family outing and saw his Uncle D and Aunty E for the first time. Cute dude, although a little shy. Hubby thinks JD is afraid of him... he runs away from Hubby when he tries to go near... quite a funny sight. I'm sure he'll warm up after a few meetings. JD is very attached to C. He would snuggle up to her like a baby. Oh, not fogetting to mention that he didn't need to be leashed at all. He would follow C & Wong Sifu, walking alongside his proud new parents. Very impressive.

Picture speaks louder than words... Some photos of JD to share.