Out of Pure Boliao-ness

Created this with Wordle ... Saw it from STan's Blog quite sometime ago, it's quite interesting! These are the things I like, by the way... Will modify it a bit when i'm free-er... Not like I did anything else in office today ha...

Collection of X'mas Trees 2008

Tanglin Mall

Forum

On the streets

Takashimaya (Made up of teddy bears... v cute. Didn't take the big big one coz every year it looks the same)

Paragon

Heeren (All coke bottles!)

Suntec

Simply love X'mas lightings... looking forward to X'mas weekend! Happy X'mas to All!

Froggy Porridge

I finally dare to eat 田鸡粥! Have always thought it's damn disgusting, especially when I see the frogs cramped up together in the tank... Tried it after Andy Lau's concert, then like it so much, went back on the following Monday heh...

We went to Sinma Live Seafood @ Lor 3 Geylang Road... Ate there before with Xin a long long time ago. We ordered Mami (the blackish goo that we ate with porridge when we were young) Chicken, vege and Chilli Crabs.. Yumz! Now got promotion, buy 2 get 1 free, 3-for-2, 4-for-3, etc.. The Chilli Crab you see in the picture is supposed to be a small one but it turned out to be quite big. Yours Truly finished almost the whole crab by myself, coz No.10 only took one pincer. After that I still can eat my fave Rochor tao huay for dessert... hiak hiak

My Long Lovely Birthday Weekend 3-8 Dec 08

Woah... now I don't even know where and how to begin ha... Well, Yours Truly is finally 27! Not that I'm so eager to age but somehow that's what many ppl stated in their bday well-wishes... Not true leh, I feel like I've been 27 the whole year and in a few days' time I have to say I'm 28 liao... So bo hua being a Dec baby haha...

Anywayz took leave on 4th and 5th, then 8th is a PH, which added to my little 'long vacation'. My birthday celebrations kicked off with a dinner with my family at Seafood Paradise (Defu Lane) on 1 Dec, with all my fave dishes - milky crabs, drunkened prawns, seafood fried rice, etc...It's like a must-go place for my birthday or any other celebrations eversince Xin intro us to that place ha.

3 Dec - Went to Zouk with No.10 and my best buddies, including K who has the same bday as moi, for a mini-countdown party ha... It was a Mambo nite lah... I still unashamedly think it's a great place to party.. I can just see the horrified looks on your faces haha! But it was really fun... Thanks for being there guys!

4 Dec - Woke up at 2+ then set off to my office with No.10 for a mini-celebration with my colleagues. I felt like a 大名星 with all the cameras flashing away! Thank you all my 姐妹s, 哥哥s and uncles for the cake and the gift! Then went to Taka where No.10 bought me my present... nice? Hee...

Had dinner at The Line at Shangri-La... International buffet with a very very good spread I must say.. the restaurant's one of the biggest I've been to for a hotel's buffet. There were so many stations! Appetizers, Japanese, Seafood, Italian, Chinese, North Indian, Noodles... My god, the 2 of us ate so much lobsters, alaskan crabs, prawns, oysters, etc. and they were so fresh! We were spoilt for choice at the dessert station as well... choc fondue, kueh kuehs, ice-cream, fruits, cakes... Sinfully Yummy!

5 Dec - Went for my fave supermarket-shopping and then my personal chef cooked burgers for dinner. Set off to Jewel Box after dinner to meet my friends. The whole place changed quite a lot; Altivo has been replaced by a few small restaurants and best thing is you have to pay an entrance fee of $9 to enter... though can use the tix to go for cable car ride, I still think its quite silly... Celebrated Shir's bday there at midnight..

6 Dec - It was my 'Chinese Bday' (十一月初九), and my mum cooked me my fave 鸡汤面线 with 2 鸡蛋s. Slurpz! Lurrrrrve my mum's cooking... too bad nowadays seldom get to eat. Watched <<海角七号>> after that. The show was hilarious! Never realised 范逸臣 is actually quite cute... My fave scene is where 茂伯 was ranting away about how they don't respect him, don't give elderly a chance blah blah.. and the next scene he appeared looking silly sitting there shaking the tambourine.. No.10 said I laughed damn loudly hahaha... Not telling you more, just in case you wana watch lah. Like all Taiwanese movies, the show was quite draggy at times with 'artistic scenes', but overall it's nice and I've always liked such shows about forming a band. Most of the dialogue was in taiwanese hokkien (which is so different and difficult to understand) but can read the subtitles. My fave line: "留下来, 或我跟你走." Highly recommended!

7 Dec - Nothing much in the day, then met Tek and the rest for coffee @ Bugis at nite then supper... there are just so much crap to talk and laugh about when we are together ha..

8 Dec - Went to Ah Mah house coz its Ah Gong's death anniversary.. reached the house to find my 2 aunties quarreling.. haiz senseless squabblings. Then rest of the day juz nua, ending my little 悠长假期 with the cool weather...

Thank you all my dearests for your bday greetings and gifts... and my Darling No.10, for taking time off your work for me throughout the long weekend... =)

Today, can't get my engine to start at work. Heng boss not in...

娘惹风

No.10 brought me to Iv1ns' to try out the Peranakan Food (Main Branch) last Friday..

Verdict: Prices are quite affordable but serving size is for about 2 pax only. There was this trace of spice in the ayam curry, and the taste is either you like it or you hate it. The soup was quite nice and the meatballs were huge! The rest were ok, but the penang kway teow quite disappointing. Overall, quite a nice place for a quiet dinner. We were too full to have the dessert though... but we still managed to walk to Sixth Avenue for our favourite scones. =)

How Much Is Enough?

Wealth, Time, Love, Satisfaction, Knowledge, Health, Care, Experience, Career, Freedom, Happiness, etc. etc....

Applies to both Countables and Uncountables, even Needs and Wants.

Different Expectations, Standards and Environment.

Same old Quantity Vs Quality?

多少才算足够, 知足是什么?

我去了鬼地方....

Was soul-searching, literally, @ Pulau Hantu from 31 Oct-2 Nov... Could not be a better way to celebrate Halloween huh haha...

Seriously, I totally went without knowing what to expect, except that it'll be a camping trip at an island where I never thought I will visit. Some of my friends actually went 'Pulau Hantu? Where or What's that?" when I told them about the trip... Did a little bit of research prior to the trip, and found out that it's actually managed by Sentosa and it's a fave diving spot for quite many Singaporean divers.

We set off on 31 Oct morning, and took a 30-minute ride from West Coast Ferry Terminal. We were the only living souls around when we reached the quiet island... The place was actually quite clean and clean toilets were available... other than the toilets and some huts around, there was absolutely nothing else. Well, except lotsa coconut trees. Set up our tents and everything; as No.10 and his friends had been there quite many times already, they are quite well-equipped - We even had a generator! It was used for a couple of fluorescent lights that they'd brought, coz the island was totally pitch-black at night... even the toilets. So we had to go shower and everywhere else at night using torches or electric lanterns.

Activities we did were basically fishing and swimming, or simply sitting around chatting... quite many marine species could be found there, including a beautiful Bat-Fish... they actually caught an optopus as well.. Our friend's parents and maid were with us, so Auntie took care of all our meals. The weather was fantastic in the day, but for both nights it rained pretty heavily, especially the 1st night. I didn't even sleep a wink all night... the rain and wind was so strong, I felt like our tentage will helicopter away any moment.. plus our tentage was kindda flooded... After that I thought it was still quite an experience for us girls - sleeping in the storm with just a thin layer of pvc flapping above our heads ha.. Had a camp fire on our last night and listened to ghost stories... how apt ha.

Overall, I think the whole trip had been an idyllically nice one... and I'm also nicely burnt -_-". I also felt that this was the 1st time I had a real camping experience, the last being sec 3 camp, which was so sheltered. And No, we did not have any weird encounters throughout the trip... or maybe we were just lucky this time? Heh...

Visit my facebook for more pix!

Lunch @ Xin Cuisine

Had a food tasting session at Xin Cuisine (Holiday Inn Atrium) today. Been 2 years since I visited the restaurant, it has since been renovated and the ambience and deco has a more classy feel to it now.

Here are what we ate:

Scallop salad tuna fish crystal dumpling

Double-boiled sea whelk with chicken n cordyceps flowers soup

Braised fresh prawns with melon

Venison with coffee bath I'm so lucky to be able to try this dish, which is created by Chef Daniel Koh and he had presented this dish in <<自尊厨王>>. The chef roasted the coffee beans on the spot with this 'roasting machine' that was specially brought in for this dish, and then the venison was given a spa in the pot (used for korean dishes as well) along with the roasted coffee beans. The aroma was great and though the venison might look unsightly at first, it tasted super yummy!

Steamed Eggplant with Preserved Veg

Lobster Mianxian Soup

Champagne 金堆子

After lunch, if you are seated in the private rooms, they will serve you with the tea that the room was named after. Mine was 竹叶青. They serve quite good dimsum as well. Xin Cuisine is a nice place for lunch at mid-range prices. I was so full after the lunch that I skipped dinner ...

恭喜ZY老爷, 贺喜Eve夫人!!!

We attended ZY & Eve's wedding dinner at Amara Hotel last night. It was so much fun! What else do you expect, with M.C.Q. in full force on the same table... enough to bring the house down liao haha... there was also this super inexperienced banquet staff who's in-charged of serving our table... Gosh, each time he brought something to our table, be it a glass of wine or dish, his hands were trembling like mad, and we were in great fear of having food showers. Did not even bother to ask us before clearing the unfinished dishes. I requested for sprite and I got coke, and after that my coke got refilled with orange! Best of all, he did not even realised his mistake! Frustrated as I was, I must say he added to our fun haha... with all of us keeping stone silence and staring at his serving each time hee... poor guy, he was like the butt of our jokes, but too bad lah!

We specially concocted a cocktail for ZY... a mixture of red & white wine, beer, soya sauce, vinegar, green chilli, and I can't remember what else... we were already quite merciful, as compared to the other tables... ZY gamely drank from table to table though. Nice colour eh?

Who's next??? Mr Anything, Bye or Vin? Heh heh... we are so looking forward! =)

敏感话语二之爱情与面包

爱情和面包, 你会选择哪一个?

要爱情就不能有面包; 要面包就不能有爱情?

鱼与熊掌, 不可兼得?

谁说的, 哪门的理论?

敏主党认为, 爱情和面包是可以兼得的...一切在于理解, 沟通, 时间管制, 包容, 等. 说来说去都好像围绕在一个心字.

两者也能互相促进与配合, e.g. 爱情不可以当做面包, 但却可以做伴面包的 Peanut Butter 或 Milo 或 etc ... 一起做面包也能完美爱情...

Morning Feast

Three of my nice malay colleagues woke up early in the morning to prepare these for us... Yumz!

Dinner @ Melt~The World Cafe

Dined @ Melt~The World Cafe (Mandarin Oriental) last Friday to celebrate No.10's bday. It's my 2nd time there, the 1st being my dinner event last month. The ambience was nice and the international buffet spread had quite a good variety, with oysters, lobsters, alaskan crabs, v fresh sashimi, some north indian, chinese, thai food, etc. The foie gras was delicious.. pan-fried on the spot, and simply melts in your mouth...yummm! The dessert corner was v good too... lots of different shot-glasses of sweet goodies, kueh-kuehs, a chocolate/caramel fountain and lots of fruits... and the waffles is a must-try! Price for dinner is at $70++ for weekends and $65++ for weekdays. Me & No.10 enjoyed the dinner very much and it was F.O.See... Hee!! Some pictures from my event.. was too busy eating so did not take pictures ... pretty weird to be snapping there too.

The restaurant wasn't the least crowded that I'd expected coz of the F1 practice session... too bad its situated deep-in, so there wasn't any view of the track at all but we went of the 'backdoor' and caught a bit of the happenings though. Could view a bit from the Ladies too. If u see closely, the roadside was crammed full of people. After dinner we went to watch a bit along the c1t1bank bldg... covered up by banners, so couldn't see clearly but it was still quite cool and damn loud.