Updates...

Life can get busy unexpectedly, just like how my niece, Baby Isabel, suddenly arrived on 23 November! Yes, I am officially an Aunty! Oh dear, that sounds old...oh well, life goes on!

I am busy planning my holiday itinerary, arranging the hotels because I'm extending my stay, etc. The country is officially in recession, but the impact is not that great yet, because most of the EXPENSIVE hotels are fully booked!?

There are still some loose ends to settle, like going to the doctor to get my asthma medication :( and also my eczema cream! In case my skin cracks because of the cold weather, and my asthma acts up because of the pollution. Can you guess already where I'm heading?

Tomorrow is my last day at work before the holiday starts! Stay tuned for updates!

Tai Tai Day...

I was stuck in NUH with Mom from 10am to nearly 3pm today! There is sooo much waiting to do in a hospital...just don't understand why they can't be efficient? Oh well, Mom's ok except for high cholesterol levels.

Alas, that didn't deter us from setting off for the Tea Lounge at The Regent Hotel for high tea afterwards. Ooops... :)

I've not been to The Regent eversince they renovated, and took away the "bird cages". That was soooo long ago lor. The hotel is still quite nice, very elegantly styled, and the Tea Lounge is very Victorian. Nice. And I forgot to bring my Lumix! Aaarrggghh....again! Very upset with myself.

See how Victorian the tableware is?! But I think the pink floral pattern is a bit too much...although I do like pink, but this salmon pink is not very pleasant.

We took advantage of the 1-for-1 Women's Weekly voucher for this high tea. I don't think I will pay $36+++/pax for these dainty treats. You don't get to replenish the food and it comes in a set, so you can't choose the things that you want?

They don't taste as nice as they look! The small sandwiches are not open faced - I think open faced sandwiches are just so classy :) This is why I like to have high tea at Sheraton Towers, because they have really nice and delicious open faced sandwiches.

They gave too many scones, which are very filling, and dry tasting. The sandwiches are just filled with normal salmon, ham, egg mayonnaise, cucumber (!) and plain Kraft tasting cheese!! I think I can do better than that. The bread is not even fresh, it tasted stale :(

The only things worth the calories are the mini quiche, the mini sausage roll, and the custardy dessert thing in the middle of the bottom tray.

It is a nice quiet place for a lazy afternoon, but just don't expect good food or service here. You need some really good company and a 1-for-1 voucher to have an enjoyable time @ The Tea Lounge.

Reminiscing Hong Kong...

I went to Hong Kong about 2 years back, and will be going back there again next week! Hurray! Hong Kong is one of my favourite holiday destination. These are some of the reasons why I love Hong Kong:

1. Shopping in Causeway Bay!


2. Lovely weather - depending on when you go - and your make-up stays on throughout the whole day!


3. Hong Kong Disneyland!


4. Cafe de Coral Baked Pork Chop Rice
   
5. Xu Liu Shan desserts...


6. Great leather shoes & bags!


7. Granville Road


8. The Peak


9. Stanley Village


10. Yung Kee

And the list just goes on...here are some memorable shots from the trip back then...and I did not have a digi cam then...so all the shots are taken with my mobile phone camera!

This is a shot of Yung Kee! I never fail to go there for dinner when in Hong Kong :)



This was at The Peak...it was too cold to stay out, so we were just shopping around the complex and I spotted this cute children's ride.

Tako balls! Love them! And these are delicious...it's somewhere in Ladies' Street Market...hope I can find it again.

Disneyland! Almost everything is Mickey Mouse shaped...

The flagship Louis Vuitton shop in Asia. See all the glass? Cool ya?

Desserts galore at Xu Liu Shan (cantonese - Hoi Lau Shan)! Everything is mango flavoured! Yum! How to resist desserts like these?

I will definitely be bringing my trusty Lumix to Hong Kong, and take more pics! Stay tuned for the updates!

November Dinner @ Kashmir

Guess what we cuisine we had for our November gals night out....

Naan!

Yes, time flies, and it's time to meet up with PS and G for dinner again! PS commented the font size on my blog is too small, which I agree. So I'm trying this font to see if it's better?

PS suggested Kashmir, as her friend said they have THE BEST naan! PS is a naan fan, but I'm not, but I'm game for Indian food anytime. It turned out to be an excellent choice!

But first, before you eat, please wash your hands!

This is a stylo way to wash hands...cool right?

The first round of dishes came, and we thought the portions looked a bit small, and we ordered more! We initially ordered the Brinjal in Tamarind (not too sure what is the name...), Mutton Briyani, and a serve of the fish curry.

The Mutton Briyani was good! The rice is flavourful, each grain is coated well with seasoning and spices. The mutton is tender, and does not have the mutton-y smell at all! The fish curry was good too, although can't taste much of the fish. The Brinjal was too sour - it reminded me of "suan mei" - we didn't really like it.

Mutton Briyani, brinjal dish, fish curry...

Then I ordered the Palak Paneer (feta cheese and spinach) and Butter Chicken to add on. The Butter Chicken was an excellent choice - it is smothered in a thick creamy sauce with a hint of smokiness to it. Once you scoop the delicious sauce, you can already smell the rich aroma of the dish! The Palak Paneer is also good despite it's puke-like colour! :) PS didn't dare to eat the feta cheese inside though...hehehe. We also had 2 serves of the garlic naan, which we thought was kind of oily.

Butter chicken, naan & palak paneer...

Seems like the naan is not as good as we expected, but the other dishes were excellent!

I am glad we had dinner at Kashmir, now I know where to go for great Indian food! We were so stuffed after dinner that PS and G ordered the Lime Juice in an attempt to digest the food! I went for the Kulfi, because I can never resist Kulfi...! I know how to make lychee kulfi at home...maybe I should make some soon.

As usual, there were a lot of things to talk about. But our main conversation revolve around the economic situation nowadays. It is so sad, but it's a reality that we all have to face up to.

I am just glad I still have a job, and will try to save up more...but will do this after I come back from my holiday in Hong Kong...hehehe...

After that, there will be no more shopping, and will just live with whatever clothes I have in my closet! I am glad I got some Crocs so I have at least 2 years' worth of comfy shoes to wear :)

I conquered...the Crocs Sale!

Despite all the hoo haa about Crocs being dangerous for kids, the snaking queue at their Warehouse Sale in Expo seems like a lot of parents are not worried at all!?

I went there on the 2nd day of the sale, which was on Saturday, but decided not to queue up as the queue was just too long! They said you would need to queue up for at least 2 hours before you can go in! So we decided to "abandon" the sale, and to come back early the next morning.

And the next morning come back we did! The sale starts at 10am, and we arrived in Expo at 9am. Guess what...yes, the is already a loooooooooooooong queue! I waited in line while Mom went in search for breakfast, but none of the eateries are opened except for the food court!

My tummy is growling because a bunch of people queuing behind me were eating McDonald's breakfast, while I was only drinking a very diluted milo-peng! Oooh...how I wish they will let us in quick! :(

At 10am, the door to the event hall opened! Yes! The queue moved along quickly and I got in!!!! Ok, that is not the end...it was a mad rush in the hall! People are just pushing and shoving and doing all sorts of unglam things lor! Sizes are running out, and so are the designs, so I quickly grabbed the sizes that I want, regardless of the design. After filling in 3 bag full of shoes, we went to a quite corner and started sorting the goods while sitting on the floor...so unglam right? But no choice, if not, you simply cannot get anything!

And I refuse to go home empty handed after queuing for an hour! In the end, these are our "rewards" after battling the crowd for about an hour and a half....and they are not all for me! I only got 2 pairs.

Don't think J can fit into these shoes though, think they are too big. Any takers? They are canvas men's Crocs, only arrived last night, and not sold in the shops yet! I'm willing to let go for $50 :)

Buckaroos revisited...

Mom had a karaoke in Sembawang CC, and wanted me to send her there. Hmmm...Sembawang reminds me of Buckaroos and their delicious buffalo wings! I went there once, and found their food quite delicious, especially the buffalo wings. However, could not find any chance to go back there again....until today.

After Google mapping it, I realised that Buckaroos is just a few meters away from Sembawang CC! So I managed to convince my mom to eat steak that night, to replace the iron she had lost through a blood test the previous day :)

The journey there was uneventful, thanks to Google map! We found the place without much problems, and had a yummilicious dinner...

Buffalo Wings Level 1 only...but equally delicious

House salad...looks like rabbit food?

Juicy tenderloin steak...all 230gms of it!

Buckaroos does quite decent steaks, but they are on the pricey side. I shared all the dishes with my mom, and still had to "ta bao" back some of the wings. We didn't order another main course, because the steak is huge enough for two. It would be meat overload if we had ordered other main courses.

After the dinner, we went to Sembawang CC to join Mom's friends for a karaoke session. It was fun watching the Aunties singing...kekeke...

Ok, gotta turn in early, and wake up early to go to the Crocs sale tomorrow morning!

Disappointed...

with the Miele Guide! I thought the guide will be a "revolutionary" food guide...but in the end, the Top 20 restaurants list has no surprises at all :(

I may not have eaten at all of them, but know them through the usual reviews, blogs, etc....and it gets kind of boring the see the same ones being reviewed over and over again!

Or maybe I was expecting too much?

The only restaurant from the Top 10 I wanted to try was Hutong in Hong Kong - and it's not because it's No. 9 on the list (just below Yung Kee) - but because I found really good reviews about it online way before the Miele Guide was published. It was also mentioned in Hong Kong Luxe Guide and other guide books. The place sounded exciting because of the spectacular view the restaurant is supposed to offer and of course their crispy lamb thingy sounds delicious and kinda contemporary - a bit of fusion executed well is what I like.

Let's hope I can get a reservation when I'm in Hong Kong end of this month! Oh dear....I have absolutely no idea what to wear to Hutong! I am sure the Hong Kong-ers will be dressed to the nines!

Oh, and they only selected 3 pathetic restaurants in Jakarta?! What's up with that? There are so many others which I KNOW deserves to be in the list - and the 3 in the list - I have not heard of them at all! Sigh...that was a big disapointment.

What I really want from this guide is to tell me where to go for really good food with good service. The places that were listed in Singapore were your usual run of the mill popular places. Crystal Jade Palace will not be my choice at all as they deliver inconsistent quality of food. No Sign Board Seafood is another place that I never thought would make it into the guide - especially after suffering severe diarrhoea after dining at their branch in the now demolished "Oasis". I think Seafood Paradise and Melben (@ Toa Payoh) dishes out better crabs than them! Is it because these two places are not "atas" enough to be in the Guide?

I just feel that there are a lot of other places that deserves to be named, but was not. And the biasness stems from asking the "experts" to nominate the top 20 restaurants in their country. This list is already skewed in the first place....

This will be my first and last Miele Guide...money not well spent at all.

Shortlisted...

I had a seminar in Sheraton Towers this morning. It was a good opportunity to see their ballroom, and taste the food from the buffet lunch.

The seminar was quite insightful, showcasing the latest technologies in the call center industry, and the consumer study that was done. But I thought the sample size of 300 is really insufficient to give a true representation of the average Singapore consumer. Maybe that is why so many companies just fail to deliver good service! Because all the studies are skewed?! :(

Anyway, I've shortlisted Sheraton Towers as a possible venue for my wedding. I know...it's like 2 years away, but no harm doing some research now! The ballroom is not ideal though, because it is "L" shaped - so weird. But the food was quite good! The other thing is also the service staff can be quite slow...but maybe I will handpick the waiters for my wedding banquet...wuahaha... Yes, I am very anal about good service!

Speaking of "research". I think you all should know that I am a big fan of Google...I just love using this search engine, because it is the fastest way you can get information...ANY information! I just do not understand people who do not bother to Google (or Yahoo! or Wiki...whatever search engine you prefer!), and then expect answers to their questions to fall onto their laps?

Grrr...it just irritates me when people ask me for answers that can be Google-d easily! And do not ask me to Google for you...you think I have nothing better to do is it?!

Poor J, he's in China again, and this time SilkAir totally lost his luggage! Another pet peeve of mine is people who insist on taking only SQ flights (I understand the safety concerns), but those who think that their luggage won't get lost, etc. will be in for a big surprise!! Hello....SQ and SilkAir are not immune to lost luggages?

Your best protection is to buy travel insurance (and not NTUC hor)...keep the receipt of the luggage (if you can), and itemize the stuff you have inside!

My mood is as gloomy as the weather these days...I think I better get a good night's sleep. :(

Kawaii...!!!

This is a "kawaii-filled week"! Thanks to my colleague, who just got back from Japan, and brought back tons of stuff for me!

My Melody 2009 Calendar, handphone charms, and inside the bag is a water bottle warmer.

DS Lite "fat" pen!

This DS Lite pen is great! It is thicker than the stylus that comes with it, and you can hook it onto the DS Lite itself (at the back of the console). It is easier to hold on to it, as the size is comparable to a normal pen. And I think I can play Cooking Mama better with it...hehehe...

MM Mascara & Koji eyelash curler!

I also took this opportunity to ask my colleague to get me a stash of beauty items from Japan! Majolica mascaras are a must! I got one "Wings" mascara and a base coat. I also got the Koji eyelash curler and it is the best curler ever!! It is so easy to use because it is flatter, so it suits flat Asian faces like mine. I just love love all these stuff. I think I will go crazy if I go Japan. They just have so many innovative stuff!

I hope Hong Kong has MM stuff, then I can grab more mascaras to stock up. I have tried several types of MM mascaras, and the only one that really worked for me is the "Gorgeous Wings"...and it really does not smudge at all. I'm going to try the base coat over the weekend, and see if it really gives me more gorgeous lashes! :)

More kawaii stuff came today....

Hello Kitty in disguise...?

The Kitty is hiding a thumb drive!

It's a thumb drive lor....cute or what?? It's 2GB, kind of decent for such a cutesy thing ya? That sums up the cute stuff I got this week!

Looking forward to the weekend! And J is touching down tomorrow night at 9pm! Yeah! :)

Innovative or Greedy?

SIA is charging more for "preferred seats". Innovative marketing to earn extra bucks? Or just plain greedy, and losing sight of differentiating themselves through pure quality service?

http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20081106-98856.html

In any case, I won't pay for. Will you?

The Music Man...

I'm in love...with the new Hero in town...he is The Music Man... :)

Lee Hom's concert rocks! Memorable and drool-worthy moments:

1. Lee Hom appeared on a suspended stage dressed in black leather...woohoo!
2. Lee Hom dressed in a purple suite, sunglasses and ski cap...drooooool.....
3. Lee Hom doing a Houdini stunt - disappearing in a box and appearing again near the audience! Damn...should be sitting there!
4. Lee Hom in a black leather vest carrying his custom made "Dragon" guitar and showing off his six pack...more droool...
5. Lee Hom singing my favourite ballad, Kiss Goodbye....sigh....it felt like he was singing only for me and me alone! Ha!

The concert had really good lighting and graphics...whatever you call those! And the cartoon sketches of the Music Man was awesome, although the character didn't really look like Lee Hom. But the concert concept of Music Man - thought of by Lee Hom, obviously - was a refreshing change to usual mega star concerts. And the 3 HUGE panels on stage showing a larger than life Lee Hom! That is soooo cool! And you can really see him so clearly!

His talent as a musician was exhibited to the max; playing the guitar, piano, drums and the violin! I like him best when he is playing the piano and singing a ballad...sigh....ok, I sighed a lot, especially when he sang all his popular ballads. Yes, I'm a sucker for Chinese love songs! :)

It's really difficult to attempt to describe the concert, because you just have to be there to soak up the atmosphere!

I will be relieving moments of the concert in my dreams for a while....sigh.... :)