First Thai...!

After spending 10 days in China, Chinese food is the last thing on J's mind.  Which is just as well, because I've been having a serious craving for tom yum soup.

We (or rather I :)) decided to go First Thai at Purvis Street, although I know the parking is going to be a nightmare!  Luckily, we managed to get a parking space as soon as we reach the street!  Hurray!

There was a long Q at First Thai too!  But we were immediately shown to our seats when we asked for a table for two.  Double hurray!

This is the vegetable omelette with the delicious sambal like chilli sauce.  I have no idea what sauce it is, but it's definitely delicious!  And I also have no idea what vegetables are used for the omelette, it is stringy and kind of crunchy, which gave the omelette a tasty texture.

  

The seafood tom yum soup is the reason why I am there in the first place.  Their tom yum has a good balance of sourness and spicy kick.  Yums!  I can only find better tom yum in Thailand, the rest of the places in Singapore either serve it too spicy or too sour.

This is the first time we order the prawn tang hoon in claypot, and it did not disappoint.  Actually, I've not had a disappointing dish in First Thai all this while.  The tang hoon is peppery and fragrant with a spicy kick.  There were 4 huge prawns - and it didn't cost me $239 like it would have in Newton :)

I ordered a serve of the Coconut drink...I don't know what is it's actual name, I just call it the Coconut drink.  It's a sweet syrupy coconut water with coconut flesh in it.  I'm not sure if the drink is sweetened, but it is refreshing and a welcome relief from the spicy food.  

First Thai is a quaint little eatery that serves really good food, but it does not come cheap.  This meal for 2 comes up to $43!  But I will still come here when I want to have a good Thai meal :)

Shokudo and my new toy...

Finally!  My new MacBook!  :)

After acquiring my dream machine, I headed to straight to Shokudo because I was super hungry by then!  And I was craving for their comforting mushroom hamburger.

I like the condiments tray, chilli flakes, Tabasco, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper!

This is the burger that I've been craving for!  I still like Smokin' Frogz version with caramelized onions, but this is good enough to satisfy a burger craving!  They added Japanese radish pickles in it and topped the beef patty with an egg.  The buns are also toasted really nice with butter to give it a good crunch.  The beef patty is quite well done, which is how I like them, no bloody beef patties please!  And they also give a generous serving of sauteed mushrooms with the burger.  Yums!

A closer look of the burger.  Again the pics were taken with the iPhone, and it is not very clear because of the lighting again!

I also ordered the Matcha Float.  It is not too bad, but I think I will try the Lychee Float next time, because it looked better than the Matcha Float...hehehe!

The dinner was satisfying, but I was also eager to go home and play with my new toy!  This post is done on the Macbook, and somehow the alignment is better than when I do this blog on a PC?!  Weird...but hey, I'm loving my Mac!

Jade @ Fullerton

This brunch took place on 7 March with the usual "brunch gang".  You know who you are!  :)

We went to Jade @ Fullerton for their dim sum buffet, and it turned out to be a good choice!  Although they messed up my reservation, but we did get a table and of course enjoyed the food!

What I like is that they serve long jing tea!  Rarely do Chinese restaurants serve long jing as it is the most expensive tea.  But seems like the rest of the gang prefer pu'er, but I will stick by my long jing!  :)

This is some sort of pink dumpling!  I love the colour, don't you?!  Their print advertisement show 3 dumplings, a white, yellow and pink dumpling.  I thought that the colourful dumplings are just for photography purposes, but apparently they do have them on the menu!  I don't recall what is this called, but inside it is prawn meat with spring onions.  So the filling is quite fragrant, but the skin is a little bit too thick for my liking.

The "phoenix claws" are ok, but we still ordered like 3 servings in order for everyone to have some.

Tofu cubes fried with garlic and spring onions and chilli!  Yums!  The fragrant ingredients really made this a moreish dish.  I couldn't stop eating these!

The fried carrot cake is ok too, I didn't have much of these as I think my mom's carrot cake is still the best!  Ha!  And I always help her to grate the ingredients.  It is indeed hardwork!

"Wu Kok" or Yam dumplings.  I'm not a fan of yam, but I think the rest of the gang enjoyed this.  I think it was made with truffle oil or something exotic like that.

This is the spinach and crab soup - you get a serving of soup only, while the rest of the dishes are free-flow.  This soup lacked taste!  I think the chef may have forgotten to add salt!  Or added too little.  The soup of the day, which was the apple soup, was way much better.  Will order that the next time.

These guo ties are delish!  See the fancy "fins"?  I think it's a cool way of presenting this humble dish.  The meat morsels inside are fragrant and the skin has a chewy texture to it.  I like!  The waiter explained that this is one of their signature dishes.

I think there were a few hits and misses, but it was overall a good dining experience. And of course the fun companions helped!  

We ordered quite a few other dishes but I didn't take pictures of them because of the poor lighting.  

Jade didn't do the normal dim sum stuff well, but they have some really innovative dishes, like the fried cheese, which is quite nice.  Sorry, I didn't take a picture of those.

I will definitely go back again soon, as at $28+++, it is quite a good deal, because you do get some exquisite dim sum.  And the environment is really nice to spend a leisurely Saturday afternoon away.

Will be bringing my mom there soon for dim sum!

I have crossed over to...

the land of Apple!  Yes, got my MacBook at last, and now I'm using it to post this blog entry.

Sorry, no pics to upload because I've not had time to upload them into iTunes!  The thought of reloading everything up is really making me 'xian'!  But I know it's going to be worth the effort, because once I do this, I can transfer everything to a new MacBook the next time!  Yippee!

Well, too early to think about my next MacBook, but it's a nice thing to know for the future.

I'm still trying to get used to the new interface, but it is definitely faster than Windows.  Looking forward to posting my first blog with pictures with the new toy.

As for now, I will be slowly exploring my way around the land of Apple....good night! 

My other passion...

A lot of people thought that I only know how to eat, because of all the food pics that I upload on this blog. Coupled with my size, some people thinks I've committed the sin of gluttony.

Why all these food pics? Because I enjoy taking pics of non-human stuff! And I think it's such a hassle to post up pics of my family or friends, and I have to ask for permission. Food is something you eat everyday. Ok I know some people who just doesn't eat! But I take eating as a social activity, where you meet up with friends over breakfast/lunch/dinner/coffee/tea, and you just catch up on each other's lives. In my humble opinion sitting down at a table, nibbling on some food, is the best way to do this!

When we were teenagers, we have telephone marathons with friends constantly. But now that we are older, and have jobs, families, etc., we hardly call each other to just...talk. I kind of miss the marathons, and I don't even do this with J anymore. Oh yes, he used to call me several times a day just to say sweet nothings! Those days are gone...

Anyway, I'm in a melanchonic mood today. Thought about a lot of stuff, like my job, family, thought about some unhappy stuff, and wondering if I should still go on a holiday in this economic downturn. All these thoughts were running through my head while I was working out on the cross trainer...yes, I do workout at the gym, although I don't look like I work out.

Was kind of irritated today because the conference call stretched to after 7.00pm, and I had to miss my Jazz and Bodybalance classes. I was really looking forward to attend the classes, and now I had to wait for next Wednesday to do both at the same time.

In case you don't know me well enough, dancing is my other passion, I feel lousy if I don't dance. Dance classes really makes me feel better; whether it's Jazz, Hip Hop, Salsa or Modern Dance, I love them all! I wish I am a performing dancer still - I miss the crazy practice sessions, the stage fright, the bright lights on stage, and celebrating another successful performance with people who understands the hard work that went into the performance.

At least I will be on leave tomorrow, and will be going out with Mummy for lunch (obviously!), and going to IT Show, hopefully to get my MacBook! :)

Ok, life seems rosier now! Hahaha...enough rantings, and time to upload more games into my iPhone! Yes, this is another passion of mine!

So, how well do you know me and my passions? :)

M.A.C + Hello Kitty...what not to like?!

Tell me, how can you resist these?! :)

Ok, this is not the best picture ever taken in the world...or even in Singapore, but this is the best I can do under the circumstances! And please excuse the messy room! Wuahaha....!

I got the M.A.C Hello Kitty cosmetics, and I'm glad I did! Simply love the packaging and of course I love M.A.C make-up too! I got the make-up pouch, which I really needed (serious! :P), the eyeshadow palette, lipstick, blusher and the too cute too resist keychain with mirror.

Don't ask what is the damage...whatever it is, it's worth it! I am HAPPY!

Jakarta - Day 7

Happy Birthday to me! I only want to remember my birthday, but not my age...can?!!?! :)

My sweet cousin treated me to lunch at this really nice cafe, which she know I will definitely like. The cafe is behind a clothing store, so you will not even know it exist, if you don't go into the shop.

Again, this is another cosy place! There is a dining area, as well as a chill-out area for drinks at night. I believe it will be very pretty at night with candles lighted all around.

My cousin suggested that I have their lobster, and I "dutifully" listened to her...hehehe...and her recommendation was spot on!

See the huge creature?!?!! The lobster thermidor is delicious!! It's been awhile since I had a whole lobster to myself....well, it is my birthday today ya!

J was still in a steak mood, and ordered the tenderloin steak. It is definitely not as good as Rustique's! My Aunt had the steak too, but they both said they had better steaks elsewhere.

My cousin, the host, is on a perpetual diet, so she only ordered the mushroom soup!

After lunch, we ordered coffee, so that we can sip it while we eat my birthday cake. Check out the coffee, and "my" Louis Vuitton! :) It has been a good "companion" to me the whole week.

Here's my birthday cake! A blackforest cake...as usual...but too bad it doesn't taste as good as it looks!


And here is my cousin, my aunt, and me! Posing in front of the cake before we devour it. Happy Birthday to me!