Fun Hideout

Valentine with Hello Kitty

2012-02-14T00:16:00.003+08:00

Went to a Hello Kitty event recently... Hmm, let me share the cute stuff first! ^_^

Bf & My Horoscope!

Hello Kitty Figurines

Heard from the staff that they are collectibles wor...

Spectacle holder

Playing Cards

Cup

Shampoo & Conditioner Dispenser

Complain time!

Oh ya, I came to know of this Hello Kitty Valentine 2012 event through a Outlet.com's deal. Although it's stated that the price is $51.80, Bonjapan offers it at $29.90 while Outlet.com offers it at $24.90. Seriously, I dunno when the "$51.80" will materialize. Anyway, I paid good money for it and I expected to see a Hello Kitty fair or exhibition. To my dismay, it is just a small retail shop selling soft toys and other stuffs. How dare they charge a fee to go into a retail shop?? It's just like asking me to pay a $20 entrance fee to NTUC when I just wanna buy a bunch of bananas. Arghh...

This was how the shop looked like. =(

How not to be in a "shock" seeing this.

And the dumb thing? Most of the stock ran out on the first day of the event, and I went on the second day. When I asked the staff why they didnt replenish, the reply was because they had no time. Dubz, why is there preferential treatment given to those who went on the first day when customers who went on the subsequent days paid the same price?

This was what the deal promises...

And this was what we actually got ~ a box of unknown item, instant tea/coffee that we needed to make ourselves, a membership card (10% on purchase items) and shampoo/conditioner pack that they probably got it free somewhere else..

Content of the mystery box ~ mainly biscuits, sweets stuff.. *Shrugged*

And it was showing Hello Kitty cartoon on the display TV..

We paid $24.90 for watching cartoon, drinking instant tea and some junk food. *Face palm*

I was so turned off that I didnt bother to take out my camera, instead I just took pictures with my iphone. To be fair, the Hello Kitty soft toys are cheaper, priced at $32+ for a medium size, after the 10% discount. But imagine if a customer dint fancy anything, and ended up paying $25+ for a box of sweets? It was ridiculous.

Fortunately, Outlet.com is gonna refund full amount to us! Oh yeah! I dunno who made the complaint, but it is definitely a good one! Hehe

Though I wonder how about those customer who brought the "entrance fee" directly from Bonjapan, I dun think Bonjapan will make the refund rite? I mean, since Bonjapan is still charging the "entrance fee" for its subsequent events.

Well judge for yourself, whether it's worth it. To me, it's a total flop and super lousy marketing & sales strategy!

Cheap lunch!

2012-02-10T16:56:00.002+08:00

Bought this deal for Rabbit Brand Seafood Delicacies at Boat Quay from Groupon - $7.50 for $15 worth voucher.

And we got what you see in the picture for just $8.75, each pax paid less than $5.

The food here was really cheap, coupled with the coupon we got, it was a steal!

In case it's not clear, we got each a soup, a dessert and rice with chicken,Chinese sausage, baby abalone, scallop & mushroom. In addition, we shared a spinach tofu and shisamo side dishes, and there was free flow of tea too. A very satisfying lunch indeed!

Found the way 'home'... =)

2012-02-10T00:09:00.000+08:00

In case you people never noticed, I finally solved the 'problem' for the short cut link to 'Home', 'Older Posts' and 'Previous Posts'. It used to be so cumbersome when I wanna read my older posts and had to refer to the archival listing.

I hope reading my blog is more convenient for you now! And I do derive satisfaction from improving the 'look and feel' and ease of navigation of my blog, much more compared to my job, even though it may means long hours of surfing the web looking for clues and figuring out the scripts. Do let me know if there's any area for improvements! \^.^/

Lo Hei!

2012-02-09T00:21:00.001+08:00

I did 8 Lo Hei in this Chinese New Year, which I think must had break my personal records. For the benefit of my non-Chinese readers, dun worry... Wikipedia is here to explain what's Lo Hei!

My own explanation ~ a time when you can any how throw (toss) your food without your parents breathing fire down your neck, just say a lot of good wishes when you play with the food! Keke

1) Did the first one with my friends at this kopitiam (Jin Shan Lin) in Bishan. It was so crowded that we only got a table at the back alley. So this Lo Hei was done in dim lights and I had absolutely no idea what I was eating.. But mind you, later I realized it was actually cheaper to buy from IchiBan / Sakae Sushi which offers thick slices of salmon at a lower price. We thought going to kopitiam is more economical. Oh well... *Shrugged*

2 & 3) With families, which means jia liao (additional ingredients). Too bad, never take photo. =(

4) The forth one was done with my colleagues at Old HK, Raffles city. Food was okay but service sucks! But I shall "forgive" them since it was festive period and it was super crowded than normal.

5) Again, this was done with colleagues but at a Thai Resturant (YhingThai Palace). The Yusheng here was good although abeit sweet. I like it that they actually acted almonds and rice crackers in it, something unique.

6) The sixth round was done at my fren's house, so that explains the ugly newspaper background. =p The portion was huge coz we bought 2 portion and yet we still managed to finish most of it. And oh yes, this time round I bought from Ichi Ban ~ $38.80++ for 24 slices of salmon (meant for 10 pax). Cheap and good!

7) Did another round with my own family and my bf's parents.

8) Finally, the last one was done in office with 80+ colleagues. Massive lo hei on the last day of lunar new year! Huat ar!

Conclusion? I think I like yu sheng! So it's another 1 year wait before I get to eat it again. No wonder there's a saying "absence makes the heart fonder "... Maybe that's why yu sheng is nice, coz we only get to eat it in chinese new year! LOL

JPot

2012-02-07T22:29:00.002+08:00

JPOT

Venue: #01-53 Vivo CIty S098585

Contact: 6273 3536

Website: http://www.jpot.com.sg/

********

I know Chinese New Year is just over, and most of us probably have done a number of reunion dinner with families and friends. But still, you dun need another festive period to enjoy "reunion dinner" with your loved ones, do you? And what's the best way to do so, other than a steamboat meal when you have the valid reason to stay as long as you like to chit chat without the waiter/waitress chasing you away. Keke

Frankly speaking, I dun think food in steamboat is fantastic to me, since that's not so much of cooking skills by the chef to speak of. Essentially, the chef just need to brew a variety of soups and prepare fresh ingredients, and the "cooking" is very much done by the customer themselves.

Anyway, my fren recommended JPot for our gathering dinner, and so there we were. Look at the crowd!

Most of the steamboat places I know are non aircon, hot & stuffy but not here at JPot. Here, you just tick off the items you want and be served! Best part, it's air-conditioned! Hee

Appetizer to start off our dinner

Choice of Soup Base

JPOT Superior Broth

Bak Kut Teh

Herbal

Laksa

Silky Porridge

Tom Yum

Vegetarian

There are a selection as many as 7 soup base here and each of us get to choose our preferred soup base, no need to share, super hygienic! Did you notice that they have unique soup base like laska and silky porridge? I wonder what's silky porridge base is. Hmmm... But I decided to be less adventurous and took the super "safe" base, aka the herbal soup base.

And oh, they are using electric thermal stove, so you wont feel the heat of the flame directed at you. Thumbs up!

Sauce wise, you can create your own with the assortment. I sort of put a bit of everything together, and surprisingly it was quite good! My personal tip, fried garlic is a must! Trust me!

But if you are totally clueless how to mix your own sauce, you can follow their "recipe" as well. =)

Hand-made Fish Noodle

Food variety is pretty good, ranging from meats to seafood to vegetable, as well as cooked stuff. To see more, you can refer to their menu online.

Overall, I think this will definitely be my choice if I feel like eating steamboat. Food wise, it actually dun diff much from other steamboat places, but in term of the environment wise, it definitely scores a better grade.

Huat ar!

2012-01-28T12:37:00.002+08:00

How's your ang pow collection?

Here are some of the prettier ang bao I've received so far! Huat ar!!! =p

Executive Lunch @ Level 33

2012-01-26T22:58:00.002+08:00

LEVEL 33

Venue: 8 Marina Boulevard #33-01
Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1
Contact: 68343133
Website: http://www.level33.com.sg/

********

Oh ya, I'm still talking about Xmas celebration when people are celebrating Chinese New Year (CNY). LOL

Anyway, I went with a few colleagues to MBFC on Xmas eve eve, knowing that they served executive lunch at $33++, which consists of appetizer/dessert buffet spread (limited though) plus a choice of main course (scroll down further to see the selection). Good thing to note is there's no surcharge even though it's Xmas period, so I suppose it's the same price all year round. But do confirm again when you are coming here! =)

The appetizer/dessert buffet spread was not really extensive but this was not meant to be a buffet, so I would still say that it was a good mixture and had achieved the "objective" of appetizing the diners. Hoho..

Hams and cakes

Smoked salmon and fresh prawn

Cheese, nuts & fruits

Pasta & salad

The appetizer/dessert spread was great! I mean I adored the cheese which you can paired with bread/biscuit available. The pasta was of the right texture, not too hard not too soft. The prawns were fresh, and yup, I went for a few rounds for that. Desserts were just cakes but good enuff and came in thoughtful sizes. Overall, satisfactory. =)

Next, the main course:

Beef

I personally dun think this was a good choice. The bread was huge and the roasted Wagyu beef was a tad dry in a pathetic serving. Not expecting the quality to be such since I thought the appetizer buffet spread was pretty awesome. *Shrugged*

Didnt finish the bread, instead I went for more rounds of the appetizer spread instead.Oh well, at least I was "compensated" in another way.

Burger & chips

I was contemplating between Wagyu beef patty and Wagyu Beef striploin, but decided on the latter as beef patty didnt sound juicy enuff. I guess I made a wrong choice ~ the beef patty definitely tasted much better. And we though the quail egg sunny side-up looked cute on the patty. Hahahha

Fish & Chips

Among the few main courses we had, the fish & chips was the best. Despite the funny "U" shape presentation, the fish was generally fresh and crispy.

Overall, I think the executive set lunch was quite a good deal with a good appetizer/ dessert spread and a decent main course (depending on your choice), coupled with a good dining ambiance overseeing MBS and singapore river.

On a separate occasion, I went there with the same group for drinks, and we got a sofa seat outdoor. And this was the night scenery..

Cool huh? Pictures were "discounted" because I was still using iPhone 3GS then! But with a lousy camera, I was still able to capture quite good shots. It was really unblocked view, I can imagine when there is fireworks! Hmm, dunno whether they will charge "entrance fees" if we come on National Day hor? =p

Happy Chinese New Year to all!

2012-01-21T18:36:00.001+08:00

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

柷大家心想事成，天天开心！

Enjoy the holidays!

The untold story of the Witches of Oz...

2012-01-14T11:53:00.001+08:00

Hey, I just went to watch the play "Wicked" and I must say it was wickedly good! *Winked*

I got the Cat 4 stage seat, which was priced at $145 + $3 (sistic charge). On a side note, why is Sistic charging us a $3 for booking? I mean, the musical company will pay for the venue (Marina Bay Sands) right? So in fact Sistic is getting paid on both side, both the musical company and the audience! Grrrr

Anyway, I personally think it's worthwhile to get a better seat ticket. The play is 3 hours long, and you definitely dun wan to strain your neck after the play ends. The stage is impressive but small, so sitting at the upper decks probably wont get to see the full view of the stage. "Invest wisely"! =p

For people who are interested, please click here for the official website and of coz, the 'schemeing" Sistic website here. LOL

Extracted from the official website,

"WICKED tells the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good."

But I'm not here to tell you about the play content. Hey, I dun wan to reveal the "highlights", it's better for you to go and watch it yourself. ^_^

Bet you dunno that there's an political interpretations of the Wizard of Oz. Hey, I also dunno until being told by my colleague, so it's perfectly normal not to know.

From what I can find on the website, the story seems to be mocking at the political, economic and social events of American in the 1980s, and not just a simple fairy tale that we read when we were still kids. And the characters in the story are linked to the politicians, citizens then. Read more in the following links:

1) Wikipedia
2) The World Traveller

Interesting huh?

Spruce

2012-01-11T23:02:00.003+08:00

SPRUCE

Venue: 320 Tanglin Road S247980

Contact: 68365528

Website: www.spruce.com.sg

*********

I have been wanting to visit Spruce for quite some time and finally got the time to go during the Xmas week. We went there on a Sunday morning, and wow, it was crowded. Shouldn't everyone be lazing at home? LOL

But I must say, the place is rather inaccessible, and I have absolutely no idea how to come here if you are not driving. Hmm, guess I can only come here with my bf or my driving friends? Hahaha..

And mind you, I do have driving license, but I've stopped driving for years and I simply enjoy being chauffeur around. Girls, it's probably a good idea to drive super lousy so that it scares the hell out of your bf and he will forbid you from driving. Keke

ANYWAY, here are the pictures of our lovely brunch... muack muack

Frapuccino - Hazelnut ($9)

I'm not a coffee lover, but I dun mind ang mo kopi, which is "diluted" with hazelnut, caramel etc. Here, the price of the coffee is slightly stiff, but the serving is good to share among two. =)

Banana Hotcakes ($14)

My lovely hotcakes which were so yummy! The pancake was fluffy and nicely sauced with the blueberry sauce, which tasted heavenly with the banana slices. AND, the banana slices were not just placed on the most upper slice for decor, they were sandwiched in between the pancakes lor. AND, the "crumbs" were not really crumbs okay, they were biscuits which added the "crunch" for the overall enjoyment of this dish. Thumbs up!

Big Brekkie ($18)

The big brekkie was sumptuous which spoiled us with variety of mushroom, bacon, sausage, roasted tomato, eggs (choice of scrambled /poached / sunny side up), roasted potato & Foccacia toast. Good for people who are starving. =)

Loved the bacon & sausage, thought the mushroom tasted a bit odd, but my bf said mushroom was good. LOL

Indoor Dining Area

As you can tell, I was there during Xmas period! This proved that this review was done relatively prompt. FINALLY!!! *Threw confetti*

Outdoor Dining Area

We chose to be seated outdoor as it seemed to have a nicer ambiance. I'm sure the other diners shared the same view since it was crowded outdoor, and still empty inside.

And I love the fact that the place is surrounded with greenery and it almost felt like we were overseas, away from the bustle city.

Definitely be backed!

Playmates

2012-01-05T21:11:00.001+08:00

My little playmates when I was still a little girl... :)

Vouchers For Grab!

2012-01-02T13:59:00.000+08:00

Hi all,

I have the following vouchers to give away:

1) 4 X Sentosa Retail discount voucher ~ enjoy $5 off with minimum purchase of $25 in single receipt
Valid till 31 March 2012
Limit to one voucher per transaction
Only redeemed at Merlion Shop, Images of Singapore shop, Islandlife shops at Siloso & Palawan Beach, Oscar & Co shop, Sentosa Souvenirs shop

2) 2 X Pavilion Resturant ~ enjoy $10 off with minimum spending of $80
Valid till 29 February 2012
Offer not valid on eve of and Public Holidays and special occasions (i.e. eve of and first 15 days of CNY, Valentine's day)
Address: 20 Craig Road #01-02
Tel: 65572820
Website: www.pavilion.com.sg

All the above are free for all to grab! If ya are keen to have them, please drop me a comment with the following:

    *
      Name
    *
      Contact
    *
      Email Address
    *
      Voucher No/Name

If the vouchers are still available, I shall give you a return email within 1-2 days. Obviously, if there's none oreadi, I wont be giving you any reply. There will be no meetup and I would be mailing out the vouchers instead ( thus there shall be a $0.50 cents charge for postage & envelope). Please follow the instructions on the return email.

Each pax can ask up to 2 vouchers each. So hurry while stock last!

I will be posting new vouchers in the same entry, so do check back here again!

Melben

2012-01-02T12:51:00.002+08:00

MELBEN SEAFOOD (AMK)

Venue: Blk 232 Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 #01-1222

*********

Xmas is just over, and with Chinese New Year coming soon, perhaps it's time to plan for Lo Hei with families & friends? =)

I had long heard ravings about Melben, but simply dun had the opportunity to try it. There was once we drove there, and were "turned away" by the long queue. This time round, we made sure that we reached there before the queue started! Early dinner at 530pm! Hohoho...

Indeed the place was kinda empty at 5+pm. So if you wanna try this but dun like to queue, you can opt for early dinner like us too. =)

Let's "bio" the menu! Yum yum!

Everything looked good on the menu. Heng, we asked our friends to join us. The more ppl, the more dishes we can order! It's always more fun to eat with a big group of frens! ^_^

Let's start dinner! ^_^

The crab cost about $45 each, which was probably good for sharing for 2 only, based on 1 pincer per person. You have to "calculate" based on that ratio, coz hor, the most meaty part of the crab is the pincer. Other than that, not much meat leh, not shiok leh. There were 6 of us, so we ordered 3 crabs in total. That was $135 for crabs alone, expensive hor? But I will say, well spent. *nod head vigorously*

Claypot Crab Bee Hoon Soup

This is definitely a MUST-ORDER!

The soup was divine. It was so yummy that I can just eat the bee hoon (which totally absorbed the goodness of the soup) and the soup alone. Yes, even without the crab. And we made the right choice of topping the soup and the bee hoon ( $5 & $3 respectively), coz it was simply too little to share among 6 pax!

Let's not forget about the crab. The crab was undeniably good, absolutely no flaws. Keke

I just wanna mention the size. See the pincer was so freakly big & meaty!

Chilli Crab

Fried Man Tou

What's a crab meal without chilli crab? And fried bun (man tou) is a must to go with the sauce. This was good but hor, kinda spicy for me.

Creamy Butter Crab

Comparatively, the creamy butter crab fared less as the crab meat itself was kinda blend. I guess the sauce dint really seep into the meat? *Shrugged*

We also ordered other dishes, which was okay lah, nothing to shout about, just your typical ze cha standard. But who cares! We were here just for the CRABS!!! =p

Daikokuya

2012-01-01T11:50:00.005+08:00

Shall begin the new year with a post on 1 January 2012!!! *Throws confetti* =p

As usual by the time I blogged, the restaurant has become a "old" one and probably has already opened a few branches. Nothing new huh? Keke

But rest assured if it's a marvelicious / loving categorized resturant, I will definitely give it a first priority! Aiya, there is more motivation to write something that is good rather then a passable place mah. =p

DAIKOKUYA

Venue: Paragon Shopping Centre, #B1-47 S(238859)

Contact: 6737 5416

*********

We were at Paragon and looking for place to makan, and we found this "new" (technically right on the day we went makan!) restaurant. Surprisingly, it was not fully packed. The food was really okay, so I dunno why not full during dinner time lah. Good for us as it meant that we were seated immediately and food were served pretty fast. Hehe

Mentai Mayo Sushi (6 pcs) - $6.80

As we were pretty hungry, we ordered a side dish while waiting for the mains to come. I have this soft spot for mentai ~ anything with mentai or called mentai something in most places are pretty yummy. And so we ordered the item in the menu with mentai lor, knowing well that it would mean addition burden to the weight as it can be categorized as fatty food ~_~"

As expected, mentai never disappoint me and the pricing was pretty decent too! =)

Beef Curry Rice - $16.80

I must say, the beef was pretty good ~ tender & juicy!

Nidaime Tonkotsu Miso Ramen - $13.90

The ramen was also pretty okay.

Hmm, I guess not much misses? Then again, I dun remember anything particular that will make me re-visit again unless I'm around the area to settle my daily meals. But hor, I'm probably not the best gauge as the more restaurants I've visited, the harder it is to impress me. Almost everywhere seems passable, so-so only. =p

Last but not least, HAPPY 2012 to everyone! It will be an exciting year for me as I embark on the new journey as a wife to my bf and trips to Taiwan, Switerland & Italy! Yeah!

Singtel

2011-12-30T11:00:00.000+08:00

Singtel has never failed to "surprise" me in the wrong way....

They over-charged me, so of coz I need to call to enquire. When I tried to call, asked me to press here & there, and then told me that the line was too busy, to call again later and... CUT MY LINE!!! WTH!!!

So, I DUN CARE.. I just keep calling & calling until I'm put on hold... GRRR.... still on hold now. =(

Mobile App

2011-12-27T23:12:00.000+08:00

Hi ppl,

How was your Xmas? Had a jolly good time? =D

Btw, you would have noticed by now that I had started using Blogger iphone app, and I thought it is really cool to do real time updates! But do pardon the less "perfect" picture and shorter post, given that everything has to be done using that small touchscreen keypad. Lol

Not to worry, I'm still gonna do my usual post, just that there will be more real time post as well!

And everyone, please help to pray for GOOD SUNNY weather tomorrow, coz I'm going for my pre-wedding shoot! I really need miracle as the weather forecast is not on my favour. Oh well..

Post Xmas Hi-Tea

2011-12-27T16:57:00.003+08:00

This was my second visit at Rose Veranda. Still love the ambiance here to enjoy a lazy afternoon. Yeah, I'm not working today! Keke

Though, I must say, the food was less impressive this time round.*Shrugged*

I had purposely pick Xmas period to revisit, as the spread (I thought) will be more festive food. Instead, there were more Asian food like mee siam, prawn in tarmarind sauce etc..

Also, they no longer serve free flow of different tea variety. You will need to top up $10 to enjoy the variety, otherwise it will be just one kind per pax. In short, the more ppl in your group, the more tea variety you can enjoy. So I guess fairly reasonable.

If you are wondering about the pricing, it's $38 per pax for the Weekday Hi-Tea. =)

Oh btw, there was complimentary carpark! Saved us a good $10. Cool!

Trial post using mobile app!

2011-12-26T11:59:00.001+08:00

Silly me, I just realize blogger has mobile app! Haha, now I can do more updates!

I'm having brunch at Spruce now! :p

It's Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T10:33:00.000+08:00

Dearest all,

It's Christmas Eve! Have you planned your Christmas program? ^_^

May your Christmas be blessed with joys & happiness! Muack!!

Rain rain go away!

2011-12-21T00:08:00.001+08:00

Pre shoot today!! Please stop raining!!

Neighbourhood Food Galore

2011-12-17T10:58:00.003+08:00

Pine Garden's Cake

Venue: Blk 529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10

#01-2369 S560529

Contact: 6456 3552

Website:www.pgcake.com

I always love cakes but cakes are priced so expensive, a small slice of cake can easily cost me $5! And that's not even filling to substitute as a meal. ~_~

Hey, that's why I decided that learning how to make one will definitely saved me a lot of money in the future. Read about my baking experience here!

Anyway, here's a place for cheap & good cakes -> Pine Garden's Cake.

I realised that it is very near to where I've stayed 20 years ago, but I dunno such a place then. Such an irony that now I have to drive all the way there just to buy a cake when it used to be so near me.

Particularly adored the Lychee Martini, which came with a strong lychee flavor and lotza of lychee meat. And if you are worry about the martini, fear not! It's so mild that you probably wont know it.

Oh yeah, they even have "exotic" flavour like Pulut Hitam cake! ^_^

Lao Bao Soya Bean Curd

Venue: Old Airport Road Hawker Centre

This is the start of the soya bean curd craze at Old Airport Road Hawker Centre. The queue at the stall is ridiculously long. To manage the crowd, they even have 2 or 3 stalls at the same hawker centre. And I'm not even counting the competitor stalls selling similar bean curd.

The bean curd here really tasted very different from the traditional one, so I dun think it's fair to compare this with the normal soya bean curd. I will still have my usual craving for the traditional plain & smooth bean curd, topped with sweet syrup.

Here, the soya beancurd tastes more like solidified soya milk. Dun believe me? Try leaving it in the open or just stir it, until you see some liquid residue. The liquid tasted exactly like soya milk.

Like it or not, all up to individuals. It just offers another variety of soya bean curd, besides the traditional one and the egg bean curd. Coolz!

Sony Walkman for Sale!

2011-12-13T22:00:00.000+08:00

New item for sale!!!

Drive your boredom away when you are jogging using this lightweight and waterproof Sony walkman!

Specifications:

2GB capacity
Trendy duotone colours, wireless and wearable design
Compact Size - Compact earpiece ensures a snug and comfortable fit
Water-resistant and washable feature
Drag-and-Drop function and ZAPPIN™ feature
8 Hours Battery Life (Quick charge : 3 minutes charge for 60 minutes play back)

I have 2 sets of this in pink, selling at $88 only! Please drop me a comment if you are interested. ^_^

Nando's

2011-12-08T22:14:00.002+08:00

NANDO'S

Venue: Bugis Junction, #01-85/87 S188021

Contact: 6338 6555

********

It was almost 2 years since my trip to Nepal, and we had craving for Third Eye's grilled chicken & nanns! On a side note, if you are going trekking in Nepal, dun forget to stop by Third Eye in Kathmandu! ^_^

Having know that Nando's serves similar dishes like nanns and chicken, we "felt" that it was time to visit it even though it's not a Nepalese restaurant. Keke

Service was not fantastic though. First impression failed.

We had to queue for quite long (more than half an hour) before we got our table. I am okay to wait if the restaurant is really packed with customers. Com'on, I'm not a unreasonable customer.

In actual fact, there were empty tables, but the servicing staff was simply slow to show customers to the seats. I'm suspecting a scheming plot of trying to feature a long queue outside the restaurant as a way of free advertising. Humpt.

After dunno how long, we were finally shown to our seats. We were oreadi starving which was not a good sign, as we usually ended up over ordering. Sigh.

The chicken here has different degree of spiciness, and oh ya, we are not spicy eater, so we decided to be "coward" and ordered Lemon & Herb.

1/4 Chicken + 2 side dish ~ $13.90

Not brave? Says who?

I believe in tasting food at it's most natural form, with minimum seasoning possible. Coz then we can really taste the skills of a good chef. If we need chili for everything, then everything will merely taste the same mah. But I dun deny that some spice will help to heighten the taste of food. Most importantly, you must enjoy the food according to your preference, whether it's spicy or not.

The chicken was a tad dry, not as tender as expected. Side dishes wise, okay but as an advice, maybe it's not a brilliant idea to order 2 potato sides, reason being too filling la!

Top up Soup + Bread at $4.25

You may also top up your meal for just $4.25.

Novo Pita ~ $2.25

The nanns were not too bad, although a bit plain. I simply cant find fruit nanns in Singapore, at most garlic or butter nanns. Yawnz.. boring.

Cataplana ~ $18

This dish was like tomato rice with stir fried vegetables and chicken. The chicken here tasted better but was not given a lot, buried by all those vegetables (garlic, capsicum, carrot etc) which we dun really eat.

Overall, food was okay although there was no wow factor to really draw me back. It will be just another restaurant that I will probably patronize if I need food. So much about the hoo-ha when it just started. Oh well, I suppose I'm not easily impressed. =p

Baking Fun ~ The Actualisation

2011-12-03T10:17:00.004+08:00

I must say baking a log cake doesn't seem as easy as eating it! It took us almost 4 hour to finish making the Green Tea Log Cake. Now I understand why log cakes are so expensive ~ too much effort!

There was so much "hard work" behind every log cake and so many steps involved. I seriously hope that I can remember how to do it!

There were basically 3 main "mixture" to make before "combining" everything together to form the log cake you see.

Green tea sponge cake mixture

The main body of the log cake, doesnt look very pretty here but wait till you scroll to the end. Keke

Whip cream mixture

The "snow" on the log cake and the "plaster" to cover all the cha da (burnt) part of the log cake. =p

Cream cheese filling mixture

Filling for the sponge cake. Made of cheese, butter, sugar & whipped cream. Ya, I know fattening but then it tasted really yummy.

I shan't bored you further with the step by step procedures (e.g. weighing the ingredients, blending, folding and blah blah blah), instead I shall zoom into the more fun part ~ decorating the log cake!

Our sponge cake straight from the oven! Even thought it was a bit burnt on the surface ( but I think it looked better with the brown skin), it smelt really nice hor.. Dun play play!

Shinni (our teacher of the day) showing us how to roll the sponge cake into a swiss roll. Just spread the cheese cream filling like jam on bread, and just ROLL...

Da-da, my swiss roll.

I know it was not aligned lah, but I thought it was good at my first attempt! Dun judge me!

Have you ever wonder how the "branch" on the log cake is made?

Just use whipped cream to "glue" a slice of the swiss roll on top of the log, as simple as that.

Shinni demonstrating drawing log line using white chocolate on dark chocolate.

Drawing line is too common! I decided to draw a pig and wrote my name. Creative huh?

Using the whipped cream as a concealer, my swiss log had turned into a pretty log cake!

Finally, presenting the end results... ^_^

Can you spot which one is mine?? Hehe

Are you interested to learn how to make a cake? Contact Shinni for more details!

Makan time!

Tasted quite good, even thought it didnt really taste like green tea, tasted more like pandan cake less the fluffiness. Haha

Wavehouse

2011-11-27T15:48:00.001+08:00

WAVEHOUSE

Please click on the website for the prices & hours

Website: http://www.wavehousesentosa.com/

Things to note:

1) Bring ID for first timers (registration)

2) Avoid wearing accessories such as necklace
3) Recommended for gals to wear swimsuit instead of bikini
4) Timing for the game is on a hourly basis (e.g 2 - 3pm, 3 - 4pm)

**********

We went Sentosa last friday to stayover as bf's company had given them each a room in the Hardrock hotel. On top of that, we got this 1-1 Wavehouse from the Macdonald's Monopoly.

Free stay, partial free play! Woo hoo! ^__^ *Grinz*

I shant talk about Hardrock anymore since I've blogged about it before. If you wanna tour around the place, please click here. I was hoping to stay in the other Resort World Hotel, since I've stayed there twice already. But it was a free stay, so I shant complain for my third stay. =p

After we had checked into the hotel, we went to Wavehouse, which was one tram station away from Imbiah station to Beach station. Please be "warned" that it is quite a fair bit of walk from the Beach station to the Wavehouse. Imagine my "horror" when I was denied entrance because I did not bring my ID card! So do do remember to bring your ID/passport if it's your first time there!

The time slot for the Wavehouse is every hour, meaning it's either 2-3pm, 3-4pm and so on. Therefore, if you miss the timing, you probably need to wait for the next time slot.

As much as we hated it, we got to "painfully" make our way back to the hotel to retrieve my ID and then waited for the next time slot, aka 6-7pm.

It turned out not a bad thing after all, as apparently there was only 7 of us in the time slot. The less people in the same time slot as you are, means that you will have more tries as we need to take turn to play.

For those wearing contact lens, fear not! I had tried and tested that the lens will not be washed away in the waves if you fall down (which you WILL if it's your first time doing this). Then again, the lens may shift so there will be some discomfort.

Btw, there is 2 different levels: FlowRider for the basic and FlowBarrel for the challenger. Scroll down below to watch the videos to find out the difference.

FlowRider

FlowBarrel

Needless to say, we tried the FlowRider, the FlowBarrel seemed to be too "intimidating"!

I managed to stand up for a while without holding on to the rope held by the instructor on my third trial. Bf said I was pretty good. Hahah.. I guess the lower CG does help. In fact, we were pretty okay and the instructor "promoted" us to advanced level where we will surf down the slope just like the experts. Actually, we were the only 2 that needed coaching, as the other 5 can surf on their own and were mainly doing stunts like jump on the surf board, flipped the surf board etc. The "special attention" on us sure helped us to pick up the skill faster!

Overall, we enjoyed ourselves even though we suffered many falls and aching muscles for the next 2 days. Do try this out if you are at Sentosa!

Meanwhile, watch these two funny videos (people falling)! =p

1) FlowRider

2) FlowBarrel

Note that this video was not taken in the Flowbarrel in Singapore. However, the Flowbarrel in Sentosa is also like that lah.

I'm not trying to scare you with the videos.... I'm trying to tell you it's not so easy, so I'M GOOD when I said I can stand on the surf board without help on the third try!!!HAHAHHAHA

Last but not least, I will end this with pictures that said out "XMAS IS COMING"!! ^_^

We went to "Hollywood After Hours" - enter Universal Studio after 630pm for just $5. But hor, no rides of courses, the fee is to enter the US for dining, photo taking and to watch the fireworks!

The only "decent" firework photo that I took. I dunno how to take pictures of firework, either it turned out too smoky or blur!! Grrr... Why people can take nice BIG firework?? *Sigh*

Btw, firework starts at 9pm, dun be late!

2 more days...

2011-11-23T23:15:00.000+08:00

To BAKING session!!

那些年，我們一起追的女孩

2011-11-21T23:27:00.000+08:00

Everyone is saying that this movie is good!

Watch it?

Dun watch it?

Watch it?

Dun watch it?

okay, I'm getting bo liao.... enjoy the MTV, people.

Singapore's First Ice Cream Bash

2011-11-21T22:30:00.003+08:00

Did you went for the Ice Cream Bash held at Clarke Quay on last weekend??

Too bad if you didnt go.... BUT I did! =p

Not a lot of stalls, but saw some familiar brands like Marble Slab, Haato & Salt Caramel

There was performance as well..

And I totally agree with this slogan!

I tried only 2 stalls -Soyato being one of it. Erm, bought this because I was pretending to be healthy-conscious. Keke

Bought "Fantastic Four" which means 4 little scoops, flavors of your choice. Taste quite okay, but not very flavorful.

Ooh.. I love the "Lemon Meringue Pie" from Scoop Art!

We actually wanted to order the "Mars Bar & Sea Salt", but it was too sweet (with caramel) for our liking and ended up with the more exotic flavor, which turned out to be a delightful choice. =)

If you are wondering whether it tasted sour because of the lemon, the answer is NOPE! And I liked it because there were biscuit crumbs to mix in with the ice-cream, which added more texture to the overall taste.

1) Saw a lot of "smoke", so we were "lured" to find out what was happening

2) Do you know that the most important ingredient in ice cream is AIR? Yes, it is not cream or sugar, but air, to prevent it from solidifying.

3) Saw the blender

4) No more air injection

5) Finally, we saw the ice-cream!

6) It turned out to be a "make your own ice-cream" session. And the guy in red shirt was a customer, who got to try so hard to get his ice-cream. Keke

Table 66

2011-11-19T00:30:00.002+08:00

SKYVE ELEMENTARY BISTRO AND BAR (previously TABLE 66)

Venue: 10 Winstedt Road Block E, #01-17

Contact: 6225 6690

Website: http://www.skyve.sg(new)
http://table66.com.sg(old)

********

Thanks to my colleague, we were all given a treat here at Table 66. Woo hoo! I love free lunch! =p

Before I continue, I really need to express my "dissatisfaction" on how restaurants and buildings nowadays are displaying a lack of novelty and creativity. Why are there more & more restaurants (Triple 3, Table at 7 etc) & buildings (313, 311, 112) using numbers to call themselves? As if we dun already have all the passwords and contact numbers etc to remember, do they really need to add on to our confusion and exploit our pathetic memory size? *Sigh*

Oh well, Table 66 used to be located at 66 Tras Street. We were informed that they are moving out soon, which I dint manage to jot down the new location. So do check out the website / call for the new location. I will update the address as soon as I find out where exactly. But hor, maybe they will change their name to something else since they will not be at 66 Tras Street anymore? Hahhahah..

New update: True enough, the resturant has changed name!LOL.. but the new name is kinda wordy...

Menu

There were quite a number of us, so we ordered a variety of starters & main courses out from the selection of the 2 set menu.

For starters, we had the following:

Soup of the Day (Pumpkin Soup)

Silly me, I chose the pumpkin soup, which was passable only. In fact, artificially sweet for my liking.

The bread was complementary for all, with extra charges if you like to have more. A bit neow (stingy) on the restaurant, how much can extra bread cost? To begin with, they were rather small in size.

Seared Foie Gras | Compressed Asian Pear | Shallot Marmalade | Brioche

Foie gras when not treated properly, has a stingy smell / taste, but here, the foie gras was great! Given a choice again, I'll definitely top up $4 for this.

Particularly like how the sides was paired p-p-perfectly with the foie gras. The serving was just nice to feel satisfied and yet not too over-whelming. I mean foie gras is a nice ATAS (expensive) term, but it is, in simpler term ~> liver, which I dun think it will taste good if the portion is too big. Keke

Seaweed & Bonito Crusted Bean Curd | Tempura of Enokitake Mushroom | Mesclun Salad

This was a very light starter, good for those who are healthy conscious or simply just vege lovers. Definitely not my kind. Haha.. I'm a meat eater!! ROARRRR.... =p

Oyster ~ $24

We ordered 2 half dozen oysters to share. Sad to say, the oyster was not good ~ got a very fishy smell. It was so bad, I literally swallowed mine after the first chew. The aftertaste was horrible also, got to gulp down iced water to wash the taste away.

We feedback to the staff, but the answer was "it was meant to taste as such". Hmm.. not a very good answer. It felt like we were denied of our ability to differentiate taste. On a positive side, the restaurant agreed to waive of the charge for 1 half dozen. I guess, fair enuff. Then again, I wouldn't want to order oysters ever again since oysters here are meant to taste fishy. *Shrugged*

Next! Main course...

Confit of Duck Leg (Sous Vide) | Sauteed Brocolli

*Yawn* I know... duck confit AGAIN!

Here the duck confit was okay, although I felt that the sauce was a tad too salty.

Beef Medallion | Fine Asparagus | Olive & Parsley Pommpe Puree

I dint get to try this, but comments from those who took this was good. Disclaimer hor, dun blame me if it isnt, blame my colleagues. *Point fingers at colleagues* =p

Catch of the Day

Took a small bite of this. Fish was pretty fresh although not enuff to impress or maybe I dint eat enuff to feel impressed.. Hoho

Lamb Leg

Lamb has never been my favorite meat. Again, I didnt try this. My colleague who tried this commented that it was not as good as expectation. I guess not much of a clue to those who wanna know how it tastes like, since expectation is very subjective. Oops... =p

Finally, dessert time!

Dessert of the day was coffee cake. Not too bad but I was so full that I cant really finished the cake. Dun get me wrong, serving was not that huge, just that a tad slow only. So we had lotza time in between courses to digest the food and of coz, sent "signal" to the brain. LOL

Btw, LOL means "laugh out loud". I just went to a English course, of which the speaker thought that LOL means "lot of love". Theoretically, nothing wrong. but I guess we were too used to abbreviation that we assumed everyone understands what we means. Keke

Chocolate Lava Cake

This was ordered from the ala carte menu as one of my colleague doesnt take coffee cake. She finished the cake so I guess it was good? Hee

With that, I finally finished all the 5 restaurants that I've been to and which are featured in the Restaurant Week. Out of the 5, my own preference is Table at 7 & The Tasting Room. How about yours? ^_^

Table at 7

2011-11-13T22:57:00.001+08:00

TABLE AT 7

Venue: 7 Mohamed Sultan Road S (238957)

Contact: 6836 6362

Reserve tables online or

reservations@tableat7.com

*******

This is rather a small and cozy restaurant, I reckon that it probably can only accommodate 40-50 pax? So do make a reservation if you wanna try this out!

We went there to celebrate my bdae in September, after hearing ravings of it from friends. When we were there, I already got good feelings. Service staff was very helpful to explain the dishes to us and serving of each course was rather prompt.

Complimentary Bread & Appetizer

The bread serving was a lot, considering that there were only the 2 of us. But because it was so soft and fluffy, we finished it anyway. Keke

Other than the bread, we were also served a small appetizer (FOC) made up of tuna and cold cucumber. Nice gesture. ^_^

Char-grilled Seafood with special Shrimp Sambal, Mesclun Salad and Lime - $18

OMG! We really loved this! The squid and prawns were so succulent and chewy with a nice charcoal grilled aroma. And the squid was HUGE but the prawns can be bigger lah =p

Loved it when restaurant is willing to "invest" in good & fresh ingredients - the seafood was good on its own. And if you wanna it to be better, tip it with the sweet sauce (with a tinge of spiciness) that came with it.

Twice - Baked Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Cheese Souffle , White Wine Fondue Sauce - $16

The name itself is already so impressive! Wait till you get to eat this, I guarantee you that you will definitely love this! And if you dun, then I will come and finish it for you! =p

I really adore French Onion Soup but this had exceeded my expectation. I cant find any trails of onion but I can taste the sweetness of it. I guess the onions were probably mashed together with the cheese, cleverly hidden from those who dun like onions. I particularly like the part where it was a bit char da (caramelized/burnt)... wah, I tell you... super nice ar. I literally licked the bowl lor. *Drooled*

This is a must order!!

I'll be back here for this dish, so please dun remove it from the menu!!

Pan seared Rock Cod on Jerusalem Artichoke Puree, Wilted Baby Spinach and Scampi Glaze - $38

In comparison, the main courses were less impressive. Dun get me wrong, they were delicious as well but our "anticipation for higher heights" were not met. Haha. That's the problem when the starters are too good.

Lesson learnt: Serve mediocre starters and your diners will be satisfied with just good mains. Up the expectation with fantastic desserts and the diners will be "hooked" forever... HOHOHOHO (wicked luff not Santa luff)

Hey, that's me if I'm a restaurant owner, but dun worry lah, I cant execute my "scheming plot" coz I cant really cook and I dun believe in setting up restaurant by relying on chefs I have to hire. If the chef zha lou (aka run away), then I madi (die) ar!

Enuff of my crap, the codfish was good, but it tasted a bit different from the codfish I usually ate. I'm referring to the texture but I cant really pinpoint the difference. *Shrugged*

Mash potato was so smooth & creamy that I'm sure it qualified to be served as baby food. And did I mention that I love spinach? I noticed codfish is usually served with spinach & mash potato. All my favourite in one plate! Blissful! ^_^

Home-made Crispy Duck Leg Confit served on Smoked Bacon, Lyonnais Potatoes, fine Beans and Port reduction - $32

I really dun understand why the name of the dish need to be sooooo long! It was quite a handful to type and probably half of it, I dunno what it means. Oh well...

And yes, it is Duck Confit AGAIN! If you have been following my blog, you will know that I have eaten duck confit for at least 4 occasions in the past few weeks.

The duck confit here was one of the better ones. Well, looking at the price, I will expect so, dun you? The skin was really crispy and yet the meat remain moist and tender. Thumbs up!

Warm Valrhona Chocolate Tart with Mocha Sorbet and Chocolate Caramel - $16

Hazelnut Chocolate Symphony with Mint Meringue, Chocolate Soil and Golden Nougat served with Raspberry Sorbet - $18

What's the best way to end a p-p-perfect meal? Desserts of coz!

Most of the choices are chocolate stuff which is hard to go wrong. But if you are more adventurous, probably you can try the Lavendar Bread Pudding with Lychee Sorbet & Pineapple Form. I adore lychee sorbet, but the rest of the ingredients sound too"exotic" for us and we were really full and dun think we can stomach the bread pudding. Let me know if you have tried this, I'm curious to know how it tastes like! Hehe

Overall, a very satisfying food and service. Price is hefty for normal meal occasion, but I guess all of us deserve a good meal once in a while, so why not try out Table at 7? =)

Hosted (1st Anniversary)

2011-11-08T11:25:00.002+08:00

Happy birthday to "Hosted at the Patio"!

Dint know that Hosted is so "young", now I'm even more impressed. Click here & here to read more about my previous visits!

Anyway, we were invited to the 1st year anniversary on 2 November for an evening of celebration ~ free flow of tapas, wines & entertainment. Wow!

Considered that it was a free event, I was definitely bowled over with the food they served and of coz their generosity. Unlike some other paid-buffet place, they kept refilling the food! I almost thought the chefs were too overwhelmed with the celebration mood that they lost control and kept on whipping out more & more food. Keke

Drinks wise, we were served red/wine wines, champagnes and of coz normal soft drinks.

Presenting you their genosity... ^__^

P.S Do pardon my poorly taken pictures with my iPhone 3 GS.. 4GS pictures coming soon!

Prawn salad

Pasta in rod with crab meat

Chicken Wings

Wraps

Spring Roll

Fried Squids

Pizza

Hams

Indian cracker with lamb mix

Tiramisu

I dun think it's fair to comment on the food since it was free lah. But food was surely decent, especially the tiramisu. It was polished clean almost immediately when it was been served. We had to "fight" for that piece on my plate lor. Lucky for us, we found the perfect position to hang around ~ right in front of the buffet table. Not that I purposely wanna be there, but it was the only empty table we can find. Weird though, since we were late. Haha.. but good for us so who cares?

We definitely enjoyed ourselves, the food and the music! Thank you so much for being such a good host!

Tartufuo Ristorante

2011-11-05T00:14:00.004+08:00

CASA TARTUFO

Venue: Forum Shopping Mall #07-17

Contact: 6836 4647

Website: www.casatartufo.com

********

Honestly speaking, I dun feel like making this entry because the pictures suck! Sobz... They were taken when we met up with friends for dinner ~ not celebration or anything, and therefore I didnt bring my camera. Instead, I took all the photos with iphone 4 in dim lighting. =( Hopefully, the new iphone 4GS with its 8mp camera can work miracles for future such events.

And I have to own up ~ I cannot remember the food experience there. Based on the receipt, I went there...erm in December last year... =(

Just a entry of sucky photos and minimal narration... PLEASE DUN ABANDON ME because of this poor review.... *Ashamed*

*Choked*

I.. I..already tried to..to edit the photos liao... SOBZ!!! I purposely used a smaller size to minimize the flaws...

*Frowned*

Did I just say "flaws"?

Ahhh..hhh, nevermind! I will quickly make another post to erase your memory of the poorly taken photos..

Let's make this a quick and "painless" one.. =p

P.S Prices are accurate at time of dining (i.e Dec 2010) only

Complimentary bread

The bread were freshly baked, warm and fluffy and a generous serving. ^_^

And we loved it with the nice sauces that came with the bread, not the usual olive oil/balsamic vinegar dip. We loved the sauces so much, we asked for extra helping. Keke

Consomme Foie Gras - $18

A unique presentation in a clear stock instead of the usual pan-seared treatment. But I think I preferred the usual pan-seared foie gras, coz the foie gras here tasted like well cooked minced pork here. *Shrugged*

Pappardelle - $28

This was essentially very large and very broad fettuccine. Not a pasta lover myself, so I guess they were just okay, never really impress much.

Short Rib served with Truffle Fries - $40

The beef was pretty juicy & chewy. The truffle fries that came with it was another hit among the diners.

Codfish - $32

Codfish can never fail. I mean the ingredient is so good on its own that even just plain steaming is good enuff. If I have the chance to eat a sucky codfish, I will sure black list that restaurant! Haha

Anyway, the codfish here was very soft, you just need to use the fork to break it apart, no knives required!

Chocolate Cake - $15

Step-by-step flaming crepe, starting from top left picture in clockwise manner

Crepe - $15

Tiramisu - $15

Desserts were good as they were polished clear in a few minutes.

We had other items such as Tagliatelle Pomodoro, carbonara etc. In total, we had 10 items which came up to about $250.

This has to be the "easiest" post to make, coz usually I need to find words to describe the food and now I dun have to! Haha..maybe I should do that for often... Just kidding!

Look out for my next restaurant which will definitely be out REAL SOON! =p

Capricci

2011-10-28T00:31:00.002+08:00

CAPRICCI
Venue: 27 Tanjong Pagar Road

Contact: 6221 6761

Website: http://www.capricci.com.sg/

********

This was the 2nd restaurant I had visited in the Restaurant Week and bf suggested to go to one with "star" aka those higher rating restaurants. So, instead of $25++ per pax for lunch, we had to pay $40++ per pax, which came up to about $100 after all taxes & charges for 2 pax. Still expensive after the discount! >.<

The restaurant was nicely decorated with a warm cozy feel. For the pictures of the restaurant, you may want to browse the website instead for a better gauge. Service was nice & warm too, and they changed your utensil after every course, high class service standard indeed. I'm not complaining but I kinda not used to such "atas" (high class) environment. LOL.

We were served a basket of warm bread almost immediately when we were seated, which was complimentary. However, both my bf and I felt that the focaccia bread was a tad salty and so we dint finish the bread. The other bread in cubes was better, being soft and fluffy, which went very well with the olive oil/balsamic vinegar dip.

As a good start, we were pampered with choices for all the 3 courses ~ 4 for starters, 5 for main courses and 3 for desserts. There were restaurants which only offered 1 fixed item for the 3 courses, no alternatives at all. I thought that defeated the purpose of introducing the restaurants and its menu to more people when it was a time to show case their best dishes! Oh well... *Shrugged*

Again, I will state the original price for each item..

Broccoli Souffle with Cheese Fondue ($22)

Note that the broccoli is replaced by aparasgus in the original menu

I was expecting broccoli served in cheese dip for this dish, so this came as a surprise presentation. It was served warm and soft, like mash tofu with broccoli. The cheese in it was very mild, so mild that I would never though there was cheese in it if not for the name. So I guess, this should appeal to non-cheese lovers too. A pleasant yet unique dish.

36 months cured Parma ham with rock melon sorbet ($24)

Again, I was "wow" by the presentation. Have you ever thought of serving sorbet as your appetizer? And have you ever thought that rock melon as normally paired with parma ham can be replaced by rock melon sorbet? Wow, that was C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E.

Okay I must say parma ham was never my favourite. On its own, it was very salty. The saltiness was slightly "covered up" by the sorbet as I used the ham to wrap around a generous scoop of the rock melon ice-cream. Haha. Dun mind me, I admit I dunno how to appreciate parma ham.

John Dee grass fed Beef Tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce and parboiled asparagus ($38)

Totally no idea what it meant by "John Dee grass fed" when I ordered this. Is it a person or a brand? Solution to question marks ~ Google!

The closest I can find is this link. So, I guess it meant some premium brand grain eaten by the cow which in turn, will produce premium beef!

The serving was quite generous with a thick slab of premium meat, but I thought the serving was quite plain with just boiled (tasteless) asparagus. Perhaps, the chef's intention was for the diners to focus on the premium meat instead? *Pondered*

Anyway, I ordered medium rare. It was very juicy and "bloody" yet not uncooked, leaving the meat very moist and tender. I think I mentioned this before ~ the red juice which seemed bloody was not blood. Basically, most of the blood will be drained from all meat before it is cooked. But my bf was pretty turned off by the bloody scene. Hoho

Breaded Norwegian Salmon with herbs and cherry tomato confit ($38)

Again, focus was on the salmon, which means no sides except for the cherry tomato buried underneath the big piece of salmon. Very soft and fresh, a pretty well done dish.

On a side note, as we were waiting for our desserts to come, we started to feel bored. If you notice, the dishes all came with a chilli padi, so we challenge each other to eat the chilli padi. Oh gosh, the chilli padi was really HOT! I only nibbled the end of it and I got to gulp down glasses of iced water and attempted to soak my big tongue in the iced water. >.<

Warning: DO NOT, I stressed again, DO NOT, try this bo liao challenge. And dun ask me why the dishes came with chilli padi. Other than trying to "induce" us to do this stupid thing, I oso dunno why.

Panna Cotta drizzled with Strawberry Coulis ($14)

Finally, desserts came!

We were told that this was one of the more popular dessert at Capricci and so we ordered the panna cotta! Very creamy texture and milky taste, so I guess you need to love dairy product to like this dessert. On the other hand, the strawberry coulis was quite sour, only good as decoration.

Bounette ala Piemontese (Cocoa Pudding) with crushed Amaretti Biscuits ($16)

Nothing will go wrong with chocolate definitely. What enlighten this dessert was the extra touch of the crushed amaretti biscuits and nuts, which added crunchiness to the soft cocoa pudding.

Overall, we had a pretty enjoyable lunch with good food and service. Then again, the pricing may be a bit too hefty for me to revisit.

Journey...

2011-10-24T22:53:00.000+08:00

As I look at my side bar, I realised I have been blogging for almost 5 years! That is so long even though it feels like yesterday.

I dunno how long I will be maintaining this site, as more commitments come, like work, family or future kids. But at least I'm enjoying what I'm doing now, travelling & eating around & sharing about it on my own site. It's my little world that I allow everyone to peek into it, and yet not everything coz I still wanna maintain my personal space.

It allows me to free myself from work & everything else, and when the mood come, I can easily finish 1 or 2 posts at the same time. Hey, I do schedule my posts in view of dry spell, when the magic on the tapping fingers freeze, so that my readers will not be affected. I'm a reader of other people's blog, so I understand that readers like frequent updates and remember those sites with frequent updates.

And of coz the little "appreciation" here & there motivate me to keep this going, and yes I mean even like a click on the selection of your reactions on top of each post. I need to know that there is someone reading what I've written. Call it ego & pride. LOL.

So while I'm still doing this, keep coming back and dun forget to leave your "trail" on my site! ^_^

Okay, the next review ~> Capricci coming up soon!

The Tasting Room

2011-10-22T00:15:00.002+08:00

THE TASTING ROOM

Venue: 6 Raffles Boulevard, #01-08 Marina Square

Contact: 6338 1829

Website: http://www.thetastingsroom.com

*********

I have here ~ "The Tasting Room", to start the ball rolling for the restaurants listed in Restaurant Week. Hey, for once, I did my review quite promptly. Very proud of myself! Keke

Have not heard about this place before and I merely picked this because of the location (Marina Square) and the menu. There were some restaurants which didn't list out the menu and you would only find out when you are there.

I do admit I adore surprises but hor if I'm gonna pay $35++ per pax for a meal, I wanna know what I'm getting. That's why I scoped out those restaurants without menu posted in the website and finally picked "The Tasting Room" after comparing the menu for the available restaurants.

The menu really made me 动心 (tempted) with foie gras and scallops as starters, duck confit & pork belly as the main course and of coz desserts. That was one Strike for leaving a good impression! =)

The place itself was not spacious, in fact, you probably can hear the conversation of the table next to you. "Luckily" for us, we reached there early at 630pm, so that didn't pose any problem for us and we "enjoyed" the privacy as well as the prompt attention from the staff.

Presenting the 动心 menu with the original pricing stated...

French Foie Gras de Carnard Cru ($19.90)

Pan seared foie gras with orange cranberry chutney, port wine jelly and ginger scented toast

Sound complicated with the different tastes (orange, cranberry, port wine, ginger) supposing in the dish huh? Trust me, it wasnt that complicated coz I cant really taste any or was it my insensitive palate? Hmm, I dun think the cause is the latter lah.

Anyway, the foie gras was just okay and I thought the toast was a tad too thin and crispy to properly paired with the foie gras.

Pan Seared Diver Scallop ($18.90)

Seared scallop on garden leafy green and finished with salmon roe and chive beurre blanc

In comparison, we adored the scallops better, which were succulent with the right texture! It would have been if they were bigger, but I guess they were good enough. Hey, no complaints since we were paying almost half price. And the creamy sauce with salmon roe complement the scallops very well.

Confit of French Duck Leg ($26.90)

Served on smooth potato mash with grilled poached pear and tangy orange sauce

This was like my 4th time eating duck confit for the past 4 weeks, and I cant really say it was the best here. The skin was crispy alright and the meat was tender to the fork, which easily fell apart with a gentle stroke. On the contrary, I though the side dishes were such a delight ~ The poached pear was nicely grilled which released all the sweetness in it and the potato mash was creamy & smooth.

"Sous Vide" Pork Belly with Crackling Skin ($26.90)

"Sous Vide" pork belly planted on mash potato with summer vegetables, Tavel Rose wine apple sauce and finished with crackling pork skin

There used to be no such word as "Sous Vide" in my dictionary. And since I started visiting Italian restaurant, it seemed to be "found" everywhere! Keke

If you are wondering what it means, there you go (quoted from Wikipedia)...

"French for "under vacuum",^[1] is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for a long time—72 hours is not unusual—at an accurately determined temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 60 °C or 140 °F. The intention is to cook the item evenly, not overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same 'doneness' and to keep the food juicier."

There was only 4 pathetic slices of pork belly, which at first I though not filling lah! But dun worry, I was served with huge lump of yummy potato mash too. =p

Pork belly was okay but I though the crackling skin was a bit too dry. And I couldn't find the "Taval Rose wine apple sauce" anywhere in the plate. I swear I overturn every single item on the plate but still cannot find leh. A mystery indeed.

Warm Banana Cake with Lemongrass Ginger Ice Cream ($8.9)

Served with caramelized banana, nuts & mixed berries

I was excited to try this unique ice cream made of spices instead of the normal fruits and chocolate ingredients. Fortunately, it didnt fail me and I quite like the refreshing taste. Then again, I guess not everyone can accept this.

On the other hand, the banana cake was warm and sweet. So together, the ice cream will neutralize the sweetness and turned out to be a perfect match! Thumbs up!

Disclaimer first if you are gonna try this, coz it was not stated in the menu that the banana cake will be served with the lemongrass ginger ice-cream on normal days. So please do re-confirm with the staff!

Vanilla Creme Brulee ($8.9)

Made with real vanilla pods & served with mixed berries

Creme Brulee was another hit ~ it was so so so smooth and milky, simply melts in the mouth. Best of all, serving was a big bowl unlike other places.

So I guess, overall another strike for the food. Hehe

Service was good also, we were served with staff with all smiles even though we were there for a cheap deal. A third Strike!

And yes, we got a Turkey here!

Changes!

2011-10-18T21:48:00.000+08:00

I've been visiting some very good restaurants and I dun think it's fair to them if I just categorized them as passable, but again I may not want to visit it again due to personal preference / pricing...

*Cleared throat*

So being a very partial person, I shall re-word my food categories as follows (changes underlined):

Passable: This will mean that the food is nice, can try if you wanna something new or have the money to spare or you can simply give it a miss. In short, not a must try lah..

Loving: Food/service here is good and if the pricing is within my budget, I dun mind going back again.

Marvelicious: These are food places that I adore regardless of the pricing. I would want to re-visit even if it means eating bread for a week or so... Keke

Will review my categorization for my previous posts as well.... Hopefully, this will give you a better gauge! ^_^

Look out for my reviews on the restaurants listed in the Restaurant Week ~ I visited 2 during the Restaurant Weeks and I've been to 3 of them on my own accord (which means expensive meal with no discount!! = Phew blood!).

秘密花园

2011-10-17T21:38:00.000+08:00

Just "chiong" finished another Korean drama! ^_^

I dun find the guy handsome, but he was quite charming in his own way in this show. In fact, he looked better if he dun smile. Hahaha..

Again, the drama was so much nicer because of the OST.... Some of my preferred songs in sequence:

玄彬--那個男人

This song comes in female korean version and chinese version sang by楊宗緯... BUT I like the male korean version BETTER!

정하윤(鄭河尹) - You Are My Everything

SIN YONG JAE(4MEN) - 이유(理由)

Enjoy the songs! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Singapore Resturant Week

2011-10-14T22:11:00.001+08:00

Btw, this week is the Singapore Resturant Week!

I've picked one to try tomorrow, and I'm not going to tell you which one until I've tried it so that you cannot "copy" me! Keke

I'm definitely getting over-dosage of duck confits ~ had that twice in this week and another tomorrow. I swear I'm not going to eat duck confits for at least a month. =p

Dun forget to make a reservation!

And super random... It's time to register for iPhone 4GS, people! Say good bye to lousy HP photos once I get my hand on you!! ROARZZ.. Made me wait so long!

Capella + Bridal Veil

2011-10-14T22:07:00.001+08:00

I went to a bridal show not long ago... hmm, actually it was a few weeks ago. Never mind the timing, let's focus on the event instead ~ a collaboration between Capella and Bridal Veil! It was the first time I went to such grand event, definitely an eye opener for a mountain turtle like me. Keke

Btw, if you are wondering why I was so free, went to attend a bridal show ~ it's because I'm getting married lah and it was an invitation from Bridal Veil. *Felt honored*

Enuff of my stuff! Let's tour around the hotel. =)

Together with the other couples invited to the show, we were shown around Capella to sites where the solemnization would be held, the ballroom as well as the bridal suites. Impressive is the word to describe. I literally jaw dropped all the way.

This is where the solemnization will be held, a garden concept with a floating platform where couple can say their vows. Pretty right?

Loved the floating platform. Imagine walking toward the floral arch bare-footed in a short white gown, with the groom in causal white top and berm. Relax and blissful!

I also like the idea of the justice of peace getting wet, coz they are always so formal. Hehe. And obviously, this is not suitable for brides wearing gowns with long trains. Confirmed wet!

I really like this green apple concept ~ Apple of my eye. A refreshing change from the usual floral or princessy style.

Capella also has other sites for solemnization such as indoor ballroom or covered outdoor, but I think this is the nicest and most unique site. If you have the budget, go for this! Once in a life time!

Next, we were brought to the ballroom. It is round shape with high ceiling and no pillars, a perfect venue to hold the wedding banquet where every guest will be able to see the stage.

It will be tricky if your ballroom has pillars and there are seats with blocked view ~ who to assign those seats? Not very nice when the guests are paying so much (ang pao) yet cant really see anything mah.

Here, the ballroom doesnt look big although it can accommodate 45 tables. Good because it's not nice if the ballroom looks empty if you are having less tables than what the ballroom can accommodate. A lot of consideration when selecting a ballroom lor...

There are a few decoration concepts. I wonder whether there will be green apple given to the guests? Sigh, I will never find out coz I'm not going to held my wedding here..WAY WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! It's about $2000 per table for the dinner banquet lor. *Sigh*

But I do hope that any of my frens can held their wedding here so that I can experience the ambience here. Keke

Pretty wedding cakes

Seriously, why do we need to cut cakes on weddings? *Scratch head*

Desserts

Highlight of the day! Erm, no lah.... *shy*

There was also food tasting of the food served in their wedding banquet. When everyone else were busy discussing about the packages, I would look weird if I kept on snapping pictures on the food. That explained the pathetic number of food photos but the food & dessert were really nice.

Next up, bridal suite & villa viewing! The rooms are so big and luxurious, that I think it is ridiculous! Of coz, if I'm treated to a night stay here, I will grab that offer! Definitely will feel like a king to stay in one of the villa.

Ok, I shant say much. Let the pictures do the talking!

Do note that it's a mixture of different suites and villas, I kinda confused which is which coz quite some time ago lah.

What do you think is this?

A gigantic toilet bowl?? =p

Keke.. This is actually an uncovered shower area and that is a bath tub. Imagine soaking in bubbles, while staring at the stars above your head... Shiok man!

Private swimming pool within the villa!

Another toilet photo. I'm convinced that the toilet is about the same size or even bigger than my bedroom.

Another villa with 2 storeys.

Ridiculously big dressing table for the bride.

Victorian bed frame.. I wonder how it feels to sleep on that bed. Comfirmed comfy to the max!

Finally, the real highlight of the day ~> Wedding Gowns!

I didnt take a lot of pictures, paiseh leh when everyone was just looking and admiring the "art pieces". Did I mention that there was quite a number of celebrities attending the function as well?

The signature trademark ~ Swarovski crystals lining the gown train.

I thought this picture will look good on a magazine cover, probably just need to adjust the lighting. Keke

More white gowns.

There were also many different coloured evening gowns and interesting groom suits. Again, I was too shy to keep snapping away..

Pretty & handsome models!

This female model was really cute. I was just taking photos of the couple from far using my zoom function. Somehow, she could sense it and pulled the guy along. The next thing I knew, the two of them were standing right in front of me for me to take a picture. I was so amazed by how camera sensitive she was.

The first macarons I tried were from Bakerzin. They were super sweet and tasted rather normal and I thought that's how macarons taste like and dun understand why it's so expensive. But when I tried these from Capella (door gift) ~ they totally change my impression of macarons ~ simply meltz in the mouth!

Sun with Moon

2011-10-09T11:23:00.001+08:00

SUN WITH MOON

Venue: 501 Orchard Road, Wheelock Place #03-15/16/17

Contact: 6733 6636

********

Remember I did a dedicated review on Crepe cakes a couple of months back? Because of that, I made a trip to Wheelock Place - Sun with Moon Japanese Dining & Cafe. Since I took some pictures of our lunch, I tot might as well just do a short post. =)

I'm sure most of us would have been here before. This was not my first visit, neither can I say that I frequent here often. The number of visits can be counted with just 1 hand.

Dun get me wrong. The food experiences were so far good, but the pricing is a tad too much for me to afford as a normal dining venue.

Nevertheless, I managed to convince myself to just spend for the sake of the crepe cake... just one more time. =p

Saikoro Steak - $14.50

Salmon Teriyaki & Chicken - $24.80

We dint order a lot since our intention was the desserts. Food was great as usual, but the portion was small.

Hey, dun question my appetite. It has reduced drastically over the years, and ya I think I have normal appetite. If I dun feel full, I seriously dun think a guy can be satisfied with just a order. The combo meal (salmon + chicken) was much more reasonable and of coz, the price is also adjusted. *Shrugged*

Chocolate Crepe - $7.80

Presenting once again, my favourite.

*Cast an admiring look*

See how the cake glows? Keke

Matcha Tiramisu - $6.50

Comparably, the matcha tiramisu was okay only. Then again, you dun see matcha tiramisu every where, so its unique is worth a try.

The same "problem" applies to the cakes... Portion too small lah! If sharing, need to snatch! Contradicting huh?

My total bill came up to about $63. *Phew blood*

It's so hard to be a food blogger, that's why I'm switching to cum travel blogger also.... which is not much better. * Phew blood again*

Oh well, just show your appreciation by visiting me more often..... pls?

cozy corner

Melaka Trip

2011-10-05T00:33:00.004+08:00

I went to Melaka for a company event over the last weekend. It was filled with activities and so, I only got some free time on the second aka last day. Guess what, I went on a continuous food hunt in that few hours.. Keke

First stop ~ Chicken Rice Ball (Jonker Street)

Wanna eat Hoe Kee Chicken Rice Ball, but alas, it was closed! Sad >.< You can read about it here on my previous trip to Melaka.

We ended up eating at Gu Cheng instead.

I think the rice balls at Hoe Kee were much better. Here, the rice balls had no fragrant and the texture was rather mashed. Hmm, I dunno how to appreciate leh. *Shrugged*

The chicken was comparably much better, very tender and smooth. The roasted meat was pretty good also, altot abeit oily.

A whole kampong chicken was priced at RM50, and the rice balls (each the size of a ping pong ball) was abt 20cents or 40cents.

Second stop ~ Pineapple tarts (Jonker Street)

Made from butter

Made from margarine

I cant differentiate the two, and so I bought 1 of each type. Both were nice, at least better than the one I bought last time at Melaka. And I cant resist freshly baked pineapple tarts. Keke

The crust was abeit dry but that was still "bearable", and the pineapple filling was of the right sweetness too. The pineapple tarts was priced at RM13 per box.

Third stop ~ Crepe Cake (Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall)

Nadeje Patisserie

UB-051, 052, 053,

Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall,

Jalan Merdeka, 75000 Bandar Hilir, Melaka.

Operating hours : 10am until 10.30pm.

I tried the Tiramisu & Original flavours ~ yummy! I hope that they can start a branch at Johor, so that it's nearer to me whenever I have a craving mah...

The crepe cakes were priced at RM9 each, so that was about S$4. Quite okay leh, considered that the serving was pretty big.

Service wise was rather lousy lah.. we called for the bill, and after like thousand years, the waiter still didnt give us the bill. We almost wanna walked out without paying liao lor. But we got integrity one, of coz guai guai go to counter and pay our bill lor. =p

After all these, we went for prawn mee at Old Town (opposite Nadeje). Seriously, Old Town was so much affordable in Malaysia! And yes, we were like glutton, eating non stop until it was time to say goodbye to Melaka.=p

Ok, back to my indulgence in the 49days OST.. The soundtracks are all so good! You must go and listen even if you dun like to watch drama. And how come all the Korean actors are good looking, can act, can cry and can sing too! So unfair!!!

Back from Melaka

2011-10-04T00:24:00.002+08:00

Me back from Melaka!

Tried some food. And yup, managed to find Nadeja ~ crepe cakes were okay, but agreed service not fantastic. Will blog abt it soon!

Too "busy" with Korean drama show now...keke. I just finished "49 Days" ~ super nice! Highly recommended, but dun expect happy ending. I wish that the ending is happier, but oh well.. unexpected ending, and that's what make this show nice! The soundtracks are also very nice!

Ok going bed! Will try to post up some photo these few days. Stay tuned! ^_^

Melaka Mille Crepe

2011-09-26T23:17:00.000+08:00

I'm going Melake this weekend.... company trip..

I read about Mille Crepe in Melaka before, so I'm going to try it! Hope it's still good though...

Nadeje Patisserie

UB-051, 052, 053,

Dataran Pahlawan Melaka Megamall,

Jalan Merdeka, 75000 Bandar Hilir, Melaka.

Operating hours : 10am until 10.30pm.

Why I say so? Coz I read about the pitfall of Nadeje here. Oh well, since I will be there, might as well try right?

From the link, it says that the "baker/chef" has his own shop now and I'm gonna try that as well!

Will blog about both once I've tried! Keke

Believe it or not?

2011-09-23T23:06:00.003+08:00

Disclaimer: I have copied out the email from Belson from AWI. I hold no responsibility to authenticate the company and what it does, as well as the content of this email. And I'm telling you I do not believe a single word of it. The email is shown to create awareness and caution among my readers.

My comments in pink, just to illustrate how stupid it sounds.

========================================================================

Dear XX,

Thank you for allowing to share with this great opportunity with you. As promised, I have outlined for you some of the many benefits of this low risk and highly lucrative investment market, together with some recent media articles from the likes of the Financial Times which will confirm that the fine wine market has outperformed all other investments including stocks & shares. I have also outlined how the demand for Fine Wine in China is ever increasing.

I refused repeatedly. This fellow kept pestering, and I had no choice but to brush him off with an email address. Oh well, good for me. Now I can post here for all to see.

Com'on, is there a thing call low risk and high lucrative investment. When it's too good to be true, trust me, then it's definitely untrue. If it's so good, why would you want to share a portion of the pie with a stranger? You can absorb the whole pie, right??

Why invest in wine?

When looking at the performance of other investments in these uncertain times, fine wine has proven to be a recession proof investment vehicle. In fact many of the world's leading banks and managed funds have been securing top end wines for this very reason. I have attached a recent article from My Paper dated 14.04 2010 on how Fine Wine Investment has outperformed US stock index for 13 years and withstood 2 recessions.(Bloomberg)

Uncle, in case you are still dreaming, it's now 2011. Some article dated April 2010 is definitely not recent. Stock prices is dipping, whole market is in a mess. Dun bring up something a year plus ago and tell me it's still valid!

Unlike other more traditional investments, your fine wine portfolio is an asset that will naturally appreciate in both quality but more importantly in value as it ages, making it very low risk whilst remaining extremely high yielding. The market is driven by supply and demand and at the top end of the market there is a very limited supply of wines from each producer (normally in the region of 500-1000 cases per vintage) making them very rare and sought after in the market. It's the same in any investment, when supply can't meet demand the prices always rise accordingly!

To me, wine is a subjective perishable item. What you deem as good, may be lousy to others. It may appreciate if there's a demand for it. But what if there is no demand? When people are losing their net worth due to depreciation of stock value, you think people still have mood to drink wine? Maybe try to drown themselves with wine huh?

Australian Wine Index (AWI) provide an end to end service from procurement to storage and insurance through to the exit strategies using merchants and auction markets around the world. It is both dynamic and exciting, but without the volatility of other investment classes.

Of coz, no volatility to the company. The volatility is passed on to the "investors" "Investors" buy wine from them, the company helps to auction and get a cut from the profit. If there's profit, win-win situation for all, everyone is happy. If the wine is not sell-able, the company also dun care, coz they already sell to you aka the "investors". Hey, that's really brilliant.

I'm just thinking aloud. Is the company selling the wines of their existing investors to new investors? In that manner, they would have created the demand & supply themselves. So in order to continue this business, the company just need to find new investors and the company will profit from every transactions. Hmmm..

How it works?

Once you have made the decision to get started, you will be assigned a personal fine wine broker. Your broker's job will be to guide and advise you through the market, informing you of all the exclusive releases that we secure, as well as advising you of any movements in price with your current holdings. This is normally done by telephone or email at least once per month. However, should for example a wine we purchased for you at $100 per bottle is rated by one of the leading critics and trades at auction at $150 per bottle, we will be in contact with you the same day to let you know and offer you the trade. As brokers we make money when our clients make money, therefore the better service and results we provide the more ongoing business will be achieved in a mutually beneficial business relationship.

Our commission works out at 5% per trade on profits achieved.

Wah, win liao lor. You try to sell me your wine ( of which I dunno how many % you have profited) and then you try to sell the wine on behalf of me and still earn a cut of the profit. For the same bottle of wine, you made profit twice. Dubz

All wines purchased by our clients are stored in your name at a government bonded warehouse ensuring maximum security with your investment. We use a company called Menlo Logistics which are Singapore's leading fine wine storage specialists. All wines are stored and insured on your behalf in perfect conditions ensuring your wines achieve the very best prices when sold into the secondary markets.

AWI brokers all have a very strong understanding of both the fine wine and financial markets and are therefore in a position to offer you professional investment advice from a position of knowledge. I look forward to showing you the many benefits of this low risk and highly rewarding market.

The Benefits

. High Yielding Investment

. Tax Free Profits

. Tangible Asset

. Naturally Appreciates in Quality & Value with Age

. Easy to Understand

. Numerous Exit Strategies

. No Hidden Costs or Management Fees

. Managed Investment / Personal Broker

. Unaffected by Stock Market Volatility

. World's Leading Australian Wine Broker

. ISO9001:2008 Certification Ensuring Highest Standards of Quality Respected Globally

I'm losing confidence of company with ISO. It doesnt serve to guarantee quality control! At least, I dun think I receive good customer service. All I receive is harassment, a phone stalker, a desperado !

How to get started?

It's simply a case of making a note of any questions you may have to be answered when we next speak and considering a budget that is comfortable for you anywhere from $10.000 - $100.000k or above. I will then advise you of suitable wines which would meet with your investment requirements.

Alamak, I told that Belson, I got NO MONEY!!! He said nvm, but here they are asking for $10k - $100K. Uncle, I'm not carrot okay? I'm also a rabbit, looking for carrot. Chey =_=

Warning! Another scam!

2011-09-23T23:01:00.005+08:00

Just two weeks ago, I received a call from this person called Belson. I still remember he told me "You know bell, those ding ding ding bell? Easy to remember". The way he introduced himself made him sound silly and super not credible.

Anyway, the content of the call was to introduce this thing called wine investment which I have copied out his email here.

I dunno anything much about wine except for drinking it, and I dun believe in investing on something I dunno. Somemore, it's a perishable item. Therefore, I told Belson I AM NOT INTERESTED. Then he went on asking why why why. When I told him I have no money, he actually asked me to do leveraging. Dubz, was he advising me to borrow money to invest with him & his company that I knew nuts? I must be nuts to heed his advice. Grrrr..

I told him repeatedly that I dun wan, not keen, no money. He was simply ignoring me and went on and on.

Next, he went on to say that he needed to send me a gift and asked for my mailing address. I told him I dun wan and I was not comfortable to reveal my mailing address to a stranger. He said that we were now friends just because we had spent like 10 minutes on the phone. *Roll eyes* Is he an idiot or what?

Finally, he had to use pleading, saying that he just started this job and he really needed to meet his quotas. Com'on, it was totally unprofessional! That definitely made the wine investment more dubious!

Anyway, I ended the call by saying that I will look at the brochure and if I'm interested, I will then contact him.

He really got on my nerves by calling me again this week. This time round, I told him I was not interested upfront. He continued to ask me why not interested and blah blah blah, which he already asked me 2 weeks ago and I already told him. To add on to his unprofessionalism, he asked whether I preferred to work the hard way for my money. DUBz, it's totally none of his business.

He really pissed me damn off, I told him bluntly that I DUN WAN TO BUY FROM YOU! And I told him to remove my contact from his calling list.

Guess what, he called me the very next day. Super poor memory I would say. And he totally forgot his conversation with me. If he cant take instructions as simple as remove my number from his calling list, how can I be assured that he will follow my instructions clearly if I really invest? Hey, he confirmed once again, that this call was totally notorious.

Today, he called me again. *Breathe deeply*

I can recognize his annoying voice straight away and hung up the phone and precisely why this post. Coz I'm SUPER DUPER IRRITATED BY THIS FELLOW & the whole thing sound like a scam!

There's even a Facebook page on this. Read more here.

Everyone, please beware of this person called Belson as well as the company Australia Wine Index.

Think twice whenever you invest your hard-earned money.

Hosted on the Patio (Again!)

2011-09-19T12:37:00.002+08:00

HOSTED ON THE PATIO

Venue: 991B Alexandra Road #01-10 S(119970)

- Opposite NOL

Contact: 6276 7337

Website: http://www.hosted.sg/

*******

I'm backed at Hosted! Gosh, I think I'm kinda "addicted" to it.. Helpzzzz! =p

This time round, we went with an empty stomach, which means I can try more items on the menu. Yeah!

We started off our dinner with the Bar Snacks. Yes, if you are not hungry or on diet, I think it's good that there's bar snacks to choose from. And the bar snacks are not just the usual one, they have sauteed angus tenderlon, crispy korubuta pork belly & more! Cool huh?

What's the Crab - $12

This dish reminds me of one of the signature dish offered at Mandarin Oriental's banquet. It's good for people who love chilly crab but dislike the hassle of shelling the crab. Simply thoughtful, since you wont want to dirty your hands when you are attending a wedding banquet.

You can find the same thoughtfulness here at Hosted. The crab was shelled, and served with crusty baquette. Me and my bf are hopeless when it comes to spicy food, but this was rather addictive. Our tongues were burning but we simply cannot stop digging for more crab meat and chilly sauce. Lol.

Spaghetti with Crispy Korubuta Pork - $24

This dish looks familiar huh? I'm referring to the 三辰肉 ( roasted pork). Here, they managed to upgrade your usual kopitiam roasted pork to a high-class delicacy. The skin was crispy, the lean meat portion was tender, completed with the fatty portion, which was not greasy at all, simply just melt away. Thumbs up for the roasted pork!

Spaghetti Prawn Aglio Olio - $26

The description in the menu states succulent sea tiger prawns, and they really mean it! See,very big gigantic prawns hor? And there were at least 5 of them, filling the plate to the brim. Keke

Then again, they were not my favourite kind of prawn type. I'm very particular about prawns, I like those fresh prawns from the market which are succulent & sweet, size doesnt matter. But that's me lah, fussy as usual. If you are not so particular, the serving and generosity sure added points to this dish. =)

Dessert time again! This time we tried the Tiramisu (erm, I forgot to take note of the price though.. ). This was okay but I adored the molten chocolate much more. I guess there was no wow factor in the tiramisu, and there were no berries to "doll up" the dish! Hey, I'm a "visual" person. Hehe

They also have a wide range of wines, spirits and drinks here. Definitely a nice place to eat & drinks with your best pal! ^___^

Dun miss out the previous entry, click here!

Baking Fun!

2011-09-14T23:38:00.006+08:00

I'm gonna bake this!!! ^_____^

Photo credits: BakinCow

Unbelievable right?

Hey, I cant believe it myself also =p

Because I havent bake it yet!! And of coz, with the help of a teacher lah.

Me and my gal friends decided to do something feminine, ie to bake a cake. At least, it sounds more exciting compared to the normal dining, movies and shopping gathering. The best part? We get to bring the cake home! Actually, I wonder whether we can swop the cake we have made at the end of the lesson....

Teacher: Ok, swop mine first. Who want my cake?

Me: ME! ME! MEEEEEEEE!

LOL. I recalled during my school days, I had to bake a cake in one of the Home Econ exam. Can you believe it, my cake actually sank in the centre when I was using self-raising flour! Humpt, must be substandard flour! Heng, my mother was good at cutting shapes out from fruits which I brought to school to decorate the cake. And so, I cleverly hide the flaw by 'dumping' all the fruit in the centre of the cake. Talk about flexibility and witty huh? HAHHHHAHA

Anyway, I chanced upon Baking Calf and decided that it's worth a try. Firstly, the pictures are simply too convincing. Secondly, the price is the lowest among the few we checked. Hey, it may look kinda steep, but relatively it's cheaper. And if you book early or sign up as a group, you will get some discounts.

Some background...

BakinCalf programme is managed by BakinCow.com. BakinCalf conducts baking and cakes decoration classes for both adults and children in Singapore.

On the other hand, if you are not keen in baking, I'm sure you cant say 'no' to desserts and cakes. Well, at least most of us cant resist the temptation. If that's the case, why not check out BakinCow, who sells tofu cheesecakes & American carrot cakes.

Btw, I'm not paid to do this entry. Instead, I'm paying to attend the lesson hor, in case you are wondering.

My lesson is scheduled in November, so watch out for it! And dun droolz! Keke

Tea Cosy

2011-09-09T23:36:00.004+08:00

TEA COSY

Venue: Plaza Singapura, #05-10
Contact: 6341 9318

Website: www.tenthousandangels.com.sg

*********

I had passed by this shop numerous times, but had never stepped into it once. I always thought that it is just a place selling angelic figurines and unique furniture, with a little corner for tea & cakes.

Anyway, I decided to check it out after dinner for desserts. There seemed to be more chairs and tables for dine in, surrounded by angelic figurines & such. I was immediately drawn to its serenity & coziness. It was almost like a hidden garden in the boisterous shopping mall, totally unaffected.

Pretty figurines that were eye-feasting. Delicate & fragile...

I adored this one particularly, with the obvious dimples on the cheeks.

Food wise, they offered main courses & desserts. I have already decided to come back for the main course, probably with a nice storybook along. This time round, I had only room for desserts. Keke

"Ivory & Ebony"

Nice name for brownie & ice cream huh? =)

This was great for sharing, especially when the stomach was already quite full.

The usual brownie usually comes in bigger portion with just 1 scoop of ice cream. I kinda preferred the presentation here, with a mouth-size portion ( ok, maybe a few mouthful) accompanied with a comparable scoop on it. The nuts on it added on a crunchy texture. Nice one.

This was so so adorable, with the polka dot cup & saucer plus the little flower marshmallows. Taste wise, chocolate drink tasted chocolate, so what else to say? But the presentation definitely added points to it.

Finally, a nice gesture from the owner when we settled the bill ~ a bookmark to keep.

Saw this on the way out, the high tea, set lunch & dinner looked reasonable...

" I shall come back and try it!"

Busy scribbling on my note book..

Just a note, the place has 2 names - "Tea Cosy" for the meals & "Ten Thousand Angels" for the figurines. Both meant the same place, in case you cant locate it. =)

"Contributions" Needed!

2011-09-04T23:10:00.000+08:00

Harlow!

I'm planning for a Taiwan (Taipei & nearby) plus a Italy + Switzerland F&E trip next year. All recommendations (places of interest, food, accommodation, transport) are most welcome (& needed)!

Comment/email me okie? Thanks a great deal! ^_^

Hokkiado Tibits... in Singapore!

2011-09-02T23:33:00.001+08:00

Can you believe it? I bought tibits for $50... I'm a super gigantic carrot. >.<

But, they were different mah.. Potato chips & Kit Kat!!

*-_____-"*

Erm.. they were from Hokkiado!! And the best part? I bought it in Singapore. Authentic Hokkiado tibits, okay. Dun play play!!

Potato strips from Potato Farm

I didnt get this when I was in Hokkiado, and my colleagues were raving that they were super nice, so I was tempted to try it myself!

There were 8 - 10 packets in a box, cost about $20+. Taste wise, it had this strong soya (not soya milk, but soya sauce!) taste with the first bite. Kinda weird. It was crispy alright. Then again, too expensive to warrant a second purchase. But I dun mind eating it again if it's free though... Hohoho

Have you seen so many Kit Kat flavours before? I just have to try it, even though they cost about $2 each. I bought the assortment package, 12 flavours altogether.

Dun understand the japanese character, so I sort of conclude the flavour by looking at the pictures lor.. hehe

There were nice flavours like almond jelly, blueberry cheesecake, normal cheesecake, pear; weird flavours like orange with wasabi, chilli, brown tea and of coz normal flavours like strawberry and melon.

Overall, novelty was great for me to make the first purchase but didnt last long enuff. Coz after trying a few flavours, I dun feel the urge to try anymore. Flavours were unique, but then afterall, they were just chocolates. So hey, tried once is good enuff for me. =p

Hosted on the Patio

2011-08-24T00:00:00.006+08:00

HOSTED ON THE PATIO

Venue: 991B Alexandra Road #01-10 S(119970)

- Opposite NOL

Contact: 6276 7337

Website: http://www.hosted.sg/

Welcome!

I wanted to make the pictures nicer by adding a white border, but I guess white border doesnt really help much huh? Luckily, the pictures are good on their own.. keke

*Scribble a note ~ Remember to use black border next time! *

*********

My bf just bought a car, so I wanted to find a dining place that is NOT accessible by mrt!

Dun scratch your head okay? There is no typo mistake and it's perfectly logical.

You see ar, if the place is accessible by mrt, why drive and waste money? I'm trying to help my bf to spend more meaningfully. It makes 101% sense to drive to somewhere inconvenient rather than one that is accessible. =p

And that's how I "found" Hosted on the Patio ^_^

A secluded restaurant tucked in the Central part of Singapore. If not for the address, I would never know that such a restaurant exist amongst the commercial offices!

Before I go on, I must stress that I just ate a bowl of ramen at Illuma before going to Hosted and we meant to have just snack and desserts. Somehow, we ended up ordering a salad, a pasta and a dessert and finished everything on the plates. Trust me, whatever I'm going to say / type later, are heartfelt words! Keke

Our Menu for the Day!

Not a lot of variety, but good enuff to give you a choice, without giving you a headache of what to order. *Grinz*

Atlantic Crab Salad - $16

This was recommended by a reviewer at HGW and I must say, it was good!

The presentation was feasting for the eyes. I have never seen such a colourful dish that immediately whet my appetite ( remember, I just ate a bowl of ramen?). It was so pretty that it was almost sinful to "disturb" the greens.

I liked the part of adding cherry tomato and tangerine to the salad, which added a natural sweetness to the salad, not to mention the cheerful colours. Although I cant really taste the crab meat coz they were in small pieces, at least we were able to spot them. Not like some other places, where you cant even see the crab meat and you will feel so cheated coz of the premium price paid, very familiar right? Overall, this was a great dish to start off and made us so excited for the next dish!

*Rubbing palms together* Hee

Smoked Duck Linguine - $24

I love this! I'm dying to eat this again......... *Droolz*

There were so much ingredients in one dish ~ smoked duck, asparagus & mushroom. For once, I needed to "find" the linguine in a pasta dish. And after we finished the linguine, there were still so much ingredients! Really worth the price and serving was good for sharing for 2.

The smoked duck was done so perfectly ~ not dry & remained chewy with a nice smoked aroma that teased you for more helping. The asparagus, like a supportive actor, sliently added crunchiness to balance out the dish without taking away the glamour of the main star. Overall, super marvelicious! *Droolz again*

Molten Dark Chocolate Fondant - $14

WOW. It was good.

That was the exact statement I made after we devoured the dish in silent mode. Aiya, where got time to talk. The minute a person talk, it will mean an extra spoonful by the other person. And yes, that's how competitive we are when we eat good stuff. =p

I like my molten chocolate to be slightly crispy on the outside and not too moist. That was exactly how the chocolate fondant here tasted like. With a little cut, the dark chocolate oozed out uncontrollably, which simply melted in the mouth. The ice-cream was undeniably , a great match, with the molten chocolate. A must try for chocolate lover!

I'm done with the food! Are you game enuff to continue with a tour around the place? I hope so!

*Breathe in, breathe out*

The place is very spacious, giving ample privacy for every diners, which is precious in Singapore where most restaurants are cramped due to limited space. And if the weather is breezy, you can choose alfresco dining too.

The restaurant is decorated with paintings of this lady with a "o" mouth. Haha, injection of some humor huh?

Bar Counter

Alfresco Dining

Lastly, I must commend the service. The serving staff was very attentive. They would serve your course one by one rather than all together ~ which mean food will be served at their optimal temperature. If you are wondering whether we needed to wait for the next dish. Your query is redundant, told you the serving staff was really attentive! They were pretty quick to clear our plates as well as serving the next dish. Thumbs up for the service!

I'm already planning for my next visit soon! What are you waiting for? ^_^

********

P.S Click here for more pictures.

Click here for more review.

Photo Teasers - Finally a "marvelicious" resturant..

2011-08-17T22:40:00.000+08:00

Stay tuned! ^_^

SMURF!!

2011-08-16T21:12:00.004+08:00

La,la, la, la, la, la ,la... =p

STOOPID ME

2011-08-11T23:01:00.001+08:00

I've accidentally deleted my post on my Tokyo Itinerary!!!!! >.<

*Bang wall*

WAHHHHHHHHHHH ~___~

*Bang wall again*

For those who have seen it before, good for you. For those who havent seen it, I will try to re-produce most of it... but you know lah, it wont be the same and probably not the best... But rest assured, that I will include all the reference links and directions...

*Bang wall again*

Give me some time.... SOBZZZZZ

Update: I've found the cache for my Tokyo post! Yeah! No need to reproduce, just copy and paste! ^_^

Skinny Pizza

2011-08-11T22:30:00.003+08:00

Warning! Please bear with the quality of the pictures, they were taken using my pathetic 3GS iphone.

On a side note, I think the lifespan of my iphone is up any moment now. It will switch off on its own, or I cant hear my caller etc. I really need iphone 5 to launch soon. When exactly is the iphone 5 coming out??? Grrrr *pulling hairs*

I met up with my gal fren at City Hall for a simple lunch and ended up at Skinny Pizza. Since its opening, this was the first time I was trying this! A bit slow, but hey there are so many new resturants sprouting up everywhere. It's almost a rat race, trying to catch up. Keke

Mushroom Pizza ~ $23

My fren is a vegetarian, so we ordered a non-meat pizza. Rare for me for not taking meat, ya I know.

Anyway, we ordered the Wild Truffled Mushroom, which was topped with roasted mushroom, truffle, garlic & parmesan cheese.

The pizza was considered pricy since there was NO MEAT at all! Then again, they threw in lotza mushroom and truffle. In fact, too much. *Shrugged*

The pizza can barely support the weight of the topping. It was paper thin that I almost thought I was just eating mushroom and truffle. I still preferred thin crust pizza with at least the crust still there??

The serving of the mushroom and truffle was really generous. It's probably good if the pizza is shared with more ppl. Since there was only the 2 of us, trying to finish half the pizza each, it became too overwhelming and a tad salty, especially when there was no crust to neutralise the taste. In the end, I had to waste food. =(

3 Side Dishes Combo ~ $15

We also ordered the combo side dish, which we can choose 3 out from the 9 items. You can also order the side dish on its own, priced at $6-$7 each. We decided on 2 of the Skinny Favourite (i.e Brie Cheese and Sweet Potato) and a prawn item to satisfy the carnivorous side of me. Hehe

Grilled Prawns with Califlower Cous Cous

This was passable. I was eating this merely because the prawns were considered semi meat. But really, there was only 3 miserable prawns, how to be satisfied?? =(

Seared Brie Cheese

I dunno what's brie cheese and being very "hardworking", I searched for the definition!

"Brie Cheese ~ A kind of soft French cream cheese; so called from the district in France where it is made, called also fromage de Brie. "

There you go, you have learnt sth today too! ^_^

This was really nice, in fact, reminded me of cottage cheese. The texture was chewy soft and came with nice grill aroma. It din't taste like the normal Kraft cheese, so it's worth a try, even for non-cheese lovers.

Sweet Potato Nibblets

As the name suggests, this was really a good nibblet and an alternative to the normal fries. I like!

Overall, I'm not attracted to the pizza. On the other hand, the side dishes are uncommon and probably something that I will get as snacks. Hmm, but I'm not too sure whether they allow take-away for their sides.

*********

SKINNY PIZZA

Venue: Raffles City Shopping Centre #B1-63/64

Contact: 6333 5069

Tumblr Account

2011-08-06T22:08:00.000+08:00

I've created a Tumblr Account! =)

*Point finger on the side bar*

I will be posting photos as and when I'm dining in a new restaurant or chance upon anything interesting. So hor, if I'm late on my entries, you can still view the photos! Keke

Tokyo Leisure 2011

2011-08-06T11:32:00.000+08:00

Photos uploaded! ^________^

Click "view all" to see the captions!

Oh ya, I added a new label "Itinerary" in the side bar, for the convenience of those who wanna take my itinerary as reference. Of coz, you can email me at funhideout@gmail.com for the itinerary as well.

Enjoy the photos and enjoy the long weekend! Yeah!

Tokyo - Free & Easy

2011-08-04T21:30:00.216+08:00

Travelling in Tokyo has never been easier. Trust me. It is almost idiot proof. Yes, even for us who dun speak Japanese other than arigato, sayonara, Mitsubishi and Toyota. =p

Oh well, there are people who said it's complicated due to its many different lines. But precisely of the many coloured lines, it makes travelling to most tourist attractions so accessible. All you have to do, is just to plan your route before jumping into a random train cabin and end up in a longer journey. After a while, you will get the hang of changing the lines to get to your destinations. =)

In Tokyo, it's mainly served by 2 main train companies - JR Lines & Metro Lines. Both are equally accessible to the usual tourist spots, so no particular preferences for me.

When I went Tokyo in February, there was this promotion going on ~> 2 way limousine airport bus plus a 2 day metro pass (unlimited rides) for just 6000 yen. Pretty cheap coz a one way limousine airport bus ticket alone cost 3000 yen.

I like to travel using the airport bus since it will send me and my luggage right at the door of my selected hotel. Of coz you must choose a hotel along its fixed routes lah, click here to see the full listing of the available hotels.

In this trip, we choose Shinagawa Prince hotel, which is nearer to JR Line. The last time we stayed in Sunshine Prince Hotel ( under the same group), which is nearer to Metro Line. Both locations are very convenient, so depend on your preferred train company lor.

In term of room size, Shinagawa is slightly bigger. For pictures of my room, see the slide show that I'm gonna post up soon right after this entry, once I finish with the captions, okie? Reason being, I wanna save my memory space here! Keke so I will upload most of the pictures in the slide show lor....

Here is a quick run through of the places I went:

1) Akihabara: A place meant for geeks with lotza electronic stuff and maid's cafes.

Direction: Akihabara Station

is served by the JR Yamanote Line, JR Keihin-Tohoku Line, JR Sobu Line, the Tsukuba Express and the Hibiya Subway Line. Suehirocho Station on the Ginza Subway Line is located around the northern end of the district.

Obviously, I'm not a geek...

*Pushing in the bridge of my black rimmed glasses*

Hey, we were there to "bio" ( stare, admire, stare and drool saliva, whatever you think it means) the cute japanese girls in maid costumes. I'm not lesbian lah, but I still like to look at pretty girls, just like looking at your favourite comic characters coming alive!

But to our dismay, we were told that there is a "entrance fee" to go into these cafes and that's excluding the minimal spending per head count! The worst part? We were not allowed to take pictures or rather, you need to pay also to take a picture. =(

Needless to say, we turned our back and decided that the comic characters are most suitable in the comic books.

However if you are interested and dun mind paying, you can consider Home Cafe, which has english-speaking maid and is just 5-6mins from Electric Town exit at Akihabara Station. Click here for more info!

So ya, other than having kebab for lunch, we didnt "accomplish" much here... keke

2) Odaiba: A place for food, sightseeing & shopping (Burberry, Agnes B etc) !

Direction:

By Yurikamome

The Yurikamome is an automated, elevated train with rubber tires, which connects Shimbashi Station on the JR Yamanote Line with all of Odaiba's attractions and Toyosu Station on the Yurakucho Subway Line.

By Rinkai Line

The Rinkai Line connects Osaki Station on the JR Yamanote Line with Shin-Kiba Station on the JR Keiyo Line, stopping at the Tokyo Teleport and Kokusai Tenjijo underground stations on Odaiba along the way. Some trains on the JR Saikyo Line continue to run on the Rinkai Line and provide direct connections between Shinjuku, Shibuya and Odaiba.

For more detailed directions, please click here.

For me, we took the JR line and alighted at Shimbashi Station, changed to Yurikamome Line and alighted at Odaiba Kaihinkeon so that we can start off with shopping at Aquacity and then do the tourist stuff, i.e photo taking of the Rainbow Bridge and then proceed to Palette Town for Ferris Wheel, Venus Fort (shopping again!) and Toyota Mega Web.

Rainbow Bridge

Picture taken on the train

AquaCity & Fuji TV Building

Nope, your eyes are not playing tricks with you. What you seen are the Statue of Liberty (replica) with Rainbow Bridge and Tokyo Tower all in a picture! Cool huh?

I never been to New York to see the Statue of Liberty and never expected to see one here at Tokyo, so it was really a pleasant surprise. Picture time! And I meant lotza pictures... Keke

Ferris Wheel & Venus Fort

I didnt go for a ride on the Ferris Wheel, but it looked really pretty with all lightnings on. So do try to plan your itinerary such that you will come here around evening time to catch all the night scenaries!

And to my pleasant pleasant surprise to the max, I found "Hello Kitty" here! It was crazy photo taking session time AGAIN! Hehe

Cute Hello Kitty Dispenser

Ah ha, heart shape candies! Sweetie to the max!!

I dunno whether this is a temporary Hello Kitty set-up or not, but it's located at the ground level. We happened to chance upon this place when we were walking toward the Toyota Showcase, which is right beside Venus Fort.

Toyota Showcase

Oh well, something for the boys. *Yawn* =p

But there were cute exhibits as well!

3) Disney Sea: A place for those who are really young and those who are young at heart :)

Directions: Tokyo Station JR Keiyo Line or JR Musashino Line. Get off at JR Maihama Station (South Exit)

Click here for the official site.

Ticket price at a quick glance

Mind you, the queue was really crazy. We were there at about 10plus in the morning, and the queue was oreadi winding =_=

Luckily, the ticker counters were really efficient and we got our tickets pretty fast.

The Disney Family

Minnie Mouse

As usual, hiao (aka vain)

Duffy the Disney Bear

No idea who is Duffy ?

*Slap palm.... busy google-ing*

Nah! Read the story here, dun be so outdated!

Apparently, all the japanese here at Disney Sea were crazy over Duffy & Shelley Mae (Ya man, this chap oso has a girlfriend). They were "wearing" the bears, hanging the bears on their bags, hp etc. To say that each of them has one Duffy bear is definitely an understatement.They were hanging like at least 2 to 3 bears lor..

Anyway, I gave in to the "temptation" and bought a pair as well. Well, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Okay, back to that Duffy in the picture. I queued for at least 30mins to take a picture with him. He was so cute and cuddling! When I tried to take picture of himself, he pretended to be shy and covered his eyes with his hands. But eventually, he gave me a good wave. *Grinz*

Bunnie

Dunno her name leh.. Oops

Goofy

4) Ginza: Another shopping paradise!

Direction: The most convenient stations for accessing the Ginza district are Ginza Station on the Hibiya, Marunouchi and Ginza Subway Lines and Yurakucho Station on the JR Yamanote Line, JR Keihin-Tohoku Line and Yurakucho Subway Line.

We chanced upon this bakery shop at Ginza area, which should be quite famous in Japan. Oh well, we saw a camera crew team there interviewing the staff! Must be good!

Erm, I dunno the exact location. Just show my blog to the locals? Maybe they can help to direct since they can read the Japanese word. The only "clue" I can give is it's not far from the station. Hmm, doesnt help much huh? Hahhahah

Indeed, it is good.

Especially, this one with cream and azuki beans. It was displayed near the entrance with a poster and so I reckon that it must be the "baker's recommendation", so I bought it lor. Aiya, I dunno how to read Japanese leh.

If you manage to find this bakery, must try this one hor! Thumbs up for it!

5) Asukusa: A place with lotza snacks and souvenirs to bring home. Or come here to draw a lot the japanese way. Whether you believe it or not, simply in the name of having some fun.

Direction:
Asakusa is served by the Ginza Subway Line, Asakusa Subway Line, Tsukuba Express and Tobu Railways.

From Tokyo Station
Take the JR Yamanote Line to Kanda Station and transfer to the Ginza Subway Line for Asakusa.

From Shinjuku Station
Take the orange JR Chuo Line to Kanda Station and transfer to the Ginza Subway Line for Asakusa.

For detailed direction, please click here.

Asakusa

Pretty snacks!

The first time I went Asakusa, it was during the Sakura period. The streets were lined up with Sakura and it was really pretty. While you eat and shop along the street, you can admire the pretty flowers too.

This time round, there were no more flowers but the crowd never seems to die down. Keke

6) Ueno/ Ameyoko: A place for admiring cherry blossom and market street shopping too.

Ueno Park direction: Ueno Park is just next to JR Ueno Station. Easiest access is provided by the station's "Park Exit"

Ameyoko direction: Along the Yamanote line tracks between Okachimachi and Ueno Station

Ueno Park

White Sakura

Pink Sakura

I went Tokyo in Feb this yr, of coz no Sakura lah. These pictures were taken when I was there in 2007.

The blossom period is pretty short so it really depend on luck whether you will get to see Sakura. I guess, we were pretty lucky and so are you, coz you are reading my blog and looking at these pictures now. Keke =p

Ameyoko

A different side of the typical Tokyo. Quite interesting place to walk around, the stuff here ranged from clothes to stalls selling fish eggs. There are so many different shops/stalls here, that we almost broke our legs to finish walking around the area.

7) Shinjuku / Kabukicho : The 'happening' place when night falls..

Direction:

From Tokyo Station

The frequently departing, orange trains on the JR Chuo Line (Rapid Service) from Tokyo Station to Shinjuku Station.

From Ueno Station

Take the JR Yamanote or JR Keihin-Tohoku Line from Ueno to Kanda Station, and then the JR Chuo Line from Kanda to Shinjuku

We dint really have time to walk around Shinjuju, our main motive was to check out Kabukicho ~ the red light district in Tokyo.

But I wanna recommend this restaurant called 天狗! I tried it the first time in Tokyo, the food was good and the pricing was reasonable too. Apparently it is a franchise restaurant so rightly, it can be found almost everywhere.

Sigh, when I saw it at Shinjuku, we oreadi had our dinner. And when we were searching for places for dinner, it cant be found anywhere. Grrr

So anyway, the restaurant is located near Shinjuku Station, along the way to walk to Kabukicho.

Kabukicho

We were here solely to check out the place, and not to patronize any of the shops. Firstly, we dun have the money and secondly, the boys were with the girlfriends. What can the boys do? Hohoho

Actually, there are male escorts for the ladies as well.

Well, the same theory applies. Firstly, we dun have the money and secondly, the girls were with the boyfriends. What can the girls do? *Shrugged*

But I was really excited about the male escorts and started to take pictures. Until, a well built guy walked up to us and started to chit chat with us. He actually told us to be careful and dun anyhow take pictures. All these escorts are taken care by the triads, who "petrol" the area, mainly those men in black.

Hey, we were just tourists and dun meant any harm and definitely, dun wan to get ourselves intro troubles. We heeded the advice and called it a day.

8) Harajuku / Meiju Shrine: A place where serene and hippy comes together...

Direction:

Harajuku Station is a station on the JR Yamanote Line, two stations south of Shinjuku and one station north of Shibuya (130 yen from either station).

Only a short walk from Harajuku Station is the subway station Meijijingu-mae Station, which is served by the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin Subway Lines. At the eastern end of Omotesando is Omotesando Station, which is served by the Chiyoda, Ginza and Hanzomon Subway Lines

Entrance to Meiju Shrine

Meiju Shrine

I didnt go Meiju Shrine this time around coz I went there before liao. I remembered that it was a long walk through the park before finally I saw the Shrine. Well, treat it as a morning exercise, do prepare to walk..... a fairly long distance. Keke

Told you we were lucky, we even saw a wedding couple when we were there! =)

Harajuku

This is the place where you can find youngster's stuff and if you are lucky, you may be able to catch a glimpse of japanese dress up in cosplay.

9) Shibuyu: Another shopping area!

Direction:

Shibuya Station is one of Tokyo's busiest stations. It is served by the JR Yamanote Line, JR Saikyo Line, JR Shonan Shinjuku Line, Hanzomon Subway Line, Ginza Subway Line, Fukutoshin Subway Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line, Tokyu Den-Entoshi Line, Keio Inokashira Line and the Narita Express.

There are simply too many shopping areas in Tokyo! Sigh, but I dun have enuff money leh...

This building called Shibuya 109, contains lotza young woman fashion boutiques. It's like far east square but clothes are much more prettier, quality are better but the prices are also more expensive.

We all love to look at the girls featured in Japanese Magazines. Here, you practically see those models in magazines every where, especially the sale girls. All so pretty and I love how they mix and match their clothes. Oh well, beauty comes with a hefty price. Hmm...

And there's L'occitane Cafe too! ^_^

There's something that I forgot to do when I was in Shibuya ~ to see for myself, the Hachiko Statue. *Sigh*

After I watched the movie Hachiko, I wanted to go and see the statue but I actually forgotten when I was there. Haiz.... A thousand regrets..

Okay, that sums up my Tokyo 4D3N free & easy trip. Hope you like it! Again, if you like to have my itinerary with the maps, drop me a comment!

Do check back here again, will be posting up the slideshow soon! =)

Wild Wild Wet

2011-07-30T13:49:00.003+08:00

As part of my company's benefits, I got free Costa Sands chalet at Pasir Ris - a 4D3N stay.

The chalet is pretty old, I think I still prefer Downtown East. Oh well, but it was free so no complaints lah. The room still comes with the basis like TV, kettle, fridge etc. I must say the fridge is quite big, can put in a lot of stuff. And they also helped us to change our towel everyday, like hotel service. Nice =)

Unexpectedly, I was also given entrance tickets to Wild Wild Wet @ Downtown East for 6 adults. Not bad huh? Keke

Out of goodwill, we gave away our extra 1 ticket to the first person in queue at the ticket counter. Imagine the lucky person's look. He looked so happy. Hey, we helped him to save $16 for 1 adult entrance ticket leh.

The place is not big, probably just need 3 hours to finish playing all the rides. We went on a normal weekend (ie. not school holidays) so the queue was okay.

The first time I was there, I didnt try this U shaped thingy so I was quite determined to try this. I took this picture while floating in the pool so it may not look as thrilling. But I say this is the best ride among the few here. It's like a combination of rollar coaster (when you slide from the highest point downwards) and viking ( you will swing to & fro before finally landed). Then again, we had to climb up the staircase with a heavy float to play this. By the time I reached the top, I was damn tired oreadi. They should installed something to transport the stupid float to the top mah. =_=

Anyway, I went with my new camera - Sony TX10, supposed to be waterproof. We took like a few photo and then it shut off on its own and cannot be restarted. When we took it back to Sony Centre to exchange, it revived itself.

Dubz Technology... * Slap palm*

Sometimes I wonder whether the camera has a life on its own, when I wanna exchange it, then it "came alive". When I wanna use it, it "played tricks" on me.... @#$%

To be fair, the colour looks vibrant with this camera. Bo pian, I shall give "it" another chance lor.

Okay, enuff of my crap. This entry is kinda boring huh? =p

Will come up with something better soon, ya? Enjoy the weekend while it's still around! Keke

Nepal Photos (update)

2011-07-26T23:10:00.003+08:00

Definitely the raw-est cut! No edit, no photoshop!

P.S Due to the some hiccups, will not be getting other photos liao.. *Sigh*