Hai ho hai ho..... its off to work we go!

I'm back in sunny, hot, humid, rainy and wet Singapore..... unwilling of course but what am I to do?

Eastern Europe
It was a wonderful 33 days with rather good weather (no blizzards) though a fog held up our plane for a short while. Mostly rather cheap actually except for train fares, even our sky europe budget airline ($90 incl taxes) from Sofia to Vienna is cheaper than some of the asian budget airline prices say from Sgd to Penang. Here are some of the highlights ( in order)

Germany
Dortmund- Christmas Markets
Bonn- Beethoven's House esp for FIL

Poland
Krakow- Wawel Castle (nothing fantastic), great snow!
Zakopane-Ski Town (we didn't ski)

Hungary
Din quite like the people there, rarely a smile and always grouchy
Budapest- Christmas Market, Castle Hill

Romania
Brasov-small piata (town square), Bran Castle (Count Dracula's Castle), Singaporean run guesthouse!
Bucharest-tallest Christmas tree in Europe (abt 20 storeys)

Bulgaria
Prob my favouritest country of all cos the people were friendly and hospitable and sweet
Veliko Turnovo- Fortress, great food, Hostel Mostel
Sofia- easy walking

Vienna
(stopover to Czech)

Czech Republic
Ceske Budejovice- Piata, Christmas Market
Ceske Krumlov- in 1000 places to see before u die, its a beautiful town with snow capped houses and little alleys for shopping
Plovdiv- Old Town with a couple of Romanian ruins
Prague- beautiful city, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, bought many stainless steel stuff

Austria
Salzburg-Sound of Music Tour, really exciting and enjoyable!!!! Really ex cos its central europe, not exactly eastern, Old Town,Christmas Markets etc

It was a fun trip, cold weather but its ok if you layer up with thermals and a down jacket. Most of the easten european countries are about to join the EU so prices are going up but its safer and not so remote. SOme countries are still rather poor for example in Bulgaria, the University professors earn abt 300 euros (abt SGD$600) .

More pics and travelogues to come!

Driving in Singapore
I hate the ERP. I hate carparks which are always full. I hate parking rates. I hate the road tax. I hate the insurance. I hate the nasty drivers on the road who wont give way. I hate the speed limit in the KPE. I hate the speed limits in general. I hate it when u have to filter out from a small road into the expressway. I hate it when people take a long time to park with a long queue at the back. I hate to top up my cashcard and watch it get beeped away at ERP gantries. I hate the increasing number of ERP gantries. I hate the CBD. I hate taxi's which stop at single lane roads. I hate the traffic jams. I hate the increasing number of cars on the roads. I hate people who dash across roads and people who talk their own sweet time to jaywalk. I hate non automated carparks where u have to stick your head out and shove in the cash card at impossible angles. I hate topping up petrol. I hate to wash my car. I hate it when it rains after I wash my car. I hate the birds after I wash my car. I love my car. I love driving. I hate driving in Singapore.

It Feels Like Its Christmas

Hello Hello!
Doesnt it feel like christmas? The rain, the gusty winds, the fresh air. Its almost here. I hope to have a white christmas. With some luck and lots of hope, I may just have it. Hahahahahahaha..... I'm dreaming of a white christmas...... All it needs is for the plane to hmmm... unethical but...... for the plane to be grounded in Frankfurt. (cross fingers) *blizzard blizzard* We'll be heading east to eastern europe, hopefully hitting Poland and its surrounds and hopefully passing by(with a night or 2) in Austria. More When I get back!

Bread
Found some time to bake. Had this strong urge to let out the bakeress in me. Since I dug out all my baking stuff, I thought I might as well bake 2 different kinds of bread. I made the Italian Ciabatta which is really easy to do with mainly instant yeast and olive oil and salt and the Jewish Challah, a soft buttery plait texture.

Ciabatta Dough

Challah Dough

Ciabatta in the Oven
Baked Challah

Ciabatta and Challah

SSC Rugby

After the Rugby World Cup I was inspired to behave like a rugger, especially when provoked... so beware! I love the game, its brutal yet classy in its own way. I think what I love most was that the guys are big (pity that not all are as good looking). Armed with my new Pana FZ18, with an 18x zoom and good image stabilizer, I managed to catch some real men in action over the weekend. It was just 7 a side, nothing like the full thing but there was some eye candy to be had (if u are single.... hahah) Since I am a (rather) true blue fan, I watched the game more than I took shots so I din get many. Here's one. We bought the shirts for abt $30 and got caught in the rain on Sunday.

Lei Garden

I have blogged abt this previously. Here are the photos of the yummy food.
Tan tart. This eggcustard pastry simply melts in your mouth. Its fantastic. 11/10!

Leisha (dont know the correct spelling) Tang yuan. Coated with peanut with an ooozy black sesame filling. The best!

More on Food and Rugby

Rugby!
Its the finals! Springboks vs the Roses. Habana vs Wilkinson. Since the All Blacks are out, I either have to look for another favourite team or choose a second favourite team. Hmmm.... which team has the next best Haka?

Hooked on Heads
Went to check out this place near Sin Ming. Saw it on ieat. The half head $18 came in a claypot. A little too sweet, no brinjal, got some kick but not enough to knock me out of my head or bring my entire family. The best is still at Bottle Tree. We tried their mee goreng too.... oklah. Nice simple clean ambience. $2 for parking. They have some sample menu for lunch which seems quite uuhua....
Fish head curry: 5.7/10
Mee goreng: 6.8/10
Ambience: 7/10
Return Factor: Naaahhh...but there were some comments on the mango sticky rice..... hmmm... mabbie for that......


Imperial Treasure
It was one of the rare times I went to a restaurant alone. (it really might be my first time alone in a restaurant) It was exhilarating. I felt like really good like a lau pan niang (it helped that I did lots of shopping before and was carrying lots of bags) .... Cos I get all the attention from the service staff and I have the huge task to choose what I want to eat without telling someone. I had xiao long bao and some soup. All four pieces were mine! Waahahaha it was yummy.... I think I was the only babe in the restaurant alone. So cool.... so therapeutic.... shd do that more often.
Xlb: 7.5/10 ( one piece broke with all the juices spilling out while still on the bamboo)
return: Definitely.... with... or without ... ss hahah muacksss...

O briens
Why oh why did I have a craving for it? I don't know... Just had to have it. But when we went there and I saw the menu I was like, well, can I get out of here? Anyway, I had this tandoori tortilla and ss had turkey cranberry. Not at all fantastic. Wished I went to Subway. Sighs....
Food: 4.9/10

Toast
I bet you dont know that there's this really cool deli behind Taka. Good wholesome stuff. The have all sorts of salads, sandwiches and cakes. Nutella cupcake etc etc. They have so many flavours which were all eye candy to me. I managed to resist the temptation of even remembering how yummy it looks. Been there before, don't know if I blogged about it. Anyway, was good.
Food: 7.8/10
Ambience:7.4/10

This Jap restaurant at Key Point (opposite Concourse)Ok admittedly, another place from ieat. I have been intrigued by this Wagyu beef thing and wanted to check it out. There was this grill like thing in the table and you can order meat/vege/seafood to grill or there is even a shabu shabu thing going on. So I tried the cheapest Wagyu beef ($16 something) and ss had this other beef thing. Quite fun to grill it over the stove. In total, with 2 meats, one mixed vege and one bowl of rice was about $60. Quite ex.
Food: 7.6/10 (go for the more expensive wagyu)
Return: Well..... hmmm..... rather look for a better place with wagyu.

Bakery
The arab street area is so glam. Love the ramadan lights. We checked out this eatery called Bakery. Tried the sticky date pudding and tiramisu.
Sticky date: Good combination, could still taste the dates and love the caramel sweetness on top. Not too sweet.8/10
Tiramisu: It tastes like a low fat version, no ooooppph. Light and unflavourful. Still like the one at da Paulo. 5/10
Return: No!

Tim's Cafe
This little Nepali run, mostly western food place at Toa Payoh. One of the cheapest western food with good quality and service. Very nice. The chocolate almond cake is moist and just right. Go there for Nepali hospitality and warmth. Chicken with lobster is only abt $15 something. In case you miss Nepal, they serve momos and pakora too.(I can make it!)
Food (for the price): 8.5/10
Ambience: Just nice, under the HDB, simple and functional.

All things Beautiful

Fav Shows
Kimora Life in the Fab Lane. I love the show, not necessarily how KLS (Kimora Lee Simmons) does things but interesting show. I like E! in general (saves me money from buying the $10+ tabloid magazines. Poor Britney and her kids. Forbes Million Dollar Weddings etc. Sigh, Life of the Rich and Fab......

Latest Toy!
LK bought me a Panasonic FZ 18! How did I know he bought it for me? He had no interest whatsoever when we were at Alan Photo. We ( I actually) was out to by the Canon S5, done my research on dpreview and steves and decided to get out of the Panasonic leash and get a Canon. But when I tried it out, I felt the stabilization aint as good as my FZ10 Panasonic. The feel wasnt right and the imaged that I viewed wasnt vivid enough for me. S5 cost about $715 or so. I din wanna regret so I asked about the Panasonic FZ18. LOVED IT. Absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It has 18x zoom, 8 megapix, intelligent iso and many other easy to use features what I discovered later on. Bliss! It cost only $650 and I bought a 4gig SDHC (high speed card) It can take almost 2k of photos! Bought a spare battery and adios I'm all set for...... well, many places actually.... we're between Israel, Vietnam, China, Hokaiddo, Australia, US, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Syria, Africa etc... ALLL I wanna do it all!!!!

WarakuAt East Coast
Fantastic meal with the family on Hari Raya. It was so super crowded but the wait was worth it. I tried this Beef Soba with Sesame dressing. Din't feel like something creamy but I had this THING to try it. like MUST try.... after I did, well, a bit rich, even for me who is trying to cut on all things creamy and rich but once you had a couple of bites its kinda nice. The natural creaminess of sesame seeds goes pretty well with the soba and beef. A definite MUST try for Cabonara-like pasta lovers. Kinda like the Cabonara Inspired Japanese noodle sauce. The menu was extensive and will definitely have to return with my colleagues!

Ok so were going to the park for a walk.

Adios!

Remind me to blog about Beauty products and such the next time ok.

Rugby World Cup and Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

1) Remember how in Sec school or JC when we took MCQ papers and had to shade those nasty little boxes with a 2B pencil. Well, those are called optical mark sheets. It marked by a special machine attached to the computer. Very easy to use and very fast and efficient. Error rate of 0.5%, took only one human being to churn out answers for 250 scripts in less than half an hour. Cool huh..... Well, it aint cool when the school only has one of those machines and it BREAKs down just when the exams are in. What a joke! Where's all my taxes going to? Sigh......

2) Starhub Digital Cable!
Ok, so I'm a new convert, slow but at least i got it already! I love the Discovery Home and Health. Downsize me!!!! Its a great show. I wanna be on it. Anyone knows how? I love it how some of those overweight people go for a surgery and lose weight so quickly!!! I mean, whats the point of dieting and exercising? Check out AFC, its sooooo incredibly boring except for out local Makansutra programmes. They should have runs and reruns of Jamie O and Nigella forever, that would keep the viewership up!

3)Rugby World Cup!
Adopt me All Blacks!!! I can be the ALL BLACK mascot...... wah hahahahah... ok, after my 12pm suntan in Bali, Chao tar is one of the best terms to describe me. Rugby is such a cool game, the guys really really go out to get the ball, I mean they whack, chase and hug each other all at the same time. Talk about team bonding! Compared to soccer,where there is a lot of pretense and juvenile pushing and referee challenging, this holigan's game, played by gentlemen (rugby) is full of heart and soul.The passionate hakka or war dance before the game is as intense as their desire to win. I have only one word for soccer..... koo niang...... Wah hahahahaha

4)Relax Urban Haven
Aiyo! That place was like a nursery! THe ambience for a facial is awful! the therapist was talking on the phone while massaging my face! NO face mask used of course! SHe was scolding this kid who refused to wear shoes and it was a nightmare! I was more tense than relaxed..... at the sound of a child's voice! I mean, people actually have to get away from children to chill out and here I am, paying good money for a facial with a kid! If I wanted to chill out with kids, I just have to drop by my cousin's house for 5 mins and I would be satiated for days! Never will I go back there again. Its in Kensington, at Serangoon Gardens by the way.


5) Singapore Women's Weekly Turns 10!
Oh How i love the magazine..... Congrats! I'm a faithful, addicted fan!

6) Coconut Oil
Have you read abt the miraculous benefits? I neednt say more! Google it!

7) Silk Air Flies to NEPAl!
Man!!!!! It brings Kathmandu and EBC closer to home! Yeah right, as though I'll ever trek there. Hey bro mabbie you can go to Nepal?The babes there are sooo pretty.....!

8) Google Earth
I'm soooooooo hooked on it. I travel the world in the comfort of my home. ITs sooooo cool!

9) Did I mention I bought a Canon Selphy?
I Print Print and Print and Print and Print and Print.... you get the idea.... Good buy!

10) Dempsey
Jones the Grocer! Over the hill, over the limit, account bursting, bank breaking grocery shop! But its sooooo cool.... they have the all natural pink sea salt.... the saltiness bursts in your mouth with just a pinch of it (there are samples) they have all sorts of stuff, middle eastern candy, great cuts of meat, sauces,jams, chocs, pasta...

Culina: Another upmarket, Angmorean grocer. So check it out your self

Ben and JErrys!! Great decor!


Restaurant Review
Lei Garden, Cantonese food
Food rating:
Eggtart 11/10, the bestest bestest bestest ever! ir was small enough to fit in your mouth and the pastry simply melted when it touched the warmth of a human mouth! Graciousness..... lovely loveli lovveeellleeee

Char Siew Bao: 8.7/10 The filling was juicy with sauce made from good stock and the meat was so so good..... puts many GuangZhou resturants to shame. The dough of the pau was so soft and springy...... heavens!!!!

Liesha tangyuan: 9/10 THe warm black sesame paste just oooooooooozzzzzzzed out with one small bite and the glutinous ball is so soft and springy...... you have to try it......

Ee Fu noodles: 8.8/10 Well fried and simple yet flavourful. the green chilli is an excellent accompaniment.

Fried Carrot Cake: 8.9/10 A subtle hint of fragrance adds to the exquisiteness of this dish. CAN I BE AN OFFICIAL FOOD REVIEWER????????? excellent excellent excellent..... if it came with a complementary sauce, I'll gladly bump up my rating to 10/10.

Ambience: Classy!
Price: Pricey but it was a treat! Double the yumms!

Happy Mooncake Festival.... Can you see Chang er and the Rabbit?

Bali Lagi

Hey Brotha! Great to hear from you again! Here is more of Bali to entice you! Weather was hot from 12-2pm. Unbearable! So its wise to stay indoors or chillout at one of the backpacker inns. You can always go for a spa or a foot massage.

PLaces to Eat in Bali
1) Dulang Restaurant
Its right next to Matahari Restaurant. ONe of the best places for Banana juice. The creamiest ever. I had the beef salad with eggplant and it was yummi!
Ambience was nice.

2) Sendok Restaurant
Its along the stretch of Kuta Beach Club.Cheap and the portions were huge! Try their nasi campur.It came loads of great stuff.

3) Warung Wulon and Treehouse Cafe
Many of these tiny restaurants have this banana goreng, or pisang goreng as we are more familiar with. Great stuff with honey or vanilla ice cream and another banana juice.

One thing to clarify, its not banana smoothie, its really banana juice. They just blend the bananas and some ice.

4)Many places along Poppies Gang 1 and 2
There are tonnes to restaurants, warungs, cafes, etc along these two which are full of Ang moreans ( you know like SIngaporeans so... Ang Moreans.....Learnt this from a student)



5) Indo National at Legian

PLace was recommended by Lonely Planet (LP) but wasnt very fantastic. Run by Aussies.



Shopping

Everywhere there are shops! There is this mall called Discovery Center with Krispy Kreme Donuts (tonnes better than Dunkin) THey gave each of us a whole donut as a sample. IT was hot and ooooohhhh so goooooddd....... not surprisingly we whacked like 6 diff flavours. Each is damn good!


Lots of Pasar Senis (agglutintation of shops selling t shirts and beach wear), some really expensive shops selling designersstuff etc

Kuta Beach

Sunset in Kuta




Kecak Dance by the Cliffs of Uluwatu
Banana Juice at Indo-National



Beef Salad with eggplant at Dulang

Bali

Bali

Wonderful place to chill out and bum by the beach.

Here are some highlights of our trip

1) Stayed at the hotel with the bestest pool view of Kuta beach. I neednt say more. Mercure Kuta was a pool on the fourth floor which overlooks the sea and i tell u it is the bestest place ever! Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! Just a tiny road away from the best and right next to Hard Rock (whose rooms arent that hot)

2) Surfing

And I dont mean just bodyboarding! We really took lessons to ride the wave! Just dont imagine the hawaiian pipes and huge waves but it was damn fun! Push yourself up, jump up and place one leg in front and look like a surfer! Thats it!



3) Shopping!

there are very few people, according to the locals, the tourist number has dropped after the 2002 bombings. Shopping was good, practice my bahasa with an indonesian twang and a big bright smile and enjoy bargaining. You win some you lose some but have fun! A spag strapped knee length cost abt $7 sing. A sarong for about $2-3. Coffee is a good buy!

4) Uluwatu

We went to watch the Kecak Dance at Uluwatu. Its right by the cliff simply breathtaking. Lets see if I can upload a shot video of it here.

Kecak Dance at Uluwatu, Bali

5) Food!

Bali has plenty of food! My favourite is the banana juice that is everywhere! Bali is known for their Nasi Campur, Mie Goreng and Grilled Seafood. Super good and cheap!

6)Babi Guling

Apparently there is this very good place near ubud so we hired a car and went out to check it out. It aint as great as Sitoh or Bourdain claims. Its at a place called Warung Ibu Okra. Give it a miss i would say!

Travel Details

We took Valueair and the whole trip of 5 nights with hotel transfer and one halfday tour and hotel with breakfast is $600 per px. Highly recommended to go and chill out. When I was there, I completely left my typical work mode behind and chilled out! IT was superb! Valueair is superb too! They have comfy leather seats, which are more comfy than the normal airlines, serve some food and give you a place to sit, so you dont have to scramble like other budget airlines.

I'm Alive!

Hey beautiful!

I've been busy with life- enjoying it or otherwise. Went for a happy family getaway to Malacca over the hols. It was fantas! Stayed at Hotel Equatorial, had the best roast in the entire world, some pathetic shopping at Mahkota, had a good getaway from the annoyances and disturbances of Singapore.

Before I post pics here's some updates

1) Bought Canon Selphy 730
Its the best thing! Great photo printer, excellent quality prints, cheap too! The best things in life can be found at home (except for the roast in Malacca)

2) Pepper Lunch
Great interesting place to dine but seriously doubt it will last, the franchise will crash like Orange Julius.

3) Secret Hideout @Fairway near Eng Neo
Truly a place where there are more horses than people! A hidden gem with fabulous ambience pity the food aint fantastic.

4) Friends from Sikkim
Who has the privy of having the sweetest people of Sikkim (Yuksam) stay at your place? Had the most fantastic time when they were here. They made us Nepali cuisine, pakora, momo, hand made marcaroni. Miss them already. Night Safari was marvellous!

5) Cracked Windscreen
As luck would have it a pebble ripped my windscreen, thank goodness it was covered by my insurance.

6) Tennis Open
Can you believe it? Forget abt taking part, I'm organising one! You dont need play like a pro to organise one. :) Fun!

7) Weddings and Babies!
More on the way! What a beautiful year! Did I mention baby Zain? Such a darling! Quick have one more Az! Can't wait to see Chloe too!

8) Online cakeshops!
Chocabloc has fantastic fudge cake. 727 has the best durian cake. Nuf said!

9) Durian season
All you durian freaks! Durian season is almost over...... grab the best from 717 (no commission)

10) Ghost festival
Bought a couple of ghost story books from Malacca. Not bad. Othman Wok has really interesting Asian horror stuff!

11) Mooncake Festival!
Shd I make mooncakes? Hmmmm.......

12) Another Getaway!
The the land of mystery and charm, best sunsets and beaches. To an island I have been several times...... to Uluwatu and beyond! More pics coming soon!

till then..... it aint the end of the world till you've seen it all........

Xinjiang

Yo Yo!

I'm back from my 20 day trip to Xinjiang. Here's a quick summary

Urumqi

Niftty metropolitian city with a large dose of central asian people. Its more of the Muslim capital of China where plenty of halal food and muslim people abound. But there are large populations of Han chinese too actually but they respect the area by not having pork in the chinese restaurants. Their dumplings are usually mutton or chicken. So cool huh.

Urumqi

The city has been ambushed by several branches of the French Carrefour and can be rather touristy. After a day we went on a 3N4D tour to Kanas Lake way up north of Xinjiang, near this little town called Buerjin. We had to take a local tour and had to face the idiosyncracies of the locals to name a few bad/annoying habits was spitting, trying to get out of paying for tickets, talkeing really loudly, not being punctual we waited up to 1hr for some of them, being plain rude, smoking in the dining area and many loud complains. Of course some were nice and friendly.

Kanas Lake wasnt impressive but the park that led up to it was beautiful, its hard to remember that you are in China, the developing country full of construction and demolition. It was like a beautiful countryside view of Switzerland/New Zealand and Alaska. So breathtaking!

On the way to Kanas Lake with Mongolian Yurt

Kanas Lake from the Top

Kashgar

From Urumqi we took an overnight train to Kashgar. Even the hardsleeper (2nd class) (has cushion lar and quite comfy... dont be mistaken by the name) is better than the Indian trains. Clean and the food on the train was not too bad and cheap!

Kashgar had a stronger muslim influence with buildings of Pakistani-Indian-Turkish designs. Still citylike, no carrefour but its developing pretty fast. Some of the best sites here are the IdKah mosque and the food! Lamb kebabs and my favourite Polo which is like briani without the yellowness of rice and curry. Food is cheap too! Unlike Turkey where Muslim restaurants still serve alcohol, the muslim population here is pretty strict. The women are beautiful, with fair skin and central asian/chinese features.

Kashgar

Mutton Seller along the street

The famous Sunday Market was somewhat of a letdown, it has modernized good for them i guess..... Gone are the shops off the donkey carts and mud encrusted walkways. Its was replaced by a huge sheltered market and concrete paths. Nothing very exciting to buy except bales of clothes, souveniors and local household tools etc, lots of spices and dried fruit.The Livestock market was a cool site with goats and cows lined up directly infront of kebab stalls!

Hami Melons! Xinjiang is famous for their rock melons and grapes and pears. All sweet and super juicy!

Turpan

HOT! It was about 40 degrees celsius! But we visited the best sites here. Tuyoq a little muslim village, Flaming mountains (Journey to the West), Jiaohe ruins (desert city ruins with historic value), Karez (ancient irrigation system which is ingenious!). We basically had every single meal at John's Cafe.

Tuyoq

Urumqi(Tien Chi)

Abt 2hrs away from the city was a Heavenly Lake. We stayed overnight at a Mongolian Yurt by the lake, far from civilization and had authentic homecooked meals. I has one of my best sleeps there and the stars were amazing! The lake was ultra gorgeous. Took tonnes of shots.

Tienchi

Mongolian Yurt by the lake where we stayed

Guangzhou

Boring place. Definitely not a shopping mecca. Food aint great no matter what the comparison is to Hongkong.

Will show you more pics next time!

Cheerios!

is

Photos at Last!

Ok So I have finally been able to down load some photos.

Here' some from India.

This is Cheongsam. Sweet little darling who went around everywhere with us the first time iwent to Yuksam. Now she's nine and we hardly see her ard!

Arent the kids cute!

One of the traditional bridges that you have to cross to get to Dzongri. It supports many yaks and dzoes and other heavy stuff. Not too bad for a rickety bridge. Just have to recall some scenes from Indiana Jones if anything goes wrong.....




View of a snow capped mountain along the trek to Dzongri. Beautiful isnt it? Doing the same trek for the second time has its priviledges too....... It's like going down memory lane again...... with the horrors and the wonders of it all......



Howrah Bridge in Calcutta...... the park on the right is really very English and superbly well maintained compared to the immediate surrounding of the park.

Almost in Heaven

Hey babes/dudes

Its slowly easing towards the holidays...... but but but.... still have work to do during the hols..... for the first and last week at least.....

Sat with the Babes
It was absolutely therapeutic to be with best babes! We have a new babe in our circle... a charming sweet gorgeous darling who dazzles with her most adorable smile! We bought breakfast from the gourmet stretch at Frankel of sausages, ham, eggs, brioche, quiches, eclairs and not to forget the utmost impt caffeine fix. So fun to buy food!

Went to the seaview apt by the sea... where else........ a dreamview! Yen cooked us breakfast! The rare few moments she dons on her apron for us. Played with the baby.... she cant stop smiling at me! So cute... she even tries to smile at me in the middle of a yawn.... so cute right! Played Citadel, this card game. Pretty fun! About gold coins, magicians, kings, castles and stealing... heehee.... Kidnapped the little darling for a bit for a photoshoot by the beach then went back for another round of bridge and tai tee. So fun! Ber's back too! What a coincidence!

Spiderman 3
Well put, good plot, a bit draggy, soapy at times but it had more dimension than the first 2 parts.
Love Tobey! So if you wanna know how guys can be so duh.... (even spidy) watch the first 15 min or so to find out..... How can they not know what they did wrong?

Mitch Albom
Great writer. Loved Tuesdays with Morries but For One More Day and 5 people you meet in heaven, basically the same style... same tone... most will find the connection and relate to the books cos its about life after death....in a nice family atmosphere. Will I read more of his books? Would be good if he could bring out more of his comedic side to the living world......

Pine Garden
One of the best cakes I had in Singapore. They have lychee martini cake and one of the best blackforest cakes! Good stuff! I think Ikea orders their cheesecake from them.

More babes
Cant wait to see Zain! :)

Its back to work and nurturing my white hairs till the hols!

Eating in Action!

Hello Hello Hello! Missed me? Been working and eating and celebrating! The Months of April/May was a Month of Feasts!

There was
1) my cousin's Birthday at Mouth restaurant at Toa Payoh
- food not very fantastic

2) My dad's birthday at Jumbo Serangoon Country Club,
8/10!

3) preMother's day Celebration at Guan Hin at Whampoa West,
-Ah Hoi is much much better! 7.4/10 but the Ornee is dam good! And I had kuayteow with chai po for the first time!

4) Dinner with Relatives at No Signboard@Oasis
-Steamed prawn was awesome!

5) Checking out the much hyped Chili Crab and Crab Vermicili in superior sauce at Seafood Paradise in Defu Lane 10
-oklah... waited like 1 hr! Crabs are good but it comes second to the chili crb at No signboard at Geylang. crab in vermicili is ok la. Overall, 8/10

6) Checking out another supposedly famous Chili Crab at Ban Seng at Casuarina Road
- ok lah.... 7.5/10

7) Checking out the new italian restaurant in Serangoon Garden
- pasta wasnt good (5.5/10) and the pizza isnt fantastic but good... you know... like nothing special but got standard la (7/10). tiramisu (4/10) was overpriced and i think Pasta freca's is much much much better!


8)) Bring Mil and Fil to Soup Restaurant to try the Samsui Chicken
- samsui chicken is so so so good!

I have 2 more places to try out crabs before I semi retire from the crustacean menu.
Sin Huat and the place in Makansutra in Matter road. On a quest for the best!

Well, still busy with work but as it seems to get lesser, it suddenly gets more hectic.

More on Cakes!
1) Choc a Bloc
-Very very very good chocolate fudge. They have a website www.chocabloc.biz all the way in the lovely eastern hemisphere of our tiny island. But be warned, they do not have ready made cakes and pastries avail on hand.... you have to order online or give them a call.

2) Pine Garden
Lychee Martini and Blackforest cake! I have a couple more in the fridge (ration) and will tell you how yummilicious it is. www.pgcake.com

Amidst the huge popularity of the durian cajes at goodwood, I have yet to try it! I will make my way there as soon as I can get away to check it out.

Till Then, may the force be with you.

By the way, anyone wants a sofa for free? Look for the photo one of my past blogs. Really free. But you have to carry it yourself. Offer while stocks last. Sofa only ah......http://evielovestotravel.blogspot.com/2007/01/for-sale.html

Untitled

Cant think of a title. Just wanna blog some thoughts.

1) True Horror
Watched the episode on demons last night. Interesting. They interviewed a priest supposedly the head of exorcism in the Vatican, the world of Catholics. Famous demons, satans whose names i shall not mention here. God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Eucharist, Holy Water, Priests they seem to be afraid of. So, there is a God. Must there be demons to prove it? There are many Gods or just one? Aliens? I'm open to different religions. Having said that however, having grown up knowing only one. Having believed only one. Yet open. Yet disbelieving in the existence of some but yearning only one. Hard to understand me eh? I think, after thinking about it, I dont disbelieve in some but I love only one. Can understand better? Lets not go there.

2) MatchPlay
Sure, I can hit the bloody green ball, 60% of the time during rally, 90% of the time during drills but like only 5% of the time during match play. My serves are getting better, at least I dont just pop the ball in, I actually try to hit it flat or spin it. Whatever. Just need to serve 100 balls a day. Right. Matchplay anyone? A partner a day keeps the bad balls at bay. Har har har har

3) Zain!
Congrats Az darlin! Havent seen your first born yet. Wasnt feeling well the past week and din wanna pass on strange germies to him. Gonna see you soon ok. You take care and hang in there!

4) Bro
Hey bro! Just thinking about you. Hows life? Any new inventions for me to try?

5) Heros!
Have you caught it yet? The most interesting show ever. I realised I like supernatural/unhuman like shows like Charmed, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Batman, Ghost Whisperer, Shutter. The human imagination and creativity which extends beyond our dimension. Cool. I mean besides thinking of what I'll do if I ever strike TOTO, thinking of things like flying and becoming invisible is like ultimate.

Alright housework calls.

TILL THEN... dONT MISS ME!

In and About in Singapore

I wish I could say OUT and about of Singapore. Out of this puny island is really the place to be. Though Singapore is a home, it seems more like a money making place. I stay to make money. I need More SpAce!

Drive
the more we drive ard singapore, the smaller the puny island seems to be. For example, from our place to Lim Chu Kang ( no counting speed limits) is about 25 mindrive. from our place to Jurong Fishery Port is also abt there ( midnight, no traffic). From our place to neo tiew is also abt the same. BORING!!

I love the long drive, where you take turns to drive, stop over for lunches, stay at motels for a night, go up to 140km/h, no stupid drivers to block your way, stop at supermarts along the way to buy groceries, dont have to carry your bagpack (can buy as much as u want), fill up petrol at some isolated gas station, stop by rivers and mountainsides to savour a packed lunch, nap by a lake, waking up to a breathtaking view, wind down windows cos the air is fresh and cool, ample car service stops along the way. I dream I dream I dream I wish I wish I wish, I do I do I do ( as in really do it one day)

Jurong Fishery Port
Imagine the huge fishes that u see while scubadiving/on tv etc dead, in huge packs lying on the ground. Dead, fresh fish, sotong, prawns, crabs, stingray, sharks!! yes!! there were sharks with the fins removed!!! the smell, the sight and the sounds are all awesome! the drivers came with huge trucks and containers of mostly frozen produce, some were alive, like crabs etc. Go at midnight or 1-3 am. Closed on Mondays. Recommended in City Scoops (whose office is in Wessex Estate) they have a cash card system too. blah

Ice cream!
Been making my own, Nigella's recipes are great! Baci Icecream! bought the Ben and Jerry's recipe book. Anybody wants some ice cream?

Well, thats it for now folks!

All in a month's work

Hello hello! Okie so I have not been updating my blog. my entry on "overloaded" shd be self explainatory. There are good times and bad. Shall update as I remember them ok so in no particular order:

Birthday Party
Celebrated my 24th (again!!!) with the entire family at Ah Hoi at 10 Mosque Street. Great old fashioned teochew restaurant. Meal was good for 10 ppl and 2 kids ( the biggest one, literally, is no longer a kid). We had roast, braised goose, birthday noodles, etc to name a few. the highlight was definitely the roast. And what i liked best was that there was no corkage charge on wine and champagne! So we had lots to drink! Guiness (yuck), beer, red wine and this really dessertish(sweet)champagne. it cost about $377. Thanks mummy! :)

SPI
Read the SPI files and even signed up so that i can read in the forum. Interesting book though it needs an editor. Shd read it. Have a few tales to tell too. go check it out www.spi.com.sg

Choupinette
Great french cafe near bukit timah. 607 bukit timah if i recall correctly. next to coronation plaza. their eggs benedict is ultra super delish! but ex! about $18 for 2 pieces, with juice and coffee. the moment i saw it i started whacking without taking a pic! so I have to go back again. when we went there, Pete's Creation were doing a film on the food. My goodness the female host is ultra bimbotic. The guy, Randall or something i suspect was from Kent Ridge Hall in NUS. He has a twin brother. Anway, when the set ppl called quiet! MIL dragged the chair... hahah..... so they had to redo a scene. HAHAHAHAHA..... but the choc eclair and the pastries were exceptional!

Food: 8/10 they have lunches too!
Service: 8/10 good looking guys ( for the young girls to drool on)
Return: Definite!
Ambience: simple with a touch of french elegance.
Try: eggs benedict and every single pastry they have!

takashimaya
By many strokes of luck, my cousin and sil gave taka vouchers! yeah!


Lim Chu Kang (farmmart)
So we drove to Lim chu Kang. Nice drive. Discovered many end roads in Singapore. Qian Hu is there, smells really kampungish. interesting. farmmart is an interesting place with all the farm produce and live animals were u can fish etc. will go again! :)

Kranji(Neo Tiew Cresent area)
I prefer this farm area to Lim Chu KAng actually. Near Sungei Buloh Wetland reserve and the surrounding area you can buy fresh veg, fish, etc. Bolly wood veggies have really good food. Love to drive through that area. however, dont go to :

Petals and Leaves
Service is awful! Some Waiters are blur(no one cute) food menu is limited. No proper system. food is not fantastic. Hot place.

Little Bali
Lock Road, hidden from the world is little bali. It has a bar and slightly further down a che zhar place. Great seafood. Nice little food court too.

Biopolis
You would think that state of the art or new buildings would have a decent ERP carpark payment system (where u just drive though without having to align your car near the cashcard machine and do an upper body stretch to fit the card into the machine etc). Dear dear. You'll be surprised. Cashcard parking( and its not just for malaysian cards!!!) buildings are nice, state of the art with interesting names like matris, chromos, neuros etc. all the offices boast state of the art or latest techno on life sciences...... food aint that fantas. Western food in the food court is lousy. the only thing i liked was that the food court had interesting mags that u can browse for free. High security. Why? Catch the IP thief? hahaha

Wessex Estate
Boring little colonial estate with few arty farty companies and mosssies. My friend, RK's Elan Pics is there, so if u need photog services with a large bank account, try it out.

Chip Bee Gardens
Baker's, Cooks, Foodies haven. My haven. From High end baking/cooking apparatus from Pantry Magic, to the most definitely cannot find in NTUC ingredients (BunaLun), to the gastronomic bakery of Da Paolo, the Gourmet for meat, to the all time fav Phoon Huat, the place is a home away from home. Lovely.

More to come!

Fantasy

You wouldnt realise how much you love/enjoy/appreciate something till it has been taken away from you.

Tennis lessons. Yes. Somehow that was taken away from me and I'm utterly not overjoyed. Down in the dumps as some may call it. Rotten luck. Tough luck. Cant think of anything creative when you are in the dumpster can you. Unusual that I would let it go, I mean, I can find another coach cant I? Not when you are overloaded. (See previous post) It doesnt help that you are overloaded and your thing of ultimate joy has been taken away, stolen, snatched off your hands. Dang. Thats the way the cookie kingdom crumbles.... thats the way the chocolate factory melts.... whatever.

Needed: Tennis coach, Immediately.
Qualifications: Competed before, understanding and easy to talk to, willing to teach whatever you want.
Fee: Negotiable
Student: Eager and has some basic foundation (though not consistent)

India.
Been there 3 times! Done that 3 times! Enough! Have been blogging about it in my head but havent really blogged in here. So many things to talk about and so many things to say. Should show you a video on U tube. Search for Sikkim and you may just hit on the right one. Compiled by dear SM or MJ. Thanks babe! It was really well done!

Its hard to think of ONE highlight to talk about so I'll pick a few events.
1) Calcutta
Hate it. Dirty, dusty and polluted. Healthy me got sick within 3 days!

2) Yuksam
The gem of a village in the heart of Mt Kanchendchunga. Well, not really heart but its the starting point for the trek to Dzongri and Goechala. A blessed little place with the one of the most hospitable and enchanting people in the world! Love it then and more so now.
a) Snowed in Tskoha!
b) Mighty UT
c) Yak Butter tea! I tried some!
d) Triple X
e) Honey Bee!
f) KCC!
g) Gupta's
h) all the wonderful people who I miss already!

3) Rajasthan
Interesting desertish place, cool in December
a) Camel trekking in the Great Thar Desert (Jaisalmer)
b) Staying inside Jaisalmer Fort and the breathtaking view of the Golden city
c) Dining in the fort under the stars in our own private balcony in Jaisalmer! Romantic choice!
d) Staying in Singhvi's Haveli in Jodphur was a delight
e) Jodphur is the worst place to shop
f) Indian trains are not too bad (provided you take the 1,2 or 3rd AC class and are not afraid of cockroaches and rats) hahahahahahahahahahaha (take the upper bunk and bring insectiside) hahahahahahahaha
g) the gorgeous view of the Blue City
h) Shopping in Pangharganj in Delhi.

I'll upload pics soon!

Till then, stay stress free and happy!

Overloaded

Yup. Back in Singapore. Bored. Loaded with work. What's new? Can't wait for the next hol. Cant play tennis cos of the rain. Bored. Get me outta here.

Food REView
The French Stall
on the road behind jln besar, Serangoon Road
Hey bro! Here it is!

Food: 8.7/10
Ambience: Fusion of Kopitiam and Alfrescoish
Tried: the Chicken liver pate (i had half of half of half of half a 0.5mm bit) Apparently it was good cos the boys polished it up good with plain ole baguette. the duck rissotto, the pork chops and codon bleu. Good stuff! the choc souffle was oh so yummy and the honey cheese cake was scrumdelicious!
Service: ok lah
Return: yes!!!
Price: Reasonable, especially so when your bro treats :)

Spanish Tapas Cafe
Clarke Quay
Food: 6.9/10
Ambience: Excellent for chilling
Tried: Seafood Paella, meatballs and skewered meat, White Sangria.
Return: not for the food but for the chill-out ambience

Teochew Restaurant in Taka
Cant remember the name of this place but I love the food and the price.

Well, I miss the garlic lemon mussels in Fish and Co and cant wait to go back to PS cafe to chill. I wanna try the teppanyaki in Good wood park hotel. Have huge cravings!!

Ceramic Perm
Tried the all famous ceramic perm. not all that fantas on my hair but it has only been three days since. lets see how that goes. $100

Courts Megastore
Went there to buy my fridge. I bought the Panasonic Fridge which had a good size and this magic top thing where the fridge is on top and the freezer is below. cheap, plenty of discounts too! $759

NZ
Cant wait to go!

FOR SALE!

FOR SALE!
ALL IN GOOD WORKING CONDITION

as of 10 January 2007 . Please help pass the advert ard. Thanks!

1) L -shape Sofa
 240cm long
 Removable and Washable Cover
 Less than 2 years

2) Coffee Table
 90 (L)x 50 (B) x 45 (H) cm
 3 drawers
 Acid-washed glass top
 Less than 2 years

3) Technics Digital Piano (SX-PC25)
 128(L) x 43(B) x 77(H) cm
 Hardly used, about 3 years old

INTERESTED?
**ALL PRICES NEGOTIABLE **
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