My "last" "10 days to play"

hi!!! omgosh i'm drowning in blog posts to do #canyoubelieveit. haha even with the holidays here i'm still struggling to finish up my posts from months ago! and i'm flying off for my holiday early tomorrow morning!! rushing rushing this post like CRAZY. haha. anyway, why the strange title? well I'm really amazed at how this even happened, but for 3 out of 4 years of winter breaks in SMU that i had (other than last year when i didn't travel because i was interning), i always had exactly 10 days between my last exam and the date that i flew overseas. how coincidental is that?! i have no idea why either. haha anyway looking back at 2010 and 2011, gosh, that just seems crazy long ago. i still can't believe i'm gonna graduate in half a year :'( 

ended off our last day of exams on a HIGH note with free flow alcohol and a scrumptious buffet at Intercontinental Hotel's Olive Tree restaurant! thanks to the gourmet club x wine appreciation club deal, i only paid $30 for it :O how awesome is that!!! #TGIO (thank god it's over). so glad i ended with start as my last exam, because it was obviously the most promising out of the four exams i took. the other three were just bleah >.< let's not mention it. i dread to think of the results that are going to be released next week (i think?). shall just enjoy my holiday and check it when i'm back. yikes! always hate that dreaded feeling. 

anyway i went all ballistic when i saw the dessert buffet line!!! (idk whether that's the right word to use haha but basically i was on a crazy sugar high even before touching any of it). all the food looked so good!!!!! and plus it was a christmas buffet, so there were festive touches to it (like a log cake!) which made things even more exciting ^^

some of the items in the buffet! 

happy boy attacking the seafood first as usual ;)

we were actually stuffed by the time we finished with the appetisers and mains. but guess what, i took a walk and came back with not one, but TWO plates of dessert for us to share! KEKEKE :P the look on Sam's face when he saw the amount of food i brought back was epic :P lol!! i made him share them with me hehe. so yummy! how could we have missed out on this eh? ;) had an awesome time trying the different kinds of wine too, and they were all so good! 

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i dyed my hair!! :) i guess those of you who saw my instagram already know this. so in love with this lighter shade, and i'll be blogging about my experience at _kimrobinson real soon! 

after my hair session, i went to the CHANEL's The Little Black Jacket exhibition at the ArtScience Museum at MBS with SK! (: it was such an inspirational exhibition!! I'm really out of things, but I've gotta admit that i didn't even know this exhibition was in singapore till SK told me about it. thanks for inviting me along babe!! :) it was pretty amazing to see how the jacket was SO versatile, it could be worn with anything - like over a T-shirt and jeans combo for a casual look, to being part of a ball gown :O some photos were really quite funny, the way they styled the jacket. they practically ripped it up!! O.o but super cool.

just look at this little darling!! :') isn't she soooo adorable?!

hey handsome ;)

we were trying to take artistic shots :P haha.

kiera knightly looked absolutely stunning in this!! (which reminds me, my poster is still with sam! hahaha). it was really nice of the people at the exhibition to give out free posters of some of the photographs! how cool is that! oh the exhibition is free too btw! it'll be here till 1 Jan 2014 (:

oh and there was this really cute activity corner outside the exhibition hall where we could design our own christmas cards! so interesting ^^ thanks SK for the photos! (: 

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sorry this post is getting really long, but cos i don't really have time to blog again till i get back >.< so i'm kinda just spamming everything! 

went for a christmas walk with Sam down Orchard Road the day before he left for China! <3 miss you darling! it was such a nice simple date ^^ plus the fact that i was down with some sort of fever/indigestion (i dunno what), and i just practically didn't feel like eating the whole day. so instead of the foodie date that we'd planned (sigh...we have no fate with song fa bak kut teh D:), ended up just strolling around the orchard area admiring the christmas lights and watching hunger games! OMG that show literally had me jumping in my seat quite a few times cos of shock haha. and we took a picture with my favvvv christmas tree in orchard road ^^

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another day, we checked out the Public Garden Flea at TripleOne Somerset! i've been seeing a lot of pictures of their flea and i've been wanting to check it out! also saw that nakedglory would be there and i've been wanting to take a look at their watches since forever! i've not worn a watch for nearly 10 years (can you believe it...) but thanks to Sam, i've started to get a bit more interested in it ;) and there's no harm getting a new arm candy, right? ;) hehe. so happy that he came along with me to the flea, and actually enjoyed it too! (especially after i bought the watch i think :p haha) so yep, i've got my first watch in 10 years. and i really like it! it has such a pretty maroon-coloured face that i love! and greedy me (as usual. i wasn't suffering from indigestion then) went around trying food and came across these really adorable and DELICIOUS jams from Gan Soon Hock Conserves! this pumpkin-flavoured was super interesting, and at $4 for a small bottle, really affordable!!! so i decided to buy one to try. new salad dressing, yippee! ^^

okay i shall just stop here and leave my housewarming party for another post. thanks for reading all the way to end! :D and bye-bye while i fly to aussieeeeeee ^^ 

*i will be scheduling posts anyway, so you'll be entertained during the week i'm gone! ;) hehe <3

Carnivore Appetite

Part II of Sam's birthday (another very overdue post. see part I here!) was stuffing ourselves at the buffet at Carnivore Appetite! at $29.90 for a weekday dinner, this is quite a steal! though i would say that the meat could have been better, but for this price, i'd still say it was worth a try (: 

salad bars are always one of my first stops at a buffet! LOVE all the colours here, and i really liked how they provided pretty interesting veggie varieties that aren't usually available in other salad bars e.g. alfalfa sprouts and beetroot! (not that i really like beetroot, but the colour is loveee) 

the seafood section was pretty small, and i suggest skipping it because i felt it wasn't very fresh.

and here are the grilled options!! to be honest, the variety was a tad disappointing. while i didn't expect it to be as extensive as the original Carnivore restaurants, but having only four meats to choose from was rather sad :( 

there were other cooked dishes as well, and we particularly liked the braised beef on the left! it was pretty tender and tasty :) 

these were the cold dish options! didn't try them though.

birthday boy diggin' in :))) <3

oh! these were probably one of our most interesting discoveries!! two adorable bottles of condiments, which served a purpose that was more practical than expected. each containing special ingredients to counter excess salt or grease, all you have to do is drizzle some onto the meat and voila, it fits to your desired tolerance level ;)

YUMMMMM :)

and desserts! again a disappointing section with just ice cream and a bunch of cakes. i guess i can't complain because i didn't really expect there to be a dessert section in the first place! and we were already quite full by then anyway :)

overall, i feel that having reasonable expectations for this buffet helps! it is definitely one of the more affordable ones around (especially when compared to its predecessor), and this is reflected in the variety that you get. we were still VERY full at the end of the buffet though! so shows that you don't need that much food to stuff yourself with ;)

on a side note, i really wanna try Lady M!! does anyone have recommendations on what's good there? ^^

Carnivore Appetite
Marina Square #02-102
Tel.: +65 6336 2282
Mon-Sun 12pm-9.30pm

Buffet attire @ The Line :))

HAHA and so as usual i can never resist food. when it comes to a buffet, i'm always ready to go all out! and despite wanting to lose weight, i ended up gaining the pathetic 0.5kg i lost in the week because i gorged myself at the buffet as usual. #fatdieme. so greedy as always!! 

haha so anyway, when i go for a buffet, i always make sure that i'm appropriately dressed to EAT ;) which means no body-hugging clothes (enough space for my expandable tummy :P), no belts and basically clothes that are easy to move around in hehe. you all have probably seen this dress in some of my pics before...i got it over a year ago at bugis! and i totally love it ^^ i took a really long time to find a nice maxi dress that is easy to wear (my first was a mistake because i bought a tube maxi which was so heavy it simply couldn't hold itself up -.-), and this was perfect for both dressing up and down! ^^ just slipped on some accessories and i was all ready for THE LINE :D (and i'm lovin' my moustache ring as well!! ^^)

Dress: Bugis //

Bracelets: Bugis //

Ring: Primark

now is time for the buffet :D words are not needed here. haha although i didn't take too many pictures (busy eating obviously!)

very fresh seafood :D again (saying this for the millionth time), i'm so glad that i've learnt to eat seafood ;) imagine not touching any of this! it would be so not worth the money haha (auntie-syndrome :P). i didn't even take that much okay. just a bit of everything. i'm usually quite lazy when it comes to seafood, more than bothering about the taste. take the crab for instance. the amount of time taken to peel it open is sometimes just too exhausting :P plus i don't like to dirty my hands. haha but enough of my OCD. i really loved the oysters!!!!!! i have to say these were the best oysters i've ever eaten. okay, i must admit that i haven't eaten that many, but i was really surprised how it was completely not fishy at all, and in fact, tasted spectacular with the lemon juice and chili i drizzled on it!! 

loved loved loved the sashimi as well ^^ but i didn't get a picture of it.

the indian section of the buffet is apparently quite famous! especially their tandoori prawns. omg there was this bunch of dudes who planted themselves right in front of the indian section, blocking everyone's way, just waiting for those prawns. seriously... -.- but they were REALLY GOOD. i was really surprised! super juicy, fat prawns, and the smokey aroma was to-die-for. 

there were also loads of other sections of the buffet ^^ so many cuisines! i like :D totally in heaven that day heehee :D 

and of course, even though i was already full after my 5 rounds of food (haha can go see my instagram for that :P), i still had to fit in dessert, until i felt like i was exploding >.< and i'm still sad i didn't get to try the fondue!!!! :( cos really too full already. i actually felt full, but still bearable after all the savoury stuff, but dessert killed me haha :X but it was so fun! (: going there with a bunch of girls, we just took one of each type of dessert so that we could share and sample everything! :))) so fun :D 

i'm definitely not gonna put myself through this again anytime soon. but The Line at Shangri-La hotel definitely has one of the BEST buffet spreads ever :)) 

*on a side note...they could have maintained the restaurant a bit better. the tables were not properly cleaned! :/

Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbecue

i was walking around holland village one day deciding where to go for dinner. it's one of the rare times that i start off a post without saying 'i've been wanting to go to xxx forever!' :P hahaha. it was quite early on a saturday evening (before 5pm), but most places open at 6pm! :( wanted to go to chip bee gardens but it was dead quiet there. oh wells. but when i walked past this korean restaurant, it looked pretty enticing! :)

just a teaser of our crowded table halfway through the meal :)

this was the setup of our bbq and each of us got a refreshing bowl of salad, plus three types of sauces. can't rmb what they were. i think there was sesame oil, bean paste and one more. and we got a massive basket of leaves to wrap our bbq meat in! :) to neutralize the oiliness.

the various korean appetizers - i especially loved the slightly spicy tofu! it had a nice firm bite, and the sauce that went with it was delicious. the pickled radish was very refreshing, not particularly something i liked, but it felt healthy in comparison to our relatively meat-y dinner. loved the kimchi as well, and the spicy rice cakes were really interesting! it had the texture of fishcake, and a wonderful flavour.

we had four types of meat - clockwise from top left: pork, marinated chicken, marinated beef, wagyu beef. OMG i absolutely adored the marinated meats!!!! they were super flavourful (very good marinating there! the sauce was infused into every morsel of the meat) and very very tender. super yummy! on the other hand, i was kind of disappointed with the wagyu! :( really nothing special i felt. you might want to just opt for the non-wagyu option (it's $2++ cheaper). there is only one serving of wagyu, while the other three are unlimited.

it's cooking time! the ventilation system here was pretty good i think! most of the fumes were sucked into the side of the pot, so it was not too smokey.

the jabchae (sweet potato noodle) was delicious! it totally reminded me of fried tanghoon - very fragrant, and the noodles were bouncy. we had three types of pancakes: seafood spring onion, kimchi and fish fillet. loved the spring onion and kimchi ones! the fish fillet was a tad fishy though :/ the assorted mushroom (to be grilled) were lovely as well! encased in an aluminium foil with the sauces and juices, they blended together perfectly in a wonderful combination.

each diner also gets a choice from the main menu (4 choices). since we had four people, we each chose one! :) bibimbap, kimchi soup, spicy tofu soup and mushroom soup. i felt the bibimbap was sorely lacking in sauce, so it was a little bland. the soups were delicious though! food for the soul :)

you also get a choice of drinks. i got cheated by the 'korean barley'!!! :( it's the rice tea or whatever. i thought it was really barley -.- oh well. anyway i swapped with mummy and got the green tea instead.

we had this very interesting cinnamon punch that was ultra refreshing! :) i think it helps in food digestion if i'm not wrong. not overly sweet, and with the fragrance of cinnamon, it was a wonderful way to end the meal.

and we had fruits too! plus cute lil mochi :D

our buffet was $36.80++ per person.

Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbeque

20 Lorong Mambong

Tel.: +65 6464 5238

Daily 11.30am–2.30pm

5.30pm–10pm

Suki-ya

ready? get set...GO! 100 minutes to eat your fill at this shabu-shabu buffet for $21.90++!

there is a choice of three different soup bases - shabu shabu, sukiyaki (my favourite! sweet soy sauce <3) and kimuchi (a spicy miso soup). after choosing your soup, you're then free to get whatever food you like! :) but do not waste! cos they have a policy of charging 20% or sth for wastage. no idea how it works cos we didn't want to try it out! lol!

there are two rows of various kinds of vegetables, tofu, balls of every kind, mushrooms and sauces for you to take your pick from. we had tons of fun grabbing everything we saw! my two favourites were the tofu (with the skin, not the white kind) and the balls with CHEESE in it! haha it was damn awesome. when you bite (deep) into it, the cheese will actually squirt out! :O it was quite hilarious actually! you need skill to eat it neatly xD i'm proud to say i mastered it ;) hahaha.

there are also eggs for you to cook any way you like. half-cooked eggs anyone?

round #1! :D haha it's good to have so many of us then we could get more fooood :)

there is also a free flow of meat - choice of chicken, beef and pork! :) dunno why the rest didnt like the chicken! i found it quite nice what! haha. i liked the pork the most!!! and the beef was not bad too. they were super thin slices of meat, so there was no need to wait very long before we could devour them :D

we completely spammed our pot right from the start! that's probably not a good idea though, cos it took forever to start boiling! :( Looks gooooood right! :D yippee!

each diner is also entitled to one serving of ice cream! :D yayyyyyyy! haha okay you can barely see my ice cream here, buried under all my toppings. you know how extreme i am right :P lols. anyway, it was nice! kinda reminded me of mr bean ice cream. haha. i loved the chocolate sauce! and the peanuts! and coloured sprinkles! :) so proud of my ice cream :D

Suki-ya

Marina Square #02-13/14

Tel.: +65 6337 9969

Mon-Fri 11.30am – 10.30pm

Sat & Sun 11.30am – 11pm

Kushin-Bo

omgosh i was so full after this buffet! i got terrible indigestion and couldn't sleep at night cos of that :( haha but the buffet was GOOD!!! don't get me wrong haha. i thoroughly enjoyed it. just that i think too much of good food just doesnt have a good effect on me. oh wells.

ahaha look at those fat juicy prawns! that's the kind of fresh seafood you get at kushin-bo, with all the other stuff like mussles, clams and crab legs. i loved the myriad of sauces that came with the seafood. i drowned my mussels in lime and sweet chili and it was DELICIOUS. and the crab legs were super fun to eat! hahaha. honestly, yi and zhen HATE crab, but they had a whole lot of fun using the utensil to poke the meat out from one end of the hollow crab leg. when it's so easy to eat, of course it's delicious xD the salad bar was also really interesting, with a whole variety of salads (none of the boring veggies) like smoked duck salad, potato salad, SWEET POTATO salad (this was really interesting!), pumpkin salad, turkey bacon salad (haha so should you feel sinful or healthy i wonder?) and a couple of others.

there was also a teppanyaki counter, where you could order stuff and they'll cook it for you on the spot. i tried this egg wrap thingy which was really delicious! :) and there are also marinated like chicken teriyaki (not really good cos it was pretty dry) and all sorts of tempura (i LOVED the soft shell crab! it was beautifully done).

the sashimi was of course one of the highlights for me :) one thing though, the tongs are so annoying to use! or maybe it's just me :P seems like no one else had trouble with them -.- luckily one of the servers were kind enough to save the damsel in distress struggling with the sashimi which was flopping all over the place. how embarrassing! :P haha and he was so generous in serving the sashimi - i told him LESS, and there was still too much for me to finish.

the sushi too was pretty yummy, with sufficient variety. i must always restrain myself from eating too much carbo at buffets. if not i'll just feel soooo full. there are also dishes around to try, but i wasnt very impressed by any of them. the soba looked goooood! but i was trying to cut down on the carbo so i didnt try it :( sighpie. and i heard that the ginseng scallop porridge was good too! hmm coming from yi who doesnt really like the taste of ginseng (and she said that it was rather mild), i suppose you can give it a shot even if you dont like ginseng either?

one super interesting feature at this buffet were the little green teapots of soup! it was sooooo cute! :) and the broth inside was really flavourful :)

i also enjoyed the japanese soup in that kind of paper pot (omg i suddenly forgot what it's called!!). it was so healthy :) chock full of ingredients like cabbage, tofu, carrots, fishcake and glass noodles, it was such a wholesome dish.

lastly on to desserts! :D there was such an exciting range of goodies that i just HAD to try everything!!! even though i was super full already >.< i loved the fondue machine - there were quite a number of different cookies to go with it! :D and there were chocolate cakes, mango cakes, peach tarts (loveeee!), creme brulee, tiramisu (DELICiOUS! super rich though! and possibly the cause of my insomnia that night) eclairs, different types of chocolate, cupcakes, jellies, etc. so many to try!!! super awesome :)

and one more thing! the restaurant has this 'special offer' thing every one hour or half an hour or so, where a special dish is introduced, and it's only limited to 20 portions! my family got to eat the cheesy lobster!!!! OMGHHKP!!!! but i missed it cos i came later :'( sadddd. i would have loved it. fastest fingers first! go go go! :)

Kushin Bo

Suntec City Tower One #03-002

Tel.: +65 6238 7088

Lunch Mon-Fri $28.90++ (adult), $16.90++ (child)

Sat, Sun, PH $32.90++ (adult), $16.90++ (child)

Dinner Mon-Thu $41.90++ (adult), $16.90++ (child)

Fri-Sun, eve of PH, PH $45.90++ (adult), $16.90++ (child)