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

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! :/

10 at Claymore

i haven't gone for a buffet in quite a long time! not counting the XLB buffet la haha. oh wait, that actually came after this buffet! but i reshuffled the order of the posts slightly. anyways, yeah i actually managed to lose weight! :O i'm so amazed. this semester was really quite a hectic one. but now that summer is here....oh no. i should not eat so much!!! but all the nice food is beckoning me. AHH! don't tempt me! haha i cant help it la. so get ready for lots of yummy reviews coming up (i hope :P)! heehee.

this time we tried the dinner buffet at 10 at Claymore in Pan Pacific Orchard. it seems pretty well-known! and it was quite nice (:

i was so excited when i saw this cheese platter!!! :D i love cheese! except the really smelly cheesy ones xP i really want to learn more about cheese actually! i think it's damn cool! i have no idea what are the kinds of cheeses i ate that day cos they weren't labelled xP i think there was cheddar, i recognise the taste! :D there was also some really nice garlic cream cheese yumyum! a very subtle garlic flavour that gave the cheese such an interesting flavour. and i loved the biscuits that came with it as well. ritz!!!!! ohmygosh loves (: and the plain crackers complemented the cheeses perfectly!

there was a wide variety of vegetables for the salad, plus a whole range of toppings! i love croutons and pine nuts! :D and there were some sauces for dressing as well (:

ah, ironically i managed to take a beautiful picture of this baked salmon, but i never got the chance to try it!!!! :( doesn't it look gorgeous? (: and it came with a lovely creamy sauce on the side as well. it was snapped up really quickly though, which is why i didn't get to try it :( sighhhh. but it tasted good according to those who ate it (:

the seafood station does not have such a wide variety as other buffets, but it was fine for me, since i'm not much of a seafood-person :P especially when it's raw!!! Eww. i think scallops are quite nice though! with the lime sauce (: and of course sashimi!!!!!!!! i remember the salmon sashimi here is really interesting! it has a much firmer bite as compared to the salmon sashimi i normally eat. i always feel that salmon sashimi is always too slippery? but this one was a bit crunchier (?) which i liked. instead the tuna was less crunchy than normal, but still nice anyway!

now for the main courses! this was what we had (i'm inventing names cos i really can't remember what they were called!)

1. baked tomato salad - quite a regular tasting dish. the cherry tomatoes were baked till they became slightly soft and were tossed with other veggies and dressing

2. mussels! i didn't try this. but it looked pretty good

3. beef stew/stroganoff: the beef was nice and tender and the sauce was tasty, nice dish!

4. bread and yam & pumpkin pudding, something like that. i really liked this dish!! ;D it was creamy and rich (don't take to huge a serving), food for the soul (:

5. duck with apple sauce: i thought the sauce was pretty interesting!

6. pineapple fried rice: this was cold!! if not i think it would have tasted better. it was quite fragrant though! (:

7. stir fried kailan: just a normal veggie dish.

8. chicken in oyster sauce: this was quite a homely dish which i liked (:

9. mushrooms! i liked this healthy simple dish of stir fried mushrooms

and each guest is entitled to a complimentary cheesy lobster! omgosh! i never thought that i would ever like something like this. i hardly even eat lobster. is this my first time? i can't remember. but anyway, it was LOVELY. the lobster was baked till the meat was tender, and infused with the yummy gooey melted cheese, it was heavenly :D

and now we move on to desserts. it's always such a pity that i'm full to bursting by the time it comes to dessert, so even though i want to try everything, i often can't. and anyway, even if i do, i'm sometimes unable to enjoy it properly. sighs. but it's just so nice looking at it, yes? :D sweet treats just make you soooo happy! heehee. so many things to chose for the chocolate fondue! there is just something about chocolate fondue that is so awesome. somehow i always feel that the chocolate tastes nicer! :D so i'll just stick something in and drip the chocolate all over my other desserts so that i'll get to enjoy more chocolate. omg heaven!!!! :D AHHHH i want to try MBS' chocolate buffet someday :( i can't believe i missed the chance when my gourmet buddies went there :( boohoo :'( anyways, i tried the macroons and i conclude that they always look much nicer than they taste. don't they look soooo pretty? (: (: but the taste is just, sugary sweet. nothing really special i think. oh and the staff there were really cute! haha! like there were two waiters there. and cos i was holding my plate in one hand, and trying to open the container of the macroons, one of them offered to help me open it. then when the other waiter saw him helping me, he jumped forward as well and helped me pick the macroons i wanted to put in on my plate. lols!

there was a crepes station!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and the waiter at the crepes station was really nice too (: cos i was one of the first few to order, i didn't have to stand there and wait, instead he served it to my table. hehe, it's good to be ahead of the crowd ;) there are quite a few flavours to chose from and you can mix! mine was peanut butter and strawberry jam. *drooooools* haha :D the crepe was paper-thin and nice and crispy! :D awesome (:

and there were so many cakes/tarts to chose from! none that was particularly outstanding though, so i didn't have much of an impression. just enjoy the pictures! haha

10 at Claymore

2F Pan Pacific Orchard

Tel.: +65 6831 6686

Azur, Crowne Plaza Hotel

part II of celebrating mummy’s birthday! (: it has become a week-long celebration now xD haha. since all of us are so insanely busy this week. its complete madness, i don’t even know why i’m here blogging when i should probably be studying/sleeping. i need to DE-STRESS! i’m getting pimples and eyebags ugh :/ nevermind, one more week to the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (: (:

had high-tea buffet ($38++) at Azur at Crowne Plaza Hotel! finally had the chance to visit this hotel (: for the clueless, it’s the one at Changi Airport!! i LOVE the airport x)

oh no, i realised almost all the photos i took are blur ): yikes. oh wells, i’ll just upload them anyway >.<

for the appetizers, there was a pretty wide variety! from sushi, to seafood, salad, soba and soup. the sushi was pretty good, but i was disappointed with the inari! ): the beancurd skin was so dry!! first time i actually dont like it. seafood was nice and fresh, with a variety of sauces to drizzle on it (: oh yes, look at the cute little shot of wakame! it was really interesting. i really liked the mushroom soup, tasty! 

there was a chicken rice section, where the chef will chop the chicken/roast duck on the spot for you! the chicken rice was really disappointing though! :/ totally lacked flavour. but the chicken itself was, good, and the chili was not bad (:

the smoked salmon sandwich was interesting! (: sorry for the bad picture :P anyway, you can create your own salmon sandwich, which tastes pretty good, except that it is slightly salty xP

spinach quiche! i love any sort of pastries, so this was a welcomed dish. i liked the croissants too! (: (: and i love how the french pronounce it - kwa-song! haha, sounds so exotic xD just for fun (:

Honestly, the other main dishes did not leave much of an impact on me :/ on to the desserts! Started with the ice kachang – you can make your own! But I always find it so difficult to use the ice machine. I’m a walking catastrophe :P ended up with a pile of ice on my foot :P there are all the typical ingredients there for you to customize your own ice kachang – I’m very selective, mine only consists of chendol, syrup, gula melaka and evaporated milk xD hahaha. i liked the apple tart and chocolate cake, but they weren’t exactly very special. the creme brulee and bread&butter pudding were absolutely delightful! although i was so full already, i couldn’t resist them xP 

Azur

Crowne Plaza Hotel (next to Changi Airport T3)

Level 2

Tel.: +65 6823 5354

Breakfast 6.30am-10.30am

Lunch 12pm-2.30pm

Dinner 6.30pm-10.30pm

Weekend High Tea Buffet 1pm-5pm

yup, so now i think my stomach has once again expanded from the buffet. I NEED TO EXERCISE :/ yikes, i’m so lazy. must seriously get off my butt more often. actually i do! since i hate sitting (yes, i’m weird that way :P), but i need to exercise. that’s the key. hahaha. how do i get a flat stomach?! someone enlighten me pleaseeee! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME & Cafebiz

Celebrated my 19th birthday at Cafebiz in Traders’ hotel yesterday! :D I feel so old now! :P I’m at the end of my teenage years ): I’m going to miss being a kid >.< Those happy years where all i had to do was go to school, and have fun. now i’m growing up, and i’ll be going out to work in 4 years time :O :O how time flies! I can hardly believe it! 

Dinner was a buffet, which had a REALLY GOOD SPREAD of food! and of very good quality as well! Unfortunately, for some weird reason, i felt really full once i reached the restaurant! ): I wonder why…?! i was actually starving just moments before that. anyway, i ate what i could, and enjoyed every morsel i ate (:

Lots of delicious food to eat! started with soup - i tried the carrot puree with butternut (no idea what is that!) which was thick and smooth. AWESOME! :D the salad was really interesting as it came with a huge variety of sauces and condiments! i liked the walnuts, sunflower seeds and cranberries (: a large variety of mains to chose from - i only posted some here as there were too many to take photos of! and there was one particularly annoying cook who didn’t allow me to take photos -.- hmph. evidently i ignored him :P the seafood was UBER FRESH! i loved the scallop!!!! (: (: 

ooh, my all-time favourite kind of sushi! the inari! i really love the sweetness of the japanese beancurd skin (: yummy!

muah chee!! i haven’t eaten this since forever! and i really love it! :D i love anything peanut, so you can understand why (:

one of my favourite sweet soups - green bean soup (: it was a tad too sweet though! 

all the lovely desserts at cafebiz! :D :D my absolute FAVOURITE was the bread and butter pudding. :D omg, *drools* :) :) superb!

Cafebiz

Traders’ Hotel Lobby Level

1A Cuscaden Road

Tel.: +65 6831 4374 

Dinner buffet $52.00++

My dear family members who celebrated my birthday with me (: