Bangkok (:

I don't know why I took such a long time to post this bunch of photos xD It's been...two months since I went on this trip haha. Perhaps I was hesitant about blurring the lines between work and play, but, I'm really glad to have colleagues who feel more like friends than anything else (: We're all going through the same thing together, and I'm so grateful for this bunch! Never thought I would go on a holiday with my colleagues, but it happened! And it was so so so much fun, I would do it all over again ^^ 

BKK BOUND!!!!! WOOHOO! 

This was after the crazy CNY period and we all couldn't wait to get on the plane and out of Singapore. Food, massage and shopping --- here we comeeee!

Our first stop in bkk! Straight to Chatuchak for some coconut ice cream. Oh how I missed this!!! Been craving it since I went there last year. Ngan & I shared one the other time. I don't know how I could have done that. It's so small! Finally had one for myself the time ^^ And it was barely enough haha. But I decided not to be greedy :P

Had so much good food in bkk this time, but half the time we didn't eat thai food. For the life of me, I've got no idea why. But the good thing is that I just followed and didn't have to think. Haha! Perks of travelling with more guys. They did all the navigation and we just followed and ate xD This super shiokkkkk pork was, by all means, not cheap at all considering bangkok prices, but it was so good! :O We came here for the "famous" wanton mee, which I honestly didn't see what was the big deal about it. But this, was SO.WORTH.IT.

With our tiny bowls of wanton mee, which we had to queue for, and finished in 5 mouthfuls. Oh wells. Haha I think I'd rather stick to my pontian in Singapore. Lol.

My shopping buddy & roomie! <3 Much love hehe. We had so much fun shopping together, honestly 4 days weren't enough. Yikes. Hahaha. And I really love Union Mall hehe, still the best ever!

FINALLY TRIED AFTER YOU. This highly raved-about cafe. And it was SOOOOOOO GOOD. I can't believe I was so silly the last time, and didn't know there was more than one outlet! We were so disappointed then because the outlet (we thought it was the only one) was closed for renovation. Oh gosh. I would fly back to bangkok just for this shibuya toast. I need this right now....please open an outlet in Singapore? :')

Also had the best mango sticky rice on this trip!!! This was such a huge portion and super worth it for the price! :O I think it cost 100 baht or something. I have no idea how to get there though :P that's what happens when I just follow along haha. All I can remember was that it was a roadside stall. 

Went for a girly breakfast on our last day! (: We ate three cakes between the two of us...Lol. Totally felt like bursting after that x.x But the cakes at Petite Audrey are really awesome!! No regrets hehe. 

Just in case you need evidence of our shopping :P 

No Monday Blues cos we were in Bangkok :)) 

Thankful for colleagues-turned-friends, and for all the fun we had during this trip! Now excuse me while I jet off to my next holiday tmr ^^ WHEEEEEEE~

Melbourne Photo Diary (:

It's been a month since I got back from Melbourne, and the nostalgia is still there :') I miss it so so much!

Monday morning rush in Melbourne

I love Melbourne for its markets and homeware stores, its florists and fresh produce. I could have gone on a completely crazy buying spree, but the only thing stopping me (fortunately or unfortunately) was my lack of luggage space. I'm so gonna fly there with 30kg luggage allowance the next time I go. Haha I could start stocking up items for my future home perhaps? :P

Went on a wine tour with Sam and that was definitely one of the highlights of our trip ^^ This was at the Domaine Chandon winery, which is related to Moet & Chandon! 

Those gorgeous rolling green fields behind us :') Sam was just commenting on how the vineyards here look so pretty! Greener and lusher than those we visited in Tuscany. Perhaps it's because of the different seasons, or the mood we were in. But we really had an awesome time during this wine tour ^^ Gotta admit it was a little too much in the end. I had almost enough to drink by lunchtime :x 

Love this photo of us :))) 

WE NEED TO TAKE MORE PHOTOS. 

I'm having this inner conflict about taking photos nowadays. Always want to capture all these beautiful moments together on camera, so that I can look back at those days :') And we should always take more photos when we still look young and fresh, right? Haha. But Sam just isn't a fan of taking photos -.- and sometimes the act of photo taking just interrupts the moment that should be enjoyed at that point. Am I making any sense? 

One of the best lunches we had was during the wine tour at Rochford Winery. That wagyu beef cheek with mashed sweet potato bathed in red wine jus was to die for!

We sat on the green grass, shared a cup of gelato and soaked in the afternoon sun (:

I really appreciated the time I had for myself in Melbourne. It was a good balance, spending time with Sam and other people, and also having a break to just wander alone. I took the safer route so that  I wouldn't get lost, along the Yarra River. And it is so picturesque :') It would have been wonderful walking along that stretch with Sam too. But alone, I had the chance to fully soak in the beauty of my surroundings and enjoy the sights and smells. This feeling of space, even in the city is so incredible, and is one thing I really wish Singapore had. 

Thankful for the late sunsets there :) This was at 7.30pm and the sun hadn't even started setting. So glad for the long days which gave me extra time to explore all these places.

Full of awe as I stood at the magnificent Shrine of Remembrance :') It's much nicer when it's empty haha.

Watched the sun go down over the Melbourne cityscape (: 

Yet another experience of travelling together and we're improving each time! Hehh ^^ 

August

So, I got an extra two months of summer, and it's come to an end. Bittersweet feelings about this new threshold that I'm going to cross. I'm actually kinda excited to be learning new things, especially since it seems quite pertinent to my life, which is definitely beneficial for my self-improvement, and could potentially help me to help others as well. Yet, I'm dreading leaving behind the comfortable life I've been enjoying for the past 23 years, and going on to this new stage, which only promises to be more challenging than I can ever imagine. August was filled with many happy moments though :) Perhaps it was that feeling that I won't be having much free time soon, and so I grasped all chances to catch up with people, some of whom I haven't seen in awhile. 

After that 5 day trek in Nepal, I've officially concluded that I'm no trekking material. I've got absolutely no interest in it! Everytime mummy asks me to go, I can't bring myself to do it. Oops :P Only friends like these are able to drag me on another hike :P Thankfully Singapore's terrain is so much more friendly, which made it pretty much a breeze! The chats we had along the way, the spectacular view from the MacRitchie Treetop, hilarious encounters with wild monkeys and ending off with an ice cream waffles treat (which negated all our exercise for the day :P) made the whole experience so fun ^^ 

Blur pic :(

But so so happy to meet up with this girl again!! Literally my longest friend ever :) We've known each other since we were kids! But haven't caught up for probably like 10 years or something. When we met, we basically caught up and updated each other on our entire lives since before time immemorial xD So glad that we still had so much to talk about (and so much in common!) even though we hadn't met for years.

Back to SMU to return our graduation gowns! And we went for Alumni Day together which turned out to be pretty blah. Haha the "free-flow champagne" turned out to be quite cui....we didn't even drink much of it in the end! But glad for the opportunity to catch up with the dearest superheroes ^^ Always such a joy to meet up with them! :))

JC Class Gathering! 

Have to say that it was quite a success actually ^^ Look at the number of people who turned up! Haha and we are all still the same after all these years. It's quite hilarious actually ;) 

Gathering with the hopers to celebrate Shan's birthday! :)) And we finally had the chance to meet her other half hehe. Whee always happy when the family grows ^^ And I'm so glad that so far managed to meet up with these important groups of friends at least once a month even though most of us have started working!

Met XT for lunch one of the days too! (: Hehe glad that we had a chance to catch up after meeting again during the class gathering.

Birthdays are always such a great opportunity to meet up!! :) Celebrated SK's birthday early since she had an off day then. Sad that quite a number of people couldn't make it :( Sam included mehhh. Poor boy was ill that day. But we still had fun with our cosy gathering nonetheless! And because I didn't have work (yet...) so totally had no time pressure and could chill very happily in their company :) Had two birthday cakes for SK, one with compliments from the restaurant! Haha turns out that their cake was wayyy better than the one we bought. Oops! If you see this SK, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! <3 

And finally! Sooo happy that we managed to catch Linwei in that super short period of time that she was back! ^^ Wheeeee. Tablemates reunited (: Hehe IJ friends are friends for life :') So thankful that even though Linwei only comes back once a year, and we usually only manage to meet her once, but we still always make it a point to do so :) please continue to come back!!!! We miss you!!

Ate a lot of good food this past week too. So happy that I managed to tick off quite a number of places on my foodie list! YAY!!! Satisfied :D And now, RW here I come.

Twenty-three

Another year older, another year wiser :) 

This year is going to be one with so many changes - with graduation, starting work, and who knows what else? - and along with it, more experiences. This year's birthday was different, somewhat. I always make a big deal out of my own birthday, and god knows how difficult that makes things for Sam :P hahaha. I always unintentionally spoil his surprises, whoops! I'm also the one planning the entire celebration with the family (actually it's just food, haha cos I'm the foodie here right?) and I get to choose whatever I want to eat. Yay! (greedy me :P) It's never a birth-DAY for me, but rather a birth-WEEK. Hahaha. 

This year I don't know whether it's just that I can't be bothered (growing old? :O) or maybe I've mellowed, but I didn't think much about my birthday coming up as I would usually do. I like to think it's the latter ;) Perhaps with stuff going on at home and everyone just getting settled into their jobs, I didn't really expect them to have time to celebrate my birthday with me. But they did :) And it was not so much of a "celebration" but more like just a get-together with everyone and it was great! :)) I guess when you haven't seen each other in what-seems-like ages, every gathering is a celebration in itself :) Just spending time with these people makes me feel so so lucky that I have them in my life <3

Met up with the hopers finally! Since the longest time. I chose this picture because Scott insists that it looks better (probably more like because he looks better, while I look huge because I'm in the front), but since he organised this dinner and we didn't get to celebrate his birthday, so shall give it to him ;) hehe. So many things going on that are so exciting!!! Liying's first day of work, me & Mel being future colleagues (yayyy!) and both Scott & Shan's exciting news ^^ Thanks so much for dinnering on a Thursday night when most of you have work the next day! :) 

Biggest surprise of all was my "lunch with Sam" at Potato Head Folk! This was the surprise that I spoiled for him haha. And well, luckily I just conceded to go along with his plan (haha otherwise he'll get all stressed againnnn) even though I was almost ready to back out of lunch because it was so late already!!! Otherwise he'll have to drag me kicking and screaming to this place (haha kidding). And when we reached, I headed right to a two-person table before I looked ahead just slightly and got the hugest shock of my life!! :O AWW MAN :'))) Haha I couldn't stop blabbering with shock. These guys are the sweetest :)) Totally reminded me of how they surprised me at Marina Barrage like what, 3 years ago? Omg how time flies!!!! And look how far we've come since then :) THANK YOU SO MUCH <3<3<3 love y'all :') and if only Rachel was here! Just missing her to make this picture complete :) The decor of Potato Head Folk made such a great backdrop for this photo! Review will be up in a few days ^^

And YAYYYYY, they bought me exactly what I needed!! And the colour is too gorgeous. So ME. I love it! ^^ And whee I can finally get rid of my old ugly pair of slippers. Gotta thank Sam for his elaborate plan of helping to get me to the gathering and for the present idea! ;) *mwacksssss* thanks a million baby :') 

Even the exterior of Potato Head Folk looks so nice!!! We just had to grab a random stranger and ask him to take a photo for us :p 

Hee <3 And for the rest of that day, we enjoyed some really nice couple time, finally! :) This boy has been so busy with work. Which is not a bad thing, since it seems like he enjoys it! :)) Really glad that it turned out well for him <3 But also, really enjoy the times when he can put his work aside and we can have a dateeeee! We spent most of the day lazing around and chatting actually, since we hadn't had the chance to sit around and talk for the longest time! And we had dinner at Jamie's Italian ^^ One year after this place opened in Singapore, I was so excited to try it!!! I dined there last year when I was in York too :) And being so greedy as usual, I ordered quite a lot of food :P Sorry for the bad photos - I don't think you can actually see how they really look like, sigh. The lighting was just too dim. But the food was pretty good! Hehe luckily I did all my research before, and knew what to order. Their menu changes quite a bit though, so some stuff I wanted wasn't available. 

Jamie's Walnut Salad ($9.50)

This looks like an absolute mess! :'( I'm really sad okay. I couldn't even save these pictures with iPhoto. I ordered this salad because of how pretty and colourful it looked in a photo, but sigh, can't see anything here. You can take a look at the photo here instead. For $9.50, this portion of salad was tiny. It was really really little!!! And I could barely find any walnuts in it?! While it was tasty, especially with the aged balsamic dressing, I felt that it really wasn't any value for money. Thankfully, all the other dishes were really generously portioned. 

I've heard nothing but praise for the 30-day matured prime rib, but that was just too expensive for us. Instead, Sam opted for the 220g Rump Steak ($28.50), and it turned out to be pretty good too! It was a really juicy and flavourful slab marinated in its own juices - and was that a hint of red wine I tasted?  Albeit a tad tough (perhaps because it was on the skinny side), the taste fully made up for it. 

I went for the really sinful-sounding Jamie's Italian Signature Porchetta ($35). Think slow cooked pork belly that was delightfully tender, filled with a stuffing made of herbs, garlic and spices. I loved how well cooked the pork belly was (so so soft), and the cacophony of flavours that the stuffing lent to it. Halfway into the dish, I found it a bit too flavourful though, especially with the equally savoury fennel crackling on the side. Perhaps more pork and less stuffing would have been a better balance. 

It was hilarious how Sam & I had the exact same reservations about ordering Jool's Favourite Sicilian Tuna Fusilli ($14/$21) because of our bad experience of pasta in Sicily :P This dish came highly recommended in all the reviews I read though! And we were really pleasantly surprised by it! The spicy tuna sauce was a refreshing contrast from the meaty main courses we'd ordered and helped to cleanse our palate in between dishes. We ordered the tasting portion and felt that it was quite a lot already! 

Although we were already like 90% full by the end of all that food, I still went ahead and got dessert :P After hearing so much about the Epic Brownie ($11.50), I simply couldn't resist! And it certainly lived up to expectations :D  A warm, fudge brownie - this was so sinful and so good. Can't imagine eating it alone though. And I could have done without the almond ice cream. Yucky. But then again, I'm just biased. I would still order the brownie again if I come back.

Despite the fact that this restaurant has been in town for a year, Jamie Oliver's reputation obviously has kept its popularity on high. The restaurant was packed when we were there and I doubt there is any room for walk-ins. Reservations should be made a couple of weeks in advance!

Jamie's Italian
Vivocity #01-167
Tel.: +65 6733 5500
Sun-Thu 12pm-10pm
Fri & Sat 12pm-11pm

Pasarbella

A couple of weekends ago, I spent a large part of my time at Pasarbella. That place fascinates me! So difficult to get to, and sometimes I wonder whether it is worth all the effort, but I really enjoyed my experience there. I've been wanting to head there for the longest time - the thought of a farmers'  market in Singapore just makes me so happy! I love farmers' markets. I visit them (almost obsessively) whenever I am overseas and I always fall in love with all the treasures I pick up at such places. I wish Singapore had more of these. But I guess the fact that we don't even have many farms to speak of means that these are a rarity, which probably also explains why Pasarbella is located in such an obscure place x.x Then again, like I said, I really enjoyed myself there ^^ 

I went there the first time to attend my virgin floral workshop at Poppy Flora Studio :) This year, I embarked on a project to try out floral arranging because I think they look so gorgeous. Lucky for me, I have two huge florists pretty near my house, which makes it quite convenient for me to get flowers. The problem is, they always sell flowers in such huge bunches, and I often don't require quite so many of the same type flower! Plus, flowers are CRAZY EXPENSIVE (haha, and so I have to thank my darling for buying me flowers quite often, because I knowwww) and I would never buy more than 3 varieties of flowers. I feel the pinch every time I buy them. Experimenting with flower arrangements on my own is one thing though. I did perhaps three or four on my own? But I never had any formal instruction in it. I couldn't even tell whether my arrangement looked nice or not! So since I've yet to start work, I decided to do soothing with my time and brush up on this hobby of mine ^^

Arrived at Poppy Flora Studio bright eyed and bushy tailed that morning, all excited for the workshop! It was so wonderful to be surrounded by all those gorgeous blooms :) I liked how the flowers the store carried were moistly seasonal flowers from all over the world - Europe, Africa, the Americas, etc, rather than the typical blooms I got at the florist. It was really interesting to be working  with such diverse varieties which I've never seen before! We were doing bouquets that day, and I picked gorgeous blooms in red, orange and yellow. Everyone exclaimed in delight at how autumn-y my palette was :) 

Well, turns out it really wasn't as easy as putting all the flowers together in a bunch. Obviously. But I had so much trouble with my bouquet that I was honestly quite deflated at the end of it :'( I probably re-did it like 10 times?! And the final result was half my instructor's work. Oh well...felt kinda sad that the final piece of work was not entirely mine >.< But I think it looks lovely anyway :)

We went outdoors for a mini phohoshoot after that and had some cakes to end off. Definitely an experience for my first flower workshop! :) And there is so much more to learn. Apparently bouquets were harder, so perhaps a table arrangement workshop next? I do hope that I'll have the chance to go for another workshop before work starts! 

Came back the very next day to have brunch at Pasarbella! There are so many food stalls around ^^ But the place definitely seems more alive in the afternoon, or at least after 11am. Many stalls weren't ready when we arrived around 10.30am. Tried this scrumptious three-meat dish ($20) that came with pulled pork, roast beef and chicken, plus roasted potatoes on the side. It was yummy! 

I walked past a pie store and the owner was raving to me about the pies there! And so we definitely had to try them ;) Had the pumpkin quiche and beef cheddar pie.

Wish I could have tried the paella, which was HUMONGOUS (even bigger than the one at borough market in London!) but the stall wasn't ready yet on the morning we went :( Such a pity!!! It looked really good though.

Ending off with a last pic of my bouquet ~ :)