Impromptu Meetup cum Shopping Date: Saveur

Meetup with my bestie from hall once again for a shopping trip at Bugis and catch up session:) But this time, we jio-ed Miauw for dinner after he mentioned twice that we "cafe bojio" :P The two of them really make a good company as we just sat there chatting non-stop, discussing korean guys and korean dramas. Really thankful for the awesome evening. Food may not be superb, but the awesome company made up for it:) Moving on to the food!

Dinner was at Saveur. After seeing many people posting photos of Saveur and not jioing us to Saveur, we decided to pay this shop a visit. It does look posh and classy with its white and simple interior. The menu was also elegant, with no pictures. So here's a tip: go to instagram and check the photos that people posted:D We ordered the signature Saveur Pasta, Chicken Roulette, Seabass and Duck Confit.

The pasta was not as superb as what we expected, abit disappointing. "It tasted like wanton noodles" (Miauw, 2014). The sakura ebi added on the top was an interesting idea, but the taste wasnt superb. So was the seabass, for I am not a fan of seabass because of the fishy taste. So no comments for that. The chicken roulette looks like some chicken sausage sitting on a bed of butter rice. Despite the rice being overly hard and too much butter, the chicken was awesome as it was soft with a crisp outer skin. However the best dish of the night goes to the duck confit. Although it looked dry on the outside, it was soft and juicy on the inside:) No wonder everyone posts the photo of the duck confit on instagram!

What is a meal without dessert? After much discussion and debating on desserts, we landed up in Ah Chew's desserts:P The black glutinuous rice with vanilla ice cream was on our checklist once again. All-time favorite, possibly due to the ice cream:P Novi, feeling adventurous after her HK dessert spree, daringly ordered the steamed milk pudding with chocolate cookies. It was surprisingly good, with a strong egg taste topped with chocolate crunch. I think Ah Chew generally wont fail to disappoint in terms of food taste and quality:)

Having met up with my awesome friends who are always so spontaneous in saying yes when I jio them out for 4days straight, I miss my homecooked dinner;( As such, tomorrow shall be a guai guai stay at home day:) Time to spend time at home and enjoy my mummy's cooking! 

Counting down: 4days to internship

Happy 21st to my high frequency gal Jops:) : The Little Diner

Just 2 months ago we were at PoTeaTo celebrating my 21st and in a flash, it's Jops 21st:) Scary how fast time travels, nonetheless I had a great night catching up with my beloved friend:) We chose this cozy little place called The Little Diner. It is located along Bukit Timah Dunearn Road. Funny how we didnt know of this place back in NJ days.

The place has a very old feel, with little furnishing except for blackboards at the sides showing the menu for the day. However the tables were nicely decorated. If you make a reservation beforehand, they will specially hand-write your reservation card on the table. That's so sweet of them. The service staff were also very approachable and friendly and makes you feel really at home. One of the best service I have ever received I must say.

Special request to write the note on the reservation card

We ordered the Truffle Fries, Old-Fashioned Mac and Cheese (+bacon bits), Risotto balls and Apple Crumble. When the truffle fries came, the smell of truffle oil was overwhelming. It was handcut and every single piece of fries was heavily coated with the taste of truffle oil. Good recommendation BUT it's for sharing:D The Mac and Cheese, seemingly suitable for portion of 1, will get too cheesy after a while, so make sure to share it! But it was really a good choice because I love the top crispy cheese layer:P The risotto balls were deep fried on the outside, but inside there is a layer of mozerella, centre filled with risotto. Interesting combination of ingredients, but not exactly superb. The apple crumble put a nice end to the meal, with its base lined with apple wedges that perfectly complemented the vanilla ice cream. I like the crumbs (as always):P

For the service and nice ambience of the place, it was really a great location for catching up session with friends:)
_______________________________________________________________________________

Really grateful how this birthday girl always makes an attempt to catch up with me despite her busy schedule. She had a long hard day at work, and having to travel all the way to Bukit Timah is super tiring especially after work. Yet she set aside time for me to update me on her life. It's really friends like these whom you know you want to keep for the rest of your life. As I always say, people who want to be part of your life will always make an effort to do so. Even a simple text message is a sign of putting in that extra effort of maintaining a friendship. Is it really that hard to maintain a friendship in spite of heaps of school work, work and CCAs? Time management and geographical boundaries are issues, but should never be barriers hindering a friendship. Thank you friends for constantly making the effort to keep in touch with me even though I may be slow in replies or unable to meetup:)

Happy Birthday once again Jops. I'm really glad to have met you in NJ <3

Vegan Day: Yixin Vegetarian, The Living Cafe

After hearing much ravings about healthy living and vegan diets, I decided to embark on a vegan diet today and here's my journey...

Started off the morning with a fruity smoothie specially prepared by my "dasao". It was really fast and hassle-free. Just pop mangoes, bananas, a squeeze of lime, ice cubes and a handful of Kale veggies into the blender and it's ready to go. The veggies only added the green coloring to the smoothie, with no taste of it luckily:P So I still find it manageable:D Tip to smoothie lovers who aspire to make their own smoothie: a wide variety of fruits can be thrown into the blender, including apples, dragonfruits, oranges, papaya. But rmb to add in a fruit that is thicker to give a thicker milkshake-like consistency, such as mangoes, bananas and avocadoes:)

PS: she also added in organic raw chocolate nibs for added crunch and chocolate taste:) 

Lunch was at Yixin Vegetarian Restaurant at Chinatown. I was quite doubtful of the taste of vegetarian food initially. But this place changed my mind. They had bak kut teh, assam laksa and hor fun BUT ALL VEGETARIAN. Yes, it was all vegetarian mock meat. Although the texture was quite obvious and there is only a hint of "meat" taste, I have to admit it is really a good attempt. The bak kut teh had a strong herbal taste which was well-liked by my brother. But to me, the best dish was the hor fun, maybe because of the fried beancurd sticks:P They have a wide variety of vegetarian dishes, including vegetarian dumplings and vegetarian "meat" bun. Really impressed by the kaleidoscope of choices provided. 

Following which, dessert was at The Living Cafe. Promoting a relatively new concept of raw vegan living, it is one of the rare few restaurants in Singapore selling raw food. Yes, everything is raw and vegan. This means that the food is not cooked and made fully from vegetarian products. Pasta, burgers, desserts are all raw. That's right! I was quite amazed at this and so decided to give this special diet a go.

2nd Floor selling organic raw products

We tried the lemon pie, chocolate cake and blueberry cheesecake (left to right). The lemon pie was a tad too sour for our liking. The chocolate cake was quite deceiving. One could not differentiate this from a normal baked chocolate cake. It can easily pass off as a chocolate fudge cake because of its fudgy and moist texture. It was topped with dessicated coconut for additional crunch. The best, in our opinion, was the blueberry cheesecake. The base is similar to our digestive biscuits base, just that it is abit more chewy. There is a strong blueberry taste in the top layer and the best thing, no artificial colouring is added:) The cheesecake layer is also light in taste, so making it guiltfree. The best dessert to end a meal because it is not too sinful and yet you feel happy^^

How do they make pastas, burgers, and even cakes without cooking?! How is it possible to make the pie crust without baking?! Mystery solved: they used dates, coconut oil and walnuts and process them in a food processor. Walnuts provide the crunch needed for crust (sometimes dessicated coconut is added too) while dates provide the thick consistency needed to bind the ingredients together.

The Living Cafe has a really interesting fun concept of providing food for those on raw vegan diet. This diet, although considerably new and not widely embraced in Singapore, is really a great concept worth expanding. It is difficult to stick to such a diet for long period of time, but a raw food diet once a week may be worth trying:) This is a new area of interest for me, not that I will embark on this diet, but hopefully I can learn more about it:)

Who says dessert and healthy living does not go together?

[REBLOG] 22 things I learned by 22

22 Things I Learned by 22

1. When wearing new shoes out for the first time, always pack bandages. No matter how comfortable you think the shoes are.
2. Take your friends out when they’re feeling glum.
3. Make frequent plans with anyone you’d regret not seeing more of if they died tomorrow. Your family, your friends – anyone you love.
4. Always forgive. But don’t be afraid to stop spending time with people who consistently hurt you.
5. Eat a meal before a night of drinking if you don’t want to become best friends with the toilet the next morning.
6. Tell people all the nice things you think about them. Too often we forget to say these things out loud.
7. Pay your bills as soon as you get them. (If at all possible.)
8. Look at yourself in the mirror and imagine what 80-year-old you would say about how beautiful you look now.
9. Eat dessert.
10. Don’t be afraid to be the person who cares more.
11. Make the grand gesture.
12. Don’t buy clothes that don’t currently fit you.
13. If you always feel worse about yourself after spending time with someone, stop spending time with them.
14. Pay attention to how your friends behave when you achieve success. The real ones will celebrate your successes with you and share in your failures.
15. Learn how to do handy things, like fix toilets and change lightbulbs by yourself. Being self-sufficient is not gender specific.
16. Smile at anyone who is serving you, be polite, and tip well.
17. Do not give any one person the power to destroy you.
18. Never stop learning.
19. Read, read, read.
20. It’s okay to cancel on group plans if you don’t feel like going, but cancelling a one-on-one last minute is inconsiderate.
21. Don’t wait to wear things when you reach a certain weight. You can wear whatever style you like now. Right now. 
22. Allow yourself to look silly, whether on purpose or by accident. Life isn’t a beauty pageant. 

Credits: http://saradujour.me/post/86470447575/22-things-i-learned-by-22#.U37iYPldXDY

Random Musings: How Couples Last

Witnessed something today which made me realize how couples manage to last for years even after fights and arguments.
_____________________________________________________________________________

While waiting for my brother for lunch, my mum wanted to text my brother to update him where we were eating. Being my dad's typical instructional and annoying self, he told my mum in a harsh tone she should straightaway call my brother to tell him we found seats and waiting for him. Because of my mum's built up impatience from doing accounting for my dad's company in the morning, she was pissed off with my dad. After a few more sentences of conversation, tension was in the air and a cold war started. 

Even up till dinner time, the tension could still be felt between them. They refused to talk to each other and I was the only person they talked to, which indeed annoyed me. However during dinnertime, something funny happened. My dad ordered seafood spaghetti and while eating he gave my mum a prawn from his spaghetti. In return, my mum gave him part of her chicken chop. Subsequently, the tension is slowly eased and now they are fine:)
________________________________________________________________________________

I know that may seem like a very small incident which many will disregard. But personally, I am amazed at the significance of such small actions. To ease the tension, someone has to make the first step. No matter how small the step is, it takes lots of courage to initiate. This is especially hard if both are hard-headed. I realized that for my parents, my mum is the patient one who always gives in so I suppose this is how they sustain years of marriage:) Maybe with years of being together, understanding each other and love, they developed their unique way of expressing their love for each other. When it comes to making mistakes, they may not need to express their apology verbally but they use nonverbal actions to do so. Maybe this comes with years of being together, understanding each other and loving each other <3

Apologizing does not always mean that you are wrong and the other person is right. 

It just means that you value your relationship more than your ego.  

TGIF

Even though during school holidays which calendar day of the week doesn't matter, I'm still glad how well I managed to spend my Friday:)

Went to Five and Dime with Nigel today! It was a really nice place that was a standalone along the road. Because of its simple white building with black words, it stood out among the shophouses. The interior was quite nicely decorated with blackboards and menu written on them (seems like it's the norm nowadays, even EWF also uses this deco method:P)

Ordered the Big Brekkie ($22) and Eggs Benny ($16). The Eggs Benny comes along with roasted potatoes and fruit salad. The roasted potatoes were nice with a slightly salty crust, that comes as a healthier and newer alternative to typical fries or wedges, think it's the best item in the entire plate:P The eggs benny were abit disappointing though as it was slightly overcooked on the sides. The taste of thyme/basil or whatever herb (:P) was too overwhelming too, hence making the hollandaise sauce pale in comparison to other places'. But I'm really glad the awesome company I had made up for it. It was really great being able to talk at lengths about absolutely everything and anything under the sun. Life is a funny thing, how people get to know each other through random events. If not for his random passing remark made during Chingay which he subsequently apologised for because of his ignorance, we became good friends and started talking thereafter. I'm thankful for what fate and affinity has done, inserting all these awesome people into my life and making every page of my life a fun-filled and happy one:)

Really felt sorry for having to rush off for my Sony interview>.< Following which was my chill-day with my lovely parents <3 Fruitful shopping trip as all of us managed to buy something at Bugis, especially my dad who hates shopping but surprisingly he suggested this Bugis shopping trip as he wanted to fill his wardrobe:) Supper at Wo Ai Tai Mei, their all time favorite which left me feeling sinful but delighted because of quality time spent with my precious family, doing our favorite activity and eating our favorite food:)

Simple it may seem, but it's all these random small chilling sessions that I treasure deeply. These few hours of time may not seem alot, but believe me, the happiness brought to the people is etched deeply in the hearts. I know my parents will share how they spent their Friday (shopping in Bugis, eating the Taiwan food) with their colleagues and friends proudly and I am proud to say that I'm part of the memory:)

Every long journey starts with a small step

[REBLOG] Non Verbal Ways To Tell If A Guy Actually Loves You

Chanced upon this article and decided it was worth reblogging:)

I do agree that different people express love differently, be it verbally or through small actions. But reminder to girls: guys do not have to do all the below things to prove that they love you. I am not a love guru and I can't tell for sure if a guy loves a girl. All I can say is, different people have different ways of expressing love. He may not do all the below things but you will still know if he loves you and his heart belongs to you <3

Department of Caffeine

Finally got to try DOC with my beloved cafe hoppers, Novi and Cynthia:)

Maybe because we're noobs in directions, so we had a hard time trying to figure out the directions to the place. The layout of the place was quite unexpected. It had little decorations and the seats were quite cramped together. Because of the close proximity between seats, it wasn't a particularly nice ambience as it can get quite noisy at times. Perfect place for chilling with friends, but not so for some alone time.

We ordered the Shepherd's Pie ($15.50), Chicken Fillet Burger ($15), Smoked Salmon Scrambled Toast ($16) and Waffles with Rum Banana ($14) for dessert. The Shepherd's Pie is not the ordinary kind of pie you would expect. It comes in a glass bowl, with unbaked mashed potato sitting atop a thick layer of what tasted like rendang. However looks are deceiving as it was really hearty. I did not hear much comments about the burger, but it looked and tasted normal though. The scrambled toast was awesome as the scrambled eggs were slightly runny and moist and the smoked salmon added a touch of salt to the dish. However the choice of bread was not to my liking as I found it a tad too tough and too thin.

 The highlight of the day: Buttermilk Waffles with Rum Banana. It was really one of the best waffles I've ever eaten. The waffles were thick and fluffy, and had a tint of cinnamon flavor in every bite. The ice cream drenched with maple syrup complemented the waffles perfectly as its sweetness was not too overwhelming, with a touch of maple. Crunchy bits were added to provide a new dimension to the taste. However I found nothing special about the bananas. No rum tasted. Overall it was a sweet happy ending to the meal:)

Mandatory shot with the signboard. One more cafe checked off the list:) Looking forward to exploring more cafes:) Really amazed at how we manage to bond together and talk about anything and everything. I'm really grateful to have these 2 sweet girls in my life, listening to all my rantings and incessant complaints. And of course being trustworthy friends whom I know I can rely on to share my deepest thoughts, troubles and secrets with. Cheers to more cafe hopping adventures ^^

Confession

I know I am not an expressive person but since I can't put it across verbally I shall just put it in words.

To my mum:

You've been a great mother. I know I'm not an expressive person. I don't say "I love you". I don't kiss or hug you. I shun away from body contacts. I don't hold your hands in public. But I still love you deep in my heart. 

I have a bad temper. I throw tantrums easily. I get angst easily and dao your questions. I am a very kaopei self and am very crude at times. But you relentlessly comforted me when I'm down, cheered me up with chocolates, asked me if I'm coping well, ensured that everything is in order for me, brought me out for good food and paid for all my shopping stuffs when I'm feeling stressed or down. You texted me that no matter what happens or what grades I get I will still be your beloved daughter. You showed support for my cafe entrepreneurial idea despite it being so farfetched and ridiculous. Despite me putting in so little appreciation, you patiently selflessly gave in all your care and concern and love for me. I really feel guilty for this. People keep saying I'm a filial daughter who's sweet etc. But it's not enough. Nothing is ever enough to repay all the welfare and love you've given me. It's more than anything on the world. When I asked what present you want you said you just want me to be happy. I'm more than happy. I'm happy. I'm blessed. I'm loved. I'm grateful. I'm guilty. 

Thank you mum for your everlasting support and love:) It really means alot to have someone always there for me, supporting me, listening to me, going out with me. I love you mum <3

Mother is a child's best friend (father also:P)

Happy Mother's Day

11 May 2014 Sunday: Mothers' Day

As promised, I woke at 8am to specially prepare brekkie for mum on this special day:) Went to buy groceries early in the morning. It really feels refreshing going to an empty supermarket on a cheery Sunday morning  knowing that you're doing something special for special people in your life:) The blissful feeling is great, having only to worry if the menu will suit the tastebuds of my parents and if I can finish the preparation before lunchtime. 

Successful final product: Foolproof American Breakfast :D Decided that preparing breakfast for my parents will be a much better choice than material products because I really can't think of anything which they need. When I asked them what they wanted, they only replied "We want you to be happy". Touched. Blessed. Guilty. Overwhelmed. 

Dinner treat at Marche:) Simple it may be, but it's really great catching up with family and talking crap. I really love those moments when we just talk about random stuffs, rake up events from the past or just suanning each other. This beats the antisocial ambience where everyone just take out their smartphone and start playing candycrush. Really glad that exams period is over so that I can enjoy quality time with my family:)

Love while you can. Don't make excuses. Start loving and showing your love to those around you. There is no better time to love.