OPI Suzi Loves Sydney

I don't really go for manicure as I tend to chip it really fast. So I prefer to go for pedicure instead. I do like this color as it is a shimmery dark berry which is lovely for Winter.

Ramen Santouka @ Central

After wandering around Level 3 of Central trying to find Ramen Santouka, I finally found it tucked away in a corner on Level 2. It is near the escalators facing Billy Bombers and directly below Ma Maison which faces the Singapore River/Clarke Quay. On a public holiday close to 1pm, it was the only eatery which had lots of people waiting for a table. Surprisingly there was no queue over at Marutama at all.

We were told it would be a 20 to 30mins wait but it turned out to be just 10mins, probably because it was only for 2 persons. They do not take down your number (unlike other establishments) so you do have to wait there patiently for a table.
We decided to share some side dishes besides the ramen. We had the miso ramen which came with a few slices of pork (don't really know which cut they are :p) and bamboo shoots, fish cake. I have read that the soup was really salty and was mentally prepared for it. I guess miso was not too bad as I could still take it and I am the type who do not cook with salt at all :p There was a jug of water on the table for you to refill the water glass. The noodles were pretty ok. The small bowl was deceptively deep as it seemed to contain a never ending supply of noodles. I didn't finish it at all. But I think I prefer Marutama ramen.

I also prefer Marutama stewed egg as the version here was not as flavorful and the yolk was not as runny as over at Marutama. We ordered the famous Tokusen Toroniku (choice pork - the pork cheeks) where only 60 portions were served per day. It was a bit salty and soft. I would not really say it was melt in your mouth tender but definitely not dry or tough at all. The Char Siu could be better though. Again, Marutama grilled char siu was so much better and definitely melt in your mouth.

Overall, I think I prefer Marutama Ramen :)

Location

Ramen Santouka

6 Eu Tong Sen St

#02-76, The Central

Tel: +6 6224 0668

Red Flower Candles from DFS

I just discovered The Wellness Section over at DFS. It is a small counter near the entrance and it stocks products relating to body stuff, essential oils, CDs, candles and teas. Now I know where I can go when I want some nice candles to burn. I bought a set of 3 candles from Red Flower as it worked out to be slightly cheaper than if I get them individually.

Himalayan Larch (fir forest fir), French Lavender (soothing lavender scent) and Italian blood orange (citrus sweet scent). I love how it came with its own little book of matches too.

This is the mini candle which is only 1.5oz (12-15 burn hours). See how it is about the size of my thumb. Fantastic for travel.

I googled more and found out Red Flower is from New York and is also available from Beautyhabit. But the pricing in Singapore is already pretty good. The mini candle is S$19 and US$12. The big candle is 6oz (45-50 burn hours) and is topped with dried petals which you can put into a sachet and scent your drawers or something.

There are so many other brands of candles available at The Wellness Section at DFS. Good to explore :)

Angsana Spa @ Bintan

I was away the last few days and had an awesome time over at the Angsana Resort & Spa in Bintan. I never thought it would be fantastic as I have been to Bintan before (stayed at different resorts) and was not too impressed.

Angsana Resort & Spa was a whole new kettle of fish. The Angsana Spa was simply the best spa (at moment) which I have ever experienced.

The treatment rooms of Angsana Spa on Level 2 in another wing off the Lotus Cafe. It probably depends on your treatment on which rooms you will be given. These face the beach area so you could see the sea, beach and trees.

The view from my room after my treatment ended around 7pm. It started getting dark after 6pm. I could see bits of the azure blue sea and beach and lots of coconut trees when I went in around 450pm for my treatment. Should have taken pic then.

One side of the room. Yes, it is open-air. Initially I thought it was glass windows as it was pretty cool then. Instead the ceiling fan was turned on, cooling the room. You are "outdoor" and yet indoor at the same time.

The spa treatment room. I love how they spilt the room into two. After the treatment, you are given 30mins calm time to relax and absorb the bone-melting after effect of the massage. The fantastic view (in daylight) would prolong the effect too. The massage beds are on the other side.

The outdoor shower area where the water gushes from the bamboo tube. Nice experience.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Review of Duet for the Lady Treatment (US$110++ / 150 mins session)
Adorn your body with flowers for a memorable start to this Duet. The Flower Petal body polish is a natural, purifying scrub, followed by a warm body lotion that is smoothly absorbed into skin. Finally, a soothing massage releases tension in face muscles, improving blood circulation and complexion.

30-min Flower Petal body polish • 60-minute conditioning massage • 30-minute face massage
(Description taken from website)

It is best to book your treatment either before you went to the resort (they do reply to your email enquiry within 24 hours) or once you arrive for the time slot you prefer. Do arrive 15 minutes before the treatment time as recommended so that you can get the best out of it.

Upon arrival, the receptionist will re-confirm your treatment and ask about my face skin type (as I have the facial massage) so that they can use the appropriate oil/ingredients. I was given a glass of cold sweet lemon drink which was refreshing while waiting for them to prepare the room. There is a small gallery (or gift shop) where you can browse while waiting. Or you can read a mag by the sofa.

Shortly after, I was introduced to my therapist (Sari) who took me to the treatment room. I was asked if I need to go to the bathroom first. She would wait just outside before continuing on. There were a few rooms on the landing of the 2nd level and many rooms outside. Each room has its own name. Mine was Melati. It was like a labyrinth of stone slabs walkway to get to the room.

I was asked to take a seat by the wooden lounge chair while she prepared a foot bath. The view was breathtaking with the sea peeking through the trees. I could sit there all day with a book. Lol. Sari introduced herself and asked for my name (she would addressed you as Ms xxx for the rest of the treatment). Then she asked me to soak my feet into the basin and explained all the ingredients which would be used for the treatment.

She spoke good English and you could tell she was reciting from memory the ingredients used and the benefits. I was just happy that at least Angsana Spa has trained the staff to be hospitable, polite and equipped with the knowledge of what they are doing. Obviously I don't remember all the ingredients which went into the treatment. Hahaha. It was nicely presented. The ingredients to be used in its treatment had its own dish. Real flower petals were laid out in a circular manner with the yoghurt and rice flour(?) in the center. You could smell them too. Sari would bring each bowl up for you to smell. The oils were good too. Maybe you were to smell them so you know they were not very diluted or cheap quality ingredients which were used in so many other spas.

There was a small changing room in one corner and you were given a sarong to wrap around to get to the massage bed. I liked how they use sarong to cover you instead of the usual towels in Singapore spas. Sometimes the towels felt damp in those spas and you wondered if they were fresh but the dark damp rooms made them damp or they were simply re-used. The sarong cloth used at Angsana Spa was cool and non-scratchy.

Before the treatment, Sari already asked about the pressure I preferred and if there were any areas I would like to be concentrated on. When the treatment started, she re-checked that the pressure were fine and then left me to just enjoy it.

The body polish was wonderful. She sprinkled the petals on my back which felt like fluttering little kisses. It was a bit ticklish initially but after a while it was soothing. When it was over, she asked if I would like the shower to be warm or room temperature. Wow! She even had the shower running with the preferred temperature so that I could just nip into the shower room without any shock.

My skin felt so soft and smooth as if I had bathed in milk when I showered off the residue. That was definitely a "MUST TRY" treatment. Just found out this would only be available as part of the "Essence of Angsana" treatment, so you cannot just have that on its own.

Flower Petal - For dry/all skin types

Angsana’’s signature flower power treatment is a magical, purifying treat for all the senses. A natural scrub made from soothing almond meal, cucumber juice, milk and honey is applied, followed by a sprinkling of sweet, fragrant flowers that impart natural essence to your skin.


I must have showered too quickly (though I thought I was already in there for quite some time) as Sari was still clearing up. On to the 2nd part of the package.

The massage was really really good. It was meant to be soothing massage and so even though she was firm in pressure, it was never painful. I actually dozed off several times during the massage. She really did the entire body, including the feet (which was heavenly). She would ask if you want to cover your eyes (I did that for the body polish but not the massage as it was getting dark by then) - and they would be covered by lavender scented eye pillow.

The facial massage was good (I think - I don't recall much now maybe I did sleep during the treatment) and included a bit of back massage when they slid their hands underneath the shoulder blades and pushed up like in a facial. She also cleansed the face before massaging which was a nice touch.

After the treatment, she would wipe off the oil. You would know the treatment ended when you hear the gong went off 3x. That was Angsana Spa way of letting customers know the treatment has ended. It was probably a less intrusive way of waking your conscious if you have fallen asleep. And they do not have to tap your shoulder or whisper or shout for you to wake up. This was communicated before the treatment started so you know what it meant.

The only time Sari left the room was after the treatment when she went to get the tea for calm time. After 2 hours, I needed to use the bathroom and had to wait for a while outside for someone to take me there. There were no signages to guide. Luckily there were other staff around to take me there and they waited for me so they could take me back to the room.

The tea and a piece of cinnamon carrot cake (nust be low fat and low sugar as it was a bit tasteless and not sweet at all. Lol) were placed in a tray for me to consume. A comment card was also given for feedback. All in all, it was really money well spent for a fabulous treatment. I would book for 4pm next time so that the treatment will end in time for sunset.

After Angsana Spa, I would say the spas in Singapore cannot hold a candle to that. Spa Botanica, Asian Spa in Fullerton Hotel (which I thought was pretty good already), Aspara and the various hotel spas (e.g. Wellness Village in Pan Pacific, Retreat Spa at Hyatt (now it is a new spa) and Marriott, Amrita Spa at Raffles the Plaza previously, St. Gregory Spa) and others just do not come up to scratch at all.

I think besides the therapists, the training and entire concept of service are equally important. The view/ambience just completes the experience. Unfortunately it is not happening for Singapore at all.

Idyllic Singapore River

I was at Boat Quay on a Sunday afternoon and this picture greeted me. Who could have thought you could actually find slices of peace in busy bustling Singapore. The flock of pigeons in front of the guy so reminded me of scenes of New York City or in Canada. It is a common sight in Toronto or even in Australia where birds just fluttered around, pecking and looking for food. I wonder if that guy is feeding the birds.

And this - people setting up easel stands and painting the landscape and buildings. How European is that?

If you click on the pic, you can see the guy's painting and it looked pretty good :) The 2 ladies do not seeemd to be local? But it is nice. I always like to go to the CBD area on weekend afternoons as it is usually quieter and you can appreciate the quiet beauty of our city.

Halloween

Have a ghoulish horrific fun while I am lazing by the poolside over at Angsana Resort & Spa in Bintan :)

It will be All Saints Day after the witching hour.

Coffee Break @ Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

I was over at Great World City on Sunday and decided to re-fuel at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. Just to chill and read my book while enjoying a drink and dessert. The pumpkin meringe pie looked not too bad, plus I was in the mood for pumpkin pie. To make up for not celebrating the Canadian Thanksgiving. I guessed I missed having pumpkin pie too. The meringe was sticky sweet like marshmallow and I could taste grains of sugars. Not very well done. The pumpkin filling was cold, I had an inkling they used those canned pumpkin filling to make the pie.

I ordered the moroccan mint tea latte to go with the pie. I have not been to Coffee Bean for so long that I forgot what I used to order and the regular size of the drink was huge! The drink was still nice though.

Curls Again

I finally had my hair done again. My curls are back and alive. I love love love how my stylist over at xTrim Hair Exclusive has done it. It has been so long since I last saw ringlets :p
After a night of sleeping on it, the ringlets still maintained its shape. Amazing!

Another view of the curls. Doll-like? Or Victorian style when ladies had sausage-shaped ringlets.

This was taken right after it was done. Didn't do a good job taking the picture. At least I only spent like 3 hours at the salon. This was a spa perm where the hair was cut first, followed by a softening lotion for 30mins? Then heated up by the machine for another 20 mins or so. Another lotion before blowdrying.

After a day of walking around, the ringlets became looser. I love the curls which mean I don't have to bother much with my hair again.

OPI A Ruby for Rudolph Pedicure

I had a pedicure over the weekend and yes, the new OPI Collection - Holiday in Toyland - is available over there. They tend to have the latest OPI colors, so if you do like to try the new colors, please hop over to Flair Beauty and Nail Services at Holland Grove Road :)

I was torn between trying the greys/charcoals or the reds. There are 6 reds in this collection and the other 6 made up of either very dark or pale shimmery colors. In the end, I decided to go for A Ruby for Rudolph as it is shimmery with microglitters.

Plus I have just placed an order for 3 of the other Toyland colors - Glamour Game, Play Til Midnight and Brand New Skates.

Check out The Nailphile for the swatches. Gorgeous colors in this collection.

Whisk Cafe. Lounge @ Wisma Atria

There is a new eatery in town and it looks cutesy, whimsical. We were looking for food over at Wisma Atria and chanced upon Whisk Cafe. Lounge on Level 3. Did you realize there are not many restaurants over at Wisma at all. I think most people just go to Food Republic and maybe Din Tai Fung for food. I like the decor. The cat is sooooooo adorable. As some stores are still undergoing renovations with the boarding etc, Whisk actually has a stand with menu very near the taxi stand to let people know they are around.

Even the menu is kitschy cuteness, just like the placemat. As with every other Japanese-Western dining cafes which have sprung up, the food is predominantly Western fare with some Japanese/Asian influence. So maybe it should be considered Fusion food in a casual setting.

We were hungry but somehow the menu didn't inspire us to really order the mains. It looked boring or maybe the descriptions of the pastas, ribs, chicken didn't make us excited about trying the dishes. So D and I shared the caesar salad. The soup we wanted was not available (chicken with corn soup). The caesar salad was surprisingly good. The dressing was just nice, not overly drenched and the hard boiled egg was a nice touch. Bacon could be a bit crisper and the cherry tomatoes lent a sweet tartness to the creamy lettuce.

C ordered the smoked salmon with ebiko (? or some fish roe thing) sandwich which came with a side of fries. It took a while to arrive but when it did, it was worth waiting for. The fries were freshly fried and was warm and crispy though it was a bit too salty. The smoked salmon with the fish roe was nice too. We polished off the entire dish.

A's order finally arrived. It took the longest to be served. She had the tandoori chicken salad with dill or mint yoghurt sauce or something. The tandoori was moist and not dry so thumbs up to Whisk for making a good tandoori chicken and the dressing went very well with the greens.

Service. The service was disappointing and practically non-existant. First we were shown to a table with four chairs even though the outer 2 chairs were jutting out of the table. Meaning - table was too small to accommodate 4 chairs. Why we were given that table, I have no idea.

So we requested to be moved to another table which could seat 4 comfortably. Menus were given and water was topped up frequently without us asking. That was good. But...we were not given any cutlery or napkins even when our food arrived. When we asked for side plates, one was dirty. We requested for a new one and it took a long time for them to give us one.

There were at least 7 servers milling around and the restaurant was not full. Maybe about 50% or less were occupied. The service marred the entire dining experience.

Then I found out they had only just opened the day before. So ok, this is teething problem in training the staff to observe the diners and their tables. There are 2 ways to look at it. One is you are new and so your service should be impeccable to wow the diners. The other is that to cut them some slack while they fine-tuned their service delivery.

I think I will go back again in a couple of months time when they should be better in their service. The food is pretty decent which helps to pull me back there again to try the other dishes.

Xin Wang HK Cafe @ Siglap

I was not really hungry when I met V for brunch last Sunday. I drove to Siglap since she was in the area. It has been quite some time since I last went there and there were so many changes. More new eateries and much more lively than 10 years ago or so.

We decided on the Xin Wang HK Cafe and I just had the French toast and pineapple bo lo bun with the iced coffee. The coffee was good. The bo lo bun was average as it was cold by the time I ate it. It was not fluffy soft at all, a bit hard and chewy.

The French toast was pretty good. Huge. Finally I got to try the "big" toast :) I could not finish everything at all. I blame it on me having some food at home a couple of hours before meeting V. I would want to try the other toast next time.

The Canteen @ Shaw Centre

We decided to try the food at The Canteen at Shaw Centre after swimming one night as they close pretty late. Plus there is a DBS credit card promotion right now though the poster was misleading. You still need to spend min. $40 before you get the 15% or 25% off (depending on time of day). The poster only showed the $40 for the earlier timing (15% off) and just 25% off total food bill for the night time. Anyway, didn't really want to push the point further but they should do something about the poster as it is false advertising on its promotion.
T ordered the prawn noodles which was the day's special. There were 2 specials - prawn noodles and fishball noodles. I tried the broth and it was excellent. Flavorful and sweet. I liked how they also served the chili powder and sliced chilies on the side too.

I ordered the X.O. Lo Shu Fun which was the specialty dish. "Mouse tail" noodles with minced pork cooked with X.O sauce and century egg. This was slightly spicy and was really good too. The century egg made a difference.

The afternoon tea selection also looked pretty good. Actually there were not many choices on the menu and we were hard-pressed to really choose our dishes.

I used my phone camera so the pictures were not really good. The place was quite nice as it was quieter at night on a weekday. It could get crowded on weekends. Just a good alternative for late night supper when you are in town.

Pasta Bolognaise

While I like to cook "free n easy", according to what strike my fancy or mood, it is definitely much better to have a recipe on hand :p

So I went grocery shopping last weekend and came back with broccoli, minced beef, cherry tomatoes, mini portobello mushrooms and a bottle of pasta sauce. Yes, I was lazy to make my own sauce :p

I decided to just make a simple dinner of pasta with meat sauce. After all, it has been a long time since I did that. Somehow, the sauce was tasteless! The saving grace was the tabasco sauce which gave a bit of kick to the dish.

The mushrooms and cherry tomatoes were wonderful. The broccoli could be softer. I only realized I forgot the minced garlic and chopped onions after everything was cooked. And I used olive oil for everything.

The above portion was big enough for two persons. I need to experiment more again.

Action for Singapore Dogs Society Calendar

I used to buy calendar from ASD (Action for Singapore Dogs Society) but have not seen them being sold for the last couple of years until now. So I just had to buy a calendar :) I think I am more charitable towards animals than to schools' fundraising :p
Every month features a dog which has been adopted and its story too. I like calendar where there is a square box so you can actually write things on it. Plus the lunar calendar is on it, useful for events planning. Do check out the website if you love dogs and would want to do something for it :)

Japanese Dining Sun @ CHIJMES

I totally love the food at Japanese Dining Sun at Chijmes or Sun with Moon Japanese Dining over at Wheelock. I guess I am pretty much a food snob at times but it is definitely much better to have good food than yucky or average food.

While it is not cheap like other run of the mill Japanese eateries, it is not astronomically expensive either. Eg. Inagiku (my fave still) @ Fairmont or Shima @ Goodwood Park or Wasabi Bistro @ Mandarin Oriental. Plus, I do love the pink dragon roll, rainbow roll, beef sukiyaki and Hokkaido ramen.

I tried new things on my last visit and I am so glad I did that. Ventured out of my comfort zone a little :p
Sashimi mori for two - salmon, shrimp, scallop, sea urchin, tuna and 2 other types of fish which I have no idea what they are but they sure tasted good :p The scallop was so sweet. Unfortunately I was not that into the sea urchin and neither was N, so we didn't finish that at all. It tasted a bit like crab roe.

Pink dragon roll. I decided to get this since I had the rainbow roll just 2 weeks ago and I guessed I wanted the salmon roe :p I was so stuffed after finishing the sushi on my own. N did not like rice much.
This was a winner! I absolutely was blown away by the foie gras grilled beef dish. It was totally amazing. The foie gras was perfectly done - soft and tasted like heaven. I am so not a liver or foie gras person as the few times I tried, it was too "livery" powdery for me. But this...it slid down smoothly and was just incredible. Maybe the sauce helped too. The beef was grilled to a medium rare texture. Tender and soft pink in the center. I loved the presentation and the way I de-construct the food to eat them one by one. The eggplant was grilled to a gentle bite. The crisp above (tapioca? or sweet potato?) was nicely crunchy and the apple was sweet to the bite. Initially I thought it was pineapple :p This will be my must order dish next time. It is that good!
Beef slices for the sukiyaki. I prefer the beef sukiyaki over at the Chijmes outlet rather than at Wheelock. I like the thin big slices of beef. Nicely marbled though wagyu it is not. Good enough :) At Wheelock, the beef slices were already dumped into the pot to cook.
The fire was really strong that night. I kept getting the steam when taking the pics. It was filled to the brim with vegetables. I totally regretted ordering a bowl of rice as I was so stuffed from the sushi earlier. Previously I still needed rice even though we shared 2 rolls of sushi but I guessed the foie gras beef and sashimi did fill one's stomach :)

The only dish from the Hokkaido menu. Camembert cheesecake. Frankly I could not taste the difference from this and other cheese cake :p It was still good but as cheesecake was, it was heavy.

Location
Chijmes #02-02 (up the stairs next to Insomnia)
Tel: 6336 3166

Bitter:Sweet

I recently discovered music from Bitter:Sweet (band from US) and I love it! I first heard the song "Dirty Laundry" from a Jazz radio station in Canada and googled for it. Then I realized I actually heard a few of its songs - Bittersweet Faith from The Devil Wears Prada soundtrack, and a few others from various TV shows and commercials in North America.



Dirty Laundry



Bittersweet Faith

Actually after a while, you realized the songs are pretty similar due to the beats. But it sure makes an awesome lounge music, just to chill and relax with a glass of wine :)

Check out Bitter:Sweet website for more music and info.

R.I.P ipod Mini...Hello ipod Nano

I finally bought it! The 16GB ipod nano :) I am so glad I waited before retiring my ipod mini. My mini which I got it in early 2005 has been giving me problems for a while. It would suddenly showed as no battery even though it was full. That is so not useful at all since it meant I can barely last 2 hours in the plane with the mini. And within weeks of me removing the plastic cover of the click-wheel, I got marks and scratches on it :( Otherwise, my mini is in pretty decent shape.

I didn't get the square nano as I didn't like it. And I sold the 1st generation nano when I won it during D&D in 2005 since the mini is 4GB and the nano was only 2GB. So yes, it is finally time to say goodbye to my mini.

I thought I would get the purple nano as it looked so pretty online. Unfortunately it was a much darker purple, almost indigo, than I like. So I decided on the classic, sophisticated black ;p It is more charcoal than pure ink black.

I love that the nano is so tiny and slim and lightweight. I just hope I don't break it! It looks so fragile. It took me a while (and friends' help) before I could download the new itunes 8. But yes, so now it is working. I need to transfer my music from the mini to the nano. And probably buy a few games and TV shows to keep me entertain.

Awesome! I love having new toy :) Now...if only I can find a blackberry pearl in pink. I am still searching for my blackberry pearl.

Coffee Club @ Paragon

Can you see us at our table? Took the signage using the reflection from the glass door across. Coffee Club at Paragon has moved from the spot to the same section as Bakerzin but on level 3.
I finally got to use my coffee voucher from the Citibank Paragon Concierge. I opted for iced latte instead of hot as the weather has been so warm recently. Paragon was quite empty, especially at Metro as it seemed like everyone was over at Takashimaya for the sale. I realized I could actually take latte with no sugar at all. So I could drink coffee with lots of milk and no sugar. Interesting.
We decided to share the mains. The baked rice with chicken and zucchini and cheese was good but so so creamy and cheesey that it get jelak after a while. So it was definitely better to share it.
The rice and chicken and vegetables inside. I liked this dish.
Another nice main - beef daube. Stewed beef with green beans over mashed potatoes and gravy to smother it. I loved mashed potatoes even though it was more pureed and whipped. The beef was tender and not tough at all. Nice.

Location

Coffee Club @ Paragon

#03-09

Tel: 6733 3595

15 Years and Blooming @ Takashimaya

C and C (not the music factory nor the automobile company). Taken last week at Takashimaya S.C. at Ngee Ann City. Actual plants decoration to celebrate the 15 years it has been in Singapore. See the banner hanging from the ceiling too. It is getting so confusing. Apparently the entire Ngee Ann City is now called Takashimaya S.C (Shopping Centre)? All the promotion materials called it as Takashimaya S.C.

And I used to be confused enough remembering the names of the various landlords and management offices along Orchard Road. Oh well, the long and short of it is that the 15% discount did not apply to the stores outside the Takashimaya S.C. Departmental Store. Bummer :( (Don't understand why the mailer emphasized the new stores inside Takashimaya S.C at Ngee Ann City if they are not participating in the promotion).

Someone please correct me if they know better how to differentiate the names. It sure is confusing when I received promotional mailers to know exactly what is applicable and what is not.