The Sweetest Thing

Present from interns on their last day

This is the sweetest thing and so totally unexpected. They are great interns and really helped us out so much, when we were quite short-handed previously. They livened up the office with their voices and jokes and antics.

Don't you think they got me down pat? Haha. The pink, butterflies and tiara. Well the face and lips could be nicer, but hey, I could live with that. Beauty is, after all, only skin-deep. And the adorable pinkish Anna Sui lipgloss. Nice!

Thank you, girls :)

Coeur Noir - Bakerzin

We had a birthday celebration in the office today to celebrate the birthday of one colleague whose birthday is today. Coincidentally today is also the birthday of 2 other pesons I know. Popular day to be born I guess :p

It was also a combined birthday celebration for those born in February, besides January baby. So I'm included too, plus another colleague whose birthday is on this Friday. 3 of us - 3 candles. Also representing my age (by chance!).

Coeur Noir

The cake was from Bakerzin. Absolutely gorgeous! Layers of dark chocolate mousse and sacher sponge, with brandy cherries and hazelnut dacquoise at the base. Surprisingly I can't taste the brandy at all though some colleagues could taste it. Maybe the slice I had didn't have much brandied cherries in it.

Lazy Sunday Brunch @ Marmalade Pantry

It was a spur of the moment thing to have brunch at Marmalade Pantry. Saw Livia online and asked her if she would like to go to Marmalade. She had nothing much to do and me neither. Also asked Regina, Celest and Tanny but they couldn't make it.

So it was just the two of us, having a lazy Sunday brunch, feeling tai-tai-ish. Haha.

After much indecison of vacillating between ordering the crab linguine or the banana pancakes or the eggs, I finally decided on Eggs Benedict, with a side of sausages. Now this may sound shocking, but that was the first time I had Eggs Benedict. It never really appealed to me much. Poached eggs. The impression I had of Eggs Benedict was poached eggs on tomatoes.

I didn't expect it to be served on nicely toasted English muffin, with a slice of ham, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. The sauce was wickedly good (and sinful)! It really added flavor to the dish. The ham was not too salty either and was of a good size, not too thin. The side of sausages was good, not too gamey tasting. Of course, adding ketchup added to the taste factor :p

Livia had the ultimate beef burger. It looked so huge and juicy, though she said it was not as juicy as the foie gras burger. The thick fries looked good too.

And of course I had to have my cupcake. The chocolate deluxe cupcake, which is the ultimate chocolate cupcake. They overheated it, so it was a bit too tough. Nevertheless, it was still so wonderfully fulfilling. Livia had the chocolate tartlet which was quite a disappointment - very bitter chocolate and had a "taste" to it. The cappuccino rounded off the meal nicely.

Barbie Loves MAC

MAC has collaborated with Barbie to come up with a collection for Spring 2007. I love the silhouette of the face on the collection and the pink stuff. So cute! The Barbie MAC doll is so pretty too!

Can't wait for the collection to hit Singapore's shores. I am so tempted by the beauty powder and blusher and glimmershimmer. No prizes for which colors I'm eyeing. Hehe. The eye shadows are nothing remarkable, and I don't use MAC lip products so I'm saved there :p

Feast your eyes on the collection!

Delhi Restaurant

I love North Indian food, with its naan and pureed vegatables and butter chicken. Ooh...the butter chicken. That has to be my fave North Indian dish ever! North Indian food is mostly yoghurt based, and is not as spicy as its southern counterpart. The tandoor oven is probably the best known feature for North Indian fare.

Arranged to meet a few friends (previously colleagues) for dinner. It has been over half a year since we last met up. I suggested going to Delhi Restaurant as the food is good and it is affordable too.

After a "trying" beginning, as I lost my bearings and could not find the restaurant, the evening got off to a roaring good fun. Catching up with each other and gossips.

top row: vegetable pakoras, pappadom, pakoras and mint sauce, sizzling mix grill
middle row: flaming mix grill, briyani rice and butter chicken
bottom row: aloo gobu, mix grill, naan, pakoras

We ordered a feast! Vegetable pakoras to start us off. Mango lassis to quench our thirst. For mains, we had a mixed grill sizzler (tandoori meat and prawns doused with wine in a hot plate), butter chicken, aloo gobi (cauliflower and potatoes), palak panir (cottage cheese cubes in pureed spinach), garlic naans and briyani rice.

What a spread. There were also pappadums with mint sauce as snack. Sad to say, I think I only had 1 piece of that. Think I was too busy listening to the gossips to really snack, plus then the food came too.

The vegetable pakoras were good, though a bit on the dry side. It was made right again with dollop of the mint sauce, giving it a much needed lift. The highlight was the mix grill sizzler. It came sizzling on the hotplate. Then the server came back with a shot of wine, poured it over and lit it. Boom! It sizzled and splattered, nice to watch, but oh the smoke. It is choking. The prawns seemed a bit overcooked, maybe cos we left them on the hotplate for too long. The tandoori chicken was fabulous. Tender and soft, not hard and dry at all.

The butter chicken was gorgeous as usual. The aloo gobi was pretty ok, cauliflower was not my fave vegetables but it was not too bad. The spinach and cottage cheese was good. Nice to mop up the sauce with the garlic naan.

Overall, a winner in Delhi Restaurant. I should go there more often instead of once a year. It is just the location. I don't really go to Little India at all.

Location:
60 Race Course Road Tel: 6296 4585

More Layers, More Curls

I went to xTrim Hair Exclusive last night to do my hair. It was getting out of shape. Again I spent 4 hours there. Why does it take so long to do the hair?

Vince thought I wanted to color it as I just did the texture perm in July 2006. But if he cut my hair, the curls will be gone, so no point in coloring. So he did a medium curl perm for the entire head so that it will last longer for my future coloring (probably).

So after 4 hours, here is the result.


Don't they look like ringlets you find on dolls? And obviously I won't get this effect by myself as I just can't be fuss about it. I am still a "wash and go" girl. Not into spending hours on my hair and styling it. One reason why I like it with curls. I don't have to comb my hair. I can get away with messy hair. And it looks great touseled - the out of bed look. Haha.

Tired face after 4 hours. See the eye bags. Urrrghhh.

SuperDog @ VivoCity

We ate so much that day in VivoCity. After a late lunch of Kolo Mee, we went to Superdog for a late dinner.

Davis wanted hotdogs and I didn't mind trying, especially since we were given some coupons . So our dogs were at a discounted price which made it pretty reasonable. Besides hotdogs of all kinds (German, Polish, Bratwurst, chili, etc), it also sells burgers and shakes and smoothies.

Superdog

So I order the Superdog which has a bratwurst sausage topped with diced onions, melted cheese and bacon. I was sold by the bacon. Unfortunately the bacon wasn't crispy which was the way I prefer. The bun was soft and lightly warmed.

Chili dog. Look at the thick golden fries.

Davis had the chili dog which looked pretty nice. I love the chunky fries. Served nicely hot and crispy, the fries were just so good!

I wouldn't mind going back again to try the burger and shake.

Jia Xiang Sarawak Kolo Mee

I heard lots about the Kolo Mee (aka Konlo Mee) from East Malaysia where Sarawak and Sabah are. Supposedly the noodles are al dente with the springiness/bouncy bite to it. The toppings are similar to the more commonly known Wanton Mee.


Went to VivoCity and saw an outlet selling Sarawak Kolo Mee. Since I was a newbie to it, I had the original and shared a bowl of dumpling soup with Davis. They were very generous with the dumpling soup, with lots of dumplings in it. Didn't count how many there are, but it seemed to be endless. Probably 8 to 10 dumplings. The most I ever seen in a soup. I like the dumplings. The skin is soft and smooth and the filling is chockful of minced meat, prawns and stuff.


The Kolo Mee is served with minced meat, char siew and veggies, plus a small bowl of dumpling soup and shrimps. The noodles were al dente and firm, definitely not overcooked. I don't recall the sauce served with the noodles but with the sambal chili, it tasted not half bad. Would I go back all the way for it? I doubt so. It is nice, but not unforgettable fantastic for me. I much prefer the "Special" Noodles sold at the stall in Kovan hawker centre. Now, that was lip-smacking delicious!

Rainbow

I saw a rainbow. But it was not in the sky. It has been raining lots and that day it stopped. I saw the strip of rainbow at the bus stop. Sun light shining through the glass at the bus stop shelter created a prism of light, dispersing it and became a rainbow.

That was so cool. Everything the light fell on had the rainbow. And black really absorbs light. The rainbow was on my hands, my bag but not my black pants.

See the pic below. Cool, eh?

Dating Profile Quiz

Your dating personality profile: Big-Hearted - You are a kind and caring person. Your warmth is inviting, and your heart is a wellspring of love. Stylish - You do not lack for fashion sense. Style matters. You wouldn't want to be seen with someone who doesn't care about his appearance. Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate.

Your date match profile: Romantic - You need someone with a traditional understanding of romance. A true romantic is a must-have in any potential date. Practical - You are drawn to people who are sensible and smart. Flashy, materialistic people turn you off. You appreciate the simpler side of living. Outgoing - Shy and timid people are not who you are after. You need someone with a vibrant personality to breathe life into a relationship.

Your Top Ten Traits 1. Big-Hearted 2. Stylish 3. Liberal 4. Romantic 5. Adventurous 6. Religious 7. Sensual 8. Practical 9. Intellectual 10. Wealthy/Ambitious

Your Top Ten Match Traits 1. Romantic 2. Practical 3. Outgoing 4. Wealthy/Ambitious 5. Big-Hearted 6. Adventurous 7. Stylish 8. Religious 9. Traditional 10. Sensual

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

Food @ Chocz ?

Seafood pasta, cake and coffee

Chocz - the place selling chocolates and desserts for some outlets, actually sell food too. Simple fare like pasta and sandwiches. A limited menu.

We tried the set lunch and it was the worst meal I ever had. Or at least one of the worst. For once I didn't finish the food.

The set lunch consists of main, dessert of the day and tea/coffee.

I decided on the seafood pasta and coffee. The pasta was soggy and absymal. Quite tasteless. It came with 2 pieces of mussels and 2 pieces of prawns. Then they ran out of prawns and gave 4 pieces of mussels for 1 plate. Quite bad.

The dessert was a strawberry cake. It looked artificial and tasted even worse. Very wet and crumbly sponge filling and had a weird taste to it.

The only thing that is good is the coffee.

Maybe Chocz should just stick to its chocolates. Godiva it is not too.

Donut Factory

The latest craze to hit Singapore. Donut Factory.

Where else would you see constant long line of people waiting for hours (1 queued for 3 hours!) to get their hands on the donuts? And it is not a one-time occurence. It has been long line since it opened, probably even more since the writeup in The Straits Times a few weeks back.

I was fortunate enough to sink my teeth into one of the delectable donuts. My sister bought a box after waiting for 30mins. She bought them by chance as she passed by the shop when it first opened and bought a dozen. She figured since she already waited for so long, she might as well buy more. And this was just a day after the news report. She didn't read the report then.

So what is so special about Donut Factory? Donuts have always been around in Singapore, but most places sell donuts which are denser and thus feel more doughy and heavier.

1st row, L-R: Blueberry Glazed, Double Chocolate, apple cinnamon or peanut butter glazed
2nd row, L-R: glazed, strawberry white chocolate, glazed
3rd row, L-R: Lotus mocha, kaya white chocolate

Conversely the donuts at Donut Factory are very light and fluffy. It really feel like you are eating air. It is just so soft. I tried 2 flavors - glazed and a coffee thing. I heated it up in the microwave for 8 secs and boy! It was so good. Extremely airy like chiffon cake. You can gobble it up in just a few bites/chews.

I tried it cool or in room temperature. That didn't feel so special. Just quite usual, but still less hard than other donuts.

Apparently the reason for the line is the production is too slow to cope with demand. My sister said there was only 1 person making the donut, and 2 others taking them out of the fryer and packing them for the customers. Someone else posted online that they make donuts by batches of flavors, so if you want something else, you have to wait.

And now I heard you can also placed order and just pick up. But it takes about a week to pick up the order. And most people who queued tend to buy 2-3 boxes. I guess it is the same mentality as my sister. Buy more since you have waited for so long.

So until the craze dies down, I don't think I will go there for another taste.

Damn! Just realized what those flavors are. I should have tried the double chocolate too. Darn it! Hope the line gets shorter soon. Too bad my office is no longer near city hall. Sigh.

Hmmm...Another Quiz

Using your mouth Your sexual hidden talent is your ability to use your mouth. You are incredibly sensual, a great kisser and a seductive lover. You drive all of your partners crazy with your mouth. Take this quiz at QuizUniverse.com

Choco-therapy @ LifeSpa

I am a bit annoyed with LifeSpa as it is next to impossible to get an appointment now. I tried making an appointment on 29 Dec for 20 Jan, and was told it was full but they will put me on the waitlist. And on 15 Jan, they called to say they have a slot on 16 Jan and if I would like to take it.

I decided to go for it cos I would never be able to get an appointment at all.

So I opted for the Choco-therapy treatment. It usually costs $388 which I think is way overpriced and not worth at all. With my package, I am paying around $140 for that which is still quite expensive.

So what is in the Choco-therapy? All things Chocolate!

You will be scrubbed, soaked, kneaded and wrapped.

I didn't particularly like the therapist Rachel. She did the body scrub as if she was in a competition to see who would finish first. It was so fast that I didn't feel relaxed at all. Plus the chocolate scrub scent was not very strong. In fact I couldn't smell anything.

Then I was led to shower off, before dipping into the milk bath jacuzzi for 15mins. The jacuzzi was nice though I didn't discern any milk in the bath at all. Just a very faint milkiness of the water. Again no scent. I felt like I was in the delivery theatre or something as the therapists just opened the door to put towels and tea etc in the jacuzzi room. It was a free show for them all. No privacy at all. I like the mini chocolate they gave together with the ginger tea. The jets of the jacuzzi were not very strong so it was just a gentle whirring of the water.

Finally it was time for the massage. It was just a 30mins back massage. It was so painful, lots of acupressure which I didn't really like. Even when I told her it was painful and to reduce pressure, she still persisted in doing the hard massage. Maybe she couldn't gauge her strength. I really prefer something soothing, but again it is getting harder to find therapists who can do that. The heating pad was overheated and I had to ask her to reduce the temperature.

The chocolate body wrap was next. Now that was the only time I could smell chocolate. Dark yummy chocolate. After my body was smeared with chocolate, I was all wrapped up in a heating pad. I felt like a hot chocolate or chocolate pudding or fondue, being cooked. Then I felt like brownie when the heat got too much and I thought I was in an oven. After 20mins, I was led for a final shower.

Would I do this again? Highly unlikely. Give me a regular good massage or a good javanese mandi lulur. I think I much prefer that. The chocolate therapy was more of a novelty. Chocolate was to have good properties in withdrawing toxins from the body, but somehow I doubt it. The amount they used was so minimal, what benefits are there?

But I still smell of chocolate so the chocolate body mask did permeate my body.

Next appointment - my birthday :)

Over the years

Found some old pics and decided to make a picture grid with them. I used to take pictures of myself using the webcam back in 2003 when I was tracking my weight loss. Then it was used to do my FOTDs. Webcam became blurrer and blurrer and I stopped using it. So no more pictures until I bought my digital camera. The frustrating thing is that I kept losing the pictures cos my pc kept crashing. Some I extracted from the Yahoo Photos which wasn't ideal for storing as the size was tiny when you extract them.

But here it is. Me as a toddler, teenager and then mostly in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. I have not taken any pic for 2007 yet.

Completed Jigsaw Puzzle

I bought 3 sets of jigsaw puzzles in December last year, hoping to spend less time online. It worked to a certain extent. I started on one...left it for a while and completed it beginning of the year. So it took about 1 month to complete a 1000 pieces puzzle.

I must admit I have help from my helper who put them together when she was free. So I did the border and the top 2 corners and the last 1/3 of the puzzle. She did the rest.

Now I have a problem. To whom should I give the puzzle to?

The next puzzle to start will be the Precious Moments.

I'm a Mixed Personality!

There it is! Proof that I am a mix of everything. No wonder I am so confused. Lol. I am both a Type A and Type B personality.

Take the test here

About Type A and Type B Personality

According to scientific literature, Type A behavior is characterized by an intense and sustained drive to achieve goals and an eagerness to compete. Personalities categorized as Type A tend to have a persistent desire for external recognition and advancement. They are involved in various functions that bring about time restrictions. Such personalities have a tendency to speed up mental and physical tasks with extraordinary mental and physical alertness. These characteristics make for super-achievers and high-powered people.

Type A individuals can get a lot done and have the potential to really move ahead in the world. But there is a high price to pay. Certain components of such a personality can inhibit happiness and even threaten health. For example, the goals that Type A folks set are often poorly defined and therefore hard to achieve—a perfect recipe for misery.

Type A is also characterized by a general discontentedness and the impulse to be overly critical and demanding, even contemptuous of imperfection, in the self and others. This focus on negative aspects and the accompanying bursts of hostility and impatience result in guilt, remorse and anxiety.

Type A personalities are motivated by external sources (instead of by inner motivation), such as material reward and appreciation from others. Type A folks experience a constant sense of opposition, wariness, and apprehension--they are always ready for battle. And anyone can imagine how this constant (and very exhausting) existence would deplete reserves of contentment and happiness and disrupt personal equilibrium.

Although the literature is somewhat inconsistent because of problems with the conceptualization and definition of Type A behavior pattern, it has been linked to higher risks of cardiovascular diseases. The risks seemed to be reduced with intervention aimed at reducing Type A behavior. Indeed, those with a high Type A score would be happier and healthier if they were to file down the jagged edges of their personality. By learning how to control the negative behavior patterns while preserving their drive, Type A people can be successful without sacrificing their emotional well-being.

Type B behavior is usually defined as the absence of Type A behavior. Type B personalities are relaxed and have a laid-back attitude and posture. They are friendly, accepting, patient, at ease, and generally content. They are at peace with themselves and others. They show a general sense of harmony with people, events, and life circumstances. They tend to be trusting. They focus on the positive aspects of things, people and events. Type B folks are self-encouraging, have inner motivation, are stable and have a pleasant mood. They are interested in others and accept trivial mistakes. They have an accepting attitude about trivial mistakes and a problem-solving attitude about major mistakes. They are flexible and good team members. The Type B person is able to lead and be led.



Results of Your Type A Personality Test

Personality Type

Your score = 55

What does your score mean?

You seem to be in the middle between the Type A and Type B personality. In this case, the middle ground is good. Your attitude to life is more of the "smell the roses" kind and you know how and when to relax. Nonetheless, you realize that picking up a challenge and competing a little bit for your place in the sun can add some spice to your life. The equilibrium is important, so don't let your hostile, aggressive, and competitive alter ego take over too often. Generally, you are easy to be around, and people tend to feel relaxed and comfortable in your presence. Yours is a very healthy attitude towards life.

Interesting test.

The Sonnet Deliberate Gentle Love Dreamer (DGLDf) Romantic, hopeful, and composed. You are the Sonnet. Get it? Composed? Sonnets want Love and have high ideals about it. They're conscientious people, caring & careful. You yourself have deep convictions, and you devote a lot of thought to romance and what it should be. This will frighten away most potential mates, but that's okay, because you're very choosy with your affections anyway. You'd absolutely refuse to date someone dumber than you, for instance. Your exact opposite: Genghis Khunt Random Brutal Sex Master Lovers who share your idealized perspective, or who are at least willing to totally throw themselves into a relationship, will be very, very happy with you. And you with them. You're already selfless and compassionate, and with the right partner, there's no doubt you can be sensual, even adventurously so. You probably have lots of female friends, and they have a special soft spot for you. Babies do, too, at the tippy-top of their baby skulls. ALWAYS AVOID: The 5-Night Stand, The False Messiah, The Hornivore, The Last Man on Earth CONSIDER: The Loverboy Link: The 32-Type Dating Test by OkCupid - Free Online Dating.

Read My Result
Take the Test

Then and Now

It was a rare occasion to get the three of us together again. It has been a long while after we left the company to meet up. The last time the three of us met was probably in 2004 or something.

While I do see Sheryn quite often (as in maybe once a month or alternate month or something and definitely when it is our birthdays and christmas), I have not seen Maggie since 2004 or so. We kept saying we must catch up but somehow work got into the way or we just got busy with our own lives.

So it was really great to get together on New Year's Eve at Maggie's place for a party. Met some other friends of Maggie's too. Just a girls party, which is equally fun and hilarious with the "live" entertainment we got ;p

See how much we have grown and changed:

Then: Oct/Nov 2003

Now: 31 December 2006

Turkey Dinner - 16 Dec 2006

This is a belated post on the 1st Christmas dinner party at my friend's place. They served turkey which was their first attempt at making it. I was the "supervisor" as I was the only one who has made turkey before.

They did a great job in seasoning the turkey and making it so pretty. The food was fantastic and too much as usual.

The trick in making very moist turkey is in the basting. Most places served very dry and tough turkey as they did not baste enough. I never was a big fan of turkey as it was always so dry that it was so disappointing. Until I learnt the trick of basting, and successfully made my own, I enjoyed turkey again, but only homemade ones. Especially when made by my cousin-in-law who is a pro in baking turkeys.

Drool at the nicely baked turkey and the other Swedish food.

Candle-lit entrance to the apartment

Streamers adding to the festive mood

Appetizer - some smoked salmon and caviar (fish roe) on seafood filling sandwich and sprinkled with dill - a Swedish specialty

Close up of the appetizer - quite full after this

Beautifully baked turkey with bacon-wrapped sausage and apricot

Another angle with tomatoes and sauages on the side

Me carving the turkey - moist and juicy

My plate - brussel sprouts, mash potatoes with cheese, bacon-wrapped sausage, asparagus, mushrooms, turkey breast with gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce (pity I can't polish off the plate, was so full)

Dessert - homemade cheesecake with peach, dessert wine and Swedish version of Coke (in bottle)

Before the proper dinner itself, we had ginger biscuits - the best ever - wafer thin and sweet, other cookies and Glogg (warm mulled wine with almonds and raisins). The ginger biscuits and Gloggs are only available from IKEA during Christmas period.

Sweet Dessert post to start 2007

Ben & Jerry - two favorite men in my life. They are with me when I am sad or when I am happy. When I need something sweet, when I need cheering up. They always make me feel better.

Amazing though how it took me so many months, years too (?) to finally enter a Ben & Jerry Scoop Shop after they set up shop in Singapore. Always, I prefer to take them home in tubs and enjoy them in the relative comfort and safe haven of home or at parties.

So on 31 December, when I was out with a friend, she wanted ice cream from Ben & Jerry. Off we went to the outlet at Raffles City basement. My very first entry. I discovered there were so many more flavors available than in the tubs sold in supermarkets or gas stations. To my credit, I didn't order any :D But I did try what Sheryn ordered - Dublin Mudslide. It has Irish Cream and swirls of coffee fudge and chocolate chips cookies. Nice, but my fave is still New York Super Fudge Chunk - chockful of dark and white fudge chunks, pecan, walnuts and fudge covered almonds in chocolate ice cream.

Scoop of Dublin Mudslide

I like the decor of the cafe - with the cow on the table. It reminded me of COWS in Canada. Huge store with a cow in front and scoop counter and other souvenirs of apparel and accessories.

Flavors I have tried:
Butter Pecan (rich buttery ice cream with roasted pecans)
Pistachio Pistachio (pistachio ice cream with lightly roasted pistachios)
**New York Super Fudge Chunk (chocolate ice cream with dark and while fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts and fudged covered almonds)
Half Baked (Chocolate and Vanilla ice cream with fudge brownies and gobs of chocolate chip cookie dough)
**Chocolate Fudge Brownies (chocolate ice cream with fudge brownies)
Chunky Monkey (banana ice cream with fudge chunks and walnuts)
Chubby Hubby (Fudged Covered peanut butter filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream rippled with fudge and peanut butter)
Cherry Garcia (Cherry ice cream with cherries and fudge flakes)
Dublin Mudslide (Irish cream liquer ice cream with chocolate, chocolate chip cookies and coffee fudge swirl)
**Phish Food (chocolate ice cream with gooey marshmallows, a caramel swirl and fudge fish)
+Bovinity Divinity (Milk chocolate ice cream and white chocolate cows swirled with white chocolate ice cream with dark fudge cows)

**I Like!
+ No longer available

Flavors to try:
Vermonty Python (coffee liquer ice cream with chocolate cookie crumb swirl and fudge cows)
Fossil Fuel (sweet cream ice cream with chocolate cookie pieces, fudge dinosaur and fudge swirl)