Molton Brown Buys

I like Molton Brown, especially the candle. It takes forever to finish the big candle I bought previously. Till now, I still have about 1/3 left to burn. It burns pretty evenly and cleanly with a good throw in the room.

So I have a 25% discount voucher for Molton Brown which will expire in end March, and I finally used it over the weekend. Still, I had a hard time deciding what to get since I still have so many shower gels from MB, Crabtree and VS and BBW and TBS. Body lotion is out as I still prefer body lotions from Crabtree.

Hair products were the next best thing though I recently fell in love with L'Occitane range with the 5 essential oils. Plus I still have a couple of bottles from MB which I have not used yet. I prefer to finish my current stuff before opening a new bottle and I am trying to finish up the shampoo from Crabtree.

Anyway, so I decided to just get the Plum-Kadu shampoo with lili-pili conditioner. I also got the shining starbloom haircondition and detangle which is like a leave in conditioner and also protects hair from UV rays. The SA also recommended a body scrub from the Purify range. It is the Ambrusca bodywash & polish which smells real nice.

4 items I bought and the SA gave me 3 samples to try. That was a nice surprise as I sure was not expecting that. I decided on the heavenly gingerlily shower gel (my fave scent from MB) and facial care (cleanser and toner).

Turned out that the SA at Ngee Ann City was the same person who served me when I shopped for my candle at Tangs outlet. She did recognize me when I asked if she used to work at Tangs as I did find her familiar. It is always nice to meet good service staff. It just made the whole shopping experience a lot more enjoyable.

Starbucks Breakfast

I don't know if it is a good or bad thing to have a Starbucks right at my office building. Every morning the wafting scent of coffee beans will tease my sense of smell, tantalizing me to enter its outlet.

Some days I will give in and order my usual caramel machiato, and other days I will resolutely walk ahead and ignore its siren call.

I gave in the other day and finally ordered its recommended breakfast pairing for the caramel machiato - chocolate coffee croissant.

I had the croissant heated up and that was a mistake for "to-go" since the chocolate stripes on the croissant were soft and streaked on the paper bag. But it was oh-so-good with the chocolatey coffee cream inside the buttery soft croissant.

A very nice indulgence for breakfast.

Starbucks also has a current promotion where you get $1 off if you order a toasty bagel or finger sandwiches or ....(I can't remember the 3rd item now) with your tall coffee or beverage. Not a bad deal. I am starting to love the finger sandwiches of tuna and chicken.

Island Cafe Pasta Promotion

Island Cafe at Tangs Orchard had a pasta promotion about two weeks ago and I happened to be there for dinner and was given a set meal option. I was torn between ordering the Fried Kway Teow or the set meal as it was laksa fettuccine.

In the end, I decided on the set since it was not on the regular menu and I do so want to try the laksa fettuccine. It came with a decent portion of fish, prawns and quail eggs. I could smell the laksa leaves and the fish was surprisingly fresh and tender (not overcooked at all). The prawns were sweet and crunchy. Unfortunately the aromatic scent did not match the taste of the pasta. The pasta was pretty tasteless. It seemed like there was not enough cream.
The set came with dessert and a choice of coffee or tea. I had coffee which was standard. The dessert was green beans soup. It was a bit lemak as coconut milk was added to it. I rarely have green beans soup as it was not my favorite type of desserts but this was not too bad.

Cafe Iguana Appetizers

I was at Cafe Iguana last night with some friends and it was packed to the rafters as usual. They have changed their furniture too! The outside tables are paired with bright colorful metal chairs of yellow, blue, green and red. I don't like it at all. A server told me they are from the Greenwood outlet and much lighter than the wooden chairs.

The service was not as good as before too. We were not given the complimentary (not sure about now but it was complimentary the last time I was there around CNY period) chips and salsa dip but I didn't bother to ask for that since I was not that hungry. Water was not served promptly too. I had to request for that twice. Water was only topped up regularly without us asking after I managed to request for a top-up from the i/c or something. It was sad to see the service standard slipping as I used to be such a regular that the i/c recognized me (can't remember if it is the same i/c now).

Then because we only ordered appetizers to share as we were not very hungry, we were not given the proper napkins with fork and knife. Again, another staff told me about this policy. I always thought that was a standard, to be given the proper napkins with cutlery. And when another friend ordered fajitas (from the mains) later, she was not given a plate to make the fajitas.

The saving grace was that the food remained as good and the margarita was still wonderful too.

Quesadillas of mushroom and cheese with salsa dip. Cheesy and filled with enough mushrooms to give bite to the dish.
My favorite appetizer - carne de puerco en chile verde - spicy pork stew with rice, sour cream, flour tortilla. This dish has to be ordered as the appetizer. Somehow the smaller portion enabled the entire bowl of rice to be soaked with the stew.

The main tends to be a bit dry and not as flavorful or good. The pork was tender and has no porky taste or smell at all. There were cubes of potatoes and carrots (I think).

Taco salad - trying to be healthy to get some greens. We chose the chicken skewers but the meat was a bit tough. The other choices were veggies and beef. The greens were fresh and crispy crunchy. The tortilla bowl was crispy and oh so yummy too.

A simple light dinner filled with good food and drinks and company. If only the service was better (though to be fair, it was pretty ok towards the end) and the furniture was the previous ones.

Do make reservations as they are usually full for the weekend.

OPI Minis

My mini nail polishes from OPI. I forgot to include the minis from the Hollywood collection. Maybe another time when my minis from the latest South Beach collection are here.

Some of the minis are from the Vegas (is there such a name for the collection?) collection and the others I don't remember where they are from.

The bad things about minis are that the names of the polishes are not written anywhere on them.

So I only know the purple is Purple with a Purpose (a gorgeous deep purple) and the pale pink is Altar Ego (a lovely shimmery soft pink) and one of the berries reds is Charged Up Cherry. The two clear polishes are topcoats.

Chap Goh Meh Homecooked Dinner

The pictures have been sitting in the folder for a darn long time but many were blurred so I didn't really have time to sort them out and decide which one to put online.

This Chinese New Year was filled with feasts. There were so many CNY family dinners that it seemed like this financial crisis has made people cherish their families/relatives more?

This was a Chap Goh Meh dinner hosted by one of my cousins though technically it was on the 13th night of CNY as the last day of CNY fell on a Monday and it would be more convenient for everyone on a weekend.

The highlight of the dinner? Almond jelly in the shape of carp (to symbolize abundance?) nestled among the numerous longans and cubed jelly. The kids sure loved this dessert, they were just waiting to dive in and devoured the fish jelly :p

The traditional dishes. We had enough of steamboat after having that for the eve and 1st day together. It was a nice break to have a delicious, home cooked food. I realized I hardly ever have that ever since I started working. Pretty obvious from this blog that I eat out more than I eat at home. The empty space was for the soup.

What did we have?
Steamed chicken which was very tender and fragrant.
Mushrooms and xiao bai cai - love the sauce and mushrooms and veggies
Roasted duck - I'm not a duck person so I only took 1 piece which was pretty good
Chap Chye (or mixed veggies) - I loved the bean curd roll in there, plus that crispy bits


Cereal prawns which were sweet and tasty and the ever addictive oat cereal. Really finger licking good.

My cousin roasted the pork and char siew herself. I am not a pork fan but these were good since there were no porky taste to them. I do so love the crackly pork skin :p The trick is to rub the skin with salt before putting into the oven to get the crispy crunchy skin.

I love love love the soup with chinese cabbage, mushrooms, fishballs, homemade meatballs mixed with sotong and fish maw. Absolutely pleasing to the tummy.

A surprise - birthday cake for me and nephew whose birthday is 4 days before mine. His due date was actually on my birthday but he decided to enter the world early :p My very first birthday cake for the year.

I just love home cooked food especially when cooked by my cousins ;p

Shimbashi Soba - February Hearty Meal

It is strange. Much as I adore Japanese food, I hardly ever stepped into Shimbashi Soba located at the basement of Paragon. Somehow I will always choose other restaurants and just walked past this fascinating place with its chef kneading and pulling noodles for the public to gawk.

It was the last day of February and I happened to be in Paragon before heading home. Somehow I was craving for cold noodles, so Shimbashi Soba it was. I made it in time for February promotion of the hearty meal. It was very good, with a bit of everything in there. Cold soba with semi-cooked salmon slices and eggplant with the seasame dipping sauce (like dan dan mian sauce). Assorted sushi. Tempura. Chicken teriyaki and cold tofu with tomato.

The meal ended with dessert - green tea tiramisu and ice cream. Yummy. A very satisfying simple dinner which strangely also felt very healthy :p

Starbucks Espresso Passport

Starbucks has a current promotion called the Espresso Passport which is a pretty good deal if you are a regular Starbucks customer.

For $29.90, you get the passport which entitles you to 6 grande espresso beverages (cold/hot). That works out to about $5 each which it great if your drink typically costs over $6. I'm a caramel machiato drinker so that is great savings for me.

By espresso, it means virtually any coffee drink e.g. mocha, caramel machiato, cappuccino, latte, espresso, etc in both the hot or cold menu which actually gives you more than 10 choices? You have to finish the passport within two months of purchase which will not be a hardship if you need a java fix daily.

The promotion is so popular that the passport runs out fast. It was sold out when I bought my passport and I had to go back a few times throughout the week before I received mine. I pre-paid for the passport as the i/c said they were expecting the new stock the next day.

Tall quantity caramel machiato in a grande size cup?

So the barista had to change my original order of a tall caramel machiato to the grande. Imagine my dismay when I removed the cap to stir my coffee. It was not full at all, it was just slightly over 3/4 of the cup. No wonder the cup felt lighter than usual. That got me thinking maybe they just transferred the "tall size" quantity into the grande cup or maybe it was the way they do it over at my office building outlet.

Full size of the grande caramel machiato

A few days later, I ordered another grande caramel machiato. This time, it was made by the i/c and it was heavy and full to the brim.


I wondered at the quality control at the outlet since it happened a few times that my grande size drink contained less than the usual amount.

I usually ordered the tall size so I never had any issue with the drink quantity at all...until now. Or maybe you get less because you are using the passport? Somehow I don't think that is the case. Maybe it really depends on the barista making the coffee.

Boomarang Bistro & Bar - Horrid Food

This is basically the worst ever meal I ever had in a long long long while. I was initially excited about trying the food but it turned out to be a very bad and costly mistake.

I was in the Robertson Walk/Quayside area doing site recce for potential venues for my events and Boomarang looked like a nice place for food or drinks. I googled for more information and the reviews were hit and miss.

Anyway, so we got there close to 8pm and made it in time for the happy hours (till 8pm). My tequila 7-up mixer was decent, but JK said her beer was not ice cold at all.

The menu selection was decent but filled with non-regular choice of meat. Emu, crocodile, kangeroo, anyone? I was not particularly hungry and decided on the fish and chips. How can you go wrong with fish and chips?

I have very fond memories of the fish and chips in Australia. Huge packet of chips with a pretty big slab of deep fried fish. I was surprised when my dish arrived (see the pic above). 2 tiny pieces of deep fried fish which were not fresh at all. The meat was tough and dry and had a very strong fishy smell and taste. The batter was thick too. I had one bite and didn't touch the rest.

The chips were not golden brown, instead they were pale and looked undercooked. The dips were totally tasteless. Watery and tasteless. I never had a mayo or tartar sauce which lacked any sort of taste at all.

JK ordered a crocodile meat pizza. Ok, I didn't like the taste of crocodile meat (I spat it out) but that could be an acquired taste. But the thin crust pizza was soggy in the middle. Not good at all. Again, I only took a bite of the pizza and left the rest of the slice on my plate.

Throughout the 40minutes we were there, no one actually bothered to ask if everything was alright. Instead they were more concerned about drinks. They came over several times asking JK if she wanted another drink as she had finished her beer. We were actually contemplating ordering a bottle of wine, but with the sub-standard of the food, we were hesitant to order a bottle in case it would be equally bad.

We asked for the bill, and I wrote my comment on the feedback card. The waiter who gave me the check did not even ask if anything was wrong when it was obvious that our food was virtually untouched. After I signed for the bill and passed the comment card and told him the food was awful, he told his manager. The manager just looked over at our table and us and didn't do anything either. I think that spoke volume on what his focus and priority were.

In any case, I will not go back to Boomarang in a hurry. And I will definitely strike it off my list of venue for events. I was actually there to recce the place as my colleague forgot to check the wine list and I wanted to just do some checking before calling up the lady whom my colleague spoke to previously. I certainly do not want to run the risk of not having adequate support from their service staff when I hold events.

It is such a pity. Nice location, nice ambience. Just very bad food and mediocre service.

Location
Boomarang Bistro & Bar
60 Robertson Quay #01-15
Tel: 6738-1077

Kuishin-Bo Dinner Buffet @ Suntec

After hearing so much about the buffet at Kuishin-Bo, I finally got the chance to try it during the Wednesday Ladies Night (2 seatings at 2 hours each, starting from 530pm). We went there around 615pm and had to vacate around 730pm (I believe you could stay on if you are not taking part in the Ladies Night which was a cheaper price).

I was pretty surprised by the selection. I usually did not have a good opinion of such buffet after bad experiences at some other places, so I did not know what to expect. There was a decent variety of food available and the some were pretty good. I liked the sashimi which were fresh, not amazingly fresh but at least they were not limp. The sushi was not too bad but could be better. There were more choices than what I took.

The unagi was good, the yakitori and grilled squids were cold, so were not that great. The crab legs were big and sweet. The surprise was the wagyu beef which the chef will grill after you selected the meat. Very tender and juicy.

More crab legs. Between the two of us, we only had 6 legs or so? Considered very little when you see tables just filled with crab legs :p

Dessert! I was so stuffed but I just had to try the Japanese desserts which we shared. The cream puff was very nice and the mango pudding. There was a chocolate fountain which I didn't bother trying. I think I am so over the chocolate fountain thing. There were also ice cream and more pastries/cakes.

You could select your own drinks - different flavored tea bags, milo, different types of coffee and the soda fountain. We also had a hot pot which was really nice and oden. There were more cooked food and handrolls and tempura. So much food that you could not possibly sample everything.

Location

Suntec City Tower 1

Level 3 (where Toys R Us and Post Office are)
Tel: 6238 7088

B Bakery

Hidden away in the Arab Street area is this little gem. B Bakery does not have an extensive selection on its menu but apparently what it has, it does them well. It also seems to specialize in its cakes or baked goods. We were there for dinner and we shared a veggie platter. Grilled veggies with hummous and bread. I liked it. Freshly grilled veggies hit the spot for a starter.

LW ordered the duck salad which was not too bad. Bits of pomegranate were sprinkled over the greens, giving a refreshing crunch.

I ordered the beef stew which came with generous serving of tender beef pieces. The stew was robust with beefy and tangy taste to it. The bread was great when spread with butter and dipped into the stew.

MW had the salmon which was done just nice, not overcooked at all. Most places tend to grill it for too long, rendering it dry and hard.

We shared a slice of toffee cake which was like butterscotch pudding. All the cakes were cut in a long rectangle slice. It was good.

Location

15 Bussorah Street

Tel: 6293 9010

Opening Hours

Mon-Wed: 9.30am - 6pm

Thu-Sat: 9.30am - 9.30pm

(Closed on Sun & PH)

Garuda Padang Cuisine - Cairnhill

We had an office lunch last month and I chose Garuda Padang Cuisine. It has been a long time since I last went there and it now serves buffet lunch which is so much more affordable than a la carte.

We managed to finish most of the above and also added on extra orders of some other stuff. Garuda also does a full vegetarian dishes so you can request for that if there are vegetarians in your group of diners. A colleague is a vegetarian so we ordered 2-3 vegetarian dishes for him, not sure if those are at extra cost.

What did we have? (from top left clockwise)

Fried egg - very nicely done with the crispy edges and the inside is soft and fluffy

Chili eggplants - not overly mushy but yet a bit soft. we ordered another dish of this.

Sayor lodeh - it was ok, then again i'm not a big fan of it

beef rendang - awesome! tender meat with fragrant spices. not too spicy too.

cockles chili - i don't like this at all....the small cockles didn't do it for me. could be an acquired taste

Fried chicken - the breast part was too dry but the others were fine.

bergedil - very nice. I liked it.

sambal goreng - another nice dish, the tempeh was fried to a crisp giving it a crunchy bite.

petai prawns or squid - nice...a bit spicy. petai is another acquired taste

tapioca leaves curry - it was good but too much for us.

fried catfish - it was nice, if you don't mind the numerous bones in the catfish.

Fish head curry in center - Lots of fresh meat and the curry was great over rice.

We were so stuffed after the meal. And we had coconut juice and fruits to finish the meal. We didn't order any desserts as they didn't look appetizing, plus desserts were not included in the buffet price.

Location

Garuda Padang - Cairnhill
15 Cairnhill Road #02-01

Cairnhill Place Singapore 229650

(Ground Level - next to Al-Falah Mosque. Ample Parking Space Available)
Tel : +65 6735 4111

Fax : +65 6735 4222

Daily Opening Hours

Lunch : 11:30AM - 3:00PM (Last orders: 2:30PM)

Dinner : 6:00PM - 10:30PM (Last orders: 10:00PM)

(Including Chinese New Year & Public Holidays)

Island Cafe at Tangs Orchard

I used to like Island Cafe over at Tangs Orchard, but with the number of new cafes sprouting up in the Orchard belt, it got relegated to second place. Plus, the last few visits were met with dismal food - it was not as good for some dishes.

Anyway we were hungry and wondering what to eat when we decided to just go to Island Cafe since I wanted something simple and with no queue. We shared the grilled taupoks which were not too bad. The taupoks and yew char kway (fried stick fritters) were warm and crispy. The century egg gave a bit of flavor to the dish and those who love hae kor (prawn paste) would like this dish as it had a very strong distinct taste of it in the sauce. It was a bit too overpowering for me.

I decided to try the meat ball soup. It turned out to be pretty ok, tasty broth with 3 meatballs in there.

My main - nasi goreng. The satay were slightly tender and robust. The chicken rendang was good and the rice was nice too.

Overall, the dishes ordered were satisfying and managed to keep the hunger at bay.

Revisiting YSL Y-Mail Zip Wallet

After looking at wallets for so long, I think I am about 70% leaning towards getting the YSL Y-Mail zip wallet. Now the problem is the color since I have given up on getting a metallic gold which I was contemplating previously. The gold will flake over time, so it is not a practical wallet for everyday use.While searching around online, I saw the navy and quite like the dark blue sheen (no longer available online now and more expensive in the States too). So I popped back into YSL over the weekend to check if they do carry the blue but nada. Sigh. It really only stocks the classic colors of black, metallic gold and metallic silver.

The black YSL Y-Mail...under certain lighting in the store, it looked blue to me! I must have blue on my mind as I am so fixated on blue this season. Lol. Anyway, since it is part of the classic range and colors, it will always be around. Now I just have to change my mind to black, black, black.

Sidenote: BV cobalt veneta in DFS is sold out too. Another of my target bites the dust...unless the other outlets still have them.

Images from eluxury.com and ysl.com

The bag that got away - Tod's G-Bag (Easy Sacca)

I have always like the D-Bag Media from Tod's but somehow I have not really found the color which called out to me. Though this Lily (purple) does make the heart twitch a little. Just too bad it is not ordered by the Singapore outlets. The current spring colors are not really for me.

Then I saw the G-Bag (easy sacca) which was designed and named after Gwyneth Paltrow (also the current face for Tod's) I saw the saffron (yellow) one when JK tried it on, but she didn't get it as it was canvas with leather straps. The style didn't appeal to me either until a couple of weeks later when I popped by to check on the new season's wallets and the blue G-Bag was on display.

Somehow the blue looked so much better than the yellow or from the pictures. It was a blue-purple and looked like it could do double-duty (casual work bag or weekend bag). I tried it on and I quite liked it. It was fairly light (I am always on the quest for light bag as I carry way too many things in my bag) and roomy. As it was canvas, it could stand on its own and it was a different style from my usual bags.
The only concern I had was whether it could hold heavy things as it seemed a bit fragile. The SA assured me that since the leather straps were stitched almost all the way down to the end, it could take heavy weight. That some people even put their laptops in there.

There was a divider in the center which I was also not sure of. In any case, I decided to sleep on it and wait for a while. But....just one week later, it was all sold out! The saffron was already sold out too (only left the smaller/medium size). Boo hoo! :(

I would not order online as surprisingly it cost more in the States (after exchange and shipping) than buying from Singapore.

I wonder what other colors would come in for this style next year or the F/W 09 collection.

Images courtesy of eluxury.com

Bakerzin Macarons

After resisting for close to a month, I finally caved into Bakerzin February promotion - $1 macaron. There was an additional promotion when I popped into the outlet at Paragon on the last day of February. $5 for 6 macarons for a pre-packed package. Since I always liked to try things, I decided to get that.

Lemon - I liked the tartness which contrasted well with the sweet pastry

Rose - a very light hint of ot

Pistachio - not very strong with bits of nuts.

Hazelnut (I think) - very nutty taste

Chocolate - my favorite. I think I just like all things of dark chocolate

Blueberry - I didn't get to try it as it rolled out of the bag onto the floor. Darn! :(

So it was back to square one. $5 for 5 since I didn't get to try blueberry. Lol. Davis said that is the nicest one. I should have known. Sigh.

Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Diffuser

February is finally over and I spent quite a fair bit at Crabtree & Evelyn utilizing my birthday vouchers. I stocked up on my La Source body lotion (one bottle can last 6-10 weeks of daily use) and tried out the aromatherapy range of lavender/rosewood of shower cream, body scrub and lotion, plus my ultimate buy - India Hicks Island Living Casurina Diffuser.

The wooden box with the clasp housed the diffuser and reeds. I absolutely love it and I am so happy that I finally have it.

I have been eyeing it since it was launched in 2007 or so but just never took the plunge to buy until now. The beautiful seashells inside the bottle looked so pretty. It can just take me back to being on a beach holiday. Just lazing by the pool or beach, basking under the warm sun.

Waraku @ The Heeren

Is it my imagination or has the standard of Waraku food dropped? We were there last weekend at the Heeren outlet and Level 5 of the place was quite a dead town. A few restaurants were offering lower prices and discounts and most were either empty or just had a handful of diners. Or maybe it was our timing at 12noon on a Saturday. (Then again, we were the only customers at NYDC when we were there on a Thursday afternoon at 2pm and the other eateries were still empty and 1 restaurant seemed to be closed. ) I added on a side of salmon sashimi which was not that great. Limpy and average.

The set lunch I ordered (yes, now set lunches can be ordered on weekends and PHs - how times had changed) - beef on rice and shoyu ramen.

The beef was not too bad. At least it was not dry and I liked the sauce over ther rice.

The shoyu ramen was not too bad too. Came with a few pieces of the radish and a slice of pork belly.

I was not that satisfied, so I had another side of salmon with cream to go with my carbs.

Overall the food was very average. I had better food over at the Central outlet previously, then again the standard could have dropped too. I think I will stick with the Sun with Moon restaurants for Japanese food in future.