A New Journey

It has finally happened. I managed to pass the other paper after a few attempts and so I shall be embarking on a new career path soon. It is something which I never really thought I will be doing. Finance, me? A person who loves the words and enjoys being ensconced in the beauty of language, venturing into the financial world is quite unthinkable.

I guess the saying "never say never" does apply, cos you just do not know what will happen in the future. I did like math when I was younger and did reasonably well. I am still proud of the fact that I started Primary One with a perfect 100 score in Mathematics and ended Primary Six Mathematics with another 100/100 score. Then it all went downhill after that. Hahahaha.

Anyway, while I will be in the financial industry, I am not involved in the accounting or finance aspects of it. Instead I will be in the Capital Market sector. From the little I know of the field, I find it fast paced and exciting. I think I will enjoy the analytical part of it as well as the monitoring of the economic and political situations around the world.

The reality may not be what I envisioned but at least I can say I am psyched to start the new job and finally get to know what it is all about.

It took exactly 3 months (Feb, Mar and Apr) from the classes to the exams for me to make the switch. Not too long and not too short. The timing is just right. As always, it is always in His time and not mine (mine would be Feb to Mar :p).

To God be the Glory and praise the Lord! Thank you, Father.

(I have not heard the song in so long now)

Lyrics to the hymn "To God Be The Glory"

To God be the glory, great things He has done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Refrain

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Refrain

Great things He has taught us, great things He has done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.

Refrain

Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine, Great World City

This was my first visit to the Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine over at Great World City in early January this year. Amazingly, it was full house when we got there at around 8pm on a Saturday night. Then again, being Singapore, it is quite normal for restaurants to be packed, with long snaking lines on weekends. We finally got a table around 8.15pm and what do you know, most of the dishes my friend wanted to order were sold out by then. These were what she ordered.

Roast pork which was surprisingly very nice. I hardly took pork (as most had a taste/smell to me) but this was ok. Crispy crackling skin with tender meat. Nice. It came with a mustard dip which probably helped to remove any residual porky taste.

The deep fried squid and shrimps were average. It was not outstanding nor was it bad. I did not remember much of it.
The veggies were crunchy and fresh. It was good, especially when pairing it with the rice congee. We wanted something light and it was probably the last dregs of the congee since it was late at night and they actually did not really serve it anymore.
The sweet and sour pork was alright. The sauce was not too artificial tasting and I guessed it made the pork more palatable.
This was the first time I had this dish. Hand-chopped pork with salted fish. I liked it. I loved how salted fish could always bring out the flavors of a dish. The meat was super soft and not tough at all, and again, it went very well with the rice congee.

All the pork dishes, mostly because other dishes were not available that night.

Grocery Shopping

I know things are not cheap from the supermarket but it does make you wonder why cook when it is so much easier (and maybe cheaper) to just eat out. After all, it is very easy to find food in Singapore compared to many countries where you need to drive a distance just to buy food and even then, most places close early.

I would think it is a love of creating and making meals that you want to cook (though I know some people cook for practical reasons too). Maybe for a family of 4 or more, it is still cheaper to cook at home, but for 1-2 persons, sometimes it can be more wallet friendly to eat out.

I went grocery shopping today since I know I would be home for the next few days and it would be an opportunity for me to cook. I have been fixated with making chicken quesadilla ever since I saw how easy it is to make it.

Mentally I thought I would make the chicken quesadilla and also stir fry beef with capsicums. The stir fry beef was one of the first dishes I learnt how to make when I was younger and I hardly made it anymore since no one in the family really eats beef.

My shopping list

beef for stir fry (over $5 for just over 100g! reality check on how expensive beef can be)

1 x red capsicum

1 x yellow capsicum

1 x tortilla pack (around $7.80 for 10 pcs)

1 x can salsa ($4.50. I was lazy to make my own)

1 x roast chicken ($7.95)

baby portobello mushrooms ($4.95)

1 x 2L Meiji low-fat milk

1 x spice bottle

1 x mozzarella/red cheddar cheese ($5)

1 x pack cilantro

1 x lemon

1 x avocado ($2.10)

For all that, my bill came to $52. Is that normal or is it just the things I bought just to make at least 2 dishes (chicken quesadilla and stir fry beef with capsicums).

Granted, I can probably extend the life of the roast chicken by using the leftovers to make either chicken porridge or sandwich.

At least now I can estimate what it would cost me when I eat out for the 2 dishes if I were to make them myself.

Spams from China Users

I have been receiving comments which are totally irrelevant and contained spam information. It has gotten to the stage where I am so tired of deleting them on my blog that I have finally decided to do "comment moderation".

I do enjoy getting comments from readers who have found my blog useful or just want to share their experience. I hope I will still get them despite the "moderation" bit. I know it can be tedious for people who genuinely wants to leave comments but dislike the "moderation".

But I figure it is better for me to do that than to allow these spammers (all from China so far, and reporting to Google didn't seem to work at all) to have any "air space" to promote their "whatever" via my blog.

I do not even advertise my blog address or have it as my signature in any places, so I really have no idea how these spammers find it. They are a complete nuisance!

Book Stack

I find my collection of books keep growing and I have no idea where to discard them. I probably need to cull the collection and donate those I do not want.

I used to re-read my books but now I find that I hardly do that. I just do not have the time to re-read even my favorite books.

Here are some of my books which are just sitting on a stool. My other bookshelves have run out of space for them.

The 2nd hand bookstore or used books rental bookstore is a godsend for me. I could read the novels and then return them. But sometimes I still buy books, especially some books can be quite hard to find in those bookstores.

What do you do with books you do not want anymore?

Random Pic of the Day (POD)

I had to drain my camera battery the other night before I could charge it again, so I started taking random pictures in my room.

One of the pictures taken was this. Soft toys and alcohol. What a combination, huh?

Basically I have no idea what to do with the soft toys so I just left them on the shelves. It would be a pity to throw or give them away since they are gifts from people through the years.

Top shelf

The dog was given by a friend in 1994. He gave a similar one to another friend too.

Hidden behind is Tenderheart Bear (old version) which was given to me during Christmas in 1988 or 1989 or 1990 by a cousin. It is still in fairly pristine condition as it was wrapped up in plastic for about 10 years of its life. This is probably considered vintage? :p

The mouse is called "Strawberry Sundae" and it was given to me by another cousin when I left for Canada. It had crossed the Pacific Ocean and across Canada countless times for it was always with me when I traveled.

The pig was a Christmas gift from a nephew in 2004 or 2005 or 2006.

The Gund bear in front of the pig was a graduation present from a dear friend in 1998.

Next to it, the tiny bear keychain in the orange tee was a gift from someone special in 2003.

The green dino was given by an old friend who probably didn't know what to do with it when he received it from BK. Hahahaha.

Middle Shelf

The bear in red sweater from Giorgio Beverly Hills which was a free gift when I bought my then fave scent "G" in 2000. It has since been discontinued.

The middle bear was my 21st birthday present from my sister. She bought it from Harrods and sent it all the way to Canada. The postage actually cost more than the bear :p

The bear with a red scarf around its neck was from La Senza in Canada. I believed I bought it during the Christmas period in 1997 or so.

The grey bear was from Sasha and I probably bought it but I do love Sasha's bear, so it will stay.

Bottom Shelf

I keep my stash of alcohol here. My room is cool and it is away from sunlight.

Absolut Vodka Peach, Tequila, Cointreau, El Senorio Mezcal, Rosetta...

Plus my essential oils and massage oils and mugs and most important of all ~ my clock.

It is a Alice in Wonderland clock which I bought eons ago in Canada. I shipped it back to Singapore when I came back.

Applebee's at TripleOne Somerset

I finally managed to make my way to Applebee's last Friday. It was a last minute decision and it was around 8:10pm when we got there. I was surprised to see a huge crowd and quite a few groups of people waiting for their tables. We left our names and found out it would take another 20minutes before our turn.

Darn! We should have left our name first before heading to the Candy Empire where we spent close to half an hour in there choosing our snacks and sweets.

The place had a homely feel and was mid-size. It was not huge and was not too tiny. It was the only place which was busy in TripleOne Somerset.
A menu with some selection of food items were displayed on the wall so people can have a look while waiting. We also noticed the opening hours had been reduced. I guess people did not hang out there after hours at the moment.
We were seated by the bar (shorter wait time) and I quite enjoyed it. The bar was where the action was. You could see what was happening and could be a good place for a cozy chit chat if there were only two of you.

I had the perfect margarita ($18! But it came in its own shaker and I could get about 3 glasses of it) while Celest had the Bahama Mama. Somehow the Bahama Mama was not as potent as the one I had when I was in Bahamas. Or maybe I was much younger then and could not really drink so the rum was just too strong for me. This Bahama Mama was actually sweet and tasty. Nice.
The bartender who would take our food/drink order. He was really nice. Topping up the glass when it was almost empty. Changing to a new glass when he felt the salt was not enough, and also bringing over glasses of cold water for us when I only requested for one (Celest actually wanted warm water but we did not order that). The service staff was fab. Very friendly and attentive.

The bar with all the alcohol and glasses and a tv turned on the sports channel so you won't ever be bored if you are there on your own.

We decided to share the appetizer trio (choose 3 items from a list) and a slider plate. We chose the tortilla chips with artichoke, spinach and cheese dip. The chips were crispy and the dip was nice. It got a bit too cheesy in the end though.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

A dish that made us famous. A warm crock of creamy spinach, tender artichokes, and melted Asiago and Parmesan cheeses, with salsa and tortilla chips for dipping.

We also selected the buffalo wings and steak quesadillas tower. Somehow the tower had collapsed and rested on the plate. Lol.

Steak Quesadilla Towers

Sirloin steak topped with onions, pico de gallo, peppers, and cheese. Rolled in a grilled tortilla and served with salsa.

The buffalo wings were good, like those you get in North America. Tangy spicy coating the chicken. I wished they gave more celery sticks and the blue cheese dip could be less watery too.

The steak quesadilla was not too bad. Maybe it was some time before I got to them, but the cheese had melted and the tortilla was a bit too thick. The salsa was good. Spicy and not watered down.

The cheeseburger silders were surprisingly good. They looked plain and boring but the beef patties were moist and juicy. The mini buns were lightly toasted and the simple humble burger was once again very satisfying.
We were quite stuffed and did not finish everything. I would have love to try the dessert shooters or even the maple butter blondie. I saw quite a number of tables ordering that. Maple butter was always my weakness. I hope their version was really as good as the one I had in Quebec. That was out of this world. Sweet maple butter spread over a thick toast of freshly baked bread which was actually baked outside in a kiln.

I do like Applebee's for the atmosphere and wonderful service staff, and found the food to be decent. It was not fantastic but it was ok. I think the food at Chili's is so much better, but maybe I need to try the mains before I can make a fair comparison too. The place started to thin out after 9.30pm so when we left at around 10.15pm, we were one of the last few customers there.

Miss Chatterbox Magnet

I needed to pump petrol and popped into the Shell station near Serangoon Gardens for a top-up. I did not realize that the convenience store (7-Eleven) attached to it is pretty big. It has so many things for sale. From kite to stationery to milk to car cleaning equipment to snacks and the usual magazines.

I spent about 5-10 minutes (yes, I can shop anywhere :p) in there just exploring what they have. In the end, I bought a bottle of Pokka milk coffee, M chocolate milk, clorets mint and a D-Plus Caramel Bun. That and my gas somehow entitled me to the Mr Men and Little Miss series magnet. I love the books when I was growing up.

What do you know? The one inside the pack is Little Miss Chatterbox. Hahahahahaha. I love the letter "C". It is the first letter of my name and is also the first letter of so many things I like.

There are 40 to be collected. You need to spend $5 to get one and the promotion is still 27 April 2010. Read the terms and conditions from the website.

April Gathering at Greenhouse, Ritz Carlton

You could probably tell I really do like the Greenhouse over at Ritz Carlton. This was my 3rd time in so many weeks, with a few more to go :p

I requested for 2 portions of salmon and 1 portion of snapper, but somehow the chef gave me 1 portion of each. Maybe that was a good thing too since it could get a bit too much after a while. The sashimi was fresh and sweet. It was pretty crowded last night that there was only 1 pair of chopsticks left and not much wasabi too (and it was only 730pm or so)!

Then it was onto the cold seafood. There were plenty of oysters and I took four for myself. The tabasco sauce was all gone too. 4 different types of bottles and 3 were empty. The only one left was with chipotle and the smoky taste certainly didn't really go well with the oysters. While the oysters were fresh, there were plenty of grits on them too. Not nice to have to keep removing them while eating.

The highlight of the evening was the pate. It was the first time I saw these little pots with different fillings. The cheese stick went very well with it too.
Creamy smooth pate (not sure which liver it was from, but for a non-liver lover person, this was soooo yummy). It was the most sinful rich food of the evening for me.

My main - hokkien noodles which was a bit dry (or maybe I took the top part which was drier) but still delicious. The chicken with porcini sauce was also very good. The porcini added a new dimension with its stronger taste. The butter prawns were awesome with its rich buttery flavor and sweet flesh. I liked the roast potato and beef bourguignon too. The beef was tender and just melted in my mouth.

This time there were lamb and herbal duck too which the others loved. Not a fan of gamy meat, I did not try them.

I was quite enamored by the cheese selection. Somehow I was more keen on the cheese with crackers, grapes and dried fruits than the dessert. Maybe it was the company too which made it all the more nicer. Munching on hard cheese with the sweet grapes and dried mango and figs while chatting away ~ bliss.

My concession to dessert - chocolate mousse cup. This was my chocolate fix for the night. Dark bittersweet chocolate was simply heaven.

I did not try this though we were pretty intrigued by how the liquid was at the bottom with a space in the middle and topped with the custard cream. It was actually coconut and strawberry. It just looked pretty.

I had a tiny half curl scoop of the strawberry and rum & raisin ice cream which was good enough for a taste and not too much to make one feel sick. We shared the crepe which was topped with hazelnuts, pistachios, almond flakes and chocolate and vanilla sauce.

It was always a fun time when the girls get together and we took this time to celebrate Ashley's birthday in advance. Happy birthday!

I am so looking forward to next month gathering where it would be the Sex and the City 2 + Sherie's birthday celebration :)

Bad Nasi Padang @ Food Opera, ION Orchard

This would probably be the last time I would have nasi padang at Food Opera inside ION Orchard. I was not very happy with the discrepancy in their pricing.

Already I was shocked with the previous charges but this was even worse. It stated the begedil was an additional $1.20 or $1.30 which was fine but they charged me $1.50 for it as an additional vegetables side. When I asked about it, the cashier said they have increased the pricing to $1.50. The amount was not the issue since it was just 20-30 cents more, but it was the way they could just quote an amount and expect you to accept it that I had a problem with.

It smacked of dishonesty and I definitely would not want to support a place which encouraged it. So for the above dish, it cost $8 for mediocre food. The begedil was cold and tough and lumpy. It was awful. The stingray was also very tough. Only the okras were fresh and crunchy and tasty. The sambal goreng was too watery for my liking too.

So the bottomline would be: no more patronizing Food Opera unless absolutely necessary.

Greenhouse @ Ritz Carlton, 31 March 2010

Yes, I went back to the Greenhouse to celebrate my cousin's birthday. It was a quiet affair with just the two of us. I saw this bowl of chocolate on the way in and just could not resist it. I needed something chocolaty to boost my mood and started with this. It was not chocolate mousse or pudding as expected. Instead it was a light sponge-like cake underneath the liquid chocolate which was not sweet nor bitter. A chocolate mousse or truffle would have hit the spot.
It was off to the cold section. I decided to skip the Japanese this time and headed for the raw oysters (super fresh) which were plump and juicy. The clams were average to me and the prawns were sweet.

I was tempted by the naan and Indian selection. Unfortunately the naan was a bit tough and not as good as those served in Indian restaurants. The beef rendang was a bit on the sweet side but it was nice, likewise for the fish tikka which was fresh and a bit spicy.

I was super hungry since I only had a light meal for the entire day, so I decided to get a plate of mains ~ greens with wolfberries (yummy), garlic prawns (crunchy), steamed fish, ee mee, mushrooms and roast baby potatoes and sweet potatoes. Carbo overload :p
I decided to try the chili crab again. Unfortunately this batch was not as good as the one I had the week before. The gravy was more watery and lacked the punch of the chili taste. Quite watered down. The spinach cheese gnocchi was good though.

Finally, dessert time. Strangely the spread was mostly filled with chocolate items. My kind of heaven :p The chocolate truffle cake and creme brulee were divine as usual. But the surprise was the small pyramid chocolate.
It was peanut butter inside the chocolate casing. Sublime. Salty peanut butter mixed with the sweet chocolate. It was like Reese's peanut butter cups.
I ended the feast with two scoops of ice cream ~ rum and raisin and chocolate. I'm glad they changed the bowl into a smaller one with smaller scoops as I just could not finish it. I just wanted a few spoonfuls for a taste.

The Soup Restaurant, DFS ScottsWalk

I was in the mood for Chinese food and finally decided on The Soup Restaurant. It was pretty rare for me to want to have Chinese food when with friends since that was what I usually have if I eat out with my family.

In any case I only have Chinese food at a few places since I am not that familiar with it. The Soup Restaurant is one of the usual suspects, and Dian Xiao Er is the other. Then I found out they are under the same management. That probably explains why I like these two places, and the similar decor too.

The must-have samsui ginger chicken. The chicken was so tender and the meat was slippery smooth which made it a pleasure to eat it with the ginger and lettuce.

We decided to try the steamed hand-chopped minced pork with salted egg. This was a new dish for me and I liked it. Apparently it was really "hand-chopped" and thus they only made 30 of this a day. The pork did not have the porky taste and it was really good over rice. There were 3 types available ~ salted fish, salted egg and water chestnuts.

This was the place for me to get my sweet potatoes leaves fix. Somehow I was no longer that enamored with kang kong now. I much prefer this spicy "fan shu" leaves dish.

We decided to have the teochew olive rice instead of plain white rice as not many places served it. It came in a fairly big serving and was enough for 3 persons to share.

I had the double boiled chicken soup. I could not remember what herbs went into this soup though.
Celest had the black chicken soup which was to boost relieve stress or boost the immune system. Whatever it was, the soup was clear and tasted good, which was probably the most important thing.

Greenhouse @ Ritz Carlton, 24 March 2010

It was back to the Greenhouse over at Ritz Carlton again and the dinner buffet was still as good. Maybe I was there quite early, so the sushi was still fresh. I pretty much OD on the salmon sashimi and thus was not that interested in the other cold seafood items. I liked the tomato with cheese too. It was a bit tart and juicy, and the creamy cheese filling created an explosion of flavors when popped into the mouth

I liked the spread of the hot dishes this time round as it featured things which I liked. The chili crab was really good. It was spicy (not watered down) and the gravy was perfect to be soaked up with the steamed buns. The butter prawns were also sweet and buttery.

I did not have much of the meat or fish dishes at all as I was more enticed by the fried hokkien mee. It was surprisingly good. The spinach gnocchi with cheese and bacon bits were also nice. The marmite chicken was a bit too tough for my liking, or maybe it was the piece which I took which was tough. The tart was quite average.

Then it was onto the desserts which we shared. The creme brulee and chocolate truffle cake were so nice. They were pretty much my favorite items of the dessert spread.

I am not sure what this is but it was creamy and sweet and pretty much decadent. At least the topping was not chocolate fudge as expected but a more coffee chocolate liquid which made a good foil against the sweet mousse.

We ended with cheese and crackers and coffee. Yummy feast.

Borders Bistro Dinner in March 2010

After that pretty delightful dinner at Borders Bistro in February, I decided to go there again with another friend for dinner last month. Somehow the food we ordered was not as nice as previously.

The fried chicken wings as appetizer were quite average. One could not really go wrong with fried chicken wings but maybe the batter coating the wings could be better. My favorite type of fried chicken wings is still the Malay style with the tumeric seasoning.

We shared the prawn pasta which was still very good. I guessed the signature dish is really safer to order. At least you will not be disappointed. The prawns were crunchy and sweet and the pasta was al dente tossed in olive oil and chili flakes.

The chicken (can't remember actual dish name) was not very nice. Maybe we left it for too long before eating it. The mashed potatoes were very sticky and tasted like it was from a mix. The cream sauce congealed after a while. The chicken was stuffed and it was alright but nothing exciting at all.