Reflecting on 2013

This time last year, I was back in Canada. Spending 30 Dec 2012 in Vancouver, the last few hours at Queen Elizabeth Park at night where it was all dark and I could barely make out the twinkling lights of Vancouver city. Tim Hortons for the last donut (Maple cream for me) before heading to the airport for another chapter of my life.

There I was, alone at White Spot in YVR, having my favorite strawberry milkshake, thinking about what would happen when I got to NYC. Then off I went. Arrived in Toronto airport on New Year's Eve early morning. Watching the leftover snow on the ground, waiting for the next flight which would take me into LaGuardia in New York City. A place I never thought I would go, or rather NYC has been an elusive city to me. So many times I was to travel to NYC and something would prevent the trip from happening.

Finally I arrived in NYC on 31 December 2012. It fulfilled a wish of mine. To spend NYE in Times Square, watching the ball drop, with someone special.

New York City is massive. Awesome. I love it! I never thought I would like NYC. In my mind, it is just like any other major city. Boy, was I wrong. Nothing can prepare me for the vibrancy and life of the city. The city is just full of energy and things going on. It is huge, stretches way over what the naked eye can see. I can finally understand why he said he will not move to Singapore or why he did not show much interest in the sights. What we have in Singapore seriously pale in comparison.

So I started 2013 on an exciting note, filled with uncertainties and possibilities. It was a whirlwind visit of East Coast USA. Spending days in NYC, driving down to Washington, DC, passing through Virginia, Philly, Maryland, West Virginia. Seeing the White House and other historical buildings, flying down to Orlando. Behaving like children again, going on the rides in Magic Kingdom in Disney World and Universal Studios (Island of Adventure). Got to see the Harry Potter Village, another to do thing on my bucket list ticked. Drove to Tampa just for an awesome Columbian dinner. Back to DC and to Atlantic City. Stayed at Borgata which was really amazing, playing the slots in the casino and clubbing late at night. All too soon it was over, and I flew back to Singapore. Waiting, wondering what would happen.

Work
It was steady, it got better. I moved to be independent and now I am working on my own. Colleagues left and new colleagues came in.

Health
No issue with teeth now. Nagging cough for almost 10 weeks. Had to do an xray and blood test. Otherwise quite alright. Now, if only I can get my weight down. Still an uphill battle.

Love
Status quo. It is over. I would not be moving to NYC like I thought I would be. Nor would I be getting married like what we talked about.

Friendship
Still mates with my bff and other good friends. Taking a step back from toxic people. More selective in events to attend. No more rushing around.

Family
Everything is going well. No major issues. An uncle passed away, after 1 year plus of being bedridden because of stroke. An aunt is diagnosed with stroke but with the grace of God, she is able to walk, talk and move. A miracle, seeing that nobody knew she had a stroke when she fell in the bathroom and could only get up with sheer will and wits after close to 2 hours and then called my cousin who went over to check on her and took her to the hospital. A blood vessel burst in the brain and apparently that was a very serious type of stroke. Now she just has to focus on physio to regain her strength and better mobility without a walker.

Giving Thanks
- good health with no known or chronic illnesses.
- implant holding still
- traveling to USA/Canada
- many short trips in the region (Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket, Penang and KL twice)
- good friends who are probably sick of listening to me talk or rant
- being made a Yelp Elite, knowing more people through it

I do not know what 2014 will bring, but I certainly hope it will be better than 2013 and that it will bring some of my hopes and dreams to fruition.

2012 brought me giddiness, hope and excitement. 2013 was filled with many uncertainties and what-ifs. So hopefully 2014 will bring something more concrete and less of wondering.

Deciding on Hotel in Singapore

Here I am....trawling through the world wide web, looking for a nice hotel to stay in either January or February next year. I guess I just want a bit of pampering, to be in a spacious room with super comfy bed with thick soft duvet and strong air-conditioning to freeze my ass off. A big bathroom with an inviting bathtub and separate shower.

Am I spoilt? Maybe. Most likely.

If I am going to spend good money for a hotel room, it has better be worth it. That means the room has to be at least 40 sqm or so. Anything smaller can be quite claustrophobic and I might as well stay at home, in my own room. Having this requirement also means there are not that many hotels with such room size now, especially those newer hotels which seemed to go the way of our apartments. Shoebox, anyone?

Looking at the various hotels, I am struck with memories...places I have stayed at before. Dating someone who is not based in Singapore means you do get to see plenty of hotels though we had a few favorites.

Anyway, because of my inherent want or need to fulfill a requirement by the Starwood Preferred Guest club thingy, I am wondering if I should select a hotel under its group so that I can reach the next level sooner.

The choices would be:

• St Regis
• Sheraton Towers
• W Sentosa
• Westin Singapore

Sheraton Towers is convenient, but the room is tiny at 30 sqm. The room looks old too, with shower curtain!

St Regis is the popular choice but it is expensive. I would want to take the spa special at $500++ but the dates are all gone. And somehow the cheaper rates' rooms only have twin beds, no king.

W Sentosa is too far away and somehow I am not really a big fan of Sentosa. I do not really want to stay there though I like W.

Westin is very new and right in Shenton Way. Not a place I fancy. Pretty much just a drinking area at night, unless you want to trek over to MBS.

So I am leaning very much towards St Regis....if only it is for King bed and at a good price.

There is always my old favorite - Fairmont. I would say Fairmont (or the old Raffles the Plaza) is a place I stayed at most often, besides Ritz Carlton and MBS. I guess I should say MBS is the place I stayed at all the time in Singapore now. At one time, it was almost a monthly affair.

I would like to try Four Seasons or go back to Conrad again. Mandarin Oriental is another option. Somehow I am not a big fan of Pan Pacific.

Oh well I guess I will figure something out...or maybe I will just save this money and spend it for my upcoming trips in March and April next year.

Bucket List

Places to go, things to do.....

• Climb Sydney Bridge
• Visit Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves
• Ayer Rocks
• Revisit Broome
• Revisit Byron Bay
• Paris 
• London
• Antwerp
• Brussels
• Geneva
• Rome
• Valencia
• Lisbon
• Greece
• Vienna
• Northern Lights / Aurora
• Lapland
• NKOTB concert again
• Maldives
• Bora Bora
• Hawaii
• NYC again
• Road trip on Route 66
• Eat beignets in New Orleans
• Mardi Gras in New Orleans
• Caribbean chill out
• Koh Samui
• Kota Kinabalu
• See Rafflesia
• Boracay

Things I have done:

• snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef
• Niagara Falls
• Theme parks in Orlando
• Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Cu Chi tunnel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• See fairy penguins in Phillip Island
• See dinosaur footprints in Broome
• prison boab tree in Kimberley area
• Hike in Whistler
• Tulip fields in Skagit Valley
• whale watching in Vancouver Island
• NYE countdown in Times Square, NYC
• ........to be continued.....just realized I have lots to count my blessings.

New World Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City

After much searching and checking, we finally decided to just go with my cousin's recommendation and booked New World Hotel. Apparently it is considered a 5-star hotel in Vietnam though it is more like a 3-star hotel to me. I think I am spoiled with the better international chain hotel such as Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Fairmont etc.

There are many types of accommodations in HCMC and it can be for under S$20/night in the backpackers area to S$300/night in the better hotels. You can also find decent, reasonably priced hotels in the District 1 area for S$30-S$60 range or higher. But they will be smaller rooms, like those found in Hong Kong, and not have its own building in the entire block type. Instead they are narrow spaces, much like a townhouse style.

We were lucky that New World had a promotion when we booked the room. Stay one night and get the next night free, so we paid close to S$300 for the 2 nights. Granted it was for the premier room, and breakfast was not included. The reason to book that room was for the free Wi-Fi in room.

We were kinda upgraded to the Club Room when we checked in. All because they did not have twin beds for us. The only room with twin beds then was on the smoking floor in the Club level. We requested to see both rooms (our original with King size bed and the smoking room) and as the smell was not very obvious, we took the twin beds. The privilege of staying in the Club Room is that breakfast and cocktail/canape are served in the morning and evening. So yay! Free breakfast for us :p

It was interesting to note that when the receptionist took us up to check the rooms, she would knock on the door twice and called out "Room Service" before opening the door. That got me thinking if the place was haunted or it was just common practice in hotels. In any case, we did not feel anything during our stay.

Oh and the toiletries for Club Room is Elemis, I like that.

The room itself is not that big, maybe 30 sqm or so. Quite an average size for the older hotels. I am so used to 40 sqm that anything less than that is small to me. There is a sitting area with armchair and sofa. The bathtub is a disappointment as it is so low and small. No bath for me despite them providing bath salts.

There are many channels available for the TV which is nice. Tap water is not potable and 2 bottles of drinking water are provided. I wonder if some people actually use those bottled water to rinse after brushing their teeth.

We decided to check out the Club Lounge in the evening and see what is served during the cocktail session. I was quite impressed. The food served was actually substantial with a small selection of salad, fried noodles, dim sum items, cold cuts, Vietnamese rolls, fruits, and more. You could also have any cocktail you desire, just tell the staff and she could make it for you.

I had the tequila sunrise as I just could not think of what to have, or what would be sweet. I also had a bit of the roll, fried noodles and siew mai. Pretty good too.

For breakfast, the selection was also decent. I was expecting a continental style of breakfast with only danishe, croissants and toast available. I did not expect a row of fresh juices, fruits, cold meat, cheese, selection of bread, danishes, croissants, miso soup, etc. You could also make your own coffee or latte or cappuccino, espresso etc.

Just as I was thinking why was there no hot food, I realized you could also order from the menu where the hot food were. Duh. There were pho, waffle, big breakfast, omelette...I had the big breakfast on one day. The bacon was not crispy and the poached eggs were so-so. Only one was with runny yolk. The next day I had the pho (yummy) and the omelette which was much better.

If I am going to stay in New World Hotel again, I would take the club room if I know I have time to eat there.

Service is ok, nothing outstanding. Even though Vietnam does not really expect tipping or at least tipping from other Asian tourists, the bellboy did hang around the room after bringing our luggage up, expecting something. And most could understand and do speak Mandarin too.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 28 - 30 September 2013

A bit late to the party, but I finally made it to Ho Chi Minh City last month. Several of my friends went to Vietnam a few years ago, and 3 of them actually went in the same year at different times with their families. All experienced diarrhea and maybe that turned me off Vietnam.

I don't know when but somehow it got into my head that maybe I should just go to Ho Chi Minh City at least, to visit Cu Chi Tunnel and have street food like pho and bahn mi. Oh, probably it was when my cousins went to HCMC many times and so I wanted to go since 2010 or so. Finally when Jetstar had a promotion and a friend asked if I wanted to go Vietnam, I said yes.

It was quite spontaneous as she asked in the morning, I checked the tickets, messaged back on dates and tickets were booked. All done within 2 hours. Then came the waiting...but it was quite alright as I took the time to just check on hotels and things to do.

What can I say? 3 days is not enough, especially when we only have 1 full day. 4 days will probably be better. But I like Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). And no food poisoning at all.

The picture is of Rex Hotel. A historical place during the Vietnam War.

Brave - Sara Bareilles

I am loving this song Brave by Sara Bareilles at the moment. Catchy, pop-pish and inspirational.

Be brave! Say what you think or feel. After all, nobody can read your mind.

4-Day Long Weekend

By the quirk of fate, today is the start of the 4 day long weekend. Kicking it off is Hari Raya Puasa (Selamat Hari Raya Puasa to everyone who celebrates it), followed by National Day (48th years old and counting) and the weekend.

I know people who took 3 days leave this week and got to enjoy 9 days of leave, enough for a jaunt across the ocean. A week in Paris and London? A week in Australia traveling down the East Coast or just have a relaxing chilling week on the sunny beaches nearby. Maldvies? Mauritius? Samui?

I decided not to go anywhere and just stay in Singapore, enjoy the better traffic and less crowded buses and trains. With my 21 days of annual leave + whatever is leftover from last year, I no longer need to take advantage of such long weekend to save the leave. In fact I have a hard time using up my leave. So now I rather take my leave during the low season, less people and cheaper flights and hotel accommodations.

What will I be doing this long weekend?

August 8 - lunch with the extended family, followed by a long cycling event in the afternoon. From Pasir Ris Park to Punggol Park. I don't know if I will be up to it but I can always try. It has been a long time since I last went to either place and I have not cycle for hours in a long while. I have always shun cycling (only doing it once in a while) after high school days in Canada where the bicycle was our main mode of transportation. Yes, we cycled everywhere. To school, to the mall, to the grocery store, and even to the "nearest" MacDonalds which was about 45 minutes bike ride away. Needless to say I hardly went there :p

August 9 - likely to the National Museum to view the paintings from the House of Liechtenstein. It will feature works by Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Raphael and Lucas Cranach the Elder, celebrating the period from the late 15th century to the mid 19th century - the High Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-classical and Biedermeier styles.

Nothing much planned for the weekend though we may go to a kelong in Malaysia to chill and fish? We shall see.

Enjoy the long weekend, everyone. There is always the Starhub promotion of free channels the entire period, catch as much TV programs as you can. With Starhub AnywhereTV, you can also watch it on your computer now. Really cool.

Deja Vu: 2003 and 2013

Suddenly this song is so appropriate. "Just A Fool" - Christina Aguilera featuring Blake Shelton.

It happens again. Deja vu. All so familiar.

2003: My heart was broken
2013: My trust was broken

Different strokes, but the same result.

I do not know how this story will pan out or if it is truly the end of another chapter in my life.

Nothing is guaranteed in life. The lesson learnt in 2003, and to repeated again 10 years later.
Promises are just words. They can be dashed. Shattering dreams and hopes.

Another song - Jet Lag by Simple Plan

The song for the moment, which is so apt right now. For anyone who is either in a long distance relationship or whose partner is always flying. I have heard of this song before, but the lyrics never really registered in my mind until now.

Somehow I prefer the French version better. Maybe it is because it just sounds different. Plus they are from Quebec so they do speak French.

Enjoy. I don't want to be jet lag anymore though. Waiting...counting the days, hours and minutes till it will end.

Hmmm...just noticed the lead singer looked a bit like my Canadian pal. It's a common face in Canada :p

Not Quite Nigella Book

It's finally here! I have enjoyed reading the posts on notquitenigella and found it to be entertaining with lots of interesting tidbits. Bacon jam? Alice in Wonderland tea shop? 

Chocolate on a stick was the first recipe I tried based on her blog post and it was a success. I love how her recipes are broken down into simple steps with tips and alternatives along the way.

Can't wait to read the book with recipes to keep. 

You can order her book from Fishpond as I don't think it is available in Singapore yet. 

Homemade Crab Rangoon

I fell in love with Crab Rangoon when I first tried it in Seattle. The crab rangoon from this dingy hole in a wall shop inside Pike Place Market was simply awesome. Freshly made, piping hot, creamy cream cheese mixed with imitation crab meat encased on a crispy wanton skin. Delicious! But only if you like creamy food. 

So I decided to re-create the crab rangoon. It is quite simple to make. 

Ingredients:

- cream cheese

- imitation crab meat or real crab meat

- spring onions, finely chopped

- worchester sauce, a dash or 1 teaspoon

- light soya sauce, 2 teaspoon

- black pepper

Method:

1. Mix them all together.

2. Drop a tablespoon size into wanton skin. Wrap dumpling or parcel style

3. Keep in fridge to let it harden for a while so that the shape will hold when deep frying.

4. Deep fry or bake it in oven (maybe 15-20 mins) 

5. Serve. 

If there are leftover filling, you can add cooked potato and shape them into balls and fry it too. 

Filling of crab rangoon

Filling of the square parcel

All wrapped and ready to be fried

Crab Rangoon and potato crab balls

Mixing the filling

Where I have been hiding...

I know I know...I'm still abysmal in blogging. But....I have been posting over at Yelp. Yepper, I'm now a Yelper. Bad pun, I'm aware :p

So if you are interested, you could always read my reviews over there. I will still be blogging here on and off.  The url is under Fave Links.

Music in my Life

The songs for 2012 to now.....

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years

Adele - Someone Like You

Beyonce - Dangerously In Love With You

Beyonce - Halo

Dan Smith - Baby Got Book

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

Justin Bieber - As Long As You Love Me

Pitbull - Don't Stop The Party

Pink - Just Give Me A Reason

Pink - Try

Hmmm....that is about it for now...until more songs inspired my life.

Lemon butter prawns

I actually wanted to grill the prawns but since there was no grill, I improvised with using the Happy Call pan. I figured it will seal in the juices and create a semi-grill or oven atmosphere. After all, you can bake a cake using the Happy Call pan. 

When using fresh prawns, it is always nice to keep it as simple as possible so that the seasoning does not mask the natural sweetness and taste of the prawns. 

Method:

1. clean the prawns by de-veining it.

2. melt butter and add fresh lemon juice. mix them together and leave it.

3. drizzle olive oil over the pan, technically you do not need oil for Happy Call pan but I want a bit of olive oil taste.

4. place prawns on pan and let it sizzle. brush the lemon butter over the prawns. grind black pepper over it. 

5. flip the pan, open and brush the remaining lemon butter on the other side of the prawns and grind more black pepper over it.

6. it takes about 3-5 minutes to cook the prawns. serve when done. 

It is a very quick and easy dish to make. Perfect with mashed potatoes and salad. Or just have it on its own. 

A touch of Spring

I just love bright colors sometimes. I was looking for a pair of shoes to fit the company's D&D theme of Retro Night and this cheery coral wedges just drew my attention. I wanted something loud and fun as I may be wearing a black dress. So I have to rely on the accessories to do the work. Excuses I know :p

I would love a pair of hot pink peep toe heels but it was not available in my size. Then there was a pair of robin egg blue pumps which was very lovely but I wanted to show off my beautiful nail color too. Lol. So this coral peep toe wedges fit the criteria. I get to show my OPI new color "Can't Find My Czech-Book". 

I will be adding a pink and orange head scarf and don't know what else to dress up the outfit. I think that will work.  

Whitley Road Fishball Noodle

 

I happened to be at the old Lavender Food Center this morning and decided to have fish ball noodles for breakfast. There was a bit of a line at 8am at Whitley Road Fishball Noodle and decided to try it. 

Apparently they made their own fishballs which explained the non-uniform shape which was a good sign. Don't you get a bit tired of having those factory made fishballs in most places now?

The fishballs were bouncy and juicy with a bit of sweetness in them. The noodle was a bit dry after a 15 minutes journey but after mixing it with the sauce it was quite ok. I do love that they did not stint on the lard pieces. Sometimes you just need something sinful to slurp up the noodle. 

Another birthday, another year :)

I received this yesterday :) The FedEx guy actually came the day before, on the day of my birthday but alas, our doorbell was not working so nobody heard him. I found the failed delivery notice when I came home and was going to throw it away. Reason was I was not expecting any parcel, plus I received another delivery at about the same time. My friend sent something and the person called my friend when nobody answered the doorbell. So my friend was able to contact me and I called home to get someone to receive that parcel. So I thought maybe the failed delivery notice was from that parcel. 

Luckily I called my friend to check if she used FedEx and if I could throw away that notice. She asked me to check the tracking online or call the customer service as she did not use FedEx. I did and found out it was a parcel from the USA. Phew! 

It was a birthday gift, with a card (birthday and Valentine and CNY wishes) from Harry & David, my favorite store for truffles in the States. A basket full of assorted cookies in a wire-mesh cloth covered basket. Useful. I could use it when the cookies are all gone. 

There are a lot of cookies in there. 

• 6 Blackberry Galettes (0.67 oz. each)
• 2 Apple Raisin Cookies (1 oz. each)
• 2 Giant Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Cookies (3 oz. each)
• 2 Giant Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (3 oz. each)
• 2 White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies (1 oz. each)
• 2 Macadamia Chocolate Chip Cookies (1.1 oz. each)
• 2 Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies (1.2 oz. each)
• 2 Moose Munch Cookies (1 oz. each)

It has been a wonderful birthday, celebrating it with friends and family on the actual day and days before and after it. 

I didn't even know Harry & David delivers internationally. Apparently it is limited selection for International delivery though. I guess it is due to the delicate nature of foodstuff. But I am very happy with the cookies and the thought behind it. Plus it was delivered on my birthday even though the expected date given by the company was much later. 

Goodbye Fire Dragon, Hello Water Snake

Happy Chinese new year! Another new year. Another opportunity for new beginnings.

Christmas Eve Dinner - 24 December 2012

I touched down in Vancouver on Dec 23 and spent Christmas in Canada. My friend celebrated Christmas with a dinner on Christmas Eve. It was a simple affair, with a hearty home cooked food, with a touch of Romanian dishes.

It was a wonderful Christmas eve dinner with old friends and new friends. Just a cozy evening in a cold country and Christmas lights all around. Being back in Canada was still like going home. I guess Canada will always be a home to me, it is where I grew up to being an adult. A place which taught me to be independent, to drive, to analyze, to vote, to drink, to know every little bit counts.

Store bought apple pie which was delicious, and I hardly buy pies from the grocery store.

Another store bought dessert - baklava

My favorite dish of the night - Cabbage rolls. Minced meat and veggies stuffed into cabbage leaves and then boiled in a tomato infused soup.

The turkey!

Black forest cake from Superstore which was also pretty good.

Romanian soup - meatball soup which was great for the cold weather.

My dinner plate. Stuffed from all the food.

Chinese New Year Eve

Since I missed posting on 1 January 2013 or on 31 December 2012, I decided to make up for lost time by doing it for the Lunar calendar. I do have a very good excuse for the no posts. I was traveling and up in the air :p

Okay, okay, technically I was not in the air the entire time crossing numerous time zones though I could be. Instead I only crossed a couple of time zones. From PST to EST, and I traveled on Dec 30, 2012 from Vancouver and arriving in Toronto on Dec 31, 2012 and then to New York City still on Dec 31, 2012. But as I was too tired from all the traveling, I was actually sleeping the afternoon away upon reaching my destination. As that was followed by a night of partying, New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York City, I think I deserve some slack :p

Reflecting on 2012, I do think it has been a good year for me. I fulfilled many of my dreams, wishes or whatever you call it.

1. Visited Angkor Wat in Cambodia, my birthday wish and trip
2. Went back to Canada and even to the States (Vancouver, Seattle, NYC, Orlando, Washington, DC and many more) for a holiday
3. Found all Canadian documents and stuff a few months before my trip (God is really good, I found them just before and I started my search a couple of years back)
4. Had a relaxing and wonderful vacation in Phuket, still my favorite beach holiday in SE Asia
5. Met someone whom I like and the feeling is mutual :)

What did not happen:
1. No wedding for me :p
2. Weight remained the same, no loss or gain (maybe I should be grateful there is no gain)
3. No big fat bonus

That was my 2012. It was filled with ups and downs. A tension and worry filled mid year when my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer. It has been arrested and thank God he does not need to undergo chemotherapy. It is a wake up call to everyone that health is precious and hospital bills are astronomical!!! Again, thank God we are able to shoulder it.

Dental bills are also crazy when I went through my dental implant. Just 1 implant plus a gum flap extraction surgery cost about $8k! I spent most of 2012 visiting my dentists because of the implant. I became very well acquainted with needles and anesthesia.

I also did a thorough eye check up in 2012 but only got new lenses for my eyeglasses last month. I finally found a good and experienced optometrist. I will be getting new contact lenses after CNY. So I shall be all set for the Snake year.

The upside of 2012 was of course most of my wishes/dreams came true. I am always thankful to God for his grace and love to me. Even if I do not talk much about it or attend church every Sunday, God is very much in my life, every minute, every hour and every day. That is the beauty of having God in my life. I can talk to him anytime, anywhere. I do not need a physical building to find Him.

As the Dragon year closes with a bang and a roar, I find myself looking forward to the year of the Snake. I never really like the snake when I was young but now that I am older, I find myself identifying much with the attributes of the Snake. Maybe I am just a confused child or maybe I am lucky to have both Dragon and Snake elements in my sign, being born in the Snake year but before CNY, so technically a Dragon, but then it was after 4 February and some said it is still a Snake. So what the hell, I shall just embrace both Dragon and Snake attributes wherever applicable :p

Enjoy the last of the Dragon year and the reunion dinner for those who celebrate and observe such traditions :)