Thai Express - Soft shell crab tang hoon

I have been craving for the soft shell crab tang hoon (bean thread) in "claypot" from Thai Express ever since I had a sample from Davis' order last 2 weeks ago.

Thai Express revamped and expanded their menu for the outlet at Raffles City. I didn't know that until I met Davis for lunch the other day. There were so many items now e.g. crispy prawn pancake, stuffed tofu, crayfish tom yam, crayfish tang hoon, soft shell crab tang hoon, minced chicken basil rice, chicken ball with tang hoon, etc.

Soft shell crab tang hoon

On Thursday, we had dinner at the Thai Express at Paragon. The outlet only started serving the items on the new menu the day before. So I finally had my chance to sink my teeth into the soft shell crab tang hoon. It was so yummilicious. The bean thread soaked up the flavor of the sauce, the soft shell crabs were crispy and perfectly formed, the mushrooms were juicy and it had lots of black peppercorns and garlic and ginger. This is my favorite dish in Thai Express now.

Plaza Market Cafe - Raffles the Plaza

I never really had a good impression of the food at Plaza Market Cafe at Raffles the Plaza as the selection didn't excite me at all the two times I was there. The very first time was probably a few years back when I had high tea there. I remembered it as very local in the desserts and the food was nothing to write home about. The 2nd time was for breakfast back in 2003. Again, I didn't think the food was that fantastic. To date, Ritz Carlton has the best breakfast buffet in Singapore with a wide selection of food (western, local, Japanese) plus freshly squeezed fruit juices.

So when a colleague asked me to have dinner with her as she has to use her dining voucher before it expired, I agreed. Anyway, we needed to destress for a while. We decided on Plaza Market Cafe as there were not much choices. Inagiku was too expensive, Prego was not that great either. So Plaza Market Cafe it was. At least it was a buffet so we could certainly find something to suit us both.


I was pleasantly surprised to note that there was a decent dessert spread (though most were gone by the time we made it to dessert) - chocolate mousse cake, cheesecake, pulot hitam, ice cream, some cakes etc. Don't remember much now. But the food at Plaza Market Cafe was mostly peranakan with some Japanese fare too.

For starters, I had the oysters, mussels, and some shrimp stuff. That were good. Then I moved on to the sashimi and one piece of sushi. That was followed by pie tie (absolutely deliciously) and laksa. Nice. By then I was already pretty full but still being me, I just like to try new stuff. So I had some prawns, beef rendang, eggplants and fried rice. We also had a bottle of white wine to accompany the food, courtesy of the voucher :p

All in all, it was a satisfying meal. Way too full by then.

Location
Level 2, Raffles The Plaza
Dress code: Casual

Open:
Breakfast
Daily - 6:00 am to 11:00 am
Lunch
Daily - 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm
High Tea
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays - 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm
Dinner
Monday to Friday - 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays - 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm

For restaurant reservations, please dial: 6431 6156.

Dinner and Drinks (24 Nov 2006)

Table Setting

Menu for dinner

Sushi, Chicken Karaage and cold tofu

Cold Soba

Dessert - Lamington with Baileys (YUM!)

A gf invited a few of us over for dinner last Friday and it was a sight to behold. Japanese food ruled the night, ending with an Aussie dessert (Lamington! - courtesy of moi).

I love the way she did the presentation of the food. A cosy dinner for 5 of us, a night full of fun and laughter and gossip, with wine and liquor flowing freely.

Lipgloss Collection - 26 Nov 2006

I am amazed at myself. From just a couple of lipglosses as I am allergic to most lip products, I managed to amass so many glosses now, in just under 2 years (2005-2006). There would be more but I did finish 2-3 glosses and dumped them.

So yes, I shall try to finish the rest and not buy anymore for a while now. About 2/3 of the glosses are brand new and untouched. I find myself reaching more for Bobbi Brown glitter tube tints recently. They are excellent!

I have to do a fragrance and eyeshadows and blushers collections soon. Be still, my heart ;p

Manna Korean Restaurant in Takashimaya Food Hall

I have always walked past the Korean stall near the entrance of Takashimaya Food Hall but didn't try it until a few months back.

I was craving for some Korean food and decided to try the dolsot beef bibimbap. I like that it was served in the dolsot (hotpot-like) as it kept the food warm and gave a bit of crispiness to the rice sticking to the dolsot.


For $8.80, you get the beef bibimbap, bowl or soup, 3 appetizers (ikan bilis, seaweed and kimchi). Pretty good deal as the appetizers are fresh and of a generous serving unlike in food court where they are quite pathetic. Plus the ikan bilis are actually crunchy and not chewy rubbery.

My new lust: Blackberry Pearl

Pic courtesy of Sam

The blackberry never really impressed me much. I just didn't care for the bulky size of the usual blackberry. Then I found out about the Blackberry Pearl from another person. Saw the gadget from the website and it is a beauty! The most attractive part is its weight - less than 90g! I'm sold! And it looks like a normal phone, plus it can do many things too. This will definitely be handy since my PDA (Palm Vx - yes, it is that old!) is kinda dying now. The stylus is just not inputing the correct information at all.

Now, I do need to change my almost extinct phone. I am just waiting for the Violet Moto Razr to be launched here but no news of it yet despite us being in the 4th quarter by now. So now I am lusting over the Blackberry Pearl. Hope it gets here before the GST hike :p

Too lazy to extol the greatness or beauty of the Blackberry Pearl, but you can read more about it here.

More info here too: http://www.blackberrypearl.com/

Afternoon Tea @ Bar & Billiard Room

I finally got to try the afternoon tea at the Bar & Billiard Room in Raffles Hotel last Sunday. There were 2 sets available - English and Asian. The food was served in the 3-tiered silver stands. I like the selection of tea as it was a huge list available, including white tea, green tea, chinese tea and the various English tea.

Food wise, it is a bit skimpy as it is non-refillable. Maybe I am so used to having more food than I can handle. Hehe. However, the portions are quite alright, more than enough for one actually as it can be filling.


The set on the foreground is the Asian set - it has more Asian kuehs e.g. lapis, ondeh ondeh, pineapple tart and others. The savory items are more of the dim sum varieties e.g. samosa, char siew siu, prawn roll, etc

The other set is the English set with Western pastries and sweets, and sandwiches. I quite like the smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich actually. Other than that, the others are not so memorable.

This is pricey at S$42+++, especially since it is non-refillable. I would rather go to Regent Hotel for the Afternoon tea. My favorite place :)

Miss Clarity Cafe

I finally found Miss Clarity Cafe after hearing so much about it, but I always forget the address. Only know that it is somewhere near Bugis area. I was walking along Purvis Street thinking of having the Hock Lam Beef Noodle there when there it is - a bright hot pink sign - Miss Clarity Cafe.

It sure wasn't what I expected. It was so "cartoonish" with its bright neon colors and drawn figures. It reminded me of the trend a couple of years back where it is very popular to have female "cartoonish" figures and you see that in a lot of ads or print materials.

It has a wide range of food at reasonable prices and I ordered the set lunch. Crispy chicken, salad and dessert of the day (mango pudding).

The chicken was quite alright, and came with boiled cabbage and roasted potatoes with black pepper sauce. The cabbage didn't leave much to desire. The salad was quite a mish-mash of everything. Thousand island dressing (I dislike Thousand Island dressing) over shredded veggies and it even had chickpeas, cubes of fruits and nuts. Very different. The mango pudding was a disappointment. Tiny and super sweet. I took one bite and left it there and ordered a bread and butter pudding instead. That was served with vanilla ice cream. The pudding was warmed up and was pretty ok, nothing fantastic too.

Miss Clarity Cafe serves average food at affordable prices (below $10 for all items), but I won't be back there in a hurry.

Christmas @ Starbucks

I love Christmas, and I love the special drinks that Starbucks come up with every time there is a festive season. But Christmas certainly came early in Singapore. Barely after we celebrated Deepavali and Hari Raya Puasa, I saw Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations along City Hall and Orchard Road just last week. Turned out the Christmas Light-up officially started on 12 November 2006. The shops are sure getting people in a spending mood early. With the impending increase of GST (to 7%) next year, no doubt people will be spending like there is no tomorrow, especially on big ticket items.

So yes, Christmas at Starbucks. I just can't resist the peppermint mocha. The usual chocolatey coffee mixed with the minty aftertaste - just delicious. I have been resisting the cakes that came with this season, but I finally caved in and bought a slice of the raspberry swirl cheesecake and had it with the toffee nut latte.

I like the box and packaging for the festive treats :)


The cheesecake is really heavy and the raspberry adds a nice contrast. However I prefer my cheesecake to be lighter so I much prefer Secret Recipe's version or even the one from Coffee Bean. The toffee nut latte is sweet and has a slight nutty taste to it. Give me peppermint mocha anytime though :p

Fragrance again - Nina

I just love the shape of this bottle - a red apple with silver cap and leaves. I bought the smallest bottle, which is a cute size. A tiny apple. It is a sweet toffee apple scent when you first sprayed it, then it settled onto a powdery vanilla-y finish. It reminded me of another scent, probably Pure Wish from Chopard.

Taken from OsMoz:
Story
Nina is a ‘young woman living under a lucky star’. This graceful, romantic ‘fairy for our times’ is looking for an unusual fragrance, ‘a magical elixir’ with sweet, fruity and mouthwatering waves of scent. For her, Nina Ricci invented Nina, a fairy-tale fragrance in a love-apple shaped bottle.

Perfume description
A fresh, fruity, mouthwatering floral. An opening that sparkles with Calabrian lemon and Caipirinha lime. The heart reveals the charm of “love apple” (candy apple, in French), paired with floral notes of peony and moonflower. Then a sweet vanilla praline note announces the trail: apple-tree wood and musks. Perfume designers: Olivier Cresp and Jacques Cavallier, Firmenich.

Top note : Calabrian Lemon, Caipirinha Lime
Middle note : Love Apple, Peony, Fleur de Lune, Praline
Base note : Apple Tree, White Cedar, Musks

Bottle
An apple-shaped bottle, as raspberry-pink and bright red as a candy apple. The fruit is decorated with shiny metal leaves and stem. The bottle reinterprets the shapes of an earlier Nina Ricci perfume: ‘Fille d’Eve’ (Daughter of Eve).

Wine, Cheese, Crackers = Bliss

This is the ultimate way to chill. When you have a long day and are just too tired to bother about cooking. Grab a ready-chilled bottle of wine (white for me), some crackers and a chunk of cheese. Voila! A square meal. Cheese for protein and calcium, crackers for carbohydrates and wine as dessert? vitamins? ;p

My way of relaxing at home when I am really stressed and chocolate doesn't cut it. Put on some jazzy music, burn candles and essential oil, lay out the spread and surf the web or chat online to friends.

Stuffed Chicken

I have been meaning to blog about this but just didn't have the chance/time.

I have heard about this - stuffed chicken. From Stufit.

The chicken is deboned, stuffed with fragrant rice, and then cooked/roasted to perfection. A nice brown crispy skin. I saw it at the moon cake fair at Takashimaya the day I was to leave for Phuket. I popped by the fair after seeing the doctor and decided to get one chicken for the family to try. It is such a novelty.

I bought the regular chicken with rice, instead of the other version where it is stuffed with raisins, nuts and rice. I never liked rice cooked with fruits and nuts though I realized it is quite common in western countries. I prefer my rice to be savory, not sweet.


It is quite a marvel how they managed to debone and stuff the chicken. Taste wise, the usual chicken rice wins hands down. Still, it is an interesting meal.

You can find more information here: Stufit

Wedding Cake?

I don't really eat much cakes, even though I like them well enough. And when I do order cakes for dessert, I always go for chocolate cake as I prefer the "tried and tested".

We received a cake from my cousin's family as she is getting married (wedding in December). I am not sure what this is called, but it is probably not wedding cake. Should it be an "engagement" cake? I find it confusing - the Chinese custom of holding a wedding.

Apparently, the family who is going to have a wedding will give away cakes to relatives (and friends too?) to announce the impending nuptials. Usually there will be the formal meeting of the parents to discuss the "dowry" or something too.


Anyway, the cake we received is actually a cookies and cream cake from Angie The Choice. I rarely have cakes from there, as it seemed to specialize in cream cake and that is not really a favorite of mine. I was pleasantly surprised by the lightness of the cake, and the cream is very fresh, not heavy buttery at all. That usually made me a bit sick.

Chocolate sponge cake with layers of fresh cream and bits of cookies inside the cream. It was good.

Elements Spa - Update

I went to Elements Spa today and had the most "torturous" massage ever. In fact, I wouldn't even call it a massage as the therapist applied acu-pressure for most of the 60mins session. And I specifically requested for a therapist who can do Balinese/Indonesian massage.

My fave therapist has left :( So now I am stuck with a package (luckily left just a couple of sessions) and no other "recommended" therapists. It is so hard to find good therapists now. I know majority of people who went for massage sessions, they are mostly office workers and so tend to have tension at the shoulder/back area and would prefer a "hard" massage. And it seemed like therapists who "specialized" in the hard massage are mostly from mainland China, and they used their skills (usually Tui Na or acu-pressure, etc) to do that.

They are not very good with the relaxing Swedish massage at all. They are so used to doing the hard massage, they seemed to forget that sometimes customers do want to give their bodies a break and just have a relaxing, soothing massage. Or they applied their knowledge of trying to "unblock" the "blockages" in the body or bloodstream or whatever. (I never did understand what they are saying to me.) and to do that, they tried their darnest to use all the strength they have (or so it seemed) to press hard.

So yeah today, the therapist (I have tried her a couple of times and she was ok then cos I always specified I do not want to have Tui Na, just regular massage with a bit of firm pressure) saw from my card that it has been over 6 weeks since I last went there for a massage. She kept "tsking" and said I should go more often and then I wouldn't be so stiff now.

The fact is I had 3-4 massages just in October but at other spas, which I didn't tell her. And my stiffness is due to the position of my laptop at home.

So throughout the session, she went on about me having to go to see her regularly so I wouldn't be stiff, and she applying acupressure on me more than the usual Indonesian style massage which I liked. Maybe I should have interrupted her midway and asked her what exactly she is doing, but sometimes it is hard to do that cos you really have no idea what they are doing.

Bottomline - yakking away is bad, acupressure is equally bad when unrequested.

Well, at least I know I will definitely not be signing up another package once this ends.

I don't know why, but I really do not like to have a massage done by a mainland Chinese. Too many bad experiences - mostly cos they like to do Tui Na which I thoroughly disliked. The first time I had that, my arm swelled up. Apparently the technique was all wrong, and the "qi" or "blood" or whatever was stuck and caused the swelling.

I very much prefer Malay therapists or Singaporeans or Malaysians and Thai (for Thai massages only). They are much better. The most soothing, relaxing massage I ever had was done by an Aussie in Byron Bay (my fave place in Oz). It was totally pain-free.

Pure Eddiction

Pure Eddiction had a booth at the Basement of Takashimaya, near Cold Storage a few weeks back and I just had to try this. It looks like a brownie on a popsicle stick. It is called Elvis. Lol.

A brownie-like sponge cake lightly coated with fudge and nuts. I love nuts! It is not too bad, but not mind-blowing either. The website looks good though. Worth checking it out.

http://www.pure-eddiction.com

PASSAGE New York Part 2 - Facial

I went back to Passage yesterday for the 2nd half of the treatments which I already paid for. It is the Rose Silk Peel Facial. The therapist was pretty good, with gentle hands. I am not a big fan of facial as I don't really like strangers touching my face. Plus I dislike the steaming and extraction part and the masking part bores me, unless I'm really tired and want to sleep.

The Rose Silk Peel Facial sounds yummy, with a rosy scent. It is supposed to be a diamond peel facial with rose water. However I am not sure why, I didn't get the diamond peel treatment at all.
I don't think I have ever done a diamond peel facial before and it is supposed to be done with the help of a machine.

I didn't get that. Instead she started off with a light mini massage of the face and shoulders area. Then it was the cleansing, analysing of skin, steaming and extraction. I hate hate hate extractions but she was quite gentle and thankfully I didn't have much to extract.

She then showed me an ampoule for hydrating purposes and massaged that onto the skin. And she added something for eye treatment followed by a mask. Then after 20mins or so, the skin was toned and moisturized with sunblock.

Again, I was given a room which is probably next to the dance studio. I could hear the instructor shouting "1,2,3,4..." and then loud dance music. Totally unrelaxing.

This time round, they didn't try to sell me anything. In fact no one followed me at all or attended to me after the treatment. I didn't even have to sign anything. Weird.

So this is the end of Passage, I doubt I will go there again.

Lunch at Modesto's

Met Tanny for lunch today and decided to go to Modesto's. It was a quiet afternoon, not many people at all. We sat outside as it wasn't too warm, nor was it too hazy today. It was a pity the executive set lunch menu was not very appetizing at all. So we decided to share a basket of garlic bread, calamari and the black ink seafood pasta.

The garlic bread is good, but I still prefer the one at Esmirada's for garlic bread as it is served as a loaf, and always warm. The calamari is pretty good, not too rubbery. I always ordered the black ink seafood pasta when I go to Modesto's. I love the prawn bisque sauce which is slightly sweet and flavorful. The pasta is al dente and the prawns and scallops were good.

For dessert, we decided to hop over to Hard Rock Cafe. I heard good things about the mudpie so we had that instead of the usual brownie. The last time I had the brownie (2005), I was a bit disappointed because it was presented in a huge sundae glass, instead of on a deep-dish plate. I prefer the old way of presentation and it was so much better too. The mudpie was pretty good, the chocolate ice cream on top was really chocolatey with a slight bitter aftertaste. The bottom layer is coffee ice cream and you can't go wrong with that. However I think Coffee Club mudpie is better than HRC.

Location:
Modesto's
Orchard Parade Hotel

Giotto

This is really nice! Similar to Rocher but without the chocolatey bits. The hazelnut filling is super sweet and yummy. I like the nuts coating, give the crunch.

It is available at Candy Empire for $13.50 (pack of 4)

Bao Today

Wooden window, looking out into the mall

I decided to try Bao Today at Marina Square Shopping Mall as it is fairly new and I was curious to see what they sell. The decor is done in the traditonal drama serials type of inns. Wooden tables and stools, complete with the wooden windows.

The dishes served are mostly dim sum types - shrimp dumplings, rice rolls, century egg and lean meat porridge, siew mai, baos and even the sharkfin dumpling soup.


I tried the shrimp dumplings and porridge. The dumplings were huge. They were average, the skin was thicker than what I like it to be. The filling was pretty generous, with many shrimps in it.

The century egg and lean meat porridge (congee) was quite tasty. I like that. I would like to go back again to try the seasame filled bun next time, or with more people to try more dishes.

Oishi Pizza

Kimchee Chicken Pizza

I finally got to try Oishi Pizza after reading about it last year. Well, I saw the website and it has many interesting types of pizza. It is Japanese-styled thin-crust pizza with wasabi, edamame (a type of Japanese pea/bean), eel, teriyaki sauced meat, kimchi (more Korean), etc.

I went to the outlet at Serene Centre and it offers dine-in option. The place is tiny, similar to those pizza joints in Australia where they are mostly for delivery but with a few tables for dine-in.

It was 1 for 1, but as it was around 4pm then, it was more like a snack food for Davis and I. We ordered the Kimchee Chicken pizza (the free one was Eggplant, tomatoes and Shitake pizza for Davis to bring back) to share. The pizza is filled with grilled chicken, kimchee, onion, edamame, shitake and savory sauce. It has an interesting taste because of the spicy sour-ness of the kimchee mixed with the sweet savory sauce. I like the thin-crust though, less filling and great as snack.


We were given disposable chopsticks and a pretty clam-shaped plate with Japanese design on it. Certainly very different from other pizza place.

Location:
Oishi Pizza
10 Jalan Serene #02-12
Serene Centre
Singapore 258748

There are other outlets too.

Rive Gauche Patisserie

Tucked away in a little corner, next to OJ, and opposite the Japanese bakery at the Basement 2 of Ngee Ann City is this nondescript cakeshop - Rive Gauche patisserie.

It has some very good cakes but it does not get more publicity, maybe because it is rarely seen anywhere else. My favorite cake is this rich dark chocolate cake. It has a crunchy biscuit-like base which foiled the sweetness of the chocolate ganache very well.

I first tried a slice a few years back, then again last year when we bought it for a colleague's birthday. And my 3rd taste of it was a couple of weeks back when we got it for Davis and Celest birthdays :)


Look at the melting chocolate, so smooth and bittersweet, followed by the layers of chocolate sponge and filling and finally the crunchy crust.

Gold Collection from Bobbi Brown

Tis the season for spending. I love the Gold Shimmerbrick. My very first Shimmerbrick. Maybe because I am tanned now, so the gold shows up better on me, doesn't make me look pasty sick. The tube tints are so gorgeous. Now waiting for the lipgloss trio to arrive on our fair shores. The gwp of 3 color eye shadow doesn't appeal much to me. Too neutral.

The Body Shop Warehouse Sale 19 - 22 Oct 2006

It is here again. Ever since I discovered there is such a warehouse sale in Singapore in 2004, I have been going to The Body Shop warehouse sale faithfully. It is a great opportunity to stock up on the basics e.g. shower gels or body lotions. For me, the shower gels are my daily staples.

However, I notice the prices have been increasing steadily since my first visit in 2004. Then it was held at Winsland House, a tiny place. Prices were lower too. You can get the 60ml size shower gels/body lotions at 2 for $5. The 250ml bottles were going at 2 for $9.90.

Then in 2005, the prices went up slightly. And now, the 250ml bottles were mostly at 2 for $12.90 (usual sale price in the shops) for most of the scents. Others were going at $9.90 each or $7.90. Only the 2005 Christmas scent were 2 for $9.90. Still, there were some very good deals.

This is what I got from today's sale.



My usual purchase will be the shower gels as I use them, so I won't have to buy any for the next 4-6 months now. But I think I went a bit "mad" at the makeup section. I don't really use TBS products but when browsing there, helping a friend to get something, I was testing the items and fell in love with the shimmer brush. So cool, you click a button and it will dispense shimmer powder into the brush head, so you can start brushing on your face or body. Convenient. Most of the makeup items are meant for gifts, and some of the items are stuff which friends asked me to get.

Bobbi Brown Sparkles & Rubies Collection

This is so gorgeous! The jeweled-like tone of the garnet and shimmery reflection of the nail polish and lipglosses are simply divine. I used to have something similar for the nail polish (many years back) and have not seen this shade since. It is already sold out on Bobbi Brown Website. Amazing that Bobbi Brown is coming out with more "colors" collection.



Bobbi Brown is always seen as having colors in very classic and neutral hues. The browns, beiges, pink, apricot, etc. Recently the Gold Collection was launched in Singapore, so that is a departure of a sort to the usual. And now the Sparkles & Rubies Collection. Can't wait for that to be launched.

In The End - Linkin Park

It starts with one thing
I don't know why
It doesn't even matter how hard you try keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme
To explain in due time
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when

I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter

One thing, I don't know why
It doesn’t even matter how hard you try, keep that in mind
I designed this rhyme, to explain in due time
I tried so hard
In spite of the way you were mocking me
Acting like I was part of your property
Remembering all the times you fought with me
I'm surprised it got so (far)
Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all comes back to me (in the end)
You kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I

Chorus

I’ve put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you should know (2x) Chorus

Fed up with work, and this is such a great dance song, to get rid of any negative energy. I need the mp3 though.

PINK COACH MULTI-CHARM KEYFOB

This is so cute! I would love to get this and it is also in support for BCA (Breast Cancer Awareness).

PINK COACH MULTI-CHARM KEYFOB
Support Breast Cancer research with this charming keyfob. 20% of the proceeds from each keyfob sale will support The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
# Enamel
# 1 1/4" nickel keyring
# 2 1/4 x 2

Price: US$58
Style No: 92030

Kopitiam @ Swissotel the Stamford

Had lunch with a colleague at the Kopitiam at Swissotel the Stamford. She wanted to try the fish head curry so we had that, and also ordered a claypot tofu vegetables dish. The curry was pretty good, the lemak type even though there were chunks of tomatoes in them, as well as okra. The pot looked huge, but the fish head were mostly bones so amazingly, 2 girls managed to make short work of the meal. I like the claypot tofu. It is quite normal, but it is good. Just a pity they do not have sambal belechan to go with it.

Cafe Les Amis @ Botanic Gardens

It has been some years since I went to the Les Amis Cafe at Singapore Botanic Gardens. It is near the Visitor Centre and serves light food e.g. drinks, pastas, sandwiches, burgers and some local fare. I had the Club Sandwich which has 3 slices of toasted bread filled with grilled chicken and bacon and veggies. It is surprisingly good. Not too soggy and the bacon is actually crispy. It comes with a side of salad and chips. Pricing-wise, it is a bit on the high side at about $10 or so.

MAC Eye Quads

Sweetiecake, Thunder Eyes, Chromezone 2

I finally bought the Sweetiecake eye quad from MAC. Added them to my stash and realize I only have 3 eye quad from MAC. Not too many after all. Hehe.

And they are all of different colors, so not too bad. But I do have 3 other eye palettes (6 colors + brush) from MAC, so total is 6.

La Senza Mosiac Maze 2-pc Set

I bought this in black from La Senza as I need to spend my $50 Citibank Paragon voucher before it expires in a few days. A mad rush to buy something, but it is pretty and comfy. It is trimmed in delicate lace and satin bows. Did a search online and found out Singapore pricing is really way overpriced.

SGD 55 vs CDN 12.50 (online sale, reg is around CDN 29.50)

See the vast difference?

Was also contemplating about getting a chenille throw. So soft. But too bad Singapore is warm enough and I never really use my current Mickey Mouse throw much.

Convertible Dress and Top

I saw this on Fredericks of Hollywood and it reminded me of the convertible or all in one dress I saw on the Shopping Channel in Canada. I was always amazed and very much tempted to order it but I never did. It just seemed so cool...to be able to wear a piece of dress (cloth) in so many different ways. Off-shoulder, halterneck, strapless, sleeveless, etc.

The one from FoH can be both a dress or a long top, and has the same concept. Sigh, anyone thinking of ordering from FoH? Please let me know so I can ride on the order. Ta.

Passage New York

I went to Passage New York on Cecil Street today under a UOB credit card promotion. It is a rose facial and body massage with rose essential oil. I did the body massage first as they didn't have a slot for the facial (that will be done at another time).

The place is pretty nice, very European style. There are around 20+ treatment rooms, including couple rooms, and some rooms have a jacuzzi bathtub. Most rooms are of a decent size with a shower room (looks like those portable type, didn't open it up) and the beds are heated.

The place is like a labyrinth with many walkways that I got disoriented when going and coming back to treatment room from the washroom. The washroom area has changing rooms, a round jacuzzi, steambath, mini vanity area, shower rooms and toilets.

Scattered in between the walkways are plush armchairs with reading materials, probably for when you are in between treatments.

The therapist who massaged me, she was very strong. I requested for firm pressure but she used too much strength that it hurt, and despite me telling her to reduce the pressure, she would revert back to the strong pressure after a while. So overall, I didn't really enjoy the massage. Halfway through the session, I heard loud thumping music. Turned out there is a dance studio upstairs and the noise reverberated from there. Not relaxing at all as it kinda drowned out the soothing music played at the spa. And there is no rose scent at all for a rose massage!

PLUS the consultant was quite "hard sell". I told her I would consider the package offer only after I complete the facial as I really dislike having to make my decision on the spot when the therapist is not that fantastic for me, and the noise too. I told the consultant that, and she still whipped out different packages for me. Really put me off.

In the end, she agreed to let me consider after I try the facial, which will happen another day. So the place is not as bad as some other "hardsell spas" as I wasn't kept in the room for long. I think it is the culture of PASSAGE to hardsell as when I was outside making payment, another lady came by. Think she is the boss or something, and she kept telling me how great she felt after losing weight (from 80kg to 54kg) and asked me if I am doing anything to lose weight, and kept insisting that I should do that. That I would definitely feel better when I am thin :blah:

For those thinking of trying PASSAGE using promo voucher or something, just be prepared for the hardsell tactics.

Verdict: Place is nice, pity the people (staff) do not really match. More headache/stress from the hardsell.

Location:
PASSAGE New York
133 Cecil Street#01-01B
Keck Seng Tower
Singapore 069535
Tel: 62260888
http://www.passage.com.sg/

Sun with Moon Japanese Dining - Wheelock Place (5 Oct 2006)

Had dinner at Sun with Moon Japanese Dining last week. Somehow I wasn't craving for the kamameshi (Japanese traditional steamed rice pot, similar to our claypot rice) which the restaurant is well-known for.

As I wasn't feeling that hungry I thought to have something light. The beef wrapped around mushrooms and scallops sounded good. Also had cold soba to go with it. We shared the appetizer of shredded crabmeat and desserts too. It has been so long that I don't remember the actual names of the food we had. Lol.

The beef was fantastic! So tender that it can melt in your mouth, and the scallops and mushrooms went very well too. The cold soba was nicely chilled on a plate of ice and was al dente. The appetizer was really good. I like the crispy seaweed holding the crabmeat and the roe were good.

Desserts, we couldn't make up our minds and so each of us order one thing. The green tea tiramisu was rich and had strong green tea powder flavoring. It would have been better if there were dollops of red beans too as that would counteract the green tea taste completely. We also had the strawberry thing. That was nice! The tart strawberries made a great foil against the sweet red beans. The last dessert was interesting. Some chestnut paste (quite tasteless on its own) with red beans and a crispy tapioca or sweet potato chip on wafer. Not bad.

Location
Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe
501 Orchard Road #03-15 Wheelock Place
Tel: 6733-6636

Deepavali - 21 Oct 2006

We are going to have a long weekend next week as there are two public holidays a few days apart. The Deepa-Raya holidays. Oct 21 (Sat) is Deepavali (aka Diwali in some places) ~ Festival of Lights, and Oct 24 is Hari Raya Puasa (to celebrate the end of fasting). We will get Oct 23 off since Sat was already an off day for us. Yay!

It seemed like the norm to have a "light-up" for any festivals now. It used to be that the light-up is usually reserved for Christmas where Orchard Road will be decorated with Christmas decor. But now you can see it everywhere. Little India for Deepavali, Chinatown for Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year, Geylang Serai for Hari Raya Puasa and possibly Hari Raya Haji.

Colorful peacocks in vibrant shades

Managed to snap a picture of this year decor for Deepavali in the car when driving in Little India. The last time I was in Little India and encountered the light-up was in 2003, when ST was here for a visit. Time sure has flown.

Laksa @ Congress (Suntec)

I finally tried the laksa at the Congress Cafe at Suntec City. It is always very crowded and it seemed like everyone always ordered the laksa and roti prata. The way to order the food is a bit different from usual.

You take a look at the various stalls selling laksa, mee siam, chicken rice, roti prata, murtabak, wanton noodles etc (typical food center fare) and once you make your decision. Go over to the cashier to place the order and collect your receipt. With the receipt in hand, head over to the stall and hand that over to the person behind the stall and wait for your food.

The laksa has lots of fishcake slices, big crunchy prawns and 2 miserable taupoks (dried beancurd). I like the taupoks and was disappointed by the small serving of that. But it does have about 4 pieces of prawns which is quite rare and plenty of fishcake slices which are quite rubbery. The prawns looked abit undercooked, hence the crunchiness? I am not sure but I have heard from some people who ate fresh raw prawns out in the boat when prawn fishing and they said it tasted very crunchy. I am not so sure as the only raw prawns I ever had were sashimi variety and they were gooey. Not very appetizing at all.

However the gravy is very good, very lemak (coconut-ty) that I almost wanted to slurp it all up. Overall, I find the laksa to be average. I had better before.

Dali in Singapore

As part of the Biennale 2006 happening in Singapore now till 12 Nov 2006, there are arts around the city. Sad to say, I have not really been keeping track and following the events except for those which are blatantly out in the streets.


The trees in Orchard Road are wrapped with white polka dots in red wrappers, and as it coincide with the IMF meeting, many thought it was done to welcome the delegates as the government also planted flowers along the road just for that.

But what really caught my attention is the Dali exhibits in town. So far I only managed to see this "Alice in Wonderland" as it is right outside Wheelock Place in Orchard. I hope to make it to Raffles Place some day to see the melting timeclock thing and others.