My Cross

I finally found a cross pendant which is similar to the one I lost earlier this year. After looking at various jewelry shops (Soo Kee, Lee Hwa, Aspial and even down to Taka, SK and Citigems, plus a few silver jewelry shops), I have more or less given up hope on finding one which is similar.

It seemed like all the shops specialized in dainty, tiny, fragile-looking cross pendants with diamonds. While I do like "bling-bling" to a certain extent, I prefer that for costume jewelry. They are more "fun" pieces to me. For something which I will be wearing daily, I prefer something simple. Plus, I am not a dainty person, so small does not work for me. Lol. I prefer something of substance.

So while out at AMK Hub (yes, I was out at the suburbs and not in town), exploring the place, I ventured into Poh Heng (which is in those neighborhood shops, not inside the Hub itself). I didn't really expect to see the cross, but the first one I laid my eyes on is almost an exact replica.

Oh, the joy! It is slightly smaller and lighter than my previous one. Plus the edges are slanted, not perfectly rounded. But it is close enough and charge it, it is. White gold cross pendant on my old silver chain, which I still refuse to change.

Before I bought the cross, I actually bought a dragonfly pendant as I wanted something nice and big to wear. The chain needs a pendant to weigh it down, else it will keep going up like a choker.

Sherie's Cupcakes - 2nd try

I have been baking up a frenzy! Well, not really. Lol, just like to think I have been doing that. I was home all day on Sunday and thought now I have all the time in the world to bake and cook. I wanted to bake the tuna noodle casserole, based on a friend's recipe, but alas, we ran out of canned soup. So no go. Thus, I turned my attention to baking.

Back to Sherie's cupcakes recipe. Again, I didn't get to mix the ingredients as I actually dozed off and my helper didn't wake me up. She went ahead to make it. I think she likes baking better than cooking :p

Anyway, I got to pour the batter into the paper cups and do the piping for the frosting. I am so not creative at all! Boring swirls all around. Lol. And I also learnt not to do the piping when the cupcake have not cooled totally. See the "melted" frosting, the color has changed to the more buttery yellow too.

Verdict: It is moist and pretty good. But it has a bit of alkaline aftertaste, not sure if it is the flour I used. I used Top Flour. Does that matter? The frosting is fantastic, love the buttery taste, not too sweet too. It yielded close to 50 cupcakes.

TCC (The Coffee Connoisseur)

Tiramisu

I hardly stepped into TCC (The Coffee Connoisseur) as I didn't have a fantastic experience which made me want to be a repeat customer. The last time I went there was a few years back and the food didn't make much of an impressions. Pretty usual fare with average taste or standards. Nice presentation though. But I am not really a packaging person. I am rarely sold by packaging or the visual on the outside. What matters most to me is the "inside", the substance within.

I read about its revamp and new menu, but again the old experience hindered me from wanting to try the place as there are so many other new or old eateries to tempt my wallet.


So what made me stepped into TCC on Thursday (August 30) then? Sheer desperation. Lol. It was late, around 730pm or close to 8pm, and we were at Velocity@Novena. Cedele usually closed at 8pm (I love Cedele soup and sandwiches), and Spinelli does not really have fresh food at this outlet (other Spinellis are fine), so there isn't much option. Fast food is out and I am not into organic food. Harry's bar is boring and we were just there on Wednesday (usual place for company's drinks) and so TCC it is.

The place is nice, interesting chairs/seats. A comfy "bench" for 2 but only 1 side has a partial backing which is too low to really lean on anyway. Another interesting feature is a "waterfall" right in the middle. It is probably just strings with water flowing down it, creating an illusion of a waterfall.

The menu has expanded. Much more sophisticated offerings with proper mains, beside the usual soup, sandwiches, pastas and light snacks. I tried the baked meatball pasta while Vanessa had the pasta au gratin. The meatball pasta was not too bad, the meatball had a taste to it but it got better the more you ate it. I like the cheesy creamy concoction drizzled with tasbasco sauce to give it a kick.

Choco Cinnamon Latte (background - love the cinnamon stick), Caramel Honey Latte (foreground - love the layers)

Food wise, it is still average. I had better. What was nice was really the presentation. The caramel honey latte looked pretty, but tasted a bit weak. Too much milk. The dessert - tiramisu - again scored high on presentation. Taste-wise, it was ok. Passable, not something which will make me want to go back again and again.

Conclusion, TCC is still not my first choice if I want to eat or drink. It is just nice as a place for a chat or chill out, if the outlet is quiet. The service at Velocity is excellent though. Water glasses were refilled automatically, and the service staff were polite and welcoming.

Aquamarine - Marina Mandarin Hotel

I tried the dinner buffet at Aquamarine in Marina Mandarin Hotel. Somehow most people had the tendency to mistake Marina Mandarin for Meritus Mandarin. Is it really that similar? Marina Mandarin is such a give-away for being in the Marina Bay area and Meritus Mandarin is the old hotel along Orchard Road.

Aquamarine is a fairly new restaurant, at the renovated Marina Mandarin Hotel. It is quite a hassle getting to the hotel from within Marina Square Shopping Center itself. I love the color and water theme of the restaurant. Everything is in shade of blue, the shimmering aquamarine of the sea water. It is not as blu-ish as Blu in Shangri-La, but it is still nice.

We got a table right by the dessert section where the chocolate fountain is (and the chocolate fountain is now part and parcel of most buffet places' offerings) so we can monitor the state of the strawberries. Lol. The only drawback is the air conditioning vent, it condensed pretty fast and thus dripped steadily on diners right underneath it (i.e. my friends and the next table).

Food selection - it is a decent spread of quality food. The variety is not as mind-boggling as The Line at Shangri-La, but it is enough.

Stations:

Local food of seafood noodle soup and carrot cake, chicken rice and other roasted stuff (prepared by chef), surrounding the chefs' workstation are tempura (shrimp and vegetables), Singapore bee hoon (finally! I see Singapore noodles in a Singapore's restaurant but without the curry powder found overseas), kai lan, roast beef (very nicely done, not tough or dry), fish fillet, pork ribs, chicken pieces, black pepper crabs and more.

Indian: briyani rice, vegetables dahl, various curries - beef, chicken and mutton?

Japanese: assortment of sushi and sashimi, chawanmushi, soba and probably others, prepared by chefs behind the counter.

Appetizer: Salad, penang fruit salad, oyster shooter, and various canapes with caviar, scallop, crabmeat, shrimp, duck breast salad, etc

Soup: 2 types - cream of asparagus and hot & sour soup. Lots of bread to go with it, and a huge selection of cheese platter.

On the ice: oysters, scallop, mussels, crabs, just cooked live shrimps, crayfish and a special - scampi baked or grilled to perfection.

Dessert: 4 types of Haagen Dazs ice cream with your choice of topping (crushed pistachios, nuts, chocolate rice sprinkles, white chocolate shavings, pink chocolate shavings, M&Ms, marshmallows) and sugar cones.

Chocolate fountain with small donuts and strawberries to dip in, selection of cookies and 2 types of cakes (cheese cake and green tea mousse cake - not sure if they change all the time), and bite size panna cotta, chocolate mousse, tiramisu, creme brulee, brownie, fruit tarts, opera, etc and fruits.

So much food, so little space in stomach. I didn't get to try the Indian or Japanese food at all and lots more too. But here are what I tried:

My first dish - seafood noodle soup. I was just browsing when the chef asked if I wanted a bowl. It was pretty good, tasted like prawn noodle broth but a bit salty, not sure if that was due to the soy sauce I added with the sliced chili.

Appetizer: Oyster shooters, some cream cheese with smoked salmon opera, caviar on egg in potato, grilled eggplant and some other canapes. These were ok, not that great.

Grilled/Baked Scampi - my favorite dish of the night. I can just eat this the whole night. The meat was fresh and succulent. I dipped it in the seafood sauce and hot sauce. Nice!

Mains: fish fillet in a nice white cream sauce (nice, not dry), roast beef in brown sauce (so tender), Singapore fried bee hoon (it was ok), shrimp and zucchini tempura (average, a bit cold), kai lan (not bad)

Dessert: Chocolate mousse (didn't like the whipped egg white but the chocolate beneath was divine), panna cotta (too sweet to finish), opera (wonderful medley of bitter and sweet), brownie (too dry), creme brulee (average, not that fantastic)

I was so stuffed after all that. I didn't take pictures of the ice cream or chocolate dipped strawberries and the oysters, scallop and crayfish. The oysters and scallop were very fresh, crayfish was so-so only.

Location:
Aquamarine, Marina Mandarin Hotel
Level 3
Reservations: 6845 1111

Davis' Mini Cupcakes

Davis made a batch of cupcakes and passed some to me to try. Miniatures as I overdosed on cupcakes at my niece's birthday over the weekend.

The mini cupcakes are so cute and just nice for nibbling. I love the cream cheese frosting, courtesy of Sherie's recipe ;p

Thanks, Davis :)

Cube @ Work

This is my very messy cube at work. I have lots of junk and other stuff to make it personal. Too personal, maybe. Lol. But I have finally gotten rid of those piles of papers. I am such a pack rat. Now I am trimming the folders in the office system, trying to delete those "draft" documents and leave behind the final copy.

It is taking me a loooong time. I am just so bad with throwing things away. Sigh. Back to plodding on before I leave.

MAC Flashtronic 2007

I went to Vivocity so many times last month that I feel I know the place very well now. The main reason for going to Vivo is because my fave MA is based at the Tangs there, so no choice. If I want to buy things from MAC, I need to go to Tangs Vivo. No more Tangs Orchard for MAC products.

So why the multiple trips? A few times it was to buy stuff - MAC Ballonancy and MAC C-Shock Collections items. Recently it was to buy the mineralized stuff from the Flashtronic collection.

What did I get? Northern Light MSF - mid tone pink with rust and grey brown veining highlighter blusher. Mineralize eye shadows in Ether (gorgeous deep aqua with silver, black and gold streaks), Tectonic (yellow gold with lime green, warm brown and black veins), Mercurial (yellow gold with lilac and chestnut veining though it looks more lavender pink on me) and Quarry Sky (light blue with olive, coral and beige veining)

Of them, my favorite are Ether and Tectonic. They looked great when paired together. Quarry Sky was quite so-so for me but as usual I got it because it is LE and I am hoping I can get it to work for me. Lol.

Ladies Afternoon Tea @ Regent

We went to the Regent for afternoon tea on Saturday as a belated birthday gathering for Tanny as Agnes only came back from her trip to Japan the weekend before. It was tea but we started at 130pm and stayed there till 5pm, gossiping the afternoon away.

So it was like a 1-meal affair for most of us since some of us slept in and thus skipped brekkie and 130pm was like lunch time. Regent is always nice for its "quiet" location. I like the cosy feel of the place, which was made to resemble a library in an English home. The fried chicken wings were back and they were so good! Crispy and slightly spicy. I didn't have much this time. And I was pretty good in not trying all the desserts (maybe because I tried them previously already).

It was quite interesting to note the topics for the day ranged from pregnancy (Agnes is expecting her first child, and Davis and Sherie are already yummy mummies) to makeup to bags to clothes to everything under the sky :p It was quite rare to get all of us together and our friendship has lasted since we met in end 2004.

The next gathering will be for my "farewell" next month. Food for the day will be local. We are going to Straits Kitchen. Nice! I have not been there since last year when I was there with Irene to celebrate my birthday. I can start daydreaming about the Indian dishes and the nasi padang stuff. Yummy!

One thing I noticed yesterday was that it seemed like most of us are carrying a designer bag :p 2 YSLs, 1 Prada, 1 Burberry, 1 Le Sportsac Tokidoki and others.

Shopping with Vouchers

Yesterday turned out to be a shopping day! I thought it would just be tea with the girls and then home to rest. But I discovered my brand new cream gloss (Full Kiss - finally bought it after lemming for it since 2002 or 2003) from Helena Rubinstein (HR) leaked. There was a hole at the end of the tube and it stained my gwp bag from HR. The girls said I should be able to get an exchange for the cream gloss and so it was a trip down to Isetan Scotts after the tea. And from there it snowballed into a shopping trip :)

The BA at HR was pretty nice about it. I managed to exchange the gloss but my color was still out of stock. I have a feeling they will not be stocking this any time soon. So after much deliberation and testing, I got another color - Flush (quite neutral, peachy nude thing). The other color I was trying was Bed Red - an orange based fire engine red. It was that bright! Now I remembered the color I was lemming for, it was Carmine Passion which I have not seen in a long while, maybe the reason why I never really buy Full Kiss previously. The BA also gave me a new gwp bag after she learnt that I stained my current one with the cream gloss. I didn't even ask if I could have a new one, she just offered. Now that is delighting the customer. Something small but within her autonomy, but which made the customer happy. More companies should empower their staff with the flexibility to do such little stuff, instead of being very controlling on how gwp/samples should be given out here.

We popped over to see the bags and Nine West is on sale, 50% off on selected items. I bought a bag which I was eyeing previously. So yay, I managed to use my Isetan vouchers for that. Then it was to Topshop where I spent again, using my voucher there. Lol, I have too many vouchers to use. Instead of 1 undies, I bought 2 cos they were so cute! It said "You Rock" on 1, and "Groupie" on the other. And there was a picture of a skull for "You Rock" on the front, and a picture of a guitar on the front for "Groupie". The end season sale is still on, and I also picked up a bikini which is so spring/summery with its bright cheerful candy stripes.

It was to DFS after that and over there I was a good girl. Didn't buy anything at all :p Final stop was La Senza at Paragon where the end season sale was still on with 70% off. I remembered I still have my Style$ to spend at Paragon so I picked up a few stuff. In a total purple mood with 2 bras and 3 undies - all in purple!

Oh and at the tea, Agnes passed me the Old Navy bikini bottom which I ordered to match the top I already have. So now I have the complete set of the stars and stripes bikini :) Also got the Stila Pretty Pansy and Pussycat Doll palette from her.

A total shopping day. I love spending with vouchers :D

View from the top

We organized a press conference last month for a client which was held at Equinox Private Dining Room on Level 69 of Swissotel the Stamford. The view is amazing but the service/support staff could be better. I doubt I will ever recommend the place for events in future.

The Singapore Flyer looks pretty good from the top. I always thought it could be an eyesore to have something huge jut out from nowhere but it all seemed to meld together. Plus after the IR is built at Marina Bay area, I think it will all fit perfectly well.

You can see the construction of the barrage at the mouth of Singapore River. Afte the barrage is completed, the entire Marina Bay/Singapore River area will be a reservoir. A huge reservoir. I wonder what it will be like, especially since they have started introducing water sports in reservoir too.

I stopped wakeboarding now because the water is so polluted, and they use detergent to make it easier for people to slip in and out of the wakeboard "boots". Imagine detergent in reservoir! Killing all the fish and sea life underneath. Maybe it is bio-degradable?

In the picture, you can see the barrage at the top, the right hand side is the construction of the IR, but there are so many more cranes now than before, all working furiously to meet the deadline. And there is the floating platform opposite it. The floating platform is made up of 15 pontoons which were designed and constructed by one of our clients, hence my knowledge of the barrage and other stuff :p (the whole reason for taking the pic)

PersonalDNA

I am a Benevolent Creator.



You are a Creator

Your imagination, confidence, willingness to explore, and appreciation of beauty make you a CREATOR.

You are independent, and you enjoy your self-sufficiency.

Defying convention, you are very innovative, and you have a vivid imagination.

The look of things is important to you, and you have a keen eye for aesthetic beauty in multiple arenas.

You have a strong interest in what is new and exciting—and that includes forging ahead with new ideas, not simply discovering what is already out there.

Your eagerness to seek new and varied experiences leads you into many different situations.

You're not set on one way of doing things, and you are creative when it comes to finding novel solutions to complex problems.

You trust yourself to be innovative and resourceful.

Your confidence allows you to take your general awareness and channel it into creativity.


If you want to be different:
Appreciate the earthly, practical elements of things—there is beauty in form as well.

While you are good at thinking abstractly, focusing on details a bit more may help you discover things about the world.

You are Benevolent

You are a great person to interact with—understanding, giving, and trusting—in a word, BENEVOLENT

You don't mind being in social situations, as you feel comfortable enough with people to be yourself.

Your caring nature goes beyond a basic concern: you take the time to understand the nuances of people's situations before passing any sort of judgment.

You're a good listener, and even better at offering advice.

You're concerned with others at both an individual and societal level—you sympathize with the plights of troubled groups, and you can care about people you've never met.

Considering many different perspectives is something at which you excel, and you appreciate that quality in others.

Other people's feelings are important to you, and you're good at mediating disputes.

Because of your understanding and patience, you tend to bring out the best in people.


If you want to be different:

You spend a lot of time taking care of others, but don't forget to take care of yourself!

Sometimes you can get overcommitted, and when you sacrifice spending time with those close to you, it can make them feel unimportant.

"Jungle" Cats

I took the pictures some time last year when I was waiting for the bus. It was interesting to see the way the two cats interacted with each other. Waiting...observing...pouncing.

Animal instincts.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites

They look so yummy and pretty. The recipe seems quite do-able too.

Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
Prep time: 15 minutes
Makes 16 servings

Ingredients
1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
16 (about 1 pound) whole stemmed California strawberries
8 graham cracker squares, finely crushed (about 2/3 cup)

Directions
In mixer bow, beat together cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and lemon peel until smooth and creamy; set aside. Using a paring knife or small melon baler, partially hollow-out tops of strawberries to a depth of ¾ inches. Gently fill each with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Roll tops into graham cracker crumbs. Arrange on serving platter.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: 65 calories; 3 g fat; 10 mg cholesterol; 85 mg sodium; 7 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 2 g protein

Tips:
* To prepare recipe ahead of time, fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture; cover and refrigerate up to 6 hours. Roll in graham cracker crumbs just before serving.
* For a chocolate cheesecake variation, melt 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels as package directs; stir into one 8-ounce package cream cheese (softened). Add 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Proceed as recipe directs, rolling filled strawberries into finely crushed graham crackers or chocolate wafer cookies.

Recipes and photographs provided courtesy of the California Strawberry Commission. ©2007 California Strawberry Commission. All rights reserved.

Too Honest

This is hilarious! Sometimes a little honesty can be too much? Lol. Refreshing.

A Game of MahJong

A bona fide tai-tai I can never be as I totally sux in MahJong (MJ). I vaguely know the concept of being able to exchange for tiles if you get the "flower or animal" tiles, and to have 3 of a kind or in a row (straight). The rest I totally don't remember or don't know at all.

So today I spent today at a colleague's (VL) place where we played MJ. It was supposed to be a fun session, with some money involved. BUT.....due to mine and another colleague's (JC) incompetence, the other 2 decided to just play for fun instead and to let us learn through trial and errors.

They thought they were bad...until they met us. Lol. JC has only played a few times but he improved lots at the end. While I did manage to "win" some games, some were horrid and I made mistakes where if we were playing for money, I would have to pay out to everyone a few times. It was still a fun and good learning experience.

We took so long just playing 1 round. I think we started around 5pm and only ended around 1030pm, with about 30mins break for dinner. Yes, we took more than an hour to complete just 1 "wind" direction. I am still pretty clueless about how the "wind" works and what can be used to keep as a pair and the "credit" to get before you can even win. So many rules.

But I must say there is something quite therapeutic about the clacking tiles and then stacking them and trying to strategize the next move.

Wicked - A Nail Salon

I tried Wicked, which is at International Building next to Isetan Scotts, in late June on Davis' recommendation. The place is tiny, but has tasteful ambience. The seats are like a long bench with sinks at the bottom. That is good as I am quite fussy about that. I prefer to have actual sinks rather than a portable basin or those footbath thing. This is for hygiene purposes.

It is not very comfortable but still ok to sit for an hour. Magazines provided are international and quite recent and service is good. I like that the tea is served on nice tea cup and with a mini tray.

I think it is fairly new and is operated by a Korean as it also has Korean facials and waxing services in another room off the main nail area. The staff is also fairly new to the trade, you can tell they are not very experienced.

In the 2 times I was there (yes I signed a package as it was a good deal but now I thoroughly regret it), the nail technicians were not very good. I am still hoping I can find a good one for my remaining sessions.

The first one cut my nails too short and it was not straight for one of the toenails. About a week after that, I discovered there was a tiny nick on the 3rd toe on left foot. I was concerned and so made an appointment to get them to re-paint the nails (cos the colors have chipped by then - very fast for an OPI. Less than a week).

I went back and got a different nail technician. She is very new (I didn't know that in the beginning) and didn't seem to know what to do. I told her about the nick and just to change the nail colors and not to file or cut them as they were already so short. Then she discovered there is another nick on the 4th toe on the right foot. Seriously, I have never have spilts on nails before and right so close to the cuticles.

The warning bells should have rung in my head when the technician didn't even offer to repair the tiny nicks. She just allowed me to tell her to change the colors. Usually at other nail salons, they will ask you or tell you that you need to glue it back or something. But at Wicked, nothing at all.

So it was repainted and I left, hoping my nails will grow fast enough and the nicks will not get worse. But 2-3 weeks later, they spilt further. So the cracks on the nail and the reason why the one on the left foot has came off. And now I am seeking emergency treatment on the right foot as that is in a precarious position being 3/4 down the toenail.

I don't trust any nail technicians to do it. My boss recommended super glue but I am hesitant to do it on my own. I called the person recommended by Yolanda and she said I will need to put on fibreglass nail. WTH is that? Anyway, she is traveling today and won't be back till next weekend.

So I called Flair Nails where I usually have my waxing done. Spoke to my long time therapist there and she recommended the technicians there and that they are all trained and experienced. She said I will probably need the silkscreen (??) or gel nail or whatever. All these terms just went above my head. So I shall try it out today and hopefully it works. The spilt ends will hold till the nail grows out.

I did a silkscreen thing once at Snails for a tiny nick before. It didn't work and came out after a couple of days. Hence I am quite skeptical on such stuff.

Bottomline: I don't recommend Wicked at all. I think only the owner is experienced, so it is only good if you managed to get her for your appointment.

Nasi Lemak - Old Chang Kee

Nasi Lemak from Old Chang Kee? Yes, besides the usual curry puffs and other deep fried snacks, the Old Chang Kee cafes also served up hot dishes such as nasi lemak, beef stew in bread bowl, grilled fish, etc. It is called Take 5.

I tried the nasi lemak as I was not sure what to have and the fried chicken wing looked tempting. Actually I went to the wrong store. I wanted hor fun but went to Take 5 instead of Killiney Kopitiam at Square 2 :p

Verdict? The rice could be more lemak and fragrant but still quite ok. The chicken wing is good and warm. The chili is pretty good. The sausage is a surprising touch. Average nasi lemak, I would say.

Barbie Tee

I want this! This will complete the Barbie collection and it has rhinetones for the tiara, earring, hairband and necklace. The shape of the tee doesn't leave much to desire but who knows? It might look good when worn. Pricey at US$28 from 80tees.

Spree, anyone?

Broken Nails

Another unsexy post.

My toe nail broke into half and came off today. It is quite scary to see the flesh instead of nail. It chipped a couple of weeks back and I noticed there was a spilt in the center from the side. Today, it decided to come off. I hope it is nothing serious and with no full nail to protect the nail bed, I won't get any infections.

Then I noticed the toe nail on the other foot is also going to come off. The pedicurist did mention there was also a spilt on that toe but I didn't see it, so I didn't bother much. But now it is so obvious and it is even worse. The spilt is about 3/4 down the toe so if that comes off, only 1/4 of the toe will be covered with nail leaving the rest exposed.

I have never had this happened to me before. So on the left foot, the 3rd toe is 1/2 covered with nail. And on the right foot, the 4th toe might be left with only 1/4 of nail. I am hoping my nails will grow faster so that when it eventually falls off, it will be at least 1/2 covered.

Anyone has any suggestions on how to protect nails?

Change of M1 Plan

I was talking to the girls last night and the conversation went on to phone subscription plans. Oh, cos I finally found out M1 has started selling the Blackberry Pearl. It is priced at $198 (2 years contract on BB and Voice plans) or $498 (2 years contract on BB plan) or $698 without any plan or contract.

That is so darn expensive!

So the girls found out my current plan is very expensive too as I typically pay around $80-ish per month, lowest ever is around $60-ish. I was quite loathe to change my plan 3-4 years ago when free incoming calls were the rage as I didn't feel the plan was attractive enough. Then time just passed by and I just forgot about it.

I am currently on the OK Flex plan which is no longer in existance (another reason why I didn't want to change cos I can never switch back after that). So what is the OK Flex plan?

The subscription is $50 (minus 45% discount making it $27.50) per month and I get $45 worth of SMSs and talk time. But the reason why it became higher than the $27.50 per month is because I always exceeded the $45 and had to top up. Based on last month's bill, my talktime was $52.12 and SMSs at $27.65, so I incurred additional charges of $34.77. Then I have my roaming subscription and caller-ID display charges. But I think the reason for the high talk time was due to the events I was handling in June and July - lots of calls from suppliers and clients and colleagues.

So yeah, my friends were all telling me last night I need to change my plan cos they are paying around $30+ on average and most people receive in-coming calls more than calling out (well, except when I have events and need to contact people).

Checked M1 website for the various plans - there are so MANY now! And I have decided on the SunTalk Plus IDD 80. It is at $28 per month and here is what is included:
*Free incoming calls until 31 December 2009
*Free local calls on weekend (max 100 mins)
* 5 for 5 Global SMS daily
*Free IDD 021 calls to 15 countries (residential and mobile line in Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and USA) but exclude outgoing call charges at $0.15/min.
*Free 80 mins local outgoing calls
*500 free SMS

The new plan will be in effect starting tomorrow and hopefully this will cut my phone cost to below $50 and that I do not exceed the outgoing call charges. At $0.15/min, it can add up too. But I guess it is marginally better than my OK Flex as the charges were at $0.20/min (weekdays) and $0.05/min (weekends and weeknights) and I think my calls tend to be during day time due to work.

Next stop: Blackberry Pearl (still considering)

My Dream Car

I found my dream car. I was traveling in a taxi on the way back to the office after a meeting, when I saw it. The perfectly rounded curvy bumper. It is so darn cute. Even better than the Miata, which is quite small.

Being ignorant of cars and its makes, I didn't recognize the logo. But managed to see the word "Crossfire" and googled it earlier and tada! It is the Chrysler Crossfire Coupe. I am really stunned to see it is from Chrysler. Sure didn't expect it at all. Lol.

Isn't it the prettiest thing you ever seen? I would love to have this car ;p You can read more about it here.

Chez Clarke Nasi Lemak

I was at Irene's place yesterday and she cooked nasi lemak. I was supposed to learn how to cook it from her. But as there were so many "chefs" in the kitchen yesterday, I decided to observe first.

So now I know (theoreotically) how to fry pomfrets, white baits, over-easy egg with the crispy edges, sambal prawns and sambal squids and eggplants with dried shrimps. Lots of side dishes to go with the nasi lemak (coconut rice).

Squids, Prawns and Eggplants

Fried Egg

Whitebait

Fried pomfrets

It was a lip-smaking delicious meal. The sambal chili goes so well with the rice, and the whitebait was so crispy and tasty. The squids were just right, not rubbery chewy and the prawns were fresh and sweet. The eggplants were a great mix with the dried shrimps.

India Hicks Collection - Crabtree & Evelyn

In recent months, Crabtree & Evelyn has been introducing new items almost every month now. It took my willpower not to buy every time I received the promotional flyer. I have been good - I more or less kept to my shopping ban of 6 months (Dec'06 - May'07) for not buying body products.

I only bought the "Lost" and "Found" shower gels - all because I love the packaging. Blue and pink heart-shaped box and 2 bears. Sweet. Then 2 shower mousses - foamy moussy, only because they were on promotional price. I doubt I will pay full-price for them. In fact I seriously doubt I will re-purchase again as I didn't like the foamy feel. Like shaving cream.

And my last purchase from Crabtree is the shower gel, body scrub and bath salts from the India Hicks Collection. They smell good - fresh, clean scent of the spider lily. Not too sweet or floral at all. I quite like it. I am such a sucker for shower gel and bath products.

The diffuser was so nice - I was sorely tempted to buy that but at over $100, it is crazily expensive.

Kaz Bar

This is quite a long overdue post. My 3rd visit to Kaz Bar last year together with Celest so that I can utilize the voucher I won for coming in 2nd in a Middle Eastern/Bellydance costume thing. And even that was a fluke. Nobody really went there dressed in costumes and the organizer got me to wear a headset veil thing and for that I won 2nd place. Haha.

It serves middle eastern food and the decor is reminiscent of a lady's boudoir or a pasha's harem. There are intimate alcoves with beaded curtains, wispy silky drapes and numerous cushions. Or you can also sit by the bar counter or at the regular tables.

The highlight for me is the drink - Lambrini. A light bubbly. Nice.

By now I don't really remember what we ate, but we ordered an appetizer sampler thing. I like the hummous with the pita bread. The mashed eggplants and the falafel were good too. The place is well known for its lamb too.

On Wednesday and towards the end of the week, there is a bellydancer performing 2 sets from 9pm onwards.

Location:
Kaz Bar

25 Church Street, #01-03

Capital Square 3

Tel: 6438 2975

Le Creuset Petite Blueberry Casserole

This is just so cute! I want! Cooking is starting to get more interesting with the pretty kitchen-aids available now. Imagine serving your casserole on this, rather than plain old boring corningware or others.

It is microwave, dishwasher and oven safe and is 5x5x5 inches. It weighs about 2 lbs.


Available from Amazon.com.

I'm A Blue!

You scored as Blue, Your heart is blue. You are a very calm and relaxed person. You are very caring and like helping others. You're grateful for what you have in life, even if it's not perfect. People love you for who you are, don't ever change that- it's what makes you the great person that you are. Blue 86% Pink 71% Yellow 61% Black 57% Red 46% Green 39% White 36% Purple 21% Orange 7% ~What colour is your heart?~ created with QuizFarm.com

Sunday Brunch at Four Seasons Singapore - One-Ninety Restaurant

Champagne brunches - the very phrase brings to mind a decadent spread of scrumptious food and a never-ending supply of fine champagne. I have not been going for buffets in a while, be it brunches, lunches, dinners or teas, as the stomach just could not do justice to it. I like to try food, but I can never finish them all. Darn.

I was invited for Sunday brunch at One-Ninety Restaurant at The Four Seasons Singapore recently. I have heard of it, though not much, but I was never really motivated to want to try it. Other brunches which were always at the top of the list include the Hyatt, Ritz Carlton and Shangri-La.

One turn-off of the brunch at Four Seasons is the 2 sittings practice (11:15am - 1:15pm and 1:30pm - 3:30pm). There is something about having a brunch which makes you want to linger and stay on even though you may not eat during the entire period. After all, it is supposed to be a leisurely social event where you catch up on gossip and latest news with your friends or family.

One word to sum up the Sunday Brunch at Four Seasons - WOW!

And I am not just saying that because I was invited. I was pleasantly surprised by how the stations were spilled out onto the walkway and near the elevator lobby, and the seating area has expanded to include the Lobby Bar and al-fresco dining, besides the main restaurant. In total, it can seat 200 people for each sitting. Please do call in advance for reservations, recommended 1 week in advance as it is always full for both sittings, especially the later one.

There is a wide selection, not as mind-numbingly huge like The Line at Shangri-La, but it is a comfortable range with enough choices to please everyone. There is the breakfast area serving hot food such as pancakes, waffles, eggs (anyway you want it), sausages, bacon. The pancakes, waffles and eggs are cooked only when you ordered it. Nice!

Grill section: whatever you want is here - fish, veggies, meat (I only tried the fish as it was recommended by the Executive Sous Chef Catan otherwise I would not really touch it as I was already full by the other stuff). Everything is prepared fresh, and you can see the chefs at work behind the counter.

Bread, cheese and soup section: huge selection of bread and stuff - I didn't really pay attention to what was there.

Foie Gras Section: I didn't try this but this was also recommended by Chef Catan.

Cold Seafood Bar: I saw 2 types of oyster (Canadian and Australian or French) there and you can see a chef shucking it on the spot. The chef wore a steel glove to protect his hand from both the knife and the oyster shell. (This bit of info was provided by Chef Catan). There were also the usual suspects - mussels, scallops and prawns. Another tip by Chef Catan was to put a dash of Chipotle Tabasco sauce on the oyster instead of the usual tabasco as the smokiness brings out the freshness of the oyster better. I like that they provided real miniature bottles of tabasco sauce too.

Appetizer and Salad counter: I totally skipped this section but the dishes looked real good, and there was a chef on hand to prepare the salad if you want. At least I think he was manning that, just can't remember the items at his station.

Japanese counter: Fresh sushi and sashimi which could be made on the spot. There was a chef behind the counter.

Chinese food counter: Selection of dim sums, peking duck, roasted meat and noodles made right there and then.

Carbs station: Another chef stationed there to prepare risotto and pasta on the spot.

Laksa station: A One-Ninety Signature dish. Another chef stationed there to make it for you according to what you want.

Juice Bar: Fresh juices available and made on the spot for you.

Martini Ice Bar: Another One-Ninety (or Four Seasons) specialty - martinis made on the spot. After the bartender mixed the drink, it was poured into the ice sculpture to chill it, and you put a glass at the end to catch the liquid. Interesting concept. Great idea for a function. Please contact Four Seasons for a quote on having it during your event.

Dessert Section: A huge table in the middle serving all kinds of goodies. Another table at the side for the souffles (3 types), and another table with the chocolate fountain and "home-made" ice cream.

I think that is what I remember of what was available. I could have missed out on some stuff. So many food, but only 1 stomach (unfortunately).

So what did I have? I had a peach martini. It was really fun to try catching the liquid. Some spilled out cos I held the glass too close to the end. You could tell I never took physics at all - the law of gravity and angle of pouring never occured to me. I also had a carrot-orange juice.

Food wise: I started off with egg benedict (very good) and a pancake with maple syrup and a sausage and bacon. Then I tried the oysters and scallop - very fresh and no fishy taste to it at all. I like it with the chipotle tabasco sauce. Wonder where that can be found.

Moving on, I hopped over to the Chinese food station and tried some dim sum pieces (peking duck, siew mai, crabmeat dumpling, and 2 other items) and also tried 3 pieces of sushi (some salmon thing).

That was followed by a bowl of laksa. I like that there were so many ingredients - tau pok, prawn, cockles, beansprouts, fishcake slices, chicken and even quail egg. The gravy is very lemak and savory.

By now I was totally stuffed, but I still wanted to have a taste of the risotto with mushroom and white truffle sauce. It was heaven, al dente and infused with the flavor. I didn't finish that and I tried a few bites of the grilled fish too. No sauce, the flesh was sweet enough.

Desserts: I had creme brulee, berries jello (very refreshing), hazelnut cake thing and strawberry dipped in the chocolate fountain plus a piece of praline.

I certainly didn't do justice to the spread of food at all. Simply too much to sample all. The selection does change regularly so that you won't be bored dining there all the time.

It is quite worth it for its price tag. The cost of champagne brunches has gone up now and is usually around $100 or more. For Four Seasons, there are 3 prices: $85++ (no champagne, but includes the martini bar and fresh juices), $135++ (champagne Moet & Chandon), $155++ (rose champagne Moet & Chandon).

Location:

One-Ninety Restaurant

Four Seasons Singapore

Tel: 6734-1110

Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)

This is such an "unsexy" topic. Teeth grinding. I don't think I grind my teeth previously but I was told by the dentist he suspected I grind my teeth when sleeping.

I had a tiny cavity on the side of my upper molar tooth, and the dentist filled it in using those white stuff (or whatever you call it). During the night, I felt something in my mouth and saw a small round piece had came off. Concerned I went back to the dentist the next day to check. He said that was the excess "filling" which he pasted over the next tooth as the cavity was on the side, so not to worry, the filling was still intact.

I didn't think much about it, as I thought it could be due to me eating hard food that evening after I had the filling done. But over the last couple of months, I had been feeling sensitivity on that tooth and was not sure if the filling had came off. So back to the dentist again. This time, it was another dentist at the clinic.

So this dentist said it looked like the white filling did not work for me, and re-filled it with the awful looking metal/silver filling. And he dropped the bombshell - "I think you probably grind your teeth when you sleep. The shape of your teeth showed indications."

So probably I ground my teeth and thus the white filling came off that night. The dentist said teeth grinding can be attributed to stress and I would need to wear a mouth guard to prevent further damage to the teeth.

I did some research and googled these info from WebMd.com on Teeth Grinding:

Why Do People Grind Their Teeth?
Although teeth grinding can be caused by stress and anxiety, it often occurs during sleep and is more likely caused by an abnormal bite or missing or crooked teeth.

Why Is Teeth Grinding Harmful?
In some cases, chronic teeth grinding can result in a fracturing, loosening, or loss of teeth. The chronic grinding may wear their teeth down to stumps. When these events happen, bridges, crowns, root canals, implants, partial dentures, and even complete dentures may be needed.

Not only can severe grinding damage teeth and result in tooth loss, it can also affect your jaws, result in hearing loss, cause or worsen TMD/TMJ, and even change the appearance of your face.

What Can I Do to Stop Grinding My Teeth?
Your dentist can fit you with a mouth guard to protect your teeth during sleep.

If stress is causing you to grind your teeth, ask your doctor or dentist about options to reduce your stress. Attending stress counseling, starting an exercise program, seeing a physical therapist or obtaining a prescription for muscle relaxants are among some of the options that may be offered.

Other tips to help you stop teeth grinding include:

• Avoid or cut back on foods and drinks that contain caffeine, such as colas, chocolate, and coffee.
  

• Avoid alcohol. Grinding tends to intensify after alcohol consumption.

• Do not chew on pencils or pens or anything that is not food. Avoid chewing gum as it allows your jaw muscles to get more used to clenching and makes you more likely to grind your teeth.
  
• Train yourself not to clench or grind your teeth. If you notice that you clench or grind during the day, position the tip of your tongue between your teeth. This practice trains your jaw muscles to relax.
• Relax your jaw muscles at night by holding a warm washcloth against your cheek in front of your earlobe.

Too Faced Quickie Chronicles

I finally got a Quickie! Not that kind of quickie (what were you thinking of?) but a Too Faced Quickie Chronicles - The Sex Kitten :D

It is so pretty! And it is in lavender packaging. Yay! Now what is a Too Faced Quickie Chronicles? It is a "complete make up look in a book" palette.

Story board:
She had always been a good girl. She played by the rules, never kissed on the first date and agreed daddy always knew best. But then this innocent girl picked up the "Quickie Chronicles," and honey, she was never the same. Kits contain 3 coordinating shadows, 4 glosses and 1 brush.

My very first Quickie Chronicles - The Sex Kitten. I was drawn to the colors more than the packaging though the glamorish look of the 50s and 60s was enticing. Not to mention the titillating names of the products. The lime green was so refreshing and the dark plum was deliciously smokey with the shimmery lavender-lilac highlighter.

The Quickie Chronicles - The Sex Kitten (description from Sephora)

So there it was, the most important night of her life, the night she would give herself to him completely - or so he thought. It would take a lot more than a few dinners and a cheap rhinestone necklace to open this girl's heart. In the meantime, this palette of lush lavenders loaded with shimmer will keep any Sex Kitten looking her best.

Palette includes: Blush in Lavender Rose; Eye Shadows in Dark Metallic Plum, Lavender Shimmer, and Lime Pearl; and Lip Glosses in Lilac Shell, Jelly Roll, Cranberry Ice, and Pink Petal.

I would love to get my hands on the other palettes too. Oh no. They are just too pretty not to collect.

See other versions available:

The Quickie Chronicles - The Fabulous Flirt (description from Sephora)

The fabulous Flirt palette contains fabulously flirty pink hues that help you get the attention you seek - and keep it!

Palette includes 0.21 oz Eye Shadows in shimmering taupe-grey, champagne beige, rose-peach, 0.14 oz Lip Glosses in pink shimmer, rose, nude, and garnet shimmer, and Blush in dusty rose, plus a double-ended brush/applicator.

The Quickie Chronicles - The Bathing Beauty (description from Sephora)

The Bathing Beauty knew she needed a man to bankroll her leisurely, luxurious lifestyle, but she couldn't decide what sort. He, of course, had to be willing to buy her diamonds for absolutely no reason at all, and she positively had to have beach houses in Malibu, Maui, St. Barths, The Rivera, and Monaco so she could work on her beautifully bronzed glow year round - and this kit was always at her side to help her lure in the bait.

Palette includes three 0.21 oz eyeshadows in teal, champagne, and pink shimmers; four 0.14 oz lip colors in champagne shimmer, golden pink shimmer, pink, and bronze shimmer; and a 0.22 oz cheek color in peach, plus a double-ended brush and shadow applicators.

The Quickie Chronicles- The Plaything Of Passion (description from Sephora)

The Plaything of Passion is on every VIP list of every club in town. She leaves the boring, bubblegum life of the day to those "goody-two-shoes" types who don't know the power of a little lip gloss - this palette of creamy chocolates and exotic blues is her secret weapon.

Palette includes: Blush in Bronzed Coral; Eye Shadows in Chocolate Sugar, Peacock Blue, and Sunlight; and Lip Glosses in Milk Chocolate, Peach Nectar, Passion Fruit, and Mochachino.

The Quickie Chronicles - The Future Lovers (description from Sephora)

Like a supermodel from outer space, this galaxy girl was beautiful, strong, and dangerous. Her unsuspecting conquests, distracted by her galactic glamour, were helpless in the face of her cyber seduction. She collected astronauts from every part of the globe and this palette was always at her side.

Palette includes Blush in Peach; Eye Shadows in Deep Teal, Hot Pink, and Deep Navy; and Lip Glosses in Pink Glitter, Bronze Glitter, Gold Glitter, and Fuchsia Glitter; plus a double-ended brush and a double-ended sponge applicator.

MAC Dreaming

You know you are in trouble when you start to dream about cosmetics! I actually dreamt of the MAC Balloonacy Collection. I blogged about it previously, and I dreamt about it a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know why, but somehow the blues and violets just really got to me. Even the picture got to me. All the concentric and circles. Round, round, round. Just like me :p

I don't really remember what I dreamt about it, but I do remember seeing the collection in the shop. Likely Tangs counter. Haha.

I just wish it will hurry up and be launched already. Some girls said they have seen the stuff behind the counters. I need to make a trip to visit my fave MA and ask about it. But VivoCity is just so not convenient at all. Sigh.

C-Shock will be launched at Tangs on Saturday, so maybe I will pop by on Sunday to take a look. Right now I am only lemming for Wondergrass. The green is so gorgeous. I don't think I have anything like that.

I realized my greens are mostly from MAC e/s :p And my purples are from Stila, Shu and MakeUp Store. Face it, they are from everywhere, more so from MAC and Stila :p

Canada Day Celebration - Teatime

What did I do on Canada Day? Nothing much. Just met Celest for tea/lunch/dinner at the Regent Hotel. It is one of my favorite places for a relaxing afternoon, away from it all. It is fairly quiet and the service was unobtrusive. The spread tend towards the English style with scones and finger sandwiches and desserts. Being the weekend, it has a small selection of hot Asian food. On weekdays it will be just a 3-tiered plate thing.

I am not sure how I got to know of the Tea Lounge at the Regent, but it is probably because of my hunt for a good traditional afternoon English tea of scones and finger sandwiches. The first time I went there was for my birthday in 2001 or so. It was a wonderful way to spend a lazy weekday afternoon, just chilling and enjoying the chatter with friends. Plus it served the most amazing tea - The Prince of Wales. Too bad it is no longer available.

Well, this is what I had. Greedy me. Lol. Then again, it was for 2 meals at least. For once, I like the smoked salmon open-faced sandwich. It is nicely smoked and not too salty at all. The turkey with cranberry pinwheel was good too. I love the creme brulee, the raspberry added a nice contrast to the sweetness.

The scones were gorgeous, especially the chocolate chip version. I like the shanghai noodles, so rare to find it in Singapore. Look and drool :D

Tonkichi, Shaw House

I rarely go to Tonkichi at Shaw House though it has been known for its excellent food. The main reason is that it specializes in deep fried food and in pork. Almost every item is pork and I am not a great fan of it.

Met Davis for dinner 2 weeks ago and she chose Tonkichi. I was ok with it since it has been so long since I last went. We had the special - ebi curry on rice, chawanmushi, deep fried fish, croquette, miso ramen and dessert.

It was beautifully done. The prawns, fish and croquette were fried till crispy yet not too oily and wet with the grease. The croquette was so good - I love potatoes. The chawanmushi was fresh and glided down the throat.

The line was horrendously long. We waited close to 40mins just to get a table. Make reservations if you can.