Random Blog

Phew! Weekend at last!

I have been busy (what's new?)... from preparing my presentation for pre-budget meeting in Bintan, traveling to Singapore and Bintan, meeting up friends from uni who were back from Beijing for a short bit, spending time with mom, bros, sistas, nieces and nephews, spending time with Barry and Claudia (will update some stuffs on our plans later), catching up with girlfriend Amy in Singapore, eating ba chang to catching up on work. Lots more to do... esp. since traveling to Paris/Brussels early July is in the cards.

Anyway, highlights :

1. Porridge buffet at Orchard Hotel Singapore courtesy of Amy - if you read my blog regularly, you would know that I am a fan of the humble porridge. There were plain porridge, sweet potato porridge, brown rice porridge and made-to-order fish porridge while I was there.

They have everything imaginable to go with porridge : blanched vegetables with garlic oil, 5-spice braised intestine and chicken, braised pork, drunken chicken, fried salted veg, Szechuan veg, dried anchovies, dace with black beans, preserved olive leaves, bamboo shoots and so on... truly a refreshing meal.

2. When I found a tick on Claudia after an outing : Barry, the good papa said sternly to our little girl "if you are bringing friends home, you have to ask first". Claudia just sat and stared at him while being lectured. Made me laugh.

3. My mom's ba chang. Everybody who had it said it was her best ba chang yet this year. I am not biased just because my mom made the ba changs. These are claims by non-family members. And my mom made 2 batches due to popular demand.

She said they were good because she never held back from putting lots of goodies like chestnuts, dried mushroom, dried shrimps, shallots and just minimal 3-layer pork. She is right. Very rare to see 4 chestnuts in a ba chang.
4. Grilled seafood (fish, scallops, shrimps, squids) in Bintan served with 12 kinds of dip - sambal, green sambal, bird's eye chilli (BEC) in fish sauce, BEC in dark soya sauce, BEC in light soya sauce, BEC in sesame oil with shallots, BBQ sauce, tomato sauce, chilli sauce and I honestly can't remember...

We rounded off the meal with panna cotta. If only the relaxing sunset scene with palm trees on the dessert plate was true of my week in Bintan.... budget preparation ALWAYS gives me zits. Sucks.
5. Bought 60ml Coco Chanel Mademoiselle EDT at a very very very special price from DFS courtesy of Amy... I could have picked more than 1 bottle of perfume from Burberry and Bulgari and Gucci stuffs but restrained myself as I had just went crazy at Zara and on books the week before. Also, have just opened a new bottle of Gucci Envy. But, I did add some eye colour and mascara from Clinique to the shopping basket at Changi Airport. I needed therapy... retail therapy... Singapore is a dangerous place. ... and I have no loyalty to a scent. LOL!

6. Had "Buddha/Monk jumped over the wall" at Eden KLIA while waiting for my flight - I love this soup!

7. Barry made pasta and Italian seasoning Shake and Bake chicken for dinner when I got home from Singapore AND washed the dishes. 2 thumbs up! I am one heck of a lucky girl.

8. Last and definitely not least, nephew Soen Aik got offer to do Med. at University of Michigan.

Oh, and I got sea-sick in the ferry to Bintan.. it could be lack of sleep, empty stomach (left hotel at ungodly 7.30am to go to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal!) or just sitting at the wrong location in the ferry. I took the advice to sit at portside, all the way behind just before the return trip to Singapore. And I felt so much better!

Last night, we went out to Chilli's because Tim, a friend of ours was totally craving it. We ordered nachos (with additional of guacamole and jalapenos pour moi) and wings (too bad not blue cheese dressing, only ranch - but still good) as appetisers and the boys ordered the burgers and I had the lamb shank (I exchanged with Barry halfway through it as I couldn't possibly eat lamb without Dijon mustard). After dinner, we went to Dome for a shot of Expreski. It was definitely in excess. We could feel the meal till this morning.

Apart from that, the usual eating but nothing worth mentioning esp. since I didn't take pictures lest the boss thinks that I will leave to be a chef... Haha!

Today, I worked a little in the am, had peanut butter sandwich with strawberry yogurt drink and 2 ba changs and am now relaxing. Will have a sweet navel orange later. Pure bliss.

CLINIQUE Full Potential Lips - Plump & Shine Lip Gloss

Bought a tube of Clinique's Full Potential Lips Lip Gloss - colour is Mimosa.

The first time I used it - Barry said "Oh wow! Glossy lips" when he kissed me goodbye in the am.... Yup, it lives up to its promise to make your lips shine.... and plumps them up.... quite a lot like a collagen boost, which it incidentally contains.

Best of all, it is VERY moisturising... this effect lasts whole day! Fine lines and flakiness are minimised and actually, the dryness (hence, flakiness) is eliminated over time. You may experience a slight tingle when you use it.

I like this... very little is required as it is thicker than the usual gloss.... and colour is sheer, at least the one I bought... Use it over your favourite lippy for intensity or on its own for a natural, lush kissable look.

My Own Little Earring Stand!!!!

Sunny and Irene came by today and look at what they have brought along!!! An earring stand!Been wanting this since mid-year.... it's the most amazing thing to own if you have loads of earrings!


Disorganization drives me mental and this baby organizes. It's also a beauty on the dressing table. It's made of bronze-y metal (not sure the exact alloy though) and design ischarmingly simple....simply charming.

Holds up to 128 pairs of earrings!

No excuse not to rotate them earrings!

Great excuse to buy more earrings!

Now, I do not have to go through all my jewellery boxes to find the right pair of earrings. Perfect when in a rush. Love it!

Thanks heaps, guys!

What Have I Been Up To?

I have been very busy and will continue to be till end of the year.

From nursing a sick dog to a hacking and sniffling boyfriend to work and also my own personl stuffs.... at least both the pups are better now....

My little wiener taking a snooze...what a pose!

I will be travelling to Japan 18-22 September followed by budget meetings 4-8 October in Kuantan and Singapore. I will then leave for holiday in Canada for 3 weeks from 15 October. Immediately upon return, I have to be in Singapore again for IT training on 7-8 November. So, am busy preparing for these few events.

One of the things I need to do is to get my visas done to enter Japan and Canada.

Most importantly, to organise a cookout with my nieces and nephews after trip to Japan.

We were at Laura Southgate's (wife of my colleague) birthday party last night. Had tons of fun! Great food (they went Indian), wine and champagne. My boss and colleagues were there. I got her a jade choker from Madame Butterfly as pressie. Being the sucker I am, I bought 2 for myself too. Hey, they are gorgeous!



For once in my life, I could not finish a book within 2 days maximum. I am now reading 3 books at the same time - Freakonomics, Animals in Translation and Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential, not to mention Cleo magazine's September edition. Jeez, I am becoming very indisciplined in reading...



But, I am having fun doing all these.

THE Gown

I went to Mid-Valley Megamall for lunch today.

Main purpose was to get a headstart in getting Christmas cards for friends and loved ones. This year end is going to be very eventful :

1. Christmas is always a special time for me - usually busy getting pressies for nieces and nephews and spending time with them - includes lengthy lecturing too.
2. Going to Perth 25/12/2005-2/1/2006 for a wedding.
3. Barry's birthday - 1st of January.

So, off I went to Memory Lane and got the cards.

Thereafter, I felt really hungry and craved Penang Char Koay Teow. The koay teow at Little Penang Kafe is yummy (if you do not mind waiting about 20 mins).

But, something beautiful caught my eye at Mombai Fashion, a quaint little corner shop just before Little Penang Kafe selling footwear, breathtaking jewellery, knickknacks and to-die-for gowns from India. It was a soft yellow gown.

The same gown in powder blue has been in my mind for past 4 months since I last saw it at the very same window. It was a dress which matches the image of THE perfect evening dress in my mind. Before, I was looking for a gown for the wedding but due to not wanting to spend too much, have decided to wear my gold qipao instead. I had already worn the qipao for another wedding early this year.

I went in again to see if the one in powder blue was still available. It was. And the same charming lady came up to me as I was browsing and fingering some of the amazing gowns hanging on the racks.

She remembered me. Yea, who wouldn't? I was literally drooling as I oohed and aahed about the blue gown.

She urged me to try the gown despite it being a size M - she was confident it would fit me. I didn't dare to the last time as the price tag was a whopping and obscene RMXXX. But, I succumbed this time around.

Bella (I found out her name shortly after) was right! It is perfect. The dress is made of the softest silk and is super long as a formal evening dress should be. The colour is a gradation of dark powder blue at the bodice to a lighter shade at the hem and richly embellished with silverish beads throughout. The back is super low but held together by two criss-crossing silver beaded straps. I felt like a sexy princess wearing it. Not unlike Diane Kruger in Troy.

I-SIMPLY-GOTTA-HAVE-IT!

Not only did I succumb to trying it, I bought it - Bella was sweet to agree on a 10% discount for the gown - seriously, it was to die for!!! And I mean it literally - gotta tighten my belt in next coming months to pay it off. :o(

Next on my to-do list - Need to get 3 1/2 in silver stilettos and crystal chandelier earrings AND get rid of the carpet burn. Just kidding!