Dong Dong Chiang !

Yeah, Xing Nian Le ! ! Love the festive seasons . For those who dun know moi, I love to celebrate all kinds of festivals..hehehe... makes life lots more interesting and colourful..and I can do lots SHOPPING!!

Chinese New Year is one of the most elaborate festival where my place will be all decked in red and gold and abundant supply of new year goodies and sweets and drinks and my ah ma's yummy homemade muah Chee & hainanese sweet rice crackers ! The very best in the world.

Here's some of my favourite decorations ....

Latest ornament .. moving piggy ... Warning : Dun buy from Chinatown, paid $8 for this when I can get it for $4.80 in Clementi/Bukit Merah

Nian Nian You Yu ... loves the continuous flow of fish circling round.Very meaningful

My latest buy ... elephant lookalike piggy ...pretty lashes ,so girl right.. i like!

My buy from Chatuchak market last year ...lighted orange cocoon ... minus the flowers of cos ... wished I could see real peach blossoms.

Goodies Found at Sheng Siong, my favourite New Year shopping venue. And that is Mummy sneaking in one of ultra sweet preserved goodies "without" me noticing ... caught red handed!HA!

Festive spirit alive ! Check out the lions behind .Wanted to buy one and put in at the door but think my mummy will violently object.hehehe

Our friendly doorman... was wriggling his butt while belting out new year songs..hehehe ... Cai Shen Dao ....

ONE of our shopping carts ... Oops ...

Pretty pink piggie spotted at Harbour Front ...

Party !!

Was at Clara's Party @ St James Powerstation and boy have I lost touch with the clubbing scene! The entire bunch of us "suan kus" were so excited at the idea of checking out the latest hangout that none of us even bother to find out where is the entrance ?! All we know was there was a dragonfly somewhere ... powerhouse somewhere ....hehehe

After much following the crowd (herd mentality mah) we finally ended with in the Boiler Room (Ms Monkey likes it best) and started our club hopping, all for the price of $15 .. surprising cheap I must say...here's what they have & best of all, lots live music !

• Broiler Room - Rock, R & B, Pop
• Movida - World music
• Berllini Room - Swing & Jazz
• Dragonfly - Mandarin Pop
• Powerhouse - House & Trance music
• Mono- Karaoke venue

Birthday Girl & me

Sand & Me

Our Poison ...Vodlka Ribena ! Yummy ....

Waves of Nostalgia Part I

Was walking through the auditorim of SP on Friday with my co-emcee for the company's staff briefing and was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of emotion. Was holding back my tears as I recalled how almost one year ago I was at the same place, walking the same grounds, feeling the same atmosphere but that time round, was performing at the Staff Forum of my ex company. How sad it sounded ... ex company ... sigh .... (yes yes yes ... women are emotional creatures..hehehe)

While on stage, facing my new colleagues (kinda scary though cos everyone had high expectation of this newbie here) , for just a moment, I was hoping for familiar faces to appear ... people that had seen me through my freshie years and shed tears of frustration & joy with me for the past 6 yrs but it was all wistful thinking. Same place but the atmosphere was now totally different and I had to make new contacts, build new relationships and establish new support system.

Good thing was the crowd was responsive and we had several pats on our backs throughout the briefing and I started to enjoy the session. It sudden dawn upon me that its time to move on ...yup, that's what I should do ... or attempt at least (will try okie)....hehehe ...

Our Birthday Girl

Get the hint ??? No more fries and snacks for the Ms Monkey !

This is my favourite pic ... cos me look like a million dollar movie star ! But our birthday girls says very Hiao lor ...hehehe.. so what else is new ?

Oh this is another one of my fav .Make a guess who was behind our birthday girl ? And no, Barbie, it WASN"T me ... though I take that compliment !hahahah

Our combined weight and it wasn't in POUNDS !Hahaha ... well, we have monkeys and hippos and piggies in our midst so what do you expect ?

And Finally, Proud Arians showing our Best ASSETs ...hehehe

Buttddies Unite!

For more party pics = >

http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2096988463

What have I been up to lately ? Plenty!

Gosh, it has been almost a month since I last blogged. Lots stuff happened, partying, pigging out, stoning at work (hahaha ... blame it on the lunch man) and of cos seeing not one but two rainbows over the weekend! Just lovely !hehehehe ... Read on for more updates ..

As promised.. here's the SHOCKING freebie I've gotten at the health talk on my 1st day of work.Imagine my embarassement when the GUY handled this to me ... hmm ... maybe it was a HINT ...but I shy lah ....come to think of it ... he's quite cute ....hmmmm....


Wait, there's more .. these are RAUNCHY calender cards that came with the ahem "protective wear" above and trust me you can see the "assets" of the girls quite clearly. Was totally tickled that these were given out at the staff canteen during lunch! Feasting took on a different meaning altogether ...hahahah

Back to pretty stuff.. I went to the Singapore Garden Festival over one the weekends and this is one of my favourite pic. It was truly heavenly with all the pretty arrangements and I just love the blooming orchids. My poor "photographer" was whisked from exhibits to exhibits as I greedibly want all the pretty moments to be captured.Ooohh ..... this was a pic taken with my decade old buddies (yes, we have been friends that long!) and it was Meow's "secret" ROM BBQ on 23 Dec. One more off the shelf ....hehehe ...mum, if you are reading this, dun stress me out yah!

Aint't he cute ? So adorable right !! Was trying to doll him up (ala Anne Gables) and leave him under the Xmas tree to surprise his mum ..hehehe ... bet she will KILL me ...

Managed to figure out what's that ?? M Bao Bao insisted on me taking this weird pic during our dinner at MUSHROOM pot. Quite ex to eat there though so be prepared.

Yes yes this is my lovely rainbow that cheered up my entire day. This was taken onboard a cab and Ms Monkey will tell you what a pest I was, trying to capture the best angle and plastering my face on the wind screen...hahaha... think the driver uncle must be cursing me under his breath ...some sua gu who has NEVER seen a rainbow ...hehehe

And of cos, my cute botak Jun who was such a good boy and din cry when they shaved his head. Such a wonderful bundle of joy !

Reporting From Hush Hush Land

Yes, I managed to survive Day 1 & 2 at Hush Hush Land where all creature comforts, that I have taken for granted, were sorely missed (like free flow supply of stationary, abundant supply of beverages at pantry, uncanteen like food for lunch...heheheh ) Hmm ... maybe I can finally fulfill my dream of losing weight! But I sure miss my turkish delights & choc wafer...*hint hint *


By the way, I've gone all retro and here is my "new"phone ...

Look familiar ?Bet you must have used it like 5 yrs ago ??Very unhip yah.

Sure took me some time getting used to not having a camera phone cos you know how fond I am of taking pics right ?




Good thing about the new place is that I could finally reach home early enough for dinner (like 6.45pm where the sun still shine!hahaha) and not supper (keeping my fingers crossed for now cos still in Honeymoon period)

By the way, did Ms Monkey showed you all what I "collect" on my 1st day of work ? For those who have seen it .. aren't there RAUNCHY ?? Was turning red in the face when the guy gave it to us(wrong target audience man) ....hahahaha ... apparently part of their "Health Programme" ...

For those who have not seen it, make a guess ... will try to get a pic of it tomorrow.. for your viewing PLEASURE!

As for my "mummies" out there, no, I have yet to meet any frogs so far so am retaining my kisses. But not to worry, in true princess colours, am furiously lining those kissable lips with gloss and balm and what have you ...hahahaha

And I think I am the only cream/fragrance queen there (have my crabtree, body shop, Johnson & Johnson all positioned in my drawer) and it is only DAY 2!! I am incorrigible .. You can take me out of the city but not the city (aka vainty) out my me...

By the way, Ms LS & Admin, both of you have lost the bet ... I am gonna wear my spaghetti top from tomorrow onwards! Its WAY too HUMID at ulu BL !!No more trying to be "decent" and appear like a soaked duck every morning ...hahahah .. would rather be cool (in both sense) .. = P

Food Critic For a Day

Was pondering what to do on a hot Saturday afternoon (besides going back to office which I did ... sigh ... no life) and decided to play Food Critic for a day...hehehe ...

1st stop : Alexander Village (with Monkey)

We heard so much about the Avocado juice sold here so it was a must to find it. Surprisingly, there were several fruit stalls selling the famous drink so we decided to snoop around and spy on which stall others ordered from.

After milling around like pests, we decided to try our luck from Stall 17 ( as shown in the pic)

Verdict : The Avocado juice was smooth and fragrant as it slided down our throats. For those who likes something alcoholic, the Avocada whisky will be perfect. Slightly sweet with a generous serving of whisky (or at least it tasted like it!) .. all for the cost of $2 - $3 per cup(huge too).. a MUST TRY!

Next was Bak Kut Teh which Ms Monkey shared was her weekly treat with Daddy during her childhood...awww.. so sweet. We decided to try a new stall since it seems pretty crowded (yes, this is a Singaporean indicator right??hahaha)

Settled for Leon Kee Pork Ribs (next to Stall 17) and ordered the usual fare. Insisted on my you tiao cos I love dunking them in the soup.

Verdict : Soup is good if you like it herbal. Portion of you tiao is generous too. However, was disappointed with the all important black sauce which was watery (thick and sweet are the best man), cut chilli which lost its fire and the pork ribs which will yank the dentures out of my grannie !

We also tried the Beef Stew Fire Pot from Soon Lee Beef Soup .

Verdict : Good portion for 1 pax. Nice presentation and little stove kept stew nice and warm. Loved the carrots and the chilli sauce (complimented the beef perfectly) though the gravy is slightly salty. The beef must be eaten with the chilli sauce for best result.

Worth a try if you beef stew cooked in chinese style (Different from Hainanese or Western Stew)

2nd stop : Food Republic @ Vivo City (with Monkey & M Bao Bao)

For those who have not patronised this foodcourt, you will be pleasantly surprised at the ambience cos its not really very foodcourt like (typically clinical in look).I love the Shanghai Jazz they were playing and the cute wooden tables and stools for our meals.Brings you back to the good old 60s.

In any case, while waiting for our blur M Bao Bao, who took a bus that is went in the wrong direction (can you believe it!!), we gotten an appetizer that was on almost every table in the foodcourt. Unfortunately Monkey did not take note of the name of this dish but we heard its called Za Bao (fried pau).

This is actually mixed vege, mushroom & minced meat wrapped in a layer of dough like a pau, steamed and then pan fried.

Verdict: Tasted like bigger version of Guo Tie (dumpling), juicy filling but a tad too salty. The garlic & fish sauce makes a nice dip too. Worth a try but be warned its at $1.50 each. Kinda ex.

Was totally elated when I saw these cos I have been craving for Korean Nian Guo (Rice cake) since I am back. And Bibimbap in Shi Guo (stone pot) is just the best!

Verdict : Was grinning silly with joy cos it quite authentic (heard operated by Koreans too) with the spicy and a little sweet nian guo & fragrant bibimbap. For those who likes their kimchi to be slightly sweeter, you would would love it here.The ikan bilis is also good, tasted like they were marinated in honey just like the way koreans do it. There are also packs of Kimchi for sale.

A must try if you LOVE Korean Cruisine. Can't wait to try the Kimchi soup and beef bulgogi next.

Presenting Lei Cha (Hakka cruisine) & the Basil Omelette! The dish is a mix of rice, long beans, peanuts, carrot, ikan bilis,tauhu and most importantly basil. Accompanying it is a bowl of basil soup (one in green - known as the cha). 2 ways of eating, either 1 mouth of the mix & 1 slurp of cha or just mix them all & eat like porridge (ala teochew style)

Verdict: Interesting try though acquired taste. One must love the smell and taste of basil. The basil omelette is too salty and can be skipped.

Traditional breakfast set from Toast Box.

Verdict : The eggs came out in perfect shape (you know how some can be too watery or over cooked but this is just right!) and the kaya toast is to die for. Love the thick slab of butter and sweet kaya which melts in your mouth. The Teh si is great and M Bao Bao totally adores the iced Kopi Si too. A worthy competitor of Ya Kun definitely!

Now this is was a result of a mis- judegment so we ended up with lots more food but what the heck, the Food Critic wannabe is HAPPY !more to write on ....hahahaha ..

Verdict : Popiah is heavenly with the right crunch and perfect combi of sweet sauce,garlic, turnip, vege etc etc etc. Just loved the handmade popiah skin too.. very Gan Dong (touching)...hehehe

BBQ chix wing is ok and so could prob give it a miss unless you have a craving.

Now, Kudos to my two buddies who were so kind to humor me in my attempt to be a Food Critic for a day. By the way, they insisted that I have it down that credits must be given to them for eating most of the food. Hahaha ... so now who would like to join me on my next MAKAN trail ???

Late Night Shopping .... I Like!

Kudos to STB for this arrangement! Perfect for workaholics like moi ... no more choosing between Shopping or Makan cos now we can do BOTH! So this is exactly what I did today ...oh, by the way, we were too hungry to take any pics of our belly bursting feasting at SEOUL Garden ... hahahha .. ...but here are my spoils ......

Gotten another pair of my favourite TANGERINE heels from TANGS. Absolutely comfortable and most importantly... they have size 9!! Yeah!!

Oh, if you happen to be around TANGS, pop by the Children Section on L4 and check out the Pooh & friends toys.. was so tickled by Tumble Time Tiger, Pooh on Turtle Ride and Clapping Ear Eyore. Kids these days are so fortunate ..

* M Bao Bao & Ms Monkey were starring at me in disbelief when I went wild and started activating all the toys at one go. .. no one said toys were only meant for kids right ????*







What is shopping without popping by Kinokuniya especially when there is a sale ? So I've gotten myself a little pink (as expected...hehehe) 2007 pocket calender and a beading mag.

The box of xmas labels is a tiny gift for mummy dearest. Actually it is to prevent her from asking me to make little gift tags for her presents ..hahahha .. how schemeing right ... = P

Hmm ..intended to take a pic of a HUGE xmas tree but being veritically challenged, decided to accept the fact and take what is of eye level .. not a bad pic right (c'mon, humor me!) yah ?

Wished we could go on & shop more but our tired feet (all our excess baggage did not help) got the better of us & we heard for the taxi line. Could literally hear my wallet heaved a great sigh of relief .. then again, this is the start of the weekend .....hahaha ...

News Flash - Come December, late night shopping will be extended to the following areas:

• Malls at Marina Bay on 8,9, 16 Dec
• Malls at Orchard on 15,16,22 and 23 Dec
  
  
  
  
  

Pictures Speak A Thousand Words

After 19 posts (can't believe I am that hooked!) of my incessant blabbering .. have decided to take a break and let the pictures of the happenings of the past week do the talking ...or at least most of it ...hehehe

Photo 1 : Pic of my 3 adorable cousins posing as instructed by the Big evil Sister ... bet you can't see their shaking arms when I insisted on holding that pose ...muahahaha

Photo 2 : More cousins bonding over the weekend. It's Baby Jun's 1st month celebration! And guess who tried to con unsuspecting relatives of angbaos by carrying him all over the place ?hehehe .... too bad they were too smart for me ... darn ... = P

Photo 3 : This was a very special treat by a wonderful colleague who had to make time after a exhausting Malaccan trip to prepare her farewell gift to me. Was absolutely touched and the food was naturally SEDAP! Was grinning from ear to ear with every bite and no mercy was given to the tantalising wings ... am not going to snitch on who ate the most but you know who you are ...hahahah

Photo 4 : Sweet tidings delivered by 2 baby angels in the office. Ain't it cute? Mine is the red one with "Kiss Me" ...hehehe....can't bear to eat it though ... for now ...

Until the arrival of my evil twin ... Miss Munch-It-All !! ..... and then its all Gonnneeee .....

Help Needed : Withdrawal Symptoms

I know this is irritating and Ms Monkey will probably kill me for repeating like the 100th time but I MISS KOREA ! There, I've said it ... bite me! muahahaha ...

Okie, what has gotten into me tonight ??

1. Usually cool nite wind breezing through my windows (minus the smell of pollution & symphony of overly enthusiastic male frogs croaking of cos)
2.Me in my lime green woolen socks and bright red pullover (err, kinda exaggerated I know .. but I'm in the mood man)
3. The simultaneous email replies of my travelmates from the trip and all those pics ...sigh ....
4. Kimchi overdose when one opens my fridge (I admit, miscalculation happens okie)
5.Sharing of the LAST piece of cactus chocolate with mum (no prizes for guessing where i bought it)
6.Recollection of the cute Korean photographer CB showed me this morning (definitely drool-worthy esp in his suit)

Shall go to bed now like a lovesick puppy...and its barely 1 month .. Oh no! It is EXACTLY 1 month ago that I flew over ... now that is reason number 7 ! ....this is bad .. i am incorrigible ...only been 1 month .. how am I to survive the remaining days .. this cannot be ...*mumbles mumbles mumbles * ...... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

Sawadee ka & A Merry Xmas ?

Food, glorious food .... yum yum ... makes me salivate just to recall the nice Thai feast we had last Friday at our favourite thai food haunt @ Purvis Street (look for 23 FIRST THAI, just opposite Chin Chin).

Ironically, this Friday(that is today), I am home all alone nursing myself back to health (eating only porridge & bland stuff ...yucks) from a common cold turned viral... kinda nasty turn of events that had to be on MC (2 days okie!) and I am SOOOOO BORED ...as usual since I can never keep still...
Anyway, back to more cheery stuff. Must tries are the phad thai (which we will always order 2 plates - chicken & prawn) , fried chicken wings and Belachan rice. For those who misses the incredibly sweet milk tea from the Land of Smiles, you can find pretty authentic ones here. We never fails to have a cuppa whenever we pop by. For the more adventurous, try the green bandung drink (as shown in the pic), quite an acquired taste but Ms "M Bao Bao"loves it .. she is weird, what else can I say.

After dinner was a night out at some KTV which Ms Admin introduced and we belt out strings of mushy love songs with gusto all to the tune of ANALOG! Yup, we the not so confident singers wannabes, need to engage the help of professional backup so that we dun croak as bad.hahahaha.. think for us, its not Karaoke but a sing along session would be more appropriate!

Of cos the clown of the nite, Ms Monkey had all our hairs standing on ends with with her sickeningly sweet & cutesy cute rendition of "Somewhere out there" that Frivel will be stabbing himself in the thigh if he were to hear her sing ...STOP !!!!

Sigh ... after penning down what Fun we had last week makes me wanna sneak out and play .....= P


By the way, this is a beautiful pic Ms M Bao Bao took of the xmas tree at Raffles City . Christmas, my favorite season of the year, is fast approaching ....can you feel it in the air ?

*Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way ...*
hehehehe (think my med is finally kicking in and I am starting to be delirious..)

Nipponjin ?

Here's vain me at work again .. see my new hairdo ? Cute not ? Yah yah .. I know, always ends up having the same cut right ? Slightly impish (loves the layered look lah) & straight bangs (trying to be kawaii nehhhh).hahhaha ...



Feeling slightly bimbotic today so decided to love myself more by getting my hair done for this blog (yah right ! you didn't believe that, did you ??)

Honestly, was trying to get a more "professional" look but looks like I failed big time with the now more Kawaii look .. well this beats the 80s look I have on my phone's screensaver right ???hahahahha .. and NO, this will NOT go into my new staffcard. Who in the world will promote some nutcase who takes a shot of herself in her own bedroom?!! hahahaha

Anyway, isn't it ironic how some pple always wants to look more mature whereas others will take measures to slice and poke and pump weird stuff into themselves to remain youthful? Sigh, women, aren't we all a contradicting bunch ? We can never make up our mind or can we ...or can we not.. or can we .... *plucks petals off the rose* ...or can we not..or can we .....

Frog Outta Well !

After months and months of dreaming and anticipating the moment, it is finally HERE. For those who are not in the know, I have finally taken that STEP into the world and no longer satisfied with being a frog (croaks) in a well protected well. A well that has moulded (aka forced) me to what I am today, with the confidence and maturity to take risks to make that great psychological leap out of it and embrace what the world has to offer. Of cos, along this growth, detestable pests like snakes and slimey lazy lizards crossed my path but now that I can leaving, they no longer gets to me for a leopard cannot change its spots so what more can I expect from a lower life form ... = P

I am a fortuntate little pink froggie for surrounding my well loving are Bubbly sunflowers, Loud hisbiscus, Gentle daffodils, Motherly lavender and of cos new seedlings that will bloom to beautiful shades of Spring. Not forgetting my great animal pals who constantly pops by with an oink or a bark and sometimes a rare bleating to motivate me and to listen to my croaking.

Bittersweet experience it may be, to leave my friends whom I have come to love and regard as family, but no one said parting was easy. Yet, parting is only temporal if whom you care about resides in your heart and yes, for those who are reading my blog, you know you have a special place here ... muack muack muack ....

My Favourite Korean Dishes from Jeju-Do..YUM!

Here's my favourite Korean Dish - Dumpling in Seaweed soup. It is very light in taste & no porky smell (I hate that!!) with generous dose of refreshing seaweed ... drools ... I want!!!









Oh yes, and dun underestimate this glooey looking thing. It is actually abalone porride from Jeju -Do! Yup yup .. how luxurious right ? But wait a min, where is it green in colour ? Well, its due to the use of the sides of abalone (not the entire one as we wished ... sigh) but we do find pieces of baby abalone in our porridge.

Its really thick in consistency and very filling. For one who dun like porridge, this is great (love the weird colour too!heheheh)





Not forgetting all the delicious side dishes that accompany us at every meal. My favourite is the Kimchi & honey ikan bilis which seems to go well with everything.

The big beansprouts & sea kelp work beautifully with soup and I dunked many of these in my soup.






Next, introducing mackerel hot pot. This is another yummy dish, very Singaporean like since it is quite heavy in taste. Many of our group members enjoyed this lots.

The mackerel have been stewed in soup for a long time till the bones are soft & edible (though Ms Monkey insisted on picking our ALL the bones) and the huge white radish was exploding in full flavour.





Here's another one of my fav soupy dish (bet you have guessed it already) and noticed the white sotong looking slices ? those are actually rice cake (nian gao) !

And the yellow stripes that looks like Japanese sweet beancurd skin ?Those are actually made from fish, something like fishcake but it is very sweet cos marinated in honey. And of cos not forgetting my all time favourite .. SEAWEED!!