Passion-istic

10 at Claymore, Pan Pacific Orchard

2012-02-09T22:55:00.000+08:00

Headed over to Fish's house during the last days of Chinese New Year! Sugar was like all crazy once we entered her house! Out of control totally!

Don't be deceived by it's cute and innocent look! LOL.

Stayed for a while, took some photos with baby Jayden before heading out for a short shopping trip!

So happy! lol.

We took a cab down town for shopping at Far East Plaza with Jayden. We were saying he's like his dad's spy, whenever Fish wants to buy something, he will start crying and throwing tantrums so she would not have the mood to buy anything.

We were all craving for Oysters, so we had been planning which buffet to eat for weeks! Finally we decided to try 10 @ Claymore, as the price was one of the most decent after some UOB promotion and reviews were good online.

Buffet started at 6pm, and we were the first group to enter the restaurant! Everything is still in place for photos!

The Manager there was friendly enough to ask if he can be in the photo too! And Julie confirmed that he allowed it to be publish online! :)

The most popular there was their fresh seafood items! It's gone within seconds of serving.

Can someone tell me whether that's a lobster or crayfish?

Cons so pretty! Love her hair. :)

Sashimi!

And the most looked forward ...

US Rock Oyster!

Fine de Bretagne!

They opened it on the spot when you request for it!

Two types are available, the US Rock Oyster and Fine de Bretagne. Don't ask me what it stands for! The smaller one was too salty for my taste. Choose the US Rock Oyster, you will love it!

WOW! :)

Cooked food is also available, but selection isn't that great. Seafood is definitely enough to keep you full!

Chinese New Year Promotion!
Order any dishes on this menu unlimited! It's included in buffet price.

Sea Perch!

Grilled Lamb!

Hokkaido Scallop!

Sharksfin Soup.

Angus Beef!

Yes, all the are unlimited, 1 serving per order. :) They are all yummy, except lamb which I'm not too sure as I did not try.

Some of the cooked food selection ...

Fried Rice

Mi Tai Mak!

Unsure what's this dish ...

Broccoli soup.

Pig Trotter with Vinegar.
OMG this is yummy, definitely a MUST TRY if you love Vinegar.

Main Buffet Area.

A photo before we start! :)
We coax Jayden to sleep, and the nom-ing starts!

We were all busy eating that we did not have much time for photo taking! :P Let's move on to dessert time!

Macaroons!

Cake selections.

Fruits!

I settled for the ice cream. Super yummy!!

Julie went to queue up for the crepes!

We tried the Banana Caramel, Stawberry and Chocolate.
Not bad, but too sweet for my liking.

We ended the buffet with a hot cup of coffee! :)
Hot beverages like coffee and tea are included in the buffet.

Total bill came up to around S$45.90 per pax. I feel it's super worth it for the selection and freshness of items. If you have the chance, please try it!!

10 at Claymore Buffet Dinner

Pan Pacific Orchard, Lobby Level

Dress Code: Smart Casual

Opening Hours: 6.00pm to 10.30pm

Telephone: (65) 6831 6686

Location: 10 Claymore Road, Singapore 229540

UOB Promotion, 1 dines free with every 3 paying adults.

After the buffet, Fish went home and we decided to take a walk to the bus stop for bus home too after running out of idea about where to go chill next.

Last photo of the day!
Favourite! :D Love my girls!

Next up will be our birthday trip with these girlies! I'm looking forward to it, and finally we can have a all girls trip!! Till then ... :)

My last days in Taiwan!

2012-02-07T21:17:00.001+08:00

I just realized, it's been almost 1 year since our Taiwan trip, and I have not completed blogging about it! How guilty! :S I've already started thinking where should I go to this year! So, let me finish my Taiwan trip so I can move on~

As days passed, we started to take lesser and lesser photos! :( Actually I should be able to update my last 3-day events all in a post! hehe.

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Places we went:

Taiwan National Palace Museum （国立故宫博物馆）

Shilin Night Market （士林夜市）

大龍峒保安宮梅滿美食（好吃鲁肉饭）

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (国立国父纪念馆）

It was the day we had to leave our hotspring hotel. So we had a morning bathe before leaving for the complimentary breakfast.

Coupons for complimentary breakfast! :D

Small area for the buffet. Choices are limited but decent.

The bf likes the toufu!

Went back to the room after some bites to pack up!

feeling sad to leave!

It was really the most wonderful stay during the Taiwan trip! Will definitely go back and have a longer stay the next time if possible!! :D Do "Like" their Facebook for more promotions!

on the way to the subway!

You can see that our faces looked more radiant after the hotspring baths!

Feeling better that day! :D

The convenient stores there gave out so many cute stickers!
I pasted them on my Easycard for remembrance! hehe

Customized! :)

The last 2 nights of our Taipei trip was to stay back in Aunty's place at Taipei Main Station! Our homestay for the first 2 nights! We took the subway back to Taipei Main Station, and wanted to check into the homestay. However, we were too early to check in, so we managed to call Aunty and she told us to put our bags in a room first and don't leave any valuables there!

So we headed down to National Palace Museum after settling our baggages! Alight at Shilin station if I'm not wrong, and instructions are provided at the station to get there!

You can also check out HERE for Visitor Information.

It really looks like the Palace on TV!

This is a rubbish bin!

Trying to suit the mood there! :)

Tickets! Cost NT160 each!

Photo taking are not allowed in the vicinity! So not much photos were taken! Based on our own opinion, we vote this the most boring place visited during our stay in Taiwan! I guess we do not know how to appreciate antiques and arts. We only walked for about 1+ hours inside I guess?

Decided to head back to the station for lunch! Decided to try the "Cold Noodles" there. :)

It's the first try, but we love it!
I guess this dish is perfect for summer time as it is so refreshing!
Maybe some one can try selling it in Singapore. :)

Bubble tea after lunch!

I saw this bubble tea in Far East Plaza basement 1 too!

Tried the Milk Tea i think. It was normal, not too fantastic. :P

Bought some sushi too as both of us only shared a plate of cool noodles.
Nothing great as well, normal sushi with loads of vinegar.
The sashimi doesn't have any taste.

Did not expect to end the day at the Palace Museum early, so we decided to head down to SOGO for a short walk before heading to night markets!!

Very big building, with many storey!

We briefly moved through SOGO and went on to take the train to Jian Tan station! Our last stop of the day was the famous Shilin Night Market!

Jian Tan station.
Bf took this photo as he reckon that I will forget where is this place years later when he show me again.
I told him it's impossible as I done the research so I should not forget! lol.

Not so crowded yet. I think it's around 4-5pm?

We queued up to try the famous chicken cutlet in Shilin!

Was a little disappointed. Maybe I had too much expectation.
But most of my friends said the chicken was nice and juicy.

We walked one whole round to get to the shopping area of the night market as we are not too sure of the direction. The crowd was starting to build up.

We were so busy walking round and round that we did not take much photos inside. But I can say this was the best shopping area for me. I managed to buy some stuff like some apparels and toys!!

We stayed there for about 2-3 hours before deciding to call it a day. While walking back to the station, we passed by the food center again. This time, the chicken cutlet queue was so damn long!

Luckily we tried it the moment we arrive there. :)

New toy from bf to me bought from Shilin night market! I told him not to waste money, but he insisted so we went back to the shop and got it. It cost like only S$20+ for the whole set (10 designs) where you need to pay S$10-S$15 in Singapore per design! We bought it once before, and you won't know which design you got until you buy it!

Happy me! :D

Every night we will watch the variety show at night without fail once we are back to the homestay! Then we will sleep around 12am and get ready for the next day!

Morning came, and I was all excited! It was due to me wanting to bring bf to try a food stall introduced in Super Taste 食尚玩家. It's located at 大龍峒, near 圓山MRT station (but some walking is needed).

梅滿美食
電話：02-2596-2348
地址：台北市大同區庫倫街13巷2弄2號
Opening Hours: 6:00AM~2:00PM (Closed on Saturdays)

Their 鲁肉饭 and 空肉贩 is highly recommended there!

Just a small shop area. There's indoor space too!

We tried the 鲁肉饭！


And also 粉肠汤！ Super yummy, doesn't have the intestine smell at all.

Had really had a satisfying meal! :) This is really a must try in Taipei~! Coincidentally, that was the station for the Taipei 2010 Floral Exhibition. Did not went in, but took some photos in the outside compound as though we visited.

Love the flower bed! So pretty!

Crowded!

But when I took for bf, no one's around. Great take.

We headed down to Wufenpu wholesale clothing market! Reached around 10am, but it was not opened yet!! So if you are visiting, pls don't arrange your shopping that early. :) We decided to head elsewhere and return later that noon.

Went back to Ximending for some souvenir shopping! Couldn't figure out what to buy as souvenirs so we bought some hp chains with blessings and also chocolates and candies with special packaging like condoms, pads, etc.

Bf also want to try get himself a Porter International 3 way bag, so I mentioned we can go back to SOGO and give it a try. We really found it there! :D Bought it before heading back to Wufenpu, where only bf got himself a pair of berms, which the zip broke later that night! Did not take much photos that day cause it was raining! We had to hide our camera and hold the umbrella. :D

Went back to Taipei Main Station during dinner time, in search of a Hokkien CD which my ex-company's pantry aunty requested me to help buy. We walked the whole station, in and out, up and down, and we managed to find the other side of the station which we did not know earlier! It has a departmental store too. But we did not explore it. Maybe next time. :) It was raining really heavily!

Finally found the CD in the station area. Bf insisted that he saw the CD shop before. :) Had dinner, and went back home to rest and pack up for last day! Actually we had plan to hit the clubs in Taipei cause we heard it's awesome, but it was raining, and we were tired, and most importantly, running out of budget. So, home sweet home! :)

Our buys that 2 days!

His favourite buy of the trip!
Portal bag!! Cost about S$250+. :)

All packed and ready!

Last day, we checked out from Aunty's house before having our last bit of fun! Check out timing was about 12pm I guess, and we do not want to head out and return again to check out. So we brought our bags along to the station where they provide lockers for storage of bag at affordable pricing.

Headed to Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. We alighted at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall station in search for breakfast! Had BK for breakfast before walking over.

Ordered the wrong item, so I had beef instead of chicken burger.

The guards have to stand still for an hour I guess before the next batch come to replace.

The tourists there all knew that replacement march was coming, so everyone gathered there to watch.

Taipei 101 was within walking distance from SYS Memorial!

As we still have time, we headed over one last time after we completed the memorial hall tour. :)

Decided to head back to collect our bags and refund the Easycard before heading to the Airport.

Bf refunded his while I kept mine as memento!

Collected our bag, headed to KuoGuang bus terminal to get tickets for Airport transfer! We took some time to figure out how to get to the bus terminal as it's at a different site as the main bus terminal. You can ask around for directions! :)

Entrance to the Departure Area.

When we reach, the check in area is still not opened yet! So we took a walk around the Airport after bf did his tax refund!

Last try of my favourite drink there! Didn't managed to buy one back.

The Airport was rather small, and mostly under renovation so nothing much to shop. We checked with the officer whether food is available after we enter the gate and he said yes. So we proceeded into the departure!

This was the only decent restaurant we saw inside!

My hungry boy!

Happy that he finally got to eat!

It was about time, so we went to the waiting area for our gate and waited there. Free wifi is available so we were busy using our iPhones! :)

Home Sweet Home! It's the end of my 9D 8N Taiwan F&E Trip! It was a fun experience with bf! I love traveling with him. And we understood each other better! :) Looking forward to my next trip already!!

All my buys of the trip! Including souvenirs. :)

Happy Lunar New Year 2012!

2012-01-24T01:31:00.004+08:00

新年快乐！祝大家，龙年行大运！恭喜发财！健健康康果个大肥年！天天开开心心~

yep! the long awaited lunar new year is here again! Had a great great day out, and loads of ang baos!! :D

My day started really early! Luckily my CNY eve was boring so I slept early, like 12+am! I set my alarm to wake me up at 7am but I failed to get up until half an hour later! Quickly washed up and get ready to head out to my first stop!

Met the bf and family to his grandma's place to 拜年! This year was the first time I went on 初一 since I don't have plans in the morning!

Got this pair of wedges from Newlook!
I fell in love at first sight with this pair.
It cost S$69.90, but it's super comfy. Totally worth it! :)

Decided to take out my Canon camera again for camwhoring
(haven't do that for awhile ever since I got my iphone 4S)!

The bf's ah gong got an instant camera recently, so he took this shot of us. He's 'aiming' was so good that we are positioned nicely in the center! I have many friends my age can't do that in first take! He's good!

Oh ya, and did I say it's also our 11th anniversary? :)
yes, 11 years of together-ness, and still loving!

We stayed there for about 2 hours before bf and family move on to another house. I head back and took a nap before mom end work! :D

My Outfit of the Day:

Blazer - Megagamie's Puffy Sleeve Blazer in Teal

Top - Hollyhoque's Aztec Prints Pocket Knit Tank in White

Bottom - Fashmob's Vintage Washed Shorts

Don't ask me, I don't remember how I got the idea of the style I wore today. hehe! But I think it's pretty cool. I love that the Megagamie's blazer doesn't make me feel warm at all (it helps a little too due to the rain in the afternoon)! The material is soft, and the satin lining makes me feel cool all the while. I don't quite like HH's tank top. It's a little overly stretchy and big for me (maybe I'm too skinny). But for that price, and the special pocket design, it was quite alright. I love the flowery high waist shorts, though I think I'm a little laggy in trend for this. It was popular like last year? lol. I commented wrongly for the shorts at Fashmob, but luckily their CS is nice enough to do an exchange for me! It was in time for CNY! Happy. :)

Closer look at the tank top! Love the pocket design~

With mom!

Finally headed out around 3+pm! The bf came over and went with us! Gotta wait like 15 minutes for the bus, so took some photos!

Reached my granny's place, we stayed there for a while ...

He starts to bug me for iPhone game once he settled greeting everyone!

His favorite Plant vs. Zombie!

Adults chatting ..

Youngsters glued to TV and munching ..

Bf and me camwhoring! lol..
Top right: He was sad as he's LOL account was locked by me! haha.

Around 2 hours later, we decided to head back home! Won like 3-4 bucks in a 15 min card game. hehe!

So bf headed back, we took train back home!
Took photos on train! :D

It's really a rare chance that we can head out together like this as one family! Love today's outing though loads of traveling is required! :) I hope we have more chance to go out and have fun together! Maybe I should plan some family day soon~

I have no plans for Day 2 (tomorrow) so I'm gonna make use of the chance to slack before 开工 on 初三! After this holiday, we'll have to wait till April for the next public holiday! :(

Let's hope this year will be a smooth year for all of us!! I can feel it already~ Good luck everyone, and stay happy always! :)

CNY is around the corner!

2012-01-10T22:40:00.000+08:00

In less than 2 weeks, it'll be Chinese New Year! This time round, the festive are so closely packed! Christmas, New Year, Chinese New Year. Wonder how to survive Feb & Mar without public holidays! Envy the colleagues in TW who will have 2 weeks break from work!

Anyhow, have you people done your CNY shopping? Seem like this year, many have no mood (or rather no time) for buying new clothes! :) For me, I guess same as last year, most of my shopping will be done online. Convenient!

I'm so into outerwear (blazers/jackets) nowadays! One set of my new clothing focused on Blazer! It's so damn cool wearing a blazer and it can also be worn for work! :)

Found some pretty photos on wearing of the blazer!

Image source: http://weheartit.com/entry/10162463 by Carina

Almost wanted to buy a hot pink blazer from Megagamie as well! It's really pretty but I figured I will not wear it often as it's too loud! :( So I gave it up or some more decent color. :)

Image source: http://weheartit.com/entry/18473690 by StelaK.

My new favourite color! GREEN! :) Wanted to get a green color one but it's so hard to choose a nice green online! So I gave up. hehe.

Image Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/20856338 by An Education.
SO PRETTY TOO!

Image Source: http://weheartit.com/entry/14269664 by paula.

This is one of my favourite photo! The blazer in navy blue! :) Didn't know that so many people are into blazers! And the photos they snapped are so artistic!

Now I'm tempted to buy more blazers, though I know it's like crazy to wear blazer on a hot sunny island! By the way, I got myself a teal colored blazer! :) Special right!

Anyways, here how it looks like!

Image Source: http://megagamie.livejournal.com/49044.html

Can't wait to wear it out! I'll definitely take some photos! :)

Decided to pair it with a high waisted floral shorts and a basic tank top! So stay tuned!

Still looking out for another simple dress. Blacks and whites are no longer the trend! Now, many are into bright colored, contrast, floral dresses! Blogshops always launch "Cheongsam" style dresses, which are very pretty. But I know I definitely will not wear them after CNY, so it's a NO NO for me. :)

Hope I can get something really soon!

Hope everyone can get their ideal pieces soon and be pretty this CNY. :)

Best of Blogshops Experience!

2012-01-07T18:37:00.000+08:00

Year 2011 had been a year full of blogshop experience for me. One of the reason was my ex-colleagues were into online shopping that we always share information of new blogshop launches! :) While the change of new job and the need to save up stopped me from buying during the last 1/2 year, Chinese New Year will be a good reason to start shopping for clothes online once again! Those brick and mortar stores doesn't attract me anymore! But I am limiting myself to 2 sets only! Hopefully!

While online shopping gave me positive experiences regardless of customer services or item qualities, there bound to be some not-so-good experiences with a few blogshops. Let me share my experience, and hope that it will help you judge a little better when shopping online! :) However, I have to say these are just my own experience, it may differ with yours!

The Goods....

Swivelle.
I remember I used to be crazy over Swivelle! All their items were their own labels, and the quality is definitely comparable to those dresses selling in stores! And the best thing was their items fits me well. :)

One of the items purchased from them.
Love the versatility of the blouse!
Tuck it with a pair of high waist shorts/bandage skirt you are ready to go!
Still remember I wore this to an interview :)

First ever high waist shorts!
Even bf also mentioned it doesn't make me look like i'm wearing granny's shorts!
That's what he always said when he saw someone wearing high waisted shorts. lol.

However, I feel that for the past half year, none of their new designs attracted me anymore so I stopped buying even though I had an e-voucher for a short review. :) My last item was the blouse purchased in June. Their customer service is great! They had prompt response and they made an effort to take a photo of the parcel before sending out to you. Makes you more secured.

Ohvola.
Love their colors of the pieces they launched. It's always bright and lively! :) You feel happy just looking at the photos. They are constant in their launch and their quality of pieces I got is mostly up to standard! And if it's not to your liking, it's not hard to sell it away to someone else who like the piece, but did not get it during the launch.

Wore this dress to bestie's ROM in Malaysia!
This was my first piece from Ohvola.
Great fit and quality :)

Recently, they had switch from LiveJournal to .com. I haven't been buying from them for awhile, but it seemed like their prices went up a little. And they don't sell out as quickly as before. Replies to the emails were prompt enough, but lacks a human touch (too straight forward). :)

Hollyhoque.
This blogshop is highly raved by my friends! Envy how a young entrepreneur succeed! If you had tried getting some items from this blogshop, you should have known how hard it was! Their items are sold out within minutes from launch and if you like some items, it's better you stay in front of your PC or smartphone at time of launch. LOL. Some times we even had to help each other depending on who's free!

Love how their items are of great quality, but priced afford-ably!

Love the tube! But didn't really have the chance to wear it often as I left it at bf's place. hehe

Their customer service is prompt and courteous. And parcels are delivered fast! :)

I wonder am I getting old that the style doesn't suit me or I'm really into saving, I realised I stopped buying from most of them since half a year ago! lol.

LoveBonito.
Okay, this isn't a blogshop I like particularly, but it is a highly popular blogshop that I had to mention. Their frequency of launch is every once or twice per week, which is like very frequent for a blogshop. And they are super successful that they are GST registered company! However, I think that their items are usually over priced compared to other blogshops. Maybe their quality is really good, but it doesn't appeal to me. :) Unless I really think it's worth it! Like the romper I got below!

I did not get this romper once it's released.
I got it through the BO after trying on as my ex-colleague bought it previously.
Thinking that it's worth the price, I joined the BO and finally got to wear it this Xmas eve! :)

The not-so-happy experience...

MGP.
Still remembered I got 3 pieces from this blogshop as they are having some promotions. But I was disappointed with 2 out of the 3 pieces, and the remaining 1 piece I reluctantly accepted cause the yellow was nice! :) But the CS is good nonetheless!

The worst ...

Live Laugh Love
This blogshop disappointed me big time! I bought a dress for my ex-colleague as her farewell gift, but the whole experience was so bad and my ex-colleague was not happy with the dress! :( I feedback through emailing them, but there was no response!

How it started was when we saw the dress on Zoe Raymond's blog which she wore on her birthday and we like it. So I managed to find the blogshop selling it and got the dress for my ex-colleague. I checked if the color was true to the photo, and she mentioned it was! As you might know how bad a dull mustard might look, the pic was in bright yellow though the description was mustard. So I was re-assured that the color was true to the pic before purchasing. You can see the photo HERE!

And so I went ahead and purchased it, and she mentioned I have to wait till the following week before their stocks were replenished. I agreed. But the week passed and I was running out of time, so I contacted the seller again. A good point to note is that she replied very promptly to the SMS-es. And up till I contact her, she still need to check and get back. After a few prompting, finally she said she can send out. But I initiated a meetup as I really need to get it soon. But in the end I couldn't make it and she promised that she will send out by that day via registered mail as compensation. Few days later, I checked for the tracking number, and they were not able to provide me with it but re-assured that they already sent out, just that they need to check out the number in office. In the end, they return with the tracking number after dragging for a few days, and turns out the parcel was only sent out that day the tracking number was provided! The whole transaction took me about 3 weeks!

And the cutting and material was dissappointing. The colors are not true to the pic, and the skirt area were sheer. Though they offered a few bucks discount for my next purchase, I will not return again. Don't wanna take the risk!

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This new year, I guess I would probably buy online again! :) I have some idea of the combination I want, and will blog about it in another post! :)

What's your favourite blogshop? Your best and worse experience? Feel free to share! :)

Recent Unauthorized POSB/DBS ATM Withdrawal

2012-01-07T08:46:00.000+08:00

2 days ago, I started noticing friends posting all over Facebook that there have been unauthorized withdrawals from theirs or their friend's DBS/POSB bank accounts. Curious, I went to check out the CNA news website, and it turns out to be true! I always checked again on news website before spreading as you can't totally just believe whats posted on the Facebook right? :)

Anyhow, it was reported that the withdrawals were done in Malaysia. And up till yesterday, about 400 cases had been reported to DBS. Lucky enough, DBS was willing to compensate whatever was lost due to fraud. Withdrawals were made in hundreds, or even thousands.

It was mentioned on Today that the fraudsters had fitted card skimming device on the ATMs at Bugis! This happened years back and DBS started to fit all their ATMs with anti-skimming devices if you remember! So, unsure how it happened this time!

Anyway, I found online some information from the Commonwealth Bank Australia, how to detect an ATM fitted with card skimming and pin capturing device. I think it's a good read. :)

Click on the picture or HERE for the presentation.
**Source: http://www.commbank.com.au/personal/apply-online/download-printed-forms/ATM_awareness_guide.pdf

Sadly, when I told most friends to check on their accounts, their reply was "luckily my account doesn't have much money". LOL. And the same applies to me! What's happening to the young working adults nowadays! We can't save? Okay, maybe my friends have some other bank accounts where their savings are planted at. :) For me, I guess my 2012 resolution will include saving money as priority!

Lastly, pls check carefully all your accounts and credit card transactions, and report any fraud to the respective banks! It'll help the banks conduct checks earlier and prevent further frauds from happening! Just saw friends posted on Facebook that Citibank has also been compromised. I'm not sure how true, but it's never a hassle to check on your savings right? :)

Blacked out!

2012-01-05T16:01:00.001+08:00

Just as I was about to pick up my mood and start working after the Christmas and New Year break, and as I was feeling year 2012 will be a great year for me, accident happened!

I have no idea why but I was on the train with the bf on our way to work. Suddenly when the train left Tiong Bahru station, I saw colors and felt giddy. I closed my eyes and the next moment, I was on the floor. Still wondering why was I still sleeping and not on the way to work! Until I heard someone telling the train operation that someone fainted on the train, then I realized I fainted!

During that one minute I was down, bf said I went all pale and cold and was neither breathing nor have pulse. But he said it may be due to him panicking so can't feel them. But I remembered I woke up grasping for air.

Went to the nearest SGH A&E for a check up. Spent my whole 6 hours there, but there ain't any abnormalities found from the test so I was discharged. So I headed back home and took a rest after having my lunch. And later that night I was down with fever and headache. Felt better now, but the fever seem to keep coming back whenever the medicine effect wears off.

Bf was super sweet to accompany me! He took half day off work and went to hospital with me, then came over at night to keep me companied and make sure I had everything I need. Thanks darling!

The most painful thing I experienced was the blood test! It was so different from the normal needles! :( I felt pain all the way even till it was removed! I hope I won't need that ever again!

Merry 2012!

2012-01-02T12:46:00.000+08:00

It's a brand new year! How fast time flew pass the year of 2011. Life's been good except that I'm still trying very hard to cope with my new work which I started like almost a month ago.

Had too much fun over the super long weekend that time passes so fast! It's left with just 1 more day for rest. Lucky enough, my company has special holiday on the 30th Dec and 3rd Jan! So, it's 5 days rest in total!

My long break started with K Lunch with my litt sister. It's been some time since we went to sing together! Lunch was cheaper, though still expensive comparing to the Starhub KTV. And K Box @ eHub closed on 01/01/12!

Food was acceptable, but not great.

Later that night, met Cons for a pre-countdown celebration at Pasir Ris Park and Don joined later on. We went to Summerbreeze for a drink and mini bites.

Headed down to Lavendar for Mixed pig organ soup at about 2am! We were so hardworking. lol

Met Val on NYE for a mini shopping session before meeting up with bf! We went to Orchard for about 2-3 hours. :)

Had lunch @ Sakura (Far East Plaza). Was too hungry to start shopping without food!

Char Kway Teow!

Val had seafood noodles since she was having a sore throat.
She's upset she can't drink the Tomyam soup. lol.

While queuing to enter Chanel!
The queue was crazy!!
She bought something from the shop which I failed to stop. But at least it was cheaper than the initial planned purchase. lol

Then met baby, and we continued litt walk at Ion before heading back home to rest as he had a long morning being a brother for his friend's wedding. :)

He bought me a bottle of bon bon on the way to meet me. =)

Late at night, we headed out to meet his friends for a chill out and countdown at Harry's bar! Photos were all taken by his friend and not yet posted. :)

They gave out party pack when the clock nearly strikes 12mn and it's filled with mask, party poppers, some clappers, balloons, blowouts, trumpets...
Some tables even had party hat! So nice of them.
The whole bar counted down together! :)

We stayed till about 1am before heading for prata supper!

Think I mixed too much drinks that night! I'm now scared of alcohol and I will stop for the time being! lol. Feeling unhealthy to keep drinking~

And my sis is back from her Europe trip honeymoon! They got bf, litt sis and me a pair of watch each from Swatch! :)

Thank you!!!

And thanks bf for the wonderful surprise gift of 2012+2mths! :)

After all the celebrations, it's back to normal days! Time to pack up all the feelings and emotions and work hard from now on! We shall have another wonderful year 2012!!

New Year Recaps!

2011-12-30T16:31:00.001+08:00

Inspired by a post from other bloggers, I want to recap how I spent my past New Years! But considering I wasn't that "havoc" (not that I am now), and I do not have a decent camera years back, I only managed to find photos of what I was doing the last 3 New Years!

Let's start off with the oldest I could find.

Year 2009.

I just graduated and have not even started working! How I miss being carefree like a student!
Went to Boat Quay with bf and friends for mini celebration and countdown! And we started a tradition of meeting up every New Year eve ever since. =)

Year 2010

After the awesome experience of drinking too much the year before, we toned down a little and had a celebration at Party World Vivocity! And I remembered we could see fireworks from the inside when it strikes 12mn.

Year 2011

I broke off the tradition and went to Genting with my family! :)
Great experience as I haven't been overseas with them for a long time! But it was too foggy that night and the fireworks at the theme park open area was cancelled. So no countdown celebration.

As year 2011 is coming to an end, I hope everything will go smoothly for everyone in the brand new year! Time to set resolutions for the new year (although most of the times it will not be met)!

Will blog about the thoughts of this year, and my 2012 new year celebration (if any) soon!

=)

MRT Survival Kit?

2011-12-28T23:50:00.001+08:00

I was like LOL-ed at this newsletter when I received it this evening from Gmarket.

Guess MRT is becoming a joke to every one now.

It's so innovative of Gmarket to come up with this idea of promotion.

Come to think of it, the items they promote are actually useful at that shut down situation.

Nonetheless, I still feel our MRT has been doing a great job since it has been helping most of our daily commuting for the past 20+ years? And only until more lines are built, they can shut down the existing oldest lines for revamp without much effect.

Hope everything will go well from now on. :)

And we don't have to worry about being late for work!

North Border @ Rochester Park

2011-12-27T20:30:00.002+08:00

Best food ever!

Bf suggested to dine at One Rochester for our mini Christmas celebration. He said that the spaghetti he had there few months back was the best he had ever. So I called the previous night and managed to request the person to squeeze a table for 2 for us. Turns out, it was North Border that he was raving about, and not One Rochester. So, we skipped the booking and went in the restaurant which was just next to One Rochester.

We were lucky enough to get a table there without a booking, considering it was eve of Christmas eve and start of a long weekend. The huge rain earlier had stopped.

** sorry for all the dark photos! the lighting there was too dim and romantic.**

North Border Bar and Grill.

waiting for the food and drinks.

Complimentary Nachos. I like the sauce they gave with it.

Finally! Had my long craved long island iced tea.
It was good. :) Not too sweet.

Bf had French Draught Beer - Kronenberg Blanc.
It was Happy Hour before 8pm, so bf had the one for one promo.


Finally, Ass Kickin' Buffalo Wings! Best buffalo wings I had EVER! Not joking! We ordered the Candyass Hot just in case it's too spicy. :) Somehow I feel the sauce tasted like Takoyaki.

Our main was SEAFOOD PORTOFINO PASTA!
The sauce is so tomato-ey! And the seafood are so fresh!
Definitely worth the price!
Heard they won some award every year and they are supposed to maintain their standard.

Satisfied his craving! :)

We spent in total about S$120 this meal, and it was totally worth it! If you have not tried it before, you should! You will not regret it. The waiter is friendly too!

Headed down to Orchard after dinner for a walk since we have not went to look at the Christmas lighting yet. It was so crowded with people even though it was 10+pm!

I think I should get a new camera soon for the upcoming trip! Recently had been using iPhone for all the photo taking. Fell in love with instagram as it has so many effects! And you can see the effect even before you snap a photo!

Christmas present for bf!
Fossil watch .. and he love it so much! :)

Had a Christmas party with bf's friends on Christmas eve, but more on that later!

Hope everyone had a very happy Christmas! Feel free to share with me your celebration! :)

Super Hotel, Tokyo Ueno Okachimachi

2011-12-26T21:12:00.000+08:00

I really had to thank my previous company and boss for the chance to go for business trips. Not only to India, but also to Japan. I almost had another chance to attend a global meeting there, but sadly, I left the company. :) Now I can blog about my experience there last winter! :)

It was a long weekend, and my colleagues and I went over earlier at our own expense and the boss helped us find an affordable accommodation.

Took a midnight flight to Tokyo Hanada Airport via JAL. I did not know it was not a popular airline after their almost failure. The flight was quite empty.

Enjoyed some snacks on board with a glass of screwdriver. :)

Super Hotel was the choice of stay over the weekend. It is conveniently located at Okachimachi station. Once you exit the station, make a turn and you can almost see it. If I'm not wrong, it cost less than S$150 per night.

My room!

Single bed.

Shower room. With a mini bath tub.

TV!

That's actually pretty much what you get in the room. It's a small, yet cosy room. When you are alone, you dont really need such a big room anyway. :) They have double bedrooms too! You can check out their website.

Oh, for ladies, you get to choose 5 beauty items per day of your stay there, if I remember correctly. I took some eye masks and bath salt. No idea where my photos of them went to! :(

You also get breakfast with your stay there. You have to choose a timing to have your breakfast. I did not go as I prefer to sleep! :)

ME!

More of the places I went next time! :)

Find out more photo HERE!

They have so many branches, hope your find one that is convenient for you!

it's been a really long time!

2011-12-17T14:58:00.000+08:00

yes, the title says it all! i was really caught up by so many events in my life! as much as i wanted to blog, time doesn't allow me to! what's more, the festive season is coming up, which meant that i'll have so many upcoming events! even if i'm heading home straight after work, i'll be so tired!

my dear sister got married on 6th Dec! so happy for her and they are now enjoying their lifes honeymoon-ing in Europe! Envy!! Will update able the wedding real soon!

went to the first dinner and dance with the new company yesterday and had fun!

so glad it's weekend and i hope it dont pass too fast! its raining so heavily now and i wish i am in a cottage style cafe sipping a cuppa hot coffee, looking on the street!

New job, new environment!

2011-11-29T23:01:00.001+08:00

Time passed, and there goes my one week break from work. Now it's 2 days into my new job, and I'm still trying hard to get used to it! Somewhat gotten used to previous company which I spent 2+ years in!

I was whatsapping my girls that I miss working with them! At least we have so much in common!! My new colleagues are ok, but still takes time I guess!

I feel so tired everyday! I hope I will be able to start being independent at work real soon and get involvement! :) waiting for the time to come!

I dread sleeping now as I know tomorrow will come! :(

Anyways, bf and I are so hooked to a new iPhone game called Heroes vs Monster! It's so cute! But I think I'm not so talented in these games! I just can't finish off some boss stage!

Alrighty I shall get back and try again! Will try to update a decent post soon again!

New hairstyle for new place! :)

Till then...

11.11.11, Sis's ROM

2011-11-24T23:53:00.001+08:00

A great date to start with! My dearest elder sister registered her marriage with BIL on this special day/date, 11.11.11! Bf and I took half day off from work to attend her ROM ceremony.

For this event, I DIY a set of polka dot nails! I learnt how to apply it from Youtube! =)

Pls pardon my fat thighs and old hands! =P
The nails are not perfect, but I like it when looking from afar!

I was the first time which I heard of, and actually took part in a ceremony which was held in a Buddhist Welfare Services. We need to alight at Buangkok Station, and walk in for about 10 minutes.

Before that, met the bf at Raffles after work and went down to PS for lunch. It was raining heavily, so we took a cab down!

Had Vongole @ Pasta Mania.
Bf had the same one too.

Headed to do a last minute shopping for a ROM gift for sister and BIL! Got a Mickey Minnie display for them from Precious Thots, but had no chance to take a photo of it! =(

We got caught in the rain in Buangkok, so it took us longer time to reach the place. Luckily, we weren't the last! Waited a while before the ceremony starts!

Family!!

While waiting!

Headed down to Marina Mandarin after some photo taking session in the association! However, we reached the hotel too early, and dinner was still not ready yet. So we hung around at the cafe area for some drinks.

The bf and I each gotten a pint of Hoegaarden draft beer!
The glass was huge!! As big as my face! lol

Sat for a while, then headed upstairs to the pool area for a small photoshoot session with sis and bil! Headed to the ladies for camwhoring session before dinner! =)

I love this color block dress very much!
It can be worn for office in the morning, and party at night!
The pencil skirt just elaborates on your curves, giving you the hourglass shape! =)

Finally, dinner was served! Did not really had the chance to take much photos as the waitress would divide the portion up for us. Not really sure how many courses we had, but I remembered that we were all so full after that! I think there was around 8-10 dishes including dessert!

Dessert was splendid! I had the mango pomelo with sago, and it was awesome!

It was served with this cute bowl, and smoke was coming out from under the bowl.
The dessert was not to sweet, served with lime sorbet! Love the taste! =)

We ended the dinner about 9+pm, after which we headed down to Attica! Don arranged this party, and bf decided to join us! =)

Shots for everyone!
It's darn expensive there!!! It costs S$11 per shot!

We stayed there and danced for like 2-3 hours? Then bf and I was exhausted and went to some other quieter places to chill!

Bf was craving for his Guinness Stout draft and we remembered passing by an Irish pub earlier. So we went to look for it. Took a seat at the Mulligan's while waiting for the rest!

Love how smooth the foam on the beer and stout are!
Guinness for bf (finally) and Kilkenny for me!

Tried the stout, and it was really smoother than the canned ones!

Soon after, the rest came to join us, and we continued to chill until about 3am before heading home!

We ended the party there!

Cons and Don stayed on to wait to Mcdonalds breakfast, while bf and I headed home! Slept so soundly!! =) Exhausting, but fun and fruitful day! =)

If you love the color block dress, you can head down HERE to have a look! =) More lovely dresses will be on it's way! Join our mailing list to get free normal postage within Singapore!!

An end must come for a new beginning!

2011-11-23T01:23:00.001+08:00

And so, 21st Nov 2011 marks the end of my 2+ year journey with Marubeni! Having mixed feeling though, but more of happy that I am able to move on to a new environment. Just sad that I have to leave all my wonderful colleagues in my department!

Still remember that I first joined on 16th Feb 2009, and left in Dec that same year. After which I re-joined in February 2010 as the colleague who took over me had some issue with family thus boss asked me to return and help out. How time flies ...

Had lunch with Ruo Ting, Jessie and Michelle (thanks for the treat), and we had so much fun taking Polaroid photos that we used up 3 whole boxes! =)

Located at UOB Plaza i think!

Yami Yoghurt for Dessert!

Ruoting &mine's!

Christine!
Joined in the fun! :)

Next day went with Ying-jie for lunch at Raffles City as she will not be around during my last day! During that weekend, bf and I went scouting for small gifts for my colleagues during our date! =) He suggested Honey Sticks in the end, and I thought it was a special idea!

Tied 2 sticks together :)
Told bf they looked like pickup sticks! hehe

On my last day, Suping and Gwen came to meet us for lunch together with Airene and me! All my past lunch kakis! Val couldn't make it as she fell sick that day!

The Japanese restaurant which my supplier brought me the last time!

Gwen's Saba Fish set.

Suping and mine's Salmon Set

Airene's Teriyaki Chicken set!

All the bento sets comes with sashimi! It's so yummy! However, the price isn't cheap~ :( Sorry I didn't know about the price!

Went for dinner at a restaurant on dempsey hill! It was my first time there, and I did not take any photos of the food because it's too dark! I took instant photos with my colleagues and boss though, which I will share later on! =)

Wallet and Cardholder!

Black Forest cake from Germine! So sweet of her!

Pen holder and hand lotion from my dept!

Swarovski pen from Val, quack and Airene!

Thanks everyone for the gifts and memories! I feel so overwhelmed by love! =) I really have to thanks every one for their guidance these years, and thank my company for the opportunities that they had given to me. I hope we can keep in touch!

At last, I shall end off with the collage of instant photos taken!! =)

I will miss every one definitely!!

2359!

2011-11-10T20:42:00.000+08:00

Went to watch 2359 with the sista's gang last weekend! It was disastrous! lol. Jo and I was reluctant to watch it initially, but was re-assured that shows by Mark Lee should be more of funny than scary! So we agreed and went ahead.

There's actually a show at 23:59, but we decided to catch the earlier one, which ended at 23:59 instead!

I did not even dare to open my eyes during some parts of the show! Jo was stuffing her ears with her fingers as well. lol. After the show, both of us was complaining of being tricked to watch it! And the first thing I did was to SMS my sister to wait up for me.

Lucky for me, Jo's bf was still stuck and will be late to pick her up. So I suggested her to come up to my place while waiting, and the sistas gang also walked us back home! =)) phew.

I'm still thinking about it till today. Hope I will forget soon, and no more horror movies!! hee.

Nonetheless, I find it's an interesting and exciting enough movie if you like horror shows. Maybe you guys can try watching it. :) The review isn't that bad I guess.

Tomorrow is my elder sister's ROM! Looking forward, and will take loads of photos!
Another good thing is that my iPhone4s will come tomorrow as well! But I'll be away the whole day. I can't wait to try it!! =D

Dreams!

2011-11-09T22:06:00.001+08:00

I have to forewarn you guys to stop the video on the previous post (below)! It will auto play itself and it will be noisy if you don't stop it! =)

Dreams! I'm glad I'm one step closer to it, and dreams might soon just become reality! I'm not sure how things will turn out, but I know if I do not act and start something, I will forever remain at the same position. It's better to fail and learn from the mistake, than to always stay in my own comfort zone waiting for things to happen right?

For once I thought my dream will be just a dream, far from reality, but now I have the chance once again, to restart it. I hope to make the best out of it! =) The most important thing is to stay motivated! At least I have the passion for what I'm doing.

Test Your Brain on National Geographics.

2011-11-03T23:56:00.001+08:00

Watch this, and get fasinated!

This was the introduction to the show. We were both amazed by how we were caught off guard! Sorry I can't seem to figure out how to prevent auto play of the video embedded! =P

Recently, bf and I were addicted to this show called "Test Your Brains" on Nat Geo. It was just a random Saturday where we were trying to find some shows on TV, and we came across this programme.

It just happened that the episode we were watching was the first one, called "Pay Attention!". And we realised, most of the times when we get too focused on some issues, we tend to totally ignore the other events happening around us! It's quite amazing how our brains work! And ya, this show proved that a human being does not have the ability to multi tasking! You might think you are efficient, but in actual fact you're not!

Don't believe it? Try this game! http://natgeotv.com/asia/test-your-brain/videos/pay-attention.

2nd Episode was talking about our "Sensory Perspective".

What made up the colors of the two plates? If I were to tell you the top and the bottom plate consist of the same color, would you believe me?

Watch this!

Amazing isn't it. Now try it for yourself! Go back to the picture and cover the line dividing the 2 plates. Did you get the same color now? =)

Try this game, you'd be amazed too! If you have the time, you can watch the full clip:

http://youtu.be/NkAtphFgPIE?t=9m

The last episode (yeah I know it's so short!) is on Memory. That's how I realised my memory is so damn bad! They taught you how you can improve on your memory but substituting what you need to remember with a storyline or visual pictures in your mind!

This show is so interactive! It gave the chance for the viewers to also participate while watching. Very interesting! But it's too short. There's only 3 episodes to this series. =( I wish for more to come!!

If you are interested, do visit their official site for more clips and games! =) I assure you, you will not regret it!

Start of November!

2011-11-01T01:26:00.001+08:00

The month of October has passed! It's the 1st day in November now, Teo more months to a brand new year once again. Can't believe how time really flies so fast!

Today finally settled the stuff I need to. There was no talk needed and I felt relieved! 21st will be the day, then I'll have a almost one week break in between. :) the bf suggested going overseas, and I'm tempted. But seemed like we can't find time.. :(

If finished Kbox with my beloved sista gang! So so sleepy!!

I'm having a sore eye again! Two months once! Wonder is it my contact lens unsuitable for me..

Time to slp! Good nighty!!

Just don't feel like sleeping!

2011-10-28T01:53:00.002+08:00

I know I would totally regret later when I have to get up and go to work, but I just don't feel like sleeping!

Maybe I should try to sleep now, it almost 2am! :( thankfully, it's FRIDAY! Can't help but feel happy!

Loving my new blog template now! Simple and nice! Helps motivate me to blog! At least for now.. Hehe

Alrighty! Heading to lala land!

Good night~~

Moving forward ...

2011-10-26T21:00:00.002+08:00

At times, in life, there ought to be moments where we have to look ahead, and move forward. When the opportunity comes, it's necessary not to let it go. Good or bad it may be, we have to try out before we can determine the outcome. So, I guess we shouldn't give up without trying!

I was being offered some better opportunities elsewhere, and I am taking it up! It's not an easy decision, I guess. In a way, this isn't the best time to leave, but I guess I have to be a little selfish this time round.

Anyways, I think there's bound to be a talk tomorrow with the higher mgt, but after this week, I guess everything will be more or less settled. That's when I would be able to really count down to the time of change. =)

On a lighter note, I just made some changes to my blog once again. =) I came across this website, Pugly Pixel, and they provide nice and sweet freebies for photoshop editing. =) I downloaded some of the tapes and made my blog buttons (contents are still updating). Somehow I feel that I've shrink my buttons too small. Will edit it when I have the time again! I hope this makes me more motivated to blog! hee

Went to Hot Tomato the other night with the girls. We will soon be all out of the company where we first met! =) Till then, I'll organize a Karaoke session ya?

Hot Tomato Cafe & Grill @ 313 Somerset

We added S$3.50 to upgrade our dinner to set meal.

I ordered the Norwegian Salmon Steak with Pasta.

Norwegian Salmon Steak with Mango Salsa for Fae.

Lobster Pasta for both Quack and Val!

Gwen couldn't join us this time round~ Val and I wanted to try out this restaurant after reading it on Zoeraymond's post months ago! Finally we went. But I feel the food isn't fantastic, and each paid about S$20 each.

Shopped around for shoes, but could not find any interesting ones. =( So we went to Starbucks and chill out before calling out the night!

We bought a Polaroid album recently, so took some Polaroids together!
One got taken by the staff from Hot Tomato! =(

It's work again tomorrow ... 3 more weeks!

It's a Cold Cold Day!

2011-10-12T23:06:00.000+08:00

Took half day off from work today for some personal matters. I can't help to feel freezing cold for the whole day! Been drowning myself with hot milo and water to warm myself!

Rare enough, my mom and sis cooked today! It's been a long time since I had my mom's cooked food for dinner! =)

I love the egg with tomato and onion the most, but I kept trying very very hard to refrain myself from eating that as I had so many eggs this week and I'm worried about the cholesterol! I know it's only Wednesday! =)

FAVOURITE!
YUMMM!

Have to meet someone tomorrow morning whom I'm not sure the purpose. Been meeting for like every 2-3 weeks. = ='

On a brighter note, will be meeting WK to the once-in-a-year big event (as described by him)! Kinda excited! hee

Alright I guess it's time for me to slp now. Feeling sleepy since 6pm!

Good night! =)

Hup Seng Duck Rice (22 Sin Ming Road)

2011-10-11T18:33:00.002+08:00

Brought bf and his friends to try the 'legendary' duck soup at Sin Ming Road! First knew about this place when we went for the railway march in July/August and Julie's friend introduced it to us!

This was the 2nd time I went for it. :)

the famous duck soup! If you love sour food, you would love this!

Tried the braised duck and pork.

The sauce makes the duck go well with the rice, and the pork is melty and yet a little chewy!

If you have spare time during weekends, and do not know where to go, go try it! Go earlier so you won't be disappointed. :)

Getting there:
(1) from Bishan MRT, take bus 54 opposite Junction 8 for 5 stops!

(2) from Ang Mo Kio MRT, take bus 74! I think it's also around 5 stops.

Enjoy!

My Taiwan Trip - Day 6: 永和豆浆，Yang Ming Shan (阳明山)，Hot Spring Xin Bei Tou (新北投)

2011-10-11T16:02:00.000+08:00

It's Day 6! Baby is feeling much better, and it's time to move on! So, we had to check out from 淡水小木屋 and head over to 新北投 for hotspring! =) I had tried a hotspring in Japan previously, and the feeling after the hotspring bath was good! Though the one in Japan was considered a public onsen, but I went in late night and thus no one was around! I should try a public one next time. hee.

Byebye Danshui!

Actually I wanted to try a 豆浆 store which is nearer to Taipei Main Station during the 1st 2 days when I was there. It's called 阜杭豆漿 which is located at 善導寺站. =) But somehow we did not managed to wake up on time earlier. So, we came across a similar one previous night called 永和豆浆，and decided to give it a try the next morning. It's just located opposite of danshui metro station.

It's only opened from 5pm in the evening to next morning, 11am, every day! It can be a supper place too! =) But I feel the staff there weren't very friendly though.

We ordered two ice soya milk, 1 烧饼油条，1烧饼加蛋，and 1 叉烧包。

Overall it wasn't that fantastic! hee

Headed on to 新北投!

Dan shui metro station.

淡水 to 新北投

Take Red line from Danshui and change to the Pink line at Beitou.

There'll be signs on which way to head to the platform.

Cost: approx. NT30/pax

Time: approx. 20 min

Took this on the platform to Xinbeitou!
It's cute~

Specially decorated train for this line.

Hotspring "tubs" inside the train.

In less than 5min, we reached our destination! =D Was all excited!!

While walking towards the Hotspring Hotel that we booked.

We got kinda lost, and lucky for us, we managed to ask around for our way there. You have to walk all the way to the end from the station, and up a slope to the right! =)

We booked Aquabella (台北漾館時尚溫泉旅館). You can read more about this hotel here & here! Join their Facebook and they will regularly put up their monthly promotion.

I booked it for a little more than S$100 per night, which is totally worth it! I introduced my friend to this hotel in September 2011, and she loved it too! More photos coming up!

Yea, this was how it looked like in its exterior.

As we reached earlier than the check-in timing, and room wasn't ready yet, we decided to place our luggages at the reception and headed out for fun first!

Went to take a bus for Yang Ming Shan! You can check the bus stop just opposite of Xin Bei Tou station to get the bus! =) You should also ask the bus uncle to signal for alighting just in case you missed the stop!


We alighted right at the bottom of the mountain! had to climb up to the visitor's center as we are not sure where to head to!

Headed for the toilets first! While waiting for me, some stuff got attached to bf's arms!

eerkss! hair stands.
MOTH!

Following the road signage, we headed up the never-ending stairs to the visitor center!

Happy!

Still alright..

it was so exhausting climbing upwards and it doesn't help at all when the signage we saw remains at 0.6km like forever!

almost didn't make it!

Finally, we saw what seemed like a Visitor's Centre!

We walked through the center, still no idea where to go to as the mountain seem too big! So, we went to check out with the counter staff, and came to realize it was the season of water lily (海芋）! So the staff guided us to the bus stop just outside the center and we took a mini bus further up hill!

The happy us, glad we finally reached!

The area was called 竹子湖！

Nature, how alluring! =)

Bf decided that we should go into the lily fields for some photo taking! So we made payment (I forgot how much), and we are entitled to 6 stalks of lilies!

First time visiting such flower field!

Plucking ....

In the end, we only took 1 stalk as we don't really have any use for it. =) First flower given by bf? hee

By the time we ended, we were both famished! Headed down the road to look for lunch!

Came across this restaurant!
With not much choices there, we headed in!

Deciding on orders.

The staffs there were super friendly! =) This was one of the most expensive food we had in Taiwan! The other was the one we had at the Cing Jing farm. But I have to say, the food was yummy, no doubt!

Waiting for food!

Artistic photo by yours truly! =D

We ordered 3 dishes in all! Forgot the total bill, but I remember it was nice!

Stir fry cabbage.

Fried Noodles.

Kimchi with 山猪肉！
Personal favorite!

After lunch, decided to go back to xinbeitou for checking into our room. Went back to the stop which we alighted and boarded the bus back to the station direct!

The trip was super bumpy and it was on a mini bus! Imagine the turns on the mountain with the driver speeding! We should be glad we did not fly off the edge of the mountain! There was a super nice lady who was sitting down, seeing that I'm standing unsteadily, offered to keep my lily for me so I can grab the hand pole better. So sweet!

Back for check in!

We waited for about 15-20 min for the receptionist to pass us the keys and our stuffs before heading to our room.

Welcoming us was a gigantic bed! It looks so comfy, and I told bf that it reminds me of the Harris Resort in Batam.

Comfy Bed.


TV! Oh we love to watch the variety shows there! =)

Hotspring Tub in the toilet!
The toilet is hugeeee!

Some salts you could put into the hotspring bath, and also shampoos and others..
It's placed in a test tube form, so cute!

Instructions on how to operate the taps.
There's normal water and hotspring water (hot and cold).
And some tips on how long you should take the bath.

Couch at the side of the room!
For a room costing about S$110-120, it is considered big like nothing else!
Super worth it.

Entrance to the toilet.

After exploring the room, and photo taking sessions, we decided to head out again for a walk and dinner. =)

Our room! =D For the night..

Decided to take a look at the Hotspring Museum.
We actually passed by the public hotspring area and bf saw a naked uncle. lol!


Xinbeitou hotspring museum! Entry fee is free! =) Read more HERE!

You have to remove your shoes before entering.

Pretty old school!!

Grumpy Ticket Sales. haha

Soon, we finished going through the musuem, so we headed on wards uphill!

An uncle is selling ice cream outside the museum, so we each had one!

Reached the Hotspring Thermal Valley!

You can see how hot the hot spring water is!

Look at the smoke!

It was a small valley so we took about 1/2 hour inside after which we proceeded out to have dinner! Initially wanted cup noodles as dinner since we did not find anything interesting earlier, but we passed by this mini hotpot cafe right outside the Thermal Valley!

The food was yummy! Though I forgot how much it cost, but I think it's pretty affordable. =)

Bf is still not feeling quite well, so we headed back to the hotel for an early night and HOTSPRING bath!

Complimentary Pocari Sweat for your after-bath needs! =)
To replenish water lost!

We spent the rest of the night on TV, chatting, feeling totally "nua" after the bath! Too bad we can't take the bath for too long!

This is the best hotel we had stayed in during the stay! Bf and I loved it! Will definitely go back again! =)

Finally, Blogger has an App!

2011-10-10T16:36:00.002+08:00

I've been waiting and searching for Blogger's iPhone app since long time back! It's like there's app for Livejournal, for Wordpress, but none for Blogger!

Finally, I went into App store and I found this new release! :) I'm now trying to publish my very first post using Blogger app! I wanted to link it to the website for the App download but this App doesn't seem to have this function. Guess I'll have to link it via the PC later on!

Let me try out the photo uploading function..

Sad to say, I wasn't able to upload any photos via this App! I read through the review, seems like it's only me. hehe. I shall try again later on!

For now, I'll just have to stick to wordy posts if I ever blog via that app. Hope I'll solve it real soon!

Try it now and share your views! =)
Download HERE!

Time is just not on my side!

2011-10-03T23:43:00.000+08:00

Yes, the title had said it all. Mondays to Fridays, I would be busy working, and come weekend, it ended too fast! I don't really have any time for myself. Even if I do, I will be so so lazy to do anything!

This post would mostly be my blabbering about how unmotivated I am every day!

As time pass, I just couldn't get myself enough motivation to be able to wake up on time for work. It's like 650am to 7am to 710am and now, 720am, which caused me to be late like 5 times last month! I told myself I will be a good girl this month, but whether I can last would be another issue!

Alright, aside all this, I am constantly on a lookout for what I want, and I hope I can get it real soon! =)

Oh, btw I just took part in the Bubz contest to win her self-manufactured and designed Bubbi brushes!

This is the photo I put on the contest, and the caption as follows:

This may be a simple picture, but thinking of how we went through thick and thin together, and how worry-free I am whenever we're together makes me smile, always. I am thankful for having him by my side, showering me with love even though it's been 10 years and still counting...

I participated just for fun, not wishing that I would win, but just thought that this photo suits the requirement of making me happy whenever I look at it. I am really grateful to my darling for all the TLC he has given me, and will continue to give me (i hope!) hehe.

Oh, and thanks Gwen for reminding me that I should update my blog soon! You motivated me abit by letting me know someone is reading at least! Will update about our outing too! So many pending! =P

Time for bed once again.
Till then!! :)

Been too busy ...

2011-09-23T17:33:00.000+08:00

Or should I say LAZY! I miss blogging, but I'm always lazy to start once I hit the "New Post" button. Still, pending the remaining updates of my Taiwan trip and on my recent Thailand trip early this month!

All I can say is, I simply miss Taiwan so much! Those carefree days there are so enjoyable! Everyday I'm losing my motivation bit by bit. I wonder when I will reach my threshold. =(

I'll be back very soon, I promise! =D

Eat, Buy, Massage!

2011-09-06T15:43:00.000+08:00

Was lucky enough to be able to travel overseas for 2 times this year! Had spent so much that I think I need to recuperate from it starting right now! First was the Taiwan Trip and now it was Bangkok (which we planned for more than half a year already).

I had so much fun shopping and eating! Went for a massage on the last day of the trip, but I didn't really know how to appreciate. I find myself aching more after massaging even though bf said it was good for him.

This trip made me understand so much. And made me learned quite a bit.

I hope I can go back soon again! Kinda addicted to the buy buy buy! =P
Next time, I want to go their night market and eat all the way! hehee.

Preview of my buys! Will update about the trip when I get the photos!

Till then~ =)

Pomeranian, Corgi, Terrier!

2011-08-29T22:50:00.000+08:00

It's holidays tomorrow! Selamat Hari Raya to all Malay friends out there! =) And in 2 days, I will be heading to Bangkok with my friends! I shall shop, eat, massage till I drop! I really hope I could enjoy fully without having to think of work!

Friends who know me would know my all time favorite dog breed is the Pomeranian. They are just so cute and fluffy you wouldn't help wanting to cuddle it (though I have not cuddle on before =( ). Came across this "cutest dog on earth" called BOO.

AWW how can you resist!
Credits: BOO Facebook Fan Page.

My makeup idol, Bubz, also had a white toy pomeranian called Chubby and it's just so cute!!

The bf fell in love with Corgi when he saw this video! Can't embed it, so head on to YouTube and have a look. I assure you it's so damn cute and silly!

And then comes the Yorkshire Terrier! Bf's neighbour had this terrier and it was so cute! I was not able to have a good look at it until we went to Pulau Ubin last weekend. There's this Yorkshire Terrier which kept running around us. So cute! I fell in love with it as well!

Image taken from http://nigelmcloughlin.com/yorkshire-terrier/

I told bf we had to get 3 next time! But decided to get 2 instead, 1 that I like, and 1 that he likes.

I can't decide between a Pomeranian or Terrier now!! =(

My First Ever High Waist Shorts!

2011-08-22T21:59:00.000+08:00

High waist shorts had been in trend for as long as maybe a year ago? But I only got mine recently from Swivelle! I always did not dare to buy regardless of how nice they look on other girls as my bf always say high waist shorts looks like those wore by grannies. =x

Finally, I decided to take the risk when I saw Swivelle's Tailored Corset Shorts! Took the S size and it fits me wonderfully! The material is so comfy that I want to wear it everywhere I go. And the best thing is, my bf says this pair of shorts looks surprisingly nice! It doesn't make your bottom look big at all!

One month later, Swivelle released Crew Shift Blouse in Peach, which I knew I had to get one despite my friends' call for me to stop spending! I imagine it to go very well with my Tailored Corset Shorts, and it really did! This blouse is great for work and play! The material is thick enough to not be sheer, but comfy enough not to be overly warm in this already hot Singapore! Love wearing it! It was also so afford-ably priced that I couldn't resist it!

Started shopping with Swivelle since CNY this year, and I absolutely love their affordability and friendly service. Both pieces featured here cost less than S$25, and I always receive them within 2-3 working days! I believe they are still available so you can check out the links provided for you below. So far all pieces that I purchased fits me just nice and had never failed my expectations. I will definitely continue shopping with Swivelle! =)

They are launching again tomorrow evening @ 8.30pm! Stay tuned!

Tailored Corset Shorts: http://swivelle.livejournal.com/77685.html#cutid1
Crew Shift Blouse: http://swivelle.livejournal.com/79132.html#cutid1

Taste of Thailand at Yishun Industrial Park A!

2011-08-15T20:37:00.004+08:00

Came home early due to bad sore eye I had since last Thursday! Though it's a lot better now, I did not dare to wear contact lens yet. Wore specs since I wont be heading out!

Yeah, bf and I went for a Taste of Thailand 2 weeks before our Thailand trip! =) He wanted to bring me there some time back and finally we got the chance to go on yesterday morning (14/8/11)!

Took a photo of the menu in case bf need the address again! =)

Taste of Thailand is located at Blk 1001 #01-1001 Yishun Industrial Park A, Singapore 768743.

Choosing what to have...

Kang Kong with Belacan!

Tom Yam Soup!
It's good for people who loves sour food! =)

Thai Style Sotong!

For a moment I thought Thai Style Sotong would be squid fried in Thai Chilli Sauce! But nope, it's just fried Sotong which tasted very special, and their special chilli is given which complements its taste!

I would say it's a hearty meal we had! We only paid like S$21 for all these with 2 packs of pineapple rice packed for bf's brothers. Worth it! I think you wont get that pricing elsewhere!

It's the only stall opened on Sunday, and the coffeeshop is filled with all customers for them only! Bf also spotted some Thais there for the food!

Satisfying!
So full that I fell aslp after we reach back home =x

Felt so sinful that we had to go out for a walk during dinner time!

Bought Mr. Brown Coffee for the next day, reminiscing of time in Taiwan before we head to Cing Jing! =( The taste felt different. It's much nicer in TW! lol.

Back track a little, bf and I tried the K-system of Starhub's Hubstation on Saturday! It's so cool, but it kept disconnecting from the server, making us have to choose the songs all over each time it got restarted.

For only S$4+, you get 24 hours access to the K-system. We sang from 10pm to about 1am! It's already worth it though we did not make full use of that 24 hours. =)

I think you wont have the chance of seeing 20+ hours of time remaining at kbox outside! lol

Fulfilling weekend! The next coming weekend will be bf's birthday celebration! I hope he will have loads of fun. =)

New Mirror!

2011-08-10T23:57:00.001+08:00

Got a new full length mirror from IKEA yesterday! All thanks to baby who accompanied me there, and brought the mirror back all the way. Then, enthusiastically went out together to get 3M Heavy Duty Strips to paste on the mirror (as I did not want to drill my wall!). =) They have many options for different surfaces. Since we're mounting it onto the wall, we bought the one for rough surfaces. We took the wrong one in Giant before that and luckily baby found out before we made payment!

Looked something like this!
Couldn't find it on the main website.

All kinds of surfaces!
We got #02.

Hardworking bf! =)

Every 2cm of the tape can hold up to 800g of weight. So we were like pasting it all over the border to play safe. =) We pasted a total of about 10pcs around it! (though the weight of the mirror is only 2+kg.)

Pardon the ugly photo.
Just wanted to take a photo of how the mirror looks on my wall! =)

So far so good, hasn't had any signs of falling off yet! Was so afraid I might hear glass shattering in the middle of the night. LOL. Ok, maybe I should be more trusting towards 3M products! hee

And the best part was I got the mirror for only S$9.90! However, I spent 12+ on the tape. LOL. Anyway, I was happy with the mirror and I guess that's what's important right? =)

Sorry for all the poor quality photos. I took them using my iPhone at night. hehe.

It's been a long time since I last updated. Will try to find more time~

My Taiwan Trip - Day 5: Yeliu Geopark, Jiufen, Keelung Night Market

2011-07-28T22:51:00.002+08:00

Time flies and it was 5th day in Taiwan! Baby was sick from the previous night and he did not sleep well! Kept throwing up! =(

Not wanting to spoil our plans for the day, he assured me we can go ahead.

Woke up in the morning and the itinerary for the day was as follows:
(1) Yeliu Geopark
(2) Jiufen Old Street
(3) Keelung Night Market

Forgetting to print out the maps and guides I prepared, we were ready to head down to the visitor's center!

But first, breakfast!

On our way from the homestay (淡水小木屋) to metro station, we passed by an old uncle selling oyster vermicelli with pork intestine! We decided to settle for that. =)

Sicky bf! Poor thing =(

Super yummy!
But I don't quite like the Oyster as it's coated with a layer of flour-liked 'soft gel'

Off to the bus station near the metro! We went to check with the Visitor Info Counter for the bus which we need to take to get to the Geopark! The lady directed us to the bus stop opposite the metro station.

From Danshui to Yeliu Geopark: Bus 1262 opposite Danshui station.
Time taken: About 1 hour I guess.
Cost: I forgotten, but you can pay using your Easycard! =)

Stop at Yeliu bus stop. Many will alight there so should be fine! We waited like more than 1/2 hour for this bus! The lady did not inform us its frequency. =(

Finally we reached!
You can see this signboard opposite the bus stop where you alight!

I forgot why I gave this expression! lol. Funny.

Passing by a temple on the way to Geopark.
It's beside a 7-11. =)

Went to 7-11 and got a cup of hot coffee.
It's so windy there!!

Tourist Info:

Yeliu Geopark (野柳地质公园)

Opening Hours: 0800 to 1700/0800 to 1800 (May - Sept)

Cost: NT50/adult

It's actually considered quite cheap I guess for a tourist attraction!
I didn't regret visiting! =)
But the place is full of tour groups from neighbouring country!
My friend said it used to be so peaceful there =(

Off we went to explore the park! =) It's nice weather, and pretty environment! Since bf and I love nature, we really enjoyed our stay there!

Having fever .. =(

Many many tourists among the rocks!

looks like a hippo nose? =D

Finally, the main attraction!
Queen's head.
There's a replica near the entrance which was full of tourists! So didn't get to take photo with it.

The real deal!
It's slowly erroding, which soon will be gone! =(
There's a long queue to take photo with it.
Some tourists are so inconsiderate that they went to touch it when it's not allowed.

We took about 2-3 hours to finish exploring the place before we decided to head down to Jiufen for some shopping and lunch.

Some mini shops outside Geopark.

bf bought ginger tea as it was too cold for him!
really helps =)

We went back to the bus stop where we alighted earlier and planning to take on the same bus up to Jiufen. And then we were approached by this taxi driver who offered us cheaper deal as he needs to return there as well and doesn't want to go back with empty car. We rejected initially, but thinking that we could save time, we agreed finally. =)

Anyway, this uncle is super friendly.
If you need to book one, can call him =)

Reached! =)

First stop was some souvenir shop!
Selling peanut/sesame cakes! Super yummy that my family and colleagues love it.
Must buy there I guess! =)
Forgot the name, but it's the only stall there and crowded with many people.

Went on to try some famous yam balls!
There's yam, green tea, and many more flavours!
Super yummy! The soup taste a little like the sweet potato soup in Singapore!
Gingery? =)

Feels good after a cold cold day!

Had some shell!
bf doesn't have much appetite due to his sickness so he didn't eat much,
which causes me to not eat too. lol!
But he decided to stop and buy this for me to try!


Very very fresh! The lady will remove the shell for you. But since bf has stomach flu, having seafood makes him feel bad again. =(

Since we finished looking around, and almost time (they close about 5pm according to the taxi uncle), we walked back to the entrance to take a bus to Keelung. You can catch a bus at a place opposite the entrance of old street. As we walked out, the taxi uncle was still there and a bus was leaving. He stopped the bus from going off for us!! =) Lucky us don't have to wait for another!

We alighted 1 bus stop before the ending station at Keelung I guess! But we don't know how to head to the night market as I forgotten the map! =( So we started asking passer-by after trying to figure out for some time. Just nice the lady was heading over, so she walked us there! =)

It's called 基隆庙口夜市，and it's famous for the seafood there! Heard that the crabs there are super yummy! But since bf has no appetite, we did not try any. =) Till next time!

We settled for a porridge stall, as bf wanted something light.

Tasted not too bad, but with quite a bit of processed food in it.
I got the seafood one and bf got another which I forgotten! =P
But the photos looked the same so I can't differentiate them apart~

Decided that we should head back and rest, we decided to walk to the train station. Again, asking passer-by for direction on the way. =) It's within 15 minutes from the night market if you don't get lost like us!

Just walk towards the direction of this sign! lol

Bought train tickets back to Taipei main station! =)
Takes about 1 hour if I remember correctly.
Cost NT41/pax.

And then we changed to Metro and went back to homestay at danshui! Taipei main station is convenient since it's an interchange for Metro, HSR, and trains! =)

Forgotten his Easycard for the day, bought the one-way token.
Super cute!!
You get to scan it as per your card when you enter, and drop the coin into the gate when you exit.

Tired bf!
Feeling guilty that I did not take care of him enough during that day he was sick! =(

Ramen Competition

2011-07-27T00:25:00.000+08:00

So many updates, so little time!

I want to update day 5 of my Taiwan trip real soon! =) I had just uploaded the photos onto blogger, so I will just have to find time to type in the memories! I'm kinda tired right now so not really in the mood to recall and update on the details.. But I will get it done soon!

Last week, I got to know about Ramen Champion from the bf! It's held at Illuma where famous Ramen chefs in Japan come over to Singapore to compete. The champion will have the chance to own a stall here. But I wonder why they have to go through all these hassle just to open a stall? Ok, maybe helps in some publicity as well i guess.

I tried both Ramen from Tetsu (Paitan Tsukemen) and Menya Iroha (Negitama Ramen). Lucky me, both were yummy! =D

Restaurant level of Illuma!
Used to be a Japanese Buffet Outlet which moved to elsewhere.

You can see this poster everywhere! Starting from MRT station.

"Cashcard" style dining.
They charge to your card, and you pay for it later when you exit.

Timer which will ring when you food is ready.

Tried Tetsu!
Bf's friend said this is a popular chain in Japan,
and it's so popular that people take leaves from work to queue up for this.

Paitan Tsukemen.
Pork and Chicken Broth.
Tsukemen meant the style which soup and noodles are seperated.


Pardon the tired looking me! It's Monday!

Bf's Special Paitan Tsukemen.
Pork and Chicken with Seafood Broth.

Mine is so much tastier! =) Too bad for bf who love to eat special stuffs! hehe

Koi!
Feels good taking a milk tea after Ramen!

By Hipstamatic!

Went again with bf's friends on Friday. Tried the black sauce ramen which we aimed since Monday! =) Didn't take much photos on that day though!

Negitama Ramen by Menya Iroha for me...

Special Miso Ramen by Gantetsu for bf.

Mine is definitely better tasting than his again! hehe. Sad for him, but happy for me.

Overall I feel Ramen from Muratama at The Central which I went the other time tasted a lot better. But I believe tastes are subjective. So, go try it! Maybe you will love it~ =)

So much for sleeping early today!! =( It's 12.25am already!

My Taiwan Trip - Day 4: Small Swiss Garden (清境小瑞士花園), Tamshui Fishermen's Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭), Tamshui Old Street (淡水老街)

2011-07-21T21:31:00.001+08:00

Time flies when you enjoy, and it's time to leave Cing Jing and back to Taipei! But before that, we still gotta head down to Small Swiss Garden which we skipped the previous day due to fog!

We got up early, and checked out from the very comfortable homestay!

Last photo in the room!

Feeling sad to leave!! =(

We got the receptionist to drive us down to Small Swiss Garden, and got some directions on how to head back to Taipei later on! =) They mentioned the bus which goes directly to HSR station comes only at certain timing! So we got to keep it in mind!

But first, we grab some small bites from 7-11 and headed in~

Bought this tickets at discounted rates from the homestay!
Most homestays there offer such tickets, you can check with yours!

As you can see, the fog is cleared~

I was wondering if I extended another night's stay, will I be able to see the starry sky?

Bf offered to bring me to somewhere else to see next time!! =) More chances to come ya?

Carrying our huge backpack!

It's feed the duckies today! =)
It's too expensive to buy feeds in Singapore Zoo.
It's much cheaper in TW! =)

"hua"

They have a restaurant there which are mostly made up of paper!
We wanted to try, but due to time constriant we didn't!
We heard from the homestay that the tables, chairs, utensils and more are all paper-based!

Pretty flower bed!

I love the windmill~

The place is full of Open-chan!
I only know it's a mascot of Taiwan after my visit there!
The first time I saw it was on May day's MTV and I thought it's a mascot for that song!

Soon it was time to catch the bus to the HSR station.
The plan was:
Cing Jing -> Taizhong HSR Station -> Taipei Main Station -> Dan Shui!

Like I mentioned in my previous post, I did not arrange chartered coach as the timing is not very good. We will only reach back to Taipei at night time! So I decided to go back using public transport!

The waiting area for the bus was somewhere near Swiss Garden. I forgot to take a photo of the place, but I remember it's an entrance diagionally across to the left. And inside the entrance there's a Starbucks! Anyway, if you can't get it, you always can ask the cashier in 7-11! =)

Oh, the bus will also stop by the homestay before coming down. So if you depart from there it's okay too!

Tickets!
NT115/pax.

Passing by ...

Alighted at Taizhong HSR!

Entrance.

Tickets!
Whole journey will be about an hour!
It's cheaper if you buy from the station and not pre-booked! :)

Our seat!

Simple bento we bought to be eaten on the train! =)
It's like Yoshinoya's beef bowl.

Soon, we reached Taipei main station! We changed to the metro and off to Dan Shui!

We stayed at a place called 淡水小木屋. I find it pretty cool to have a 木屋 in an apartment so I decided to try it. It took a lot of courage as not much reviews was posted online, and I suspect those that were posted were by the owner! LOL.

Street view on our way.

It is not easy to find this homestay. I forgot to bring along the map that I printed! So we just tried our luck and walk the direction of the street name. In the end I called up the owner, who guided me to the place finally! That explains the cheaper rates! =P But once we got to know the way, it gets better! =)

One down side is everytime you are walking back to the homestay, you have to go upslope! More exercise when you are already tired! hehe. But the place is guarded by a security! So I reckon it's safer!

Entrance!

The bed is comfy, but too soft for my liking! =)

Rented this place for 2 nights at NT 900/night! Really cheap!
They have another location too, which is nearer to the metro! But it's more expensive! =)

Finally, we settled down, and decided to head out for some fun!

We were all excited, not knowing what would happen that very night! =(

First food that we came across while walking back to the station!
Looks super yummy!
It's some what like our roti prata in Singapore!

Frying in Progess...

Ta-dah!!
Super delicious, a MUST-TRY I would say! =)

Checked with bf if he would like to visit the famous Fishermen's Wharf and we decided to go ahead! With no plans on how to go, we decided to head down to Visitor's Center for help! =) They directed us to the bus interchange nearby!

Bf looked super weird in self shots as he like to tilt his head upwards!

After I "corrected" his head position! lol.

情人桥!

I think it's good to go during the evening time!
It's so pretty! =)

Sat down and watch the pretty sunset before leaving! =)
It's windy there too! Perfect ambience!

Next stop was Danshui old street! In search for more food =)

Decided to have something sinful for a start >.<

Fried chicken skin! OMG.
But we didn't finish it! hee
Tasted like the chicken skin in KFC.

Tried the 卤味 !
Tempted to try as we always see long queues at braised stores all around!
Their marinating sauce is different from what we have in Singapore!
Theirs is sweeter in taste.

Had some quail eggs, duck tongue ...

Stopped by for beef noodles!
BIL mentioned that there's a famous beef noodle store there, but we didnt know which was it.
So we settled with this!
Sorry forgot to take the stall name =(

Quite yummy! We both shared one bowl.

We had some fruits before we decided to head back as we will have a long day the next day.

The road back to the homestay! =)

That very night, bf fell sick =( For the whole night, he didnt sleep well and kept vomiting! I felt guilty not taking good care of him as I was really tired. =( Poor baby! We didn't know which food causes it, or whether it's food poisoning. But I was fine. I'm glad he recovered in 2 days! =) And was able to enjoy hotspring after that!

More on that later! =)

My Taiwan Trip - Day 3: 清境农场

2011-07-17T16:35:00.001+08:00

Itinerary:

Cing Jing Farm (清境农场）

-----------------------------------------------------
Stay at: 清境黃慶果園民宿
(highly recommended!)

It was 3rd day into our Taiwan trip, and plan was made to visit Cing Jing! I had so much planning on how to travel there as it was not so easy to get information online! And I know I have to change so many transports in order to hover our way there! Also, the timing of the public buses are not the best. So I calculated the cost, and I decided to get the Homestay to book a travel bus for us!

Oh yeah, the homestay do help tourists book private coaches from Taipei to the Homestay! It took about 6 hours for us to get there, but very comfortable journey! It was a double decker bus, with only like 4-5 couples on it! You can refer to this site for more information on how to get there! If you prefer public transport, instructions are also available! But the cost is about the same so I suggest you taking private bus there, then public buses and trains back to Taipei!

To catch the bus, we have to wake up early as the meeting time was about 6.30am in the morning at coach bay near Taipei Main Station where we alighted on Day 1 from Taoyuan. Since it's early, we got quick breakfast from Family Mart and ate while waiting for the coach.

Their sushi roll is really yummy!
And first time to try Mr. Brown coffee!
They are now available in Singapore! =)

We were allowed to consume on the coach! =) Comfy..

Had a quick toilet break.
We also stopped by the HSR station at Tai Zhong to pick another couple.
Then all the way in to Cing Jing! =)

Many nice views along the way.

On our way there, the lady on the coach explained to us some scenaries and must-sees. She also mentioned that it's rather cold on the mountain we were heading, and further up, it's snowing. Bf and I had only a cardigan each! We were so worried!

After about 6 hours of bus ride, finally, we reached our Homestay! When we alight, the lady was shocked and asked "are these the only pieces of clothings you are going to wear?" It was so foggy in Cing Jing and we started worrying how can we survive!

Homestay!

We reached around 11.30am, and our room isn't ready yet! So, we hang around the area and the receptionists offered to drive us up to the restaurant we chose for lunch first! Oh ya, the homestay will drive you to the various places of interests around the mountain! So you don't have to worry about getting around the place! =)

Heading to reception.

Entrance to reception office.
You can see the fog!!

Registered here before heading for lunch!

There are actually quite a few lunch places around the mountain, and we chose a Yun Nan restaurant located further up after some recommendation from the receptionist. And luckily, they were able to lend visitors winter wear!! Saved! =)

Map from the homestay.
Contact details for you to call for pickup when you are done.


This was the menu we ordered! Set for 2 pax for NT600. They had collaboration with the homestay and we have some discount vouchers for this restaurant.

You can actually see quite a number of famous people visited on the wall behind me.

Hot Tea on a cold day!

While waiting for more food to come!

Their food are really yummy!
I think this is the most expensive meal we had during our stay?
I like the 1st and 2nd dishes best!
Vegetable and the chicken! =)

Finished with lunch and we got the lady boss to call our homestay for us for pick up! =) We forgotten to present our voucher, and that's when the lady boss offered to return us the discounted amount! So sweet of her.

Back to the Homestay, waiting for check in!

Finally, our room was ready!! We followed the lady in and was very happy with our room.
You can choose the room type from HERE!
We chose 新後棟觀星二人房(2F). I wanted an affordable place where we can watch the stars as my colleagues told me this mountain will be full of stars in the sky at night! But due to the fog, we are guessing there wont be stars that very night. =(


They even have an iPhone dock in the room! How cool is that?

The windows!

Heading out! To Green Grassland to see the sheeps!!

Shared living room area!
There are basically 2 rooms in one building! =)

Garden walkway outside our homestay building.

We requested the receptionist to send us to The Evergreen Grassland! =)

Map!

We were heading to the Sheep Show which starts around 2-2.30pm.

Cute dustbins!
And everywhere in Taiwan you can find recycle bins beside the normal ones.

Look how foggy it was!!
And yes, thats me standing in front and can't see a thing.

Got the feed for sheeps, and off we go to sheep feeding!! =D

The wind and fog makes our hair wet!

The show started, and we couldn't see a thing in front! LOL.
We only could listen to the voices.

After the sheep show, we headed to the food street outside for a break before going for the horse show.

We had the wild boar sausage which was so yummy!
I forgot to upload the photo, and I'm lazy to re-do it =)
But you know how sausages looks like so I'm not gonna insult you =D

Cute!

We were there while they prepare for the show, and still there during the show.
It was a nice show, and we learnt that actually no insurance company wants to issue policy for them.
It was a dangerous performance!

Baby got me this souvenir from the shop there!
The name is Pompom! And we have this discount vouchers when we bought the tickets.

It's now hanged on my camera if you noticed in my other posts. =)

Due to the fog, we decided to leave 小瑞士花园 for the next day. So, we went around looking for phone to contact our homestay for pick up! =) We asked the ticket sales, who reluctantly helped us. lol! I don't remember why we didn't use our mobile.

We decided to have some cup noodles for dinner, so we headed out to 7-11 nearby. It's within walking distance, which took less than 5 minutes. But the road there is small, so becareful of the traffic! =)

After coming back to the homestay, we were tired and decided that we won't be going out. So, we took a shower, and started our dinner!


Complimentary fruits from the Homestay! Very sweet and yummy! They actually had a fruit farm inside, but we forgotten to visit. =(

Dinner! =)

We watched the TV for the whole night. The TV channels were limited there due to the weak signals on the mountain. Still, it's too foggy to see any stars. Seeing that I was so disappointed, bf woke up every now and then during the night to check if we are able to see stars in the sky while I slept throughout. So sweet of him!

Although we did not see a sky full of stars, we had fun! =) There's more chances to visit again! And I hope the next time, we will be able to see it! =)

This is a really nice place, and everyone should visit! You wouldn't regret it!

Space Egg Flea @ Scape

2011-07-17T11:56:00.001+08:00

Yesterday had the first ever flea with the girls at Scape! We had wanted to flea together for a long time, and finally we decided to put it to action and rent a booth there! It cost about S$55 for a day with 1 table and 2 chairs provided.

An event organized by For Flea Sake!
Julie came by for a short visit, and mentioned the flea has same organization as the one at Flyers.

The crowd was actually not that bad as compared to the previous ones I went with the besties. But since it's considered a flea market, you must really be ready to slash the prices to the minimum!

Other nearby stalls.

Our booth! And it gets messy by the end of the day when we decided to "lelong" everything.

Having their lunch!
Oh and this app on iPhone, Hipstamistic, is really a cool photo app! It has so much nice effects.
I bought it for US$1.99 while quack got it free when it's on promotion i guess!
I think I downloaded it before and deleted =(

After setting up the booth and lunch = Camwhore! lol

Toilet break with quack. =)

Gwen joined us around 4+.
I know I don't pose the nicest way! LOL

Sweeties!

Finally it's getting to the end of the day. We slashed prices, from 1 for S$5 to 2 for S$8, and finally, 3 for S$10! =D None of us wanted to bring home so much!

We decided to start packing up slowly at about 7.30pm when the crowd dies down a little.

Overall it was a fun experience for us! =) Maybe more to come. It was the first time we meet up on a Saturday! I cannot deny the sweeties has become part and parcel of my life. Like what bf always ask, you are already seeing them everyday, and you still have endless chats with them during off office hours and weekends? lol! But it's true, we have a Whatsapp chatbox opened since group chat was allowed and it has never stopped. hehee Who says you cannot make a colleague your friend?

I guess 2nd hand items are more welcomed at flea markets as people are really looking for good deals there! Though no profits, at least I got to clear my wardrobe (for new items?) and get back some moolahs for clothes I throw aside without knowing what to do with them.

Alrighty, I guess I took a long break in updating about my Taiwan Trip this April! I will be back I promise, with more information! =) Today is a free day for me I should have the time. Stay tuned!

I'm back!

2011-07-08T00:42:00.000+08:00

Finally, back from biz trip!! Was super busy and tired this week I wonder why? Work has been slow as not much orders are coming in! But I gotta submit my trip report by tomorrow and also make my claims before my boss goes overseas!

Moved office to a higher level in the same building! Nothing much changed, just that I have to leave home earlier just to avoid being late as the new lift is so hard to wait! Too crowded =( I am sitting next to the side entrance and it's so distracting! I am trying my very best not to turn my head and look who's coming when the door opens!

Will update more soon! Too tired to upload anything.

Till then ........ =)

Tokyo Fashion!

2011-06-26T01:30:00.000+08:00

Received the loots on Friday evening when I came home from work! It's the first time I tried ordering from Tokyo Fashion online after such a long hype! =) Got one blouse from Taiwan trip and love their quality. I feel it's reasonable for their price! hehe. Shall organize another soon? =)

Looking through mine, I really like them. I will give them a try tomorrow if I have the time!

Of course, it doesn't just belong to me! hehe

Heading to India for business tml! I hope I can come back soon~ I'm missing my boy so much already!!

Tiring day!

2011-06-21T23:57:00.002+08:00

Was asked by sis to take a day off work to help her out in her wedding photoshoot! Returned home, exhausted and feverish! I think too much sun plays a part too :(

One happy thing to note was that I was able to fulfill my dream of taking some photos near the KTM train track! And it was really super near, which I think I wouldn't go to by myself. =))

Ya I know, it's pretty, right?

Taken using iPhone App: LemeLeme

I also changed my camera bag into the new one given by jojo from her hongkong trip! Just as I wanted to buy a new camera casing! =)

my pompom has a new friend!

It fits so well!! I really love it~

Weird face, with the cam bag!

Painted my nails yesterday, didn't managed to let it dry fully and went to bed!
The result was total disaster!

Yep! Shade was Over the Taupe! =)

More updates on the wedding photos soon! Time for bed. It's work again tomorrow =(

Shin Minori at UE Square

2011-06-19T20:46:00.000+08:00

Yup! We went to Shin Minori for the 2nd time together! But, instead of Ling and Giap, Celeste went with us! =) Constance never once made it with us! Not that fated huh I guess. hehe


What we ordered (from top left to right): (1) Sashimi - Salmon, Tuna, Swordfish, Yellow Tail, Octopus (2) Mentaiko Pasta (3) Shishamo (aka Pregnant Fish) and Shitake (4) Spider Temaki (Soft Shell Crab) (5) Mango Salad (6) Chicken Gizzard and Chicken Heart (7) Pork Stew (8) Grilled Chicken Wings (9) Tempura (10) and more ....

Favorite!!!

Their Sashimi are really really fresh and yummy! Worth the price!! Personal favourite are salmon and swordfish ... Makes me really hungry now!! I wan them!!

Oh and their Tempura is another must try item on their menu!! You will never regret!!

Complimentary dish of the day!

They recently introduced complimentary dishes with buffet. Not fantastic I guess. It was duck with some sauce. Managed to finish up leaving 1 - 2 pcs only. =) I still remember the previous time I went with my colleagues, they also gave some complimentary dish and not tempting. But at least they tried to make customer happier didn't they?

Can't decide~!! =(

Their Chicken gizzard and heart both are quite yummy and I can't decide which to end off with!! In the end, I reckon that heart won! =)
Baby like the gizzard so I passed to him. hehe

Soon enough, I was tired of taking food individually that I took them all at one go!

Was full so decided to order some Sake and have a break in between food!

It was served with this special jar.
It has a separate compartment to hold ice so your Sake wouldn't get diluted!

Happy Jo!

Celeste cant drink so just took a photo for fun! hehe

While jojo and ah ma was playing some 2 player reaction game!

Battle of the sexes! hehe
Baby's 2 player reaction game on Android is really fun!

Tired, but satisfied us!!

Took a photo before we left!
Really love the white dress I got from Ohvola! =) Received loads of compliments for it!

More information on Shin Minori: http://www.shinminori.com.sg/
It is rather easy to get there within 10 minutes walk from Clarke Quay Station! Or just cab in if you feel troublesome! =)
Call to book in advance especially during the weekends to avoid disappointment.

It's Friday!

2011-06-17T17:45:00.001+08:00

Like finally! Time just isn't moving this week!

Feeling damn tired ...

LinkWithin!

2011-06-15T23:46:00.000+08:00

Met Jo for dinner just this evening! It's a random meetup which we decided earlier in the day. Had Lerk Thai for dinner and some chit chatting session! I love my friends so much! hehe. It's been long since I last met her as she went to Hong Kong! She shared so many stories about her cheap shopping there, ENVY!! I want to go shop tooooooo!

Thai Milk Tea as introduced by Jojo!
Somehow I tasted Red Bean soup! lol.

Tom Yam Kway Teow!

Soft Shell Crab!

After dinner, we went around to look for present for her friend's daughter but to no avail! Went ahead to buy candies she wanted. Just as we decided to head home, we passed by a new Taiwan Food stall! So we decided to try the dessert as the 雪滑冰 on their menu was too tempting!

Turned out to be pretty different huh!

upset as not as tasty as it seemed?

And guess who's back?!

Saw Missha on our way down to the first floor, and we went in as I needed concealer!
Surprisedly, the sales person was friendly!

After their recommendation, got the Perfect Concealer at only $12.90 after discount!
Hope it's good. =)

Salesgirl was nice enough to give us samples of their 2 BB cream range in 2 shades!
And told us we can use it 3x each =) Gonna try it some time!

Ok, so far what I posted hasn't really got any link with my title! =P
I read some blogs before and saw really nice "Related Posts" thumbnails after every post! I was determined to find a way to insert it in my blog, and I found LinkWithin! It's really great and easy to use! I tried a few other methods of changing the codings but it just don't work. And I came to LinkWithin, within seconds, it's done! And I must say the related posts are really, very much related! =)) Try it!!

Sis ask me to go jogging with her tomorrow morning again! I felt good the other day after I woke up at 6am for a morning jog, and I hope I can wake up tomorrow!!

Refreshed after the morning jog on Tuesday~!
Pardon my eye bags. hehe

Going for Jap Buffet tomorrow after planning for so long!! Can't wait~~~

Good night peeps!

Items for Sale Updated!

2011-06-14T19:00:00.001+08:00

Hey peeps!

I've updated my sales tab with more items for sale! I had seperated posts into 2 different pages - for brand new items and pre-owned item for easy reference. =)

All pre-owned items are selling for only S$8 with normal postage, with perfect condition (only washed once)! Brand new items are selling at less than original prices I bought!

So what are you waiting for? Shop away! =)

S$1 off for fast deals! hehe

Click tabs on above or as follows:

Brand new items: http://passion-istic.blogspot.com/p/pre-loved-items.html

Pre-loved items: http://passion-istic.blogspot.com/p/pre-loved-items.html