Asian Food and Goodbye 2013!

Happy New Year in about an hour (Singapore time)!

Looking back (yes, it sounds cliche), it has been a year of blogging about my vacation in Singapore (time off work really to wander around Singapore, try new things and do things I feel like doing) and to share my life in words. I usually blog about my travels in the other wordpress: http://ilovelongvacation.wordpress.com/

Quite surprised that many of my blogs were about cafes in Singapore (because I never really think of myself as a foodie :P) and many of you have taken time to read those blogs (thanks!).

Well, it's been nice winding down the year with Asian food and ending the year with a blog to share Instagram pics @ilovelongvacation) with you.



Christmas Eve Dinner with my parents - quite unusual to eat hawker food on this day but well, my parents wanted to. Haha. Had porridge (with pork intestines and frog legs), fried oyster, rice with basil chicken (didn't take picture) and rounded up dinner at Tiong Bahru Food Centre with Ice Kacang :) It's been a while since I went there with my parents, so it's quite a nice way to spend Christmas Eve.  

 

 

 

 

Boxing Day dinner with my bestie whom I have known for more than 2.5 decades! Amazing how we have all grown up - she's now a career woman cum mummy of a 3-year-old girl :) We had Korean food at Bornga at Vivo City - pork soup, grilled pork and seafood pancake. This was our first time there - heard good reviews about this restaurant which started in the Star Vista. Quite nice, I would say. We were so full!

 


Fish soup noodle for lunch at Asia Square :) It's a new stall and it's been a while since I had this... and met an ex-colleague for lunch.

 

Roti Prata bought by my father from a food centre near our place :) Very thankful to him for always ensuring we go to work with a full stomach. Haha.

 

Lunch with colleagues at Yew Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice, Noodle House. We took a free ride on the newly opened Downtown Line from Downtown Station to Chinatown Station. Now we have more food choices :) Yee Kee has been a while too...



And last but not least, the last lunch of 2013 - Buka God Ramen at Ramen Champion at Bugis+ Quite authentic food and ambiance - a nice place to lunch deliciously alone. LOL.

 Whether you are feasting away or counting down at the year-end parties, enjoy the last moments of 2013! See you in 2014! :)

Merry Christmas from PS Cafe!

Not sure about you but for me, Christmas gets less happening as I age. Haha. Was a quiet one this year, spent at home packing the room... Not as many gatherings as before too. Only 1 so far at PS Café at Palais Renaissance with decades-old friends. LOL.



Waiting for the girls to arrive... Love the ambiance at this PS Café...

Drinks starters - Ice cappuccino on a sunny day. Tasted very latte though...



Mushroom Wellington and Egg Benedict - the former got rave reviews from everyone!



My Croque Monsieur. Nice too!

And the rest of the others! PS Big Bacon & Egg and Croque Madame... PS could not finish the former - a bit too big, I think :P

And at the heart of our Christmas lunch was the Truffles Shoestring Fries - so hard to go wrong with this order. LOL.



And the gifts exchange after lunch! See everyone trying to take pictures?



TATA!

The BIG exchange! I did not take photos as the gifts unveiled though....

Arty shot :P PS Café was very nice - did not chase us away for making so much noise... always spend like 3 hours there... Haha.

Dessert time - Southern Fudgy Chocolate Pecan Pie! Bitter sweet...

Sticky Date Steamed Pudding. SWEET! :)

Looks like we had a good time, yah? :P Have a great Christmas everyone - there's still Boxing Day and 12 days of Christmas to go. LOL.

The Provision Shop@Everton Park

With all the cafes sprouting up, Everton Park is turning into the next Tiong Bahru! Find it quite funny that I live quite near to both and yet seldom chill at either on weekends. Will perhaps explore more in 2014 (gosh - it's almost the year of 2013!). Anyway, met I for lunch at The Provision Shop at Everton Park last Monday. LOL - glad I did visit Everton Park in 2013 after all!


Was empty when we reached at about 12noon. Was wondering how this café with a down-to-earth feel will survive... And then people started strolling in for lunch. Wow!

 


I's sandwich with corn beef. She said it was good! :)



I had a chicken sandwich. Look at the generous filling! Healthy combination with the side salad. Was very full :)

Lunch cost us $14 each, not exactly cheap for sandwiches (although the portion was generous). But guess the ambiance kind of made up for it :)

12 days to Christmas - #1 Antoinette

Gosh! It's been so long since I last blogged! November flew by - with half of it spent in Taiwan and the other half hard at work before I went on leave and after I came back from leave...

After 2 weekends of wedding feasts in December, am I glad to be able to finally to start the weekend with a brunch! :) Visited Antoinette at 30 Penhas Road (off Lavender Street) with XF and GT - at first I thought it would be difficult to find the place but it's quite easy, really :) Exit B from the MRT station, go past V hotel and then a condominium, turn left when you see Penhas Road and there you find Antoinette!

Some Instagram shots (Rise effect) to share!

Quiet when we reached. Guess people go there for lunch, more than brunch... Very nice ambiance...

Merry Xmas! :) Used the Daiso curlers I got in Taipei for NT39 (less than SGD2) and the girls said I look good. LOL. May I should blog about the stuff I got from the trip...

Christmas goodies look good! Might have gotten the meringue, if I was going straight home... 

What I had! Top: Very nice Antoinette cake and good café latte. The pancakes were ok....

What the girls had. Not bad too...

 

 

Nice place but doesn't give me the feel-at-home vibe...

Been finding it easier to Instagram these days instead of blog, so do follow me @ilovelongvacation :) Maybe I should try Dayre one day, starting in 2014 perhaps? But it feels good to start blogging again :) Have a good weekend, everyone! :)

Soupy lunch at 一家村

Happy to leave office at 6.30pm today. Guess I'm winding down for the long 2-week break ahead. Often, it's really about letting go, trusting others and not trying too hard to prove myself. And I do think that is one of my big takeaways since I came back to work - a new philosophy of life, I guess...

So here's a post about one of my lunches at work last week - so much about letting go. LOL. Had soup at Arcade, Raffles Place. It has been such a long time since I last had lunch at this Chinese soup place 一家村 :)




Pig Intestine Soup

With Yam Rice - so full!

If you are thinking of having delicious soup when you are at Raffles Place, check this out. A variety of soup to choose from, different menu everyday :)

Shape Run and Tim Ho Wan

What have you been up to in the last week of October? Well, I...

Ran the Shape Run. It was postponed from July to October because of the haze back then. This is my second 10KM of the year and the first was so many months back! 10KM without stopping! Timing is about 1 HR 22 MIN - Well done! :P

Then PY and I decided to try our luck at Tim Ho Wan after the run. Reached before 9am and we got seated in about 10 minutes. So go early if you don't want to queue :) Finally tried the vermicelli roll with pork liver - quite interesting. Try if you are in for something different :)

Come to think of it, it's funny because I went to Tim Ho Wan just last month (read about my first visit!). Fulfilling the prophecy that I keep doing the same things in the same period. Haha

BKK

 

Been quiet in October because I was out of town for a few days.

And partly because I have been trying to stay home at least one of the weekends.

Go read about my Bangkok trip in http://ilovelongvacation.wordpress.com/ :)

Hello from Bangkok!



Selfie at Wat Arun :)



And a video taken while climbing the prang (spire)!

Been struggling to be productive at work though - suffering from post holidays syndrome, I guess :P

Oriole Cafe @ Pan Pacific Service Suites

It's been a while since my last post. Nothing worth blogging about, I guess. LOL.
Until Ali's birthday (belated) celebration last Sun at Oriole Café. Thought it's not as crowded as it was before, probably because there are so many coffee places sprouting up island-wide! But still nice. And nicer, because it is not so crowded. Haha.



Thought I will try the competition coffee - Citrus Sin! Quite interesting - imagine coffee and orange. Bitter-sweet. And strong.

And our various choices for breakfast! we all used to be so excited about big breakfast but now... the fad seems to have faded. So I ordered French toast with bacon (top)!



Sharing the basket of fish and chips which I like! :) Not the usual brunch, I reckon.

So happy belated birthday - and we know the birthday girl is happy! Because it was preparations for her wedding after brunch where we gathered at the groom's place to go through the programme - amazing how much efforts people put into their wedding preparations these days. Well, it's (one of) the biggest events of a lifetime, I guess :) And the 'sisters' also discussed our plans to test the love of the groom (and his brothers) for gate-crashing. Haha. We'll see how things turn out. Till that post! Cheers! :)

Happy to say goodbye to September and welcome October

Tomorrow is the beginning of the last quarter of the year. 
Surreal how September/October has an impact on my career in the past year.
Last year this time, I made the decision to leave SS and said goodbye to a job that kind of didn't fit.
And this year, I will report to a new boss after beginning my new role 5 months ago.
Not sure how it pans out but definitely a new start to a new quarter, one of the many new beginnings of the year.
It's complicated but the feeling seems to lean towards the right side of complexity.
Been taking it slow in the last few days of September.
And feeling ready to go all the way in October (or so I psych myself).
Perhaps to make up for the lack of it in the first quarter of the year. Because I still enjoy my job.
Happy to say goodbye to September and welcome October.

Saturday@Tanjong Pagar - Nail, Ramen, Coffee

What a blissful Saturday :) Started on a good note when I left office before 6pm yesterday! What an achievement - quote unquote MQ :) Went for manicure/pedicure at Envy Nail Lounge, ramen at Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King and coffee at Kiasu Espresso...

Envy Nail Lounge

It's been a long time since my last classic manicure/pedicure. Time to give my feet and hands a treat, hence bought this deal ($22) from alldealsasia. Topped up $7 for a spearmint scrub so the one-hour treatment cost $29...

Been a while since my last visit to Tanjong Pagar, and my first time to Peck Seah Street...

Didn't know my slot at 11am was the first and I was early. Shop was not opened yet :/

Quite cosy.



Nice place. Therapists were a bit unfriendly at the beginning (maybe it was too early). However they were not pushy when they tried to promote their package - $38 per session (for 10 sessions).

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

 

Decided to try the ramen  at Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King at Orchid Hotel since I am in the area. There was a queue! The teppanyaki restaurant next door seems to be popular too...

 







Tried the original special (with seaweed and egg) - you can choose thickness of soup base, hardness of noodles etc. Order came quickly as I asked for normal for everything.

Free boiled and spicy beansprout to go with the ramen. Plus points for tissue :)

Grind the sesame and add it as a topping to bring out the flavour of the soup...

Didn't try the boiled eggs though - brown ones for low cholesterol and white ones for normal cholesterol.

Close-up. Did enjoyed my lunch - maximum marginal utility :)

No frills shop. Authentic yah?

Nice wall paper :) Going to try the green tea cola next time. Maybe for dinner.



Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King 

Kiasu Espresso

Kiasu Espresso finally! Heard it's good and wanted to visit for a while but was lazy to make a special trip...


Took a 5-minutes walk to Kiasu Espresso at 100 AM.

Quiet on a Saturday morning.

Had a ice cappuccino as it was a hot and humid day. Thought my new manicured nude nails look good with the coffee, I thought :P Coffee was ok. Did enjoyed reading up on Bangkok trip over coffee :)

Here's a peek at my newly pedicured nude nails too! LOL. I love this pair of Vinci sandals I got from City Square JB last year! Picture taken at Neil Road where I saw so many people queuing outside Strangers' Reunion!

Decided to walk home passing by Duxton (perhaps a place to look for my house next year?)  and Neil Road on the way...Still  enjoying my Saturday... Hope you are too...