知己 l MCA

昨天与YK去看 《歌剧魅影》， 有一点感触。
近年发现老友与从前不同了。不知是不是岁月让大家不介意拆下面具。 以真面目示人并不是不好，但有时让人觉得不知所错。 也许有一些朋友应该疏远，也许 美国作家切波斯基在《壁花男孩》说的是：“物换星移，朋友离去。人生不会为任何人而停留。” - 美国作家切波斯基，取自《壁花男孩》

"Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn't stop for anybody."
 - Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower 

Well, it's kind of funny how the opening paragraphs lead to a post about the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney (MCA). Well, I guess a museum is a place where I like to visit without friends. Although I visited  MCA with a group of friends. LOL.





 

Our guide for the day who took us through various artwork that were contemporary in a nice way. Not sure if you know what I mean but some contemporary art can be too overwhelming! 

At the entrance facing the harbour...Maybe this man was waiting for the rain to stop too... 

A peek at The Rocks from MCA :)

 

And here's a peek into MCA via below video. I like how the museum show glimpses of its surrounding through the windows. It feels so integrated, like how art should be integrated in life :) Guess I would have lingered longer if I was not travelling or if I was travelling solo... and I really look forward to my next solo trip...

 

慢活 l Pies & Coffee

八月十八日，艳阳高照

好久没有用华语blog 了。
慢活是我最近上网时看到的。慢活应该是指慢慢地活，不被时间环境限制吧。
慢活人人向往，但在生活步伐如此快的都市，可能慢活吗？
即时在旅行时，也未必能够慢活。赶飞机，赶火车，赶巴士。赶导览，赶开幕，赶关门。
赶赶赶。有时我们觉得旅行就是慢活，但有时我们只是重演了办公室里的快活。　
我想，要学习慢活就应该从生活开始。我真的很想学习慢活，从这一刻开始慢慢地活。

今天本想九点起身去游泳。结果九点半才醒来。吃吃早餐，看看报纸，十点半才出发。游呀游就午时了。本来想去tiong bahru一带吃brunch，却临时改变主意，去了rochester mall pies & coffee。一来，还没去过那。二来，觉得那会清幽些。就这样游游永，喝喝茶，吃吃派，看看杂志报纸过了几个小时。
我不知道这算不算慢活，但我好像慢慢地活过来了。也许这才是慢活的定义。



Pies & Coffee at Rochester Mall, next to The Star Vista, is such a sanctuary! There were so few people around, contrary to what I thought...

My simple yet yummy lunch - lamb shank pie and yuzu tea.



The last time I had lamb meat was at Sydney where I had a lamb burger... Some of my friends don't like lamb meat because of the 'smell' it exudes. But I like it - it's what made lamb meat special, right? Very tender and savoury. I did not try the other pies, which I will (soon, I hope). But I'm quite sure the other pies taste equally good!



Hot yuzu tea. I wanted to order an ice honey yuzu tea but I guess I did not order the correct item. Quite interesting - not sure if yuzu is a spice, but as tea leaves, the spice flavour was quite strong. Maybe I should have ordered a coffee, since the café is Pies & Coffee. LOL.

Listening to the fountain, facing the colonial building that houses Starbucks. And quite devoid of a crowd. What a sanctuary!

There's indoor seating too for those who need the air con. Go for the outdoor, I say. It's really quite windy and with the sound of the fountain in the background, it was quite therapeutic. And guess what? I spot some power outlets along the wall, so this could be a good place to surf the net and blog. LOL

Found the Piettiquete in the Pies & Coffee website so funny! I just ate it - I'm so unpiettiquete! LOL.

 

For those who do not understand what I posted in Chinese, it was about slowing down in life. And I really felt that Pies & Coffee helped me to slow down today :) The popular cafes are really crowded these days, so if you are looking for a quiet place to chill, do check it out :)

PS: Trying to upload a short video of the café so you get what I mean about the place being a sanctuary :) Stay tuned!

Jewel Coffee & The Providore

Jewel Coffee

 

Been wanting to try the coffee at Jewel Coffee for while...But didn't really want to go back to CBD on weekend. Haha. 

Met J for lunch at Sumo Salad (a few shops away) and then had coffee and cake at Jewel... We met at about 12.15pm and I was surprised the stretch was very quiet compared to nearby Asia Square and Lau Pat Sat! Now I know where I can go for a quiet lunch :P and Sumo Salad is really nice and fresh!



Coffee was good! And we had a choice to 2 types of coffee beans (cannot recall) but we chose the one that sound milder :)



The flourless orange cake was not bad too...Talking about flourless cake, I miss the flourless chocolate cake at Kith Café which is really nice! :)

The Providore

 

I suggested brunch at The Providore at Mandarin Gallery, and so we met after my haircut and her yoga :) Ambiance was clean and neat, I thought. Kind of modern zen feel. Not sure you get what I mean. LOL

 

There was a short queue. Here's a peek from the queue :)

The tea selection sounds quite exotic. Will try the tea next time :)



Bar counter.

 

Reception.

 

Menu hanging at the door.

 

I like the white tiles and wood furniture :)

 

And the white/green flora - can anyone tell me what they are? :)



I's choice.

My choice. Kind of boring, huh?

 

Cappuccino to round up brunch. Three's a company? LOL.

 

And a very nice Red Velvet cake! Creamy and moist!

Been a while since I FIKA! Can't wait to do it again soon :)

 

 

July - Random thoughts...

Before I start to blog about happenings in August, I thought I will share some random thoughts about July. And they are, interestingly, related to work (kind of).
 

View from my office where I was getting water.
My thought: Too beautiful a day to be in office :P That's the thought that always run through my mind on a really bright and sunny day. I would rather be, well, at the beach or just chilling somewhere :)



Lunch alone one day - Macaroni and Cheese soup and Soba Salad from Soup Spoon
My thought: The salad is nicer than the soup! Well, perhaps a wrong choice of soup :P I utilised the Shape Run $5 voucher, so lunch was about $7plus with soup, salad and chips :)

 

 

Farewell Lunch for Intern D! At Au Chocolat in MBS! Was there with YK a few months (click here) and this time I tried the brunch :)
My thought: The food is really good! From top: Hens in a basket, Vongole Pasta, King's Breakfast. Lunch was kind of a rush because I had to go back for a meeting :( But still good :) That's working life. Sigh.

Overdue brunch with Intern D. Haha.
My thoughts: Glad to have connected with D, my neighbour at work for  a few months. Kind of understand what my previous boss ST said about mixing around with young people :) I'm still learning, I guess. And it has been a long long time since I visited The Marmalade Pantry. Was it back in 2008? Or 2010? Nicer than I remember :)

 

I.T. shop is finally in Singapore, at Wisma Atrium! And I decided to pop by after I parted with D. My second time there. Did not see anything I really like during my first visit....
My thought: Splurged on a dress (bottom picture) which was quite unique - it is made of a sweater cum skirt. And separates mean that I could wear them separately too! Pretty and simple- my style. LOL. Should work well for both work and fun. I also like the white t-shirt with jewels but I thought it did not fit as well as I wanted it to be. It has been in my mind since though. Perhaps I should have gotten it then, since a total of $150 purchase will entitle me to a life time member which in turn will entitle me to a 10% discount on future purchase. Haha. What a mouthful :P

 

Well, my final thought: Admit it or not, work is such a big part of our lives that we would be deceiving ourselves if we do not feel anything about it :) And July marks 3 months in my current job which is a key milestone, kind of. It has been a good (busy) journey so far, and I definitely feel that that I am enjoying what I do and learning in the process. Good for a start, I guess :)

Buffet buffet

Selamat Hari Raya! On this very first day of a 4-day long weekend, I just slept in and lazed at home. As it draws to an end, I thought I will finish off this post which I started last weekend....

Been to 2 buffets in July. It's kind of funny because I have not had buffet for a long time and when I have it again, it was 2 days in a row! The first was to Crab Feast at Plaza Brasserie where I had 9 types of crabs! Was so busy crabbing that I did not take any photos! Not the yummiest of crabs but definitely value for money offering a feast with oysters, sashimi and a wide variety of food! Think there was a 1 free diner for every 3 diners promotion.

The other buffet was at Furama Hotel, Tiffany Cafe & Restaurant which offers more local dishes - check out the photos for a flavour. There was a 1-for-1 promotion, so quite worth it. Otherwise, I don't think so.



Salad bar - the Green Apple and Honey Dew salad was quite nice. And I thought the Tuna Salad went very well with bread.



Fresh prawns.



Curry prawns - the curry went very well with bread. I love the bread bar! :)

 

Sushi.



Dessert Bar!



Durian Puree!



Dessert Round 1! LOL.



Like the cookies and meringues to go with chocolate fondue!

 



Definitely a very ''full'filling weekend :P Have a great one, everyone. And for those in Singapore, enjoy the longest weekend of the year! :)