Tuesday, April 15, 2008








Some pictures of the Majestic Hotel, where I'll hold my luncheon at the Majestic Restaurant.

See, even the hotel's facade is slightly green! Haha. ;p

Friday, April 11, 2008



I want to create similar "feel" for my luncheon as the pictures above. The freshness of the green will pair with the purity of white... I've yet been to a wedding which has a very strong theme. In fact, it seems to me that only Ang-mohs are particular about wedding themes...

Since we're going to have a "Green and Cream" theme for our luncheon, we're looking around for inspirations. Some ideas that we have come out with:

[1] Drinks served during reception and wedding: Sprite with limes and mint leaves, with a green stirrer. Nothing else! (Sorry, no coke, no orange Fanta, no beer, but we'll serve white wine! Haha)

[2] White and green flowers with green fruits as table decors

[3] Green apples to be given away as wedding favours.

[4] Call up everyone to wear green and white!

[5] Green and white icing on my cup cakes

Oh... the decor of the restaurant is green as well, and that is the MAIN reason why we chose Green as the main color theme. It's much easier to work with the colors of the venue than to work against it. *common sense*

The walls of the restaurant has a rich yet fresh "green silk" feel, which I really like. It has 2 beautiful, classic chandeliers and yet still deliver a chic and modern feel to the whole place.

OK, gotta upload some pictures of the restaurant!

Monday, April 07, 2008

Internal Struggle

Beloved and I were tabulating our wedding cost and horror of all horrors… the amount that we’re going to spend is WAY WAY WAY past my “ideal” budget.

Haiz, to wed in style comes at a HUGE price.

Firstly, our photographer.

In my opinion, he’s a really, really very good photographer but an extremely expensive one. Let me put it this way, he only needs to cover 3 full-day weddings (he can actually do that in a week) and he can earn 5-digit compensation already. He is really costing an arm and a leg, and I am still trying very hard to internalize his cost. On one hand, I love his pictures to death; somehow every picture seems to tell a poem (not only a story ok, but a poem), then on the other hand, I know I shouldn’t spend money like that.

The devil is saying “but this is once in a life time and the magical moments are priceless” but the angel is saying “Marriage is a lifetime but wedding day is just ONE day. Keep the money for more important things in time to come”.

Secondly, our wine-pairing dinner.

This is something that we really want to do as we are such foodies/alcoholics that we also want our friends to enjoy the specially created menu; and matching wines that Beloved took a lot of effort and time (and $$$) to buy. Each course is to match with a bottle of wine, and since we have about 6 – 7 courses, (still haggling with the chefs), this means that we are going to serve 6-7 types of wines at least. O yah, we’re also going to have a champagne reception.

Each wine that is meant to be paired has been through weeks of thought-process and weeks of tasting to finally decide upon that it will go well with the course served. We have not actually tasted the wines with the food yet, but we will be going for our food tasting this weekend and we’re still trying to figure out how to drink 6 – 7 bottles between the two of us without killing ourselves.

Then the décor of the luncheon AND dinner.

Stupid rite? Usual couples only need to deal with one wedding venue but we, itchy backside, wana do TWO venues instead. There are so many additional costs that we have to grapple with and I am left to wonder why the hell are we doing this to ourselves?

Just because we want our wedding to be special and we want our guests to enjoy themselves.

The parents and relatives are more traditional, so a Chinese restaurant with Chinese food will be something that they can relate to. Then we have the bunch of foodies, alcoholics and the free-spirited who will definitely appreciate the dinner at night.

Think I have to forgo shopping for at least 2 years in order to recoup.

I cant help feeling silly right now… …

Monday, March 31, 2008

Just a little update

OK, been kinda busy with the preparation of the wedding, but it has been more or less done. Yay!

Many people told us that we’re really efficient to have settled our wedding plans, venues, bridal studio, photographer… etc within like 2 months after proposal.

Hmmm… yah, I think we are pretty “chop-chop” too. Haha.

So, we have decided to hold our solemnization and luncheon at The Majestic Restaurant at this really chic and charming boutique hotel, The New Majestic Hotel in Chinatown. We’ll going to only invite about 90 pax and it will consist more of relatives and more of my friends.

Later in the night, we will then have an even smaller and cozier dinner at Novus, their private dinning room at The National Museum of Singapore, where we’ll have a wine pairing dinner with only 60 guests. NO parents, NO relatives. Just good food, good wines and great friends. More of Beloved’s bunch of alcoholic friends…

*beam*

Looking really forward to that. I just wana eat and drink and be merry with my friends. No dry ice during March-in, or change of 2nd gown or anything like that. Food and Wine is the focus here!

On a separate note, Beloved and I went to Valentino’s for dinner on Sunday. Wow… the food was really absolutely fantastic! This place is tucked in a little corner in Bukit Timah, very rustic but.. woah, very crowded for a Sunday night.

We were seated at about 830 pm and people were still streaming in for the 2nd or 3rd seating all the way till about 9 plus!

Highly recommended and reservation is strictly recommended. Make that at least 2 days in advance!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008



Sometimes, I do wish I have dogs instead of cats! But I love my cats anyway!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

How the hell did he escape?

OK, this is stale news but I am utterly disgusted with the way the police and our government handled the issue.

It has been nearly a WEEK since Singapore's most-wanted alleged terrorist, Mas Selamat bin Kastari escaped from the detention centre and he’s still somewhere out there, most probably clapping his hand in glee.

Geez… how could the most alleged top terrorist be guarded so sloppily? Firstly, why was the detention centre situated so close to town? Orchard road is just minutes away by car! There are easily 3 schools around the area! If he’s such a dangerous man, he should have been kept far, far away … like Pulau Tekong or say, Lim Chu Kang?

Up to now, the public still did not know how the hell he managed to get away. What was meant by “physical breach”? You mean the authorities forgot to fence up the area? You mean no policeman or a guard went to the toilet with Singapore’s MOST alleged terrorist? I thought even primary 6 students get accompanied by teachers to the toilets during a PSLE exam!

And I must say that our local papers and media have been very accommodating in “helping” the authorities with the news flow to the public… No journalist questioned who should be responsible for this incident?!

Must we wait until there is a bomb attack, people die and Singapore’s economy crashed before we can start “pointing the finger”?

This is a serious breach of our country’s security and yet, we have not heard a single word from our Prime Minister. Seems that winning the Youth Olympics is a more important issue.

Terrorists are a real threat to the world and Singapore is not immune to it. This incident clearly taught us that.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Nothing much been happening except studying for the %$#@^ exam in June and hunting for suitable venues / bridal studios / photographers for the wedding…

Very proud to say that we have at least nailed down our Actual Day Photographer!

His name is Wansheng and personally, I really do love his photos. I’ve always been envious of people who can indulge in their passions AND talents to make a living. People like musicians, artists, dancers, entrepreneurs… …

Ok lah, cannot complain to much. My job isn’t too bad and I do like what I am doing too. ;P

For those who are interested, do check out his website:

http://www.feldberyl.com/

Still trying to secure venues for our solemnization and dinner. We checked out a few really fun places like Relish, New Majestic Restaurant, MingJiang @ Rochester, 1 Rochester Park, Chomp Chomp hawker center (hahahaha)…

I’ll really like to have Relish for my solemnization as the idea of treating my guests to yummy burgers with fries and kick-ass, Belgium beers appeal to me very very very much! Hrm… don’t think my mum or relatives will be so keen on the idea though… … Plus that the “minimum spend” to book the whole place is rather expensive. ;(

Ahh. Still got bridal studios. Hmmmm… been looking around and saw 3 that I like. Getting kinda tired of looking around actually.

I am a lazy bride-to-be.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Beloved and I went around checking out some of the potential venues where we could hold our small wedding dinner.

First to hit: Goodwood hotel. NOT the ballroom, but the outdoor area outside Ming Jiang restaurant. It was actually quite charming, with the white walls, white china and wooden patio. It had a slight colonial feel, but with a Chinese twist. Well, it was next to a Chinese restaurant after all. It was also situated about 300m away from the pool… which could be a blessing or curse. Blessing is when the pool is deserted and you have the pool-view to yourself. Curse is when the white, fat, hairy half-naked Ang Mohs, prance about in their swimwear while you are having your dinner. Will have to try very hard NOT to vomit.

As we were about to leave, we noticed this small but swanky-looking restaurant, called Gordon Grill, which was just opposite the concierge. The restaurant was EXACTLY what we were looking for! It was classy, in fact, it had this old-world, Hollywood appeal… a place where you can imagine Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn having dinner. It also has a small bar where our guests can mingle before dinner. Beloved and I were so excited and asked for the manager immediately. But unfortunately, the manager said that the restaurant had never been booked by an event before and had to write in for an approval from the management. AH? Hrmmm… ok, so troublesome. But as we really liked the place, we would take the trouble to follow up and see what comes up. Although I have this sinking feeling that Management is not going to approve… …

Next, we went to Halia, which was situated at the Botanical Gardens, near to the Orchid Park. Very charming as well, it was lush and tropical. It also had an outdoor patio, which would be ideal if you want a tropical theme wedding… We were there at noon and wanted to try their lunch but it was fully booked. So we took a reservation for dinner instead.

The atmosphere at Halia was really different at night. It was so much more intimate and romantic. The setting of the lush vegetation, lightings and the cool breeze just totally set the mood for love. In the day, it was like a tropical haven, with tourists, kids, dogs, runners all over the place. But at night, the place was much quieter. We were a tad early, so we hung out at their newly-constructed bar, which was really cozy as well. It was indoor, with a high ceiling, equipped with big, leather arm chairs and a pretty chandelier.

Waited for a while before we could get our table. Luckily the champagne was great and the manager was really witty and funny, or else, I would have been very grumpy to wait almost 1.5 hrs to get our table!

I had a really tasty soup. It was chunky tomato, much better than the mushroom soup that Beloved had. But he had a better main course! The lamb was excellent… better than the duck that I ordered. All in all, the food was above average although a tad pricy. A main cost will cost between 30-48 bucks.

But the ambience won hands-down. Service was polite and it seemed that the servers were well-trained to give couples their intimacy but attentive enough when you need their service.

Now, we are torn between Gordon Grill and Halia. Although the mosquito bites on my arms were a boo-boo to Halia, despite drenching myself with lemongrass essential oil, which is a natural form of repellent!

And we’ll be checking more venues this weekend! And also to check out Goodwood again at night, as we’ll like to see how is the ambience at MingJiang when night falls.

Heh. This is actually quite fun!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Planning of a wedding

Ok, so it seems that many people are more excited about my wedding than me. I am excited, but I am also a little stressed due to my CFA L2 exam in June (which I am really behind in my preparations!) and the dilemma of whether Beloved and I should get our own place/apartment in the current market conditions.

Anyway, we are now waiting for the great-old-mighty fengshui master to get back to us on the auspicious dates that we can get married and things should start moving after that. We are hoping that we can hold the wedding in this Dec!

We’ll be checking out 2 restaurants on this Saturday. Beloved and I are planning to have our dinner banquet in a “wine-tasting dinner” style, where people can and WILL enjoy the food and wine. We’ll also like to have time to interact with our guests and so we’re looking to host about 6-10 tables ONLY. And no, I don’t have the intention to change like 3 million gowns ‘cos this is my wedding dinner, not Milan fashion show. The REAL reason is because I wana EAT MY FOOD and have fun talking with my guests, and not to waste time jumping around in my stockings, while trying to wear my 50th set of earrings and changing into my 300th gown.

Many of my friends who have tied their knots recently, all said that the planning process to a wedding is enjoyable and I should immerse myself in the hair-clenching, blood-vomiting, cold-sweating wedding planning.

Hrm. There’s a reason why wedding planners are still making moolah here. And I relate to the reason… although I am just too cheapskate to hire one!

Luckily Beloved is really into planning and organization of “events”. He’s like the Asian version of David Tutera, the Party Planner. (Those who watched Discovery Travel & Living will know who I am talking about!)

Hrm. No, Beloved is not gay. At least I don’t think he is… … …

Monday, February 11, 2008


And I said Yes... ... ... ... ...
It was one of the most romantic moments ever and I was deeply touched. The cake was so beautiful (and yummy!) and the ring is utterly breathtaking.
Every part of the cake was edible. The blue "cardboard" boxes are made of white chocolate, the "white form" that the ring was held was a sponge cake. Well, except for the ring, of course.
I feel happy. *grin* ;p

Sunday, February 03, 2008







Last night, I hosted a Retro Party at Wine Company@Evans Road to celebrate my belated 28th birthday! I was sooooo impressed with the decoration that Beloved prepared since previously I told him that we would just “tie some balloons” and that’s it.

But Beloved actually went through the trouble to rent some really cool, retro items, such as a red retro telephone, ice-water glasses, table cloth, hot water flask… etc. In addition to some of his personal collections of retro toys and comic books, as well as a REALLY ancient type writer that was contributed by E!

Also must give credit to my crazy friends who really took the effort (& $$$!!) to dress up to the theme! I had so much fun laughing at everyone’s costume and creativity! Geez… it was just so much fun dressing up and looking like our mums and dads in their younger days!

I have always wanted to host a retro party for the longest, longest time and I am really happy with the way it turned out last night.

Another event that really took me by surprise was Beloved’s proposal. I’ve always thought that he would do it in private between the two of us… in a romantic setting or something like that. But surprise, surprise! He actually hid the ring in the birthday cake! And all of my crazy friends were in cahoots with him!

Although I did have my suspicion when I saw that the cake was in the shape of 3 stacks of Tiffany’s light blue gift boxes. Nonetheless, I was really surprised and was really, really touched by Beloved’s creativity and effort that he had put in. (Yeah.. I cried. So cliché right. But can’t help it lah.. very touched leh)

Above were some pictures taken last night. More will come! I’m still very overwhelmed by the whole thingy…

I feel loved and blessed.

Sunday, January 20, 2008



This bunch of people actually thrashed our boys during QH & SC's wedding!

Haha...! And the music was awesome!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008


I want a Scottish Fold, a British Blue Scottish Fold to be exact!

Ok… I’ve never been a firm believer of getting a pedigree pet. To me, a dog is a dog and a cat is a cat. I will love them no matter what they love like…

And thus, all my cats are “long-kang” cats and I still love them to pieces.

But… but… but, I have just seen the cutest cat that has melted my heart! The British Blue Scottish Fold is just absolutely adorable!

To start with, I simply love Scottish Fold, which is a breed of cat that has “folded” ears. It is very rare in Singapore. In fact, I have yet to seen one in Singapore yet. But when I was in Taipei for a holiday a few years back, I did see Scottish Folds in pet shops and all those little Scottish Fold kittens are really so, so, so cute. Those little folded ears just did it for me…. JUST SO CUTE LOH.

So, an idea pops up. If I were to get a pair of Scottish Folds from, let say, Taipei and breed it in Singapore. Do you think I can sell the kittens? Since not many Scottish Folds are available in Singapore….

I can be the first Scottish Fold breeder in Singapore! ;p

Any supporters???

Thursday, December 27, 2007


I should count my blessings…

Someone told me to count my blessings at the end of every year, so that I can reflect upon all the good in my life and cherish them. And hopefully the list gets longer year after year…

1) My family members are in good health! My mother is happy with her work and my two brothers are (happily??) studying their asses off in NTU!
2) I have a cute BF who loves me and I love him too. And yah, he is also in good health.
3) My crazy and beloved friends are all looking good and yes, also in good health.

(By now, you can see that I am quite a health freak)

4) I am in reasonably good shape, except for the back injury, which is healing slowly but it is healing.
5) I love my job (will love it even more if my boss pays me better) and I really do look forward to work almost everyday!

Above is a picture that we took at QH & SC’s wedding. Looking at their picture, I feel blessed to have such friends. Bitchy but absolutely fabulous friends! Can’t live without them!


May 2008 be a great year for you! Stay healthy and fit! If you arent that healthy and fit yet, hrm.... eat more veg and exercise! ;p

Wednesday, December 26, 2007






Wii – the best game ever!

I’ve never been a great fan of video-console games, be it PSP, PS3, Xbox, but I am so smitten by the latest generation of Nintendo Wii!!!

My first contact with the game was about 2 weeks ago at a Xmas party where a bunch of us were playing Wii Sports - games like boxing, tennis and bowling. I thought that was already pretty cool and for once, I DON’T HAVE TO PRESS BUTTONS (ie: Don’t have to reveal my lack of coordination of fingers!) Wii’s remote controls basically allow players to just wave them around to mimic the movements.

Then a few days ago, we went to an “open-house” party at QH & SC’s place, and the couple had this really cool wii game, calls Rabbid. The game is about a bunch of silly looking rabbits playing really STUPID games like, bumper cars and eating butterflies and doing, para-para-sakura dance movements.

SO FUN loh!

Above are some pictures taken while we were playing Wii.

I also want a Wii!!!!!!!!!

P/s: in case you are wondering, the theme for the party was GREEN, so most of us are in green! All the green monsters were fighting over the remotes to play Wii!

Sunday, December 23, 2007




This is sooo FUNNY! Watch it! Wahahaha

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Am I suay or what?

Met a series of unfortunate incidents recently… The story goes:

[A] Two days after my half-marathon, I thought I should do some stretching to help me recover from the muscle aches. Thus, I went to the hot yoga class. BAD move as my body was still tired, I overestimated myself and I ended up pulling a muscle along my spine. Little do I know that, this little pull of muscle is going to cause so much grief.

At first I was ok, but as the day went along, I began to experience pain in my knee, then ankle and finally, my back. The pain came sharp and fast and hit me like a needle poking into my joints. The very next day, I went to look up this Sinseh (who is excellent!) and just after one session of acupuncture and “ba-gua” (cup suction), I felt better already.

[B] So after 3 days, thinking that I am good to do some light exercise, I went to the gym again to do some walking (NOT running) and stationary biking. Another bad move! Immediately, my ankle began to hurt. I ignore the mild pain and continue my cardio workout for a total of 25 mins. I actually felt pretty good after sweating it out although the mild pain at my left ankle was bugging me a little.

On the very same night, my back began to hurt really badly. So much so that, I cant move without going “ouch, ouch ouch!” So, the very next day, I was back to the sinseh again and he was screaming at me that I needed to rest and allow my back muscles to heal and blah, blah, blah… in other words, I am not allowed to exercise for at least 2 to 3 weeks.

Thankfully, this skillful sinseh once again resolved my pain and basically I am up and about pain-free in no time.

In fact, I was so itching for a run that I sneaked out and did a short 4 km on last sun. I made sure that I warmed up properly and did a really slow 2 km run and a 2 km walk. Ahhh… felt much better after that and NO pain! Yay!

I am just waiting for my body to heal and can’t wait to slowly start exercising again. Hmm, if weather permits, I’ll like to do another slow run tmr! Hopefully, no pain and injuries this time!

Wednesday, December 12, 2007


Dressing Up

I don’t have super dress sense. Unlike BF, who always manages to look good and that’s because he really puts in a lot of effort to choose his shirts, shoes, specs, ties, cufflinks. Almost everything matches… maybe except his underwear! Ha.

I believe that there aren’t ugly girls in this world, only lazy ones. With make-up, clothes, fake eyelashes, hair extensions…. How ugly can a girl be if she really puts in effort to dress well and be well-groomed?

Anyway, once a while, I also like to play dress up and try to create a “look”. I will usually start with creating an image, for example Sexy Kitten? Tai-Tai? Mod? And after that, I will then look for the dress, accessories and think of the make-up and hairdo to go with the “look”.

For a friend’s recent wedding, I came up with a “Cleopatra” idea. Took me a few months to put together the look as I bought the dress quite a while back, but I had to look for suitable shoes and only managed to get a pair just the night b4!

Tried to do the china-doll hairstyle, which turned out to be a disaster. Out of desperation, I just combed everything back and tied a ponytail. Ta-dah! That actually worked out quite well. Haha.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

My First Half Marathon 02Dec07

Yesterday, I ran my very first half-marathon and boy, was I disappointed with my timing.

I took 2 hrs and 37 mins to complete 21 km… a far cry from my target of 2 hrs 20 mins. Although to be fair, I just recovered from this nasty flu bug, which the doc suspected was a mild case of Dengue.

So I was out of action for 3 weeks and was really worried that I couldn’t recover in time to run but thankfully, I felt much better two days before the Run and decided that I would take it easy and do a slow run.

And I really took it easy. In fact, I was making a point to run a little slower than usual… partly because I just recovered from the flu bug and secondly, I thought I should reserved some energy to do my final burst during the last 3 km or something.

Damn. Instead of the “final burst”, it was a burst of muscle pain instead. My quads were really tight at the 17 km mark and had to eventually stop to stretch. Unfortunately, once I stopped to walk, it was really difficult to maintain my previous pace and I ended up walking-jogging-walking until the last 1 km to the finishing line, where I finally picked up my last once of energy and ran all the way to the finishing line.

Blah.

Nonetheless, I really had fun running at the Standchart Marathon. It was a truly humbling experience. I was pacing this Ah Pek, who had a tag pinned to his back “I am 61 yrs old and you better be ahead of me”, and yet I was trailing him?!?!

There were so many runners in all ages, shapes and sizes. Some were sporting grey hair, some were twice my size and one even ran the half-marathon while pushing his baby in a pram!

Geez. I am so motivated to train even harder and have decided to try out for the full marathon next year!

Sad to say, I did not bring a camera and couldn’t take any photos. Hmmm… I must think of a way to capture my struggling moments for my full marathon next yr!

Sunday, November 25, 2007




This video is a-yr old and I came across it accidentally just a week ago. I am a huge Madonna fan and to see her like this in this video just cracks me up.

"she is a complete cu*t" Hahahahaha... only her hubby can get away with that!
Cabs vs Cabs

If you have been reading the papers, there have been quite a number of articles about Singapore’s public transportation systems, especially on cabs. In particularly, why aren’t there enough cabs and the ways to solve this “old” problem.

Many people have also compared Singapore’s cabbing experience with Hong Kong, indicating why Hong Kong, despite being twice as crowded, do not have the cab shortage problem.

Since I just came back from Hong Kong earlier this month, I just wana share my cabbing experience.

I remembered how I always laughed at those Hong Kong drama serials, showing actresses somehow ALWAYS being able to get cabs on the roads by just flagging their arms and “POOF”, a cab will arrive.

THAT IS TRUE IN HONG KONG.

I have tried and tested that a few times. In fact, all I need is to stand vaguely still near the side of the road and cabs will somehow miraculously appear and by the time I raise my arm, POOF: the cab is in front of me! Even in the peak hours (ie: morning at 8 plus), there are still empty cabs around, NOT that many but the ratio definitely seems higher than Singapore’s.

Cabs in Hong Kong are definitely very, very affordable. So the suggestion of raising the taxi charges to solve the demand and supply issue of Singapore cabs is totally bullshit. Secondly, there isn’t midnight surcharge. In fact, there isn’t any bloody surcharges EXCEPT for an additional HK$5 for every luggage in the boot. No airport surcharge, no public holiday surcharge, no peak hour surcharge.

Personally, I do not have any constructive suggestions but all I know is that Hong Kong can do it. Tai Pei can do it but why can’t Singapore do it without increasing the fares, despite being one of the countries with one of the highest number of cabs per capita??? Maybe if we have better public bus services, like private companies to give premium services, or a wider coverage of our rail network, or cabbies get to own their cabs instead of renting from our govt-linked companies, like Comfort (which net profit grows at 10+% annually?!?!) We might solve the problem?

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Can I recover in time?

Last week was easily the worst week this year. Even beat the week that I removed my wisdom tooth!

Started feeling under the weather on last Tuesdy, 13 Nov, after Linkin Park’s concert. Thought that maybe I got the bug from S, so I popped 3 tablets of my trusted “ Ying Qiao” and went to bed.

The next day, still felt kinda lousy, but not lousy enough to slack at home. So, I went to work although the headache and itchy throat was bugging me.

15 Nov. Felt kinda ill. Surprised that the Ying Qiao didn’t work. Ying Qiao always works for me. Went out with the boys for dinner and a short drink despite the pounding heacdache, body-ache and sore throat.

16 Nov. Had to crawl to office to settle some IPO matters. Finally saw the company’s doc. Took the usual pack of flu medication without any antibiotics for the bad throat. I usually do not eat antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I thought I can still hang in there.

WHAM. I had high fever that very same night. The body-ache hit me full force the next day. It was so bad and painful that my body felt as if it had worked out continuously for 3 days or something. I could barely walk to the kitchen to take my medication. Thinking that I can sleep off the pain, I just took tons of painkillers and stayed unconscious for almost the whole day until evening.

Then I noticed that I have this red rash on my thighs that looked strangely familiar. I had that almost 10 yrs ago when I was admitted to the hospital for Dengue Fever. Swearing… I told BF that this shit might be Dengue and I ought to go for a blood test.

So, we headed for a near-by hospital. Did a blood test that would show the platelet count, as well as any indication of a viral infection or bacteria infection (ie: NOT dengue). The result was rather inconclusive. My platelet count was 179 (normal range: 150-400) not low enough for Dengue Fever yet the result was also negative for viral or bacteria infection.

Basically, the doctor didn’t know what was wrong with me and said that most probably a mild case of Dengue or Dengue-in-its-early-stage. So, I went home and scheduled for another blood test two days later.

Rolled around in bed for the whole of Sunday. Did another blood test on Monday. Platelet count was 157. Barely scratch past the “normal” range. But thankfully, there wasn’t any fever thus, no need to be hospitalized.

Crawled back home again. Trying hard not to faint along the way. Rested for another 3 days and … Phew. I felt better.

Now, I am back in office and thinking of going for a short run later at the gym. I’m just praying that I can recover in time for my half-marathon next Sunday, 2 Dec.

I’ve been training hard for this run and really want to clock a decent timing.

*pray*

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Linkin Park Concert 13Nov07

I went to my very first concert in Singapore EVER… Linkin Park 13 Nov07. So suaku right? I’m also embarrass to let people that it took me almost 28 years to watch a concert in Singapore leh.

Anyway, the concert ROCKS. Linkin Park definitely rocks. The lead singer, Chester has so much stage presence and energy that he is unbelievable. And he is so BAD BOY cute… the piercings, the tattoos and the I-wana-f*ck-you attitude is just so cool. I’m behaving almost like I’m 16 again and drooling over a rock star.

What caught me by surprise, was the diversity of the crowd. I saw kids who are like what, EIGHT years old, and then I saw this old couple who has have been at least 65 yrs old. And the coolest thing was that the old couple was standing and jiggling for the most part of the concert! *respect*

If Linkin Park ever decides to throw another concert in Singapore, I’ll definitely wana catch them again. But, gotta do some “tutorials” as I do not know most of Linkin Park’s songs. Nonetheless, the energy of the band totally got to me and I was jumping and jumping for most part of the concert too!

However, there were a few booboos that kinda screwed up the concert. Firstly, the concert started ONE hour late. It started at 9 pm instead of 8 (that was actually fine since we were half hour late ourselves). Secondly, there weren’t any warm-up bands, so the crowd was getting restless after waiting for 45 mins or so. Thirdly, the concert lasted 1.5 hrs only, should give us at least 2 hours lah… piangs.

Nonetheless, I still had fun and was quite blown away by Chester’s voice and presence.

Below is a spoof of Linkin Park. What really cracks me up is that “asian” guy in the spoof band. Wah Lau…

Wednesday, November 14, 2007






Hong Kong Trip 31 Oct – 7 Nov 2007

Almost wanted to post an entry to end it all. Something like “That’s it folks, I’m not going to blog anymore. I’ll like to thank every single one of you, who has been reading my crap.”

But… I can’t bring myself to do it. So, here I am again. Sorry folks, you still have to endure my crap.

I just came back from Hong Kong, the Mecca of shopperholics and guess what, I didn’t buy ANYTHING except for a silly scarf from Zara. In fact, BF had to convince me to buy that scarf, as I am against the idea of buying anything from shops that I can find in Singapore. So, I was disappointed with my shopping experience in Hong Kong.

As for food, I am sensitive to MSG and unfortunately, almost everything that I ate was laden with MSG and I would feel sick half-way through each meal. And to be frank, I am not a big fan of Cantonese cuisine to start with. So sadly, my eating experience sucked too.

Thankfully, we made two short trips to Shen Zhen and Macau, and they were rather fun and I enjoyed my stay at the new Venetian Macau. Having won some money helped as well!

Had a spa session in Shen Zhen’s swankiest spa for 6 hours and that only cost me S$100!!! I had pedicure and foot reflexology, massage for 90 mins, lazed around in my chair with my own tv for only a 100 bucks. Talk about value-for-money manz.

Oh, and the best part, BF and I actually missed our return flight to Singapore! We happily went to the airport and wanted to check in and to our horror, we realised that our flight was YESTERDAY.

Thankfully the plane wasn’t full and we were able to buy tickets on the spot. Geez…

Thursday, October 11, 2007


I had my best white burgundy in my life on last Friday 5 Oct07 at Culina@Dempsey.

It was a Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet "Ruchottes", 2002. I have heard about Ramonet before and his famous whites, but as Ramonets usually cost a couple of hudnreds per bottle, I have never tried one ever before, so I was really excited to know that our wine Guru, Alvin brought his VERY LAST bottle last Friday.

OMG. I swear that I almost teared when I first nosed the wine. The first thing that hit me was its creaminess and richness YET not in a cloying manner. It had notes of mints and lemon yet such richness and I was just smelling the wine!

And when I first tasted the wine, I swear I almost cried. It was full bodied and with such complexity and acidity, yet so lush and elegant.

I was totally blown away.

Wanting to savour every drop, I drank the wine really s-l-o-w-l-y, and also to observe whether the wine will shut down or evolve into something else. As I proceeded along with the dinner, the wine managed to hold its ground and maintain its nose and palate structure for the whole of 4 hours! Even AFTER 4 hours, it still had that lemon creaminess and complexity at its palate.

What an amazing wine!

Now, I understand why people will pay hundreds or thousands for a bottle of Ramonet.

Below is the tasting note that Alex had so kindly prepared while the rest of us were busy pigging out!

**********************************************************************************

Thanks to Chee Wee, Ryan and Alvin, we had a most enjoyable evening of good food, fine wines and great company at Culina :) Our chef for the night, Ryan has whipped up a delectable four course dinner to match the wonderful flights of burgs and dessert wines.

First course - Freshly shucked oysters with pozu gelatin

Faiveley Chablis "Beauroy" 2005 The nose is a bit oaky but exhibit typical burg note. The ripe richness seems to mask the minerality and acidity one comes to expect of a Chablis. Pairs well with the oysters.

Robert Ampeau Mersault "La Piece Sous La Bois" 1994 The nose has an initial whiff of reduction but exhibits an underlying complex honey note once the sulphur blows away. Rich golden colour suggests some age in the bottle. Hint of cardboard due to secondary notes. Well rounded palate and good length.

Second course - Oven roasted trout with vegetables, potatoes

Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet "Ruchottes" 2002 What can I say about this wine? Absolutely captivating, one will find it difficult to tear away from its expressive layered nose of rich, minty, buttery lemon cream. Full bodied and rich creaminess on the palate and a finish that just goes on and on. Could not bear to drink this up right away. Nurse it through the 4 hours dinner and find myself keep going back to nose the wonderful bouquet of this wine. The intensity and sustainability of the nose is amazing. Voted WOTN by Jean and a number of us. Alas, it is Alvin's last bottle :(

Entree - Crackling pork belly

Robert Ampeau Pommard 1989 Aged brick red colour and lots of sediments, initial nose of dried fruits. After some time in the glass, the nose reminds one of luo ha guo.

Louis Jadot Clos de Beze 1997 Strong earthy note, robust plum and leathery. Lush and full on the palate with lively acidity, exhibiting youthfulness despite a decade in the bottle. Multi-layered and amazing density. Developed notes of indian spice after some time in the glass.

Faiveley Nuit St-Georges "Les Porets Saint Georges" 1996 Earthy note with bright acidity.

AF Gros Vosne Romanee "Clos de la Fontaine" 2005 Fresh nose of sweet fruits with hints of rose petal. Jean detected the spiciness which betrays its Vosne character. Attractive mocha, chocolate finish. Chee Wee thought that it could be a Richebourg but minus the density. A very enjoyable wine :)

Ecard Savigny les Beaune 1er Cru "Les Serpentieres" 2006 Cask sample which just flew in this afternoon. Bright red cherry with good acidity, detect hints of raspberry cream. Lovely!

Dessert - Plum tart with vanilla ice cream

Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Rangen "Clos Saint Urbain" Vendage Tardive 1998 Orange peel note. Very rich sweetness but well balanced by the lively acidity

Inniskillin Icewine 1998 Rich golden colour, almost like a cognac. Nose of dried apricot, well balanced and lively. Rich sweetness which wraps round the palate. A real treat to finish the dinner with :)

This is so far the best meal this year.




Some funny photos of cats (not mine though)]

Just wana share some kitty photos. I particularly like the black and white one, yelling you to get into the car. Geez… super hilarious.

Wana congratulate my salsa instructors for being new kitty mummy and daddy! They have just adopted a cat and he is just such a darling! (a sleepy one though) Really happy to see that the little kitty is bringing a lot of joy, laughter and entertainment to the couple, especially since the new kitty mummy has never had a kitty before and she is just so amused by kitty’s silly games like hide-and-seek and catch-my-wriggling-fingers-if you-can.

Loving a cat requires unconditional love. Unlike a dog, which is more eager to please, cats usually have mood swings and usually only come to you for affection when they want it. Of course, some cats are more loving and “manja” in nature, but cats just have an independent streak in them that makes them so alluring yet frustrating at times!

Want to pay a special tribute to all my 7 cats:

1) Hmm-hmnp (It’s not really a name, but a sound that she likes to make when she was a kitten. In fact, she still makes that noise once a while. When she is happy…)
2) Chou-Chou (which means Smelly in Mandarin)
3) Dai-Dai (which means Silly in Mandarin)
4) Xiao-Xiao (which means “Small in Mandarin)
5) Girl-Girl
6) Lu-Lu
7) Dong-Dong

As you can see, my mum and I aren’t very creative when it comes to naming our cats!

Wednesday, October 03, 2007







Was out on last Friday at the newest, hippest place in town – Dempsey Hill @ Tanglin Village. It was my first time at Dempsey hill, which is the newly renovated area with all the new restaurants.

Previously, Dempsey is such a shithole – but in a good way. The area was dark, exclusive, with only 2 winebars and some furniture shops with scary looking statues. It was a perfect place for a rendezvous with a secret lover. (not that I have one lah, but you get the picture right?)

Then people started to check out the place and before you knew it, restaurants started to pop everywhere like mushrooms after a thunder storm. First, there was PS Café, then Oosh Bar, then Dempsey Hill…. And now, I need to find a new place to meet my secret lover. Damn.

Anyway, wanted to check out Margaritas but it was so crowded that we gave up and headed for a Japanese restaurant, just next to Angel’share. The food at that Japanese is rather mediocre and forgettable. However, there is this ONE dish that I liked – 6 pieces of broiled sushi and it was reasonably priced at $15 bucks or so. Other than that… didn’t really like the rest.

After that, we proceeded to Angel’share, which is something like a wine bar. Basically it’s like a smaller version of Oosh Bar but the prices of the wines are just as ridiculous. On average, the mark-up on each bottle of wine is about 300%. OUCH… Guess someone has to pay for the décor and atmosphere.

Nonetheless, I had a good time catching up with my friends. Friends… ahh, what can we do without friends. Other than family and spouse, friends are like the most important social relationship to a human being. In fact, for some people, friends are placed above family and spouse… … or football.

Just wana share some silly pictures of my beloved friends, with my beloved friends…

Tuesday, September 25, 2007


A group of my friends recently got together to celebrate one of the girl’s birthday. Firstly, we had dinner at Olive, a restaurant located at Labrador Park.

Labrador Park is most famous for its underground tunnel to Sentosa, which was dug during the 2nd World War. Unfortunately, the tunnel is not opened to the public; nonetheless, you can still see some “old” bunkers around the park.

That was my very first trip to Labrador park, it kinda looked a little creepy. Well, after all, quite a number of people died here during the world war.

Anyway, as for the restaurant, Olive, the food was okay. I wouldn’t say it was great, but it wasn’t bad either. But, I will not travel all the way to Labrador Park just to dine at Olive. I had mushroom-and-prawn-pasta done in Al dante style which was pleasant. We also shared some starters – Caesar salad, Portobello mushroom and fig-with-Parma ham.

What left an impression is fig with Parma ham as I never had fresh fig before, and the usual combination that other restaurants serve is rock melon with Parma ham. The fresh figs were sweet and crisp. In fact, I find the sweetness of the figs really complemented the Parma ham. Unfortunately, the Parma ham was dry and not that fresh, thus, it was a little kill-joy.

Talking about Parma ham, recently BF bought quite a chunk from the new Culina at Dempsey road (I have not been there yet!) and oh my gosh, they are so fresh and yummy!

BF and I are HUGE fans of Parma Ham, we can eat and eat and eat and die of dehydration! (Parma ham is super salty) and previously, we always lament that it is impossible to find fresh Parma Ham in Singapore.

Until the new culina@Dempsey comes to our rescue! Anyway, I will definitely hop over to Dempsey this weekend and check out all the good stuffs!

Hmmm, this time round, I must remember to bring my camera!

Monday, September 17, 2007



http://www.blogthings.com/whatamericancityareyouquiz/


This is so weird… all along I have a “love-hate” relationship with New York. New York is like an abusive, manipulative, bad-boy BF who is brad-Pitt-gorgeous and great in bed.

Seriously.

I still remember vividly when I first arrived in New York; I was like “Yeek, UGLY city!” So god-damn dirty and people are ridiculously rude AND pretentious. It took me almost 3 months to appreciate New York for its buzz, diversity, fuck-it attitude, and its… *gasp* beauty.

New York is really, truly amazing. Shopping is great (if you can afford it), food is fantastic. You can find GREAT and I mean, blow-your-mind-GREAT restaurants of different cuisines all around the world. The nightlife is unbelievable. I watched so much ballet and opera to last me a life time. I watched Madonna LIVE in concert at Madison Square Garden.

Everyday in New York is exciting and you'll never know what/who is going to throw in your way.

THAT is what I love about New York.

And after staying in New York for slightly over a year, many people have asked me whether I will like to stay there again.

Strangely, the answer is “no”

I don’t think I can handle its craziness, noise, filth, zest and energy. They are all too much for me.

Given the choice, I’ll rather stay in the country-side, some place like Margaret River in Perth or Burgundy in France, where I can breathe fresh air, eat my home-grown vegetables, drink my self-made wine; where I can play with my 2 dogs and 3 cats in the morning sun; where I can look at endless greenery and feel my space and existence in this world and not having to share that with anyone.

Guess I am not that competitive anymore. Guess I am getting old.

Sunday, September 09, 2007


Shape’s 10km run on 9Sep07

Stupid me. Forgot to bring camera!

So, yesterday I went for my first organized run of the year – Shape Run 2007 for women only. In total, there were a total of 6000+ women who took part in yesterday’s run and I was one of the many!

Although the run was supposed to be for ladies only, there was this one angmoh GUY, who made the effort and took the trouble to dress up as a woman! A really ugly one though… he wore this long and curly wig, ridiculous make-up, a baby-pink Tshirt, a short white skirt and to top it all, a pair of screaming, BRIGHT pink leggings. He looked absolutely hilarious! Oh, of course, he had HUGE, fake boobs, most probably stuffed with toilet paper or something.

What a sport! Wish I had a camera with me to snap a few pictures of him. Damn.
And there was this another guy who was running slightly ahead of his girlfriend (outside the barricade) to take pictures of his girlfriend for the whole of the 10 km run! Wah… so sweet. Mine was at home snoring away. Talking about SUPPORT huh?

Anyway, I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t clock less than 1 hour for my 10km run. I haven’t got my official timing yet, but according to my watch, my timing should be around 1 hour and 4 mins. Sigh, couldn’t pick up enough speed during the last 3 km of the run.

Nonetheless, I completed the run without stopping to walk and actually felt rather fresh after the run. Although at one point, I nearly vomited the banana that I had for breakfast. Yeek… no more bananas before a run!

All in all, I had fun and will most probably do it next year again! ;p

Tuesday, August 28, 2007


Ratatouille vs 881

Watched 2 movies during the last weekend, one was about a rat trying to be a cook, another was about 2 ladies trying to fulfill their dreams as Geitai singers (a.k.a stage singers).

Ok, I’ll comment on Ratatouille since I watched that first. An enjoyable cartoon, especially if you were to watch it with wine and food buffs, as there will be many special comments like:

“That is not Cheval Blanc loh… Look at the label, it’s Lafite loh?! Illustrator doesn’t know his wines man”

“Saffron is from Italy meh?”

For me, I HATE rats, although Remy (the main character) is quite cute, but no, no, no, no, no, can I relate to having rats in the kitchen. Not even after this show! I was literally cringing towards the end of the movie where there was this scene: kitchen was FULL of rats.

SO GROSS.

I still enjoy Finding Nemo the most; fish is definitely easier on the eye than rats. Note that: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Ratatouille are all by Pixar.

Next, 881 is a local production by a local director, Royston Tan. I watched this movie with my mum as this movie reaches out to the Hokkien speaking crowd. My mum enjoyed tremendously and cried buckets towards the end. Now, she is telling everyone (ie: my relatives and neighbors) to watch the show and my mum is now, a hard core Royston Fan.

Personally, this movie is a tad too cheesy for my taste and all those “special” effects are way too exaggerated. Nonetheless, I have to admit that those Hokkien songs are very touching indeed and I even teared a few times as well. This is a good movie to bring your parents and grandparents to watch especially if they can understand Hokkien. In fact, it seemed to me that up to 60% of that day’s movie crowd was about 55 years old and above.

Between Ratatouille and 881, I’ll prefer to pay for 881 since this is a local production and I firmly believe that all local artists deserve our support! As for Ratatouille, a DVD will be good enough. At least the rats don’t look so big…

Wednesday, August 22, 2007


Rose among the thorns

I’ve been hanging out with BF’s friends lately and most of them are really much older than us. I’ll say that on average, we are like 10 years younger, thus we are like the “kids” among the “uncles”…

Usually we will get together over wines and dinners, and these “uncles” are serious about their wines manz! I always learn so much from these “uncles”, be it about wines, about markets, about properties, about life… …

So much so that, I find some of my peers extremely boring and to a certain extend, childish.

I’m not trying to be snobbish here, just trying to justify to myself that I am NOT suffering from pre-mature aging! Just that I’ve been hanging around with too many old farts!

But seriously, I really like to listen to their experiences… there are important lessons to be learnt and hopefully, from their stories and experience, I can learn from their errors and not to commit the same mistakes. But at times, I feel that I am just a free loader, and felt like a bimbo. These gatherings usually make me feel a bit stupid.

Anyway, above is a picture taken at the Jade restaurant @ the forum. O yah, another point that I’ve noticed: very few lady drinkers…

Thursday, August 16, 2007













Some of my pictures from Perth (Aug2007)


I just came back from Perth, Australia and it was one of my best holidays! Although most of my "happy times" were spent in Margaret River (3 hrs drive away from Perth) instead of Perth's Perth.

Totally unexpected.

Days before the trip, I thought I would be so bored that I would chew off my fingers. And the weather during our first two days didn't help as it was rainy, grey, cold and totally "london weather" - a.k.a sucky weather.

Thankfully, by the time we hit Margret, weather was really wonderful. Sunny, blue skies with the cold winds. Wah.... shiok. Natural air-con is the best!

So BF and I spent 4 days 3 nights in Margaret River and stayed at The Central Avenue Apt. Totally recommended! It was just really close to the main town, the apt was tastefully furnished, everything was new and fully equipped. Our daily routine included - wake up, go wine tasting, eat lunch, go wine tasting again, get high, drive back to our apt to cook dinner, drink even more wine and then knock out.

And that was like the most relaxing holiday ever! I guess being high most of the time kinda helped... ...

All in all, we had a great trip and BF is already planning another trip to Margaret River again in another few years' time. However, the next time round, we'll like to have another 2 mates to travel with us as that will be much. MUCH cheaper with the car rental and the apt.

O yah, hopefully they will be wine lovers too. =p

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

I feel lost without… Harry...

During the week when I was alone at home, dealing with pain and cough, there was only one guy who was keeping me company all those while… and that was Harry.

Harry Potter.

Yup, I am one of the grannies out there who actually reads Harry Potter. I read the first two books of Harry Potter and realised that the movies actually did quite a good job, thus for part 3, 4 and 5, I only watched the movies and saved on some time and money. Ha.

However, after watching Part 5 – “Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix” AND with the craze about the final book of “Harry Potter and the deathly hallows”, I simply HAD to read the last two books!

Thus, I started to hunt for book 6 – “Harry Potter and the half blood prince” and guess what? It was sold out everywhere! Getting desperate, I went online to the website of our National Library Board, found the book and reserved it for only S$1.50!

After two sleepless nights, I finished book 5 and practically ran to the nearest Popular Bookshop and bought Book 7.

Many of you should know by now that Harry Potter did NOT die and it was a happy ending after all. Although it was all cliché and predictable, I am really glad Harry defeated the Dark lord and lived to get married to Ginny. I got all warm and fuzzy at the part where Ron and Hermione’s children were kicking a rocket with Harry and Ginny’s kids…

Awww…

Now that I am done with the final book, I am a little lost and depressed. Even re-reading Lord of the Rings did not cheering me up. Hmmm, I have the urge to re-read book one – “Harry and the Philosopher’s Stone” and the whole series all over again!