Tampopo @ Liang Court

Had the Shabu shabu black pig ramen. Yummy!! The pork bone soup is supposedly boiled for 2 days to the rich milky consistency. The thin slices of black pig looked sinfully fatty but it is not pulsating oily. They also have the deluxe miso ramen (Hokkaido style) which is completely different from mine. The deluxe has a slice of char siew, corn and butter, minced meat and an egg. The noodles are the curly type not the "rebonded" type like mine. Both ramen are oishii!

XX had the black pig tonkatsu set (the premium loin was sold-out so she got the normal one..) and she insist that i mention it in my blog. The tonkatsu is yummy too but i think the premium one would be yummier! lol. If the tonkatsu set looks similar to Tom Ton's, well, i just found out that they are under the same company.

Thankfully we were there quite early to be able to secure a table cos their reservations are full. When we left, it seemed that all the people in Liang Court are waiting outside the restaurant!

Went to the basement for some dessert. The pistachio flavour at the gelato kiosk Haato is worth trying. The rum and raisin can try if only you do not like the rest of the almost 20 flavours! :p

River Garden Cafe @ River View Hotel

"Farewell" lunch for my boss who is changing team next week... :'( well.. not really farewell lah... since he would just be sitting across the room... but not my boss anymore... :( will miss his quacky jokes. The buffet is quite nice considering the price. There’s a durian moose cake that is light and creamy. Yummy.

Happy Anniversary

It is one year since the birth of Princess Sotong's Ivory Tower. How time flies... it seemed so long and yet so fast. What have i accomplished in this one year? What have i done? Reading some of my earlier entries, it seemed that i ate alot, bought alot, played alot and spent alot.

i had in fact "planned" for this anniversary post beforehand. i mean, i had set a post-dated post to "remind" me about this date. i had some plans in my head, pondered over what to write / how to celebrate this anniversary. Nothing concrete. A few suggestions popped up in my head now and then in the past weeks when i happened to see this scheduled post in the registry. i thought about writing something profound, something fitting of my blog turning 1. As i engaged on my newest hobby last week, i thought i could sew something and give away to my regular readers. You know, to thank you for being here. Another whimsical thought had me videoing myself doing a waltz and tango at home and broadcasting here. i thought of revamping the blog, give it a makeover or something. But as you can see, they are all thoughts. Just thoughts. None of them materialise in the end as i thought day after day, i still have time. There's still time... So nothing accomplished. Is this what i am going to do with my life?

Over the weekend, after watching the trailer of Wanted, i googled my name for fun. To my surprise, something popped up. My FYP professor had taken my paper, put his name on it and submitted it to a journal. WTH! So what if he added a couple of lines here and there. Ok so he did acknowledge us. That was the blood and sweat (and tears) of YZ and i. Well, i guess there's probably nothing we could do. The point is.... hmm.... what's my point? Do i want to be someone? Or anyone? Or noone? That is for me to find out.

Back to my blog... it seemed that it did not turn out the way i had thought it would be. i thought it would be like the diary that i had kept (of sorts) when i was younger. You know, in the form of a book, way before the time of the internet. i thought it could be a diary of my inner thoughts and darkest secrets. But i guess, the platform is different and there is just that bit of secrecy that i still want to maintain for myself. And who knows who might just come by and read it! haha. So does it defeat the purpose of keeping a blog then? Well, it is still a good account of events that had happened in my life so far. So...... i guess i'll see you same time next year then! (>_<)

Donut Balls

i simply must rave about this nice donut balls i found in a confectionary shop near my office. those old-school 4 donut balls on a stick type. Nice golden tan with a super soft centre. Just enough sugar without the sticky oiliness feel. Simply put - YUMMY! (^^,)

MOF @ Marina Square

Wanted to eat at Changing Appetite but saw this notice at the shutters. lol. so heng...

Next went to Cafe Cartel... while waiting for the last person to arrive, we decided to change to MOF so we left after a sip of water. :p

Tried the shabu shabu set after eating it previously at the Bugis branch. Huge disappointment. Portions are smaller. Flame was very strong though. i was very scared of getting my fingers burnt!

Had the red bean thingy for dessert. Can't remember the name. Avoid at all cost if you do not have a SWEET tooth! i do have one but it is still too cloyingly sweet for me.

Verdict: i still prefer the Bugis branch. though i've only ate twice at bugis, somehow i feel that the food taste nicer there! :p

Missing...

23 jun - Just rem i had wanted to write something after looking at my cam's photos... KIV.... -_-"

25 Jun - Was comtemplating if i should continue with the post as i had lost that "feeling". i mean sometimes when something's gone, it IS gone. After the issue passed, if i do not feel a compelling urge to talk about it, i guess it does not weigh too much in me. It figures. So i should just delete this away. But i thought i should write something to remember such a thought by... So this remains... hee...

vegetarian beehoon from stall 142 at chinatown food centre

Handbag Hook

Trust girls to do this! i just bought a magazine for the freebie! See how cool it is! A hook that hangs by side of table for bags!

My First Lined Pouch

Followed the instructions i found here. Love the pokka dots! :)

My First Cushion Cover

Saw this cute and cheerful print at ikea and bought it back to make a long over-due cover for my naked office cushion. Brightens up my day when i see this print. :)

My First Zippered Pouch

I'm so proud of me! :) i made my own pouch from the instructions i found here. Did it in about 2.5 hours. Spent most of the time figuring out how to use the mini machine that was collecting dust in the store room. The thread is all wavy, the stitches are uneven, the shape's all out, the photo's crappy. But heck! It's my very first hand-made zippered pouch! Who cares! (^^,)v

Happy Father's Day

Chicken mushroom gratin. Yummy. But lots of room for improvement on the presentation. :p

Oishii. Store bought. Hee... no time to make them.

Bottle Tree Park

It's my office family day (again!) and we went prawn fishing!!! Caught 2 prawns in the first 15 minutes. Yippie!! But it went downhill from then after. :(

Didn't realise there's this place in Yishun. They have vegetable and fruit farm on the premises as well. But i didn't have time to explore. Besides prawn fishing, there's also longkang fishing for kids and fish fishing during weekends. lol. :P Oh ya! There's also paintball here.

Total time spent = 3 hrs under the hot sun
Total prawns caught = 6 or 7 (i forgot)
Uneven tan (sun burn) and sandal imprint on my feet = priceless

Quack quack quack quack

One of my catch with one of my chivalrous colleague who is helping all the girls unhook the prawns. :p

On the dinner table

Decided that there are sufficient office events to warrant its own category! :p

Southern Ridges (Forest Walk)

Continued with the other part of the southern ridges. Starting from Telok Blangah Hill Park again, proceeding to Hilltop Walk, Terrace Garden, Forest Walk and ended at Alexandra Arch. This route is nicer than the Henderson Waves. You will see why. :) Total time spent 50 minutes.

Terrace Garden - on top of TBH Park. Don't you think this place looks very familiar? Like those garden of some tycoon's mansion in dramas...

Forest Walk. This is super cool! This elevated walkway meanders through the forest. This is a very easy trail (steps free). Apparently there is a ground level trail as well, which is more challenging. The Forest Walk is 18m above ground at its highest. Not as high as Henderson Waves. The way to overcome jelly feet is to look far ahead. Scary thing is only when looking down through the gaps in the floor. When i know that i can overcome my fear, i like to frighten myself back! :p

Spotted this tree along the Forest Walk. What's so special about this tree?? Answer in photo below. :)

This is a durian tree!!! First time i see a durian tree. hehe. :p

Alexandra Arch

...

端午节 (五月初五)

It's weird. Today's the dumpling festival but i have not ate any dumpling today! My mum had been preparing that for my breakfast every other day this week but not today! Why why!? Humph... special order for tomorrow's breakfast! One nonya dumpling! (^^,)

Welcome to this world

Received an sms from YS, "i'm happy to announce the arrival of baby E at 2253 last night". OMG! When did YS got pregnant?! I didn't even know that she was expecting her second child. It really has been a while since we last met up. We used to hang around in JC but kinda drift apart... Sigh... that happens when you take different paths in Uni and in life. And even if you do take the same path, i guess when friends get married, have kids, etc, you don't keep in touch like you used to anymore.

It's a happy occasion. How did i make it out to be so melancholy? Welcome, baby E! :)

Bakerzin @ Millenia Walk

Caution! Don't be fooled by the pretty drink! Unless you like orange peel, lemon peel and what-ever bitter yucky stuff they have floating in this drink, DON'T try it!

Kung Fu Panda

Get ready for Pandamonium! This must be the first show/cartoon/movie that i laughed from start till end! Really hilarious, cute and funny! Go watch it! (^o^)v

Gym in a Pocket

Wanted to visit the gym this afternoon but was stuck at home due to the rain. Well... it was only drizzling but i hate to start my journey with a wet umbrella. So i rather stay at home. :P

If i can't get to the gym, i can make the gym come to me! haha. Finally brought to use the piece of gym equipment that i bought last month!

Don't be fooled by its looks. Its more lethal than you imagine! Ha!

The Cathay Restaurant

We finally have our gathering since XX came back. As recommended by YZ, the food here is very nice though abit pricey for the ala carte items. We ordered the special set dinner for 4 which includes:

• Double boiled herbal soup
• Fresh pomfret prepared in 2 ways. We were told the pomfret today was not fresh enough so they changed it to another type of fish prepared in 1 way.
• Steamed chicken with red dates in lotus leaf
• Steamed prawns with egg white
• Seasonal vegetables with 2 types of mushrooms
• Fried rice with minced pork and preserved olive

Very value for money. Service was good but i guess it was cos the place was not full.

I left after dinner while they proceeded to watch Sex and the City (and are still watching it now!). This is perhaps one of the only few times that i miss out on the "fellowship" as LF calls it. lol. Even though Sex and the City is supposedly a must-watch for girls and XX tried to persuade me by giving me the drama videos but i didn't want to watch a movie about 4 old and ugly women! And spend $30 on cab fare afterwards! :P

Afternote: YZ recommended me to watch it. Cos aside from the 老女人 bit, according to her, the show was quite nice and funny.

Southern Ridges

Explored part of the Southern Ridges after work today. Started up Telok Blangah Hill Park leading to the Henderson Waves, linking Faber Walk and Marang Trail which leads to Harbourfront station. Nice cloudy weather for a walk. The leisurely trail, which left me all sticky and sweaty, took about an hour. Do remember to bring insect repellent especially for Marang Trail and if you decide to venture off the beaten track.

The view from the Top - from Henderson Waves overlooking Henderson Road. I didn't realise that the area was so green.

One of the couples seen on the trail. The photographer and dog were very engrossed!

View from Faber Walk

Nodame Cantabile in Europe のだめカンタービレ 新春スペシャル ＩＮ ヨーロッパ

The two-part special is 4 hours! Gosh! Half as long as the drama. The first part was kinda slow cos there are more orchestra scenes. The second part was nicer with more comic effect.

Nodame Cantabile のだめ カンタービレ

Finished watching this romantic comedy from Autumn 2006 in two nights! Based on the manga of the same name, it is about Nodame (Ueno Juri), a talented piano player and her Chiaki-senpai (Tamaki Hiroshi), an aspiring conductor. Ooohhh.... ピアノを弾きたい!