Yurou's Day Out

The day we were at Heart Bistro, we brought Yurou along with us. She's a very friendly toddler, and she brought us all so much laughter just by sitting there and waving around. She's well-behaved and doesn't pull things off the dining table.

Sometimes she'll act cute to get our attention when us girls start to talk among ourselves and ignoring her :)

Aiyah....our group photo didn't include Cui Cui, who was late and Wan Qing, whom we bumped into at the cafe....what a coincidence!

From Heart Bistro, we walked to Isetan so that Yurou's mommy can shop for new shoes. When this photo was taken, she has just learnt to walk not too long ago and hence she was walking with her butt out like a duckling.

Heart Bistro

The girls and I managed to get online vouchers for Heart Bistro, a cosy and pretty little cafe tucked in the basement of Palais Renaissance. It's a quiet little place and we could get so much conversation going, plus the waiters love Yurou very much and were thoughtful enough to give her a bottle of Yakult and play with her.

The prices on the menu were a little steep, so thank god we had the vouchers. This place supposedly serves very healthy fruit juices, and also is a hang-out place for people going for tea or coffee.

Their teacups come in a heart-shape form, a reminder of the name of the place. We could ask for the tea top up until we're too full for more.

We four girls shared two platters of this. This center is a big Quiche, which melts in the mouth and was the tastiest thing on the plate. Yurou loves it too! It is covered in my favourite Rocket Salad too~~ There are also two bite-sizes of toasted sandwich, a brownie and a banana cake. However, we were mostly focused on Yurou rather than the food, but overall we had a good experience!

The Noose (Taxi Driver)

The Noose is a gem of a show from Singapore, one of the rare programs on local TV that is actually funny and pokes fun in a smart way, not like the normal slapstick humour you find on local TV. This is one of the segments that really made me LOL!

Shopping Kaki (Part One)

Yeay, from today onwards i'm going to bring out the shopping queen ( or should i say window shopping queen) in me, and review the shopping centres in Singapore. You'll see which place is too small, hard to navigate or pleasant to spend the day shopping in :

Orchard Cineleisure - everyone who comes here is no doubt here for the Cathay Cinema on the top floor. Apart from that, there are a few nice stores which has very beautiful shoes, toys and food. This place has no big crowds on weekends but of course there's nothing much to shop also lah...

City Vibe in Clementi... the Chinese name is damn tacky but is a smart play on the sound, which sounds like 'Clementi'. This place is really tiny and many small stall of eateries are crammed into the limited space that they have. Mostly food and nothing else...

The huge Ion Orchard, which can get very full on week day nights and weekends. The eateries are particularly full and boast long queues. I avoid this place most of the time due to the large number of visitors. According to my journalist friend, Ion Orchard has its own scent emitted by the air conditioning system, but every time i'm there, i don't seem to be able to detect it. Maybe it's a subconscious thing hehe...

Very near to my place - Sun Plaza. My friend once said that this place reminded her of Malaysia. The shops are not the franchise type, and it is pretty run down and has not been renovated for years. Thank goodness it's next to the MRT tracks or i won't bother walking in. I normally go in to get my soya bean milk from Mr Bean or my curry puffs from Old Chang Kee.

One of the most walkeable shopping centre in Singapore. Vivocity has a nice balance of food, fashion and other stuff. Many of my friends love this place and the restaurants have nice views of Universal Studios in Sentosa. However, many of the patrons are tourists from Sentosa though.

Yummy Tummy

Many friends had rave reviews about those Avocado Milks they sell in Queensway. I've had one about 2 years ago, but this time i remember to have a photo taken. The juice is creamy, delectable and ultimately satisfying.

Chinese flower tea from Wan Chai Tearoom in Lot 1. When the tea first arrived it was just a small lump of greens floating in hot water. As you let it settle, the ball slowly expands and the flower emerges. But enjoy it for too long, cos the tea turned bitter very quickly.

Mango Yoghurt Fruit Salad from Swensen's. I had a wave of gastrics back then, and had no appetite for anything! So my colleague brought me to Swensen's and forced me to eat something and hence this appetizing-inducing salad dressed with mango. It even has 'nangka' in it....

Popeye's Fried Chicken i had in Bedok Point. Many locals seem to like this fried chicken joint, but it's still not as popular as KFC. The chicken was crispy, but a little too oily. Mine was dripping oil as i bite into it. The mashed potato is salty, ugh. But my favourite is the little muffin, which tasted somewhat like a scone.

Nando's Peri Peri Chicken, with Season Vegetables and Grilled Baby Potatoes with Lime Leaf....I had an extra order of fries too. Boy, love it love it. Nando's serves South African food, and their Peri Peri Chicken is awesome!

McDonald's Cinnamon Meltz.... so sweet and so sinful.... hahahaa...very good comfort food, but must have it hot while the bread is soft and fluffy and the cinammon melts is piping hot!

We Almost Made our Aussie Boss Faint!

Our Aussie boss Dave brought the whole Marketing team out for lunch during the CNY period at Ah Yi Abalone Restaurant. This is the aftermath of our 'Lou Sang'.... all messed up~

A bowl of Abalone Shark Fin.... mMMmmMmMmmmm.....

Our boss is a very conservative eater, so anytime we had Chinese, he'll sort of freak out. Imagine the horror of looking at them chopping the head off this Peking duck and slicing off all those meat.

But they were indeed very tasty after you wrap them in the pancake, with the dipping sauce....yeahhh....

I think our dessert scared him the most. This Hashima ( or Xue Ge) is actually derived from frog's saliva. When he heard what it was, he thought we were joking. But upon confirmation that it was true, i think he almost threw up in front of everyone! Heeeee....

Which is the guilty dog?

Whose baby??

Wow, so many babies....who do they belong to?

Hi, my name is Joanne. I look like my father and i'm a messy eater. When i sit in the car too long, i get bored and i like to play with parking coupons. ( Shin Yen & Sheau Ching's, 15 month old).

Hey there! I'm Jun Siang. I'm a good little boy, i seldom need people to fuss over me. I'm an easy baby to take care of, and i was an easy baby for my mommy to carry during pregnancy. ( Cui Cui and Yen Ching's, 3 month old)

Hi, my name is Claire. I don't like strangers, but Puffyrazzi loves adorable girls and she managed to carry me after lunch, which mommy says was an achievement. My parents just brought me for a holiday to New Zealand recently, i love the sheeps there! ( Sue Anne and Chih Wei's, 19 month old).

Yo! I'm Jayston. My parents are fans of Jay Chou, and hence the name. I'm having a ball of a time, with my grandma, auntie and my doting parents. I hope to have fun with Joanne and Claire at an outing soon. ( Wendy & Eng Lee's, 2 month old)

Heehee, i'm Puffyrazzi's favourite girl - Yurou, or you can call me Angelia. I love to wave at strangers and i echo every single word people say. After prayer, i always say 'men' cos i can't say 'Amen'. Mommy and Puffyrazzi always laughs at me when i do that :) ( Andrea & Andy's, 19 month old)

Tao Restaurant

To celebrate February birthdays, the gang had a great lunch at Tao Restaurant in Po-Mo ( previously known as Paradiz Center). They offer a 6-course lunch for SGD19.80++, which consists of a starter, a salad, a soup, an entree, a dessert and a beverage. Each category comes with a few choices and all you need to do is to tell the waiter your choice. Before the 6-course, they also had thick bread with butter for us.

This Bacon & Mushroom Gratin is their starter. It's buttery and sticky, with lots of bacon and mushroom within. It was served piping hot and signaled a good start for us :)

I picked this Fruit Salad for my salad dish. I didn't like it cos they neglected to mention all the crab stick meat that would be sitting on the bed of fruits. I hate crab sticks!

Wendy had a better choice - Huai San. It was some Chinese herb served on shaved ice and with accompanying sauce. Sue Anne also ordered a great salad, but i didn't capture a photo. She ordered a mouth-watering Top Shell Salad with Cold Soba.

Cream of Mushroom is always my choice when it comes to soups. This particular one is rich, creamy and full of mushroom goodness. Not too salty, just nice.

Their Cream of Pumpkin came in a special bowl.

I had my meal with this Iced Apple Rose Tea. It was refreshing with the apple flavouring, plus it contains a rose scent as well as rose buds in the tea. It was an aromatic combination, which i really love.

For my entree, i decided to go for Oriental, hence this Spicy Stingray. It was surprisingly homely and comforting! The sambal was fantastic and the fish was fresh and easy to chew on. Recommended to try.

I knew i would be stuffed by the time dessert came, so i chose this as my dessert - Yangsheng Poached Pear with Red Dates. The pear was mildly sweet and digested my heavy meal well. Wow, we had a great lunch, coupled with good company and conversation. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Talking Cat in the Sink

Buddy, the talking cat. I love how cats talk back when you speak to them. I've seen countless cats do this with their masters, including Frosty :)

Sixian's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Sixian, we got her a chocolate cake from Swiss Bake, just tiny enough for a few of us. We had a super duper heavy lunch out and so decided to scrimp and save on the cake.

Wheeheeee....it's her 28th birthday!!!

A large group of girls, with a lonely Stanley and Daniel the cameraman. The cake was barely enough for us....haha...taught us a lesson to buy a bigger cake next year.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to Sixian, happy birthday to you!!!

Paradise Inn

On Sixian's birthday, we had a long lunch out at West Coast Plaza at Paradise Inn, one of the places that i like to dine in because of their superlicious soups and soothing teas. To kick off the meal was our Poached Chinese Spinach with Egg Trio in Superior Stock. The soup stock has a nice flavour and the spinach were just tender and green enough for my liking.

Hot Plate Ma Po Tofu to tickle our tastebuds with its slight spiciness. The egg omellette slowly frying on the bottom of the hot plate was a bonus to be devoured by the last eater :)

Stewed Bittergourd with Pork Ribs in Fermented Black Bean Sauce - their bittergourd came in large chunks. It was like the chef was too lazy to slice them to decent sizes. I thought this dish came up short, the taste wasn't there, nor was there any kick or zest. Bah....

Time to put some nutrients into our tired bodies, with this Black Chicken Soup! Paradise Inn serves simply ravishing soup, but my favourite soup has been taken off the menu - the Apple Gobi Soup :(

Of course, i never miss ordering a pot of floral tea when i dine here. It nourishes both mind and body. The tealight candle doesn't really do much to warm the tea, but it's another soothing touch.

Last dish - Sauteed Diced Chicken with Dried Chilli and Cashew Nut. Most of us didn't really enjoy this meal as much as we would like. I guess we ordered some wrong dishes. When i was there during Janita's short visit back to Singapore, it was a fabulous meal! Or it could be because i was dining at the 313 Orchard branch??

What's On My Dressing Table ? ( Part 9)

One of my friends bought this for me as a favour last year and she bought this on a travel size for me to try. Pantene's Total Care shampoo smells divine and works well at gently cleansing my hair, at the same time providing ample care for my scalp. Pantene is a good shampoo brand and we constantly use it as a benchmark product in our lab.

I got this from Pink Beauty in West Mall. It actually comes in many colours but my favourites are the black and pink. The black gives my eyes a 'smoky-eye' effect, while the pink one when applied under the eyes give them a teary-eye effect. Made in Japan, that explains the teary-eye effect. My friend commented that it makes women look innocent and fragile xD

I bought this Spiced Vanilla Body Lotion from Body Shop during their post Christmas sale for 40% off....wahahahah.... it helps keep my body moisturised after shower every day, leaving it velvety and supple. However, it is not as lubricious as my previous Face Shop Sake Body Lotion and less smooth. So, Body Shop loses my vote on this one.

Currently using Dove's Grapefruit & Lemongrass body shower. It sounded like such a lovely combination. However, after 1 use, i found that the fragrance wasn't as good as i expected. The foaming was also weaker, and i had to use more to get my desired effect. I suspect i will use up this bottle really quickly. Can't wait to try something else....

I got a small jar of Estee Lauder's Hydrationist for free as sample. Some people don't like it, but i am really happy with its powdery texture and pleasant smell. My skin feels softer to touch and smoother upon application. However, i detected slight rancidity in the smell after 2 months opening it. It could be the inherent stability in the formulation, or could be because it is sold as a jar and hence is prone to contamination from the user's finger re-dabbing in the jar.