Ichiban Sushi, Jurong Point

It was a long & tiring week,
eventhough it meant to be a short week,
with only 4 days,
Without Monday Blues~

Who knows that there was a Mistletoe Tuesday,
Which activated the whole lab to stay OT until 9++pm,
Meaning i had a 12+hrs of lab~ T.T
With a hungry stomach waiting to be fed.

Then came Wednesday which was disastrous,
Got reprimanded by my Big Boss,
For not practicing GLP,
Caught Red-Handed, My bad~ T.T

Then came Thursday,
Without much of a hiccup,
Beside not closing the column door properly,
Causing fluctuation of temperature of my HPLC~ T.T

Here it came, lonely Friday,
Which i thought it was,
FYP haunting my friends,
and I'm left all alone.

No that i had nothing to do,
Neither was i Bored,
Just feeling too tired,
Staying in NTU all week long.

A call at 4+pm changed it all,
Delighted, heart leaping in joy!
"I am GOING OUT!!! On a Friday NIGHT!!"
After all, I am not alone.

Finally, I have a date, on a Friday night...

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

Where to meet? A simple Question.
We are the West People and We are Tired.
Simple Answer. Boonlay.
Very straight forward.

It is the second time.
One-on-one.
I was the one waited,
On both occasions.

I am not complaining.
Cos he is a dear friend of mine.
Holding a special position.
That it is not easily shaken.

Primary & secondary schoolmate,
We were in the class of 2(3),
With Jesing as monitor,
Lu Yean & I were the Asst Monitresses.

Those were the days...

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

Two tired people with lots to catch up.
Three meals in school/workplace.
We share such similarity.
It's time for some Food Comfort.

Japanese Food was our choice,
Dining of two made things even easier.
Skip the step of waiting for a table,
Table for two is easily available. *Yay*

Vegetable Roll SGD$2.10

A refreshing dish. Covered with sesame and bits of dried seaweed, and crunchy french beans, corn, carrot & cucumber in the center.

I gotta shout, " I am loving it~"

Ebiko Temaki @ SGD$2.10

Yup, it's a Temaki, but not with the normal seaweed wrap that you see. It's wrapped with crepe. Together with the crunchy salad leaf & the fried bacon stripe, i never know temaki can taste so GOoooD!!!

Maybe is the bacon... Maybe it's the Ebiko... Or maybe, it's because of the mayo they added that makes all the different. Or maybe, it's the cheapest of them all, the salad leaf???

Who knows?
But i fell in love with bacon for the first time.

Unagi with Cheese Sushi @ SGD$ 3.90

I gotta shout, I gotta Shout, I gotta SHOUT!!!
This is not the ordinary thinly-sliced-until-u-can't-taste kind of Unagi. This is the premium Unagi that you get on the Unagi Don!!!

The thick flesh of Unagi melting in your mouth before it burst into its full flavour. Enhanced with the flavour from the sliced Cheddar cheese&seaweed hidden between the Japanese rice, who could resist the heavenly-match sushi?

Especially to someone who loves both Unagi and cheese...

Inari Sushi @ SGD$2.10

A typical Inari Sushi caught my friend's attention. Nothing uncommon but nothing to complain about. It's just Inari Sushi.

Curry Chicken Katsu Don @ SGD$11.90

Jim Jim always wanted to try Japanese Curry. To his surprise (dismay perhaps?), he says it tasted exactly like the "ah neh's curry" aka indian curry when he was studying in UK. A tiny weeny bit of spice, more of the sweet curry. For me, its taste is comparable to the Japanese stall in the food court in NTU.

Hmm... I like it, i like Japanese Curry. But if i can pay 1/3 of the price here to eat the exact dish in NTU minus the two slices of oranges and the bowl of miso soup, why should i order this out of school? *i wonder, wonder*

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

Both of us were too full to have any dessert,
though the tempura ice-cream was calling,
and fiesta Japanese cheesecake is whistling,
"Jojo, Jojo, aren't we lovely?"

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,
On a Friday night,
It seems like a date,
With a primary schoolmate.

"I scare I'll fall asleep in the cinema" i was told,
Came out with lots of Q's marks in his head,
I felt bad to drag him for a show,
Which he didn't know what was going on.

Thank Q Jim Jim for the treat,
A lovely Friday evening indeed.
I am glad i have you,
As a friend who come to my rescue.

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

JOjo is very happy,
Cos I got my R square = 1.
Although my error bar "sucks",
I still thank God,
Cos I got R square equals to 1.
*Grinning away*

J.CO Donuts & Coffee @ Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore

"The Heart of donut lies in its hole. Nonetheless, taste is equally important. Here in J.CO Donuts & Coffee, we value both of them. The making process engages the unbeatable collaboration between high technology machines that create the blissfull, and full-of-art human hands that create the precious holes. It's always the same hole, same taste, same quality... "

And so i was led here...

After attending Sunday service at Suntec, I decided to drop by Raffles City Shopping Centre with only one intention. VISIT J.CO Donuts ! It had been on my mind lately and i really wanted to try its donuts after reading many reviews regarding this Donut Chain that created a rave in KL. Good, now i don't need to join in the never-ending-horrendous queue @ Pavillion, KL to enjoy the highly-sought-after donuts.

I wanted to see what's the rave is all about...

Roommie told me during her previous visit to Raffles City Shopping Centre a couple of weeks ago, she didn't have a chance to savour J.Co Donuts. The perpetual line never seems to dry up! Phew~ I was early, wasn't I ? There was only two guys Queueing in front of me and a few more customers behind me. Meanwhile, there were quite a number of tables seated with families and couple savouring their coffee and donuts. It was 11.30am. Snack before lunch? I reckoned.

Left: Why Nut? Right: Don Mochino @ $1.30 each

I bet the waitress disliked me. First, I told her i'll have 1 Green Tea dine-in. Then i requested it to be changed to Don Mochino. When i reached the cashier, I told her that I would like to have one more donut, Why Nut?, and would like it to be taken it away. Ain't i troublesome? I just couldn't make up my mind whether i want to stay out to study or should i head straight back after the purchase. *speechless*

I didn't purchase their Signature Donut, Al capone, as i was craving for some donuts infused with filling.

Let's see what it is all about...

Don Mochino. I felt in love at the first sight i laid my eyes on thee. Not your appearance of the luscious chocolate coating, it was thy filling. On the tag, written "...filled with tiramisu cream...".

Yes, i knew it was you that i wanted.

You didn't disappoint. Coated with mild bitter sweet dark chocolate with coffee-flavoured cream. The cream is very light and not as sweet as those served in Dunkin or Donut Factory. You will not feel a bit of heaviness after eating.

One thing to note. You might not want to attempt to bite this in front of the girl you are interested in. As you sunk your teeth into this, you might ended up with chocolate-coated-brown-teeth unknowingly.

A surprise that delighted the little heart of mine....

Why Nut? My very last minute order. Just because i wanted to take away so i needed to purchase at least two to get it packed in a box.

Premium white chocolate topping with American peanut butter filling. Ooo.. So rich, so satisfying... The white chocolate was a great combination with the peanut butter. The taste of white chocolate was not over-powering and it was a well-balanced taste. Interestingly, the peanut butter filling was not sweet (Dunkin's was sweet and you get sick of it after one or two bites) and the sight of it oozing out of the donut was Soo.... Inviting!!!

Just when i was thinking of Jollibean's crispy peanut pancake...

J.Co Donuts & Coffee
Raffles City Shopping Centre
#B1-44
Tel: +65-63334258
HP: +65-97707770

Note: I seriously think i would lost my way at Raffles City B1, a place i'm so not familiar with *sigh*

Malay Delights @ Pioneer Mall,Singapore

I promise, this is going to be real short. Exam ar...

Despite tight schedule, one still gotta eat right? and so this marked the first visit of mine to Pioneer Mall after studying in NTU for 3 years... (For those who don't know, Pioneer Mall is just a bus away from NTU, a common eating place for most NTU'ers).

It was raining, QQ (my best'ies in Hall) was in class. After some whining over the phone to my friend, we decided to go Holland V area to eat XO Fish Beehoon.

But... But...

The moment i hopped onto his car, i changed my mind due to the traffic and the rain. Sorry... Sorry... Always change my mind not too long after i make up my mind. (-__-)" Sumimasei...

So we ended up with these...At Pioneer Mall... The destination my friend suggested since i never step foot in it before. Better do so before i'm gone for good from NTU. Haha...

The Chille is SUPERB!!! Wonderful... Glorious... Leaving my tongue numb yet my stomach calling out for more.

The ladies fingers looked old and overfried but surprisingly it tasted good! None of the overfried taste neither is it too "old" and with strands of fiber.

No oysters, got mussels. Not the big big mussels, but good enought to satisfy. Not too spicy and very sweet, full of flavour from the sea. Fried mussels remains as one of my favourite dish at any Malay stalls. Who cares about hygiene? Hee...

I must say, this picture doesn't give justice to the taste of this yummy-licious piece of chicken. I seriously didn't what style of cooking when i ordered it. I thought it was rendan initially judging from the display but when it was served, it definitely didn't look like it was rendang *faintz* But it was Aww...Sooo... Soo.. Good! Even my friend who doesn't really take spicy was asking me for the "Kua" to go with his meal. It was sweet than spicy, i can see bits of tomatoes and dhal in the "kua" and the chicken was really tender despite it was fried before cooking with sauce. Sedapnya...

Time to head back to my books. I really can't waste anymore time. Time is running short.

Ganbatte~

Ok folks, after this, i might be away for one to two weeks. I'm trying not to log in at all, it's being very distracting especially when now, i'm being food deprived. *help*

Wish me all the best~

Chicken Udon @ Cafe by The Quad, NTU

Know as The Quad, a cafe establised in 2005.

Located at the heart of Nanyang Technological University, where the two major academic spines meet. This centrally located cafe can seat up to 450 people, it is the latest hip eating place in NTU.

Offering international cuisines, from Western cuisine, Japanese cuisine to local and vegetarian delights, one will be spoilt for choices. Baked rice, spaghetti, roast chicken, laksa, beef noodles, mixed rice, udon and bento. You name it, they have it! A special salad counter that offers self-service salad @ $1.50/small bowl or $5/big bowl, everyone needs their serving of veg *wink*

By the way, it is also located at Basement 1 of School of Biological Sciences, the school i am studying currently. It has become a norm for us to dine there when we do not have sufficient time to travel (by walking of course!) to other canteens.

This serving of udon is definitely able to filled up an adult man. Generous in their serving, they are also very generous in their condiments. Topped with Japanese fish cake and 3 different types of mushroom ie: Straw Mushroom, Button Mushroom and Abalone Mushroom, i am well pleased. Sprinkle of Japanese red chille pepper, it is ready to go~ Into my mouth down to my oesophagus, dive right into my stomach of course! *grin*

Chicken-thigh, roasted yet tender and juicy. Served together with some brocolli and Ya-Chai (fried yam and brinjal tempura style), a wholesome and delicious meal. At $3.50 only, you can only get it in NTU.

So what are you waiting for? Come visit me in NTU and i'll bring you there~

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant @ Bugis Junction

Bugis, located at the central of Singapore. Besides the buzz during weekends which is a killer, i still couldn't find another reason why i would choose to go here.

"3 years, 5 visits. I considered this as a record. "

So when it comes to food, the overwork auditor who works around the area recommended this place. We, a bunch of innocent-looking, stomach-growling young adults headed to this place after quite a while of you-know-what-reason-that-make-one-late waiting.

Located at level 2 of Bugis Junction, the escalator besides swenson sends you to the doorstep of the restaurant. Walking into Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, i felt as if i have walked into another Crystal Jade branch with better lighting (some CJ's branches have poor lighting which affect my pics). With the familiar wooden chairs and tables, we were comfortably sitted at the far end of the restaurant.

Pickles were served while we were flipping through the menu. The pickles were sour and pungent yet delicious. The cabbage and carrot were crunchy and full of flavour, a very refreshing starter.

Steamed Bun with Glutinous Rice 糯米烧卖 (3pcs) @ $4.20

It looks great on the menu, but the taste was just so-so. Nothing special and i didn't want to waste my calorie on it. Comment was based on JimJIm's feedback.

Abalone Mushroom Noodle 鲍汁菌菇面 @ $7.50

The noodle got nothing to shout about except for its soup. The soup was a very clear, subtly flavoured abalone soup with a hint of flavour derived from the thinly sliced leeks. Served with sliced abalone mushroom, it was the carb-source when your meal was protein laden, or should i say, pork-filled? *bleah*

Golden Fried Rice 黄金炒饭 @ $8.50

They said, " Name reflects one's appearance & personality".

Served with generous amount of pork floss topping, each grain of rice was coated with reddish-golden colour. From the cooking oil, i supposed??? It remained as an unknown. I love fried rice served in such a way. Grains of rice separated. I couldn't stand sticky-clumpy-sore-to-the-eye fried rice. This is good stuff! The first mouth burst into sweet & spicy flavour before the taste of eggs and dried shrimp surfaced to the taste bud.

"What comes to your mind when you see a saucer or vinegar with shredded ginger?"

Steamed Soup Bun with Pork Filling 鲜肉小笼 (6pcs) @ $6.00

"YES, You're right! It's Xiu Long Bao!!!"

Steamed Soup Bun with Crab Roe and Pork Filling 蟹黄小笼 (6pcs) @ $11.80

Did i mentioned that i was fascinated by the menu? especially the xiu long bao or steamed bun section? They serve not one, not two, not even three, but NINE TYPES of xiu long bao!!!!!!

From pork filling, crab meat with pork to mushroom, vegetables to SHARK FIN CRAB ROE WITH PORK filling~ Talk about looks can be deceiving. If they try serving the whole range of xiu long bao, i wouldn't be able to differentiate what is what by its appearance.

There are two categories of Xiu Long Bao, and by the way, they call their xiu long bao as steamed bun here. Special steamed bun and superior grade steamed bun. Price ranges from $6.00-$12.00 for 6pcs. It's pretty reasonable.

Up till now, i've only tried Crystal Jade's xiu long bao. If i am given a choice, i probably will choose here? *uncertain* First of all, i'm not a pork person. When it comes to pork, unless it is sweet and sour pork by my aunty and stewed pork ribs by my dearest ma-ma, i normally would turn it down. I still couldn't get used to the taste and smell of pork though my grandpa was a butcher and my uncle still is one...

Secondly, i don't chew on pork dish. Again, back to reason No.1. Cos i couldn't take the smell. So i couldn't really recall the taste of the filling of the xiu long bao. One thing for sure is, its skin is thin yet able to hold the flavourful soup.

Spicy Steamed Soup Bun with Crab Meat and Pork Filling 香辣蟹肉小笼 @ $9.80

This gigantic steamed bun occupied the whole small bamboo steaming tray. A straw was served together and it was meant to eat, or better known as drink the "gems" using the straw.

"Be careful, it's very hot" said the waiter.

We heeded his advice. There were so much xiu long bao on the table so we didn't mind to save it for the last. Didn't they say "save the best for last"? Yea, this was what we meant.

No one eats the bao here. The whole bao was left intact for almost all of us, except for the two with high level of curiousity (me inclusive).*haha*

I'm glad i opened it up cos it revealed the gems: dried scallop, shredded crab meat etc which made the soup luscious and extremely sweet and rich. Full of flavour!!! It is like having a bowl of superior soup in the form of xiu long bao. Erm...It shouldn't be called xiu long bao, it should be Big Long Bao~ *grin*

Now i know where i would head to when i want some xiu long bao.

Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
200 Victoria Street
#02-53 Bugis Junction
Singapore 188024
Tel: 65-68357577
Fax: 65-68357877

Bruschetta @ Hall 8

I was watching TV programme at my beloved QQ's room.
With the rest playing Mahjong.
I never learn how to play.

QQ says "don't bother to teach her", cos i always forget what i've learnt, even after Many Many times of viewing their MJ session.

No talent in Mahjong, perhaps.
But... I always wanted to learn, but without playing with $$$ *hint hint* Any taker?

So back to my room, there I go.
Left my key in QQ's room all alone.
Slippers i changed, downstairs i went.
To get my poor key was my aim.
To get back to my room, to bathe and sleep.
But... But... But...
Hijacked, there and then.
And this was what i did in the end.

Bruschetta with diced tomato in herbs & olive oil and mozzerella cheese

Being asked to be a Sous Chef, how could i resist??? Lol...

And we made, Bruschetta!!!

" Bruschetta is a food whose origin dates to at least the 15th century from central Italy. It consists of grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular American recipe involves basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomato. Bruschetta is usually served as a snack or appetizer. "

It was tedious, for the 9 slices of Bonjour Herb Loaf, we took almost an hour to prepare. Restricted by the mini oven, or should i call it toaster instead, it's so small, food production was extremely slow. =(

People waiting and calling out for their supper, i heard from the pantry. They were drawn by the luscious buttered toast.

After a few mishaps, like

• "The Fell of Cherry Tomato" by JOjo on the way to pantry,
• "The Fell of Freshly Grilled Bruschetta in the Oven" by JOjo too and
• "The Sticking of The Cheese on The Glass Panel" by our Ms.Shu Pei who claimed that she would make sure no more mishap happen to our Bruschetta,
  

our supper was finally ready to be served. Yeah!!!

The effort of putting the bread in and out of the oven for 3 times was paid off. Every bite of the Bruschetta was crispy and burst with the aromatic smell of butter and garlic. Extremely delectable!

A glass of Nepal's Mint tea (with compliment by ShuPei) with NTUC's honey and a slice of freshly made Bruschetta, Hall life couldn't be any better. Just for this once...

Ps: All the ingredients were provided by Swifthawk, with compliments. Lotsa thanks!

"Cooking is such a joy, with friends who love the process of cooking too..."

Lunch @ Maxwell Food Centre

We said we are going to Bugis for shopping, cos Chun Chun wanted to buy New Year clothings. We wanted to help her makeover. We wanted to tag along. But it was last week.

This week. Everybody was too lazy to go shopping. No mood. Overwhelmed by lectures after lectures for the whole week. And it was only the second week since school started. Getting tired, faster than any other semester. At least for me...

A meal would be good.

In the end, there were 11 of us. Trying to conquer Maxwell. Trying... Trying... Haha...

Too much Dried Kiwi during lesson, keeping me awake yet made me felt bloated, even at 2pm.

I was looking for something that was not too heavy.

Browsing through the stalls. I like this food centre. Lots of variety though the food items sold are pretty generic.

I wanted to try everything but limited space in my tummy restricted me from doing so.

The little Hakka in me was pretty active on Friday. So when i saw this stall (Stall 32), i decided to order a bowl of Hakka Tou Fu @ $3.00. There were 2pcs of white toufu, 2pcs of Tou Fu Pok (Fried Toufu) & 2pcs of fish paste wrapped in Beancurd Skin. The Toufu's size was big and the stuffing was homemade. But i was expecting more. The stuffing wasn't really flavourful, just plain pork. The meat wasn't well-seasoned and the texture was too soft. A little bit of disappointment but Yu Chii said it was pretty nice. Different people different taste, i guess?

Hakka Yong Tau Fu @ $3.00

But something else surprised me.

This stall doesn't only sell Yong Tau Fu. They also have some other Hakka Dishes such as Shuan Pan Zi (Da-Pu Yam Nuggets) and Mei Chai Kou Rou (Braised Pork Slice with Mei Cai Veg).

Shuan Pan Zi @ $3.00

The Shuan Pan Zi was pretty good. Topped with fried shallots and spring onions which added crunchiness to the dish. An authentice Hakka dish which is not my favourite when i was in Kluang. But now, i sort of miss it. My evil twin said the one made by her grandmum tastes better. Duh...Homemade vs Hawker Centre. How to compare ???

We also had the Pisang goreng recommended by ieatishootipost which was superb. The Pisang Raja was moist and soft. The batter was crispy. A perfect Pisang Goreng! But priced at $1.20, a little too expensive for me.

Ice Kacang @ $1.20

We ordered a cup of High-Calcium Soy Bean. A tint Horlicks taste together with the thick homemade Soy Bean drink, it's a pretty filling yet satisfying after-meal-drink. Ice Kacang topped with peanuts from Red Bean Peanut House ended our meal and you know what? We all prefer the ice-kacang without the peanut topping. *lol*

A simple meal with my school friends. Not much of such oppurtunity to dine out as a group. I think this is the first time after 2 1/2 years of studies in NTU. So, it's time to go out more, folks!

Hehe... Then i can take more food pics.... *wink*

X'mas Luncheon@CCO

Received an email last week titled "Team Building Gathering" a.k.a X'mas Luncheon on 17th Dec, 10.30am-2.30pm.

I was told to prepare the games for the day. Other than that, the prior itenary would be a team learning session, to fix our broken english.

Event was held mainly in the limited spaced conference room. 14 staffs, 4 student assistants and 1 temporary staff.

Our "english teacher" of the day was Eileen. She prepared a worksheet consist of 20+ Q's with common English error for us. We were supposed to spot the mistakes and correct it.

Subject-verb agreement which operates sub-consciously was brought up to our attention. Sometimes automated operation fails hah.

Preposition that has been forgotten. Unnecessary preposition. Comma before and after a clause. The blur look on many made our director started to wonder whether we were taught of all these in school. Common mistakes like "well-wishers" and "good wishes" was highlighted. No proceed on to. Is repeatitive. Just proceed to is enough. Many of it which were so commonly found in Mediacorp or even newspaper. No wonder they say, language is alive! Unless you are taking about latin...

We had 4 games all together. The extremist, like send out candidates without knowing the category, when we were actually looking for the widest smile, strongest arm, smallest shoe size. A little get-to-know-your-colleague session. AMK won in distant while Swimming & Gyming make your arm strong. Mr.Keith won the widest smile with 8cm width while Chandra only wears a 5.5 shoe size. Amazingly small!

Usual Win-Lose-Or Draw was played with categories like movies, phrases, cartoon characters and drama series/Variety Show. Easy Bitsy for the office. A game they are too familiar with. Not challenging at all. No fun on my side. Haha.

A little Christmas Hunt in the office was fun! A list of items including wrapped presents and Christmas Socks were included. A Christmas pouch was presented while another drew the Christmas Socks. Wrapped presents under the Christmas Tree deco at the main lobby were borrowed (under the supervision of the guard uncle at the lobby) while it was forgotten by another team. Getting $3.95 using 13 coins was a bit too easy for Patrick when $1 coin was allowed. An item both teams couldn't fulfill was 2 Samsung handphones. Only 1 person in the whole office uses Samsung handphone. Careless on our side! Getting 3 stuffed toys was not challenging at all. Having a stuffed toy around has become an necessity in the office. It was really fun seeing them runnning around in the office gathering stuffs, working together to beat the 5 minutes limit. Although both couldn't present the complete list of items, it was of good effort.

The last game we played was Christmas Card Making Session. There was a 15 minutes time limit and the team must sing Christmas Carols while they make the card. The team must send in one representative to present their "creation" and describe why Corporate Communication Office should use the design. You will be surprise by the number of carols (including the lyrics) one can memorise. I observed there were basically three types of people when it comes to teamwork. 1. The leader or commander. 2. The hardworker. 3. The slacker or use-eyes-to-work type. Two innovative Christmas Cards were well presented by Director Tan and Keith.

One interesting thing i observed was, when we were annoucing the winner for the card making session, they started to cheer for their team. This was not seen in the games conducted earlier on.

My conclusion: you will only feel the pride of the card and be proud of your own team when you are involved in the making/when you feel the belonging.

The Christmas Card Making Session marked the end of the whole CCO Christmas Luncheon. I'm glad that they enjoyed the games and we got to know each other better through the games.

Corporate Communication Office Staffs

Oh, how can a foodie lover like me forget to show you a glimpse of what we had for the luncheon?

I'm really sorry because i was busy preparing the games session, that was the reason why i didn't shoot the full range of food as individuals. Some of the food feathured in the picture are Fried Rice, Braised Vegetables with Carrot and Mushrooms, Thai Green Curry Chicken, Sweet and Sour Dory Fillet, Prawn Roll, and Home-made Otah with Okra. Some food not shown in picture are Singapore Style Mee Siam (with gravy), Fried Softshell Crab with homemade gravy and Bor Bor Cha Cha.

It was a simple Christmas Luncheon with simple buffet layout. As many were on leave (year end annual leave clearing season), we were all fed to our max!

A Cuppa Warmth My Heart Away

It's a bright Saturday morning, surprisingly. It has been raining for more than a week now. Most of the time, it will start raining at around 11am, until the next day. From drizzling from heavy downpour, it just couldn't stop raining.

OOps...Here comes the rain at 2pm. Haha, speak of the devil hah!

Had a good night sleep despite waking up at 3.30am, feeling nausea. It must be the cake and milk from the night before. My stomach couldn't take creamy stuff (come to think about ice-cream and cheesecake) since my diarrhoe last Sunday. I think I probably should keep myself away from the sweet bites for the time being.

It has been a really boring week. Day-in and day-out from work. I wasn't in the mood of working out in the gym. Too lazy to go swimming. Feeling even more lethargy with the rainy weather. Just feel like snuggle in my not-too-warm blanket.

Here comes Friday. Yeah, time for a movie. Alvin and the Chipmunks seems like a good choice. Indeed, it was a happy movie. Bring a smile for everyone sitted in the theatre, including me, especially Me holding the sweet popcorn in my hand!

Popcorn does fill you up! It did, at least to me. I haven't been feeling too well, especially appetite wise. Eating a little fills me up. I merely had 1/4 of the popcorn, or slightly more and I didn't have space for dinner.

In the end, decided to have a slice of cake at Coffee Bean. Looking at their cake selection, the cake-gluttony in me was awaken! Mixed-berries Meringue, Chocolate Toblerone, Traditional Carrot Cake, Christmas Pudding and Log Cake etc. were calling out for me. I wanted to try their carrot cake for some time for now but the Mixedberries Meringue is for a litmited season only, i think. So i ordered the meringue. I wanted to try their Chocolate Toblerone as well, but i was going to have the cake on my own. Looking at my condition, i doubt my stomach could take it (no space, no appetite, even for my fav cake!). So the Mixed-Berries Meringue was the only order.

My friend ordered a cup of Hot Caramel Latte which was very rich. I love Coffee Bean's Coffee! Simply delicious.

The slice of cake came with a little reindeer on it. To my dismay, the slice of cake was spoilt, at the center portion where the mixedberries were. The berries was too moist, i supposed, which led to the spoilage of the slice. Brought it to the attention of the barista, they exchanged a new slice at no cost.

The Mixed-Berries Meringue, with rasberry and strawberry (hope i didn't miss out any) in the middle was tasty nonetheless. The layer of not that soft sponge cake in the middle didn't appeal to my palate. The thick and generous layer of creamcheese layer didn't fail to satisfy me. But a tad too sweet even for my high sweet tolerance. The layer of meringue tasted a little like marshmallow.

In case you don't know what is meringue, it means a delicate, frothy mixture made with beaten egg whites and sugar or hot syrup, and browned, used as a topping for pies, pastry, etc.

After tasting the cup of caramel latte, i couldn't resist but to order a cup of non-caffeine drink. Didn't feel like having any dose of caffeine. I couldn't decide to have hot chocolate or hot vanilla. Hot vanilla which tasted more like a cup of sweetened milk was my choice.

I LOVE MILK! i must say... I hadn't been drinking any dairy product after my diarrhoe and fever last Sunday. Been drinking Teh-O from Canteen A. The vanilla wasn't distinct but the foamy milk was lovely. I love the feeling on savouring a cup of warm milk on a cold winter night.

Oops...No winter in Singapore. It's cold rainy night. The warm, closed to hot cup of milk sent warmth down my spine, right into my heart, keeping me warm inside out. I think a cup of warm yummy milk keep the loneliness of staying in Singapore without my family at bay. I always remember my dad would always make me a cup of hot milk (from Fernleaf milk powder) at night when i was young or when i couldn't get to sleep. Missing home again...

Sometimes, things just do not change even after two and a half years.

I still miss home.

Self Enjoyment when I'm Alone

But, I was hungry... and actually i was craving for something...

TUNG YUAN !!!

I couldn't resist my craving. It led me to Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao. If it was my oldself, before i had the current job, i wouldn't even have the thought of coming to Crystal Jade. I must count everything to the cents before i spend. Seriously, I really thank God for blessing me in every area of my life, financially, friends, church etc. I'm so much more blessed financially than i used to be two and a half years ago when i first came to Singapore.

Digress... That's another story all together. Anyway, served and sitted, the waitress was suprised i was alone. Seldom she sees people coming alone, i supposed.

Sitted and started looking around, La Mian and Xiao Long Bao are the most frequent ordered dishes. Stomach growling. Feeling slightly hungry. Browsing through the menu. La mian was calling out for me but i doubted, i was almost 100% certain i couldn't finish one bowl when i'm hungry. Let alone i wasn't that hungry! Suddenly i missed my eating partner, who could wallop almost everything that I couldn't finish.

After some good 5-10 mins, i sticked back to my original plane. I ordered 姜茶汤圆 Sweet Glutinous Dumpling in Ginger Soup $3.50, served hot. I waited for almost 10-15 mins for its arrival. As usual, took some picture while waiting. Again i took the picture of it before i started consuming it. Hardcore blogger. New found interest in blogging ok?

Here you go...

姜茶汤圆 Sweet Glutinous Dumpling in Ginger Soup came with only two glutinous tang yuan in it. *disappointed* I thought there should be three. Not sure. Never eaten.

The ginger soup was concentrated and slightly oversweet but with a very nice fragrance in it. Nice and delicious nontheless. The ginger soup tasted tangyly fresh and it was brown in colour. I supposed they cooked the ginger soup upon order using fresh ginger (by pounding it?) and they used brown or red sugar instead of the nromal white sugar. The 汤圆 tang yuan was soft with black sesame fillings and the skin wasn't too thick. It was made closed to perfection. Most probably it was handmade tang yuan because most packet tang yuan's skin were too thin and they couldn't hold the ingredients inside so the paste would burst out upon the first bite. This one, you could still chew the QQ skin made with glutinous rice flour.

A simple hot dessert that had won my heart over since young!

It was a pleasant me and myself session. I had a good time with myself, with lots of window shopping and eating one of my favourite food. I love my simple way of life.

Who says one can't have fun with oneself ???

Full entry on this can be found here http://jojo185.blogs.friendster.com/joannas_life/2007/12/self_enjoyment_.html

The Magic Of ChongQing Hot Pot @ Tanglin Shopping Centre

It was Yueh Siang's Birthday.

It was officially the second last day of exam in NTU.

But for most of my close friends in hall, we already finished our exams or on that day itself.

We wanted to celebrate Yueh Siang's Birthday.

They decided on the place. I've decided not to look at the $$$ sign as i know it would make my heart bleed. But it has been a while since i dine out with my hall friends. So I just followed along.

We went to......

leaving poor Alvin Tong Xue in hall...

It was a Chinese Restaurant serving Si Chuan Cuisine and also ala-carte buffet steamboat. Located Tanglin Shopping Centre with another outlet at Suntec Fountain Terrace, this outlet was not a place where youngster would normally go. I'm pretty surprised that there was a good dinner crowd when we arrived.

The oriental design of the restaurant with attractive red lanterns, faux stucco walls and Oriental ornaments create the feel of a country house in Sichuan. Simple and attractive wooden chairs and tables complete the look.

There were two or three plates of Edamame or the green pea which we usually get in Japanese Restaurant on the table but none of us consume it as it didn't look fresh. We were served with The Duo-Flavoured ChongQing Hot Pot. In it were their famous "Ma La Tang" and "old faithful chicken stock". There were four different sauce on the sauce tray which were sesame oil, sesame paste, grind chilli and chilli with garlic.

The captain (is he? or he is just one of the waiter?? Not quite sure) recommended the "Eight Treasures Tea" or "Ba Bao Cha" when taking our drinks order. He mentioned it was free-flow Ba Bao Cha but actually it was just adding hot water to the cup filled with the eight ingredients. Occupational habit of mine made me looked into the cup and started counting and indentifying the eight ingredients. Hmm... The eight ingredients were some common herbs, Yong Sam Sou or "Foreign Ginseng Adventitial Roots" known to have cooling properties; Jasmine Tea Leaves; Wolfberry or "Gou Qi Zi"; Red Dates; Sugared Wintermelon; Sugared Orange Peel; Rock Sugar and last but not least, honey. The cup of tea tasted good and soothing but priced @ $4.00/cup was a little too expensive for me, especially when i can identified the ingredients and it weren't some exotic herbs or such.

We were also served with savoury dim sum before and in between meals such as fried spring roll, xiao long bao,guo tie (pan-fried dumpling) etc.

According to the "Captain Uncle", there were three magical steps to enjoy the Dup-Flavoured ChongQing Hot Pot which were:

1. Eat with the Sesame Paste/Sesame Dips. It was supposed to enhance the tastes of the various ingredients cooked in the broth and also to restore the pallate after eating the fiery spicy broth (Ma La Tang).




2. The savoury and sweet tid-bits (such as fried spring rolls, guo tie etc) were served to cleanse and relive the palate from the spiciness of the Ma La broth.




3. The Eight Treasures Tea was recommend to restore the body's Yin Yang balance after a spicy meal.

"Orh... " was our reaction after the enlightenment from Mr.Captain Uncle.

Thinly sliced beef (for you to do shabu-shabu), fish, chicken, quail eggs and a variety of veggies, all were common steamboat spread. The only worth thing worth mentioning was each person was entitled to one serving of raw salmon and abalone which turned out to be a slice only. Good things were hard to come by...

As usual, Kerry was with his toufu diet...

We were entertained by the person (Mr. Captain Uncle in the picture) who came and refilled our cup. The kettle used was with a very very Very VERY Long spout. It required experience and precision to get the water pour into the cup without getting the spill all over the table. Amazed!

I'm pretty astonished by the amount of food one can stuffed into one's stomach! We spent almost three hours at the restaurant and the last one standing was Steph with Glennis accompanying her. Phew~ We literally ate until the electric heater stopped and we had to call the waitress to on it back for us, cos they hadn't finish eating!

Desserts were limited to one serving each too, they were: Fried Man Tou (Bun) served with condensed milk, Fried White Nian Gao and Waterchestnut Kuih. The Man Tou was fried to its perfect texture: Crispy on the outside,soft and warm on the inside. A perfect match to go with the condensed milk. Fried White Nian Gao was chewy but nothing special. Waterchestnut kuey served slightly chilled and refreshing.

The last item served before we left the place was another dessert item. We could only choose between ice-cream or "Eight Treasure Porridge" / "Ba Bao Zhou" which was served hot. Everybody else went for the ice-cream except for me. I had the hot dessert and seriously, nothing special. The ice-cream wasn't some famous Haagen-Daz, i bet it was Magnolia/Cremo/Walls.

The bill came up to almost $40/person. Personally i didn't think i've eaten that much (even after skipping my lunch) neither did i felt the value of the meal especially when you can get some decent ChongQing Ma La steamboat at Bugis area.

The Magical ChongQing Hot Pot

19, Tanglin Road,

#04-06/07, Tanglin Shopping Centre,

Singapore.

Opening Hours:

12noon-3pm (Lunch)

6pm-11pm (Dinner)

Last Orders :
An hour before closing
Days Closed:
Lunch of Eve Of Chinese New Year
First day of Chinese New Year
Set Meals Served: Yes (Lunch only)
Buffets Served: Yes
Vegetarian Dishes: Yes
Private Function Rooms:
Yes, 4. Accommodate up to 50 pax.
Credit Cards:
Amex, Visa, MasterCard, Diners, JCB
Reservations: Required

Geláre Cafe @ Plaza Singapura

It was a Tuesday evening.

And at Geláre, it's Half Price Waffles Day !!!

Yup, you heard me right, it's HALF PRICE, a 50% off on freshly baked waffles. It's only valid for the plain waffles with syrup and whip cream only. But what's a Geláre Waffles without the all time fav Gelare ice-cream? Furthermore Geláre ice-cream is low in fat content and Geláre sorbets are 100% fat and dairy free. Whee~ Making one less guilty upon eating the ice-cream *wink*

And you know what, i actually forgotten to take a picture of the waffles. Anyway, what we had was a large waffle topped with whip cream and maple syrup and a scoop of Swiss Caramel Chocolate ice-cream.

The combination was simply lovely. Just that the maple syrup not really visible except you can see a few strands at the side of the plate to assure you that there was maple syrup. As usual, Geláre ice-cream doesn't disappoint (except for its Rum & Raisins which was an ultimate disappointment). Its freshly baked waffles was served warm, crispy on the outside; warm and soft on the inside!

Priced at $5.90 after 50% off, no wonder there's always a long queue on Tuesday at every Geláre outlet.

Caesar Salad with Smoked Salmon $10.90

I love Caesar Salad! I will always order this if I caught it in the menu. This salad was a disappointment. I was expecting Romaine Lettuce with tiny bits of croutons. There were lettuce and croutons, but it wasn't Romaine lettuce, it was just some normal lettuce you buy in NTUC. The croutons wasn't fresh. It felt like some packet croutons with a heavy aftertaste. Shredded cheese was no where to be found neither could you trace the black pepper. Caesar dressing? Only bottled Mayonnaise squeezed on the salad. I still managed to finish up the salad eventhough the smoked salmon was too salty. I love veggies, what to do? *grin*

Seafood Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce $10.90

Sorry to say, the pasta didn't look appealing to me no matter how much i love seafood pasta. It looked pretty pathetic actually. Serving was small with little seafood. Only 2 miserable prawns and a few, probably 4 tiny pieces of squids which were both overcooked till rubbery texture. The only seafood that tasted "ok" was the fish bites, but it was small and limited in quantity too. After some tasting, we found out that it was actually shark's meat, which is a cheap-o kind of fish-lah. Disappointed. You can taste that the sauce should be some bottled sauce, not freshly cooked sauce. Overpriced, under-value pasta. What a let down!

Frappe Hazelnut Caramel Latte $5.40

Looked good? Please do not be deceived by its appearance. Both me and my makanmate found it diluted and a little yucky. How yucky to be called yucky, you might wonder? Let me described just a little more. Frappe - A beverage made of milk, flavoring, and ice cream, shaken or whipped until foamy. This one, the coffee and the cream part were separated, badly blended. I saw the separation process taking place slowly but surely, right in front of my eyes! Even after trying to blend it back manually by stirring with the straw and spoon, the shaved ice was just too rough and the coffee was just too diluted, close to tasteless. I felt Starbucks' Frappe is better even i'm not a Fan of Starbucks.

"Moral of the story : Only order Waffles and its ice-cream selection when you visit Geláre to avoid disappointment."

I'll still go back to Geláre, but definitely not for its main and salad.

I'm a Happy Girl~ Suki Sushi Buffet@Cineleisure

Recently, I mean this semester, i've got more chances to step in decent restaurants.

In year 1, I hardly stepped into a restaurant or a cinema.

To recall, i think i only went to eat in a restaurant once with QQ, YT, Kerry in the entire academic year! Serious!

Time passed and i'm already in my third year in NTU, life has changed. Not much, but surely for the better.

Now i wonder, is it me? Or my friends? Or just me being well taken care of?

This reminded me of a print on a Tee i saw today. "I'm not Spoilt, I'm just being well taken care of!" Hmm... A phrase well said? Or just an excuse?

But for my "improved" life, i guess probably is the latter two.

With more friends around me, more birthdays to celebrate, more reasons to eat out.

With friends who care whether you have taken your meal.

With friendship built up over-time, hanging out and spending time with each other is vital. Be it during term time (which is seldom for us due to extremely packed schedule) or after exam. For a bunch of girls not into retail therapy, what else besides food ???

Maybe is because i work a little here and there, thus i can afford a little pleasure in life. Sometimes. Just occassionally.

This is the 2nd Official Outing for The Six Girl Gang. Woahaha, a new name i thought of while typing this. 1st Outing was on 1st Oct, after our 《伤寒》exam. This time, was after our 《金匮要略》exam. Exam officially ended for us yesterday but all were too tired to go out. Both 1st & 2nd outing, we ate Japanese food.

Whoo~ I want to classify Japanese Food under my Fav Food Category and since my study here in Singapore, it slowly becomes one of my comfort food besides cakes and choc.

But when is a all girls outing, be ready to wait or be late! *grin* But all of us didn't mean to be late. Only YuChun turned up early cos she forgot about the meet up time agreed on yesterday. Everyone turned up late, yet almost at the same time.

We had a lot of food. Because it was a buffet so i won't go into details. These are some of the items we had.

1st row L to R : Salmon & Maguro Sashimi, Tai & dunno what Sashimi, Hana Maki (Salmon Wrapped sushi topped with mayo and ebikko)

2nd row: Ikura Sushi, Chuka Wakame (seaweed), shisamo

3rd row: Fried Ika (squid), Ajitsuke Idako (squid), and forgot-the-name some kind of pea, quite nice

Some other items we had were Chuka Kurage (Jellyfish) , Chuka Hotate (Clamshell meat), Fried Salmon Skin, Baked scallop with tomato and cheese, Chawamushi, Tuna Mayo Inari Sushi, Ebi Sushi, Unagi Sushi, Salmon Sushi, California Hand Roll, Fried Tofu, Cold Tofu and one more tofu dish which i couldn't remember, Kushiage (fried potato), Ebikko Sushi, Soft Shell Crab, Mini Cream Puff and Fruits.

It may sound a lot, but there were 6 of us. We only request one serving for most of the items listed except those tofu dishes and sashimi.

Oh, did i mentioned we get free-flow drinks too? Beverages ranging from fruit juices to hot green tea, but all of us opted the hot green tea.

We were having a good time eating and chit-chating. Talking nonsense, laughing at each other. Eat and eat and eat until peng, tummy bloated, almost couldn't straighten my back!

The conveyor belt behaved strangely, it was slow-fast-slow-fast. One can notice the change of speed through the movement of the sushi place. One has to be alert and act fast to "catch" the sushi plate you want when it's moving really fast. We came to the conclusion that the speed is controlled by the management to control the flow of sushi in and out of the kitchen.

One interesting event to highlight is, we saw FLYING MINI CREAM PUFF!!! The conveyor belt was moving in such a high speed and our dear Yu Chii couldn't decide whether she wanted another plate of creampuff. By the time she decided, the creampuff was already moving away from her. In order to catch it, she stretched our her mighty hand towards the plate, caught hold of the plate, lifted it up and "Kong", the plate knock on the cover of the next sushi plate, her hand trembled a little and the mini creampuffs FLEW! 4 creampuffs on a plate, left with only 1. Yu Chun with her "alien" superpower, swiftly caught hold of the other two mini creampuffs with her bare hand before it went disappeared along the conveyor belt. We were laughing our heads off while holding to our bloated tummies!

Service? Photo tells it all...

Too few waiters and waitresses to serve so many tables.

Orders tend to be a very slow or they might even forgot all about it. Hand roll was done terribly, the seaweed almost came off! Nothing worth commenting but i must say they serve quite good tofu dishes. Environment? A very noisy background but we were equally noisy as well.

Overall, not too bad for low-budget student like us. At least i get to eat my sashimi, free-flow. Paying around $21 after tax, with students that made up of most of the patrons, i'm not surprise with the service we get. Will we still come back? I think we probably going somewhere else to try oher food since we seldom dine out.

Suki Sushi

Cineleisure
8 Grange Road Cathay Cineleisure Orchard #04-02 Singapore 239695
Tel: 6737 9608
Fax: 6737 2605

Buffet available all day from 12pm - 5.30pm
(all $1.80 - $4.90 items only. Last order at 5.00pm)
Adults $ 20.90++ Students/Senior Citizens $ 17.90++ Kids (below 10yrs old) $ 10.90++ Additional $1.00 for weekends. Price before tax & 7% GST
Free flow of Juices (Deserts not included in buffet)

Did we enjoy ourselves for the rest of the day?

I bet we did, at least for me. We were having fun with all the little things in store. It's so fun to just hang out with the friends you love, spending time together, laugh and giggle non-stop while creating memories that can last forever.

That's why i came back hall a happy girl.