Sunday lunch

Thanks to Singapore Restaurant Week, I got to try Le Bon Marché at a much more affordable price. It's located in the upper class area of Singapore, Bukit Timah, where many posh restaurants are situated... Personally, if I were to buy myself a good expensive meal, I'd still prefer Brazil Churrasco on Sixth Avenue anytime over this (disregarding the type of cuisine).

A huge sign reads "Le Bon Marché" outside the restaurant, and you wouldn't be able to miss it! We arrived 15 minutes earlier and the bistro-style restaurant was barely full. We were then ushered to one of the reserved tables. There was no iced water available, so you have to either order a bottle of sparkling water or still water. So we made our choices and ordered, including the drinks I have been recently a bit crazy over -Grapetizer/Appertizer/Peartizer, the pear which is not found in Singapore. They are basically sparkling version of juice.

As we had to wait for the food, we started snapping pictures. Little known to us is that they disallow pictures taken of a board in the restaurant which lists their menu. Usually we just like to take the pictures for fun and memory sake, it never goes up anywhere. Anyway, we respect their rule and avoid snapping one of the board. Looking at the prices, it's insane (but it's Bukit Timah hey!). What we were paying for the meal is only the price of their appetiser on à la carte.

So the food arrived. Let me describe and comment them further with pictures :)
FYI, these are for 2, of course we had our own desserts.

Sliced baguette with olive oil & vinegar

Fresh Crab Salad with Mango & Tomatoes Dice, Cucumber Gazpacho Sauce

 This is not as special as I thought. The crab salad has a very raw smell or taste to it, I reckon its the crab. It has nothing distinctive to make me go "Mmmmmmmm, I want more of it please"... Sadly, no.

Chicken Liver Parfait served with Sourdough Toast and Mesclum Salad

 At least I thought the chicken liver parfait is better. Then again, I think they taste the same everywhere. So the starters were really just alright.

Fillet of Red Snapper, Olive Tapenade & Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Lobster Bisque Sauce

 The fillet is tender, juicy and fresh, but matching with the baby carrots and vegetables gives it a very Asian feel somehow.

Oven Roasted Spring Chicken With Baby Potatoes, Green Zucchini & Tarragon Chicken Jus

 Potatoes are nicely baked. But there is NO SALT CONTROL, this is just too salty. I wonder if they put a handful instead of a pinch or did that whole load of salt got spilled on it instead of coming out from a shaker?! FAIL!!!! Fortunately, under that skin, it isn't that bad but still SALTY SALTY SALTY.

Vanilla Ice Cream Profiteroles with Warm Valrhona Manjari Chocolate Sauce

To be honest, we think that we're just paying for the dessert at the end of the meal. This is just the best thing! The money is just worth it spending on these profiteroles (skip that main course and starter, give me 6 of these!!). The chocolate sauce is warm and slightly bitter, it goes perfect with the vanilla ice cream profiteroles. GIMME MORE GIMME MORE GIMME MORE I say!

By the time, we were done, the restaurant was about 3/4 full. But having called for the bill, we almost waited for 15 minutes. Bad service - the others who ordered the bill at the same time had left and another who called for it 10 minutes later got theirs at the same time as us. There were two waitresses and a general manager out there, I guess it's understandable but hope the service can be more attentive. Also for a place as posh and costly as this, I would have expected utensils to be changed for each course but unfortunately not. There were also no napkins (not a big issue with me personally) but paper serviettes.

My verdict is to go for their dessert or have a glass of French wine... if you feel like pampering yourself! Paying so much (at its original prices) for the quality of food I got, I don't think it's worth breaking my piggy bank for. Well I have read better reviews about them, but I would rather go somewhere along Bukit Timah to better spend that amount of money unless the date is paying for it ;)

Always a second time

I'm definitely recommending these places because I've been back the 2nd time ;) I might have written about them briefly for my first visit but here's some real pictures taken during the re-visit :)

I went back to Ma Maison again, this time to another outlet with another friend, BS. This is taken a couple of months back but I still think it's worth mentioning. I ordered the sizzling steak which the waiter came over and lit my steak on fire! WOW. The service is polite and attentive, ambience is superb and cosy like the bugis outlet. The staff there are mostly Japanese as I think the Central branch has a lot of Japanese customers. Read about my first visit.

This is my dinner at Food for Thought at North Bridge Centre. Like the first time, the food is only prepared when you order, and of very good quality. The Shiitake Mushrooms (pasta) in garlic and olive oil dressing came with a side salad hence the portion is smaller. It does good for me, not sure for a big eater. I also had the Lychee Saga drink, which is a freeze but it dried up fast (gotta admit I'm a fast drinker), I think there was too much ice than juice! If you're thinking about having the fanciful looking cakes, think twice. After trying this Old Southern Red Velvet cake (photoshopped into the picture), both my friend and I didn't want to finish even half of it. I would have gone for Chocolate Banana Malteser but its not available that day, but I'm having second thoughts since the quality of the cake is greatly disappointing. But I will always go back for the food! The only thing I don't really like about dining there is sitting near the cooking area, it made us smell of grease at the end of the dinner!  Read about my first visit.

The Rotisserie, an australian place offering grilled juicy chicken (a little like Kenny Rogers but feels more like a healthier option) and a great venue for lunch. I have not written about this place before, but I have already been there twice by now. The picture above is my first visit, we weren't allowed to have chips as we opted for salads, so we must choose two salad types. Chips come as one of the choices but you are not allowed any vegetables or salads. There's the vegetables option and you can have all four of them I am surprised when I heard the staff saying that. So one could have the mashed potato, sweet corns, macaroni and cheese and califlowers if I remeber correctly. The second time, my friend had the chips while I remained with my salads so we could share :) The desserts also look tempting, and I heard the coffee's good too. Delicious and always worth revisiting as there's other stuff to try!

Dessert time

Now, let's talk about some good local finds... Not everything I listed are good, but well, it's subjective anyway ;)

Spotted this bakery near my office (this is at Raffles Place MRT underground), it's always packed with people. From breakfast, lunch to dinner time, you never fail to see people queueing up. Barcook Bakery also has another branch near my office (nearer to Chinatown), and that one offers a better variety. You will be surprised sometimes they are only baking two types of breads but everyone is already buying them like hotcakes.

One of my best friends surprised me with this delicate piece some time ago. It's from Glace and it's yummy! They have a variety of flavoured cheesecakes but this one is original as my friend does not know what's my preference. On the top right (inset), it shows how creamy and rich the cake is. Mmmmmmm...

Little sister got a craving one day and ran down to Le Cafe near Selegie to get these beancurd tarts. Unlike egg tarts, these are not as sweet, light and perfect for a dessert after dinner. Oh waooo... I think I'd like to satisfy the craving again soon.

I went by this place named Dessert Cup at the newly renovated Raffles City basement a couple of times, but never bought any. They are so pretty, alluring and tempting to add on to the waistline. Priced at S$4.50 each, I thought it was a bit hefty for just cupcake. So one day, the sister bought it and I had a sample... and I think I will come back and buy myself one or two on a sinful day.

My friend and I chanced upon this newly opened place that offers milkshake and ice cream at Raffles Place during lunch, and so we decided to give it a try since there was a opening promotion. The ice cream were too stiff for my liking, I guess that's why I prefer yogurt, sorbet and soft serve... We had cookie & cream, rum & raisin and another one which I forgot but they were a bit too milky for my preference. Maybe the milkshake would have been a better choice?

Snacks, from all over

Long long overdue... and thus I'll try to collate them in one long entry or possibly a few. Yes, yes, it's all about food and I just love talking to you about them ;)

Some time ago, boss gave this to us at work. Apparently, it's from Scotland. It's Tunnock's Caramel wafer, I normally dislike caramel because it's too sweet for me. Since it's imported, I decided to give it a try. The caramel made the wafer very sticky and chewy, unlike the crisp ones we normally get here. My colleague didn't enjoy it, however I quite like the "chewy" feel :)

Another Scottish import! Well, I brought this one back the other day... I happened to see this when I was having tea at Haddo House, it was sold in their bakery cum cafe. Apparently, it's handmade. It's more chocolate than toffee really, a misperception I had from the packaging. Milk chocolate with crunchy toffee bits, and yes it's sweet. I'm not a toffee person, bought this for anyone who likes it but ended up poor chocolate is being neglected so I had to do it. But it wasn't as bad as I thought as the toffee was minimal.

I am not sure where this box of Pocky is from (I bought it in a snacks shop), I think it's manufactured in Thailand. It has two of my favourite things, chocolate and banana - always the best combination. I always got to have it when I see chocolate banana crepe, ice cream, muffin... or anything you can think of!

A colleague got back from Hong Kong and has a whole bag of these duck tongue. She asked if I would like to try as she has too much for herself. So I said, "Why not!" Mmmmm, I kind of regretted saying that because after the experience, I didn't even want to bring the rest home for my family. I passed them on to the daring souls in the office who have acquired tastebuds for them! Fortunately, a Hong Kong girl, an Indonesian guy and another guy from China seem to enjoy them :)

Let me share with you the experience. When I opened it, it literally looked like a tongue! It was coated with some sticky syrup. So I decided to close my eyes and popped it in. It was soft and the texture felt like eating a chicken heart (if you ever tried)... except that there were bones!!! I didn't really enjoy it as I felt like I was biting some muscles (attached with bones) off an animal. Ermm... I guess let's just stop here.

Hell no... Don't underestimate these small little packets. There are very addictive. I think I had almost 30% of the whole box my colleague brought back from the Philippines.Wikipedia says Polvorones are spanish shortbreads and indeed Philippines is one of ex-Spanish colonies, so no surprise there! It's said they are popular during the Christmas season, I wonder if they have it during the normal time... If I ever visit, I will buy a whole lot of these! By the way, the original flavour is the best, I also like pinipig and cashew!

These are variation of the normal "Baby Ball" or so called "Egg Boro" snack I used to have when I was young. They melt in your mouth after some time... that's why it's a baby snack, you don't need to have teeth to eat them. But the Japanese version as captured above has exotic flavours, spinach and pumpkin. I thought these are also a more healthy type of snacks, my parents also seem to enjoy them.

I bought this the other day because it looked so queer. It's sweet potato ice cream shaped just like sweet potato. The Japanese are really imaginative! But it's not cheap, it's about S$5 for this, but just for the novelty of it, why not! I find it pretty unique, it has sweet potato flavoured ice cream and bits of sweet potato on the bottom as shown. It's also not too sweet for me.

Credits to my dearest Taiwanese friend, Carrie (I mentioned this the other day but without a picture)!! Thanks for the authentic sun biscuits from Taichung, they are simply the best :) I prefer these to wife biscuits from Hong Kong now.

This has been my dinner for some of my fat-free diet days. Oh my... I always like the Dairy Farmers yogurt; they are Australian, thick and creamy just like the tagline says. I used to buy the small cups which do not come as worthy as this. I have been dying to try this flavour ever since I saw it but it doesn't come in the small cup. So there, I just gotta have this! It has real passionfruit in it!

A good good day

Today is a good day! Lalalala~ And I feel like I'm singing. Lalala~

I feel a bit abnormal writing the above!

An accomplished Monday!

Anyhow, I had an eventful day and am very pleased. It's now slightly past 1130pm... normally I would have been so exhausted I would have fallen asleep while surfing on my Blackberry (whose dying!!). But abnormally, at 10pm, I have done a lot of things and was awake enough to be on here and still writing. I haven't felt so alive for weeks!

First off, did you notice a new cool digital clock on my blog?! The Domo-kun one seems to be faulty, and so here's a new one.

At work, things were exceptionally smooth with a minor hiccup with Japan again (no surprise). Learning to deal with it, instead of agonizing myself with fear, is the best thing. Just like I was dreading to file tax, but it was really hassle free when I did. I needn't need to file actually as I am fortunately under their selected list with the employer auto-inclusion scheme and same relief!

During lunch, I made a goodie bag for Dad for his birthday. I shopped for some of the food he likes and wrapped it all up. I think it's a very practical and useful gift. Food never goes wrong! He started digging into them when he got it unwrapped.

I wonder if eating fruits helps make one feel "lighter and more alert"... and not sleepy and tired like usual. I had papaya, guava and passion fruit today... I just love my fruits.

I did my laundry, had some time to laugh over the "Speak Mandarin" variety show, watched a bit of Singapore TV drama... Surprisingly I still had time to paint my toe nails another color. It was sesame gray but now it's milk and dark chocolate . What more, I have time to write three blog entries!! That's quite an accomplishment for a Monday night, isn't it!

Who says Monday is blue?

Now, I just wish for rain tonight and a good night sleep!

It's the old man's day

Yesterday was D-day! Actually, what's D-day?!? I have no idea but I presume it can be anything! I just looked up on Wikipedia and it says it's a military term and "In planning, D-Day was the term used for the day of actual landing, which was dependent on final approval. There are also many other ambiguous meanings." So I guess I can use it for birthday and call it my own "Daddy's day"! Sister is away for work trip, mum was out... So I went ahead with my plan, to decorate a cake at The Icing Room. And we ate it without them!! It's a pretty small one, only 4"... and it was good fun designing a cake.

Don't laugh, it's not the best but I still think I did a pretty good job, at least mum says it does resemble my dad (She never got to see it, only from the picture!). So do I.

Closure

I have always been waiting for this day... and it never came.

Why?

Because I just realised I have already gotten it unconsciously. Life is funny, because it always likes to play tricks. I always thought I needed one and I somehow have to meet the person to have a closure. I am so wrong. But we are never always right, aren't we? I am pleased to realise that it doesn't matter to me anymore, or more so, I have accepted the way things have turned out and I believe it's always for the better. All the last minute changes definitely are my blessing in disguise. This is the only time in March I am thankful for... :)

R.I.P Knut

This is specially designed for my favourite polar bear, Knut. I found all these photos online, most of them my favourites of him. I still remember when I first heard about him, I used to follow his blog daily. It was in German, but I always tried to read it. Fortunately as his popularity raised rapidly, they made translations available... and I could understand it more easily in English. I still think the best was in its native language as they might have quoted what Thomas said. I watched all his baby videos and browsed all his baby photos, and I felt like I know him... even though he was in Berlin and here I am in Singapore. His close relationship with Thomas also deeply touched my heart, how humane has Thomas made him. After the sudden death of his zookeeper, I also gradually lost touch with Knut's blog. But whenever I hear news of Knut, it never fails to bring a smile to my face. Knut is gone now :( Suddenly. Forever. I know I will miss him and his name always deeply engraved in my heart.

March sucks big time!

I really am beginning to hate March... It's the worse month so far, everything bad is happening.

With the horrifying earthquake and triggered tsunamis, threat of nuclear meltdown and danger of radiation in Japan, and now everywhere else are beginning to get earthquakes too, e.g. Taiwan and Manila. Then my boss got ill and travel plans cancelled. And now, even the cute polar bear has to die!??

My sister shared this link on my wall and this morning when I read it, my heart ached. Knut, my favourite polar bear has collapsed and died! How could it be?!! He's only so young! It was devastating when his keeper, Thomas died... and now suddenly Knut's gone forever too.  

Dear Knut, I hope you've found peace and a happier place to be in. You'll always be in my thoughts. Auf Wiedersehen!

Grow up, please!

"I have no time for emotional baggage."

Now, do I sound like a man?

 But seriously, my friend is turning 30 and she's handling friendship like a 12 year old. You know, those days where you would go,"Don't friend you anymore!" just over a small matter. I am fed up, I have had enough of her extreme mood swings. I couldn't help but sent her a text telling her I don't have any time for her mood swings anymore, can she just be direct when she wants to say something instead of presuming someone can read her mind? (Sorry, no offence to the Japanese) Did she learn that from the Japanese?? Being polite, and subtle and hoping everyone else can read her "Yes" as a "No" or a "No" as really a "No"??

I am not a block of wood and I know when someone is upset. In the recent years, she's been getting more and more overboard. She always wants friends to be there for her, she always assume I'd be available at her schedule and I always did try most of the time. Whenever I ask her if she wants to hang out, her unenthusiastic answers will be "See how", "Not free" or "Not available" without even proposing another date. At other times, she can totally ignore your sms. She gets emotional over the smallest things all the time! There was a period of time, she openly showed her "emo" side on her Facebook statuses, but it got to a point I really was speechless to her negativity. And guess what? She was even jealous I commented more on others' statuses than hers, and she wasn't happy that other people know my life better than her (because she's not a regular Facebook user). Jesus, can anyone get more childish than that? I know she was also upset when I started going out with another old classmate of mine, but it was nothing compared to the friendship we built over the years. (Hello, I have a social life?!) I am starting to feel like she's acting like "my husband" and I have to report to her or ensure I do things to keep her happy?! When I asked her to join our mutual friends' outing, she would give all sort of excuses like "I'm not as sociable as you." I think that was meant as a sarcastic remark but I never even took it that way. I can't believe she uses such small things to measure our friendship, and if she wants to give it up over these petty stuff, I really have no issue with it.

It's her birthday next week but...  

"Dear friend, I can only say Happy Birthday virtually if you persist with your annoyingly unreasonable behaviour!"

It's wellies day

Today it's the first time my wellies walk in the rain and streets of Singapore since I bought it. It was brought here recently by my best mate as I shipped them to her from Amazon. I have walked in them in the United Kingdom... But trust me when I say they're not the best for shopping. The wellies tend to be a bit more stiff to walk in, heavy and not the most comfortable when you have stairs to climb. I shopped in them one day and fortunately I bought a pair of shoes that day and I could change into them... My feet were seriously screaming for help after 6 hours!!! These wellies sure come in handy for rainy days as the rain has apparently killed a few pairs of shoes before. So happy wellington day!

Get well soon, boss!

Sydney trip cancelled.

Strangely, I'm not sad or disappointed. I had been so stressed up about everything going on (at work, in the world (i.e. japan), in my life) that somehow I feel a little relieved. Not to mention that the trip was cancelled due to my boss being hospitalised. It came as a shock to us this morning, everyone in the office has been very concerned. Fingers crossed it's nothing serious but he's still in intensive care now. It is also a blessing in disguise that it's a few days away and I haven't book any tour or accomodation or even exchange my money yet.

Am I getting old or tired... I am wondering?!! I can't believe my travel urge isn't as strong anymore. I'm not looking forward to planning holidays, instead I just want to spend some time to chill, stay put and do nothing for a while.

8 more days

It's my first time to Australia, and also on business trip.

Believe it or not, I am not excited. My team mates are asking me if I'm looking forward, but honestly, no... I hope they're not thinking I'm saying that just to keep off their jealousy. But I really have no time to get excited. I feel exhausted on most days to really think about the trip. Though I have looked up at places I do want to get a glimpse of, but I don't have a lot of days to sightsee. I feel like taking it slow... but so much to accomplish. See the Australian animals, visit markets (compulsory!!) and blue mountains. I'm not even sure if I'm meeting up a friend or two whom are living there at the moment, things seem quite chaotic now. I have not even book the accomodation for my extended stay... how spontaneous is that?! :S

I also think that age is really catching up and my travel urges have slowly dissolved. I still like holidays but I get tired so much more easily, I need a longer time to recover from the jet lag and to adapt back to routine. I do feel sad when I leave home nowadys, and it's totally the opposite when I started travelling 8 years back.

I seriously need to get into the mood... And unfortunately, why do I always feel like falling sick just before a business trip?!!

It is sick

Past midnight...

I am writing this after watching the news on the tsunami hitting the Japan's coast and it's heartbreaking to see them. Japan had a 8.9-magnitude earthquake on Friday, just as I was emailing with the Japan office over a minor issue they had been fussing over the whole morning. The office was evacuated shortly after the quake, I was relieved that they won't be bugging me anymore, but at the same time, I knew it must be quite serious as they had been evacuated. Nobody anticipated the aftermath to be so serious, with the death toll and unaccounted for rising rapidly over the past 24 hours. Like many, we always thought Japan is very well prepared (as they are leading and so advanced in many things)... and besides, earthquakes are known to be common for the area. But this time, it is really bad! Let's all hope that things are falling back into places and no more tremors and tsunami triggered.

There's a rumour about this date 21 December 2012 being the day a big disaster will befall... if you're curious, you can also try searching for the video on youtube.

If being a woman isn't tough enough...

Today I made a new acquaintance, and we hit it off instantly. I realised she came from Hong Kong to Singapore for her boyfriend. I hope all these men stop taking things for granted because a move may be just a change of location to them but for a woman it's a lot more. Ability to work is one, youth is another, having to start all over again to have an intimate circle of friends, being away from loved ones and more... I say these because I had done it for a man. Making the move is already a sacrifice and if the man expects so much more, he's probably not worth it. Fortunately for one of my BFFs and this new friend, things are working out well. However both of them have the same thoughts, they miss home and prefer it to living in another country.

Friends or foes

好一句，知人知面不知心！

Like the Chinese saying, looks are deceiving.

After 8 months, I finally saw the true colors of my ex-colleagues. How evil and hideous they actually are! I guess, afterall, being too open and too nice is not at all a good thing, especially when you talk to some amibitious malevolent people. But I also ought to thank the "two evil sisters" that I am where I am today, enjoying my business trips, a better boss (in 1000000 times better than the crap project manager!!) and a way better working culture.

I call them the "evil sisters" because they joined my ex-company at the same time through recommendation from the one whom got in first. They are ex-colleagues and came from the same company. When I had the intention to leave, I confided with one of them whom I thought was on good terms with me. But I don't think she honestly is being genuine. I also began to fall for it, as we shared jokes, shopping and gossip, and thought it was the beginning of a great friendship. I told her my plans I wanted to venture in my ex-company, but when she heard that I planned to leave, both her and the other evil twin "psycho" (persuade) me into joining their ex-company. If it was that good, why did they leave!? But of course, I didn't heed it, I didn't sense their sincerity when they tried to talk me into it.

8 months later now, I heard about one of them doing the things I had planned to do in my ex-company but I didn't get around to it because I have left. And what made matters worse is that, when I told the other evil twin (which happened to be a project manager, but not mine), she kept telling me it wouldn't work, and they weren't planning to do anything like that till much later. Now, the evil sister is taking the job I wanted to do, and she is working under the other evil twin. Both of them are in cahoots. But one of them is actually the apple of my ex-Director's eye, so what to do?  Disgusting. I hate it but I still have to thank them for freeing me from the misery. If I am still there, I might be doing it but I am sure I will not be as happy as I am.

So, go ahead, hypocritical evil sisters, PROVE IT TO ME! I wish you success not, but definitely lots of hardship and a rollercoaster ride to hell.

Are you committed?

Commitment comes from contentment. No?

By nature, humans are greedy. Do you not agree? Maybe more so nowadays with the inflation from a bus fare of 20 cents (when I was young) to currently a maximum of over 2 dollars, how can life be as simple, how can all of us survive with the same amount money your parents used to make. My dad was the sole breadwinner, he used to earn slightly over 1K, and it was enough to feed a family of 5. Now, anyone would struggle with a 3K income for the whole family. Money is important to survive, and even more if you want to afford better things in life.

But I also realised being contented is an important factor to being committed. One of my friends is earning an average pay at the age of 30 (maybe a lot lesser than most his age), yet he's not complaining. He's happy with what he has and is not looking for greener pasture. On the contrast, my other friend is leaving his job to his ex-employer because they're giving him a 40% raise. I can't blame him, can I? If you ask anyone (including me), I will go back too, even if the job isn't ideal. It's a shallow decision to base the decision on money but in Singapore, it does matter! My friend had left because the job was too much too handle but again he's turning back, this time with a better package and even more responsibilites. Anything that comes with a high price, there's bound to be a price to pay. So I guess, don't be envious and say,"Wah, so good! I also want!" I think it's better to remind yourself that,"If I'm taking that amount of money, I better be able to prove I am worth it!" I say,"Good for him. Good luck. But I'm sure he's able to make it!" It's a pity he's not working near me the next time but I'm sure it doesn't mean we won't have lunch again, we have the "lunch buddies affinity" since 2002... and somehow we bump into each other again and again.

But at the same time, you can't help but wonder how long it takes for most of us the average salaried commoners to save up and buy a place!!? Now we know why so many people are pinning hope on lottery!