not yet.

my sister is leaving for greener and chillier pastures over at durham tomorrow and i must admit- i am not too happy. i have been so used to her unconditional company, i just cannot imagine spending hours with someone esle whom i needn't worry aboutpremature judgement. i realised that i have been spending with much time with yang, her eventual departure will definitely leave a HUGE-MONGOUS gapping hole in my social life.

who esle could i call upon to indulge in retail criminology and gastronomic rendevous with me?

and why must my favorite people eventually end up at least a 12-hour flight away from me? first wai, then aizhen.. now yang. who am i suppose to share my culinary expeditions with? or sought solace in? sigh, luckily darr and zhu are still around..

i am such a soap puppy right now.

Noble House, Tung Lok

my date with the paddington.

i got real "up close and personal" with the paddington bag from chloe when my mum met up with her friends over for lunch. the proud owner is auntie chiah ming aka gracioushomehostess and she very kindly let me have a good feel of it.. well, of course, it felt good to hold it for a couple of minutes.. haha.



lunch was at noble house, uic building and the menu consisted of:

braised goose
wrapped mushroom dumpling
fish porriage
thai-style crispy beancurd
chicken and mushroom wrapped in beancurd skin
deep fried ostrich dumpling
peanut coated glutinous rice balls


overall, the dishes were too avant garde for my liking.. though the thai-style beancurd was thumbs up, the rest tasted more or less like what "all brown sauce gravy and deep fried items" would have.. in a bid to create fusion-style chinese food and a more exotic sounding menu, the taste went blatantly ignored.

besides, i was really squirming for next-table's char siew bao..but as lunch was with "grown-ups" where i usually assume the "good and virtuous daughter" persona, i didn't really voice my preferences. i was quite surprised to realise that it belonged to tung lok group as they have always delivered upon promise..


from their taste magazine

.more pictures.

back hauter than ever..

thankYOU, whoever you are from BLOGGERsupport!

right now i am just staring longingly at my blog, going through my archives feeling so darn fortunate.

Ichiban Boshi

mushiatsui desu ne.

which means "humid, isn't it?" in japanese

though Family could be considered hard-core sushi tei fans, in my opinion another conveyor belt outlet- ichiban boshi is worth a mention too.

unlike sushi tei which treads on familar grounds, ichiban boshi works manga creativity. with a sushi menu that spells uniqueness, customers are likely to be amused by the unique sushi items that spin on the belt and yes, japanese food has never looked this unhealthy. haha.

whenever i visit ichiban, i always have 'deep impact'- tempura flakes wrapped in sweet rice, slightly coated in octopus and scallop savoury bits. as you can tell, the appeal lies with its contrasting sweetness and crisp subtle filling. right: lobster salad sushi

yang and i shared the japanese katsu curry set. a definate value-for-money choice, i was thoroughly impressed by the refreshing crispy thin batter and tender juicy insides. in fact, i think its the best katsu i have ever tried.
gaw-, i almost feel like i am sinning against sushi tei.

generous chunks of salmon head. the winning choice- note that the curry covers only half of the katsu, thus mantaining its appeal for those who like it CRISP.

death unto her.

as if my day could not get any worse,

i accidentally deleted my blog.
currently in the shambles.

i know it sounds absurd to feel this way but somelikeithaute had been my baby for a longlong time and just one click deleted all the painstaking effort that i had put it to make it m.i.n.e.

by now, class should have ended and i should have packed up my belongings and scooted out of schoo. but i am not walking out of school nore class because i did not attend class. and beause i did not feel like going for class in the first place. haha.


but look what i found while wastetimeonly-surfing on the internet!
i'll bet it will sell like hotcakes anywhere..

introducing: sentimental.

wai, charl and nadia: how you guys doing??? me- school's fine. no major disturbances unfortunately.. i am enjoying it. how are the rest of you doing? apologies for not responding the nadia's last email but i will get to it SOOOOONNN. let's keep up with our satc email repertoire. something for me to look forward to...

yang's leaving next thursday and aizhen this sunday- at least i have great times for keeps.

Maharajah Boat Quay

mistress of spice.

many saffron- coloured middays ago, sheryl and i had indian food at maharajah boat quay. though i don't have it often, i do enjoy a hearty north indian meal where the flavours are usually more well-rounded and less harsh on the buds.

indian potato chips- papadums with a soury dip! our north indian spread

chicken kebabs i ordered- great tasting chicken wrapped in egg prata. right: fish masala

butter chicken and garlic naans were a potent mix.

thing about north indian food is that it is so unexpectedly expensive due to the herbs and spices that they use .. but nonetheless, it is a great cuisine to try out!

Coffee Bean Breakfast / Soya Bean Ice cream

mellow midweek.

breakfast series continues at coffee bean-
but today i decided to -sigh- forgo my usual cranberry muffin and had the blueberry muffin instead. the blueberry muffin is slightly drier than its cranberry equal but no major damages there. for the first time, i tried the "big ben" with mum and it was really tasty too. think herbed cheese melted all over eggs, ham and toast. watch the drool, honey!

of course the highlight of my was aizhen and zhus' smu debut!
for people-watching purposes, we lunched at kopitiam and ultimately ended lunch with durian mount fuji (darr is so cringging right now) .. it is basically ice kachang with laced with durian puree and topped of with durian ice cream. i can imagine this to be an exchange student's worst nightmare.

oh did i mention i tried soy bean ice cream after blue ginger lunch? i like it.. i know soy bean ice cream sounds just about as appetizing as say, tofu creme brulee?! which by the way, i apologise if it actually exists.. but the soy bean ice cream was creamily delightful with a good balance of soy bean flavour.. sometimes i cannot believe i am falling for the gimmicks of all these pseudo-healthy desserts.. low-fat, fat-free, no cholestral.. imagine what it would be like if i actually had the real thing. probably festering six feet under.

Blue Ginger Restaurant

newlook again.
ech, my previous blog skin was really irritating me so i spent the entire afternoon creating this. might look the same but you have no idea how much time i spent in looking and comtrusting the "columns" but i do like the way it looks now!

blue ginger.

mum and i decided to perakanize lunch at blue ginger's just off tanjong pagar road.

touted as "singapore's most elegant Peranakan restaurant" by new york times, blue ginger was doing well on a tuesday afternoon. the first floor was actually filled but a kind-looking attentive manager immediately sat us down on the second floor by the window. good service- check.

we had bakwan kepeting- a traditonal peranakan/ indonesian meatball soup. unlike prepacked suermarket meatballs, the 'bakwans' (pork and crab meat meatballs) were pleasantly chewy and bouncy.. while the soup bore an amiable touch of lightness, thus proving to be a good entree to extremely flavourful mains.. apparently jimmy said that in indonesia, you could find bakwans as big as a tennis ball -shudder.

chap chye.. was chap- chy-ish. normal nonya vegetable dish that was suppose to make us feel less guilty during lunch.. haha

ayam panggang "Blue Ginger" which was grilled, boneless, chicken thigh and drumstick with a mild coconut-milk sauce. i enjoyed this dish as the coconut-milk-conocted gravy was fragrant yet not overwhelmingly so thus masking the delicious grilled flavour.

though we skipped dessert, mum and i had a good chuckle at the sight of our next-table caucasian man and the misgivings about his durian chendol.

interminability

my eyes almost disengaged from their sockets when kevin (danish guy) told me that from copenhagen to prague by rail would take me roughly about.. 20 oh-my-lorrd- hours?! plus i would like to visit vienna and berlin as wel.. so that would take me what? 60 plus hours for the ravelling bit alone... can you imagine all that youth wasted in a giant sardine tin can?! well of course that gives me time for a little hubba-hubba euro-lovin' -grin- but noooowayyyyylaaaa...

so it's back to flights!
so much for being an adventurous budget traveller..

Central

where people meet.

school tomorrow. eek. week 5. still directionless.

i was a little bummed out by the closing down of thanying express at takashimaya basement as it will not be easy to find quality mid-range thai food.. note: thaiexpress DOES NOT qualify here.. but when hongkong style cafe/ restuarant central took over, i could not help but join in the fun..

i had garlic/ sliced beef spagatti which frankly tasted better than it looks. think east meets west- spagetti tossed in onions, spring onions and loads of garlic, complimented by tender beef slices. but beware as the garlic really hits you and unless you are a dead-hard garlic afficonado or erm trying to ward of make-believe vampires.. lay off the dish.. haha

jie's beef brisket noodle soup was pedastrian enough i guess. it did not exactly look tempting enough for me to try it.. haha..

i really loved yang's baked cheese rice with pork ribs! served within an aluminium foil and contained in a dimsum bamboo bowl, the dish consisted of melt-in-your mouth cheesy goodness with a dash of tomato slabbed all over fragrant rice.. what is there not to love?

a tad dry but platable enough, mum's order of bamboo steamed rice with pork ribs would be a healthier choice.. hey i said 'healthier', not 'healthy' choice..

a must-try would be the peanut butter thick toast with condense milk. my love for peanut butter was not only reconfirmed but sealed after a bite of this devilishly good treat. and apparently, a tablespoon of peanut butter daily helps keep the cardiologist away ... though too much would obviously send the nutritionist knocking..

for dessert, we ordered FRIED DURIAN! ... resembling a spring roll and served surprisingly piping hot, i was a little too ambitious in popping it into my mouth.. yet despite the frantic fanning, i thoroughly enjoyed the contrast of sweet durian and delicate delight of its crisp wrapping.

overall lunch at central was a fuss-free affair- you settle down, you eat and you leave. true, you enjoy the right choices made but short of being uneventful, you would probably leave central feeling... hmmm, forgetful.

back on a saturday.

i am sitting cross-legged at the very quiet galilee cafe in school library. noone's here, i have the entire vicinity to myself. with power98 turned on, i stare into the bareness of this place, relishing in its emptiness.

it almost feels like its about time for some peace and quiet.

i got my strawberry smoothie though no muffin for company.. i was half- staring the the finance textbook half-wishng that just by staring at its spine and the cover page, i just might be able to absorb something.

perhaps if i slept with it...

Mooncake

more mid-autmn mucks.

this year's mooncakes all had one deciding common quality- they were all FREEFREEFREE.
can you sense the glee?

a couple of weeks back, my cousin brought over some mooncakes from shangri-la. and yesterday we received a box of crystal jade mooncakes from auntie chiah ming (who is well-liked for her gregarious home entertaining and extraordinary white noodles!)

but lo' and behold, i realise i do not like these yam mooncakes one single bit. it is quite comforting to find something i can resist afterall but really- how can anyone enjoy this crisppp, oily, deep-fried yam ball of sugar and egg? erm ok, point taken.

very counter-productive, i must say.

on the other hand, i totally digged the eggless mooncakes from maxim's. it is so much easier to eat.. as i no longer have to use a knife to dig or disfigure the rest of the mooncakes while removing the yolk. a sweet fix every morning! the unique thing though is the underside of the woonden packaging.

maxin's listed the entire nutritional content of all the different styles of mooncakes they produce.. fats calories sugar ingrdients... which reminds of how cigarette manufacturers nowadays will print a premature frail looking baby or blackened lungs on their cigarette packs to remind smokers about the health hards of smkoing.

...seriously folks!

National University Singapore

the other side.

zhu, aizhen, nicole and i FINALLY met up after seasonal changes.. at NUS?!
yup, you got that right..

in a nutshell, the three of us crashed zhu's company law lecture, lunched in their canteen that should be re-named "sauna-ville" and chilled out at their faculty of law student lounge.

lunch at their business canteen was a rather exciting affair. it felt like jc all over again.. long queues (i hardly ever had to queue up at smu) at the most popular stalls -bejing something, grouchy vendors, easy fuss-free (lack of) service ..

but it was the western food stall uncle who particularly impressed me with how 'in-control' he was. imagine a ever-extending queue of more than twenty people who were hungry and mad for food FAST. with a menu of more than a dozen items from chicken pasta to beef or vegetarian lasagne to cheescake and brownies, this uncle mmanaged to keep a tight system ofd simultaneously remebering up to eight orders at one time.. by continously yelling "next please.. one chicken chop.. next please.. one baked pasta... next please... one chicken pasta next please.." the manner is which he held control over the crowds was amazing! maybe he should be recruited into the police riot-control department.. or during the isetan sale..

it ain't easy looking so glam in a boil-town, but these girls make it look easy-peasy

among the four of us, we had 30 jian zis, a honey roasted chicken pasta, an apple pie, a baked pasta and sausage between them. pictures!

perhaps due the the glaring disparities in student opulation and learning style, nus definitely feels like a whole new ecosystem compared to smu. aizhen commented that people is nus were rather cliquish- comforted by familarity and satisfied with their small circle of friends. in smu, it probably is so too but as we engage in more project group work, i guess, to a certain extent, we will be 'forced' to with associate with fellow students.

nicole and i in the student lounge. thank almighty for air-con!

i felt extremely spoilt back at nus. the comfort level in smu, which we take for granted, is unecessarily high. our escalators, underpasses and fully air-conditioned facilities have made tofus out of so many of us. and the worst thing is nus could be considered a comfort sanctuary to so many others who have not had the benefits of studying in singapore.

c'mon, i actually felt surprised when i had to return my plates after eating back in nus!

here in smu, most students can easily break into a tirade about the grips and grapes they have about the new campus. but seriously, we have the comfort level, location and accesibility that others would kill for. so the next time i hear a smu student complain about the lack of dustbins within the school compund.. i just might lead him to one and chuck him in. beware.

the b-word.

planning project dates is such a bitch.
asking people to do their work makes me sound like a bitch.
spending days doing quantitative methods on excel without coming to any solutions induces me to feel remarkably bitch-like

it is not even time of the month yet.
growlsnarlbark.

Amici / Haagen Daaz

palate for your thoughts.

to me, sept13th will always be remembered as the day i had THREE DESSERTS- no candying.

when i met up with darr for lunch at kopitiam's, we almost in mock tradition finished it off with an icy affair with red bean milk ice. ice shavings topped with a generous layer of mashy red beans and swirled condensed milk. cheap and satisfying. check out darr's specs- they remind me of candy canes.. hmm maybe willy wonka could...

darr's weapon of mass destruction- two plastic spoons- guranteed to cause morbid devastation.

then ade, den and i answered the 5pm tummy-rumble at kopitiam's (again) where i had ice kachanggg.. note: the inclination towards ice shavings.

for dinner, i finally met up with ZHUUUUUUU ... damn excited la sorry. here's a egyption-fresco-looking her.

we dined at amici's at holland village as she was starving and craving for pasta and well, the food in amici "didn't cost like twenty thousand dollars". a creature of habit, zhu had a carbonara wheras i had an eggplant parmigiana. amazing, apart from my younger sister, she is probably the second person who can stomach carbonara. hmm, thoughts about amici? well, choo liked the place.. for some reason she could not spell out..

for the final sugar rush of the night, we headed over to haagen daaz for two portions of 'desirable' (2 flavours and 2 toppings) and the flavours we chose could not be more different. my dear friend had cookies and cream topped with almond nipps and cone chips

i had raspberry sorbet and strawberry cheesecake with walnuts and cone chips.

from hormonal cycles to issipid school lives i love talking to this lady.. my (ah-hem i can't resist) OLDEST FRIEND!!! fourteen years to be exact! haha.. i am going to crash nus on thurs and she will her fair bit of people-watching and kopi-chow at smu next wed.. can;t hardly wait~

great day. two of the best girl khakis to muck with. a toast to darr and choo!

i see a trend that whenever i meet up with friends, i tend to have more interesting meals. and everytime i 'meet up with someone', food inevitably plays a vital role.. though it is the company that more often than not makes or breaks the evening. is that true for everyone esle? or just me? are my friendships and relationships stronger and more meaningful as result of our mutual enjoyment for chow?