merry christmas

this is way cute... :)

may your christmas be filled with love, joy and peace.

thomas ng thiam syn

i'm sure you would've deleted contacts from your phonebook for many reasons... and i've done so whenever i'm bored and decide to 'springclean' my contact list.

but i had to do it for an altogether new reason that i hope won't happen too often. i did it because i saw ts's obituary in the straits times today.

ts was my section mate during bmt in ns. we weren't close and had not kept in touch after that. some time this year when my buddy from bmt caught up with me over dinner. he said that ts was recuperating at home from his cancer treatment.

he gave me ts's number and i told him if he's going to drop by to see ts, to ask me along. i did not call nor sms ts since i only ran into him once since bmt. it was his familiar and distinctive voice in the not-so-familiar australian outback. he was part of the training troops while i was in the admin team.

we had something else in common too, we were from the same junior college. but regrettably, we didn't quite hit it off or kept in touch. i guess chemistry is important for friendships to blossom and effort is needed to keep it going. both were sorely missing in this friendship. :P

still i can't help feeling a sense of loss when confronted with his picture in the papers. you can't help but wonder what unfulfilled dreams or wishes that he had since he was still so young. a life in its prime dramatically cut short by a scary disease caused by mutated cells.

knowing that cancer is so prevalent nowadays... it's something that could happen to any of us and probably would had happened to a close or loved one. a very sobering thought indeed.

again, a wake-up call to myself to adopt a healthy lifestyle and live a life without regrets because you can't afford to take anything for granted.

my condolences to ts's family.

ipod nano

tried to send my ipod nano for repairs on sunday but the service centre at wheelock was closed. had to do it fast since i need it for my 2.5 hours flight to and fro bangkok next month. yup, i'm flying on jetstar so have to provide my own in-flight entertainment.

when my turn came, the lady at the counter tried very hard to plug into my nano using the connector but didn't succeed. of course she couldn't have done so otherwise i wouldn't be here in such a sorry state.

i had dropped my nano outside shaw tower some months back and somehow, murphy's law had to apply to my poor nano. it had to hit the curb with the end that was not protected by the silicone and plastic casing! the connector port was dented rendering my nano dead since it can't be charged anymore. sigh...

and so the counter lady happily announced that ipod nano cannot be repaired since everything is integrated and is replaced with a new unit if under warranty. however, since mine has expired, they would provide me with a new unit sans accessories and warranty if i pay $x. hmm... sounds good, i'm impressed with the offer and service.

that is until i hear the amount that i need to pay! i looked at her with incredulity.

the amount she quoted was more than enough to buy a new unit with full accessories, warranty and whatever freebies the store is offering at the moment. gosh! and she didn't even know that until i told her so.

lousy policy... what's the point of having that? when they could have given me a discount on a new unit, retaining my loyalty...

then again, i bought another even without any discounts 'cos i needed a replacement. and that's how i ended up with a new, sexy and curvy black ipod nano.

12-day old

babies are just adorable, aren't they?

well, ethan is still very much a sleepy head like when he was a day-old. had to rouse him abit from slumber land just so that i can capture some shots with his eyes open. he kept yawning. hehe...

and was rather annoyed by the bright lights from the window. :P

cute...

meet up

after more than a week from my birthday, amy, the busy bee from ssc finally has time to meet up for dinner with ml and i today.

by the time i arrived outside sushi-tei at paragon, there was already a queue waiting to be seated. amy was late as usual... somehow, ml and i weren't surprised and kind of expected it.

but she was forgiven when we found out later that she was actually having an 'off' day but had to be back in the office for an important meeting. work mah, what to do?

first time at this outlet since they moved from another location within the same mall. still the same subdued lighting but lots of latticed wood in a much bigger place. yet there's still a queue outside! wow... business must be good.

as both of us were too hungry, we ordered our food first while waiting for amy. and it's my regular negi-toro don and sashimi salad.

yummy!

franky

received an sms from tracy this afternoon informing me that eric's dog, franky had finally succumbed to lung cancer.

i remember franky to be a very well-behaved and caring dog who just loves to herd. my condolences to eric and tracy.

eric posted this in the jcgang mailing list. i thought it was especially moving.


THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

There is a bridge connecting Heaven and Earth. It is called theRainbow Bridge because of its many colors.

Just this side of theRainbow Bridge, there is a land of meadows, hills and valleys withlush green grass. When a beloved pet dies, the pet goes to thisplace. There is always food and water, and warm Spring weather.

Those old and frail animals are young again. Those who have been maimed are made whole again. They play all day with each other.But there is only one thing missing. They are not with their special person who loved them on earth.

So, each day they run and play until the day comes when one suddenly stops playing and looks up. The nose twitches, the ears are up, the eyes are staring, and this one suddenly runs from the group.

You have been seen, and when you and your special friend meet, you take him or her in your arms and embrace. Your face is kissed again and again and again and you look once more into the eyes of your trusting pet.

Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together, never again to be separated.

night festival 2009

was looking forward to the night festival at the museums this year 'cos of the fabulous pictures that i've seen both online and in print of last year's event. but it was let down by the weather. almost totally washed out by the heavy downpour in the early evening. :(

as a result, the outdoor performances were all postponed till a later timing and i had to duck indoors into the national museum instead. come to think of it, it's my first visit to the national museum.

and i was greeted by a huge installation art 'love tank (the temple)' by s. teddy d. (indonesia). a very loud and pink stack of 7 tanks adorned with lotuses. an expression of the interaction and clash between the eastern and western cultures. an attempt to transform killing machines into symbols of love and peace to humankind with the juxtaposition of red lotuses on the hull.

being a turret mechanic during ns, i thought the heart-shaped barrel was way too cute. :) haha...

several galleries depicted many things of the bygone eras. there's one on local hawkers, another on fashion and also one on films and wayangs. you really do get a blast from the past... and if you're old enough, remember some of the things from your childhood.

things like the f & n signs and glass bottles. thick coffee mugs with matching saucers. the almost antique ice-shaver used to make ice-kachang.

i still remember how my parents will pour the hot drink onto the saucer to cool it before letting me sip it from the saucer. a night of nostalgic fun.

ethan chua

the much anticipated arrival of ethan finally happened on 7th july at 1447hrs, just 1 day after my birthday.

when i dropped by at mount elizabeth, the proud parents showed off their new bundle of joy. they even brought along the laptop containing cayden's baby pictures for comparison. hehe... :)

and he does really resembles cayden. cute with lots of hair just like his brother, but bigger and more 'vocal'. :P

my mum asked me what did we do to ethan after i showed her this video... nothing, i swear that we didn't pinch his rosy cheeks or anything like that. it's just his usual crying. :)

vital statistics:

• weight: 3205 g


• length: 50 cm

happy birthday to me

another year, another birthday, another cake from my dear sis. :)

i just want to be happy and healthy always.

cheers!

tea @ central

found an alternative to having tea at crystal jade kitchen.

and it's pretty economical too! it's just nice if you're feeling just a little peckish or simply need a place to rest those feet tired out from shopping.

check out this tea time special set of hk-style milk tea, fried chicken wing and of course the must-have 菠萝包with butter. and they bother to serve the butter properly iced which is a nice touch. not sure if this promotion will be permanent.

dinner @ palm's asian brasserie

today marks the beginning of the monthly birthday feastings for my ns group of friends. ky suggested this rather ulu hotel featuring a steamboat buffet to celebrate my birthday.

doris and thomas were invited too. the steamboat was quite good with fresh seafood and mushrooms. cooked dishes were pretty ordinary. i think all of us were slightly disappointed that there weren't oysters or sashimi included in the spread.

however, it's the company that counts, right? cheers!

tea time

was craving for hk-style milk tea for a week when doris ask if i'm free to meet up today since she's not working. so i suggested going to crystal jade kitchen at taka.

later, we realised that janet is having her gynae appointment today so we asked her along. she's complaining that ethan is later than what she had expected and she can't go for maternity leave earlier. hehe...

had the usual instant noodles and 菠萝包with butter set at crystal jade. yummy!

since i was feeling greedy today, i suggested going over to shimbashi soba for desserts.

what a leisurely afternoon!

samsung jet

had been looking around for phone ever since m1 sent me a $100 voucher last month. yeah, my 2-year contract is up for renewal this month. as a sign of the mobile telecoms intense competition, they had sent me the voucher even without me asking for it.

although there's absolutely nothing wrong with my nokia e65 and against my usual environmental-friendly sensibilities, i just couldn't resist laying my hands on a newer, better and hopefully sexier phone.

after scrupulous research online and careful evaluation, the shortlist came down to the following from the 3 major mobile manufacturers:

• nokia e71
• sony ericsson c905
• samsung jet

nokia e71, a smartphone that has won over many casual users. a comfortable choice since it will be mostly flat learning curve. but i didn't really like the landscape orientation and the dated qwerty keyboard. maybe good but definitely not sexy.

the sony ericsson comes with good review of its cybershot camera function. but the phone was rather thick and featured a so-so screen. again, not very sexy.

samsung jet is the latest offering from the korean manufacturer known for producing slim and beautifully designed phones and it's the only touch screen phone in the shortlist. the user-interface has been updated. the screen was a bright but energy-saving amoled. 5.0 megapixels camera with autofocus. i was sold when i knew it comes with wi-fi. the best thing? it's within my budget of around $300.

all in, with a $100 trade-in plus the m1 voucher, i paid only $118 for the new phone. can't wait for it to be delivered. :)

thick hair

before i went to chapter 2 at marina square, none of the hair stylists that i've told me that i've got thick hair. i always feel that my hair was rather flat. thick hair for me is what doris has. something that every single hair stylist has told her all her life. :P

since nick was the first stylist to tell me so, i took his words with a pinch of salt and didn't really bother about his comment. i thought he was just trying to make me feel good since i might be at an age where hair thinning or receding hairlines maybe looming around the corner.

but another hair stylist saying the exact same thing? hmm... should i believe it? or is he making me feel good too?

well, i choose to have faith in their professionalism. :)

mj is dead

the king of pop passed away on 25th june and he's already the feature story for this week's issue of 8days. wow!

goes to show how iconic mj is and how hard the team at 8days must have worked to pull this off.

my first impression of him started with 'beat it' when i was still a wee lad. a very catchy pop jingle.

i'm not a fan but he does seem to be incredibly talented musically selling millions of albums. it's sad that his later years were characterised by his eccentric and sometimes bizarre behaviour.

as millions mourn his death, the circumstances surrounding his death is still shrouded in mystery while the custody of his children remains unclear.

it is sad that an extraordinary life has been cut short so abruptly. my sympathies and condolences to his young children.

吻别

this song is voted as one of the songs for 20年经典金曲at this year's 金曲奖today.

a real classic song by 张学友which i remember was the hottest song back in 1993. it was especially memorable with 周海媚putting in a sultry performance in the music video. 吻别could be heard on the radio several times a day and hogged the music charts then. you could also literally hear the song every where on the streets.

why do i remember the year so clearly?

because that was the year when i was posted to australia for an admin tour of duty of 4 months. sk commented if the song will still be 'in' while we were stranded in mandopop 'desert' for 4 months. 吻别not only survived those few months by becoming a monster hit that year, it has truly become a timeless mandopop classic of our times.

national cancer centre

didn't know that cgh actually makes appointment for its patients to visit the national cancer centre for consultations. they actually send my 二舅there accompanied by a nurse for his appointment. My mum and i went along to see what the oncologist have to say.

after evaluating 二舅's case. the oncologist decided against chemotherapy as he thinks that 二舅will not be able to withstand the toll the treatment will take on his body. he's concerned that chemo will hugely compromise 二舅's immunity system making him highly susceptible to infections.

next, we had to see the radio-oncologist who decided on a 7-week course of radiotherapy that has a 40% chance of eradicating the tumour in 二舅's throat. the treatment will only start next month after some prep work such as getting a face mask done. meanwhile 二舅will continue with his liquid diet since the therapy will also impair his swallowing ability in the short term.

and that's how we spent almost the entire day at the centre.

ndp preview

went to collect the ndp preview tickets with estee 'cos she wasn't sure where is the floating platform at marina.

i had helped her to submit her name for the ticket balloting and she was the only lucky one among the 4 of us to get it. joked that her luck is finally changing.

i caught a glimpse of the stage while waiting for her and it's really cool.

estee explained later that she took more than a while to collect the tickets because she had to fill out a survey and join the ndp facebook group. :P

looks like they're going all out in all these new media.

lunch @ tsubohachi

didn't know where to have lunch at bugis so tried out this new place at level 4 of the iluma. tsubohachi is part of a cluster of japanese restaurants at ebisboshi shotengai.

tsubohachi hails from sapporo, hokkaido and is one of the largest izakaya [japanese bar] chain in japan. an izakaya is a place where the working class gathers for drinks and snacks after work.

that explains the rather extensive alcoholic drinks selection. however, we were more interested with the set lunch menu. estee had the ikura set while my mum and i had the sashimi set. i think the sashimi lunch set is quite reasonable at $14. of course the usual service and gst charges apply.

the kitchen doesn't seem to have gotten its act together just yet. our sashimi sets took such a long time to be served that estee had almost finished her food when they arrived. and you thought they only need to slice the sashimi, right?

what reinforced my impression further was they forgot to include a saucer for my sashimi set. how to eat the sashimi without a dipping dish for the shoyu, right?

and to think that this happened at a restaurant with a japanese manager and server!

tsk, tsk, tsk...

orchard central

the latest mall in orchard this june. went for a look-see. it's a rather narrow, longish and tall mall across the road from centrepoint.

the ground floor has this spacious hotel lobby-like atrium with sofas and a cool water feature. i wonder why there is this generous yet uneconomical use of premium rental-yielding space.

many of the shops are still not open. some of the f & b outlets are already in operation at the higher levels.

my mum wonders if there're enough shoppers for all these new shops, cafes and restaurants. i wonder too.

journey to the east

another visit to cgh to see my 二舅. he has been warded for 2 weeks already and put in isolation in bed 1 at ward 36 'cos they suspect that he might be suffering from tuberculosis. his difficulty in swallowing has been attributed to malignant tumours in his throat.

we had to put on n95 masks to see him in his room. according to the instructions at the door, we even need to be gowned and gloved but we didn't bother with it except to sanitise our hands with care before and after visiting him.

the nurse came in after a while to feed him. i was asked to explain to 二舅 that she will change the feeding tube after the feed as the current one is meant for 2 weeks only. so my mum and i waited... and waited...

the nurse gave up and undrew the curtain seeking our help to tell 二舅 to swallow [in teochew] when she's inserting the feeding tube through his nostril. i think the gag reflex somehow interfered with the insertion and the tube kept looping out into his mouth instead of getting into his stomach. not a pretty sight.

then she got 二舅 to sit up after several failed attempts on the right nostril and decided to insert the new tube onto the same [left] nostril. with much retching and our promptings of "吞", sections of the tube were painstakingly inserted until the nurse estimated that it has reached the stomach. she confirmed that by aspirating some fluid with a syringe.

finally some relief for my 二舅.

you can see how it's done here.

surprise party

janet had planned this dinner gathering today to avoid any unplanned disruptions by her delivery. the last time when she was heavily pregnant with cayden, i think he wanted so much to join us for dinner that he chose that very day to come to this world. :P hehe...

even though janet had set up today's date weeks before, it ended up with single parents bringing the kids along. coincidently, one half of all the couples had something on tonight.

it was only in the afternoon that janet had sms-ed to say that it's going to be a surprise birthday party for cayden. caught me and doris by surprise too because we had not gotten a present for cayden. :(

prepared my usual salad for the gathering. jason likes the imitation king crab that i had bought for the salad. eric jested that we've upgraded from mere imitation crab sticks to imitation king crabs.

jason got the kids mad about musical chairs which later became musical chairs in the dark. this led to eric asking how much is the cover charge. haha... :)

五月二十七

my mum reminded me that it's my lunar birthday today by giving me a 红包.

besides wishing me good health [am still recovering from yesterday's ordeal], she also wishes that i'll get a job real soon. :P

painfully alive

sharp tummy-ache at 1:00 am... weren't awoken by the pain but had to disrupt my online activities. :P

it was the most excruciatingly painful ordeal that i've ever experienced. the pain was searingly acute that i broke out in cold sweat so profuse that my tee was soaked thoroughly. i thought i was going to faint even.

and i wonder how does this compare with labour pains? janet says that it's very painful. but how painful is that?

a taiwanese artiste described the pain level during labour as akin to cutting off one's fingertips so labour pains are like repeatedly cutting off one's fingertips. arrgghhh...

faint...

scratch

this uncle must have had a very bad itch that he couldn't help but scratch it more than a few times while i was on the train from clementi to simei.

acer aspire

my dad bought an acer aspire laptop today at the pc show. i think it looks cool. and i'm looking at hours of teaching him windows messenger, internet explorer and emailing. :(

then again, i ought to be more encouraging of his efforts to be IT-literate and stay connected at his age, right?

let's hope he'll be persistent and not let the laptop be a white elephant. ;) hehe...

masked

this is not the latest fashion. but it's the first time ever that i've donned a mask all thanks to the global pandemic of h1n1. so it's a momentous occasion worthy of some digital pixels. :P

had went to visit my 二舅 at cgh. i heard he was hospitalised 'cos he wasn't eating well and had trouble swallowing. as usual, since he was just warded today, they have to run tests on him before we know what's ailing him.

he looks fine except for the tube in his nostril meant for tube feeding. hope he gets well soon.

cheers!

jurong safra

went to swim at the latest safra clubhouse at jurong west. a convenient stone's throw away from boon lay mrt station. slightly disappointed that the deck chair areas were rather limited compared to the one at yishun.

wonder if the swimming pool was also scaled back in the cost-cutting measures implemented due to escalating costs during its construction which i had read about.

this clubhouse seems to be more family-oriented since the pool had a lot of water play features for the little ones. plus there were some learning centres and a rather large children's gym.

since i'm not a ktv fiend or a slot machine addict, i don't think this clubhouse holds much attraction for me unless i'm looking to swim for free in a big, lap pool.

lunch @ vienna

yup, we're having lunch again at the vienna international seafood and teppanyaki buffet restaurant at united square. no points for guessing that it's an early celebration of fathers' day since my dad likes the food there.

well, i thought it'll be another ho-hum lunch since we've been there so many times and truth be told, i would rather try some other place because the menu have largely remained the same over the years. but it was not meant to be...

estee after coming back from the restroom started to feel unwell and break out in cold sweat. my mum had to bring out her shawl for her and we let her rest at her seat while we continue to stuff ourselves with food.

then she started to feel nauseous and we had to scramble for a plastic carrier for her to umm... deposit her lunch. and she went on to put up a rather prolonged act of regurgitation.

although i couldn't smell anything, the sight of swirling brown fluids in the bag made me lose all my appetite. we ended our lunch abruptly since she doesn't seem to be feeling better.

you can see what i had gorged on earlier here.

repair

after carting the fan from the living room to my room every night for the past week, i'm just glad that the repairman for the air-conditioner is going to be here today.

can't imagine what's wrong with the compressor... according to the manual, when the 2 lights are on, some sensors somewhere is faulty. i just hope it's not major 'cos the temperatures this week sure is rising.

the repairman came promptly at 5:00 pm as scheduled. when he had to climb out of the window to inspect the compressor, i had to hold on to his safety harness. yes, his life depended on me while he straddled compressor 'cos there's no place for him to anchor it. hehe... :P

fortunately, the guy said it's just some gas been over-charged and all the units miraculously started working once he discharged the gas from the compressor unit.

oh well, i'm just glad that i can sleep in cool comfort again.

bliss...

heat

oh man... my home's air-conditioner is down. the run light and timer light comes on when i tried to switch it on. the same happens to the other 2 units in my parent's and sis's room.

and the service company says that they can only send someone to find out what's wrong on friday! gosh! why must this happen when the weather is heating up?

i'm melting...

new ride

doris sms-ed to ask me if i wanted to join her, tracy and eric for lunch at bishan. i declined 'cos i'm too lazy to go all the way there just for lunch.

then she called to say she'll be at west coast to collect her new suzuki swift and will drop by after that to pick me up so that we can go janet's place before having dinner together. eric was her designated 'vehicle commander' for the day while i was chauffeured by tracy for the first time.

in the end, the new car owner was made to drive from west coast to clementi, then to ang mo kio before going to punggol. after that, she had to follow our stunt driver, jason from punggol to bedok to pick up thomas for dinner and then to siglap for drinks.

hmm... that's all in a day's drive for the slightly stressed new car owner. cool, right? ;)

let's party

it's jerrell's 5th birthday and the theme is transformers. and he really looks cute in his autobot costume although he complained that it's warm after a while.

the children were thrilled as usual to meet their friends, play with the toys, crowd around the cake to sing the birthday song and drink lots of juice. the gang enjoyed the laksa specially catered due to overwhelming prior popular demand.

doris and thomas couldn't make it today 'cos they're on their way back from the US. julian really took the cake, pun fully intended. :)

check out what he did here.

dumplings

yup, that's right. 端午节 is round the corner again. this year, jan promised my mum that she'll come by to learn and help her out.

i fear for her. :P haha...

unfortunately, estee is down with flu... very likely that she had caught the bug from me a few days earlier. so in the end it's only mum and jan doing all the work. my contribution to the annual festival remains consistent, i eat the cooked dumplings.

delicious! :)

red

another outreach programme of the singapore arts festival 2009, this is by stalker theatre company [australia] held at the plaza, vivocity.

a very energetic and unconventional dance performed with the aid of what i call 'springy ladders' and stilts. there were 2 of these ladders that were fixed spring-loaded, straight up perpendicular to their stands on the floor. when the dancers climb to the top and lean over, it'll tilt over towards the ground and once the load is off, the ladders will spring back up straight again.

hung around to take pictures. my heart goes out to the dancers who had to perform in singapore's sweltering humidity. kudos to them for being able to take the heat. :)

marina barrage

another new place that i've not explored... have read about it in the papers and really intrigued by the 'grass' roof. yup, that's not a typo... it's an environmentally-friendly roof planted with real grass that keeps the buildings below cool.

today's the last performance of the singapore arts festival 2009 festival opening act, helios II by la compagnie malabar from france. the crowds wasn't too overwhelming i feel 'cos we didn't have any problems boarding the free shuttle bus from international plaza.

we were slightly early so had some time to go around taking pictures of the surroundings and the cityscape. the show promises to bring to life the construction of the sun god at its zenith, with a spectacular procession of circus artists, performances, music and dazzling pyrotechnic displays.

quite flashy with the occasional fireworks incorporated into the performance, all the performers were on stilts. the best part was the fireworks at the end but my camera's battery ran out of juice... that's not the worst, since i was prepared with a spare battery so it's great, right?

unfortunately, i wasn't able to change it in time in the semi-darkness to capture the glorious fireworks finale.

duh...

jennis & wei nien

so excited about attending the wedding dinner at st. regis 'cos i've not been there. the john jacob ballroom turned out to be such a grand and understated beauty. of course the pretty floral decorations played a part to create this romantic and almost dreamy feel of the night.

was slightly late since i waited quite a while for the bus, fortunately the dinner has yet to begin although most of the guests were already seated by the time i arrived.

jennis surprised me with a fiery-red evening gown that was definitely befitting of the happy and auspicious occasion. :P

the dinner menu, although chinese, wasn't your typical 8-course wedding dinner. it was a beautifully and individually-plated 6-course dinner that consisted of traditional wedding dinner staples such as shark's fin soup and abalone as well as less common dishes like scallops stuffed in yam, fried olive rice and a delightful ginseng essence with longan served cold. something which i thought might be too much for overseas or non-chinese guest.

i read in 8 days that it cost in excess of $1.7k for a weekend wedding dinner here but i guess it's money well-spent if you can afford it. me and the gals went round to take more pictures after the dinner. the crystal chandeliers just beg to be photographed.

jasmine & colin

it's a blissful month at my former office since there're 2 colleagues getting married this may. but my wallet has to take a beating. :P

jasmine started the ball rolling today with gowns that were eye-catching to say the least, all thanks to her lanky frame.

saw rudy's wife for the first time. and everyone tried to avoid sitting with him and ohad. luckily i was early, else i might have to sit with them if my seat was taken up by colleagues who flagrantly ignored the seating plan. :)

the food was ok, and everything proceeded like clockwork.

lunch @ sushi tei

had late lunch at the sushi tei at west coast plaza for an early mothers' day celebration since wilson just returned from his vietnam business trip this afternoon. and i have a wedding dinner to attend tonight.

first time eating at this branch. standards are consistent. no complaints. yummy as usual.

labour no more

it's a special labour day 'cos i wouldn't be labouring much from today for a while.

cheers!

lunch @ liang seah street

a special occasion today, so all the local staff plus the 2nd in command, ohad had lunch together at coffeeshop at liang seah street today.

after that, some of us adjourned for desserts at ah chew's. it's ohad's first time trying local desserts so the girls suggested something mild, 杨枝甘露. but i think he still prefers ice-cream. haha...

constance & max

what do you make of a dress code that says 'glamourous formal'? despite the invitation card helpful indication of jackets for men, there was still some head-scratching on my part. this wedding with a difference came with wedding singers and a 4-course western menu.

i had to accompany my mum since dad wouldn't be able to make it in time. the wedding dinner was a cosy affair held at the amara sanctuary resort at sentosa attended by guests who flew in from all over.

didn't know that we were supposed to be seated at the bride's vip table. fortunately, i had dug out my suit to be suitably attired.

and i caught sight of joey when she was up on the stage helping out with the toasting. found out later that she's a friend of the groom. that's how small singapore is.

the friends of the couple put up a mini-musical complete with life-sized caricatures telling the story of their acquaintance and love across the oceans.

interspersed among all these was the 4-course dinner which the elders didn't approve much of. i thought it was refreshing despite my fillet being a trifle overcooked. i supposed a wedding dinner does feel different without the shark's fin soup and abalone. hehe...

dinner @ basil alcove

decided on a whim to have dinner at basil alcove since it's near my office and have heard good things about it.

as expected, not much of an ambience to start with. but managed to get a table inside so the humidity wasn't a problem. shared 2 starters: classic caesar which comes with roasted chicken and mussels in white wine sauce. i like the caesar very much. thought that the mussels were a trifle overcooked.

my main course of mushroom pasta in black pepper sauce was chockful of delicious mushrooms. i felt that the black pepper sauce could have more heat. overall, basil alcove has a good value-for-money proposition.

slurps...

drinks @ tcc

heard of keppel bay for so long but haven't got the chance to be here until today.

had drinks at tcc. nice place and still very 'in' at the moment but only recommended if somebody's driving.

bad news

sk and pearlyn talked to me today at 奇迹. somehow, sk was more traumatised than me. she had agonised over how to break the news to me today since it's her first time.

hmm... i think i surprised them with how well i took the bad news. no big deal.

cheers! :)

dinner @ a-roy thai

decided to try this thai restaurant that seems to be at funan it mall like forever after reading a review in the papers. it was rather quiet on a friday night and we didn't have to wait for a table.

ordered thai staples like my favourite seafood vermicelli salad, green curry chicken and seafood tom yum that is served clear. overall, the food was pretty good and feels more refined than what you get at food courts. however, i feel it's overpriced compared to first thai at purvis street.

check out the pictures here.

卧虎藏龙

wow... didn't expect my colleague, tan to be such a good singer sounding very much like 张学友. powerful vocals and very good technique too.

i'm impressed!

recession

you wouldn't have guessed that singapore is in the throes of a recession if you were at the IT show at suntec today. it was bursting at the seams. the escalators were packed to the rafters, i seriously thought that a stampede could happen right there and then if somebody tripped and fell.

was there to buy norton 360. it's actually cheaper to get a new product then to renew the subscription online because of the discount given at the show. guess what? it's sold out! what recession, right? so i settled for the norton internet security 2009 at $71 that comes with a free 4gb sandisk cruzer. good deal. :)

estee wanted to buy a portable external harddisk. managed to get a toshiba 320gb for $109 for her. was deciding between this and seagate which costs $10 more but comes with additional 2 years warranty. the seagate one is more sleek and comes with a choice of colours but the toshiba isn't too bad looking either.

collected brochures from all the major camera brands. all were doing a roaring business with some brands having sold out some models. can get a decent one with a budget of $300. however, lumix from panasonic is still priced at a premium so i wasn't tempted to part with my cash. ;)

dinner @ mr curry

a new outlet by the waraku group specialising in japanese curry of course. the decor looks as if you're dining in a friend's kitchen. very homey and cosy but it's kind of noisy.

there're 4 different types of curry: original, red, white and black. the red curry is tomato-based, the white curry is cream-based while the black has squid ink added. all 4 come in non-spicy, spicy and extra spicy versions.

i had the seafood curry rice with the orginal spicy curry. the seafood curry was steaming in the claypot when it was served exuding a enticing fragrance. the portion was just nice for me. i think the curry is great and goes extremely well with the rice. even cayden likes it. i wonder if customers can ask for more curry gravy?

good place to go to when you crave for some japanese curry rice.

living courthouse

saw the advertisement for the supreme court open house first on the mrt.

went to the open house with doris and jaden. janet and cayden couldn't make it since jason had recall manning. what a crowd!

the criminal trial enactment "who pushed humpty?" was overwhelmingly popular with the registration queue snaking out of the building. gosh! since we didn't have much time, we decided to forgo the enactment.

took a walk around the building which looks really good inside. we visited a court room, a chamber, the exhibition and the viewing gallery.

took some pictures. a pity we didn't get to see the inside of the highest court in singapore, and literally too, the court of appeal.

free lunch

again! :P hehe...

helping thomas do audit for his in-room dining. doris, jaden and family are here too and what a spread we ordered.

i had the pan-seared rouge fillet which was a bit dry. i think the caesar salad was pretty good. the chicken nuggets for jaden wasn't too tasty though.

and i like the walnut bread lots. nice!

dinner @ irodori

ml suggested this japanese ala carte buffet at riverview hotel since her colleague gave it a good review.

met up with ml at centrepoint 'cos i was there to buy her birthday present. took a cab with ml to ferry amy to the hotel. the restaurant on level 3 overlooks havelock road.

once seated at the table, we were served a chilled salmon sashimi appetiser which was fresh and thick. then we proceeded to order from the menu. we had sashimi, maki, tempura, tonkatsu, croquette, agedashi tofu, dobin mushi, shishamo, gyoza and grilled mushrooms.

the sashimi is very good! the wait staff will even ask if you prefer thin, normal or thick slices. yummy... check out the pictures here.

the quality of the food is good and the service is not bad too. it's quite a good deal if you can eat lots of sashimi and everythin else. the ladies didn't eat alot while i am too stuffed for desserts. :)

overtime

tony had this sms exchange with his 老板娘 at 6:30pm on a saturday.


老板娘: hi, hv you done with the trial compile files?

tony: not yet, i'll do it tomorrow.

老板娘: hi, what time can i pull the files on tomorrow?

tony: by 2pm. i'll sms you when i'm done.

老板娘: ok. get it done as promised pls.


no wonder he's having a breakout on his forehead. :P

singapore flyer

thanks to amy for giving me the complimentary tickets.

the joke was shortly after i received the tickets in the mail, the flyer was shut down indefinitely. hehe... fortunately the tickets are still valid now.

didn't manage to take many pictures since it's raining tonight and the capsule glass surfaces are covered with condensation.

hmm... think it's a rather touristy attraction and i don't think many locals will go for it more than once. frankly speaking, i feel it's slightly over-priced at $29.50.

go and try it out if you've run out of things to do. :P

gerbera

estee's gerbera finally bloomed after more than 1 year.

a single, intensely red flower.

sweet.

treetop walk 2009

what do singles do on valentine's day?

go and hide in the nature reserves to avoid all the lovey-dovey couples in town. haha...

a nice way to spend the weekend not to mention breaking some sweat and having some fresh air. as usual, i took the shortcut and started from jalan lembah thomson.

nothing has changed since i firsted visited the treetop walk a few years back. as usual the trek ended with prata at casuarina. :)

dinner @ wong kok

have you tried this hong kong cafe at bugis junction? always wanted to try out this place but somehow never got round to it until today.

overall, find the food so-so only and not exactly value for money. the milk was special since i didn't expect ice-cream in it. the fishball in curry sauce wasn't spicy at all and the sauce doesn't even taste vaguely like curry. not sure if the dish is authentic 'cos i've not eaten this in hong kong.

hmm... i think i prefer 湾仔at imm or the original hong kong cafe at east coast road.

lunch @ pandan valley

pandan valley was this place that i passed by on my way to primary school but i've never been inside the condominium until today.

sl and jeff had just moved in and is hosting jcgang for lunch. although it's one of the largest developments in singapore, it was still quite peaceful on a sunday afternoon. however, things were different when the little ones started to arrive. haha...

everyone turned up except for eric and tracy who couldn't make it. the kids enjoyed themselves as usual.

me too since i got an angpow from johann and diane. hehe...

lunch @ 自然海鲜

i suggested having lunch here to celebrate mum's birthday. it's crowded as expected since it's 人日, luckily i made reservations.

we had 鱼生 in addition to their signature tofu and beancurd prawn dishes. overall, mum and dad were satisfied with the dishes. dad quite like the pork ribs which is very tender although the vegetable with mixed waxed meats which mum wanted to try didn't turn out well. the preserved meats were a bit tough.

the 干炒海鲜拉面 was a good alternative to the usual noodles to round up the meal. a pity we didn't have room for desserts.

changeling

supposed to catch this with ml and amy but amy couldn't make it at the last minute.

thought that angelina jolie put in a powerful yet restrained performance of a mother going against the corrupt lapd in the 1920s. this movie wouldn't have been believeable if it wasn't a true story. life can indeed be stranger than art sometimes.

the sets and costumes were gorgeous, evoking a very real sense of the era.

a must-watch movie.

happy 牛 year

it's the year of the ox! may the new year brings you great prosperity and abundance. not forgetting good health too... 恭喜恭喜!

大吉大利

was at jurong point last night for dinner and chanced upon these discounted potted 'kumquats'. priced at $10 for 1 pot and only $18 for 2, it was such a good bargain that i couldn't resist and carted a pair home taking the train! :)

since we didn't buy any potted chrysanthemums this year, the pair now graces our door adding a very festive touch to welcome the new year.

badminton

when was the last time you played the game?

well, i had 2 games in less than a week. played last thursday and again today with my new colleagues. gave estee's racket a good workout. actually the racket hasn't seen the light of the day since eons ago... even the grip was disintegrating already.

my palm looked as if i was playing with a piece of charcoal at the end of last week's game at geylang west cc. haha... it was all black. had to replace the grip last night.

there were only 6 of us this evening, winnie's hubby couldn't make it while seeni is in kl so pearlyn dragged his boyfriend along. this time round she had booked 2 courts so jasmine and i had 1 court to ourselves. had fun... i think i need more practice. :)

老板娘

tony told me he can so empathise with people working for female bosses. :P

good luck to him. haha...

happy 2009

before i know it, time just zoomed past and we're now in 2009. happy new year to all!

although the last year has been marred by gloomy economic news and some pretty horrific disasters, natural and man-made, the economic repercussions from the fallout in the US is expected to be more deeply felt this year.

the cliched phrase now is 'looming clouds' to describe the coming year's state of economy so i think it's up to us to find the silver lining in every cloud. just make lemonade when life gives you lemons, right? :) as always, it's a matter of perspectives and attitudes.

i suggest finding time for your friends and family because at the end of the day, they're the ones who will be standing right beside you come what may. i like the saying 'to live each day as if it's your last' which i take to mean living a life with no regrets and with contentment.

lastly, 2008 has made me realised that i can't take good health for granted as i get older. hopefully, my new job will allow me to exercise regularly and keep myself in good shape.

let's all toast to good health in 2009! cheers!