Our Valentine's Dinner

J picked me up from work and we had a simple dinner of Tom Yum Soup, Sambal Kangkong, Spring Rolls, Deep Fried pork with Garlic and my all time favourite Thai Iced Tea for dinner. Though simple, it was wonderful just spending quality time with the one I love.

Happy Valentine's Day

This will be the 3rd Valentine's Day that we will be celebrating together. The first year his 3rd sis sold us at a cheaper price a nights stay at Grand Park City Hall which she won during her company's D&D. The second year it happened to be the 1st day of CNY and we celebrated with our relatives. This year, we celebrated it 2 days earlier and he treated me to buffet at Oscars @ Conrad. He wanted to do it today but when I heard the price that they will be charging, I told him to cancel his booking and made another booking for Sat. No point giving our money to retailers who jack up their prices just because it was Valentine's day right?

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs, Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496 AD. It was deleted from the Roman calendar of saints in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, but its religious observance is still permitted. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine's_Day

My outfit for the day: Flowery toga top from Pluspink.sg and black leggings.

My smile looks forced here cause J made me take this photo and alot of ppl were looking my way. So embarassing.

J's outfit for the day: White shirt with black details and grey double layered vest. Both from Domanchi. Levis Jeans not shown in picture.

Seafood Galore!! My favourite!!

 I have no idea what these little lobster look alike crustaceans are but the are simply delish!! Much better than the crayfish.

 Thay also had a yusheng section and I made a mini one and tossed it myself. J was simply sick and tired of them but I love Yusheng!

Their dessert corner was wonderful too. They had freshly made waffles too! Coupled with ice cream, they were to die for.

They also had handmade chocolates and meringue. Different from other buffets. I like!

Something different was they had orange souffle. Made to order.

And what I love most? At the end of the meal, the tea they served was from TWG! Woot! This would have cost $10.50 at TWG but it was included in the meal. So worth it.

I shall end abruptly here cause I am feeling nauseous from facing the com the whole day. Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

A season of feasting and "Lou Hei-ing"

The Lunar new year is only into its 9th day and I have been feasting for 5 out of those 9 days. OMG!! And I have already "Lou Hei-ed" 5 times!! There'll be another session tonight and on Sunday night. This year sure "Huat" ah!!

Every CNY, the Yusheng is one of the dish that I always look forward to. If prepared correctly, the shredded vegetables will be very crunchy and with the addition of the sun dried oranges, red pickled ginger and jelly fish amoung other ingredients laced with the plum sauce, the resultant cold, crunchy, slightly sweet slightly sour mix of ingredients is delightfully refreshing and makes for a wonderful appetizer.

Yusheng , yee sang or yuu sahng (simplified Chinese: 鱼生; pinyin: yúshēng), or Prosperity Toss, also known as lo hei (Cantonese for 撈起 or 捞起) is a Teochew-style raw fish salad. It usually consists of strips of raw fish (most commonly salmon), mixed with shredded vegetables and a variety of sauces and condiments, among other ingredients. Yusheng literally means "raw fish" but since "fish (鱼)" is commonly conflated with its homophone "abundance (余)", Yúshēng (鱼生) is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升) meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor.

While versions of it is thought to have existed in China, the contemporary version is created and popularised in Singapore in the 1960s amongst the ethnic Chinese community and its consumption has been associated with Chinese New Year festivities in Singapore as well as in neighbouring Malaysia. In Singapore, government, community and business leaders often take the lead in serving the dish as part of official functions during the festive period or in private celebrity dinners. Some have even suggested that it be named a national dish.

Yusheng is often served as part of a multi-dish dinner, usually as the appetizer due to its symbolism of "good luck" for the new year. Some would consume it on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, although in practice it may be eaten on any convenient day during Chinese New Year (1st to 15th Day).

The base ingredients are first served. The leader amongst the diners or the restaurant server proceeds to add ingredients such as the fish, the crackers and the sauces while saying "auspicious wishes" (吉祥话 or Jíxiáng Huà) as each ingredient is added, typically related to the specific ingredient being added. For example, phrases such as Nian Nian You Yu (年年有余) are uttered as the fish is added, as the word Yu (余), which means "surplus" or "abundance", sounds the same as the Chinese word for fish (yu, 鱼).

All diners at the table then stand up and on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud, or simply "撈起, 撈起". It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the diner's growth in fortunes, thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusheng    

Happy Birthday Everyone!!

I hope you are all enjoying your CNY celebrations as much as I am. In fact, I am enjoying it so much that I have succumbed to the flu bug yet again! Too many late nights and feasting and too little water does that to you.

Today is 正月初七 which happens to be 人日。According to chinese customs, 人日 is the common birthday of all human beings.

Legend has it that the goddess 女媧 who created the world, created different animals on different days and humans were created on the 7th day. So remember to wish your fellow chinese compatriots 生日快乐！ 

Double Digit Countdown ...

... Starts Now!!

99 more days to my wedding day..

Some of the stuffs which I have settled since my last update:

• My new wardrobe have been bought and delivered to his place - Not the one from Ikea that we were initially thinking of getting but one from the neighbourhood furniture shops. Cheap, about the same quality as tt from Ikea and has free delivery. So good enough in my opinion.
• 80% of 兄弟s and 姐妹s confirmed.
• Bought the gold ties from the push cart at Bugis Junction.
• Bought cloth in the same colour as the ties from shop in Chinatown complex - Have to sew it into sashes for the 姐妹s.
• Shoes and pants for J .
• Trial makeup for AD - Did the trial on 30th Jan. Had a good discussion with Angela on my preferences and some of my concerns which she tried to address during the trial. Liked what I see during my trial so I trust that I will be in good hands on my big day.
• Bought my shoes to match my white gown - I'm thinking of selling the pair that I bought from Anna Nucci. Read here. There's no occasion that I can wear it and its just taking up a space and collecting dust in the storeroom.

Pretty happy with how things have been coming along. My To-Do list is slowly but surely getting shorter. I've been learning to take things easy and not be a bridezilla. Some things which are not in my control I try not to let it bother me. I'm thankful that I have J beside me along the way. Though he usually prefers to take a backseat in these nitty gritty stuffs. I know that I still can count on him to make the big decisions and be there for me when I need his opinions or support.

2 more days to CNY and Some updates ..

Pardon me for the long hiatus. Works been mad busy preparing for the re-cert audit which finally ended on Thursday. I can now look forward to the CNY hols without that big load on my shoulders..

Met up with Joyce on Wed evening for dinner. It has been more than a yr since we last met up. Jos as usual was a no show. Wedding bells will be ringing soon for Jos at the end of this year and in the next 2 years for Joyce. Lots of weddings to attend these few years. But I love attending weddings so its a good thing. And it makes me happy to see all my girls settling down and starting their own families.

With my buddy of 10 years..

With CNY 2 days just away, I went and got my nails done. Tried out the gel polish for the first time as it was still quite a few days before CNY when I went for my mani and I wanted it to last. A bit pricy but it was worth it. The photos don't do it justice but my nails looks like there are millions and billions of crystals shining on it under the light. <3 them to the max. No regrets.

Pretty glad that I managed to finish my CNY shopping early this year. Clothes were mainly bought online throughout the year and haven't got the chance to wear them yet and shoes were bought early this month. It was good cos with the audit, I would not have been able to find the time to do my shopping. So YAY for online blogshops. =)

Pretty nails in preparation for the new year..

Feeling Loved

I was trying very hard to battle the Monday Blues Syndrome when I received this message on my phone which warmed my heart immediately in this cold cold office.

Looking Back on 2010

2010 is coming to an end in a few hours time and the new year will be upon us soon.

In a nutshell, 2010 saw us going on our first trip together with just the 2 of us and to Taipei to take our pre-wedding photos, we also spent a huge sum of money this year to prepare for our wedding and quarreled quite frequently. But these have brought us closer together and we now appreciate each other more.

In 2010 I got married and was promoted to a Mrs. It has also been the year that I get to try something different workwise albeit its also in the research area and this has further strengthened my decision to venture out of my comfort zone come 2011.

2010 has seen me going through more ups than downs. I did not bother to make any resolutions at the beginning of the year as I knew that chances are I will not be able to fulfill them. 2011 will be no different either.

Happy 2011 everyone!!

Of Roast Chicken and Post Christmas Blues

Its 2 days after christmas and its back to work for me. Suffering from post holiday blues and I’m so looking forward to the New Year’s holiday which will be happening in less than 4 days time. There is not much motivation at work and I am seriously considering a change of job after I’m finished with my current secondment. But that will not happen in the next 6 months.

On a happier note, Christmas eve at WF’s place was fun and my Roast Chicken turned out beautifully albeit the vegetables at the top were burnt, BUT those that were soaked in the juices of the chicken was soft and flavourful. And the chicken itself was very juicy. Received raving compliments from everyone who tried the chicken. Gonna roast one for my parents to try soon.

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas!!

Its Xmas eve today and I'll be meeting some friends to celebrate over potluck.

Have decided to prepare a roast chicken instead of turkey as the meat is more tender and juicy.

The recipe I will be following loosely is Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux from Dorie Greenspan's book Around my French Table. My first attempt at roasting a chicken and I hope it turns out like the picture below. Seems simple enough. Rub a washed and dried chicken with herbs, salt and pepper. Throw it in a pan with onions, potatoes and carrots with a slice of bread under the chicken to absorb all the juices. Put it in the oven set at high for 90 mins and voila, the chicken will be ready. I'll try it out later and review it in my next post after Christmas.

Happy Holidays everyone!!

Source: http://kitchenlaw.blogspot.com/

15 Health Benefits of Regular Sex

I was surfing the web as usual this morning when I chanced upon this article on MSN Lifestyle written by Flora McCraith. Who knew that sex has so many benificial qualities? Now there is 15 less/more reasons to reject/convince your partner.

1. Have sex for longer life
   The hormone DHEA increases every time you have an orgasm. This hormone boosts a person’s immunity, helps to keep skin healthy and repairs damaged tissue.
2. Sex improves smell
   The hormone prolactin increases after sex which causes cells in the brain to develop neurons in the brains smell centre; the olfactory bulb.
3. A healthy heart
   Scientists found that a person who has sex twice or more a week reduces their chance of a heart attack by half.
4. Healthier semen
   Men who have sex on a frequent basis have a higher volume of sperm and a higher percentage of healthier sperm. It is also thought that men lower their prostate cancer risk as they remove more waste products in their sperm.
5. Fewer menopause symptoms
   Having regular sex helps to regulate hormone levels. This can help women who are experiencing the menopause as it helps to control their symptoms.
6. Improves intimacy
   Sex can help to us to bond because having sex increases the levels of the hormone oxytocin, also known as the feel-good or cuddle hormone. It allows us to feel the urge to nurture.
7. Helps with weight loss
   Engaging in any aerobic exercise helps to burn calories and sex raises a person’s heart rate. Although you won’t be burning hundreds of calories (roughly 30 minutes of sex burns 85 calories), it certainly adds up.
8. Lower risk of breast cancer
   A study done in France found that women who didn’t have sex, or had sex infrequently, had a higher risk of breast cancer in comparison to women who have frequent sex.
9. Increased blood flow
   When a person gets aroused, blood flow increases to the brain and a fresh supply of oxygenated blood is sent to the organs. This in turn helps to get rid of waste products.
10. More hormones are good
    Having sex increases testosterone which helps to strengthen bones, muscles and keeps the heart healthy. In women, oestrogen levels increase which helps protect the heart, reduces the risk of osteoporosis and promotes fertility.
11. Improves sleep
    Sex helps to encourage sleep due to the release of the hormone oxytocin. Sleep is essential for our health as it helps to reduce stress, maintain a healthy weight, reduce blood pressure and it is when the body carries out the repairs that it needs to.
12. Pain relief
    Again, the hormone oxytocin is release when a person orgasms which releases endorphins into the body, and these help to relieve pain such as headache. It is the body’s natural pain killer.
13. Less frequent colds and flu
    Wilkes University in Pennsylvania says individuals who have sex once or twice a week show 30% higher levels of an antibody called immunoglobulin A, which is known to boost the immune system. (Is sex necessary; www.forbes.com)
14. Better bladder control
    These pelvic muscles are used during sex and they help to make it more pleasurable, but also helps to strengthen them which helps to reduce the chance of incontinence in later life.
15. Reduce stress
    People who have more sex reported that they felt more at ease and this is because sex helps to lower blood pressure and overall stress reduction. Endorphins released into the blood help to relax and regulate blood pressure.

Source: Flora McCraith, http://lifestyle.xin.msn.com/en/health/wellbeing

Big Ticket Items Confirmed

It is 143 days to our wedding and we have finally confirmed the last of our big ticket items

-Photographer and Videographer
-MUA
-Possibly gowns too

We have also bought our lamps on Monday from Ikea.
I'm a happy girl!!

Movie Night: Rapunzel - A Tangled Tale

With the pair of $3 tickets that I got from inSing.com, I managed to convince hubs to catch A Tangled Tale with me on Friday night. =D It was a good thing that there were many funny scenes peppered throughout the movie so hubs enjoyed it and so did I.

Rapunzel differs from the usual Disney Princesses in that she is no damsel in distress and can fend for herself and more often than not, she is the one having to save Flynn with that skillet of hers. We thouroughly enjoyed the movie and I would not have minded paying full price for the show. And my favourite character in the show? Its non other than Pascal!! Cute little guy he is.

My Cravings: Lindor Chocolates

 I am addicted to this. My 3rd box in as many weeks!

Oh Dear!! There goes my diet.. But I can't resist the creamy taste of the chocolate filling when the shell breaks!! I want one now..

15 Story Hotel in 6 Days!!

This was reported in Yahoo! News last month. Its pretty amazing how they managed to get the frame up and put in the prefab all in 6 days. This hotel can reportly withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. How true that is I am not very sure. Despite the frenetic pace that this hotel built, no workers were injured. The full article can be found here. How I wish our love nest can be built as fast.

Our Love Nest Progress

We were lucky that we were able to get a flat under the BTO scheme on our 2nd try. The market was just beginning to heat up when we decided that we should purchase our love nest early last year. Initially, we were considering getting a resale flat but the COV was on the upward climb then and the areas that I was looking at was mainly AMK and Hougang and they were freaking expensive. We settled on BTOs as we did not have to pay for any upfront cash except for the $2K for the option to purchase which would be refunded to us on signing the lease agreement.

Our first BTO that we signed up for was the Fernvale Crest and Punggol Residences when it was released a month later. Our queue number for FC was in the 500+ range and PR was 100+. We were hoping that there would be no more units left when our turn came to choose for FC as PR had a better location and it was near my parents. Our wish came true when we received an SMS from HDB informing us that the Chinese quota had been reached.

We are now anxiously awaiting the day when we (mainly me, J is busy worrying over the renovation costs) can get the keys to our new home. Pretty happy with the progress of the building and thanks to the kind Forumers who went down to take beautiful photos to keep all of us updated on the progress.

19 November 2010

3 December 2010

Photo credits: Sapphire 2011 from Construction of Punggol Residences Album Forum

Recently Hooked On ..

The Bubble Tea craze has recently been revived in Sunny Singapore with the arrival of first Koi and now Gong Cha. I have given up on Koi due to the freaking long queues snaking at all the outlets. I might get lucky somedays at the Chinatown outlet but all the queues at all the other outlets puts me off. Thank goodness there is now Gong Cha to satisfy my craving for Bubble Tea. I especially love their 奶盖红茶加布丁。

Love the slightly salty taste of the millk foam and the silky smooth pudding. The plus point is that the outlet that I frequent has almost no queue (at most 1 or 2 pax ahead of me). The tri-coloured mixture also makes me happy. Now that I think of it, the colour combi reminds me of my AD theme of Ivory and Gold.

Wedding Themes: Ivory and Gold

I have began to look at wedding themes for my AD in about 5 months time.

I have decided on Ivory and Gold with or without Pink/Purple. I'll probably be going with just the Ivory and Gold theme though for a classy and elegant feel. And since the restaurant doesn't have any themes for me to choose from, I'll just have to work with what they have now which is Ivory, Gold and Brown. I can live with that. Just have to add in abit of personal touch to up the Classiness and Elegance.

Here are some inspirations that I got from Dessy.com.

AD - Wedding Lamp

One of the items that we would have to get for our 过大礼 are Chinese Wedding Lamps to be placed at our bedside table. The significance of the lamps are to shower the couple with blessings and for them to have many sons.

Significance of Chinese Wedding Lamps

The Chinese culture revolves around auspicious sounding items and sons! In every Chinese wedding, the couple are always showered with blessings for them to have many sons to carry on the family name. Lamps in Chinese (“deng”) has a similar sound to sons (“ding”). So the symbolic gesture of lighting the wedding lamps signifies the addition of sons to the family. The brightness of the pair of lamps also symbolises a long and bright life ahead for the couple.

How Long Should I Light The Lamps For?

The wedding lamps are usually lit by the auspicious lady who installed the marriage bed or the parents. There are several variations to the custom on how long they should be kept lit for. Some say the lamps should be lit on the day of the bed installation and kept on until the wedding night. Other variations recommend for the lamps to be lit only before the wedding day and kept burning for 3 days and 3 nights after the wedding to illuminate the new couple’s life. Both variations are valid. However, if you have elders in the family you might want to check with them and follow their recommendations.

Source: http://myweddingplanningtips.com/

We didn't want to get the traditional oil lamps as we would only be using it on the wedding itself and will be kept in storage after that. Furthermore, it will be a fire hazard. We wanted something that is modern and functional yet would be acceptable by the elders. On our foray for furnitures a few weeks back at ikea, we chanced upon this beautiful, red Knubbig Lamp. It is red. It runs on electricity. It is chic and nice. It fulfills my criteria. We have decided to get a pair of this for our wedding once his mom gives the go ahead.

Birthday Getaway

Haven't been blogging as often or as detailed as I would like as I am usually exhausted when I reach home. I do not have the same stamina as before where I can still blog after a night out. So pardon my slow updates while I will try to post more often. In the mean time here is the super late post on our mini getaway to Batam during my birthday early this month. Just thinking of it makes me want to go on another trip.

Woke up bright and early and met J at Harbourfront. Bought our BatamFast tickets and boarded the ferry. Our super sleepy face. I thought we would both sleep throughout the journey but they were screening Iron Man (it was on Mute) and we passed the time watching the silent movie.

Upon reaching Batam, we cleared customs and walked to our hotel, Harmoni One Hotel, which was about 15 mins away. It was a freaking long 15 mins walk with me wearing slippers and trying to walk on the uneven road in the hot weather while declining all the taxis that's horning at us. Read almost every vehicle that passed us on the road horning at us. Plus J was busy on the phone which started ringing the moment we reached Batam! My face was super black when we reached the hotel. I was able to smile here cos J had already coax me back to a good mood. They had 3 individual reception counters and we were served apple juice while waiting for them to check us in.

Once check in was done, we made our way to our room and took a short nap before heading our to Nagoya in search of lunch.

Love the super big bathtub for 2. But the water usage was really high.  

Lunch was at non-other than A&W

With Root Beer Floats ..

and curly fries ..

and not forgetting Waffles with Ice Cream!!

After lunch, we went back to our hotel and took in some Discovery Channel before indulging in some massage at Aruma. There was a free 30 mins massage for 1 pax which we extended to 1 hour and took another 1 hour for me. For an hours massage each, we paid about $17 which was very worth it. J complained that his massueus had no energy but I found that mine was very good. She kept on saying 'No power, no power' when I told her that it was painful. J would have been happy with mine.

Went back to our room to wash up after our massage and then out we went for dinner. I wanted seafood dinner but J wanted to go back to one of the shop at the ferry terminal for dinner because he wants to eat he kway teow goreng. Sianz. But since this trip was sponsored by him, I let him make the decisions.

Walked over to Mega Mall after dinner but nothing much to see and shop so I took a photo with the A&W bear, bought a root beer and we walked back to our hotel to rest.

For supper we tucked into the J.Co donuts that we bought earlier from Nagoya Hill.

I like this slogan for their box of 2.

'Just the two of Us'

We had a mind to take a dip in the pool after our complimentary international buffet breafast at Bamboo the next morning so we woke up early.

Bread, pastries and spreads.

Breakfast cereals and juices..

The weather was kind to us until after breakfast when it started raining, so our plan to take a dip in the pool was changed to a dip in the bathtub.. It was time to check out soon after and thank god the rain had let up but it was a muddy trudge to the ferry terminal.

It was a very relaxing and much needed getaway where we literally eat, sleep, eat, sleep. The service at the hotel was great but I could have done without the constant horning from the vehicles everytime we ventured out into the streets.