Momma Reeney

Doing the Dukan Diet in Singapore

2012-02-12T00:32:00.000+08:00

I have in all honesty never ever gone on a diet before. Growing up I was a stick thin kid, it wasn't till after Uni that the weight started to pile on...little by little....then marriage and pregnancy happened....and then well I pretty much physically turned into a different person. I don't know how anyone in Singapore can stay so thin, ok perhaps they have an active life etc, which was what I had in oz, but not here, but there's so much good food everywhere you look! It's not food is just found in shopping centre food courts, it is literally within reach here. Sometimes shopping centres have 2 food courts AND a basement dedicated to the selling of food!

So after my recent trip to US, stepping on the scales when we got back I gasped and literally stared in disbelief and horror. I won't tell you how much I weighed cos it's just far too embarrasing. On the plus side, I am tall for a Chinese girl (I think), I'm 1.7m - but I am sadly overweight. But if I were short, I would look completely pudgy at the weight that I was at.

I desperately wanted to lose weight and was wishing that there was a Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers in Singapore. I wasn't going to fork out thousands of dollars at slimming centres that just leech off your wallet. And by chance I came across an article about the Dukan Diet in some magazine and it mentioned that Kate the royal and her mother had gone on this diet prior to her big shin dig, and JLo was also a big fan of the diet. So off I went and ordered the book.

Now diets really terrify me, just the thought of having to restrict yourself etc...I didn't think I had that kind of will power. But after reading the book, it seemed 'easy' enough and vowed that I'd stick to it. So to make a long story short, I started the diet 16th December and since then I have lost 5.5kgs and about 9-10cm off my waist. The difference is incredible, I feel so great because I know I look better. The diet was definitely hard to begin with, I did pure proteins for 5 days and tried to stick to the book as much as possible. Cheated here and there with tomato sauce etc that you're not supposed to have. And I endured Christmas and Chinese New Year (where I did cheat many times) and have kept the 5.5kgs off. I haven't reached my target weight yet, but to think how far I've come, I'm really proud of myself.

You'd think doing a western diet in Singapore would be difficult, as most of the recipes they offer is western. But surprisingly you can find a lot of the things you need for this diet at the regular supermarket. For example, Oat Bran, No Fat No Sugar added Yogurt and low fat cottage cheese and you can even find 0.01% milk at the bigger supermarkets. Now days they even have Fat Free cream cheese and in some superrmarkets you'll be able to find Non Fat, No sugar added Jell-O....although the price is a little bit more expensive, it's worth it if you're craving sweet stuff. Just too bad in Singapore there aren't much variety on Diet drinks which are permitted on the diet. So you're basically stuck on just drinking Coke Light/Zero or Pepzi Light/Max...which gets boring after a while. Sugar substitutes are also a bit expensive, I found that Equal was the cheapest amongst the brands. Beef is also more expensive here than in the west, but if you go to certain Cold Storages you can find marked down beef cuts which helps on the pocket.

In terms of exercise I don't do much simply because I don't have the time, I only walk my kid to and fro school which amounts to about 40mins a day. Perhaps if I did more exercise I would be able to lose more weight? But anyway, I am happy with the results and have realised it's also about changing habits and the way you normally eat. You do get used to it...but temptations are always there especially if you have a family.

Oh and another thing that I think might make this diet difficult for Singaporeans is you do HAVE to cook on this diet. There is no way around it since it is a High Protein diet which means you have to cook your meats, chicken, seafood etc - unless you survive on sashimi all day long....And when it comes time to Protein and Veg days on the Cruise Phase, you either have to eat a salad which I know is not favourable by a lot of singaporeans simply because they're not used to eating raw veg, or you'll have to go and cook your green veg like Kangkong, Wombok, etc....So it can be time consuming if you're not used to cooking.

If you are thinking of trying a diet, this diet really does work, give it a go, what have you got to lose? :)

Pelican Pizza - Singapore

2011-08-29T23:35:00.004+08:00

A while ago there was a Groupon voucher for Pelican Pizza. I'd never heard of it before but after reading a few blogs saying it was good, thought would give it a try after all it was only $15 for $25 worth of food.

We decided to go for the Pelican A Set Meal which consists of 1 Regular Pizza, 1 bbq chicken wing set (3 chicken wings), 2 garlic breads, 1.5ltr bottle coke - price $25.90. For the Pizza topping we chose the Pelican Special, which consisted of onions, mushroom, salami, beef, green peppers, fresh tomatoes, olives and cheese.

the box

BBQ Chicken Wings - Set of 3

the Pelican Special

Garlic Breads

Verdict: unfortunately it fell below our expectations. The pizza, although having generous toppings was a little bland and tasteless. The beef mince was also a little dry and had a funny taste. The garlic bread came in a paper bag and by the time it arrived the paper underneath the bread was drenched in oil.....really not an appetising sight. Now i know why garlic bread usually comes in foil or foil lined paper bags.

On the upside though, the chicken wings and garlic breads were very tasty - but i doubt it was made in house so can't give them credit for that. And also, we didn't feel too thirsty after the meal. Usually with pizza hut we'd have to chug down a lot of water because we'd be super thirsty.

Another plus is there's no gst and no delivery fees. But im still undecided whether i'd order frm them again...\

The funny thing was when they called me back to ask for my groupon code number and then proceeded to ask me (almost begged me) if I wanted to order anything else, ie they said "that's all ah?". The guy then proceeded to tell me how he was losing money cos of Groupon and that people weren't ordering more and that Groupon never told him about GST and Paypal charges etc. Anyway felt kinda sorry for them! I suppose you'd definitely lose money, but aren't they supposed to look at this like they're advertising? He talked to me like we were old friend catching up or something....kinda weird....

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Uncle Leong Seafood new outlet at Punggol

2011-08-28T19:46:00.004+08:00

If you're a regular at Uncle Leong's Seafood at Ang Mo Kio, you would have noticed their shop has closed down. Fret not, they've actually moved to Tebing Lane at Punggol.

It is now a proper restaurant with indoor aircon seating and outdoor sitting overlooking the river.

Food is still as tasty as ever with big fat sweet crabs. Yummmmm

The restaurant is right next to the prawn fishing pond which gets pretty crowded. Come early like before 6pm to avoid waiting in line for a long time as they dont take reservations on weekends.

Crab Beehoon Soup

Chilli Crab

Sambal Kangkong

view of river

Their famous Crabs - Chilli Crab, Crab Beehoon Soup, Shimmering Crab

Can't miss it with a big sign like that!

Shiu Yakiniku Review

2011-08-21T23:56:00.004+08:00

We bought some vouchers from Deal.com.sg for this buffet. I think had there been no offers we wouldn't have gone all the way there to try it out because it's situated at this place called The Village which is right next to the Jurong Birdpark carpark. It's pretty quiet there so presumably their main customers must come from the people that visit the bird park.

The restaurant itself is pretty small but I was impressed with the number of waitstaff they had which meant service was prompt, but with the same level of unfriendliness you've come to expect from any other restaurants in Singapore.

We bought the vouchers for $23. The funny thing was, we only had 2 vouchers but wanted to bring my Mum along and was told on the phone when making the reservation that we could buy the same voucher direct from the restaurant.

The best thing about the buffet is that it truly is smoke free and you start to wonder how on earth they do it because there are no exhaust fans sucking up the smoke. It felt really good to go to a BBQ without having smelly clothes. And somehow the food tasted healthier too because the they didn't stick onto the grill plate and didn't char as much...

Food wise it was ok only. Yes the meats were good, well marinated. And we definitely had our fill of Pork Belly, Pork Collar and Beef Ribeye. Only thing was all the meats seemed to have been marinated the same way with some kind of sweet marinade - not bulgogi or anything. After you cook the meats you can dip it into their Korean red pepper paste dipping sauce or their home made BBQ sauce which to be Frank was tasteless and too runny. meats are ordered ala-carte style.

On the special deal menu, there was also appetisers and hot food you could either take from the buffet table or order ala-carte. The buffet table seemed like a cheap display and was rather unappealing. The sushi was quite poor standard (I could've made better) and same for the teriyaki chicken, didn't really make you want to have seconds. The only thing I really liked from the displayed buffet was the cucumber and radish kimchi....and ice cream.

But despite the little offering they had, we were satisfied with the meats and really when you come to a BBQ buffet that's all that matters. If you want to compare with something like Seoul Garden, the food at Seoul Garden is more but Shiu Yakiniku beats it in it's smokeless environment and good quality cuts of meat such as the pork belly, pork collar, beef ribeye and beef tenderloin. But with such little variety you get sick of eating the same stuff over and over again after a little while. This is based on the special deal menu though, so not sure how the normal menu compares.....but I doubt that I'd make a return trip there again - once is enough.

Pork Belly

Pork Collar

Tempura

Beef Tenderloin

sushi, octopus, seaweed, kimchi cucumber, beansprouts, terriyaki chicken

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Mini Cheesecake

2011-08-02T02:00:00.000+08:00

Made these mini cheesecakes the other day using my mini cheesecake pan. It was delicious, but I wondered why the picture of the recipe that I followed turns out different. Mine was brown and theirs remained white....

Recipe and pic from here: http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/10/mini-baked-cheesecakes-recipe.html

Mine:

Krabi - Day 4 - Going Home

2011-07-30T02:08:00.001+08:00

Time to go home. We had pre booked a town car on the Internet which was cheaper than buying on the spot. A car to the airport costs 600 baht one way and on the Internet we booked for under 1200baht for a return trip.

We totally fell in love with Krabi and we'll surely be back.

Great shells we found on the beach as souvenirs!

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Krabi - Day 3

2011-07-30T02:08:00.000+08:00

We couldnt really decide what to do on the 3rd day. We wanted to go Kayaking but knew that we would be pretty tired after the full day previously. We also wanted to go on the 4 island hopping but was seriously worried about getting seasick from the choppy waves. Unfortunately when u come during May-Nov it is the low season because it's the monsoon season. So the weather is a bit eratic, strong winds and big choppy waves. Plus having experienced terrible seasickness when we went to Bintan and Macau I was pretty worried. At the end the agent honestly told us that it's probably best not to go to the islands at this time because the weather is unpredictable.

On this third day we did have the best weather though. Even with the strong winds. Ao-Nang beach was a little calmer so the waves weren't that crazy and the brown colored water we saw previous days now looked more clear and greenish blue. So we decided to venture into the beach and had a great time. Not exactly powdery sand as it was very grainy and had tons of seashells but on the upside it was really fun finding all the different shells to take back as souvenirs. The best thing about swimming on Ao Nang beach is the beautiful backdrop of the giant limestone cliffs on The side and in the distance. It just felt so mystical.

After a swim at the beach it was back to the hotel pool for a while longer. We were planning to go catch a cab to the nearest Tesco for lunch but after talking to the tour agent we found out it would cost us 600baht one way by cab. But her company was offering a night shopping tour for 350baht a person and Caelyn was free. So we booked that instead.

The tour was from 5.10-9pm. The van would take us to the Outlet Village, Tesco, and night market.

The Outlet Village is a bit lame. And wasn't THAT cheap. Sizes were pretty small so we didn't really find anything. I only managed to get 1 Gap top.

We then went to Tesco after that. Actually it was more like their local mall, it had several other shops and restaurants, small food court and a cinema. The restaurants are very cheap compared to the restaurants at Ao Nang near our hotel. We ate at a Japanese noodle restaurant where a bowl of noodle was only around 70baht! One Thai dish like Pad Thai or curry at the restaurant near the hotel was easily about 150baht! Of course it's not like u could go to Tesco everyday cos it's quite a distance away. At Tesco we bought a few local snacks to bring back for our family.

After Tesco we went to an open air night Market. It was very lively but wasn't very big. Had lots of food vendors and other vendors selling this and that. We werent so game to try the food eventhough it mostly looked yummy, though the hygiene was questionable. We did buy some deep fried prawns and crabs which we thought would be relatively safe since it was fried in hot oil. It was so good and so cheap at only 40baht!

This was soooo good

Street Performer....the one being painted on...not the kid

All in all we had an hour at each place. Tesco was the only place that wasn't really enough to go to for 1 hour. It's a good tour to go on if u like to shop or or if u have enough time to fit it in.

Green Curry KFC chicken!

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Krabi -Day 2

2011-07-30T02:07:00.001+08:00

We decided to book ourselves on a jungle tour which cost 1200Baht per adult inclusive of lunch and freeflow water and the use of the hotel swimming towels.

We booked our tour from the hotel tour desk which is run by an external company. It was really surprising to see the tour agent as being European since we were expecting a Thai person. What was even more surprising was when she opened her mouth, she spoke fluent Thai AND her English was with a Thai accent!

When our tour van arrived it was another surprise to see a tour guide looking the same as our tour agent. We later find out that they are actually sisters from Bulgaria who have been living in Thailand for 14 years, the majority of which was in Krabi. They were pretty much Thai ppl in essence. We so didn't expect it.

One of the things that is bad about joining a tour is that we have to wake up very early at about 7.30 to have breakfast and be picked up by the van by about 8.30-8.45. Not really something u wanna do when ur on holiday.

Our first stop was Tiger Cave Temple which is a revered Buddhist site. Legend has it that a monk fell asleep in a cave and when he woke up found a tiger asleep beside him. There wasn't Really much to see there, if you're a Buddhist u can buy some flowers and candles for offering. There were also wild monkeys roaming around. The big attraction there is the 1200 steep almost vertical steps that leads to the top of the limestone mountain where you got a nice panaromic view. But I didn't go up there, it was far too steep for the little one. Hubby did make it 3/4 of the way up and took some nice panoramic shots.

After the cave temple we went to the Hot Springs which was about 200 metres walk into the national park. The hot springs place was A LOT smaller than I had expected. We went during low season too and there were other ppl there, I can't imagine how crowded it would get during the high season and how all those ppl could fit into he natural 'bath tubs' all at once. It's also not a good place for little kids. The water at 38 degrees celcius is far too hot for them to feel comfortable in. It's only recommended u soak in the mineral rich water for 20mins. Even if u don't get a chance to go in for a full body soak, a nice soak of ur feet really gives comfort.

a bit smaller than I expected

This is the 'official' photo taken from their billboard.

The next place to visit was the Emerald Pool. It's a natural fresh water pool rich in calcium content thus giving it a greenish hue. Lunch was served at this shack near the entrance of the walk. The local Thai lunch served wasnt terribly exciting nor terribly good. It was just OK. We had a fried egg ommelette, stir fried chicken sweet spicy chicken with cashew nuts and veggies, stir fried veggies, very mild green chicken curry, white rice, lots of fruits (watermelon and pineapple), teacake which they dubbed as Krabi cake and a bottle of mineral water each. We had a German couple, a Portuguese couple, and an Israeli lady. They didn't look like they enjoyed the food at all, and didn't seem like they even touched the curry. The poor Jewish girl also couldn't really eat much (that's an entirely different story for another day).

So after the lunch, we had to walk about 800metres into the National Park to get to the Emerald Pool. It's quite a distance for little kids to go on. So if u do go, be warned that you'll probably have to carry them most of the way. Strollers arent really suitable either because the track is muddy in some parts and when you get to the Emerald Pool u have to walk over some planks. The 'pool' is very pretty and worth the treck. Caelyn absolutely loved it.

We were way exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. This was dinner for the night.

Tom Yam Soup

Garlic Squid, quite good

Crab with Glass Noodles...I've had better in Singapore

Curry

Krabi Day 3

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Krabi - Day 1

2011-07-30T02:07:00.000+08:00

The flight to Krabi was relatively smooth. We flew on Tiger Airways because there really isn't any other airlines that fly direct from Singapore. I was impressed that the plane we were on had leather seats cos we've flown Tiger a couple of times to Jakarta and they never had leather seats last time. Leather seats on airplanes I think really ups the comfort factor when u fly budget.

The flight was only about 1.5 hours. Krabi international airport is extremely small but looks newish with extensions being constructed when we landed, there was only 1 other Air Asia plane there - and that's it.

We arrived to Grey overcast weather. It was humid but you could also tell that it was a little bit cooler than it would be on the hot and dry season. One of the reasons to feel apprehensive about coming to Krabi in the low wet season is you don't really know what to expect and whether your whole holiday would be ruined by downpours.

We had arranged for a private transfer to the hotel prior to arriving. If you buy a return transfer it is actually cheaper too. Our driver was quite and didn't speak much English. It took about 40-45 mins to reach our hotel.

My first impression of Krabi was it felt so relaxing to be there. Things seemed to be at snail speed there, the roads weren't that busy either and people drove in an orderly manner. It felt completely different to Bali too.

The drive to the hotel was quite scenic too as we passed by Big limestone mountains on our left and right - exactly what Krabi is famous for. As we passed by the city you can see how undeveloped the town is and as we neared the tourist area known as Aonang Beach you could see the change in landscape with resorts, and restaurants and bars and 'tourist infos' left and right.

We stayed at the Golden Beach Resort which was literally on the steps of the beach. The beach itself wasn't exactly what we expected. The waves were very choppy, water was brown and sand was brown and not so soft and powdery. Nothing like Patong Beach in Phuket with its crystal clear waters. I was slightly disappointed had it not been for the beautiful limestone cliffs it was set against. We opted to pay a little extra to stay in a bungalow and it was worth it. The room was big, with flat screen tv, big deep bathtub and huge bed. They had joined one king bed with a super single bed. Unfortunately children over 3 years old has to be charged for a separate bed. And if u think u can fib it, I don't think u can since they take down everyone's passport details when u check in. There were minor complaInts with our room. There were a few ants here and there, and they didn't give u a spare toilet roll and the bathroom didn't have conditioner or lotion. They do however give you free drinking water though not sure if it'll be replenished daily or not.

In room bar pricing was pretty cheap.

The chambermaids made elephants out of our towels!

Our Bungalow, our room was only the bottom half though.

There are plenty of shops and restaurants and bars surrounding us. The 7eleven however was a bit of a walk. Important if u want to buy lots of drinks and snacks.

I found the place to be better than staying at Kuta beach in Bali. It was a lot quieter although this might be because it's low season but it was also by far a lot cleaner. Foodwise also felt more affordable. You could get a plate of pad thai for about 120baht even at the hotel restaurant. It was a little weird though seeing how many pizzerias, pasta, and fish and chip burger places there were that also offered Thai food on the same menu. Surprisingly we only sighted one McD and one Burger King restaurant. No pizza hut surprisingly.

The outdoor eating area of the hotel's small restaurant, nice view of the beach.

The beach was literally at our doorstep.

The hotel lobby

beautiful limestone cliffs

Hotel Swimming Pool

Day two takes us to a Jungle Tour.

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Freshness Burger at NEX

2011-04-01T01:14:00.002+08:00

Down in the quiet basement of NEX near Cold Storage lies a pretty big - yet very empty - restaurant called Freshness Burger. I decided to try out their Salsa Beef Burger set at $6.80. It included a small soft drink, wedges (which I thought was fries when I looked at the menu picture) and the beef burger.

Let me start out by saying what I liked about the place. The restaurant looked classier than your average burger joint, it didn't have that fast food restaurant feel to it. I also really liked the variety of sauces on offer from tomato ketchup to mustard to Tabasco sauce to even thai sweet chilli sauce.

Now for the bad. Basically the food. It really didn't taste like what a burger's supposed to taste like. The meat patty was a weird greyish colour (not rich brown) and it was sooo thin and small that they should be ashamed of calling it a beef burger. There was also this bitter taste that I had no idea where it came from...the diced onions or the salsa? The salsa too was poorly done. It tasted just like diced tomatoes and that's all.

The wedges weren't tasty either and I counted there were exactly 6 in the packet.

Perhaps other people might've liked it but it's definitely not to my liking.

POST NOTE: Unsurprisingly, this shop has now closed down.

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Suan Thai at Takashimaya Food Court

2011-03-16T02:05:00.001+08:00

Thai Beef Noodle Soup with Boneless Chicken Wings Set. Very nice, but very thirsty afterwords...msg overload?

Yummy Viet at 704 Geylang Road

2011-03-16T01:52:00.001+08:00

This place is only open at night, but they do have 2 other branches that are open during the day. We were actually in the neighbourhood to eat at Com Tam Vietnam, but it was 9pm and the place was full house. Even tho we weren't at the seedy side of Geylang, this late at night, it was still pretty sketchy with a couple of bars here and there and there were also too many....um let's say questionable ladies there that made us feel a little uncomfortable to be there. So we went to Yummy Viet which was just a couple of doors down. The place is indoors with aircon and nice decor. Too bad service wasn't served with a smile.

Foodwise it was ok - passable. It's not bad per se, but the other place seemed a bit better. Maybe we should've ordered similar foods to what we had at Com Tam in order to make a fair comparison. Maybe we'd just have to come back and try again :)

Lotus Root Salad - I expected some slices of Lotus Root, I really couldn't see any....were those white stem things supposed to be lotus root? More like the stems from Lotus flower or something. Anyway it did taste good, all the veggies were pickled. My Dad liked it too. Very refreshing BUT at $5+ a plate....it was a little small in serving.

Steamed "Gong Gong" - Caelyn's favourite. What is it in English? Sea Snails? Very clean, must've been scrubbed well!

Beef Noodle Soup - the soup was tasty, but the meat was a little tough.

BBQ Pork Rice Noodle. When it first came I was like, where's all the veges???? The meats in the dish was nice and there was this fried spring roll on the top too. It came with a small amount of sauce, and I thought it wouldn't be enough, but surprisingly it was just right.

So the veggies were hidden underneath, you only see it after you mix it....so...not really good presentation....

You can see part of their menu here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150096487841468&set=pu.394836441467&theater

My Digital Perm experience

2011-03-14T00:57:00.004+08:00

I had been itching to do something to my hair for ages. For one I badly needed a touch up on my colour and secondly needed a haircut cos it was starting to look really messy.

At first I thought of getting my hair rebonded. This is pretty much what I always want to get done whenever my hair gets unruly. But for some reason I started thinking about getting my hair digitally permed. The difference between a digital perm and the traditional perm is that they use these rollers that gets connected to this tentacular looking machine which heats up the individual rollers.

I went around to several salons asking for the price which isn't that steep mind you, same price as rebonding but I was also getting a colour so that was an additional cost. The perm itself which includes wash, cut and blow was about $148+gst at the salon I went to, the Korean salon on the other hand was I think about $188. The only reason I didn't go for the Korean one was cos it would all up cost me over $300 which to me is a little too steep. On hindsight next time I think I won't mind paying a bit more for the perm and getting a cheaper colour elsewhere.

For me going to the hairdresser is a bit like going to the dentist, sometimes a good experience sometimes a bad and painful experience. I always worry the new do won't come out nice or the colour won't show (which has happened before). And I've had my share of bad haircuts too. And because I was going to be spending so much money I really wanted to make sure it would turn out nice so I trawled the Internet for whatever info I could find on getting a digital perm.

A few girls in some forum were saying their curls didn't even last a month and some went back to straight as soon as they washed it! So this kind of scared me a little. There also wasn't very many recommendations of where to go to get it done.

I ended up going to NK at NEX shopping centre which I wish I hadn't done. Not that my hair didn't come out nice - but because it firstly doesnt look very much like the pic I showed her (then again it rarely happens where u do get the exact look as your sample picture), secondly it too them a second time on two separate days to get my colour right (the first time my roots were still black!), thirdly I felt that I got ripped off cos the final price isn't what they had quoted me several days earlier. They did say the price was a promo and they didn't know when it would end, but I asked her if it was still the same price she said yes! And I was pretty sure when I first asked they said it included a pre-treatment too but then on the day it wasnt free and included. And it's not like NK is some auntie type of salon. It's actually a big salon with several branches island wide. I did used to go to the one at Kovan but can't remember why I stopped (think cos I found a cheaper salon at AMK Hub). So lesson learnt is if I get a quote theyre gonna have to write it down on their namecard.

The first step after they wash your hair is putting the perming cream. I believe this is the same perming cream they put in your hair for rebonding (cos it smells like it) They do the same elasticity test by pulling a strand of your hair (I think) to see if it's ready. Then they wash it out after a while. They then trim your hair and After that they put the rollers in your hair with some thick padding between the roller and your scalp so your head doesn't feel too hot. The digital perming machine is then hooked up to the rollers and for mine was left on for about 40mins. My head felt so heavy and after a while my shoulders became really tired and stiff. After that they took out the rollers and applied some kind of lotion to the hair which was left on for about 10mins. Then it was rinse time and you're done ready to be styled.

After i had my colour redone I was a lot happier! Will I do it again in future? Absolutely! Just perhaps not at the same place eventhough the ppl there were nice.

All in the name of vanity! First pic shows the digital perming machine, if it's not this machine it ain't a digital perm. The middle pic shows how tight the curls are after they get taken out.

First day, see how my roots are still black....I seriously couldn't sleep thinking about it and made up my mind that I had to go back and make them redo it.

This is after the second time, looks much better!

After they fixed the colour!

Com Tam Vietnam - Corner of Geylang Rd and Lor 42 Geylang

2011-03-02T22:11:00.000+08:00

This place was a great find that we accidentally stumbled upon. We were actually in the area to try a different Vietnamese restaurant which was unfortunately (or fortunately) closed. This is an outdoor coffeeshop type of 'restaurant', so I was a bit skeptical whether it would be nice or not, or whether it would just be chinese food being passed off as Vietnamese food. Anyway, since our tummies were already grumbling, we decided to give it a try.

Well it was well worth it. Portions are decent, taste is quite good and the menu has a large selection to choose from - and no GST and service charge!

This place isn't in the seedy side of Geylang, so even in the evenings you'd feel comfortable going here. And there were also Vietnamese nationals dining there, so they must think it's close enough to what they could get at home? We will definitely be going back to try the other stuff on their menu.

The Menu

Specials of the Day - no prices on it tho?

Lorong 42 Geylang. Right opposite is a fresh seafood supplier, they have live oysters and live king crab!

BBQ Pork Chop with Rice and dipping sauce. Look at the size of that pork chop! It was really good and the sauce was really good too. I wonder why the vietnamese shops here don't have broken rice though and the rice plates with the bbq porks never comes with that yummy egg and shredded pork skin that we always get in australia.

It was glistening....

Beef Pho...very yummy

Deep fried chicken feet with garlic and chilli...this was good, very spicy though. But to be honest...there really wasn't much to eat of the chicken. The ends of the feet though were so crispy that you could even eat the bones.

Crispy Fried Squid. Caelyn loves squid, so we ordered this for her. She polished off most of it by herself.

Battlestar Gallactica Universal Studios Singapore

2011-02-24T11:15:00.001+08:00

Scream!!! Or not...

Last week as Annual Pass holders We were given an preview of the reopening of the Battlestar Gallactica roller coaster ride. The preview was held at night 8-11pm. Hubby had been waiting forever for this ride to reopen.

The rest of the park was closed off and only Sci Fi city was open. It wasn't crowded at all and there was hardly any line at all.

Because we had C with us we both had to take turns. Hubby was first up - main reason obviously being I was scared stiff and needed to work up the courage. I'm not much of a chicken usually, I've been on The Mummy ride and most other roller coasters in other theme parks but this one is said to be the tallest duelling coaster in the world so I wasn't even sure I could brave it.

I watched the coasters go round and round several times each time telling myself it's not so bad....I already knew I wouldn't take the one where your feet dangled (that's the Cylon), thought the other one (the Human) was 'the tamer' one. I thought it looked slower than the other one.

So when it came to my turn to go ride I was so nervous and really almost chickened out. I just kept telling myself that I should just try once. There were little kids on the ride for goodness sakes. Well I completely lost it as soon as we went down the first drop. It was scary as hell and I screamed louder than I thought cos after I got off the ride, wobbly knees aside, my throat was sore! And I was the only one screaming in my row!!!

So in short, if you are a roller coaster fanatic you absolutely must ride this coaster. If you're a little daring just try once.

I'm not sure if I'd dare to go back on...perhaps day time would be less scary and I know wat to expect now so I 'should' be able to keep my eyes open for the whole ride....

The Line Buffet at Shangri La

2011-01-21T23:34:00.005+08:00

There have been many reviews about this place saying how this is the best buffet in Singapore so of course I had to drag hubby along to it...and we also dragged along a few other people. Oh and best thing is kids under 5 eat free. But I suppose others would say the best thing is the freeflow beer, juice, and soft drinks.

There is an unadvertised promotion that gets you 39% off the bill. Just follow this link http://dine.slsrewards.com.sg/sg/en/shops/view/TheLine to make your online reservation. You only get the discount if you book online. Here's the price list: http://www.slsrewards.com.sg/Welcome%20to%20Shangri-La%20Singapore%20The%20Line.aspx

In terms of food there is a large spread catering to every taste. I wished my tummy had enough room to try everything..,but I was simply bursting at the seams. You have to try the mango sorbet though and chocolate macaroons, to die for! And the seafood was also very fresh. The Satay took a while for them to cook though which was a bit disappointing. And I only spotted the cheese spread after we left because it wasn't really displayed out in the open, so not sure if it was meant to be served to diners or not.

Service was also impeccable. The servers were polit and always had a smile on their face. Our dishes were cleared away promptly and every request attended to promptly.

I would definitely return here again but only if they still have the 39% discount :)

Pictures below are a bit dark because the lights were dim.

Fresh Seafood Station.

some strawberry dessert

yummy chocolate macaroon

crabs

Dessert Station

My plate.....a little bit of everything (not even everything)

freshly shucked Oysters. Delicious!

sushi and sashimi

Oysters, Prawns, Alaskan Crab Legs already halved.

Nando's at Plaza Singapura

2011-01-15T09:43:00.003+08:00

Nando's in Singapore is a bit different to what I remember in Australia. Here it's a table service restaurant (which means service charge), and in oz it's a counter service.

The food was ok, I mean it's just BBQ chicken with Peri Peri sauce poured over. And by the way the only place I've seen in Singapore that sells bottled Peri Peri sauce is at Mustafa. I do love their fries though. I love thick cut fries and they also sprinkled some spicy seasoning over the top. I also chose a side of Potato Salad and I was surprised at how delicious it was. I do wish their menu had more pictures though. You can however view their menu online which is great, I love restaurants that post their menus online.

1/4 Chicken with two sides was $13.90++ and I had this nice (overpriced) drink called Madeira Red which was Sprite with Pomegranates $3.90++

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Salim Seafood Restaurant at Johor Bahru, Malaysia

2011-01-11T00:38:00.002+08:00

A lot of Singaporeans go to JB to eat 'cheap seafood', I guess we're no different. But we're lucky enough to have locals to show us somewhere different to eat rather than Taman Sentosa (which is where most ppl go to eat seafood as it's closer to the border).

Salim Seafood Restaurant isn't easy to find, it's very remote, the road that leads to it has no street lights, so get there before the sun sets. The 'village' or Kampong is populated by Orang Asli or another words the aboriginals of Malaysia. I thought the Malays were the original people of Malaysia, didn't realise there were aboriginals there too....indeed they had very dark skin and had an uncanny resemblence to Australian Aboriginals. I'm not sure if they own the restaurant too, because it's a Chinese seafood restaurant. Perhaps they take care of the offshore fish/crab nets.

The food was nothing short of spectacular. It was so fresh and delicious and best of all, cheaper than Singapore. Definitely don't come here if you're looking for some clean posh Seafood restaurant, because walking along the planks to your table and realising the water is right underneath us as we can see through the gaps, it is a little scary. But the village style setting is something different and the sea breeze is nice.

Heres the address

Jalan Sungai Danga
81200‎ Johor Bahru‎ Johor
Malaysia

Singapore just opposite

Sea Snails cooked in Garlic (wasn't as good or as big as the Singapore ones). The Fried Chinese Buns were very very nice, soft and pull apart style.

Crab cooked in Salted Egg. The best dish ever.

Claypot Curried Prawns

Chilli Crab. Not as good as Singapore Chilli Crab.

Al Mahboob Rojak at Tampines

2011-01-02T18:04:00.002+08:00

1 hour wait for Indian Rojak from this stall at Tampines. Crazily popular. Guess it must be good! Will tell you after we try. (FYI our wait was 20mins).

Let's Sweet buffet restaurant

2010-12-12T20:08:00.001+08:00

This restaurant at Plaza Singapura is part of the Ajisen Ramen group. The name is a bit odd - like very broken English or some weird direct translation or something.
We went there for lunch because I thought that we could have a long relaxing lunch so we could sit and catch up with our friends. But we only realised as we got there that you're only given 1 hour to eat!! Ok so it's written on the board but still...felt disappointed. Price wise it's quite cheap at around $15++.

Foodwise it is not bad for the price. Although the name is Let's Sweet they also have hot food to fill you up. There's a couple of thin crust pizzas, steamed siu mai, steamed hargao (crystal skin prawn dumplings), stewed pork with potatoes, pork and cabbage rolls, mac and cheese, 2-3 different pastas, paiella, Japanese chicken rice, Japanese curry with steamed rice, mixed greens salad, cold japanese spaghetti salad, free flow drinks, chocolate fountain, crepes to order with ice cream, various cakes, various jellies, pana cotta and trifle.

Would I go back again? Not sure...I like the food but not the time limit.

Forgot to take photos till dessert time.

Uncle Leong Seafood at Ang Mo Kio

2010-11-13T20:50:00.000+08:00

Crab Beehoon Soup

Baby Kailan

Cereal Prawns

Coffee Pork Ribs

3 weeks feels like a month!

2010-11-07T16:19:00.000+08:00

Do you know how slow 3 weeks goes when your significant other is not around? It feels like an eternity. And going away for work is not the same as going for in camp training because they don't get to come home on weekends if they're overseas.

I must say I really think of myself as an independent woman, but I miss having him around to talk and share ideas with and just having someone to lean on in times of need. I have my mother over right now to 'keep me company' but you know how it is when you've lived away from them for a long time, there's always a clash of the matriarchs. She does her things her own way and I like to do things my own way. And I become a total lazy bum when she's around! I do appreciate having her around though, it's great for Caelyn to also have someone to play with other than myself. But I've also realised that I'm being a bit selfish in asking her to stay here for 3 weeks, to be honest, I don't think i gave a second thought about whether my Dad would need her with him or not. I'm sure he misses the companionship too. But to be fair, my Dad has way more friends than I do and goes out with his friends more regularly than I do with mine. There's karaoke, dinners, and weekend getaways to the mountains!

Ok, so just one more week to go till he comes back, let's cross our fingers and hope that the week goes by fast!

Crusty Cheese, Olive and Herb Pull Apart Bread

2010-11-06T19:35:00.001+08:00

This was soooo delicious that I had to post it up straight away to share. The recipe is from: http://www.food.com/recipe/crusty-cheese-and-herb-pull-apart-bread-113729 and it is super simple to do. I added chopped olives and garlic granules to the dough to mine and mixed in a bit of mozzarella cheese to the cheddar cheese and swapped the fresh herbs with dried oregano and thyme and added some freshly cracked pepper to the cheese mixture. I also sprinkled some poppy seeds on top too. I'll definitely be making this again!

Before baking.

After Baking!

Look at the oozing cheese!

And this is why they call it pull apart. Cos you literally just pull apart the bread! Soooo good!

Caelyn's first School Concert 2010

2010-11-02T12:29:00.000+08:00

This year Caelyn's school celebrated their 20th Anniversary and at the same time put on a concert by the kids and also for the graduation ceremony for the K2 kids. Yes, there is an actual graduation ceremony when you graduate from Kindergarten, did you know that??

The parts that Caelyn wasn't in was a little boring I thought :) I'm sure all parents feel the same way. She did well...just needs to work on smiling while singing and then she might be the next Celine Dion :p

Rehearsal

With Bus Friends

Opening Speech by the Reverend

Can you spot her?

Professional Photos which I swiped using my own camera :p

no smile :(

Pansy Class

Half of the school

after the performance

with proud Mommy

With her good friend

Caelyn's first dental experience

2010-11-01T23:21:00.026+08:00

Today Caelyn had her first dentist appointment and I must say she did very well and I was so proud of her.

I think one of the hardest thing about being first time parents is figuring out when your child is ready for certain experiences. A lot of ppl (including my in laws) were telling me that caelyn is too little and she'll get scared going to the dentist. Going on my own personal traumatic childhood experience with the dentist I bought into all the reasonings and so kept on waiting despite the fact that the chip in her front tooth looked like it was wearing down. Ppl kept on saying don't worry if it's not hurting her, her tooth will fall out anyway since it's just baby tooth. But one day she came home from school and said she wanted to see a dentist! I had talked to her abt it before and I guess the teacher must've told them about it too.

I agonised over whether to bring her to a normal clinic, children's dentist specialist or somewhere in between. I initially booked an appointment at this dentist in compass point because Daddy had been there before and said the dentist was nice and friendly and their price was reasonable. But I've always felt uneasy there purely judging from it's drab exterior. Waiting room was uncomfortable and there are no toys for children to play with. This part might not be important for some ppl but for Caelyn she's usually very happy to go to the GP because of the toys there. Then I also noticed that the 1 Receptionist also doubled up as the dental assistant. I think this is probably common practice in Singapore right - cut costs etc. I prefer my own dentist at Kovan. Sure they charge more but I feel like I'm paying for better quality service and peace of mind. They use a huge DSLR camera to take photos of your teeth which they immediately upload onto the iMac computer. If u need x-rays done they also have staff and a separate room on site that does that. They also have oral hygienist that can handle children, albeit at a limited capacity.

So today's session we managed to get her teeth cleaned as well as patch the chipped tooth. So now she has a beautiful smile. She wasn't without hesitation thought. She got scared and intimidated and looked like she wanted to cry a couple of times, but I held her hand and she was fine.....a little whinging at times, but the oral hygienist was good at putting her at ease. She had a cavatiy in one of her back tooth and the oral hygienist wasn't confident enough to patch it up for her because she was still so little. So she referred us to a Paediatric Dentist.

After we got home, I called around looking for a Paediatric Dentist. Their consultation alone is upwards of $80....and over $100 for a filling so I knew it wasn't gonna be cheap. But after looking around, I finally found a Dentist which has a dentist who is very experienced in dealing with children, they even have children friendly rooms, and a new technology that doesn't require painful drilling. Best of all consultation is about $35. So yay, will blog about that experience after Thursday.

So for today's one, the breakdown of the bill was, $20 for consultation, $40 for cleaning and polishing, and $80 for the filling (pretty hefty) and I also picked u this cool toothbrush for her.

So if you're considering taking your little one to the dentist for the first time, I think you know the best whether or not he or she is ready and prepping them at home will also help. But I really don't think you should wait till Primary school for the free dental clinic.

She only wore these initially, after that she didn't want to wear it.

GREAT TOOTHBRUSH, BRUSHES ON ALL SIDES

BEFORE

AFTER

Candylicious at Resorts World Sentosa

2010-09-27T18:38:00.000+08:00

This gorgeous new candy store just opened up at Resorts World Sentosa a couple of weeks ago. If you're there, go in and take a look. It's great - but expensive - I guess because the candies are mainly from the US. It is a little strange that this store also sells Hersheys stuff when the Hersheys store is just opposite them. I love the oudoor deco....it's so pretty and SWEET!

These Lollipops are just the cutest!! I wonder how they made it...

these are monogrammed marshmallows and you can create a message on a stick. BUT it's really expensive. I think it was like $6 for one heart shape....so just to make LOVE it's like $24...that's just for marshmallows people!!

Caelyn's drawing of ME!

2010-09-27T18:05:00.000+08:00

I'm very proud of her drawing of me. Despite my big teeth :p

The hottest (spiciest) dish at Thai Express

2010-09-26T22:55:00.001+08:00

Yellow Ginger Chicken with Rice

I've never shied away from ordering anything spicy. I love chillies. So when I saw this dish at Thai Express I didn't really think twice eventhough there was a 3 chilli rating next to the name on the menu. I did think twice when the waiter asked me if I was really sure that this was the dish I wanted because it is super hot. I looked at him pretty skeptically thinking seriously it can't be 'that' hot. But just to be safe I also went ahead and ordered a Watermelon and Lime freeze to douse any fires in my mouth.

And glad I did because I sure needed it! The dish looked deceptively mild when it arrived but the first bite of chicken immediately put my mouth on fire. And as I progressively ate it I started to have tears in my eyes and I can tell you now that I NEVER have tears in my eyes when I eat hot and spicy foods. I started to wonder whether my face was going red too from the heat.

Apart from the heat, the dish really had no other taste. So I was really disappointed. But I was glad that my friend had packets of sugar in her bag for me to sprinkle onto the chicken....didn't help much.

Total waste...

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Chicken Livers from Barcelos

2010-09-16T18:38:00.000+08:00

I quite like chicken livers and I don't see it often on menus (if at all). So when I did see it on Barcelos' menu, I was tempted to try it out. Barcelos' has a similar concept to Nando's with it's Peri Peri sauces of various heat. If you've never tried Nando's and you don't like sour food, then Barcelo's isn't for you because the Peri Peri sauce is pretty sour.

But I did like their chicken livers, it was marinated and cooked just right. Has inspired me to try cooking livers at home more.

Coach Retail vs. Coach Factory Outlet

2010-09-12T19:22:00.000+08:00

Have a read here http://www.brandculture.com/blog/2010/06/when-is-a-coach-bag-not-really-a-coach-bag-when-its-from-the-coach-factory-store/ regarding the difference between Coach Retail and Coach Factory Outlet. It's a big eye opener as I never knew how factory outlets operate these days. Not just Coach, but other brands too. I guess it makes sense to just manufacture stuff specifically for their outlets and sell at a cheaper price. But I don't think this would deter me from shopping at Outlets, especially in Oz and US - WE LOVE OUTLET SHOPPING! I think it's the thrill of finding a good bargain. Have you heard how Asian tourists going to NYC just hop in a cab with empty suitcases and immediately tell the taxi driver to go to Woodbury (Factory Outlets)? Yup....think that will be me next time....hehehehe. Seriously considering going just for the Thanksgiving Sales or Black Friday Sales next year!

Become a Citizen or be forced to lose your PR?!

2010-09-08T18:12:00.000+08:00

By now most people in Singapore would've heard about the speech made by a certain Senior Minister. If you haven't, have a read about it here http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100908-0000069/A-good-idea,-or-maybe-not-,,,

In all honesty, in my 7 years of PR I have never once had the inkling of wanting to convert to Citizenship because I don't want to lose my Australian Citizenship. I don't see why I should when there is always the possibility of me living back in oz. Perhaps if I had no intention to ever return I would gladly give it up, but not right now and I don't foresee myself changing that mindset in the near future. Truthfully I can't think of any good reason right now, except for those occasional cash incentives given once in a while which I'm ok to go without. Concessions when you go to the polyclinics and hospitals, but most of the time I go to private clinic for treatment anyway and I'm not really too concerned about voting in elections either.

Is Singapore really freaking out about not having enough citizens to populate the country? How can you possibly force anyone to become a citizen of a country whom they may not even be loyal to?

It almost makes me feel unwelcome now after all these years of trying to fit in. My husband and child are citizens, so will they ask me to become one? Maybe, maybe not since I pretty much don't have anything to contribute to the country....LOL!

How to create your own Ringtone for your iPhone - My Step by Step Tutorial

2010-09-08T01:09:00.000+08:00

Making an iPhone ringtone is actually very easy. As long as you have some music on your iTunes, you can create endless numbers of Ringtones. Let's begin shall we? :) Click any of the pictures for a bigger version.

1. So find the song you want to turn into a ringtone. Then right click it and click Get Info.

2. Then click the options tab. Here you can specify where you want your ringtone to start and end. It is best to keep your ringtone lengths to 30 seconds. It doesn't have to start at 0:00, if you want the chorus part, then just put in the time when that starts and add 30 seconds to it to get the end. Then click OK to close the window.

3. Then right click the chosen song again and this time click Create AAC Version. This will create a duplicate of your song. Notice the length of the song will be just as you specified. Listen to it again just to make sure it's where you want it to be. You can then go back to the original song and click the Get Info again and Options tab to unmark the start and end time to restore it to its original settings.

4. Then click and drag the duplicate onto your Desktop. You can then go ahead and delete the duplicate off your iTunes.

5. Go to the file on your desktop and change the extension to .m4r

6. Then drag the file from your desktop to the Ringtones folder on your computer. It should be something like the above, in the iTunes folder. Double click the file to play it and will play on iTunes and appear under the Ringtones tab on your iTunes - see below pic.

7. Link your iPhone to your computer and find the Ringtones tab on your phone and choose the ones you want to upload.

On your phone you'll find your ringtones under the Settings --> Sound --> Ringtone

Hope this helps! Feel free to repost and share with friends!

Teacher's Day Cupcakes

2010-09-06T21:07:00.001+08:00

I wasn't planning to make cupcakes for Teacher's Day to give to Caelyn's teachers but because I had a dud print out of a teacher's day edible image (printing problems) I figured might as well put it to good use rather than waste it. The circles that was printed was for 2inch cupcakes....but my cupcakes were 1.5inch I think, so I had to do some free hand trimming and it looked pretty wonky....or should I say 'rustic'....=p

I was also a bit lazy to make some proper icing to use to stick the icing on. So i just diluted some icing sugar and used that as my 'glue'. Since it was also a last minute decision I didn't have time to go buy some ready made icing either. Prior to 'gluing' I had to trim the tops of the cupcakes to make them flat. The cupcakes were already so small....it kinda didn't leave much left...lol...oh well. I hoped the teachers enjoyed and appreciated it. I had to put a sticky note too to let them know that the images were edible, incase they thought they were supposed to peel it off prior to eating.

These were Marble Cupcakes, meaning you marble Vanilla and Chocolate batter together. It was very tasty.

For these other sets, I used ready made packaged cakes and just used water to 'glue' them on. I used a pastry brush to wet the back of the image and stuck it on the cake. These looked more pro because the circles were a perfect size.

If you want to order any edible images, remember to visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bakers-Delight/293554295299

Recipe from:

I also have this book for sale, Brand New, for $39. It's a REALLY great cupcakes book.

Now, can anyone tell me why her cupcakes have flat tops, while mine ALWAYS comes out like a mountain??

Coastal Scents Make-Up Haul

2010-09-04T17:12:00.000+08:00

If you regularly trawl YouTube to watch various makeup tutorials by popular gurus, you would've one time or another come across them talking about Coastal Scents 88 Eye Shadow Palette. A lot of them gave very good reviews of the palettes and say how pigmented they are and how they are very value for money and are very comparable to MAC's eyeshadows which also draw rave reviews because of how pigmented they are. Pigmented meaning you don't even need to swipe so much of the stuff on your brush in order to see the colour. But we all know MAC is very expensive. So I decided to go get them myself. They don't sell this in Singapore so I bought it online from the US and used Comgateway to send to me as I had other stuff I was getting elsewhere too. I got 2 palettes, the 88 Ultra Shimmer and 88 Metal Mania - only because they were having an offer when you buy the two (of course!)

My Verdict: I totally love it! Now I think I'll never have to go buy another eyeshadow again, this is gonna last me for yonks. And they were right about the pigmentation, a light swipe of the colours as you can see in the photo below show how bright their colours are. And if you use an eyeshadow base/primer these colours will last you ALL DAY.

Nice matt, clean exterior and it tells you on the front which palette it is. Convenient cos all the other palettes are the same design. Here is the 88 Ultra Shimmer Eye Shadow Palette. The palettes aren't that big and can easily be packed into your suitcase or handbag if you need to take them with you.

There's a mirror, but unless you prop the lid on something, it'll just fall down and render the mirror kinda useless.

When it arrived one of the darker pinks was a little cracked :( The size of the pots are between the size of Singapore 10 and 20 cent coins.

The Metal Mania Palette is more warm hues.

Also bought the Blush Palette

The brown one in the middle is the contouring one, it looks scary and dark but it's really a matter of control on how much you put on the brush. The highlight colours I'm not really sure what to do with cos I don't usually do highlighting.

Great Big Umbrella

2010-09-02T12:18:00.001+08:00

I've been looking for a great big umbrella but that's compact for a long time. Usually big umbrellas have long handles. But I wanted one where I could fit into a standard shoulder bag or backpack. This is especially handy when travelling.

So the other day I was at Bishan Junction8 and came across this wonderful umbrella. Not only is it huge - literally big enough to cover the three of us but it's also compact! Just see my side by side comparison with the standard umbrella.

The purple one is the standard umbrella.

It's only slightly longer than the standard one too!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Disgusted

2010-08-31T01:31:00.000+08:00

These pictures http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20100828-234409.html were splashed all over the Chinese newspaper on Sunday. I couldn't believe it when I saw it and I was so disgusted. Not that I'm a prude but when your Public Displays of Affection (PDA) goes too far then that's when it disgusts me. For goodness sakes, get a room, has the girl got no decency at all??? Who the heck would want to make out in a dingy parking lot where you can literally see burn marks on the wall and grime on the floor????? Don't they know that there are tons of cockies running around our void decks and carparks, especially during fumigation! Not to mention all the stray cats that 'mark their territories' there. Gross me out!

But seriously, where have ppl's sense of decency and self worth gone?

HDB Carpark

2010-08-29T18:24:00.000+08:00

Incase you didn't know, in Singapore if you want to park your car at the parking lot downstairs of your apartnment (government or private apartments) you have to PAY for a parking permit. And it's not cheap you know! Parking permits range from $65-$100 a month. If you choose to renew your permits every month, then they will send you a letter before it expires to tell you to come and renew. They give you a 3 week timeframe usually.

We've had a car here for 7 years now and have never had any problems in the past. But this time when we tried to renew a week before the expiry, they told us all our carpark lots around our apartment was fully booked!!! We were flabbergasted!! Usually each home owner is given priority to buy a permit for one car. Now days of course a lot of home owners have multiple cars, so I really don't understand how this 'priority' thing is done when a week before our permits expire all the lots are already full! They should do something like first car gets to book first, then after the window closes then the other cars can book. (I'm making the assumption that they're not implementing this sytem).

And now because of it, we have to park our car at another lot in the next street. It is completely inconvenient, especially if we forget to take something from the car and we're already in our house.

The only comfort is that the customer officer told us that usually there are people moving in and out all the time, so we're on a 'waiting list' to have a permit for our parking lot.

So are you lost yet?

Edible Images

2010-08-29T01:10:00.000+08:00

Hi guys! If you haven't done so, head on over to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bakers-Delight/293554295299 to see ALL our beautiful edible image designs. Don't forget we can also customise orders for just $3 per order. Orders of 3 sheets and above will have the customisation fee waived.

These sheets are really simple to use, so even if you're not a baker, you can just buy a ready made cake or order a cake from a bakery and stick on the images with canned frosting!

Uses for Edible Image

2010-08-17T20:59:00.001+08:00

Check out what I did with the Edible Image. You can use them to personalise pre-bought cookies. I only used water to make them stick too! I don't know what you'd call the bigger one, it's more like a chocolate covered cake with marshmallow in the middle and the smaller one is Oreo! It was the only thing I had in my cupboard ^_^

Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant - The Heeren at Orchard Rd

2010-08-16T18:27:00.000+08:00

I've been real busy lately and wish I could catch up on all my backlog of blogs. When a friend came back into town the other day, we went to Kiseki Japanese Buffet Restaurant for a catch up session (which turned into 2.5 hours of eating and talking!!) and I knew I had to share the experience on my blog.

Kiseki has only been around for a few months and had taken over the basement of The Hereen, where Marche used to be. Including tax and service charge, per adult on a weekend night comes to around $38-$39. This is a bit cheaper to Kuishinbo which would've come out to around $45 for a weekend dinner. Most importantly, the food, service and ambience was much better than Kuishinbo. Readers of my blog and friends would know that I rave about Kuishinbo Japanese buffet restaurant because of its Alaskan crab legs. But Kiseki also has alaskan crab legs, prawns, mussels, scallops on the shell and baby crayfish/lobster (which I think replaced the crab legs when it had run out). There were various sushi, sashimi, teppanyaki meats cooked to order, rosti, little pizzas, tempuras, yakitoris, grilled salmon heads, salad, chawanmushi, Japanese omelet, Japanese curry, various hotpots, and a drinks and dessert bar and more! Several of the dishes were also cooked to order. I was thoroughly impressed.

They have ample seating, but I'm guessing it's because people don't know about the place yet. And there's also a section for kids to play at.

I was gutted that I didn't take a photo of the desserts and the place, but I give it two thumbs up and will probably bring my family there when they come to town next month!

Assorted Sashimi

Flower/Sand Crab, Alaskan Crab Legs

lamb, chicken and beef teppanyaki meats and stuffed crab shell

sweet prawns and baby lobster

Roadtrip to KL and Malacca

2010-08-11T17:42:00.001+08:00

Since National Day 2010 gave us a long weekend, we decided to go on a roadtrip to KL with an overnight stop over at Malacca. I hadn't been to KL before (except passing thru on the way to Genting) so I was looking forward to it, Malacca not so much as I thought it was a little boring from last time. But it was a good 'rest stop' and it meant that we didn't have to wake up so early to drive to KL direct from Singapore.

In Malacca we opted to stay at the Holiday Inn this time. We got a Deluxe room overlooking the city. Check in staff was very friendly and parking for guests is also free. The room was very comfy, we have no complaints....except wished there was a bathtub. It's a great hotel to stay at and believe it or not we actually walked to Jonker Walk from there - 'cos the hotel staff told us it was near'. Hmmm.....well it wasn't near and it wasn't far, but coming back we daringly took a cab. Right opposite the hotel is the shopping area, so it's really very convenient.

In Jonker Walk we tried the famed Malacca Chicken Rice Balls......this was not to our liking....really don't see why anyone likes it....it has no taste and the rice was just....blah......So that was an unsatisfying dinner. Too bad cos had we walked down to the other end of Jonker, we would've found out there were other food options. But anyway....at least we did try and know what it's like.

cart selling sushi

Ice Cendol Cart

The drive from Malacca to KL took under 2 hours. Traffic was good and we would've reached there in less time if not for the heavy downpour that caused a tiny traffic jam on the city outskirts.

In KL we stayed at the Concorde Hotel. On the outside the hotel looks pretty run down, but we got a newly renovated room so it was all good. The KL monorail station was also just in front of the hotel so it was very convenient. Parking is also free for hotel guests. KL Hard Rock Cafe is also adjacent to the hotel. Although we enjoyed our stay at the hotel, next time I don't think we'd stay there again, will stay closer to the malls.

the view from our room

We went to all the malls in the city, Suria KLCC, The Pavilion, Berjaya Times Square, and Bukit Bintang walk. We thought the best one was Suria KLCC - loads of shops and loads of food choices. Or maybe toss up between this and The Pavilion cos lots of yummy food there too.

right outside the hotel

at Berjaya Times Square

outside The Pavilion mall

Style Cops

Oh and here's a tip: police were catching ppl who had been speeding along the freeway just before the Malaysian border. So if you speed, they WILL catch you on their cameras and stop your car before you leave! Seriously tho, the speed at which ppl were driving at were dangerously crazy! Not to mention the idiots who weave in and out of traffic almost crashing into all the cars. Ppl like this make me soo mad!

On A Quest to find Non Toxic Nail Polish in Singapore

2010-07-30T21:19:00.000+08:00

Yup you read right. I'm on a quest to find Non-Toxic nail polish in Singapore. I don't know how I stumbled upon this non-toxic mumbo jumbo because I've never given a second thought to nail polish before. I usually just buy inexpensive ones based of my liking of the colour. When it comes to choosing nail polish removers tho, I usually do choose the non-acetate one or ones that don't smell harsh. Right now I'm using one that smells nothing like the traditional nail polish remover, it completely smells like Strawberry syrup. I can't remember where I got it from, could be SaSa.

Anyway, I never realised how uninformed I was as a consumer on how toxic nail polishes are. Yes there's the terrible smell that should set off your warning bells, but in the quest to look cute, you often just put up with the smell and not think twice about it. But now I find out there are nail polishes out there that claim to be non-toxic, and as a bonus vegan free (non animal tested) and better for the environment! I feel like I've been in the dark.

The Big 3 toxic chemicals in nail polish as pointed out in a lot of websites is Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene. You can Google what these chemicals all do. But according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov), this is how these toxins can affect one's health:

How can toluene affect my health?

Toluene may affect the nervous system. Low to moderate levles can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear when exposure is stopped.

Inhaling High levels of toluene in a short time can make you feel light-headed, dizzy, or sleepy. It can also cause unconsciousness, and even death.

High levels of toluene may affect your kidneys.

How can formaldehyde affect my health?

Low levels of formaldehyde can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. It is possible that people with asthma may be more sensitive to the effects of inhaled formaldehyde.

Drinking large amounts of formaldehyde can cause severe pain, vomiting, coma, and possible death.

How likely is formaldehyde to cause cancer?

Some studies of people exposed to formaldehyde in workplace air found more cases of cancer of the nose and throat than expected, but other studies did not confirm this finding.

In animal studies, rats exposed to high levels of formaldehyde in air developed nose cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that formaldehyde may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen.

DBP

Can cause birth defects and abnormalities in physiological developments and is a suspected Endocrine Disruptor. This chemical has been banned in cosmetics and nail polishes in the EU but not in the US (or other parts of the world I guess)

This website also gives pretty in depth explanation of why it's best to go with non toxic nail polishes. And this one gives a list of US brands that make safe nail polish.

So it all sounds pretty scary right? Most of the time I only put nail polishes on my toes because with all the cooking, washing and house work I do i know it doesn't last a couple of days. But there are times when I do want to put them on my finger nails and now with all this information I'm a little paranoid. I don't know whether all this stuff really is bad for you when you're putting it on your nails. I mean you're obviously not gonna drink it and (most likely) you're gonna try not to inhale it as much as possible. But....and there's always a but.....it's better to be safe than sorry right? So thus my quest to find non toxic nail polish in Singapore. When I was at Metro today I saw that they sold O.P.I brand of nail polish. I'm not as familiar with which brands of nail polish is better or what, but I've heard this brand mentioned several times and in various blogs and youtube tutorials. They're not cheap, but still affordable when there's a store wide sale. I was tempted to get them because my vague memory was telling me that I had read somewhere that O.P.I brand was safe and had eliminated the Big 3 toxins. But unfortunately there was nothing on the display to say so so I didn't trust myself. Only the Nic's Sticks had a sign that said it was free of the Big 3 toxins. But looks like I was right, cos according to their website:

"Since 2006, OPI has reformulated its entire line of Nail Lacquers, Nail Treatments, and Nail Hardeners to eliminate DBP (dibutyl phthalate) and Toluene.

Formaldehyde has never been an ingredient in OPI Nail Lacquers or Nail Treatments.

Some OPI Nail Hardeners do contain formaldehyde, while others are formulated without it to give consumers a choice. The levels of formaldehyde are more than four times lower than the safe levels established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In fact, according to a study conducted under the auspices of the California authorities, the levels of formaldehyde, even in nail salons, are no higher than those found in many common work places, such as offices, where no nail products whatsoever are present. OPI continues to search for effective alternates to formaldehyde."

I did take a whiff of one of the pots and it smelled exactly the same as a 'normal' nail polish....so...what does that mean? I just wondered whether other unknown toxic chemicals have been replaced in place of the ones they've taken out. I guess we'll never know. Anyway I was going to order some water based and Big 3 free nail polishes from the US, but as it turns out Comgateway doesn't deliver nail polishes because it is considered as a flammable substance. Too bad....

And if you've got some spare time, here's an interesting read from O Magazine.

Ruyi at Resorts World Sentosa

2010-07-26T19:53:00.000+08:00

Cheap eats at RWS, reasonable prices. It's basically like a Chinese fast food. The food is served in paper bowl. But the taste is pretty alright, servings could've been a bit bigger.

Beef Brisket Rice

Curry Noodles

Dumplings in Hot and Sour Soup

My version of Martabak Telor

2010-07-26T17:41:00.001+08:00

Martabak Telor is a pretty fattening Indonesian snack that is sold on the streets. It's basically a pastry filled with minced meat and then fried in some oil till crispy and golden. A bit like the Indian Murtabak, whereby they put a filling like curry or sardines inside a prata. Our version tho is served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce with pickled cucumber/carrots, rather than curry sauce.

I honestly don't know how that pastry is made but the way I make it at home - and also a healthier version - is by using ready made frozen spring roll skins. Simply mix some minced meat with some diced french beans (string beans), add some garlic, seasoning and 1-2 eggs depending on how much mixture you have. Then lay out your skin and spoon a generous amount of the mixture. To ensure a crispy exterior, I wrapped the whole thing in another piece of spring roll skin. This is also so the fillings don't ooze out. The mixture will actually seep through the first layer of spring roll skin so the next layer of skin will easily adhere to the first layer. Once you've done that, just heat up some oil in a skillet pan and pan fry them until crispy. You don't really need a lot of oil. Once golden and crispy, take them out and chop them into squares. To make the dipping sauce, mix sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce with water till you get a sweet salty sour flavour.

Tip: If you have left over spring roll skin, wrap it tightly with cling wrap and refreeze for later use.

I've used minced pork

Gyozas (Post #2)

2010-07-26T01:49:00.000+08:00

So after my last attempt of making Gyozas (which worked out beautifully), I made them again, this time by doing it the traditional way of pan frying them and then adding water to the pan rather than steaming them first. It came out to be more or less the same. they puffed up a little more than if they had been steamed first. So presentation wise, steaming is better because it keeps its original shape better. But at the end of the day, it's the crispy bottoms that mattered since gyozas are served upside down - or crispy bottom side up.

Look at how yummy and crispy these look!

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

2010-07-26T00:52:00.002+08:00

Made this beautiful dish to bring over for the weekly family dinner. I don't think the in laws are used to eating something so 'out of the ordinary' (to them anyway), but I was glad to see my mil actually enjoying it and it goes to show that she's more adventurous than I give her credit for. My fil on the other hand who was having a cold kept on saying he didn't want to eat it cos it was 'cold'. He actually thought it came from the fridge. Kept on insisting it was cold even before he tried it. But at least he did try a bite. I think they weren't so used to eating Thai basil because of the strong flavour and fragrance. Mil seemed to enjoy it, but not so much sil. What's important is my darling hubby telling me that it was delicious and that's all I needed to hear :)

I bought the prawns at Pasar that morning and boiled it myself. It was soo good and sweet. The other fillings included marinated pork, thai basil leaves, vermicelli and curly lettuce. I cut the spring rolls in half so that it wouldn't be so daunting to everyone. This is a great dish for entertaining, cheap, easy and you can make the rolls and the dipping sauce it in advance!

Step by Step for beginners:

Prepa. ration:

1. Get your prawns and just drop them in boiling water till they change colour. Once they change colour, take them out and soak in cold water or just run the tap over them to stop them cooking and cool them down. Then peel the prawns and if you wish, half them so you can make them go a long way, meaning 1 roll will only use 1 prawn rather than 2. But if you're generous and u can't be bothered then just leave it whole.

2. Boil some water in another pan. While that's happening, wash your lettuce leaves (curly lettuce is prettier) and if using, thai basil leaves, spin dry or towel dry.

3. Get some rice vermicelli. If you use fresh ones then you only need to dunk them in some hot water. You can even use the same water you boiled your prawns in, this cuts a step and saves reboiling water. Fresh ones only need a few seconds, dried vermicelli will take a few minutes. Remove from the water and run tap water over it to stop it cooking and set aside.

4. Once the water in the other pan is boiled, turn off the heat and get your wrapper. Dunk it in the hot water while rotating it. You don't need to dunk it till soft, just till it's wet and lay it on a plate or cutting board. The water will actually absorb into the wrapper and soften it, that's why you don't have to dunk it till it's limp and soft.

5. Then get the prawns and lay them on the wrapper. Lay them down towards the other end of the wrapper away from you. If you've halved the prawns then make sure you put the stripes or orange side down. Then lay your lettuce leaves beside the prawns closer to you and put the basil leaves on top and some rice vermicelli. Then fold the sides towards the middle and then roll the skin away from you making sure it's tight and there you have it!

To make peanut dipping sauce, add equal amounts of peanut butter and hoisin sauce and mix well.

To make the vinegar dipping sauce, pound some garlic and chilli, transfer to a jar with a lid and add sugar, water, vinegar/lemon and fish sauce and shake till thoroughly mixed. Taste and adjust.

Thai Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangoes

2010-07-23T20:55:00.000+08:00

This popular Thai dessert is actually very easy to make. I've never made sticky rice before and I made mine a little too soft, too much water I guess. But otherwise overall it was good and tasty :) Got the recipe from the Youtube link below. And who knew you could cook sticky rice in the microwave just like regular rice! Makes it so convenient (before this I almost called my Mum to ask how to steam sticky rice cos I know that's how she does it)

Pasta with Clams with Cashew Nut Pesto

2010-07-18T17:27:00.000+08:00

You won't believe how good this tastes and how simple it is. I know it's not traditional to use cashew nuts in pesto, but that was all I had at home. Just blitz them in a food processor with your basil leaves, parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil to loosen. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. In another heated pan, place your clams with an optional splash of white wine or water just enough to help steam it along because its own juices will get released anyway. Cook just until the clams open up and turn off the heat. Add the drained al dente pasta to the pan with the clams and toss with the pesto and serve!

Unbelievable ad by a Slimming Centre

2010-07-16T19:07:00.000+08:00

Business must be getting tight when they start running ads like this in a Cleo magazine. Seriously, no wonder young girls these days have body image problems.

"My Boyfriend left me because of my small breasts" is what it says. That's just looooowww!

Ban Dai Big Sushi Roll Maker

2010-07-15T00:51:00.000+08:00

A friend of mine bought this 'toy' from Takashimaya. She had some vouchers to use up, or else she wouldn't have bought it either cos at $49.95....it's VERY expensive and not quite worth it.

This ad makes it look so easy. It doesn't seem as fun or easy to use actually, it was faster to roll the sushis in the traditional way. But it IS very cute as most Japanese things go. But maybe u get better with practice?

It comes with cute 'Recipe Cards'

Universal Studios Singapore Annual Pass got us Complimentary tickets for Voyage de la Vie!

2010-07-15T00:32:00.000+08:00

We were so ecstatic to receive a mailer from RWS letting us USS Annual Pass holders know that we were entitled to a complimentary ticket to see Voyage de la Vie - worth $88 each!! It totally makes the annual pass even more worth it. We've got our tickets for the 13 August. Can't wait to see it.

This is what Voyage de Lavie is all about:

"“Voyage de la Vie” or the “journey of life” is a story of a boy’s metaphoric journey, or a rite of passage before he becomes an adult.

Enter the world of the mysterious Lantern Keeper, the charming Crystal Cat and the mesmerizing Diva along with extraordinary inhabitants. Explore the journey of the boy on an adventurous search to discover his destiny. An unforgettable experience of magnificent sets, glamorous costumes and amazing circus feats awaits…

A circus theatre spectacular, the story is told through song and dance, combining with the energy, physicality and athleticism of circus arts, resulting in a contemporary cutting edge performance art form which fully engages the senses and keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. The first circus theatre spectacular ever to be created in

Singapore, it presents an international cast of circus stars brought together from 16 countries."

Nasi Uduk (Indonesian Nasi Lemak) from Kedai Kue-Kue, Bugis Junction

2010-07-14T14:34:00.000+08:00

Nasi Uduk is Indonesia's version of Nasi Lemak, but with some subtle differences in taste. Went to Kedai Kue Kue in Bugis Junction and tried out their Nasi Uduk and it was definitely authentic, brought back memories of Jakarta for me. I guess it should be authentic, cos I overhead the owner talking to someone saying that although he himself wasn't Indonesian, the Mas or the bloke in the kitchen, was recruited from Indonesia. Traditionally in Indonesia, Nasi Uduk isn't eaten with chicken wings, it's usually eaten with egg omelet, perkedel (mashed potato fritter), peanuts, ikan bilis, fried shallots, and the all important sambal!

They also had Soto Betawi. Will try that next time I think.

Sakura International Buffet - Downtown East

2010-07-14T01:42:00.000+08:00

This was in May (yes I know I'm way behind). We chose this Sakura outlet for our family celebration because of its price and space since there were quite a number of us. The food didn't disappoint, it was good and fresh and lots of options and was topped up frequently. It's not the BEST Japanese buffet in town, but for that price, I really don't think one can complain. (Totally forgot to take more photos after the first plate)

Random Tokyo Observations

2010-07-08T16:41:00.000+08:00

Forgot to post this up.

1. Wonder how many hats Japanese women have and how many suits the men own? The women all wear hats everywhere - wonder as a fashion statement or because they are genuinely protecting themselves against UV rays. Probably both. Men all seem to wear suits to work. Oh and they all wear socks or stockings. I hardly saw anyone wearing shoes without socks or stockings. Maybe in summer they don't?

2. Some trains have pull down blinds. Interesting. Overhead racks for your stuff is also very handy (till u forget to take it down that is).

3. There are absolutely no noisy ringtones on the train! Everybody observes the sign that says switch off (to silent) your mobile phones. And no one obnoxiously talking loudly on the phone. I was at the hospital in Singapore the other day and this guy had a really loud 'ringtone' for his sms. Everytime he got an sms the phone would loudly 'announce' Excuse Me Boss, you have a message! It was funny at first, but the more messages he got the more annoying it became.

4. I love how it's ok to wear knee high black tights with candy pink shoes. I love how you can wear whatever you want without everyone giving you a weird look.

5. At Disneyland, ppl don't sit on railings while waiting for rides. There were also no pushing and shoving and cutting of lines. How civilised!

6. I love how there's a section on the bathroom mirror right where your shoulder to your head would be, that doesn't fog up after a steamy shower. How considerate of the hotels. I wonder if in private homes whether it's the same?

7. Rubbish bins are very lacking in Tokyo. Do ppl just bring their rubbish home with them or something? We'd walk around for an hour with rubbish and we'd still not spot any rubbish bins to throw our rubbish into (at some places)

Supermarket shopping with a stroller

2010-07-07T17:01:00.000+08:00

Who here has ever shopped in a supermarket while you are pushing your stroller? What do you normally do? Stick your groceries on the sunshade or if the child isn't sitting down then put it on the seat right?

Look what I did. I hung the basket on the stroller handles and it works great! Of course this only works when the stroller handles are like mine.

Somebody should really invent something for mothers with strollers.

Universal Studios Singapore - POSB annual pass freebies

2010-07-06T18:00:00.001+08:00

This is a very very long overdue post. When we bought our annual passes for Universal Studios Singapore we got these limited edition freebies (2 sets) when we paid using POSB credit card.

We've never used the bag to date...kinda weird to be carrying around the bag in Singapore I think cos it's got the USS logo, kinda like advertising for them. It's a good sturdy bag tho which can be used in various ways - as a backpack, carrybag or shoulder bag. The bottles are made of plastic - too bad - it would be nicer if it was metal. And the wording has already faded as you use and wash it.

Caelyn's Mid Year 'Report Card'

2010-07-06T01:03:00.000+08:00

I was quite impressed when at the end of Term 2 of schooling Caelyn brought home her 'report card'. Ok it's not really a report card but more so a progress report in a big booklet, complete with photos of what she does at school! This impressed me the most that they took time out to take photos of her doing stuff at school and develop the photos and stick it into the book.

Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia

2010-07-03T17:50:00.000+08:00

Went there ages ago, so this post is late. I'm not that into Outback Steakhouse, not that the food isn't nice, but i think it's WAY over priced for the amount they give you and for the service - or lack thereof. This time we were only there for a late afternoon tea so we only ordered appetisers.

What I do like is their Bloomin Onion tho which is basically a whole giant white onion cut into a lotus flower shape, dipped in batter and deep fried to perfection and served with a tangy sauce. I can't remember clearly, but I think they don't have this anymore and had changed it to Tornado Onion (I think that's what it's called) which is what we ordered. Basically same concept, just in a 'Tornado' shape. i'm not sure if it's one onion tho, cos Bloomin Onion seemed bigger. Maybe trying to cut down costs and split one onion into 1.5 plates? Anyway it was good, still is my favourite thing here.

The free bread they gave us was EXTREMELY good. I don't often say this about free bread but this one was so rich and chewy and soft at the same time. I'm not sure what kind of bread it is, malt bread maybe? It was that same brown colour inside. And the whipped butter was very nice too. We liked it so much that we asked for another serving of it!

The Buffalo Style Chicken Wings were THE WORST thing ever! First it was ridiculously overpriced for 'half' a serving, we didn't know that half meant a measly 5 pieces with a couple of sticks of carrots. And that's not all, it wasn't even Buffalo style, how cam a simple fried chicken served with Blue Cheese Dressing be considered as Buffalo style wings??!! Where's the sour hot sauce that it should be drenched in?? Severely disappointed.

Aussie Cheese Fries was nice and crispy. Wish it had more cheese on it tho. But can't complain much cos we do love fries :)

There were basically no servers that afternoon, maybe they weren't expecting lots of people to eat at that timing but there was like only 1 guy serving about 6 tables so it was very slow.

Best Gyozas (made by me!)

2010-07-02T20:37:00.002+08:00

I love Gyoza...Dumplings....Guo Tie....Potstickers...or whatever you want to call them. It's that little bundle of meat encased in a soft chewy skin with a crispy brown bottom. We used to make the skins ourselves. It's pretty simple, just flour, salt, and warm water kneaded till it forms a ball. But it's troublesome to roll it out yourself. So I've been buying the ready made ones - the ones that says Guo Tie skin. But I was never really satisfied with them because they were too big and too thin causing breakages in my gyozas and then once cooked it looked all wrinkly and unattractive. Till recently that is, when i found the Holy Grail of gyoza skin. They call it Taiwan Jiao Zi Pi or Taiwan Dumpling skin. These are soft and small and do not break easily. You don't even need to put water around the edges to seal it as it was soft and pliable enough to simply press the skin together. The best thing about these skins is they had just the right amount of chewiness and the bottoms stayed crisp for longer too.

Usually when making gyozas you'd put them in a pan and pour water into the pan, cover with lid and cook till there's no more water. Then take off the lid and pan fry till the bottoms become brown and crisp. But on our recent trip to Tokyo we saw that they actually steamed the gyozas first before pan frying. So that's what we did and it worked wonderfully. Next time I will try putting the water in the pan method with this new skin and see if it comes out the same.

Do u see the difference? The top on is the Taiwan skin.

Taiwan Skin

thin flimsy other dumpling skin

I love gyozas so much, I can really stuff myself with them. And surprisingly Caelyn loves them too. But of course she likes them cos of the chewy skin...but hey I'm not complaining cos I put a lot of wombok and chives in the meat mixture, so it's good for her.

Here's the 'recipe'. I don't have exact measurements as always.

Filling Ingredients:

Minced Pork
Grated ginger
Grated/minced garlic
Wombok shredded finely
Chives diced finely
Oyster Sauce
Sugar
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Dash of Chinese Cooking Wine
Dash of cornflour

Put the minced pork together with the ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, corn flour and seasoning in a big mixing bowl. Mix the mixture with your hand until it becomes slightly sticky. The reason you mix it until it gets sticky is to make the meat more tender. In the past I never really did this and just mixed everything in with a fork, but it really does make a difference. Set aside for 15-30 minutes for the flavour to develop. Set it aside before you put the veges in because the veges will make your mixture watery and in turn cause your dumpling skins to go all soggy. Then add the vegetables you've chopped up and mix it some more with your hand until it's mixed in. You can even use a food processor to chop up the wombok. A lot of liquid might come out of the wombok, squeeze it out before you add it to the meat mixture. You can substitute with any veges really or leave them out altogether if you don't fancy veges. But if you don't put veges, your dumplings may be a bit dry, what you can do is add mashed up tofu to it which will help moisten the meat.

Serve with a dipping sauce of Black Vinegar mixed with fried garlic, Soy Sauce, Sesame oil and Chilli Sauce.

Check out this youtube video by Cooking with Dog for instructions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8MBX-SXnmg

Anyone Reading It?

2010-06-27T02:21:00.002+08:00

Spent forever blogging about our recent holiday to Tokyo. Wonder if anyone's really Reading it....?

Oh! And I'm loving the new look of my blog. Much better than the previous overly Girly fuschia colour. The banner photo of the sunset through the woods I can proudly say was taken by me on a moving tour bus in 2005 on our holiday of New England...can't remember which state it was at. But I love the photo. It makes you feel calm and serene.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Food at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea

2010-06-26T02:01:00.000+08:00

Food at Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea is not incredibly expensive, comparable to most theme parks around the world. In general the food we had was pretty good. And don't forget the flavoured popcorns!

Cute drinks vending machine at Tomorrowland.....the only one in the park. Same price as the carts vendors tho.

Lemon Churro....not very nice.....cinnamon better

Soy Sauce and Butter Popcorn

from Pan Galactic Pizza Port at Tomorrowland. This was terrible! The bread was stale and was filled with strawberry jam. Came with potato chips and choice of drink. You can get the same lunch box at Toon Town with better choices!

Foot Long Hot Dog

The Tortilla Sandwich and Smoked Turkey Leg was good. Terriyaki Chicken not so good.

Pretzel with Sweet Cream Cheese filling....not so yummy

Hilton Tokyo Bay and Ikspiari

2010-06-26T01:28:00.001+08:00

For our 3 nights at Tokyo Disney Resort, we chose to stay at the Hilton Tokyo Bay hotel which is an official Disney partner hotel. If we could've afforded it, an official Disney hotel such as Mira Costa or Disneyland Hotel of course would've been much nicer. But those hotels cost an arm and a leg! Hilton Tokyo Bay itself already costs quite a bundle but we did get an online special which included daily buffet breakfast. The Sheraton was also of the same rate, but theirs didn't include breakfast. A few other hotels were slightly cheaper such as the Sunroute Plaza Tokyo, but we were triple sharing with my Mum plus bed sharing with Caelyn, so we wanted a bigger room to fit us and all our stuff in. For the minor difference in price, hence we chose Hilton. Plus we thought their breakfast would be pretty good.

Our room was on the 13th floor which was the highest floor and had sweeping views of - mainly the carpark - but we could also see the Bayside Monorail Station clearly and we could also see Cinderella's Castle and Space Mountain at Disneyland. And on the other side you can make out the mountain from Mysterious Island at DisneySea and also Tower of Terror. You could also ask for the sea view, but I'm not sure if it would've been any nicer especially late at night as the waters would be all dark. Whereas if you get the park view you can see the fireworks nightly (if you happen to be in the room at that time) and you can also enjoy the changing colours of the roof of Space Mountain and Cinderella's Castle being illuminated.

Hilton hotel is within walking distance to the Bayside Monorail Station, but if you get tired, there's always the free Shuttle Bus that runs I think every 10-15 minutes. The bus is quite cute - keep your eye on the indicator signals on the back of the bus, when they light up it's in Mickey shape. Bus capacity isn't much tho, so at the end of park opening, it will get pretty full.

The rooms itself is not bad, decor was a little outdated, but didn't bother us. , we had one King Size Plus bed and one foldout sofa bed. The King Size bed was ultra comfortable and fit the 3 of us (could probably even fit 2 small kids) very comfortably. The pillows were a bit uncomfortable tho. The foldout sofa bed also didn't look too comfy, but Mum said it was very comfortable, so I guess it was (or else she would've complained of sore back). Bathroom was standard, except the bathtub was great, the length was longer than your average bathtub, so it's great for tall people like us.

With the vouchers we got for the breakfast buffets, we were allowed to choose whether we wanted to use it for Breakfast or for Lunch buffet. We choose to do 2 breakfasts and on the last day we used it for lunch just before we took the Airport Limo Bus back to the airport (Yes you can take the Airport Limo Bus booked at the hotel departing directly from the hotel lobby to the airport - very convenient). The breakfast buffet spread isn't as big as most 5 star hotels I've been to. There was ample choices, just that it was 'overflowing' with choices. They have a Japanese section which had miso soup, porridge, pickles, etc. And waffles and omelet station. And also a big ass sign saying Kid's Breakfast where they had Spaghetti, french fries, sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs and curry. The curry was really really nice. Bacon not so great, sausages was alright. There was also a salad bar, fruit bar, beverages bar and bread bar. The croissants were lovely.

This is what the lunch buffet looks like. It was pretty darn good! The funny thing is they only provide small plates. Even the sushi was only 1 piece on 1 plate and the dim sum was one piece in one little basket. Feel sorry for the dish washers.

What I loved about the hotel is the 24 hour convenience store where their prices were actually very reasonable. Not jacked up like most hotel convenience stores would be. They also had Onigiris and other ready to eat foods which they can heat up in their microwave for you. The food is pretty much what you'd get in Tokyo convenience stores. It was really great. There was also a small Disney Store there and a ticket booth for your to purchase your Disney Tickets.

If you decide you don't want to eat hotel food, venture out to Ikspiari near the Disney Welcome Center. Not only does it house tons of clothing shops, tucked away in level 1 is a supermarket and a mini food court. I was so excited when I found the place. There are also various restaurants at Ikspiari as well as a large Disney Store. Nearby there's another disney store called Bon Voyage, sells different stuff to the official Disney Store. Bon Voyage mainly sells stuff you'll find at the stores inside the parks.

Ikspiari

Bon Voyage store behind (the red building)

NEXT: FOOD AT TOKYO DISNEY RESORT

Tokyo 2010 - Day 7 & 8 - Tokyo Disneyland

2010-06-25T17:03:00.001+08:00

The land of all things cute and where Mickey Mouse lives! So on the 2nd day after our yummy buffet breakfast at the hotel, we got on the monorail to Disneyland. Actually when I was getting ready in the morning, I saw outside our window at 8.30am people were already heading towards the monorail, presumably going to Disneyland or Sea to wait till opening time. And on our last day we actually did see people sitting on the ground outside the gates waiting for the park to open! Die hard fans! We got there about 30mins after opening and it was already packed.

This is even before they open!

First thing we did was to get a Fastpass for Monsters Inc. because it being a new ride I knew that this queue would probably be one of the longest in the park. And I was right as waiting time was already at 70minutes that morning. Everyone else must've had the same idea as us because our Fastpass timing was for sometime way late into the afternoon like at 6pm or something. We also managed to get a Fastpass for Space Mountain after the allowed timing.

If you're going to Disneyland, I think you really need to go there with a plan. Get yourself familiar with the park by downloading the map online before you come and work out where you want to start and most importantly which attractions/shows you might be willing to miss. And don't forget to factor in the timings you'll get stuck watching a parade that you hadn't planned on watching just cos you ran into it right in front of you.

FANTASYLAND

If you have young kids with you, you'll probably spend most of your time at Fantasyland. All rides at Fantasyland are pretty much suitable for young kids with the exception of 2 and that's Snow White's Adventure and Haunted Mansion. Snow White's Adventure is waaay too scary for kids as the main focus of the ride was the wicked witch . There was a lot of cackling sounds and scary lightning sounds etc. I had to cover Caelyn's eyes the whole way and I saw kids coming out of the ride in tears. Haunted Mansion I already knew she wouldn't be able to take it, so she went to ride other tamer rides while we rode it. TDL's Haunted Mansion is slightly different to the US versions and seemed a lot longer too. Seemed more intense too in terms of the scare factor with ghosts unexpectedly popping up.

Haunted Mansion attendants

TOON TOWN

This is probably another place you'll spend lots of time at if you have young kids. It's pretty boring for adults, but the whole area was packed. Long queues at Mickey's and Minnie's House, so we only managed to go to Minnie's House. It was disappointing that the Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin was closed.

TOMORROWLAND

All the rides here will have a long queue except for Star Tours (found it a bit boring...I think simulation rides don't hold my interest anymore). Grand Circuit Raceway can have a substantial line, but it moves pretty rapidly. The ride is pretty boring (but the kids like it) because there's not much up and down and landscaped garden to look at. HK Disneyland's Autopia which runs on the same concept was much better. Space Mountain was fun as usual, the difference between HKDL's one is that this one has an Alien theme and the HKDL one has a solar system theme in the waiting area. And at TDL they loaded the cars so fast it was like a production line.

Caelyn and Daddy also went on the Star Jets ride. I decided to skip it...had enough of spinning rides. The ride was pretty high up, guests had to go up elevators to reach them. I'm sure the views would've been real nice from up there.

In contrast to HKDL which had no line for Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, TDL's one had a long line. Fastpass this if you can. At HKDL it was nice to be able to get off the ride and just come back on it again immediately.

Monsters Inc Ride and Go Seek was ok, not as fun as astro blasters I thought. The ride felt short.

ADVENTURELAND

We went to take Pirates of the Caribbean with Caelyn. From memory of the US one, I thought it was pretty tame, like It's a Small World ride with Yo Ho Yo Ho A Pirate Life for Me! repeated over and over again. But the TDL's one was on a bigger scale and the ride went longer. There was a surprise drop which kinda freaked out Caelyn and then there was a few more intense scenes with the bigger almost human like animatronics.

We missed out on so much of this area...wish we could've done more.

WESTERNLAND

Here we missed out a bit too. We did get to go on Big Thunder Mountain which was awesome.

CRITTER COUNTRY

At Critter Country we got to ride Splash Mountain, this ride seemed longer than the US version too. We sat on the front of the 'logs' but was glad that we didn't get too wet. And one of the great things I found with TDL is they don't mind that you take a photo of the photo they took of you on screen.

view from Splash Mountain line

Tokyo Disneyland is pretty huge and did you it's the only Disney park in the world that isn't run by the Disney Corporation, they just get a cut of the profit that's it. The entrance to the park itself is pretty unique in that the whole shopping area which in other parks is known as Main Street is known as World Bazaar and is covered with a sun/rain cover. It's an interesting design but I guess it's really to cover you from the rain and pull you into the shops if it's raining. On the first day at TDL it was actually raining, and a lot of ppl just milled around the shops and bought (expensive) Mickey or Minnie ponchos.

World Bazaar. Ppl wearing Mickey and Minnie Ponchos (they were like 2300Yen each!)

window displays at World Bazaar. So cute!

You can also rent strollers at all the Disney Parks, but the ones they had here are pretty ugly and they don't recline. The HK ones were much nicer and sturdier, wonder why they never swapped over to the new strollers.

Hong Kong Disneyland Strollers

Disneyland, like DisneySea, has a few parades. I think the one not to be missed is the Electrical Parade. It's very pretty.

NEXT: HILTON TOKYO BAY AND IKSPIARI

Tokyo 2010 - Day 6 & 8 - Tokyo DisneySea

2010-06-24T02:30:00.001+08:00

One of the things we were really excited about with going to Tokyo was a visit to the Tokyo Disney Resort. If you're as big of a Disney fan, this of course is a must visit! Earlier in the trip we went to the Disney Store at Takashimaya Square to pre-purchase our 3 Day Passport. Yes we were being Kiasu (Google it), but we were literally afraid that we came all this way to get to Tokyo Disney only to be told that tickets were sold out. I have no idea what the maximum guest capacity is in the parks, but having experienced a ticket sell out at Universal Studios Singapore when my Mum came to visit, we definitely didn't want to risk it with Tokyo Disney (TD). The weird thing with TD's 3 Day Passport is you actually have to specify which parks you intend to visit on the first 2 days and the 3rd is free as you please. I'm sure it's a park crowd control thing, but it doesn't make too much sense to me when on the 3rd Day you can go back and forth between the two parks as you please. Anyway so we chose to go to DisneySea on the 1st day and DisneyLand on the 2nd day and the 3rd day is to do catch up on anything we missed at the 2 parks.

To get to TD Resort from Shinjuku we had 2 options. One way is via bus (direct to DisneySea or Land) that costs about 800Yen per person or by train which costs about 380Yen per person. Bus would definitely have been a more convenient choice had we known what we knew now. The bus has luggage space underneath and transfers you directly there, but on the down side you have to strictly adhere to the bus timings and the last bus is about 9.50am if I remember correctly. The train is actually more troublesome as you have to transfer at Tokyo station. If you're bringing your luggage, it can be a bit of a hassle as the walk between the transfers is REALLY far! If you do take the train with luggage and there's a few of you, take the front/first carriage because there is more room and remember to avoid rush hour at all costs!

We booked 3 nights at the Hilton Tokyo Bay Hotel which is an official Disney Hotel. One of the advantages of staying at an official Disney Hotel is you can check in your luggage at the Welcome Center. They will process your check-in, give you your room key and send your luggage directly to your room so you can directly proceed to the Parks and maximise your play time. I think it's a pretty awesome service. At HKDL, you can leave your luggage at the hotel and do your check in and go to the park. But they won't send your luggage to your room for you.

One of the things that I found surprising (and annoying) was how the Disney monorail wasn't free even for hotel guests! We had to buy a 4 day unlimited ride monorail ticket for about SGD$15 per person. From the monorail station to the various hotels there is a free Disney shuttle bus.

DisneySea is like no other Disney park in the world and in true Disney style it is perfectly manicured and beautifully crafted. When we were there, the Spring Carnival was taking place so there were lots of pretty flowers everywhere. The highlight of the Spring Carnival is the Fairies Primavera show across the harbor. We were quite lucky to have caught the Spring Carnival, as this year is the last year Tinkerbell and her fairy friends bring Spring to the Park. Wonder what next year's one will be like?

This song is sooo catchy, now I know why the Japs got really into it when the song came on.

"Jump, Jump, Jump!"

What I've noticed is Japanese Disney fans are not like your 'ordinary' Disney fan. They really really get into the parades and shows and they know all the songs word for word. When it came to the "Jump Jump Jump" bit, they literally jumped up and down! I'm talking about grown adults here - there were more of them jumping up and down than the kids! And when Mickey and Minnie comes out, they go crazy like groupies cheering for their favourite pop star. They squeal, jump up and down, and wave their hands in the air at the star characters.

Just like Disneyland, DisneySea has various popcorn carts selling yummy popcorn of different flavours - like Black Pepper Popcorn, Strawberry Popcorn, Chocolate Popcorn, Curry Popcorn, etc. Buy yourself a cute souvenir bucket to hang around your neck and get refills from each land. They're great for snacking on when waiting in the long queues. Best popcorn bucket (and the most expensive is the Duffy the Disney Bear one!

There is way too much stuff to do here, and we really didn't get to finish everything even after coming back on the 3rd day :( Here are some highlights:

Tower of Terror: Truly terrifying....I really really hate rides that just go up and drop like that. I dunno what I was thinking of! I have ridden the one at WDW and this one is more 'to the point' whereas WDW one has more of a ride through and story before the plunge. Darn kids made it even more terrifying for me when they screamed every time the door opened eventho it wasn't dropping yet.

Aquatopia: An original ride, have not been on any ride like that in any theme park before and it is so much fun! Each time you go on it, it could be a different path to the one you took previously.

Indiana Jones Adventure: My favourite ride here. Can't remember if it's the same as the US version.

Raging Spirits: Wooden roller coaster with an upside down loop. This was quite fun too.

Caravan Carousel: your standard carousel with 2 levels and you ride characters from Aladdin.

Sinbad's Storybook Voyage: like It's a Small World. Great animatronics, but skip it and come back to it if you really really have time or love those little boat rides (or if you have young kids).

Various rides from the Mermaid Lagoon, which in itself is a very pretty place. This is a perfect play area for young kids.

Scuttle's Scooters. The ride spins faster than originally anticipated.

Mermaid Lagoon Theater. Not to be missed! This musical production is outstanding!

Jumpin Jellyfish

Blowfish Balloon Race.....dizzying

The Whirlpool....dizzying.....

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea....interesting ride....but not suitable for the claustrophobic or for small kids cos it's dark and intense. Those giant squids with electric tentacles are a bit scary...

And we sadly missed Journey to the Center of the Earth as it was closed for maintenance.

NEXT: DAY 7&8 - Tokyo Disneyland

Tokyo 2010 - Day 5 - Shibuya & Harajuku (revisited) & Ameyayokocho (revisited)

2010-06-23T18:12:00.002+08:00

We went to Shibuya in the morning, but realised that the shops don't open till 11am. But from what we did see, it was disappointing, there wasn't anything of particular interest there. It's just a good general area to hang out in with various department stores, that's about it. Good if you're there to just shop till you drop. Koein-Dori I thought would have more things to see to it. The best thing we found there was this Taiyaki shop selling the yummiest snack! If you're ever there, you gotta try it!

So we left Shibuya after lunch to check out the Oriental Bazaar at Harajuku. A lot of guide books mention the place. But when we went by it, we really didn't think it was our cup of tea. It seemed like an expensive and uptight place. On the upside, we found Kiddy Land - 6 floors fills with all sorts of toys...but I think it still loses out to FAO Schwartz in New York in terms of size and range. But they do have a lot of unique Japanese toys (albeit made in China) that you most likely won't find back home.

Lego Toy Story

miniatures!

It was then back to Ameyayokocho cos we missed out a few shops on our earlier visit. It's a good thing we did go back because we bought a lot of snacks and gifts at very reasonable prices. And we had some really really really good sushi for only 126Yen per plate!

This was our last day in Tokyo. There is so much to see and so much we missed out on. I guess there's always next time.

NEXT: DAY 6 & 8 DisneySea

Tokyo 2010 - Day 4 - Yokohama & Harajuku

2010-06-23T16:19:00.003+08:00

Visited the largest Chinatown in Japan today. Even their Chinatown is unique. And Super crowded, there were even youngsters dressed in cosplay gear too! My Mother was very impressed. The weirdest thing was seeing the huge lines outside the stalls selling the Chinese steamed buns and they were so expensive too - 500Yen for a big bun! They must really like them...doesn't the Japanese have the equivalent of these buns?

people queuing for Chinese steamed buns

For lunch we of course didn't want to eat Chinese food....but we had no choice. There were no Japanese restaurants nearby. We really should've spent a whole day at Yokohama, because there were other landmarks to see, but we were pressed for time. It was a tiring trip cos we got lost a few times trying to get back to the train station. On the way there we saw the Yokohama Baseball Stadium which had a flea market of some sort outside of it.....trying not to regret, but wished we had stopped by to look.

wonder what goodies I could've found there.... :(

It was then on to Harajuku. I so loved this place! Especially Takeshita Dori - a narrow street filled with mostly clothing shops. Even if you're not into clothes/accessories shopping this place is a great place to check out just for the experience, it was fun and lively. But try to avoid weekends, it's super duper crowded. As my mother puts it, she never imagined Tokyo to have inexpensive street shopping. Everyone always says how expensive things are so we always assumed there were only department stores and boutiques to shop at. This is another place I would totally recommend with two thumbs up!

Post trip: I was so sad when my friend said there was a 300Yen accessories shop. How could I have missed it!! That's the problem travelling with a toddler, you're always looking for the nearest toilet rather than the keeping your eyes for bargain shops.

NEXT: DAY 5 - SHIBUYA, HARAJUKU, AMEYAYOKOCHO REVISITED

Tokyo 2010 - Day 3 - Akihabara & Ameyayokocho & Ginza

2010-06-22T00:45:00.002+08:00

The first stop today was the Can Do 100 Yen store in Shinjuku. The store is located at the Pepe building at the Prince Hotel Shinjuku. This hotel was originally our first choice but it had no Single Room for my Mum and we didn't want to triple share with her the whole trip :p But I still wished we had stayed here for the shopping! Not only does the building have the 100Yen store, it also has a Uniqlo store and a few other shops. If you can get to it, the Can Do 100 Yen store is a must! Best finds there are the Hello Kitty and CareBear stuff (which is more than 100Yen).

After we dropped our loot back at the hotel, we headed to Akihabara because our friend wanted to check it out. Akihabara is well known as a center for all things electronics, anime is now also popular there too. But if you aren't into either one and you don't have any interest in going to a 'maid cafe', then seriously just skip this place. It was pretty boring. There wasn't even anything worth taking a photo of.

On the other hand, Ameyayokocho (or also known as Ameyacho) is the best place to go for shopping of food items! I think it's the equivalent of HK's Ladies Market. But this place does close early, so make sure you go there before 7.30pm.

Tako balls are actually a pretty hard find in Tokyo (Osaka snack?). We first came across them at Odaiba Decks Mall. Then again at Akahibara. Both places had a starting price of 500Yen for a basic set of 8 balls - the prices went up depending on the toppings you choose. This is actually pretty much the same price as Singapore which sells 3 balls for $2.50. But at Ameyayokocho it was even cheaper. From this hole in the wall shop (which Edmund insists is unhygienic) they were 8 balls for 380Yen!! And the best thing was that you get to help yourself to as much toppings as you want! And that I sure did :)

The locals even shop there themselves. And looks like a great place to hang out for a beer and yakitori (if you were sans children). You can also get cheap seaweed there, mushrooms, snacks, etc and the prices of those Sashimi rice bowls are even cheaper than Tsukiji fish market (which I think sells them for around 1000Yen). I had only wished that the Sashimi was served on top of a bed of sushi rice rather than plain rice.

Ameyayokocho also has its own fresh food Market selling fruits and fresh seafood. How I wished I could've taken some boxes of Salmon Roe or Fresh Mentaikos home. I could totally go on and on about this place, it really is a place not to be missed and is not highlighted enough in all the guide books.

We then went to Ginza and walked the famous intersection Ginza 4 Chome (the intersection was in Lost in Translation). But we were really disappointed that the place was deserted by 8pm on a Saturday! I guess we're too used to Orchard Rd opening till midnight on weekends. But it is a pretty place nonetheless. Even the Forever 21 or Forever XXI store was very pretty. The only exciting thing we saw was the entourage of Ferrari cars and the shop selling the multi layers cake because it had a video loop of how they made it.

NEXT: Day 4 - Yokohama & Harajuku

Tokyo 2010 - Day 2 - Asakusa & Odaiba

2010-06-21T01:38:00.003+08:00

Today was super tiring with lots of walking and getting acquainted with Tokyo's rail system.

At Asakusa we checked out the famed Sensoji Shrine (or is it Temple?) and Nakamise Dori - a street filled with lots of local gifts, snacks and knick knacks leading up to the entrance of the Shrine. It is choc block full of people and is very touristy - as is the price. But when in Tokyo how can you possibly resist buyng freshly barbecued rice crackers dipped in soy sauce right in front of you (although a tad too salty to have seconds)?

And they have the cutest sponge cakes filled with red bean paste. Here you can choose to buy the machine made ones or hand made ones. The machines are incredible, not only do they make perfect little cakes but they also package them in plastic. Very hygienic as it never touches anyone's hand until after it's bagged.

Food around Nakamise Dori is a bit more on the expensive side since it's a tourist area. But if you can go across the street opposite the entrance there's a nice noodle shop where you can get some yummy food for under 1000Yen per person. Food is ordered via the vending machine.

The Shrine itself was of nothing great. They were also doing some renovation work so the roof of the shrine was all covered up. But walking around the gardens it certainly was peaceful. The toilets were interesting too, the individual cubicles resembled bamboos. We spent the greatest amount of time walking around Nakamise Dori looking at everything.

Then with aching feet we made our way down to Odaiba to see the picturesque Rainbow Bridge and Statue of Liberty. I think Tokyo had a bit of an identity crisis...

The driverless Monorail ride to Odaiba was very enjoyable and the views were spectacular. The monorail even crosses the Rainbow Bridge which was an interesting ride in itself. The one way monorail ride from Shimbashi to Odaiba costs 310Yen.

At Odaiba (also known as Daiba) there's lots of shopping and amusement there. There's Decks Tokyo Beach, Venusfort (outlet stores), Aqua City Odaiba, and Tokyo Joypolis (One of Japan's largest indoor amusement park).

We very briefly visited each one because we were pressed for time. Wished we had more time to explore tho. Maybe next time! I would thoroughly recommend this place and you could probably spend a whole day there.

NEXT: Day 3 Akihabara & Ameyayokocho (Ameyacho) & Ginza

Tokyo 2010 - Day 1 - Shinjuku

2010-06-20T00:43:00.002+08:00

Our overnight flight to Tokyo on JAL was smooth and uneventful. Taking an overnight flight is really really tiring especially to Tokyo which is only around 6.5 hours from Singapore. Which means you're only likely to get a max of 4 hours of sleep if any at all. Then when you arrive you still need to take a 1.5 hour express train ride to the city center. When you're on the train you probably don't want to sleep either if it's your first trip to Tokyo cos you'll be afraid you miss out some sights. Then when you get to the city center you're probably not allowed to check in until 2pm. So you'll be walking around like a zombie unless you're shot up on Caffeine.

Our flight departed at 10.40pm. We had expected a late dinner or supper on the plane. But no, there was only a packet of shortbread biscuits and drinks!! Lucky we ate already. Weird thing was they gave the kids a cheese and tuna sandwich. And what was even more surprising was there were no kids' activity packs! Major disappointment since Cathay Pacific one was so great. The only 'toys' they had was a sticker, pack of origami paper or deck of cards!

Then when morning came, breakfast was okay-ish. Adults' one was Chinese style porridge and side dish of tamago (sweet egg omelet) and pickles, cold soba noodles, and fruits. Kids one was great! Had a cmuffin, tub of yogurt, omelet with hash browns and peas and gravy. As well as fruits and salad and granola bar and chocolate milk!!

Upon arriving at Narita Airport we went to take the Narita Express Train to Shinjuku. Our initial plan had been to take the airport limo bus direct to our hotel in Shinjuku but luckily I double checked before we left and found out that there is no bus there till 2pm. And we arrived at like 7am. When you get out to the arrival Hall there are helpdesks that sell tickets for the limo bus or the NEX (Narita Express). If you plan on getting on the NEX tho, don't buy your ticket there, go down to the station and buy from the JR East ticket counter because for 3500Yen you can get a one way ticket on the NEX & Suica card with a value of 1500Yen (500Yen deposit). The Suica is like Singapore's Ezlink card and HK's Octopus Card. Can be used on vending machines an for travel on the trains. It is much more convenient than buying individual tickets all the time and you can easily top it up and get the refund and deposit back (minus 250Yen) at the end of your trip. Children under 6 are free and it is numbered seating.

The Express train ride took about 1.5 hours to reach Shinjuku. The ride was interesting, looking out the window you can see the scenery change from rice paddies to Japanese houses, to apartment blocks. Once we arrived at Shinjuku, we were a little lost. Should we turn left or should we turn right? Eventually we made it to Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku. We left our luggages there and went to explore Takashimaya Times Square. Went crazy at the Food Hall in the basement. Only down side is there is no place to sit down at the Food Hall to eat the food you/ve just bought, Just as we were about to give up hope we luckily went to Level 12 and found a place we could sit down and eat our food.

Our friend also gave us a great tip about buying our Disney tickets in advance from the Disney Store at Level 9 of Takashimaya Square so we can avoid the snaking queues at the ticket booths at the park. Although our Disney partner hotel also has ticket sales we didn't want to risk it till we went there on the day because after having experienced a ticket sell out at Universal Studios Singapore we were also worried that we'd also experience the same for Tokyo Disney. Imagine coming all this way only to be told that tickets had been sold out for the day.

After lunch we went back to our hotel to rest. The hotel room is small but cosy as to be expected for Tokyo. The interesting thing was we had to take our own toothbrush, razors, shower caps, etc from the baskets at the lobby. They must really not care about how many people would take. Nearby the hotel there are also lots of shops and eateries.

After we had our naps we then spent the rest of the evening exploring Shinjuku and even managed to somehow end up at the infamous Kabukicho. We almost went down the alley without knowing where we were heading, but realised quickly enough that this was no place to bring a child to and quickly made a u-turn out.

NEXT - Tokyo 2010 Day 2 - Asakusa & Odaiba

Tokyo here we come!

2010-06-02T16:59:00.001+08:00

Tonight our flight departs for our 9 day trip to Tokyo. Super can't wait, just hate having to wait till our flight. Time seems to be at a crawl.

We are doing everything free & easy (ie. our own planning) because we prefer to spend more time looking around on our own and have more time for shopping. And most importantly for Disney fans like us is to be able to spend more time at Disney. Most tour packages only cover 1 day at Disney and you have to choose either Disneyland or Disneysea. You've made it all the way there, how can you not go to one or the other? So this more or less cemented our decision to stay, that and the fact that had we gone with a tour group and wanted to extend our trip, each person including child has to pay penalty of $150. And child prices for the package tours is really expensive, almost as much as adults. Whereas planning it ourselves it costs way less - especially as kids under 6 are still free to most places in Tokyo and under 4 is free to Tokyo Disneyland/Sea.

This will be our maiden trip to Japan so we do feel a bit apprehensive. Pretty sure we'll get lost on the metro and train lines....but I guess that's to be expected.

More blogging after I come back :)

Woody Woodpecker at Universal Studios Singapore

2010-05-27T01:04:00.000+08:00

Woody Woodpecker seems like a main mascot for Universal Studios Singapore. Have seen him on the ads and also on the Kid's Meal lunch box. If you order a kid's meal at USS, it comes with a Woody Woodpecker lunch box which is rather cute. Have seen dozens of adults sans children walking around with the boxes too. Only problem is if you go back and keep on getting the kids meals then you end up having a few of these boxes which ends up getting given away to any one that wants it.

Here Caelyn was really brave to take a photo with him without either of us. It's her first photo with a mascot alone and she was the one who wanted to take the photo.

These other photos are just miscellaneous pics I never got around to putting up.

Junior League Children's Style Salon at Toys r Us Vivocity

2010-05-26T18:23:00.000+08:00

Caelyn's hair had been growing pretty wildly since my last attempt at cutting her hair. I'm not expert and I must've been delusional when I thought how hard could it be? It was pretty difficult to get it all the same length, and I think in the end it still wasn't but couldn't tell much, so left it at that. I told her that this time we'd go and get a proper cut at a salon - just like Mummy and Daddy but we'll go to a kiddy hairdresser and she was like ok. Then we took her the first time to the Toys r Us one at Vivocity, she loves Toys r Us and we told her earlier the hairdresser was there. When we got there she was like....no no no no.....I guess she agreed prematurely.

Then by chance we were there again and told her ok how about a haircut this time. She said no, so we just went inside and walked around. After we came out we stood outside watching the hair salon. The salon has an open concept, it has a cute set up, the seats had booster seats on them, and there was a small flat screen in front playing Barney show. There were also balloons against the wall and colourful paint on the wall. While we stood outside, it was unfortunate there was a kid crying while his hair was being cut. Both parents were struggling to calm him down so the hairdresser could finish the job. I thought, oh no, that's it, she's gonna get scared and not want to do it. We told her about how she'd get a sticker and balloon at the end and almost as if by magic she agreed!

The hairdresser was kind and asked us what style we wanted. She had various pictures of kids on the wall and I just pointed to one. Oh and you can also get a free colour spray (which Caelyn politely declined). For the whole duration of the haircut Caelyn sat very still and very quietly. I'm not sure if she was nervous or scared. Even when I asked her to smile while I snapped her picture it was a crooked head down-being-careful kind of smile which made us all laugh. And the cutes time was when the hairdresser asked her to close her eyes. She squeezed her eyes tight and curled up her mouth...so funny...too bad didn't get a photo of it.

At $20, I thought it was a little steep for a children's haircut. But when she agreed to the cut, there was no time to waste before she changed her mind. I know there are other kiddy hair salons out there that are cheaper, so will probably go to those ones next time.

Double Helix Bridge Marina Bay Sands

2010-05-23T17:45:00.001+08:00

We took a stroll to the Double Helix Bridge that connects the Marina Square side to Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort (another words - the Casino).

The bridge was only very recently completed and is quite nice. You get a very nice view of the Singapore city skyline - tres romantic! And the structure of the bridge is nice and unique too. Reminded me of the Brisbane city bridge that links Southbank to QUT. But this design is 10 times more modern and not as wide.

On the downside, I thought the bridge would lead us to Marina Bay Sands' doorstep! So I was surprised when we reached the end at how much further there was to walk till we reached the hotel, where I'm assuming the casino is. We didn't go all the way figuring we'll just come back next time when all the construction is completed. I think once everything is completed the bridge will at least lead us closer to the casino/hotel with a covered walkway either indoors or outdoors through a nice promenade.

In the pic below the bridge is on the left with the blue lights. The casino/hotel is the tower behind. Poor things had such bad press when it opened because facilities weren't functioning properly and they were playing host to some kind of Law society gathering. If i were the management think i would've been scared shitless to piss off a bunch of lawyers and judges. I guess it'll take a while for them to iron out the kinks and we should just give them a break eh!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-12T01:12:00.000+08:00

This is my 3rd year being a Mother, but this year's mother's day was more special because my little girl went to school and made a Mother's Day card for me for the first time. And I think this year is the first time she kind of understood there is a special day called Mother's Day. I hope with each passing year, my relationship with my daughter will grow stronger and as she grows up she'll be able to see and realise the sacrifices I have made for her and how much I will always love her.

Hope all the Mummies out there had a very special Mother's Day!