Probably the worst night of my life.....

Went to Kuala Lumpur with the girls a few weeks ago, and it was pretty fun. I have to say that Zouk in Malaysia is waaayyy better than the Zouk in Singapore. The people look better, the music is better, and the drinks are cheaper. Can't complain!

Wasn't very impressed with Malaysian food in general, even though I have to point out that their seafood is yummy and a third of the prices in Singapore. The rest of the food...too much MSG and too much oil. Could do without. The Klang bakuteh was awesome tho!

Arrived at the airport 1.5h before the flight back. At the budget terminal, so we had to make do with our options and settled on a local restaurant that pretty much only had nasi lemak left. After the meal, we walked around the few shops that they had, and spent a significant amount of time at DFS.

Since we had already checked in, we figured we had plenty of time.

Wrong.

After leisurely making our way through immigrations and standing in line to screen our bags, I casually took a glance at my watch. And again. 15 minutes to take off???

We cut the line for screening and dashed off to the gate. Gerry in front, me following behind (Gerry must have been a sprinter or something in high school...), and Ariane troddling behind while texting waaaay behind us. When I got to the gate, I knew we were too late from the look of dismay on Gerry's face.

And we HAD to book the latest Jetstar flight for the whole day. 10.50pm. :/

The guy at the gate suddenly, upon our pleas and sullen faces, had a burst of emotion on his face and exclaimed: Tiger airways! 1130am! You can still make it! Gogogogogo!

Gerry dashed off again, and I tried to follow suit, while frantically trying to find Ariane.

She was lounging on a chair texting on the phone, calm as the sea.

"Ariane!!! We need to go!!!" I yelled across while starting on the stairs up.

For those who are not familiar with the budget terminal, they have this brilliant setup where they separate the gates into two or three major areas with their own set of immigration booths. Which means, we need to exit the boarding area to the ticketing area in order to get to the Tiger airways gate.

I was panting and gasping upon reaching the top of the stairs just in time to see Gerry sprint through the X-ray detector (where many signs saying "NO EXIT" are posted all around. Also, there is a stream of people waiting to scan their bags to get in in the opposite direction with officers standing there.). I hear the sensor alarm go off and Gerry stopped in mid-stride, with wary eyes looking frantically around her. No reaction from the officers. She jumps over the barrier and dashes off.

I sighed, and did the same. And about 10 secs later, I hear the sensor go off again so I knew that Ariane has done it as well. Gerry ran through the immigration booths as well, and I was so shocked and amazed that nobody has apprehended her yet that I followed suit. I found her finally at the Tiger ticketing booth, where she told us that the tiger flight is completely booked.

We then went back dejectedly to the Jetstar counter where the guy told us the next flight is at 610am. We wanted to get tickets but he said we can't get them until 4am. But this is not the lowest point of my life.

At this point, we are covered in dried sweat, super hungover from the night before (Gerry and I slept maybe 3 hours, Ariane slept slightly more), and super tired. And it was only 11pm.

So we tried to find a hotel for the night. Went to the info counter and the lady gave us the contact number of the only hotel that was not an hr away. We asked them if they can call for us, and they said no. And their response was "They probably will not pick up anyway, and are fully booked". THEN WHY DID YOU GIVE ME THE NUMBER IN THE FIRST PLACE???

After which, they said "oh, can try to book online", and winningly told us that the airport offers THREE WHOLE HOURS of free wifi. Gee, thanks.

Gerry tried to look up available rooms. Lo and behold, they were fully booked. Also didn't pick up the phone. F***ers. At this point, I was super down. Called my mum, bawled for a few minutes. Call Deron, bawled for a few more.

I was going to have to spend the night here. But this is not the lowest point of my life.

We went to the airport free seating area, which was a total of maybe 20 seats, but there were maybe about 50 people. People were sleeping on the chairs, on the floor, everywhere!!! We settled into a booth in the cafe which was right next to the seating area (pretty much just an extension of the airport since there are no walls). I noticed the service staff behind the counter staring at us, so I went over and explained the situation. The guys grappled with himself for about 10 seconds when he finally just consented to us staying there with a rapid nod of the head and that was all.

Five minutes later, his co-worker came over and asked us fiercely "You want sleep? You buy drink!" Ohhhhh. We bought two bottles of mineral water (which was probably the most expensive in the terminal because the cafe was deserted. I mean, people would rather sleep on the floor than buy a drink. It was about a dollar fifty in USD. At this point, Gerry started laughing and in seconds, we were all laughing. "We are pushing 30, really shouldn't be in situations like this..." I said, and we laughed even harder. "Can't believe we have to buy mineral water to get lodging for the night..." Hehe.

I decided to wash off my makeup and change to glasses. And pee. Bad idea. I was peeing in the stall, thinking about how sad my life was at that point when rain descended upon me. Rain! I yelled and squirmed and ran out of the stall. The toilet was sheltered so what the.... I looked over and turns out, it was a shower cubicle next to my stall and somebody was having too much fun with the shower sprays. Now, this, is the lowest point of my life.

The plastic chairs were so hard, I really dunno how Gerry does it, but she slept so comfortably the whole night! Every one of us were grabbing on tight to our bags, and trying to get some sleep. We woke up at 4am, and had to wait around till 5 to get to the gate. We weren't taking any chances, so we just waited around the gate.

Got dinked at immigrations since our passports said we are officially out of the country but erm, we are still in Malaysia. Oops. Maybe the dashing through customs wasn't a great idea..... This really fierce officer berated us for about 5 minutes before letting us through. Whew!

At the gate, two white guys tried to make conversation with us. They came over and sat right across from us, with about an inch of legroom and started talking about how they would love someone to show them around Singapore. Gerry immediately covered her head with the hood, and I don't think Ariane actually realized it at the time because she started inspecting her feet and pedicure and picking at it. Ha!

Finally boarded the plane at dawn, never been so happy to be on a budget flight.

:)

REAL food

I was craving organic wholesome california style food the other day, simply because I am sick of eating the unhealthy food around. I wanted something I could eat and feel good and healthy, but I didn't want to compromise on the taste. I googled organic food and stumbled upon this place called "REAL food". It had pretty decent reviews on hungrygowhere so I decided to give it a shot.

Went to the branch at Clarke Quay, but they were closed for renovation for like four days. Just my luck. T_T As I am super stubborn when it comes to food, we ended up going to the other branch after that, which is located at 110 Killiney Road, a short walk from Somerset train station.

And I was so glad that I went. Not only does the decor remind me of californian bistros, with wide minimalist spaces, the menu was very varied, with soups, pastas, veggie burgers and juices. So happy!

 We had the aubergine toast which was grilled and drizzled with olive oil on toast. It was very nice and satisfying, although they had too much coriander in it.

 The vegetable dumplings consist of 10 different kinds of ingredients, but again the coriander was too strong for my liking. People who like coriander will love it though. It's light and tasty.

The green vegetable juice was soooooooooooooooooo good. I added CHIA seeds which gave it an extra crunch. It was so yummy and tasty in a super healthy way. It tasted just sweet enough (I hate juices that taste too sweet and you know they add sugar syrup in it). Will be going back for that!

The pumpkin soup was nice and sweet, not too creamy, and the toasted ciabatta bread made a nice compliment to it.

On top of the tasty food, they have magazines like vogue and US and Star which you can leaf through when you are eating. It's a great way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon for sure.

I left feeling satisfied and super healthy. It's a really good feeling, I have to say.

Will be going back! :) This week, next week, the week after....

Infused with Infuzi

Been curious about this atas restaurant at our workplace. It's never crowded, but according to Nicole, it is the longest-lasting restaurant in Biopolis! 

We were having Monday blues, so we decided to go ahead and pamper ourselves. 

Service is impeccable. The waiter even walked me halfway to the bathrooms. 

But the food. The food. The food.

Is Amazing with a capital "A".

We were greeted with an amuse bouche which is some sort of coarse pate. It is gamey and tasty, albeit a little salty. 

 I can never say no to foie gras, and this was pan fried with a fruit compote. First of all, I cannot believe what a generous portion the foie gras is. Secondly, it was divine. As I am typing, I am thinking back on the sweet fatty goodness of the melt-in-your-mouth foie gras as it melted in my mouth. The glaze was sweet and earthy, and complemented the foie gras to perfection. The fruit compote was not too sweet, and gave a greater depth to the layers of flavors of the foie gras. Well done Chef!

For our entree, we had the vegetable risotto with hokkaido scallops and squid in a squid ink sauce. This was really one of the lightest, yet most flavorful risottos I have ever tasted. The sweetness and sharpness of the cheese sauce complemented the briny seafoodish taste of the squid ink sauce, and the whole concoction just is an absolute pleasure to taste. We tried to savour it as slowly as we could... The scallops were sweet and cooked just right, and even the squid was tender and flavorful.

I have to say, I will be back. Even though I might have to face the taboo of having good meals at work, I will do it.

Easily one-michelin star worthy. Just good solid simple food, executed to perfection.

Deron's daily battle with the english of the delivery guys...

 Made panna cotta for Mum's day! :D

 Decided to go with a blueberry compote on it...

 And strawberry as well!

Sorry for the random pictures, was clearing my iphone pictures and wanted to include these. Hehe.

Itacho restaurant...the turning point of my life in Singapore

 Itacho...my love. My shining beacon of light in Singapore. Finally, I have found a Japanese restaurant comparable to a good japanese restaurant in California.

Singapore doesn't have good affordable japanese restaurants. They range from franchises like Sakae sushi which serves crap sushi, slightly more expensive Ichiban where the cooked food is not bad,  and Sushi Tei, which in my humble opinion, serves very decent fish. The only drawback is, I end up spending about 70 bucks cuz their expensive items, albeit being good, is quite pricey.

But Sushi Tei was my to-go place for the last few months, because I find the quality of the fish consistent (at least for Holland V and Paragon branch), and pretty good. The only thing I didn't like about it is that it feels like a chain. The standard items are there, but other than traditional sushi, they don't really have anything that seizes you.

Until I found Itacho. Special mention to my friend Luyi who introduced me to this heavenly place. Sure, it is a franchise too, which originates from Hong Kong. The only difference is that the owner is known for purchasing the top grade fish, and he brings in the freshest fish on a daily basis.

On top of it, they prepare fish on sushi several ways. They can sear it, leave it raw, or garnish them with really good seasonings like yuzu, salt or truffles.

AND the prices are reasonable. I did not say cheap because they are just a tiny bit cheaper than Sushi Tei, and that is if you don't eat a lot. I eat a lot and I have a taste for the more expensive stuff, so the bill turns out to be about the same...but I am much happier eating here, because every sushi is more tasty, and it's just more exciting.

A japanese restaurant should be about the fish, and in this restaurant, the limelight is the fish. I love that they have several different fresh fish every day, and they all sound interesting.

Mi amor!

 The prices are per piece, so it's really good for trying expensive items, if you don't know if you'll like it.

 The chawanmushi with salmon roe was pretty good. I would say that it is on par with sushi tei. Worth ordering if you are into it.

 The daily special included mackerel braised in miso over fried tofu (top left), and I have to say, it brings me back to my fav braised mackerel in Sakura restaurant on Convoy... The sauce is very good, and the mackerel meat is fatty and soft.

On the bottom, the yellowtail is 1.90 per piece, and I got the ones garnished with yuzu and black truffles. Freshest yellowtail I've had in Singapore. For some reason, Singapore doesn't get very good yellowtail, usually tainted with a slight fishy-ness. This is really fresh.

 The toro. I will get to it later...

 The jumbo scallop was sublime. This is one scallop cut into four pieces, and it is fresh and sweet!

 The anago which is actually one sushi piece, but it is sweet and yummy!

 Foie gras sushi which is actly on the dry side. Not ordering it again but I like that it's on the menu!

 The roasted fatty salmon sushi is THE BOMB. It is seared lightly, and so fatty it melts in your mouth!

 The toro with tendons is the best toro I've had in Singapore. Hands down. It looks good, and melts in your mouth into a pool of fatty goodness.

 The daily specials!

Also, on a sidenote, I want to thank Deron for making me his yummy carbonara these days. Yum! :)

Taipei

Taipei with the girls was really fun. Since I'm nursing a wicked hangover from my brilliant idea of Thursday happy hour, I have decided to put my time to good use and blog about our trip.

I think the general summary of the trip was

1) Taipei people think Singaporean girls are ugly. No shit. We were taken for Hongkongers like maybe ten times on the trip, and everytime we corrected them, they look at us in awe and doubt and said that we don't look like typical Singaporeans.

2) We had such an ego trip the whole trip! People were praising us left right center. Ariane got mistaken for a model, I got feedback that I look like Jolin Tsai (which, used to happen pretty frequently in my teen years, but it seems to resurface after like ten years again recently because I got the same comment from random people at Five yday night too). 

3) The clubs were kinda blah, but the people were interesting. Way less reticent than typical Singaporeans, more spontaneous, so we ended up having a lot of fun.

4) The food was good, but not as great as I remember from four years ago. Ultimately, it's still the local street food that got the best food vote.

5) Barcode drinks are still awesome. I had this lavender vanilla vodka cocktail with egg white. Tasted like heaven. Followed by a spiced orange and rose cocktail with egg white. Love!

 Luyi and I enjoying our drinks at Barcode. Yum!

 One of our rooms at AMBA ximending. Pretty good although our room smelled a little funky.

 The new Shilin market! :D

 Getting ready for our first night out. Everyone looks perky despite the fact that the three of them have been awake since 11pm the night before.

 Our first shot. Which was weak, btw.

 After a few more shots, the drunken shots comes naturally....

 At the ex presidential flower gardens.

 On top of Yangmingshan. Our driver for the day took us to this calla lily farm in the middle of a valley. So breathtaking! My fav flower... :)

 They were selling like 12 stalks for 5 bucks! So cheap! Too bad I couldn't buy any. They look so perfect!

 The kampong chicken on top of Yangmingshan, and the wild vegetables. So good!

 We went to this organic 10 course dinner meal place at Xindian province, called da shan wu jia. It was very healthy, could use more salt, but in general a memorable meal.

 My fourth serving of stinky tofu. Yum!

 I was the only one wearing the silly frames we bought the night before.

Went back to the same club after hopping around the last night. Good times!

The pursuit of happiness.

Most people ( I myself am as guilty) take for granted all the things that make them happy, and keep yearning and hoping for things that they think will make them happy. As people always say, the grass is always greener on the other side. A lawyer wishes for a lighter workload and shorter working hours. A 9 to 5 worker hopes for a better pay. A stay home mum craves the excitement of work again. A working couple wishes they could have a child together. My colleague and I constantly, albeit jokingly, lament about how our past academic results would probably suit finance better. Let's face it. We, as humans, are in general a very uncontent species. Perhaps it is to gear us to push ourselves to our limits, to motivate us to get to "higher grounds", whatever it could be for every individual. This is perhaps a good thing in the long run, but I feel that as long as we are aware and thankful for all the little things that make us happy already in our life, the journey of life could be a happier one. I'm grateful for having a job with a stable income, for my loving family, my doting husband and my caring friends. Sometimes, I lose sight of all these as I try to pursue a different form of happiness, and I get unhappy in the process. But at the end of the day, what really defines happiness? I think it is the love that makes up the fullness of your heart.


Sometimes, it's not really the pursuit of happiness. It's really the realization of happiness.