July Birthday Celebrations

"you'll never know if you never try,

to forgive your past and simply be mine.

i dare you to let me be your, your one and only.

i promise i'm worthy, to hold in your arms.."

I should stop hearing these kinda songs before I start being emo elmo. Anw, back to blog about the super expensive crab dinner that I had last week. It was JM and QP's birthday so the huge bunch of Singaporeans headed out for a good dinner.

Ordered a few dishes to start with, char siew & siew yoke (we are in hk!!), egg white with prawns and scallops dish and peking duck! Yummy. There was also fish, hotpot toufu, beef, stir-fried veg and many more to feed the hungry table of about 18, but didn't grab any pictures of those.

The crab is called huang you xie (direct translation: yellow oil crab? haha). Cost a hole in my pocket but everything just try only lah! So here's presenting the main star of the night! *Drumrolls...*

Looks too ordinary for something that cost about HK$1,200 (S$200)! Haha. It has plenty and plenty of roe though! The crab meat was sweet, but quite little so you really have to dig. The restaurant provides plastic gloves and those little picker things so you can get into the little corners without dirtying your hands.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRLS! STAY FOREVER 21 <3

Anw, the crabs are seasonal, available around June - July so you might wanna check and reserve the them if they're available to avoid disappointment. We visited the Central branch but they have outlets all over the island.

Super Star Seafood Restaurant

B/F Wilson House

19-27 Wyndham Street

Central, Hong Kong

After dinner, we headed nearby for drinks. Hong Kong has a lot of interesting places that are hidden in buildings. I suspect it's due to space constraint. So you'll either need to look up or get someone to bring you there, else it will remain undiscovered. This bar that we went to was one of those little gems. Hidden on the 13th floor, the lift opened to reveal a Bruce Lee poster and a door with a "Members only" sign. Doesn't the door just beckon "c'mon in"? Haha.

The place portrayed a vintage casual feel to it. The toilets even had old commercials playing on a small screen telly. The place offered a variety of interesting things .. think alcoholic konnyaku jellies (lychee sake FTW). Shots were served with popping sugar, reminding me of my childhood days. Their martinis were thoughfully paired with appropriate powders! Like how my guava martini had sour plum salt on the rim of the glass. Nice! :D

As usual, drinks were ordered for the birthday girls. There was waterfall, sambuca vapour and trays and trays of shots.  We were also sucking on alcoholic ice lollies. There was mango, durian and even mojito flavours!

About 2am, we decided it was time to partyehhhhh! So we headed to Prive. They moved from the top of LKF to a location at the bottom. Yays! No more walking up those crazy steep slopes. I wonder how those girls in high heels do it. Hmmmm. Anw, haven't been to LKF since NYE, so it was great to check out their new location. Champagne and two bottles of huge-ass vodka to end the night! :D

Hanging out with a whole bunch of Singaporeans made me feel that little bit closer to home. It is amazing how people of the same country bond when they're in a foreign land. And they look out for each other, which is really nice. Still, I miss Singapore, cos that's home. And home is where the heart is. At least, where mine is! Haha. Anw, this was what I wore to Saturday.

Top :: H&M

Bottom :: Redvelvetrose (upcoming)

Accessories :: Necklace from Shenzhen

OTD isn't very clear cos i took it with my phone. It has ribbon details at the waist and comes in 3 pretty colours! My sis, py and I had a hard time choosing which to keep! Decided on the unique green and purple ribbon combination in the end. Think lil' sis kept the white based one. Gonna wear it when I get back to Singapore. Heh. I miss sharing clothes with her!

Redvelvetrose officially launched our debut collection yesterday. I was so mad excited! Been working on the website for months, re-writing and re-writing the HTML template till what it is now. We have really exciting self-manufactured things coming up so I really hope you girls will like it as much as we do!! (:

Alrighty! I am off to watch Twilight (Haven't watch it before! What's the hype?) and have an early night cos I got to do some BCP testing tomorrow. Yes, the work week hasn't ended for me. Boo ): Still, TGIF! HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!! :D:D:D

Back Home Part 2 + Window Shopping

Back to blog about part 2 of my trip home! So, the day I flew back, I could already feel the left side of my gums swelling. Dismissed it as being too heaty, so decided to load up on the fluids. But turns out that I had a wisdom tooth infection! *groans* perfect timing ): It became quite bad the last 3 days of my trip, so I couldn't enjoy my food properly. Nevertheless, I tried and also had a great time catching up with friends! :D:D:D

Friday

Met Auds & Joys for a nice catch-up at The Landing Point at The Fullerton Bay Hotel. It's my first time going for afternoon tea on a weekday at such an atas place, I totally felt like a tai-tai! Yes, this is the life (:

We ordered 2 afternoon tea sets to share and we couldn't finish! There were both sweet and savory items served, including -- lemon and chocolate tart, cakes, lobster rolls, open-faced sandwiches & more. Yummy! I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Too bad there was a private function going on so we couldn't sit facing the river. It was a great experience though a little on the pricey side. I think I'll be checking out more high tea places when I'm back!

The Landing Point

80 Collyer Quay

Lobby Level

The Fullerton Bay Hotel

http://www.fullertonbayhotel.com/dining-en.html

Met ex-colleagues for Boon Tong Kee at River Valley. I am so lucky to have gained good friends in my previous job. These peeps definitely made the work life more enjoyable. I am so thankful for these not-so-little angels (:

Mel, Serene, Mark and I then walked to Zouk to get our Citibank Free Entry Chop. Since it was pretty early, we decided to hit Winebar for a couple of drinks. We had Kiss of death, Snow White & the 7 dwarfs and sourplum shots. And presenting, our resident model! Heheheheheee :D:D:D

We were still sober so we got another round of drinks from their party pooper menu, namely Hot & Sticky and Flaming AK47. Hmmm, bad idea. Let's just say we didn't hit the dancefloor. And I didn't make it to Rasputin to support Magey's party. Oops! Nor my usual 5am ba chor mee place! ):

Saturday

Busy busy day with appointments back to back. Met gossipshit for brunch at The Plain. The Plain is a melbourne style cafe and I just love the laid-back feeling of the whole place. Side note: If you are in Melbourne, go check out this cafe called Babka. They have awesome food! I want to make a trip back just to satisfy my craving for it!

Anw, I was still feeling the aftermath of the night before so didn't get anything to eat. The iced chocolate was pretty good, thick and milky! I wanna come back and try the eggs, they look delish!

The Plain

50 Craig Road

Tanjong Pagar

Singapore 069688

http://www.theplain.com.sg/

Headed to Peg's office nearby. Her office is so awesome! I am determined to work there next! Hahaha. Anw, had a great time chilling with the girls in our own little "private" space, since it was a sat and no one was around. I love these girls, always have so much fun and laughter with them. :D Wanted to set self-timer but I accidentally set 10 shots in 10 seconds. Hahaha. We were like what's going on while the camera kept clicking away. 

I rushed down to Thomson to meet my squadmates for a catch up over at Little Pancakes! Little Pancakes is opened by my primary school friend, Kristy and I wanted to show her some support since I was back in Singapore. 

Squadmates and I ordered some pancakes to share - Strawberries or me, Gimme S'more Oreos, Ape about Bananas and Peanut Butter Time. My favourite has got to be the ones served with caramelized bananas and vanilla ice cream. It's made up of everything I love so it's like my dream combination! Yums tums!

Please drop by to support my friend! I am sure you'll love the pancakes as much as I do! (:

Little Pancakes

200 Upper Thomson, #01-04

Thomson Imperial Court

Singapore 574424

http://www.littlepancakes.com.sg/

Since there was a new mummy at our table, our conversation mainly revolved around babies and HDB and stuff. And to my horrors, I realized how grown up we all are now! We met when we were 13, just stepping into our secondary school life. And in a blink of an eye, 10 years have passed and here we are all talking about grown up stuff. Oh, how I miss those carefree days back in school.

Anw, here's one of the lil' sleepy kiddo. I love babies!

Headed to I12 Katong to meet Benben for dinner and Spiderman. By this time my mouth was swelling and I was really sleepy, so no photos. But the mall looked like it had plenty of food choices and I wanna go back and check out Charlie T's next time. Anw, slept through the first half of Spiderman so I managed to continue our catching up till the wee hours of the morning.

It felt good to have spent my whole day catching up with my girlfriends. Glad to have met all these angels in Secondary School, life would have been so different without them by my side and I love every one to bits! <3

"Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, the other is gold."

Sunday

Family time! :D:D:D Went to church then headed to a Cantonese Restaurant at Tanjong Pagar to have lunch. I love eating with my family. I get to eat at places that I wouldn't normally eat with my friends in Singapore. We over-ordered and were completely stuffed. All these food for 5 people, can you believe it?

Moi Lum

38 Maxwell Road, #01-01/02

Airview Building

Singapore 069116

http://www.moilum.com/

Went to visit my maternal granny after that. Bumped into my cousin and got her wedding invites! So excited to come back at the end of the month for it. I'm planning all my outfits already! Haha. Spent the next 3 hours settling blogshop stuff before heading home for some much needed rest.

Monday

Visited my godma then headed to a peranakan place for lunch with my paternal grandparents. I could barely eat and was practically in tears everytime I chewed. Dad and Mum then dropped me off at the airport. Sigh, back to work ): Tho I couldn't wait to get back to Hong Kong so I could see a dentist. 

Yeapps! So that's about my Singapore trip. Typing this entry makes me miss home and I cannot wait for my next trip back again. Wish time would fly.. Anw, I have been walking around the shops during lunch hour. Some changing room shots!

My new favourite brand - Reiss. Everything is gorgeous here! I am so tempted to get a bottom for my cousin's wedding but the skirt is S$130 and the pants is S$180 after 50% discount! And it's a little loose and long so I have to spend more $$ tailoring it. I totally love the cropped top and floral shorts too! Hmmm. Contemplating.

A velvety body-hugging polka dot dress from Zara. Just check out THAT ASS. My butt looks so hot in it. Haha. And the dress was on sale, so cost only about S$40. Cheap! But I got no place to wear it to. So final verdict was.. don't waste money lah.

Tried on this maxi at H&M, but it's too short to wear with heels. Bought it though, cos it's the material I want for one of the dresses we're making so I wanna show the supplier! Whee! Hope the dress we're making comes by mid-november so I can wear it to my other cousin's wedding then! It'd be perfect for all those year-end parties too! *excited*

Okies, as usual, ending off with an OTD. Sigh, tomorrow's Monday again. I think I am having the monday blues already. I have problem waking up early and I hate rushing to work everyday. *whines* At least there's muay thai to look forward to tomorrow :D

Anw, next post will be on the S$200+ crab I ate yday! NO KIDDING!

Top :: Love Bonito Peplum Top

Bottom :: Zara White Pants

Shoes :: Zara Black Heels

Accessories :: Necklace from Accessorize,

Ring from Tiffany & Co (love from ex-colleagues!)

Back Home Part 1 + Redvelvetrose!!

Hello! I'm back from a wonderful trip home. Only had 5 measly days so time was precious. My whole schedule was packed meeting up with friends & family. And it was great! I wish I could do it all over again. I miss home. *pouts*

Wednesday

Flight got delayed. So the minute I touched down, I dropped my luggage at home and headed to settle some blogshop stuff. The discussion lasted till past 10pm! We hadn't eaten then so headed nearby for dinner.

I had Bak Kut Teh. It was okay, nothing to rave about. But felt good to have some local food as soon as I got back.

And we shared some braised intestines and salted vegetables. Nom Nommm Nommm.

Thursday

Photoshoot day! Super tired! I was ironing the pieces till 2am and woke up at 830am to do make up for the lil' sis. And we had to lug so many things to the locations. Got lost driving to Queenstown Ikea! Had one collection photographed at the cafe before we headed down to eM by the River for a super late lunch. I was craving pancakes but we missed the breakfast menu by 15 mins ):

Our two models -- My lovely partner and my darling sister! <3

PY ordered the club sandwich and Fiona had the ham and cheese. My sis and I shared a mini burger cos we had a plate of meatballs (one of our props!) at Ikea while the shoot was going on. Heh.

Then it was back to work! Caught a photo of Fiona in action (:

We were chased away before we got much photos taken. ): I chose this place cos I have been here for sunday brunch before and their service was horrible! So I thought they wouldn't bother us if we did a photoshoot here. But apparently, it's not allowed. Boo.

I love the whole outlook of the cafe, bright and sunny and a perfect place to catch up with friends. Their food is okay, nothing commendable. There's definitely a lack of service, though I guess I can't complain since there is no service charge. Still, it is a major turn-off and I doubt I will return here soon. :S

eM by the River

1 Nanson Road

#01-05 of Gallery Hotel

Singapore 238909

http://www.em-n-em.com/

We left the cafe and went around Robertson Quay to complete the photoshoot. After which, we rushed down to Queenstown Old Cinema to complete the last collection scheduled for the day. Managed to capture this beautiful sunset view. (:

Rugrats came to pick me up and we headed to Hilltop Teppanyaki for his superrrr belated birthday dinner. I have fond memories of this restaurant as I have been coming here since I was a kid. Whenever my parents asked me and my siblings where we wanted to go for our birthday, we would usually name this place.

It's all gonna be food pictures from now on, so brace your stomachs! Started off with appetisers. I like the pickles and the shredded crab meat in mayo. Yummy!!

We ordered a lot! Sashimi, cuttlefish, toufu, garlic rice, special salmon and beef.

They have this cool thing where they light a fire for the beef! You can really feel the heat!

There was complimentary desserts with each meal. I decided to try the honeydew sago this time but it was disappointing. Gonna stick with their mango pudding or fried ice cream next time! 

Hilltop Teppanyaki

2 Jurong Hill

Jurong Bird Park

Singapore 238909

I managed to get my hands on one of our self-manufactured skirts! Super excited and wore it to office the day I got back to work.

Top :: Cotton On White Basic Tank, Zara Grey Cardigan (Old)

Bottom ::  Redvelvetrose (haven't thought of a name for this!)

This post is getting long! Will blog about the 2nd part of my trip another time. Till then, take care! xoxo

Butao Ramen

Hello everyone! Seems like Saturday blogging's becoming a weekly affair :))

Ever since I read about Butao Ramen on CNNGo (here), I have been wanting to check it out. Rugrats and I decided today will be the day and we headed down at 1230pm, hoping that the 200 bowls would not be sold out by the time we reached there. (Haha, we were initially intending to reach there at 10am and start queuing like kiasu singaporeans.)

Located on the lane behind Yung Kee, the hole-in-the-wall ramen shop was pretty easy to find. Surprisingly, the queue wasn't as long as expected. It started to drizzle mid-way during our wait, but umbrellas were provided. I spotted paper fans at the waiting table too, super handy to help keep cool while waiting in the heat.

We were ushered to our seats about 15 mins later. There were 4 main flavours on the menu - Butao King (Original Pork Flavor), Red King (Spicy Flavour), Dark King (Squid Ink Flavor) and Green King (Pesto-like flavor). After choosing your flavour, you can personalize it by choosing how rich you want the soup, how cooked you want your noodles, toppings and add-ons etc. All done by ticking on an idiot-proof order form. Very nice, no language barrier (:

Our orders came barely 3 mins after we placed it. Super efficient! Rugrats ordered Butao King while I settled for Dark King. We couldn't wait to tuck in to our pipping hot noodles.

Each bowl of ramen came with a generous amount of noodles and garnishing. It was topped with two huge chunks of delectable char siew. So good! The pork bone soup was rich and full of flavour, we slurped every drop of it. The squid ink provided a more peppery kick to the soup as compared to the original flavor. I didn't like the half-boiled egg we added on though.

I can't decide which I liked better - Ippudo or Butao. But the shorter waiting time, the limited 200 bowls a day and authentic (this is what i imagine a ramen shop in Japan to look like!) un-commercialized atmosphere makes me favor the latter, for now. I'll be back to try the spicy flavored Red King soon!

Butao King Ramen

G/F, Wo On Building,

8-13 On Lane Street,

Lan Kwai Fong, Central

I decided to dress up a little differently from my normal style today. A slightly edgier and touristy look to it. And I finally got to wear my $20 boat shoes I got months ago. It was a comfortable wear for a day out of shopping and getting "souvenirs" for our trip home.

Top :: H&M Neon Basic Tank

Bottom :: Topshop Jeggings

Shoes :: From Mong Kok

Accessories :: Prada sunnies

Rings from Korea, H&M Crossbody bag

Speaking of which, I am super excited to be going back to Singapore. I miss home terribly :( I can't wait to spend quality time with my family & catch up with everyone. Got everything planned out and it's going to be a busy 5 days. But it is going to be so damn awesome! *throws confetti*

See you in the sunny island soon! xx

Greyhound Cafe + Korean BBQ

It's finally the weekend and it's raining! Bummer ): Wanted to head out for brunch but the rain makes one lazy. And I don't like getting my feet wet. Haha. So here I am blogging and watching movies on this rainy saturday afternoon.

I was starving after doing lunch coverage on Wednesday, so decided to treat myself to a good late lunch instead of going to the gym. Headed to Greyhound Cafe at IFC, a quirky cafe serving Thai and Fusion Cuisine. I loved the simple black & white themed decorations of the place. The waiters were also wearing tees that said things like "I don't speak Thai, but I recommend good Thai food" and "Life is too short. More desserts anyone?". Cute! 

Was craving pasta so had the Spaghetti Cha Cha Cha, a slightly spicy ink pasta that came with tiger prawns and scallops. Stir-fried with peppercorns, basil leaves and chillis, the fusion flavor was interesting. The spaghetti was a bit too al dente for me though.

Greyhound Cafe @ IFC

International Finance Centre

Shop 1082, Podium Level 1, Central

http://www.greyhoundcafe.com.hk/index.php

Headed to MyeongDong OK for a Korean BBQ dinner with some friends on Thursday. Forgot to charge my camera battery so not much photos. Rugrats and I were the first to arrive so we ordered some drinks to kill time. He had 2 bottles of Korean Beer while I had Sake. It is my favourite alcoholic drink ever! I am addicted. Yums!

Cam-whoring for the early comers :D I am loving my ASOS leopard print peplum top!

We bought a Groupon Voucher for a Set Dinner for 4. Since we had 5 people, we added on some dishes. There was free-flow appetizers, 3 different kinds of grilled meat, fried kimchi glass vermicelli, fried korean rice cakes (ddeokbokki), soft toufu soup (soondubu), beef ribs stew and kimchi pancake. I love it when food covers every inch of the table, though I don't eat much. Haha.

BBQ-ing the meat! The meat was really well-marinated. I especially love the beef ribs! Yummy! The bean paste sauce to wrap the meat in the lettuce was really good too. Overall, a satisfying dinner. And it was great to catch up with everyone (:

MyeongDong OK (明洞屋)

Shop B, South East Mansion,

75-77 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui

OTD to end the post. Have a good weekend everyone! xoxo

Top :: Love Bonito

Bottom :: Little Red Heels

Accessories :: MNG Glitter Belt

Accessorize Necklace

Tiffany & Co rings, thanks to my ex-colleagues! <3

CoCo Ichibanya + Sasa Shopping

Happy Saturday everyone! How's your weekend so far?

I went to Harbour City to do some window shopping, mainly at Marc by Marc Jacobs and Steve Madden to search for a satchel bag. It's my fashion obsession at the moment. Heh. But I couldn't decide on the colour so will be back another day!

Headed across the road to Silvercord for Coco Ichibanya. It's a Japanese Curry House that offers different levels of spiciness. Apparently, Singapore has an outlet too. We were quite early, around 430pm so there wasn't a queue. Yay!

They had free flow sweet pickles.  Really yummy! I wanted to smuggle some home. When I told Rugrats, he said "Next time bring ziplock out." Haha, lame. Anw, soup and iced tea were from the set meal Rugrats ordered.

Rugrat's pork cutlet curry with additional grilled pork and kimichi. Only spiciness level 2 - Hot. Chey~

My chicken cutlet with additional spinach. I decided to be daring and ordered Spiciness Level 5 - Crazy Hot. Think they used red pepper to spice it up. Don't be fooled with the first mouth, it will get spicier. Ordering my meal was quite funny. You get to choose the rice size, but the smallest amount was 200g. So we asked if we could have only 100g instead and the waitress gave a shocked look and replied "Cannot! 100g is very little!" Haha.

Ended off the meal with cookies n' cream and strawberry ice cream, which was part of the set meal. It was those kind that doesn't melt easily and has that slightly sticky texture that I love! Reminds me of Andersons of Denmark.

Love these 2 candid shots of Rugrats. Haha. He's like a kid! And he kept making me laugh throughout the whole meal. :D 

Overall, the food was okay, but if I had to queue, I'd rather do it for Ippudo Ramen just one level below.

CoCo Ichibanya

Shop 302,3/F, Silvercord Tower,

30 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui  

www.ichibanya.com.hk/

Walked around H&M for a while after dinner. I am so loving the neon colours this season! Wanted to get some roses hair clips for the upcoming photoshoots but the queue was too long. Headed to Mongkok for some cosmetics shopping. Got an Earl Grey Milk Tea to quench my thirst!

Hong Kong's favourite bubble tea! (: I am so lucky that I only have to queue for a couple of minutes. And Gong Cha is really cheap in Hong Kong. Only HK$12 (S$2) for a big cup! :D:D:D

My purchases from Sasa. I cannot believe I spent HK$4,273.90 (S$707) on them! This is insane! Beauty really comes at a price. ): But got membership now so 5% off next time! :D The 6 packets of face masks are for Rugrat's mum, while the SK-II products are for my Grandma. The sales lady recommended me a toner, face mask and  scrub from Clinelle, a brand from France that uses natural ingredients. Also grabbed 2 packets of Sasatine face masks. Heard they're really good! Can't wait to try it out!

And here are some OTD photos.

I used to wonder what OTD stands for. So I decided to ask my sister one day. "Eh, what does OTD mean? On The Dress ah?". She gave me the are-you-retarded look and told me it meant OUTFIT OF THE DAY!! Haha. Yes, I am a bimbo that way.

Top :: Forever 21 Korea

Bottom :: The Tinsel Rack

Shoes :: Nine West

Accessories :: Necklace from Shenzhen

Top :: Cotton On White Basic Tank, The Closet Lover Dove Shrug

Bottom :: H&M

Shoes :: ASOS Sandals

Bag :: Mui Mui Vitello

Accessories ::  Accessorize Necklace