Another GSS buy

Dunno if it's the thought of having to be rudely awakened once again by my mobile phone alarm at 5 plus in the morning, or having to go through a long crazy day, or having to handle many difficult people/ situations I most probably would meet somewhere along the way... whatever it is, I was really dreading the first day of this term, especially since many things would be beyond control at work cos of the Influenza A outbreak.

And I was right. It's been such a mad mad day indeed. Shan't dwell on it. At least I had something new to carry to work today. Er... yes, it's a... BAG.

*sheepish grin* Yeah, got a new bag over the weekend -- but I'm doing better than previously okay! It's only my third new bag this year, and the first two weren't even bought by me. So technically speaking, it's MY first bag purchase this year! :p

Saw this CK bag -- large and squarish with magnetic flaps as covers -- some time ago before the GSS started. That was when I was still looking for a work bag and before Hubby bought me the blue and white striped Zara bag. Loved the CK bag but thought it was too expensive, cos I really was trying to cut down my expenditure in this area, but during the weekend, I saw it again, this time at Isetan Wisma, and it was going at 30% less than the price before. So enticing! But again, needed to think and re-think cos wanted to make sure it wasn't an impulse buy, so ended up walking along the different levels of the department store on the pretext of looking at other stuff, but not really paying much attention. All I could think of was me carrying the bag to work today! (Maybe cos I dreaded today so much... needed something new to perk me up a little :p)

Sigh... after an agonising hour or so, I finally decided to head back and get it. And bless me, I got another 10% off the discounted price cos paid using DBS/POSB card. Ho ho ho!

Heh, some time back, it was so hard to find a nice work bag. Now, I've got two that I love! Yippee! V^_^V

Chilli PRAWNS!

There's the famous chilli crab, then there's my chilli prawns!

Haha... think after consuming chilli crab and the lovely gravy that comes with it for the past 2 weekends, I kinda missed its taste, so yesterday, I decided to try my hand at cooking my own chilli... PRAWNS! (Of course must substitute the crab with something else -- I won't really dare to handle a crab :p)

Tada!

There's my just-cooked chilli prawns in the pot, and then later served with leafy vegetables and calrose rice. Hubby said it's 'ok ah', but I thought it tasted goooooood.... hehe. Perhaps it might have tasted better if I'd used tiger prawns instead of the normal grey prawns that I usually buy from the supermarket downstairs. Oh well, never mind. It's the gravy with beaten egg that I love!

And I owe my thanks to...

Yup, found this recently while doing grocery shopping and bought it, hoping to try it out soon. And I'm really glad I came across this. No other seasoning needed -- didn't have to marinate the prawns either. I just dumped whatever I wanted -- fishcake, capsicum etc.-- with the prawns and mixed them up real nice. Then added egg and some water to get more gravy, and then that's done! Cooked extra last evening and had the leftover for dinner just now. Still tasted good! ^_^

Hmmm... maybe can just cook the gravy next time and have it with toast or something! ;P

Michael Jackson

I learned about the sudden demise of the King of Pop yesterday and was a little taken aback, but didn't think much of it the rest of the day. But this morning, the news was splashed in several pages of The Straits Times, and it finally sank in.

The legendary Michael Jackson is no more.

While reading the reports about his death, and his life before that, Hubby played a cd from an album containing MJ's greatest hits during his music career. Dunno why, but while the music was playing, I just felt so sad. But like one of the celebrities interviewed mentioned, MJ may be gone, but his music will certainly live on.

This brought to mind one of his songs that I would always appreciate -- "Little Susie". Think I mentioned this in my blog last year, but haven't been listening to it, so when the thought of this song came to me, I switched tracks and played it... and cried. To me, this is one song that sounds truly soulful, because the singer himself feels so much for the girl in the song who died, and it never fails to tug at my heartstrings. And perhaps the tears fell more today while listening to the song because the singer himself is dead.

His death also reminded me how short the human lifespan really is, and how unpredictable life is too. One blink and our lives may just pass us by, no matter how beautiful, how rich, how famous or how powerful we are. This is also why I believe we have to consider what is more important to us in life instead of blindly pursuing what others think of as important. Ultimately, it's we who lead our lives, not others.

Rest in peace, MJ.

Happy...

Since my last post, several things have made me happy... ^_^

FRIENDS poster! It's now hanging in our apartment... I'm a fan of the sitcom, so I was absolutely delighted to chance upon this @ Popcornpop. Now whenever I walk by this poster and admire it, I feel so tickled as I'm reminded of the funny episodes and how I enjoyed watching the on-screen lives of these 6 fabulous-looking people. :)

Using my new lappie at work! Dunno if it's cos it's new, or cos it's white, or cos it types so well, or perhaps it's all 3 reasons combined -- whatever it is, it really brightens up my day at work! Had to return to the workplace for some ridiculous reason this week, so Hubby suggested I bring the new lappie to work so I'd feel happier working. And he's so right! Hehe... despite having to lug it to and fro, it really cheered me up. :) And yesterday, when I had to turn on my old school laptop, a black no-nonsense looking Acer, for a short while, I actually caught myself frowning at it. It pales so much in comparison to my white lappie lor. :p

Durians! Durians! It's the durian season now...and Hubby has been occasionally bringing home these yellow babies from the supermarket near our place. Yum! And there're more reasons for me to love 'em even more now!

*Benefits of eating durians:

1. They are a strong blood cleanser.
2. They contain high levels of the amino acid tryptophan, known to alleviate anxiety, depression, and insomnia, and create feelings of euphoria, by raising levels of serotonin in the brain.
3. They contain high levels of soft proteins, so they help in building muscles.

Yeah! Durian wan suay! :)

White radish! Only attempted to cook this recently, and it turned out so well that I'm beginning to list this as one of my favourite food now! Cooked the radish with carrot in soup today, and added some fructus seeds for added goodness too. Also learnt that white radish soup can aid digestion, and radish itself has the following health benefits:

1. expels heat from the body and aids in sore throat

2. enhances metabolism

3. stimulates appetite

4. treats problems to do with asthma, bronchitis, liver and gallbladder

Also tried including white radish in potato salad... It's not bad too! :)

Gotta officially get back to work next week... am so gonna miss my holiday! Hopefully there'll be more things to make me happy then... :)

Hubby's 31! :)

When my mobile phone alarm went off at midnight last Sunday morning, indicating that Hubby's birthday was here, I got Hubby to go around the bedroom searching for three separate gifts that I had gotten him, and which I'd hidden in different parts of the room. :p

Hubby was a bit tired but still sporting enough to do the search. Well, I really was eager for him to see his presents cos I wanted to know what he thought of them. Didn't really have much high hopes cos it's always so hard to find him something he likes or appreciates so I knew I wouldn't have that "WOW! THANKS... I LOVE YOU!" kinda reaction from him but I wanted to at least know if he was okay with what I'd bought.

Got him a transparent clock showing gear movement (Hubby loves watches so much but I didn't wanna get him a watch cos it can be so tricky; ended up getting him this to display in the bedroom near where he places his watch magazines at times), a Batman Forever movie soundtrack (cos he likes a couple of songs in there but never got down to getting the CD) and a Marvel DVD revealing the art of drawing comics (which I thought he might like since he also likes reading comics and learning new stuff). His response? He didn't quite appreciate the clock when he received it that night but liked it better the next day when he got more accustomed to seeing it. The Marvel DVD was 'okay' and the Forever Batman CD didn't quite intrigue him as much now that he's heard the rest of the songs in the CD and decided that they weren't that big a deal after all. Sigh. See why I say it's so tough to get him anything? =.=

The good thing is that Hubby knows he's like this too, so he certainly won't 'blame' me for not getting anything that delights him. :p Anyway, on his birthday, we went out for meals and some shopping and I managed to give him a lunch treat that he really enjoyed-- not for the food, but for the effects that 2 glasses of wine had on him!

The story began when we were looking for a place to eat at Wheelock Place. We eventually settled on the western restaurant Big O cos we'd never dined there before. Hubby ordered a steak, I ordered some breaded chicken and we also had a bowl of veggies ratatouille. On top of that, there was a 1-for-1 promotion going on for wine, so Hubby accepted it and ordered red wine to go with his steak. Since I was to stay off alcohol, I couldn't help him drink the second glass of wine, which was free, and Hubby happily started drinking one glass after the next on a hot Sunday afternoon, and this was what happened:

When the glasses were still full...

We started eating our food and chatting at the same time. Hubby was his normal self. Hmm...think the prices of the dishes we ordered were really not worth the price. I would have paid about half the price of the breaded chicken I ordered if I'd known the portion and quality was no biggie. All these aside, the service was good.

Anyway, after drinking almost all the wine in the first glass...

Hubby started cracking silly jokes and giggling.

After the first full glass of wine...

Hubby began feeling a bit woozy, and experienced one of those floating sensations which he loves. His vision was slightly blurred too, and couldn't focus much.

After downing the second glass of wine as well...

Hubby was really pleased (see his 'victory' sign behind the glasses?). He said his arms felt like 'puppet arms' such as those or Kermit the frog cos they seemed so heavy and he could just let them hang limply at his sides. When he stood, he had difficulty walking straight and even had to lean on me for support! =.=

Okay lah, at least he didn't throw up or continue his funny drunk antics throughout the rest of the day. :P Hehe, the whole experience reminded me of the time he acted silly after drinking a bottle of sake at Sakae Sushi some time back. Oh well, as long as Hubby enjoys being intoxicated with wine, I suppose that's all right with me too (but I'm sure gonna watch how much he drinks in public from now on! :p) The effects of the wine eventually wore off as we went about Orchard Road. We moved on to Suntec City later in the evening and more or less ended our day with a simple but hearty meal @ Soup-erlicious at Suntec City, an eatery that specialises in soups and sandwiches located on the first level.

I thoroughly enjoyed the broccoli soup made from superior broth. It's got such a rich texture and I loved tasting the melted broccoli in that soup. Hubby and I also had chicken teriyaki as well as ham 'n' cheese sandwiches which came with little sides like potato or vegetables salad. Pretty good meal. :)

All in all, I'm glad that though Hubby didn't get fantastic gifts from me, he has the memory of being so happily 'drunk' for half of his birthday afternoon! Hee.

Early Father's Day meal

Hubby and I returned to Owen Seafood Restaurant @ Turf City last Saturday evening, this time with Papa, Mummy and Beebee.

This time, we arrived at a normal dinner hour past 6pm so there was a much bigger crowd than when we went there the first time. In fact, I thought it was lucky I'd made a reservation in advance because by the time we were eating, almost the entire place was full, except for a table located beyond the air-conditioned area.

Besides ordering the drunken prawns which everyone enjoyed cos the prawns were really fresh (they were sea white prawns instead of tiger prawns, so they were bigger and more succulent than the latter) as well as the chilli crab and fried man tous that Hubby and I tried and loved the first time, we ordered a few more dishes that the rest wanted to try. There was the deep fried butter lobster (Beebee's favourite-- pretty yummy, especially when you get a whole huge chunk of flesh from the shells), sweet and sour fish fillet (which was okay), coffee pork ribs (which didn't really have much meat so wasn't that fancied by everyone) and the stir fried ee mian (which was a bit bland but tasted better if light soy sauce was added). I guess this experience just tells us that it's really the seafood that make up the better dishes at this place. :p

After dinner, we did a bit of shopping at Giant Supermarket before taking the shuttle bus back to Clementi. Okay lah, quite a contented evening overall at Turf City, but because there really isn't much else there, I doubt we'd be going back any time soon unless there's a reason to. So bye bye for now, Turf City!

All about food!

Been indulging in good food quite a bit these past few days... *groan* feeling kinda sinful (which is why I've also been bugging Hubby for more ping pong workouts :p) but am glad I had the chance to sample some of the dishes...

Owen Seafood Restaurant @ Turf City

Met up with HZ and Jess last Saturday evening for a fabulous seafood meal here. It's the first time Hubby and I visited Turf City cos it's so outta the way for us since we don't drive at all. But at least we had fun just taking the shuttle bus all the way in from Clementi Interchange. :)

Unlike what its website claims, Turf City really doesn't offer much in terms of entertainment or shopping. In fact, when Hubby and I got there, our first impression of the place was how much it resembled a really 'ulu' shopping centre, not unlike those found in some parts of Malaysia. Even the Giant supermarket there doesn't seem enticing to even a supermarket fan like me. :p

I guess it's only saving grace is the interesting range of restaurants that are located there...and of course, there's this seafood place that we patronised that evening, thanks to HZ and Jess, who'd decided to give Hubby and me a birthday treat there! ^_^

Even before we entered the restaurant, we were greeted by this huge display of live seafood that were quite fascinating to look at. What especially wowed us was this tank of gargantuan crabs -- the Australian king crabs -- which weighed an average of 1.5kg, according to one of the waitresses at the restaurant. This means that feasting on one average-sized creature of that species would cost close to $300, based on the $19.50 per 100g calculation. The price is one thing... imagine staring at it once it's cooked and served on the dinner table... my, what a sight that'd be!

Well, although it was interesting to think of, we didn't order the gigantic crab. Instead, we chose the drunken prawns and 2 normal-sized crabs (one's buttered and fried while the other's cooked in yummy chilli gravy) for greater variety. Also ordered the fried man tou to go with the chilli gravy... *both thumbs up*!!! Doesn't seem like a lot of dishes, does it? But the great thing is that the food's oh-so-tasty yet what we ordered didn't make us feel uncomfortably bloated at the end of the meal. We just felt nicely contented, which is even better. When it comes to food, quality should be more important than quantity! :)

Besides the great food served at the restaurant, the price deals are also something worth going all the way there for! Some dishes at apparently going for half-price when orders are placed by a certain time (think it's 4.30pm) while the seafood's going for 40% off what it normally costs! Woohoo! Hehe, these are why Hubby and I are going back there again this coming Saturday, this time with Papa, Mummy and Beebee for an early Fathers' Day feast. Heehee. That's another meal to look forward to! ;D

Coffee Club Express

Another place that I enjoyed good food at recently was Coffee Club Express -- went there twice in the past three days. The restaurant's not new to me, but its recent menus were pretty appealing to me, more so than what I've tried there before. Was there first on Saturday evening with HZ and Jess for supper, after the early seafood dinner and some shopping at Ngee Ann City. Loved the 'obsession with sandwiches' menu they had, and the meal I selected from there -- this cheesy yet light sandwich with smoked chicken breast and apricot dressing.

Thank goodness I tried that then, cos when I went back again, this time to the outlet at Paragon and with Beebee after a day of shopping yesterday, they'd changed the menu! This time, it's something called "bowled over" or what. Beebee was so looking forward to trying the sandwich that I had last Saturday after I showed her the pic of it, so imagine the look on her face (she really looked like this: =.=) when we realised that she'd just missed it.

But never mind... fortunately there're other good stuff to try there. I had the new stewed chicken with loads of mushrooms course upon the personal recommendation of the manager there (nice!), while Beebee had some salmon pastry thingy and a slice of her favourite black forest cake. I also bought home something that Hubby was tempted to try last Saturday but didn't -- the hazelnut caramel tart. It looks literally sweet! Will present it to him tonight when he returns from work. :)

Ebisbashi @ Iluma

Beebee and I also went to Iluma shopping mall opposite Bugis Junction for the first time yesterday as part of our shopping day. It's such a nice place to visit! Many stores are already open, and the whole of level 4 looks really inviting with the range of restaurants there, some of which can't really be found elsewhere. The whole area is also well-designed and decorated, with each restaurant sporting a signature look and feel.

This Japanese restaurant really captured our attention because of its authentic Japanese feel. Check out what it looks like! There're three different menus catering to different varieties of dishes, and each menu is for a different section of the restaurant (so it's like a huge restaurant divided into three mini restaurants). What's fun is also the way we could order our food. Upon being seated, we were taught by a waiter how to use an electronic pen to order what we wanted directly off the menu. Each time we used the pen to press one button next to a food item, we'd hear a cute Japanese female voice from an automated recording stating our selection. Kawaii ne! ^_^

It's a pity the food wasn't much to rave about though. I had a mini ebi don, which was a tad too salty for my liking, while Beebee had a set of a mini kani fried rice, which she claimed she could cook an even better version of, and a mini ramen, which we both agreed wasn't as good as Ajisen Ramen's. Maybe we just didn't pick the house specialties, which might have been more delicious. But I certainly give full marks to the ambience! ;)

Spaghetti @ Home Sweet Home

Heehee, after talking so much about food sampled outside, I figured I might as well be a little thick-skinned and feature my own recent creations too. After all, if my in-house food critic could gimme an 'ok' or 'up to an 8.5 outta 10', they can't be too bad right? ;P

Ta-da! Been cooking spaghetti in tomato paste these days. Won't be cooking that for quite some time next lest Hubby gets sick of eating it! But so far so good...the first one on the extreme left is spaghetti with pan fried cod fish, asparagus, baby carrots, lettuce and shitake mushrooms. The middle one's pretty much the same ingredients, except that in place of cod fish, there's a pan fried chicken patty. The third one's what I specially cooked for lunch today as a little 'special 16th' treat -- spaghetti with grilled tiger prawns, yellow capsicum, lettuce, baby carrots and grilled tomato. This was the one that won me an 8.5 outta 10! Yippee! So happy... hee. ^_^

Wowee... just realised what a long post this is, and all on FOOD! Yum... sigh, but now gotta get to work. Haven't been working much at home -- loads to catch up on. Tata!