work desk

while trying to look out for my green pic of the day, this thing on my work desk caught my eye. well in my company, we adopt the hot desking approach so none of us have our own desk. it's suppose to b a clean desk policy too but well the desks are getting messier and dirtier. anyway I have no idea what this product is. it look interesting. i can't figure out if it's a hair serum or a face mist. haha!

so what junk do you have at your desk? do you personalize your work desk? I definitely would if I had one of my own!

Yummy! (80/365)

Yummy Court. Nowadays, coffeeshops have all funny names. Yummy Court is one of them. I love coffeeshops because all coffeeshop has 'zhu chao'. i like ordering alot of dishes, sitting at a round table in a coffeeshop and eating zhu chao together with my friends. Thus, for the past two years, i always ask my friends bring me go zhu chao for my birthday.

i grew up in a 3 persons family. there is limited food we can order because there are only 3 of us. probably 3 dishes or 4. but with a whole group of friends, we can order alot of food. i can taste abit here and there. i love variety! that is why nowadays i hate eating main course.

HDB flat owners to be (79/365)

This is where all the HDB hopefuls sit while waiting to sign the Agreement of lease from HDB. This marks a huge commitment for all the couples who want to buy a HDB together as it is also the day of the first downpayment.

I feel that HDB is really overworked this period of time. with the number of BTOs coming up. it is not as easy as oh! new BTO, i select! and i get! i went through 6 months of waiting to get to this stage, finally signing the Agreement of lease. So imagine how much work all the HDB officer is going through. And my point is further proven when the girl serving us was a super young girl, with tattoos on her neck and thumb, not to mention high pitched voice.

And do you know the slection of flats process is even going on, on Saturdays AND sundays. The signing of agreement also ongoing after working hours. yes, they are working real hard.

clean sheets!

I just changed my bed sheets! -rolls around on my bed- I love the feeling of new clean sheets! :) I try to change my bedsheets at least once a month but I do get lazy sometimes. =p how often do you change your sheets?

Yet Con

celebrated daddy's birthday at one of our family's favourite restaurant - Yet Con at Purvis St. this restaurant has been around since forever and serves modest hainanese fare.

There's the traditional steamboat serve with chicken rice. and most people will also add on half or a full white chicken. the hainanese sweet and sour pork chop is also a must-try! the design of the place is really old school, probably been like this since it first opened years ago.

another prominent feature of Yet Con is the boss who still calculates the bills of all tables using abacus. and this place only accepts cash. no nets, no credit card payment. very traditional indeed! love this place :) :)

Pepsi (78/365)

Are you a Pepsi or Coke fan? Usually you are either one. Of course there's a group of people who don't care. But i wouldn't call them fans of anything.

Today i found out something. In a coffee shop or any F&B eating place, you can only be a coke supplier or a pepsi supplier. never both. So you cannot find a restaurant or coffee shop that sells both Pepsi and coke. usually they only have one or the other. I heard, not sure if it is true that you get extra money for selling per can of coke. So if coke knows you are selling pepsi, they will not let you sell their drink.

not sure if it is true. food for thought

Halia Restaurant

because my friend claims that all brunch food taste the same and that it's the environment that makes the difference, we made our way to botanic gardens with its luscious greenery for brunch today. and after walking ten million miles under the hot sun, I finally found Halia Restaurant at the Ginger Garden.

I've been having cravings for scrambled eggs for the longest time and I finally got to satisfy it today! ordered the scrambled egg on sourdough with sautéed potatoes and portobello mushrooms as my sides. no complaints about my food. afterall, you can't really go wrong with this combi! ordered the Moroccan mint tea which was good and we had many rounds of refills! good on them that they didn't have any restrictions on the refills and sharing!

ambience was not bad. the indoor seating is relatively small though. the toilet is worth mentioning! very well equipped and nicely designed :) nice place but I'm not such a huge fan of lush greenery and the long walk is quite a major deterring factor so i don't think I'll be back anytime soon!

Moscato (77/365)

Had a gathering today at a friend's place so decided to bring moscato over as a house gift. i've drank white moscato before, but not red ones. so decided to buy and try this. and at the same time be my red picture of the day.

conclusion: the white one is sweeter. this red moscato taste abit like sangria. not as sweet, with a hint of red wine in it. i think i quite like it. cos moscato is sweet, not much alcohol taste and kick in it. we also saw a pink moscato, maybe i will buy that and try and see which one i like the best. we opened a red wine and this red moscato and it was like a child's drink and adult drink in comparison. so now u know how different is this red moscato from the red wine. haha

I ♥ You (76/365)

I got this postcard @ a restaurant. And i like it very much. it stands out among all the other postcards in the midst and i knew i had to have one.

How many times do we say these 3 important words to someone we care, and someone we love. in our asian society, very often, love is not expressed outwardly all the times. and especially so toward our parents and maybe the older generation to their children. It is definitely true we don't know what we've got until its gone.

When is the last time you said it to someone you care? have you said it enough?

standard chartered perks!

I'm officially a standard chartered convert. in a week, I've become their #1 fan. got myself the manhattan card and even opened an account with them. I must say their aggressive marketing gimmick is actually working!

well I was enticed by this luggage at the IT fair last weekend and signed up for the manhattan card at the standard chart booth. the perks pretty good! firstly you get an immediate $80 cashback upon signing up for the card! free money! :) and for the manhattan card you get 5% rebate on every purchase. I think the cashback is really a big draw as I have friends who have signed up for the cards because of it! I'm happy I got the free luggage! woohoo! can't wait to use it at my next travel!!

Tissue paper

if you do follow my project 365 closely, you would have realised that I'm someone who likes my things slightly different from the norm. don't like to use plain boring stuff. and yes when it comes to tissue, I like the nice cute colorful packaging. I like buying the looney tunes tissue from value shop and my friend always has to stop me from buying them. here's Onwards brand that uses Tom & jerry as their design. i know Kleenex uses Winnie the pooh! but I'll go for onwards instead because it's cheaper!

Busy Days (75/365)

on busy days like this, i have to resort to packing food to the office to eat alone. and packing food in tanjong pagar is not cheap. especially around my area. i'm not situated near markets like maxwell, ah moy or tanjong pagar. and the nearest buidling opposite me, international plaza is not that ideal to pack because it is expensive.

that is why, i love my new found gem. which everyone in tanjong pagar knows and never tell me. This veggie rice. really economical veggie rice. unlike some other economical veggie rice at raffles city food court that cost me 8 bucks! (well that is a story for another time). this veggie rice stal; starts selling around 11 plus and by 2 plus, you will not find anything left. it's relatively cheap, compared to the other stuff around it and my solace when i cannot find anyone to lunch with me.

cheers to REAL economical rice. =)

retail therapy

finally checked out the first H&M store in Singapore. i remember going crazy at h&m in hongkong 3 years ago. that was my very first encounter with the brand.

Well this 4-levels store in orchard reminded me of one of the h&m stores I went in Tokyo in terms of the layout. but I guess the layouts should be all pretty standard. anyway I wanted merely to window shop but I succumbed to temptation and tried on 4 pieces. mostly basics. guilty as charged, I ended up buying all of them..

retail therapy really rocks. definitely cheered up my otherwise gloomy day :)

Rose Syrup (74/365)

How to make the perfect rose syrup? Alot of people will tell me try and error. But my formula is 2:1. 2 part syrup and 1 part water. It always works! And it's always yummy.

And let me share with you all a little secret. How to prolong the shelf life of your syrup? Add vodka in! Depending on how large the batch of syrup it is. the normal 1.5 litres, just add 3.4 tablespoon of vodka in will do. This will help to keep your syrup longer!

Grade B

do u take notice of the hygiene grading at food stalls? will it affect your decision whether to eat at that stall? for me, I think the grading system is a good to know but it will not stop me from eating at a stall with a C grading if I know the food is really awesome. anyway, sometimes ignorance is bliss, we should just enjoy the end product of that piping hot bowl of soup noodles and not look at the preparation process. we probably won't want to really know what is happening in the kitchens of restaurants and hawker stalls! ;p

O'Bean Soya Milk (73/365)

this cup of soya bean is no ordinary cup of soya bean. it's o'bean organic soya drink and if you haven't heard of it. now you should! it's rich, tasty, safe and healthy!

Signature Soya is only S$1.20 a cup, they also serve Bird Nest Soya, Almond Soya,Red Bean Soya, Ginger Soya, and very refreshing tea drinks like Oolong Tea Soya, Black Tea Soya, Red Tea Soya and Green Tea Soya. Or, if you prefer Icy cold, ice blended Smoothie, at O’bean, they have, Banana Soya Smoothie, Mango Soya Smoothie, and also 2 in 1 Cocoa + Banana Soya Smoothie. All their drinks can top up with our sweet, soft and chewy Pearls, Grass Jelly or Red Beans.

O'bean is very different. thery are 100% organic from cultivation to production, no preservative, no chemical substances added. And if you drink it and love it, you can even buy a packet to go home and make yourself. It's packed in sachets.

Running shoes (72/365)

Do you know what brand of shoes this is?

New Balance! When we talk about running shoes, one think of asics, addidas, even nike. does anyone think of New Balance? Frankly speaking, i've never tried their products before. But cos my friend who signed up for the JP Morgan run had a 25% off any thing you buy from New Balance so we went and see, see, look look.

New Balance is sponsoring the JP Morgan run this year and the discount they give is actually quite attractive. I know Sundown Adidas gives a 20% or lesser only. Anyway, i wanted to buy a small water bottle from them. But to my dismay, they don't sell bottles. I must say they don;t have a wide range of products. Oh well, i know i will not buy their shoes. maybe can buy their other sports wear

Sportswear

when it comes to sportswear, are you someone who is loyal to a particular brand or are you one more a functional person? for me, I'm totally non-brand loyal and will go for whatever that's cheapest around. =p or rather, I'm a superficial person so I go for the looks more than the functionality.

coincidentally, alot of my sports stuff are from mizuno. my current pair of sports shoes (which is time to change already), my golf clubs and today, I bought a pair of mizuno golf gloves. well this ad is actually for reebok. somehow i feel that the brand doesn't have a good reputation esp in terms of beauty in their range of products. well don't think the ad is that attractive either other than the bright green background.

Sofra Turkish Cafe & Restaurant

whenever I pass shaw centre on beach road, I'll definitely see this Turkish restaurant on level 2 and have always been curious to try it out as I've heard reviews that the food isn't too bad. so I finally had the chance for dinner today! :) was a random decision as we wanted to get away from the maddening crowd at the IT fair in suntec.

the food didn't disappoint! we had the red lentil soup, sultan kebab and the chef's plate. All 3 were good choices! the soup was simple yet flavourful. Love the cheesiness of sultan kebab. it's actually mildly spiced lamb with baked cheese and mashed potatoes. doesn't it sound drool-inducing! the chef's plate consist of a mixture of different meats, including 2 meat patties, chicken skewer and doner kebab with turkish salad. another thing we love about the food here is the HUGE portion! price was quite reasonable too, around the price range you get at the eateries around arab street.

i like the ambience of the place too. get the seats by the glass window and watch the cars go by. i'll definitely bring other friends back here again!

Happy 1st Birthday! (71/365)

I attended a 1st birthday party today and that place was filled with balloons. and screaming kids! due to my age and my social circle, attending 1st birthday parties are rare and seriously, i don't remember when is the last one i attended, probably my own!

anyway, attending first birthday parties will not be my fav thing on the list. there are so many kids there!and they are playing with balloons filled with helium that floats up towards the ceiling fan. i was so afraid some will burst! but the kids seem nonchalant about it, enjoying their fun and laughter and whatever keep that entertained.

ai was wondering, can i hold a first birthday party for my kids, invite all my friends but tell them they can't bring their kids? haha!