My first visit to "Princely Treasures: From the House of Liechtenstein" exhibition

It was Open House at the National Museum of Singapore over the two Public Holidays (Hari Raya Pusa and National Day) and admission was free for all exhibitions at all Museums in Singapore. Sis has been recommending the  "Princely Treasures: From the House of Liechtenstein" exhibition since she visited it. As I have nothing to do yesterday, I decided to pop by the museum to take a look. 

National Museum of Singapore

Princely Treasures: From the House of Liechtenstein

Not sure if this exhibition is really that popular or that since it is free, many people decided to spend the art appreciating this European Art.

Queue for the exhibition

While waiting to enter, I did a Google search and read that there are 91 masterpieces from the exquisite art collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein collected over 500 years will be showcased to celebrate the High Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Biedermeier that span from the late 15th century to the mid 19th century. In addition, a selection of 16 oil paintings from the National Collection will be displayed.

Here are some of the art pieces that caught my attention:

Landscape with Roman Ruins

Raphael's Portrait of a Man

The Parable of the Blind leading the Blind

Triumph of Death

Frans Hals's  Portrait of a Man

Besides paintings, this exhibition also displays sculptures and rare decorative art objects. Here is one of the sculptures that caught my eyes:

Here's from the Singapore's collection:

Portrait of Yusof bin Ishak

It has been an eye opener and a pleasure experience for me during the visit. Such great paintings, such great visual effect to the eyes. With the evolution of the digital camera, maybe this painting culture is losing its ways to 'extinction'.

Princely Treasures: From the House of Liechtenstein
27 Jun - 29 Sep 2013
National Museum of Singapore
93 Stamford Road
Singapore 178897
Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily.

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

National Day is here and it marks the 48th birthday for Singapore. Happy Birthday, Singapore!

Have no chance to be at the parade to enjoy the celebration with the lucky ones. But I am just as glad that I can be home on this day. For most of the years, I am able to watch some of the elements of the parade at the comfort of my place. For example, the helicopters with the National Flag, the planes doing stunts and even the fireworks. But with more high rise buildings, the view of the spectacular fireworks is being blocked!

The best part I love about the parade is definitely the singing part when everyone sang to the national day song. One of my favourite song is "Count on me, Singapore". Extracts of the song as follows:

There is something down the road that we can strive for

We are told no dream's too bold that we can't try for

There's a spirit in the air, it's a feeling we all share

We're going to build a better life, for you and me

We can achieve, we can achieve

An inspiring song not only for the nation, and it can be applied to each individual. Everyone should have a dream and everyone should chase after his/her dream. Oh man, at times, singing national day songs on national day does make me emotional. Anyway, here are some of the photos I took on this special day from home:

Helicopter with the Singapore Flag

Fireworks from home

Another shot

And finally, Smurfs are here to celebrate with us as well... Happy Birthday, my dear Country, my Singapore!

Smurf celebrating too...

Grub @ Bishan Park

When you asked me to dine at the park, the first thing that comes to my mind is PICNIC. But I was wrong. There is a café, GRUB, situation at Bishan Park which is recently opened on 1 May 2013. I have not heard of this place at all but a cafe in the park sounds great. Basically, it is not a very big café and they do not take reservations. Thus, do make your way earlier to avoid disappointment. And, do bear in the mind while waiting for a table to feast, the mosquito might be feasting on you first. I guess that is the only downside of having a café close to nature. 

The menu is not very extensive and they do offer breakfast. Not a bad choice for brunch on weekends. For dinner, there are either burgers (which comes with French fries and there are a couple of optional add-ons to the burger) or main course. As we are going for handcraft beer (which costs S$10 each and the variety is quite good and the waitress might be introducing you some that are off the list. So do ask whether they have any special beer in store), I decided to order the Slow Roasted Pork Belly with mango sauce, mash, cherry tomato salsa. I assumed that the pork belly will be oily and the beer could just help me wash off the oiliness. 

Slow Pork Belly

I was not disappointed with this dish – it is not oily at all. Soft and tender could be used to describe the pork belly. It practically ‘melted’ in my mouth. The refreshing mango sauce gave the dish a sweetness element. Sitting on a bed of mash potato, this dish is awesome. The portion, however, is rather small but aren’t we glad that it leaves some space in the stomach for their desserts! 

Churros

Churros with dark chocolate and tangy creme anglaise There aren’t many cafes in Singapore selling Churros (Spanish doungnut). I remembered the last time I had churros was at Universal Studio Singapore last year. It took quite a while to serve this dish but it was pipping hot when it was served. Wonder if they missed out on the order or they actually fried it only upon order. They were crispy on the outside but soft and fluffy on the inside. It came with 2 dips, the dark chocolate and tangy creme anglaise. Personally, I prefer the tangy creme anglaise sauce. It brings out a refreshing taste but I guess maybe it is due to the fact that I love dishes that have fruits elements in it. 

Waffle

The Belgium waffle is served with grilled banana and salty caramel and dark chocolate sauce Similar to churros, the waffle was soft yet crispy on the outside. The combination of chocolate sauce and salty caramel gives the dish a sweet yet savoury taste. Really went well with the waffle. The banana was grilled (yes, grilled, not just plain fresh banana for display) and it was fantastic. 

This is not a bad place to chill but it is a bit out of the way and they allow pets in their outdoor sitting area. So it could be a good place for dog-lovers to bring their pets to join in the gathering with friends and family! 

Grub
510 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1 (Bishan Park 1)
Singapore 569983

I love Ice Kachang!

Hot weather again and I got to work outdoor. No office work means no aircon to beat the heat especially when the area you were at does not have a nearby shopping mall. So the next best thing to do is to eat something cold. Ice kachang was the first thing that came to my mind and I went to search for it at Ghim Moh Food Centre. I remembered BFF J told me about a stall at this food centre that sells good local desserts and that the stall owner does not work daily. She mentioned that it really depends on luck if you want to try out the desserts at this stall. But the couple of times which I went, the stall is always opened. Probably I had better luck than her?

Anyway, there were a couple of people in queue when I reached. I guess hot weather will bring good business to desserts stall. Most of them ordered Ice Kachang as well. For the price of $1.30, definitely worth it to get another bowl. But the artificial colouring deters me from doing so.

I remembered, as a kid, I love to eat Ice Kachang. I guess it got to be due to the fact that my family seldom dined out. So in the event that we ate at hawker centres, my parents would order ice kachang for us. As kids, having to eat shaved ice was like a luxury. Eating ice kachang brings back childhood memories. 

Ice Kachang

Ice Kachang is not purely shaved ice. It has hidden 'gems' under the shaved ice. The ingredients that this stall had are red beans, corn, attap seed, and some jellies. Quite a good deal and remember to mix them in order to taste the best of ICE KACHANG!

The hidden ingredients

Golden Swallow Dessert
Ghim Moh Market and Food Centre
Blk 20 Ghim Moh Road #01-53 

Scooting away!

FlyScoots is having this "Chase away Monday Blues" promotion where they will give some promotions on every Tuesday morning from 7am to 9am. Having plans to go on a holiday with Sis, I have been waiting for the Tuesday promotion to see if there is a good deal. I don't mind spending more for the air tickets but if there is a cheap and good deal, why not. Save the additional cost to enjoy more overseas, better accommodation or better food or shopping. 

So the deal was "48% OFF to any Scoot destinations from Singapore!". Almost half price. Was looking at some of the full fledged airline on Monday and the cheapest ticket for return trip to Taipei  for per person is around SGD450. And guess what, with this Scoot's promotion, the total cost for return trip for 2 persons with check-in luggage (ok, that's without food, but it is only a 4-hr flight) is ard SGD450;. It is like a 1-for-1 trip. 

But the FlyScoot's website seems a bit screwed up. I managed to book the air tickets with our preferred date and timing and chose to pay through Singpost. Yes, I want to save the processing fee of around SGD40. Why should we pay so much for a processing fee when we can do the Singpost payment within 24 hours. However, I browsed through FlyScoot's Facebook shortly after I purchased the tickets and read that some of the people could not see the Singpost payment option. Some also mentioned that we cannot pay through Singpost for this promotion but some said they called the Hotline and the personnel mentioned that we could pay through Singpost. 

Without much delay, I made my way down to Singpost to do the payment and now is waiting time. Waiting for the flight itinerary to be emailed  to me. Seems that it will take up to 24 hours upon payment for them to process the itinerary. That is like an hour time from now. I hope I receive the email soon. If not, I guess I have to make a call to the call centre or to email them. I hate hassle but I love to save money. It must be the ''cheap-thrill'' feeling. Never mind, I will see how things go!

Rainy Monday!

What a nice weather to sleep in today! But it's Monday today and I've got to work. This suddenly reminds me of Carpenter's song, Rainy days and Mondays especially when the lyrics went "Rainy days and Mondays always get me down". This morning was double the effect. Such cooling weather is 'luring' us to laze on the bed. I am not the type of person who will press the snooze button on the alarm clock. This morning was really simply too tempting but I guess I've got no choice but to wake up and prepare for work. This song just kept coming to my head...

Here's the start to the emo song:

Talkin' to myself and feelin' old
Sometimes I'd like to quit, nothin' ever seems to fit
Hangin' around, nothin' to do but frown
Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

Hear it from here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57T9Xy1YpAA&list=PL0B027EF4CDA0BD05

DIY cards using Iris Folding

I love art and craft and I love making cards for my friends. be it birthday or Christmas or some special occasion. With the technology, people nowadays really do not send out cards to friends and family. Unlike what we did when we were young, when there is a special occasion, I always look forward to buying cards from shops - to pen down my wishes for the recipient. But come the technology, friends are wishing each other through Facebook, Whatsapps. And we longer need to remember such special dates as there are always the technology to notify us of the dates.

Years back, I stumbled across Iris Folding while looking for ideas on card making. And I love doing Iris folding from then on. I love colourful things. I can add many colours to iris folding and the visual effect of the end products is great. Iris folding is actually very simple and once you get a hang out of it, you'll definitely love it.  You can apply iris folding for any occasion or any design.

Whenever I ran out of ideas of what to do for a card, I will turn to iris folding. Just cut out any shapes or animals or design that you like and layers the colourful papers, the effect of the card will definitely be glamorous.

Did 3 cards this morning and here are the pictures for the steps:

1. Materials that are required

Paper, Cutter, glitter, glue, scissors etc

2. Think of what design you want for the card and draw them out accordingly. Good to be on the reverse side such that your pencil mark will not appear on the front of the card.

Design of card

3. Cut out the design accordingly

After cutting

4. Cut the coloured paper into stripes and fold them into half

Cut out strips of coloured paper and fold them into halves

5. Paste them as you like and this is how the back looks like: UNTIDY

Back of card, after Iris folding is completed

6. There you go, Iris folding cards for the number: 30. Decorate the card with wordings accordingly.

Cards are nicely done!

Depending on how complicated your design is, Iris folding does not really take up much of your time. Find it interesting? If so, time to get your hands on it!

Some of the earlier cards that I made for BFFs to mark the 30th club that we are embarking on this year. 

Cards for my friends turning 30th

Fukuichi Japanese Dining

Fukuichi is tucked in a quiet corner of Orchard - Triple One Somerset is often a neglected place for me. Never knew that there are some great restaurants hidden there. Visited Fukuichi Japanese Restaurant yesterday to have a birthday dinner for Random W. I never knew there are some restaurants on the second level. Probably heading back there for dinner for a less-crowded but centralised gathering.

Here's some of the food we had:

Kani Tofu

The cold appetiser - Kani Tofu – is actually tofu with crab meat in century egg sauce. I’ve never seen or tried this dish before in a Japanese restaurant. I am not a century egg lover but the sauce was done to perfection. It was not overpowering and went well with the fresh tofu and crab meat. The tofu simply melted in the mouth. This dish was a pleasant surprise and was very refreshing.

Sushi Rolls

Seared Salmon Roll 

This was great and we ordered 2 plates of it. Mainly was due to the fact that the birthday girl was late and she ordered another plate to satisfy her cravings. This sushi roll was executed perfectly. The salmon was seared perfectly, bringing out a smoky smell and yet not overcooked. Perfect match with the other ingredients that was added to make the roll. Yummy! 

Avocado Roll

We had high expectations to the presentation of this roll. We thought we would see a ‘caterpillar’ but we were disappointed. The avocado was fresh and sweet. For the vegetarian, please do not order as there is crab meat in this roll. 

Seared White Tuna roll 

Fukuichi really makes effort to display their dish. From the sushi roll, they put the sushi into small holder to bring out visual effect to the food. Like the Salmon roll, the tuna was not overcooked. However, we preferred the Salmon roll more.

Cold Soba

Wanted to order the Cold Fish Soba but in the end, we ordered the normal cold soba due to some error. The soba was chewy and nice. 

Hotate Yaki 

Wanted to order the bamboo clams but it was not available. Thus, we opted for the Hotate Yaki (Scallops in Garlic Sauce). Not a bad choice after all. The scallop was grilled to perfection. Fresh is the word to describe the seafood at Fukuichi. Easy to chew and it really went well with the cheese. The Garlic and Butter made it more tasty and flavourful.

Chawanmushi

There are many types of Chawanmushi and we went for the normal one. It was not bad and there were crab meat, prawn and meat in it.

Forget to take the photo for the Ebi Almond Tempura. This dish was a pleasant surprise. The almond flakes were crispy and they did not fall off the Ebi when I dipped it in the sauce. The prawn was fresh, sweet and tender. For those who like almond, you could try this dish as this is quite special. 

We also have the Yuzu Sparkling Sake. Sweet and nice and when you drink it, it does not taste like Sake. I guess that’s the dangerous part as you will unknowingly drank a lot! Overall, Fukuichi is a nice place to eat and chill for a gathering. Will come back to this area soon!

Fukuichi Japanese Dining
111 Somerset Road
TripleOne Somerset

I miss Travelling!

August is here – seven months has passed for Year 2013. Time really flies. These seven months had been stressful and dull. Not much of a personal life, no overseas trips. Due to the current project I am working on, I am not able to travel overseas (even to Malaysia) for one year. I've got to stay contactable for 24/7. Remembering last National Day, I took my last long well-deserved flight to Vancouver with Random W and BFF W to look for Random Ad. An almost two-week break before the project kicked start in late September. I wish I can fly right now! 

I desperately need a break – a long well-deserved (at least I think I deserve it) break, away from Singapore, away from office, away from work. Not a long one, but I am looking forward to the short Bali trip (that is in the process of planning) in end October. I want to sit in an aeroplane and fly to somewhere, just to relax (oh, it’s hard when there are many activities in place) and enjoy myself. I just want to stay non-contactable – technology has indirectly making us work more than we should be doing. I know is hard as we will tend to surf the internet and get hook to social media to update our lives or see updates of our friends. I remembered my previous trip to Ho Chi Minh. My sim card got locked and I was not able to use it. Thus, I was being ‘forced’ to de-tech for the five days. Instead of feeling lost, I actually felt great - Able to enjoy every second in HCM instead of spending some in the technology world. 

I guess I am working to earn my travel fare so that I can travel out to enjoy my life, to experience the different cultures, to see the things we do not get to see in Singapore. Not that I do not enjoy life in Singapore, not that I have visited the whole of Singapore. But I guess, the cheap thrill of taking the aeroplane, flying above the clouds and holding on to a different currency made a difference. Oh well, but the “staying away from the family and the comfortable bed” still make me feel homesick. Ad well, I get to appreciate Singapore more when I’m home after a long overseas trip. I still love Singapore after all! I  DEEPLY miss travelling!

View from the top!

Blue Blue Sky!

I love looking at the blue blue skies and love how the different trees complement the visual against the sky. It would be great when there are clouds especially those candy floss clouds. So fluffy, so carefree high up in the sky.

 Working in an office environment make it hard for us to appreciate the blue sky. We could have stepped into the office when the sky just got lighted up and when we knock off, the sky has turned dark to welcome the moon and stars. It's great to have the weekend where I can stare blankly into the sky, doing nothing but clearing up the busy mind that had worked hard over the weekdays... Blue blue sky... I love you!

Remembering the days in June when we encountered the haze. Those days were bad. The clear blue sky was gone and gave a gloomy feel to everyone. When the news mentioned about the return of the haze, it unintentionally affected my mood. But aren't we glad now that we are still seeing the blue sky. Though it is scorching hot in the afternoon, I rather the sky stays as it is now!

Some of the shots i captured while waiting for the bus at the different bus-stops around Singapore.

Blue Sky

Sephora Hot Wheels!

It's Monday again and  I've got pink nails to accompany me to work today. Goodbye Monday Blues for the week. All thanks to Sephora Singapore Hot Wheels that stationed itself at Vivocity yesterday. They were giving out free manicures, free ice-cream and free goodie bag. Glad that I spotted the bus. It's an opportunity to try out colours that I would not have chosen if I am going to pay for a manicure. Anyway, I am not the type of girl who likes to paint their nails. I will do it occasionally when I need to attend weddings or when it is Chinese New Year. I am more tomboyish and thus, my manicure normally does not last for 3 days. I tried the gelish manicure the last round and it was great. The manicure managed to stay on my nails for 2 weeks. Anyway, back to Sephora Hot Wheels. I think this is quite a cool initiative by Sephora.

Sephora Singapore Hot Wheels

This is not only an event for ladies but for young girls too. I saw this mummy with 3 girls (should be age below 10). I recalled myself being quite vain when I was young too. Always trying to wear my mummy's oversize heels or to take her lipstick to put on. And now, kids get to enjoy manicure. Cool!

I waited for around 15 minutes for my turn. Not knowing what colour to get as I cannot get bombastic colour due to my work, i sought the opinion of the manicurist. I remembered telling her that I wanted a nude colour that is not too bright. And there my nails got its makeover. PINK! Oh man, definitely not the colour tone that I will choose. Since it's free, i just went for it. I quite like the effect the colour had on my nails. Growing to like it the more I look at my nails now. It looks bright to me and I wondered if the manicurist heard what I want. But still, thanks for the recommendation of colours. 

My Pink Nails

And Sephora is very generous in their goodie bag. Normally I thought they will be more into advertising tactics where they will give vouchers for us to purchase their products. But guess what, there is a bottle of nail remover and a nail buffer in the bag. Thanks Sephora! I'm loving my Monday and the rest of the week with you close by my side!

Goodie Bag

Looking forward to their next stop or promotion!

Cooking Journey - Mushroom Risotto

It all started when I saw BFF L's, facebook picture of homecooked risotto. A whatsapp message was all we needed  and off we went to her place for a homecook dinner.

I love cooking and cooking with friends is fun. Or rather, I can join in the cooking process as and well I like it. I do not have to execute the whole cooking process to enjoy the meal.

Mushroom risotto was what we set for the menu. L mentioned that it will take around half an hour from the preparation to the end product for the dinner. Okay, I trusted her as I have not cooked risotto before. 

So she gave the instructions for us to chop the different types of mushrooms into a small-bites size. I volunteered to chop as I thought it was the simplest task. And as I chopped, the portion got bigger and I was rather stunned that I questioned L. She replied it's fine. The horror part was that we had extra servings of risotto in the end that I could bring home some for brother's supper.

Next up was the cooking of risotto.  Step by step, we followed instructions. It wasn't difficult to cook risotto but it requires patience as each step takes time to add the ingredients and to stir them together.

It all paid off when it's time to serve dinner.  I guess due to the extra big portion of risotto,  we took an hour to cook instead of her usual half an hour. But I loved our homecooked risotto! Delicious and I looked forward to our next cooking gathering.

Mushroom Risotto

I'm not sure where BFF L got her recipe from, but you can take a look at Jamie Oliver's recipe. 

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/rice-recipes/a-basic-risotto-recipe

Keep Calm and Be Cool; I'm just turning 30!

2 months past my 30th birthday and I decided to start a blog to commemorate the year of me entering into the next milestone in life - the big 30! Technology has made things easier for us to keep track of our life virtually, be it Facebook, tumblr, or instagram. Just like what we used to do when we were young. Jotting down our experiences in diary.

Last year, BFF W, challenged me to take photo(s) each day for the year 2012 so that at the end of the year, I can have a year of photos to look back. What a resolution but I'm glad I did it. The photos are the memories of what I did when I was 29. Looking at my tumblr, I recollected what I did on each individual day. Though there were days with vague memories, there were days whereby I remembered the fun time I had through the pictures I took.

With this, I shall make eblogger the avenue for me to jot down the bits and pieces of my life from age 30 onward - the happy or sad days, the fun or downside of life. Things that I love, Things that I want to share with everyone. Though it will not be a daily affair like tumblr where I took a picture to remember the day, here shall be the place where I put my thoughts and feelings into words. A picture may paint a thousand words but it would be great to jot down text as well.

I shall announce that Í'm not afraid of aging; I just want to Live to EAT PLAY LOVE!'!

If a woman over 30 doesn't want to watch the game, she doesn't sit around whining about it. She does something she wants to do. And, it's usually something more interesting. ~Andy Rooney