twentythree y.o. geographer, barista, yoga practitioner. University College London. born and bred in the lil' island of Singapore. constantly searching for answers. extremely flawed, especially when it comes to imposing standards on others, expecting too much, not knowing when to close her mouth (to shut the fuck up or to stop eating). too crazy for her own good and has to be taken with a massive handful of salt. adores backpacking, hitch-hiking, hill-walking, red wine, whiskey, cocktails, fine food and good conversations.
REMINDER:
"open your heart. someone will come. someone will come for you. but you'd have to open your heart first."
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| Saturday, August 16, 2014
◔ 4:39 PM // ✎ 0 comment(s) | ❝ Singapore Days ❞ |
Decided to do a summary of my days in Singapore, just because I felt sorry for my blog. It has been a destination for ramblings, late night thoughts and worries... And nothing worth reading to the average friend. I am sorry guys :*
31st July - Managua 1.0
Had dinner with my lovely girls the day I got back. Korean food, something which I am fond of but definitely not a favorite. To be honest, I only go for Korean food in Singapore after I am sufficiently bored of Japanese food, which is something that does not happen very often. On the contrary, I have Korean food quite frequently in London just because it is the only form of Asian cuisine that is done passably well. (The fact that there are quite a few good Korean restaurants in Bloomsbury definitely helps too).
It is always nice to meet with them :') we do not meet very much but hey that makes whenever we do really, really awesome, no?
(Photo credits: Park)
1st August - Jolene's birthday
Secret celebration for Jolene's birthday failed because Edward told her that I was going to be there :/
But hey, we celebrated at our all-time-favorite restaurant, somewhere that we've been going for meetups since forever. Well a different branch though, because the Parco branch closed. Sad times :(
(Photo credits: Eddy)
2nd August - Peiqi x Park
Had coffee with Peiqi at Artistry, before meeting up with Park at Bugis Junction. I will probably elaborate on Artistry another time just because I am thinking of creating a post (maybe? If I am not too lazy, heh.) on the different cafes I've been to in Singapore. I haven't had the time to go cafe hopping and currently there's only two or three on the list, which is why I aim to work on lengthening over the next few weeks. Please do buzz me if you would love to cafe hop too; I would definitely love to have some actual human company.
I get the most beautiful pictures taken when I'm with Peiqi because he literally spams selfies. I'm not complaining though, especially since I can blame the camwhoring on him :P (Photo credits: Peiqi)
3rd August - Lucas' birthday brunch x Luoyang's birthday surprise
Went clubbing with Lucas at the American Club - brunch, some American coffee water and got to spend time with my bestie :) he turned 40 and
HELLO BESTIE I know you will read this at one point or another, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Thank you for being such an amazing friend, and may you have wonderful adventures in Penn with tons of chicks!
Then, ran off to get a cake for Luoyang, before meeting Luoyang and Yingying at Tanjong Pagar. The second time a birthday surprise actually worked (Lihui's 17th being the first!) Kudos to Yingying - it must have been tough for her to keep him in suspense when she was the only one with him.
Initially intended to go to an Aussie restaurant, whose name slipped my mind, but it closes early on Sunday :( eventually had dinner at Jamie's Italian, before Bessy and PK turned up and we proceeded to surprise him :)
The cake shop did not have candles and Yingying went to Awfully Chocolate to ask them for some. That brave girl, I literally have no idea how she did it!
(Photo credits: Luoyang)
4th August - Lucas x Esty
We had KATSU! ^^ it has become a tradition to have katsu ever since the first time Lucas and I went out - to Tonkichi for lunch! Brought Esty to Ma Maison, whose meat has massively downsized, but their miso soup was still as amazing as always. (Writing about this is making me very, very hungry :P)
Wandered around, and later ended up at Paris Baguette. We finally got to try their milk pudding, which resembles a panna cotta more than a milk pudding, but no complaints because it was amazing. The price wasn't though :P I was contemplating bringing some to Oisin in Beijing, but then realizing that it would be stupid and not feasible *smacks forehead*
8th August - Managua 2.0
Last meet up with my darlings before Parky went back to China :( got free bubble tea (first bubble tea ever since I've gotten back!) from dear Fishy.
Had a wander and we ended up at Hainan Street (well it's officially called Purvis Street) and we had "appetizers" at a place Yunmin recommended. Good move - just because dinner ended up being pretty late.
Had tzechar for dinner, and just loitered. If anything, it struck me this trip how there's literally nothing to do in Singapore :(
(Photo credits: Yunmin)
I will miss these girls so incredibly much when I go back, but then I know that we're the kind of friends that will always keep in touch no matter what. No matter what.
9th August - Luoyang
Luoyang came over in the morning and we made Eggs Benedict. The hollandaise failed the first time because I got Luoyang to help me stir it while I did something else, and no surprises...... I texted the bestie afterwards saying
"lesson of the day: do not give a guy the reins of the hollandaise sauce with the exception of you and Mr Maguire"
Made garlic and lemon roasted chicken afterwards
Aunt and Brother complained that it was too sour, but I really liked it. My mother claimed that she did too, but times like these I am not exactly sure if she was being kind or honest.
I have never felt much for national day, and this year was no exception. If anything, I think my patriotism has diluted after close to a year of staying in London. Most of the time, I am not even sure that Singapore's home anymore, other than the mere fact that my friends and family are over here. The study of geography definitely isn't helping - the constant reiteration in books / papers that Singapore's economic growth is very largely due to its political climate......
11th August - Melissa x Jessie
Melissa is in town! We initially intended to hit up Sunday Folks but it was closed :( then we decided to go to D'Good Cafe since we were already at Holland V, but that was absolutely packed. Went off to Provence (?) Cafe but they ran out of bread (what the fuck, literally?)
Ended up at Xin Wang. We had the toast with ice cream, and then the mango shaved ice.
Proceeded to Tanjong Pagar because we wanted to hit up Nylon Coffee, Department of Caffeine and Group Therapy. ALL CLOSED.
We ended up at Da Paolo @ Ann Siang Hill and exploited their 1-for-1 offer. We had proseccos and mini sliders. Nice to just sit down, get some bubbles going and just talk (or in our case, gossip :P)
12th August - Fish x Yunmin x Puikay
Guess who came over! *excites*
Fish helped me to knead the flour for the pasta, and after PK got here, they rolled it out and stuffed it with tons of cheese (mozarella, parmesan, ricotta......), while I went off to make a risotto.
It was literally the best risotto I've ever made - just because the presence of my friends kept me patient. I usually give up after 20 minutes and rush through it, but going over to the other side of the kitchen to talk to my friends served as a good distraction. It was the right al dente texture, the right starchiness... I should send in a resume for an Italian restaurant!
Definitely will never forget the amazing lobster risotto I had at Skylon on my last night in London. Absofuckinglutely gorgeous.
The ravioli was amazing too - imagine the hot cheese, oozing out and filling your mouth the moment you bite into it. Think of it as an angmoh liushabao.
I would like to apologize to Puikay, Yunmin and Fish though - I wish I had more expertise and experience to provide in the process of ravioli making, and I am sorry that I fell short of your expectations. I do hope that you guys liked the meal though, really, really do! :(
15th August - Nath x Melissa and Jessie
Nath came over and we had a Spanish cookout! We cooked roasted chicken and chorizo (one of my personal favorites), together with pil pil gambas. Initially wanted to make a tortilla (come on, there's nothing more Spanish than a tortilla!) but then I decided it was too filling.
The roasted chicken was absolutely gorgeous, but I ruined the chorizo by doing something smart but stupid at the same time. I revved the temperature up for the last 15 minutes to crisp up the chicken skin but I burnt the chorizo in the process :( *smacks head*
Had Katong Laksa for the first time in my life with Jessie and Melissa for dinner. It was alright I guess? $4.50 for a small bowl that was not filling at all. Bessy later told me today that one only feels full by consuming their sides on top of their (pricey) laksa.
We had nonya kueh afterwards (which *cough* disappeared by this morning), then proceeded to have drinks at a "hawker bar". It is a pretty interesting concept, but it's not as though the beer was much cheaper. We did not have booze though, choosing instead to protect our livers before London :P
Check out this absolutely adorable psuedo-mooncake thing. It was really delicious - it has the skin of a traditional mooncake but is much, much lighter.
Company was great, as usual :) East Coast Road is definitely an area that I would love to hit up at some point again. Maybe bring Oisin there if he ever does come by Singapore? Not being able to drive (yet!) and not having access to a car means that anywhere off the MRT line / where I have a direct bus to is just a pain to get to. It definitely does not help that my mum does not like to travel far for the greatest pleasure in life (also known as food). Getting her to go to Holland V for dinner is absolutely impossible, despite it being a mere 5 minute drive away (or a 15-20 minute hike).
16th August - Buffet Gang
Every meal out with Buffet Gang is AMAZING, even if it means I regret so incredibly much after the meal. We had dimsum at Red Star - which has never disappointed me. So so so so full but sooo satisfied. There was no holding back, and I was stuffing my mouth and happy tummy with baos, meat, more baos, more meat, pudding......
The liushabao was absolutely gorgeous, and so was the durian pudding. I loved the softness of the charsiewbao, and I really enjoyed the crispiness of the egg tart and the chashaosu :Q
"Puctual Selfie" (Photo credits: Peiqi)
Peiqi texted me "1 minute" before our allocated meeting time, and I ran across the ran to get there by 0959, before rushing to take a selfie with the signboard to prove that we were the only ones there on time
"Eh, faster faster, take a selfie!"
"Eh we should take on Snapchat so that we can put a timestamp!"
Literally, why the fuck would you have one basket of liushabao when you can have four.
Just look at this baby, can you keep your eyes off it?
What about this darling? Can you?
(Photo credits: Peiqi)
(Photo credits: Peiqi)
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Summing everything up has made me realize how time has flown? At the same time, how unproductive my summer has been. No regrets hoewever, because I got to spend the most amazing time with people that mean so much, so much to me ♥Labels: daily, days of summer, food, friends, Singapore
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