A Lovely Weekend

One of the best weekends I've had for some time. Now that the bid we were working so hard on has officially fallen through (quite a waste, considering all those hours we put into it, and that it could've potentially been one of the biggest M&A deals to have happened this year), and a couple of my other transactions are winding down, I've been having a pretty good week at work. Took the opportunity to plan an activity-filled weekend.

Woke up bright and early on Saturday morning. SY came by to my place and we cabbed down (up?) to Punggol Marina where we'd booked a boat for our 4-hr wakeboarding session. It was overcast and looked like it would pour at anytime. Thankfully, by the time XL and Kay arrived and we set out to sea, the sun began to peek out of the clouds and by 11am it was scorching hot.



It took some persuading to get XJ to go with us, cos he has bad memories from the last time he wakeboarded. But a day out in the sun is just too tempting to resist. ;p Thankfully, this time around, it was less traumatic than his first time. Nonetheless, he has concluded that wakeboarding is not his cup of tea and will henceforth gracefully decline any further invitations... ...

Being out at sea always puts me in a good mood. The vast expanse of space and water, the sun on my face and the wind in my hair... mmmm... no cares in this world. Shiraz (our friendly powerboat driver/wakeboard coach) was blasting cheesy retro music from his stereo. The lucky guy just got married and will be flying to Hawaii for a 2-month honeymoon! *envious*

Four hours went by quickly and soon we had to head back to the marina. Perfect timing too, I'd add, for it started to storm not long after. I had a really enjoyable time chatting, catching up with my pals and just chilling and suntanning on deck. Must do this more often. :)

XJ gets ready for his turn...

... taking instructions ...

... and shows us his brilliant boarding skills... hyuk...

My turn!

Whee!

It got way too hot after more than 3 hours and we had to jump in to cool off. Trying to look 可怜 here.

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A little indulgence for me after church on Sunday. I went for my regular facial at Clarins, but this month, I decided to throw in a massage. It was bliss! So relaxing the session, I was soundly asleep for most part of it. Eeesh.. what a pig... Nevermind, I tell myself. Wedding is barely 5 months away. I'm entitled to some luxury.... need to prep for the big day, must look every bit the radiant bride, right? :)

Ended off the evening with dinner at the Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro in honour of Dons and Iky. Hidden behind the non-descript "supermarket" store front, was a cosy little dining area. The food was pretty yummy - we shared a large seafood platter and I thoroughly enjoyed my entree of pan-fried foie gras and grilled wild prawns. *slurp* We also managed to get away without paying corkage for our 2 bottles of bubbly and lingered over the rich chocolate cake we brought for our little celebration.

Am truly happy for Dons and Iky. I think they make a lovely couple, and I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside, seeing how sweet they are with each other. :)

Also got a coupla books while browsing at Borders late Fri night. What No-one Tells The Bride and Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Can't wait to get started.

A-Blading We Went

So we decided to have a healthy weekend and get some exercise instead of sleeping the whole Saturday away...

... and ruined it all by gorging ourselves silly on satay, bbq-ed chicken wings, orh luah (蚝煎), prawn noodles, coconut juice....

I'm back!

It's been a really crazy time at work, hence the 2-month long hiatus (...t.i.r.e.d.... doesn't count!). If I wasn't working the weekend, I'd be concussed at home, totally drained and exhausted, trying to recover from the week before. Yes, sleeping the whole day(weekend) away is such a waste of time, but I just couldn't bring myself to do anything else before Monday hit me again.

There's a whole bunch of stuff that I've been meaning to write about and post pictures of but had no time to, so I'll be slowly back-posting all these below and they'll appear with the correct timestamp. Do check them out as and when...

Some notable events:

• The second half of December saw us celebrating Christmas, welcoming Smang's new baby and attending Nicholas and Hwee Lin's wedding.
• The New Year opened with a bang - we had a party to sort-of celebrate our engagement and all our friends who will be helping out at The Wedding attended, it also marked XJ's last birthday in his 20s... heh
• Then it was one wild night at BM's hen party, followed by a string of CNY gatherings leading up to February when...
• ... Wei left to Brisbane for her post-grad studies. She may not be back for The Wedding.... :(
• I also finally made it to MOS for the very 1st time last weekend to celebrate Hils' birthday

Stories and pics to follow....

Goodbye (doesn't mean forever)

This is a week of farewells.

Weis left for Brisbane on Thursday and Alex will be flying off to Sydney mid-next week.

Here we are at the airport, catching last few minutes with Weis at BK. Sitting around at fast food restaurants with these besties reminds me of our secondary school days at Pizza Hut/McDees. Yech to the food but the company was (and still is!) great.

Kay, Xuanli, Weis & Siyun

Weis & I

Another night of nostalgia - yesterday, we went to the teppenyaki restuarant that Dad used to take us to when I was a kid. Nothing much has changed - the winding drive up Jurong Hill, the spiral walkway down the tower to the restaurant, the waiting area and the smell of fried garlic. It's not a stylish place, rather old and slightly grimey and grubby from the oil, and the decor is less than inspiring. But it serves hearty portions of fresh, quality food at prices way below those you find in town - to make up for the long drive there! And it holds many fond memories for me. Seeing the chef whip up a meal in front of my very eyes always thrilled me when I was just little girl and when the orange bib they made you wear was too large and reached my knees. I used to get especially excited when the chef did a flambe... Some things never change! *grin*

The bib fits now:)

Happy Birthday Hils!

Hils turns xx! No celebration is complete without alcohol and more alcohol. We started early at 5.30pm with our regular BYM (bring-your-mug) sessions in office before heading to Brewerkz for pub grub and beer. Only the brave ventured on to MOS where 4 bottles of the strong stuff was waiting...

Late dinner at Brewerkz

Our inebriated three-some: Hils, Len and Kwok Aun stumbling to MOS

It was crowded! But ha-ha, we're on the VIP list, so we whizz right past. *smug*

My poison...

...his poison

Part of our stash. There's still half a bottle of gin left behind in MOS with Len's name on it I think.

Tequila shots - no one is spared!!

Retro at 54 - brings back memories of MAMBO nite

Hed Kandi playing at the Arena so they put up some fancy schmancy hologram. Didn't think the music was too hot though.

*glug-lug-lug-lug*

With Pauline and Weems

So there... suaku me finally made it to MOS. Demographics were kinda weird - you get teeny-bopper wannabes and middle-aged half-balding ah bengs all under one roof. Not cute either...

Methinks Zouk's much better.

Meet the Wongs

It's been eons since the whole family last gathered in one place. Auntie M only just moved back to Singapore from the Netherlands not long ago and TTLL has lived in London for at least the last 10 years and has now relocated to Chongqing with Ken, but she's back for a few weeks of holiday. Now that MOST of us are in the same country (we're still missing Uncle James), we took the opportunity to have, not one, but two gatherings over the CNY.

The star of the show of course was Shenn. What a darling! *swoon*... At only 17 months, he's a bundle of boundless energy, very precocious, and very preoccupied with searching for one elusive frog among the bushes. It got too tiring running after him and we decided to try sedating him with some booze... niak niak...

Drooly!

TTLL & I at the BBQ party

All the cousins (clockwise, L to R): Carmen, Nic, Alex, Waye, Me, Ken, Yane, Shenn & Fran

大年初一

My last CNY getting ang pows! sniff...

"It will be your turn next..."

In 2004, we had XL with her famous line "You are all my bestest friends ... *hic*... and I wish you eternal happiness... *hic*....."

The Hen Party gets bigger and better in 2006 with us celebrating BM's last vestiges of bachelorette-hood at Zouk. Needless to say there was copious amounts of alcohol, raunchy Truth-or-Dares and a checklist of tasks for the bride-to-be. All this caught on camera AND video. Woo-hoo!..... But we're all bound by a Confidentiality Agreement, so all I can say is, I hope they let me off easy come August! yikes.... yes, BM... it is my turn next....

Wei: No Paparrazzi!!!

Post-alcohol overload, Pre-Zouk

t.i.r.e.d... :(

We celebrated our engagement and XJ's 29th birthday this Saturday with a party at my place. I tried my hand at making canapes for the first time - crostini with fresh Romano tomato/basil/olive oil relish, asparagus-cream cheese-Parma ham rolls, and rocket and Parmesan cheese wrapped in Bresaola (a kind or air dried beef-ham). Am relieved to hear that no one got food poisoning, and some people actually thought they tasted rather yummy - if you're lying, don't tell me!!

Entertaining is tiring and real hard work! We started preparing early in the morning and barely wrapped up before the first guest arrived at 7.30pm. But it's really fun and enjoyable when you're with good friends, people you love hanging out with. Looking forward to having more people over at our new place. But first, need to work on my repertoire of food. =X

Santarina Me!

Having been totally swamped at work, I didn't have anytime to do real Christmas shopping, save for 2 hours on the eve of the eve of Christmas Eve. Considering I only started wrapping pressies at midnight of the 22nd, I think I did a pretty good job in time for distribution on the 23rd!

Pressies for all...


Phalaenopsis for PW - who's taking bets on how long it'll survive? ;p


MY stash!

My other favourite thing about Christmas (quite apart from the presents....) is Candlelight Service at church. There's something about the warm glow from hundreds of candles reflecting off faces that makes it magical...

A Weekend of Excessessss

The Line at Shangri-La

Went to The Line at Shangri La for lunch on Friday. A similar concept to Straits Kitchen at the Hyatt – a buffet where there are several counters for different cuisines, except that SK serves up local hawker fare, whereas The Line has Italian, Jap, Indian, Chinese and a huge dessert selection. It even had a giant chocolate fountain! But by the time I made it to desserts, they’d run out of strawberries. Isn’t this supposed to be a buffet?! *disgruntled*

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喜喜 宴

Saturday evening, we managed to secure a table at 喜喜 宴, the private dining kitchen experience from Hong Kong which made its way to Singapore a few months ago. The food was excellent! (Hils described it as the Asian version of Fat Duck) It was modern Chinese, a little fusion-y, but well done. We started out with “Prancing Lobster in Dual Sauces”, followed by a whole host of innovative starters – most with some Japanese flavour. Some of my favourites were the fresh Japanese tomatoes drizzled with a creamy sesame sauce and the 2-week old chicken. Heh… It’s marinated and stored in the freezer for 2 weeks to “simulate the cold climate in Northern China”, and steamed before serving.

The main courses were a riot of flavours – Orange peel beef, Salivate Pork (口水肉), and 虾酱鱼 (as opposed to har jeong gai <虾酱鸡>).

The beef was tender, almost melts in your mouth, and the preserved mandarin skin was tangy and fragrant.

We asked for the “original level of spicy-ness” for the 口水肉, thinly sliced pork prepared with fiery Szechuan peppers, served with Japanese koniyaku noodles and century egg on the side. The translucent noodles soaked up the spicy gravy, while the century egg helped to soothe the palate.

The fish was crisp on the outside, fresh and succulent on the inside and came with an interesting Vietnamese style gravy and fresh pomelo.

Glutinous rice in lotus leaf, topped with hairy crabs, complete with roe. Very fragrant... mmmm.... lotsa carbo and cholesterol, but we just couldn't get enough!

Of course, fruit wasn’t JUST fruit at 喜喜 宴. Tropical fruit soaked in plum sauce took the place of sorbets as palate cleansers….

….before Ginseng chicken soup and mushrooms were served.

Three kinds of mushroom used here: Japanese shitake, Chinese abalone, and Italian Portobello, accented with pickled cucumbers.

Dessert was喜喜 宴 汤圆. Not your usual ahboh-ling… or even your black sesame-filled dumplings. These contained a lovely concoction of sesame, honey, peanuts, salted eggyolk and preserved winter melon. Interesting!

Dinner closed, with a shot each of whiskey, infused with honey and lime – brought to us by the Chef himself, who stayed to chat a while, and whom XJ recognised as his church friend. (If we’d known earlier, who knows, we could’ve jumped ahead of the usual 2 month long waiting list for a seating!)

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Christmas Lunch

Annual Christmas lunch at Chez Leonard’s… started out with a welcome drink. Looked innocently enough, like any other jell-o, but turned out to be Vodka Cranberry trifle. A foretaste of the alcoholism to follow.

As usual, Leonard outdid himself – roast turkey, plump sausages, 3 kinds of pasta, the creamiest & yummiest garlic mash I’ve ever had, and his own homemade truffle butter. Yumz! No one goes home hungry – or ever needing a meal in the next 12 hours for that matter.

Highlight of the afternoon, however, was the Jeroboam of Champagne, courtesy of Hanwai and Cindy – a whopping 3 litres worth. We had to chill it in a kitchen pail...

If you think that’s huge, I’m told there’s something called a Nebuchadnezzar bottle which contains a good 15 litres (20 bottles) of plonk. Leonard doesn’t take too well to bubbly, you see… and hmm.. it didn’t help that we all decided to toast him one by one. Haha. He didn’t hold up for very long. Well, he did get back at us with his shots of tequila-lime and mulled-wine jellies…

birthday blues

this special day doesn't seem so special anymore, the older i get. wonder why. especially this year. is it simply cos i'm just busier and so am too tired and not really in any state to celebrate?... because i'm finally on the WRONG side of 25?... maybe it's just that it's the middle of the week, and the festive mood hasn't set in... i remember being in a similar frame of mind this time last year. kinda of like a quarter-life crisis.

But I know I've been very blessed, and I actually do have much to be thankful for. A loving and caring family - always there for me, i've found a soulmate I'm soon going to spend the rest of my life with, a bunch of friends I've grown up with and known since 13 and who still remain very dear to my heart, a job I actually like and enjoy, good health... the list goes on...

It's so easy to take things for granted. Very bad... Must remember to count my blessings and be thankful for what I have. That's one thing that definitely needs to go on my list of resolutions for the coming year. Speaking of which, last birthday, I actually came up with a list of things i wanted to accomplish before i turned 30. sadly, i've barely done anything. Shall give it another go this year:

1. spend more time with my grandparents
2. go back to volunteering with kids on a more regular basis
3. skydive - plans to do this over Monterey Bay this May got scuppered when the London secondment suddenly came up
4. climb kilimanjaro - need to get to the summit before the receding ice cap disappears totally, thanks to global warming
5. get open water dive licence - but please don't tell mum and dad...
6. finish reading Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment - i think i stopped at page 47. oops...
7. start ballet classes again
8. play better tennis
9. sleep earlier when i get the chance (obviously not trying hard enough, seeing i'm up at 1am writing this... hah!)

Now that's a start... :)