Birthday Celebration 2021: Chateraise + Pasta e Formaggio + Mitsuba

Friday 30/7/21

Happy birthday to myself. Another year older, another year wiser. This year, I learn to treat myself better and take care of my family members more. I am far from perfect but I am learning to become a better person.

July used to be a joyful month where I get to catch up with friends to gather for my birthday. Due to the return of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), this year was a quiet one for me where I just spent the day at home like any other days, felt a little restless from the vaccination shot last night.

Saturday 31/7/21

I received sweet surprises today.

KP dropped by my home in the late afternoon with a cup of bubble milk tea from PlayMade while Sis V got me cake and pastry from Chateraise knowing that it was my birthday yesterday. Thanks Sis for the lovely treats.

Friday 13/8/21

My birthday may be over but celebration did not stop in July.

It's good to have our vaccination early because we get to enjoy the privilege of dining out. I was fully vaccinated with the effect from yesterday and dedicated the first dining out for dinner with the girls.

We had our dinner at Pasta e Formaggio, an Italian place situated in Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore at Royal Group Building. They are known for their thin crust pizza, risotto and pasta. Being in the CBD, it is quieter in the evening, hence the restaurant only operate until 8pm.

We ordered a plate of Potato Wedges to share among three of us. The wedges arrived piping hot and tasted delicious when dipped with the chilli sauce. 

All three of us ordered pasta. I had Aglio Olio with the add on of Chicken and Sausage.

The plate comes with a generous portion of serving and the price was reasonable. A nice price for Italian food. The aglio olio was packed with spicy kick that got my tongue feeling numb when I was left with few mouthful.

I have not seen the girls for at least half a year, it was really nice to catch up with the girls. Thanks Tracy and GF for the presents. Tracy got $20 Eatigo vouchers which we used for the dinner and the bill came up to only $11.50 per pax. 

Saturday 14/8/21

So happy to be meeting up with friends two days in a row to have belated birthday celebration. It was so nice to be able to dine out after a month. As it was raining, we decided to have dinner in a mall at The Central @ Clarke Quay.

We were lucky to secure a slot just half an hour before the opening of Mitsuba Japanese Restaurant, a Japanese buffet restaurant serving authentic Japanese cuisine.

Having a cup of Green Tea while waiting for our dishes to be served.

Here were our picks, didn't order much because I was full after second round - Sashimi, Ebi, Gyoza, Takoyaki, Salmon Sushi, Smoked Duck, Fries, Salmon and Chicken Cutlet.

The best dish of all in my opinion was the Scallop, which was juicy and fresh. The sauce coated was delectable, sending a wave of satisfaction when consume. Thanks J for the dinner and presents.

That's all for my birthday update.

Birthday Celebration 2020: Omoomodon + The Coffee Academics + Cake Spade

Wednesday 22/7/20

Finally met up with Linda, we have been wanting to schedule a meet up since the start of July but I was just too busy with a major event. Hence, the meetup was delayed till now. As Linda was working from her workplace that day, I decided to choose a venue that is convenient for her and I fixed the venue at The Star Vista.

Since The Star Vista is the mall she is familiar with, I let her make the call for choosing the dining place. The first stop we went was Omoomodon and we settled for this.

Omoomodon is a halal eatery that serves Korean Japanese cuisine. One of the draw factors of the eatery is the affordable pricing of their food. Ordering of food was contactless as the order was placed on machine. We opt for alfresco dining.

Linda had Spicy Chicken Teppan ($6.50).

So happy to see her again, this was our first meetup of the year. I always enjoyed our talk, ranting about our work, stress and issues that we are facing everyday because we shared similar encounters. It made us feel lighter and relieving some stress just by saying it out. Though we are overwhelmed with piles of work, we are still hanging on because we know that what we do will contribute to a greater cause.

I had Teriyaki Chicken & Karaage Teppan ($6.90). The Teriyaki Chicken & Karaage were drizzled with sauce with sweet corns added as side. It was simple but delicious. Food always taste better when eating with friends.

After the dinner, we went to look for drinks and settled for Liho Tea. I had Jasmine Tea with pearl ($2.80) on the right. 

Due to the social distancing rule, we were unable to find any seat at outdoor so we just stand and chill while sipping our drinks. Thanks Linda for the dinner and drink treats. Though we don't meet up that often, I know you will always be there for me.

Friday 24/7/20

Yes, it's Friday. Today was the first time out of the 3 months that I ended work at 6 plus, that's not because I finished my work but because I was heading out to meet the girls for dinner. Time to catch a relief before clearing the work on weekend. We met up for dinner at The Coffee Academics @ Raffles City, a cosy cafe tucked in the basement level recommended by Tracy.

We ordered small bites to share before the main course arrived, Curly Fries with Dip Trio ($16++). The curly fries were served with 3 dip sauces - honey mustard, house-smoked ketchup and curry mayonnaise. Needless to say, curry sauce is always our favourite.

All-day Breakfast

We were drawn to their all-day breakfast selection and we chose 2 dishes. The first was Smoked Salmon & Hash ($24.50++). The homemade potato hash patty was served alongside with smoked salmon, baby spinach leaves, poached egg and other greens.

The Academics Breakfast ($28++) was the all-time favourite for breakfast selection. The presentation looked sumptuous from the maple bacon to homemade baked beans, sauteed mushroom, halloumi cheese, scrambled egg, brioche toast and seasonal green.

This was really delicious, my dream breakfast. However, the price is a little on the steep side.

For pasta selection, we tried Salted Egg Bacon Carbonara ($23.50++). The linguine pasta was tossed with bacon and doused in creamy salted egg sauce which enhanced the taste of the overall dish.

The last main course was Truffle Portobello Mushroom Pizza ($26++). The thin crust pizza was toppled with portobello mushroom, onion, mozzarella cheese and drizzled with truffle oil. This was another well loved dish by us because we loved the thin crust pizza which was crunchy like biscuit.

The gathering turned out to be a birthday celebration for me, so sweet of them to plan this celebration for me as I hit a new birthday milestone and join the club. Gonna start clocking a new milestone ahead.

Thanks GF for the photo, with the lovely girls - Meryl, Tracy, GF and Jas.

As the years passed by, one will find that the circle of friends are getting smaller and smaller. I so happy that I have the girls with me throughout these 6 to 9 years, we gave each other support physically and mentally, witnessed each other growing up journey and entering different phases of life. My heart feel so full with this celebrated where we spent time catching up and enjoyed the hearty full in a relaxing atmosphere.

Thanks girls for the dinner treat and the birthday gifts, you girls made my day.

Tuesday 28/7/20

I received a sweet surprise treat from G.

She got the 3 of us Strawberry and Peach Tofu Cheesecake from Cake Spade. I ate the strawberry cheesecake, it was super delicious especially the biscuit crust which was crunchy while the tofu was soft and literally melt in the mouth. I'm gonna save the peach tofu cheesecake for my birthday.

Wednesday 29/7/20

Met up with MI for lunch today.

Since it was raining and we don't want to go somewhere fast, we settled for Pizza Hut. We had BBQ Chicken Pizza and Cheese Fries. Thanks MI for the lunch treat and had a great afternoon chatting.

Before I end the post, happy birthday to myself. 

This year has been a of roller roaster ride, may peaceful and good days come to me soon.

Happenings in January - Bio Essence Bio-Gold 24K Gold Water + Chinese New Year 2020

Wednesday 1/1/20

Happy 2020 to everyone. It's the start of a brand new year, I am going to embrace the new year with an open heart, try my best to overcome any challenges along the way and appreciate the surrounding more. The incident last year indeed make me look at things differently. 

Festive season is always the best time to meet up with friends because the holiday gives us a perfect reason to do so.

Met up with W for lunch at The Manhattan FISH MARKET @ Plaza Singapura. I had Grilled Glory Dory with Rice ($13.90++). The dory fish was grilled perfectly to bring out the sweet juicy meat.

It has been more than half a year since I last watched a movie in cinema theatre. I wanted to watch Jumanji: The Next Level and we went to catch a movie after our lunch. 

A team of friends return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own but discover that nothing is as they expect because the game has changed. The players need to brave parts unknown, from arid deserts to snowy mountains, in order to escape the world's most dangerous game.

The movie is really exciting and humorous, creating lots of laughter throughout the movie.

I recently gotten a new skincare product to share with you. Bio-Essence 24K Bio-Gold Water has a sophisticated exterior with its bottle filled with superior gold flakes, that is what that attracted me to this product in the first glance. 

Though the texture is thicker than the toner, the absorption of bio-gold water into the skin is fast and no sticky feeling left behind. It also gives a pleasant scent and smooth touch to our skin after application. Bio-Essence 24K Bio-Gold Water is a product that targets at many concerns we may have like skin’s firmness, elasticity, hydration and radiance. One key target concern that I always look for in skincare products is hydration and Bio-Essence 24K Bio-Gold Water delivers this result. 

My skin has visibly brightened up after using it for a week, my skin now looked glowy, supple and lesser breakout. I feel so happy that my skin condition is getting better.

Saturday 4/1/20

We went Sum Kee for dinner because the bro is treating us and he suggested this Tze Char Restaurant. 

Here were some of the dishes we had.

My family is a big love of zi char fare as they only like to eat Chinese food. We ordered Hot Plaza Tofu, Chicken with Thai Chili Sauce, Sambal Kang Kong and Omelette. These zi char dishes offers a taste of home, perhaps this is the reason why it attracted my folks because they love comfort food. 

Tuesday 7/1/20

These 2 months I have been actively heading to salon when I have time to spare to go for scalp treatment to deep cleanse my hair and remove impurities that can't be cleanse for normal shampoo. 

This time round, I tried a new hair salon because the treatment at the current salon was charging at a high cost and the staff are super high selling, which is something I hate. So I'm not going back to that hair salon again. This hair salon applied masque at my scalp and steamed in for 15-20 minutes before washing off. I like their service and the cost is reasonable ($55), most importantly, there is no hard selling. 

Wednesday 8/1/20

I decided to have something new when dining at Aston. Normally I will order mash potato and onion rings for my side dishes. This time round, I have a change. I tried out cold pasta and french fries for my side dishes. It was not too bad.

Saturday 11/1/20

I always feel happy receiving overseas souvenir from friends because it means they think of you during their overseas trip. I met up with BQ who just came back from Bangkok. We decided to meet up at Cineleisure for lunch as the place is less crowded and I suggested Collin's.

Since I had a late breakfast, I opt for something light for lunch. I had Crispy Chicken Fillet with Skinny Cajun Fries ($8++) and Milk Tea ($5++). The chicken fillet was meaty and the fries were flavourful. The milk tea on the other hand was light and not too sweet.

Another agenda of our meet up today was to have ice cream. Hence, we walked to Ion Orchard for our dessert fix at Häagen-Dazs.

I had Brownie with Pistachio ice cream ($10.80). The ice cream was smooth and complemented well with brownie. The nuts on the brownie added crunch to the texture of every bite.

Thanks BQ for getting me the Thai Milk Tea from Bangkok. My cravings for food indulgence was satisfied.

Wednesday 15/1/20

I was back to Swensen's @ Plaza Singapura with G and MI. My last visit here was the day of my accident 4 months ago.

I had Carbonara ($12.50++) for lunch. The pasta was tossed with eggy cream sauce,  turkey ham, Shiitake mushrooms and crowned with Parmesan cheese and crisp turkey bacon bits. The pasta was cooked al dente and smooth. Towards the end, it made me feel a little greasy because of the rich cream sauce.

Friday 17/1/20

Little Teddie came over for a visit, she looked so cute. She was crying on and off, we tried different ways to pacify her and one effective way was to let her watch kid videos. 

Friday 24/1/20

Finally we have reached Friday, a half day work for us because it was Chinese New Year (CNY) eve. I ended work at about 12.50pm and made my way to Chinatown Point to meet GF for her birthday lunch at Otoko Ramen.

I had Karaage Don ($11.90++) where the fried chicken was drizzled with special chilli sauce and soft boiled egg served with rice. Big chunks of fried chicken was sitting on top and covering up the rice.

We had a good 2 hours lunch gathering. It was such a rare occasion for me to spend time with GF on her actual birthday because she always spend her birthday overseas. Because her birthday this year falls on CNY, hence she was here in town. Hope you enjoy the birthday lunch.

The time was 3pm and we were ready to part for our reunion dinner. 

Grandma was carrying baby Feelyn in her arm.

I haven't seen Xin Ru for awhile since she has grown up a little, coming to 2 years old this year. She was shy and sat quietly at one corner in the living room when she first came. But once she came into the room, she started to join the other kids and having fun.

Saturday 25/1/20

Happy CNY, we have started the zodiac sign cycle again to Rat.

Aiden has finally warmed up and wanted to play. This yellow pong pong was enough for him to be self entertain.

We ordered the catering this year from Stamford Catering. The amount of food was too much and we could not finish the food. We also invited our neighbours to join us for the feast. CNY is all about gathering and feasting together.

Time for my first lo hei of the year. This year, the kids took the center stage for lo hei. Why do they need to huat leh?

The end product. 

I didn't took much photos today but I was busy entertaining all the kids. I have to admit that I have aged, I get easily exhausted these days.

Thursday 30/1/20

Here comes my second lo hei with my section in office. I enjoyed having the raw salmon and the golden cracker.

The lo hei was accompanied with good food for lunch. The catering had all my favourite food, it was enjoyable but it would have tasted better if the food was not so salty.

Good bye, January. 

Meryl's Birthday Celebration at Sentosa Wave House and Hard Rock Hotel

I reserved my entire Sunday for Meryl's birthday celebration at Sentosa.
This year is a significant year for Meryl because she has approached 30 and bid goodbye to the 20s. It is a milestone worth celebrating where the real adulthood begins.

We met up at Beach Station in Sentosa. I was there early to meet up with the girls for chit chat before the group came. When full strength, we then made our way to Wave House @ Siloso Beach for our late lunch. It was about 3.10pm when we reached Wave House.

I had Mango Vanilla Milkshake, at least 5 of us had ordered this milkshake. The mango juice was toppled with vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with M&Ms chocolate. It was a perfect drink for those with a sweet tooth like me, the sweetness we got from the sugar rush was heavenly good with every sip.

Since we weren't very hungry, GF, Kelvin and I decided to order 2 dishes and share among the 3 of us. 

We had Hoisin Roast Duck Pizza which was under chef recommendation in the menu. The thin crust pizza was filled with roast duck, shiitake, hoisin sauce, scallions and toppled with crispy wonton skin. The pizza has won our hearts with its delicious topping and crunchy crust. It was remarkably delicious.

We also had Deep Fried Calamari with lemon and chipotle remoulade. Every bite of the calamari was simply addictive, it made a perfect snack.

A group photo of us. We enjoyed dining at the comfortable ambience of Wave House, it was a great place for gathering and catching a glimpse of the water sport happening at outdoor.

Our agenda for coming to Beach Station was to visit Sentosa Sandsation 2019: Star Wars Edition held at Siloso Beach. We took a group photo with the Stormtrooper at the entrance of the exhibition, we were just in time for the exhibition because that day was the last showcase date.

This exhibition showcased 20 massive sculptures of Star Wars characters.

We hitched a buggy ride from Wave House to Beach Station which saved us 20 minutes of walking. The weather was really hot and we can't wait to go to hotel for the aircon.

Here we were at Resorts World Sentosa - Hard Rock Hotel, Meryl has booked a room for her staycation and invited us over for cake cutting celebration. She has earlier checked in the room with her family and decorated the room with balloons and wall decor.

Meryl has gotten us some snacks which we can munch in the room. We were drew by the birthday vibes filled in the room.

The attraction of Hard Rock Hotel is definitely the stunning free-form swimming pool, the outdoor area looked so relaxing. 

I loved that the hotel has this balcony that allowed us to take in the beauty of the surrounding area and this room got the perfect view of the swimming pool. Sentosa is indeed a best place to unwind ourselves with resort vibes.

The rest of them had all headed down to the swimming pool except for us and Kelvin. We just stayed in the room to chill and catch up. Glad that I wore something carefree and comfortable to move around.

Playing with the balloon, I liked that it was filled with lots of heart in the balloon.

While chilling at the balcony, we spotted Jasmine and Rena playing at the pool.

The three of us knew each other 8 years ago, I so glad that they have been by my side all these years.

Just 10 minutes before 7pm, everybody had came back from their swim and we started preparing for the cake cutting ceremony.

Since there were 18 of us, Meryl had prepare 2 cakes to be shared among us.

Happy belated birthday, Meryl. May you stay pretty always.

Meryl has also changed into her evening dress after the swim.

I am so lucky to know these brunch of friends, life has been so fun and unforgettable with them around. Being with them always make me forget about my troubles and worries.

Time to make a wish. May your wish comes true.

A photo with the birthday girl. I have known Meryl for 5 years already and we were once classmates for one semester in UniSim for Managerial Accounting module. Time definitely flies. 

Rena was playing happily with all the balloons until she doesn't want to go back home. 

Today has been a fun day out, thanks Meryl for inviting us over for the gathering and Jasmine & Ryden for sending me home safety.