SG Heart Map @ Float

SG50 is a year long celebration, SG Heart Map is one of the SG50 programmes. 

SG Heart Map is the first-ever crowd-sourced map of the nation’s ‘heart’ and special moments we hold. A time for us to celebrate these places. I was here together with my lovely girls to see the exhibition.

Us attempting jump shot. 

So fun.

Home is where the heart is.

Everyone has a special place which we hold close to our heart. There are places in Singapore that will always be meaningful and special to each of us. All these places and memories are the reasons why Singapore is home.

Part of the reason why we were at the festival was to support Tracy, she was working at the festival.

So thankful to know all of them and we shared many wonderful experience together.

With the famous panda of Singapore.

Looking at the panda reminded of my trip to River Safari. I went to River Safari 3 times, twice with friends and one with family. Memories came flooding back.

The pop-up illustrations showcased future city vision created by students. This is the imaginative future of Singapore.

Thanks Meryl for all the group photos.

Through the festival, I get a deeper understanding about home.

I went to the dome together with Tracy to watch the projection show while the rest of the girls went to explore around. Some of the stories are very touching. All these stories come together in a living, growing map created by all who call Singapore home.

We didn't stay there for long , probably 50 minutes to an hour. The sky has turn gloomy again, looked like it gonna rain soon. See you girls soon again.

Food Tasting: Peranakan Feast at The Square @ Novotel

August is the month for Peranakan feast at The Square at Novotel.

The Square is a restaurant located at Novotel Clarke Quay a 4-star hotel situated just besides Liang Court. Take a lift up to 7th floor, The Square restaurant offers a daily Lunch and Dinner buffet with interactive live cooking stations feathering international and local cuisines.

The hip and modern restaurant makes me feel at ease and cosy upon entering. I like the relaxing and elegant ambience.

The Square restaurant international buffet includes Singaporean favorite Dishes like fresh prawns & mussels, roasted meats, homemade Dim Sum, delicious A-la minute Risotto and a wide range of curries with condiments.

Presenting to you seafood on ice. The seafood looked fresh and succulent.

The Square offers a wide selection of astonishing variety of food. Be sure to try each dish.

Chicken sharwama, one of my favourite station.

The crab of the night was black pepper crab. 

Different flavour of crab will be served on different days. They have chilli crab, salted eggs and many more.

The chef introduced us to all the stations served. We came to a stop at the dessert corner.

Totally spoilt for choice when it comes to dessert. There are so many variety of cakes available specially created by their chefs. Aww, so many different flavours of cake. They have devil chocolate, orange with earl grey, mango cake, lemon tart and etc.

A group photo with the lovely and friendly girls. 

Thanks Reka for the photo.

Everything was great except the mussel. There was a strong fishy taste not to my liking.

I mentioned earlier that in August, The Square will be rolling out their Peranakan buffet line. Our main highlight of the food tasting is to be among the first to sample the Peranakan dishes. Here's what you will be having in August:

Chicken Devil Curry

The Chicken Devil Curry definitely live up to its name, the level of spiciness is no joke. They spice ingredients used was purely chilli padi.  It indeed spiced up my appetite, I could feel the burning sensation lingering in my throat and stomach. I can't stop myself from eating despite the spiciness. A love-hate relationship.

Nonya Style Asam Fish (Steamed)

Nonya Style Asam Fish (Fried)

We were being served with steamed and fried Nonya Style Asam Fish. I preferred the fried style because it added a little crunchiness to the fish. The asam flavour was not as strong, it wasn't hot and sour enough to bring our the flavour.

Ayam Buah Keluak

This was one of my favourite dish that night. The chicken was braised in a keluak nuts gravy, giving it a unique and delicious taste. Each bite tasted so flavourful and the chicken was juicy.

Bakwan Kepiting

Instead of the usual pork and crab meatballs, the chef replaced the crab with chicken. The texture of the meatballs were juicy and firm. However for the soup base, it was too salty. If the taste of the soup could be lighter, it will be perfect.

Kueh Pai Tee.

Kueh Pai Tee is a popular Peranakan dish. It has a crispy exterior filled with a mix of eggs, sliced vegetables and prawns. It has a combination of sweet and spicy taste. Indulge in the mouthful of crunchiness.

Babi Pongteh

The chef used pork ribs together with fermented soya beans to make Babi Pongteh. The pork rib was very tender and the flavour was well mixed with taste of sweetness and a hint of saltiness.

Traditional Nonya Kueh

We had the traditional cakes and colourful pastries to round up our sumptuous dinner. 

Meet the man behind the scene.

Thank you Chef Kishen for preparing such a sumptuous spread. Little did you know, he was being trained by a Peranakan master previously.

A surprise dish prepared for us by Chef Jimmy.

The oysters fritters tasted heavenly delicious. It was fried till perfection in order to get the fluffy and crunchy taste. Coated with chilli sauce, it enhanced the flavour of the oysters, bringing the shiok level to the max. Having just one is seriously not enough for me!!!

Come celebrate SG50 with Peranakan buffet at The Square @ Novotel.

The Peranakan buffet is available during dinner for the month of August. 

Daily dinner Bbffet: $58++  (6.00pm to 10.00pm) 

Weekend lunch buffet: $48++ (12.00pm – 2.30pm)

Weekday lunch buffet: $38++ (12.00pm – 2.30pm)

Happenings in July - SAF Born a Hero Project + Artica Hair Studio

Wednesday 1/7/15

1 July is also known as the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day. Speaking of Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), the first thing that usually comes to mind will be uniformed male soldiers defending the nation. Few would associate the success of the SAF with women who hail from different walks of life, and the contributions they have made towards our country’s defence system. 

As part of the commemoration for the SAF’s 50th anniversary (SAF50), women’s website Material World has launched the Born a Hero project to celebrate the unsung heroes behind Singapore’s defence. 

There was a celebratory event held at TANGS Orchard on SAF Day. At the event, participants were treated to exclusive discounts and deals – including a $10 TANGS voucher.

The event also include complimentary refreshments from The Providore.

Thanks GF for bringing me along. Haven't seen her for nearly a month, this must be our longest record of not meeting up each other. Must take a photo together.

Missed the girls so much. Haven't got the chance to join them for a long time. Thanks GF for reunite all of us together.

Thanks Jasmine for the photo.

While we enjoyed our time shopping, we were glad that the Born a Hero initiative with Material World gives us an opportunity to thank and honour women for the various roles they play towards protecting Singapore.

Wednesday 8/7/15

Took leave to have a short break from work and to pamper myself. Just realized I have not take leave ever since my exam till now. Time to have a break man. KP took leave together with me too and came over to my house to look for me. We make plan to colour our hair together at Artica Hair Studio @ Far East Plaza. Before we went for our appointment, we have our brunch at Toast Box.

I have traditional breakfast set.

These days, I have been eating the american breakfast. And now, I have cravings for the traditional breakfast - Kaya butter roti with soft boiled egg. Still remembered those days when I was young, I would join my parents to coffeeshop every Sunday morning to enjoy this traditional breakfast set. My all-time favourite breakfast.

Kaya-butter toast.

It was crunchy on the outside and heavenly soft within. The sweetness of the kaya and a slice of butter bursting in my mouth. Delicious.

Finally satisfied my cravings for soft boiled eggs.

Add some soy sauce and pepper, stir it well and drink it down. So awesome!

Upon settling down, the stylist brought me a drink menu. I selected hot green tea.

I did colour, cut and treatment. Currently, Artica Hair Studio is having a promotion and the package I'm doing is $130. The entire process took me two and half hours. This is my second visit to Artica and I'm very satisfied everytime I came here. They are 2 hair stylists handling my hair and both of them did a great job. I enjoyed the hair washing, it was so comfortable and they massaged my hair too. I almost fall asleep during the hair wash. Another reason why I love coming back is because they don't hard-sell their services or products. Hard-sell is something I loathe the most. Once you do that to me, sorry I am not coming back to you again.

We walked over to Scotts Square to fill our stomach again at Dome Cafe. We decided to order something that is not too filling so that there will be room for dinner.

Farm mushroom soup. The rich and creamy mushroom soup served with garlic bread.

My new hair colour. I did a brown colour that looked natural and not too harsh. Something different from my usual style.

Chicken and mushroom pie served with potato chips and lettuce.

One day just passed so fast, this was how I spent my off day - eating and doing the things I like.

That's all for update today. Thank you for reading, good night.

Sing, Love - The Concert‏ and Interview with Stefanie Sun

TGIF!

Welcoming my weekend with a star-studded concert at The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa.

This year is Singapore 50th birthday. In celebration of its Golden Jubilee, more than 30 members of the music industry have worked together to create an original music album with five original songs pays tribute to Singapore.

The album is aptly named ‘Sing, Love’, and the songs are written in a mixture of four different languages. 

GF and I getting ready for a star-studded line-up of local artistes with an exciting Sing, Love concert. We were seated at the second row, so near to the stage. Awesome!

The host of concert was Danny Yeo, media personality that all of us recognised.

The album is presented by main sponsor IMC Live Group and support by SG50. 'Sing, Love’ is available for free download in 2015 at www.imclive-group.com.

Minister for Social and Family Development, Tan Chuan-Jin, gracing the event as Guest-of-Honour. Minister expressed that he felt heartening to see both veterans and young talents from the music industry coming together to present a birthday gift that can resonate with Singaporeans.

First song - Starlight, performed by Sezairi and Joanna Dong.

This song is written and composed by Chen Jiaming and Ruth Ling, Malay Lyrics by Sezairi.

Watch the video here.

Second song - Come back to you.

A song written, composed and performed by Jimmy Ye and The Sam Willows.

Watch the video here.

I like the chorus of this song, it's very catchy:

Come sunshine and come rain 

Come laughter or come pain 

Come with me and come what may 

I always come back home to you again

This is my first time listening to The Sam Willows and I'm loving their music.

They are the new music sensation of Singapore.

This song is going to be in my download list. I really love this song, it instantly lift up my mood.

Third song - Kite.

Performed by Corrinne May, Charlie Lim and T’ang Quartet.

Written and composed by Corrinne May and Charlie Lim

Watch the video here.

Fourth song - Love Sings.

Performed by Jeremy Monteiro, Rani Singam, Nathan Hartono and THELIONCITYBOY 

Written by Jeremy Monteiro, Rani Singam and Nathan Hartono 

Rap Lyrics by THELIONCITYBOY 

Tamil Lyrics by Rani Singam and Gomathei Muthusamy

The song was written in a mixture of languages and the artistes engaged the audience in a sing-along elements.

Watch the video here.

Fifth song - 简爱 Simply, Love.

Written and composed by Liang Wern Fook, Rap Lyrics by ShiGGa Shay

Liang Wern Fook's song is never disappointing. This is my favourite song of all, it breaks the tradition of the typical National Day songs. 

The song is performed by Stefanie Sun and ShiGGa Shay.

Double S's team.

Watch the video here.

简单 My Love 

是最美好的爱 

因为有你 我才存在 

简单 My Love 

是最真实的爱 

因为有我 你才存在

Shigga Shay in the house.

The title of the song speaks for itself. Simply, Love. I simply love the song. 

I am not someone who will immediately love a song when I first hear it as I only start liking after hearing it a couple of times. But if I do like a song the first time I hear it, it must be really nice. Trust me, you will like this song.

We have come to the end of the concert. It ended off with an ending speech by Ruth Ling, the album's executive producer. 

After the concert, we have a closed door interview session with Stefanie Sun, Homegrown singer. So happy to have the opportunity to see her upclose.

Stefanie shared with us that this year is the year for national duty with SG50 approaching, she will be taking part in National Day Parade. 

We are just one month away from our National Day, can't wait for more SG50 celebration and activities. Before I end off, remember to visit www.imclive-group.com to listen and download the song for free.