Happenings in March - Food, Gathering + Black Nut Gastrobar + Singapore Bus Carnival

Wednesday 2/3/16

Lately, I enjoyed spending time with friends over a meal or gathering where we can chit-chat all day long. Met up with GF, Meryl, HP, Jas and Ryden on the mid week evening for dinner. With these brunch of friends, we always have endless topics to talk about.

We initially want to dine in at Mad for Garlic @ Suntec City Mall because they were having buy 1 get 1 free promotion on pasta or pizza. After clarifying with the staff, we discovered that the promotion was only limited to 1 free pasta or pizza and no splitting of bill allowed. That means there were 6 of us, only one pair can enjoy the promotion. Well, I guess such promotion only benefit a small group of 2 person. Remember guys, if you come across 1 for 1 or buy 1 get 1 free, do check the footnote of the promotion and clarify with the staff before ordering to prevent misinterpretation.

Since the promotion can't be used on the 6 of us, we decided to switch our dining place to Kimchi Korean Restaurant which was located along the stretch of restaurants at the same level.

We ordered kimchi pancake for sharing.

Knowing that we will be ordering side dishes for sharing, I decided to have something lighter. Jas and I opt for the glass noodle on the appetiser menu. This was quite a small portion, it was definitely not enough if just purely order this for dinner.

We ordered Yang Yeum Chicken for sharing too.

This was my favourite dish. I love the spicy sauce coated on the fried chicken. 

It was indeed a nice gathering session, I enjoyed gathering like that.

Friday 11/3/16

Yeah, it's TGIF.

I always find myself looking very forward to Friday. By Thursday, I already find my energy being fully drained out, practically feel like a walking zombie. When Friday approaches, I feel like my energy is being recharged and I can do whatever I like without worrying about any constraint. Looking forward to my well deserving weekend. Be it meeting up with friends or lazing at home.

Met JH for lunch at a Hill Street Coffeeshop.

He has become one of my regular lunch buddy, so nice to have friend working near you where you can catch up over lunch. Haven't catch up with le bff clique for a long time, now JH has become the only active one that I am meeting up with regularly.

Since the time was still early, we went to Mei Heong Yuen Dessert for sweet treat. We ordered mango roll and sweet corn shaved ice. We will be back here again to try all the other desserts, there are so many flavours of shaved ice that we want to try.

Met up with Meryl in the night for shopping at Banana Republic @ Paragon. All the pieces are so nice and some of it are my styles. Time to revamp my wardrobe to get rid of those old clothes and welcome the new.

Thursday 10/3/16

Check out the newest bar in town: Black Nut Gastrobar

Black Nut is the latest bar that opened its doors at Emerald Hill Road, where the old Alley Bar was located.

If you happen to be at Orchard Road, be sure to check out Black Nut, the newest nightlife chill out place. Black Nut is a gastrobar that served drinks like handcrafted cocktails and Asian-influenced dishes.

Kilat Kilat cocktail.

I like the cheeky name of their cocktails.

Here for the Raunchy Rojak party.

We found some retro snacks placed at every table. Seeing the retro snacks made us reminisced the old good times. These were the snacks we had when we were young.

. Black Nut is a nice place to chill out with your friends with drinks and food, a break from the usual party.

And yes, at the opening party, we immersed ourselves in the free flow of Erdinger.

I actually found myself preferring beer than vodka. So nice to chill out with a drink and chit-chat all night.

I brought GF along with me to the opening party. At the party, we bumped into a couple of our friends. Party are always more fun with more party goers.

Guess who we met outside?

I met the handsome Thai-American actor, Utt Panichkul. He was really friendly and approaching, we enjoyed mingling around with him.

I guessed you are all familiar with him right?

He was the VJ for MTV Asia. 

GF and I took a photo with Utt at the photo booth. 

Lately, GF introduced me a Thai drama - Full House Thai, where Utt participated in the drama too. Wow, I'm gonna watch it soon. 

Took a group photo with William and his friends too.

The bar has a retrolicious ambience that made us feel at eased.

Resumed our drinking and listening to pop music. The bar was playing 'Watch Me Whip' all night long.

Black Nut is located at 2 Emerald Hill Road.

They open daily. Just pop by between 5pm to 2am for dinner or drinks.

Saturday 12/3/16

Over the weekend, Singapore Bus Carnival was held at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza organised by Land Transport Authority. Decided to check out the carnival with my 2 lovelies.

At the carnival, it showcased the Past, Present and Future of the Singapore Public Bus industry.

This year marks a brand new chapter for the Singapore public bus industry as they will be transiting to a new contracting model. With bus contracting, the commuters can expect more reliable services, shorter waiting times and more comfortable rides.

On board one of the new concept buses where every seat comes with a headrest and power charging point. Not only that, the new initiatives for double decker bus includes a 2 way staircase where riders can go up via first staircase and come down via the staircase behind. In such way, it will not block the way of people going up or down. There is also a third doors right at the back of the bus for people sitting at the back or coming down for the staircase to alight.

With Jasmine and GF. Thanks Jasmine for the photo.

Step back in time as we headed into the Past Zone.

The bus behind us was the non-aircon older days bus. That was a vintage bus straight from the 1960s.

Do you still remember these transit link cards we used in the 1990s.

I remembered that when I boarded the bus, we have to insert this transit link card into the card reader, I always pressed the first button regardless the distance I traveled. 

The past zone will take you back in time to experience and learn how our bus infrastructure has changed.

The weather nowadays was so hot, we went for some desserts after that. 

This is how I spent my Saturday, reminiscing the old good times.

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.

Official Opening of Pasticceria Ferrero with Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu‏

Ferrero Rocher is one of my favourite chocolate treats since young. I love the delicious hazelnut and nutella chocolate taste. This is why I always savour it layer by layer. Therefore I get excited when I know that Ferrero, producer of the world’s most celebrated praline Ferrero Rocher, has launched its first Southeast Asia boutique Pasticceria Ferrero at Wisma Atria. 

The Ferrero boutique is the only store of its kind in the world this festive season. Pasticceria Ferrero will offer exclusive Ferrero Pralines variants never before available in Singapore. I can't wait to check out the store.

The newlywed Mediacorp artistes, Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu, were at the Ferrero boutique to grace the opening ceremony.

Fans of Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu also gathered outside the store to get a glimpse of their favourite Mediacorp artistes.

Rudy Sequeira, Managing Director, SEA, Ferrero Asia Ltd was joined in the cutting of the ribbon by Leonardo Perrone, Marketing Director, South East Asia and launch headliners Joanne Peh and Qi Yu Wu, to officially launch the store. 

Leonardo Perrone de Almeida, Marketing Director, said that as the number one chocolate brand in Singapore, Ferrero certainly has a special place in the heart of Singaporeans. They wanted to offer Singaporeans the opportunity to bring a piece of their tradition and heritage to South East Asia and  continue creating precious moments with their loved ones.

Joanne also shared her fond recollections of always looking forward to eating Ferrero Rocher at special occasions like Chinese New Year and being mesmerized by the television commercials. She felt that being able to mix and match from the range of exclusive pralines at the Pasticceria makes it a great gift for loved ones especially in the festive season.

Qi Yuwu saw the TVC when he was young and Ferrero Rocher always gave him the impression that it is luxurious and elegant. He also revealed that he has never bought chocolate for Joanne before. So that night was his first time making chocolate together with Joanne. It is a special gift and a precious experience.

There was a a live demonstration by Ferrero’s own master chocolatiers, Chefs Luca Dellapiana and Alessandria Davide, flew in from Italy. Followed by Joanne Peh and Qi Yu Wu constructing their own precious moment in a hands-on creation of Ferrero Rocher.

Qi Yuwu and Joanne Peh were out for photo taking after the chocolate making.

So lucky to get this shot where both of them looked at my camera at the same time.

With so much going into creating that precious moment, Ferrero Rocher truly brings the fine art of Italian creation to life. Ferrero Rocher is made only with the highest quality ingredients, beginning with the hand-picking of the finest of hazelnuts which form the heart of Rocher. The creations are then covered with decadent chocolate that reflects the elite taste of those who gift them.

Customers at the Pasticceria Ferrero will be able to customise their gift boxes with a range of variants, including the special pralines available only this Christmas.

The Pasticceria Ferrero is only available for a limited period during this festive season starting from 27 November 2014. 

The choice available are Ferrero Tenderly White, Ferrero Cappucino, Ferrero Tenderly Nougat, Ferrero Manderly, Mon Chéri, Pocket Coffee, Kusschen White, Kusschen Milk, Kusschen Dark, Raffaello and Ferrero Rondnoir.

Other than that, Ferrero Rocher will once again bring in its all-time Christmas Limited Edition Rocherone and the Christmas Pyramid. The new range of Ferrero Rocher will be available for a limited period only.

The two of them are so lovey dovey.

Time for photo-taking.

Here's a photo of me with Qi Yuwu and Joanne Peh.

A group photo with my lovely friends and the artistes.

Visit Pasticceria Ferrero at Wisma Atria this festive season from 27 November 2014 till the end of the year to get the limited edition Ferrero Pralines and customize a unique gift for your precious loved ones.