Reviews

I wore this outfit out on one of the weekends. The sweet pink jacket with ribbon is sponsored by Global Citizen and I decided to pair it up with floral shorts to give it a nice casual look. I love wearing shorts (especially in the crazy hot and humid Singapore weather) but can only do so on weekends when I don’t have to go to the office.

Floral shorts were bought in Bangkok and sling bag is from Liz Lisa. My favorite part of this outfit actually the hidden unicorn motifs in the inside of the pink Global Citizen jacket. I know it’s kinda silly to like a detail of an outfit that no one notices or even knows but I’m silly like that. It makes me happy! It’s probably the same with pretty underwear where no one knows what you are wearing but somehow if it’s pretty, you’re just happier wearing them then regular plain ones.

Anyways, other than spending some time in the outdoors away from buildings and malls, it’s almost a routine for me to meet up my friends over the weekend. This time I met up with Kelvin, Bernice and their 2 lovely daughters, Arielle and Christelle for dinner.

Christelle’s eyes are huge and she was wearing the pink little dress with hearts that I bought from her even before she was born! She’s such a little cutie-pie. Arielle on the other hand has really blossomed into a pretty little girl. It’s crazy how quickly Bernice’s kids are growing! Soon they will be donning the same uniforms that Bernice and I used to wear for the first 10 years of our schooling life.

I don’t catch up with Kelvin and Bernice as I like because of my busy schedule and their family commitments. So every time we meet up it’s an exchange of little updates on our lives. On this particular day, they have finally found a place they love to call home and will be moving soon! Such a new exciting chapter in their lives and I’m really really happy for them. Especially since they are gonna move a little closer to me then where they are at now. Hopefully that means we’ll have more frequent meetups instead of one every month or so.

Arielle has gotten pretty comfortable with me though she still quite shy around strangers. I’m glad to see her so well adjusted to her new sibling. Looking forward to see them again soon! *hugs*

About a month ago, I attended a workshop that was hosted by Blackmores and Watsons to learn more about Blackmores Radiance. In a nutshell, Blackmores Radiance is a skin supplement that provides 24 hours of internal intensive nourishment to keep your skin healthy, hydrated and firm. In short, beautiful skin. I’m not exactly new to the idea of supplements for good skin and Blackmore’s formula is pretty comprehensive! Other than antioxidants such as such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, lutein and lycopene; it also includes Collagen-protein extract, Coenzyme Q10, and some herbs. All of which will help to protect your skin against aging, enhance skin elasticity and reduce fine lines.

I’ve personally been taking the supplements for awhile now. Although it states on the packaging that you have to consume for a minimum of 12 weeks to notice improvement, I believe that if you are very observant, you actually notice the difference sooner. I am normally not very consistant with any sort of supplements intake but not this time. I had  just came back from my Europe trip with dehydrated skin that had started producing small bumps that threatened to give me a full on breakout. It propelled me to be really consistant with my 2 pills a day Blackmores Radiance supplement. They consist of a day pill (dark green) and a night pill (light green). After 2 weeks, my skin just cleared without any hint of breakouts!

My skin is very sensitive and I do not wear any foundation on my daily routine. However, recently I attended the Queen Elizabeth II Cup by the Singapore Turf Club recently and wore foundation to the event since I wanted to be a little more glamourous. The next day, small pimples started appearing on my forehead! I pretty much expected that to happen and was prepared to slather on lots of soothing cream for the onslaught of skin sensitivity caused by the foundation. Surprisingly, the skin didn’t turn red and the pimples never grew any bigger. In fact, the whole situation is somewhat under control and the pimples are receding. I haven’t changed facial products so I believe that the change must have originated from taking the supplements. While it doesn’t promises miracles, it does keep your skin in check and increases hydration.

Back to the workshop. There were quite a few bloggers, most of them beauty experts and some of them you’ll probably recognize.  We all had a fantastic time at the event where we were given the opportunity to learn how to cook some simple dishes that were packed with antioxidants, just like the Blackmore Radiance!

The first dish was vietnamese spring rolls! Yummy and pretty fun to make. You get to decide what goes in and how much of each. I especially loved the special peanut sauce that we learnt to make as an accompaniment to the spring roll.

Main dish was baked salmon with lots of colorful vegetables. Gorgeous dish with lots of omega 3 and antioxidants! Baking fish is not exactly a new dish for me but I learnt a new technique of how to wrap each fish in a “curry puff” style before putting it in the oven to bake so that it retains its moisture.

Dessert was a simple to make but oh-so-tasty berry yogurt trifle. It’s so simple to prepare and looks amazing. I definitely gained a lot from that workshop that day. Knowing and learning how to prepare good healthy food for my skin and getting myself set for great skin with Blackmores Radiance supplements.

If you want to give the Blackmores Radiance supplements a try, it’s available at Watsons stores. As a pre-warning, it’s not cheap but if you’ve been battling with problem skin, this may just be your answer.

I love trying out new experiences especially when it involves de-stressing, traveling or gourmet food! One weekend we headed to The Sentosa Resort and Spa Hotel for just that! We decided to give their “Dine around dinner adventure” a go as well. As put in their words “ The Dine Around Dinner Adventure is an ingenious dining concept at The Sentosa where fine gastronomy is combined with distinct surroundings to leave you with an unforgettable experience.”

Our first stop was champagne and some teaser dishes at The Pavillion. Relaxing little bar area in between 2 swimming pools with fountains running across nearby and a pianist filling the air with soft compositions. It was a great start!

When we got bored of The Pavillion, they sent for the buggy to come fetch us to our next restaurant, “The Garden”. This one is probably my favorite of them all. I’m attracted to the wide open kitchen, the bright clean decor, high ceilings and the most amazing thing, a real live tree grown in the middle of the restaurant! It’s probably not the most romantic ambiance but I never had an immense love for dark “romantic” restaurants anyways. I actually much prefer seeing my food with all it’s gorgeous mix of colors in a cosy well-lit ambiance.

Everything tasted so good and so healthy! My favorite dish is also one of their signature dishes. Comprising bright shades of red from the watermelon, strawberry and cherry tomato, the Compressed Watermelon tastes as light and refreshing as it looks. The lovely crunch of the fruits coupled with the sweetness of the goat cheese, and cold burst of flavour from the red wine sangria granita, make this an excellent starter. Close friends always joke how I love anything watermelon, which is not entirely untrue but I’ve never though of this awesome combination of tastes and texture!

When we were done, the golf cart buggy came along to pick us for our final restaurant. The Cliff is reputed to be one of Singapore’s finest restaurants. As quoted from their website, “ Designed by famed Japanese designer, Yasuhiro Koichi, The Cliff at The Sentosa is a top restaurant in Singapore that sets new standards in the culinary arts. Perched on a cliff overlooking the South China Sea, it features a show kitchen, cascading water features and a split-level platform built over lush jungle. The Cliff restaurant is an alfresco haven for connoisseurs of exquisite seafood and fine wines.”

My personal thoughts of the place? Well, I really love the idea of a restaurant on a cliff but I wish I was there earlier so I could catch the sunset from that vantage. It was already pretty dark by the time I started my dining experience at The Cliff so it felt more like it being a giant tree house perched high and in the middle of a rainforest. Which is a totally different feel but still wonderful and relaxing. This is the romantic restaurant ambiance that most people are looking for when they wanna bring their date to celebrate a special occasion. The feeling that you have your own secret little corner with a touch of personalized service from the staff there. I love the cosiness but I wish I had more light to see the contrasting colors on my food… I’m a super unromantic date right!

They are supposed to be really good for their fresh seafood but I’ve got my allergies to all seafood except fish. That aside, almost everything we ordered was cooked to perfection! Just see that healthy pink hue on my lamb! We had the 2 signature desserts, The Cliff lemon tart and Textures of Peach. The Cliff lemon tart is not really a tart in it’s traditional sense but textures of lemon, gin and tonic jelly, tonka bean ice cream, yuzu sorbet, holunderbluten syrup while Textures of Peach was recommended to cleanse the palate and refresh the soul! The peaches came in liquid, crisps, frozen and a couple more different textures that didn’t feel like I was having peaches at all. Both desserts are supposed to be paired with wines for the best combination of tastes but since I was driving back after dinner, I skipped ending the night with alcohol.

Here is what I wore for dinner. The mesh tunic which I paired with black shorts is sponsored by Global Citizen. Decided to add splashes of red to highlight the outfit

I’m a little late on this post as I had been away in March and early April. But I still wanna share with you about my experiences at Oasia Hotel. It is a quaint little Japanese themed hotel by Far East Hospitality. Located at 8 Sinaran Drive, Singapore 307470 next to Novena Square, it’s location is excellent!

The rooms and the hotel had such a lovely nature theme and most of the furnishings and decorations were either wood or stone based. I was actually impressed with all the little details they’ve added in to ensure their guest have a pleasant stay. You could choose your in room fragrance and they will work the aroma into the room during housekeeping!

Other little details in the room worth noting are your personal coffee maker with complimentary capsules, ipod player, inputs to connect your laptop to the TV so you can surf using the huge TV monitor and they have a safe that is big enough for your laptop or ipad! You can even charge your laptop while its in the safe!

The suits were obviously the most impressive rooms but almost all the rooms had wonderful large windows with views of the surround areas. They had a state of the art gym and a pool on the 8th floor but if you stayed in the club rooms or suites you’ll get a even more exclusive infinity pool on the 22nd floor.

I didn’t get a chance to try out their restaurants but the buffet selection looked good and I liked how they creatively used glasses to make up the lighting of the dining room.

Their business function rooms were also unique as the walls were decorated with all sorts of cute knick-knacks and it definitely made the environment a lot cozier!

As I was invited there on a special bloggers event they had prepared food, champagne and made sure that we were throughly pampered with manicures and massages. I even dipped into the infinity pool as I watch the sunset on the horizon. The sweet people who organized it even prepared me a room for me to wash up, bath and change after!

And in case you were wondering, I did in fact go back to Oasia Hotel for a staycation in their club room after the event and had a wonderful time there. The place is so zen and the staff are always so friendly. The rates are also pretty “friendly”! So now you know where to consider if you need a hotel in Singapore!

Sunday is day out for the dogs and on this Sunday, we brought the dogs out for a picnic together with Sushi, Daryl and Godson Leo!

Since it was an impromptu idea, I had to look for fast cooking food to bring along for my picnic. In the end, I cooked a batch of bratwurst sausages,  some baked potatoes and popped some corn! This was the first time I made popcorn from an intact cob of corn. I had bought it in the states and decided to try it out!

It tastes exactly like normal popcorn except now Louis gets the remaining cob to to chew on.

Then it’s off to a fun day at the beach! The weather was perfect! Sunny with nice gentle cloud cover. Little Leo slept all the way till he reached the sands and when he woke up in the middle of sandy beaches he was just simply excited. I love his cute outfit  especially his little blue hat.

Leo happily played with the dogs and some of the old school toys found with my retro lip smacker press kit. TheRacerback jersey dress in hot pink I wore that day was sponsored by Global Citizen. It’s super comfy and only $27. You can check out their site at http://www.globalcitizen.com.sg

I don’t have time to go outdoors as much as I used to but I always enjoy time spent in natural surroundings. Be it on a beach, in a park or even camping in the jungle. It’s ironic how I need to actually find time to enjoy the great outdoors and how most of our everyday life is confined within man made concrete walls.

Not too long ago, I received a press package with the cutest contents! All the memorable games from the kampung era!

There were marbles (gohli), bottle caps, parachuting toy soldiers, Chapteh, mini toy car,etc! How many of them can you recognize?  Some of them were really nostalgic and some of them were probably games from my parents time.

If you look closely however, you’ll realise that the bottle caps are actually lip balm pots!! What an awesome design! And each of them actually has the corresponding flavour as well. I totally LOVE it and so did almost everyone I showed it too. As usual, this cool design is from Lip Smacker! One of the brands everyone is familiar with for cool lip balms.

It’s available at S$6.90 each and small enough to bring everywhere. Lip balms can be fun too! I’m pretty sure you can find it at Watsons.

While I had fun with my flavoured lip balms, Louis had fun transforming one of the retro toys, an inflatable paper ball, into a beach cap!

This post will conclude the last of my Chinese New Year 2012 postings. The 15th day of Chinese New Year dinner. I met up with my friends after work at Melben crab cause everyone was craving for good crabs. I don’t take seafood but I was told the sauces are amazing and to die for!

I think I really was missing out on the whole crab experience cause the sauces I tried were really superb and everyone at the table had full of praises for every dish. They ordered spare ribs in the butter sauce just for me! It’s not in the menu and uses the same famous butter cream sauce they used to the crab. It’s sinful but even now I’m still lusting for it!

To say it was a satisfying meal is an understatement. I really do think the food was worth the wait despite the long queue. I realised that other than the original Ang Mo Kio branch, Melben had a few other branches but I’ve not tried them. Are they as good?

Of course, other than just the food was the fabulous company. Clara and Rapheal are both back in Melbourne but I hope the dinner with us all at Melben crabs warms their hearts (ironic huh!).

Here’s the final group shot of all of us

My family and friends are my biggest anchors and the ones that constantly makes me homesick.

Before I end this post, here’s a photo of my wonderful nails done by nail guru, Clara Hwang! My nails only get attention whenever she’s around and I’ve yet to find anyone in Singapore that can rival her skill. Everything is made from scratch and lasts for the longest time!