The Great Reveal - 2009 resolution resolved ! :)

One of my toughest resolutions achieved finally !

Photos on left taken in March 2009, the photo on the right is taken in Nov 2009.

[Edited 22 Jan 2010] Rewinding back to a year ago, photos taken with my dear bro Garry, left (July 2008) and right (Dec 2009).

[End of Edit 22 Jan 2010]

Lost 11 kg, regained 10 years of my health, BP stabilized, no MC for more than 4 months!

Best of all, I feel great, energetic and the curves are just bonuses to me :)

Absolut Vodka

Received a gift from my good friend recently when she returned from her holiday trip in Phuket.
It was a limited edition Absolut Rock dressed in Studded Black Leather! A total opposite of my other Limited Edition Masquerade which wears a sequin suit.

Thrilled that I have one more bottle to add to my 8 years old collection.

I decided to mark it with a Photo to commemorate the day.

~ My Absolut Vodka Collection ~

The list includes (Left to Right):
Rock (Limited Ed)
Mandarin
Mango
Ruby Red
Citron
Raspberry
100
Pears
Apeach
Vanilla
Masquerade (Limited Ed)

Missing from the picture is another limited edition Absolut LevelZ which I gave to my relatives as a present (a bit regretting it now)...

Side-note: Most bottles are empty ;P

MMnST?? You have a blog??!!!

I was just sharing with my sis that I have a blog, and this was the conversation that ensued..

ME: [mumbling] gosh! i'm so behind my posts..
SIS: eh? what posts?
ME: my posts on my blog la, i just finished the september ones.. have 3 more october posts before i can update on grandma's birthday (which was yesterday) dinner.
SIS: [sniggers with her jaw dropped] YOU HAVE A BLOG???!!! (don't ask me how she does that, but she pulled it off)
ME: yeah.. on blogspot. nothing fanciful though..(my sis blog rocks!)
SIS: when you started? what's the name? wait.. lemme guess. is it "kappo", "arowana" ?
ME: inspired by mom's birthday when i started my health
management program.. nope, the name is actually an acronym, "MMnST"
SIS: ST as in your employer? wah..
ME: [flabbergasted] no, no, no... (i'm not such a loyal employee to use the name company i work in, but i believe i will get this lots when my colleagues know about my blog.)
ME: "MMnST" = makan, minum & small talk. and i have it linked to twitter too.
SIS: wow, you have twitter too? how do you do that
etc, etc...

Its not very significant, but i find the ramblings rather amusing :)

Grandma's Birthday Dinner Gathering at Forunate Restaurant

This is the night to remember...
A night where a 60-strong clan gathered to celebrate the birthday of their beloved mother, grandmother or great-grandmother at Fortunate Restaurant.

~ The Matriarch - my beloved Grandmother ~

~ 2nd Generation - the forever young (at heart) uncles and aunties ~

~ 3rd and 4th Generation - the once-naughty cousins and their offsprings ~

~ 'Sou Tao' aka Chinese Birthday Buns ~

~Shark's Fin Soup ~

~ Crispy Pekin Duck ~
~ Steamed Sea Bass ~
~ Squids in Batter and 'Ngor Hiong' ~

~ Poached Spinach with Mushrooms and Abalone Slices ~
~ Steamed Herbal Prawns ~

~ Fortunate Restaurant ~

The food was so-so for the 8-course chinese cuisine dinner (I guess they fare matter at their dim sum), but the atmosphere was electrifying.

Cloudy.. With A Chance of Meatballs

I left office today with an extra skip beat in my stride. Besides feeling very pleased with myself for being able to leave work while its still light, I am also going to watch Cloudy.. With A Chance of Meatballs in 3D, finally! I met one of my girlfriends for the movie and ribeye steak dinner at Aston's first.

The light breeze complementing my mood makes me smile, even the clouds look like meatballs amidst the slowly darkening blue sky.

~ Meatball Clouds ~

The movie is great, with loads of humour and puns which we enjoyed thoroughly. Not to mention some of Flint's inventions were something that I had thought of when I was a kid, invoking a sense of nostalgia... "monkey thought translator "! Ok, to be truthful it was an "animal thought translator".

What is it you say? Too good to be true? Bad reviews?
Well, I take reviews with a pinch of salt, so I AM NOT BOTHERED PAYING MORE FOR 3D ANIMATION. Hmmm.. ok to be fair, if I were really to find something to criticize about, it would be the weaker warm fuzzy feeling you get after watching a typical Disney animation.

In a nut-shell I would give it Cloudy.. With A Chance of Meatballs 4.5 / 5 thumbs-up.

Sakura Steamboat and Charcoal Grill at Marina Country Club

If you can smell me right now you would have guessed that I just came back from a BBQ session. Well, you are half correct, I just conquered Sakura Steamboat and Charcoal Grill at Marina Country Club !

This ain't no easy feat, Marina Country Club is situated pretty deep inside the Sengkang-Punggol estate and there's no direct public bus that goes there. Based on a colleague's observation of a little placard tied to one of those public bus stops touting of a shuttle bus service, the whole bunch of 7 gung-ho girls decided today shall be the day we're going for the Sakura meal.

Alas, when we reached the said bus stop in Sengkang, we couldn't find the placard and spent the next 20 futile minutes trying to keep a look out of a "shuttle bus" to Marina Country Club without even knowing where will it stop to pick up passengers nor its frequency. Several phone calls later, we managed to get the phone number of Sakura and found out the exact location to wait for the shuttle VAN (nope not even a mini-bus, but a 12 seater van). Finally! After being lost for almost 1 hour, we're on our way to our dinner, famished like we have not eaten for days.

* pardon the dark photos as the lighting conditions were definitely not optimum for my htc camera.

~ Sakura Steamboat and Charcoal Grill at Marina Country Club - tables near the entrance ~
~ Dinner - Seafood, Assorted Meats and Steamboat ingredients ~

~ Dessert - Chocolates, Puddings, Fruits and Ice-cream ~

At $26 per pax (inclusive of a $10 value-voucher for premium purchase), it is indeed a worthwhile experience.

Wide variety buffet spread with many types of greens, seasoned meats, thinly-sliced beef ala shabu shabu style, must-haves steamboat ingredients, huge choice seafood including live lobsters in tank (to be purchased using your voucher value) , and not forgetting a corner dedicated to desserts.

My only disgress is that the seating arrangements are very cramped, the poor ventilation takes away the joy of eating, and halfway through the meal, some of the girls were too uncomfortable and hot to carry on eating. Oh, not to mention that don't serve iced water. All beverages need to be bought using your $10 voucher value, but there's a wide choice available including your choice of alcoholic poison :)

Dinner at Mayim Chinese Cuisine

Earthquake struck Indonesia just barely 2hrs ago, and we had to evacuate our office as tremors were felt as far away as in Singapore AMK area.

Several colleagues decided that a hearty dinner is the best way to soothe our frayed nerves and to take our mind off the worry about the neighbouring earthquake.

Mayim Chinese Cuisine (tian1 le4 li3) just opened for business in the Northpoint Shopping Centre's newly constructed wing extension 1 month ago and boy were we in for a long queue ! Definition of long queue - 20 mins in line and we're still waiting for our table of 5, nope, not in town but in Yishun heartland.

~ Part of the kitchen and the skillful chef teasing the la mian ~

~ Condiments and some nicely packaged peanuts and kimchi appetizers (for purchase) ~

~ "forgotten name of this dish" - deep-fried, laced with japanese mayo and bonito flakes ~

~ Stewed Tofu with Assorted Veg ~

~ Delightfully Fried Rice ~

~ Steamed Pork Dumplings in Broth aka xiao2 long2 bao1 ~ ~ Steamed Pork Dumplings in Hot Oil ~ ~ Yummy Braised Pig Trotters in Vinegar ~

~ Hot & Spicy Soup suan1 la4 and delicious & hearty Chicken Mushroom Soup ~

~ Minced Pork Noodles in Broth aka dan4 dan4 mian4 ~

~ Mango and Pomelo with Sago Dessert aka yang2 zhi1 gan1 lu4 ~

Unfortunately, I don't think that Mayim deserved the long queue. Desserts can go to Ah Chew's anytime. As for dumplings related dishes, my tastebuds would not settle for anything less than those by Din Tai Fung.

But, I'll definitely order the soups and pig trotters if I were to revisit Mayim anytime soon.

Seafood dinner at 1036 Eating House

Just returned from a sumptious seafood dinner in celebration of 2 birthdays - dad's and mine..

Dad chose this no frills "ulu-ated" coffee shop style, tze char seafood stall along sembawang road (towards the sembawang beach), complete with gravel paths as its car park. This place gives you the nostalgic feel that we're back having seafood in those Malaysia's pockets of restaurants by the sea. We ate here before last year and the food ain't too bad.

~ 1036 Eating House ~

Dinner includes:

~ The main attraction - Salted egg creamy crabs ~Rich, savoury and creamy crabs leaves you licking your fingers till every last drop is cleaned.

~ Deep fried mantou ~

What's a crab dish without these "crispy on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside" delicately fried buns to dip into the delightful crab gravy. Not to mention that it saves the eatery dish washing liquid as you help them polish up the plates.. What the heck, why not? its a win-win situation ;P

~ Assam Pa-Ding Fish ~

Only one word to describe this dish - DELICIOUS ! In my opinion, "tangy-ness" in the right amount is the key to assam dishes, "spicyness" comes a close second, and the dish aced in these 2 aspects. The fish is also fresh enough for a "cat" person like me who is able to detect fishiness upon the first bite.

~ Drunken Prawns ~ Fresh prawns, nice herbal broth

~ Jade Tofu ~

The jade tofu is one of their signature dishes whereby the tofu is made from vegetable (didn't manage to get which veg) juice, hence its greenish hue.

~ Four-season beans stir fried with dried shrimps ~

Finally some decent greens. Unfortunately, its nothing fantastic .

~ Complimentary fruits ~ ~ Cleaned up every last morsel of food - almost ~

Our family polished up the meal in under an hour, just in time for the next activity..

30 mins later, we're home in front of the TV set watching the Singapore F1 Grand Prix sipping Jacob's Creek Shiraz Cabernet 2006.. bliss :)

Cheyenne's 1 month old celebration

We had a new addition to the paternal family recently, niece Cheyenne was born on 13 August 2009. As it is customary for Chinese to celebrate an infant's first month to mark its significance, her proud parents (my cousin) had decided to celebrate it, albeit in a not so traditional Chinese way. A lunch treat at L'Entrepot Bistro (this is not a Chinese restaurant obviously), to the whole extended family!

L'Entrepot Bistrot

The deal was to choose either 1 starter with 1 main course or 1 main course with 1 dessert. My family of 6 devoured most items in the Set Lunch menu with much gusto. :)

Starters: Mesclun Salad
(mesclun salad, cherry tomato, shallots, balsmic vinaigrette)


Starters: French Onion Soup
(served with emmental cheese croutons)


Main Course: Croque Monsieur
(ciabatta, jambon ham, gruyere, mesclun , balsmic vinaigrette)


Main Course: Seabass
(pan fried seabass, pepper compote, potatoes, poultry jus)


Main Course: Vongole
(clams, spaghetti, leeks, onions, fresh herbs, white wine)


Desserts: Creme Brulee


Desserts: Profiteroles (choux pastry, vanilla ice cream, almond flakes, chocolate sauce)

I loved my Mesclun Salad and Seabass. To make it more perfect, 1 white and 1 red accompanied my lunch together with all the laughter, smiles, goo-goo gaa-gaas of relatives taking turns to cradle little Cheyenne.



Some of elders actually wanted to continue on for 2nd round of drinks and were egging us to go along. As much as I would love to, I still need to watch my diet as it is still within the "restricted" period. Hence, I left with my siblings to get a new desktop at.. nope, not comex but SLS. After selecting the specs we decided to venture to the nearby Bugis Village for some shopping, before heading back to collect the spanking new desktop.



All the walking and shopping have turned us into hungry creatures despite the sumptuous lunch.



So off we went to Thai Express for dinner. We ordered several dishes (each a main dish) and enjoyed sampling each others dinner. I ordered from the 'Healthier Choice' range - Phat Benjarong or stir-fried 5 treasures comprising of tofu slices, carrots, baby corn and kai lan. Unfortunately, as we were too hungry, no photos were taken ;P



A very satisfying day indeed. :)

MOF re-visited

Was at AMK Hub again few days back and decided to go MOF for a relaxing afternoon tea after reminiscing the clear and refreshing Sencha tea.

This time round I ordered Houjicha tea which the menu describes as "Green tea from Japan that is rendered brown by roasting Bancha tea leaves over charcoal".

I prefer still prefer Sencha. :)

Japanese cafe MOF ~ sweets and coffee ~

After watching G-Force in 3D last Saturday, was leisurely strolling around AMK Hub when hunger pangs struck. The good thing about AMK Hub is that there would be an eatery or restaurant at almost every level.

A cluster of open concept cafes were a just few steps away and I was drawn by the colourful displays showcasing various types of ice cream desserts which serves as a partition for MOF from the rest.

Ordered a salmon bento and sencha tea.

The salmon bento was so-so only. Found the rice too cold and it comes with 5 paltry slices of salmon sashimi (unlike menu photo with chunkier salmon). But I cannot complain much for something under $10.

On the contrary, the Sencha tea was nice. The menu describes it as "This uses traditional Japanese green tea which is picked in early spring after the leaves have developed their balance of sweetness and astringency. Bright in colour with a clean finish, and a taste of somewhat reminiscent of seaweed." I'm not too sure about the seaweed taste, but its a pleasant tea that I asked for a refill without hesitating.