Happy Birthday Huiyi!

Fri was Huiyi's actual bday so 我们 went out to celebrate. She chose a newly opened place that a few of us were keen on going. It is located at the basement of Raffles City.

---

It's a Marche like place where u are given a card that u charge onto at the different stations in the restaurant. U will then be billed the contents of the card when leaving.

---

Lost of card? $100! Wonder if ppl do "lose" it after charging more than $100 on it ... hmm.

---

Clockwise from the top .... Baby Octopus, Potato Salad, Kimchi and Jellyfish.

---

Thickly sliced salmon sashimi and California Roll.

---

Soup with Mushrooms, Veggies and Tofu. Tasty!

---

Mushroom Tempura.

---

Squid. Loved this ... it was grilled and seasoned to perfection.

---

Grilled Chicken Wings, Asparagus rolled with Bacon (well, the bacon was not salty at all so it was a disappointment as it was rather tasteless) and Mushrooms.

---

Jap Pizza! This was yummilicious too!

---

The bday cake .... I had such a hard time deciding what cake to get. The good thing is that everyone seemed to like it.

---

The bday girl ... she is 1!

---

我们 :)

---

The gals ...

---

The guys with Huiyi.

We will definitely head back to it again as the prices are reasonable and the service was great. We had moved to a clean table to cut our cake and a worker there brought us napkins when he saw what we were doing. We were very impressed and thanked him.

After dinner, Ben headed home. He had came directly from the airport after a day trip to Penang for business. The rest of us headed down to Marina for part 2.

---

Our drinks ...

---

Mango and Pomelo ice dessert.

---

Another mango ice dessert ... thank god I did not buy a mango cake, it was one of my choices. After those 2 desserts, I was suffering from brain freeze!

We did not stay out too late as KL needed to catch a bus home. The rest of us shared a cab back.

P.S. Thanks to Shanice and Evon for some of the pics!

The adventures of 小笼女 continues ...

Tonite, a few of us when to Crystal Jade to celebrate Huiyi's bday. I have not been there since the last time with my sis and I was hoping that it might have improved. Unfortunately, not only have their 小笼包 not improved, I think they have dropped :(

---

Here's our 小笼包. They look so sad and shriveled. There wasn't much soup in it and what is a 小笼包 without soup?

Fortunately there were some dishes that we ordered that were yummy and it made up for the sad little 小笼包.

---

This was another 包. Don't ask me what its called .... haha, but it was fried and it tasted not too bad, not too much dough.

---

This noodles was also surprisingly good, it was spicy with a thick peanuty flavoured soup. Would definitely order this again.

---

Deep fried shrimp coated with a batter of flour (I think) and salted egg yolk. Sounds weird but this was also one of our new finds.

---

Fried Eel with a sweet sauce .... yummy, think it wasn't as sweet as b4, which is a good thing for me.

---

Wonton Soup. Yum!

---

Some radish filled thingy .... u would expect something sweet with this type of pastry but its not.

The inside .... loved this! It was piping hot when it was served and we had to nibble on it slowly and thus had the chance to really savour it.

---

Then it was time for dessert!! Its a Walnut Cheesecake. Really nutty and delicious.

---

The bday gal!

---

Huiyi and I.

---

The four of us ...

It was a nice dinner and I'm glad Huiyi enjoyed herself. There's going to be another bday celebration on Fri, the actual day, with 我们. More food to come!

Bukit Timah Hill

Wasn't sure whether the trip was going to happen as the nite b4, a bunch of us were discussing about it and all we could talk about is Dim Sum and coming up with excuses not to go. Some of the lame ones were

"If we can't find parking, we'll go eat Dim Sum"

"If Shanice can't wake up, we'll go eat Dim Sum later"

Haha ... it really got me salivating for Dim Sum and that was all I could think of :) However, at 7.30am, all of us got a text from Shanice informing us that the weather is clear for climbing the tallest peak in Singapore.

I have to say I was slightly dissapointed ... I wanted to sleep in! But I dragged my lazy ass out of bed and made my way to Yishun to meet everyone. Surprisingly, I was early! Shanice, Ben and Huiyi arrived not long after but then we had to wait for Evon who was late because she had to wait 25mins for her bus.

We finally made our way to the park and there was a queue to the parking lot! Damn, did not think that there were be so many ppl wanting to climb this hill of us. There was no sign of KL and so we called him and he said he was there already and there is tons of parking!

Hmm....

Nope there isn't! It because that dumbass (said in the most loving manner) went to the wrong nature reserve! He took a cab down to meet us and in the mean time, we found a spot to park a little farther from the park. Kudos to Ben for doing a 3 point turn on a slope driving a manual truck with sticky gears, bearing in mind that he hasn't driven a manual in a long time. There was a moment of panic when Ben swiched seats with Shanice and the first words that came out of his mouth were...

"Huh? What do I do?"

I was just praying we didn't roll down the slope and hit the car behind us.

---

The map of our climb ....

---

A before shot of us ....

KL finally arrived and we started our climb. OMG, the first part was a killer! The steep slope was paved but it was a bitch climbing it. I was gasping for breath and regreting bringing up Mt K halfway up the slope. My only motivation?

DIM SUM!

We finally finished that steep ascend only to be met with a flight of stairs, but not any old flight of stairs. These were steep ones! Crap ..... I should have stayed in bed. I've not worked out in forever, my body is not ready for this. The few step I climb at Doby Ghaut station is NOTHING!

---

But we all made it up there, my legs were killing me but lets just say there was this really HUGE Siew Mai at the top of the flight of stairs :)

---

We made it to the top! That's about 536ft.

What goes up must come down so we made our way down, surprised that it really didn't take us long to reach the top. So we decided to try all the other trails in the nature reserve. I'm glad everyone decided to do it, if u would have to ask me .... yup, u prob can guess the answer :)

---

More stairs .... I have come to the conclusion that I HATE steep stairs!

---

A small water catchment area that we found after trekking thru the forrest. Even with the rain for the past few days, the ground was pretty dried except for a few areas.

---

The boys ....

---

We made it back to the starting point .... VICTORY!!!!

And that means, its really time for ....

---

DIM SUM!!!

Haha, I think I ate more calories than I burned ....

It was a fun day but I think I prefer the Tree Top walk alot more. Hmm ... Mt K? Umm .... I think KNOW I'm afraid of it ....

P.S. Thanks to Shanice for all the pics!

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY SIS!

Congrats Ben!

Was invited to Ben's convocation .. well, not really invited to it, we were asked to meet him after the ceremony. Tics cost $45 per head, even Ben had to get a tic himself. We were going to meet him, crash the buffet and then go out for dinner in the evening.

The event was held at the Hilton and by the time we got there, ppl were already queuing up for the food. There wasn't anyone to check whether we had tics so we just walked right in. We found Ben almost immediately and proceeded to take some pics.

---

The graduate and us.

---

KL was there too as he was working the event.

After taking pics we then went to eat. OMG it was a mess! Almost all of the food were gone and have yet to be replenished. Dirty plates were all around as there were not enough staff clearing. Because it was a standing reception, it made it so much worst. There were only a few small tables around and they were all piled with dishes. There seem to be only one guy replenishing the food and with the typical Singaporeans, they filled their plates with food as they think that's all that is available.

I know, we shouldn't be complaining as we did not pay for it but still, I think Ottawa Street Catering can teach them a few things :) You would think that suck an established hotel would have done thousands of such events and this relatively small reception would have been peanuts for them.

The place only got somewhat presentable AFTER everyone had left. Desserts started coming out again and there were yummy!

It was about 3.30pm so we headed to Coffee Bean for coffee and to pass time b4 dinner. However, when 7pm came, we were still not very hungry and didn't know where we wanted to go eat. We decided to head to the Singapore Flyer aka the ginormous Singapore Ferris Wheel.

---

Umm ... the Benjamin Shears Bridge. See all the cranes behind? They are building the Integrated Resort aka Singapore Casino there.

---

The wheel. I wonder if they are able to change the lights for different seasons, like red and green for xmas? That would be pretty cool.

---

Can see the capsules. I really want to go on it ... most know that I LOVE ferris wheels!

---

Another reason to visit the Flyer ... POPEYES! They finally opened one in town! No more going down to the airport for it. Was going to tell LC but she beat me to it. However, we did not have it for dinner as most were not keen on it. Moreover, with their $1.20 per 30 mins parking, we did not want to stay long. So off we went to the next destination ....

---

Guess where we were ....

---

Really nice swanky place ...

---

We had a hard time finding the place and only Yvonne has been to it. However, the last time she went, her friend was driving and it was during the day. We made a few wrong turns and getting vague directions from her friend was no help. But we finally found it! Not too many ppl there as it is still relatively unknown.

---

I think there was one restaurant there, a TCC and .... I don't know. But it is a nice quiet place to sit and relax. After taking a few pics and deciding not to eat at TCC, we were on our way again. It was really a road trip. Glad Ben was doing the driving :)

By then, everyone was starving and so we decided to head to an area near my place for dinner, or rather, supper. It was 10+pm by the time we sat down to eat.

---

Tofu with Minced Pork.

---

Hor Fun. This was pretty good.

---

Another type of noodles (I don't really know my noodles) This was not very nice, the hor fun was so much better.

---

Oyster Omelet. This was yummy too! Lots of oysters in it.

---

Chicken with Dried Chili and Cashews. Think there were more chilies than chicken which it usually the case for this dish.

When the food came, we attacked! Our last meal was at 3pm so naturally everyone was hungry, including me. Maybe that's why the food tasted so much better ... haha

We have the next couple of weekends planned already ..... Yippee!

P.S. Thanks to Evon for all the pics. Took only a few on my camera but decided to just use all of hers :)

Sis's Birthday BBQ

My sis is turning 18 and so she decided to have a bbq to celebrate. Unfortunately, not many of her friends could make it so it just turn out to be a small affair.

My dad had to work so we had to do all the setting up. I had to make my sis stay back while I went to pick my bro and ash up cos we wanted to go get the cake. We had to quickly hide the cake in the freezer and even with FOUR fridges and ONE ADDITIONAL stand alone freezer, it was still a puzzle. There were movement of items around so that it would fit.

Her friends were surprisingly on time and so when the first one arrived, there was nothing set up. We quickly assembled everything and started the evening.

---

Chicken Wings and Thighs.

---

Sausages and Crabstick. There was also Otah but I did not take pics of them.

---

My sis and I.

---

Blackforrest Ice Cream Cake from Swensen's. My sis was surprised as we told her there will be no cake, but I did offer to get her a cupcake. Wonder if she was really clueless or pretended to be ....

---

Haha, she sure looked happy here ....

---

Playing with the dry ice. It was then that my sis finally knew how they did the smoke effect at weddings.

---

Fun! :)

---

Wenna, my sis, Gwen and Justina. Yes, the one on the right is a little tipsy.

It was a fun nite. My bro and ash did all the bbqing as they love it. Well, I think ash loves it and my bro just wants to annoy her.

It has been awhile since we had a bbq at our hse. The previous time was with 我们 when I first came back. Don't worry guys, we can do it when my parents go to HK. On?

Yawn....

Have not been updating much these few weeks as there has really not been much going on.

I did meet up with 我们 on Sat ... seems like it has been awhile since I last saw them. Well, I met with KL earlier as he wanted to go to this Career and Education Fair at Suntec. Wasn't really keen but he said that he wanted company so I agreed.

Met him at 3pm and we only stayed for 1 1/2 hrs before he had to leave to meet O. They were going to watch a movie which I was invited but decided that I did not want to be the fifth wheel. So I went home prepared to spend another lonely nite at home.

Got online and then it was Ben that suggested that we meet up. Since I was all dressed up, I was glad that he suggested it. We went to our usual hangout (which I forgot where as it has been awhile since we went). Wanted to get a ride from Evon but since she said she did not know what time she was going to be done with her family, I decided to make it there on my own. There is a direct bus route there but u guys know how much I hate local buses ....

Mc was packed when I got there but luckily Ben, Huiyi and Shanice were there and had gotten us a table. Evon joined about 1/2 hr later and LC and GX a few hrs later. Mc only had first hr free parking so the drivers had to drive their car out and in every hr in order not to be charged the the $0.80 per 1/2 hr. Considering that we were there from 9.20pm to 3am, they saved alot by doing so! But we did get charged $0.80 at the last exit .,.. I guess we were a little too late in leaving :(

That's about all the excitement I've experienced ... was supposed to meet up with a friend for a drinking session but she cancelled on me twice :( Sigh .... well, hopefully she gets better and we'll meet up soon.