DRx 2nd Review + Artistry Cafe

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Sponsored Post


I went back to DRx Clinic for my 2nd review this month (read first visit here) and Dr David Ng said my skin is adapting very well to the products. Great news! Actually I noticed and felt my skin's improvement as well. I may be sponsored but let me tell you, my face feels wayyyyy smoother and softer than before I started using DRx's range of products. Their products are not harsh on the skin and they keep my complexion looking flawless and supple.

(bruised my skin when I forcefully removed my eye makeup after the Femmex show to go out for supper -__-)

Sometimes when I am extremely tired at night after a long day, I just want to jump on my awesome bed and go into deep sleep... And then I remember this overused phrase - "There's no ugly women in the world, only lazy ones." and "POP!" there goes my thought of heading to bed without my night cream. I procrastinate a lot but never when it comes to removing makeup and applying skincare products because 怎么说我也是靠脸吃饭的 hahaha!


So if I am lazy to apply moisturiser/sunscreen, I will choose to stay home. And H will grumble because he has to head out alone to buy packed lunch/dinner for us haha.

Remember this - if you want perfect complexion, don't be lazy. Or be a hermit.


Back to my visit at the DRx Clinic, I am on a couple of month long program with them to look fabulous on my wedding day! I was advised to add a new product to my skincare regime, the Intensive Lightener. According to Dr David, this product is to "prep" my skin for the laser treatment I will be undergoing in the following month. This replaces the Vitamin A Gel step which I was previously using at night (and now, in the day time as an additional step).

I don't have much scars/marks/pigmentation to lighten but I do hope it will give me a more even skin tone!

Promotion for my readers:
DRx Clinic will be waiving off the fees for the 1st 3 consultations for the month of Feb '14 for all of you! Quote "Jessica Tham" when you call to make an appointment! Valid for 1st time customers only.


End of Sponsored Post

Moving on, I tried a new cafe for brunch (or rather late lunch) last weekend and the food was yummy!! Jasmine and I met H at Artistry after an event for a rather late meal (4pm?) and they had ran out of eggs. But that's okay because the other dishes on the menu sound very delicious!! I couldn't decide between the Crab Burger or Duck Confit Pesto so I ordered both for H and I!

BOTH WERE VERYYYYYY GOOD! They were yummy in their own ways but if I had to choose, I would order the crab burger again on my next visit!

I love crab cakes because I don't have to deshell and I get all the yummy meat! The only other crab cake I've tasted was from Spruce and I personally think Artistry's version is better!

I have only taken a liking to pesto pasta recently and this one with shredded duck and pine nuts was flavourful and addictive. I liked it so much!

Jasmine couldn't have her eggs benny so she ordered the waffle with fig & honey ice-cream which, according to her, tasted pretty normal.

The food was great but the coffees, according to the coffee drinkers on my table, were not fantastic. So I guess you can't really have it all? I see myself going back there again soon because it is pretty rare to find a cafe serving food that hits all the right spots.

With some time to pass, all of us took our #OOTD at some alley but I had the most number of shots because I am troublesome like that hahaha!




Lastly, it's finally the time of the year again! Have a wonderful week feasting and gambling guys! Gong xi gong xi!

Brunch Sequel

Tuesday 21 January 2014

HI GUYS!
GUESS WHAT?

To follow up on my last blog entry, H and I actually made it to a cafe for brunch last weekend. We reached the place at 2.20pm (brunch ends at 3pm) BUT we got turned away at the entrance because they were "too full" and they had "a long wait list" (which will probably last till their closing time I suppose) so they "couldn't seat us" and we were asked to "come back another day".

We were disappointed of course and thereafter, H and I had a debate over that because I 1) disagreed with what the server said and 2) how she said it. On the other hand, H thought I should've 1) just gotten off the car (we circled for 15 minutes trying to get a parking lot) to get a queue number so that we could 2) eventually get a table no matter how long the wait was going to be.

1. I did not like how the girl turned us away. 
Yes, instructions were probably passed down by the management blablabla but I think the final decision should still be done by the customer. It leaves an unpleasant taste to be turning away good, innocent customers like us who are not going to cause any trouble. As a staff, you should be telling your customer something along the line of, "There is a long wait list to get a table and we estimate it to be around 1.5 hour. Unfortunately, brunch ends at 3pm so by the time you get a table, we might not be serving brunch anymore but we do have a selection of teatime snacks and desserts."

That is a nicer way to put it. It is pleasant to the ears and it is not offensive to me. Since I am hungry, I wouldn't wait 1.5 hour just to have snacks and I will leave on my own accord. You don't even have to turn me away.

2. You don't mean what you...typed?
Say, I went back to the cafe at 3.30pm after I've eaten somewhere else (which we did, duh), are you not going to seat me for desserts because you haven't seated all those before me who are STILL waiting to be seated for brunch? Didn't you stop serving brunch at 3pm? So now you are extending brunch hours just for them? Can you do the same for me next week?

That, to me, is bad management and customer service.

No, we will not be going back again despite the hype.

Okay, NEXT!

I love this picture!
We used a mini tripod + self-timer.
I was searching for the right angle when I noticed this creepy earthworm 
heading towards me eeeeewww!!
I leaped about 1m away before asking H to take over.
I hate anything that's crawls! And flies! And hops!

The bump on my forehead is soooooo annoying but I'm lazy to edit so just pretend you didn't see it.


A little photo-taking with the lalangs haha

And here's my favourite picture of H to date!

Not a coffee drinker so I had hot chocolate at Strangers' Reunion!

Didn't have ice-cream with my waffle previously and the vanilla ice-cream here was surprisingly good!







Not sure if you guys noticed from the above pictures 
but my hair colour is significantly darker by a few shades now.
I requested Wayne from Essensuals @ Bugis to dye it dark brown 
because I am having my pre-wed photo shoot next month 
and I prefer to have my coloured hair closer to my natural hair colour. 
Since I am lazy to touch up the roots before the photo shoot, this colour is the best!

When my hair was blown dry, Wayne and I were like,
"You look fairer. See what a difference hair colour can do to your face."
"Omg yes I look fairer!!"

But I have subconsciously developed a liking for light-coloured hair...so...
I will be back after the shoot!



Lastly, for the Lady Gaga X FEMMEX collection,
I managed to get 2 more pairs of tickets so here are the 5 giveaway winners:

- Amanda (zhoucongrui@gmail.com)
- Sofie (hysophia001@mymail.sim.edu.sg)
- Fiona
- Michelle Fei
- YD (hehexzx72@hotmail.com)

Please email qinxin.khoo@nuffnang.com for the details to collect your tickets!
See you on Friday! :)

Maple Syrup

Wednesday 15 January 2014

The title has nothing to do with this post.
Just for your info that's all.
With that out of the way, let's carry on...haha.

A little about how H and my weekend usually goes:

The night before I go to bed, I will set the alarm at 10am (and I get scoffed at) 
so we can make it to wherever for eggs before they stop serving brunch at 3pm.

10am comes... H, who is in-charge of snoozing the alarm clock, 
will snooze and set new alarms at 10.30am and 11am.
He eventually crawls out of bed at 11am to do...whatever. 
I don't know, and I don't care.
Oh yes, before he leaves the bed, he will bug me to wake up... to no avail. 
And then he leaves me on bed, promising to come back in 5 minutes to pull me up.
...30 minutes later, he comes in to shake me awake or just keep yakking on to annoy me.
But I never surrender.
I raise my hand, in our language, means "5 more minutes PLEASE".
He leaves again and 15 minutes later, he will be back in bed with me hahahaha.

And then we sleep till 1pm where I will get up first and force him to open his eyes.
Usually he does.
Because his 5 more minutes doesn't work on me.
And I will start leashing out threats if he doesn't wake up immediately.
Hahahahaha!

And that's how we never make it to brunch at 3pm.

So I am always on the lookout for places that serve all-day brunch or brunch till at least 5pm.
Last weekend, we visited Kith Cafe located at Quayside Isle (Sentosa)!


I actually love this place.
It was exclusive with a pretty view.
Being at Quayside Isle also flourishes my imagination - how AWESOME it would be 
if I could own an apartment here.
An apartment is good enough for me really. 
Living in a house here is a bonus. 
Having a yacht parked just right outside would be like getting a 10-year bonus.


Blackstone eggs benedict!
OMG SO YUMS!
This dish was perfection.
The bacon was fried to extra crispy yet it wasn't crunchy. 
Just the way I like it! 
The hollandaise sauce was light enough to announce its presence 
without being too thick or taking over the entire dish.
I cannot decide if I like Riders' Cafe or this rendition of Blackstone Eggs more.

H had the mozzarella scrambled egg with smoked bratwurst and truffle with sourdough.
The sourdough was great (I love any kind of bread) and I love the sausage!
H didn't like his meal though. 
He said it tasted like Chinese style fried egg 
and it was too spicy for a breakfast dish.

I ordered the iced chocolate which was too diluted >:(
While H had the latte with extra shot - great coffee, he loved it.

It was kinda gloomy that day but yeah, this was what we were facing while seated outdoor.

There are many restaurants located at Quayside Isle but I'm not sure if I will be back again 
because firstly, we paid $7 ( </3 ) to enter Sentosa JUST to eat at Kith.
On top of that, we still had to pay for parking.
Say we are done with eating and want to go to the beach, that's parking x2.
</3 again.
EXPENSIVE.

So let me think about it.

-

Have you girls done your Lunar New Year shopping yet?
Don't fret if you haven't because I'm just about to introduce you to Love and Bravery
a one-stop e-commerce store where you can get any style and design of apparel you fancy!



I love mono colour clothes with clean cuts at the moment 
so the Lab Nerissa Offshoulder Dress was love at first sight for me.
I was pleasantly surprised when I wore the dress because not only was it of quality material, 
this dress in white wasn't the least bit sheer (black bra underneath) 
AND it was fully lined!




If you would like to wear something more traditional this year, 
you definitely wouldn't want to miss out on this modern cheongsam with lace.
It is demure, of appropriate colours and perfect for this occasion!

All my readers get 5% off total purchase when you shop at Love and Bravery!
Key in "tippytapp05" to claim your discount!
Valid till 31 January 2014.

You can also opt for self-collection at either of their retail shop at:
- Tampines One #03-03 
- Income@Raffles, 16 Collyer Quay #02-08A

If you prefer shopping at a brick and mortar store, new arrivals are stocked twice weekly!

Get your shopping fix at Love and Bravery today!
Be quick though, they sell out really fast ;)

Facebook | Instagram | Website


-


Lastly, I will be walking the runway at the launch of
Lady Gaga X FEMMEX Collection on 24th Jan (Friday) at Zouk!

Other bloggers walking with me include gorgeous Melissa Koh, the sweet-looking Erica (tig3rlilyx),
Noel Boyd, Miss Singapore Valerie Lim, Joanne Marie Sim and Fiona Loh!

Come join us at Zouk next Friday to see preview of the collection!
Be spontaneous, dress up as Lady Gaga and stand to win cash prizes!

I am giving away 3 pairs of tickets to the preview.
Leave a comment in this post if you would like to join us and I will pick 3 readers at random.
Winners will be announced next Tuesday (21 Jan) and you can pick up the tickets
at Nuffnang's office located at Farrer Park.

I hope to see you on the 24th! :)



H's Birthday in Phuket

Saturday 11 January 2014

It was H's last time turning 2x last month so we booked a short getaway to Phuket! Not sure if you have noticed but we are trying to cover as much of Asia as possible, leaving our footsteps in at least one city of each country. This helps us to experience a little of the unique culture each nation has and we get to learn a tiny fraction of what each country has to offer. The world is enormous and there is so much to explore. After flying around for so long, I still feel like I haven't experienced London enough or learnt much of Italy. It's probably not possible to travel the world in one lifetime but I am always grateful for all that I have seen, and all that I am going to.

We flew via SilkAir (ticket was $200+/person) and checked into Cape Sienna in the evening for 3 nights!



We booked the sea view deluxe room with outdoor jacuzzi for around $300/night
and I was quite pleased with the room.
Initially I wanted a room/villa with a personal pool but those were exorbitantly priced 
and I'm not feeling as rich as 2012 so H chose Cape Sienna.

Overall, I would say our room wasn't too shabby but one thing I cannot stand 
was the low height between the tap and the sink in the bathroom!! 
A photo would illustrate better but I forgot to take a picture so let me try to explain.
Imagine your kitchen tap and sink -  lots of free space in between for you 
to rinse your plates under the running water right? 
That is exactly what the bathroom sink was lacking - free space in between.
I couldn't even fully put a 3.5" glass under the tap to fill it with water 
and I resorted to washing my face in the jacuzzi.

Yup, that's the only qualm I have about the room.

The jacuzzi at the balcony facing the sea!
(I didn't take a day photo)

My flight #ootd

The resort gifted H a birthday cake!

After making a wish, we finally got our lazy selves out to get food.
It was already 8-9pm then and we only managed to find a roadside stall 
selling pad thai and oyster omelette.

After a trip to 7-11 after dinner, we decided to make use of the jacuzzi before calling it a day.

Rise and shine!
There's a certain kind of tranquility about views like these, having the sea and sky connect.


The lobby in the morning



Breakfast by the pool

I didn't take any pictures of the food but the spread wasn't too bad.
At least they don't serve the same dishes everyday.


Went back to the room to change after breakfast and we were off to the beach!





Each beach chair was 400baht if I remember right

After walking through half the beach, we finally settled at somewhere less crowded.

A lot of reviews mentioned that Patong Beach is really dirty and I'm so glad we chose to 
stay near Kamala Beach because it is actually pretty clean 
and the water is very clear and cold despite the sun!


HAHAHAHA H thinks he's A&F model

Anyway we are both very shy people who are not very confident of our bodies. 
So out of courtesy, I'm just inserting two far-far-you-can't-see-much-of-our-half-naked-bodies 
pictures for your viewing pleasure.

You're welcome.

Yes, it was actually scorching hot and bright but I've already lost the tan I got from the trip, yay!

Had lunch at one of those tentage restaurants by the beach and the food sucks.
'Nuff said.

But the banana nutella crepe (no picture) we bought by the roadside was very yummy!!!
I guess you really can never go wrong with nutella.

I was getting quite sick of the sun and heat after lunch so we decided to head back 
and chill by the resort's infinity pool.



And then I got distracted because it was low tide

...all the rocks were out to play and I joined in!


H and I loved it here at Sienna Rocks!
It was exclusive, peaceful, comfortable and H fell asleep listening to the soft crashing waves.

Water was freezing though the sun was unforgiving.

Went back to our room and I fell asleep.
That's what holidays are for, right?

After numerous shakes from H, I finally woke up to shower and prepare for dinner 
only to find him sleeping when I was done.

ZZZZZZZ


The disappearing sun.

We headed to Patong for dinner and the night market. 
I didn't bring my camera along so I have no pictures to blog about it haha.
But I updated an entry on Dayre so if you're keen, go here: http://dayre.me/tippytapp/XmVwJIqgRz

Okay, I'm going to join H in bed now.
Have a great weekend guys!