Ban Mian, Pan Mee, Yum Yum.

Sunday 25 May 2014

Helloooooo everyone!

H and I went to Kin Kin Chilli Pan Mee located at MacPherson Road for lunch today! The 2-hour long queue has been reduced to... no more queue and that's why we decided to head there! We were seated immediately and food was served in <10 minutes. Why queue? Just wait for a month or two and I'm sure the food tastes even better when there's no rush.




I have never eaten the original version in KL before so I cannot compare but I thought what we had today was pretty yummy already! We ordered the signature pan mee ($5/bowl) and the minced meat was flavourful, ikan bilis crunchy and the chilli flakes, H and I literally drowned our noodles in them. The huge homemade fish balls are on the softer side, lacks the "boing boing" crunch I am used to but H said these are healthier 'cause no chemicals were added to make them bouncy.

Just last week, H and I also had the ban main at Geylang Lorong 32, one of our favourites!


I ordered the soup noodles on all my previous visits so I thought I'd try the dry version this time round + the weather was hot and humid, I didn't want to perspire hahaha. It was nice but I'd order the soup ban mian on my subsequent visits.


The soup was light yet not bland which was perfect. And just look at the generous amount of ingredients! $4.80/bowl. Do order the ngoh hiang when you are there as well, especially love the prawn crackers, otah roll, ngoh hiang and fried tofu! :)


Attention ladies!
A new multi-label retail store that brings you all your favourite online brands has landed in Raffles Xchange! The Showcase features brands like A for Arcade, All Would Envy, By Invite Only, ChaceyLove, Dressenicole, FashMob, FlyMeToParis, LilyPirates, Max & Hazel, Megagamie, MissyPixie, MGP Label, Smooch The Label, Soeurs, The Blush Inc and The Design Closets.

Located right beside Raffles Place MRT, the location of The Showcase is ideal because H works around the CBD and whenever I am waiting for him to knock off, I would pop over to The Showcase for a little retail therapy ;) You never have to worry about having nothing to wear for any occasions. Pop in during lunchtime if you have an important dinner event!



Top from A for Arcade
Skirt from Max & Hazel
Raw crystal ring from By Invite Only


Dress from Megagamie


The Showcase
Raffles Xchange B1-57
5 Raffles Place
(S) 048618

+65 6557 0552

Mon – Fri: 10 AM – 9PM
Sat: 10 AM – 7PM
Sun & Public Holiday: 11 AM – 4PM

Kindness Day SG on 30th May

Tuesday 20 May 2014

I remember when I was in secondary school, we were tasked by the teacher to write one kind deed we have done over the week. Just one, it's really not that hard. Yet back at that time, I found it a hassle having to rack my brains every Sunday evening thinking about what to write because I have the memory of a goldfish; I cannot even remember what I did yesterday, what more for the week! I recall writing down deeds like lending my friend money because she forgot her wallet and buying packet tissues from the elderly in need.


As I grow older, I learn that being kind does not necessarily equate to forking out money to do good deeds. It can be as simple an act as saying "Thank you" or sharing a table with strangers during lunch hour, or just keeping quiet when you have nothing nice to say. It is really that achievable.

10 examples of kind acts

I believe Singaporeans are innately kind just that we are too shy or feel a little awkward showing acts of kindness. Hence, we should unlock this belief from within us and actively take a pro-social stance in practicing kindness and graciousness


The Kindness Day SG falls on the last Friday of May every year and this year it falls on the 30th where it will be filled with exciting events! In line with the Singapore Kindness Movement, we would like to spread the word and encourage everyone to start, show and share kindness by sparing a thought for the people around us, to create a gracious city to make life better for you and me.


I was given these fabric daisy pins which I passed on to my loved ones to remind them to carry out one kind act a day. Karma bites ya? I wouldn't want anything bad to befall on the ones closest to my heart.



H, who is always so supportive, pinned the fabric pins on his work bag AND on himself to serve as reminders for himself to be kind in May as it is a month-long affair!



While I used it as a brooch to add some colours to my outfit. Yellow is one colour that immediately brightens up any ensemble so I foresee myself using this daisy pin as a fashion accessory to go with my outfits!

It was also a coincidence that we were both in blue because blue and yellow are the official colours of this year's Kindness Day. So wear blue + yellow or either colour on 30th May to show your support!



With the remaining fabric daisy pins, I decided to distribute them to my neighbours with a note attached to it to let them know about Kindness Day SG.




I was a little shy to go door-to-door as it was a weekend when I was out distributing... So I dropped them into letterboxes! I hope my little notes manage to inspire someone.


To celebrate Kindness Day in Singapore, the Singapore Kindness Movement has an evening of fun lined up for you on Friday, 30th May! Dream Academy will be presenting "One of a Kind" - a musical song and dance by artistes including the Dim Sum Dollies, Hossan Leong and Vocaluptous. An official kindness song by Lorraine Tan will be launched and supporting acts include Jason and Rai, Elson Soh, Jacky 周玮贤, Juno林昭宇 and Stella Seah. In addition, certificates will be presented to individuals and groups in the Kindred Spirit Circle who have championed kindness in the past year.

Join in the fun with guest-of-honor, Mr Baey Yam Keng (MP of Tampines GRC) at Shanghai Dolly on the 30th May from 7pm-10pm at just $10/ticket (includes one drink and a goodie bag worth $25)!


If you experienced or witnessed any kind acts, #kindnessdaysg on Instagram with photos or videos to share with us! Also, "LIKE" the Singapore Kindness Movement on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kindness.sg to show your support.

That will be one of your kind acts for today - spreading and sharing good things with your friends! ;)



Our *First* Staycation

Thursday 15 May 2014

H and I finally went for our first staycation! In Singapore! It's not that we are so ngiao (stingy) we refuse to fork out money to go for a weekend hotel stay in our country. It's just that whenever we browse through hotels for an upcoming special occasion, we will give up after 5 minutes because the price we are paying for can get us cheap tickets + accommodation to a nearby city (KL, JB, Malacca, Penang, Bintan, Batam, etc) or we would rather top-up a little more cash and fly to somewhere in South East Asia. I mean, we are not going to stay the entire day in the hotel room we book and order room service right??? We are still in Singapore and H has a car, we will definitely still drive out for meals so that defeats the purpose, in our opinion.

So when we heard that The Quincy Hotel has a special Qool Weekend Package which includes a whole load of fun, H and I jumped at the chance and booked our *first* weekend staycation! :D


The hotel lobby + cafe with those eggshells (haha) suit the entire quirky theme!





I love that they stock Molton Brown toiletries!
We smelled soooo good after the shower!


We checked in a little after 2pm, dropped our things in the room then went down to the lobby cafe for a bite before our first activity! 


H's favourite corner was of course where the coffee machines are.



Healthy snacks for the health conscious bunnies

And the carb laden pastries for the average us haha



Lunch is served from 12pm-2.30pm if I'm not wrong so when we were there, it was teatime! All the tea and pastries provided were from Dean & Deluca - their cakes are pretty good!

Then it was time to head up to the swimming pool level for our first activity - Couple Art Jamming Class held every weekend from 3pm-4pm! :) H and I had been looking forward to painting on canvas all week and even printed out a couple of paintings we like for this class!!


We are amateurs so we chose a simple design. The expert said this painting is impressionist so there is no need clear lines neither do we have to paint it exactly the same so in a way, we can allow our "creativity" to flow.



My boyfriend is really LAST WARNING I TELL YOU. Ask him to paint and he was there being so serious drawing black lines hahahaha. I was too engrossed in filling in the colours for my part and when I took a step back to see how I was doing, I got a shock when I saw his and then I couldn't stop laughing hahaha. What is this!!!

The tree branches and trunks are dark brown not black!!! 

Finally taking some shape haha.
I went to look around and we were the worst painters among all.
So embarrassing!!

The expert, Damian touched up the drawing a little to make it look more bearable hahaha!

Tadah!! 
I know you're thinking H's side of the painting looks better but *ahem* 
I would like to add that most of the touch-up done by Damian was on his side.

That's all.

Hahaha!

Anyway, this is going on one of the walls of our future home!



The other couples said they are not professional artists but just take a look at what they painted!!!



I would totally buy them please!
Lots of hidden (or humble) talents around!




After the class, we walked to Orchard which was only 5-10 minutes away!
Had an early dinner at Ding Tai Fung because we were feeling hungry already.

We shouldn't have because we went back to the hotel after some shopping
and realised they were serving buffet dinner!

Free flow alcoholic drinks/cocktails during dinner service too!


We were not hungry at all but just couldn't resist so we shared a plate of food!
Everything was so good??!?!???
I love the arrabiata pasta and fried prawn baguette so much!!
Yes, I'm a total carbs person if you haven't already realised -_-
Whereas H couldn't stop praising the cream mussels, he even had a second serving!




Movie night was at 9pm by/in the pool and there are even drinks + chips as accompaniment!
TOO MUCH FOOD OMG.
We were fed so well throughout our stay it was so awesome!


We didn't enjoy the movie that was shown 
so we went back to our room and switched on HBO instead haha.
I think we watched 2 to 3 movies before calling it a night!

After breakfast the next morning, 
I went back to the room and napped till it was time to check-out hahaha.
I love hotel breakfasts but it's always a dilemma like, 
should I wake up and go down for yummy food 
or should I continue lying on these super duper awesome sheets?

I loveeeeee hotel beds!
Need to get an identical one for our future home!

Sundays

Hungry again when we were going to check-out and the cafe was serving lunch!!
Both H and I had a bowl of laksa each + sandwiches 

And for dessert, there was a hugeeee rainbow cake!

After dressing it up a little...hahaha

It was not only pretty but also delicious!
The lemon pound cake we had the day before was good too, moist and not crumbly.

I should probably make a trip to Dean & Deluca for dessert soon I guess? ;)

Lastly, my outfit for checkout.

Have an awesome break from work everyone! <3