philosophical

Melbourne's shopping district 20 years ago - 1989, and now. The flooring remains the same but the popular-in-the-past mall has turned into a deserted shopping mall on a populated strip.

I read yesterday a text about Philosophy. Sounds boring and all, but I find myself referring back to it many times from the time I first read it.

Sometimes I get myself into an all-out thinking mode. Unfortunately, it’s often caused by unhappy incidences. I wonder, when I look back at my old photos, whether I am the same person in the photo, a younger, livelier, more cheerful side of me? I don’t think people would describe me as ‘morose’, now, no, perhaps the more positive ‘she has mellowed down’. Maybe my past bubbly and social self was injurious to my emotional needs. But also, maybe I had liked myself better then than now. And it’s hard to say, how life turns out, isn’t it?

I was prompted to think after reading about some instances, about personalities. Like, if after an accident, you become a ‘changed person’, that means you have been altered, then, is the person loving you loving the same person? If you have become a different person, then I don’t think the person has the same love… in that sense, maybe it would be better for the person not to love you/the new you.

I’ve always wondered about people who seem all well-adjusted and a nice friend to others while they are not all that in real life. Somehow seeing too many bad sides of people I have worked with in the past causes me to take a certain caution to new acquaintances. Maybe I’m being unfriendly, but when certain friendships prove injurious to my emotional expense, I’d rather take precautions. So, when everyone is saying how nice so-and-so is, I observe quietly, like a few of my friends. And we notice things about so-and-so that others would have missed, you might call it the ‘dark side’ of the person. I noticed one particular person, he seems to be a influential person, always having a ready smile, kindly, and doing well financially too. But after some skepticism from one of my other friends and me, we began to spot some discrepancies. For instance, said person made some unkindly comments which we believe stem from his insecurities. Maybe the physical manifestation of his fears cause him to come out of the carefully arranged public profile and make such a direct and some would deem, blunt comment. And we have seen him also getting close to people only for certain personal intent. I’ve always believed if you always want people to think that you are nice, you might have some parts that were not that nice. Well, people can say all sorts of things about you, but at least for me I know who would stand up for me and who would believe my side. I have actually felt saddened by people who seem to want to be close friends, always going out for shopping trips, sharing, meals, etc. But after all… you realize they are using you as a fair-weather friend, a ‘filler’in their lives, for they disappear quickly, too. Some come back after a while, claiming their friendship on you and a request to catch up for shopping soon, but this kind of friendship seems superficial to me, and I would not care to share deeply about my thoughts other than that which are found in fashion magazines.

It’s also sad when friendship breaks up because of certain small misunderstandings. It’s quite common in fact. But because of something that happened, it causes an ill-will to be around that friendship and also, it ceases to be the same as before. But I digress. Being wiser as we grow older, we have to think more about things, sometimes even having a notion of what to do before an unexpected situation happens.

So here’s an excerpt from what I read:

‘Go on and argue (in your head)- you will understand more about what you believe. You will begin to understand the subject more deeply. And this helps you to feel comfortable with it. And you might change something or you might not. When we ask ourselves questions, we start to understand ourselves and our lives, and it’s up to us to make changes or not. If the ideas in your head agree, this means you have integrity. What you say and what you do are the same. Everyone respects someone who has integrity!

By thinking and questioning, we can understand more and maybe prevent problems caused by misunderstanding.’

green nails

YesIhavegreennails.

Being one of those ladies who scoff at nails in strange colors and prefer to have them done in nudes or pinks, I can say that this is my bravest manicure attempt so far. Well, it's a long story. You know how in Singapore we can't find any decent brands of nail polishes to buy (unless you're in Orchard) and so you can choose to either ruin your nails by the cheap brands or splurge out on those you are not likely to finish. Since I paint my nails so regularly (I'm obsessed with keeping them in nice coverings), I chose the latter. But it's increasingly hard to find nice color tones where you'd want to buy the whole bottle... you know?

So on a spur I decided to try a cheap manicure place. I read that jade green nails are in this Fall so I opted for the closest I can find. Surprisingly, I'm very pleased with the results. My toes are in a very nice shade of nude too! Which goes to show sometimes you just have to try something new. Perhaps a sign of old age, I'm becoming reluctant to. At least for clothes brands, I find the high fashion ones getting pricey and material also not so good, so I'm often spotted caressing the soft cottons at Muji.

I found a cute blog, he writes about his life in the form of exquisitely drawn cat cartoons. It's Miao and wafupafu and I added it to my bloglist. It's something like kartoen.be except it's not so one-tracked. I enjoy looking at the cartoons very much, the inner aesthetician in me appreciates all the concept and hours gone into creating one deceptively simple blogpost.

Hee hee.

Last week, The Boyfriend and I happened to be in town - Ion for a while. It's been said that when you go out with different people, you will notice different things. When I am alone, I always notice (first) the shop's 'architecture', the way the layout and flow is designed, the colors and interesting materials used for interior decor. Strangely, I find myself wondering why each product is placed at each location and would check if the next time I went, it has been rearranged... ... But when I'm out with The Boyfriend, I notice... ... nice food! We walked past this japanese artisanal bread, I believe the name is 'Bread Society', and I was actually looking at the chestnut or hazelnut tarts on left. But what we actually decided upon was the unimpressive-looking lemon danish. We thought it sounded quite unusual and because we just had many sweet things at a wedding reception, we bought one. And... o! o! I'm not really a foodie, I just have high standards for the things I put into my mouth and body... but this danish, o! It's what I can only describe as... heavenly. Truly now I know what a slice of heaven tastes like. Even though we were not hungry, we savored every crisp, tangy, sour, sweet and iced bite of flavor from it. It's only $1.50 too, I'm swearing off mediocre breadtalks bread from now. (I never really like breadtalk, but I always buy because it's so convenient.) Next time I'm at Ion I'd be sure to visit.

Lomo your photo

This is my step-by-step tutorial on how to get that lovely Lomo effect in digital-camera sort of photos.

It’s really easy and I did it in minutes.

Firstly go to Picasa (free software from Google atwww.picasa.com)

Select two photos you want to superimpose. I’ve selected the same photo, basically the one on Cavenagh bridge and the closeup with hand.

Click the ‘Collage’ tool at the bottom.

Under Collage/Settings, choose ‘Multiple Exposure’. I did mine square.

The photos are superimposed!

Lastly, tinge it with a color for that needed Lomo effect.

After clicking ‘Create Collage’, go to ‘Effects’.

Choose ‘Graduated Tint’.

I chose purple, one of our favorite colors. Lomo in purple.

Apply, and you’re done!

Easy-peasy.

A gentlemanly conduct

I have just finished reading ‘Sense and Sensibility’, and with some mirth recall past recent instances that were related to me by friends, who could identify with the story. To summarize, it is a tale of 2 sisters who each had her heart broken by ‘gentlemen’ who seemed to want to be engaged to them, pursuing them and having similar affections. But suddenly, these men were known to be attached to others, and one was married quickly to a rich lady. To say that a woman would be heartbroken in these consequences was to say the least, in those olden days, the women could lose her health and her marriageability prospects as well, if any hint of scandal ensued within the ‘engagement’.

And yet today we women still face the same things. There are guys, seemingly good guys, in our midst who would think nothing of calling regularly and meeting up one-on-one, so often that the rest of her friends, naturally, would wonder ‘if there is something going on between the two’. But this seems to happen and no word from him, no proclaimation of intent to date, or otherwise. I feel that this is rather un-gentlemanly conduct. No doubt, the guy may be making up his mind, and one who does so rather too quickly also may have much to be desired of in character. But if a guy should engage my female friend in late-night conversations, talking of themselves, frequently asking her out to sup till the wee hours, I think he has given her reason to hope for a future relationship, whether it is in his mind, or not. Being so close with a woman, what could the man possibly want? Is it true friendship he seeks? And if he does not give any word, I could not help but to condemn this man’s character. Because he has, subconsciously or not, chosen to mislead this young lady.

For myself, I have had a rather large number of male friends whom I also have gone out one-on-one. We have kept the friendship safe by sharing openly we are friends, and also to share our interest in other parties, just to be doubly sure. When I suspect a male friend is interested in more than a friendship with me, and on the other hand, I am NOT, I will and do make it clear to him. But it seems many, too many guys like to string women around. They make the woman like them by flattery and sincere sharing, but no further word is promised. Many women around me are wounded by such un-gentlemanly conduct. They wonder at the state of their relationship, whether anything is going to happen – they feel that it might be – until, sadly, another friend sees the guy being intimate with another woman. I have been in that friend position before, and it’s hard to break the news when the woman has so excitedly shared about her hopes.

Yes, I also deeply condemn the guy’s character….

I have a tale which was shared with me at length, some years back, with a girl I once had a friendly acquaintance with. This may be her private matter, but seeing her happily ‘engaged’ now, I feel I have no guilt in telling her tale, that it may serve not to be a piece of juicy gossip, rather, it may be a tale with a moral behind it.

The girl, as I will call her, ‘The Girl with the Diamond Necklace’, had a heartbreaking story which she related to me years ago. I could hardly believe that it were true had I not been acquainted with the guy, her ex-lover. The guy, Camry, had wooed her incessantly with a car full of flowers and expressed such love, she too had deep feelings for him and they were happy together. When Camry left for half a year to I believe a study attachment overseas, their relationship seemed strong and she sincerely believed herself attached. When he came back, however, it was a different story. He dissociated himself with her, presumbably to rise in the society, because I saw that in that time, a lot of things were entrusted to him and he rose in status in The Church. Soon, he dumped her and before long, he was attached to another. Well, this story might seem to be quite typical. You may think that possibly, the girl was misled. But she is as clever as she is pretty, so I don’t doubt her side to the tale. The most hurt that Camry had done, however, might not be to her. Camry and The Girl with the Diamond Necklace used to double-date with Camry’s college friend, and his girlfriend. When the college friend’s relationship broke up, he was understandably devastated. Camry used this opportunity, to hook up with his college friend’s ex-girl. They are now married, this year. (And college friend did not settle with any girl until months later, although he was an eligible guy. People used to question why he had not settled down, because they did not know this heartbreaking story.)

The Girl with the Diamond Necklace bore all the pain and saw all, and even had the magnimity of heart to forgive Camry. (Some say that she is quite self-centred now, but I reckon it is because in the past she had been too giving) She just thought that he would have the civility, based on their past intimacy and rainy nights together, that he would at least, smile to her on occasion where they were in the same event. But he did not even acknowledge her presence, even just looked right through her as if she were invisible. This kind of silent treatment, I have witnessed it as I was once with her when I saw it happen. I saw her devastation, her inner crumbling of her heart, the confused feelings.

This kind of guy is worth nothing, a piece of rubbish, you may think, now you have heard the sordid details. But conversely, in The Church he is given a status of high importance and much respect. People even think highly of him and his expertise in handling things. But because I know all these things, I can only give him disdainful looks. And he knows that I know, too, and can never pretend in front of me to be a true gentleman.

And how many more stories do I have to share of such similar guys? Aplenty, though the grievances caused by them may not be as bad as his. Amazingly, I have seen most of my female friends move on from their bad experiences and most are leading settled lives, with better men.

For The Boyfriend, one very strong thing that attracted me and led me to the comforting attachment, was that he was very gentlemanly.

While we were in the dating stage but not-yet-sure of each other, he told his friends he was dating me, to my surprise and happiness. After the Friday night when he took my hand and declared his feelings, he told his leaders the very next day, and on Sunday I met his Mom. Within the first month, we had gone out to dinner with his relatives, and he has met my parents as well. This really shows a true gentleman who is serious to make his own intentions known. Therefore because of it, our relationship is much strengthened. I may be too much of a thinker and wonder too much, but the initial actions have left my heart reassured.

For guys who can do no more than give a woman hope and shortly prove it not to be true, they have to ask themselves the reason for it. If it is sincerely to pursue an innocent friendship, they had better learn from the mistakes made previously, and make it clear through words, if not actions. If they were in the midst of considering, I do not take it as a crime but perhaps they had better err on the side of caution in regards to a woman’s heart. But if they had maliciously done it, I definitely condemn their character, and their friendship is not worth having.

I hope all my male friends are gentlemanly in their conduct to women.

pretty funny

This is the brand of breakfast cereal Mom buys, we have plenty of these empty boxes in our house.

Yesterday, while walking in a supermarket, I pointed it out to The Boyfriend who was looking at boxes of cereal. He thought that the cereal comes with milk inside ... ... ...and blurted out, 'Wow, it comes with milk!'

I collapsed in giggles, again.

Anyways, here's some pretty funny English signs which are compiled... have a chuckle or two at it.

Look at the following signs and decide why they are funny or strange:

1. In a Bucharest hotel lobby:

The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable

2. In a Paris hotel elevator:

Please leave your values at the front desk

3. In a hotel in Athens:

Visitors are expected to complain at the office between the hours of 9 and 11 A.M. daily

4. In a Yugoslavian hotel:

The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid

5. In a Japanese hotel:

You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid

6. In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery:

You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday

7. Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop:

Ladies may have a fit upstairs

8. In a Bangkok dry cleaner's:

Drop your trousers here for best results

9. In a Rhodes tailor shop:

Order your summers suit. Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation

10. A sign posted in Germany's Black forest:

It is strictly forbidden on our black forest camping site that people of different sex, for instance, men and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other for that purpose

11. In an advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist:

Teeth extracted by latest Methodist

12. In a Swiss mountain inn:

Special today - no ice cream

13. In a Copenhagen airline ticket office:

We take your bags and send them in all directions

14. In a Norwegian cocktail lounge:

Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar

15. In the office of a Roman doctor:

Specialist in women and other diseases

first time I ever won anything

...does it signify a winning streak this year? (I should enter more competitions.)

Well, I'm the lucky winner of kennysia's competition and I won 2 tickets to watch the Black Eyed Peas live in concert. Only problem it's in KL, plus it's tomorrow. (I wonder what would happen if I didn't check my email today?) Well, I'm going to give it away to 2 luckier people. (=

To win the tickets for the said competition, all you have to do is to help Kenny interview the band by asking a few questions. Drawing on my few productions interviewing DJs, and fashionistas, I came up with 5. (= Here's my questions:

About going on trips with strangely normal people.

These thoughts I’m having happens for two reasons, one, an inspired discussion about some people, as usual – I shall not name names, as promised.

The other, when I’m planning for a shopping in Bangkok trip end-year, some people inevitably come to mind.

All events depicted hereforth are true, sadly...

I had the misfortune to travel with a group of friend’s friends, and some are even friend’s friend’s friends… Not knowing them vaguely well, I should have not decided to go in a big group but, I had to be working during half the trip so I reckoned, ‘hey why not?’ Despairingly for me… in the trip, there were two guys out of 4 (the other 1 being my very normal friend) that were what some of us would not want to term as ‘friends’, or even ‘true friends’. Mr Loud was… well, he was a young punk who liked to hide his roommate’s underwear under the said roommate’s pillow (my furious normal friend), and liked to play pranks on guys like pulling up their underwear till it snaps. He is also the loudest voice in the room. You may use the word ‘obnoxious’ to describe him. He is ever-helpful and likes to offer his opinions even if you didn’t ask for it. Best of all, he feels that he is the consummate expert on all things Bangkok, so if you want to go to buy a dress, drink tea or have a manicure, he will definitely offer you his advice.

I only realized this when we were waiting for our bus to reach to pick us to our hotel. While the others were otherwise occupied (or hiding from him), he sidled up to me and pressed his shoulder beside me – I was very irritated because I did not know him well. Perhaps if he were more suave I would have hamsuped him back. I know I am the prettiest girl in the group (self-proclaimed) but my shoulder is still my shoulder. (By the way he also offered me rides on a bike to wherever I wanted to go, only me and no other girl. Hyuks.)

He opened a Bangkok map in my face and proceeded with a lengthy diatribe of where are the best thai food restaurants in the area, etc etc. His claims to be the undisputed expert came with a mention about one ex-girlfriend of his having a thai grandmother. Yes, I nodded benignly. That should make you the expert amongst all. Thankfully during the trip, I spilt up with them, and went off with a couple of friends.

The other guy, Mr Invisible. You have known those characters, I’m sure. Not having much opinion of them, because they are always silent. They laugh along with other people’s jokes, but have none of their own to offer. I have always wondered about them because I am also guilty of not being able to keep quiet at times. Are they preferring to keep silent because they have no ideas or prefer to listen? I’m not talking about those who are introverted, I like them very much. It’s those who never seem to have any tailbone or any…personality. Always playing the sidekick role. Anyways, Mr Invisible was there to assist Mr Loud’s schemes. He was the silent follower in every jaunt. In my opinion, when I go traveling, since it costs me my money and time, there are definitely some places I must go, and some things I must buy. Of course, I’m not insisting the group follow me if I wanted to buy dried longans. But, I wonder about the Mr Invisibles, when they travel, do they get as much out of the experience as me? They definitely are totally reliant on others to show them the way, whereas I can say that I can take the train by myself in Bangkok, or in Tokyo for that matter, and I won’t get lost. At least I’m confident of finding my way back to the hotel.

It’s hard to make friends with Mr Invisibles. They seem to be very diplomatic. Sure, any movie is fine by them. Anyplace to eat, too. Even ordering from the menu, they’d probably follow your order or order the standard set. They are not as irritating or disturbing as the Mr Louds. But in a way, they are quite sinister, I feel. Let’s say you are stuck in a situation, or maybe just a mild thing like someone accusing you of doing something wrong when you are innocent. Would the Mr Invisibles know what to do? OR would they just stand by and not side or shield you? To me and many others it seems they would do just that. Thus, would you really call this a ‘friendship’? If he doesn’t make effort to do anything. Of course in this sense, perhaps the friendship of Mr Louds are preferable.

Well, I have to say that these characters are few and far between in my gang. Thankfully. But most of The Church’s women have a gripe: The men in The Church (or maybe the whole of Singapore for that matter) seem to be fitting into either one of these categories, although not to an extreme level. The single guys all seem to be ‘cannot-make-it’ (this is not my opinion as I am younger and still can choose from the range of 25-30). They are either very ‘nua’, ‘kiam siap’, uncle dressing sense (the coffeeshop uncle not the towkay uncle), poor, blah blah. And maybe this is true, for I have seen even this year, quite a number of my older girl friends marrying those from other churches who seem a little bit different from The Church’s men. On the other spectrum, there are those single men who are uncle-like and sporting a paunch and wrinkles, 10 years older than me, but still think they are Casanovas and can work it, baby. How I know this is because I have acquaintances who know them too, hahaha.

Well, if you were to settle, I can’t say for sure which is better. Myself, I prefer the exterior manliness of Mr Loud. He is sure to offer you some words of encouragement repeatedly should you fall ill or are unsure about having a manicure. But, your trip and your life may be second place to his jet-setting, want to be high-class lifestyle. Maybe you will no longer have an opinion and feel helpless when he shoulders another girl prettier than you. If you like the diplomacy and silence of a peaceful situation where there is absolutely no conflict and no idea for that matter, you may settle for Mr Invisible’s shoulder. You won’t expect him to disagree with you in any choices to eat or which movie to watch. You will happily get to watch all your favorite chick flicks. And go for 2 hour long manicures, you don’t even need to ask for permission he will just slump into the nearest couch naturally. Being an observer of life like some of my friends are, we also watch and wonder about these men. Perhaps they will change, but to our gut feel they will remain the same, mostly.

on sunday

One of our best photos taken together, I just love the way we look, here at a good friend's wedding.

It's also one of the rare times I wear green. I do like the color, like I like pink, but I don't fancy it on my body or on others'. Pink does make one look fat as well. But this forest green dress is lovely. It's Marc by Marc Jacobs and it's decent enough (long hem and not too low-cut) to be worn on stage (worship session), and with some interesting neckline as well - the bling bling that saves me the need to wear a necklace. And to have perfect red-ish lips, Benetint comes to the rescue to avoid me looking washed out on stage. The Boyfriend looks dashing in white, with his signature 'antenna' hairstyle.

surfing

Ooo... Oreo online for the first time.

Happy long weekend! We are hoping to spend a few hours at the beach...

Taylor Swift - Love Story - Official Music Video

I've been quite a fan of Taylor Swift since 'Teardrops on my guitar', one awesomely talented young singer, here's a wonderful dreamy MTV for the weekend.

Did You Know 4.0

One of the most interestingly informative videos I've seen about technology so far. A must-watch for everyone!

September's looks

Here are my cover looks for September. Inspired by those Japanese magazines where you can mix and match some pieces of clothing, I've done the same with a white shirt (Something which I've been longing to buy for the longest time), denim rolled cuff shorts, a purple dress, a nude cardigan which I wanna grab grab grab it, a knitted cardigan, a peachy skirt and some other items. Also, I've kept the color theme to purple, white, nude, pink, denim with red highlights. The best part is all the models are carrying different handbags each day... perhaps I should conside buying less clothes, mixing and matching those already in my wardrobe, and save to buy bags? The shoes are also mostly the same, I don't like to have too many pairs of shoes. And the necklaces, bracelets and rings are also something which I would have in my collection. The best part is some of these stuff are actually affordable, within my price points!

I love playing dress-up. I shall do more when I have time, which is, perhaps tomorrow...

On another note, shall STOP buying tee shirts. To all those people whom I've said, 'please stop me from buying tee-shirts, I've bought 3 in the last 2 weeks. Of course they are gorgeous. But still, I'm not 17 anymore.

Monday

Chasing the Monday Blues away by cheery shoes and da leepard bag.

Bag, Jimmy Choo

Watch, Casio

Bracelet, Aloha Mi Lajki

Ring, H&M

Cardigan, Hunky Dory

Dress, Noir&Blanc

Flats, Minimarket

Tuesday

No meetings today, I can slouch in the office with my shorts and tee. (Yes I am actually allowed to wear that outfit to work.)

Headband, Evita Peroni

Handbag, Dagmar

Ring, Pilgrim

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajiki

Necklace, Comelia

Bracelet, Pilgrim

Tee, French Connection

Shorts, Esprit EDC

Flats Minimarket

Socks, American Apparel

Wednesday

Mid week snug in a nude cardigan. Won't go wrong with sparkly shoes.

Bag, Dagmar

Ring, H&M

Bracelet, J Dauphin

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Necklace, Thomas Sabo

Cardigan, Hunky Dory

Top, Hanky Panky

Skirt, H&M

Heels, Giuseppe Zanotti Design

Thursday

It feels nice to have a scarf around my neck.

Scarf, Vintage.

Clutch, Vintage.

Necklace, Comelia

Belt, Twenty8Twelve

Dress, Noir&Blanc

Heels, Gucci.

Friday

Going to explore the new shopping mall. Heard it has nice ice cream parlors!

Headband, Evita Peroni

Scarf, Vintage

Briefcase, Vintage

Bracelet, J Dauphin

Necklace, Comelia

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Vest, Burfitt

Belt, Twenty8Twelve

Top, Hanky Panky

Shorts, Esprit EDC

Heels, Gucci

Socks, American Apparel

Saturday

First to Church, then dinner with The Boyfriend's family. Hope I don't drip pasta sauce on my new dress.

Handbag, Prada

Bracelet, Vintage

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Cardigan, Rules by Mary

Minidress, Nakkna

Shorts, Esprit EDC

Heels, Giuseppe Zanotti Design

Sunday

Out with some girl friends for a tea party at Dempsey.

Headband, Evita Peroni

Handbag, Hermes

Ring, Pilgrim

Bracelet, Hermes

Bracelet, Francesca Romana Diana

Necklace, Aloha Mi Lajki

Cardigan, Rules by Mary

Tee, French Connection

Skirt, H&M

Heels, Gucci

15 Malaysia - Meter

This is worth an immediate replay!
The script is well-written - it's tough to write reality-style scripts like these.

15 Malaysia : Slovak Sling

Only in Malaysia!

Our photographer on TODAY, today!

Hello BryanJean.

Well, if I have the budget, I would sure love to take my photos in France!

The capital of love!

Yea. We are still waiting for our main photos to be ready.

They spend a long time editing each one to look just perfect so we have to be patient.

And our video too!

(Click on article to read)

O! Glorious Food!

I was very cheered to have had many nice meals lately. And they are nolstalgic, of sorts.

Since I have been sickly for the last months – first flu, and then another sort of flu, and gastroenteritis of a weird kind – I have not had much to eat, and perhaps, not in the right frame of mind to enjoy it, too.

Tracking down a short history of my food haunts, I am quite an unusual customer, you would say. Even if the food is nice, I would not like to visit it again and again week after week. The exception being, of course, lunch. For lunch, I try not to vary too much. Each week, I’d have yong tau foo, Subway Italian BMT, Mos burger… yes, the weekly lunch menu is always similar.

Anyways, I have had the privilege of visiting the top few restaurants in my personal food lists, yes, I do keep a list in my PDA though it’s seldom referred to.

I started posting photos of all the food places we’ve been to recently, so please add me on FB if you wanna. I must say they are nice photos… hee.

So here are my fave picks!

ITALIAN

Best pasta (freshly made and the only one to do so in Singapore)

Pasta Fresca Da Salvatore’s Sixth Avenue

Try the Arrabiata, it got me hooked. And any pizza with salami in it!

Also

Swiss Culture’s cream and mushroom Pasta. Slurp up every bite.

MEXICAN

Margarita’s – it’s the only one I’ve tried and… super delish. At Dempsey and East Coast Rd has one I believe.

KOREAN BBQ

Chang, Korean Restaurant at Dempsey. Packed so have to book on weekends. It introduced me to authentic kimchi – I never liked kimchi, having only tasted the ones at food-courts…now, I LOVE IT. See photos!

The Boyfriend says the kimchi rocks too.

DESSERT (CAKE)

PS Café’s cakes at Dempsey. I love the pecan pie, sticky date cake, brownie, chocolate blackout…

New favorite being Max Brenner’s Belgian waffle and Crepe Suzette (Esplanade). See photos!

JAPANESE

Without fail, Ichiban Boshi’s sukiyaki and cereal chicken and fresh kajiki sashimi. Some branches have differing standards though, we feel that Esplanade’s one is the best. For more upmarket, Kuriya has a mean sashimi! At Shaw Orchard.

Also, the sukiyaki at ‘Sun with Moon’ both at Clarke Quay and Wheelock is very nice. The plus point of ‘Sun with Moon’ is that it has nice desserts as well. And super romance ambience at Wheelock.

Best soba which made me like soba … Shimbashi soba, Paragon. Try the ‘Oroshi’ cold. And super healthy. See photos!

I have not found any good FRENCH, THAI, CHINESE or SWEDISH food yet… =)

I consider myself blessed we can find such a variety of food in Singapore, and we can afford it, at least as a weekend dinner…