Tristan and Ray turn 2

Both Rayhan and Tristan turn 2 next week and their parents chose to celebrate today. Luckily the timings didn’t clash so we could attend both, plus they were both held in the northern part of Singapore so we stayed out all day.

First up was Tristan’s party, which Desmond held at his in-laws place in Yio Chu Kang. There was a magician/clown who went through his show for the kids, Nat actually sat through most of it with Nick, instead of hiding away. Was proud of her for participating in the games, she’s growing up and becoming less shy.



Sasha watched from afar whilst being fed by Wendy and then we all took turns to eat.



The entertainer also made balloon sculptures for the kids, Nat chose a flower for herself and Sasha. She queued behind Cameron, they’re about the same height, or she might be slightly taller.


Tristan looked like a little sailor with his straight cut pants, he and Cameron look quite similar but have their own distinct features, unlike my two which are chalk and cheese!



We rested at Mildred’s place in the afternoon. I ended up napping with Sasha while Nat skipped her afternoon nap.



After looking at the birds downstairs, we headed to AMK Ave 2 for Rayhan’s Mickey Mouse party at Joanne’s aunt’s condo. There was quite a crowd already when we got there, I was tickled by Joanne’s very sporting grandmother wearing a balloon hat.



The balloon sculpturists onsite could make very fancy creations, Nat got an Ariel mermaid, plus ladybug and butterfly.



Rena and her brood were present, so was Jane and company. Germaine came late. We all hardly had a chance to chat while tending to the kids but the kids had fun, scooping up treats from the piñata and watching the fish in the pond outside the function room.




The party continues tonight for me...am off to No.5 for martinis with the cousin gang in honour of John’s birthday!

Restaurant Week

This week is the second edition of Restaurant Week Singapore, where restaurants including some top ones offer 3-course meals at $25++ for lunch and $35++ for dinner. Of course in Singapore there's always some kind of justification to charge more so the more high-end establishments imposed a surcharge of $15 for lunch and $20 for dinner...so I think it's more worth it to attend dinners.

I had made several reservations which changed throughout the course of the week but managed to secure lunches at Salt Grill, Senso and Ku De Ta and ate very well for 3 days in a row!

Salt Grill was on Wednesday, and I went with Phyllis and Phil - our treat for Phil's birthday. It was a rainy day so the view was somewhat drab. We were seated in their casual section and service was indifferent.



I opted for the 'glass' Sydney crab omelette with miso mustard broth to start. It was a generous portion filled with crabmeat so it was quite value for money, considering the item is sold at $29 I think on the ala carte menu.


For my main, I had grilled free range spatchcock with Middle Eastern spices, currants and pine nuts but it was nothing very special. Phil ordered the gnocchi but the portion was tiny, could finish in 3 bites!


Dessert of the day was a licorice parfait, the taste of the Pernod was distinct and it was quite yummy. Overall as a meal, I rate it 3.5/5.


Yesterday, Phil and I met Germaine at Senso, a post-Jeju thank you lunch - her treat.


When I got there, I was coughing and a waiter noticed and offered me a hot honey lemon drink. I thought that was great initiative on his part and service throughout the meal was faultless.

The appetizer was fixed, it was a pan-fried buffalo mozzarella wrapped in parma ham. Portion was generous like Salt Grill, was full after the first course, coupled with the free-flow of assorted bread rolls they plied to our table.



For my main, I chose the gently roasted cod fillet with eggplant puree and asparagus. It was a thick steak of cod, I have to say that Senso sure doesn't stinge on ingredients unlike some places which would cut down on portion sizes for set menus. Anyway, the cod was lovely...


To round off the meal, we all had a warm chocolate cake served with vanilla ice-cream...done to perfection. Mmmm....


Overall the food and service was excellent, the last time I went to Senso before this was when they first opened and I'm not going to wait that long for my next visit! I rate this meal 4.5/5!

When I got home from work, I found the kids near the playground. Gigi has been isolated from Nat and Sasha while they all recuperate from various ailments and they hadn't seen each other in more than a week and were missing each other. So they had a quick catch up downstairs, careful not to make any physical contact or sneeze/cough. But they were so happy to be reunited, even if for a while.



This afternoon I had lunch with Juliana at Ku De Ta. We had both never been and were looking forward to the meal and the view. Both didn't disappoint, in fact the meal was a pleasant surprise because it wasn't a 3-course set but rather a variety of appetizers and mains served with rice.

These are the modern Asian dishes they served...


The baby spinach with creamy sesame dressing was nice and nutty, the rice crackers with minced porked was crunchy and tart, but I couldn't bring myself to consume the oyster. Am just not a fan. Juliana convinced me to try a little, which I did and nearly gagged...tastes exactly like it smells, slimy sea sand.



For the mains, they served wok-charred black angus beef with young ginger and green peppercorn, crunchy jumbo softshell crab and yellow vegetable curry stew with rice. The beef was really tender but a little too pink for my liking, the softshell crab was full of meat and the curry was lemak and addictive.



Dessert was anti-climatic, some pistachio cake with strawberry coulis that didn't go with the whole Asian meal. Overall, 4/5, aided by the view!


After lunch we wandered around on the sky deck to take in the view. It was a tad hazy unfortunately.




To cap off the day, there were drinks at The Bank in honour of Phil's birthday tomorrow. A few of us gathered there to celebrate with him, Wai Leng bought a cake from her friend's shop called Sweet Blessings, Desserts And Such. It was a rich decadent chocolate, shall have to check out what else they sell!

Spottiswoode gals reunited

Sham and Sherene came over for dinner and the Spottiswoode bicycle gang was reunited! Been ages since I’d seen Sherene and our plans for a dinner out got thwarted when I had to babysit, as Nick was out of town.

Since we had rescheduled too many times, I invited them over instead. Tapau-ed satay and bee hoon goreng / mee goreng and murtabak from Lau Pa Sat, Sherene brought cupcakes and Sham made tiramisu.


Pops helped me babysit during the day and stayed for dinner. There was a SingTel technician over too, replacing our MIO stuff.

I was busy with Nat and Sasha and didn’t really get to chat much with the girls but it was better than nothing! Will need to plan a proper girls night out, or a trip to KL to check out Sherene’s apartment!

R is for...

...Retrolicious!


It was time to re-live the 80’s as we attended Retrolicious, an outdoor concert whose lineup this year featured Human League, Belinda Carlisle and Bananarama.

First up though was dinner with Jane and Albert at Gattopardo, Hotel Fort Canning. Jane and I shared a pizza while Albert had pasta and Nick had a pork belly dish. The pizza was very normal, the pork belly thing was very tender but after a while it gets a bit ‘jelak’.



By the time we walked over to the concert venue, it was jam-packed. The concert was sold out, some people dressed to the theme, saw a couple of Cindy Lauper wannabes. We managed to track Rena down and she had secured a good spot, about 20 people deep from the middle of the stage.



The Class 95 deejays were out in force, they screened videos and clips from the 80’s to warm up the crowd and soon enough Human League were invited on stage to kick things off.

They started with a couple of newer obscure songs which was lost on the crowd but it picked up towards the end with ‘Don’t You Want Me’ and ‘Human’. They ended with ‘Together in Electric Dreams’, which was a real crowd pleaser, though that was something lead singer Philip Oakley collaborated with Giorgio Moroder on, and not by the band per se.


After a short break, it was Belinda Carlisle’s turn. She hasn’t aged a bit! She belted out hit after hit, I could sing along to everything! There was ‘La Luna’, ‘Runaway Horses’, ‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth’, ‘Summer Rain’, ‘I Get Weak’, ‘Leave A Light On’, ‘Circle In The Sand’ and ‘Live Your Life Be Free’ etc. I enjoyed her set the most, and she was the most engaged with the audience.


Last but not least was Bananarama, they’ve been a duo for a while now and are in their 50s! They looked pretty hot for their age and kept chatting to each other in between songs such as ‘I Heard A Rumour’, ‘Venus’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘Nathan Jones’ and ‘Love In The First Degree’.


We all enjoyed ourselves, it was good fun and I would go again depending on the line up next time. More concerts please!

Before heading home, Nick and I stopped by Robertson Quay to have a drink at TCC, so thirsty after the concert. They had these old-fashioned swing chairs, but the boy did not appreciate them!