Yet another birthday
Yet another year older.
Last Sun, I had a interesting birthday.
I spent a good few hours at TTSH’s A&E as my mum is suffering from symptons of Dengue Fever / Chikungunya. As patients are only allowed 1 companion, I had to hang around the foodcourt while my sis accompanied her inside the waiting room. At least I am of some use buying food and drinks for them. After 2 hours, the doc sent my mum for a blood test and they had to wait for another 2-3 hours for the results. I left after 3 hours as I had plans for the afternoon and my sis stayed with my mum for the results. All in all, the wait took abt 5 hours. So much for A&E efficiency in Singapore…
Mic and I later celebrated my birthday over a spa pool and massage session, followed by a delicious meal at Carnivore at Vivocity. As the lighting was bad, we did not take any good photos of the meal. Most of the meats are delicious with our favourites being butterfish, chicken thigh, and the beef. But surprisingly, the dish that I keep asking for seconds and even thirds is grilled pineapple, which is really refreshing to the palpate after we ate so much meat.
On Tue, I went with WY, TL and Chin to Hanabi Restaurant and Sake Bar at Odeon Towers. It was Chin’s treat for the 3 April gals (thanks, Chin). The food is soso to me and I find the variety lacking (there was not even much Yakitori to choose from) At $33++ per head for buffet, I think I am unlikely to come back to this restaurant often.
On Good Friday (10 April), the gals and I had elaborate plans to do something different for KP’s and my birthdays, which are about a week apart. As usual, grand plans (including a day trip to Batam / picnic / high-tea / museum visiting / baking cookies etc) came to nought eventually with everyone’s various restrictions and other commitments. We ended up having our usual makan and dessert session at Pasta de Waraku and NYDC at The Heeren. Hope we are able to put our grand plans to action some day 
A week before my birthday, I had a KTV session with my chums from Uni and they had very kindly treated me to a delicious dinner at Coca Restaurant.
Thus concludes my birthday celebrations this year. Funnily, this year I did not get to have any birthday cake and candles at all. Not that it is a neccessity but it does add a nice birthday touch.
It does feel that as we age, the celebrations get simpler and fewer and sometimes, we don’t even make an effort for a gathering. Friends are busier over their careers and families. Nowadays only the elders and the children in a family get attention during birthdays. Adults seem too busy to celebrate? So if there is no childen, who will still celebrate my birthday in the years to come, I wonder…
Pa’s birthday
My dad’s birthday fell on a Sunday in March this year and so happened that my mum was on a trip to Genting over that Sunday. Even though we had planned a celebration dinner the week before, but that didn’t really work out as my nephew was sick so my sis was unable to join us. Not wanting my dad to spend his birthday quietly, I rise to the occasion and offered to whip up a meal for him and the family at my place.
Again I laboured almost the whole day in preparation – going to the market, cleaning house and preparing dinner, in our haste to eat while the food is still hot, we forgot to snap photos of the food, which was REALLY a pity as sad to say, that was the first time I cooked a meal for my parent(s) ever. I mean a full meal and not just a dish, which I hardly cook anyway while I was living with them before marriage. So on hindsight, I really should kick myself…
But anyway, I cooked garlic prawns, steamed snapper steak, yong tau foo soup (many ingredients) and a braised duck (nah, bought from market, wanted to do thai-styled chicken initially). Also wanted to fry Dou Miao but gave it up as there were already too much food for 6 persons – My pa, 2 sisters, nephew (who doesn’t count as he had his own porridge), Mic and I.
Ok lah, review for the food is “not bad”, “quite good”. Haha. I am satisfied with the results myself. Hee hee.
Luckily, Mic had thought to take the camera out when we came to cutting the cake. Mum was in time to join us for cake, thanks to a cousin who went to pick up our mothers.
Left: Oreo Cheesecake from Baker’s Inn – March’s flavour, courtesy from Sis
Right: Pa and Ma in lovers gear (coincidentally)
Left: As usual, any birthday celebrations all seem and felt like the kid’s birthday party. Look at Max’s cheeky face!
Right: Max: Yum yum!
Kodak moment
Celeste’s First Birthday Party
Our niece Celeste (from Mic’s side of the family) has turned one year old in January. A birthday party was thrown in her honour at Aloha Loyang Chalet. Here are some snapshots of the little cutie.
Mic’s SURPRISE birthday party
I always had a thing about celebrating one’s milestone birthday in a more significant way than others. Mic was not particularly keen on a getaway to Sentosa for his birthday like he did for mine, and I felt I should do more than just a dinner / movie / spa massage etc, so an idea of a surprise party came to me and took shape in my mind.
It was not easy to plan for it as I had to anticipate all the possible giveaways and all possible obstacles that could occur every step of the way. I had to lure him out of the house on the pretext of a massage session at the spa while giving a friend, Jo, the keys to our place so that she and the gang could do up the place while we are gone.
For his actual birthday, I ordered a B cube cheesecake from nydc, which he blew out the candle at 12am but we left it till morning to eat as it was too late for such a rich cake. That’s NY cheese with brownie bits in it, which is pretty nice. Actually Mic’s all-time favourite is still chocolate, but I’m not too sure where I can find really really delicious chocolate cake. Any suggestions?
The initial plan was to catch a romantic dinner at Sizzling Rock at Boat Quay. However, as luck would have it, my mobile broke down the day before his birthday, which means I needed to get a replacement in order to be contactable for the all-important birthday party which is on the next day ie Sat. So in the end, we decided to forgo Sizzling Rock (for the 2nd time!) and check out the phone shops in Vivo City before we have a nice dinner there. We bought tickets for 9-ish screening of Quantum of Solace and ended up racing against time as we adjourned to Plaza Singapura to get a LG Secret handphone instead, leaving only 50mins for dinner. We decided on Shabuya at Vivo City and ordered a steamboat set meal, some salmon sashimi and sake and we made it in time for the movie.
The next day, we set off for our usual massage appointment at Elements Spa at The Cathay. It would already be half the battle won by getting him to agree and indeed go out of the house for this appointment without hiccup. Alas, I sabotaged myself by closing our bedroom door as we were going out, which aroused his suspicion as we do not usually do that. He questioned me and caught unprepared, I came up with some feeble and unconvincing explanation of having a secret surprise present in the room for him. DUH!!! He seemed to have bought it. I hoped he would quickly forget about it. haha. That’s Fumble no. 1.
After the massage, I used the excuse of having a headache to make him take a cab home. He suggested to grab some dinner before we head home but I came up with excuses to refuse and insist on going home straight away.
Finally we reached the lift. Phew!
Wait! What was that? The delivery bike from KFC, which was one of the food I had ordered for the party in advance!
Oh my! Don’t tell me that’s my delivery!
I prayed that we would not run into the delivery guy at my doorstep, which would have given the game away.
OK, he’s not there. Phew… lucky!
Mic unlocks the padlock of the gate, twisted the handle and yanked. It would not bulge. It then dawned on me what had happened. We do not have the habit of locking the gate but somehow, our friend Jo had thought to lock it…!
Oh my goodness, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry then. Despite all the planning, I had not thought to brief Jo about the gate! I stood frozen, not sure how to react to the situation. Mic was shocked. He fumbled with his keys and kept asking why the gate was locked. I kept quiet, yearning for the moment of discovery.
The main door swinged back. Our friends sang “Surprise”. Camera clicked and JW sprayed ribbons on Mic.
Mic was not one to be easily surprised. So it was also of no surprise that he was pretty expressionless when the action unfolded around him. And it did not help that there were so many incidents to prime him. Apart from the gate, my giveaway of the bedroom door and atypical behaviour about insisting to go home immediately also added to the spoiler.
Nevertheless he was appreciative of the effort made to organise this get-together with his secondary school chums. : ) Well, that’s all it matters.
Milestone age
This is the year that I reached my milestone age – an age not that old yet, but not young anymore either; an age that I have associated with a special significance (’cause it is a milestone?) somehow. But yet, due to lack of time, it has took me almost 2 months to pen it down.
I always thought I should celebrate it with a Bang! But due to a shallow pocket and general laziness and busy-ness, one can hardly find the time to plan a memorable or unique way of celebration. Initially I thought to organise the run-of-mill chalet and BBQ thingy. When Mic knew about it, he was less than lukewarm about the idea. He rather spend the money to celebrate my birthday at his favourite ‘holiday’ site of Sentosa.
We decided on Siloso Beach Resort’s Roof Garden Terrace suite (with spa pool) as it looks quite good. I did not expect it to be cheap but the hefty price tag is still more than what I expected. But then I convinced myself that I’m worth it, after all, it’s a really special occasion.
As we get closer to the Day, I started to tell Mic out right what I want to do at Sentosa and wondering if I’m killing my surprise again. I think I did not get a cake from Mic for the past 2 years so I specifically told him I want a cake but I think I forgot to stress that I want it at 12am. When I reached home on the night before my birthday, I was rather disappointed that he was busy playing his computer games to pay me much attention. I decided not to jump the gun and wait and see with a book in bed, however I can’t help being a bit angry as well. Self-inflicted agony as usual.
Finally 12am rolled around. He came into the room and kissed me Happy Birthday. I responded with a pout. He took one look at me and said, “Orh, angry…” then went out to watch his TV.
!!!!!! @#$%&*#@$
Never mind… 我忍
Meekly, I went to him and asked, “Dear…where’s my cake?”
“Don’t have,” he replied, eyes still glued to the TV.
“Hmph!” I stormed off into the room and went to bed, wiping away tears of frustration and disappointment. Actually knowing Mic, I knew he should have prepared something for me the next day when we go to Sentosa and I know my surprise would be sweeter without expectations but I just want my cake at midnight and eat it too (pun intended).
The next morning, I woke before Mic and it wasn’t till I brushed my teeth and returned to the bed again that I noticed a present on my bed stand! Inside was a 4-sided photoframe with a Happy Birthday message, our itinerary in Sentosa, and a picture of cute sugar cows sitting on pretty cupcakes.
Later I learned that he did not get me XX (corresponding to age) cow cupcakes as I initially thought (oooh, how sweet would that be!). The picture was just something he picked up from the internet. But I did get my cake – nice chocolate cake from Bakerzin at Vivocity, that we cut and ate beside the spa pool (“It’s boring to have the cake at home,” Mic said in his defence). But I’m happy as I got my cake after all, hee hee. After all, it’s the thought and effort that counts.
We went to Fish Reflexology, something that I specifically requested as the last time we were there was a very interesting experience. I’m someone who has a very low threshold of pain and ticklishness so I was like stifling my shrieks and withdrawing my legs when the fishes are eating away at my skin or when the reflexologist is working on my legs. Hiak Hiak.
Next, dinner is on the itinerary. Mic had made reservations at a new and nice Japanese (fine-dining) restaurant, Santaro Japanese Restaurant at Amara Sanctuary Resort Singapore. My generous hubby decided to spoil me with the most expensive set dinner on the menu. The 10 course set dinner menu was not fixed but decided by the chef, therefore we are not too sure either what we had.
1) The first course was a tuna, ham and crabsmeat salad that was refreshing to the tastebud.
2) Next was something which I don’t eat but is one of Mic’s favourite food – oyster. Luckily, the oyster, though, presented in its shell, had been cooked. I absolutely cannot take the taste of raw oyster. The oyster was lightly grilled and so well marinated such that there is no smell and it tasted really really good. I guess it is the first time that I could stomach oyster.
3) The third dish was one of our all-time favourites – sashimi! We are not too sure what fish it was but the rest of the sashimi set comprised of prawns, cuttlefish and some meat. The prawns were too slimmy for my taste but the rest of the ensemble was great. The fish was firm yet melts in the mouth like butter as described by Mic. The meat item was quite different to me as I have not really tried raw meat before but upon biting into it, there was no raw taste. We wish there were more though as we absolutely love sashimi. Funny how I love sashimi so much now, it was only an acquired taste since 2003. After having finer sashimi, we know that we would never be truely satisfied by normal sashimi again.
4) Next was clear tuna broth served in this cute little cup that looks like a tealight holder. Hahaha. Basically the serving is so small that you could finish it in one mouthful. As it was fine dining, so we sipped it slowly to appreciate its (quite nice) taste. The soup texture was really very clear, no oil whatsoever.
5) The next dish marks the beginning of the ‘main course’. It was quite big! Grilled rock fish lightly grilled and seasoned with salt, served with radish. I think Mic was happy to see the fish as he loves fish.
6) This was both our favourite dish of the evening – Grilled goose liver with steamed turnips. Ooooh lala! Goose liver! And it is not bite-sized but looks like a small pork fillet. The outer layer is grilled to perfection yet the flesh is so tender and so juicy. I still miss it even now.
7) Such a big serving of chawamushi! And there is a big piece of shark’s fin inside. What’s not to like?
I’m usually not a great lover of tempura, but even I can tell that this tempura is so cripsy on the outside yet still soft and moist on the inside. Delicious.
9) Sushi is one other favourite of mine in Japanese cuisine. The variety of sushi served were traditional, professional (ie big piece of sashimi and little rice) and looks good. The fresh scallop was especially yummy.
10) Dessert was quite a non-event as Japanese cuisine is not big on desserts. Expecting green tea ice cream with red beans, it was quite surprising that we were served black sesame ice cream instead. The texture and taste of the ice-cream was quite good.
Thank you, dear, for the wonderful and memorable dinner.
We did not expect to spend such a long time at dinner and thus missed the first Song of The Seas show. Luckily, we were able to trade in our tickets for the second show. I was pretty disappointed with it though. It was too similar to the old musical fountain (free entry) and we still have to pay $6 for each ticket for this show!
After the half an hour show, we went back to the hotel and enjoy the spa pool on our private deck. Time to cut cake (see above)!
After the eventful day, the next morning was spent lazing around in bed after breakfast. Then all too soon, it was time to go home.
The service at Siloso Beach Resort could be better and I thought the reception seems a little too small and short-staffed to have a queue forming at check-in time. The room was also a bit small and the spa pool was without lights, which would have made night time dips more romantic. But the most important thing is i get to spend my birthday in a memorable way with my dearest.
Once again, Thanks, Darling for the lovely weekend, which we would remember for a long time to come.
Happy birthday to our april `babies`
We met with everyone at Bishan’s Cafe cartel to celebrate our april birthday folks. At first thought we had just 3 ladies (in the end Lena couldn’t make it) but realized Mervyn is also born in April! After enjoying a nice choc mud cake from secret recipe, we headed to party world for a karaoke session. Here’s wishing all the April ‘babies’ happy birthday!
Go Meet the Robinsons!
We went to Orchard and enjoyed an afternoon spa on our rare day off yesterday. The package offered via HSBC at the Ultimate Spa @ Shaw Centre was for “The Ultimate Wine Spa Indulgence“. It was our first time experiencing it and must say it was quite nice although a bit chilly when the red wine scrub gets done since the air-conditioning is turned on quite high.
Since we didn’t make any reservations for dinner, we walked around a bit and headed towards Far East Plaza for yakitori but alas the place was packed and in the end we ended back at Shaw’s Resturant Hoshigaoka… The set meals were surprisingly well designed with a little bit of everything that we liked.
Going along our impromptu plans for the evening, we headed up to the theatre to check out the movies on show. Timing couldn’t be better since 9pm show was for “Meet the Robinsons”. Yh and myself didn’t really know what the movie was about other than it being a Disney animation. The first few minutes after the usual trailers even brought back childhood memories as they ran an old clip of Mickey, Donald and (Dog we can’t remember name) building a ship for Minnie. Was rather unusual since don’t usually have this before movies?
Anyway, the main event came up and we sat through the start of the movie. The main character (Lewis) as we find out is an orphan who happens to be a brilliant tinkerer but constantly encounters failures in his experiments to solve problems he thinks can be solved but sheer determination and cleverness. We also encounter some unusual characters (Wilbur, Bowler Hat Guy and Doris) who hail from the future and find that this isn’t an ordinary run of the mill story about a kid getting adopted!
The story goes through some very funny moments like when the T-Rex bumps his head against the wall and tries to grab Lewis with his small hands and starts wondering to his master if the plan was well thought out.
I think Disney’s movies have really changed quite a lot since Mickey’s time? We encounter a sinister timeline when Doris takes over the world and starts dominating the human existence (not unlike The Matrix). The scene where mini-Doris’s chase after Lewis remind me of the Matrix’s chase through earth.
Not to reveal too much, go watch this movie! I think its well worth the time and money to sit through the story as it unravels. I think the tagline “Keep moving forward” should hold true for everyone young or old as they encounter failures. Good fun. great animation and a lesson to learn (all wrapped up in a nice 2 hours).