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Yes! I am finally at the last day of this whole holiday and setting foot soon in dearie Singapore. This holiday feels worse than going on an overseas internship. I wonder why?
First stop was at a silk factory set up by the Suzhou government in Shanghai to promote Suzhou silk to foreigners. Then, we were left at Chen Huang Miao to feed ourselves on our own. I wanted to have my lunch at Nan Xiang Man Tou Restaurant which is famous for its Shanghai Xiao Long Bao but it was having long queue that required at least one and a half hours of waiting. As the tour guide would be coming back for us in two hours time, Nan Xiang wasn’t an option. =(
So we went to this Ning Bo Tang Yuan Dian which surprisingly sells the usual Shanghai dian xin as well. Things like xiao long bao and guan tang bao were seen. This particular shop contained three levels. The first and second level had similar settings and food array. To be specific, the second level looks like a foodcourt but it also sells the Shanghai dian xin that was available on the first level. And so, I thought that they were the same family. For the third level had a totally different look from the other two. It looked like a high class restaurant with its classy furniture and better dressed service crew.
Since the dian xin on the second level was running low and had to wait, I decided to walk down to the first level to buy the same dian xin and bring it up. But as I entered the second level, the staff told me off. She said that the first and second levels are different restaurants under different bosses and she refused to let me in. I was quite mad at her rude attitude and hated to be in a stuck situation where by I can’t go left nor right, up or down. So I told her in a sharp and angry tone that my family was waiting for me inside and we had ordered a table of food so it isn’t that we aren’t purchasing from them. Plus, if she isn’t convinced, she can jolly well come along with me, to my table and inspect our spread. She was a little taken aback by my fury and was speechless or maybe she wanted to rebuke me. But her colleague or superior who was beside her just asked me to go in with a helpless tone.
I don’t mean to feel so right after spouting harsh words at strangers although they went on my nerves. The thing is that I don’t think it’s our fault to assume them to be of the same family and purchase items. Firstly, there isn’t any signs that say no outside food allowed. Secondly, there isn’t a door or signboard that tells me that they are of a different restaurant. Till date, I still don’t know the individual names of all three restaurants in that same building. The exterior of the building only had a single signboard that reads “Ning Bo Tang Yuan Dian” and there isn’t any individual signboards at each level that tells me that they have other names other than “Ning Bo Tang Yuan Dian”. So is it my fault, so to speak? Anyway, I can’t be bothered. I am sick and tired of the lousy service I kept experiencing during this holiday and I was really prepared to argue and quarrel my way through if they refused to let me in. So sick I was of their weird way of doing business and attending to customers who are supposed to be “always right”!
Enough about the unpleasant experience! Next, we were brought to this building which sells all the “imitation” products. Not only your usual LVs, Guccis but also your Nokia, Iphone etc. But other than these, they also sell China made electronic products like earphones, headphones etc. and shawls which are cheap and good. You can get 100% cashmere and 100% pashmina at really cheap prices like SGD$6~! I am a little remorseful for not buying more. I only got 5 pieces. I should have gotten more of it. It is really quite good! Sigh… anyone going there soon? Help me buy more~~~
Then we were left at some shopping area for dinner on our own again and we had dinner at a Cantonese Restaurant. Weird, hur? Fancy having proper Cantonese food in Shanghai. Anyhow, it was an amazing experience somehow, to have 15 people sitting at a round table and having a meal. I didn’t know that roasted goose tasted so good! After our palatable dinner, we were brought to watch this acrobatic show which is supposed to be well-acclaimed. It is called ERA but I forgot what it stands for. It was quite exciting and thrilling to see a total of 8 motorcycles crammed in a huge (but not that huge for 8 motorcycles) circular cage and all of the motorcycles were travelling at high speed.
That was our last activity in Shanghai and also for the whole trip. Our flight took off at 2355 from Shanghai and landed in my sunny island, Singapore, the following day at 0520.
Pictures tomorrow! I am too tired to do it now. >.<
amor,esperanza y fe 1:37 AM.
As stated previously, we boarded the noon plane from Harbin to Shanghai on boxing day. Met a really cute baby all wrapped up in thick winter wear. Shall post the picture later on once I sort them out. Haha…
Anyway, upon reaching Shanghai, we were led to this restaurant for dinner and honestly, the toilets in Shanghai are way better than those that I had experienced in Harbin. Probably due to it being a major avenue for China to reach out to foreigners.
Well, after dinner, we were left to fend for ourselves (ahem.. its free and easy actually… teehee) at Nanjing road. It’s pretty much like Orchard road just without the roads in between to separate the buildings on the right and left. But, we didn’t shop. We just went to visit a distinguished Chinese calligraphy shop which had been around for more than a century. Then we decided to head for Häagen Dazs and had it’s chocolate fondue which not only includes the usual dark chocolate, but also white chocolate! Yummy yum yum! Sad to say, we had to rush through it due to time constraint.
Ever since we left Harbin, my family had been praying that the Shanghai hotel will be a better one. When we stepped out of the coach and the name “FX Hotel” greeted us, my sister went,"What hotel is that? FX Hotel? Sianzz…”
Then, we were pleasantly surprised by the time we stood right before it’s entrance. A plaque outside the hotel reads, “Furama Express Hotel – Subsidiary of Singapore Furama Hotel”. If it weren’t for the luggage and heavy winter clothing, I swore I would have done a SMU jump. Not that I want to display the fact that I am from SMU (I will never want to do such a thing!) but the heartfelt joy is unspeakable and actions are a better way to express it. The lobby of the hotel has the contemporary feel and so are the hotel rooms. I will say that it mirrored boutique hotels in Singapore but due to it’s small size, I will prefer to use the word – motel. I quite like it and I don’t suppose that it is too expensive. So people~! If you ever want to visit Shanghai on a free and easy trip, you can try Furama Express but they have 3 FX hotels in the whole of Shanghai so you must know where you want to be at.
The day ended with lotsa packing since we are leaving tomorrow night (27th dec).
amor,esperanza y fe 11:54 PM.
We wish you a Merry Christmas… We wish you a Merry Christmas… We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Honestly speaking, although we are very lucky to see it snowed today in Harbin, the Christmas atmosphere isn’t as great as Singapore. Is it that I am over patriotic or that it is the simple truth?
I am really grateful that the horrendous day didn’t follow me through to Christmas day and the itinerary for the day is considered slack. We went to this famous river in Harbin to watch people swim in the icy waters at such freezing temperature. These swimmers are really powerful! I had both the polyester and cotton thermal wear on plus my jeans and I still felt chilly. Can you imagine yourself in bathing suits walking a distance comparable to the distance between the Cathay and Dhoby Ghaut MRT station? That’s what they did! They walked from this building that I supposed is their resting place to the pool. The pool is actually a rectangular area dug out from the frozen river. All of us, spectators were standing on the frozen river, watching them as they plunged into the arctic waters and swarm around like it was summer.
Then, we went to the Church of St. Sophia in Harbin which was one of the oldest Catholic churches. However, they are of a different faction from the usual Roman Catholic churches we see in Singapore. They belonged to this faction known as the Russian Orthodox and pardon me if I am wrong, another name will be the Scandinavian or Eastern Orthodox. The cross is obviously very different from the Roman Catholics whose crosses are usually plain cross or cross with Jesus on it.
This is a picture of the Eastern Orthodox Catholic cross.
We were brought to a shop which sells Russian folk toys and other related products. They sell Russian chocolates, coffee, Matryoshka or better known as Nesting dolls and other handicrafts like jewelry boxes in metal, porcelain and wood.
This is a nesting doll. There is a fable behind this toy. It is said that a poor young boy went out to hunt and beg for food one winter day as his younger sister was very hungry. After begging and walking for a day in the brittle cold, he still didn’t get any food. What’s more? When he reached home, he realized that his sister was gone and he was filled with remorse. He shouldn’t have left his sister alone. He should have brought her along with him. So everyday, he carved a doll out of wood in regret and hope for his sister to be safe. Each day, the size of the wooden doll got smaller. However, all the dolls had a hollow interior. On the ninth day, miraculously, his sister walked back home, safe and sound. To celebrate this, he decided to keep the last tiny doll solid and full. Due to this fable, many also believe that this doll can be used as a wishing doll.
We were then let loose at it’s city square to shop but it was too cold for me to want to wander around. So we hid in a KFC and munched on. An observation which is unrelated to anything that I have mentioned before, Harbin people seemed to prefer Audi cars. Apparently, I didn’t spot any BMWs or Mercedes. The closest to that range is Audi. How come an area so richly influenced by the Russians are deeply in love with German cars? Anyway, dinner was pretty exciting!
We had dinner at this ice palace at Harbin’s Shangri-La. It is the only Shangri-La that takes in tour groups. It was at Shangri-La that my parents told us that we requested to stay at Shangri-La but we sent in our reservations too late and it couldn’t take us in. =( Sob sob!
Dinner was steamboat in the a pot each style in an igloo. It’s damn cool! It was a nice experience and although I was dreading the cold before I entered, I come to love it by the end. They even have a bar in the ice palace filled with ice stools and tables. So pretty! It was a really good experience!
Well, it’s late and I am tired from typing out what I wrote during my trip. I regretted not bringing my laptop as internet access via data cable was available in motels and hotels in China. Arrgghhh… If I had brought my laptop, I wouldn’t need to write and scribble on paper. I shall update my next two days in Shanghai tomorrow and put up my Harbin pictures soon.
On Boxing day (26th Dec), we flew off to Shanghai at noon and reached Shanghai at 5plus in the evening.
amor,esperanza y fe 12:33 AM.
Today is Christmas eve and Christians and even non-Christians around the world are celebrating and partying on this jovial occasion. But, to me, this is the worst day of the trip to date and I suspect and pray that it will be the worst for the whole trip.
The day started warm and boring with a visit to their gigantic Science centre. There’s nothing much that excites me except this small convenience store. I could finally get some snacks and drinks. I even bought and ate ice cream!! Yum yum! and Woohoo! Ice-cream eating when the temperature is eighteen degrees below zero~! I feel so proud of myself. TeeHee…
Then we visited the equivalent of our underwater world and their Tiger enclosure which was made into a tourist attraction on its own, akin in concept to our bird park, I guess. There are east-northern tigers, lion-tiger (cross breed between lion and tiger) as well as my favourite white tigers! There are many other animals like cheetahs, leopards and white lions which I didn’t know they exist! Haha. I have seen lion-tiger before in Korea but I didn’t know, and it is until this trip that I’ve come to know, that the lion-tiger isn’t able to reproduce. It is only capable of growing larger and bigger by day but never to reproduce. I wonder whether it is a sad case for them or a sad case for the scientists or zoologists or whoever that cross breed them successfully.
So everything seemed rosy and nice till this point. Now, this is where everything started to dip. The visit to a snow sculpture exhibition almost ripped me off all the warmth I had. It was freezing cold! We took a small tour bus at the exhibition to the heart of the exhibition where the main and largest snow sculpture is located. Then we had the option of either taking the small tour bus back to the main gate or stroll back slowly. It was gelid and everyone felt the same. None of the 31 of us took the strolling option. All of us rode back in the small tour bus for the warmth of our coach’s heater.
The journey to the next destination was less than 30 minutes. Hence, before we could warm ourselves sufficiently to be called mammals again, we reached the renowned Harbin event. The annual Harbin ice sculpture exhibition cum competition. I am too lazy and embarrassed to exhibit my lousy translation skills again, so I shall type out the Chinese name - 冰雪大世界.
We had no choice but to drag our semi-numb bodies out. Truly, it was really a pretty and exhilarating sight, looking at the magnificent ice sculptures which are lighted with various coloured lights. But sad to say, it was too glacial to say that I enjoyed it. As it was the opening day, the place was really packed but the available public toilets were so few to meet the disproportionately great demand. You see, they had a number of public toilet stations around the whole area but few were open to the public which is in a way, annihilating its purpose of existence. Even in such dire situations, humans can’t fight nature’s call, can we? Thus, a period of waiting, confusion and anxiety started. By the time it ended and we got back to the coach, another hindrance to our much desired warmth came up. The interior part(s) of the coach was frozen due to long duration of inactivity since we were away at the exhibition. Hence, this led to another period of waiting in the bitter cold for the repairmen to fix the problem. It was close to an hour by the time the whole episode was resolved. We had to snack away with our boiled eggs, chocolates and whatever tidbits we got to keep ourselves warm. And let me share with you. It worked! To freeze to death in a frost-bound foreign land or to stuff yourself till you resemble a pig? I will gladly choose the latter. Eating works way better than trying to warm yourself with those dumb heat pads that always turn cold when the exterior temperature gets too low.
After suffering in the cold for such a long hour, we finally reached our dinner place which I will say that many of us bear high expectations for. The local tour guide had pre-informed us that we will be dining at the Harbin branch of Quan Ju De (全聚德). I am sure people who are in love with Peking duck will know this name. It is well-known in that gourmet area. I had the luxury of tasting it twice at it’s headquarters when I was interning in Beijing and it is damn delicious! And I gladly guarantee that it’s service and ambience is comparable to high class Chinese restaurants in Singapore. Secretly, I supposed that they had some height criterion for their hostesses because most if not all of them have the physique of an air stewardess. And I dare say, many of them have better physical assets than the China Eastern air stewardesses whom I encountered on this trip. I supposed you guys should have gotten a very good picture of the kind of expectations I bore as I make my way to this Quan Ju De in Harbin.
As it turned out, it was my worst meal in Harbin. I had a single Peking duck roll, some rice and less than half of what I usually take for my Harbin meals. It is that lousy. The duck was so oily and they didn’t follow the protocol that is required for Peking duck. Usually the chef will bring the duck to you and either slice it in front of you or somewhere else. Traditionally, the chef will slice a plate of pure duck skin before the normal meat with skin or now, many restaurants also practise inquiring customers on their preference. Then, they will ask whether you want to use the remaining duck to make soup, cook with noodles or a salt-fried duck (which happens to be Michelle’s all time favourite!). Their other normal dishes were equally disappointing.
The service is lousier compared to the other Harbin restaurants that we had meals at so don’t you expect air stewardess lookalike hostesses. Oh well! They don’t even have hostesses to start off with. The toilets are totally DISGUSTING! I don’t mean to be crude here but even the standard of its Chinese patrons are in the cannot make it category! Well, you see, after the long waiting time spent in the cold, most of us are in need of toilet. Our tables are laid on the fourth level and toilets are available on the fourth, second and first level. Since the first seemed a long way to go, none of us visited it. Most of us went to the one on the fourth level which was disgusting enough but since it is a small one, some of us decided to try the second level one. Such a grave mistake. Right at the entrance of the second level, 2 Chinese men were talking loudly, smoking and spitting. You would have thought that he spat into the pitiful pot of plant which was right behind him. But no! That senseless and gross animal had to spit on the floor right beside the plant. YUCKS!
Enter the second level and you will hear and feel that the crowd is all rowdy and the whole level is smoky, much like a club and people walking around are all talking loudly and rowdy. I wondered and considered really hard on whether they were on drugs. I was saved from going to the toilet on that level by my tour group mates who came out of the toilet saying that it was unsafe as the incumbents looked far from decent. This is really no longer a matter of uncouth and cultured but more of decency.
A total disappointment it was to all of us. I will never ever want to set foot in that restaurant again on my own accord unless they change for the better.
To end my horrible Christmas eve, I had a bit of a conflict with my sister and a brief misunderstanding with Isaac.
I should have stayed in Singapore for Christmas! =(
amor,esperanza y fe 11:23 PM.
The reality spoke to me harshly of my age. Part of the itinerary was a visit to a big and supposed famous ski resort. As I had a pleasant experience skiing in Korea seven years ago, I thought to myself why not try it again since it isn’t that expensive. That was a wrong move because I almost had the honour of visiting the Harbin’s hospital. Yes! I am exaggerating. HAHA… But it was quite close to that. It was so very taxing on my old pile of bones.
Astonishing to me, skiing warms up the body really well and before long, my desire of putting on more clothes and heat pads transformed into a sincere urge to strip myself off all the bulky wear. It didn’t felt like hard work when I skied in Korea but I can guarantee that I was working my butt off in Harbin ski resort. I am really getting old! =( Boo!
We spent most of the day at the ski resort. Then when night fell, we went to a small Disney themed ice sculpture exhibition which is held in a park in the city. It isn’t called ice sculpture in Mandarin but more of ice lights via direct translation. Pardon my poor translation skills! As suggested by its name, multiple light bulbs were somehow put in the ice and when they are turned on, the lights will shine through the ice and it is a very beautiful sight. It is said that this was initially invented by fishermen where they would cut a hole in a block of ice and put in an oil lamp. This ice light helped them to fish during winter.
It’s really cold at the exhibition. So cold that I didn’t have the urge to take pictures. Rather, to be exact, I had the urge to sprint outta that place. So I swiftly toured the place and left for our tour coach. Anyway, my camera’s battery went dead too due to the low temperature. This might sound weird to some of you that battery can go flat because of extreme coldness. But it’s true. When I got back to my hotel room where it is a lot warmer, my camera displayed that it’s battery is in full condition.
Dinner for the day was Northern Chinese dumplings and I don’t know what’s the difference between Northern Chinese dumplings and non-northern Chinese ones. All tasted the same and I love em’! Even though we were given 8 different flavours of dumplings, I couldn’t differentiate one from another with the exception of the vegetarian one. HAHA…
amor,esperanza y fe 10:00 PM.
“I’m back in China!” ran through my mind as I boarded the plane in Shanghai, leaving for Harbin. Looking around at the massive amount of people with familiar yet strange features and loud voices which resounded through the plane, oblivious to the fact that they may qualify as public nuisances.
“Ah! Yes! This is China!” I am not being mean here and neither do I have anything against this country. What I am relating are facts and first hand experience and impression I have. Although what I had described are not on the positive side, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have good impression of this country. My short internship period in Beijing and travelling around the country have brought me to know many interesting and warm people who are kind to me. Just like most countries, there are people who establishes the fine reputation of a nation and there are many who tarnishes it.
Anyway, back to my story.
The first day of the Harbin trip started with a 0055 flight from my beloved Singapore to Shanghai. I’m unsure whether China Eastern’s planes have smaller seat size or it’s been too long since I last took a plane, but it was despairingly uncomfortable for me. Especially for the leg space. And considering I am a VERY short person for my age and gender, I think it must be much more terrible for others. Coupled with the haunting from my second failure to attain a driving license, I had a bad night on the plane. To make things worse, I was constantly awoken to be served with drinks and food.
Let me sidetrack to my driving test. I knew that I was doomed just a couple of minutes into the test as I mounted the kerb while trying to turn out from the damn crank course. Nevertheless, I was led to complete the whole test. At the end, the tester commented that if it wasn’t for the mounting of the kerb, I would have passed as the rest of it was alright. It was depressing to hear that you missed the mark by a teeny weeny bit. If only, you had been more careful and cautious! So I coaxed myself with the help of Isaac that it’s alright and I can just try again. But what really caused me to be on the verge of collapse was the announcement by the counter lady that the next available test date is in early March. The 4th or the 5th. This meant that I had to take my test at the new woodlands centre and re-learn my parking as from 1st March onwards, parking has to be tested without the aid of poles. This also implied that I missed the last of February test dates by just a bit! Tests in February are still conducted with poles and at the Yio Chu Kang centre. Come to think of it, these weren’t such a great deal. But somehow, they appeared to be a traumatizing great deal to me at that moment and I still feel “gei” about it now and then. Why do I miss both the passing of the test and staying with the current test conditions by a bit? Why? Why? Why?
Poor Isaac had to continuously coaxed me when his own birthday is just the very next day and yet, I would already be on my way to Harbin. I felt really bad towards him, now that I’ve calmed down. He kept talking, coaxing, and encouraging me but I ignored him at certain points and said hurtful stuff because I was so very mad with myself and the whole plight that I am in. I shall stop whining about my driving test now. The more I whine, the more dispirited I am.
Anyway, it was really cold at the Shanghai airport without the polyester thermal wear. I wondered whether the difference will be great between cotton and polyester thermal wear. I don’t think Shanghai’s temperature went under zero and it was already friggin’ cold. I’m really not looking forward to Harbin’s winter where the temperature goes to twenty plus below zero. It appeared that the guide warned us of the slippery pavements in Harbin as bits of ice formed on top of them.
Upon reaching Harbin, it was already three plus in the afternoon and after getting us to this winter wear shop to equip us better for the winter and earn some commission for themselves, we were brought to this tropical themed restaurant for dinner. Most of us didn’t find the greenery, parrots and sea lions fascinating, although the local tour guide said that to most of them (the locals), it is really rare to see such greenery in their cold cold winter. The food was surprisingly good and I wonder whether it will be the first best as well as the last best meal of the tour.
amor,esperanza y fe 6:55 PM.
I quitted my addiction of my Sims 3 World Adventure expansion! But don’t clap your hands yet! I’ve got a new addiction – Korean drama. HAHA…
Had been watching this particular Korean drama (家門的榮光) for the past few days. So hooked, I am. But its all gonna end soon since I am nearing the end of it. HAHA. I was so occupied with my addictions that I had been neglecting my blog although I had photos to post. So get ready for more than a couple of pictures. I tried to reduce the number of pictures by putting them in a collage. ;)
Okay, let’s start with last Tuesday.
At long last, I went to baby’s house to view her new room. I have been wanting to go since she re-made it a couple of months ago. I am really sorry baby for not visiting earlier.
But, I didn’t take much of her room. Instead, I kept eyeing baby’s darling Maltese – Cherry. She is so cute!! Flurry and chubby little thing! >.<
Then we met up with William and Isaac for dinner at the Cineleisure’s Xin Wang Cafe before Isaac headed home and the 3 of us go for our movie (Princess and the Frog).
Look at what we had! Isaac and I shared a butter and honey toast along with Macau style mee. The butter and honey toast is simply amazing! It is super delicious! At first sight, it looked so thick that I didn’t think that it will be nice but it is way better than the Macau style mee, in my humble opinion. To me, the Macau style mee is just mee fried in tomato sauce. Other than the taste of tomato sauce, I can’t taste anything else and like you have already guessed, I won’t be ordering it again unless forced to. Baby and William had their chicken chop and it tasted nice too.
The other time, on the phone, baby was complaining to me about how I always take so much photos when I go out with other people or Isaac and rarely take any with her when we go out. I replied her saying, it’s all because every time i take out my camera she will shun it and ask me not to take any pictures. Then she agreed that she will not avoid my camera anymore. So, I tested it out and…
INDEED! She didn’t shun my camera and gladly posed for it. HAHA.. We even managed to capture a picture of William and her. Teehee….
Then, baby had her turn to be the photographer. She is a very funny and demanding one with her “Closer a bit”, “Be more loving”, “Look at each other with tender loving eyes can”. I think she should take up photography and move on to be a wedding photographer. HAHA…
Anyway, Isaac and I tried to follow her instructions but we failed miserably. When we tried to look at each other straight in the eye, lovingly, we just ended up laughing. It was so funny. Can you see how hard we were trying to stop ourselves from laughing in the picture on the right?
Anyway, that’s all for Tuesday and Princess and the Frog isn’t that funny or nice. It’s just a typical Disney film which is moderate in the funny and touching categories.
Then came Friday when Isaac and I FINALLY got to watch the Christmas Carol which was so much better than the Princess and the Frog. Then we went to Ichiban Sushi for lunch.
I think both of us are trying to cut down on the amount of things we order because we kept over ordering and over eating but yet still waste food. Anyway, the lunch set at Ichiban seems quite good to me with my favourite salmon sashimi, chawamushi, miso soup, fruits, rice and of course, the main course. I think it cost $14.90. The spicy beef is quite nice!
And I also passed Isaac his birthday present from my parents!
It’s a watch from French Connection. My parents and I chose it but they paid for it. HAHA. And I am glad he likes it. He kept posing with it after he put it on. So hmm… get ready for a few…ahem.. poser pictures.. I am so sorry that you guys have to bear them…. LOL
Alright. Now comes the day where I give my present to him.
On Saturday, Isaac became a one day gigolo. I paid for all our expenses. But it wasn’t much. I thought we would have dinner but I didn’t know that our tea made us so full that we ended up skipping dinner. I felt a little upset for not being able to bring him for a nice dinner. Probably will do so after I come back from Harbin.
We were at the Blue Mountain Cafe in 313@Orchard for tea.
And while eating and slacking, we started taking weird pictures of each other. HAHA…
You see, we really didn’t order much. We had a coffee each, calamari rings and a Blue Mountain molten cake with a scoop of chocolate ice-cream. It isn’t much for tea, is it? The fact is still that they made us so full that we had to skip dinner. Had I known that we will be this full, I would have ordered main courses instead of finger food and desserts or not have tea at all.
This is the present.
We went to the Icing Room at 313 and designed his birthday cake! It was fun! You can even design your own log cake. They will provide you with 5 colours of cream and a packet of icing stars. You can also buy other icing figurines etc. from them to decorate your cake.
Well, although the 2 photos above gave you an indication that the cake might be along the childish line but…
you wouldn’t have guessed that it will look like this! Arrgghhh… It’s the ugliest cake that I have ever seen but it is still the masterpiece of Isaac and I. LOL.
Although, the outcome is so, we still had great fun decorating it! Can you see someone trying to shoot the flying pig with the halo with arrows and someone playing the piano to the cow on the cake? LOL. Our cake’s theme is NO THEME AT ALL. HAHA…
Even though it is so, we still like it.
Happy Birthday Isaac! In advance. And sorry for not being here for your birthday! =(
Oh and my driving test is tomorrow! Ah! So nervous! But I put it in God’s hands. :)
amor,esperanza y fe 5:18 PM.
Isaac and I decided to go on a little picnic at the botanic garden today.
The menu for the day included chili con carne with thin ready-made pitas, potato salad as well as microwavable popcorn which was added at the very last minute this morning. HAHA…
So here are the ingredients…
For the Chili Con Carne and …
For the potato salad.
I was very excited to try making the chili con carne cause’ it’s so delicious! But I had a hard time trying to find the herbs and spices involved in this dish at affordable prices. I managed to get them at Mustafa’s supermarket section which explains my trip to Little India the other day. Teehee…
Okay, so here goes…
This collage shows the different stages of cooking the chili. The first one shows how it looked like just after frying the minced meat with onions and garlic. Then all the spices and flavouring came in. Then the rest of the ingredients were added as well as the dark beer. And TADA!!!! The last picture shows how my chili con carne looked like.
BUT! =( A terrible thing happened which gave my chili a smoky taste. Apparently, the pot that I used was halfway to its coffin so it isn’t a very good pot. Hence, it wasn’t able to take the long hours of simmering that was required by my chili and in the end, a layer of “chao ta” substance formed at the base of the pot. POISONING MY CHILI!!! BOO! =(
Nonetheless, I still brought it to the picnic and Isaac said that he quite like it because it doesn’t taste very “chao ta” to him. Instead, he said it felt like I smoked the chili. HAHA… I wonder whether it’s true or he was just trying to comfort me.
Anyway, enough of my depressing chili. Moving on to the potato salad…
I forgot to take parts of the process. And I ended up with only this picture. =( HEEHEE.
So, this late morning, Isaac and I had these for brunch.
And yes! You didn’t see wrongly. The bottom right hand corner picture really depicts a bag of “chao-ta” popcorn. I left the popcorn in the microwave for too long. =( Luckily, there were still some which were not “chao-ta”. Isaac felt that the picnic spread doesn’t taste that bad but I felt really bad for providing such below standard picnic meal. Sigh… Cursed with the “chao-ta” spell for this picnic meal. =(
Although, the popcorn was chao-ta, somehow, Isaac still attacked them like a hungry bear as you can see for yourself in the right hand side of the picture below.
And the pictures on the left shows him and me munching on our chili con carne wrapped with pitas. We both agreed that the potato salad is the best among the lot. Only 1 out of 3 dishes was counted successful. Failed. =(
You see, there isn’t much to do since we only had a business times special booklet with us and the weekend Today paper. So, I decided to play with my digital cam and Isaac to blot his face. LOL.
We didn’t set up our picnic place at the open area where most people have their picnics at. Instead, we chose a more secluded spot which was right beside the swan lake to see the swans. I think our picnic spot is better because it is more shady thus, less sunlight and breezy as well. Oh! Please don’t be shocked by the picture on the left. I had my denim shorts on but somehow it was covered hence the weird picture.
And I think that both of us are very funny people who have a fetish for taking pictures of our legs. HAHA.
After eating and resting enough, we set off to explore the garden for a very short while before heading for some air-conditioned place. LOL.
We took some pictures with the plants there and some art pieces which were exhibiting there. ;) Oh! And Isaac requested to take picture with those yellow flowers. I wonder why… Hmmmm…
After botanic garden, we decided to seek refuge from the glaring sun at Ion Orchard. And after roaming around from shops to shops, we ended up at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe.
After placing our orders, Isaac tried to be funny by challenging the preserved green chilies which were on the table. His ending? I think the bottom left picture explains it all. HAHA.
We had one of my favourite desserts – beancurd in a wooden bucket and his favourite drink from Xin Wang – Hong Kong Milk Tea.
Then we both left for home.
The End.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
amor,esperanza y fe 12:33 AM.
Yes!! Finally got back to Little India and had the banana leaf that I lusted for over a million years.
It was so yummilicious that Mr. Mugger looked like Mr. Glutton. LOL.
Yummy yum yum! Love the masala chicken! It’s great! I wanna go back again!! Next time I am gonna try this dish which is made up of multiple tiny dishes that I spotted from an ang moh’s table. ;)
I have no idea why did I act like a tourist and took shots of Little India. But here they are…
Isaac and I were fascinated by this car with multiple parking coupons laid out nicely at its front. I know.. we are frogs in a well but hey, its definitely rare to see this sight!
Another thing that fascinated me was Isaac’s sunglasses.
It looks like a normal pair of sunglass but his intention of purchasing it is totally amazing and beyond my imagination (might be due to my lack of creativity =( )!!!
He bought this sunglasses because it can be wore over his normal glasses!!!! HAHA.. this is the first time that I came across someone doing this!
Alright! Back to my sims 3! Teehee…
amor,esperanza y fe 12:40 AM.
amor,esperanza y fe 10:54 PM.
