Singapore 2010

Take a look at some of the places where my feet have taken me the past three months of living in the Lion City :)

Here's to my Singapore adventures so far. Look forward to seeing more of you this 2011! :)

So this is Christmas, what have you done...

Aside from it obviously being Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010 will also mark my 3 months here in Singapore - 3 months of adventure and independence.


I realized I failed to blog about my relocating (anything about it actually). There was just too much going on in the weeks leading to the move and following it that I had no time to document it in words. There are many pictures and videos capturing it though, believe me.


Since moving to the lion city, countless number of people have asked me how I am liking the place so far, how it is like to be living alone, am I eating properly, are people nice, etc etc. I'm happy to report that with every reply, I find myself sporting a smile. Yes, it has been good. Of course I miss my family and friends, the comfort of being at home where you don't have to worry about what your next dinner will be, whether you have any clean clothes left, etc. But all that is part of the experience, part of why I said yes to this big change, and part of why I continue to feel blessed and happy - it's all part of my 'growing up'.



'The unexamined life is not worth living'


Socrates' famed words could not be more true. Cliche, but to really live, one needs to take risks. It's funny how life throws you a curve ball one instant and a beautiful surprise in another. Truly, God does work in mysterious ways. A year ago, I would not have dreamed of being where I am today. Yes, I did play with the idea of moving to Singapore - a city that I once abhorred as a child because I felt it was always challenging Hong Kong, which I consider my home - but it was just a thought, I never really acted on it. Then, the unexpected surprise came. How could I say no.



Fifth Mountain


I am reading Paulo Coelho's Fifth Mountain right now. I picked it up the other day at the Book Fair that I happened to stumble upon while passing through the Suntec Convention Centre.

I love book fairs! I kind of go into a trance while browsing the numerous books - from fiction to lifestyle, even children's books!

Anyway, back to Coelho. I loved loved loved The Alchemist. His wonderful writing gave me the sort of confidence and re-assurance I needed. In this fourth book of his, he continues with the theme of destiny and both man and God's role in finding one's path. It is beautiful.


Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011


As the year comes to an end, and a new one approaches, I cannot help but be thankful. I am ready for another year of ups and downs. The passing of time thrills and scares me at the same time but that is what should drive us to move forward. It's no good to just sit back. There is SO MUCH to see and do, how can anyone be 'bored'? A colleague here once told me soon after I just moved, "Your experience here is what you make of it. It's up to you if you enjoy it here or not". Indeed.



Happy Christmas to all and an awesome new year ahead :)

Wanderlust

Absolutely in awe with this unique boutique hotel.

Located in Little India, Wanderlust Hotel houses only 29 rooms with individual themes and hues designed by various creative agencies in Singapore.

Room rates start at SGD 180++. If only I had the chance to check-in and try out their different rooms!

Regardless, the place is still definitely worth a visit - if only for the 'art' lobby!

Singfest

How I wish I was in Singapore this week to be able to go to this.






Have a happy week everyone :)

No Signboard Seafood Restaurant

"

What began in 1981 as a stall at the Mattar Road hawker centre is now three individually styled branches located at the central and western suburbs of Singapore.
Each of these restaurants provides a unique dining ambience, serving signature seafood dishes like homemade white pepper crab, Hokkien steamed fish, crispy cereal prawns, and other reasonably priced fare. Now the paradoxically named "no signboard" seafood is establishing its name at Esplanade with an elegant eatery featuring all your favourite dishes.
Prices remain reasonable to ensure the families - especially those from the good old days - can continue to enjoy the restaurant's culinary skills."

Believe me when I say, absolutely everything we ate here was SO delicious!

We had spicy crab + yummy bread to be dipped in the curry sauce (forgot what it's called), ribs, their specialty fried rice and veggies (can't remember as well!)

Trust me, everything was good!

If you're going to be in Singapore any time soon, you must go. It's located in Esplanade Mall.

Desigual

While I was in Singapore a few weeks back, I promised myself I would not do any personal shopping for different reasons. It was difficult to do, especially with so many different shops around. On regular occasions, while travelling, my rule of thumb is I'd only purchase something if I knew I wouldn't be able to get the same thing or similar to it in Hong Kong. That or if it was significantly cheaper. However, on this trip, I really stopped myself. Once in a while, I'd step into a few of the stores just to check out what items they had and sometimes I'd end up picking a top or dress or 2, only to put them back in the rack before stepping out of the store. There were a lot of pretty clothes that were affordable too. So while I did see a lot of lovely of items, there were none that I went completely crazy over.

While browsing at the Marina Square, one night, however, I stumbled into Desigual and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

I don't always get these blood-rushing-to-my heart-making-me-dizzy sort of feelings. I remember I had the same feeling first time I entered Zara years ago. And also, when I saw Ted Baker when it was still new. But yes, Desigual made me giddy. I was in love.

Their clothes were just beautiful. So unique. A touch of boho, ethnic and artsy fartsy too. But refreshing, feminine, fun. They had so many wonderful pieces, the prints were just gorgeous. I must've eyed each one for a good 10 seconds each. Dresses, skirts, tops, bags. Their clothing isn't my usual style but I would've gladly worn any one of them.

Desigual in Amsterdam

I had to ask one of the sales assistants where the brand was from and found out the brand is from Spain.

Found after a quick google: "Desigual is a streetwear brand based in Barcelona, Spain...The brand has been created in 1984 by Swiss national Thomas Meyer, founder and creative director that wanted to provide different clothes to people."

Desigual is already a household name in Europe and its logo is a familiar sight. Offering a directional range of men and women's casual wear, as well as and accessories, Desigual has something for everyone. It has a fun, positive and unconventional outlook on fashion. The first slogan for the brand was 'Desigual is not the same', and this continues to be the driving force behind the label over twenty years on"

You can't believe how tempted I was to buy even just one item. But there were too many good ones, I couldn't choose! It didn't help that they were quite pricey.

Apparently, there are a few branches in Singapore - one in Orchard Central and another in Vivo City.

It's been a while since my Singapore trip but I've still been dreaming about Desigual. I think I've decided I'll get a dress on my next Singapore trip, hopefully it's during the Singapore Sale too! :)

Singapore High

So I spent total of 6 days in Singapore but in reality only got to go around the city much less than that as I had to work for four of those days. On those days, however, I'd still go out after work to meet friends or simply explored the city on my own.

On Day 2 of my Singapore trip, silly me forgot to bring the camera. I met up with Arnold, H's friend. Because of him, I had my first Sing MRT ride! Yay! :) Not too different from our MRT in HK, except that they give refunds if you return your ticket. Nice. haha. From City Hall station, we got off at Orchard and had dinner at the Ion Orchard, one of the newest malls along orchard road. I love that Singapore is abundant with food courts. Yay to lots and lots of choices of cheap, yummy food! :)

For the 3rd night, I went on the Singapore Flyer...on my own! Yes, on my own. For those who don't know, the Singapore Flyer is a "giant observation wheel" which is actually more like a giant ferris wheel. It's actually 2 meters higher than the London Eye! I thought I was going to be alone in the capsule but good thing it was big enough to carry more than 10 people.

The view from the top was amazing. Eventhough I was getting dizzy as we reached the top - especially as the hyper kids who were also in the capsule kept on shouting "we're at the top! we're at the top" - I was glad I didn't back out of this "touristy-must-do" item on the list! :)

Sing-a-ling-a-ding-apore!

Been away too long. Could give number of excuses but i won't. Just been lazy or too tired. Period. But felt I needed to blog about this...my first business trip ever! Haha. So, how was the first day? So far, so good! :)

I'm actually still in Singapore at the moment. Flew in from Hong Kong Tuesday morning for a four-day business trip. Arrived at lunchtime, rushed to the hotel to settle my things and freshen up quickly before dashing off to work.

I'm checked in at the Park Hotel Clarke Quay, this new boutique hotel in Robertson Quay, which opened just last year.

I was surprised to find out I was reserved at the Club Floor rooms which "offer exclusivity for discerning business travellers." Oh yeaaaa. So not me. Haha. Must say, was very pleased with the "exclusive" and personalized service.

Room is lovely. I love the high ceiling and the stylish interior.

View is a looker too.

At the office, I got my own room (woohoo!), which i'm actually just borrowing from a senior colleague who's away on leave.

Nice view again!

Was good to meet everyone at the office - especially those I was so used to speaking on the phone with or exchanging emails with but have never actually seen in person.

After work, I got a friendly ride back to the hotel from one of my colleagues. I changed to a smaller bag, took off my heels, wore flats and went down to explore. Had been starving most of the afternoon since I missed lunch so was keen to find a good place to have dinner.

First I checked out the "mall" right in front of the hotel, called UE Square, only to find it was practically empty. Next, I decided to check out Robertson Walk next to the hotel. I saw there were some chic eateries outside and wondered if there would be any cheap restos inside. Found the building quite interesting, the European inspired architecture was real posh.

So did i find any "cheap" resto there? As you could probably guess from the pictures, no. Its a nice date place though with the al fresco dining. Too bad it jut rained and well, i didn't have a date.

Moving on, i concluded I had to venture out a bit further if I wanted to find a cheap enough place. I remembered seeing some fast food restaurants in a building on the way to the hotel so trusted my direction instincts and just walked.

Thankfully, I found the place, which happened to be right beside the Somerset Hotel.

This was first resto I saw but wouldn't make sense for me to eat here eh. Hehe.

I went into the mall in the hopes of finding another restaurant. I saw McDonald's and Starbucks, no thanks. Wasn't sure which floor to go then finally decided to go to the basement level when i saw this cool escalator.

Finally, i saw a supermarket and there were food court type eateries at the side. Finally! There was choice of Japanese and other stuff can't remember now. Chose Jap when I saw picture of their "No. 1 Best Seller" - Fried Pork Cutlet Bowl. YUM!

Was so hungry by this time. Placed my order, paid SGD10 and sat down. I could hear my tummy growling already. Finally, my food came. BUT it looked so different from the picture. It literally took me 20 seconds looking at my food and back at the picture and back at my food again. Till I realized, they gave me the wrong order. I checked with the cashier who took my order and true enough there was a blunder. Instead of my pork cutlet rice, she gave me pork with ginger. Don't ask me how she misheard. Lost in translation. Anyway, I was too hungry to argue. It didn't look too bad anyway.




After that, I STILL felt hungry so I got some crepe at a kiosk nearby. YUM!





Chocolate Peach Crepe

Satisfied, I walked back to the hotel for a goodnight's rest :)