iPhone 5 - It's finally here, and Mine!

27th September 2012 - This day marked the end of my iPhone 3GS' 3 years companionship and the welcome of the new iPhone, 32GB iPhone 5! To my friends who kept nagging me to change my phone, yes, I finally upgraded my iPhone!

Well, the market's not lying around with lots of varieties for iPhone 5 cases, thus, I gotta settled for a plain red jelly case for now...

Noticed I'd bought the white iPhone 5? Not me at all yeah? It was upon much consideration that I finally decided to get white afterall. It was written in a performance test that for iPhone 5, black scratches and see scratches much easier than white this time, not like its predecessors. I would really hate seeing scratch marks on my phone so I had to forsake my favourite colour for white.

I also remembered what I blogged previously in 'iOS vs Android Phone' when I said Note 2 was my next choice of phone. Unfortunately, I thought it through and decided AppStore is still the pulling factor for me being under Apple's side. If only Play Store can get its number of apps comparative up to match with AppStore! I know it's soon, but sadly, it's truly time to change my phone now. :(

No matter how others are ranting how sucky iPhone 5 is, it is no doubt a much better upgrade for me since I wasn't in iPhone 4 era and didn't experience the new features in iPhone 4. I'm gonna hold on to it and hopefully, by the time I'm prepared to replace a new phone again, Android would have been on par (in terms of apps) with iOS.

[Taipei] 罗志详 Show Luo's (小猪) Boutique - STAGE

During my recent business trip to Taipei, I had the opportunity to shop a little before I began my work and thanks to my colleague, I finally had the chance to patronise 小猪's (罗志详) Boutique - Stage at Ximending! To think I've been to Taipei so many times but never been to his boutique!

Initially I was quite hesitant to enter his boutique because we were dressed damn casually. Alright, sloppy could be the word. In the end, we still stepped inside. How could we throw away such opportunity when it was right in front of us?

I was captivated by this wall decor and frankly, no photography was allowed within the boutique. This photo was shot when the sales crew went to get my item and I didn't knew we weren't allowed to snap shots then.

小猪's boutique theme is pretty punky, not to mention the products he's selling there. They're not exactly expensive, but I'll say mid-range pricing perhaps. Tees may cost from NT1200 onwards (that's about SGD50+?). A pair of shorts caught my eye but it costs SGD100+! I felt it's a tad too expensive but yet I couldn't help but to keep putting my eyes on it. Ultimately, I gave up buying the shorts cause it wouldn't fit me.

I had to buy something from there, I HAD TO. How could I leave the boutique, or leave Taipei without any haul from Stage? That would not me, the shopping queen (titled by my colleagues) anymore, yeah? Hence, I did buy something. :D

A red tee for my hubby. Simple yet showing Stage logo clearly. It was also by far the most suitable tee for him (the rest's too...young?).

I also got myself a pink stripes tee! It is not very uniquely-designed, but quality is a guarantee. I also bought 2 more tank tops but they're nothing special apart for the logo, so I decided to skip posting the image up here.

Some say Stage has nothing much to see nor buy. I'll say just go for the exposure. If you have not been there before, then I'll strongly recommend you to go, to finally get to visit and know where this boutique is. Unless you really like his designs, I'll say 1st visit shall suffice :)

The address to his boutique is right on the first photo of this blog. If you are heading there, do enjoy and hope you'll walk out with some loot from Stage, just like me!

 

Kiseki - A Japanese Buffet Restaurant

My birthday celebration this year was so closely tied to food. Just the birthday weekend alone, We went for American brunch, steamboat and lastly, BUFFET!

We went Kiseki 2 years back but during that time, the restaurant was located at Heeren. Food selection was so-so and we didn't really rate it high at that time. 2 years later, we came across Kiseki again, but this time located at Orchard Central instead. We decided to give it a try once again.

Frankly, I prefer Kiseki to be located at Orchard Central than at Heeren. Situated at 8th floor, the full-length windows of the mall allow full sunlight into the restaurant, giving it a bright and cozy ambience. The moment we were brought to our seats, I immediately explored the food selection.

I was pretty glad that they improved over the years as there are more choices of food than before. First few which I came across,were Deep Fried Food section, where all the tempuras were.

Next, I made a turn and there were the Cooked Food section. Here's where the hotpot, chawanmushi, udon, noodles and rice would be. This is also the section that could fill up your stomach really fast, thus, I only took some of them so I could still have room for others!

Next up was the Seafood section. I know many seafood lovers might roar at me but being one who isn't exactly a seafood lover, I kinda skipped this section...but they looks good!

Last but not the least, I finally stepped into my favourite section, Sashimi! Regardless what they have, salmon sashimi is one selection they can't possibly be missing from a Japanese Buffet! I believe I ate at least close to 30 (or more) slices of salmon sashimi, hehe!

Though I did not plan to eat a lot of desserts during the buffet since I'm accustomed to my low calorie diet (5 months and on-going!), some desserts look really delicious to refrain from eating. :P

These dessert mixers look really intriguing so I couldn't help myself but to take some of them back to my table. Naturally, I didn't eat all of them but shared with my family, especially my little girl!

Well, Kiseki is quite a pleasant place for dining overall. Food selection has greatly increased over the years compared to the time when it was still located at Heeren. The restaurant is also very spacious, giving customers a comfortable space to dine. Price is reasonable too for lunch which is priced at $24++. I wouldn't mind patronising Kiseki again, when my craving for salmon sashimi kicks in.

Kiseki's Address:
Orchard Central, #08-01/02/03
181 Orchard Road
Tel: (65) 6736 1216

Rating: 3.2/5

My Birthday Celebration ~ Lunch @ Egg & Berries

Like I mentioned on my last birthday blog post, my birthday celebration did not just end with the drinking. On the very next day (which is the exact day of my birthday) after the fun night, Dear brought me to the restaurant I've always wanted to patronise - Egg & Berries!

I've always love American-styled breakfast and Egg & Berries fit just right on my favourite dining restaurant because it serves the breakfast I love, ALL DAY! Now I can get to eat them at any time I want!

Egg & Berries' menu is pretty straight forward but for just a brief moment, I was lost simply because there's too many selections for me to decide.

Egg & Berries' Menu

In the end, I decided to order Sweet Brioche French Toast with Sausage & Scrambled Eggs while Dear ordered Chipolata Sausage with Smoked Chicken & Scrambled Eggs. It was so yummylicious that we patronised it again on the following weekend after that day, which we brought Amelia along. Of course, we must ordered other main courses so as to enjoy Egg & Berries' food!

Sweet Brioche French Toast with Sausage & Scrambled Eggs ($13.50)

This main course was served with syrup for the pancakes as well. However, what surprised me was that there are 3 different syrups for me to use on my pancakes.

The Syrups - Maple, Chocolate and Berries

Bacon, Onion & Mushroom ($12.70)

Chipolata Sausage with Smoked Chicken & Scrambled Eggs ($12.50)

Chipolata & Eggs ($9.50)

Fresh Mushroom Cream Soup ($5.50)

Child's Menu ($8.50)

The Child's Menu is really a great deal! For a meal meant for kids, the portion served was not stingy at all! Amelia enjoyed it very much too!

Egg & Berries serves all its main courses with eggs, regardless its poached, scrambled, fried or whatsoever. There are many more courses from its menu I've yet to taste and on my next visit, I really need to try their Egg Benedict.

I'll definitely be a regular to this restaurant until I find a better one!

Egg & Berries is located on the 1st floor of Changi City Point, just next to Tunglok Seafood.

Rating: 4/5


 

My Birthday Celebration ~ Night Out!

17 August 2012. Yet another year to declare I'm another year older.

This year, I did not expect any extraordinary birthday celebration but just a quiet and heartwarming time with my family. I didn't even expect to go out at all till Dear told me my god-brother wants me to go down to their usual pub to celebrate my birthday. Ever since I gave birth to Amelia, my trips to pubs had greatly reduced. So, I agreed!

I also took the initiative to gathered my BFFs for a dinner after work, before I joined my god-brother at the pub. Knowing I would be going out, I had to doll up myself, ya? In all honesty, I did not put on too much war-paint but just emphasised on my eyes.

It wasn't really a pre-birthday dinner per se but I appreciated Cindy and Javier for turning up as they originally wanted to stayed at home due to their son's tuition. We had an enjoyable dinner at Joyee's favourite steamboat restaurant though she suffered a mild car accident just that evening. The men simply couldn't stand our topics as we mainly discussed about LUXURY BAGS! After the dinner, we headed to the pub without my BFFs as they needed to work on the next day.

It was really great to be able to meet up with my pub friends gang from time to time, especially when they remembered my birthday every single year! My god-brother, Fabian even managed to summon my next good friend, Larry to come along even though he always have a hectic travelling schedule! Come to think of it, from Network at Chinatown, to Mongkok at Tanjong Pagar, and now S Club, we have known one another for almost 6-7 years. Frankly, to be able to still keep in close contact for so many years whom we known from a pub, it is considerably amazing.

Alright, back to my birthday celebration night out. It is a standard practice in the gang that whenever someone's birthday is here, birthday song will be sung and most importantly, a yard of beer will be delivered right to your face. Naturally, I'd gotten a yard of beer on my hands cos it's a night out for ME!

Me with a yard of beer. I was also wearing my new top from Taobao that night. Oh yes, and that's Larry behind me in the photo, photobombing. :D

When most of them helped me clear the yard till it was left till the bottom (the round base...and the most lethal), I had to drink it up all by myself. The owner of S Club, whom we knew very well too (he's the one in the top-left photo with me in the photo below) saw me drinking up only the base, he 不甘愿 and asked me to drink more. I told him jokingly that I'd drink any alcohol he brought to me and I regret it the moment he came back. Why? Cos when I thought he would have brought a glass of liquor on the rock, he brought along another yard of beer to me, demanding me to drink it all by MYSELF! Blamed me on my silly mouth and promise, I had no choice but to finish 1 whole yard myself. Come to think of it, I think I'm the only one he brought 2 yards on someone's birthday...多有面子啊!

开心不忘娱乐. While we were happily enjoying ourselves at S Club, I also took photos with most of my gang ( some just hate the camera!), making more sentimental footprints down my memory lane.

I heart them so much, the friendship's most definitely gonna be a lifetime thingy. Who says friends whom we made from nightlife won't be longlasting?

Last but not the least, I gotta thank my Dear for spending my birthday night out with me and our pub gang!

My birthday most certainly didn't end with this. More birthday celebration posts coming up next! ^^