There is no trick to staying skinny, it's a lot of exercise and watching your diet. Well with my hectic food blogging schedule and essentially my love for food, i make it a point to eat healthy on weekdays and i turn to salads for lunch! I love them because they are healthy and fresh and I also love preparing them myself. But if you don't have time to make your own, then check out The Lawn, the only Specialty Grill & Salad Café in Singapore

The grills are what make The Lawn different from the other salad spots. If you are a salad virgin, The Lawn helps with that veggie anxiety with their selection of savory and delicious grilled meats and seafood. Eating green doesn't mean that you gotta sacrifice on taste! So go Meat your Greens!

1. Choose Your Base
Salad ($9.90 with 5 toppings and dressings) or Olive Rice ($8.90 with Side Salad and dressings).

2. Choose your Grills (additional costs $3 to $5).
There's Chicken (teriyaki is good, the rest were on the dry side), Pacific Dory (butter seared with parsley rocks), Char-grilled Garlic Prawns (MUST ORDER), Beef (quite tasty too but has some tendons), Duck (please remove the skin) and Balsamico Fresh Asparagus & Eggplant and Mushrooms (salty but shiok) for the vegetarian.

3. Choose Your Dressings
Now this is a tough one. There are 12 sauces to pick from. And since i tried all, here's what i liked:
Red Island- A lovely sundried tomato puree, garlic and basil paste. It would be great on tartines!
Maple Peanut- I would liken this to a light satay sauce with the a red wine vinaigrette base. Really lovely.
Manly Mango- A tangy sweet sauce that complements duck and prawns.
Wasahonie- It has more honey than wasabi so it wouldn't kill you. Great with prawns too.

Perky Sesame Ginger- Think Chinese Ginger sauce that is perfect with chicken.
Honeyball- Honey and dijon mustard, you can't go wrong with this.

Me So Spicy- For that fiery kick, this spicy chilli and sambal belachan combination will shock you into being. This is good on a bit of your grills, not all of it though.

4. Choose Your Toppings (for salads only)
There're currently 28 to choose from which can be a headache if you like everything (like me). Now check out my creations! 

Grilled Garlic Prawn Salad. With Tofu, Granola, Cheddar, Chestnut and Cous Cous. I loved the spicy garlic prawns a la aglio olio style. If you pick granola, make sure you choose a saucy sauce so that the granola wouldn't be too dry. The chestnuts are absolutely yummeh.

Grilled Black Pepper Duck Breast Salad. With Pasta (Fusilli), Corn, Alfafa Sprouts, Parmesan and Cashew Nuts.

Love the umami of the parmesan. The pairing the duck with mango sauce is simply heavenly but the duck could be more pink. Make sure you remove the skin!

Ben's Beef Rub with Olive Rice. I love the preserved olive vegetables with rice! It may not be the healthiest considering that it's preserved in oil and there's plenty of carbs but this would be great for friends who are just not that into vegetables. Would love a brown rice option though! The beef cubes were a little tough too. 

The Lawn previously operated out of the Biopolis outlet but they have added another store at AXA Tower in Shenton Way. If you are in a rush for time and are too lazy to create your own salad, there are a couple of planned salads for $12.90-$13.90. My advice? Grab a few of their order forms and keep them in office and you can plan your salad before lunch. :)

The Lawn
@ 31 Biopolis Way #01-07, Nanos, Singapore 138669
Tel: +65 6478 9739
Weekdays: 11.15am - 9pm
Sun: 10am - 4pm

@ 8 Shenton Way #B1-11, AXA Tower, Singapore 068811
Tel: +65 6534 8749
Weekdays: 10.30am - 9pm

Hello from the Travelerintransit. I promised a report on my weekend staycation at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport so here it is! Honestly the weekend flew by so quickly because S and i were both feeling so relaxed in the tropical resort environment of the hotel and before i knew it we had to check out. BAH. Anyway take a look at what Crowne Plaza has to offer! And really, it's the best transit hotel ever.

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport takes on a Contemporary Asia theme which focuses a lot on the tropics. There are plenty of open and green spaces which remove all that strain from traveling (and work in our case). I couldn't believe we were in an airport hotel when i stepped into our 75sqm King Suite. Boy the space was huge. Love the huge windows that allow natural light to flood the room in the day.
I love the soothing colors of the room and it's really similar to the new leather upholstery of my favorite carrier Singapore Airlines. The typical deluxe rooms are 36sqm and all rooms come with a 1.8m work desk and an iPod docking station. The rooms function equally as a space to rest and recuperate or as a working space for the travelling executive. The difference with the Suite is that there's an additional living area, everything else is the same. 

Our comfortable King Bed that sleeps like a cloud. What you're not seeing is the walk-in wardrobe that's in the same section of the room! :)

I cannot believe that all the rooms come equipped with a bathtub. That's sheer luxury for city hotels and it's big enough for 2! Wink wink.

There's also a separate standing rain shower. 

Love the refreshing citrusy scent of the bath products from The White Company. All your toiletries needs would be accommodated.

Here is my favorite part of our suite. Pool access from our bedroom! 

It walks straight out to the 30m landscaped outdoor swimming pool. 

From everywhere in the public areas, there is contact with lush gardens – including surprising views upwards to rainforest trees through a water covered skylight.

I left S to take a short nap while i explored the hotel. Here's the Crowne Plaza Club which is created exclusively for frequent business travelers with their personalized service and host of special privileges and amenities available daily from 6.30am to 11pm. 

Business travelers could work from the Crowne Plaza Club Lounge comfortably. There are Internet workstation and meeting rooms for booking, as well as photocopying and faxing facilities. Complimentary WIFI access is also available.

All day coffee, tea, juices, mineral water, soft drinks and a selection of cookies are available. Of course i helped myself to some cookies while waiting for S to hit the gym with me. 

Enjoying some me time with some fresh juice. Staying indoors to protect my skin from the harsh sun. :P

Vitamin C ftw! Into the tummy, and onto my skin. 

The secret to staying slim is hard work at the gym. Squeezed in a heart pumping run and some yoga stretches at the small but adequate fitness center. Love how the machines are all so new and fancy. Always work on even when traveling i say! 

Another Club perk is the daily evening drinks and canapes from 5.30 to 7.30pm. They have my favorite Wensleydale Cranberry Cheese!

Well for small tummies like mine, these are actually sufficient as a proper dinner. Mini sandwiches, puffs and dim sum, along with artisan toast and cheese and a good selection of desserts, you hardly need to eat after.  

If you require a proper meal, there are several places you could eat at in Crowne Plaza Changi Airport. I would recommend Imperial Treasures for their consistently good chinese cuisine. For international fare, you may want to consider Azur, which provides buffet as well a la carte meals. Read my previous review of Azur here.

We had the Black Angus Buffet which was their promotion then. Hits and misses. We preferred the fresh seafood section though.

Lovely king and snow crabs. S made me shell all the prawns and crabs for him! I'm certainly very marriageable by Singaporean men standards. Hur hur. The plump oysters were really good too, probably Canadian or Australian. 

Post dinner exploration of my favorite airport in the world and then back to the pool to chill out. Beware of mozzies though. They bite the sweet ones. ;)

Morning rise and shine! Had a great night's rest and woke to breakfast served at the Club Lounge. They serve breakfast daily from 6.30am to 10.30am. The spread in the lounge is probably not as great as that at Azur (where we could have eaten breakfast at) but it's quieter at the Lounge and certainly more relaxing with the pool view.

A perfectly portion controlled breakfast for Ms Skinnyfat. Adequate eggs, lovely mushroom ragout with zucchini, juicy sausages and my favorite cheese. 

Back to chilling out after breakfast. Planning the next travel while on vacation is my thing to do. Then it's the gym again and back to the bathtub. The Travelerintransit is always on the go really. I'm too Type A to stay still. Heh. 

We really enjoyed our stay at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport and i was so reluctant to leave (i wouldn't mind leaving on a plane though). CP is currently having a Great Value Package till end Apr 2014 and it includes breakfast for 2, complimentary internet and $40 nett non-cumulative F&B credit for use in Azur, Lobby Lounge and bar '75 (not valid for in-room dining). You need to book your package 14 days in advance though and you can book it here at http://goo.gl/Mzh4ZR. Prices start from $290 and Club Access is an additional $100 per night.

Thank you Crowne Plaza Changi Airport for this wonderful staycation! Till the next one.

xoxo

Travelerintransit

Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
75 Airport Boulevard
Singapore 819664
Tel: +65 6823 5300

Happy Easter Month of April 2014! Back at my favorite tea spot for Easter Tea and it's no other than Axis Bar & Lounge at Mandarin Oriental Singapore. I've always been impressed with Axis Bar's all rounded 3 tiered classic afternoon tea (read it here) and was delighted to know they introduced something new for Easter. More excuses to head back. :)

This time we were seated in a small private section that gave us a partial view of the Marina.

This seats 4 comfortably but could accommodate more if necessary. 

Here's a look at the menu. There's a selection of Mariage Frères and TWG teas. I had the White Night Jasmine which had a soothing jasmine perfume. Very light and fragrant tea. Coffee is also available but what's Tea without tea yea?

We started with the Cherry Blossoms Champagne Jelly which was rather bland and missing everything champagne. But once the food started coming, we forgot about that misstep.

From left to right. The Egg salad sandwich with watercress had a nice creamy texture. I loved the Lump crab meat and avocado sandwich which was 1/3 part sweet crab meat. Bresaola and gem lettuce mini wrap with cheddar and the cucumber and cream cheese sandwich were fillers but they didn't do that bad on their own either.

More savory stuff! From top to bottom: Poached lobster with coriander mango salsa. The Carbonara Eggs en Cocotte deserves a highlight. Loved the garlic carbonara sauce at the bottom of the egg. Mix everything together and slurp it down. Satisfaction guaranteed! The Duck rilette and foie gras mousse terrine was also delightful. 

The scones made my day and i devoured my share before Stupidgirl finished her first. Oh but that wonderful crunchy buttery goodness was just irresistible. There were 2 flavors, a Strawberry yogurt scone and a Citrus peel and Tahitian vanilla scone. I preferred the strawberry yogurt which was lightly sweetened and was good on its own. BUT i can't resist smearing it with the lovely clotted cream! And there's also the slightly tart lemon curd and the fresh raspberry jam.  

For puffs, we had the Easter ham and green pea pie and the Chicken and potato turnover. These are ok items though I preferred those on the regular menu.

ON TO THE SWEETS!

The fancy macaron with pear liquor fillings has a popping surprise in it. You gotta try it to find out. I went gaga over the presentation of the edible Easter egg basket with gianduja chocolates.

The big one had an amazing caramel filling! 

Kids will go nuts over the Vanilla financier with rhubarb marmalade and the Easter Carrot Cupcake. Too cute to eat really. This is more for presentation than eating though..

Blueberry and black currants cremeux mini gateau and Sable almond berries fruit tart. The mini gateau had a light berry tartness that blended well with the bitter dark chocolate. I also enjoyed the buttery sable.

Can't think of a better way to celebrate Easter! The Easter Tea will run for the month of April 2014 and it costs $42 per person ($80 for two). Hope you enjoy this! 

Thank you Mandarin Oriental for the invitation!

Axis Bar & Lounge
5 Raffles Avenue, Mandarin Oriental
Singapore 039797
Tel: +65 6885 3098
Daily Afternoon Tea: 3pm–5pm
Additional seating on weekends: 12.30 - 2.30pm

A beautiful smile brightens up anyone's day, especially your own! Smiling causes your brain to think that you're happy so you should always smile to yourself at least 3 times a day! I used to hate smiling until i straightened my teeth with the traditional braces when i was in secondary school. The perfectionist in me made me redo my upper front teeth in university because they went out of alignment (yes you gotta wear your retainers for life and no i didn't wear them religiously). I could not bear having imperfect teeth and i was regretting not straightening the lower set at the same time (yes vanity). Well thanks to Invisalign, i can now have super perfect teeth without looking like a teenager again.  

My pre-treatment smile. Yes it's quite perfect but it's not totally perfect.

Here's me and my pre-treatment smile. I've been complimented on my smile many times and it looks quite perfect but i'm the only one who knows the imperfections because i see my teeth and feel them all the time.

Anyway since I've been through the traditional method of teeth straightening, I can tell you straight out the 3 primary benefits to choosing Invisalign over traditional braces.
1. Nearly invisible- nobody knows that you are straightening your teeth!
2. Comfortable- no metal brackets or wires to cause mouth irritation
3. Removable- you can remove the aligners during meals and they are easy to clear. It's also easier for you to brush and floss your teeth.

The Process

You'll have to go through several consultations with your dental provider to determine your treatment plan. It includes x-rays of your mouth and impression of your teeth (making moulds) These information would be sent to the Invisalign laboratory in Santa Clara, US for generation of a 3d digital model to determine your treatment plan. They will subsequently produce your customized aligners in the US, which would be sent to your dentist.

Mould of my teeth! Say EEEEEEE. My aligners were ready 4 weeks from the final impression of my teeth. My Invisalign treatment is done by Dr Cheng Eng Wah of I.Dental Surgeons at Tanjong Pagar. Dr Cheng has over 20 years of orthodontics experience and also a platinum provider of Invisalign. He was extremely detailed and objection in highlighting the differences between traditional braces and Invisalign. Having a good dentist certainly helps you make informed choices on your dental care.

Before starting on the aligners, Dr Cheng showed me how my teeth will look like at the end of the treatment. This is the before.

This is the after! Yes i know it looks about the same but it's really for correcting minor issues since i really don't have that many problems (told you i'm a perfectionist). It's mainly the angle of some teeth. The most significant that you can tell from the pictures would be my left cross bite (right of picture) and also the alignment of my front bite. 

I'm supposed to wear the aligners for 22 hours a day, except for eating and brushing. The aligners will have to be changed every 2 weeks till the end of the treatment. Seems like i only have 14 sets of aligners to get through so that's about 7 months for my teeth to move towards the final position prescribed by Dr Cheng. Mine is considered the 'light' treatment treatment already while the typical treatment takes about 1 to 2 years. It all depends on the severity and how strictly you follow the prescribed treatment. The cost of the Invisalign treatment would vary in that case but typically ranges from S$7-9k.

Here is me with my aligners! You can't even tell that they are there!

I'll be updating regularly on my Invisalign treatment so watch this space if you're thinking of straightening your teeth. Feel free to ask me anything about Invisalign and i'll try my best to answer your questions!

To find out more about Invisalign, you can check out their website here. In the meantime, SMILE!