I've known The Stupidgirl since i was 13 and since then i've been dishing all sorts of advice to her, be it school, work, relationships, fashion and the list goes on. I always felt like the older one in this relationship even though she's the older hag. I think she's one of the few who takes all my abuse (i always meant it in a good and positive way) and in return i put up with her naivety haha. She's my stupid BFF and what's birthday week without her in the picture right? Hugs.

I think there may be a running theme to my birthday celebration with the Stupidgirl because we had steamboat last year as well (at Imperial Treasures Steamboat @TOS). Since then, i've discovered another steamboat place which is way better and that is Jpot at Vivocity. It is the same style of steamboat as Imperial Treasure's which has the funny dips. 

There is only 1 way to have steamboat and that is in the comfort of an air-conditioned restaurant, with fresh seafood and quality meat, attentive servers and ala carte style. The Marina steamboat days are long behind us. Please do not ask me out for steamboat buffet at Bugis or anything similar to that thanks. I'm not being atas, it's just that comfort is more my style.

Any meal with the Stupidgirl is bound to end up with us over-ordering and then over-eating. She insisted on having the dinner set (we chose Set B $78++ for 2 person) because she wanted the seafood platter (live prawns, sliced red grouper, cuttlefish, scallops, hand made prawn and fish balls, har gau and siew mai) which costs $32 on its own. The set is kinda what you see in the above picture and comes with 2 different meat items. We went with Beef Short Rib and Marinated Pork (both my favorites). There's also a choice of deep fried specialty (fried beancurd skin/fried fish skin), a vegetable platter and noodles/rice together with our choice of broth (the Jpot superior broth is the best!) Sounds like a lot already? Indeed! But that didn't stop her from ordering MORE! 

Our Steamboat set.

Really tender and well marinated pork. I would pick this over the chicken or beef. A small quail egg is provided and i would crack it over the pork before throwing the meat into the soup.

Our Seafood & Dim sum platter. Only the freshest ingredients from the Jumbo people who know their seafood. I'm so glad they kinda killed the prawns before serving to us. IT served us jumping prawns on skewers. So torturous to watch them and then kill them ourselves. Really sweet and crunchy fresh prawns. Great scallops. Everything was just so perfect. 

Beef Short Rib, thinly sliced, cooked Shabu-shabu style. Just look at the marvelous marbling on the meat. Perfect mix of fat and meat. Good thing Stupidgirl doesn't take beef so i had the entire plate to myself!

Side order of Jumbo Pork Ball, freshly made and mixed with herbs like chinese parsley (yucks) but somehow it tasted pretty good after boiling in the broth. You can make many little pork balls from the mother of all pork balls.

Side order of Fish noodle. This is a novelty i guess but it's not fantastic. I find the 'noodle' too fluffy and airy and you don't taste much of the paste. It's kinda like eating marshmallow.

Other than these, we also ordered fish maw, sliced Kurobuta pork and tau pok. Madness.

And this has got to be the reason why i love JPOT and IT so much- fried beancurd skin. We first had it at IT and the restaurant manager taught us how to eat it the right way (i think it's a shanghainese thing?)
Step 1: Pick up the roll and quickly dip a part of it into the hot soup (for 1 second).

Step 2: Dip it into the special sauce which has a soy sauce based (follow instructions at sauce table).

Step 3: Devour it!

Happy me! This is an orgasm of flavors and textures. I'm salivating just thinking of it.. Drools.

Playing with food as usual. Kids, do not learn from me. I'm just trying to make sure we finish all the veggies. I'm the uh.. Veggie fairy?

The 2 gluttons of the day. We ate like there's no tomorrow. The other patrons probably thought we were having some buffet. Dinner was a 2.5h long affair. When the restaurant manager handed us our bill, he was shocked. He couldn't believe that we ordered that much food and we actually finished almost all of it. And the madness continued after dinner when the stupidgirl said she wanted desserts......

And we ended up at Swensens for their Earthquake! She simply refused to let me order anything else and demanded that i help her finish the ice cream. :((

The funny girl was quite demanding when the waiter forgot to give me my candle. She suddenly marched to the counter when the ice cream came without it and got them to change it. I was quite surprised by that move.

The ice cream that killed us but was so sinfully awesome. Brought back fond memories of younger days when we would stuff ourselves on ice cream and not give a shit about calories. Sigh.
The night did not end there. We went for karaoke together for the first time. Mind you i was still coughing and croaking and by the end of the night/morning, my voice was practically gone. It was quite an experience for the both of us. It's amazing how much noise and laughter 2 girls can generate. :) So yeah, the big bang to the birthday week, spent with one of my bestest friend.

Thanks to all the wonderful and awesome friends who remembered this important day. I really appreciate all the emails from overseas and different timezones, all the messages on facebook and WhatsApp and sms and calls.. I love you guys. Thanks for making this an awesome birthday! 

JPOT by Jumbo Seafood
1 HarbourFront Walk, #01-53
Vivocity Lobby F
Tel: +65 6273 3536
Daily: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm
Weekends and PH: 12pm - 11pm

The best presents are the ones we give ourselves. We know perfectly what we want and love so why not just get it for ourselves instead of wishing and hoping that someone else would get it for you? Trust me, surprises never work very well and more often that not it disappoints. 

So a new bag for my birthday! I know i haven't gotten down to revealing the other bags that i own. I intended to showcase my blue series in December but the traveling was kinda disruptive to the writing. In fact, I actually got myself another EOY present in Dec (obviously another bag). It's a ocean blue "something". Suspense! That post would be up soon.

Anyway.. thanks to my buddy BG, who happened to sneak off to London town in Dec, i managed to lay my hands on this lovely baby! He felt absolutely tortured stepping into Selfridges and swore never to buy another bag for me. :P 

Revealing the lovely lady inside..

Tada! And it is the Contenitori Piatti Soft Matelasse Clutch in Cammeo. It's a lovely nude shade with some pink/lilac undertone. Perfect casual clutch for me, though my friends think it is suitable for evenings/dinner dates and partying?? Not sure about the latter because i surely don't want spills on this baby. It measures about 24cm x 16cm with a maximum width of about 3cm and has a detachable handle (not shown in the picture). Roomy enough for my daily essentials- phone, cards, wristlet, keys, gloss. I suppose i can fit my sunnies in as well.

Makes a really good CNY bag for all my red packets! Whee!

Fell in love the colour while bag shopping at MM prior to S's Munich trip. I was all set on getting the mini Coffer in Cammeo but it was OOS. That was when i bought my Ametiste BV as a replacement. I had other opportunities after to get the coffer but i didn't. I chose the ocean blue "something" over it again in Dec. I guess that meant something, i wasn't really into the Coffer afterall. 

The coffer is a nice bag to have. Very ladylike. The mini size is perfect for me and it is rather versatile (i was trying hard to convince myself) but somehow Miu Miu seems too common a brand to have? It doesn't really have a style of it's own and somehow the feminine look doesn't sit well with me. I like bags with a little edge to it, hence Balenciaga, Alexander Wang, Alexander McQueen are my all time favorites. I saw a number of people toting it but it was the Vitello shiny calfskin which i abhor, the finishing makes the bag look so cheap. However, the matte lambskin one is so luxe i just wanna hug it to sleep. Lambskin ftw! So yea.. that was my main struggle when i told S to go ahead with searching for this bag. 

But honestly, look at how cute this is. They had a turqoise/teal one as well which would make a good casual bag for the weekends but it looks like something from Marc Jacobs. For something that costs S$2.5-2.6k, it should not look like MJ. That's the reason why i said MM doesn't really have a style of its own.

I guess the main reason why i wanted the coffer was because of the colour. Cammeo is such a lovely nude and every girl needs a nude bag of some sort in her bag collection (i'm also implying that every girl should have a bag collection. Haha). So when i saw the clutch i was wondering if they would come in Cammeo and i asked B to check out the London stores and they do! It's not even available online then. So yay me! 

Can't wait to take her out soon. Some problems with the hook because you obviously can't trust boys to get something right. The handle is at the Sg store for repairs (great after care service!) but it's fine because i wouldn't really be using it. 

Loving my birthday week! Which is gonna end tomorrow! :( 1 more post to conclude the birthday week and then it's back to growing up. :(( 

After the 'light' lunch at Hanayoshi, the 2 skinnyfat girls proceeded to Flor Pattisserie for desserts. I think we chose to dine at the Duxton area with desserts in mind. How typical of us. :) 

I've been meaning to try the desserts at Flor. The first time was when W and I were at Group Therapy but we were too stuffed to even think about desserts. The second time was with S and he asked if I wanted desserts for lunch but we had some last minute engagement so that didn't work out either. 

I was surprised to see how small the space is. Some tables and chairs to accommodate 6 and another 3 stools along a small bar counter. Outside the shop, there're dining space for another 8 perhaps? I reckon it's more of a bakery for cakes to go. But anyway we decided to camp there for a while to enjoy the cakes.  

Birthday selection! I wanted a light and cool dessert and the green tea mousse cake with green tea jelly (The Vert) seemed like the perfect remedy to my throat. The other dessert we chose was the mille-feuille with chestnut paste (Waguri Millefeuille).

Z asked for a candle to go with the cake. The cake is so wobbly, the candle could hardly stand on it.

Can't wait to dig in! Anticipation!! No birthday song from Z because she claims she can't sing. BOO. Anyway 1 thing i love about birthdays is the wish-making part. So the more cakes the better. HA.

"This year, i wanna look younger, prettier but wiser. I wish for stability and balance, maturity and strength. Let it be a better year for my bag collection and may i lay hands on the AMQ that catches my eye and... ok maybe just that all my wishes will come true. 1 wish. Not very greedy right? :P"

NOW POOF!

The green tea cake is very light and this is very typical of Japanese cakes. I love the Japanese cheesecake with that cow logo on it. I can finish at least half a cake in a sitting (i swear it). It doesn't feel sinful at all. Every mouthful simply disappears into a fragrant mix that glides down your throat. It feels like a dream because you're not sure if you really did eat it at all. 

The matcha is strong but not overpowering and the green tea sponge cake was also very airy and moist. I like the green tea jelly which sits on top of the cake. It adds an additional dimension to the creamy texture, kinda chewy but not much? Flor uses the Kyoto-uji matcha for the pristine flavor and aroma and it's a damn good choice.

The Waguri millefeuille was also very nice. Same quality to the sponge cake. I would reckon that their toufu chiffon cake would have the same texture. Z had it before and said that it's pretty good but pricey for a chiffon cake ($13.80 for 1 if i didn't remember wrongly). There's a nice mix of custard and cream with the puff pastry.

Typically, a mille-feuille would have 3 layers of pastry and 2 layers of creme but this only has 2 layers of pastry. I'm not too picky about stuff like that. I personally thought this has a nice pastry to cream/cake ratio. Any more and i would feel like i'm trying to sandpaper the insides of the throat.

Pastry was well done, has a nice bite to it and wasn't at all moist or flat from the creme. The chestnut paste goes down really easy. I've tried several chestnut based desserts such as the Mont Blanc from Antoinette but they are kinda dense and dry as compared to Flor's. Z and i had a discussion about the chestnuts that were used to made these desserts and if they differ from those we typically see at the night markets. Think it's the same?

Anyhoo, the cakes didn't even take up much space in our tummies and we ordered their iced cheese tarts. They have quite a couple of flavors e.g. orange chocolate, caramel, green tea with yuzu and a couple of others. It has an almond cookie base and is filled with a lightly salted cream cheese filling (Flor's signature) and goes for $3.20 a pop. 

I would liken the experience to what eating dry ice would be. It simply sublimes in the mouth and vaporizes. Imagine cheese that does that? It absolutely defies logic but it's really interesting. I was confused and surprised for a bit on my first mouth. We had the caramel one and it wasn't too sweet (which is great). Go try it for yourself. 

Explored the area a bit after desserts and saw all the restaurants that i've been wanting to try. Can't wait to head back soon. Now who needs a dinner date? :)

Flor Patisserie

#01-01, 2 Duxton Hill

Tel: +65 6223 8628
Mon to Sat: 11am - 7pm, Cafe: 11am - 6pm
Sun & PH: 11am - 6pm, Cafe: 11am - 5pm

Also available at Takashimaya Food Hall, Basement 2
Tel: +65 6737 1789
Daily: 10am - 9pm

When one is sick, the selection of meals is pretty limited. Most would go for liquid foods such as soup, porridge, mushy stuff, ice cream?? My usual strategy is to stop eating completely and simply go into hibernation. However, it is THE B Day! How can one miss out on the chance of great food and awesome company right? 

I was honored to have Z celebrate my aging and she was extremely accommodating to my weird tummy, which demanded clean and refreshing tastes. We first decided on Duxton (based on our dessert destination, read it in B Day Part 2) and despite her pasta craving, she agreed to doing Japanese with me (a last minute change). Problem is, Duxton is not really known for Japanese food. I would usually head to Clarke Quay/Robertson/River Valley for that. Thank god for the invention called the Internet and Google, we ended up at Hanayoshi.  

Simple and spartan furnishing, very typical of Japanese restaurants. We started off with a Hotate sashimi. Very clean, sweet and succulent meat. We were reminiscing our best hotate experience. Mine was in Hokkaido where i had a freshly shucked hotate with shoyu. Heavenly. Z tried to explain her steamboat hotate and her method of cooking which involves a quick dipping of her sashimi grade hotate into boiling stock. Whatever it is, our dinner conversations always revolve around food and more food.

A good tamago IMO should always be made fresh and served warm. My Tsukiji experience at Sushi Dai taught me that. I didn't used to like tamago because it is too sweet but good tamago shouldn't be over-sweetened. The one at Itacho is not bad. Hanayoshi's is passable- slighty warmed but it didn't seem freshly made (i think it was the microwave).

This is my idea of a clean, refreshing and soothing meal- ice cold udon. Both of us ordered the Inaniwa udon. Call me a spoilt brat but noodles should be freshly made. Most packet ones (especially udon) don't have that chewy texture. Sadly, the ones at Hanayoshi is not freshly made. I ordered it anyway because i wanted something cold to extinguish the fire in the throat. It wasn't too bad and could be considered tangy. The sushi wasn't too shady as well- big chunky slices of fish and a small ball of rice. Wasn't particularly wowed by the freshness/cut of the meat but it was alright.

Z's tempura with her noodles. Chunky battered real crab meat. Good job! The thing i love about tempura is that it is always so crispy but somehow it never seem to taste oily. I need to learn to deep fry like this. One can never go wrong with deep fried foods (no wonder i don't seem to recover).

For desserts i had the Ume gelato. It seems milky but before the milk taste hits you, the refreshing sourish sweet Ume taste would kick in and it was just really exciting (if you can call it that). It may take you by surprise on the first tasting, then confusion sets in, but acceptance follows. Anyway, it comes with the set but if you order it on the side, it would cost you $8 a pop. Worth it? I'm not sure but you should try it for yourself. Life is too short, try everything once. :)

The fairly satisfied us who were all set to take on desserts. What is a birthday without sweets right? Stay tuned for Part 2 on Flor Patisserie. 

Hanayoshi

21 Duxton Road

Tel: +65 6225 5567

Mon-Sat: 12pm - 2.30pm, 6.30pm - 10pm

Been meaning to try Toby's Estate for a long while but the boy has been too lazy to drive down to Robertson on the weekends. Since we started the birthday week earlier this year and because he can't celebrate with me on my actual birthday itself, waking a lil earlier and driving a lil further seems like a fair sacrifice. 

Toby's is just a stone's throw away from Kith Cafe which is also very popular with the residents in the area. Shall try that some time soon. Love the old warehouse feel to the area. Very grunge but they have since refurbished and repainted the exterior. We have noted this place some time ago before Toby moved in. There's an ice cream place that S likes but i thought nothing of. Can't remember the name of the place but they sell mattresses too. 

Huge ass roaster which wasn't in use when we were there. Would love the aroma of freshly roasted beans.

Something we noticed about the recent development in the cafe scene is that they all kinda have the same decor. Brick walls juxtaposed with a black, white and wood theme. A little raw, a little unfinished. I'm not complaining because i like it this way. The flooring of my future home would be cement or i would have a cement wall feature.

Nice airy space to chill at but my main complain is that there are not enough seats in the house! The concept of communal dining is cool but it's not very comfortable squeezing between different groups of people early in the morning just to get my caffeine fix. The space could be better utilized i feel.

The coffee is easy on the palate. I usually don't take coffee without sugar but after having Papa Pahleta's, i concluded that good coffee doesn't require any additional sweetening. I would put this in the same category. Can't say too much about the coffee as my throat was crying for help from the soreness and i think coffee made it worse. :(

Hate being sick, especially when this is the birthday week. Everyone i met said that i look sick and grumpy. S asked why i'm so angry at the world. I'm just really annoyed at being sick. Know what it's like to see all the nice food but not feeling like eating them at all? That feeling SUCKS.

I forced myself to order something anyway. Ham and Cheese Croissant was really good. The pastry is very light and airy and extremely crispy! I would love for the centre texture to have more pull though. The pastries are outsourced. S said something about it coming from Bread Project. I should just go straight to the source to get my croissant. Absolutely missing the croissant and pate in Saigon.. Sighs.

S had the poached egg with salmon on brioche. My first impression is that it looks a lot like WH's but the brioche is not toasted and this is more buttery and very fluffy. Shall try the brioche with jam next time to get a more accurate feel to the texture.

Nicely done eggs but i wouldn't say that this dish is spectacular? Not something i would definitely come back for.

W showed up at Toby's after we were about done with our breakfast. He had the Toby’s Breakfast- a composition of scrambled eggs, back bacon, roasted tomatoes and peppers and sautéed mushrooms. The eggs sure look runny enough. Shall try this when i feel better. Anyway, it's breakfast till 3pm daily so more incentives to come down. Downside to this place is also the really slow service. They really need to work on getting the coffee and food out faster.

The night was spent with my JC pals because Yuf is back from down under. Missing from the group- Junda, CW, Pui and Dao. It's hard to get the entire gang to meet up since everyone is busy with work and life. Anyway it's interesting because i met the JC folks last birthday week too! :)) They had dinner at Rakuichi (had dinner with family so didn't do that with them, shall try that soon) and we then proceeded to PS cafe for desserts and truffle fries. YUMS.

Birthdays are meant to be spent with friends and people who matters. Cheers to friendship and love. :) Thank you guys for spending your precious time with me. :))

Toby's Estate
8 Rodyk Street #01-03/04
Tel: +65 6636 7629
Daily: 7.30am - 6pm