Sometimes it's heaven sent.

I (secretly) hoped for a longer walk home.

You.

Me.

The howling wind.

And what used to be of the past.

"Don't get mad when someone else starts to appreciate the person you took for granted."

But I am.

And I want everything back.

Here I am again, chasing

Pet peeve #1

When you make a mistake,

Admit it
Be apologetic
Compensate

As easy as A-B-C isn't it?

Selfish Gene / Group Therapy / ReStore / SPRMRKT

Today Nic and I embarked on our virgin cafe hopping experience and we decided to explore the area of Tanjong Pagar. Truthfully, I didn't expect my appetite to be so spontaneous. We conquered 4 cafes in 7 hours, mind you. I reckon us as achievers.

Our supposed first stop was Talent Cafe but it was c l o s e d :-(

#1: Selfish Gene Cafe
Then we moved on with life to Selfish Gene Cafe instead, where there were many young people of our or slightly above our age judging us for snapping a million and one pictures of our food before actually tucking in. This was where Nic and I were most embarrassed at.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich, Iced SGC Tea

The Iced SGC Tea was basically a concoction of ceylon and earl grey tea. Not much of an impresser and requires sugar syrup that doesn't come with it, in my opinion. But I like how plain and simple the sandwich was. Just minimal mayonnaise, a few slices of fresh cucumbers and a generous spread of smoked salmon tucked in between two pieces of mildly toasted Ciabatta. 

Beef Sandwich

Same goes for Nic's beef sandwich except the Ciabatta was flavoured (I couldn't tell what flavour though LOL) and the beef was meh. Between the slices of beef were some wasabi sauce too, which I quite fancied. I like wasabi, but Nic doesn't, so it depends on your individual preference.

#2: Group Therapy
Just a 5 minutes walk away from Selfish Gene Cafe was Group Therapy Cafe. It's located on the 2nd floor and you might miss it if you don't look out carefully, so keep your eyes open. Before we entered the cafe, we were thinking if we should actually still visit the cafe because our group only consisted of her and I which makes a pathetic group of two, LOL. Group therapy indeed. We vowed to visit this place again, except with a bigger group.

Pomegranate Green Tea, Blueberry White Tea

Nic voted her Pomegranate Green Tea (which tasted like home-made Ribena) as the best drink of the day and the Blueberry White Tea was kinda refreshing for me too, except it tasted a little like the Pokka bottled one.

Caramel Granny Smith Apple Pie

One of the best apple pies I've had so far. Sprinkled above the layer of caramel is granola which I thought really complimented the flavour. The only downside is that it's served chilled though, which spoils the goodness of it. Thought it'd taste better if it's warm and fudgy. According to a friend, this is one of the cafe's hottest items so it was always out of stock whenever he visited, so I guess it's our lucky day!

#3: ReStore Living
If you're intending to use Google maps to navigate your way here, the place is known as ReStore Living because it's actually a furniture shop with a hidden cafe inside. When we entered, the store was already almost full and there was a really homely feeling to it. The female cafe owner was really courteous to us throughout too.

They have a mini book sale too!

Iced Lemon Ginger Mint Tea, Hot Chai Tea

My Chai tea felt therapeutic. But Nic's lemon ginger mint drink was........ *speechless*. Not a flavour that everyone can take. (Definitely not me)

  

Lemon Bundt Cake

Can everyone please just pause and take a moment to appreciate this beauty? Not only is it pretty on the outside, it's the yummiest butter cake I'd ever enjoy having as well. I really like how it has a lemon zest to it (so it doesn't taste so jerlard after awhile) and the sugary icing on top. The blob of whip cream with the strawberry at the side was a bonus too.

Home-made Earl Grey Cookies

Something new to the tongue! This comes with the Chai tea and they sell it in boxes too.

Portobello Market Sandwich

I fell in love with this sandwich at first bite. The bread is home-made and it tastes reaaaaally reasonable for something home-made. Not forgetting the sauce that comes with the Portobello mushroom too. Not sure what sauce it is but it's just good la. Also, please don't eat the sandwich with just the rockets alone (like what Nic did). Slice the Portobello mushroom and tomato then mix everything together as a spread for the bread. Then munch on the tortilla chips at the side while having your sandwich. Thumbs-up for this dish!

#4: SPRMRKT

This was our furthest destination of all (from Tanjong Pagar mrt station) but also my favourite of all.

So tempting to enter, isn't it?

It's like a mini Liang court supermarket inside. But when I say 'mini', I meant mini.

They sell palm-sized post cards of local delights and food on their own menu as well.

Home-made Battered Onion Rings

Pork & Wintermelon Soup

Don't underestimate this average-looking bowl of soup. Not sure if it was boiled for like 48 hours or something (I'm exaggerating) to achieve such a thick and flavourful taste or if it's MSG-overload. It goes both ways. Either way, this will make you come back begging for me. It's only available on the Friday menu though so go on a Friday if you must.

I had a wonderful afternoon/evening :-)

Looking forward to more cafe hopping adventures with you Nic :-*

x

Indulge w Sterah

Since dawn, I've been in an unusually chirpy mood despite having less than 6 hours of sleep and being rudely awakened (from my half-awake state) by a bunch of bananas that slapped my face the first thing in the morning. Best part of being the early bird isn't about getting the worm really; It's more about fulfilling what you've always pushed aside for sleep, because half your life is wasted in bed just like *snap* that.

House chores, sipping on tea, working on typography and graphics, assignments - I think I've fulfilled more than enough for today.

Today was meant for visiting Stella at work before we would head to her house to whip up some dinner. But I dropped by JJ's workplace too to deliver small bites and drinks. (I think I deserve an award for this)

Sausage Aglio Olio, roasted potatoes and bacon strips made up our menu for this evening. Dinner with Stella is always good but hmmm.... there's sure to be room for improvement for our (amateur) culinary skills. Just being honest here ~

And of course, a mandatory lift selfie.

Also, we've finally launched our latest collection over at Thatskewl after a good two years. It isn't much and we aren't looking forward to tremendous response as compared to the past, but it's for the sake of our hobby. So.... check it out here :-)

P.s. Pardon the cheesy and nonsensical names, we've had far too many products to think of new innovative names.

ดินแดนแห่งรอยยิ้ม

I miss Bangkok already :-(

Day 1 (Platinum Mall):

The bathroom has a tinted glass panel that can be un-tinted, so everything that goes on in the bathroom can be seen from the bed.... I MEAN LIKE WOAH?! All of us were literally awed by this technological advancement thingy.

So the moment we checked in, P and I spent the rest of the day at Platinum Mall alone and I'm in love with the new swim wear I scouted for ^.^

Day 2 (Siam Square, MBK):

Hotel breakfast (Y)

Queued up for the famous Mango Tango at Siam Square that Nicole introduced to me. (It's actually not that great la. I preferred the mango sticky rice from the Plantinum Mall food court more)

Loots from Siam Square. 

MBK was just a waste of my time. Period.

Celebrated V's birthday at night after a long, long day. She dozed off before finishing her cake. Haha :-)

Day 3 (Pratunam Market, Chatuchak, Union Mall):

Managed to catch the sunrise before we explored the Pratunam morning market!! Don't go to the Pratunam morning market if you're not prepared to be chucked and shoved around by everyone around you. I got knocked down like a million times by passing trollies and men who carried boulders of clothes around. The clothes there were dirt cheap but I couldn't stand more than half an hour in that place because of the entire chaotic atmosphere.

Chatuchak is my p a r a d i s e. It's like a world of leathers, denims and all things vintage. The only thing's that it's so easy to lose your way because there aren't any distinct lanes so you'll probably come across the same lane multiple times without even realising. Favourite place out of the rest in this entire trip!

Our last stop was Union Mall and honestly I was pretty disappointed because I couldn't find anything to my taste there + it wasn't that cheap after all. The nicer items were probably the same price as Bugis prices, else higher. So that's a no-go for me :-/ 

Day 4 (Wat Suthat):

Decided to visit the Wat Suthat temple with Daddy in the morning. For the Buddhists out there, it'd be an inspiring place to visit. Think majestic halls, rustic chambers and intricate sculptures.

Dropped by Siam Square again with the sis to grab some last-minute souvenirs and found this mojito-flavoured macaron. Bangkok has the most innovative confectionery ever.

That ^ above was my last meal before we left for Singapore. I miss Bangkok already! :-(

I think I said that at the start of the post too.. That's how much I miss the land of smiles.

Old Turf Club City

Barely had the time to organize myself before I escaped to Bangkok after my (first and) last paper, so here's an old update on my post-exam celebratory adventure.

Tuesday evening was a quiet one at the Old Turf Club City but that didn't stop us from having our mini adventure. Our first stop was the highly-raved Omakase Burger bar where we've been intending to visit for past month. Their sweet potato fries and onion rings are to. die. for. Wouldn't mind a second visit!

We then dropped by the PasarBella, better known as the Farmer's Market. It's worth the visit if you're into authentic European dishes or bakeries.

Lastly, we ended up at Latte e Miele where I had the worst combination of ice cream ever. Do not ever order mixed berries with dark chocolate. I thought the fruity flavour would compliment the bitterness of dark chocolate but no, just no. So if you can't take the taste of cough medicine, don't order mixed berries at all.

Our mini adventure was short-lived but boy did I have fun :-)

Next up, Bangkok post!