what goes into a perfect sandwich?

i've been wondering why singapore doesnt have a place that serves really good sandwiches unlike LA or new york. so i've been thinking of what really makes a good sandwich.

the components:
nice thick slice of bread
fresh ingredients
the correction combination of ingredients
sauce/butter

i guess at the end of the day, the problem with sg is that as an asian country, most owners are dictated by costs - smaller slices of bread, use the sauce/butter more sparingly. but like any good chef knows, these cuts compromises the quality of the presented food. i mean singapore has good bakeries, especially bread! i mean we hve those old school thick soft bread that we used to purchase from those old men who wld drive thru neighbourhoods in their motorbikes with these breads at the back, now this type of bread is yummy. i dont knw how good they would be in the eventuality of a sandwich, esp since it is fluffy, we cant grill it but im sure it would be a good start. like all things old, these breads cannot be found at just any bakery, only those further out of town.

kirth cafe was a good example of a cafe that tried to serve good  basic sandwiches. however, i felt as if it still fell a little short of those sandwiches i had in LA... but still good enuf for me to want to go back

sigh.... i wish life was simplier... isnt it funny how we always haf to compare? there is no end to it is there

im kinda excited as to where life's wind blowing over the next few mths... lots of changes but i think its going to be good. im in need of a drastic change - quarterly crisis is coming or shd i say here already.... being my age and half indo really doesnt help. the pressure of finding the "one" and setting up a family when all im still trying to figure out is what i would like to do as a profession. new people new environment new things to take toll on my mental health

food

one of the worse problem of singapore is finding proper mexican and korean food

i was looking forward to celebrating my birthday in LA but due to circumstances, i dont think i'll be flyin up north anytime soon. ALSO it seems highly likely that instead of going up early in the year, i'll be heading up later to celebrate my darling's bachelorette's party. we have decided to haf it up in LA, Vegas and NYC so i might as well save my money now and instead of flying up twice this year, i'll go later

BUT im having major craving issues....... a good breakfast burrito esp one from phoenix oh yummmm, enchiladas, brazilian lambs with salsa, cuban pork, korean tofu, omg proper korean bbq that is actually affordable, mozza's caprese salad and pizza, hide, jap bbq, angelini osteria and my pink boba!!! haha hmmmmmmmmmmm it is hard being back now that i was this close to going back

nic! when i do head back we're going out to eat

coffee and bridesmaid

i have been helping my friend out with his newletter and in order to fulfill my part, i've been reading up on the various coffee available; the different grades, origins, how to rate the coffee etc. i find it really interesting how unlike wines, coffee books are not as detailed, and a zillion times smaller. thankfully in some way coz research is made much faster but for such a popular drink, i find that the realm of coffee isnt very well explored.
but here's some bit sized info
- the 2 most produced beans are robusta  and arabica
- robusta beans - cheaper to grow, more caffine
  arabica beans - more flavourful, more body, less bitter
- an overly roasted bean will kill the taste/musk bad quality beans
- the best way to start knowing beans is thru their regions
- each coffee cherry has 2 beans

ok so enuf abt coffee... ive been reading up on it all day... something else more interesting now
ive been told just last night that i will be one of my closest friends bridesmaid :D she was going to offer me the maid of honour but i believed that that position shd be reserved for her sister that she is close to. the only reason she offered me the maid of honour was coz she figured her sister wldnt be arnd to help her out but i offered to help her either way :) anyway i'll also haf to be maid of honour for my cousin a few mths before her wedding hahaha what better year to loose more wt rite
goodness.... 2 weddings coming up
im sooo happy people arnd me are finding their partners and choosing to settle. weddings will be such fun, meeting up with people frm all over will be wonderful :)))

now only to live thru this weekend

just another day

today started out like any other... since i've been feeling under the weather and sarah's leaving off to hk early tmr... i've decided to drag her out for lunch at the one and only kith cafe. thks to jo jo who was ranting abt this place after going, i decided to go and track it down. located in a really nice area, this cafe was smaller than expected but hey good things come in small packages rite? the menu had a good  range and sounded really yummy

i couldnt decide on what i wanted - an all day breakfast? or their hotdog with poached eggs and bratwurst? or one of the yummy sandwiches.... decisions decisions

mery and sarah decided to haf the same ham and watercress with jap mayo sandwich and i think they were rather disappointed with their order but i on the other was won over by my final decision of duck breast with green apple and balsamic reduction.... absolutely yummy

i think if i were to be able to purchase an apt anywhere in sg... it would be in robertson area... its so quaint, i haf my new fav cafe to go to, and all the new apts they are building are simply pretty.

after it was off to papa P's to meet with leon for him to pass me materials for the newsletter, im going to see if i can help him with. but instead i saw uncle gigi! i havent seen him in ages and i had thot i wld make a mistake approaching him but thankfully he remembered me too and it was good to see yet another uncle frm the past :) timing was a little off as leon was busy trying to settle things before reservice tmr, and me rushing off coz mom needed the car

talking abt my mother... i really think that we've hit a stage in life where we might as well admit we're basically like a chicken and a duck speaking to each other... never understanding what the other says. whenever i say anything more than 1 syllable it totally misses the intended intensions and friction occurs. sigh... im going thru this right now and all i can think abt is desperately needing a smoke to calm my mind and heart down. but in the quest to quit before it gets too bad, i shall try and sleep it off.

i cant wait to get off this island.

a new muse

i feel absolutely old and crappy today... so just spent it in bed. had a really hard night out yesterday but didnt think my hangover wld be this terrible :P oh gosh the reality of growing old sets in... ive managed to not be this drunk since my grad nite? but i think my tolerance has gone wayyy down coz i dont remember drinking that many glasses of champagne last nite sheesh
all this was for good reason thou :) swas' engagement :) no pictures to show but definately will put them up when i get them or better yet, if i get them at all... thank god for sarah who had to put up with me all night, being dragged arnd and was sooo sweet to send me home after!! i dont remember the ride back but thank goodness for her

im swearing off alcohol for awhile

but on yet another good note... my darling cousin has launched his own label!!!
http://www.songforthemute.com/home.html

Listen with your Eyes. Hear with your Gaze. As Seam after Seam, Thread after Thread – unfolds a voice – Song for the Mute is an attempt to allow people a return to expression and personality in their garments.

Emerging Sydney label Song for the Mute is an exciting new concept conceived by award winning graphic artist Melvin Tanaya and Italian trained fashion designer Lyna Ty. The label is a nod toward the directional struggle encountered by the contemporary male. Their debut A/W 2010 collection titled Ink explores a mixture of eras in a way that is raw, organic and story telling creating the antithesis of corporate uniformity.

congratulations are in order esp coz all the fashion reviews have been great calling them the new designers to watch out for... and im terribly proud of melvin for his accomplishments. since im naturally biased, i shall let u all check out his first collection at http://www.f-t.com.au/catalog/index.php/manufacturers_id/30 for urselves

pride and prejudice

jane austen isnt exactly shakespeare but the language and manners of her stories are just so magical. i think i'm slowly starting to loose my english again since i've been back here in sg and it's a terrible tragedy! groan

this has to be one of my all time favourite movies ever... the clothes, dances and music
if only mannerisms and spoken language could be like that again, life would be so much more less rushed and beautiful
the ending and love portrayed in this film seems sooo perfect and unattainable, if only there was some semblance now. it never fails to catch my heart

Goldilocks and his three bears

i wish i was inspired enuf to figure out a more manly version of goldilocks but i guess it'll haf to do for now :) maybe it shd be changed to papa bear and his 3 goldilocks instead :D

due to his recent wisdom tooth removal, ang had to resort to porridge; and since he's always surrounded by us 3, we are now known as goldilocks and his 3 bears... its really funny coz now that sarah's sorta seeing this guy... ang shd really not be left alone, but coz it seems he's not ready for our meetings just yet according to the gf, i guess ang is left on his own for now. as for me, either my bfs arent in sg or as for rite now im totally and absolutely free... so until further notice... ang will thus be left with his 3 bears/goldilocks... he is probably the only guy ever to be able to keep up with us anyway; it seems we either talk too fast for anyone to catch or we jump topics too quickly or both :)

considering how many photos we've taken im sooo surprised there arent much of us 4.... and these are all terribly old pictures taken back in the days :) im guessing sarah will haf more

a friend's mom recently was talking to me and asked how old i was... i told her to guess and she straight away said 24! i was replied "wow do i really look like my age?" and she said "well u have wonderful skin, very good complexion, a 24 year old skin." :(

the role of bfs

i just had an interesting talk with a friend of mine this afternoon. he is one very interesting character and truthfully if he wasnt my friend, i wld find him terribly irritating and obnoxious. it is very interesting how friends can just get away with murder but coz they are ur friends u overlook most of their flaws... but if they are ur friends bfs or friends' friend then u'll find them just unbearable or weird? well i have just this one friend... and he really entertains me and vice versa. we look at the world in a different perspective and our conversations tend to be one where each of us have to explain why we view the world a certain way.

today's was abt how as a boyfriend, he wouldnt even bother getting to know his gf's friends, even best friends. first off, i have to explain that i find it very rude when my best friends' bfs dont make a concerted effort to at least meet and know a little of the others... afterall arent the friends of ur gfs the pple who will either fight for u or fight against u? im not saying that he shd hang out with us all the time but at least make the first move to at least get the gfs to like u first?
but guess what... my dearest friend said no he will not even bother. simply that. his reason being that coz he has such a high percentage of people he doesnt like, he'd must rather not take the chance of not liking the best friends and therefore not meet them. but then again he judges people really quickly, and i haf seen how he just doesnt bother to spend a little effort trying to know someone he initially found attractive in pics once he saw her in person coz he thought she looked like a certain way. haha an interesting person really but what he says might just be the reason y im having a hard time with a new bf in the picture. i knw sometimes its not the guys fault fully when the girls themselves get all silly during the honeymoon period but really... everyone else is suffering in a way.
maybe im just too hard on others, holding up my expectations to them. but if i can get my bfs to make an effort i dont understand how others cant heh oh well food for thought i guess

but then again its back to the same thing... all my gfs all happily attached and im the extra without one haha and somehow they still think i'll be the first to get hitched :D they are more optimistic than i am hahahahaha either that or highly delusional but i love them nonetheless

weird dreams

just a random post really
i rarely remember my dreams but for some really odd reason, today's dream seemed so real and i actually still remember what it was abt even after waking up.. it was really abt my friend back with his old gf and she was pregnant! haha but the thing was that on top of her being pregnant, there were little kids running arnd and when i asked my friend where the kids were from, he just shrugged his shoulders and said " oh they were frm different dads" hahaha sooo very weird i knw

anyway today started out later than usual but rite after was great coz i met up with my vancouver friends for an hour at papa's, shopped awhile with paul while he got his last minute shopping settled and i got to actually walk into orchard central and boy is it huge!! i never realised just what they had in there. they even haf an up-market popular that sells overpriced stuff haha but pretty nonetheless. i found really nice stickers and black blu-tac! it was so amazing i thought :D i knw... when i say these things johanese calls me deedee
had chicken rice again with leo before rushing off to watch sherlock holmes... it was pretty good i haf to say thou typical guy ritchie movie. oh and i learnt a new word - eloquation = tuition to brush up eloquence

some pple i find u can just talk to them, have a conversation and spend time with them even thou u've only met once before... however, there are some that when put together, u really haf nothing to talk abt. i wonder if its coz our characters dont fit or coz they find me terribly boring or why

i haf a break tmr to figure some stuff out ie my life then jo jo's back for a day :)

welcoming 2010

the last sprint of 2009 started with the arrival of johan on the 29th
picked him up at the airport only to check him into his ultra kinky hotel room at klapsons and we rushed off for tea at st regis :)i think i've found yet another good tea place thou the clotted cream is somewhat not really clotted but more like cream. but price is good esp since we went during the mon-wed period so pretty good scones with really good sandwiches and even better twg tea and champangethen it was off to somerset to check out all the new flagship stores, dinner at sushi teh paragon and finally more drinks at alley bar

30th started later coz jo was busy getting his teeth checked so we only met up at marn's bbq for more food and drinks of course

31st was spent mostly at home coz we had planned to start the nite off at mortinis at 5!!! haha johan behaved himself and ordered only 1 lychee martini.... :) after which we took a nice easy stroll towards overeasy where we were to have dinner and spend the rest of the evening... it was GREAT. when jo and i walked in, karman showed us to our table and said..... since we managed to get u an outside table, u can also have it for the rest of the nite. so the story is.... i assumed johan and all his melb friends were going to have a house party but when i met up with them, marn said there was no plans yet but she would really love to see the new year fireworks at marina area... and of course what better place to have it but at Overeasy rite? its rite by the water, there's service, the fireworks would be right above us and for sure alcohol.... BUT by this time... it was 5 days to new year eve! there is no possible way i can get us a table of 10 at the best spot possible! after of course using my wonderful charm and flirted my butt off with the manager... i managed to convinced them to enlarge my friend's table.... so the arrangement was we were to haf dinner then move to my friend's table... BUT upon arrival it was a fantastic surprise that we were to haf the perfect table outdoors ALL freaking nite!!!! what a perfect way to spend nye... OE did a great job with the crowd control so it wasnt totally packed, we had our glasses of champagne at midnite, dinner was pretty good and wonderful friends to start my new year with. best of all i had johan there so it was just perfect... a little disappointed gina cldnt join us but she was hard at work.
and not to forget the 10 mins firework display rite above our heads perfectly at the stroke of midnite...



the party consisted of: Johan, Sarah, Anna, Yanna, Marn, Wilson, Suki, Leon, Sinclair, Keith and later Johannes. a very good mix of old and new friends :) and a mix of nationalities too... ukranians, singaporeans, indos and halfies :D

after numerous glasses of champange, mojitos, wine, long islands the party adjourned up to butter where we were pretty drunk by this time esp our 2 lightweights sarah and jo :)
and then there's the "i wanna go home" pics
then it was off to lau pat sat for supper... fishball noodles, mee pok, carrot cake etc.... new year started off to a wonderful start!!! and i only managed to crawl into bed at 530-6 am? who knows haha

1st jan...
lunch at home with mom and ivan, lunch again with johan at wee nam kee... the most awesomeness chicken rice at novena :) after which we took a leisurely stroll down newton road coz jo wanted to see "his" newton suites and we ended up walking all the way to papa palheta
for most people that 15 min walk wld probably not haf been worth mentioning, but because it's johan and i, pple will understand y its worth being proud of. so papa palheta is opened by leon and i've been trying to look for it for the longest time ever, only to realise that i've been looking just one street down... its a brilliant little coffee place and i hope it doesnt get too popular coz then it'll be too crowded so thus i shall say it serves terrible coffee so pple dont go!!
then it was off to kuma's for her fantastic pohpiahs... it was YUMMY and a good first dinner of the year :D thankfully this is the one kitchen not opened to the general public :) also at this dinner i was informed of what i'll be wearing as maid of honour for my cousin's wedding!!! im so excited that i haf such a big say in what i wear on the day itself :) then off we went to charlyn's engagement party on her roof top garden for more drinks thou i think we were mostly just tired

DAY 5, 2nd jan
jo jo's last day in sg before leaving for siem reap to see the ang kor wat

it started early... meeting at ps cafe at 10am coz ivan had to rush off

ivan had a really hearty brunch... ginger pudding + truffle fries

as per normal, ivan and i made it down on time... then jo 20 mins later, sarah 15 mins later than jo and finally gina and sinclair a good hour and half late.. but at least ivan got see all of them before he leaves sg ( or at least now it is left)

late nite drinks was at upp bukit timah just coz jo wanted to catch michaela before he left...
it was our one last gathering... before everyone left back to their respective places :(

but omg... tabi's shoes were absolutely GORGEOUS!!!! she has the best dress sense ever and terribly nice too!!! im so glad to haf met her and suki this time round... johan is so blessed he has such fabulous friends surrounding him and im so glad to be part of that :)

ged has shown me the coolest form of transportation ever! a portable, foldable bike... he rides it everywhere... to drinks even after partying! ie zouk... its the one thing police wont stop :D

this has been a really long post... sorry to dump everything in one shot but i thot a good summary of jo's stay deserved some sort of effort

to all my darlings all over the world i love u, hope u had a fabulous new year celebration and hope 2010 will be a much better year for all of u

stuffed like a turkey

thanksgiving came a little later than usual... instead of the traditional november, i had my fill of turkey in dec :) it has been a crazy few days... im still recouperating from the large quantities of food and alcohol i consumed over 4 days. and now that i've had a day of rest, jo jo is coming tmr!!! starting another round of alcoholic haze :)

i've been so spoilt this year... this was how i spent my christmas....

christmas eve.... dinner at gina's.... her dad made an awesome mashed potatoes with eggs and mayo and it was yummy! by the time i got there... i was the last one so no pictures. the turkey, ham and beef and other salads were prepared by equinox's chief
then it was back home to change and meet the boys at a pub

after numerous shots and glasses of beer... it was off to zoukmet up with my brother and his besties :)

25th dec 2009...
dragged my arse down to church for morning service all hung over and sleep deprived
and the best cure for a hard morning was christmas lunch prepared by my cousin-in-law's parents who flew in from ireland. it was absolutely delicious
just the protein side of the table... lamb, pork, ham, turkey, beefff all served on pretty trays
was hoping to catch the whole table that was brimming with delicious food

and i have to say these were by far the best potatoes ever.....

and of course tons of wine included... i think the drinkers averaged about a bottle and a half at the end of this.
then it was a quick rest at home where i was furiously making panna cotta for dessert for dinner... then off to kuma's for more wonderful food... her stuffing and turkey were by far the best thou ivan says that lunch's turkey was better and of course more wine there

26th was spent at overeasy/butter getting sloshed with the aussie pple,
27th was dinner with the girls at PS.... these photos will be uploaded once either sarah or sinclair chooses to upload them.... coz they both were having a camera battle

basically over these few days... the only time i got terribly drink, i had church the next day which made it "interesting" to say the least

even though this year was a lot more quieter than last year with regards to the number of cousins arnd... i had more friends to spend it with :)
althou i am desperately missing my friends elsewhere

hope u had a fabulous christmas too whereever u are!

drooolllll

arent they just beautiful?
sigh..............

random thoughts on a rainny afternoon

so ive been wondering if human beings were truly made to be with just one other person over many years... leading to the qn if marriage really works now, in these times

people and society keeps evolving thru time and now traditions and cultures are so worried that rituals will be lost forever. however, the one thing that is still so predominant is the concept of marriage; of finding ur soulmate and growing old together. of course marriage has changed to an extent where divorce is introduced so for the western countries, divorce is a norm and nothing much unlike here in asia. but this is for another day... today's thoughts are whether human beings are built to just stay with one other person over many years

i believe the concept of marriage "worked" for the 2nd generation from mine and older. back then, women were expected to serve their husbands, staying home etc... women had a certain skill set that were appropriate of those time. i mean even their dress sense were reflective of how constricted their movements were to be - the binding of feet in china, all our original cultural clothing like the qipao and those corsets and big skirts. as much as i admire them now, i cannot possibly imagine living my life with those clothes

fast forward to now, nearing the end of 2009
this past fashion season was highlighting men jackets for women
women now are brought up to think for themselves, to not be so dependent on their men, to contribute to household income etc... we've pretty much taken up every aspect of the mens role and more. so under these conditions, is it possible for 2 independent pple to coexist without eventually hating each other?
i guess the need to procreate could be an excuse but in these times, the cost of raising a child could and would instead pay for anyone's retirement. especially with the existence of elderly homes, the elders no longer need to really fully depend on their children to take care of them. so other than societial pressures y else do pple marry? y go through the whole process of staying together even after slips of the heart or tongue then eventually the relationship deteriorates till everything u say/do to each other is out of pure hatred.

i know this is being terribly pessimistic but when it comes to the matters of the heart is it not better to be pessimistic than the optimistic one? i know the pessimistic person of the relationship will loose out on the full experience of things, but if and when it ends, i will not be found moping around for days on end. and yes i know that consciously i enter into a relationship just waiting for it to end. i know its very unfair to the guys ive dated so far but i shd think they knew it in the beginning

but like all girls who've grown up with all those disney princesses, i do secretly hold out a hope that i might find my prince one day

turkey, ham, chocolate cakes...

i had a belated thanksgiving/early christmas meal today
my aunt made her turkey today and it was simply yummy! too bad there wasnt much left to bring home... but more next week when christmas dinner rolls around :)

attempted to bake my first chocolate cake with chocolate and candy cane frosting... the cake turned out better than expected thou i think i need to change the frosting recipe and i just might haf a full-proof chocolate cake recipe.... wished i remembered to take some photos today but everything was terribly rushed and it didnt even cross my mind truthfully
next time i'll try and be better at this...

so someone just commented that my life is most likely to be more interesting than her reading law.... haha
ever since moving back here, my once exciting life has been turned 180 and this i blame
1. the lack of interesting guys here
2. this island being too small and i refuse to get involved with pple with the slightest possibility of having similar common friends
3. i think compared to all my friends who have gone overseas, i finished having absorbed more of the US culture than i thot i did. this is coz of the present family and i chose to maintain friends of different backgrounds instead of hanging with the "real" asians in school. in turn, it intimidates guys here i think
4. emotionally i think ive spent it all dealing with family... any more complications i would probably have a breakdown haha
5. i definitely dont fit the typical local beauty types
6. im comfortable with the friends i have already, so meeting new pple isnt a priority
7. i dont haf my dearest friends arnd to record drunken soliloquies which makes life so much more interesting
8. the general lack of alcohol really or pple to drink with

so no life here is terribly boring... thus i have turned to baking to kill time, that now my cupcakes are just awesome :)

unfortunately now that this temporary home has no oven, baking will have to be on hold for awhile so i've decided to try other stuff that requires little/no use of oven such as jello.... keeping my fingers crossed tmr's elderflower+italian sparkling wine+berries jello comes out presentable or else im going to be stuck for sunday's function.....
am tempted to just make a bottle of mulled wine and bring that instead coz at least that is a sure thing..... :)

10 more days to Christmas

and what will u be doing?

was just sorting thru my pictures earlier this afternoon and stumbled across last year's winter photos


situation was so different .... friends and family and cold weather abound
this year is going to be different... i guess the closest thing singapore has to snow is constant rain and a slightly cooler weather? haha

Moments of Happiness

it has been a tough year... lots happening at home. this week has been especially tough... having to go through the physical moving of houses and frustrations that go with it.
Goodbye cairnhill.... u have been a good house and i've definitely taken u for granted

thankfully i got dragged to ZOUKOUT 2009... my 2nd ever zoukout! the first was very memorable..
bottles of rose sparkling wine to ease the headache and start the party offsarah and mery was terribly gracious and hosted us in at rasa using money earned from acrossthebloodyuniverse.com
and sarah clothed gina and i for the night without her knowledge :)

so the night was as follows
830pm - went in to get our entry passes; stayed for half an hour to check out the different arenas and offerings; back to the rm for more drinks
1030 - sarah gives up and goes to bed
1200 - watched fireworks frm the room
1230 - headed back to watch aeroplane
300 - gave up/grew bored so thus back to the room where everyone took turns to snooze
500 - got up and listened to armin play from our balcony
615 - woke sarah up to head down to finish up armin
700 - aldrin came on to play!!!
830 - jumped into the hotel pool
1000 - gina left to go home for church and i got some Zzzs in the room before checkout!

later on that night after a day of hardly any rest... 3 very sleepy and grumpy girls met up with a surprisingly energetic thou lack of slp guy to pick up johan!
he flew in for half a day on his way back to jkt....
after their pickup service, sarah and gina left jo and i at the naumi
1145pm - met up with my other jo at wala's for multiple rounds of vodka redbulls and acoustic singing this proved to be entertaining coz all 3 of us stumbled out pretty buzzed

and now i just spent a wonderful day out with johan... looking at singapore thru his architecture eyes, appreciating and looking at buildings as if having new eyes
came home, only for a breather before getting picked by johanese for a dinner and movie... ive been wanting to watch new moon after reading the series (even thou i knew it was going to disappoint)... but have had to keep postponing due to my move. this series has actually made me spend tons of time in my room just reading and im such a sucker for such things really... if only there is such thing as that kind of love out there
and omg... i really feel the age and wld love to stop growing coz i spend the whole 2 hours basically drooling over taylor lautner... only to come home, google him and find out he's significantly younger!! such a cougar moment heh

still need someone to go christmas shopping with... this year's pretty good, have ideas as to get everyone except one.... its always the good guy friends that i always seem to haf problems with. sigh... need to get the creative juices flowing :)
but i have already received christmas pressies!

aesop!








an avanti cookie press and icing set











also i was craving k chocolate balls :) and they were promptly flown over... im terribly spoilt