Boy, you got me like a shot to the heart.

Birthday Part IV

(Hojicha Chocolate Cake)

Light chocolate cake layered with lush Hojicha-flavored cream, topped off with chocolate cookie crumble. To my disappointment, the chocolate sponge cake is not that smooth, but the hojicha cream made up for it. (: So happy that I get to redeem a free birthday cake from Starbucks! Cheap thrills really.

(Green Tea Cheesecake Cream Frappe)

This is quite good surprisingly. I have a love-hate relationship with cheese teas (ever since Liho), so glad that I decided to give this a try (: The drink leaned towards saltiness rather than sweetness, which is good.

Met HuiQi on another occasion for dinner to celebrate my birthday. Ever since she turned vegetarian, my food choices have been limited as well LOL. To be honest, I cannot imagine myself going green. I love meat too much.

(Yam Xiao Long Bao)

Went Ding Tai Fung in the end and we ordered yam xiao long baos in place of the usual xiao long baos! HuiQi highly raved it, and wow it really tasted superb! Y'know the taste of yam paste? They were quite generous with the filling, so whenever I take a bite into the xiao lao baos, the yam just ooze out. (: So today I explored something new that I never ever thought of trying. It's a good experience.

We talked about horoscope as well, and I discovered something creepy. LOL all my closest friends are all Scorpio!! Literally all. What luck. Hahahahaha. Next time if you wanna be close friends with me, please ensure that you are a Scorpio first. LOL!

(Genki Sushi)

On a separate occasion, I met up with Vivian. Just nice both Vivian and I skipped lunch and we decided to have an early dinner instead. By earlier, I meant 4pm. LOLOL, we thought there will be nobody around in the restaurant but nope, we took the last few table seats. But still heng ah, don't need to queue. So we were back to Genki Sushi, our favourite sushi place! I love how we always end up ordering so much salmon because salmon is life. Sighs, and she is graduating and working soon. Time flies, and soon it will be my turn... 

(Desserts)

Good excuse to have desserts because we ate dinner way too early, and all the food were digested quickly with all the walking around. Ended up at Honeymoon Dessert, which is something that I would like to try but not somewhere I would visit again given the chance.

We ordered banana pancakes thinking that it will be similar to banana roti prata, but nope. It came as a cold dish, with banana buried in a mountain of cream. T.T So fattening and jelat after awhile. We also ordered strawberry snow with matcha ice cream, glutinous rice and vanilla sauce. On the contrast, this tasted not bad. Everything is good except that it came in a small portion. x.x

The way the tires turn stones on old county roads
You leave it muddy underneath, reminds me of you
You find graffiti on the walls of old bathroom stalls
You know, you can scratch it right off, it's how we used to be
like the dollar in your pocket, that's been spent and traded in
You can't change where it's been, reminds me of me

I lost my way, so help me out and lend your hand till I am found.

Birthday Part III

"When you are kind, the soil of your heart grows fertile,
the roots of even softer and more beautiful things find a home inside you,
and flowers grow in that soft, forgotten space
between your heart and your soul."

(Mango Cake)

This was my first time eating a cake without a spoon. LOL, it was freaking joke because we were struggling so hard to use our fingers to eat the cake. Thankfully I brought along wet tissues, because I'm domesticated HAHAHAHA. Thank you JJ for the chit chat session, it was really a good break from all the stress in school. Thanks for providing a listening ear as I ranted. I feel so much better :D

(Burrito Bowl)

Guzman Y Gomez is my current favourite restaurant at Star Vista. LOL, they serve excellent Mexican food. Truth to be told, I haven't taste Mexican food before this so I cannot testify its authenticity. But ohwell, it suits my palates and that is good enough LOL. 

The burrito bowl was quite filling as it comes with rice, jack cheese, vegetarian black beans, salsa and filling. It was also served with corn chips. I ordered the set meal, and it comes with a bag of corn chips and a iced lemon tea drink. The burrito bowl taste amazing, and it was quite filling. :D The corn chips taste weird initially, but it gets additive afterwards. LOL, I just can't stop eating. I cannot finish the entire packet myself, so I just brought it to school the next day to snack on it. Damn nice. I approve!

After dinner, we just strolled around the vicinity till we walked to Ghim Moh Market and I remembered they sell super nice durians. But we were too full, so we didn't get any in the end. Sighs.

(Look at 'dem glorious durians)

(More durians)

Update: my parents seemed to sense that I have a craving for durians because they bought two durians home the very next day! Hahaha, omg thankfully I didn't eat with JJ, if not it would be durian overdose. LOL. Durians are really my love. They are so damn delicious!?

We then made our way back to Buona Vista MRT from Ghim Moh Market. Then JJ had this wild idea, and instead of taking the train, we walked all the way to Clementi MRT using park connectors. That day was quite interesting because we walked past so many landed properties, and it was really an eye opener. We spotted this castle looking house, and I was saying that no matter how pretty it looks, I will never ever get myself to live there in the future. LOL because I can't bear walking up and down the stairs everytime?! Like wtf, I need to exercise everyday by using the stairs. Omg no thanks. Unless I installed a lift/elevator in the house. LOL, #lazygirlwoes

Thank you JJ for sticking around even though we are not studying in the same faculty. You are my closest university friend I ever made, and I'm really thankful for your presence.

And I know dark clouds will gather me
And I know my way is rough and steep
And the beautiful fields lie just beyond me
And I know my needs are rough and steep

Shooting stars floating across the sky. Oh baby what a beautiful sight, but we're only satellites.

Birthday Part II

Happy birthday to me :D
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22~

(Chocolate Mud Cake)

(Mandatory shot with the cake)

I got my cake from Secret Recipe. I have a recent obsession with this particular bakery because their cakes are really so damn delicious despite it being so pricey. The cake was a little sweeter than the previous cake that I brought, but it was still acceptable! The creamy chocolate fudge was so smooth, it literally melt in my mouth. I really love, love it!

(Lokkee)

We were late for our reservation at Lokkee. Thankfully, there wasn't too many people in the restaurant and they still kept our booking. I am really impressed with the service of the restaurant. Lokkee, located at Plaza Singapura, is a restaurant under the Tung Lok Group. The food they serve is adapted from traditional Chinese food, so it is more a fusion type.

(Wet tissue)

For those who have no idea what Lokkee is, you might have come across this legendary condom-like wet tissue. It was a marketing gimmick but nonetheless it really attracts my attention. LOL.

(Flaming Pineapple Beef)

Ordered a dish called 'flaming pineapple beef', but I didn't know they take pineapple literally. It came as a shock when the waiter started lighting up the pineapple, and the entire fruit burst into flames in seconds. I am still feeling shook over it. LOL. I sent photos of this to my friends, and they were scolding me for drinking in the broad daylight. LOL, guys this is not alcohol hello!!?

(Here's how it looks inside)

Gravy braised beef served in a pineapple. The beef was very tender and juicy, and for a non-pineapple eater like me, I actually gobbled them down. The only sad thing is its super small portion for that expensive price tag. Kids, this cost $34 but the meat was just a palm size. T.T Nonetheless, no regrets because it was really that good.

(3 Egg Vegetable)

Different vegetables served with three-egg broth. I normally don't eat century eggs, but somehow their eggs don't have that disgusting taste to it so I ate it in the end. It was nice, the broth was sweet and the vegetables were so smooth that it glided down my throat. LOL. They use premium ingredients for their food.

(Chow Mein)

This is a classic dish - the stir-fried wheat noodles with mixed vegetables and sliced chicken. What amazed me is not simply the taste, but the packaging as well. Considering that Lokkee is a restaurant inspired by Chinese take-out food in cosmopolitan cities, it is creative that they adopt the takeaway boxes to put the noodles in. However, I feel that the chopsticks/fork cutlery is a little useless because nobody in their right mind will use both sides. And it is a little more difficult to use as compared to the normal cutlery.

(Sweet and sour pork)

A bowl of juicy cubes of pork stir-fried in their special sauce. It even comes with Chinese snow pears, which further enhanced the juiciness of the dish. The taste was simply amazing!! But again, this portion was so freaking small T.T I don't want fine dining, please increase the portion next time!

(Fortune Cookie)

It was nice of them to give us a fortune cookie each. However, they should consider changing their supplier for the snack. I got that slip of paper, but walao what kind of fortune is that?! "Don't trust fortune that comes out of cookies" I want to cry laughing.

(Visited a nursery afterwards)

As materialistic as I sound, which girl doesn't like flowers? Grabbed a bunch of flowers in the end to decorate the room because I got the feels. LOL. I feel like I'm walking in paradise as I walked through the nursery. There were so many beautiful looking flowers, of different sizes, shapes and colors. Ahh, they smell so pleasant.

(Black roses)

I came to the conclusion that black roses are not very nice looking. LOL, unless they have a tinge of red in them like the ones in the picture. If not, they look so dull!! Rainbow roses on the other hand are exotic and interesting, but the traditional me still believe that roses look much nicer when they are red/blue in color!

(Rainbow roses)

A simple day to celebrate my birthday. But it was a good excuse to spend some time with family. It was a good day overall. I'm thankful to my family. Without them, I wouldn't be standing here.

So come with me take a walk on the wild side,
See life in a day through a child's eyes,
And these dreams are all I have to hold me,
When sleep's the only thing that I want to take me away.

I found a love for me. Darling, just dive right in and follow my lead.

Birthday Part I

A light and fluffy green tea cake with cherry-flavored cream in between. It was a very pretty cake, with dried rose petals sprinkled at the top. Starbucks, you have done it right. ♥

(Green Tea Blossom Cake)

As time goes by, I stopped looking forward to birthday celebrations. Perhaps it is a sign of aging, but birthdays seem quite meaningless already. LOL, but I guess it makes me more thankful to my loved ones for even bothering to remember this special day of mine.

(My pretty friends, Amanda and Christel)

As the saying goes "Make new friends, but don't forget the old. One is silver, the other is gold". I'm just so glad that I can still click well with my JC friend Christel despite us not meeting frequently. Then again, I don't meet Amanda often also HAHAHA. Thanks so much for surprising me with a cake. LOL, it was a simple occasion but yet I just feel so blessed to have y'all with me. P.S. It was a legit surprise because they surprised me way before my actual birthday. In fact, they celebrated weeks in advance. LOL?!

(Mala all day, everyday)

My favourite food all times. LOL, it was more exciting this time because there were three of us (instead of the usual two) and we can order more food!! Tried lotus with mala for the first time, and it tasted a little weird. I guess I am just going to stick with my usual mushroom and pork and sotong.

(Beautiful board by the artistically not-talented friends)

(Hey, there's even handwritten notes!)

Again, I am really super grateful to them. How long has it been since I last received handwritten notes? They are just so precious, and really they are full of memories. Friends, I am super grateful for y'all for remembering my birthday, and for celebrating it with me. I hope this friendship will continue on for a long, long time. ♥

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark

with you between my arms.

Barefoot on the grass,

listening to our favourite song.

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

(Goodbye shoes, you have served me well)

I really like Nike's Airmax LOL. I literally bounced my way around when I'm donning this pair of shoes! Okay it was an exaggeration, but that was how much I love this pair of shoes hahahas! :D But okay, it stuck to me for five years already, time for a change. I got my new PUMA kicks from some outlet store at Hong Kong when I travelled there with Amanda and Weina! I'm excited that I can finally wear them hehes. 😊

(Dinner with the family)

Last weekend with the family. I love how we always spend time together as a family. I recently talked to a friend and we were talking about our families. And it just suddenly dawned on me that I'm actually really very blessed to have such a close-knitted family, and that I should cherish them more. Random late night thoughts, hahaha! (:

So anyways, I was out with the family for dinner. It was quite late when we reached and we were famished. Everywhere was freaking crowded. Okay, it was Jurong Point, what's new. We popped by a random store that sell overpriced noodles. LOL, life. Major regrets because the food was quite mediocre yet expensive.

(Claypot Bee Tai Bak)

I think the one that I ate with JJ was so much nicer. I ate this with him at SGMY restaurant located at Yishun's Former Old Bottle Tree Park.

(Lychee Ice Cream)

Also, I think I ate too many McDonald's ice cream in my life. Poor girl here can only afford to eat Macs ice cream. LOL, I kept finding pictures of their ice cream in my phone gallery. They were taken at different dates with (almost) similar angles LOL. Their Thai Milk Tea ice cream tastes good too! :D

You will have the opportunity
to meet someone that you've
longed to meet.

You be my glass of wine, I'll be your shot of whiskey.

Day out with JJ.

We met after my lessons at SMU. One perk of SMU is that it is located at the city area so it is quite convenient to travel everywhere (: Hehes! 

(District Sushi's Chirashi)

I love this. And it is relatively cheap too! JJ found this restaurant online with super great reviews, and indeed it is true to the reviews hahaha! (: The only drawback is that it is quite far LOL. It is located at Sunshine Plaza, and I was walking over from Lee Kong Chian School of Business. I died walking. So hot, and so far. Tsktsk. But it was super worth it LOL!

(MonstaX)

Then we made our way to Plaza Singapura and guess what we saw! A huge crowd waiting for the South Korean boyband group MonstaX! I think there was a fanmeet or something, but I ain't no fan LOL. Oops. As the time passed, the crowd became bigger T.T In the end, we quickly ran away to avoid the crowd.

(National Museum of Singapore)

Brought JJ to the National Museum of Singapore because he hasn't been there. Hahaha wtf, no culture lehs!! LOL Okay kidding, I also go there take photos only instead of appreciating the arts. LOL.

Dragged him to my current favourite place in the museum - Glass Rotunda. I really love the digital art installations by teamLab, they are just so talented with their technology. We walked through the virtual rainforest, Story of the Forest, which is filled with animals and flowers. It was surprisingly quite therapeutic. We just lie down under the flowers talking about our lives. It felt nice.

(Augmented Reality)

(I touched it!)

(Doing things that I will never do in real life)

We came across a Digital Showcase thereafter. It features different projects, which includes Virtual Reality, micro-CT scanning technology, innovative optical systems and Augmented Reality. It is quite amazing to see how the museum is integrating culture and digital technology to redefine these arts and heritage.

I am homesick for a place
I am not sure even exists.
One where my heart is full.
My body loved. And
My soul understood.

Joy delights in joy.

On a side note, the semester is really ending, and I am having mixed feelings. This is the last week of school over at SMU. A wave of melancholy hit me hard because I really enjoyed my time at SMU sighs. Then again, I wanted my time at NUS to faster end. LOL, cannot deal with it anymore sighs.

(Ripped from Pinterest)

Since the semester is ending, let me recommend you guys this damn hilarious Korean variety show called New Journey to the West. It is travel reality show that features Lee Seunggi, Kang Hodong, Eun Jiwon, Lee Suguen, Ahn Jaehyun, Kyuhyun and Song Mino (there was a member change at some point, so the members might not appear on all the 4 seasons). The members have to each take up the role of one character from the classic Chinese novel called Journey to the West (duh), and they will play games with food at stake whilst travelling. It was super funny, and I really love the show even though I hate Kang Hodong because he is forever shouting and being damn noisy T.T

(Ripped from Asia Grup)

So they are holding dragon balls in their hands, which will be given to them once they completed some tasks successfully. When they collected a certain number of dragon balls, they can each get their wish fulfilled! Their wishes legit get fulfilled - in one of the season I forgot which, Mino said that he wanted to film his band group WINNER on a 'Youth over Flowers' reality show, and the wish really materialised. :D I thought it was quite an innovative variety show format. Hehehes!

(Hotplate Tofu)

(Lemon Chicken)

(Vegetable)

(Pandan Chicken and more vegetables)

(Fish slices)

Had cravings for tzechar so we were back to West Coz, a restaurant located at Yew Tee Point. It was a halal restaurant so they don't serve pork. The food was freaking expensive for that small portion, sighs. Costs of living in Singapore really super expensive ehs, help. Everything raise price, but why the salary never rise ah?

We never know how high we are
till we are called to rise;
And then, if we are true to plan,
our saturns touch the skies.