In the end, we'll all become stories.

Birthday Post #3

(Birthday Cake)

Met up with my long time friend JJ for dinner the other day to celebrate my belated birthday! (: So nice of him to get me a slice of cake, LOL. We tried so hard just to light up the candle because the wind was so strong!? The auntie and uncle from the other store even came over and tried to help us light up the candle with their big-ass lighter and after eternity, we finally managed to get it to burn (for less than a minute), but hey at least JJ finished singing the birthday song LOL!!

(Mazesoba)

Dined at the Japanese eatery, Kajiken, which is located along the Orchid Hotel at Tanjong Pagar! It was interesting because it was my first experience eating dry Japanese ramen, and initially I was deterred from entering the eatery due to the large amount of greens they put in the ramen?!

I would describe this dish, Mazesoba, as Singapore's Bak Chor Mee. The dry ramen noodles are mixed with minced pork, soft boiled egg and chopped vegetables. It was not too bad, the combination was quite well-balanced even for someone like me who doesn't usually eat vegetables!

(Macs Soft Serve)

On a side note, the McDonald's sweet potato waffle cone soft serve was the best I have ever tasted?! It was absolutely amazing even though it was more expensive at $2 each. Wouldn't mind eating it everyday - it's that good!

You're a sunflower

I think your love would be too much

Or you'll be left in the dust

Unless I stuck by ya

You know you can be small to the world, but big in someone's heart.

Birthday Post #2

(Ripped from Vox Cinemas)

On my actual birthday, I caught a movie called 'After' with my sister after work! It was a mad rush because the movie starts at 7.10pm, but I usually end work around 6.45pm on average T.T We ended up eating Macs for late dinner/supper after the show... Poor us LOL!

(Movie Preview Tickets)

I am not a fan of such American romantic films, but lady luck is shining on me and I won two free movie tickets from a giveaway contest! I have never heard of the movie before, but apparently it was based on a popular 2014 fiction novel of the same name written by Anna Todd.

Rating: 5/10

(Ripped from Twitter)

LOL, the movie has a predictable story line and the whole story plot was quite cliche. Will not recommend watching unless you have nothing better to do! Or if you think the male lead is nice looking HAHAHAHA :D

(Black Cha Shu Ramen)

On a separate occasion, I met up with my JC pals, Amanda and Christel, for dinner at Menya Musashi Kodou! These bunch of silly monkeys threw me a surprise with their presence LOL They didn't tell me beforehand that Christel was joining, so I was really pleasantly surprised hahahaha! Friends made parties worth attending, but good friends like y'all made the party worth remembering!

These days my Instagram were simply filled with stories of people heading to Japan for their graduation trips (even my mother and sister are in Japan now for their vacation). T.T No plans at the moment to head back there again (since I just went there five months back), so this Japanese ramen meal will suffice for now!

(Birthday Board)

Also, many thanks for the birthday board y'all made for me! Efforts 100/100 please! 😍

I am also blessed with a birthday treat from Clement and Lianjie! This was my first time at Big Fish Small Fish, because I am quite skeptical about them hahaha since they only serve fried food and I don't like fried food!

(Ripped from Eatbook.sg)

(Ripped from Eatbook.sg)

(Ripped from Eatbook.sg)

Gobbled down the food without taking photo (first time in history), because that idiot Lianjie made the two of us wait for him while he gym T.T We only had our dinner at 8pm, and I was feeling so hangry?! Hahaha, but thanks guys for being such fantastic friends and for remembering my birthday!

We ordered three sets of salmon fish and crisps, and the potato crisps are surprisingly tasty! I love their sauces the most, especially the salted egg and the cheese sauce. We also got their salted egg calamari with bonito flakes, it was great but gets a little jelat towards the end -because everything is fried and greasy and I don't have a habit of eating such food- LOL.

Overall rating: 8/10

Even though I didn't stay at Zion for long, but I am immensely grateful for having known Clement hahahaha. Thank you for being my greatest takeaway from the company, and for accompanying me during my times at Korea summer school, and for introducing me to another great friend Lianjie.

When our picture fades in the sun
And all the colours blur into one
I'll keep running
To the place where I belong

Living in the winter, I am your summer.

On 15 April, a princess was born.

(Learning every year to become a beautiful and strong soul)

It's my birthday, happy birthday to me!

On my birthday, I just want to wish myself pure happiness that never ends.

Disclaimer: The balloons were not mine, but my sister's. Stole them from her to take a photo because they were too pretty! Current status: the pink star-shaped balloon was gone long ago, but the round 'Happy Birthday' balloon is still going strong (after three weeks?!)

To my delight, the sister got me a mini juice blender for my birthday! I really love it because it is small enough to be carried out, but the best part about the blender is that it makes washing super easy! (Yes, I'm lazy). From the day I got my hands on the blender, I have been making avocado milk and banana milk non-stop, LOL. I think I am an expert already. :D

(Birthday Cake)

(It was supposed to be a strawberry crepe cake)

My sister went the extra mile to make me a birthday cake (the actual reason was because she refused to spend more money buying me a birthday cake) LOL! It was a crepe cake gone wrong hahaha, but okay luh A+ for effort! The cake doesn't taste bad or anything, just that it looks nothing like a crepe cake... Nonetheless, love you sister!

Also, many thanks to the boyfriend for getting me a new wallet, and for making me feel greatly loved! 💖

Birthday Lunch @ Lokkee

Somehow I was also at the same restaurant for my birthday meal last year too! What a coincidence?!

(I still find their wet tissue packets intriguing~)

(5 Spice Crispy Pork Belly)

(General Tso's Chicken)

(Stir-fried Kale)

(Grilled fish with Sichuan mala broth)

The main reason why I went back Lokkee was because people said that their grilled fish was real good, and it really didn't disappoint! There were no fish bones at all (I hate them), and the broth is just so freaking addictive that we tried asking for extra broth but the staff refused T.T But 10/10 will patronise the restaurant again because of their delicious food and excellent customer service!

Thanks mom and dad for the birthday meal!

On this special day, I remind myself every year how blessed I am to have been given another year to experience all the wonders of this beautiful world. To all my friends and family, a huge thank you for staying by my side, and joining me in my life journey.

You're the only one of you.
Baby, that's the fun of you.
And I promise that nobody is 
going to love you like me.

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.

We are here to heal, not pretend to be perfect.

(Vlog: Celebrating the 21st)

So I turned 21 last month.

I know it was a great deal, because I am finally a legal adult and am 'big' enough to make my own decisions. However, everything just feels surreal to me... There's no flamboyant parties. Just a simple celebration with my loved ones - my dearest family and friends. You can check out my vlog above if you are interested. I put in effort for it. Hahaha! :D 

Come to think of it, I have toned down quite a lot. Since young, when I was still a primary school kid, I really love birthday parties. I'd hold one every year, and I'd invite everyone that I know to my party, be it close friends or mere acquaintances. I really would like to thank my parents for helping me prepare for the parties, from the preparation of cake and food to the packing of goodie bags as thank you gifts. Now that I think of it, it was really quite dumb of me. Hahaha! I remember being on cloud nine for lugging a whole bag of presents home, and sometimes I even have to rope in the help of my friend if the presents were too heavy for me to handle it alone. Yes, presents meant a great deal to me then.

Then comes secondary school. Birthdays meant spending the entire day with your family and friends. I'd go play activities such as bowling, pool, table tennis or even catch a movie. The day would then end off with a lavish dinner (during those days when I am just a poor secondary kid, and yes, Swensens is my definition of lavish). It was still fun, and I still received many presents despite the significant reduction since primary school days.

And then junior college. I realised we spent most of our birthday celebrations at a KTV, either Teoheng or Kbox. Every time someone's birthday comes, it would be a pretty standard procedure. We'd go singing after school, followed by dinner. I remember that we have a fun element as well: either smashing cake/flour on someone's face or hiding someone's stationery and books everywhere in the classroom. The most memorable event that I remembered, was the day during my birthday, my clique actually spoke to my lecturer (who was also my Maths tutor then), and in turn he kept picking on me during the entire lecture. HAHAHA. "Birthday girl, please answer this question." And me being me, I didn't pay attention to lectures, so you would have guess the outcome. LOL!

University days. Friends come and go, and with my much smaller social circle, I stopped feeling as enthusiastic as before for my birthday. Since the start of university till now, it has always been a simple dinner celebration with family and friends. Everyone, including myself, is just too busy with school/work such that we can only meet for dinners. And yes, my birthday fall on the last week of the semester, which clashes with all the deadlines. This makes it even harder to do anything much. But I am ever so grateful for those who stay by, and help me celebrate. Thank you.

Ahh, those were the days.

I'm not sure if it is because I am turning old, and hence I kept reminiscing about the past. But I guess I like where I am now. Turning old comes with more responsibilities, but it shall be a journey of learning and gaining knowledge.

Happy 21st to me.

Life can be so busy at times,
that we forget about taking care of ourselves.
Today, make sure you take some time just for you.
You deserve it!

Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Last Monday well-spent with this lovely. :D It has been long since we last met up, but I'm glad that things remain the same. Thank you for being my low-maintenance bestie. Loveyou truckloads! ♥

First stop: Bowling

Played three rounds of bowling and my hands got so sore (I know I'm weak LOL) that I had to call for a stop. Hahahahas! My bowling still sucks as usual, hands somehow cannot go straight, so there are plenty of gutter attempts. But hey, at least I got two strikes rights! :P I actually got a video of my 'strike' attempt (P.S. It was first try succeed hahahas!), but I am too lazy to find/upload the video here. #lazyyanqi

Second stop: KTV

(Teoheng @ Woodlands)

Hahahas, unleashing our passion for singing once again. Really enjoy singing with this girl because she don't judge me when I go off-tune or break voice hahahas! But she ah, really Jay Chou fan. Serious. First 20 songs all Jay Chou, and I had to pretend pretend to insert other songs inside. Hahahas! :D Loving the IU's Good Day cover we always do during our singing sessions. I swear when we hit the high notes, the door is shaking. Hahahahas!

Lunch @ Pizzahut

(X-men Pizza)

Why does this regular sized pizza looks like a personal pan pizza? Sighs, and the crust doesn't even have cheese. T.T Fortunately at its price, the pizza still taste delicious. Or maybe I am too famished that day? hmmm....

Third Stop: Movie Date (Civil War)

(Did Cathay change their ticket style? Or is it just that I am too slow LOL)

JJ was saying how wonderful the movie was, so I dragged Huiqi to watch it with me. Throughout the entire movie, we were freaking lost because the movie scenes are quite messy, and honestly I don't get the plot. But LOL, we finally understand the show after the credits roll. LOL, are we dumb or dumb? No doubt, the action scenes are fantastic though. *thumbs-up*

Dinner @ Pastamania

(Featuring my all-time favourite seafood zuppa and I forgot what Huiqi ordered, must be something weird that's why I cannot remember)

I remember the days when we frequently patronise Pastamania because of the student meal promotions and all, so it is considered cheap for a Western meal. However, we ate it so frequently that I started to boycott the restaurant, too sian already omg. Now we are missing it. Hahahas! No other restaurants serve my seafood zuppa x.x

(Because we don't have many photos together)

Thanks for the belated birthday celebration although I haven't receive my present LOLOL. Kiddingz, we went shopping for my present and I couldn't find anything I like. T.T Put on hold first only arhs, I still want my present! :DDD #shamelessyanqi

Something don't feel right
because it ain't right,
especially coming up after midnight.
I smell your secrets and I'm not too perfect
to ever feel this worthless.