'Entre' turned 'Imcee'

There's this boutique, Entre, in FEP that I used to visit regularly. Chanced upon it a year ago when I needed to modify my wardrobe to suit my then new job & environment. Pants, especially, sold there suit my figure very well. Sometimes my purchase could get a lil too crazy.... 3 pants, 3 tops at 1 go...... And I didn't buy from just this boutique!

A few weeks before CNY, I visited Entre again with the intention of getting a few pieces for new year but didn't expect to have reached a vacated unit instead. They'd moved!? Or closed down!? There's no sign at all during our past regular visits! My reaction then must have been quite dramatic, haha, but I was really sad to have lost a place to get good & non-expensive pants. We literally went back every week, hoping to find it reopened but I was always disappointed. Their telephone line wasn't terminated but there's no reply all the time. It's sad, I needed some time to find another place with pants that fit me nicely.

Then about a month ago, the lady from Entre called me. She's taken over the business & has reopened at the exact location as previous, with a different name. Yeah! Which means there's continous stock of pants for me....!:D

Went there 2 weeks ago & bought 2 pairs! ;)

My Entre/Imcee Collection in a year, including 9 pairs of pants... mostly satin-lookalike pencil trousers

Weekend morning jollies

- La Tanglin Boulangerie @ Tanglin Mall (simply love their American breakfast)
- Hans Cafe/Restaurant (pleasantly surprised that they serve economical & very nice American breakfast)
- 喜园咖啡店's (very popular) kaya toast @ Purvis Street

Breakfast at any one of the above with hubby and I'll be a happy gal :)

Cervical Spondylosis

Definition: Cervical spondylosis is a general term for age-related wear and tear affecting the joints in your neck. Also known as cervical osteoarthritis, this condition usually appears in men and women older than 40 and progresses with age.

But sadly, I've it early due to the prolonged bad posture. For 10 years, I'd been slouching while working on my laptop/desktop as the armrest of my chair was higher than the desk & I couldn't tuck in comfortably. I was ignorant & never did I think that my back & neck would be seriously affected. I passed the periodical back & neck pains as overexertion, or so did the GPs say.
So you guys out there, be mindful of your posture.. especially when facing the laptop & watching TV. Back then, I've never thought such illness would hit me too....

It's first diagnosed last Aug after going through an MRI, when I was alarmed by some numbness on my left hand & thus went to the doctor. There's a disc bulge at C3-4 of my spine. To put it simply, a soft bone has grown on my spine and it's kinda pressing on my nerve. Which explained the frequent back/neck pain & the numbness.

Doctor said if treatments couldn't improve my condition, would have to consider surgery which I wouldn't want to think. The mere thought of operating on my spine was terrifying enough.

Had weekly physio-therapy @ Mt E for the first 2 months. And recommended by my spine specialist, I've been going for traction & acupuncture. Initially twice every week during the first month. Then it's a weekly trip & recently, I try to reduce to bi-weekly.

My condition's improving especially the numbness... it's gone pretty soon after about a month of acupuncture treatments.

Thank God that I don't need surgery. Thank hubby for his perserverance. He sends me to the chinese physician without fail since my first visit. Especially every weekend, from home all the way to Telok Blangah, rain or shine, & waits for me. Dr Ong & her staff, who are full of praises for him, know hubby as well as they know me.

I'm truly thankful that I've a husband who not only shares the good things & laughter, but has also been with me in all times of troubles & sickness since day 1.

Eventful

It's a very nice long weekend for us. Had a variety of activities:)

Started off with a Japanese movie "Handsome Suit" on Thurs night. Very entertaining, a no-brainer movie. But the lady sat next to hubby was even more entertaining... during one of the trailers (17 Again), her repeated exclamation "ooh.. so handsome" was too loud to be ignored. Then, she'd break the silence as her sudden laughter rang through the cinema, when there's nothing funny at all. I wonder if her friend would feel embarrassed... or maybe she's already used to her friend's eccentricity.

Fri morning... we had breakfast @ Thomson Plaza's Hans. While having our late breakfast (@11.30am), June called & suggested lunching together & named Thomson Plaza! That's too coincidental! So we stayed around for another hour before they arrived. During which we browsed in Video Ezy & rented 3 DVDs. Went home after lunch & started our movie marathon. Enjoyed the 1st one - "The Other Boleyn Girl". Nice. I've always liked movies of that era... from "Elizabeth", "Marie Antoinette" to "The Duchess" etc... I like that they're part of the history. It's a lil similar to how we felt when we visited Versailles & Old Lyon...
Right after, we re-watched an old show "Addicted To Love". In its midst we had an interval & went Chong Pang for dinner with mum. Didn't derive as much satisfaction as from the first movie...
We're adventurous enough to start on the 3rd - "Made of Honor". But only 15 mins into the show, I dozed off! Too exhausted.

Saturday.... we attended my department lunch at my boss, WL's, place in Holland Village. Hubby has talked to WL a few times at my office lobby when he met me for lunch... but it's the first time he met the rest of my colleagues:) After lunch, hubby sent me to Telok Blangah to treat my back. At night, completed the show which we started the previous night.

Sunday... had a full-day unplanned program. Sent mum to church. Had breakfast nearby before attending the wake of Celena's grandma in Teban Gardens. Then we're back in Parco... meeting Vince's siblings at 1pm for lunch.

Lunch @ MOF

After lunch, we walked to The Bencoolen as Ben wanted to get a watch for a gal;) Brought him to this watch shop which hubby & I patronise whenever we need to buy a watch (for ourselves or for others)... have also brought quite a few of our friends there.. & they've always given us very good discounts.

When done with the 'mission', we decided to go for a KTV session.


Then followed by dinner at AMK's Astons.

By the time we headed home, it's about 9pm & both of us had been out for exactly 13 hours. The initial idea was just to bring Ben to the watch shop but thought that since we're meeting him, might as well ask the rest for lunch. Didn't expect the program to be flowed to the night. But we had fun:)

We usually plan the minimal for Sundays... hate it when the fatigue is being carried forward to Monday. We just detest Mondays (unless it's a PH or if we're on leave:P)!

So yes, we're on leave last Mon!:D First half day was spent in TTSH as FIL went back for checkup. Afternoon, we ran some errands.

And very quickly, that's the end of our 4-day long & interesting weekend....

10 things I can’t survive without

Oops... He’s not a thing but my pillar of strength & my everything:)

Whenever hubby has to work some extended hours, it keeps me entertained while waiting.

Can’t remember how we got by without this clever invention back in those days ;)

I still love long, straight hair after all these years.

This & the previous must go hand-in-hand.
My hair would have long been damaged without this heat-protect cream.

I can’t sleep without music in the background.

It's inevitable that the candles on my birthday cake are adding every year but not the sun spots on my face, please...

With my current state of health, thank God I’ve 2 of this card... 1 from my employer & the other as dependent from hubby’s company. It’s been very useful & the consultation to specialists is just @$15/visit be it Mount E, Gleneagles, Raffles Medical... Would have been very broke if we were to pay from our own pocket taking into account how many times I went to the GPs / specialists / physio-therapies last year.

Been changing my skincare items except this which has become a must-have for me 3 years ago. Haven't found a better substitute since then.

This sofa is just so right for my back as I've to refrain from bad postures. Have stopped watching TV in bed as it's damaging to my neck/back.

Our lil Getaway

When we planned for this trip, we booked our accomodation online. Just a few days before our trip we're contacted by the hotel as they wanted to sell us their annual membership - Prestige. Initially we're resistant but eventually took up the package @ RM428. Glad we did.....

Upon getting the membership, we're being offered:
- pay the price of a superior room & be upgraded to a deluxe room
- pay the price of a deluxe room which would then be upgraded to a Club room
To save about S$29 (anyway the rooms would be the same & we wouldn't need facilities/services), we opted the first.

And now, about our short holiday:)

Guess what time we slept the night before our trip? 9pm.

Our flight was 6.30am & I woke up at 3.15am! Kind of funny as on some Fri nights, that's the time we get to bed! Left home at 5am & reached airport just in time - 5.30am. Phew!

We reached hotel just past 9am & were so glad to be given an early check-in when we're mentally prepared to leave our luggage at the concierge. Good service!

But I wasn't happy with the deluxe room once I stepped in. They said they've renovated but it still looked a bit tired. So changed our mind & wanted to take the 'Deluxe to Club Floor' offer instead when I called the reception & been told the rooms would be different. Upon receiving our request, the reception gave it to us as another complimentary upgrade. Really nice of them!

Our Orchid Club room. Nice!
Like the see-through bathroom.
I was happy the moment I stepped in. The difference between the 2 categories was big but the price difference was only like S$29?
But anyway, we didn't have to top up!:D

Very zen ambience in this new premium wing opened a year ago.


Access to the Club floors by this private bubble lift.
Like this all glass lift... so transparent that you can even see the staircase behind!

After settling the accomodation matters, the 1st stop was of course to treat ourselves to the much missed about char siew at Jalan Tengkat Tong Shin;) Then started shopping in Sungei Wang/Bukit Bintang. As our hotel was conveniently located in the midst, we went back every few hours to take a break from the hot weather.

Had our afternoon tea in the club lounge & chilled a bit before heading out again.

Jackie Chan's Cafe in Lot 10

At night, we were already craving for the yummy 鸳鸯 but was full house! And it's just past 7pm:( So we went across to another 大排档 which we'd also visit whenever we're there & took Ampang youg tau foo + fried kway teow instead.

Filling up our stomach for the time being...

Thereafter walked to Pavilion. This place is massive!! But we're already very exhausted by then... so were quite overwhelmed by the size & didn't really walk around much. And importantly, we're still missing our 鸳鸯... hee....

Voilà! The streetside stall where we went back after Pavilion & bought our 鸳鸯. There's no variety offered here, only a few staples like 鸳鸯, lor min ... but it's still so popular.

Our tapao-ed supper!:) And we must give them 2 thumbs-ups for the great service.
I thought the food would be too soaked with gravy by the time we reached hotel but it's better than not having it.
Then when we got it, we're so impressed that they took the initiative to pack the gravy separately.
We've never come across this kind of good service in Singapore (I mean hawker). Sometimes even when we requested, they'd tell you "we don't do that"!

So are you thinking.... what, on earth, is 鸳鸯? Here it is.....

It's half kway teow, half bee hoon.

Think the popularity of this stall is because of its gravy... very tasty. And the deep fried bee hoon was still very, very crispy! And it's cheap! Only RM6 for a big portion like this :)
Just looking at it now makes me drool.... I miss my 鸳鸯!:(

We rest early that night, @ 11pm. Too tired after a long day.

Then, it's my birthday! We woke up early for breakfast so we could start the day early. The breakfast buffet spread was good but I preferred the second morning's as I still like conventional items like baked beans, hush browns, bacons etc over some special international breakfast. Yes, they changed variety every day... that's why Parkroyal KL's breakfast was quite raved about by the hotel guests. It's included in our room. Otherwise we could also use our membership card to pay for just 1 person @ RM48nett.

Then went to KLCC. Disappointingly this time round, the shopping wasn't fruitful... I only bought a pair of shoes. We spent less than 4 hours in KLCC including a lunch @ Dome. Better cut our losses by leaving the place fast since nothing's to our fancy there. Back to Sungei Wang, I got a treat from hubby - a foot massage session as my legs were aching from all the walking. And it's cheap... @RM38 for 40mins:) It ended just in time for our dinner. We'd made reservation the night before at the hotel's Chinese restaurant - Si Chuan Dou Hua. Dinner was GREAT! I've been craving for Peking Duck & finally got it on birthday:)

It's a big bird, and yes... we're having it all by ourselves!

Feasting @ Si Chuan Dou Hua.
Just the Peking Duck served 3 types of dishes - (1)the skin, (2)the meat fried with 生面 & (3) salted vege duck soup. Then the one in green is (4)8-Treasure soup (with sharks fin, fish maw etc).. looked weird (think they pound the spinach to derive this greeny look) but tasted delicious.. just like sharks fin soup. Yummy! We also ordered (5)half a roasted chicken & (6)broccoli with crab meat. We got so much that shocked the waitress.

The birthday meal was sooo good.. the food was delicious... but of course, we couldn't finish all. And we'd a very pleasant surprise... the bill came up to S$13.75 (RM33) for the whole dinner! We'd a RM100 cash voucher from the membership pack & we could still use the card for a 50% discount. But we didn't expect them to half the total amount first then deduct the RM100 cash voucher. They're generous, aren't they? ;)

A pic before leaving, with a bloated tummy

After dinner, we'd a drink at the lounge, complimentary as using another voucher again.

Quiet on a Sunday night

Then the last thing before my birthday's over..... my BD cake, with compliments from the hotel.

The dark chocolate cake was nice but we're too full to enjoy. We took only 1/4 & gave the remaining to the housekeeping.

The next day... our flight was 8pm & the hotel was kind enough to allow us a late check-out @ 4pm. After breakfast, we went to Times Square Berjaya.

An ice cream treat before leaving KL. I love Baskin Robin's Pistachio Almond. Too bad they're no longer in Singapore :(

Look... Krispy Kreme is coming to KL!

The 3D2N trip was too short. But it's a very good trip. We didn't shop as much this time round, more on eating... so much so that I came back with gastric flu :( Thank God I only started to feel unwell in KLIA, while waiting for our flight back. Blame it on the 2 big dumplings we ate before checking out. I was not hungry then but guess I was too used to eating..... hehe.

All that we've purchased:
- I like this dress & it's cheap... approx S$18.60?
- Hubby's pants & shirt was cheap too after a 70% discount :)
- 2 pairs of shoes for me & 1 pair for hubby
- a "men's cut" jacket by one of the local designer
- a cardi that's priced @ RM20
- 2 bottles of nail polish @ RM10.. should have gotten more :(
- 1 eyeshadow

I must say the Prestige card was a really good buy for us. Even if it's for 1-time use (we're not sure when's our next trip). All in all, we're enjoyed almost double of what we paid for. And the hotel offered excellent services, even much better than many of the 5-star hotels. However, the whole good impression we had on the hotel was sort of stained during the checking out process mainly due to some communication breakdowns.

Yep... we paid RM768 for everthing that worths RM1,360 ;)

I always don't see the relevance of staying in a club room as I've never made use of the facilities. But not for this hotel. I'm sure hubby will be very contented to stay in a normal deluxe which was already renovated/refurbished... but it's me (as always...). For our next trip, will still choose Parkroyal KL & go for the Orchid Club room... and we still have some vouchers not utilised.... ;)