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.... ;)

Pre BD fun

Been exactly a week after my birthday & too busy to do any updates.

My birthday celebration started on friday with a few colleagues, a very small one though. But it's the thought of gathering for the 1st time & for my birthday that's greatly appreciated :)

They're not from my team - 1 from the 7th floor, 2 from 14th floor & I, from 18th floor. We got to know each other through work separately & later discovered we all knew one another.

We had a quick lunch at one of the nearby coffee shops & then moved on to Far East Sq's Spinelli. They bought me a slice of cake & one of the gals, Irene, suggested singing birthday song. What we least expected was.... she sang real LOUD. Cindy who actually started to sing got too shock to carry on... we're embarrassed (me, especially) & couldn't stop laughing. I shouldn't have dared her... earlier in the morning when she suggested lunch, she said she'd sing me a birthday song in public. Can't remember what we said, I told her that if she dared to sing aloud, I'd have the guts to be there too. So now I know she's one who can't be challenged.

This is Ms Irene, who seemed oblivious of the people around. There she was singing happily & loudly while clapping.
She's so nice to have organised this lunch.

With Zoey, Irene & Cindy (behind us)

For My Birthday Boy :)

He didn't know what the whole day program was.

Due to the cranky weather lately, I came up with Plan A, Plan B & Plan C. But I missed out the part that rain might hit at noon... don't ask me why.. just didn't cross my mind despite the planning :(

And it's raining heavily approaching lunch time & I panicked. We ended up in Parco's Sakae Sushi so we could be all sheltered.... it's a last minute decision. After lunch, took hubby to where I wanted to bring him for lunch. Since the rain had stopped, we went there for tea instead.

Having a cuppa @ TCC, Marina at Keppel Bay

Nice ambience. Would even be better without the construction.

Marina at Keppel Bay

Then we headed off to Sentosa. Since it's already past 3pm, we decided to only visit 1 or 2 places & not getting the package.

All set!
If you notice, we're donned different sets of clothes before that. It's a "decoy".. hehe. That's why hubby was a bit reserved when he knew we're going to Sentosa as we're dressed appropriately & was a surprise for him;) He'd have known if we were to leave home in these outfits. So I smuggled a bag of clothes & slippers & hid them in the boot while hubby was showering the night before. It's so thrilling to pack all the stuff needed, go to the car & come back before he's out from the bathroom! :P

Parked our car at Beach Car Park & we hopped on the Siloso Beach Tram.

Siloso Beach

We visited Underwater World.
Hubby's touching a starfish!

In the tunnel

By the time we finished, there wasn't enough time to travel to Dolphin Lagoon which was included in the ticket we paid. So hanged around the Siloso Beach a lil before going back to get our car.


We then drove back to the same place as we'd be having dinner buffet in Rasa Sentosa.

I'd made 3 advance booking... 1 with the beach-front Trapizza (Sentosa) as hubby likes pizza, 1 with Marriott (in case it rained & the plan to visit Sentosa had to be aborted) & the last was with Silver Shell.

We played a round of pool in the hotel before having dinner

The food was :(( So was the service. The consolation was that we only paid 50% because of credit card promotion.

Ice-cream Man! Hee..

Took a stroll before we left

We're so tempted to stay over on the island (Amara Sanctuary's offering $209+++ for locals) & gotta take big efforts to resist the temptation. Told ourselves that we'd be off for a short trip soon :D

Ended the night with supper at a famous beancurd shop on Sembawang Road.

Nothing sophiscated but hope hubby has enjoyed the day :)

Fun times

Last Sat, Con, June & I planned to have picnic & kite flying at Marina Barrage. But the weather was bad... Fri no rain, Sun no rain (scotching hot in fact) & it'd to rain on Sat!

Anyway our contingent plan was to have it @ ours if it's a wet day. So we met later, for dinner instead. Since the rain had stopped & it's a cool evening, we had it in a pavillion downstairs.

Lil Rye

Dress code for the evening (without discussing) - racer back tee & shorts. Guys - round neck tee. :)

After dinner, we played monopoly & it's fun. :D

Con, the banker

The Danger Zone! I preferred hiding in jail actually haha.

Nope.. I was not the ultimate loser. But because of my soft-heartedness, I let hubby off twice. Hmm!

Enjoyed it so much that we still chatted on FB after that ;)

We agreed to play another round soon that include Ben who's working that day & complained we went ahead sans him. Hehe.

My Collection

The BB cream I own

From left (the oldest):
Scandal- from Sasa. A bit too glossy & fair on my skin.
Skin Food - My second piece, bought during our last Korea trip. Price was cheaper by nearly half! Initially I found it good but gradually feel that my face greases pretty easily.
Etude House - BB pact.
Etude House - BB cream. This & the previous were also bought when we're in Seoul. Disappointly, too rich for my skin!
Castledew - Good. Been using for more than a year but only less than half is depleted. Quite a matte finish with medium coverage. Goes well with my new Lotree Rosa Davurica Loose Powder.
Lotree - my latest addition. Matte finish but a lil too sheer. Am alternating between this & Castledew's.

Heard Lotree's DIY BB cream is good... hmmm.... But nope! I'm not getting it any sooner as I've banned myself from shopping before our KL trip! :P

Gift

Hubby has bought me a birthday present but I can only "use" it a day before the actual day as it's a 3D2N trip to KL. Hee!

Haven't gone for a trip for exactly a year so we're really looking forward to this holiday though it's a small one.

The airfare of S$74/pax (including taxes) is too good an offer:) So as the hotel rate.. It's even cheaper booking directly with the hotel (Parkroyal KL) @ S$130nett. Have been quite a struggle for me to make this choice & forego the 2 regular hotels I used to stay. But Mandarin Oriental & Ritz Carlton are out of our budget as we plan to spend as little as possible for this trip. Hopefully this will be a good one in terms of location & the room.

It's also gonna be the first time we're taking a flight operated by a budget airline.

Going back to somewhere we're familiar with... Can satiate our charsiew craving.. indulge in the Japanese buffet again... & the dai pai dong... some shopping too.... Can't wait :)

A Nice Sunday Lunch

Had lunch with mum @ sis' as I was craving for my favourite confit de canard.

Chef at Work.
It's an open kitchen... can see clearly what sis puts in the frying pan:P It's running a full-house but she could still smile & pose for a pic... haha.

A new extension from the bistro which is very garden feel. The down side - it's by the main road so it can be a bit noisy occasionally. But I like this lil lush area especially at night when it's surrounded by tiki torches. It's so exclusive that some mediacorp artists like to dine in there.... the latest one would have to be the celebrity couple from the most recent local movie (& you guess who?).
One of these days, I will want to hold an intimate, private gathering here too, if there's an occasion to celebrate. ;)