Thank You GM Yasuno

His position as our Singapore Branch GM will end next Monday and to appreciate his support and express our never ending thanks to him, we planned a small token for him.

We ordered the baseball jersey from Japan and had it hand delivered by one of our colleague which was simply on time. In addition to that, we had his name printed on the jersey to personalize it and I made a photo collage of all the pictures we took with him for his keepsake.

Despite his busy schedule, we managed to squeeze some time to present our tokens to him in his room and he was filled with surprise and joy upon seeing the gifts. We were glad that he likes our gift but at the same time sad to see such a great GM leaving his post in Singapore.

We took the opportunity to take pictures with him and wishing all the best in his new assignment in Japan.

 

Farewell Party For GM Yasuno

Our CRO was nice enough to host a farewell party for our beloved GM Yasuno at GM’s residence on a Saturday evening. He kindly includes family members to join the party so that staff will be happier to join…

We catered food and drinks for all and it was such a big crowd. Party kicked off early so that it will not hold up too long of our precious weekend to spend with the family. After a wonderful and heartwarming speech from our GM Yasuno, everyone was welcome to mingle around. Some started off with dinner while others preferred to stand around with pals to drink.

I was really happy that I had a little care-taker to hang out with Faith while I enjoyed the evening with boss and colleagues. Faith was happily hanging out with the little big sister Karianne…

I was filled with mixed feelings during the party though I was happy to join but somehow I was really sad to bid farewell to our beloved GM. In my opinion, he is one of THE BEST!!!

Thank you GM for your support, understanding and guidance throughout your 4 years assignment in SIN. We will be missing you badly….

Happy Hour With Boss

It’s great to have a boss who enjoys good food and wine. Though he is our boss but he’s never bossy but being such a warm and generous boss instead.

He invited us to Happy Hour with him at Wine Connection Tapas & Bistro located at Robertson Walk. He usually is the one who take charge of the wine while we ordered the food. Without any hesitation, we ordered dishes to share like cheese platter, pizza, pasta, side dishes, risotto and the beef as mains.

It was simply an enjoyable time with boss and once we are out of office, he seemed like a friend or a colleague. To me, he is more like a Father… hahaahahahah

Till We Meet Again Hong Kong

Time passes rocket fast when you are on a holiday. Today will be our last day in Hong Kong and to end the holiday sweetly, hubby went out to get breakfast for us while I did the last minute packing.

Hubby wanted some simple breakfast before heading to airport and bought back steam milk and egg sandwiches. These two are the food I will miss when I return to SIN. Honestly, simply can’t get the same tasty egg sandwiches and steam milk back home…

We set off to airport in the late morning and it was a very smooth ride. It did not take us long to get there as we did not stop by any hotels for pick up. When we arrived at the airport Terminal 2, which was somehow new to us for that is meant for budget airlines check in. Taking budget airlines gave us quite an experience indeed. The transfers from Terminal 2 to the main terminal, having to take the run way bus to the airplane was simply interesting.

Faith was extremely excited to get so close to the plane for the first time and being on the runway simply thrill her though she did not like taking Jetstar. Before the plane took off, she was already asking for snacks and some entertainment but it’s a budget airline so…. nothing to entertain and no free food.

I was happy that she took a long nap after the plane took off and woke up when we landed. It was great to be home after a wonderful holiday.

Day 4 In Hong Kong

Our vacation is almost coming to an end. Being the last full day we have in Hong Kong today, we tried to make the most out of it as much as possible.

We set off early for our dim sum breakfast and trying to enjoy all our favourite dishes though our stomach has limited space. Faith was enjoying her porridge and prawn dumplings as usual and she mentioned that she loves the porridge very much.

After our breakfast, we went down to Sham Shui Po to get stuff for mother-in-law and as well as some goodies for friends & family. We enjoyed combing that area as it has the accent of Hong Kong truly… the whole area kept the beauty of being simple and so HONG KONG! As we walked round the place, we saw many interesting stuff like that street market, electronic stalls that sells old records and turn tables.

We decided to have afternoon tea instead of lunch as we are still stuffed due to our heavy breakfast. We went to one of our favourite café Yee Shun for their cart noodles and egg sandwiches. We were surprised that Faith enjoyed the noodles so much that she almost finished about half of the whole portion while hubby enjoyed the egg sandwiches with his hot milk tea…

On our way back to hotel, we bought egg tarts and coffee to keep us happy while we packed some of our stuff. Faith on the other hand was sleeping soundly on a cold afternoon while we enjoyed the egg tarts, zhu chang fen and coffee in the comfort of our room.

It was our last dinner and we were too tired to head to town. We found this little Italian restaurant, Tivoli at the next street from our hotel and decided to give it a shot though it was not in our list. The moment we were seated, we somehow regretted it.

Anyway, we went ahead to order the dishes like risotto, seafood carbonara and their ribeye as our mains. First of all, I did not enjoy the house red wine as it was too dry. Secondly, the dishes’ portion were huge and it did not look tasty… looks does matter… the mushroom risotto was not as tasty and the carbonara was worst off… (and they told me that it was one of their best pasta!). Hubby was disappointed with the ribeye as it was not cooked nicely. It was hard (almost like well done) and the sauce they mixed did not compliment the meat… totally Failure!

At the end of the dinner, we felt bad as we could not finish the dishes we ordered for it was really too big of a portion and at the same time, it wasn’t tasty! We came to a conclusion that we will not be trying out any restaurants that are not in our eateries list….

Day 3 In Hong Kong

Hubby wanted to try Tim Ho Wan since it has made waves even in Singapore. We decided to make our way down to one of their outlets at the IFC building and man… it was so crowded when we arrived early that morning.

However, it did not take us long to get our butts seated though it was crowded. Their business plan was pretty good; take your number and then have your ordered ready before your number is called. Once your number is called, you will hand them your order and get seated. It was almost immediately your tea and their signature char siew bao were served. The rest of the dishes were served pretty smoothly and quick.

We finished our brunch in less than one hour and we were out of there. Hubby was happy that the bill came out to the smaller than he expected. Personally, I did not really enjoy their signature char siew bao as I prefer the traditional type. However, I simply enjoyed the liver Zhu Chang Fen as it was really extremely tasty but the rest for the dishes were alright and unforgettable.

After our brunch, we wanted to hang around the bar at Hollywood Street but most of them were closed. That was our first time walking around Hollywood Street, a place we don’t usually go. We found this place pretty interesting but it’s really quite a challenge to comb the place when you have a pram with you.

This is one of the few things we have wanted to do while in Hong Kong – an afternoon tea like the locals. We checkout many places for afternoon tea on a Saturday afternoon and we came to a conclusion that we should go to Sky Lounge located at Sheraton Hotel since we were around that area and Lobby Lounge at Peninsular Hotel was already fully booked.

We arrived at Sky Lounge on time and were given a seat with a wonderful view. It was really nice to sit and chat with family or friends on a weekend with a cup of aroma coffee in your hand. The afternoon tea was the norm and it was really relaxing to just sit and enjoy the view especially when the weather is slightly cold on the outside.

When evening comes, I was too sick to even get up the bed. I was down with sore throat and fever; guess the cold weather plays a part. Hubby went out to get dinner back for us and I requested for my favourite wanton noodle from the particular shop and he came back with what was requested. Simply delicious and it warmed me almost immediately with my first mouthful of the soup noodle. Yummy indeed!!! I was really tempted to have the roast goose hubby bought for his dinner which smelt so good and he told me that it tasted superb!

Child Once Again

Disneyland has always been the best theme park for both children and adults. Children will enjoys all the Disney characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Pluto, Goofy etc… while the adults will became a child once again when they get onto those rides.

We set of to Disneyland after our short breakfast and taking the Disney train was such an amazing moment for our little Faith who simply loves Minnie Mouse. She was all excited to meet the characters and was asking me who she will be meeting in Disneyland. When we arrived, there were millions (I believed) of Mainland Chinese tourists and I am prepared to fight… hahaahahahah

The moment we stepped into Disneyland, we queued up to have pictures taken with those characters as Faith was really excited when she saw them at their designated places for photo-taking. While I went ahead for Goofy’s photo-taking, hubby queued up for the famous mouse – Mickey & Minnie.

I would say that that was the first time for both of us queuing up for about one hour thirty minutes just for the photo session with Mickey & Minnie. After that photo-session, we went to check out our pictures and bought a few that were really nice.

By then, we were super hungry and went to the nearest restaurant for our late lunch. We hopped into Corner Café, ordered roast chicken and pasta to share. Though we were hungry but the portion was rather big for us to finish. The food was pretty tasty for a Disney café and considered not too costly too.

After luncheon, we continued our journey to the fairyland and Faith was overwhelmed by the castle! She was so happy and told me that we will be meeting all her princess friends in the castle. We went ahead to take the carrousel which is Faith’s favourite ride and as we moved around the place, we managed to take photos with Pluto and Pooh Bear which we did not managed earlier.

We went ahead to take the Small Small World ride and man, it was fantastic. I remembered taking the ride at the Disneyland in USA and this was very pretty as well. Though it was a boat ride but the colours, the theme and the songs simply made it so beautiful!

After the ride, we continued our journey to search for the princess and finally we spotted the queue for Snow White. Thank God we were the first few in the queue and it was quite a brief photo-session as both hubby and I were really tired.

When we were planning to leave Disneyland, we realized that there was a parade going on and it was really beautiful to see all the characters parading and some were walking around taking picture with the audience. Totally fun and yes, I felt like a child all over again!

We decided to have Italian food for dinner since we had steamboat last night. We went to Pacific Mall as I recommended Grappa’s to hubby. When we arrived at the restaurant, there was a small crowd of people drinking at the bar area and without reservation, we were given an hour to dine.

After settling down, we ordered the baked eggplant as our starters, spagehetti with smoked salmon cream sauce and mushroom risotto and baked cod fish as our main. I would say that the food was really tasty and the portion was really scary too! By the time we finished our food, we were too stuffed to try their desserts. Totally thumps up for this restaurant and am sure to visit again when we visit Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Short Get Away

As hubby needed to clear his leaves for 2013, we decided to visit Hong Kong since little Faith requested that she wanted to visit Disneyland. Initially, he wanted to visit Tokyo Disney but I thought it will be too cold for us and I would prefer Hong Kong which is nearer.

We set off early that morning as we planned to have breakfast at the airport before boarding the flight. This time, we will be flying with Jet Star as it has the best deal among the other airlines. On board of the plane, the first time Faith said to me, “mama, how come no TV?” I replied her saying that this is a smaller plane and will not be having any entertainment so; all she can do onboard will be sleeping. After hearing that, she was filled with disappointment and requested that we should take the normal planes in future.

The approximately 4 hour’s flight was quite alright to me apart from the loud noise on the sides. Faith was sleeping soundly almost throughout the journey while hubby and I enjoyed the TVB serials on our tablets. It was the best time for us to catch up some shows as we do not have much time to watch the shows at home anymore.

The weather was very cooling in Hong Kong and we headed out to get mum’s dried goods after resting for a while. Simply love the cool weather here compared to Singapore.

With such weather, it is best to enjoy steamboat instead of normal dinner. We went to our favourite restaurant for steamboat for our first night in Hong Kong and our little Faith enjoyed the fried fish skins while we enjoyed the rest of our dishes…. Simply YUMMY!!!!!

We went back to hotel for an early night and get ready for Disneyland tomorrow! 

Luncheon For GM

We found out that our beloved GM has only couple of slots for lunch available and without any hesitation; we blocked a date to lunch with him before he leaves.

He mentioned during the farewell dinner that he enjoys Bak Kut Tei and with that lead, we went around SIN trying to get him but unfortunately all shops selling Bak Kut Tei are closed on Mondays. With our Plan B on hand, we bought several popular local food like Char Kway Teow, soya sauce chicken, fried hokkien prawn noodles back to office as our lunch.

I bought homemade muffins specially baked for GM as a token of my appreciation to him as our desserts. When he entered the meeting room, he was somehow surprised by the amount of food we prepared for him but nevertheless, he sat down and enjoyed each dishes with a big smile on his face.

It was a very simple but enjoyable 1 hour lunch with him with small talks and lots of laughter. We are very sure that we will be missing him dearly when he leaves at the end of this month.

Thank you Yasuno-san once again for your wonderful leadership and kind understanding throughout your 4 years as our GM. You will be missed!

Italian Luncheon

It came as a surprise when my boss asked if we can bring him to get Rice Dumplings for his family as he will be travelling back to Japan on a business trip tonight.

After checking, we decided to bring him down to Kim Choo Rice Dumpling at Katong. He was excited and we left the office early to beat the lunch crowd. When we arrived, boss was pretty quick to buy his dumplings and so did I. He was simply happy that he managed to get some rice dumplings back to his family this time.

We went straight for lunch since it was almost lunch time and we decided on Italian as that was the nearest restaurant. It was rather quiet when we arrived at Al Forno and after browsing through the menu, we ordered salads, bread, pasta and risotto. Boss shared some good news on business with us and he opened a bottle of wine to share.

The food portion was rather huge for our liking and taste was not as good as we expected. Other than the pasta and risotto, I would say we enjoyed the wine the most. It was lunch and we should not be out of office for too long so, we hurried our desserts and get back to office though boss was with us.

Thank you Boss for taking out to lunch! 

Zumba

I have heard so much about Zumba and I too went for a trial at the CC near my place but I wasn’t comfortable with the instructor.

Leng on the other hand told us about her Zumba class and asked if we might be interested to join her. Without much hesitation, I went along and so did the rest. We had a good number of 5 pax to join the class on Monday evening.

When we arrived at the studio, we were initially shy as we weren’t good at it though we knew it was all about dance with workout. We took our stand at the back row and we noticed that majority were ladies except for 2 guys who was braved enough to join.

Our male instructor was really witty and funny which made the class enjoyable. Though it was dance routines, some steps weren’t easy to follow and his class was really tiring compared to the trial class I went.

As for music, he plays very good music, from the hip-hop to pop and to Bollywood. We had a rotation after each songs and that was the only 10 seconds to breathe… it was a full hour of non-stop dancing and simply fantastic workout!

I am loving this class and will be back for more… let’s ZUMBAAAAAAAAA