Happy Blessed Birthday Za

It is usually a yearly affair that we will celebrate each other’s birthday but this year, the Covid restrictions are back again, and we are not allowed to dine out with more than 5 pax. This really gives us a hard time and lesser opportunities to meet up with our friends.

 

Well, that did not stop us from sending love to our dear pal Za who celebrates her birthday today. I gathered a few of us to visit her instead of dining out. We met around brunch time at her place and ordered some food to dine together. It is a simple birthday gathering and celebration but what matters most is we can meet and catch up.

 

We have been friends since we were 7 years old, and I am blessed with these good people in my life and will continue to make this friendship stays as we live. Though we do not meet as often as we wanted, there are always topics and things to talk and laugh about whenever we are together. We treasure the time we have together especially during this trying time to fight the virus.

After our meal, we got her to do the cake cutting ceremony just to complete the celebration. 😊 As some of us needs to leave as we have our own commitments and work to attend to. I am happy to spend a short but wonderful time with my best buddy or I would say a family member on her special day. 😊 

Happy Blessed Birthday Za! Love you bits.

So Good

I have been hearing about this HK café from my friend, Vivian and she mentioned that it feels like HK when you dine there. Today, we finally get a chance to visit this café together with my mum.

It is located near Bishan which is not too far from where we stay. When we arrived at the café, surprised to see quite a crowd. Well, guess popular places are always attracting crowds even before lunch time. We managed to find a table and excitedly, I zoomed off to the counter to check out their menu. I am happy to see some familiar HK Char Chan Tang menu and it brought me back to those holidays in HK.

We ordered macaroni set for mum, it comes with macaroni, tea/coffee, two eggs and a toast. I am wondering if anyone can finish up the whole set without sharing… Hubby had the thick toast with scrambled eggs and chu chang fen while I ordered the Stewed Beef Brisket noodles and a pan-fry carrot cake to share. After placing your orders, you will get a number and self-collection when your number is called.

Mum’s macaroni soup was okay but she thinks it is a little blend for her liking. My stewed beef brisket noodle was delicious and so was the carrot cake and the chu chang fen. Hub’s thick toast was yummy too and most of all, we enjoyed their milk tea most. For the remaining eggs and toast, we had to take out to keep for tea. The portion served was okay but the macaroni set was slightly on the heavy side. 😊

We will visit again as the food and price is reasonable. There is also a bakery just next door which served super good egg tarts at a good price. Perhaps you can try this joint when you are around Bishan. 😊

Seiwaa Okonomiyaki

We are missing those overseas holidays since the covid began last year and we are seriously missing the food we love in Osaka, Japan. I wish that we can travel soon and bet the first destination would be either Japan or Australia. Sighz… let’s pray that it will happen soon yea!

We brought our kids to have Japanese food at Suntec once and it was nice though pricey for the portion. They served Osaka cuisines and we love Okonomiyaki. This time, I found that there is another shop serving the same types of food and we decided to give it a shot.

When we arrived, we were the only diners, and the service was great. The staff who attended to us was nice and friendly. We ordered some simple dishes like Okonomiyaki, teppan squid and beef. The portion is good for two to share and it was tasty. We felt that this is better than the one we tried at Suntec. 😊

We noticed that the crowd started to flow in slowly when lunch time approached. Most of them are big groups of 4 and 5 while some are couples. They have a 2^nd level for dinning and even a roof terrace. I guess to be seated at the roof terrace will be perfect as we will not smell like chef when we are done with our meals. 

This lunch satisfies my crave for Japanese food and how I miss travelling. I am sure we will be back again soon and with the kids. 😊 Yumzzz

4th Day Of CNY

Kiddos are enjoying an additional school holiday today due to CNY weekend. As hubby is still on leave, we decided to bring the kids out for a quick lunch.

 

They have been out lesser than usual since the Covid and we try to bring them as once we have an opporunity and we prefer a less crowded day and place to avoid any chance of getting the virus. Everyone is hoping that this covid will end soon and we can get back to our lives we used to live. Now we will try to make the most out of it whenever we can.

 

Brought the kids to one of their favourite restaurant Da Paolo Pizza Bar at Holland Village. The kids were excited to be out of the house and even happier when we drove them to lunch at this restaruant. They were discussing what to order while in the car and wasted no time when we were seated. 😊 hahahaahahahahah

Little Pumpkin prefers Truffle Mac & Cheese while Lady Faith wanted to share the Tagliatelle al Granchio which is one of our favourite pasta and a Truffle Pizza too. 😊 We enjoyed the food so much each time we visits. I would highly recommend to go for their set lunch where comes with a main, dessert and a coffee. Totally worth the price.

I am sure we will be back again soon when we have an opportunity and hopefully they will remain opens for more than 5 diners. 😊

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

 

 

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Happy New Year everyone!! The Ox has arrived! Woke up to this beautiful morning and mum hurried to start preparing for luncheon as my cousins will be visiting us on this first day of CNY after hosting them last night for reunion dinner. It’s a busy morning I would say.

 

We are hosting for the first time on CNY 1^st day, and it excites the kiddos. they are more than happy to meet their cousins again after a fun time with them last night. They want to continue their play where they had to end as they had to head home. 😊

They arrived on time and brought delicious homemade food for luncheon. We as host, also prepared our share for this CNY potluck. 😊 My mum prepared her famous vegetarian treasure pot and I made Chinese desserts – white fungus with barley, peach gum, and gingko nuts. 😊

We were blessed to have the whole family gathered around the table for a CNY meal given the covid restrictions rules. It was a fantastic and sumptuous lunch, as I always tell my kids – nothing beats homecooked food. 😊

After lunch, we began our CNY greetings among the families. It has been a tradition that we will get the kids to pay respect and greet the elders first and then followed by parents and relatives. 😊 I am happy to pass down this tradition to our kids and they are more than happy to follow and abide with it. Yearly, they will greet the elders and their aunties and uncles a series of good CNY greetings and most of the time, they will reuse it yearly… hahaahahahah

Well, come to CNY dressing up which is my favorite part of all time. I usually like to plan the color scheme for my family and getting new clothes for everyone yearly is such a happy thing to do. This year, I decided we go Peranakan. I have always wanted to own a piece of kebaya and yes… I did it this year. Bought kebayas for me and my kiddos while hubby prefers to wear shirt and pants. 😊 I bought different colors for the kids instead of the same as it will make us stands out with different colors when we are together. 😊

I simply love the colors that we chose and so does the kids as they chose it themselves. 😊 I would love to have my mum wear the same, but she refused as she said that she will be home after the lunch so, there is no need to dress up… hahahaah…

After sending my cousins off, we too set off to my in-law’s place for visitation too. When we arrived, the kids were so happy to see their cousins and started to play with them. We managed to get them settled and greeted the elders and their aunties and uncles before they continue their playtime. We stayed for dinner and of course not missing out to Lo Hei as a tradition too. 😊

Phew!!! What a busy but yet enjoyable first day of CNY. Though we may not be visiting our relatives for the next few days due to the restrictions, we will be able rest and enjoy family time at home.

Happy Lunar New Year everyone and stay safe!

Happy Lunar New Year!

 

Wishing everyone a blessed Chinese Lunar New Year! May you be blessed with happiness, joy and be in the Pink of Health. 

Birthday Celebration

It has sort of becoming a yearly affair that hubby will treat me to a good lunch or dinner at Basilico. We are here again today to celebrate my birthday though it is still Covid restriction period and thankfully we are allowed to dine out. Hubby will be on leave from today for the CNY period and at the same time, celebrate my birthday in advance. 😊

 

We are not new to the lunch menu at Basilico as we have been here before. I simply love their set lunches as we can choose our starters, mains, and desserts. Hubby ordered prosecco to toss for my birthday. I chose my set lunch which was like the previous one I tried but the I decided to try their beef this time. It was DELICIOUS!

I do miss those days where they served buffet and I hope it will be back again. The spread is amazing and the fact that you can eat to your heart’s content is such a great pleasure, isn’t it? I do miss those free flow of burrata, Parma ham, super sweet rock melon, wide range of ham selections and their superb desserts… man…. please bring back that buffet!

 

I am feeling so much loved in the month of Feb as I have friends & family celebrating my birthday, receiving a new iphone from hubby, a beautiful surprise gift from sis-in-law and the actual day of my birthday is on the eve of CNY. Simply fantastic!

 

Thank you, my love for doting me and loving me! I love you to the moon and back.

A Pleasant Surprise

Woke up to a pleasant surprise at the gate to receive a gift from someone but there was no sign off. I was really puzzled and thought it was something I bought online but then again; I did not buy flowers for myself… hahahaha

It kept me wondering who these beautiful flowers were from and my hubby is not even close to sending me flowers…. He always says that flowers are not forever, so, no need to waste money. Well, I totally agree with that but guess at times, it’s nice to receive flowers too. 😊

This beautiful gift took me almost whole day to find out who is from and finally, I received a message from my lovely sis-law. Maggie sent this beautiful gift as she wants to surprise me on my upcoming birthday and at the same time, supporting her friend who opens a flower shop recently.

I would say that this is absolutely a fantastic gift to anyone on any occasion as they are very dried flowers, and they definitely last a long time. 😊

Thank you, Maggie, for being so thoughtful and I am in awe. 😊

CNY Reunion Dinner

As Covid restriction measures still heightened, we are unable to celebration New Year’s Eve dinner at the restaurant. We instead invited the family to come over to for the celebration within restrictions. 😊 Though not the whole family was able to make it, we were happy that we managed to celebrate it afterall.

We bought most of the dishes and only 2 homecooked dishes were added. My attempt to prepare broccoli with egg whites as I used the remaining egg whites from the crème brulee. Hahahahaahah… Before dinner, we entertained the elderly with mahjong just to get them in the CNY mood. Well, it was a great game and they had fun while we were preparing for dinner. 😊

After dinner, we had a small birthday celebration for my birthday and I invited Shevelle to join me as her birthday was yesterday. It was only a day passed but it’s always fun to celebrate. 😊 I am thankful that this CNY reunion dinner was great though not all family members are present. Let’s hope that we will be able to celebrate with a complete family next year and hopefully the Covid situation will gets better.

Advance Birthday Celebration

My birthday falls on the eve of CNY this year and my extended family members decided to have an early celebration with me. I am thankful and grateful that I have these bunch of good and loving people around me always there to support and care for me. Truly blessed.

Since CNY is around the corner, we decided to have Chinese cuisines instead and at the at same time, we can have another Lo Hei before the actual CNY. 😊 We met at East Ocean Restaurant at Ngee Ann City and we are not surprise that it is quiet as it is still Covid period.

We browsed the menu and decided to order some simple but yet super yummy dishes like the crispy roast pork, braised duck which is their signature dish, my favourite claypot glass noodles and mee suah. We did not forget to include the Yu Sheng since we are also celebrating CNY in advance as extended family. 😊 

We enjoyed the food and of course our usual witty conversations as we laughed throughout our dinner. Nothing seems to stop us from our nonsense whenever we meet. There is always funny and something that trigger the laughing spells. Hahahaahah….

Rie bought the birthday and was spotted at the counter when I was getting my bread before dinner. She was pissed as she was spotted getting my birthday cake and the surprise is broken.  Hahahaahahahah..

It was a super enjoyable birthday celebration with good food and company. 😊 This is what birthday celebration is all about. It’s always best to have loved ones involved in all celebrations. 😊

Thank you my extended family members for this wonderful evening and Gong Xi Fa Cai ahhh…. HUAT AHHH!!!!