Farewell Kodera-San

We first met her during our CNY department Lo Hei dinner before she officially became our department head. She was the first lady DH and we are not too used to it having a lady to lead.

After the departure of Fukumoto-san, she took over the driver’s seat and was pretty much nice as she always wanted to hang out with the locals especially the ladies working under her. I remembered having lunch with her during her first few days as DH but was uncomfortable as she was our DH and it wasn’t so normal to lunch with your boss.

As time goes by, she showed us that she can be a good leader by listening to us and helping us to achieve our goals. In all, I am happy that I have the privilege to work under her for a good 2 years before I tendered my resignation.

Today, I am really honored to be invited to join this farewell dinner for her arranged by Linda though I am no longer a MC staff but she welcomed me with open arms. Linda as usual, had the perfect arrangements in both food and managed to get us a private room too.

The dishes she pre-ordered were pretty much interesting and some of those were not in the menu. It was specially ordered for this dinner. The first dish was the Simmered star garoupa fish with cabbage in chicken stock… man…this was really GOOOOOOD!! The soup was so yummy that I wished I could have a second serving. Thumps UP!

The second dish was the sautéed sliced beef with Hong Kong Kailan, well, it might sounded pretty much normal and usual but it was different in its own special ways. The beef was so tender that it melts in your mouth and the kailan was so crunchy! Yumz! Then followed by the braised seasonal vegetables with needle fungus and oyster sauce. Mmmh… as for this dish, it wasn’t my favourite but it tasted good.

While we were still chatting away, they served the sautéed Alaskan king crab meat with fried egg white. WOOOOOOO…….. this is truly my favourite dish for the night! It was so tasty that I could have the whole plate all by myself! It was especially yummy when you paired it with vegetables… so so GOOD!

The surprise continued… when the door was pushed wide, there came this little piglet sitting on the silver plate staring at us. That was the BBQ suckling pig stuffed with glutinous rice. OMG!!! It was too cute to eat but how can we resist the smell of this dish… the chef chopped the piglet into equal portion and sliced up the skin for all of us. As for the limbs, he suggested that we pack and bring home to cook with porridge. WOOWWWWW….

This dish is clearly a winner for the night for all and everyone of us enjoyed the crispy skin and the glutinous rice with the skin was absolutely stunning! I couldn’t stop eating it though the portion was quite big for one. I still managed to finish it as it was so tasty! 

It was a night of good food and fellowship with people whom you know well. Kodera-san gave a heartwarming speech after our desserts were served. She talked about how much she enjoyed working with the team and she will definitely miss us. Yes, in return, we do miss her but we are sure that we will have chance to meet again in the future.

Kodera-san, thank you so much for your guidance and it was a privilege to work with you. Take good care and keep in touch.

Playdate With Cousins

It wasn’t planned but we just decided to meet up for an Art Jam today. We met for breakfast at McDonalds’ before heading up for the Art Jam session at Arteastiq.

We were their first customers this morning and the kids were led to the art room almost immediately for their art session. They were given apron, brushes, paints and canvas for painting. In the beginning, the kiddos have no idea what to draw or pain and wanted some inspiration from the booklet provided by Arteastiq.

While Maggie and I were searching for pictures they requested, they suddenly came up with a picture on their own and told us to leave them to paint. Maggie and I went to the café and place our brunch orders. The food was not too bad and notice that they used pretty healthy ingredients too. 

I got to say that their lychee tea was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! It tasted so light and I simply love the tea fragrance. The moment I sipped on it, it was so refreshing and yet not sweet. A must try if you are visiting.

The girls were given 3 hours to complete their painting and we had to check on them in case they needed some help. When we were done with our food, Maggie went to check on them and to her horror, she came running back to tell me that the girls had their names written on the paintings! I went into the room and try to rescue the paintings and I was glad that I managed to cover up all their names with paints and added some designs as a cover up.

The kids were happy and proud of their art work. It was just a short few hours of fun with the girls but it was a great bonding session too. Thank you Maggie for taking time out to hang out.

School Out, Playdates Starts

It’s school holidays! Woohoo!! Lady Faith has done quite well for her 1^st term in school and I have arranged some playdates for her as her reward.

Today, I arranged with Rie to bring the kiddos to Bounce Singapore located at Cathay Cineleisure. When we arrived, it was already pretty crowded but there was still space for the kids to jump. After purchasing the tickets, we had to wait for the next entry.

While we were waiting, we bumped into hubby’s cousin Kai Ling and family. They entered the park earlier than us but the kiddos got to meet in the park when it was our turn to enter. Lady Faith & Mizuki were so thrilled to jump in different section while little pumpkin played on her own at the Toddler’s area. 

After an hour of jumping, we went to have our lunch at P.S. Café located at The Paragon. It was pretty crowded when we arrived but were lucky to be seated just within 10 minutes of waiting. We browsed through the menu and decided to order the Shrimp pasta for Lady Faith and Little Pumpkin to share. We ordered the truffle fries to the kiddos to share too but the portion was huge! For myself, I ordered the Chicken Rossa Penne which was delicious and Rie had the Club sandwich.

While the kids were having their own time playing with each other, Rie and I were glad that we were given some of our own time to chat. It wasn’t only the kids’ playdate but it was a catching time for Rie & I. 

It was a great outing for both kids and myself on a Monday and I am sure we will make time to meet again soon.

Jessie’s Birthday Bash

My OH My…. I am so blessed to know this wonderful friend, Jessie. I remembered those days when we first met in the office as we were hired in the same year but we did not really talk till later years. She has always been a quiet lady but funny at times with her jokes. Not only she is caring, she is a very good listener whenever you are down or sad. She is always there by my side whenever I needed support and always very encouraging when I am stressed!

Today, I am honored to plan this wonderful birthday celebration for her with some of our besties. She has no idea who will be attending the dinner or the venue till the day of event. When Inez and I arrived at Hard Rock Café at Orchard Road, Linda & Jessie were already seated. After browsing through the menu, we decided to place our first-round orders since we were there early and hungry. 

We ordered the Jumbo Combo, potato skin for the start while waiting for the rest to arrive. We were happily chatting and catching up and at the same time also taking another look on the menu. When the rest of the gang arrived, we went full force to order the rest of the dishes like Fish & Chips, combo of pull pork and ribs to share. The food was delicious and it definitely reminded me of my good old school days where my friends & I used to hang out on Saturday nights.

After the delicious dinner, we decided to order our desserts – brownies with ice-cream and the mud pie as a birthday cake for Jessie. Though we could do a birthday shame on her but we decided not to as we love her dearly.

As our two besties Cariser and Sheryl had to leave early for family commitments, we stayed for the ‘Live’ band – Jive Talking who have been there for the longest time. They are still as good as ever and we enjoyed their songs selections so much that we got our feet on the dance floor.

We ordered 2 bottles of white wine since we stayed for the band and disco. Co-incidentally, there were a group of old Hard Rock staff in the house and I recalled some of them who used to serve us back in those days. The band was so good and got almost everyone in the house dancing on the dance floor while some preferred to sit and enjoy the music.

It was such a great night out with the girls and I do hope Jessie had enjoyed herself though she did not get up and dance but sure had a good laugh while watching Linda dancing. Hahahaahah

Happy Blessed Birthday to my bestie Jessie once again! Wishing you good health, happiness and may our friendship continue to grow stronger! Thank you friends for sparing your precious time to celebrate Jessie's birthday with us today and it was really wonderful meeting up with you guys! Let's meet again soon!

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is one of the most popular and important holy days in the liturgical calendar. Ash Wednesday opens Lent, a season of fasting and prayer. Ash Wednesday takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday, and is chiefly observed by Catholics.

As Ash Wednesday mass is available only in the evening, I brought Lady Faith along as it would be good for her to know what is Ash Wednesday really like though she knows the significant. It would be the first Ash Wednesday mass we attend together and I was happy that she was behaving herself during mass and listening to what the priest was saying.

After the sermon, the priest blessed the ashes and sprinkled them with holy water and all the faithful will come forward to receive them. The priest dips his right thumb in the ashes and, making the Sign of the Cross on each person's forehead, says, "Remember, man, that thou art dust, and to dust thou shalt return".

Lady Faith was watching anxiously on the size of the crosses on others’ forehead and told me that she would want a big cross on hers. After we had our ashes on our foreheads, she turned to check out my cross and asked me about the size of her cross. I told her it was big and she gave a big smile. When mass was ended, I decided to let her check it herself and she was happy on what she had on her forehead. 

I do hope that on Ash Wednesday, it will constantly remind us how much our Lord has suffered for us to save us from the darkness of valley and it’s time to repent.

Farewell For Now

When I heard the news of my ex-colleague Ran that she will be leaving MC, I was overjoyed! Okay… I know I shouldn’t over react but I am always happy to know someone leaves MC for a better job.

However, she is leaving MC SIN but will be starting work in MC/SYD instead as her hubby is posted to work in Sydney and as a wife, she needs to follow. MC did not want to lose a good staff and they managed to get a job in our Sydney office which is pretty good for her. She is hardworking and I am sure she will have a bright future.

I was happy that I was able to attend the farewell lunch arranged specially for her and we went to Putien for this celebration. Though we weren’t seated together as the restaurant did not have a huge table to accommodate 13 of us. Boooo…

It’s not only a good time to hang out with old friends but to celebrate her new adventure. Ran Ran, I hereby wish you all the best in your new working environment and I am sure you will do very well! Cheers to success! Take good care and I hope to visit you in Sydney soon! 

Gong Cha

When Gong Cha first landed their first shop in Singapore years ago, I became their number fan. I love their milk tea as the tea was really smooth and tasty. Gradually, there were many other tea shops like Koi, Each A Cup etc… and I was quite sad when Gong Cha closed all their outlets or renamed as Li Ho!

Being a milk tea fan, I tried Li Ho but the taste wasn’t as nice as Gong Cha… so, I switched to Koi instead. Then, I was so happy that Gong Cha will make a return to Singapore once again after a year of disappearance. Tasted their tea once again and they were still the same old smooth milk tea but the branches were limited then.

When the brown sugar milk became a huge wave in Singapore after Tiger Sugar took their spot in Singapore, many other milk tea brands also came out with their own version. Today, I chanced upon the brown sugar milk from Gong Cha and was happy to try it.

It was pretty YUMZZZ though there was no cheese mousse, it tasted nice – not too sweet and the aftertaste was good. In my opinion, my favorite will be still Tiger Sugar if you ask me but if I can have the brown sugar milk just a LRT stop away from my house, it is definitely a THUMP UP!