La Nonna, Holland Village

Went to Lo Nonna at Holland Village to celebrate one of my childhood HJMs’ birthday.

From my experience, it is really not easy to get to Holland Village on a Friday night! Limited bus access from my workplace and NO TAXI when the queue was darn long! Geez. My sincere apology to my dinner kakis for being late. Please forgive me, hehe.


We were served with the complimentary breads by the manager (Jack if I am not wrong) once we placed our orders. FYI, the manager of the restaurant was really friendly (or maybe my friend is too attractive, hiakz hiakz). So, if you prefer to go to a place not being disturbed, this place may not be a good choice :P


The breads were really nice, soft and fresh. Best to have them with the olive and balsamic vinegar dip.

We ordered the La Nonna pizza which gave us a smell of gas/ petrol. Dislike to the max.


A fettucine, which turned out to be quite bland. *Disappointed


And a steak, medium cooked. The best out of the mains we ordered.


Lastly, for dessert, we had tiramisu. It was the highlight of our dinner. I really like the tiramisu here though initially it appeared as if it did have not enough liqueur and coffee taste. But it has proven me wrong. And the best is it was complimentary!!! Why? Coz the manager accidentally spilt some water when he served us the fettucine and the birthday girl’s iphone got soaked in water! Luckily my friend and I were fast enough, so we were not too wet then.


In short, I like the complimentar-ies the best! Besides the fact that they were FOC, they were indeed the most yummylicious and the highlights of our dinner that night. *winks*

Sa rang hae yo~

Finally, I am done with all the workshops for the mature employees. It is time to celebrate. *winks*

(~Sa rang hae yo means I love you~, ok, enough of singing. Back to blogging.)


I went to Sarang@ Orchard Central with a friend after given a talk at Clarke Quay. I have not had many opportunities to try Korean food in Singapore, 4-5times thus far, and Han Shang @ Holland Village gets my vote amongst those that I had been.


My friend and I were saying this is the 1st time we go for Korean food without any Korean side dishes being served *sad* Some green rice crackers was served as a alternative for complimentary. I want my usual Korean kimchi, please!




I love Korean rice cake, Korean pancake, Japchae and tofu stew~ yummylicious. I must have at least one of these items on my table whenever I go for Korean cuisine, hehe *slurps.

As for the verdict for Sarang? Hmm, nothing to shout. Dont think I will go back for more Korean food.


Well, the portion was a tad too small for my friend. So we went to Yami yoghurt @ 313, a healthier and less guilty dessert - 97% fat free, explained enthusiastically by my friend when she was trying to “sell” the dessert to me. Well, it really tasted quite good!


And we ended our “date” by using up the juices of our creativity at the Icing Room @ 313. 2nd trial in cake decoration, not a very satisfying end product.

Please blame my friend in this cake deco – wrong partner! My 1st trial in February this year was much nicer :P

Chinese Sago Desserts

I tried to make something out of the norm over the long weekend (Its Good Friday!) using the left over evaporated milk I had from baking. Papaya+carrot+orange sago dessert, haha.


I think the papaya looks very much like salted egg on the picture above. Maybe I should be more creative and trial on some salty sago "desserts" next time using salted egg or maybe century egg, lol. Would anyone like to try the final product if I make it? :P



Verdict? I think the usual, regular honeydew sago dessert and pamelo mango sago dessert that I made last year were comparatively more well-accepted by my subjects.

There is definitely room for improvement tho my subjects commented that the look of the papaya+carrot+orange sago dessert was good and the taste was fairly good too when the dessert was served chilled.

Well, failure is the mother of success. I shall not be defeated *winks*

Chuan Wei Ren Jia @ Chinatown

At last, I had a chance to tried Sze Chuan cuisine in Singapore. I definitely miss the restaurants that serve Sze Chuan dishes along Chinatown in Melbourne such as Tian Fu (天府川菜馆)and Ba Guo Bu Yi (巴国布衣).


I used to order the well known Spicy Fish (水煮魚) whenever I visit these restaurants and I definitely love the Pork Ribs with Spices (籽然排骨) and Yu Hsiang Eggplant (鱼香茄子) from Tian Fu. I wonder if their standards remain the same after all these years. Hmm...


We went to Chuan Wei Ren Jia (川味人家) at Chinatown in Singapore last Sunday and ordered 9 dishes to feed 6 people for the dinner that night. *gasped*

Was that a bit too much? Clearly not, we managed to clear 99.99% of everything served! It is undeniable that our stomachs are simply HUGE~! *winks*









Nonetheless, it didn’t do its job that night to curb my cravings for Sze Chuan dishes from those restaurants in Melbourne.Disappointed!!

Those Sze Chuan restaurants in Melbourne are invincible. They serve much better Sze Chuan foods compared to the one that we had last Sunday (This is strongly agreed by my foodie friend who used to eat at the restaurants listed above when she was studying in Melbourne).

If you were to ask me do I miss Melbourne? Clearly, I do miss Melbourne; I miss all the good food that I used to get in Melbourne. You make me want to go back for more, please wait for me, Melbourne. Please do not let the standards drop!!

*praying hard*

Baking and Cooking Mode - On

As far as I remember, I have not been cooking much since Chinese New Year in Feb 2011. Nonetheless, my baking mode was on for the last couple of weekends.

First, I baked my family’s all-time favourite butter cake on Qing Ming weekend. My parents were complaining that I have not baked them this cake for awhile. Hence I baked it in conjunction with Qing Ming to please them.


Come to think about it, my first time baking a butter cake was almost 10yrs ago, when I was doing my MUFY @ Sunway College at my uncle’s place, for my dad’s birthday!! That was a failure, seriously. Haha, sorry dad: P


After multiple attempts, I have finally found a foolproof recipe which I am using till now. It calls for five basic ingredients including flour, eggs, butter, sugar and milk! And it is easy, just blend in all the ingredients and put it in the oven to bakefor an hour or so. In no time, you will be able to enjoy a decent butter cake (best with a cup of coffee as per my coffee addict dad, lol). Hehe.


Once the mode is turned on, it takes awhile to go off I guess. The following weekend I was in the mood to bake again and hence I baked a cheese brownie, to make use of the block of chocolate which I bought awhile ago. It had been sitting in the cabinet waiting for its turn to blossom into some sweets/ desserts, haha.


The cheese brownie calls for more ingredients than butter cake and comparatively it is also more time consuming. Nonetheless, it is all worthwhile as my mum likes it and its my aunt’s all-time-favourite since I baked it for her as her 60th birthday cake couple of years ago.


How about this weekend? I am not back at home and hence baking is unlikely. So, I cooked myself some pasta! Easy peasy tuna pasta for one, done in about 10minutes or so, my favourite dish when I was in Melbourne cos it is not only easy but minimal washing is required, lol


Its time for me to go for a run after having all these! Healthy balanced lifestyle, I advocate! Moderation is key. Cheers.

The Greatest Loss

Honestly, I am very much physically and psychologically drained after these days.

End of life – such a sensitive topic to touch. And yet, it will eventually happen in everyone’s life.

The loss of a beloved is definitely not easy to cope.

On the 7th April 2011 0829hrs, an unfortunate event occured on last Thursday. A trauma to his much-loved wife, much-adored children, lovely grandchildren and dearest friends.

I couldn’t accept the news when I first learnt about it and how about his family?

I felt the pain and I was trying so hard to hold my tears till it burst on the last night of the wake, and what about his family? I witnessed the masks that they had put on while they were on the “stage” and the broke down behind the scene. It was really despairing.

Love your family. Love your friends. Love your colleagues. Love everyone you would like to treasure. As much as you love yourself.

We are only given today and not promised tomorrow. Treat everyone well, as if there is no tomorrow to compensate. Do what you want to do as soon as possible to leave you with no regrets at the end of the day.


Stay well and happy, for yourself and your loved ones.

Health is the greatest possession whereas happiness is your treasure coz it lies within you. Cheers.

Choy Lee Fut

My parents and I went to Square One on last Saturday after our brunch to do some shopping. Had a peep on the latest showing at MBO as we walked passed it.


When we were browsing through the list of movies, my dad went, “I think Choy Lee Fut is not going to be a superb nice martial arts film to watch. *Pointing at one of the actors; a new actor whom I can't remember his name* He didn’t play well in his last kungfu movie.” “Hmmm”, I responded. The next thing I heard from dad was, “Let’s watch Choy Lee Fut”. I was like =.=”””. Yes, that’s my dad ♥

And guess what BONUS did we get from the cinema after we purchased the movie tickets??


Lifesized cutout of HOP~!!! *tsk tsk*

NO! We didn’t steal it. A kind lady working at the cinema gave it to us. These are for my mum’s usage; as part of the décor in the kindergarten. So C.U.T.E.!

As for the movie, it was average. Nothing to shout.

Martial arts film is flourishing once again after the success of Ip Man couple of years ago. Good luck ;)

L.O.V.E .Taipei

Gosh! I am missing Taiwan for sure, and it has increased enormously these days. Heavily affected by the fact that many of my friends have either just got back from their lovely trip to Taiwan, still having fun in Taiwan or leaving soon to the superb Taiwan!!

Went to Taiwan October last year. It was a sudden plan while I was having dinner with my great companion. Everything was done within merely a week+ from the booking of air tickets, accommodation to itinerary ♥

It didn’t cross my mind to post or upload any photos earlier as there are too much to share and I didn't know where to start. LOL. Now, I can no longer stop myself to share the joy and fun that I had in Taiwan last year due to my strong desire to be back in Taiwan again. Haha, does that make sense? :P

Anyway, there are so many nice places to visit and I must say that Taiwan is really a foodie’s heaven. Heart the yummylicious food there, heart the night markets. We tackled one night market per night even if we have had our dinner elsewhere. Hehe. Here’s my top 5 favourites (not in order) while I was there.

1) Irresistible Taiwanese Taro Balls
Had this when we were at Jiu Fen. Love at first sight, haha. If you are crazy over Snowflakes, this is a MUST to have in your list!


2) Hearty Taiwanese Breakie
I heart breakfast. First had dan bing, salted beancurd and shao bing you tiao when I was in Melbourne and once again I fall in love with these immediately once I tried it. And of coz, how could I resist myself from these when I was in Taiwan. Oh, not to forget the mi jiang, yumm~ Good kick start of the day.



3) Moo Moo~ Taiwanese Beef Noodles
This meal at Yong Kang Street didn't come easy. We spent quite a bit of time, walking and asking around in a bad raining weather to get this. And I was so touched by my sweet and lovely travelmate to hunt down this place with me tho she doesn't take beef at all! Luckily there were Zha Jiang Mian and Steam Pork Rib with Sweet
Potato for her to fill-up her tummy and the food was good enough to compensate. No pain, no gain. haha. Thank you my dear, love ya! ;)


4) Oozy Custard Pancake
Saw this when I hopped in to my cousin's car in one of my mornings at Taiwan. My thoughtful cousin knew what I want, didnt he? According to him, he bought this from a famous place which requires long queue most of the time *touched* And, in no time, three of us finished the whole box as PART of our breakie that day, haha


5) Love-Hate Stinky Tofu and Taiwanese Oyster Mee Suah
Ok, so the story goes like this when I first met Stinky Tofu. Someone called me when I was walking down Raohe St Night Market. The crowd was so busy, so I excused myself to pick up the phone. I was standing near the drain at roadside and so I thought the drain in Taiwan was as smelly as those in Malaysia. Not till I walked further down the market and realized the smell was actually from those stinky tofu *faint* I could not bring myself to taste it that night, but YES I did try it the following night at a place near ShiLin Night Market. But NO, I can't accept it. My mate loves it! She had these twice, cooked in differnt ways all on her own. I tried my best and really, I could not share this with her :P

Oyster mee suah was nice. We had it twice in a night, at different places! One at a shop near my cousin's place and another at ShiLin Night Market. haha

Whoops, I almost forgot to mention about the Taiwanese desserts! They are to die for! There is always room for desserts *slurp* Had Liang Yuan at Xi Men Ding *chewie~ nom nom nom*, Taiwanese sweetened beancurd at 101 *pearls and peanuts are yummm, perfect~* and who could give the famous shaved ice a miss *drools* - had it twice, once at Shi Lin Night Market and another at Kee Long Night Market.

I am definitely going back to Taiwan again, coz I only managed to visit Taipei in my last visit. There are still Kaoshiung, Taizhong, Tainan, Hualian, Alishan... and the list goes on. I'll be back, Taiwan ♥

p/s: NO! We didn't gain weight after the trip if you are wondering! :P Coz we walked a lot. That almost killed my mate who doesn't usually walk much, haha. Thank you for all the walking and hunting @ Taiwan, great companion I had ♥