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i'm a girl who have stepped into the unknown called work and decided that schooling is better. i also have a propensity to go crazy over fried chicken wings and simply love to squeeze and over-feed my obese hamsters. my blog is a mode for expressing my love for food, movies, travel and shopping!



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qiuuing@gmail.com

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Tuesday, June 30, 2009 @ 16:31
all black

dyed my hair black. it has since faded to black-brown, but i still need time to get used to my hair being so dark. my hair has not seen a shade of black anything since after jc. it has been subjected to golden brown, reddish brown and lots of streaking. not helping, since i got a new pair of specs which is black. when i went to the optimetrist and tried the specs with my brown hair, looked good. tried the specs with my black hair... -_-". geeky is putting it in a nice way.



Monday, June 29, 2009 @ 14:31
tcc

had dinner with my family at tcc, suntec city. one of our favourite restaurants and just walking around, we realised that they have many outlets around city hall (citilink, suntec city, millenia walk and funan mall).



mum's spaghetti de clam, what we normal people call vongole. she loves the sauce but thinks it's overprice for that little bit of clams.


sis's mentaiko spaghetti with salmon tataki. my sis says they serve a similar dish at pasta de waraku but definitely more mentaiko here. the salmon is fresh and the egg, yolky in the middle. perfect.


seafood aglio olio. my dad ALWAYS eats this whenever we're there. never deviate from routine. it's a bit pricey ($18.90) but to him, it's always worth it.


tcc mont blanc. not bad at all! in fact, superior to canele's (which falls flat). the hazelnut cream isn't overpowering or too creamy. and it goes hand in hand with the whipped cream in the middle. wonderful crust (my dad was eating more crust than anything else).

JULY OFFER: 1-1 main course/pasta for tcc members. additionally, complete your meal with soup of the day/sliced cake, and enjoy a complimentary coffee/tea.

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Saturday, June 27, 2009 @ 12:11
michael jackson



you know just looking at michael jackson's mtvs, it's so easy to be blown away by his talent. he doesn't need back up dancers or fancy stage designs that singers use today. just him. his dance moves and his awesome voice. it's so sad that this huge amount of talent was eclipsed by his weird ways and plastic surgery gone wrong. most of the new generation grew up knowing him as wacko jacko, but they don't know what a big hit he was in the 80s and 90s.



@ 10:52
transformers


watched transformers yesterday. i have to say. it was very long (longer than i expected) and my bladder was exploding by the time it was over. all that said, similar to the first, it was an exciting movie. megan fox is hot, but let's face it she can't act. basically there for the sex factor (aka fling hair and flash thighs). love the roommate. he's hilarious.

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Friday, June 26, 2009 @ 13:41
remembrance

michael jackson passed away at 50 and farrah fawcett at 62 on thursday. two great stars-- king of pop and charlie's angel.



Thursday, June 25, 2009 @ 09:28
basic theory

guess what? i have finally signed up for my basic theory after so long! everyone in my clique has already passed their driving tests, so my sis and i made an impromptu decision and dragged our asses down to the driving centre to sign up. and to reaffirm my commitment i have bought the new highway code books 1 & 2. one step closer to reaching my resolution for the year :)



Wednesday, June 24, 2009 @ 21:34
thai express

went to thai express, jurong point for dinner to utilise the orange card. the outlet was big and offered "indoor" and "outdoor" seating within the shopping mall.



nongkai ma nao (crispy drumlettes with lemon sauce). free with $30 spent for dbs/posb credit card members (approximately 3 main courses). the drumlettes were deep fried and later tossed with (sweet) lemon sauce. not bad a combination. though people who dislike deep fried food (like my mum) may oppose to it.


khao gai phat krapow (basil chicken rice). extremely spicy. they should have put 3 chillies next to it. my sis thinks the spiciness covers the basil taste. however, previously when my friend parvin tried it at this very branch, it wasn't that spicy (maybe different chef different style?).


kanom pang na kung (prawn toast). to my mum, this tasted like normal toast with prawn taste. since i don't eat seafood, i have no idea what it means.


woon sen tom yum kang (crayfish red tom yum glass noodles). nice soup base but only for people who can take the heat. my dad loves tom yum and finished everything!


chicken tang hoon balls in soup with glass noodles. i'm not really pleased with this dish. too much tang hoon (tang hoon soup and tanghoon in chicken balls). such a pity because the soup was good. maybe i should have gone for the one with chicken slices instead.


now for the desserts. thai chendol (jackfruit, red ruby, green jelly, no red bean). it's nice but a tad expensive for $5.90.


banana fritters with coconut ice cream. love this! the batter was sweet and the fritters were great with the ice cream. a must try!

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009 @ 09:55
feisty princess charmaine

Feisty Char needs bullets to fight!

came across this blog which is raising money for little girl charmaine who has neuroblastoma (a rare form of cancer). she needs about $500,000 and currently her family with the help of celebrities like fandi ahmad and oli pettigrew has managed to raise 180k.

there are various ways you can support her. please visit her website (click on the image). i'll also be putting her blog under the links section if you need it later after this post is long gone.

i've donated. please do too!



@ 08:18
best of blogshops

ATTENTION ALL BLOGSHOPAHOLICS:

there is a shop at far east plaza called best of blogshops, which would be compiling collections from 9 famous blogshops in singapore, including my favourites bonitochico, trooops and gege. some of these collections would be exclusive to these blogshops and would not be available online.
best of blogshops
far east plaza #04-52A

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Monday, June 22, 2009 @ 12:59
thai express orange card

this is not an endorsement of any kind. just want to introduce a membership card my mum got recently. thai express is offering their orange card which costs $30 and you will receive 3 vouchers-- $10 (valid for 6 months), $15 (during birthday month) and 1 for 1 (1 free main course per voucher).


the vouchers would technically cover the $30 you paid. however, this card is only worth it for thai food lovers because of the rebate (which would better for regular visits).
  • save SGD1 for every SGD10 spent for subsequent visits.
  • save SGD2 for every SGD10 spend when you visit within 7 days from following day of last visit.
  • for SGD30 you will receive three(3) vouchers worth approximately SGD35 on combined value.
  • birthday gift from us when you visit us during your birthday month when you spend a minimum stated sum during your visit.
not sure if it's really useful since my mum just bought it yesterday but thai express has always been popular, so we'll see.

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Sunday, June 21, 2009 @ 09:09
movie + breeks

watched the taking of pelham 123 with my sis at vivo. it was a good movie. lately, i have been catching lots of chick flicks and decided it's time for a change. the movie while not fast paced, was exciting every moment. denzel washington played his role well, as a calm innocent man caught in the series of unexpected events and doing the best that he can. additionally, john travolta portrayed his character as an intelligent mad man in a commendable manner.


another good food offer! breeks is now offering 1 for 1 ice cream desserts for the month of june! no minimum purchse or restrictions. definitely a good deal. their ice cream desserts range from $6.80 (inidividual portion) to $14.80++ (big enough for a party of 4).



my sis ordered raspberry snap ($10.80++). it was big enough for 2 and my sis was struggling with the portion. the combination of raspberry ice cream with avocado and nada de coco went very well together. the ice cream looks pretty even. the only complaint my sis had was that the avocado was almost frozen by the ice cream and was quite hard.


i ordered oreo creme avocado ($6.80++) and absolutely loved it!!! the avocado was not overly rich and was complemented with oreo bits. what a wonderful combination.

this is our first time at breeks and we were amazed by the choices in the menu and the colourful pictures. they have so many items to choose from. their milkshakes and smoothies look delicious and the ice cream.... we had difficulty choosing. defintely will be back to try more of them.

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Saturday, June 20, 2009 @ 15:36
cambodia day 5 (phnom penh)

our last day in cambodia. it was basically a free and easy morning before heading to the airport at 3pm. so parv and i decided to hit the town and see the sights for ourselves. while scoping for lunch places, we found ourselves attracted by the simple and modern design of cafe fresco.


the place offers all day breakfast, sandwiches, salads and drinks. surprisingly, the food was not pricey in spite of the nice decor. most of the patrons were westerners.

we ordered from the special menu. gourmet executive 6.50USD: premium sandwich (4-5USD) + smoothie (3USD) + slice (choice of banana cake, muffin or brownie). and parvin had a vegetarian sandwich.


sweet sunset (watermelon, strawberry and mint). looks good and it's made of 100% fresh fruits. however, it tasted more like watermelon more than anything.


my chicken, shaved ham, egg, tomato, lettuce club sandwich, recommended by the waitress. the serving was gigantic and it came with two sandwiches. i couldn't finish and had to get one of them to go. one set is good for two!


parv's vegetarian sandwich. she too could only finish one.


the brownie. it was yummy! very rich and fudgey. just the way i like my brownies. do give this place a try. there are many restaurants along sisowath quay, but we had only time for one. some recommended ones by brochures and our tour guide are bar33 and fcc.
cafe fresco
riverside on sisowath quay
open daily 7am to 9pm
http://www.cafefresco.net/

after lunch we went for pedicure and manicure at 5USD. they did classic instead of express which i had expected (good for me). but the colours were really limited, mostly purple, pink and red shades. didn't have black or my favourite dark red.


last cup of hot chocolate before boarding the plane.

some important notes about cambodia:
  1. major currency is USD. you can change small amounts to riels, however it is unnecessary as change below 1USD will be given to you in riels. exchange rate is 1USD = 4000riels. damaged USD (old, tear) will not be accepted. so make sure you check the notes when you receive change.
  2. many hotels in siem reap are closing due to competition and decreasing amounts of tourists. therefore, hotel rates are going lower.
  3. massage is cheap there, about 4-6USD.
  4. do not expect to shop much there. shopping is almost zilch. and things are not very cheap, as one would expect from a developing country.
  5. two pin plug is fine. no adapter needed.
yup that's all for cambodia!

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Friday, June 19, 2009 @ 09:44
cambodia day 4 (phnom penh)

it was a slow day for day 4. basically phnom penh can be covered in a day and our tour could have been completed in 4 days instead of 5.


a walk around the hotel grounds after breakfast. the spread was small and mostly cambodian (i prefer western). had a bad stomachache after eating the breakfast.

our first stop was s21, which i didn't take any pictures of. the genocide museum offered lots of insights, documentation and preserved prison cells regarding the khmer rouge regime. it was really worth a trip down. surprisingly, it's right smack in the city (i thought it would near the outskirts). we met one of the two surviving survivors of the prison. he is now a guide at the museum.

next we headed on to the killing fields, which is 15km from the city (approximately 20 minutes).


this is the monument to commemorate the victims of the genocide.

you don't need any guide for this place. they have lots of signs all over the area. being interested in history, i had so much expectations of the place and it was kind of a let down. the killing fields were the size of a football field with huge pits all around. there was no sense of history unlike s21 and i felt like we were there just to see holes in the ground.

russian market was closed! so there goes our afternoon. we headed towards central market instead.



once you been to one market, you have basically been to all markets in cambodia. we went to old and central market in siem reap and they are exact replicas of this one. the shops are selling the same things, for example kharma scarves, baggy pants (made in thailand) and sunglasses.

lunch at tole bassac restaurant. it was a buffet and the layout of the place was big and nicely decorated. food leaves something to be desired but the desserts... yum!



since we had the whole afternoon free (4 hours before dinner), parv and i went for a massage afterwards. took a tuktuk back (1USD/person).



dinner at this jungle theme cambodian restaurant. sitting concept in aircon area. food was very bad and servings extremely small. the chicken doesn't even taste or look like chicken. parv said it's pigeon. very dubious.



nagaworld, one of the biggest casino in the land. it's small compared to genting. imagine the scale if you have been to las vegas. there were no shops there and the game floor offered little choices. so parv and i bought desserts from one of the restaurants and headed back to our hotel to celebrate her birthday.


here's the birthday girl posing with her present and ice cream cake.

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Thursday, June 18, 2009 @ 10:30
cambodia day 3 (phnom penh)

day 3 was a combination of siem reap and (mostly) phnom penh.


wanted to start off with a picture of the hotel lift. the cambodian culture is clearly illustrated in the design.


our last breakfast in siem reap. the spread was good, mix of cambodian and western, with an omelette and noodle counter. they also provide a variety of fruits. i definitely prefer this to the phnom penh hotel.


saying our goodbyes to the hotel before heading to the airport for our flight to phnom penh.


we had about an hour and a half to kill so we decided to grab a blizzard at dq. the choices were roughly the same as singapore, but it's cheaper over there (2USD for a medium).


you can find many such pieces for sale at the duty free shops in the airport.

the flight from siem reap to phnom penh took about 30 minutes, which was almost like taking off and landing simultaneously.


we checked into our hotel, imperial garden villa and hotel. while the rooms were recently renovated, the toilet was dark and dingy. there was only a dim light on top of the sink and you can see age stains around. furthermore, location is bad (far from city centre). it's supposed to be 4 stars (2007-2008). you definitely can find better hotels nearer the city centre.
imperial garden villa and hotel
315 sisowath quay, phnom penh,
http://www.imperialgarden-hotel.com/

we headed to the royal palance and silver pagoda next. entrance fee 25,000 riel (about 6USD).




the gate for the king's use.



i don't know if you can see this, but there's a tiny blue flag in the background (bottom right hand corner). it shows that the king's in residence.


open air performance hall.


this is special. the only french style building admist the cambodian structures.


colours for every day of the week. from left, sunday to saturday.


it's a place you have to visit when you're there. the architectures is so beautiful and the carvings on the stupa are so intricate.



next was the national museum. we spend an hour there with a guide. i'll strongly recommend you to give this a miss if you're intending to visit the royal palace. you can see similar statues in the silver pagoda and the explanations given by the guides are almost the same.


our final stop for the day, the temple from which phnom penh derived it's name from. phnom = mountain, penh = name of the woman who built this temple (on top of a small hill). this is the only place i encountered lots of beggars, as you can see from the guy at the bottom of the steps.

our guide said most people come here to pray for everything but love, because the lady was unlucky in love and people who have prayed for it seemed to have relationship problems after.


dinner at a steamboat restaurant, king suki soup. the soup base was quite sweet and they offered quite a range of seafood, vegetables, meat and noodles. not a bad place to try.

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