profile 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! contact qiuuing@gmail.com email me if you don't feel comfortable leaving a tag :) Lijit Search tagboard resolutions for 2011 exercise once a week start saving more than half of my salary every month find a boyfriend (added by lily) shopping list 2011 lancome flextencils basic black pumps one whole set of nail art (pedicure) a car (!!!) reads friends adrienne bren bobby cheeks farah ivy jeannie sharon sijing vic other blogs beatrice tan camemberu grocery list ieatishootipost sixpegs sparklette recommended shops accessories ivbelongings mykillerheels mysummerdiary mytreasurest clothes hervelvetvase lollyrouge loveandbravery lovebonito myspringfling missypixie modparade robotninjas trooops vaingloriousyou food cupcake divinity food infinity mad baker periwinkle bake shop others concierge.sg iconceptz snugg the little happyshop uniquegrabs whimsnfancies toys an ufo-catcher addict's woes lain lain plushie paradise previous entries by post
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 Saturday, July 31, 2010 @ 21:13
i love dozo!  my sis's first pay day since she started work at sph and she treated us to a wonderful lunch at one of our family's favourite restaurants, dozo.  as usual the service at dozo was impeccable. they gave us a private room as always, and served us our favourite munchie (baked spaghetti sticks) and floral tea promptly.  it was matthew's first time there and he was spoilt for choice. didn't know what to pick for each dish and after asking his preferences, the helpful staff was there to give recommendations.  first on the table was tiny shooters to cleanse our palate. it is a regular practice exercised by dozo. kind of a cute idea. the restaurant has swapped its mango juice to sour plum juice. the sour plum one is lighter, which would definitely suit the purpose of cleansing our palate; however, i still long for mango one. after the starter which hasn't changed since we first patronised the restaurant, was scallop, foie gras and smoked salmon. all of which i generously gave to my dad (i didn't eat any of them). next were the side dishes. since i had probably taken pictures of almost all the dishes there, i'll just slip in a few, seeing that they had changed their presentation for some.  bamboo clam. what an interesting way of serving the food. on a ceramic tile! you'll notice that the chef actually loves him foam a lot. the scallop in the starter came with foam, so did this dish. there was also foam on my espresso creme brulee!  foie gras chawanmushi with truffle. yes, they unquestionably do not scrimp on ingredients at all.  mushrooms in 'singapore flyer' as the waiter put it. following that were the soups. among the five of us, we ordered everything except for the miso soup. the four types of soups have been tried, tested and fondly remembered!  mushroom soup. as thick as the ones you get at soup spoon. that little bit of brown thing on the spoon is truffle. again.  french onion soup. so good, every mouthful is a taste of cheese, bread and bits of bacon.  my personal favourite, the double boiled beef consomme.  the person who treated us, with her crab bisque. on to the mains!!!  me and my pu-ye beef tenderloin. after i have tried this dish, i couldn't settle for any other mains, no matter how interesting they sounded (i usually get my mum to order the new dishes and i'll grab a bite). the beef is cooked over a hot stone and you can decide on your doneness. anyway, i don't know why my left eye seems smaller than my right eye in this picture.  hamachi and risotto. we are still speculating as to which part of the fish it was. mum thought it had a fishy taste while matthew found it soft and easy on the throat.  for our drinks, most of us ordered the ones in pots. mum and i had sprigs of lavender in ours! remember i mentioned about the foam at the beginning? well, here it is again!  my espresso creme brulee. the popular french dessert came with a twist or should i say a shot of espresso. i loved it!  my sis's muachi, served with green tea ice-cream. she always order this when we're there. same goes for my dad and mum who can't give up their warm chocolate lava cake. all in all, a five stars experience! where else can you get so many dishes for only $39.90++*? this is in addition to the high standards of food, lovely ambience, as well as the attentive staff. even when we were closeted in our private room, they constantly refilled our cups and were aware of our needs. needless to say, i always leave with a smile on my face. *only for lunch Friday, July 30, 2010 @ 20:41
ellen degeneres leaving american idol DeGeneres to leave 'American Idol,' cites 'a difficult decision'July 30, 2010 -- Updated 0140 GMT (0940 HKT)   Ellen votes herself off 'American Idol' STORY HIGHLIGHTS
RELATED TOPICS (CNN) -- Ellen DeGeneres is calling it quits after spending one season with the Fox hit "American Idol," according to a statement from the star and the network. DeGeneres said she notified Fox and "American Idol" producers a "couple months ago" that the show wasn't the right fit for her. "It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for. I also realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings," she said. "I loved the experience ... and I am very grateful for the year I had. I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be." Fox and "Idol" executives said DeGeneres' presence will be missed on the show. "I loved Ellen's passion for the artists and her nurturing skills," said "Idol" creator Simon Fuller. "She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel and I will miss her greatly." The 51-year-old comedian replaced Paula Abdul when the singing competition resumed for a ninth year in January. Abdul left the show after eight years over contract disagreements. DeGeneres, who continued to host her syndicated daily talk show, loves music and is a huge fan of "Idol." When she took the job she said she aimed to bring compassion and empathy to the show, qualities Abdul was known for. "I'm not going to be mean. I hate when Simon [Cowell] is that mean," DeGeneres said, referring to the notorious judge. "You can be constructive and criticize somebody. That's helpful, instead of mean-spirited." Earlier this year, Cowell said he'll be leaving the popular talent show at the end of the season. In a March interview with TV Guide Magazine, DeGeneres talked about her role on the show and the part she'll play in picking Cowell's successor. "Oh yeah," DeGeneres said in response to a question as to whether she gets a vote on who replaces Cowell. "That was part of [what was discussed] when I came in. Cause we all had a suspicion that Simon might leave. Nobody knew for sure, but we made sure that I'd have a big [say] because that's important to me." DeGeneres first gained fame in stand-up comedy and acting roles in several movies and television sitcoms. She also has hosted the prime-time Emmy Awards and the Academy Awards. The show added Kara DioGuardi, a songwriter and music industry executive, as a judge during the eighth season. In May, Katherine L. Meizel, author of the forthcoming book "Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in 'American Idol' " and a writer for Slate's "Idolatry" column, said there is a sense that people are "abandoning ship" on the show with the departure of Abdul, as well as music director Ricky Minor and Cowell at the end of this season. "When things start changing drastically, it right away makes people feel less connected," Meizel said. Since its premiere in 2002, "Idol" has been an entertainment phenomenon, regularly ranking as TV's top show, creating several musical stars and pulling in millions more viewers than its closest competition. @ 20:21
perfect buns  this post is inspired by my sis's attempt at tying a bun using some contraption we bought in malacca. you just need to slip in your hair into the slit, roll it to your head and fasten both ends. easy right?  buns have always been in. can class up an outfit immediately, lengthen your neck and bring out those lovely cheekbones!  you may vary your style like adjusting the height of your bun and accessorising it with flowers and shiny stones!  so yet with the contraption, my sis's bun... hmm... not very successful... Labels: family Wednesday, July 28, 2010 @ 21:43
food and movie this is a rather long post, which is good because it actually shows that i have a life outside school! anyway i was craving steamboat and we were at marina square, so we decided to try suki-ya!  suki-ya offers steamboat buffet for $19.90++. there are 3 choices for soup base-- kimchi, sukiyaki and shabu shabu. other than the buffet spread of noodles, vegetables and other accompaniments, you get to have free flow of chicken, pork and beef.  the seating area is actually pretty spacious and they have long tables for huge groups of people.   we had a choice of 2 soup base, so we selected sukiyaki and kimchi. i didn't like the sukiyaki one at all. it had a weird aftertaste but my sis and matthew preferred it. the kimchi one was average, to me, the better out of the 2 if i had to choose. however, i felt the soups were inferior compared to many other restaurants.    at the end of the meal, we each got to have ONE cup of ice-cream. yes, they actually limit the amount. they lock the machine and you have to wait for one of the staff to operate for you. how miserly. besides that, the limitation of only chicken, pork and beef does hinder a carnivore's appreciation for a buffet. only thinly sliced pieces of meat! no seasoning of any kind or other cuts of meat. how boring. after that not particularly satisfying steamboat, we headed for our movie-- despicable me.  imagine, i only managed to catch it that late. my first free weekend that i could go out for an uninterrupted period of time. anyway it was a funny movie and i absolutely loved those small potato-shaped characters. also, i like how his nose was used at the end!  after the movie, we were thirsty and there were only a few shops opened. i tried the lemon smoothie with jelly at each a cup. it was milky white and surprisingly light. wasn't overly tangy or sour at all. just a right drink before i went home for a good night sleep! Labels: family, food, friends, movies Sunday, July 25, 2010 @ 22:03
now for the food...  on sunday, dad, mum, sis and i went for lunch at tcc @ bugis junction with grandma, aunt and the 2 small ones.  they gave us a seat in the corner, which was good, seeing that we had a baby and a very active young lady. it was cosy and we were basically lounging around, enjoying the slight reprieve from our usual hectic schedule.  this post is actually focused on food, but i couldn't help slipping in another picture of ayden. really can't absorb the fact that he's only 3 months old!!! and it's only at this age that you can get away with san chen rou.  we were unaware the tcc had added new dishes to their menu and we were definitely pleasantly surprised.  my sis tried the crispy oyster and shimeiji spaghetti. she was pretty wary about sampling fried oysters, however, she said the coat was light and didn't affect the texture at all. while, she was fond of the dish, she said she would still stick to her favourite mentaiko spaghetti with salmon tataki.  i tried the baked chicken thigh with wholegrain mustard sauce. always had been a huge fan of mustard, especially grain mustard. the chicken was small and not filling. on the other hand, it was tender and was well complemented by the sauce. delicious but you would have to order something else on top of it.  adri's only meal-- tiramisu. yes, i know it's alcoholic, but she eats in minute portions and didn't even finish the whipped cream on top! in the end, it was passed around the table and finished by the adults.  last but not least, one of the new desserts--mascarpone d'lite. i can tell you i simply LOVE this dessert! the cheesecake is light and even my dad who doesn't like cheesecake was pleased. a unique point is that the cake is surrounded by flakes which added some composition. the chocolate, biscuit, ice-cream and strawberries offered levels to the cake. so if you're sick of just eating it plain, you have lots of choices to make it interesting! @ 19:49
my nephew ayden   everytime i go to my grannie's place, he's always sleeping. finally i have a picture of him beaming!  he's so cute and growing so fast. hard to believe he's only 3 months old! according to my aunt (his grandma) he's already wearing clothes for a year old baby! we went for lunch at tcc this afternoon. haven't edited my photos yet, but i just wanted to upload these because my niece and nephew are so adorable i just have to share.   ayden: we were in the car and i whipped out my camera. adri: "wow, nice tiramisu!"  ayden: "how dare you take my picture!" adri: "yucks, whipped cream isn't ice-cream!"  Labels: family Friday, July 23, 2010 @ 21:37
efficient transport  haha even better than a mpv!!! Monday, July 19, 2010 @ 20:50
plan, plan, plan i know it's pretty early but...  siyu, lenard and i are planning a partial clique trip (this time, only the three of us will be doing a road trip). since lenard's almost a native, he's going to introduce perth to us. considering the fact that siyu can only take 10-11 days off, we're thinking of hitting perth and one other place. rather excited about it. there's still a few things to take into account. (a) weather, it's summer there and freaking hot! (b) my sis's friend went there last year and there were lots of sandflies. my past experience with sandflies left me with lots of scars. still brainstorming ideas through email with them. can't wait! Labels: holidays |