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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 Tuesday, November 30, 2010 @ 15:42
boracay: day 1  photos of my recent boracay trip coming right up!  my flight to manila was bright and early, as in reach airport 4.30 am type of early. thank god, the best daddy in the world sent me so i wasn't burdened with the midnight taxi surcharge like siyu was.  i brought two bags for the trip. a small sling bag for essentials e.g. passport, money, camera and eyedrops (for dry and dusty eyes) and a duffel for all the other stuff.  our flight to manila was about three hours long. rather smooth flight on jetstar. the plane was quite new and comfortable too.  upon reaching manila, we had to clear immigration to transit to the other terminal. jetstar lands at terminal 1 and our domestic flight to boracay via cebu pacific airlines was at terminal 3. we had to take a free shuttle bus for a 30 minutes journey across town to terminal 3.  while terminal 1 was quite old, terminal 3 was spanking new! we had a great time just browsing at the stops and eating at the food outlets there.  since our domestic flight doesn't depart till a couple of hours later, we had lunch at yellow cab, a pizzeria and coffee at espressameme, a small cafe just above the check-in counters.   see that foldable umbrella on the table? i had to throw it away because they are not allowed in hand-carry on propeller planes.  the propeller plane was bigger than expected. after hearing all the scary stories, in my mind propeller planes are small rackety old machinery that tremble with every strong gust of wind. as you can see, it's not the case.  however, it started raining when the crew was preparing for take-off. siyu was worried for our safety.  a bird's eye view of the island. as you can see it's very happening, with many activities ongoing and the island is populated with hotels. the beach actually spans the length of the island.  no immigration counter there! all you need to do is fill in a form with your name and country! one form for every travelling group. hmmm... if i was escaping the law, this would definitely be a good place to hide out.  the flight didn't mark the end of our journey, we still had to take a tricycle (50 pesos) to the jetty to get over to the island.  prior to getting on the boat, there are three fees you need to pay--environmental, jetty upkeep and ferry. they added up to 150 pesos, which is equivalent to 5 sgd. i heard it was an increment compared to last year.   our ferry across. very small and congested. we were also made to wear life-jackets.  upon reaching the jetty at boat station 3, we had to take yet another tricycle (100 pesos) to our hotel at boat station 1. this time the tricycle ride took us about half an hour. apparently, the ferry only stops at only one boat station now. a word of caution though. the tricycle can seat up to six, however the locals will try to allocate one tricycle per tourist group, be it the fact that you come alone or in pairs. try to find other tourists to share a tricycle with you. even if you are alone or are in a party of six, the fare is still 100 pesos.  it was 5 pm (yes 12 whole hours since we left singapore!) that we finally reached our hotel, jony's beach resort! the hotel was a welcome after spending so much time on our feet and butts. the picture above shows our welcome drinks and rev, our absolute favourite staff! we had thick mango shakes, which initiated us into the shakes-culture there. rev was very helpful and helped us coordinated our activities at much lower rates than were offered by the operators on the beach.  our lovely deluxe ocean view room. extremely spacious, lots of areas to walk around, probably could have placed another bed and still have elbowroom. newly renovated! renovations for exterior are still ongoing but no noise whatsoever that might disturb your stay there. however, ocean view? i beg to differ.  here is the supposed ocean view which is blocked by an abundance of trees and a few buildings. the hotel itself is not on the beach, rather, it's separated by a slip of road. there are many hotels just down the beach which are on the beach proper.  our second balcony overlooks a hotel next to us, the beachcomber. also looks rather new. siyu and i didn't stay on the balcony much as there were many mosquitoes.  you get to see lovely sunsets at boat station 1. just to note, the sun sets very early there! by 6 pm it's fully dark already!  jonah's fruitshake quickly became our favourite fruitshake stall! it's 20m down the beach from our hotel. affordable prices, huge cups and really thick! we love their mango and watermelon fruitshakes! the mango caused our throats to itch after a while, so watermelon was a refreshing change.   other than fruitshakes, jonah's offers basic mexican and filipino fare.   after dinner, we took a walk down the beach and saw some sand art that the local children did. it's quite a common occurrence there. we show some really beautiful ones depicting 3d dolphins and crocodiles. some children might even place tip boxes next to their art.  then it was back to the hotel for some nighty night after such a long day of travelling. Labels: food, friends, holidays Tuesday, November 23, 2010 @ 17:51
harry potter + dinner it was a happening day for me yesterday with driving, movie and dinner with family and friends. after driving early in the morning, think 7.30am lesson, i went home for a nap before meeting sis and matthew for harry potter at gv max, vivocity.  as usual, the harry potter series did not disappoint. very thrilling and had plenty of scary moments. definitely getting darker as the series come to an end. there was a baby who was crying throughout the movie, wonder which intelligent parent would bring their baby to watch such a spooky movie. my sis kept insisting that i read the book in spite of my philosophy of either watching the movie or reading the book. she said that it is rare that both are equally good. maybe i'll get started on it next year. after the movie, while waiting for lil and siyu, i joined the couple at bakerzin for some snacks.  my mushroom soup which tasted like curry.  side bite: unagi with tofu.  can't remember which pizza this was.  white peach sparkling tea. delicious! sweet enough for a sweet tooth. and it was a humongous cup! i couldn't finish and had to pass it over to my sis and matthew.  lil came early and my sis passed her her VERY belated birthday pressie.  then lil brought us to try this newly opened bubble tea stall called gong cha. we had it in hong kong.  some of their specialties. lil loves the gong cha milk tea, saying it's a blend of salty and sweet. sounds weird? tasted even weirder-- think tea with seaweed foam-- but to each his own.  sis tried milk with herbal jelly and matthew ordered lemon juice with white pearl. didn't try sis's as i dislike herbal jelly but matthew's one was good. i wanted to buy it after my dinner but the shop was closed.   then finally, siyu arrived.  lil was starving by then and we headed to aoba for some ramen.     all of us ordered sets, which was cheaper. the set came with a bowl of ramen and a side order.  tori karage, came to the table piping hot.  my yuzu drink. i love yuzu!  and the ramen. the soup was salty and we ordered the clear one. can't imagine how salty the shoyu one was. the noodle had the texture of yu mian and tasted like so mian, didn't really like it.  one last photo before we parted. will be off the boracay, so probably no internet access. do await beautiful beach pictures in five days! Labels: family, food, friends, movies Sunday, November 21, 2010 @ 16:44
hooha cafe: the ultimate tenderloin steak  just when i thought i have exhausted my list of good steakhouses, one popped up and right at my doorstep! my search on hungrygowhere (which never lets me down) narrowed down the scope of my search by ferreting out a good steakhouse nearby with good ratings.  so my family and i drove down to try it! hooha cafe at pasir panjang. you can't miss it with the bright lights and public carpark right opposite.   reviewers recommended al fresco seating, which was at the back of the restaurant. the place was breezy and well lit. however, we had to ask for a change of seat as it was too near the kitchen and the smoke was a bit intense.  what was interesting was that every table had a rating from past months based on surveys done on customers. apparently only 1% of the customers surveyed found the food there "fair."    to put it simply, while the place had a wide assortment of drinks, especially alcoholic ones, they sucked.  my mojito looked refreshing but did not taste of mint or lime. the rum on the other hand was very strong. most alcohol lovers would be questioning my sanity about the liberal dosage, but if i wanted rum, i would have ordered rum alone.   the mango margarita was also dissatisfying. instead of serving it in a salt-rimmed glass, they seemed to have mixed the salt into the drink. also, the mango taste was very artificial. my recommendation: just stick to iced water, coffee or tea.   my 200g medium-done tenderloin, with jalapenos and mashed potato, accompanied by pepper sauce. the pepper sauce was applauded both on the menu and by the staff. however, it paled in comparison to almost all the pepper sauces i have ever had, even at hawker centres. the sauce was overly creamy and not peppery at all.  dad's 300g medium-rare tenderloin, with baked potatoes and red wine sauce. the red wine sauce was fantastic. between my dad and i, that little portion provided was not enough. my dad found the 300g portion filling, it's amazing the restaurant offers 400g and 500g ones.  mum's prawn aglio olio. loved it too! spaghetti al dente, prawns crunchy and just the right amount of spiciness.  one of the chef's specialities, full of seafood food and a generous amount of cream sauce.  last but not least, for dessert we had banana chimichangas. again, another disappointment. instead of fried tortilla-wrapped bananas, we had spring roll bananas. it was decent, but not what was advertised. overall verdict: not a very pricey place, the bill came up to $197 for the four of us, with of course the steaks bearing the bulk ($34 and $50 for the two portions). it's a fact that they served "the ultimate tenderloin steaks" as is their slogans, but that's all to it. anything else (except for the pastas) was dismal. that said, i would definitely be back for the steak, only the steak. |