A Mind of My Own

This outing got huge. Usually, I would manage to get only at most 6 people confirming their availabilities. It was a huge surprise that I have 12 confirmations. I nearly fell off my chair when I read the email. Happy is WishBoNe.

Since HF and the rest have not been to The Cathay at Handy Road, we decided to go for Billy Bombers. At 2pm, NL sent me an SMS saying she was down with flu and cough. Naturally, MC wouldn’t be going either. Sad is WishBoNe. At around 4pm, RK SMS me that her SO was going since his work got canceled. Happy is WishBoNe. The total number came to 11. We were to start dinner at 6pm. Usually, the group arrived late but whenever we purposely put an earlier time, everyone arrives just within 15 of the said time.

CD was the last to arrive due to her cycling trip at East Coast Park. Her friend drove her from East Coast Park to Balestier, Bukit Timah, Lord knows where else, then to Newton and finally, Orchard Road. She wanted to tell him to go to a particular exit as it was faster but she wasn’t sure and kept quiet until she reached. Some people cannot accept road directions. Best to be quiet about it and learn the hard way.

Since all of us were done with dinner except her, we decided to go to another place and discussed for 5 minutes and came up with 2 options. TCC Orchard and KTV just near The Cathay. Another 5 minutes of choosing either venue and we finally decided on TCC. That’s when we found out that TCC is near PS, thus, saving us a trip to somewhere else along Orchard Road. That was 7.30pm.

CD had half her sandwich at TCC. We all got drinks after the waitresses at TCC helped to arrange the tables to accommodate all 11 people. A tight squeeze but we managed. With only 2 guys in the group, it wasn’t that difficult.

It was 8.30pm when we finished our drinks at TCC. Since the night was still young, we discussed if we should go to another place. Another 10 minutes of throwing up options and we decided on Marina at Keppel Bay. Only JC has a car, so the group had to be split into 2 cabs. I don’t know how the rest split up but since 3 of us knew the way, the ones who knew would take the cab with those who didn’t know the way. RK, RK’s SO and me took JC’s car. Happy is WishBoNe.

When we arrived at the place, the carpark was full and a valet helped JC but he didn’t know how to operate the doors for her 2-door Peugeot. I can’t remember which model but it’s one of the early adopters for auto-door in private cars. The rest had arrived earlier and the staff informed us that all the restaurants were fully booked due to weddings. We chose an auspicious date alright.

Since we had arrived and most of us had never been to the place, we took some time to walk around the place that we could access. I took a few photos and realised that I need more practice in night shots.

After walking around the place with TCC being the only available place to us, we decided to go have ice cream since ES was craving for it since dinner. Walking would be a breeze in the cool night but I wanted to take a ride instead of walking. So, we took the car with RK’s SO, the sweet man, gave the valet service amount to JC.

We arrived at Haagen Dazs at 10.30pm and asked for the seating arrangement for 11 people. After waiting for a few minutes, the rest had arrived and we got our seats. We ordered 7th Heave, waffle with ice cream and brownie. The flavours for 7th Heaven: Mango Sherbet, Cookies and Cream, Rum and Raisins, Belgian Chocolate, Strawberry Cheesecake, Green Tea and Berry something.

The white smoke is the dry ice in case you don’t know. We chatted until 11.30pm. From pool stories by RK with her job as a lifeguard to ghost stories and disturbing couples making out cars late at night when ES’ hubby and RK’s SO were young. Cheeky men.

ES’ hubby used to drive out late at night with his best mates with their cars mod with speakers that blasted out music at high volumes while parked in between the cars. They would even wave hi to the car owners left and right. Other antics included hide and seek in the 7th month at some haunted house. 1 seek, the rest paired up to hide.

Finally, we wrapped up the night and this time, JC sent HF, CD and me home. I saved a lot of transport money. Thanks JC! I have enjoyed my night. Been quite some time since we had such a huge gathering since our graduation. KY failed to turn up nor returned our calls. Wondering what she is up to.

Thus our night venues:

• Billy Bombers at The Cathay
• TCC just outside Dohy Ghaut MRT
• Marina at Keppel Bay
• Haagen Dazs at VivoCity

4 places in a night. Oh boy.

Usually, I prefer 3D2N trips as it allows me to have a goo rest on the 1st day of arrival. However, Batam isn’t really a place where you would like to stay for more than 2 days. It’s mostly known for its massage services, just like Thailand. Batam was hot and sexy.

We boarded the ferry at 10am and reached Batam at around 11am. It was still 10am, Batam time. It doesn’t matter how early we reached the place. The hotel rooms weren’t ready. We reached the hotel, Pacific Palace, at 12 noon but were told that the rooms weren’t ready. So, we had to walk around to entertain ourselves until 1pm. By a stroke of luck, one of the rooms was ready just before we decided our next course of action.

Thus, we dumped our bags into the room and went out. However, we realised that we had left out something during our haste for lunch. Thus, we went back to take it. On our way out, the receptionist or some manager looked for DD. Thankfully, we went back because the manager actually went to the room to look for us.

Since we had the keys, DD and I decided to check out the rooms. We chose the room on the left and scared the lights out of the guy who was attempting to do something with the lights. So sorry. Then we went to check out the other room. Thankfully, there wasn’t anyone to frighten.

Since I felt that the 2nd room was better, I chose that room and left with the other choice to the other couple. I was right in choosing that room. The overall displeasure about that hotel is that it had no bath tub. It’s a 4-star hotel but no bath tubs for deluxe, superior and executive rooms. What sort of designer decided it to be that way?

The toilet was large, larger than the ones in Hard Rock Hotel Bali and Ritz Carlton Bali. So I can’t get it out of my mind that it doesn’t have any bath tubs except for Junior and Classic suites.

We went for a massage at Miracle Aesthetic Clinic which had quite a professional decoration. However, I found it odd that their jacuzzi had this vacuum like object that had a pipe to emit the jets. It felt that the bath tub had shrunk due to that extra object. The staff was rather nice to switch off the aircon after discovering that I was cold.

While the massage was average, the jacuzzi was superb. 2 hours of Strawberry spa includes body massage, body scrub, steam, jacuzzi and some refreshments. The package cost Rp 300, 000 excluding tax. Sweet deal, right?

Thus, our 1st day in Batam ended with dinner at some food court. I can’t remember the place but I think it was in Nagoya, with more than 10 stalls selling seafood. Apparently, Bali and Batam are known for their seafood.

The next morning, which is this morning, the couple that got the 2nd room, reported that their bathroom had flooded. The pipe was clogged. The 1st couple joked about letting the water level rise so that they had a standing bath tub. However, in reality, the shower door had opening between the fixed glass and the door. It wouldn’t have really flooded that high.

Naturally, we went to the Mega Mall opposite the ferry terminal before departing for Singapore. I bought nothing except J. Co donuts that Kris had introduced. It does taste different from those bought in the cake shops. The donut was light and easily bitten into. However, my favourite snack still isn’t donut as I am not fond of sweet stuff.

I won’t be booking Pacific Palace but will book another hotel for my next trip to Batam. There’s another option, I can just go for a 1-day trip in Batam. Another lesson lesson learnt, any change in the package meant more money for the locals as they would state a charge of a certain amount per person before you take up their service. The utter horrors of holidays that I dislike very much.

DD and I went to attend his friend’s baby’s 1st birthday. All the mahjong tables except one were out in full force. Goes to show that people do love mahjong. A lot. However, all the tiles had bright colours. I wonder how they managed to keep their eyes from being blinded just by washing them. The bungalow at Aloha was rather spacious. As were reached there at around 8pm, the rooms were close and I didn’t want to intrude on anyone resting.

The birthday cake was of Minnie Mouse. Apparently, the little girl must have adored Minnie Mouse. The parents wore matching Micky Mouse T-shirts. Most couples I’ve seen loved to do that. However, there was this couple whom I saw and they were wearing pink. Unfortunately, the guy didn’t look that great in pink.

With 4 bedrooms, I rather like the bungalow despite it’s age. It’s been there for quite some time. However, the bungalows are not that easy to be booked. They can only be booked 3 months in advance. If anyone has a bungalow with affordable rates, do let me know. I haven’t tried booking a bungalow for chalet, just NTUC, which can’t even qualify for bungalow.

I felt the cake was rather sweet to me. Not sure which cake shop as the box didn’t state. I thought cake shops are proud to show off their cakes?

[via Flickr]

With Chinese New Year falling on Thursday this year, 5-work-day week workers are happy to have a long weekend. For those working on shifts and unable to take any time off without sacrificing your allowance, I do hope your bosses will give you more time off subsequently.

It’s also time for me to meet up with my aunt who had gone through the trouble of flying back for this holiday. I’ve always been doted by her. This weekend is also the best time to travel but it’s expensive if you haven’t booked your trips early.

Besides the time of meeting up with relatives who are very concerned about your marital status, the next best thing is to get the ang baos from them since you are not married, yet. Eat, drink and be merry.

This is also a time to get fatter and I am no longer fitting my tops and pants. So sad. However, I shall comfort myself with the many ang baos that I will shamelesly collect and eat, drink and be merry.
[via Flickr]

I need a holiday. Taiwan or somewhere. The plans are still fuzzy but I’ll get round to them. Meanwhile, enjoy the holiday and don’t eat too much ba kwa, pineapple tarts, love letters, and play too much mahjong. If you still get ang baos, don’t waste them on mahjong la. Not worth it.

My dear readers, may this year of the rat or mouse be filled with prosperity, good health and joy for you.

Rant ahead.

NYDC is famous for not allowing anyone to make any bookings on Friday. Thanks. At least that was what I expected since my friend had informed me about it. I just wanted to test them. The next sentence sprouting out of the lady’s mouth was “It should not be too crowded on Friday at Citylink.” Say what? I got 10 people wanting to eat, what if you don’t have enough seats for 10? Surely you won’t be moving one of your dining couple to another table, would you?

Next, I tried New York, New York. The website is slow. I think it’s ridiculous to use Flash for a webpage and it so reminds me of the hideous look of 1996. Slows down my loading time! The lady said last slot is only 6.30pm. So I have to find people to arrive there to ensure the table is not un-reserved by 6.30pm. They sure take their own sweet time to pick up calls too. I am turned off by the offhanded way that she threatened to un-reserve our table.

Frustrated by now, I tried Swensens. The lady replied that they don’t take reservations for Friday, Saturday and Sunday rather happily. This was getting out of hand! How can a simple booking take so much complication?

Since I have run out of places, I decided to go ahead with the restrictive New York, New York. This time a heavily don’t-know-what-accent guy picked up the call. Taking his own sweet time too. I couldn’t understand half the time what he was talking about. I had to repeat my name, how to spell, my mobile number (twice), the total number of people, etc.

All done, now I had to ensure that my table doesn’t get un-reserved. Now, I realised that I forgot to ask them to reserve a corner table. I was too caught up with the frustration of trying to understand what the accented-voice guy was telling me.

Attended a wedding at Furama Riverfront Hotel last night. I late but in time for the 1st march in. My first impression of the ballroom, Venus at level 3 was, cramped. I think there were more than 40 tables being squeezed into the ballroom.

The tables were just enough for 10 average sized people. Seems pretty small to me. While the greeter at the lobby was polite, I wasn’t really impressed with the toilet either. The 1st level toilet had the flush button missing. It won’t flush at all. So, I left it like that. Not my fault, right?

Come to think of it, I didn’t manage to look at the wedding album in the end. The food arrived at odd paces. It didn’t feel timely. Each course was served but the plates were never replaced immediately. The drinks were not refilled fast enough either.

The servers weren’t that polite except for a few which is rare but I don’t have high expectations of servers except they should refill the glasses in a timely manner. The decoration of the ballroom was rather simple.

Overall, I wasn’t impressed with the place. Not that I had a terrible time but I felt that the service wasn’t up to par with a hotel whose name is supposed to be synonymous with quality service since it’s a 4-star hotel. Oh, it was formerly known as Novotel Apollo Singapore. Apparently, the name change did little difference.

Now, the slide show was done in animation format which is a difference from those photo montage I’ve seen. A nice change. I like the 3 projection screens though. The lighting wasn’t too dim. I guess the saving grace were the screens.

You can say that again. Couples planning to tie the knots are having trouble trying to book their preferred hotels due to the steep and rising prices of the banquet tables. Even the red packets (ang baos) have to be bigger too. That way, the couple will not be able to cover their wedding celebrations, let alone honeymoon.

The price list for 2007 is available and I can’t imagine what it’ll be like for 2008 onwards. All these are just the tip of the iceberg, when the housing loans and renovation bills come, you’ll start to think how to get married with all these huge debts.

Went for a dinner treat by ES because the sisters have helped out at her wedding. It was great and I am now fatter than before. Great. I have resolved to do some workout but have done nothing until now. I think by getting wider in the girth, I get lazier. Darn.

We had the dinner at Just Greens in Chinatown. Ordered my favourite, fried golden mushrooms. Yummy and oily and sinfully great. I love the salad and oat meal prawns too. As for the mapo tofu, sorry, I’m not a fan of spicy food. However, everyone enjoyed the treat.

After the full dinner, we went for dessert. Oh no! The money for the drinks and fries! Erm, I think I got 2 free treats today. Thanks! Anyway, I’m growing old. I noticed that I have minute crow’s feet! NO!

A man used his aunt’s XL underwear to put out a fire in the kitchen. He and his cousin were frying bread when the meal caught fire. So, he “grabbed the nearest thing from a pile of laundry to put it out: his aunt’s billowing, powder blue, size XL underpants.”

The fire official said the general principle of using a large, wet cloth to cover a grease fire was a sound one.

As for using underwear: “Clearly it depends on what size you are — but I don’t want to go there.”

I think the fire official was right. Oh, the knickers were slightly scorched. Can anyone tell me why there’s a need to fry the bread? I usually see bread soaked in egg and then fried.

The Legends in Fort Canning sounds like a fantasy. A place where legends come to life. DD’s friend was holding her wedding dinner there and I went with him. A cocktail reception was still going on at 8pm. The wedding card stated 7.30pm. Eventually, everyone arrived by 8.35pm. Sometimes, I hate Chinese style wedding dinners. Everyone is hungry.

The newly-weds had 3 changes of clothes. The first was a white gown with a long train. She looked absolutely lovely. The food started arriving after that. The food was up to standard but the timing was off. It didn’t seem to come within a certain timing. The 2nd change of clothes for the couple came up after the 3rd course arrived. The couple wore black. My parents would have jumped at my throat for wearing a black gown.

This gown had a huge can can. It suited the bride very well too. At the end of the dinner, the couple had a final change of clothes. This time, to a Pernarakan for the bride and a white suit for the groom. The couple had friends mixing cocktail of beer, brandy, red wine and some soy sauce in red wine to drink. Oh my.

I liked the ambiance at the place, just that the area was rectangular and the 2nd walk in was to be done at the other end. I wondered why the drinks weren’t refilled that promptly by the time it was near the bottom of the glass. My favourite was the dessert, honeydew sago. Nice. I do hate the dish before the dessert, fried noodles. By that time, I was already bursting at the seams, I don’t need the noodles to add on to my growing girth.

I think I’m not going to hold such a dinner. I would like to hold mine in a different way. Now, to convince the parents.