I hope it isn't too late to say...



HELLO AUGUST

And before Bryan knows it, we are all in Phuket! I will blog about that another time. It's 3 in the morning now! And here's Oreo saying bye on my behalf!

If you have been following my Instagram, you would know that I've gotten my first interchangeable lens camera! I love Canon (I still do), but I was attracted to the packaging Sony and Olympus could offer me. And my decision to purchase the Sony A5000 was confirmed after receiving positive review from a friend who uses the same model. The lightness of the camera was a really good selling point that appeal to me. Not to mention how its 180° tiltable screen have made selfie taking a whole lot easier! Plus, with built-in Wi-Fi, any picture taken can be easier send into the phone (straight for instagramming!) or computer.

The chinese new year hype might have died down, but containers and containers of cny goodies stacked at home served as a constant reminder that this festive celebration was just a week ago and that I should get back to my fitness routine. This year, I never expect that I would commit myself to queuing long hours under the scorching sun just to purchase bak kwa (bbq dried pork slices). I always see it as ridiculous and a waste of precious time, but I still went with it anyway. I'm glad I did. I am always so busy trying to get my post-education life together, having so much stuff to worry in my mind, I never truly enjoyed something. The 3 hours wait was honestly excruciating, but after I got my hands on those legendary cny products, the achievement I felt was beyond words. Besides, the bak kwa was really yummy too.

Kim Peng Hiang (金品香) might not have done as much advertising as big brands such as Lim Chee Guan, Bee Cheng Hiang or Fragrance, yet this 70-years old brand still attracts eye-catching queues during the chinese new year period. Kim Peng Hiang only has 2 outlets set up on this island; Chinatown Pearl's Centre and 465 Changi Road (main outlet). Their hot selling product is the Pineapple BBQ Pork, where thinly shredded pineapples were adding into the pork slice. A whole new sensation to the taste buds.

Instead of the usual hotpot dinning style for reunion dinner, our family had ours in the peng chai (盆菜) style. This year, we also had a record breaking of over 10 containers of cny goodies received from families and friends. Just J alone, has already contributed 5 containers to the batch. It's going be a tough time finishing these goodies but nevertheless, I appreciate all the love showered on my family. 初二 was filled with house visiting/hopping, and the last house visit we went before calling it a day was Timo's place. We had a tour at his gigantic house located at Stevens Road before being ushered into the kitchen where endless delicious food keeps coming out from the kitchen. I guess this must be what it feels like to live like a queen haha! Last few visiting for the entire chinese new year period too place in Malaysia, over at my maternal family. I would say the best thing, beside see my long-distance relatives again, was getting to eat my favourite coleslaw fried dough fritters (油條) again :)

  Last December, in celebration of J's birthday, I took him back to Quincy Hotel to reminisce his favourite moments there. We got to attend the cupcake baking class!    "What's a baker without some chef hat and French moustache."  Every ingredient is already well prepared for each couple, all we need to do really is just some simple steps. Like, mixing them all together.  Filling up the cups with Red Velvet batter, all ready to be send into the oven for baking. So while we wait for the baking to be done, 3 pre-made chocolate cupcakes were served to each couple. Well, not entirely for us to munch while waiting, but to decorate. To kill the waiting, a decoration competition was held. Candies of all patterns, shapes, colours and flavours as well as colourful frostings were provided. This was the real fun of the entire baking class.   Amazingly, we won the best decorated cupcake among other 8 couples. It was really shocking and surprising because all we did was just throw in colours and almost all the candies decorations. To J,  I'm glad you had fun and enjoyed, to more happy moments like this. Cheers, A

(1). Body-care products - Girls are known to be suckers for adorable items and we love to keep our skin refresh and smelling good all the time. The Body Shop has always been one of my favourite place to purchase body lotion/butter. From sweet to floral and musky, they have different scents of fragrance that are bound to capture your heart. Dirty Works's products and My Beauty Diary's facial masks are my favourite buys too! Dirty Works's ocean blue, polka dots and retro packaging caught my attention few years back. I don't suppose they have a store in Singapore, but the products can be easily found at Sasa outlets. Another place to get nice fragrance/body lotion would be at Victoria Secret, no women will reject any gift from that sexy shop ;)

(2). Cosmetics - It is no doubt that majority girls spend a great deal of money and time on their appearance to look good, which is why cosmetics can be one of the safest gift a guy could buy for his girlfriend. Urban Decay Naked 3 palette has recently been released and can be purchased conveniently at Sephora outlets. Ranging from pale, shimmery pink to deep black matte with rosy red micro-glitter , this is a daily, multiple usage palette a girl should own. Other than this popular product, Sephora offers a wide range of cosmetic brands and interesting products that would make any girl go gaga over. 

 
(3). Food - Looking for gifts that not only look but taste good as well? Japanese products will be your answer. Limited edition Kit Kat flavours and the famous Tokyo Banana make perfect gifts. And all these yummy bites can be found at Shiok Japan located at Raffles City Basement Cart 18 and Orchard Central #B1-03. Putting aside these popular choices, the shop also sells other Japanese titbits and Pocky flavours so interesting, you would want to buy and get a taste of.