Korea Skincare and Nail Polish. Love my Sis!

My lovely Sis got these for me, despite me telling her that I need nothing from Korea. Lovely surprise! I know, I should have got her to get me handful of beauty products from the array of beauty-related shops in Myeongdong. But I am way too well stocked-up on my Laniege and Missha skincare products (another blog post for another day).

I was telling her that she should tell some of the skincare products which contains snail slime. Sounds gross, isn't it? But research showed that using skincare products which contains that actually helps to sooth and heal one's skin. Click [HERE] to read more in another blog post which I shared a little more on that. So she did buy it, but in the sheet mask form, from Nature Republic. To be honest, I have always wanted to buy a face moisturizer that contains the snail slime ingredient haha! And ooo... She bought collagen masks from Etude House for me too! Goes well together with my daily 'must-drink-before-I-sleep' collagen drink from DHC! ;)

New glitter nail polish from Sis too!

You know, I am really glad to have such a great Sister. It is not what she buys (She can simply buys me a $500 Karen Millen dress, like what the....!?!) or treats me to, but it is the genuine care and concern that she has for me in every aspect of my life. I am thankful that she is so giving and generous in her concern for me, yet does not expect anything in return. She is the first person I run to when I face tough situations and need an opinion. She is the one who encourages me and gives me moral support when it comes to work. Stays up with me to chat on the phone, or whatsapp... Or 'fly down' to meet me at, when I need a listening ear. And the amazing thing of 'accompanying' me during my business trips when I am all alone through FaceTime or whatsapp... That really chases the loneliness and stress that I face. Not forgetting our coffee/tea sessions on weekends and late nights!
 Typing all these actually brings a smile to my face, in fact. :)

It is amazing how we became so close despite all the enmity that we used to have for each other during our teenage years. I guess, as we grew older (and me being more sensible than in the past!), we kinda know that we want to stand by each other and face any tribulations that may come our way. Hence, I agreed fully to what the quote below says, when I happened to chance upon it for the first time a couple of months ago. 

Do you have a sister whom you constantly fought with 

and competed with while growing up, 

but has grown so much closer as both of you grew up?

Just like my Sister and I? :)

Show your appreciation in a couple of months time!

04 August is National Sister's Day. ;)

Lunch at Shin Nichi Japanese Restaurant

It was some sisterly bonding time one afternoon, whereby I met up with my dearest Sis for lunch at Shin Nichi Japanese Restaurant. Located on the 2nd floor of International Plaza, this place serves Japanese food at a reasonable price given the location. I think it cost slightly less than S$25 for the 3 dishes we had (pictures below).

One for her, one for me. ♥

This was AWESOME!
I forgot what this was though, but I recommend this (though this is rather 'sinful'!).

By 12.30pm, the office lunch crowd filled up most, if not all, of the tables.
Thus, I do recommend that you arrive early.

P/S: My sis recommends the ramen too. :p


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Shin Nichi Japanese Restaurant
10 Anson Road, International Plaza, #02-25
Tel: +65 6221 7575
Open from 11am to 3pm daily, CLOSED ON SUNDAYS.

Visit to Sentosa Flowers 2012

Few days ago, I went to Sentosa for the Sentosa Flowers 2012. It is an annual flower festival in Singapore, held during the Chinese New Year festive period. We parked at Resorts World Sentosa, and went for lunch first, but not before buying my fave caramel popcorn from Garrett Popcorn! :D

A photo with the Universal globe.

Lunch at Chili's: Cajun Chicken pasta.

After lunch, I proceeded to the Sentosa Flowers 2012, which starts from the area near to the Merlion statue. I was appalled by the long queues - Just to take photos of/with the floral display! One has to actually queue to take photos of the floral displays. I have to say it was a brilliant idea since one has to wait for their turn instead of just swooping in. But to reduce the queue lines, why not charge per 'entry' into the floral display area? It can be like a S$1/pax.display and the money can go towards maintaining the florals (since this is a free-entry event) or to charity. There were like 10 or more such displays... Imagine having to queue for each and every of them!? So, nope... I didn't join in those queues. Instead, I took the photos from afar... Such as the floral zodiac dragon as seen below.

The floral humming bird! So pretty!

No, I didn't queue to take this picture.
I was at a distance from the blocked-off area in fact.
Didn't even need to queue. How awesome was that?! :)

Another display...
(Told ya it's all about timing to capture a nice shot, and without the need to queue~) :p

Let me 'flowerize' you with my following flower shots! :p

A dragon fruit plant!

Bought these chocolates from the Hershey's stores at RWS.
The Special Dark chocolate bar is for my dad! :)

OMG! Hershey's kisses in Caramel!
And the packaging is sooooo sweet!!!!
I'm in love already!

If you want to visit the Sentosa Flowers 2012, this weekend is your last chance!
10am to 10pm!
This event is till 29 January 2012 only!

*All photos in this post were taken with iPhone 4.

Review: Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand Therapy Cream

In this particular blog post, I mentioned that I love anything that is rose-related... Thus, it would be no surprise that the hand cream that I use contains the rose ingredient. Months back, I bought this Rosewater Hand Therapy Cream by Crabtree & Evelyn, just before they changed their packaging design to something more colorful. But I still prefer their former design (the one as seen below) than the current one. In short, I would describe the former design as "Simplicity at its best".

Rosewater Hand Therapy Cream by Crabtree & Evelyn

The cream has a pleasant smell and it is not overpowering at all.
It absorbs quickly, and it does not have that sticky feeling.
I left one in my office so that I can apply it as and when I feel like it.
And I also gave one tube to my sis who applies hand cream too.

Hand cream is indeed very important. It not only helps to moisture, rehydrate, smoothen and soften your hands, but it also helps to maintain the youthful appearance of it. Do you know that it is very easy to guess a person's age just by their hands? Thus, hand cream is realllllly important. And that is why I have started using it, especially since constant exposure to aircon can be really drying for the skin. :)


P/s: This is a super backlogged post.... So yup.... But months after using this cream, I am still loving it! Which kinda remind me that I should head to the store and get this again. My current tube is almost finishing! ^_^

A Mother's Day Celebration

Mother's Day was last week and our family celebrated this special day by having a home-cooked meal (prepared by the Man of my Mother [aka my Dad], who can cook rather well btw). Afterwhich, we kids presented to her a Mother's Day card and a cake, followed by a fun photo session! (^_^)

Cake was from Perla's Pastry Boutique.
It looked not just beautiful, but tasted wonderful too! Thumbs up!

And Sis bought me a jar of rock candies from Made In Candy.
And that's because it has PENGUINS as their design! Yeap, my fav animal~~ :D

With this, I shall end my blog post!
See ya! :D

Family Lunch at Paradise Dynasty, Ion Orchard.

Awhile ago (In March or April, I think... Super backlogged post mann~), my family had our Sunday lunch at Paradise Dynasty located in Ion Orchard, which is one of the Chinese restaurant brands under the Paradise Group. It was my first time dining at this place.

One of their specialty dishes is the multi-colored dumplings,
or also known as Xiao Long Baos.

When I knew that we were heading to Paradise Dynasty for lunch, I was very excited as I heard so much about the colorful dumplings that come in various interesting fillings (including my favorite foie gras!), that I was looking forward to try! We ordered two basket trays of it and boy, the taste was amazing~~~

Different xiao long bao color means different fillings in it...
So let me share with you what they are:

• Pink: Steamed Shanghai Sze Chuan Pork Dumpling: Original xiao long bao taste.
• Yellow – Steamed Shanghai Cheesy Pork Dumpling: Strong taste of the cheese filling, iLike.
  
• Green – Steamed Shanghai Ginseng Pork Dumpling: I didn't want to try this.
• Black – Steamed Shanghai Black Truffle Pork Dumpling: Difficult to taste the black truffle, but strong pleasant aroma though!
  
• Brown – Steamed Shanghai Foie Gras Pork Dumpling : A subtle hint of the goose liver. Nothing beats eating one piece of foie gras by itself. And I SHALL have foie gras soon!
  
• Grey – Steamed Shanghai Garlic Pork Dumpling : Didn't try this too, as the dull color was enough to turn me off HAHA!
  
• White – Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumpling : Rich pork taste in it. iLike.
  
• Orange – Steamed Shanghai Crab Roe Pork Dumpling : Crab roe in pork dumpling was brilliant! iLike!
  

This was the one with crab roe filling.

While waiting for the rest of the dishes to arrive, I took pics! Btw, I love the chairs!
They have such a high back which make the whole place look posh. Agree?
And I can lean my head back and it would be so well-supported! :p

That's my Dad and Bro, while waiting for the food to arrive...
And that's me with Bbb!~ :)

What I ordered: La Mian in Signature Pork Bone Soup with Pan Fried Chicken Chop

I like the smoothness of the La Mian, especially felt when I 'sucked' in the noodles to eat. :p Although it was supposed to be pan-fried (means minimal oil used in cooking), the chicken was too oily for me that I didn't finish them but gave it to Bbb to eat instead. The bowl was really big, and I do like the intricate designs of it. The serving size was just nice for me (But please take note that I have a hearty appetite, so it may be too much for some of the ladies.).


Also, I learnt that their signature soup was made using ingredients like pork bone, pork ribs and whole chicken, which is simmered over slow fire for 12 hours before being served.

Bbb and bro had the La Mian with Sliced Pork in Signature Pork Bone Soup

La Mian with Sliced Beef (Non-spicy).

Sis had the Shanghai Rice Flour Cake with Shredded Pork & Baby Cabbage Soup

We also ordered some sides... Stewed Sliced Fish with Chinese Wine Sauce.
The fish slices were fresh and flavorful. The Chinese Wine sauce was suitably strong for the taste buds.

Sautéed Spinach with Minced Garlic

Sautéed Diced Chicken with Cashew Nuts & Dried Chilli
I recommend this if you were to dine here.

And then it was DESSERTS TIME!

So nice that I think I will even dine in Paradise Dynasty just for this!
Ok, fine... And the colorful Xiao Long Baos too. :p

Before I left the place, I saw the chefs in the kitchen preparing the Xiao Long Baos.

After dinner, we shopped in Ion for awhile...

Dad and me.

And continued the shopping in Wisma Orchard...
Before we stopped by the TCC outlet in Wisma for a coffee session!

A lovely Sunday with my loved ones, accompanied by delicious food,
wonderful shopping and a relaxing cup of coffee! (^_^)