Quiet Christmas

Being a non-Christian, Christmas has always been just another excuse for a couple of days off from school, or whatever. But the sea of Christmas movies on TV (when I used to actively watch TV) that came on around this time of the year made me wish that maybe one day we would wake up to a giant tree, with presents all under it, and spend time together.

For a few years, we did have our own little Christmas tree, decorated with little gold and red balls, little bells, intricately woven bows that my mum made out of ribbon and wire; this little masterpiece to be the decoration for both Christmas, new year, and Chinese new year, all in one little pot on the telephone table in the living room.

Sometimes, we would have a treat for dinner as a family; sometimes, a barbecue, or some sort of celebration/countdown with friends; sometimes a trip to Singapore where all the pretty Christmas lights came up all along Orchard Road. I still remember the drives my godfather took us on - regardless of how tired he was after a long day's work - after dinner, a light swim in the moonlight, and a Wall's Paddle Pop - just to let us gawk at the pretty lights and decorations that lined the entire shopping haven in Singapore.

The house now feels empty. In those three years that my baby was here, I could at least secretly treat him to some store-bought cake, or a little bit of fruit during Christmas, and I could cuddle his furry paws, and play with his ears (which he wasn't too fond of). Now there's nothing. There's been no more late-night scratching and scuffling in the middle of the night, no more barks at strangers, no more pawing of our thighs to get little scraps of food from the kitchen.

My older sister was usually the one who initiated the presents exchange. The thing about her was that she always thought about what to get us for our birthdays and Christmas, and it would usually be a gift that isn't too expensive, but thoughtful enough to touch our hearts. This year, I consider the carton of vanilla cocoa granola she gave me after she got back from work as my Christmas present - little, but significant.

While friends were out having fun, at family parties, or with other friends of their own; I was trying to get over my own guilt of being a bad niece, braving through my discomfort at being at a hospital full of needles and beeping machines. It was a Christmas that I planned to be rebellious - perhaps spending a night drunk at a friend's place nearby, or just going out in the evening for a drink with my girls.

At least, something.

I really never thought this Christmas would be like this. I keep feeling like I'm not doing enough - I'm there, but I don't do much. I try to help, but I feel like it's all too insignificant. Every gesture I make, I feel like it tells people that I'm ignorant, but in fact I'm just uncomfortable - I've been in my physical and emotional shell for too long. I'm there, but I don't know what to say - just planted there on my feet like a mute idiot.

And then I'm here, silently waiting for someone to talk to me. And not just someone, actually. That particular person who's hot and cold at the same time; who seems to be everywhere at the same time; is a different person every other day; the kind that doesn't really sit still, but is the sweetest. Perhaps it's a sign that I should grow some balls and take some initiative sometimes.

The third Christmas I'm spending single. Not that it's a problem, but given everything that happened since April of this year, I thought that something would have happened by now. No rush for that, though. Solitude has been something I'm growing comfortable into - I get to plan my own itinerary of activities with various parties, which is a plus, especially given that I have a car of my own. Yeah, it does get cold between the sheets during certain nights, but that usually nothing a nice fleece blanket can't take care of.

Wishes of happy Christmas could be heard everywhere, and even though it's a quiet and lonely Christmas, I'm grateful that I got to spend it with family.

Thailand: Haul

What's a vacation without a good amount of shopping? Finally got round to transferring these pics from my phone to the laptop to edit. I think I'll start with the more expensive items, moving to the most inexpensive. =D


This particular trip's shopping objective was to get the stuff that my mum wouldn't get, and get some feminine semi-casual pieces. I would say that objective was partially fulfilled. =P

Golden skull-embellished platform high-tops. From Platinum, 800 Baht.

Bondage wedges (5.5 inches, I think) with zigzag fabric on the side, and a zip back. From Platinum, 800 Baht.

Purple maxi dress with neckline embellishments. From Platinum, 450 Baht.

 Stainless steel chain link ring, and a black-coated ring. From Jatoojak, 320 Baht.

Mushroom-printed dresses. From Platinum, 180 Baht each.

Super dense flat shading brushes. From Platinum, 150 Baht each.

Terrier-printed skirt shorts. From Platinum, 150 Baht.

Printed dress. From Platinum, 150 Baht.

"I heart Thailand" and "Chang Beer" tees. From Platinum, 130 Baht each.

Rubber flats. From street market stall, 130 Baht each pair. 

Coral ribbon bow belt, leopard print belt, and plain brown belt. From Platinum, 100 Baht for 3.

 Assorted bracelets. From Platinum, 100 Baht for 4.

 Fringed printed tank. From street market stall, 100 Baht.

Weekday mall trip

24th JANUARY 2013

It's a public holiday here now, but which public holiday it is, I have no idea. For one, I have no classes anyway; and there are so many public holidays throughout the year in Malaysia that I can't be bothered to keep track of them.

 My younger sister mentioned to me the night before that we would be going to Mid Valley (again, but still our favorite mall). I fell asleep the previous night waiting on Skype, and thinking of how to do a voice-over for my video without including all the background noise from a shared house on a main street. Doing it at night includes some free background music, such as endless cricket sounds, as well as random dog orchestras by the many dogs who live on my street.


Despite sleeping late, I woke up alarmingly early. But just early enough that my mother walked in a few minutes later with the intention to wake me up, presumably by roughly shaking me, or pulling back my covers, or something just mean and sudden. I think. I can't say. Anyway.


We were so early that the area around the escalator entrance was pretty bare. Wanted to get my splitting ends trimmed at X-Cut, but then saw that they raised the price from RM15, to RM16, to RM18. I might as well drop by Zola Hair Shop, and have Ronnie trim my hair. =D


There was a temptation to get the new Horlicks Cocoa from Chatime, but they weren't going to be open until half an hour later. By that time, we were enjoying assorted meat pies from Just Pies after shopping for some CNY cards at Hallmark.

What happens when I get dragged out for shopping with only less than 4 hours of sleep and no coffee. I either look like death, or I'm hyper like that. My mum spent a lot of the day shopping for oversized plastic peonies.

For some unfathomable reason, my sister and I were the main subjects for my mother's photography of the CNY display items at the Center Court. I thought I'd be funny and make some faces, which made some parents throw me dirty looks. Hey, I'm having my own fun!

FINALLY!!! Suribachi bowl from Daiso. I'm one step closer to actually making my kuro goma ice cream.

We had a short stroll through Jusco for CNY clothes for mum, after taking a look at shoes at Nose (abandoned again while I obsessed over stilettos and platforms). We walked up to Daiso, where I got some *ahem* fishnet stockings, and my suribachi mortar (more like a bowl) for my kuro goma ice cream~ Couldn't find the surikogi pestle, though...

Sister's sirloin steak set.

For lunch, one suggestion from my sister: Pasta Zanmai. Just before the lunch rush, we were comfortably seated and ordered our food. My mother ordered her usual, while my sister went all the way to a wafu pasta restaurant to have sirloin steak with rice and miso soup.

Kaki Kimuchi Soup Pasta - RM28 (regular); RM13 (mini). Subject to taxes.

When I like a restaurant, I would usually try as many things as I can from the menu. Today I tried out a miso kimchi soup pasta with oysters. The soup was a little spicy for my taste (I love spicy food, but my tongue still can't take it), but the overall dish was beautiful - the oysters were perfectly cooked, and even better, they were fresh! Would've opted for a little less veggies, though.


We were greedy, and ordered a chocolate banana parfait. Seriously, it's getting less and less worth the money. The parfait is made up of a layered concoction of chocolate and vanilla ice cream, banana slices, cornflakes, crushed chocolate cookies, and whipped cream. The ratio of cornflakes to all the other ingredients is almost 1 : 2. For RM16? I'd rather have the rock melon parfait.

I wanted another red, but the red for this series looked too dark for my liking, and I didn't want to get the red from Revlon or L'Oreal, so I opted for Coconut Blonde =D

I want a new hair color for CNY, after trimming my hair, that is. I've never used conventional DIY hair dyes, so I opted for another bubble formula dye. Instead of Liese (RM30.80 I saw today at Watson's), I opted for Gatsby's Bubble Type Bleach & Color. I'll probably do a separate post on this one when I get round to using it. It's cheaper than Liese and Schwarzkopf (RM32.80-ish), where bubble hair dyes are concerned.


Didn't get my BB cream, though. I saw an ad in the latest edition of Women's Weekly Malaysia for the new Hada Labo 10-in-1 BB cream. Pore minimizing, hydrating, skin tone perfecting, UV protection, and a few other awesome benefits ... for RM46.90. Uh. No. Even two boxes of hair dye doesn't cost that much. I'll stick with Za.


We made a rare trip to PJ Old Town, thinking to make a stop at the haberdashery that we used to frequent. The crazy traffic and lack of parking made us go home, not before making a stop at Edible Foods to find some nice cake boxes for my mum's CNY cakes.


We came home. Mum started to make soup for dinner, sister proceeded to transferring photos (but to no avail) from my mum's phone, and I started taking photos and blogging. Such is life for me. And today is categorized as a fairly eventful day, despite me walking around like a zombie due to the constant lack of sleep for the past month or so.

Finally free + Singapore food trip

Not completely free, but free from my second semester. Right now, I've to find a part time job to fill in 3 long months of my holiday. =)

Royce' Nama Chocolate, Champagne flavor~ My new found expensive treat~

So right after our exams finished, we shared delicious lemon cupcakes made by Jeanna, and some Royce' Champagne Nama Chocolate outside Starbucks at campus. It was just LUSCIOUS - melt-in-your-mouth creamy, with the subtle flavor of alcohol~

I love this hat! It's warmer and more comfortable than the beanie I got from Daiso~

We started our 4-hour drive down to Singapore at around 3-4pm, with me in the backseat. I guess you could sum up my entire trip's wardrobe with one word: SHORT. Both dresses I wore were relatively short (shorter than I would usually wear), and I wore shorts in the evening. I accessorized the trip with my furry hat! Super warm~

The Welcome party, I shall call them. Found them on the guest bed - tuejitoki, Gloria and Melman~

The moment we arrived at the place we were staying, we put down our bags and immediately started making dinner plans. I have a number of relatives who live in Singapore, and in the event that we make visits, everyone calls everyone out for dinner, lunch, or a shopping trip somewhere, if their schedules allow it.

As with the last time, our first meal was at Old Hong Kong Tea House at Tanjung Katong. We had to park somewhat further down the street in the parking lot of another mall, but the walk was nice. The thing about Singapore is that it's always cooling enough - there's always a breeze, no matter how merciless the sun or the humidity is.

My arm candy~ Muahahahaha!

Red star: must try.

Old Hong Kong Tea House specializes in Hong Kongese treats and meals, from appetizers to tummy-filling meals, and hot drinks to cold, creamy desserts.

Appetizer: deep fried fish skin served with superior soup. The crispy fish skin crackles when you dip in into the superior soup before taking a bite~ Delicious~

Steamed custard buns~

I shall call this the Cholesterol bun. But delicious nonetheless~

My main dish: cheese baked lamian with pork with Portuguese sauce~ Tender pork slices, luxurious mozzarella cheese on top, what more can you ask for?

First round of desserts~ Left: durian cream with black glutinous rice and ice cream; right: durian cream with sago and pomelo~ Both are equally delicious, fragrant and smooth, with just enough sweetness to balance~

Second round of dessert: mango cream with sago and pomelo~

As much as I love this place, the service quality is limited, and the price makes the restaurant a place that you wouldn't go to often.

Outfit of the day: red striped short dress from Bangkok, Burberry-inspired headband loaned from sis~

The next day started with a morning swim, but swimming has lost the appeal it once had to me - now that the UniGym has a pool, I can go swimming whenever I want, without getting tanned. I took a few laps, and half an hour later I was out, up, and doing my make-up (tutorial to be made, I promise).

Tian Jia Fu Restaurant. Typical Chinese name for a restaurant, but the food here is daebak!!!

We then took a drive down to Clementi from Bayshore Road for lunch with my cousin and his family. The place was distinctly Chinese, tucked away in a rather silent corner of a block of buildings. Service there was superb, and for so many dishes, it only cost around S$180.

We had the fish head steamboat~

The specialty of the restaurant was fish head pot, I assume, since the item occupied the entire first page of the menu. The adults ordered an array of other dishes, mostly veggies. I made a conscious effort to try to eat more of the greens, but ended up drinking a lot of soup that came with the fish head pot~ Beautifully sweet, punctuated with the flavor of the fish and the vegetables they put into the soup - yam, tomatoes, and celery (yuck).

Doesn't look very pretty, but I can assure you, this is delicious, and well worth the money~

Veggies with cashew nuts~

Tofu with veggies and pork bits~

Another tofu dish~

Sambal-fried kangkong. Spiced to the max!

Egg fu yong. With sausages, peppers, mushrooms, and shrimp~

This is interesting. It think it's called Golden Chicken. Chicken skin, a thin layer of chicken meat, then stuffed with shrimp and fish. Served with a nice, tangy sauce~

Lunch was not to be completed with some additional dessert (the meal came with a sea coconut dessert). We took a walk down to Clementi Arcade, passing by many shops.

We didn't try it out, but the place seemed quite posh~

We happened to pass by a live seafood restaurant on our way, and despite the seeming classiness of the place (shaded terrace dining area), our group stopped and started snapping away. It seems a bit nostalgic - as a kid, we used to gawk at the live seafood in their tanks whenever we went to a Chinese restaurant which prided themselves for their fresh seafood.

Huge oysters! The size of a meaty crab!

Lobster king. XD

Fishes, crabs, shellfish. But this wasn't any old Chinese restaurant live seafood display - huge oysters, large geoducks (or as the Vietnamese call them: elephant cock snail), intimidating-looking lobsters, and most of all, Alaskan King crabs.

My first real-life look at Alaskan King crabs. Geoducks vaguely visible on the right~

That was what made us stop in the first place - the sheer size of all the shellfish there. My sister, having worked with Alaskan King crabs before, told us that this was smaller than what she had seen, and as it is, those crabs were almost two times the size of my hand!

The Daily Scoop's menu~

After a walk under the merciless sun, we arrived at Clementi Arcade, and found a table in The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe. Specializing in freshly made ice cream, and an array of drinks, the place was quite crowded, with seniors, college students, and families alike.

Fresh ice cream in the making. The container is basically a very cold one. They pour the ice cream mixture into it, leave it for a while, then mix it around with the spatulas. The process continues until the ice cream is done, and is then packed into 400g tubs, or served to customers in the cafe~

Their selection of ice cream flavors included old school flavors like Simple Vanilla and Simple Chocolate, but also had some more interesting flavors, like the Durian Mao Shan Wang, Strawberry Shortcake (real, tangy strawberry with seeds!) and Bailey's Chocolate (wasn't available that day).

Ice cream in a chocolate-coated cone?

Plain scoops? Left: Durian Mao Shan Wang, right: Lychee Martini.

Or on a beautiful, sexy waffle, dusted with confectioner's sugar?

The ice creams are served either plain, in chocolate-coated wafer cones, or on freshly made waffles. My uncle kept suggesting that I get a waffle, and so I did, topped with a scoop of Kookie Monster (chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookie bits). This is how I will describe it: SEXILY SINFUL~

Real, live (at least it was) Christmas tree~

During the walk to and fro, we passed by this part of the old Singapore KTM track. I saw it, and felt the sudden urge for creative photography (not so successful though =P). The creepers, and rust, gave such a short bridge such nostalgic and calming feels~

We took a relatively dreaded walk back, then went for a visit at my cousin's new place. I would say that this would be the residence I would look to as reference for my future home. Simple, homey, yet modern and cute.

When we arrived back at Bayshore, most took to the bathrooms immediately, then took a nap. Due to reasons I shall not disclose, I decided, against my brain's screams at me to get some rest after an all-nighter study session before the exam, to stay awake, along with my sister.

I have developed a particular attention to Lancome's products, thanks to darling Michelle Phan~

I entertained myself with iPad games, and rock music pounding in my ears, drinking coconut juice to stay awake and beat the heat~ I took some time to take a look at the Lancome Rouge in Love lipsticks that my aunt gave us. A bright red with shimmer, a slightly muted coral, and a nice shimmering peachy skin tone.

For dinner, we went out near Siglap to LTN Food Village. It's right next to a Fair Price outlet~ I'll be honest, I could just spend my time in Singapore, sitting in a parking lot, watching all the beautiful cars drive past. I mean, in Malaysia you could hear a loud revving engine, but more likely than not, it would only be a modified Proton Saga, Proton Wira, more commonly Perodua Myvi, or the most disappointing of all, a Perodua Kancil or Viva.

You seldom see this car on Malaysian streets. At least I haven't. =P

In Singapore, any revving you hear comes from Audis, Maseratis, Jaguars, you name it. Too bad the speed limit in Singapore is so low. =P


Anyways, we had another pretty Chinese dinner, but I wasn't complaining. I finally got to eat my long-awaited coffee pork ribs! I've missed it ever since I had it once at Paradise Inn (Funan Digitalife Mall).

Another egg fu yong~ Different style, different taste, but delicious as well~

Tofu with veggies. Blur photo because of low light and I didn't want to flash.

Ginger and onion stir fried beef. A little lacking on the ginger.

Highlight of the night: coffee pork ribs. Succulent ribs, coated in a sticky coffee sauce~ Used sister's flashlight for this shot~

My uncle worked as a professional photographer, and he gave me a few tips for night photography. This fish dish with garlic and veggies is taken with flash, about a foot and a half away, -1.5 exposure.

Crispy fried chicken wings~! Scrumptious - crispy on the outside, super juicy on the inside~

My sister wanted a round of dessert at Old Hong Kong Tea House, but instead we got some juices from a petrol station, then shared it among each other at the squash courts of the condo, catching up with each other. Nothing beats a nice talk session. =)


We were supposed to go somewhere pretty nice for lunch the next day, but we were so caught for time that we had mixed rice at LTN again. We set out by 3pm, so if we went anywhere further than Siglap, we would be home only past dinner time.

My mixed rice: stir fried potatoes with pork bits, omelette, and braised fish~ Simple, yet decadent~

The interesting thing is that the mixed rice there are cooked by Malaysians. The food is decent, they're generous with the portions, and the price redefines the term "economy rice". In K.L., a plate of rice, with two servings of veggies and a serving of meat would cost RM4 at least, depending on where you eat, and usually the portion sizes are just meh.


Though the exact price is unknown, each plate of rice, piled high with various servings of veggies, meat, and fish, cost just over S$3, which is around RM6, given the current exchange rate. RM4 for a flat plate of rice with meager side dishes, or RM6 for a mounded plate of deliciousness? You do the math.


We brought home some yummies, if the entire food trip wasn't enough~

Wines and whiskey~

The other two variations of Royce' Potatochip Chocolate: Original, and Mild Bitter. The salty, crispy potato chips, coated on one side with creamy chocolate~ The flavor contrast is interesting - salty and sweet, as is the texture contrast - crispy and creamy. We've opened the original, and so far I prefer the White Chocolate Cheese flavor~ RM45

***

I have filmed the tutorial, and shall edit it within this week, if I can. Fingers crossed that I can get it done quickly!