Category Archives: Friends

HI, JELLYBEAN!

9 April 2012 8 comments

Are you a cat lover, residing in Singapore? Please read on if you have the space and heart to potentially home a sweet and loving cat – Jellybean. 

Jellybean was found by one of my blog readers and was a teeny tiny kitten. She’s healthy and waiting for a family to love her. She doesn’t demand your attention when you are busy, loves to entertain herself on a piece of string, a rattling ball, or watch the birds fly past. She’s also a very smart kitty and a fast learner! You will laugh when she comes hopping by with her trademark lamb hop!

Jellybean is sterilised/neutered, de-wormed, de-flea’d, vaccinated and litter box trained.

Please help her find a loving home, and pass this message on.

And here’s 10 Reasons why having a glossy black cat rocks :)

  1. A lint brush isn’t required for a black tie affair
  2. Holding a black cat is very slimming
  3. Black cat are a great accessory to any outfit
  4. They will match any colour of decor
  5. You will save money on their Halloween costumes
  6. The are the least likely to be adopted
  7. When you love a black cat, luck is on your side! Its true, her foster won the local 4D the first week she stayed in her house, and its not just $20!
  8. They are genetically healthier
  9. They don’t care what colour you are!
  10. Love knows no colour

Interested in adopting this lil princess? Please EMAIL offtofeedthecats@gmail.com to come and check Jellybean out, etc :)

 

Ashley Poh liked this post

A BIRD’S EYE VIEW AT LEVEL33

6 January 2012 10 comments

Level33
8 Marina Boulevard
#33-01 Marina Bay
Financial Centre Tower 1
Singapore
PRICE: $$$$
RATING: ★★★★-

I personally would describe Level33 as an expensive but gorgeous micro brewery and restaurant. I’d never been before (I live under a rock and barely know any ‘nice’ places around Singapore) so was very keen to go check it out when a girl friend suggested it.

It’s in the Marina Bay area, among the financial towers that I’d never been to before either. The area isn’t exciting though, to be honest. Mostly just offices and a scattering of shops, all set in a very sleek environment.

Level33 has it’s own lift that goes from Ground floor to the 33rd floor, which really impressed me. I wanted to take a photo of the lift button (which was just ONE button and simply said, “restaurant”) but there was a guy next to me watching me hold my camera and I didn’t want to come across like I come from some backwards village or something. So I refrained ;)

Zooming up to Level33

 

The airy interior

 

I arrived the earliest and the waiters there were really lovely and attentive. It seems a lot of people go there after work for drinks and nibbles.. and the vibe was very Shanghai. In fact, it felt like I was right back in Shanghai and dining by the Bund again. Ahhh… memories…

Ice cold cocktail = WIN

 

Pretty pepper/salts

 

We ordered from the Bar Bites menu and Starters menu, instead of having a Main meal each. We figured that it worked out more fun that way, because we could order more dishes and have a greater selection. It was a fabulous idea because I like that so much more than getting stuck with just my one main dish!

The Hand cut fat chips and rock salt served with 33.1 Blond Lager infused ketchup was surprisingly small for the $10 price tag. I love my fries, but I do prefer them not so thick. These were the thickest fries I have EVER seen – each one was the size of a small potato ;) I love the deep fried coating and salt on fries, so this was was more like eating… mash potato? It was OK but not spectacular, since it’s not my thing.

Hand cut fat chips and rock salt served with 33.1 Blond Lager infused ketchup ($10)

 

The Sizzling 120 days aged cubed Angus beef with wasabi and soy was teeny tiny but was a STUNNER. The beef was perfectly seared on the hot plate and absolutely tender and tasty. It didn’t even need the dipping sauce, it was that good.

Sizzling 120 days aged cubed Angus beef with wasabi and soy ($18)

 

The 33.1 Blond Lager tossed whitebait, chilli rock salt and roasted garlic aioli had fish was was surprisingly big, almost like fish nuggets-sized. The batter they were coated in was light and delicious, and the aioli was creamy and mild. A lovely dish to nibble on.

33.1 Blond Lager tossed whitebait, chilli rock salt and roasted garlic aioli ($14)

 

I suppose the most shockingly expensive dish was the Porcini raviolacci, watercress soup, ricotta, white truffle oil and black olive dust. It had FOUR (!!!!) gnocci type things in it. But the gravy/sauce it came in was a stunner – and we mopped it up with our bread.

Porcini raviolacci, watercress soup, ricotta, white truffle oil and black olive dust ($19.50)

 

My other favourite dish was the Soft shelled tempura crab with chilli palm sugar syrup. Not much of a surprise since I love soft shelled crab. It arrived looking really deep fried, so I thought it may be tough/hard. Not so, the crab was huge and had lots of plump meat, and the batter was lovely. So good!!!

Soft shelled tempura crab with chilli palm sugar syrup ($16)

 

Best value of the night went to Danish style pork meatballs with pickled red cabbage, which had 6 large meatballs and were so tasty. It would have been even better served with a rich gravy, but it was still good as-is (served with some mustard).

Danish style pork meatballs with pickled red cabbage ($9)

 

Hilarious foil 'bag' containing 2 meatballs for takeaway

 

We adjourned to the el fresco balcony outside to enjoy the cool night air and the pretty city lights of Singapore. Singapore’s really gorgeous at night, and we had lovely views of the water and MBS.

Sitting at the balcony - literally!

 

We really enjoyed the Sticky date pudding, bourbon infused caramel, macerated dates and praline ice cream, and I particularly liked the ice cream. It was a small portion but thoughtfully presented and really hit the spot.

Sticky date pudding, bourbon infused caramel, macerated dates and praline ice cream ($14)

 

Best dessert was the DIY chocolate truffles with soft Valrhona ganache, cocoa powder, coconut flakes, crushed nuts, nougat and praline. HOW FUN IS THIS?? You stick a toothpick into a truffle and coat it with whatever you fancy. I actually had the truffles plain, because the chocolate was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. I’d get this dessert again any day. So fun to share among friends too :) Which you’ll need to, unless you feel you can consume 10 (really rich) truffles by yourself ;)

DIY chocolate truffles with soft Valrhona ganache, cocoa powder, coconut flakes, crushed nuts, nougat and praline ($25)

 

Stunning views

 

Very tech looking Christmas tree on the ground floor

 

A SUPER SWEET 1-MONTH PARTY

28 December 2011 6 comments

My lovely girl friend gave birth recently and had her baby’s one month birthday party the other day. Her daughter’s name is Arissa, isn’t that the prettiest name?! She’s such a docile baby.. slept through pretty much the whole party and I didn’t even hear a peep. I don’t even remember that stage anymore, now that Hunter’s so vocal and mobile!

Gorgeous lil girl in the prettiest dress!

 

One lovely mamma

 

We had lovely catered Nyona (one of my faves!) food and a yummy frozen yogurt machine that delighted the kids ;) And… errr… delighted me as well.

My fave food served there was the frozen yogurt :)

 

Hunter nomming on a rusk

 

Hunter was highly amused with the little girls, and I think the feeling was mutual! It was fantastic as they, literally, spent hours amusing him.. which meant I could chat and eat. Kinda wish he had an older brother/sister to play and interact with him at home, because he really does adore watching and hanging out with other kids. Then again, at least when we have #2, they will have Hunter as an older brother to play with!

Highly amused by the girls there!

 

The girls made great babysitters. He loved them!

 

Pretty pink gift bags :)

 

The lovely pool. Shame I didn't bring Hunter's swimmers!

 

Come to think of it, I think this is the first one-month party I’ve been to.. since no one else I know celebrates it. Hunter didn’t get a one-month party, so I’ll make it up by throwing him a 1st birthday party :P

 

PLAYDATE ON THE 57TH FLOOR

21 December 2011 4 comments

A dear girl friend TL (my ex-colleague from eBay Australia) was visiting from Australia, so we met up with her for a playdate, because she has 2 gorgeous lil boys! Hunter very rarely hangs out with other boys, so it’s good for him to when we get the chance :P

Her hotel room was at Marina Bay Sands which is that famous new building with the towers that look like they have a boat sitting at the top of it. Errrr hard to describe but I suppose you can do an online search if you want to see photos. It’s pretty cool to look at and I’ve actually never been up to the top (the pool), so was keen to check it out.

View from the hotel room, with lovely floor-to-ceiling windows

 

Preggers lady with my gf's super cute baby boy. I LOVE his expression!!

 

Hunter with his infamous wide-eyed stunned look

 

We decided on lunch at DB Bistro Moderne because it looked interesting and we felt like some French food because we randomly decided we “felt like eating foie gras”. It’s a lovely bistro with attentive and cooperative service (we had 3 kids, in a fairly fancy place, but they were fine with it). I’m not gonna mince my words so I’ll just say that they are pretty expensive, considering the small-sized portions. For example, their burger is supposed to be “massive”, but it really is a fairly standard size and you can easily eat appetizer+burger (main)+dessert. And their pasta main was super tiny! I know pricey restaurants like to pride themselves on small portions (“quality versus quantity”, right?) but I wish they’d slide their prices down to match….

But, at least we had a nice quiet area, away from other diners, for the kids to create a mess… and we could chit chat and enjoy our lunch (apart from Hunter being a grumpus cos he got himself into a foul mood when he decided he didn’t like his canned-food lunch, since he now will only eat homecooked food almost exclusively, doh). And they definitely have a nice ambience!

3 ladies and 3 kids at DB Bistro Moderne

 

Helmed by Daniel Boulud

 

Cheeky boy :P

 

Lovely mixed juice. The slices of cucumber made it particularly refreshing.

 

Grilled foie gras ($38)

 

Foie gras terrine ($28)

 

Homemade ricotta gnocchi ($34)

 

Sirloin burger filled with braised short ribs and foie gras ($38)

 

Mama and her two boys

 

With happy bellies :)

 

We decided to have a swim by the pool afterwards because it’s on the 57th floor and offers lovely views of Singapore. I’d expected the pool to be deserted since it was a weekday, but there were actually quite a number of people there. Suppose it’s school holidays so lots of people staying in the hotel?

But check it out – the pool is pretty cool, no? Not to mention the AWESOME reclining deckchairs in the water.. which Hunter particularly loved :) The pool is Grade A perfection for really young kids – they can sit on the submerged deckchairs and splash around, or the parents can lounge around on them whilst watching the older kids swim. I want to go back!!

Pool on the 57th floor

 

Me and Baby Bear

 

Well hullo there sexy ladies

 

Hunter LOVED the submerged reclining chairs cos he could sit in the water and splash!

 

But then he discovered lying on his belly was EVEN BETTER :P

 

Enjoying our high tea buffet (WAHOOOO!!!) afterwards

 

A TRADITIONAL SWISS FONDUE

24 October 2011 12 comments

We’ve been to dinner parties before where we had traditional French fondue, back in Australia when our French friends invited us over.

This time, our Swiss friends invited us to their place for…. Swiss fondue! What’s the difference between Swiss and French fondue? Well, based on the kinds we’ve had, the Swiss fondue had a powdered mix (of freshly-cracked pepper and nutmeg) to dip into, and of course the cheeses used are different. Errr there are probably other differences but I best leave it to a French or Swiss person to explain, because I will just sound like a floozy if I try to off to top of my head ;)

Napkins of the Swiss flag, heh!

 

We took Hunter to their place to sleep and he slept throughout. Whew!

 

Mini Swiss chef!

 

It’s no secret that Chris and I love cheese. LOVE LOVE LOVE. We can easily consume pots of cheese fondue, especially me, since I don’t quite have an ‘off’ switch :P There’s something just so blissful about chunks of baguette dipped into hot melted cheese and stuffed into my mouth. Worries evaporate and I just go into a very happy place. Don’t you??

HAPPINESS

 

The joys and delight of a delicious fondue

 

Dessert was simple and refreshing, to ‘work off’ the heavy dinner. It was a fresh fruit salad with mango sorbet. Delish and I must remember that this sort of dessert always goes best after a fondue type of meal.

Fruit salad with mango sorbet

 

Tea and a shot of hard liquor to end the night ;)

 

It was a lovely evening and a very rare one for us, because we almost never go out at night with Hunter, since we like him to sleep at home. So we were really relieved when we had no tantrums or issues, and he still feel asleep (in the bedroom upstairs) in about 5 minutes after we put him down. Maybe this is the start of more dinner parties out…. :P

Yum!