goodie foodie.

i know i said i'll only be back on 1st June.
but this is not the first time pre-exam syndromes hit me!
the sudden urge to blog, keep the house clean, edit photos, play random games and etcetcetc just to procrastinate.

today,
i'm here just to prevent too much of a backlog post exams!

also because i want to reminisce the good food i've eaten the past few weeks, not including all the indulgence in Hokkaido.

ahhh..

beef cheeks

with incredibly tasty, creamy, light and fluffy mash

and a super juicy tomato that bursts on the first bite.

 C's duck confit

which was surprisingly good considering i'm not a duck person.

actually i was never a beef person either until recently, after i realized that i hated beef in the past because all the beef i've ever tried wasn't as good as the ones i finally learnt to appreciate.

maybe, slowly, i'll also become a duck/lamb person.

but that'll probably take another decade or so.

the above two were at Balzac Brasserie at Rendezvous Hotel. 

you can't really go wrong with french toast,

but u can certainly make it even more enticing by coating it with kellogs k crispy cereal

yums

i didn't even have to pair it with maple syrup for it to be tasty.

 and C's classic egg's benedict.

i really like the old school style kok-kok-keh plates the food was served in.

and those 2 were at Epicurious a while back

loved it when we spontaneously venture out of our comfort destinations for good food.

***

be back.

the weight on my shoulders.

i have TONS of things that i'm putting on hold all due to the upcoming EXAM.
freak.

aside from tons of photos i took in Hokkaido, there's the final stamp and chop for my upcoming "new" role starting tomorrow! i know, i haven't even started and the story's already ended. last night i somehow dreamt about work and realized in my sleep that i forgot to get my shared drive access completed so yay to the start of the new work week not being able to do anything. zzz.

i have facials postponed, hair treatments delayed, mani/pedis ignored because they all just take too much time.

time now can neither pass any faster/slower cause it's a lose-lose situation at this point.

i can't even say i can't wait/dread the 1st of June to come and go soon because. well yeah.


arghhhkjahfoiwang!@#$!%$lakdf;

*will be back after 1st June*

rolling in the deep end of crazy.

it's not the first time;
but everytime C is away and i'm not, there's just this missing link! the fact that we're not connected via a whatsapp away is just..nagging. it's a nagging, uncomfortable feeling that i don't know what's going on.
and i just learnt of an earthquake in Tokyo.

HELLO up there can Japan be any safer right now!?

it's only three more days till my turn to fly!
how can the next three days be more unbearable, seriously.
i'm partly glad i have the CFA.

no. actually i'm not. i hate that i still have to study!
i won't even be able to enjoy my sashimi and sea urchin in peace because the thought of the exams will keep twirling around in the back of my mind. haunting me.

speaking of haunting, this isn't really related but it just occurred to me.

every year during the Qing Ming season, i'll dream.
maybe it's coincidental or something, but ever since a few years ago, i haven't really thought about my mum. except during qing ming. this year's the 3rd year. i think ive mentioned previous dreams before. and sometimes the effect's just greater, like this year's dream.

there wasn't even a story in the dream. things were just happening, like a normal day. just that my mum wasn't there. then we just went on doing our usual things, but there was just this knowledge that she wasn't there, and in the dream, nobody knew where she was. like someone you're expecting at a gathering and the person doesn't show up. that kind of feeling.

then i woke up.
and realized that of course she wasn't there. she wasn't going to be there anymore.
end of dream.

i sat up for a while wondering in my post-dream stance. and for some reason it just hit me.
the dream-to-reality effect.
it always hurts.

and i think it always happens around qing ming!
psychological/spiritual/ - it doesn't really matter.

ok.
done with my burst of emo monologue while sad and lonely in Singapore (and at home!) with absolutely no motivation to study.

*

my weekly food update:

looks like a familiar photo, because it's a familiar place:

but this time i tried something out of my usual comfort zone. fried zucchini and pasta in meat sauce!

i actually like the retro plate.

C's totally overflowing salad in a weird combination and too much Japanese wafu salad sauce.

yummy yes but im glad we were only allowed one serving!

on another Friday,

my Boomarang deluxe pizza!

which was ironically the dish with the smallest portion.

Australians - do they really eat THAT much!?

C's chicken parmigiano. 

and the guys' Devil's Ribs. superbly devilicious and huge even they had trouble finishing it.

and on the last saturday before C and I separate for a whole 2 WEEKS.

indulgence at Dome

where i actually managed to study.

we had kinda delicious muffins as well but no photos because i decided muffins are not really photogenic.

there's a reason why a muffin top is not delivered as a compliment.

*

the rest of this entry is a nonsensical rant.

i'm secretly very very very very happy to be using the iphone once again; after almost 6 months of switching to an android, i feel at home again.

dont even think apple users know this feeling because they've probably never switched!

im glad C got the new android phone. now i don't even want to upgrade anymore. as long as i have this phone!

much love.

need to study.

need to pack.

i just confirmed that during solemnization there must be 2 witnesses present to sign on the papers! hah!

(told u)

but now my secret wedding won't be able to come true.

 getting more and more restless at work waiting for some real bright light to shine at the end of the tunnel.

i'm almost there. i just keep walking and i don't seem to have reached it! but i can see the light. i can!

just. when will i reach it omg the wait is killing me.

enough.

Therapy.

because of the mood i've been in lately,

i'd like to start off with a comforting, sweet, NOMS photo to lighten up my mood,

and attempt to relieve the stress i've been accumulating up to this point.

irritable.

i'm oh so 

irritable.

but!

i still have to admit that i had a superbly fulfilling good friday brunch with the one and only C.

C for Calm and C for Compassion and C for the only person who Can stand me in my worst irritable mood. i'm so irritated i'm irritated with myself for being irritated and everyone else for irritating me for whatever reason that seems irritating to me.

 even though it's just eggs and toast, i found it immensely fulfilling, probably because of the humongous red velvet cake that went along with my meal, and i couldn't think about food for the rest of the day. i was glad i didn't choose anything with a larger portion than this already huge one.

C's smoked salmon florentine

didn't really taste enough of it to judge it, but it does look pretty good.

i realize that when i think about breakfast/brunch, i don't really crave for eggs/hollandaise/bacon/ham etc.

i just really want good ol' toast,

and a slice of really good cake always satisfies me.

i guess i'm more sweet than savory.

when it comes to dinner, i really appreciate sushi done well.

and it may seem like 8 little pieces of sushi does not make a full meal, but it's never about the quantity of sushi rolls! they're mostly rice anyway. and a good sushi roll at a super cheap price is meal enough for me.

this was what C had that random day at Vivo when I think I was trying to spend some money after a semi shopping hiatus from burying my head in the books. Kind of unique to me, a paper wrapped hotplate chicken set. i kind of like such simple but good meals occasionally.

and on another random day we explored the new PS extension and discovered this kind of deserted Japanese open restaurant on the higher levels. what drew us was the free flow sides! that came with every set meal ordered. These were some of what we greedily scooped up, and surprisingly they weren't just your average "free" sides that were mediocre to subpar; they were actually not too bad imho.

for my main set i had the salmon. sure, doesn't look fantastic but in fact a rather tasty, delectable meal, again on a random day at an affordable place.

and to end off this therapeutic entry, 

here's the view from level 70 of the Swissotel, from a non-window seat that we didn't have to pay $20 surcharge for, hah, take that window seaters!

really really REALLY don't get why anyone (and from our sample size that night most people did) would pay an extra $20 just to sit a few inches closer to the window than from where we were, in seats that were more uncomfortable and on a table that is smaller.

for the record, we had a huge round table, cushioned leather seats with backing and a cosy little corner for snuggling in each other's arms while we ate. not that we really snuggled, but we could have, just to make the window seaters with their small square tables and tiny fabric-lined armchairs jealous.

see i think i'm just in the kind of mood where i deserve some thrashing. 

anyway that was at Equinox, for Restaurant Week of course, and so far the best dining experience i've had on our little island.

duh, not like i've had many fine dining experiences to compare.

*

Flush.

as of now,

all my motivation has been flushed away.
*

think this was a week back, at Imperial Treasure for a random i'm-fine-with-anything kind of dinner. but inside the restaurant it was almost given that we had to get the ee-fu noodle and the fried rice. it seems like a Saturday zhi-char kind of craving that only we have. or maybe only i have.

yums!

*

Today, i mark the first day i go out with a less than satisfactory Motorola dono what phone with an android version of 2.1, that doesn't even have ANY app that i use! no instagram, no candy crush, not even fb messenger!! how do i survive, i ask myself. NO PLAYLIST. 

i sat in the train staring into nothing and wah-la~ time actually passed. think im damn good at daydreaming.

i shudder to think about the travelling i have to do tomorrow though, without any form of music/entertainment. but that's something i have to try not to worry about too much else i get nightmares.

today also marks the first time in YEARS since we had a photo together!

yes, sadly, every birthday i try to find photos of us that i can somehow do something with or make something out of, and i'm always faced with our last photo at graduation photo day, and then every other ancient photo we took while we were still young.

i think my resolution this year would be to keep more up to date photos of the people around me -.-

had a short but fulfilling session with the Dexter at Hatched, one of the brunch places i've wanted to try because of the hoo-hah over it i've noticed.

it's not overwhelmingly fantastic and mindblowing-ly good, but i think it's quite a nice brunch to have at a really reasonable price, plus it's SO accessible now with the circle line straight to Holland V. has a nice family atmosphere to it without being overly cramped/loud.

would i go back again? maybe, if i was craving for a simple, unpretentious brunch in a place i seldom visit. but only for people with not-so-extravagant-or-expensive taste.

and maybe the company makes a difference.

*

I'm Marching on for now.

wow it's been almost a MONTH since my last post; how disciplined i have been studying.
exam's in a few months and i'm freaking out because i still can't remember a lot of the things i'm supposed to remember.

but anyhow. since my last post, CNY went by, V day went by, and C's birthday went by. and today, communication day went by as well. so for me to finally take a moment to log in here goes to show that communication went better than i expected.

because i expected nothing. (but that's what managers would call expectations management.)

can't say much about it because i haven't done any comparison. so it may turn out that i'll come back and complain about the same thing again. i have exactly 3 more months before the official end of my program, and i'm just a lost kid at the moment. looking at anything and everything that is up for offer, internally, externally.

but for now, i can sleep tonight in peace.

we had poulet for vday!

so much for finding a quiet place with not so many people, and avoiding vday set menus.

we violated both in a single meal.

queued god knows how many minutes to get a seat that was literally non-private, where the other people queuing could breathe down your neck and into what you were eating (which was what we also did when we were queuing, so it's a vicious cycle). 

and ordered the vday set when we couldn't get what we wanted on the ala carte menu.

turned out to be not a bad deal, and not a bad meal!

my favourite part of the meal?

the gigantic fluffy tiramisu with enough cocoa powder to choke.

of course the chicken was good too, but that's a no brainer.

 then spent birthday at Carousel wolfing down yet another buffet.

my THIRD buffet already, and it's only the first quarter of the year!

no pictures,

except for the birthday croc and his complimentary cake we had to pack home after almost exploding from our food.

judgment?

after 3 buffets, i think i'm done for the rest of the year. food's not bad, but it's not fantastic either.

*

maybe i'll take another hiatus now, and wait till the end of my exams to relax myself.

now i have formulas and stats equations and job woes constantly in the back of my head; it's really hard to be thinking of anything else really. regardless of how big my head appears to be to some people, there's a limit to how many things can go on at one moment.

like a computer/phone, the more applications u have open at any one time, the slower the system gets.

*

The City of Dreams.

 

Macau!

The City of Dreams.

or at least, the city of dreams from the view out of the hotel window.

and the view from inside.

loved the pillows, 2 per person, 1 firm and 1 soft to suit all preferences. and the bed so comfy once you lie on it you sink in and the other party cannot even feel your presence.

the lobby, where a giant statue of the prosperity god of fortune stands tall amongst a bed of blooming, colourful and - albeit fake - gorgeous flowers. walk by at the right time and you'll even be treated to a performance by who-knows-where-they-came-from dancers putting on a short cultural show.

explore the inside of the city of dreams, and marvel at their spectacular 

waste of money

on 'exhibits' like the life-size holographic mermaid, who swims around the gigantic amphitheatre-like screen and occasionally disappears, then appears again like a mysterious sea goddess.

shop around the Venetian,

which is designed to look exactly like Venice,

only cleaner, better maintained, and a lot less stinky than the real deal.

i could live in this make-believe Venice.

take a gamble in the numerous casinos across the stretch of Macau,

and let the realization hit you

that the grandest, tallest, and brightest structures at night are all emanating from the casinos/hotels.

upon a closer look,

notice that beyond the ruins of St Paul's,

the houses are tattered, delapidated, short, unattractive,

and the city (where the real locals live) is not well maintained.

but enough of the idiosyncrasies of Macau.

all we did there

was

eat.

how we can eat so much in a single meal, i question myself.

all for the sake of eating our money's worth of a Grand Buffet in the Grand Lisboa,

supposedly Asia's longest buffet line.

it was good.

so good

i ate till i felt like bursting, literally.

but just that one meal didn't, couldn't satiate our greediness.

our gluttony.

Handmade almond cookies

Macau's famous pork chop bun

this little stall manned by an old man and his wife was surprisingly popular, so i had to try them!

delightful egg crisps that i ended up munching on non-stop.

it's like comfort food.

so unhealthy, so blah, but you just can't stop eating it.

we also tried to compensate by taking a long walk in an attempt to cover some touristy attractions,

but realized they were few, and so far spread out by the time we walked to one, we were too tired to go to another.

at least we made it to the Macau tower :S

i always seem to be happier

can't remember where i saw this but this super irrelevant photo makes me happy :)

fresh flowers planted in a basket is the way to go, yo.

finally,

the best part about Macau?

Margaret's

the portuguese egg tart.

Lord Stow's

the husband or the ex-wife?

personally i like both.

one is creamier, more buttery, smoother egg custard filling with a thicker but softer crust; the other crispier, more fragrant, with a thinner crust and more crumbly egg custard filling.

it's true that sometimes in life,

we have to make difficult choices.

*