Wedding - #12 Solemnisation Card

INVITES (everyone wants a piece of this!)

Above: Back of my Solemnisation card (design by ME!)

if you are kiasu, then well you can start to book our friends and relatives like 3 months beforehand. VERBALLY.
Then 2 months beforehand, you can start to send your invites. Nowadays, i'm getting invites via Facebook, not that I'm complaining but it's good in the way that you help to gave GIA. U know, print less, save more trees, save the environment thingy?

BUT, yours truly here always prefers the hard copy. SO I prefer to arrange a small gathering of friends, have everyone there and hand my invites personally. PERSONAL and to make time just to see them.

Above: Front of Solemnisation card (Design by WJ) - see the pair of dovey doves on the almost botak twig/branch. A big FAT one and a petite one? No prizes for guessing who's who. ^_^

This is a good way to get your bf or husband-to-be TO BE INVOLVED. Don't leave EVERY small detail to yourself gal! gotta let the man handle some stuff too. That way you can get some workload off your shoulders. It's bad enough that we have to find our gown, find our shoes, settle the type of wedding theme, music la-duh-da-da...and what nots...


Above: Personally printed by my trusty 5 year old canon printer.

now it's just to pass the message on.

starstudded afternoon

i saw Lee Guo Huang and Bryan Wong this afternoon during lunch at Millenia's harvey norman!

Mr Lee: Looked just as skinny as he does on tv. Hmm, maybe not as skinny on tv. Weird huh. He was wearing a white shirt, somewhat similar to a relative cowboy shirt.

Mr Wong: Gosh! he looked OLDER in real life! he was wearing a grey shirt AND he looks pudgey!!!! tsk tsk.

sigh, life as a celebrity isn't easy, got to look good all the time, if not kanna suan by bloggers like me. Actually i think i have been really nice....bet others would say even more horrendous stuff.

Wedding - #11 Solemnisation Dress

The little dress
Ever thought of your solemnisation dress? and have no clue what you really want?
Well i was just like that! Well not TOTALLY clueless, at least i have the length of the dress in mind!
I knew that my wedding and evening gown was something on the long(maybe even 'solemn') and probably with a little wee bit of train.(see what I mean)

So i wanted my solemnisation dress to be short!(+ fun, quirky like me+ DIFFERENT) As for colours, i wasn't sure. Being an avid fan of pink, i was wondering whether should i skip the usual ivory and white colours and opt for something different. Not that nobody haven't had a dress other than white before but WEDDING is most probably once in your lifetime, who cares who has done it before, cos it wasn't YOU. NOW it's YOUR turn and YOUR time.

Remember my last post did mention about Olive suite at Delfi's, well I think here's the place to get some quick ideas!!! well at least i've gotten some here. Plus you can try their dresses and if you think their prices are abit steep, then go to another seamstress or tailor who can do even cheaper for you. I remember the cheapest quote i got from them for a simple dress was about $350. If you want to add extras like lace, or a frill, they will charge you accordingly. Think was about $50-$100 more...waiting time for a dress was about 2-4weeks. So i thought they are pretty fast. As long as you plan your time well, then you can decide later which dress to pick!




They also sell some pretty neat accessories here which you might consider and if you are within budget. And see that quirky dress with the pink 'petals' for the bottom of the dress? I almost got that one!!! hahaha cos i wanted to have a garden theme party and IT'S pink!!! This one Jessica said was a 'limited' edition so it cost about $500. *hearts a flutter*
At that time my mind was going 'wow', do i really need to spend so much just for a dress which most probably I was going to wear it just one time at my OWN party. Don't think i will pluck up enough courage to wear it again elsewhere!!! hahahahah

preparation for a wedding can be such a chore at times but enjoy it while it lasts cos when u look back then, I'm sure it will be full of sweet memories....

now i just want to check out the shops at Felt and Lavender House for more short dresses!

Boatel Beer Garden and Steamboat

STEAMBOAT ANYONE?

1st round of many rounds!

our mushroom hotpot - abalone mushroom, straw mushroom, shitake mushroom, golden mushroom, white mushrooms, button mushroom...*slurps*

We were only offered one type of soup stock although on forums people were mentioning different kinds of soup stock...hmm...not in our case though.

Price per pax: $12.90 (CHEAP)
Things that went into the hotpot

1. Crabs and prawns (THE PRAWNS ARE HUGE!!!!) and fresh too. Thumbs up!
2. A wide range of mushrooms, at least 8 varieties, check out my photo above where we cleared out all the other food and started a mushroom hotpot! Gosh! I think all mushroom lovers out there will go nuts!
3. The pork slices or cubes if I were to describe it were nice and tender when just cooked. Beside them were one huge tray which held slices of liver.
4. Other seafood includes cuttlefish + squid + fresh fish slices.
5. Many types of green vegetables there: cabbage, spinach, broccoli, xiaobaicai, maize, woods'ear...
   
6. crab stick, tang hoon, eggs and lots lots more.
7. Fried Tau Kee! (that's quite special don't you think so!) Wj loved it when it's been soaked for awhile in our hotpot.
   

Things that went outside the hotpot:
Fried scallops (those that can be found in supermart freezer compartments)
Cuttlefish balls, fried shrimps, ngor hiang (not really nice though) etc...alot of fried stuff i must say and BEST OF ALL, which all patrons who come here for : their Fried chicken wings.

Service: The uncle was really hardworking, always topping up on our soup stock!!!

Ambience: By the docklands where you can see the sea, yachts and smell fresh air. Really something special. The only bad thing might be for those staying other place than Punggol or Sengkang cos it's so blardee far away!

And you need a car to get there. Remember to check your map first! and oh, bring an empty stomach!

Punggol Marina Country Club
600 Ponggol Seventeenth Avenue
Singapore 829734
Tel: +65 6585-3545

Wedding - #36 LITTLE POSTER

DIRECTIONS!
here's a little something which I put together for our solemnisation day. It will be put on a little easel which i had purchased from IKEA. And we are going to have a laptop by the bar counter where we will show our photos to our guest, and this is poster will be placed beside the laptop together with our little tin can of sweets!

little things which i do for my wedding

Girls nite out - Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant

hello people!
it's been awhile since i had my last gathering with the gals. Too bad, sheree couldn't make it, if not it would have been a hell more fun! Anyway, it was so good to see the both of them again. Plus soon-to-be-bride shilynn was coming to join us later too for coffee...just like good old days in melbourne where we gals catch up on a good cup of coffee.

This time round, we had dinner at Bugis Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
We tried their shrimp xiaolongbaos and vegetable meat stuffing xiaolongbaos, 2 peanuty little baos (which i haven't a clue what it was cos Jubes ordered it without me knowing!!! hahahah).
we also shared a bowl of hongshao paigu(pork ribs) noodles and zhajiangmian (spicy mince pork).

Definitely recommend the vegetable meat stuffing xiaolongbaos. Really good and juicy inside with all the stock oozing out. Watch out for the hot stuffing though.

Next would be the zhajiangmian too. Very savoury and good to share if you are going to try a variety of small bites.

Taste: **

Taste: *****

Taste: **
Abit too dry for my liking though it was a chef recommendation.

a quick shot to show our presence!
PS: UOB cardholders are entitled to 10% (yippee, i saved $3+) >_< Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant
200 Victoria Street
#02-53 Bugis Junction
Singapore 188024
Tel: 65-68357577
Fax: 65-68357877

Cakes galore

a cheesecake recipe that needs no baking, topped with fresh sliced strawberries.
My sis was trying a no fuss = no baking cheesecake for her bf. Turned out pretty well and looks so pretty to eat!


here's my sis topping the choco cupcakes. She made them over the National Day holidays. And of cos, we became her guinea pigs + my colleagues too. And they loved it so much cos they were those moist chocolate cupcakes!!! And my sis made it all by herself too. It wasn't from those cupcake mixes which u find at the supermarts.

made with tender loving care.

And to top it all, heartshaped flakes for a bit of decor. Super sweet cupcakes for a holiday!

Day 04 in Yogyakarta

HAPPY NATIONAL DAY FELLOW SINGAPOREANS!!!

Greetings from us in Borobudur! We woke up to an early start. Had the Cangkringan Breakfast which consists of 2 eggs (choice of scrambled, omelette, sunny side-up), hash browns, grilled tomoat, ham and sausage. OoooMPH! really good and hearty. Also includes choice of cereals, bread, juice and fruits. I feel like i was eating in melbourne again!

12oonn: We checked out from the beautiful Cangkringan hotel and they drove us back to Duta gardens complimentary! this is what i call good service!!!
1pm: We checked in back to Duta Gardens, what a contrast between the 2 hotels. Sigh, shan't complain. Took a becak again to Kota Gede "Silver Village". Bought a brooch from mother and keychain.
3pm: Late lunch@Bale Raos.
Ate the authentic dishes recommended on the website of YES Yogyakarta - personally I thought it was disappointing. Perhaps, I'm not into Javanese food. The presentation of the food was overall very well done. The flavour wasn't that pleasing as the presentation. Here's my verdict:

1. Soup Timlo - A clasica Javanese soupe which is a combination of ginger, chicken, fried wanton skin, wood's ear etc. Savory, definitely worth trying
2. Beer Java - Original drink from Kraton Yogyakarta which is made from ginger, secang wood, clove, citrus fruits etc. Taste similar to an "After Spa" herbal drink. Good quench on a hot day, and since the weather here is forever hot, it will definitely cool you down.
3. Bebek Suwir Suwir - Special menu of Kraton Yogyakarta, made from slices of duck meat which is served with fried pineapple slices and rasped kedondong sauce. Our duck meat was so dry and tough! It wasn't tasty at all. Probably the duck wasn't fat enough.
4. Semar Piyuk - A unique dish made of pigeon. Again disappointing!!! The pigeon was over-cooked, it was again tough and dry. Presentation was nice though. Hmm...maybe the locals here love tough meat?
5. Urip Urip Gulung - Fillet freshwater catfish which is rolled then roasted and served wtih mangut sauce. Catfish has bones!!! BEWARE! I would say that this dish is an acquired taste. Similar to the Japanese unagi but not as tasty.
   
6. Sanggar - Original menu from Kraton Yogyakarta, made from sliced beef with the spices which is roasted with coconut fiber and held by bamboo. Passable. Meat grilled too long. Tough. Taste wise was good with coconut flavour infused with the meat, slightly fragrant though if it had a strong aromatic smell would be better.

Overall price: Acceptable. moderate
Service: Excellent
Timing: Fast service.
Food: Passable
Definitely a one-time visit is enough for me to get my taste-buds on Kraton's food. I would say that it is over-rated for its food. I would rather eat MieGoreng or Bakso Mie along roadside for more local, authentic food. Yes, these dishes belong back to the Kraton.

4pm: Went back to Malioboro Mall cos WJ couldn't get enough of JCO's yoghurt!
540pm: we went back to our hotel and we were served with welcome tea and pandan cakes! How thoughtful of them!
6pm: we made our way for Prambanan to catch the Ramayanan Ballet. Bough the tickets for $50k per person. Transport $40k per person in a mini-van, shared with many other tourists. Journey there from city took approx. 45mins.
730pm: Ballet starts. It was the open air one.

that pretty much end our trip here in Borobudur, Yogyakarta.
quick cultural get-away on a tight budget.

Day 03 in Yogyakarta

4am: Rise and shine!
430am: Gather at the lobby, armed with our torches provided from the hotel+coupons for morning snacks. Shucks, after climbing the borobudur, waiting for the sun to rise...it was such a cloudy morning!!! So bad that the day dawned on us, and we didn't even had a glimpse of an egg yolk rising from the horizon.

So after the disappointing sunrise, we went back to the resort for our buffet breakfast. Slept for awhile, showered and packed. Going to our next hotel for a one night's stay. The one night which we had forgotten to book for.
1050am: we checked out from Manohara Resort. Paid $300k for the sunrise package and $575k for the overnight stay. Booked a cab to Yogya $250k. The travelling here really costs alot!

1200: Check into The Cangkringan Hotel. New and nicely furbished. Although too far from city centre. (Approx 45mins drive from Borobudur and 25km away from city) We almost thought the driver was driving us to some freaky place to sell us! Our room had cable tv and really nice toilet facilities. We were also served with our welcome drinks - guava juice.

After refreshing ourselves, we went touring around the hotel vicinity. Not bad, nice landscaped areas and very good service too! They called us by our names. Tried our luck on the duo-bicycles, eeks! So scary plus the hotel compounds were really too small for us to U-turn. In the end, wj went cycling on his own, and he was quite clumsy too!! Body a bit rusty, and he hasn't been on a bicycle for a really long time. We decided to head back to our cozy room for some air-con and wait till it's time for our cooking class. hee hee...can't wait!

330pm: Left the hotel for our cooking class.
400pm: Reach Prawirotaman. We were a little early for our class, so we went to the Antique shop to browse and while our time away.
430pm: Cooking class starts and we are starving!!! hahahha... A french couple joined us for the cooking class too. They were on their honeymoon in asia. Halfway through the cooking class, the gas finished! and we waited so long for our teacher to change another tank of gas. They really work very slow here. People here simply have to tendency to rush. Even taking some spices for the satay took our teacher like 15mins???
Our order of cooking class:

1. Chicken satay
2. Sayur Lodeh
3. Keropok (u can see wj frying one here in the photos)
4. Nasi Lemak rice
5. Tempeh in carmelised sauce (something new which i haven't eaten before)
   

8pm: We left ViaVia cafe and went back to our hotel. YAY! stomachs fulled and i'm so happy that i learnt how to make satay peanut sauce!!! and it was so easy! Next time when i have my own BBQ, i will be able to make my own satay sticks with my own original sauce.

Day 02 in Yogyakarta

7am: Breakfast at hotel. Took a becak to Sultan's Palace. Tipped the guide $10,000. Entrance fee $12,500 per person +$1,000 for photo-taking. They really want to 'cut' the tourists here. After the tour around the old palace which by the way has lost all its grandeur, we made our way to the Bird Market. Saw colourful chicks!!! They looked really adorable but i pity that they were dyed that way. Isn't animal cruelty here? After a quick walk around the bird market, seeing lots of animals, not just birds here...we reached Taman Sari, made during the Portuguese era. Entrance fee $7,000 per person and again $1,000for photo-taking. I would say this place is worth the visit. At least it looks pretty good in photos. And i could really imagine this as the Palace bathing area. All the intricate cravings, the sizes of the pools, plus a tower deck which uh-hem, according to history was where the sultan would watch high above while all his wifes bath naked in the pools.

1135am: we took a becak back to the city. Had yoghurt at JCO! some civilisation here!!!
JCO's having promo here where u buy 2 toppings comes with 1 topping free - so we chose kiwi, strawberries and oranges. $25,000 for the 'couple' size. After the terrific chill-down session, we took a becak back to our hotel. Check out and had our lunch at ViaVia cafe where we re-confirmed our cooking classes again. Had Tonic water, ice coffee, Vegetarian capcey and mee goreng. Total bill was: $61,000

2pm: Walked back to our hotel, and our driver was waiting to chauffer us to Manohara Resort.
3pm: Reach Manhora Resort, the only hotel in Borobudur grounds. We checked in and had our welcome drinks +snacks. Not bad! When you book a night's stay at Manohara Resort, it includes free entrance to Borobudur. You can ask for a Sunrise package: starts from the resort at 430am in the early morning where you will climb the stairs of the magnificent borobodur temple and watch the sunrise, which explains why it's called the Sunrise package. duh.

us at the marble table, enjoying our tea (it's hot btw) plus biscuits on the side.

we couldn't wait for the sunrise package to visit Borobudur! So off we went! Many touters on the way up. There's a museum and a short souvenir street there too, but we didn't think much of it. Anyway it's just another avenue for the locals to earn more cash. it's better to spread the dollars elsewhere.
5pm: we walked back to the resort, showered and watched a little tv. The weather here is really hot. So it's refreshing after the shower. Yup the resort has air-con. The room conditions, i wouldn't say it's spectacular, but you don't really have a choice since this is the only hotel here. Afterall, i wouldn't want to wake up like 2am to travel here for the sunrise. This just makes the sunrise-cum-waking easier.

*wee*

dinner was at the resort too. I had the chicken sandwich with capcey while wj had his 3rd or 4th Nasi Goreng! We shared a plate of fruits and pancake with banana. Total bill was $117,000