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Friday, February 24, 2012

Tai Hwa Pork Noodles (Hill Stree)

Good Morning!!!

This morning i had to make a trip down to ICA to collect my new passport!!!

So i was there really early like 830am... and after collecting my passport, i wanted to try to famous Bak Chor Mee stall! Which is within walking distance from ICA.

When i got there, it wasn't really opened yet but there were 2 men mending the stall already, preparing the food.

Ask one of the uncle what time they will open he said 10am.

there's still about 1 more hour to go!!

But i really want to try this stall!!! So we waited at another coffeeshop armed with our newly bought Straits times to pass time.

930am, we went back to the stall! OMG! rows of tables filled with people and they have a pink tag on their table!!! Did we miss something?

Ask the uncle again, then he said can take a queue number!!! WHAT!!!
why didn't he told us just now...sobsob.
The number we got was 18.

so there are like 18 people ahead of us now.

Tai Hwa Pork Noodles
Blk 466 Crawford Lane #01-02
(lavender MRT)


first in the picture is hubs queuing, although you have a number, but u still gotta q!

im having the soupy version cos I'm afraid of another acid reflux attack.

hubs having the dried version which you can see it's of cos the favourite here.
They are famous for their sauce and chilli! So remember if you ain't 'allergic' to spicy food like me, order the dry and spicy one!!! Can't go wrong!!!

We were very happy with our Pork noodles because it had lots of Bak Chor in it and the flavour was really oomph!!!

and we shared a bowl of meat ball soup!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Alternative Tang Yuan rolled with peanut shavings





hubs love my dumplings (Tang Yuan) dried rolled with peanut shavings!
Makes a good supper when he's hungry.

Hubs' new toy!

What did i get for Hubs birthday this year?

A Fujifilm FinePix X100
click here for more on Review Cnet

The good: Cool retro design; great picture quality even at high ISOs; unique hybrid viewfinder; leaf shutter mechanism for quiet operation.

The bad: Confusing menu structure; rear controls a bit messy; performance a bit sluggish.

The bottom line: The X100's design, hybrid viewfinder and image quality are its strengths, but it won't satisfy users who want a camera that delivers snappy performance.

Review:

Looking at the FinePix X100 is like peeking into a page of the history of cameras. After all, it was modeled after old rangefinder cameras, such as the Canon QL17 and Minolta Hi-Matic 7, which were popular in the 1970s. The retro styling brings about a sense of nostalgia for older shutterbugs, while the trendier crowd may find such a design to be unique and cool.

Given that retro seems to be the trend for camera designs nowadays, it's no wonder that the X100 made waves in the imaging industry and among enthusiasts photographers when it was unveiled at last year's Photokina. Its specifications, such as the APS-C-sized image sensor and hybrid optical viewfinder, are also strong features that pit the Fujifilm against the likes of the Sigma DP2s and Leica X1.

The FinePix was scheduled to ship in March, and few shipments made their way around the world before Japan, where the X100 is manufactured, was struck by the massive 9.0 earthquake. Production was halted for a short while, and this drove up the FinePix's price on eBay. Some units were selling for US$2,000, much more than its recommended retail price of US$1,299 (S$1,699). At the time this review was published, a quick check on the Web confirmed that Fujifilm's factories have resumed production of the X100.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Wrapping hubs Birthday Present

TOP SECRET!
i snucked out of the house one day with daddy to buy his present while he was sleeping...
so here's after wrapping the presents!




someone is thinking....

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Glutinous Rice Ball Craving


hmm...somehow my mum always made them in pandan ginger sweet soup but i like them this way instead!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ahren's 12th Birthday!




Happy Birthday Little Fella!!!
mummy loves you! and so does Bruddy although he doesn't show it...but he still reads bedtime stories to us! and bought you a cake and sang you a birthday song. :)

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Valentines Day Wrapping session


here's the all-wrapped up present!

present and hand-made card

hoho...notice the white card behind, that's the trial one before i went on to make the final one!

PPGS meet!

We (3 gals and 1 guy) decided to meet just before Valentines day for a quick gathering and to take a look at Joelle's swanky new place down at Greenwich. So Joelle proposed for brunch at Greenwood Avenue before heading down to her place.

after walking the stretch of restaurants and bistro, we decided to try out this place called Bronte!

Bronte at Greenwood Avenue

We went there at 1-ish on a saturday early afternoon and there was quite a crowd but we still managed to find some indoor seats... service was prompt and so was the food.

here's the Brunch menu which is available on their website:

Brunch
Weekends & Public Holidays 9.30am – 2:30pm

Home made bircher muesli with green apples & fresh berries $11
Ricotta pancakes with fresh banana & maple syrup $16 - Joelle's!
Homemade corn fritters with avocado, tomato & rocket salad
$16
Ham, tomato & cheese omelette served with garden salad $14
Scrambled eggs, smoked pork sausage, potato hash, roasted tomatoes & rye toast $17
Smoked salmon scrambled eggs, spinach, garlic portobello, home-baked beans & rye toast $17
Poached eggs, spinach & hollandaise on rye toast (w/ bacon or smoked salmon) $17
Bacon & egg roll with HP sauce & tasty cheese (w/ salad or fries) $12
Bronte Brekkie Plate: Eggs (fried, scrambled or poached), bacon, pork sausage, garlic portobello, potato hash, home-baked beans & rye toast $22 - Mine and Ash!
Aussie prime beef burger with tasy cheese, beetroot, tomato & cos lettuce $16 - Pengs!
Char-grilled sirloin steak sandwich with onion jam, vine tomato, cheese, rocket & aioli (w/ salad or fries) $19.50
Sides: streaky bacon, old English or smoked pork sausage, potato hash, fries or garlic portobello $5 each; eggs (fried, poached or scrambled), toast (rye, sourdough or wholemeal) $4 each



here's a photo of us from joelle...always trying new styles of photography. Guess that's why it captures the most of her!!! (bottom left head!)

here's joelle and pengs

me and ash

my brunch of the day - ala my Bronte Brekkie Plate which really overwhelmed me, even a pregnant mum like me couldn't finish the entire lot! In the end I cleaned up everything except the scrambled eggs.

Pengs had the steak burger....she left the bread alone and ate all the insides...

ash had the same as me but he cleared his plate clean! Only difference was he had his eggs poached.
Joelle had the Ricotto pancakes with bananas and maple syrup. The ricotto was embedded in the pancake so it was like a big omelette when it first came. The bananas on top, sliced in half and maple syrup was served on the side.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Day 11 - Barcelona!


Last day in Spain!
And we have come to the final day of our tour....tomorrow it's to the Barcelona Airport and back to sunny isle - Singapore.

Today's highlights include La Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Park Guell and Barcelona Pavillion!!! And of cos last minute shopping.

La Sagrada Familia


The Glory Facade in whitish colour - very new.
Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic Church designed by Antoni Gaudi and it's not completed yet! The church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and started construction in 1882. Under Gaudi's hands, he transform the church combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Targetted for completion in 2026.

Although on the outside it looks old and worn, however when we stepped inside, WOW! it looks so white and pristine and very very new. The new parts can be seen as the whiter parts.

Gaudi designed the columns to mirror trees and branches, which were in his eyes God's creation. And our tour guide tells us that LED lights are being used here!



left: Back of the facade (4 apostles) which depicts the death of Jesus also known as the Passion Facade. It is known for its spare, gaunt and lacking of decoration.
right: currently the front facade (4 apostles) which depicts the Nativity of Jesus
Once the church is completed, the third facade which depicts the Glorification of Jesus shall be the main entrance to the Church.

some of the stained glass in the older parts of the church and to the right of the photo, notice the glass windows are clear? that's because they haven't finished them in stained glass yet!



after visiting La Sagrada, we had a quick tour of Casa Mila and Casa Batllo on the coach! How funny! anyway, we will be walking the premises later so we can take some photos.


Casa Mila- here's a close up on the beautiful balconies designed by Antonio Gaudi and Josep Maria Jujol.

Casa Batllo...wavy facade.


did you know that this building is so very close to Casa Batllo?
Exterior of Suites Avenue hotel designed by non other than Mr Toyo Ito himself!
and of cos Mr Ito explains that the concept behind his facade was his love for Gaudi's work ie wavy forms of Casa Batllo.

....then the coach went on to Montjuic.

Toyo Ito's Porta Fira towers...managed to catch a glimpse of it on the coach while we were on our way to Montjuic.

Agbar tower by Jean Nouvel can be seen from the viewpoint at Montjuic and even at Park Guell.




Palau Sant Jordi, Indoor Sporting Arena by Arata Isozaki

Montjuic Communications Tower by Santiago Calatrava

can you see Santa Caterina Market by Enric Miralles??? It has a colourful roof peeking out of the streetscape!

after visiting the old and new streets of Barcelona...it's time to hop onto our coach and head for our lunch destination at Olympic Harbour and who knows that we are in for more architecture feast!
~WEE!!!~
This sculpture by the famous American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein was part of the rejuvenation project for the waterfront area previously known as Moll de la Fusta. Positioned to be visible from areas, this sculpture was inaugurated for the 1992 Barcelona games. Made of concrete and ceramics, it is the ceramic cladding that pays homage to Barcelona and its famous son Antoni Gaudí.
and we saw Torres Au Natural by Enric Miralles, also by Olympic Port on route to our lunch destination!
Olympic Harbour is where we had our lunch. We ate at a Chinese restaurant which has nothing much to boast about except that it's surrounded by amazing architecture!!! Just ascending the escalator to the restaurant, one can see....facing the sea port was Frank Gehry's Peix, a giant whale (The Fish) made by bronze on top of a building. See...the yellow coach in the foreground? that's our coach!

After lunch, our tour leader dropped the 5 of us at the city centre as we were not joining the optional tour to Monserat - Monastery in the mountains because wj and I were more interested in visiting Park Guell and Barcelona Pavilion.

and so we found Drassanes station and bought our $2 euro one way ticket down to Lessep to get to Park Guell! Each stop was about 2 mins distance so there were a total of 4 stops to get to Lesseps which was pretty fast! we reached there in no time at all!

From the station, there were visible road signs leading you to Park Guell, so just follow those blue signs! Walk from Station takes about 20mins or so. And the last league reaching Park Guell is up a slope road filled with souvenir shops.

and we made some souvenir buys too!

Park Guell - Antonio Gaudi (1914).
Free admission, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site under "Works of Gaudi"


Doric columns support the roof of the lower court which forms the central terrace, with serpentine seating round its edge.

The unique shape of the serpentine bench enables the people sitting on it to converse privately, although the square is large. The bench is tiled and in order to dry up quickly after it rains, and to stop people from sitting in the wet part of the bench, small bumps were installed by Gaudí.


Bird nests built by Gaudí in the terrace walls. The walls imitate the trees planted on them.

Casa Martí Trias i Domènech while the one in pink is the Gaudi House of Museum.
Colonnaded footpath under the roadway viaduct, with external columns sloping to take the diagonal thrust from the vault supporting the road.



the 2 "Ginger Bread Houses" at the entrance of Parc Guell....i'm sure Hanzel and Gretel will definitely approve Gaudi's work of art.


Gaudí's multicolored mosaic dragon fountain at the main entrance - a famous mascot which every tourist must take upon visiting the park.




Barcelona Pavilion - Mies Van der Rohe
it was the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. Well-known for its simple form and extravagant materials such as marble and travertine. The entire building rests on a plinth of travertine.
Other unique features besides it's "floating" form are the exotic materials - plates of high-grade stone materials like veneers of Tinos verde antico marble and golden onyx as well as tinted glass of grey, green, white as well as translucent glass, act as spatial dividers in the pavilion.


Alba by Georg Kolbe
spaces that flows seamlessly between inside and outside.







Casa Mila - 1984

Casa Batllo - 1906
was a building restored by Antoni Gaudi and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the 1877. It is also known as the House of Bones as it has a visceral, skeletal organic quality.