Chir Chir

I ate at Chir Chir Bedok Point awhile ago and found this place really good! I cannot remember the names of the dishes already since it has been some time ago! They provide those utensils you can use to grab a chicken drumlet without dirtying your fingers [that duck web feet looking thing]. Alternatively, they have plastic hand gloves if you wish to just dig in with your hands.

 

 

The purple drink is a mixture of berries and sparkling soda which taste super refreshing, soury and gassy. It came in a jar, only half filled, and the rest of the soda in the tall bottle is then poured and mixed together.

This chicken dish is their signature, with spicy chicken tenders in creamy base sauce & mashed potato topped with some buttery taste whipped cream. We mixed everything together and the whipped cream accentuates the delicious taste of the cream base. Since the chicken tenders are also spicy, it makes the whole dish very appetising despite the cheesy creaminess. The menu stated that there are rice in the cream but I don't really taste it. 

While the food here is very tasty, the downside is that a meal here can be quite expensive. The chicken dish itself cost about $30 and the drink about $15. The dinner is about $50 plus but both of us were not full at all. 

It is still worth it though! :D

Foot Mask Baby Silky Foot

I have tried a foot mask some year ago and the peeling effect was really awesome. I believed I tried babyfoot brand which was bought in Hong Kong. This time, I just got what was available on qoo10 at about $7 each with shipping. I think this is quite reasonable and cheap as compared to other alternatives. I ordered two so that bf and I can couple couple together since his feet always seems to peel. 

In each box, there is a pair of large plastic 'socks' and the liquid pack in right and left packaging. The socks are quite big in size but if your feet is like size 10 male size or somthing, it is just going to fit just nice (like for my bf's case). There is double layer in the socks to provide more protection.

The first step is to wear the socks on both feet. Pour each pack of liquid mask into each socks. Tie the ribbon at the ankles so that the socks can stay in place better. Keep the mask on for 1.5 hours before you proceed to the toilet and wash it off. During this period of time, it is best to just sit down and watch tv or use the computer. I recommend that you move your feet to spread out the liquid, ensuring that it covers more surface, maximising the effect. 

After the first and second day, nothing happened! I was so disappointed and thought that it didn't work. Then the third day it starts to peel a little like the below. Yay! I can peel the skin at this point without feeling pain. Haha.

As days pass, the skin continues to peel and peel in larger pieces. It drops everywhere I walk at home so I recommend some home slippers during this period of time. Also, skin will start to drop more after every shower and bath upon contact with water. That is when I start to peel off all the almost-dropping skin if not they will just be littered all over. 

It might be quite gross to some people but I felt shiok to see dead skin come off and new skin gets reborn :D. My heels were very dry. It comes to a point I was so fed up with the dropping skin, I decided to soak my feet in warm water and rub them to make the skin drop off. Even after doing that, there is still some areas left. 

I think after about 4 to 5 days, you will finally have more "clean skin". The heels are clearly less cracked, although I think I need a few more consistent treatment to get the thickness off. The packaging instructions state that the best interval to use the mask is every month as that is the time required for the skin to renew itself. 

 

Overall, I love peeling foot mask! Gives you nice smooth feet, at least for awhile before the friction slowly "destructs"  them again :)

FORLINO

31st December 2015`
It is our 7th Year Anniversary. I love my man so much so much. 

Work ended at 4pm [what half day is this??] and baby waited for me near office. On my way to meet him, I saw a rainbow! It was drizzling and I was struggling to keep my dress in place.

Baby secretly tricked me into walking around Esplanade to kill time before dinner. He made plans for dinner at this restaurant named Forlino, which required a reservation one week in advance :D. Our first fine dining experience and it was kind of weird and exciting at the same time. The dinner consists of a fixed menu with 5 courses from the soup to the dessert.

The soup is served first. The name is so foreign to us so the waitress told us that it is beetroot soup. It's is a nice creamy beetroot soup in a bandung pink shade. Too bad it's only that little, like an espresso. We were supposed to use the teaspoon to drink the soup but how much can you drink with that small mini spoon haha. 

Bf researched that we are not supposed to cut the bread but pinch it with your fingers instead. I just used a fork to eat my bread :p. 

The seafood appetizer is so nicely displayed. It's looks raw though and I was quite nervous about it since my stomach can't handle raw dishes that well. The salmon taste like it is smoked but the taste is not as strong as those I have eaten outside. The shrimp is tender, slightly saltish and taste of freshness. So is the squid? The best is the fish roe which burst and melts in your mouth. Wooohoo. And that green thing, we have no idea what that is. It's kind of cold and tasteless, but has a texture like chocolate truffles. If I remembered correctly, it was emitting some 'smoke', like dry ice. Haha. 

Sparkling water cost $9. Sparkling water is not nice. It's like soda with no taste which is sooo weird. But okay it helps you to burp lol! Mixing it with some juice might be nice.

My favourite part of the dinner is this! 

The pasta is so al dente with the texture like ee mian. The sauce is creamy, with pangs of yuzu and lemon, and it just taste so good. Scampi is also soft and flavourful. Give me more, give me more.

The breaded mushroom taste so different and omz. Then we heard people around us asking the waitress what that is. And it is breaded oyster mushroom!! Have you eaten breaded mushroom made from oyster mushroom? Damn good. I told my bf that the fish taste like fillet O' fish from macs. Succulent and juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside. I don't like the black thing, don't know what those are, probably truffles.

The beef taste like braised pork to me. I don't eat so much beef but this doesn't have a very strong taste of beef.

Not my kind of dessert. Just some pistachio sponge cake and cream cheese and some sweet sweet stuff. Haha. 

I look at him and my heart is smiling secretly. 

I am blessed to have someone who can love me so much. <3

Jovi Clay

I just realized I never posted this! This is my favourite type of clay so far, even though you will read about my disappointment. 

Following Super Dough, I experimented with Jovi clay [1kg, $6.95]. I cut the big piece into half so that I can seal one of them first, hoping it can last longer. To my disappointment, the clay appears more greyish than white upon opening. It is much harder and drier than Super Dough.

By the texture and colour, I realized that this clay is for the pottery kind of crafts. I tried to mix in some acrylic paint but it was a mega failure. It doesn't take paint colours well, or rather, it doesn't take colours well if mixed before clay is dried. This clay has to be painted on after it dries. While it may be hard and dry, water works wonder here. The clay can stick together well with some kneading, scraping and water. For example, to ensure the pig's legs stick well, you can use an ice-cream stick to scrape the surface clay together. Then, use some water to smoothen the surface with your fingers. Water can also smoothen the creases on the surface! Other clays require some kneading and reshaping to remove creases.

Jovi clay dries hard and heavy. It can be used as decorative ornaments or paperweights. The colours after being painted on are vibrant and exact to the original colour. You cannot bend or break it with the strength of your hand, but it may or may not break when dropped. I tried dropping this clay from a distance about the height of a chair twice, and it survived. It should be quite durable unless you keep dropping it or from some super high point.

I guess the end product is a little uneven on the surface, as portrayed in the picture. But this is not the kind of professional pottery making that moves and smooths, so it's expected. 

This is my creation after a few trials. I super love this and am so proud of myself hahaha. I tried making sadness with grace clay and jumping clay but the end result is o.O.

The good points:

Add water to increase moisture,
Parts stick together without glue,
Creases can be erased,
Can be cut easily
Durable end product,
Paint on vibrant colours,
Takes varnish well with shine, 

The bad points:
Does not mix with acrylic paint,
Does not take moulds,
Clay is harder to knead,

The verdict: This clay is definitely not going to give you the same kind of end product like the others, but if you like pottery and painting, this is a good choice. Clay will continue to remain knead-able as long as water is added, so you can take more time to perfect the shape.

When you wish for someone to do something you would like but the other party is uncomfortable with it. You have to first show that you will and are willing to do it too. Better if you can teach and make the other party feel at ease. Words are just words if not actioned upon. It's not about equality because I know there will not be equality. 

Find your Strongest Life

Find your Strongest Life- What the happiest and most successful women do differently by Marcus Buckingham.

I saw this book at DuYi bookstore and I felt the urge to get it and see if I can learn how to build a better life. At age 24, I am clueless about what I should do in my life. Happiness has always ranked high in my priority but I was feeling disappointed and hopeless. Through this book, I gained some great insights as to how to manage my life.

The book starts with 10 common myths about the lives of women in which people believed them to be true. One of them states that 'women are good at multitasking, and it helps them to get everything done'. I couldn't agree more that this is untrue for me after this job experience because I just cannot concentrate on doing anything well. Our brain is not designed to multitask, it will slow us down, increase our stress level and eventually we become worn out. 

The book illustrates some real life experiences of great successful women through interviews with them. How do they live their lives feeling fulfilled, happy and accomplished. What exactly is the purpose in life? Many of us are stuck in a situation in our lives whereby we are not satisfied. This book will help you to identify your strengths and use these strengths to transform your lives.

Women's lives did improved over the years with better education and more decision making power. However, it is also because of the endless possible choices that causes us to have so much stress as to which option would be the best. I have a degree but I never really knew what I wanted, what I am good at and which direction should I go. Therefore, I am confused as to which is my correct path. This book has helped me with some guidelines to make certain decisions. There are 4 emotional signs stated in this book that shows if you have a strong life. You need to feel successful, looking forward to a new day, eager to grow and learn and have your needs fulfilled. 

Everybody is different and unique in their own way, so you can never copy another person's way of finding their strongest life.  You need to identify your own strong moments. "Strong moments are certain moments in your life that creates strongly positive emotions in you." Not all moments are equal because some time you feel nothing with certain moments and sometimes you will feel negative when you do something else. And because I have always been a more emotional person, I am really glad to know that I can rely on my emotions to guide me.

Weak moments are like those activities that makes you feel weak. If it is boring you, draining you and causing you to lose concentration, then it is a weakness. Instead of trying to improve these so called weaknesses, focus on building up your strength. And this is also something I am aiming for in my career path, to be an expert in something, which you might already be good at also. This would probably work better then juggling and trying to be good in all aspects. Similarly, as a student,  all my grades were average and I felt a little sad with no strong subject. 

There is a link provided in the book to determine what kind of lead role you were born to play. My main role is a creator and my secondary role is an advisor. I find that I really fit into the description [very true] of the book. You can try taking the test here! But the description online is a shorter version, so do get the book if you wish to find out more.

After you get an idea of who you may be, you can work your way to achieve a fuller life. Purposely tilt your life and create strong moments that will empower you. Rather than finding a balance in our hectic life, aim for fullness in our life. So start thinking about the moments that you feel very positive and strong. For example in my case, although I super hate this job, I feel that I'm strong when I manage to exceed the satisfaction of the customers. I feel positive drawing on the greeting card for a customer and it makes me happy.

I really like this book and will continue to use the knowledge I have gotten to strive to live a greater life. Remember that the more you dwell on a weakness, the bigger it may seem to be. So just ponder about who you really are and focus on building your strength.

Bedok South Indian Rojak

I wanted to write out this post to really express how much I enjoyed my experience with this stall. Indian Rojak is kind of unhealthy so I don't eat it very often but Bf had this craving so we decided to try it. Before that, we have seen a few groups of people eating the rojak, one of them was even taking a photo of the stall front. It must either be for a complaint or a recommendation.

So we need to choose our items in our plate right but because all of them look quite similar, bf asked the stall owner what all the items are. The owner, who is a really nice Indian man, explained to us row by row what ingredients are each food item comprised of. He even gave us small pieces of food sample to try before we order. I love the small shrimp dough, it is very fragrant and delicious. While we were debating whether to get the vegetable fried dough and wondering what vegetables is used, he gave us another small piece to try. Although I kindly rejected it since we already decided to get one to try anyway, he still persuaded us to take the piece, nice then buy he say. It is really very rare to find a food stall owner who has the patience to explain what he is selling and even provide us with free food samples. I overheard him telling another customer that there is no minimum order too! If you just want like 1 piece, I think he will still be very glad to serve you. 

After our chosen items were heated up with the fryer, he warned us to be careful as it is very hot. He guided us to where the utensils are and tell me that I can take more gravy if we don't have enough. Honestly, we ordered only 5 pieces and had two gravy bowls which is more than enough. He is generous. Since we sat near his stall, I could hear how he communicated with all the other customers. He feels like a jovial and very approachable uncle. I think one of the customers asked him about the beginnings of Indian Rojak and he said that this is Singapore Rojak. He has not seen or heard of any rojak in India hahaha. This is an interesting point. 

Of course the taste of the food must still be good la. I haven't eaten much Indian Rojak to do comparisons but generally since the food is heated up, it taste good and crispy :). The small shrimp dough is a must try because I love it so much! Other than that, it is mostly flour [carbohydrates!]  which can be gelat if you eat too much. And super unhealthy. 

But because the Indian uncle is such a nice seller, we would definitely patronize the stall again. Sometimes, making the effort to build good relationships will bring you further. 

Bedok South Road Block 16 Market & Food Centre. #01-07. 

Banana Tree

Bf brought me to a dessert place called "Banana Tree". He said I would love it, I think more in terms of the interior design and the cutesy decorative items. It was a quiet and nice atmosphere that day as there were only few people in the cafe. They have those mini pots as the serving bowl of their desserts, and with the addition of a stalk of flower, it becomes a miniature potted plant. These potted plants are also accompanied with spoons which look like shovels!

 

Self service free flow iced water as per most cafe style. I have the same banana keychain that is displayed on the shelf beside!

Here is a therapeutic corner for the bookworms, but I'm not so sure what types of books they have. I saw that there is a "chicken soup" for something. 

My Love, after I adjusted his hair abit.

We just ordered a chocolate flavoured one to share, with ice-cream and cake included.

This looks good! The chocolate ice cream is bittersweet and rich in flavour [really dark chocolate kind of chocolate]. The cake is also very very chocolate-ty. However, the strong flavour above will make the chocolate ice below taste rather bland. Also, it was a little difficult to eat because the wooden base is curved and not stable when you dig into the food. You have to eat the ice cream and cake with care lest everything drops on the table. We almost lost our cake >.< .

And I end the post with the "after" picture of the chocolate dessert :P

 Banana Tree, 26 Keong Saik Road Singapore 089133