Toasty Toaster

Hello, today I'll be sharing with you about my latest online purchase from Shopee - a pretty pretty pastel mint toaster from Odette!

So, I did mention that I'll be moving to a new place in the next couple of months, and one of the things I was really looking forward to doing was to buy a toaster and have toasted bread. Really.

If you live alone, you'll probably understand the frustration (and pain) of buying a loaf of bread and force feeding yourself to finish the loaf before it expires. At times like that, I wished I had a toaster so that I could have a wider variety for eating bread.

You'd ask why couldn't I do it before? Well, mostly because I wasn't bothered to ask my landlords if I could bring in a toaster - I kind of just assumed they wouldn't welcome the idea. But I could be wrong.

Anyway though! Too late for that, I did buy a toaster, and I bought it now because this particular one was on sale, and it was love at first sight. Watch on!

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And my toasted bread turned out great, but I don't know why I can't upload photos right now, very strange, but I'll try again tomorrow.

Ultra happy! :D

Let's Eat Series Inspired: Seoul Shiok Noms

I finally dragged my butt to Seoul Shiok at Sengkang Square after having read about it a couple of times. And because I'm moving out of the neighbourhood soon, so it was a now-or-never sorta thing.

Also, I confess I've spent much of my downtime lately watching the second season of Let's Eat which stars my crush - Yoon Doojoon, who has just enlisted (sobs!) and my female crush, actress Seo Hyun Jin!

All the show has done for me was increase my cravings for all food Korean, and ignite my hopes that kdrama can become my reality. ROFL.

A snippet from the series, don't say I didn't warn you.

A girl can dream.

Back to Seoul Shiok, there wasn't a queue of humans per say, but I suppose as food delivery services is all the trend now, I waited for about 15mins, behind 2 delivery guys who had truckload of orders, before I could even place mine. Good thing I wasn't hungry.

Food was ready in about 10mins or so, so that was sweet. I'm not one to be fussy about my dining environment, so the non-aircond open air foodcourt didn't bother me, though I suspect it would be a concern for some.

Sidenote, Kopitiam kopi is the best, and at only $1.50 to boot. I sometimes wonder why we spend so much on premium coffee. (-__-)"

Soy Bean Paste stew, $4.90 and Fried Chicken Wings, $3.90 (for 2 pieces)

The stew was yums, though it was on the salty side. I have a preference for saltier food so it was just nice for me, no complains there. Mushroom, tofu, onions made up the main ingredients, and some slices of pork, that was what I could tell. The rice was nicely cooked too.

I went for the sweet soy fried chicken, and maybe perhaps.. no, I was too greedy. By the time I got to the chicken, I was pretty stuffed, but let's just say that I've tasted much better fried chicken wings.

All in all, my meal set me back by $8.80, not too shabby a price to pay for a Korean meal I suppose.

And in true Gu Dae-young fashion, here's what's left of my meal! :)

Happy tummy!

What I Love

I am most stressed, not when it comes to work.

I love laundry days.

My poop has been really stinky since I moved here. LOL. So much so that I everytime after I finish my business in the toilet at home, I hope no one walks past the door. And to the extent where I try to do my business outside of home. So yesterday, I bought air-freshener from NTUC.

I love doing groceries too.

I had to buy banana for my landlady yesterday and I couldn't find them. Haha, goes to show how you really wouldn't bother about things that don't interest / bother you.

I also bought a pair of orange minion bedroom slippers on discount from Watsons. But they're so squeaky with their rubber soles.

I'm hoping to pop by JB to visit the Dad over the one day Raya break. But I can be such a lazy ass sometimes.

The longer I am here, the more I realise how much I love being on my own. Just doing my own thing. By my own independent self.

BSF starts again tonight, after a month long break. Here's to hoping I stay awake and remain attentive, which was always a very hard thing to do.

Bread kaya cheese bread kaya cheese bread. That's lunch. And coffee.

I'm never gonna lose weight. I just keep telling myself, you've burn so much by walking, you can eat that icecream. You've climb 3 flights of stairs, you can have that bubble tea.

Doesn't help that I'm becoming more careless with my spending either.

Here's a beautiful picture of what took place over the recent weekend. I suppose, I guess I do like my job. Please go like SingaporeSailing's facebook page and see more photos there.

See you soon!

12am Instant Noodles

Yeah. I totally did it.

The instant noodle stock was meant for days where I either have no time for a proper meal, or for when I have no money to afford a proper meal. 12am today, was neither. Sans for the fact that I have a document that is due tomorrow and I am barely 10% through.

And I just remembered a text I need to send out. BRB!

Message sent.

First things first. I finally found yam paste dessert and it's right at Bedok food court! /happy dance

And I totally feed myself 午餐肉 whenever I am at the foodcourt these days. I justify my food choices by the amount of steps I have to walk daily, which I kid you not, is a lot.

I've not not exceeded my daily target. And that's a feat considering back at home, on a good day, I probably could manage 1000 steps. Here, it is times 6 of that. And it's every single day! What a feat. My legs don't even feel sore from all the walking anymore.

Big hop. Life lesson and important note to self: Always flush public toilets before deciding to do business in there, just in case the pump doesn't work and you're left to hope that the person waiting to use the cubicle after you doesn't register your face.

I will probably wake up with a bloated face tomorrow. Thanks to the instant noodles. It tasted rather crappy but I downed it all anyway. Simply because.

I fantasize visualise being in Korea and downing a piping hot bowl of ramyun, up in a rented attic / studio, in my comfy pajamas and having a side of kimchi. A girl can dream.

Today, I decided to try out the bus route instead of taking the MRT (which is not 火车, but 地铁) for two reasons. It should be a cheaper alternative (should because I forgot to check the meter as I tapped when alighting) and secondly, it should be more time saving (should because I got distracted texting and alighted the bus when everyone else did without double checking Google Maps only to realise moments later that I was in the middle of not-where-I-should-be).

One would think living abroad on your own should make you more savvy and alert to situations eh? Not in my case. I'm still just bumbling my way through. Not in the bad sense.

Today again, I was incredibly touched when a colleague of mine offered me lunch she brought from home because she said that I don't get to eat home-cooked food since I am living away from home. Not that she needs to know that even when I was living at home, I didn't get any home-cooked food. LOL

But it is true, I am grateful that God has always blessed me by giving me all the kind and good people in my life. And for the occasional painful ones that He has made me encounter, well, He gives me more nice ones to help me keep sane. Thank you Lord.

And judging by the rate I am going, I am likely to miss my Daily Bible reading again tonight (as in, yesterday night since it is past 12 now). I also skipped the day before because I am not particularly disciplined that way.

I have a test to study for. A budget report to complete (this due tomorrow today). And a few other urgent things to complete before the end of the week, which in true sense, I've lost track of weekends / weekdays because my work schedule is just simply not weekend / weekday oriented.

Inasmuch as I don't want to stop babbling on, I should get back to working on the budget, I really think I should get going or otherwise, this all-nighter is really going to have to pulled.

Bye peeps. Thanks for paying attention. This one is for you! x

Stand By You - Rachel Platten

Happy Deepavali & A Mini Food Review

Inet is sucky today. =(

Happy Deepavali everybody! I had the chance to feast on some extraordinary mutton curry yesterday for lunch, courtesy of a very good friend. And I wish I have the chance to wear my saree out someday soon. Coincidentally, the saree was made for the very same friend's wedding! And the saree cloth was actually purchased by another good friend of mine all the way from India. I like how one thing links to another. =)

If you've been to Mid Valley in the past week or so, you'd have seen this. If you have not, go and see it for yourself now! It's super gorgeous. I love colors, so this is something that I really really like.

Image credit: The Star

Read about Ruden Prakash (the artist) here.

I woke up thinking maybe I should compile a quick list of some of my favourite go-to food. Considering it's Deepavali today, and one of the few many things that Malaysians truly celebrate as a whole is our glorious food.

As most of my friends would know, I am not particularly adventurous when it comes to discovering new eateries, mainly because I am a creature of habit, and also because I am extremely lazy when it comes to having to drive long distances just to fill my tummy. How unnecessary.

In any case, here are some of my favourite picks, or at least the 10 that I can think of today. Keep in mind that I tend to stick to some basic rules with my choices:

1. I emphasize that distance and location plays a big part in my choices. And parking availability too.
2. I also pay attention to price (quite a fair bit) because well, I am a penny pincher that way, plus, good food doesn't always have to expensive food, or expensive food may not always be good food.
3. I totally dislike large crowds at meal times, ie, the likes of Antipodean, Burgerlab etc. (Note: their food may be good, but I personally can't justify the waiting time just to eat a meal).

So here goes!

1. Sin Lay Peng in Lucky Gardens would be my go-to 大炒 place. It's the corner lot. I've heard some friends saying the food is not great and service is bad but in all my experiences, I've only been let down once. What I typically order from them would be marmite sotong, fried egg with preserved veg, stir fry vege of any sort, spinach century egg soup, and lastly, marmite pork ribs!

2. McDonalds is my go-to comfort food of all times. Especially during their lunch and dinner set promo. Too bad that they stopped allowing free refills. I love their sundae cone, it's one of the best icecreams around (and cheap too)!

3. Marmalade in BV 1 for salads. And their pumpkin soup. And their orange duck something wrap.

4. Starbucks will remain my favourite coffee joint, because I am loyal that way. Tsk. More so I like that my RM11 will get me a decent sized coffee as compared to some hippier joints where RM11 (or more) will reward you with two sips of coffee. Then again, I am not a fussy coffee drinker so I don't take into consideration the whole origin of the beans, the roast temperature, the aroma etc.

5. My favourite roast pork place is in Pudu - Wong Mee Kee. This is the furthest I will willingly drive for food.

6. My default breakfast place is the corner lot coffee shop in Lucky Garden underneath the slightly dodgy looking massage parlour with the yellow signboard. I love their steam bread which comes with kaya and butter, or their fish head noodle soup, or wantan mee, pretty much everything is yummy.

7. Mamak food is another of my favourites. I'd go to Devi's for puri and banana leaf rice. Pelita for their sup kambing and roti canai, and Syed's in Lucky Garden for their tandoori and satay. And as with all mamak's, my favourite drink would be either a teh tarik, or a kopi tarik. Or if the weather is really hot, then the iced versions.

8. For Korean food, the typical two places I'd go to would be Uncle Lim in Hartamas, or if I'm alone and not craving for BBQ in general, Ko Hyang in the Gardens is a good place too.

9. Japanese food wise, I really enjoy Senjyu's. But they're quite pricey. I would typically skip Sushi Zanmai in Gardens because the queue is maddening though the food is decent. Sushi Tei is another good place.

10. My most recent and most favourite meal place is Beyond Veggie. I've got some real mushroom crush. I previously went to the one in Tropicana because that was the nearest to me, but now they've opened a new branch in Mid Valley! And they've got brown rice option, healthy eating so win-win. The prices are not particularly cheap though.

Of course, these are my personal opinions and I don't speak for the general public. 

P/s: I know in the earlier part of my post, I claimed that I like cheap food, and then it turns out that 50% of the things on my list are not exactly cheap. But bare in mind that out of the 10 places I've listed above, my most frequently visited places are 1, 6 & 7.

The Withdrawals Are Serious With This One

So I am back from Bali with a nasty sore throat. It really hurts. =(

Here's a random photo of me at one of our dinner choices in Bali - Warung Wahaha. Noms! It was scrumptious, and frankly, quite well priced too (having checked my credit card bills this morning with the confirmation after the conversion rate).

On a sidenote: I always wondered why restaurants would put what ended up on our dinner plates as their mascots.

I believe this trip made me love Bali a lot more than the last trip I had. Perhaps because this time, we decided to stay put in one place and not do the touristy thing of trying to see the whole of Bali and get stuck in tortuous jams. We did get scammed by one of the taxi drivers to dinner though, I hope he lives well with the money he got off us. I mean so, in the sense that I hope he's not using that money to do drugs or buy cigarettes but instead to send his children to school or to buy them a nice meal or two. One can only hope.

What did I do this time, you may ask? We took surfing lessons and had a great session with our instructor from Odyssey Surf School, we had our daily foot reflexology massage at this place which I can't recall its name, we ate good food and dined at some really pretty places including The Deck followed by drinks at Potato Head Beach Club. And we stayed at the very orangey themed Harris Hotel Raya Kuta which is a bit of a distance to the beach but I guess that's how we managed to stay within the budget for accomm. They do have the most comfy beds and pillows though!

All in all, I loved the surf session, which was meant to be the highlight of the trip anyway, I wished we had the energy and determination to go back the second day but alas, we just couldn't get ourselves to. Saving it for a "next time" for sure.

In the meantime, I need a replacement throat.

I Wish

1. Someone would ACCIDENTALLY stumble unto my shopping list.

2. I had all the answers to all the questions.

3. You'd stop asking me questions that make me re-think about possibilities.

4. The weekend came quicker, and at the same time, not so much.

5. I can eat all the icecream in the world and not gain weight.

Waiting For Superman - Daughtry

No, not really waiting for superman to pick me up. But it'd be kinda nice if he's out there. Somewhere.

Night! xx

Exciting!

Because I am in a hurry to go to sleep.. Here's a summary of all the jazz.

I get inspired by people. Had the opportunity to meet one of the Volvo Ocean Racing female crew sailing on team SCA yesterday. Such an inspiration.

Excellence - A Team SCA film

I would think that I'd have chicken dreams tonight. Where they'll haunt me in my sleep. Now I'm scared to sleep. I had KFC for lunch, and tandoori for dinner. Chicken overload.

Bought tickets to Bali, and Korea! Woots woots! I've always wondered what it's like to be a parent - not that I want to be one. When we were kids, even when going to the mall, we had to ask for permission. As we grew, we naturally stop asking for permission but we'll still consult our parents. And then comes a time when we just stop altogether, we just do our own thing and sometimes, we don't even tell our parents what we're up to anymore.

Sometimes I wonder how they take it.

That's it for now. Nights! xx

Top 10

下个,路口,见 - 李宇春

1. I hope I didn't injure my shoulder, that would not be fun. Soreness I can deal with, but not an injury.

2. Mike Wan got me hooked on 中国好声音! It's the China version of The Voice. And the people who go on stage are amazing.. And I also have them to thank for a new playlist to listen to - like the song above, which is the original singer's version. So nice!

3. I pledge to not eat Maggie for the rest of August. Because it has no nutritional value what-so-ever.

4. Now that my hair is shorter, it dries faster too! /happydance

5. Yesterday's outing was a much needed one, with good people, lots of laughs, and good food. And well, I got to sail.

6. I really need to work on my lousy temper though.

7. My second attempt at Sweet Potato fries wedges was much much better. A tad too dry though, cause I tried cooking it in my microwave first - perhaps it dried up the sweet potato a little.

8. 愛是一顆幸福的子彈　愛是一次永久的期待　沒有愛就沒有傷害 - 愛是一顆幸福的子彈

9. 我要　我瘋　我要　我愛　就是； 我不轉彎 - 盛夏光年

10. 有時　我感覺失落　感覺自己像一棵草 有時　我陷入空虛　可我不知道為什麼 - 美麗世界的孤兒

Chinese song lyrics really can be quite emo, and so meaningful. And when they are all so well sung, I melt.