Gloxinia - the Twins

Since its 1st Birth in March, my pot of 2 Gloxinia plants has been blooming. All without aids from Fertilizer, simply breathing on Sunshine, Water & Air :)

The Twin from Plant 1. It was a Trio before 1 bloom withered.

The up and coming Twin from weaker Plant 2 :)

Homely Fried Rice

I love, i love this Fried Rice!

Acknowledging it as the Char Siew Fried Rice, it's the Fried Rice dish i grew up with and thus have a special bond in both its sweet taste & whiff of it. Mmmm...

Over last weekend, we bought the main ingredient of Char Siew from Yan Chuan Roaster remembering to request for the sweet Char Siew sauce.

1 pointer to note: Do NOT use up all the Char Siew sauce for the cooking, it maybe too sweet for the dish.

As a guide, we have below 3 cups of uncooked Rice, 500grams of Char Siew, 3/4 of the supplied Char Siew sauce.

Simple easy steps (do control the fire):
1. Heat oil. Stir frying the finely chopped Ginger, Garlic.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, diced Prawns first, followed by Fish Cake, Char Siew, Mixed Beans & Carrots.
3. Season the lot with Pepper. Then add in the Cooked Rice, mixing it up well (low fire).
4. Add a Tbsp of Dark Soya sauce and the pack of Char Siew sauce on the Fried Rice while blending everything together (low fire).
5. When the Fried Rice had been well mixed to achieve its uniform color, add a generous dose of chopped Spring Onions and turn up the fire for a good 5 mins stir (for the flavor to soak into the rice grains).

I believe all kids would love this sweet savory dish. Used to polish off 3 bowls of it in a meal but sadly i could only accomplish 1 bowl tonight :(

Pack a big bag for next day's Lunch :)

Homely dishes always tasted best when Mom cooks for us. I dread the day we have to cook this for ourselves, cos it's never the same...

Subway's the Way

You know Subway have franchise of over 31,118 restaurants in 90 countries!?

Talk about "Eating Fresh", Sandwiches does provide a refreshing zest to our forever challenging taste buds. After you grow tired of eating greasy cooked food; sandwiches is a God sent.

For this promotion period, a set meal consisting of a 6"inch, tall drink & 2 Cookies sets you back at only $5.90

We have 2 Tuna meal set over 1 Oven Baked Chicken cos the Tuna tastes better ;)

Cookies are good here. Over what's available today, we have the Chocolate Chip, Double Chocolate (not in picture), White Nut Macadamia, Oatmeal Raisins and the Peanut Butter.

We love the Oatmeal Raisins best, cos it has a nice aromatic tang of Cinnamon? Some flavor of Spices in the bite. Special, we like it.

But what's unforgettable for me was their Breakfast Egg that they only have during Breakfast hours.

Bakerzin - Chocolate Amer

Chocolate Amer ($25+)

I've read much good reviews on Bakerzin, on their Desserts & Cakes. But this our 1st time patronizing.

We have their seemingly simple Chocolate Amer that's actually flourless Chocolate sponge cake layered with bitter Chocolate mousse.

Utterly chocolaty yet light for its flourless fundamental, we enjoyed it much. Flourless. Now i know it, i love it.

In the size of 12x14cm, you are paying for quality than quantity. Burning $12.50+ for it after a 50% discount, it's a good bargain for value.

Do check their webpage often to catch their featured Cake of the Month for the 50% discount promotion.

Marley & Me (2008)

I have had 2 dogs in my life so far.

Smokey is our family 1st when he accompanied us through schooling, dating and career stages. He was most unfortunate to be there when we were immature and often busy, preoccupied with our activities to care for him.

Time spent on him was little. And we had abruptly decided to put him to sleep in his old sickly age of 16 years. High medical expenses were the other push factor.

It was sad that many a times; our most loyal friend was neglected of his feelings and basic needs, taken for granted, as a foil in our 'busy' short living time frame.

As portrayed in the movie, a 'troublesome' dog maybe the first thing we would put away in the face of our hectic day agenda.



As in Life, it is imperfect, and often messy with many trying moments of unforeseen circumstances. A dog helps sprinkled that genuine sweetness and humor between the saccharine and all the sadness.

Playing ball, giving him a good rub, a pat or a cuddling session is more often our needs than his.

Amid the natural wear-and-tear of the many relationships we have, the one with the dog is unceasing. Be it a reprimand session or after an abandon act, he never bores resentment and greets you with his wettest kiss when he sees you again.

This is the compelling charm a dog exudes, in their most innocent & honest display.

Marley & Me isn't cinema, it relates to everyday people like you & me in our mediocre life, real and without being dull.

Saltwater Cafe and Creek

Since last October, i've wanted to dine at the resort conceptual Changi Village Hotel since its major makeover in 2004.

And at a Credit Card promotional 1-for-1 rate of $32++ for their International Lunch Buffet, i could no longer hold out my suspension.

Bright and cheery was our dining hall with full view of the facing greenery and Swimming Pool. Its relaxed atmosphere sets our mood right for a hearty meal :)

Greenly Salad Bar.

Mussels & Prawns.

Neatly arranged on Ice cubes, these are fresh and firm. Great tasting with dribble of Tabasco Pepper sauce & Lemon squeezes.

Fresh Cut Sashimi Serving Counter.

Pig's Stomach Pepper Soup

This Chinese entree is unexpectedly good, flavorful broth and tender intestines; it comes with Gingko Nuts and sliced Button Mushrooms.

There's another pot of Creamy Carrot Soup looking real good but i didn't try, it comes with nice Bread Rolls to go with.

Century Eggs Porridge.

This plainly adorned Porridge with Fried Fritters is cooked to the right consistency, it tasted deliciously smooth.

The Round Cooked Food Counter.

There's the Fried Kway Teow (on the foreground), followed by Sauteed Beef, Rojak Chicken, Chawanmushi, Baked Mussels, Braised Pork, Steamed Fish in Miso and Sauteed Vegetables.

Steamed Fish with Miso - i love this.

Rojak Chicken - We love this :)

Braised Pork - nice.

Nasi Briyani.

Kick yourself if you ever missed this little side counter.

Fluffy Basmati rice with all the necessary works of golden Fried Fish, Masala Mutton, Curry Chicken and Long Beans in Bean Sauce. Mmmm... ...

Laksa - DIY by Ric.

It's a pity; the one here is served without fresh Cockles. Else, we would make a little dance around this delightful bowl that we shared.

Spaghetti in Creme Sauce

A choice of either the Spaghetti or Penne Pasta to go with the Cream, Tomato or Aglio Olio Sauce. These matches never can go wrong. Mama mia.

Har Gow & Five Spiced Meat Roll.

A little from Hong Kong presented in tiny Har Gow (Shrimp dumplings), Five Spiced Meat Roll and Steamed Buns. I was surprised that despite its small-scale assembly, these little 2 pieces actually tasted nice and decent. Yeah, never a slipshod job.


The Dessert section is a stage that opens with French Pastries and 3 rows of Nonya Kuehs and little Cakes behind the scenes.


We especially enjoyed the little cakes of Cheese and palatable assortment of Kuehs; those little Shot Glass Desserts of Bavarian Cream Mousse are too sweet for our liking.


Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce.

For some warm Desserts, they serve local Pulut Hitam with Coconut Milk and Bread Pudding (Hong Kong styled - with Vanilla Creme Dressing).

I have this big slice of Bread Pudding all for myself. I love Bread Pudding :) Can you see the tiny Black Vanilla seedlings in the sauce?

And we rested upon a good cup of Coffee after the heavy meal; they served Boncafe here. Some take-away with scopes of Vanilla & Chocolate Ice-cream in crispy Cone, if you could still manage to :) I can!

All in all, the quality of food here is more than mediocre and most memorable. I would certainly love to return.