Bruno's

The crust was kinda thin, hot and crispy and the cheese was not like the usual kind that we have on our pizza.

Decided to check out Bruno's Pizzeria and Grill as Adeline suggested Italian and Mark wanted pasta :P Hmm, simple decor but I thought it's kinda a nice and cozy place, like what I have mentioned to my dinner dates, it's more of casual dining. Seafood was fresh...from the starter to the pizza and to the clams in the pasta. Linguine with crab meat in pink sauce (interesting) was nice and luscious. The essence and sweetness of the crab meat can be savoured in every bit of the linguine. I think I would describe the vongole as al dente :P An Italian expression that I have come across while surfing the net. Has got just the right firmness and the clams were fresh and juicy. Well. every item came in piping hot and everything wasn't that salty. Hmm, may try Italiannes at Triple One, as recommended by Adeline. But for the time being, no Italian food, real high carbo :P

Porridge

Have always liked eating porridge. Nice and hot, easy to digest and of course, it goes very well with just salted vegetables :P Had dinner at Oasis Taiwan Porridge Restaurant (Toa Payoh). Well, we didn't just have salted vegetables though. I thought the fried promfret with fermented black beans and lotsa leek was nice, that was my favourite :P Ha, Rachel and I were trying to finish every bit of it, including the bones...meow :P The braised intestines and salted vegetables were kinda ordinary to me. The raw cockles were fresh though and went very well with the sourish chilli sauce. The porridge was nice and warm, kinda like it with those chunks of sweet potatoes. Hmm, I remember my mummy adding pumpkin when she was cooking porridge at home, I like it too! Nowadays, my mummy usually cooks porridge for dinner, good idea, goes well with just vegetables and steamed fish :)

That orange armchair

As I was enjoying my tea after the massage at Aramsa, the orange chair which I was facing caught my attention, it kinda looked so interesting with the lamp behind it. The light that came in from the garden seemed to bring a glow in that simple looking armchair. Dunno why but kinda felt so relaxing just looking at it.

Tea at Aramsa

There's a comment from a friend..."You really know how to pamper yourself." Well, why shouldn't I? Why couldn't I? Why mustn't I? I do have a choice, don't I?...I had a good scrub and massage at Aramsa today, really missed being pampered and being spolit, haha :P The gingery tea was good after the massage. You know, it's good to pamper your body once in a while. Not to forget that we are also pampering our mind and soul coz all these three are connected.

It was handmade...from the heart

The best gifts in life cannot be bought...It was a handmade card, photographs were taken by Snoop who has been pretty 'flowery' in her photography, at her workstation and in her blog recently :P ...Nice shots, showing three different perspectives with individualised character in each even though it's the same flower...It will certainly be a much treasured gift :)

Massive block

These have been my companion these two days. Well, you see, the Vapex inhalant is for my nasal congestion from a cold (XF, you mean virus do travel far? :P) and of course, the little cutie pouch is for containing my inhalant. Oops, I think I need some of those again...sniff sniff

Spending time with...

Miso soup with luncheon meat

Spent some time with my grandmother yesterday afternoon. She's doing fine and eating well :) Bought her favourite kueh and yam paste. Although wheelchair bound, she's still look physically strong and I am sure ever ready for a game of mahjong :P Ha, can still remember how she had kinda tried teaching the three of us a little of mahjong (It's not easy playing mahjong okie :P Well, I guess it's not easy teaching me too, haha!).

Popped by to visit Sunny baby in the evening too. Same old Sunny baby! As active as ever :P The ground outside was wet from the rain in the afternoon, so didn't take him out for a walk. He's having those nasty skin rashes too. Had a simple dinner of miso soup filled with lotsa beancurd, leek and mushroom. Thanks to Derrick! Hmm, when was the last time I had luncheon meat? Frankly speaking, I cannot remember. Mark decided to add pan-fried luncheon meat into our miso soup, haha, interesting, finished the whole big bowl of soup :P

By the beach

Took a walk with Rene along the beach while the other three decided to jog, it was a nice evening to take a stroll. A part of the sky was cloudy but clear enough to see sunset. We met at the seafood centre for dinner, decided to feast at Jumbo :P Kinda crowded for a weekday. Where we were sitting, we were also able to catch a glimpse of sunset. We kinda sat facing the sea too, beautiful evening to dine by the beach. Well, it's certainly great to take time to catch up with one another every ten weeks :)

Tea at East Coast Park

While waiting for Rene, Julia, Chu Hwei and Edmond...moroccan mint didn't seem to taste that minty but looking forward to seeing sunset...

Sorting and organising memories

It's time to sort out those photographs, a stack of them. Took out my black journal...how time flies. But no matter how time flies, memories stay...

Midlife

At times, simply enjoy reading The Sunday Times coz have always looked forward to reading the section, "Reflect". You know, sipping my cup of hot tea and reading the newspapers in the morning is such an enjoyment...Anyway, was reading an article "Midlifer and mentor" by Chua Mui Hoong, allow me to quote a section of what she has written...

For many people, midlife is a period of reflection, when you come in touch with your inner desires, and come face to face with your dreams. You then have a decision - do you accept your limits, let go of those dreams and learn to live with what you are and what you have? Or do you take a leap of faith and go after your dream? Either decision is fine. The key is to embrace your real self and accept yourself lovingly, achievements, disappointments, successes, failures and all.

In midlife, we learn different ways of gaining satisfaction. In our younger, driven 20s and 30s, our self-esteem is tied to our achievements. We take pride in work done with our hands, by the sweat of our brow. But as we grow into middle-age - and into management positions - the source of our satisfaction changes. Instead of taking pride in doing things ourselves, we learn to take pride in coaching, training and mentoring others to get things done. Psychologists call this "generativity". It is one of the most important transitions for those going through midlife.

Indeed, midlife is a period of reflection. In fact, well, I thought it could be a period of intense reflection. You probably learn to let go more easily, especially of things that won't really matter five years down the road. You probably learn to accept things more readily. I couldn't agree more with what Mui Hoong has shared.

Colours in my packed lunch

It was a colourful Thursday! Have I ever told you that I am always glad that it's Thursday, almost end of the week and that means weekend is kinda near :P Thought I would prepare packed lunch to work, decided to prepare fried rice. Kinda like the small french beans I bought from the supermarket and thought some char siew meat would add a little fragrance to the rice as the only seasoning I have added was just light soya sauce. Was kinda ambitious with colours so decided to have tomatoes with eggs. The huge tomatoes in the supermarket seemed juicy and nice. Added some milk and light soya sauce while beating the eggs. Like those days that I have brought homecooked lunch to work, I truly enjoyed the lunch that I have prepared just last Thursday. Colours do have a way of brightening our days too :P

A reason to smile

There is always a reason to smile every single day of our lives, isn't it? Little and simple gifts in my life have always been the reasons for my smile :)

Obolo - Layers of bliss

Indeed, they're layers of bliss. Put a spoonful of it in your mouth, close your eyes and just concentrate on enjoying the sweetness of it all, bit by bit, letting the sweetness diffuse to every bit of your taste buds. Some would choose to taste it layer by layer but I thought I like the taste of the combination of the various layers. Well, no matter what way you choose to savour it, enjoy it the way you like it.

Obolo - Les Macarons

It was a Tuesday afternoon. A few of us left our workplace for afternoon tea. Mark recommended Obolo located along Joo Chiat Road. Oh my, it was really a small cafe but I like the coziness. I guess size doesn't really matter. Was very much attracted to the black and white design on the wall, love the contrast of red at the desserts counter. You know, you just couldn't resist that smile on your face just looking at the colours of the various kinds of desserts in the cafe. Let's see, the last time I had lotsa macarons was summer in Basel. Kinda miss them...those smooth fillings sandwiched between those crispy shells, everything seems to melt in your mouth, every bit of it...goodness, could be so addictive :P