You are sweet!

Snoop dearie, it's really a pleasant and lovely surprise! You have certainly brought a smile on my face, thank you :) You are really sweet too!

It's a piggy!

We were out for dinner when they were delivered. Ha, in the end, it was left at our neighbour's house. Got them the next day. It was a bouquet of flowers and a flat piggy :P Gave the piggy a squeeze, so huggable! What a lazy-looking piggy :P ...Sis dearie, thank you! Hugs and kisses too :)

Happy happy birthday

I am really thankful for and appreciative of all the many texts received, cards, lovely gifts and hugs. Thank you for remembering, it means alot :) Most wanted me to enjoy my special day. But was thinking, why must we wait till our special day to enjoy our day? Why couldn't every day be like a birthday celebration? Why couldn't every day be like unwrapping a birthday present? Why must wait till that special day? Why couldn't every day be special in its little way? Isn't every day a gift? ...To those lovely people reading this now, I wish there's a better phrase than "thank you", love ya all! The candles are blown out, wishes made...Happy Birthday, happy every day, silly gal...

A family dinner

My lovely loved ones :)

He ate lots :P

Kway tiao with chai poh, the Teochew way!

Ha, I think the tau kwa beneath interests me more than the goose meat :P

Teochew steamed promfet...I like the soup

The wu xiang was good but seriously did not know how to appreciate that jelly-like appetizer :P

Didi suggested having traditional Teochew cuisine for dinner tonight and we thought maybe we should go back to Mong Hin where we also had dinner one year ago. He has been around in Singapore for almost a week and he has always been eating and eating. Well, I feel that I am no different from him these few days :P Well, his holiday is coming to an end, he's flying back to China tomorrow. Glad that both Didi and XF will be back home this December :) ...Idiot Didi was still asking me to eat those durians in the refridgerator with him just now after dinner at the restaurant. I really could not stuff any more food :P

A dear friend

Slacker Part II :P

Avoided phototaking coz no make-up and puffy eyes after a night of mahjong but ha, managed to take one while she's on the phone, oops! :P

Without fail, this dear friend of mine will always arrange to meet me on 5 Oct. It was kinda a late lunch at Coffee Club but I think we chatted till the evening. Ha, as usual, talked about anything under the sun and yes, I really meant anything :P ...Dearest Guiyu (an ardent fan of my blog), many years have passed (I have lost count of the number, as usual :P), we have gone through many stages of our lives, we have celebrated numerous birthdays but one thing remains unchanged...Thank you for the much treasured friendship :)

Durian Durian

Didi bought durians home just now and wanted me to join him for a durian feast. He always loves to buy and eat durians whenever he's back home in Singapore. Goodness, I feel I need to be on some detox programme for the next couple of weeks (I think I am pretty serious about this :P). Well, ate one seed of that durian, it was good. But nope, did not reach for the second one :P

Minty lemongrass

Derrick was in the mood to cook so was invited over to have some homecooked food Sunday evening. Melon soup, vegetables, steamed fish and kimchi, with brown rice...the joy of simple fare. Dessert was cakes, bought from a traditional confectionary, interesting! With the great variety of pastries and cakes available in the market nowadays, how many of us actually still enjoy cakes from those traditional confectionaries that probably have a long history behind them. Mark made some hot lemongrass drink with mint leaves plucked from the garden, reminded me of Thailand and even spa...refreshing, great drink after a meal or after spa :P You know, I seemed to be on holiday for the past few days, but I knew I really enjoyed those few days of holiday. Could there be more? :P

What's in that space?

Experimenting what's the best angle to capture Sunny baby with Mark's help. I would say this is my favourite shot, I really love it! ...Hmm, sometimes, we just need to get away from the crowd for a while and enjoy that personal space that we need. I see space, I see peacefulness and silence in that picture. It is probably in that space, peacefulness and silence that one finds meaning in life.

2 Oct...The cake and the company

The lovely company :)

Special donuts (that's what I would call them) bought by Adeline!

We spent quite some time finishing our 7-course dinner. You know, I think I have never had someone singing (or was he shouting?) a birthday song so loudly for me, much louder than my friends I must say :P One of the waiters really sang his heart out, ha, but that was really nice of him though. The game of "Hit or Miss" (a gift from Lishan) was really a hit that night after dinner, we played till late into the night at Derrick's place. We had lotsa fun, or at least I did. Sometimes, I simply love those times we get together to play, love to see that playful child in each of us :)

2 Oct...Dinner at Tao's

Cheesy bacon & mushroom gratin with toasted thick slices of bread...An enticing way to kick off the 7-course meal :P

Top shell with Japanese cold noodles...Next time, I am gonna try having my top shell salad on top of some Japansese cold noodles, great appetizer :P

Room for mushroom? ...juicy, wonder what they put in that sauce

Cream of mushroom...whooo, lotsa mushroom, wholesome!

Snapper...fresh and really love the sauce on it, finger-licking good!

Green tea ice cream...a little more bitterness in it would be just great for me

Rose apple tea...refreshing but was focusing more on the aesthetical aspect of it, haha!

Sometimes, it just feels good not to make any decisions and to have everything planned for you :P I was glad I did not do much of decision making for dinner on Saturday. I was given three options for dinner and I just gotta pick one :P Thank you Mark for providing the options and arranging! :) I chose Tao's Restaurant at PoMo. A 7-course dinner set for each, I thought this kinda arrangement would be good for a big group, reducing the hassle of deciding what to eat or what to order. Each one of us got to choose our appetizer, soup, main entree, dessert and tea. The rest like starter and another side were the same for all. So, just sharing my own 7-course dinner :P

Rainee

I am gonna call him Rainee. Rain or shine, I know lovely Rainee will always be there by my side. Thank you Kat :)

A ticket? A birthday card?

I was totally puzzled when I opened the envelope and saw this 'ticket' cum birthday card. Well, it obviously did not look like a real ticket to the play :P Haha, had a real good laugh when I looked at the seat number. Very clever and creative, gals :P

At the back of the 'ticket'...Well, the date is on!

The creators of the 'ticket'...look at that grin on their faces :P

Goodness, it must be the biggest Tiramisu cake I have ever had :P

It was lunch at Shin Kushiya, a pretty late lunch I would say. But it's good, no lunchtime crowd, nice and quiet Friday afternoon to enjoy Japanese food. You know, I think it's really the most interesting birthday gift that I have ever received. The gals told me about how they had thought so hard about the birthday gift. Was really touched when I knew that they had spent their Thursday evening 'designing and creating' that gift, hmm, card :) ...Thank you gals, for the treat, the cake, the gifts (both Part I and II). Most of all, thank you so much for your friendship, I am really glad that our paths crossed and we got the chance to know each other, love ya :)

What's for dessert?

There were quite a selection of beautiful and delightful cakes and pastries at the high tea buffet at Goodwood Park but I was really kinda too full to eat. Nevertheless, decided to take a few of those pretty little cakes and take a picture of them. Well, with the help of Rene and Edmond, hee, managed to finish those little cakes and pastries on that plate. Always glad to share calories :P ...It was really a nice and sweet little treat from Rene, Joyce, Julia and Edmond for the three October babies! Thank you! :)

Tea at Goodwood Park Hotel

Well, it was kinda a high tea buffet at Goodwood Park Hotel on a Thursday afternoon. It was almost 4pm when I met the rest, real famished by then as I did not manage to find time to get a proper lunch that day. The selection of sandwiches was good, was pretty curious about what were sandwiched in between those slices of bread. Tried the scones and they had that kinda cream (introduced by Cassy when I was in London) for scones. The scones, nice and warm, were delicious when eaten with the cream and jam! What a nice and relaxing afternoon tea time...

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, how often do we get to receive a handwritten card? A greeting card or letter never fails to bring a smile on my face. Lishan never fails to send this little star a birthday card from Hong Kong every year :)