Nesting Calls

Several of my friends had just gotten the keys to their new homes. Some had them all done up. Seems like a good year for new homes, with so many of them doing so this year.
A long lost girl friend's mail popped up recently. It had been a while since we had kept in touch then. I was ecstatic about it.. We exchanged msn and chatted. She had just moved into her new home. I popped by on Thursday, to view it and to catch up as well.

I asked for permission to take pics of her 'lovenest' (haahaa.. don't kill me yet, my dear friend) and the more I took the more excited I was. She really have such good taste, doing up her home with such detail. She did a part of her feature wall in textured painting with some glitter on it. It was really nice. Other finishing touches were like wallpaper that weren't too ornate. It was very well chosen, using a simple colour white. It was that white on white concept, matt on gloss sort.
Well, she had always been very detail and conscientious in her work. Her effort-all in all, is very admirable. To give her and her hubby some privacy, I shall not post the unit no of her apartment here (of courselah! siao meh.. lololol).

Dial 'Q' for Swanky

Happy Children's Day

It will be Children's Day on the 1st of October. Rae and Lea are having Pre-Children's day party at their respective schools, today. Rae is expecting performance by teachers and friends from school whereas Lea is having a potluck party at her nursery.. I'd almost forgotten about the potluck.. but luckily yesterday at about 6pm, my girls reminded me.. hahaha.. So very quickly, I left my pc (yes, chatting away) and drove to the local grocers for a pack of russets. I had wanted to make 'Bangers and Mash' but when I got home I thought maybe just more of a finger food for their convenience..

So I made Panfried Sausies and Diced Russets.. this morning. I know the kids aren't into vegetable but I added a handful of green Peas to bring up the colour for this meal..hahaha. Let them pick the peas out..

Singapore Living versus Malaysian Living

I had an exclusive invitation by my friend to visit her new apartment recently. Her hubby and herself had just got a swanky new apartment at The Quintet. Its an Executive Condominium, which in Singapore terms, similar to a private apartment only that it is developed by the Government to provide apartment living with frills, for Singaporeans.

Housing in Singapore

The govt based housing we have currently are mainly the 'flatted' type of living - dividing into studios, 2, 3, 4, 5 room flats, exec flats and exec mansionettes.

Later in the 90s, the Government added ECs (executive condominium) to cater for those who like the frills of having - luxury fittings in their apartments and the facilities of swimming pool, gym, bbq pits, tennis courts and more. In the past, we had the HUDC flats which was then privatised as a private estates. These flats are large but they have to raise money to build their own facilities. However the ECs are different, because to me it is similar to the private condominiums/apartments, except that it is developed by the Govt. I believe that the developer is very important as gives the buyers the assurance of housing without compromising on quality.

The Govt in Singapore has been very good to its people. It builds studio flats with safety features for its elderly, small 1 or 2-room flats for lower waged workers, work on various sizes and categories to cater for each different clientele. I really applaud the maintenance work it has taken to paint the housing, usually every 5 years or so, prompt painting should there be any vandalism, adding of features like lifts, ramps for ease of the handicapped and community and building so many facilities for each town.

The Singaporean Citizen

No citizen is deprived of housing in Singapore. For a PR like me, I am allowed to buy their housing at resale value in the open market. They limit the buying of new flats only for their own people but i am not any bitter about tat. That is certainly a supportive measure for its people. For those who have more budget they are free to get landed or private housing at whatever cost they can afford. For the really poor ones, the subsidies on flats, be it rental, or sale - they are really attractive. And not to forget, Singaporeans who choose to stay close to their parents get subsidy in their flats or apartments. Any subsidy works across the board, be it whatever race or religion you are. Isn't that great!

Across the causeway

Crossing the causeway is really an eyesore. Look at our gah-men housing. Look at the mouldy walls, the litter and the state of the car parks. I dont understand why build flats and not maintain them. Where do all the maintainence fees go to? Why build flats and then just let it rot.. Look at the state it has become! I am just so speechless.

HELLOOOO why can we take a lesson from our neighbour.. Gah-men housing may be affordable. But if only it applies to all who are citizens. You only get a special discount % if you belong to a certain group of people.. BUT IT DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL CITIZENS.. WHY? So am i considered a PR in my own country? Because I will never enjoy these benefits? I've always thought Nationality applies to all as long as you are holding a Malaysian IC.... Aaaarrrggh!

Toy Car Rides

The girls really enjoy these toy car rides. My spare change are usually spent on these. Every mall or neighbourhood we go, for sure they will pester me to let them sit on these. Well, sometimes yes, but not everytime! Its not often they want to share a ride since they fight over who sits where, steer the wheel, press the buttons and even drop the coins...

The ones at the mall cost $1 whereas if i bring them to the heartlands, i only pay 20 cents per ride..

More Pics of Swensens

Lea, having a Kid's Volcano all by herself. Rae had the Kids' Coit Tower, a tall glass with chocolate icecream, fudge, bananas, strawberries, cream and top with a cherry on top and a fan wafer. But she had attacked it so fast, I had totally forgotten about taking a pic..

Swensens' Ice Cream Mooncakes

Thought I should post this before Mooncake month is totally over. For some of my friends who didn't know about Swensens' Ice Cream Mooncakes, here is a pic of a flyer I'd taken on Sunday evening, whilst having dinner at Swenson's ice cream restaurant.

It was a crowded day, perhaps Sunday being the reason. Swensens has been around for as long as I have been in Singapore, in the last 20 years.. History before that? I'm not sure. I remember how my classmates and I love to go to the branch in Plaza Singapura and have lunch there. Back then, the fish and chips were terribly popular.. and they had already been using a 'pda' system to enable smooth flow of customers. Not sure if its still there..

Swensens was probably one of the pioneers who started on ice cream mooncakes in the last decade or more. I remembered that you had to order them in advance because they were usually sold out! And it was only offered to Amex customers only.. (I could be wrong, it was so long ago) Anyway if you have to chance to try them, go for the Chewy Chocolate flavour. It's quite good.

Tupperware Mooncakes

Tupperware also has their range of mooncakes.. We got this as a gift. The tall box came with 3 square Tupperwares and two mooncake. The third box contain its promotional leaflet which can get you some discounts off if you want to purchase Tupperware products.

Handy stuff this gift!

Over the moon with mooncakes

LANTERNS AND MOONCAKES

It is that time of the year again. Mooncake season, and Lantern Festival. I just got some simple looking lantern (paper decor lantern) because they've had been receiving so many over the last few years. And at the end of the year, I end up trashing it. So this year, I'd decided not to buy any when they'd be receiving from aunts and friends.

On Saturday, I brought the girls out for a light up and to carry their lanterns. At the last minute, I decided that the battery operated ones from friends are much better than me having to bend over (ouch! my back) and lighting the candled ones.. hahaha lazy mum. At the playground, it was crowded! We saw so many kids, mostly playing with candles and planting them on the solid cement floor. Most of them were more interested in playing with fire than carrying the lanterns itself. Of course we didn't bring any candles or lights. The girls were amused with all that lighting. But they were rather sticky and would not join them in their pa pa lang.. hahah

After an hour or so, we finally got back home. Boy i was glad cos it was rather hot over there... ewww sticky everywhere.

Back home I cut some mooncakes for the girls (we went mooncake shopping earlier for the pink and green snow skin for the girls). We had some traditional ones but they weren't interested in them at all..hahaha.

New Generation Kiddos

As soon as I left my desk for a bath, I realised that my girl picks up after me - hogging the pc! She has discovered a new virtual world of Disney.com and Nick Junior websites. She even told me that she heard she can watch Winx Club in youtube.com !!

Oh dear.. looks like pretty soon I shall be at loggerheads with her when using the pc. She knows how to click on the Explorer icon and go into favourites which I had bookmarked for her the sites.. And she watched me do a search once and from my history she actually did her own search of Winx Club, only that she keyed in Wings instead of Winx !!!

IMM

In the third weekend in a row, we have been going to the west side IMM shopping mall. Since the revamped by Capitaland in the recent years, IMM has been buzzing with activity. Till today, there are still more upgrades or new shops to be added and it's been done in phases. The result so far has attracted endless shoppers, and business owners.

Rental has gone up drastically due to demand since IMM is currently packed with shoppers, compared with previously when IMM first opened - Within a year and a half, it was really like a ghost town. It was then more of a place for couples looking for bridal studios and furniture shops. The first hypermart at ground level offered mainly bulk sales for traders. For entrance, you would need an IMM priviledge card to shop there. But this concept wasn't successful. Why limit people into your outlet when you can open it up to endless supply of customers. This inconvenience prompted alot of potential end users from patronising the place. Customers trickled down to a big loss for the IMM mart. It then became a place for business owners looking for alternative offices or warehouse space at cheaper rentals.

Later on, the appearance of Giant hypermart for all consumers in 90s started pulling crowds in. There was no segregation of where you are purchasing for domestic or business. At that time, there weren't many hypermarts in the 90s except for Carrefour but it was located in town. The convenience of a large hypermart was good news to west side residents. More and more shops sprung up within IMM and Capitaland did a major revamp in the early 2000. Until today, Capitaland is still not resting on its laurels. I really applaud their agressive approach to boost its marketability. IMM is now a wholesome shopping mall for the whole family. They have just added a playground on the rooftop with a water feature for kids to have fun.

THE BEST THING ABOUT IMM IS THE 5 LEVELS OF FREE PARKING! WELL, I HOPE I DON'T SPEAK TOO SOON..

Check it out.









Kids need all the space they can get to play. Playground with water features are also fun!



Bagus Foodcourt - a rare find for Halal Foodcourt in Singapore. However, i find these not quite kids' friendly. They use porcelain or glass wares instead of the usual melamine wares in most foodcourts. They can weigh a ton on your tray and drop and break if you are buying for the family. Bet breakages play a big part in their business liablity..hehehe



Hong Kong teahouse are common sights nowadays.

DANGEROUS DRIVING

Very much like my title here, that's what I've been doing lately.. Look at the pictures I've posted here. I've been taking photographs whilst driving..

YES! YES! I'M GUILTY AS HELL!!!

But I can't help admiring the trees and the skyline that I keep tracing with my eyes! I've had this habit since young. I like to use my eyes and trace the linework or shapes of the trees.. very peculiar, right? What amazes me are the nicely pruned trees on Singapore roads. I really love the way its been lined up, and carefully planted and coordinated in shades of greens, heights, sizes for that contrast yet complementing other..

ALL TIME FAVOURITE

prawns boiled in stock


mandarin oranges, diced


fresh butterhead lettuce


my favourite dressing..

I love PRAWNS! I can just go and get a kilo a day regardless whether i eat them or not! I just got them on Monday recently. Then Yesterday, I dropped by to get some ginger and went to the seafood section and saw some nice fresh ones. Got almost a kilo.

Today, I went there to access the AXS Machine to pay for my season parking. And guess what, I just had to walk in to have a look again.. and boy, today's catch is even better! I got a half kilo of medium prawns and 400 gms of large ones.. I made the medium ones into salad this morning for my brunch (yes the whole half kilo) and the large prawns, I took off the centre shell, leaving the head and tail on, for Black Pepper prawns for dinner... YUM YUM!

Mango and Prawn Salad

Hey everyone, thought I'd like to share this really quick refreshing recipe with you. Its easy to make and does not need any cooking, unless u are using prawns. A close friend of mine used to make this and after trying it out, it is certainly very addictive.

You will need:
1 Large ripe mango, diced
1 Red onions, chopped
1 Large bunch of coriander, chopped coarsely
2nos Chilly padi, finely chopped (dont put too much if u cant take spicy)
Half Canned Tuna flakes or 250gm cooked and chilled prawns (shelled and deveined)

2-3 small limes


Mix the ingredients together in a salad bowl. Squeeze lime juice onto it. Season with dash or salt and pepper..