In 2016, I've made 2 weekend getaways to HCM, and here's a list of the eating places I'll recommend.

Vietnamese Cuisine

1. Nha Hang Ngon

Firstly, the architecture of this restaurant is really unqiue, open concept restaurant, with a fountain right in the middle and also plants everywhere. We were seated really fast and our food arrived quickly as well. The winner was the fried spring roll, everything else was good too and we had a lovely meal but the fried spring roll is a must try!

2. SH Garden

Wondering around the streets to look for a eating place can be daunting, but surprise surprise, I chose this place based on how it looked. They have a vintage lift installed and still took our orders though it was close to 10pm. Food was decent, but a bit pricey compared to Nha Hang Ngon.

3. Pho Binh.

It is of historical importance as according to lonely planet, " This was the secret headquarters of the Viet Cong (Vietnamese Communists; VC) in Saigon and from here they planned their attacks on the US embassy and other Saigon targets during the Tet Offensive of 1968".

We were served the pho along with a huge plate of raw veges, which you can pluck and add to the soup as you like. I really liked the pho, to me it's a great broth and nice noodles that are kinda al dente. Not the soggy overcooked type.

Western Food

1. La Villa

You come here for the view and the romantic ambience, food is decent but not worth shouting about but this is really a perfect place for a date night. Lights across the lawn, right by the sea, candle lit meal. Check, check and Check.

Area is perfect for a post dinner stroll as well.


2. Soul Burger

Craving a good burger, you've come to the right place! Was a bit hard to find as it's on the second floor so you have to go up a dodgy dark staircase before you hit it, but boy this burger packs a punch.

3. 4Ps Pizza

E says it's one of the best pizza place if you miss pizza. Way better than that of room service at the Sheraton.

Coffee & Cake

1. Pacey Cupcakes

I've eaten a lot of cupcakes - trust me on that (fats don't lie). And the cupcakes we got from here were all consistently good. The cake was moist, and cream not overly sweet.

2. Phuc Long

Ordered a Vietnamese milk tea and though it was too sweet for me, I like the vibe of the place and the coffee is a definite must try.

Being a typical girl, we use about probably 20% of all the clothes we hoard on a regular basis, so I've started, and continue to get rid of clothes that don't fit and aren't my style anymore.

Generally things from University days (4 years ago!) that are too short, too revealing (What was I thinking???) or generally just too young looking now.

Life revolves around work, church, brunches, date nights and generally clothes that are more sophisticated which to me means good quality fabrics, great cuts and most importantly, flatter my body.

So after taking about about 30 items I wanted to get rid of, I looked at various avenues of getting rid of clothes in Singapore.

There are 2 categories, the money making , hybrid , and donation option.

Tsukiji Fish market is a "Must Do" in Tokyo, and am glad to share that regardless of not being an early riser, you can still have your fish and eat it.

After a few days in the city, we signed up for a day trip to the mountains!We were deciding between booking the romance car and exploring ourselves vs a organised tour and we went with the fuss free option - Grayline tours!

After a full few days, we decided to take it easy and just cover 2 main things today. Firstly, check out the takashimaya near our hotel and the tokyu hands there.

We spent a lot longer in tokyu hands as we really enjoyed browsing all the various things, I personally loved the travel section and looking at the wide array of bags, we only walked away with some travel accessories but loved the experience.

We got up bright and early, got ready in our newly acquired outfits - me in banana republic x GU x Uniqlo and the bf mostly GU.

Before the trip, I had made plans with a lovely photographer to help us take some pictures to commemerate this trip. I loved how most of the photos turned out, well except the size of my face but that is not the photographer's fault, it is the result of stuffing my face with too delicious food all year round and I guess we can use it for future wedding things if needed.

Posing for photos while making it look natural is the hardest thing, Hats off to models out there man, it's a tough job.

We started off in a little park in ginza before heading to the streets for some city photography. I loved how our photographer tried her best to make us feel comfortable and her pictures were so beautiful. Will post them soon!

We decided to do away with touristy things and spend the day in Roppongi Hills, shopping and eating! The first stop was banana republic, I got this beautiful sweater and a scarf, both at 70% off!

True to our Tokyo eating approach, we looked for a place with a line. We settled at Creme de la Creme and their creme puffs were ace.

Being a tourist in Tokyo over the new year period left us with many questions - will everything be closed? Where should we go, what do we eat?

As Meiji Shrine was on our list, we figured we should conquer it before new years, to skip the rush. We got up early, decked out in our brand new GU coats and headed to the Harajuku station. Upon arriving we were greeted with a stretch of outdoor food stalls, the octopus balls were hot and tasty - filled with a decent amount of octopus and the savings on top! Yum.

The unpredictability of working life often results in vacations only being blocked out for Christmas break - where there is forced office closure, so post our good Korea experience last year we decided on yet another cold place - Tokyo.

In a stressed out world, we are forced to perform at our best all the time. Pressure from within, pressure from others leads to more tension which, can be both positive or negative.

I read this article in the New York Times and found this takeaway very true.

As she let the time settle in, Ledecky leaned across the lane line, locked eyes with Gemmell and shrugged. Athletes from every sport and of any skill level could surely read the message conveyed by her body language: Sometimes the less you consciously try, the more you conspicuously achieve.

“I think the biggest takeaway is when you can relax and perform without expectations,” Gemmell said, “those are where the highest-level performances come.”

He added, “When you can relax and not have expectations and let yourself perform at the level you’ve prepared for, sometimes you get your best performances.”

How do we apply this in the real world? It ties back to the Art of Possibility, a video I came across based on a book as part of my post graduate diploma.

You can find the full article here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/sports/katie-ledecky-breaks-world-record-in-1500-freestyle.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=0

Key Attractions!

- Walking around EmQuartier
- Bo Lan
- Muay Thai at JittyGym
- Siam Square Sio 1-3 ( Small shops like Innit, Mani, Tiny Etc)
- Mango Tango
- Waffles at Ying Deaw
- Grand Palace
- Farmer's Market at The Jam Factory
- Lunch at Never Ending Summer
- Dinner at Asiatique


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- Shoes from Urban Dukes
- Dinner at White Flower Factory
- Brunch at Tribeca
- Shopping at Khaki Bros
- Pick up Muay Thai equipment from Supersports

Hello World! I finally  have a computer to blog from :) I created an account on the boyf's mac and all my picture from the iCloud are loading on iPhoto now. Exciting times!!!


Unfortunately most things of the times we eat out, and it is expensive but we are lazy to cook after a long day at work or busy weekends running errands :( Hopefully that will change in the future. Spruce was a fuss free and safe option, and it was surprisingly empty on a Friday night.

Also, it's one for one main course on the entertainer app so our bill was about $60ish that night I think, with a main course going for about $38 plus a side and a drink.

I had the beef tenderloin, nothing to shout about and rather average. I found it odd that it wasn't paired with something like truffle potato or any potato for that matter. 

I would say the miso cod was a tad better, and definitely a healthier option. 

The mushrooms, I have to admit were very yummy. Or I was too hungry. Either one. 

So yes, what an unexciting entry but here's a short update on a regular Friday night date.

Remember my last post about toning up? Guess what, I managed to take out my back not long after that. Here is what went down.

20 Sep

I went for a 5km jog, to prepare for a 10km race I was training for. After the run, I stopped to do some cool down stretches. Oddly, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back. I figured ok, stretch a bit more and walk home. I managed to make it home, the thing is, the bf's place has lot of steps, the first flight from the basement to the living room area was bearable, the next flight, from the living room to the kitchen, started hurting more, the last flight up to his room, I was in so much pain it was a bit surreal. 

I went down again to the study and decided to stretch it off, in the study while he continued to work but nope, it kept getting worst. Post dinner, I could not sit down or stand up without feeling an intense pain. Lying still in bed was bearable, but turning in bed made me wince. Thankfully there was no pain radiating down my leg, 

21 Sep

The next morning, the boy whisked me off to the doctor. I think I provided a source of entertainment as here you have a girl in her early twenties, barely able to walk and definitely slower than any 80 year old grandma.I got a jab and a lot of pain killers, and instructions to return in 3 days if the pain didn't subside, as it was a suspected pinched nerve.

22 Sep

The next day was spent lying in bed, and sitting up for prolonged periods to work on my computer was definitely not working out for my back. Fortunately, it got better. I still was a bit sad because it was going to be my birthday soon, and here I was, unable to walk without pain. The boy did sneakily come by at midnight, to celebrate my birthday with me!

23 Sep

I turned 24 :O

The pain improved a lot, and you know it reminded me that no matter what God is in control. He alone dictates what happens, God is in control! It reminded me of this verse : "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." and then along with that, " In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps."

It's so easy to decide, I want to achieve this and that, and forget it is God that gives us the ability to do anything that we might be able to do, not by my might but by His. I would say I struggle to be a good Christian. Temptations abound, and often times, it's hard to fix your eyes on the eternal, not the temporal. But it's a process and we keep pushing on, with his strength and not mine. 

I'm so thankful the pain has gotten much better, but I did get recurring episodes of back pain in October, so by Mid October, my GP referred me to a Physiotherapist and I've had 3 sessions in total so far. So I'm in the midst of working on my back, and my fitness in general, to protect myself from potential further back pain and get back to toning up. 

I'm going to compile a list of Pilates Studios that I'm considering to pick up Pilates as part of my recovery plan, stay tuned!

It was the Hari Raya Weekend and we haven't had a break in a while so we decided to go on a relaxing holiday nearby. The criteria was

- Less than 2 hrs away from SG
- Beach Holiday
- Not overly priced

We evaluated and elimnated the following:
- Beaches in Malaysia (Contenders were Langkawi and Redang)
- Phuket (too touristy) and Koh Samui (too expensive)
- Vietname (Danang - too far)

I happened to check on Tigerair and found a decent deal for Krabi, and we had corporate rate for the Sheraton and the reviews seemed good so we went for it.

As it was the off peak period, we also figured we won't have to jostle with the crowd.

Turns out, it was one of the best holidays I've had.

We were picked up promptly from the Krabi airport and upon getting to the Sheraton, we were brought to the Club Lounge to check in. Turns out that we got upgraded to a huge suite plus had club lounge access for our whole trip!

The room was lovely, and the bathroom even had a hot tub.

We didn't plan much to do for the holiday so the Sheraton Tours were perfect. We just picked whatever was available on the tour menu and went for it. We went for elephant trekking, kayaking through mangroves (that in itself deserves a post) and the rest of the time was spent at the spa, in the pool or just in our suite!

It was the perfect relaxing break and I would highly recommend Sheraton Krabi for people looking for a short break from Singapore, especially during the off peak season as there wasn't any crowd, group tours essentially became private tours and promotions for both the room and spa!

This is essentially a short list to track what Movies we've watched together so far in 2014

Godzilla

X Men days of future past

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Divergent

Maleficent

Transformers: Age Of Extinction

How To Train Your Dragon 2  

The Fault in Our Stars

The Expendables 3
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Equalizer
John Wick

For the second half of 2013 there was

Marvel's Thor: the Dark World

About Time ( Major Favourite!)

The Wolverine

Swan Lake

Frozen

Elysium

I really like watching movies at GV City Square, mostly because it's new and it's a lot easier to get seats compared to Shaw Lido or The Cathay. Plus I'm looking forward to getting the HSBC Black movie card :) $85 for 10 movies. 

Unfortunately I've been lagging in blogging namely because my macbook has died, so I'm pretty reliant on my iPad mini and it's not the best device to type on, plus I haven't managed to upload most of my pics onto my ipad. On a side note, that must have been the best purchase of 2014 for me. 

So during the day, I play the role of a management consultant. Most of the time if I'm not in meetings, I'm often behind my laptop, churning out decks and other deliverables. This has resulted in aching shoulders and back, hence the preference for frequent massages.  I love massages as they are so relaxing and I fell energised after. Unfortunately, I'm hooked.

So from the start of the Jan 2014 till May 2014, I've managed to try 4 different full body massages.

Qi Mantra ( Holland Village Branch)

Healing Touch (Alexandra Branch)

Traditional Javanese Massage ( Sixth Avenue Branch)

Aramsa Spa (Bishan Park)

I've also done neck shoulder back massages and a few foot massages at a few places in TT quick Massage, Comfort Zone and Ashi Reflexology.

I'll be writing about the various experiences in the next few post.In the mean time if you're looking for a few massage places that aren't too expensive, the places listed here are definitely worth trying. 

There's something magical about Causeway bay. The neon lights and the endless buzz. It's a mix of old and new. You have brand name shops scattered in the vicinity, and small market stores mere meters away. If any country knows how to mix the new and the old, Hong Kong is the place.

We had a heavy dim sum breakfast that day, so for dinner we just got street food! First up is this Waffle like egg shaped pastry. It comes in Original, sesame and chocolate. You can have it in any combination. We decided on the original and sesame mix. C got us curry fishballs too! It was rather springy, though the flour content was a bit too high for my liking.

 Remember I talked about how long the queue was for the bus to stanley? Here's another line for the public light bus!

It was a rather scenic bus ride to stanley island- I did get bus sick as the road was pretty windy but we finally made it! Stanley is a rather touristy place. We spent the first part of the afternoon walking around the market. I didn't get much except for a few scarves for the mother and sister and some leather woven bracelets. 

Many stores had pets in them. This cat happy sat there watching the world pass by. We also found the cutest umbrellas; They came in japanese doll containers! I was tempted to get one but I figured it wasn't the most practical of things.

We headed out to the broadwalk to take a stroll along Blake Pier. It reminded me of the time we were in Whitby together. Clear blue waters; ice cream trucks; pubs and bars. It had a very western vibe to the area.

After our stroll we ended up at Murray House -It is a Victorian-era building in Stanley. Originally built in the present-day business district of Central in 1844 as officers' quarters of the Murray Barracks, the building was relocated to the south of Hong Kong Island during the 2000s.In 1982, the historical landmark was dismantled to yield to the new Bank of China Tower. Over 3,000 building blocks were labelled and catalogued for future restoration. 

Our adventure ended at Stanley Plaza where they had this great idea. Dog parking. You leave your dog there while you pop into the supermarket and the Dog gets to make friends with other dogs parked in the area. We called it a day and headed back to Causewaybay for dinner.

It's been awhile since I've been updating this space and it's time to get back at it. Life is not exactly a bed of roses- I'm struggling with many things at the moment. But after all, Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. I needed a break from it all so I booked a flight to Hong Kong to visit 2 of my best friends from University.

They were such dears and planned the entire itinerary for our weekend together in Hong Kong. I wanted to do what the ordinary locals do - to really soak in the culture and enjoy life like a regular Hong Kong resident. I met them at 11am on Saturday for Dim Sum at a regular dim sum chain, called New Star. Dim Sum is one of my comfort food - I love Char Siew Baos. Piping hot Char siew baos with soft and fluffy skin and barbecue pork that melts in your mouth. Just a little piece of Heaven. We ventured through the markets before getting to the Light Bus Stop to hop on a bus to Stanley.

I don't ever go to the wet markets in Singapore, so here I was- Wandering around the market with my H50 and snapping away.

 As much as it might smell, outdoor markets don't ever lose their charm. Someone everything seems a bit livelier and fresher then shopping in a supermarket. Another thing I liked about the area was the grafitti that dotted the walls. It just adds so much character to the place.

The queue for the bus was pretty long. Each public light bus can only take 16 people. But that meant we would definitely get a seat. Plus for 9.6HKD, it's really affordable.

Manicures are expensive and don't really last unless they are gelish polish, so a while back I decided to use the nail polish I already have and come up with a fuss free design! I just pained the whole nail with a clear nail polish, and the tips with my glitter nail polish. It's good because you canlet the nail grow out and it's not very obvious , and the tips just makes it more fancy and magical.

This was the end product!

I was pleased with it and got it done so quickly! Shall definitely do this again at some point in time!FYI I used the face shop clear polish and their glitter polish. It's quite affordable too and very pretty:)