Monday 4 May 2015

Make Up Shopping on Zalora

It's always fun to browse Zalora's website once in awhile because they have such a wide variety of products. From clothes, to shoes, bags and another accessories, and...Sephora! While I always enjoy the feeling of browsing in stores, I can't deny that I'm getting lazier to head out of the house nowadays. All I feel like doing on weekends is laze at home in front of my computer. But it's great that I can do my shopping from the comfort of my home thanks to Zalora ;)

Ever since I visited the Make Up For Ever Academy & Pro Loft sometime last year, I've been wanting to try out their products! The sheer number of colours of their eye shadow, lipstick etc simply blew me away and I couldn't help but feel excited just looking at all the options available. Their foundation caught my eye as well, with the HD range of products. Just the name itself sounds good already, doesn't it?

I have a rather tedious foundation process, but I feel it works pretty well for me. Make Up For Ever has products for each step of my foundation regime, which is awesome! I can't wait to try it out. 

I started using a primer  since the first day I put on makeup, and I've never stopped using it since. I can't imagine the idea of putting on my foundation without this first layer to prepare my skin. The HD Microperfecting Primer in the shade mauve helps to counteract sallow undertones, and there are other shades for different purposes. 

The description of the HD Invisible Cover Foundation states that it "covers skin imperfections flawlessly while remaining invisible on-screen and in real life". Sounds awesome?!

I always finish off my foundation with a touch of powder to set everything in place, and the Pro Finish Multi-Use Powder seems like the perfect product for that. Lightweight, with a natural matte finish, it is great for layering to provide that added bit of coverage and to pull the look together. 

Monday 27 April 2015

Bangkok (:

I don't know why I took such a long time to post this bunch of photos xD It's been...two months since I went on this trip haha. Perhaps I was hesitant about blurring the lines between work and play, but, I'm really glad to have colleagues who feel more like friends than anything else (: We're all going through the same thing together, and I'm so grateful for this bunch! Never thought I would go on a holiday with my colleagues, but it happened! And it was so so so much fun, I would do it all over again ^^ 

BKK BOUND!!!!! WOOHOO! 
This was after the crazy CNY period and we all couldn't wait to get on the plane and out of Singapore. Food, massage and shopping --- here we comeeee!

Our first stop in bkk! Straight to Chatuchak for some coconut ice cream. Oh how I missed this!!! Been craving it since I went there last year. Ngan & I shared one the other time. I don't know how I could have done that. It's so small! Finally had one for myself the time ^^ And it was barely enough haha. But I decided not to be greedy :P

Had so much good food in bkk this time, but half the time we didn't eat thai food. For the life of me, I've got no idea why. But the good thing is that I just followed and didn't have to think. Haha! Perks of travelling with more guys. They did all the navigation and we just followed and ate xD This super shiokkkkk pork was, by all means, not cheap at all considering bangkok prices, but it was so good! :O We came here for the "famous" wanton mee, which I honestly didn't see what was the big deal about it. But this, was SO.WORTH.IT.

With our tiny bowls of wanton mee, which we had to queue for, and finished in 5 mouthfuls. Oh wells. Haha I think I'd rather stick to my pontian in Singapore. Lol.

My shopping buddy & roomie! <3 Much love hehe. We had so much fun shopping together, honestly 4 days weren't enough. Yikes. Hahaha. And I really love Union Mall hehe, still the best ever!

FINALLY TRIED AFTER YOU. This highly raved-about cafe. And it was SOOOOOOO GOOD. I can't believe I was so silly the last time, and didn't know there was more than one outlet! We were so disappointed then because the outlet (we thought it was the only one) was closed for renovation. Oh gosh. I would fly back to bangkok just for this shibuya toast. I need this right now....please open an outlet in Singapore? :')

Also had the best mango sticky rice on this trip!!! This was such a huge portion and super worth it for the price! :O I think it cost 100 baht or something. I have no idea how to get there though :P that's what happens when I just follow along haha. All I can remember was that it was a roadside stall. 

Went for a girly breakfast on our last day! (: We ate three cakes between the two of us...Lol. Totally felt like bursting after that x.x But the cakes at Petite Audrey are really awesome!! No regrets hehe. 

Just in case you need evidence of our shopping :P 

No Monday Blues cos we were in Bangkok :)) 
Thankful for colleagues-turned-friends, and for all the fun we had during this trip! Now excuse me while I jet off to my next holiday tmr ^^ WHEEEEEEE~

Saturday 25 April 2015

Nickeldime Drafthouse

Had an awesome night out with Hopers a couple of weeks ago! (: Always love how most of us live around the (geographical) centre of Singapore which makes it so convenient to meet! Except for poor liying and dom who have to travel to meet us sometimes. Oopsie. Was really stoked to finally try Nickeldime after being captivated by its bright signboard every time I take the bus past that area. And it was awesome!! We were spoilt for choice there, wanting to order pretty much everything on the rather extensive menu. It was great that everyone was pretty much starving when we reached, and so we ordered quite a number of items to share :D yummmms! Time to dig in.

We kinda split the table down in half, and for our side, we started with the Garlic Fries ($6) which sounds simple, but was really the bomb with its kickass garlic flavour. I loved how there were chunks of minced garlic in the midst of the rather generous bowl of fries which made it incredibly addictive. 

After seeing a mouth-watering photograph of the 510 Burger ($16) on Nickeldime's website, five of us decided to order it, and it didn't disappoint! True to the representation, a five huge burgers arrived at our table, spilling at the edges. It was a hearty feast comprising a delicious beef patty with beer candied bacon, a sunny side up egg, a medley of melty cheese (IPA cheese, gouda and mozzarella) and oozing beer BBQ sauce and a touch of mustard. Equally loved by both the guys & girls at our table ;)

Sam ordered the Stout Braised Beef Ragout ($16), and although he was a tad let down by its appearance (no idea what he was expecting...hahaha), he concluded the meal as a happy boy. The slow-cooked meat sauce was fabulous, with an abundance of tender beef that had evidently been braised with love. While I felt that the components of the dish - pasta, sauce and meat - did not seem to blend well together (they were each very distinct), the flavours of each complemented one another and made for a tasty dish nonetheless. 

We were so greedy that we ordered another main to share for our side of the table :O The Curried IPA Mussels ($19) were a great choice though! Definitely one of the hugest mussels I've ever seen in Singapore!!! I was astounded because I don't think I've managed to find mussels of this size other than in Europe, and not even in Belgium, where they're so famous. While I found the sauce a tad lacking in terms of flavour (I didn't even realise it was supposed to be curry), the freshness of the mussels made up for it. 

The other side of the table ordered two massive platters of the starters to share, and it looked SO awesome! Honestly, I have no idea which platter is which, but they were The 510 ($38) and Beer Greek ($42). Some of the items included were: Hot Crab Beer Cheese Dip, Stout Meatballs with Beer BBQ Sauce Glaze and Beer and Sriracha Candied Nuts. I was terrible.... :P I kept reaching over to steal their food because I simply couldn't stop. The meatballs were delightfully flavourful, providing a burst of flavour when popped into the mouth. It was a rather small portion, and definitely left me wanting more. The cheese dip was a really interesting combination of IPA beer, crab meat, worcestershire sauce, cream cheese and sour cream. We couldn't pinpoint exactly what it tasted like, really. But it went well with the corn chips on the side. And when it comes to nuts, you know that I'm a sucker for it. I kept munching on them, loving the tinge of spiciness which the cayenne and paprika added to it. I just wish the nuts were crispier though!   

It was an enjoyable night of good company and food. You would have probably figured out by now that the restaurant specialises in beer, so definitely go for that when you visit! They have an extensive list on the board right at the counter, and your server will be glad to recommend something that suits your palate. To top off our experience, the service was excellent - kudos to our really friendly Belgian waiter!

Nickeldime Drafthouse
273 Thomson Road
Tel.: +65 6256 0261
Mon-Sun 11am-late

Filippo came to visit from Germany! Pretty cool having a friend from overseas coming to Singapore to visit. Though I think I need to improve my hosting skills :P It was a fun few days though!!

Sunday 12 April 2015

Boufe: Boutique + Cafe

My tummy has been rather well-fed recently with lots of good food, and it's so satisfying! I've gotta try to lose some weight before Krabi though :P haha don't wanna be lugging a pet tummy over to the beach, yikes! It's been a series of cafe hopping over the weekends, which is something we haven't done in a long while! Gosh, how I've missed this. Paddy Hills a couple of weeks ago, and this time we checked out Boufe (: Seems like a trend to be visiting out-of-the-way cafes though. Maybe the next one would be somewhere in the far east...? Haha. 

The first thing I really liked about Boufe was its clean, white interior and natural lighting. It was such a gorgeous space! I love decor like this, and I'm so tempted to have it for my house, although I don't think I ever will because it's so difficult to keep clean! With my OCDness it'll probably drive me (and Sam) nuts. Hahaha. Anyway, below is a peak of how pretty and bright the cafe looks! The drinks here were rather decently priced, or perhaps it just seems this way in contrast to the $8.90 hot chocolate I drank at Awfully Chocolate the other day. Goodness! The iced chocolate ($6.50) piqued our interest by being served in a mason jar (love!!). Unfortunately, flavour-wise it was a letdown as it seemed to taste more like milo than chocolate. 

I didn't do the food justice with these photos (what's with my camera these days!), but they looked pretty darn good, and lived up to expectations taste-wise as well.

We started with Triple B ($21), which is Boufe's idea of a big breakfast. And I've got to say it's one of the most impressive ones I've had in awhile! It's one of my pet peeves to have to pay for a so-called big breakfast which is a letdown, but this was fantastic - milky scrambled eggs, caramelised bacon (which tasted like bak kwa!!), assorted sausages (we all liked the pork sausage more than the chicken), sautéed mushrooms and buttery mini croissant.

The Classic Croque Madame ($19) was a hearty dish with ham sandwiched between a thick fluffy brioche topped with gratin cheese and a sunny side up egg. 

I got such a poor shot of this Brioche French Toast ($14) but it was so delicious! The brioche was so fluffy, it tasted like a cake! The ultra moist bread absorbed the essence of the maple syrup and cream Chantilly and oozed with goodness. Special mention for the cream Chantilly that was super light and yummy.

My Truffle House Baked Baguette ($17) was one of the most novel items on the menu. Always looking out for dishes like these that reflect some creativity in the cafe's offerings, rather than simply serving the usual (read: boring) brunch items. The truffle mushroom ragout was very tasty, and had a distinctive aroma of truffle. The eating was a rather messy affair though, because baguette was a tad hard and difficult to cut through.

Overall, it was a good meal and ambience was fantastic. It's super difficult to get to this place, though if you're lucky, I've heard that you can get a ride out in the buggy xD

Boufe Boutique + Cafe
308 Tanglin Road, Phoenix Park #01-01
Tel.: +65 6734 7656
Tue-Fri 8am-10pm
Sat-Sun 10am-10pm