Berlin in pictures

17 hours plan ride to Helsinki. Wasn't that bad as we had a cute cabin crew on board. Being able to giggle over cute guys with A, I knew we are gonnna have a blasting trip! We talked about anything under then sun - work/bosses/BGR, family etc AND we are still friends after the trip!

Our first dinner in Berlin - ohhh so good that we came back another day!Schnitzel @ Sophieneck. Though we were not very hungry, the menu looks soo tantalizing that we ordered 1 soup and 2 mains to share!

Time difference between SG/Helsinki/Berlin left us confused such that we started the 1st day in Berlin 1 hour earlier. They say good things are worth waiting for and yes it's soo true for this 5 euro brunch @ Schwarze Pumpe. We ate for 2 hours and the owners showed no signs in "chasing" us though there were new patrons walking in asking for a table.


Berlin wall where we left our mark too

Spotted the highly raved Bier's Ku'damm 195 currywurst while searching for THE Chanel boutique.


Another awesome brunch for near 3 hrs @ Strandbad Mitte. Recommended by Rough Guide. Oh my, I love the book!


Back to Sophieneck which didn't disappoint

Olympic Stadium

Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.

Reichstag

Brandenburg Gate

Our abode in Berlin - Circus hotel

Trip of the year - Berlin & Prague

It was a trip which led many people confused - “Berlin?? You are going with Annie?? Why Berlin, why not X country? Annie?? Why not xxx?”

It’ been a month since my trip and looking back at the pictures and even writing this post is making me reminisce the awesome holiday I had. It was the most relaxing trip I ever had.
Having waking up no later than 9am, dress up and we’re off to kick start the day with the most important itinerary for the day – Breakfast!! We look forward to brekkie every day and Annie basically left it up to me to bring her wherever I like. Guidebook in place and reviews read up – majority of the places we ate at were hits, with only couple of misses.

2 hours of breakfast (ham, cheese, croissant, cappuccino etc) + conversations flowing from office to personal topics, we really was in Holiday! Usually, we will leave breakfast reluctantly to proceed with the 1 or 2 sightseeing of the day. Before you know it, the skies turn dark around 4pm and its dinner time! That was basically what we did for the 12 days in Berlin and Prague :p
It was just a fantastic holiday (weather, food, people, travel mate)

And I just have to say it again – I. HEART. BERLIN

Perhaps it's a Curse!

For 3 freaking years in a row, I go through the same old crapz about my annual leave application. Ok, I agree last year was abit too much to take – 3 weeks + it’s a month before a big event. So, I’ve been real nice this year to plan my AL after this year’s super big event. But shit still happens….

Let’s see:

- I can’t take AL before an event:
- I can’t take AL after an event;
- I can’t take AL even if it’s a lull period and that the next (small event) is 1.5 months away;
- I can’t take MC before an event (took 1 day even though Doc gave me 3 days) and received negative comments;
- Was screwed over the phone during AL for locking up spare keys;
(Eh hello…. This won’t happen if THE Manager collected all the spare keys.. y don’t u go screw her instead)

Hey, let’s look at it on the flipside:

I’m indispensable in the office!

I feel so good with this thought and I can have a good night sleep....

A night in Marina Bay Sands

Best thing that happened on this 1 night staycation - Pizzeria Mozza :)

Awesome 13 days in Hong Kong!

The conference went really well with many praises on the good job done. I am so glad to receive all the compliments and again every event is a learning experience with new pointers to take home.

Of Michelin star meals:

- 2 star Amber - a special dinner invite to Amber was unexpected. It was a good meal with the nice conversations and wine :)

- 1 star Tim Ho Wan – this highly raved cha chan ting with super affordable prices left us changingt breakfast plans there to lunch instead due to the 2.5 hours wait. The char siew bo lo bun is indeed nice but the long wait = been there done that.

-1 star Lei Garden – travel mate suggested to have a finale meal before departing back to SG. Can’t go wrong with Lei Garden :)

Everything that can go wrong, went wrong!

- Travelled across to HK island to get Mum’s preserved pulms on the Sat but alas all shops were closed at 5pm

- Went to Happy Valley on a Sat evening with the thought of catching the horse racing but alas it happened in the afternoon! Evening races are only on Weds!

- With no horse racing, we went to The Peak but was greeted by fogs. View from The Peak = total blackness!

- Travel mate lost his ipad when he was there (left it in the cab)

An awesome trip nonetheless
. LKF Insomia . Amber . Shopping at Argyle Centre . Gui Lin Gao from 海天堂 . Tai Hing .

Can't wait for May

7 – 13 May > Conference in Hong Kong whereby months of hard work will be paid off *fingers corssed* 13 – 19 May - 买东西，吃东西, 买东西，吃东西! Ocean Park, Yung Kee, egg tarts, cha chan ting, roast meat rice etc etc !! 27 May – a free night stay at MBS with my schizo colleagues aka “BFF” at work!

Is it worth it?

It’s the passion that keeps me going, though at the end of the day I know that it's not their main concern.

So, do I do a "meet their standard" job or give it my best shot?

JJ Lin - I AM WORLD TOUR

Wohoo!!!! Though I missed the 06 and 09 concert but better late than never.... 2010, here comes his I AM WORLD TOUR!!

Sis and I were raving over him when I was in London last Sept. We even mentioned that we’ll go together for his next concert in SG. Never did we expect it to come true so quickly. We bought the category 2 tickets at $128 each and had the “all the way down” seats :p

Though there wasn’t much wow factor in his staging or dancing, his voice and songs alone are worth 2 thumbs up! is. His rendition of “Home” adds on to what he said about coming back to home turf was comfortable and less nerve wrecking as he is surrounded by the familiar grounds.

I had a GREAT time singing along (thank god for the lyrics which was on the big screen), waving my light stick, screaming and last but not least – waiting for him at the back door just like a “young” fan hoping to catch a glimpse of him. And of coz we did see him – he did his “Hi & Bye” before boarding the MPV, heading to his sponsored seafood restaurant for his 庆恭宴.

The Polyp Scare

Your ultrasound pelvis showed 1.2cm focus in ednometrial cavity. May represent a polyp. Advise gynaecology review.

The annual medical health screening was postponed till Dec due to busy schedules and contemplation to change to another hospital. Even with a schedule fixed for 18th Dec, I had almost wanted to change the date due to busy scheds yet again. Nevertheless, an inter-menstrual bleeding “told” me to proceed with the appointment which I am glad I did.

Health screening review day:
As above, I had a scare when the doctor told me that. Polyp? Need to consult a gynae? Which gynae? When should I go? All these questions came to my mind. But with a reference to a colleague’s case recently, I decided not consult any doctors immediately for fear in making any rash decisions. After all, I wasn’t feeling unwell prior to the review.

Seeking the gynae’s opinion:
Got a gynae contact – Dr Chua from a trusted colleague and made my appointment a week after. As the scan done from the health screening wasn’t too clear, I had to sched another appointment with the gynae – specifically 12 days after my menses.

Actual scan day:
Doc Chua did a scan again today and didn’t see any polyp from the scan – good news! However, sensing that I was still concerned about it, she suggested that I jot down my menses cycle for the next 12 months. She also mentioned that polyp is usually 99.9% benign and if I don’t feel any serious discomfort or is affected by the inter-menstrual bleeding, all should be fine!

After this whole scare, I realized that one should always “listen” to your body. If it’s sending out signs, even the slightest, we shouldn’t turn a blind out to it. As the saying goes – always better to be safe than sorry….

When writing this post now, I realized there’s a main word which I missed out during the whole time – MAY represent a polyp.

ITALY 2010

How do I start to write about the FABULOUS sister trip we had to Italy? 5 years back, we made plans to visit Europe but it was shelved off due to our both new work commitments. Fast forward to 2010 and she’s coming back from London to Singapore for good. What better time than now to fulfil the long awaited trip! Esp when I can also live off her on the days when I am in London! Hahah!!

I will need some time to pen down the nice places and restaurants we’ve visited in Italy, therefore I’ll move on to other Oct – Dec 2010 posts 1st… :p

Summer in Shanghai

The post after my 1st trip to Shanghai :

"Being a work trip, I didn’t had the chance to visit Yuyuan, do more shopping (tailored made cheongsam), day trips to Hangzhou/Suzhou. Nevertheless, this is 1 of my best trip made ever. and, Shanghai – I’ll be back! "

I can’t wait to be back to Shanghai after my 1st trip in Apr. Perhaps it was the excitement of visiting the city for the 1st time; spending time with the gals; Shanghai Expo: the perfect cooling weather! I was loving every moment of it and raves was all I had about the country. With excitement and anticipation, I visited Shanghai again in July with the above “must do list” for this trip!

Yuyuan – checked. Tailored shirts – checked . Suzhou – checked

But this trip, “I so wanna go back to SG”… was what went through my mind. I blamed it on the hot weather. Really. With the summer heat, you see/ hear/ smell the real Chinese …

A side trip to Suzhou
People say 上有天堂, 下有苏杭 (“There is a paradise in the sky, but on the world there is Suzhou and Hangzhou”). I believed it was because we didn’t do enough research prior embarking on the trip. All that can go wrong went wrong. Though we travelled in “business” class train seats, it wasn’t a memorable trip, not enough for me to write any further about the paradise I saw…

Hr got into a quarrel/fight at the HK café
This has got to be DRAMA of the year. We went back to the nice HK café again hoping to get some nice comforting dinner. But we ended with Hr being splashed by her warm lemon honey drink because some LOSER wasn’t too happy that his 5% left drink was cleared, thinking that it was us who told the servers that he has left. He wasn’t too happy with the tone that Hr used on him and even asked her to “watch her attitude”… Hr, not being in a good mood + tough lady = don’t come messing with me, “ I don’t give a F*** about you” threw her hot bowl of nissin noodles back to that loser who was wearing a white shirt! You go gurl! That loser still has the guts to even wanting to hit her on her head but not before the waiters held him back. So much for getting some “comfort” food….

Tailored shirts in Shanghai
I went prepared with pictures of modern cheongsam which I wanna make but upon reaching the place, I couldn’t find any suitable material for my dream cheongsam. So, tailored shirts were not next best thing. My 1st piece came out quite a disaster but with a price of RMB 90, I decided to give them a 2nd or rather 3rd try. But like what my colleague said “It’s ok to wear it to work, ok to wear it in Shanghai” 2 out of the 3 pieces which I tailored are still untouched in the cupboard.

What didn’t disappoint me
Lost Heaven (Gaoyou Lu) & Yang's Fried Dumplings. I’ll visit Shanghai again for these 2 loves!

I said I’ll be back..

But never did I expect to visit Shangai again less than 3 months since my last visit!

Being a work trip again, I’ll have minimal time to hang around but will definitely make time for Yang’s dumplings and Lost Heaven!!

Strategy needed...

With 2 1 more online apparels purchases, I will definitely need Daddy’s help when the parcel arrives. Instead of putting them on the dining table, I’ll need to inform him to put them in my room or somewhere out of Mummy’s sight!

V romper looks good but have yet to try :) 星期五，快快来吧。。。

Update: received many compliments on the V romper *happy*.

Surprise in the mail...

What I ate in Penang

1st day
Toh Soon Cafe – charcoal toasted bread with half boiled eggs and coffee
Teik Seng (walking distance from Toh Soon) - double-cooked pork, home-made beancurd, sambal kangkong
Dinner @ New Lane – wanton mee, oyster omelette etc...

2nd day (Culinary tour)
Breakfast - Peanut and corn pancake, Char Kuay Teow, Lemper Udang
Lunch - Peranaken food @ Nyonya Baba
Durians @ road stall

3rd day
Brunch - Chendol and Char Kuay Teow
Lunch – Nasi Khadar
Tea - Goreng Pisang, Kuih Bakul, Banana cake
Dinner – Gurney drive

4th day
Lunch – Chilli’s

Penang – of food, movies and hair cut

Main purpose of this trip was R&R and to savour the delicious hawker food in Penang, and that was what we mainly did during our 4D3N trip. Being a small town, there isn’t much to do as we weren’t really interested in the temples and other tourist places. So what did we do pass time? Head to the cinemas!! Priced at only Rmb 7 – 10 per ticket, we watched a total of 3 movies when we were there! (1) Ice Kachang Puppy Love – part of the movie was shot in Penang and we even chanced upon the jetty where it was filmed (2) When in Rome (3) Shutter Island.

1 of the highlight for this trip would be the spectacular sunset viewing at Hard Rock Penang. I’ll let the picture speak for itself...

I also had my long awaited hair cut with Richard again. Having luck on my end, the 1st salon I went in to search is the one he’s working at! It was unbelievable that I could really locate him amidst the number of salons in Gurney shopping centre. So, I did my rebonding and hair cut with him, but alas, I don’t think the rebonding done was fantastic....

Not forgetting, lugging back 3 boxes of my favourite Dragon Pearl biscuit!! *loves*

What I ate in Shanghai

Cha’s Restaurant
* Hong Kong cafe food aka comfort food *

House of Flour (HOF)
* orange chocolate cake with caramel and sea salt *

Art Salon . 屋里香
* Shanghainese cuisine *

Yang's Fried Dumplings

My favourite restaurant (no pics)

Lost Heaven (Gaoyou Lu)
* Yunnan Folk cuisine *

Shanghai *heartz*

I was informed about this trip in end Feb but being a work trip, last minute changes could happen thus I didn’t keep my hopes high just in case it might be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Thankfully, everything went as planned and I boarded the midnight plane and arrived in Shanghai on 8th May, 7am! Unexpectedly, the weather turned chilly during the week we were there, and I looked ridiculous in my sundress during the 1st day! Other than the eccentric weather and horrendous traffic, the pic above depicts my feelings for Shanghai.

Of course, no trip to Shanghai during this period is complete without a visit to the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Sad to say, we didn’t got the chance to enter the China pavilion as pre-tickets were needed...Singapore pavillion was kind of disappointing but me thinks our Little Durian Star mascot is sooo cute! All in all, Lx and I spent about 8 hours in the Expo, with majority of the time spent queinging up... Read this on Today newspaper and find it pretty interesting.

Hr said that as long as we’ve visited The Bund, we’ve seen Shanghai! BUT, of course we took her words with a pinch of salt as there's SO much more that Shanghai can offer. Lx went to Tianzifang and told me that I HAD to make a trip there as she knew that I’ll like it. And true to say, TZF is like love at 1st sight. From the modern propaganda art pieces to the many many painting shops and nice cafes, I wished I was there on a weekday + with a friend so that we could enjoy a cup of coffee at that interesting place!

Being a work trip, I didn’t had the chance to visit Yuyuan, do more shopping (tailored made cheongsam), day trips to Hangzhou/Suzhou. Nevertheless, this is 1 of my best trip made ever. and, Shanghai – I’ll be back!

Dragon balls!!!

. 22nd - 25th Apr .

Will be off to the land where I can find my favourite dragon balls aka tau sau piah! Perhaps I would even be able to find my fav hair stylist - Richard who went Penang few years back?? Cant wait for the stay in G Hotel, breakfast at Toh Soon Cafe, Penang char kuay teow and many many more!!

Hungry!!