Xcape with le awesome clique!

One of my favourite weekend things to do is to meet up with my awesome clique.

Everyone is busy with their own stuff now, 

and I admit there was a time where I almost gave up on them, 

cause they were being divas and it was soooooo damn hard to plan outings. (ROAR).

In fact, me and bimb actually made a 2014 resolution together,

that we were gonna just announce an activity and go. whoever is free can join but we wont beg LOL.

Yup that was how angry we were.

But I think, somehow things worked out.

Nowadays its been easier to set up meet-ups, so yay !

Met up with pretty (ex)lab partner Levon for tea before meeting the rest !

Bakerzin has a tea time promotion : 1 slice of cake + 1 beverage for $9.80.

It is available Mon to Fri, 2 to 6 pm.

Quite worth it, cause I think their cakes are nice!

That's rare for me; I seldom enjoy sweet stuff.

#lebff levon :D

strawberry cheesecake and iced chocolate ! 

Xcape was nearest to Bugis St, so we thought we'd have dinner there.

But EVERYWHERE was crowded, making us settle for having ilovetaimei instead LOL.

mangoPOPzzzz. hahahah.

If you havent heard of Xcape, its a game originating from Japan.

You and your friends are locked in a themed room,

filled with puzzles and stuff, and you have to escape within 1 hour.

I love such challenging shit. 

You've to use flashlights, UV lights, climb hidden staircases and etc.

SO COOL.

I've been there twice for different themes, with different groups of people.

teamwork and chemistry is actually very important for this !

Played Catch me if you can this time !

Quite a lot of leopard crawling involved LOL. 

We didnt succeed, but it was still fun. :D

one of my most favourite bunch of people :D

not happy with the bright lighting so, group selfie !

who needs a selfie stick sia, my skills can liao *wiggles eyebrow*

In case you're intrsted in visiting Xcape, its now located at Bugis Village!
Find the staircase between McDonald's and KFC. (entrance sounds like a mystery alr lolol)
The original season1 outlet has closed,
but the two most popular games have been relocated to this outlet as well.

Prices are $22 for off peak (Mon-Fri before 6pm),
and $28 for peak (Mon-Fri after 6pm, weekends and PH).

You can book the slots here.

Received my souvenir from ahsok from Taiwan.

I look like the penguin right ! ^.^

Review: Essie Fashion Playground + Tribal Nail Art

I have Essie's Fashion Playground from the Spring 2014 collection for review today!

Fashion Playground is a light mint with a crelly finish - a mix of creme and jelly.

There is a slight shimmer up-close.

The first coat may seem a little streaky but I assure you it evens out after the second.

Its my dream mint polish!

Previously purchased China Glaze's Re-fresh Mint but the color turned out more leaning to light blue.

Also missed it with Essie's First Timer; too dark, more of a pistachio than mint.

Two coats in indoor lighting.

I did some tribal patterns using Bornprettystore's nail art pen in white. (previously reviewed here)

This was in lieu with Cult Nails' monthly nail art competition in April..

Yes I procrastinated for really long :x.

Sort of trying to clear my log of photos, to give me a reason for taking them in the first place.

According to my phone's history, I take an average of 1400 photos a year, 

so might as well put them to use.

ANYWAY

Wanted to do something different from the usual tribal manicures,

which are mostly vibrant colors and strong black lines.

So I did the complete opposite; soft colors and white lines.

And since I had a fine pen, might as well do more details to challenge myself.

Thumb design is the famous Hakuna Matata African symbol.

It means no worries, for the rest of your days ~ 

And the middle finger was partially inspired by Atlantis.

 #disneyfan

Nail art for right hand too. (:

Food Review: Saizeriya

17 Most Delicious Restaurants under $15 in Singapore

Bimb came across this ^ list online some time ago :D

Its an awesome list because it's been so super helpful in choosing places for dinner!

Especially when my bffs are so picky sometimes.

Ask them what to eat, they'd say anything.

Anything except fast food and anything recent they've eaten. LOL.

#firstworldproblems

But sometimes they do give in to my cravings too. :3

Anyway, because we happened to be in the town area, we picked #3. Maki San to try.

Sadly the queue was too long and we couldnt afford to wait.

So we switched to Saizeriya.

Saizeriya serves Italian food at affordable prices, featuring pizza, pasta, baked rice and desserts.

A word of warning though, the serving size is decent enough but well.. what you pay is what you get.

Honestly its not enough for a glutton in a good mood.

*All prices are nett and taken from their website

Mushroom soup - $2.90

Just the right amount of thickness, with finely chopped mushroom chunks.

Worth the price but I wanted more. Slurps. 

Potato Omelette - $3.90

Appetiser we ordered to share - thankfully.

I expected this to come in a sort of hashed potato/rostii style, 

but it arrived to confuse and disappoint me.

Its simply a mish-mash of sliced skin-on potatoes, bacon, mushrooms, and corn,

all baked together in a egg mixture.

And the bacon was overcooked, and therefore quite hard. meh.

Salmon Doria - $5.90

My main dish.

Decently yummy, but the smoked salmon got really heavy on my taste buds near the end.

Super salty - and my tolerance is usually quite good.

Le two bffs had the same thing: Pork with Black Pepper / Cheese Chicken Steak.

Didnt snap a photo because Levon was annoying any camera with her two fingers, HAHAH.

But according to both of them, it was so-so only.

The pork was similar to stir-fried shabu-shabu pork slices.

Overall, the food was all affordably priced, and the serving size was justifiable.

However, the quality of the dishes left much to be desired.

I guess I cant expect much for such prices.

Dont think I would return in the near future actually.

Saizeriya is located in a few malls:

City Square Mall

Bukit Timah Plaza

Toa Payoh Central

Liang Court

Hougang 1

The Cathay (which I visited)

Le two picky but still lovable bffs. hehehe.

Food Review: Ah Loy Thai

Ah Loy Thai actually needs no introduction, 

so I'll just be sharing my favourites which i always order :D

Thai Milk Tea - $2.20

Got seriously addicted to this ever since my first visit to Bangkok.

Its a blend of strong milk tea, with condensed milk and a mix of spices.

Once in a while when I have sweet cravings, this is one of the remedies. 

Pad Thai - $7.00

Traditional Thai dish. 

Thin kway teow stir fried with lots of shallots, beansprouts, egg, beancurd, 

topped with peanuts, prawns AND tiny shrimp.

I recently ate at Downtown East's Basil Inn and it sucked.

The super popular Nakhon Kitchen's also failed to impress me.

Love Ah Loy Thai's most.

Tom Yam Seafood - $7.50

Prawn/Fish/Chicken also available at $8.50

which is actually a bit weird cause I thought seafood would be more expensive usually.

one word - shiok.

Fried Calamari with Butter - $8.90

my one true love :D

I dont usually love seafood but I always order this !

The squid is always nicely chewy and batter is just right.

The butter fragrance is also super tantalising. NOMS.

Ah Loy Thai has two branches:

Ah Loy Thai - Shaw Towers

100 Beach Rd, #01-39/40, Singapore 189702
Opened 12 pm to 8 pm on weekdays, 1 pm to 7 pm on weekends.
Closed on public holidays

Ah Loy Thai - Tampines
Tampines Mall, #B1-K17
Opened 9 am to 9 pm

I have visited both branches and the standard of the food is quite consistent.
It is not stated in the opening hours, but I do know they close for a while in the late afternoon,
presumably to prepare for the dinner rush hour.
So please avoid going there around 4 -5 pm to avoid disappointment!

#gamerpickuplines

Dont know why this topic came up between me and pok,
but some of them were just so epic i had to share.
note: we actually met via MapleStory, but we have never used them ourselves ;p

1. You're the reindeer milk to my HP bar.

2. I'm your zakum and you'll be my helm. Together our kids will be zakum helms.

3. You're my hwabi, my one and only.

4. What would I be without you, my sunset dew. (LOL-ed damn hard at this)

5. Finding you is like passing a 10% scroll.

SUPER LAME but i like. HAHAHAH.

Review: Emily De Molly Hole In the Sky

Emily De Molly is one of my favourite indie brands from Australia.

The owner is ironically, not called Emily but Hayley.

Hayley is currently on maternity leave, which means no new polishes from her, 

but my wallet says thank you, because she makes the one of the best glitter combinations!

So hard for me to resist.

So far, I have four EdMs in my collection and they are all cremes with glitter.

Havent owned any holographics yet (because A-england is holo No.1), 

but from swatches I've seen, the holos are super pretty too.

Hmm since when have I said holos were not pretty. :xxx.

I have Hole in the Sky on my nails today ! 

A delicate soft periwinkle creme, 

with tiny lavender and white dots, and holographic hexes and circle glitters.

Three coats for total opacity.

Super pretty right! 

I love the color, and you cant see it on my nails but the holo glitters are evident on the bottle.

Two coats would have shown the glitters more,

but I wanted a more intense color so I went for three coats.

Close-up cause my application didnt do the glitters justice.

Macro shot courtesy of EdM's product page.

To get the larger glitters out, invert the bottle for 5 minutes before application!

EdM polishes are available from Mei Mei's Signatures, my favourite indie polish supplier.

Just Generally Ranting : JGR

Feeling really mehhhh right now cause I just received my new module's timetable.
Sucks shit because other than the fact that labs are 10 to 1 AND 2 to 5 on weekend sessions,
I'm going to have to sacrifice 4 Sundays.
Because the other groups have too many Saturday classes for me to take leave for.

Very tired of such a hectic schedule.
Having to juggle work and school is no mean feat.
I've been doing so for 3 years, and even though it's not really too bad,
Sometimes I can't help but feel v frustrated.
Especially when my responsibilities are increasing at work.

Sometimes I really do regret why I didn't manage to score and get into local uni.

Envy those who only know studying is tiring.
Yeah its equally stressful but at least the focus is on only one.

I get people scolding me at work,
then I also get people insinuating that I'm wasting school fees by skipping lectures.

Feel like stuffing my fist into their faces. Zzz.

Sigh.

Okay I know ranting is not gonna help but I'm used to verbalizing my anger.

8 more months.

I don't care what the dress code says,
I'm getting a fucking mortar board to throw in the air during graduation.
I fully deserve it k. 😡

Staycation with le Boyfriend!

I have used up my only school holiday week in September for le Korea trip with my Newsstand girls.
Andddd its finally my final year! Have to chiong finish all modules,
so Taupok will have to settle for our annual holiday in Singapore this year, hehe.

Visited Wanderlust Hotel for this year's staycation!

Wanderlust

2 Dickson Road

Singapore 209494

Tel: +65 6396 3322

Of all places, why Wanderlust?
Because it has a really cool concept for their rooms!
All the rooms are themed, either monocolor or by fun themes, inspired by travel.

Look at the cute hotel passport they issued. :D

Taaadaaa! I requested for the Treehouse loft and got my wish granted.

Pok was so happy, he started climbing up and down countless times.

Other than Treehouse, we also caught a sneak peek at the Space themed room.

It has the egg shaped swing inside! Omg thats the next one I wanna go for.

Accomplished a great movie marathon by watching: 

Frozen (LET IT GO), Iron Man 1 to 3, Captain America, and 15 minutes of The Bourne Identity..

before I conked out on the comfortable bed and started drooling. :x

Garrett's Cheesecorn to last us through 5 movies. :D

In between we went to Bugis Junction for dinner! 15 minutes walk away.

Visited Everything with Fries, cause I had a craving for the One Egg Soup.

Poor bf had to eat salad cause he didnt really like the food there.

Thank you pok, for accomodating to me hahah.

the rich and creamy one egg soup. :D

Truffle fries !

part of the reason pok agreed to tag along hahaha.

Tandoori chicken salad.

Pok says its nice, but dont be tricked into thinking he wants a healthy lifestyle.

He tapau-ed KFC on the way back to the hotel wtf.

#couple #selfie!

le idiotic but adorable bf. 

HAHAHAHA LOOK AT HIS TUMMY WTF.

As I booked this stay via Agoda, it included breakfast for two as well !

There is no room service, but Cocotte is right downstairs at the lobby for their hungry guests.

Cocotte 

Features communal dining, meaning food comes in large portions, meant for sharing.

But for breakfast they allowed us to eat small. hahahah. 

Choose either American breakfast, homemade pancakes, or fresh fruit bowl. 

They had a semi-buffet, offering cereals, milk, coffee, tea and breads too.

The perfect breakfast consists of Waffle Crisps, milk and bacon.  

Awesome staycation cause I got to spend quality time just lazing around.

休息是为了走更长的路 :D

Review: Essie Bouncer It's Me

I've found the perfect cobalt blue on my nails !

Essie's Bouncer It's Me, from the Neon 2013 collection.

This awesome neon polish is jelly based, so it requires a few coats (and some patience) to apply.

I used a white base to bring out the full neon of the polish :D

My favourite white is China Glaze: White on White. 

This is one coat of BIM on two coats of white.

As expected with jellies, it is slightly streaky, so apply a thin coat first.

Three coat opacity.

I AM IN LOVE. ELECTRIC BLUE BABY!

It really takes a lot of time to apply because of the multiple coats involved, 

but the shade of cobalt blue is so pretty and worth it.

It dries off to a satin matte finish, so top coat should be applied to make it glossy.

On my second application, I tried skipping a second coat of white to cut the time.

It turned out a shade darker, like a bright indigo blue. Sort of similar to China Glaze Manhunt.

One coat white + three coats BIM.

Still neon but really darker.

Next time, I'm not skipping the second coat. :x

April is Autism Awareness month and the nail community celebrated it with #bluenailsforautism

This was my design for the event. 

With the accent nail representing the jigsaw ribbon for autism. (:

Food Review: The Burger Bar by Fatboy's concepts

14 Scotts Road, Far East Plaza

#01-16A/B

Opened 12 pm to 10 pm daily.

Presenting me and pok's favourite place for a good burger!
Located conveniently at FEP, one of me and bimb's favourite places to shop for shoes hehe.
For everything else it's still Bugis Street. :B

What's different about the burger bar is that it allows you to build your own burger!
Choose everything, from the buns to the sauce.
You'll be spoilt for choice cause there are so many options.
Eg. for just the bun, you can choose sesame, wholemeal, honey oat, or brioche.
Sounds abit like Subway right. ;p

Its pretty simple, cause you can order step by step using the iPads.
Just keep an eye on the price, cause the first time I went there I got overexcited..
My burger and sides came up to around $19. @.@
But so worth it!

Tap and order, then tell the cashier the order number. Easy.

Please click here for a list of their options; prices subject to change.

my customized burger + mozarrella cheese sticks with aioli dip!

Worth a miss because once they cool, the whole thing is super hard.

The cheese becomes chewy and stringy, but not in the shiok way. :/

The fries was so much nicer.

I always order the chicken patty, with the sesame seed bun.

Their buns are super fluffy and soft, love it.

Pok loves the brioche bun.

I've tried both the portobello mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms too, on different occasions.

I'd say to go for the portobello mushroom, 

cause even though its slightly pricier, the intense flavour is worth it for shroom lovers like me. :D

Favourite cheese has got to be cheddar. Actually any cheese is like heaven.

OH and I loved putting sundried tomatoes into my burger. 

wahhhhh its more than just tomatoes, cause its more tangy. :D

Unfortunately bacon in the burger doesnt make me extra happy cause it was quite burnt.

Didnt include it the second time.

Photo credited to http://thankyouforthefoodweeat.wordpress.com

A word of caution regarding the seating area!
The space is very limited, and there is only two tables and a L-shaped bar facing the walls.
So I wouldnt recommend going with a large group, especially not during peak hours.

Other than that, I'm quite happy with the overall place.
The variety offered is sure to please even the pickest eaters (ahem),
and the ingredients are definitely of good quality.
So what you see, is what you get. :D