The newest blog advertising site. Works to link bloggers and advertisers set up by Paddy Tan who is also the founder of Bak2U, an anti-theft software. Fixed fee of $3 per advertisement.
Pro> Fast and friendly customer service. Usually reply to emails within the day. Stress that bloggers would not be penalised if they reject the ads.
Allows blogger to choose to accept the advertisements as some layout may not allow the advertisements to be put up. If possible and advertisers allow, there will be different sizes of advertisements available for choosing.
Recently goes into per post advertisements which should be more popular among bloggers.
Con> $3 for a month of banner advertisement is rather little. This means that there is limited advertisements matching as there is only this much space for putting banners.
Joined in the fun for the 1st Eat Out by Yebbers at Eden. It was fun to see the people behind the usernames. Hee.... Fun and friendly people. It is also one of the time that I actually ate from 8 plus to midnight, so it ended as a dinner/supper session. Haa...
The resturant was along Club street, well have to look out for the signage if not will miss the place.
The place is small but cosy, with simple decoration.
The boss, Clement is very friendly going ard making small talks with people at the same time making sure that the food are ready to be served on time.
Now to the food:
Starters:
Tomato based seafood soup: It is a thick tomato based seafood. The seadfood inside was fresh as well. I enjoyed it.
Endives with Mushroom and bacon canapes: I stongly recommend this starter. It was great! The mushroom was grilled (or pan fried) to prefection, and yet able to retain its juices within. Together with the bacon canapes, they formed a prefect match! Simply wonderful!
Main:
Rosemerry rose petal garlic lamb / beef: Hmm... did not managed to taste the rose petal, but the beef that I have was tender.
Lemon garlic Mahi Mahi: I believed that this dish was changed to snow fish. Even thought there is a hint of lemon and garlic taste but then it did not managed to fully cover the fishy smell. Overall a pleasant dish.
Seedless grape chicken: This one came in a pastry form where we have to break open the hard pastry for it. It was like digging for treasure. Hee... Once opened, can smell the faint smell of the grape. The only sad thing about this dish is the chicken is a bit too dry for my liking. If not, this will be a wonderful dish as well.
Balsemic Strawberry Beef: This dish is another winner! I loved it. The taste of the strawberry went into the beef which was a prefect match as well. The beef was tender and juicy! The strawberry a bit on the sour side. Hee....
Black sesame mushroom pasta: Once they placed this dish in front of me, I could smell the cheese. With is handmade pasta (I believed), it is unique but too unique for my taste.
Desserts:
Wine tea floral fruit jello: Got two of it, one is made with extra from hibicus and the other I forgot alr. Hee.... Both are good! Not really too sweet and taste really well!
Balsume mosse cake: Light on taste, with a hint of cheese in it.
Got 2 more desserts, which I forgot their names, one is another cheesecake.
Overall, the whole meal is fine, but maybe my expectations are a bit too high from reading the reviews above or manybe they are too busy trying to get all the dishes out on time that it might affect the quailty of the food that day.
However, I will be back to try their other dishes especially their desserts that Clement had recommended.
Thks to the organisers for this party and Clement for the great host, explaining every dish to us.
Aston's specialties, yet another "coffeeshop gourmet" outlet which seems to be all the rage these days. Aston's specializes in steak and has appeared on television programs such as "Pai Pai Zhan, Ca Ca Kan" (Queue and check it out!) recently. The outlet i reviewed is its less glorious outlet at Seragoon Gardens but let it be known that location does not dictate the quality of food. Good food always speaks for itself.
Found in an obscure location along the crossing towards Coffee bean, Friends and Cafe Cartel from the bus stop, this is one of the last places i would imagine a gourmet eating place can be found, and worse, i worked here for 2 years and never tried it till now. The shame oh the shame!
Mushroom Soup ($2.20) - After waiting for about half an hour to get my orders taken and another 15 minutes for the soup to be brought to me, grumpy would be a kind way to describe my feelings at that point. However, the soup managed to ease my nerves a little. Creamy and slightly starchy, the soup tasted full bodied, thick and was surprisingly packed with mushroom bits albeit a little salty. The bread was pleasantly toasted, warm and soft unlike offerings elsewhere.
Grilled Dory Fish with Herbal Sauce ($5.50) - The fish came a few minutes after the soup and was steaming hot. Sides were simple affairs of boiled seasonal vegetables and a potato salad. The seasonal vegetables were broccoli and carrots which were simply boiled. Potato salad was of the crunchy variety however and was nicely mixed with sauce for a strong, pleasant and raw appetizer. The dory fish was slightly charred on the ends but otherwise moist and sweet on the inside. They must have marinated it pretty well because the pepper and herb taste was thoroughly in the meat. I also liked the herb scented sauce on used as a dressing which really brings out the flavor. Point to note was that the fish somehow managed to stay warm throughout our meal which is a big plus.
Aston's Prime Ribeye Steak ($11.90) - A baked potato and caeser's salad accompanied my ribeye steak which is of a pretty generous portion, probably 200-150 grams of meat. The baked potato looked uninviting but tasted good due to it being burning hot and served with a huge dollop of melting salted butter on top. The caeser salad, consisting of lettuce, carrots, radish, blueberries and tomatoes was fresh, crunchy and sweet along with a small dressing of thousand island sauce. The beef was served as i ordered, medium rare and smoking. I could easily taste the beef juices in each succulent, juicy bite. Mushroom dressing was used to further enhance the taste which i honestly can't complain. Apart from the fatty meat along the sides which is usual for this cut of meat, i believe everything else checks out pretty well for this place. Nicely done.
$20 for a simple, fumes induced yet satisfying dinner is what i call value for money.
Finally! A commercial review that deserves merit is few and far between. Though the queues are long and bound to get longer after its recent television outing, you'll be hard pressed to find better value for money for steaks of this caliber. Heartily recommended for a try to judge yourselves. Watch the queues and fumes though.
I had my first Brazilian Wax today! Yes I was a Brazilian Virgin at Strip @ Raffles. I was really apprehensive at first.. I mean who wouldn't be when someone's staring at your nether regions.
They have two sorts : The Soft Wax and the Hard Wax (if I didn't hear her wrongly)
I chose the Hard Wax. It's slightly warm when smoothed onto the skin and hardens after a while. Then the lady will pull the hard wax off with all the hairs in it. She did it a few times and TADA it was pretty clean! Then she used the soft wax (cloth) to take the finer ones out and finally she tweezed the hard to reach places. It was all done in 15 minutes. Great speed and she was very professional, giving me some warning when it's off places that will hurt and asking me to breathe normally. She was all smiles and so were the other people in the place!!
It cost me $60 for that session. If you picked soft wax it would be $46. I signed for the $380 package which has $480 credit to begin with. More waxing for me!! :)
**For obvious reasons there aren't photos attached to this review since the photos that matter cannot be posted. :P
I was at Vivo for some window shopping and dropped by at Kiehl's which is located near the taxi stand. It's well-known for their quality skincare so I decided to give it a try.
Once I stepped in, I was greeted with smiles but there wasn't any hounding. The staff stayed at a reasonable distance, ready to help when it is called for. That I did, and Ms. Joey Huang immediately appeared. I told her I was looking for a good moisturizer for people with sensitive skin. She asked some basic questions about my lifestyle and recommended me two types. After advising me on the benefits and differences between the two, she also showed me the different sizes available. What I liked was that she wasn't pushy about asking me to take the biggest bottles and such.
After paying, she also gave me 4 sachets of samples to try as I had told her that I was apprehensive about buying new products thanks to my sensitive skin. The service provided was definitely good.
The product I bought: Creme de Corps - The Original Rich Nourishing Cream 250ml for $54 Its yellow colour made me think that it was very thick at first but it came out watery. Once on the skin, a 20 cent dollop managed to cover quite a bit of area. As my skin is pretty dry, it was absorbed fast and didn't leave any greasy after-feeling. In fact, the area was immediately softer (slightly). I've applied it thrice since and my skin doesn't feel as parched as usual. Thanks to its texture I think this would last me about 1 and a half months which I find reasonable for its price.
Was at the eat-out session with many other Yebbers! Eden Cafe's a really nice place to go to I must say, just that it seems to be quite inconvenient to get there if you don't drive, and if you drive it's also inconvenient to get a parking lot!
When you step into Eden, you'll probably feel rather comfortable in the place due to the rather homely interior and soft lightings. Also, feel welcomed by the friendly owner, Clement, who ensures that your experience there be as good as it can be.
As there were up to 7 dishes (excluding the desserts) and on the whole I thought that all the dishes were unique and creative in terms of taste and appearance.
Personally, I really liked the Rosemary Rosepetal Garlic Beef and Balsamic Strawberry Beef. Of course, I'm the sort that really likes beef, however these dishes were cooked in a different style which you probably won't taste elsewhere, especially the Strawberry Beef. It's literally cooked with the strawberries and you can taste the sweetness of it in every bite of the juicy beef. Also, the beef is very well cooked and tender despite the fact that thin slices of beef tend to cook faster.
On top of that, there's the Seedless Grape Chicken in a rock-hard bread. Of course the bread's not meant for you to eat because, like I said, it's rock-hard! You can try.. but it's not that advisable. (I've tried.. haha) But the taste of the chicken was wonderful as it integrated the sweet taste of the grape, just that it would have been better if the chicken wasn't so dry.
Then there was also the Black Sesame Mushroom Pasta. The pasta is made by the owner himself. I like the texture of the pasta, however as the owner says, this is a dish that you either like it or not at all. For me, I didn't like it actually. The sesame flavour does not appeal to me; I actually found it hard to accept the fusion of oriental and italian flavours.
Lastly, it was the dessert. My favourite was the Wine Tea Floral Fruit Jellos! It wasn't too sweet and had a tinge of alcohol and fruit taste. A pity it was so tiny! I could have ten at a shot! Haha.. But Clement was so generous as to give us an additional 2 other items for dessert as he was worried we weren't full! How nice of him! :)
Well basically, this session at Eden was a great experience me. I'm not an adventurous person when it comes to food and so I was actually quite skeptical of what's coming up. However, it was interesting to learn that food can be done in so many different ways, even with flowers (even the flowers can be so interesting in itself)! I would like to go back again, but I will probably be ordering the same things. But for adventurous people, this place is a must-try!
As requested, an extremely overdue post on Botak Jones. Personally, i have been there at least 5 times over the past 1.5 years and each time with a different group or by myself. So this is more or less a collective experience post. (PS: pardon the horrible pictures. The food looks much better when you are there.)
Located in a humble coffee shop setting in the middle of nowhere in Ang Mo Kio, i was apprehensive at first during my first visit. This however, gave way to appreciation as the prices were definitely lower then its restaurant counterparts. Along the same vein as Aston's and Blackboard, Botak Jones was probably one of the pioneers in this field (correct me if i'm wrong please). Now, after four years, Botak Jones boasts a total of 6 outlets and a strong following of loyal customers with new ones born everyday. Be warned that if you arrive late for the meal, be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes for your food.
The Double Botak ($9.50) - Botak burger, 2 150 gram beef patties set atop a lightly toasted bun with tomatoes onions and lettuce. The burger comes without cheese or any such toppings unless ordered, toppings are priced between $1 to $3.50 on top of charge for the burger. I recommend the cheddar cheese topping for a more wholesome taste. As you can see, the burger i ordered did not come with cheese because i conveniently forgot. The patties are as i remember it, moist and medium well done on the inside which oozes a pleasantly strong beefy taste. The patties were smaller then i remembered however, and it was a little drier then my previous visits for some reason, the lack of cheese also took away a significant portion of enjoyment. The fries were thick and came with chilli powder sprinkled over it.
Cajun Chicken ($7.50) - Having never ordered anything apart from Botak Burger, i was pleasantly surprised with the Cajun Chicken my dad ordered. Chicken breast thats tender, a novel concept and well executed. The chicken was tender, juicy, easily cut and full of flavor from the mozeralla cheese and the spicy cajun sauce. Thats my impression from the one piece i had, my dad enjoyed it and said it was good. Enough said.
Fish And Chips ($6.50) - The humble fish and chips or breaded fried fish, available everywhere and at low prices, how does their rendition fair? Supposedly made from pacific dory fish and breaded on the day itself, they tout it as being freshly made daily. The reality of it is that it still tastes generic albeit a much better one then those available in other hawker centers or coffee shops. This one beats Blackboard's rendition hands down. The fish was thick and sweet with a thin layer of batter, still, would be better if they gave even bigger servings.
"Damn good food at a damn good price!" is their tag line. From my visits, i got to realize that prices have been increasing and the food quality, though decent, have been sliding. The beef is where its at for me, but as prices increase ($1 for cheddar cheese?), the previous good value it offered is slowly offset as it now rivals restaurant prices when toppings are considered. Add the unpleasantness of its long wait times and somehow, the feeling of satisfaction it previously offered somehow ebbs away. Still, for its theme of American burgers, its currently still the better of the lot. Still, its more edging towards "Decent American burgers at semi decent prices" as opposed to what its tag line suggests.
Featured on HDB Tai Tai sometime last month, September, piggy ole me was once again influenced into trying out a commercially reviewed joint for its food. Quite simply, the tv artists raved about its food and value for money. I was there to discover if what they touted was indeed true. (On a side note, the real reason i wanted to go was due to its cheap shark's fin noodles which really intrigued me to no end.)
We arrived on a rather awkward timing since it was a weekday afternoon but there was already quite a crowd within. Seats were aplenty though as this happens to be the biggest in its chain of restaurants in Singapore thus far. The interior was spacious and cozy with a very friendly male waiter who took the liberty of introducing us to his favorite and generally more expensive items. Established in 2004, simply enter their website to see them tout in bold letters "The Most Highly Recommended Hong Kong Cafe" How much of it is true? I'm not able to say yet.
Random ramblings. Why do they need a piece of paper to tick our orders and later follow up with 3 pieces of paper to note down the exact same orders? And all it does is lay on the table to be thrown away later. I've not seen a worst use of paper since....ever. Bad practice, really bad practice.
Mango King ($5.50) - The menu states: "Special blended mango juice with fresh mangoes and mango ice-cream" and thats exactly what it is. And truth be told, its probably the best item we had that day. Mango pieces were clearly visible but were sour and in actuality, the amount given was quite stingy. The mango ice cream was great however, lightly sweet with a soft mango and vanilla fragrance. The ice blended portion needed more work and the mango syrup simply wasn't good. At $5.50, i'd say they are pirates.
HK Fried Carrot Cake with XO sauce ($5.50) - The first that hits you is how small the portion is. You can practically count the number of carrot cake cubes. Portion aside, the dish came smelling heavenly. Taste wise though, the oil took up a huge part of it and where's the XO sauce? The carrot cake was firm and soft at the same time which made eating it a breeze but still, despite its generally sweet and soft texture, the residue of oil it leaves behind won't leave a good taste in your mouth.
Gold Medal Macau Baked ($14.80) - My gf had this. Let me explain the process involved in preparing this. Firstly, get ready made pasta, dip it in hot water and later cold water, lay a chicken chop, porkchop and some prawns and squid. Then separately put three different sauces, tomato, cream and curry sauce on the respective items and finally, add a layer of mozeralla cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes and serve the customer. Sounds decent right? However, they did not thaw the chicken and pork chop well enough, the also skimped on the baking process to speed things up and the pasta was not cooked properly. In its defense, the tomato base tasted good and the serving of meat is decent.
HK Street Shark's Fin Soup La Mian ($10.80) - This was what i came here for and this is the reason why i will not be back. The serving on television showed entire pieces of shark's fin which is obviously absent here. What was served was minuscule and insufficient. Worse, the La Mian was horrendously overcooked till it tastes soggy and the soup base was bland and tasteless. I don't know how they dared to feature this on television, this is plain bad.
An unsatisfying meal came up to $39.20 dollars without GST.
Disappointment stabbed at me as i left the place. I had high hopes for it since watching it on television but as usual, commercial reviews seem to overate these places at times. Maybe its because they get the food for free, or maybe they are paid to eat which thus skews their perception, but a paying customer like myself will tell you to stay away from this place. The pricing is ridiculous and the food laughable.
Looking for a dress for wedding or prom? Looking for something different and that has a low possibility of someone else having? Try Strut!
I got to know of Strut at the Yebber Fashion Fusion2 and I must say I was super excited! A pity I didn't have any upcoming event to shop for.. The dresses were so beautiful! Dresses at Strut are the-best for special ocassions, but some of them would be good for casual wear too.
I find that the designs at Strut are rather unique. Girls, that's important right? You don't wanna go to your prom and see another girl in the same dress as you. These dresses are design by a local designer and I find it really impressive!
However, I do find the dresses a little expensive. Unless I have a particular event to attend, I don't think I'd be shopping for dresses here. They are about 129 and 199 for the around-knee-length dresses and 299 for the super long dresses! Though they're really expensive, I do think that their long dresses are really elegant and short dresses really sweet!
When the time comes, I'd be searching for my prom dress at Strut!
(Their dresses can be found at CK Tangs or at Vivo Tangs!)
To be honest, I found the place pretty small when I first stepped in. Perhaps it was the impression formed from the empty space on the layout on paper that made me feel that the place was going to be much bigger. I did hear quite a few people complaining that the place was rather small, but as a customer, I actually felt it was good that at least there was ample space to walk! (Ok, other than when people who just enter decide to all stop at the same place to see the same stuff haha.)
I liked the variety of items that was provided to us. There were shoes, clothes and accessories, and that's basically all a girl needs! (Though I guess it would have attracted more crowd if there were more guys' stuff? Haha. But I think it's a trend or something, that it's always girls' stuff at bazaars like that.) If the items at one shop doesn't appeal to you, you can always go to another! I really liked that I had a few choices even for the same sort of stuff. Plus, I did find that the different price range was good in catering to different people. I noticed that some of the things there were pretty expensive. No doubt it was nice, but I could only browse most of the time. Some things were really expensive for a student who's out shopping on their own with friends, and as I noticed, there were many students who turned up. Fortunately, there were stalls like Dainty Damsels who provided these people with an alternative.
But one thing I'm definitely grateful for this FF2 is that I did most of my Christmas shopping there! Settled a few items in a day, at a really good price, on top of that, with another 15% discount! FF2 was like an avenue for nice and unique stuff that I could get for my friends without having to worry that it could be too common or something.. (or my friends won't accidentally stubble upon the shop and find out how much their gift costs.)
On the whole, I did enjoy myself at FF2! And it is definitely an improvement from the first event! In terms of location, I felt that Suntec was a good place because it's rather convenient to go. But I though having it in the room actually reduced the potential of bringing in more people. But at least there was air-con! I think that's good for both vendors and shoppers! :D I can't wait to attend the next Fashion Fusion!! :)
1=SGD 0.0587
The newest blog advertising site. Works to link bloggers and advertisers set up by Paddy Tan who is also the founder of Bak2U, an anti-theft software. Fixed fee of $3 per advertisement.
Pro>
Fast and friendly customer service. Usually reply to emails within the day. Stress that bloggers would not be penalised if they reject the ads.
Allows blogger to choose to accept the advertisements as some layout may not allow the advertisements to be put up. If possible and advertisers allow, there will be different sizes of advertisements available for choosing.
Recently goes into per post advertisements which should be more popular among bloggers.
Con>
$3 for a month of banner advertisement is rather little. This means that there is limited advertisements matching as there is only this much space for putting banners.
Rating given:
Joined in the fun for the 1st Eat Out by Yebbers at Eden. It was fun to see the people behind the usernames. Hee.... Fun and friendly people. It is also one of the time that I actually ate from 8 plus to midnight, so it ended as a dinner/supper session. Haa...
The resturant was along Club street, well have to look out for the signage if not will miss the place.
The place is small but cosy, with simple decoration.
The boss, Clement is very friendly going ard making small talks with people at the same time making sure that the food are ready to be served on time.
Now to the food:
Starters:
Tomato based seafood soup: It is a thick tomato based seafood. The seadfood inside was fresh as well. I enjoyed it.
Endives with Mushroom and bacon canapes: I stongly recommend this starter. It was great! The mushroom was grilled (or pan fried) to prefection, and yet able to retain its juices within. Together with the bacon canapes, they formed a prefect match! Simply wonderful!
Main:
Rosemerry rose petal garlic lamb / beef: Hmm... did not managed to taste the rose petal, but the beef that I have was tender.
Lemon garlic Mahi Mahi: I believed that this dish was changed to snow fish. Even thought there is a hint of lemon and garlic taste but then it did not managed to fully cover the fishy smell. Overall a pleasant dish.
Seedless grape chicken: This one came in a pastry form where we have to break open the hard pastry for it. It was like digging for treasure. Hee... Once opened, can smell the faint smell of the grape. The only sad thing about this dish is the chicken is a bit too dry for my liking. If not, this will be a wonderful dish as well.
Balsemic Strawberry Beef: This dish is another winner! I loved it. The taste of the strawberry went into the beef which was a prefect match as well. The beef was tender and juicy! The strawberry a bit on the sour side. Hee....
Black sesame mushroom pasta: Once they placed this dish in front of me, I could smell the cheese. With is handmade pasta (I believed), it is unique but too unique for my taste.
Desserts:
Wine tea floral fruit jello: Got two of it, one is made with extra from hibicus and the other I forgot alr. Hee.... Both are good! Not really too sweet and taste really well!
Balsume mosse cake: Light on taste, with a hint of cheese in it.
Got 2 more desserts, which I forgot their names, one is another cheesecake.
Overall, the whole meal is fine, but maybe my expectations are a bit too high from reading the reviews above or manybe they are too busy trying to get all the dishes out on time that it might affect the quailty of the food that day.
However, I will be back to try their other dishes especially their desserts that Clement had recommended.
Thks to the organisers for this party and Clement for the great host, explaining every dish to us.
Rating given:
Aston's specialties, yet another "coffeeshop gourmet" outlet which seems to be all the rage these days. Aston's specializes in steak and has appeared on television programs such as "Pai Pai Zhan, Ca Ca Kan" (Queue and check it out!) recently. The outlet i reviewed is its less glorious outlet at Seragoon Gardens but let it be known that location does not dictate the quality of food. Good food always speaks for itself.
Found in an obscure location along the crossing towards Coffee bean, Friends and Cafe Cartel from the bus stop, this is one of the last places i would imagine a gourmet eating place can be found, and worse, i worked here for 2 years and never tried it till now. The shame oh the shame!
Mushroom Soup ($2.20) - After waiting for about half an hour to get my orders taken and another 15 minutes for the soup to be brought to me, grumpy would be a kind way to describe my feelings at that point. However, the soup managed to ease my nerves a little. Creamy and slightly starchy, the soup tasted full bodied, thick and was surprisingly packed with mushroom bits albeit a little salty. The bread was pleasantly toasted, warm and soft unlike offerings elsewhere.
Grilled Dory Fish with Herbal Sauce ($5.50) - The fish came a few minutes after the soup and was steaming hot. Sides were simple affairs of boiled seasonal vegetables and a potato salad. The seasonal vegetables were broccoli and carrots which were simply boiled. Potato salad was of the crunchy variety however and was nicely mixed with sauce for a strong, pleasant and raw appetizer. The dory fish was slightly charred on the ends but otherwise moist and sweet on the inside. They must have marinated it pretty well because the pepper and herb taste was thoroughly in the meat. I also liked the herb scented sauce on used as a dressing which really brings out the flavor. Point to note was that the fish somehow managed to stay warm throughout our meal which is a big plus.
Aston's Prime Ribeye Steak ($11.90) - A baked potato and caeser's salad accompanied my ribeye steak which is of a pretty generous portion, probably 200-150 grams of meat. The baked potato looked uninviting but tasted good due to it being burning hot and served with a huge dollop of melting salted butter on top. The caeser salad, consisting of lettuce, carrots, radish, blueberries and tomatoes was fresh, crunchy and sweet along with a small dressing of thousand island sauce. The beef was served as i ordered, medium rare and smoking. I could easily taste the beef juices in each succulent, juicy bite. Mushroom dressing was used to further enhance the taste which i honestly can't complain. Apart from the fatty meat along the sides which is usual for this cut of meat, i believe everything else checks out pretty well for this place. Nicely done.
$20 for a simple, fumes induced yet satisfying dinner is what i call value for money.
Finally! A commercial review that deserves merit is few and far between. Though the queues are long and bound to get longer after its recent television outing, you'll be hard pressed to find better value for money for steaks of this caliber. Heartily recommended for a try to judge yourselves. Watch the queues and fumes though.
Rating given:
I had my first Brazilian Wax today! Yes I was a Brazilian Virgin at Strip @ Raffles. I was really apprehensive at first.. I mean who wouldn't be when someone's staring at your nether regions.
They have two sorts : The Soft Wax and the Hard Wax (if I didn't hear her wrongly)
I chose the Hard Wax. It's slightly warm when smoothed onto the skin and hardens after a while. Then the lady will pull the hard wax off with all the hairs in it. She did it a few times and TADA it was pretty clean! Then she used the soft wax (cloth) to take the finer ones out and finally she tweezed the hard to reach places. It was all done in 15 minutes. Great speed and she was very professional, giving me some warning when it's off places that will hurt and asking me to breathe normally. She was all smiles and so were the other people in the place!!
It cost me $60 for that session. If you picked soft wax it would be $46. I signed for the $380 package which has $480 credit to begin with. More waxing for me!! :)
**For obvious reasons there aren't photos attached to this review since the photos that matter cannot be posted. :P
Rating given:
I was at Vivo for some window shopping and dropped by at Kiehl's which is located near the taxi stand. It's well-known for their quality skincare so I decided to give it a try.
Once I stepped in, I was greeted with smiles but there wasn't any hounding. The staff stayed at a reasonable distance, ready to help when it is called for. That I did, and Ms. Joey Huang immediately appeared. I told her I was looking for a good moisturizer for people with sensitive skin. She asked some basic questions about my lifestyle and recommended me two types. After advising me on the benefits and differences between the two, she also showed me the different sizes available. What I liked was that she wasn't pushy about asking me to take the biggest bottles and such.
After paying, she also gave me 4 sachets of samples to try as I had told her that I was apprehensive about buying new products thanks to my sensitive skin. The service provided was definitely good.
The product I bought:
Creme de Corps - The Original Rich Nourishing Cream
250ml for $54
Its yellow colour made me think that it was very thick at first but it came out watery. Once on the skin, a 20 cent dollop managed to cover quite a bit of area. As my skin is pretty dry, it was absorbed fast and didn't leave any greasy after-feeling. In fact, the area was immediately softer (slightly). I've applied it thrice since and my skin doesn't feel as parched as usual. Thanks to its texture I think this would last me about 1 and a half months which I find reasonable for its price.
Rating given:
Was at the eat-out session with many other Yebbers! Eden Cafe's a really nice place to go to I must say, just that it seems to be quite inconvenient to get there if you don't drive, and if you drive it's also inconvenient to get a parking lot!
When you step into Eden, you'll probably feel rather comfortable in the place due to the rather homely interior and soft lightings. Also, feel welcomed by the friendly owner, Clement, who ensures that your experience there be as good as it can be.
As there were up to 7 dishes (excluding the desserts) and on the whole I thought that all the dishes were unique and creative in terms of taste and appearance.
Personally, I really liked the Rosemary Rosepetal Garlic Beef and Balsamic Strawberry Beef. Of course, I'm the sort that really likes beef, however these dishes were cooked in a different style which you probably won't taste elsewhere, especially the Strawberry Beef. It's literally cooked with the strawberries and you can taste the sweetness of it in every bite of the juicy beef. Also, the beef is very well cooked and tender despite the fact that thin slices of beef tend to cook faster.
On top of that, there's the Seedless Grape Chicken in a rock-hard bread. Of course the bread's not meant for you to eat because, like I said, it's rock-hard! You can try.. but it's not that advisable. (I've tried.. haha) But the taste of the chicken was wonderful as it integrated the sweet taste of the grape, just that it would have been better if the chicken wasn't so dry.
Then there was also the Black Sesame Mushroom Pasta. The pasta is made by the owner himself. I like the texture of the pasta, however as the owner says, this is a dish that you either like it or not at all. For me, I didn't like it actually. The sesame flavour does not appeal to me; I actually found it hard to accept the fusion of oriental and italian flavours.
Lastly, it was the dessert. My favourite was the Wine Tea Floral Fruit Jellos! It wasn't too sweet and had a tinge of alcohol and fruit taste. A pity it was so tiny! I could have ten at a shot! Haha.. But Clement was so generous as to give us an additional 2 other items for dessert as he was worried we weren't full! How nice of him! :)
Well basically, this session at Eden was a great experience me. I'm not an adventurous person when it comes to food and so I was actually quite skeptical of what's coming up. However, it was interesting to learn that food can be done in so many different ways, even with flowers (even the flowers can be so interesting in itself)! I would like to go back again, but I will probably be ordering the same things. But for adventurous people, this place is a must-try!
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As requested, an extremely overdue post on Botak Jones. Personally, i have been there at least 5 times over the past 1.5 years and each time with a different group or by myself. So this is more or less a collective experience post. (PS: pardon the horrible pictures. The food looks much better when you are there.)
Located in a humble coffee shop setting in the middle of nowhere in Ang Mo Kio, i was apprehensive at first during my first visit. This however, gave way to appreciation as the prices were definitely lower then its restaurant counterparts. Along the same vein as Aston's and Blackboard, Botak Jones was probably one of the pioneers in this field (correct me if i'm wrong please). Now, after four years, Botak Jones boasts a total of 6 outlets and a strong following of loyal customers with new ones born everyday. Be warned that if you arrive late for the meal, be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes for your food.
The Double Botak ($9.50) - Botak burger, 2 150 gram beef patties set atop a lightly toasted bun with tomatoes onions and lettuce. The burger comes without cheese or any such toppings unless ordered, toppings are priced between $1 to $3.50 on top of charge for the burger. I recommend the cheddar cheese topping for a more wholesome taste. As you can see, the burger i ordered did not come with cheese because i conveniently forgot. The patties are as i remember it, moist and medium well done on the inside which oozes a pleasantly strong beefy taste. The patties were smaller then i remembered however, and it was a little drier then my previous visits for some reason, the lack of cheese also took away a significant portion of enjoyment. The fries were thick and came with chilli powder sprinkled over it.
Cajun Chicken ($7.50) - Having never ordered anything apart from Botak Burger, i was pleasantly surprised with the Cajun Chicken my dad ordered. Chicken breast thats tender, a novel concept and well executed. The chicken was tender, juicy, easily cut and full of flavor from the mozeralla cheese and the spicy cajun sauce. Thats my impression from the one piece i had, my dad enjoyed it and said it was good. Enough said.
Fish And Chips ($6.50) - The humble fish and chips or breaded fried fish, available everywhere and at low prices, how does their rendition fair? Supposedly made from pacific dory fish and breaded on the day itself, they tout it as being freshly made daily. The reality of it is that it still tastes generic albeit a much better one then those available in other hawker centers or coffee shops. This one beats Blackboard's rendition hands down. The fish was thick and sweet with a thin layer of batter, still, would be better if they gave even bigger servings.
"Damn good food at a damn good price!" is their tag line. From my visits, i got to realize that prices have been increasing and the food quality, though decent, have been sliding. The beef is where its at for me, but as prices increase ($1 for cheddar cheese?), the previous good value it offered is slowly offset as it now rivals restaurant prices when toppings are considered. Add the unpleasantness of its long wait times and somehow, the feeling of satisfaction it previously offered somehow ebbs away. Still, for its theme of American burgers, its currently still the better of the lot. Still, its more edging towards "Decent American burgers at semi decent prices" as opposed to what its tag line suggests.
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Featured on HDB Tai Tai sometime last month, September, piggy ole me was once again influenced into trying out a commercially reviewed joint for its food. Quite simply, the tv artists raved about its food and value for money. I was there to discover if what they touted was indeed true. (On a side note, the real reason i wanted to go was due to its cheap shark's fin noodles which really intrigued me to no end.)
We arrived on a rather awkward timing since it was a weekday afternoon but there was already quite a crowd within. Seats were aplenty though as this happens to be the biggest in its chain of restaurants in Singapore thus far. The interior was spacious and cozy with a very friendly male waiter who took the liberty of introducing us to his favorite and generally more expensive items. Established in 2004, simply enter their website to see them tout in bold letters "The Most Highly Recommended Hong Kong Cafe" How much of it is true? I'm not able to say yet.
Random ramblings. Why do they need a piece of paper to tick our orders and later follow up with 3 pieces of paper to note down the exact same orders? And all it does is lay on the table to be thrown away later. I've not seen a worst use of paper since....ever. Bad practice, really bad practice.
Mango King ($5.50) - The menu states: "Special blended mango juice with fresh mangoes and mango ice-cream" and thats exactly what it is. And truth be told, its probably the best item we had that day. Mango pieces were clearly visible but were sour and in actuality, the amount given was quite stingy. The mango ice cream was great however, lightly sweet with a soft mango and vanilla fragrance. The ice blended portion needed more work and the mango syrup simply wasn't good. At $5.50, i'd say they are pirates.
HK Fried Carrot Cake with XO sauce ($5.50) - The first that hits you is how small the portion is. You can practically count the number of carrot cake cubes. Portion aside, the dish came smelling heavenly. Taste wise though, the oil took up a huge part of it and where's the XO sauce? The carrot cake was firm and soft at the same time which made eating it a breeze but still, despite its generally sweet and soft texture, the residue of oil it leaves behind won't leave a good taste in your mouth.
Gold Medal Macau Baked ($14.80) - My gf had this. Let me explain the process involved in preparing this. Firstly, get ready made pasta, dip it in hot water and later cold water, lay a chicken chop, porkchop and some prawns and squid. Then separately put three different sauces, tomato, cream and curry sauce on the respective items and finally, add a layer of mozeralla cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes and serve the customer. Sounds decent right? However, they did not thaw the chicken and pork chop well enough, the also skimped on the baking process to speed things up and the pasta was not cooked properly. In its defense, the tomato base tasted good and the serving of meat is decent.
HK Street Shark's Fin Soup La Mian ($10.80) - This was what i came here for and this is the reason why i will not be back. The serving on television showed entire pieces of shark's fin which is obviously absent here. What was served was minuscule and insufficient. Worse, the La Mian was horrendously overcooked till it tastes soggy and the soup base was bland and tasteless. I don't know how they dared to feature this on television, this is plain bad.
An unsatisfying meal came up to $39.20 dollars without GST.
Disappointment stabbed at me as i left the place. I had high hopes for it since watching it on television but as usual, commercial reviews seem to overate these places at times. Maybe its because they get the food for free, or maybe they are paid to eat which thus skews their perception, but a paying customer like myself will tell you to stay away from this place. The pricing is ridiculous and the food laughable.
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Looking for a dress for wedding or prom? Looking for something different and that has a low possibility of someone else having? Try Strut!
I got to know of Strut at the Yebber Fashion Fusion2 and I must say I was super excited! A pity I didn't have any upcoming event to shop for.. The dresses were so beautiful! Dresses at Strut are the-best for special ocassions, but some of them would be good for casual wear too.
I find that the designs at Strut are rather unique. Girls, that's important right? You don't wanna go to your prom and see another girl in the same dress as you. These dresses are design by a local designer and I find it really impressive!
However, I do find the dresses a little expensive. Unless I have a particular event to attend, I don't think I'd be shopping for dresses here. They are about 129 and 199 for the around-knee-length dresses and 299 for the super long dresses! Though they're really expensive, I do think that their long dresses are really elegant and short dresses really sweet!
When the time comes, I'd be searching for my prom dress at Strut!
(Their dresses can be found at CK Tangs or at Vivo Tangs!)
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Fashion Fusion 2 at Suntec!
To be honest, I found the place pretty small when I first stepped in. Perhaps it was the impression formed from the empty space on the layout on paper that made me feel that the place was going to be much bigger. I did hear quite a few people complaining that the place was rather small, but as a customer, I actually felt it was good that at least there was ample space to walk! (Ok, other than when people who just enter decide to all stop at the same place to see the same stuff haha.)
I liked the variety of items that was provided to us. There were shoes, clothes and accessories, and that's basically all a girl needs! (Though I guess it would have attracted more crowd if there were more guys' stuff? Haha. But I think it's a trend or something, that it's always girls' stuff at bazaars like that.) If the items at one shop doesn't appeal to you, you can always go to another! I really liked that I had a few choices even for the same sort of stuff. Plus, I did find that the different price range was good in catering to different people. I noticed that some of the things there were pretty expensive. No doubt it was nice, but I could only browse most of the time. Some things were really expensive for a student who's out shopping on their own with friends, and as I noticed, there were many students who turned up. Fortunately, there were stalls like Dainty Damsels who provided these people with an alternative.
But one thing I'm definitely grateful for this FF2 is that I did most of my Christmas shopping there! Settled a few items in a day, at a really good price, on top of that, with another 15% discount! FF2 was like an avenue for nice and unique stuff that I could get for my friends without having to worry that it could be too common or something.. (or my friends won't accidentally stubble upon the shop and find out how much their gift costs.)
On the whole, I did enjoy myself at FF2! And it is definitely an improvement from the first event! In terms of location, I felt that Suntec was a good place because it's rather convenient to go. But I though having it in the room actually reduced the potential of bringing in more people. But at least there was air-con! I think that's good for both vendors and shoppers! :D I can't wait to attend the next Fashion Fusion!! :)
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