personal project\two people twelve times\November 2011

November

This month we celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary and also CS’ birthday. I love it that we are still having as much fun as we are as a married couple than we were as a dating couple. In fact, we probably enjoy each other’s company now more than ever! [Photo taken outside our house on the driveway.]

ten days, 240 hours, 14400 minutes later…

This is our fourth year in Perth now; and we are fortunate to make at least a trip back to Singapore to visit family and friends every year. This time, however, I decided to take note of what we did, who we met and what we ate. So this is how our recent Singapore trip looked like:

Thurs - Day 1

Breakfast with Liz @ Jalan Kayu – roti prata and teh-o ice

Coffee with Liz @Forty Hands, Tiong Bahru

Lunch with Liz @ Zion Road Hawker Centre – fried fish head noodle, Nasi Padang

Dinner with family@ home – steamed fish, soup and veggies

Coffee with Becky @Starbucks, Holland Village – Peppermint Mocha Frappucino

Fri – Day 2

Breakfast @ Holland V Hawker Centre –  Mee rebus, vegetarian Beehoon, soya bean drink

Brief shopping @H & M, Orchard Road where I bought a dress and two tops

Lunch with CS’ family @ Far East Plaza - Thai food – fried fish in sweet and sour sauce, stir-fry kang kong, beancurds on hotplate, prawn omelette

Unexpected stopover at Far East Plaza where I spent almost two hours in one shop and bought six dresses in one go!

Dinner with family @ Crystal Jade, Holland Village - handmade noodles, dumplings

Coffee with Pris @ Coffee Club, Holland Village – drinks, chocolate and banana tart

Sat – Day 3 

E only – Lunch with Esther @ West Coast Mall - Japanese food – raw octopus and sashimi, sushi and fried mackerel

CS only – Lunch with Arthur @ Bugis - Nasi Padang

Attended YAYP church service at Grace 1, Tanglin Road

Dinner with Huiyi & Joey @Dian Xiao Er, Vivo City - herbal roasted duck, broccoli with mushrooms, sliced fish, double boiled chicken soup, spinach with salted eggs in broth, pork belly

Coffee with some young adults @Jimmy Monkey, Buona Vista – raspberry mint tea, chocolate molten cake

Sun – Day 4

Breakfast @Redhill coffeeshop – chee cheong fun aka steamed rice roll, glutinous rice, rice cake with preserved radishes

Visited grandma

Lunch with Rach & Hann @Ikea – chicken wings

Afternoon tea with Huifen & gang @Jimmy Monkey – raspberry mint tea, chocolate molten cake

Family dinner @home - porridge – curry, veggies

Coffee with mum and bro @Coffee Bean, Holland Village

Mon – Day 5

Breakfast with mum and younger bro@Holland V - Beehoon with spam and fried egg, fish ball noodles

Lunch with family – Japanese buffet @Kuishin.bo, Great World City

Brief time at Great World City – played arcade games with the brothers and nieces and I bought three pairs of shoes from Tangs

Visited Garden by the Bay @Marina Bay with family

Went prawning at East Coast Park with family

Brief shopping time at Anchorpoint – CS bought 2 shirts fand a pair of shoes

Dinner with family @Alexandra Village Coffeeshop – string ray, hor fun, spicy egg plants, shell fish

Tues – Day 6

Breakfast @ Holland V- minced pork noodles

Lunch with David & Yihang @Maxwell Food Centre - Chinese Rojak, Ngo Hiang, Popiah

Quick visit to Sia Huat @Chinatown – a wholesale kitchen supply store

Afternoon tea with David @K.Ki inside Little Drom store, Ann Siang Hill – iced peppermint tea and basil infushed chocolate cake

Dinner with Liz, Cheryl and Carol @Long Beach Seafood, Dempsey Road - chilli crabs, pepper crabs, veggies, rice

Wed – Day 7

Breakfast with Kieran @Alexandra Village coffeeshop - soon kueh, glutinous rice

Visited grandma

Lunch with Jon and David @Central Mall, Clarke Quay- Japanese ramen

Visited Cats Socrates @Bras Basah where I exercised lots of self-restraint and bought only a bag, three paper mobiles and a post card….

Coffee with Jon and David @Starbucks, City Hall – White Chocolate Cranberry Frappucino

Dinner with Lionel and gang @home - sukiyaki steamboat

 Thurs – Day 8

Breakfast with Ronald @ Jurong West - fish porridge, wanton noodles

Lunch with Pastor George @home - roast duck, century egg porridge

Coffee with Becky @Starbucks, Cathay Cineleisure – White Chocolate Cranberry Mocha & Toffee Nut Frappucino

Dinner with Jen Chong @Paradise Inn, 313 Sommerset - steamed pomfret, black chicken soup, wasabi prawns, veggies

Coffee with Jen Chong @Starbucks, ION – Toffee Nut Mocha Frappucino

Fri – Day 9

CS only – Lunch and movies with family

E only – Lunch and shopping with Melody@Carl’s Jr, Vivo City

Dinner with family @home - salted egg yolk butter crayfish, tom yum soup, steamed fish, veggies

Coffee with Huiyi & Joey @Starbucks, Holland V - Toffee Nut Frappucino

Sat – Day 10

Breakfast with former neighbours and the kids @Holland V - Mee Siam, Yong tau foo noodle

Lunch with Liz @ Holland V - claypot rice

Tea with CS’ family @ Terminal 1, Changi Airport – Polar pandan chiffon cake and famous curry pie

Noteworthy facts -

Unforgettable dessert – molten chocolate cake served with berry compote and vanilla ice cream@ Jimmy Monkey

Most extravagant drink – birds nest soup by mum

Best meal – Japanese buffet @Kuishin.Bo

Dish I will be relishing for a long time to come….Chilli crabs with steamed buns at Long Beach Seafood

Regrettable moment – lost my Starbucks water bottle and found out that Starbucks isn’t selling any at the moment…heart pain…

Best investment – the Ipad which made travelling on the plane a much easier task to endure – most of this entry was typed on it!

Most treasured momentos – drawings done by all our three nieces given to us

Best memories – Spending time with both our families, in particular our nieces – Ruth, Megan and Mazel

By the end of our trip, we had caught up with 47 people (families not included) over 22 catch-up sessions!

I think the photo below (taken when we took a stroll along Orchard to see the Christmas lighting) really encapsulated how I felt at the end of our trip..

reflections from a small island

1. Nothing beats local food. Period. The variety and the affordability. If only we could transport the food culture back to Perth!

2. The gift of friendship. From a girlfriend who spent her day off picking us up from the airport and driving us around on the first day to satisfy our food craving to another who came down all the way to where we were living, after a long day’s work just to have a coffee with us at night. Liz & Becky – we love you both!

3. Family ties that bind. Visiting grandma and mum-in-law and seeing their crown of white hair is a reminder that time is slipping away right under our eyes. Having fun with our nieces and being blown away at how much they have all grown is a reiteration of that. And that is why we had made family time a priority for this trip.

4. Sense of welcoming. Since we arrive last Thursday, we have been catching up with different ones everyday. Most were organized only when we touch down but still folks went out of their way to arrange their schedule to accommodate ours. It definitely feels good to be in such ‘popular demand’ even though we had been away for years now.

5. Being on the receiving end. One thing that really stood out in this trip is the fact that many young adults whom we had known for years have started working and were eager to shower their generosity on us. As a result, most of the meals we enjoyed were free!

6. My brothers and I. This trip was the first time in many years that we had the chance to really hang out together. It made me realize how much we used to enjoy each other’s company and I hope we will continue to do so in the years ahead…

We have reached the halfway mark of our holiday. We miss the comforts of home back in Perth but at the same time, the great company and food we had so far had been amazing. So we are looking forward to a better secondhand of our trip!

personal project\two people twelve times\October 2011

Shortly after the photo was taken, we met an elderly couple strolling on the beach and heard their amazing love story which spanned over 52 years when they fell in love as teenagers. However, it was only two years ago through a Facebook search that they were reunited again at the age of seventy and sixty-eight years old. ‘We will never be apart again.’ she said.

I am glad that our love story started twelve years ago and still continues today…