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At Keppel Marina, going for dinner -

The above is no ordinary blog photo. Hmm... why?

Place your cursor over it. See the little menu tab that appears on the left? Those are the innovative and very fun features provided by Phlook, a photo sharing service for your blog!

Banish boring static plain photos on your blog!

Go ahead,  try playing around with those features. You, your friends, and your blog visitors can:

• View & add notes, right on the photo. At the precise points you want to. This is by far my favorite feature, it makes picture viewing so much more interactive, similar to tagging in Facebook
• You can Track Photo's Viewership
• Zoom Photos
• Email Photos
• Grab and embed code

Cool yes?

Now here are a couple more random photos from the past month for you to experiment with.  Mess with them all you want! :)

Baby it's cold outside........  a wintry view of Colombus Circle from  G's apartment.

 
Let me tell you something, I'm a veggie lover, but there is an exception: I absolutely CANNOT STAND PEAS.
Above you find the culumination of my pea-removing efforts from my take-away fried rice. Look at that mountain heap of  gross squishy balls    peas, that is so much extra mass of fried rice I could have got!!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun...

Watch out for the 3 new cops on the road 
 

Want to make your blog even less cluttery? Try putting your photos into a slideshow instead!

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For example, I have this shot a few day agos of evening snow.  Not that I actually think it would be really worth anything, but it is the prettiest photo I took recently that I could find  ;P  With Phlook, I can actually put this image up for sale easily.

Buyers can click the bottom left corner "Pic is for Sale" and proceed to purchase by following the simple instructions.  Now if you managed to sneak a paparazzi shot of say Fann Wong & Christopher Lee smooching, you know how to make your quick buck!

Bet you must be excited to share such an amazing new discovery with your friends.  I also encourage you to help show some support for a Singapore startup, if they become the next big thing it would be a proud and honorable mention for our little country :) 

So, it's time to spread the word about this fantastic new photo tool now! Create your very own Phlook badges like I did below: 

Then, display it proudly on your website or blog to let everyone know. Visit here to personalize your badge!

♥  Contest Promo  ♥

 Are you counting down? This weekend will be the big romantic (or dreaded) V-Day.

All my friends know I'm a Girl from Mars - cue Ash song -  but even a martian like myself has yet to visit Venus. Whoever wins this contest is one lucky person! 

Do not ask me what exactly what this Venus is like, which part of our galaxy it is located etc. because I haven't got a clue either. But, what I can tell you is that the folks at Phlook are not kidding, they are SERIOUS.

Curious? I guess you just have to find out yourself.  Here's how :

1. Go to Phlook Habitat (32 Wallich Street #02-60 Singapore 078880, beside Tanjong Pagar MRT) on V'day, 14th Feb 2009, 10am – 6pm, and give them a big smooch
2. Take a photo of said kiss.
3. Upload the photo to Phlook and embed it back to your blog.
4. Leave a comment here with the url of your kissed-Phlook blog post from 15th February onwards

First one to do so wins! Good luck :)

Happy "Niu" Year of the Ox!

The Chinese Lunar New Year is one of the most anticipated festivals for the Chinese people. Also known as Chun1 Jie2 (Spring Festival), the celebration of family togetherness and prosperity is ushered in with colorful festivities steeped in centuries of age-old tradition.

It is such a joyful and vibrant time! ....an exuberant expression of our Chinese roots. In the future when I have a family and kids of my own I will take care to make sure we continue to celebrate CNY traditionally.

Pity this year I missed all the festivities, delicious snacks, and gambling. I flew back to New York on the first day :(

I did however get to "lou hei" during our reunion dinner on the eve!

The waitress recites some lines of good luck, fortune, health and prosperity as she prepares the yu2 sheng1 (raw fish salad)

In my younger days, I didn't quite fancy the taste and only picked away at he crispy cracker bits. But now it has grown on me and I eat my fair share! Perhaps it was an accompanying progression from my gradual unbias towards all forms of salad, which I used to hate.

The higher you toss the better!!!

After dinner, met up with friends for a final goodbye at my friend's new F&B spot where an unofficial CNY party was taking place.

OverEasy is located at One Fullerton. The al fresco area enjoys beautiful paranormal views of the waters and skyline.

I had already been there for two of their private launches:

Can I make an omelette out of you?

Besides the giant hot dogs and the likes as seen above (not on the menu unfortunately), their comfort diner food with some contemporary twists is pretty good.

My faves - the mini Philly Cheesesteak Burgers, and Jumbo BBQ Prawns. Try them!

Decked out in red lanterns and lunar decor...

....and decked out in new clothes too.


The sound of cackling and sight of smoke sent everyone into a tizzy, rushing to the bayside. We were excitedly anticipating a fireworks show, but all we got were some small lame firecrackers(?) in the distance.Very peculiar, what was the point? 

Kaleidoscope of colors around my grandmother's home.....

Pineapple tarts are one of the yummiest new year goodies I reckon. Along with bak kwa... kueh lapis... love letters.... and the list goes on :)))

My sister had the fantastic idea to bake our very own pineapple tarts this year!

It was a long, painstaking process, particularly the stirring and watching over the pineapple part.

 They were awesomely tasty, if I might say so myself  ;)  The textures and proportions were just right, better than some others we have bought.

I brought a whole box back to the States with me! It is my late night comfort snack.

Last weekend, went with my fellow countrymen (and a few international friends) to New York's Chinatown for another "lou1 hei2" meal. It was a sight that I had alwayss imagined in my head what Chinese New Year celebrations should be like.

A fitting restaurant to eat at.

two of us look very big & extra in the photo, but it's not our fault!

In 2007, New York City lifted its decade-old ban on firecrackers, allowing a display of 300,000 firecrackers to be set off in Chinatown's Chatham Square.

Every year, the Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival is held in Chatham Square, intersection of Bowery, Mott & East Broadway. The firecracker ceremony is intended to ward off evil spirits. Also, a large stage features all-day cultural performances by traditional and contemporary Asian-American singers and dancers. Plus, a dozen lion, dragon, and unicorn dance troupes would march through Chinatown’s main streets, including Mott Street, the Bowery, East Broadway, Bayard Street, Elizabeth Street, and Pell Street.

Singapore has banned firecrackers for decades, so this is particularly exciting --  a real explosive Chinese New Year atmosphere to soak in!

 
 Just
 
playing
 
with my

iPhone

Have a wonderful Ox Year filled with an abundance of health, wealth, love and good fortune!

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www.wardrobe21.blogspot.com offers a one of a kind Valentine's experience - say I Love You & spring a surprise for your special one with trendy apparels + other lovely gifts & islandwide delivery. Hurry & book now!

So I heard a really funny rumor the other day.

According to ZH, "Some friends of my friend have been saying you are dead! Died in a car crash maybe! Because you haven't updated in so long!"

As Steve Jobs remarked, reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. 

Thank you for all the countless e-mails and messages urging me to update. I appologize if I have disappointed some of you out there or even made you, to my horror, angry but well.. here I am now!

I have been back for nearly a month now, and savoring every moment of home sweet home. They say familiarity breeds contempt. Especially growing up in a tiny island such as Singapore. Yet certainly, absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Spending time with family and friends, these are the cherished moments :)

Yes, my New Years Eve souvenir says it all.

It was my 5th trip there in two years, but was nonethless no less of an exciting spectacle than previous times!

Blurry & groggy-eyed, waking up to an inviting breakfast in the villa.

Thatched roof. Continue. Staring. Please.

Mosquito nets serve another purpose besides looking romantic --  do not underestimate how itchy it can get when a big blood-sucking annoying insect is flying around at night and keeping you awake! My friend got up in the middle of the night, ran all the way out to the convenience store and bought a mosquito repellent coil for us!

Simply called "The Villas" 


C enjoys the pool as the sun goes down

On the last day of 2008.......


Lunch at a rustic cafe 



Lets see... too much good Indo food to choose from...


Nasi Goreng 


and some spicy chicken 

We walk around the Seminyak area a little...

 Funky threads for pets!

Lane after lane of great boutiques for shopping

 Plus art galleries
  
  
That's right, fly,fly fly us away for the night :))))

We meet for our NYE dinner at our friends' villa. Upon entering I was stunned; it was largest private one I had been to so far.










Private team of chefs to boot! Whipping up a NYE dinner feast for us.


Time to tuck in to the mouth-watering spread...

 I <3 lobsters 


Wine & dine...

My two lovely & sweet travel companions and villa mates

 Princess takes to the seas. Trading in the diamante band for a Captain's hat




 Classic sailor pose from first mate R.

Post dinner, we head off to Ku De Ta in anticipation of ushering in the new year with a fabulous bang. The famed beach front venue in Seminyak was in full party swing, bubbles, bright lights, champagne popping all around.









 Sitting by the ocean with the roaring waves

An assortment of unusual characters dwellst amongst us...



  My friend the Jedi master is indeed surrounded by the Force.
 

 Charlie Chaplin, Cat woman, and a Marilyn Monroe on some sort of growth pills.


 Rock & rollin' together in color coordination.



A very good-looking Clark Kent from Austria decides to shed his goody-two-shoes image for one night.... bet many ladies needed saving that evening :)

 Some friendly Malaysian girls I met~

 
All aboard the Love Boat

Time to countdown......

 

Ready guys...?

3................ 2.............. 1...............

 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HELLOS 2009!!!!! Welcoming an amazing year ahead with plenty of love, joy and laughter.
 

The night is still young...


 
... and the party continues at the most gorgeous, one-of-a-kind home of  Abby and Olivia, a well-known artist/designer couple


 Save kitchen space in style: a hot potty pan-fried chandelier

 


 I needed to take a break from Captain duties for a while. She did a sexy job :)

Uber Hot Dark Angel Rachel lends her feathered wings to mother and child...


 
  ...whilst she happily flys away exploring the mesmerizing funkadelic wonderland of a house, full of interesting elements, textures, designs, and surprises in every corner..

 ** btw, do check out her new blogshop at rachelkum.blogspot.com!
Hammerfest designs are unique, exquisitely made, sensous and lady-like. I'm sure many of you will like it, go go go  :)



Relaxed bedroom with high wood beams and layers of soft long fabric.


No white christmas in Bali, but you can still have a wintry white christmas tree.

Adore this quirky  nest  couch:

Could the other 2 also pass off as chicks hatched from the cushioned eggs?  

More of the home in the day -
   

Villa no. 3 is none other than our Indonesian friend P's place....


Strange, under construction...? Who can possibly stay here?

Well do not be deceived by the humble exteriors.... it is in actual fact a clever diversion and smokescreen for THE PARTY HEADQUARTERS of our whole trip... 

Balinese sculpture greets you at the door.
 



 



 The hotspot where everyone would hang out, eat, drink, chat, listen to music and make merry. 

 

By dusk.... 


By nightfall...

Have a break, have a kitkat!

We had a most nail-biting, never-ending, nefariously-naughty night of Jenga:

That's me wielding my expert steady hands ;P

 Getting precariously dangerous......

JENGA!!!

Some of the forfeits written on the Jenga blocks included:

* Recite the alphabet backwards
* Name six bar drinks
* Everyone drinks, except you
* Give everyone a kiss
* Receive a good spank from everyone

"Hit me baby one more time" 


 

Cass and Irene get very cheeky sneaky on their friend


 

This doesn't look like New York, am I back?. ... .. it's just the popular supper diner in the neighborhood

Sidetracking a little, people seem to have a penchant for naming their real estate or shos after NYC or it's neighborhoods, why? An alluring attractiveness, hipness about the supposed capital city of the world? I am reminded of a latest condo project in Singapore right outside Zouk, called Tribeca by the Waterfront.

I raise my eyebrows sometimes when people loosely borrow names like that. What is the meaning or value behind their chosen name, and how does it relate to their project? Do they even know what Tribeca stands for? "TRIangle BElow CAnal street". Well for all I know it might be built on a triangle plot of land below a huge canal I never noticed before. Wait, maybe they decided the nearby Singapore River could pass off as a canal.

Alright so I figure they are probably just marketing their condo to be as trendy as Tribeca. Sure it sounds rather cool, but really, so much for originality.

The NY state government should start trademarking these names, they'd make a tidy profit from royalties around the world!

But back to Bali now... :)


Time to get out of this world  *




Their special. A magic concoction.

The Milky Way....there is an indoor pool to our surprise! 

Tried this excellent dining spot for the first time, also in Seminyak.

 The bar area

 Rich, luxe canopes in a soft golden-hue makes the place classy yet inviting.

Outdoors amidst twinkling candles and lights.... 

Jazzy live music adds to the romantic atmosphere (every Monday and Thursday)

Believe me when I say that the menu here is astoundingly extensive. Page after page of delicious-sounding Italian cruisine, you could come here every day for a week and not get bored of the food.

To top it off, Ultimo offers their hearty dishes at jaw-droppingly affordable prices. Most plates including mains cost less than S$10, how can you beat that!

No pictures of everything our table of 7 ordered, but it was mmmmmm. Especially liked the risottos and pastas.

I was so impressed, I dragged my friend back here once more for a final meal before I flew back to Singapore. 

Ultimo Italian restaurant

Jl. Laksmana 104 X
Seminyak 80361
Bali, Indonesia

Phone: +62 0361-738720-21
Fax: +62 0361-733269

Another evening, we went to my number one most favorite eating haunt in Bali, Jimbaran Bay (near the Four Seasons resort). I first fell in foodie-love with this place and the fantastic seafood during my holiday several months back.

You can see more pictures and read about that previous trip  ::here ::.




 We rushed there just in time to catch the sunset.



 

 
 The awesome chilli corn! 

Giant lobsters, fish, clams, prawns.... all BBQed to complete tastilicious perfection.

  
I tried to leave the island  a total of 3 times before I could actually fly back home   A long story... each incident was funny, memorable... and lets just say it was worth it each time I ended up extending my stay and I was happy. Fate and destiny perhaps.

The colorful carefree boat sailing and flying through singing breezes high up above, it sometimes forgets it is a kite bound to the ground. Eventually it drifts back down to earth.... but one day soon enough it will soar once more in the blue, blue Bali skies.

 Shall soon update about other zany stuff I have been up to since I got back to the motherland.

p.s  my sister and I baked some Chinese New Year goodies... guess what!

It was that jolly good time of the year... :)

 The 12 days of Christmas may have just ended, but it's never a bad thing to relish a bit more of that festive cheer with a Christmas blog entry!

The special holiday evokes such nice feelings.. it can really put a smile on your face, a joy in your step, a warmth in your heart.

I'm sure I've said it before, but I love Christmas in NYC. I do I do I do! Am I repeating myself? I love the story-book Christmas in the snowy twinkling big city!

Instead of the tourist trap that is Rockerfeller, we went to the bigger, prettier Bryant Park for our ice-skating fix instead.

"Sorry we're closing in 15 minutes."

"Oh... that's okay. How much for the skates"

*stunned look*

"Uh, but we're closing soon..."

"We came all the way here, we have to at least get on the ice!"

Nothing beats staying in on a cold snowing holiday night than with lots and lots of.......

C's awesome concoction of hot chocolate + nutella + huge choco marshmallows + peach schnapps. Ooh lala

"Want to have dinner at this place called the Stanton Social?" my visiting friend asked.

OMG.  I had heard great reviews and been wanting to try it since forever. Coincidentally perfect suggestion!

A bustling, hip, NYC-feel space with three levels. A vast, tall, dimly lighted main dining room on the first floor and a warm, chic candle-lit bar and lounge area on the top, with chinois-inspired mirrored walls.

Also check out their cool  glowing 30-foot wall displaying over 2000 bottles of wine.

The interesting thing about the food here is that they are served tapas style, or small plates. Great to share with your group and try a varied selection.

However, your meal is anything but Spanish. Rather, a sassy mishmash of cruisines from everywhere. Familiar staples are tweaked to utterly delicious out-of-this-world forms.

Their most popular dish, the French onion soup dumplings. Frenchinese? Each of these little babies has a hot liquid center, a Gruyère-drizzled exterior that you savor in one big, wonderful flavor-detonating bite.

Grilled apple & brie Quesadilla, mustard-maple glaze and smoked bacon bits.

"Chicken n' Waffles" - brick pressed chicken, aged cheddar waffle, corn pudding and balsamic spiked maple syrup.

Beef Wellington - grilled filet mignon with foie gras mousse and mushroom duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry.

To top the mouth-watering journey off, decadent desserts.

We were so, so stuffed, but oh what a blissfully satisfying stuffed it was. I'm pleasured to say everything we ordered were great hits, no misses. Post meal, as the smooth & sexy house beats played on, we lay out on the leather lounge beds in a dazed food-induced coma, albeit with a smile on the face.

Cannot wait to come back to this gem in the Lower East side.

99 Stanton St
(between Ludlow St & Orchard St)
New York, NY 10002
(212) 995-0099

Then there is the "Miracle at 34th Street"...  Macy's! Always so beautifully decorated.

Kids write to the big guy in the North Pole. Aww, how very cute.

We all should receive a sprinkle of this every once in a while.

Spent some time wandering through the upstairs level of beautiful table settings and interiors..

Macy's incredibly colorful and fun moving window displays. Children on the streets were enamoured with them.

Some American folks really go all out in the name of Christmas spirit.

The greatest concentration of decorated homes in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, is around 12th Avenue and 84th Street.

Homes from 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue and from 83rd to 86th Street are often ornately decorated for the holiday season. The best viewing is from mid-December through Christmas in the evenings, particularly on the weekends.

"I'm dreamin' tonight of a place I love
Even more then I usually do
And although I know it's a long road back
I promise you

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light beams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams"

20 hours in the sky

Familiar bustling street of Orchard Road.
Difference with New York? Decor here feels less traditional, more kitsch.... and cheap? (because you know they're going to reuse them for Chinese New Year hahaha)

Ahh. Home sweet home with the family at last :)  Our traditional Christmas gathering with an east-meets-west buffet of home cooked savory dishes. Turkey with braised pork and chap chye and fried noodles anyone?

Not to forget, cozy home parties with friends!

    
Look at that mayhem, something like 30 bottles of champagne were finished that night.... I chugged back six cool sleek breathalyzers from the States for my friend as Christmas presents, would certainly come in handy!

 
The crazy ear-piercing party horn you hear in Zouk sometimes. I thought it was a built in system at the club, little did I guess it would come from a tiny portable can like this.

Looney dancing and shadow making in front of the gigantic ktv screen down in E's home basement

Dinner another's place adorned with some fascinating art.....

David Bowie and a startlingly realistic portrait of a worker

Where's Mao?

Could not get enough of this yummy homemade alcohol-&-goodness drenched tiramisu

Were you naughty naughty last year? Are you gonna be oh.so.good this year? If not, you might want to hang this:

I think I may need it too. I  suspect I might have some unresolved issues with Santa ;)  Do you find that when you were a kid, the presents just kept piling up, even your tree wasn't big enough to put all your gifts under? Then as you get older,and older... those candy wrappered big bowed goodies seem to dwindle down to staggeringly sad proportions in comparison to your childhood years?

Or it could also be because the pressies now come in at delayed intervals. You meet up with a friend ten days after Christmas and then they go, "here, your present!"

DO YOU BELIEVE???

What do you say when you're asked......

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?' -Virginia O'Hanlon.

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The external light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived could tear apart. Only faith, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus? Thank God he lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

(the Sun)

Sometimes the most real and most wonderfully magnificent things are those that cannot be seen but can be felt in the heart... and therein also lies the true meaning of CHRISTmas... thank you Jesus. Let us always remember that as we go into 2009.

Fabulous NYE in Bali post will be next, stay tuned, much much love~