This is SO COOL!
Note to my friends, some inspiration for my birthday cake this year…
(with thanks to @tanchiteng on Twitter!)
Angry Birds! To eat!
February 28th, 2011
Topshop Knightsbridge
February 24th, 2011
Okay I know I’m a bit behind the curve on this one but I’m a bit outside the demographic.
I popped into Topshop’s new outlet at Knightsbridge (the Grand Park Hotel, opposite Paragon) and was surprised by how big it is.
It’s 11,500 sqft, split over 3 floors, and the biggest outside the UK and USA.
In fact, it’s got a bit of an Oxford Circus feel about it. That’s the original Topshop in London that’s been a mecca for fashionistas rich and poor alike for as long as I can remember. There too, you go downstairs for the full range of wares. It fair took me back to my youth, going down the stairs to B1 – more clothes, shoes, makeup, underwear – it’s a really big range. I almost felt like Alice falling down the wormhole and suddenly I was back in my 20s again!
There’s even a whole floor dedicated to fashionistos – boys, a whole floor for you!
Although I didn’t see anything I liked, I’m sure it’s because I didn’t go through all the rails of clothes – with such a big range, there’s gotta be something, right, or am I just too old to be trendy (or even care)?
I saw a girl shopping there with blonde/tea coloured hair (she’s asian), big false eyelashes, tiny skirt and Uggs (it was a sunny 3o˙ that day). Maybe I am too old.
from beauterunway.com
Marina Bay Sands Skypark – is it all that?
February 23rd, 2011Honestly, I never thought I’d stand at the top of the Skypark. For someone not fond of lifts, the thought of getting the lift up was enough of a deterrent.
But with friends in town, and a hot sunny day, I made it!
Logistics first: If you are going just for the view, you need to get to B1 in the Hotel part of MBS to purchase your $20 ticket, and then take the lift from there.
If you’re going to eat/drink at Ku de Ta, you take a different lift from the ground floor of the hotel and don’t have to pay for entry.
We did it completely wrong and bought tickets AND had lunch at Ku de Ta.
The lift was not scary at all. The queue attendant (no queue) said 30 seconds but it felt like 10.
And the view! Oh the view! It really is stupendous. And if you are a fan of Singapore development and progress like me, there’s much to look at, admire and be proud of.
If you’re lucky and it’s a clear day you can see FOR MILES!
And remember at the point, you are standing on top of a really high building, on an impossible gravity-defying cantilever, built on reclaimed land.
A manufactured miracle – something we are really good at.
You don’t quite get a 360˙ view but maybe 180˙, although the site claims 360. I’m not sure how they figure that.
The pool is pretty awesome – although you’d have to be pretty un-selfconscious to ignore all the sightseers and gawkers and relax or swim. It was so hot that day I really wanted to sit in one of those submerged loungers and have the water pouring on my head…
It was lunchtime so we wandered into Ku de Ta for lunch – it’s a set menu, with no a la carte. The restaurant was pretty busy and yes, the food was pretty good. It has a Japanesey-fusion theme: a tasting platter to start of pork belly, fish, spinach and other petits amuse bouches, then a main choice of fish, steak, lamb, followed by a caramel-y dessert, coffee/tea. Pretty damned tasty, and $48++
If I was you I’d head up there for lunch and then take in the view… Of course now with the light show, you can see the night skyline and take in the whole laser display. I’ll try that too and let you know which is the better experience!
Designer outlet – ?
February 22nd, 2011
Tucked away in Cluny Court is a little shop, Treasure Link. (#02-16)
It has about 5 rails of clothes – bearing labels like Prada, Gucci, Valentino, Chanel, Miu Miu…and priced at $100 – $500.
There aren’t many pieces – so not a lot of size options.
Are they for real? Factory overruns? I don’t know. When I asked to take pictures they seemed to get really uncomfortable. So I managed to take some surreptitious ones from the outside.
But some of the tops/dresses are unique and pretty interesting, no matter the name on the label.
You never know, you might find a true treasure.
Model vs Model
February 20th, 2011Is this smart advertising or a really pathetic take on ’sex sells’? What do you think? Tell me on FB!
Oh my Chewy Junior!
February 17th, 2011My sweet tooth is a blessing as well as a curse.
It’s a blessing because I get so much pleasure out of desserts. I almost feel sorry for people who don’t love their food, because you just don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a curse because, well, lardass, it goes without saying.
And someone has come up with another way for me to derive more pleasure and spend even more time in the gym.
almond choc, blueberry cheese and macadamia choc
Chewy Junior has 5 outlets.
Oh mamma, they are just yummola. They’re like a cross between a doughnut and Beard Papa.
There are the cheese and fruit versions (cream cheese + strawberry/blueberry/cranberry) or cheese + cheese (cream cheese and grated cheese) or the chocolate version – oreo, double chocolate, triple chocolate (choc filling, choc frosting, choc chips), chocolate + nuts (almonds or macadamias) and the fruit spread ones – lemon curd (ecch). There are savouries too but I’ve never seen them on sale. The full range here.
They do promos in multiples – like 6 for $6, or 11 for $11 (but one alone is more than a dollar of course!)
And it gets its name because you have to chew through it. Which is kind of gratifying – I mean, you can feel the calories going in, and it’s not going to be a surprise when your pants get tight. Each bite goes -> creamy icing, crispy shell, chewy middle, with creamy filling. Yowzah!
I love me the chocolate ones. Especially the macadamia.
oh happy day
Ordering Skinny Pizza
February 16th, 2011This is not a review of Skinny Pizza.
Rather, based on my recent experience, I am giving you tips on how to order at Skinny Pizza.
If you are ordering multiple pizzas – for example, there are 4 of you and each wants a distinct pizza – then you must say to the wait staff that you want them all at the same time, when you place your order.
Otherwise, like us, you will wait 40 minutes to get your order filled: 10 mins wait, pizza #1, 10 mins, pizza #2, 10 mins etc etc. You get the picture. It’s really hard on you if you are pizza #4!
According to the outlet manager, this is standard policy, as people order pizzas to share…that’s how they should be eaten. It seems that it’s not normal to order your own pizza and you are the weird one for expecting your food to arrive together and therefore you have to wait…And chasing regularly for the rest of the food is just annoying for the staff.
That was interesting because I’ve never encountered that at other pizza restaurants before…at a ‘normal’ pizza restaurant, all the food arrives together… or had the outlet tell me how I was going to eat, and when.
Given the wait and the warped logic, you can imagine how good the pizza would have to be to make us happy.
And…no.
Just a tip should you want to pay $20 and above for some crackers and topping.
I’m just sayin.
The King’s Speech
February 15th, 2011Yes, Colin Firth deserves the Best Actor Oscar for this.
It’s a lovely film, well-shot, feel good and the best thing about it is the really rich acting by Colin Firth. The whole cast is full of wonderful character actors, it’s a real treat.
As King George V’s younger son, Bertie, the Duke of York (Firth) is the ’spare’, while David, the Prince of Wales, (Guy Pearce) is the heir. It’s the advent of radio, and the royals are reaching out to the British Empire with broadcasts. Unfortunately Bertie has a terrible stammer, and public speaking is a nightmare for him. His resourceful wife (a really charming and delicious Helena Bonham-Carter) finds an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue (a fabulous Geoffrey Rush) to help him.
If you know your history, then this is not a plot spoiler -- when David ascends to the throne he abdicates in order to marry twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, throwing Bertie into unexpected Kingship.
The movie traces the relationship and progress made by Bertie and Logue, with enormous historic events as a backdrop.
It was such an interesting time in history -- the abdication, the advent of Hitler and the Second World War -- which the film shows you, but it really is about Bertie and his stammer.
Firth is so good in it, his stammer so real (you literally will hold your breath and cringe with discomfort) and his acting is so artful that he doesn’t even need to speak for you to know what he’s thinking. Despite the stammer, his inner churnings, and obvious roiling frustration, Firth’s Bertie is charming and has a wonderful dry wit.
It gives you a glimpse into what it’s like to be royal (especially back then) and you get the pomp, ceremony, as well as a look at the personalities of the main characters -- not just the head on the coin, or the voice through the radio.
And apparently the Queen (the actual one) has watched it and liked it. And since it’s about her dad, that’s no small statement.
It’s beautifully shot so it’s nice to look at anyway. But you should see it because the story itself is so interesting, and best of all, the acting is so fine, so nuanced, and so rich. I think I’ll see it again!
Thai Herbal Compress Treatment
February 11th, 2011Ever wondered about those Thai herbal balls you see? I always knew they were used as part of a massage treatment but never how they were used.
that's not me!
I gave it a go recently and yes, it’s pretty nice.
The way it was done at Thai Odyssey is you have a regular Thai massage for an hour. During that hour, the balls are heated in a steamer. After your massage, the next hour is given over to treatment with the steaming hot compress. When they first use it on you, it’s a little dab on acupressure points. Then as it cools down, they press it down on those points for longer periods.
I’m not sure the herbal stuff actually adds anything – really it’s more about the heat and the pressure – how can the herbs penetrate the skin that quickly?
Anyway, the important thing is to have the massage first, to loosen the knots, and then the hot compress to really loosen things up.
It’s a lovely sensation – you should already be pretty blissed out from the massage, then the heat on tight muscles is pretty ahhhh….
Me likey.