Jessica's Blog

Happy Birthday Singapore!

August 7, 2009 by Jessica Tan

Hello!

Driving past the schools today seeing all the students and lil kindergerten kids running around in their red t shirts was really inspiring! Even caught several people decked out in red & white already! Everyone’s in a holiday mood to celebrate Singapore’s 44th birthday! (pity I didn’t manage to grabs some candid shots of those ppl)

I’m glad that a lot of Singaporeans are proud of their nationality. But we shouldn’t just be proud of Singapore and being a Singaporean only during National Day – we should be even more proud than usual!

It’s amazing how Singapore has progressed from a small fishing village to what it is today. I was talking to several tourists last week in Tioman and they were expressing to me how amazing Singapore was. The Finnish couple commented how convenient it was to go around Singapore and how beautiful it was to see all high rise buildings and a great city structure. Incomparison, Finland is mainly fields & low rise buildings, thus, they appreciate our city acrhitecture a lot more than us – since we’ve grown up with all thses buildings around us and are so used to seeing it. After having that conversation with them, it made me appreciate what we have back home. Our education, government & laws (even though we joke about having a lot of laws for everything) has all contributed to who and what we are today. It’s no easy feat!

We must all thank MM Lee for putting this lil’ red dot on the world map and make it such a recognised nation to the world!

That is why I’m inviting some friends over to my place on Sunday to recite the pledge together at 8.22pm (I’m sure all Singtel users received that sms) and watch our National Day Parade together!

So join in the fun & be a very proud Singaporean!

XOXO

Jessica

Posted in -NEWS!- | 1 Comment »

This is Extremely Touching

August 6, 2009 by Jessica Tan

www.teamhoyt.com

This is one fatherly love that is hard to break. We all should learn from him. This video really brought tears to my eyes.

Posted in -NEWS!-, Community Work, Reviews, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

My Pink Laptop is Dying…

August 3, 2009 by Jessica Tan

I’m so sad that my very first laptop that I’ve ever had is dying! 😦
Sigh… bye bye pink Vaio aka Fairy Dust, U’ll always be my first!
So updating my blog with photos will be back soon when I’m done transferring all my data and getting an adaptor for a memory stick for my new laptop.

Coming soon… Durians & food in Tioman!
XOXO
Jessica

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments »

Mika, it's Snowing!

July 25, 2009 by Jessica Tan

Lucky (or to her it may be unlucky) lil’ Mika had her bath today! As her breed doesn’t need to take a bath as often as others (once every 3-4 weeks) because her coat will form a natural waterproof coat and thus will not smell. I read that if we shower her too often, this waterproof coat will never form and chances of her smelling stronger is higher!

I’ve been taking care of her for about a year now, and she really does not smell like other dogs even after a month without a shower!

BUT…

It’s her shedding season again! (twice a year) And that’s when I get tumbleweeds at home! So, this time round when I showered her, I was prepared to see a lot of fur fall off. But to my horror it was a lot more than I’ve expected!

I was happy to get a big tuff of fur off her during the shower, hoping that when I blow dry her my kitchen won’t be covered with her fur flying around.

Nope!

Mika surprises me once again! When I was blow drying her, I felt like it was snowing in my kitchen as fur was floating from the sky. After about an hour of blow drying her, she’s finally dry! (She loves to run around the kitchen while I’m drying her which makes it more tedious) And the 1st time in my life I see a HUGE ball of fur automatically gathered at a corner of my kitchen.

It’s amazing how much fur she sheds and yet still look like she hasn’t lost any fur!

More fur at the other corner of my kitchen.

Even my hairdryer is not spared!

Mika doesn’t care how much fur she sheds, she’s just really happy, fluffy and excited to be all squeaky clean again!

Till next month…

XOXO

Jessica

Posted in Mika | Tagged Mika, shiba inu | 11 Comments »

Yakitori Feast at Kazu Sumi-Yaki

July 23, 2009 by Jessica Tan

Hello!

Went to Kazu Sumi-Yaki for yakitori with some friends as it was recommended by my buddy Joycelin. Before this I only loved Satsuma Shochu Dining Bar for it’s yakitori, milk shochu & kimchi soup.

My experience at Kazu made me realise that there’s a lot more good Japanese food hidden in Cuppage Plaza.

Altho’ Kazu does not feel like a real authentic Japanese restaurant as you’re served by Chinese-speaking aunties and not Japanese waitresses who talk with the cutesy voice. But service was attentive and efficient! One of them noticed that we were trying to seep up the leftover chicken meatball sweet sauce from the plate with another type of yakitori and she just automatically brought us the sauce without even asking!

As there was 4 of us, we were able to order a WIDE variety of their grilled dishes. But I’ll only highlight a few that U MUST try when U go there.

Fois Gras

Rating: 9/10

The fois gras was inexpensive ($6.80/stick) but most importantly it was really crispy on the outside and it melts in your mouth once U bite in. A real oil fest! The best way to eat it is to place each whole piece entirely in your mouth and savour the flavour as you bite in and let it melt! This was sooooooo good that we had to have a second round of it! (Think we all regretted it after as the oiliness made us feel a bit sick! The oil was too much for me that that very night I almost puked from indigestion!) So, the lesson is just stop at one stick even tho’ U feel that it’s not enough!

Unagi Sushi

Rating: 8/10

This was recommended by the aunty that took our order as she said that unagi’s in season now so all the unagi are freshly shipped over from Japan. Had to try!

No regrets!

It really reminded me of the unagi I ate in Tokyo where it was freshly slaughtered in front of me, marinated and grilled. Just like the one in Tokyo, the unagi was grilled to perfection – sweet and salty on the outside and tofu soft on the inside. Still juicy!

Australian Wagyu Beef (Grade 7)

Rating: 7.5/10

The best way to eat Wagyu is to lightly salt it, quickly pan-sear or grill it and must be eaten Medium to Medium Rare.

That is exactly how this was done!

The big plus was that this came with crispy chips of garlic (top RHS of the photo) that U can add on to your beef and eat it. The garlic is so yummy that U can eat it on its own. (not a good food to eat if you’re going on a date if U know what I mean! 😉

Grilled Salted Squid

Rating: 7/10

This squid is a bit hit at my table so I had to try it (I’m not a big squid fan U see).

It was nicely grilled, soft and not too chewy, but not the softest grilled squid that I’ve eaten. And as I am very sensitive to fishy smells, the squid had a slight smell. Some will like it, and some won’t, and I belong to the group that doesn’t like the stronger taste.

Chicken Meatballs

Rating: 7.5/10

This is a must order for me in any yakitori restaurant! And I love this! Nice, soft and juicy!

It says it all!

All in all, this place is worth visiting, but I’m definitely going back to Cuppage Plaza for more Japanese food tryouts!

Kazu Sumi-Yaki Restaurant Pte Ltd

No. 5 Koek Rd

#04-05 Cuppage Plaza

Tel: 6734 2492

Hope the rest of the photos tempts U there! 😉

XOXO

Jessica

Australian Wagyu Beef (Left), US Wagyu Beef (Right)

Don’t waste your time on the yakitori version, eat the grilled whole piece version as mentioned above!

Pork & Apple Yakitori

Grilled Kurobuta Pork

Chicken Hearts on a Stick

Fingers!

Edamame

This was in season from a part of Japan that I can’t remember, but it’s good! The soybean taste is stronger and sweeter.

Posted in Food, Reviews | Tagged fois gras, Japanese Food, Kazu Sumi-Yaki, Wagyu beef, yakitori | 15 Comments »

My Diving Gear

July 23, 2009 by Jessica Tan

Hello!

I got my full diving gear!!! Just collected my BCD & regulator! Managed to find a pink moudable mouthpiece to attach to my regulator. Super happy! I really needed to find a moudable mouthpiece cos the last time I went diving in Tioman with the rented gear, the mouthpiece gave me 4 ulcers on my gums cos it kept abrading against my gums during the dive. 😦 It was not easy and enjoyable to endure the pain during the dive.

Now, I just need to pimp the gear up in pink! 😛

XOXO

Jessica

Posted in Diving | Leave a Comment »

Dinner at Vanilla Pod

July 21, 2009 by Jessica Tan

Hello Everyone!

I’ve decided to blog more about the food places I go cos I love to eat and my friends said that I should create a food section in my blog so that I can recommend all the food places I think are good! And I do know of quite a few good local food joints! All this food adventure started when I was young cos my dad loves to bring the whole family out to hunt for good food! (hence I was a chubby kid)

To me, I live to eat, not eat to live! Which makes it quite tough for me sometimes cos I’ve to watch my weight and stuff cos TV bloats U up by at least 10kg!

Friends always ask me for recommendations for good food and I too love to find out from others where they think good food resides! Widening my adventure! Been going on a durian hunt the last 2 months and tried numerous places for Mao Shan Wang or Butter Durian. So far, I like the one in Ghim Moh next to Master Crab (but they don’t seem to be open all the time and my friend last told me that they weren’t there one Sat morning!) and Durians & Pastries at Telok Kurau Lor M.

Anyway, back to my recent cravings. I’ve always loved Subway, but recently my friend told me that this new sub called Quiznos that’s really good too! And I tried it! My new favorite sub is the Quiznos Zesty Steak! Mmmm…. Loads of beef & cheese! It’s on par with Subway’s Italian Meatballs for me when I crave for meat!

Went there for lunch again today but not for subs but to try their salad (been eating a bit too much and unhealthily lately) And I love their Honey Mustard Chicken Salad cos U can put tons of dressing other than Honey Mustard. Love the red Wine Vinegrette dressing.

Rating: 7/10

Mmmm… Bacon & chicken!!!

My bf tried the Teriyaki Chicken sub. It was not bad But I think I prefer Subway’s Teriyaki Chicken.

Rating: 6.5/10

Zesty Steak from Quiznos is still the best! I’ll give it 8/10 for that!

For dinner, my bf surprised me by bringing me to some obscure place for dinner. (He initially wanted me to close my eyes the entire car journey there and I was like, “NO!”)

Surprise! It’s Mandai Orchid Garden! ?!?!?! Food there? Orchids for dinner? (I know I said I wanna eat healthy but…)

Parked there and walked into this quaint lil restaurant called Vanilla Pod. It’s really nice! Surrounded by blooming orchids and the sound of crickets.

We were greeted VERY warmly the minute we arrived and sat in the air-conditioned area. (not dining Al Fresco there to feed to mozzies) Waiter was very informative as he probably knew it was our firstime there and started recommending their most popular dishes. So we went for those popular dishes. Can’t go wrong right?

First it was the Trio Mushroom Soup made with button, shitake & portabello mushrooms. I love mushrooms! So must try!

Rating: 7/10

It was really really mushroom-y!Thick & not too creamy but I would have liked to add a lil salt & pepper to my soup & the table had none. Guess the chef doesn’t want us to change it’s taste. I’d still say pass!

My bf made a “reservation” for his pork knuckle cos apparently U have to do so to prevent disappointment. Here’s Crispy Crackling Pork Knuckle.

Rating 8/10

I’m not a big pork fan but tried it and the skin was true to its name – crispy & crackling! And the meat was still soft & succulent. The only drawback was the pork knuckle was not very hot when served.

I had the Pan Roasted Chicken Breast. (I love breast meat! Mmmmm…) I was sold by the menu’s description of “pan roasted chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms *yay* & ricotta cheese, served with red wine sauce”

Rating: 6/10

I was a bit disappointed when I tried it cos I was hoping to see cheese oozing out from the breast & didn’t and the cheese taste was barely there could only taste the mushrooms. The breast was not too dry but not the juciest I’ve tasted. (In fact I seem to remember my oven baked mustard chicken was pretty juicy). It was ok, but I really loved the side of mixed baked veggies in a souffle cup topped with breadcrumbs! The chicken was not something I would crave again for lah.

For dessert we tried the lava cake that was made from Valrhona chocolate. (Forgot to take a photo of this cos when it came we just wanted to tuck in!) This was highly recommended by the waiter and we had to wait abt 15 min for it.

It was good! Chocolate oozing out the minute we dip our spoons in. But the vanilla ice cream that came with it was not rich and creamy enuff. It was weirdly enough, “fluffy”. Nice lava cake & I would aim to make mine like theirs. The last time I made it was really nice but I must still “master” the right heating time cos the recipe I followed made it not as lava-like as I wanted it to be though the centre was still molten.

Rating: 7/10

200 Mandai Lake Road S(729827)
Tel: 6368 0672
http://www.mandai.com.sg/fnb_dining.html

That’s all for now!

Will intro more new food places soon!

XOXO

Jessica

Posted in Food, Reviews | 8 Comments »

UP The Movie

July 20, 2009 by Jessica Tan

I went to the gala premiere of the movie, Up, last Sunday at The Cathay and expected it to be a cutesy G rated movie with a normal and predictable storyline, but it totally exceeded my expectations and BLEW me away! no pun intended! 😛

It was entertaining, highly emotional when U get more & more attached to each character & loads of fun! It make me want to fly in that house lifted by balloons! And I’ve always loved balloons! (Just afraid of them suddenly bursting) Wanted to take those balloons they were giving away after the movie but was a bit shy to do so… cos only kids took them & I’m no longer a kid! 😛

Do go and watch it with your family, friends and loved ones! For an animation film, I would rate it 8/10.

XOXO

Jessica

Posted in Movies, Reviews | 9 Comments »

Random Photos of Mika!

July 14, 2009 by Jessica Tan

Mika’s been with me for about a year now and she’s 17months old! She still behaves like a puppy, just stronger & bigger! I was looking back at her photos when she first came home with me and she was soooo cute & small!