Happy Ears: Melike & Fae

Was feeling quite ill for the longest while, but I thought I shouldn't really stay down and glum forever. I am still in quite a bit of pain and have seen 3 doctors in the last week for different medical opinions. I hope it is nothing serious, so pray for me guys!

But meanwhile, to cheer myself up, I decided to do a review. It has been a while since we last did that. I have some clothes coming in soon, but I thought let's do the accessories by Melike & Fae first :D When I am feeling better, I will do a whole look!

1. Etoile Chalcedony (Aqua & Pink) Earrings 

I am not sure whether it is an age thing, but I am starting to like my classy looks. I am absolutely in love with this pair cos it has my 2 favourite colours aqua and pink! Usually these colours look a bit childish but I love how this design managed to pull out the glam in it. <3

I have an overseas wedding coming up soon, so I am pretty sure this piece is going with me to **** **** (not disclosing the location yet so stay tune!). I am not too keen about bringing real gems but was initially rather worried how am I at least going to look presentable.... Guess this solves everything!

2. Melike Coin Charm Earrings

My grandma has something like this! That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this. Part of me was really excited with twining with my grandma (I hope that doesn't sound weird to you guys) There was a time when such designs were really trendy and flooded the jewelry shop. It is a lesser sight now, sadly.

But I am sure we can bring this trend back in. I love the amount of detail which is put into this piece. Usually, most shops would only stamped a design on one side. This one has a dual design so you can wear it your way, however you like it! CNY piece for sure, I am sure grandma will be pleased!

3. Ines Tassel Earrings (White)

And yea, tassels again. This is a shorter piece and is easier on my ears (not as heavy) hehe. By the way, Melike & Fae holds a whole series of different coloured tassels. They are so bright and pretty, makes me wanna get one of each. Ooops...Hehe. Happy ears; cheery life.

Compared to the other stores I have reviewed, Melike & Fae's price is in the higher range. But in terms of quality and design, it is truly a notch above the rest. The pieces are something you can wear for more formal events and is more age-appropriate for young women. I can't wait for the next series to be out!

Must-Eat at South Island

There's quite a bit of good food we had at New Zealand. Much to the contrary, it was not all fish & chip etc. We had quite a good variety and thought I should do a short post for 2 amazing finds we sort of bump into during our drive.

If you are wondering why there is only 2, that's because the rest are good, but not in anyway exceptional or have a good story such that you can't find it anywhere else in the world. Generally, the western food in NZ is above SG's standards. And the more pricey ones can even be equivalent of SG's atas restaurants in terms of quality, so don't scrimp while you are there!

1. Alice May @ Franz Josef

Honestly, we didn't intend to stop by this touristy town for any food and drinks. But we were glad we grabbed a bite here. We shared a main and drink to share. Price-wise, it was slightly more expensive, but the food was really yummy. And what intrigued us the most was the story behind this place - murdur, woman rights etc.

I have to admit I may have spent more time reading the story plastered around the walls than the meal itself. And it doesn't hurt that the whole place was tudor decorated, very classy. Would have stayed longer and do a shoot there if I had more more time. :( #MoreInterestingThanAMuseum

 

2. The Salmon Farm Cafe

This was just on the way to Wanaka and I have saved my tummy for all the fresh salmon here. I remembered it was a rainy day that day so we stayed indoors quite a while, watching the salmon hopping around in the pool (and yes salmons apparently can jump out of the pool), like wow.

Food-wise, if you are a huge fan of salmon, you will be awed by the variety of salmon-infused dishes. I wished I had more stomach space to try everything. But whatever we tried that, I have to say was absolutely yummy!!! Only place that is not too out of the way to see a salmon farm, so don't give it a miss!

Food Tour 13: Chinese Food

I always talk about how much more I would be writing on this series given how much more food I am eating. But somehow, I always don't seem to write as much on this series as I want. Just to share with you guys, my latest food craze is Chinese food. This means crazy amount of mala and spicy food. Thought I should do everyone a favour and share more on it :)

1. Si Wei Xiao Chuan Chuan 思味小串串

This place is incredilously famous among the Chinese and now the locals. If you haven't tried it before, you are missing out quite a bit in life.I was introduced to this place by a Chinese friend...and damn I love it. The soup base is fragantly spicy. I always end up dunking down 2-3 cans of cold drinks yet I torture myself more by slurping down the soup. 

Si Wei isn't really the place if you are looking for cheap thrills. I always end up spending about $30 to $40 per pax. And the worse thing is that I always fail to cut down on my drinks intake. If I drrink a bit less, I am pretty sure I can save quite a bit :P Thank god it is not that near my house. 

2. Sichuan Tianfu Restaurant

That exact same Chinese friend introduce me to this place. And wow, I love it too. I went there with my family once and we tried the Saliva Chicken, Mala Tofu, Dumplings, Spicy chicken etc. Personally, I think this store has a bit of hits and misses. When I was with my friend, she ordered all the delicious and yummy Chinese food that was very well suited to my palette. I didn't fare as well in the ordering with my family. 

Price-wise, it is reasonable. However, I hate its drink selection. Compared to other places, the drinks are not as expensive. But it does not taste nice as nice. I would rather pay a bit more and have better drinks. I mean when your tongue is on fire, you just want a delightful thirst-quencher to make you last longer...right?

3. Mian Jia

I feel a tiny sense of pride in finding this hidden gem. Cos this place looks pretty unassuming, you would never really think it serves something that good. When I first saw the cutlet, I thought it didn't look very crispy. But I was wrong. This place actually serve very good food, especially the soup noodles. The dumpling and also spicy fungus (not in photo) was very up to expectation. 

Price-wise, it is extremely cheap for such quality and in an air-con environment too. And it is conveniently located beside Ikea. I think I would go there again, just that it has very strong competitors in that area. FYI, there are a lot of eateries around Ikea that serves good food. Meanwhile, let me go lose some weight. I am kinda of looking like a plump dumpling :'(

Christchurch - Tram Restaurant

To end off my NZ trip, we went for a novelty ride. I am sure if you hung out in Christchurch long enough, you would have seen many of these red trams going about the city. If you notice carefully, there is one special blue tram (that serves dinner on it) - Tram Restaurant :P

Because it was last day and it is honeymoon, we thought it was cool to give it a go. Afterall, this is the only tram restauant in the whole of NZ! Basically, it is a moving fine restaurant. You get to go on board, tour the town and be served a sit-down dinner and drinks! :P

It cost about $109 per pax. The dinner package includes a welcome drink, starter, entree, main, dessert and tea or coffee (so that would pretty much cost the same for dinner for 2 at any fine dining restaurant). The menu changes seasonally but would generally feature quality new Zealand produce. The service staff is very, very attentive and is always at your service.

We took the earlier dinner slot and we would recommend you guys to do the same. Reason being, Christchurch doesn't have much night lights and when it gets dark, so you won't be able to enjoy the architecture and town as much.

What we had that day:

1. Welcome drink (you can change it to something that is something non-alcoholic) and Chef's appetizer (dang the appetizer is good)
2. Entree - Meats' Coppa di Parma (really love it!)
3. Entree - Cured Markt Fish (acquired taste, but try it for novelty's sake)
4. Mains - Slow Cooked Pork Belly (Yummy, but the portion was so huge. Could barely finish it!)
5. Mains - Caterbury lamp rump (Not the best lamp rump we had, but was still way better than the quality you can get in Singapore)
6. Dessert - Flourless Chocolate Torte (ok, but not fantastic) 
7. Dessert - Coconut & pandan leaf panna cotta (the pandan leaf gave it quite an asian vibe, I finished the whole thing!)

During the ride, you can expect to see the most of Christchurch. I particularly love the drive through a narrow streets where you get to wave at all the passers-by. I wished I had more time in Christchurch because I would definitely want to explore that stretch.

However, photo-taking on the tram may be quite of hard. Although it is not traveling at a particular fast speed, it is still too fast for the camera. Most of the photos I took on board of the scenery came out rather blurry. So, do allocate some time for photo-taking before the tram ride if you are a photo-taker. :) All in all, the Tram Restaurant  was really quite a finale to the end of our honeymoon. We just wished we had more time in this beautiful country.

Family Graduation Photo with Serangoon Broadway

Have you done your family Grad Shot? After waiting for god knows how many donkey years, my bro finally graduated. And so, we felt it was a bit about time to take a full family grad shot before I grow old and look ugly (Yup, that's literally what my Dad said *roll eyes max*)

So we went down to Serangoon Broadway to have it done. I am sure most of you also have your family grad shots taken by this studio. Personally, I think they are monopolising the whole market since they are the official photo studios for the local universities. But I have to admit their shop looks kinda of dope. Everywhere is instaworthy. You can't take any of your own photos within the studio, but you sure can snap your own shots around the studio...hehe.

I was quite happy to take these photos because all of us didn't graduate at the same time so we didn't have the chance to see everyone in our grad. gowns. I definitely never seen my parents in their grad. gown. And my father, being epic, never bothered to wear his gown during his time. So this was his first time wearing his gown. Oh my! Haha.

The photos actually turned out quite well but we ordered something too big for our liking and now we have no place to hang it in the house. I know right, what's wrong with us?!? Haha. Some money saving tip, buy the package early and you can get that rate at that time. Like wedding banquets, the cost of these photos get inflated year-on-year man. Gulp. You can always email me if you need any more advice and I can check in with my Dad cos haha...he being the most excited handled the liaising :P

Touring SG: S.E.A Aquarium

Since my last post, it seems that many of you readers were rather surprised I have a life in Singapore. Lol! Too much holiday post that you guys that I do nothing in my weekends apart from churning posts (which is kinda of true) Haha.

Just to share, I actually went to Sentosa S.E.A Aquarium. It is not my first time there. The last time I was there was 6 years back OMG. (See post here!) There was quite a bit of change in the The Maritime Experimential Museum, but the aquarium was pretty much the same.

Definitely cooler than the last time I was there, there was a lot more to see. More information to read and learn about the maritime world. I love that it is quite futuristics with quite a bit hologram used. :P

There were quite a bit of hand-on activities as well and the place is quite well decorated. Unfortunately, this means you have to pay to enter the The Maritime Experimential Museum. I guess unless you have a passion for marine stuff, you could totally give this a pass. :P

6 years ago, I went to the S.E.A Aquarium with the BF. Fast forward now, he has been upgraded to a husband. And we are here with his parents. It is still a very pretty aquarium but it is very, very crowded. And I really, really don't like being pushed and squeezed around.

Tourist, locals, if you are considering coming here (which you should), avoid weekends at all cost. It is nosier, more expensive and extremely crowded. Come on a weekday instead, it is a better bang for your bucks.

Quick Update: Fun Fest 2019

Found some of this photos in my phone and decided to do a short post on it. Was at Sentosa on the first day Fun Fest was launched so some of the free activities were not yet available. Every year, Sentosa will have a Fun Fest during the school holidays and it is free for all (Hurray)!

The theme for each year is different and this year it was the Sanrio characters. I am quite a fan of them but I didn't exactly go there for it. I just happened to be there and my friend told me to check it out since I was there! Hahaha!

For a young adult (without kids), there isn't much to do. I mean I don't really wanna rough it out with some of the kids on the float castles and all. And part of me was really scared I might break the floats with my weight. But I could see the kids had a lot of good fun there (drain their energy) hehe. There was even a foam gun!

It was really crowded there, so it was quite difficult to take clear shots. Had a nice walk there, but that's basically it. Probably won't be going all the way there unless I have a kid or if they have food stalls the next time round. But for tourists etc., Fun Fest should be quite good for your gram. :P