Singapore Food Fest: Day 2

Day 2 in Singapore was scheduled for business. Dada & I had a 12 noon appointment in Chinatown, and then we had to head out to the Philippine Embassy on Nassim Road after our meeting to have documents authenticated. 

To make sure that we got to our meeting on time, we had a quick lunch at Riverside Indonesian BBQ at the basement of 313 Somerset.

I had an Ikan Panggang (grilled fish with black sauce, rice with curry sauce, siding of fried egg and sambal). Dada had his Ayam Panggang (grilled chicken with black sauce, rice with curry sauce, siding of fried egg and sambal) paired with Koi bubble tea.

Riverside Indonesian BBQ always guarantees a fast, affordable meal that hits the spot!

With the way things are so efficient in Singapore, we were able to have coffee and meet with our principal, get documents notarized, and take care of Philippine Embassy errands by 2:30 pm. Which left us with plenty of time to take a leisurely walk on Nassim Road to Orchard Road.

Of course, I took Dada on my usual route from Berry's Julia Gabriel days at The Forum. We passed by Hilton Shopping Gallery...

3.1 Phillip Lim

Dries Van Noten

Out again on Orchard, and then in through the basements of Wheelock Place, ION Orchard, Wisma Atria and Ngee Ann City...

Mooncakes galore at the basement of Ngee Ann

Aesop

Took the escalator up to the ground floor to say hello to Laduree...

the Laduree stall in Ngee Ann City, across Chanel

And did a bit of window shopping at On Pedder and Celine. Yes, look only. No touch.

hey you, Classic Box Bag, I still want you

Tired and a bit famished, we freshened up a bit at our hotel before heading out to Ippudo in Mandarin Gallery for a heavy snack. This is how heavy:

crispy corn

My usual order: Akamaru Kaseneaji. Dada had his usual miso ramen.

As usual, Ippudo did not disappoint.  But after having had ramen at Ukkokei in Makati, I think my standards have changed. Ukkokei ramen definitely wins over Ippudo in my opinion.

For dinner, I told Dada that we just had to go for flavored XLB at Paradise Dynasty in ION Orchard. When I was pregnant with Xavi, all I wanted to do was eat at Paradise Dynasty. Yes, Xavi = XLB.

While waiting for a table, we killed time at Crate & Barrel, which made me so excited for Crate & Barrel Manila! Finally, I don't have to order and ship from the US anymore! Thank you SM! (And thank you SSI for bringing in Pottery Barn too!)

I also happened to see this Limited Edition 250th Anniversary Artist Case at the Faber-Castell store. It's a creative's wet dream, and at almost S$2,600 for this case, the kind a starving artist can only dream of.

Speaking of starving, by the time we got to our table...

I was so starving that I only managed to take a photo of the famed flavored XLB...

and the spicy wonton...

Dada had a big steaming bowl of beef la mian, while I also ordered fried rice, radish puff and deep fried scallion pastry which I never got to take photos of. Teehee. All I can say is, they were all so yummy, you've just got to take my word for it! 

To be continued...

Cult Beauty Brands + More at Taste Central

Every Sunday, I hit up Taste Central to check on new stuff. It has been a pleasant surprise week after week so far. So you could just imagine my thrill when Taste Central started selling Aesop online a month or so ago.

For years, I've been a huge fan of Aesop, the skin, hair and body care label from Australia. The packaging alone is so chic. They have a very old school apothecary feel to them. As for the products? Amazing! I have a couple of favorites that make me want to explore their entire product line-up. 

Fine, Taste Central only had four products from the Parsley Seed range, but I am not complaining. Because thankfully, I had just replenished my stash while we were in Hong Kong back in March, heehee. In Causeway Bay alone, there are two Aesop stores - one inside Hysan Place and another on Paterson Street, near the Isabel Marant boutique. I happily got to visit both while staying at J Plus Hotel, which was highly recommended by my friend Gretch Uy (thanks again Gretch!).

Anyhoo, back to Taste Central. I swear, whoever has been stocking the beauty shelves of Taste Central, has been doing a great job choosing brands. From Moroccanoil to Bumble and bumble, Tarte and Chantecaille, honey, you've got your pulse on the market.

Bumble & bumble Seaweed shampoo - when it comes to hair, Bumble and bumble is the perennial buzzword. It's a New York institution that has been around since the late 70s, and known not just for hair cutting and styling but also hair products.

 

Tarte cheek stain in True Love - I've been using Tarte for years. I love their Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush so I am pretty sure this cheek stain is worth a try too.

Chantecaille Hydra Chic Lipstick - Chantecaille is a part of Net-a-porter's roster of beauty brands. Chantecaille focuses its attention on inflammation, which is scientifically recognized as the main cause of aging. Their makeup line is renowned for its natural look.

Apart from beauty brands, there are lots of great finds as well, from Chicco swim shorts to DwellStudio sheets:

Home goods like the Kenwood kMix Blender and De'Longhi espresso machine (not that I drink coffee, but it would be nice to have especially when we entertain people over brunch or dinner):

And not your usual food finds like trail mix from Fruitti Nutti and Belgian lace cookies from The Delightful Miss Joyce:

Some may argue that Taste Central pricing is higher than retail in the US, but when you factor in time spent ordering, shipping costs, and the convenience of not having to arrange for shipping to Manila and waiting for your packages (which can be anywhere from 5 days to 8 weeks), hey, that's the price you pay. If you can't be bothered, then that's reasonable enough.

 

For instance, I ordered the Parsley Seed Facial Cleansing Oil "on sale" for Php2,900, which retails for $55 in the US. Add $7.50 for shipping and that's $62.50 already, or roughly Php2,600. If I have it shipped to Manila via Johnny Air, assuming I bunch it up with a couple of stuff so I can hit the minimum of 2 lbs at $5.49 a lb for Express shipping, and the bottle is 1 lb so I spend $5.49 on shipping then the total would be $68, or roughly Php2,829. Am I going to beat myself up for overspending Php71 on the product and another Php100 for shipping? I don't think so.

The Tarte cheek stain is Php1,650. It retails for $30 at Sephora and if I don't spend over $50, I will have to pay $5.95 in shipping. If I ship this with other stuff at $5.49 a lb, then I would have spent close to $41 for the product, which is about Php1,706. That said, my local purchase turned out cheaper pa!

Now that the possible issue with pricing is settled, let's talk about the shipping! OMG. So fast. I ordered May 12, Sunday night, and got my package May 14, Tuesday morning. Considering that May 13 was election day and a holiday, that's pretty quick!

Plus, love that the box is sturdy and the contents inside were packaged carefully with bubble wrap and paper cushioning.

Prior to this, I bought a DwellStudio zebra print throw from Taste Central and ordering and shipping was just as quick and efficient. Actually, shopping at Taste Central reminds me of my Gilt days, the heyday of shopping for deals haha. Always fun looking through the site, and so cool to see hard to find stuff that you won't find anywhere else. I guess that's the reason why items go so fast. 

Ha! Race you to Taste Central this coming Sunday!