Singapore Food Fest: Day 4

By Day 4, despite the fact that we've been enjoying all the great food we've been missing, Dada & I just wanted to go home and see Berry & Xavi. We had an afternoon flight to catch so we wanted to go for quick meals that were still authentically Singaporean.

For breakfast, we ate at Ya Kun Kaya Toast. We had the usual kopi tiam fare - perfect runny soft boiled eggs, coffee with condensed milk and a French Toast with kaya for Dada and Kaya Toast with butter for me.

After breakfast, we decided to kill time at ION Orchard, where we ended up having lunch at  Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House.

We ordered radish cake, hakaw, duck noodles and my steaming bowl of beef noodle soup, washed down with what seemed to be 5 pots of hot tea. Yum yums!

And this is why I needed to do a juice cleanse the week after we got back. Teehee.

Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House 
ION Orchard, #B3-17
2 Orchard Turn
Tel: +65 6509 8283

100AM, #02-10/11
100 Tras Street
Tel: +65 6543 6668

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...

Singapore Shopping: Bimba y Lola

I blame it on Alexa Chung. I first heard about Bimba & Lola (or Bimba y Lola) from her. And well, you know, whatever Alexa likes, Tintin likes too! (Copycat!) When I found out that Bimba y Lola had a store in Singapore, I knew I just had to check it out, yo! One of the incentives for moving here, I thought. Good thing when we got here, our serviced apartment was super near ION Orchard, which meant I could always stop by and visit. I love the dresses, love the shoes, totally could see each piece on Alexa. It's really "her".

But it can be a bit pricey. Like a top is about S$260 and shoes are S$300ish. A little duffel bag that Berry got was S$135. I just had to get it for her. When she saw it on display, she just ran for it and hooked her arm on the handle and wouldn't let go! The SA made her choose between brown and pink, and she got her first choice, the brown one! Such a classic,  grown-up color! Even the SA was amused!

But because I have been on saving mode, I have avoided the store. To keep away from temptation, you know. When my friend Ivy and her sister Mizel came to visit, lagot! I just had to show this to them, because everything in here is love! And they were on sale too! 30 to 50% OFF! Wah! Double lagot! And you know what, when we got in, the SA recognized Berry! Why? Because Berry ran for the orange version of her brown duffel bag! "She really loves that style", the SA said.

While Ivy was trying on shoes, Berry helped herself to a pair. Can you guess which one here?

Yes, she chose the pair that was like the shoe version of her outfit that day! This girl is THE CUTENESS!

Ayan tuloy, because they were so sweet with Berry and let her try on shoes and play with the accessories, I thought I had to buy something (sus, kunwari pa ako, excuses excuses!). Presenting my Bimba y Lola oxfords at 40% OFF!

Berry and I are matching again! Goodbye Dieppa Restrepos!

Now, my oxfords collection is complete. I think.

From L to R: Cole, Rood & Haan, Rag & Bone, Bimba & Lola (heeeeyyyy, what's with the & & &)

Bimba y Lola
ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn, #B1-22, 238801
Tel + 65 6509 3305
Open Weekdays 10am-10pm

Delaying Tactics

I've been wanting these Valentino Studded Flats since October.

And it seems no one is stopping me from getting them (I'm talking about you, my dear Tweethearts!)

But sigh, I dunno. I'm kind of in saving mode these days, and I haven't shopped for shoes for months now. It's kind of hard to break a fast when I've been so good, I'm pretty sure I'm setting a record. My personal best perhaps, considering that these shoes are really scrumptious! Well, I know for a fact that if it's meant to be, then it's meant to be. So yeah, that settles it. For now, I shall enjoy you from afar.

And to Kate who asked about sizing, these run true to size! I'm usually a US 6 and I tried on the 36 and it was perfy! Terribly perfy! And very very comfy! Hmmm, maybe I'll visit the Valentino store in ION Orchard tomorrow! Just to say hello to pretty shoes!

Happy Lemon & Celine Day

Tuesday was a happy lemon day! Berry and I went to Tanglin Mall for her trial class at Gymboree. We tried out Play & Learn, which is totally different from her music class back in the US. I don't think she liked it as much, or maybe because it was just something different from what she was used to. We might just go for a Music Class next, we're doing a trial class with Kindermusik too.

Anyhoo, we just walked all the way from Tanglin Mall to ION Orchard, because I was craving for something cool to drink, and I was thinking, Happy Lemon!

I got the Tea Latte with Black Pearl Sago, in JUMBO!

Then we passed through Wisma Atria, and I saw a mirror inside Isetan. Uy! Pang-outfit shot:

shirt: +J Uniqlo, trousers: Topshop, flats: Lanvin

Incidentally, I got these pants on sale at Topshop the day before. I've always wanted those skinny J Brand Houlihan cargos, but they were too expensive for something so trendy. My friend Kat found $25 skinny cargos at Strawberry in Manhattan, but it just never occurred to me to check the place out when I was there. So, when I found these pants in my size on the sale rack, I was like, Wootwoo! But I was still not ready to buy. At the counter, the SA told me Citibank cardholders get an additional 10% off the sale price! Aha! A sign! Ok, sold!

By the way, here's Lucky Plaza. This is where all the Filipino groceries, remittance centers and cargo forwarders are. The place has a Greenhills Shopping Center kind of feel, prior to the renovation. Saw a lot of salons here too! Has anyone ever tried having their nails done here?

Oh, Berry and I went to Ngee Ann City of course, to check on my wish list items. My birthday is coming up, and a girl can dream right?

Oh weird, funny story. Today was really just a peek from the outside, looking at the totes longingly. But yesterday, oh my, Berry & I happened to pass by and like a helpless paper clip, I was drawn into the store by a magnetic field of force, called Classic Box Bag and Luggage Tote. I mean, just look at that wall over there, see if that won't make you want to go inside and burn a hole in your pocket, even if that pocket has been burnt many times over.

The mini luggage totes are priced at SGD 2250 to 2500, and the small one is SGD 3500 thereabouts. I've touched and felt the mini luggage tote up close at the Celine store inside Isetan at Shaw House two weeks ago, and my goodness, they are heavy, but gorgeous! You can actually tuck in the sides so that the bag is closed totally, but it just looks cooler when it's open.

I asked an SA if they had a black Classic Box Bag in medium (small is SGD 3800 and medium is SGD 5500 approx, they had the medium bags in caramel & red and a small black ion display. Ok, confession, I really want the caramel, but knowing that I was going to walk out of the store empty handed, and I didn't have the heart to disappoint my accommodating SA, I asked for the one not there, eeee! Am I the only one who does this?).

When she said it was sold out, but she could ask stores overseas for stocks and handed me a pen so I could jot down my details, I had an out of body experience and found myself writing down my name and number on their book, when I could have just said, "No thanks, I'm just looking!" Because hello, I had no business going inside the store in the first place. Most importantly, where am I supposed to get the money to pay for a box bag? I strongly recall promising myself I was only going to admire this bag and not buying it ever. But it felt like there was this spirit inside me doing the thinking and moving for me. Deep down in my psyche, we were having a conversation,  it was telling me, "You will get this bag, trust me! Plus, the luggage tote too! Really!" Talaga ha!

Well, libre mangarap, so with that thought, Berry and I went home. Here's Berry feeling grown up and pushing her stroller by herself. She enjoys doing this, she's the only toddler I've ever seen on Orchard Road doing this.

Oh by the way, Joni! I've been using this Rootote JFK tote bag as a diaper bag for months now! It's only now that I got a picture to show you! Super thanks for this! I love it! And it's become a reminder of the many adventures Berry and I had on the streets of NYC. Sigh...

And now, I leave you with a shot of my shoes (aka Happy Feet?). Till our next walking tour! Let's hope that one comes with happy shopping news!