Archive for the 'birthdays' Category
August 25th, 2008 -- Posted in birthdays |
It’s another year and another birthday celebration for our youngest sister, Annie. This year, the venue is at Picotin @ Turf City.
It was a little hard to perceive the fact that the little infant I once carried is now a young lady. Nevertheless, it’s still too young for (too much) alcohol, young lady 
It’s just ‘another birthday celebration’. What’s so special about this? Frankly, it’s nothing but it’s also everything. Most blogs feature only the craziest birthday bashes where friends get drunk and dirty laundry gets exposed. This birthday bash is nothing as superficial. It marks an important moment in Annie’s experience of growing up and how we have come to witness it so far…
... and another wonderful feast 
Happy Birthday, Lil’s Sis!
August 16th, 2008 -- Posted in birthdays |
It’s Sunsun’s birthday. I wanted to plan a lil birthday celebration at a cozy place with healthy bites so I picked Alligator Pear as the dining venue for the evening.
It was a mistake.
While the official Fairmont website clearly stated “Dinner: Daily – 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm”, they actually don’t serve food after 6pm. WTF?!! It’s not that we didn’t call beforehand. I called for dinner reservation and the Fairmont operator told me we can’t make reservation as it’s a walk-in restaurant. I’ve no problem with that so I simply thanked the operator and hung up. We only found out when my sister turned up earlier and was told by the waiter that the pool-side-restaurant-filled-with-drenched swimmers-from-the-pool-next-to-the-eatery does not serve food after 6pm. WHAT??!! Why didn’t the operator inform me they don’t serve dinner in the first place? Also, why wasn’t the website updated?
What kind of 5-star exclusivity is this?
Anyway, we settled at Prego located on the ground floor of The Fairmont.
Not a bad place for a birthday dinner with family or friends. We were lucky enough to get a table on a Friday evening, despite the face that the baldy waiter hated me (... bumped my head with a plate and got my order wrong).
Salads and soups for starters. I love the cream of chickpea soup. Thick and yummy.
I ordered pork belly but the waiter got me cod instead. He was apologetic for the wrong order and let me have the cod free of charge while he hurried my order of the pork belly. Great thanks to him, I almost finished the cod and couldn’t eat the pork belly when it arrived.
Some kind of nice birthday surprise… A few tables away, another birthday song was sung heartily by a crew of waiters and waitresses. That totally gave away the surprise factor when Sunsun’s birthday cake came 5 mins later.
It was a nice mango cake, nevertheless. The fruity-rich upper has a nice sour aftertaste to the slightly sweetened sponge and light cream inners. All thanks to Becky, who helped me get the cake in the midst of her busy work schedule.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MiMEOW!!
July 22nd, 2008 -- Posted in birthdays, travel |
We’re back… and utterly tired. It was one unforgettable week of family reunion for dad’s 60th birthday, celebrating over countless feasts in three cities- Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. There is so much to show… lotsa food and places like no other in the world.
I really mean LOTSA FOOD! You’d see what I mean in this and the following posts. Almost every meal we had is special, espcially in Guangzhou. As the saying goes… “吃在广州... When you eat in China, you’d have to eat in Guangzhou.”
It’s also important to note than in China, everything is HUGE. You’d get what I mean…
I shall have to share the pics and stories in separate posts, starting with this one on Guangzhou.
DAY ONE 广州
Though we had previously explored the new Changi Airport Terminal 3 when departing from the other terminals, it’s the first time we’re actually taking a flight from the new terminal.
How was it? I think it’s a work of art. Despite the criticisms on the busy deco, I happen to like it better than Terminal 2. The panels on the high ceiling compliments the pixated floorwork well, giving it a Picasso look. I love it!
Usually, I will prepaLime myself with new playlists on ipod and a book/magazine to kill time on long flights… except when flying with Singapore Airline. The extensive list of movies-on-demand and the flight gormet are something I actually look forward to. Always fly with Singapore Airline!
Day 1 is a quieter day. We arrived Guangzhou a day earlier than my sisters. Dad picked us up from the airport, dropped off our luggage at the 3rd uncle’s vacation apartment before heading for dinner. After dinner, we roamed a bit at the 天鹅城广场 Swan City Mall.
DAY TWO 广州
Day 2 was more interesting. My three sisters Becky, Jerri and Annie arrived, along with Jerri’s boyfriend, Ben. We had lunch at one of dad’s favorite restaurant chain in Guangzhou city called 澳门街 Macau Street.
After lunch, we did some shopping at some of the wholesale centers around the 广州火车站 Guangzhou Railway Station. It’s a huge place with different buildings selling different things at wholesale prices. Not exactly a place for tourists but you can find great buys with ample of time, which is the exact luxury we did not have.
Just an hour before dinner with dad, we returned to the apartment to freshen up. While Sunsun and I stayed at 3rd Uncle’s apartment, my sisters were housed in Small Aunt’s vacation apartment just next door. A nice roomy apartment with a nice view of Guangzhou city from the balcony, it’s a great place to hangout with my sisters.
Dinner was at another of dad’s favorite restaurant in town called 陶陶居 Tao Tao Ju. It’s a famous timsum and seafood spot in Guangzhou located at the busy local shopping district 龙井路 Longjin Lu.
Annie with her favorite dish… Phoenix’s Claws. We all gave our share to her. Lucky girl!~ Ben and I had a taste of the local beer. Not bad for quench of thirst over a chinese dinner on a hot summer night.
After dinner, we strolled back along Longjin Lu. Jerri wasn’t feeling too well, so we called it a night early. It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow!
DAY THREE 广州
We started the day with another big feast for breakfast. Conveniently, it’s located just below the apartment we stayed. Believe me, chinese tea never tasted any better than on a timsum breakfast here.
After breakfast, we headed to dad’s home at 番禺区 Panyu district. It’s one of the many suburb residential districts around the Guangzhou city. It’s a nice quiet place with clean air and a nice little garden in the backyard. It’s no wonder why dad chose this place as his retirement home. While most of us had been here before, it was the first time for Jerri to see how dad lives in Guangzhou.
The center of attraction at dad’s place is the massage chair. Notice the faces of ecstasy while testing it out.
Lunch was at another food highlight (which one isn’t, anyway…) at a nearby restaurant called 渔民新村酒店 Yumin Xincun Restaurant (translated “Fisherman’s New Village” Restaurant). It’s a seafood restaurant housed within a five story high complex. It’s so huge that the owner even display his collection of cars and motorbikes in the foyer.
We got to pick our fresh seafood on one wing of the complex. There’s so much variety to choose from. We almost got ourselves lost in this place. There’re even snakes and crocodiles the adventurous tastebuds. Since we had a big breakfast not too many hours ago, we settled for a fish, drunken prawns and some cold salad. We wanted to keep the meal a light one so we’d be ready for the bigger birthday feast for dinner.
The day’s not over yet!~ After lunch, we had some time to kill before the big dinner at night so we did more shopping near the Railway Station. Remember if you wish to explore this wholesale distribution area, give yourself ample of time for traffic jams and for exploration. It’s a HUGE place.
It’s dinner time! Dad’s birthday banquet. It was at this restaurant at 花园酒店 The Garden Hotel called 桃园馆 The Peach Blossom.
Check out the size of the abalone. My favorite is the foie gras.
Dad with his birthday gifts… a Sony AVCHD camcorder and a digital photo-frame. He so loves the camcorder he started using it immediately. Heeh! Glad I pick this one for him.
That was just the first part of the birthday bash. The second part was at karaoke joint called 国会俱乐部 Club Congress. We did the ritual birthday cake thingy, had lotsa drinks and sang many cheesy songs. Guess what, it’s actually more fun than we had expected!
Dad actually asked so many time if we enjoyed the evening. It’s more important you enjoyed yourself, Dad… I guess he must have, coz I caught a glimpse of tears with the smile. Nothing beats having his family with him on his 60th birthday.
Happy Birthday, Papa!
July 1st, 2008 -- Posted in birthdays, coming soon |
For friends who haven’t known, I’d be off for two weeks starting this Friday. My sis Jerrica will be coming home from Perth to help plan for Dad’s 60th birthday bash in China. We’d have tons to do before flying to Guangzhou next Thu/Fri.
I will still be around next week but will not have internet access 10th-18th July.
Dad’s birthday bash will be a private party, with just us, his kids, and his girlfriend who resides in Guangzhou. It will be a feast followed by some karaoke session (dad’s favorite).
13th-17th July, we’d be travelling to Beijing and Shanghai together. Can’t wait!!!
September 2nd, 2007 -- Posted in birthdays, toys |
Just before I get started with revamping this site, I’d like to show some pictorial upates on what’s up for the past 2 weeks.
News #1 Annie’s 16th Birthday
It was a last minute plan for a celebration, since I won’t be around in Singapore much. Dinner appointment time was set at 12noon. At 3pm, w decided to call it an early celebration for Annie’s birthday. Reservation placed at 4pm. Birthday cake bought at 4:30pm. Called Annie out to Far East and got her birthday present at 6pm. Got her a new pair of prescription glasses… let her choose the funkiest color she wanted. She got a pair of red plastic framed. Really cool shocking red :P… Dinner at 7pm.
Dinner @ Mezza9:
Desert @ Ben & Jerry’s – Demsey Road
That’s all for the sweet 16th birthday celebration of my baby sister… all grown up.
News #2 New Car
The second piece of news is that we finally got our new CRV. Love it!
February 7th, 2007 -- Posted in birthdays |
I turned 33 yesterday!
Thanks for all the wishes and reminders… I’m already starting to feel the age when some people say I’m old and some thinks I’m still young. Strange age for a working family man who still lusts for life.
Anyway, the day started with a surprise birthday song by my small team of colleagues. We were all huddled in a huddle room working on some forecast reconciliations, when our boss came in asking some business related question to one of the girls… and the answer turned into “Happy Birthday to you… ” song. Totally unexpected!
Then the day went on as per normal. Work+Work+Work+... etc.
Until evening came. Plan for the evening was dinner with family.
Sunsun came to pick me up after I asked for early ‘release’ at 7:30pm. We proceeded to meet my sisters Becks and Annie at dad’s house before heading to the venue.
It was a small cozy Italian restaurant tucked in a residential area at Rifle Range Road called Valentino. Becky made reservation for 8:30pm and though we were late for 20 mins, the table was still saved for us. And instead of getting the ‘why-are-you-so-late’ looks, we were still welcomed with such warmth I almost felt I was welcomed home.
Food! The choice on the menu was not extensive but not boring. There’s all sorts of pasta and pizza, some of which I can picture while there are those I’m curious to try.
For appetizers, we had a salad (I can’t remember the name) and a dish of raw beef sauteed with olive oil and vinegar. Very nice…. very appetizing.
While the appetizers are being served, I get to open my gifts from my sisters. Becks got me a really nice baby blue Raoul shirt for work. I think she thinks the shirts I wear for work everyday are boring (Is that true?) Lil Annie got me a cute lil fat RUSS cat… I think we called it Meow (was it supposed to remind me of someone?) LOL
Then came the main courses. We had for each of us a variety of lambs, pasta and Italian rice. Don’t ask me the name of the dishes or what they are. I just don’t remember… All I know is they’re all YUMMY.
If you noticed, the serving are not excessive. It’s supposed to be served in a portion just nice for desert space. So without much ado, came the birthday cake with the waiters singing aloud another round of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU…” for the day. Nice cake (but sorry no pic of it. Forgot to take). Just nice for four. But I think the attention was turned to deserts. I couldn’t wait.
Lil Annie on her lemon sherbet…
By the time we had the desert and finished the wine, I realized how late it was and we were the last table around. Time passed so quickly when you had fun. Another round of warm goodbyes by the owner and waiters/waitresses, we left just before they closed.
I must say I’ve always enjoyed birthday celebrations in the family. Though my dad and other sis Jerri are usually missed, we’ve always had our fun and great food. Only regret I have is that with all the tight schedule with work and family, I always have to delay/forfeit my celebrations with friends. I hope I’m not making anyone feel left out… coz you’re NOT.
February 7th, 2006 -- Posted in birthdays |
I just turned 32 yesterday. Initially, I was not really in the mood for any celebration plan when I was caught in the midst of busy time during my transition at the new work place, but my sisters made it! They gave me this little surprise dinner to celebrate my birthday.
I can’t remember the name of this cozy little Indonesian restaurant, but it was just right for the food and the atmosphere. And the food! The food looks good, don’t they? They taste better than they look. (And they don’t last long on the table… see for yourself.)
And the present from my sis’s this year… A touching lil poem written by Annie and a lil framed pic of herself and me. Nicely done, babe. The poem is so sweet. Makes me proud being your brother. And my birthday cake (oops! Forgot to take a pic of the cake) was just right! Well picked by Becky. Almost wanted to finish all the cake if not for the overstuffing of the Indon food (yeah we finished ALL of ‘em).
And alas, a short footage of my birthday song…
Video: Birthday Song~
Simple and typical, but this little celebration brings out most of the meaning to celebrate one’s birthday. Nothing fancy… no frill. It’s the company and the food that makes this simple birthday a special one. Thanks to y’all!
August 9th, 2005 -- Posted in birthdays, old blogs |
I woke up this morning wondering why I’m still in bed instead of being in office at 11am, and it took me 5 seconds before I remembered that today is Singapore’s National Day. What a patriot I am? I had wasted the past days of weekends plus a day leave from office doing nothing but watching TV and reading recycled magazines, and only decided to do the weekly housechores today… or at least most of it. For this, I totally forgot anything about making any effort to commemorate the 40th independence anniversary of this country I’m born in.
Now that I’m done with my housechores, getting out of the house is now unlikely. Tired and not wanting to tire myself further for work tomorrow, I find myself a Singaporean not making an effort to be one. But hey, I pay taxes, don’t I? That’s the least I’ve been doing so far just like my dad. Turning the TV on to watch the evolution of NDP (National Day Parade) year by year is already considered an honor to the birthday of the nation in my book. I came back to work in Singapore after studying abroad and contribute to the economy here, didn’t I? I guess these are enough at my citizen level. Wouldn’t mind doing more if I’m invited to.
Anyway, a HAPPY 40th BIRTHDAY to SINGAPORE!
