My 21st (Part I)

I am finally sharing the photos that I took for my consecutive 3-days 21st birthday celebration (gee, what a mouthful!)!!!

I kicked off the celebration of my 21st birthday on the 29th of December 2013 with my JC clique!

Group Therapy Coffee
49 Duxton Road

Singapore 089513
Opening hours: 11am to 11pm
Phone number: 6222 2554
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar MRT (7 minutes walk)

Information obtained from their facebook page (Click 'here' to view it)

My JC girls and I

We met and had breakfast together at Group Therapy, and they also passed me my presents! A VS clutch + some VS lippies! (THANK YOU GIRLS *blows kisses*)

Breakfast together with them is a first. We are all.. fond of our beauty sleep. PLUS we had insanely busy schedules that don't ever seem to match. It was rare that we could find an opportunity for all of us to gather and meet, and an even rarer occasion that we all agreed to meet for breakfast! Meeting them was awesome!!

Food pics coming up next!

Disclaimer: Other than my own order, I tried none of my friends' orders, hence the comments about the other dishes are subjected to the tastebuds of my girlfriends.

Poached Eggs (on thick toast, smoked salmon, gruyere, hollandaise) - $15

According to Xin Yi who had this, the sauce became too overwhelming and sickening halfway through the meal. The portion was rather sad.. (no sides given + the portion served was really rather small) and hence it seems a little overpriced.

Belgian Style Waffle with Maple syrup & butter - $9

According to Wan Lin, it's your average waffle. Nothing surprising, nothing overwhelming. If you are looking for something trustworthy to eat, here is your choice of option.

Close-up

Shepherd's Pie (Lean minced beef sauteed with carrots, beans & caramelized onions, topped with a layer of butter mash) - $15

Now, this is MY order.

Hmm.. I quite liked this dish but it isn't something which I would deliberately go back to the cafe just to have it. The shepherd's pie was alright - beef was appropriately marinated and tasty, however the mash potato top was not as buttery as expected/stated. The salad was really good and appetising! *thumbs up* The chips were.. ordinary chips. Probably poured out of a chips bag. Original flavoured (if you are keen to know about that)

Portion-wise, as compared to the other things on the menu, this is definitely worth its price! Remembering that I had this as my breakfast... I usually don't eat a lot for breakfast hence I didn't get to finish everything on my plate as I was too full already. However if this was for lunch, then I guess it would be an alright portion!

Croque Madame (Smoked ham, melted cheese, bacon & mayo between two slices of French toast, with a sunny-side up egg) -$18

If you're looking for a heavy breakfast, THIS IS YOUR CHOICE!!!

The salad and chips were the same as the ones in my Shepherd's Pie order. According to Su Jean, the sandwich was average. But yes, this is a really filling dish!! However the price seems a little too steep given the ingredients and standard of the food (to each his own).

Hotcakes with homemade honeycomb (with fresh bananas, strawberries and maple syrup) - $15

Your typical hotcakes breakfast. According to Denyce, nothing special about this plate of hotcakes. So yeah, another one of the trustworthy choices if you aren't game enough to go for anything out of your comfort zone!


Ignore the (other group of) girls in the background, I don't know who they are. They merely shared a table with us.

I took this picture because I liked the way that decorated the cafe with small pots of plants (not sure if they are real plants!) and that intriguing art piece (a toilet bowl beside the stairwell in what looks to be like a castle?).

From left to right: Su Jean, Me, Xin Yi, Denyce, Wan Lin


After having breakfast at Group Therapy, us girls went to one of my friends' house (because she lived the nearest) to play cards.


It's been so long since we gathered together for a game of Bridge. That was our favourite past-time during our JC days. Whenever our break time or in between classes, we would pull out our deck of cards from under our table and start to play. It was thrilling because we had to avoid being seen playing cards by any teacher. Some of our teachers did see, however they would immediately close or shield their eyes and tell us to quickly keep them.

Playing Bridge was the highlight of my JC days - and most of my friends too, as we agreed in unison while playing that day - and it was what kept us sane and going on through those days.

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After spending half a day with my JC clique, we parted our ways because Su Jean had to run off and buy a birthday cake for her dad whose birthday was on that day itself (her dad's birthday is one day before mine and I only found out after what, 3 years?!! #howslowami). I met up with Rod whom I spent the later half of the day with.

We went to The Reading Room, which is now officially my favourite cafe at the moment!

My current favourite cafe: The Reading Room


I actually discovered The Reading Room while I was walking to Group Therapy. Somehow, it caught my eye and I made a mental note to come back to check out, which was what I did after parting ways with my girlfriends and that.... is one of the best decisions of my life.

I fell in love with the place.

Upon entering the place...

I was greeted by.. shelves and shelves and shelves of books!!!!

There are all sorts of books at The Reading Room. They have art magazines, fiction of various genres - I saw the full series of Twilight.. some Stephen King books.. Goosebumps!!! Gosh I miss reading that! - and biographies too I think.

You can actually grab ANY book that you fancy, and sit down to read it while having a cup of tea/coffee/latte/any-drink-on-their-menu and a plate of cake/muffin/any-food-on-their-menu. However you need to remember to put the book back from where you took it from! #beniceanddoit

Super happy + relaxed me!


They specially decorated the place for Christmas and draped white cloth from the chandelier to various corners of the eatery. They hung clear plastic snowflakes on their lamps and the whole place looked so magical. It practically looked like a scene taken out of a fairytale book.

Something like the snow scene in Alice in Wonderland?

I wish I could have found a way to capture the beauty of what I saw that day. The whole place was just so so so pretty! Unfortunately I couldn't, and it was one of those experiences in life where you have to be there to see it in order to feel it.

I love the place so much.

Close-up of the snowflake #sopretty #ohmygawd

What's this...?

IT'S A MENU??!?!

Coolest and most innovative menu that I have ever seen. Full marks for creativity!

Very green too!! No need to waste money and print a hard cover menu! 5 out of 5 stars!!!!

The way that I am complimenting and selling this eatery... And you'd think I own the place! #haiwish


Hot Chocolate

Not too thick. Not too milky. Just right for me.

Although.. I think that it would be a little better if it could have been a little bit more chocolatey.

Blueberry Muffin

I always go for blueberry muffin if it is available. This one is not bad. I quite like it.

You can never go wrong with blueberry muffin. Or at least.. I have never gone wrong with that choice before! #crossmyfingers

Deep Fried Mushrooms *chef recommended*

The Reading Room's food menu is for mushroom lovers. I say that because.. it is the menu that I have ever come by that has 5 DIFFERENT MUSHROOM DISHES!!!

So far, I've tried their Deep Fried Mushrooms (as seen in the pic), Garlic Mushrooms (served with toasted slices of french baguette), Grilled Portobello and Portobello Fries (tried these other 3 during my second trip to TRR).. and I prefer the Grilled Portobello and Garlic Mushrooms.

Fried whitebait

This is okay.. but I wouldn't recommend you to order it. Go for the mushrooms. It's more worth it and (TRUST ME) it tastes better!


So around 5-6pm, they would dim the lights in the cafe.. it's a thing they do. Probably to save electricity? I don't know.

But yeah, here is how the place looks like when it is dim:
If you wanna see the place when it is brightly lit up, go during the daytime. It's a completely different feel when it is lit up and when it is dim.

When the place is light up, it feels like a cafe. But when the lights have been dimmed down, the place seems bar-like and.. it is equally great for chilling out. 2 completely different feels within the same place.

Gosh I love love love this cafe so much!!! IT'S SO COOL AND SLEEK!

Go check it out if you have the time k! The address is:
19 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore 089833
Opening hours: 11am to 1am
Phone number: 6220 9019
Nearest MRT: Outram MRT (Exit H)

Information obtained from their facebook page (Click 'here' to view it)

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I'm gonna end off here now and continue Part II another day!! Many many more photos to post up!

Anyway, today is Chinese New Year so..

HAPPY HORSE YEAR!!!!! *neighs*




hearts,
Soph

YAY!!!!!!!!!!

This is a super short and super random post but I'm feeling so HAPPY now that I have to announce it out loud!!!!!

SO FUCKING HAPPPPYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just finished the last powerpoint presentation of the semester and it was a rather satisfying presentation (Not because I didn't do the bulk of the work! And I am really grateful and appreciative to my other 2 group mates!!) and..

I'M JUST SO HAPPY THAT IT IS ALL OVER!!!

Well.. not really ALL but at least I'm starting to see the ending line. So.. YAY! \o/



Hearts,
happy Soph!

Liberty @ 247

Today I'll be introducing one of the few eateries that I found in 2013, which are not your common eateries, it serves excellent food (in my opinion) at a damn cheap price (judging based on the current economy and market) and it is one of the few eateries which I would highly recommend to my friends!

This eatery is situated near Haji Lane, so do patronise them when you are at Bugis!

Liberty @ 247 Beach Road
Singapore 189756
Opening hours: 12pm to 12am
Phone number: 6297 9247
Email: libertyat247@gmail.com

Information obtained from their facebook page (Click 'here' to view it)


If you have been following me on Instagram, you would know that I have mentioned this eatery before and how very much I love it! It is quaint place tucked in a street amidst lots of other eateries, the food is good (how many times have I mentioned this point already?!!) and the service is DAMN GOOD!!

It is that kind of place that makes you keep wanting to go back for the food and the atmosphere.. It really is a good place to chill out and relax!

Liberty is a pub/restaurant; I have patronised them before both during lunch and dinner hours. Their set lunch is fabulously delicious and the price is unbelievably cheap!

Lunch: Liberty Beef Burger (mine) & Liberty Club Sandwich (Rod's).
$8.90 for 1 set lunch, inclusive of a drink from the drink menu!

Around the week of Christmas 2013, I decided to drop by Liberty again (armed with a compact camera this time) to do a review during their dinner hours. Dinner was as wonderful as lunch!

There is something about chalks and a blackboard which makes a place seem
more homey and relaxing..

Upon entering the restaurant, I was greeted by their friendly staff who approached with friendly smiles and a warm service. They showed us (Rod and I) to our seats and subsequently brought us their menu. I was too in awe by their interior décor - which was even more beautiful when seen in the night than in the day - to look at the menu. For once, food came second.


I love love love the lights! The 2 picture that I took does it no justice at all! You have got to go see for yourself! Then again, I took these around the Christmas season so the lighting which you see now might be different..

BUT!!! I bet the lights at the back of the restaurant are still there (ie. the blue "light bulbs" that you see in the picture). This might seem nothing to you but I am all about DIFFERENT!

The bar (and the bartender) where all the drinks are prepared

Now let's bring in the food pics!!!! (What's a food review without seeing food pics, right??)

Like what I mentioned earlier on, I went during dinner hours this time to try out their dinner sets. Their dinner sets came with either a choice of their soup of the day or dessert of the day, and a drink of your choice from their dinner drinks menu.

Soup of the day: Homemade Tomato Soup

I've had my fair share of tomato soups. Most of them look.. red. Artificial colouring, I suppose.

I once read this magazine article which says that colour plays an important factor to how we interpret the taste of a food. An experiment was carried out - a group of people were asked to take part in a tasting test - one group of food had its colour altered by artificial colouring, the other group of food had its colour kept natural; the taste for both groups of food were not altered. One of the food items was tomato, and all of the tasters said that the one which looked more red was tomato, whereas the one which did not have its colour altered was.. something other than tomato. #lol

Anyway back to this orange-coloured homemade tomato soup. With or without the cream.. IT TASTES SUPER GOOOOOOD!!!


It is thick (note: NOT STARCHY) and brimming with taste! This was a great as an appetizer because it totally got my appetite working and made me hungry for my main!

As you can see from the picture above, drinking isn't the only movement involved when consuming this bowl of soup, because of the ACUTAL tomatoes that they used, hence a bit of chewing is required as well! Initially I thought it was starch and was quite disgusted but after taking a closer look, I realised that it was tomatoes and I got so excited!

Let me explain my excitement: there is this thing about seeing an orange coloured tomato soup + actual tomatoes inside the soup, which makes me feel like the soup isn't filled with preservatives (like most tomato soups) and so.. being served healthy food which tastes so damn good makes me a HAPPY HAPPY GIRL! (:

Rating: 10/10 (I tried finding fault with this dish but I couldn't find any!!!)

Black pepper beef with mushrooms (sides: salad and choice of white rice or butter rice)

I chose had to choose white rice because they had run out of their butter rice already #aww

Honestly, I had no idea that this would be what I ordered because after reading their description in the menu, I pictured a completely different thing in my mind. But anyhow, it tastes really really good as well, hence it makes up for the lack of description in their menu.

The beef was tender. The mushrooms are not overcooked and still retain their "mushroom" taste. The salad was alright. The white rice was soft and moist (good for people who have indigestion or for people who prefer thoroughly cooked white rice in general!)

Rating: 8.5/10 (Would give 9/10 if I got to try their butter rice and if the butter rice tastes good!)

A more artsy shot of my main

Christmas Ham

This was from their Christmas Specials 2013 menu. I don't think they serve this anymore but if you are dying to try it, go check them out during the christmas season this year? (Have fun waiting for the next 11 months to pass!)


Rod claimed that this is one of the better Christmas hams that he has ever ate, and each slice of ham was rather thick!! (LOOK AT THE PIC FOR EVIDENCE!)

The pineapple was aptly sweet and tasted great when taken with the Christmas ham! The salad is the same as what I had for my main. The potato was shallow-fried and lightly seasoned with some salt (Potato lovers, WATCH OUT!!! This potato side is hard to stay away from!)

Rating: 9/10 (The overall taste was great however I feel that the portion being served could be a little more..)

Dessert of the day: Strawberry Cheesecake

The taste was okay, however the portion was really pathetic. It was so small that you can finish it in just one bite.

Then again the good thing of having such a small portion is that you won't have an issue with wasting food, especially if you had ordered other appetizers in the beginning or a heavy main.

Rating: 7.5/10

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I was catching up with my cousin the other day and because we were both big fans of food, we were sharing with each other the eateries that we like! Somewhere in the midst of the conversation, she realised that I have a 'thing' for Bugis because most of the food places that I like are at Bugis!

Well.. I personally think that Bugis is a mysterious place and so I'm always there? I like all the shophouses and all the many small alleys.. and so I never know what I might discover around the next corner and when I find something amazing, I find it so thrilling, so fulfilling and so satisfying! Nonetheless, this is just my personal opinion!

Going to Bugis again later today to have Moroccan food at Arab Street! Rod likes the Moroccan food there, especially the spiced rice. Another awesome thing that I like about Bugis is the arcade at Bugis+!! Shall share in another post why specifically the arcade there!


Hearts,
Soph <3

Before I zonk out...

HI!!!

This week has been a terribly busy week! And it doesn't help things did not go quite as well this week! :(

I'm not going to talk about it because the last thing I want is to exploit and misuse the purpose of social media. Besides, it is not my kind of thing to garner undesired negative attention.

Now, onto more happy things!

CHINESE NEW YEAR WILL BE HERE IN A WEEK!!! Have you bought your new clothes yet?

Unfortunately for me, I will be too swamped up with projects, presentations, reports and upcoming exams.. hence I don't think I will get the chance to go new year shopping! BUT!! Lucky that I am a shopaholic, so there are still a couple of clothes in my wardrobe which are still unwashed and brand new! I'm gonna be digging them out to wear during CNY!

I am looking forward to Chinese New Year this year because.. I WILL BE RECEIVING A RED PACKET FROM MY SISTER!!!

SO FREAKIN' AWESOME!!!

Hang in there if the upcoming week is going to be a tough week for you! Just keep in mind that CNY is just around the corner, which also means soon you will get the breather you so badly require and deserve!!


Hearts,
Soph <3

Woodlands Waterfront

About a week ago, I went to Woodlands Waterfront to snap sunset pictures for a project!

(Credits: Joey)


It is my.. 4th time there.

List of reasons for my previous trips:
  1. Went there to sunset with my family
  2. Went there with Rod to have a picnic
  3. Went there with my sister on her wedding day to take wedding shots
  4. Went there to take sunset pictures for project

(Credits: Joey)

If you are into monkeys, there are a ton there. Bat (pronounced as "but") says that there are really friendly and they are like cats? She was surrounded by a troop of monkeys (young and old) and she was happily patting each of them on their heads!!

I've got a bad experience with monkeys... got hissed at by one at Bukit Timah Hill when I was 13 or 14? The stupid monkey wanted to snatch away an UNOPENED packet of roller coaster rings from my hands when I was refilling my bottle at the refill water fountain! #suckermonkey

(Credits: Joey)

But anyway, I have to agree that the monkeys seen at Woodlands Waterfront are damn cute!

(Credits: Joey)

(Credits: Joey)

(Credits: Joey)

(Credits: Joey)

Okay, enough with the monkey photos. Let's look at some humans now.

One of those typical.. "I take picture of you while you are taking picture of me" picture. It's pretty much inevitable to take one of such pictures if the purpose of your trip is related to photography, and there is more than one camera in the group :/



Took a picture with Bat!

I was threatening Joey that I would flung her little doggy into the deep seas with just a simple flick of my arm!

Newly-opened halal seafood restaurant, situated right at the dock!!

I didn't eat at the restaurant but I did check out the menu and the prices are... HOLY EXPENSIVE! They doubled the prices for all of their dishes (eg. a plate of veg could be $6 at a normal tze char stall that you find below your block, but this restaurant is selling it for $12!!!) and I don't know about their main dishes but I bought a chicken wing, it was insanely expensive and wasn't nice at all.

This ONE freaking chicken wing cost me $2.55!!!!


Most expensive + soggy chicken wing ever!!!


Not much captions for the pictures today because there wasn't anything much to say and the words might have ruined the feeling of tranquility that the pictures present.

I love such pictures of nature. I feel all airy fairy now.. like I'm floating on the clouds..

*bounce bounce*

Have an awesome day!


Hearts,
Soph