Smash The Chipboards!

Kill me now.

I H A T E C O M P U T E R S ! ! !

Lets see if it retaliates before I get a chance to post this. I finally found an opportunity to hook up everything and get the computer running. AND THEN, I find it hangs every 20 mins or so.

Why why why??

Why do all computers hate me so??!?!

*bish* *BISH* *SmaSH*

One thing good though, my photos are all still there!

Now, if only the computer will stay alive long enough for me to download the rest and burn them onto disks!!!

Splashing Good Time

Since it was a public holiday and all of us were free, the Quahs + Nairs decided to go swimming! I got there a little late, and Aidan had already come out of the pool. So Asher got to have all the adult attention during his swim :) It was a warm, sunny morning - perfect for the pool!



Asher lounging before his swim. I have a most goofy smile here though :/











Sharon, Asher, Me and Mummy!









"The children on the bus go up and down!"









In the big pool with Gong Gong and Po Po









Worn out after the swim, so borrowed Aidan's stroller for a nap :)

Gurmit & Anita's Wedding

I would have loved to put up pics from this colourful and lively wedding, but unfortunately I've none. It's taken me a long while to get this post out cos I thought I had a couple of pictures somewhere but I apparently don't! In any case I was quite busy that night so really didn't get the chance to snap photos. Had brought Asher along cos Jon had an office function on that night and couldn't watch him at home.

Thank goodness for helpful colleagues :) For starters, the Sentosa Beaufort was not that pram friendly. I had to carry the pram and Asher up the stairs cos there was no ramp. Then as it was a buffet dinner (and a very yummy one at that!), one of my colleagues very kindly helped to carry Asher around so that I could have the opportunity to eat something before I had to put Asher to bed. I must say, they got along really well, and Asher really didn't mind being carried by someone he had met for just the first time! :) It must be cos he had a Daddy vibe, having two kids of his own :)

Around 8pm Asher fell asleep as usual. That was great, but it also unfortunately meant that I couldn't sit in the ballroom when the fun activities were on. There were Bhangra dance performances, which I always love watching, but the drums were quite loud so I moved the pram outside and looked in through the glass doors. I found myself standing outside with another Daddy and his sleeping baby as well :)

The second performance coincided with the Bride and Groom's walkabout, so I didn't get a chance to say hi! What a pity, cos I always look forward to meeting the happy couple during the dinner to congratulate them. That, plus Anita looked beautiful in her gown! The ladies at my table were all commenting about how lovely her outfits were, and how they suited her perfectly :)

Anyway, while I would have loved to stay for some dancing at the end of the event, I had to head back to settle Asher into bed proper. The music was a tad too loud for a baby. Oh well. It's not meant to be a kids event! But it was great to be catch up with some ex-colleagues who were at my table too :) Had met a couple of them at Anita's hen night, and this was like part-2 of the catch-up - albeit an intermittent catch-up, as it is at most events where I bring Asher :) Chat a bit, run around, chat a bit, run around.

I had a fun night, even if I spent a large part of it sitting outside the ballroom. Thank goodness the night was cool and there was a light breeze blowing. It was also great that there were glass doors so that I could observe the proceedings inside the ballroom :) Happy to see the couple happy :)

Catching Up

My CPU has finally been repaired! Hooray! Haven't blogged since 1 Aug!

Now, if I can just find the time to hook everything up again...

After work it's all about getting Asher home, spending time with him, making sure he gets his dinner, bathing him, and putting him to bed. The computer is in his room, so once the lights are out ard 830pm I don't get a chance to connect anything and use the computer. So I've a TON of photos that haven't been downloaded, and I'm seriously contemplating taking a half-day's leave to make sure my photos are all in order, hmm...

There's lots to update! We went to Phuket, we've had many Saturday morning breakfast gatherings both at home and out, new milestones that Asher has reached, etc.

I've been thoroughly enjoying these last two months. Asher's increased awareness makes me more in awe of God's creation in general (how all babies become 'aware' at a certain age, and their development suddenly speeds up). His personality is really starting to show, and I'm loving him even more each day!

He's been babbling lots, and has picked up inflections and intonations such that he seems to 'talk' to us, and sometimes even 'complains' :) Just last night when he woke up in the middle of the night, I had rocked him till he was drowsy and put him back down in his cot. He then started to 'complain' to me - not scream or yell, just complain "wa ya yaa, ba, da la la...baaa ba ba da yaa". Almost as if he was saying, "whyyyy did you put me down? Whyy? I want to be carried!" He complained for a good 2-3 mins, and it was so funny I couldn't help laughing :) Eventually I relented and carried him to sleep :)

So yes, look out for updates to come! And as usual, they'll be back-dated chronologically :)

Brunch @ Prive Cafe

It had been a while since I met up with Joce and Joanne, and in the spirit of continuing with these early Saturday morning activities, we agreed to meet at Prive Cafe at Keppel Bay for brunch.









I had heard that the restaurant Prive was very expensive, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that Prive Cafe had an affordably priced menu! I simply had to order the smoked salmon eggs benedict, one of my all time favourite breakfast dishes. My gosh. Prive Cafe has the best eggs ben I've tried so far, ever! The eggs were done to perfection! Not chewy, not hard, not too soft - just perfect. The yolks were firm on the outside and runny on the inside, and they could even separate easily from the whites! The sauce and salad complemented the eggs wonderfully, but surely, the stars of the show were the eggs. Mmmm....I must go back there to have them again! Hopefully the eggs ben will be as I remember it!

As always, it was fun to watch the babies interact. They even had a baby conference to discuss...I'm not quite sure what...but I'm sure it must have been important :)





















Anyway, a funny snippet from the morning. Asher was active as usual, but at one point he was quiet and was sitting still on my lap. I thought it was quite curious and looked down to see what he was doing, only to discover that he was happily chewing on a packet of sugar! No wonder!!! Thank goodness it didn't really tear open. Imagine the sugar high he would have had (and that I would have had to deal with) if it did!

Brunch @ Jones the Grocer

Yes, more brunch appointments. Jon and I have found Saturday mornings to be the best time to meet people cos we're already up anyway. But precisely because it's a Saturday morning, we find we tend to meet with people who themselves have children. Why else would anyone else by up so early on Saturday?? Unless, as in Debs case, it is because of work.

Met Del, Debs and Anya at Jones the Grocer. Jon and I have been there to browse through their stock of groceries, but we've never actually eaten there. The prices are a bit steep, but the food is good. In particular, their pancakes were superbly fluffy! I have since found a way to replicate that - it's all about the egg white! :)

Anyway, we had breakfast, the kids had breakfast, Aunty Debs kindly and generously treated us, and we all were happy :) What more can you ask for on a Saturday morning?

Dolce Vita

A couple of girlfriends and I have birthdays which are close to each other, so instead of celebrating multiple times in a short span of 3 weeks, we decided to just combine the celebrations into one splurge.

Brunch at Dolce Vita at Mandarin Oriental was definitely an indulgence. It was an a-la-carte buffet, and there was a wide variety of starters, mains and desserts to try. They offer a free-flow champagne option, but we decided to just go for the juice version of the buffet, which I thought was good enough since all the juices were freshly squeezed.

Everything on the menu sounded really good and we wanted to try them all! Unfortunately, there just simply was not enough tummy space. Still, I think we covered most of the menu!

Here's what I had for starters (yes, just me! I've not yet included the other stuff my friends had!):


Complimentary selection of cold cuts, drizzled with pesto








Fresh rock oysters with mignonette sauce & lemon








Terrine of fois gras with fig chutney and caramelized brioche








Raw marinated beef tenderloin with truffle vinaigrette and mushrooms






And actually I had the veloute of asparagus as well, but I had dived into it forgetting to take a picture :) I thoroughly enjoyed the starters, especially the veloute and the fois gras. The veloute was so creamy and smooth, it was like silk running down your throat. The flavour was subtle, yet rich, making it a lovely and warming starter. It was so good, I had two! For a quirky twist, they served it in little espresso cups :) The fois gras was good too, done in two different styles - pan fried and as a terrine. The flavours were bold and the fois gras melts in your mouth - perfect!

Mains:


Cod fish fillet with artichokes and capers









Pan fried beef tenderloin with potato gnocchi and rosemary jus








Aquarello risotto with black Piedmont truffles








Osso bucco served with polenta







Again there another dish I did not take pictures of - the baramundi fillet with basil risotto. I'll be hard-pressed to say which main course I liked the best. The truffle risotto was creamy and not too heavy, beef was superbly tender and had a robust flavour, the osso bucco was hearty and comforting, and the fish dishes were just very well done! Try them all!

And finally, for desserts:


Tiramisu with almond-coffee











Variation of Valrhona chocolate











Red wine poached figs with gingerbread ice-cream








Pistachio sabayon gratinated forest berries with pistachio ice-cream and raspberry sorbet







Caramelized vanilla form with marinated citrus fruit ragout and vanilla sorbet








As you can tell, I definitely saved space for dessert. In fact, I had two tiramisus, and two caramelized vanilla foams! I liked how all the desserts came with the Oriental motif on a little square of chocolate. Again, if you go for the buffet, just try all the desserts! You won't be disappointed. The vanilla foam was something new that I had never heard of before. It was a refreshing dessert, light, cool and citrusy. A good way to end a heavy meal! The fruits and sorbet were not evenly spread throughout the foam, which I liked, because that made each mouthful a bit of a surprise.

Surprisingly I was not as stuffed as I thought I would be though, and it was probably because we had a slow and leisurely brunch which lasted three hours! We were one of the first to arrive, and the last to leave :) I thoroughly enjoyed the spread, and it's something I would certainly consider going back for again!