Manila virus

SO spread the Manila virus to me.

I shared a moon cake with SO on sunday and we both used the same knife to eat the mooncake.

And by evening, my throat was all raw and dry and scratchy!

I thought that the bitch had recovered from his bout of flu virus he contacted in Manila and now he had spread the virus to me.

I was so tired these few days, sleeping more than usual.And after these few days of sore throat, I have been feeling better.

Now I would think twice before I share food with the bitch.

He is so contagious. Some weeks back, he spread this high fever to me. I had laid in bed for days, too sick even to move.

SO's dinner - fish and veggie

This was SO's dinner as cooked by his mama.

Home cooked meal but frankly, it looked simply unappetising!

Personally, it's not quite my standard. Looking at it made me lose my appetite.

And she liked to cook using metal plates cos it's easy. And look at her taste of plastic table cloth.
So cheesy! So retro!

Anyway, SO dun like fish. Just like my father.

My mother told me recently that my own father dun like to eat fish. A fact that I didn't know until recently.

Fancy choosing a fellow like my dad who does not like fish. What are the odds?

Anyway, SO only ate half the fish and implored his mother never to cook fish again. His mother is now perplexed as to what to cook for dinner next few weeks.

SO's phobia for fish originated from his grandparents who were fish mongers. He developed the fear since childhood cos his grandparents and their home always smelled so fishy!

Lunch at River City

We had dimsum buffet lunch at River City in Excelsior hotel. River city is part of a group of restaurants under the Starling group.

I have to admit that the food there was pretty average, the type my "high class" sister would despised. But this was one of SO's fave restaurant.

It was very conveniently and centrally located, near City Hall Mrt or Clark Quay Mrt station. The food was average but we could pig out to our heart's content.

The waitresses there could be a bit brash and curt.The place looked like it was stopped in time in the late 80s. Yeah...it looked a bit cheesy and low class.

BUT we have been here for more than 5-6 times. And there were twice when we were nearly chased out of the restaurant for over eating! That time, we ordered too much and ate too much. We didn't left any leftovers behind and the waitress came over and told us whatever dimsum we had ordered were out of stock and offered us the desserts we ordered.

Yeah, it was that embarrassing and awkward! And a few weeks later, SO suggested we lunch there again. I refused cos I was afraid of being recognised by the waitress there.

But we lunched there twice more after that. Yeah, SO that cheapo was hooked by the cheap price and variety. Frankly, I am getting a bit tired of the place. Now I am seeking a place just as good and cheap.




Fried green vegetables with minced garlic. This is one of SO favourite dish. I think it was either potato leaves or spinach. Very crunchy. I could not eat much of this cos I had gout. That pig of SO ate about 3/4 of the whole dish.


Porridge with pork and century eggs. We had a bowl each. A bit plain but it acted as an appetitiser.


Deep fried shrimp dumpling with salad cream. Average, a bit oily. Same as those sold elsewhere.


Deep fried vegetarian spring rolls. Crispy but very oily. Cannot really taste the inside of the spring roll. Leaves a very oily taste in mouth. Not as good as those sold elsewhere.


Steamed shrimp dumpling. Prawns quite fresh. Skin soft and tender. But the last time I came, I ate a really bad fishy shrimp dumpling and vomited out the whole meal after that.


Steamed dumpling with superior soup. Otherwise known as Xiao long bao. The skin was thin but the soup was too little. Can hardly taste the soup base inside. Can definitely find better ones elsewhere.


Steamed dumpling with mushrooms. Also known as Siew mai. Not bad. Taste normal. Not that fishy.


Steamed pork ribs with soya beans sauce. Not bad. Some fatty pork but not too much. Meat soft and tender. Dun have that porky taste which I absolutely hated.


Fried sliced beef with black pepper and onions. SO's favorite. The meat is tender and the sauce not too peppery or spicy. We ordered a large but they gave us a small or medium. AGAIN. Sometimes they do that. Maybe they afraid the customers cannot finish the food.

SO told me sometimes he dreamed of this dish here.


Sweet sour pork with pineapple cube. My dish. SO dun like the pork and sauce so I had the whole dish to myself. Pork a bit crispy but tender. Can taste the sour sauce.


Deep fried shrimp rolls with beancurd skin. Cannot really taste the shrimp but the skin is tasty. Very small portions.


Steamed meat dumpling with chilli sauce. I quite like this. SO dun cos of the veggies inside. No porky taste.

Besides those above, we also had deep fried chicken wings, winter melon soup (soup of the day), chilled mango pudding, chilled chinese herbal jelly and barley soya dessert soup (dessert of the day).

In total, we had about 28 dishes shared among us. Some like the steamed stuff, we had a portion each.

Lunch is $12.90++ per person (Monday - Fridays)
$15.90++ (Sat, Sun, Eves of & Public Holidays)

Lunch used to cost $11.90 and $14.90 but cos of inflation, they have just recently increased the price. Lunch is from 12 noon to 2:30pm. Last order for lunch is 2pm.

They also have a super value buffet at $21.90 ++ per person (Monday - Fridays)
$23.90++ (Sat, Sun, Eves of & Public Holidays)

I was looking forward to trying their super value buffet lunch or dinner. For that, they have shark's fin, steamed fish, scallops, prawns, crabs, chicken etc. But there is such a wide variety and only 2 of us. And we definitely need more people to try out all the variety. How much variety of dishes can 2 people consume?

Eh....both of us normally out eat the other tables. We have shared tables with other strangers at times. And we normally eat more than them. Gosh....we can be such pigs at times.

I wanted to lunch at Astons

I wanted to have the steak at Astons in in Cathay after the Dark Knight.

Few weeks ago, when I passed by Astons, the place was empty. It was newly opened then.

But today, there was quite a queue waiting. I was in a hurry to rush off to Cineleisure to watch Hellboy 2, so I did not want to want.

Maybe another time? Soon?

Pork Chop Rice

It was Saturday. The Garden festival was over. SO had to go down to Suntec to help clear up certain displays.

I was tired but I dragged myself out of bed that morning. Not to see him. I just wanted to eat pork chop rice for lunch!

I met SO at Suntec. I had been eyeing a Casio red watch for sometime. There used to be such a red watch in a shop near my place. The price was $147. But by the time I decided to buy the watch, it has already been bought.

However, there was no such red watch at the Casio shop in Suntec. So we went to Carrefour to walk and shop.

And it was around 3pm that we walked over to Bras Basah Complex (BBC). I have been wanting to want to eat the pork chop rice at BBC food court for some time.

I first knew about the shop when SO was working in Twin Tower/Gate (or whatever the building was called), the office building next to Shaw Center in Beach Road. I met him for lunch and even dinner occasionally and I especially enjoyed the pork chop rice there.

And then last year, the food court underwent renovation and I never saw the pork chop rice stall again. In its new place was some new seafood restaurant.

I have been dreaming of the pork chop rice for months since, until I chanced upon it in BBC again some weeks back. And I have eaten it once since then. It was just as nice as before.

And today, I dragged my self all the way there. And I made SO ordered the pork chop rice and the chicken chop rice.

The pork chop rice cost only $3.30. The meat was cooked so crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. Frankly, thinking about it now is making me drool. I mean it is not the best of pork chops, nor the most expensive nor the best tasting food, but I so love this pork chop.

And mixed with the rice, drenched in gravy, the taste was simply great!


The black pepper chick chop rice was just as nice. The meat was soft and spicy, all drenched in black pepper sauce that was not too peppery.

Hmmm...pork chop rice. Everytime I passed by BBC or am in the area, I just need to satisfy my craving.

Donuts from the Donuts Factory

I knew SO was coming back from Suntec. I knew that there is a Donut Factory located there. I have always wanted to try the donuts from Donuts Factory but was too lazy to cart back a dozen.

So I smsed SO to ask him to buy a dozen. All with chocolate please, I told him.


Frankly, I am not really a fan of donuts. Ever since I found out that donuts are nothing but deep fried dough! I always thought they were oven made, till I saw them being deep fried! From then on, I just became uninterested in donuts.

I just wanted to try these. Some months back, people were willing to queue for 2-3 hours just for a box.

Now? There is no queue! The hype has died off.

Frankly, I dun find these donuts any special or different from other donuts from other donuts shop. They are simply too sweet. I would not queue even 15 mins for these.

I feel tooth decay coming on.

Once is enough.

Lunch at Raffles Royal China

I had lunch at Raffles Royal China restaurant yesterday
afternoon.

It started with a call from Mother on Monday. I wasn't expecting her to call me so soon
after the last time we chatted a few days ago.

She told me that my sister was treating her to a birthday lunch on Tuesday at Raffles Royal

China Restaurant and that my sister asked if I wanted to come along as well.

Frankly, it has been ages since we three ate together at a table. My sister has been treating Mother to special lunches and dinners on her birthdays.

Normally I am not that interested to go and would turned down such invitation. But my mother is old and how many more birthdays more does she has?

So yeah, against my better judgement, I told her yes.

Mother was not sure about the details so she said my sister would called me later to give me the full details of venue and time.

I had never been to lunch or dinner at any of Raffles hotel restaurants. I am not a gourmet. I have simple taste and dun really believe in expensive food. Frankly, I dun find very much difference between the food at a high class restaurants versus food elsewhere. What people are paying more is for the ambiance and branding.

Anyway, I was curious and did a search online for the Royal China restaurant.

The reviews I read online are mixed. Some said the food were good, others said it was just normal average. Some said the prices were a bit steep. Average prices per diner is about $25 to $45.

Royal China resturant main head quarters are based in London. And the Raffles restaurant is one of their overseas branch in Asia.

My sister called and said she could not contact the restaurant for a reservation. The number she called was unanswered, even after several tries. So she asked if I could tried calling and make the reservation.

I tried calling the number which I got from the Raffles hotel website. No one answered.

Hmm....a 5 star resturant in a 5 star hotel. No one answered the phone. That is considered bad service to me. I mean, dun we expect prompt service from such a restuarant?

So finally after a few tries, I gave up and emailed them using the email address from the website, making a reservation for table for 4. Actually, this was what my sister said. She told me to get a table for 4 so that they would provide a better table and seating position, even though there were only 3 of us.. She also asked me to get a better table. That meant not near the entrance, counter, cooking area etc. She is so damned fussy!

The next morning, I woke up quite late. And somehow, I was dilly dallying till about 1130am.
As we had agreed to meet around 1230 pm or so, I took a cab there.

I have not taken a cab for some time. The cab fare came out to be $13. And out of that, $2 is for ERP charges.

My sister was still at Mother's place when I called her at 1215pm. They had brought the dogs, Bob and Mick to Sentosa this morning.

Anyway, my sister asked me to wait inside the resturant at a table and that she would join me soon.













I walked in the resturant. The ladies at the counter were in cheong sam that was a fading shade of greyish blue(or bluish grey). The place was decorated in bright cyan color m(otherwise known as baby blue). That was one of my favorite colors. But the whole place in cyan? That is really too much! The owner must have really love that color! It was rather like in someone's baby nursery room! But the color is rather peaceful and calming. And the color also reminded me of some china plates and cups.

Anyway, I told them I emailed them last night for a reservation. After checking for a while, they told me they could not find my email. I found out from the name cards, that the number for the restaurant and even the email address provided in the Raffles Hotel website were different.

Sigh...contact data that is not updated. No wonder the numbers I have called went unanswered.

Shame on you, Raffles! Please update your website. 5 star restaurants with this type of online standards? A website is one of the first place that visitors, especially tourists first come into contact with. And if the information provided on the site is incorrect, all that visitors left with is a bad impression.

Yeah...frankly, I was expecting better standards. And I was a bit disappointed.

Anyway, the waitress showed me to a table. The place was near full house. Almost every table was occupied. In times of such inflation, this is certainly good business. If we had came later, I dun suppose there would be a table for us.





I sat there like a fool for about 15 mins. Frankly, I was not that comfortable. Such places just made me uneasy.

The waitress asked if I wanted a drink. She told me today's special was water chestnut drink.

Frankly, it was a good 15 mins before my sister sashayed in with my mother. It has been a few months since I last saw my mother and more than a year since I saw my sister.

Mother looked older, and her skin more sagging. She dun have much wrinkles but her skin was a greyish tone. Makeup? Or just old age?

My sister was slimmer. She had always been voluptuous. But now she is a slimmer voluptuous.





My mother and I are not that fussy eaters so we let my sister make the choices on the food.

She choose xiao long bao, scallops dumplings, shark fins in dumplings with superior soup, steamed prawn dumplings, chives dumplings, char siew buns, egg tarts, fried prawn dumpling, chee cheong fun, cod fish wraps etc. For dessert, I had the chilled mango pudding and she had the orange jelly dessert.

We waited for about 15 mins before the food were served. The serving came steadily, about 2 dishes at one time.

Even after all the food came, my sister said she was still hungry. Mother and I were full though.

I forgot to take photos of the food. It was towards the end of the meal that I remembered. So I ended up taking shots of the interior.

Total costs came out to be $108 for 3 persons, which I think was quite reasonable, but still a bit too expensive for my taste. She paid with the meal with her UOB card, which means there was a further 15% discount.

Frankly, thinking back, the food there did not really have the wow factor. I could not really remembered the taste of lunch. There was no extra yummy fact. I mean, the ingredients especially those using prawns and fish were fresh. The portions were average size. Nothing really stood out.

Service was okay. The waitress was quite polite, attentive and they cleared the plates once they were empty.

We had asked for a table for 4 so from time to time the waitress would asked if the 4th guest was coming. And all my sister could say each time was, "If he comes, he comes". And waved them away. I thought that was pretty cool. But personally, if it was up to me, I would just tell them the guest is not coming. Why bother to fib?

My sister on the other hand liked the food. She thought it was fresh and quite nice. She said she dun like to frequent those cheaper restaurants. She had visited quite a few restaurants and believe in quality value for money. She felt that expensive normally means good quality. She always had expensive taste.

Though it was lunch to celebrate my mother's birthday, there was no birthday card, no presents, no singing of Happy Birthday song. I really missed my Grandma's birthday. When she was in her 60s, the same age as my mother was now, grandma had relatively grand birthday celebrations. Sometimes we ate out, sometimes the daughters and daughters-in-laws cooked. That was a time I get to see all my uncles, aunts and cousins. I really missed those sort of grand celebrations and getting together. I suppose that sort of gathering would never occur again ever since grandma died some years back. Now we only gather during weddings and funerals.

I did not went to lunch at Royal China empty handed. I gave mother a bottle of fish oil, a bottle of primrose oil and 2 dog leases. Frankly, I did not know what to buy for her. I never bought her any birthday presents before. And so i just gave her the fish oil for her health. As for the dog lease, she was complaining some days back about her leases becoming loose.

Mother and I felt the food was average but expensive. We have more simpler taste. We dun believe in expensive food.

Personally I would not visit the place again with my money from my own pocket. I am NOT a cheapo. Maybe if someone treat me for a meal there, I would go. But then I may make other better alternative suggestions. The place was not that memorable or special. Just average.







Now, about what we talked about in the restaurant. My mother asked me if I had a operation on my eyes, earlier during lunch. And that about set the tone for the whole conversation through the meal.

I told her I did it about 2 years ago. About 2 months after grandma died. I told her I saw her a few months after the surgery and asked if she noticed it then. She said yeah, she noticed but now the eyes looked different.

My sister said she noticed too. But she felt the cut were too deep, making it unnatural. Maybe she was not used to my significantly different eyes?

If everyone noticed my double eye lid surgery, HOW COME NO ONE SAID ANYTHING then?

Mother said her colleague had it done 20 years ago and my cousin did it some years back. She did not oppose plastic surgery.

Frankly, I loved my new eyes. I always hated my old single eyelid eyes. And the worse was, one lid was more droopy than the other. So when I went for the surgery, I asked the surgeon to make my eyes the largest possible.

I am very pleased with the results. Nowadays when I looked at myself in the mirror, I dun cringe as I used to. In fact, from hating to look into the mirror, I now dun mind looking into the mirror.

We talked more about plastic surgery. Mother and sister were the conservative types. Both believe in natural beauty and natural aging. I was starting to think if we are even related? Where did these women came from?

Throughout the chat, I was rolling my eyes. They were so...I dun know how to describe them. Both of them dun use moisturiser, or sunscreen or night creams. My mother said she is old and thus dun use creams. She said she believes beauty comes from within and the food we eat. She dun think creams work. *rolleyes*

My sister was too lazy. She said she believes in natural beauty and natural aging. Her skin is still quite good and unblemished, unlike mine. She said she is seldom in the sun and thus never used sunscreen.

Frankly, they were so adamant about using creams. The ways they spoke of creams is like applying poison to their faces. I gave up. They are the only 2 women in the restaurant that did not used moisturiser, I suppose!

I did warned my sister of age spots, liver spots, skin cancer, freckles and pigmentation though. I told her she would regret her choices later in life when all these start to appear.

I told them I was going for a surgery next to pin back my ears. My ears were a bit floppy since young. I looked like Mickey mouse at times.

Mother and sister said I dun need to go for the surgery, that my ears were okay. Yah...this coming from Mother, a woman who told me how ugly I was since young. How my ears were floppy, how my lips small like chicken backside.

The conversation was getting to be straining and uncomfortable. It's like I am defending myself and the choices I made. We are just so different!

My sister smokes, enjoys good food and good living. She loves designer stuff and travelling. She has expensive taste.

For me, I dun have such vices. And I only did a plastic surgery operation once! A double eye lid that cost $2500. That's not being too extravagant as compared to what my sister spent in a month.

Seeing such adverse reactions, I did not tell them I am going for a nose operation this year. All I said was I consulted with a plastic surgeon about my nose and ears and that he advised me to do my ears first.

Mother and sister were horrified I asked the surgeon about my nose. They said it was normal ...blah...blah...natural beauty....blah....natural aging....blah....normal nose...blah...

My mother did said that I probably got this nose cos I loved digging my nose when I was young.
In other words, or her unspoken words, big is okay.

I just got the opinion that both of them thought that only very ugly people go for plastic surgery. And I am NOT ugly enough. Where on earth have they been? It's like they are living in the 70s or the middle ages.

My sister is actually not that bad looking. But with no grooming, no makeup, no skincare and a awful attitude to match, chances of her getting married is very slim. Did I forget to mention that she wants a man who listens to her? Who obeys her and gives in to her every whim?

She is probably going to end up a old maid! And here, I am, attached for more than 10 years. How different are we!

Sigh....frankly, I gave up. I am not seeking their acceptance. I am happy with what I am and the choices I made. No regrets. What they said is not going to make me change my decisions to undergo surgery. I am old enough to make my choices.

After all, I am the one looking in the mirror at the end of the day, not them. I am the one facing my own image, day in day out, not they.

So, it was a rather eventful lunch. Food was okay. I made my choices clear to them and I accepted the choices they made.

Thank goodness, we dun do such lunches often. It is so stressful!

Maybe the next time would be a year later? or 2 years later?

A better steak