3rd Wedding Anniversary at OTTO Locanda

Time flies, we are officially married for 3 years. Since I got a gift during the 2nd anniversary, Leecher declared - in fact, way in advance - that I won't be getting any present. Boy, this guy is seriously good at managing my expectations or maybe, I have low expectations to begin with, tsk tsk! Well, a dinner is still a must but I decided that we should head for a place near the office, so we could walk stroll there after work to avoid the jam.

 

We headed to Otto Ristorante located at Red Dot Traffic Building. They couldn't find my reservation when I showed them the email. Upon seeing the email, I realised that I had walked into the wrong restaurant! *super paiseh* The place that I had booked was Otto Locanda, instead of Otto Ristorante - can't believe I made such a blunder. Leecher was trying his best not to give me the see-you-also-make-the-mistake-look, lol. 

Separated by a street, Otto Locanda is a more casual, informal Italian trattoria as compared to Otto Ristorante. We managed to rush there in time to secure my reservation, as they only hold the table for 15 min. We were greeted warmly upon entering the front door and shown to our table by the corner.

The restaurant exudes a cosy and intimate ambience; the walls are decorated with Italian dinnerware and a personal postcard collection from one of the owners while the shelves are filled with antique Italian memorabilia and recipe books. The bar area, boosting an extensive collection of alcohol, is perfect for those who are seeking to unwind after a long day at work. 

 After showing us to our table, the waiter swing by and presented us with a glass of champagne each, complimentary on the house to celebrate our wedding anniversary. How thoughtful of them :)

 

Can't wait to get started! 

Warm & crusty bread was served once we placed our orders. Leecher was famished and his hands headed straight to the bread basket before I could even snap a picture.

We went for a 3 course set dinner and started with breaded saffron risotto ball stuffed with taleggio cheese and green peas on beef ragout. This was absolutely delish, even though I'm not a fan of green peas. The only complaint - the risotto ball is too small!

For mains, I went for homemade squid ink angel hair pasta with lobster meat and basil pesto while Leecher had char grilled rack of lamb with arugula and sicilian cherry tomatoes salad. Hmm, why was Leecher's main served in fanciful italian dining ware while I get a plain plate? Nevertheless, both mains were well-executed.

 We ended the meal with vanilla panna cotta & chocolate drops. This was my kind of dessert (anything with dark chocolate & sweet) so I was delighted when Leecher offered his share to me, haha! Happily polishing 2 portions on my own :)

 ❤❤ Happy Anniversary ❤❤

Otto Locanda
32 Maxwell Road #01-03
Singapore 069115
Tel: 6224 0978
Opening Hours: Closed on Sundays

Holiday Blues

 

It's the time of the year where holiday seasons begin. I miss going on holidays ....

3rd Wedding Anniversary

 

3 years, 1096 days, we walked through another year of our marriage.

Happy Leather Anniversary, my love! 

 

2nd Wedding Anniversary at Alkaff Mansion

Last October, we celebrated our 2nd year of marriage. Gosh, I'm still trying to come to terms that we are married for 2 years and yet, we are slowly approaching our 3rd year soon. It felt like yesterday when we celebrated our first wedding anniversary. So, there was a bit of drama-mama courtesy of Leecher for forgetting our wedding date (as usual!). He certainly made up for it during our date :)

 

(pic credits to Alkaff Mansion website) 

Dinner venue was confirmed at Alkaff Mansion, a 2-storey bungalow turned restaurant located at Telok Blangah. This building dates back to 1918, where it was first built by the a member of the Alkaff family as a weekend house. Housed at the top of the hill, it offers a sweeping view of Keppel Harbour. 

 

We were shown to our table on the 2nd floor. Minutes later, the manager came over to our table and addressed us as Mr & Mrs Lim while giving us the menu. Wow, impressive service! I don't get addressed like this whenever I'm dining out, even when reservations are made beforehand. 

Leecher surprised me with a present, which made my day :) As you all know, Leecher is not very romantic and doesn't believe in showering me with gifts, apart from my yearly birthday present. So, I was extremely touched when he presented the gift to me ... very unlike of him! He actually remembered our conversation from months ago, when I caught sight of Pandora's new tagline "My Story, My Design". I'm a sucker for anything that tells a story, specially when it relates to special moment in life. So, I casually mentioned it to Leecher about buying a Pandora bracelet. Leecher gave me the DUH look (as always, whenever he thinks I'm spending unnecessary money on useless items) and said that this is all marketing, lol! 

 

When we alighted from the car, Leecher went to open the car's boot while I stood in front of the car, waiting for him. When he opened the boot, I blurted out "Are you getting a present for me from the boot?" In fact, at this moment, I only said this sentence just to tease him & see his NAH reaction. Since we didn't exchange presents on 1st anniversary, I was 100% certain that there won't be any present this year. He closed the car's boot with a slightly shocked expression on his face and a paper bag hanging on his fingers. LOL - his jaws-dropped expression was soooo funny. 

 

Presenting my own customised bracelet, from the hubby! He picked the wedding couple charm & topped it up with a couple of other charms in my fave colours :) I must admit I was really caught off-guard by this surprise - I actually felt guilty for not preparing a gift. Heh.

 We were quite famished by the time we placed our orders. Thankfully, the appetizer appeared swiftly on our table. We had Carpaccio di Salmone - marinated Scottish Salmon carpaccio with yellow frisee salad and salmon roe. This dish was light and refreshing; a perfect start to our evening :) 

 

Honestly, I can't recall the name of this dish. However, I do remember liking this so much that I stole several spoonfuls from Leecher's plate after finishing mine, lol! Leecher was on his no-carbo diet, so I was more than happy to finish it for him. 

Us, with our main courses :)

Leecher ordered baked sea bass, while I went for sliced beef tenderloin served with roast potatoes & grilled vegetables. Beef was absolutely juicy and wonderful (I had mine at medium-well) & exchanged vegetables with Leecher for sea bass, lol! Old habits, heh. 

 

We got another surprise for the night, courtesy of Alkaff Mansion!

We ended the night on a sweet note - in the form of 2 desserts :) The surprise was definitely memorable, given that Leecher doesn't pull this kind of stunt. Hmm, should I start praying for another surprise this year, heh?

Alkaff Mansion Ristorante

10 Telok Blangah Green,

Singapore 109178

Tel: 6510 3068

Email: enquiry@alkaff.com.sg

Birthday, 2013

 

Before the clock strikes 12, here I am sitting in front of my computer in the comfort of my home. Unlike other years where I'll be heading out for a nice dinner with the hubby, I "celebrated" my birthday onboard the plane flying back from Helsinki, Finland. Prior to this, I had a wonderful winter holidays across various states in Finland - from visiting Santa Claus in Rovaniemi, skiing in Levi, catching a magnificent display of Northern Lights in Nellim, enduring minus 36°C in the cold to staying in a glass igloo in winter wonderland. Everything that happened in these 16 days was simply amazing. 

I landed in Singapore on the evening of my special day & once I switched on my phone, I was touched to see all the birthday greetings that came in from all over the world. Thank you everyone for remembering my birthday :) Even though I had to put the laundry to wash, cleaned up the house & ate take-away food, I felt happy knowing that I had the most amazing journey thus far :)

My birthday takes precedence over all things else, but still ....

HAPPY 8th YEAR ANNIVERSARY, MY LOVE ❤ ❤ ❤

VW Golf Cabriolet

Leecher came home with a new toy one night (^^) Nah, we didn't get a new car - this was actually a replacement car for Jet since he was stuck in the VW workshop for routine servicing. We were all pretty excited at getting the cabriolet, so we decided to take it for a spin + take pics the following day :) 

 

Inside the car with the top still up. Hey, it's not that often that we get to drive a cabriolet ... so of cuz must drive with the top down to feel the wind in your face :)  

 

 Having fun with the top down was sure fun!

 Leecher clearly enjoyed this car, terming it as his fun car. Even though the specifications/horsepower for Golf Cabriolet is the same as Jet, Leecher somehow felt that drive on the carbriolet is smoother as compared to Jet.

I have not been driving for a very long time even though Leecher has been "forcing" me to take over the wheels again. While some people feel driving relaxes their mind, I'm one of the few that feel extremely stressful while on the roads. I would much prefer to be Leecher's GPS on the passenger seat, lol.

Leecher claimed that I'm biased towards the cabriolet for we didn't even took Jet out for a photoshoot when we first bought him, haha! After having the replacement car for 4 days, I was starting to miss Jet. For our practical usage, Jet was a more suitable candidate even though I don't deny that Golf Cabriolet has its strengths too (",)

Yet another year of marriage

Today, we celebrate our 2nd year of marriage life. Traditionally, cotton is the symbol for the 2nd year wedding anniversary. Cotton symbolizes the sweet and smooth flowing of the couples' relationship. Apart from a few obstacles, I thank life for being kind to me - most importantly letting me be close to the love of my life. 

Happy Cotton Anniversary, my love :)