Showing posts with label My Sweet Valentine ♥. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Sweet Valentine ♥. Show all posts

Thursday, October 30, 2014

3rd Wedding Anniversary

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

Happy Leather Anniversary, my love! 
 

Monday, June 2, 2014

2nd Wedding Anniversary at Alkaff Mansion

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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 :)
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(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. 
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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. 
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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! 
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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. 
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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.
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 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 :) 
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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. 
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Us, with our main courses :)
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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
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We got another surprise for the night, courtesy of Alkaff Mansion!
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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

Friday, November 8, 2013

Restaurant Week, 2013 edition: Taratata Bistro

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After our visit to Violet Oon's Kitchen, the 2nd stop for Restaurant week is Taratata Bistro, a Parisian-style chic bistro located along the rows of eateries at Keong Siak Street. Opened in 2011, I was surprised that I didn't hear of this bistro till now *mountain-tortoise, yet again*  Well, my motto is better late than never, so at least I got to give this a try :) 
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The "Closed" sign was hanging on the door when we arrived 3 min early for 1.15pm reservation. For a second, I wondered if I was at the wrong place. I opened the door & was greeted by the waitress that they will be open shortly. In the few minutes, a stream of customers had arrived and we all had to stand outside almost blocking the walk-way. 
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Egg-cited for our lunch meal :) 
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Finally, at 1.20pm, they opened their doors and we were greeted by the friendly manager before being ushered in to our respective tables. Did I mention that one of the guy waiter (captured in the pic above) is rather cute? HAHA!
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While I was in a dilemma over what to order, Leecher was more interested in his new phone (yet again!). He was busy exploring the various theme on his phone and finally put down his phone when I gave him the CAREBEAR stare. No, my carebear stare is not the friendly kind if you're wondering.
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Lunch-date!
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A basket of warm bread was served as soon as our orders were taken. 
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Since wine was on discount .... why not? heehee!
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As compared to the dinner menu, there are lesser items on the lunch menu. For appetizer, I had Demie-Douzanie d'Escargots au Beurre d'Ail Presille (half dozen snail baked in herbed garlic butter) while Leecher went or Saumon Marine Mi-Cuit au Poivre et Salade de Tomate Momotaro a I'Huile de Basilic (seared marinated salmon with black pepper & momotaro tomato salad with basil oil). Escargots were well-baked and goes extremely well with bread that I had to stop Leecher's hands from coming over, lol! Salmon was well-seasoned and light on texture. The mixture of tomato salad with basil oil was quite refreshing too.
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We get to choose b/w crispy baked pork trotter & mushroom fricassee or baked sea scallops with mussels, prawns and mushrooms for mains. We both decided to go for the scallops, since I'm a big fan of it :)
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 Scallops were succulent and juicy! Even though it came in a rather small baking dish, the serving was just enough for one individual. I was greeted with a generous serving of mussels and prawns underneath the blanket of melted cheese. Yums.
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Lastly, we were served with chocolate & caramel tart (with vanilla ice cream) for dessert :) 
Taratata Bistro
35A Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089142
Closed on Mondays

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Yet another year of marriage

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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 :) 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Restaurant Week, 2013 edition: Violet Oon's Kitchen

It was Restaurant Week once again in Oct. Even though I had my priority booking, I wasn't keen to try out any restaurants. Then itchy fingers me decided to try my luck when booking was made available to the public. I wasn't looking for anything in particular - more of browsing and if anything fits my slot, then it must be fate! Before I knew it, I had made reservations for 3 restaurants, oops! 
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Our first stop was Violet Oon's Kitchen. Nestled along Bukit Timah Road, locating this place was a breeze (all thanks to my trusty google map on iphone!). We arrived earlier, but were promptly ushered into the restaurant with a smile.
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 Violet Oon was known as a food columnist before being appointed as a food ambassador by Singapore Tourism Board. Through her travels, she brought home a rich knowledge of cuisines discovered aboard and married those gems with her beloved native Singaporean cuisine. 
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While I was expecting a more traditional Peranakan decor, I was surprised to be greeted with a clean black and white decor instead.
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Drinks selection, which we didn't try :( The Ka Gua sure looked  interesting :)
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I love it when there is fresh flower on every table! I have always contemplated on getting fresh flowers for the house, but never got around to doing it. Haiz, must procrastinate less so I can get more things done heh.
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Leecher with the ala carte menu, when we are ordering from the set menu - extra leh! 
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Say hello to the new Mrs Lim - his new Samsung Note 3. I think he was more excited over getting a new phone than marrying the REAL Mrs Lim, lol! Kept showing me the new functions while I just rolled my eyes as I find it extremely difficult to use.
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We started with Vietnamese Prawn Summer Rolls served with Chilli & Hoisin sauce. The skin was chewy BUT beansprouts tasted raw. I was expecting spicy chilli, but it tasted mild in reality.
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Leecher ordered Kuay Pie Tee ($18) from their ala carte menu. My my, these were extremely good! Julienne of bamboo shoot and turnip poached in a rich prawn bisque served in a deep fried "top hat" patty, topped with prawn. This was quite a different rendition from the usual kuay pie tee that are sold outside. Recommended!
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 There were 3 options to choose for main course - we settled for Buah Keluak Pasta & Beef Rendang. Buah Keluak Pasta was fried with garlic and chilli tossed in spaghetti. This was da-domb! I'm still not a fan of Buah Keluak, but the spiciness was a tad overwhelming for me. This was the kind of spiciness I was looking for :) Leecher was debating b/w having Beef Rendang or Kerabu Fish, but eventually settled for beef rendang. Beef was soft and tender that it simply melts in your mouth - nothing spectacular though.
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With newly crowned Mrs Lim again once we finished our main course. 
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Testing out Leecher's camera on the new phone. 
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Ended the meal with desserts - kuay beng kah (tapioca cake) and bubor cha cha panna cotta.
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The sky turned dark by the time we left the place. I would love to be back for their brunch menu if time permits :) 
Violet Oon's Kitchen
881 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 279893
Tel: 6468 5430
Opening Hours: 11.30am till 10pm, closed on Monday.
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