Christmas Eve Dinner

It was rather "last minute" where we decided to eat at home for Christmas eve. Not wanting to pay the outrages dinner & also avoid the squeeze as well. I remember last year we invited a few friends for Christmas dinner & we ordered Cold Storage ready dinner. They were actually quite good too.

This were what I manage to whip out after an afternoon shopping at NTUC Finest.

The entire meal that I started cooking since 3pm in the afternoon


This was the platter of food which include... drunken chicken wings, sausages, honey bake ham, my homemade mash potato & white button mushrooms simmer with chicken stocks.


This is the chinese style dumpling soup from the chicken stocks balance from the chicken which I cook in the afternoon.


Then the must have veggies. Salad


Trust me I was tired after all these cooking.

I went to the Flyer Again

This time round I brought my family over. Daddy, 2 rascals & Eric. We are there in the afternoon & the weather was perfect. I would say its another new experience for me where over a month ago, due to some "Feng Shui" reasons, The Singapore Flyer decided its more better to rotate the huge wheel clockwise rather then the original anti-clockwise direction.

Here were some of the pics taken on that day.

Simon always like to make funny faces in front of the camera



Ricky is afraid of heights


Pictures with daddy






The boys playing around the capsule. We are lucky to have a capsule by ourselves.




Goodbye......

Singapore Garden Festival

Last Friday, I took a off from work. Close friends around me will know when I am off, I'll be at my mommy place for the entire day. I love to laze there, she will cook me all the meals & what I need to do is eat & sleep.

However I decided to bring her out for lunch & visit the Singapore Garden Festival instead on Friday.


I knew mom loves flowers & definitely she'll like the place.


The exhibition consist of 2 levels. Level 6 will be the main attraction area where all the award winning garden arrangements were shown. Here are just some of nice flowers.
Red & White Anthurium



Africa Lilies & Hydrangea



White Roses & I think is Chrysanthemum



Snaps of us





The award winning Best of Show for Fantasy Design Creation - Seeking Shangri-La



Its not only flowers, ain't these veggies looks delicious too

Mom's birthday dinner @ Plaza Market Cafe

There are many food bloggers around & so you wouldn't see me blogging much on food anyway. However I don't deny the fact that I love food although I am very choosy on what I eat.

Last Sunday 21st July, its the actual day for my mother in law birthday. Over the last couple of years, normally we go to some restaurant. This year we decided to do something different.
Buffet...

Well normally on dinner there will be dishes serve to us & we eat. I thought of getting buffet is because the boys are all grown up & I think they will like it.

Moreover I know my father in law also likes to eat, but he eats very fast. Maybe its a man thing.
We all went to the Fairmont Hotel (its Raffles The Plaza la..) they have change name recently...
The restaurant name is the Plaza Market Cafe & it serve Peranakan as main with also cold cuts like oyster, sashimi, prawns & other shell fishes.

Here are some of pics taken. Not that clear though as the restaurant manager is staring at me...

This is part of the main course spread


The Suhi Chef


Nice Soup


After the meal

More than a Red Dot

Today 21st Feb 2008, its not only the last day of the Lunar New Year, its not only the day where the New Year TOTO Jackpot draw happens & someone may become a Millionaire...

Today the ENTIRE Singapore Celebrates being the First Hosting Nation to hold the Inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010!



SINGAPORE - Singapore erupted in celebration on Thursday after winning the right to host the inaugural Youth Olympics in 2010, with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calling it a new era for Southeast Asian sport.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the Games to the city-state ahead of Moscow by a vote of 53 to 44. It will be the first time that Singapore is hosting a multi-disciplinary sporting event of such a magnitude.

"Friends and fellow Singaporeans, congratulations to all of us," said Mr Lee in front of thousands of cheering supporters wearing red and white, the colours of the national flag.

"It is a great honour and privilege for all of us. It will be the first time that the Olympic flame will be in Southeast Asia and in Singapore.

"We will be the focus of a new era for sporting development for Southeast Asia and Singapore. We worked very hard, it was a national effort, but more than that it was a people effort."

Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth, and Sports, called it "an historic day".

"By choosing Singapore, the IOC has declared that it is possible for small young cities like Singapore to host the Olympic movement," he said.

"On Friday, the hard work begins. I know we will succeed because every Singaporean will go all out to welcome the youth of the world to Singapore in 2010."

Moscow had Russian President Vladimir Putin in its corner, far deeper pockets than Singapore in terms of budget, and long-standing ties with the IOC on its side. But Singapore played its size-is-not-everything card to perfection.

A huge buzz has been generated among Singaporeans, with people from all backgrounds in the nation of 4.5 million people supporting the bid.

Online, they have shown their backing by blogging, chatting on forums, posting videos and setting up websites. And more than 550 companies publicly backed the bid.

The brainchild of IOC chief Jacques Rogge, the Youth Olympics will feature traditional sports such as athletics and swimming, and also some innovative events such as beach-wrestling and BMX bike riding.

Rogge made the announcement himself from the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, ending a process that originally started with nine cities in contention. This was whittled down to Athens, Bangkok, Turin, Singapore and Moscow before it became a two-horse race.

"This is a key moment for the Olympic movement," said Rogge. "Singapore has put together a very exciting project. Hosting the Youth Olympic Games for the first time is a great responsibility, and I have every confidence in the team in Singapore.

"I have no doubt that their professionalism and enthusiasm will be instrumental in the staging of a successful Youth Olympic Games in 2010."

The Games will see 3,500 athletes, aged between 14 and 18, competing in 26 sports.

Singapore is proposing 24 venues, with four being built as temporary facilities, including one large cluster of 13 facilities in its Marina-Kallang area.

The Youth Olympic Village will be located at a new multi-million-dollar student residential complex at the National University of Singapore, slated for completion months before the event.

Singapore is budgeting US$75.5 million to run the Olympics, covering everything from educational and cultural programmes to development of services and transport. The Games will run from August 14-16.

Sources from Channel News Asia

We are the Winners.

Collin & Adrain, I am so proud of you being the winners of the Amazing Race Asia Season 2.

You have proven the fact that disability is not an excuse for one to archive his/her dream with determination & strong will.

Congratulations.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY - LARRY!!!!!

I will like to dedicate this post to my Friend Larry Medina.

Happy Birthday!

My Fostering Youths From Malaysia & Brunei

You may have read in one of my early blog post where yearly Eric & I will participate in this SSEAYP (Ship for South East Asia Youth Program). In short this program actually sails youths from SEA countries + Japan around the region.

Its the time of the year again where this time round we have 2 nice gals from Malaysia (KL) & Brunei.

In their short 3 days stay with us, we do really enjoy ourselves much & too bad next year Nippon Maru is not sailing to Singapore as Pit Stop.

We start off the day with breakfast at Yakun



As both of our gals are Buddhist & so happen that day was 初一 from the Chinese lunar calendar, with lots of bravery I brought them to 四马路 观音庙. The human traffic were intense. We managed to make our prayers & leave within 30mins.


Straight after this, we head down to URA Centre to view the exhibition of the Singapore City Gallery.



How can visiting Singapore without seeing Merlion & Singapore River.




Next we headed to the Esplanade where its just a stone throw away. While we are taking a stroll down to City Link, there were exhibits of children art along.




Lastly we end our day visiting the Indoor Stadium.


The next day its time for them to board back the ship to sail to the next destination. How can they leave Singapore without trying our famous chicken rice.


Well its really sad to bid farewell but I am happy to learn much from them.