Purchases and Freebies

New stuff for this month!

Drugstore
My favourite mask was running low, so had to restock from a Drugstore spree. Was damn lucky to come across a spree where the organizer was going to use drugstore dollars to offset shipping!

My sister bought Aveeno Lip Conditioner, USD3.69.


My Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque, USD3.79 each. It's so good and cheap that I foresee myself sticking to it for the next 1 year. Decided to buy 2 of it in one shot to save on postage.

Spree organizer placed the order on 16 July and my parcel landed on my desk on 19 August. 1 month's wait! But it's totally worth it man, because on top of the drugstore dollars, the spree organizer even had 12% UOB discount for Vpost shipping, and don't forget the low exchange rate! Therefore, the USD->SGD conversion rate for this spree is 1.807.

In conclusion,
Aveeno Lip Conditioner SGD6.67
Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque SGD6.85 each

Yay!

Beauty Credit
HSBC sent me a mailer to redeem a free Travel Pack from Beauty Credit. (Got other stuff that required spending lah, so forget them)

CoQ10 essence, keratin shampoo and conditioner, and brown rice mask.

I thought it would be travel-size facewash and stuff, so was quite disappointed. Haven't use yet.

Fr3b
Joined the online free sample site, Fr3b and redeemed my first sample, Eucerin Hyaluron Filler Eye.

Haven't used it yet!

Well, I was charged 80 cents for postage, but the stamp on the envelope read 50 cents, so they overcharged me. I noticed it's flat postage, so next time I should redeem more at one shot or get potentially heavier items.

Monistat

Monistat's Soothing Care Chafing Relief Powder-Gel, $10 secondhand.


This thing is actually meant for relieving and preventing chafing in the inner thigh and bikini area, but those American women found a wonderful alternative use for it - as a makeup primer. My nose gets oily real fast and nothing helped so far, so I got this to try.

Tried it on a normal day to work. (No, I don't wear makeup to work, I'm a lazy sotong) It did work, but my nose still shined. Still, a vast improvement from Care Pre-makeup cream from last year. So... thumbs up?

Fish & Co Swordfish

Ken Noodle House wasn't open, nothing exciting to eat at Centrepoint, so it's Fish & Co after n years.

Ordered their swordfish which took ages to arrive. O boy, it's HUGE!
With sweet and spicy sauce.

The meat.

They were having a Nescafe promotion where we could get a free can of their new can coffee, but it's out of stock although the promotion was only 3 days old. And not many people around on a slow Sunday night. Waitress said it's crowded on Fridays. *rolls eyes*

Express Citizenship

... the China-born lass first caught the eye of the Singapore Table Tennis Association early 2007 ...

She was then coaxed into joining the Singapore team last March ...

... made a Singapore citizen in January this year.

So that's what, 9 months? :O

Takuya Did a LKY

Even Japanese tv wants to copy us.

j Must Be Followed With sp

I wanted to name a photo's extension to .jpg, but ended up with .jsp instead. *rolls eyes*

Of Reservations and Oily Cake

Thanks to KB for organizing the SWSNG gathering!

Our original plan was to dine at Square2, Pasta de Waraku. I volunteered to make the reservation.

1) Called if ask if they accept reservations. They do, great, so we can fix the venue there!

2) Called to reserve for 11 at 8pm, but the reply was that the latest time for reservations is 7pm. Why wasn't I told the last time? I asked KB to ask around who could come at 7pm and sit down first and order first, but only KB and I could. When only 2/11 has arrived, I felt there was the possibility that PDW wouldn't let us in. I didn't want to ask PDW about my fear lest I gave them ideas, like "wow, ya thanks for reminding, we won't let you in since only 2/11 are here!". Our final decision was to book anyway and play drag with them.

3) Called to reserve for 11 at 7pm. Now, the reply was that they couldn't accommodate 11 as they had to leave some tables for walk-ins. However, if we walked in, it's very likely we can get a table. What bloody logic?? I understand their concern, but if only they had been more upfront with me. But maybe I gave them ideas with my previous 2 phonecalls :\ All these goes to show that PDW doesn't have a clear reservation policy.

On the day itself, even with people arriving before 7pm, they couldn't secure a table for 11. We would have to wait for at least 20min and even then, PDW couldn't guarantee that the tables would be together. So what to do, find an alternative lor.

My sister passed by Secret Recipe just now and found it rather empty. GOOD! It's been long since I was there, 2006 I think.

Speed and pacing of serving the dishes were ok at first. Salad and drinks came before the mains, the way it should be. Unfortunately for M who came late, his Vietnamese noodles took too long. We asked them about it, no reply. Continued waiting long long. Either they truly forgot, or it's coming via MRT from the Bishan branch.

A number of items on the menu were unavailable despite the prime dinner time. The waitress explained that they only ordered limited quantities daily. Come on, we were easily the first round of dinner customers that night, run out so fast? But well, considering that we were also the last round of dinner customers, and in the first place, we were not even supposed to be there, they were forgiven.

No free iced water is served. They charge 50 cents for bottled water with a glass of ice. To maximize your 50 cents, order hot water. You will get a mug of hot water + the bottled water!

My sister and I ordered:
Their new Oxtail Stew. The portion is not big actually, because the bulk of it is bones. Due to the irregular shape of the bone, it's hard to eat cleanly. Gravy is nice, not too salty. Mashed potato is good considering the pricing, unfortunately nowhere comparable to Paulaner Brauhaus.

Picture koped without permission from... somewhere.

Not wanting to pay 50 cents for something that should have been free, we ordered Apple Katsuri, which is green apple with 酸梅. Nice!

Picture koped without permission from... somewhere.

Ok this is my own picture. This is the moist chocolate cake. A huge disappointment. My sister didn't know it would be served warm. I was ok with it being warm, but not ok with oil oozing from it! Walau gross can! I have accepted the fact that cakes are fat-loaded, but no need to show that the cake was so oil-saturated that oil come out! The cake wasn't moist as the name has claimed. Ok lah, it's more moist than your regular pandan cake. It's too 腻 for me; after a few mouthfuls, had to drink my Apple Katsuri. My yardstick for cakes must have crept up unknowingly, no thanks to July's feast. We left much of the chocolate alone.

Somebody ordered pasta. The longest strand was no more than 10cm, mostly around 3cm. Machiam leftover scraps!

My sister commented that the dinner wasn't nice. Ya, when my brother when I have been feeding her exotic food.

I don't know if I'll ever be back there again.

Sotongs is Surrounded by Aunties

What can turn ladies and taitais into aunties?

SALES!

For unknown reasons, I assumed the Triumph Warehouse Sale would be an annual affair. I waited and waited, and finally got the news that it would be back from 1-3 August! The venue has changed to Chevron, which is near my workplace. I should rejoice, but I wouldn't elaborate on the reason for why I didn't feel so. Moreover, it meant my mother and sister would be unlikely to join in the madness.

Nevertheless. I shared the news with a colleague, who in turn broadcasted it (expected :P). She offered to help me buy, but I declined since the fun in a sale is to chiong and pick on your own!

On 1 August, the first day of the sale, the ladies in my office all chionged during lunch. I couldn't resist and asked them to help me get a design that I really really die die must get :P They all returned happy with their 战利品, but couldn't find what I wanted. Nevermind... :\ Some even went during office hours. All came back to describe the horrendous crowd, having to 捞鱼生 and emerging triumph with their desired design and size and comparing buys. And watching people who look so 斯文 morph into an auntie once inside the sale.

Went home and thought about it. Making a trip down specially on Saturday morning wasn't a hard decision to make. I would have to forgo some sleep, nobody would be with me to help me 捞, but it shouldn't be a problem if I reached earlier than opening time, grabbed and be off right away, right?

So I was there 30 minutes before the stipulated 10am opening. Dismayed to observe people sneaking into the sale and being sent out. The mass of people outside the door burgeoned as time went by. When the doors opened, people appeared from all corners of the building and streamed through it :O Waa jialat ah...

The operation of the sale was similar to last year. We were handed clear plastic bags, no bags allowed. The workers quite nice ley, asked me if I needed a chair. No need lah! How to chiong seated? :P I headed straight to the design I wanted, but don't have my size ley! So hard to 捞 myself also T_T. A sales assistant came to me to promote a type of panties called "Lilac" that prevents leaks during periods, going for 5 for $15. I was kind of looking for that, but it's low priority, so I asked her to help me find what I wanted. She directed me to a trolley that she thought was more worth it. Ehh the seamless T-shirt bra! Wa 3 for $30 only! So found some for me and went back to tend her Lilac trolley.

I tried to walk around a bit more, but found the place getting challenging. After my father finished his phone call, he was starting to look like the numerous bored-looking men standing at the perimeter. I've gotten the essentials I wanted, not worth to tire myself over optional items. Forget the panties, and looking at the Lilac! Bye!

Total damage: $30, but still happy :D