Wisma Atria - Heniu Teppanyaki & Starbucks

Boyfriend suggested the teppanyaki at Wisma Atria foodcourt for quite a few times when we were in town.
Decided to check out this place, since he said it was good and cheap.

Well, cheap maybe - compared to other food in town - but good? Nah.

There are different sets to choose from, with beef, lamb, pork or chicken.
Both of us chose the value set at $7.90++ which comes with a plate of meat, veggies, rice and miso soup.
I had the beef set, while my bf had the lamb set.
He commented that the beef was nicer than the lamb, but I thought the lamb tasted pretty good
HOWEVER, the aftertaste of the lamb was very strong - I'm sure I won't be able to stomach the whole plate of lamb meat. A little was still okay.
Anyway, all the items (miso, veggies and meat) were really salty. Big thumbs down.

 Ordered a cup of lemon barley to share, this costs $2.
PLEASE buy your drinks from somewhere else (in Food Republic) before coming here
This lemon barley is a con, haha, I thought it was homemade version (well, I assumed) but it tasted like the packet lemon barley from YEO'S wtf.

 The plus point for me was to watch the chef cook the dishes in front of me hehe.
Felt like a kid - I'm always intrigued by cooking shows!
Initially, they were cooking at other stations, and I was sulking about that.
Luckily one chef came over to do the dishes!

My aim to Orchard was to purchase sunglasses, but I didnt accomplish that today -.-
Saw a nice sunglasses at F21 @ 313 but when I was over at the Orchard outlet, I couldn't find the same design!
Argh, lazy to walk back to 313 though.

Since we walked so much today, we decided to sit down at Starbucks, using my free voucher (from starbucks tumbler)
I wanted to try the Green Tea Frappucino, but was having "women's problem", so I chose a hot drink.
Settled for the Green Tea Latte
And, as a green tea fan, I really dislike the green tea latte at Starbucks!
Learnt my lesson - I should just order coffee related drinks there instead of green tea :(

Astons - Bugis+

I think everyone should be pretty familiar with Astons, a Western dining place that charges NO GST or service charge (you could also think of it as both charges are already included in the food)

However prices for their food is really reasonable - no wonder the restaurant always see brisk business!

Suggested to go Astons today at Bugis+ and my bf had the cravings too.

Since I'm losing blood (LOL), I decided to order the Prime Sirloin.

Haha, I always think beef gives the most iron - not sure if it's true though!

The Prime Sirloin costs $14.90, with 2 sides.

I chose the onion rings, which I love, and their House salad!

The steak came in medium - the last time I ordered, it was medium rare, and there were too much blood for me, and my mum kept nagging that I should eat it cooked!

Before I went, my mum reminded me to get the beef cooked well. LOL, my mum is a darling.

Sadly, the steak didn't impress today.

I've to say, its visuals were good - look at the grilled lines, but on the first bite, the meat was too tough.

The mushroom sauce was too diluted, onion rings which I love tasted below-average.

The only passable item was the House salad - I LOVE VEGGIES :)

For my bf, he tried the lemon chicken, which we thought tasted better than my steak.

It costs $8.90 with 2 sides - he ordered the mac & cheese and potato wedges (talk about boring LOL, joking)

Not much comments for the wedges, but the mac&cheese needs to improve.

The cheese tasted so diluted, it shouldn't be called mac & cheese, but mac & water.

Overall, passable experience there.

But be prepared to wait for 15 minutes during lunch hours!

Zalora First Time Buyer - The Experience + Exchange Process

I've been browsing through Zalora for the longest time, but never got down to buying anything from them.
It's not like I don't see anything fanciful, it's just the price.
Some of the clothes are nice, but I'd rather buy them outside which could be cheaper:/
So, when the sale season started in line with GSS, I knew I had to buy something, ONLY if the item was worth the price!

I've to say I'm not a shopaholic, and I can definitely control my spending very well :P
During the GSS season, I bought quite a number of stuffs - some discounted, some not (but at a decent price).
Things like bras, clothes, watches etc can be bought while the sale season is on!
Haven't bought any shoes from Singapore though.

Anyway, I've been eyeing on this dress in Zalora for a few days.

Floral Block Skater Dress from Something Borrowed

I asked my bf and my brother if it looks nice, but both said it was soso.
However, I just couldn't keep my eyes off it - and the price was not bad too!
I mean, typical blogshop dresses cause around $28-$33 these days right.
But this dress costs only $18 (excluding shipping) teehee.
I've been loving floral designs recently, (okay, let's not talk about me following the trends), and have loved block designs long ago.
I think this dress is pretty decent for its price don't you think so?

And, because there's free delivery only if you spend more than $30, I decided to source for another item!
Came across this shoe from Koumi Koumi, and I thought it look pretty cute hehe

Qabil Glitter Flat

People who know me knows I love anything glittery, especially shoes haha!
Sometimes my bf goes horrified by my shoe choices (my TOMS shoe used to be gold glittery)
Unfortunately, there wasn't my size (EU35) in black glitter, so I settled with these grey ones!
This pair of shoes reminds me of what I wore when I was a kid (I hope people don't laugh at me when I wear this out!)

Decided to cart them out and made payment this noon (23rd June, Sunday)!
Yay, easy peasy - but my money goes out fast as well lol
Hopefully these are good purchases!

According to Zalora, goods will be:

• DELIVERED IN 1 - 3 WORKING DAYS
  FREE DELIVERY AVAILABLE
  CASH ON DELIVERY
  30 DAYS FREE RETURN

1. Just received an email in the evening that my items are shipped out!
2. Received an sms by TA-Q-BIN at 8.30pm with a tracking number. Bad thing is, it did not state when is the delivery time 

----

Surprise! Today (24th June), I received my parcel at 1030am!

Very impressed with the effiency, since this was my first ever purchase from Zalora.

Googled about Zalora and actually saw a couple of bad reviews in forums, so I was praying mine had no problem - thank God.

Free coupon with any purchase of shoes! 

Won a $10 voucher :)

I've to say I'm rather pleased with my purchases.
The shoes were decent, just a tad too loose for my skinny feet, and not exactly comfortable.

As for the dress, it was true to the picture.

The quality of the dress was rather good - thick and not filmsy.

But again, it was a little bit loose for me because I'm too skinny.

 

Generally, my first purchase in Zalora was an awesome one - hassle free!

Will be buying again (using my voucher ;))

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UPDATE (25th June)

LOL, just one day after I received my package, I bought something from Zalora again :(

This time round, in order to utilize my $10 voucher, I decided to cart out an elastic white pants!

Thus, I only paid $10.20 for it (inclusive of $3.90 shipping)!

Not a very wise move, but I've nothing else to buy to reach free shipping!

Pretty impressed with the quality of "Something Borrowed", hopefully the pants is a good buy!
---
27th June, 7.30pm

So I just collected my pants.
Don't think the delivery this time was via Ta-q-bin, but rather by their own delivery team.
Anyway, I'm still impressed with the efficiency!

However, the pants wasn't flattering to my figure boo

That sums up my second experience purchasing from Zalora! Yay!
---
3rd July

Just found out that my dress has a black line that could not be erased even after I tried rubbing it with a little water.
Decided to email the Zalora customer service about this matter.
The next day, I got a call from their staff apologizing for the matter, and they asked if I wanted a refund or exchange.
Since I thought the dress was rather pretty (although unflattering on my body :[), I decided to do an exchange.
We set the exchange on 2nd July 9am-12pm.
UNFORTUNATELY, the courier didn't come on time!
And it so happens that I need to rush out to meet my bf for our graduation gown fitting.
Called their customer service at 12.10pm, and asked if the courier is coming soon.
I have to say the guy's accent was a bit too strong for me to comprehend what he was saying, but I did try my best to understand.
I spend like 15 minutes telling him my email address for him to check the process, and he kept repeating my query, and so I had to keep repeating that "I just need to know when the courier is coming, if he's coming soon, I can wait a while. If not, it'll be best to schedule it tomorrow?"
After that he said he'll get back to me via email on whether the courier is coming or not =.=
So I decided to just heck and went out.
Before that, I submitted an email to them and told them I can't wait, and asked for a reschedule.

Until today, I've yet to see any email from the guy, who promised to update me what time the courier is coming LOL.
Never mind about that - my exchanged item came today at 12+
It was FUSS FREE, kudos to Zalora team!

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11 Feb 2014 edit:

iPrice coupons (a small start-up) provides latest discount codes for stores such as Zalora.
You may wish to click on the link for some discount codes which you can utilize.
I'm not paid to do them a favor, but I guess, good things (i.e discount) should be shared.

3 Reasons why couples should travel together

Having experienced 2 overseas trip (bangkok, korea & upcoming bali) with my boyfriend, I realized how important it is for couples, to go on overseas trips together - before marriage.
This post is inspired by the post here.
But my story and opinion is different from theirs; the vacations that my bf and I embarked on are relaxing, and rather romantic cities.
However, there are still a lot of things you can learn about each other, regardless of which countries you go too.
The main point is to advocate couples to spend a few days together in a foreign land, and/or in close proximity.
Trust me.
It is rewarding :)

1. A vacation add sparks to your relationship.

Regardless of how long you've been with your partner, a vacation is a good way to strengthen bonds.
Being together in a foreign land makes both of you a little more vulnerable than in your native land. With only each other as company, it's YOU & ME VS OTHERS.

2. Create special memories overseas

And this memory is lifelong. Bring along a camera. Take more photos. Edit it, Print it out.
Remind yourself how much memories and happy times you've spend with him!

Watch a sunrise, watch a sunset. Enjoy each others' presence.

3. Learn more about each other - are we compatible?

Travelling is the time when you get to learn the good and the bad of your partner.
Through the vacations, I began to appreciate and got more impressed of my boyfriend.
When overseas, he would be making sure I was well-taken care of.

When we were in Bangkok, I had menstrual cramps (sucks man) and had to hole myself up in the hotel room. I couldn't walk because my legs and back were aching (seriously, I hate myself for these pains).
Although I know he was reluctant to waste the afternoon in the hotel with me, he still did.
Things such as boiling hot water for me, willingness to buy food for me so that I can rest properly.
What more could I ask for?

Next, I also found out that he was really good with directions - and I am a self-confessed direction noob. He was there to guide me on where to go. For instance, at Platinum Mall, if I was left alone to shop, I'm sure I would walk back to the same spot again, or even lose my way back. But he was able to recognize which lanes we had walked, and brought me to new lanes we both haven't been too. It's funny how its our first time there, yet he was able to guide me around.

In Korea, he even guided me to the subway stations although I had been there before. Who says you need to know Korean to walk the streets? My bf can't even speak simple Korean nor understand the words, but he was able to lead the way. Obviously, I felt dumb for bragging about how well I knew Seoul, especially Ewha.

He's like my street map.

Find out new things about each other. Test your compatibility. Minor things such as sleeping habits, eating habits, temper, communication etc can be easily discovered when both of you are together for such a long period of time. Are you able to handle his "flaws" or habits that are different from yours? What about him?

These are interesting questions to think about before marriage :)

Haze woes

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/haze-reaches--unhealthy--level-in-singapore-085448213.html

The haze problem in Singapore has been ongoing for years.
I remembered back in 1997, when I was in Primary 1, Singapore faced serious haze issue.
If I did not remember wrongly, there was no school during then too?
And guess what, the record breaking PSI haze back then was (only, compared to now) 252.

However, the PSI readings these few days easily broke that.

It's been a few days since the haze - precisely because of a lack of wind (to blow the haze away) and also rain, the haze is still lingering around.
Unfortunately, it has infiltrated my house - MY DAD OPENS ALL WINDOWS citing the lack of air
Seriously, I don't understand their logic - the air outside sucks, opening the windows will make it worse right?
Worst, our 3 bedrooms house has only 1 aircon; in the master bedroom.
I'm forced to hide in my room, with windows closed.
My windows has been closed ever since the haze got serious - and the fan is on at the max speed.

This morning when I woke up, I opened my door to the kitchen to brush my teeth
GOD. The smell was unbearable.
You see, when the haze linger in the air for too long, it gets smellier.
We're unable to cloud-seed because the meteorological station says the conditions aren't desirable for cloud seeding.
Furthermore, it is expected that the haze may continue for months, with the dry conditions in Sumatra!
I am having difficulties breathing, and my eyes are itching :(
I wonder if I'll step out to see a doctor to treat these haze-related issues, because exposing myself outside right now, seems like a stupid decision.
I really hope things will turn better because there are too many elderly and the young, or even the poor who may not even have a fan!
Saw so many immature comments online and I realized many of them are well-to-do enough to own AIR PURIFIER (what, I don't even have it at home - vacuum cleaner I have la), ON AIR CON WHOLE DAY (my house only got 1 small aircon unit lor, I don't even get to use it), WEAR N95 MASKS (out of stock, so nobody in my house is wearing it, but we do have simple masks) etc.
So, please appreciate what you have and don't complain anymore.
There are people having it much worse, and no, I think I'm lucky enough already.
------------
Anyway, I'll be heading to Bali Nusa Dua on 8th July.
I'm not sure if Bali is affected (google shows it isn't), even that, what if the airplanes are not able to fly off on that day?
I'm taking Tiger airlines, and we know budget airlines are........untimely, mostly.
I'm praying hard that the weather conditions will improve by then!
I've already booked my villa - sneak peek for you guys:


(and if I cancel it, it'll be forfeited, DAMN)

Right now, I don't know how it is like having normal air in Singapore anymore.
I believe Singaporeans should not take fresh air for granted.

Nonsense, don't bother reading

I do wonder who am I living for.

When I'm at home, I sometimes feel like I'm invisible.
My parents seem to treat me less well than their sons.
If I don't wash the dishes, they'll nag and say.
If I wash it, I dont get complimented.
What about their sons? One of them does not EVER wash any!
When I'm using the computer, they would nag and say I'm doing nothing at home
Sometimes shouting that I'm useless, staying at home contributing nothing.
When you do good, why is it that no one ever compliment you?

These days, spending time alone at home has been unproductive and horrible.
When you have nothing to do, there's high chances of you overthinking.
A while ago, I was looking through instagram, admiring others' lives.
Why are their lives so much better?
But then again, I am reminded of a Thoughtcatalog article - about how lives seem to be so perfect on social media.
Sometimes I know, with my every post on instagram, I'm out to gather likes, out to gather admiration (oh, you went there! lucky you. oh, you are living such a good life!)
Yet, in reality, you know those posts are just....well, to make people jealous.

I also thought about how few friends I've.
I'm already out of my university life - no more school friends to befriend.
If I am to count the number of close friends I can call if I've any troubles, I can only say 2? (Including my bf)
I do realise I rely too much on my boyfriend.
If you realize, most of my posts in this blog talk about places that I've been to - with my boyfriend.
He's the one I go out with most often, and it's really true that you get close to the one you always hang out with.
However, a guy is a guy - sometimes you just want a female counterpart to talk to.
What if I quarrel with my bf, and he did something I can't comprehend?
I know there's 1 girl friend that I can turn to to talk, but sometimes she do give comments that I don't really want to hear (I know, don't judge me anymore, I'm hard to please)
It's just that when you're angry, you wouldn't want your friend to tell you - eh, your bf is right la. OR, eh you're in the wrong lor!
Save these later please.....although I do know my friend takes a neutral stand la.

Currently, I'm unemployed.
Have been unemployed for 1 month plus - considering I just graduated (end school) in May.
Send out tons of resumes, went for 2 (+1 phone) interviews but alas, no success
Seriously wonder if there's something wrong with my capabilities.
Got called for an OCBC interview thinking, omg I could highly secure a bank job, however, I think I just don't know how to speak - well.
Furthermore, the OCBC HR personnel was yawning while I was talking halfway (rude) and it disrupted my train of thoughts.
Well, I can't do anything about this!
Back to the unemployed status, I truthfully feel jealous every time I see my course mate securing jobs.
Actually only a few got jobs la, but then, you start to realize it's about luck.
So what if my grades are better than theirs? They got lucky with the jobs they applied for!
They can speak better blah blah.
At the end of the day, I need a lot of luck to do well, and to grab onto opportunities.

Argh, enough nonsense.

Jeju 2013 - Food to Eat

Jeju, currently one of my favourite land in the world.
However, I can't say much about the food there.
To be honest, it was quite disappointing :(

AND, both my bf and I did not get a chance to try the BLACK PORK at all! :'(
Instead, we made a turn to a restaurant listed as NUMBER 1 in Jeju on Tripadvisor.
Sigh, I pasted the postal code on our itinerary just as a reference.
Not expecting to go there at all, because it was bloody expensive.
However, on that particular day, I was too tired from the drive around Jeju Island (haha, my bf is gonna kill me - he's the one driving, but I'm complaining?!),
and since we didnt know where to head for our food...my bf just keyed in whatever was on the itinerary.
It was only when we were at Jeju City that I asked where we are heading to *facepalm*

1. Gwangwon Restaurant
Behold, the most expensive meal I had in South Korea. Even my korean friend was shocked to hear the price.
But I have to say, it was an experience - while the prices were luxurious, you'd expect the staff to be able to speak English.
Unfortunately, they don't, but they were really friendly in meeting our needs.
The moment we entered, we were greeted by staff at the concierge, and they asked if we wanted a room for privacy.
However, I declined - not sure why not but aiya never mind la

Throughout our meal, the staff would look at our table and teach us how to grill the meat.
But it was kinda uncomfortable having them constantly around LOL

Look at the prices below! We should have come during lunch period la FML.
It was so much cheaper! Read more to find out how much the whole meal cost :(

Ordered the marbled boneless short ribs

Here's the thing, I remembered I said I wanted 1 serving of this - however when they billed us, we were charged with 2 servings! (no wonder there was a lot of meat on the plate la T.T)

So, here goes a costly miscommunication!

 The next thing we ordered was the Yangmyeon galbi

Truthfully, the meat (mind you, it's BEEF) is of good quality la.
I mean, look at the marbled lines!
But for 2 students, this meal was :O

 The staff was helping us to grill every now and then.

Total damage: 90,000 won (2 servings of marbled beef + 1 serving of marinated beef)
But was it worth it?
I can safely say so, most of the time, people eat Pork BBQ instead of Beef BBQ, so this was quite a dining experience for us.
And really, we were extremely full after the meal - couldn't move much when I reached the hotel LOL
Sadly, because of this, we didnt get the chance to eat black pork bbq, since it was our last day boohooo
So guys, remember to try out the famous black pork bbq alright?
And, try heading to Gwangwon restaurant too - during lunch; or try to pronounce properly for 1 serving of marbled beef hahahah

2. Dongmun market

 Didn't see anything to buy at Dongmun except fruits and chocolates.
I should have at least bought some tangerines to try, but I didn't
Argh, I seriously think I'm one of the worst travellers around!
Anyway, we bought 5 boxes of Jeju Chocolates at 10,000won - a bulk of it lies in my fridge as of now -.-

Guess what I saw at Dongmun market!
What a sight -.- Sorry if you guys are offended by this, feel free to scroll down, just thought it was weird to see pig heads right in front of the stalls.
There were quite a few stalls having these pig heads outside!

Since there wasn't much food to eat in Dongmun (okay, I think its because we can't communicate well in Korean that's well - I suppose there are stalls there for your meals!), we headed out to a nearby Korean stall.

Bf had bibimbap - which was bad according to him; and I had dwenjang jjigae (fermented soybean paste soup) which was just average.

3. Coffee Tree J Cafe near Hamdeok beach

Near Hamdeok beach lies many different restaurants, so you can consider having your meals here before or after touring the beach!

For us, since we had our meals already, we headed to this cafe for our daily dosage of caffeine.

Do try the coffee here because it's really good!

Coffee were also made from freshly powdered beans!

Here's our white coffee mocha topped with whipped cream :)

4. Seafood steamboat At Seongsan Illchulbong

Right outside of Illchubong is a stretch of seafood steamboat stalls waiting for your entrance.
We just randomly entered one - I can't remember the name but it was the biggest stall; since the auntie looked friendly and nice
Anyway, prices for seafood steamboat are the same la - QUOTE ME BECAUSE I ASKED EVERY SINGLE STALL

Many side dishes as usual - I'm not complaining

BUTBUTBUT, the steamboat was DISAPPOINTING!

Not fresh one :( 

There were 2 abalones in this pot - 1 was already dead; you could tell because the abalone wasn't moving when the pot was boiling.

Verdict: food not fresh, abalone is too hard - aiya SINGAPORE SEAFOOD BETTER LA

 

Well, that concludes the end of my Jeju food guide - sorry to disappoint, but the food I ate wasn't anything special.

However, it's the scenery that makes Jeju a MUST GO PLACE IN KOREA!