Leecher's Birthday 2013

 

 TGIF & I'm back from KL once again! Been travelling there quite frequently recently, with another trip to be scheduled next week. Exactly 3 weeks ago, Leecher added another birthday candle to his cake. This birthday boy didn't want to think of where/how to celebrate his birthday, took a long time to look through the list of places that I've proposed, machiam like a boss! Finally, he picked the places where he was more interested in and off we went for a day of feasting :) 

 

Birthday boy slept till late morning ~ normally I would have dragged him out of bed, but on his special day, he is the King, haha! He even left all the dishes in the sink (from last night) and told me to wash it, since it was his birthday. What to do, birthday boy is the biggest on the day.

Sunny afternoon in a quiet (private) housing estate. In fact, I had to google for the exact location to turn into the right car park for there was a lot of construction around the area for the downtown line. Didn't know that there were other eateries around the area as well ~ will definitely be back for more food adventures! 

 

While Leecher was dressed in dull colours, I wore bright colours since it was a sunny & no-work day, haha! 

Walking & taking pictures have now become a part of our lives, lol.

1st stop of the day ~ Brunch @ NOOK pancakes, where you get to D.I.Y your own pancakes :) Unleash your creativity and take part in the Pancake Art Competition on their faceook page & stand to win prizes every month. 

Create your D.I.Y pancakes in 4 simple steps :) The place was rather crowded on a weekday afternoon, much to my surprise. I was half expecting to see an almost empty cafe. Mostly youngsters studying from the schools nearby, I suppose.

 

Plastic flowers at every table to brighten up the place with its cheery colours. 
 

Birthday boy with the menu & ordered the DIY set ($25) which comes with 1-flavoured pancakes with 3 choices of toppings. 2-flavoured pancakes with 3 choices of toppings is also available at $28. If I recall correctly, the flavours for pancakes includes original, strawberry, pandan, dark chocolate & banana. Each DIY set is enough for 2 pax. 

 

Felt slightly cheated by this Power Berries drink @ $3.90. This drink was under the category of "Fresh Fruit Juice" so I ordered it thinking that it will be freshly squeezed or blended with the different berries. However, this was straight out from Marigold Peel Fresh Powerberries. Skip all drinks under their "Fresh Fruit Juice" category and go for their smoothies instead.

A griddle is placed on every table for you to enjoy the flip-the-pancake experience.

 

Preparation works in progress ....

 

Leecher's choice of 3 toppings ~ peanut butter pecans, chedder cheese and rainbow cornflakes. Maple syrup & butter come with the set. 

 

We also ordered 3 additional sides ~ hashbrown, sauteed mushrooms and smoked salmon. Highly recommend the smoked salmon for it goes really well with the pancakes!

 

Birthday boy ready to unleash his creativity! 

 

Let's see what he came up with 

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Erm, not v creative, haha! He was famished (as we didnt had any food and it was way past 2pm when we arrived), so he just wanted to eat his pancakes to curb his hunger pangs, lol!

 

At least I did a doggy paw for him, since he was born in the year of the dog. 

 

Birthday greetings for the birthday boy. 

He claimed the heart was dull, so he went on to add rainbow cornflakes to add some colours. this is what we called "花心"

 

Forced smile ~ why like that? Not nice meh? (>.<)

 

Leecher's failed creation of boy + girl. Where got the girl larger than guy? 

 

My secret wish, lol! Wanted to do (h) for happiness, but I think he may not get the hint.   

 

Can you guess what this is?   

Haha, someone's hands v itchy! 

 
Ended the day with a birthday message that I've posted on FB :) Overall, it was a fun experience DIY-ing your own pancakes, will be back for more of their sides as well!  

NOOK Pancakes

21 Lorong Kilat, Bukit Timah

#01-03 Singapore 598123

Tel: 6466 1811

Closed on Mondays

 Dinner @ Da Paolo, located in Chip Bee Gardens. Took this pic after we finished our meal.
 

The initial dinner place that we decided was Tamon Izakaya, but after reading several reviews, we decided to change location. It was a battle b/w Da Paolo (Leecher's choice) versus Alkaff Mansion (my choice). Needless to say, we went for Leecher's choice. So, I called days earlier to reserve a table for 2 at 7pm, for a birthday celebration. When I asked if they do any cakes, they suggested Tiramisu instead and I was told that they will reserve a piece for me, with wordings Happy Birthday.  

 

We arrived bright & early at 6.45pm. The restaurant was rather empty. We got a table for 2 just outside the toilet. Not that I'm complaining, but I would expect a more decent seat since the place was empty.

 

Somewhere here would be nice. And, during the course of our dinner, only 2 tables were filled up. 

 

Birthday boy with the menu, once again. We ordered 1 appetizer to share & 2 mains, with a glass of wine. The waiter took our orders (memorising since he didn't use pen/paper), only to check with us 10 seconds later on our appetizer again. 

 

Wicker feature wall ~ felt just like dining in a resort. 

 

Bread that could easily topped my worst-list.  

 

While waiting for our food.
 
Prosciutto di Parma e Melone ~ Parma ham with rock melon. Generous serving of rock melon, which complemented the saltiness of parma ham perfectly. 

Our mains of Risotto di Spinaci e Aragosta (Carnaroli Rice, Baby Spinach, Slipper Lobster, Lobster Bisque) & Arrosto Galletto di Patate Miste (Spring Chicken, Black Truffles, Roasted Root Vegetables). Till now, Leecher's wine still hasn't arrived and we had to remind them on this. Not to mention that it was kinda difficult to catch their attention even though there were 4 of them, serving around 5 tables (at most).

Great disappointment on the food. Leecher's risotto was too bland while the chicken dish was too salty. The only saving grace was the smell of truffles, which made the dish smelt delicious. The wine finally appeared on the table, thank god!

 

Leecher wanted to head off to somewhere else for desserts, but since I already had something planned for him, I ordered a tiramisu (thinking that it will hint to them on the tiramisu that I had reserved). The order came, without any birthday greetings. In fact, the plating looked as if the tiramisu was thrown haphazardly onto the plate and coated with coco-powder. To add things worse, we were charged with 2 glasses of wine when they conveniently forgot our order. We got them to adjust the bill and I doubt I'll be going back, never again. 

Da Paolo Ristorante
44 Jalan Merah Saga, Chip Bee Gardens
#01-56 Holland Village
Singapore 
Tel: 6476 1332  

 
I was craving for Katong Laksa, so we headed back to the East.

Comfort food at its best ~ a piping hot bowl of laksa (and Leecher added bean sprouts for me, arg!) with otah. 

328 Katong Laksa

53 East Coast Road

Singapore 428771

Ended our food-ful day with a bloated stomach & several inches to Leecher's expanding waistline :) 

Swirl: Confetti of Love III

 

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And, my picks for this week :) 

London 2012 Part Two

 

Just finished packing my bags for KL, leaving tomorrow morning. Traveling alone this time round, with a busy schedule, I hope I'll be able to catch my flight back given the short time that I have for commuting to the airport from my last meeting *fingers crossed*.

  

Back to updating the entries for London trip (P1 here) ~ We arrived at the hotel at close to 8am. Rooms were not available for us, so we had a quick wash-up before heading for breakfast near our office. 

 

Still in my flight gear, lol! 
 

Breakfast @ Patisserie Valerie, located around 15 min walk from the hotel / 5 min walk from the office. This place was named after the founder, Madam Valerie, a Belgian born lady who went to London on a mission to introduce fine continental pastisserie to the English. They have a lot of outlets located throughout London, serving different menus as well according to the location.

 

Hot chocolate (GBP2.80) & latte (GBP2.80) to warm up our cold bodies! It was freezing cold (by my standards) even though the sun shone on brightly outside. The window-facing-the-sun-seat was also chosen on purpose >.<

Ordered from their all-day breakfast & brunch selection (GBP7.95) ~ full english breakfast which came with choice of two fried/poached/scrambled eggs, bacon, cumberland sausage, grilled tomatoes, mushroom & toast. It was really yummy, but the portion was too big for me, so I had to leave the toast untouched.

Patisserie Valerie
37 Brushfield St 
London E1 6AA  United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7247 4906

I stayed on the 5th floor, together with a few colleagues. The walkway was dimly lit & felt as if we were walking inside a spacecraft, haha!
  

We managed to get a room once we came back from breakfast. By then, our other colleagues from Asia have arrived in London and were making their way to the hotel. So, we freshened  up and headed to the lobby to meet up with them. I was extremely tired and suffering from jet-lag, but I had to prevent myself from sleeping so I won't have problems sleeping later in the night. So, the rest of the team decided to head out for sight-seeing.

Patisserie Valerie was first opened in Frith Street in London's Soho in 1926 by Belgian born Madam Valerie. She came to London on a mission to introduce fine Continental Patisserie to the English. It was an instant success. - See more at: http://www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk/about.aspx#sthash.zNl60Hz1.dpuf

Patisserie Valerie was first opened in Frith Street in London's Soho in 1926 by Belgian born Madam Valerie. She came to London on a mission to introduce fine Continental Patisserie to the English. It was an instant success. - See more at: http://www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk/about.aspx#sthash.zNl60Hz1.dpuf

Sight-seeing include a trip to Selfridge :) I was on good behaviour and didn't buy a single thing *beams with pride, lol* 

Patisserie Valerie was first opened in Frith Street in London's Soho in 1926 by Belgian born Madam Valerie. She came to London on a mission to introduce fine Continental Patisserie to the English. It was an instant success. - See more at: http://www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk/about.aspx#sthash.zNl60Hz1.dpu

Patisserie Valerie was first opened in Frith Street in London's Soho in 1926 by Belgian born Madam Valerie. She came to London on a mission to introduce fine Continental Patisserie to the English. It was an instant success. - See more at: http://www.patisserie-valerie.co.uk/about.aspx#sthash.zNl60Hz1

The AM team met up for drinks first, before adjourning for a cozy dinner @ Meson Los Barriles, located within walking distance from the hotel.

 

Drinking is the culture in the office, haha! Whenever we go, there are bound to be booze and more booze. 

 

We catch up over dinner & also introducing Sidney to the rest of the team. The tapas were all amazing ~ I was told that these were really authentic Spanish food, a rare find in London.

 

The AM team, with Cindy in Product team. Most of the AMs are girls, apart from Japan & America, where guys dominated the team, lol!   

While I googled for the address for the restaurant, I came across a comment in a forum saying that the restaurant has closed down as of 20th Dec 2012, due to the management ramping up the rents around the area. I dunno how true that is, but I've put down the address in case anyone is keen to visit this place (if it is still around).

Menson Los Barriles

8A Lamb Street, Spitalfields Market

London E1 6EA

Tel: +44 (0)20 7375 3136

 I reached the hotel, feeling completely zoned out! Met up with the rest of the guys who went to the stadium & caught the live actions from the EPL match. We headed back to our rooms instead of opting for a nights' out. Guess everyone just wanted to hop into bed and enjoy a night of undisturbed rest. 

 

Filled up my breakfast requirement & hung the bag outside my door. 

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Woke up the next morning with the breakfast carrier hanging outside the hotel door. 

 

Healthy pot of yogurt, banana and orange juice. 

Dressed causally for the day, for we had to take the coach from Central London to Cambridge, where we will be staying for 2 nights for the conference.

Packed my breakfast into my bag, together with all the necessities - scarf (checked), camera (checked), water (checked), document file (checked).

 

On the way to Cambridge!