BKK in pano

I promised BKK pictures, and here’s the first post of them. MY PANORAMIC SHOTS. So I decided to get the Pano app while I was there firstly cos I needed to capture the full awesomeness that was our service apartment.

Also, for those who are thinking HOWCOMEIGOTSOMUCHMONEYTOTHROWAROUND, the answer is I DON’T and that we got this apt for like the best deal ever. To give you an idea, I paid ~$300 for my FLIGHT AND SIX NIGHTS in the apartment. EAT. THAT.

The living area. Complete with CABLE TV (WE LOVE CABLE) & a fully-equipped KITCHEN (there were even tupperwares. TUPPERWARES.) Apartment also came with two bedrooms and two toilets. Photos for that later.

Here are some other panos I took. Pardon my FAIL noob pano skills.. BKK has too much MOVEMENT in the air, there’s no way I can capture perfect pano shots in places like Chatuchak:

Heehee note the alien HAND emerging from Cheryl’s arm. Whuut.

This was taken on the bridge across Platinum mall. Look closely to see where my pano messes up. My bad!

Late

Some time last month when Cheryl got back from Shanghai..

3 of us had dinner… and then Cheryl WAS LAZY AND WENT HOME cos we are not as happening as her friends in Shanghai.

So Mat & I went to Toys R Us while waiting for Kat and DISCOVERED THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF 21ST CENTURY TOYS!!!!!! They had all sorts of amazing things I would have DIED to have as a kid. Seriously. One of them as featured in the photo: DISNEY PRINCESS MASAK MASAK TOYS (!!!!!!!!!) I understand why toy stores are really heaven to little kids.. now its just sad cos we can just buy them and its not special anymore. FAILSAUCE.

Mat was the only one who couldn’t hula hoop. Fail. No child bearing hips.

We ended buying DISNEY PRINCESS RINGS and then later realised they were too small for most of my fingers.

AND WENT CRAZY OVER THE HELLO KITTY MACHINE!! The ones where you put in one dollar and then you twist and the toy comes out in an egg. HAHAHA UM. We didnt manage to get the BIGINI hellokitty :( I do think we spent a small fortune trying..

Later on @ TAB (again!). Gave Kat her overdue birthday present!

TOYS & JOYS.

Um. Yeaa.. that’s Michael. HAHAHAHAHHAHAA (don’t ask).

Okay just kidding, he came to join us because our post-dinner activity got changed and we managed to convince him to come down and hang out with us :)

The night concluded with supper @ NEWTON! Where we bumped into Joshua Tan & gang! Whom I haven’t seen in ten thousand years. Also, late night sting ray is the bomb.

Happy thoughts

I am happy because

1. I woke up to news of TEAM JUMBA (!!!!!!!!!!) SO STOKED FOR THE NEW AMAZING RACE SEASON RIGHT NOW :D :D :D

2. Went for a long-postponed tanning session before Cheryl flew off (for the 1230123th time). THIS TIME WE FINALLY HAD B O D Y F L O A T S (ala Legally Blonde). And because I couldn’t swim today WE ARE GOING BACK SO THAT I CAN FLOAT ON THE BODY FLOAT. (+ I’m gna get more cos I’m sending some to YJ anyway so we can just use them first whee~)

3. Found this photo that rekindled my old obsession with Lily&Rufus. This is how to age with style, people. I really love this photo.

4. Had really nice coffee at the RJ cafe while giving tuition. (COFFEE SPASM SPASM SPASM)

5. MODULES ARE FINALLY SETTLED. NOW LETS CHIONG FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS BEFORE MY WELL-DESERVED BREAK AT BKK.

6. CS mail things came!! Time for experimentation. WHEE.

7. Father Yap moments

(a) Father yap drove through a macdonalds somewhere in the middle of nowhere (called SOMETHING HUB I CANOT REMEMBER NOW) and suddenly it looked like WE WERE IN AMERIKA cos of the way shops/restaurants were lined up and how my dad messed up the drivethru order (trueblue old asian man style – “UH UH NONO CHANGE THE HAMBURGER TO NUGGETS!” “NONO WE WANT THE 9 NUGGETS” “OH CHANGE TO 6 PIECE NUGGETS!” – the woman at the speaker just stopped talking after awhile cos there were too many voices)

(b) BELTED OUT DANCE TO THIS SONG WITH GID IN THE CAR while sending him to camp. When it was time for Gid to exit and me to come and sit in front, my dad RANDOMLY BURST INTO THE CHORUS OF THE SONG. Except instead of ‘dance to this song’, he replaced it with his own words of ‘COME TO THE FRONT.’ HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA.

8. Last but not least, YJ (finally) cut his hair.

This has to be the 01921023th time that we went through a cyclical conversation (a few months ago) of:

Me: Can you cut your hair pls its so long

YJ: I’M NOT GNA CUT IT I’M GNA GROW IT OUT

Me: WHAT DONT BE RIDICULOUS can you pls cut it

YJ: I’m gna grow it out cos I’m cool

Me: You are such a korean. You know you are going to cut it eventually

YJ: No I’m not. And you can’t do anything about it

Me (in my head): He’s so going to cut it eventually….

PFFFFT. Of course I was right. Haha kidding. AND DID I MENTION I LOVE HIS HAIR!!!!!!!!! <3 Fav haircut by far (esp after the disastrous chinese ahbeng haircut he got when he came to SG.)

14th August

There are 923014 birthdays in August! Evidently its true that people are into serious baby-making during the festive period of Christmas/new year.

ANYHOW, today it is the birthday of 2 close friends I am really grateful to have.

(LONGHAIR FLASHBACK in this photo is kinda freaking me out btw)

HAPPY 22ND MAE :)

Friends forever makes the most sense in this case. Some things just really wont change between us, and its the rarest thing in the world to have someone see you grow & change as a person for better or for worse and still love you exactly the way you are. xo woman.

HAPPY 24TH QUEN!

For being one of my very first friends in Uni (and I mean Friend, not like Caleb’s friend haha) and for those spontaneous Deck/Library conversations that span endless HOURS – these make up pretty much almost half of my uni memories.. and they were some of the best. Thanks for everything :)

As I was looking for photos of Quen on facebook.. I stumbled upon our YEAR ONE PHOTOS omg and can you please check out how young we were back then:

Toshi & Quen’s age: 21

My age: 19

(!!!!!!!! AAAAAAHHHH I WAS STILL A TEEN AAAAAAAHHHHHH *DESCENDS INTO RAGE AND MADNESS*)

OH.MA.GOODNESS. THE THOUGHT OF THIS AND THEN THE THOUGHT OF WHERE WE ARE NOW IS SERIOUSLY KILLING ME. This is probably the 0920233 time I am ending off with this sentence BUT TIME. REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. FLIES.

Our youth has gone.. and would we even have remembered it if not for photographs? :’(

KAY THIS WAS NOT MEANT TO BE A DEPRESSING POST. SORRY IF IT BACKFIRED ON YOU GUYS. HAHAHA HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! <3 MUCH LOVE FROM ME.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SZESZE

HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY KAT!!!!!

We are all 22 now.. and even though I love the dinners, desserts & wine, I hope we never get too old for things like this.

I HEARTS YOU! xx

BUENO

Chachacha @ Holland.

I. Love. Mexican. Food.

It was such a staple diet (read: unhealthy supper snack) a year ago. Partly cos they were so much for so little. Ironic that in SG you can only get Mexican at restaurants. I would die for a little eatery or pushcart selling soft tacos and burritos! <3

MEAT

This was dinner on Monday night. SUKIYAKI STEAMBOAT BUFFET <3333 OMGSOGOOD.

Lesson learnt: I should always listen to Kat and go for quality > quantity. It will probably get me further in life.

BACK TO SHORT HAIR.

Banyan tree treats

Every week or so, we end up at Kat’s house for dinner/stayover/whatnot. The Banyan Tree has some compelling force that draws us there. It probably has to do with THE MAGIC KITCHEN & ITS CONSISTENT SUPPLY OF DELECTABLE FOODS.

FROZEN GRAPES ARE LOVE. Or ice cream.

You can never go wrong with cheese, crackers & ham.

Neither can you go wrong with red wine to accompany the cheese, crackers & ham.

And at our recent @ our recent steak&foiegras night, Kat cooked for us again :)

FOIE GRAS <3

TENDERLOIN STEAK.

Kat is awesome because the steak was really MEDIUM RARE. SO RARE SO GOOD. MMMMMM.

And yes, this entire post has been pictures of food. Good food deserves some limelight.

Oomphatico!

This week’s haunt.

Kat laughed until her cheeks cramped. Stumbled upon blastfromthepast in an alley. And I suck at brain teasers. Yeah, I don’t even try. Sorry Mat. HAHA.

x

I just discovered PHOTOS in my camera that I haven’t uploaded, dating back to about two months ago. Whoops. KAY THEYLL BE UP SOON. Get ready for a photo vomit post. I’m sure you miss those, cos I do!

Full

The charms & trinkets of Little India, the sweetness of Max Brenner chocolate, the company of longlost friends. Sipping dark chocolate granitas while recounting endless episodes of ihouse first semester drama, wondering how we got here & reeling at the thought of how it has been more than a year since all of this has passed, yet we remember every moment as clear as day. There is something beautiful about the bursting memories that replay themselves vividly in your mind.

Steak & foie gras night @ Kat’s. Kat’s steak has taken our friendship to a new level, and I echo Mat’s sentiments. Mmm I think we should just make our weekly dinners permanently at her place, and let her whip up some heavenly creation for us. Love these relaxing nights with girlfriends, getting high on wine&conversation, with the pup clamouring and running around our feet.

I am soooooo full on food, love and memories.

Little red car

Lazy lizard & angmohs, Paradise Inn & chinesefood, Starbucks & chai latte.

Haha sorry Kat, forgot to take a photo of you!

{ANYWAY KOREA LOST I AM SO SAD. I will be in mourning for one day.}

AMORE

This post is dedicated to my first Virtual (oknotquite) penpal & fbgf:

THANK YOU FOR MANY MANY THINGS.

BWAX!!!!!!!

Uh huh. We’ll be having a world cup faceoff. Hahaha! INSIDE JOKESJOKES. <3 Pretty sure the AllWhites are gna get trashed though. Failsauce.

Weekly

So good for the soul.

Vanderwoodsen

Kat is most definitely a Vanderwoodsen.

Shopping, thai food for dinner, cheesecake and conversation till Marina Square started shutting down. Hopefully we get to do this every week! <3 Great night.. but I’m so looking forward to my bed now.

Exclusive dinner @ The BYT

So I’m sorry if you didn’t get the invite to attend the Exclusive tasting at the Banyan Tree dinner last week.

Don’t worry, Mat & I attended it on everyone’s behalf.

Yup, that’s us toasting to the (occasional) high life.

LET ME NOW SHARE WITH YOU OUR SPLENDID EVENING.

x

We had a 5 course dinner at a table set with candles, with Baileys for company.

Course #1: Tapas-style appetizer

Ham & 10239123 cheeses & herbs & a sprinkle of DELECTABLE set on bite-sized crackers and melted to perfection. I swear this was the best course even though it looked the simplest to make. ONE DAY I WILL TRY MAKING THIS AT HOME (!!)

Course #2: Liquid gastronomia

Mushroom soup and truffle oil for the extra mmmmyeah. The soup was made from SCRATCH UH HUH that is commitment and quality to the highest order right there.

Course #3: The Need for some Green

Our vegetable dose for the day! Raw baby spinach (MATILDA TAN I REMEMBER OKAY) and roasted chicken cubes with amazing salad dressing (how does one describe the taste of salad dressing? This is as far as my amateur food critic skills take me)

Course #4: Stuffings and surprises

Spicy angelhair pasta which revealed tender DUCK SLICES underneath (surprise!), prawn with idontknowwhatwasontopofit (MAT HELP ME OUT HERE) and boiled eggs stuffed with duck and egg yolk. (I’m actually making most of this up cos I was too busy eating this dish to ask what was actually in it)

Course #5: Asian pride

And last but not least, WAGYU BEEF WITH JAPANESE SOBA. We ended with a cold dish – how unconventional! And a great way to end as well, with our satisfied tummies filled delicately to the brim. Mmmmmm.

I would have you know that each course was actually brought in dish by dish, in small little plates and bowls IN TRAYS, and then cleared out course by course for the next one to come in. Banyan Tree provides excellent service indeed. (I’m starting to worry if the real Banyan Tree is going to sue me for using their name. Maybe I should relabel to Banyon Tree or something).

And now, our compliments to the chef.

Katherine (featured on the right) is a 22 year old student from SMU. She loves her dog, her family and HER AWESOME LIFE LIVING IN HER BANYANTREEHOME. In her free time, she enjoys the occasional water sport, shopping spree, and luxury drive around the island. She has been labeled an adrenaline junkie by her friends, and has most recently taken up culinary art as an interest.

x

And yes, that was my virgin attempt at food photography & journalism. I think I should just stick to blogging about frivolous things like thoughts and feelings and italicized emo lyrics. :(