Swissotel Merchant Court's Buffet

Went to this place last Tuesday for dinner to celebrate my dear's bday... It's more Peranakan than international...

Main dishes: all Peranakan dishes. honey beef, chap chye, black bean sauce crayfish, chicken, shark fillet, mee goreng, plain rice, etc...

Cold dishes n salad bar: seafood salad, fruit salad, n some other salads which i forgot, pieces of lettuce, rock oysters, salmon sashimi, sichuan soup, various types of bread n salad dressing, bak kwa, fried spring rolls, etc...

Dessert: Burbur hitam, sweet corn with egg, steam tapioca (think thai style), ah balling, fresh fruits, little pastries n tarts, cakes, chocolate fondue. and the only worth it part of the buffet, mango pudding, almond jelly n durian puree.

A pity i still can't take spicy food yet, if not i would have enjoyed it more... the honey beef was good. quite value for money, at 30+ (after all the +++) per head.

A little occupied

During the weekend, england had a "friendly" with argentina. note "friendly" cos usually games between these 2 countries not tt friendly after all. lucky there wasn't any ugly scenes this time round... england won 3-2!

I'm starting to get a little occupied now for 3 reasons...
Once in a while, i've mentioned i'm playing trivia on irc n i'm an op in the channel. now i have a little "job" on hand which i'm always suggesting. for a very long time, i wanted to "clean up" error questions n ans, be it typos, weird questions or ans, questions the bot cant "read", etc... now i'm put to task to do it! at last we can start "tidying" up the "mess" n get "organised". phew...
2nd reason is that i'm at last starting on the cross-stitch for my mum's frd. a very kind, sweet, nice, jovial, cheery lady who has been advising me, supporting me, coming down to c me while i'm having my chemo... its a x'mas gift for her.
lastly, re-typing of recipies. i'm a very "niao" person whn it comes to organising stuff. i dun like things when they're outta format, outta place, outta style. so after i ripped hundred plus cheesecake recipies, i'm re-typing them to my format.

Starting my 5th cos of chemo already... went to clinic just now n my white blood cell count is low, ass usual. no typo, extra "s" cos its damn irritating. eat so many egg whites also no use... so given booster jab n went home. tmr gog back for, hopefuuly, official start of 5th cos...

Terrible dream with a Fann Wong look alike...

I just woke up... i think its the first time i'm blogging right after i wake up... i had a terrible dream... i awoke crying...

the setting was like in a class or something similar... a group of us were gathered ard, sitting ard talking. someone suggesting gog to a club tonight for the launch of a new perfume. another gal asked wht perfume. i note a magazine on the table which i had read b4 n remembered the launch party details were inside.

the magazine belonged to this gal, who really looked like fann wong... i dunno y a fann wong look alike appeared in my dream, dun ask y... so i asked "fann wong" if i could flip thru the magazine to show the rest the launch party details. as mean as she could get, she said no cos i had uneven skin tones all over my fave n neck, had pigment probs n dark eye rings and even start jabbing her finger all ard me to "show" me where the uneveness was. i felt ostracised... i fought back, saying her make up was thick n white as a ghost, i had reasons for uneven skin tone n started destroying her make up.

everyone ard saw me doing that n blamed me for wanting to start a catfight. i started crying n explained myself that every gal is vain, who doesn't want to be pretty. n a bitch has to criticise so meanly on my uneven skin tone. i clearly remb saying this words in chinese. "you all look at these black n white patches. u think i want meh? u think i wanan look ugly meh? i have no choice! i had stage 2 nose cancer n needed radiotherapy! tt's wht caused the uneveness. n now i have to go for chemo, tt's wht causes the pigementation probs" i was crying n wailing as i said those words. upon finishing, i woke up, n felt tears running down my face...

it was a nightmare, i still feel like crying now... i dunno y i still wana cry nor do i know y i had such a weird dream. they say dreams are part of our subconcious mind. mayb whn i walk ard everyday i dun seem to bother abt my patches. but in my subconcious, i really bother abt them n want to get rid of them. or maybe its due to pple looking at me in a weird way whenever i'm out. subconciously i think they are looking at me like tt because of my uneven skin tone.

i hate dreams like tt... after u wake up, makes u feel like u are dumped into the sea, struggling to keep alive... help...

3 cakes in a row...

first of all b4 i start blogging today, let me extend my loving-est n warmest bday greetings to my most loving, cutest, handsome and wonderful dear dear...
lao gong ah, happy birthday! love you deep deep... muacks...

okie, now after i'm done with sending everyone's goose pimples out, let me start on wht i've done in the past week... in the last week, 3 cakes were rolled out... an oreo cheesecake, a classic caked cheesecake n a yoghurt cake...

oreo cheesecake still trying to grasp wht happened wrongly to it... it was a chilled cheesecake but it melted wayyy too fast. maybe the gelatine mixture has to be thicker, cos cream cheese doesnt melt tt fast. besides tt, the crust was a failure, not compact enough.

Yoghurt cake, wht my mum wanted to bake. texture was very soft n fluffy. tasty too... everything was good... perfect... except it had a hole at the bottom. most prob its due to the air...

classic baked cheesecake. simply perfect... except maybe can cut down on the lemon juice a bit, too sour... tasted oh soooo good that i think can sell... its was meant as a birthday cake for dear. so after we cut the cake just down after dinner, i brought some home n it was still a lot... so my mum gave a slice to her frd who lives nearby... dear n mum's frd say its a "can sell" standard... woo hooo, its a big big compliment... tmr making another round for my aunt.. hehe...

During the weekend, man u played chelsea. since the russian n portugese brats took over last year, i started to hate chelsea. they pratically bought their title n jose mourino is a big big sore loser... whenever he loses a match, watch his face turn long n black. anyway, when chelsea went into this game, they were on a 40 match unbeaten run... n the outcome, man u won 1-0! although the goal by darren fletcher was a bit taiko, but its was a win after all n it really humbled the arrogant chelsea...

today went for checkups. as usual white blood cell count low lah... given booster. next, went downstairs to c dr khor (radiotherapy), did a scope n everything was alright. so far so good... dr khor even taught me how to massage my neck to help reduce the swelling... hopefully it helps.. hehe...

Bad Canadian pizza...

Ystday was the 2nd dose of my 4th cos. no idea y i'm kinda alert already today. by rite should b still groggy... but getting kinda sleepy already...

the gals came by today to pay a visit. pj started her exams already so she din come over. rather she did not too, rather she stayed at home to revise. so, they were supposed to come by at 1pm. In the end, yue came at 1.30, ange ard 3.30. winn ard 4.30...

we ordered pizza for dinner, but yue went home for dinner. first time canadian pizza tasted so bad. the pizza was flour-zza. could pratically taste the flour-ness of the dough. the tomato paste on the pizza was pathetic! making the pizza tasted so dry. and the ingredients, i think the portion was meant for a reg or medium pizza, not large... bad... real bad... never eaten such bad canadian pizza in my life...

Cheesecake recipe galore!

I'm a ripper... i have pratically ripped 127 cheesecake recipes from kraft.com.au. i've printed them out and gog to start trying them... once a week? once in 2 weeks? muaahahahaa... i love cheesecakes! here i come!

Bored... Freaking bored...

On monday went back to clinic. as usual, white blood cell count low, so given booster, sent home to go back on tuesday. tuesday was the start of my 4th cos. half way thru? or 3/4 way thru? tt depends if i'm having 8 courses or 6 courses. doc hasn't said anything abt tt yet... hopefully its only 6 courses... i'm getting damn bored and sian!

as usual lah, tuesday i came back, slept all the way till dinner time. went to bed kinda early at ard 10pm... dunno y this time round i feel slightly more tired... ystday i had an afternoon nap n went to bed ard 10.30pm too...

bored... freaking bored...

Famous Amos cookies...

Last wednesday should be chemo day, the start of my 4th course. But i had a sore throat and some facial swelling. doc said that it was radiation recall, the after effects of radiotherapy after chemotherapy. Besides that, my white blood cell count was slightly low, but not too low to be given booster. so she told me to rest for a few more days. gog back tmr... so either tmr or tuesday, the 4th course will start...

On friday, my mum n i decided to try a recipe. i got this recipe from email quite a few times n it claimed to be the recipe for famous amos cookies. the taste was there, but the texture was a bit salah, a bit wrong, did not feel like the ones u get at the shop. the ones at the shop were crunchier and had more "holes" in the cookie cos of the "raising" effect and were darker. mine were lighter in colour and did not have "holes". dunno if its a fake famous amos cookie recipe or i should put more baking soda.

then, the gals came over at nite to keep me company. thn we ordered kfc for supper... haha...

One year already... Flowers, Goal and Kuishin-bo...

On friday, dear took leave to spend the entire day with me. y so special? cos its our anniversary! so fast, one year already... time really flies...

so, he came over while i was bathing and left the bouquet he bought for me on my table. so i only saw it when i went back to my room. the bouquet had a dozen roses. the roses were not pink, nor were they red. the colour was kinda a mixture of both.

we left the house abt 1pm and made our way down to ikea for lunch. y ikea? i'm an ikea friends member n everyday, something from the menu will be specially discounted for members (limited to 2 dishes per member), besides that, there are 2 free drinks. friday was swedish meatballs day! i love the swedish meatballs at ikea.

after lunch, we went down to tiong bahru plaza. i think i'll be making trips there often from now on. reason is that they have a DMC store there. First one in singapore i've seen. DMC is a company specializing in cross-stitch and embroidery stuff, and having a store like this, i can easily get my materials. after getting some stuff from their gold concept (DMC thread "filing" system), we made our way down to plaza sing.

we picked up our tickets for Goal! and had our toilet break before going into the cinema. those who had not watched Goal! MUST watch! For someone like me who's fighting for survival and wanting a second chance at life to fufill my dreams, i can relate to the main character, Santiago Munez.

Throughout the movie, i cried a few times. i cried when munez's dad took his money to buy a van. his dad wanted to path a future and career for him by owning a business, but to munez, tt's not suited for him. he wans to play soccer, professionally. to him, tt's a career most suited for him. munez needed that money to go to newcastle for a trial. for that moment, all his hopes and dreams were dashed. Just like me, when i was first diagnosed.

then when he finally made it to newcastle, fellow reserve squad members made things difficult for him. they rough tackled him, did not pass the ball to him so he did not have a chance to show off his skills and worse of all, crushed his inhaler as he had asthma. just when he thought he had at last reached england, it would be easier from then on, but no, he still had to cross hurdles. just like me, just when i tot i had finished radiotherapy, crossed the hurdle and won the battle, and was well already, my backaches were actually signs that the cancer cells had spread, to my bones n liver. now, i have to cross another hurdle and receive chemotherapy.

At the end of the movie, i cried again. Its all smooth sailing for him. but when for me? to me, when its smooth sailing for him, it would be the day i have won this battle. dear cried at the end of the movie too.

After the movie, we went down to suntec for jap buffet dinner at kuishin-bo. not worth 40 bucks. it had ample variety that looks 40 bucks, but the dishes were salty and tasted so so only. they had a lot of meat and seafood, great for meat-lovers, and had only a salad, teppanyaki veg n cucumber sushi as proper veg only dishes. even the nabes (claypots) and soups had little veg in it although i n dear chose those. they should have a dish of stir fried shitake mushrooms or something. even the veg tempura was mostly spring onions, sweet potatos and mushrooms. but the food's really quite fresh. dessert spread variety was not bad, but few edible. really not worth 40 bucks, unless u whack the steamed crabs n prawns, soft shell crabs n ebi tempura.

after the dinner, we were walking over the tower three's (carrefour) taxi stand as there should be more taxis there, when we saw those capsule dispensers. They had one which dispenses anime, one piece, characters' handphone ornaments. i wanted ruffy n between me n dear we had only 4 1-dollar coins. one capsule cost 3 bucks n they only accepted 1-dollar coins. so we walked over to the arcarde to change for more 1-dollar coins. i changed 15 coins. while changing we saw a machine.

for 1 dollar, u can have 3 tries on this machine. u have 3 tries to accumulate a score of positive 5 to dispense a prize. prizes were like handphones, mp3 players n psp. seems easy? thy have loads of negative numbers n once u hit the "computer" n stop on those numbers, whatever score u have will be lowered, limited to zero. tried a few times for fun, but no luck. we went back to the capsule dispenser for my ruffy. 15 dollars and 5 capsules later, no ruffy but other characters, even 2 pirate bo.

then we went back to the arcarde for more coins. n of cos, we tried our luck again on the machine. no luck, but we discovered some tactics, which may or may not work. then we went back to the capsule dispenser. this time round, it was dear who put in the coins n turn the knob, guess what, it was ruffy!

we made our way to the taxi stand but it was a long q. so we called a cab n got home.

ystday, chelsea trashed bolton 5-1 n bolton was 1-0 up early in the game. when will teams learn how to hold on to their lead n win chelsea. chelsea must drop points in order for any other clubs to catch up. if not, the epl this year will be a one horse race.

just like today's f1 race, the chinese grand prix, final one of the season. it was boring... renault was 2 points ahead of mclaren for the constructors champion n alonso n fisichella were in pole n grid 2 position for the race. raikkonen was in grid 3. when the race started, fisichella was in charge of "blocking" the mclarens while alonso sped away, faster n faster lap timings with each lap to distance himself away from the mclarens so they have no chance to catch up. just when i tot raikkonen has chance to overtake alonso, the safety car's out... today, the safety car's out twice! totally spoiling the race, i think. lap by lap with the SC on, alonso cruises lap by lap in 1st position. boring...... of cos alonso won the race with raikkonen in 2nd.

Who is Noire?

Some pple just like to b secretive, no idea y.
Noire, u reminded me of my dreams n goals.
Noire, u only leave a pm on irc.
Noire, i know u might hv a good chance of reading this.
Noire, who in the world r u?
Noire, pls own up n identify yrself d next time u pm me.
Noire, i would like to thank u personally for the pm-es u left me.
Noire, i dunno how come u know i'm sick, but i guess u might have heard frm someone.
Noire, pls tell me who's the someone u heard from if u wana keep yr identity a secret.
Noire, pls understand that communication works both ways, so i wana reply to u.
Noire, pls tell me who u r.
Noire, by keeping quiet, u're kinda driving me nuts.
Noire, here's the pm i got from u today....
sorry i think i flooded u. but in case u didn't receive the msg.. i'll paste it here again.. i feel you need this msg.. it'll remind u of some things in your life. You're fighting hard and you're fighting well.. never let the evil win.. you're born with a strong and fiery heart.. you have softball to play.. to see the home runs.. to go to the Baseball League in the states to watch the matches.. you'll go. I know you will :) Your dreams await you. They are always there waiting.. just a stone's throw away. You may be worn down.. you may be in pain.. but take it slowly.. one step at a time.. fight the battle a little step at a time.. you'll eventually prevail. I believe in you. Jas is always a warrior, a stubborn one :P No one can ever take your dreams away from you.. no one. You'll reach your stars one day. Meanwhile.. let's win this war and all these battles! One step at a time! You can do it, Jasmine the strong cancerian! Ganbatte kudasai. Jas-chan.