2048

There is a new game, 2048 in which the player has to slide tiles on a 4x4 grid to combine them and to create a tile with the number 2048. Still figuring out how it works...

The Chop House

Interesting name for a restaurant. It sounds like some b-grade horror movie. Lol. :P 
If you are hankering for meat, here is the place to come. :)

The 3 jars of condiments - onion jam, mustard, beetroot chutney for your meat dishes

Fish & Chips with mushy peas - reminds me of those in UK

Creamy spinach - delicious

The variety of dishes is pretty good, catering to most except for the vegetarians. Well, if it is The Chop House, you probably won't be coming here for your greens either. :P Plenty of proteins to choose from - beef, lamb, pork, chicken, seafood - either as starters, sandwiches, burgers, or mains. There's pasta too. The desserts looks good. Can't wait to try them next time. :)

Nostalgic Dining @ British Hainan

Found a quaint, cosy, nostalgic eating place in Joo Chiat Road area. (When I was born, my parents used to live in Joo Chiat area. Double nostalgia for me. :P)
British Hainan is located at the junction of Carpmael and Crane Roads. Not wishing to contend with the weekend dinner crowd, we arrived early at 6:30pm for dinner.

We tried the recommended dishes - IPA Baby Back Ribs ($25) and IPA Chicken ($12.90).

Both dishes are highly recommended! Tender, juicy and tasty. Most importantly for me, no use of MSG! :)
We sat indoors and while waiting for our food to come, we browsed through the curios and vintage collectibles displayed around the restaurant. All are for sale unless otherwise stated. :) It brings back a lot of wonderful memories seeing some of the antiques and vintage collectibles.

My new mobile phone haha :P

Will definitely return to British Hainan to try out its other dishes. The place is cosy and unpretentious and the prices are very reasonable. :)

Sentosa

Sentosa is a very different place now compared to the Sentosa from my childhood/ youth memory. In the name of progress, Sentosa has been further developed . I am not sure if it is a good thing or bad...
However, Sentosa Cove does remind me of South Bank in Brisbane, or Darling Harbour in Sydney. :)

View of Singapore from Sentosa

Kith's Earl Grey Caramel tea latte - really tasty

Chicken with bak choi

Good old comfort food - Carbonara :)

A walk around Sentosa Cove was nice after dinner at Kith. 

On the Other Side of the Fence

For once, I am on the other side of the fence. I was at a field trip, not as a teacher but as a parent volunteer! Lol. :) I volunteered for Marieann's field trip to the Singapore Science Centre. There were two P6 classes who went to the Science Centre. The two classes were split into three group, with the two form teachers each taking charge of one group and the two parent volunteers (one of them is me!) taking charge of the third group. 
We arrived at the Science Centre close to 9:30am and started with the Mind Fest activities. The students each completed two hands-on activities. There was a break from 10:30am to 11am and followed by an hour at the Climate Change exhibit whereby the students had to complete a worksheet. By 12:40pm, we arrived back at SCGS. :) It was an exciting and interesting experience, accompanying my daughter on her field trip. But I am not sure if Marieann felt the same way lol. :P Read on to find out why.

Marieann and her classmate

It is quite different being on the other side of the fence, the students are not really scared of you, the parent volunteer because you are not their teacher and they usually think that you won't dare to scold them and that they can climb over your head. However, I proved their thinking wrong haha. As the other parent was soft-spoken, I had to do my teacher thing to retain order (and control) of some rowdy students in the group. I am really glad that I still have my teacher voice and look. The students obeyed me without a word haha. :) I had no problem slipping into a teacher mode! Marieann was most horrified when she heard from her friends who were in my group that I told the group off for not knowing how to line up properly. She said her classmates told her that I am scary but I am also pretty haha. :P I guess the field trip was fun for me because I became a teacher again for the morning. As a colleague from NIE mentioned, once a teacher always a teacher. She is so right. :)

Manga

I first came into contact with manga when I was in lower primary. My Taiwanese cousins introduced me to them when I visited them during my annual trips to Taiwan. :) I remember my cousins used to rent/ borrow stacks of manga for me to read whenever I went back to Taiwan and I would read them secretly as my mother didn't approve of me reading manga, usually about teen love lol. :P (It was through reading manga that I am able to read traditional Chinese characters and still can! :D) Reading manga was one of the highlights for me when I went back to Taiwan. Sadly, I stopped reading manga when I was in my late teens as my trips back to Taiwan became less frequent due to schooling. 
However, of late, I have started reading manga again and rediscovering the joy and love of my childhood. :) 

Good Bye

Three will leave our organisation soon, within the next month or so. :( 

Sorry to see you go - Siao See, Michelle and Raymond. Do keep in touch. Take care!

Heart Work

Back to counselling for Term 2. 
It is heartening to see my counsellees (most of them new to me in 2014) warming up to me and becoming more chatty with me. :) Rapport has definitely been established. 
I always believe that counselling is not just hard work but it is also heart work.

Found?

The worst is feared for the 239 passengers and crew of MH370. It seemed that MH370 might have crashed into The Indian Ocean but they are still looking for debris of the jet. Hopefully something conclusive with regards to the fate of MH370 can be found soon. Otherwise there can be no proper closure for the families and friends of the 239 passengers and crew of MH370.

Brunch @ Grub, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

Brunch at Grub which is situated at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park

Grub Breakfast set

French Toast with pork sausage, sour cream and strawberries. YUM!

Kallang River running through the park

I totally enjoyed Grub's version of french toast with the savoury pork sausage, different from the usual sweet version. :) The breakfast set seemed like the usual where you can find in any other eateries, nothing special. :(
A nice slow walk after brunch around the park will help with digestion, provided it is not too hot lol.

Hidden Gems - Haji Lane & Prince Coffee House

Haji Lane is one of Singapore's hidden gems, located in the Kampong Glam area or also known as the Arab district. Haji Lane is a narrow strip of shophouses which housed small trendy shops and boutiques stocked with offbeat labels that you won’t find in the major malls in Singapore as well as cool cafes and eateries.
Haji Lane reminds me of the laneways and alleys in Melbourne. :) I didn't have the chance to wander into the shops and boutiques as I was there in the evening for dinner, actually. I will need a whole afternoon to explore all the shops and boutiques! :P

Attention grabbing murals

Quirky, unique and trendy shops/ boutiques

Haji Lane

Interesting decor

Amusing signs

Sultan Mosque

I enjoyed walking along Haji Lane with all its colours, liveliness, quirkiness, and charms. :)

The other hidden gem is Prince Coffee House, along Beach Road (near to Haji Lane). Prince Coffee House, a 70s Hainanese Western food restaurant, used to be located within Coronation Plaza, Bukit Timah Road. It was a favourite student hangout by students from National Junior College, Hwa Chong JC, Nanyang Girls' High, Chinese High. :) I used to frequent it when I was a student at NJC for its $6 student meal set! :P I was upset about two years ago when I found out that Prince Coffee House has moved out from Coronation Plaza. I am really glad to have found it again. :) The flavours are still the same as that from my memory. The roast pork, the Hainanese pork chop with rice, the yam cake, the apple pie - all DELICIOUS!
I will definitely go back to Prince Coffee House for its food as well as for a trip down memory lane of my school days lol. :) 

Set with soup and garlic bread

Roast Pork

Hainanese Pork Chop with rice