Botanical Inspirations: Orchids of Singapore Botanic Gardens & Their Heritage

I finally took some time out to visit Botanical Inspirations: Orchids of Singapore Botanic Gardens & Their Heritage at Singapore Botanic Gardens (SBG). Since SBG obtained its UNESCO World Heritage site status, I haven't had the chance to visit it even though it is a 3 minutes journey from my front door to the entrance of SBG. :P 
Botanical Inspirations spans across two exhibitions: Orchids of Singapore Botanic Gardens & Their Heritage and Tropical Splendour - Plant portraits from Shirley Sherwood Contemporary collection. I am really happy that I took time to visit the exhibitions. The orchids are really beautiful and the portraits are life-like. 

Orchids named after VIPs and celebrities

Orchids named after the late Dr Goh Keng Swee and Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Singapore National Flower - Vanda Miss Joaquim

I should really take advantage of the SBG being in my backyard and visit it more often.

The Royal Couple is in Town!

The Royal couple, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Catherine are in Singapore (11-13 September) to mark Britain's Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
Marieann and Juliane are really excited about their visit and have been asking if they could go catch a glimpse of the Royal couple when they are in Singapore, especially when they are at the Botanic Gardens which is just 3 minutes away from our apartment. Unfortunately, we were too lazy lol. Well, they could watch the Royal couple on television from the comforts of home rather than stand in the hot sun lol. :P Here are some photos of the Royal couple at the gardens.

The Royal couple at Botanic Gardens (source: eGeekBee, bloggers.com)

The Royal couple with the orchid to be named after them (source: Danny Lawson/ Getty Images)

The orchid named after Prince William and Duchess Catherine (source: Press Association)

My Birthday

Thank you for all the birthday wishes, my friends and ex-students. I really appreciate it! :) It was extremely pleasant and heart-warming receiving birthday greetings via msn, sms, email and Facebook. It is so nice to be remembered! :)

A good friend and I went for lunch. She drove us to Vanilla Pod, Mandai Orchid Gardens. It is a beautiful and serene place for a meal, greenery, the orchids. :) For starters, we shared Trio Mushroom Soup ($6.50) which has lots of chunky mushroom bits (no photo) and Pan-fried Duck Liver ($23.50): pan-fried duck liver which went really well with apple ragout, really sumptuous and real decadent! We will worry about our cholesterol level later haha. :P


For mains, I had Pan Roasted Chicken Breast ($19.50) while my friend had Oven Roasted Leg of Lamb ($20.50). My chicken was tender and moist and the mushroom and ricotta cheese stuffing was great with the chicken. :) Although I didn't try it, my friend's lamb looked good.



For dessert, as we were too full lol, we shared a Strawberry Mille Feuille ($10.50). It was darn delicious! :)



After lunch, we walked a bit round the garden. Definitely have to bring my girls here for the orchids and the food. :)



My birthday was a quiet affair at home. The girls' father bought a cake home after Juliane called him to get a cake. The girls helped me to blow the candles before I cut the cake. Told you it was quiet lol.