He's makin' a list.






Checking it twice!







Gonna find out who's naughty or nice...







He sees you when you're sleeping;




He knows when you're awake,
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good, for goodness sake!!!


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Christmas shopping can be difficult for a little penguin like Phillip.

He likes to buy nice gifts for the people he holds dear, but he absolutely can't stand the maddening crowds in the shopping malls once December hits and the X'mas season is in full bloom. Penguins have really short, stubby feet so it's no easy feat waddling around the crowded malls in overpopulated Singapore... And, he doesn't quite understand what some people want for their presents either?!? Phillip is happy with just a bucket of fish.


Don't worry little penguin (and everyone else in the same situation as Phillip!), Jipaban.com has got it sorted out for you!!




Skip the crowds, the queues, the headache and the hassle withJipaban's Christmas Gift Guide.






They've got thoughtfully pre-selected categories of beautiful presents suitable for your mum, dad, girlfriend, boyfriend, brother or sister! Geeky gaming prezzies for the boyfriend, girly fashionista trinkets for the girlfriend... unique cooking utensils for your mother and practical business-related stuff for your daddy? They've got it all. A one-stop shopping list to pick up everything you need for your Christmas Shopping.


My favorite categories are actually the Mum categories (omg what does that say about me???) because I am a dosmetic goddess sort of gal. I love cooking, baking, staying at home and hosting people at my place!! And since X'mas is coming soon I thought I should take the liberty to shameless hint to everyone some gifts I'd absolutely LOVE for Christmas! ^.^





Teacupcakes Cupcake Molds

Awww these are so cute!!! Of course buy baking materials for a baker, right?! Brings a new meaning to CUPcakes. I've got heart shaped baking cups and these would be a lovely addition to my collection :D






Gordon Ramsay's Chef's Secrets

I love Gordon Ramsay. I love cooking. Now that makes this a great gift.

I've tried a few of Mr Ramsay's recipes before and they are brilliant!!






Never Let Me Go (Blu-ray)

I'm a big big sucker for soppy love films. The more dramatic and impossible a love story, the better. I lap it all up and it won't be long before the tears start flowing..... where else am I going to get such romance - real life?!





French Toast Bread Stamp

So cuuutee! French toast is a pretty fuss-free and quick breakfast to whip up, in fact I just made some the other day. To have this stamped onto my toast would've made it perfect!

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So that's my X'mas wishlist from Jipaban!!!

Key in "jpbxmas10" to enjoy 10% discount storewide.

If I'm your favorite blogger or if you love me enough, you can send me Christmas prezs / letters / hate mail at Blk 38 Kinta Road #02-03, Singapore 219107, addressed to "Shiberty".  I've had some readers ask me how they can send me gifts & other items before, and although I'm not comfortable publicly revealing my home address you are more than welcome to send letters or random stuff to Nuffnang's office - my managers will pass them to me :D





Share your Christmas wishlist on Jipaban's Facebook page and Jipaban will pick one lucky shopper every week to give them an item in their wishlist!!! The giveaway is only valid for items sold in Jipaban.com


Merry Christmas in advance to you all, I hope you have a blessed holiday season and happy shopping! ♥

xoxo,
Jess

Wanna head out on the weekend, but not sure where to head to, or what to do exactly?
, where Germany arrives in our sunny little island Singapore!!!

"I wish someone had taken me on a dinner date here." 



...Those were the first words that popped into my head when I stepped into this restaurant. If you're looking for a romantic hide out away from the hustle & bustle but don't wanna travel too far away from the city, Moonstone is the hidden gem you've been looking for.


I mean... just look at it.





Ambience is so important when you're trying to impress the other party. This certainly impressed me. I fell in love with the open view of Sentosa from the top of Mount Faber!




Lounge sofas facing out into the openness where you can sit around and just chat the night away, beers in hand... a soft breeze in your face, watching cable cars float by. Tell me who wouldn't love having dinner here!!! Now seriously, why didn't any guy bring me on a date to a place like this?




...Oh, that's right. Because I date strange boys I meet from internet games, who happen to live in other countries so that makes this plan kinda difficult.

So anyway. 




Moonstone is a quaint little restaurant/bar perched on top of Mount Faber, serving up Japanese cuisine (mainly yakitori) also offering an extensive selection of sake, beers and whiskeys.



The most unique thing it boasts, of course, is this view you won't get anywhere else. It made me happy just sitting there basking in all its prettiness, but when the food came I was all the more pleased.


Warning: Do not proceed if you're vulnerable to sudden hunger pangs, like I am.. For a galore of yummy food photos is INCOMING! I had a truly massive feast here. I know Japanese cuisine is kryptonite to a lot of people so try not to lick your computer screens, its not very good oral hygiene.

Moonstone, let's see what ya got!



This place has a crazy selection of sake & other alcohol, and I was recommended start off my meal with a "floral beer" - Ginga Kogen Beer, $12.

I'd never heard of this beer before and was kinda skeptical about it having a "floral" taste but I was pleasantly surprised by how it does have a distinct floral aroma when you take your first sip! It's not like tea. Tea tastes like leaves. This actually tastes like a fleeting moment of spring, almost. Girls will definitely enjoy this because of its lighter taste. I don't mind normal beers like Hoegarden / Heineken / Carlsberg / Corona but when there's a fruit beer, I'd get it to switch things up a bit. I wish they sold this beer in supermarkets!! It'd be a staple in my fridge!




The first appetizer that arrived on the table was Hiyayakko, $4 - Cold tofu with onions and bonito in ginger sauce

I really liked this! I'm not sure if its because if I was starving or what (indeed I was) but this tofu dish was refreshing, light, and made me even hungrier than before. Which is exactly what appetizers are supposed to do, I guess. The tofu itself is rather pain (duh its tofu) but paired with the sauce and flakes on top, it tasted like agedashi tofu but served cold and more elegant without the sticky chewy skin! Practically zero calories, too.





Aigamo tataki, $12.8 - Smoked duck in sweet sauce and bean sprouts

I was like, "excuse me, where are my bean sprouts?!" and they informed me that they had ran out of bean sprouts. Hmmm. I feel like they should have noted this to me when I was ordering and not after it came, but because I am reviewing this restaurant by invitation from a friend, I didn't want to fuss over the minor details. Do make it a point to ask them about it if you order this, just in case. I liked the well-paired combination of the mildly sweet sauce and salty smoked duck. I don't fancy duck in general, but smoked duck is an exception. Would've been nice with some crunchy bean sprouts but it tasted good without still, and I'd order this again.




Ika, $10 - Squid with sweet sauce

Even the yummy sweet sauce which many yakitori dishes come drenched in couldn't save this dish from the overcooked texture of the squid. I don't mind squid as long as its tender & tasty enough, unfortunately this did not tickle my taste buds at all, and falls into my category of "rubbery squid".


A couple of yakitori sticks arrived next, and I took the liberty of categorizing them into what I thought were hits, and misses.

The hits in my book!:



From top to bottom:

1) Hotate, $8. Well basically, they are scallops.. I love scallops and have nothing to complain about these, they were okay sized and weren't overcooked, however I do think the price is kinda out there for 2 pieces of scallops.

2) Bacon roll, $4 - Pork with asparagus. Essentially a fail proof combination. Everybody loves bacon and although I'm not a big asparagus lover, it adds a nice crunch!

3) Butabara, $4 - Pork belly. Salty, savory, slightly tender and juicy... yes please. So simple & good.



The ones that fell kinda short to me:



1) Ebi, $5 - Grilled prawn. It does have a nice charcoal flavor, but the prawn meat itself wasn't fresh or  robust enough for my liking.

2) Kinoko shake, $4 - Salmon and mushroom topped with cheese. Wayyy too salty because of the smoked salmon and cheese combination, and I generally like salty food!
3) Shake asparagus, $4 - Smoked salmon with asparagus. I still liked the pork version of this better. Grilled smoked salmon doesn't cut it for me, the texture just becomes all dry and charred instead of the moist and soft texture smoked salmon is known for.

4) Nasu, $3 - Baby egg plant. I couldn't even finish a whole mouthful of this... it was extremely bland, dry and just meh. I try to be as civil as I can when reviewing food but I honestly thought this shouldn't even be on the menu, it insults the rest of the decent to great dishes!!!







Shake, $15- Salmon with sweet sauce
Gindara, $18 - Cod fish with salt


I wish they were a little more creative with the menu names or descriptions since I'm copying them off directly from their online menu ahah.

I'm quite biased when it comes to salmon because it's one of my favorite foods. :P I basically worship this king of all fishes. But I have to say.. the skin was a little too burnt and at $15 with the size of its portion, it is not something I'd recommend ordering. Same sentiments with the cod. A good piece of fish, is a good piece of fish. It's pretty hard to butcher the taste, but at the same time it is also difficult to set yours apart from the others.





Zaru soba, $8 - Cold noodles

I'm no soba connoisseur, I don't eat it often enough to have much to say about it but this yummier than most other sobas I've tried and refreshing in the same way the cold tofu was. I found the process of dipping the noodles into a small bowl of sauce needlessly tedious, but also kinda fun... I'm twisted like that. Lol. Soba fans should order this!





Chasu udon, $9 - Pork belly soup noodles

OKAYYYY this is my favorite item on their menu!!! ♥ I love udon for its chewy texture and this was just perfect al dente slurpy goodness. I've never seen chasu udon served outside before, since chasu is usually found in ramen and not udon... this combination is to die for! Why don't more places have it? The pork belly chunks literally melt in your mouth in a puddle of salty & sweet goodness. Kind of like the ones at Ippudo, but even softer and slightly different.

The thick udon noodles are almost addictive to eat. The soup was perfect to me - not too heavy or light, just perfect. Can I have a bowl of this now pleasseee? If I wasn't so stuffed from all the yakitory & other food prior to this bowl of noodles I would have finished the whole thing!





Garlic fried rice, $5

Definitely one of the more fragrant bowls of garlic fried rice I've had. Each spoonful is light and fluffy with lots of garlic & egg! The portion is also perfect to go with yakitori - neither too big nor small.





Tempura moriawase, $12.80 - Assorted prawn & vegetable tempura

I didn't attack this dish upon first sight because most tempura dishes fail to impress me. I didn't even intend on taking a picture of the tempura or reviewing it, at all. Let's just say I think all fried food is just fried food. Boring, and normally a waste of calories. But after Nicholas insisted 3 times that I should give this a go, this.... this was something else!!!

The batter was super light & crispy, not too oily, and the ingredients underneath that lovely coat of batter were equally awesome. They even had broccoli tempura which was, surprisingly enough, nice. The shitake (mushroom) tempura kinda melted in my mouth the same way the chasu in the udon did!!!

 Love it! :)

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I think by now it is pretty obvious that I like Moonstone's normal cooked food items a significant bit more than their yakitori menu. I'm really not that big on yakitori in the first place. So if you are, please judge for yourself.

I do wish they served other normal Japanese food such as sashimi and sushi, that would make this a perfect dining destination!! So you know, some stuff I'd totally order again at Moonstone on a whim would be the floral beer, smoked duck, assorted tempura, garlic fried rice, and udon. Ohh the udon! Lucky you guys can't see me salivating. And can I just say at $9 for a generous bowl of udon.. the pricing is at a steal. I know some items I've featured from the menu have been anything but "cheap", but I reckon you can get real value for money here if you know what to order.




Plus anyway..... at the end of the day, this view and the smile on her/his face when they see it will make your trip up to Mount Faber and the prices completely worth it. :)

Moonstone - Yakitori • Sake • Bar
109 Mount Faber Road, Level 2, The Jewel Box, Singapore 099196
Tel: 62760609

Food quality: 3.5/5 (hits & misses)
Service / Ambience: 4.5/5 (the view! waiters were also efficient & friendly)
Value for Money: 3.5/5 (again it varies, so refer to my review)
Most suitable for: Couple dates. Your girl would love it here.. and it's really not that expensive. If she's the weight or diet conscious sort, she can go for the low carb yakitori options! Makes for good dainty meals. Also great for late night hang outs with the buddies & boozeee! This place opens late, with plenty of alcohol options and snacks to choose from. Not exactly a family venue, kids not allowed after a certain timing. It gets crowded during weekends and peak periods so call to enquire or reserve first.

xoxo,
Jess

I wouldn't consider myself an "animal / nature lover", but this much I can say:

I ♥love♥ aquariums, and marine life.





My favorite animals of all time are undoubtedly killer whales (essentially they are actually dolphins instead of whales despite the name), and recently.. penguins (because they're so cute!!! sadly, some killer whales eat penguins hahah). My choice animals are quite different from your usual "dog" or "horse" / insert other land hot favorite animal here. My guess is that people like dogs because they are man's best friend and horses are fun to ride, these creatures are mostly gentle and sociable. But the very reason I love killer whales is because they're so rare, different and majestic. I don't want something I can pet, I want something I could stare at for hours in awe. Killer whales, being apex predators, fit the bill to endlessly intrigue my wild imagination. For the record, I find (almost) all animals incredible in their own way, but marine life just takes my fascination to a whole new level. It's so unknown, elusive, dangerous and beautiful!

Jet-skiing, snorkeling, whale watching & parasailing always sit on the top of my "Must-Do" lists whenever I travel. Some day I'll pluck up the courage and learn how to dive. Many days & nights of my life have been spent watching BBC / Nat Geo documentaries about the ocean & all its wonders in utter fascination, alongside Sam, who shares an equal interest. In fact, just last night we were watching one about the great barrier reef! Which totally reminded me... time to share about your visit to the newly opened S.E.A Aquarium & Adventure Cove, Jess!!!



Imagine my delight when I was invited to check out Resorts World Sentosa's spanking new Marine Life Park (SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove Waterpark) on their very FIRST day of opening!!! I was literally jumping up and down with excitement when I got the news :D I seriously LOVE you, Resorts World Sentosa.

Thank you for so many wonderful state of the art attractions us Singaporeans can be proud to bring our overseas friends to, and to enjoy among ourselves. No one can say Singapore is boring or at a lack of attractions these days, or I'll kick them in the face with my stiletto.





Entering the The Maritime Experiential Museum! You have to go past this in order to get to the aquarium.






Snippets of Maritime history elaborately decorated along the way!





After a relatively long walk past the museum artifacts, head down this escalator to find the aquarium.






AND WE ARE HERE!!!! ^_____^ 

At S.EA Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium, featuring over 100 000 marine animals of more than 800 different species!

I was arguably more excited than the hundreds of adorable kids around that day. I noticed that RWS had arranged for special needs' children to visit the aquarium on the very first day of its launch, I'm assuming either free of charge or at a special rate.... it was heartwarming to see the smiles on the kids' faces.







The first thing you'll do at the aquarium is enter this moving tunnel! Like the one at Underwater World.... but kinda better. Which makes me wonder, what would happen to the fate of our good ol' Underwater World since 1991? 

This marine life park sure gives Underwater World a good run for its money. The admission fees don't differ that much, but MLP has a whole lot more to offer than UW. It would be kinda sad if UW had to shut down (there's no point having 2 similar attractions in one place?) but maybe it will be replaced by a brand new attraction that is even more awesome!






A dazzling kaleidoscope of colors. I was informed that most of the coral in their tanks are actually fake. But they look so real!!! I asked why they don't use real coral instead (I felt a bit cheated) and the reply was that real coral isn't quite as vibrantly colored as fake ones, and to uproot THAT much real coral just for aquarium viewing would cause a lot of damage to mother nature. That made a lot of sense to me.

They have so many different tanks featuring different species of fishes I couldn't remember any of their names at all at the end of the day o__o" Only a really big spider crab I wanted to eat LOL.





There was this part where you could walk over a transparent tank built into the ground, and it tickled me seeing a diver struggling with the narrow space constraints at my feet. #LookAtTheFishiesNotTheHumans






I want to snorkel or dive at a real shipwreck some day!!!! I've only snorkeled at man made shipwrecks in Australia last year.




Really creepy and icky looking seastars. I hate anything with suction pads oh yuckkk. Starfishes and jellyfishes have been officially renamed as sea stars and sea jellies because it was deemed they were not fishes. -_-"









A little Discovery Pool area where you could touch and pick up starfishes and other funky creatures (try not to grab the fishes lol). Mainly for the kids! Not for the squirmish like me. I like looking at marine life, not necessarily touching them..






Pose for picture for my blog can already ^^;






A giaaaannnttt spider crab that was as big as a child!!!

You know you're Singaporean when you see this and the first thing that pops into your mind is "OMG CAN EAT ONE???"






My favorite part of the SEA aquarium is "The Open Ocean Habitat", the world's largest viewing panel. Its breathtaking sheer size aside, I absolutely adore how thoughtfully planned out the whole exhibit is!





They provide numerous comfy beanbags for people to laze on for as long as they like, marveling at the view in front of them, with soothing instrumental music playing in the background. It's like you're transported to another realm. HOW WONDERFUL IS THIS?! ♥






I could spend hours here just chatting with friends, staring at the giant tank in front of me, admiring as sting rays soar through the waters and even read a book here!!! I can't wait to go back on an idyllic quiet weekday and just spend quality time with myself here.





You'll spot resting families and happy couples canoodling. Just a marvelous place to be in.






 Doesn't this look like a painting? The iPhone 5 takes such good pictures!






Wow!!! *In David Attenborough's super wise British voice* And here we have, a remarkably rare specimen of hairy human legs.

LOL. This actually gathered more attraction than any of the other exhibits... everyone turned their attention away from the fishes and crowded around staring at this man's famous legs. Everyone's stupid and easily amused like that.





I have no idea what this is but I found it so disturbing I snapped a photo of it.





A strangely sinister scene compared to all the other happy, bright looking exhibits. Sea urchins look so evil T___T

What made it worse was these fishes that just remained impossibly still in the water... you know how some fishes act like they're frozen in time and don't seem to move in the water, at all? Yep, this was one of them... they were just hovering above the sea urchins and the sea urchins sat there oh so ominously. Very creepy.




Speaking of sea urchins, I finally ate my first sea urchin a few weeks ago in this Japanese restaurant which I will be reviewing on my blog soon! It was surprisingly tasty. A really thick, creamy texture to it... similar to foie gras, without the meaty taste and slimier. Easily the most exotic meal I had in my life. Japanese cuisine is out of this world.

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That's the last of my aquarium pictures! I didn't wanna show you guys ALL of the exhibits and spoil it for you in case you plan on going (which you totally should). Go check it out in person - they have jaw-dropping stuff! Even if you're not terribly interested in animals or marine life, I bet you that you'll find this at least moderately fascinating or inspiring. There will definitely be a thing or two that'll make you go "Ooooh" and "Ahhh" no matter how old you are or how much of the world you think you've seen already!

Because it is located in an air-conditioned indoor environment, it also makes for a fabulous day out any time - when its too hot and sunny or when it is rainy!! Perfect day activity for any day. :D





A shout out to this handsome guy Matt who always makes sure I'm well taken care of and thoroughly happy at these Resorts World Sentosa events - I really appreciate all these awesome days and nights of fun I've had at RWS!!





Cute gift shop when you exit the aquarium :)

Thank god we were in a hurry and had to leave for our next destination, other wise I might've bought a whole lot of nonsense. I'm a sucker for novelty stuff and souvenirs.





We were about to have lunch, but we just couldn't resist getting gelato from Bruno's!!! You'll see it once you come out of the aquarium. Super yummy! I loooveee gelato so much more than your usual ice cream.






The fun doesn't stop at the aquarium!!!

Wolfed down a decent lunch before proceeding to get wet at Adventure Cove water park, a short walk away from the aquarium. Remember not to eat too heavy a meal before visiting the water park because some of the slides can get pretty bumpy and intense.








Luckily for us, there wasn't a big crowd despite it being the first day of its opening!

Which means little to absolutely no need for wasting time queuing. I went back in November, so I'm sure by this time in December, the weekends would be ridiculously packed.











Changed into my swim suit and ready for big splashes!!!


By the way, to people who have seen blog posts of me swimming / doing water activities before... yes, I will forever only one that same dreaded black and white dress swim suit over and over again. It's the only swim wear I feel comfortable enough in and I don't have to worry about my stomach jutting out or pubic hair sticking out everywhere, LOL. I believe in this: If you've got it, flaunt it. If you don't have anything worthwhile to show then for gods sake, cover it up.





True story: I used to think posting topless pictures of my boyfriend was kinda obscene so I photoshopped his nipples off some pictures before. I didn't want other girls looking at his nipples

HAHAH say whaaat?






Entering the Adventure River!






At 620 metres, it's one of the world's longest lazy rivers.

This river keeps you nice and cool with a lot of mist sprays and random fountains squirting water at you to minimize the heat and sunburns!






Grab a float, plop on and float away! 

Best way to explore the theme park is to just get off at different river exits. You don't have to do much walking around in the hot sun.






Water theme parks are such a godsend in crazily warm countries like Singapore!!!!!!





A couple of fail pictures taken with my waterproof camera due to my sunblock rubbing off on the lens, making it all oily and smudgy :/









Into the dark mysterious cave we go!







Sam man whoring it up in front of a mini waterfall inside the cave. :P






And here's me, cute little innocent demure me... *cough* proud of myself for hardly whoring myself out at all, for there is pretty much zero cleavage or sexiness in this post. I WANNA HAVE REAL SUBSTANCE, Y'KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

By the way, I'd like to stress the photo is warped not because of bad photoshopping (I have better skills than that!), but a consequence of water droplets on my camera lens.

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We got off our floats to take water slides at different points, however security was pretty anal that day and they didn't allow me to take my camera onto ANY rides at all!! So I can't show you any first-person POV videos, and there is only so much left I can cover by photos and text. By the way, the last time I filmed myself going down a water slide and put the video up on Youtube, it received over 300 000 views. Lol really.

Check it out for yourself here. The video was filmed in Aquatica, Orlando and to be honest... Adventure Cove does remind me Aquatica quite a bit! What with its elaborate tropical themed / ancient ruins landscaping and the focus on marine life!!! The whole ambience of the place is great - rainforest noises and music resounds along the river with surprising waterfalls along every turn and corner.

There is also a wave pool for bobbing up and down on and the most thrilling ride of all would have to be the RipTide rocket, Southeast Asia's first hydro-magnetic coaster. For starters, you don't have to carry your float up a flight of stairs as most water slides will have you do - this one you actually sit on the float at the start and get slowly lifted upwards! Then comes a series of intense dips and turns. The float you're sitting on will be propelled upwards and forwards by strong magnets with great force, so essentially its a roller coaster with lots of water and no seat belts. Water WILL be splashing at your face every few seconds, so please, do yourself a favor and do it my way... CLOSE your eyes when you're on this ride!!!! Closing your eyes on a water slide instantly makes it 10x more fun, and scarier. I screamed and screamed. Go on. Try it.

The only down side to this ride is that the float often tends to overturn and capsize at the end when you pop out of the tunnel and into the pool. Mentally brace yourself so you don't panic when it happens!



This part of Adventure Cove really sets itself apart from all other water theme parks:




All guests of Adventure Cove GET TO SNORKEL AT THE RAINBOW REEF TEEMING WITH 20 000 FISHES!!!

My eyes popped like this: O______O when I heard about this attraction. I freakin' LOVE snorkeling, and you're telling me I can do it absolutely risk-free in a controlled environment without any worries about safety at all?!






 No prior experience necessary, just put on the masks and fins provided by them, undergo a short briefing by the instructor and dive into a world of underwater wonders!





Imagine being surrounded by HUGE schools of fishes like that!!! :D

It was IMMENSELY fun having thousands of fishes coming so close to you!!!! They're harmless, rather friendly, and so pretty to look at. Some even came so close, they brushed against my feet and I laughed out loud and almost choked on the seawater. I've been snorkeling in the wild before, and let me tell you... it is such a hassling and tiring experience to do it in the wild! Taking the boat ride out into the open sea, gearing up, worrying about sharks and jellyfishes (my biggest concern, I'm annoyingly paranoid about them), seaweed getting tangled in your hair, worrying about strong currents and your overall safety in general... Choking on sea water..... The list just goes on. It is also difficult to find such a large amount of different colorful fishes while you're snorkeling - normally you'll only get to see such a majestic sight when you're diving several meters down.

It's a completely gratifying thing, snorkeling is, but to do it so casually and fuss-free in a relaxed environment was truly enjoyable. Visibility was PERFECT. If you have never snorkeled before you are going to LOVE this attraction because you get to be part of the psychedelic world fishies live in for the first time!!! I saw all sorts of colored fishes - blue, grey, red, black, brown, yellow... they range from super small to pretty big!

Sam and I took around 20 minutes to complete our snorkeling. You will get to see a myriad of fishes such as the yellowfin surgeonfish, blueface angelfish, copperband butterflyfish, and lots more. This attraction is beautifully done. ♥








Back on the lazy river, after snorkeling. Pretty exhausted from a lack of sleep the night before + waking up early for the aquarium + water slides and snorkeling and I was happy to just float along with the current round and round again!





By this time my make up had pretty much gone all over my face making me look like I have raccoon eyes, so...




The rest of my photos were taken like this.








Every few meters, there will be a stationed lifeguard. I was pretty amazed by the number of lifeguard around - seriously, every 5 meters you'll get one looking all solemn, serious and ready to save your life in case you need em!! Thumbs up for safety precautions. I hope this place stays incident free for as long as possible! More often than that, kids who get into accidents only have their careless parents to blame.






Floating into a tunnel filled with sting rays





Another interactive activity highlight of Adventure Cove allows you to wade in shallow waters and rub shoulders (or submerged knees) with sting rays at selected timings throughout the day. Spots are limited and fill up quickly, so go early in the day and reserve your slot! Sam and I don't like sting rays all that much (he says: "I eat them with sambal!") so we gave this a miss, but I reckon its a pretty unique experience that most people shouldn't pass up if given the opportunity.

The dolphins were not ready for public viewing yet - they're still under quarantine! It's a pity we missed them but I will definitely be back again next year. I think they will be introducing dolphin interaction programs as well, where you can get in the water with them! Besides, I swam with amazing wild bottlenose dolphins in the open water of Australia just earlier this year, so that experience has fulfilled my dolphin quota for now. ;)

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Things to note:

• About SEA Aquarium and Adventure Cove: Even though they are now open to the public, they will not be fully completed until next year! Currently, they're still adding more fishes, and more attractions to enhance the experience even further.

• About Adventure Cove: Lockers are necessary . They're priced at $10 for a small one and $20 for a much larger one - can be opened multiple times a day.

• There are dispersed food stations, gift shops selling swim wear & equipment, restaurants and a shower facility for your convenience

• Remember to dress in appropriate swim wear and slap on sun screen!

• Adventure Cove and SEA Aquarium admission tickets are priced at $29 for adults, and $20 for children. Each attraction requires its own admission ticket.

• For more information, check out their official websites here.


///To round up my post, the Marine Life Park is a MUST-visit for any visiting tourist or local Singaporean - there's simply too much fun and laughter to be missed if you don't go. It makes for a perfect day out with the family, friends or partner. Thanks Resorts World Sentosa for this superb day out!!! I had a fin-tastic time.

xoxo,
Jess

I can't remember the last time I had a picnic in Singapore.

Wait a minute.... I think it might have been never, ever. I believe I've never actually had a picnic in Singapore - who in their right mind would be interested in sitting out in the scorching sun when you live in Singapore?! We get too much sun and heat as it is everyday! Well, thank god these girls are absolutely out of their minds, just like me!!! I'm so glad we decided to go ahead with this idea because it turned out to be such a good time despite the dreary weather, which was surprisingly kind to us that afternoon :)




Hellooo pretty ladies! From L-R: Ziwei, Bun (Juli), Amanda.




And this is Jayme and Diana!

Before I bombard you guys with smiley, bright, happy photos of ourselves looking crazy / pretty (whichever you prefer), here's something I have to say.


I've been spending a decent amount of time getting to really know these people recently. I realize the last I'd had a proper clique of all-girls-friends like this was in high school. The friendship didn't end on a high note, which left me relatively scarred and afraid to be part of girl cliques again because it somehow always leads to unwanted drama, backstabbing or sucking up one way or another. I'm sure all girls reading this can echo an Amen in unison. When you put 2 girls together, they're fine, 3 girls and its a mess, 4 girls and above... run for your life!!! Generally I prefer to keep mostly individual friends from different parts of my life, or if its a group it would be a mixed guy-and-girl sort of thing to use the guys to tone the bitchiness down... but this time I feel like its different.

I met these girls on my sponsored trip to Genting to film with Reelity TV and we've been getting on unexpectedly well together ever since! There is no sense of hierarchy, needless drama involved or unnecessary implications or strings attached... which I love. Just a bunch of very different girls from various walks of life coming together with the pure intention of making new friends, simple as it is. I'd like to keep this friendship the way it is, and I hope it remains this way -  innocent, full of laughter and surprises.. never a dull moment.




Picnic mats laid out, we plop down on a grassy green patch in the middle of Marina Barrage!





Can you believe its my first time here?

I'm always hanging out at Marina Bay Sands but I never bothered going to Marina Barrage despite it being in the proximity... lazy bum. Oh what a view and nice chill-out place I've missed out on! So much space to run around on trimmed clean fields of grass and be young & silly. Anyone who hasn't been here before should plan a picnic for a lazy late afternoon. Bring yummeh food, your camera, umbrellas and speakers to play your favorite music from!





Or you can be like the others & fly a kite in the blue skies... if you can get it up in the air.





I made awesome chocolatey chewy brownies for the picnic!!!

Using my recipe I've blogged about before here. I was gonna bring cupcakes, but they would have melted immediately in the sun. I thought the heat might've made my fudgey brownies even fudgier and yummy if they're slightly melted instead. :P





The white bits in my brownies are chocolate mint cookies which I threw into my brownie batter and baked together! It gave it a nice little crunch and minty flavor to break up the chocolateyness.

Some of the stuff that the girls brought: a big salad, egg sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, ham, korean rice wine and cheese tofu (super random items)

..You didn't think that was all we'd eat, did you?




It was Diana's brilliant idea to order KFC crispy chicken. I'm not a fan of fried chicken, but it seemed especially tempting that day!!!





We ended up over-ordering so much we could barely finish half of the portion! What a waste. And I can't believe some of the girls actually ate some of the remaining chicken after it was left in a cold hotel room for hours... cold soggy KFC hahah ewww.






What started out as mild sunny weather with nice breezes turned into strong winds and an overkill sun. Which did THIS to my cheap $8 H&M umbrella. Mary Poppins gone wrong.






I adore how you can see MBS and the skyline in all our pictures!!! It's so iconic and pretty.




Ziwei and Bunz look too adorable here to not post this picture up!






Wee-u-weet!! Wind swept look!








Group piccy!!!!!!!!!



These here, are my GG - Genting Girlies, Gossip Girls, ...Gungho Gangsters..






May 2013 bring about more wild days of us girls wreaking havoc in subtle ways days out like this!!! I know the 5 of you will be reading this!






The kind soul who helped us snap the above group shots. He was so bashful around us, it was funny. Diana nudged me and said "Eh maybe we / someone should take a picture with him, he helped us take so many pictures" and I said ok.

Next moment I'm all like "SCUSE ME MY FRIEND THINKS YOU'RE CUTE CAN SHE TAKE A PICTURE WITH YOU???"

Aaaaaaahahahaha. Hence the half snarl half smile on Diana's face!!!!





Too adorbs. :)

Had I known the pictures would turned out this nice I'd get down on the grass too instead of being a prissy princess and refusing to!















The older I get, the more I really appreciate living in a safe and beautiful city such as Singapore. Just look at how much its grown over the past few years.










Laughing and smiling becomes instantly contagious whenever I'm around them!















 JAYME WHY YOUR FACE ALWAYS LIKE THAT!!!








I've learned that not expecting too much out of people you meet will result in more pleasant surprises. Managing expectations, and being the friend you want people to be for you, is important.

I don't need my friends to hang out with me everyday, or all the time, and its cool if we don't yet understand each other completely. We don't need to be BFFs, you don't have to always agree with me or like the things that I do.

All I ask is that those who choose to share a friendship with me will accept me the way I am - lame jokes, candid antics, outspokenness and all. That they will ignore my superficial past, hearsay stories, and other things I have done and will not judge me for things they do not know the full truth to. People who will be upfront with me about how they feel about me. To look past our differences and to simply enjoy each others company despite how different we all are... to just live while we're young. It's okay if you're not always ready to share my tears with me as long as you're willing to break out in fits of laughter whenever we're together. All of this, is a friend enough for me.







You girls make up some 5 beautiful friends ♥


Of course, having common hobbies like singing, make up, frivolous fashion and blogging also add on to our chemistry. And a ridiculous sense of humor is a MUST. See below for evidence.





Diana and Bun kung-fu fighting in the air!!




Jayme and Ziwei attempting a sexy hair flip. While I'm taking these pictures I'm screamin' "WERK IT!!!!!!!"





Super sexy bitches signing off!

xoxo,
Jess

Can you believe Christmas is over already?!

It went as quickly as it came. I don't even know how my family and I ended up spending our Christmas in Bali. *scratches head*

When we were discussing Christmas plans, someone said something, someday, along the lines of "The Christmas atmosphere in Bali is great! There's lots of white tourists here so there will be plenty of Christmas lights and atmosphere." It would be fun, they said.... It would be a good place to spend Christmas, they said....... *shakes fist in the air*

All I felt was sweltering heat and intolerable humidity about three times worse than Singapore!! It was my first time there so I can't say I wasn't totally taken aback and surprised by how different it was from the way Bali is always portrayed in movies and in marketing advertisements. I thought it would be serene, peaceful, beautiful... On the contrary, people there were actually rather rude and rowdy, and the tourist area was anything but peaceful! To be fair, when we drove into the country side (at least an hour away from the city) it WAS a lot quieter and greener.. so maybe next time I visit, I'll go stay around Ubud, to see "the real Bali". I thought the touristy part of Bali (Kuta, Seminyak, Nusa Dua etc) would be like Phuket, boy was I wrong.. Phuket is in fact, a lot milder! Bali was really something else. A real eye opener. There was pretty much zero Christmassy atmosphere in the whole of Bali because most of the locals there at Hindus. People all around couldn't even be bothered it was Christmas.

But that didn't stop us from having a jolly good time! Having said all of this, the trip was still super fun and a great experience, despite being different from my expectations.




We spent our days stuffing our faces with traditional Balinese food and Western fine dining cuisine, doing massages and spa treatments, and shopped till we dropped. For the first time, I wasn't snapping photos of every single thing I was doing when I was traveling. It was difficult to resist the urge, but I wanted to lay off my camera and phone as much as possible, to soak up all the precious time I had with my loved ones. It's not everyday we get to bond overseas like this! Disconnect to connect, y'know?! Only really snapped pics when we visited the tourist hot spots like Ku De Ta, Potato Head, Tanah Lot... The rest, I only managed to take mental photos of, and they will be mine to keep.

When people talk about Bali, they will either mention the temples, food or beaches. However, my favorite thing about Bali happens to be the shopping. I never thought I would ever say this, but the shopping in Bali is COMPLETELY out of this world!! It definitely has the most amount of beautiful boutiques I have ever seen clustered together!!!! Streets after street of non-stop shopping is what you'll find in the Seminyak area. I can't believe I forgot to snap a picture of the shopping district to show y'all!!! I was too busy trying on clothes every second I spent there. I would go back to Bali again just to shop there until I'm broke. Bangkok, please step aside. The type of clothing you'll find in Bali was a match made in heaven for a girl like me... summery, unique, bright colored stunning pieces from independent designers at decent to cheap prices (depending where you shop at). I came back with like 20 new pieces of pretty clothing - needless to say my bank account took a hit. But it was all worth it!!!! I can't say "I've got nothing to wear" for at least another few more months now. :)

Most importantly, the best thing that happened in Bali was having the luxury of spending quality time with my family, creating unforgettable memories together. Food, presents and family is everything I love about Christmas and I'm glad I got to indulge in those things every day. I have so much to be thankful for this year. Thank you mummy & UJ for buying me so many pretty things to make me happy and also for taking me on this vacation for Christmas!! ♥


Here's a photo diary of my vacation to Bali below!




Bali from the clouds. Takes about 3 hours to fly there from SG!






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Checking into our lush accommodation - Padma Resort!

 We'd originally booked a three room villa to stay in, but that turned out to be THE worst hotel experience I've had in my life. You won't even believe how bad that was. That story will be for another post. Today's post is meant to be a happy, carefree one. Thank god Padma Resort was top notch and made us feel so much better.












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Hello, Janice and Jeremy. My brother and his gf makes a rare appearance on my blog, lol.

Getting them to take pictures is really difficult. I had to lie to them that I wasn't going to post them on my blog. Woops!





Our first dinner was alfresco dining at Warisan!






Crab, pomelo, avocado and tomato roulade





Red capcisum & lobster linguine




Lost count of the number of foie gras we ate in Bali. Working to lose weight now after all the festive feasting damage done over the past month!!!





Panna cotta is one of my all time favorite desserts!





Gorgeous set up, isn't it? All the places we had dinner at were great. Bali is full of cafes & restaurants serving up good food at reasonable prices!




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Next day's lunch next to a rice field.





Bali is so strange some times.

You get fancy boutiques selling designer clothes with each item costing at least $100 SGD and rightttt next to it you'll find a rice paddy field. I guess that's what people like about it - a commercialized place they can visit that still has its old cultural charms?




An hour's drive out of the city into the countryside, we were surrounded by rice paddy fields stretching as far as the eye could see!!! Made for a very scenic drive indeed.







Thank you for taking care of me and being so nice throughout the trip! :) xx










Spot one of Bali's most photogenic icons, Tanah Lot Temple behind me!!!

All those people (tiny figures in the background) standing at the base of the temple are crazyyy. They risk being drenched by crashing sea waves any time! In fact I saw a couple of people get really wet, with their DSLRs in hand. The whole area is covered with sea water when its high tide.






It looks so rustic and majestic, perched right at the water's edge. I wish we could've gone in and taken a look around... but entrance to the temple is sacred, and reserved for local Balinese Hindus only!


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Best thing I bought that trip were these SGD $1 fans that kept me from dying.






Sunset seaside dining at Potato Head, which everyone says is the place to be seen and to be in Bali!











Crab cake with avocados and caramelized pineapples





Cajun prawns





Halfway through our meal, we ran out onto the beach to snap these mandatory sunset shots..

My ice cream on my creme brulee melted as a consequence but I reckon these shots are well worth it!!! I like runny ice cream anyway. :P








This was supposed to be "RAWR I BREATHE FIRE" kinda photo but I think I failed. I look like I'm letting out a ginormous burp.













The Balinese sunset in its full glory ♥


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Christmas dinner!!! Best meal of the trip award goes to Metis restaurant, hands down.

If you're wondering why there are so many pictures of meal times and what else we were doing in Bali inbetween, you'd find us in changing rooms in boutiques or half asleep on massage beds.









Uh-huh more foie gras! I felt like a foie gras duck by the end of every meal.






My angus rib eye steak was melt-in-your-mouth-juices-bursting-with-every-bite kinda fantastic. It was so good, I almost wanted to cry. Really.






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The end of my rather brief photo diary! See you next time for shopping, Bali.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Christmas with your family / friends as well!!! Happy New Year everyone!Wishing you all the mostest of love, luck, wealth and happiness.

 Love.

xoxo,
Jess

...Was one of the best things I did this year.

Sure, I've done a lot of other things with my life in 2012 probably more worthy of an honorable mention on my blog sensibly speaking (such as working hard to lose 10kg of fats, moving out of my parents' place and renting an apartment of my own) but you know what...




Having a head full of fire kinda gave me a whole new identity. 

It made me change the way I styled my clothes, myself, and it prompted me to bother to dress up more often to suit my loud tresses. And I guess it even changed the way people looked at me. It screams personality, and it gives people a little insight to who you are just by first glance.

Unnaturally loud hair colors are almost like visible tattoos on a person's body. It is there to serve as a statement. They say something about you that you wanna tell the world. I am me, hear me roar. Not everyone will approve of it, certainly not everybody will think its pretty or cool.... but YOU like it, and that's what matters most, because it makes you, more you. I suppose this reasoning applies to hairstyles in general, not just wild hair colors.


Now, you don't want to make the mistake of entrusting your precious hair to just ANY salon. The last time I went to a random salon to do my hair, my permed hair ended up looking like pubic hair. :') It took me many months to grow it back after I cut it all off..You don't even understand how many hair catastrophes I had to go through to finally settle down with a hair color + style + condition I'm more than satisfied with.





These days, I get my hair touched up and maintained at Shunji Matsuo 313 every other month! And I always walk out of there feeling amazing. AND FIERCE. ;)






The friendly and lovely stylists there take care of all my hair coloring, styling, cutting and treatment needs.






Here is my stylist, Eddie, tying pretty little intricate braids for me when I requested for "a different look" from my usual.


Because I'd previously bleached my hair to get an ombre-purple-pink style earlier this year (at a different salon, not Shunji Matsuo) my hair ends were awfully dry after negligent care (as it always is when you have to bleach your poor hair!), on the verge of breaking and splitting too easily. After religiously going back to do treatments every month, my hair condition has improved leaps and bounds!!






My all-time favorite hair treatment that Shunji Matsuo 313 offers is this 100% Organic Curement Treatment!

Using all natural herbs and oils from mother nature, this 4 step herbal treatment is suitable for people seeking more volume and shine for their hair, and especially good for super dry hair like I had. The difference is instant, noticeable and most importantly, long lasting. More treatments only result in my hair looking and feeling good for a few days tops, but my hair felt softer for weeks. I highly recommend trying this at Shunji Matsuo 313 if you have hair in need of urgent repair! Pricing for this treatment ranges from $101 - 155, depending on your individual hair length.






If you've been following my blog long enough, you can do a comparison of my hair BEFORE I started visiting Shunji Matsuo (Somerset 313 outlet) and after... judge the difference for yourself.

Pictures can do the convincing better than my words can.





This is what I call a true crowning glory!!!!♥ ♥ ♥

You can compare the Before and After effects from the pictures above and below this chunk of text. The pretty "After"math is the pic above - luscious healthy hair with treatment done, and robust color. The not-so-pretty "Before" pic below... faded red, roots growing out, noticeably drier texture.

Thanks to my stylist's advice and concern, Eddie has also provided home treatments for me to DIY at home, which I believe is an important factor as well because you can't possibly go to a salon every single week - you need to be able to maintain it yourself at home! If you visit Shunji Matsuo 313, ask them more about home care products that would suit you. After switching shampoos and conditioner upon their recommendation, my hair fall rate (which used to be a big balding issue) has decreased significantly, and my hair tangles less often. I'm using Matrix Biolage range and loving the results so far!





Thank you Shunji Matsuo 313 for giving a head full of hair that I can be proud of. I am happy to say I almost never have bad hair days any more... every day is a good hair day!!!

Shunji Matsuo Hair Salon @ 313
313 Orchard Road, #03-26,
313@Somerset, Singapore 238895
+65 6238 0226
Email: lovehair@shunjimatsuo313.com.sg

Alternatively, find them on Facebook here. Mention or quote "Shiberty" for 10% off certain services!



To sidetrack a little, I've lost count of the number of times I've had random strangers come up to me, smile and say "I love your hair!!!". It ALWAYS makes me grin instantly, not just because someone is giving me a compliment, but because its not everyday you have a reason for people you don't know to approach you and say something nice to you. They don't have to do it, but they do it anyway. And living in Singapore where it is uncommon for everyday people to be nice for no apparent reason, I lap up every opportunity I get. It's like how I always smile and appreciate it when someone who walks by me says, "Good day!". It might not have been accurately so, but because of those two words, it probably will turn out to be a better one after all.

xoxo,
Jess

Hello, 2013!!!








I spent the last day of 2012 with my family having lunch in the afternoon, then shopped around with my mum in the early evening before spending the night counting down with friends by partying and clubbing. And by partying and clubbing I actually mean playing board games, ordering in room service and lazing on hotel beds, but that's totally cool with me. At least we got a pretty nifty view of the fireworks from Marina Bay Sands. I pretty much spend every special occasion here now.... it's become a no-brainer kinda place to go when you need to be somewhere, anywhere but home.

It was my idea of a simple, but perfect day.





When I woke up on the first day of 2013, I looked around and told myself... everything doesn't seem any different at all. It could jolly well be 2012 again, if not for the fact I celebrated the beginning of a new year last night. Everything and everyone looks the same.... got new year, meh? *cue Singaporean accent*

..That's when it hit me, and I realized - it won't matter if its a brand new year of life, unless you change your mentality about things and strive to improve yourself. It won't BE any different, if you don't set out with change in your mind, and determination in your heart. A change in date won't bring about miracles to your life. You have to actively pursue improvement, heck, even perfection.... and if you want something you've never had, you're gonna have to do something that you've never done before. Opportunities don't come knocking on your door. You have to hunt the fucker down, follow him home then burst through HIS door, demanding to be noticed. And when you're finally noticed, please, don't get complacent. I think one of my biggest flaws is having a short attention span. I feel like I want something, I go out and do it, and when I'm sorta pretty good at it, I just stop completely. Before I ever reach "excellent", I stop dead in my tracks at good.  I move on to my next target, only to find just being good doesn't cut it in this world - and ultimately, everything was a waste of time because it amounted to nothing in the end. How I see it: You're either great, or you're NOTHING at all. This year is going to change that. I'm going to be FUCKING TERRIFIC at everything I want to be great at, and god forbid if I let 2013 become another year of "what ifs" and "if only"... then shame on me.




Here are some things I'm going to accomplish in 2013, aka my list of New Year's Resolutions, in no particular order or importance (yeah right):

1) Make more money than I did last year.

I took a long break with my business because of some personal implications late last year. I've stopped baking for other people for so long, I'm almost afraid I've forgotten how to make pretty cakes. I hope I'm still good at it. Who am I kidding? I'm fantastic, lol. This year, I wanna take business to new heights. Whether its opening a physical shop front or supplying to cafes or just expanding my online business even larger. I'm going to be efficient when it comes to replying emails. I will try my best to reply rude people nicely, even if I want to punch them in the face. I will invent new yummy flavors, and I will keep people coming back for more. I will try my very best to never disappoint any customer or mess up their order, and I hope each and every one of them will eat my cakes with a big smile on their face. I am going to have a new website for my cakes, because the current one is god awful.

When it comes to blogging, I'm going to churn out great write ups for my sponsors and clients. I'm going to try my very best not to be late when submitting my drafts (the lord knows how guilty I am of this, I'm perpetually late for everything) and I will try to blog more often, even if it means shorter but frequent posts! I will try to not have super backdated posts, anything older than one and a half month is unacceptable. (notice how I say "try" for resolutions I'm not 100% confident I will achieve, lol) Hopefully, I'll get a new blog layout too, it is time for a refreshing change!



2) Save some money from the money that I make.

I'm not bad at making money, actually. What I'm absolutely terrible at is SAVING the moolah that I make. I'm a true blue shopaholic. I can spend over $100 at Daiso, even when I only walked in intending to buy a single $2 item. When I go on shopping sprees, I some times spend close to a thousand on random stuff a day, and frankly speaking, I don't make enough to support that sort of spending especially when its on things that I don't NEED. I have this mentality of living each day like it was your last.... but unfortunately the idea doesn't gel so well with bank accounts. Hopefully, I can set aside at least $500 of savings each month. That most likely doesn't sound like a lot to most people, especially the sensible and responsible ones who do save up, but golly, I'd be darn impressed with myself I manage to save at least $300 a month. Hahah.



3) Lose another 7kg of fats.

You know, ideally, I would like to lose an additional 10kg on top of the 11kg ish I lost in 2012.. but I will be very happy with 7kg of progress. I have a whole year to lose that 7kg, which equates to about 500 grams per month. I could totally do that. I could easily lose half a kilo in a week if I wanted to! I just have to REMEMBER that I need to be on a diet (and exercise more frequently). Too often I just forget about dieting and being healthy and I just pig out or create excuses for myself.... I'm a happy UK size 10 right now, and even though I'm pretty confident of the way I look and generally am happy with my aesthetics, I still have flabby thick arms, thunder thighs, pudgy tummy and what not that could use a little (or a lot haha) of work. Now that I don't have eu yan sang's acupuncture treatment to give me the push, it will probably be more difficult.... but it's still something I HAVE to do for myself.


4) Be more punctual.

I'm always god damn late, god damn it. It's a habit I've had since I was a kid in school - late for school, late when it came to doing homework, late when I had to go back to the classroom after recess.... I struggle to grasp the concept of time. Some times it goes by so slow, some times it's so fast. I need to be punctual with my appointments more often!!!! Because of my tardiness, I end up splurging on cabs when I could've taken the MRT when it takes the same amount of time to get there, but costs so much more. You can do this Jessica, it's not that hard. Stop oversleeping late into the afternoon and taking too long to choose your outfits before you go out. I will plan my outfits the night before, so I don't spend an hour ransacking my wardrobe, turning it into a warzone.


5) Maintain good relationships with the people I care about.

2012 was a pretty good year for my friendships and relationships. I made new friends I'm fortunate to have met, reconnected with a few older ones I'm glad to still keep and I found out who my real friends were, and who were the ones I didn't need in my life. I shared a lot of laughs with people I didn't expect to, which was great. I almost never argued with my mother or got into big arguments, I tried to be as civil as possible when it came to my father and hey, I'm still attached to my boyfriend of over 3 years. That has to count for something, right? I swear to always be there for the people who need me, and that I will put more effort into being a better person they can be proud of.  And I will try to love them for who they are as well, flaws, smelly breath and all. Also I will try to not use my phone to Twitter, Instagram and Facebook so much when I'm having social gatherings with people. Disconnect to connect. *chants 100 times...*


6) Floss my teeth more often.

Generally, I have very good hygiene. I don't have dandruff or oily hair, I always smell pretty good even without perfume, I wash my hands after I pee.... but I'm embarrassed to say that my oral hygiene is something that needs help. I'm laughing that flossing my teeth is on my New Year's Resolution list, along with making more money and losing weight. But yeah. There isn't a whole lot of things I feel like I really need to improve on, except dental hygiene is definitely one of them. I'm going to floss my teeth after I finish typing this post. (*edit: I actually went to shower and floss my teeth halfway through the post. Now I have lickable clean teeth. Go, me.)



7) Keep my room nice to live in, and organized.

I'm a pack rat. I have 11 penguins in it, for goodness sake. It's probably not THAT messy compared to some other girls' rooms (I have witnessed horrible situations) but its messy enough to be kinda frustrating sometimes. I read a study once where it said living in a messy, unorganized or dirty room makes your life more unproductive. I think there's some truth to this study!



8) Record more Youtube covers.

Uh-huh. So I finally plucked up the courage in October last year and I did one here



But I haven't done any after that.... I know I can say I'm busy but I know its a lousy excuse. If you REALLY wanna get something done, you'll get it done. I guess I became distracted. Honestly, the hardest thing was finding people to collaborate with coz I feel kinda awkward (and not so confident) doing it all by myself. It takes quite a lot of nerve. But I'm already in the midst of discussing a new cover with this really talented awwsuummm person.... so crossing my fingers we get together and record soon!!!!! I'm trying to juggle too many things at once, aren't I? I can't wait to show you guys what else I can come up with! I hope I can get one done by February. And yes these things take longer, and more effort than it seems....
If there are any musically inclined singers or instrument extraordinaire or videographers or anybody who would be interested in collaborating with me for a Youtube cover, drop me a mail at Shiberty@hotmail.com!



9) Get out of the country to see the rest of the world... at least three times.

I don't think I'm asking for too much... or am I? Some people don't travel at all, while others do it like every month. My mum happens to be one of those people. Envy!!! I want a relaxation trip, a shopping trip and a sightseeing trip. I totally wouldn't mind going back to Australia again, I LOVE that place... there's an endless amount of things to see & do there. Or if I'm really lucky I'll get to go to a whole new country I've never been to before! Maybe Korea, Japan, Philippines, Europe, Hong Kong.... Anything but Malaysia or Indonesia again, please? LOL. Really bored of neighboring countries. Unless I'm going to Penang for the food or Bali for the shopping then I don't mind. And, if anyone noticed, everything I've said in the paragraph above totally clashes with resolution number 2, Saving Money. Sigh. #firstworldproblems


10) I'll keep number 10 open-ended for now.

I am actually rather worried that I don't seem to have a lot of immediate goals in my sight. OMG am I an under-achiever??? Why doesn't any of my resolutions include a cure for cancer? Why don't I have bigger and wilder aspirations to share with you guys? This year I turn 21 and there's no more excuses left for me. DISGUSTING. Me, 21 years old, officially an adult by law. I can't pretend to be young and stupid and get away with things like lazing around any more. People will EXPECT me to be an adult and to be successful. What happened to 2012? It just went by like that. Scratch that, what the hell happened to my life from 16-20?

The older you get, the faster time passes. It really is scary. Now I know what all the old people mean by "in the blink of an eye".

xoxo,
Jess

If you're human, like me, you would have most likely put on some weight in December.

With all that festive feasting, how could you not?! Alcohol, cakes, indulgent meals.... yep, December is kinda notorious for that. So by the time January comes, one of the top few tasks on most peoples' New Year's Resolutions list would be "to lose weight". I know it sure is on mine! I've lost a significant amount of weight last year, but my progress got kinda stagnant towards the end part of it... however, a new year is for revived opportunities, so say goodbye to complacency and hello PERSEVERANCE!


In case you don't know, here's how much weight I've lost:




"HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODEHHHHH!!! NOW PASS ME A BURGER OR I'LL EAT YOUR DOG." - the old me on the left

LOL. I knowwwwwwwwwww. It's awful. And kinda (very) scary. Trust me, when I was scrolling through my old photos trying to find the fattest full body shot of myself I could find, my jaw dropped to the floor when I saw this. Like, I always knew I was gaining weight, but I could NEVER fathom just how much. You know that quote, "You don't know what you've lost until its gone?" Yeah, in my case its about the amount of fats. I'm not sure of the exact number but I think I've lost approximately 10-11kg since then.

To be fair, this was probably THE most unflattering picture of me ever taken.... AND the worst dress I've ever worn, in the worst possible angle. It's amazingly cringe-worthy on so many levels. Not even just cringe-worthy, GASP-inducing! I was really big but I don't think I really walked around looking like that everyday.... there are plenty of other pictures of me looking like a normal fat person (if that makes sense lol), but this one REALLY takes the cake. This one stole the whole cake and ate it by herself hahaha. I contemplated over whether I should post this picture or not, but I figured I have nothing to lose since I'm not that person any more. I am the much healthier and happier girl on the right side of the pic now! The pic in the purple dress was taken 31st December on the last day of 2012. Within 10 months, I think I made good progress and I'm proud of myself. I thought I would have binged and caved in to my old habits eventually and my weight would rebound back up again, but I've maintained it surprisingly well! In my old post, I mentioned that I aim to lose 7kg this year, so that is my new goal I have to work towards in 2013.

Quite a lot of people have been asking me lately, "How did you do it?" (I suppose some thought I'd never able to do it) so I decided to do a blog post with some of my own tips that helped me along the way, to provide some motivation to the people out there that truly need it. I'm not reaching out to annoying girls who are perfectly normal sized but complain that they are fat, I hope to reach out to actually overweight people who have a physical and mental condition that they want to mend. From the messages I've been getting, I know some of you feel helpless, but you are not. Everyone already KNOWS how to lose weight - eat less, exercise more. It's just that simple. But what people want to hear is other straightforward baby steps that they can take so that the task seems more feasible, and not too daunting. What they want to hear is an easier solution. I can tell you this, losing weight is anything but easy, especially if you do it the good old fashioned way (excluding slimming pills, diet suppressants, detox teas, liposuction, fad diets, bulimia) but taking small steps so that your body gets accustomed to your new lifestyle change will make it much easier. I still have a considerable amount of work to do and progress to make before I'm well satisfied with my body, so I will have to refer back to this list whenever my strength happens to waiver this year.... which I pray will not happen, but I know it will some time or another, I am only human. I don't claim to be a diet / body / health / nutritionist expert of sorts, but this list below has worked well for me, and I hope it will for you too.


Shiberty's list of 10 ways tolose weight effectively:

1) Drink more water in between and right before meals.

Water is the healthiest and most natural diet suppressant.
• Not only does drinking enough water aid in keeping your skin clear, body hydrated and your brain functioning properly, it also results in you feeling full for longer periods of time. When I feel like snacking in between meals, I drink a lot of cold, CARBONATED water to make my cravings go away. 80% of the time, it works. 20% of the time, unforunately I succumb to my temptations. The gas and bubbles from the drink makes me burp and kind of bloated, which is a fab solution when you're hungry although you're not supposed to be... it tricks your body into thinking that you're not. Also, drink half a glass of cold water before you have any meal. It WILL decrease the amount of food you will eat quite significantly. I try to drink carbonated cold water whenever I can, it works better than still water.


2) Skip supper.

Everyone knows that to lose weight, you have to eat less in general.
• Most importantly, you have to watch what you eat at night, from 7pm onwards. In the day, your metabolism rate is much higher and burns up calories faster than it would at night. The excess calories that don't get used by the time you sleep will be stored as sugar in your body, and converted into fat cells eventually. I can't tell you to skip dinner because that would be unhealthy, but have a light dinner made of mainly protein and vegetables, and ALWAYS skip supper when you can!!! A good way to make sure you don't succumb to supper cravings is to sleep earlier. Wake up and have breakfast the next morning instead. People who head to bed after 1am will definitely feel kinda hungry by that time, unless they had a late dinner, which is also not good. When I feel hungry at night, I go to sleep. You can't feel hungry (or any conscious feeling at all) when you're asleep. If you're too hungry to fall asleep, which happens to me some times... for gods sake, fix yourself something light to snack on then off to bed you go!


3) Weigh yourself everyday.

When I was gaining weight, I kept myself off the weighing scale for as long as possible..
• I ran far away from it whenever I saw one. I couldn't face the truth. Not for a long time. But now, I jump on the weighing scale everyday, for a reality check. If you want to lose weight, you HAVE to face the truth - that your body is in an unhealthy state right now, and you NEED to do something about it. Look at your weight. Is it a number you'd like to see? No it is not. It sucks. It's so damn high, what the hell happened to you? What number would look a lot better on the scale, and what dress would look really good on you if your weight actually were the number you hope for it to be? Plan a weekly target for your weight loss. Don't get far fetched and think about how much weight you want to lose in the next half a year. Start slow, but steady. Start by losing 500g this week. 500g is really easy, you could lose 500g in a day or two if all you ate was a moderate amount of salad, fruits, protein and water. When you lose your first 500g, you'll instantly feel a mini sense of triumph. And that sense of achievement and self-fulfillment will become addictive, as you see your weight drop more and more every day, even if its only by 200g sometimes. If you wanna get thinner, you weigh yourself everyday to monitor your progress, to make sure you're on the right track. You don't leave it to chance and luck and hope weight loss just happen to you. If you're not seeing enough results, TRY HARDER. Just like how if you wanna get rich, or when you're doing a business, you calculate your finances and sales profit all the time to keep track of your record!



4) Eat when you need and want to, but in small, controlled amounts.

When you need to eat: 
• It's better to have 4 or 5 small meals throughout the day, than to have 1 or 2 gigantic ones. Your body breaks down the food easier and faster when it comes in moderated amounts. A sure bet to lose weight is to snack frequently on healthier options in between lunch and dinner, so you don't end up eating too much at night. Snack on dried seaweed, cheeses, fruits, anything that doesn't have a super high amount of carbs / sugar will do just fine. Or drink carbonated water, like I said! Most people look forward to dinner because its their biggest and most indulgent meal... That's gonna have to change!

When you want to eat: 
• If you have a craving that lasts for hours or even days and it just won't seem to go away, satisfy it. If you feel like ice cream, have some ice cream. Share it with a friend. Don't order your usual 2 scoops of ice cream. Have one scoop instead. If you can bring yourself to, have only a few spoonfuls, enough to satisfy your craving and keep yourself sane. Sustainable dieting is so important. Most of the time, people give up their diets halfway because it drove them insane. They felt like they couldn't eat anything at all. So I'm taking a different approach and telling you, EAT if you really feel like you want to. But always learn how to moderate. If I'm dying for pasta, (one of my favorite foods) I will have pasta for lunch, in a small portion much lesser than what I'd normally have if I let myself indulge. Then I'll opt for a low-carb meal for dinner to make up for my high intake of carbohydrates in the afternoon. This way, you'll find its much easier to adhere to your diet for prolonged periods of time.


5) Don't over order when you're dining out in restaurants. 

Don't bite off more than you can chew.
• When you look at the menu in a restaurant, you wanna order literally EVERYTHING. You let your gluttony get the better of you, and you end up ordering more than you can eat. Damn it! Over-ordered again. But the food is already in front of you, on the table..... You're gonna have to pay for that anyway........  Mama always taught you not to waste food. Gah, you hate seeing perfectly good and yummy food being thrown away. Hate wasting food, hate wasting food. Must finish everything. So you reach out into the table, and you keep putting food into your mouth, even when you should have and could have stopped 300 calories ago. You're not eating because you're still hungry, you're eating just because the food is there. It's in front of you. A natural reaction. If this scenario sounds like you, then you're JUST like me. Stop doing that.

• Don't order your starter, main course and dessert all at the start of the meal. Order a main course first, then think about whether you're hungry enough to have a side dish. If you are, why not share it with your dining partner? Don't even think about dessert until you're done with all the savory food. Think ya got space in your tummy? Drink half a glass of water. If you still insist on dessert after all of that - fine, go ahead. But chances are, you won't.  When you think you've had quite enough but afraid you may reach out for more, proclaim loudly, "I'm really full now." I do that when I'm with a group of friends and it prevents me from eating more coz if I do I'd look really stupid, and a liar. LOL. Or, simply ask the waiter to clear your table. Voila. The food isn't in your face any more, so you don't have to think about whether you should continue eating. Problem solved.


6) Stop eating when you feel adequately satiated, not when you feel full or bloated.

Your stomach is like a muscle you can train.
• If you persistently have smaller meals, your stomach will naturally shrink as well, and it won't need as much food to become full. The first time you cut down on your usual amount of intake, you'll feel slightly unsatisfied or reluctant, but you'll get used to it very quickly. You'll feel the results of this theory in a mere week, try it. It does't have to be a drastic difference. If you love rice, and are used to having it all the time for dinner, then instead of a whole bowl, reduce it to 3/4 bowl. After a week or two, reduce it to half a bowl. It will make a world of difference in time to come.

• Some people don't know when to stop eating. (*raises hands* I am one of them!) They gorge themselves until they're crazily bloated. You should actually stop eating when you feel adequately SATIATED. What does adequately satiated mean? When your tummy isn't growling any more. When you feel like you've got enough in your stomach to keep you going for at least another hour or two, not the whole damn day. When hunger isn't an issue, and when you can go back to functioning normally. Stop eating at that point. You don't need to be FULL all the time. Eating till you're full isn't satisfying your body's needs, it is satisfying your own endless greed. 



7) Pick up a friendly or competitive sport with a friend.

Hate going running, or to the gym? 
• Me too. The weather is wayyy too hot and humid outside to go running, and the gym is just.... well, boring. Sounds like excuses? They probably are. So rid yourself of excuses and pick up a totally fun sport with a friend! You'll end up doing it for the fun factor, rather than exercising, which becomes a byproduct. I some times play table tennis with the boyfriend, and badminton with friends, and burn more calories than I notice. Other fun activities such as swimming works great as well - as long as you're moving and using energy, you're burning up calories. Exercise becomes a lot more bearable when you have a friend to motivate you - I prefer competitive sports so that I have a reason to perform even better and try harder each time we play! Find a spontaneous and reliable friend who's willing to commit to a new activity with you. It's important you find someone you can rely on to always show up, because if your friend / work out partner starts getting lazy, chances are you will get affected as well. Yoga? Soccer? Pilates? Tennis? Whatever you fancy. Just find something, and do it. Anything but sitting on your ass.



8) Lower your carbohydrates intake.

"Is butter a carb?" - Regina George, Mean Girls.
• No, butter isn't a carb, Regina. Butter = fat. Technically, eating foods high in fat (oily friend chicken, fatty char siew) doesn't make you as fat as eating carbohydrates does. If you made Person A eat KFC everyday, and Person B eat Pasta Mania everyday, Person B will most likely put on more weight than Person A because of their high amount of carbohydrates intake from the pasta. The biggest factor of my weight loss is definitely going on a low-carbohydrate diet. Low carb doesn't mean NO carb, it just means I've reduced my carb intake significantly while still consuming enough to keep my body running normally. It is imperative that a person who wants to lose weight efficiently understands what carbohydrates do to your body. So let's have a little science lesson.

What ARE carbs? Main sources of carbohydrates include noodles, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, sweet potatoes, any starchy or sugary food. Sugar = also carbs. So that means an innocent looking piece of fruit or vegetable has a certain amount of carbs as well, for it is naturally sweet. Let's use an apple as an example. But that doesn't mean that eating an apple will make you fat -  there are good carbs, and bad carbs.

Good Carbs AKA Complex Carbs
• We can reap the health benefits of good carbs by choosing carbohydrates full of fiber. These carbs that get absorbed slowly into our systems, avoiding spikes in blood sugar levels. Examples: whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans.

Bad Carbs AKA Processed Carbs
• We can minimize the health risk of bad carbs by eating fewer refined and processed carbohydrates that strip away beneficial fiber. Examples: white bread and white rice.

Carbohydrate Addiction
• The consumption of carbohydrates can actually cause an addiction for many people, because of the serotonin release they induce. Serotonin is a brain chemical that improves the mood and induces a relaxing effect by decreasing stress and anxiety as well as reducing pain. People with low serotonin levels may therefore reach for more and more carbohydrates in an attempt to feel better, which can eventually lead to weight gain.

Fat Storage
• After eating carbohydrates, the pancreas responds by producing insulin, which is mainly responsible for regulating blood sugar levels by letting the carbohydrates, broken down into sugar, enter the cells of the liver and muscles to be used for energy. However, insulin also has the role of regulating fat storage. High levels of circulating insulin, which are associated with the consumption of carbohydrates, help with the storage of carbohydrates and excess calories not required for immediate use as fat. In other words, carbohydrates promote the release of insulin, which in turn promotes fat storage.

(Source 1, Source 2.)

These days, I don't even have to exercise excessively or starve myself to lose weight - I just have to lower my carbs intake, and I usually see weight loss results within days. I've lost as much as 2 kilos in a week simply by reducing processed carbs, and eating more protein, fat + complex carbs such as fruits and vegetables. Coupled with increased exercising, the results can be quite drastic. Like an 11kg sort of drastic-ally wonderful. Losing weight isn't the difficult part, it's MAINTAINING the weight that is the biggest hurdle. After losing some, you'll gain some back... but your aim is to keep most of it off!



9) Always wear nice clothes that actually fit you.

Why? I'll tell you why.

The Clothes Know Best
• The easiest, idiot proof way to tell if you've gained weight is trying to squeeze into a pair of jeans, or a dress that would normally fit you just fine. You don't even have to voluntarily step onto a weighing scale to find out - your clothes will instantly tell you. Now, if you're the type who likes to wear baggy, loose-fitting stuff all the time, your weight gain may not be immediately obvious. And it doesn't feel good when your clothes that used to fit, don't any more. If you know what's good for you, you'll do something about it.

Baggage Allowance
• When I was a UK Size 14, some times I'd buy a dress that was UK Size 16 just in case I got even fatter. It was almost as if I was prepping myself for future weight gain. These days, I swear by all UK size 10 dresses, even if some times they're a little tight around my hips or chest. On several occasions I wore dresses so tight fitting, I could barely breathe in them. BUT I'M NOT GOING TO BUY A GOD DAMN SIZE UP ANY MORE. Doing so is pretty much giving myself the OK to become fatter again. I will not accept this behavior from myself. What I wanna do, is downsize even more. If my dress is tight, I'm going to lose enough weight so that it fits perfectly, and hopefully one day it will be loose, like all my other now-redundant UK size 12s, 14s, and 16s!!! I have quite a lot of clothes that don't fit me at all any more, mainly ranging from UK 14 to 16s. I know how hard it is to find nice clothes when you're  of a certain size, so if you're interested in buying my pretty clothes off me (all in perfect condition), drop me a mail at Shiberty@hotmail.com.

Wear Nice Clothes To Feel Good About Yourself
• There was a period of time I recycled the same old boring, ugly clothes over and over again, because those would be all that'd fit me. Fashion didn't even matter to me, and I just let myself go. No make up, hair was shit, fashion sense was also shit... It was severely depressing. Even if you're a big girl, you deserve to indulge in fashion! Pamper yourself and wear nice clothing. It will inspire you to shed some pounds so that you may look even better in future outfits. Completely letting yourself go and not caring how you end up looking or feeling like, is the worst possible thing you could do for yourself. Don't let yourself go, don't lose hope. I know its inevitable that you lose some self-confidence when you gain weight, which is why you need to regain your self-love back. Most girls don't bother to lose weight because they don't BELIEVE that they are worth the change, or that they CAN do it. Losing weight is 60% mindset and willpower, 25% dieting, 15% exercise.



10) Celebrate every victory!

...No matter how small.
• Keeping your morale up is vital for weight loss. Always think positive, and give yourself rewards for seemingly little achievements. You didn't have supper last night? GOOD FOR YOU. You had grilled fish instead of pasta? Splendid. Buy yourself a little gift (a healthy cookbook?). Tell your boyfriend, girlfriend, mom, dad, sister, brother or friend about it. Get them to support you. You won't survive this journey on your own. Don't beat yourself up over little mistakes, such as failing to resist your favorite dessert after dinner time. That's okay. Just exercise tomorrow to burn the calories off. Don't blame yourself if you're not straight away seeing the results you were hoping for. It will not be easy, it will not be quick, but it will be completely worth every single tear and sweat drop that came out of this. By the end of it all, you'll see that I was right. Like I've said before, you didn't put on all that weight in one day, so don't expect only a day to burn it off. ...But it's always better to be sore the next day, than sorry.

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Aside from all that I've mentioned above, of course I have to highlight that I was extremely fortunate enough to have undergone acupuncture weight management treatment with Eu Yan Sang and be their featured blogger, which gave me the push I desperately needed! Read about my weight loss journey with EYS here: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3. Oh, and if you have a friend whom you know that is struggling with weight issues or someone who needs some encouragement and inspiration - do me a favor, & help me share this post with them!


Always remember: Your body is constantly a work in progress.

No slim or trim figure lasts forever unless you bother to maintain it. And no overweight or obese person will be fat or thick forever either, unless you continue stuffing your face and gorging your body with unhealthy food day after day. I'm on the same path, just like you. We are all in this together. I hope by the end of 2013, I can look back on my current pictures and say "Look how much smaller my arms / thighs have gotten!". TODAY is always the right day to start making a change. If you don't do it in 2013, when will it ever happen? A year from now, when you look back, you'll wish you'd started a year ago. Take it from a person who once proclaimed to the world that she loved food more than herself. I still love food to the heavens, hell and back. And I'm really fucking lazy when it comes to physical activities to boot. You can do it if you want to. But only if you really, REALLY want it badly enough. So ask yourself.... do you, now?




Hear this, and repeat after me: I'M DOING THIS FOR ME.

Not because some assholes are calling me mean names. Not because I'm being pressured into it. I'm doing this out of my own good sense and will because I've finally had enough of my own lame excuses. Because I need to start loving myself properly again. Because I deserve to be healthy, and happy.


Good luck!!!!!!!! 

xoxo,
Jess

It hasn't even been 2 months since I moved into my new apartment, but it feels like a long time ago when I buried my face in my old bed sheets, huddled in a ball, in tears.

I made my virgin day trip into Johor Bahru with my Genting Girlies last week!

I like all sorts of food, and I'm willing to try any cuisine as long as it doesn't have strange or gross ingredients (unusual innards, insects and whatnot). So I'll admit, exotic Japanese food isn't something I have found myself venturing to explore very much... it has a reputation for being rather out of this world some times. When I have Japanese cuisine on a normal day, I'll order my usual: Salmon sashimi, something with mentai / ikura and probably an udon / chawanmushi. The standard stuff you'll find in a franchise casual restaurant like Sushi Tei.

Funny how the best things you'd never expect to happen to you always come about from the littlest ideas and ways.

So, one day, my friend had the day off and we arranged to hang out. Not wanting to head into town or do anything particularly productive, we went for a lazy lunch and after that, the initial plan was to visit a doggy-cafe in Katong that allowed you to play with their adorable dogs for a fee - but before making our way over there, we found out that it was shut down temporarily. So then, we were at a loss of what to do. "Let's go see other doggies!" I told him.

"I saw this cute dog at NEX Serangoon.... It was soooo cute I wanna go back and see it!!" 



This was the dog I was talking about. Isn't it adorbs??? :)

But le friend said he hated NEX Serangoon's parking & would rather not go there, so somehow we ended up at Ang Mo Kio looking at bunnies instead. We were around the area anyway, and he just mentioned he knew of a pet store at Ang Mo Kio that sold really cute bunnies so I'm like "okay." I just wanted to look at something fluffy and cute that day, it didn't really matter what the animal was. I'm not a bunny or rabbit lover, so I didn't think much of it but just went along with it.


Upon entering the shop, however, things changed.

Suddenly, you'd find me squealing and cooing at the rabbits... "SHOOOOOO CUTE!!! OMG! LOOK. I want to squish it." - something like how I sounded. I saw a pair of adorable orange bunnies grooming and playing with each other, and then Nich asked the shopkeeper if we could hold the bunnies for awhile.

So this was what happened next.



Awwwww.... look at it! So snuggly! I was shocked by how gentle the bunny was. I would've expected them to be really squirmy and difficult to handle but they were docile and just sort of laid still for as long as you carried them. And then, I spotted another bunny....

A grey one.




I didn't think it was that cute at the start, until the shopkeeper took them out and it was all



AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

I turned into butter. You could've whipped me into cream if you wanted to. ARE YOU FOR REAL??? It's so cute I am going to faint. I feel like a troll standing next to it when you compare our cuteness level.




"I want it!!!!!!!!! I want to take it hooome." - Me, the next 30 minutes.

I fell in love with how cute she was, but I decided not to buy her because I'm not very good with animals. (or at least I thought I wasn't) I've never had a pet aside from hamsters before, and a rabbit seemed like a huge commitment to someone like me. Besides, it's probably just an impulse feeling because I'm so overwhelmed by how adorable she is - if I buy her now, and bring her home, I'm going to regret tomorrow.

Better say goodbye to the bunny, I told myself. You didn't come with any intention to buy a pet today - you just wanted to look at fluffy things, remember?!

So, reluctantly.... I left the shop. I thought I was doing the right thing for myself.


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A few days later, we ended up at the same shop again.

We were having lunch at the same mall the pet shop was at, so I thought I'd just drop by to have another look at the bunny.... It wouldn't hurt.... I'm just looking at her, what's the big deal? Window shopping is pleasing to the eyes and harmless to the wallet.




I walked into the shop, saw her cheekily munching away on her hay ball and IMMEDIATELY fell right back in love again. My god!!! Those cheeks! 



Oh and for those who don't know yet, yes, I have purple hair now. I think my friend purposely suggested to have lunch at that mall so that I'd be tempted to see the bunny again.

Instead of just carrying her, this time, I asked the shopkeeper if we could put her on the floor to see how she'd interact with us.




She was the CUTEST thing to watch!!!! T___T I think it was the first time she had ever tried "walking" on solid ground, before her cage was completely covered in bedding so it was not a smooth finishing, unlike this polished wooden floor.... and she unwillingly "ice skated" across the floor!

LOL. Her muscles weren't developed yet. She couldn't keep her balance at all and ended up "swimming" when she tried to walk or hop. Truly hilarious. And every time you stroke her, she'd go completely limp and flat. Unlike the other rabbits who tried to run away whenever they were on the ground, she hung around us a lot and didn't react in a bad way at all - being a total sweetheart. I felt like I had never seen anything so precious in my life. 

You can probably tell where this post is going already.

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............The rest was history, really.



This was the moment I welcomed Mochi the Netherland Dwarf rabbit into my life. She's pure bred, really small sized and her coat is chinchilla colored!


I asked around for suggestions of names - I liked a few such as Sesame and Gandalf (sam's idea lol) but ended up picking Mochi because she is SUCHHHH a mochi! Super soft, round, fluffy, and just.... so mochi-like. I can't adequately explain it. If you see Mochi in real life, you'd understand exactly why she's named Mochi. Thank you to the reader who suggested the name!!! :D It's awesome! If Mochi were a boy, I would've named him Gandalf in a heartbeat.

Even though I only saw Mochi like twice before deciding to buy her (over a span of a few days) I don't think it was an impulse buy because after the first night, I went back and did my research - rabbits are surprisingly easy animals to keep! They don't stink at ALL, they don't have smelly big poo like dogs or need to be walked or muzzled or groomed regularly, they're perfect cuddly companions if you want something that doesn't require your attention ALL the time. I asked the pet shop people a lot about rabbits before I finally decided on getting her. A huge thank you to Animal Kingdom for being patient with me and recommending the best stuff for my girl Mochi! If Mochi was in another pet store, I may not have ended up getting her because the people might not have been as friendly or knowledgeable. The people at Animal Kingdom were warm, and not pushy, they let me play with her for as long as I want so that I could make a proper decision! I bought her at 2+ months old for $300, which I thought was a great rate considering how pretty and well taken care of she is. :)




The people at Animal Kingdom grooming her before she went home with me - she looks positively pissed off, lol!!!




Hahahahah grumpy bunny is grumpy.

If you're looking to buy a rabbit or other small animals (they have guinea pigs, hamsters etc) check out Animal Kingdom and tell them Jessica / Shiberty sent you! No, this is not an advertisement of sorts, I paid for every product purchased from them with my own money but I genuinely appreciate how professional and nice they've been to me! If not for them, I wouldn't have met the rabbit love of my life.






We're going home baby!!! Took her back to Yishun in this bag which had a litter tray, water bottle hole, "windows" for her to look at the outside world..... I felt like such a PROUD MAMA when I was holding her and walking around!!!!!

In total, everything costed me almost $800, including the rabbit. I bought all her supplies from Animal Kingdom as well - toys, the cage, bedding, food, trays, etc. I spoil her so much that I even bought her "rabbit air con" - essentially a cooling metal plate for her to lie on whenever it gets too warm - as it all too often does in Sunny Singapore!






Here's Sam helping me set up Mochi's pretty pink cage!

I consulted him before bringing her home, of course. In fact, I made him come to the pet store with me to view her because I wanted to make sure he liked her as well, before officially buying her!!! I put her on his lap, and she just laid there.... I think he was sold at that very second, just like I was.



Her cage all set up - before toys were put in. This was taken after a few days of living in it, as you can see the whole area is still very clean.... rabbits are hygienic pets in general and hate to be dirty! They're always grooming themselves. And they have NO smell / odor whatsoever.

The first night, my little Mochi was timid and acting strange.... she just huddled in a corner most of the time, with a blank expression. I suppose that's normal considering all the moving about and relocating to a new environment must be very stressful for them!




The pet store told me to leave her alone for 3 days before attempting to play with her.. I kinda went against their advice (LOL) I just couldn't wait and within a few hours, she was on my lap and bed!!!!





Doesn't she look like a chinchilla at certain angles?!

She didn't struggle at all when she was picked up, so I put her on my lap thinking it was okay. But her behavior was still timid - she was as stiff as a brick, so I put her back after petting her awhile, to let her get some rest.  Throughout the night, I kept waking up to check on her and make sure she was okay. She really didn't seem to move or do much!!!! Perhaps the poor little bunny was just petrified or tired. I remember thinking she didn't have much personality. (oh, how wrong I was!) The next morning, I took her out of the cage put her on my bed... where she immediately peed on it. FML.




On the 2nd day, I tried many ways to get her attention - call her name, make squeaky noises, feed her treats (dried fruits), give her toys... but still she ignored me totally. When I put my hand next to her, she wouldn't run away from it or anything, but neither would she go towards it to sniff and check it out. I thought that when she heard me coming from afar, out of curiosity's sake she would at least look up at me.... but she just completely acts as if I don't exist?!?! Frustrated and annoyed (sorry I am an impatient pet owner lolol), I jumped onto my computer and googled, "How to get my rabbit to like me?"

I knew it was only the 2nd day.... wtf calm down you stupid overly anxious blogger... naturally she would be scared of  you and be unaccustomed to everything yet. But let's just say I like rushing into things, it's a habit I find hard to kick. None of my relationships started out sensible and calculated - all of my boyfriends were like WHAM BAM HELLO I LOVE YOU. 


When doing my research on bunnies, I came across this Youtube video that showed a person hand feeding his rabbits a certain way - I tried his method, and by golly, it freaking worked!!! Lo and behold:



The moment she & I became properly acquainted, and weren't strangers any more.

She didn't seem to enjoy special treats, so I hand fed her pellets instead, which I noticed her finishing greedily anytime she was given any. The pet store advised me to supply her unlimited amounts of hay and to give two tablespoons of pellets in her food tray everyday, but I decided I wasn't going to put any pellets into her food tray - if she wanted to have some of that yummies, she was gonna have to acknowledge me and come to me. Bwahahaha. Like a miracle, she took the bait, soon got used to my scent and became friendlier with me as the hours passed. She liked having me around because that always meant more yummy pellets to chew on. Food makes everyone happy, including bunnies!!!

For the first time, I put her on the floor and let her explore / roam around the house by herself for a bit.

She would nervously and cautiously circle around me at first, then hop a few steps away to venture out..... but every time she went a little bit too far on her own, she'd get scared and run right back to my side.



Like this. FREAKING SWEET OR WHAT?! ♥

Everything has been going uphill from there. 





We play with her lots, keeping her physically and mentally stimulated. She gets at least one hour of play time and running around a day. It may not sound like a lot, but it is for a bunny! She looks absolutely exhausted after play time and normally falls asleep, so I'll take it as this amount of exercise is good for her.

Having Mochi in my life has taught me a lot about rabbits. I used to think they were relatively brainless (like hamster level of intelligence) and boring, but as it turns out, they're freaking intelligent for such small prey creatures!!!! In a matter of days, she's been litter trained (she still poos everywhere but pees in her litter box, I think she can only control her pee at this point in time), she knows when I'm angry and stops what she's doing (I sternly shout "NO!!!" at her when she chews cables or things she shouldn't be chewing on)... She knows when play time is over because I'd walk over to pick her up and put her back into the cage, and she'd struggle and run away from me. But when I shout "NO!!!!" at her, she will become all docile and apologetic and let me handle her again. However, when it comes to being picked up out of the cage to play, she has no problem with that at all. Lol.

We have bonded so much over the past few days and everyday I celebrate little triumph in our relationship! It can be something as little and insignificant such as watching her find her water bottle in her new cage at the start. So simple, but it put a huge smile on my face.




I put my DSLR lens wayyy up to her face, hence the unfriendly expression. :P I don't think she likes my camera very much.

She never used to dare climb out of the cage door by herself, but now she hops right out like a daredevil!!!!





I can't get enough of her big blackkkk round eyes, her cutest white nose, her little white (stained green from hay) paws.... her beautifully soft and shiny chinchilla coat, and most of all, her personality! It is her best trait. She's really the sweetest rabbit ever. I have not met any other peoples' pet rabbits before so I guess you can say I'm a little bit biased, but you'll be astonished at how much we get along considering I've had her less than a week now. You'd think I've had her for months!!!!




Look at her squashed up schweepy face!Mochi LOVES cuddling and being petted.Like loves loves lovessssss. 

Possibly more than she loves food. And that's saying a lot, because she's a pig, like me. Like momma, like baby bunny! You can touch her anywhere you want - on her ears, nose, face, under belly, tail.... she doesn't mind at all. If you stop petting her, she will nudge you with her hand or look at you in an accusing way, or bury her face even further into the crevices of your arms. Amazingly enough she also lets all my friends pet and carry her... friendliest rabbit of the world award.





Watch out! Wabbit on the loose!!




My current favorite past time is to sit back and watch this silly rabbit hop and prance around. Because my floor is of marble tiling, she can't control her speed and balance very well sometimes, so she falls over and skids and slides everywhere. Silly bunny!

That's her poop in the corner of the picture. I've turned into a rabbit poop picking machine recently.





The energizer bunny zooming back towards me! What she'll do is she'll hop hop hop away, explore some, then run straight back to mama for a pet or a treat. My friend commented that she kinda gallops like a horse instead of hop sometimes... which you can sort of see in the moving picture above. Rofl.






So I've also taught her to follow me around the house. And if you've never had a tiny fluffy bunny hopping after your every move at your feet..... your life is not complete.





She always gives me the face when she wants something.






Rabbits have a lot more personality and are more expressive than most people would think!

For example, I read online that rabbits do this soft teeth grinding thing when they're contented and pleased. Kinda like the way a cat purrs when it's happy. When I was cuddling her one afternoon, I heard and felt it for the first time ever! It's so odd but wonderful. She does it every time I hold her now. Thank you for loving me back, Mochi!!! When they're upset, they will either bite you, thump their feet or squeal. None of which she's ever been close to doing, thank goodness. Another happy behavioural thing she does is these crazy binkies everywhere whenever she's let out to run.... getting shockingly and increasingly hyper day by day. I can't imagine what she'll be like in a month's time, at the rate she's going.  If you don't know what rabbit binkies are, click here. It's like this awkward yet delirious looking twist of their body and flick of their head and feet when they're jumping mid air and - which means congratulations owner, you've done well, your rabbit is SUPER joyful!!! I can't describe the first time I saw Mochi do a binky.

She does it really high and really fast and usually multiple times in a row while running around my living room. It's like I wanna do a binky myself!!!!! If I feel this way about a rabbit I really don't know how exaggerated a mom I'm going to be in the future. :P My brother reckons I should have just gotten a dog instead considering my enthusiasm level, hah. You might already know this but *coughs* I've been really obsessed with her. I even bought her vitamin c to eat daily.... I HAVE NEVER BOUGHT MYSELF HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS. EVER. e_e




It sure is, bunz! When she feels lazy or tired, she'll flop into this classic "I ain't got a care in the world" position.

And there you have it - the introduction of my new chinchilla Netherland Dwarf bunny in my life! If you told me 2 weeks ago that in the near future I would own a pet rabbit and love it to death, I would tell you that you were crazy. I had literally ZERO intention of being associated with a rabbit, let alone owning one. What was supposed to be a lunch outing with a friend turned into an event that changed my life. :) So far I think I've done enough research on her to properly take care of her well enough. I can't believe bunnies supposedly live for 6-10 years! Of course it ranges from individuals, but they usually get up to at least 5. That's pretty long. In 5 years time I'm going to be 26 years old.... ACK.

Let's not go there right now. I've been quite upset by a personal issue lately and she's been helping me cope with it by distracting me from the problem.




I LOVE YOU MOCHI BUNNY!!!! ♥

You fill my heart with so many warm, fuzzy feelings. And you, really are, the cutest thing I have ever seen.


xoxo,
Jess

What do 4 bored people get up to over the weekend, when they don't want to do the usual activities such as watching a movie or shopping?





..Give mini golfing a swing, that's what!

I'd first tried mini golfing in Australia more than a year ago, and have been itching to do it again ever since. I know the activity is rather juvenile, more suited for those under 15 to play... but what can I say?? I relish being childish and young at heart. I mean, I publicly broadcast my relationship with my soft toy penguins, for goodness' sake.

So off we drove, all the way to East Coast Park for some mini golfing fun at LilliPutt.



I don't actually have any interest in real golfing (well I've never tried it) but mini golfing is so funny and brainless, everyone should give it a shot if you've never had a go at it - a fantastic couple, family or friends activity!!! Unless you're actually good at real golfing.... then which, I suppose, you'd find this ultra lame. :P





The rest of you non-elitist people, mini golfing is the next best thing! You just pick up your putter, give it a swing, and wait for the hilarious laughs that will follow.




Lilli Putt has 18 different holes themed according to Singapore's attractions and landmarks. They were so creative and it was fun exploring the different holes!!! (That's what he said. Wait, ew no... not really) This one's something to do with the SAF obviously. And check out how the track goes into a 360 degree turn!

If you're a local, you're gonna find these set ups pretty cute and familiar. And if you're not a Singaporean, here's a little insight and peek into what goes on in the little red dot called Singapore!




Changi Airport! I miss living less than 10 minutes away from the airport, at Simei. East side is so tranquil and nice compared to the North T_T






What to do when your friend is beating your score





Sam and I get amazingly competitive when we play games with each other. I HAVE to beat him.... I just have to, every single time!!! Be it board games, arguments and mind games (lol). But I ended up losing the round of mini golfing to him by 1 point. Le sigh. S'ok, I got the mind games part nailed. :'D





If at first you don't succeed.... put the damn ball into the hole with your hand.





The esplanade! Looking, um, disturbingly browned and rusty. When you hit the ball into the passages, the durians light up.






Diana, wrong hole lah!!!!! LOL.






I was impressed by their innovative thinking - this one featured the MRT train system, and you had to wait for the traveling train to stop at its station before putting it into the carriage... and then it would be carried away and deposited into a different section! How fun. *am easily amused*










Me and my crayner Diana. We're the Jedi Masters. I'm glad a blogging work trip could bring about a valuable friend in my life. ♥






Suntec City.. Going up the escalator!





Diana and Byrne giving us a pose. Spot the famous fountain of wealth at the bottom right of the picture... and the hole for the ball to sink into! Wasn't an easy feat getting it in there, especially not with ONE shot, but I did it!!!! Woop woop!





At the Jurong Bird Park!





No prizes for guessing that this is at Harbourfront.






When I first saw this exhibit I was like... whatttt?! Since when did Singapore have skiing and slopes like that? Then I realized it was supposed to be the man made Snow City. A bit (or a lot) exaggerated, but.... #okaycan.jpg?





What is your favorite hawker centre food?



Mine is chwee kueh, prawn mee (soupy type), ba chor mee. satay and roti prata!







Haw Par Villa used to freak me out when I visited many years ago. Walking through the different levels of hell and looking at "people being punished for their sins"....... If you've never been, imagine this: If you told lies, your tongue will be ripped out from your throat. And there would imagery for all of this. I'm surprised a place as censored as Singapore would allow kids to run about those premises with such gruesome looking statues.





"Jess, why do you always make me do degrading shit for your blog...?"





How the different courses look like when placed side by side






After finishing all 18 holes, we shifted our attention to the arcade machines outside.... and dumped in more dollars than we would've liked to get these four toys. LOL.




We didn't even want the toys, but the cheap thrills from claw machines are just too ridiculously addictive to pass up.




The pink one's supposed to be me, and other, Sam. Everyone altogether now..... Awwwwwwwww.


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So, if you're looking for a relaxing and good natured fun weekend activity that everyone in your family and group of differing ages and interests can do together, why not check out LilliPutt's mini golfing at East Coast? Visit their website for more information, such as opening hours, admission rates and CNY opening days. PS - Bring socks!!!

LilliPutt Mini Golf
902 East Coast Parkway
Block B #03-05
Big Splash
Singapore 449874
Tel: 6348 9606 Fax: 6348 7637
Email: info@lilliputt.com

xoxo,
Jess

So if you're a Singaporean and have any sense of national pride or curiosity, you probably would have already seen the Ah Boys To Men movies.

If not both, then at least Part 1? But if you haven't seen Part 2, YOU SHOULD!!! IT'S SO DAMN GOOD. In my opinion it's leaps and bounds better than Part 1 and it's the best local film I have seen to date. There isn't a single dull moment, I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the show. I laughed a lot, and cried a few times. :')

I liked the movies so much, in fact, that I decided to do an acoustic mash up cover of both theme songs from Ah Boys To Men with actor/rapper/dancer Luke Lee (aka sexy Sergeant Heng in the pink bikini) and Sky Ong, the talented producer and videographer of my videos. Sky was the one who helped me materialize my Youtube ambition with this first video cover of Taylor Swift's "Begin Again"!!! I owe so, so much to him.  Luke contacted me awhile ago, and after finding out he plays one of the sergeants in Ah Boys To Men, we figured a mash up of the theme songs would be totally appropriate and awesome. Of course we had to get Sky to do the video with us, what would we do without him???




Here's my singing if you haven't heard it before. It was done in October 2012, and since then, I've really been itching to release another music cover. I don't know why it took me so long to get this done. I am the queen of procrastination. I was thinking of doing more Taylor Swift songs but I didn't wanna seem to predictable or anything y'know, so I delayed for a few months, thinking what cover should come next. Nevertheless, I'm just really happy this new video is out there right now.


Without further anticipation.... *drumroll*

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This is our brand new cover of Ah Boys To Men Theme Songs Mash Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Filmed at Esplanade a few days ago. Sky works fast on his videos, haha.




Sooooooooooooo. I hope you liked what you just heard!!!

I felt funny saying the word "chiong." That's just...... not a world I'd normally use. You get to see my new purple hair in action. :P And Luke's wicked dancing and rapping!

There's not a lot of me in it actually, as you might have noticed.. pretty much just a few singing verses to add a feminine twist to the song, sorry if that disappointed you a bit.... most of the songs consist of rap, which I can't do - but I'm still proud to be in this production, working with wonderful people and singing wonderful songs with wonderful meanings!!! The older I get, the more I truly appreciate living in a country like Singapore. I don't believe there is any place else in the world quite like it, and I'm nothing short of privileged to be able to grow up and live here. I love how it's filmed with Marina Bay Sands in the backdrop, considering how it is such an iconic landscape, and I spend so much time there.


I'm going to be putting out another music cover video real soon, probably in the next week or two, and that one has mostly me singing in it! Like 90%. Hint: It's a Justin Bieber song. LOL NO DON'T RUN AWAY YET.

We made it nice to listen to (I think.) So have some faith in me :'D

If you enjoyed our cover or think it's pretty neat, please do embed it on your blog or facebook / post the link on twitter and mention @shiberty (I'll happily retweet you!) / like and subscribe on youtube, and basically share it with your friends! It would mean the whole wide world to me, Luke, and Sky. We would actually give you a hug if we saw you in real life if you helped us spread the word about our work. Ok maybe not them but me, sure. I'll throw in a kiss or a first born even. LOL Check out their Youtube channels as well, it's in the video description! I'll be happy to hear from you guys about what you think - even if you hate the video (why would you? T_T). I'm open to all sorts of criticism and feedback because I'm still trying to figure my way out through this whole Youtube thing... Thank y'all so very much for supporting my first ever music video Begin Again and giving me 30+k hits for it, here's hoping this one will be as well received as the last!!!

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. Singapore represent!

xoxo,
Jess

So, this happened recently.

It started from like this....




My red hair. I loved it to bits.

 It was almost a signature look already. I even dedicated a whole blog post to it at the start of this year. But it was getting, just kinda old..... (I know, I'm so fickle) but c'mon I mean, red is so common now, what with half the female population coloring their tresses red for Chinese New Year. And so when the bright color faded to brownish red and when it was time to make another trip to my trusty salon, I decided to take it to the next level!





Mmmmhm.

Something' goin downnnnnnnnnn. I spent more than a combined 10 hours in the salon over 2 days.






The red pigments in my hair were so stubborn and strong, that it took THREE times to bleach / lighten it to this color.







Bleaching your hair once is bad enough.... I'm quite amazed I managed to survive it three times in a day, followed by 2 rounds of purple dye. That's pretty intense shit.


But at the end of the day, all the hours of repeated tedious coloring, washing, combing, blow drying done was worth it.... becauseTHIS was what we planned to achieve!!!

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I'm getting my P-U-R-P-L-E on! ♥ With streaks of electric blue, because purple solo isn't quite mad enough for me. I should have been born a peacock instead.

I'm soooooo happy with it!!!! When I saw myself in the mirror, I almost leaned forward to kiss myself. :P The only thing stopping me was a swayed sense of dignity and a slight sense of pride.




My relatives wouldn't stop talking about my hair color during Chinese New Year, much to my narcissistic delight of course. It was always brought up during our dinner table conversations. I bought this Chu Yi dress to match with my hair and bag! I freak out when my shoes and bag don't match.





And this is Chu Er's outfit!!! Surprisingly, purple hair goes well with almost every color... except brown, green. Brown just looks like crap on me somehow (no matter my hair color), wearing green makes me look like an eggplant (LOL I'm serious you can even envision it). But that's okay... because I don't wear a lot of those colors normally, anyway.





How it looks like when it's curled! I normally like curly hair on myself but I think purple hair looks best straight or slightly wavy. Curled hair seems to lose most of its shine after the extreme heat sucks out all the moisture!





I only could imagine myself doing these crazy colors on my head because I FULLY trust my salon Shunji Matsuo @ 313 with all my heart (and hair).

 I showed them a few pictures of pretty purple hair on other girls, and told them to do whatever they believe would work best on me. I also mentioned I'd like to include some streaks of blue. And this was what they came up with. Aren't they genius? I owe so much to them!!





My stylist hands after he was done purplifying my hair up. So grateful to my stylists who stayed back late and worked long hours of magic on me!





I dare say I enjoy rocking this purple even more than I did with my redhead. Like, I'll still always like red because it's a classic look and easy to pull off and all that, but this purple is really something else. You can't NOT spot me in a sea of people like this! If you couldn't already tell, I love the attention. Perhaps I'm used to how it looks by now but I reckon it's not very unnatural looking - which is a good thing. You know how some people have loud colors and they just look plain ridiculous because their hair is so awfully dry and damaged looking that it comes across almost like a wig? Yeah, thankfully I don't have that problem.

 My hair WAS dry at first (it was colored a total of 5 times, 3 bleaching 2 purple dyes) but the more I washed it and treated it well with conditioner and hair masks, the softer and more manageable it gets. Of course, going back for nourishing hair treatments at my salon helped as well.




Now, after a few weeks of having this purple hair, it doesn't feel damaged anymore, in fact it is quite shiny and smooth to the touch!









Big BIGGGGGGGGGG l♥ve goes out to Shunji Matuo @ Somerset 313for always outdoing yourself when it comes to making my hair even more shocking and pretty!!!! ^________^ Thanks to you guys my hair is always in top form, no matter the occasion or crazy color I attempt. What would I do without you, really? Probably still have some safe boring color.

If your hair salon isn't making you look your best, time to hop over to the bright side. Why settle for less than best? Remember to make your appointment with Shunji Matsuo 313 before heading down if you're looking for a particular stylist that day, because from the many times I've been there... I can tell you that they're ALWAYS busy, especially in the evenings. My main stylist's name is Eddie, but if he's not available, you guys can also look for stylists named Jerry or Caely there, they've done my hair before and I love them all to bits!

Shunji Matsuo Hair Salon @ 313

313 Orchard Road, #03-26,
313@Somerset, Singapore 238895
6238 0226
Email: lovehair@shunjimatsuo313.com.sg

Quote "Shiberty" blogger for 10% off certain services! If you want the same hair colors as me but don't know how to tell them exactly, either show them a picture or ask for "Shiberty's red" / "Shiberty's purple", they'll know what to do.

xoxo,
Jess

Singapore is famous for our chilli crabs, aside from the chilli version I also loooove salted egg crabs, creamy butter crabs, white / black pepper crabs.... any type of crab, really.

I thought I've tried all the different flavors of crabs, having lived in Singapore for 20 years now... but not long ago, I was introduced to a brand new innovative twist on the dish - KOPI crab!!! Yep, kopi is the local slang for "coffee". I've only ever heard of coffee pork ribs - coffee and seafood is definitely a new combination to me. This kopi crab dish was invented by a chef at Majestic Bay Seafood restaurant, which has recently sprouted up in the touristy area of Gardens By The Bay. I think the location and dish go perfectly well together, hand-in-hand.. because I'm sure the foreigners and tourists will be intrigued by the unique flavor, but I reckon locals alike should give it to a go at least once, especially if you're a seafood lover like me!!!




Here are my pretty dinner dates for the night - here's Janice, our kind host for this sumptuous dinner at the wonderful Majestic Bay Seafood restaurant!





And the lovely Yina, whom I invited along to be my dining companion that evening. Good things (and food) should always be shared with other people then they have more meaning.. There's no point in enjoying life all alone!

We were starving souls when we arrived, but it didn't take long for yummy food to start appearing in front of us on our table. For starters, we had dim sum that was normally only available for lunch, but they made special exceptions for us - thank you!!




Seared chilli crab meat bun ($4.50 for 3 pcs)

This was crispy, perfectly fried, light and tantalizing as an appetizer.. Might I say a pretty interesting combination as well! Like a mantou that you don't have to dip yourself. I just wish the chilli crab filling was more substantial, then it would've been awesome.





Top: Steamed shanghai pork dumplings ($4.20 for 3 pcs)

I'm a big fan of xiao long baos, and these didn't disappoint. The skin didn't tear unnecessarily easily when I tried to pick them up, and the broth inside the dumplings was flavorful and generous enough. I wasn't expecting much from a meat dish considering they pride themselves as a seafood restaurant but I have to say their dim sum is rather delightful!


Bottom: Steamed siew mai dumplings ($4.50 for 4 pcs)

I normally don't order siew mais. I have this impression that only ang mohs eat siew mais, like how most local chinese people don't eat sweet & sour pork and lemon chicken.. they're like novelty dishes for people who want to eat asian food but don't wanna go asian all the way. I hope I'm making sense. Lol.

This siew mai wasn't soggy and forgettable tasting like most I've tried, and I attribute it to the crunchy fresh prawn they used! I would actually eat this again.




Soup of the day, Arrowroot Soup ($18 for 2-4 pax) 

I'm an unforgiving harsh critic when it comes to soups, because I believe nice soups aren't that difficult to create at all. Just be generous when you load all the ingredients in, and be patient when you're letting the flavors stew together. Speaking of which, my mum happens to make really kick ass lotus and bak kut teh soup!!! I miss her cooking!




While this arrowroot soup had a nice earthy flavor because of the roots & pork ribs (as pictured above after being fished out), I still felt like it fell a bit short on taste and oomph factor. It wasn't hearty enough for me, and I didn't get that "mmm this is soul-warming" sort of sensation you get with great soups. It was rather decent, though, and the pork rib were so tender they almost fell off the bone.





Steamed live prawns, minced garlic (Market price)

This was a big big hit on our table!!!!I ADORE anything with tons of garlic on it, and I love it when live prawns are steamed. To deep fry them would make the prawns lose a lot of their natural sweetness and flavor, and no fancy shmancy preparation or marinade is needed when you're dealing with fresh seafood. The garlic wasn't overly sharp tasting or pungent, it's not the type that'll make your breath stink for hours after that (tried and tested :P) While I think the prawns could have been larger sized, the way they sliced it into half to make for easier eating went down well with me, because I hate eating prawns. First world problem.. love eating prawns but hate peeling them.

You must try this if you visit Majestic Bay Seafood!



.....And here comes the star dish of the day!!!!!!!!!!!!



Majestic Bay Seafood's signature “Kopi” sauce live crab (Market price)

Although it is not pictured here, the sweet coffee sauce and beans were poured onto the crab in front of us and flambéed right on our table!! Definitely a dish you'd wanna take your friends from overseas to try out because it has that WOW factor that will leave an impression on them. I really liked the flavor, it had this sweet yet slightly savory caramelized coffee taste to it that didn't overwhelm the seafood taste of the crab - surprisingly, they mixed quite well.

However, the flambée technique used on the crab resulted in the meat of the crab being annoyingly stuck onto the shell, making it extra difficult to eat it, as if normally crabs weren't cumbersome enough to devour already.... that's the only complain I have about it, though, and overall it's still a lovely dish that crab-lovers MUST try!! Props to whoever invented this! Perhaps in the future, the trend of kopi crabs will catch on, even in other restaurants. After all, Singaporeans love their coffee and crustaceans.





Baked rice with assorted seafood and curry cheese sauce ($68 for 4-6 pax, $88 for 7-12 pax)

I know this dish may not look particularly appetizing, but trust me - it was ahhhhmazing. Only after a couple of spoonfuls, I fell in love. I would actually return to Majestic Bay Seafood for this, more than the Kopi crab, which was also good - but this baked curry cheese rice thingamajig, I LIKEY!!!! Seriously addictive stuff. Abundant seafood such was mussels, prawns, scallops were drenched in creamy and delectable curry cheese sauce, on a bed of rice. I took the leftovers from this dish back home (yes no shame at all here) and reheated it for lunch the next day, adding another layer of cheese on top, and it was simply divine.

 I want to steal the chef's secret recipe T___T







The last stop on our foodie adventure that evening was this dessert platter: Sweet’s temptation ($20 for 4 pax) – Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Yam Paste, Glutinous Rice Dumpling with Fresh Cream, Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun, Bay’s Chinese Pancake with Red Bean Paste

I'll have to be honest and tell you I am generally very unexcited about most Chinese desserts. I like the cold gooey stuff like mango sago, gula melaka, coconut jelly, ice kachang.... but the super traditional items such as red bean pancakes, glutinous rice dumplings and yam paste, I do not care much for. The only thing I could actually appreciate about the desserts was that they weren't too sweet. I do like salted egg custard buns but this one was just mediocre. This doesn't mean to say the desserts weren't any good, I just didn't enjoy them personally. I'm not the best person to judge Asian desserts, ask me about cakes instead!!!


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When I was having dessert, I was actually still thinking about the curry baked rice. LOL. I wish I could have some now. So, there you have it - an introduction to Kopi crabs in Singapore. Will this food trend catch on? We'll see in a couple of years!! I think Majestic Bay Seafood restaurant had a fantastic vibe to the whole restaurant with tastefully done up interior decor, and considering its good consistency of food and prime location, it's no wonder the place was packed on a weekday evening. The next time you & your family feel like having some seafood but don't want the usual Jumbo or Long Beach, you now know where to go!

Majestic Bay Seafood Restaurant
Flower Dome, Gardens By The Bay
18 Marina Gardens Drive #01-10, Singapore 018953
Tel:  6604 6604

Food quality: 4/5
Service / Ambience: 4/5 (service was prompt, and I like the modern vibe the place gives off!)
Value for Money: 3.5/5 (as most seafood places go, it's relatively pricey, but worth paying for)
Most suitable for: Families who love seafood and need a nice place to gather at, seafood lovers, foreign friends and business meetings.

HAI GUISE. Today I'm back with a new Youtube video for you guys to criticize / praise (lol hopefully the latter)!!!! WOOPIE-DOO!

This is my third song cover on Youtube, and a wild Luke from my 2nd video (Ah Boys To Men Mash Up) re-appears!!! AND we did a Justin Bieber song!!! Say whaaat? I know, I know... I never ever thought I'd cover Justin Bieber on Youtube (much to my boyfriend's displeasure he hates him lol), but well, life is full of surprises and risks so why the hell not. I think his new music is a lot more tolerable and super catchy. in fact. This song has been stuck in my head since foreverrrrrr, the most resilient earworm ever.. so I just HAD to cover it!

Here you have it -Beauty And A Beat by Shiberty, Luke Lee & Sky Ong! :)




Sky, Luke & I had a lot of fun shooting this light hearted video, running around various locations across Singapore (mostly esplanade area and SCAPE) and recording this in quite a jiffy. If only so many people weren't staring at us when we filmed at crowded public areas.. Anddd I'm sort of sorry for fixing my hair like a bajillion times in the video, the wind had it flying all over my face!! Or maybe I'm just really vain. Which is more likely the truth.

If you enjoyed our cover, please Share with your friends, Like this video, Comment and Subscribe! Do check out the boys' channels as well!!! :D I will keep on posting more covers because I absolutely LOVEEEE to sing and I do it everyday, whether I'm being filmed or recroded or not. Thanks for all the nice comments you guys have left regarding my previous videos and I thank you for continue to support the crazy things I get up to, like baking customized cakes and singing on Youtube!!!

Luke Lee:http://www.youtube.com/user/lukeleewenloong
Sky Ong:http://www.youtube.com/user/zildjian186

If you have any song suggestions on what I should cover next or constructive criticism, please do let me know!! I will have another cover up in March and I'm still deciding which song I should attempt. :)

xoxo,
Jess

We made a trip to the zoo the other weekend out of spontaneity! Now that I stay in Yishun, it's actually only like 15 minutes away from my place.... proof that I do live in the middle of nowhere. T__T