beloved bel

Had a lovely Saturday brunch by the marina.. before the storm came, that is. ~~~ Met up with Alicia and QKL for afternoon tea before their wedding. Yes afternoon tea... not my most desirable option but ever since they moved back to SG, they have been missing English afternoon teas. It was exciting to catch up with them since they left, and I was looking forward to see them on their big day! Amazingly, managed to attend two weddings in such a short period of time. And having my girls' Christmas dinner. My choice of dinner- ramen. Have been craving for a bowl of yummy ramen for a long time now. And where they brought me.. ooh I have to say it's one of the best ramen I've had. Very yummy, very satisfying. Good choice girls!

Blessed Christmas everyone!! This has been a fulfilling trip back home so far, filled with meet-ups and food food FOOD! Over-eating is the word here. I've been so busy stuffing myself that I don't have time to shop (shocking), and needless to say, blog! Yes I'm serious... no more bubble teas, no more buffet dinners, and no dim sum please. I am getting ready to roll back London (and starting my salad diet thereafter)!

But of course. Trips home to Singapore is all about food, food and more food. Family dinners, meeting up with friends over lunch, tea, and more dinners (sometimes supper even). Food is such an ingrained part of our culture, there is nothing more important. I think only Singaporeans have something called a "food schedule" when they return from overseas. Yes Pris?? :) After battling jet lag for a day, I met up with Min and Mimi for a what we called a "heartlander day". We did not go to any nice restaurants, but instead, Min suggested me taking the newly built Circle Line to have lunch at Old Airport Road Food Centre. There we had a mini feast of local food and chatted over our bubble milk tea, sugarcane juice and plum juice! They wanted to bring me to the new Marina Bay Sands but we didn't quite reach there because after walking for a while at Parco we felt we needed a pit stop. And so we stopped by Killiney Kopitiam for some kaya toast and kopi for a whil...

As I prepare to spend Christmas at home this year (I know we are not quite there yet, but I am just so excitable when it comes to Christmas) Can I say I am extremely excited to spend it back home this year! To be able to see and hug my family (my dear grandma especially) and friends after more than a year… wow this is something that even I shocked myself.. I didn't know I could actually spend that long a time away from home in one stretch. And this year, I don't have to co-ordinate the Germany-Singapore timing and do a webcam from Stuttgart on Christmas eve, wave madly from Pris' study room and see the massive spread of local home cooked food on the dining table back home whilst shouting "hellooooo…. can you hear meeeee?!" So while I rejoice at this fact, there is also a part of me which feels bittersweet because I will definitely miss spending another Christmas with the Tews in Stuttgart Germany. They are my second family in Europe, my home away...

Hotpot dinner Finally met up with Ariel after she went MIA for a few months. She suggested bringing me to this Chinese hotpot place for dinner after work last Friday. Imagine the freezing cold outside, and we were inside having hotpot, slurping the ma la (spicy) soup full of chillis. And look at the plate of food we finished! Frankly I have to say I was quite disgusted with our appetite that night. *embarrassed* Look at the amount of chillis in the soup! Breakfast When I was in Munich in October, if you remember my post , M and I went to a cafe called Tambosi for breakfast which I really liked. I ordered their massive french toast with fruits and it was unforgettable. So much so that I tried recreating it at home and lucky Sarah got a taste of it. Will definitely do it again! Yes I see your hand Sabrina hehe ;) Bel's version - french toast with fruits and drizzled with golden syrup and cinnamon chocolate powder I'm really happy with how easy and yum...

My neighbour's front door I woke up after my last post greeted by a thick white blanket. I was like an excited little girl.. I grabbed my specs and ran to the different windows of our flat trying to peer out and see what magic happened overnight. Before I left, I made sure I brought out my camera to capture some snow pics. Usually there isn't much to see in this dodgy neighbourhood of mine; there is nothing to rave about, but this day was different. There was a little white magic all around :) Our backyard now. What a transformation. The same backyard which Min's hubby Derek worked so hard during their visit in summer, helping to pluck out the super overgrown weeds. (btw good job Derek- the weeds haven't come back ever since!) Love the texture of this pic Right outside at our doorstep, please don't mind the dodgy looking flats in the background.. instead look at how buried the plants are. Just across the road from ours is Millwall Park. Completely completely...