beloved bel

After my CNY dim sum with C's friends when I returned to London, I hit it off with his friends' wives haha it's quite funny really. These 2 lovely girls are Aussie Chinese, relatively new to London, and so after dim sum that day, we decided to meet up for an afternoon tea by ourselves minus the boys. At Laduree in Harrods. The opulent Laduree. I was sitting underneath this huge chandelier which was beautiful. The last time I went with Min and Derek, we shared 2 afternoon sets which was perfect. But these 2 girls, oh they were so excited that they didn't want to share. They urged me on "c'mon Bel, let's go all out!" Since I was outnumbered, I had no choice but to agree. And guess what, after 2 finger sandwiches and 2 french pastries each, we were struggling with the 2 rich cakes each. It wasn't a feeling of being stuffed, but more of sugar overdose. And the cakes are very rich. Too rich to be finished by one person. And like a blessing, the...

Spring is finally here! The clocks have gone forward one hour and we are getting to longer day hours now yippee! Flowers are blooming, super loving it. Thank God there is Spring after the cold and bitter winter! ~~~~~~~ Tuesday night I decided to bring Singapore food to my dear Czech friends. And it's none other than *drumroll* Chicken Rice! (Partnering with Prima Taste of course) My grandma is gonna be so proud of me haha slurppp.. I am thinking of home already not forgetting the sauces that comes with the Prima Taste box, and of course that rounded bowl of rice inverted onto the plate for that authentic touch! We can't wait to start! Verdict? And the guests loved it! :) Thanks to Prima Taste!

Portobello Market is my favourite market in London. But because it's such a track to get to from where I live, I only go there when friends or family come visit. And I will always be armed with my camera because I LOVE the colours and vibrancy of this market. The morning sun out a'shining... the street baskers... the hustle and bustle of people browsing thru vintage stuff and antiques... the famous hummingbird bakery for that cupcake fix... that paella stall which never fails to draw the crowds, and oh that corner CD stall that always plays the right songs for that vibrant upbeat atmosphere (which always tempts me to buy a box set from them) all makes up what Portobello Market is about to me. I managed to tempt Jag to get an antique camera! Old vs new :) Taking a break at an al fresco cafe with a good view of the market below us The biggest strawberry we have ever seen! Must be steroids haha

I've always wanted to watch a football match here, and friends back home have been going "huh you mean you haven't watched?? After so long?!" Yes yes I know.. I really want to, but just no chance. No one jio , what to do? And finally after 3 years of patience, Jag who is here with Cynthia, jio-ed me to watch a local derby match with them! haha I know I sound pathetic... and then the teams playing are -get this- QPR and Crystal Palace. Pardon my football ignorance but Crystal Palace..? I know this as a train station on the new East London line, relatively close to where I was staying... and... QPR? What is QPR? [Queens Park Rangers!] Anyway better don't hiam so much, for I was indeed excited to go! The guys sitting around me at work know I am going to watch my first ever football match and have been telling me it's gonna be a big game in London and QPR is quite a good team this season, they should be in the Premier League next year. Ooh ok! And t...

So Kat, Bridge and I have been talking about going out for a nice dinner for the looongest time. It started off with Kat's birthday last August. And we all somehow forgot about it. Next came mine and Bridge's birthday in October. We still managed to forget about it. And then came Christmas. I was home in Singapore. Finally we put our feet down and insisted we HAVE to make it happen. This time, well, to celebrate their post-CIMA exams. "Can we have tapas pleaseeee..." I pleaded. I needed my tapas fix badly, to make up for my missed trip to San Sebastian. Kat has been keen to go to Barrafina in Soho for a long while. Each time she passes by, it's so crowded and they don't take reservations. Meaning you can wait for a really long time (we were told at least 45min just to get a seat by the bar). More so because it's a tiny place, with just an L shaped bar facing the chefs who were busily dishing out plates of delectable looking tapas. When we r...