OMG

'A' LEVELS ARE OVER!!! Yesterday was my last paper and I think I could burst with joy!!! But I still have quite a lot of things to do, like sign up for the driving test, get a job, clean my room etc.. But that's ok so long as I never have to do another math or physics problem or write another econs essay in my life! Actually I think I may have to do these things in uni but let me be self-delusional for now haha. 

On Tuesday it was daddy's birthday so we went out for dinner at a Spanish restaurant to celebrate. Daddy chose that restaurant because the wine was cheaper than most places. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but the food was quite pricey, I think the total bill for 5 of us was around $200. But the quality was good and the company was even better so I guess it was worth it. I make it sound like I paid hahaha. 

Yesterday after the last paper, I went to Wild Honey at Mandarin Gallery with Gen to meet Alison cos she's working there, which is really cool! We also met Caitlin there. The place was super atas and reminded me of restaurants in Europe, mostly because of the smell I think, and the decor and lighting. I ordered the Norwegian all-day breakfast, which was eggs benedict with salmon, asparagus and avocado, it was really yummy! 

 Drinks on the house from Alison! 

After that, Cait, Gen and I went shopping for Cait's Dr. Martens but they were sold out everywhere! I had no idea they were so popular even in Singapore! We walked around until 9+ and by then I was super tired, I think I could barely keep my eyes open so I headed home while Cait accompanied Gen to wait for her mum to fetch her. Yup! that ends my very eventful last day of 'A' levels haha.

Ok byee, gotta clean my room now and remove all my disgusting books and notes. xx

Mellben Signature + update

YAYY 2 MORE MCQ PAPERS LEFT!!! 

Ugh, stupid Bel overused our laptop by skyping her friends every night and banging the keys to death and now it's giving all sorts of many problems :(( 

Anyway, everybody was in a somewhat celebratory mood after econs paper 2 on Thursday which was the last 'full-out' paper and I went to eat at Nana's Green Tea with Vanessa!! It was super impromptu because Van was supposed to meet her friend but it was too early so she had nothing to do, and since we were taking the same bus, we decided to stop at Dhoby Ghaut for lunch. 

Nana's Green Tea had a set lunch which was a really good deal, any main course and any drink $8 or below for $13.90! And the main courses by themselves cost more than $13.90... I ordered salmon and tuna donburi and a hojicha drink with ice cream. and Van ordered cold udon and matcha with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Here's our food!

I really loved the hojicha drink! Even though I didn't know it was tea when I ordered it haha.

Anyway, I just came back from dinner with the family at Mellben Signature. It was really filling!! Even though I hate eating crab because it's so tedious to dig the meat out of the shell and very messy, I still enjoyed dinner tonight (maybe it's because of the fried mantou hahaha). I think the total bill for 4 of us (since Bel is away at camp) was around $150, but daddy had 2 groupons so he didn't have to pay the full amount. I had no idea crab was so expensive! Some pictures:

Butter crab! (featuring my all-time favourite mantou in the background hehe)

Healthy healthy

Famous crab beehoon! The soup was too fishy-tasting for my liking but still very tasty

Mum's hand is a blur as she reaches for the food haha

Really expensive bamboo clam. $8 for one of this!!! Madness... and I couldn't even get a clear picture of it sighh.

Recently my family's been eating out a lot because the new helper doesn't know how to cook T_T I want Aunty Yanti back... Sigh eating out all the time is really taking a toll on my body, I really think I can feel myself getting fatter! :(

Ok I have to go, it's getting late and I have physics tuition tomorrow morning. Wish me luck for my remaining papers! xx

Almost there

3 more papers to go wheee! And 2 are +/-1 hour MCQs yay!

Anyway on Saturday, mum, dad, Matt, mama and I went to yeye's grave to add some soil and repaint the gravestone. I can't remember the last time I visited his grave and it was nice to visit again. I was the only child that got to see yeye in person but I was too young to remember much, most of what I remember is based on photos. I wonder if yeye is watching over me now and if he saw the whole family gathered at his grave to pray for him. I think he would've felt very happy if he saw all of us there.

After that we went out for lunch at Dulcet & Studio (I blogged about that place before!) and this time I had mussel pasta which was quite good compared to what I had the last time. The dessert I had was really good though, some apple and cream pastry with a fancy french name that I can't remember haha.

On Sunday Bel and I wore the pullovers that she bought from Australia. The design is the same but the colours are different so we were sort of wearing 'matching' outfits hahaha. And we couldn't not take an ootd picture so we forced both mum and dad to take pictures for us so we could choose the best one to instagram lol. Ok here are some of the pictures:

Taken by mum (I'm standing on the second step and I'm the same height as Bel! Whut.)

Taken by dad (so who's the better photographer? lol)

Was deliberating whether to add this picture cos I look so bloody short compared to Bel, but then I decided I'M NOT ASHAMED OF MY HEIGHT OK *flips hair*

Ok yeah, that's the end of the photos. Actually there are many more but I don't want to post hahaha.

Anyway, had econs on Monday and physics today. Both meh. Cannot say that I have the As in the bag, especially for econs, but just praying and hoping that some miracle happens when the Cambridge markers mark my script or something.

That's all I have today! Till next time, xx

The eye of the hurricane

Omg I think my title is really cool hahaha ok just kidding... Anyway the reason behind it is that I'm almost right in the middle of my 'A' levels (the hurricane), supposedly the calmest place to be. 4 papers down and 6 more to go!!! 
Math and GP were hard I think, but chemistry was overly easy so the bell curve might kill us all... :/ Why is Cambridge being so extreme huh. Let me just go on about how absolutely difficult math was... It was totally unexpected, at least for me. Paper 1 hard and so we all thought paper 2 couldn't get any worse but then BAM! Sigh I think there were actually tears in my eyes as I was doing the permutations and combinations question... Oh well, I checked the answers and I think I lost less than 40 marks for both papers altogether so hopefully that's enough for me to get an A *fingers crossed*.
Tomorrow I don't have any papers so I'll probably be at NLB cramming for physics paper 2 on Friday. But each hour that passes is another step closer to my destiny... no just kidding, I mean to my FREEDOM!!! It's so close I can feel it!

New Chapter

I'm caught in a mixture of emotions as Aunty Yanti, my helper of 10+ years, is leaving us tomorrow and Aunty Laina has come to join our family. My other family members don't seem to be affected at all and I wonder how they can all be so nonchalant when someone who's had a part in their lives for more than 10 years is leaving for good.             I can't imagine not having her around the house, especially when I'm at home alone and have nobody to talk to. I would always talk to her and even though she didn't completely understand me, she still listened and tried to keep the conversation. She's also the only one who won't brush me off when I ask her if she's seen this or that around the house. I'm going to miss her comforting presence and the special positive attitude about her. Sometimes when I needed to alter or mend my clothes, I would ask her to help me take them to the shop to get it done but whenever she could, she would efficiently do it herself and the results would be perfect. I've taken that for granted and now realise how hard it is to find someone who can understand me so well and know exactly what I want. Even though she received harsh training from grandma, she tolerated it all and still put so much care into helping the family.      I also remember that when I was in primary school, Aunty Yanti would fetch me home everyday (by public bus) and one day, she bought me stickers, which I still keep till today.

I really loved those stickers and I carefully pasted them in my sticker album in the same arrangement as they were in the packet. It was such a simple yet impactful gesture even though I was too young to realise it at that time. She's already given up so much for us and she still voluntarily gave even more. I can't imagine how empty I will feel in the upcoming weeks and months without her around.It's never easy saying goodbye but I hope that when Aunty Yanti goes home she'll be able to have an even better life than what she had here. I feel like a big part of my life has ended and a new chapter is about to begin, I'm anticipating it, yet reluctant to let go of the past. But I'm sure I'll never forget the person who was such a big part of my life.

Krispy Kreme

On Wednesday I took a break from studying at the NLB and met Bel for 'lunch' at Krispy Kreme! Bel's life is super good now because her school's over, she can go out anytime she wants! Omg I really can't wait for my turn to be freeeeee!!! Anyway Krispy Kreme just opened in Singapore recently and the hype over it is still in the process of dying down, so when we went, there was quite a long queue. Bel found a seat while I queued up first. And I forced her to take this picture of me in the queue because I'll probably only get to queue for Krispy Kreme in Singapore once in my life.    

We decided to order a box of 12. The system was quite bad because I couldn't see what the staff was putting into the box. Plus it was very chaotic and I wasn't sure whether she heard my order and I had to keep asking her how many donut choices I had left. So in the end, I didn't get one of the flavours Bel wanted because the counter staff didn't hear me when I ordered it, and Bel was upset oops :(

Our donuts! (no we didn't eat them all by ourselves, we brought some home)

The original glazed donuts were still the best! But it was worth it to pay a bit more to try the other flavours.

But the red velvet was a disappointment! There was too much going on in the donut, glaze, cream cheese and flakes. The texture of the donut was also more cakey than donut-y..

A random picture of the cookies and cream flavour because I thought it looked good haha.

Our trip to Krispy Kreme was a much needed break for me after studying in the library day in and day out. :) 

Anyway, 'A' levels has started and I can already smell my freedom!!! I wanted to list down all the things I want to in 18 days' time but there are just too many!!! I CAN'T WAIT OMG. All the best to everyone taking their exams as well and just remember that the end is near!!!

L'etoile

Today we went to L'etoile Cafe for our Sunday lunch! It's a French-Japanese style cafe and, needless to say, it's really pretty! The food was so-so but the atmosphere was very chill and the interior design was beautiful. Anyway this post is mainly going to be photo spam yay!

We sat on the second floor and it was unexpectedly crowded!

The cafe was full of vintage things and I think many people in their 40s or 50s (my parents' generation) would feel very nostalgic looking at some of the stuff there.

Foooood!

Smoked duck sandwich! The fries were super good!! Or maybe I just found them good because I haven't had fries in over 3 months O_O (btw fries are one of the most unhealthy foods that people eat)

Bel's nutella crépe

My brownie with seasalt caramel ice cream *.*

Ok that's all! Hope you have a great week ahead!! I hope time will pass slower because 'A' levels start this Friday :/