Sunday, February 26, 2017

Circles.Life Discount Code - Q0EM1





21.4 GB?!?!????

I usually use around 15 GB in a month, not sure why it's so high this time!

Sent these to my friends and they all exclaimed that they have difficulties going beyond 2-3gb in a month, whereas I sometimes exceed 1gb in a single day??

How is it possible sia. I only scroll Facebook and Instagram and I'm not even that active! I'm not the type to scroll till the end of my feed, usually just for a minute or two. My main usage is on the line app, maybe it's the stickers?

I refuse to spend $200+ on my phone bills every month!

So last week, I signed up for Circles.Life data plan! I heard about it a long time back but didn't really pay much attention to its benefits, until now!

For $28 a month, I get 4gb of 4G data + caller number display + unlimited whatsapp + 100 min talktime! I only took the base plan because I can change plan anytime or add on for $6 per gb (so much cheaper than what my current service provider charges! They also have option to boost small amounts like 100mb 200mb etc. How awesome is that? Sometimes I pay extra $ for an entire 1 gb when I only exceeded 99mb!) No contracts.... might as well! If I port over my current number, I get another 2gb but maybe next time.... Try first. Hehe.

Get $20 off when you sign up with my referral code so that I get bonus data!! Some other users managed to accumulate 30gb/month of bonus data sia... maybe if your social circle is big, you can too! Use my circles.life discount code okay -  Q0EM1

Thanks!!

(Update: Circles.Life just announced that if you can also pay $20 more to get additional 20gb! OMG BEST DEAL EVER)

Thursday, February 23, 2017

The Day I Ate Fish Testicles

Went for an Omakase session at Teppei with the girls earlier this month and it was quite an experience! Omakase is a Japanese term in restaurants for letting the chef decide on the entire menu. And this is how I ended up eating fish testicles for the first time ever. I will elaborate more later.

Nadia is a regular at Teppei and she has nothing but praises for it so I was quite looking forward to the dinner!

Counter seats for everyone so we had a good view of the chefs preparing our dishes. After we were seated, a waitress came to each of us individually to note down what we don't eat. I asked for no beef, no oysters, and no wasabi. The list could go on and on but I decided to not be so troublesome. Hahaha.



It all started seemingly tame at first. Our first six courses served in a single platter. Everything was yummy, a good start!


Next up, sashimi! I usually only like salmon but everything was so fresh that I liked every single piece although I don't even know what fish they used! I am already impressed at this point.


There are supposedly 20 over courses but I lost count mid-way through because the food just kept coming. The following photos are not in sequence. I'd just caption the more interesting ones!


This is probably the best hand roll I ever had! Fish, rice, tempura, and other ingredients in a crispy seaweed. It was so good that I had to finish the entire roll even though I was already feeling a bit full from all the rice!


From time to time, the chef would "spoon-feed" each of us directly and the scenario was hilarious because sometimes they'd cheekily tease the diners by retracting the spoon. In fact, all the staff are friendly and energized throughout, which made the whole experience very fun!


Warm sweet broth was comforting.


Chef Yamashita Teppei looks jovial that night!


My first time having Uni (sea urchin). They say this is a delicacy which you either love or hate. I guess I wouldn't eat it again out of my own will. I guess I don't really like the texture and taste?


Oh this one was da bomb. Super yums!


Ok, now the "highlight". Before the dinner, Jacelyn was telling us about how she tried whale's sperm at a previous omasake session and it was horrible. So when this appeared, we immediately suspected that it's the same thing! We asked the staff and they said it's Fish balls. As in, Fish Testicles. OMG! I would never have ordered it on my own accord so I decided to give it a try. It wasn't as fishy as I thought but the texture was... ewww. Never again! Must make sure I don't eat this again! But at least I've ate it once in my life!




The rest of the dishes were so tasty too! We were very very very very full towards the end but every single dish was so delicious that we finished everything!



I chose four types of sushi for main course.... Teppei's sashimi and sushi are really good!


The girls had wagyu beef!


Meanwhile I had the Kurobuta Pork which was tender and so good!



Foie Gras and Unagi! Perfect combination, melts in the mouth!



A scoop of ice cream for dessert!


It was quite exciting throughout because you never know what's the next dish! I felt so adventurous that day! Lol. Also, I got the chance to try a few dishes that I would never have thought of ordering myself outside.

Only thing is, I had to rush through every course because I'm a slow eater and it was super pressuring when everybody else already finish their dish except me! But still, I would definitely want to come back here again!

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Guo Da Li & Foodline.sg Catering

We had our 过大礼 over the weekend!



It was supposed to be a fairly simple one as both families didn't request for much. We initially only wanted to do the bare minimum, but actually ah, I felt that 'basic' was more difficult than 'lavish'. Everybody had different expectations of what's a necessity and what's not, so over time and after multiple "advice" from people around us, we added this and added that, until we ended up being far from simple yet not entirely complete. Eventually, we decided to pack an additional angpow to represent the remaining that we may have missed. We should have just went for 'full package' right from the start and purchase everything from a traditional Chinese wedding shop! Haha.

I'm just glad both of our parents were so easy going with regards to the Guo Da Li and allowed us to make most decisions ourselves!



We also invited our relatives over for the Guo Da Li, and we had to cater food!

Thankfully, I knew about Foodline.sg, Singapore's biggest catering portal since 2009. It was a breeze ordering the buffet spread because instead of navigating through numerous websites, I only had to scroll through the shortlisted menus listed on Foodline based on my search criteria such as budget, number of pax, type of buffet, etc. Best thing is, there are real reviews and photos sent in by customers so I know what to expect from each caterer in terms of taste, service and presentation.


After checking out several menus, we decided to order from Ronnie's Kitchen mainly because of their high rating on Foodline - They are rated 4.2 stars based on 429 reviews in total! I think they are also quite well known because I know of some friends who have catered from them before too!

Besides Foodline's Best Brice Guarantee, some caterers also include a free additional dish as part of a Exlusive-with-Foodline promo! Ronnie's Kitchen gave us a free platter of prawn dumplings! Such a good deal just by ordering from Foodline's catering portal!




We had a total of 12 courses inclusive of dessert and drink. There was a wide variety to choose from and we were definitely spoiled for choice.

Fried Pineapple Rice
Broccoli w/ Mushroom
Sweet and Sour Sliced Fish
Honey Sauce Pork
Salted Egg Chicken
Ginger Duck
Black Pepper Prawn
Sambal Sotong
Curry Chicken
Deep Fried Prawn Dumplings
Sea Coconut w/ Sago
Fruit Punch

The food looked so appetizing with its vibrant colours ya?


The portions were huge and we had more than enough to feed everyone. I generally received good feedback from my guests for the food, especially the curry chicken! I had multiple servings of it myself too! I also liked how there are special dishes available such as Ginger Duck and Salted Egg Chicken. The pineapple rice was tastier than I expected and the veggies were so yummy!! Sweet and sour fish was a favourite among the kids and the seafood were quite fresh too.















Only one item from each tray (minus broccoli + additional piece of curry chicken) and the plate is so full already!


If you post a review on Foodline.sg after an event, you get $10!

I really see no reason why you shouldn't order through Foodline.sg for your catering needs in future! It's convenient, easy, and you get to enjoy great discounts and promotions!

Foodline.sg also provides customized quotations for larger scale events such as weddings, corporate, birthdays, community events etc for budget $2000 and above. Otherwise, we can always directly order from the 4000+ menus / 200 caterers available on its site with all the prices and everything you need to know listed clearly. There are also menus for cakes and tingkat deliveries!

My readers will enjoy $38 off your event catering with min order of $200, valid till 30 June 2017. Just use the Foodline Discount Code FLEXWED38!

www.foodline.sg
Tel: 6100 0029
Email: Sales@FoodLine.sg

Remember to check out the facebook page for the regular giveaways! Last month, free $500 vouchers were given to ALL orders!!!!



OOTD: Red dress from Finders Keepers for Guo Da Li

(Sponsored Content)

Saturday, February 11, 2017

My Bachelorette Staycation at Studio M Hotel

So last month, I had my bachelorette party at Studio M Hotel!



I've always wanted a tame hens night and I reminded all my bridesmaids way in advance - no alcohol, no crazy games or dares. Just a cozy, chit-chat gathering. Lol. Bf had his one week before mine with his guys and they did it over lunch discussing about the actual day plans. Hahahahaha. 意思意思就好啦。

We did ours slightly earlier than most people (around 1 month+ in advance) because we have a lot of details to confirm in the final month and we don't wanna cram a party in the midst of it all.

Studio M Hotel is the first fully lofted hotel in Singapore and I've always wanted to have a staycation here!



There are four different types of room - Studio, Premier, Executive, and Moonlight. The best one is the moonlight loft which has an open-air patio + a 3.8m high bay windows with an amazing view so that's like super nice!

We stayed in the Studio Loft, and here are some photos! I love how it's so airy and bright in the day because of its huge windows. Studio has its bed downstairs, while the other rooms have it on the mezzanine.






On the upper level of this duplex is a simple study area, completed with a sofa which can be opened up into a bed for one! Together with the double bed below, this room can accommodate three comfortably!


Besides complimentary wifi, there is also a handy smartphone with free data usage mainly for tourists' convenience and we used it to stream youtube playlists for our background music throughout.


Pantry area with coffee and tea, and a mini bar.


The bed area was just nice for seven of us!


First, I gave out a the bridesmaid gifts I prepared for them!


Inside is a bridesmaid dress from Hollyhoque, a thank you card, a personalized pocket mirror, bracelet, macaron lip balm and hand cream! And guess what? I forgot to put in the most important thing of all - the bridesmaid cards!! Check out the pretty cards and a short intro about each of my bridesmaids here: http://www.estherxie.com/2017/02/wedding-preparations-my-bridesmaids.html


Photo taking session!! We sat facing the window and the lighting was PERFECT.





The two behind refused to let me take a proper photo with Ruoxuan alone! So cheeky! Haha.



The bridesmaids also filled up two of these pretty floral cards each, stating a special memory between us without revealing too much details. Afterwards, I had to guess who wrote which card! Wah some of them were so vague that I really had a hard time guessing, while a couple of them were so detailed that it was so easy to guess! Haha.


Photo missing Mai, who went up to take this photo for us!


Afterwards the girls went to try on the bridesmaids dress and we had a good laugh over Fiona's amusing antics and Clare's funny outburst. Lol.



On the study table are some in-room dining menus for hungry guests but we decided to head out for dinner since the hotel is conveniently central and there are many cafes and restaurants nearby.



We settled for PS Cafe! We were lucky to get a private room in Chopsuey because PS was full.


Group photo!


Truffle fries to share!!


Each of us got a main course and the portions were huge! Can totally feed two!


Desserts to end the night on a sweet note!


The next morning, me and sis went down to enjoy the buffet breakfast!



What a great way to start a good day!


Wish I brought my bikini along so I could take a dip in their pool too!


Thank you Studio M Hotel for hosting us! It was a wonderful staycation weekend and I had lots of fun, especially with my bridesmaids! The loft layout really made me feel at home, a very different feeling from the typical hotel rooms around! Best thing is, the prices are so attractive too! If you are a bridesmaid for an upcoming bride, why not book a staycation for her hen's night? She'd love it! Even for those that prefer a wild night out, Studio M Hotel is located within Robertson Quay's entertainment precinct~ Just hang out till late then go back to the hotel together!

Would definitely recommend Studio M for your hens night, mini birthday celebration, or just a nice weekend staycation with your best friends and loved ones!

Studio M Hotel
3 Nanson Road, Singapore 238910
https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/singapore/studio-m-hotel