Christmas celebrations 2009

Over Christmas Eve and Christmas day, we had our annual festive celebration with both sides of our family, with Gayle's family on the eve and Eugin's family on the day itself. Gayle cooked up a storm for Christmas eve dinner and we had a hearty lunch at Eugin's mom's place on Christmas Day. Everyone had their fill of good food, drinks, conversations and present exchanges. We also had a family friend - Chiou Lin join us for the festivities and we must thank her for her Christmas hamper which she specially handpicked the items and packed for us! It's been a wonderful and cozy Christmas. It's hard to believe that Christmas has just come and gone!


(Above)Christmas dinner starter - Poached scallop crowned with prawn presented on a bed of caviar.


(Above)We bought this tear drop shapped plate as our starter dish from Moderne at Temple Street.


(Above)Salad combo comprising of lettuce, celery, wild rocket, capsicum.


(Above) Main course of seared lamb leg and rack with red wine mushroom sauce with rosemary.


(Above) Everyone posing before starting on our sumptous Christmas dinner.


(Above)Chiou Lin receiving a Crabtree and Evelyn package gift from Gayle


(Above and Below) Dessert: Pretty looking and tasty rich cakes from Obolo Patisseries



(Above) Fay , Gayle's sister showing her diamond ear rings given by Mom


(Above) Gayle's father showing the Fossil watch given to him by Eugin


(Above) Not to be left out, the two doggies - Tisha and Shayna also had presents of doggie snacks from Gayle's mom. Gayle is telling the doggies to sit and receive their gift.


(Above) Eugin received a Blue Nike T shirt from Fay. So coincidental as he was just looking for a blue nike shirt the day before at Vivocity.


(Above) Gayle received a ball point Sheaffer pen from her father.


Above) Gayle's mom - Irene received a orange handbag from Choiu Lin.

More photos to come on the Christmas Lunch at Eugin's mom's place.....

Merry Christmas!

To all our family, friends and visitors to our blog, Wishing you a warm and wonderful festive Christmas with your loved ones with plenty of cheer, love and
happiness to spread around for 2010. Merrrieee Chrrisstmass!

A nice dinner by my dardar

Over the weekend, Gayle cooked a nice lamb and sausage combo dish for the both of us for dinner. It's really nice to seat down for some fine good tasty home cooked food!
We bought the lamb loins from Cold Storage where the butchers helped us to marinate the meat with rosemary and mint seasoning which is a free service. We then went to the Brazillian butchery next door to get the English and Italian sausages. Gayle further seasoned the lamb loin at home with rosemary leaves, salt , herbs seasoning. This was drenched with home cooked sauce(below) comprising of white wine, garlic, rosemary herb, sugar, cream which made for a delicious complementary sauce to the meat.




Gayle also prepared a side dish of salad with Thousand Islands salad dressing(above). Enjoy the pictures! Looks good , don't they?



Oh yes, we bought the 'cool' drink glass(above) from Sia Huat located along Temple Street, Chinatown. If you are looking for kitchen stuff, do drop by a visit there.

Gift for my dardar

(Above) Gayle posing with her new Coach spectacle frames

Gayle has been a wonderful wife these two years of marriage and I always remind myself to love her more and share more good things with her. She has always wanted to get a new pair of spectacles and so, we went down to Toa Payoh central,which is one of the good places in Singapore to shop for frames, over the weekend to buy her a pair of spectacles. We were deciding between a Dior model and this Coach model. Gayle finally settled on the frame by Coach which is quite unique as the side arms of the spectacles looks holographic with 3D images of the Coach logo. Apparently this is a new model called Clarissa. It was also a different look from her previous frames since this was dark brown with thicker frames. It cost $380 inclusive of GST.

Reupholstery of car seats @ Jackspeed

In Singapore, all of us work very hard so it's always nice to be able to pamper ourselves and our loved ones as a reward for the year's work. For myself, as a car buff, what else could I give myself ,besides a nice car, was to reupholster my car seats with genuine leather. As the original seat upholstery given by Mercedes was a combination of light grey leather fabric, this was hard to maintain with frequent usage, our weather and fabric not being very hardy.

Also, it looked a bit dull so to spice things up, I went to Jackspeed Leather to reupholster the interior into fiery red leather with white stitching to contrast. Jackspeed is not exactly the cheapest but they do give you good quality leather and workmanship. More importantly. Jackspeed is the only upholstery company in Singapore that is certified by TUV of Germany to reupholster over car airbags.This ensures that the new stitching of the reupholstered airbag covers allows the airbags to fully deploy properly where required.

The price quoted is often based on the area , level of difficulty in stitching and the make of the car and also whether there is an existing mould of the car seats. I was quoted a high price of $2300 which is expected since they will expect you to bargain and i bargained it to $1550 inclusive of GST. Upholstery took only half a day at Jackspeed's worshop in Loyang. If you are interested, you can look for the lady sales executive there by the name of Chris.

After I collected the car, Gayle and myself felt that the seats were far more comfortable and softer than previously and they really are a boon for seating. Also, it's far more easier to maintain than fabric.


(Above) Front seat


(Above)Rear seats


(Above) Airbag Panel on door and armrest


(Above) Rear seat side panel and armrest


(Above) Rear of headrest.

Christmas season once again

(Above) Our Christmas Tree Star Topper bought form Borders bookstore.

With Christmas coming around the corner again, we took out our Christmas tree to set it up and decoarate it. We are having Gayle's parents and sister over for Christmas this year during Christmas Eve and going over to Eugin's mom's place for Christmas Lunch. Setting up Christmas tree is always a sign that it's the holidays and a good break from work and also a good meal and present exchanges. Gayle is preparing to cook a good lamb dinner for that Christmas Eve.Our tree is based on a white christmas theme with a white leaf tree. Decor in line with white is blue and silver trimmings.
We had fun putting up the tree and of course, the little girl Shayna was curious and kept running around to fuss about the tree. She's gotten used to our Kissing Mickey and Minnie which we put at the base of the tree with a overhanging mistletoe and stopped trying to get a bite at them.


(Above) Shayna joining in the pose with Mickey and Minnie

Most of the decor, we got from Carrefour and IKEA which stock value for money and wide variety of stuff.


(Above) Unpacking the Christmas tree and decor


(Above) Setting up a blue cloth to soften the area around the tree's stand plus the first layer up.


(Above) Putting the blue chain around the tree. From IKEA.



(Above) 2nd layer up.


(Above) Gayle decorating the tree


(Above) Gayle telling Shayna that this is a Christmas tree


(Above)Our Christmas tree complete


(Above) Our Christmas tree light up

Birthday celebration @ Garibaldi

This week, Gayle celebrated my birthday by treating me to a wonderful fine dining experience at Garibaldi Italian Restaurant located at 36 Purvis Street. The atmosphere is really cozy and it's best to come early at 6.30pm where it's really very quiet and you can have the whole area to yourself before the crowd comes in after work. Arriving early also means one should be able to get a parking lot just outside the restaurant.

The service was a warm and wonderful experience with the waiters engaging you with a courteous, friendly yet discrete tone. We were never for want of their attention. Drinks were filled, table was cleaned after each course and dining experience was enquired upon. We chose to order ala carte so that we could pick and choose what we wanted although you can ask the waiters for their recommendations which they will readily offer or the chef's special.


While we waited for the starter, we were served goat cheese wrapped in zuchinni(above) and warm soft freshly baked bread cuts dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar(below).


For the starter - Antipasti E Insalate, Gayle ordered Lumache(below) which is a starter course comprising of garden snails stewed till soft and tender dressed with saute baby spinach and chick peas puree.



I ordered Capesante(below) which is a starter featuring juicy and sweet Hokkaido scallops with Green asparagus dressed in truffles emulsion.



Next, the main course arrived. Gayle's main course - Anatra(below) comprised of vanilla scented Challon duck breast accompanied with foie gras which simply melts in your mouth.



My main course - Agnello(below)starred roasted premium juicy and tender Australian Lamb tenderloin with Polenta(Hour long boiled corn grain which has a texture between fine porridge and fine mashed potato) and Porcini mushroom.



Porcini mushroom is a rich, heady, meaty mushroom that is complements and adds to the flavorful taste of grilled steak accompanied. It has been described by the Italians as one of God's gift to humanity.

The serving was substantial and made for a very full meal, beyond our expectations. To celebrate the end of a wonderful meal, we ordered the Chef's dessert special for this season - Bianco(below) which is a sinful masterful artpiece of white chocolate


heaped on crisp honey meringue topped with raspberry sorbet sprinkled with decadent nougats and icing sugar. It was by far one of the most impressive dessert we have tasted. Definitely a must try.

Drinks are the most pricey items with free flow still water priced at $9. We also ordered juices, of which the lemon juice provided a refreshing drink after the meaty main course. In all, the whole meal cost $211 after GST and UOB and Citibank credit card holders are entitled to 10% discount for ala carte orders. We felt that this splurge was well justified and redeemed by the qualitative and valued , flavorful and exquisite dining taste and experience.