Picotin

Picotin

100 Turf Club Road, Singapore

Tel: 6877 1191

bar, pub, English, French, Italian

Picotin can be defined as the fourth part of a bushel; a dry measure of eight quarts, but there is nothing small about the Picotin just outside Turf City. There is a large (about 1 meter in diameter?) white balloon at the entrance, if you hit Turf City you have gone too far.

There is a little deli just at the entrance, the horseshoe shaped bar greets you after. The bar sits at the semi-circular half of a former horse's cooling station. There is seating inside the other half and on either side of the building.

Everything we ordered last week was yummy, and this was when they were opened for barely 2 weeks! The foie Gras, oyster, scallops, inside-out pie, lobster bisque, duck breast, pork belly, alio olio, lamb shank, pizza... by the time the attentive staff came by again the plates were wiped clean. For sweets, they have ice cream, sorbets, rhubarb crumble, souffle...

For those who drink there are 3 beers on tap, I think they were Hoegaarden, Stella Artois and Leffe. For those who had mixed drinks, they said that they were good too. I just like the glass of ice water that was almost always full! :-)

Give it try, but call ahead just in case, if not to ask how to get there. The tables inside all have high chairs, so if you prefer the regular closer-to-the-ground type, take the tables flanking the cooling station.

Kumxia Picotin for  a lovely first impression, we will surely be back there soon! :-)

Rank #67!

This is seriously a huge waste of time! hahaha...

At 6pm (+8 GMT) 30th December 2007, I have reached rank #67 with $74,659,599. Let's see how far I can go before the turkey rears hit's chilly head... hehehe... xiao liao :-)

I Am Legend

This really happened...

A friend texts another friend about watching a movie...

Friend 1 - I Am Legend tonight?

Friend 2 - I am Legend every night.

thank you for the laughs

:-)

Rank #88!

This is getting a little silly. I really have to seriously consider going cold turkey off this! hahaha...

As of 9:23pm (+8 GMT), it is rank #88 with $66,015,117!

By the way, happy boxing day and a happy 2008 to everyone!

:-)

Rank #93!

The goal has been met and I'm still bull dozing on... By 4:10pm (+8 GMT) it has reached #93 with $63,494,448.

I'm toying with the going cold turkey from the new year. It takes up a lot of time... I'm not a great fighter, nor in inspirational leader of any large group with members who pay regular 'homage', I support a lot! hahaha...

:-)

Pomossion with Berverages?

This sign made me get up from my lunch, cross the street to take a picture of it.

Thank you for the giggle!

:-)

I did it! :-) Rank #99!

I'd set myself a goal a few months back, can't recall exactly when but I'd reached it this morning!

For those who know me, my blog and me via Faceboook, I'm the one with the picture of the 2 harlequin shrimps (a picture I took in Bali early 2006). And I am, as of 3:20pm (+8 GMT) Sunday, 23rd December 2007, I have reached the F100 within Fighter's Club on Facebook! Yippee!!! I started out on the 4-digits and I've reached #99 with $59,521,638!

Now nobody fight me ah... This was a personal goal. :-)

Thank You Azman

We were off to shop for MIL's sneakers at Vivo City after dinner. We tried the usual brand's and ended up at B.I.R.D. where a smiley Azman had said hi when we got into the store.

Fata tried a pair of shoes, it was a little too large and there were no other sizes. We spotted a second pair of shoes, Azman offered the size we'd asked for and a half size larger just in case, but the second pair just didn't look right. On to a third pair of shoes, and Azman's third trip into the storeroom. This time, the size we'd needed was not available.

Then it was my turn. I liked that second pair Fata had tried on, I was walking around with a foot in the shoe and a foot in just my sock... I decided to ask for a smaller size. Another trip into the storeroom - sorry a smaller size was not available. The lack of size was not daunting, we were going to take the size that was on display. Yet another trip into the store and quite a few minutes later, a sheepish Azman re-appeared apologizing for not being able to locate the other shoe. A "defect"... oh well... maybe it was just not meant to be...

Off we went to pay for Allan's shoes, the store was closing at this point. As we turned to walk out of the store, Azman conjures up a brand new pair of the shoes I'd wanted (albeit in the display size)! Yippee! We were happy shoppers! He must have made made a sixth trip into that storeroom and found it.

A special thank you to Azman, a sales associate at the B.I.R.D. store at Vivo City. He was very patient, very helpful with useful shoe care tips and he made us feel so welcomed we were glad we met him this evening.

Kumxia! :-)

Bangkok, Thailand

We were in Bangkok for 5 days earlier this month, Fata was there for work, MIL and I were there for fun and some shopping. The malls are super, Central World... Siam Paragon... MIL had a super time walking about and getting stuff.

I was super thrilled when Fata brought us to Siam Ocean World at the basement one of Siam Paragon. I think it was (and still is) the lack of compressed air which led to such elation there. Garden eels, sea horses, ribbon eels, mandarin fish, pipe fish, frog fish, jelly fish, even a heavy python, made it a happy snappy time.

An odd discovery was Naraya, a brand many are familiar with, one which I'd only just discovered. Not a huge fan of the stuff they sell, but MIL was very happy with the choice of fabric and patterns.

A boat ride along the Chao Praya was pretty. An inexpensive way of looking around and a great snap-happy opportunity. 18 baht one way per person took us from the Central Pier all the way to pier 16. Another 18 baht per person brought us back. Beautiful temples and rustic buildings dot the shores with towering hotels and bridges.

The King's birthday was an experience too. The city was filled with pictures of the King, it was quite amazing how it all looked and felt.

A friend had asked how I'd gone through 5 days of Bangkok without getting bored... I'd say take your time, look around, take a picture and look some more. Despite the usual shopping and slur of massages, this trip to Bangkok was a good one, and 5 days was enough to not get bored.

Thank you! :-)

Saint Julien Le Restaurant

Saint Julien Le Restaurant
3 Fullerton Road, Singapore 049215
Tel: 6534 5947, Fax: 6534 5949

Do order!

- the lobster bisque is rich and so filled with crustacean goodness.

- the mushroom soup - soothingly warm and savory.

- the foie grois ravioli - hearty for a starter but full of flavor. it's hard to go wrong with foie grois.

- the frogs' legs - bones were licked clean :-)

- the duck confit - gently crisp skin atop breakaway duck which slipped off the bone. the orange sauce was yummy too.

Don't order!

- the ratatouille - gave this a go cos of the animated feature,  but turned up heavy in a tad too much olive oil.

- the tenderloin - it was far from tender. it was done medium rare, as requested, though one side was more done than the other. despite the server's high recommendation for this dish, there are better steaks elsewhere. this one was a mastication challenge, left half uneaten.

Based on this steak alone, I will not go back to this restaurant cos they were not very amicable in the treatment of my feedback on the tough bit of meat :-(

The service was impeccable, our 2 primary servers were attentive and efficient. The person who handled my feedback was not from these 2. I'm sure it would've been more pleasant if it was...

Thank you away... check please...

Look who's on the telly!

Check out Adrian and Collin on AXN's The Amazing Race Asia 2!

Good luck! :-)

Fata's Birthday BBQ!

Thank you to everyone who made Fata's 'surprise' birthday BBQ a splendid evening!

Granted it was tricky keeping it a surprise, but Fata assures me that he wasn't expected it.

Thank you to the BBQ food buyers/preparers/cookers, the non-BBQ food contributors and the BBQ eaters. The food and drink were all very thoughtfully bought and prepared. The tiramisu and cupcakes were super yummy. So were the famous No. 5 chicken wings that so live up to their reputation. Even to the ice buyers, without which it would have been a warm night...

Happy Birthday Fata!
:-)

Singapore Slingers vs. Perth Wildcats!

Been meaning to blog this for a couple of weeks. Thank you big head and Guan for asking me along for the Singapore Slingers versus Perth Wildcats match on the 3rd of November at the Indoor Stadium. It was nice of them cos my husband was still away and they wanted to keep me busy. :-)

It was a great exciting first match for me. Better still cos we got good seats close to a corner of the court.

At full time it was 94-94. I heard that this was the first time ever there's been a draw at full time! And I got to witness an exhilarating extra time, after which we won! WE WON! I think it was 110(or112) against 105! Yippee!!!

Thank you the 2 who had asked me along and the 1 who offered us the tickets! I think that 1 was the lucky charm that night, the Singapore team performed great only after he's returned to his seat after half time. :-p

(Photo to be uploaded later, can't seem to get it uploaded this evening :-() Check out the shot of Helms in the arms of the Perth defender, with Grizzard looking on. The team played very well and I was very proud. Though I wish I had a better angle and a faster camera...

The funny part of the evening was that I didn't know the merlion had arms and legs! hahaha...

Kumxia for a super duper inaugural Singapore Slingers match!

Weekend in KL!

Thank you to the 2 who drove us up, around and back from KL. Thank you the 2 who let us crash on their floor for 2 nights. :-)

There was a good crab dinner, great fried fish head noodles, and d-lish cupcakes! Happy that we got to do what we had gone to do and had a super yummy time doing it.

Kumxia to all who made is a great weekend!

Also - take a close look at the photo... where's the chicken?

Happy Birthday!

Thank you everyone at work for the song and for sharing the super yummy birthday cake!

Kumxia to all friends who took the time to drink beer that night!

And thank you to the KFC kakis. :-)

Plus a huge kumxia to my husband who planned for a week the presents, the cake at work, the card at home... sorry he was on the actual away but it was fun! :-)

Lac Bangles for a colorful Diwali!

Here are the bangles that the Lac craftsman made. Guan said that there was a picture of the Lac man but no picture of the bangles, so they are. :-)

The dark blue one on top features the crystals that I'd brought for the Lac man to incorporate into a bangle, just for me. He picked the color, shape of the bangle and how to include the shiny chains. The crystals were bits left over from my earlier projects and it was a great way to remind myself of those projects by using them to build something that only I would have.

The middle and bottom bangles started out circular, but were pinched with tweezers to give them that frilly feel. If you look carefully you can actually make out the craftsman's fingerprints!

Kumxia for a good experience. I'll be sure to visit Little India next year during Diwali! :-)

Happy Diwali!

Kumxia to a craftsman in Little India for a fun cultural experience! He makes bangles out of lac, a type of processed tree sap (this I learned from a lady who spoke with the artist in Tamil), which is melted, rolled and twisted into beautifully colorful wrist ornaments!

Happy Diwali to one and all!
:-)

I Am Embarrassed

This is not the first unhappy post on this thank you blog, I am glad that the happy ones do way out number the unhappy ones.

I just found out this morning that the director of strategic clusters 1 of the Singapore Tourism Board, is a very rude person. A friend of mine was at the unfortunate end of several phone calls, of which this director had yelled at her and had the phone hung up on her. Apparently, this director was desperate to get something done and was barking up the wrong tree, so my poor friend had to bear the brunt of this discourtesy.

I am embarrassed and ashamed that the director of this country’s tourism board, is headed by such an ill-mannered person. This is the said director’s profile page - http://www.zoominfo.com/search/PersonDetail.aspx?PersonID=782474654#

Sunday Frisbee!

Kumxia to all who came for today's frisbee. Though there were 2 sitting along the side lines, the 3-a-side game had lots of laughs.

The Amazing Race Asia 2

Look at who's in the middle bottom of the picture!
:-)

Cheer Chen in Concert!

It's another Mandarin concert, yes - I didn't understand the bulk of what was sung, but the energy and enthusiasm didn't require prior knowledge of any particular language.

The concert started at 8:20pm to about 3000 people, the first couple of numbers were just her and a guitar. She was good.

No fancy foot work, no fancy dancers, no fancy staging, just a talent girl with a guitar enjoying herself in front of a sincerely appreciateive crowd.

The performance went on to 10:30pm, and on and on and on... At least 4 or 5 encores later, Cheer came back onto the stage for the last time, with the house lights all on, she sang one last song and left. Your could see the look on her face, she was having fun, she had a good time. And so did we... happy anniversary baby!

Kumxia Cheer! :-)

Grannys Say The Darnest Things!

Today's lunch was a cousin-sponsored-Granny-dim sum affair. It was Fata's idea to get all of our generation, on my mom's side together to buy lunch for my mom's mom! The only odd one out was my mom's first brother who came cos my first cousin was on flight from Melbourne.

Just as the plentifully yummy meal was meeting its sweet end, my Granny suggested that my cousin, the one who is looking for some interim work right now, go find some modeling work, cos in her words he is "jin swee".

Cheeks blushed as laughter rang around the table. My "jin swee" cousin just needs to get his teeth fixed and he'll be my granny's favorite model!

:-) Kumxia Granny!

Old Blue Sneakers

Kumxia Fata who bought me this old trusty pair of blue sneakers at least 6 years ago. They served me real well and they have reluctantly been retired. Thank you! :-)

A Food Lovers' Paradise – Closed on Mondays

Today was strange.

It started with the usual question – what’s for dinner?

First – Foo’s House at Jalan Puri Burong, we got there, it was closed. Second – we drove to Bedok Junction Food Center, the noodle stall and the cheng teng stall we were looking forward to were closed. Further ahead, we were hoping for a corner coffee shop tze cha along Siglap, also closed. Maybe Werner’s Café? Closed. Still in the car, a call to our fifth attempt - Geylang Lor 33 Claypot Rice met without an answer.

Onwards to Katong, we tried the food court at the basement of Roxy, found out only when we got there that it was being renovated. Finally, the seventh attempt was Aston’s in Katong, also closed.

So much for Singapore being a food lover’s paradise, I guess not on Mondays…

Singapore’s Inaugural 70.3!

Yesterday was a first! For Fata, Chee Han, Bryan and Roy, Singapore’s first 70.3 Ironman yesterday, 2nd September 2007, was their first half Ironman! Good job to all, including Colin and Ironman veteran Terence.

A huge thank you to everyone who came to watch Fata finish! Thank you Pea-San, Wei Shan, Benson, Su Yee, Darryl, Wan Ling, MIL, Eva, Julius, Jillian and Sheu Sum! Special thanks to Ben who brought his bike, and to Guan who ferried me around to the best photo spots. Big thanks also to Chee Han and Terence who stayed after they finished to see Fata cross the finish line. Also to coach PekYa who has been by him for the last few years.

Thank you to all volunteers too! And Aviva and all the sponsors!

Last but not least, an enormous thank you to Fata, who came back in one working piece albeit badly bruised and bloody. Love you lots!

"You must print this."

I was told this by someone who means a lot to me. :-) This is the shot he was talking about.

Thank you for the compliment!

Funny Elevator Sign

This sign was part of a friend's former apartment block in Hong Kong. Enjoy!

Thank you for sharing. :-)

Gwen Stefani in Concert

7 of us were all geared up yesterday for an amazing night of Gwen Stefani's brand of bubblegum pop at her very first concert in this country, but it ended up rather disappointing.

The stage was plain, double tiered with the usual projection screen behind it, and a "live" screen on each side of the performance area. There were quite a few costume changes, all which she carried off very well but I felt that the breaks between songs for costume changes broke the rhythmn of the concert. Maybe I was expecting more "fun"? Maybe I had expected too much?

There were marked high points in the performance, namely when she ran straight into the middle of the audience, then running farther into the midst of the seats and stopped twice to sing her song. Those were truly great moments. A friend almost touched her as she raced up the stands.

Despite the countdown of our favorite Gwen hits, the whole evening left me unsatisfied, and not in a good way. I really felt that we had paid too much for our tickets.

Thank you anyway Gwen Stefani. :-)

Pea Place Dinner

It was another gathering of happy friends around yummy food and good booze.

This time contributions included roasted lamb, shabu-shabu, salad and chicken wings. All lovingly prepared and cooked to perfection!

"Only in America can you pick your nose and be a landmark."

Thank you Google Maps for more fun!

Heard that Google had gone in vans down America's streets snapping away, then pieced together millions of stills to give you the "Street View" on Google Maps. :-)

Search 181 West San Carlos Street, San Jose, California.
There's a guy there taking care of some personal hygiene.
Quoting an American radio celebrity, "Only in America can you pick your nose and be a landmark."
Kumxia for the giggles! :-)

Lamb Shank Green Curry

Kumxia for dinner!

A big thank you to a pair of friends, who opened their house to us last night to feed us and water us.

The wine and cheese and lamb shank green curry were super! The shank was so tender it didn’t need a knife! Yummy!

Kumxia! ☺

Nine Courses and Five Beers ago...

An enormous thank you to the man I married and a friend for making our first Dinner and Beer a tummy-felt success!

#1 - Crab salsa bruschetta.

#2 - Roasted peppers.

#3 - The cod was baked in a combination of miso, mirin and mushroom.

#4 - Lamb with dijon mustard.

#5 - Pork belly rolled in bacon.

#6 - Ribeye skewers with fresh herbs (middle plate).

#7 - A trio of sausages - farmer's grill, neurnberger and spicy italian.

#8 - Tri-fromage aragosta frittata, aka triple cheese lobster omelette!

#9 - Dual potato mash baked with hearts of quail eggs.

This was the assortment of bear that paired with the food famously!

Kumxia to those who labored to make the evening a deliciious event, and all those who lent us their empty tummies. :-)

7:59pm

Tonight was a rare treat. We were on our way home along the CTE before 8pm! As we approached the ERP gantry headed north, the large LED clock read 7:59pm. EVERYONE SLOWED DOWN! Hahaha… I think many people were slowing down to pass under the gantry at 8pm so they wouldn’t need to pay the S$1.

I guess that explains the signs we’d passed earlier, prompting heavy traffic ahead! ☺ Though there were a lot of people trying to get on and off the PIE via the CTE.

Thank you for a good chuckle!

It's the thought of the crepe cake that counts!

Heard from a friend at dinner this evening, about something that happened yesterday. The man I'd married had went way out of his way to try to buy me highly recommended crepe cake. When he got to the shop, he had $50 on him, but the cake was $60, and the store didn't take anything other than cash. So... no crepe cake.

With the direction my weighing scale's been going lately, I'm glad he couldn't get the crepe cake, though I thank him for the thought. :-) And my friend for telling me. :-)

Sector 7

Kumxia my techno-geek friend who passed us this URL for Transformers fans!

www.sectorseven.org

password: codeblack

Check out the Transformers movie! It's LOUD!:-)

Thank you anyway...

I have been quite happy with my bags for the last year and a half, after my husband had braved a sea of estrogen to buy for me the very first tokidoki for LeSportsac bag (a very useful stellina) in February 2006. My close friends then got me a citta caramello last November and I got myself a paradiso campeggio during the same period. I have been and will continue to be happy with the bags as the super kawaii characters make me smile. :-)

The stellina from last year started with minor problems, it was the zip, when the bag is unzipped the zipper gets caught in the end of the bag, causing the stitching and fabric there to wear out. When I'd gone last year to the LaSportsac counter to ask the salesperson for help, and she had plainly told me not to open the bag to widely... how silly an answer is that? I had to suppress my laughter when I heard it. Nonetheless, the bag still works, I just stitched the zip shut just before the end so that it won't catch the fabric every time the bag was opened.

I was prepared to put up with a temperamental zip when I purchased the campeggio, I just stitched the zip up before the fabric got chewed. The bag worked fine for 7 months until this evening when I'd notice that the stitching along the top of the leather band that held the strap to the campeggio had completely unraveled. Augh... :-(

I wrote an e-mail to the customer service e-mail address listed on the LeSportsac website to express my disappointment. Did you know that their repair department does not fix limited edition merchandise such as tokidoki? And even for the classic items they do fix, you got to send it to Kentucky, USA. Not many choices for international customers. Anyone know a good bag repair person in a country near me?

Oh well, no more bags for me from them. And to think the latest spiaggia was the cutest to date with the fishes, surfers, sea urchins, dolphins and crabs... Thank you anyway... it was good while it lasted...

Another Sunday

Need to kumxia all the nice heavy truck drivers along the airport's coastal road last Saturday, 16th June 2007. Many truckers were kind to allow us cyclists a whole lane when they past us panting peddlars.

Especially to a kind gentleman, XB/D8912?, hard to see too clearly past sweaty eyes, who had allowed the 2 of us to pass before him, even after the light had just turned in his favor. Thank you! :-) I feel safer on the road when I know that there are such nice drivers along that road. I kumxia all the drivers who ply that road on Sundays. Kumxia kumxia...

Pro Bono Baker Strikes Again!

Kumxia to the one who feeds both my belly and my mind. Very yummy pretzels, but got the seeds stuck in my teeth all morning. Thank you!