20

Last week I hit the big 2. 

Didn't feel any excitement or a little sad that my teenage years are over. Well I guess I can lie to myself and say that I am still twenteen ehehehehe. But seriously, sometimes I wished I could feel a little more, just a little will be fine. I really wanted to be hyped up for my birthday, since it is my last year celebrating in this red dot before I pursue my studies. 

How sad, to only feel numbness, to feel like it is just any other day. 

But I am still glad and thankful for all the surprises I received! Being a glutton I am, my friends all know that a free meal will be able to suffice as my present AHA. So I have been getting tons of free meals and tons of calories and tons of happiness FREE FooOOoooOOooOD!!!!!!!

Quick summary on how the birthday week went. 

Spent my birthday eve with Breastie Lai going to our little secret gem - the dim sum shop HAHA. 2 person only $19?! Walao I was too nice on him already. Didn't do much, had to head down to Cake Spade to collect the birthday cake for my Dad (his birthday is one day after mine), got treated to a Hummingbird Cake (yaaaaaaay!), hang chilled around before I cabbed back home cause I was too lazy hahaha. 

Come to think about it, he has seen or helped celebrate my birthday for the 9th year HAHA. 

When it was 0018h, Faz, Vetty, Dev, Ws and Banabs came over to surprise me with... guess what? That's right! FOOOOOOD. Was in my Auntie mode and was surprised. So yay congrats guys surprise was successful ahahahaha look at me sounding so smug and conceited. I'm kidding, I'm really thankful! 

Downed one tray of homemade Nutella Bread Pudding baked by F ah guilty pleasures. Thank you F for all the homemade goodies I love them my parents love your cookies too yummers. 

My picture of the bread puddings didn't do them justice. I shall give the cookies another try and post it some other time!! 

Spent the first half of my birthday with F by going to the Trick Eye Museum, finally!!!! The place is rather small and you can comb it in an hour or so. But it was fun doing retarded poses, though it was a little awkward for me initially HAHA I don't know how blog shop models do it?!??? Or just anyone who does ootds. I felt like I was posing for 30 ootds in that 1 hour. 

BEST PICTURE SRS HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Wow much expressions many acting. 

Headed home for a reaaaaal simple dinner because parents wanted to save their stomach for the cake. Yay they liked it, would really want to try making the strawberry cheesecake but the Joyce Lim version but too bad house doesn't have an electric mixer?? Hands not enough muscles to mix the whole shit up man. 

Ok so that was how I spent my birthday hahaha. 

Next day was Daddy's birthday so I stayed home. Headed out for dinner together with Mom after she knocked off from work. Had seafood that was situated near my Mom's workplace and oh my god it was sooooooo goooooood!!! 

Guys, please go to Seafood Paradise at Defu Lane ok YOU WON'T REGRET. 

Had work at the centre the next day and was assigned to assist the K1 class. They are so disciplined compared to the other classes and I am back together with my favourite boy yay!! He is so adorable, such a handsome and sweet young boy.

They were poking a girl for fun and then she burst out crying. All the others just left her in tears, but only my handsome young one stayed and told her, "It's okay Siti, we are just playing with you. Don't cry okay Siti? I'm sorry, Siti. Come, let's go play together." and he stretched out his hand and grab hers. SUCH A SWEETHEART RIGHT?! Sigh I love you Aidil ahahahahahahahaha. 

Met my Aunt and niece for some dinner treat at Carnivore Appetite. MEH, it was disappointing. Should have went to the main Carnivore at MBS. Brought them to Llao Llao cause I wanted them to try their yogurt and coincidentally Ly was working too!! So adorbs kept snapping pictures of her like I was a paparazzi so funny to see her embarrassed and annoyed hahaha. 

Thank you bby genius for the generous slash in price mwah.

Work on Friday together with Hon and Kris then it was supper till real late but it was a good night! Convertible huat. 

On Saturday, I managed to get my hands on NDP preview tickets with the help of Marcus, so thank you so much!!!! I really wanted to go for this year's parade because for the nth number of times I'm saying this, I am leaving. But I forgot to sign up for the balloting so I thought I had no chance. But yay I'm blessed! It was supposed to be with my Tius heads but there were some issues so we cannot full strength / sobs / Nevertheless, it was still fun! Pretty fireworks, old school songs and sunny weather, what's not to like :-) 

Headed to Timbré for dinner after with tattoos on our cheeks cause we rebellious, really missing the duck and yakiniku chicken pizzas! Anboo joined us then, so we just spend the night chilling with the live band. And ended up having to run for our last train hahahaha. Good night good night. 

Yesterday, met up with my other niece for lunch at TCC (since I get 50% off during my birthday month he he he). I was skeptical with what she wanted to order but out of the 3 we ordered - Baby Crayfish Salad, Buffalo Wings and Crayfish Baked Rice, the salad fared the best. Surprise surprise. 

3 items = $60 ok. Lucky have 50% off else my niece sure heart pain hahaha. 

Brought her to Cold Stone since she never tried it before and was craving for ice cream, and now she has jumped onto the Cold Stone bandwagon! 

Met Yvette after to catch Begin Again. Felt like a mini concert in the theatre HAHA. Wanted to satisfy our crumble cravings but the café was closed!?!?!?!?! Walao so depressed ok. In the end we cabbed down to Esette Café to settle our dinner. 

Service was excellent - they extended their opening hours just for us! But the food fared otherwise. 

B.E.S.T Waffle | Sadly wasn't the best. The waffles were crispy though! And their scrambled eggs were different from others, theirs weren't creamy, but they had something else which we can't figure out hahaha. Sadly, the bacon was cold though. PORTION WAS HUGE OK BEWARE.

Norwegian Benedict | Eggs were successfully poached, but the whole dish wasn't warm either, it was a tad too cold. They do have avocado fillings in between the salmon and muffin though. 

Churros ($9) | Similar to that of Grub's, theirs were a little too doughy for my liking. 

Apple Crumble w/ Mixed Berries | THIS was warm, finally. The combination of warm apple slices and cold vanilla ice cream hit the spot, but the crumbles tasted a little funny. They weren't crispy and a little too doughy too sobs. 

We also tried their Fruit Splash which smelled a little chao seng. Hahaha sian. But really, the service, I salute man. 

Thank you for the free meals, movie tickets, cab ride, extra tummy and double chin HAHA sugar mommy yay u iz bez. 

Well, guess that's all so far! I can't wait for my Visa to get approved so I can get more shit done. 

---

Sigh, Joyce. Twenty and still stupid. Don't be a disappointment man. 

Undone

Mg have been so busy, finally some time to update this space! It's really sad that the blogs that I always read are now only open for invited readers / sobs / So ABZ, RACH AND JDYN please update your space so I have things to read okay please I need to be updated about your lives!!!!! 

Anyway, going back to roughly 2 weeks ago... 

Met up with the Chameleon girls and settled for dinner at Gyoza-ya, a Japanese restaurant located at the basement of Robinsons (used to be Heerens) that specialises in gyozas (duh). And boy, they really do the gyozas in Japan proud! They come in 2 versions - pan fried or steamed. I love both but I guess the steamed ones fared just a little better because the skin was really silky! It wasn't too doughy or thick. We also tried their Garlic Fried Rice and Ja-Jang Myeon. There is this authentic way to eat their JJM but it tasted really weird hahahaha go try it for yourself and you will know. 

Portions are quite small though! Having said that, they are very reasonably priced for a Japanese restaurant so you don't have to worry about burning a huge hole in your wallet. We probably paid less than $20 for what we have ordered! 

Photo courtesy of Jas because mine was completely off hahaha. 

Headed to The Providore for desserts and I wasn't impressed. Mediocre desserts with expensive prices labeled onto them. Meh. 

Thankfully, company turned out better than expected and we did had tons of fun! Definitely more reassured about meeting the next time before Soursop and I leave for UK haha. 

Attended Claire's birthday cum farewell party at Treehouse Villa! It was like another mini SU reunion hahaha and yay to photo booth!! Some random and retarded shots to sum up the event... 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Met up with Shu Yi for lunch at Stateland Cafe the next day! Really owe it to her else I will be so confused and lost about the whole application and appeal process for my University. I am indeed blessed to have such a senior/friend, and am really glad that I went for the Paris trip 2 years back even though none of my other closer friends in my course signed up for it - if I didn't sign up, I wouldn't have met her. 

See, everything happens for a reason. Hahaha. 

Tried the highly-raved French Toast and Red Velvet Waffles. Hm, the toast was decent but nothing beats After You's hahaha. Our waffles were slightly burnt though boohoo. We shared a main that consisted of a toast, scrambled eggs and jam. Overall, food was decent but it is the service that I have mixed feelings about. 

Red Velvet Waffles w/ Cream Cheese | If not for the slightly burnt waffle, this was actually quite decent. If I wasn't hallucinating, there were chocolate fillings inside the waffles. And I guess cream cheese just goes really well with anything that is red velvet, isn't it haha. 

French Toast | The whole combination is great - thick brioche bread coupled with vanilla ice cream, mixed berries and maple drizzle. I personally thought the french toast was too crispy for my liking though. 

During our time at Stateland, the crew managed to break 3 cups of glasses, and of them kept cussing. Like non-stop. Every time she opened her mouth to talk to her colleagues, there will be AT LEAST one vulgarity that tags along. It doesn't make things better that she was pretty fluent in hokkien profanities too. 

I obviously wasn't comfortable. It really does not reflect well on the cafe's image, even though I know very well that most servers are part-timers and sometimes they don't really give a damn about all these reputation shit because they don't own this business. But I thought it was common sense that one shouldn't just spill profanities in front of customers. 

Headed for the University's seminar before rushing to the airport to send Rachel off. This is really happening man, all 'em departures. 

Then it was Zouk. Not usually a fan of party nights but since it was Abz's last party night in Sg, I went. Turned out to be a good night! 

Even though I'm not a fan, I really do want to experience Poptart before I leave! 

Spent my weekend working and trying out Satay by the Bay with F. One word - not impressed. 

The thing that was really good though, was the peanut sauce that came along with the satays. How disappointing :-( 

Then I welcomed the new week by going to work at the centre. Gosh I was so drained I dozed off everywhere possible. I do miss the kids though! And it was definitely heartwarming to see them again. 

One of them rushed to the window and shouted "Teacher Oyce! I have green marker! I have green marker!"

HAHAHAHA. Yeah some of the kids calls me Teacher Oyce cause idk maybe the letter "J" just don't seem to register in their minds. 

So glad when 1730h came, packed up and headed to Abby's house for her last dinner in Sg. CURRY CHICKEN WITH RICE AND BREAD AND FRIED TOFU!!! Not surprising that I kinda ate the most at the dining table.

Packed the table for her walao it was so messy and dusty ok. So satisfied that it is all clean and neat now!!!! Farewell present ok Abby hahaha. 

After all that cleaning, we decided to head to Thomson for prata, tau huey and salted caramel since Jeff drove. 

It was a good night out! So thankful for this night because the next day shit happened and I am guilty forever sobs sorry Abigail Wong!!! 

Had lunch at Sunday Market with my fellow Banabs before heading to work on Wednesday. DUCK PANCAKESSSSSS *sigh* Pancakes were quite fluffy and the duck meat was juicy! They were really quite generous with the portioning of the meat, definitely worth the price! 

Banabs ordered the French Toast with BBQ Chicken. French Toast wasn't that great because I personally thought it was a little too doughy but the chicken compensated for that. It was really nicely seasoned and the meat is tender and not dry at all! 

We also had their Bangkok Toast - thick french toast stuffed with (I'm guessing) coconut filling. Paired with green tea custard and thai milk tea ice cream on the side, this was really pretty damn good. But of course, After You wins hands down still! 

Best part of Sunday Market? No gst and service charge hehehehehehe. Best part for me? It was his treat HAHA. He spent about $40 on everything, it is pretty alright compared to other cafes! 

I was too early for work so we went to have some tau huey and salted bun. BAD CHOICE we were so stuffed gosh. 

Had work again the next day, and this time I met Hui Choo for brunch at Drury Lane. Yay to another nett pricing café! Have been wanting to try this café for the longest time and I am now able to tick it off my to-go list! 

Spotted 3 qt patooties while making our way down the steps hehehe. 

Drury Lane serves unpretentious yet yummy food. No fancy pancy plating or decoration, they serve whatever they wrote on their menu. Even so, it was good. 

Bacon Baked Eggs ($12) | Yay! Another café that does baked eggs. Thought the cheese really enhanced the entire dish, and I actually prefer this version to Stranger Reunion's. 

94 Goes Green ($13) | Typical breakfast set, but their scrambled eggs were really good. Creamy and moist!!! Their baked beans sauce were different from the typical ones - it was thicker, almost similar to to a tomato-based pasta. Their sautéed mushrooms were nice, but a little too salty though. 

Banana Bread w/ Espresso Butter ($2.50) | THIS WAS GOOD. Ok so I checked in to Four Square and many reviewed that this is a must try. The banana taste was significant but not overpowering, and it wasn't too dry or moist. The espresso butter gave the entire dish a tinge of coffee flavour. Cheap and good man!!

Since Cake Spade was nearby, we went there to try out their other cakes. Had Mango Tofu Cheesecake and Lemon Tart with Roasted Pistachio this time. Still preferred the Strawberry version because it wasn't so sweet. I enjoyed the tart though! Really loving the crust - not flaky, smooth and crunchy! 

This girl was so cute. She wanted to surprise me by lighting a candle but she didn't know that lemon curds are soft. So the candle couldn't stand upright on the lemon curd and fell HAHAHAHAHA. That explains the fallen candle in the picture. It is the effort and thought that counts though! Thank you Hc hahahahaha luv you still. 

After work, had supper at RK House with my Grub buddies. Mee goreng pattaya again BUT SPIZE IS STILL THE PATTAYA KING. 

Since Hon had a sun roof, he winded it down and Leonard told me to stand up while he sped. FREAKING. AWESOME. FEELING. The wind didn't just caress my face, it was about to rip out my skin hahahaha. Crazy strong wind, empty roads and just me. Best feeling I had in weeks gosh. I would have taken a selfie if not for the horrendous face caused by the wind hahaha.

Then came Friday, where it saw Lis and I having lunch at Riders. We intended to go to Group Therapy, but since she had the car, we thought it made more sense to go somewhere farther and more inaccessible haha. Had their Portobello Burger and Bread Pudding, and a good time catching up. 

Their Bread Pudding was too moist and wet for me though! Would wanna head back and try their famous Death by Chocolate Cake dessert before I leave nyehehehe. 

Met up with Chanel after, and satisfied my cravings for Bibigo and Apple Crumble from Tiong Bahru Bakery. So proud to be the one to introduce this mad delicious dessert to Chanel, guys if you all haven't tried you all MUST ok, the Apple Crumble. You can never go wrong with crumbles man. 

Was supposed to head to Zara to exchange her item but we talked too much hahaha. Wanted to go for Llao Llao but we couldn't locate it UGH and then it was too late :-( Nevertheless, it is always a good time with my favourite bird mwah.

AND THEN I FINALLY VISITED ADVENTURE COVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! / confetti time / 

Ok though things didn't work out as planned, I'm just really really really glad that Kiku is willing to go with me even though it wasn't her first time there. But then again, it didn't really make her any more experienced cause she don't remember the rides well HAHA.

"This one this one! Not scary la only have one hump."

Guess what, that damn ride had THREE HUMPS. HAHAHA freaking screaming every time we overcame a hump. Except for the last though, because we got engulfed by chlorine water HAHA. 

Then there was another ride that made our float reversed its direction, thus we were almost going down with our backs facing the front. Both of us freaked HAHAHA. Really enjoyed the slide though! 

Now thinking back, I had a lot of fun at Adventure Cove. The sian part was the waiting time, else every single ride was honestly really good! It felt like a mini Wild Wild Wet hahaha. 

OH. And I had my first mini snorkelling experience there as well omg it was such an experience!!! The corals and fishes are so pretty, can't imagine how gorgeous it will be if I was snorkelling out in the sea. But because I can't really swim, I was holding on to Kiku's hand all the time, and panicked every time she had to let go of me to adjust her goggles or mouthpiece HAHA. Other than that, it was really quite surreal! 

Had a really good time laughing at other people's facial expressions, tattoos and just had tons of nonsense. Like how I brought my waterproof film camera but the tool that was supposed to turn the film isn't working so we had to keep reopening the plastic cover after every shot SUCH A BURDEN. Speaking of which, I really should go get my films developed and see how it turns out, or if it will turn out at all hahaha. Hoping for the best! 

Then met the other TF girls for dinner at Pepperoni's. 7 girls and we chalked the bill up to $170 NAISE. Their seafood pizza and prawn fritters were really good though! 

HWAAAAAH XXL man, like me. 

Rushed down to the airport to send Yun Qing off to Hong Kong, and finally called it a day. 

Sunday was spent working at Grub and rushing down to Kwan and Neo's Commissioning Parade! It never fails to give me the goosebumps every time I see soldiers and cadets flinging their hats up high in the sky. It is that kind of pure happiness and elation you know, the kind where you don't witness it on a daily basis. 

Plus we had such pretty skies for company too :-) 

Amir and I shamelessly trying to take a selfie with Neo but too bad the picture turned out to be overexposed on the other side. 

Congratulations to the both of you!! And to Vass too! (The person who took for Vass and I had the worst photography skills cause the picture was blur af hahahaha)

WOAH finally done with the updates, sorry it took so long! Will start on my and my Dad's birthday week in the next post, till then, be well and be cool.