girlie sessions

One of the things I am most deprived of in Sydney is spending quality time with my close girlfriends. They are the ones who were, still are and will always be there for me regardless of physical distance and time zone differences whenever I need a listening ear or a (virtual) shoulder to cry on.

My Fav Tudi was the first person I met up with the day after I landed in SG. It was fur-grooming day for us. The second time we met, Tudi took me to Iluma to check out their famous must-see escalators and we ended up having a super early dinner at one of those pretty Japanese restaurants there - Tsubohachi.


Looks like a scene out of Japan eh?


So many options! We were quite spoilt for choice. Took us a while reading through what each restaurant had to offer before we settled on Tsubohachi.


We ordered the tapas and sake set for two that included a bottle of hot sake, five slices of salmon sashimi, a salad, fries, three pieces of ebi tempura, three sticks of chicken yakitori, a small pot of steamed glutinous rice dish with salmon, six pieces of this egg thingy (I dunno what it's called) and two pieces of some cheesy fishcake thingy. All for only $48!

On Valentine's Day itself, I went to catch the 9pm show Valentine's Day with Sunshine Angel Joyce and Pretty Cory who was back from Beijing for a week for CNY. We headed to Ice Cold Beer for the best chicken wings in town and some ice cold Leffe.


One other thing I love about ICB besides the wings is that they have Leffe from the tap. Here's us sipping our ice cold Leffe.

The night before Cory had to fly back to Beijing, we gathered at my place to watch a chick flick The Ugly Truth and to finish the bottle of Moet Rose Champagne I got for Joyce as sort of a belated birthday and Valentine's Day present.


The pretty Moet package came with a pink heart-shaped bottle stopper. And here I'm wearing a blue chiffon dress which was a present from Sunshine Angel Joyce. The girls all find the dress very flattering on me - it enhances all the right places!


Popping the champagne. Sadly, the cork flew right out the door down nine storeys of the block and must be resting on a grass patch somewhere right now.

There was a CNY Open House at Joyce's and so the girlies gathered again for some feasting and gambling. This time Dawn supplied a 大小 (Chinese dice game) mat which was a refreshing change from the usual blackjack game.


Joyce's Dad, an avid photographer who loves the 'beauty' mode on his camera, insisted on 'beautifying' us in this shot.

Strawberry and I made advanced booking with each other to catch up for high tea at Goodwood Park Hotel for a 'tai-tai' session. We seldom get to spend this much quality time together mostly because both of us haven't been in the same country at the same time much the last few years.


Left: Goodwood Park Hotel from the outside.
Right: Table reserved for us.


Left: That's me holding the coffee and tea menu.
Right: Nice tea cup and sugar pot.


Left: The spread of sandwiches, tartlets, wraps and pastries.
Right: Chocolate fondue!


The chocolate mousse cake shown in the top left corner in the pic was the highlight of the day.


Strawberry and I looking pretty here.

Shy and pretty Flyaway bought me some nice Japanese dessert for afternoon tea one day. We also arranged for a pasta making session at my place so I can show Flyaway how to cook the pasta I usually make for myself after a long day at work in Sydney.


We shared a Hokkaido milk pudding, a matcha pancake and had a glass of milk green tea each.


That's me doing the pasta-making demo for Flyaway while she photographed and took notes.

I took Flyaway to Haji Lane and Arab Street for a photowalk which ended in a coffee session at an elegant Swedish cafe and bistro Fika.


Left: The main entrance to Fika facing Beach Road (if I remember correctly).
Right: The corridor running the entire length of one side of Fika.


The main counter inside Fika.


Left: Simple deco in Fika.
Right: I had a vanilla latte, Flyaway had a pot of camomile tea, and we shared a Swedish lingonberry cheesecake that was very yummy.

The three angels met for a round of beer at Brewerkz Kallang Indoor Stadium before hitting Kbox Karaoke at Kallang Leisure Park.


Pretty angels in blue. Didn't I say the blue dress is flattering?


With the other angel who seems to get slimmer each time I see her.


I think we're all very pretty.

Two nights before I left SG, I made an adhoc decision to join Joyce and her ex colleagues at a club in Clarke Quay - Arena. I rarely go clubbing these days as it tires me out and makes me feel and look shitty the day after. I now prefer chilling out and spending more quality time chit chatting over snacks and a beer. Joining the gals at Arena was partly to spend one last evening with Joyce and also to see how the local party scene has changed since my last trip back.


All the gals have great smiles.


Left: Taking the red carpet path to the ladies.
Right: Self shot in the little girls room. I look like a body-less ghost with my head on Joyce's shoulder. Spooky.

Besides family time, it was all these girlie sessions that really made spending all my annual leave on a trip back home to familiar SG worthwhile. There were many other sessions mostly with the same above-mentioned girlies but no photos of those to share here. The snacking (I still can't get over the ICB chicken wings...), gossipping, checking out boys together, giggling over silly things we do together and bitching about other girls' distasteful fashion sense are simple luxuries I don't get to enjoy away from home. I'm now already looking forward to our next crazy get-together next year!