exploring east village

one of the best things about having friends in NYC is the treasure trove of information they are. I took me on a walking tour of east village before heading to work and left me with a hitlist of recommendations. had to see katz deli in the flesh after hearing so much about it, and loving when harry met sally. pity i didn't have space for a philly cheesesteak but oh boy the pancakes and sweet potato fries at clinton street bakery really did me in!

when i had finally created some tummy space, for a specific chocolate eclair, i could smell chikalicious before i saw it. but alas, it was shuttered and i took it as a sign from the universe that i should really be eating a lot less.

:(

clinton street bakery

i'd heard some very good things ("the maple butter is unbelievable!") and some not-so-good things ("expect a two hour queue!") about clinton street bakery and jumped at the chance to meet I there for brunch on tuesday. have known I since secondary school where he was the baby of the board and while the lucky boy has kept his youthful good looks, he's oh-so-grown-up now!  a bit rich coming from me, seeing how we're the same age but i was mighty impressed that my old friend is in a good place and going places. not just with his start up but with an ibanking job at UBS. ibanking?! in this climate?! plus points for dogged determination...

on a more personal note, the pancakes were second only to cafe sirap in stockholm, my long-established pancake gold standard. but that maple butter, ohhhmyword.... the stuff of dreams, i tell you.

avra

when L first told me about avra, i didn't realise just how upmarket it'd be. later on, i surmised it had to be pretty darn atas if that's where J had been wine and dined by "the counterparties". ooh! new word! occasionally i envy these corporate types with bottomless expense accounts. and i was the unlikely beneficiary of J's limited (read: only fancy schmancy) exposure to the NYC restaurant scene. didn't help that the first thing i did was to mistake an important looking patron for a waiter (asked him for directions to the loo, yep, i'm classy that way) and later when the haughty hostess refused to seat us till J came*, L and i went back outside and broke out the marks&spencer cookies i'd carted across the pond.

initial hiccups aside, dinner was absolute yums and best of all, i got to meet the guy who stole L's heart. quite the milestone in my little friendship ledger :)

if you ever go to avra, we had the bread with assorted dips (roasted eggplant, carp roe and garlic chive), octopus and squid appetisers were good, as was the spinach side. the fresh grilled tiger prawns were practically alive when they reached our table but the barramundi was unimpressive. just like how the waiter was unimpressed when we all said no to wine. sigh.

*quite common to only seat the table when the entire party is present

bryant park

tried to brisk walk uptown after cupcakes with C to meet L at 30rock. failed miserably, ended up taking the subway, and still managed to be shamaefully late :/ was just thinking how during this trip, i met my oldest friends, and friends who i feel like i've known forever. first met L in kindergarten and without giving the game away, we've been friends for almost 20 years! same with T, who goes back even further (pre-school, to be precise!) and I and V who i met the next few days i've known for over ten years. it was a happy reunion in an unusual place. little did i know that so many friends would be stateside at this time. 

decided to make the most of the glorious sunshine (recurring theme!) and because there was absolutely no need to impress, nor to show the other how cool we were (haha), L and i settled for bottled drinks and a sunny table in bryant park. it was so good catching up, for it had been too long and i'm so very happy for her :) L's hands down one of my favourite people on earth. she's so fantastic that i used to think no boy would ever be good enough. but along comes J, who i've the pleasure of meeting later that evening and i'm roundly convinced that high as the bar was, he more than surpassed all our expectations of L's eventual significant other. WOW.

in more interesting news, L and i seemed to attract all the bryant park crazies in the three hours we were sitting there. one crazy wanted to rub our feet :/, another crazy circled us like a shark for an hour (!) then asked if we were sisters (???) and a third (less crazy) shakily took our photo. only in new york!

hola guapa!

 

E suggested i take a stroll along the hudson and that's just what i did monday morning before meeting C. hit the ground running bright and early and made my way to the water. before i knew it, i'd found myself in west village, also where E had lived a few summers ago. got delightfully lost among the small streets and sought some shade at this lovely little cafe called grounded on jane street. didn't manage to get a good photo but the green tea soy latte was delish! C very sweetly met me at west village because i couldn't bear to tear myself away and we soon stopped for a sidewalk lunch. met C in stockholm in summer 2009 and we've stayed in touch since. she's such a ray of sunshine and by far one of the most attractive girls i know. my goodness, walking next to her is not for the insecure! men openly salivate as she breezes past and it's so funny watching them scrape their jaws off the pavement after.

after a leisurely lunch, we had to pay homage to magnolia at bleeker (again, thanks E for the heads up!) and took our cupcakes to the hudson to nibble at from a park bench.

magnolia cupcakes, riveting company and spring sunshine by the water. 

what more could a girl wish for? :)

morning by the hudson

the chrysler

the empire state

benches in the sun on the high line

skate park by pier 62

masak

sunday dinner was a real treat! the word masak conjures images of my childhood. masak masak, a malay word, was a familiar one in my peranakan family. it meant to play around (?) or so went the context it was used in. however, what chef larry reutens served was far from child's play. T summed it up best, "you can get more authentic but less good food in flushing". so it was really a question of quality over authenticity. don't think the chef was going for replication of singaporean favourites but more reinvention. appreciated the comfort of familiar flavours complemented by novel presentation and conceptualisation. read some reviews where diners/haters berate masak's failure to remain true to singaporean cuisine. on the contrary, i find that chef larry was faithful to the cuisine by making it accessible to more western palates. if i wanted real singapore food, i'd go to singapore and not east village. 

we shared kueh pai ti (same shell and bangkuang or turnip filling but with inventive toppings like foie gras) and chilli crab dip with fried mantou. oh the joyousness of chilli crab without having to chip away at the shell! the stuffed quail was a winner with the salted egg pairing and we had sambal kale instead of the usual sambal kangkong. for dessert, chef larry paired tang yuan with chocolate sorbet and coffee nibs. WOW. tang yuan like never before. peanut tang yuan but served similar to how the japanese do little rice mochi with ice cream. was chatting with chef about the restaurant and its influences, both decor and cuisine and before i knew it, he very sweetly comp-ed his favourite carrot cake dessert. aww :) free food is surely the way to my stomach but this is by no means a paid review haha. was mighty impressed with masak and have been telling everyone i meet to go there if they've a chance. plus, they serve kaya toast for brunch. WHERE TO FIND!!

FML

no, it's not what you think. 

T works for the UN (taking into account how he used to run RMUN, the irony isn't lost on me!) and was subjected to Fast Midtown Lunches on a daily basis. despite linking up on a sunday, we happened to be in the vicinity of said FML, i.e. cambodian sandwiches! having just fit into a wedding dress i hadn't dreamt of ever fitting into, it was time to celebrate with a massive pig out. then again, i'd pre-emptively pigged out too so maybe i was just looking for an excuse. fearing that said dress would no longer fit after my NYC binge, T told me lunch should be more "last supper" than celebratory. true, but the gown glory had rendered me impervious to logic.

and because FMLs aren't quite the culinary delights they could be, T value-added by finding a lovely rooftop terrace to have lunch on. it was a wonderfully sunny afternoon and it felt like i'd been let in on a little secret because the terrace was full of other smug-looking locals. as if they were guarding this little oasis in the middle of the midtown madness.

after lunch, we followed the yellow brick road (ok, not quite but it'd the coolest quotes!) to the library.

and while T went back to work, i met E at broadway for some jamba juice.

brunch at sarabeth's

was only in NYC for 3.5 days and wanted to max out my time. had made an appointment with the boutique for noon on sunday and was initially resolute about going in without breakfast. hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. but everyone who knows me well knows my equally non-existent self-restraint. needless to say, i succumbed to brunch with J at sarabeth's in tribeca. somewhat funny story  here - J has been going out with my cousin for the longest time but as they were both based in vancouver, i'd never met J. fast forward a few years and she was living the life in NYC, designing shoes for sam elderman (!). was quick to drop her a line once i'd firmed up my dates, and she was quick to reply. it was little surprise that J is even lovelier in person than she is over facebook. she's whip sharp and charismatic. can i admit to the teensy tiniest of girl crushes? R really lucked out with her! 

and let's not wander into self-condemnation, where i casually roll into the boutique with a brunch baby, to which T exclaimed, "YOU SAID YOU WEREN'T GOING TO EAT BEFORE!!!". sigh. story of my life.

new york new york!

was a roaring success from 30minutes after noon on sunday. arrived late on st. paddy's and (briefly) joined the revelry before collapsing in a heap in my six-bed dorm. yeah, was slummin' it to offset the cost of the real reason i was in NYC i.e. vera wang. unfortunately the partying did not stop with me and it was a rough night with a ruckus breaking out on the hour, and police sirens every now and again. 

when i related this to T the next day, i was roundly chastised. "well, you picked a hotel between the museum of sex and the most famous swingers' club in the city. did you really expect otherwise?" oops. lesson learnt.

before i get ahead of myself, because it was a whirlwind four days in the city that never sleeps, i had an awesome time with dear dear friends, and came home with my dream wedding dress. but that's another story for another day. will be posting snapshots of the trip over the next week or so. do check back if you'd like to see :)

in the next three weeks

 

pretty sure i'm going to experience these 10 things, and more.

will be back with photos and stories some time mid-april!

xoxo

gearing up for phuket

so what if phuket is still two weekends away! off to new york today :) can't wait to hop across the pond. excited to meet up with old friends and find new eats. but i've my ARMour on and am already dreaming of long walks on the beach and drinking coconut juice like water.

finally!

a good cup of coffee.

it's been a challenge to find a really good cuppa'. even when the manfriend visited, we went to many lovely little cafes but he found the coffee offerings sorely lacking. i didn't even bother ordering coffee because i knew i'd be disappointed. and i don't deal with disappointment very well :p 

but took a train out of the city on a whim and stumbled upon this cafe smack in the station i hopped off at. to be honest, i was hankering after a panini (more about that later!) but the barrista sweet-talked me into a meal deal complete with crisps and coffee. as he saw me waver, he added, "i win barrista competition!" of course, this crucial information had me hook, line and sinker, achievement-oriented singaporean that i am. turns out, chap's from malta and has been competing seriously in the regional barrista competition, even planning to take on the nationals next year. and the coffee? let's just say i wasn't disappointed. definitely worth the hike! better yet, he told me about the one good coffee in the city - run by his friend who also competes (and wins!) these barrista competitions. while i'm taking their winning streak with a pinch of salt, they are definitely serious competitors.

the panini i was originally craving? superb. home-made mozzarella (i saw the cheese cloth!!!), home-made pesto, basil leaves plucked from the pot and fresh sliced tomato. he even comp-ed a serving of (also) home-made secret maltese (?) recipe coleslaw. beyond amazing! to think there was such a surprise in a humble hole in the wall...

now to visit his friend's cafe in the city to see if the coffee is as good!

end of term!

oh boy it's really really whizzed by. while my brain has been on holiday since tuesday, my body has actually been attending classes till the very last. just realised that when we come back after easter break, it's 3 weeks of classes, 2 weeks of self-study, OSCE and then finals. in other words, summer term is only 6 weeks long. and then i'm done with first year? already???! 

bounded out of medsch after our last lecture and rolled straight to chinatown for some celebratory fried rice all by my lonesome. am strangely used to sitting alone and demolishing my mountain of rice.

the staff know me (sigh) and are quick to produce my usual. and because i'm too shy to talk to the waiters in chinese, the other chinese patrons think i'm BBC and make snide comments about how i'm on my own and how i eat so much it's not very lady-like under their breath. in chinese. which, of course i understand perfectly! but i enjoy the solitude, and eavesdropping on the surrounding conversations. people watching and inevitably laughing at the guai los who struggle through the menu and end up ordering "house special chow mein" and, god forbid, chips. 

IN CHINATOWN! oh the sacrilege. then again, they can't really be faulted if it's on the menu. which self-respecting chinese restaurant serves CHIPS?!

and it's tit for tat, really, because i'm sure the locals look as me just as quizzically when i go to a pub and order diet coke.

eponymous

"swapped my penguin suit for scrubs", well, not entirely.

count my blessings to be in a forward-thinking medical school with an integrated program and early patient contact. how many other first term freshmen can say they've taken patient histories and ran them by consultants?! and, i'm not-so-secretly thrilled to be able to break out that lovingly acquired corporate wardrobe again. well, what's left of it anyway, having gifted a good chunk to friends who were starting work as i was leaving, and my baby sister who's just gotten into lawsch.

on these fantastic ward days, i get to dress my age! no more hoodie and jeans. look ma, skirt and heels! speaking of which, i struggled to walk in a skirt after all these months. wow. some things there are simply no muscle memory for. 

on a less frivolous note, can i just say that i love hospital visits? being trusted with a patient, all of whom volunteer to share their history with us hapless first yearers, and listening to their presenting complaint, history of presenting complaint, past medical history etc is nothing short of humbling. despite being poorly (ooh! local slang!) they muster up sufficient energy to "give something back". their altruism amazes me and i appreciate their giving nature. if i were ill, i'd probably be sulking in a corner and binging on ice cream. trust me, talking to eager students would be very low on my list. 

and it was the same with the year long study we'd to do. a pregnant mum let us into her home and life to follow her journey to motherhood and beyond. hey, mine even welcomed us into the birthing room had the uni allowed us to share the experience. thinking about my pre-conceived notion of the stiff english upper lip, i'm stunned by how unreserved my "mum" was about it. 

back to the hospital visit, it's inevitably an eye opener and each session leaves me with much food for thought. case in point: i had to deal with my inherent apprehension when dealing with a patient who intimidated me. he was nothing but cooperative and happy to share his story, but when he started telling me how he was on long term medication for his depression, bipolar disorder and anger management issues, i literally started plotting my escape route should he suddenly go berserk. didn't help that he had the build of a professional wrestler and tattooed from wrists to ears... ran this little wobble by the consultant after and he assured me that it's only in casualty where i've to watch my back haha. good guidance, good teaching and good learning. 

can't believe i get to spend the rest of my life doing this :) oh wow.

even more parallel lives

so last time i blogged about parallel lives, the manfriend and i were sleeping at the same time despite the 8 hour time difference.

this time, i'm constantly amazed by the war stories we swap at the end of the day.

he tells me about his clients, and his cases, i tell him about the patients and their cases.

appreciate having an understanding of the legal framework, so i can roll my eyes when the other side asks last minute for an extension of deadline to file their f&bp (further and better particulars). when clients refuse to settle and things turn ugly, i get to take the moral highground of "aiyoh, no wisdom...". it sometimes boils down to taking instructions from people you've scant respect for, as they dig bigger graves, while you're billing to relieve them from self-induced trouble. better yet, we get a kick out of facebook because on more than one occasion, the opposing counsel's next move has slipped out onto the www. most recently, a sneaky request for extension was soon followed by the associate on the other side posting photos of herself in paris. so we compare these with my stories, about how this patient was in with that condition. one thing they've in common? most times it's a self-induced situation but somehow, when it's a matter of life and death, people are more amiable to taking professional advice. 

and the manfriend is fast picking up medical jargon! my goodness, that boy is a sponge. when he visited, he impressed the grads with his sound knowledge of all we'd learnt so far. like he could literally join in the inevitable med-related discussion without skipping a beat. to think he's picked it up over skype in a mere few months. soon he'll be able to differentially diagnose!

this cross-pollination thrills me no end. i'm still learning about law from him and thank goodness he isn't bored to tears by my enthusiasm for medicine. this whole being in medsch has brought an unexpected dimension to our lives and i'm so glad he takes a keen interest in what i'm learning.

sue & sew LLC here we come ;)

and if you'd like to read, have a hospital story coming right up tomorrow.

rhino

took this a few weeks ago, when it was already starting to look very much like summer. can't get over how blue the sky was, and how wonderfully warm it was as i walked home for lunch.

easter horridayy

done and dusted with my monster report and can't wait for easter break! headed to new york this weekend. counting down till i meet up with dear friends across the pond and embark on a top-secret-failure-is-not-an-option mission. will share more when said mission is a success. but until then, please cross your fingers and toes for me!

spending the following weekend in cambridge then it's back to south east asia for some quality time with the folks, and phuket with the manfriend the weekend after. still getting my head round the idea that london is going to be home come april and singers will merely be where we go when we've time. which means i'm grabbing any chance i have to be in the +65. 

had an interesting conversation recently when a friend asked if i live in singapore and go to school here, or live here and go to singers for holiday. didn't expect the mental switch to happen so fast but i went with the latter. slowly but surely, the uk is growing on me and i'm starting to like my adopted home. for the next few years at least.

(aannd... exactly where i'm going to be in three weeks ^^)

100 days

till we get married.

i'm extremely excited, and a little bit nervous!

time's flown since we got engaged last may and oh boy, is it that time of year already?!

(and i'll let you in on a little secret. tried out my new name on my tesco clubcard* and it doesn't sound half bad.)

*yesyes i know it's supposed to be bad luck etc but i didn't expect the clubcard to arrive so bloomin' fast!

wild trials ceilidh

it's no secret that i'm a big fan of ceilidhs. admittedly slow on the uptake, having only popped my ceilidh cherry at the wilderness christmas ceilidh last december. BUT i've since made up for lost time, with ceilidhs at the edinburgh orienteering race and wild trials under my belt. in fact, despite not having a drop of gaelic blood coursing through my veins, i'd have a ceilidh at my wedding if i could! also, i used to see 'ceilidh' and commit to the trip without thinking, which probably explains how i signed up for the orienteering race. but ceilidhs are awesome and it's always such a scream. so much so that i don't even mind the multiple bruises i'm covered with the next day. knees are black-and-blue and there are thumb-shaped bruises where my bingo wings used to be. quite possibly from being tossed and thrown around with reckless abandon. yay i'm light enough to fling? this is in stark contrast to rag during freshmen year where i'd to skeddadle off stage during the gravity-defying bits because my partner couldn't lift me. 

plus it's always funny when you're paired with someone who's as bad as you are, because i am borderline abysmal a ceilidh dancer myself. something else kind souls had to explain and correct as we were dancing. and hmm ceilidhs test just how comfortable you are with people and when i start making like an egyptian, i know i'm there :)

oh but there was this awkward moment at the very beginning of the ceilidh where we'd to pick partners and i was standing in a clump of girls and nobody picked me :(((( brings back awful memories of being picked last for the relay team at swimming training :( but i danced with the nice girl next to me and that was ok :) but gosh! such pressure! you don't think you'd feel it (or care) but you do.

transformation complete

it was on the ride on the way back that C pointed out that i was a city girl  no longer. and that's when it hit me that wilderness has well and truly changed my life. was, get this, actually pretty darn happy to be covered in mud for the better part of the weekend. somehow got a tan through the 20m visibility fog and am in denial about those few extra freckles. by far the best weekend away ever and i'm so so glad to have been part of the mammoth exercise that was wild trials 2012. wow. the committee pulled off the inaugural national competition with aplomb and i remain in shock and awe at how seamless the weekend was. 

i learnt so much. like how to pitch a tent in pitch dark with only my headtorch for illumination. heyhey, i'm the proud owner of a headtorch. don't mess with me! and once that first tent was up, i even went on to pitch three more! sleeping in a tent was, um, novel, to say the least. am still far from a tent convert, having frozen my feet off on the first night. didn't know my tent could breathe so i left the door flappy thingum open for ventilation. um, not my brightest moment. plus i had such trouble sleeping, and when i finally did i dreamt it was morning and time to get up. but when i did wake from that dream it was still dark (and even colder!) so uhh not happy. felt a bit like groundhog day, and more than a little bit cheated.

tent woes aside, had such fun manning stations, playing casualty and assessing the teams. the wilderness banter is unmatched and thrilled to have gotten to know so many wonderful people. plus there must've been a secret memo that went out to say i was a wilderness noob and to be patient because oh boy everyone was supremely kind and went out of their way to explain things (medical and wild!) to me. aww :)

and at one point on the ride home, titanium started to play and R and i spontaneously started belting into our water bottles. we boogied long after the song had ended, and laughed at C because he couldn't take his hands off the wheel. the sun was shining on us, the weekend had been a roaring success and it was a good place to be.

solitary cupcake for solitary train ride

much as i might put on a brave front when it comes to impending separation, a little sugar goes a long way. sent the manfriend to the airport and needed a cupcake for the long ride home alone. part of me thinks it's unhealthy how i turn to food for comfort, and another part tells me to get over myself and just eat what makes me happy. it's a pretty circular argument!

and once i got home, i needed even more carb comfort so i hopped across the street for a jacket potato with cheese and beans. suddenly, i felt much better :)

pavlova

 

this photo hardly does the glorious pavlova justice but it was unfortunately all i caught before it disappeared. despite my multiple protestations, my friends insisted on doing a birthday thing and surprise me they did! plus points for playing it cool guys :) didn't have a clue that anything was afoot, despite T & J being all suspicious about going to town for "men missions, like buying porn and cigars" a few days before. little did i know that they were in fact on a mission to buy me an electric whisk for all my baking needs. and even more clever, was how they passed the whisk to G to test run. she's the true domestic goddess, for despite the limitations of uni accommodation, she managed to conjure up the best pavlova i've ever had. and trust me, i've had more than my fair share. incredibly moved by the effort they went to, and by their sheer goodness. it's assignment season and despite having her plate full with multiple deadlines, G was up at 6am whipping that cream. the thought and time that went into it was humbling. they were even so sweet as to rope the manfriend in and have him march me to the common room on the pretext of saying goodbye to them before he left. aww :) 

and because it was my birthday, i ate 1/3 that monster tray all by myself. much to the horror of the rest.

barter books

 

as the name suggests, this fascinating second hand book store is one of the biggest in the country! it's in a disused train station and has fireplaces and comfy sofas to read in. there's even a cafe inside, and an electronic train running around the ceiling. more interestingly, it's the home of that poster. you know, the one that says "keep calm and carry on". rumour has it that the owner of this book shop discovered the poster in a box of old books someone had donated. while it had never been published as intended during WWII, he was quick to print it and the rest is, well, history.

also, everyone and their mother told us to come here! from the complete stranger in the post office who gave the manfriend a 10minute history lecture while i was furiously scribbling postcards, to the proprietress of the village tea room and even the bus driver! it's like the pride and joy of the town haha.

odds and ends

 

more finds in the coastal town! the village tea room, a haunted hotel, window displays and granny's underground tea room complete with starched aprons hanging to dry. literally ate our way through because we just had to have something at even cafe we saw. left laden with fresh specialty jams and clotted cream fudge.

parallel lives v2

while i was traipsing around in scrubs without a care in the world, the manfriend was in the midst of a mega international arbitration. how he manages to simultaneously and single-handedly:

1) plan three weddings

2) an easter getaway

3) rent out our apartment

4) get ready to relocate to london (next month!!!) 

AND STILL

5) pull more than his weight at the massive arbi is beyond me. funnily enough, it's the same file i was on before i left and let me tell you that it's a bloomin' nightmare of a case.

our lives are so very different and i'm so very proud of him :)

perfect portions

possibly rendered imperfect when you eat four of them at a pop.

succumbed to some very clever marketing and ordered four boxes for a fiver. the packaging is sleek and environmentally-conscious, adding to the subliminal message behind their snack selling. as i seem to need to eat non-stop here, the idea of grazing did appeal to me. what's not to like about snacking but healthily, oxymoronic as that may seem.

BUT let's just say having four boxes of four snacks delivered on the same day was not one of my best ideas yet. so until they start selling self-restraint by the box, i've decided that graze is evil and am switching back to quavers and greggs. thank god for the pricey cafe across the street that forces me to stop at one (ok, fine, two) slices of chocolate cake. this fascination with food and a fast growing sweet tooth all started when i relocated. who'd have thought that chocolate tastes SO GOOD here. the milk they use is divine, much unlike malaysian milk in singers :/

small town hopping

 

much as we love the city, the weather was just too good to pass on a chance to go on a day trip. this time, we went to a beach that was even further away. props to the manfriend for his supreme planning prowess, coordinating the train and bus times, getting us all the way there and back in time for a fancy italian dinner.