happy halloween!

went to the local with some friends for a halloween pub quiz last week. some singers friends asked what i dressed up as over the weekend, to which i was a little perplexed because halloween's on the 31st, isn't it! and then it hit me that where i am, the days don't matter and parties aren't restricted to the weekend because wednesday is as big a night as any. food for thought, really. liked how the pub was all ready for halloween, complete with cobwebs (maybe they just didn't do much cleaning haha) and the booth we sat at even had the scream above it.

and in london at this lovely little place called sushi des artistes, tucked away on a quiet stretch of sloane avenue, we'd the cutest little halloween dessert platter. now it's not often that i feel compelled to mention a restaurant by name. no where near as altruistic as the food blogger circuit. don't agree with free publicity but am happy to divulge when asked privately. however this place is one i'd definitely return. it's relatively new (so it's still quite quiet) but it's hands down one of the better places for sashimi in london and believe you me, i've been to my fair share. left with a stack of name cards that i've been eagerly giving away and plan to return for lunch with a girlfriend some time this week. it's not cheap but good value considering the quality of the sashimi and sheer inventiveness of the dishes. the lovely mr. j-san made us feel right at home, and a quick chat with the japanese chef who was brought over from the marbella branch cemented the good vibes.

rainy wednesdays

there was one afternoon last week when i'd absolutely nothing to do but watch the rain fall. what a luxury :) had a steaming cup of chai, scented candles and google reader for company. love wednesdays because we're done at 1pm, latest, and it sort of makes tuesdays the new thursday because wednesdays feel like friday, if you get what i mean. had a chilled afternoon in before succumbing to cabin fever and making coffee plans.

while the coffee here wasn't much to scream about, i'd another cup of chai while resisting a big slab of brownie with vanilla bean ice cream. this used to be stuart*&co but it's been renamed over summer. glad they kept the cosy interior though. 

just the teensiest bit homesick

forgive the london-centric posts. 

it's funny how home is two places at one time. and nothing reminds me more than photos of this precious pup. well, she's the proud mama of a star litter but she'll always be a baby to us. look at those eyes! those "please don't be mad at me, i just went for a little dip.." eyes and her pseudo-contrite look when she knows she's been naughty. awww! can't wait to be back in singers so i can smother her with all the hugs and kisses in the world.

now i know i really shouldn't

but while the mister's away, there's no one to stop me from hopping over to our friendly neighbourhood store and stuffing myself with a (relatively) decent red and crackling :D bliss! kinda makes me wish he traveled for work more often so there's no chastising glare every time i buy something i really shouldn't. then again, if left to my own devices, i'd probably be at least 20pounds (OH NO I THINK IN POUNDS NOW!!!) heavier. so hm. little victories.

rainy nights

A was so kind as to treat us to udon at koya and on a cold, rainy night it really hit the spot.

that's the ritz as we passed it on the bus. my little brother spent the night as the mister was traveling for work. so blessed that the men in my life spoil me :) don't mind being home alone but thankfully it's not happened yet. guessing it would at some point and i'd be forced to grow up. but as long as i've an emotionally indulgent brother who comes to use the wii on the pretext of jie-sitting, who's complaining.

tower bridge

the lovely family we visited in geneva a couple of weekends ago was in london this weekend (yay!) and we were thrilled at the chance to meet up so soon. happily played tour guide and went walking by the thames - not realising the last time i was at the tower of london was in winter 2007 with the mister and navin, our good friend. time flies! back then, dinner was discounted, end-of-the-day cake from the harrods food hall - split three ways and eaten in the cold on a park bench. good times!

does this bag make me look fat?

we'd lunch with some family who were in town and walked back through the park. my little brother took this photo of us and i thought it was funny how the mister is dragging me along. so much for being wilderness trained. the smell of autumn i.e. rotting leaves really does nothing for my gag reflex.

d*strk dinner

sorry for the grainy photos - the price of being in a dim basement so hip it hurt. it really was so dark i needed to hold the bannister to stop from tripping over my own feet. and they played this awful umchik umchik music really loud. which meant we'd to yell to be heard. defo a no go if you intend to have deep meaningful conversation. maybe that's the plan - if you really wanted to talk to someone, you wouldn't take them there... we'd the 12 course degustation and only snapped a few photos. at the end, we revealed our totally uncool selves by requesting tea after the meal. i mean, it's a restaurant for crying out loud. some pride please! but it was the waiter who almost cried when we asked for tea. he tried to hardsell us cocktails (YEAH. RIGHT.) and kinda stormed off in a huff when we insisted on tea. at first he relented and said they'd white, green or black tea. then came back and said they'd only breakfast tea or earl grey. by which time we were well and truly put off and asked for the bill.

date night

the ever-resourceful mister sniffed out a star deal in the 'hood. well, i use 'hood liberally because we don't really stay as close to sloane square as we sometimes think we do. this was a lovely little sardinian place helmed by a chef as decorated as our milky way (ok, i exaggerate the number of stars he's collected over 30 years). we'd scrambled egg served in (not with!) shell and deconstructed tiramisu which had glorious bits of filo and creamy coffee ice cream. we'd some serious pasta mains that went down too fast to photograph and the pre-requisite glass (or two) of bubbles. because it's not really dinner without bubbles.

burrito bar

J managed to score a stack of cards offering free tacos passed them out at the local. there's something inherently wrong about planning for our next meal while in the middle of one but c'est la vie. lunch at the local is as chilled out as it gets. the potato skins with dips are a pile of soggy oily goodness (give me soggy fries over crispy any day!) and on top of them skins i have a personal bucket of wings. bliss! headed to town to run some errands and by 3pm felt peckish, figuring it there was ever a good time for a free taco - that was it.

cute bar, no?

steak and kidney pie

chanced upon these furry folk on the moor today and was suddenly gripped with the biggest craving for steak and kidney pie. we've wednesday afternoons off and i spent mine shopping (sigh) and then going into a cleaning frenzy. have a house guest the next couple of days and needed the place to be "mum standard clean". most times, T and i are quite happy as long as there's no obvious dirt around but today i hoovered every inch of the carpet for the first time this month (oh come on, we're not so bad as to lapse beneath the monthly clean up) and then cleaned the kitchen before doing two loads of laundry. did the sheets too so she'll have a nice fresh set to sleep on. mundane, eh. but on the upside, i've cream tea to look forward to with a shanghainese friend tomorrow! nothing like dairy and refined sugar for a perk me up. i keep over-compensating for the pseudo-exertion during the wilderness weekend, subtitled "death by biscuit" as we were popping bourbons and custard creams like they were going out of fashion. and we carbo-loaded with heaps of pasta at night, further supplemented by posh nibbles from the co-op across the street. hmm. methinks these half-hearted attempts at health and fitness need to be better thought through.

cheviot

from holy island we went to belford where we spent the night at a bunkhouse. unforch the bunkhouse ran outta, well, bunks. so let's just say C and i got really cosy in the girls' bunk. they also ran outta pillows (GOOD JOB!) thank goodness i actually brought my own. from home. because, wildernessy as i might like to think i am, deep down i need my creature comforts. like a goosefeather pillow and clean pillow case. at least i didn't have to sleep in the tent because the committee was all good and self-sacrificial. well, some of them prefer tents. heh. after learning a painful lesson in the dales earlier this year i.e. tents are breathable and you don't need to leave the flaps open for ventilation at night... maybe i shouldn't dislike tents so much. anyhoos. we'd an early start on sunday and climbed cheviot.

as with all trips, whenever we go uphill i wonder what in the world possessed me to ever sign up to wilderness medics. but when you reach the top and the endorphin rush kicks in, i'm ready to do it all over again. that said, all time favourite moment of each trip is when we're on the descend and the minibus-es come into sight. best. feeling. ever.

all good walks

lead to the local. and i'm a little ashamed to admit that i was dreaming about crabbies (alcoholic ginger beer, not the STD) the whole day while we were teaching and doing scenarios on the windswept fringe of holy island. 

(we also had the option of going to a coffee shop instead of the pub, just so you don't think wilderness*medicine is an alkie-run society :) )

holy island

it's been a while since i last went a'wildernessing and i hadn't realised just how much i missed the outdoors. also hadn't realised how extremely unfit i'd be and oh boy my muscles aren't the happiest today. fitness whinge aside, i've come to really look forward to these stolen moments - the weekends away with some of my favourite people and getting more of this fantastic country under my belt. without a car (ok, the mister has one but i loathe driving) and sense of solo adventure, the only way to traipse around the UK is on the pretext of "medicine". we went to holy island on saturday (the tidal crossing is hilarious btw, the causeway is so low-lying that it's flooded when the tide's come in...) and had to leave bright and early to beat the tide to the castle. once on the island, we were kinda trapped till evening when the water receded. but no fear! being trapped on holy island just meant whiling the afternoon away at the pub. no complaints :)

on the coffee trail

proud as i am of my adopted toon, there comes a point where i recognise that the best flat white, unforch, resides in the next town.

it was a trip down memory lane, having first visited exactly a year ago when the mister came to settle me into uni round 2. we'd already spent a couple of days on the toon when his wanderlust got the better of him and we hopped on the train south. 

this time, while on the wilderness walk from hexham to corbridge last week, J and i decided we were long overdue for a catch up. she's quite the connoisseur herself, having gone to cooking school in london (!!!) at the tender age of 18. such foresight her parents had :) she'd been meaning to check out flat white and i was more than happy to return.

love wednesdays, in fact, tuesday becomes the new friday as we're done by 1pm (at the very latest!) on wednesdays, and what better way to spend a free afternoon with good coffee and better company? the weather was gorgeous, also a treat, and after coffee and yummy sandwiches, we found ourselves strolling along the river. we may or may not have lingered in the shady groves to sneak a cheeky peek at the fit rowers (wednesday is reserved for sport, naturally...) and chattered nineteen-to-the-dozen :) yay for lovely lovely girlfriends - and J has to be one of the sweetest, least complicated and, well, issue-free people i know. have great respect for her immense sense of self-worth (so admirable!) and sheer sense of security. she's gorgeous, but also so many other things (like brimming with lovable personality, charming intellect and character) that i sometimes forget just how pretty she is too. can some one say "girlcrush"? :)

l'atelier

while the austerity drive continues during the week, by the time weekend rolls round, we do loosen our belts a bit. i'm all for simple eating and the mister is crazy resourceful when it comes to finding a good deal. as a rule of thumb, even when we do "blow out", we try to keep meals under GBP30/head (all inclusive) for a three course. somehow it seems overly flash to blow more than S$120 on a meal. funnily enough, we still think in S$ despite him earning in GBP (phew!). this GBP30 budget does sort of restrict us to lunch but london has an amazing selection of restaurants to choose from and we're loathe to repeat, with the exception of pollen*street*social. didn't hurt that i went so often over summer that the dashing manager would automatically send over complimentary flutes of champers. such a sucker for recognition and special treatment heh! but PSS is extraordinary and fantastic value at lunch time.

last weekend, however, we ventured to l'atelier to check out their lunch time special and weren't disappointed. we'd the three course lunch with wine pairing (ok, busted budget with the wine BUT it was GOOD WINE!) and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the pairing wines. also liked the option of having dessert in the salon bar for a change of scenery. we would've stayed longer and languished in the deep cushion but one of my favourite adults was in town for a bit and i couldn't wait to see her.

and here's where this blog starts to get a bit personal... ooH! while i admire how the*manrepeller has such a great way of keeping things personable but not personal (helps when you've a truckload of likeable personality, something i don't profess to possess), i'll let you in on a little trip down memory lane.

a good decade ago, i went out with a sweet boy. we were both so so young, and evidently, it didn't work out but somehow i gained a very special relationship with his wonderful mama. she's amazing at keeping in touch and been an invaluable adult sounding-board over the years. she rang thoughtfully late on saturday morning ("i thought i'd let you newlyweds lie in!") and i jumped at the chance to catch up over tea. she was at the wedding but you know how weddings are and how you never really get a chance to talk proper. and here, to the mister's credit, he joined us. they've been acquainted for years and got along like a house on fire :) which is when i was reminded how truly truly well life has worked out! and speaking about how life's worked out, i realised the mister spent a good part of last weekend with his wife's ex's mother and he's spending next weekend in zurich with his wife's first crush (while i'm wilderness-ing in northumberland, mind you!) wow wow. what a hero. don't think i could do the converse, ever!

(no, there're no other skeletons in my closet...)

fire fighting

whenever we said "fire fighting" at work, it'd mean that we were literally deep in damage control mode, trying to mitigate a potential disaster. however, i'd fire fighting of the more literal kind last night. the mister sure knows how to take the edge off the commute by plying me with good wine and better oysters, both of which i'm partial to. thrilled he picked a lovely place for a thursday date and how he even managed to get out of work by 930 is miraculous in and of itself. again, i maintain singaporeans whinge so much (about working hours, about public transport, about GST, about income tax) without realising JUST HOW GOOD they have it. without saying too much, the mister works for an english company and ohmyword their hours are far from wife-friendly.... and give me the MRT over the tube any day. and 7% GST? try 20% VAT. don't get me started on income tax - the very thing that's going to see us back to singapore after i'm done qualifying.

unintended rant aside (sorry i digress, singers boleh and i miss it so) in the middle of dinner, a napkin at the next table suddenly caught fire. the mister first spotted the smoke but as i was closer, i grabbed the napkin and snuffed out the fire without thinking. wow wow, talk about these newly acquired lightning fast reflexes! admittedly, they caught me on a good day because i'm usually a lot less responsive. or maybe it's medsch and how i'm constantly on my toes, so much so that fast reactions are now second nature. anyhoos, the patrons at the next table were mega grateful and when we asked for the bill, the waiter surprised us by COMP-ING OUR DINNER. dundundunnnn!!!

now if there's anything that turns my inner el cheapo more on than stopping the next london fire in its tracks, it's FREE FOOD. sigh, keeping it classy...

coping mechanisms

we joke that one year into medsch and our limited coping mechanism remain, well, limited. G had a bad week and being the good friend i am, i had to sympathy eat with her. guess it's not called comfort eating when you're not the one who needs comforting. to be fair, i was feeling marginally overwhelmed by the demands of second year and exactly how much is expected of us. 

maccas has always been our thing and that's how we hit it off in first year. we discovered, quite unfortunately, that our student cards scored us a free cheeseburger or mcflurry with every extra value meal. having worked for a decade before going back to school, G was thrilled by our little victory. speaking of G, i can't get over how supremely qualified she is, but then again i look around our little graduate group and can't believe how at least two of them have PhDs already, a couple have masters and i'm not the only one with a law degree. so much for being special... G also has 5 (!!!) children aged 3-13 and, to me, she re-defines superwoman. so when superwoman needs a maccas fix, it's not cool to say no.

post walk

after the pit-stop at the country pub, we decided one pint wasn't enough and checked out a pub that J had his eye on for some time. it was all plush and drawing room-y, pity we were covered in mud :/ enjoyed people watching from our little window-side booth and spied some friends in the square who did eventually make their way up for a couple of rounds.

after the pub we went to nando's for some winner winner chicken dinner, ironic since T did win a voucher for a free meal. while i swear by my budget chicken dinner alternative, it was nice to live it up in nando's this one time. that sweet potato mash is the stuff of dreams...

and as if two pubs before dinner wasn't enough, it was off to a lovely little microbrewery with artisanal brews (yeh, my friends are unfortunately highbrow that way) to whet more whistles.

(J looks like mario!)

intro walk

it's not often that i'm in hoodie, waterproofs and loving it but i do make an exception for wilderness :) also love how dressing like that reverse-ages me and they don't even ask for my railcard on the train when i'm decked in stash. then again, i'm generally not "carded" (this is reverse card-ing because if they ask for your card, well, you probably look over 25!) so maybe it's not really the hoodie but general conductor sloth. OR I JUST LOOK YOUNG. which is music to my vainpot-y ears. love how i'm still mistaken for a freshie despite not being a bona fide freshie since, well, a long time ago.  don't understand how youthful looking people want an age-over to be taken seriously at work. maybe when i've to deal with patients on a daily basis i'll forego the under eye concealer and add more eyebags for that harried look people often wrongly associate with experience... self-indulgent spiel aside (sorry! couldn't help it - i was feeling old) wilderness*medicine never fails to make me super happy and i can't get enough of stomping through the woods :)

at central station, i had the chance to bike-sit the most beautiful bike for all of five minutes while its rightful owner bought his train ticket.

and once on the train, the conductor must've been feeling romantic with his heart shaped punch! too cute :)

we walked 4 miles and stopped for scenarios along the way. the walk, naturally, ended at a country pub where i finally satisfied my hankering for crabbies :)

 

oh i forget! we crossed a railway too, and i was reminded of the tanjong pagar tracks that everyone descended on before they closed.