Bara chirashi lunch...

It's a super slow day at work.

Hmm, I actually don't mind because Thursdays always seem to be my slowest day. Hehe! Initially, I thought of going home after my morning lessons to rest. Afterwards, I thought of doing some work and then going to the gym.

Thankfully, I managed to be more disciplined. After my morning lessons, I went to the gym and then had lunch. From 1130 until this moment, I'm here at the Kino near the office doing some work.

So, it's been a productive day.

This afternoon, I only have one lesson. I do have the private lesson tonight.

Check out my lunch and my dessert. For being a good boy today, hehe, I decided to eat rice for lunch. That superb bara chirashi was only Y460. The dessert was more expensive at Y580! Haha!

Happy Thursday though! Thursday really is my favorite day!

Wonderful non wonderful day...

Today was quite a busy but still manageable day.

I started my work at 7AM. There were items on my Inbox I did not get to work on yesterday. Thus, the decision to go online as early as possible. I think this is one of the good things about working from home. Work files can be accessed 24/7. Some may find it a good thing, some may find it a not-so-good thing. Haha!

The January issue of one journal I handle is running late. It needs to be approved within the week. Another issue of another journal is ahead of schedule. This is a good thing because the number of corrections for some of the manuscripts included in the journal is just too much. Two papers included in the issue each have more than 300 corrections! Walau eh! Die die! Haha!

The highlights of today are lunch with Chris and the newly-married Alexie and Pump class after work.

My dear landlord told me that the Internet guy will be coming in today to do some work needed for the upgrade of our Internet connection. To be honest, I am perfectly happy with the previous speed. I thought it was very fast. Apparently, it can still go faster. Haha! Oh well, as long as my rent does not increase (or the increase is very minimal), I’m okay with this latest upgrade.

When the Internet guy arrived, I got dressed up and told my landlord that I’ll work at the office in the afternoon. The Internet guy came close to 11AM. That was perfect because I meant to leave the house around that time so I can meet Alexie and Chris at Star Vista for lunch.

I suggested we eat at Morganfield’s since I thought the food was good. Thankfully, my lunch companions were okay with the suggestion. I ordered a grilled chicken and had the fries and coleslaw replaced with the house salad. The set meal came with a soup of the day and a tall glass of iced tea. For $15, it was okay, I think.

Lunch convo dwelled mostly on the beautiful wedding of Alexie and Jasper. The now Mrs. B shared “exciting” behind-the-scenes incidents that happened days before the wedding and on the wedding day itself. It was such a beautiful wedding still. I couldn’t be happier for the couple.

The rest of the day went by with usual work stuff. I’m glad because I was able to finish a lot of things.

After work, I rushed to Metropolis to attend the 630 Pump class. I dunno if it was because of the instructor or because a lot of people are working extra hard to get rid of the weight put on during the holidays, but it was a packed class. I do enjoy Pump a lot but the class today was really challenging. In particular, I hated the back track. I felt like I was going to keel over before the track ended. Haha!

Thankfully, I survived the workout and I’m definitely happy with the class.

To end this wonderful non wonderful day, I finally bought new books to read. I found a list of recommended LGBT titles and I decided to get two out of the 10 suggested Summer 2014 readings. Hehe! I intended to buy a gift card for my Amazon account. It turns out there was no need for it as my gift card balance is still enough to get me the titles above. These books should keep me busy for the next few weeks. Yay!

It’s only 10PM and I’m already sleepy. What is happening?!?!?!

Indian for lunch...

As mentioned in a previous blog post, Sunday lunch was at an Indian restau in Turf City called Curry Gardenn. Yes, it's double "n." I'm not so sure why.

Mr. Lim said that he had previously tried Omakase Burger, which was right across Curry Gardenn. However, I wasn't really in the mood to pay for $20 for a burger, even if Omakase Burger is said to be quite good. Hehe!

That's why Mr. Lim, PG Boy and I just agreed to go for Curry Gardenn. It turned out to be quite a good decision as the food was enjoyable.

The lady who attended to us was also very knowledgeable and very good in helping us select what to try. The way she described the food may make one think it was the solution to all problems. Hehe.

We ordered the fish tikka masala, chicken masala, mixed vegetables, garlic naan and rice. I would have loved to try the briyani though. It looked very good when I saw a plate brought to the table next to us. I also ordered samosas, since I really like it. Hehe! The mango lassi was also worth ordering.

While the food took some time to arrive, it was okay because we first munched on the compli pappadam that was served with gravy. Hehe!

It was a good lunch, I must say. For the food and drinks, each one of us just shelled out about $13. Not bad at all.

I would definitely want to come back. Too bad it's too far. Haha!

Curry Gardenn
Address : 200 Turf Club Rd, 01-06
Singapore - 287994
Tel. No. : 6314-4640
Web: http://www.currygardenn.com
Hours: Monday to Friday: 11am to 3.30 pm; 5.30 to 10pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays: 10am to 4pm; 5 pm to 10pm

Lunch...

Lunch is glass noodles and ngo hiong. Wheee! :D

Birthday lunch for KK...

Spent Saturday noontime with a few friends for a surprise birthday lunch I organised for good friend Kok Kuan.

I messaged a few of our common friends and I was glad that most were able to go.

Originally, I was hoping that very good friend from Manila Carlo would be able to join us for lunch. He was going to be in Singapore for a day in transit. I was looking forward to seeing him and introducing him to a few of my buddies here. However, he had to postpone the trip. Huhu.

Anyway, I told the guys to be at Etna Italian Restaurant along Duxton Road at 12 noon. I told Kok Kuan to be at the place by 1215. Thankfully, the guys were all punctual. Hehe!

When Kok Kuan arrived at the restau, he was so surprised to see several familiar faces. What he thought was going to be a one-on-one birthday lunch was actually a small party of 7. Hehe!

Etna is one of the very good Italian places around the island. PG Boy took me there for my own birthday two years ago. We've also been there on another occasion with his friends. The place has a branch in Siglap and in Lau Pa Sat.

The food is priced reasonably. The service is quite good. The place is also nicely decorated. It's a good place for dates and small gatherings. Hehe!

Etna @ Duxton
49-50 Duxton Road
Singapore 089513
Tel : 6220 5513

Opening hours:
Monday-Saturday
12.00pm – 2.30pm
6.30pm – 10.30pm

Long Black Cafe at Biopolis...

If you think there aren't that many food places in the Buona Vista/one-north area, you're wrong. Either that or you dun work/live around the area. Hehe!

Even before the new mall Star Vista at Buona Vista, there were already a number of food places worth visiting. I have only been to a few though. Boo!

Earlier today, colleague/once-in-awhile-lunch buddy Bernard and I decided to try a Western restau at the Biopolis.

Prior to this, my usual lunch destination on days I dun pack lunch are either Fusionopolis, JVC or when I'm really lazy, the Tuck Shop at the ground floor of the building.

But since Bernard and I started having lunch, we began exploring the Biopolis area.

I didn't know there were a number of nice food places in the area. One of this is Long Black Cafe.

The restau serves mainly Western food. It's not that expensive. Pasta dishes start at $9. Same goes for the sandwiches. You can top up $3.50 to get the Soup of the Day and a drink. Not bad, eh?!

The serving was just right. The service was quite good (or maybe because we got there at 12.40 already). The food was yum. I had the Chicken Alfredo and I wanted more. Hehe!

Bernard and I agreed we would go back to the place to try out the other dishes on the menu. The burger looks particularly interesting and mouthwatering. Haha!

Long Black Cafe 20 Biopolis Way Centros Block, Singapore, Singapore 138668 6478 9945 http://www.longblack.com.sg

Pre-birthday lunch with the guys...

At the last minute, I decided to have a birthday lunch for my becky bunch here in the little red dot. 

Initially, I was just planning to have the kiddie gift-giving activity next weekend as my main celebration for this year. On the big day itself, I was just planning to have a "me" day since it's a work day and since PG Boy is still overseas for his holiday.

Then I just thought of holding a lunch for friends. After all, except for MkSurf8, Ian and Chris, I rarely see the rest of the guys. It would be a good time for everyone to meet and catchup. It would also be my own little way of thanking them for being my becks family here. 

Good thing most of them were free for the lunch. Only Rich and honorary becky Coly were unable to go because of work. 

So yesterday morning, I woke up quite early. After dropping by Toastbox for breakkie, I headed to Fair Price to buy ingredients for the lunch. By 9, I started prepping my pasta. By 11, I got the roasted chicken, drinks and desserts and headed to MkSurf8's place.

Half past-twelve, people started arriving. It was a small group and it was just right. I'm glad that Tipz and Chris were able to go. I'm glad that Bien and his kumare were there. It was also good to see Chiz, Jeff and Mon. 

After lunch, we all just hung out. MkSurf8 opened a few bottles of wine. Others started mixing their own drinks. I had a few glasses of wine and whiskey, so I had a buzz at 3 in the afternoon. LOL!

In the evening, Ian, Chris, MkSurf8, Mon and I met up with Rich at Little Vietnam along Guillemard Rd for dinner. I'm also glad to have seen Rich.

What I thought would be just a few hours of hanging out with the guys turned out into an almost entire day thing, which I thought was just really awesome! :D

I'm grateful to have these guys as friends. And I'm grateful to have the advance bday celeb with them!

Happy lunch at Mom & Tina's...

I have yet to write about the crazy long weekend trip. Haha!

For now, I just want to do a quick post.

Some colleagues and I earlier had to attend a briefing at our sister company's office across Greenbelt. The briefing finished before 12 noon.

Since we were already outside the office and we were near several good restaus, we decided to just find a dining place in the area.

Mom & Tina's at the corner of Perea and De la Rosa was our choice.

It was my first time to eat at the bakery-cafe, though I have heard really good reviews about it.

We ordered paella valenciana, callos and the beef tapa. For dessert, we got the mango walnut and the toblerone frozen cakes. Yum!

One happy lunch.