Restaurant Week: Napoleon Food & Wine Bar

For those of you who didn't already know, Restaurant Week is a week-long event where renowned restaurants serve 3-course meals at a somewhat more affordable price than usual.

I only 'discovered' Restaurant Week last year through one of my ex-colleagues, so I've been very enthusiastic in booking places when they returned for the 10th edition early this year and the recent 11th edition this week!

Previously, I just chose whichever place served beef but that didn't turn out so well coz some of the servings were REALLY small (Caffe B) and some weren't impressive enough for the price (Barossa).

So this time I researched based on menu (MUST HAVE BEEF!) and reviews. The first one on the list was Napoleon, which we took some time to find as it was nestled inconspicuously among a row of shophouses. Turns out it's actually just next to The Market Grill, which serves AWESOME lobster rolls by the way.

The server who greeted us was friendly and apologetic that we had to wait for awhile before the table was ready. Once we were seated, I quickly scanned through the menu to check what the normal prices of the dishes were, coz I always get a cheap thrill knowing how much I'm 'saving'.

Lobster Bisque

My absolute favorite soup!! I LOVED this ever since I first tried it at Jack's Place when I was about 5 or so and when I say I love it I mean I would choose it as part of the menu for my last meal. This was creamier than most lobster bisques I've tried and I kinda liked it that way.

Normal price: $13

Sautéed Angus Beef Tenderloin 

My only beef (heh) with the steak was that they didn't let us choose the doneness but I guess that was coz it was already cut up into bite-sized pieces, which is pretty neat for a lazy person like myself. I also didn't like the fact that it was a little spicy coz of the chilli in the sauce, but that's coz I don't like spicy food in general. Mashed potatoes were good, the melt-in-your-mouth creamy kind.

Normal price: $30

Chocolate Mi-cuit Canele

Turns out Mi-cuit is just an atas name name for lava cake. And it was SO decadently yummy!! Served with a small piece of ganache to make me feel even more sinful than I already did. The chocolate went well with the ice cream and the mini coffee cookie bits. 

Normal price: $15

My friend had the Tuna Avocado Tartare ($19) for appetizer, which we both weren't that impressed with, and Lemon Tart Brûlée ($12) for dessert. 

Lemon Tart Brûlée 

I thought it was okayyyyy but he didn't really like it. Probably better for people who like tangy desserts. 

Anyway! I "saved" $23++ in total! Taking into consideration the value of the meal, the taste and the ambiance I'd give it 4/5! Please note that, like movies, I'm easily satisfied when it comes to food so please take the rating with a pinch of salt! 

Napoleon Food & Wine Bar
206 Telok Ayer Street (S)068641
62219282
Mon - Fri: 11.45am - Midnight
Sat: 6pm - Midnight
Sun: Closed

[Our Times 我的少女时代] fangirl post

Went to watch [Our Times] over the weekend and it was SO GOOD! Yeah yeah.. It was a nostalgic rom-com with a 90’s throwback, it was funny, it was heart-wrenching, but the main reason why I liked it? 

Darren Wang Da Lu!

Honestly, I didn’t even know who he was before this movie but now I know he’s my future husband (those of you who watched the show will get the reference)! The moment he appeared on screen I was transported right back to my teenage years when I was crazy about ah bengs.

People always used to ask me why I liked ah bengs and my reply was always, “The hair.” I don’t know why but I have a thing for floppy dyed longish hair. The idols I was crazy about throughout the years all had floppy hair!

Vanness Wu

Joe Cheng

 Mike He

 Lee Hong Ki

 Lee Seung Gi

Actually.. Almost all Korean actors.

Doesn’t Darren Wang look so good with this hairstyle? Couple that with his manly demeanor and cheeky smile.. *swoon*

It's really about the hairstyle though. Compare that with this..

meh.

Anyway, before you guys write the show off as some chick flick and decide not to watch it, Song Yu Hua from [Café Waiting Love] is also in the movie!

The plot might be a typical girl-meets-bad-boy-with-sad-past-and-turns-him-good plot but the execution of the story and script were really good. This show has been compared extensively to [You are the Apple of my Eye] but I felt that this was wayyy better. Some of my guy friends even watched it more than once. I’m easily satisfied when it comes to movies but trust me on this one! 

Agent Provocateur

A few days ago I came across this article. To summarise, women are actually PAYING for another woman to seduce their husbands so that the husbands will leave their mistresses. Just how screwed up is that? There’s even a term for these paid “agents”; honey trappers.

I was kinda stunned after I read the article, because I actually read a book about a honey trapper many, many years back and I thought honey trapping was totally fictitious! 

It was about a woman who was so sure her husband wouldn’t cheat on her that she made a bet with a honey trapper to try and seduce him. The thing is, she tells the honey trapper everything about her husband, including his likes and dislikes, so that the honey trapper can tweak herself accordingly to seem like the husband’s dream woman. Needless to say, the honey trapper fell in love with the husband that she was supposed to seduce. It was twisted but intriguing, really. Spoiler alert, the husband did not cheat, surprisingly. But then again, it’s called fiction for a reason. Sorry, I know I’m being cynical but guys people nowadays seem to take marriage so lightly I wonder why they even bother getting married.

I guess the growing trend of hiring these honey trappers is a good thing for women overall though. At least wives will find out when husbands are unfaithful and guys who hear about this may be more afraid to cheat.  Of course, it says a lot about you if you have to hear about this to be afraid to cheat la. One thing I just can’t understand is the women who hire the honey trappers to get their husbands to break up with the mistress. If you know he’s cheating, why not just leave?

After reading the article, I went to search more on honey trappers and found this other article, which was a little similar to the book, just that the ending was a lot more realistic.

The girl already found out that he was a cheater and that should have been it. End of story. BUT NO, she had to call him and get ‘worried’ that he wasn’t replying and even begged him to reply. Seriously? I understand some people do get blinded by love and all but if it’s to this extent it’s just pure stupidity.

I don't want to start ranting about how some people have a lack of conscience because it will just get super lengthy. Of course, I do still believe there are good people around. But there seems to be a lot of temptation out there these days too. So the next time any of you are tempted to cheat, just remember, the third party may have actually been hired by your very own partner.

Great Eastern Women's Run 2015 - Race Pack Collection

Met this girl on Saturday to collect our race packs for the Great Eastern Women's Run. I peeked into the bag while we were having dinner and was very pleased with the contents! 

Being a very typical kiasu Singaporean, obviously I wanna get my money's worth when I pay to do something which I can actually do for free. Many of my friends have scoffed at the idea of paying to run when you can do it anytime and anywhere. (Not to mention the fact that I have a gym membership as well.) Actually, every time I participate in a run I'd ask myself why I’m torturing myself and make a mental note to never do it again, but the satisfaction upon completing is totally worth it. Of course, there are other reasons why I like participating in runs.

1. It gives me a goal to work towards.

When I'm at the gym, sometimes many times I get a little lazy and just decide to use the elliptical (those cross trainers but with stationary handlebars). However, if I have a run to prepare for, I will push myself to use the treadmill to train for it. I try to participate twice a year and aim for a better timing each time, but my last timing was one of my personal best already so if I can maintain or even just get a few seconds less I’ll be satisfied!

2. The other runners help to pace me.

I love the vibes I get from an enthusiastic, pumped up sweaty crowd of runners. Call me weird but I like crowds and being part of thousands of people moving towards the same goal just motivates me A LOT more than running alone. Also, I like using “that girl in the pink shoes” or “that guy in the blue shorts” as a pacer to keep up with. It makes running more fun and makes me think less of the fact that I’m so tired I just wanna collapse.

3. The race packs are so worth it!

The very first “run” I went for was the Nike 10km human race 6 years back. I say “run” because I actually walked most of the way and took the same time you'd take to watch an entire movie lol. I actually got “tricked” into joining by the BFF, which is weird ‘cause that was her first and last run whereas that run, or rather, the race pack, actually piqued my interest in running. The fee was only $20 (very low considering it was NIKE and an average run costs about $50?) and there was a Nike tee and bottle in a drawstring bag. A Nike tee would normally cost about $40 so that in itself was already damn worth it!

Anyway, after that I tried to go for at least 2 runs a year and the regular one I sign up for is Sundown which is my favourite ‘coz I hate the sun and Sundown is, obviously, at night. But the sponsor for Sundown changed from Adidas to New Balance and then to OSIM, so it was a bit of a turn off. For the other run, I would usually try to go for one with very attractive race packs.

Last year I went for the ST Run, which included TWO New Balance tees and an Alive museum admission ticket among other goodies. This year they gave 2 New Balance shirts as well, but no admission tickets and I didn’t know what else they were giving so I wasn’t very enticed. After some research, I decided to sign up for the Great Eastern Women’s Run as they were giving 2 Adidas (my personal fav) tees for their 10^th year. And I am so glad I did! This was the race pack..

The most goodies I ever saw in a race pack! Yes, I know they’re mostly sample-sized, but I’m easily satisfied ok! Think I have found my other regular run! If the race pack continues to be this good of course..

And I read that there will be a FREE food tent on the actual day!! :D

Will update again after the run!

to new beginnings

HELLO!

For those of you who didn't come from the old blog, I'm just a girl (yes I know I'm 30 but I refuse to call myself "lady" or "woman") who loves writing. I got lazy and stopped for a bit, but thanks to the encouragement of my friends, here I am again!

Since I'm quarter-way through life already (no, I didn't count wrongly, my grandma is 100 next year and I'm sure I have her genes!), I feel like it's about time to do something I'm really passionate about. Oh, and also, I get immense satisfaction once I finish a post, regardless of whether people read it or not. Of course the satisfaction is multiplied if there is some sort of approval, like it being published in Thought Catalog! Sorry, I just had to bring that up again. =x

It's actually been so long since I changed my blog layout that I don't even remember how to do it anymore so bear with me while I get the layout and skin sorted out. In the meantime, here's to new beginnings!