Where to eat when in Singapore? Carnivore

Christmas is truly just around the corner. 

Christmas tree near Raffles City Link Mall

I had a great time with my current and ex-office mates last Friday. We celebrated our annual Christmas dinner at Carnivore in Chijmes. It was the same place as last year's, but I don't mind celebrating our Christmas get-together every year there because of the ambiance. I am in-love with the place!

Lovely lights around - a perfect dating place!

Brazilian Churrasco Experience at Carnivore.
Branches at Chijmes and Vivo City http://www.carnivore.com.sg

They have an eat-all-you-can Brazilian Barbeque which is not your usual buffet. At Carnivore, there are passadors roaming around who will slice meat for you personally if your card is showing...

Otherwise, they won't give you meat slices...

There are different types of meat - chicken, pork, beef, and lamb. And fish as well - ham, sausage, steak, grilled.

Tina having a slice of ham

Pork Sausage

They also have a buffet table which consists of soup, pasta, salad and appetizers. But hey, with so many meat around, it would be better to take only a small portion of food in the buffet table. Also, be ready to spend as the food is not cheap. Dinner is $47++ but if you are a Citibank Credit Card holder, you get 15% discount. Wines are available as well. Cheapest is $13++ for a glass and $65++ for one bottle.

Juicy Beef with pasta and other appetizers around my plate

Same as last year, we had an exchange gift, but with a different twist - the white elephant exchange gift (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_elephant_gift_exchange).

Us (except for Chichi) before the war, I mean the exchange gift! :-D

It was truly fun. Till our next Christmas celebration guys!

Rule of Three

I was in Vivo City Mall earlier and saw a Sale sign at one of the accessories stall. To my delight, it was Click-Six brand!  One stall in Anchorpoint (my favorite stall there and one of the reason why we go there for lunch) was selling click-six brand at low price but it was now replaced by a different shop. :( So imagine how happy I was when I saw the stall in Vivo.


And what do I got? Three nice cocktail rings for 3 SGD (around 100 PHP) each.

L for Love.

Peace Sign

Hmmm. I can't think of any hand signs.
What does this mean? :)

Kitten Heels

Another pair of shoes that I got from last Friday's impromptu shopping at Anchorpoint Mall. Why would anyone pass up the opportunity to buy adorable shoes at 70% discount? Including this (click link to see the other item) pair, I only spent 28 SGD (around 927 PHP).

Most of the super sale items were high heels. The kitten-heeled shoes that I got were one of the few exception. Luckily, they got my size because most of the stocks available were only size 38,39, and 40.

Now my feet are ready Christmas! :)

An Early Christmas Gift

Shoes from Charles and Keith

I bought this Golden Brown Peep Toe Heels at 70% off. Isn't it lovely? :) 

Relaxing and stressful last day in Bangkok

Since we were already in Bangkok, we wouldn't pass up the chance to experience the Thai Massage. We were looking for a mid-end spa - somewhere nice but not too expensive. We were already in Sukhumvit area, so we chose Mulberry Spa.

Menu List

Mulberry Spa

132 Soi 23, Th Sukhumvit

9:00am - 11:00pm 

There were different massages to choose from. They have promo packages like the tempting Mulberry Tension Melts Away package. It's a 2 hour and 45 minutes massage which includes 60 minutes of foot spa and reflexology, and an hour and 45 minutes of Thai Massage and Herbal ball. (Mich, why didn't we schedule our spa session the night before the flight?)


Since we were short on time, we just had Mulberry Hot Tea Oil Massage for one hour, which costs 1,500 baht.

Herbal Ball

While waiting for them to set up, we were given hot Pandan Tea. 

And the pampering begins...

Afterwards, they assisted us upstairs to the massage rooms. The rooms have a classic, vintage ambiance.

It looks creepy in the photo but in reality, it's not :)

The  bathroom was very spacious. The bath tub was really inviting. Too bad, the 60-minute massage includes the time you spend on shower. So I just had a quick bath.

Useless tub. To save time, I just used the shower.

On a positive note, the massage was great. The steamed herbal ball lightly pressing into my skin felt amazing. It was a totally relaxing experience.


Good thing we had a great time at the spa, because I was stressed afterwards. I was so confident that we can arrive at the airport in time. I didn't know there was a long interval between trains going to the airport. Super OH NO!


When we got into the station, the train just left. So we had to wait 45 minutes for the next train. I surely thought we'll arrive at the airport too late. And I didn't know if the station was far from the departure area. 


But God is so good! Luckily, the departure area isn't too far away from the airport link station. I was able to arrive 3 minutes before the counter closed. Yes, I was the last one to check in! :)

Where to eat when in Bangkok? Krua Apsorn

Hungry after our Grand Palace tour, we decided to eat somewhere near. We haven't tried riding the Chao Phraya River Express Boat so we looked for a Thai restaurant along Chao Phraya River. We found Krua Apsorn, near Tha Tewet (N15) station, 5 stations away from the Grand Palace.

It's a simple restaurant, but I've read a lot of rave reviews about it. It was even awarded as Bangkok's Best Restaurant by the Bangkok Post on 2006. 

Few local diners on a Monday afternoon (2pm)

Some articles published about Krua Apsorn at the back of their menu 

One of the recommended dishes is the Fried Curry Crab. But we already tasted that one at Somboon Restaurant (read the entry here) so we opted for stir-fried crab meat in yellow chilies and green beans. It has a mild spice to it, and it tastes good!

Another specialty that we ordered was stir fried mussels in fish sauce with basil and chili.

For our veggies, meat with asparagus. Another simple looking but great tasting dish! :)

And for our dessert, coconut sorbet. I am not really in love with this one. It's just frozen coconut juice with some coconut flesh.

Again, our stomachs were so full with great tasting Thai food! :)


Krua Apsorn
503-505 Th Samsen
Tha Thewet (N15), near National Library
Monday - Saturday

The Grand Palace

We spent the latter half of our 4th and last day in Bangkok at the Grand Palace.

Grand Palace Entrance

It was grand indeed! :) The architecture was amazing. The place was dazzling with gold and colored stones.

That must be heavy huh?

With the golden body guards

Even the gallery has a touch of gold. It sparkles!

It was very hot day to wear jeans but one must wear appropriate attire - no shorts, skirts, nor sleeveless clothes are allowed. Those not properly dressed can queue at the entrance to borrow clothes.

Zara shirt + jeans

It's recommended to go there as early as 8:30 AM. From 10:00 AM onward, it was really hot! I had a tan line after our trip. You can't arrive too late as the last ticket is sold at 3:30 PM and the palace is open until 4:30 PM only.

Grand Palace
Open at 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tickets sold at 350 Baht

Where to eat when in Bangkok? Som Tam Nua, Mango Tango, and Somboon

After our Floating Market tour, we went to Siam Square to go shopping. We saw from a far a stall with a small crowd waiting outside. It was Som Tam Nua, one of the CNN Go's best eats for 2010.

Som Tam Nua
Siam Square Soi 5

So even if we were still full from our brunch at the Floating Market, we decided to give it a try. We were on a waiting list, and was told to be back after 20-30 minutes. We strolled around and saw a cute mini food stall - Mango Tango.

Mango Tango
Siam Square Soi 5

As the name suggests, mangoes were all over the menu. I decided to try the mangoes + sticky rice + mango ice cream set.

Yummy sticky rice with mangoes

Though I am not a fan of sticky rice, I enjoyed this meal. It was actually great! :) But I think the Philippines' mango ice cream is still better than their ice cream.

Cute wall paint in the background

Then we went back to Som Tam Nua to try their best seller: Thai Papaya Salad and Spicy Chicken Wings!

Thai Papaya Salad + Spicy Chicken Wings

The papaya salad was also great! The chicken was also good but forgettable.


Our food trip for the day did not end there! After shopping around Siam and Pratanum, we had dinner at Somboon Restaurant to try out their fried curry crab.

If Singapore has Chili Crab, Bangkok has Fried Curry Crab

Mich and I at Somboon Restaurant
169,169/7-12 Surawong Rd.,
Suriyawong, Bangrak, Bangkok 1050
Chong Nonsi Exit 3

It was sooooo good! :) We went back to hotel, stomachs filled with remarkable food.

Thailand: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is one of the famous floating markets in Thailand.

Going to the Floating Market via Boat

Initially, I wasn't that interested in going there. It was only Mich who really wanted to go. Good thing we went anyway, because looking back, I enjoyed the tour.

Mich and I before the start of the market tour

It's a nice way of experiencing the traditional market of the Thai - on a boat.

Most of the items seem to be overpriced, except for this one.

I had a great time taking in the sights and sounds there, particularly the vendors cooking noodles, selling colorful fruits, hats, and souvenir items.

Thai Crepe

Noodles, anyone?

We just can't resist the food. Despite the price, we still bought some - Pad Thai, Banana Fritters, Mangoosteen... Oh, I miss them!

Pad Thai Noodles... Nom nom nom