#22 - C.TOWN VISUALS

05102013
It has been many years since I'd last been to C.Town so when mum invited, I agreed. After getting my gear ready, we took a train down and when we alighted I was greeted with myriads of people. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! From tourists to locals, there wasn't much space to walk around but I guess that added to the atmosphere :)

Good Morning Nanyang Cafe

75 Pagoda Street, 059234

Opening hours : 9AM - 7PM

1630 : We stopped to have a quick meal before embarking on our walk. Although service was rather slow which is understandable due to the lack of staff but food was good enough for tea. I recommend the yam cake and the soon kueh :)

Upon exiting the MRT Station, I was again greeted by people and shops that sold many trinkets as well as decor which would only be bought during CNY. (It felt like new year all over again!)

Thank God for the wonderful weather where the sun brought great lighting for my shots and how it wasn't very warm that I had to hide indoors most of the time! Looking up, I noticed that it wasn't always blue skies but there were lanterns hung from building to building that decorated not only the streets but the skies and that created contrast. Therefore, you would notice that most of the shots involved lanterns.

Many stalls sold the same things and all of which little trinkets and pretty vintage stuff. For instance, glass perfume bottles with a traditional Chinese painting inside. 

They also sold lighters that were made of marble and had the merlion engraved on it. You can definitely find T-shirts, sunglasses, bracelets etc. So, if you're thinking of getting a present and want to stay away from the shopping malls, then Chinatown is a good place to visit! Of course you've to bear in mind that the prices are set more for the tourists so fake an accent if you have to to get a discount haha!

While we were making our way to a pastry shop, we walked past a hotel called Rucksack. It caught my attention because of the outstanding red Chinese umbrellas that were hanging down from the ceiling as well as the the nicely vandalized wall.

I think that having the guests to write their comments/reviews on the walls made this backpacking hotel outstanding. It is so clever too because its a form of advertisement and shows how many people actually have stayed at the hotel. "A time stamp" is how I would describe this!

Our next stop was to visit a shop that sells commercial items for those in the F&B business because mum wanted to. According to her, this was a parent stall to TOTT ? While on the way there, we stopped at this old medical hall and you would think that it'll be quiet. Apparently not. There were busy packing all the herbs into papers for their orders. It didn't stop there because people started coming into the shop to buy medicine and some were waiting for their medicine.

(there were like dried bees in the stack of herbs! au natural)

When I first entered, I was put off by the strong smell of Chinese herbs but staying in there long enough, I got accustomed. In that moment, I thought that I should learn to appreciate it because it's not everyday do I get to experience this. 

The architecture was also beautiful. It gives off an Asian feel mixed with European architecture. Also, a great place to have a photoshoot or filming because of the old and timeless sites like the alley ways. 

After walking a bit more, we made our way back to the MRT station and headed home! It was a good experience for me while I was walking around because it felt like a whole new world with the many sights and sounds. 

That concludes my entry! For more photos, go to - http://foxusphotos.tumblr.com/ ! :) :) :)

Thanks for reading, x.

#21 - The Lunch Bus

Recently, my dad and I have been exploring the woodlands estate. We have taken two buses for now and I thought why not share what we did on my blog!

27092013

The first bus we took was 913 which brought us all the way to Admiralty and we had lunch at Koufu. The Foodcourt was mashed between Fork & Spoon which was another Foodcourt and a neighbourhood mall. Then we took our usual walk around the small neighbourhood mall called Woodlands Mart. It was a rather small community which I can't help but think that everyone knows each other and it was obvious that we were aliens to them. The mall gave me a 'of the past and the present' vibe because there were shops that had signs of wear and tear but had a new coat of paint over their scars. Also, there were shops that were more familiar with the younger generation like Sweet Talk and Mcdonalds. Whilst walking, we noticed that there were MANY students sitting around and just chilling after school. All of them were from different schools though. 

01102013

(all photos taken with an iPhone)

Today, we took bus 856 which brought us to Marsiling Lane or Admiralty Rd. (I'm confused too but if you search google maps, marsiling lane is the better option) we had lunch at a hawker centre in Block 20. It was packed with office workers from the nearby factories and residents of the area. Food was cheap and the portion was good! 

Soy Sauce Chicken Rice

S$2.50

If you're looking for a meal that will satisfy your tummy leaving you without cravings for the rest of the day then this plate will save you. Although the rice wasn't up to standard and the chilli was more like Thai chilli sauce but they were pretty generous with the amount of chicken (: When at a hawker centre, don't leave without having freshly squeezed fruit juice which is also served cheap! I had apple juice and it was refreshing and non-diluted. Mmmmm...

Walking around this small neighbourhood I realised how quiet it was. It was like time decided to slow down. Most of the shops looked so old school! From provisional shops to hardware shops to wet markets. Visiting this place will enable anyone to relive the good ol' days.

Thanks for reading, x. 

# 20 - Chocolate Hazelnut Cake (My Mum Bakes)

Hey y'all! Time really flies! It's been 2 weeks since my holidays started and I, unlike many of my peers have accomplished only a fair bit. I don't have anything planned out to do during the holidays even though I did mention that I wanted to find a job. I took the first step of opening up Classifieds and looking through to find a job that might interest me but..nothing. I know many people would say that you would never find out if you like the job unless you try or just take up any job to gain the experience and if you don't like it, then you know that this is one of the thousands of jobs that would not fit me. I like that positive thinking but at the end of the day, I think that doing what I love to do would make me want to get out of bed and quickly start work. Yes, many factors fall in place and so does many different reasons to why I should take up any job but I don't want to be striving at work. So, that was just a piece that I had to pen down which maybe (just maybe) wasted 1 min of your time. HA.

---

My Mum Bakes! strikes again. This time, she made a chocolate hazelnut cake that amazingly didn't require flour but just oil and hazelnuts. (of course chocolates...) Again, I want to say that I edited the photos BEFORE I realised that someone had already taken up the name XFOCUS so, therefore, I don't intend to infringe any copyright!

They were delicious and I really love the texture of it because it was both soft and moist! Just like a piece of brownie :) yumz. Sigh, what to do, my mum is so talented and she feeds me with good stuff until I'm this big. *looks at sad tummy with 1 family pack* HAHAHA #blessed

---

So whilst I'm typing up this post, I'm waiting for the darn video to load. I'm currently on a My Princess marathon because SSH is just tooooo *puppy eyes* *starry eyed*. I realised that my biases (kinda weird to type this) are WAAAAAY older. LOL 

IF you have nothing to do, (like me lol) I recommend to watch this KDrama because it touches on issues like the old vs new and politics. Not only that, I think the character types are interesting because of the r/s and conflicting feelings. ALSO, A LOT OF SUBTEXT therefore thinking about what the characters say and feel goes through my mind a lot. Thanks to theatre teachings. HAHA Have fun watching!

As always,

Thanks for reading, x.

# 19 - Ahoy! (My Mum Bakes)

A while back, my mum made some really delicious Fisherman's Pie for dinner. It was the best, as always :) It had a layer of cheese on the top and the pie was mixed with a cream base. The filling consisted of potato, ham, egg and black pepper. The most important ingredient was literally, FISH! (DUH)

On another note, I just found out that someone else has already taken up 'XFOCUS Photography' after I edited the photos. Silly. Anyway, I shifted my 'portfolio' to http://xfocusbyjoywe.wordpress.com/ so you can just view the photos there! Or, you can click the links on the side >>>

As usual,

Thanks for reading, x. 

# 18 - RVRSBL

Hey! Surprise, surprise. I'm blogging after 2 days. (You'll hear your set of 4 numbers on the radio soon. jk.)
I recently shopped with my brother at Uniqlo and bought this jacket that is reversible! How cool is that! Both sides offers different styling options and not only that, they each serve a purpose be it cool or warm, I'm covered. This jacket was totally an unplanned purchase but I was glad that I got it ;) As usual, photos!

---

(p.s. not an advertorial)

What I'm wearing

Top | Long Sleeved White Top

Bottom | Skinny Jeans from New Look

Headwear | Black Beanie, Bleeker SnapBack from RIPNDIP

Outerwear | Uniqlo

What I'm wearing

Everything else is the same

Top | Graphic Tee from New Look

---

I'll be having a camp this week! First camp after so long.
Sigh, that means I will be missin' CG and possibly church.. Oh well...

Thanks for reading, x.

#17 - Me, You, Them.

Hey! I'm baaaaack :) (and guess who is on a month long break?? meeeee.)

A month long break = I-will-do-the-things-that-I-wanted-to-do-but-never-got-the-chance-to-because-of-classes. (phew that's a mouthful. I challenge you to say that 3 times fast. If you manage to do it, I will...)

So, the very first thing I did once my semester ended was to have a STEAMBOAT PARTY! Oh man, it was a good few hours spent with a couple of mates filled with laughter and homely food. Lovely, ain't it :) So, let's get on with the pictures! (y'know you want to see it. deeep down.) (am I annoying you with the brackets)(?) (no)(.)

---

We chilled for a bit while doing up the cards for Kerencia and Boon Hui. Look at how hardworking we are with all the art and crafts materials. Artist mess.

At about 4.20pm, we started prepping for the steamboat like putting them on plates, boiling the hot water etc.

Housewife material right there. Anyone interested, drop me an email. (just kiddin'.) HAHA But on a serious note, she prepped all the food. Wash, cut, peel etc all her.

We prepped everything and waited for at least 1/2 an hour before the rest of the crew arrived and we started feasting! Look at how blessed we were! Prawns, taupok, mushrooms, CHEESE MEATBALLS (oh they were the bomb diggity), crabstick, CHEESE TOFU and more. All for 6 people and we couldn't finish lol.

Concept : Bunny pulling the carrot out.

After the feast when all of us were too full, we played Charades using the app. Oh it was so fun!! HAHAHA Samiah took a video which I've yet to see which reminds me that I need to get it. We cleaned up and brought the game to the room where we played other games as well :)

Then, in the midst of the games, I sneaked away to take out the cake and called them out saying " hey guys come out, I got something to show you. " Aaaaaand we sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I believed they were pleasantly surprised. Anj, Celestine and Samiah got them the birthday cake and the perfumes! The cake was really good so just in case you're thinking of what to have for dessert, go to Four Leaves and try their Royal Cheese Cake/ Strawberry Shortcake!

 (Birthday girls with their presents and cake)

So, after the cake, we went outside to take more photos and wanted have fun with sparklers. However, I was disappointed because our lighter didn't work. SIGHHHH SUPER SPOILER. T.T So, we took photos instead which lifted our mood because 'crazy' took over. I believed we made A LOT of noise but thank God no one chased us away heh.

(oh, hello. You made it this far. Remember the challenge I made earlier on and hinted a prize for it? Well, here's my prize!!)

(b)(r)(a)(c)(k)(e)(t)(s) CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! YOU HAVE UNLOCKED A LIFE ACHIEVEMENT OF READING SOMETHING 3 TIMES FAST EVEN THOUGH YOU MIGHT HAVE DONE IT BEFORE. EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T, IT'S OKAY. YOU DID IT. A FOR EFFORT.   (b)(r)(a)(c)(k)(e)(t)(s)

please don't leave. You've made it this far, why not read on yeah? #pls

** So, each of us took 'crazy' shots but to protect my friend's image, I shall not post it here. For those who love looking at people who look funny, well you can 'enjoy' mine as I dig up a hole and bury myself away from the world. goodbye **

I had a lovely time and I wanna thank these 5 people you see up there in the gif for being so kind throughout the semester :) Cheers to another!

---

Thanks for reading, x.