no signboard seafood

this is a severely delayed post. last march, we were treated to no signboard seafood restaurant along geylang road by jp's housemate (thank you!).

no signboard seafood is one of the more popular restaurants here in singapore, famous for chilli crab.
read the story about how it got its' name on their site.

we ordered these (you will be hungry afterwards, promise!)

chilli crab, of course!

buttered asparagus

orange chicken

fried bun, perfect for dipping into the chilli crab sauce

and yes, one more look at the chilli crab!

the geylang road branch gets pretty crowded on weekends, so be sure to get there early. we went there on a weekday, and although it wasn't crowded, we were seated in the back of the restaurant, which is very near the garage. it's not fine dining on this branch, but the food is so good, you really won't mind where you're seated. 

hay, chilli crab! so yummy!

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Here's the address of the branch we went to:

No Signboard Seafood
414 Geylang Road
Tel: +65 6842 3415
Daily 12pm – 1am

the singapore library

someone sent me a message that i should post more entries about living in singapore. i guess she meant useful ones, like housing, food, jobs, etc. maybe some other day, i think i will have to enlist my friends' inputs for those. but for now, let me tell you about one of my favorite places in the city.

so last month, i was reviewing for an exam, and when i study, i need a quiet place where i can't be distracted. i could stay in my room at the flat, but that actually poses a couple of problems: 1) there's a TV in the room, so i will be tempted to watch, 2) i can't have the aircon on all afternoon, since that'll drive our electricity bill way up 3) i will be tempted to go to the kitchen and eat. haha. 

anyway, i decided to hang out at the national libary out in the city for a couple of days. it's such a nice place to study, i would sit most afternoons in their study hall, along with students. 

it's also one of those buildings that the singapore government put a lot of thought into. the structure of the building is really nice.

and apparently, there's a school and theater inside too.

rows and rows of books that you can browse and borrow.

while i was there, i renewed my membership so i can borrow a couple of books (that saves me a lot of money). to borrow, no need to go to the librarian to have your book stamped. it works like a checkout counter at the grocery.

and voila! you have the book for three weeks.

and there's no need to worry about missing your due date, since you can just drop your books at this machine (24-hours!)

the library has several branches around singapore, so there's really no need to go to the city for study or research. even after i finished (and passed!) the exam, i kept on going to the library to read magazines and browse books which i otherwise would have bought from the store. and of course: to cool off and sit down after walking around the city. 

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*Info for Library Membership

something to try: chocolate mousse express

this is something i will have to try to make AFTER the wedding. because if i do it now, i will probably have to run for 4 hours to burn it off. haha! enjoy!

pitch perfect

just watched pitch perfect. this was my favorite mash-up.



hope you're having a great weekend!

the dove beauty sketch

as one of three girls in the family growing up, there would always be inevitable comparisons among my sisters and i. i would often hear people say: "mas maganda si insert any of our names here, kaysa kay insert any of our names here". but i never really paid much attention to those, because mama said we were ALL beautiful.

                                                                   back in the 90's

personally, i prefer being smart and kind to being beautiful. because being beautiful is subjective. people have their own ideas about beauty, ie. a V-shaped face (at least that's what locals in Singapore seem to like), long lashes, straight, shiny hair. whatever. people will look at you differently and say you're pretty or ugly. but being smart, being kind? these are objective. either you are or you aren't.

but sometimes, those beauty magazines tell you otherwise. there was a time in my teenage years where i experimented a lot with makeup. i would sit in front of my mom's dresser, and put on her makeup, just to see if i could look like those models in the magazine. more often than not, i didn't. haha.

a glamour shot you need to take at least once in your life. haha

i believe that there are no ugly people in the world. only people with ugly hearts, you know, those people who radiate negative energy towards others, that sometimes it warps your perception of their beauty. and sometimes, we ourselves think we're ugly. who isn't their own worst critic, right? there are days when i look in the mirror, and seriously think i'm so NOT pretty. and then i snap out of it, brush my hair, powder my face, put on a nice outfit, smile and then voila! i'm beautiful again. 

this dove ad is going viral around the internet these days. and it does put in perspective how we see ourselves. really touching and an eye-opener for us girls. 

boston bombing

the last public run i participated in was the shape run last year.

participating in runs is always such a fun occasion. i don't really go there to compete with other runners,   i don't even aim to go for 1st place. ask any runner and they will always tell you it's really about competing with yourself, trying to go faster than your previous PR (personal record). when you reach the finish line, it's always festive. people cheer you on, just because you ran and completed the course.

the boston marathon is one of those that every runner aspires to run in. you have to run fast to qualify. just to be able to qualify and participate is already an accomplishment. it's just so confusing and sad to see that someone chose to ruin the event. 

the authorities have killed one of the suspects and charged the other. right now, we really just want to know why they did it. 

a week later, runners in the london marathon showed their respect for the victims of the bombing. so touching. so will i participate in public runs again? no doubt about it! 

engagement shoot

we had our engagement shoot last saturday. here's what my sister captured via her phone while the photographer was at work.

wee! we are excited to see the result of our whole day (take note: WHOLE DAY!) shoot around singapore.