Late night dinner...

Christmas is getting nearer and our outing is going at full force. Saigon streets at 9pm are still crowded as usual which encourages us more. And we ended up with a late night dinner in a cozy restaurant on Le Thi Rieng Street, Tiem An 48.

What had lead us to this situation while both of us are usually very bad at handling hunger and we were starved? It was a stupid grand opening of a coffee house.

As usual, our make-up learning session was on last night. When we finished, it was a little over 830pm. And our stomaches were grumbling noisily which made our priority at that time a hearty dinner. But I suggested us to go to MGM Cafe on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street which just opened on the very same day. Why, you might ask? Because I read somewhere that they would offer free fruit buffet during the first 3 days for everyone. Very kiasu of me, I know! But in case there was no buffet, I thought I could still order the cafe's food to eat and enjoy a drink over there. Anyway, when we reached, it was so crowded and noisy with loud music, the kind of coffee house that I do not like much. How does it look like?

Very grand and impressive, indeed. Actually the decoration and design inside are very modern and innovative. Espcially the menu is made into a magazine which is quite interesting. But you know what? Even though there were food in the menu, when we ordered beefstake, the answer was that they ran out of food at that moment. WTH? And you call yourself a coffee house cum restaurant. Bleh. So disappointed. But I had to admit the service was good with attentive staff. Just not my cuppa.

With our empty stomaches, we now focused on finding a place to eat. As our raving for Western food was triggered, I suggested us to go to Tiem An 48. That was where we had our late night dinner.

Don't its decoration and atmosphere look cozy and well-thought to you?

The wall is decorated with paintings which brings a relaxed feeling to diners.

We were seated at this table called Bordeaux 002. Cute right? And y'all know that Tracy and I are suckers for cuteness. What did we do? Pointing to the name plate, of course. And take photo, no guess!

This was even when we are famished! If not, you might find me walking around taking photos. Hhahaha! (Anyone sends me a good camera? It's on my wish list this year!)

Then the menu came out. The proof for Tracy's hunger was captured for your pleasure...

She flipped it quickly to see there was anything delicious. I wondered how she could read it! Apparently, she did for she ordered Com sua nau voi com va Chuoi. How about me? A vegetables pizza, please! Simple, right? But the restaurant needed 20 minutes to toast it golden. Who was I kidding? Of course I had to agree on waiting!

So here we had Tracy's order arrived first. And she was working on it very heartily...

Again, we had proof of Tracy's eating speed when she was starving. In this case, her spoon was blurring and she didn't even bother looking at me when I told her I would take her pic. When she was eating, there was nothing else mattered. Muwahahahahahah... (Her evil laugh, not mine, k?)

While she ate, I had nothing better than sitting there and dreaming about the Christmas' Eve party I was planning. That was why I did not notice Tracy took my BFF and snapped me a shot...

I was not sleeping, if that's what you are thinking. Just smiling and daydreaming. Well, Christmas was 3 days away, after all. My pizza did take a long time to come out but it was worth the wait...

Looked so delicious... and it tasted so yummy... Before I attacked the pizza, Tracy had had me posing and smiling... Did I look pretty?

Looked so demure, right? But not so when I ate my food. Because I was a firm believer in using hands when eating pizza. The food just tasted better that way.

Main dishes were finished but we still wanted to eat more. "I want some more" That was what was going around in my head at the time (Sounded like the vampire girl in "Interview with the Vampire"! Creepyyyyyyy). It was why deserts were there for us to order. This was where Tracy'd gone berserk with her fruit yoghurt...

How about my desert? It was pancake with cinamon apple and ice cream...

And I didn't go berserk like Tracy, I went for sexy look...

Hmmm... what do you think? Did I look sexy enough for y'all? I think I need to work on this pose again.

Christmas spirit is really in the air. The weather is so cooling that I can take out all my autumn wear to create a winter look. Yes, you read it right, autumn wear for winter! As winter to me is about coats and boots. But I think I've got the style well so far.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go
Take a look in the five-and-ten,
Glistening once again
With candy canes and silver lanes aglow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Toys in ev'ry store............

Christmas to me is...

... a lot of lights.

I'm neither Christian nor Catholic. In fact, I'm a free thinker. But Christmas to me is a miraclous time of the year. Of course, Tet is still very special to me but it will be another topic for another time (coming soon!). But I seldom celebrate christmas with my family as my parents are somewhat Buddhists. And I mostly stay in tropical countries so I have never experienced a white christmas. But to compensate for this, there are a lof lights decorated everywhere. And the weather is cooler in December which cheers everyone a little bit in this busy year-end time. Certainly, the lack of snow and lack of winter coats didn't stop me from celebrating the occasion in my way.

This year, christmas is more special to me. It's truly a time of union with my best friends being together with me on Xmas' Eve. I'm so excited that I don't mind working extra hard in order to have some stress-free time this Christmas with them. It is just 10 days left but we all hear Xmas songs everywhere.

To add some Christmas spirit to my blog, here are some pics I have taken over the years during this time

2004 - Christmas tree at Takashimaya Shopping Centre

2005 - Orchard Road on Christmas day with ex-colleagues

2006 - Xmas decoration at Takashimaya SC (yeah, it's my fav shopping mall!)

2006 - Noel celebration at Saigon Centre (HCMC)

2006 - Season's greetings at Hotel Equatorial Saigon

2006 - Christmas celebration at Diamond Plaza (Saigon)

2006 - Good old me at X Cafe (taken today)

Little girls and little boys dream of worlds full of toys. This time of the year, when christmas is near...

Recced for yaoi fans - Silver Diamond

Warning: Dun read if you have sth against homosexual r/s, slash or yaoi works.

Summary from Storm in Heaven group webbie:

"Rakan lives alone, and the plants in his garden grow so thick and fast that it seems like a jungle. One day a man, holding a gun made of wood, falls right down into his garden. He seems to come from another world, and he's searching for someone who can bring back the green into his own dark and inhospitable world. "

Okie, the summary doesn't do justice for it.

Alright, this is a supernatural shounen ai manga with a great deal of humour blended in a good plot. You can expect plenty of bishounen walking around, hugging, group-hugging and some fightings. Shiho Sugiura sensei is working on this and 7 volumes have been released in Japan. At the moment, the English fan-translated version is being done by Storm in Heaven group and I'm crossing my fingers and toes that no stupid US comic/manga magazines will want to license it. I have lost many and many fav manga as that had happened. Of course, I still can buy the original Japanese manga to read but I'm too lazy now (english is still better anyway)

You can download the manga on Storm in heaven website! Go read it and tell me whatcha think, ok? Here you go!

Firewall but they're already inside

It's been a while since I went for a movie in Singapore. In fact, I didn't plan to go to the theatre last night. But just for a spur of moment, I decided to catch some film to de-stress myself of all the recent pressures and problems. For those who know me well, this kind of behavior is no stranger to me. Either good or bad, I can't really care now.
Anyway, there were quite a number of movies to catch last night, i.e. Ultraviolet, Take The Lead, Ice Age 2, Inside Man, etc. But somehow I chose Firewall and I didn't regret it. I'm not Harrison Ford's fan per se. Neither is Paul Bettany's. However, I trust Harrison Ford in his decision to appear in a movie. So there I was, watching Firewall. I'm not really good in giving a film review so I won't do it. If you wanna know what it's all about, go and watch it, then decide yourselves whether it's worth your money.
Ratings: 3 and 1/2 stars

My skin is expensive...

...because of this Chanel Purete Mat in 20 Sable Mat... FYI, I have a combination/oily skin for my face which is very irritating and acne-prone. I always joke with my friends that all the oil in my body is concentrated on my face and that's why my hands, my body skin and my feet are very dry! And it's not because I don't drink enough water, let me tell you, I drink 2-3 litres of water daily. Anyway, return to the topic, my facial skin is very hard to handle and I really can't afford to have breakouts. So what will a sensible girl like me to do? Of course I invest a lot on my foundation, either liquid or powder. Since I started working, I have been looking for the best solution and I somewhat achieved it. Until last year, I've been using Nu Color Liquid Finish SPF 15 in Pink Ochre and Shiseido Luminizing Powdery Foundation o20 altogether and I was really happy with it. My face looked radiant after I applied and I didn't have any breakout in a long time. And even the cost was high, I was still happy to spend on it.

So now what had happened? Well, just say I've passed my Nu Color liquid foundation to my mom as she was running out of hers because I had forgotten to get a new one from The Body Shop and you know what? She loves it which makes me very happy as I can use it together with her when I am in Vietnam. But now I'm in Singapore, so I have to use some Kanebo liquid foundation which I bought sometime ago in VN on impulse instead. I am really worried 'cos this Kanebo thingy is not water-based. Yes my friends, Nu Color is water-based which doesn't clog your pores when you have it on all day and make your makeup feel light and natural. Hence you'll see me to buy Nu Color on friday after work.

I think you are wondering what happened to Shiseido and why I am using Chanel instead. Well, as a sensible girl, I am very conscious about prices (I know some of you are rolling your eyes upon reading it but I am, alright?). Like most of travellers, I prefer buying cosmetics in those duty free counters in the airport even though I just save a few bucks. But a few is also money, right? However, the Shiseido counter at Changi Airport didn't have it and the SAthere had let me know they wouldn't carry this range of product anymore in the future. She couldn't confirm with me if in-town Shiseido counters is still having it either. So I was really upset then, which is very dangerous for my purse. And that was true in this case as Chanel was located next to Shiseido of all the places. I was looking at their products then a SA appeared and offered her help. In fact, I intended to get Chanel's T-Mat long time ago as it offers T-zone shine control. However, since the price in DFS was almost the same as those sold in town, I was quite skeptical about buying one. Somehow, I asked her about pressed powder and was introduced to Purete Mat which is the product of combining T-Mat and Chanel's finish powdery foundation. So BAM... there you have me standing thinking pretty hard if I should have it. Check the price! 58.5$, cheaper than their normal pressed powder and I still can have some shine control from it. Afterwards, you can see me being ushered to the cashier by the SA to pay for it, of course.

Anyway, after 1 week using, my feedback is positive. I'm really happy with it and have been reccommending it to my friends. But really, my skin makes my purse much lighter