Happy 29

Nowadays, birthday is just a reason for me to pamper myself. To buy something extravagant, to dine in fine-dining restaurants or to buy tickets to a musical and a concert. When spending my hard-earned money, I usually have a guilt trip right before and after the moment handing out my plastics. So birthday is the best excuse, only followed by Christmas. And I no longer care about how old I am (or getting upset over aging). After all, age is just a number and I feel absolutely much better than when I was 21.

That day was all about me, aka I did everything alone. Unlike when I was young and loved to have a big birthday party with lots of friends, I prefer much few companies nowadays. I feel that I don't want to fake my laugh and waste my time on those who are just being there for the sake of being there. Trust me, it is a very tiring experience, for both host and attendees. You fake yourself enough while at work. You shouldn't do that in your private time, much less your birthday.

I had quite a full-day event scheduled, considered my saturdays always start at around noon. First I had a complimentary birthday make-over, in cutesy of Chanel. Then I treated myself a nice meal at Osteria Mozza, and then enjoyed myself with a musical. I had written about my experience of watching "The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" previously, which means I will focus on the make-over and the dinner.

It was my second professional make-over experience and Chanel won my heart wholly. The staff was very polite without making me feel awkward. The make-up artist was knowledgeable and professional. Even though it was a complimentary session, I had a feeling that she didn't do any shortcut with my make-up. She even gave me some good tips on how to draw my eye brows or apply blush. There was no hard-sell of their products, and I personally think that was a very clever sales strategy. Making customers satisfied and happy and they will spend money in your brand. That was exactly what I did. I bought a liquid foundation at full price when I could buy it at a 20% discount elsewhere.

Here was I after the make-over

And Chanel even gave me a surprised birthday gift, which made it a much sweeter experience.

Guess what is it? A very elegant camellia bookmark

After the make-over, I headed to Osteria Mozza for a pre-theater dinner. I chose this restaurant for a few reasons. Firstly , it is located opposite the Grand Theater of Marina Bay Sands, which means I wouldn't need to rush after the meal (who knows how long it would take to finish a meal in these fine-dining establishments). Secondly, I was craving for Italian food. And thirdly, most important, they offer a reasonably-priced pre-theater dinner set meal.

The restaurant is having very good business. When I was there, it was almost full-house. And it was around 530pm at the time. Just imagine dinner time. Of course, I had to make reservation. I didn't want to feel disappointed on that day. And being turned away for your dinner is definitely a big no.

The decoration of the establishment is understated elegance with dark-wood furniture and warm lighting. The tables are spaced cleverly without making you feel like in a tuna can. I dislike hearing others' conversations during my meal. Sometimes I just want to enjoy the food and all I can think is what this guy learns from his culinary school. Well, it is nice to know that chefs think those who order well-done steaks are idiots. But I want to enjoy my tom yam noodles in peace, damn it!

The staff was polite and well-trained. And I was glad that they allowed to have photos taken in the restaurant. You never know which restaurants are snooty enough to forbid their customers from photographing in their premises. Overall, I did enjoy the food but except for the dessert, I don't think I will try the rest again. I am a tomato-base girl, and I won't feel satisfied with my pasta if it is a macaroni or the like. Well, trying to be adventurous had some price after all.

Osteria Mozza @ Marina Bay Sands

Table setting

A glass of wine to indulge myself

A sample complimentary from the chef

Appetizer: Burricotta with radicchio, spiced walnuts, honey & fried rosemary

Main dish: Orecchiette with sausage & Swiss chard

Dessert: Vanilla Panna Cotta mixed berry compote & biscotti

Of course, me dining at Osteria Mozza

Singapore entertainment - "The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber"

I guess it was quite a surprise to some of my friends or acquaintances to know that I love musicals. Well, I discovered that fact myself quite recently as well. But think about it, I should have known before, with my passion in "cai luong".

My first memory about musical is watching the movie "The sound of music" in my English class when I was in secondary school. The fact I had to write an essay about the film didn't discourage me from enjoying it. And I love Julie Andrews since. Her voice was gorgeous and the songs were beautiful, which made me to look for a VCD (yep, VCD, not DVD) so that I could watch it again and again.

The next musical film was "The phantom of the opera" with Gerald Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson as lead actors. My ex-boyfriend and I went for a midnight show and I ended up sleeping in the theater half-way of the show. I just didn't like Emmy Rossum as Christine, even if I liked both actors. And at the end of the day, movies are just movies. They aren't matches for what I could see in a musical theater.

Luckily for me, the movie version of "The phantom of the opera" didn't deter me from watching it when I was in New York last time. And the experience truly opened my eyes and gave me plenty of reasons to spend money on musical tickets, when I could. I will probably write blog post about that fantastic night at Broadway. I feel like cheating myself if I don't save a whole post for it.

And then, last year in Singapore, "Chicago" has come to Singapore with a few shows in Esplanade. I didn't know about it until the last few days. I went with a friend to watch it and fell in love all over again with musicals. Nothing beats the amazement of hearing the cast's beautiful voices, the gorgeous outfits and well-rehearsed dance composition. Not counting the joy of listening to the live music from an orchestra, albeit small. So yes, bring more musicals to Singapore.

And earlier this year in May, when I read about the show "The music of Andrew Lloyd Webber" coming to Singapore in July, I didn't even hesitate and just ran to Marina Bay Sands to buy a ticket to the show. Of course, I could buy it online but nothing beats the feeling of queuing to buy tickets to your favourite shows. And saving 30 cents was a bonus. And before you question my sanity, that trip to Marina Bay Sands was with Tracy, who was here for a short visit. Of course, I had to show her one of the new landmarks in Singapore. The Sands SkyPark is a must-visit if you are in the vicinity.


Here is my precious ticket to the show

Yesterday was the night of the show I had bought, which was one of my birthday presents to myself. It was performed in the Grand Theater of Marina Bay Sands and I have to say it was money well-spent. The cast was great with Michael Mccormick was the standout actor, singing my most favourite songs like "The phantom of the opera" and "Sunset Boulevard". The way he sang and acted was the perfect way to portray the characters, which made me yearn to hear him more. It was too bad that his CD on sale last night wasn't him singing those songs. I would have bought even though I don't have a CD player at home. And the speaker of my laptop sucks.

One letdown was the costume but I understood that the show was just the combination of all the best songs in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals, so I didn't have much to complain. But still, choreography and costumes are parts of what make watching musicals magical. Next time I'm in New York, I will have to watch at least 2 shows to satisfy my hunger for musicals.

BTW, I didn't take any photo during the show as I wanted to enjoy it as best as I could. But I managed to snap some shots of the theater and of course, myself.

Strasbourg attractions - Le Petite France

Imagine this. It was in fall, the weather was cooling (at around 10 centigrade degrees) but it was sunny. And you were in Europe, what would you do? A walk in an area with medieval half-timbered houses and baroque sandstone buildings, perhaps.

So yes, that was what I did. I took a stroll around Le Petitie France. The scenery was so beautiful and picturesque that I just wanted to get lost, to wander to some hidden alleys, to breath in the gorgeously crisp but cooling fall air. Of course I didn't get lost since this place was as touristy as you could get. But amazingly, it wasn't that crowded even though you could see lots of tourists. I still managed to capture some shots without people or with a lone man walking.

No word could describe my experience but it was what Europe in autumn should be in my mind. Leaves turning yellow, the weather getting cooler but without the biting chill of winter, people in pretty coats walking around (even it is tiring to wear such coats all day long), plus beautiful half-timbered houses. All the stresses would disappear in a instance.

I have no word but plenty of pictures to show you. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.


You could see this scene in at least half of the postcards about Strasbourg


Maison des Tanneurs, famous for being an attraction and a great restaurant (regretfully I didn't dine here)


Of course I didn't give a miss. This was how I had imagined myself if I visited a European country


Another shot beside Maison des Tanneurs








Gorgeous half-timbered houses blending beautifully with quiet canals


Another shot of myself in a sunny autumn afternoon


A house covered with red vines, which I had only seen it on photos and TVs before


An alley with a lone man walking, whom I guessed was a local






Restaurants in Le Petite France

Strasbourg eats - An Alsatian lunch

Since Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in northeastern France, it seems to be compulsory to have at least one Alsatian meal during my visit to the city. Well, at least that is what I think now. My research on food for this trip was extremely lacking, partly due to my ignorance in European history. The reasons I chose Europe over North America were the availability of air ticket, Vietnamese food in district 13 of Paris and the low exchange rate of Euro. So yeah, that sounds quite a bizarre and random set of reasons, but that was what drove me to Europe.

Anyway, I did do some digging on where to eat in Strasbourg, but for some reason, I just tried one place. The rest was just ignored. And I just chose randomly when it was time for lunch or dinner. Maybe I was too tired (due to the time difference and the change in season) to walk around looking for all those recommended restaurants.

I stumbled into this Alsatian restaurant on the last day of my visit. I was attracted to the place by the cute duck sculptures in front of the door. It was a very small restaurant with just one cook and one waitress. But the decoration was very homey with warm lighting and wooden furniture. It offered me warmth which was extremely welcomed on that day, when the weather was super cold for an autumn day.

Alsatian cuisine, strongly based on Germanic culinary traditions, is marked by the use of pork in various forms. This was reflected very clear in my lunch, Choucroute Garnie. There were sausages, fatty cut of pork meat, diced cabbage, potatoes, etc. The taste reminded me very much of German food I had had in Singapore previously. In a way, I felt I was eating German dish, and personally, German cuisine was not my most favourite food in the world. Luckily, I also ordered Crème brûlée for dessert and it helped to lessen my disappointment in that lunch. Again, I don't want to say that the food was bad, it was not just my cup of tea.






A small restaurant with a homey feeling

Table settings

Lovely plate which I would love to bring back as a souvenir

Warm bread for appetizer

Choucroute Garnie

Crème brûlée which I am craving for one now