EXCITED!

I am just itching to start knitting my first cardigan ((:

Just ordered this 100% extra fine merino wool...



I hope it looks as gorgeous in real life as online! Should arrive in a week or so... Can't wait!

And this is what I plan to make ((:



Praying it won't be hard to make...

Updates

Some updates again, I've graduated! (: Last of my exams, ever!

I used to think I wanted to do a Masters, but I think I'd like to work first. Still thinking of attending baking school too (:

The mittens are a failed attempt, they fit too loosely on my arm, although I think cotton yarn would shrink after washing. Not going to try that though. Went to Jurong Point's knitting shop but they don't sell double-pointed needles. This means I've got to head down to Chinatown again (: YAY YARN! And try that yarn shop in Orchard! :D

Getting my new pair of spectacles soon (: Time to replace the angelfish coloured ones. I look forward to wearing nice spectacles, I don't think I'd be able to wear contacts while working in aircon for so long. Mom's getting almost the same design as me... haha.

Oh and this was me yesterday night.



Knitted and finished the first season of How I Met Your Mother (:

GAH!

This is unbelievable. Got down with a bug last week, saw the doc on Sunday, then was told to stay at home from Mon-Wed. Got out of house on Thurs, and today I've sprained my ankle and am housebound again.

Sigh.

BUT! I've been PRODUCTIVE :D

Knitted two things for Jods' birthday (:

A (not very) compressible grocery bag









and an iphone pouch! (:





Now i'm knitting a scarf for M, and a pair of mittens, and when I feel like it, my sister's terribly hard and supposed birthday present ):

Cool!

Its finally cool. A gorgeous cloudy morning at 28 degrees celsius just called for a jog (:

Not much better yet (wonder if its vertigo) so I ran 2.4km, walked 800m, and then ran another 1.6km. Dizzy ain't good!

Now feeling nice and cool after a warm shower and gonna resume knitting my sister's hibernating shawl which was meant for her birthday. Maybe next year's :P

Sushi Tei and... Yogurt Day!

Yesterday, met my best friend who came down from Canada. And cos she likes yogurt, and I LOVE yogurt, decided a yogurt day was in the works (: We went to visit three yogurt places. Which I thought seemed quite few at first, but woah I guess yogurt can be very filling!

But anyway, before that, went to Sushi Tei!

Tried some things from their seasonal menu, such as the onigiri, bamboo steamed food, as well as some beef collagen hotpot thing which I can't really recall..



Salmon Miso Onigiri, a tad dry at the edges, but moist and soft inside. The miso taste is mild, which is good because it complements the salmon instead of overpowering the onigiri and being too salty. It would be better if there were more salmon flakes though.



Spicy Clam Asari Soup Pasta didn't have many clams (mom said she doesn't think this is worth the cost) but the clams were tender and bursting with juices. The spaghetti was nicely done, so if you like pasta al dente, Sushi Tei will not disappoint here. Unfortunately the soup wasn't anything special.



This one was pretty good! (: Oysters on Rice in a bamboo steamer. I'm not a big fan of oysters, but for lack of a better word, the oysters were juicy just like the clams. And the rice was expected to be plain, but unexpectedly arrived a mixture of different rice as well as mildly seasoned. After letting it steam for about 7-8 minutes, everything is warm and moist, almost like lotus-leaf wrapped rice you get at dimsum places.



Beef and ramen.



Spicy stock with cabbage, enokitake mushrooms, pumpkin slices, white radish and what my mom said was some collagen thing. Not very sure though. But the soup tasted weird. Like kimchi gone wrong. Wouldn't have it again. Ramen's good though, eggy! (:

One last item we had from the seasonal menu was the apple ice cream.



We are big fans of their ice cream, especially Yuzu (yum!) but this one tasted like frozen apple juice popped in an ice cream maker. Try it if you love how apple juice tastes.

That's all from the new menu! (:

Now, meet my new relative (relatively new at least)!



This is Ayden, my little nephew. He's about a month plus old I think.

He's wearing the super cute jumper I got from Threadless! Love it ((:



Then M came and Yogurt Day commenced!

We had three in total, Yoguru, JCo yogurt and Yigloo.

First stop, Raffles City.



Yoguru has two flavours, original and Yogubliss. I'm a purist, so even though I do try other flavours, I always order original (: Well, for me, yoguru comes in third. It reminds me more of ice cream, as it is very creamy. Having the regular cup can fill you up, it is that thick. The tartness does not really come through, as it is overpowered by the milkiness. We agreed that it was too milky.

Nearby is JCo, land of donuts.



Yes its us again, I'm not a fan of being in photographs but this is the last one! (:

I LOVE JCo yogurt. I'm biased, I love frozen yogurt that does taste like frozen yogurt. Its tart, and only very slightly creamy. As a result, its very refreshing, almost thirst-quenching. The 'couple' size comes with three toppings, and the fruits and nuts complement this very well, providing sweetness for the tart yogurt. Almonds flakes are especially yummy with the yogurt, and JCo is very generous when it comes to toppings, even though they are included in the price (:

Our last stop was Yigloo!



Its a really cute place tucked in the basement of Vivocity, you must have seen its posters on the walls in vivo (:



The concept behind Yigloo is interesting. They offer many flavours, and like most yogurt shops, offer three different portion sizes. But they give you free topping! (:





Its a huge range, from different jellies, to many different fruits (including dragonfruit!) and dried ones such as nuts (: YUM! But you have to take it at one shot (:



yyyyyyyummmmmy!!



However, to ensure they make profit, the yogurt is swirled to the brim of the cup, so you don't have space within the cup for toppings, they go on a slippery slope of frozen yogurt (: Still you can put as much as you possibly can!



I would say that Yigloo comes in second for me. People who are big flavour fans will love this place for its wide range such as mango to cookies and cream yogurt, but I'm still a purist (: Otherwise, do try mango, I think its pretty good!! The rest reminded me more of ice cream in consistency.

But regarding original, Yigloo comes in as a compromise between Yoguru's extreme milkiness and creaminess, and JCo's tartness (: Plus you get free toppings!!

Still, it all depends on personal preference (:

M makes some weird faces after yogurt day ((: so cute.







Last but not least, if you're a bread and pizza fan, try Petit Provence's Sesami Pizza!



Its seriously good. Tomatoes and a generous serving of cheese slathered in what I hope is olive oil, is baked on a sesame bread base. GOOD STUFF ((:

That's all. Bye!

Time to Revamp Education System

Everyone should read this article here: Are Singapore Teachers Overworked

Singapore's education system seriously leaves much to be desired. One of my family members became a teacher starting in January, and she has been overworked, waking up at ungodly hours (5am, anyone?) for her job, which would be fine, if she came home at an appropriate time. But no, she comes home around 5-6pm (12 hour job) and then resumes marking, or doing lesson plans, or worrying about the seniors who make life miserable for junior teachers.

She spends her weekend marking and doing lesson plans as well. And she considers rest, going out for a good lunch (two hours max) before returning home to continue. Even foreign domestic workers get a full off-day (Sunday). Would it be any surprise that teaching leads to quick burnout as well as a high attrition rate? Overseas, the education system is more lax, and yes students are more lax too. But even so, they still produce great thinkers and high scorers. Singapore's education system has been praised by many, but to what good, when both teachers and students are suffering?

I'm glad this has been brought up by someone who wrote to forum. Teachers too deserve some consideration after all the complaining about students lacking their childhood. Teachers face 30x (or the number of students in their class) the load as students, who just need to do their homework, instead of marking everyone's homework.

And yes, fresh graduates always sound so optimistic and mention that current teachers should just be able to prioritise their time properly. I'd like to say that students can do that. A student commented on the article that she sleeps at 2am, but if she did her work immediately, not counting TV or using the Internet, I'm sure she could sleep by 9pm if she wanted. But a teacher works continuously, there is simply no time to prioritise with.

So, even if one has the passion for teaching, how long will that fire burn before being doused by mental and physical strains?

The Right to Choose

Today, we headed to Kichn, after I found a blog with some great photos commending the little eatery.

At kichn, we embrace your right to choose.

Their tagline says it all - you get to choose from a selection of items, sufficient in amount, although I would have preferred greater choice of bases and sauces.

It works like this, you pick your base (carbohydrate), main (protein), and sauce. You can then add a blended drink, for $3 and up. The drink has a choice of single, double, or triple blends from quite a list of items such as lychee, to oreo, to redbull.

There's always a featured special, one as a drink ingredient, and one sauce. Today's was bandung and japanese curry, respectively.



Kichn features a cutesy way of ordering, with colour pencils and teardrops for colouring in.



We used different colours to represent different people's orders (:





Seating is al fresco, and there are only about five or six tables, each seating about four people.





Seemed cozy and nice for catching up with friends. I'm biased, I love wooden tables and benches!



The tables are sheltered and there are fans too, so fear not the weather.

Instead, embrace your right to choose (:







From top down: Pineapple ($3), Strawberry Banana Green Tea ($5), Mango Chocolate Redbull ($5) and Lychee Oreo Milo ($5) ice blends.

Sister shows her high regard for the in-house recommendation, Lychee Oreo Milo. It was YUM! I will go back for the drink. Sounds... strange at first. But please, give in to temptation, you will not regret it! The taste comes in layers, cool refreshing lychee, sweet oreo bits, and then thick milo goodness, so comforting and reminiscent of primary school days.



Milo truck, I miss you.

Otherwise, Pineapple was thirst-quenching. Redbull and chocolate drowned out mango, but still delish, while banana completely muffled strawberry and green tea. It tasted of banana and flour... like banana cake mix with water. Agh!!

Well you know what to give a miss next time (:

Then the food came.



Seafood + chilli crab gravy + spaghetti ($8.90)



They were most definitely cooking up a storm, for the food took forever to arrive. Not that I'm complaining, I appreciate it when the cooks do each order with TLC instead of mass like fast food (: However if your tummy is growling, do be prepared to wait!

And be prepared not to see different sauces, for we are boring people.



Make that, chilli crab gravy loving people.

Chicken cutlet + chilli crab gravy + spaghetti ($6.90)



Chicken chop + chilli crab gravy + spaghetti ($7.90)

I liked both the chicken chop and chicken cutlet, but if I could afford the extra calories the cutlet brings, I'd go for that. It comes with a packet of mayonnaise, and chicken cutlet + mayonnaise = heaven. Well, heaven if there were no calories to worry about!



FINALLY! Something without chilli crab gravy (:

Chicken chop + japanese curry + fusilli ($7.90)

The chicken chop was tender with juices, and the japanese curry tasted like, well, japanese curry. M said he could make it at home (:



Seaweed drumlets ($3.90), very crispy. Not very salty, which is good, and sprinkled liberally with seaweed bits. Not something I'd exclaim as fantastic though.

PS, the chilli crab gravy is certainly interesting, and yummy at first, till you realise there's some sort of gelatin or starch used to create the gooey texture. This dissolves while you're eating, and then you're eating a very watery sauce. I guess its either a eat fast or don't mind watery sauce after awhile mindset if you choose the chilli crab gravy.



Would I return to satisfy my gastronomical tantrums?

MOST definitely, for the Lychee Oreo Milo ice blend. The food was average only, but I wouldn't mind returning to try other sauces, the price is decent after all. I do wish they had linguine though!

Oh, and the takeaway boxes are so cute (:

Kichn
180 Albert Street
#01-05, Albert Court
http://www.kichn.com/