Ice-cream marathon
So after work, went straight to town to meet up with a few of my favourite-people-on-Earth Geraldine, Jois (HAHAHA :P), Myra, Wenjie and Benji for the ice-cream buffet (yes, supposedly).
It was at Swensen's ION.
But alas, the offer for 1-for-1 ice-cream buffet using the Popular bookstore membership card was over. So a tad bit disappointed (Myra and I had already planned for ice-cream to be our dinner for tonight), we went for dinner.
We couldn't decide on dinner (where to go, what to eat, and etc). Eventually, we thought, we want something cheap. And good (since it's such a rare chance to meet up for dinner).
Guess what? We went to Takashimaya foodcourt.
Wanted to eat the spaghetti at the less-crowded part of the basement food hall. But the spaghetti looked so good, that it's expensive.
So yeah, just settled for the normal foodcourt cuisine.
Here comes the first lesson of the evening:
We were waiting for seats (it's crowded during dinner time) and we finally got it. But the family before us probably separated the tables to suit their family size, and also stacked the plates and bowls up after eating. So when the cleaner auntie came to our table, she was very frustrated. She scolded us then and there that we shouldn't separate the tables whatever way we want and that we should spare a thought for them (not to do so much work).
At first, I felt irritated. Like, why are you scolding us when it was the previous family who did all that?
But as we were listening in on the auntie's conversation with another cleaner uncle, we realised that the cleaners were probably frustrated cos' they had a tough day at work today, and they find it difficult to carry a tray of casually-arranged stack of bowls and plates (in which the contents of the bowls/plates such as gravy or soup might just spill on their clothes if they're not careful).
So what we did after we ate, and I really like this part, was that Myra and I arranged the bowls, plates and utensils and stacked them up neatly, and we poured all the rubbish (chicken skins anyone?) onto a plate so that the stacking is easier and neater.
Thinking back, it was really heart-warming to do that... Just hoped that helped to make their workday a bit easier.
It's also one of those few rare times when I really try understanding another person's feelings and situation from a more positive perspective.
Ok, so anyway, we got our dinners. Turns out, my dinner was the cheapest [egg omelette modanyaki (fried noodles wrapped in egg) at $3.50] and Wenjie's was the most expensive [nasi lemak (or was it ayam?) (white rice cooked with coconut milk + a variety of side dishes such as chicken curry and etc) at $7.50]. XD Foodcourt affairs, HAHA.
After we were done with dinner, we went to the dessrt section of the foodcourt. There was Venezia, Azubo Sabo, Papa Cream (?), and etc.
I was actually deciding on what ice-cream to get, cos' I haven't had Azubo Sabo for a long time (and they came up with a new flavour -- cherry sorbet if I didn't remember the name wrongly; it was really good), the sundae-like ice-cream Jois & Geraldine got (cookies and cream) was really nice, and Venezia's ice-cream gelato had an offer for the month of Aug cos' of National Day (any red + white combination e.g. raspberry + vanilla, strawberry + lemon or watermelon + coconut, is $4.00!).
In the end, I decided I wanted the Venezia offer cos' the rationale was that if I can get satisfied by $4.00, why not? Furthermore, I don't have a lot of money to spare for ice-cream.
So I bought watermelon + coconut.
Geraldine's and Jois' reactions were really funny cos' they thought I was crazy for choosing the coconut flavour. But I was really glad I chose it.
See, the melon tasted refreshing at first, and in contrast, coconut was really bland. But after a while, the watermelon's taste was so overwhelming (and tasted strangely similar to a watermelong sticky candy) that the coconut flavour was the one which was both soothing and refreshing.
By the time G, J and myself were done with the ice-cream, the other 3 still havene't got theirs!
So I gave them a suggestion: the ice-cream vendor on the streets of Orchard. Cos' I found this article from CNNGO that says the 'Top 5 must-try ice-cream in Singapore', and one of them, was the street vendors selling $1.00 ice-cream! XD
Myra was highly amused at that article from CNNGO (the sub-dept of CNN that focuses on Asian news).
So we went out onto the streets, and there the street vendor was, in front of Ngee Ann City, surrounded by a small crowd of people who's queuing for ice-cream to cool down in this sweltering weather.
One of the reasons why the $1.00 ice-cream was listed in the CNNGO article was cos' of the colourful bread that the ice-cream was served with. People can choose either to sandwich their cut-up blocks of ice-cream in between thin rectangular biscuit wafers, a slice of 'rainbow bread', in crsipy waffle cone, or in a plastic cup.
I still remember the joy of eating such a snack on hot afternoons when I was a kid. It's almost as if eating the ice-cream was the greatest happiness I could get out of the heat.
So yeah, anyway, as Myra, Ben and Wenjie were eating, I saw a beggar disabled person selling tissue packets, and really felt I should buy some from him. Someone in our group said that beggars can actually earn up to $3000.00 a month. But since I don't donate every time, so it probably doesn't hurt donating once in a while?
After the 3 of them ate, we continued to walk for a while. And we decided to go to 313... FOR MORE ICE-CREAM! XD
This time round, we ate at Marvelous Cream.
Myra and I shared one regular cup ($5.90). We had the ultimate chocolatey one (*forgots the name*). It was the one with dark chocolate ice-cream, chopped-up chocolate brownie bits, chocolate sauce AND a whole lot of cocoa powder!
Benji and Wenjie shared a hazlenut praline creation. Really good too.
So after Marvelous Cream, WJ and Myra had to go home. So yeah. G and J went to Guardian's, so didn't see them off.
And guess what G and J came up with?
No price for guessing -- MORE ice-cream!
This time from Maggie Moos.
But it's kinda runny...
So after finishing up, we thought, why not walk back to Orchard station (and get the ice-cream digested)?
So we were walking back. And here comes the second lesson of the evening.
As we were walking, Ben was walking behind G, Jois and myself.
Then all of a sudden, "fortune" befell Ben's head. Yup, bird poo.
So after G departed the other way to meet her family for supper, Ben, Jois and I had to rush to a Takashimaya toilet so that Ben can clean himself up.
In retrospect, even though this might appear to be a funny incident, but I actually got the feeling that Heavenly Father knows the bird was gonna pass by at that point of time, and that He sacrificed Ben to protect us the girls.
See, had the bird's poo fell on either of us girls, we wouldn't be able to wash our hair in the public toilet cos' our hair is long and will take long to dry by the hand dryer. Therefore, the situation could have become messier.
And it was already 9.25 by the time we reached Taka. Who would wait for us to dry our hair by the hand dryer when it's closing time?!
So yeah, the lesson learnt here is sacrifice. It may not be convenient, but it might just save a lot of people.
But I guess if I was the one to sacrifice, it would have been hard for me to understand how it helps others too...
But honestly, it was weird and funny trying to express this point to both Ben and Jois cos' it sounded so wrong! XD
So yup, got home safely.
And thinking back, I learnt one more lesson too.
Instead of complaining that things weren't going according to the original plan, why not start thinking of ways to make this change a good change? Cos' I was sort of disappointed that not only did we not get to experience the ice-cream buffet, but we also had to cram for seats at the foodcourt (like, hello, we meet so few a times, can we have something 'nicer' to eat?). But yeah, cos' of everyone's optimism, tonight turned out to be a fun night. :D
Okie dokes, time for the long weekend to start. (:
It was at Swensen's ION.
But alas, the offer for 1-for-1 ice-cream buffet using the Popular bookstore membership card was over. So a tad bit disappointed (Myra and I had already planned for ice-cream to be our dinner for tonight), we went for dinner.
We couldn't decide on dinner (where to go, what to eat, and etc). Eventually, we thought, we want something cheap. And good (since it's such a rare chance to meet up for dinner).
Guess what? We went to Takashimaya foodcourt.
Wanted to eat the spaghetti at the less-crowded part of the basement food hall. But the spaghetti looked so good, that it's expensive.
So yeah, just settled for the normal foodcourt cuisine.
Here comes the first lesson of the evening:
We were waiting for seats (it's crowded during dinner time) and we finally got it. But the family before us probably separated the tables to suit their family size, and also stacked the plates and bowls up after eating. So when the cleaner auntie came to our table, she was very frustrated. She scolded us then and there that we shouldn't separate the tables whatever way we want and that we should spare a thought for them (not to do so much work).
At first, I felt irritated. Like, why are you scolding us when it was the previous family who did all that?
But as we were listening in on the auntie's conversation with another cleaner uncle, we realised that the cleaners were probably frustrated cos' they had a tough day at work today, and they find it difficult to carry a tray of casually-arranged stack of bowls and plates (in which the contents of the bowls/plates such as gravy or soup might just spill on their clothes if they're not careful).
So what we did after we ate, and I really like this part, was that Myra and I arranged the bowls, plates and utensils and stacked them up neatly, and we poured all the rubbish (chicken skins anyone?) onto a plate so that the stacking is easier and neater.
Thinking back, it was really heart-warming to do that... Just hoped that helped to make their workday a bit easier.
It's also one of those few rare times when I really try understanding another person's feelings and situation from a more positive perspective.
Ok, so anyway, we got our dinners. Turns out, my dinner was the cheapest [egg omelette modanyaki (fried noodles wrapped in egg) at $3.50] and Wenjie's was the most expensive [nasi lemak (or was it ayam?) (white rice cooked with coconut milk + a variety of side dishes such as chicken curry and etc) at $7.50]. XD Foodcourt affairs, HAHA.
After we were done with dinner, we went to the dessrt section of the foodcourt. There was Venezia, Azubo Sabo, Papa Cream (?), and etc.
I was actually deciding on what ice-cream to get, cos' I haven't had Azubo Sabo for a long time (and they came up with a new flavour -- cherry sorbet if I didn't remember the name wrongly; it was really good), the sundae-like ice-cream Jois & Geraldine got (cookies and cream) was really nice, and Venezia's ice-cream gelato had an offer for the month of Aug cos' of National Day (any red + white combination e.g. raspberry + vanilla, strawberry + lemon or watermelon + coconut, is $4.00!).
In the end, I decided I wanted the Venezia offer cos' the rationale was that if I can get satisfied by $4.00, why not? Furthermore, I don't have a lot of money to spare for ice-cream.
So I bought watermelon + coconut.
Geraldine's and Jois' reactions were really funny cos' they thought I was crazy for choosing the coconut flavour. But I was really glad I chose it.
See, the melon tasted refreshing at first, and in contrast, coconut was really bland. But after a while, the watermelon's taste was so overwhelming (and tasted strangely similar to a watermelong sticky candy) that the coconut flavour was the one which was both soothing and refreshing.
By the time G, J and myself were done with the ice-cream, the other 3 still havene't got theirs!
So I gave them a suggestion: the ice-cream vendor on the streets of Orchard. Cos' I found this article from CNNGO that says the 'Top 5 must-try ice-cream in Singapore', and one of them, was the street vendors selling $1.00 ice-cream! XD
Myra was highly amused at that article from CNNGO (the sub-dept of CNN that focuses on Asian news).
So we went out onto the streets, and there the street vendor was, in front of Ngee Ann City, surrounded by a small crowd of people who's queuing for ice-cream to cool down in this sweltering weather.
One of the reasons why the $1.00 ice-cream was listed in the CNNGO article was cos' of the colourful bread that the ice-cream was served with. People can choose either to sandwich their cut-up blocks of ice-cream in between thin rectangular biscuit wafers, a slice of 'rainbow bread', in crsipy waffle cone, or in a plastic cup.
I still remember the joy of eating such a snack on hot afternoons when I was a kid. It's almost as if eating the ice-cream was the greatest happiness I could get out of the heat.
So yeah, anyway, as Myra, Ben and Wenjie were eating, I saw a beggar disabled person selling tissue packets, and really felt I should buy some from him. Someone in our group said that beggars can actually earn up to $3000.00 a month. But since I don't donate every time, so it probably doesn't hurt donating once in a while?
After the 3 of them ate, we continued to walk for a while. And we decided to go to 313... FOR MORE ICE-CREAM! XD
This time round, we ate at Marvelous Cream.
Myra and I shared one regular cup ($5.90). We had the ultimate chocolatey one (*forgots the name*). It was the one with dark chocolate ice-cream, chopped-up chocolate brownie bits, chocolate sauce AND a whole lot of cocoa powder!
Benji and Wenjie shared a hazlenut praline creation. Really good too.
So after Marvelous Cream, WJ and Myra had to go home. So yeah. G and J went to Guardian's, so didn't see them off.
And guess what G and J came up with?
No price for guessing -- MORE ice-cream!
This time from Maggie Moos.
But it's kinda runny...
So after finishing up, we thought, why not walk back to Orchard station (and get the ice-cream digested)?
So we were walking back. And here comes the second lesson of the evening.
As we were walking, Ben was walking behind G, Jois and myself.
Then all of a sudden, "fortune" befell Ben's head. Yup, bird poo.
So after G departed the other way to meet her family for supper, Ben, Jois and I had to rush to a Takashimaya toilet so that Ben can clean himself up.
In retrospect, even though this might appear to be a funny incident, but I actually got the feeling that Heavenly Father knows the bird was gonna pass by at that point of time, and that He sacrificed Ben to protect us the girls.
See, had the bird's poo fell on either of us girls, we wouldn't be able to wash our hair in the public toilet cos' our hair is long and will take long to dry by the hand dryer. Therefore, the situation could have become messier.
And it was already 9.25 by the time we reached Taka. Who would wait for us to dry our hair by the hand dryer when it's closing time?!
So yeah, the lesson learnt here is sacrifice. It may not be convenient, but it might just save a lot of people.
But I guess if I was the one to sacrifice, it would have been hard for me to understand how it helps others too...
But honestly, it was weird and funny trying to express this point to both Ben and Jois cos' it sounded so wrong! XD
So yup, got home safely.
And thinking back, I learnt one more lesson too.
Instead of complaining that things weren't going according to the original plan, why not start thinking of ways to make this change a good change? Cos' I was sort of disappointed that not only did we not get to experience the ice-cream buffet, but we also had to cram for seats at the foodcourt (like, hello, we meet so few a times, can we have something 'nicer' to eat?). But yeah, cos' of everyone's optimism, tonight turned out to be a fun night. :D
Okie dokes, time for the long weekend to start. (: