66 Days!
All of a sudden we are almost 2 months left to our wedding.. Time seems to be really flying ;x and yet it seems we still have a handful of things not done >_<
Wedding Preprations
①Actual Day Itinerary is still not finalized. Today is a public holiday so 彼 will come over and we will look through and discuss it. I just sent it out to Hime, Hidemi and Amanda to help me check as well, and they have given valuable feedback, so will be putting them into the Itinerary.
②We went down to CangAi and did our Gown/Suit selection on last Friday! My coordinator Jia Ying was really nice and good at picking out gowns that suit my body shape.I think I went though about 8 white gowns and at least 10 colored gowns before deciding on what I wanted. It was a tough decision because they were all so pretty. In the end, we chose a beautiful strapless white sweetheart, lace and tulle ball gown with a long train for the wedding gown, and a dark blue ballgown with a sparkly beaded corset top. Also chose a nice modern kua for the tea ceremony. 彼 picked a white suit to match my white gown, and a grey suit to match the dark blue gown. He's still thinking to get another tailored suit, we'll see how it goes.
I selected my bridal bouquet!
The one on the right 1644B is my first choice. I love the mix of colors and chose this because of the lilies and the little blue flowers. The one on the left 1643B is my 2nd choice in case lilies are not available during my wedding period. It is a lovely mix of pink and blue. The day before our wedding, 彼 will head down to CangAi with the bridal car to get the car decorated and collect my bridal bouquet and corsages for himself and our parents for the banquet. He will pass me the bridal bouquet after the gatecrash.
③We went for food tasting at Peony Jade on Monday evening! It is the second time my parents meet his parents. Slightly awkwardness initially until everyone started chatting more comfotably. The food was awesome! It is an 8 course Chinese meal. The first dish, a combination platter of mixed canopes, is not served for food tasting. 彼 and I wont have much time to really taste and enjoy the food on the actual day because we would be busy going around mingling and taking photos, so this would be pretty much my only chance to taste and enjoy the food.
Chinese Wedding's 8 course usually follows the order
1st Dish: Combination platter, served cold - not served for food tasting
2nd Dish: Seafood
3rd Dish: Soup/Broth
4th Dish: Fish
5th Dish: Vegetables
6th Dish: Poultry and Meat
7th Dish: Rice/Noodles
8th Dish: Dessert
For food tasting, beforehand, we were given a menu, where we could choose 1 from the 3 choices for each Dish.
For 2nd Dish (Seafood), we tried their Peony Jade's Signature Sauteed Fresh Prawns with Shaved Black Truffles, Walnuts and Seasonal Greens.
The prawn was fresh and huge but the truffle taste wasn't very strong. The greens and walnut was awesome. But we had som concerns that the dish itself didn't look very pretty and some guests may not enjoy truffle.
For 3rd Dish(Soup/Broth), we had Double-boiled Sea Conch Consomme with Golden Canpoy and Fa-Gao(fish collagen)
The clear soup was really nice and the chicken was soft and tender. We were abit concerned as thicker broths are usually served for dinner banquets.
For 4th Dish(Fish), we had Steamed 'Soon Hock' Fish "Hong Kong" Style with Japanese Shoyu Broth & glazed with Fragrant Oil.
This was a nice hit and very good.
5th Dish(Vegetables) is Braised Tender Duets Seasonal Greens with Australian 2-Head Abalone.
This was super tasty. The abalone and mushroom were just dripping with juices. The brocolli was crunchy and there were spinach hidden under the abalone and mushrooms.
6th Dish(Poultry) was Peony Jade's Signature Crispy Roast Duck with Fruitti Sauce.
I loved this though 彼 and some of the family felt it was abit tough... but I honestly loved it alot, especially when dipped with the sauce. So we're sticking to it.
7th Dish(Rice/Noodles), we chose their Golden Fried Rice with Crabmea, Egg White and Golden Conpoy.
Very simple but fragrant fried rice!
Around here we were reviewing our choices, and the manager suggested that for those we had concerns with, such as the prawns and soup, we could order a small portion of the other avaliable choices! We were super full at this point, but to make sure our guests get the best experience, we decided to try their other prawn and soup options. Best of all, at the end of the evening, they actually waived the charges for extra portions we ordered! I cant say how much I love their service.
Prawns in Two Styles (Wasabi Prawn & Salted Egg Prawn).
I had wanted this originally but 彼 was concered about the wasabi. We tasted it and it was super mild and very tasty! The presentation was also very nice (no that nice in this photo) because of the bright colors. We immediately agreed to change our 2nd dish(prawn) to this instead of the truffle prawns.
Braised Premium Abalone Four Treasures Soup.
There were 3 choices, with the last one being Shark's Fin. I love fake Shark's Fin but I think the ones served at Peony are real, so I decided to forego that and tried their Abalone soup instead. It looked pretty, but tasted so-so. We decided to stick to our original choice of clear soup.
Lastly, 8th Dish(Dessert) Clear Sweetened Eight Treasures Cheng T'ng
I love Cheng T'ng so this was definitely one of my favorite choices. Served cold it was a nice and refreshing drink at the end of the banquet. We also picked our wedding favors for guests. It is going to be a very friendly, usable item that people can actually use, so I think guests will like it. Sadly I forgot to take a photo of it.
Overall it was a great experience and I'm definitely looking forward to our wedding banquet there.
Mid-autumn 中秋 is coming up, so restaurants and bakeries are starting to sell mooncakes!
Peony Jade was selling this 猫山王 durian mooncake. It was freaky ex at SGD25 each, but 彼 decided to buy some to try, so we got 1 for his family and 1 for mine. I liked it personally, but at the price, it is probably cheaper to buy the 猫山王 durian itself lol
④We collected our wedding invitation cards. The inserts are printed separately so we will have to put them in ourselves. We might need to order more depending on how many people my parents invite. At current count we have about 17 tables (10pax).
⑤Make-up trial with my MUA this Saturday. Also to arrange MUAs with her for my mom and 彼's mom
小小的幸福
Mom and Dad decided to buy a doggy pram for Yuki. They decided on it after seeing so many dog owners having one. It is useful because hawker centers and kopitiams in Singapore generally do not allow pets, but if we put them in the pram, management and other visitors are ok with it. Mom selected the sweet pink that matches Yuki really nice. So with this, now Mom and Dad can bring Yuki out with them in her pram when they go for breakfast at the nearby hawker center/kopitiam and stay to chat with friends.
Painting!
We repainted the house on Sunday! Dad hired two professional painters to help paint. They brought their own brushes and gear while Dad bought the paint and plastic sheets etc. For us it wasn't that much painting but packing our stuff away and moving the big furnitures away from the walls. The paint dried really fast and is almost odourless. I miss the smell of fresh paint ;x We painted back the same color so it doesnt look much different except the new paint is shinier, and now the wall definitely looks cleaner and newer.
More Food
Farewell meal for De, who just had her last day on Tuesday. Kind of sad that I'm about to join her team from 1st September... but she wont be around any more... but I'm still glad for her. With her capabilities, I'm confident she can do well in any company. We had lunch at a cafe, The Tiramisu Hero. Tried their lunch set which was truffle salmon cold pasta. It was really nice. After that, we dropped by Creamery Boutique to try their cookie and ice-cream which was fabulous.
Laksa and Curry Chicken from the kopitiam downstairs. Color are similar but taste so different, and both are equally good~
I finally got to drink my beloved Gong Cha again! They closed down about a year ago, but are now reappearing in Singapore~ XD