makan mumbai.
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8 of us went to eat at makan mumbai, an indian restaurant near our office, i thought it would be briyani once more, thank god that we ordered different dishes that i actually like. it somehow reminded me of prince of jaipur back in the fort, that food was good, and it was not very expensive. for 8 of us, we paid $96 in total.


spinach with ricotta cheese


buttered chicken


chicken masala


garlic naan

garlic naan would be my favorite, its just fresh and really tasty. chiro and satya had this ginger tea of some sort, an indian drink, but i had coke light. i dont think i can take the ginger tea, it would be a little too much for me.

free.
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getting a free cup of coffee is always amazing. thanks S!


tully's cappucino.

privileged.
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i feel very privileged. thank you very much!

hiking @ macritchie
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can you imagine, i had to wake up @ 7am last sunday to go hiking with friends!!! nah, it was not too bad, i had a lot of fun actually. it was something i have never done before, and it was just great feeling after. we hiked/walked for around 3 hours, about 12km in distance. i just felt really good afterwards, i was perspiring like crazy, and i like that.


view from the tree top, you can see the rest of the reservoir.


while walking on the bridge.


this is such a beautiful scenery.


we are all set for the hike.


beautiful butterflies around. i saw a turtle, monkey opening an isolated bag, and some lizard.

after the hike, we all took a cab to holland village, and had lunch there at around 1.30pm. i can't wait to explore some other reservoirs in the future, this is a part of my goals for 2009 - i have to explore and go out of my comfort zone.

oh, we are set to play badminton this saturday, 7-10pm. YAY!

valentine's weekend part 2.
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so we were all set to go out last friday, i was definitely in because of all the stress i am getting from work, i had to go out. it seems that going out and having a drink is the new solution for me when i get stressed, and it is becoming very apparent lately. HAHA! again, i have to remind myself of my new motto, life is a party.


friday night out started @ 5pm, when sarah handed me over TIGER beer from the office. satya had tiger too, while sid and sarah had heineken. we went over to her place first to chill and drink a few more bottles of beer. her place is fantastic, i love it.


it took us a while to get a table so we went to get coke-rum first @ wali-wali. had dinner @ a mexican restaurant in holland village. for drinks we had margarita. please dont ever go to cha cha cha, they suck, big time.


after this we all went to hacienda, cause we heard there will be a good DJ playing there, but unfortunately, it wasn't really good. me, nate and sid @ hacienda in dempsey, our 3rd stop for the night.


sarah and i having champage, and drinking like shit. HAHA!


helen and satya were there too.


i ordered a mojito after my champagne.


pat and kristine joined us in hacienda after drinking 2 buckets of beer in far east.

after which, we went to party in attica, there were just 4 of us left - helen, sid, satya and me. after 2 rounds of drink, coke-rum, and a little bit of dancing, we decided to leave and grab some breakfast.


our early breakfast, went to mc donalds clark quay @ 4am. i had my last drink for the night or morning, iced milo.

--

i am just dreaming to be in back in HONG KONG. please please please.

french toast ala mode.
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i went hiking last sunday, i'll post more on my weekend activity later. but, i have to share with you what i made yesterday afternoon. after watching ugly betty, and gossip girl endlessly, i felt hungry, and made this.


while frying the bread, with a mix of egg and milk.


the finished product - i topped it with my favorite ice cream, B&J's new york superfudge chunk.

yes.

valentine's weekend.
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so while everyone is making such a big deal about valentine's, i will be at home tomorrow, resting. HAHA! i will definitely not participate in this marketing ploy. do i sound bitter? actually no. i have some plans as well, i'll be out tonight with my office friends - we are having mexican dinner and drinks at dempsey tonight - am planning to really have a good night - eat good food, celebrate the weekend, and get a bit wasted (this week was so painful for me - you will never imagine). we didn't want to go out tomorrow, because am sure that everyone will be out celebrating, it will be such a headache, especially knowing how small singapore is.

i might entertain tracy and cheryl's invitation though for dinner, but i'd really rather rest - i need to watch movies, series, etc. also, we are planning to hike and kayak on sunday morning at macritchie reservoir. its the first time am gonna do that, and 5 of my office friends will join me on sunday morning, 9am. so i have to rest well tomorrow to prepare.

funny thing is mom and dad will be going on a date with their friends. i think they are watching some concert, i don't know if its ai-ai's concert, and dinner at manila hotel. it's good actually that they would celebrate valentine's - its cute. anyway, the story is, i was telling my mom that i love this watch (i won't name the brand) and i want to get it, and i was making pa-cute for her to buy it for me. you'll never know, she might just say yes. actually she said yes, but there's this condition, i have to introduce my girlfriend to her. well, nett, i think i'd rather buy my own then. ;)

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happy valentine's to everyone. may the love be there everyday and not just tomorrow.

bintan, indonesia feb 2009.
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some of my favorite pictures from bintan, indonesia. for more pictures, visit my multiply account.


i read the last few parts the whole afternoon, thats why i didn't get to swim much. but its all worth it.


we ordered drinks, and stayed at this really cozy place by the beach.


saturday night, a band was playing. not the best singers, but what else can we do... just enjoyed ourselves.


sunset, my favorite picture.


walking around the wide stretch of sand.

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ho-hum.

obee back in SG.
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we celebrated che's birthday yesterday at Holland V. i joined them for some drinks cause i wasn't able to make it for dinner, as i was looking for che's birthday present. HAHA! i was successful and found items that she really likes, anyway, franco and obee was there with che, trace had some office affair. so, there.

after dinner, kwento lang kami ng kwento, and then obee showed us the treasures she was able to get from her trip.


trying her new max azria dress and michael korrs jacket. the max azria dress is actually from europe and it costs a bomb. while the michael korrs jacket was from vietnam, she got it for Php1,200. cool right?


so proud of her new dress. she was saying that she can wear it for weddings. with the cost, i think she should wear it on her wedding day.


camwhoring at tracy's room, we stayed up till 2am, so thats why am super sleepy now.


a gift from obee, she got this in rome last week. i actually asked her to get me something like this from her last trip, pero she wasn't able to get me one. now i have na. i have this necklace that has a lot of charms in it - people who gave me pendants, and some that i bought on my own. so i really like it.

we are off to bintan tomorrow, to celebrate part 2 of che's birthday. HAHA!

on the bookdar. (book radar)
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so after reading "love in the time of cholera" and "the god of small things", i moved on to read "the kite runner" - i am not even halfway done with the book, but it is turning out to be one of the best books i have ever read. i would read it at night before i sleep, and in the train, on the way to work.

last night while reading the book, i felt depressed and sad. i am that much affected and involved. and when people see me with the book (officemates basically), they would comment on how good the book is.

i went to kinokuniya last weekend and was browsing through different titles. you could leave me alone and i could get lost in there for a day. i love bookstores, it gives you a feeling that you are safe at home, and that no one is rushing you. even back in manila, i would go to national bookstore in quezon ave and just browse through books, i love national there because its just spacious and well-lit. i also like national bookstore in podium, page one in HK, and kinokuniya in bugis/taka.

i still have a few books stuck in my room from gabriel garcia marquez and paulo coelho. i'll read them once i'm done, but am looking forward to these 3 titles:


this is actually a japanese novel, turned into a movie and a series. it was a hit in japan, and i don't really know if i will like it, but am certainly intrigued. i remember reading "the melting of ice cream girl" borrowed from kaye, and i enjoyed it. it feels like this book will give me the same high.


this book i have heard before, but i am not really aware of the plot, it's better that way, there is a bit of surprise for me.


same author as the kite runner, so i might like it. i like how the author would write in such a simple way yet convey so much emotions.

books are more expensive here in sg, thats why i usually buy them from manila. mom says that she will ask my brother to bring me these books in may, but ang tagal pa. i think i wont be able to wait and just buy those books.

--

sarah is addicted to twilight series, i lent her my books. ;)

post birthday post.
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you have to bear with me, as this birthday posts has been happening for the last few weeks, am sorry, but i just want to document everything in this blog, its my blog anyway. HAHAHA!


office people bought me a cake and presents as well. the gift was actually helen's idea, as she said that i dont really wear formal clothes. yes, i hate wearing them, i feel so uncomfortable with formal attires, so it is really an effort for me. but, thanks anyway, i got 2 polo's from RAOUL.


carmen treated me for dinner last monday, we had dinner at STAMFORD HOUSE, the japanese curry restaurant. and we both ordered root beer float, it is lovely.


i adore the people i work with from the local market - singapore to be more precise, i have a good working relationship with them and everything just seems to be in order. they sent me a strudel which was surprisingly good, it has apples and cream, so its better than the RITZ one, where its all fruits.

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since helen said that i don't wear formal attire in the office, i went in looking like this. its formal, but i believe that its not so boring as how some people might be. HAHAHA! but take note that i am wearing jeans and my ted baker shoes in white. i have a meeting later so i cannot wear round neck shirt like how i used to.


oh, i dont have the eye glass though, i just played with it while helen took a picture of me, and no, i didn't really button all the way up.


channeling a more nerdy look, its one look i love. HAHA!

i hate paulo...
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...for posting this in his blog and sending me the link for the USA store. i really like it, i can use it for both casual and formal wear - or am i just trying to rationalize things too much.


it costs US$100, and with shipping charges of $53, i would need to pay a total of US$153.

is it worth it? paulo, are you getting one?