Covering Temp #3 - Eighteen Chefs

Started the morning by having a short chat with Candy and Kam Yoke (originated from Candy's qn as to whether I passed my driving). Thought I would have nothing to do for the morning but end up, I helped Wai Lin go through her application forms. 2 set of 63 application forms made my eyes really tired and my brain totally drained. Wanted to close my eyes so badly just before lunch but luckily, may and wai lin decided to go down to take a look at the durian puffs. They left first leaving me in the office and I decided to just call Jun Xian along. 

 We went down to the 5th floor to have a look after which May queued up to buy durian puffs for us while Wai Lin, Junxian and I headed to the market for lunch. I finally had my Hakka noodles! hehe the aunty gave me my cheese tofu upon request again. Think the 2 aunties can recognize me alr! I am a loyal customer k!

After lunch was back to the office where I left for interview centre almost immediately to help JX set up and guide him at the same time. Went back supposedly to help Malini but she said not so soon.. SO.. i continued with Wai Lin's database before leaving at 245pm to the TV room. Met the scholars ( they were really pretty!) and slack around listening to Sufen before i received an SOS from JX. 

Headed down imm to the interview centre and stayed there afterwards til about 5pm. Luckily it wasn't anything major that went wrong. Clear emails and finish Wai lin's database by 630pm. Wanted to put my head down to rest awhile when..... Suh Huey said the file in the thumbdrive was empty..... Thankfully, the file was saved in the desktop of the laptop she used.

While leaving, Malini said she don't mind joining us if we go somewhere nearby. Thus, Wai Lin, Malini + me headed to Tiong Bahru Plaza's Eighteen Chefs. Have not been here before so it's a whole new experience. We queued for about 20 mins before getting seats...

This is their sides menu. Their sides are rather creative and cheap.

The two of them suggested that I order the student meal which was super worth it! I got to customized my own pasta and the meal includes ice lemon tea and ice cream, all just for the price of $6.40! After adding an extra ingredient (salmon), it cost just $10.90! Plus, for student meal, topping up an ingredient entitle you to one more free ingredient! Super good deal!

When we arrived, this was displayed on a big banner outside. This is their newest additions to the exciting menu they already have. 

 My lemon tea which tasted average. Don't know why but it tasted abit like coffee initially.

 My Creamy Mango Pasta with Mushroom, Salmon and Chicken slices. This is one of the better pastas I have eaten so far. Their creamy mango sauce comes with just right sweetness and fragrant smell of mango. It is not like normal cream sauce where you will feel gelat after awhile. I really love the sauce that i tried to finish all of it. The salmon was not of any inferior quality as what you might get for such a price elsewhere. It was finely grilled and the original sauce of it was retained. Generally, the ingredients and sauce complimented each well and I really liked the whole thing. It is a definite must try for cream lovers!

 This was Wai Lin's grilled chicken pasta. I didn't get to try it but from the picture as seen, they are pretty generous with their portions..

 Malini's Beef with raisin rice. The beef tasted not too bad; the marination was of some standard but the meat was alittle too thick. Malini had some difficult cutting it into smaller pieces which can be quite annoying when all you want to do is enjoy your dinner.

 Malini reconmended this sambal cheese fries. It was delicious when it was piping hot but got alittle gelat when you eat it cold.

 We sat around for awhile to chat and went to the toilet. And then.... Wai Lin thought she lost her phone. so we went back to look for it and the staff happened to find someone else's samsung phone and returned it alr. End: the phone was in her bag. =.= Headed to the mrt and took some photos along the way.

 On the escalator down to the mrt! hahaha. girls can take photos anywhere! I look really shagged though.

Overall, today was quite a good yet tiring day. I had a good chat with Jun Xian and I think I sort of broke the ice already. Looking forward to getting to know him better. Also, the night out with Malini and Wai Lin was also something that made me felt good and I really appreciate their company. Oh and not mentioning, I had a good and fulfilling dinner! =D

Entertaining Forum

Some random person took my photo and put it up on a car forum. When I saw it, I was initially stunned and alittle annoyed by it. As I continued reading, I was really pissed by it but after awhile, I thought it was qutie entertaining. 

So apparently, all these guys were coming up with reasons how I actually passed my test like... I wore hot pants, or maybe I wore nothing.. And cos I mentioned in my blog post that I mounted kerb during warm-up, they were commenting on it as well. So, I replied humbly that I wore a touching-the-ground jeans + polo tee and it is definitely possible to pass with 2 or 0 points. And then, I got this reply where the guy asked if I would like to practice driving using his car. Honestly, I feel this qn is alittle creepy, as if there were some sexual connotations behind. Totally went like wth?!

Then, one of the guy commented that perhaps the tester is my relative. Seriously?? Just so as to answer your qn, I don't have any relatives that are TP testers and don't think there will ever be? Maybe, one day I might get acquainted with a tester and for whatever reasons he make me his god-daughter or whatsoever, I'll let you guys know.

Yes, practice so much still can strike kerb on TP day. Who wouldn't be nervous before a test or exam? And for those of you guys who are interested to know why i striked kerb. First, I was already slightly late due to delayed transport so i was panicking. then, i requested for an old car which took quite some time to arrange, making me more panicky. Lastly, the instructor was asking me so many qns in the car which caused me to lose my concentration. Thus, i forgot to reverse before moving out of parallel parking. 

And the guys started to question my ability to drive. No, I don't have any other stuns other than striking the kerb on TP day. Thanks for reminding me that I have to be extra careful so that I can show people like you that girls can drive well too. 

Okay, then it became personal. The guys were commenting how I looked ugly and bad. With all honesty, I don't think I look pretty but I don't agree that I look bad. Whatever you see on the blog, it's just an ordinary girl leading an extraordinary life. Everyone is pretty in their own ways. I don't have the looks but I don't criticize people as ugly or claiming that they have inabilities due to their gender. 

Some random guy actually said I look bad. Okay fine, I conclude that I am just an average-looking girl. And afterall, what has looks got to do with driving? Because pretty girls who wear sexy pants will have a easier time during test? What logic is that?

This comment was the one I wanted to reply the most. Quite hilarious actually. This guy thought that I am an imposter of the blogger who passed her TP with 2 demerit points. Seriously, who wants to impersonate another person for such minor things? To this guy, kcalina is me. 

This last comment was the funniest comment I saw. 2 demerit points for not checking mirror; I should have checked my make up. Firstly, I don't wear make-up. Yeah I am not good-looking and I DON'T put make up. Criticize for all you want but girls who wears make-up may not be pretty and those who don't wear may not be ugly as well. Secondly, if I were to check the mirror for my makeup, I think the tester would have failed me cos i suck at putting makeup.

Conclusion: to all the guys who think girls can't drive for nuts or that girls can't do well for TP, you're wrong. Girls can absolutely pass their TP test with 2 DP  or even 0, not because they wore some sexy pants, or wear thick make up, or not wearing anything, or because the tester is related to them, or because they look extremely good-looking or any other factors other than skills. Stop looking down on girls because what guys can do, we girls can do a good job as well! Guy who think that girls can't do it, you need to get a life because we are no longer in a masculine-dominated society!

Harry Potter @ Harry's

After visiting my mum at KKH, drove down to meet the Potters at Harry's Bar @ Boat Quay. 

They had already finish their dinner so I just joined them for some chats. Say Hi to Gao Ning-er!

 Since I brought my camera, Gao Ning decided to take photos of the group with it. 

 I was trying to be funny, attempting to get a similar hairstyle as her. 

 Then there was hayden, yuan zhen and ben opp us who tried to be cute......

 Not long before Gao Ning and I went for a walk along the river. Romantic hor? hahaha unofficially my love! ;-)

 Headed back to the bar for alittle while more of chatting before we decided to leave at 11pm. 

 And along the way to the MRT, we decided to cam-whore.... 

 Leonard's pro at zi pai-ing! he managed to get everyone into the photo!

 This is Ben. Say HI!

 And this is Hayden, the 'sui yuan' guy. haha. 

Love the view of the River at night. One day, I just want to take a slow stroll with 'the one' down the river, speaking of all the things we can ever think of and just enjoying the night breeze. =D

Took a train home with Gao Ning <3, Hayden and Leonard and they were teasing me AGAIN. And so, I decided that I will drop all of them an sms after I leave the mrt, which i did! HA! It was a great night to be able to see those familiar faces and chatting with them again. hehe next outing soon. =D

Covering Temp #2

Today was a really busy day. Dad dropped me at office at 840am and before Wai lin came in, I'd already started on her folder. Really like art and craft cutting these small little pieces of papers and pasting it.

Spent the morning constantly receiving work from her. Like really non-stop. Before I could finish one task, she gave me the next one. Really no time to even go to the toilet. Felt I really need a breather for lunch. Originally was packing food back to the office since Wai lin and may wanted to. Thankfully, Melissa msged to say she wanted to have a quick lunch at the canteen. So... I had a good catch-up with her.

After our short lunch was helping may w her interview. I had some short but quality time to catch up with Malini and May.

While back in the office after interview, I thought there were no more undone stuff so I decided to help clear the mails. BUT, I had a little shock when Wai lin told me to not do it and finish her folders instead cos we needed to submit by 5pm. That instance, I was like err, okay. Abit harsh coming from her. But it also prompted me to be more efficient in doing her stuff which led to me really chionging everything. Spent a morning doing up 2 folders and I spent half hour doing one.

I left at about 640pm after ensuring that I cleared all of Wai lin's tasks. Honestly, I left with a rather burdened mind. Looking at all the things I've done for the entire day, I was mentally tired. It's like, there are so much info in my brain that I took along as I was leaving. I got quite frustrated at the things that came afterwards, like when my dad insisted I check google maps. I was really annoyed by things and ppl in the train though I express any action.

But nevertheless, i feel that I brought back alot of new knowledge and skills today. Now as I recall, today has been a day of testing my limits. I think I really pushed myself pretty hard so that I can be more efficient than usual and its really an achievement unlocked. Despite being tired, it has been a good day of being workaholic. =D

Went to visit mum at KKH before going to harry's bar at boat quay to meet Harry potters. Had a not so bad day afterall..

现在就是见证奇迹的时刻... Magic~

After getting my unoffical driving license, I headed home to get my stuff and then to NUS for Econs Camp. 

\

This guy in Orange shirt is actually the camp director, Mitch who happens to be from NYJC too. 

I only started to get to know the people towards the late afternoon and I got paired with Benjamin for running man at utown in the night. It was quite a tiring walk to TH to get my water before walking all the way to utown. What more to come, one full hour of running for our lives! Ben and I had our hands tied together and we were suppose to look for tags while running from catchers as well. I must say we had quite abit of teamwork since we didn't run in separate directions and we did a good job preventing our tags from being stolen even when my phone was in the hands of the catcher and when they were just in front of us. 

Oh the most amazing thing was, I didn't know he is an officer. I actually ran with an officer when I haven't been exercising for the past 1.5years. I find it too amazing myself. haha But luckily, he took quite good care of me by not running super fast. HAHA.  

I shared room with a girl named Rachel in room A318. She was really nice, especially by providing me with all the things I didn't bring! =D

Second day was beach day at Sentosa. I managed to get to know more people in my OG. Didn't go into the waters initially till the 2nd last game. We had to pair up with a guy and the guy is suppose to carry the girl on his back to the shore before collecting water and run back to fill a bottle. I don't know I am lucky or he is lucky, but i was paired with Ben. Was super afraid of falling off but thankfully, I am alright. hehe. 

On the left are photos of our breakfast and lunch while on the right, is the super nice naan and butter chicken that was introduced to us by the seniors.

We all have to take part in the secret partner game and here's introducing my SP for this camp: Yuan Sheng from the yellow team. He will be staying at Angsana College too! so coincidental. 

Overall the camp was pretty alright. But maybe cos I went late, I didn't managed to know everyone. Nevertheless, I had fun! Gonna end off with a pic of my Orientation Group!

HARRY POTTER!

现在就是见证奇迹的时刻.... MAGIC~

Max Brenner

With my spare time yesterday, I decided to meet up with A after lunch with my mum. Sean came along too and it was out first official meeting. A chose Max Brenner cafe which serves really good chocolate. Too bad I can't really take chocolate. 

We ordered a banana spilt waffle and a brownie to share. A had lemon granita while Sean had my favorite Hot White Chocolate. But this is not a good week for chocolate so i refrained from ordering one cup for myself. 

The banana spilt waffle was not too bad. It was served with cereal, vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate, bananas and caramelized nuts. It tasted not too sweet and was just right. The banana was similar to the taste of goreng pisang but higher class type of fried bananas. Overall, it was quite a good selection for tea for those who don't really like stuff that are too sweet. I can only say the caramelized nuts were the only ones that was alittle too sweet. But, its CARAMELIZED after all right? haha. 

So anyway, Sean is a really nice guy. He took the initiative to take a photo for us. Unfortunately, this woman here was not satisfied and decided that we shall camwhore using her iphone. Took this one and only photo though. haha. We sat there and talked for always 2 hours before leaving at 530pm! But it was a good catch-up with good food. =D

Covering Temp #1

Back to EASR today till next friday. Just an attempt to have some fun at this familiar place again. So.... I started wearing the new clothes i bought from bangkok. 

This two piece top cost me about $8 and it was super worth it. The outer layer was quite thick (but not too thick) and kept me pretty warm in the office. I quite like how it looks like i have wings when I lift up my hands. 

And this is the total shagness after my 'first day' in a new position called Covering Temp. 

Oh and I met the new guy temp today. Heard he can be quite nonsense and funny. But, he wasn't as friendly as I expected but nevermind, I shall try harder to break the ice soon. 

The morning wasn't all too good as I was really cold in the train, my nose was blocked and I didn't register that a pregnant lady was in front of me which led to an old lady telling me to give up my seat. My voice sucks too, sounding so hoarse. I reached office at 825am with only Kam Yoke in the office and she said I sound and look like I just woke up.... But thankfully, when Wai Lin came into office.... hohoho, managed to hyped me up abit. Candy and Melissa was discussing how I am smart to earn extra money during this short period of free time I have and how I officially became a covering temp. 

Lunch was not too bad. Joseleen and Wai Lin brought me to a coffeeshop where i supposedly haven been there before. It was just as if it really was my first day. Wai Lin was still joking about how I may become her boss in future and I know all her secrets. And,what if i make her stay back to finish work just because she always unintentionally made me stay back late.It was really hilarious with all her acting. She was also commenting on how it really felt like my first day: hungry at 11+, nap time, hungry again at 4+ just like my first days previously. 

I thought I won't have things to do after lunch but, I was wrong. Just when I said i don't know what to do, there came a whole chain of wai lin's tasks. From calling candidates to preparing blue forms, VRS, calling up scholars and doing up interview schedules to preparing the folders for thurs. I worked all the way till abot 630pm before leaving. Despite all the work, I was actually very happy to do it. 

Perhaps, going back again is different from the first time. The whole feeling in general, feels very different. I can't exactly describe the feeling but it's like, you are new but you are not. And half of me is in holiday mood while the other is in working mood. What you get out of it is actually a very fun working experience. 

Generally, I forsee that this 9 days is no longer stress but just plainly enjoying myself. Just had a little epiphany that maybe, doing my tasks there may be what actually makes me happy. People ask why do i not want to go out and play instead of working. Maybe, just maybe, working is the type of playing for me. At least I am doing what I like and enjoy. 

Look forward to more Covering Temp entries the next few days!

The Handburger

Headed to NUS for my QET test before meeting my mum and Delynn for lunch. They brought me to the Handburger at Somerset and the food there was pretty good.

Delynn and I ordered the set for 2 persons. I tried the pulled pork burger while she took on The Handburger Original. Our meal comes with 1 Caesar salad and 1 fries along with 2 drinks and one dessert. My mum decided on her favorite duck confit burger which tasted not too bad as well.

Delynn's burger consisted of a NZ prime beef where she could decide on how the beef was to be done. It tasted really tender but we felt that the marination wasn't that good.There's something that was lacking. But considering one of the top notch beef they serve for only the price of $13.80, it is definitely worth the try.

photo credits to www.thehandburger.com

Mum's duck confit burger was amazingly good as well as you could taste the tenderness of the duck peeled to just the right size with a extra tinge of orange sauce. This burger is finely priced at $16.80.

photo credits to www.thehandburger.com

My Pulled pork burger was refreshing. The pork was really soft and rich in taste. The tomato in between the meat and bread had a particularly sweet touch which I really liked. The bread is something you can just eat it on its own and still taste great! This great dish is available for only $12.80!



Generally it is a place worth trying as the food isn't that pricey and they serve good quality food.

For more information on their menu, pricing and location, you can visit www.thehandburger.com