Not the usual friday...

BECAUSE its PAYDAY!!!

Ever since coming to china, i can pretty much afford everything i want to buy. i do say no occasionally, but tht usually relates to the "shall i buy 2 or 3 pairs" "or do i need a black, blue AND red one?".

Anyway, here's my splurge for the day. (i was taking pictures of these shoes in the office i think my colleagues thot i was crazy, but dun care la its friday and its after 6pm)...

Coincidetally, i was surfing people.com and i chanced upon their latest SHOE Trend for winter and guess wht!! so happening. he he...

Green...

...is women's most hated colour.

Unless u're a WAG (Wives and Girlfriends of soccer stars), u've most probably been subjected to gazing at the green screen for more than you can stand. Reason why WAGs put up with it is because their husband/bfs are ACTUALLY playing, women need motivation to do something this meaningless, so don't blame us if we swoon over Fabien Barthez a little too much.

Thankfully, Lester doesn't watch soccer. But he puts me through another kind of misery... POOL. Last night, i watched close to 3 hrs of it...I started snapping pictures. But a load of them are crap.

Anyway, here's one of jackson. Looks like a pro... But actually he is quite bad. HA HA sorry.

Ready for Winter!

Today, Shanghai is 6 to 13 degrees. We're officially into Winter, no more twenties for us.

I feel all sluggish in winter, the blood moves slower, the limbs are less agile, and the weight of the clothes don't help. I wrap myself in wool blanket and i wear wool socks at home. Mingyen actually bought for fun for the girls, somehow i really like it cos it keeps my feet warm, so i bought 2 more.

Can u see, got little anti-slip dots at the bottom. hee hee so cute. SGD2 only!

Anyway, so here i am, in a cab on my way to work. I found this beanie from 10 years ago, got it when i went to New Zealand. I remember then my mom bought me a full set of grandma looking winter wear tht had kiwi prints on it. The rebel i was then used wtever money i had to get myself a new set from the surf shop.

My fingerless gloves and my Dark Purple tights with black suede boots.

Tada, Starbucks christmas cup! its so lovely... I love gg to starbucks in the morning cos the people are so smiley. The winter deco is also very nice, plus u get to do lucky draws, so far i've won 3 free cups of toffee nut latte. TEE HEE....
If u've read my previous entries, u'll also know tht every morning i look forward to finding a name tht makes me laugh. I got a new one, AKILA (man). One day i must take pictures of these people to prove tht i'm not bluffing.

MDA Rap

Can u imagine ur mom rapping instead of nagging? I can't decide which is more effective...
My favourite is the IT guy...

my campy nails

i went to get myself gel acrylic nails yesterday... I don't know what made me do it but i just felt like i needed to be different.

Its actually very short for fake nails, but i just can't get it any longer. as it is, i'm already struggling to type on my laptop. But i kinda like staring at them. i think i can get used to it.



It actually looks pretty scary and thick from the side.

The Interns... Goodbye

The wonderful interns bid their farewell... 2.5 months passed by too quickly!

Les and I wish them all the best in their future endeavours, hope they've acheived what they came for. Keep in touch!

How to Eat Hairy Crabs....

I had this unstoppable craving for Hairy Crabs today. it's all i could think about after i had my lunch.. I love crabs, i love the process of eating crabs even more. I hate the pincers cos they are no challenge to eat. And I like to get into the legs and dig out the meat in one full sweep.

Lester was sweet enough to do the research and brought me to this place called Xiao Nan Guo so i could have my fill (if not i'll keep nagging about it). The restaurant is located quite near home, within the oldest hotel in Shanghai called the Ruijin Hotel. I need to gush about that place another day. Let me get back to crabs.


Now... unlike back home where crabs are served chopped up and ready to eat, Hairy Crabs are served whole. So u gotta know how to pull it apart to get the good stuff.


Top View of Crab

Front View of Crab - u gotta ignore the eyes. It bores into me and makes me guilty... NOT. Check out the hairy pincers, the black thing. Thts why its called Hairy Crab.



I wanted to take a picture with my pet Gary, Gary the Hairy...(inside joke with Ming Yen)

Step 1: Remove the Apron...Its basically that piece of flap on the underneath of the crab. It gets seriously gross at this point but just get over it by focusing on the roe...

Step 2: Remove the top shell... Roe Roe Roe...

Step 3: Remove the gills and start EATing the ROe! Basically after this step, u can eat it however u like. Leg first, body first, top shell first. Oh and remember to dip in vinegar!


As you can see. I am very willing to be unglamourous for the sake of hairy crabs.

Satisfaction guaranteed...

Last step, Wipe ur hands and mouth!

shaved noodle

Heather u asked me what shaved noodle was. Tada!

Its basically noodles carved out from a lump of dough... its mighty delicious. Especially with the spicy beef soup. Grow so fat eating this everyday. When u come i bring u. This restaurant also serves very nice chinese wraps. Like lean beef+cucumber+springonion+sweet sauce wrapped in floury thin popiah skin.

Portraits of Lester

Just a casual dinner along taikang lu one weeknight, we were at Ginger cafe, hippie fusion type restaurant ... snap snap snap as usual. As Nancy would put it, So Handsome.... (Nancy is our ex-intern)PS: Lester's really shy about me posting this. NOT.

weekend! (ugh... actually i shdn't be so excited cos its monday now)

Weekend came and went... We did a bit of everything, explored the city together, spent some time apart - i went to meet my friends and he went to do his stuff, we also watched practically an entire season of The Office.

We went to the Bridges for brunch... Its actually two buldings joined together by a bridge, hence the name. SH is becoming seriously cold really early. Its about 9 to 12 degrees over the weekend. We are almost in full winter gear already.

1) El Cid Spanish Restaurant

It's so cold, obviously we opted for indoors. But would have been nice to hang here 3 weeks ago.

I look so cool. i love my AWAS beanie.

Each tapas is about 30-40 RMB, but the food is just so lovely.

Chicken Paella

Grilled Mushrooms with Vegetable Stew (this is my favourite dish i'm salivating thinking about it now...)

Spanish Omelette (i am bit disappointed with this, i've had better)

2) HEC

We also went to this Hotelware warehouse called HEC. It was quite an interesting trip. We saw things we never thought we could buy. Like those industrial wastebins, extra large woks etc.

Can even buy the chef suit... Lester is curious about the anatomy of a female mannequin.

Super huge ladel... Its a weapon. I look like i'm selling it... "you can use it to scoop up monkey's brains and it'll remain intact"

This is super cute. Corn Holders in the shape of a pig. So random! Its the type of thing i wanna buy when i see, but then i don't cos i figured owning this will not vastly improve my life, or make it easier.

Large Chopping boards... i imagine for butchers.

The rest of the time in-between was spend watching The Office, which by the way deserves all the golden globes or emmy's they've got. Steve Carrel isn't the only star of the show, Rainn Wilson-who plays the character Dwight Schrute is also incredibly talented. I started the show really hating him, but then slowly i realised tht i enjoy his segments the most. The Schrute has a fan, he'll be pleased.

Here are some memorable quotes...

Dwight: Whenever I'm about to do something, I think “would an idiot do that?” and if they would, I do not do that thing.

Dwight: Here’s my card. It's got my cell number, my pager number, my home number and my other pager number. I never take vacations, I never get sick and I don't celebrate any major holidays.

Dwight: I am fast. To give you a reference point I am somewhere between a snake and a mongoose…and a panther.

Spice Girls Return! YESH!

I really can't wait to hear more from the famous 5. All of them have evolved from their personas then (Posh, Ginger, Scary, Sporty, Baby), to 5 very different individuals today. Yet you still feel the bond that binds them together. Its something special that is quite difficult to explain, girls just have a different friendship from men. And i believe that's what make them different from a Take That or a Backstreet Boy's comeback.

And this is their latest video called Friendship Never Ends. I don't get why Ginger and MelB are swishing around flexing in their Bras. But man... u ain't a spice girl if u don't show some skin.





Advertisers are already milking it. This is a really funny tesco ad. i love celeb commercials.



I know lester will not approve but WHO CARES... i love spice girls.

Lester's folks

Lester's parents came to town for a week...

We did so much, and surprisingly alot of firsts for us as well.

1) Went to make QiPao at a really expensive place recommended by a friend. Its really worth the money because the cutting is so complementing. Think I'm gonna make one for wedding too...

2) Went to see the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe performance. Pictures i've already shared..

3) Went to YangCheng Lake and had hairy crabs. Loveliest things on earth... U just steam it, dab a bit of vinegar. Apparently u're supposed to eat 2 each time, 1 male 1 female (dunno why but man i really don't mind!)

This is where they are bred... all the males in 1 cage, female in another. As you can see they are all upside down near the cage exit, waiting for the right opportunity to escape D-day... i normally would feel bad for such creatures (like Mr Seabass), but i don't know why this time around i have no feeling for them crabs.

GUILTY LOOK... NOT....My fingers are disgustingly stained by the crab crap. But its all finger linking good.

This picture of Uncle very funny, he like talking to the crab. Ground control to Sebastian...

4) Played Singapore Style Mahjong! This was the highlight of the trip really. Uncle is so good at mahjong, he knows he is about to HU even before he HU. And also don't underestimate Auntie cos she wins all our fake money. Les and I lost 4 nights in a row.

Overall, the trip went pretty well. It was quite sad to see them both return to singapore. The house is suddenly quiet, and Auntie won't be around to look after my plants anymore. They were surviving so well under her care- the basil plant blossomed with flowers, and the christmas tree is no longer crooked.

here's more pictures of us...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29987&l=1904b&id=611135984

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29318&l=4dd4d&id=611135984

Chinese and their names Post Script

I found a really good one this morning.

Again from starbucks... i'm gonna look at all their name tags from now on, just some private entertainment for myself.

Rocky 王 As in Rocky King... super corny!

Ohya Jen, the Money guy was a winner, and he works in a bank, how appropriate...Actually i remember your birthday because Heather proclaimed it on her MSN. har har.

Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe

If you haven't already, i strongly suggest catching this. Its worth every penny...

Cost: RMB 200 per head
Venue: Portman Ritz Carlton
Duration: 1.5 hrs of gasping

Here's a quick preview of the acts.

I called it the Balancing Contortionist ... U know how usually the contortionist just contorts, this one balances as well.


Flying Dramatic Duo. This is one of my favourites. A bit of drama coupled with gravity (and death) defying acts. Sorry the picture's a bit blur. Its a bit hard to catch the action when they are in mid-air.



Managed to record a video of one of the acts. I shd have been on video mode earlier. But then again if i do then there's no reason for you to go see them. I call this the Ong Bak act.







Okay lastly, the multiple handstand but on stacked chairs act...

Won't be surprise if some of these actors were potential Olympics Gymnasts, or dropouts for that matter.

Anyways, Lester's parents are in town for the week. We've been taking them around. Its been fun, will post more pictures of their trip once i get the time.