Many things to be thankful for

Bliss

We were having egg tarts for breakfast this morning, (courtesy of Jamie. Thank you!) and he whined,

"Oh B, we're gonna grow fat together."

I'm so excited, I can't wait.

Weekend at Batam - Turi Beach Resort Review

It's my first trip to Batam! Going to upload just photos first before I sit down and craft a proper post about my visit to Turi Beach Resort last weekend!

Welcome drinks while queueing to check-in. Chilled ginger tea, which I found surprisingly tasty.

Full activities list available at Turi Beach, along with price!

Pathway from the lobby to the guest rooms.

What a nice touch to welcome guests to their rooms - but otherwise, no real purpose haha.

First sight of our room! We had to pay an extra $25/night (for Fri & Sat nights) in order to upgrade from 2 single beds to a kingsize bed. :(

A very spacious toilet, along with an egg-shaped basin which I actually found quite small.

And a little balcony corner outside each guest room to chill (with wine? :D) and just watch the view.

Us while doing a quick recce at the beach. It was super windy (check out Tim's wind-blown hair) and it rained shortly after. So we proceeded  to grab cab to Nagoya Hills for lunch and spent our day there.

It cost us 130,000 Rupiah (approx $13.80 SGD) to get a one-way cab ride from Turi Beach Resort to Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre. The resort receptionist also told us this price so we took it as a base. Not sure if it's accurate but the ride was between 30 - 45min so I thought it was pretty okay.

Exterior of Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre

Things to do at Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre?

To be honest, there is nothing really interesting there if you came to Batam for a beach retreat. It's almost like your average Singapore neighbourhood mall which sells cheap, daily necessities. We did however, venture into their Hypermart (located at the basement) and spent at least a good hour there shopping for mega cheap household necessities. Timmy and I probably bought at least 6 haircare products hahaha.

Nagoya Hills Shopping Centre has a food street at the exterior ground level, and lunch was at Warung Cobain - a traditional Indonesia grill place.

Greedy boy starting to eat even before I get to shoot a picture.

This meal of rice, Lele Goreng (Deep-fried catfish), Ikan Bakar Millenium (Herb-marinated fish wrapped in aluminium foil), Karedok (Cold, mixed raw vegetable in peanut sauce - yummy!), Avocado juice & Iced tea cost us 100,000 rupiah (approx $10.60 SGD). Cheap-cheap!

Next up - Massage!

We headed to Isabella Spa & Massage, located outside of the main shopping centre building complex. Strangely, they have a sign that says Majesty Spa &  Massage inside the lobby - maybe in the midst of rebranding?

Anyway, you will be able to see a pink neon sign that says 'Isabella Massage' and they have actually relocated, but not too far away. It's quite near this Sakura Hotel (This was not the one we went too! Just use it as a landmark reference.) Bleah, apologies for the lousy photo quality.

We took up a couple package for Isabella Massage: 3 hours for a body scrub, body massage and ear candling for 1,000,000 Rupiah (approx $106 SGD).

Ok, this might sound like a bomb to blow for some but we thought it was really worth it. Why? Because they were also giving us a free transport ride back to our resort (At least $13 needed to be set aside here for the cab fare. And, we pre-empted that cab drivers would charge us more since we were heading back at night)

And, they were going to send us to a seafood dinner place (along with a 10% discount coupon for the meal).

So, $53 for 3 hours would mean $17+ per hour of massage? Inclusive of our (45-min long) ride back to our resort? Worth it!

All in all, it was a pretty good trip! :D

Brunch at Blackbird Cafe

It's almost a ritual for us to catch a movie every weekend, sometimes with the boys.

We decided to work in brunch before our movie last weekend, and did so at Blackbird Cafe near The Cathay.

Jamie ordered the Croque Monsieur ($14.80) - Oven baked brioche with bechamel, ham and gruyere cheese, served with mixed greens.

According to him, it's basically ham & cheese sandwich done French style. I must say, his description is much easier to comprehend haha. I stole a bite off his plate and the sandwich was mega cheesy, which I really like. It was not too gelat according to him, but I can see how it easily it can be for non-cheese lovers.

I had the Berry Merry ($13.80) - Roasted chicken breast with rosemary herbs, served with brie and cranberry sauce on turkish bread.

I enjoyed the pita bread very much as it was fluffy and crispy. The cranberry sauce was not too sweet either, much to my relief. This was very filling, even for a big eater like me. I gave 1 portion out of the 4 to my boyfriend and was still stuffed.

Stunned Jamie, looking like he got out of bed not too long ago. Probably is the case.

I also had a pot of Peppermint Tea ($5.50). The tea flavour was on the light side but it was still pleasant to drink, though I would have personally preferred a stronger peppermint flavour.

We very much wanted to try their Kapiti Ice Cream as there were some unique flavours such as Figs & Honey, Hokey Pokey, and Lemongrass & Ginger, but we were so full and needed to head off for the movie.

The food in general is not too bad and the environment is great for your weekend brunch hangout. Price-wise, unfortunately it isn't exactly value for money and you would probably spend $20-$25 per person for a meal and drink.

Blackbird Cafe
6 Handy Road
#01-01A, The Luxe

Just a stone-throw walk away from The Cathay or Plaza Singapura.

Visit to the dentist: Audrey & Alexander

After a really long time (to which I am also ashamed to say how long), I finally got round to visiting the dentist to do some scaling and polishing on my pearly (not-so) whites.

A fellow colleague recommended this new place she was also visiting: Audrey & Alexander at Novena Specialist Center. Apparently, they opened in early 2013 and charge a cheaper-than-market rate for dental services. I had been visiting a neighbourhood dental clinic in Bedok - really far from where I live. After checking out Audrey & Alexander's website, they looked not too bad and was charging the same rate as the neighbourhood clinic for scaling and polishing ($50-$60 nett!) so I thought, no harm giving them a shot.

I had initially called to book an appointment on a weekend, but there were fully booked on all weekends up to 2 months after! Insanely popular. So I settled on a Friday evening instead.

The land area of the clinic is small and cosy. The reception & waiting area, accompanied by 2 prep rooms & the main dental surgery room. A very minimalist design.

Their full price list displayed at their reception counter.

Cute decor by the reception counter! It even has a little bear dentist, complete with his worktools.

Dr Alexander was really courteous and polite. For the first time in my life, I did not feel bothered by the 'drilling' feeling and scaling. The way he worked was really gentle - he was either really skilled, or I even began to think that the cleaning was not effective since there was no uncomfortable feeling haha. I choose to believe the former as I don't really like visiting the dentist.

The entire process of scaling & polishing was really quick. It took approximately 25 minutes - Timmy didn't have to wait for long. :D

After which, we went to eat pork knuckle at Paulaner Brauhaus at Millenia Walk, and I probably undid all the scaling work from before hahaha.

Audrey & Alexander is conveniently located at Novena Specialist Center, and their treatment fees are very friendly on your wallet!

Audrey & Alexander
8 Sinaran Drive #05-17
Singapore 307470
Novena Specialist Center (next to Tan Tock Seng Hospital)
+65 6684 1744

Website: http://audrey-alexander.sg/

The Art of Snuggling

One of my favourite fantasy in the world is undoubtedly coming home to my boyfriend and cuddling with him.

I adore that feeling so much, I always feel forlorn when I think about how I'm not able to have it.

Even before I started work and had the luxury of time, I loved every single moment of it.

Currently, especially since I'm overwhelmed with my new job, this little activity is a rarity. It instantly makes my day better! Aaand, of course I eventually end up not doing any of the work I brought home but hey - my life before work, right?

Now, I also think there is an art to snuggling. Snuggling requires proactive action from both parties.

Awwww...

NO.

This is not the right way to snuggle. The bear is barely even doing anything. Look at him! He's just lying there, looking all smug.

Sure, I understand some people might get a little sweaty from sharing body heat and you might want to stop cuddling after a while. But tell me, how hard can it be to simply drape your arm over your beloved?

It's a splendid bonding activity with only benefits to offer!

1. Hugging can heal feelings of loneliness and elevate one's mood.

Self-explanatory. Unless you're hugging your nemesis, in which case this situation will never arise so this point is not valid.

2. Hugging boosts self-esteem. 

From birth, the cuddles we receive from Mom and Dad is imprinted into our memory and conjures associations of self-worth, telling us that we're loved and special. (So that's why the bear is so smug)

3. Hugging offers health benefits.

Hugs releases the stress-reducing hormone, oxytocin. With regular hugs and conversely lower stress, it can lower the risk of heart disease, boost the immune system and fight infections. 

You, the non-snuggler. You need to stop being selfish.

We give and we receive, and there is value in snuggling and cuddling - we learn how love flows both ways.

Snuggling is an investment into the relationship.

"Maybe if I hold her tight enough, she'll fuse into me and we'll always be together."

Anyway, sleep time.

Alone.

Gotta go get Mr. Bear.