Weekend trip to Madrid
We booked a trip to Madrid, arriving in Madrid last Sat and depart on Tues. The weather was simply too hot for us, feels like back in SG!!

Flew via BA and stayed at Hotel Praga, all booked via Expedia. The Madrid airport and the city are very well connected, we travelled everywhere via metro.

On the way to our first stop, we got lost and found ourselves at the Atocha train station.
Large plants and a pond full of turtles in the centre of the station.

First stop = Reine Sofia Museum
Modern art museum, not our cup of tea. Anyway, the entrance fee was free at the time we were there, thus worth the trip to see-see-look-look.

Realised that restaurant serve dinner late, thus we had a drink at Hardrock Cafe and walk to 25 Juan Bravo for dinner (as recommended by Telegraph).
There's not even a word of English on the menu and dinner is only serve from 9pm onwards!! However, we decide to order drinks and wait for dinner plus the waiter was very patient and tried his best to describe the menu to us. We can only guess and hope for the best for for what we ordered. The dishes were a plate of jamon (which is ham,really good), baby squid with chick pea (taste like chick pea so assume so as we can't read spanish!!) and goat cheese with crystallised onion (we thought he meant lamb stew, how wrong we were!!). The waiter was far to nice to us and we tried to finish off everything, although the cheese was just too cheesy to finish off!

Sunday
Had previously booked the bullfight online, thus need to arrive before 12.30pm to collect the ticket from Plaza del Carmen near Gran Via. Interesting building on the way.

Realised that the ticket price was only 24.70 euro each but we paid 32.40 euro each online.... At least we don't have to queue for the ticket at the entrance and had got the seats we want (first row of Category 2 and in shade).

Plan for Sunday is sight-seeing/ shopping and watch bull fight in the evening.
On the left : Plaza Mayor
On the right : Mercado de san miguel Not within my plan, but it was a great find and stop over for lunch here.

Oyster is Sam's favorite, thus a MUST have!
The smoked salmon was good.

Bull fight

The stadium was located near one of the metro station (Ventas), very easy to get to. At the stadium, you can rent seat cushion. The salesperson informed us that the fee is 2 euro each, we declined as I remember reading the forum that it cost only 1 euro. After we walked nearer to our zone, we saw the the cushion were rented for 1.20 euro, the previous salesperson were trying to cheat us (luckily I had read the forum!).
It's damn hot in Madrid, good thing Sam insisted on buying the seats in the shade, thank goodness for that!
The event consist of 6 bull fights, the first 2 were interesting, after that it gets abit boring and repetitive. However we stayed on, not wanting to miss out on anything. Our seats were fantastic as there's a father and son seated above us with the son kept asking questions (questions which we also like to ask) and his father seems to be very knowledgeable and explained all of them, with us tuning into their conversation.

Monday
The main purpose of our trip was to visit Segovia for it's suckling pig!! We saw a TV programme in UK which feature the restaurant cutting the suckling pig with a plate (see link for info), thus have decided to visit Segovia eversince. There's a fast train from Chamartin train station (Medrid) to Segovia-Guiomar, half an hour journey and a shuttle bus from train station to Segovia centre (about 20 mins). However the frequency of the train is about 1 and a half hour and we just miss the 10.30am train, thus we waited at the station for the next train at 12pm.

The restaurant we booked was Mason De Candido. We ordered a portion each and it was very delicious, juicy and the skin was very crispy. However I was very disappointed as they don't show the cutting of the suckling pig using plate.

After lunch, we need to walk the fats off!!

The Aquaduct, a heritage site. Magnificant!
Streets of Segovia and Cathedral.

Alcazar (Castle) of Segovia and we managed to climb the 152 steps in the tower of the castle.

We were back in Madrid at about 7pm and walked from Sol metro station to Plaza de la Independencia.
We wanted to take some night shots using our newly purchased Nikon D90, however we forgot to bring the tripod plus the sun sets at about 10pm, too late for us as we are too tired!

Tuesday
Slept till 10am and packed up to go back home.

九层糕

Steamed the kueh today using this recipe, however I'm using creamed coconut pack, thus it's abit more oily than usual.

9 layers and a red top layer as requested by Sam.

Photographer

Save my last post re wedding for the photographer (save the best for last)!! As per my previous post, we signed with AMPM and CS Lim was our photographer for the wedding day. Met up with CS Lim a few days before the wedding and was shown the different albums available. We were impressed with the 8R album and decided to upgrade our package and top up the extra.

The photos taken were amazing, all were very natural and definitely capture the moments of the day!!

Fetching the bride
A bride in waiting(Left) My sisters for the day. Friends and families we had been to my parents' flat were impressed that the flat looks much bigger and spacious as the sister had hidden the fridge and sewing machine behind them.
(Right) Sam arriving in the wedding car.
(Left) Sam finally managed to pass through my sisters' tasks and was pleased to see me.
(Right) Under the red umbrella and on our way to Sam's parents place.

Arriving in Bishan
Love the greens behind us (taken at Bishan HDB carpark)
(Left) Parents were impressed with this picture as they thought it was taken at some park. In fact, this was taken at Bishan HDB carpark.
(Right) Sam taking out my veil.

(Left & right) On our way back to my parent's place. We were amazed that these 2 pictures turn out so well and they were taken at HDB void deck.

Photo taking in Goodwood Park Hotel
Lovely picture of us in hotel
(Left) Both of us were very tired by the time we reach the hotel, but got to finish the shoot before we can rest!
(Right) Taken by the small pool in hotel
(Left) Taken in hotel's restaurant area.
(Right) A classic picture in front of the hotel.

Evening dinnerUs waiting to walk in
(Left) Both of us standing at the reception greeting our guests.
(Right) Cake cutting
(Left) I love this photo to bits!! Lovely shot of me in my evening gown and my hairdo.
(Right) Toasting with friends.

Hokkien Prawn Noodles
Found a recipe for Hokkien Prawn Noodles in the diary received on Singapore Day which I thought was achievable. Receipe as follow, modified by me (to serve 3) :-

Stock - about 20 prawn heads, some pork (should be pork bones), half ikan bilis cube, 1 dried scallop, 1 tbsp sugar, some light soy sauce (add to taste), 1 bulb garlic (separated and peeled), some white peper and water. Bring this to boil and simmer for an hour and need at least 4 ladles prawn stock.
4 eggs - beaten, fried and cut into small pieces
Pork lard - fried
6 small squids, sliced into rings
12 prawns
Some fish cake (none at home, so didn't put this in)
Bean sprouts
5 sprigs of spring onions, cut into about 5cm pieces
Bee Hoon (1 pack from Tesco)
Yellow noodles (1 pack from Tesco)
Limes (forgot to buy from Tesco!!)

In the wok, heat the oil and fry the garlic. Add the prawn and squids for about 1 minute. Add been hoon and 1 ladle of stock, ensure that the been hoon absorb the stock. Add the yellow noodles and add in 2 ladles of stock. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the lime. Add chili (sambal blachan) if you want. Add the ladles of stock. Add water if you want it abit more watery.

That's it, delicious!!

Singapore Day in London

Had been looking forward to the Singapore Day in London, all the food...... can't wait...

The event was held yesterday at Hampton Court Palace, took us about 1 & a half hours to drive there. The place was easy to find and well signposted.



The weather forecast wasn't too good and there were dark patches of clouds around, but it stays bright throughout the whole event. The entry of the event was the ERP, however no payment required for this event!!



Map of the event but there wasn't a need for the map cos we can see and smell food!! The event opens at 10.30, we reach the place about 12pm and it was packed with lots of people queuing for food!



First stall I queued was the Hokkien Mee, took me forever to get a plate but it was worth it (so good!). All the food are free, with the stall holders flew in from Singapore, authentic hor. Needless to say, we queued for other food too and dapao some (Curry puff).... The Kwak Chap was very nice too (all the way from Toa Payoh!)




Of course, there's a stage for performance and entertainment. But we too busy with food, so only sat down for abit. Mark Lee and Jack Neo was fantastic at making us laugh.



The desert was serve from 2.30pm onwards and we queue for Pulut Hitam, too full afterwards for anything else. Some of the stalls were closed by this time, finished. Overheard that the Old Chang Kee Curry Puff was closed at 1pm, well it was the shortest queue among all the stall and very easy to re-queue, thus we dapao-ed! The event was scheduled to end at 4.30pm but we left early at 3pm to avoid the rush.

So what did we bring home?

The Goodies bag

Which contains :-
- a mat to sit on for the event, very handy!
- a rain cost in case in rains, be prepare!
- a pack of wet tissue (to clean ourselves after eating, how thoughtful)
- a packet of Muruku Dhall cracker, to make you miss tibits in SG
- a paper ball, to make you miss your childhold in SG
- a packet of kuti kuti, to make you miss your childhood in SG
- a puzzle , to pass time if you need to
- an eraser, to??? to make you miss SG as you work?
- a 10% discount coupon from Charles & Keith (valid till 31 Dec 09). What is this any good??
- a booklet on Information on registration of overseas electors (a very good way to distribute info)



Another goodies bag from Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).
Includes :-
- Singapore tote bag (great for containing our dapao-ed stuffs!)
- A t-shirt (Of course, there's always some mention of SG on the T-shirt and this time, it's a Singapore flag on the back. See below for the 2 front design to choose from)
- a 18-month planner cum recipe book (I think it's too big and bulky for a planner)
- Singapore Swing, 12 familar Singapore songs in this jazz instrumental album. (Had not listen to it yet, but would if I miss home)
- Singapore flag pin (Errr, great for a souvenir).
- Stikfas lion, a toy (I'm too old for this)
- Roar for Singapore, need to punch out the pieces on this postcard to make this cute lion stand proudly on your desk. (Err, doubt I would!)



There's 2 design of T-shirt included in each goodies bag, you can only choose one and the size you want (S, M or L). I got the M and Sam got the L but the size different isn't huge, doubt Sam can fit into the L, guess both T-shirt are mine!!


The left t-shirt says "I want my laksa, teh tarik, nasi lemak, chicken rice, prata. Now."
The right t-shirt says "My heart lies 137km above the equator on a little red dot."

Lastly the items we dapao-ed.
- 17 packet of Yeo's Green Bean Soy Drink. There's free bottled water and Yeo's Green Bean Soy drink at the event and the drinks stalls are more than willing to give you extra. Before we left, the stalls were eager to distribute out the drinks, thus we gladly receive.
- 3 Old Chang Kee curry puff, had them for dinner yesterday night, delicious.
- 5 bottle of Satay Sauce. You need coupons (which is in your goodies bag) to redemn, but again they are more than willing to give out extra, hence we got 5.



According to ChannelNewsAsia, the cost of the event was S$6m!!! About 12,000 people turned up, that's a cost of S500 for each person..........

Fossil watch
Finally bought this watch which I love since 2004 from Ebay, cost me £35, about the half price of RRP. The condition of the watch was still in excellent condition, hardly worn by the seller.

My first Radley bag
Always love a Radley bag, with that little cute Scottish dog tag and the inside of the bag being lined with pretty fabric...... irresistible......

Sam was in the mood to drive our newly purchased car, eager to take it out for a spin and test all it's power and features. We decided to drive to Bicester Village.

As my birthday is approaching and Sam being clueless as to what to buy for me, I picked my own gift from Radley and Sam gladly pays. I was very indecisive as to which design, size, colour I want. After nearly making Sam bleed from his ears with my endless questions (I think this looks good but the colour doesn't match my work clothes, oh what about this... Oh no, this is too small for me, isn't it.... How about this, it's too cutie for me hor.....think this one too old...), I finally decided on the large shoulder bag (see picture but in brown).

RRP £185
Purchase price £91.20

Buying Car
Been looking to buy a car to replace our old one (Nissan Primera) since last year. The old car is still working but it no longer got much power to go up hill, and there's always some knocking noise here and there. MOT is due in May and we doubt it will pass without some huge repair bills. The car has served us well as we bought it when it was 7 years old with 82k mileage. Now, it's 12 years old with 130k mileage on the clock. Great car...... will miss it.....

I want a small car, Sam wants a big car, so we decided to compromise and buy a medium size car.

It's a Ford Focus, 2L engine, 5 and a half years old with 39k mileage on the clock and cost us £3,500 after part exchanging our old car. Will pick up the new car next Sat.....meanwhile we got to sort out the insurance.

Make up artist
Was recommended Qiqi by Naomi. The price for wedding make up in the morning and evening was steep @ $688 (without any trial). However I still go ahead as Naomi said that her make up was very naturally (which I want as I didn't want to look wayang) and also I thought it's better if the MUA was recommended.

I met up with Qiqi a few days before the wedding and select the hairstyle for morning and evening from her photo album. Qiqi is very patient and will provide you with recommendations but the ultimate decision lies with you. She also provide me with some advice on hair cut and colour as I wanted to have a hair cut and colour before the wedding.

I decide to have my hair up in the morning as according to Qiqi, the look will suit the kua. As for the evening hairstyle, I decide on having half my hair down for a more evening look. Qiqi recommended me to buy the hydrangeas flower as it will match my evening gown and boy was she right!!

I do feel that the make-up was heavy on the wedding day (guess that's because I seldom wear make up). Upon viewing the wedding photos, I realised that the look was very natural and I was well pleased with the hairstyle for the evening.

No regrets, Qiqi is worth every penny!!

Hotel stay
With the wedding dinner at Min Jiang Restaurant (within Goodwood Park Hotel), we naturally want a room in the hotel for the evening. As per previous post, we booked the Parklane suite thinking that it's within the main hotel.

Upon check-in, the lady brought us to a building outside the main hotel, across the carpark. At the ground floor of the building, before we even viewed the Parklane Suite, I kindly ask the lady if we can change the room as I'm not willing to walk all the way across the carpark to the restaurant in my wedding dress and to change to my evening gown later.

The lady made a call to the receptionist and an upgrade to Junior Suite was arranged (without additional charges). PS : We did arrive at the Hotel in Kua and Tang jacket, not sure it this helps in securing the upgrade.

The Junior Suite we were allocated was on the second floor overlooking the private pool. For security and to control noise level, you need to swipe your room card at the main door to get past before you get to the room door. That's means not everyone can knock on your room door. Rather inconvenient for us as friends and families need to call, instead of knocking on the door to get in!