Eatout at 49 Seats

My buddy of 10 years introduced this up-and-coming restaurant to me which is located at Kreta Ayer; a walkable distance from Outram Park MRT station from Exit H. It appears that the restaurant is called 49 Seats because it has exactly 49 seats in-house and if you had popped by when it's full house, well, too bad, you gotta sit outside and it's no longer like a real experience in 49 Seats!

Picture credits: hungrygowhere.com

It took us less than a minute to locate the signs and we made reservations beforehand, surprised that we could push forward reservations from 8pm to 7.15pm without any obligations from the staff. I'm not sure if the staff who served us is the boss or a normal staff because he is so fluent in talking and his accent sounded like some (okay I'm being very mean here) fashion stylist or, according to XL, her GP teacher. But you get what I mean? It's rare to find F&B crew with such fluency and professionalism like him and he does not have the Singaporean accent at all.

I researched beforehand that the tom yum seafood pasta ($14.90) and smoked duck pasta ($13.90)are the MUST-TRY foods. Without hesitation, I decided on the smoked duck pasta while XL got her tom yum seafood pasta so we could share. Her friend recommended cheese fries ($7.90)so she ordered it while I got one set of calamari rings ($9.90 for 10 pieces). To top it all off, we had apple ciders as the fruit beers ran out.

 As you can see that the lighting is not the best over there so I had overexposed the photos during editing - I can't tell apart my eyes and my eyeliner from the picture above. The atmosphere was rather lively because there is a family or two sitting behind us and a group of glamorously dressed young working adults sitting beside us. The staff were very attentive and foods were served in less than 20 minutes. In case you were wondering what brand of apple cider we had, it is called Somersby. XL said NTUC had offer on three bottles of apple cider but aiya... we pay for the atmosphere and not to come here and be aunties mah.

Sinful dinner after a tough week

Even for two starving girls, the calamari rings were below average and the cheese fries weren't as legendary as her friend had worshipped it to be - it tastes like KFC fries (crap I must stop making fast-food references). For my next visit, I would just order the pasta and try the dessert.

The tom yum seafood pasta was a tad spicy - maybe she added half a bottle of tabasco sauce when I ate it - and I don't think I can finish a plate. Thank goodness. It had a unique blend of tom yum and creaminess, much like a thick version of laksa soup base. The pasta wasn't as al dente but the sauce had compensated for it. Maybe when I'm on a spicy food binge I might try it.

My smoked duck pasta was daaaaaaaaa best! The consistency and cheesiness and milky flavour was just right and it didn't leave me satiated at all - well up to the last bite because I was rather bloated with the carbonation from apple cider. Although I would say I can prepare this dish as home with a cream base, spaghetti and frozen smoked duck from grocery store, I would come here because of the unique cream base they have. Therefore my conclusion is...

And a mandatory photo that XL requested so that she can let her friends know that she had visited 49 Seats.

Good place, good food worth the money and I'm hoping for a quieter ambience next time.

Directions to 49 Seats: Alight at Outram Park MRT station, head out of Exit H. Walk straight once you come up from the escalator, pass by Capitol Restaurant and Jean Yip Loft until you see Kreta Ayer Rd sign. Walk to the building opposite the indian temple and go to the left side of the building for 49 Seats.

Birthday at Hoshino Coffee

There was a mini celebration for Monica's birthday last Friday at Hoshino Coffee at Plaza Singapura over dinner. We gathered at about 6.15pm and afterwards, the queue was neverending! This is my second visit to Hoshino Coffee and I succumbed to the temptation of the tomato sauce omelette rice, just like what I ordered when I first visited with 大肥.

I'm gonna make a snappy review of the foods ordered but note that none of these pictures were taken by me but sourced from the internet:

Fuwa-fuwa

Fuwa-fuwa actually means bubbles bubbles in Japanese according to my friends. One of my friend ordered this and it jiggles like a fat cartoon character that I find it so adorable! Okay, cool it, it's just a food. So the top layer is made out of whipped egg or some egg custard and lightly baked. The bottom is filled with rice and ham and bacon and some mushrooms. I guess this dish is pretty light and good for someone who wants to leave some tummy space for the pancake souffle. My friend said she was hungry like three hours after dinner... so I guess it IS pretty light.

Lobster bisque

The freshness (as well as saltiness) of the bisque is absolutely tasty! Some people find it a tad salty - well lobster is caught from the sea so it should be salty since it is SEAfood isn't it? okay bad joke and moving along - but I find it alright. The portion is generous and the pasta is just right. Still, I couldn't quite bring myself to like this dish entirely because mark the rating of this food a little down due to the saltiness. So I'd say it is a 3 out of 5.

Tomato sauce omelette rice

My go-to food when I'm lazy to choose anything and it never fails me (maybe my tummy). This dish isn't suitable for strict Buddhists though, i.e. cannot eat anything that has beef in it, because the sauce contains beef gelatin. Don't worry, the staff always informs the customer beforehand so it's a plus point. Maybe I was too happy during my first visit that I didn't notice the measly amount of prawns and broccoli given, but I did notice it bright and clear this time: two pieces each, few cubes of cheese drowning in tomato sauce while omelette tops the rice. My omelette didn't fully cover the rice this time though, but who cares, it tastes so yummy. Hmm... I might say the omelette has a texture like the omelette in McDonald's big breakfast but a bit more cooked. The tomato sauce won't leave you jelak because it's the right mix of thickness and tomato-ishness.

Pancake souffle served with softee

You MUST try this... it's so fluffy and light! It comes with a dollop of whipped cream on the top and served with a cutesy little metal jug of maple syrup. We ordered it with softee - soft serve ice cream somewhat like McDonald's ice cream- and the combination of souffle with maple syrup or ice cream is anything but heavenly. Some say this is a crossover between a light cake and a pancake, and it definitely cannot be compared to McDonald's hot cakes - no no no! This is a light dessert, provided you don't order with the ice cream, that leaves me wanting for more. 

Oh my god, I'm so sorry for comparing this delectable dessert continuously to McDonald's food.

Matcha parfait

Am I the only one who feels that the green tea ice cream sold outside has more milky flavour than green tea flavour? This might be the one that has a perfect balance between both flavours and my avid-dessert-fan friend gave the chops and thumbs up to this. the matcha parfait comes in a tall sundae glass with cornflakes at the bottom, chestnuts, azuki (red bean) paste at the top, matcha jelly cubes, a salty/sweet cracker for topping and some slices of bananas. For someone who isn't an ice-cream fan, I would have to share this dessert with the girls after finishing a plate of tomato sauce omelette rice. I might just come back another time for the desserts only!

Last but not least, the hand-drip Hoshino coffee. It tasted a little bitter and sour but just like a normal long black coffee to me. How is it hand-dripped? I don't know. But what gets people go crazy over this 200 ml cup of coffee really boggles my mind. I'd rather drink something else.

Fried stuff makes me lousy

Just as I worked my ass off during the weekends for some intense abs exercise and felt really good about my diet for the past few weeks, I succumbed to the evil of treating myself with food. Fried chicken cutlet. That's how bad it is.

I always tell myself that "You don't reward yourselves with food because you are not a dog" but my craving for "rewards" seemed to override that message and 'lo and behold... I was queuing up at the snack stall waiting for the two piece Taiwan-country-shaped size fried chicken, cut into little bite size pieces and sprinkled with seasoning and peppers. These are the combinations an acne victim should not mess with because all these "heatiness" from the fried chicken and seasoning just flares up the skin and make pimples pop up just when you least want it.

Honestly, I have avoided this sinful item for three months so far and this is exactly how I feel right after finishing the whole bag:

• Lethargic
• Lousy
• Lazy
• Fat
• My workout yesterday had gone down the drain
• No more motivation

This is why for some people, eating fried stuff is a vicious cycle because they MUST have it to feel better. Then the effect wears off and the whole thing repeats again.

That's it man... I'm staying off these snacks and I would rather opt for papaya soy milkshake any time.

Oh. I just realized I wrote an entire post about fried chicken. Ha!

Fitness Tips

ONE. Don't hold your breath while doing planks and beg for time to pass faster because it will only raise your blood pressure. Always remember to breath in through the nose and out through the mouth regularly.

TWO. When doing crunches, don't support the back of your head but support your neck. Most people tend to push their head forward doing crunches, thinking that it would help them to move better but in fact it only hurts your neck and shoots up your blood pressure.

THREE. Don't force yourself to do more reps that you cannot handle.

FOUR. Always take a break in between your goal to doing maybe 100 or 200 reps. Nobody is rushing you.

FIVE. Exercise only 1-2 hours after a snack; or 3-4 hours after a heavy meal.

Lastly... exercise for your own health. You don't have to look good for anyone because they can choose not to look at your body. Don't be discouraged to keep a workout schedule thinking that you are never gonna make it because when you start working out, everyone will ask why you are doing it and probably laugh at you. But when you are closer to your goal, the rest would be amazed at your determination and ask how you did it.

The Rule of 60

Here is my first fitness post even though I am nowhere near being a girl with abs, tiny waistline and strong arms; but I do admit that I have a pair of strong legs that bring me from home to the MRT within 8 minutes in a 1.6 km journey. This rule that I am about to introduce is something that has kept me motivated to workout since early this year.

Note that all these are based on my own experience and I have not consulted any fitness coach.

If you are a beginner, e.g. haven't been working out for a long time or run once in a blue moon for only 1.6 km and then rewarding yourself to a huge meal, start with The Rule of 30. For every exercise that you do, remember, it does not improve on a specific area... all parts of the body work together! Don't think that doing crunches would only tighten your abs and think that it is enough of a step to getting flat belly. If exercising works this way, personal trainers would be out of job and gyms would go bust.

I strongly suggest girls to do exercises on the yoga mat if you are at home because most of us would be barefooted and there is a chance of slipping after much perspiration. Also, do exercise in a well-ventilated room, preferably the living room or anywhere that you don't feel claustrophobic because you need all the space available to make you feel comfortable. 

The Rule of 60 is considered as an intermediate stage for me and sort of the plateau stage where you don't see obvious changes in your physique but you know that some muscles are developing. 

I use this routine to train my waist, abs and butt by doing this entire set ideally three times with 30 seconds break in between to catch my breath.Yes, just catching my breath and allowing me to focus for another round of why-do-I-torture-myself workout. It would not be a good idea to rest longer than a minute because your heart rate would have already recovered and springing into a set of strenuous training would only give you high blood pressure and your face flushes and you feel pressure buildup in your head and collapse on the floor. Nobody wants that to happen to them. 

Whenever you feel comfortable at this stage, DON'T CONTINUE! Getting out of your comfort zone is key in training/exercise as your comfort zone won't bring your physique any where better. The next step is to increase each workout by 10 reps and do the entire set until you are comfortable with it, then move on with the same concept. Although some people recommend doing more crunches that sit-ups in a 30-day abs workout, I prefer to keep things the same because my abs wouldn't be able to more torture and it is easier to keep count.

Ideally, the final stage would be The Rule of 120. But you can go on further if you like (and if you can take it). Have fun and good luck!

Mini Shopping Haul - Scape

A happy girl is a pretty girl! And yes, I am much happier after going on an impromptu shopping spree at Scape and Cineleisure when my original intention was to get a handphone case for Mom and one more for my friend. I ended up buying three more cases for my S3 because my favourite bumblebee yellow Mercury case had turned black on the sides whereas my turquoise Mercury case didn't... how odd. But still, who could resist $2 jelly cases with 10 colours?! I'm not a fan of hard cases because my belief is:

Once you drop your phone, your phone and your case buang (are gone case) together

Sunnies that I had wanted for so long

Bought this bug-eye sunnies with gold details at flea market stall set up by Statement Muse for ten bucks. I have wanted these bug-eye sunnies since I saw them at Bugis St but my dearest said I looked like a pedo when I wear the mirror-finish sunnies. It's a good thing he doesn't know who is Elton John, given his limited knowledge of famous musicians, thank goodness... if not I would be facing a sarcasm debate with my twin.

Can't believe there is a flea market stall selling flats

Buying shoes was the third on my list - I wanted sandals actually - but it moved up to second place when I saw a stall beside Statement Muse and there was a great variety of moccassin-like flats. Too bad that the seller didn't have my size for the design I liked, so I got this brown one inside. A good (temporary) buy for someone with wide foot!

Cheap cheap flats!

Being the ultimate "mountain turtle" I was at market rates of cupcakes, I realized how extravagant it was to spend $17 on half a dozen of cupcakes and over $30 on a dozen of cupcakes. As I was contemplating to buy cupcakes for snacks without realizing the price, my friend convinced me that getting donuts is better in terms of the amount of fats and sugar he perceived required to burn off and in terms of price. Good thinking! I was turned off immediately and kekanan pusing (made a right turn) to BreadTalk to get Hello Kitty donuts! Okay... both are equally unhealthy but my guilt is cut down by a whole lot from the absence of cream in the pastry. Hmm... except for the amount of trans fat present in baked products. Too much of nutrition knowledge from the previous paper is stopping me from eating many foods... *gasp*

Not a fan of HK but I'm a sucker for cute things like these

And not to forget my phone cases in beige, pink and yellow! The LINE camera seems to always take pictures that makes my complexion look ultra smooth, or is it that true that happy girls are pretty girls?

More phone covers!