Turning 27 With AEROSMITH!

This year my birthday was spent in the presence of a very special guest, or guests if you must, since Aerosmith is a group. Yep, my boyfriend got a pair of complimentary tickets from his colleague who didn't want to attend the Singapore Social Concerts held at The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay. So we chose to attend the concert on 25 May 2013, which starred Aerosmith, and was also on the day of my actual birthday. =)

A week prior to my birthday, K told me that he's bringing me on a staycation. I was kept in suspense until the day we checked in: Marina Mandarin Singapore was the venue!


Our room with a cool little balcony!


Grabbed a quick late lunch at Atrium Lounge & Senses Patisserie.


After which we hung around back in our room a little, watched TV and rested before walking over the The Meadow @ Gardens By The Bay for the Singapore Social Concerts.


Complimentary tickets from K's colleague. =)


The wait for Aerosmith was very long, but once Aerosmith took the stage, they wasted no time and started to do what they do best: rock the whole stage down!



Steven Tyler




Joe Perry








It was indeed such a smashing performance by Aerosmith! Non stop rock which lasted till almost midnight!

The next morning we woke up to a pretty view at our little balcony, followed by very awesome breakfast!



For the love of cheese and desserts!
The boyfriend planned a secret dinner for me with "some people", and our conversation went something like this:

Him: We are going for dinner tonight, with some people, but I won't tell you who.
Me: People I know and close to or not?! -slightly panicking-
Him: Of course they are people you know lah, cannot be I plan for my colleagues to celebrate your birthday for you right?
Me: Am I close to these people?
Him: Hmm.. Yes and no?
Me: Your friends or my friends or mutual friends?!
Him: Hmm.. Not friends.

LOL! Dead giveaway! Once he said "not friends", I immediately knew it was dinner with my family. And I was right! Dinner was at Fat Cat, followed by (ice cream) cake cutting at home.


Ice cream cake from Marble Slab from the BF!




Thank you for the birthday plans this year! =)

Happy Birthday, Love

This year is the second year I celebrated the boyfriend's birthday with him, and this year, I put in more effort in finding a nice venue for his birthday treat.

While doing some research online, I chanced upon Zero.Zero, and found that it was the sister company of Tao's and Dozo. Having dined at Tao's before and enjoyed the food a lot, I decided that Zero.Zero would definitely match up and be a notch better than Tao's since the selection of food offered at Zero.Zero is a notch above Tao's, a.k.a more atas.

Instantly, I made a reservation stating the date, time and occasion. The reply I received from the management impressed me, as a midst the confirmation, this was included, "For the birthday arrangement, we will provide a complementary cake with candle for him =)". Seriously, I was already sold even before trying them out.

The whole week I was so excited for the dinner and I kept telling the boyfriend that I hope he would enjoy this year's meal much much more than last year's.

I'm glad to say Zero.Zero delivered!


We started dinner with a glass of Moscato each. Yummy~



The ordering system works as such: Dinner is a 5 course meal. Other than the starter course, under each course there are a few items, and we are to select one dish from each course.



Amuse Bouche: Assorted Platter

Cold Dish (both): Smoked Duck Breast with Apple Slice
We chose the same cold dish, and boy was this a fantastic choice! The smoked duck was crazily tender and flavourful, and when paired together with the apple slices and apple sauce, it was so so so good that I wished I had another portion of that stuff!


Side Dish (his): Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab


Side Dish (mine): Grilled Escargot with Cheese
The soft shell crab was okay but nothing to shout about. The escargot on the other hand, was pretty interesting and tasted mighty awesome and also, that was our first time eating snails.


Main Course (his): Pork Collar on Houba Leaf with Lava Stone


Main Course (mine): Beef Rib Eye on Houba leaf with Lava Stone
Both our main courses were well executed. Up to this stage, there was honestly nothing to complain about the taste of the food as well as the presentation. Although the pork collar was good, we both agreed that the beef rib eye was the winner. Freaking tender and tasty even without having to dip into the sauce provided.

And then came the last course of our meal. Desserts...


Dessert (his): Mille Feuille


Dessert (mine): Pomelo Orange and Mango Pannacotta
At this point in time, I was stuffed and to stomach anything more was really pushing it. But the desserts were great too, and I couldn't help it! =/


The complimentary chocolate brownie from Zero.Zero for the birthday boy!


Happy birthday, Love. I hope you enjoyed dinner this year, and put the birthday present into good use soon. =)

Happy Birthday To Me =)

At the stroke of midnight, I received an SMS from the boyfriend wishing me happy birthday and telling me to open my door for him. It was a huge surprise because I was only expecting to see him after work on Friday evening for my birthday dinner!

So, the boyfriend came with a big hug, half a dozen cupcakes from Twelve Cupcakes, and a present: a Polaroid camera!




Despite the rain, the boyfriend asked, "Shall we go for ice cream?", and so we did! Off to Upper Thomson's Udders we went!


The night ended on a sweet note because of dessert and the next day was full of anticipation for dinner! The boyfriend refused to tell me the venue for dinner and I only found out right at the doorstep of the venue!


LEVEL33!!!!! It was my first time there, and so was his! So we had a great time experiencing something for the first time together! The view from the top was really very spectacular, and it was a pity that the outside seating were fully booked way in advance.


On to food and drinks!


My Sour Fizz


His Lager


Warm bun with plain butter, cherry butter and mint butter
I totally love the cherry butter which was sweet and yummy! The mint butter was good too, as it had a good minty punch to it.

As we were savouring the bun and yummy butters, our mains came and they looked SO GOOD that I was so eager to dig in!


His: Pork - Chargrilled beer brined Kurobuta, potato date gratin, celeriac remoulade, plum chutney, apple and wild mushroom jus


Mine: Gnocchi - Slow braised lamb shoulder, potato pasta, pine nuts, cranberry, port jus, crumbled goat cheese and fried sage
The boyfriend's pork was pretty delicious, but my gnocchi was the bomb! The shredded lamb was soft yet chewy at the same time, and was packed with (a familiar) flavour that made it hard to stop even though my stomach was bursting midway through the dish. I would seriously go back for this!



When we were full and done with dinner, we walked out to the open area for some pictures, and boy was it really beautiful!



When we went back to our table, I realized that there was a huge mirror above us, which made it really good for reflection shots!


The boyfriend made some arrangements with the management of LeVeL33, and look what came, with compliments from LeVeL33!!!



Thank you love, for making my 26th yet another memorable one, just like last year. =)