February Photo a Day: Day 1

| Day 1 | 7.46 am | My view today | A bedroom view

Come and play along with Fat Mum Slim here.

Toby's Estate, Robertson Quay

Toby's Estate would be a familiar name to many Australians and just the mere mention conjurs images of smooth as silk liquid gold for me.

When I discovered that Toby's Estate would be opening it's first Singapore branch close to where I live, I knew that I would have to hotfoot it down there soon after opening and sample it's wares.  I love me some coffee, and especially good coffee, and I was dreaming of sitting serenely at a table (sans BuBba), lifting up the cup, inhaling in the delicious coffee aroma and taking a long, blissful sip of Toby's Estate.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...  Heaven.

In reality, the scene played out a bit differently.  BuBba was with me so we perched ourselves at one end of a long communal table inside and I ordered a skinny flat white and a croissant for the little fella.  More substantial food was not available yet but I was informed that a new menu would be available in a week or so, so I'm guessing this week or next.

After receiving my coffee, I set BuBba up to make a ginormous mess with his croissant and took my first, much anticipated sip of coffee.  Delicious but.... not hot... just warm.

I was a little disappointed with the temperature of the coffee but I guess every new joint has it's teething issues when it's just opened (I went on it's second day of opening).  I also observed a couple of other orders getting mixed up and given that the cafe wasn't at full capacity, I hope they can iron out these service issues quickly.

Having said all of the above, I will be back because I want to try their new menu and I think everyone deserves a second chance.  

I just love a good (Australian owned) coffee too much.


Toby's Estate Coffee


Location: 8 Rodyk Street, #01-03/04, Singapore, Singapore 238216

Hours: Mon-Sun 0700-1800

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Yesterday marked 46 years since Singapore gained independence as a nation.  

To celebrate, there was a plethora (don't you love that word) of things to do such as shop special National Day sales, visit museums for reduced rates, stroll around the marina and at the end of the day, sit back and watch a massive performance spectacular completed with huge fireworks.  And just like Australia Day is a public holiday, National Day is a lovely excuse for a holiday too.

Super fast jets (no idea what they're called) zooming over Marina Bay Sands

Down the bottom, to the right of the radio tower, are 3 helicopters flying the Singapore flag (click on the picture for a closer view)

We spent the day lounging around the pool, eating fresh prawns and drinking beer and then gathering a few friends (6 children and 6 adults!) later in the night to watch the fireworks from our condo balcony.  

Cheers!

Overall a beautiful, relaxing family day to celebrate Singapore's birthday. 

Buffy x 2

Yay to the hey!  Sarah Michelle Gellar is back in a new drama starting in September called Ringer.

This preview was shown at Comic-Con 2011.  Enjoy :)

Friday Drool

Check out these little babies that are available courtesy of shopbop.com

Oh how I love you Missoni large zigzag ballet flats.  If only you weren't $USD425.

Le sigh...

You Say Risoni, I Say...

... YUM!

Every week I get Honeycombers "ultimate guide to everything fabulous & fun in Singapore" sent straight to my inbox.  It includes great ideas for weekend getaways, things to do with the kids and up and coming bars and restaurants and more!

There was a lonely packet of risoni hiding in the back of the cupboard because to be honest, I didn't know what do with it so when I saw the Recipe of the Month I decided to try it out.

Spicy Sausage & Lemon Risoni

One word:  delicious!  Try it out, you won't be disappointed.

Oh and for the record, I didn't have any wine available but beer was a great substitute :)

Ubud - Bali Part II

We did a couple of half day tours whilst in Bali to get a feel of the island.

Ubud was our first stop.  A small town in the centre of Bali, it exudes a sense of calm and magic as soon as you set foot on the ground.  We parked outside the Monkey Forest and gave that a wide berth.  Monkeys don't particularly excite me and I've heard they're cheeky opportunistic buggers that will steal anything they can get their puny little hands on.  The thought of rabies also puts me off tenfold.

Off we trotted up and down the hilly main stretch, cruising quickly past the tacky souvenir shops with "I ♥ Bali" shirts and wooden penis bottle openers (ugh!) and taking our time to inspect the local handicrafts.  Our time was limited but we managed to fit in a bit of shopping, a bit of local cuisine and a touch of sticky beaking down the alley ways and in to gorgeous, posh looking villas.

After leaving, I immediately got the feeling that we hadn't even scratched the surface of the beauty of Ubud and it's surrounds.  The drive there (just over an hour from Seminyak) was picturesque and amusing.  Bali drivers and traffic are hilarious but that's a post for another time :)  

I can't wait to go back.  Next time I think it will be a great idea to go with some other families and rent a large villa.  Ubud will be our base to explore the magnificence that is Bali.