December 2024 - New Zealand

Final trip of the year! New Zealand has been one of the places on the top of my to-go list, and so glad we finally made it happen! I prefer holidays that are about 1.5 weeks (too long and I get travel fatigue), so this time we went for 9 nights, focusing on the South Island only, arriving in Christchurch then driving down, stopping by Tekapo and Wanaka before going to Queenstown where we flew back from. 

October 2024 - Seoul + Busan [BoA One's Own in Seoul]

Short 5 night trip to Korea recently for BoA's concert in Seoul! Since I've been to Seoul a couple of times, decided to take the opportunity to head to Busan for 3 days as well. We took Scoot from Singapore to Seoul, then SQ from Busan back to Singapore and it cost around $700 per person in total. 

Drama Reviews - Revenant (2023)

Revenant is a series about Gu Sanyoung (Kim Taeri) who gets possessed by an evil spirit and a folklore professor, Yeom Haesang (Oh Jungse) who tries to get rid of the evil spirit. 

The horror genre of the show means that it wouldn't usually be on my radar, but this had Kim Taeri, plus glowing reviews, so I decided to pick it up after getting Disney plus. It was a great decision because this show was excellent. 

Food Hunts - Ice cream with Waffles in Singapore

One of my favourite desserts - ice cream with waffles. Now and then I get a craving for waffles and nidda scratch that itch. Our default used to be Craftsmen or Creamier, but have been making an effort to try different stores recently. We usually get a double scoop, with one scoop being the dark chocolate (if it looks sufficiently dark - I hate milk chocolate ice cream), and the other scoop being a lighter flavour, usually biscoff/speculoos or cookies and cream. For organisation sake, I've split the list into: Usual Haunts, Must Try and Everything else

Usual haunts

Craftsmen Specialty Coffee

One of my favourites which I used to frequent all the time. Crispy waffles with seasalt caramel ice cream and a whole host of toppings. They kept changing up the presentation - as illustrated below. Haven't been there in awhile though because prices kept increasing!  

 

 

 

 

 

Creamier

One of the OGs which we've tried many times, though we usually takeaway and heat it up to regain the crispiness because the store is always so crowded. But we have also eaten there a couple of times - most recently during waffle day where they had a 1-for-1 promo where we had the peanut butter & oreos and chocolate, though we usually get the sea salt gula melaka when taking away. 

Toby's Estate

Another all time favourite, this was one our earliest cafe haunts because of 1-for-1 on entertainer. The waffle was on the small side with slightly harder edges than usual, but what I loved was the combination of the sweet chocolate sauce and sour berry compote. So good! I really need to revisit to see if this is still on their new menu.

Must Try

Carrara

Look at this gorgeous dessert. The dark chocolate was very very gao. Definitely one of the best I've ever tried. We also had a scoop of cookies and cream to balance out the richness. Waffles were EXCELLENT texture and taste wise. We also had dinner here and the food was decent with really reasonable prices. Definitely worth visiting.

Lickers

One of the best waffles that truly hits the spot. Dark chocolate and speculoos ice cream was creamy and rich. Bonus that the outlet we visited at Telok Blangah is really spacious, opens till late and they accept CDC vouchers!

Muted

Dark chocolate ice cream was amazing and buttermilk waffles were cripsy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Nothing to fault, really. 

Sweet Cheeks

A popular place along Jalan Besar, this buttermilk waffle took awhile but was worth the wait. It had the textbook texture of a good waffle with a strong buttermilk taste. For the ice cream, we had the chocolate and the biscoff cookie crunch which were decent enough though not the best. Chocolate definitely could have been darker (look at the colour compared to the others). 

Ree & Mummy

This place was on my to-go list for the longest time cos it has a whopping 4.9 stars on Google, and we finally made the trek to Katong one evening after dinner. Glad to say it was 100% worth it. We got the double scoop with waffles as usual - 1 scoop of dark chocolate and 1 scoop of whisky cream because I like alcoholic desserts, even though I don't drink alcohol. The dark chocolate was so thick and rich and fulfilled all the checkboxes of a good dark choc ice cream, and the whisky was sweet with a good alcoholic kick. The waffles were pitch perfect - crispy sides, fluffy interior that held up well and didn't become soggy. We were also enticed by the cakes and ended up getting the chocolate hazelnut cheesecake and pecan caramel chocolate cake which were both excellent. Definitely going back to try the rest of their cakes (including their signature pineapple cheesecake).

Days of Elijah [CLOSED]

This waffle was TOP TIER. We had the tiramisu and speculoos ice cream which were pretty decent though portions weren't the largest. Unfortunately, we went on one of their last few days of operation :( But it's still here because this was so good.

Everything else

Hundred Acre Creamery

I'm a huge fan of Pooh & Piglet, so this decor was right up my alley. So cute!

We tried their coconut pandan waffles which is their signature. Really liked the pandan taste, but I'm not a mochi fan so I wasn't too fond of the mochi texture. For ice cream, we had sea salt butter caramel biscotti and pistachio. I'm probably one of the few people who doesn't like pistachio ice cream haha. I've tried many (including all the places where people proclaim has the best pistachio ice cream), and always feel like I really have to concentrate to taste even a hint of pistachio.

Holy Cow Creamery 

The waffles were pretty good, crispy outside and soft inside. However, the ice cream was  disappointing. Chocolate OD was okay but not the best, and the Bailey's only had the slightest alcohol hint.

The Dark Gallery

We came here due to the 1-for-1 ice cream plated desserts on Entertainer, and had the double scoop with waffles as one of the desserts. I can't remember the flavours we chose, but I am not the biggest fan of Dark Gallery's ice creams. Somehow I always feel like their chocolate ice cream feels a little artificial and not gao enough. The waffles were alright, but I really liked the topping which you can choose! I probably wouldn't order it again on my own, but it's definitely worth it with the deal. 

Cold Break

They're popular for their niangao waffles, but we went for the normal buttermilk waffles as I don't like chewy things haha. Not the best waffles - edges were a little inconsistent (as can be seen in the picture) and not as crispy as the others, while the insides were also more cakey than fluffy. For the ice cream, we had the varlhona dark chocolate with cocoa nibs and the sea salt biscoff which were yummy. I did sample the truffle chocolate but didn't get it in the end as the truffle taste might have been a little too out-there.

O Happi Place [CLOSED]

Was looking forward to trying this place as there were many good reviews and there was 1-for-1 on burpple. Unfortunately, the ice cream was pretty mediocre. Just look at the colour of the chocolate and you can tell it wouldn't be dark. Waffles weren't memorable either.

Drama Reviews - Moving (2023)

 

I had heard many good things about Moving, which was this year's Baeksang Awards Drama Daesang winner, and finally got to watch it on Disney+. Based on a novel by Kang Full (who was also the screenwriter), the show is about humans with special abilities like flying, super strength, regeneration, xray vision, and is a 20-ep epic that follows two generations of superhumans. 

Food Hunts - French Toast in Singapore

We first started trying cafes as a weekend treat, and because there were a number of 1-for-1 deals on Entertainer. This eventually evolved into a cafe hopping hobby and a mission to find the best french toast because my dad LOVES the dish. If it's on the menu, we'd order it. Because we've tried so many over the years, I'll be splitting the list into 4 main categories: All Time Faves, Would Order Again, Worth A Try and Order Something Else, as well as Closed for all the cafes which have closed since we tried it. So here goes! It's a LONG list. 

This post is updated as of 29 Sep 2024. 

Food Hunts - Kaya Toast in Singapore

One of my main hobbies is exploring new food and I've been meaning to write about all the many places, so will be starting a series documenting our food hunts! This year, my family has been going around trying kaya toasts in Singapore because kaya toast is the quintessential Singaporean breakfast and comfort food, but we almost always only eat Yakun, and recently the kaya in the kaya toast has been sooo little so we thought it's time to broaden our kaya toast horizons! Also, there are many lists of 'best kaya toasts in Singapore' floating around so I was tempted to give them a try. So here goes, listed by chronological order of visit.

June 2024 - Hong Kong & Macau [VNL 2024]

Continuing my adventures round the world to watch sports, this time it was Hong Kong for Week 3 of VNL 2024! It's been awhile since we last visited HK and air tickets were pretty cheap - around $350 per person on SQ for round trip! 

April 2024 - Upstate NY, Boston, Ottawa, Montreal (Part 2) [PWHL]

Continuing with Part 2 of my trip, where I head to Canada for PWHL matches in Ottawa and Montreal.

April 2024 - Upstate NY, Boston, Ottawa, Montreal (Part 1) [Women's Hockey Worlds]

Third trip to North America in less than 3 years! Because IIHF Women's Hockey World Championships was held in Utica, NY this year, and the Professional Women's Hockey League also started this year and there happened to be 2 games in Montreal and Ottawa just a week after Worlds, so decided to take the opportunity to do both in one trip!

My itinerary was to fly from Singapore to NYC, travel up to Utica (upstate NY), then to Boston, then take a flight to Ottawa, and fly back to Singapore from Montreal. I decided to take Emirates as it's cheaper than SQ and it allowed me to fly back from Montreal without going back to NYC. I also booked all my tickets on the assumption that the PWHL Ottawa game was on April 20th and PWHL Montreal game was on April 21st, but then the Montreal game got shifted to April 20th, so my plans were kinda messed up and I had to do a lot of extra travelling since 1) I didn't want to change my flights, and 2) I still had to fly back from Montreal as Emirates doesn't fly from Ottawa.

Drama Reviews - Pyramid Game (2024)

In Pyramid Game, Sung Sooji (Kim Ji Yeon/Bona from WJSN), a high school student who transfers to class 2-5 of Baekyeon Girls High School realises that the class engages in a popularity vote under the guise of a game with potentially dangerous consequences. 

Drama Reviews - Gyeongseong Creature (2023)

Gyeongseong Creature is set in 1940s, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The show draws inspiration from Unit 731, the infamous unit that did experiments on their captive population. In this historical fiction drama, the show depicts the creation of a monster by the Japanese and how Jang Taesang (Park Seojoon), owner of a famous pawnshop in Gyeonseong, and sleuth Yoon Chaeok (Han Sohee) become intertwined with the monster and each other.