Showing posts with label Review. Show all posts

Hey guys, so it's been a quiet past few days since coming back from Bali - a bit of a post trip down especially since Justin is gone to Australia for work, but I've been trying to keep my mood up catching up on some old blog posts and meeting close friends (though some days I've been failing but it's ok).

Anyway, thanks to Hilary's ever expert knowledge on where the new, cool cafes are, we ended up at The Glasshouse on a rainy weekday afternoon for a little coffee (or tea, in my case) which is located at Chijmes, and it's funny because I never knew noticed this glass box before all my times I've been here but hey, here it is - and isn't it quaint?

The cafe had only been open for just two weeks when we went down, so they were just going by a tips system (i.e. where you just pay however much you think your drink should be), also there wasn't any food available yet but it's called a toast bar, so I'll see the next time I'm back, which also happens to be this week anyway for a little The Ordinary Co shoot!

The space is quite small, I think it fits max 20-25 pax, and was quite crowded even when we went on a weekday, so come early to chope your seat!

The Glasshouse
30 Victoria Street
#01-K11, CHIJMES
Singapore 187996

Opening Hours:
(Mon – Fri) 7.30am – 5.00pm
(Sat – Sun) 8.30am – 6.00pm

I think E-main is the busiest girl between planning her wedding and getting her house ready but I super appreciate how she always finds time to meet me! Here's a weekend finally stopping by Plentyfull for some brunch (as always) - I love the dish I ordered, the Fried Organic Eggs & Kin Yan Mushrooms on Sourdough Toast ($16.00++) and even though it's a vegetarian dish and Justin will cry if I ever ordered anything without meat (luckily he wasn't around, haha) - but seriously, though it was really filling and satisfying.

What are Kin Yan Mushrooms, by the way?? I googled it and Kin Yan seems to be a farm in Singapore, and the mushrooms were like a mixture of oyster mushrooms to me / probably were oyster mushrooms. It's so funny to have them in a brunch dish - but it works! It's also nice that Plentyfull's dishes support local farmers. Eggs were great and so huge too, I wouldn't be surprised if they were locally sourced; they burst open in that gorgeous orange colour and were covered in pecorino cheese. Fact: the only time I ever go vegetarian is when either eggs, cheese, mushrooms or eggplants are involved, does anyone feel the same?

Anyway, before our date was over, we already made plans for our next one! Can't wait to see this girl again ♥

Just a super slow afternoon at Loloku with dear Isabella (my "weekday friend" ahaha). I love going to restaurants on the weekdays and getting to choose the seat I want. We ended up in Loloku because, well the restaurant is gorgeous + I have a voracious appetite for rice bowls, which leads me to hunt for the best poke bowls in Singapore and I'll definitely say this is near the top of my list! $14.00 for a Medium base bowl with Salmon / Tuna + 4 toppings which I had tobiko (fish roe), edamame, fried shallots and walnuts. (The Large was $16.00, but we found Medium to be just nice for the both of us). I also added $2.00 for avocado cause why not and they were very generous with the portions.

I loved spending the whole day with Bella - eat, chit chat, and after eating, eat some more as we headed down to Afterglow after for dessert cause we just wanted to hang more. I always get pleasantly surprised when food dates extend to let's do more stuff dates, because it's then when you realise that your friends really put aside the whole day for you. I know you're not supposed to be surprised by that but I guess especially these days when everyone is working there's only weekends or like one meal to just catch up so it's still a pleasant surprise and I'm sorry if me saying that makes me sound so despondent, like my friends don't want to hang with me for long (you guys do... right??? :'D)

I meant it more like I am appreciative when people put aside time for you despite busy schedules. I always believe and have probably said this before but people are never too "busy" to see you, but it probably just means you aren't a priority in their lives... which is fine too. Can't be a priority in everyone's life - one would die from the commitment, haha. So yeah. Is this adult life? Seeing friends once every couple of months. I guess it is.

I was just thinking of buying a backpack and a laptop bag but lucked out when Gaston Luga contacted me to give me a two-in-one solution with their lovely range of leather and canvas laptop bags that are way prettier than the average techy-backpack options there are out there. Mine's called the Clässy, which was the first one that caught my eye the moment I checked out their site, and in black of course because I like my stuff sleek and simple.


This backpack looks great with all my outfits, so I no longer have to drag an extra laptop case around on top of my handbag which I was doing before. There's a little hidden pocket at the back for you to put your passport when traveling, but call my paranoid because I wouldn't really bring this one out of Singapore because I think the front flap is too easily opened (it's magnetic). But of course for daily work stuff, it's perfect and fits just about everything I need: my chargers, headphones, wallet, wacom tablet, water bottle and of course my 13" Macbook Pro. I also managed to pack for a one day staycay in this bag alone (with my laptop), so I was pretty pleased with that too (though disclaimer, I think I am a pretty light traveler).

I know it would ruin the sleekness of the design but sometimes I wish my backpack had front pockets to access smaller items more easily. The Clässy has two small pockets inside the bag but they are quite narrow (i.e. I can at most stick some lipsticks / my handphone inside but nothing else) so it's a bit of a chore to dig pretty hard to reach the stuff at the bottom of the bag. I usually just put things I don't use much like the laptop charger at the bottom so that I only have need to reach it when I am settled somewhere and can unpack everything!

Also, I initially felt that the shoulder straps could be more padded since my laptop is some heavy shit heavy, but in general since I don't carry it for long periods of time, I find that it's generally not too much of a problem when using it locally since I just head straight in to work.

Overall, I love this bag despite some of it's mini shortcomings. I love how I can stick everything I need in when I head out to co-work and I have my hands free. I love that despite being a laptop bag it looks so modern and trendy. I would not say the Clässy is the best for going overseas, but definitely I think it's their most versatile and feminine option for us ladies to bring to work / school! Definitely check out their other designs on their site which I think are more travel friendly.

Get 15% off Gaston Luga backpacks + 20% tax rebate + free shipping when you quote "luxmondi15" at checkout! 

Got pampered to a staycation thanks to Skin Inc for the product launch of their new Facial-in-a-Flash Mask! I try not to use the word #Blessed a lot but I seriously felt that way post staycay, so I shall make an exception this time and say YES I FEEL SO BLESSED :D

Found ourselves in the garden oasis of Nosh for a little date night and to try their newly launched dinner menu! I've been to their sister cafe right downstairs at Noshery-at-Nosh before (check out my post here) which is ever so Instagram worthy, but The Greenhouse which we dined at is just as gorgeous, especially if you feel like dining surrounded by nature and lush greenery!


If you're worried about dining outdoors, there were plenty of mosquito coils - not a single mozzie bite throughout the whole dinner! Our table had our own dedicated fan, and once the night fell it was honestly quite cooling. The roof is retractable as well, which they closed halfway through dinner because it looked like it was going to rain (it didn't, phew).