Birthday 2013 with Friends

My blog is perpetually updated in a "Throwback Thursday" fashion. My birthday was in May, I wrote a post in July on celebrating my birthday with my family and only now do I update the second part of my birthday celebration with friends.

For those who have missed the first part, here it is.

I don't care if I'm repeating myself, I would say it over and over again. There is nothing in this world that is worth achieving more than the love from family and friends. I could not be any more thankful for all the wonderful people in my life especially during times when there are lots of challenges to cope with. Being around with people you love who love you is one of life's greatest blessing.





~*Dinner with Evan at Saveur*~

Saveur is a restaurant that offers quality French cuisine to the masses at affordable prices. Saveur aims to serve her own interpretation of French food, bringing French cuisine to everyone using local products at down-to-earth prices. Thus, bringing a whole new gastronomic experience to all.

It would be my first time dining at Saveur and so I readily agreed to have dinner there when Evan suggested the place knowing how I'm always on the look out for decent French cuisine in Singapore.




For appetizer, we shared the apple infused port wine Foie Gras. As Foie Gras is an acquired taste, I was only glad that Evan didn't love it as much as I do so I ended up with more to eat.




Both of us chose duck confit for our mains. The duck confit was $10.90! Where could you find such affordable and delicious duck confit at that price?




I forgot what this was but I think it was the side dish.




For desserts, we shared Textures of Citrus which was a tad too sour. I was expecting refreshing burst of citrus.




We also shared the Chocolate and Hazelnut dessert which was quite delicious.




We had our gelish nails done at the same nail parlour on separate occasions. Evan was the one who recommended me to the nail parlour she frequents. I love her long nail bed. My short and stubby nail beds often do not do justice to the skills of the manicurists.




Thank you for the birthday treat, Evan! *muax*




I was sick on that day... like really sick just before the dinner. I nearly "white out" (when I'm on the verge of blacking out, I usually see massive pink or white instead of black) in the toilet when we were waiting to be seated. Fortunately, normality fell into place soon after I got over the wave of nausea and white-out phase that I managed to enjoy the dinner and catch up session with Evan after that.

[All photos in this section were taken using iPhone 4s.]





~*Dinner with Colleagues at Kko Kko Nara*~

It was a joint birthday dinner celebration with the April, May and June babies. We had Korean cuisine at Kko Kko Nara which is famous for their Korean Fried Chicken. We ordered a little too much food for 8 of us. I don't think I could ever survive 3 days in Korea as my taste buds are not really attuned to Korean food. Kko Kko Nara has a 4-star rating on a few food review website but I didn't find their food to my liking. The fried chicken was really good though and I would revisit this little restaurant just for their KFC aka Korean Fried Chicken.




After dinner, it was time to open our presents. Here is an obligatory shot of the birthday babies with our presents.




Here is the anigif of me opening my present as Jac simply took too many pictures of the process.
[Aside: I cringe whenever I see how crooked my teeth look from the side that I'm contemplating fixing them with braces. Am I too old for braces?]




Ask and you shall receive... I asked for a Valentino perfume --Valentina Acqua Floreale. I love how my colleague specially printed a picture of a cat to write down the names of all who chipped in for the present.




Taken from my instagram, this is a perfect example of a perfume that I fell in love with its bottle before its fragrance.




Same goes for Cat, who had many photos of her opening her present that an anigif would summarize it well.




She got a Hello Kitty swarovski pen. I'm not a Hello Kitty person but I must say that the pen is really cute!




We were amused by the Hello Kitty charm.




Sock Yee also received a swarovski pen.




A group shot of all of us before some parted ways.




The rest of us proceeded a few streets down for desserts before calling it a day.



[All photos in this section were taken using iPhone 4s.]





~*Dinner with VIOS at Brussels Sprouts*~

It was a joint celebration for the May and June VIOS babies at Brussels Sprouts which is cosy and casual Belgian bar and bistro set up by Belgian celebrity chef Emmanuel Stroobant. People usually go there for their mussels with a variety of serving style and the extensive selection of beer. From the decoration on the wall, you could instantly tell that mussels are their speciality.




Kh and I thought we were early but we bumped into WL and Byng just around the vicinity. Belle is really growing up into a pretty little girl. No longer is she a baby anymore.






We ordered mussels served in Asian style Laksa gravy, cream style Fromage Bleu, clear style Vin Blanc... and I can't remember what else. They all look the same in photos but each  of them are so delicious in their own unique gravy. You could refer to this page to check out the different serving styles. All mussels are served with free flow of fries too. I could just sit there and eat mussels the whole day.




Or course we did not just sit there and eat mussels the whole evening. We had other food to share like the yummilicious portobello mushroom, Belgian chicken wings and various meats.




I stole some sips of Kh's 1 pint huge-ass Hoegaarden which could match his beer belly.




Let's play Spot the Difference! Jerm simply found joy photo bombing my photos with his hands. You would think it was accidental from the way it looked but no, he purposely stuck his arm and hand in.




Kh's beer foam moustache




Left: From that evening onward, I decided I really prefer Stella Artois to Hoegaarden.
Right: I had wanted the apple beer but it was out of stock. The cherry beer wasn't that bad except that on some occasions, it tasted like Panadol for kids with a dash of notti alcohol.




Random shots






I looked like I wanted to kill SL.




Maybe I should not call this a random shot. It was so contrived how kh sneakily stole this shot with Belle.




Jully and me as the June and May babies respectively. We felt that Belle looked really cute peeking out from the table edge.




Time to sing the birthday song and cut the cake. The staff added in more volume in the singing and lots of extra cheers and whoops and claps.








The soon-to-wed couple.




The VIOS boys are really such clowns. It's so hilarious how Jerm and Kh were fighting to get into the picture and spoiling the gals' shot...




yet acting like they were really part of the whole group shot.




When we realised that the decorative frames on the wall could be detached, we had fun with them.






I reckon the boys had more fun than us.






VIOS gatherings always come with a theme and it is up to the individuals to dress accordingly. Kh and I would usually religiously follow the theme. FLOWER was the theme for that gathering so I was clad in a dress with big red flowers.



Outfit of the day:
♥ Red Flower dress which was a gift from Karen
♥ Sheer Romance bikini worn under
♥ Long Champ bag


It was my first attempt wearing my hair in an all-up pouffy fringe style. I tied up my 2nd day curls to the side to complete my look. For someone who is a noob at hairstyling and not having enough volume for bangs, I'm pretty satisfied with the final result.




[All photos in this section were taken using iPhone 4s and Canon S95.]





~*Dinner with the F4 Gang at Antoinette*~

I had an advanced birthday celebration with the F4 gang which is another treasured group of friends. I blogged about the dinner meet-up here.





~*Current Updates*~

I suffered from diarrhoea for a day and a night during my work trip and suppressed it with some medication which worked like a charm for the next few days. When I came back, I was expelling from both the top and the bottom. My favourite doctor diagnosed it as food poisoning. I had 2 days of MC but returned to the office for half a day to clear some important stuff. I've been feeling lethargic every day that I fall asleep almost immediately dinner/ supper. Today is one of the rare occasions when I'm back to my owl-like self and being able to blog.

Edited to add:
Thank you all for your lovely comments on my past few posts. I always enjoy reading them. Do check back on the posts where you left yours as I've replied. I will visit your blogs during pockets of free time.