Christmas 2015: Christmas Over To New Year Part 4

Right before the first quarter of 2016 comes to an end, here is Part 4 which wraps up the whole of Christmas 2015 meet ups that happened in 2016.

In case you missed it, the links below lead to the previous parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3


~*The One When the F4 Reunited*~


After so many rounds of F4 minus 1 the past few times this group met up, we were thrilled that at long last, we were reunited as four in the new year of 2016. This time round Hs is back in Singapore for good!




Monochrome Fusion Bistro is known for being an Instagram-worthy cafe that dishes out good food. Hence, we were surprised when we found out we were the only customers there on a super hot and sweltering Sunday afternoon.




Curious as we were, we were glad for the lack of customers that day. Hs was the first to arrived and when I arrived next, I jokingly asked if she had booked the entire bistro for us.




Instagram worthy right?




For sides, we ordered Smokin’ Truffle Fries and Coated Mid-Wings which came with 3 unique flavours - Chilli Crab, Honey Oat and Thai Sauce.




The Squid Ink Risotto was one of their signature dishes. I don't usually order risotto as I do not like mushy rice that could easily go wrong. The risotto here changed my mind. The rice was wonderfully flavourful with an impeccable texture. I also loved the juicy succulent scallops, alfalfa and beans which added varied texture to the dish. And you have to agree that the dish is Instagram worthy.




The Monochrome Aglio Olio could possibly be named after the bistro's name or it could be because of the monochrome elements of this dish-- a monochrome contrast of normal spaghetti and squid-ink spaghetti. Well-coated with a layer of fragrant olive oil infused with garlic, this dish is indeed slurpilicious.




Although the pizza was a good dish for sharing, it tasted pretty normal and we were glad that the risotto and spaghetti made up for it.




This was what the 4 of us ate. The portion for each dish was really small and we thought of adding on more to our order along the way. However, it was delightfully satisfying and we did not order more in the end. We have really aged. We used to be able to eat lots at buffet!




I cannot find the desserts we ordered on their latest menu but upon Googling, I think this could be Churroffles with Ice-Cream.




I think this is the Sticky Date Pudding with Ice Cream.




After snapping so many food shots, we needed some human shots to balance it up. Humans (me and Em) on my side of the table.




Humans (Wy and Hs) on the other side of the table.




All our gifts combined.




Besides the Disney Tsum Tsum cable winders, I got for the gals and myself a bimbotic PINK hair brush straightener online. The price was simply too unbelievable that I've to buy 4 all at once while emphasizing my disclaimer to the gals about how I suspect this could be an inspired product and that we should all take precaution when using it.




Gifts from the gals!

Hs claimed that she is lazy and uncreative, and simply can't be bothered and so got us the most common gift that hailed from the chocolate country where she used to be. I don't care about lazy, uncreative and can't be bothered. I care for the gift of friendship.

The beaded bracelet from Ems reminded me of Easter eggs and the one I chose look just like a pastel coloured water-melon Easter egg.

Wy gave a pack of healthy almond nuts snack as a reminder for us to reach out for healthy food while snacking. I usually munch on almonds coz I read that it helps curb headaches. Since I've finished my pack of almonds in the office, this is just perfect.




Wy also gave me Benefit Bathina "Take a Picture... It Lasts Longer" Body Balm. Yes, that's the product name. Benefit always comes up with product names that make me giggle and oh oh oh, how I love their packaging. The tin exudes such a charming vintage feel and I love the floral fragrance of the balm. So Wy told me that this was a gift to her which she would not use and all she could think of was me. o_O

I was like "WHYYYYYYYY?"

And she was like, "So you could buff your legs and take nice leg shots in bikini."

FAINTZ




It was this picture from my MBS staycation FB album/blog post that promoted her to think of me.




Let our powers combine!




I'm still missing that short evening Em and I spent together at Taipei Shilin Night Market. Speaking of which, I've stopped my Taipei travels updates. All my travel posts over the years have been left hanging after a few posts. ARGH! Time time time... I need more of you.




Miss you gals!




After hanging out at Monochrome Fusion Bistro for hours, we started to get hungry. Since we were in Chinatown area, what better idea than to try out authentic Sichuan Chinese food. Em took us to this really hot, crowded, noisy and messy restaurant called 东方美食 (Dong Fang Mei Shi). In her words, it is a place that you would never ever think of stepping into if not for recommendation via word of mouth. How right she was! It was all that she mentally prepared us for but they serve OH SO DELICIOUS Sichuan food.




I'm totally not a sweet and sour pork person. To me, sweet and sour pork is just pieces of pork in tomato sauce gravy but OMG... the sweet and sour pork here is awesome!!! Just look at the outer skin and the sauce and you would know that this isn't your usual economical rice style of sweet and sour pork.




Salted egg anything is always yummy!




"May we please please please please order a stir fried green leafy vegetable dish coz I really need something refreshing?"

"SURE!"




I've always enjoyed all these hours of chatting and updates with people who matter in my life. As I grow older, I've learned to drop certain friendship in scale of importance and really cherish the ones that would stay for life.









~*The One with AVJ*~


Christmas meet up with That Group That Shall Not Be Named (aka AVJ) would either take place way before Christmas or after Christmas since it has become a tradition for April to spend the December holidays at her hub's birth country with the whole family.




We met up at Kichenette a cosy little French bistro located at Goldhill Plaza. It is a little place with only a few tables that serves classic comfort food. We really made ourselves at home especially when it came to taking 19403834 shots of wefie only to find that none was the best. I should have worn my glasses that day to complete the specky look.




Mushroom soup




April's Fish and Frites




I can't remember what Viv and I ordered and since Kitchenette updates their menu frequently, I couldn't find our dishes on their online menu any more.







The only thing constant in our gifts are cats.




Rub kitty's tummy.




And pose with the arty farty cats.




We still had got so much to catch up on but the place was closing and we wound up standing by the traffic light to finish our never-ending conversation. And yup... yet to blog about Cat Museum day.







~*The One Who No Longer Wears T-Shirt*~


Just like last year, TF and I met up at Cedele Wheelock place. And if you are wondering about the strange sub heading, refer to this post.




It seems like Cedele is a favourite place to hang out with TF. It also seems like I always order the same stuff, like Mango Lassi...




... and this super healthy and yummy fish dish.




TF's dessert.




Tell me that the pink owl is so cute!




I wonder which key would be privileged enough to be the Pink Owl Key.




Obligatory Rub Kitty's tummy shot. I wish for loads and loads of good health to you, Babe! xo








~*The One When We Needed to Indulge*~


We we grow older, it becomes increasingly difficult to find the time to meet. Evan was the last friend whom I've yet to catch up with during the Christmas season and we only managed to find the time to meet up in February, a week before the Lunar New Year! She's the very reason why Part 4 of Christmas 2015: Christmas Over To New Year could only be completed in March 2016!




We both needed to indulge in junk food that day and I was thrilled to check out Omakase Burger for the first time. OMG... the beef patty is sooooo juicy!




Adding more calories to feel happier!








My initial draft for this post had a section on the spirit of Christmas and what Christmas meant to me. As much as I understand the background and true meaning of Christmas, Christmas to me is basking in the love and warmth of people I care for. It is a great way to end the year with so much love and also a way of showing my appreciation to the people around me by spending time with them.

That section originally came with behind-the-scenes- photos of Christmas preparation which I had intended to share with you people but I removed that section because I was simply too tired and lazy to continue on.

So here's my Christmas gift to myself to end this post. This water cutie unicorn pony is called Rarity and her characteristic traits are 90% me!