2013

Hi. How have you been?

2013 has been a hell of a ride. Whether the experience was good or bad, we have all made through another 365 days breathing, able to read this post and clearly alive. That's something to be thankful about itself. The word 'one' has a connotation of importance and a fresh start. While most people are going to make new year's resolution tomorrow (1/1/2014), I would like to think of what I'm going to do as a year's long resolution instead. There's only one thing I truly want - happiness. 

On a daily basis, we pursue after wealth, fame, recognition and love. However, deep down, the essence of why we do so is because we perceive that they bring us happiness, and we all want to be happy. 

Did you know that happy people live longer in general?

So why waste time being upset over the past? Let's start 2014 by learning how to be happy and grateful with the little joys in life. 

Like... travelling and food. 

Many people feel that travel has to take place outside of Singapore, because 'Singapore is just too small and boring', but that's not the case! I have a long list of places that I have yet to visit and I really want to. Well, maybe not simply shopping, but I believe that anyone can find pleasure as long as they are taking a break from their hectic work schedules. 

One such place is the Grandstand.  It's a 10 minute walk from the main road, which distances itself from all the busy vehicle traffic. The whole area is really chill with cafes and restaurants along the exterior, and more food places in the interior as well as a huge supermarket with everything from sushi to cakes. BUT the best thing is that they provide shuttle buses from Toa Payoh MRT, Botanic Gardens MRT and Clementi MRT! It's located at:

200 Turf Club Road, Singapore 287994

My top place to hang out would be Pasarbella, because the shuttle bus stops directly outside the West entrance! The whole concept is basically free-seating, so you get to buy whatever food you want and just plop down any where. There are also more seats on the second level. Or you can choose to eat and walk along if the portion is small enough :-) 

Sorry in advance for the lack of interior pictures &/or elaborations, the lighting was too dark and I only had my phone camera... plus I can't possibly try all the food here at one go. So this post will focus more on visuals, and what food you can find inside Pasarbella so you can have a glimpse & decide what to eat/sample over there!

Took this picture when I visited Slappy Pancakes with my friends, shall blog about it sometime soon. 

When you first enter, you'll be greeted by Oceans of Seafood, which sells fresh seafood and then cooks it on the spot if you choose to dine in :-) It's expensive...

If you walk straight up ahead, you'll see western food like Charly T's, a Middle Eastern dining place (Shiraz Mazzeh) and Japanese Shabu Shabu buffet (I think it was around $27 for adults for dinner...)

If you turn right (from Oceans of Seafood area), ... you'll see a huge cooking pan filled with paella. 

Le Patio is a European concept store which also sells crepes for dessert.

Bistro Bontintin, which serves salads and pies.

You can sample gourmet cheese from the Cheese Ark! Also, cheese platters can be customised, with add ons like nuts. Perfect for a classy house party.

Bread from Gastronomia. There's also cake being sold here + they serve all day breakfast too, which is an omelette fried with toppings you can select yourself like mushrooms and onions!

Oh and further up, there are lots of beer / wine shops like the Great Beer Experiment! I'm sure there's happy hour for some of them so... :-)

Breakfast from CICELY kitchen! They sell herbs and spices as well.

Wanted to try Bitesize Monster which sells waffles on a stick but unfortunately they were closed for the day.

Cakes by Rabbit Carrot Gun, which also has an outlet at East Coast (have yet to tried it...)

This was taken at the Seasalt Carribean Deli, which sells fish and chips ($18 for salmon / $20 for garoupa)! The cook was so nice and friendly, cos when I asked for sweet potato fries, he gave me a mixture of all the other fries/chips for the same price! The serving was so huge too (we shared among 3 people). We also ordered a dish (can't remember the name) but $12 for a mixture of steamed root vegetables, beef, pulled pork and chicken.

An artist practices her craft at the place down the ramp toward the next section of Pasarbella.

The organic grocer... I WAS SO EXCITED WHEN I WAS HERE. they sell a variety of organic / health products here that i've never seen before like nut butters (like cocoa + coconut / hazelnut / almond ) in a portable packet form (as a snack), and even chocolate and CLIF bars going for around $1.50 each (at the discounted section)! Plus they have lots of no sugar / low sugar energy bars too :-) They also sell the usual organic snacks and baking products. (I didn't buy anything though...)

Seventh Heaven Ice-cream. Ice-cream and me : best friends forever - so true.

Organic homemade cakes from Dutch Colony Coffee. The red velvet cake is coloured with beetroot. Plus, they roast their own coffee!!! 

1872 Clipper Tea. They sell iced teas like berry-flavored and passionfruit for $5 (So expensive...) but lucky for us sometimes they have free samples of tea hehehe. You can have a whiff all the different kinds of tea leaves,  some which are unique flavored like apple-tini (rum mixed with apple flavoring). I bought some lychee tea, $11 for 24 packets. (I really like lychee a lot and have been searching everywhere for it!)

Oh and there was this Mekhala cafe which sells 'natural' Asian food like sauces and seasoning, as well as paper rolls and COCONUT PANCAKES for only $7 (yes I love coconuts too). They also have lifestyle products like for skincare, haircare and body :-)

Bonheur Patisserie, which specialises in macaroons (1 for $3). 

2nd floor: Auum, which does manicures and pedicures.

Cute kids salon.

Chillout area outside with powerplug for people hopeless attached to their smartphones or laptops aka me.

South exit leading towards Giant. There's a foodcourt and other dining establishments around this area like Curry Garden (Indian food) so feel free to eat there too!

Have a great new year ahead everyone :-)