The Lion City!

It has been a long time since I last crossed the causeway to meet up with some "old" friends I've known and loved for almost a decade. Yves has returned from The United States for a couple of months now and I finally got to meet up with him last weekend. Days before we met up, he called up and said that he was coughing and his fever had just subsided. I had the intention to enter the city, armed with N95 masks and Tamiflu but I quickly brushed the thought away. How was I gonna enjoy myself if I was being so reserved? Swine flu or no swine flu, I knew I was gonna have so much fun hanging out with them. Even if it meant having a party with them at the Loyang quarantine chalets.

Yves, along with Rosie is my greatest friend. Back in college, Yves was my partner in crime. My mom was very strict back then. I was not allowed out and my curfew time was rather early but she would give me the green light at the mere mention of Yves's name. Whenever all of us got together, we can never be normal. We did all sorts of wild and crazy stuff. We loved getting silly (we still do) but we never crossed the line.

We met up with JH (bride-to-be) and kicked off our gathering with a lunch at Pasta de Waraku (in Marina Square). The pasta restaurant with a Japanese twist was all the rage in Singapore. The restaurant was surrounded by tall glass windows, displaying mock-ups of the pastas they served. The dishes were so colourful, they totally whetted my appetite. Yves had Clam Soup Pasta while I chose something gratin-like. Ever wonder what is it like to complement a cheesy dish with a hot Macha? Well, it tasted.......different!







We loitered for a while and had a cup of coffee at The Vivo City before having dinner with others. Everywhere we went was just crowded. Just like Malaysians, Singaporeans loved going to the malls on weekend. The Chinese Restaurant we went to for dinner was great. Great food, great harbour front view and most important of all, great companies. We had so much fun catching up and laughing most of the time that my jaw still hurts.



Miao looked very much like a Japanese, don't you think? Can anyone say "kawaii"?



Wu kept telling me that I've shrunk a lot over the past few years. Maybe he was right! I looked like a dwarf standing between Leroy and Wu. I made them look like bouncers too.



After dinner, they suggested to go for a huge glass of Paulaner beer but I was so exhausted that my eyes were bloodshot. I crawled back to my hotel room and slept soundly instead.

Luckily, the hotel I was staying in was so comfy, relaxing and ritzy at the same time. I'm gonna bombard you with loads of photos:












The hotel looked even swankier at night:















The hotel had a seriously cool lounge. It was big and swanky, filled with comfy armchairs and ottomans, so that guests could feel like they were having their own private party at each table. If I was not so exhausted, it would be nice to order a cocktail or two and hang out with my friends, listening to some jazz music. It can turn into a sleepover party if everyone gets too drunk to reach home.





Swanky! Ritzy! Cozy! Don't you just love hotels? I know I do!