Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Goldleaf New Taiwan Porridge Restaurant



Sometimes all we need is a hot bowl of good congee and home-style dishes.

When Goldleaf invited me down for a tasting, I decided to bring my family along as I felt that such food is best eaten with the family! Haha.

From its beginnings as a humble abode for many hungry late-nighters, Goldleaf Restaurant has dedicatedly served up delectable eats to its loyal customers and foodies alike. The Taiwanese-Singaporean restaurant first opened its doors in 1971 at Oxley Rise and what a long way it has come!



I immediately felt the strong heritage and traditional decor as soon as I stepped in. Many dishes also have a history behind its origins; The Sweet Potato Porridge served with the dishes can be traced back to the hardtimes in the ‘30s and ‘40s! And yep, it is free-flow here!

The restaurant has even attracted the taste buds of Wine and Dine Magazine and Makansutra, all who have given positive reviews of the establishment.

I personally think that it is a place for affordable and quality food and get-togethers.

These are the dishes we tried!


Overall, it was an enjoyable meal and we all had positive thoughts about the food! Definitely one of the better porridge places around Singapore.



Until the end of October 2013, Goldleaf is extending 10% off bill to all dine-in customers upon quoting ESTHERXIE when making payment (only applicable for food, with minimum spending of $50).

110 Amoy Street Singapore 069930
Tel: 6324 8310

Monday, October 7, 2013

Happy Birthday to Yesterday's Self

So, yesterday was my birthday!

After a long day out, I went home and switched on my computer to see Google's homepage, in CAKE form. I was thinking, so coincidence meh, just nice my birthday then the illustration is birthday cake?! I hovered my mouse over and then I saw "Happy Birthday Esther!".... Haha, aiyah, it is because I was logged into Google. What a pleasant surprise!

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Imperial Treasure

Met up with Ben, Isaac, and Grace for dinner earlier this week! It has been such a long time since we met up with Grace a few years ago!

Anyway, they told me 'Imperial Treasure' so when I got off the cab at Ion, the first 'Imperial Treasure' restaurant I saw was the one upstairs (the more expensive one). So paisei lah, I went one round inside then realize they were talking about the branch downstairs.

Probably my last time using Ben's camera because............ my boyfriend bought me the exact same camera for my birthday (yep, it's today!). Hehehe. So excited to use my new camera!!!

Anyway, photos from Ben's camera taken by me. Haha.




Friday, October 4, 2013

Highlighter Colors



Check out the highlighter colors on my nails! Love it love it love it!

Had them done at my favourite nail salon Millys! This design is actually inspired by another photo I saw online. I brought it to the manicurist and got them to duplicate the design with minor changes! This design was complimented by many people and it has been afew weeks already but the gelish is still intact and nice!

As you know, Millys is somewhat like a one-stop beauty salon where you can beautify your nails, hair and lashes! Besides these three, skincare is also important! Millys recently brought in ePure Membranous Jelly Masque and I tried one yesterday. It is actually a pack of serum and comes with a scrapper for application. Spread a thick layer evenly on the face and let it stay there for 30 - 40 minutes. I was told that this mask actually increases the skin moisture by 30 - 50%, while restoring and balancing the skin tone by removing impurities. After rinsing off, my skin was really more hydrated, softer and smoother! It also inhibit melanin synthesis, which is probably why my skin looked instantly lighter and brighter! I'm gonna use this more often so that you all can see the obvious transition of my dull skin becoming better!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Then and now

Was scrolling through the drafts in my blog and found this entry which I wrote but didn't publish. It was dated 3rd March 2012.

Lets see how different my answers are now!

*Words in Purple & Italic are the old words... Current words are in Black.

Here we go!

A reader tagged me to answer a meme so I thought... why not? Haha. Remember those days back then when meme wasn't those 9gag stuff and more about answering questions in a list?

And so here are the questions from the reader:

1. What's your dream home like?
Assuming that her "home" meant visually as in "house", I would like to have a house that looks bright and cheery and don't give out haunted vibes at all. I don't mind the size but I want it to be Wow-inducing. Means people will "WOW~~~" when they step in. It can be a 3 room flat but it must be designer-ish furnished. If it is a bungalow I want it to be "Luo Di Chuang". (provided I grow up rich or marry a rich man lah.)

~ My current answer would probably be similar, just that now I want a bigger, prettier, and more "WOW" house. Some time back I went to google for photos of gorgeous homes and I even screenshot them so that I can continue dreaming.


2. If you could choose only 5 dishes to have in your whole life, what would it be?
Steamed Garoupa Hong Kong Style, White Pepper Crab, Salted Egg Yolk King Prawn, Ginseng Chicken Soup (wahaha, this one is cheating cos I can have chicken + soup in one dish :p) and.... BBQ chicken wing with lime I guess? Oh no I also like Sambal sotong and Sambal stingray leh. 

Since I can only eat 5 dishes my whole life and assuming that I don't have to pay for them, of course choose the expensive one lah! Haha.

~ I guess nothing changed in this year and a half. But if I had to shortlist the items from 7 to 5, it'd probably be Steamed Garoupa Hong Kong Style, White Pepper Crab, BBQ Chicken Wing, Sambal Sotong with peeled Tiger Prawn and Sambal Stingray! I know I'm kinda cheating by combining the sotong with prawn but it's still legit right? Zi-char stalls should start selling this because I always have a hard time choosing between sambal sotong or sambal prawns. Also, I want to add Chomp Chomp's oyster omelette to the list. That's 6 on the list now, but nevermind.

3. What are your favourite bands/music?
In order of preference, I like Mando Pop, Canto Pop, and English Pop. I like the very mainstream songs... usually those that are very popular. I love melodic mando songs and catchy english songs. Haha.

~Nothing changed since then.

4. If you have to leave your country, which country would you choose to live the rest of your life in?

Paris. Sounds like a romantic place where love is everywhere round the corner. Or maybe I'd go Taiwan.

~I wanna travel the world and stay a little at each city if I can't stay in Singapore. I can't think of any permanent home better than here.

5. What's your current favourite website?
My blog! Haha.

~My current website is Youtube because that's where I watch shows. My hobby is now watching shows/ listening to music. I don't really care about blogging anymore..... kinda lost the "feel" liao!

6. What would you like people to remember you for when you're gone?
Hmm... I don't know leh.

~Good things, of course. But I feel kinda insignificant to the rest of the world, so I don't think anyone will even bother lah. Probably only my family members will feel sad. Cos I bring them much laughter everyday. HAHA. My sister is gonna puke when she sees this.

7. If you could talk to one person (living or dead), who would you like to talk to?
How long can I talk to him? I'm not sure. Maybe shuai ge lor. Zac Efron? Jerry Yan? Aaron Yan? haha.

~Since the question is phrased this way, it means I must choose someone unattainable right? Hmm, I can't think of anyone. Even if I could speak to Zac Efron, Jerry Yan or Aaron Yan, I can't think of anything I should talk about.

8. Who would you like to be photographed with?
Zac Efron, Jerry Yan, Aaron Yan, Mike He

9. Anyone who's an inspiration to you?
Plenty :) Jolin Tsai & Fann Wong are two examples. They are not exactly my idols but I always feel inspired by their performance, interviews, personal life, etc.

~ Question 8 and 9 are boring. Skip!

10. Any bad habits you wish you didn't have?
Impatience.

~ I'm too worrisome.


Conclusion: Nothing much changed and I am still me.
Another conclusion: Now I know why I didn't post this questionnaire up last year.... It is really kinda boring. Haha.

To be honest this is a "shortcut" post because I'm trying to "finish doing up a post" as fast as possible because I want to go watch another episode of the Taiwan variety show "Kang Xi Lai Le". I will be very sad when the producers end the series because it's like my top and favourite entertainment in the recent year. Also, I think I did lost some interest in blogging! I just want to watch episode after episode of the show because it makes me laugh and it makes me happy. But everytime I watch it without scheduling a post, I feel guilt at the back of my mind so here I am writing something so that I can go watch it in peace.

Ok bye!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Goodbye September

How was September for you all?

Early September I stayed at St Regis Hotel for the 2nd time this year. Somehow hotel beds are always more comfortable than our own beds. More staycations please!

I love the very feminine decor of this room!



Woke up to yummy breakfast ^_^

Shortly after, lunch at Paragon's Crystal Jade Palace.


Then in Mid September, I attended Churpchurp's Mid Autumn Festival #ChurpOut gathering together with other Alphas! Check out Churpie Mooncakes! We had these with chinese tea.... and Pizza Hut's new Fully Loaded pizza.

I especially loved the mooncakes! Probably one of the best I've had this Mid Autumn. They are from Mei Xin, Hong Kong's leading mooncake brand.


The lighting in the room was very dark so many of the photos turned out grainy. After some catching up with fellow alphas and nuffies, we went to the roof top to play with lanterns and sparklers! It has been so long since I last touched a paper lantern! Brings back so many childhood memories.


Clearer photo of my dress that night... Light blue floral dress from www.lyraminn.com! Quote ESTHERXIE2 upon checkout for $2 off purchases storewide on top of FREE POSTAGE!


Went home with this bag of Biore products which I won from participating in a Churpchurp campaign. I love Biore's makeup-remover products! I'm currently using the wipes and it makes removing makeup so fast and easy.


Hopefully October will be a good month. I've been so busy with work recently... hope everything goes smoothly!

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Mum's Birthday

This entry is long overdue, but I decided to blog about it for memory's sake!

In early August, we went out as a family to celebrate Mum's birthday!

OOTD pic as usual. I realize that in recent months I would always unintentionally sweep my hair to the side, and the same side! I think because my bag is always on my left (I can't carry bags on my right shoulder, it just always slip off!), and if my hair is there the strap always kiap it so it's annoying. It's a bad habit though, cos my face looks rounder from the side when my hair is not covering it. Must try to keep my hair on both sides of my face.


Had dinner at Imperial Treasure and bf joined us too :)



Afterwards, we headed home for cake-cutting!

Family portrait:


Another photo


Speaking of birthdays..... mine is coming this Sunday! Just awhile ago it seemed like a long time to my birthday but now it's just round the corner!