Any Brides whose HTB is 'Ang Mo'?

[christie79]

Gee thanks Margiel *blush*

Is it? Equinox ex? How much is the package per table? ok will PM you.. but it's last year's package rates lei (before the GST hike) if you don't mind let me know again..

Fruitchick thanks! It was taken by my bridal studio photographer Yen at Sattine Bridal (the reasons why we signed up there for their package were their photography and partly of their gown (i fell in love with the patterns of one of the gown and wanted to incorporate into my own MTM wedding gown) it's located along the street of Tg Pagar. Indoor shots were at the studio itself upstairs at BS and outdoor at near Singapore river area and also four seasons hotel.

It's good to pop by to take a look also to settle your gown i think

Poor gal! Hope it didn't really leave scars too much? I remembered when i had my chicken pox, it was less then 5 spots all over! And my mum said that should be another one then if that's the case, and should be 'snakes' in chinese terms...and think it's 'shingles' in medical terms...anyway don't know lei..have to pray that i'll not get it!

I kepo kepo a bit when's both of your AD?

 

[fruitchick]

Chrisl, how did you plan your wedding? Were u in Norway when you did all the planning or were you in Singapore? I am now in the UK and would love to have a MTM gown as I have many ideas as to what I like but I don't have time to keep flying back for fittings!!!!???!!!

Although I had the pox all over my body, I keep creaming myself with calomine lotion to prevent me from scratching but it didn't stop scars from remaining. A few months after that the scars were still visible but now, its ok - just a few discreet "holes" if u know what I mean.

My AD is at Four Seasons on 7 Sept 2008.

How was the service u received at Sattine? I have to get a BS settled soon as well as I don't have much time when I'm home

 

[margiel]

Fruitchick, Chrisl
Ooh would like to have the qoutes please I have not liase with Equinox yet, went down with Lala (heee she's oso on this thread as well) to reccee, saw the private dining room and was given the price list, close to $128/pax for dinner tho, is four season around that price oso?

*Shy* heheee actually we dont have a date for the AD yet cos I can only go to the temple for auspicious date after this lunar 7th month, but definitely we are looking at next year. For now, time is pretty short for me in Sg, I hope to view more before i go back to Melbourne

 

[fruitchick]

Margiel, what is your email address? I will email it to you as I can't seem to add attachments to the PM function here - unless I'm being silly and can't find it!

 

[margiel]

Oh i forgotten to leave u email add
[email protected]
Thanks gal!

 

[christie79]

Fruitchick I was alone in plannings mostly as im in SG and hubby's in Norway. But i'll always made it a point to take pictures and gather info like webapages of the intend venue and then discuss with hubby online. As we were online everyday, i'll keep him updated and informed of the plans straight down from wedding favours and invites to wedding cake as he wanted to be part of it all too

Hubby came down to SG for 2 weeks to MTM his suit in Dec/Jan & we scouted for BS together.

Don't worry, you can tell your BS about your time limit and they'll usually accomodate if they have not too much other 'cases' on hand and all BS WANT BUSINESS mah so they'll tell you 'sure can'. Plus you can also look thru BS webpages and make appointments with them via email 1st. Then do your 'homework' meanwhile and arm yourself with all those designs and cutouts from magazines or webapages and show the BS when you're down with them. This way you can save some precious time i feel. And also i must add that some patterns and designs might be more complicated so might take a longer time to finish. e.g: more sequinns, beadings, crystals etc..But most maybe can give you a raw fitting withnin 2 weeks bah..can check with them.

The 3rd fitting is the trial/raw fitting, if everything's ok then it's almost there already. (Just be carefully not to put on weight or loose too much!) Probably the next time you're back for the wedding say another 2-3 weeks, gown should be mostly ready..just slight adjustments here and there..

But all of these are from my experience lah. For your actual gown you still need to see if the BS you've chosen is ok or not to accomodate your time frame.

So all in all
1) Sign up with BS (Can be done together with nbr2)
2) BS 1st appointment = get ready all materials/info/pictures/preferred colour etc..take measurements
3) Raw fitting (maybe 1.5-2wks) depending on BS
4) Trial fitting (maybe when you're back in SG for the 2nd time nearer to your AD)
5) Final fitting (a few days before your AD)

Hope it helps..oh btw, my BS was ok lah. No fabulous comments but no complaints either. Just signed up for the photography and gown as stated previously. But somehow both hubby&i felt that we've paid much already $6K for all...

Oh Margiel i'll email you tomorrow cos have to dig out my wedding planning folder in my cupboard ;D

 

[fruitchick]

Hey Chrisl, thanks for all your tips. I have been doing some research but still quite a fair bit to consider before I go back to Singapore. My time there is quite limited so will have to consider what options there are. U mentioned that you spent $6k on your gown and photography. What else did you have included in your package as $6k is a lot more than I am willing to spend. I found a dress I like in the Style Weddings magazine so I will find out how much it is to buy it if I can.

Mrs N, I hope you enjoyed this long weekend. We had very good weather - in fact, too hot at times but sad that its now all over and back to work again tomorrow

 

[mrs_n]

Hi Chrisl and Fruitchick electroceremics are simply ceramic materials that have some electrical property. In my case it was with materials that were designed for lithium battery applications. However these ceramics can be used in other applications as well. For e.g. as one of the devices in our mobile phones.

Chrisl perhaps the BS charges a bit more because of its location? Tg Pagar is in the CBD area isn't it? So possibly rents are higher and that is reflected in their pricing? Fruitchick well since you're going back here's another option for you if you wish to shop around for BS. This is the one my mum was recommended. A bit out of the way though if you don't live in the East. It's called Classic Moments. The lady who owns it is very nice. Ha! Ha! She was willing to lend my mum a veil and tiara for my UK wedding. (My mum doesn't trust my sewing skills!) But didn't wear neither the veil nor the tiara in the end. I look silly in a tiara and the veil was the wrong colour! Hilarious!

Gee wish my doctor in Sg had suggested something for chicken pox! Caught it just after I finished my A level exams. Only discovered the 'bubbles' on the way for a job interview! I remember that at the end of the interview, I told my interviewer that I might be having chicken pox and hoped she didn't catch it too.

Yeah the weekend was good. We went to see the 'Bourne Ultimatum' last night. Not really into action packed movies but hubby wanted to watch it and it was quite good and enjoyable. Well yeah weather was hot but only when one is out in the sun. Had to have my windproof jacket on most of the time when we were out walking in the Peak District today except when walking up hill. I think I'll be dead tired at work tomorrow.

 

[just_another_bride]

Mrs N,
LoL. Your rationale on the gown changing thing makes sense. I think the angmohs (generalised from watching american and brit films) do the 'going-away' outfit too. I didn't know that Eurasians in Singapore did. So, you had a chinese wedding dinner in Singapore?

Fruitchick,
Most wedding packages along Tg Pagar are around 3000+, and it includes gown and suit rental, photography, makeup services. You can of course negotiate what you want, change the package details, when you meet them. The top up costs for additional photos (which is pretty much unavoidable), purchase of gown (i was quoted 800 bucks). etc, are really the killer. I think we managed to avoid topping up too much for photos cos we changed a few of the items from the package for more photos instead. So, if you can tahan and not add more photos, you can definately keep it at the 3K range.

 

[christie79]

Fruitchick i paid $6k+ for my package cos i wanted to keep the gown/cheongsam&suit. So in actual the package was $4599 (in a way that's steep already) cos i found out that there are other BS which are charging less say around $2500 you can get a simple package, just have to look around.

Other things included in my package were
1) Bridal make up+hairdo (photography/AD& evening)
2) 1 Trial Make up
3) Groom's suit (MTM to keep)
4) Gown (MTM to keep)
5) CheongSam (MTM to keep)
6) 1 Bridal bouquet & 6 corsages for AD
7) Bridal Car deco
8) Studio & outdoor photography
- 30pg storybook album
- 44 poses
- 1 (3 in 1) + picture frame
- All picture samples + CD rom

So it's $4599(basic pkge)+ $200 (top up to have all pics returned) + $1000 (to keep gowns+suit) + $500 (they said that i had extra crystals so more$) = $6299!!!

I kena 'chop' already lah

Actually i was not that too happy that they said that they have to add this add that...but no choice lah i really like that pattern mah..hubby likes it on me too so...Hmm

But another choice is just to buy the gown off the rack from BS, they'll just have to alter for you.

Hey another trick is that walk into BS and no matter how you like the gowns, don't show it! (ah yah all gowns are beautiful! And we gals tend to say 'ohh look at this ...look at that soooo nice!' LOL) Cos i did made a mistake and then they 'caught' me and used their sales tactics on me lor..this way if you can avoid you can negotiate on the price!

I see Mrs N ;P Think so because of it's location and they're trying to mark up the price so they could be reflected as one of the 'higher end' bridal boutiques i think..

I miss the cinema in SG esp GV gold class, here with that price SGD25 it's only with normal seatings!

 

[georginat]

hi chrisl..i also missed watching movies in sg..here is abt A$12 per movie, on tuesday its A$8, still cheaper than Norway ;-)

 

[christie79]

Heee hee Gina and also it's an hour drive to the nearest cinema. So hubby is downloading instead from the net hahah ;P it's legal here but illegal to watch it! (silly right??!)

though still a wide debate on whether to put more restrictions to it

Margiel PMed you already!

 

[just_another_bride]

Chrisl,
Actually, given that you had all your outfits MTM, I really don't think you were seriously overcharged. From what i understand most 3K package usually only gives you 2 OTR dresses and an OTR suit. The crystals top up was a bit much though, but that said, they did not make you top up much to get all the photos back. Whereas, because i did not spend as much on the original basic package, we had to pay a lot more for the photos.

Guess most bridal shops will find one way or another to get more $$$ from us anyway. Either you pay more for photos, or pay more for the gowns. At the end of the day, you and your husband looked great in your wedding outfits and you have fab photos to show for it! And as you said, he loved the way you looked in your dresses. heehee.

 

[fruitchick]

Chrisl, I agree with Bride Bride. From what you got for $6k, I think you got a very good deal. U got to keep everything and got your photos back too! This is actually what I am looking for. I want to keep everything and also keep the photos but I think that as I am not going to be in Singapore most of the time planning for this, I may have to source everything myself to allow me the flexibility. And yesso long as you look good and the photos turn out superb, the money is well worth it!

When I was in Singapore, I always went to the movies but since coming to the UK, I'd be lucky to have gone to the cinema once a year. Its far too expensive and its just not worth it to pay over the odds for a movie which will be released in DVD in no time!!!

Mrs N, sounds like u had a very memorable wedding with all the hilarious bits that's happened! I think its very sweet!

Mrs N, with reference to your story about going to the interview with chicken pox - did u get the job? I can't believe u told the lady that u may have chicken pox - sure that would have freaked her out???!!!

And Mrs N, u are such an intellectual! Your PhD sounds so "chim"!!!! Is that your job now??? WOW!!!!

 

[mrs_n]

bride yes we had a chinese dinner. Was the easiest way. The only true blue 'Eurasian food' was the wedding favours - sugee cake made by my aunt.

Wow Chrisl the additional top up is quite hefty. That's about more than half my monthly salary when I was working in Sg! Good grief. Didn't know BS in Sg did that! How cheeky.

Its also a long drive to the cinema for us so it's always a treat if we do get to one. Hubby had two vouchers which enabled us to watch a show for free! So that was the incentive otherwise we would just wait for DVD or watch it on TV when it comes out. Cinemas aren't cheap over here so have to be choosy with what one chooses to watch.

 

[mrs_n]

Fruitchick oh aye, it was memorable indeed! The only regret we have was not to have any record of the wedding rehearsal of our UK wedding. That was really funny and would have made a good comedy.

Ha! Ha! Yes she did offer me the job. Nah she wasn't freaked out. She thought it was rather funny. The reason I did what I did was that after the interview she offered to take me round to look at the place but as I didn't want to run the risk of starting an epidemic I thought I had better tell her my suspicions! Only went to see the doctor after the interview who confirmed that I had chicken pox.

Not an intellectual lah! And no I'm not working in that sort of job now. Phew thank goodness that part of my life is over and done with.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Hi Ladies,

Couldn't follow the thread. Was totally lost! Hee hee! Caught a flu after a week holiday in the east of Netherlands n Paris. First, the sore throat, cough n running nose and then came down with a terrible migraine n fever yesterday. O man! I am starting my class this Fri. Hope to fully recover by then! My first dance threapy group process!

Chrisl,
I received yr email of yr photos. But when I clicked on it, I cannot access it. Why is it so?

Mrs N, Thks 4 the card! So sweet of u! Sorry wasn't able to thank u earlier.

Fruitchick, bride bride n margiel, where r u from? Brains a bit blur from sickness. Cannot follow liao! Blur blur! Ha ha ha....

 

[christie79]

Bride yeah lah, thankfully it's a once a lifetime affair! Hahah and also after the wedding i was contemplating to sell off my gown but Hubby ask ''WHY???'' I said i needed $ to fly back to SG! LOL

Talking about flying back, im thinking of leaving hubby for 2-3months and go back SG alone (he's busy with work) Can spend time with my family there and go makan SG food as i miss home leh! Any one tried leaving hubby alone for 2-3 months before??? LOL hehehehe

Fruitchick Have you any intention of taking pre wedding photos? Cos have to take that into considerations in your timeline too..how long will you be in SG the next time for your wedding? Cos think 2 week too tight for pre wedding shots lei..

Mrs N Hey Happy Birthday dear gal!

Eliz Huh?? Im not sure leh..oh! Maybe you can't view by just clicking on the pictures in your email but can only view it when you sign-in to 'multiply'. Try that..

 

[fruitchick]

Chrisl, did u not get just married? So quickly you want to go home now? I envy you! I wish I could go home for 2-3 months! I would go if I were you. There is an offer with Singapore airlines now - all inclusive of taxes, £529 to go back to Singapore.

As for my photography, yes I do hope to take some pictures but we're not planning on anything elaborate. I'm going back in Oct and will speak to a few photographers and see what they can do. Ideally, I would like to have it done on the same day as the reception - kill 2 birds with 1 stone! What do u think? If the tea ceremony starts in the morning, what do u do in the afternoon before the dinner reception? I thought that we could go and take some outdoor pics during this time if there's nothing left to do in the afternoon?

Mrs N, Happy Birthday to you too!

Elizabeth, I am in the UK, living in Cheltenham. Where are u?

 

[just_another_bride]

Mrs N,
Happy Birthday!
What's Mr N doing for you today ehhhh...baking a cake? hehe.

Chrisl,
LoL. I probably would have sold off my gown too if I had bought it. Personally i don't see the point in keeping it. Will never be able to wear it anymore mah. But I know in some Western cultures, it is traditional to keep it for one's daughters.

Never left husband before, but I did leave him back in the UK and came back to Singapore for over a month last year! Not very nice for the both of us but since we had things to do, time did pass by rather quickly. What food do you miss most from Singapore?

Eliz,
Hihi. I'm in Singapore. Husband's from the UK.

Fruitchick,
I think many people still take wedding pictures between the tea ceremony and the dinner. It does mean you will be rather busy the whole day and might be required to start earlier so that you have more time to get it done. Probably need about 2 hours? Depends on how much you want to take, where you wanna go, etc. Many photographers will do this for you but it might cost a bit more cos of the additional time required (package usually gives around 10hrs of AD photography). Have you any photographers in mind yet?

 

[margiel]

Hi Eliz, me from Sg married to a German and staying in Melbourne, hubby is now an aussie citizen

Chrisl & Fruitchick, thanks! I got ur qoutes

Chrisl, at the moment me and hubby are physically separated for 2 mths, 2 weeks after our marriage!! I needed this trip back to Sg to do my packing as well as to have a good closure with ppl around me b4 I go off again.. The feeling of being separated esp after marriage is not so nice. Hubby wasnt happy at 1st but eventually he still gives me his support

Fruitchick, we took up a pre-weding indoor and outdoor photography with a BS that cost us $1300 with 6 outfits and 5 locations.. If u r interested i can email more details to you. It wasnt much a hassle afterall, but u need to set a day aside for it, Indoor probably takes abt 3hrs, outdoor oso abt 3hrs. Imagine my hubby came for 3-4days and after the photoshoot, he has to leave on the very next day! If u have Multply ID, i can add u in to view

Oh Mrs N, got to know it's ur b'day! Happie Birthday!!

 

[mrs_n]

Thanks girls for all your wishes! You're all so sweet.

Had a rather quiet day and hubby took me out to dinner at a place called 'China Moon'! From the sound of 'Happy Birthdays' ringing round the restaurant it seems like it was the place to go and celebrate birthdays.

Bride didn't have a birthday cake. Mr N too busy. Anyway Mr N doesn't do birthday cakes only Christmas Cakes.

Chrisl you must be feeling really really homesick. But when you are in S'pore you might miss Gaute so much you'll get 'Gaute' sick.

Can you bear being away from him for some time?

Liz hope your lesson goes well this Friday. Do you have to do it in Dutch? Do take care of yourself.

Magiel I have added you to multiply. You're the one with the cute little figure of ernie in seasame street yah?

Fruitchick do you get your airtickets online? Never seem to to be able to find cheap tickets for SQ. Guess its all down to luck.

 

[liz4jeroen]

Nrs N (Sharon), Happy Blessed Birthday! May the Lord continues to bless you with love, peace and joy and His graces of His Holy Spirit! What do they serve at China MOon? Paul indeed selected the right place!

How is he doing?

Dance therapy course is in Eng. If it's in Dutch, I will surely not able to cope. I am contemplating whether to continue to study Dutch at the next level in the uni but it's so expensive and will not be subsidised by govt. Only the selected school. I'm not going back to the sch that they put me in, the sch is terrible. I'm going to have an appointment with the so called govt coordinator for the course (dun know what it's called in Eng) and see what comes out of it. I need to a higher proficiency level for my internship and job as a therapist in the future. What I've achieved now is not sufficient. I try to study on my own first. Need to discipline and organise myself. I get too caught up with the ringpillow biz and making some cash that I neglect my studies. Bad hé! Supposed to catch up with all my readings and to finish the books from the library, end up I have not read any of them! Good grief! Very bad!

I've hard luck with finding places for fieldwork and internship. I need to complete about another 24 hrs for fieldwork, then I can do my internship. But I cannot find a place to do so at the moment. Have to search, probably next week when I'm better and settled into the moodswing of study again. A little stress lah! Praying that I would b able to do one with the elderly. Still waiting for reply.

Chrisl, no wonder I can't view the photos. I didn't sign up with multiply. Just never get the time to do it! Or simply too much things to do to do it! SIGH!!!! I still have not cleaned up my house b4 my hubby goes back to work nt wk n me to study tomor. Hopefully to get it down today! A week of illness left me no time to do much things but rest! Hmmmmm........

Margiel, I can imagine it must b hard separating after yr wedding. At least, u get to go home. I've to wait till when there's cheap airticket. The period I can go back is always the peak period. Other than that I have lessons. My hubby asked me to go home as I miss home. But I just tell him I just wait. Getting used now being away from home after more than 1 yr 8 mths. Perhaps nt yr to watch formulae 1. My hubby is crazy over it! Ha ha ha.... In fact, my FIL, BILs. Hahaha... they gather for every race together to watch!

Bride bride, r u staying in sg now?

Fruitchick, I heard there's a SQ promo of 700 euro plus including tax for nt yr Mar till Jun. But u've to book now, ending sale period is sept. Prob, it is the one u've mentioned. sadly, I can't leave during those period! What a pity! It's really a good buy!

Have to bear till I completed my study! O I'm staying in Netherlands now. Not v far fr UK! Planning nt yr to go to UK to airshow and to Mrs N's hse! Yeah!

 

[liz4jeroen]

O man! My eng is bad ever since I study Dutch! Ha ha ha.... Slecht! (Means bad)

 

[christie79]

It depends on whether your group of guests are a lot & if you start early cos that might take up time for the tea ceremony Fruitchick. For me i kept the numbers low as it's only close family and relatives so after the luncheon, the rest of the afternoon was that i slowly took my time no hurry and got to hotel and took a shower/nap before that evening.

It might work for you! As the normal photoshoot thingy we had lasted say around from (11am-12pm make up) 12pm~5:30pm actual shoot (indoors and outdoors) Cos if you want something not too elaborate, then should be no problem. I know some couples did that too but the minus point is that it's rather tiring. And another point is that you have to make sure the places you have in mind for location shoot are not too far from each other. E.g Sentosa and Changi! Just have to get a good photographer to do a good job + pray for good weather that day

Yup got married recently but still feels like im having 'seperation anxiety' with my SG family..but still not confirm can to go home lah cos not enough funds at my despense hahahah LOL

Thanks for your info though, i still have to search for the transit trip from oslo to London cos there's no direct flight from Oslo to SG yet

Bride Yes hubby is saying that i could leave it for our next generation and they could see how their mother have for a gown or maybe use it.

Heheh..let's see..for now i miss 'yu char quay', fried carrot cake, oyster omelette, beef noodles, duck noodles, wanton noodles, prawn noodles, century egg porridge with dim sum, BBQ stingray and the japanese food from Taka! hahah so much food leh! Mostly from newton hawker centre & serangoon Chomp Chomp! What about you?

Mrs NThat sounds like a nice evening out! If it's here, i can forget about going out on weekday nights & sun as all shops close early or will be closed! Hahah yeah such a big dilemma!

Margiel Oh geez hang on there! Your hubby's so nice to accomodate you! So as to say your hubby in Aus and you're in UK now or? When will you be going back?

And hahah i love Ernie! And i don't really fancy that 'Gong gong Bert' haha he's a real nerd i think!

 

[fruitchick]

Mrs N, go to:

http://www.leestravel.com

I have been getting all my flights from them. They're the cheapest and always do good deals on SQ back to Singapore. If u sign up for their mailing, u will receive emails of their offers and they do very good ones as well. My flight home in Oct will cost me £549 incl taxes on SQ. Other airlines are around the same price and SQ never gives me problems esp I always have too much baggage.

Chrisl, if you miss home, u should go home. How long have you be residing in Norway? I was very homesick for a long long time since coming to the UK and only now, after 7 years, I'm ok but still cannot tahan more than 1 yr not being home. But even then, only get to spend max 2-3 weeks in Singapore and then have to return here! I miss all the food you've just mentioned plus roti prata, che kueh......

What dialect group are you Chrisl?

I know to cram the photoshoot, etc in one day will be very exhausting but at least, over and one with on the same day so no need to waste another day doing the photoshoot. I was hoping to be able to escape for a few days belated honeymoon to somewhere closeby too but we have to cram wedding and honeymoon in 2 weeks so very short of time. Every day counts. Its so difficult when we're working and have limited holiday to spend to go back to Singapore! Sigh!

Can I say to everyone that coming on this forum makes my day! I look forward to reading the entries from everyone sharing their experiences being away from home, stuck in a foreign land, etc. I feel so lonely sometimes!

 

[eminozy]

wowweee.... i have missed so much.

was in spore doing my food tasting, confirming deco and venue and making another baju for our malaysian wedding now, which my mum have managed to make it bigger and bigger each time i talked to her. heheh

congratulations to those who have gotten married too.

i am back in austria for the next 3 months before my AD in singapore in december. hope everyone is good! Ü its rainy now in austria. Mrs N, munich is about 2.5hrs away from innsbruck! Ü

later girls!

 

[christie79]

Hahah Fruitchick! I sounded like im a few years away but no loh im just say like 2mths + only! hahaha LOL LOL

but yes i miss SG that's why! Wah hats off to you! 7 years!

Btw, is that a UK based travel agent? Do they accept bookings from the internet from other countries and pay thru visa card and e-tickets??

My social visit visa will be expiring mid Sept and had already sent my application for the spouse visa long ago but yet to hear from the authorities. I joked to hubby that if i don't get a visa from them then, i'll be considered an 'overstayer' and probably he has got to buy me a ticket home hhehehee..

Hahah im 'hooked' to this forum too! Until my hubby said ''Again??'' I can spend the whole afternoon doing nothing loh..hahah my MIL came into my hse yesterday downstairs and looked around...(she must be thinking that ''Whoa this DIL so relaxed 1 eh?''

But thank God that we have this forum so we can 'chit chat' here! Otherwise can be very bored loh! And even ended talking to myself sometimes being 'left alone' at home while hubby is out working..Opps hahahaha

Ok i see 2 weeks only, then you might want to consider taking photos in 1 day in your case..might be a good idea then - 1 day finish all and relax the days after!

Im Cantonese, that explains the 'soupy' food i like heheh..dad's cantonese and mum's hakka. How about you?

And Eliz Hats off too! 1yr 8mths! Wah!

 

[georginat]

haha chrisl..hubby also said to me. 'again? you already married , still go to this website?'so i said, 'aiyah..we girls got things to say, complain about you guys!!'haha!! its nice to chit chat here sometimes especially when you are bore and alone....now hubby forced me to learn spanish:-( old already, so difficult to learn !!

i got the recipe of 'yu cha kueh' from internet but havent tried it yet..i did the fried sesame red bean ball..easy to make and turned out pretty fine..got the recipe from the net too...i even have 'tao suan'recipe !!! make it once but not very nice, but still finished it all...(better than nothing !!)

chrisl, there is no direct flight from canberra to sg too:-( so have to transit at sydney, either take a 3 hours coach or 1 hour flight to canberra...for you, for eg, if you want to go paris, you can take air france then stopover at paris..if you want to go amsterdam, can take KLM then stopover at holland..can take the opportunity to vist any country without extra cost on airfare...any excuse to travel !! haha!!

 

[fruitchick]

Chrisl, I had a feeling you were cantonese when u listed all the foods that u missed and they are the same type of food I miss esp century egg porriage! I am cantonese too and the century egg porriage is my favourite!!!! Sounds like u do not have to work - lady of leisure - u are so lucky! Wish I was in your shoes! I would love to stay home all day!

The travel agent is based in London. I have never been there. Always book through the phone/email and pay over the phone by card so if u want to do that too, shouldn't be a problem as they either do e-tickets or post the tickets out to u. So far, I have always used e-tickets!

 

[just_another_bride]

Chrisl,
The first few months away from home is always difficult, especially when you don't know when you'll be going back and seeing your family again. But I am sure your husband is giving you a lot of LURVE and support.

Things will get better.

You can buy ready mixed yee char kuay flour from the chinese shops in the UK, look out for it when you go to the chinese shops where you are. We've tried it before, made mini yee char kuay cos wok was rather small, and it was great! LoL. Also made our own roti prata once. I can hunt the recipe down for you if you like. But oddly, when I was living in the UK, I didnt miss Sg food so much. Maybe it's because i got used to living abroad. I did miss sushi and seafood. All this food talk is making me hungry.

Mrs N,
Seems like Englishmen only make christmas cakes. My father in-law is in charge of making the annual christmas cake too. Lots of alcohol from what i understand, but i don't eat it cos i don't like fruitcakes and marzipan. hehee. Anyway, glad to hear you had a nice evening out for your birthday.

Eliz,
I'm living in Singapore at the moment, which is great cos i've lived abroad quite a bit over the last 10yrs and did miss my family a lot.

Emi,
Have fun in Austria! I hope you got everything sorted when you were back here.

 

[mrs_n]

Fruitchick I've heard of Lees travel. But never bought from them before! I tried to once but didn't really have a good experience with them. They didn't have the days I wanted and the person I was speaking to was probably having a bad day! But that was 2/3 years ago so maybe they have improved their service.

My husband and I usually go by the cheapest we can find. And so far we found the best deals on airline network. We were lucky this April when we managed to get a direct flight by BA/QF for less than £1000 for both of us. Was the first time hubby has taken a direct flight and he says we should try to do the same for the future. Not an easy task to find cheap direct flights. Of course if its SQ all the better. Sounds like a good idea to sign up for their mailing lists. Maybe if can find good deals could home more than once!! Ha! Ha!

We've booked our tickets to go back for Easter. Yipee! Thought if we did it earlier it will be much cheaper. Cost £915 for both of us including tax. It's by Emirates though so got to stop in Dubai.

How far is Cheltenham from Central London? If it is within commutable distance maybe you could consider going to some of the events organised by Est1819 (they are a group of overseas singaporeans in the UK not SUKA) then you won't feel so lonely lah!

Liz the food was ok. Mainly hong kong style (owner from HK). Ha! Ha! The big joke was she actually asked me if I was Asian!!! Alamak! Next time I go Chinese restaurant I think must wear cheongsam.

Paul's fine working hard and goes flying almost every Sat. He needs to clock in hours to keep his instructors license. He's looking forward to airshow next year.

Emilia jo sounds like you've been busy running around and shuttling between countries. Hope you can find time now to put up your legs and rest.

2.5hrs is quite a long drive to make for Asian food shopping. Hope you got all your stock in SG.

bride we have a joke about Mr N's fruitcake. One Christmas when I was still a student in Sheffield, my flatmates and I had some friends over for a meal. One of the guys had a piece of Mr N's fruitcake and liked it so much that he declared that he would marry the girl who made the cake! Imagine his shock when we all started laughing and told him that it was actually a guy who had made it.

Chrisl my hubby has also given up on me with regards to this forum. I think we are all hopeless 'addicts'. Hee! Hee! It is our virtual 'community centre'. Does you MIL have a key to your house? Maybe she thought you're lonely and come to make sure you are alright. My MIL was the same when I first moved in. And when she moved away, my SIL did the same. Well not exactly walk into the house but she used to bang on the back door and ask me over for a cup of tea. Wasn't working at that time so had all the time in the world to chat on the internet. Used to chat with Liz almost everyday before she started her course and I work. But can understand how you feel. It seems nice to be able to stay at home all day but if you live in the countryside its basically the only place you can be and after a while it can get a bit claustophobic being cooped up in the house all day. It was times like this when I wished we had lived in a city instead.

 

[fruitchick]

Mrs N, I must admit that the service offered by Lees Travel is poor. I have experienced grouchy unfriendly people but because its cheap, no choice! Where did u find the cheap deal for both Paul and you? Under £1k for 2 people is a very good deal! I always thought that I'm lucky to find something around £500.

Paul is a pilot? What types of plan does he fly? My husband is an avid glider but these days, no time to go gliding! I don't particularly like it as I'm always air sick when I am up in the glider and its too cold out in the airfield anyway!

I am not too far from London - 2 hours by train? Its just expensive travelling there and also I am pretty busy so no time to keep going to London - although I love going there for dim sum and delicious Singapore cuisine.

Is anyone not living in London close to Birmingham by any chance? There is a fantastic little cafe that sells Malaysian & Singaporean cuisine and its very affordable and delicious! The Hainanese chicken rice is as good as back home *salivating*

 

[christie79]

Hahaha Fruitchick!I see we're all 'kong fu yan' In fact i just finished my lunch of dried oysters and minced beef porridge (There's no century egg available here so i used that instead) Hubby refused to take a whiff of the dried oysters when i told him that!

I was so happy that my parents brought that for me when they came to visit+some of other stuffs like 'lap cheong'-chinese sausage, chinese mushrooms and chinese herbs too. I intend to make some herbal chicken soup when it comes winter to keep warm.

Haha in fact im employed full time by my hubby lah! Later i still have to clean and wash the floor downstairs! I've been slacking in my job ever since the wedding over here

Actually i've been washing the dishes too much till my hands are a little rough now

Georgina would love to have that recipe of the fried sesame red bean ball(did you make the red been paste yourself?) and 'yu tiao', can share share?? Hehehe thank you!
Heeee...i think my brain kinda rusty too leh from too much resting..must force myself to pick up a book soon!

Bride not so easy to get it here i think it's not a chinese shop (i guess in UK it's much more common to see chinese stuffs) over here it's an 'asian store' opened by some pakistanis) And i was so disappointed that there's no Chinatown in Norway! Only 'Pakistani Town' in Oslo (I called it that) At least London has the 'Soho' street for chinatown right? (correct me if im wrong) But here nothing lor...

Mrs N hahahah that's funny! He must be really embarassed! Im still trying to perfect that moist+not that sweet fruitcake! Yes she does, not that she came in just like that but when hubby's back home and she came over to ask him something downstairs while im upstairs making dinner. She's a pretty sweet MIL i think cos she's helping me sew a curtain for the bathroom. (Im hopeless in needle and thread+sewing machines! Though i tried to still do some cross stitch and learn knitting)

Hahah that's why im really looking forward to my 'holiday' home to SG i hope soon but for now Saturdays are really nice cos hubby will bring me shopping for groceries and a drive outside! WOOWOOO! TGIF!

 

[georginat]

http://chinesefood.about.com/od/desserts/r/sesameseedballs.htm

http://www.chinatownconnection.com/sesame-seed-balls-recipe.htm

http://www.seberangflour.com.my/services/recipes/yu.htm

hi chrisl, above pls find sesame seed red bean balls recipes and yu tiao recipe. For chinatownconnection, there are many other chinese food recipes too. I buy ready made red bean paste. If you have to do it yourself, u will need to buy red beans, boil them till soft then smash them and add sugar syrup on it.

we also go grocery shopping on saturday

 

[margiel]

Emi, wow ur wedding seems grand now huh

from oz to sg to m'sia some more heheee... anyway it is always nice to be the princess of the day with guests. happie happie

Hey gals, btw i'm a cantonese too! Peh Dan Chok (Century Egg Porridge) is my favourite too *yum yum* Whenever we have take away roast duck, i'll always remove the bone and keep it in fridge to make my porridge next day with watever meat left over + Peh Dan!! Shiok man

But hubby is not the congee person hence i will make prata (his fav) for him whenever i have my porridge hehee no specific reason but just want to make sure we have enjoyable meal instead of me alone

Yes not 4getting the herbal soup too. It's quite easy to buy the ready pack soup-herb in asian grocery shop, they even have Yu Yan Shan brand too. Also in the shop, you can find sg/m'sia/ japanese, korean, indian/ china food stuffs or spices. Quite interesting in a way. Probably bcos the suburb that im living has lots of asians. So food wise i dun really miss out alot except like chee kuay, fried carrot cake, char kway teow, fried oyster and some of our very local hawker food. But again seeing a plate of chicken rice at food court at the price of A$8-9, i'll somehow started staring at the dry looking chicken hanging in the stall and wonder "Wats so special?? i can make my own chicken rice too" *lol*

Gina, I love Tao Suan too, alot of work in making it rite? Will get receipe from you when im back

Btw looking at ur You Tiao ingredients, wat is alum?

Eliz, wat is dance therapy about? more on your personal leisure or profession? Did u mention abt becoming therapist? heee wat type of therapist? Me curious when i read ur above msg

Mrs N, i guessed most people stereotype Chinese with Mainland Chinese.. Probably they were expecting some high pitch Mandarin from you hehee but were taken aback with ur well carried charisman and fluent English, dats y they thought u might be a 'mixed'??? Heee just making some wild guesses ;p

Chrisl, u are so blessed with ur sweet and thoughful MIL

My in-laws are in Spain or porbably Germany now, heee they shuttle here and there and we have not met face to face yet, just thru webcam and phone. Somemore with langauge barrier, we smiled alot and hubby has to be the translator using handsfree mode on mobile phone LOL conference chatting, find my in-laws 'cute' too. My BIL kept repeating my Chinese name probably trying to get it right but i told him it's ok, i have an English name and is in my legal docs heee.. Think he probably want to make sure he get the pronounciation rite since im a chinese heheee.. Like wise, i couldnt pronounce my hubby's last name when we 1st met!! Gosh, have to have my own version and spelling to remember heheeee

Btw how do i key in other facial icons besides this smiley face

?

Okie all, have a good weekend!!

 

[mrs_n]

Fruitchick we found our air tickets from Airline Network.

My hubby is an avid glider pilot too! He just got back into gliding about 4 years ago after taking a couple of years break. Ha! Ha! I've never been up in the glider yet! He's been threatening to take me up but don't really fancy it. If I do follow him I usually spend my time on the airfield reading a book.

Chrisl yah our friend was kind of 'shocked' and embarassed b'cos we all couldn't resist teasing him after that. Hee! Hee! Your MIL sounds like a very nice person. Its nice to have some company around at least you won't feel so lonely.

Talk about food shopping we do ours on Saturdays if hubby is not floating around in the sky otherwise it's after church on Sundays.

Margiel I was telling my hubby perhaps she meant if I was Chinese or not? When I used to look after my younger cousins in SG some people thought I was their Filipina maid! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Have a pleasant weekend!

 

[christie79]

Gee thanks Gina! I'll take a look when i get time soon! Hee..tiptoed here while hubby is taking his shower

But he's so sweet bought me a surprise of cooking chocolates today when he's home, and told me that i could use that in my baking!

Margiel yeah same! I always keep the bones for the extra nice taste in the porridge! Talking about roasted duck, i miss it too leh! Oh also plus some 'xiu yoke & char siew' wahh....yummy!

On the cliparts you just need to scroll down to the end of this page and you'll find 'Emoticons' and click it, the page will open up and you can choose the faces there by copying the 'tags' and then paste here in this message post..

Ok have a great weekend too everyone!

 

[mrs_n]

Oh btw Margiel you can add other smileys by clicking on Emoticons at the bottom of the page. The just copy and paste in their code.

Wow Gina certainly has been busy in the kitchen.

 

[fruitchick]

Ladies, where is this Emoticons you are referring to? I don't see any???!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mrs N, I can't believe that you follow your hubby to gliding and not go on the glider??? I would be so bored - I have to get in the action although I hate it!

Everyone is talking about how they enjoy cooking Singaporean food and making me very very hungry and feeling very inadequate. I am not a cooking girl. I love baking but hate cooking and I'd rather starve than cook something to eat. My husband does all the cooking - perhaps you can give me some tips on how to make myself look cooking something nice for me?

I noticed that all caucasian blokes don't like porriage. My husband finds it googey and yucky - same for bird's nest - my favourite! I think its their loss!

Do all of you live in the countryside - why are u only able to go grocery shopping on saturdays?

 

[mrs_n]

Fruitchick you need to scroll to the bottom of the page (its just below the advertisement). You will see something like <u>Topics</u>, <u>Last 12 Hours</u> etc <u>Emoticons</u> is along the same line but further to the right.

I don't follow the hubby now. Used to do it only when we were living in different places because could only see each other at weekends. And also it gave me the chance to drive the car (at that time didn't have my license converted so could only drive round the airfield). Sometimes they'd let me tow the gliders from the hanger to the launch site.

The only caucasian blokes who like porridge are probably the Scots. But their porridge is made from oats not rice.

You are one lucky girl to have your hubby cook for you. Mine will try to help around with the chopping. But the poor dear always kena scolded when he cuts the vegetables the wrong size.

I think most of us tend to do grocery shopping on Saturdays when our hubbies are off work. I find it easier to do grocery shopping when we are together at least we know what we need. But if the hubby goes and does it on his own, he doesn't usually check the fridge and we end up with duplicates! Aiyoh!

Besides we're too tired to hit the shops after work on weekdays.

What brings you to Cheltenham? Is it your hubby's hometown?

 

[fruitchick]

Mrs N, so I gather that you've converted your Singapore licence to a British one? I was too late to convert mine and now have to apply and sit for the test/driving test and still have not done it as I have to send off my passport!!! So annoying!

U are lucky to be able to drive the gliders to take off!!! Wish I could do that too!! Would be so fun!!!

Silly me, yest I found the emoticons now! Just blind - never look carefully!

My hbby has to cook as he's got more "flair" than me. Me, I need to follow a recipe and will need to follow it to a tee else it'll turn out horrible and even if I follow recipe, still don't taste nice at all and my husband loves good tasting food and doesn't find what I cook tasty so he ends up cooking and also, I am too lazy! Hate cooking - just love EATING!!! Yum yum yum!

In respect of surpermarket, we are lucky - we have 2 next to us. We are sandwiched between Tesco and Waitrose so we have best of quality and price and so do our shopping whenever we need stuff which ends up inevitably every other day unfortunately.

No, Cheltenham was just somwhere that my husband found a job at. We met at university and after we graduated, we figured that its easier for him to find his job first and then I follow from there so here we are at Cheltenham. Not the place I would choose to live but its not too bad as we're close to Bristol and Birmingham and not too far from London if we have to go there but town itself, although very historic and beautiful, is not the most pleasant. I have lived in the UK for 7 years now and before moving here, have never been racially abused before but since coming here, have encountered a few mishaps which upsets and angers me but what to do! Sigh! No choice!

P.S. Just tried to attach a icon - so leh chey leh!

 

[just_another_bride]

Mrs N,
That's a great story! The poor guy must have been so embarrassed. lol. I've always wanted to try gliding. Is it expensive? Maybe one day when we return to the UK!

Fruitchick,
Is the Singapore restaurant the one behind Birmingham 'chinatown', on the lane perpendicular to the chinese shops? Yum. We kept going back thinking they had ice kacang cos they have the ice shaving machine, but everytime we go, they don't have it!!!!!

I think I am rather lucky, my husband actually likes porridge. First time I made it for him, he was sick, and was kinda perplexed when i said i'll make porridge for him - he thought i was going to throw some oats in water of course! Haha, but now, he's learnt to make that and macaroni in soup for me when i am sick too.

 

[fruitchick]

Bride bride, I think that's the one! Its called Malaysian Delights!???!

Where do you live in the UK?

I don't think gliding is very very expensive but it does cost money but if you enjoy flying then its worthwhile but as I don't fully enjoy the experience, to me its money that I can spend on other things instead.

I love macaroni in soup! How do u make it here? Where do u get macroni from? I miss the porriage from Crystal Jade..yum yum...!!!!

 

[just_another_bride]

fruitchick,

LoL. I think that's the one!!! We haven't gone back in a long time, cos we're living in Singapore now. We were in Nottingham for about 5 years. As for macaroni, we just use the ones from Sainsbury's. I think they are bigger than our local macaroni but they do the trick. Just make chicken stock, shred the chicken, toss in some greens, and top it off with coriander and fried shallots. Probably not the most authentic but it does the trick on a cold winter night! hehe.

I would love to try gliding but husband does not enjoy flying too, so i think, we'll end up doing other stuff instead. Oh well, such is life, maybe I will give it a go on my own but it's not fun alone.

 

[georginat]

hi margier, actually i dont know what is alum too..i use plain flour, add some salt and water and u need to pull the flour before frying, maybe can add some baking powder? (i didnt add that)

 

[mrs_n]

Fruitchick yes I had to convert mine because my hubby drives a company car and they wouldn't add me on as a second driver unless I converted. So no choice had to give up my Sg license for an EU one. Was a bit sad about that at first but I don't think I'll be driving in Sg any more so its not really a loss.

I know in some european countries they don't recognise the singapore license so one has to take the test. Didn't know in the UK you had to do the same? Have they changed the rules recently? I converted mine two years ago and that was after living in the UK for almost four years and nobody said anything about a test when I applied.

I guess you must be living close to your workplace if you don't drive.

Gee! That's too bad about the racism. Hope it doesn't happen often. Where were you living before you came to Cheltenham?
I haven't experienced any racism in our village or in the town so far. My husband has lived in thia village all his life so most people know who I am. Kids from the school sometimes stare but generally accept me as their schoolmates aunt. Oh it sure does help when I'm the only Asian in the village! Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb! Ha! Ha!

But I did experience some form of racism when I was in living in Sheffield. Some 'yobs' calling me names! But they were the minority as generally most Yorkshire people are nice. A bit rough but nice.

Tis real handy to be living near the supermarkets.

So can your hubby cook asian dishes too?

bride my hubby says it only gets expensive if you over do it.

That is spending too much time soaring around but weather hasn't been too good this year so he hasn't had that many long flights.

When are you coming back to the UK?

 

[just_another_bride]

Mrs N,
The rule on converting to the UK license is that if you've been living there for over a year you'll have to take the theory test i think. You're lucky to have gotten away with it! As for losing your Sg license, they'll send it back to the Sg traffic police but you can pick it up from them when you return cos when you'll need it when/if you drive in Sg. The TP should have sent you a letter.

Anyway, thanks for the info on gliding. We're probably heading to the UK in Dec for husband's graduation. Woopee. Maybe my viva if i make it in time. But short trip only as he doesn't get too many days off work. Sigh, I miss England!

 

[mrs_n]

Bride Oh well!! Ha! Ha! Guess I slipped thru the system. I knew that the DVLA would sent back the license to TP in S'pore but didn't know you could collect it from them on return. Thot for short term visit if one wanted to hire a car the EU license would do. Anyway I'll doubt I'll be doing any driving in S'pore in the near future.

Oh that's nice. Well fingers crossed your viva will be around the same time. You still plodding along with the drafts?

 

[christie79]

Fruitchick Oh! That's not nice to hear! I also encountered an extremely rude old lady in london on my 1st trip there on a tour in 2000. She said annoyingly ''Get out of my way!!'' when i was just standing there taking photos (as what most tourist would do on their trips) It was a wide pavement she could have just walk around me but no lor, she had to comment that and i, on seeing her that she was an old lady i excused her although i was the one there 1st! And also i've my fair share of unpleasant people in France too when i was there for a trip.

But over here in Norway, (thank God) I've not encountered any such things yet. The most people would do is just stare and look at me. Cos there isn't many chinese here, so they see a black hair chinese gal they just stare lor..haha

Mrs N yes my MIL is nice but as she's the 'alpha' female in the house before i got married into the family (and even so now), so somethings like her insistance of things 'having to be quickly done' (Even things in this hse we're living in- eg getting the stove ready for me fast and the bathroom so we could have our nice shower in) still lingers around hahaha...poor thing my hubby and FIL have to do the work...she made sure my hubby does this or that for us etc etc..haha

And what i can do is not to nag at him further but asked him to take it easy!

In Norway, SG's licence is vaild for 3 mths and after this one still needs to take and pass the tests here. There are ice driving, night driving and normal driving plus all the theory tests too. That's why i didn't take any tests further apart from the basic theory back in SG, cos waste $ to take again. And after passing the test here, maybe i can convert to international driving licence back in SG then..

Gina, Margiel think that 'alum' is what we call 'kan sui' in cantonese. Think it's a raising agent, it's also used in some chinese dumpling 'bah chang' the sweet yellow type..and also used in the making of yellow noodles, it make them look yellow too. Might be difficult to find..

Bride Lucky you! Your hubby acquired the 'asian taste buds' so soon!