peranakan in shanghai *one of twenty odd something*

the ritz carlton portman's supermarket carries with it pandan leaves and my favourite banana nut crunch cereal by post oh my goodness but with exorbitant prices though. the chef is back and my kueh salat is steaming in the wok as i type, i simply love the taste of the pandan flavoured coconut custard that goes so well with steamed glutinous rice. making kueh salat is easy although its the long steaming time of three hours that makes it seem troublesome.

in the mood for shopping

The seasons is changing and soon the first chilly winds of winter will be dancing through the city of shanghai. the shopping mood is in full swing for me as i waltz down the various shopping district searching for the designs i like. somehow i have this desire for pullovers and gosh i found a few that can be worn in singapore too. the tee shirts are as usual hard to find with my particular style of designs. but seriously speaking although shanghai is a shoping city, the tees and clothes i have bought so far are all imported brands.

we went to people's square last sunday and the walk brough us to this starbucks cafe with rooftop seating and the atmosphere there is kinda relaxing although you can see some building in progress of being completed. there is this colonel style restaurant just beside the cafe and it provides a really nice background amongst the greenery and beside it looms the awe inspiring jw marriot with its shimmering glass and steel.

somehow i really like traveling alone as i can really explore the place even if it means walking the whole day or to simple go to a place without knowing what to expect. with my friends, they are unwilling to travel somewhere that has nothing to offer although to me its about seeing part of the city that is different or has a different aspect. the architecture and the atmosphere of the place attracts me and it does not really matter whether there is something i need to get.

the problem with friends is that to them going somewhere alone is never alright and they will ask you to go another day and they will acompany. i wanna see the mood of some old quarter alleys of shanghai in the rain or the rising of the sun over the bund. when i told my friends about waking up at 4am and heading to the bund or even some places to see the mood in different lightings, to them its crazy and a waste of time. so there you go, traveling alone is always best unless with a friend who seeks the same.

bonne anniversaire Sheryl

smile :)

Oh lala le premier samedi en Shanghai

Finally it’s the first weekend for us in Shanghai and our plan of sleeping late was unfortunately ruin by a lunch rendezvous with our training manager ms tan and another fellow Singaporean who is also working at four seasons shanghai. Talking about sleeping, we have a serious problem here in shanghai. Strange as it seem, we will always wake up earlier then expected and it’s like what the hell.

Saturday afternoon was spent walking around Nanjing Road and then lazing at some W café drinking latte and rosehip tea. The feeling was so lazy and time passes way too slowly here as compared to Singapore. Even at home we can be lazing around the house or doing our e-journals and what felt like hours was actually only an hour or so.

Xin Tian Di was way lustful as compared to my previous visit as this time we stroll through all the alleys and the atmosphere is ohh lala. The restaurants and cafes have this very classy and unique charm to them especially those with al fresco dining where the candle shines gently with its warm rays of light. The atmosphere is perfect for a rendezvous with close friend.

The wiener schnitzel at Paulaners was way better then the one I had at Wiener Kaffeehaus in Singapore and the interior décor of the restaurant definitely enhanced the already lustfully delicious atmosphere in Xin Tian Di. However on the way back home our plan of cabbing home horrendously turned into an hour plus walk home due to the Shanghai Tourism parade along Nanjing Middle Road which resulted in a road closure.

Nevertheless the walk was worth the effort and time as we discover numerous small shops along the way selling apparels and also Parkson Mall where one can find Singaporean cuisine. Once again the hands of time moves way too slow in Shanghai since even after the long walk and a short trip to Isetan for grocery, the time was only around ten in the night. Oh what shall I to do…

Housekeeping

The orientation at Four Seasons Shanghai although interesting was as usual similar to attending tutorial and I had my times of day dreaming and yawns. We had a department tour too and gosh the presidential suite’s bathroom is really gorgeous and spacious. The presidential suite although not the most glamorously and elaborately furnished in Shanghai but the size and luxury of the suite sill manage to leave me in awe. The bath tub has a one glass plane window beside it, giving the guest a great view of the district.

Personally the corner site is my favourite of all the rooms in Four Seasons Shanghai as it brings our a cosy and homely feel as compared to a hotel room feel with the two sliding doors separating the bedroom from the small living room.

I was shown how to turn over the room the following day and had my first attempt at making up a bed which took me around 25mins after turning over eight rooms at the end of the day. Watching my trainer aunt May turn over the room was comparable to watching a performance, she everything so simple especially making up the bed.

However when I tried making up the bed for the first time, it was rather slow and the sheets didn’t seem to go with the movements of my hands. I love the moment when you throw the sheets out across the bed and watching it spread out and slowly float down to cover the bed, it’s like a scene from snow white or Cinderella. The pillows were the hardest to make as I always have problems making it stand straight and looking full.

At the end of the day I must say that it’s really fun and after you complete making up a bed, there is a sense of satisfaction when you see a comfy bed ready for the guest to snuggle in for the night. Oh how I love snuggling into hotel beds, warm and comfy against the cool hotel room at night. I will definitely stay one night at the Four Seasons Shanghai at the end of my internship period and experience for myself the luxury of the renowned brand.

the smell of dust

Outrageously exciting I must say although the air is dusty and the traffic’s a killer but how cares since its Shanghai! The flight was manageable by sleeping through the flight although the seats are a little cramp for my long and sexy legs. We practically hang around the airport till the announcement was made for the remaining passengers flying on MU546 to proceed to gate C16 immediately.

Sleepless night equals being dead tired and losing focus upon arrival in Shanghai even though I slept during the flight. The apartment was better then we expected but as usual, full of dust. We practically had to do a spring cleaning and gosh it was so filthy that i don’t wanna talk about the amount of dust.

The food has been good so far and we had this egg tart today and goodness it was delicious man. We walked through this street selling local street food and the aroma of the grilled meat and seafood was tempting us in such a seductive voice. I am gonna have some of them when I do not have to work the following day, just in case nature calls and I bomb the toilet.

The following day was a nightmare for me as the one thing that I fear most was gonna happen. “gasps” we had to go for a health check up and blood test was needed. Injections on the upper arms are fine with me but drawing blood requires the needle to stab into the vein located along the inner elbow and oh my goodness I get weak at the thought of it.

There was also this food stall across our apartment that sells things similar to the “zhu chao” we have back home. This particular stall is quite popular with the locals especially the cab drivers and we were all contemplating whether to pack back some dinner from them since the hygiene issue is nagging in our minds.

My discovery of wireless connection by tapping onto someone else’s network made us all eager to chat with our friends on msn and therefore decided to delay dinner. The chance to try the “zhu chao” came and we ordered several common sounding dishes with some spinach dumpling. The food was delicious I tell you, it was so good we didn’t bothered whether we will have stomach-ache later on.

Leaving on a jet plane

Leaving for Shanghai but do not worry as i will definitely blog and show you all the pretty pictures i took.

*gasps* i guess i have no time to write old grandmother stories now... see ya when i see ya!