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Eddie Peng Yuyan (彭于晏) at Longines Singapore Gold Cup 2014, Singapore Turf Club

Sunday, 16th November 2014 is a date to remember. It was one of the most anticipated and prestigious equestrian race in Asia, the one and only, Longines Gold Cup.

As testament to its high profile event, the guest of honour was no other than His Execellency, President Tony Tan, accompanied by other esteemed guests, the Vice President of Longines, Mr Juan-Carlos Capelli AND Longines Ambassador of Elegance, Eddie Peng (彭于晏), who flew in from Taiwan just for the weekend.

Dating back to 1924, the Longines Singapore Gold Cup is now back in Singapore for its 5th run, and is also designated as Singapore Turf Club's Annual Charity Race Day.


Sure we may be table no 40 but we were right in front of the stage and the vip table!! :D

We were at the committee box this time, and the vibe there was more polished and refined, so we dressed up for the part.


With Daniel from Oneclickwonders, Dawn Yang, Hayley Woo and Hpility


The sky was threatening rain but we were very lucky to have escaped wrath!

The races that day were all named by the club to reflect their commitment to charities. Taught Hayley how to bet at the races, you win some, you lose some. Love the adrenaline though!!


There was a private charity auction with a collection of seven beautifully handcrafted hats, and proceeds went to the Rainbow Charity, a charity which provides education and training for children with special needs.


These GORGEOUS pieces were up for auction. Glad I managed to snap a picture of them before they were snagged. Check out that peacock one! Starting bid price for these bespoke fascinators were $688 EACH. Definitely for those who like to dress to impress.


Highlight of this post: Pictures of 彭于晏, Eddie Peng, who is really gorgeous please. If you don't already know who he is, he has been in recent box office hits like Unbeatable and a highly anticipated movie, Rise of the Legend. He was born in Taipei but grew up in Canada, and is fluent in English!


Suave, good-looking, killer smile, perfectly positioned dimple, this guy's charisma is off the charts. All the ladies, young and old, were fawning over his 1.82m frame.

Eddie gave us a speech and sat down for a bit until...


Our president arrived!!


Hello Mr President. I want to visit the Istana one day.

The biggest race of the day, race 10 - had a S$1.35 million prize money, and of course, we wouldn't have missed that for the world! I bet 3 horses to place (come in first, second or third) and one of my horses came in FIRST!! Too bad I didn't bet win, or my winnings would've been much more!! 

(Source: here)

Gambling is addictive but it's important to know when to stop, and set a limit before you even start.


 All the donations collected that day amounted to $241,616! Congratulations!! The funds raised are matched dollar for dollar by the Government under the Care & Share Movement.

Photo you've all been waiting for...


A group shot with 彭于晏, aka Eddie Peng aka Peng Yu Yan! I know it looks like we're really close but it's the angle okay, there was no physical contact at all! Also, there wasn't much space for me to move lol.

If you're looking for a place to hold a corporate event or host important guests, I highly recommend the Singapore Turf Club! They have a multitude of rooms to suit your needs for sure :)

Ending off with a sweet picture of Hayley. Will be posting my very own hat (fascinator) tutorial soon!!

Thanks Jessie and Jasmine for the invite XOXO
Special shoutout to Tiffany and FLY Entertainment crew for helping us grab 1min of Eddie's time for a photo!! Totally made our day *starstruck eyes*

PS: The press kit is super pretty, the quality of the folder, to the complimentary pen, binoculars and portable charger, even the thumbdrive for the press materials are all world class. Thanks Longines, I want to own my own watch from you one day.
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American Express Freebie Promotion - Chillax and Bar Hop!

When a guy buys a girl a drink, she could be skeptical - what does he want from me? Is he trying to get me drunk?? But you don't have to worry because free drinks ARE real, with compliments of American Express!!

Some of the hippest and trendiest bars in Singapore's central landscape are providing free drinks just for Amex platinum reserve and platinum credit card holders. Check out their promotions, summarized for you here:


Promotions

Receive a complimentary* bespoke cocktail at these outlets:
  • Ah Sam's Cold Drink Stall
  • Horse Mouth's Bar
  • Maison Ikkoku
  • Spiffy Dapper
  • Bitters and Love

Or get a complimentary* welcome drink/signature cocktail at
  • Orgo Restaurant & Bar
  • The Pecking Order

If wine/whiskey tasters/beer are your thing, enjoy a complimentary one at:
  • The Merry Men Kitchen + Bar (a glass of wine)
  • Quaich Bar (whisky taster)
  • The Men's Room (whiskey taster)
  • The Mad Men Attic Bar (Kirin beer)

If one drink isn't enough, enjoy 1-for1* on your first drink at:
  • :Pluck
  • Gem Bar
  • Manor Cocktail Room
  • Zui Hong Lou
  • The Secret Mermaid
*: Offer is valid for the first drink per day per Card Member per outlet, and is only available when Card is presented at time of order, and any payments made with the American Express Platinum Reserve and Platinum Credit Card issued in Singapore.


Sounds too good to be true? Well it IS true. In addition, American Express has launched a unique Bar Hop experience, just for their card owners! A bunch of us were invited a week or two ago to try it out for ourselves!

Our first stop was The Men's Room, which is just one floor down of Mad Men. Did you know that they're run by the same owners? The Men's Room specializes in Gin mixes, so be sure to try out one of their in-house concoctions! Being a whisky girl, I went for an Octomore Scottish barley, which, I was informed, was the smokiest whiskey in the world. 


The Men's Room had a live band when we were there, but the place is a little squeezy so best to head over early!

After about 30mins, we got on the bus and went over to our next destination - Ah Sam's Cold Drink Stall, which faces boat quay's little canal.

This quaint cafe specializes in infusing local flavours into their drinks! Some of their drinks include ingredients like gula melaka and even milo! Food served here are as local as it gets, with Hokkien Mee and fried wanton skins!


Drinks had much fanfare, check out this Secret Garden. 


Sam, the owner and mixologist, has won a number of awards from his own creations! Ask to try some of his award winning concoctions ;) You won't be disappointed!

Hopped on the bus for my last stop, though the route continued to Maison Ikkoku. We were led to the basement of Ocean Financial Centre for... The Secret Mermaid! In the day it's a lunch spot called Shinkansen, and at night it transforms into a hidden enclave and I love it.


The Secret Mermaid has lotsa imported spirits, and some of their specialities that piqued our interest were the Honey vodka and Salmon vodka. I opted for the Honey Vodka which of course - was sweet, but not overly empowering, and I enjoyed it immensely! The Salmon vodka, however... was not to my liking. It was a bit too fishy for me :( It was unique though!


Displayed on a wall, you can read the labels off the variety of spirits. Don't forget that you get 1 for 1 off your first drink with your Amex at The Secret Mermaid!


Smith, Howard Lo and I at The Secret Mermaid. Howard also owns the chain of Standing Sushi bar restaurants, so if you enjoy your salmon sashimi's at 50% off, it's all thanks to this guy. I'm sure some of you would recognise him from his TV appearance in Eye for a Guy.


 If you're an Amex card holder yourself (or you have a friend that has one), you can join the bar hop experience! 


Look out for this bus on 8 November between 7pm to 1am, at 7 key locations - Orchard, Havelock Road, Robertson Quay, North Canal, Bugis, Esplanade and Ann Siang Hill. Amex card members can bring up to TWO friends on board the bus! For more information on the locations and benefits, check out their website here.

Nightlife benefits mentioned above are valid until 14 October 2015. 

Thanks for hosting us #ChillaxSG !
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Taiwan Travelogue: Day 1: NingXia Night Market

After a quick shower and freshen up at H132 Hostel, (you can read my review about it here), we took a nice 20min or so stroll towards Ning Xia Night market. It's not a very big market, it's about the length of one streeth, and you can easily finish walking it in half an hour or so, but why would you want to do that?? The whole point of a night market is to stuff yourself silly, and that's what we did.

You know you've reached when you've seen this. 

This is how small the lane is and yet there are annoying motorists that drive INTO the market, not giving a shit about your safety, and you're supposed to jump out of the way when you hear the engine -_- am so annoyed seriously. That's Taiwan for you!

When you first walk in, there are a bunch of game stalls that I didn't try. Did watch people playing some though!

Kids playing, our local night markets should have more games like these!

There's this stall where people pick our mahjong tiles to match the ones on the table. I don't really get the whole point of the game, especially for kids but I think they are getting training to learn how to "feel" the tiles, at a young age. Lol.

Prawn and fish catching! They don't cook the prawns for you immediately after, so you have to bring them home and cook your prize yourself, unlike in spoilt Singapore.

 
Ning Xia market isn't as touristy as the other markets due to its sheer size, but it's where you get lots of locals pigging out on a hot, sweaty evening. And you know, I'll go wherever the locals go :p

Ai-yu jelly was everywhere! You've got to try them when you're in Taiwan :)

I randomly joined the queues to snack on some grub before I had a proper meal!


This stall had a REALLY long queue which I couldn't afford the time to try :( If you're at Ning Xia and you spot this, be sure to grab one and let me know how it is!!

There are shops along the streets (with aircon) which we decided to try for our dinner.

I was kinda craving beef noodles because... well it's Taiwan, and so we walked into this popular beef noodle joint. I am a HUGE fan of beef plus beef tendon, so this is my bowl of soup. It was only about SGD$4 but seriously I could not finish it. The remainder of the trip we took note to share 2 to a bowl of beef noodles, but our greedy selves kept forgetting.

Was sooooooo full after that!! It's easy to gain weight in Taiwan, sigh.

Here's the beef noodle stall I ate at! It's really good and their noodles are handmade. There are seats at the basement with aircon too (it really was too hot in Taiwan, especially at the night market)

The next morning, I snooped around H132 Hostel for a bit before we checked out. For a more detailed review, check out this post.

On the top floor of H132 hostel, there is a nice chill out area where friends and mingle, have a smoke, or...do their laundry.

Laundry is coin operated here, but I didn't check the prices.

There's also a secret room which I was tempted to check out but it looked dirty so I didn't. Lol.

It's really spacious and neat, I really would recommend staying in H132 hostel again.


However, I had to check out as I made reservations at a swanky new hotel downtown, which I will be blogging about soon. Stay tuned! 
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Vedure Mineral Earth full body massage review

Mannnn some days I really feel like giving my body some pampering, and body massages are an awesome way to reward yourself after a tough day or week, both physically and psychologically. Some of the benefits are improved digestion, relieved muscle aches and better blood circulation. On one such day, I went to try Vedure's new Mineral Earth full body massage that was just lanched in August, and conveniently located at Wheelock place!


Not wanting to be bothered by the crowd in town, I picked an appointment on Sunday morning to do my full body mud massage. It was my first time doing a mud massage, so I wasn't sure what to expect. When I walked into Vedure, staff politely asked me to fill in a form about my medical conditions, allergies, and also, my preferences for food, music and drinks! 

After filling them up, I was ushered to my private sanctuary (aka, room.)

Everything was neat and ready for me to just lose myself in paradise. I changed out and lay down on the bed, only to be pleasantly surprised that...

THE BED WAS HEATED!!!!

I love the thoughtfulness and intricate details! Heated beds are the best in an air conditioned room and your back feels so nice and snug. This is seriously a great place to get a massage in Orchard road, Wheelock Place is so central~!

Candles and a plant to add on to that relaxed atmosphere

And so, with the lights dimmed and the sound of waves and birds chirping. my massage began. My masseuse would share with me about the products that she was going to use on me, and explain the benefits before she started any treatment, which I really appreciated. Many a time have I gone for massages not knowing what sort of oil they were using or what technique they were going to apply o_o


The Mineral Earth mud that I used was the White Clay and Lavender Mask, to promote relaxation and exfoliate my skin at the same time. After this massage, I realised that mud also helped to restore the nutrients on your skin and didn't leave your skin feeling dry and dehydrated! My complexion also looked fairer and I felt clean :)

Of course, I couldn't take a photo of myself during the massage but here's a visual aid. Imagine your body covered in that! It feels a little rough when it's massaged onto your skin but it's quite soothing once you get used to it. How I wish my massages would last forever!!

PSST! When you lie face down, you see a basket of flowers, instead of carpet or towels . A nice touch!

An hour later, my enjoyable and delicate massage was over and my masseuse told me to rinse off the mud in the shower pod, which was also in the same room.

I had like minimal makeup so forgive the mess.

To my delight, the shower pod was made of Grohe's shower facilities! If you haven't heard about the wonders of Grohe, check out my blog post here. 

I felt a little guilty about dirtying the shower pod (if you look at the floor of the shower you can see a bit of the mud left), oh well I guess they could be rinsed off with water? It was an amazing massage and I will definitely want to come back!!

The Mineral Mud treatment can also be extended to facials or part of your nail spa treatment, as Vedure also does nail services. 

For the full body massage, the prices are shown below:

1h - $198
90 min - $238
2h - $268

Don't be put off by the price though, it's REALLY worth it! Professional hands untying the knots and stresses built up... music to calm your senses... and of course, great service. Plus, the 1h does not include shower off time so you can take your time enjoying Grohe's shower too. 


After you've changed and freshened up, Vedure staff will lead you to a bar counter area where you are served some tea and snacks, according to your preferences that you filled in on the form earlier.

Some of the possible combinations you might get: longan drink with caramelized biscuits, granola biscuits, ginger tea or hempstead tea. Be sure to check them out!

Vedure

#04-06 Wheelock Place, 501 Orchard Road, 238880
Contact: 6732 6448

Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 10am-8pm, 
Sun & PH 10am-6pm


PSST: Note that you can pick your therapist before your appointment, and specify the massage style you prefer, eg swedish, javanese, japanese, shiatsu, tuinah etc.

Have a relaxing time! ;)
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My Dream Grohe Bathroom

Hello everyone! I am back from my mini hiatus which consisted of a trip to Tokyo and a weekend in Bali. It's been so hectic and exhausting I actually slept through roosters crowing just outside my window in Bali. Well, today's entry is to share about my dream bathroom, and if you share your dream bathroom too, you stand to win GROHE products! So keep reading :P

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Some people like to sing in the shower, some like to dance, some use those precious minutes to think about life and its mysteries, or the rest of us like to forget everything worrying us in our lives and just focus on the present - the sound of water gently dripping, the pressure of the jet on your skin, soaping and lathering every corner to make sure you're squeaky clean... ah just thinking of that makes me want to take another shower!

KEEP READING FOR A CHANCE TO WIN GROHE BATHROOM PRODUCTS!

Grohe invited me to describe my dream bathroom, and I think it's easier to show pictorial evidence.

Number 1: SPACE

It's hard to get this in Singapore though, but wouldn't it be nice if your bathroom had two sinks (like the one above) so you and your partner can brush your teeth together in the mornings and not have to wait for each other? 

NUMBER 2: WATER HEATER


My shower facility needs to have hot water when I want to bathe. I hate bathing in cold water!!

I will take this steam room any day. This is actually part of the GROHE F-Digital Deluxe which is like, the ultimate luxurious shower room.

NUMBER 3: A PROPER SHOWER HEAD


Of course, you might say that all working shower heads are 'proper', but what I mean is that their jet better not be painful (the villa I stayed at in Bali had really painful ones, even though I turned the entire head to try out all the functions), and the water flow better be consistent. I hate those that run out of water halfway, or lose power suddenly, you know what I mean. Cheap ones don't last. 

This is how my bathroom looks like. It is old, it is faulty, and it doesn't make me want to take a looong shower. I am so embarrassed to be showing you a picture of this. However, GROHE has kindly given me their showerhead which I will soon be enjoying the benefits of!! (Once I get my dad to fix it up for me lol) Thanks GROHE!!

This is how a proper shower head looks like. Why does a shower head look like a cute flower and why is it in a potted plant, you might ask? It's actually Grohe's Rainshower Flower, inspired by tulips, sunflowers and orchids, which will instantly brighten and cheer up your bathroom. WHow do those petals act as a shower head? Well, the petals, apart from their aesthetic purpose, also help to protect your shower head from damage. If you're a klutz like me who drops their shower heads once in a while (it's soapy ok!), this will definitely prolong its life. These babies come with GROHE's DreamSpray technology and have a pretty chrome finish to last you for years

Rain showers will do too.

NUMBER 4: AN ELEGANT BATHTUB


Claire, you already have an awesome shower head why do you need a bathtub? Well it's simple. Because this is my dream bathroom!!! I love soaking in the bathtub and you can bet your money that I will use the hotel's bathtub every time I'm overseas. It's just so relaxing! You get time all to yourself and it works best with a scrub to rub off those dead skin cells. And the bubbles!!! Nuff said.

NUMBER 5: THE BATH PRODUCTS


Were you expecting this? Bath products are essential and definitely part of the whole perfect bathroom experience! What's the point of having top notch products if the scent of your bath gels put you off? I like fruity smells that last long, meaning even if you step out of the shower and you randomly smell your skin, you can still smell the scent!
So thanks to GROHE, I can now haz nice smelling bath products!! Scented candles are also a wonderful way to complete your sensual experience in your bathroom.

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Well, now that you know MY dream bathroom conditions, it's YOUR TURN!


Get a chance to take home a part of your  dream bathroom with 

GROHE Bathroom Accessories (worth $321)! 

All you have to do is:

1) Take a picture of your bathroom, 
2) Instagram it, and hashtag using #thedreambathroom, #grohe and #grohesg, 
3) Tell GROHE in 50 words or less what constitutes a dream bathroom as your caption

That's it!

Winners will be selected at random by the GROHE. 

The contest ends 15 November 2014 at 2359hours.

Another picture of the GROHE F-Digital Deluxe which allows users to control lighting, audio and steam functions via their iPod. How amazing is that??? This is definitely my dream shower ROOM hahaha.


Interested to find out more about GROHE? Check out their Live! Center just off Dhoby Ghaut MRT at:

180 Clemenceau Avenue #01-01/02
Haw Par Centre
Singapore 239922

Also, specially for my readers:

A 20% DISCOUNT!

Here's a 20% discount coupon on regular priced GROHE products (with no minimum purchase required). Please note that it expires on 31 December 2014, so don't delay and get your new sanitary products asap!


Thanks GROHE!
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