Baby Shower

We had a baby shower at work this afternoon for two expectant Mothers. It was so much fun.

Small hands and feet leading us to the Baby Shower

We played games:

• Never Say 'Baby'. Each guest got given five circle stickers to stick on themselves. Anyone who catches another guest saying the word ‘baby’ can remove the offender’s sticker put it on themself. The winner is the guest with the most stickers dummies at the end.
• Guess the 'sex' of the Baby. Each guest had to guess whether the Baby is a boy or a girl.
• Guess the 'due date'. Each guest had to guess when the baby is due.
• Guess how many 'M&M's'. Each guest had to guess how many M&M's were in the baby bottle.

There were also a range of yummy food, see pictures below:

Look at all that food!

Yummy sandwiches

Look at the pieces of cake

 

Cupcakes from 'Twelve Cupcakes'

One of the members of Staff also brought in cupcakes made by her neice. Think she was hoping that either of both Mothers will be having girls. The decorations on these cupcakes are so cute!

There was even a Diaper Cake!

Messages were written on diapers so that the Mothers' can read them (and maybe have a chuckle) while they change nappies at odd hours of the day / night.

Coffee; spurring on the shopping in Chatuchak (JJ) Market , Bangkok

<<Post by @SGVekNZ>>

I always find getting out of bed difficult whilst on holiday; you're there to chillax, and take a slower approach to life. However, the pull of seeing Chatuchak (JJ) Market in Bangkok was too great and our buddy N suggested that we get there earlier to avoid the crowds. It's a huge market so N, P and I knew that we needed to shake those sleepy "Zs" with a Coffee :)

In the Art section of the Market; N introduced us to Koko Drip, a great little Artisan Coffee, Cocoa and Thai Tea shop.

Small intimate Coffee Shop

Quality over Quantity at really good prices

Koko Drip is a real intimate affair; a small booth like space, with a counter top bar arrangement to provide punters with their Caffeine fix. The 2 staff members were very friendly and more than happy to tell the story of their great beverages.

Coffee Bar time! Caffeine is about to get served

Check out the multiple Coffee drips all doing their thing

The Coffee beans themselves are grown and bought in from Chiang Mai. I was very happy to know it was sourced within Thailand. The Beans are actually roasted by Koko Drip before being ground and sold. They don't rush the coffee making process either; as it goes through the drip, you can smell the aroma waffling from the brew. They place a filter into the drip funnel, put in the freshly ground Beans then slowly pour in hot Water. When it drips through completely, they top it up again to ensure a full cup. You can have the Coffee black or with a dash of Milk. 

Patience; your Barista is working on it

Freshly ground Beans, Drip Filter and Gravity. It's all you need

The Coffee is very "light" in taste and gentle on the tastebuds. It isn't meant to provide a huge flavour kick but more an experience that you can enjoy. If you add Milk, it gives a very nice creamy texture that does enhance the taste further if you like the smoothness of dairy.

If you like iced versions of the drinks, they do make some fancy foam for you. The foam is "churned" and made manually. 

What we really liked; if you enjoyed the Coffee a lot, you can buy gift packs to take home :) 

The cool filter drip bag design also means it sits on top of your Coffee Mug perfectly.

Sealed packs for freshness and a clever drip filter design

Koko Drip is a great way to fuel up before wondering around the huge Chatuchak Market. It certainly hits the spot and kept us powering through until lunch. The Art quarter; in area 7, where Koko Drip is located is also worth exploring. There are many talented Artists who have their works on display.

Check out Koko Drip for your Caffeine fix :)

Do you need your daily Coffee hit before starting the day?

@SGVekNZ

*CLOSED* The Humble Loaf - Katong

UPDATE 2: The Humble Loaf wiill be opening its brand new restaurant in a new location in July 2014. Stay tuned. 

UPDATE: The Humble Loaf at Katong Shopping Centre will have its last day of service on the 30th of April 2014, Wednesday.

******************************

The Humble Loaf is a small artisanal cafe; located in the basement of Katong Shopping Mall on Mountbatten Road (the mall with all the maid agencies), and opened in the first quarter of 2013.

As soon as you walk through the doors of this cozy cafe; you'll notice the menus on your left, split into Sandwiches (main course), Sides (Snacks) and Drinks.

The "Humble" menu

Try and get a seat at the bar (counter). Here you can see where the magic is created.

Friends who have been to The Humble Loaf have been raving on about Humble Eggs, and Not-so-humble Eggs. These are two Menu items.

I decided to try the Not-so-humble Eggs as a starter. This dish is made of thin slices of Jamon Serrano, on top of soft-boiled eggs, with chives and sliced black Olives. Once I tasted a spoonful, I couldn't stop, the eggs were cooked to perfection. Before I knew it, it was all gone. I was tempted to order another one!

Not-so-humble Eggs - S$6.00

Then I had the Herring Caviar and Truffled Egg Bruschetta as a main. The Chopped Egg and Caviar was served on toasted Bread (which they make themselves). This dish had just the right balance of saltiness.

Dillon (the owner) preparing my Bruschetta

Herring Caviar and Truffled Egg Bruschetta - S$6.50

Hubby ordered the Smoked Tomato Salad as a starter. The Tomatoes used were non-acid ones and it was topped with salad leaves and sprinkled with grated Cheese and Salt.

Smoked Tomato Salad - S$6.50

The Croquette Monsieur was also ordered. It's Ham and Cheese layered on top of toasted Bread. The Cheese is then baked (melted) using a Blow Torch.

Croquette Monsieur - S$6.00

They also have drinks on offer, we ordered items such as:

Raspberry Lemonade - S$4.50

Ginger Honey Tea and Piccolo Latte

They often have weekend specials, and they are detailed on the Blackboard directly in front of the serving counter.

Weekend special board changes every week

All in all, this a small, intimate cafe, maybe seating up to about 10 people. It's a great place to meet up with friends and loved ones, or just to unwind with a good book.

Dillon, the owner is a self-taught baker, bakes his own breads and pastries. Do keep an eye on their Facebook page, as they sometimes sell out of Breads and/or Pastries early.

Photo Credit: The Humble Loaf Facebook Page

The Humble Loaf is located at:

865 Mountbatten Road

#B1-92, Katong Shopping Centre

Singapore 437 844

Opening Hours:

Tue – Fri: 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Sat – Sun: 10:00 am – 6:30 pm

World Colours - #PINK (#worldcolors #worldcolours)

For the month of October, the colour was PINK!!!

We go back down memory lane to the Pink Ribbon Charity Walk we participated in 2011, to showcase the colour pink.

For previous WorldColour posts, click here.

A Japanese Lunch for you Corporate types :) @ Katanashi on Boat Quay

(Guest post by @SGVekNZ)

During the working week there are 2 things I look forward to. The first one is obvious; going home at the end of the day. At a very close second is Lunch. I love Lunch to bits as it breaks up the day and also replenishes the energy drained from going through the dreaded inbox.

Working in Raffles Place means that it gets super crowded and you can end up paying a lot for Lunch despite there being a lot of options available.

Most of the time I would avoid Boat Quay for fear of getting squandered out of my Lunch money. That was until I came across Katanashi; a small little Japanese Don place (bowls of Rice served with various toppings) and now I'm hooked. At $12 for a set consisting of Salad, Miso Soup and a Bowl of Rice, you can't go wrong on price.

I usually order the Karaage Don (fried Chicken) or Chicken Katsu Don (Cutlet). Both are awesomely good, nicely battered or crumbed with a great crunch.

Fried Chicken; thats not a serving by the way! It is the distribution point for the Chefs to use :)

You can also request to have a poached Egg added on top as an extra treat ;)

The light Teriyaki sauce also flavours the Rice nicely. For the Chicken Cutlet, I enjoy the dash of Mustard they give you for a bit of a hit ie "Nom".

Teriyaki sauce, Rice, crispy Chicken? Nothing wrong here

The Salad is simple; greens with a Sesame sauce and the Miso Soup is pretty good for washing the Rice down too.

The Set for $12. Sorry, I ate the Salad 1st to get to the good bits :)

If you want, order some Edamame and the staff will play a game of Rocks, Paper, Scissors with you. They'll bring out a big Basket of Edamame and if you win, you can use all 5 of your fingers to grab as much Edamame as you can to eat. If you lose, you only get to use 3 fingers. They're all very friendly though so you should win most of the time :)

Edamame game rules

Great start to any meal

Katanashi is a great little place for some tasty food and the price is pretty good. Try and sit inside by the Kitchen counter and you can see  the team work their magic. 

A great little touch are their packets of tissues, they write & draw their own little cartoons on them for you. 

Customised Tissue packet - hand drawn :)

And as a real bonus they all shout a very friendly welcome or good bye to you in Japanese as you come and go :)

Check Katanashi out. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Katanashi can be found at 77 Boat Quay.

Cheers

@SGVekNZ