Chijmes: Lei Garden

I started looking for a place to celebrate my habibi’s birthday a week before I came to Singapore. Since it’d be just more than a week before his actual birthday, I felt that it would be short for I’m still not familiar with the ins and outs of the city. After my search over the net gave me no luck, I asked for some advice from a co-w@wie based in sg. She advised that I look into Chijmes. So I did. Among the restaurants in Chijmes, I chose Lei Garden for it’s the only Chinese restaurant there since we both loved Chinese food, I felt that this would the safest place to eat. I’ve kept my secret to where we’ll eat until we reach the place. Since I can’t plan a big surprise for him, keeping it to him will give him the excitement for the day. He’s a bit worried that we might get lost, without giving much details, I just assured him that I know the place. It’s great that Chijmes is just a few meters walk away from an MRT station.


When we arrived at Chijmes, we were amazed how cozy the place was. At that instant, we knew that that wouldn’t be the last time we’ll be there. There are a lot of varieties of food to choose from. Unfamiliar to the place, we kind of got lost a bit. Until we got to an open area and saw Lei Garden sitting at the center of Chijmes. From outside, we knew that Lei Garden is not a typical Chinese restaurant. It was a fine dining Chinese restaurant! Most of the men were wearing coats and ties. Good thing, we came from the office so we’re a bit dress up for the occasion. We came a few minutes early. While waiting, we were seated at their receiving area and served a jasmine tea. We took the chance to look at their menu, I myself concerned with the price since we’re spending both our money now and not just his. Surprisingly, their price was not too expensive. Their crews were very kind to us as well. The lady who attended to us guided us through our orders. Since we’re not very familiar with the food, she’d say if what we ordered is enough or too much for the two of us. We ordered Double Boiled Soup with Beef, their specialty, and Fried Noodles with Prawns. The other crew knew little English so we had hard time speaking with him. When JayR asked for a glass of “house” water, we were given a glass of “hot” water! Hahahaha! What JayR should’ve asked for was a glass of “ICED” water.

During our dinner, we were unaware that outside, people started filling in. When we went out, the quiet ambience was filled with acoustic music from a nearby bar. There were more crowds dining at the basement. We’ll definitely come back to try dining by candle light out in the open.


Before Chijmes became haven of restaurants, it was once an all girls school. The history of Chijmes intrigued me. I'd blog about it once I got the right information.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Its my birthday today and I can't think of a better way of celebrating it than to be with my wife. March 6, aside from being my bday, is special for the two of us because its the date when we first met. I can still remember how nervous I was waiting for Anne in their complany's lobby and i'm sure that my wife during that time felt the same. I dont know if it's a coincidence, but good thing it's my upcoming birthday when I invited her to go out on a dinner for if not, Im not sure if she would agree to go out with me that time.

It's my first time to celebrate birthday outside the Philippines and I thought I would be celebrating it alone again, just like I did last Christmas, because our original plan was for Anne to go here to Singapore around April. But God is really good. He didn't allow that to happen. He blessed Anne with a new work here and she started on the first day of March. God truly makes all things beautiful and perfect in His own timing. And she even got that work without the need to endure the hard process of job hunting through job fairs, classified ads and the like.

Actually, it's a two day celebration for us because March 5 is our 2nd month wedding anniversary and in spite of our hectic working schedules, we made sure this day will still be special. My wife, as always, never fails to surprise me. I think she got that exceptional skills of surprising people from me. ;) Last night, she cooked a very scrumptious mouth-watering dinner for us. It was so yummy I thought we were eating on a fine dining resto! For our main course, We had penne pasta in creamy white sauce with chicken and mushrooms. This goes with a pan fried salmon marinated with fresh lemon.


She told me that its her first time to cook this kind of pasta dish but the way it tasted, its really hard to believe what she said.

(I asked jayR to give me some time to cook our dinner on our monthsary. I wanted it to be very special since this is the first time we'll spend it together. I kept the details secret to him. I asked him not to hurry home but go straight home. I'm sure all the wives out there will understand what I mean! :D Unfortunately, I got home 30mins than the usual since JayR asked me to buy some groceries and I had to pick up the birthday cake I ordered for his birthday. As soon as I got home, I tried to hide the cake but it's not easy to hide a red box inside a ref filled with just juices and water and some left overs! I just kept it inside a plastic bag and prayed that he won't see it. I'm done cooking when he arrived. I had him stay at our living room while I prepare our dinner. I placed everything he would need from our ref on the table so he won't have any reason to open it and accidentally see the cake. Since we're eating pasta, JayR suddenly grabbed a bread, stood up and got the cheese from our ref! I tried to act normal and wished he won't say something about the cake. Good thing he didn't. That was a close one!)

I thought that was the highlight of the day but more surprises kept pouring on. After our dinner, we watched our previous AVP's and that inspired me to do my own version of our wedding AVP. Anne urged me to start doing the AVP when she noticed I started to get sleepy. It's because she had another plan to execute and she didn't want me to get sleepy until she carry out that plan. Very clever huh! So I started doing the AVP, until I became so engrossed with what I am doing that I didn't noticed its already 12mn (my bday already). My wife took this opportunity of me being so occupied, to go to our kitchen and execute her next surprise. I have earphones in my ears so I didnt hear any noise made by what she's doing. Then she walked towards me, carrying the candle-lit strawberry cheesecake in her hand while singing happy birthday! She was so sweet!

(I had a hard time finding the right timing to bring out the cake. Since we're now living on the same roof, plotting a perfect surprise is difficult. Thank goodness he worked on another AVP project, I found the opportunity to execute my plan. Since he was on an earphones, I did not bother keeping my silence as I bring out the cake out of it's box. We both don't smoke so I lit the candle using the stove! One surprise perfectly executed!)








And the surprises will not stop there. Tonight were going to have a dinner date in a place which my wife has chosen. She would not tell me where it is for its her next surprise to me. She just told me to relax, stay calm, and dont forget bring my credit card. hahaha. She just came here last friday but it seems she has been here for months already, well thats what she told me =) and she will prove it to me tonight in our dinner date. Hope we will not get lost on our way. Dont worry sweetheart, I trust your direction skills. ;)

To you my wife, thank you so much for always making me very happy even with the smallest things that you do. I love you so much!

(Anything for you my sweet habibi! I love you so much!)

Starting Anew

I’m back in Singapore. I’m now ready to start a new life together with my husband. Though we’ve been married for almost two months now, it is only now that I can truly say that I have a husband and that I’m certainly a wife. A few days after our wedding, JayR left for Singapore. So I’m left alone as if nothing major changed in my life. We’re back to our web cams. Good thing there’s Skype! He seemed like he’s just in some province nearby. It’s better than phone calls too!

Another great thing happened to me is that I got a job in Singapore! This came earlier than we’ve planned. It’s such a blessing to us. We’re both thankful to Him for all the blessings he’s showered upon us. Now, we’re both realizing how our dreams are starting to come to reality.

It's no secret that I don't do much chores at home. Amazing as it may seem, suddenly I became domesticated. I admit that I may be ignorant on some things, but I'm not totally clueless on household chores. I'm just still at a learning process. Good thing I know how to cook. I've remembered everything my mother used to tell me about some dishes. That guided me in all the dishes I've prepared for my habibi. Indeed, living a life out of your comfort zone is difficult. But with my habibi beside me, I’m sure we’ll do just fine.

Wish us both luck!

We're Tagged!

This post is so long due. Jan tagged me early this month but just got to answer it just now. I'm so sorry Jan. We're still new with blogging and this was the first time we were tagged. Since this blog is maintained by both me and JayR, it is just right that we both answer the questions. So here it is!

JayR says..

1. Today I feel very--- happy
2. I enjoy --- talking to my sweetheart love
3. I am unhappy when --- my sweetheart is not happy
4. I feel good when --- I achieve something important
5. I wish my boss --- is myself
6. My officemates think --- i'll wear my Lebron V on Friday.
7. My work area is --- very nice
8. I enjoy reading about --- current events
9. I like myself best when --- i'm under pressure
10. If I had a choice I would -- build our house in Europe
11. I wish --- it's thursday already
12. Tomorrow I would like to --- eat fruits and vegetables


Anne says..

1. Today I feel very--- relaxed! This is my first day off from work! :D
2. I enjoy --- massages..hmmn..i think I need one now!
3. I am unhappy when --- I don’t get what I want!
4. I feel good when --- my hubby gives me flowers!
5. I wish my (new) boss --- would see the potential I posses and be impressed with my abilities.
6. My officemates think --- i'm so lucky that finally I can join my husband in Singapore with a new job as well.
7. My work area is --- now clean and bare. Tsk tsk.
8. I enjoy reading about --- tips to improve one self’s character, lives, and travels!
9. I like myself best when --- I get to cook delicious foods especially for my husband.
10. If I had a choice I would --- fly first class every chance I get!
11. I wish --- our married life will last until eternity
12. Tomorrow I would like to --- finish packing!

Our Humble Abode

My flight was delayed for almost one hour. There were only two baggage counters for our flight. I am very patient with waiting in lines as long a I know that when it's finally my turn, my patience will be rewarded. Minutes passed. I could've been bored had I not chat with the other passengers. An hour more passed. JayR got a bit nervous that I might not make my flight. I assured him that there's still more time. Then another hour passed, now I'm scared. Finally, a flight attendant approached the end of the line and took our tickets. Apparently, there was only one counter working. There's only 5 minutes left before our plane takes off and I need to go through the immigration! That was the first time I ran in an airport to really catch the plane! No matter what, I'm grateful I was able to board the plane.

JayR picked me up from the airport! It's almost an hour past midnight when I arrived. We rode a taxi to our home. After JayR paid the driver, the driver clearly said "Arigato" to us! He thought we were japanese! Hahaha!

Our home was very cozy. It's neither too big nor too small for us. JayR placed a streamer on our living room wall that said, "WELCOME HOME SWEETHEART LOVE!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" It was so sweet! I felt I was indeed at home! It's the first time I saw its improvement after JayR painted it a few days ago. And it really did improved a lot! When JayR sent me pictures of the house, I felt it's too small. But I didn't mind for as long as we have a place we can call our own even for just a while is more than fine with me. Here are some of the shots I took.

The view from our kitchen window.



The living room.

(before)



(after)



The front door. We have no sofa yet. We'll add furnitures little by little.



We have TFC!!!



The Kitchen. I cooked my habibi's favorite sinigang!



The bedroom

(before)






(after)






There's a wet market just across our street. And a store which sells Filipino goods manned by no other than a Filipino! The MRT station is just a walk away! There's a bus stop with bus that stops at most malls in the city right in front of our building. The area is very quiet. It reminded me of Baguio. There were lots of trees around. We are at the 17th floor so the cool wind fills our home. We can live with just a fan throughout the day. I'm just not sure when summer comes. We'll definitely save a lot with electricity bills!