The Hungry Bunny

Warning to the wise: this is another long-ish rant.  What's your policy with money? Do you ever lend your friends money and if so, what's the limit? What do you do when they don't return the money by a stipulated period? What's a reasonable time to wait before you gently remind them that they still owe you money? Do you send them reminders? Or do you wait for them to remember the debt on their own? What about communal meals with friends or colleagues? In particular, very large groups of friends/colleagues. There's usually someone who pays the bill first, especially if there's some kind of discount tied to some kind of credit card and there's only one person who has that particular credit card. I'm not talking about those fluid arrangements with close(r) friends where people take turns to pick up the tab. Usually in such cases, the tab-picking is generally fair and nobody really feels shortchanged because it's all close friends, and close frien...

Update September 2016: Jane Thai has moved east to 41 East Coast Road, at 6966 5187, open Mons to Sat from 11.30am to 2.30pm; 5.30pm to 10.30pm We were out with Beeps and her family for dinner. It's great that despite the addition of the little bub to her family unit, both husband and wife still make time to keep up with their friends. So often we see couples losing their individual identities and relationships, when a child comes along. They get so preoccupied with their kid(s) that they forget to maintain adult relationships, and sometimes, even their partnerships with their other halves becomes an unfortunate casualty in their new-found parental roles. I've found that this happens even when someone gets attached or married as well - they lose themselves in an isolated world that revolves around 2 persons. This is why I make a concerted effort to keep up with my friendships. This way, I continue to grow as an individual, and not stagnate and become a one-dim...

October 2012 is significant for 2 things. The Hari Raya Haji long weekend (mucho amor!) and re-connecting with old friends. In the short span of just a couple of weeks, I've somehow managed to reconnect with 2 old friends whom I've lost touch with over the years. I first got to know Addie at brownies, I thought she was just the prettiest girl ever and couldn't resist chatting her up. Yes yes, I was a superficial kid: I thought all pretty people were nice. And as they say, the rest is history. We lost contact, however, when she moved to live and work in France. I found out, over facebook, that she's recently moved back to Singapore and that's how we re-connected (and this is why facebook, with its ability to reconnect you with long lost friends, has the least choosiest customers ever). It's heart-warming how, despite the almost decade-long disconnect, we were able to pick up exactly where we left off. We yakked our heads off and were so oblivious to our surroun...

I've recently been let in on a secret. Kang's plan for domination: to get all his friends fat by feeding them all irresistibly yummy cupcakes. That kind of made sense, because he'd recently gifted us with a box of his latest culinary discovery - Plain Vanilla Bakery. Even after I'd been whining about my weight gain! Ah well, I've come to terms with the fact that I'm one of those who live to eat. Life's short and you don't ever want to kick yourself for not having savored all that life's to offer, right? I'm not advocating obesity, but I think we should stop obsessing about every single calorie and body image issues. The key is moderation. Live to eat, but make sure you live long enough to eat! Plain Vanilla Bakery is a small-ish establishment that's made quite a splash in the cupcake business scene for churning out really good confectionery. Their cupcakes are dense and moist, with a nuanced sweetness that walks the tightrope between ric...

We were in the Upper Thomson vicinity getting the Hubs' car fixed after he'd dented it (on this note, it irks me when someone tells me that ALL women are bad drivers, or that ALL men make better drivers than ALL women. While the stereotype is generally true, I think it's awfully presumptuous to prejudice against that generalization. I happen to be acquainted with more than a handful of men who are driving-challenged. *cough cough CC cough) and popped over to the club to spend the quarterly F&B levy. Although we dislike the fact that The Lookout is completely open-air, it is admittedly airy (but a little muggy) and does boast a picturesque view of the sprawling green. Save for a few sweaty golfers enjoying their post-game cigars and wines, the bistro was delightedly empty. It was, afterall, mid-afternoon, when we arrived at the all-day dining spot. If not for the dining levy, I don't think we'd eat at the club as much as we do. Most of the bistro fare aren...

Wild Honey recently collaborated with famed Melbourne chef Barry Iddles (to be brutally honest, I'd never heard of the guy until his name popped up on Wild Honey's "Melbourne Does Breakfast" menu) to bring a little touch of the cosmopolitan Victorian state to Singapore's breakfast scene. For 4 days only, Wild Honey featured an eclectic menu that reflected the melting-pot culture of Melbourne. We were very lucky to have been at the right place, at the right time (we were both on leave, yes, we got a headstart on the long weekend...yippee! And we'd just viewed another property so we were in the area), to sample the "limited edition" dishes. Even if I still have no idea who this Aussie dude is, his food's awesome! I loved how the dishes were creative and innovative but worked so naturally well you end up wondering how you didn't think of it in the first place. It was all about freshness of ingredients, a restrained hand with the seasoning, and ...

We wanted to eat at SPRMRKT but it was filled to the brim with diners so we headed to the air-conditioned eateries opposite. Moo Bar & Grill had a very attractive 1-for-1 promotion and it seemed a popular enough lunch option. As it turns out, the 1-for-1 promo is really the entire reason for the restaurant's popularity. At full-on prices, the quality isn't up to par. But, with prices halved, the portions seem twice as generous, you become twice as forgiving and the entire meal appears doubly value-for-money. But, as expected, the downside of a busy restaurant is the resultant choppy service. It took a good half hour before our mains arrived. Our iced waters arrived after 2 reminders and when we were halfway through our mains.  The Oven Baked 'Beer Can' Free Range Chicken ($30) with rosemary and a beer-infused pullet was too dry and lacking in taste, even if the portion was generous and could easily feed 2. The free refill of truffle mas...