[Review] Farm Florist - Surprise Bouquet

Fresh flowers make anyone's day better easily! It's no wonder fresh blooms are gifted on every sort of occassions - from romantic dates, to congragulatory moments, or even to cheer someone up.

I'm thankful for the surprise bouquet sent over by Farm Florist recently for my mom's birthday. It first accompanied me for a nice weekend morning tea, which was lovely since my birthday was close!

The bouquet was in my favourite shade of pink which I believe Farm Florist has noted in their surprise. Also, they have meticulously picked out the blooms which I truly love - beautiful baby pink hydrangea and tulips, perfectly complimented by sweet pink roses.

Brought the bouquet out to surprise my mom later in the day and she, too, was charmed by the florals.

Thus, if you're too busy or clueless on the choice of flowers, why not leave it to the experts? Farm Florist's Surprise Bouquet starts from 34 SGD with free delivery. The bouquet can look very presentable, puffy, and beautiful despite the affordable pricing. Simply fill in the drop down boxes with some details such as the age and gender of the recipient, along with the type of occasion, and Farm Florist will use their creative sense to curate the most applicable arrangement :)

Not only trustworthy in their selection of flowers for the surprise bouquets, Farm Florist also provides reliable same-day delivery option or even within 60 minutes! Reliability is important and they have guaranteed full refund for all late deliveries which is something huge to commit to.

There are simply no reason not to order an bouquet from Farm Florist for your next special occassion. Click here to check out more selections on Farm Florist ♥

[Guest Post] Grand Opening Flowers: A Great Way to Open a Business

If you feel excited for a grand opening of your friend’s new business, then it can be a good idea for you to send flowers. There are lots of grand opening flowers that you can choose from and you can even make reservations online by simply searching for the best online florist . Place your order as early as possible to be assured that you can send the grand opening flowers right on time.

What You Should Know about Grand Opening Flowers

One of the best ways for you to send a congratulatory message is through grand opening flowers. Aside from that, flowers can be an effective idea for you to decorate the venue and make the celebration livelier. You can have flowers that have an uplifting look such as sunflowers, carnations, and roses to provide your guests with a cozy atmosphere. Look for grand opening flower stands that are usually available with metallic or wooden base.

Stylish fabrics were used in wrapping the flowers to somehow highlight the arrangement. Grand opening flower stands are also accentuated with ribbons for the ceremony. Grand opening flowers are presented in different arrangements and sizes that will surely suit your budget. It is best that you reserve the flowers online for you to easily compare the prices and have the one that you can afford.

Grand opening flowers can be an impressive gift for the grand opening day of business. It shows your

support to the business thus looking forward to its success in the future. With a reliable florist , you can be able to send fresh flowers with a stunning arrangement for a grand opening if you want to make an impression to your guests.

You don’t have to worry if ever that you forget to reserve a grand opening flower ahead of time because there are florists that could offer you same day delivery . However, it is expected that this can be more expensive compared to making reservations early. On the other hand, if ever that you love to arrange flowers, then it can be a good idea for you to create your own flower stand. Besides, you can already find all the needed resources around you and you can even watch videos online to learn how you can create a beautiful flower stand for a grand opening. You can even purchase cheap flowers as long as you can arrange them like a pro.

[Guest Post] Extend Sympathy with Funeral Flowers

At time of loss, it can be difficult to express sentiments and comfort through words. But with online

florist delivery , all fresh flowers convey the message of sympathy and comfort you want to express. The Florist crafts and delivers beautiful funeral flowers. Here are your best choices to extend sympathy and condolences:

1. Casket Sprays

All casket sprays are designed to adorn coffins and caskets using the freshest flowers and selected high quality green plants and leaves in a wide range of colors and sizes. The florist designs these flowers for you to have the best choice of flower arrangement to offer during this time of grief. Based on your choice of color, style, and design, the flower shop Singapore has the largest selections of casket sprays to suit your needs.

2. Standing Sprays

Standing spray funeral flowers are designed to stand or hang on easel and to be placed near the casket. This flower arrangement is ideally meant to offer sympathy and condolences to the bereaved family. The online florist Singapore uses different types of flowers symbolic of peace or appropriate to the funeral service. Most standing sprays are from the closest family, friends, and relatives and are given in honor of the person who passed away.

3. Funeral Wreaths

There are different sizes and shapes for the funeral wreaths. Depending on the symbol or message you want to convey, you can send a florist delivery of funeral wreath for the funerals in cross shape, heart shape, or circular shape. If you want to emphasize the person’s faith and dedication in God, the cross- shaped wreath of white flower is ideal. To express the deceased person’s undying and remarkable love for the family, the florist also offers heart-shaped funeral wreaths.

4. Funeral Baskets

Funeral baskets are one of the ideal gifts to send if you want to convey your sympathy and condolences to a friend and family. These funeral baskets may contain fresh flowers of white Lilies, Carnations, or Orchids. These funeral baskets of flowers will bring light and beauty amidst the difficult and sad time of a loss of a loved one.

5. Funeral Plants

The florists also have especially designed funeral plants ideal for the expression of sympathy and

condolences. There are dish gardens, planters of Peace Lily, Garden Planter, and potted Orchids to

choose from at the flower shop. These funeral plants are great for Flower Delivery to extend your

sympathy and message of comfort to the family.

Lynn Aesthetic facial review [Sponsored]

I always try to plan a facial after holidaying because my skin will generally be more sensitive and dry after travelling. Thankfully this time after coming back New Zealand, I had the chance to try out a hydration facial from Lynn Aesthetic.

Was really surprised that this aesthetic salon has been around longer than me in fact! Thus, I was looking forward to see what a long established company has to offer - I mean, being in the beauty industry for more than 3 decades, they must be doing something correct right?

Over the last 32 years of establishment, Lynn Aesthetic has re-invented, re-trained and renewed in order to keep pace with the ever evolving beauty treatment and technology. In fact, Lynn Aesthetic is one of the pioneers in the beauty industry to introduce lntense Pulse Light (l2PL) of medical grade machine (used by clinical dermatologists). Now. to move ahead of competitors, they are introducing new treatments for a complete beauty lifestyle such as  aromatic scalp treatment, ear candling detox treatment and many more.

The facial salon is located at a more secluded corner of the neighbourhood which is much quieter and peaceful, and I appreciate not having to walk out with my bare face into the crowd as well.

I was ushered to a private room filled with essential oil and soothing music and a cup of warm tea waiting, and it made me more at ease immediately.

In here, the therapist (mine was Kerine Wong) will try to understand any concerns you have with your skin and areas you would like to improve. After the consultation, you can let the therapist know the treatment of your choice or alternatively, she can recommend a treatment that is suitable for your skin.

There are various themed rooms available at Lynn Aesthetic for different treatments - facial, massage, etc. I especially like the floral ones and was glad that I was allocated the garden room for facial that day ^^

View before I disengaged and my skin gets some pampering..

The treatment started with a quick, warm lavender eye mask pads and that felt so soothing. Kerine was very gentle with her hands and detailed with her service - she explained every step she's doing, which I appreciate alot as I'm someone who prefer to know what's happening.

The facial includes cleansing, toning, serum using a ultra sound equipment, gel-like mask infused with rose essential oil, and all these are applied to both the face and the neck, even shoulders. Definitely no scrimping! The exact skin care and equipment used will be different depending on the treatment you are doing and your personal needs. 

In addition, there's also head and shoulder massage, eyebrow trimming and extraction of blackheads and pimples by hand which I understood from Kerine that it will lessen the impact on the skin. The techniques or services will differ therapist to therapist, so you're interested in mine, look for Kerine Wong! :)

If you're wondering about the brand of products used, they're labelled Lynn Aesthetic - in collaboration with the brand, Phyto Sintesi, a nature-based skin care range that can address the unique concerns of a wide spectrum of skin types.

The pampering session ended will a hydrating mask that was left on for about 25mins and I had a good nap in the mean time as well. Definitely melted away my stress that day and so many of my friends and colleagues commented that my skin looked good / radiant (from the hydration) after that.

Fruit yogurt and tea set will be served after your treatment while the therapist reviews your skin condition.

 I would recommend everyone to try Lynn Aesthetic (and do look for Kerine Wong if you do!), especially if you're staying in the area.

Lynn Aesthetic

Blk 211, Hougang St 21, #01-317 Singapore 530211

Tel: 6289 8901  

Operation Hour : 

Mon-Fri : 10am - 9pm 

Sat,Sun,PH : 10am -6pm

Amara Hotel Lunar New Year [Media Tasting]

Chinese New Year is a week away, so it’s time to kick start on the catch-ups and gatherings. And, what’s a better way to do them than over good food and drinks? :)

Amara Hotel is ready for a prosperous Lunar New Year with its festive menu and buffets done up for the Year of the Pig.

Eight Treasures Prosperity Yu Sheng $88++ Small / $118++ Large

First thought of Amara Hotel’s Yu Sheng is that, the in-house sauce is more savoury than the usual sweet ones. There’re are generous toppings of abalone slices, salmon sashimi, jellyfish, salmon caviar, fish roe and fried fish skin (yay) that gives the whole yu sheng various levels of texture.

Not surprisingly, the yu sheng is endearingly done in the shape of a pig to celebrate the Year of the Pig.

Braised Pumpkin Soup with Superior Fish Maw

As simple as it may look, this is one of my favourite item from the dinner. The sweetness and creaminess of the pumpkin perfectly contrasted by dried scallops, fish maw and mushrooms. It is a very comforting broth that feels healthy and yet, effectively whets our appetite. 

Soy Baked Sea Perch with Spinach in Bonito Sauce

This is definitely the favourite of the crowd. It got everyone at the table finding out more about sea perch (bite-size fact, it’s from the same family as the cod fish but less oily and thus able to retain any gravy better!)

Braised Pork Ribs in Black Beer

Pork lovers get to try a new creation of Amara’s - Braised Pork Ribs in Black Beer. The pork ribs are certainly very tender and the sauce is unique, though not much of beer taste? Let me know if it’s just me!

Beijing Duck $68++ ala carte

One of the highlight of the dinner was a live station where the peking duck is skillfully carved. Each piece of crispy duck skin and meat is then wrapped with the crepe, cucumber and leek. Of cos, not forgetting a dash of sweet sauce to elevate the taste.

Fragrant Rice with Chinese Sausage and Mushroom

This looks rather unassuming but it came out great in the mouth! Best complemented by Amara Hotel’s Sichuan Style Wok-fried Chicken with Dried Red Chilli (Mala Chicken).

Dessert Buffet

Consisting of some all-time favourites such as the New York Cheesecake, Lychee Charlotte Cake, nonya kuehs, and tartlets, there are also special Chinese New Year cakes as such the Gold Ingot Fruit Cake ($78, 1kg) and Cherry Blossom Sugee Cake ($68, 900g).

The cherry blossoms on the sugee cake is one of the prettiest decor I’ve ever had on a  cake and overall, the fondant isn’t overwhelming thick or sweet, perfect!

More details of Amara Hotel's dining options here:

Thanying | Silk Road

***

Amara Hotel

165 Tanjong Pagar Road Singapore 088539

+65 68792607

Breakfast: 6.30am – 10.30am daily

Lunch: 12pm – 2.30pm (Monday to Friday)

High Tea: 12pm – 2.30pm and 3pm – 5pm (Saturday and Sunday)

Tasting @ Artichoke - by MasterChef Singapore’s judge Bjorn Shen

If you’re a fan of MasterChef Singapore’s judge (the one with a rather slapstick personality), Bjorn Shen, I’m letting you in on a secret now – you may just have a chance to see him in real life at Artichoke ;)

Bjorn is the chef-owner of this Middle Eastern­inspired restaurant in the heart of Singapore’s Arts and Heritage district, since 2010.

More about Bjorn if you hadn’t followed him on MasterChef Singapore closely enough. Bjorn is notorious for his rebellious personality and outlandish style of cooking, Bjorn has earned significant industry recognition over the years. Outside of starting food brands Artichoke, Bird Bird and Neh Neh Pop, Bjorn wrote a monthly column titled ‘Bjorn Says’ for Time Out magazine, lectured at the Culinary Institute of America, and actively consults on menus for restaurant openings. Industry accolades that he has accumulated over the years include ‘Chef of the Year 2013’ ­ SC Global, ‘Rising Chef of The Year 2015’ finalist ­ World Gourmet Summit, ‘Best Local Chef 2016’ ­ SG Readers’ Choice Awards, and ‘WGS Best 20 Chefs 2016’ ­ World Gourmet Summit. Bjorn is also frequently on television, having most recently featured as judge on MasterChef Singapore on Mediacorp’s Channel 5, and also on programmes such as MasterChef Asia and Secret Eats, and in lead roles on Eat List Star Season 2 and The Ultimate Brocation.

Coming back to the restaurant where he helms, Artichoke may be probably the least authentic Middle­Eastern restaurant around. And that's exactly how they want it to be. The food is fun and creative; drawing inspiration from Middle­Eastern flavours and ingredients, as opposed to being traditional. Imagine funky stuff like squid­ink couscous, chermoula­spiced pomfret, malabi milk pudding with strawberry ice for something sweet, and honey za’atar fried chicken and cheeseburger pizzas on the weekends, all served to a backdrop of 60’s soul and 90’s hip­hop. You’ll see more on the individual dishes served later.

Artichoke got us starting the meal with some amazing cocktails.

For tasters, we had the Devils on Horseback ($14) which is wagyu ham wrapped over a dried apricot, labneh, mint, almond.

We were then served the 7 mezze items on the menu, out of which, these 3 are my favourites!

Babaganoush ($10) - smoked eggplant, pomegranate teriyaki sauce, pomegranate

and sesame seeds

Beetroot Borani ($12) - yoghurt, pistachio dukkah, dill

This is a rather tangy dish due to the yoghurt base, which not everyone may appreciate at first taste - so start with a smaller spoonful :) However eventually, I actually enjoyed the borani the most with the turkish toast. 

Iraqi-spiced Mushrooms ($12) - oyster mushrooms, fried egg puree, parmesan.

Apart from the mezze menu, we also had the popular choice of vegetable which is the Fried Cauliflower Salad ($20). I'm not a salad person, but this really suits my palate since the veg is fried!

Moving onto the mains, I absolutely love the Golden Pomfret ($26)!
These are charcoal-grilled locally farmed pomfret with sweet onion, chermoula, and barbecued lemon.

We also had the Squid Ink Couscous ($32), which is cuttlefish, clams, preserved lemon with a base of couscous.

The Smoked Chicken ($26) is also worth a mention, served with toum garlic whip and pickles.

For sweets, we tasted all 3 on the menu and the one that topped the chart for me is the Soft Serve Ice Cream ($6) which is burnt honey and sea salt flavour. If you're also a fan of salted caramel, you'll definitely enjoy this.

The Date Pudding ($16) is on par, with a more complex taste made up of smoked milk custard, cashew caramel, coffee jelly, sea salt. However, every flavour complements one another perfectly.

Lastly, the Malabi Split ($16) is a combination of sweet and sourness with the sweet coconut vanilla pudding and tarty strawberry ice, topped with pink peppercorn.

Apart from an unique dining experience, Artichoke also offers you a place to simply hangout for coffee / drinks on a weekend, with Turkish sodas, rosewater lemonade on the weekends and solid coffee all day from Common Man Coffee Roasters.

Artichoke

161 Middle Road
Singapore 188978

Tuesdays - Sundays
Hang Time: 1600 - 1900
Dinner: 1800 - 2145
​
Weekends
Brunch:1130 - 1445

[Lucky Draw] Singpost SmartPac review

What are those lime green boxes many of us have seen flying around between houses and offices? For avid online shoppers like me, you may probably be familiar with it already. For the rest who have not tried them before, those boxes are actually SmartPac from Singpost – essentially a postage paid doorstep domestic delivery with free packaging! On top of that, it comes with flat rates delivery so that you do not have to worry about postage cost calculation or pasting stamps..

I had received some of my online shopping parcels via SmartPac previously. And personally, I have also tried SmartPac boxes in the past, for sending more bulky items so that there’s no need to weigh the content and then to go and purchase / paste stamps. Recently I did another try and indeed SmartPac is working as well, if not better than in the past!

These packaging are extremely lightweight (including the box!) and convenient to use. There are a variety of prepaid packaging (box / polymer envelopes) you can purchase from any Post Office or Shop@Singpost:

The weight threshold for each packaging is indicated on the top right corner of it.

Do note that it is recommended to not send anything that is of high value (e.g. $1000 diamond ring), item with high tendency of leakage (unless sealed tightly) or precious items (e.g. one and only item in the world).

SmartPac gives you a peace of mind (both sender and receiver) as it is a doorstep delivery with tracking system in place.

1. Send – Pack your items into a suitable SmartPac (according to weight threshold indicated) and drop it at/in any Post office or street posting box (there are 57 POs and more than 800 posting boxes in Singapore - https://www.singpost.com/list-of-post-offices).

2. Track – Track your item’s delivery status via SP.com or SP Mobile App. Delivery reaches in 2-3 working days. I sent my parcel on a Wednesday, and found it in my letterbox by Friday evening :)

3. Receive – receive the item from the post man or if you’re not at home, item will be placed in your letter box.

For the month of October, Singpost is now running a promotion for all SmartPac (box/lite/mini) and Poly M (big & small) with discount up to 12% off!
www.singpost.com/smartwaytopac

This applies to minimum purchase of 20 pieces (products are sold in bundles of 10 pieces).

Also, join the lucky draw to win prizes over $100!
Simply:
1) upload a photo of you receiving or sending a SmartPac on Instagram
2) Like and follow @mysingpost, tag 3 friends and hashtag #SMARTwaytoPAC
3) 3 posts with the most number of likes win prizes over $100

Head over to my IG for information too. See you there!