Martini and Milk modern meets vintage

Chic Idea for a Birthday Party!

They say that “life begins at 40″, yet it is hard to believe when you have reached this age in your life.  Plan for the special day with a special party to embrace the next phase of your life with a swing!

Here’s a brilliant idea to celebrate it. Organize a chic Sparty (Spa Party)!  The ultimate combination of “Good Friends, Spa Treats, Delectable Nibbles & Refreshing Cocktails”…

My friend Rica just turned 40 and she wanted to celebrate her birthday in a special way. Rica is a full-time mommy with three gorgeous children. Her husband Ed is a British banker. They met when Rica was working in banking and they were introduced by a mutual friend. Rica’s life now is busy with taking care of her children.  Whenever she gets a chance, she simply wishes to have a relaxing and fun time with her girlfriends.

At first she tried to organize a cocktail party and a sunset cruise on a yacht. Which I think it was a fabulous idea also. But then Rica and her girlfriends came up with something even more brilliant: SPARTY! What are universally two lovely words that everyone will love? SPA and PARTY.

Bored and tired of visiting typical spas in hotels, shopping malls and office buildings? Looking for something that is both different and interesting, something that brings you back to mother nature and rub off a bit of colonial Singapore?

The Lush Spa is uniquely situated in the Singapore Polo Club. It is where time seems to have sat still since the colonial days in Singapore, where rich locals and expatriates come to the club for their daily horse rides to sip tea in open verandas.

I have never heard of Lush Spa before, so I was excited to try it for the first time. I love how it is away from the city and quiet. I didn’t know there was a spa amongst all the horses. I suppose the jockeys need a good massage after all that horse riding!

We arrived around 7pm; first we had to remove our footwear before entering the reception of the spa. I was impressed the moment I stepped in, the place smelt heavenly (like a spa!) and I swear I felt my stress levels dropped a few notches already.

The reception area of the spa is decorated with spa products and a small seating area on the side.  The delicious sparty bites were set at the buffet table close to the seating area.  The sparty menus consisted of antipasti platter (cold cuts, olives, duck rillettes, cheese and crackers), caprese salad, prawn cocktail with spicy dip, parma ham with rock melon shots, deluxe sushi platter, petite fruit tarts, spa chocolates.

First we were served with lychee martini and we started our spa session soon after.  It started off with a foot massage in the seating area while we chatted over wine and sparty bites. The ladies who worked at the spa spoiled us by being so attentive with the drinks and food. Before we started our next session, we hovered around the buffet table enjoying all the delicious bites and champagne. After we had our bites and drinks, the massage therapists gave us back and hand massages. We can choose to have the massage either in the seating area or in a private room. Most of us chose to have the massage in a seating area to be able to chat over drinks.

After 4 hours, we were finally done.  A four-hour session of pure bliss! *With wiggling fingers and toes*. I felt really pampered, It was the most lovely way to have a birthday party, all leisurely and relaxing.  I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

VDay at Le Nicolas With Special People (Singapore)

On Valentine’s Day, I think of people who have cheered and encouraged me, who have gone out of their way to be kind and caring. These people have enriched my life just by being themselves.  On the special day of love, I celebrated my “V “ day with my special people.

February 14 is such a special date for me because it is also the day of my beloved sister’s birthday. It was so great that she was in town so I got to celebrate the special day with my husband and sisters.

I reserved a table for us at Le Nicolas. It’s a French restaurant located on Club street, which is my favorite neighborhood in Singapore.  Club street is located in Chinatown and it relives the old days of Singapore.  The street is lined up with conserved shophouses that are occupied by European restaurants, bars and several galleries. It is more an upmarket area compared to other nightlife districts, catering mainly to yuppies and business executives.

The restaurant has such a cozy atmosphere and is flanked by restored pre-war shophouses in an art-deco architectural style. The food at Nicolas is prepared by a dedicated chef who puts his heart into his food. And it shows. It was my second time there. I was so impressed by its food on my first visit that I decided to have our VDay celebration there! The set menu changes every week and they also have the option of a “Surprise” menu.  How the surprise menu works is that the chef will ask you only the things that  you DON’T eat and leave the rest of the selection to the chef. I had it last time and it was fantastic! This second time around, I was so ready to be blown away again.

The chef presented a series of 8-course dinner which began with the lightest fare, proceeded to the heaviest, richest dishes. My favorite dishes were the Japanese-inspired egg custard served in an egg shell where a runny yolk was mixed with truffle oil, foie grass with apple sauce, pigeon breast roasted with green lentils ragout, 200-day-grass-fed angus beef tenderloin, slow confit roasted and chocolate truffle for dessert.

Happy belated VDay from Singapore…! “Laughter is brightest where food is best.” Irish Proverb

Winter. Italy.

if you like my poems let them
walk in the evening, a little behind you

then people will say
“Along this road i saw a princess pass
on her way to meet her lover(it was
toward nightfall)with tall and ignorant servants.”

ee cummings