Nuffnang

Monday, August 30, 2010

Pizza Hut's NEW Parchment Pasta!

5 days ago on 25 August, Pizza Hut had launched its two new creations named En Papillote (which means "cooked in paper"). The name's too hard to remember? I agree! Since the two pastas are indeed cooked in paper, and to be more specific - Parchment Paper- the pastas are aptly called Parchment Pasta.


The day before these two items were launched, I, along with other 19 bloggers/ foodies, were invited to a food tasting session. We were told to head down to the Pizza Hut @ Suntec with an empty stomach, for we a gastronomic feast awaits us (and it's true).

All pictures click to enlarge
To begin with, meeting familiar faces there certainly helped ease the tension. Besides, it's always easy to make new friends over good food.


The Pizza Hut team had really put in effort to decorate the venue just for us, with balloons, tableware and even a banner that says "Pasta Bloggers"!


Their service staff were so attentive and efficient I had absolutely nothing to whine about. Settling comfortably in, we each chose a drink we fancy to go with the meal. I was recommended the Emerald Sparkle, so that was my choice for the night.


Following that, we had side dishes/ appetizers served one after another, starting with the Seafood Tofu Salad.


Priced at $6.90, you get a good and healthy portion of veggies, straw mushrooms, crispy noodles and of course, seafood tofu chunks topped with Italian dressing. Toss them altogether and enjoy with your friends.

The two other dishes that comes with it are the Chicken Riblets (bet you didn't know they have that!) and the famous Hut's Platter.

The Chicken Riblets is one of my favourites now, where the outside is fried till crispy while the meat inside remains tender and succulent. This one costs $5.80 for 4 pieces.

The signature Hut's Platter ($12.50) includes 4 sweet ‘n’ spicy drumlets, criss cross fries, 4 calamari rings and 4 scallop rolls(SO GOOD).


By then, I knew I had to slow down on the appetisers if not I won't be able to sustain till the main course! 


Introducing the two new Parchment Pastas - Char-grilled Chicken Parchment & Spicy Seafood Parchment - that are cooked wrapped in 'parchment' paper to lock the aroma of the spices and ingredients with the pasta. 

The pasta is served like that with the wooden peg where you get to keep it as a memorabilia. 

Unwrapping the rich Char-grilled Chicken Parchment, the aroma of garlic and creamy, buttery chicken hit me. It comes with chunks of turkey bacon, fresh button mushroom, garlic and capsicums with spaghetti doused in cream sauce. 

I've always been a cream-based Pasta eater, so I really liked it! It's good enough that I didn't have to put cheese. However, some bloggers find that it is high on the sodium. You can get your Char-grilled Chicken Parchment fix at $11.90.











Named Spicy Seafood Parchment, the bloggers had a debate on whether it is not spicy enough or too spicy. Some bloggers like Yu Xiang and Shine keeps adding more chilli flakes to their pasta! Others, like Wendy, was requesting for more water to fight the fire in her mouth. 


 Here's a mini clip of what to expect when you order the Spicy Seafood Parchment:





This is priced at $12.90, pay a dollar more for the big mussels,  fresh prawns and squids! 


Like I mentioned earlier that the parchment paper seals the delightful flavour, thus retains the natural sweetness of the seafood, leaving me yearning for more. I keep thinking it was some herbs that gave this pasta that sweet, sour and spicy combination.









 Melissa had Basil Crayfish Pasta that looks like this:
I forgot to ask her how it tastes like, but she did enjoyed the dinner.

In the end, I actually preferred the Spicy Seafood Parchment. Heh.We had both Parchment Pastas at its actual portion, so it was really too much for me. William though, finished EVERYTHING. I have no idea how he did it. 


He even wanted to kop food from out table! Hurhur.



 










After the mains comes the dessert. We enjoyed the best of both worlds with A Tale of Two Temptations ($5.50), a brownie cheesecake and banana choco mousse cake.  Though shared among the six of us (at my table), I finished 3/4 of the banana choco one alone. Hurhur. 





Before we go, I had hot tea and we were given a token of appreciation. I brought home with spaghetti, tin box (for storing pasta), tomato pasta base sauce and even an apron!
I find the copy rather 'cheesi-ly' suitable
William and I was in the mood to play dress up using the given aprons: 

 






Wonder if I would ever cook the spaghetti and base sauce before its expiry date! :p I cannot cook for nuts. Even with guidance, something's bound to go wrong since I'm such a klutz! Will Green Man ever get to try my cooking? He briefly mentioned he would report sick the following day if I were to make him eat the food I cooked. :/










Because I was in the mood for some arts&craft, I decided to recreate my own parchment paper! 
This is the original Pizza Hut's Parchment Paper:

And this is my process of doing so (first time doing a video too):


Signing off,


Saturday, August 28, 2010

Stretch Your Dollar With OCBC Yes! Card

To me, stretching my dollar means finding the best deals before I spend my hard-earned money. For example, discounts, one-for-one deals or privileges.






See what arrived in my mailbox - my very own OCBC Yes! Card. And now as an OCBC Cardmember, I get to enjoy the following privileges and much more.

0000-0130hrs - Midnight KTV @ Partyworld
Spending: SGD60/head (approx) during Golden Hour
Privilege: 10% off bill
Savings: $6/person etc













0130-0300hrs: Shop Online
Spending: Say I want to buy this dress for the longest time, and it costs about SGD130 excluding shipping.
Privilege: 25% discount OFF your shipping weight for every shipment you make
Savings: I'm not good with this because I've never done with before but I know I can save quite an amount if I want to purchase more stuff from other sites like VS, Fredflare and ASOS.

0300-1030hrs: Sleeping
Spending: None
Savings: Yes!

1030-1200hrs: Breakfast @ Hotel Re!
Spending: SGD 25/person
Privilege: 10% OFF Total Bill at Re!Fill & Re!Wine
Savings: $5 for two













1200-1330hrs: Go shopping for Green Man's underwear at Calvin Klein
Spending: Ranges from SGD$30-$60 /pair
Privilege: 20% OFF Calvin Klein Underwear; Plus get a FREE pair of Calvin Klein Underwear flip-flops worth $39 with nett purchase of $200.
Savings: Either $12 for 2 pairs or $40 for 4 pairs + flip flops for him







1330-1500hrs: Lunch @ Zenshin Sushi
Spending: SGD40+ for two
Privilege: 10% Off Total Bill
Savings: $4 +






1500-1630hrs: Shopping for Mini Cooper bikes (Gosh I love them designs and brands so much!)
Spending: SGD$599
Privilege: Enjoy S$99 off on the following models*
• FDB 206 Folding Bike in British Green (usual price S$599)
• City 206 Standard Bike in British Green (usual price S$699)
Savings: $99


1630-1800hrs: Exercise @ BorderX & Climb Asia
Spending:SGD68/adult
Privilege: Up to 40% off* purchases in retail shop
• Up to 20% off courses
• FREE 1 hour taster session with min. spend of S$100
Savings: $27.20 + discount on equipments + free climbing hours





1800-1930hrs: Dinner at Casa do Churrasco
Spending: SGD40+/adult
Privilege: Weekdays night 1-for-1 Dinner (Adult at $40+ / Child at $18+)
Savings: $40+









1930-2100hrs: Watch Fried Rice Paradise in support of The Arts
Spending:SGD 186 for two
Privilege: 15% OFF for all OCBC Cards
Savings: $27.90

2100-2230hrs: Catch a movie at Golden Village
Spending: $8/weekdays + $10/weekends
Privilege: Movies at reduced prices!
• S$7 on weekdays
• S$8.50 on weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sundays, eve of Public Holidays and Public Holidays)
• S$1 OFF OCBC combo meal of the week
Savings: $1/movie on weekdays + $1.50/movie on weekends

2230-2400hrs: Chillin' at ChinaOne
Spending: SGD50 (approx)
Privilege: 20% OFF on food and beverages
• 25% OFF on beverages on Sundays only
• FREE entry for OCBC Cardmember and 2 guest on weekends and eve of and public holidays
• Present your OCBC Credit/Debit and ID to receive a FREE bottle of champagne on your birthday
Savings: $10 or more on Sundays! Plus free entries and/or free champagne

And just like that, I've easily saved about $200 and that's how I'll stretch my dollar with the OCBC Yes! Card. :d

In conjunction with the OCBC Yes! Card Challenge, I decided to compose a 'poem' just for fun:






OCBC Yes! Card is the one card you need,
For students like me who watch my spending.
Into my wallet and lifestyle that perfectly fits,
The possibilities of saving is never-ending.'

They round your purchase to the nearest dollar,
Doubling my spare change plus rebates going to my account,
It is such a great idea I wanna holla!
It is almost like a new friend found!







Months ago I lost my Ez-link card,
No transport card so I almost went nuts!
But fear not because I can now use another card, Yes!
That also comes with Ez-reload
That tops up my card automatically when the amount runs low.

Wave your card to make payment,
Like maybe you went shopping at Giant.
With payWave there's no need for PIN number, Yes!
Neither do you need to sign,
Just tap your card on the logo with curved lines.

So convenient because it's all-in-one,
Thus bring it overseas if you want.



One of my favourite service will have to be banking from the comfort of my home. For 24 hours, 7 days a week I can use OCBC Internet Banking to conduct my transaction (if you know how much I shop online).


I'm thrilled. In fact, I've already used it more than once while out dining within a week. What, it's too convenient to not use it. Besides, charging the bill via Visa will allow me to enjoy a fee waiver on my following card anniversary.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Nail Stuff

I was in search of pretty nail designs the other day and found this cute, understated design:

I tried this on my nails last week and failed terribly.

Coincidentally when I was meeting Tweety and Co. the week before, I saw Samantha having this nail design. Love it! Which made me realize Sammie’s a really good nail artist. Previously she had bought lace and cut them into really tiny pieces and incorporate it into her nail colours. Things I’ve never thought of before. Nice. ☺

Just over the weekend, the evil Sammy just asked me to pick a Minx nail design for her.

What is Minx nails?!?!!

I don't even know until then.

Images all from Google

When browsing through magazines and images, if you'd notice the nails of Blake Lively, Beyonce, Megan Fox etc, and wonder how on Earth did they manage to get GOLD nails (no, not the glittery ones, this one is reflective), that IS Minx nails.

It works like having a gold foil over your nails, and if you like it, you can have it in Silver too or designs on the gold nails.

Other designs available include the one like this:
Intricate tribal/swirl details that you most probably cannot draw with barehands.

However, due to its new technology it is costly and only available at selected outlets (that I don't even know). Only Sammy knows but she's getting hers done in KL, where she says it's a lot cheaper. Will bug her for address and pictures when she get back. :)

Just last night, this woman asked me to join her for a session of Crackle nails. According to her, can find some cheap ones in Singapore.

Crackle nails are basically, just nail designs that looked cracked:

They come in different variations too.

However, if you try to do Minx x Crackle together it ain't very wise:


Hehe.

She's got a serious nail fetish, I swear.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Direct Mailers Are Evil

It’s so distressing when Universal Studios keep sending you DMs like the one below to tempt you:

Desperately want to check out this place ever since last year.
 
3D commemorative tickets!!! Hopefully I’ll get to go New York next year so I can drop by Orlando. Hehe.
 

Sunday, August 22, 2010

AQUALABEL - Bloggers' Workshop

Last week, I met AQUALABEL and only got to know her briefly.

This week, I met her face to face at the AQUALABEL starter workshop with the rest of the bloggers, and even get to try my hands on the full series of products. Afterall, beauty is more than just skin deep. behind the layers of make up, I finally learnt the proper steps to take care of my overworked skin.

At AQUALABEL. she believes that dry skin is the root of all evil, and hence she promises to keep skin moist and infuse your skin with sufficient amounts of moisture with three key stages - Sink, Saturate & Seal.


The unique blend of oil and water allows moisture and other effective ingredients to be penetrated into the deep layers of your skin. This Aqua Synergy will then be maximally absorbed by the skin, keeping it soft and supple.

Instead of bombarding with the technical aspects, simply put, AQUALABEL saturates and seals the skin with Moist Aqua Keeping Base. It uses 4 powerful ingredients to concoct this exclusive formula.

As mentioned in the previous post, AQUALABEL carries three different ranges -


AQUALABEL Whitening


This range of whitening products focuses on reparing and preventing the targeted problems such as pigmentation and brightening skin's overall clarity.

We were corrected at the workshop that the products doesn't fade away scars, but instead targets the root of the pigmentation problems by to stop overactive melanin production. :)


With regular usage of AQUALABEL Whitening Line, the skin will look brighter and appearance of spots are minimized.

AQUALABEL Mosturising


This range of products replenishes thirsty skin with lots of moisture to achieve youthful and boing! skin.


During the workshop I slapped on a AQUALABEL Moist Charge Mask and I love how my skin reacts to the mask in just three minutes! Because it's an intense mask, no longer than five minutes is required for the skin to absorb the moisture and nutrients.

I brought home with me the knowledge of massaging the essence from the mask into the skin after you peel off the mask. On top of the usual patting, they are actually six crucial steps before that. Might consider showing the proper way if anybody's keen. Heh.



And AQUALABEL Anti-acne Whitening Care


Last but not least this range of anti-acne products promote smooth skin complexion by prevention of acne and acne scars.



I haven't really tried this range yet but I think I NEED to, judging by my skin condition. :(


Pre-workshop:

 Bloggers mingle, and browse through the products on display.

For product demo purposes, we had to pin up our hair:


No matter which range you choose eventually, I learnt that these steps are important to our daily beauty regime.

1) Cleanse 

Since AQUALABEL wanted to keep the workshop real neat and tidy, we didn't have water basins to wash our faces. We were instead, given hot towels (SIA style) to clean our faces after using the Deep Clear Cleansing Oil.


I got a little panicky because I know how oil removers will get into my eyes (and I'm wearing permeable lenses to it blurs my vision completely), but miraculously with the vapours from the hot towel, the oil doesn't stain my lenses and cleared up within 30 secs. That was how I am convinced by the ingredients and texture of the product. :)



2) Soften

Often, I am too lazy to apply a toner, but at they workshop it was highlighted how important this step is. We get to choose from either the White Up Lotion (S/R) or Moisture Lotion (S/R).


This step have to be done in an upwards and outwards direction, for if not your skin will become saggy!


I do, however, suggest you use a lint-free cotton pad. Coz' mine got a little messy with the "furry" bits on my face!

3) Moisturise

I need not say more for this step. They have the White Up Emulsion, White Up Cream Moisture Emulsion and Moisture Cream.


4) Special Care



Treat your skin right with regular masks treatment, and force all the previous beauty products you used on your skin to work harder for you with AQUALABEL star products - Aqua Enhancer WT and Aqua Enhancer MO.



 I tried the Moisture Charge Mask, that has a special S-shape design to create lift for your face.


I got to say, it's my first time putting a mask on in a room with so many other people. A bit shy.



In addition, they have cut-outs for the eye area but I am vain, so I covered the entire face with the mask. Hehe.

The Enhancers - Cosmopolitan China Beauty Awards 2007 Winner


5) Sun Protection

Have fun under the sun with two types of Protect Milk UV - SPF 30 or SPF 50 9 (suitable for intense outdoor activities).


6) Base Care x Makeup Base



From the Moisturising range they have a little cute one called Moist Coat Essence to conceal the ugly pores.


Afterwhich, each of us try to find the right shade of foundation in both liquid and powder form.




I had a sandwich for a healthy dinner thanks to the warm hospitality of the staff. :)


At the end the beauty workshop,  I left the building with new friend, Xinyi, with my face feeling non-sticky, moisturised - and cheesy as it sounds - glowy. Yes, I feel that glow on my way home. And all I had on the face was some light foundation. :)


Thank you AQUALABEL and the important girls behind it that make the workshop such a success (that nobody wanted to leave their seat even after the workshop ended)!

(P.S. I'm amazed by how many photos I've crammed in this entry!)
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