Coriander Leaf

Last week, S and I went to Coriander Leaf for dinner after his rave review about the bistro.

It's actually a bistro + cooking school,

so I was expecting a decent level of culinery expertise and creativity.

The food was not mind-blowingly great, but it was certainly above average and unique.

We had a glass of wine to kickstart dinner, and was served some fried crumbs with a hint of herb for appetizers.

The deco was quite nice and it was rather quiet when we went.

A great place for a romantic dinner or to catch up with friends without having to raise your voice in order to be heard amidst the noisy dinner crowd.

We also got a nice view of the river from our seats. ^^

If you look closely,

you can see a few students attending cooking class on the other side of the glass panel.

Most of the students were caucasian women though.

I sure hope we are not served food the students experimented with.

S had the beef kebab pizza.

I had a bite and it tasted pretty good.

S strongly recommended this dish so I tried it.

It was basically crayfish noodles with a special curry sauce.

The sauce was like a combination of laksa and mee siam - lime infused curry.

The sauce and crayfish was pretty good,

but I'm not such a fan of the egg noodles.

I would definitely like to visit this place again and try some of the other dishes,

like the appetizer sampler.

And dinner ended with Pistachio ice cream from a ice cream joint somewhere in Clarke Quay. ^^

My Favorite Clutches

Let's start with those we are more likely to bring home ... ...

Alexander Wang

I find the design very unique.

Love the different texture of the body and straps.

It's also the most affordable one in the list.

My only problem with it is that the opening of the clutch is rather small,

hence it wouldn't fit some long wallet.

What a shame.

YSL

The moment I saw this tri-colored clutch I knew I love it.

It's fun and vibrant but not OTT with its neutral shades.

I have to say I really like the metallic Y-clasp the most,

and that it is matte rather than shiny(patent) like the YSL box clutch.

Proenza Schouler

This is a good choice for those who prefer suede.

It's a great choice if you don't mind the hassle of caring for the material.

Since most of us don't wear suede outfits usually, it gives a nice contrast in texture.

Balenciaga

It's no secret that I love soft lambskin and giant studs,

in other words, everything about Balenciaga.

The attached mirror is definitely great for vain pots, well, myself included.

Also, I love its envelop shape!

Louis Vuitton

I have to say I'm not usually a fan of LV nor am I a fan of monogram stuff,

but I just love this monogram embossed leather.

I feel that it's quite subtle even though it's monogram leather.

On top of that, I love it's shape;

very similar to the Balenciaga envelop clutch.

Chanel

Well, I don't think I have too much to say here.

What's not to love about this?

It's EVERYTHING I want in a bag.

Lambskin. Check.

Quilted texture. Check.

Folded design. Check.

Neutral shade. Check.

Adequate interior space. Check.

Chanel. Check.

On another note, I like the Chanel mademoiselle clutch too, but I think this is less common.

Hermes

What can I say? One can always dream right?

I love the color combination (similar to the LV Empriente clutch above)

and its simple and understated design.

Will I ever buy it?

Probably not, but I can always ogle, isn't it?

Kim Kardashian

Kim & her myriad of Hermes

I love this style the most.

Everything from her leather jacket to her cobalt blue pants to her studded boots, is perfection.

The black hardware Chanel is especially gorgeous!

Kim & her Balenciaga bags

The Kardashian sisters - Kim, Khloe, Kourtney

At the NBA games with their Birkins.

She may be one of the most talked about personality in the States,

with her various reality tv shows and pseudo-marriage to Kris Humphrey.

Yes, I get it that lots of people doesn't approve of her or may even be active haters,

but I really don't see the point of it.

Some feel that she has no real talent, while others hate her overexposure and criticize her less-than-ethical money making ways

Think $17 million of income from a publicity stunt in the form of a really short-lived marriage.

But the thing is, she is neither a singer nor is she a movie star.

So what talent are we really expecting here?

Her job as a reality tv star is to let you know that her life is so much better than yours.

Yes, that's about it.

She can lounge around the pool all day, patronize all the fancy restaurants and attend fabulous parties, all while having buckets of cash rolling her way.

If you are not convinced about it, she makes around $600,000 for club appearances.

I honestly feel that she is someone we all love to hate. It's hard not to.

But what I find more appalling is that some people voice their disapproval of her and the whole media circus surrounding her just to be on a moral high horse.

Stop that hypocritical act you've got going on.

It really doesn't make you a better person because you hate her publicity.

While I am not her biggest fan, and neither do I condone her behavior,

I do like her style, and of course, her choice of bags.

How should I put it?

Hmm... It's FABULOUS!

It's obvious that Kim fancies Hermes, Chanel and Balenciaga,

as she is often photographed toting them around town.

Her collection of Hermes is especially enviable.

One thing for sure, her bags last much longer than all of her relationships & marriages. Ouch!

Bags from the Kardashian Kollection.

Looking a little too familiar aren't they?

I have to agree that the Kardashian sisters have no talent at all,

certainly not in original designs.

Their bag collection is a total rip-off of the designs of various major fashion labels,

from Balenciaga to Chloe to YSL.

They looks cheap; They look like bags from a certain local chain that is now partly owned by LVMH.

I am surprised that they are willing to ruin their brand by producing such near-replicas.

One really interesting thing is that none of the Kardashian sisters were ever photographed carrying bags from their own label.

It's like they wouldn't wanna be caught dead in their own line of bags.

If that's the case, how are they able to convince anyone to buy them at all?

Louis Vuitton New Epi Leather Colors

Top down:

Fuchsia, Cacao, Gray Blue, Citron, Menthe, Orange, Black, Ivory, Carmine, Bleu Canard, Figue, Marine and Rubis.

To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of LV's Epi line;

I find the design and colors too serious.

But the new colors that LV introduced to the Epi line caught my attention.

It infused some youthfulness and fun into the previously rather dull-looking line,

and it's also great for the coming spring/summer season.

For those who are not very careful with your bags and purses,

the Epi line is simply perfect as it is built to resist minor bumps and scratches.

I have to admit I am one of those who are very paranoid about scratching or staining my bags,

regardless of the bag's value.

This material ought to be perfect for me.

That being said, I feel that this line will be more suited for briefcases and small leather goods,

because I prefer bags with softer leather such as lambskin.

Display at the LV boutique in Singapore

Card holder: SGD$280

Lunch @ Au Petit Salut

S and I went to Au Petit Salut for his birthday lunch.

The set lunch was quite worth it, about $40 per person.

It's a 3 course meal and has a pretty good selection of food for each course.

The bread basket was pretty good.

They used to make their own bread, but I read that they get their bread from external bakery.

Tomato with cheese.

Nothing very special about it; Can give it a miss.

Burgundy Escargot.

This was really good; Highly recommended! ^^

Onglet steak with truffle fries.

It's best to have the steak medium or medium-well at most,

otherwise the meat might become too dry and tough.

Pork belly and pork sausage.

The pork belly was very tender, very different from my idea of a pork belly.

It's mainly lean meat, similar to pork cheeks.

The sausage wasn't really to my liking though.

Creme brûlée.

Not too bad and the portion was unusually big for French cuisine.

Choux bun with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Quite average only. It's nice if you enjoy really sweet stuff.

Dinner @ Timbre

Chill out with the guys ^^

Cocktail shooters.

Totally not worth it, there is almost no alcohol in it =(

CNY Reunion Dinner

Before

All nice and pretty.

After

Look at the mess we made =D

With the cousins ^^

Group shot with all my relatives at our reunion dinner.

Paris Part II

Champs-Elysees

It's a pity that it was late when we arrived,

hence we didn't manage to visit most of the luxury stores here.

It was drizzling when we arrived at Champs-Elysees,

so we dodged into a random restaurant nearby.

Decent food but horrible service. Horrible.

If you read my earlier post on paris,

you might have noticed that I already had some food earlier at the Christmas market,

so were weren't exactly hungry when we stepped into the restaurant.

However, the super snobbish French waitress insisted that we order 1 main course each;

Desserts were not allowed to replace the main course.

Totally absurd!

Look at the portion of the dishes;

Even if we were hungry, we would not have been able to finish them.

Worst of all, she made it quite clear that she thinks we were being extremely stingy by not ordering 1 main course each.

Explanation was futile and her service was obviously quite atrocious for the rest of the evening.

It's the only meal for the entire trip that we did not leave any tip at all. And why should we?

Arc de Triomphe

The next day, we had breakfast in this hole-in-the-wall French cafe+bar.

Basilique du Sacre Coeur

Lots of of gypsies trying to scam tourists at this venue, and they come in groups.

View from the hill top where Basilique du Sacre Coeur was located.

You can get a good view of the city if you are willing to climb long flights of steps.

A stall at a market selling roasted nuts and candies.

Map of the Flea Market

Flea market.

Quite a nice place to shop for quirky handicrafts, second-hand luxury goods and artworks.

It actually consists of many permanent stores in a enclosed area (look at the map).

The area between the train station and this flea market is quite shady,

lots of immigrants trying to sell you D-grade replica of branded purses.

There is even a rather rundown temporary market selling awful clothes and handicrafts.

Initially, I thought that was the flea market and was quite disappointed.

Luckily, a helpful British lady guided us to the actual flea market.

Inside the Louvre

One of those super-touristy headshot with the Mona Lisa painting.

It was rather crowded when we went but I still managed to get a shot with the portrait.

It was raining when we visited the Eiffel Tower and we were freezing!

The wind was especially strong and cold at the top of the tower.

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Last day of shopping in Paris. ^^

I wanted to visit some second-hand luxury boutiques but couldn't really find it.

In the end, we just walked around and shopped freely, albeit not knowing where we were.

Unlike London, where there are a lot of big malls and departmental stores,

Paris has many small boutiques and cafes along the streets.

It's true that you need to be able to walk long distances,

but there are also plenty of places for you to take a rest and enjoy a cup of coffee.

Back in London for the last night.

On this trip, we experienced 3 different types of lodging;

Private apartment, serviced apartment and hotel.

I must say I really prefer staying at a hotel, with a clean and well-equipped bathroom.

It's also comforting to know that when you return at the end of the day,

clean linen and fresh towels awaits. ^^