Honeymoon in Tokyo (Day 1)

Early in the morning on the first day of CNY 2014, we got to the airport and headed off for Tokyo! We took Japan Airlines and arrived in Tokyo around 4 in the afternoon. The weather in early Feb and late Jan was AMAZING. It was cooling yet not too cool. The hubby took on the task of planning the itinerary and all I had to do was to 'follow'. (: 

Before we left the airport, I signed up for a Japan number which allowed me unlimited data usage on my iPhone. We then took the speedy train to town and changed another train to get to our hotel.

The hubby's detailed itinerary! We even had the itineraries laminated! 

The train was speedy and it got us to our destination quick while giving us a really good view of life in Japan. 

After we settled down in the hotel and got some rest, we headed to a small ramen shop near our hotel for dinner. It was chilly. And nothing beats comforting hot ramen on a cold night. Oh yes, Uniqlo's down jackets work wonders.

The food was just so good.

Even the eggs were good. I don't take hard boiled eggs and I had this and I was in love. 

We then went to explore the supermarket near us as well as the bookstore and drugstore. 

JAPAN is an amazing place... and I will share more of our trip to Japan in posts to come... 

Our Big Day (Wedding Banquet)

We had our wedding banquet at Qian Xi, Farrer Park. We did so for the good food (the portions are really good too!) and so that we would not run the risk of going into debts unlike if we were to hold our wedding banquet in a grand hotel ballroom.

Even though the place was simpler than what one would get in a dreamy hotel ballroom, we were blessed to be able to doll up the place with loads and loads of beautiful balloons from One Party Store. Do check out more about the decorations we had here. 

After we had settled down at Hotel Rendevous, we got our much needed rest and I had my makeup and hair done by the bridal studio's MUA while Vivian did an awesome job dolling up my mum and sister.

Mummy was gorgeous. 

So were my sisters! They were awesome help for our big day too.

The place was done up by One Party Store and that seriously took one whole worry off my mind especially since many small stuff screwed up on the wedding day.

This post is kinda long... please click on to read more! 

Our Big Day (Holy Matrimony)

The most significant part of our big day was the Holy Matrimony. Coming from City Harvest, we didn't have many venue options. Of course, I did want my wedding to be in a beautiful setting as opposed to a hall/room. After all, it's just a one time affair. We were very blessed to be able to rent Charis Methodist Church for our big day. It's just everything I wanted in a package. Dreamy and all... it was like a dream come true. 

After our gatecrashing in the morning, we rushed to the hubby's place and then to church. We were blessed to have such a lovely venue to share our precious moment with our guests. 

We had a lovely candy bar filled with goodies for our guests. Our theme was Carnival... but me being me, I was once again all over the place so we ended up having a little of what I like all about weddings >.<

Our brothers even made a box game for our guests to have a try at home many kids we would have!

This entry is really long... please click on to read more! (: 

Our Big Day (Gatecrashing)

I know this post is way overdue. We got married in January on the 11th but I've only managed to find the time to write this post now. It's been an amazing 3 months so far. I can't deny that there have been ups and downs.. but I'm glad I've found my better half in Mr Chu. 

In any case, we had so much to do rushing for the big day. We had about 14 months to plan for it.. and having decided to 'crash' all 3 'events' (fetch the bride, church wedding and wedding banquet) in one day had us mad busy. But we were blessed too.

We had the blessings and love from our friends and loved ones who helped us selflessly, making our big day a success even though there were many hiccups, 2 of which still has me mad till this very day. In any case, let me share with you the delights of our big day! 

As my parents' place was really messy, I didn't wanna be fetched from home. Thankfully, Yang and Reuben allowed us to 'borrow' their beautiful home for our big day! I was to spend the night before at yang's but so many things cropped up and screwed up the night before that I just slept at the hubby's and headed to her place in the morning. Before I had my makeup done, my parents and billy's parents did the ‘上头' for us... we had our hair combed and words of blessings were uttered by our parents. After which, Helen, my MUA, got to yang's place to have my makeup done.

My sisters arrived early too to set up the place and prepare goodies for the guys.

Evil plans ahead..

I really pity my groomsmen! My intention was for each element to be served individually in the most humane way possible.. but it all got 'jumbled' up. By the way, in our local context, it's often so that the men (groom + groomsmen) has to be subjected to some form of torture, battle the 'sour, sweet, bitter and spicy' test... before the sisters would allow them to fetch the bride. 

My gown (:

I really loved the roses to my wedding gown.

This entry is really long.. please click on to read more! (: 

Betrothal 过大礼 by The Chinese Wedding Shop

According to the Chinese traditions, there are many things a couple has to do before getting married. One of the many things we have to do is the 过大礼. It's a day where the groom has to bring plenty of stuff to the bride's house for her family. Her family will in turn return some stuff to him and his family. 

The whole process can be quite a hassle especially for the younger generation who are clueless about the Chinese traditions. It doesn't help that different dialect groups have different ways of doing the 过大礼. Thankfully, we had The Chinese Wedding Shop who took care of it all for us! 

The hubby's Cantonese and I'm Hokkien so we had a mixture of customs to follow. First of all, the hubby brought loads and loads of stuff to my mum's place during the auspicious date the Fengshui master picked. Don't get me wrong. As Christians, we don't believe in such stuff... but we did it to make our parents happy since there was no harm in it. We did not perform the religious bits of the 过大礼though.. 

So let me have the pictures do all the talking!

Lovely stuff brought to my mum's. The packets of traditional 'cookies' were freshly baked by The Chinese Wedding Shop! My mummy loved the fresh 'gong tng', also known as peanut candy. 

Merry us!

Here's the whole array of items we had! 

We were blessed to have Aunty Justine and Aunty Rebecca accompany us too. 

How could I forget my cheeky girl who wanted to be part of the celebrations? (:

This entry is really long.. please click on to read more! (: 

SCS Butter Giveaway!

As you may already know, I am a fan of SCS Butter. 

I've been very blessed to be given this set of SCS baking kit from the lovely team behind SCS Butter. I can't wait to start using it when I move into our new place which we will be renovating soon. That aside, SCS butter has been one of my top choice when it comes to butter for baking. 

Since I've been very blessed, I'd like to in turn bless 3 readers of mine.

I'm giving away 3 sets of 5 blocks of SCS unsalted butter (worth $24.75 each)! This giveaway is open only to readers in Singapore. Self-collection will take place in the 2nd week or 3rd week of April from my place in Tampines OR at Suntec on weekends (depending on my schedule). 

Image taken from http://eatwhattonight.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/DSC_0755.jpg

If you're keen on winning a set of these lovely SCS unsalted butter, do drop me a comment in this blog post indicating your 

1) NAME and 

2) EMAIL ADDRESS (for contacting you if you win)

[Incomplete entries will be disqualified]

Giveaway will close on 5th April, Saturday, 2359 hours. 

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DRUMROLL PLEASE... The winners of this giveaway are....

1) Jazzlyne (jazznpop80@gmail.com)

2) Adeline Koo (adaline21@hotmail.com) &

3) Joyce Tan (tetjoyce@yahoo.com.sg)

CONGRATS! (: You will be notified by email! (: 

And thanks for the overwhelming participation in this SCS Butter Giveaway! Do keep a lookout for the next giveaway coming real soon! 

Aspiring Bakers #40: Rainbow and Ombre Party Roundup

It's my honour and joy to be hosting the 40th session of Aspiring Bakers conducted by Small Small Baker. However, it is also saddening that this will be the last of the series that has been running for a couple of years.

I'm really thankful for everyone who has shared their entries of the beautiful bakes for the Rainbow and Ombre Party I conducted. Colours indeed make people very happy. So without further ado, let me present to you... the beautiful array of tasty treats! 

1) Minions over the Rainbow by Lyon

2) Steam Rainbow Cake by Jennifer Seet

3) Rainbow Pudding Cake by Sue of As the deer

4) 希望的彩虹 Rainbow of Hope (燕菜/Agar-Agar) by Violet Song of 紫羅蘭的爱心厨房 Violet's Kitchen

5) 彩色地图烤鸡蛋糕 Colorful Topo Map Baked Egg Cake by Violet Song of 紫羅蘭的爱心厨房 Violet's Kitchen

6) Green Ombre Cake by Novia of It all started with his birthday

7) Superhero vs Pocoyo by Quizzine of bakingoncloud9

8) Colourful Rainbow Fruit Tarts by Karen Yap of Luv Sweet n Savory

9) Rainbow Pandan Cake by Phay Shing of Loving Creations for You

10) Baked Layered Egg Cake by Ann of Anncoo Journal

11) Rainbow Lapis Sagu by Celestina using recipe from travelling-foodies.

12) Hello Kitty Rose Ombre Cake by Alicia of Sweet Decadence Loft

13) Rainbow vanilla cupcakes w/ Swiss Meringue Buttercream by Julia Chia

14) Mango Yoghurt Rainbow Cheese Cake by Wong Chau Chyi

15) Rainbow Swiss Roll by Alice of I Love. I Cook. I Bake

16) Rainbow Kueh Lapis Beras by Keiko of dequeen kitchen. 

17) Rainbow cheesecake by mui mui aka Doreen of my little favourite DIY

18) Red Velvet Ombre Cake by Jane Lim of Passionate About Baking

19) Pink Ombre Berries Cake by Loh Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal

(my apologies for having missed out Jane and Wai Fong's entries)

As much as it is saddening that Aspiring Bakers has come to an end, it is amazing to know that many bloggers and bakers alike have participated in the sessions hosted. 

Keep baking, feeding people is a delight (: