Ben’s (KL Pavillon)
Spaghetti / Crispy Duck Confit & Sundried Tomatoes
Salad / Burnt Butter Wild Mushrooms with Roquefort Cheese, Caramelized Walnuts & Truffle Oil
Some weeks ago, we made a little trip to Kuala Lumpur with the pals. On our last night, we stumbled upon Ben’s. The menu was refreshing & exciting, the decor subtly elegant and the food turned out pretty tasty- the spaghetti was done perfectly al dente, and the desserts were happily not-too-sweet. The salad was warm and inviting and comforting, crisp leaves and warm melty mushrooms.
This coming from someone who’s neither a sweet tooth nor a salad fan. And we simple couldn’t believe the prices: main-courses we chose were priced around SGD10plus. We each had a main course and a drink, and we all shared a starter, a salad and 3 desserts. The final bill came up to an average of SGD15 per person, tax and service charge included.
The restaurant also thoughtfully provided free wi-fi and little “table topic” cards with questions like “What’s the most embarrassing trend you’ve ever followed” or “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be”. We lingered for the longest time, basking in the good food and happy company. It’s the kind of place we would “haunt”, if only it were in Singapore. Inexpensive, delicious, adventurous but most importantly, unpretentious x
THE MAIDEN VOYAGE 2012
Hong Kong – the maiden voyage of the new year & the fifth time we’re there in less than 12 months. We spent the first week of 2012 in the Asian shopping mecca filling up on old school trolley-cart dim-sum & street side delicacies. Fell miserably ill- but even that was fun, holed up in our delightful hotel suite watching pay-per-view on surround sound, digesting documentaries on snow leopards, fighting to keep our eyes open and then falling asleep with you. It would be quite nice to improve on my half-arsed Cantonese.
It’s good to be home, and I’m spending my next few days curled up in a ball under the sheets, with a myriad of teas and some crisp new books. It’s just what the doctor ordered x
SEOUL SEARCHING IN KOREA
Garosu-gil. Hands down, my favourite street in Seoul. The street’s name translated into English is “Ginko Avenue”, but apart from being lined with ginko trees, Garosu-gil also houses an eclectic mix of Korean high street fashion, cult designer boutiques and quirky coffee joints. D bought more shoes than his two feet can wear in a year. & It was love at first sight for me – the vibe, the laidback energy, the delightful little finds. It was the perfect place to lose yourself for awhile, to stop for a coffee, a chat and a daydream. And that’s just what we did – in between blowing all our remaining cash on clothes.
The Day We Walked “Home” In The Korean Rainstorm
Cafe Chang Hee / 78 Samcheongro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Thinking it was a passing rain, we sought shelter in a cosy little cafe with a handwritten menu and drip brewed coffee from Africa, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica and other faraway places I would like to visit. We sat by the window and watched the droplets race down the glass as the sky turned darker and darker.
Hours passed before we finally realized that the rain wasn’t lightening up. So we got up, walked out and tried to flag a cab. To no avail. In the end, we walked 45 minutes in the pouring rain and thunder storm. Visibility was so bad that with water dripping down our faces faster than we could shake it off, we couldn’t even see past an arm’s length. We reached our hotel freezing cold and literally dripping wet, as though we had just come out of the pool with all our clothes on. It was crazy, but also a pretty awesome adventure. And I can’t think of anyone else I’d want to share it with.
SEOUL TOWER
Possibly the most touristy thing we did on our trip to Seoul was take a cable car up to the Seoul (Namsan) Tower. We whiled awhile, watching martial arts performances and listening to drum beats. And then even though we knew exactly how gimmicky it was, we couldn’t resist – and declared our everlasting love, on (ridiculously expensive) little love lockets.
“We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of dreams”
(Outfit – White Tee & Denim Shorts, Topshop / Suspenders, American Apparel / Panda Chain, Korea / Le Pliage Tote, Longchamp / Sunnies, H&M )
A glimpse into a perfectly sunny day we spent in a park in Seoul – I squealed over the panda chain, you quickly bought it for me. We spent the day riding bicycles, making wind-charm-wishes atop a hill, befriending Korean strangers flying beautiful traditional dragon kites. I kept losing balance, but we never gave up – riding and riding and then finally stopping by the seaside. We held hands, basking in the sunshine, breathing in the salty air, happy to just be in the moment. We are the makers of music, we are the dreamers of dreams.
The Pursuit of Happiness
“The difficulty for a writer…is that it seems to be a law of language that happiness, like goodness, is almost impossible to describe, while conflict, like evil, is all too easy to depict.” – W. H. Auden
“Are you happy?” If I’m completely, brutally honest with myself, my answer to that question: Why yes, sir. Quite possibly, more happy, than I’ve ever been.
On some level, we’re always on a pursuit of happiness. But sometimes I think we’re almost afraid of happiness. Afraid of the fall that inevitably comes after happiness. Maybe sometimes, we just need to scream our lungs out, fly a kite and let it all go with the wind.
LIFE IS, EVERY MOMENT OF JOY
One of the many adorable cafes lining Sam-Cheong-Dong. We sat, people watching, and had the most delectable plates of Korean-Italian pasta. I wish we could have visited every single cafe, I would have liked to linger longer.
L A ♔ B E L L A ♔ V I T A 
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