Heartland finds: nEbO the games cafe at AMK Hub!

AMK Hub may be a mall in the heartland but hey... it's very happening, okay?

I used to have to travel a long, long way to get to a games' cafe. But thanks to nEbO at AMK Hub, I don't have to commute so much anymore!

Recently they ran a promotion, where you spend $10 (can combine receipts) for one table, and you'd get to enjoy two hours of free gaming.

 I got a waffle + drink + two scoop ice-cream set ($7.50 nett) and a glass of orange juice ($2.50 nett)

It was a good way to kill time before catching a movie :)

If you don't mind it's small selection of games (but they do have the common ones like Balderdash) and don't mind that the food isn't exactly fantastic, seriously, this is a good, quiet hangout that's relatively cheap.

Haagen-Dazs "Journey of Indulgence": Hop on the bus!

I hopped on the Haagen-Dazs bus the other day! It's a glamorously-decorated open-top one that took the media party on a 45-minute ride from Esplanade, going around CBD area, down Orchard Road.

We sang carols on the bus like travelling musicians, well, except that there were more than just singing.

It's a Haagen-Dazs bus, so obviously, there were ice-cream for everyone!

And champagne to celebrate the festive joy.

Chocolates too! :)

The ride very much reminded me of the one that I took when I was in Hong Kong, where I also hopped on an open-top bus to go around the Central area. This ride around Orchard Road helped me take a closer look at the Christmas decoration this year.

You can hop onto the Haagen-Dazs bus too! All you have to do is to spend at minimum of $50 (dine-in only, before service charge and GST) at any Haagen-Dazs cafe to receive two complimentary tickets to the bus. There will be three rides a day, at 7pm, 8-m and 9pm, from now to 4 December 2011. The journey will start at Haagen Dazs Esplanade cafe just like our ride did!

While you're dining in to get your tickets, check out the new creations that Haagen-Dazs have for Christmas. I tried two of them:

This is the Christmas Cassata ($16++). It's made of Creme Brulee ice-cream - newly created flavour! - that's served on a brownie slice, topped with cocoa powder and luscious raspberries, served with scoops of Cappuccino Truffle and Belgian Chocolate ice-cream. The Belgian Chocolate is my fave flavour in Haagen-Dazs' offering, so this is an enjoyable one for me.

I also tried the Love in Paradise ($16++), which looks like an artwork. This is served with scoops of Belgian Chocolate and Creme Brulee ice-cream, with chocolate seashells and strawberries on the side. The Creme Brulee ice-cream  here is softer than the previous dessert and the taste of the creme brulee more evident.

Finally, there's also the Royal Fondue ($48++), which comes with four popular flavours (Belgian Chocolate, Caramel Biscuit & Cream, Chocolate and Vanilla coated in almond nibs), accompanied with freshly baked waffles, marshmallows, brownies, bananas, kiwis and strawberries.

If you're looking for log cakes, check out the Chocolate Colysee ($80++), which is available in Belgian Chocolate ice-cream or Macadamia Nut ice-cream, topped with chocolate curls and marshmallow stars.

The most beautiful of the creations has to be the Rainbow Log ($80+), which consists of many all-time favourite ice-cream and sorbet flavours, including Chocolate, Vanilla, Green Tea, Macadamia Nut, Mango Sorbet and Raspberry Sorbet.

Tamara Mellon leaves Jimmy Choo wtih Labelux' acquisition of the brand

Tamara Mellon, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Jimmy Choo, has been seen as the face of the brand, and the genius behind it. But they just announced that she, together with Joshua Schulman, the CEO, will leave Jimmy Choo. Tamara Mellon will leave at the end of this month, and Joshua Schulman until the New Year.

The departures follow the successful transition of Jimmy Choo to Labelux ownership and management control.

Tamara Mellon is glamorous, loved by fashion editors, is synonymous with the brand, and even had a Jimmy Choo perfume ad that is fronted by her (now, now... which other founder can boast of this?)

How will this affect the brand and where will Tamara Mellon transit to after this? Tamara Mellon has been very quiet about it, but it's definitely something fashionistas are super curious about.

Paradise Dynasty: Be there for colourful xiao long bao!

I've been to Taste Paradise, Paradise Pavilion and Seafood Paradise, this time I'm at Paradise Dynasty to try out the super-famous xiao long bao. I've heard so much about the creative xiao long bao and had been wanting to visit. I finally made it!

We reached the restaurant that's located at ION Orchard at about 6.30pm on a weekday, and there was already a short queue forming outside. We waited for about 15 minutes before getting a seat at the al fresco area (Because they don't have seats in the indoor area... no wait, actually they do, but they decided not to give it to us because another group of diners was kicking up a mini fuss about not wanting to sit outdoors. And being the easy-going diner that I am, I pretended that I didn't know the swapped the seats that I "deserve" with someone else's.)

We both ordered a bowl of la mian each. My companion had a beef la mian:

And I had a pork belly la mian. This is probably the best Chinese la mian I've ever tried before. The pork belly is so well-prepared that it really MELTS in your mouth. Yummilicious. The soup was good too.

To have a sample of all the flavours, we ordered this:

The alternative is to order one set of one particular flavour. After sampling all of them, my favourites are cheese and ginseng. My companion likes the garlic one. Least favourite? Probably truffle and foie gras - because I can't even tell the difference.

We finished the meal with desserts - red bean pancakes!

And they taste really good too!

Gosh, what's not to like about Paradise Dynasty? I don't know man! I can't nit-pick! And I'm sure I'll be back again :)