jamie italian

happy vday!!! how was your day!?!?!? hope it was filled with love =) i was actually kind of lazy to celebrate vday but since it is the first time to celebrate it as a married couple, i guess we should still do some standard stuff....  we didnt have any plan of what to eat for lunch since dinner hubby will cook for me =) i actually prefer a simple picnic of home cooked meal by loved ones over eating at some fancy restaurant... so when hubby said he will cook something special for me, i was really excited =)  we were consider going to either vivo or JEM to buy dinner ingredients so were scouting for food choices at those 2 places.... then hubby mentioned why not try jamie's restaurant? i was like ok, but i heard that place is always packed... so hubby called & woah!! we can make reservation!??!?! lucky!!!

look of the day

bought this dress from olives des olive, their new spring edition =) lovely dress but collar abit high for me... lovely socks from tutuanna, also new edition...  been wanting to wear this outfit since i bought it in japan 1 month ago =)

jamie/s italian

restaurant interior

food menu

drinks menu

table set up

the restaurant look pretty simple, give you more relaxing feel & i think they have 2 section of bar.... they have like a whole page of drinks & majority of them were like alcohol stuff....  hubby checked out the online menu beforehand so he knew what he want to eat... as for me, the plank thing attracted my attention & decided to give it a shot....

hubby's macchiato

the macchiato was really tiny... it was served in a expresso cup i think... & it cost $4.50... well... expensive coffee....

fish set plank

my lunch.... the plank is under appetizer section so really not that filling for a full meal... the calamari tasted really nice, fish and shellfish were fine... on the whole, i think this dish was ok.... nothing too fantastic..

220g rump steak

the steak tasted quite nice, pretty soft for a medium well though i would prefer more sauce... i guess is a asian thing that we prefer to drown our meat with sauces....

our famous polenta chips

we were really shock when saw this plate... cause our impression of chips will be either crispy potato chips or fries... but it turned out neither.... it actually looked somewhat like fried sweet potato to me... this polenta chips had an unique texture, outside was crispy but inside was still soft... it reminded me of some malay kueh.... not really my kind of food though.... i would say on the whole, jamie's restaurant was ok.... food prices i think were acceptable for a celebrity chef like himself.... but perhaps next time i will try pasta instead.... get myself a more filling meal....

after lunch, we went to vivo giant to buy dinner stuff.... me god!! there were so many people in giant!!! i guess all of them were preparing for chinese new year stuff & we chose the wrong time to buy our ingredients... but no matter, we gotten our stuff & got back home to cook dinner....

hubby's DIY vday dinner

so we had risotto with carrot, cream snapper & turkey bacon... some blached asparagus, mushroom & carrot... & pan fried salmon.... a pretty humble meal but really love it cause everything was prepared by hubby =)

wedding bands from Lee Hwa

*back dated entry*

after 3 months of waiting, finally gotten my wedding bands last sat (17th may)..... actually we supposed to get the ring about 1 month earlier but due to some problems, there was delay...

we ordered the ring in Feb... as mentioned previously, we went to almost all the popular jewellery stores in SG but decided on Lee hwa... our rings were under special promotion which was almost 50% off... the final total for both rings cost S$1176... i think that's quite a good deal especially when my ring has a row of diamonds... of cause those are not GIA certified diamonds, but they still cost a fair bit of $ if you buy it without discount....

when we purchased the ring, the staff told us a rough gauge will be 3 months wait as the stores dont have our sizes... sadly... we both have fairly big, fat fingers =(  so somewhere in april, the Lee hwa staff informed us that the rings are ready for collection.... like wah.... 1 month earlier than expected wor.... so we went down but then to our disappointment, the ring sizes dont fit... mine was 1 size smaller, still can squeeze in but hard to take out.. but for my bf, it was like 2-3 size smaller.... i guess the problem arise because there was no available ring sizes for the design we want, so we had to try the sizes from other ring designs.... i understand that the ring sizes may vary slightly for each design but like 2-3 size different for my bf, that's like wah... BIG difference.... so no choice... have to alter the ring.....

then early may, the staff called us again to go down to try the ring... this time the size fit = good but then there was this white speck on the inner lining of my ring & some scratches on bf's ring... i mean under normal circumstances i will probably make do with the rings but i felt for wedding bands, they should be as perfect as possible when i bought them.... so the staff has kindly agreed to help us re-polish the ring & check the coating, etc....

finally, last week we managed to get our rings!!! actually the staff called us much earlier time but i was away in HK, so didnt get the call.... this time, everything looks nice & shine... perfect =) like all wedding bands, you will be given the free ring pillow... then we also joined the Lee Hwa member, 2 coupon for free polishing of rings within 2yr & a sure win lucky dip which i gotten a $80 voucher... haha....

the long awaited ring

bf = on the left & mine on the right.... i tried to take a clearer picture but somehow the camera just failed to focus.... the ring has this matt lining in the middle, then mine has additional rows of diamonds....despite having some hiccups in getting the rings, the staff were nice & polite, really appreciate the services.... in conclusion, i think Lee Hwa is a good place to get wedding bands especially when you choose those designs under promotion  =)

review: wedding bands

*back dated entry*

we have been looking around to survey for suitable wedding bands since last year.... we went to almost all the different jewellery stores & based on the survey, i would say our budget will be somewhere below $1.5k for the pair of rings....after much delay & consideration, we decided to get our wedding bands at lee hwa diamond atelier....

first, lets talk about the different experiences at the jewellery stores....

1. soo kee jewellery
i would say some of their designs are pretty nice but price is on the steep side... on average, 1 pair of wedding bands will cost $2k+, which is out of our budget.... so deh deh...

2. goldheart
i think the store focus on gold jeweleries so there are not much of wedding bands designs or in my opinion, they have simpler designs but price is quite budget... average can get a pair approximately $1k but nothing caught my eyes so deh deh....

3. citigem
again... i feel the store doesnt have much wedding bands design so i didnt even bother asking about the price

4. taka jewellery
we gotten the proposal ring from there & i am quite happy with the design however, wedding bands are their forte.... nothing that fancy us so deh deh....

5. SK jewellery
this store definitely focus on the yellow gold jewellery for dowry purposes... whole store so damn gim gim.... the designs are not too bad but on close examination, you can see the quality of the rings were not as good compared to other stores... which explained for the cheaper price whereby on average one pair of rings cost less than $1k

6.lee hwa
i would say lee hwa has one of the most comprehensive designs for wedding bands.... saw quite afew nice designs but depending on the series you getting... destinee or designers series will cost $3k+ per pair... but normal series can get it about $1.5k per pair... shall talk about lee hwa later

7. poh heng
similar to SK, the store focus more of yellow gold so couldnt find anything that we like

8. love & co
i think love & co is like THE place to find rings but seriously the price is way out of our budget.... they really have a large collection of rings, simple bands to princess styles to antique designs... i do like quite a few of their designs but prices are close to $2k+ per pair.... so sadly we had to forgo the store....

9. venus tears
i not sure if many people know about this store but it actually originate from japan & just recently venture into SG.... their designs are really nice & sweet.... in my opinion, they have the prettiest selection of rings especially the fairytale series.... a simple band but with nice engraving which makes it so unique

so pretty... & it comes with the unique story case!!!

really love their rings but sadly the prices are on the steep side... average $1.7k+ per pair... BUT is made of platinum & not white gold... so that kind of explain the price... but sadly.... we dont want to spend so much $ on the rings

so after talking about the different stores, where to look for those stores is also crucial... of cause there are many jewellery outlets distributed in SG but you dont want to travel to different parts of SG just to go to 1 stores.... personally i would say jewellery street @ ION and vivo city are the 2 best places to scout for rings as both places have most of the stores in the vicinity....

but one very important i found out is that, not all the designs are available in some of the stores especially so for lee hwa jewellery.... after visiting more than 10 outlets, we felt that diamond atelier @ vivo city has the most comprehensive designs & also more discounts.... we realised that normally for those rings on display window tend to have more discounts, like 50% off.... the staff told us that normally those are the older designs or sometimes the company just want to have promo at that store.... at this outlet, we managed to narrow down to 5 designs... which we were never been able to do so at other outlets... this shows the large variety of rings available.... but of cause, most of the wedding bands are pretty common, the differences among them could be minute.... but ultimately we decided on a pair of rings that both of us like....it cost $1176 which is almost 50% discount!!! since the ring doesnt have my size, it has to be custom made, so we have to wait about 2months for it... so i shall post pic of the ring next time =)  in short, i do urge couples to try out the diamond atelier @vivo... really can find cheaper alternatives compare to other stores =)