Bowling @ Safra Toa Payoh & PY’s bday dinner @ Whampoa food centre + "Race for the Crown"

14/4/25 Mon: I find splits challenging but interesting in PL's deep stretch class. Really like deep stretching and I hope to improve as I go!

15/4/25 Tues: Had the lor mee ($5.5) at Batok West hawker centre for lunch and it was not bad, but the fish meat was a little off. It was surprisingly easy to find seats this afternoon though.

For dinner, my stir-fried eggs was quite presentable haha but the other two dishes were not good. Stir-fried cabbage with mushroom was a bit burnt and the smoked duck breast meat was a bit dry after 10 minutes of crispy grilling.

16/4/25 Weds: Had Gyrotonic class with Ishra this morning and Jenn, whom I met in YL's body rolling class was there too. We were taught the basics on the pulley tower and Ishra emphasized on lengthening the spine as we worked our torso and arms. It definitely is more fluid in terms of movement compared to the reformer. Ended the class with some leg work as we laid down on the seat. *I believe the smallest things I'm doing now benefits, and might contribute to something bigger as time goes by.* 

Potato knew I craved for homecooked food this few days so he made kimchi jiggae for us! Tasted so good!

17/4/25 Thurs: Went for Jac's Pilates reformer (intermediate) class with Linh this morning. The level of exercises were similar to those I did at Options Pilates, so I found it more rewarding. Shall try more intermediate classes here.

Ate lunch with Linh and Ian before they sent me back. After dinner at my parents’, PotaTOHs went to feed Kuro and Coco before going home.

18/4/25 Fri: After bah kut teh lunch with Potato, we went to the new Chicha Sansen at West Mall and I ordered oolong tea with honey and konjac jelly ($5.8). More expensive than in KL but the tea is still fragrant… albeit I won’t crave for it often I think haha.

We took two hours to and fro to PY’s to feed Kuro and Coco, as well as clean their feed. The afternoon sun was relentless. 

It then poured in the evening before we ate dinner. Potato cooked potatoes with celery, and also enoki shrooms with chicken in tom yum, honey, hua diao wine and mirin. Yummy! The chuka wakame I bought from groupbuy was good, albeit doesn’t go well with the rest taste-wise haha. *have to make sure I slow down at eating and not overeat, especially at night, otherwise the “sour” feeling in my stomach can hit badly before sleep haiz*

19/4/25 Sat: Enjoyed my homemade bibimbap with crabsticks, spinach, mushrooms, onions, chuka wakame, kimchi, soy beansprouts and sunny side-up a lot! Potato suggested using the mushroom water and chicken stock to cook the short grain rice and it sure smelled great.

20/4/25 Sun: Potato cooked scallops and spinach cabonara with the leftover linguine and spaghetti~ yums. We had lunch at Batok West hawker and I thought the dark-sauce wanton noodles ($4.5) was good and value-for-money. It’s probably my favorite stall there.

21/4/25 Mon: Chair pose during deep stretch class was the most tiring for me.

22/4/25 Tues: Cooked chilli tomato prawns and scrambled eggs using Masa’s recipe. Sauce was good but probably a bit less ginger in it would be better heh. Also stir-fried cabbage with wolfberries and finished our marinated soy beansprouts.

23/4/25 Weds: Focused on the basics in Gyrotonic class this morning and I’m so happy I realised now how to engage the lats to bring my shoulders down! Ishra is very patient, demonstrating both the wrong moves and right way to engage the lats. It is tiring if done correctly and I can feel my core working too. *no wonder the advice when using computer is to make sure your arms are at 90 degrees and so they don’t pop up!* 

When we worked the legs, I found it much more difficult to keep my left leg straight while we rotate externally… and that’s also when I hear a dull “popping” sound in the back of my left hip whenever I force my left leg to rotate out more. I think my left leg naturally have a more inward rotation (hence easier too) and also the weaker QL or hip muscles make such moves more challenging for me.

Potato cooked teriyaki salmon with broccoli and sweet corns, carrots, onions and red dates in pork bone soup for dinner~ plus the pretty sunny side-up woots! 

24/4/25 Thurs: Did Piloxing on zoom again after a long time and what a coincidence it was instructor Stephanie again! She has long hair now but her moves were still as fierce as before haha! I do enjoy her classes but I simply could not keep up this morning after a long break from Piloxing lol.

HL still forgot to do stomach cupping for me but it’s okay because she helped released my left pectoral muscles quite a lot as they were so tight at the back that she felt the“胶粘”could have begun from the front. Well, she pointed out something like a “cartilage” from the front of my left chest that joined all the way to under the armpit and then to the back. She said the presence of it stopped her from relaxing the back muscles further. It reminded me of my weird left pectoral ache some years ago which I shared with her. I did not see a doctor and left it as it is because I don’t feel the ache after a while, albeit every time during massage, I do feel my left pectoral much more achy than the right, which felt almost nothing. HL said it could be an old injury that surfaced through massage but constant message can help relieve the ache more.

Look at that beautiful sunset near my parents'! <3

25/4/25 Fri: Linh and I went for Pilates reformer (intermediate) with Phoebe this morning. We used the Pilates chair for the first half of the class to work on mostly our legs and hundreds… the latter almost always the killer for me. Phoebe is nicer compared to other instructors but she’s probably not as experienced yet, and would have to think of moves to do on the spot.

After tuition with Kelly, Potato suggested we had dinner at Plantation Plaza. It was a nice small shopping centre with lots of food options. He treated me to seafood soondoobu set ($7.5) while he had jajangmyeong ($8.2) at the Korean stall at Koufu. Mine had two prawns and four mussels and lots of toufu, and the soup had bean paste stew taste to it… average I’d say. He preferred the stickier Chinese version of jajangmyeon that he usually eats though. We then shopped at Scarlett where we bought two drinks and a small bottle of mushroom sauce. Also walked to Tengah CC opposite and it looked quite nice.

26/4/25 Sat: Lyrics class and work day today, so Potato cooked dinner for us! It's simple mushroom miso soup with ramen, cabbage and carrots and pork belly slices with button and onions. 

27/4/25 Sun: Met farmily for bowling at Safra Toa Payoh at 5pm. We booked two lanes for two hours, but realised on hindsight per game per pax would have been more worth it. Potato and I got there first so we started playing on one lane, and the rest joined in later. *been so long since I play and whoa my right forearm lol* 

We split into "boys vs girls" for our second game and John and Ava were the "stars" respectively haha! It's funny seeing James, Ian, Fran and PY helping the two young ones roll their bowling balls down the lane haha. 

Ian drove Ning, Wandi, Potato and I back to his condo to take the yuzu and mango birthday cake for PY and Wandi before we went to Whampoa food centre. Potato and I shared hokkien mee and satay bee hoon for dinner. PY treated everyone to beer~ Happy belated birthday to the two March babies!

Finished watching "Race for the Crown" on Netflix.

It's focused on the Triple Crown series: Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes last year. The six episodes zoomed in on some big owners, trainers and the well-known Franki Dettori and his Italian comrades. 

Though I am in racing, I didn't know US racing that well, so this was a good introduction. However, I would love for it to have give more focus on the jockeys' or even syces' jobs on a daily routine. Also, it would have been nicer if they also reported on other top countries like Hong Kong and Japan as well.

Rating: 3.5/5

29/4/25 Tues: *够折腾的，终于等来okay的回复了。* Deep stretch class this morning with Ice was okay, albeit I prefer PL's deep stretch class on Mondays. 

Tried the prawn paste chicken winglets I bought from groupbuy (11 for $13, 400g). Simply put it in air fryer and the taste was okay, though a bit dry on the inside. My dumplings, mushrooms, sweet corn, carrots and onion soup was awesome hehe. 

30/4/25 Weds: Loved the“三菇no六婆”炸酱面Potato cooked for dinner! He used fish sauce to increase the umami taste instead of豆瓣酱.