Here ends the hunt for the elusive lemongrass moisturizer.

Here ends the hunt for the elusive lemongrass moisturizer.

You have to give us credit for it. We donned the red tops (and me the white bottoms) and jostled through the endless throngs of people to make it to Marina Square, only to have our patriotic anticipations dampened by the rain. We weren't sure if the show would go on, and admit that our half-hearted flames of patriotism were quite easily put out by the thought of walking through the rain for nothing.


What were we to do but to seek solace from the maddening crowd in a quiet Belgian bar?


And we had our dinner while we were there.




Though it was painful to sleep at 3 and wake before 9, Lanxi and I pulled ourselves out of bed on time to hit the beach for our first trial run. To think that it was a year ago that we last ran the beach roads while practising for the Shape run! Time flies, indeed. And the run sure gave a jolt to our travel-flabbied bodies.

No matter how time passes or how things change, certain things never fail give me a mood lift - stretching tired muscles, the shower in Siloso West that makes me feel like I'm in a tropical forest, and the familiar routine of changing out of our running gear and into our bikinis.


Pity we didn't get to stay in our bikinis for long, as the dark clouds soon arrived and sent the sea of volley-ballers and sun-baskers running for shelter.



Our usual post-run lunch at Sakae Sushi. The restaurant seems to have gone upmarket! Gone are the usual $1.99 sushi offerings. instead, there were teppanyaki sets, premium sushi sets, proper desserts and cocktails. We both had the chicken teppanyaki set, which was really pretty good. And it was during our post-lunch stroll around Vivocity that I finally found my lemongrass moisturizer. If you are as crazy about the spa-like scent as I am, go pick up a bottle of the Oriental Essence body milk from Harnn and Thann at Tangs Vivocity. A single whiff transports me to a Thai spa retreat!



And as I was in the mood for something home-made and healthy, I bought some pasta and veggies and tossed up a quick dinner with my sister. We make quite an efficient kitchen team, I realised - I buy the ingredients, she chops them up, I cook, and she does the dishes. And as we cooked really measley portions of fettuccine, we rounded the meal off by opening the bottle of white zinfandel in the fridge and nibbling on pink peppercorn dark chocolate. Here's my idiot-proof recipe for an easy dinner.

Mushroom and tomato fettucine with truffle oil

You'll need:

• truffle oil
• shitake mushrooms (as many as you wish), halved or quartered
• tomatoes (as many as you wish), cubed
  
• whole-wheat fettuccine (or any pasta)
• garlic, finely chopped
• black pepper to taste
• salt to taste
• italian herbs/seasoning
• grated or powdered cheese

Method:

1. Cook pasta according to packet instructions.
2. Heat truffle oil in a pan, and fry garlic till golden-brown.
3. Add in mushrooms, and simmer for 3 minutes. Don't worry about adding water or any other liquid, the mushrooms would produce their own.
4. Add tomatoes, and stir well to blend flavors. Take care not to overcook or the tomatoes would turn mushy.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Add generous dashings of dried herbs.
7. Spoon on top of cooked pasta, and drizzle with a few drops of truffle oil.
8. Serve with grated or powdered cheese.

Easy peasy!