Fashion & Style Diary
Finally! I’m pleased to share: ChicPeek is a new online series featuring my personal fashion tips, tutorials, DIYs, and fashionista friends. In Episode 1, check out how I interpret the Sports Luxe trend.
Remember to subscribe to my channel if you liked that; new videos out every week!
Shoutout to Nathan Hartono for providing the backing track. His song is called “Thinkin’ ‘Bout Love”. Chicpeek is produced by the guys at Luff Media.
It’s been a crazy past few months since I ended my DJ stint with 987, and everyone’s been asking me what I’ve been busy with since. I know I’ve been pretty evasive – “I’ll tell you in good time!” has been one of my pet responses – but really, it’s nothing to do with being deliberately cryptic, and everything to do with me just not liking to talk about things that haven’t been done yet. Talk is cheap.
So one of the projects that I’ve been working on has finally materialized, and I am excited to share! Together with a production house, Luff Media, I produced a series called ‘ChicPeek’. I cover everything from how to style tricky trends, to chats with celebrity guests on their personal style to even simple DIY projects you can try at home to give your old items a fresh spin.
Here’s a little behind-the-scenes peek at what went down!
The extremely glamorous side of shoots – getting those pesky, brightly coloured bins out of the shot!
Million dollar question: how much hair product does it take the crew to shoot one person? 
Watch out for ChicPeek – first two episodes out on Wednesday, 9pm on www.jadeseah.com or on my YouTube channel.
The famous Tim Ho Wan from Hong Kong has finally made it to our shores (three months ago, actually), and I have been meaning to make time to have a taste. However, I not only haven’t managed to find the time, but I must admit that the stories about the crazy queues to get in put me off quite a bit as well. I love how in Singapore we have such a cute ‘queue culture’ – it’s almost like a hobby or national sport for some! I swear some people get in line first then ask, “Eh, what is this for huh?”, heh. Unfortunately, patience is not quite my strong suit, especially when it comes to my rumbling tummy. Hence I’m extra grateful to Priscilla from Brand Cellar for remembering I hadn’t yet had a taste, and for arranging for my folks and I to have a meal there. =)
Tip: According to them, the best time to go if you want to avoid the queue is between 4-5pm on a weekday.
They have these ‘Big Four Heavenly Kings’, which are basically the specialty items at Tim Ho Wan. Mag (from Brand Cellar) highly recommended we order these, even though two of the four items are not what I would normally choose.
I would not have ordered the Steamed Egg Cake, otherwise known as ‘Malay Cake’ when literally translated in Mandarin. Mostly because I like my sweet stuff really sweet and ‘heavy’ tasting – no sweet popcorn or cheng tng for me, for example – and also because it seems incongruous with the rest of the meal to have something like a sort of cake with my har gao and siew mai. It was surprisingly good though, and my dad in particular really enjoyed it (and polished off the last bit!).
Another dish that would normally not have made my order list was the Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver. It is cheong fan wrapped around liver and vegetables. I like neither liver nor vegetables. I take liver soup (with a lot of brandy mixed in to mask the taste) every now and then for my anemia, but otherwise I don’t touch the stuff. I found this very unusual as this is more commonly done with char siew (roasted pork), shrimp or yu tiao. The strong-tasting liver was nicely balanced by the silky blandness of the cheong fan, all pulled together with the delicious sauce. However, seafood fan that I am, I still like this dish best with it is done with prawns. Special mention must be made on the texture of the cheong fan – silky smooth, light and melt-in-your-mouth sedap (scrumptious).
Next, the star of the ‘Big Four Heavenly Kings’, the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. To attest to this one’s star status, this dish is such a hit with Singaporeans that it actually has a limit on the number of plates you can order – one plate per person, whether you choose to finish it dining in or to pack it as takeaway. Unlike the usual bao (steamed bun) or pastry, this one is a deliciously crusty-on-the-outside, pillowy-soft-on-the-inside bun encasing a savoury char siew filling. Such a comforting, indulgent treat. I understand now why this is the top-selling item on the menu!
Tip: Tim Ho Wan does not do takeaways, but you can ‘cheat’ and still get to take home your BBQ pork buns to enjoy for breakfast the next day. Beat the system by having each person in your dining party order one plate (of three buns). Enjoy some at the restaurant, and ask to bring back the rest that you didn’t manage to finish. You can think of me when you re-heat these by toasting them in your oven the next morning!
Rounding up the list of the ‘Heavenly Kings’ is the Pan-Fried Carrot Cake. While not usually a fan of carrot cake (too starchy and tasteless most of the time), this is my absolute favorite dish at Tim Ho Wan. It was really soft and not one bit starchy; in fact, the entire the cake seemed to be made up of thinly sliced radish, unlike the usual minced/blended mix I normally associate with carrot cake. It was also pan-fried and seasoned just so – tasty!
Ordered a few more of mine and my folks’ dim sum favourites – Prawn Dumpling (har gao), Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (siew mai), Congee with Lean Pork, Century Egg and Salted Egg (pei dan zou), Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp, Beancurd Shrimp Roll with Pork and Shrimp, Chicken Feet with Black bean Sauce and Deep-Fried Beancurd Skin Roll,. They were all more than decent, and between us, it was all empty plates when we left!
We were told that Tim Ho Wan suggests dipping the deep-fried items Worcestershire sauce rather than the usual vinegar. It sounded strange, but it worked a treat! The flavours went really well together, the Worcestershire sauce ‘cutting’ some of the oiliness. If you think about it, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar taste slightly similar in their tangy saltiness, although I personally prefer the slight sweetness that Worcestershire sauce has over the sharper tasting vinegar. Now why didn’t I think of this combination?
My verdict is they have better than average, reasonably priced dim sum (especially for a one Michelin star restaurant), with a few standout dishes. I am not sure I’d wait over an hour for it though, but that’s just me.
So while I haven’t made the time to do a ‘Draw My Life’ video, I found these old pictures while clearing out my computer! I think I scanned them for a magazine interview I did for i-Weekly or something quite awhile back, so I thought to share. Take it like a precursor to a ‘Draw My Life’ video. Don’t laugh k!! (Try hard not to, at least? LOL)
I don’t have a lot of baby photos. Apparently, I wasn’t a very cute kid, so my (much cuter!) older brother with the huge eyes got more photo love. It’s ok, it made me have to try harder to develop winning charm and personality since my face didn’t do it, hahaha!
I had a simple, but extremely happy upbringing. It was just four of us when I was born (my younger brother would only be born when I was a teenager), and my family is very close-knit unit, including the extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins. Both my folks worked full-time, but they were the kind to make the effort to take us out as often as they could. Growing up, I assumed that everyone else’s folks did this too, but I now realise just how much of an extra effort my parents made, especially given the limited time and money they had, and I am very grateful. Guess my love for the beach started with them; they’d take us to East Coast almost weekly. Sometimes we’d go to fly kites, sometimes to play ball, catching or just to run around like the crazy kids we were. There was always food – it was always a picnic with sandwiches, chips and biscuits. There would almost always be a home-cooked curry, and now and then we had barbecues with a small pit my dad would bring.
In case you’ve ever wondered, I hardly post pictures of those closest to me because I respect their preference not to. My loved ones are very private, so I try hard to find pictures that don’t include them. (It really limits my photo choices sometimes though!)
This was when I was in primary school. Yes, I was a KC girl. I have no idea why my uniform was such a different shade from everyone else’s though!
Sports, art, music – I wanted to do everything in school! Co-curricular activities (CCA), or extra-curricular activities (ECA), as they were known in the 90s, were only for those in primary three and above, but so when I was in primary one, my cousin and I managed to convince the school we ‘had’ to be allowed to be in the art club. I remember many a Saturday morning spent in school, learning to sketch, draw and paint. I don’t think any of my early works of art survived though, so none to show here.
I was so happy when I turned nine and was in primary three. All the CCAs for the picking! On top of the piano lessons I was having at home that I had bugged my folks to let me have, I begged mum for violin lessons when a violin CCA class opened. Sadly I broke my first violin en route to my first class – I was excitedly skipping and swinging my new instrument as I did; it slipped out of my hands, smashed into a wall and the chin rest broke off. That was a short career indeed. My folks were pretty mad with me and refused to buy me another one.
Mum had told me stories of how she wanted to be a Girl Guide when she was in school, but the family was so poor they couldn’t afford the extra money for her to buy the Guide uniform. I decided hence I wanted to try to be part of a uniformed group too. I joined the Brownies in school, not really knowing what it was they did. I found I really liked how they tried to help people and to make the world a better place. Some of the fantastical bits appealed to my geeky side as well – the groups were known as packs, and each one of us was part of a pack – we were either Fairies, Pixies, Gnomes, Elves, Goblins; cool stuff like that. I remember being sad I was a Gnome, when I really wanted to be a Fairy or Elf (they looked so much prettier in the pictures in the Brownie Handbook!). Still, I was pretty stoked to be part of this (what I thought was cool) group. I made the most of it and I enjoyed the activities and the outings. I was even made a Sixer, which is kind of the leader of a pack. This is me all geeky-happy trying on my brand-new, too-big and un-ironed uniform at home. Couldn’t even keep my eyes open lol.
We played netball once for Physical Education (PE), and I fell in love. I liked music, loved art and enjoyed being a Brownie, but it was in sports that I really felt I belonged. I joined netball as a CCA, and when I’d made it to the school team in primary four, soon found I had little time for other activities. =( My other interests took a little backseat, and I never made it to become a Guide.
Secondary school – now that was one wild ride. Will share more soon! Tell me what CCAs you joined in school, and share your memorable experiences with me too please!
Finally getting round to uploading pictures from the many trips I’ve made in the past year (better late than never, k!). This was from a ‘girls only hen’s trip’ to a much-loved Singaporean destination – Bangkok! We got up to all kinds of crazy on this trip…am only sharing the ‘safe’ pictures! ;p
Room with a view.
Do the Bangkok cab squeeeeze. Tallest gets to sit in (leg-room) comfort up front! Heh.
Room with a view part two!
One apartment, six girls…mayhem! 
Costume party.
Costume party part two.
Photobomb the selca!
Caught in the act! 
She’s persistent. But so I am. Roped in the bride this time for extra power. The cracks are beginning to show in her resolve for the perfect selfie…
When you can’t beat ’em…
Met this doll at one of the Siam Square boutiques. Look at that face!
Toastie shopping break!
Another all-girls trip coming up – can’t wait!
Was clearing out my old Blackberry, and found a bunch of pictures I took that I never got around to sharing(!). This was at a shoot done over a year ago, one with a ‘Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ theme. Even though I have done countless shoots over the years, it still amazes me the difference a change in hair and makeup can make. See for yourself!
(Mind all the terrible scars from a bad skating fall. =p Went over a rock or something, was sent flying and ended up with abrasions and injuries all over my body – and face as well!)
Alien part one.
Alien part two. Gotta love the graphic bob!
Transformations courtesy of the talented Larry Yeo (makeup) and Alvin Foh (hair). Thank you both! xx
Am seriously considering going all Hayley Williams again with the supershort bangs – what do you think?
So while everyone in Singapore complains about the terrible haze (I admit I am no exception!) and increasing PSI readings, I think one way to deal with it is to imagine yourself in a land where the air is fresh and clean. I miss snowboarding! The pals are already in the midst of planning not one, but two trips – hopefully I will be able to join them then. For now, have to contend myself with pictures and memories. =)
I miss waking up to this view!
Soon!!