New Year Lucky Bags

Received amazing hampers from Malaysia, it's filled with all the stuff I want! I actually wanted to make a trip to Johor to get CNY hampers, its sold in all the shopping centers and usually filled with good stuff at good prices.

One more 年货 shopping trip. Now that we have a new deep chest freezer we can all buy what we want to eat. This place has the smaller trolley cart, I got more frozen scallops, prawn spears, pre-cooked & peeled quails eggs, truffle chips, bottled teas, magiclean refills, wet wipes, nanox concentrated laundry detergent and 2 new nonstick pans.

Just before CNY, I won this stack of Hi-Chew candy in Japan's seasonal fruit flavors like yubari melon, amaou strawberry etc. Perfect for impressing my guests coz otherwise you would have to make a trip to all the different regions in Japan to collect the different candies.

This is the first time BHG is putting out Lucky Bags over the new year. It's across all stores and departments. I went to Bishan and Jurong, the lucky bags are packed with the same things but the in-store sales are something else.

From the in-store sales I got Elizabeth Arden Green Tea perfume $20, Revlon shampoos and conditioners $23 for the set, Kappa crystallized T-shirts 2 for $28.

$28 Children's Lucky Bag, making each item only $7. Its all My Little Pony stuff, I would have bought this for myself if not for the kids bag, coz the water bottle has a tea diffuser core.

$68 Health Foods Lucky Bag, making each item only $17. I saw the tri-coloured quinoa and grabbed this coz 500gm of perfectly round & unbroken quinoa is usually $40+, same with raw honey its usually around $40+. Quinoa is the new superfood if nobody knew that, containing 5x nutrients compared to other grain products and is wheat free being related to spinach and all. Chia seed oil is a non-animal derived source of omega 3 fatty acids. And coconut syrup from Bali, sounds really tropical.

Won this angpow organizer and pack of angpows from Kelloggs Corn Flakes. Wanted the yusheng plate with chopsticks but didn't manage to win it.

Isetan announces its one day only Lucky Bag Sales via Facebook and its usually last minute. I made one rush trip just to pick up these 2 bags. Check out the Q! Cash payment only before you collect the lucky bags and the limit is 1 per customer.

$68 Food Lucky Bag, already I see the $60 Gong Xi Fa Cai apple juice bottles. I didn't receive the bonus can of abalone but I did get $10 Isetan vouchers. These 3 small beverage containers actually contain food, I've never seen it before. Sunflower oil, fruit & vegetable juice and udon noodle soup base, making it really convenient to prepare meals without a full kitchen.

$88 Home Goods Lucky Bag, where everything comes in box and each item works out to be $15 a piece. Tiger Thermos Flask 1L, 20cm Happy Call Black Diamond skillet, Hario microwaveable glass prep containers, memory foam pillow, Phillips blender, WMF saucepan with lid.

Takashimaya tripled the number of lucky bags it put out this year. There's even thousand dollar ones from MCM and the various mattress companies. I was cash strapped coz I really wanted almost all. In the end I got the Hello Kitty lucky bag as a gift, the sales staff will giftwrap the contents for you upon request.

The Harrods Lucky Bag $68 that contained Harrods Grand Cru Champagne, only one item in the bag. This is never on sale and at this price makes it a good value purchase.

Tangs Lucky Bags that I didn't get any of. They display the items inside the bags so you know exactly what you are getting for the price. Absolutely love the blue & white tea set for 2, wonder who is going to buy it though.

It's still New Year...

The pasar malam these days are quite different, I got a steamed mantou shaped like Eeyore.

And I just realized the first $500 I withdrew for CNY went quickly through my fingers.

$100 for clothes which is really not a lot coz the only size I can wear are those sold in the neighborhood stores. I got 4 T-shirt dresses, 2 sets of joggers with T-shirts and 3 singlets.

$250 for groceries, yup that one cart cost $250. It's mainly drinks and disposable paper products. Although I did get cleaning supplies like dish-washing liquids, floor cleaners and laundry detergents. 

$100 on Qoo10 for two Cat & the Fiddle Cheesecakes and CNY decor items. The Strawberry Cheesecakes are discounted at Qoo10, at the web-shop itself Mango Vodka Cheesecakes are discounted.

 The remaining $50 went towards meals and we ate really cheaply at coffee-shops.

As we were putting up CNY decor, I noticed the new greetings printed, 非衣足餐 a play on the more common phrase 足衣足食. What it means is instead of enough clothes and food, its a lot of clothes and enough meals.

Bread Society had some festive baked goods, I say go for the fruit custards and get a multigrain bun for your lunches the next day, its the perfect size to feed a family of four when cut into quarters.

Poke bowls that are really Chirashi bowls. $20 sounds like a lot, but you pay the same for it in a Japanese restaurant.

Instead of all sushi and sashimi, we went with the seasonal menu @ fast food places, like this honey sesame KFC.

First Day of CNY!

It's officially 2018! This is the year of the Earth Dog. According to Chinese Astrology there will be many initiatives kick-started and we will all be busy doing with less time planning or postponing. I have a feeling this year will rush right by me.

Starting off my mornings with the breakfast of champions, dumplings. Dumplings are special occasion food in my family and with the new hawker stall selling these in the morning, we can get it everyday for breakfast.

Earlier this month, I made CNY advent calendars for my family. It's filled with stuff like Lee Kum Kee stir-fry sauce, ginseng, rose milk tea from Taiwan etc. Lots of small things I thought they would like, instead of 1 big item.

I also did some major grocery shopping earlier this month in preparation for CNY. I don't like to jostle with crowds especially when its all heavy and bulky stuff. There are a lot of CNY themed food items around this time of the year and this year I only got the tissue boxes that come with red packets.

My recommendation for this CNY is actually not packaged for the occasion. Lux Luminique Shampoos $16.90 for 450ml. Kinda expensive for Lux brand products but these are scented with traditional Chinese incense, forget about what the label contents state. When I first opened this, the traditional TCM scent is kinda overwhelming but after a few uses it gets gentler and smells just like joss sticks at the temple.

As for gifting, I bought Sapporo beer for myself, it's very light and refreshing. Japan's oldest beer brand is actually made in Vietnam nowadays. I also picked up a 6 pack Singha beer for my dad, this is the classic royal Thai beer seen on guys singlets everywhere.

These CNY decor items are not going to be used over CNY, its gonna be a more permanent feature around my home post-CNY.

Indulging in festive treats, matcha chocolate soft serve from Godiva really hits the spot. They also sell a range of ice-creams in cardboard cups with flavors like Peach White Chocolate and Pear Dark Chocolate, also $9 each. 

Stopover at Isetan supermarket to check out the produce, the best of Japan is sold here including hundred dollar seasonal fruits. I usually get a seasonal bento box but this time I headed out to Itacho Sushi for lunch. The new ordering app took forever to setup but you get a few dollars off for the effort.

Valentine's Day Wishlist

Louis Vuitton has been offering an all red gift & handbag collection for Chinese New Year, in addition to its Supreme collaboration last year. But this Neverfull MM I want is from LV Cruise 2018 collection, featuring Kabuki motifs. The bag comes with a pouchette and is priced above $2,000.

The all new Pandora Rose Gold charm bracelet. It's almost nude with a pinkish tinge, the perfect discreet jewelry for the new year. Around $1,000 for a bracelet and some charms.

Lladro Kokeshi dolls at around $700 a piece. Lladro also makes the Maneki Cat dolls for around the same price as well. 

Casio Baby G watch $279. It's made of resin, clock is analogue or digital, multiple functions, lights up in the dark and comes in all colours and patterns.

Forever Friends Bear, $399 for 4 feet of hugs and kisses from loved ones. I am also ok with the smaller 32" version at $199. It even comes in white or panda bear.

Crabtree & Evelyn hampers, filled with traditional English soaps and tea-time treats. The packaging is light and colorful, screams Spring. Or a Fauchon hamper filled with delicious gourmet foods, I especially like the hot pink packaging that says Valentine's day and also CNY. Priced between $500 to $150.

HP Sprocket photo printer, at just $199. It's compact, wireless and has loads of borders/emojis to add onto your picture, best part is its ink-free.

Fitflop slippers in tweed! Latest thing from the brand since elasticized sneakers that I am waiting on for the silver version to be released. I have 2 pairs of Fitflop slippers covered in Swarovski crystals and cannot wait to get a pair of these matte tweed ones, $160 a pair.

The Body Shop Spa of the World collection of scrubs, massage oils, masks and creams. Priced between $12 and $56. The alternative is an oil blend called Oils of Life, similarly priced. 

Bouquet of fresh flowers, this one is $39.90 with free delivery.