Valentines Day - 14 February

It's that time of the year again! One day of overpriced flowers, expensive meals, sparkly jewelry and excessive consumption of chocolates. But happy is the lady who gets all of that on this special day of the year. :)

Flowers = Bragging rights at the workplace (maybe not out loud but men, if you are reading this.. sending flowers to your lady's work place scores you major points. Just make sure you send the right kind)
Meal = Full on cocktails, entree, mains, dessert and coffee
Jewelry = Tiffany's maybe?
Chocolates = Elevated mood

How did we celebrate our first Valentines Day after getting married? It was a simple, understated affair. Yes, I did get flowers. No, I did not get Tiffany's but I do have my eye set on something from there of which its purchase will wait till we are in a better place financially to get it :) Can't justify splurging right now when the economy is so uncertain. And finally no, I did not get chocolates cos we have enough chocolates in our pantry to last us till January 2010.

What flowers did I get? Beautiful stemmed purple and white orchids.. reminds me of the tropical weather back in Malaysia. The orchid is the national flower of Singapore and (for those of whom this thought crossed their mind) no, Alex could not get me the hibiscus because there were none at the florists :)




I know that flowers eventually die so I'm glad I can use the pot! :)


Our dinner reservations were made at Peppered Prawn. It was a lovely place, small, cosy and warm, tucked in a corner easily missed if you don't stay around the area. It's at the Sky Plaza Apartments, right next to the Southern Cross Club.

A change in menu on Tuesday

The kitchen area

Here are pictures of our meal that night with our comments to boot.

Cocktail: We ordered the Chinese Whisper (The presentation was not much to whisper about but the alcohol content did deliver a kick)

Entree: Seafood Tasting Plate - Grilled scallops, drunken oysters,crispy prawns, cajun calamari & sugar cured ocean trout ( This was quite good except they have to do a better job cleaning the oysters. Mine had sand and grit in it)

Mains: Duck Confit - Slow roasted free range duck, seared sea scallops with cauliflower puree, spinach, duck jus and a hint of truffle oil (This I thought was rather dry for a duck cooked in its own fat. Maybe there was less fat because if was free range? The puree was beautiful though)

Mains: Surf & Turf - A cut of sirloin with grilled prawns and ocean trout served with fries. ( The sirloin was a little more cooked than we would have liked although Alex did request for medium well. Taste wise it was good though we would have appreciated a bigger portion. The poor guy was still quite hungry after the meal. His initial choice was the Seafood Medley but swapped for the Surf &Turf, a decision which I think he regretted when he saw this plate)

We did not manage to order desserts or coffee. We had a movie to catch so we bought McDonalds Chocolate Sundae on the run as a quick substitute. We would have loved to have taken a look at the dessert menu but our mains took nearly 30 minutes to be served so our time was cut short.

It was a sweet and simple Valentines for us. And photos make good memories even better!

cheryl