Copyright © The Wandering Quill
Design by Dzignine
Jul 31, 2013

UP and Coming Travel Journal - I'll be Exporting The Wandering Quill to another Domain

Editor's Note:
Dear Readers
The Wandering Quill has been moved

Please lookout for THE JENALLAGE though it's under renovation right now.



I've been deciding whether I should change my 

BLOG TITLE (The Wandering Quill)
BLOG DOMAIN (Liastoria-alestera.blogspot.com) 

or Both, 

I realised (my) The Wandering Quill does have some rankings when I Googled it, though it can't possibly outrank the website that had already called itself the Wandering Quill dot com and the Wandering Quill blog spot dot com. 

This is one hard lesson learnt. (on the 30th July 2013)

Which is why I've decided it's time to move on, and move the voice of The Wandering Quill (liastoria-alestera.blogspot.com) to another page in which I'll start filling the site up while travel-blogging in Korea (I'll be there in less than 20 days' time). 

This webpage would remain here for long (hence no one shall be able to claim my pen-name (both Liastoria Alestera and Li'az Teira)( I came up with them as a kid and it's original and all rights to it belongs to me.)

I would be exporting some of the posts to the new site too!

Love you, good old folks, I see some of you coming all the way from Canada, US and Iceland! 








Jul 30, 2013

JUNIEL (주니엘) - illa illa (일라 일라)



Top pick from my playlist last summer, this song is too breathtakingly beautiful not to be shared.

It's a day till the end of my internship at ZALORA, 10 days till National Day (Steadi Productions' "Come Home" has hit 36 000 views!) and 20 days till I leave home for Korea.

There are so many things I wish I could do now and I've no idea where to start.

Editor's Note: This blog has been moved.
Jul 28, 2013

Come Home

This video is a tribute to the people of Singapore, and the people who are dear to us. No matter where you are, there would always be a home for you when there is no place else.



Editor's Note: This blog has been moved.

Foodie Jun-to-the-ly, Mega Throwback

Editor's Note: This blog has been moved.

When it comes to food, I confess I'm a sucker for places. From the over-famed ones to the iconic labels; from the authentic ones to the exotic corners that are off the beaten path - I believe I would be the last person you ever want to ask about  food in Singapore. So to the real foodies out there - please forgive me for I have absolutely zero confidence in enlightening your palates! 

That said, I do have a pot of boiling alphabet soup in my cauldron and possibly a collection of personal foodporn that might just nudge the foodie in you.

If you happen to know someone from Google, or someone who knows someone in Google, or maybe if you do work in Google, then I bet you would have heard of the legendary Google7. For a firm that treats its staff like how it pampers its clienteles - it's virtually impossible for anyone to not gain weight after setting a foot into the company! (Google staff are welcomed to dispel the urban myth.) And my reason for mention the 7kg? I highly suspect that for my intern company, we have a 5kg trending. 

We have a FOOD BOX on our table, and we FEED it consistently like a little chihuahua until it's the size of a malamute. 

I've yet to pile on 5 kilos, but judging from the amount of sinful things I've gorged since the beginning of June, don't tell me I'm not on the way to self-destruction. 

*** I trust ordinary people would have the decency to not plagiarise or steal my pictures, and hence I'm not watermarking it for your viewing pleasure :)
Windowsill Pies

Windowsill Pies
I must say we were attracted by the gorgeous pictures we saw here- my friend and I actually had just ONE pie for lunch (go check out the price list and you'll know why their pies are called Artisan Pies). If you're looking for an exotic place near Lavendar and you're willing to pay for a PIE and other delicacy, this would be the perfect place to spend an afternoon with a long lost friend/book/kindle/laptop/sketchbook.

Mom made 
My mom can cook - SO what if I can't HAHAHA. I can't bring myself to cook or even whip up a dish. If I do, I'll probably be sculpting one or painting one. That said, I don't believe I can't at all - all my Korean dishes turned out quite lovely and it's a sign that I do have some culinary genes in me after all, heh. If only I actually want to cook.  

Gathering with 친구들!
Korean BBQ at Bras Basah Complex's Ssik kek Restaurant (식겍) 食客 - the restaurant owner was really nice. He actually thought I was a Korean LOL (*this is embarrassing because my Hangeul is TERRIBLE) The buffet blew a mega hole in my wallet and left it grilled and smokeyyyyy. But we had a whale-lot of MEAT. 

Back to Office - it's a cup of coffee a day kind of thing.
I don't even drink coffee during NUS exam period. That's saying something, I'm required to user more brain power when I'm actually working. 

Soup Spoon <3 

Forgot what's this, but the glutinous rice balls were AWESOME. 


O'Coffee Club - Vanilla Panna Cotta 
SIN to the power of infinity and beyond.

FRIDAY booze and Pizza and Cakessss - No, that's not my drink. 

Film Recce part 1: RK House for breakfast

For foreigners, this is ROTI PRATA and you must try it. MUST. 

GAWD, I forgot where I ate this. Probably Pasta Mania

Thai Express -Plaza Sing.  

Pardon me, but it's not a very bright strategy to STOP serving water when you're feeding Thai Food to your clients. I have the picture on Instagram .

Sommerset 313's Marché Restaurant

Don't remember what this is - it's not bad for a combo meal. 

Right, my sister loves to cook and she made this

Tiong Bahru Bakery- Pumpkin Soup!

The perm(anent) staff treated the interns - it was unexpected. Ichiban Sushi.


Root Beer Float - Astons. 
Not a fan of root bear, but this deserves a photograph. I was chilling out with a couple of friends when the Pollution Standard Index hit 290 (people were lamenting all over the place, hipsters were buying cigarettes from 7 Eleven when people raided the island for N95 masks). So a couple of shots were actually taken when the little red dot was engulfed in the HAZE and people were wheezing away. Boy, did we make it on to the international satellite screens.   


A tasty slice of hazelnut cheese cake (FYI: I fabricated the name)

This was taken right after we braved the Haze to-and-fro-and-back-again. Dessert at POMO's Coffee Connoisseur. The mall was hazier than the streets.  

Breakfast with SteadiProduction's team. East Coast Park. 
Taken at East Coast Park after a successful filming at the Xtreme Skate Park with awesome stun bikers. I LOVE KFC's happy bowl of porridge :) It totally reminds me of the good time I had as a kid when the entire family embarks on a zoo expedition. 

Plaza Singapora's Saybonz- Broccoli Cheese (I think!) Soup and Garlic Bread
 I have a soft spot for garlic bread. What more to ask than HOT, CRISPY yet SOFT garlicky munchies!

Honey Lemon Tea from Common Wealth (one of the coffee shop near Camwerkz) 
On the way to film the dragon boat team. It was raining and I had a dash of rainwater in that cup of soothing goodness. 

Apple Crumble from Hans
I won't recommend that for people who doesn't have a penchant for sweet things. I love apples, I adore apple crumbles - but that, is way too sweet for me and I had a mega food coma. 

Indonesian Laksa at Far East Plaza's Green View eatery
 After the crumble, I had some great Indonesian Laksa at Far East (strongly recommended by a friend's sister) and perhaps because I was craving for laksa, it was GOOD. If you happen to speak mandarin, do put your linguistic charm into good use - they people there seem to ignore you when you speak to them in English. 

Mohammad Sultan (on of the awesome eateries there)
 Sambal Fried Rice! Can never, ever reject that on a table. It's SO good. That place serves the same hand-made lemon juice (secret ingredient = sour plum powder) as NUS FASS canteen (The Deck).

Getting a Recommendation Letter Endorsed.
 It has been quite some time since I last drank Eskimo's bubble tea in school. Say hi to my fourth generation Kindle! An awesome friend offered to re-sell it to me because she can't do without back lighting. 

Okay, here's a recommendation to the intelligent readers out there - GO READ THE NAME OF THE WIND if you haven't! I'm reading it's sequel, it's highly addictive. 

Soup Spoon
Asians drink soup (before you arch a brow, let me explain it's kind of unavoidable to use stereotypical terms to explain things. Heuristics, that's what we tell ourselves). Westerners are said to eat soup. But I do know Germans eat soup, and that is exactly what I mean when I CRAVE for the Soup Spoon! My favourite? It has to be Simon and Garfunkel. (They are real people, btw).

Lindon white chocolate -Melts in your mouth, the filling literally oozes out. 
A handful of SIN from my supervisor. Told you we have a FOOD BOX right. 

Souffle at Hoshino Coffee - Plaza Singapura
Had an awesome lunch with a bunch of friends and we ended up at Hoshino Coffee for a Souffle. We literally butchered the thing in seconds. I remember it tasted somewhat like doubly sinful McDonald's hotcakes? And we agreed there was a K-pop star lookalike who works there. 

Chikuwa Tei
We have the most giving, most caring and most lovely supervisors and perm staff, ever. It's a farewell party for the interns and I can't believe I ATE ALL OF THESE. Starting from the green lump of daunting wasabe and going clockwise: Tuna, Yellow Tail, Swordfish and Salmon. I LOVE the Swordfish sashimi, though this is probably the first and last time I'm eating these luxury goods anytime within the next 6 months, I can't say I'm hoping to munch some real fresh ones in Jeju. 

Soup Spoon again!

Mouth Restaurant - Liu Sha Bao/流沙包
 Drum rolls, confetti shower and top up the CG effect for a nice blinding halo - behold the ball of steel - it's the most evil thing on EARTH and if you think you know what a crispy, lava hot  流沙包 tastes like without actually trying one, you're definitely not the certified foodie. *evil laughter* The real Foodie I know actually ordered 2 boxes of this for the entire team and I think each 流沙包 costs $2 after GST without Qoo10 discount. One can never eat a crispy custard bun glamourously unless he or she is a real master. Why? You just can't peel it into half, duh - it's SO HOT and it spills like real lava. You'll be screaming all over the place before you get an Instagram out of it. 

If you need more foodporn on liu sha bao, you can check out what Lady Iron Chef thinks about the dim sum scene in SG. Apparently Mouth Restaurant wasn't featured but who cares, all the foodie readers are all hands for it! 

Golden Mile Complex's Thai Restaurant
Tom Yam Soup (SPICY AND GOOD), Dou Meow 痘苗, Phad Thai (sweeter than what you get in Food Courts) and last but not least, THAI PRAWN SASHIMI. It's so gooood you won't even know prawns can taste that heavenly

꿀닭 - new stall in Plaza Sing!
 This is Honey Chicken! I remembered I ate these in Korea (What Koreans eat when they watch soccer)(with beer or soju of course) 
Desserts from my lovely colleague/mentor
Out of spontaneity, my colleagues (and I) ended up buying food for each other on Feasting Friday when we had a surprise booze and pizza at the back of the office...this was just yesterday (26 July 2013) and I don't think my digestion had been fully completed by the time I had Starbucks at night. 

This must be the longest post I've made in a while, good night foodies! It's tough writing about food at night - just what am I doing to myself. (Mom just baked matcha egg tarts)




-

All Rights Reserved 2013.
Photos are all taken by me and first published on Instagram in the name of @jengyo and Li'az Teira on Tumblr, 2013. 
Steal them and May Karma be Ever in Your Favour <3 




Jul 27, 2013

Come Home - Trailer

For the past 3 months, a bunch of students had been working on something for everyone on this little island city. We made this purely in the spirit of giving - (you can say our summer break coincides with the National Day perfectly) the real thing is coming really soon tomorrow :)

 

Editor's Note: This blog has been moved.



Jun 21, 2013

Caring for Sterling Silver

A Replica and THE Replica
Editor's Note: This blog has been moved.

Now that I've gotten my Evenstar, I'm beginning to show signs of anxiety over the task to protecting it while wanting to wear it all the time like a charm. Sterling silver a.k.a. 925 silver, is an alloy of silver (at least 92.5%) and other metals such as copper. Silver jewelleries are indeed gorgeous, but they do tarnish really easily with time.

I own a couple of 925 pieces myself, which is precisely why I'm cracking my head over the handling of my Evenstar because I really want it to to last a lifetime and treat it with dignity. (Like you know, wearing it on my BIG day with my wedding gown and perhaps till my hair turns silver).


Some ancient Christmas present (Golden lomo tint)
For my regular silver accessories, I'm perfectly proud of my home remedy (it's actually DIY electrolysis) because the effect is clean, instant and does not involve any abrasive contact - I've been doing that for years to my favourite 8-year old ring and Perlini's Silver necklace.
*I'll explain that later!*

The only concern I have is that our subject is now an Evenstar that costed a BOMB - and yeah, would my home remedy destroy the Evenstar?

Monochrome - she's 8 years old this year
That said, I believe the quality of the official pendant from New Zealand is utterly indisputable. *Crosses my heart* I'm essentially just a paranoid perfectionist who would spend her time scrutinising the cubic zirconia for scratches and narrowing her brows at the silver frame, looking for signs of defect. But when I do find (a) defect(s), the novelist in me would end up convincing the perfectionist in myself that every scratch is a mark of history and things are beautiful precisely because they are flawed.

You can now see why I'm anxious. I'm proud of my DIY electrolysis skills but at the same time, my over-achieving attitude might just be the doom of me.

Now, let's finally move on to DIY electrolysis! 

Basically, the entire process involves transferring of oxides from your relatively less reactive silver to a more reactive aluminium. Can you guess what are the things we need for this little reaction? YES, it's the wondrous aluminium foil!



Things you'll need:

  1. A heat tolerant container (a regular ceramic bowl would do, you can even use a cup lol, depending on the size of your silver piece - just be imaginative.)
  2. A piece of aluminium foil (be environmentally friendly and cut out just a small piece of it, enough to cover your silver piece and keep the rest of the next electrolysis.) 
  3. Boiling water
  4. Baking soda
  5. Salt
How-To:

  1. Mix 2 portions of baking soda to 1 portion of salt (for single use, 2 teaspoon or baking soda to 1 teaspoon of salt) and there you go, the magickal reactant which you can keep for subsequent use! 
  2. Line the bottom of your heat tolerant container with aluminium foil.
  3. Place your silver piece upon the aluminium foil, ensure that there is contact. 
  4. Add your reactant 
  5. Add boiling water
There should be a sizzling sound and small bubbles rapidly rising from your silver and bubble growing all over your foil. Watch and see how your silver is restored to their previous glory! I do that once every few months. 

The difference would usually be instant and drastic - depending on the degree of tarnish. But do take note that there might be some risks if your silver piece comes with gemstones. I can't guarantee they won't crack under the heat! 

But you do get the idea don't you? My anxiety about putting my Evenstar through this DIY electrolysis when it does tarnish. But I'm perfectly happy abusing the rest of my accessories because the effect is practically magical and effortless. 

Notes:
  1. Do NOT attempt to rub toothpaste on your silver, abrasion and scratches are definitely unavoidable as silver is a really soft metal. It might help remove some tarnish, but the effects are just too harsh and irreversible. 
  2. Try not to use cloth on your silver unless its a real polish cloth for jewelleries or watches. Personally, I use a nano-cloth which came with my spectacles and I still think it would leave scratches on my silver. 
Well, I'll most likely be wearing my Evenstar like a charm on a daily basis since it is made for wear (with a 5-year guarantee). Silver is too gorgeous to be kept for once-in-a-blue-moon occasions and just enjoy while the shine last and cherish your pieces! 

Click here for alternatives ways of maintaining your silver :) Do note that the above steps for DIY electrolysis is written base on my own experience over the years. 


Good luck and have fun giving your silver the restoration it deserves. 


Jun 16, 2013

Today I'm as HAPPY as Gollum


Editor's Note: This blog has been moved.

I am beyond over the moon. I am beyond happy - what I am experiencing right NOW is total bliss, and the waves of emotions going through my circulation right now is just so real that my happiness is spilling allover the place, too full to be contained, too wild to be tamed - which is why I've decided to share my joy because while you may not know who I am or why I'm so grateful for today, I would still like to share my joy of receiving a hard earn piece of token with you.

And so here I am with a special  post dedicated to all the Middle Earthlings out there.

I've been a LOTR fan since I was around 13-14 years old. I've been dreaming about this for close to eight years and never am I so happy to see something in my mail box on a late Saturday night.

After an amazing island wide film recce trip with my awesome new found friends, my super kind producer pal decided to drive everyone home. (I'll post a special entry about the special places in Singapore that we went to today, but I'll save it for another day) Fatigue would be an extreme major understatement to describe the state of my physical existence as I dragged my way from the bus stop to my block - but when I walked past the contingent of grey looking mail boxes, something lighted within me, like some chemical light bulbs  flickering to live across my synapses.

It was a profound gut feeling, a calling intuition which guided me to my mail box. I took a peak inside and the next moment, I was squealing like a kid and ransacking an earthquake through my bag for my damned keys.

The next moment, this is embarrassing, but I literally hopped around, all the way to my lift and jumped up and down during it's ascent.




I swear I've waited for this for years and years and the real item is definitely, indisputably a gazillion times more magnificent and surreal compared to the replica. This photo does my Evenstar no justice at all. I'm close to tears currently because it is simply what I wanted, all I've wanted for all these years.

Actually, I've been wearing this stupid smile that no one seems to be able to wipe off my face ever since I got home. I hopped around my house, from the room to the living room and then the kitchen and back and froth - this is how happy I was when I got home, showered at the speed of light and unwrapped layers and layers of bubble wrap, plastic wrap, leather pouch and paper wrap - I'm currently still intoxicated with happiness, apologies for the lengthy sentences.

15th June was a magical day well spent with kind, ridiculous, fun-loving people with big hearts and this parcel just make everything, every throat-cuttingly busy bit of my 3-month summer break amazingly worth it. 

Here's a peak of the layers of wrappings that I had to go through - it literally pushed the escalation of excitement to a whole new level. I was 100 percent hyper-active.

HAHA, do you spot my miniature DIY Bag End?
 The mail was sent from the inner city of  Palmerston New Zealand North Island the main city of Manawatu-Wanganui region of North New Zealand and it took approximately 9 days to reach my home.

The packaging was optimal, thoughtful and flawless, with a lovely statement letter and 5 years warranty.

The pendant and chain is right within that tiny zip lock
Can you see the cushion of bubble wrap? The Elven pouch lay within a ziplock, which contained another ziplock encasing the paper-wraped Evenstar. I was practically thrilled to the last moment, because when I unwrapped the carefully enclosed pendant, it was back-facing me. 

I wasn't breathing when my eyes met the heart of the pendant. One word - love at first sight. It was dazzling, it was shimmering - it was clear like the morning dew and sweet like a breath of spring air. Yes, I'm singing praises all over the place now because it was worth the arduous wait. It's my treasure now, and the best thing is that I know it's made for everyday wear. 

The Cubic Zirconia is clear, well-cut like a real diamond with shimmer that shatters and spills out from within like rivulets of light. The seven man-made diamonds are glorious and seamlessly set in sterling silver claws, like myriads of star combined.

I can't explain my love for sterling silver, (especially since mom got me a silver ring 8 years ago), I've always been captivated by silver's soft, lustrous golden glow that  makes me believe that it's the most enchanting metal on earth.

I'm so full, grateful and blessed with beautiful people and things. Enjoy the rest of your day (or night) - the Evenstar has a symbolic meaning for me, and I hope you will find your own version of the Evenstar someday if you haven't.

Here's the link to the official LOTR Jewellery site if you would like to know where I got my coming of age necklace from. I chose its free worldwide shipping services and it obviously did not disappoint me :)

My Tumblr is turning 3 today - it's a really good, good day.