Zula.sg – Singaporean Ladies’ Sacred Web Space

Singapore – in all its bustling tininess, has developed quite a significant amount of content around our favourite areas like food (omg, soo much food), travel articles and local news with a quirky (and sometimes controversially-hilarious) take.

For the longest time, Singapore often read up on stuff from websites with foreign-based content… So it’s amazing how we managed to create a whole bunch of exclusively-Singaporean content that tap into our kiasu-laksa-loving hearts.

Now I’m immensely happy to have discovered Zula.sg!

It’s awesome because it really feels like a super exclusive space that not everyone will be able to relate to!

How so?

Well, for starters – Zula’s content is very much meant for Singaporeans. Which pretty much cuts out the rest of the world and leaves us with our teeny-tiny island. And the content is meant for female. Not just any female… Gen-Y females.

Which is really pretty awesome, in my honest opinion. Because it’s practically everything I want to read about; or at the very least, can relate to.

But what I really love about Zula is how clean their webpage is!
All that white space!!! 😍 😍 😍

You might notice that some of the pictures seem quite unprofessional – but I really think it’s just a teething phase with newer webpages. I’ve learned that actually getting quality images is no easy feat.

I’m alright with closing one eye to images for now – because they have some pretty good articles that I’d spend some time reading.

This particular one on “Why Minister Grace Fu’s “20-20” Target Is More Demoralising Than Empowering From A Girl’s Perspective” caught my attention almost immediately. I’m Singaporean, I’m female – it pretty much affects me directly what happens to Singaporean women’s empowerment!

Speaking of women empowerment – I couldn’t not read the article on “This Singapore Girl Fixes Planes Instead of Flying In Them“. While so many girls I know flock to being flight stewardesses, this lady took the road less travelled (by others her gender) and became an aircraft technician! Although I already read this article somewhere else, I love reading it again from another writer’s POV… ☺️ Gives me this warm, fuzzy & proud feeling inside. Like, “YEA! GO, SINGAPORE GIRL!! WOOT!!!”

And of course lets not forget the beauty-related stuff!! 💄

I’m currently carefully studying “5 Amazeballs Mascaras Under $10 For Singaporean Girls Who Spend Too Much On Makeup” because lately I’ve spent a bit on mascaras – but none seem to work for me! 😭 😭 Darn these oily eyelids… I always end up looking like a racoon by lunchtime. Plus a couple of those weren’t exactly economically-priced! It’s great to find cheap alternatives!

So if they work – SUPER YAY! If they don’t – oh well. Doesn’t hurt too bad.

But honestly, the MOST IMPORTANT one right now is… Zula.sg Revlon Warehouse Sale

 

Revlon has some pretty awesome stuff like their Balm Stains! So definitely worth checking out.

Zula has some great content – and it would seem like they’re building up more! Already ‘Liked’ their Facebook page; and waiting for more updates!

XOXO, G. 

My Annoying Boyfriend: Beauty & the Beast 

It’s quite literally a ‘tale as old as time’… And I was super excited about the movie! 

Right from the cartoon version back in 1991 till this new one starring media’s darling Emma Watson in 2017; one thing was a constant fave – the rose in a glass jar. 

 
And with every popular movie, they made it a point to suck as much money as possible – by having cool merchandise. 

So many boyfriends were buying their girlfriends that Enchanted Rose and I thought it was super romantic & gorgeous. 

Me: Y’know the Enchanted Rose in Beauty & the Beast? So many boyfriends bought it for their girlfriends… 🙄 It’s so pretty!! Can I have one too? ☺️

My Annoying Boyfriend: You know that that rose was given as a curse, right? So you want me to curse you now, is it? 

😒

Well. 

XOXO, G. 

It’s OK to be married and not want children…

You’d think that in this day & age people would be more open-minded… But somehow whenever a couple goes, “No, we don’t want children.”

It seems to be a cue call for,
“OMG!!! WHAT?!?! 😱 😱 BUT WHYYYY??? DON’T YOU WANT A FAMILYYYY??”

Which is really idiotic, in my opinion. 😒

  1. Why does ‘family’ have to come with having offsprings?
    So you’re saying those who are unable to conceive, were never meant have a family? How ludicrous. You’re limiting the very blessed word of ‘family’ with your own societal expectations.
  2. It’s their future; of which I’m quite confident you hardly have any solid part of.

But let me clear the air here a little bit… I want my own children – not because of societal expectations. But I just want to have children, be it by conceiving & giving birth or adoption. I just love children. ❤️

However sometimes people are just better off not having children.

Lack of Financial Resources

As superficial as it might sound to some people – it’s super realistic.

If you cannot afford to raise a child comfortably, don’t have one (or more, for that matter. In case that wasn’t clear…).

Especially in a country like Singapore; raising a child is immensely expensive. 💸

Before the child is even born, you already spent a bomb on the doctor, the hospital, special food… And then when the child is here, there is confinement… clothes & shoes (that they always grow out of), food, school, allowance…

And the thing about schooling is that you realise it isn’t the school fees that kill you – it’s the bloody miscellaneous shit that come hurling at you out of nowhere.

Even for myself –  as much as I’d love to have children; if I wasn’t financially capable to, I’d rather not.

Because it won’t just be a huge burden on me, my spouse and therefore our marriage – but it will also hurt the baby that I selfishly decided to give life to; without giving practical reason to whether the decision was viable or not to begin with.

Simply Do Not Like Children

Didn’t realise it till much later on my life… but there really are people who just don’t like children. 😯

Sure, they were children themselves at some point – but that doesn’t mean they like children in the slightest. They won’t go ‘goo goo ga ga’ with a chubby baby, or swoon when the baby bursts out in cute giggles.

In fact, some people just find children noisy nuisances – and find no joy whatsoever in their adorableness.

So how can you expect such people to want to have children?

Truth is – no child is adorable all the time. When you’re the caretaker of him/her, there will be times when you just look up at God and wonder how in all His green goodness – He created this unassuming devil and left you to deal with it.

People who already have no patience for cute babies, would probably end up hurting the child during the growing up process anyway.

Now, why would you want that to happen?

Albeit I know some people who just hate other people’s children, but are head over heels for their own lah. So whatever floats your boat.

No Time; No Intention to Make Any

I know some couples who don’t mind having children – but just aren’t ready to commit time in their lives to raise one.

Which sometimes build up loads of resentment in future. The child will always be a symbol of hindrance of ‘what if’…
“What if the child wasn’t here, I would’ve been able to do this… do that…”

And it just isn’t fair to both the child and the parent.

I’m not a parent just yet… and truth be told, I hardly have any example of what parents should be like. However I take loads of reference from my Daddy in the few years he had with me.

And I imagine that being a parent won’t be easy, and it definitely not be perfect… but I always dreamt it would be worth it. And it should be a choice of my own – not society, not my friends/family, not even my spouse.

It has to be a personal choice of my own.
And it should be yours too.

So to my friends who just don’t want to have children – don’t.

You’ll be doing yourself a favour; you’ll be doing the child a favour; you’ll even be doing society a favour.

You can never please society anyway… So may as well do whatever works best for you and go down that road. ✌🏻😉

XOXO, Gera.

The Zaru Soba in Japan You MUST Eat!

When you travel to a place like Japan, the one thing you really need to dedicate yourself to is…

THEIR FOOD.

No questions about it.

The Japanese cuisine is world renowned for good reason; it has it’s own unique and original flavour, yet every chef does it differently – and when you dine Japanese-style, they believe that the meal should also be a feast for the eyes.

Singapore might be an awesome foodie hub – but I’d say that our food isn’t served too prettily. You’d hardly expect our hawker uncle to put a parsley or whatsoever on your plate of char kuey tiao to make it look more presentable.

Mark and I had LOADS of incredibly good food while in Japan. We even ate when we weren’t hungry, simply because we weren’t there for a long time… And the food was too good to pass up! 😍

Actually gained 3kg within the 9 days we were there. 😩

However the one place I couldn’t get out of my head was this little unassuming hut in the middle of nowhere where we had the most amazing Zaru Soba.

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

Zaru Soba is actually chilled noodles made from buckwheat flour. You dip the noodles into a sauce and slurp it right up from there!
Note that when eating noodles in Japan, it’s polite to slurp your noodles as loudly as possible to show the chef that you’re enjoying your meal! ✌🏻

Truth be told, I was always more inclined to Cha Soba – which is noodles made from green tea flour.

However this place?
Made me sway my opinion effortlessly.

Plus, cold noodles are traditionally a summer dish. It was freezing then, but I had no complaints whatsoever… Because it was SO GOOD!!!

Mark is simply amazing at finding such off-the-books places when we travel – much thanks to our good friend, Google. 😁

So he entered the coordinates into the car’s GPS and stopped right here where we trekked through a bit of snow to the restaurant!

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

Once we entered the restaurant, there was a receiving area and right inside where customers sit is abundantly ornamented with traditional Japanese interiors.

That large mask gave me the creeps a little bit… but everything else was simply lovely and cosy!

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

And we got to enjoy our meal next to this gorgeous winter view! ❤️

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

The place is not very touristy – so their menu is entirely in Japanese. And handwritten too! 😯

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

First to arrive at your table are a couple of small condiments – and very important… The sauces!

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

Later on you will receive a kettle of hot water, which is actually the water that was used to boil your buckwheat noodles.

After you’re done with your noodles, pour the hot water into the remaining dipping sauce… And drink it up!

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

It might not look like much… but it was delicious! Plus it was a great way to calm your tummy after all the cold-noodle-slurping.

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

As you can tell – I was thoroughly pleased with my meal! ☺️ *burp*

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan

Mark was probably even more pleased… because he bought a packets of the owner’s ready-made noodles and sauce.

After some reading, we found that this humble restaurant holds quite a bit of history! The chef makes the buckwheat noodles himself, and the restaurant has been passed down from generation to generation (if I got it right, 19 generations to be exact)! The owner (also the chef) moved to his location back in 1972.

Okay, to be entirely honest – don’t even know if I got it right… because everything about them is in Japanese and my Japanese is hardly decent. 😔

But the important thing to me was, the entire dining experience was AMAZING. The service was warm & polite (like most Japanese people), the food was absolutely delightful, the restaurant’s ambience was scintillating and the view was simply gorgeous.

We were there in winter, and I wish we could be there during the other seasons too!

そば処,三百坊, zaru soba restaurant, yamagata, japan
There I am looking deliriously happy

If you’re ever in Japan, do check them out! You’re definitely going to need a car though!

Restaurant Name: 三百坊 300 Bou | www.300bou.net

Address: 453-2 Tsuchizaka, Yamagata-shi, Yamagata-ken 990-2405, Japan (Google Map here!)

Have a slurp-tastic time, peeps! 🍜

XOXO, Gera. 

Product Review: Crystal Tomato

Hello there, beautifuls! 😍

Many of you might already know The Crystal Tomato – it’s heavily marketed to be a miracle beauty product somewhat… By promising some really awesome benefits for your precious skin. 😌

crystal tomato review, beauty, supplement, review
Image Source
  • Natural Sunscreen
    Absolute dream to have when you’re living in tropical Singapore with the unforgiving Sun. Whenever I head out during lunch hour, I can almost hear my skin cells crying in pain.
  • Brighten, Lighten and Whiten Complexion 
    Okay, one of my major wants in a beauty product.
  • Reduces Dark Acne Scars, Freckles, Dark Underarms and Age Spots
  • Antioxidant Effect and Anti-Inflammatory 

I read so many great reviews online about the product on how it practically changed their lives… So I figured, “Okay, must try.”

Even though it’s bloody costly – at about S$170-$190 for a month’s supply! 💸😱

Now Crystal Tomato isn’t readily available – it’s not one of those things you can just head down to a generic drug store and pop into your basket. No, this one needs you to head down to a specific list of authorised sellers.

And I even bought a 3-month supply – because that’s apparently how long it would take for the skin to rejuvenate and really show results!

I puked blood and went to pluck some grass to eat for dinner when I saw my credit card bill that month.

So anyway, yes I know you just want to know, “DID IT WORK??”

😬 We’re getting there.

First month – skin actually got darker! I figured it was part of the purging process?

Second month – skin was clearing up a tad… and the tone went back to my usual colour.

Third month – “Huh? Got difference meh?” was what a friend of mine said. I purposely wanted to meet her because she’s always the one friend who loves to comment on any changes aesthetic-wise.

If I lose weight, she will comment. If I gain weight, she will imply it’s time to cut back. If my skin looks bad, she’ll ask if I’m on my period. If my skin looks radiant, she will ask for my secret or if I’m pregnant.

Yes, THAT kind of friend.

And when I met her, I was almost expecting a, “WOW!! YOUR SKIN!!!” And then a background of fresh sakura leaves will fall around me as I radiate and giggle in delight. 😌 #mecrazy

But when she didn’t say anything for a couple of hours, I just had to ask her if she noticed anything different about my skin. And her reply was, as above, “Huh? Got difference meh?”

😩 😩 😩

To be honest, I didn’t notice any significant change myself and was almost envious of those girls who apparently experienced a whole galaxy of change!

Albeit there were some little benefits here and there – like how it’s an oral sunscreen. And I have 4 cats, so there are mornings when I wake up with a new scratch somewhere. I noticed they healed faster when I took Crystal Tomato. ✌🏻

However all this doesn’t warrant me parking aside about S$200 for it!!! 🙅🏻

Must say I was massively disappointed… I’ve tried other beauty supplements that were worlds cheaper and gave better and more obvious results.

So not topping up my stash of Crystal Tomatoes. My bank account won’t stand for it – my skin won’t vouch for it.

XOXO, G. 

As You Grow Up; Remember They’re Growing Old…


It’s simply amazing how just watching my grandparents enjoy a hearty meal, makes me feel so happy & warm inside.

I spent a considerable amount of my childhood with them – and somehow it never registered that as I grew up, they were growing older.

Greying hair became white; brown bright eyes turned a murky-blue with cataract. 😢

The first time Mark brought me to that seafood eatery at a kampong, I just thought my grandparents would love it. The nostalgia of the surroundings – so much like the old Singapore. Wild dogs, houses on stilts, children running around barefoot (sometimes just fully naked as the day they were born)… And the salty smell of the ocean. 😌

It’s such a simple thing, really.

But it seemed to have meant the world to them. And it meant the world to me as well.

Just watching them smile and laugh in amusement as they observed the kampong surroundings; digging into the feast heartily; and then sharing their countless stories about their lives back when Singapore still had kampongs.

Ah, what a lovely Saturday. ❤ Should do this more often.

Go spend time with everyone in your life – and cherish those times, don’t be stingy with your minutes. Life is made of these meaningful and invaluable moments. Because people don’t last forever; so build memories that do.

Pampering my grandparents & cousin with some yummy seafood 🐟🦐🦀

A post shared by Geraldine Sim (@gera.shen) on

XOXO, G. 

It’s a Brand New Type of Christmas

Even though I live in an Southeast Asian country, much of my country’s culture is very much globalised.

Singapore, my home, is very much practically a rojak of cultures actually.

So since I was little, I loved Christmas because of all the gifts I got! However I also really hated the occasion… I’m not exaggerating that I actually hated Christmas. Because out front, I was paraded in front of church people who didn’t even know me; because the woman they call my mother wanted face. And behind closed doors, she was hysterical and mental about how she had to go through such jolly seasons alone without a husband. And then she gets all nuts about finances because she has to buy gifts. Couple of years she told me she had absolutely no money to buy me anything; but she was pretty generous with her church people and the children of the man she was seeing then.

It’s really one of the many things that still make me irk at the thought of Christmas.

Albeit I loved sitting by the Christmas tree at my cousin’s house – hoping that I’d unwrap something nice! ☺️

Other than that? Really didn’t like the occasion. I often wept in despair on Christmas Eve, because it just meant I had a new batch of shit with the woman they call my mother.

However lately as I’ve spread my own wings and left the toxic nest, I have gradually come to enjoy Christmas!

Still don’t care very much that it is supposedly Jesus’ birthday… but I love how it presents the opportunity for people to show love for one another. ❤️

There are friends who I love very much but aren’t able to meet them due to busy schedules… Christmas is the perfect time! And we can do gift exchanges as well. And then we spend time together just talking about how life has been lately…

It’s a whole other sort of warmth.

And I love it very much!! ☺️

Okay – clearly I still have issues with the woman they call my mother. It’s intensively deeply rooted… You cannot just wipe away 24 years of pain, distrust and abuse in a few years. You simply cannot. To expect that I’d go back there is just beyond stupidity, retardation and insanity.

To be honest, I doubt I can even manage in this lifetime.

And right now, I’m okay with that.

I just enjoyed my Christmas with friends who love me, and a new family I’m building. And albeit presents haven’t been as great as before… LOL. I’m actually a lot happier than I was before.

All those material things won’t make me happy. At least not for long.

New Year is coming around the corner and I think I’ve grown a tad in 2016! 😃

Hope everyone had a super jolly Christmas!! 🎄