As 2014 draws to a close, I would like to look back at the year with fondness despite everything negative that has happened, and I would like to remember the happier moments I've shared with friends and family. Thus, I shall attempt to archive some of those times here on this space before the year ends and today, I'm starting with how I spent my day a week ago with one of my closest friends, Chris. I thought it was pretty apt that the place we visited was called "Pho Stop" (like, full stop) because it's one of the final meet ups I was having with my friends before the year ends and it serves as a good conclusion so the title of this post has adopted the name of the Vietnamese eatery along Tanjong Pagar.
Tanjong Pagar is a pretty place, with colourful shophouses lining the street and it's evident that a lot of the heritage buildings are being preserved there. The area is clustered with bridal shops and walking down the rows of shops with glass doors allows you to look in to swoon over the beautiful dresses most girls would one day dream of putting on or just being envious of cute couples about to start a new chapter of their lives together. It's incredible and it makes me happy (or possibly very upset, depending on my mood that day and my own perspective of my prospects of getting hitched in future). Chris and I were joking about how this would be the best place to bring a boyfriend to hint if he is taking too long to pop the question.
We headed there without any eatery in mind though, and although majority of the food shops are either hipster cafés or Korean BBQ restaurants, we settled for Vietnamese cuisine at Pho Stop, which was dimly lit but gave off a very chill vibe. It wasn't crowded at all, and we got a corner at the back of the restaurant all to ourselves, which was so great, especially since it was raining outside.
Hello Chris :-)
And we got our warm bowls of pho which really warmed up my tummy that cold afternoon and made me incredibly happy. I can't remember what we got but it was very lovely and the spring rolls were pretty amazing too. Plus, I personally thought it was affordable, and the portion is a lot bigger than Nam Nam as well so this is a great alternative. We sat inside the restaurant for a pretty long time, not wanting to get out until the rain stopped and so we did exactly that :-)
This was taken when I set up the camera on self-timer mode to take a picture of the both of us but somehow Chris ran over to the camera at the last minute (or rather, second) and I decided not to waste the shutter.
:-)
And just because spontaneity is great and because I am a huge believer it makes the best decisions for people, we decided to pop by the Red Dot Design Museum. A couple of times I've actually been there, the museum was actually closed for various events or that the resident exhibitions have been replaced by other things but this time, I finally got to visit it in its original state. The entrance fee is $4 for students as it isn't a public government museum and is run independently but $4 is pretty affordable and it's actually the perfect place to spend a bit of quiet time with whoever you're with - it's insanely empty, which is a great thing for visitors but not for the operators of course.
The museum mainly features innovation in the form of tangible products that have been made/ are in the works. A lot of these designs are either very aesthetic or "genuis" in the way they solve first world problems and it's quite nice seeing them displayed. This museum is also very interactive, in the sense few of the products are secured behind glass and you can actually take and hold the products in your own hands. In fact, security doesn't seem very tight and it seems very possible for theft to occur even.
There aren't many things to be honest and it only spans one floor but I have no regrets visiting it because it's always nice to see other people being so creative and feeling a tad unaccomplished and bad about myself (or rather, what I meant to say is that it really inspires visitors to think out of the box, not to invent something but perhaps just in every life). It also made me appreciate all the thought that goes into everyday objects that I use often as they feature quite a few kitchen gadgets which I love.
Chris being cultured ;-)
Cute packaging they feature - yes they even feature cute things!
But it was definitely a good day, and I'm so thankful for great and constant company like Chris :') Thank you friend, you already know how much you mean to me.
