today we explored Ristorante Da Valentino off rifle range road. it's very homely and casually comfortable.

the calamari we had for starters was unlike any other we had tasted. for once it wasn't about the fried flour but the squid. the flour coating was just thin and enough to suggest a bit of crunch but not too much that it overwhelms the real stuff inside, which was more nicely tender than overly chewy. we shared a chicken pasta, whose gravy was very flavourful, and it made you chew at the pasta diligently so that you could make the most of all the sauce. we also shared a pasta that arrived on a lazy-susan type wooden tray. the crust was thin and crispy. again, it wasn't so much about piling ingredients on chunks of bread. the crust was thin enough just to hold the meats and cheese and the crust crispy, like a wafer biscuit. the tomato sauce wasn't too overwhelming either and the mushrooms were thinly sliced and merged into the cheese, and the ham slices were generous. they wheel dessert to you in a cart with the desserts displayed prettily and temptingly but we were too full. the decor was simple and definately non-pretentious, at all. white lace curtains hanging by the windows, little silver leaning tower of pisas and trains lining the window parapet like the owner's children left them lying about, and the restaurant wasnt' so big so the chef and his parents were mingling about with the little daughter, sleepeyed and at home.

then we headed down to the coffee bean at guthrie house to chill out. hot chocolate and later iced cos we decided to sit outside. and a short trip to the DIY store. i think he's gotten me interested in these things. i was looking out for innovative 3M products.

so the other day ying and i agreed it's definately a great feeling to be out in town in shorts, an impromptu decision made after a horrible experience at cafe catel at serangoon gardens [i must rant: disgustly liquidy lagsana with burnt edges not wiped properly off the plate/dirty tables/oily floors/crumbs on chairs/one grouchy waitress; the rest were nice though] where we headed to town in casual wear. very liberating. shorts are the new weekend uniform. and then i introduced ying to haagan daaz's black brandied cherry ice cream and we bought cones and stood by the flower parapets at junciton 8. i got her addicted. fellas. so will you.

next to a library, i would like to own a sea.

you are my hand-holding partner.