Second month, shiok shiok!*

This month, we have mostly been eating, drinking and hanging out...

- At the third birthday celebration of Loof where we stumbled amongst a throng of locals and expats enjoying this little drunker's paradise a-top a building opposite the rather more posh Raffles Hotel.

- At Supper Club where, rather than eating, we danced to 'club classix, vol. 1, dimension 3' and lazed around on the enormous white leather covered "beds". Thankfully, we were not there for this ball-aching performance from "Miss Stevieous".

- At the Oasis, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. We enjoyed the alfresco poolside setting, watching steam rise off the decking and listening to the gentle sway of the palm trees in the post-downpour air. Some of the items off the grill were a little overdone but this was balanced by the array of delicious sides of fresh salads, vegetable dishes and beautifully warmed bread. We opted for the free pour of house wines, which were fine but sadly warmed too quickly by a combination of heat from the grill and the calefaction of the evening.

- At soon-to-be-closed KM8, where we enjoyed endless supplies of wine and beer served to us by patient staff whilst we stood under a beach umbrella during a storm complete with fork lightning and thunder cracks for two hours. Hilariously good fun watching people still attempting to play volleyball and regularly face-planting into huge puddles of sandy rainwater. Drinking whilst drenched - quite a fun experience.

- At Mimolette where we mooched around amongst stick-thin models who towered above the locals and who looked as if the alfresco wind might carry them off into the Straits of Singapore. Given the derisory door policy ("Every Friday night is a very exclusive Guest List Only party called Trybe. You need to be on the list or have a friend that is a member put you on the list. Mimolette does not entertain guestlist queries, but members of Facebook can look for "Trybe Doorbitch" and request to be her friend. She has the last say on who makes the list."), I doubt we will be returning in a hurry.

- At the S$30m Krisflyer Business Class Lounge at Changi Airport. I was lucky enough to be posted for two days to Paris for work. Relaxing in the oasis of calm, I couldn't help but think, "I've finally made it". Sad, I know. Only those who know of my previous job misery, will appreciate why this experience is the pinnacle of my career to date. I am now a convert to the fact that working life should offer you the chance to sample freshly steamed and delicately fried prawn gyoza from a slowly rotating glass help-yourself cabinet and Tiger beer on tap as you wait to board your flight, listening to the soothing tones of a piano being tickled in the distance.

- Aboard Singapore Airlines in Business Class. Already feeling naughty for having had dinner before I left home and then sampling the delights in the Krisflyer Lounge, I declined the glass of champagne offered within ten minutes of sitting down in my seat made for 1.66 people and instead enjoyed a freshly squeezed orange juice to wash down my fresh-from-the-oven roasted nut selection. Service with a smile (and always addressing me by name) was impeccable and I thoroughly enjoyed the little touches - the freshly pressed white linen tablecloth laid out on my oversized tray table, the orchids in the bathroom and the exquisite between meal snacks - before settling down into my horizontal bed. Rock and Roll. Got six hours' sleep, which is pretty unreal. Arrived, for the first time in my life, feeling refreshed from a long-haul flight.

Next month holds more food sampling in advance of the soon-to-be in-laws' arrival in April, the "last ever" KM8 beach party and a weekend trip to Langkawi. Bring it on!

* Meaning of 'shiok!' - commonly used in Malaysia & Singapore. It conveys a feeling of strong physical/emotional pleasure, excitement or tingling taste buds(when used with regards to food).