I want to specially dedicate this post to my friend, Lilian!
We were not in contact for around 4 years since our poly internship, and this girl just randomly came to chat with me on Facebook recently, and little did I know that we clicked really well! I am so thankful that she initiated the Facebook chat. 🙂
It is amazing what a short period of internship can leave you with in life, in this case, a best friend. I always think that both of us are destined to meet, because although I mentioned that we met during internship, we were not from the same course. She studied Biotechnology while I was an Optometry Student. Our paths should not cross at all because 99% of the optometry students had their internships either in an optical shop or an eye clinic, but I was lucky that my supervisor decided to place me in NUS DSO (Defence Science Organisation), where I met her coincidentally.
This friend of mine is more health-conscious than me (haha yes, it is hard to believe). While I ALWAYS choose chocolaty, milky flavours for ice creams, she will choose flavours that taste like an essential oil, for instance Lavender haha. She will boil chinese tonics for herself and she jogs 10km for few times a week! When someone offers her a donut, she only eats 1/4 of it, whilst for me I will probably gobble down everything haha.
One thing that I really admire her for is despite her schedule being packed with appointments, she never fails to meet me at least once a month. She will even take leave just so that she can meet me. It is when I step into working life that I realised how this seemingly easy thing to do can be so difficult to accomplish for some, with the shifting of priorities and hectic work schedules.
One more reason that made me love going out with Lilian is not having to worry about being judged for opting healthier choice, because she is in tune with me and would do the same too!
To celebrate her 25th birthday this year, I brought her to this vegan restaurant called Real Food, which caters to the health-conscious, as they only use organic produce in their vegan dishes.
I very much prefer the Killiney branch to the one at Clark Quay, as it is very spacious and the ambience is cozy, definitely an apt choice for friends gathering. The dimmed lightings, which made the whole place extra comforting and romantic, makes it a perfect place for dates with your loved one as well. The spacious restaurant is neatly segmented into a grocer, cafe and a bookstore. The food is also reasonably priced, considering the fact that they are using fresh organic produce. There is also no GST and service charge, although the food is served to you by the friendly waiters and waitresses.
We ordered fried brown rice, fried noodles and their best selling dish, dumplings. All three dishes were superb! It was hard to believe these were healthy plates of wholesome goodness. These would definitely make it much easier to convince any carnivores to become occasional vegetarians. I would really want to get my hands on these recipes and try to remake them on my own. 🙂
Once again, Happy Birthday Lilian!