On A Quest to find Non Toxic Nail Polish in Singapore

Yup you read right. I'm on a quest to find Non-Toxic nail polish in Singapore. I don't know how I stumbled upon this non-toxic mumbo jumbo because I've never given a second thought to nail polish before. I usually just buy inexpensive ones based of my liking of the colour. When it comes to choosing nail polish removers tho, I usually do choose the non-acetate one or ones that don't smell harsh. Right now I'm using one that smells nothing like the traditional nail polish remover, it completely smells like Strawberry syrup. I can't remember where I got it from, could be SaSa.

Anyway, I never realised how uninformed I was as a consumer on how toxic nail polishes are. Yes there's the terrible smell that should set off your warning bells, but in the quest to look cute, you often just put up with the smell and not think twice about it. But now I find out there are nail polishes out there that claim to be non-toxic, and as a bonus vegan free (non animal tested) and better for the environment! I feel like I've been in the dark.

The Big 3 toxic chemicals in nail polish as pointed out in a lot of websites is  Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde and Toluene. You can Google what these chemicals all do. But according to the US Department of Health and Human Services (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov), this is how these toxins can affect one's health:

How can toluene affect my health?

Toluene may affect the nervous system. Low to moderate levles can cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, drunken-type actions, memory loss, nausea, loss of appetite, and hearing and color vision loss. These symptoms usually disappear when exposure is stopped.

Inhaling High levels of toluene in a short time can make you feel light-headed, dizzy, or sleepy. It can also cause unconsciousness, and even death.

High levels of toluene may affect your kidneys.

How can formaldehyde affect my health?

Low levels of formaldehyde can cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, and skin. It is possible that people with asthma may be more sensitive to the effects of inhaled formaldehyde.

Drinking large amounts of formaldehyde can cause severe pain, vomiting, coma, and possible death.

How likely is formaldehyde to cause cancer?

Some studies of people exposed to formaldehyde in workplace air found more cases of cancer of the nose and throat than expected, but other studies did not confirm this finding.

In animal studies, rats exposed to high levels of formaldehyde in air developed nose cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that formaldehyde may reasonably be anticipated to be a carcinogen.

DBP

Can cause birth defects and abnormalities in physiological developments and is a suspected Endocrine Disruptor. This chemical has been banned in cosmetics and nail polishes in the EU but not in the US (or other parts of the world I guess)

This website also gives pretty in depth explanation of why it's best to go with non toxic nail polishes. And this one gives a list of US brands that make safe nail polish. 

So it all sounds pretty scary right? Most of the time I only put nail polishes on my toes because with all the cooking, washing and house work I do i know it doesn't last a couple of days. But there are times when I do want to put them on my finger nails and now with all this information I'm a little paranoid. I don't know whether all this stuff really is bad for you when you're putting it on your nails. I mean you're obviously not gonna drink it and (most likely) you're gonna try not to inhale it as much as possible. But....and there's always a but.....it's better to be safe than sorry right? So thus my quest to find non toxic nail polish in Singapore. When I was at Metro today I saw that they sold O.P.I brand of nail polish. I'm not as familiar with which brands of nail polish is better or what, but I've heard this brand mentioned several times and in various blogs and youtube tutorials. They're not cheap, but still affordable when there's a store wide sale. I was tempted to get them because my vague memory was telling me that I had read somewhere that O.P.I brand was safe and had eliminated the Big 3 toxins. But unfortunately there was nothing on the display to say so so I didn't trust myself. Only the Nic's Sticks had a sign that said it was free of the Big 3 toxins.  But looks like I was right, cos according to their website: 

"Since 2006, OPI has reformulated its entire line of Nail Lacquers, Nail Treatments, and Nail Hardeners to eliminate DBP (dibutyl phthalate) and Toluene.

Formaldehyde has never been an ingredient in OPI Nail Lacquers or Nail Treatments.

Some OPI Nail Hardeners do contain formaldehyde, while others are formulated without it to give consumers a choice. The levels of formaldehyde are more than four times lower than the safe levels established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In fact, according to a study conducted under the auspices of the California authorities, the levels of formaldehyde, even in nail salons, are no higher than those found in many common work places, such as offices, where no nail products whatsoever are present. OPI continues to search for effective alternates to formaldehyde."

I did take a whiff of one of the pots and it smelled exactly the same as a 'normal' nail polish....so...what does that mean? I just wondered whether other unknown toxic chemicals have been replaced in place of the ones they've taken out. I guess we'll never know. Anyway I was going to order some water based and Big 3 free nail polishes from the US, but as it turns out Comgateway doesn't deliver nail polishes because it is considered as a flammable substance. Too bad....

And if you've got some spare time, here's an interesting read from O Magazine. 

Ruyi at Resorts World Sentosa

Cheap eats at RWS, reasonable prices. It's basically like a Chinese fast food. The food is served in paper bowl. But the taste is pretty alright, servings could've been a bit bigger.

Beef Brisket Rice

Curry Noodles

Dumplings in Hot and Sour Soup

My version of Martabak Telor

Martabak Telor is a pretty fattening Indonesian snack that is sold on the streets. It's basically a pastry filled with minced meat and then fried in some oil till crispy and golden. A bit like the Indian Murtabak, whereby they put a filling like curry or sardines inside a prata. Our version tho is served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce with pickled cucumber/carrots,  rather than curry sauce.

I honestly don't know how that pastry is made but the way I make it at home - and also a healthier version - is by using ready made frozen spring roll skins. Simply mix some minced meat with some diced french beans (string beans), add some garlic, seasoning and 1-2 eggs depending on how much mixture you have. Then lay out your skin and spoon a generous amount of the mixture. To ensure a crispy exterior, I wrapped the whole thing in another piece of spring roll skin. This is also so the fillings don't ooze out. The mixture will actually seep through the first layer of spring roll skin so the next layer of skin will easily adhere to the first layer. Once you've done that, just heat up some oil in a skillet pan and pan fry them until crispy. You don't really need a lot of oil. Once golden and crispy, take them out and chop them into squares. To make the dipping sauce, mix sugar, rice vinegar and soy sauce with water till you get a sweet salty sour flavour.

Tip: If you have left over spring roll skin, wrap it tightly with cling wrap and refreeze for later use.

I've used minced pork

Gyozas (Post #2)

So after my last attempt of making Gyozas (which worked out beautifully), I made them again, this time by doing it the traditional way of pan frying them and then adding water to the pan rather than steaming them first. It came out to be more or less the same. they puffed up a little more than if they had been steamed first. So presentation wise, steaming is better because it keeps its original shape better. But at the end of the day, it's the crispy bottoms that mattered since gyozas are served upside down - or crispy bottom side up.

Look at how yummy and crispy these look!

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Made this beautiful dish to bring over for the weekly family dinner. I don't think the in laws are used to eating something so 'out of the ordinary' (to them anyway), but I was glad to see my mil actually enjoying it and it goes to show that she's more adventurous than I give her credit for. My fil on the other hand who was having a cold kept on saying he didn't want to eat it cos it was 'cold'. He actually thought it came from the fridge. Kept on insisting it was cold even before he tried it. But at least he did try a bite. I think they weren't so used to eating Thai basil because of the strong flavour and fragrance. Mil seemed to enjoy it, but not so much sil. What's important is my darling hubby telling me that it was delicious and that's all I needed to hear :)

I bought the prawns at Pasar that morning and boiled it myself. It was soo good and sweet. The other fillings included marinated pork, thai basil leaves, vermicelli and curly lettuce. I cut the spring rolls in half so that it wouldn't be so daunting to everyone. This is a great dish for entertaining, cheap, easy and you can make the rolls and the dipping sauce it in advance!

Step by Step for beginners:

Prepa. ration:

1. Get your prawns and just drop them in boiling water till they change colour. Once they change colour, take them out and soak in cold water or just run the tap over them to stop them cooking and cool them down. Then peel the prawns and if you wish, half them so you can make them go a long way, meaning 1 roll will only use 1 prawn rather than 2. But if you're generous and u can't be bothered then just leave it whole.

2. Boil some water in another pan. While that's happening, wash your lettuce leaves (curly lettuce is prettier) and if using, thai basil leaves, spin dry or towel dry.

3. Get some rice vermicelli. If you use fresh ones then you only need to dunk them in some hot water. You can even use the same water you boiled your prawns in, this cuts a step and saves reboiling water. Fresh ones only need a few seconds, dried vermicelli will take a few minutes. Remove from the water and run tap water over it to stop it cooking and set aside.

4. Once the water in the other pan is boiled, turn off the heat and get your wrapper. Dunk it in the hot water while rotating it. You don't need to dunk it till soft, just till it's wet and lay it on a plate or cutting board. The water will actually absorb into the wrapper and soften it, that's why you don't have to dunk it till it's limp and soft.

5. Then get the prawns and lay them on the wrapper. Lay them down towards the other end of the wrapper away from you. If you've halved the prawns then make sure you put the stripes or orange side down. Then lay your lettuce leaves beside the prawns closer to you and put the basil leaves on top and some rice vermicelli. Then fold the sides towards the middle and then roll the skin away from you making sure it's tight and there you have it!

To make peanut dipping sauce, add equal amounts of peanut butter and hoisin sauce and mix well.

To make the vinegar dipping sauce, pound some garlic and chilli, transfer to a jar with a lid and add sugar, water, vinegar/lemon and fish sauce and shake till thoroughly mixed. Taste and adjust. 

Thai Sweet Sticky Rice with Mangoes

This popular Thai dessert is actually very easy to make. I've never made sticky rice before and I made mine a little too soft, too much water I guess. But otherwise overall it was good and tasty :) Got the recipe from the Youtube link below. And who knew you could cook sticky rice in the microwave just like regular rice! Makes it so convenient (before this I almost called my Mum to ask how to steam sticky rice cos I know that's how she does it)

Pasta with Clams with Cashew Nut Pesto

You won't believe how good this tastes and how simple it is. I know it's not traditional to use cashew nuts in pesto, but that was all I had at home. Just blitz them in a food processor with your basil leaves, parmesan cheese, garlic, and olive oil to loosen. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. In another heated pan, place your clams with an optional splash of white wine or water just enough to help steam it along because its own juices will get released anyway. Cook just until the clams open up and turn off the heat. Add the drained al dente pasta to the pan with the clams and toss with the pesto and serve!

Unbelievable ad by a Slimming Centre

Business must be getting tight when they start running ads like this in a Cleo magazine. Seriously, no wonder young girls these days have body image problems.

"My Boyfriend left me because of my small breasts" is what it says. That's just looooowww!

Ban Dai Big Sushi Roll Maker

A friend of mine bought this 'toy' from Takashimaya. She had some vouchers to use up, or else she wouldn't have bought it either cos at $49.95....it's VERY expensive and not quite worth it.

This ad makes it look so easy. It doesn't seem as fun or easy to use actually, it was faster to roll the sushis in the traditional way. But it IS very cute as most Japanese things go. But maybe u get better with practice?

It comes with cute 'Recipe Cards'

Universal Studios Singapore Annual Pass got us Complimentary tickets for Voyage de la Vie!

We were so ecstatic to receive a mailer from RWS letting us USS Annual Pass holders know that we were entitled to a complimentary ticket to see Voyage de la Vie - worth $88 each!! It totally makes the annual pass even more worth it. We've got our tickets for the 13 August. Can't wait to see it.

This is what Voyage de Lavie is all about:

"“Voyage de la Vie” or the “journey of life” is a story of a boy’s metaphoric journey, or a rite of passage before he becomes an adult. 


Enter the world of the mysterious Lantern Keeper, the charming Crystal Cat and the mesmerizing Diva along with extraordinary inhabitants. Explore the journey of the boy on an adventurous search to discover his destiny. An unforgettable experience of magnificent sets, glamorous costumes and amazing circus feats awaits…

A circus theatre spectacular, the story is told through song and dance, combining with the energy, physicality and athleticism of circus arts, resulting in a contemporary cutting edge performance art form which fully engages the senses and keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. The first circus theatre spectacular ever to be created in

Singapore, it presents an international cast of circus stars brought together from 16 countries."

Nasi Uduk (Indonesian Nasi Lemak) from Kedai Kue-Kue, Bugis Junction

Nasi Uduk is Indonesia's version of Nasi Lemak, but with some subtle differences in taste. Went to Kedai Kue Kue in Bugis Junction and tried out their Nasi Uduk and it was definitely authentic, brought back memories of Jakarta for me. I guess it should be authentic, cos I overhead the owner talking to someone saying that although he himself wasn't Indonesian, the Mas or the bloke in the kitchen, was recruited from Indonesia. Traditionally in Indonesia, Nasi Uduk isn't eaten with chicken wings, it's usually eaten with egg omelet, perkedel (mashed potato fritter), peanuts, ikan bilis, fried shallots, and the all important sambal!

They also had Soto Betawi. Will try that next time I think.

Sakura International Buffet - Downtown East

This was in May (yes I know I'm way behind). We chose this Sakura outlet for our family celebration because of its price and space since there were quite a number of us. The food didn't disappoint, it was good and fresh and lots of options and was topped up frequently. It's not the BEST Japanese buffet in town, but for that price, I really don't think one can complain. (Totally forgot to take more photos after the first plate)

Random Tokyo Observations

Forgot to post this up.

1. Wonder how many hats Japanese women have and how many suits the men own? The women all wear hats everywhere - wonder as a fashion statement or because they are genuinely protecting themselves against UV rays. Probably both. Men all seem to wear suits to work. Oh and they all wear socks or stockings. I hardly saw anyone wearing shoes without socks or stockings. Maybe in summer they don't?

2. Some trains have pull down blinds. Interesting. Overhead racks for your stuff is also very handy (till u forget to  take it down that is).

3. There are absolutely no noisy ringtones on the train! Everybody observes the sign that says switch off (to silent) your mobile phones. And no one obnoxiously talking loudly on the phone. I was at the hospital in Singapore the other day and this guy had a really loud 'ringtone' for his sms. Everytime he got an sms the phone would loudly 'announce' Excuse Me Boss, you have a message! It was funny at first, but the more messages he got the more annoying it became.

4. I love how it's ok to wear knee high black tights with candy pink shoes. I love how you can wear whatever you want without everyone giving you a weird look.

5. At Disneyland, ppl don't sit on railings while waiting for rides. There were also no pushing and shoving and cutting of lines. How civilised!

6. I love how there's a section on the bathroom mirror right where your shoulder to your head would be, that doesn't fog up after a steamy shower. How considerate of the hotels. I wonder if in private homes whether it's the same?

7. Rubbish bins are very lacking in Tokyo. Do ppl just bring their rubbish home with them or something? We'd walk around for an hour with rubbish and we'd still not spot any rubbish bins to throw our rubbish into (at some places)

Supermarket shopping with a stroller

Who here has ever shopped in a supermarket while you are pushing your stroller? What do you normally do? Stick your groceries on the sunshade or if the child isn't sitting down then put it on the seat right?

Look what I did. I hung the basket on the stroller handles and it works great! Of course this only works when the stroller handles are like mine.

Somebody should really invent something for mothers with strollers.

Universal Studios Singapore - POSB annual pass freebies

This is a very very long overdue post. When we bought our annual passes for Universal Studios Singapore we got these limited edition freebies (2 sets) when we paid using POSB credit card.

We've never used the bag to date...kinda weird to be carrying around the bag in Singapore I think cos it's got the USS logo, kinda like advertising for them. It's a good sturdy bag tho which can be used in various ways - as a backpack, carrybag or shoulder bag. The bottles are made of plastic - too bad - it would be nicer if it was metal. And the wording has already faded as you use and wash it.

Caelyn's Mid Year 'Report Card'

I was quite impressed when at the end of Term 2 of schooling Caelyn brought home her 'report card'. Ok it's not really a report card but more so a progress report in a big booklet, complete with photos of what she does at school! This impressed me the most that they took time out to take photos of her doing stuff at school and develop the photos and stick it into the book.

Outback Steakhouse @ Millenia

Went there ages ago, so this post is late. I'm not that into Outback Steakhouse, not that the food isn't nice, but i think it's WAY over priced for the amount they give you and for the service - or lack thereof. This time we were only there for a late afternoon tea so we only ordered appetisers.

What I do like is their Bloomin Onion tho which is basically a whole giant white onion cut into a lotus flower shape, dipped in batter and deep fried to perfection and served with a tangy sauce. I can't remember clearly, but I think they don't have this anymore and had changed it to Tornado Onion (I think that's what it's called) which is what we ordered. Basically same concept, just in a 'Tornado' shape. i'm not sure if it's one onion tho, cos Bloomin Onion seemed bigger. Maybe trying to cut down costs and split one onion into 1.5 plates? Anyway it was good, still is my favourite thing here.

The free bread they gave us was EXTREMELY good. I don't often say this about free bread but this one was so rich and chewy and soft at the same time. I'm not sure what kind of bread it is, malt bread maybe? It was that same brown colour inside. And the whipped butter was very nice too. We liked it so much that we asked for another serving of it!

The Buffalo Style Chicken Wings were THE WORST  thing ever! First it was ridiculously overpriced for 'half' a serving, we didn't know that half meant a measly 5 pieces with a couple of sticks of carrots. And that's not all, it wasn't even Buffalo style, how cam a simple fried chicken served with Blue Cheese Dressing be considered as Buffalo style wings??!! Where's the sour hot sauce that it should be drenched in?? Severely disappointed. 

Aussie Cheese Fries was nice and crispy. Wish it had more cheese on it tho. But can't complain much cos we do love fries :)

There were basically no servers that afternoon, maybe they weren't expecting lots of people to eat at that timing but there was like only 1 guy serving about 6 tables so it was very slow. 

Best Gyozas (made by me!)

I love Gyoza...Dumplings....Guo Tie....Potstickers...or whatever you want to call them. It's that little bundle of meat encased in a soft chewy skin with a crispy brown bottom. We used to make the skins ourselves. It's pretty simple, just flour, salt, and warm water kneaded till it forms a ball. But it's troublesome to roll it out yourself. So I've been buying the ready made ones - the ones that says Guo Tie skin. But I was never really satisfied with them because they were too big and too thin causing breakages in my gyozas and then once cooked it looked all wrinkly and unattractive. Till recently that is, when i found the Holy Grail of gyoza skin. They call it Taiwan Jiao Zi Pi or Taiwan Dumpling skin. These are soft and small and do not break easily. You don't even need to put water around the edges to seal it as it was soft and pliable enough to simply press the skin together. The best thing about these skins is they had just the right amount of chewiness and the bottoms stayed crisp for longer too.

Usually when making gyozas you'd put them in a pan and pour water into the pan, cover with lid and cook till there's no more water. Then take off the lid and pan fry till the bottoms become brown and crisp. But on our recent trip to Tokyo we saw that they actually steamed the gyozas first before pan frying. So that's what we did and it worked wonderfully. Next time I will try putting the water in the pan method with this new skin and see if it comes out the same.

Do u see the difference? The top on is the Taiwan skin.

Taiwan Skin

thin flimsy other dumpling skin

I love gyozas so much, I can really stuff myself with them. And surprisingly Caelyn loves them too. But of course she likes them cos of the chewy skin...but hey I'm not complaining cos I put a lot of wombok and chives in the meat mixture, so it's good for her.

Here's the 'recipe'. I don't have exact measurements as always.

Filling Ingredients:

Minced Pork
Grated ginger
Grated/minced garlic
Wombok shredded finely
Chives diced finely
Oyster Sauce
Sugar
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Dash of Chinese Cooking Wine
Dash of cornflour

Put the minced pork together with the ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, corn flour and seasoning in a big mixing bowl. Mix the mixture with your hand until it becomes slightly sticky. The reason  you mix it until it gets sticky is to make the meat more tender. In the past I never really did this and just mixed everything in with a fork, but it really does make a difference. Set aside for 15-30 minutes for the flavour to develop. Set it aside before you put the veges in because the veges will make your mixture watery and in turn cause your dumpling skins to go all soggy. Then add the vegetables you've chopped up and mix it some more with your hand until it's mixed in. You can even use a food processor to chop up the wombok. A lot of liquid might come out of the wombok, squeeze it out before you add it to the meat mixture. You can substitute with any veges really or leave them out altogether if you don't fancy veges. But if you don't put veges, your dumplings may be a bit dry, what you can do is add mashed up tofu to it which will help moisten the meat.

Serve with a dipping sauce of Black Vinegar mixed with fried garlic, Soy Sauce, Sesame oil and Chilli Sauce.

Check out this youtube video by Cooking with Dog for instructions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8MBX-SXnmg