First Discovery For 2010

Call me a hermit but I have never liked to get myself in amidst of Orchard Road on a weekend. The crowd never fails to make me think I'm having an anaphylactic shock. The heat along the street melts me as I stroll down looking for the next ice cream seller and with KWD looking for his regular fix of Starbucks. The past couple of weekends of mine were all in town for one reason or another. Admittedly, one of the few reasons were either Kate Spade inside Takashimaya or Miu Miu over at Paragon or Ion.

Yesterday, we decided to check out new territories. So off we trotted to the brand new mall, 313. The moment we stepped in, yet another Epicentre greeted us. That kept us busy for the next 15 mins or so even though we came from Wheelock and Ion. For a moment, we wanted to skip basement altogether thinking it'd probably only lead to the subway. I couldn't have been more wrong and I'm thankful I felt a little more adventurous that day.

The moment I got off the escalator, a familiar name blinded my eyes. It read, "Lemongrass House". As I walked it, I knew it was the same place I visited in Phuket years ago. Then, I had to drive a couple of hours from where I stayed at Karon Beach in search for this Lemongrass House. The rest was history and a basketload of "victory". The owners were a couple, what is commonly known as a farang in Thai, it was a Caucasian man who married a Thai wife. There in Phuket, they started their aromathepeutic spa products. My favourite were in the flavours of lavender and lemongrass. Subsequently, I had to sift through the thousands of stalls in Chatuchak (Bangkok) for their branch but to no avail. And many years later, I finally found it on our little island.

Although the prices are steeper as compared to when I got it in Phuket, inflation and rental did play a big part. Even then, I was happy to finally be able to get my hands on them. The only piece missing right now is to make another trip back to the same ol' Phuket store and check it out again and to see if they have modernised with the rest of the world like the shops in Singapore.