Cafe Sketching at The Hainan Story

A Dinner Date

We don't see our youngest son often since he leaves early for work and comes home very late after 10pm. So we made appointment last Thursday with him to have a good dinner near his office at Izakaya Niningashi at 2, Craig Road. Very unique dishes plus a rare place to have warm sake.

Food in Phuket

Sketches done will be posted separately. First record of Phuket will be a collage of food I eaten. I tried to frequent the local coffee shops besides the popular tourists' eateries, cafes and restaurants.

Don't play play, even the dark, gloomy local coffee shops I went all have Michelin awards from 2019 to 2025. Yummy and delicious food they served. I didn't go to the other crowded modern cafes and pubs where there were demo sessions.

Phuket offers abundant seafood from prawns, squids, crabs and various fishes to unique local seven-colored lobster which I sketched but didn't try. Next trip!

Places I went in that order by day:
Wonderlounge, Merlin Kitchen, Cafe Amazon, One Chun Restaurant, Aroon Restaurant (first sketch here), Roti Thaew Nam, Chuan Chim, The Tent Phuket, Little Phuket, Limelight and Tu Kab Khao. I also bought instant noodles at the airport, HA!

Sketching with Cafe Sketchers

I ordered popular Taiwanese dishes like Oyster Mee Sua, Suan Ni Bai Rou, Pig Ears and Iced Bubble Milk Tea. In my sketch, I replaced the pig ears dish with my fellow sketcher's Hsinchu Fried Vermicelli as the egg was inviting me to sketch.

Etchr Accordion Sketchbook
Size: 390 x 210mm

Cafe Sketching at Jiak Ba

Breakfast

A taste of old-fashioned breakfast at Restoran Kin Hua in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

Etchr Square Sketchbook
Size: 420 x 210mm

Madly Good Japanese Cafe

I was sketching Clarke Quay opposite from the aircon comfort at Madly Good Japanese Cafe on 2nd storey of Clarke Quay Central. Not suitable for watercolours unless you are steady and quick. One of the last sketches in Moleskine Japanese Album. I will be using mostly Etchr Accordion in the future.

Moleskine Japanese Album Large
Size: 650 x 210mm

Gas Explosion at Cheng Zheng

There are so many updates to do on my sketchbooks and stories associated with the sketches to remind me of this...

Posted by Tia Boon Sim on Wednesday 7 August 2024

Bali Trip

We had a family vacation in Bali with my elder son's family at Amarterra. We arrived on Sunday 2pm and it was the eve of Nyepi which was a day of silence, fasting and meditation for the Balinese. So there was a huge traffic jam but it was good so we could see all the Ogoh Ogoh Parade peparation literally along the roadside.

It was a vacation with just swmimming, idling, reading, doodling, eating and sleeping inside the villa. My husband and I managed to take the hotel car to the near-by retail compound called Bali Collection which was very obviously targetting at global and domestic tourist. Not a complaint as it was truly a relaxing vacation even under the scotching hot and very humid weather.

This was also my last ink doodle in the Nude Sketchbook which I started inking again last Monday. Total 8 days of ink doodling.

You can read more about Nyepi here and Ogoh-Ogoh here

Dinner at Lupicia

Sunday Brunch

Now that Lunar New Year is over, I am slowly getting back to work and back to sketching. Enjoying the ‘me’ time in a crowded, noisy cafe for my Sunday brunch. Yummy!

The Good Old Days

Thanks to Cafe Sketchers, it begins to look more like Christmas at The Good Old Days Bistro. I did not refill all my fountain pens, so here is one long sketch with watercolours only on Saunders Waterford Concertina Sketchbook.

Christmas is coming

A sketch over coffee before meeting up with a friend at Melba, Goodman Arts Centre. Holly the Christmas plant is up.

Vivo City

Its my Sunday duty to accompany dad and while waiting for him, I have some time to enjoy my tea break and sketch at VIVO city. I can see cable car far up in the air and bulb decorations nearer to the restaurant. They all become dots in my sketch, HA!

Late dinner at Miyahara

We were so exhausted after the trip to Houli but we dragged ourselves to Miyahara. We were the last customer, missed the dinner time, had tea and snack instead. So a quick sketch no colours after food. — at MIYAHARA 醉月樓.

Cafe Interior

In addition to a food sketch, here is another one on the interior of Brunches Cafe. Love the food, the interior and the great company. Such fun!
Done on Sennelier USKbook - Small Concertina Urban Sketchbook

Sketch to find Inner Peace

Family restaurant at National University of Singapore Society serves very good food. I go there almost every Sunday after pottery session to take a bath before going home. One Sunday I decided to take their club sandwiches and coffee and did a sketch.

Tasty Court by Chef Pang

Family dinner at Tasty Court, junction of Jalan Tua Kong and Figaro Street.

Lunch at NUSS Suntec City

National University of Singapore Society at Suntec City. Not crowded at all on a Saturday afternoon.

at Penny University, again?

His is listening to the music, oblivious to the noisy environment at Penny University Cafe.