well some of the readers should know about MrK
in case you don’t already know, here he is
and here I am wishing all of u guys happy lunar new year and happy valentine’s day
these 2 pictures were taken at the RSN (Republic of Singapore Navy ) Yacht club, which is located just outside NUS, yeah in our own backyard
can walk there I swear… even nearer than west coast Mac
and over there they have nice restaurants, and chalets…yeah u heard me… very nice rooms facing the beautiful yachts, i am not sure if BBQ is allowed or u r forced to eat at their BBQ restaurant
anyway those things maybe next time
till then
sayoonara
Well firstly, I cant really eat chickens in Singapore because of their high hormonal content, so usually I avoid them.
but I always made exceptions at Arnold’s
their whole spring chicken at 9.90 is big enough for 2 plus their potato platter is me and MrK favourite weekend meal, accompanied by some shopping at the blogshops’ haunt City Plaza.
I think what is special about them is they have a bit of garlic on the recipe and their stuff is really crispy and nice, I especially love the potato skin in the potato platter. With the cheese, it was sinful but heavenly
Lots of beautiful ppl dressed in cheap stuff and looks very good, and that brings me back to new year resolutions no 1. Next time I WILL take pictures of them, well best of luck for their blogshops
anyway here is pictures
This was their 3-piece chicken meal, more expensive than the spring chicken meal n so not worth it, not as nice, and comes with sides that i dun really fancy like mashed potato and coleslaw
Their flagship outlet in city plaza, small place and can get very crowded during meal times.
They also have another outlet at Hougang Green shopping centre, i have been there, quality was kept constant, and an express outlet at Pasir Ris Park.
first up is the TS lunch at Hyatt, Straits Kitchen
as the name suggest, it serves food from the region such as chinese food like laksa, chicken rice, stir-fried vegetables
Indian food like curries, briyani etc
local delights like popiah, rojak, gado-gado
nonya food like otah, rendang
drinks are also quite varied from orange juice, guava, sour plum, bandung etc better than most buffet already which usually only give water or worse, did not serve any drinks like Casa do Churrassco at East Coast (never going back there!! even if they have 1-for-1 promotion)
desserts are heavenly especially their ice cream, although there are only 5 flavours, all of them are worth trying especially mango, soursop and durian. other desserts such as ice kachang, goreng pisang and others are also very good
but i only go there because its free and i get to get off work earlier
for fun, i prefer my own team high-tea buffet at Royal plaza on Scotts, we are given private dining area, variety wise, it was quite comparable with some japanese and middle eastern selection.
there is chocolate fondue and fruits given are quite high class such as guava and grapes.
anyway more so because the “old” IA students are back and we played games together, even though it was just simple games, everyone enjoyed themselves very much and this morning, everyone like thanked me for organising it? when i did not do much except to explain some of the games and hold the DARE bucket.
anyway no pictures cos its work related
so bottomline: both buffet places are quite good and worth the money (cos i get it for free??)
Hyatt Straits Kitchen Lunch : $42++
Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts: $28 ++ (warning, no parking coupons given and parking can cost more than 8 bucks ($4 for first hour)
as some of you might notice, fig and olive also has a branch in vivocity, everyone (ok maybe NUS peeps only) favourite mall. but I have never eaten there cos the prices are not too friendly
but this time it was a farewell lunch for one of my colleague so we didnt really have a say plus being in a team, full of international people from all over the world we need to get some vegetarian, kosher, halal and so on…
anyway i ordered their speciality, maghribi chicken with olive rice
but to me they just taste so so, service was also lacking, like top up for drinks was lacking, no one bothers to explain the menu and so on, maybe because we are a big group, but definitely not going back there, cos the food do not taste special at all
All things raffles is usually associated with quality in Singapore, after all Raffles was hailed as the founding father of Singapore and praised for making this small city or rather at that time kampong (village) as the hub for British trade.
well of course there is another raffles building that many people do not know of because of its obscure location just next to the second link, its called the raffles marina. As the name suggests, it is a marina for yachts to dock and comes with club facilities just a stone throw away at the raffles country club.
Some of you might know that I am on industrial attachment right now and therefore posts have become more and more irregular.But i think only a few knew that i worked in a company that is situated next to Raffles Marina.
well of course my company holds function here often, especially the managers forum called CONNECT. but i am just an intern, so my first chance of going there to taste free food is just a week ago when it was the first day of the newly formed company
I shall just let pictures do the talking
the food was not bad, but it was just the usual finger food served for conferences so no real link with their restaurants quality. but the view is definitely very beautiful. All the rich and famous’ yachts and the sea and the grand entrance
This year’s night festival is really at night, really cool and really happening.
Imagine the whole road is closed, with live music and DJs and beautiful people!! its a huge party with no booze but still fun nevertheless. I was not really dressed for the occasion with my normal topshop t shirt and ebase cropped pants and my favourite flat sandals. very sad, and was already very tired so didnt walk all the 3 museums that are open to public for the night (over 2 days).
Was very tired because that day I had to travel from home, to school and then to tampines one for dinner and sightseeing of the new mall and what is uniqlo in singapore all about.
Then I had a wake to attend before forcing mRK to accompany me to the night festival.
I am no museum buff, but I would like to get myself educated on the intricates of art so that I can be more sophisticated and knowledgeable and able to carry any kind of conversations
anyway since the millions-bucks renovations of the national museum, I have not been there.
so is the SAM, ever since its mini-reno earlier this year, I have not been there. I think last I have been there was when rusell wong gave a talk there and there is Botero exhibition.
I quite understand Botero and why people like his painting. But other artists, really quite difficult to understand, and this is why I need to educate myself more. I mean why are so many people fascinated with mona lisa? After attending the DaVinci exhibition then I understand more. (the paint, the woman, and the surroundings is special: read more on my blog post regarding the exhibition)
anyway few other museums were also free, such as the peranakan museum.
we first of course attend the National museum. I saw the laser projections that totally changed the facade of the museum in last year’s night fest so this year I wanna experience for myself.
a few snaps of the beautiful facade
I arrived at one plus, but the museum is still filled with people and queues formed everywhere.
the very unique love tank, created by an Indonesian!
other fun museum interactions specially for the night!!
and the fixed stuff (history of singapore relic)
outdoor exhibitions involving bazaar (at the SMU building) and other arts stuff
this one is just spiral blue light
and this one blink and blink as if its electrocuted? or following music? not sure
more stuff on SAM but I am tired already so perhaps next year I will plan better.
i arrive only at 1 plus and the streets are already quite deserted but the beautiful ppl are still enjoying the museums.
There is also movie screening and stuff.
Really fun and recommended. Actually I hate to advertise such enjoyable events cos the queue will be longer next year but it will spur the organisers to even extend it further and to those fashion police that say singaporeans/ppl in singapore do not dress well should come and see these kinds of events.
while ppl (like me) still dress way too casually, others brought out their heels and beautiful dresses. Pardon me, i still cant walk in heels so flats have to do
till next year guys, free entry to museums(to those ‘aunties’) really good deal!
ok Pictures time
the cool outlook of the museum
The love tank, the artist is an Indonesian, imagine, a centrepiece in the National Museum in Singapore…
Architecture inside the National Museum… quite huge, cavernous and amazing.
Yours Truly, playing with the interactive exhibits
more of me…
Some other exhibits, inside their many many exhibits room
LOVE TANK from the second floor
Interior designer, I forgot his name, but very famous….
Outdoor exhibits.. quite fun
this exhibit can blink according to music beat… really interesting…
I seldom talk about hawker food in Singapore although I spent quite many times eating in hawker centres.
well its not because I am snobbish or what but I just have not really find hawker food really that fantastic yet. well there are some outstanding ones.
but if you are looking for a good guide in singapore food,
you should read this blog : ieatishootipost
although there is some hits and misses, his taste bud generally agree with mine.
but I will share with you some of my favourite hawker stuff
first up, the CKT aka char kway Tiao,
after eating so many different famous ckt ( i subscribed to Dr Tay (ieatishootipost) belief that no calories should be wasted eating mediocre food) but mrK is a big fan of all this high fat, high calorie type of food so I have eaten my share of different CKT.
anyway, back to the topic, I still feel the best CKT in singapore is the one at Bedok South. the hawker centre opposite my JC, Temasek JC.
the stall name is Hill St Kway Tiao or sth like that ( I am bad at this kind of things) and the cook should be an old man and the que is usually at least 15 mins even at 3pm (I always try to go during off peak hours so that I dont have to wait a million hours)
For hokkien mee, it has to be my favourite supper joint, Geylang.
This stall called Qiu Ji Hokkien mee, is at the same place where the famous Geylang lor 9 Beef Kway Tiao is located. To me the beef noodle is nothing special but the hokkien mee is really good, the wet kind that i like.
the only gripe: parking is difficult
but after the sinful hokkien mee, you can get even more sinful food, durian! which is just nearby all along geylang lor 1, the price is also reasonable especially if you go during durian season June-August.
I think these 2 are the only 2 stalls that I keep coming back to, the rest is hit and miss
lastly, my favourite Tau Huay/beancurd stall, at Serangoon Gardens market, smooth and nice tau huay only at 50c. and for the meal, there is the pig innards soup stall which always had a long long que and another one is a kway chap stall, but nothing outta ordinary.
well these 3 stalls i feel are the only really outstanding hawker food, no wonder my parents think hawker food is just chicken rice and duck rice. Need to bring them to better places when they come
Singapore is known to be a garden city, AND I think its not a hype, everywhere we can see small parks or even big parks. Near the university where I used to stay in the student residences, there are a few parks that are within walking distance.
The most famous of them all should be West Coast Park, I remember the Indon scholars had a gathering there before and we enjoyed looking at cute Japanese kids playing softball/baseball (Jap schools are nearby) and had lots of fun playing games all around the park. There is also a huge playground with spider webs climbing that is 5-6 metres tall, its fund and exciting to climb on top and of course there is the very fun and exciting, ‘flying fox’, not exactly one and its about 50m long only, but its fun, I cannot really describe you just have to get there and see for yourself.
after all the fun, you can head over to the 24 hr Mcdonalds in the park itself, or walk to the newly revamped West Coast Plaza for more family restaurants n cafes.
but if you r training for a marathon or just love running/walkiing etc, you can run from west coast park, through NUS campus and to the equally famous Kent Ridge Park, where the Japanese fought British at the height of the WWII, n eventually taking over Singapore.
Kent Ridge Park is located on a hill, so on a good day you can see Batam (indonesia) and all the ships docking at the harbour and of course the Jurong island flares from the Petrochem Industry.
there is a very nice tree broadwalk in Kent ridge park, and the park itself has a very european feel, a lot of couples choose to take their wedding pictures here. I will probably do so too, I love the place.
at the end of the broadwalk there is the War memorial and now with southern ridges (park connector essentially), you can walk all the way to Hort Park.
on that day, I start my walk in Kent ridge park and then explore all the way to Hort Park, because Mr K’mom was around and it was a hot sunny afternoon, she chose to rest at Hort park while we walked back to Kent ridge park to fetch the car.
yeah if you go to southern ridges and do not wish to track back its best to take public transport
The parks are quite well served by public transport from MRT (harbourfront) and many buses serving the roads.
anyway here is some pictures
these beautiful flowers are actually located inside the glass houses, so they cant be touched, but they are really very beautiful and these pictures are taken by my iPhone, so yeah they r much more impressive.
they are having some garden landscape exhibition all the time, so if you have a big house, you can have some ideas. The last time, they have jacuzzi, mini pool to fit in your garden. They also have fruit and vegetable garden, zen buddhism garden, bamboo garden for meditation with the spiral circle and such
lastly, there is a thai restaurant if you are hungry and thirsty. I think they also have some sort of hall for banquet. I saw many married couples (getting married) there.
o well, I am busy working and studying now so sorry if the posts are late.
I have more in the way stay tuned
Some afternoons ago, when MrK was feeling hungry and had time to left office early, we had a late lunch at this small place in sunset way.
Believe it or not, even though we passed by sunset way every day on our way to work/school, I never step in there and even after this visit, I still dunno where the varieties of new hip places are located cos I only saw hawker centre nearby this daily scoop place.
Luckily this place is very easy to find , from the road leading to Bukit timah, just take a turn into sunset way and there it is.
we had their curry set which is the curry and a small scoop of ice cream and soft drink for about $8 plus
curry taste like those instant curry, so nothing to shout about
and I get their double scoop $4.50 i think
the best thing is their varieties are unique though not all are available
THE daily scoop website has more description on all their flavours
I think we tried most of the chocolate based stuff, and it was ok.
overall it was a nice place to chill out with ice cream though their place is really small, not like the famous Island Creamery in Bukit Timah.
yeah they also do cakes but we did not try any
not really worth a visit unless u r in the vicinity
I did not try the Lychee Martini, but one place in Singapore with superb Lychee Martini Ice cream is Seventh Heaven,
i DID not take a picture during my visit there because I was not very serious about blogging and documenting experiences at that time
In Singapore, who is trying to drum up support and hype for nightlife, as the workday gets longer (I am lucky to end at 5 pm sharp everyday) but others are not so, and people like MrK can only leave the workplace and reached home around 8 or 9pm.
therefore, the demand for more nightlife is actually present. Not just the entertainment portions like 24 hr pubs, discos, dance clubs etc but also 24 hr shopping/food/others
The most famous shopping place after hours in Singapore is perhaps Mustafa, located right in the middle of Little India, it sells everything from gold jewellery, electronics, bedding, clothing, groceries, fresh food, medicine and others which is endless to list here.
now, there are some others, for groceries there are cold storage and NTUC Fairprice(not all outlets are 24 hrs though)
Sometimes, there is late night shopping too, but these usually end by 12 midnight
and there are special events like Night Festival (I will blog about it soon!! so watch out)
but Amex, the credit card company recently gave us $200 in cold storage vouchers, actually…its not free cos we paid annual fee that is slightly more than $200
and the vouchers do not last forever, it ends on 29 Aug I think
so the first $100 were blown of so called gourmet food, which means expensive food at Jasons the Gourmet Grocer that is open 24 hrs at Orchard Hotel.
among my buy was this tiramisu which taste very good, other cakes do not taste that good and not cheap
this tiramisu cup cost like $5.50 or something close, but of course it cannot be compared to the $15 tiramisu that Prego charge. BUT this tiramisu taste way way better!!!
Yeah I know it kinda looked gross, but before it was eaten, it looked really nice and my iPhone camera is really inadequate
and then the other time, I went to the Jelita Cold storage and bought bagels, $1.50 each and taste really really good
another Bagel that I like is from Han’s at Novena, well I been visiting Novena a lot because MrK’s grandfather is seriously ill and warded at TTSH, a hospital nearby.
well the best products from Swissbake is definitely the tiramisu and bagel.
others are just normal, so yeah thats it