3 Months Into The New Chapter Of My Life

Opened a new chapter of my life since end-Oct last year with a change of job. A very familiar job scope but in a totally different industry.

Although I have to handle a higher number of projects/jobs/campaigns at any one time, I don't feel very overloaded/ overwhelmed, nor do I often have the need to find a bulldozer to dig me out from being buried under tons of work. Probably it is because I have an in-house creative team and a creative agency to help in the actual artwork creation and design, so I do not have to spend time in front of the Adobe softwares. And/or probably I have the help from a media agency who pretty much handles everything. All these help I get makes everything more efficient in a way.

However, just like in any bed of roses, there are thorns. Thus as rosy as it sounds, there are hiccups which makes things not so smooth, and I still have to OT sometimes. But I ain't complaining. I kinda enjoy the little breaks and breathers throughout the day, using them to do some housekeeping, think about the tasks at hand and their next steps, empty my bladder, etc...

One of the best perks I get in this job is being near to where SUPER YUMMILICIOUS Fung Wong Confectionery Egg Tarts is located!!! In my very honest opinion, these egg tarts are the best in Singapore at the moment, and I have not tried any other egg tarts that taste better. The crust is so light and fluffy, and the custard just simply melts in my mouth! Just for comparison's sake, Tong Heng used to be my favourite, but no longer now. But if you do know any good egg tarts around, do let me know. I'm willing to take a taste test to find out. :)

Saving My Lappie & Porridge Buffet

I guess the 3rd part of the bad luck(s) came along about 2 weeks back. I was using my lappie as usual and all of the sudden, my screen became distorted and blurry. Thinking it was just overheating, I switched it off and let it cool before turning it on again. But the problem still persisted. So, I switched it off overnight, (I usually leave it on because I need the alarm to wake me up) and switching it on again after I got home from work the next day. Still, the problem persisted.

Dear then accompanied me to go get a VGA cable and we hooked the lappie to the family computer's monitor in the living room last weekend. The screen looked ok and we ruled out the possibility that the video card was spoilt.

During this long weekend, we went down to Funan to hunt for a cheap monitor, so I could hook my lappie out to use it. While looking around, we went to ask a HP reseller about the repair of the lappie and she told us the cost of repairing was about $400-$500, and the cheapest monitor we found was $149. Though the monitor was within my budget, I didn't buy it immediately.
Reason was because we saw this unassuming shop on level 3, sitting below the escalator, that repairs computers and lappies. The price for the repairs was about $300 (depending on the size of my screen) and it will only take one day, and will be able to give a firm quote once they see my lappie.
Weighing out the options, Dear suggested bringing the lappie down to HP Service Center first thing in the morning on Saturday and see how much and how long it would take for my lappie to get it repaired there.

Woke up early on Saturday morning and almost got lost at HP till we found the security checkpoint. There, a very nice security guard gave us directions to the service center.
Like all service centers, have to take queue number first lah. There were a lot of counters opened, so the queue moved pretty fast. But the initial diagnosis took a little longer. The lady who served us told us the cost to change the screen with all labour charges and GST would total up to about $614. Of cos, me, being so broke and already not earning much, would take the cheaper alternative lah.

We then took a bus down to Suntec to fill our stomach with Joaquim's Porridge Buffet. The spread and everything was good but the aircon toooooooooooooooo damn blardi cold, making the porridge and dishes cold very fast. To imagine how cold the place was, here's what you should know: the braised gravy of the pig trotter dish "jelly-fied" at the end of our meal.

Got back to serious business and walked down to Funan. Showed the guy my lappie and he said that this particular model of lappie heats up very fast, and now my screen has this problem, the most common reason is because of the motherboard. He told us, to change the screen, it will be $320 and about 45 mins wait, but if it's the motherboard problem, he will repair the motherboard, which will only cost us $250 but we can only collect the lappie at about 7pm. He then took down my hp number, told us to walk around first and will give us a call once he has changed the screen and tested it.
Within 20 minutes, the call came. He told us that it's confirmed that he has to repair the motherboard and even asked if we would want to take a look at the lappie first to confirm. We just told him to go ahead and repair the motherboard because I really dun see how he could be cheating us lor... hhaha...

So, Dear and I nua and walked around Raffles City till about 6pm. As we were about to reach Peninsular Plaza for Dear to place his soccer bets with Singapore Pools, the call came again and told us the lappie was ready for collection.
When we collected the lappie, he even told us he has tested a few rounds and there isn't any problem during testing. There is also a one month warranty and if there's anything wrong, can go back to look for him. Dear and I then deduced that he has actually finished by about 4+ to 5pm, but was leaving it to test. Not only was the service good, the delivery was punctual, or rather, earlier than expected!

Saving up now to up my lappie's RAM, which they can also do! hehhehehe

The Dunkin Donuts Rant (Again)...

Well, if you have no idea which (first) rant I'm referring to, here the link.

About a month back, I decided to give my dearest DD another try. Thus, during lunch break, I walked over and grabbed 3 donuts: Double Choc, Blueberry Cake and Rainbow Windmill... And here's the verdict:
Double Choc - One of my most-est favourite flavors in the entire range. Compared to the REAL MCCOY in the US, VERY dry, VERY tasteless, VERY flat, regretted that I even bought. Even Pop Doh, often regarded as my local "back-up" for DD's cake donut, scores a landslide victory over local DD. I ish damn sadded lahz...
Blueberry Cake - I didn't get to try to REAL MCCOY back in the US, so can't compare taste cos it wouldn't be fair. But although it taste a bit yummy, it's still very dry.
Rainbow Windmill - The REAL MCCOYS call it the French Cruller. Best of the 3. But then again, I didn't get to try to REAL MCCOY back in the US, so can't compare taste cos it wouldn't be fair. But compared to Pop Doh's Crullers, both are kinda on par overall.

But there's something which I notice: There are tags telling customers the flavors of the donuts!

While this DD fan refuses to give up and will track back once in a while to see if the "standards" are improving, I shall much prefer to get my donut fix at Pop Doh (for cake donuts and crullers) and J Co (for bread-texture donuts), thank you very much!

Dunkin' Donuts Opens In Singapore

As most of you would have known by now, I've a FREAKING HUGE DD fan... If you don't, read this, this and this.
Before I begin, I'm going to do a disclaimer first. My post might be offensive to some, but as a FREAKING HUGE DD fan, I have my expectations of how a DD donut should taste like. I can still remember how DD donuts tasted like and how they melted in my mouth although it was more than a decade I've last ate them in Singapore and more than a year since I last ate them in the US. Not that I do not trust franchisees, but since eating the REAL MCCOY in the US, my expectations of how a DD should taste like are damn high. If a DD doesn't taste like a DD, then I, in my honest opinion, think that it doesn't do justice to the brand.

So, imagine THE HUGE ANTICIPATION that overwhelmed me when I saw a recruitment ad on The New Paper a few weeks back for the store in Singapore. And, imagine THE EXCITEMENT that overwhelmed me when I saw tstar's plurk about a DD store at ION a few hours ago. Once I finished work, I really walked damn freaking fast down from Heeren to get my favourite donuts!

But I can tell you that I am FUCKING SORELY DISAPPOINTED!!!
1) The REAL MCCOY in the US lets me choose my combination of munchkins. Here, all packed in a box of 20.
2) Where are the cake donuts? Look at THE REAL MCCOY's menu. For a moment, I thought I stepped into J. Co. Mind you, J. Co. is my favourite brand of bread-texture donuts. But, DD is a US franchise, so gimme back those flavours it had before it disappeared from our shores more than a decade back.
3) Thank goodness they have some jelly and kreme filled ones. But these fillings, sadly, don't taste like the REAL MCCOY. Just a tad flat... Flat never mind, the fillings of the REAL MCCOY literally FILLED the donut, sadly, this doesn't.
4) The dough, although I know it will not be as soft as J. Co., doesn't have the "oomph" of the REAL MCCOY. My mum tried the SG-made DD donuts more than a decade back, and it's actually kinda her fault for getting me hooked onto DD, feeding me with them almost weekly when I was younger. Trying this now, the comparision of her facial expression when she tried this and when she tried the REAL MCCOY is priceless. One was "HEAVENLY WOW", the other, a mix of "huh-er-eww". And she agreed with me when I said that it doesn't taste like what DD tasted like more than a decade ago in Singapore and what we had in the US.
5) No tags telling us what the flavours of the donuts are. Already shocked to see unfamiliar-looking flavoured icing donuts, I was looking at the small little holes in the filled ones and figuring out if that is strawberry or some other kinda berry.

But, still being a FREAKING HUGE SUCKER for DD, I'm going to return in a few weeks time to check out the flavours again. Going to give it the benefit of the doubt that whatever's on the REAL MCCOY's menu and wasn't there in the store were all sold out...

Free Coffee At Starbucks!!!

Exceptional surprise! I didn't know Starbucks would serve coffee on the house and not charge a single cent. I've taken samplers given out by Starbucks staff along the streets but this is the first time I got a Venti Latte for FREE!

What happened was...

I was with my council mates at Starbucks at Cathay, the one at Handy Road near Plaza Singapura for a small discussion yesterday. While settling down, joining 2 tables for the 5 of us and 2 laptops with a powerpoint nearby, the shop's light keep going on and off and at one point, I heard one of the staff even asked someone if there's internet.

When everything seemed "stabilized", I went to get my coffee. Since my friends were going to be late, I wanted to settle for a Venti instead of a Grande and have my favourite coffee drink, Latte. I went over to the counter and the staff joked and asked, "ice water"? I guessed it was because he thought I was just looking for a power point since I asked him earlier. Haha... I was kinda amused and blur at the same time lah. I told him I wanted a Venti Latte and he asked it I wanted a Super Venti. I don't know if it was meant as a joke, but seriously, a Super Venti would be caffeine overkill lah! So I told him a Venti would be ok.

Now, the best part was, everything was up and running, except the Point-of-Sales (POS) machine aka the cash register. I didn't know what was happening to the store or the register, but I just wanted to pay for my coffee and there wasn't some "welcome" message on the thing that tells you your bill. Meanwhile, there was another staff at the register who was looking for the key or something to open the register. And so, when I asked how much, this staff who was at the register told me it was on the house. That's when I managed to put everything together.

I told them, I can give you exact change, and you can key it in later. The staff at the register kept emphasizing, "no its ok, its on the house, really", while the joker one kept saying, "its my treat, but dinner's on you". When I got my Latte, I still wasn't quite sure about the free coffee. But the staffs ensured me again and again.

And so, I got my FREE coffee!!! Hiak hiak hiak...

I Went To Prison... Almost...

I managed to persuade my dad to drive down to the Embarcadero area the next morning for the Alcatraz trip. Since we had drove past in the cab the day before, have the GPS system in the car, maps and research on where to park, it was not going to be a headache. And it turned out kinda easy. Even when we got lost when we made a wrong turn, the system would go "recalulating" and still bring us to where we wana go. It was also really easy to find parking space, maybe because it is a "tourist-y" place.

We gave too much time allowance and turned out that we reached really really early. While waiting for the booth to open to collect our tickets (which turned out that we need not to), I was happily snapping away at the waiting and queue area, displaying some exhibits on history and ex-inmate quotes and regulations when it was a federal prison the waiting and queue area.Alcatraz was a maximum, high-security federal prison. Many have tried to escape. Most were either dead or recaptured, except for a few whose whereabouts are still unknown. I could feel what the prisoners were feeling upon stepping on the island. Here I am, on an island surrounded by freezing, rushing currents. It was a feeling of "that's it." If that wasn't enough, the lost and helpless feeling was worse upon stepping within the walls of the actual prison building.
We left my sister at home because she was running a high fever and since Embarcadero is where Fisherman's Wharf is, meaning pier, meaning sea, meaning strong winds, we did not want her to fall sick even more. After the Alcatraz trip, we went back to get her, and then drove out again to sightsee.Also drove past Chinatown and experienced the hilly-ness the San Francisco. Damn scary. Try directing your dad with the GPS system in the front seat when you have the fear of heights and taking a roller coaster ride, with steep slopes, at the same time.I love seafood and I want Bubba Gump in Singapore because they cook shrimps in so many different ways!!!

Went home after dinner and started packing. Remember how worried I was when I saw the spoiled luggage in this entry? Thank God! Everything was intact and nothing inside was damaged, even my F.R.I.E.N.D.S complete series boxset didn't suffer any dents.
A lesson learnt... Don't pack the luggage full, because when TSA opens it, they will not have the time nor remember how you arrange your stuff nicely. If your luggage can't be closed properly, chances are that your luggage might be damaged and things go missing because they fall out. Help TSA and yourself out.

Meanwhile, more of my mum's cousins came over to say hi and goodbye because we were driving back to Los Angeles the next day. Honestly, I can't remember when was the last time I saw these aunties and uncles and I hope it won't be the last time...

Los Angeles adventure coming right up!

Krispy Kreme Was Disappointing...

As I was saying, I was looking forward to Vegas because of the shopping. And guess where we went the next day...But when my mum saw this, I kena niam, "We have in the fridge right? How come you buy again? One whole box in the fridge haven't finish and you buy again..."
Besides staying in a good location justifying the lok kok kok-ness of the place, there is another point to justify the lok kok kok ness... On the ground floor of the hotel, there is Krispy Kreme. And so, on the very first night, we had already bought a dozen (argh, photo lost in transmission) and had tried them for breakfast the morning before going to Outlet Center.
Verdict: KK TOO DAMN FREAKING SWEET lor... The dough had the donut "oomph" and since KK is the "bread-y" kinda of donut, seriously, it is not soft enough. When I took the dough with icing/filling together, I can't taste the dough anymore and I felt like rubbing bittergourd all over my mouth to neutralise the sweetness that was making me cringe. Before I went on the US trip, I had tried J Co a couple of times since it's in Singapore already, and J Co scores landslide win over KK lor. J Co, also the "bread-y" type, after refridgerating, is still SO DAMN FREAKING BLARDI SOFT! The dough has the "oomph", the icing/filling does not overpower the dough and it not too sweet too. Honestly, once you tried J Co, you can forget about KK liao. KK really let me down.
As a DD fan, to be fair, the "bread-y" ones (glazed, jelly, etc) win "ommph" over KK and J Co, but in terms of softness, it loses to J Co since it is very close to KK. But the "cake-y" ones, DD is KING! "Oomph" to the max, soft and melts in the mouth!!! Now, can someone airfreight me 50 chocolate munchkins?

Sorry ah, digress too far... So, anyway, we took The Deuce, a bus that travels up and down the Strip to the Outlet Center and back. You can never miss your stop unless you have fallen dead asleep or there is some technical fault, because the bus driver annouces the street name or the location of the stops or plays a traped recording.Seriously, Vegas is the only city that I see crowd (i.e LOTS of people) walking on the street at 10pm...

After 2 whole days of shopping, do you think we took a break? *Evil laughter...* Hehehehehe...

4th day of Vegas coming right up!

That Photoshoot, Fucking Sick, Giant Durian, My Scan Results...

I can't resist. It's been more than 2 weeks already. Everytime I feel like writing something, I would be pre-occupied with other stuff and that is why, although I would love to update, I can't.

About the photoshoot... It was fun and hot... I'm someone with not so active sweat glands. If I'm sweating and the back of our photographer's shirt looks like that, what do you think?
And sophisticated and sexy is soooooo not me... I can't pull off that look. Acting cute is more me.

I had flu about less than 2 weeks back. Now, I'm having it again. It's worse this time round. I'm sneezing and coughing like mad, my nose is running as though it's on a marathon threadmill that just goes on and on, I'm having a terrible headache and feel feverish. To top it of all that, I'm having those monthly cramps and the weather is damn fucking hot lor! But then, I feel chilly, because of the fever.

Went to see Dr Whang yesterday and today because I had a dental appointment as well and had to go to school yesterday afternoon and did not have ample time to do the liver ultrasound. Went for the scan today at 10, went back to Dr. Whang's clinic at about 11+ after brunch and collecting the scan. But Dr. Whang would only be back at around 1+.
Meantime, went down to Plaza Singapura to send my beloved Samsung E700A to the operation table to get the LCD screen replaced. I simply love this phone so much that I'm unwilling to keep it in a bad condition. Yes, I know, spending more than $100 to replace a screen while with that money you can get a brand new spanking phone is not very clever, but when you love the phone so much... I guess... nothing else matters right? Walked around Daiso and ended up with more Hello Kitty and gift wrapping stuff that I would leave to rot in the cupboard. They say shopping relieves stress, I believe so...
Went down to Carrefour to walk walk again and saw this freaking big durian lor!
And the pricetag is real!
Went back to the clinic at about 2. Dr Whang went through the scan results. Everything's ok! A CT scan in 4 months time... I officially declare: NED for 1 year!!! Woots! Live Strong!

Best-est & Healthiest Mooncakes!

On Saturday, I decided to take a break from everything. So, I went down to Central with the company of the Dearest. I kinda like it there because I can enjoy being a sucker for Japanese stuff without squeezing with the crowd.

The mall was having a little food exhibition where customers can walk around, sample and buy mooncakes.

Then I saw rabbit mooncakes at Taiwan Lao Zhao Pai's booth!!! So cute! I've never seen mooncakes like that!



I'm kinda sian with the traditional lotus paste mooncakes. Seeing that they have 4 non-traditional, non-lotus-paste flavours, were made the untraditional way by using almond powder instead of flour, the cute rabbits (I'm also a sucker for cute stuff) and on top of that, the attractive promotions, I bought 2 boxes.



I ate the mooncakes with Dear and my parents for supper. When my mum saw the rabbits, she went, "Aiyoh, so cute!" My dad was at the computer at one end of the living room while I was cutting open the plastic and he could smell the aroma of the mooncakes! I cut them into quarters so that all four of us could taste them.

The skin for the red bean and black sesame flavours was damn damn "q", chewy and thin! The fillings were not very sweet and that's good, because some fillings are totally laden with sugar. You can even taste and feel bits of beans for the red bean filling! Some of you may know that sesame has its own kinda unique aroma, and that filled my whole mouth! The sesame filling was a tad powdery like the texture of those round-round peanut candies but the best part, it melted in my mouth.

The pastry for the ones with fruity fillings were buttery, tasty and were those type that would melt-in-your-mouth. The peach with almond had the sweet peachy aroma and the filling was chewy.
The cranberry with apple was the best of the lot voted by mum, Dear and me! I never really liked cranberries and this by far was the only cranberry product I enjoyed! It was not sourish, not very sweet and I could taste both the cranberry and apple! The pastry and filling complemented each other sooooo well. Then mum snatched the last quarter with a cheeky laugh... Dad didn't even get to try it...

Dad and mum both commented that these mooncakes are not very oily and that is a good thing.
Another good thing was the expiry date. No, make it the best thing! The expiry date read 5th October. I was kinda panicky at first, but I know that Taiwan Lao Zhao Pai's products are top notch Taiwanese products and most of them do not have preservatives. When I turned to the back of the box for the ingredients listings, I was right, NO preservatives!!!

Urban=Sunset Way & Suburb=Holland Village Soon?

This was how it looks like when shops were gearing up for business. It was touted as the next Holland Village and it didn't looked quite like it...

Talk about effects of media "intrusion"... This was how it looks like on last Saturday night (1 Sep) after it was featured in Straits Times Money section (pg:H28) on Thursday (30 Aug) and on a Channel U's Money Week. The crowd swelled over the past few weeks! When my mum passed by on Sunday afternoon, she was saying that there were queues outside almost every single eatery. Maybe it is also due to The Sunday Times Life section article (pg:L24).(If these people look as if they have no faces, it was because I blurred them out, there's nothing wrong with the camera. Hehe...)

This 2nd pic was taken outside Grill-Out! and Peaberry & Pretzel.

Details on the eateries below were put together with details from the article in The Sunday Times.
1) Megumi Japanese Restaurant (Tel: 6779 1411)
Opening hours: 1130 - 1430 & 1800 - 2230 daily
Specialities: UFO Maki ($12) and shabu-shabu ($17.80)

2) Fortune Cuisine (Tel: 6777 8622)
Opening hours: 1130 - 1430 & 1800 - 2230 daily
Specialities: Buffet. Steamboat served in 2 kinds of soup (yuan yang hotpot). Pricing: Wkdays: $19.80 per head. Wkends: $22.80 per head.
Psst: There's charcoal grill too!

3) Yum Yum Thai (Tel: 6777 1025)
Opening hours: 1100 - 1500 & 1800 - 2200 daily
Specialities: Garoupa with dried chilli ($24), tom yum soup ($8) and mango salad ($8)
Psst: It was full house on Saturday night.

4) Absolutely New Zealand (Tel: 6777 4628)
Opening hours: 1200 - 2100 daily
Specialities: L&P lemon-flavored fizzy spring water ($5.90 - 1.5 litres), Deep South ice cream ($13.90 - 2 litres tub).
Psst: If you love jams, you die die must come and take a look. So many types of jams to choose from. They are selling frozen meat, wine and potato chips too. But do not expect this shop to be a hige supermarket where you can find all sorts of NZ groceries due to space constraints (the shop space is not extremely big).

5) Grill-Out! (Tel: 6777 4628)
Opening hours: 1800 - 2330 Tuesdays till Sundays
Specialities: US Kobe ribeye ($65 for 220g), Black Angus striploin ($30 for 220g)
Psst: The meat are grilled over grills that are prepared daily by charcoal and fire. You can buy raw slabs of beef from them, and they look damn good with white fatty spots all over.

6) Peaberry & Pretzel (Tel: 6777 3477)
Opening hours: 1200 - 2200 daily
Specialities: German pork knuckles ($35) and mussels in white wine sauce ($35)
Psst: The apple crumble looks damn delicious, haven't tried it though.

7) Sunset Tavern (Tel: 6777 8938)
Opening hours: 1600 - 0000 daily
Specialities: Beef/ Chicken kebabs ($12.90) and wide range of liquors. Happy hours from 1600 - 1800.
Psst: Pool table and sofa seats. During nights of telecast of soccer matches, they open past midnight.

8) (Tel: 6486 9188)
Opening hours: 1100 - 2230 daily
Specialities: Boston Special pizza ($23.80 for 12"), lasagna ($10.70) and deep-fried chicken wings ($7.60 for 4)
Psst: The 16" pizza may look humongous, but it is very thin crust pizza, so 2 hungry people can still whack finish. My bf and I bought Kentucky's Nest (on the right) on Saturday night and both of us agreed that extra cheese would be good...

9) Cafe d'Orient (Tel: 6777 4680)
Opening hours: 1100 - 2300 daily
Specialities: Hong Kong favorites like baked rice with your choice of 6 sauces such as Portuguese, black pepper, Hong Kong curry ($8.90 - $14.90)
Psst: Try the Yuang Yang or Milk Tea too! My own food review of this place...

Wouldn't It Be Nice If The World Was Cadbury...

I went to Candy Empire at Vivocity after catching the cast of Heroes to look for my Honey Soy Chicken Red Rock Deli Chips but they were out of stock.

Instead of walking out of the shop empty handed, I ended up with this... Yum yum... I love honeycombs! Be it Violet Crumble or Crunchie. I love the way it slowly melts in my mouth and how my taste buds tingle in sweetness and "golden-ness".

Now as a drink, it's just as shiok! Creamier and milkier.... Wouldn't it be nice if the world was Cadbury, and everywhere's filled with Crunchie drinks...

Cafe d'Orient Is...

..."The Hong Kong" in Singapore! Bah! So cheesy...

Dear and I went to try the food there almost a month back, when it was just newly opened, before the hype in the papers about Sunset Way.
Dear ordered Beef Slice Spaghetti and cold Yuang Yang. While I ordered Instant Mee with Chicken Chop, Egg and Curry and cold Milk Tea. We had to write our orders down and pass it to the service staff. If you don't know how to fill in the order sheet, the service staff can help you.
They will then bring the order form back to the counter and print out an order chit, slipping it under the glass sheet on the table. So while waiting for the food to come, I took a few pics of the place...




Can tell that it's full house already before the media hype...

The bar/ counter and birds lights in birdcages.

Notice the oriental laterns everywhere in the cafe? The whole place has the look of a hong kong cafe seen in TVB serials with those high-backed back to back seats and wooden chairs and tables, but with a "funkier and futuristic" edge to it.

First, the drinks came...
Dear said the cold Yuan Yang has a sourish after-taste. But I did not taste that as much in my cold Milk Tea, so it might be the coffee in the Yuan Yang. However, the blend of tea and coffee in the Yuan Yang was just nice. My Milk Tea is yummy, just the way I like like, milky...

Then my Instant Mee with Chicken Chop, Egg and Curry came...
The mee was quite "q". The egg was like those normal sunny side up. The curry blended well with the soup and was a great accompaniment/ sauce for the chicken chop. But the chicken chop was power. It was crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside. Of course throughout the meal, the crispiness lost its battle to stay crispy with the soup, but the chicken chop did not taste dry and overfried. Dear said the "saving" part of the noodles was the chicken chop. Yes and no, because I felt that the curry made the soup tastier too.

Last but not least, Dear's Beef Slice Spaghetti...
I was enjoying my noodles so much that this didn't really appeal to me. My noodles, with the soup and curry had a "heavier" taste than the spaghetti. Dear said it was kinda bland and I agree too. But those who would like to give your taste buds a "lighter" job, would like this dish.


This is how much poorer we were after the meal...

I wana go back there again. Till now, the taste of the chicken chop still lingers... Hmm, maybe tomorrow I'll walk down there to get my lunch! Dear normally attributes this kinda cravings as "must be hungry lah"... Sorry for the "flat" looking food pics, I don't have a digital SLR with funky lens and functions and I'm bad at photoshop.

Address: Blk 106, Clementi St. 12 (Sunset Way), #01-64
Tel: 6777 4680


Psst: Anyone wana date me to makan at this cafe?

RE: UFO At Clementi Pasar Malam!!!

I've been asked why I call these deep fried snacks UFOs...

When I was younger, whenever I see stalls selling them, there would be signages calling them "UFO" and the name stucked. Arzhou told me that these are Teochew meat puff and nadnut said they should be called unidentified fatty objects instead. Haha...

Anyway, if any of you pingsters read this, we'll be having a pasar malam walk and eat session later. Come and join us! For details, please refer to the forum thread.

UFO At Clementi Pasar Malam!!!

I love it when's a pasar malam (night market)... Some foods that I like would only appear when there's a pasar malam, eg: bird's nest drink (I think most is just agar agar), Ramly burger, malay kuey tu tu (those with the gula melaka in it), and much more! And now, I saw this!!!

Yum yum...

I Am A Doughnut Idiot

Remember about my post on Singaporeans being doughnuts idiots? Today, I succumbed to being one... After my post, my ego told me that I would be rather caught dead than walk around carrying bags of "inferior" doughnuts. Today, I didn't mind being caught dead... I walked around with these...

... which were from...

I had tried this newly opened doughnut outlet in front of MacDonalds at Clementi Central. It was awfully small, icing was a tad sweet, overpowered the dough (I think the main reason was there wasn't enough dough because the doughtnuts are really tiny) and the dough lacked oomph.

Blah blah, I didn't practiced what I preached. But I wanted to buy breakfast for tomorrow... I was tired after school, carrying a bag weighing 5kg, really lazy to walk further down to a confectionary, and even lazier to walk down a flight of steps to a confectionary, which meant I had to climb up the flight of steps later. So the alternatives were to buy either doughnuts, 3 for $2 pastries or min chang kuay. Since Dear was buying ice-cream and I was craving for doughnuts and yes, I was lazy, I fell prey to the "inferior" doughnuts.

As for the issue of a local weekly magazine which had an article about doughnuts, I went ahead and tried the one which had the same amount of stars as my favorite, Pop Doh at Takashimaya B2. The icing wasn't too sweet, which was good and it blended well with the dough. It was a big big pity that the dough wasn't up the my expectations.

Inching Closer...

Dear met me for lunch after my exam just now. We were "bullying" each other on the overhead bridge when the following conversation happened...
Dear: Don't play lah, wait I drop down and die how?
Me: (being romantic) I die with you lor.
Dear: Cannot...
For a moment I thought it was going to be a rare romantic moment from him and was smiling from ear to ear...
Dear: ...If you die, who burn dota for me?
I tio pwned... by dota...

Feeling a tad more relaxed already. Another paper down means another module cleared. This overlapping of modules is driving me MAD! Tomorrow class starts again... Have yet to prepare and do the pre-assignments. Better start soon after I finish this post...

Met the Pingster for dinner just now at Cafe Cartel. I ordered Chicken and Mushroom baked Macaroni. Yummy yummy... Can you see the cheezeeeeeeeeeee?

For so long, hearing the album so many times, I always held back my tears when hearing my diva A*Mei sings 如果你也听说. Hearing her sing so sadly and painfullly makes me wana cry because being a fan and knowing all kinda rough patches she has endured through, I know exactly what the lyrics mean to her. After holding back the tears so many times, I finally cried hearing her sing "live" just now on 我爱黑涩会. 阿妹, 为设么要唱的那么悲伤? Die, concert I must prepare lots and lots of tissue liao...

RE: Singaporeans Are Doughnut Idiots!

First posted: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 @ 11.20pm. Edited and added more "rantings".

Warning/ Disclaimer: This post AGAIN would be offensive to some. If you are offended, I hereby apologise first. I mean no harm and I'm just a teeny weeny gal (I'm damn small built k?) who wana voice out her love for good doughnuts and hate for the inferior ones.

8Days hot on my heels! 8Days copied my article? Haha... Right after my post on Sunday regarding about doughnuts/ donuts, 8Days did their own review with this week's copy which went on sale on Monday. Talk about timing and coincidence sia… I didn't know about it till Daphne told me about it.
But, let me clarify matters first before I move on with what I have to say for the reply in regards to the donut post...
1) No lah, I don’t think 8Days copied me and I swear I did not know the editorial were coming up with this article...
2) I've been through a journalism module and I doubt that a magazine that publishes weekly comes up with deadlines for articles within a night.
Thus, it is a REAL coincidence.... Som-pah!!!

Here's a scan of the 1st 2 pages of the article, but please go buy the magazine if you are keen on reading the article k?

As you can see from the 1st 2 pages of the article, Pop Doh, the one I was talking about which is at B2 of Takashimaya has the highest score so far... I'm pleased and happy beacause they gave Pop Doh 4 "stars" out of 5 and thus admitting that whoever tried and tasted the doughnuts are not doughnut idiots because they know what a REAL doughnut taste like...
Though DD was given lesser than what Pop Doh has, follow nadnut's blog entry and all kinds of various rumors about the source of these donuts, and you can definately speculate why it did not receive as mush "stars" as it should.
One of them featured is new in town and if any follow all my previous entries, anyone will know I would not have the time to go try these donuts. Since they are given a score just as high as Pop Doh, maybe it's worth a try.
On the 3rd page, one was given the highest score. I kinda suspect those doughnuts avaliable in 7-11s are the same. Name same, logo same... Correct me if I'm wrong... If they are... Sigh... I shall not say more... Everyone's tastebuds are different and I don't wana risked getting flamed again just for speaking my tiny weeny 2 dollars worth...

Let me just say my point again, evaluating a doughnut is a 3-step process: icing and/or fillings only, doughnut only, and entire thing as a whole...
Was wondering how come they did not include the one at Clementi Central? Maybe it was opened after the article was set and sent to the printers...

Here's what I want to say with regards to the post on Sunday...
1) I've got a "fan"

Wat right do you have to call people idiots? It's definately up to individual tastes and preferences.Not everyone has the privilege to taste the different brands of donuts like you. But nothing gives you, you young punk to call people idiots. You are rude.

Clarifications about the post...
I did forewarn the post was offensive and I sincerely apologise to anyone who had taken offense. I had queued at these long lines and found that I had wasted time and money on doughnuts I feel inferior as they are not up to my expectations. I just wanted to voice out my thoughts about the whole doughnut madness which I think is going a bit out of hand. My stand is, for $1-$2 a piece, I would not spend on what I taste as bread on what it claims to be a doughnut.
This whole craze now is like the bubble tea, portugese egg tart, cinnamon bun, coffee bun, etc, thingy. The really good ones have been around for quite some time. Some others come in because they see that it is good business, it becomes a fad for no apparent reason and pop, the bubble burst. When the bubble burst, the good ones go as well because they are forced out of business by the huge majority of market share taken by the not so good ones as there were so blardi many of them in the market. I guess it's human nature, we all like fresh and new ideas and stuff... And businessmen are clever...
I'm not a young punk. A young punk would not even have a chance to eat DD locally when it was still at Far East Plaza. A young punk would not remember spending $6 on a cup of really good frothy bubble tea at Wisma Atria.

2)
110 pongs… I'm been blogging since 2001 and this is the first entry to bring me so much traffic. I have no idea why. But I'm glad I've found some DD and doughnut kakis along the way...

Singaporeans Are Doughnut Idiots!

What I’m gonna say here would be offensive to some, but it’s just my 2 dollars worth on the doughnut madness happening in Singapore now...

I’ve heard so many people say that these doughnuts are good and there are various articles and reviews saying that these are good. Snake-like queues all happening at some many different doughnut outlets, even the new one at Clementi central. Hmm, good referring to the icings and fillings or just the doughnut itself? The icings and fillings are overwhelmingly sweet and the tasteless doughnut is needed to neutralize the sweetness. That’s not how a REAL doughnut is like!!! Have these people eaten a Dunkin Donut or a Krispy Kreme before? I’m not gonna use a KK to compare as I had not eaten KK before. So I’m gonna use a DD to compare…

Just to clarify, I’m not being sour grapes here, I’ve personally queued and tried the doughnuts and all nevertheless disappointed me. It’s the doughnut that disappoints…
1) They lack the buttery taste and the “oomph” that a doughnut should have.
2) They taste like bread, feel like bread, even the texture when eaten is like bread. A REAL doughnut should be soft, but not that soft!!!
3) When eaten plain, without the icing and fillings, they are tasteless…
4) You have to chew these doughnuts, they do not melt in your mouth.
5) The fillings and icings overpower the actual doughnut.
A DD when eaten plain is NOT tasteless. Ok, you don’t have to literally eat a DD, because the moment you put it in your mouth, it melts. Your whole mouth would be filled with the buttery taste and doughnut “oomph” when it melts. When you bite it, it’s not soft, yet not hard. Although their fillings and icings are great too, they do not overpower the actual doughnut and you still can taste the buttery-ness and “oomph”.

The doughnut that closely matches my expectations and definition of doughnuts sold locally is the one at Takashimaya B2, at the corner, surrounded by cakes and ice cream. These doughnuts melt in your mouth, oozing the buttery-ness and “oomph” a doughnut should have. With or without icings or fillings, these doughnuts taste superb, and neither the icings nor fillings overpower the actual doughnut. The only thing they might need to work on, is the softness of the doughnut.

Right now, you can order DD online. I have not tried it yet, but will do so one day. The website used to “blatantly” say they are DD, but now, only a small picture at the bottom right hand corner rotates to show its DD. Dear and I used to speculate that either they order the doughnuts from JB and bring over or they hold the franchise rights. Anyone any idea?

Now, I have a craving for doughnuts... I want my DD!!! Argh, Dad went JB the other day, never buy DD back...

Simple, Cheapo Japanese Curry Udon

First, the important ingredients. Curry and Udon.
There are many types of curry avaliable. Some includes ingredients, some are plain. There are also different varying degrees of spiciness. The one that I used is "no. 4 - hot" in degree in spiciness and it's plain.
The entire box is meant for 10 servings. Inside, there are 2 smaller portions meant for 5 each. Since I'm alone, I only used a quarter. It was very easy to break. Just fold along the indents at the back, and viola, it's nicely "cut" into quarters!

Then, boil the noodles. If you want to add in ingredients of your choice, go ahead. I added some frozen mixed vegetables, minus the peas, because I hate peas. When the water boils again, add in the curry block. As with all kinds of instant noodles, stir stir and boil again.






According to the instructions, each 5 servings portion needs 800ml of water. Since I'm using a quarter, I would need about 200 ml. So I took the noodles out first (though I like soggy noddles, but not soggy udon) and left the curry to boil and reduce. Depending on how thick you like your curry, boil and reduce to that amount.

Pour curry over noodles and you're done!