Another underwater hotel?!

IMAGINE piloting your own submarine around a pristine lagoon before retiring to the bottom of the sea at your six-star resort.

Well, that and a lot more extraordinary and exciting exploits of a watery kind are in store for sea-travellers at Poseidon – the world's first sea-floor holiday resort. The bad news is you'll have to wait until mid-2008 to visit the resort based on an island off Fiji.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,23483,20362899-27977,00.html?from=mostpop

http://www.poseidonresorts.com/poseidon_main.html

Hydropolis

Have you heard one of the latest... sleeping in a underwater hotel surrounded by ocean and fishes? I am not kidding (if you havent already heard). In return for this out of the land experience, you need to pay as much as US$5,500 per nite.

It's the $500-million Hydropolis Hotel (http://hydropolis.com) now being launched in Dubai, the capital city of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

The project is nothing if not ambitious.Hydropolis will be the world's first underwater luxury hotel. It will offer 220 suites, all sitting on the Persian Gulf floor 66 feet (20 meters) below the surface.

Builders will also be installing the hotel's security features, including missile-detecting radar and watertight doors that can seal off entire sections of the facility.

Each room, for example, will have an adjustable control panel for changing settings for lighting, patterns, sounds and even smells. A "water screen" will also be positioned between the hotel and the shore, with colored lights and images projected on its surface at night. In addition, colorful images visible to both guests and on shore will be projected nightly onto the domes' roofs. And the glass-heavy hotel will protect guests from the Mid East's broiling sun with artificial clouds, produced by a giant fog machine above the surface.

http://www.crescent-hydropolis.com/
http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/Hydropolis/

NTU Glaring Advert Typo

Jas sent this "unfortunate" article and was teasing who was from NTU.... (me being one of those naturally took the bait...)

I told her jokingly, probably the admin person who was in charge of this ad post wasnt even from NTU...Still, such an embarrassing advertisement for the varsity!

However if you have watched Simson movies, you will remember the scene where President Arnold proclaim: "I am voted to LEAD not to READ!" haaa haaa!!!

My gripes after 3 weeks in Oz

Saw Jo's Blog on starbucks and that reminded me of my "dissatisfaction" of the limited selection here in Sydney. In fact, almost everything in sydney is abit backwards (sorry i have to say this to my sydney host).

Fashion:
Generally I noticed that people in sydney are not very fashionable (i think melbourne looks better) . They are happy to go anywhere in sneakers, and their fashion season is like almost 1-2 seasons behind Singapore and HK not to mention europe. Ladies are constantly in boring 2 piece black suit for work, or a lumpy cardigan to keep them warm in winter. Plus..dun even bother to look into the lingerie shops. *Yawn*
In HK winter, Its amazing to see the vibrant colours combination on the street. Much that I think HK girls are weird in their consistent 2 layer dressing and 3 quarters tights under skirt, at least in overall, you can see some fashion sense. So now here I am, I regretfully confess my fashion has gone down the drains too. To my own horror, I catch myself happily sneaking into my sneakers when i go out now, something I would never dream doing ever since i graduated from college.... and i am guilty of abandoning my nice overcoat and slip into my track pants and columbia fleece jacket...sigh.


Cakes:
Ok not talking about restaurants here coz sydney has lotsa GOOD food and desserts.
(However, I miss my "coffee shops", "Hawkers" and "Cha Chan Teng" where there are wide selection of food and snacks and cakes. )
You know in asia where we have those cafes where those moist cakes or mousse cake that totally lure you into the stores and couldnt resist buying a few even though you know they are rich and sinful? Here in Sydney, none, and i mean NONE of the pasteries shop/ cafes has even manage to entice me to cast a glance longer than 2 secs. Its so sad. Somehow, they just look dry and uninviting. They are mainly pies, and bread stuff and the cake just lack imagination. I went to those bakeries, I went to david Jones market, I went to all the cafes in whole Bondi Junction malls. Nothing. Nothing calls out to me. I do not even have cravings anymore..
Starbucks
And starbucks, they do not even have my usual favourite "Banana- chocolate" muffins!!!!! They have it in Tokyo (the last time i was there), in singapore, in HK but NOT in sydney. When i asked, the girl thought i was silly and said "Oh that is LIMITED edition during last christmas" WTF??! Why?! Why should any good tasting muffin be limited edition? I could weep in despair. And the starbucks here doesnt carry those great tasting choc cakes as in HK do. Instead, they dish out those boring pies and sandwiches and salad. People in sydney do not know what they are missing....

Mobile Phones
Sydney has the oldest model possible ghees! The motorola razor is one of the current range they are selling now. Talk about pathetic. Even my fren from England said that they have more current models than what australia can offer. I wont even want to go into the rest of the electronics equipment models....(as you already know in my prev post, i still cannot find a humidifer in sydney which is in abundance in sg and HK.) I couldnt fathom the cause really. Is it a buyer issue? Hmmmm...

Braised Oyster Sauce chicken

Decide to cook some oyster sauce chicken today. So i thought I will look up internet to see if I remember all my mum recipe correctly.

Came across this braised chicken recipe instead.. looks yummy. Gotto ssave this and try another day. Just to show u what i mean... i repost the pix here

For receipe, click here to original site.

My Simpson and Harry Pie!!

I bet in no time, the world will be hmming "Spider Pig Spider Pig..." Its hilarious.

As you would have guessed by time, watched "The Simpons Movie " last time. Ok I used to be a big fan of Bart, then I outgrew them. Just wanting some light entertainment over serious magic, I opted to be unexpectedly entertained by Holmer once again and the 87 mins past by in a breeze even though as we all know, its a no brainer plot. If you are watching it in the name of good fun, you will be grinning from cheek to cheek.

I simply love the spider pig scene. It totally crack me up, and the "dare you" scene between holmer and bart was another typical laugh. Farneeeee!!!!!

After the movie, was feeling peckish and so decided to head out to Harry Pie (Harry's Cafe de Wheels) ! Come to think of it, it was EXACTLY 10 years THIS TIME that I last ate Harris Pie!!!!!! I remember Gwen took me and Alvin here in her car ride excursion showing me sydney when i was there after my graduation trip. How times flies... feeling nostalgic... Yup, it was sooo good that after a decade, I am still craving for it. That's HOW GOOD it is for midnite snack.

When I got there, the stall was crowded as usual but the smell of the pies hit me and I was growling for foood!!! The smell was heavenly!!!!! Almost everything is the same. The same spot, the same smell, the same "birds hanging around for scrap" scenery. Oh my god. Its amazing going to another country and have almost everything the same.

When i got my chicken pie, I was actually fearful, worrying "what if the pie no longer taste as good?" My worries were unfounded. The pie taste just as superb though somehow it seem smaller in portion now. I vaguely rem it was so pretty huge bite in the past. Oh well. Who cares, the inflation does that to any food chain.

So if you havent tried Harry Pie and you are in town, I absolutely urge you to come have a bite!!!! You just wont forget it ( not to mention the experience of steam hot pie in your hand while you are roughing it out in the cold overlooking the peaceful wharf before you)

Location in sydney near King's cross
Harry's Cafe de Wheels is a pie cart located in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on Cowper Wharf Road, near the Finger Wharf and Fleet Base East of Garden Island Navy Base, opposite the Woolloomooloo Bay Hotel.

Oh my singaporeans..:)

I was bored and started surfing facebook and it got funnier and funnier as i surf through some "singapore groups". Somethings that only singaporean can laugh about!

******

Doby Lin
I remember when i was backpacking in Cambodia, we got to know some really nice people from Canada.. So we decided to travel together... And one day , this conversation popped up...

Them: Hey... Like you guys (3 singaporean kids) do you feel like uneasy that you have to speak english all the time when you are with us?

me: Erm... Uneasy? Why is that so?

Them: What language do you speak in Singapore?

Me: English?

Them: You mean that Singapore teaches English? So its not like Cantonese or Mandarin or something like that?

Me: Thats my mother tongue...

Them: So what was that weird mix of english and stuff u were talking about...

Me: (ponders) OH... you mean when we were bitching about those stuck up F****H tourist? Haha... we were bitching in SINGLISH!

Them: Wow cool... So thats your language? We have something like Frenglish in Canada!

Me: Wah lao... That roxx la....

Them: What you just said?

*****

Cheryl Lam (France) wrote
Haahahahaha. I was reading our fellow Singaporeans' hilarious stories below on how 'misunderstood' we Singaporeans are and this is damn funny.

Me: "Bonjour, I'm your new classmate, Cheryl. I'm Chinese and I am from Singapore."
Classmate: *disbelief* "You mean you're a chinois chinese?"
Me: "Yess"
Classmate: "Oh. Aren't you supposed to be from China?"
Me: "Nope, why do you say that?"
Classmate: "Oh! I thought all Chinese come from China!"
Me: "I'm a Singaporean Chinese"
Classmate: "You mean Singapore's not in China?"
Me: ..................

WTFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

******

For those of ya'll who've lived/are living on the sunny island of Singapore!

You know you are from Singapore when....

1) You speak or randomly break out in Singlish
2) You crave chicken rice or the various uberlicious hawker foods
3) Tying a soccer game with Malaysia actually means something significant
4) You say rubbish bin and not trash can
5) You end every sentence with a 'lah'/'lor'/'hor' and everything looks much better with 'x's and 'z's (right horxxzzz?)
6) You understand all the references in www.talkingcock.com (and find the site funny)
7) You're intimidated by the thought of a 45 minutes to drive to the nearest mall.
8) You are able to communicate in plethora of languages & dialects
8) Swearing in numerous languages & dialects is natural
9) You know that Newton Circus serves up shit food, but still go there anyway
10) You “chope” seats at food courts/hawker centers with little tissue packets
11) You've sung the national anthem since you were in primary 1 and still have no idea what it really means
12) There's always a traffic jam near a vehicle accident 'cause everyone slows down to copy numbers for 4D
13) You start using acronyms for everything, such as ERP, PIE, MRT, SBS, SMS, CTE, IPPT, NCC, SOC(army word)...... and many more.

Out for a spin

Nightlight

Bored. so took a eve snap.

What the Singapore Flag means to the next generation..."

Had a good cynic laugh when i saw a blog post on "What the Singapore Flag means to the next generation..."

Is this next generation for real?!!!

Yoshii Restaurant and so undeserving...

It is friday nite out again and once again, I opted to go Japanese. This time round, I wanted to try Yoshii Restaurant on the Rocks.

Yoshii, based on google and food guide is supposedly one of Sydney's most inventive chefs, is renowned for his creativity and adventurous cuisine which is a truly sensational and satisfying experience. In fact, he is a constant winner of 2 chef head under the gourmet rating. I say "supposedly" because if i were to rate it, its performance today from what they dish out tonight was a blah 2/10.

There isnt ala carte, so you basically have to choose from "Yoshii" or "Saqura" Course (sort of like degustation menu where you get in order bits of everything decided by the chef). Opted for Yoshii because Saqura was too fish oriented.


In a quick summary, the 2.5hr of dinner experience was an extremely disappointing one that leaves me wondering aloud if :

• Is this the best Japanese food australian food critics have ever tasted and thus awarding him the 2 chef hat, or
• Is this the best that sydney itself can offer to win the 2 chef hats

To describe my meal briefly:

1. I had "Sea urchin egg cup" as starter. It wasnt too bad but half boiled egg and urchin are not my favourite, not to mention combination.
2. Followed next was a combination of pieces that include funny tasting tomato mousse, lukewarm noodle in bonita flake sauce, averahe duck slices and weird tasting biscuits
3. The 3 combination dish was weirder and horrible. The main attraction was the black cod cooked with blue cheese that totally obscure the cod's sweetness. The lotus slice was mashed with some indescribable cheese thing that made it very heavy. What was worse was that there were 3 fish bone in the fillet and got stuck in my throat. In which, the apologetic staff (who tries to convince me it has NEVER happened before) offered me free drinks and tea for the night.
4. The veal or was it Wagyu beef with mushroom was the only decent thing but really, it isnt merit of the chef. It will take a really bad chef to spoil a slice beef dish. Again, lotus root was used and it was battered fried but when it reach my table, it was soggy and I didnt even want to touch it despite being an ardent fan of lotus root.
5. The worst of the night was the scallop mash up with lotus root (again), served with a big slice of tri colour fishcake, in gluey sauce served in a bowl. Now, why the chef wants to mess up perfectly good scallop befuddles me. I felt like i was tasting something in mash potato texture but a bland taste and i hated it. Plus, why on earth do you serve fish cake as a main? It has always be ornament piece to me.
6. Lemongrass sorbet sucks
7. Dessert was moderately ok when i choose the mascaponi cheese covered with soy flour. I opted wthout the black sesame.

So there. If you are in town and looking for good Japanese food, save your penny and avoid Yoshii for dinner. Stick to Azuma which by comparison has shown more authenticity in retaining its Japanese flavours and not to mention, cheaper price tag.

Japanese Grocers in Sydney

In my quest to fulfil my Japanese foodstuff craving, i found this in website. I must check these places out... I simply must......

Japanese Grocers in Australia

Ichibankan
(02) 9247 2667
36 Nurse Walk, The Rocks, 2000

My Mart
(02) 9251 8732
Level 2, 10 Bulletin Place, Sydney, 2000

Nippon-Ya
(02) 9251 7911
Shop 2, 109 Harrington Street, Sydney, 2000

Usagi-Ya
(02) 9369 3121
1/314 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction, 2002

Tokyo Mart
(02) 9958 6860
83 Sailors Bay Road, Northbridge, 2063

Anegawa Trading Co Grocers
(02) 9417 5452
16A Deepwater Road, Castle Cove, 2069

Anegawa Trading Co Grocers
(02) 9904 4177
7 Waters Rd, Neutral Bay, 2089

Screaming of "Protectionism"

While shopping for things to buy for dinner in Coles Supermarket, it struck upon me how much "protectionism" is being practiced here in Australia. Almost 95% of the produce frm package food to local perishables are mainly from Australia. While I have no problems at all for the fresh vegetables and poultry (am already saything my thankful prayers from not havng to eat contaminated food from CHINA), my main gripes lies with packed food.

For one, I cannot find Tropicana Juice nor any japanese milk in the shelves. In fact, I cannot find anything that isnt "Made in Australia". Damnit it people, I want my Tropicana OJ from states! I want my Meiji or hokkaido milk. Back in Singapore, am used to having WIDE assortment of imported juice and milk or any beverages, including from Australia (nudie crushie!!). Granted Australia milk taste good too, but I just want my variety ok? I am used to being "spolit" for choice...I am used to growing up in a truly "cosmopolitan" city. Sobbb...

Secondly, bread. In Coles and woollworth supermarket, I couldnt find anything that is of "smaller" packs, everything sold here is for giants in gia-normous pack! So that means I can't eat them fresh every other day. In god's name, what am i suppose to do with a huge loaf of bread that is of at least 25 slices in a pack? I dun have a family of 10. Plus I didnt like the taste of the bread here either. I am a sopping idiot i know its just bread but i cannot help it.. At least in HK I had easy access my Japanese milk bread in citi-super, when i couldnt have my usual "Bonjour Milk Bread" or "Gardenia Banana Walnut" or "Sunshine wheat" bread as in Singapore. In sydney, even my nutella taste weird on their bread..

Thirdly, Rice. Having eaten 30years of Fragrant Thai Jasmine rice, suddenly my options are cruelly and brutally limited to a few australian long grain white rice. I almost flung my arms in despair. What?! No more Thai rice that entice my hunger with it steaming fragrance, working up my appetite?! Forlonly, almost pick up this nasty looking australian grain until at the bottom obsure shelf, i spotted a pack of jasmine rice. The one and only pack!! Horray!!!! I could almost weeped with joy!! However please note, jasmine rice cost more than double the rice. Do i look like i effing care?!! Ha ha! Firmly tucked under my arm i headed to check out.

Also, luckily I have one small shelf labelled "Asian Food", so thankfully i still could locate my chilli sauce with ease, though they apparently have never heard of this thing called "Chinese Rice Wine". Great. Wine prob only consists of white or red wine here, sigh...

I canx believe I Just did that!

I did the most unthinkable thing yesterday. I joined a Gym.

Ok, joining a gym is no biggie but I have never ever proactively self talk myself into one, until yesterday... I guess in life, there is always a first time.

Basically as i was walking aimlessly in Bondi Junction, I stumbled into Fitness First and wanted to ask the price. After like about half hour nearing the end of the consultation, I was about to walk off because seriously, asking me to fork out $300 for initial membership is not part of my worldly plan, no matter how much I know i need to excercise after 2 years of non activity while staying in Hong Kong.

As heaven will it, the consultant's peer told him the promotion of today was waiver of membership fee. So that means i get to join without having to pay the A$300, only the weekly subscription fee of A$24. That sounds reasonable.

I struggle for a while and finally i did it. Because i need to get my procrastinating butt off the sofa and start some movements or my joints will eventually crack at every movement. I need to get my health back and into shape. I get tired and sick easily now and its not good. I use to be so much healthier back in singapore where i could still jog round the track or reservoir or even swim by usual 40laps. Hong Kong's air is so bad that I just didnt want to do anything extra that will force my lungs to pump in extra filth through my body filter system. Now I think i can barely manage 15laps. Disgusting and pathetic.

So I took the plunge. I still cannot believe it and reeling from some degree of anxiety and disbelief at what I just sign on the dotted line.... I should be in one of the classes today but I overslept from staying up to read my book, plus my cough was back last nite.. was it from anxoety?! Ghees....

So tomorrow, I promise myself I must go tomorrow. Afterall, didnt i just spend $300 on my gym gear?!!!! Arrrggghhh.

Beautiful sunny day

Its a beautiful sunny day today. I love it.