Sigh... been trying to get some work done but it looks like my desire is in vain.
My thoughts have been consistently interrupted by a series of bell ringing. I forgot...It's Halloween and the kids are are running amok with their "Trick or Treat" (more like Treats and Treats) chanting....
Since 7pm, my bell hasnt stop going off and it is gettin on my nerves when the door knocking ritual hasnt stop as of 9pm now. Initially I had opened the door to explain I didnt have the sweets, but by the fourth ring, I gave up. I turned off all the lights and ignored the bell, hoping fervently they would go away on their own....
I'm not being anti social but unless I have some carved out pumpkin sitting at my doorstep as some signal - inviting you to ring the bell, otherwise, people really shouldnt go around persistently non stop for over 2 hours knocking on doors. I did see one with much effort in the makeover as a witch but the others were abit lame with just one party hat and a plastic bag.
Perhaps I should lighten up...but really, door bell ringing over 2 hours is abit much...and I am not even sure what time it will end. Hopefully soon... well. between me and the kids, at least one party is having fun.
Quote of the Day:"There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."
- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Promotional price = Cheaper price? Not necessarily...
Hmmm... did someone at Park and Shop back office forget to do their Maths?
Went shopping for Watson Bottled water today.
The tag of one 4.5L bottle is priced at HK$17.90. I went about asking for stock on 3 boxes of 4 bottles. That was when my discovery got alittle interesting...
A carton of 4 bottles cost HK$80. Now even at a glance one would know it is more expensive per bottle for the same item. I asked the staff and he stared at me saying its the same price. When I did the Maths for him and convinced him that $20 is not less than $17.90, he grinned sheepishly and inform me to locate the cashier instead.
So I went about doing the rest of my shopping and then took a bottle of water to the cashier. I asked her if the price is indeed $17.90 (original price $18.90). She said yes. I asked her how come the carton of 4 is more expensive. She told me it is impossible. Cartons are always cheaper. So she hopped over with me to check the BIG YELLOW DISCOUNT POSTER and there it was staring back at her - 4 bottles for HK$80. The cashier was alittle speechless and she didnt know why either. So in the end, she agreed with me on the price discrepancy and to scan the price of one bottle, mulitplied by 12 bottles instead.
I am sharing this little short story so that....The next time u think u are getting a promotional discount, look again at the unit cost of one. You might actually be paying MORE than u bargain for.... (not to mention sometimes a misleading "buy 2 at promotional price" has no savings either but merely multiplying the cost of one item by 2 at some places.)
Quote of the Day:
"The truth is more important than the facts."
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
Went shopping for Watson Bottled water today.
The tag of one 4.5L bottle is priced at HK$17.90. I went about asking for stock on 3 boxes of 4 bottles. That was when my discovery got alittle interesting...
A carton of 4 bottles cost HK$80. Now even at a glance one would know it is more expensive per bottle for the same item. I asked the staff and he stared at me saying its the same price. When I did the Maths for him and convinced him that $20 is not less than $17.90, he grinned sheepishly and inform me to locate the cashier instead.
So I went about doing the rest of my shopping and then took a bottle of water to the cashier. I asked her if the price is indeed $17.90 (original price $18.90). She said yes. I asked her how come the carton of 4 is more expensive. She told me it is impossible. Cartons are always cheaper. So she hopped over with me to check the BIG YELLOW DISCOUNT POSTER and there it was staring back at her - 4 bottles for HK$80. The cashier was alittle speechless and she didnt know why either. So in the end, she agreed with me on the price discrepancy and to scan the price of one bottle, mulitplied by 12 bottles instead.
I am sharing this little short story so that....The next time u think u are getting a promotional discount, look again at the unit cost of one. You might actually be paying MORE than u bargain for.... (not to mention sometimes a misleading "buy 2 at promotional price" has no savings either but merely multiplying the cost of one item by 2 at some places.)
Quote of the Day:
"The truth is more important than the facts."
- Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
J-Drama: Innocent Love
If u are looking for an all new interesting Japanese drama, I think Innocent Love will be the all time season favorite.
I had just finished the first 2 episode and I am absolutely GLUED now. The plot deepens....
The script is much better written with some mystery to the supposed "crime" of the brother, as well as to the mystery of the waking comatose girlfriend.... very very interesting. So is the reporter really there to help and investigate the truth, or does he have ulterior motive. Why did the brother first admit and confess to killing his parents during the police statement and only to turn around saying he is innocent of all crimes....what deep dark secret is he harboring... why was he so agitated by his sister's letter....WOW! Good start for the first 2 episodes man.
This drama series though seemingly reminds one of "Last Friends" with the music intro due to the video style, yet the plot is vastly different though the shooting remains the same. Like sudden blank out of all sound and a paused reaction to maximise and intensify the mystery effect before shooting the next scene. Very very similar way of taking angles and adding symbolic meaning to an object "like the pendant cross vs the charred wood cross of the burnt house"
So.... suck in your breathe and gather your popcorns every Monday week for this new drama. The guy actors though I have no idea who they are, are reasonable good looking enough to sustain the show... I never quite like the actress who is acting as the jealous woman Mizuki. For a Japanese actress, I think she is quite ugly....and she talks like her nasal is congested or something.
I am betting u will be hooked as the story unfolds judging by the first 2 episode. Moral of the post, one still need a good script to garner audience attention....
Plot summary (from drama wiki)
An arson took it all away from Akiyama Kanon seven years ago. Her parents died in that fire, her brother was arrested as the prime suspect and her carefree life disappeared from that instant. She was shunned by the town as the sister of a murderer, yet she believes in her brother's innocence and often pays him visits with words of encouragement. As life gets harder when nobody is willing to give her a job, Kanon decides to try her luck in the city and there she meets the man of her destiny...
I had just finished the first 2 episode and I am absolutely GLUED now. The plot deepens....
The script is much better written with some mystery to the supposed "crime" of the brother, as well as to the mystery of the waking comatose girlfriend.... very very interesting. So is the reporter really there to help and investigate the truth, or does he have ulterior motive. Why did the brother first admit and confess to killing his parents during the police statement and only to turn around saying he is innocent of all crimes....what deep dark secret is he harboring... why was he so agitated by his sister's letter....WOW! Good start for the first 2 episodes man.This drama series though seemingly reminds one of "Last Friends" with the music intro due to the video style, yet the plot is vastly different though the shooting remains the same. Like sudden blank out of all sound and a paused reaction to maximise and intensify the mystery effect before shooting the next scene. Very very similar way of taking angles and adding symbolic meaning to an object "like the pendant cross vs the charred wood cross of the burnt house"
So.... suck in your breathe and gather your popcorns every Monday week for this new drama. The guy actors though I have no idea who they are, are reasonable good looking enough to sustain the show... I never quite like the actress who is acting as the jealous woman Mizuki. For a Japanese actress, I think she is quite ugly....and she talks like her nasal is congested or something.
I am betting u will be hooked as the story unfolds judging by the first 2 episode. Moral of the post, one still need a good script to garner audience attention....
Plot summary (from drama wiki)
An arson took it all away from Akiyama Kanon seven years ago. Her parents died in that fire, her brother was arrested as the prime suspect and her carefree life disappeared from that instant. She was shunned by the town as the sister of a murderer, yet she believes in her brother's innocence and often pays him visits with words of encouragement. As life gets harder when nobody is willing to give her a job, Kanon decides to try her luck in the city and there she meets the man of her destiny...
Monday, October 27, 2008
A shared sentiment....on a certain band of "FT"...
Someone dropped a comment in my post about my gripe with std charter customer service and I really felt like sharing here what was said than it being slipped under the radar. So I am reposting it as below. I guess this resentment of the country being overtaken by china nationals is taking root and very real, and a common shared sentiments. Does anyone UP THERE recognise this problem and gripes??
Comment Repost:
"This is not only in Std Chart but nation wide! They are cheaper to employ as compared to locals who can speak simple good English. Like many S'poreans, I've lived abroad. What I find most disappointing is that why are we speaking so much of Mandarin among local Chinese here in Singapore? What happened to our dialects??? In NZ, for example, there's a high inflax of Chinese Nationals. They don't speak Mandarin to other fellow Chinese whether they are from China, Malaysia or even Singapore. They speak English to them. Even among themselves, u can hear them speaking Cantonese. Not a word of Mandarin. I was surprised when I hear them speaking Cantonese to their co-workers and children. They are NOT from HK but mainland China!
My point is when u go to another country, u follow their ways or u go back to your own country. Yet, u still find many wants to go to those countries. Even in HK, these mainland Chinese speak Cantonese. Only a handful speaks Mandarin when they go over. But over here, WE are following THEIR way and what THEY speak. And now most of the jobs that can be handled by locals are also taken away by them. Some of these young FTs are given PRs and I start asking myself how come? Is there something wrong with our education system or employment requirements?
U know most of these Chinese FTs and even workers CAN SPEAK simple understandable English. They just REFUSED to speak so they pretended not to understand. I've encountered many in my short two weeks of part time work here after having applying for jobs since March this year. When they hear the way I speak, they quickly reply me in English and I'm a native Singapore-born Peranakan Chinese. I'm no different front any native S'pore-born Chinese. Some local Chinese feel that as Chinese we should speak Mandarin but they've forgotten that this is a multi-racial country from before and our administrative language IS English and not Mandarin for the Chinese and English for the other races. Anyway, our national language is also NOT Mandarin either. It is Malay. Also Mandarin s the administrative language in China. AT home the families still speak their own dialects. Wake up native Singaporean Chinese.
Already many of our kids are behaving like some of them,talking at the top of their voices and spitting in public places. In time, our young one will adopt their inconsiderate behaviours and don't give a damn to everything. Have u seen how the young Chinese girls dress? I'm not into fashion but lately, I see many young Chinese nationals wearing short skirts and sneakers but they will also wear a black knee length stockings!! Those are meant to be worn when a lady puts on trousers and not skirts. My, they look SO WEIRD.
Sad. I feel like I'm living in China here. Gone were the days where Singapore is a country where people dress and behaves professionally. Listen to the younger generation of Singaporeans speak English and u'll be sad to hear the way they speak. No wonder most tourists can hardly understand what they say.
I too don't understand how come most CSO (Customer Svc Officers) are non-locals? It's also hard to understand those with strong Filipino accent. Of course I don't expect to speak Singlish (that's bad too) - just simple good and clear English. But at least they are better than those who refused to speak English.
Looks like those of us who have kids, in primary schools now, may have to look for a job overseas when they grow up. Doubt most of them can find work here that can help them survive cause we've been invaded by them as they produce here."
Comment Repost:
"This is not only in Std Chart but nation wide! They are cheaper to employ as compared to locals who can speak simple good English. Like many S'poreans, I've lived abroad. What I find most disappointing is that why are we speaking so much of Mandarin among local Chinese here in Singapore? What happened to our dialects??? In NZ, for example, there's a high inflax of Chinese Nationals. They don't speak Mandarin to other fellow Chinese whether they are from China, Malaysia or even Singapore. They speak English to them. Even among themselves, u can hear them speaking Cantonese. Not a word of Mandarin. I was surprised when I hear them speaking Cantonese to their co-workers and children. They are NOT from HK but mainland China!
My point is when u go to another country, u follow their ways or u go back to your own country. Yet, u still find many wants to go to those countries. Even in HK, these mainland Chinese speak Cantonese. Only a handful speaks Mandarin when they go over. But over here, WE are following THEIR way and what THEY speak. And now most of the jobs that can be handled by locals are also taken away by them. Some of these young FTs are given PRs and I start asking myself how come? Is there something wrong with our education system or employment requirements?
U know most of these Chinese FTs and even workers CAN SPEAK simple understandable English. They just REFUSED to speak so they pretended not to understand. I've encountered many in my short two weeks of part time work here after having applying for jobs since March this year. When they hear the way I speak, they quickly reply me in English and I'm a native Singapore-born Peranakan Chinese. I'm no different front any native S'pore-born Chinese. Some local Chinese feel that as Chinese we should speak Mandarin but they've forgotten that this is a multi-racial country from before and our administrative language IS English and not Mandarin for the Chinese and English for the other races. Anyway, our national language is also NOT Mandarin either. It is Malay. Also Mandarin s the administrative language in China. AT home the families still speak their own dialects. Wake up native Singaporean Chinese.
Already many of our kids are behaving like some of them,talking at the top of their voices and spitting in public places. In time, our young one will adopt their inconsiderate behaviours and don't give a damn to everything. Have u seen how the young Chinese girls dress? I'm not into fashion but lately, I see many young Chinese nationals wearing short skirts and sneakers but they will also wear a black knee length stockings!! Those are meant to be worn when a lady puts on trousers and not skirts. My, they look SO WEIRD.
Sad. I feel like I'm living in China here. Gone were the days where Singapore is a country where people dress and behaves professionally. Listen to the younger generation of Singaporeans speak English and u'll be sad to hear the way they speak. No wonder most tourists can hardly understand what they say.
I too don't understand how come most CSO (Customer Svc Officers) are non-locals? It's also hard to understand those with strong Filipino accent. Of course I don't expect to speak Singlish (that's bad too) - just simple good and clear English. But at least they are better than those who refused to speak English.
Looks like those of us who have kids, in primary schools now, may have to look for a job overseas when they grow up. Doubt most of them can find work here that can help them survive cause we've been invaded by them as they produce here."
Our Service industry....Overrun by Chinese Nationals?
What I found MOST annoying is that ALL the hotel room cleaning stuff are from CHINA. HELLO?????? Hotel cannot find LOCAL PEOPLE to work as cleaning staff in Singapore? U need to EMPLOY FOREIGN STAFF IN SUCH SERVICE INDUSTRY???? I am very sure this is not some sort of talent exchange or intership ok.
So What? China people are more"Talented" than local in making bed? China people are more "talented" in sucking up dust from room? China people are more "talented" in changing bedsheets and towels? You are telling me that these are the jobs that LOCALs will not want to do, hence we need to source talents from china???? Can we at least keep such blue collar jobs within Singapore to strictly Singaporeans as 80% of the workforce? What I saw over the week was 100% china cleaning staff at least for my level and the the top level.
And even better still, when husband was trying to nap in the room due to jetlag, the 2 china male cleaning staff was CHATTING LOUDLY in China Mandarin and banging around as they go about doing their job. It was Sooooo immensely annoying enough to have someone talking loudly esp from the staff. So I have to ring up the "instant service" staff to get them to get their cleaning staff to shut up or at least LEARN TO TALK SOFTLY.
Then next morning when we were heading out for brunch, my husband spotted the china male staff. He told the guy if they could clean the room earlier that day since we will be back before 3pm. (We had prior experience that the room cleaning doesnt start until 3pm - 4pm and we couldnt nap because they would still be changing and packing etc). What annoyed my husband was the staff mumbled in MANDARIN and REFUSE or UNABLE to speak English. My husband was complaining to me "What the hell?! Why employ staff who cannot speak English?!" He was also annoyed with the overun of china people working in singapore, and he is not even a sg citizen to feel the pinch.
So now this is the scenerio in Singapore perceived by my return each time.
We have:
- Tele-Customer service being dominated by Filippinos and now China people.
- Home Maid service by Filippinos and Indonesians (which is understandable),
- Constructions and rubbish cleaning by Indian workers as well as China people now ((which is understandable)),
- Hotel cleaning staff dominated by China people ,
- Restaurants waitressing dominated by China people,
- Nursing increasingly more china nurses.
While I understand and agree that many locals would not want to work at constructions, maid and rubbish cleaning jobs, it is very very very very difficult for the govt to convince me that even the hotel, restaurant servicing industry we need "foreign Talent" from China. How much has really been done to give priority to locals? Strangely when I do not oppose to having Malaysian chinese in these areas. At least I think we share similar culture and we have such old historical link being neighbors and their slighly accented mandarin has become part of our culture too.
I simply detest the idea of my country being overrun by china people. We are NOT part of China, so why we accepting so many of them here? It is not the fear of competition, in fact it is not even about competition. What competition in the domains of service industry????
I just wonder if the immigration department really have the TRUE statistics and numbers of the actual figures of China people residing and working in Singapore. These inflood of china people remind me of locusts invasion. Taking and ransacking a territory in swarm and they do not leave until every good thing have been eaten up. I dislike this invasion because instead of
conforming to our culture, I felt that they are the ones forcing us to conform to them instead. Most of all, I hate their loud voices and talking. I feel like yelling at them to SHUT THE FK UP each time I hear them speaking in china mandarin at loud volume in the train, in the bus, in the mall, in the restaurants. I have friends from china. However just like even if you like your neighbour, it does not mean u will allow or tolerate your neighbor to covet your house and everything in it.
When I was back in Sg the last trip, I was watching this Secondary/ JC Mandarin competition on TV. We have top schools like Nanyang girls, NJC, Raffles Girls, Raffles boys. Each school has 3 representative. And you know what? It saddens me tremendously when every school is represented by China people. If its not all 3 china students, it is minimally 2 china student in each group. What happen to our local students? And if it is a team of 2 china vs 1 local, the local student somehow just didnt show the spark and "happy" to sit back and let the china students dominate the mic to win the scores because she doesnt want to be the one that "let the school down" no doubt. So this is the sort of "foreign talent" so widely promoted? Sure they are good, but do we need to compare? Can't we just produce our own talent instead? I was soooo disheartened by the program that I turn it off. It's all about winning...and no doubt the China students mandarin will be stronger than local students. It's just like a chinese student will never be as fluent in malay as a malay student. So can we limit the bright foreign students in such competitions and let our local students a chance to shine? Can we forget about the need to win so badly, and just think about exposure and experience for our own generation for once?
In the past, I love watching those interschool mandarin debating team and they were really good and they were ALL LOCAL STUDENTS. Even if we had foreign student in the team, at least the ratio back then was like 10 to 1. It didnt matter which school won.
And when u have so many china students here in the top schools, so where do the good but local students go? The next best school? Yeah equal opportunity and the best makes to the top. In my school years, the foreign students were the Asean scholars from Malaysia. I have 5 Asean scholars alone in my class. They definitely are bright and older than us. I didnt see them as competition strangely. Just because these foreign students are smart doesnt mean they brought the overall standard of the class up either. It is still an individual thing at the end of the day no matter what schools and ministries say. In my class, we still view the smartest local kids as the true competition, not the Asean scholars. And guess what? NONE of the Asean scholars we knew back in highschool stayed behind in Singapore. They either went back to Malaysia or went off to States or UK to further their career. We are still friends and still in touch. Our lifes move on. What competition and motivation? So it brought to mind, how many of such foreign students will stay behind and service this nation? Look at our china table tennis team... such a national joke. And see who our ex star player is marrying, her own people, not ours.
So question is, do we have a responsibility to groom our own brood and talent first since they are the one that we are passing the baton to in future? I say groom, not educate. I know I sound bias. I am I confess. Because I was born under a flag that is half red and white with a crescent and 5 stars, not a whole red flag with 5 stars.
In HK, I remember when I was applying for a job here, there were many criterias in the service industry that local citizens get priority over foreign applicants or some job are for locals only. Even for my regional job, I remember my boss had to write a letter of justification to the immigration for my work employment visa, as to why me over a local applicant. Well fortunately for me, experience and multilanguage work to my advantage. While there are workaround to this legislation, I was surprised but impressed with this local people protection. I am not even sure if Singapore has this law....
When I was talking to the HK property agent about the advantage of china boom and helping with the HK property market, I was told a very interesting fact. It appears that HK does not allow CHINA people to buy property there, unless the china national owns a non china passport/ citizenship. Interesting isnt it? Is that why non china passport is such a BIG thing with chinese people? And he went on to share that most rich chinese national would rather buy property in mainland like shanghai or BJ as their top choice than HK anycase (unless they married HK local), because at the end of the day, these chinese people rather go back to china. Even HK people can recognise where chinese nationals loyalty lies....
Sooner or later, if our national policies persist to let the country overrun with so many china people, alot of its own people will also sooner or later stop feeling patriotic to a country which we no longer recognise as our own.
So What? China people are more"Talented" than local in making bed? China people are more "talented" in sucking up dust from room? China people are more "talented" in changing bedsheets and towels? You are telling me that these are the jobs that LOCALs will not want to do, hence we need to source talents from china???? Can we at least keep such blue collar jobs within Singapore to strictly Singaporeans as 80% of the workforce? What I saw over the week was 100% china cleaning staff at least for my level and the the top level.
And even better still, when husband was trying to nap in the room due to jetlag, the 2 china male cleaning staff was CHATTING LOUDLY in China Mandarin and banging around as they go about doing their job. It was Sooooo immensely annoying enough to have someone talking loudly esp from the staff. So I have to ring up the "instant service" staff to get them to get their cleaning staff to shut up or at least LEARN TO TALK SOFTLY.
Then next morning when we were heading out for brunch, my husband spotted the china male staff. He told the guy if they could clean the room earlier that day since we will be back before 3pm. (We had prior experience that the room cleaning doesnt start until 3pm - 4pm and we couldnt nap because they would still be changing and packing etc). What annoyed my husband was the staff mumbled in MANDARIN and REFUSE or UNABLE to speak English. My husband was complaining to me "What the hell?! Why employ staff who cannot speak English?!" He was also annoyed with the overun of china people working in singapore, and he is not even a sg citizen to feel the pinch.
So now this is the scenerio in Singapore perceived by my return each time.
We have:
- Tele-Customer service being dominated by Filippinos and now China people.
- Home Maid service by Filippinos and Indonesians (which is understandable),
- Constructions and rubbish cleaning by Indian workers as well as China people now ((which is understandable)),
- Hotel cleaning staff dominated by China people ,
- Restaurants waitressing dominated by China people,
- Nursing increasingly more china nurses.
While I understand and agree that many locals would not want to work at constructions, maid and rubbish cleaning jobs, it is very very very very difficult for the govt to convince me that even the hotel, restaurant servicing industry we need "foreign Talent" from China. How much has really been done to give priority to locals? Strangely when I do not oppose to having Malaysian chinese in these areas. At least I think we share similar culture and we have such old historical link being neighbors and their slighly accented mandarin has become part of our culture too.
I simply detest the idea of my country being overrun by china people. We are NOT part of China, so why we accepting so many of them here? It is not the fear of competition, in fact it is not even about competition. What competition in the domains of service industry????
I just wonder if the immigration department really have the TRUE statistics and numbers of the actual figures of China people residing and working in Singapore. These inflood of china people remind me of locusts invasion. Taking and ransacking a territory in swarm and they do not leave until every good thing have been eaten up. I dislike this invasion because instead of
conforming to our culture, I felt that they are the ones forcing us to conform to them instead. Most of all, I hate their loud voices and talking. I feel like yelling at them to SHUT THE FK UP each time I hear them speaking in china mandarin at loud volume in the train, in the bus, in the mall, in the restaurants. I have friends from china. However just like even if you like your neighbour, it does not mean u will allow or tolerate your neighbor to covet your house and everything in it.
When I was back in Sg the last trip, I was watching this Secondary/ JC Mandarin competition on TV. We have top schools like Nanyang girls, NJC, Raffles Girls, Raffles boys. Each school has 3 representative. And you know what? It saddens me tremendously when every school is represented by China people. If its not all 3 china students, it is minimally 2 china student in each group. What happen to our local students? And if it is a team of 2 china vs 1 local, the local student somehow just didnt show the spark and "happy" to sit back and let the china students dominate the mic to win the scores because she doesnt want to be the one that "let the school down" no doubt. So this is the sort of "foreign talent" so widely promoted? Sure they are good, but do we need to compare? Can't we just produce our own talent instead? I was soooo disheartened by the program that I turn it off. It's all about winning...and no doubt the China students mandarin will be stronger than local students. It's just like a chinese student will never be as fluent in malay as a malay student. So can we limit the bright foreign students in such competitions and let our local students a chance to shine? Can we forget about the need to win so badly, and just think about exposure and experience for our own generation for once?
In the past, I love watching those interschool mandarin debating team and they were really good and they were ALL LOCAL STUDENTS. Even if we had foreign student in the team, at least the ratio back then was like 10 to 1. It didnt matter which school won.
And when u have so many china students here in the top schools, so where do the good but local students go? The next best school? Yeah equal opportunity and the best makes to the top. In my school years, the foreign students were the Asean scholars from Malaysia. I have 5 Asean scholars alone in my class. They definitely are bright and older than us. I didnt see them as competition strangely. Just because these foreign students are smart doesnt mean they brought the overall standard of the class up either. It is still an individual thing at the end of the day no matter what schools and ministries say. In my class, we still view the smartest local kids as the true competition, not the Asean scholars. And guess what? NONE of the Asean scholars we knew back in highschool stayed behind in Singapore. They either went back to Malaysia or went off to States or UK to further their career. We are still friends and still in touch. Our lifes move on. What competition and motivation? So it brought to mind, how many of such foreign students will stay behind and service this nation? Look at our china table tennis team... such a national joke. And see who our ex star player is marrying, her own people, not ours.
So question is, do we have a responsibility to groom our own brood and talent first since they are the one that we are passing the baton to in future? I say groom, not educate. I know I sound bias. I am I confess. Because I was born under a flag that is half red and white with a crescent and 5 stars, not a whole red flag with 5 stars.
In HK, I remember when I was applying for a job here, there were many criterias in the service industry that local citizens get priority over foreign applicants or some job are for locals only. Even for my regional job, I remember my boss had to write a letter of justification to the immigration for my work employment visa, as to why me over a local applicant. Well fortunately for me, experience and multilanguage work to my advantage. While there are workaround to this legislation, I was surprised but impressed with this local people protection. I am not even sure if Singapore has this law....
When I was talking to the HK property agent about the advantage of china boom and helping with the HK property market, I was told a very interesting fact. It appears that HK does not allow CHINA people to buy property there, unless the china national owns a non china passport/ citizenship. Interesting isnt it? Is that why non china passport is such a BIG thing with chinese people? And he went on to share that most rich chinese national would rather buy property in mainland like shanghai or BJ as their top choice than HK anycase (unless they married HK local), because at the end of the day, these chinese people rather go back to china. Even HK people can recognise where chinese nationals loyalty lies....
Sooner or later, if our national policies persist to let the country overrun with so many china people, alot of its own people will also sooner or later stop feeling patriotic to a country which we no longer recognise as our own.
Experience with Hotel Intercontinnental Singapore
I bet I forgot to mention about my stay in intercontinental hotel.
My gf had a wedding there and she suggested that I could book my stay through her hotel coordinator to get some hotel discounted rate. So I emailed the staff to query about the room and type of room. At the same time, I checked the hotel website.
The "discounted" rate I got was SG$280++ (excluding tax etc) whereas the website was advertising the "AVERAGE" rate as SG$240++ under their luxury weekend package. You will NOT be able to see the individual daily breakdown rate until you book the room on the website. So I queried the staff as to why the discounted rate was actually MORE expensive than the internet (I expected it to be on par), if it was a different room or if its because its breakfast included.
The email reply I received annoyed me. Apart from describing the sort of rooms the hotel has, her parting shot was "You can book the room from internet." to my query on the rates discrepancy. So much for singapore "hotel service" and their so call wedding discount rates for guests.
I didnt want to hassle the bride with the issue so I went ahead to book the room via the internet. After confirmation, the rate stands at SG270++. However, I noticed the sunday rate was actually about $90 more expensive and I didnt have a say as to whether I want to accept that sunday stay because I couldnt see the daily breakdown rate AT ALL until the confirmation page!
When I saw the bride the day before the wedding, she told me something that surprised me. She said the website is more expensive because the average rate only applies to ONE ADULT PER ROOM. So the hotel actually charges extra $$ for another guest in the room, to a max of 3 adult per room. I said I saw the additional head count charge in very very fine print but I thought it was for the 3rd adult but she confirmed it was "as of 2nd guest".
I went back to read my confirmation printout and indeed, there is a SG$30 surcharge for the room. So that is why my room is SG$270+++. Although I was fine with the room rate, I think the whole internet booking with interconntinental is messy and website so illogically designed. Isnt it better to display the rate as "Single", "Twin Sharing" "Triple Sharin" under different room types to give a clearer room rate? Also, why have a Average rate displayed without showing the daily actual rate? I find the website deliberately misleading....
Anycase when i appeared in person at check in, the staff mentioned my whole stay including sunday is charged at $270++. I didnt ask why the internet booking stated otherwise but I am not about to question about a cheaper rate. I did ask about hotel discounted guest rate for the wedding and I was told that "my current rates" are actually better. Great. It proves my point that the hotel coordinator was not doing her job indeed. I questioned about possible late check out and they said it was impossible because the week is full of guests for conference.. ok...
Overall check in impression, the staff at check in were very polite and efficient, including the bell boy who brought my luggage up. So far so good....
The rooms in the hotel is spacious enough but I think the interior needed an overhaul. The wall paper are getting pretty old and dull looking. I could also spot dust at corners. The worse was that the bed mattress are so old that I can feel 2 sunken body shape on both sides.... Time to change their mattress.
The beds are not uncomfortable, but I just didnt like being "confine" in a mould that is so significant. I didnt like the shades either. The window are already pretty narrow by hotel standards and yet the stupid designer decide to place 2 pieces of blackout shade that is divided in the middle instead of a one piece blackout shade . Both the layers refuse to interlay over each other desoite my best effort and so we keep having day light shining through the gap every morning. Didnt help when the chambermaid keep pulling the curtains open everyday.
And the weirdest thing, the hair dryer is outside the bathroom and so if someone is sleeping, you will bound to wake up the person since there is no door to act as sound buffer. very strange design if u ask me.
Oh please do NOT eat at Olive Tree restauarant. Service is horrendous, lousy and worse, we saw roaches crawling at the breakfast table where the bread are. My husband even saw a tiny crocroach crawling in and out of the tooaster! Yucks!!!
My gf had a wedding there and she suggested that I could book my stay through her hotel coordinator to get some hotel discounted rate. So I emailed the staff to query about the room and type of room. At the same time, I checked the hotel website.
The "discounted" rate I got was SG$280++ (excluding tax etc) whereas the website was advertising the "AVERAGE" rate as SG$240++ under their luxury weekend package. You will NOT be able to see the individual daily breakdown rate until you book the room on the website. So I queried the staff as to why the discounted rate was actually MORE expensive than the internet (I expected it to be on par), if it was a different room or if its because its breakfast included.
The email reply I received annoyed me. Apart from describing the sort of rooms the hotel has, her parting shot was "You can book the room from internet." to my query on the rates discrepancy. So much for singapore "hotel service" and their so call wedding discount rates for guests.
I didnt want to hassle the bride with the issue so I went ahead to book the room via the internet. After confirmation, the rate stands at SG270++. However, I noticed the sunday rate was actually about $90 more expensive and I didnt have a say as to whether I want to accept that sunday stay because I couldnt see the daily breakdown rate AT ALL until the confirmation page!
When I saw the bride the day before the wedding, she told me something that surprised me. She said the website is more expensive because the average rate only applies to ONE ADULT PER ROOM. So the hotel actually charges extra $$ for another guest in the room, to a max of 3 adult per room. I said I saw the additional head count charge in very very fine print but I thought it was for the 3rd adult but she confirmed it was "as of 2nd guest".
I went back to read my confirmation printout and indeed, there is a SG$30 surcharge for the room. So that is why my room is SG$270+++. Although I was fine with the room rate, I think the whole internet booking with interconntinental is messy and website so illogically designed. Isnt it better to display the rate as "Single", "Twin Sharing" "Triple Sharin" under different room types to give a clearer room rate? Also, why have a Average rate displayed without showing the daily actual rate? I find the website deliberately misleading....
Anycase when i appeared in person at check in, the staff mentioned my whole stay including sunday is charged at $270++. I didnt ask why the internet booking stated otherwise but I am not about to question about a cheaper rate. I did ask about hotel discounted guest rate for the wedding and I was told that "my current rates" are actually better. Great. It proves my point that the hotel coordinator was not doing her job indeed. I questioned about possible late check out and they said it was impossible because the week is full of guests for conference.. ok...
Overall check in impression, the staff at check in were very polite and efficient, including the bell boy who brought my luggage up. So far so good....
The rooms in the hotel is spacious enough but I think the interior needed an overhaul. The wall paper are getting pretty old and dull looking. I could also spot dust at corners. The worse was that the bed mattress are so old that I can feel 2 sunken body shape on both sides.... Time to change their mattress.
The beds are not uncomfortable, but I just didnt like being "confine" in a mould that is so significant. I didnt like the shades either. The window are already pretty narrow by hotel standards and yet the stupid designer decide to place 2 pieces of blackout shade that is divided in the middle instead of a one piece blackout shade . Both the layers refuse to interlay over each other desoite my best effort and so we keep having day light shining through the gap every morning. Didnt help when the chambermaid keep pulling the curtains open everyday.
And the weirdest thing, the hair dryer is outside the bathroom and so if someone is sleeping, you will bound to wake up the person since there is no door to act as sound buffer. very strange design if u ask me.
Oh please do NOT eat at Olive Tree restauarant. Service is horrendous, lousy and worse, we saw roaches crawling at the breakfast table where the bread are. My husband even saw a tiny crocroach crawling in and out of the tooaster! Yucks!!!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Catchin up with friends from secondary days
One thing about heading back to sg every few months, I get to really catch up with old friends that I havent seen for ages, and i mean ages in years....
It has been a while since I promised myself that I would rotate meeting all my different friends on each trip. It's a reminder that I shouldnt restrict myself to a limited group of friends because that would only result in losing and drifting from the rest of the people who may have less influence in my life now but yet, had mattered so much to me in the past.
I have witnessed many female friends who just get attached, married, have kids and so consumed with their current life that they unconsciously totaled their own social circle so completely that suddenly, should one day their marriage or relationship break down. They actually are shocked that they didnt have many friends left. Strangely, that happen less to guys. Well some guys at least...and life is such.
Anycase, this time round i had a chance of meeting someone from each stage of my life from high school to college to uni.
It was good to catch up with my high school girlfriends. Strange how I met them both in high school but under different circumstances and much later in life, both of them got acquainted themselves and became best friends in uni. We didnt even realise the common link till we started working. How strange. However, its always a good thing that 2 of your good friends are also good friends with one another. It's nice to see both of them remaining to slim and in vogue after being mummies. It's a good thing that they didnt let themselves go! I think most sg women though have learnt to continue looking good after giving birth unlike those years of our mummies and grannies. We had dinner at Kuriya at Cityhall and frankly, I do not quite like the offering nor the price here.
I was elated to finally catch my college friend this trip. I havent seen her since her wedding couple of years back and she is as pretty and slim as ever. Why doesnt any of my close friends get out of shape after birth. It is so against my "belief".....
She is strangely one friend of mine which had spent the "shortest" time together being only first 3 months before her mum insisted she should swap to another college. Yet everyday of that 3 months was a bliss. I cannot rem how we maintain our friendship the last 16 years but somehow we did. I always got along with my good friends mum and hers was no exception. I still rem all those nice meals and soup her mum fed me with.
Looking back, I wished she didnt leave and perhaps college life would have been greater fun for me. I was too lazy to travel the distance to swap college and ended up with 2 half arse years, very much hating one year of it. Then again, I would never have found another good friend like E if I did leave. I guess its all about fate.
On a separate occasion, had a chance to have a nice relaxing afternoon lunch and chitchat session at siglap with one of my ex-course mate, the 3rd ex-NY girl this trip... It's a good thing that her office is so near my place and a bonus that she drives! Still amused at how I ended up being better friends with ex-NY girls than ex-IJ girls out of school environment. She said she havent laughed so much in months. Do I really make people laugh so much? Hmmmm... I never think I have a funny bone... must be my theatrical re-narrating of incidents... Anycase, we had a really nice drink at coffee club. Their milkshake is still as good as ever...though i better watch those intake of cream with my big fat arms in the making.... disgusting... got to stop wearing sleeveless...
Finally, while I completely missed my old uni buddy during his trip to HK, it was fortunate we had a chance to catch up in Singapore when he got back!! It's pretty great seeing him after 5 years since our last partnering up in work. We always talk about catching up while he was working in BJ and shanghai the last 4 years but somehow, time and schedule was never on our side. So when he actually did call me to meet up as promised, it was kinda nostalgic seeing him again, not to mention hours of laughters! Somehow those memories of days when I had to drag him to lecture, lending him my lecture notes and forcing him to do his tutorials came flooding back. It definitely was not those love relationship thingie since we were both seeing someone else then. It was those very comfortable silbing sort of friendship where u can be perfectly at ease and be yourself. Its hard to get those sort of non-superficial friendship anymore.
So after his nappy changing and reading story book to son session, he pop over. He joked that life only starts after 9pm once u have kids!
The first thing I said to him "Seeing you reminds me of Taiwan Sausage!!!" and he went "Oi!!!" It really does. Every time if i go to Pasa Malam and see taiwan sausage, it brings a smile.
Back in Uni, we used to head straight to his hostel room after the stupid 9.30am lecture and wait for the next 3.30pm lecture and he would always whip up his stash of pipping hot Taiwan sausage as our "lunch" while I rummage through other goodies and drooling over the smell of food, trying to do our tutorial. I still recall his room is like a pantry in itself with all the tin cans and small portable oven.
He was also the very same poor soul who had to shoulder all the daggers from the girls outside the uni library when they saw me "crying" and trying to wipe my tears, as my poor friend stood helplessly grinning like a silly duck next to me. The other students had thought he had bullied me but truth was, I was laughing so hard over something he said till I teared and breatheless and ended up half squatting against the wall. He never let me forget that incident....said i sabo him...grumbling all the way as we walk our way back to hall...haaa haaaa
That eve, we completely disrupted any sort of attempted posh ambience of the hotel lounge with our constant guffaws... We both acknowledged that we havent change much. He is still as funny as ever and not even aging (disgusting i hate him for that!) and he said I still laugh as loud as ever..and easily tickled by his cracks and christ, he prob is the only one left to remind me of my uni-nickname among the group....basket... must silence him somehow...
Anycase, as with all proud mothers, the conversation also inevitably and eventually steered to his son with this proud father. However, at least his story was hilarious and had me roaring in laughter.
He shared that he had his"revenge" on his son the other night after countless bullying by the little one due to his teething frustrations, which in turn also made my friend exasperated by the little tantrums.
The 3 of the them shared the bed, with their 2 big dogs on the floor at the end of the bed. The little one loves the big dogs and one night for some reason, the toddler woke up in the middle of the night and crawled to the end of the bed to peek at the sleeping doggies. My friend who had his leg curled up and unknowingly sound asleep straightened his leg and like a ball, he kicked and booted his son, sending him flying off the edge of his bed!!
It was so funny when he said he got up in a flash and grab his son "pretending" not knowing what had happened. He told his wife his son must have accidentally fallen! haaa haaaaa. Yet in his head, after assured his son was alright, he laughed that he finally had his revenge on his son!!! The very idea of him chuckling in the dark and grinning away at the "payback" had me in stitches....
It has been a while since I promised myself that I would rotate meeting all my different friends on each trip. It's a reminder that I shouldnt restrict myself to a limited group of friends because that would only result in losing and drifting from the rest of the people who may have less influence in my life now but yet, had mattered so much to me in the past.
I have witnessed many female friends who just get attached, married, have kids and so consumed with their current life that they unconsciously totaled their own social circle so completely that suddenly, should one day their marriage or relationship break down. They actually are shocked that they didnt have many friends left. Strangely, that happen less to guys. Well some guys at least...and life is such.
Anycase, this time round i had a chance of meeting someone from each stage of my life from high school to college to uni.
It was good to catch up with my high school girlfriends. Strange how I met them both in high school but under different circumstances and much later in life, both of them got acquainted themselves and became best friends in uni. We didnt even realise the common link till we started working. How strange. However, its always a good thing that 2 of your good friends are also good friends with one another. It's nice to see both of them remaining to slim and in vogue after being mummies. It's a good thing that they didnt let themselves go! I think most sg women though have learnt to continue looking good after giving birth unlike those years of our mummies and grannies. We had dinner at Kuriya at Cityhall and frankly, I do not quite like the offering nor the price here.
I was elated to finally catch my college friend this trip. I havent seen her since her wedding couple of years back and she is as pretty and slim as ever. Why doesnt any of my close friends get out of shape after birth. It is so against my "belief".....
She is strangely one friend of mine which had spent the "shortest" time together being only first 3 months before her mum insisted she should swap to another college. Yet everyday of that 3 months was a bliss. I cannot rem how we maintain our friendship the last 16 years but somehow we did. I always got along with my good friends mum and hers was no exception. I still rem all those nice meals and soup her mum fed me with.
Looking back, I wished she didnt leave and perhaps college life would have been greater fun for me. I was too lazy to travel the distance to swap college and ended up with 2 half arse years, very much hating one year of it. Then again, I would never have found another good friend like E if I did leave. I guess its all about fate.
On a separate occasion, had a chance to have a nice relaxing afternoon lunch and chitchat session at siglap with one of my ex-course mate, the 3rd ex-NY girl this trip... It's a good thing that her office is so near my place and a bonus that she drives! Still amused at how I ended up being better friends with ex-NY girls than ex-IJ girls out of school environment. She said she havent laughed so much in months. Do I really make people laugh so much? Hmmmm... I never think I have a funny bone... must be my theatrical re-narrating of incidents... Anycase, we had a really nice drink at coffee club. Their milkshake is still as good as ever...though i better watch those intake of cream with my big fat arms in the making.... disgusting... got to stop wearing sleeveless...
Finally, while I completely missed my old uni buddy during his trip to HK, it was fortunate we had a chance to catch up in Singapore when he got back!! It's pretty great seeing him after 5 years since our last partnering up in work. We always talk about catching up while he was working in BJ and shanghai the last 4 years but somehow, time and schedule was never on our side. So when he actually did call me to meet up as promised, it was kinda nostalgic seeing him again, not to mention hours of laughters! Somehow those memories of days when I had to drag him to lecture, lending him my lecture notes and forcing him to do his tutorials came flooding back. It definitely was not those love relationship thingie since we were both seeing someone else then. It was those very comfortable silbing sort of friendship where u can be perfectly at ease and be yourself. Its hard to get those sort of non-superficial friendship anymore.
So after his nappy changing and reading story book to son session, he pop over. He joked that life only starts after 9pm once u have kids!
The first thing I said to him "Seeing you reminds me of Taiwan Sausage!!!" and he went "Oi!!!" It really does. Every time if i go to Pasa Malam and see taiwan sausage, it brings a smile.
Back in Uni, we used to head straight to his hostel room after the stupid 9.30am lecture and wait for the next 3.30pm lecture and he would always whip up his stash of pipping hot Taiwan sausage as our "lunch" while I rummage through other goodies and drooling over the smell of food, trying to do our tutorial. I still recall his room is like a pantry in itself with all the tin cans and small portable oven.
He was also the very same poor soul who had to shoulder all the daggers from the girls outside the uni library when they saw me "crying" and trying to wipe my tears, as my poor friend stood helplessly grinning like a silly duck next to me. The other students had thought he had bullied me but truth was, I was laughing so hard over something he said till I teared and breatheless and ended up half squatting against the wall. He never let me forget that incident....said i sabo him...grumbling all the way as we walk our way back to hall...haaa haaaa
That eve, we completely disrupted any sort of attempted posh ambience of the hotel lounge with our constant guffaws... We both acknowledged that we havent change much. He is still as funny as ever and not even aging (disgusting i hate him for that!) and he said I still laugh as loud as ever..and easily tickled by his cracks and christ, he prob is the only one left to remind me of my uni-nickname among the group....basket... must silence him somehow...
Anycase, as with all proud mothers, the conversation also inevitably and eventually steered to his son with this proud father. However, at least his story was hilarious and had me roaring in laughter.
He shared that he had his"revenge" on his son the other night after countless bullying by the little one due to his teething frustrations, which in turn also made my friend exasperated by the little tantrums.
The 3 of the them shared the bed, with their 2 big dogs on the floor at the end of the bed. The little one loves the big dogs and one night for some reason, the toddler woke up in the middle of the night and crawled to the end of the bed to peek at the sleeping doggies. My friend who had his leg curled up and unknowingly sound asleep straightened his leg and like a ball, he kicked and booted his son, sending him flying off the edge of his bed!!
It was so funny when he said he got up in a flash and grab his son "pretending" not knowing what had happened. He told his wife his son must have accidentally fallen! haaa haaaaa. Yet in his head, after assured his son was alright, he laughed that he finally had his revenge on his son!!! The very idea of him chuckling in the dark and grinning away at the "payback" had me in stitches....
Music: Club 8 - The boy who couldnt stop dreaming
Was walking around causeway bay for lunch and I chanced upon this store on the 2nd level opposite Lee Garden. It's called "Homeless" and its one of those speciality stores that sells uncommon or uniquely designed homeware like clocks, lamps, home accessories etc.
The store isnt big but they carried quite a few interesting pieces. Its funny how it takes me 3 rounds walking in the store to cover every piece they have. A medium size table clock caught my eye and so I bought it for HK$298 for the master room. I know I shouldnt splurge but I like those old bell ringing clock. Its a reminder of good old days.
As I was poking around the store, I kinda drifted into a dreamy state by the song they were playing. I have this habit of buying music cds not in a cd store, but rather when I am strolling and music. So some tune catches my ear, I would step into the store to ask for the cd, or look at the cover if i couldnt lay my hands on it there and then. It's more fun buying music cd this way, because there is an attached memory to it, plus it provides a wider exposure to songs u may never pick out as they are sandwiched and stacked in rows in a store.
So today, I chanced by this group "Club 8" with their album "The boy who couldnt stop dreaming" (2007).
Club 8 was formed in 1995 by Karolina Komstedt (from the band Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Poprace). »The boy who couldn’t stop dreaming« released in 2007 is Club 8s most profound to date, twelve songs balancing perfectly between sunshine and melancholia..
In general, the tracks put u in a pretty relaxed dreamy state. I couldnt place a finger if its kinda bossa nova or indie or loungy...I just like the vibes and good feelings welling in me with some of the tracks and so i got it. The female lead singer kinda reminds of the singer from "Late night Alumni" but in a different style.
So if you are in a mood of relaxing ambience, you should most certaintly check this album out. Here's a sample of my favs.
Download Track 1
Download track 5
Download track 11
The store isnt big but they carried quite a few interesting pieces. Its funny how it takes me 3 rounds walking in the store to cover every piece they have. A medium size table clock caught my eye and so I bought it for HK$298 for the master room. I know I shouldnt splurge but I like those old bell ringing clock. Its a reminder of good old days.
As I was poking around the store, I kinda drifted into a dreamy state by the song they were playing. I have this habit of buying music cds not in a cd store, but rather when I am strolling and music. So some tune catches my ear, I would step into the store to ask for the cd, or look at the cover if i couldnt lay my hands on it there and then. It's more fun buying music cd this way, because there is an attached memory to it, plus it provides a wider exposure to songs u may never pick out as they are sandwiched and stacked in rows in a store.
So today, I chanced by this group "Club 8" with their album "The boy who couldnt stop dreaming" (2007). Club 8 was formed in 1995 by Karolina Komstedt (from the band Poprace) and Johan Angergård (Acid House Kings, Poprace). »The boy who couldn’t stop dreaming« released in 2007 is Club 8s most profound to date, twelve songs balancing perfectly between sunshine and melancholia..
In general, the tracks put u in a pretty relaxed dreamy state. I couldnt place a finger if its kinda bossa nova or indie or loungy...I just like the vibes and good feelings welling in me with some of the tracks and so i got it. The female lead singer kinda reminds of the singer from "Late night Alumni" but in a different style.
So if you are in a mood of relaxing ambience, you should most certaintly check this album out. Here's a sample of my favs.
Download Track 1
Download track 5
Download track 11
Music: "That's Not my Name"
For some reason, this particular track "That's Not my Name" grabs me by the neck when I first saw it on Cable TV. It's the 2nd single by the UK duo Ting Tings.
The catchy tune kept playing itself in my head. And everytime I asked my husband to do something, he would cheekily grin and belt out the "That's not my name" chorus just to bait me....
Dwnload Track: That's not my Name
The catchy tune kept playing itself in my head. And everytime I asked my husband to do something, he would cheekily grin and belt out the "That's not my name" chorus just to bait me....
Dwnload Track: That's not my Name
Friday, October 24, 2008
Restaurant Reviews: Graze@ Rochestor and Flutes@ the Fort (Singapore)
Ok I promised to write about the restaurant I booked and here it comes.
Originally I had wanted to try out GRAZE @ ROCHESTOR PARK for birthday dinner on monday. However when I checked their website, I realised they are actually closed on Monday. Reading so much about their brunch, I decided to reserve a table for sunday 12.30pm instead. I emailed them and the response was lukewarm. When I request if I could have a quieter table possibly away from kids and large crowds, the response was a very clinical SOP, yet mildy unsatisfactory reply that "Sunday is our busiest day". So it was somewhat projecting a "we are very busy, take it or leave it attitude." Given the benefit of doubt, I persisted in trying the talk about brunch.
Brunch at Graze was so so. We had the Seafood platter BBQ and it was alittle steep for what we had. The chips were good but I didnt think it deserved the price tag. Service was ok, somewhat flustered bunch. Many ran around, dashing to try to get orders and serve food but it just give a very messy disorganised feeling. I didnt exactly feel the warmth of service either, till the very end when it was dessert time where the staff actually smiled a rare smile. The whole crowd incidentally were 98% ang mohs expat. I didnt see any locals. The 1 % chinese are tourists as well.
Then for birthday dinner. As mentioned in earlier post, I hunted around for a good fine dining restaurant and stumbled upon a review on "Flutes at the Fort". 2 weeks before the actual date, I wrote to them asking about table availability and a very nice and sweet lady Ruth responded.
Ruth left a deep impression on me, as to what good service is about. As mentioned before, alot of restaurants are very passive and non proactive about service. Ruth was completely different. As she went on to confirm booking, she actually pick up the word "birthday" dinner and imitated if I would like a birthday dessert surprise. What was even more pleasant was that she actually took the initiative to send me a picture of the birthday desserts she had on her birthday, to give me an idea of how the decorative would look like! I was awe by her kind gesture! She assured me all will be communicated to the serving staff and I need not give further instructions.
I was sold and dead determined to go to the restaurant as she had already set a very good impression on the service.
And afraid that I would be lost, she even took the time to email me the pdf with address, roadmap and clear instructions to get to the restaurant (which the cab driver ruined everything).
I called the restaurant Flutes on the very night and moment when i ditched the robber cab driver. I explained I had a reservation and was near the vicinity but unsure of how to get to the location. The staff first asked for my name and when she recognised it! She immediately introduced herself as Ruth! She was such an angel. She got me to describe my surroundings and explained the long route I had to take and flight of stairs I had to climb up. She apologised for the cab rip off (even though it doesnt concern her) sensing how indignant I was. She even told me she would hold on to the line to make sure I was where she thought I was, and guide me safely to the restaurant. She did that for good 10mins and finally I arrived!!!! She was all smiles and laughs and profusing sympathy of my plight over the phone and she certainly saved my night from being ruined!
During the course of dinner, everything went as planned and discussed. She had allocated a quiet air-con spot for us. The staff who served us was also extremely attentive and polite and well trained. His smiles put us at ease and while he was around to check on diners, he was non intrusive. The whole venue was jammed pack that night due to some conference group diners i think but not once did I ever felt left out or unattended!
When dessert came, everything came perfectly! Our desserts came on a lovely decorated plate, with the name, candles and everything in place. I truly didnt have to fret a thing! Dinner while wasnt first class food experience, it was decent, well cooked and well timed. The only feedback we had was the Alaskan crab leg starter which was too small a serving!!!
When I returned to HK, what surprised me even more was that staff at Flutes actually sms and left voice message with my HK number to confirm booking etc. (My HK number didnt have roaming so i left it at home). I have left overseas mobile with my restaurants in many cities and rarely anyone calls to confirm booking, least of all sms me! So I am glad to say I still havent regretted the big tip I left behind for such exemplary service!
Thank you to all at Flutes @ the Fort. The staff I had were wonderful and they deserved to be popular and one of the most subscribed restaurant in Singapore at the moment!
Singapore cab fares are pirate fare
Anycase, my husband birthday dinner surprise was a surprise in itself. The cab driver ripped us off and didnt even deliver us close to the venue despite my best efforts in giving him the address and a printed PICTURE map with road names and building names. The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth. How big can singapore be that the driver doesnt even know where he is going. Plus the restuarant was at fort canning, he is telling me he didnt even know how to get there?! Then go be a bloody bus driver instead please!
Worse of all, from intercon-hotel to the venue should be a 5-10mins drive but obviously the very lousy cab driver dropped us off a completely wrong venue. In addition i have to pay a fucking $10 for a wrong ride! $4.5 for meter, $3 for city pick up, $2.5 for 35% peak hour surcharge, erp and dunno what other shit charges. So in total, SINGAPORE CAB DRIVER ROB ME OF $10 and not even reaching the destination.
When i told the driver that he was on the wrong route, he actually did a Dangerous REVERSING ON THE MAIN ROAD IN CITY!!! There were cars behind him and had to swerve to the next lane! What an idiot!!! I had to yell at him to STOP doing what he was doing!!! I was so pissed and felt so endangered that I demanded to be let off the cab by the side even though it was not the destination. I RATHER WALK in my heels than risk dying with that errant cab driver!!!
Maybe I am too nice, I still threw the $10 for my fare before stomping off. At that moment, I really was evil enough that I actually wish he would crash his cab and lose his revenue for the next whole week while his cab is in service. Seriously, if he doesnt know where he is going, then dont tell me he know and didnt bother to check the street directory. Then again, he probably doesnt know how to read map since the one i printed and showed him didnt get me to the right place either.
I was fuming when he even dare to ask for fuel surcharge. Then he saw my face and let it go.
SINGAPORE CAB Companies are like robbers. When the petrol barrel price went up, they said they needed a "FLEXIBLE" fuel surcharge to offset the cost. Now the petrol prices has come down for SOME TIME now, yet the taxi companies still has yet to remove the fuel surcharge. Come on! Even airlines like SQ has LONG reduced the fuel tax! SO what makes singapore taxi so special that their fuel surcharge should continue?!
And peak surcharge, what a joke. In this recession climate, what peak hour? Everyone is tightening their belt now. I think taxi companies are just a greedy P&L bunch abusing the monopoly they have over us. And now they want to install cab camera to protect drivers? So what should I pay for my own safety camera surcharge too?? Yeah Pirates. Enjoy your own Comfort. I am sticking to my train and bus. When we left the restaurant, we persisted to walk to cityhall and take the train instead. We will not be taking anymore cabs for that night!
Worse of all, from intercon-hotel to the venue should be a 5-10mins drive but obviously the very lousy cab driver dropped us off a completely wrong venue. In addition i have to pay a fucking $10 for a wrong ride! $4.5 for meter, $3 for city pick up, $2.5 for 35% peak hour surcharge, erp and dunno what other shit charges. So in total, SINGAPORE CAB DRIVER ROB ME OF $10 and not even reaching the destination.
When i told the driver that he was on the wrong route, he actually did a Dangerous REVERSING ON THE MAIN ROAD IN CITY!!! There were cars behind him and had to swerve to the next lane! What an idiot!!! I had to yell at him to STOP doing what he was doing!!! I was so pissed and felt so endangered that I demanded to be let off the cab by the side even though it was not the destination. I RATHER WALK in my heels than risk dying with that errant cab driver!!!
Maybe I am too nice, I still threw the $10 for my fare before stomping off. At that moment, I really was evil enough that I actually wish he would crash his cab and lose his revenue for the next whole week while his cab is in service. Seriously, if he doesnt know where he is going, then dont tell me he know and didnt bother to check the street directory. Then again, he probably doesnt know how to read map since the one i printed and showed him didnt get me to the right place either.
I was fuming when he even dare to ask for fuel surcharge. Then he saw my face and let it go.
SINGAPORE CAB Companies are like robbers. When the petrol barrel price went up, they said they needed a "FLEXIBLE" fuel surcharge to offset the cost. Now the petrol prices has come down for SOME TIME now, yet the taxi companies still has yet to remove the fuel surcharge. Come on! Even airlines like SQ has LONG reduced the fuel tax! SO what makes singapore taxi so special that their fuel surcharge should continue?!
And peak surcharge, what a joke. In this recession climate, what peak hour? Everyone is tightening their belt now. I think taxi companies are just a greedy P&L bunch abusing the monopoly they have over us. And now they want to install cab camera to protect drivers? So what should I pay for my own safety camera surcharge too?? Yeah Pirates. Enjoy your own Comfort. I am sticking to my train and bus. When we left the restaurant, we persisted to walk to cityhall and take the train instead. We will not be taking anymore cabs for that night!
Something good, something bad to remember
Went back to sg to attend a girlfriend's wedding and ended up celebrating another ex-colleagues ROM as well. Everything is just so coincidental and predestined. In anycase, both joyous occasion went well.
Was given the honor to give a short speech in my gf's wedding and the fact that she is so spectacularly wonderful and almost perfect, the groom's friend Ian and I decided to collaborate and "sabo" the groom instead. We met about an hour before the wedding and had a ball poking fun at the groom and dishing out "dirt". The groom was a good spot though he "pout" and complained I made him look like a "lecherous" bf/husband now amongst his friends... I laughed and told him to direct his complaint to Ian since it was his friend who instigated and gave the green light to go ahead with the content.
Anycase, it was a good night to catch up with some old friends which I didnt have time to meet individually. Then again such is life when children starts coming into the picture. Your time is no longer yours alone, at least not for the first 5 years I suppose. It's understandable.
So its a rare treat to be able to see everyone in the dinner, though as usual, one particular person - Mr No-Personality remained persistently annoying with his insensitive and blunt manner. Considering that I have to give face to my gf everytime, I have learnt to bite my tongue and refrain from insulting him. He is so crude that it sickens at the thought of having to bear with him. I'm not sure if he has a bone to pick with me because he thinks he is better than me or what, or he is just so blatantly stupid about his mannerism. It was evident that I deliberately ignored his rude comment but did he think I was deaf to repeat it a few times?
Firstly I didnt expect him to be there since he was suppose to be on a business trip the next day. Lousy excuse as far as some of us are concern but really, it suited us better since he wasnt exactly Mr Popular.
We gathered at the sofa seat to chat but worried about my husband oversleeping due to jetlag from his biz trip, I told the girls that I would head up to wake my husband up after the solemnisation but the room key got demagnetised when my mobile rang, so I had to go all the way down to lobby to reactivate my room card.
As I step out of the lift, I saw Mr No-Personality. Out of usual politeness and courtesy, I said hi to him and said his wife and everyone else is on 2nd floor. He couldnt even muster a polite thank you and went into the lift. SO be it. I went to get my room card activated and went up to get my husband ready for the wedding dinner while I said I would join my friends for a little more catch up. I grab a paper with the speech draft which Ian and I had gone thru earlier.
When I returned to the group, Mr No Personality was there and the first thing he had to do was to insult me. He didnt know shit and just assumed alot of things. His big trap insulted me in front of everyone. Basically his gist was it wasnt my wedding so why was i so busy "running" around, which i wasnt in the first place. The bird brain couldnt comprehend why I was down at the lobby because cheapo like him doesnt get it that I was staying in the hotel. And just because he saw me stepping out of the lobby lift and holding on to my speech draft, and that is considered as KPO? Hello asshole, be glad I didnt call you cheap skate for not attending the wedding because you didnt want to give an extra ang pao money. Yeah this is the same guy who didnt have the decency to wish me Happy Chinese New year during gathering, but to demand for a red packet for his daughter as his first "greeting".
I held my breath and walked past him, just smiling at my ex-boss striking up conversation. Mr No-personality just have to ask another time saying alot of stupid things. If I am not imagining it, there was like 30secs silence. I'm not sure what the others think but at that instant, I didnt think it would be a pretty sight for me to insult him back in front of his wife and daughter. Anycase, I choose to ignore him and chatting with people around me. I am determined not to let pathetic loser like him ruined my happy night for me at my good friend's wedding or for the bride to find out about some inane squabble. I was so engrossed chatting that I didnt even realised his wife dragged him away to buy some bread for his daughter. I think his wife my friend isnt that stupid to know he has offended me.
It's not easy when the annoying person is your friend's spouse. He still hasnt realise that all these times I am giving my fren's face and not retaliating because I treasure our friendship. However, honestly, I think it has come to a situation where the straw has broke the camel's back. I think I would rather lose a friend than be continuously insulted - simply because I think the saddest thing is that my friend didnt even bother to apologise to me after he left. If she didnt think what her husband said was insulting, she has to pretty dense. It makes me ponder how much she value me as a friend. I am beginning to think I am just someone part of her life because we happened to work together for several years and now we have gone separate ways, our life with unravels on 2 separate paths.
I told my husband about the incident after the whole dinner. He was quite annoyed with Mr No Personality as well and consoled me that some people simply have no tact. He didnt appreciate the fact that someone insulted his wife for no reason either. We left the incident behind and went about to enjoy the remaining of the sg trip especially when it was his birthday the immediate day.
Despite letting the incident lapse, however, I still need to jot this down since it did happen. I didnt have to write word for word what he said because it is no longer important, but I am no punching bag to keep dropping it every time.
I really do not want to spend anymore time brooding about it. In life, some friends in life are to stay, some aint. simple facts. I'm just glad that at least I have pictures of good memories without Mr No-Personality to ruin the shot...
Was given the honor to give a short speech in my gf's wedding and the fact that she is so spectacularly wonderful and almost perfect, the groom's friend Ian and I decided to collaborate and "sabo" the groom instead. We met about an hour before the wedding and had a ball poking fun at the groom and dishing out "dirt". The groom was a good spot though he "pout" and complained I made him look like a "lecherous" bf/husband now amongst his friends... I laughed and told him to direct his complaint to Ian since it was his friend who instigated and gave the green light to go ahead with the content.
Anycase, it was a good night to catch up with some old friends which I didnt have time to meet individually. Then again such is life when children starts coming into the picture. Your time is no longer yours alone, at least not for the first 5 years I suppose. It's understandable.
So its a rare treat to be able to see everyone in the dinner, though as usual, one particular person - Mr No-Personality remained persistently annoying with his insensitive and blunt manner. Considering that I have to give face to my gf everytime, I have learnt to bite my tongue and refrain from insulting him. He is so crude that it sickens at the thought of having to bear with him. I'm not sure if he has a bone to pick with me because he thinks he is better than me or what, or he is just so blatantly stupid about his mannerism. It was evident that I deliberately ignored his rude comment but did he think I was deaf to repeat it a few times?
Firstly I didnt expect him to be there since he was suppose to be on a business trip the next day. Lousy excuse as far as some of us are concern but really, it suited us better since he wasnt exactly Mr Popular.
We gathered at the sofa seat to chat but worried about my husband oversleeping due to jetlag from his biz trip, I told the girls that I would head up to wake my husband up after the solemnisation but the room key got demagnetised when my mobile rang, so I had to go all the way down to lobby to reactivate my room card.
As I step out of the lift, I saw Mr No-Personality. Out of usual politeness and courtesy, I said hi to him and said his wife and everyone else is on 2nd floor. He couldnt even muster a polite thank you and went into the lift. SO be it. I went to get my room card activated and went up to get my husband ready for the wedding dinner while I said I would join my friends for a little more catch up. I grab a paper with the speech draft which Ian and I had gone thru earlier.
When I returned to the group, Mr No Personality was there and the first thing he had to do was to insult me. He didnt know shit and just assumed alot of things. His big trap insulted me in front of everyone. Basically his gist was it wasnt my wedding so why was i so busy "running" around, which i wasnt in the first place. The bird brain couldnt comprehend why I was down at the lobby because cheapo like him doesnt get it that I was staying in the hotel. And just because he saw me stepping out of the lobby lift and holding on to my speech draft, and that is considered as KPO? Hello asshole, be glad I didnt call you cheap skate for not attending the wedding because you didnt want to give an extra ang pao money. Yeah this is the same guy who didnt have the decency to wish me Happy Chinese New year during gathering, but to demand for a red packet for his daughter as his first "greeting".
I held my breath and walked past him, just smiling at my ex-boss striking up conversation. Mr No-personality just have to ask another time saying alot of stupid things. If I am not imagining it, there was like 30secs silence. I'm not sure what the others think but at that instant, I didnt think it would be a pretty sight for me to insult him back in front of his wife and daughter. Anycase, I choose to ignore him and chatting with people around me. I am determined not to let pathetic loser like him ruined my happy night for me at my good friend's wedding or for the bride to find out about some inane squabble. I was so engrossed chatting that I didnt even realised his wife dragged him away to buy some bread for his daughter. I think his wife my friend isnt that stupid to know he has offended me.
It's not easy when the annoying person is your friend's spouse. He still hasnt realise that all these times I am giving my fren's face and not retaliating because I treasure our friendship. However, honestly, I think it has come to a situation where the straw has broke the camel's back. I think I would rather lose a friend than be continuously insulted - simply because I think the saddest thing is that my friend didnt even bother to apologise to me after he left. If she didnt think what her husband said was insulting, she has to pretty dense. It makes me ponder how much she value me as a friend. I am beginning to think I am just someone part of her life because we happened to work together for several years and now we have gone separate ways, our life with unravels on 2 separate paths.
I told my husband about the incident after the whole dinner. He was quite annoyed with Mr No Personality as well and consoled me that some people simply have no tact. He didnt appreciate the fact that someone insulted his wife for no reason either. We left the incident behind and went about to enjoy the remaining of the sg trip especially when it was his birthday the immediate day.
Despite letting the incident lapse, however, I still need to jot this down since it did happen. I didnt have to write word for word what he said because it is no longer important, but I am no punching bag to keep dropping it every time.
I really do not want to spend anymore time brooding about it. In life, some friends in life are to stay, some aint. simple facts. I'm just glad that at least I have pictures of good memories without Mr No-Personality to ruin the shot...
Thursday, October 23, 2008
rambling upon return
Finally am back in town...How i miss my own bed...
So much to write, so little time and energy, so much other things to do. crap.
HK is still so hot. Strange considering it had cooled down quite a bit before i left.
I thought Fall's temperature should set in by now but I guess it's still "early" with all the climate change.
Saw a few new comments on my old post on standard chartered bad customer service.
Have to find time to add followup story and further comments to it. I couldnt agree more with the new input. I think the topic deserve another post on its on...
Coming back from Singapore gave me an added "thoughts". I didnt miss it as much as I thought I would. And strangely, I forgot how much earlier Singapore restaurants closed compared to HK. I promised to update about the restaurants I visited and there is indeed much to say... later
I went back to a stack of old mails. Out of each, an interesting govt letter.
It was an invitation for me to register my name back into th electoral roll. My name had been taken out previously because I was working overseas and so I didnt bother to head back to vote. It isnt my fault. I checked with the consular and they said I couldnt vote because my overseas address wasnt registered with them yet. Well too bad..... Now that I have forgotten all about my "sacred" voting rights, I receive a letter to get me to reregister. I was amused really.
oh alright. I guess I should.
Afterall according to the paper's statistics, there are only about 60-65% sg citizens that are BORN and BRED in singapore. They will need every vote they get, including the very people like us where our parents were fined and penalised for not heeding the govt's campaign to stop birth at two. Imagine, that percentage could possibly be down to 40% if our parents had actually believed every govt campaign that was drummed out in the 70's.
Hey, since everyone is in such a giving mood and that they are paying back some money to some ignorant investors for the failed bonds, how about paying back the UNFAIR PENALTY to our parents for going ahead with the 3rd and 4th child??? I think for the fact that we are contributing to the taxes, paying back the penalty makes more sense than for bad judgement in investment....
I am rambling.... I better stop here for now.
So much to write, so little time and energy, so much other things to do. crap.
HK is still so hot. Strange considering it had cooled down quite a bit before i left.
I thought Fall's temperature should set in by now but I guess it's still "early" with all the climate change.
Saw a few new comments on my old post on standard chartered bad customer service.
Have to find time to add followup story and further comments to it. I couldnt agree more with the new input. I think the topic deserve another post on its on...
Coming back from Singapore gave me an added "thoughts". I didnt miss it as much as I thought I would. And strangely, I forgot how much earlier Singapore restaurants closed compared to HK. I promised to update about the restaurants I visited and there is indeed much to say... later
I went back to a stack of old mails. Out of each, an interesting govt letter.
It was an invitation for me to register my name back into th electoral roll. My name had been taken out previously because I was working overseas and so I didnt bother to head back to vote. It isnt my fault. I checked with the consular and they said I couldnt vote because my overseas address wasnt registered with them yet. Well too bad..... Now that I have forgotten all about my "sacred" voting rights, I receive a letter to get me to reregister. I was amused really.
oh alright. I guess I should.
Afterall according to the paper's statistics, there are only about 60-65% sg citizens that are BORN and BRED in singapore. They will need every vote they get, including the very people like us where our parents were fined and penalised for not heeding the govt's campaign to stop birth at two. Imagine, that percentage could possibly be down to 40% if our parents had actually believed every govt campaign that was drummed out in the 70's.
Hey, since everyone is in such a giving mood and that they are paying back some money to some ignorant investors for the failed bonds, how about paying back the UNFAIR PENALTY to our parents for going ahead with the 3rd and 4th child??? I think for the fact that we are contributing to the taxes, paying back the penalty makes more sense than for bad judgement in investment....
I am rambling.... I better stop here for now.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Happening night life, what night life?
Did I just read MOS in Singapore has closed? How sad. It's something about Singapore that social night life just doesnt cut it.
The people who have time are students who really shouldnt be boozing and dancing so much. The people who have money are professionals who either didnt have time, too tired or too goody two shoes to stay out late. Oh, not to mention the sg men get lazier and fatter with age and all they want is their good old late night Tehtarik or Kopi, or too busy helping to change diapers and feeding milk bottles.
A non SG friend recently asked me where is "happening" in Singapore. I paused - blank for the longest time. I blinked. I had a few thoughtful gulps of water. I racked my brain the hardest. Ransacked my memory bank. Thumbed through all the possible estates and venues. Came up with an answer "I have no idea. Been away too long."
Truth is, it has nothing to do with how long I have been away. And i was too embarrased to tell her there is NONE. No happening place. Food places aplenty. To have wild fun, errrr.... wrong city dude. There just isnt anything that can sustain the unusual non party city lifestyle of Singaporean.
Have u ever witness those rare crazy wild moments at Dragon-i in HK - where models looking babes in heels letting their hair loose on the sofa and throngs of men and women just walk in and out dancing as if they are on air. How many years and LKF is still standing there. Hold the dissection on the nationality and demographics first, fact is, HK will always beat us hands down in the social vibrant night clubbing life. Singapore cannot even come close even if we try.
Not convinced? Well, I guess you havent even read the papers on the Singapore F1 night race celebration party flop yet.
The people who have time are students who really shouldnt be boozing and dancing so much. The people who have money are professionals who either didnt have time, too tired or too goody two shoes to stay out late. Oh, not to mention the sg men get lazier and fatter with age and all they want is their good old late night Tehtarik or Kopi, or too busy helping to change diapers and feeding milk bottles.
A non SG friend recently asked me where is "happening" in Singapore. I paused - blank for the longest time. I blinked. I had a few thoughtful gulps of water. I racked my brain the hardest. Ransacked my memory bank. Thumbed through all the possible estates and venues. Came up with an answer "I have no idea. Been away too long."
Truth is, it has nothing to do with how long I have been away. And i was too embarrased to tell her there is NONE. No happening place. Food places aplenty. To have wild fun, errrr.... wrong city dude. There just isnt anything that can sustain the unusual non party city lifestyle of Singaporean.
Have u ever witness those rare crazy wild moments at Dragon-i in HK - where models looking babes in heels letting their hair loose on the sofa and throngs of men and women just walk in and out dancing as if they are on air. How many years and LKF is still standing there. Hold the dissection on the nationality and demographics first, fact is, HK will always beat us hands down in the social vibrant night clubbing life. Singapore cannot even come close even if we try.
Not convinced? Well, I guess you havent even read the papers on the Singapore F1 night race celebration party flop yet.
Its so hard to find..
It's actually pretty embarrassing (in my opinion) to say that its so darn difficult to find a decent fine dining restaurant in Singapore. Yeah yeah, I know we have tons of fantastic hawker centre and coffee shops to hawk yummy delicious food. However sometimes in life, we do need a little sweet quiet ambience for a simple night out.
While it has always been relatively easy to find and book a good fancy restaurant in any cosmopolitan city may it be NY, London, Hong Kong and Sydney, it is rather near impossible to locate one in Singapore in my best effort after scourging through the internet last few days. Am trying to locate a nice restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday while we are back in town and never expect this to become a painful chore.
Forget the Les Ami group. Tried everything they had and not only has food quality gone from ok to not so great, they couldnt even really upkeep the standard of a decently dressed clientele.
I had tried Rochester one previously and disappointedly, its more like a causal place than a nice dining place. Granted place was done up nicely, but really, being squashed nearly elbow to elbow with the next table is not my idea of romantic. Not to mention surrounded by tables of locals in sandals and berms before me absolutely ruin the atmosphere.
Then by chance I located this place. I decided to give it a try. I honestly cannot remember if I had been there before. Vague memory seemed to indicate I had been there due to the black and white structure but we will see. At least I must credit the "booking" service. The girl who received my email booking has been nothing but an absolute delight. She was all cheery and assuring, and full of zest and I could almost see her smile. Talk about RARITY of service with a smile and taking the extra mile in Singapore industry. In fact, out of 3 places I booked, the other two couldnt care or give a shit if I had said it was birthday or whatsoever. To them, I am simply another table to be served, another ticket order to pass through the busy day. They are not rude, they just couldnt care less because it seemed "business is toooooo good". And one the offenders is Graze @Rochester who is supposedly to be famed for "good service"... We shall see...
Rather than talking about them now, I shall reserve my judgement until I have finally sample the food and experienced the actual service on the designated day with all the reserved dining spots. (Restaurant Reviews followup)
Still, I really have to shake my head in utter sadness that Singapore is THAT PATHETIC when it comes to providing a nice eve out for meals. I guess our pool of locals are overly practical that they really do not know how to live life, than just living. Or maybe its just me being demanding...
While it has always been relatively easy to find and book a good fancy restaurant in any cosmopolitan city may it be NY, London, Hong Kong and Sydney, it is rather near impossible to locate one in Singapore in my best effort after scourging through the internet last few days. Am trying to locate a nice restaurant to celebrate my husband's birthday while we are back in town and never expect this to become a painful chore.
Forget the Les Ami group. Tried everything they had and not only has food quality gone from ok to not so great, they couldnt even really upkeep the standard of a decently dressed clientele.
I had tried Rochester one previously and disappointedly, its more like a causal place than a nice dining place. Granted place was done up nicely, but really, being squashed nearly elbow to elbow with the next table is not my idea of romantic. Not to mention surrounded by tables of locals in sandals and berms before me absolutely ruin the atmosphere.
Then by chance I located this place. I decided to give it a try. I honestly cannot remember if I had been there before. Vague memory seemed to indicate I had been there due to the black and white structure but we will see. At least I must credit the "booking" service. The girl who received my email booking has been nothing but an absolute delight. She was all cheery and assuring, and full of zest and I could almost see her smile. Talk about RARITY of service with a smile and taking the extra mile in Singapore industry. In fact, out of 3 places I booked, the other two couldnt care or give a shit if I had said it was birthday or whatsoever. To them, I am simply another table to be served, another ticket order to pass through the busy day. They are not rude, they just couldnt care less because it seemed "business is toooooo good". And one the offenders is Graze @Rochester who is supposedly to be famed for "good service"... We shall see...
Rather than talking about them now, I shall reserve my judgement until I have finally sample the food and experienced the actual service on the designated day with all the reserved dining spots. (Restaurant Reviews followup)
Still, I really have to shake my head in utter sadness that Singapore is THAT PATHETIC when it comes to providing a nice eve out for meals. I guess our pool of locals are overly practical that they really do not know how to live life, than just living. Or maybe its just me being demanding...
Friday, October 3, 2008
A walking dirtbag
A little more excitement today.
I headed to the Wellcome Mega store in causewaybay today to grab some stuff so that I can utilise the shopping voucher.
As I went in, it may sound incredulous but I really had this intuition that someone was following me. I scanned my surrounding. I made eye contact with this guy in red trip polo shirt plus in jeans, and was hugging his black prada bag. He turned away and walk off when i looked at him so I didnt think much of it.
However what got me suspicious when i seem to "see" him at every corner. Like at the beansprout area, the prawns area, the condiments area and finally at detergent area. COme on, spotting teh same person 4 times in a relatively spacious suerpmarket is too coincidental.
Plus he always hurried away or pretend to browse when he realised that I had notice him. So my system went into red alert and wary of this "ratty face" sh*T. The first thing in my head was a stalker. Definitely not those admiring sort since for one i am no beauty and secondly, I was wearing my crappy t-shirt bermuda combi.
As I turn to grab my magic clean duster, I saw the guy went to the row behind mine. I quickly made a dash to the cashier and as I turn around, there he was again! That guy in red. He had rushed to Q behind me. This is nothing coincidental and I know my gut instinct is on cue. I turned and he kept a distance like he was almost in but not really in the Q. What makes me more cautious was that he was so stupid not to even have anything in his hand to pay for anything.
So instead of ignoring him, i stood facing him instead and stared straight in his face. He seemed to be a little nervous and kept figeting and looking everywhere but me. As he saw me reach my hand into my bag and whip out my phone as i stared fiercely at him. I was going to use my camera phone at him and then make a call. The red dirt bag must have sense something and decide to make a run for it. Not sure if he was trying to pickpocket me or stalk me or what. However he picked the wrong woman to mess with.
I scanned around for security guard and NONE was available. oh well.he sure disappear fast.
He is lucky I do not have an umbrella or I would have poke him to death. I stood around the entrance for a few minutes and scan the area to make sure the red monster was not following me anymore. I think he knew his cover is blown so he prob would not attempt in following me again.
Ladies, always be very careful and sensitive to your surroundings. This world is full of creepy shit jerks that are up to no good. And this guy is either an amateur at pickpocketing i think. Why he would wear a screaming red engine bright red shirt when committing a crime says alot of his IQ. I would have gone for something low profile like whiteshirt. Well, he is both a dirtbag and a moron as far as i am concerned....
I headed to the Wellcome Mega store in causewaybay today to grab some stuff so that I can utilise the shopping voucher.
As I went in, it may sound incredulous but I really had this intuition that someone was following me. I scanned my surrounding. I made eye contact with this guy in red trip polo shirt plus in jeans, and was hugging his black prada bag. He turned away and walk off when i looked at him so I didnt think much of it.
However what got me suspicious when i seem to "see" him at every corner. Like at the beansprout area, the prawns area, the condiments area and finally at detergent area. COme on, spotting teh same person 4 times in a relatively spacious suerpmarket is too coincidental.
Plus he always hurried away or pretend to browse when he realised that I had notice him. So my system went into red alert and wary of this "ratty face" sh*T. The first thing in my head was a stalker. Definitely not those admiring sort since for one i am no beauty and secondly, I was wearing my crappy t-shirt bermuda combi.
As I turn to grab my magic clean duster, I saw the guy went to the row behind mine. I quickly made a dash to the cashier and as I turn around, there he was again! That guy in red. He had rushed to Q behind me. This is nothing coincidental and I know my gut instinct is on cue. I turned and he kept a distance like he was almost in but not really in the Q. What makes me more cautious was that he was so stupid not to even have anything in his hand to pay for anything.
So instead of ignoring him, i stood facing him instead and stared straight in his face. He seemed to be a little nervous and kept figeting and looking everywhere but me. As he saw me reach my hand into my bag and whip out my phone as i stared fiercely at him. I was going to use my camera phone at him and then make a call. The red dirt bag must have sense something and decide to make a run for it. Not sure if he was trying to pickpocket me or stalk me or what. However he picked the wrong woman to mess with.
I scanned around for security guard and NONE was available. oh well.he sure disappear fast.
He is lucky I do not have an umbrella or I would have poke him to death. I stood around the entrance for a few minutes and scan the area to make sure the red monster was not following me anymore. I think he knew his cover is blown so he prob would not attempt in following me again.
Ladies, always be very careful and sensitive to your surroundings. This world is full of creepy shit jerks that are up to no good. And this guy is either an amateur at pickpocketing i think. Why he would wear a screaming red engine bright red shirt when committing a crime says alot of his IQ. I would have gone for something low profile like whiteshirt. Well, he is both a dirtbag and a moron as far as i am concerned....
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
candlelight dinner
I have always been a receiver of candlelight dinner, but never been a giver. Then again in life, there is always a first to everything.
So for once, I decided to put all my stash of candle holders and tealight candles to good use for the sweet occasion of celebrating a homecook candle light dinner for my husband.
It always pay to invest in a good receipe cookbook. I didnt have time to make desserts, so I guess it will just have to be a starter, main and finishing off with fresh fruits.
I decided to give caramelised onion chicken a go. Western cooking isnt my forte but i love a challenge. I decided on a fusion course with herbal pork rib corn soup, accompanied by our fav drink - lychee soda. ALl u need is sparkling mineral water and can of lychee. Easy breezy. Add a pinch of lemon if desired really.
As i set the table with our best plates, lit the candles and arrange the flowers. I couldnt be prouder of myself. While cooking and looking out of the kitchen windows, even the eve skies were lovely crimson pinkish red. It was pure romantic.
Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly in my life. My dinner turned out beautifully but unfortunately my surprise dinner had to wait till 9pm++ as my husband had to work late. Still he was genuinely and rightly surprised.He absolutely love the caramelised chicken too! I just didnt realise how easy it was to make it till now.
Ha! Mission accompished! Perhaps i shld do a candlelight dinner more often from now on!
So for once, I decided to put all my stash of candle holders and tealight candles to good use for the sweet occasion of celebrating a homecook candle light dinner for my husband.
It always pay to invest in a good receipe cookbook. I didnt have time to make desserts, so I guess it will just have to be a starter, main and finishing off with fresh fruits.
I decided to give caramelised onion chicken a go. Western cooking isnt my forte but i love a challenge. I decided on a fusion course with herbal pork rib corn soup, accompanied by our fav drink - lychee soda. ALl u need is sparkling mineral water and can of lychee. Easy breezy. Add a pinch of lemon if desired really.
As i set the table with our best plates, lit the candles and arrange the flowers. I couldnt be prouder of myself. While cooking and looking out of the kitchen windows, even the eve skies were lovely crimson pinkish red. It was pure romantic.
Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly in my life. My dinner turned out beautifully but unfortunately my surprise dinner had to wait till 9pm++ as my husband had to work late. Still he was genuinely and rightly surprised.He absolutely love the caramelised chicken too! I just didnt realise how easy it was to make it till now.
Ha! Mission accompished! Perhaps i shld do a candlelight dinner more often from now on!
I love beautiful things
I am a lover of aesthetically splendid designs. I love anything innovative, or quirky, or contemporary but solidly functional designs. Which is why i love browsing specialty designs stores - checking out all the new wonderfully inspiring "dying to lay my hands on them" pieces.
This is one reason why I love reading the blog below.
From deceptively simple fashions yp especially astounding structural designs and unique landscapes. I love many of the blog articles. Its brillant.
http://www.changemymanbags.com
You should really check it out.
This is one reason why I love reading the blog below.
From deceptively simple fashions yp especially astounding structural designs and unique landscapes. I love many of the blog articles. Its brillant.
http://www.changemymanbags.com
You should really check it out.
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