Magma

Today we got a visitor from Hong Kong. He came over to our company to give us a talk. In the evening, my boss wanted to give him a treat and asked me along. Initially, we wanted to go to East Coast seafood center but our visitor said he has a run last night and scare his stomach cannot endure seafood. So in the end, we went to a German restaurant called Magma. It is located quite near to Outram. We ordered quite a lot of dishes but I feel many are not up to my taste. I ordered a pumpkin soup. I feel it is not as nice as I have drunk somewhere else. Then, we ordered and shared a sausage platter. This dish luckily tastes nice. After that I ordered a pork knuckles. The meat is nice but the roasted skin tastes too much like charcoal.


Here comes the funny part. My boss has been to this restaurant before and ate a very nice dessert. But he dun know the name. So he described to the waiter and the waiter points to the menu for his dessert. But when it comes, it is not what my boss wanted. After a few questions, my boss found out that this special dessert could not be found in the menu and only one German chef there knows how to make it! So in the end, we did not get to eat this. My boss swears to eat it the next time round. Haa!!

Hot weather!

Lately the weather becomes very hot!! Every night I must switch on air con then can sleep! I think temperature goes above 30 degrees Celsius!!!!!

Green Banyan

Today my boss treats us lunch at Jurong Country Club. The reason is that he is promoted! So this calls for a celebration and I made a booking at the restaurant called Green Banyan. There is this lunch set which cost about $30 per person which consists of a main course and free flow of tea, soup, dessert, bread and salads! I personally love soups a lot and I drank 3 bowls! Haha. I ordered a sausage platter which I feel is not bad. But my friend ordered lamp chop which looks even more delicious. I feel the money is quite well spent cos the food amount is ample and tastes great.

NUS Club

I just received an invitation letter from NUS to join their club. I feel weird as I am not from that school. So I wonder how they got my particulars. Any way, the joining fee I think is about $3k. Since I am not once their students, so I feel quite pointless for me to join.

Jumbo

I just back from a treat. Someone having birthday and so I was invited to Jumbo at East Coast Park for dinner. As usual, we order chilli and pepper crabs. These are the must order food since it is one of the most famous dish in Singapore. Then we ordered some vegetables, lobsters and noodles. Overall, the food is quite nice expect it is not that "jumbo" as I tot especially the chili crabs. We ordered 2 crabs and when they served, the portion looks small. Maybe it is the plate. Haha. It is not as generous as No Signature when I went about 1 months+ ago. So I think I will choose No Signature for the generous good food.

The Forbidden Kingdom

I just back from watch The Forbidden Kingdom by Jet Li and Jackie Chan. The highlight of this movie is the fight between these two action stars. The 10+ mins duel is quite nice. There are some jokes and the english pronunciation are not bad especially Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing. The special effects are nice but not tip top kind. But the story plot is way off. It is a twisted plot of Journey to the West legend where monkey god has to be freed. Haha. But the let down is that the ultimate bad guy is not powerful enough. This is the disappointing part and makes the ending too simple. But overall, this movie is still watchable.

Nanjing 南京

I just came back from a 5D4N Nanjing (南京) trip. It is a 5 hours plane ride from Singapore. This time I went over to this place for an official visit to a local university - South East University (东南大学).


I stayed at the hotel in the university which is called Liu Yuan Hotel(榴园宾馆) . It is a 3 stars hotel in charge by South East University. It is rather easy access to the school and room rate is quite affordable at RMB320 (~S$64) with all the necessities. But the breakfast is rather bad. Very typical Chinese breakfast and the timing is short. They only open from 7am - 9am. Lazy bum who wake up late, you are on your own.


Besides the visit to school, I did get sometime to shop and visit some tourist spots. They are:

1. Fu Zi Miao (夫子庙): This is the place where scholars take the imperial exam during the ancient times. Now it is area of shopping and local food such as smelly bean curd (臭豆腐), Bing Tang Hu Lu (冰糖葫芦) etc... There are many restaurants and fast food in these areas.


2. Ming Xiao Ling (明孝陵): This is the tomb of the first emperor of Ming dynasty (明朝) - Zhu Yuan Zhang (朱元璋).


3. Zhong Shan Ling (中山陵): Just next to Ming Xiao Ling is the tomb of the founder of KMT (国民党) who overthrown the Qing dynasty (清朝) - Sun Zhong Shan (孙中山). I feel that this mausoleum is much grander and nicer than Ming Xiao Ling.


4. Xuan Zhuang Si (玄奘寺): This is the temple where the ashes of Tang San Zang (唐三藏) is located. If you are familiar with the Chinese novel Journey to the West (西游记), then you should know who he is. Fann Wong (范文芳) also visited this place before and took a photo with the Abbot of this temple.


5. Zhong Hua Men (中华门): This is the wall built during the Ming dynasty to protect the city from enemies. It took 21 years to completely built the 32km long wall and is the grandest of all city wall in China.

6. Xuan Wu Lake (玄武湖): A very large park with nice scenery.

Canadian Pizza

Today we ate at the new canteen. It has Canadian Pizza! We ordered 3 regular ones. They takes quite a while to make but still bearable. The Pizza is quite nice. But cannot eat this often. Ex and not to mentioned fattening!

三国之见龙卸甲 Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon

I just came back from watching Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon. I feel it is not too bad. But too much of such shows for the past few years and mostly acted by Andy Lau will make you feel confused or bored. This show only takes a bit of the history and create a story of Zhao Zilong (Zhao Yun) acted by Andy Lau. The rest of the casts have very minor role. Maggie Q looks weird in the show and appears only at end of the show. She is more like guest starring and Sammo Hung is like a supporting cast. The fighting scenes are ok but looks too familiar in other similar shows. Overall, it is watchable.

Secret Recipe

I just went for dinner at Secret Recipe in VivoCity and it is rather a bad experience. Firstly, they dun served ice water but rather we have to pay $0.50 for a bottle of distilled water. I always dislike going to such restaurant which dun serve free flow of ice water cos I feel the cost for such thing is low. Next, I order a pumpkin soup and my friend order a mushroom soup. Both are disappointing. The pumpkin soup tastes like prata curry and mushroom soup tastes quite bland.


Then, I order a chicken as main dish. The food is served quite fast and it looks tasty. But who knows I eat until halfway I saw a string or hair in my chicken!!! The saving grace is I asked for a replacement and it is done without question asked.


I also order a green apple juice which tastes well, luckily! Overall, I feel not quite a good feeling. Maybe I will just buy the cake or dessert and skip the meal.

Nokia E90

Lately I purchase Nokia E90 out of fun. It is to replace by dying Nokia N80. So far I had used it for a week and I totally love it. Though it may looks big and heavy for many, I feel it suits me perfectly. Makes me look very professional and macho. Haha!!!! Any way, this piece of equipment has many cool functions and so far so good for me. I am going to explore it more. Hope it can last me for at least another year.

Claypot Chicken Rice

Today I went to eat claypot chicken rice at Clementi. It is recommended by a friend. He brought me to this place which I dun even know it existed. It uses charcoal to cook the thing. Very traditional. But it takes quite sometime. We waited for about 30 mins before our food comes. 4 of us ate $15 set. Hee.. It is quite nice.

Murphy's Law

Today I rather bad luck. Both my phones got problem. One no battery and another spoil. Usually when my phone in good condition, no one bothers to find me. Just when something like this arises, many people looking for me and cannot get me. Ah! Murphy's Law indeed!

Kuala Lumpur

I just came back from a 3D2N Kuala Lumpur trip. It is a holiday on friday and I make good use of this long weekend to fly over to KL. I took Tiger Air as the timing is good for me. But I feel it is better to take Jet Star next time. Reason is simply due to the inconvenience of taking the flight at Budget terminal at both Singapore and KL.

Any way, on the first day I reach KL central at around 1pm. I check into Boulevard Hotel at Mid Valley. This hotel is strongly recommended by a friend living in KL and is quite good. Room is quite spacious and I stayed at the executive floor at level 27. I get a nice view and get to drink and eat freely on its executive lounge. Haha.. But the breakfast variety is a bit let down. My friend staying in KL took half day off and bring me around. He first drove us to Putrajaya. This is a place where the new federal administrative centre is. It consists of several government offices. Prime minister's office is there as well. There is also the Putra Mosque.


Then, we continue our journey to a dragon fruit farm. It is somewhere near Sepang F1 International Circuit where so coincidently there is a match over the period I stay. I bought 2 dragon fruits which have red flesh for RM9 per kg.


In the evening, we went to eat steamboat buffet at Yuen restaurant recommended by my friend. There are many variety of food and the soup base is very nice! I eat until very full!


After eating, we still went to something like those 24 hours prata stall in Singapore for supper. But we were very full at that time. So we just order a mango freeze at this popular stall called Murni. The drink comes in quite huge portion! It is only until 12am+ then my friend sent me back to hotel. I was quite embarrassed as he spent a lot of time and money (road toll) bringing me around. Haha. So I invited him to Singapore.


The second day is more of a shopping trip for me. My KL friend has to go to another town for work. So he could not join us. My friend and I went on a shopping spree. We first went to Pavilion shopping mall. It opened quite recently and it is something like Paragon shopping mall where the stores are all quite upclass. This shopping mall is huge and I spent almost half a day there. Tangs opened it branch here and have a good sales. I bought 2 working shirts for 60% off! Then bought a tie over at Topman at 20% off and a t-shirt at Parkson at 50% off!! We have our lunch there at Laksa Shack. I ordered a ABC drink and Laksa. They taste quite good.




Then, we proceed to Sungei Wang and walk walk. I bought a Bluetooth dongle for RM16! It is really a steal! It is quite ex in Singapore. Guess I got a good deal. Haha. After exploring Sungei Wang which is very crowded, we pop over to Berjaya Times Square. We walk around and find nothing interesting. So we went for dinner instead at Uncle Duck. We ordered a roast duck which is their specialty and hor fun. Then, we quickly made our way to Mid Valley shopping mall and grab some toys for my niece and nephew. After that, we pop over to Jusco supermarket and grab a few packets of coffee and snacks. Finally, we end the day by catching a midnight show at the cinema Mid Valley shopping mall.


The last day we woke up, have our breakfast and dash to airport. Then, it is home sweet home. I hope to see my KL friend soon in Singapore. Any way, with budget airline, I am thinking of going to KL once a year to shop. I feel with the great discounts and lots of mega malls, I have a much better shopping experience than in Singapore.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

I just came back from watching the midnight show: The Spiderwick Chronicles. This time a bit different is I caught this in KL. Hee.. The cinema is just right below my hotel. The seat is very comfortable. Better than Singapore one and only RM11!. Any way, I feel this show is not too bad. A bit like muppets babbies. I think the movie is to target the children so not much of the violence and story a bit on the simple side. It also has it cute moments. But I feel that the ending is a bit simple. Overall, this show is watchable.

Retreat

I just came back from my company retreat. This time round I feel our retreat a bit more serious. Last time is just gather together, brain storm. eat, drink, play relax. This time round we discussed some more serious and worse thing is I got to present some issues. Boring! Any way, we end up playing bowling. Haha. Only two games and my legs already aching. Terrible! Old liao.

Jeff Chang concert

I just came back from Jeff Chang's concert. It has been a long time since he comes to Singapore for his concert. This time he worked with NAFA to put up this fine performance. The whole atmosphere is quite classy. From what I see, the seats are about 99% full. I bought the 2nd most ex ticket. He sang many of his hit songs during the 2.5 hours concert. Many are from his EMI days. But there are also many hit songs he did not sing which I am a bit disappointed. However, he did sang 2 new songs. I particularly like his "Mu Dan You" (Worrying Peony). It is beijing opera + a bit of R&B. Even my friend, who dun really like Jeff Chang, loves this song and give positive rating for his live singing. I am now waiting for his latest album to be out in April.

IT Show 2008

This year IT show I did not go cos I was too busy. I heard from a friend that went said it is extremely crazy! The show is extremely crowded. Any way, I browse through some brochures posted online by some good people and found that the things I wanted not really have a big price cut. Goodies given also so so only. That is why I decided to give it a miss. I went to East Coast for seafood instead. Haha. Food is very nice!

Violin

Today I had a small violin performance. It was organised by my music teacher and many of his students were involved. I was asked by him if I wanted to take part. At first I say no cos I think I will feel nervous and perform badly. But part of me wanted to perform as I think it will be fun. So I agree. I played the song "Ju Hua Tai" (Theme song of curse of the golden flower) together with a lady lawyer. I invited my friends and family to come and watch my performance. Overall, they said not too bad. Haha. Ok lah. This boost my confidence level a bit.

Hong Kong

I just came back from a 4D3N Hong Kong trip. My cousin who lives in Hong Kong invited us to attend his wedding dinner. So my family and I flew over there to attend his wedding dinner. We departed from Changi Airport Terminal 3 and it is really nice and big. But I feel it looks a bit like Hong Kong airport. Any way, it is empty now as only SIA flights arrived and departed from there. So the custom is rather fast as there are not many people.


On the first day, my mum and my sis-in-law have to set their hair for the wedding dinner. So while they are doing their hair, the rest of us just wondered around. After they are done, we went back to hotel and get ready for the wedding dinner. The dinner started quite late at around 9pm and ended at around 11.30pm. Lucky I booked the same hotel as the wedding dinner was held which is Marco Polo, a very nice 5 stars hotel. The room is huge and view is fantastic. But too bad, Hong Kong air quality is quite bad.

On the second day, we checked out the hotel and checked into the second hotel, L'Hotel which a four star hotel on Hong Kong island. This hotel is very close to where our relative stay. I stay in a suite and the room is also very nice and large. The toilet is very interesting. It is an open concept. Very suitable for couples. After a very nice morning dim sum, my relatives bring us to an offshore island Cheung Chau to eat seafood. So we spent 1 whole day there on the island. The food there is very nice. This island is more or a resort and we spend a whole day exploring the island on foot.

On the third day, we went to the peak and to Madame Tussaud. It is quite interesting to see so many wax figures of famous people. I saw Jay Chou and cannot believe how short he is. Then, we went back to hotel and take a rest and about 6pm we went to shop. After a while, we went to my auntie house cos my brother never been there before. We stayed there for 2 hours and then went to eat steamboat for dinner at around 10pm. We eat until 12.30am. I love Hong Kong! So late the restaurant still open.


Last day, I quickly do some last minute shopping cos I got only an hour plus to shop as we need to leave for airport by around 2pm. At the airport, I did manage to eat the mango dessert at Xu Liu Shan. Hehe. Any way, March weather is nice. I think I will go Hong Kong at least once a year and in March.

Dinner and Dance

I just came back from my company D&D. This year I quite lucky. I got 2 awards (1 is personal and another is group award) and got 1 mp3 player during lucky draw. Haha!! Any way, I went on stage 3 times and due to this many people know me liao. Haha. Ok, must be low profile a bit.

L Change the World

Just watch L Change the World. This is a spin off of Death Note and talking about the last few days of L before he dies. I feel that this time round the battle of wits is not as good as the previous. But overall still ok lah. Got some effects not bad.