Well-wish for Singapore on National Day 2008

Tuesday, 5th of August 2008

There was a contest on Radio FM883 where contestant can sms in their well-wishes to Singapore and get a chance to win the National Day Fun Pack.

I decided to send in my very sincere words of hope for the country and almost immediately after sending the text, the deejay called and informed me that I had won the fun pack. I was thrilled that I won but in the end I did not collect my fun pack as the collection was quite troublesome (The gift can only be collected on Mon-Fri 12-2pm at CMPB). I wished they could have mailed me the gift... What a waste.

Anyway, here's what I wrote:

I wish Singapore will have more promising young leaders whom will continue the legacy of our present leaders while improving on the political & educational system.

The words are what I really hope for Singapore to achieve.

I love Singapore and thank Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and other leaders for what they did for Singapore.

One great vision is implementing English as First Language in our education system. I am most grateful that majority of Singaporeans are at least bilingual in English and our mother tongue. Even many of our aunties and uncles from older generation know simple English. Contracts require an English Version to be valid. World meetings, communications, online web informations etc are mostly English-centered. It has been proven how important and useful English is to our daily life.

I thank our leaders for having the foresight to build Singapore into a very developed Country with racial harmony as one of the most important criteria. The National Pledge says it all:

We, the citizens of Singapore, pledge ourselves as one united people, regardless of race, language or religion,to build a democratic society based on justice and equality, so as to achieve happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation.

Singapore's governing methods are not without its fault. There are still unhappiness and complaint from the people. But to be fair to Singapore, which country have the perfect sets of governing rules and 100% contented citizens? If there really exist such a country, everyone in the world would be fighting to get citizenship to it, including myself.

I hope that education in Singapore can be tweaked in order to inject what is lacking in present leadership into our future generations.

In my personal opinion, loopholes in our education system are the results of our society's problems like the lack of courtesy & compassion, over reliance etc. If I were given a chance to propose a way to improve the education system, I would suggest a set of rules in teaching methods that incorporates psychology. Only understanding the science of mind and behaviour of our children can we nurture their mindset and make efficient improvement to our society.

End of my National Day 'Speech' for Year 2008. Once again, I LOVE SINGAPORE!!!

Ms Singapore World 2008 Final

Saturday, 16th July 2008

Photo Taking Session at home before the Big Event

Reached the Venue on time. Relieved that I was not under-dressed for the event. The invitation indicated 'Smart Casual' and as this is my first Gala Dinner, I have no idea of what is truely considered 'Smart Casual'.

The Event Information...

Seating Plan
We were sort of 3rd grade VIP as our seats were 3rd row on the right side of the aisle (just behind the VVVIP & VVIP), so we were supposed to be able to see the stage very clearly. Well, we were wrong... Once the contestant cat-walked out with sexy white bikinis, all the reporters, photographers and inconsiderate guests rushed up like army ants and jammed the space on the aisle, blocking our view. I can see the stage partially and Kelvin almost cant see anything.

Dinner Tables

The Stage

The Pretty Contestants

Missed out the bikini photo shoot, thanks to the annoying crowd on the aisle, blocking our view!

Speech by Guest of Honour,

Mr K Shanmugam,

Minister for Law, Second Minister for Home Affairs

Mr Shanmugam were only there to grace the event. He left before the dinner even started... When he was departing, every one rushed forward to shake his hands including Kelvin.

I asked Kel whether he felt shiok after shaking Mr Shanmugam's hand, he smiled and cheekily replied that he is happy but would be more estactic if it was Mr Lee Kuan Yew that shook hands with him. (I agree, hee...)

Entertainment while the Contestants were preparing backstage.

"Bian Lian" (Face Changing) Performance from Sze Chuan, China

Gowns sponsored by Bridal Studio
Entertainment Part 2

Acrobatics Performance

The Top 3 Winners

Endnotes:

Miss Singapore nowadays are a very low profile and low budget affair. Contests are not as entertaining as before. Hope that there can be new break through so that we can continue showcasing Brainy Singapore Beauties to the world.

Heng Hwa Cuisine off Jalan Besar

Saturday, 9th August 2008

After watching air show and fireworks at the Padang, we proceeded to an old Heng Hwa Restaurant off Jalan Besar Road (should be Maude Road) for Dinner.

I think this is my 3rd or 4th time here. The food always taste different on my individual visits. Their cooking is not very consistent except for their main specialty --- the Heng Hwa Noodle.

The authentic Heng Hwa Noodle

Sumptuous soup with veggies, prawns and pork. Although I do think the flavor of the soup could have been more intense with so many ingredients in it. Felt that it tasted nicer with their vinegar instead...

Stir-fried Lala

Tried this during my 1st visit here and did not order it any more on my future visits as the taste was not nice. Later on, my YCKSS buddy Raymond told me that during his last visit with his friends, the boss recommended them to try the Lala with 'two heads'. I was amazed because I have never heard of 'two heads' Lala before. To be more precised, when did Lala even have a head??? Haha....

Anyway, I decided to give the Lala one last chance. I asked the Aunty who took our order whether they have 'two-heads' Lala, she laughed and said she had never heard of 'two-heads' Lala. All of us were puzzled and the Aunty finally asked whether it's garlic lala as the pronouciation of 'GARLIC' and 'TWO HEAD' sound similiar in Chinese. Maybe that's the mistake, hee...

The Lala does taste better with the garlic, in fact, it was delicious!!!

Fried Beehoon

I fell in love with this the first time I tried it, the beehoon was very thin, fine and had a melt in your mouth texture but subsequent visits were disappointing, including this time. Although the overall taste was good, the beehoon itself was too dry. The solution? We used the delicious sauce from the Lala and the sauce from the vegetables to mix with the bee hoon (sort of moistening it)... And the rest is history... yum yum....

Vegetables with Fried Beancurd Skin Simple Veggie Dish with nothing much to brag or complain about ...

Pretty Ladies ;p

The Macho Servers, Hee!!!

Verdict: One thing I like about this place is that it retained the charm of old kopitiam and gave a very homely feel. Really hope that they will buck up on their cooking and bring back the ultimate food sensation that the forefathers imparted.

National Day 2008

9th August 2008

Celebrated National Day with friends at the Padang !!

Impressive air show and beautiful fireworks!!! Well done Singapore!!!

Did not take any photo of the performances as I felt that the acts are more stunning on the spot and photos are not able to interpret the atmosphere. I hope that Citizens who missed the action will be more patriotic and join in the fun in future National Day Celebrations.

Happy National Day, Singapore!!!

Halia Restaurant

Saturday, 2nd August 2008

Waited for years to visit this restaurant, finally had the chance.

I did a last minute search for online reviews on Halia Restaurant and there were absolutely no negative comments (not that I know of).

The staffs were really attentive and friendly. They asked for our feedback on the food, refilled our water promptly and even offered to take picture for us without us asking. Thumbs up!!!

Lightings were dim and careless me forgot to bring spare battery for my camera so we had to bear with poor pictures from Kel's camera phone.

Crispy Black Pepper Soft Shell Crab with Wasabi Dressing (Appetiser)One of the recommended dish from online reviews. This is simply yummy. Crispy and Soft. The wasabi dressing is so mild that you dont actually notice it (good for those who love soft shell crab but dislike wasabi).

Roasted Rack of Lamb marinated in Javanese spices (Main Course)

We asked for medium rare. Kelvin dislike bloody meat (he prefer medium or medium well) so I gained as I was made to eat most of the lamb, hee... hee... The meat is marinated just right, very flavorful and juicy. Although I could have praised it further if it was done rare instead (Man... am I a weekend vampire ;p)

Chef Recommended Dessert Not sure whether this is available daily as it was on a separate menu. Cant remember the name of this dessert too. Anyway, it was a very special one. The ice-cream had bacon in it, topped with a pretty sesame crisp 'ribbon' and laid on top of a dates pastry with accompanying cheese sticks and chocolate ball. Strange combi but who would complain when it is oh so yummy... Made my saliva drooled... :p

Wanted to catch a good picture of the nice environment but the lighting was too dim for a good photo shot...
Verdict: A perfect restaurant!!! Nice Environment, Nice Ambience, Good Food and Great Service!!! What more can you expect???

Coffee Club at Holland Village

Saturday, 26th July 2008

After our meal at Brazil Churras, I felt the urge to have something sweet so we proceeded to Coffee Club at Holland Village after giving ourself some time to digest our dinner.

We ordered this cake which possessed the most appealing look in the display cabinet. However, it turned out to be rather disappointing. The cake was not fresh, the nuts inside was way over its expiry date. Well, we were partially to be blamed as we chose the last piece of the whole cake.

A lesson for me --- never choose the last piece because it usually indicates that the cake had been laying there for quite some time and waiting for the chance to be 'hitched' by some dumb fellows (that includes me, hee hee..)

The freezing air-con stiffen my smile...

Changed to Al-fresco to keep out the cold... Nicer atmosphere too...Drink was refreshing and light... Cant remember the name, something related to apple & mint soda...

Nice Coaster...

Nice Menu too...

Verdict: Nice place to chill out.

Brazil Churrascaria

Saturday, 26th July 2008

Kelvin suggested this restaurant because we passed by it quite a number of times. It was always crowded (the food must be good enough to attract such a regular crowd).

Since we never tried brazil food before, we decided to dine here so as to fulfil our curiosity.

This is basically a meat and salad buffet at $42++ per pax excluding drinks and dessert.

We reached there late, at around 9pm, so the expected crowd was already half gone.

The helpful waitress introduced us to the concept of the restaurant which is to fill the plate with some salad from the Salad Bar first (advising us not to take too much rice, so as to leave enough 'tummy space' for the meat feast) and the servers will automatically start serving us the meat.

Salad Bar Must-try -------> Banana Fritters, Delicious!!!

The waitress served us three different dips for the meat and one plate  of  'mini cupcake-like cheesy-buttery buns appetizer' (well, there's no shorter way to describe this yummy buns, hee) which tasted very good.

Kelvin love it so much that he almost gobbled down the whole plate of buns before the meat feast!!! I had to remind him that we have not started our main course yet and to remember to leave some for me. He gave me a cheeky smile and started to slow down, ha...ha...

Meat started piling in...

Very soon, our plates were fully occupied with different kinds of meat.

The meat waiters will keep coming and presenting you with different meats and pineapples on their skewers.

Summary & feedback of what we ate from the skewers:

Pork Sausage:

Yummy! Felt more like German Food. (Thanks to my recent German dinner at Werner's, now every sausage taste very 'German' to me, hee...)

Lamb:

Delicious! Love the smell of the lamb, that's the right way of cooking it! (some people might find the smell overwhelming)

Pork Ham:

Chewy and nice. (Too salty if you eat a lot)

Fish:

Not recommended. (Looked really juicy and good on the skewers. Well, looks can lie.)

Beef Steak:

This is great if you like your steak medium rare. (I would prefer it rare though.)

Chicken:

Very tender!  Love it!  'Must-Try'!

Chicken Heart:

'Chewily' delicious! One of the 'Must-try'! Taste even better with the sauces.

Pineapple:

Yummy! The pineapples are warm, sweet, slightly tangy and the caramelised part is oh-so heavenly... 'Must-try'!

Meat mountain!

Waitress will offer to change your plate when you make a mess with the heaps of meat, hee...

Loading up on pineapples!

Maybe because it was nearer to the closing time and most of the customers already had their fill, the servers stopped coming to provide the food. But when you ask for it, they will gladly come in a jiffy with the familiar skewers again.

Pineapple's is the fair lady's favourite!!!

Time for digestion.

Let's take a short tour of the restaurant.

Here's the hallway to the entrance.

The long 'corridor'...

 

You can enjoy a drink in the alfresco zone after your meal.

Beautiful paintings of brazil.

Football Culture.

Famous Sexy Bikini Beauties.

The Brazil City.

Some more pineapple from the cutest server in the room.

Let me introduce, this is Mr Ronio from Brazil, he is one of the two Brazilian servers in the restaurant and had been working here for the past 3 years.

Kelvin thinks that Ronio is very adorable and insisted on taking a shot with him too.

Goodbye photo shoot courtesy of Mr Ronio.

The Logo.

Calling all Meat Lovers! This is your heaven!!!

Since I am a Semi-Vegetarian (I only take meat on weekends and special occasion, the rest of the time I am meat-free), the meat buffet is not very much my cup of tea though I must admit the quality of the meat served were quite good.

Vegetarian don't have to fret when they need to dine here with their friends because the salad bar has a good variety of veggie bites, don't miss the pineapples on the skewers too!

The only disadvantage is the price which is a bit on the high side especially if you don't take meat.

del.icio.us Tags: brazil,brazilian,brazil churrasco,brazil churrascaria,meat,vegetarian,pineapple