My new BFFs!!!

'HOUSE PARTY'

on peel street

This is by far the 'wildest' house party I've ever been to! Think WILD ANIMALS. Yes.. this unique safari - themed party is the first of its kind I've ever attended. There were WILD TRIBAL dance routines (below):

Two young females dancing the traditional hunter-gatherer dance sequence (as seen above). They even had the sacred medicine man, who kindly graced the event:

The traditional tiger headress is earned after enduring 9 months of training and hardship... with cheese. Passing wild animals, like this zebra below also strolled their way into our party..

And this innocent looking giraffe... *yummy*

Look what happens to our new 'friends'... (following pic may be graphic in nature)

BY then, the feast was almost ready!! The tribe female serves up food which was prepared using our newly acquired ingredients!

You want some of this? *wink*

The tribe gathers around the table for the FEAST!

Left to Right: HaoZhen, HaoNa, Jasmine, Rachel

Yummy! What's this meat in my stew..?? ~Don't ask.

Hey hey... look who/what just strolled into our 'party'...

Fresh (Camel) Meat!

-everything with cheese.

The above mentioned event was not as graphic in nature as described. No animals were harmed in the process, except the pig which was slaughtered so that we can have mince pork congee. What we really had was a mini lunch gathering after school at Hao Na'/HaoZhen 's place where we stayed till dinner. Their room mate is a vet and animal lover, hence the wide collection of photos at home. And if u were wondering.. no, we did not consume the camel.

Max Brenner's @ QV, Swanston

Welcome to Max Brenner.

25-27 Red Cape Lane, Level 2, QV Square, 210

Lonsdale Street Melbourne VIC 3000,

Phone Number: +61 3 9663 6000.

I've always loved Max Brenner's chocolate. Listen to his love story and you'll see why..

Max Brenner's vs KOKO Black:

Hmmm... not too sure about which is better. Max Brenner's drinks are cheaper, about AUD4.50 for a hug mug. While here u pay nothing less than AUD5.50 at KOKO Black. Both are equally good, I must say. But I've had strong emotional attachment to Max, the bald guy who started it all for me.

Max and I
Max, the bald guy with the choc. I first heard about Max Brenner's in QV, Swanston. After trying their unique Suckao there, I became an instant convert. Imagine the joy when I discovered that they had opened a branch in Singapore - Esplanade! That place became the regular hang out place for Xiaoping and I. I can definitely relate to Max's story.

KOKO BLACK, on Lygon

Welcome to KOKO BLACK,

167 Lygon Street

Carlton, Victoria

Australia 3053

(Melway Ref: 2B:F9)

Open til 11pm from Mon-Thurs, Sun

Extended to: 12am on Sat.

View of KOKO Black, from Lygon. Al fresco dining with outdoor heaters available.

The inside view of KOKO Black, when you enter the door. Little red riding hood not included.

Their super yummy: Belgian Spoil
chocolate cake, two Belgian chocolates, a shortbread,
chocolate ice cream and chocolate mousse $10.00 (contains nuts)*

Iced Chocolate
A rich combination of Koko Black's chocolate and vanilla ice cream,
milk and chocolate shavings $6.50

Koko Black Hot Chocolate
Freshly brewed traditional recipe. Made with dark Belgian chocolate - no powder.
Made with full cream milk. Served extra hot unless otherwise requested $5.50

My my.. I've finally found a place worthy to hang out in. Why walk 35 min to QV on Swanston for my chocolate fix (Max Brenner's) when I can take a 5-10 min stroll to KOKO BLACK on Lygon. This is a place where you can really chill and look good while chilling.

Max Brenner's vs KOKO Black.

Tertiary Phase

OK finally! I got inspired by my ex-lecturer Mr Rajeev's (now a Phd Student in VCO) creative use of furniture in the apartment. I decided, I don't need the side table in my lounge area.. moved it under my workstation instead. See? Now I got more space to walk.

BTW, if you were wondering.. those are socks on the table.

After Phase 2: After IKEA

My new Home!

My new home has photos on the walls. *faint applause in background*

It has a (useless) standing lamp. The same model as the one I have in my room in Singapore.. except that it's in black. Photo of me and my Army friends (my farewell gift). Thanks guys!

My new workstation. Buddha had to go up! Thanks Buddha for your kind understanding! I REALLY needed that space cos' it is really much easier to reach that shelf you were housed in instead of your new home.

Buddha's ex-residence is now taken up my a photo of xp and me in Tom's Palette. Beside is the good bye card from my poly mates. Thanks guys! I was expecially moved by Da Xuan's entry (after Xiaoping deciphered the text for me). It was written in the modern version of a rather ancient language.. luckily I had Xiaoping with me (it was written in Chinese.. Doh!).

My new crib. Noticed the difference? Hint:It has a yellow frame.

Now I can proudly call this place ma' home. Any comments, suggestions to improve the look of my home?

After Phase 1 Furnishing

My Apartment..

Most of the stuff you see here are mainly from Harvey Norman, Big W and Safeway Supermarket all under one roof in QV, Swanston.

As you can see, I bought a lovely table runner just to spice things up.. Free electronic kettle jug courtesy of Rachel, a mini rice cooker in the background.. some cutlery and mugs. I managed to find an Asian Supermarket very near to Queen Victoria Market, that was where I bought all the soy sauce, dark sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce which you see in the pic, beside the rice cooker.

Bathroom mat and laundry basket.. also from Big W...

This is my workstation, complete with my very own buddha corner.. for quiet reflection..

This is wear I sleep *yawn*

It gets REALLY quiet here at night. So quiet that you practically here a faint ringing in your ears.. neural noise..? At least that's what we optoms use to describe seeing things/light that aren't actually there.

You'll see the radiator in the bottom left. It has only been turned on ONCE, when I was testing it. Two reasons why I do not turn on my radiator: Firstly, it's VERY expensive! Try turning on a 5000W monster overnight (typically non-energy saving light bulb is about 60W). I just cannot afford this luxury lah.. Second and MOST important reason: radiators heat the ROOM, NOT the person. Come on... It's time to do your part for the environment! Keep warm the Live Earth Way! (put on a cardigan instead).

Those dangly white brown yellow thingys were brought over from Singapore. You can buy them in Mini toons, Cineleisure orchard.

My room is complete! But it's not quite a Home yet..

My New Home in Melbourne

Honey, I'm home... ahhh!!! Where am I? Still unable to believe I'm actually HERE already. Yes.. I'm in Melbourne and this room will be my home for the next 6months at least..

College Square Apartments:
My room is located conveniently on Lygon Street. Convenient in the sense that the cemetery is just across the street. - NOT! Convenient because my school, the Victorian College of Optometry is just a couple of blocks down the road from my place.. Convenient because I live on Lygon Street - known widely as the 'Little Italy' of Victoria.. Think pizzas and pastas, chic cafes and... KOKO BLACK!

My room is basically L shaped.

First picture depicts what you'll expect to see upon entering my apartment.

Second pic shows my bathroom with spare bed.

Third pic shows my bed.. with a welcome gift box from YMCA. The gift box includes my doona (quilt.. not sure why they call them doonas here), doona cover, sheets, pillow, pot, mini wok, 1 set of cutlery and a drinking glass. Pretty neat huh? Even got an extra doona for both beds.

Last pic shows my toilet in the background left and my door on the right.
As you can see.. everything is in a MESS! Time to get crackin'

Airport Farewell

Ok.. that's it! I've had enough of goodbyes! Phew.. this is the last of it. I'm really leaving now (from a retrospective viewpoint)!

I'm very very glad that so many of my friends turned up. Initially, I was feeling apprehensive.. wondering if I should call anyone at all. You know, it's really hard to leave when you see your friends and family gathered around you.. for the last time.. in 6months to 1 year..

Big question on my mind right now.. Still unable to decide if I should return to Singapore in Dec this yr.. or should I return next year June.. or
BOTH..? That's where YOU come in! Yes, help me decide by leaving comments thank you.

Thank you all who came for my farewell! Really appreciate it.

Left to right for all:

My buddies Jereld, Darren, Nigel...

My polymates: Shang, Jason, Ryan, Daxuan, Samuel

My army friends: Daxuan *again!*

My friends: XinYi (youngest member! nearly 1 year old now) and Charmaine.


Last but not least: MY FAMILY!! Ok, it's official. The turf wars has BEGUN!!!

Brief History of the Turf wars.
When my brother, Marc, first left for UK for his studies, his bed room became a guest room. As we bought more clothes over time.. his room gradually became a walk- in wardrobe. Things soon began to pile up in his room... It became a Store Room. And before long, everyone was fighting over this small but highly coveted property - Marc's Room.

Now everyone is waiting... and eyeing for MY ROOM. Question is.. Will I still have a room when I return..?

The Last Dinner - No Signboard!

My last dinner in Singapore! What better place to eat than No Signboard Restaurant? Yes.. It IS Uniquely Singapore . The branch featured here is found in Geylang. Address is as follows:

Mattar Road No Signboard Seafood Restaurant, 414 Geylang Rd Singapore 389392

Good news to all motorists! No signboard has a mini carpark at the back of the restaurant. They also offer FREE VALET PARKING services (be sure to tip)! In the event that the mini carpark is full, the valet service parks your car for you in
the neighbouring HDB carparks. Most likely, you'll sit in the car and form a convoy along with 4-5 other cars, before moving off to the carpark of choice(everyone follows the valet's van, who leads the convoy). Upon reaching the carpark, all of you will park and the valet will issue out parking coupons for your vehicle (yes, free parking courtesy of No Signboard.. From there, everyone hops into the van and the valet drives everyone back to the restaurant. Same thing when getting back your vehicle. Unique huh?

Back to topic: My farewell! So.. what does one eat when facing the impending prospect of
of leaving Singapore for a long time? Chillie Crabs! - the Official Dish of 2007 Singapore Food Festival. Another Uniquely Singapore Initiative. By the way.. FREE CHILLIE CRABS for ALL Tourists, offer ends on 31 July.

The food as usual, was GREAT! Especially those mouth-watering chillie crabs. For non chillie crab lovers (btw, the chillie crabs aren't that spicy either), No signboard also offers Black Pepper crabs, Butter Crabs and crab beehoon? (cant remember if they do though).

Making this blog entry from Melbourne really makes me miss Singapore food even MORE! To those who have not been to No Signboard, keep your expectations of the service standards to a minimal. This is after all, a kopitiam restaurant.. with a small air-conditioned VIP corner. Kick back, relax and forget all about table manners! Always remember, you're there for the food =) (Those prefering good, service and air-con, I recommend the Esplanade branch. Prices in No Signboard are the same, regardless of branch).

JJ Rating: 5/5

99 DHL Balloons

DHL Balloon

Bugis, Tan Quee Lan Street

Just taking the opportunity to share with everyone my Uniquely Singapore experience on the DHL balloon in Bugis, Tan Quee Lan Street. Not wanting to look like a *Suar Koo, when I return to Singapore in June 08', I decided to go for a ride on the cool air (helium) balloon.
*Suar Koo - Literally translates to Mountain Tortoise: Essentially means one who is un-worldly, similar to a frog in the well.

DHL Balloon:
JJ Rating: 5/5

That's right! A full 5 outta 5 for this attraction. I really hope Singapore Tourism Board keeps the balloon a permanent feature here in Singapore. I really think the balloon is a very smart idea! It only took 40 people and 12 hours to construct... and now look at the revenue it is bringing in! Priced reasonably at SGD$23.oo per ride and a subsequent ride (for night view junkies) priced at only SGD$13.00, it's definitely worth it.

Not that I enjoy pouring cold water over the Singapore Flyer, I feel that view-wise, the DHL balloon *would (cause the flyer's not completed yet) provide a more scenic alternative to the Flyer. Where else can you get such great unobstructed 360 panoramic views of Singapore (except swissotel.. haha) AND yet get to experience how cold and strong the winds can be in this 150m altitude environment?

Idiot's Guide to DHL Balloon.
Step One: Purchase Flight Tickets and 'Boarding Pass'









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Step Two: Check Boarding Flight Time









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Step Three: Allow friendly flight crew to check your tickets when entering boarding gate.








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Step Four: Catch the Flight!










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Step Five: Lift off, we have Lift offfffffff!!!!!!













The view to expect when you down there:


















The view to expect when you're up there!





There's even time for more 'private moments'..hehe...*sniggers*

Breath taking , beautiful, fresh.. literally *wink* .. depending on who you take with you..