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..

Foodies Anonymous #1

Ok, I admit, I'm NOT a hardcore foodie. Neither am I an expert food critic. This is just a sample of the food I like.. which most people would find palatable.

FIN Seafood Cafe, Marina Square

Marina Square #02-226A/B6 Raffles Boulevard (S)039594

Heard that anyone could get oysters for only SGD$1/ piece every mon, Xiaoping and I decided to head down to our favourite hang out mall, Marina Square, which is just a 10 min bus ride/mrt ride down from my home. Sadly, we arrived there at 1400 hrs.. still too early for 'Oyster night' which starts after 1500 hrs.. But they were still reasonably priced at SGD$1.95. We chanced upon an INCREDIBLE OFFER for weekday luncheon at FIN:

This:

Mussels as Starters...

+

Seafood Pasta ala Olio UP: SGD 11.90

+

Apple crumble for Dessert and free flow Coffee

=

Cost: SGD 8.00 !!!

As you can see from above.. it's a STEAL!! It's Criminal!! Food was quite good (despite everything being ready made) but as usual, service sucked BIG time. Waiters seemed pretty un-motivated, they don't smile or greet you. They ignore you and simply want you to just finish up and get out of their lives.. forever. Here's an interesting thought: I read from a Men's Magazine that in Singapore, Fresh Seafood is only delivered to the restaurants and various eateries twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays. Therefore, the BEST time to get seafood are on these days. The WORST time to have seafood is on MON.. simply because the seafood have been sitting in the refrigerator for a consecutive 4-5 days already. This makes me wonder.. Is that the reason why Oyster Night is on Mon?

DESSERT TIME!

One of my personal fav:

Tom's Palette

100 Beach Road #01-25 Shaw Leisure Gallery, Singapore 189702


(Shaw Towers)

Tom's Palette is a rather cool hang out place to be! Very cosy environment, the staff are friendly, service is good and personalised and you can to try all the ice-cream before you finally settle for 2 of your favourite flavours for only SGD$2.80 (small cup) or SGD$4.00 (big cup). I loved their local creation Tau Sar Piah Ice cream but when I went there on 090707, it was gone! Instead, I had Horlicks Ice-cream and Ed's Tea (tastes like Teh Tarik). Customers can also order ANY flavour they want by the Tub and they'll discuss with you if that particular flavour can be made and also the price of your request. Love the (liang cha) cooling tea that your grandma makes? Turn it into ice-cream then.. and double the chill.. with cheese!

Fans of the place can't help but leave traces of them being there in the very conveniently positioned Fan Board. Examples of 'Fan Art ':

Lastly, there's supper:

East Coast Lagoon Food Village

1220 East Coast Parkway

When I went there on 090707, a Mon night, many of the food stalls have already closed for the day. Only One recommendation from there:

Hwa Kee Barbeque Pork

Stall No 4, East Coast Lagoon Food Village

East Coast Parkway

They basically served pretty good Wanton Mee (steamed meat dumpling noodles), however, it the Char Siew is their selling point. Sorry, I'm not able to provide a picture of the dish because I was so hungry then I practically gobbled it up!

I also ordered a plate of sambal fried lala (clamshells) and sugar cane. Would have ordered BBQ Chicken wings, Stingray, Oyster Omelette and Hokkien Mee if I had the opportunity!

Tip of the day: when eating clamshells of any kind, be it hum or lala.. if the shell is UNOPENED, DO NOT TRY TO OPEN IT! The following images are graphic and explicit in nature. They should not be viewed by expecting mothers and the faint hearted...with cheese. This is what you get if you do:

EEW!! The single most harrowing experience I ever had in East Coast Park. The stall which I ordered this dish from was actually recommended by Channel U...

Farewell Dinner with Family 080707

That's it! My last and final weekend in Singapore *sniff* before.. Fri the 13th!!! Fri the 13th has never been scarier for me! It was a simple affair with my family, just dinner with my family and my grandparents, Ah Wu (on the left, in blue) and Gong Gong on the right in white.

Dinner was at Xin Xiang Seafood and Steamboat (in Hougang Ave 8), where we had seafood like steamed grouper, fishhead curry and a wide variety of dishes. Too bad they ran out of Crabs! No more chillie crabs *sigh*.

In the usual fashion, I was NOT given the chance to choose a restaurant that I want, OR even to order the dishes I WANT, not that I'm complaining though.. the food was up to standard.


I mean.. what can possibly be less Singaporean than this!? Dinner in a traditional typical Singaporean *Kopitiam Restaurant, under a Uniquely Singaporean HDB Block. Dinner like that costs us a mere SGD$99.90 for so many people (xiaoping took the photos, she was there too!) and considering we food we ate, it's a steal!


*(Kopi = Coffee; Tiam= Shop. Literally translating to 'coffee shop', a term used to describe cheaper, lower end restaurants, usually situated near or within residential zones where people typically have their everyday meals )

Monitor this space for the next episode: Singapore City vs Melbourne City

Farewell Dinner (NS) 060707

Guess I'm not the only one leaving.. My friend, weatherman Eugene Fu from my battalion is also going to Australia to study as well. He's headed for UNSW in Sydney - Yes, THE uni which Asia Campus in Singapore was shut down due to poor enrolment and colossal losses. But that does NOT mean that UNSW is not a good educational institute !

What you see on top is Eugene and I, shamelessly flaunting our 'Farewell Gifts'. Well, its actually a picture of our 35th BTACC Commissioning batch. I'm nt authorised to tell you what BTACC stands for, if I tell you, I'll have to kill you... with cheese. Just know that we are all Army Lieutenants who had recently just become 'operationally ready' together.

Dinner was at Swissotel *wow* Merchant Court *chey* but it was pretty good! Ellenborough Market (where's that?) is the name of the buffet restaurant. It's an International buffet (hardly though), focussing mostly on local food, mainly chinese food. However, they do provide fresh sashimi, raw oysters, scallops and cooked octopus. One thing I really loved about this place is their DESSERTS section. They feature their speciality Durian Pengkat (Durian mousse) and lots of local delights. They also had a 5-tiered chocolate fondue fountain which was really sinful. Not a bad place to bring your ang-moh (caucasian) friends to sample the local flavour.

The whole dinner event was a very successful one. Many thanks out to Kuah Weehian for organising the event, and the rest for both the farewell gift and simply 'being present'. It's just too bad that my NS buddy, LTA Ray Tay (the only one who *gasp* *signed-on) could not make it as he was overseas.. As usual, we left out one person.. you know who you are.. Mike. Oops, did I think that out aloud.. with cheese?

*sign on - these 2 words when used together in Singapore, means to voluntarily enter the regular force of a given Uniformed group, usually the Singapore Armed Forces. E.g. Hey, so how? Have you found a job yet? Not yet? Then you better sign on man!
After dinner, most of them left.. the only 'stayers' are Collin (pink..as usual), Joel(black), Weehian(red). Xiaoping joined us after dinner. From Clarke Quay, we headed down to Prinsep St. to Mind Cafe. A really niche cafe whereby board and card game lovers frequently gather and frolic happily while sitting in a circle.
Game of the day: I'm the Boss!
Rules are simple. Find investors, seal the deal and make money. Player with most money at the end of the game wins. We stayed there till.. nearly 2am, before we finally could bear to part..(mainly because we got the 2 hr package so we couldnt leave until our time was up).

We had a really great time. At the end of the day.. I was feeling.. suprisingly sad. It was like, I didnt realise that after this 1.5 yrs together, the bond I've forged with these guys have become so strong! Not one who is good at farewells, I simply shook their hands and bid them a quiet good bye. See you guys in June 08!

Farewell Chalet 030707

To say farewell and good riddance to Rachel (girl in blue.. who happens to be in every pic) and I. Loudest Ten member, Zhen Kiat and her friends master-minded this little farewell gathering for us. It also happened to be Jacintha's (another Loudest member) birthday as well.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had practically invited the whole class, including our optometry lecturers: Vivien (left), Jiajia aka Kimberly(right) and Monica (Behind Viv).

The food was pretty good, we even had stingray, crayfish and prawns! It's only then when I realised that I have lost touch with everyone in my 2 years of NS...

One big disappointment: Of the guys, all of whom I regard as my brothers, only three turned up. From Left to right: Me, Jason, Teck Soon and Samuel and Mr Tranny *gasps!*. According to Sam, the rest already *flew away by aeroplane to Melbourne to await me there.

*Pang Puay Kee - Literally translates to Releasing Aeroplanes: It simply means Not Showing Up or No-Show at the last min for an appointment. The explanation for this phrase still eludes me to date.


All in all we had great fun! About 4 of my female classmates had quit their jobs as optometrists to join SIA as flight attendants; 'Cabin Crew', they call themselves.

3 of my friends have just graduated from B. Optom in UK, Cardiff University. Another 2 are leaving for there this year too.

One of my classmates, Beilei, had just set a new benchmark: she just got engaged (in the Singaporean Context, getting engaged means u have either registered your marriage with ROM or have already applied for a HDB Flat and now face a deadline of 2years to ROM) and is planning for her wedding in October this year. Sadly, I'll be in Melbourne by then. More weddings coming up in the next couple of years!
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Lastly, I would like to introduce to you a very special and noisy group of girls known in the Underworld as dum-dum-daaaaa : The LOUDEST TEN (see pic below).

The Loudest Ten was formed when 5 girls from my class and 5 from the other found out that they had a lot in common and thus.. merged into a heaping, ear drum shattering, mass of.. cosmic proportions (think BIG BANG). The term, Loudest Ten was coined by one of my lecturers to describe them. Later on, the Loudest recruited our senior, Lay Lay who gave them 'maternal care' during our overseas community eyecare program in rural Thailand, making it a grand total of 11, though the suffix Ten stuck.

am doing inside, you ask. I became honoury member when I became attached to my girlfriend, who is a member of this group.

It was nice seeing everyone again. I'll like to thank everyone present that day for making our farewell a night to remember! It's time to pop that champagne!