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Hello Everyone,
here is the much anticipated entry about what we did for Christmas and the places we visited.

24th December Christmas Eve:

Well, Baby and I both met up around 1000hours and we headed to Suntec City for breakfast! So our first breakfast for the day was the hearty MacDonald’s Breakfast Meal. And so after which, we went up to the Toys R Us Store to shop for Serene’s Baby Shower Gift [the reason why we specially went to Suntec City]. We got the 2-in-1 Baby Walker which cost about $49.95 and then went back down to buy Royce Chocolate for Ruby’s Christmas present.

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

So having gotten all the presents, we headed to Klapsons Boutique Hotel where we stayed for a night. We initially thought of Studio M but having seen some really positive reviews about Klapsons, we decided to give it a try. By the way, Klapsons was Baby’s suggestion and we were glad we chose Klapsons over Studio M. You will see why in the following photographs:

This is the Lobby Area and the designs are really contemporary, modern, and chic

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

And this is their Front Desk Counter which is shaped like a globe and yes, its real water that you see below the structure

From Christmas 2011

And for us, we gotten the Executive Room. This is a picture of the washroom

From Christmas 2011

The room itself and yes it comes with a JBL iPod Docking Station

From Christmas 2011

The shower room which comes with Molten Brown shower amenities

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

And yes, you can actually have a look at the streets while showering. I’m not sure if the people could see inside from the outside but I am sure we can see outside from the inside..

From Christmas 2011

The sky shower is really fascinating because you can change the colour of the lighting while you shower and listen to the radio at the same time.

From Christmas 2011

Some other bathroom amenities

From Christmas 2011

Oh, and I love their slippers. Its well-cushioned and feels so fluffy and warm.

From Christmas 2011

Mini Bar is complimentary! Comes with a can of coke, sprite, a bottle of tiger beer, fruit juice, and a packet of potato chips.

From Christmas 2011

And yes, the room comes with an expresso machine as well!

From Christmas 2011

Our room came with an external balcony but unfortunately, we didn’t get to use it as it was raining.

From Christmas 2011

The room comes with a flat screen TV, complimentary local calls, and even has a stationery set! Oh, and yes, there’s complimentary internet wifi connection as well!

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

Alright, this is quite impressive and a stunner. This card holder holds our room keys and even has a personalised welcome message upon our arrival.

From Christmas 2011

As you can see, Klapsons is a rather nice boutique hotel with lots of amenities and the service rendered is similar to that offered at Fullerton Hotel Singapore [I’m comparing with Fullerton because I used to work there]. By the way, Klapsons have 17 rooms and they are all designed differently from one another, like the New Majestic Hotel in Chinatown. The target customer of Klapsons is mainly corporate guests so room rates are actually cheaper during the weekends than during the weekdays. And yes, I cannot emphasize this enough, the service is very personalised and is similar to that of 5 stars hotels. In fact, many of the amenities that are available at Klapsons are only available in suites of 5 stars hotels which cost a few thousands for a night’s stay. So, do check out what Klapsons have to offer and do book early as they are always fully booked!

So, I planned the rest of the programme for the night of Christmas Eve, and for our dinner, we dined at Pizza Hut at Serangoon NeX Shopping Mall. Thanks to my brother, Alvin, whom sponsored us complimentary vouchers to dine there.

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

Yes, we had all of the above at Pizza Hut for free. Thanks to my really sweet brother!

And following which, as the surprise that I had planned for Baby could only take place at 2140 hours and it was only 1930hours after we had our dinner, I had to delay some time and we literally combed through the whole of NeX Shopping Mall. Thankfully, this took up quite a lot of time.

We went to the Pet Lover’s Centre to look at Pets!

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

And we saw this Chinchilla which is really cute.

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

When it was about time, I revealed my surprise for Baby and yes, I treated her to the Mission Impossible Movie at the Shaw Premiere Cinema, which is equivalent to GV’s Gold Class Cinema.

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

The seats are extremely cool! Its fully automatic and even has a button where you can press and call for a service staff to attend to you.

From Christmas 2011

Baby filling up the lucky draw coupons. Really pray hard that we will be able to win the grand prize of a Macbook Air! =P

From Christmas 2011

Yes, you saw it right, we had a mini countdown party in the cinema theatre and were each served a glass of complimentary champagne.

From Christmas 2011
From Christmas 2011

While I must say that the service provided by the Premiere team were outstanding, I can’t say the same for the ticketing team. In fact, we were utterly disappointed with them and have emailed our feedback regarding this issue. Hopefully, we will be able to hear from them soon.

So after our movie, we headed to Ang Mo Kio Police Station to give Alvin a Christmas surprise! Baby and I were standing outside the Police Station wondering how best to surprise Alvin but in the end, because we looked really suspicious, our surprise gave way but nonetheless, we were glad to have cheered Alvin up, especially when he is on duty on Christmas eve just to protect our city. Hence, that’s what we did for Christmas Eve and there will probably be two more entries along the way so stay tuned~!

Hello Everyone,
today I am going to introduce to you a very popular eating place known as Chomp Chomp located @ Serangoon Gardens. For those of you whom are expatriates in Singapore, you might just want to check out this place if you prefer an alternative to Newton Food Centre. Here, you can savour the local foodfare at really good prices. The atmosphere here is lively and very vibrant. With pubs that open till the wee morning, the night scene here is something to look out for if you just want a quiet drink in a neighbourhood kind of setting.

Chomp Chomp is a good eating place for big groups of people as well. However, one disadvantage is this, finding a place to sit down and have a dinner is difficult. It’s not impossible but its really tough, and you got to be really patient in order to find the perfect spot for dining. There are dozen of stores there selling BBQ food like Stingrays, Otah, Satay and there are also other stores that sells Desserts, Drinks, Popiah, Rojak, Oyster Omelette, Noodles and etc. To be really honest with you, each store has their own unique way of cooking and hence, the taste of a BBQ Sambal Stingray for example, may different from store to store. So, you got to really frequent Chomp Chomp and try ordering from different stores so as to find the perfect taste that you’re very comfortable with.

The best thing about eating at Chomp Chomp is probably the awesome pricing!  The food is not that expensive and its shown on the store’s signages, unlike the stores in Newton Food Centre that tends to rip people’s pockets unknowingly.

Rojak

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Popiah

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The Rojak cost me $3 while the Popiah cost me $2.40 for 2. Both of them are from the same store and they taste really really good! You should try it!

Oyster Omelette

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The Oyster Omelette is not bad but I might not buy from the same store ever again because the oysters are not  fresh! It cost $3 anyway. My friend, Aldaias knows the best place for Oyster Omelette and I will post an entry about that very soon!

Char Kway Teow

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The Char Kway Teow is average for my taste and it cost $3. In fact, the best Char Kway Teow I have ever tasted in my life is situated at Marine Parade Food Centre, near the Macdonald’s. The name of the store is Apollo Char Kway Teow. Do check it out and perhaps you might just know the reason why I say its the best Char Kway Teow.

Longan Drink

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The Longan Drink cost $3 but seriously, its very tantalising and super refreshing! What’s more, it’s so huge that it can serve 2 people!

Ice-Jelly Cocktail

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The Ice-Jelly Cocktail cost about $2 and the taste is just so-so. The jelly tastes super bland and its kinda hard. In fact, the best Ice-Jelly (or also otherwise known as AiYu Jelly) that I have ever tasted is the one my mum makes at home. So, its priceless. If you want to taste some or perhaps find out how my mother makes them, do drop me an email at melvin.ocs@gmail.com and I will share with you more.

The last dish that Baby and I ordered was the BBQ Chicken Wings which costs us about $4 plus for 4 pieces of chicken wings. Pardon me for not putting up any photo of the Chicken Wings as we were both so engrossed with the wings that in the heat of the moment, we totally forgotten to take a picture of them.

In total we spent less than $20 for 2 persons and that makes up about $10 per person. For such high quality and inexpensive food, there’s a reason to visit Chomp Chomp!

Bon Appetit!

 

 

 

 

8 Degrees Taiwanese Bistro- ????

Located @ 164 Yio Chu Kang Road, Singapore 545616

Contact Number: 62848226

Operating Hours: 6:00PM to 12:00AM

The Menu Cover Page

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Hello Everyone,

today, I am going to bring your attention to this new Taiwanese Bistro (opened about 6 months) called 8 Degrees. Situated in a little corner near the petrol kiosk along Yio Chu Kang Road, it might be easy to overlook this eatery.

From the outside, the Bistro looks compact and cosy and it wasn’t very crowded when Baby and I visited. When we entered the Bistro, we ourselves a corner table to settle down and listened to the Chinese oldies they were playing over their sound system. When we looked through their food menu, the food they serve are mostly the familiar local foodfare and western dishes, coupled together with some Taiwanese street foods for appetisers and side dishes. The desserts and beverages offered are pretty extensive too.

The Cosy Ambience of the Bistro

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What We Ordered

Duo Mushroom Soup

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The duo mushroom soup tastes good. Furthermore, the deep-fried Chinese bun is served instead of the traditional garlic bread or hard roll which is often served to dip in soups, . The mushrooms used to make the soup is also very fresh. The only letdown was that the soup was not served piping hot. Being a soup lover myself, the mark of a restaurant in its ability to serve excellent soups would be the soup’s temperature. Hence, that is why, I always tell people that the best French soups I have ever tasted so far in my life, is the one being served as Saybons.

Salted Crispy Chicken

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According to Baby, the salted crispy chicken isn’t up to her expectations as she felt that the dish lacked a spicy fragrance. For me, I felt that it was ok.

Taiwanese Oyster Omelette

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Again, Baby felt that the oyster omelette that is served in Taiwan is way better than the one we had. However, I got to put the point across that similarly, what may taste great in Singapore (in terms of local foodfare), may not taste as great as those which are prepared overseas. (probably due to some missing ingredients that may not be found there) For me, this dish was alright. The oysters were fresh and the omelette was nicely cooked.

Taiwanese Sakura Shrimp and Prawn Fried Rice

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The fried rice tasted pretty ordinary. It’s very much like what you would find in the hawker or food centre. The fried rice was very fragrant and the portion is just nice for one person.

8 Degress Iced Yuan Yang

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Baby says that the Yuan Yang tasted alright. I don’t really fancy milk products so I can’t really comment on this one.

Honey Bubble Green Tea

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This was the drink that I ordered. Basically, I believe the concoction is Green Tea + Honey + Pearls. However, I felt that the quality of this drink could be further improved upon. The scent and the fragrance of the tea was very bland and minimal, in fact it almost tasted like plain water to me. As I believe they must have added quite a lot of honey, the sweetness of the honey slightly improved the bland taste of the water. The pearls were soft and chewy.

Toast with Honey and Butter

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This has to be one of the better tasting toasts I ever had. The toast is pretty thick and it is laced with honey. Strawberries with chocolate sauce were also served by the side as an accompaniment. Having this dish ends of our meal perfectly. In fact, this toast puts Wanchai Hong Kong Kitchen @ NeX to shame!

Level of Service

Ok, I have to be brutally honest here. The level of service provided isn’t top notch and may be well lacking in certain areas. However, as the Bistro just opened for about 6  months mainly during the evenings, the level of service provided may be under average or perhaps just average. Speed and efficiency is lacking, and the service staffs probably lack communication between one another. So, visit the Bistro with an open mind and lower your expectations about the service level.

Overall Experience

We will definitely be visiting the Bistro again! There are many other food items available that we want to try and we hope that the next time we visit, things would have improved by then. In case you’re wondering, we spent a total of $45.60 for this visit. So, if you have spare cash to spend, you may want to check out this Bistro; otherwise, you might just want to wait a while for things to improve so that you get your money worth!

Bon Appetit!

Hello Everyone,
today I am going to put up yet another food review again. I have done a review of Sakon Thai Restaurant on my previous website before, but because of a strong demand for a repost, here’s the LATEST and UPDATED review.

Address of Sakon Thai: Blk 152 Serangoon North Ave 1, #01-304

Contact Number: +65 6288 8225 (you can call and make a reservation, peak periods are usually from 7PM onwards)

Introduction:

Baby and I have dined at this popular Thai restaurant for 3 times already and the food served here has never once failed us. What is probably so attractive about dining at this restaurant is the affordability and value-for-money dining experience. However, for all of our visits to the same outlet at Serangoon North, their utensils are always not washed properly and hence, this is quite a turn off for those of us who are pretty particular about hygiene. Service level was slightly above average as most of the service staffs are from Thailand (Thai people are really friendly and they attend to people really well).

The Dishes That We Ordered From All Of Our Visits:

Sakon Thai Restaurant

Sakon Thai

Sakon Thai Restaurants serves really good AUTHENTIC THAI FOOD at really affordable prices!

Ambience of the Restaurant

Ambience

The restaurant has a pretty cosy kind of ambience. Great for dining in big groups or with family members.

Porcelain Wares Used for Sauces

Porcelain Wares

From what I understand, neighbourhood restaurants seldom use Porcelain Wares to serve condiments due to the expensive price, but Sakon Thai does it and this probably increases the visual appeal of the dishes they serve.

Stuffed Chicken Wings *MUST TRY*

Stuffed Chicken Wings

The Stuffed Chicken Wings is a dish you MUST TRY although the waiting time for it can be quite long. The chicken is soft and tender and as you sink your teeth into it, you will realise that the chicken is actually boneless and that the meat is stuffed with wholesome chestnuts. It’s worth the wait!

Spicy Mango Salad

Spicy Mango Salad

Honestly, I didn’t really fancy this dish as it was pretty spicy and the mango salad was way too sour for my liking. I still prefer the one that is served at ThaiExpress.

Tom Yum Seafood Clear Soup

Tom Yam Seafood Clear Soup

It is incomplete to have a Thai meal without Tom Yum Soup and so we ordered one and boy, it tasted really good. For me, I find that the spicyness of the soup was just right and the seafood they added, such as prawns, sotongs, sliced fish meats were very fresh. You can have a choice of thick soup or clear soup and for your information, thick soup is more spicy than clear soup.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

The Thai Pineapple Fried Rice is probably quite similar in taste as those which I tried in other restaurants but I like the fact that Sakon Thai’s Pineapple Fried Rice is served with meat floss, making the dish slightly sweet-tasting to complement the sour taste of the pineapple.

Honey Chicken with Egg Rice

Honey Chicken with Egg Rice

The next time I visit Sakon Thai, I would probably order this dish for myself because when I had a bite of the honey chicken, it tasted heavenly. The honey chicken was juicy, tender, and sweet. I would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND this dish.

Phad Thai Chicken

Phad Thai Chicken

When I ate this dish, it really reminded me of my two Thai friends who once cooked the same dish as well. The taste was really authentic and the serving was pretty generous. What I probably didn’t quite like was the chicken as it was overcooked.

Thai Red Ruby Dessert

Red Ruby

The first time I tried the Red Ruby Dessert at ThaiExpress, I quite like it and hence decided to try out the Red Ruby that is served at Sakon Thai. The Red Ruby served at Sakon Thai is not that sweet (for those who are limiting their intake of sugar, this could be quite a welcoming dessert) and the taste is just right. However, the coconut ice-cream served was pretty much melted so I didn’t quite like it. Personally, I still fancy the Red Ruby that’s served at ThaiExpress.

Thai Iced Tea

Thai Iced Tea

The Thai Ice Tea wasn’t that fantastic because it has a rather odd burnt taste. So, we don’t recommend this one unless you have spare cash and want to try it out. Sakon Thai serves ice-water at no additional charge.

Overall Dining Experience?

Sakon Thai is worth checking out. From all our visits to Sakon Thai, our average bill per person is no more than $20 and to me, that really is great value for an authentic taste of Thai food. What’s more, they don’t charge the 10% service charge as well. So, the next time you are craving for some authentic Thai Food and you are around Serangoon, do remember to try Sakon Thai!

Bon Appetite!