Sentosa! You know the best thing about traveling solo is that you meet all sorts of people from different countries. This is Mai from Thailand. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here and there’s a lot of new additions…
…like the luge. My first luge experience was when I was 13 while on family trip to New Zealand. The luge in Sentosa is from a Kiwi company too.
I stayed at Studio M Hotel which has an awesome concept – your room basically has two floors – the ground floor is where you work, chill and take care of your sanitary needs and there’s a loft upstairs where you sleep. I was half afraid I’ll wake up, fall out of bed and come crashing down to the ground floor but no, that didn’t happen, so fear not. 😉
Singapore Arts Festival 2011. I was particularly interested in this one. It’s an outdoor arts fest which happens annually and there was one show in particular that I wanted to catch.
When A Grey Taiwanese Cow Stretched. I ran out of hyperbolic adjectives trying to describe this Osakan rap theater performance – moving, groundbreaking, engaging. It’s every bit as I had hoped it would turn out to be. It’s the first time they’re showing it outside of Japan too.
Salvador Dali had an exhibition in the ArtsScience Center too. I love his work. You feel like you’re tripping when you’re not. Hands down my favorite artist overall – my favorite piece of work would be Edmund Munch’s The Scream but Dali is in a class of his own.
Pre-theatre tapas at Santi. I love the Iberico pork. Lovely porcine delights.
The Lion King! Yup, the Singapore performance is every bit as good as the West End cast and they had a lot of localizations too. Gotta love that touch.
Drinks @ Ku De Ta with Joyce and Clem after the show. Amazing views.
Universal Studios Singapore!
I headed straight for the Battlestar Galactica rides – it was a staggering 75 minute wait for the Human and a 90 minute wait for the Cylon but I went for both anyway…
…and got some of the merchandize to boot. Yay! I’m a huge fan.
I ended it with a large bowl of Tai Wah Pork Noodle and a bottle of Tiger in the Singapore Food Trail. 🙂
There’s so much I still haven’t written about – the trip was amazing, loved the art scene and theaters in particular. Thanks to Singapore Tourism Board for having me!
Over the last year and a half, Singapore has launched two brand new integrated resorts. One of the resorts is the luxurious Marina Bay Sands Resort and Casino, which is located right in the city center in the Marina Bay area of Singapore. It is owned by the Sands Corporation, which is the same American company that is famous for their flag ship Sands Casino in Las Vegas, United States. Here are some highlights of what the Marina Bay Sands Resort and Casino has to offer.
The Casino
The casino at the Marina Bay Sands Resort is a two story gambling facility with all the popular games such as Pasarbola,Black Jack, bandar bola. Also they have many jackpot slot machines available. As with all casinos in Singapore, all Singapore citizens and permanent residence holders must pay a 100$ levy to en
Now there I was, arriving at Santi at 6:15 pm for the 6:30 pm dinner (tend to be on the early side) when this vista greeted me. I didn’t come to gamble though – I just have SGD 300 (about RM 750) on me so I opened the door the Santi…except it didn’t open. The lady came out and told me that they open their doors at 6:30 pm so I had 15 minutes to kill.
…where else can I go?
I strolled down to the casino and I AM SAD TO REPORT THAT NO ONE BOTHERED CHECKING MY AGE. Has my liver been ravaged by my years of abuse that I look my age again (which is 30, btw)?
Saddened by the fact that they only wanted to see the cover of my passport to verify that I was a foreigner (locals have to pay a fee to enter the casino) I morosely trudged down and went to the nearest Baccarat table.
This was a cold table (meaning it’s empty, no punters playing and you’re the first one to warm the seats and cut the deck) so I sat at the lucky Number 6 spot and exchanged SGD 200 for chips.
…now I’m REALLY BROKE this month (and the next) so this is the MAXIMUM I am willing to wager. I sat down on a minimum SGD 100 bet table so I had to bet with a black SGD 100 chip each time. However, that was the plan anyway, I would have bet that amount even on smaller buy in tables coz I really don’t see the point in putting down SGD 25.
Well, since it was a cold table, the female dealer shuffled the cards while I played with my chips which is not something I’m used to back home. I wanted to bet on Tie since this baccarat table pays out 8-1 for a tie. However, I am also VERY attached to wagering on Player (a weakness that even 5 figure losses has not been able to remedy) so I put in on Player instead. T_T
Buy in: SGD 200
Dealer says: “Cards facing up or down?”
I say: “All face up, let’s make this quick I need to be somewhere in 15 minutes.”
Round 1:
SGD 100 on Player
Player draws a natural 8
AND BANKER DRAWS AN 8 AS WELL
FML it was a Tie after all. >.< Chips remaining: SGD 200 (no one wins or loses on straight bets if it’s a tie)
Round 2:
SGD 100 on Player
Player draws a natural 9
I didn’t even have to look at the Banker
WIN SGD 100 Chips remaining: SGD 300
Round 3:
SGD 100 on Player
Player draws King
Banker draws an Jack
Player draws a 3
A THREE!!! WTF!
Banker draws a 5
FML MAX
Player draws ANOTHER FACE CARD – QUEEN! (which means I’m still at 3)
Banker draws…a 6
Heh! Well, that was three straight wins in a row.
BTW, that makes Banker 1, lower than a 3. Chips remaining: SGD 400 (nett win of SGD 200)
I didn’t even want to bet anymore – three straight wins in a row (or at least no losses) is good enough for me. I wasn’t even at the table for more than 3 minutes, all in all. The rest of the time was spent accidentally walking out and queuing in to come in again and going to the cashier and I was STILL early for dinner – had to wait about 2 minutes.
SGD 200 (around RM 500) is not that much but it covers some of my Singapore expenses and it’ll help with groceries when I’m broke for the next two months. 😀
Yes, this is the infamous toilet shot again, coz casinos generally frown upon cameras – you can bring it in but you probably can’t take photos without getting kicked out. Except in Amsterdam.
I’m flying to Singapore this weekend to catch The Lion King musical (among other things). I’ll be staying at the awesome Studio M hotel near Clarke Quay and there’s a lot of fun stuff on my itinerary that I’m really looking forward to! I’ll also be watching Matsumoto’s theater performance When a Gray Taiwanese Cow Stretched at the Singapore Arts Festival.
This is the first time Ishinha’s play is showing outside Japan and being a huge fan of theater, I know I’ll love it! I made a special request to see the play (thanks Kristine!) so my itinerary is kinda packed to accommodate for this but it’s all going to be great fun since I haven’t been to Singapore in a while.
It’s time to pack and grab my passport. I can’t wait to go! 🙂
I attended a dinner hosted by Singapore Tourism Board a couple of days ago at Delucca, One Residency. The dinner was held to unveil the new YourSingapore.com site on the digital front with a blogger engagement program. It just so happens that I’m one of the two bloggers going on an all expenses paid trip to Singapore! 🙂
The restaurant was decked out with banners displaying the different facets of Singapore. That’s the lovely Kristine over there – in hindsight, it was a bad idea to stand next to her in my color clashing outfit. 😉 I just got back to KL and most of my wardrobe is still at the laundry. Heh!
Fresh here was the one who pointed out that my shirt and jeans color combination makes her want to stab her own eyes out with a hot poker. Okay, she didn’t exactly say those words but that was the gist of it. Easy to say when you have a color matching outfit to the romance themed banner. :p
I love the themed banners in the restaurant displaying the different facets of Singapore. There was a bit of mingling around and then we all settled down for dinner.
Delucca is an Italian restaurant with a simple but superb starter of bread drizzled with olive oil and oregano.
I’m an avid traveller and I love to go for everything from long trips to Europe to short sojourns a few hours drive away from KL. It’s a passion that my family has imbued in me – we have a tradition of going on at least one family vacation a year.
I first visited Singapore when I was 7 years old. I can’t remember the details of it but I remember it as a very safe place. It still is – I was there 8 months ago, and I had no worries at all walking down the street at 3 am in the morning. I don’t believe there’s any other city in the world where you can do that without fear of being mugged or worse.
Well, Singapore has changed a lot since then. It’s a constantly changing city – that’s part of the appeal – they manage to preserve their heritage while moving forward and modernizing the city. It’s the perfect tourist destination. It was when I went on all those annual family trips and it still is. I just turned 30 and I’ll continue the family tradition with my own when the time comes. 🙂
Back to the dinner, there was a lot of good food and wine. I particularly liked the Panzanella Gamberetto – it’s a Tuscan bread salad with poached fresh water prawns, cherry tomatoes, shallots, olives and balsamic dressing. The prawns were succulent!
It was a great start to the launch of the new website. Gerald, the Area Director of Singapore Tourism Board took the stage and went through YourSingapore.com – their new site which allows you to see country specific promotions, upcoming events and festivals and even an intuitive travel planner where you can organize your own itinerary.
They also have a Facebook page where you can see the latest offers and promotions. It’s a great platform for interacting with the Singapore Tourism Board staff and other like minded travellers. There are discussions about everything Singapore and the Facebook page nicely complements the YourSingapore.com website by providing a sense of community.
I was filming the speech when I heard that I was one of the bloggers who will be going to Singapore based on the itinerary that I made earlier this week. w00t!
I’ll be going to see The Lion King musical at Marina Bay Sands! This is the first South-East Asian premiere and tickets were given out during the dinner along with shopping vouchers during a contest. I’ve seen the cast perform at West End when I went to London earlier this year and it’ll be great to see the Singapore production. I hear the cast is sourced from London too!
Another highlight would be Voyage de la Vie, the theatrical rock circus by Mark Fisher at Resorts World Sentosa. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this and I can’t wait to see it for myself.
I also put Universal Studios Singapore into my itinerary – it’s a place that I’ll love to visit. I’m a huge fan of Battlestar Galactica (it’s an intelligent science fiction series – kinda like Star Trek for mature audiences who can understand the nuances of politics) and there a new ride based on the show. It’s dubbed a “duelling roller coaster” with two simultaneous rides going around and with near collisions mere centimeters apart! I’m excited already. Heh!
My itinerary is a mixture of culture, adventure, nature and pleasure so I named it such. You can view it here or plan your very own itinerary. It’s really user friendly and everything Singapore has to offer is categorized with excerpts so you can just drag and drop to plan your trip there.
I also added some island hopping action (did you know you can see dolphins in Singapore?), a bit of nightlife (you haven’t been to Singapore until you’ve sipped the original Singapore Sling in Long Bar at Raffles Hotel), and a pampering session at a spa.
The best thing about YourSingapore.com (besides the nifty itinerary planner, which caters for everything from travel to health care tourism) is the country specific deals. There is a lot of promotions going on and you can choose whatever floats your boat.
There’s one in particular that caught my eye – the Ultimate Fun at Universal Studios Singapore, Resorts World Singapore package which starts from 1st April to 31st July 2011. You can choose to stay from a variety of hotels – including Hard Rock Hotel Singapore and 2 x 1 day adult passes into Universal Studios Singapore. You’ll also get Resorts World Sentosa Singapore gift vouchers worth S$25 and other offers. Choose from a 2D/1N or 3D/2N stay and the prices starts from just S$488 for two!
I think that’s a really great deal.
It was a great dinner and everyone went home with something even if they didn’t win the prizes in the contest. Thanks Singapore Tourism Board!
YourSingapore.com allows you to see Singapore YOUR WAY. You can create your own itinerary or choose one of their suggested itineraries and customize it. It’s one of the best official tourism websites I’ve ever seen. Hop on over and check it out for yourself.
What exactly is kampong chicken? Translated literally it would “rural chicken” but it actually means free range chicken. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think it’s a different species (at least, a different kind of chicken) since it’s much smaller and leaner than the usual poultry offerings.
I went to Kampong Chicken Eating House in Singapore right before we were slated to come home. The bus was about to leave so we decided to head down here for some nourishment before we departed.
This is a photo of a bowl of plain steamed chicken rice. Mundane? It looks that way but it didn’t TASTE that way (which was what compelled me to snap someone’s bowl after I partook of mine). The individual grains of rice is soft, fluffy and infused with the essence of chicken goodness!
I have a huge appetite (which explains my current weight) so I ordered a chicken drumstick with some chopped liver and an egg…
…and a quarter of chicken (thigh and drum) to complement the order and make it into a belly rubbing, over eating experience. 😉
It tasted good to me and everyone else on the table agreed that it was better than most chicken rice outlets. Good company, good food – it’s twice the fun just like the Xpax XXL double bonus. I particularly enjoyed the tender and moist chicken.
I finished everything so that’s gotta say something right?
The first Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards was held on 23rd October 2009 at the Grand Ballroom of Pan Pacific Singapore. I just realized that I have too many photos to write in my usual verbose (some just call it long-winded) full-fledged event coverage style so:
Like a scrotum here it is in a nutshell! 😉
Registration! Spot Carol (MY), Raine (SG) and Pinky (AU) behind the desk! Hanis (in white) was with me on the bus, thought I went on the wrong one.
Here’s Jestina and Rina behind the (very long) registration desk.
This is the Australian contingent at the wall where you can take photos courtesy of Canon.
I always feel (slightly) better about my height when I stand next to Audrey. 😉
I. Must. Resist. Pulling. Audrey’s. Tiny. White. Cap. Off.
Tim and Ming with the rest of the Nuffies did a great job in pulling an event of this scale off.
Two Jestinas!
I also met XiaXue who snagged 3 (!!!) awards that night. We don’t exactly see eye to eye on some issues e.g. substances, so barbed remarks were occasionally exchanged (to be fair I started it first – I think) but seeing her in real life suggests she’s an alright person.
The stage is set…and the Grand Ballroom slowly fills up.
I love these custom made Nuffnang APAC Blog Award candy – it comes with three varients: I (heart) blogging, NN Blog Awards, and the Nuffnang logo.
Cheesie’s reaction after I politely put forth the suggestion of using Cheddie as an ingredient in a cooking experiment.
Hot bread rolls and butter
Marinated Smoked Tuna with Feta, Herb Salad and Balsamic Olive Oil
Light Cream of Asparagus and Green Peas topped with a Chive Mousseline
Rosemary Marinated Chicken Breast with Saffron Cheesy Mash Potato and Balsamic Reduction Mediterranean Vegetable in Mango Coriander Salsa Sauce
Praline Hazelnut Gateau with Raspberry Jelly
Camwhoring with:
Tzia
Vivien
Karen
Michelle
Ning
Zues
Jolene
Natalie. The sheer amount of photos here will probably rape your bandwidth…
I really like this photo. Haha! Nice pose there, Jestina.
Wei Zhi
Carol
Nicholas
Cheng Leong
Jolyn
Nara
Doing the attitude pose with Jojo!
It was an awesome night. Here’s to Nuffnang Asia-Pacific Blog Awards 2010! =D
I was at Maxwell Food Court for lunch during the Nuffnang APAC Blog Awards Singapore tour when I stumbled upon a stall in the otherwise modestly populated food court with a long queue. It was for Zhen Zhen Porridge and not being particularly fond of porridge; I explored the other side of the food court and was rewarded (?) with the longest queue I’ve ever seen in my entire life!
Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration…it was the longest queue in the food court, snaking all the way through tables of people eating to the other side. I wondered what the fuss was about and stood in line.
That probably wasn’t a good idea since my rudimentary calculations of the number of people in the queue and the speed at which Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice was pushing its warez indicated I would probably get my lunch at 2013 AD or so. Probably around August 13th at a little past 4 am in the morning.
However, I spotted Wei Zhi (otherwise known as Citygal of KampongboyCitygal – pictured above) and Christine (of Brought up 2 SharE – shown below) standing in line in front of me. Ha! If they’re waiting in line, it’s gotta be good, so I trusted in their judgment and casually strolled up to have a chat with them.
This is a very advanced tactical maneuver which involves pulling your digicam out and nonchalantly taking a narrative video of the queue ending with the two abovementioned people in front. It works best if you proceed to camwhore straight after that and start talking animatedly while pointedly ignoring the people behind.
It is also known as queue cutting. 😉
The list of awards bagged by Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice
Despite my strategic maneuvers, it took us 30 minutes (!!!) to get to Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice which is a bit on the ridiculous side considering we were all standing up instead of seated and waiting. My table mates thought I went missing!
The drumstick chicken rice with a large portion of rice came up to SGD 3.50 which is pretty cheap if you don’t convert it into about RM 8. I liked the taste of the rice; it was very flavorful and infused with chicken stock. I half expected to see a stray chicken or two inside the plate of rice.
Having a less refined palate than Wei Zhi (she’s the one who recommended Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice) I found the chicken to be tender and moist – both promising characteristics in poultry. It’s very juicy and the sauce and ginger paste served with it does well to complement the flavor of the chicken rice. I quite enjoyed it to be honest.
Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice @ Maxwell Food Court dishes up great chicken rice but I wouldn’t wait 30 minutes for it. I was about halfway through my meal when I was told our group had to leave for the next destination.
Okay, a lot of people have been giving me a hard time about heading down to Geylang in Singapore but I didn’t go there to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh. Oh wait, I did! However, it was frog flesh rather than the Homo sapiens variety. I went there for the famous frog leg porridge. =D
The frog leg porridge is at Lorong 9 in Geylang. You can’t miss it. There are pictures of frogs right on the signboard. I’m not a big fan of porridge so I was rather dubious about this, but I like frog legs, it’s the best inventioncreation evolution since sliced bread. The Chinese calls it tien chi which means “field chicken” – a euphemism if you will.
The Lorong 9 Geylang frog leg porridge is the most renowned one in Singapore. I had a bit of a chat with the proprietor and he told me that the frogs are actually from Malaysia since they don’t have frog breeding farms in Singapore.
He also enquired whether it’s my first time eating here, to which I replied in the affirmative. He recommended the Dried Chilli Frog Leg Porridge.
It costs SGD 10 for the entire meal (about RM 25 or so) and comes with a bowl of steaming hot porridge seasoned with freshly chopped spring onions and a claypot serving of frog legs cooked with dried chillies (kung pow style).
This is actually a fucking good cooking method since the chillies do not overpower the frog legs but adds that elusive zing to the porridge. Congee, as we all know, is rather bland by nature.
I don’t even like congee, but to my surprise I ended up eating the entire bowl. The dried chilli cooking method produces a lot of mouth-wateringly spicy gravy for the porridge. I planned to just eat the frog legs with a bit of congee but I whacked the entire pot.
Mmm…frog legs – it tastes like very tender chicken with the texture of fish. The sweet and succulent frog legs, the appetite inducing dry chilli, and the spring onion infused congee are hallmarks of what makes this a truly intense porridge experience.
Lorong 9 Geylang frog porridge gets the thumbs up from me. Just don’t linger around the area; you may come across establishments which your mom would frown upon. 😉
Ah…I can’t think of anything more sinful than this. I’ve first been introduced to deep fried Mars bars in Australia but we heard there’s a place in Singapore that sells it.
It’s not fried Mars bars per se but what they call “Fried Mars Balls”. It’s SGD 3.50 for 4 pieces with your choice of ice cream.
Of course I chose chocolate ice cream. You just can’t have enough chocolate despite what Solomon said.
I was rather disappointed with the serving though. It’s Mars and it’s batter fried but it doesn’t beat a whole deep fried Mars bar from a fish and chips shop. It’s just like pickled eggs I reckon, it’s one of those things that only fish and chips places does right.
…forget the rest, the best coverage of the event is at sixthseal.com
I arrived at DXO at approximately 6 pm.
Camwhored for about 30 minutes…
…and promptly passed out on the couch. This photo was taken by proxy, and most didn’t turn out well coz Eiling is not familiar with my digicam.
I was there in body, but not in spirit. Pun intended.
I’m very sorry Nuffnang!
I was there as Osama bin Laden under custody, which is why I’m wearing the US-issue flak jacket for protection instead of my usual camouflage gear. I was blindfolded and had my hands tied behind my back to boot. The interrogation process quite appalling too and I think they slipped something into my drink…
…which was why I passed out.
I put all blame on the people who took me into custody while en-route to Guatemala Bay. :p
Next up: Food posts from Singapore trip and the bus ride home with the Nuffies.
