Saturday, April 20, 2013

Bugis Junction Food Trail with OMY.SG

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to go on a food trial with a wonderful group of omy.sg bloggers. We ate our way through 10 food establishments located within Bugis Junction from 11 in the morning all the way till evening! Unfortunately I had to leave earlier so I missed out on the last the 3 stops, but it was still a good experience nonetheless.

Having gone through 7 places, I have come to truly understand the meaning of a food “concussion”, by the 3rd top or so most of us were already stoning out. We covered many types of cuisines ranging from Western, Chinese, Thai and Japanese – it was a very foodful weekend!

Do note that everything in this post and the following posts are completely my own, based on my experience and thoughts.

Ok, with that out of the way, here is the list of places were ate our way though. If you want to know more about the place and see the yummilicious photos just click on the links and you will be brought to the respective restaurants with yummy food photos. Ready to be “hungrified”?... Read more>>

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1: On Jetstar back to Singapore

When the 5 days was up, it was time to bid adieu to Taipei. A taxi ride from Hotel Quote Taipei saw us to the airport within an hour. The staff at Hotel Quote Taipei were very polite and helpful when they helped us book the taxi to the airport. As the flight was in the late afternoon, we left at one in the afternoon.

It was a smooth journey to the airport and checking in the luggage was a breeze. Well, it was smooth until DramaQueen realized that the water bottle in her bag was not closed properly and everything inside was literally swimming. But that was easy resolved with a quick trip to the airport’s bathroom and use of the (multi-purpose) hand dryer - the wonders of gadgets. Well, that semi-wet passport of hers did make an interesting conversation piece between her and th... Read more>>

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Taipei 101



Taipei 101 was on our itinerary on Day 2 right after our visit to the Taipei Zoo. What is a visit to Taipei and not visit Taipei 101 (at least once)? It is like not seeing the Eiffel Tower when in Paris, but I digress. There is a free shuttle bus from the City Hall MRT Station, but we were too excited that we boarded a paying bus. It only cost NT$7 and took about 5 minutes to reach Taipei 101, so it... Read more>>

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Dim Sum Time at Canton Paradise (Star Vista)

Dim Sum Time at Canton Paradise (Star Vista)

I’ve passed by Canton Paradise a few times and have always wanted to tried it and so opportunity presented itself. It was pretty late at night that we made our way to Canton Paradise after an event on a weekday night. We made it just in time for the last order (at 9.30pm). It was an ordering frenzy as we tried to order what we thought we would like to eat and how much we could eat. It was a memorable hungry frenzied moment as we hurried before the last order.

Located at the basement of Star Vista, Canton Paradise serves up Cantonese cuisine and all day dim sum (my favorite!). As we were there pretty late, there wasn’t any queue or much of a crowd, so there was no need to... Read more >>

Monday, April 08, 2013

Confessions of Murder Preview

Confessions of Murder

I recently had the opportunity to attend the movie preview of Confession of Murder (thanks to omy.sg and GV), a Korean movie about a serial killer who evades capture after murdering 10 women, possibly 11, but the last victim, who was also Choi Hyung-gu’s (primary detective) girlfriend, was never confirmed. After some time has passed, the murderer comes out of the closet after the statue of... Read More>>

Sunday, April 07, 2013

Hotel Double One (Beitou)

While in Taipei, Taiwan, what should not be missed is the hotsprings, especially in winter! So to reward ourselves, we decided to have a short stay (just one night) at one of the hotels in XinBeitou or Beitou. Initially I wanted to stay at Grand View Resort, but the price was just too steep with it being peak season and all (it was also quite a last minute planned trip).

We finally settled for Hotel Double One, a quaint little hotel located away from the hustle and bustle in Beitou. Service was excellent: there is complimentary pickup from the MRT Station, and they even offered to drive us back to the Beitou MRT Station on the day that we left. If you are in a rush, they would also offer to pack your breakfast for you to take on the go. How thoughtful! Breakfast itself was a delight with foods such as beef noodles and... Read more>>

Saturday, April 06, 2013

Just Sleep (Ximending)

Just Sleep (Ximending) is conveniently located near the Green-Blue Metro line, Ximending MRT Station, and just 1 stop away from the Taipei Main Station. From the Ximending MRT Station, via Exit 6 (not exit M6 of the station in the direction of the "Ximen Intelligent Library", the hotel is about a 5-10 minute walk up a flight of stairs and right next to a 7-Eleven Store. 

The hotel has 9 floors, but it shares the building with offices, and occupies the 1st and 5th to 9th floors. The room we stayed in was quite compact (but expected for a hotel of this caliber) for two persons (with a double bed).

Just Sleep (Ximending)
The comfy bed

Although compact, the room was comfortable enough and equipped with basic amenities such as 2 complimentary bottles of water (replenished everyday) and... Read more>>

Thursday, April 04, 2013

Kim Jong Kook Singapore Fan Meeting (Showcase) Feb 2013

Kim Jong Kook Singapore Fanmeet 2013

Kim Jong Kook was in town just a few weeks back for his fan-meeting showcase and I had the privilege of going together with DramaQueen. She is a big fan of Kim Jong Kook and I was swept up in her excitement (to an extent). You can read more about DramaQueen’s thoughts about her fan-meet experience here.

Apart from the MBLAQ concert, which we attended in Taipei last year, this would be my first fan meeting and the experience was interesting with fans more dramatic and enthusiastic than... Read more>>

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Gangnam... no not Oppa its Gangnam Garden... again!

Went back to Gangnam Garden at City Square Mall again for lunch and they were still having their lunch promotion. This time there were 4 of us, 3 ordered the bibimbap set lunch, while 1 just had her Dundubu-Jjiage (soup) with her pork bulgolgi. If you want to know more about the lunch promotion or how the soup looks, please read my previous review here. But here are Gangnam Garden's options for the lunch promotion:
  • A choice of one main dish: Dundubu-Jjiage (soup) / Dolsot-Bibimbap / Mul-Naengmyeon (Soup Cold Noodle) / Bibim- Naengmyeon (Dry Cold Noodles)
  • A choice of meat: Chicken / Beef / Pork
  • 3 Side Dishes
I have always wanted to try the nyeongmyeon (cold noodles) but the weather always seems to be cold (and rainy) these days. Why is it so wet and cold in Singapore these days when it’s not even supposed to be... Read more>>

Tuesday, April 02, 2013

Between Beitou, Xin Beitou and the Hot Springs Experience (Taiwan)

It might get confusing at times when Beitou and Xin Beitou are interchangeably used at times. For the benefit of those who are just as confused as I was and to the best of my understanding, Beitou is one of the areas in Taiwan known for its hot springs and contains both the old and the new.

Old Beitou, more commonly known as Beitou, is where the Beitou MRT Station, Beitou Museum and Beitou Market are located. Beitou contains hotels/spas which are slightly more up-scale than those located in Xin Beitou. According to Wikitravel, (old) Beitou is characterized by it high quality spas, good hotels/resorts (e.g. Grand View Resort Beitou/Villa 32), excellent living accommodation and... Read More>>

Monday, April 01, 2013

This Too Shall Pass

It’s funny how different people react to the same situations in life. Being stressed is one thing, but trying to offload your stress on someone else to make yourself feel better is another matter altogether. Yes, life is not a bed of roses and there are decisions to be made. People may disagree with you and you will have your fair share of being ignored or forgotten, but that’s just a small part of life. It’s not what happens to you that make you who you are. It is how you react to what happens to you that determines who you are. Life in itself is a learning process and it is one that will never end; a never ending lesson. It just depends on how teachable we are willing to be. The more willing we are the faster the ‘lesson’ and ‘pain’ will pass.

When (the going in) life gets tough, it is nice to have a listening ear, but what happens if there is no one on standby for you? Would you wallow in self-pity, leaving yourself to dismay and despair? Well, you could. It is always easy to start blaming people and the circumstances around you. It is also very easy and takes no effort at all in trying to ‘guilt’ people who lend you a listening ear to pity you or take your side in a (possible) attempt to isolate them together with you (because of your insecurities). It does, however, take effort (and grace) to ignore the negatives and focus on the positives instead, thinking your way out of that slump. After all, the more you think badly of a situation, the worse it will seem to be than it originally was.

For instance, when you meet a new group people, they will be nice and cordial to you (initially), asking after you occasional and inviting you to hang out. But if you constantly rebuff them (because you think you cannot get along with them based on first impressions) invitations will cease (since this is supposed to be reciprocal). It takes some ‘effort’ to ask and be asked, that’s how most (if not all) friendships begin, right?

So when people stop asking and invitations cease, there will be some who actually feel ‘left out’ and ‘abandoned’. However, they never stop once to think that they hardly reciprocated by asking after the other person or even making the effort to get a phone number or two and sending occasional messages. Everyone is busy – with work, school, studies, family etc… - so it’s not really an excuse; it takes some effort if you want to be friends with someone (especially new friends). Being sensitive could be a good thing for other things, but being sensitive in these scenarios is not beneficial (for the mind a least, especially those with a vivid imagination).

There are many types of people in this world that we live in, in particular those who are outgoing and/or nice (doing what they say they will and being there for you when they can), yet there are also those who are outgoing and want to be caring (or appear to be) but fall short (by making empty promises and leaving you stranded in the worst way possible at the end). But that is what makes each of us unique and even if such people exist (in any group of friends), it is always good to be aware of the possible situations that may arise and take necessary precautions (e.g. being prepared to make your own way to/back from a venue you have never been to before, make arrangements with some other people to go together, or decline going out with them altogether and find another group you are comfortable with). Even if we are unaware of any such situations, we should not let these experiences get to us and prevent us from getting to know more people; broadening our horizons (unless you want to live a narrow boring life).

In spite of everything, life with all its ups and downs is something we should relish, especially if we have been the best we can be (or tried to be) and done the best we could to live life to the fullest, what is there to regret? Since time can never be turned back, regrets should not be about wishing what could/should have been, but should be viewed as events in our lives that have made us realize what better things are to come because of the decisions we made (or the lack thereof). No point crying over spilled milk, just get yourself a fresher better tasting glass of milk.

No matter what happens (good or bad), life still goes on so it is up to us to determine how we want this life to be (though with grace it is really so much easier ^^):
  1. Be the change you want to be, contented, happy and stress-free. OR
  2. Be constantly stressed and unhappy over matters like money (because it’s never enough and you’d always want more anyways) and insecure of people that are better than you (plenty of them out there) wanting to be better than them all