Reunion Dinner

Many restuarants are cooking up a reunion storm this year. With the recession rearing its ugly head, could these restaurants be offering more attractive and value-for-money menu this year? Let's check them out!

Millennium & Copthorne International
Lip-smacking festive treats and buffets in the line-up... take your time to pick and choose, but make your reservation fast! Check them out at http://www.millenniumhotels.com.sg/merriment/cnypromo/index.html

Harbour City Restaurant
Specially imported for this festive season to tempt your most discerning palate, each of the reunion set menu is cooked with the best ingredients put together by its Hong Kong Masterchefs. http://www.harbourcity.com.sg/reunion/

Serangoon Gardens Country Club
Dine in the serene country club with two main sets of Chinese New Year Eve Reunion Dinner menu to choose from... http://www.sgcc.com.sg/app/SGCC/food/crossroads/highlights/cnyevereunion.xml

Kia Hiang Restaurant
The cheapest set menu for 10 pax starts from $368, comprises Kia Hiang prosperity salmon raw fish, braised shark's fin with fresh crabmeat, steamed live seabass in special sauce, crispy soft shell crab with pork floss...
http://www.kiahiang.com.sg/KH_CNYReunion09.htm

If you have yet to pick out the right menu from those mentioned above, then you might have to plough through the list of CNY dining promotions put together by UOB.

Make it fast, before all reservations are taken up!

Happy Lunar New Year!
May the Year of Golden Ox brings you lots of prosperity and good health!

Good food guides in Singapore

You will never go hungry in Singapore, with the abundance food guides scattered everywhere online. Singaporeans love to eat, and it's natural for these food guides and reviews on eating establishments to exist everywhere. If you are looking for a place to eat, at your desired budget and atmosphere, here are some good ones for a start:

HungryGoWhere.com
URL: http://www.hungrygowhere.com
Slogan: "To help the global community find good food wherever they are."
Review: There are sufficient readers' reviews to get you somewhere in your quest and thirst for food! You can hit right at your choice of eating establishment with the various category search going by types of promotion, types of food places, types of cuisines, prices, and types of recommendations! All reviews are detailed with ratings on the restaurants' food and beverage, ambience/setting,, value, and service. The entire website is also graphically appealing. Don't be surprised that they have similar food guides for Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne!


Yum.SG
URL: http://www.yum.sg
Slogan: "Yum.sg is the definitive, premier online dining guide dedicated to help you seek, discover and enjoy the best dining experiences in Singapore."
Review: This one present you with a list of best reviewed food establishments upfront without hunting high and low for the best one yourself. Featured articles on food is more significant than readers' reviews. The entire website is also professionally done. However the search function is too simplistic and might not land you in the right one your are looking for. Overall, the emphasis is more on articles (Chef chat, etc) than on food reviews.


Makansutra
URL: http://www.makansutra.com/index.php
Slogan: "Celebrating Asian food, culture and lifestyle."
Review: Makansutra is very much into local delights and hawker fare. It is not a food review portal as it publishes food guides regularly. On its website, you can find tons of episodes of food reviews that appeared on TV, food podcasts, etc. and not forgetting the featured food articles.


S Best Food
URL: http://www.sbestfood.com/
Slogan: "The Most Popular & Informative Bilingual Food Guide"
Review: The plus point about this seemingly amateur website is its billingual capability. It is directory of food establishments in the heartland, each with readers' reviews on it. Website design is simple and amateur, but content is sufficient to serve it s purpose.


Makan Time
URL: http://www.makantime.com/
Slogan: "Makan Time in Singapore - Singapore unofficial food page"
Review: This one is an introductory website to food in Singapore. It describes the various favourite local delights and dishes, more useful to the tourists than to locals. Introduces to various food centres and food culture in Singapore. Website design is pretty amateur.

Set up your own stall at a flea market?

Budding entrepreneurs, before you get started with big scale businesses, you’d probably like to try to out a small simple one first. How about trying out at flea markets first? It’s cheap, fun and most importantly, it’s an opportunity to bond with family and friends.

Here’s how to get started

1. Rental charges
Usually very reasonable. Rope in your girlfriends and share the cost amongst yourself. Best if you can get a few people to join in. So that you have someone to mind the stall for you while you take your time to walk around visiting the other stalls!

2. Supplies
Go find whatever you can. Now there are no more excuses not to rummage through your wardrobe and set aside unwanted items! Clothes, books, shoes, accessories, toys etc. Don’t be shy to ask around; Mum – who knows she has those cool vintage handbags, long forgotten, buried deep beneath tons of mumsie clothing? Or how about dropping by that cute neighbour’s place that you never had the guts to speak to and ask if he has unwanted tees for ‘charity’?

3. Prices
Before starting out, survey the place. Get to know how much t-shirts, jeans, shoes etc, are selling. Branded ones and non-branded ones. Because you wouldn’t want to wonder why your stuffs ain’t selling when it’s priced too highly. Neither would you want not be able to cover your rental charges, never mind the profit.
Point to keep in mind – don’t go too far off, or too far behind.

4. Target customers
Get to know who your customers are. Teens? Foreigners? Tourists? Bring stuffs that will interest your customers. Your things should appeal to the groups of people there.

Other points to consider
You might want to have a signboard to indicate the prices. Be sure to have it big and in strategic places where it can clearly be seen.

Bring picnic mats, foldable chairs, umbrellas. Water is extremely important, especially if you’re going be under the sweltering sun for hours on end. Food too, just in case you get hungry.

What should you do when it rains? Bring a plastic sheet to cover your goodies. Who wants to buy something that’s wet and dirty, no matter how fabulous right?

Remember to have enough, if not plenty of small notes and coins. Carry a small pouch or a small sling bag with you.

Closing down sale
Prices are usually slashed come night time. That’s when you got to put your mighty voice to good use (other than karaoke-ing of course)! Start by asking your boyfriend or husband or brother to start chanting ‘$1, $2, cheap, cheap!” Of course that’s just as an example; you can ‘chant’ any amount you want. Then join in - its fun when everyone does that!

Lastly, always adhere to the rules and regulations set by the management. It is very important to operate within the boundaries and guidelines given.

Don’t be too depressed if your sales were slow. It is, after all, your first venture. You’ll do better with ample exposure and more experience.

Good luck!

Mid-Autumn Yummies

The 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar falls on 14th September this year, which marks the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, or more commonly known as the "mooncake festival" in Singapore. It's not a holiday but is a festival well-celebrated by all Chinese in Singapore.


The celebration includes children carrying brightly-lit lanterns around the estate or the adults hanging lanterns and savouring mooncakes in comfort of their own homes. To most Singaporeans, the most important part of the mooncake festival is of course the mooncakes themselves. It's a time for gathering and feasting on mooncakes!

Mooncakes
The traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste and the salty yolk in the middle, representing the full moon, is an acquired taste. More elaborate versions of mooncakes contain four egg yolks (representing the four phases of the moon). Besides lotus seed paste, other traditional fillings include red bean paste and black bean paste. Today, modern mooncakes differ from the traditinal ones in their ingredients. Coffee, chocolate, nuts (walnuts, mixed nuts, etc), fruits (prunes, pineapples, melons, etc), vegetables (sweet potatoes, etc), ham, and even lychees have been added to give a modern twist to the traditional recipes. Later came the snowy mooncakes, which are non-baked and chilled, then followed by ice-cream mooncakes... With so many varieties of mooncake, aren't you spoilt for choice yet?

Let's take a peek at the new yummy flavours offered by various hotels in Singapore:

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore
"Savour the joys of the Mid-Autumn Festival with our exquisite handmade mooncakes, including four new original flavours: Mixed Nuts & Pineapple, Green Tea Ginger, Coconut Mango and Black Sesame Almond... The Fullerton’s perennial best-seller, The Fullerton Chocolate Baileys in Snowskin..."

Goodwood Park Hotel
"Introducing this year’s new flavour of Tropical Delights – Mango with Pomelo in Snowskin Mooncake. Enveloped in each piece of the new snowskin mooncake is the smooth and luscious mango puree with refreshing mango cubes and just the right amount of juicy pomelo sacs for the perfect contrast of sweet, sour and bitter tastes..."

Raffles Hotel
"Savour three new flavours that our talented award-winning chefs have created - Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Orange & Walnut, the baked Crunchy Treasure and limited edition Mini Snow-Skin Mooncake with Krug Champagne Truffle & Ganache..."

Pan Pacific Singapore
"Velvety Rose with White Lotus Seed Paste, Decadent Chocolate Mint, Imperial Ginseng and Exquisite Red Date with Wolfberry..."

To look at what other hotels are offering, check out the credit card promotions
here

What are the different types of SPA massages?

With more and more spas setting up and offering so many variations of massages, how can you tell if you are getting the most genuine rubdown? Here are some notes on the different types of massages.

Shiatsu
Shiatsu (指圧) is a form of Japanese massage that uses thumb pressure. While receiving Shiatsu, you are fully clothed while laying on a mat on the floor.

Stone massage
Heated stones were used by Egyptians, Native Americans and in Lomilomi massage. The ones used for body massage are smooth hot or cold stones, usually basalt or marble. When heated stones are used, muscles relax, allowing the massage therapist to work deeper into the muscle.

Swedish
This style utilizes long, flowing strokes. There are six basic strokes. Oil, cream, or lotion is applied on the skin to reduce friction and allow smooth strokes. Swedish massage has shown to be helpful in reducing pain, joint stiffness, and improving function in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee over a period of eight weeks.

Thai
Thai massage is also known as traditional Thai massage, Thai yoga massage, Thai classical massage, Thai bodywork, passive yoga or assisted yoga. Thai massage is based on Ayurveda and yoga. The massage recipient changes into loose, comfortable clothes and lies on a mat on the floor.

Tui Na (Traditional Chinese massage)
Tui Na (推拿) focusing on pushing, stretching and kneading the muscle. Zhi Ya (指壓) is similar to Tui Na massage except it focuses more on pinching and pressing at acupressure points. They are both based on principles from Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Watsu
Watsu is the combination of hydrotherapy and Shiatsu. The work is done in body temperature water with both the therapist and the client in the water, usually a pool which is between 1-1.2m deep. The work entails much movement in the water and therapists believe that it helps to activate the energy lines derived from Shiatsu.

Themed Shopping Malls

You feel that shopping in Singapore is simply too boring? You yearned going to Japan to shop, to Korea, for even to Hong Kong! So what if there are shopping malls in Singapore that can fulfill your desires to shop in overseas malls?

Well, you don’t have to look beyond Singapore, if you are not yet aware, you can actually hop onto the MRT (instead of a plane) and get right to the doorstep of Square 2 – a Korean themed shopping mall, or to The Central – a Japanese themed shopping mall.

Let’s take a peak at what these two malls offer!

The Central
Modelled after the urban chic precinct of Odaiba, The Central, which is located above the Clarke Quay MRT Station, features 5 exciting levels of retail space with over 280 shops of F&B and fashion related merchandise and services. The Mall offers shoppers a unique riverfront shopping experience, riverside dining by the Singapore River and a new LevelOne@Central concept housing a miniature Harajuku, a place renown for its fashion ingenuity and liberty and characterized by its three major shopping streets: Takeshita Dori, Meiji Dori and Omotesando Dori. In particular, Central has a strong focus on restaurants serving Japanese cuisine. Check out the list below.

Azabu Sabo Ice Cream Shop (#01-46)
A shop offering soft serves and Hokkaido ice cream in green tea, sesame and other Japanese flavours. What are you waiting? It’s a chance to savour the Hokkaido ice cream in Singapore!

Kyomomoyama (#03-87/100/101/110)
Sushi, sashimi and grilled seafood items such as unagi in a modern, casual setting.

Marcial Kobe (#B1-40)
Standalone store selling freshly baked mini doughnuts and mini Japanese pancakes in an assortment of flavours.

Marutama Ra-men (#03-90/91)
Hole-in-a-wall-style restaurant serving Japanese Marutama ramen, or chicken-based stock ramen.

Nippon-Ya (#B1-39)
Boutique selling gift-packed Japanese food items and sake.

Pasta de Waraku (#02-82/83)
Casual diner with kitsch food displays serving pasta cooked in Japanese-style sauces.

Petit Provence (#B1-29)
Counter-serving branch of the Holland Village bakery selling wassant, or Japanese soft bread, and croissants in assorted flavours.

Sho-U (#03-85/102/108/109)
Sophisticated, contemporary eatery offering Western-influenced Japanese food.

Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Café (#01-70/72)
Riverside restaurant bar-cum-tea house with a menu that features kamameshi, or Japanese claypot rice.

Wakashachiya (#03-92/95)
First international branch of the 63-outlet curry udon restaurant chain from Japan.

Waraku (#03-89/97/98)
Well-loved casual dining restaurant specialising in kaminabe, or paper pot soup, and houba dishes - food served on a heated houba leaf coated with miso paste.

Yamakawa Super (#B1-28B)
Oooh, a Japanese supermarket retailing seasonal Japanese confectionaries, snacks and drinks. You can find all the seasonal limited flavours for Pocky, Japanese versions of Pepsi and Coke.

Other than food, there are other things Japanese, like Akihabara Japan Products specializing in Japanese gifts and souvenirs, and Hanami Barber to help you cut out a chic Japanese look. Nevertheless, the center of attraction at the Central is still the food; so go there and chow down on some of the delectable Japanese cuisine today!


Square 2
Located above the Novena MRT Station, Square 2 packs in over 200 shops and F&B outlets, which are spread over five levels of retail space. There's the LevelOne concept which is full of funk and surprises. You can find a Little Seoul on level 3 for all things Korean, ranging from fashion, beauty products & services and homeware to the first fast food eatery straight out of Seoul City.

Shops that specializes in Korean stuff include:

Sol Mart (#03-06/07/08)
A supermart packed with Korean snacks, weirdo and wonderfully awesome, which you can’t find in other supermarkets. Try the canned Beondegi, the steamed and seasoned silkworm pupae that is popular in Korea, or the Sweet Potato snacks with its crunchy sticks sprinkled with black sesame seeds and taste an awful lot like the real thing. Some sticks are salty, some sweet, and they make a good combi.

X-Ordinary Craftz and Giftz (#03-03)
They bring Angel Clay from Korea, all the way to Singapore, especially for the kids! They are certified by ARTPLAY and CRAFT Association in Korea to teach Angel Clay in Singapore.

Prefere Ice Cream Café (#03-04)
Savour Korean ice-cream here! Prefere (which is French for 'favourite') is a popular brand of soft-serve ice cream in Korea. The ice cream is all pre-made in Korea and flown into Singapore, ready to be pumped out. Flavours include melon, chocolate vanilla, yogurt blueberry, grape and cherry. The ice cream is very smooth, creamy and dense. Must try the choc-vanilla, which has that lovely sticky, chewy mouth feel! Thumbs-up!

Hankook Rice Cake House (#03-09)
This is where you can find authentic Korean rice cakes! ‘Duk’ - generic term for traditional rice cakes, is a popular snack food in Korea and traditionally only serves on special occasions, now Singaporeans are fortunate to savour it everyday.

Yangpa Zoomoney (#03-102)
The young and hippy, look out for this funky Korean fashion outlet! Other Korean fashion outlets in Square2 includes Camellia, Elixir, etc.

Uptown Kidz (#03-106)
Wanna don your kids like a Korean? Try this fashionable children's apparel from Korea.

Han Sang Korean Family Restaurant (#03-32/35/40/44)
The name tells it all, this is a Korean restaurant serving its popular BBQ Beef and Korean culinary.

JJ Best Collection (#03-38)
They have ladieswear, shoes, bags and accessories, all imported from Korea.

In-To Hair Boutique (#03-73/76)
You can even find Korean hair styling services at Square2! If you want to be different from the rest of your peers, In-to Hair Boutique has the latest trend of hair styles from Korea for you to choose from!

Mouche Mode (#03-80/81)
Check out their kids apparel imported from Korea. Suitable for kids from 3 months to 12 years old.


Enjoy your shopping in little Korea and little Japan!

High-class Shopping, Anyone?

Forget about the high-class retail malls like Millenia Walk, Paragon, and the like. Have you realized that even departmental stores like CK Tang and Robinsons are now catering to high-class shopping? The merchandise and brands, and the price carried in them, have moved up the higher end of the ladder, sometimes beyond the reach of mass shoppers like you and me.

Is Singapore evolving into a high-class shopping paradise?
No doubt it is.

High-end consumer goods segment is growing, as the number of millionaires, billionaires or high net worth individuals (HNWIs) grow. The speed of wealth creation and accelerating growth of HNWIs is driving the luxury goods segment. In Singapore, there were around 410,000 wealthy individuals (defined as those with US$60,000 liquid assets, excluding property) in 2006, up from 340,000 in 2002. And according to Datamonitor estimates, the group of super-rich with at least US$1 million in liquid assets is projected to grow to 29,000 in 2011.1

The tiny red dot is undergoing a renaissance of sorts, rapidly transforming into a hip and trendy city with the upcoming casinos and F1 races. It has also spawned a host of new industries that cater to the world’s ultra-rich, from high-end property to luxury goods and fine dining. Everybody is rushing in to get a piece of the pie. Even a small piece is satisfying. They’d sure be rewarded by Singapore’s bulging millionaire ranks and the fast rising tourist arrivals.

Already in the redevelopment pipeline, Clifford Pier and the Customs House will be radically transformed. Clifford Pier will be more than a mere high-end retail and F&B offerings, while the Customs House will house a cluster of four to five world-class signature restaurants with different cuisines. Recently, we also saw the opening of the St Regis hotel, which set a new standard of luxury in the local hospitality industry. Luxury goods retailer like FJ Benjamin, The Hour Glass, Sincere Watch, and many others are beaming away.

High-class shopping is coming your way…

Brewerkz !!

Dinner at "Brewerkz" wz my frens on 04 Nov 2006...
Cod Fish, Beef Steak, Seafood Spaghetti & Chicken !! Yummy ~