Hot in the City

I didn't do much this weekend. I wanted to take it easy after that long rafting weekend in Ipoh last weekend.

I went to Bayshore Park for tennis on Saturday night. I've heard so much about this place called Bayshore but have never really stepped into it. Apparently, there are 2 condos. The older one is called Bayshore Park, where I played tennis and the legendary one is The Bayshore which is next to it.

Anyway, Bayshore Park is massive by itself. The apartment buildings have names like Emerald, Jade, Ruby, Aquamarine, etc. The buildings are like 50 storeys tall. Massive!

This evening, I went running again at Bedok Reservoir. I think this was my second time to Bedok in my whole life. I drove and was a little lost but managed to find my way there. I would say that place is really nice to run. There's a gravel and also tarmac path. The whole path is around 4.8km long. Maybe I'll try the Bishan park this weekend!

This is the trip that Miss Mo decided to give a miss and went up to Ipoh instead. Young Master and myself were about to drop this trip as well, due to an imminent last minute project deadline. Nonetheless, we decided we really needed the break and so lugged along our PowerBooks.

The Ferry ride was pretty smooth and it was a pleasant surprise when we reached Mayang Sari, the resort we were staying at. It's been a long time since we last saw beaches! Seriously!!



Within the first hour we arrived, we fell fast asleep on a hammock along the beach for over an hour! That was how exhausted and burnt-out we were!

In any case, it was really nice to dip into the waters, as it was not very deep and seemingly clean and uncrowded. Our chalet was right by so it was really awesome as it was as if the beach was our private beach!

We kept to the waters and beach most of the time though the scorching heat and grilling rays were relentless. Half the time we were in our room banging out work due on the looming deadline. Yep, we paid for the wireless service for both days at a rate of $35/day. At least there was internet, if not, i think we will be doomed! Gosh!

Food was so-so, and since it was all in Singapore Dollars, I think it wasn't that worth-while at all for the quality of food that was available.

One thing that i noticed was all the Ralph Lauren Polo outlets with authenticity i was kinda dubious about. Finally i realised they were the real deal made in the Indonesian factories, prices are not cheap either. Comparatively, i got better deals on eBay or Hong Kong.

Oh i must say that the sky at night was always full of stars, a rarity in New York, with all the pollution, even in Singapore i don't think we see much of these. Our last night was spent at the cafe by the beach under the starry night (and scores of mosquitoes!). Though we didn't see many people around, most of the better tables were reserved!

I must say this was a pretty good trip even though we had to work. It was great to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and be doing (almost) nothing except soaking in the sun and sea water!

Check out more pictures on my Flickr.

I have always wanted to go to Ipoh, Perak to try out the rafting there. But the long bus ride has always deterred me. Last weekend, I finally took the courage to endure the long bus ride to Ipoh.

The bus departed from New Park Hotel on Kitchener Road. It's in the heart of Little India. I never knew such a hotel existed and it's a pretty big building too. Oh, I happened to see lots of their guests were Indian. Kekeke! The coach I was taking was a Super VIP bus but the seats didn't come with individual TV screens but each of us had a blanket and a bottle of water.

Eight hours later, we finally arrived at the sleepy town of Ipoh. It was only 5am. AFter washing up at the hotel, we proceeded to the nearby dim sum restaurant for breakfast.


Here's the view from my hotel room. Ipoh's landscape looks like Singapore but 20 years ago. That's our dim sum restaurant. It opens at 6am and there were many tables filled already. Amazing! Not very appetizing dim sum though.


We went to the town of Gopeng for our rafting. Here're our guides. They look so tiny. The surrounding was so serene. The rapids were Class III but I have had worse so it was fun but not too challenging. This annoying guy kept telling me how to row. It seemed that he kayaks so he 'knows'. It was his first time rafting. Blah!


AFter a delicious Malay lunch, we proceeded to Gua Tempurung. It is the largest limestone cave in SEA (I think). From the outside, it looked like any ordinary hill. However, once we were inside, it was a big hollow cave. We took a guided tour that took up up and down the steps in the cave. The guide pointed out the stones that looked like objects. zzzz...I nearly feel asleep because it was kind of boring. But we weren't prepared for the second part of the tour. The guide then guided us beyond the railing into the crevices and that started out River Adventure tour in the cave. We went through narrow gaps, crawled under low-lying rocks on all fours in the water, all the while holding a tiny flashlight! We also had to slide down steep slopes. It was like in an Indiana Jones movie! It was so much fun. My legs and knees were so sore from crawling in the cave!

In the evening, we returned to Ipoh. For dinner, we had Ipoh Hor fun at a local restaurant, which was packed! It cost me about 7RM. So cheap! I had a drink which was barley with corn. It was so delicious!



The next morning, we went to the hot springs at Sg. Klah, near the border of Perak and Selangor. I love hot springs but somehow, it seemed strange when the weather was already so hot. But it was still enjoyable to soak in it for a while.

We had some free time in the afternoon before heading back to Singapore. So we went to watch a Malay horror movie, Jangan Pandang Belakang. We checked that it had English subtitles before purchasing the 8RM tickets. So cheap! It was those pontanak kind of horror movie. Quite exciting. It was reportedly one of the popular movies in recent Malay movie history.

So it was a fun and relaxing trip. My legs are still sore but it was a good trip and the 8-hour bus ride didn't seem that long after all. But doubt I would go back to Ipoh again in the near future.

I didn't really do anything special today but just did some touristy things and revisited some places I haven't been for the longest time.

I played tennis for a couple of hours this morning. It was a good rally with a couple of guys. Then I cooled down, took a shower and rushed down to Hard Rock Cafe to meet up with Muy Caliente.

I have been craving for Pulled Pork sandwich and he told me that they had it at HRC. He was craving for a Reuben sandwich and I found out that Seah Street Deli has it. So our plan was to share each sandwich at these 2 places.

Oh my, I can't believe the last time I was at HRC, it was probably 15 years ago. I would say the decor is still the same. However, I was surprised indeed. The place was packed on a Sunday afternoon. It was filled with mostly tourists and family with little children. Our dish came and oh my, it was heavenly. Now, I'm satisfied.

We went to Tanglin Shopping Centre to check out this other deli Steeple's, that served Reuben. Alas it was closed on Sunday. So we decided to go to Raffles Hotel in the end. We met up with Travis, Muy Caliente's friend who's here in town for business.

We went to the Long Bar for a drink. It was packed with tourists and I think I was the only local in the bar. LOL! They both ordered, what else but, the Singapore sling. I ordered a mojito. We talked for a while before I had to rush off for my run at Bedok Reservoir. The Reuben just got to wait.

I managed to find my way to the Reservoir without getting lost and I was on time. Yes! The group was about 8 of us. It took me about 27 minutes to finish running the perimeter, which was about 4.3km. I slowed down a little at the end but I didn't stop, which was good.

So, here I am, writing this but ready to call it a day. I'm totally pooped.

This morning, I went with Buttercups to the ECP for biking. We arrived and had some McCafe coffe, which was cheap and delicious! It took us about 40 mins to bike to the end of the path. It was nice and breezy and we caught up with each other along the way.


We then proceeded to Parkway Parage for lunch. Here, I finally checked out CAffebar. This is a coffee place with a big bar. We had the set lunch. I had ciabatta bread, mushroom souch, and a spaghetti carbonara. Buttercups had the spaghetti aglio and olio. For the price, I thought the food was great. The coffee was so aromatic. If I'm in the vicinity, I'd definitely go back to Caffe Bar again.

Friday night, I went with my girlfriend C to The Central. We wanted to check out the new Tom Ton restaurant, which serves black pig tonkatsu. Alas, all reservations were full for that evening.

So we proceeded with our Plan B. We decided to check out Reif + James, this new restaurant at Robertson Quay. It just opened a couple of months ago. I've walked past it once and thought it looked nice from outside.

This Indian manager welcomed us to our table. He was wearing a dark shirt and a silver suit without a tie. I thought it was inappropriate because it's not very professional looking, and it's like showing off his chest hair. I kept imagining his chest hair would fall into my soup. Yikes! I thought he should put on a tie and look as professional as the waiters in the restaurant.

Speaking of which, the waiters were very attentive and professional. Not those teenager waiters at other restaurants. They really knew the job. We really had good service.

They first served us delicious bread. Then we had extras of sweet potato/tapioca chips, which was home-made. Then they gave us cauliflower cream topped with caviar with shrimp and avocado. Delicious! We both had a glass of wine which was excellent . We shared the the appetizer - Grilled octopus with lychee and home-made chilli. There was some salad that came with it. Our mains were same. It was crab meat cooked in linguine with spicy sauce. It was heavenly! We were too full for desserts. However, they gave us some chocolate syrup and a piece of heart-shaped chocolate too!

Oh, when we were leaving, the Indian manager told us that he was the James in the Reif+James. His business card put James Charles. I have something about people with 2 first names. It's kind of strange, don't you think? Apart from that, the dining experience was very good. I highly recommend it.

Recently, the papers kept talking about the imminent payrise of the ministers'. Even the President get a payrise too.

In defence of the goverment, here was what MM Lee said.
"The cure to all this talk is really a good dose of incompetent government," Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew told the Straits Times on Thursday, adding that it is "absurd" for Singaporeans to quarrel about ministerial pay and warning that Singapore would suffer it the government could not pay competitive salaries.

"Your security will be at risk and our women will become maids in other people's countries," he said.

Hmm...guess, if we don't pay the ministers, I'd probably end up as a maid in another country.

I also read this comment from the many who voiced their opinios on the payrise of Singapore ministers. This is quite funny.

Pay rise for me, HR said they can find cheaper and better candidate elsewhere!
I did one of the most difficult job in a pharmaceutical company that no one can do. I commented that I was not paid enough for this kind of high level work that demands lots of time, knowledge, and of course, right talent. The HR laughed and told me to please find another company. They can find a cheaper candidate from anywhere. My boss said he has a budget to stick to. The company is rated number 1 in profits.

I came also from the civil service, and feel that the people stay there because they are mostly afraid to find work outside once they are comfortable with the power and pay. I chose to leave it because I cannot grow to be a talent in it unless I am a scholar. Now, two do the same job, but the scholar will be rewarded more in promotion, and pay rise.

I cannot remember having such a high pay rise without any form of sacrifice?

In the private world, I have to endure risk of retrenchment, up against empty headed 'foreign talents', going back to be ridiculed by the army as reservists on weekends and at career and family time, high cost of living standards, and maintaining a poorly design less than 60 years lease left HDB resale flat.

This morning, I did a little sport with the Fort Lees. Well, one can't really say bowling is a sport but I guess it's under the category of sporting skills, eg golf, archery, etc.

Star Bowl is situated on the 8th floor of Textile Centre on Jalan Sultan. I know it sounds a bit dodgy. I doubt I've ever stepped into that building in my whole life prior to today! The stores in that building were all closed today. It was dark and quiet. Alas, Star Bowl looked spanking new and clean. It wasn't even musky or smoky at all. Each game was only $2. The shoes were $1.20. We couldn't believe it. It was dirt cheap!

Four games later, we ended up at Toa Payoh Lorong 2. Mrs Fort Lee read that there's a coffee shop that sells imported codfish. The dishes were so-so but I ate too much, as always.

So this evening, I did an extended run. It was sort of to prepare me for the Real Run Terrain Race at Bedok reservoir. I'm still thinking of whether I should take part in it. Still thinking...

After having ramen at Tampopo last night, I was still thinking of that Marutama ramen restaurant at The Central. So I decided to go check out the place.

Wow! There was a line outside the restaurant. Thankfully, there were seats at the bar so I quickly grabbed it. I was too hungry to want to stand in line. I guess it's pretty popular place since on my left, there was a Japanese family of 5 and on my right, there was a Japanese chap. We all waited patiently for our ramen.

I ordered the spicy broth with char siu. After waiting for probably 15 mins, it finally arrived. I was so hungry. The broth was delicious! The Char Siu was so tender and the ramen was very springy! I would say, it was better than the ramen I had at Tampopo. However, I still want to try the Kyushu pork soup ramen at Tampopo.

Overall it was a satisfying bowl of ramen. However, I'm not a ramen connoisseur. I've yet to try Ken Ramen. It seems like everytime I go, it's always closed! There are a few Japanese restaurants near Marutama. I can't wait to check them out!

It was Good Friday and Muy Caliente wanted to check out Desaru so he asked me along. It was only going to be a daytrip, just to check out the place.

We took the ferry at the Changi Ferry Terminal. This isn't the same terminal at Changi Village. In fact, it's at some ulu place along Changi Coast Road, beyong Tanah Merah terminal.

We took the noon ferry and arrived at Tg Bekungloh terminal just before 1pm. Because we didn't join any resort package, we were left stranded at the terminal with no transportation. I only changed 100 ringgit and Muy Caliente only had nine dollars with him. We were offered taxi service at 50 ringgit 1 way. We were laughing because it was a nightmare come true! I had only 100 ringgit; that would mean taxi for 2 way! LOL! We had to eat at a hotel, else risk not able to get back to Singapore.

Desaru was kind of far from the terminal. We were dropped off at Golden Sand resort and we quickly found our spot on the beach. The sea was choppy. Apparently, according to the locals, the earthquake off Solomon Islands was the cause of it. It turned out to be nice because the waves made it more fun to swim in the sea. There were surfers too. However, jetskis weren't allowed since the water wasn't calm enough.

We had seafood lunch at the restaurant. The seabass was so fresh and the spicy sauce made it more appetizing. After hanging out on the beach, we went to the hotel pool and had pina coladas. I love the feeling of sipping pinas by the beach. It reminded me of my trip in Bali with Leon Lai.

We took a taxi service back to the terminal, just in time for the 7pm ferry back to Singapore. We were hungry then so we went to have Paella. Delicious!

Doubt I would go back to Desaru in the near future. The place, like most places in Malaysia, is run-down and not well-maintained. But i guess it's cheaper than the resorts in Bintan so it still may be a good place just to relax for the weekend!

I'm kind of in a foul nasty mood today. Maybe I haven't had food so that's why I'm a little cranky.

Anyway, on Thurday evening, I went out with Ah Bui. Remember Ah Bui? He's the SAF security clearance guy. I wanted to eat Ramen and he proposed to meet at Clark Quay MRT to bring me to a secret place that have good Ramen. I was expecting the Miharu ramen at Gallery Hotel so I asked him. He said no, it wasn't. I figured he hasn't been there.

I was running late and when I reached the station at 6.30pm, he wasn't there. @#$@#$! I called and he said he was on his way. He was the one who suggested meeting earlier. Not a good start to the evening.

He suggested taking a tour of this new mall, Central. I thought the Ramen shop was in the mall. I saw this Marutama Ramen restaurant but he said this wasn't the restaurant we were going. But he refused to say where it was at first until I persisted. It was Tampopo restaurant at the basement of Liang Court lah. Aiyah, say so lah! So we took a tour of the mall and we came upon a branch of Sun and Moon Japanese restaurant. He said it was new and I said it's not new, I've tried the one at Wheelock Place and also the one at Chjimes. He was shocked that I actually have been to these places and not him. LOL! As we were walking along the riverbank, I commented that Central mall has many Japanese restaurants. He said that yeah, look, even the mall looks like the Japanese harujuku. Later, I found out that he hasn't even been to Japan. Hmm...

So we proceeded to Tampopo restaurant at Liang Court. It wasn't a restaurant that sold just Ramen. I had the spicy ramen and it wasn't too bad. Apparently, the restaurant is famous for the Kyushu pork soup ramen. The broth is boiled over 2 days and the restaurant only sells 20 bowls a day. After dinner, he suggested we tour the Meideya supermarket because he wants to look at the sushi and sashimi. Hmm...strange. I told him that there's an ice-cream place that sells delicious green-tea ice-cream by the supermarket. He said he didn't see it the last time he was there. Duh! If he didn't see it, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. To show him that it does exit, I bought him a scoop of ice-cream from that place.

We walked to Robertson Quay since I told him I prefer it to Clark Quay. He agreed and also decided to 'show' me the area. To his surprise, I was pointing out the restaurants I've been to in that area and it seems that he hasn't been to any. Then why would he want to 'show' me around? He even wanted to introduce me to the Gallery Hotel but he led the wrong way and I had to show me the right way and was showing him the different restaurants at the hotel!

He asked me what I wanted to drink. I said probably wine but I've been trying out whiskey lately. He said 'oh, I know this place that you should go'. I said whether it was Highlander. I told him I've been there. LOL! I even commented and asked whether he thought I don't go out at all. LOL! In the end, I opted to have a Chimay Rouge at Brussels Sprout restaurant. The place is quite pretentious. We sat at the bar and the bartenders were pretty friendly and nice, unlike feedback from Travelnutz that the service was bad.

I feel that I had to keep quiet or act dumb in front of Ah Bui whilst he goes about 'showing' me what he thinks he knows. Else, I would be so annoyed! Ah Bui's is not a show-off person by nature but what he thinks he knows is very little compared to what is out there. Perhaps he probably thinks I don't go out much. It seems the way the guys in Singapore are. They think they have a certain knowledge, eg current affairs, general knowledge but actually I know more than them and the fact that they don't recognize this fact has been a little annoying for me.

Do you agree with that?

OK, so I was supposed to go out with Triplet tonight and he bailed out on me! That is because he was waiting to hear from his mahjong kaki to see whether there would be a mahjong session in the evening. I told him tactfully that he should have told me earlier and not make plans with me. He said he didn't know it was confirmed that we were meeting on Saturday. WTF! I think I'm going to dump him. Do you think I'm too rash. First, this is not the first time that mahjong takes priority over dating. Second, it's mahjong! That's so old people game. At least poker sounds better. Third, that's gambling so it's red flag for me. I know I've been picky in the past for not trying the relationship but do you think this time I should do it? Guess what! Triplet just text messaged me to say he just finished his mahjong session! He's still clueless!

It was Hossan Leong's wedding on Sunday. Not! Gotcha! Ha! Techno-coolie does look like Hossan Leong. Yeah, he and Jess were solemnized by this scary Justice of Peace on Sunday at a lunch reception. The way she sounded made me fear getting married. I doubt I would hire her. Shivers!

Oh, it was Superstar's birthday too!

Not much to say, the pictures speak for themselves!