Once Upon a Time on the Orient Express

20 December 2020 

Finally did something interesting again during the weekend. Had a late late lunch (at 4.30pm to be exact) at Canton Paradise at Marina Bay Sands before heading to West Lawn next to Bayfront Plaza for the 'Once Upon a Time on the Orient Express' Exhibition at Gardens By The Bay. Speaking of West Lawn, the directions to the exhibition were basically non-existent and none of the people we asked could point us the right way. I would have written in to complain if I wasn't so lazy, ha! Anyway, we thought we would have plenty of time having after meeting for lunch at 4.30pm to catch our reserved timeslot for the exhibition at 6pm but ended up having to brisk walk/slight jog to get there right before 6pm @@.

Joined the queue to climb aboard the train - the last step was really high!

(which is actually made up of 2 carriages from the original Orient Express back from the 1930s and shipped here from France)

The reason for having to book timeslots is because it's quite narrow in the carriages and you kind of have to queue through the entire first part of the exhibit. Each lounge seat had a reenactment of possible scenes and placards with information on the likely passengers on the Orient Express (both fictional or real):

~A gorgeous Remington typewrite and wine with a 1933 vintage~

I spotted the newspaper dated 1906 once inside the train and upon asking, the lady on duty informed us that the items on display were mostly originals. She then asked us to look out for an even older newspaper from 1883 (see both below): 

So apparently James Bond was also on the Orient Express as a fictional passenger

Another famous fictional passenger whom I know from the 2017 movie even though I've never read the book by Agatha Christie

A significant part of the exhibition was dedicated to 'The Murder on the Orient Express'

After walking through both carriages, we came to Part 2 of the exhibition, which had displays of the suite rooms, dining car, etc. Some exterior shots of the carriages:

The second part of the exhibition was more 'museum-like' with more information to read through. The most interesting thing to me was that Palmolive soap existed back in the 1930s, I never knew!

Me and the said Palmolive Soap

Another interesting thing was the vintage Louis Vuitton luggage on display. They really got me wondering how much they cost now

In case you don't trust me when I say these are from LV!

Advertisements for the Orient Express from yore

There were also travel brochures for places where the Orient Express stopped by such as Egypt and Turkey. It was amazing to see photographs of people climbing up the sides of The Great Pyramid and a clear view of the Sphinx - a reminder that such historical places should be visited as soon as possible so that you can see a less eroded version @@

Tickets for the exhibition are S$25. Was it worth it? For me, kind of, as I like museums and culture and it is sort of my little contribution to the preservation of history. The meals available at the carriage restaurant though are another matter. I dropped by to kaypoh about the dinner menu and the 2 options were priced at S$298++ and S$398++ respectively with things like black truffle and king crab and also something called a celeriac extract lol.. I think I rather use the money to have 10 nice meals or 100 canteen meals XD

After that we dropped by Tong Shui (yes that same Tong Shui) to have glutinous rice balls since 20th was the day before winter solstice. Any excuse for some sweet stuff XD (and I really needed a break after that, after 2 consecutive days of walking close to 18k steps - more on 19th December when I have the chance~)

15,000 steps

5 December 2020

I had a long fulfilling Saturday filled with lots of good food and laughter. 

Started with a productive morning where I managed to do a huge load of housework, including sweeping, mopping and laundry. 

Met my colleagues at Lad & Dad, which bills itself as selling authentic UK style fish and chips. The beer-battered kind that comes with mashed peas similar to what I had at Lobsterpot and the oh so famous one at Whitby. All of us being lovers of food, we just could not be satisfied with only one main per person, so we got a couple of sides too ~

Oyster Nuggets (S$16)

From the menu: Beer battered oysters, gherkin tartar sauce

Posh Chips (S$12)

From the menu: Coated thick cut chips, beef & ale gravy, aburi mozzarella & cheddar cheese

Small fish & chips 150g (S$18)

From the menu: Beer battered Atlantic haddock fish, coated thick cut chips, gherkin tartar sauce, mushy peas

Everything was on point, there's nothing like some crispy deep fried food to put you in a good mood. In fact, we were all so happy that even the rainy weather couldn't do anything to dampen our spirits, haha. If anyone asks for a fish & chips recommendation from me in future, I'll know where to point them to now.

After lunch, it was time to look for a place to sit and chat, with a nice beverage in hand. While we were at Lad & Dad, we noticed a cafe opposite (8 Craig Road) that had a constant queue outside. Just to satisfy our curiosity, we went over and found a pet-friendly cafe but didn't end up there as there was a time limit given of 45 minutes XD

It was lucky that there was a time limit as we ended up somewhere much better in my opinion - Tong Ah on Keong Saik. My goodness, the Horlicks there was so awesome. So was the toast, which had the pale green-grey coloured kaya that is so rare nowadays. It was so good that I immediately made plans to visit the place again XD 

According to my kopi loving friends, the coffee there is perfect as well. 

I think I will try the tea next visit.

The iconic building on Keong Saik that tourists love. 

It was raining so no way was I going to stand in front of the building for a photo.

Why is the title 15,000 steps you ask? Well, we met up at Outram Park, walked to Tanjong Pagar Plaza for lunch, went to Keong Saik for tea then ended up at Chinatown for shopping XD It was a long long day as we ended up having afternoon tea twice LoL

Tong Shui at the aptly named Tong Shui at People's Park Centre. 

The almond paste was divine. Maybe it was the company too, but somehow everything we had that day was just perfect!

Ended the day by dropping by Waterway Point to collect the personalised gifts I got for my colleagues as xmas presents. Plus managed to pick up something below S$10 for my not so nice colleague who I allocated a lower budget to compared to everyone else. Hah! At least I still got something of quality that she can still give away if she wants to. XD

부자？나？

28 November 2020

For the first time in my life, someone has asked for my help to lend some money. I was quite flattered to be honest, since I portray such a miserly image that no one has ever thought to pose this question to me before XD

First things first, I weighed the reason (gap of a few thousand to cover the down-payment for an HDB flat) against my ability (I would never risk my hard earned money so the amount lent would be an amount that will not affect me whatsoever even if it, in the worst-case scenario, is not returned). As I know very well the feeling of getting a helping hand when you need it, I ended up lending this friend of mine a couple of thousand dollars, which I hope helped to cover a bit of the shortfall. One thing of comfort is that I have been promised that the money would be returned to me by January 2021. Separately, when I checked my fortune for the coming year, I was told that I would not be having money worries and any money lent would be returned to me for sure - hope that's true - heh~

Anyway, I don't think this friend of mine will be fleeing the country or going into hiding any time soon since she agreed to meet me for lunch XD To be fair, I paid for lunch while she paid for dessert. 

We headed to this Korean restaurant called Dal-In on Boon Tat Street to satisfy my craving for Jjampong aka Korean Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup. I haven't been there since changing jobs, which was a whole 2-years ago! 

The Jjampong that has been occupying my thoughts since some time ago - full of squid, prawns, clams and lots of veggies~

As is customary, there were several side dishes to accompany my Jjampong

Also free Gyeran Jjim (Korean steamed egg)

Pretty glad to report that the standard of the food at Dal-In is the same as I remembered. It is the closest to the taste that I had in Korea so far. One thing weird was that I didn't find the Jjampong as spicy as I did last time. Not sure if they adjusted the spiciness or it's me who has leveled up?

Dessert was at Luna Patisserie, another place that I've been curious about but was thwarted quite a few times when I wanted to try, either due to timing or logistics. We ended up having to queue (about half an hour!) for a table. Luckily we were only 2 as there is limited space and the tables are mostly for tiny groups only. 

The famous orh nee (yam paste) cake that I have been so curious about. Looks prettier in those review posts though. It wasn't sweet at all and came with chunks of actual yam. I liked it, but I think the coconut milk did give me a tummy ache later in the day. The one in the background is matcha white chocolate, which luckily was not my order, as I don't really like having bitter stuff in my desserts.

My cake and ginger tea

I think Luna is a 'try once enough' kind of place for me. The wait is kind of long for a tiny slice of cake, the drinks menu is very limited, plus you can't really enjoy your time there as the queue outside is very visible from where you are seated in the cafe.

Red arrow shows where Luna is

The queue was definitely more than double ours when we left, winding down to the end of the street (meaning more than an hour to wait?!) I don't think I would be willing to queue for that long! Kind of surprising, considering CBD used to be deadly quiet during weekends. Guess everything is weirder now that we are in 2020. @@

I'm Gonna Miss you - uHall LKC Wing #06-01

 What weird year 2020 has been. 

Some reasons why:

- The Johor- Singapore border closed for the first time in history

- It's weirder to walk around without a mask than it is to be wearing one

- I haven't seen my annoying colleague that I'm not very fond of in person since February

That last point delights me the most as it is in line with my goal to stay away as much as possible from people who give off negative vibes. The reason that I have not seen her much this year is because we have been on alternate teams since February (for the record, I am on blue Team A while she is on orange Team B). Then there was this thing called the 'Circuit Breaker' (I seriously can't being myself to call it CB like some other people do) which spanned from April to June, when the entire office was closed as a measure to curb the spread of COVID-19. We are now back to alternate weeks, which suits me perfectly.

The first day I went back to office after about 4 months was 31 August 2020. First, let me wax lyrical about my office for a bit. When I first saw my new desk when I started working here in October 2018, I couldn't help but think that it exceeded my expectations. 

It is spacious and has a nice view of the garden on the 6th floor of one of the wings in University Hall. Due to the fact that there is glass all around, I can actually see people before they reach my space but they are not able to see me clearly as my door is frosted, how perfect is that?! In fact, it is so nice that management has decided to evict me to convert the room into a dining space for visitors. Boohooo.... I think I should be moving soon, to #06-03, and since I haven't seen the new place yet, I don't know what kind of environment it would be. I know though that I won't be able to see whether it is raining or not for sure. =(

After months of working with a laptop screen, I came to work on 31 August and got a shock at how pampered I had been previously, with this nice, huge screen. I swear it was like looking at words through a magnifying glass and it took me a bit of time to get used to the huge font at first, hahahaha.

I think I took this ugly, dark photo not long after I first joined, hence the very bare space. I have not managed to fill up the shelves but there is definitely more items on the desk compared to when I first started.

View of the rooftop garden on a sunny day. I like it that I can look outside when my eyes get tired and there are sometimes birds around to keep me entertained as well. Actually, it also gets quite hot sometimes so moving to a new office might result in fewer sun spots for me, to think on the bright side @@

View on a rainy day

One of the not so nice points of working on alternate weeks is that I for the most part have to eat lunch alone. Apart from about 3 or 4 days since 31 August up till now, I have been having relaxing, contemplative lunches on my own XD 

For memories sake (so that I can remember some of the stuff I had while working here 50 years from now), here's a record of what I had for lunch for the first 2 weeks I was back in office:

(31 August 2020 to 4 September 2020)

On day 1, I had yong taufu at the Science Canteen, with laksa soup instead of my usual clear soup. It is a frequent lunch option as it is tasty, healthy, filling and cheap at S$2.80 for minimum 6 items + noodles (did I mention cheap? ;)

On Tuesday, I had lunch with a friend from another zone (the campus has been segregated into 3 zones and since we couldn't meet any where within campus, we had to go to a neutral place) at Kopitiam at Kent Ridge. This is tomato ban mian with extra vege~

On Wednesday, it was back to the Science Canteen, the side with air-conditioning this time, for Ayam Penyet + curry vege. This is one of the nicer penyet around, the chicken is always fresh and crispy as business is so good. 

Thursday was go crazy day, where I ordered McDelivery. May I add that this was one of the very rare times that I ordered in as I abhor expensive delivery fees! This was a Big Mac set with regular fries, drink changed to hot Milo (as it was cold that day) and the highlight of the meal, a Yuzu Pie (which was limited edition for September 2020 only). The Yuzu Pie must make a comeback in future! It was so so good, I ended up having it again the next day, hahahahha.

On Friday, I went for lunch with Aunty Minah, who cleans our office. She's super sweet and is the only one around our floor who seriously compliments me on how I look on a regular basis =) She bought me lunch before when it was her birthday so it was my turn to reciprocate. This was nasi goreng kampung at Al Amaan Restaurant on Clementi Road.

(14 September 2020 to 18 September 2020)

On Monday, I brought some leftover Kimchi Stew that I made over the weekend (yes, I made that). It is one of the fail-proof dishes that I discovered during the Circuit Breaker period, and henceforth I shall never order this dish at overpriced prices in Korean restaurants ever again as it is so simple to make!

On Tuesday, I tried out the new Thai stall at the Science Canteen. The pork knuckle rice definitely exceeded my expectations, whether in terms of taste or presentation. The second time I ordered this, I had to go for reduced rice and still couldn't finish. I think I need to go with reduced, reduced rice next time. Haha.

Given the success of the pork knuckle rice, I decided to try another dish from the same stall on Wednesday, this time it was fried fish. Although it was not bad, it did not wow me the same way as the pork knuckle did, so it will probably be awhile till my next time ordering this. Downed lunch with sugarless Teh C from the canteen drinks stall. This tea is amazing, it is the only place so far where I drink milk tea with no sugar as the milk tea already tastes smooth and fragrant enough on its own.

On Thursday, I visited Kopitiam @ Kent Ridge again. Unfortunately, the chicken rice I had been craving for had closed down, which kind of threw me off balance as I then had no idea what to eat @@. Ended up trying the fried prawn noodles, which was not bad but required a long wait =( The prawns were not very nice too, sad..  

Friday was Grab Food day as it was raining heavily and I ended up feeling lazy to leave the office. I was also thinking about chicken chop, so this is one from Collin's Grill which cost me S$14.85 after including delivery charges of S$4. Luckily the mushroom soup was awesome and I fixed my craving, so it kind of offset the inflated price.

Whew, finally done. Can't believe it can take me an afternoon to record 2 weeks worth of lunches XD The photos below are kind of random, but they are from a brand called H&N naturally sweet strawberries from Australia. I was shocked when I opened the box to find strawberries as big as my palm and same size as my mouse! Repurchased once then stopped as I am kind of paranoid that they have mutated genes. XD

Update: Officially moving to my new office space on 17 November 2020. Since I will be working from home on that day, I cleared my desk on 13 November 2020 and the space now looks empty and sad T___T