Taxi woes

It's the rainy season again and Singapore is visited by daily downpours. Would love to stay at home but at last, duty calls. I thought I could have save time by cabbing to my destination. However, I waited for half hour and yet no available taxi. In the end, I had to book a cab...

Are we lacking in cabs? Was it the rain? Was it our congested traffic?

@ Keisuke Tonkotsu King

JH was pestering me that we have not had our monthly food outing. Since I had a sudden craving for ramen, it would be a good chance to check out Keisuke Tonkotsu King at Orchid Hotel.

Diners beware. The queue at this 20-seater restaurant can take up to an hour. Be prepared to wait. After submitting our orders (you get to choose the soup broth, ingredients, oil level, noodle texture), we were shown into the restaurant.

Service was quick and this must be a reward for the long queue. However, if you have to wait for your ramen, there's free flow of hard boiled eggs and lightly spiced beansprouts. Those who are worried that the beansprouts will have an earthy taste need not fear as the vegetables were tasty and crunchy.

Had a hard time resisting the ramen while I took some pictures. One mouth in and ah..., this tonkotsu broth was good. Very good. Milky and slightly salty. The noodles were decent but nothing to rave about. On the other hand, the egg was heavenly. Gosh, how did they do it. I would have ordered another serving of the egg if it weren't $2 per egg. Really yummy. The charsiu was a letdown though as it was tough.

Will I return to Keisuke Tonkotsu King? The broth and egg are major pull factor but only if the queue is shorter.

Cheer Up with Tori Q

Absolutely love Tori Q. Although it may not be the best yakiniku, it definitely comforts my day.

Lunch with Teachers

Met up with JH and our JC teachers for lunch. It was just the four of us and we were updating each other on our lives. How time has passed: it's almost ten years since we met. I'm really grateful for these teachers who persevered with our class (not that our class was particularly difficult to handle). Just that it is really not easy to handle a bunch of people who were still finding their identity.

Our conversation topic centered around the word fate. Be it meeting friends, having teachers, meeting your special someone, having kids. You may call it luck but it could also be fate.

Regardless, it's important to love yourself and do the best possible.

@ Bangkok Jam

We ran out of dining options and decided to try Bangkok Jam. I tried it before and it didn't leave a strong impression.

Whole Grilled Chicken with Thai Herbs

The grilled chicken was decent and tasted subtly of lemongrass. Good for sharing but seemed almost insufficient.

Stir Fried Egg Noodle with Bacon & Crabmeat

Service was not a strong point of Bangkok Jam. My friend and my dishes' were forgotten and by the time they arrived, our companions had finished with theirs. The stir fried egg noodle was rated yummy in their menu and I failed to see why. The noodles were soggy and the ingredients were petty.

@ Cups N Canvas

Outdoor

A brought us to this cafe called Cups N Canvas. They ran out of indoor seats and we were waiting at their outdoor sitting area. It's a rather cool concept and use of space. Almost like a secret gathering. The indoor space had a welcoming vibe. A nice place to hang out.

Movie: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Catching fire is my favourite book of the trilogy and I enjoyed how the movie followed closely to the book: the emotional buildup of the characters and the 75th hunger game. New characters were introduced for the third quarter quell and they were amazing. However, it's hard to beat Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss and Elizabeth Banks' Effie. Superb!

@ Hifumi

Huge table at Hifumi

All-you-can-eat Appetiser Bar

Chicken Oyakuni

Yummy soup

Macha dessert with rice dumpling

A rare chance where everyone in the group was available for lunch. We couldn't decide on a venue and settled on Hifumi. Hifumi at Plaza Singapura Extension Level 4 is a Japanese restaurant that provides a free free-flow appetiser bar with your main meals.

Appetisers included chawanmushi (my friends say this is good), grilled brinjal (I love this), oden (standard), soup with yakiniku (good), vegetable chips (left out for too long), cha soba (tasteless), fried yam balls (soggy fried starch) and macha dessert (decent but inconsistent rice dumplings).

My main course of chicken oyakuni was nothing to rave about.

However, for $15, I thought that this was value for money.

@ Xavier Cafe, Quaterdeck, Temasek Club

Chicken curry prata set

J was recommending the prata at Temasek club and now I know why. The crispy prata paired with the thick flavourful curry and the tender chicken was amazing. SK ordered the fish curry and it was equally good. I look forward to eating it again!

Temasek Club

Thanks to SK that I can get into Temasek club for our badminton session. It's a peaceful place and great for relaxing. What a wonderful life!

@ Thanying

It's Friday night and have been a while since I met up with E, G, and WH. E had decided on Thanying restaurant, Amara, as he had a sudden craving for Thai kuehs.

Thai dessert buffet ($9)

Delicate

Pretty

As I was running late from work, E and G started on the dessert buffet. I was rather bloated from lunch and had to skip this out.

Chicken wing with stuffed minced meat

Lest you think that this was a degustation menu, the pretty waitress was quick with her service. I've always marveled how they get to stuff meat into the chicken wing and still get it to look complete. Oh well, don't think too much and just eat. This was rather succulent.

Really good salad

I don't eat Thai food often but this salad was refreshing and good.

Spicy green curry with chicken

This green curry started off a little spicy for me. However, it grew on me and I liked its fiery taste. It came with ingredients of brinjal, chicken and peas which burst in your mouth. A side dish of crispy salted fish accompanied nicely with the soup.

Fragrant

Our last dish of vermicelli was good as well. The noodles were soft and the ingredients of prawns and bacon gave it a wonderful flavour.

The food was decent and the service was marvelous. My only grimace was the air-conditioning which was too chilly for me. The prices may be a little high but this was deserving so.

@ McDonalds

One of the few times when we patronised the world's favourite fast food restaurant McDonalds. All of us ordered the Ebi feast which consisted of a ebi burger, fries, tropical tango McFizz and banana pie. Each feast costs $7.75.

The ebi burger was nothing spectacular, just some crispy patty with supposedly succulent shrimps. The tropical tango McFizz was a tad too sweet while the goreng pisang-like banana pie needed a thinner crust.

In all, a major calorie bomb that relies on gimmicks.

Innovation Day 2013

Innovation is key for an organisation. What is innovation? Is it to do more with less? For my company's innovation day 2013, we were provided with articles of three companies. Here, I summarised some of the key takeaways:

1) Innovation for survival
For some companies, innovation is a necessity to survive in the cut-throat competition. It's either you are in, or you are out. Without game-changers, it will be difficult to lead the market share.

2) Innovation as a culture
A culture of risk takers who are not afraid to test out their ideas. The only failure is to not fail. With such attitude, it brings about new boundaries. Disregarding these entrepreneurial spirits, an innovation-centric organisation devotes time and discipline to a thinking culture.

3) Innovation for recognition
Some pursue innovation for the rewards and recognition. No doubt recognition can enthuse the brains, I feel that this is a weak link.

A hot weekend

A sweltering hot weekend deserves a cooling watermelon treat.

Movie: Thor The Dark World

A movie worth watching for its grand Asgard scenery, chemistry between Thor with Loki, and Thor with Jane Foster. While the dark world can be menacing, you can always count on the female leads to save the universe.

@ Alkaff Mansion

BQ was my housemate back in college and I was pleasantly surprised to receive a facebook wedding invitation by him. Needless to say, I am going for his big day. The wedding dinner was held at Alkaff Mansion, 10 Telok Blangah Green. 

Up the hill

Those lovely lamps

Solemnisation

Really gorgeous

Alkaff Mansion

Dinner at level 2

Dinner menu

Warm and moist bread with olive oil & balsamic vinegar

Marinated Scottish salmon 'tartare' with sour cream & own roe

Homemade stuffed duck 'ravioli' in butter & sage with pistachios

Slow cooked US beef short rib with green asparagus & mustard sauce

White chocolate & coffee 'parfait' with espresso sauce

Overall, the atmosphere at the restaurant was romantic and great for a date. The service was attentive as well. I love the texture of the slow cooked beef and how it played on my tongue. The dessert was amazing too. That be said, I wouldn't think of spending $108 for the four course meal.

On a personal note, I am really happy for BQ and his wife. This informal wedding setting allowed them to catch up with family and friends. Tears aside, bliss inside.