Munchies for Lunchies

There aren’t many places around my workplace to buy lunch from, and the ones that are open are either of low quality or expensive.

We make the trek upto Old Raffles most Fridays, where we get passable to decent Singaporean / Malaysian food, which is pretty authentic Singapore coffee-shop type fare. No plastic stools though, thankfully.

To that end, my workplace has a canteen, upstairs. Well it’s pretty much a fully fledged mixed business, really. When I started here I was warned that their quality too, is of a low standard. I think the word used was ‘crap’. Or maybe ’shit’. Can’t remember.

I rarely venture up there for my lunch, but sometimes i’ve eaten out the night before and have no leftovers to bring to work, or the leftovers I have aren’t suited to nuking (microwaving).

Today was one such day.

The toasted sandwich press in our kitchenette decided it was time for it to be ‘toast’, and stopped working yesterday, so toasties aren’t an option at the moment, so up to the Canteen I ventured.

THINGS MY CANTEEN DOES WELL (and by ‘well’, I mean borderline edible)

THINGS MY CANTEEN DOES NOT DO WELL (and by ‘not well’ I mean borderline edible down to curry time in 30 minutes)

The Sweet n Sour Pork was today’s lunch. It’s got about 14 minutes left I think.. rumblings already.

27.Nov.08 Food, Work Comments (2) 

Festy Food

I think this is a fantastic idea.. naming and shaming places that fail to meet the health food standards code. Not surprisingly, Victoria doesn’t have one.. this is NSW only.

Linky: http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/penalty-notices/

30.Oct.08 Food Comment (1) 

Hard Economic Times

With the hard economic times upon us now, businesses have to make cuts where they can.

I’m expecting to see more potato and less meat in curries and smaller overall dishes, all with an increased price tag. After all, they’re obviously not making enough money. (Dripping sarcasm..)

I went to my favourite Korean place on Thursday night - Korea Palace in Market Lane.

We got our meal, which was a hot pot and also a chicken bulgogi, plus rice and sides. All very yummy.

BUT when I requested a refill of the kimchi side, I was told that THERE WOULD BE AN EXTRA CHARGE. Like what the fuck? Give me 4 bits of kimchi, then say you’re gonna charge me more for a refill?

I’m not going back. Fuck them. A giant TUB of kimchi only costs $3.00. Oh yeah, the marinated potato side dish you normally get was missing too. STFU.

17.Oct.08 Bitching, Food Comments (0) 

Yep, it’s authentic alright…

MaXius says:
   Workmates took me to a Singaporean/Malaysian restaurant for lunch

MaXius says:
   I think it’s pretty authentic..

MaXius says:
   brb.. gotta crap..

10.Oct.08 Food Comments (0) 

Sydney: Sunshine and Lollipops, well, sorta.

Work’s put me up in Sydney for 3 weeks to do knowledge transfer on one of their products.

The accommodation booking lady booked me into Carrington Apartments in York St, which if you look up the pics on Tripadvisor is just disgusting.

Well it’s not that it’s bad.. ok it is bad. But at least it’s not filthy. It’s just OLD. It would have been a nice place 30 years ago, but I think everything IN it is still FROM 30 years ago.

My main gripe was the bed. The bed too, was 30 years old. I think. As soon as you lay on it, it would sag. If there were springs in the matress, they’ve long been sprung. Try and sleep in a hammock and wake up without a sore neck. This was pretty much the same.

As soon as I checked in I told our accommodation lady to get me out of there, and find me somewhere decent. Unfortunately I had to spend the first 3 nights there, and my neck is still hating me for the experience.

The replacement place was somewhere a co worker was placed previously… so why didn’t they book that in the beginning! Argh!

Apart from the accommodation, everything’s pretty good. Even the weather, for the most part. I’ve only required the use of my umbrella once, which was on Sunday. I’ve also even worn tshirts, it’s been that warm on some days.

On Friday night I went clubbing at the Midnight Shift, which was kinda fun. More fun than I would’ve had in Melbourne anywhere, anyway.

Saturday night a friend took me to Stonewall, where some queen managed to spill beer all over my leg. He then proceeded to pat my leg, as if that was going to dry it off. If anything, it rubbed the beer in more. I’m not quite sure what the look in my eye was at that moment, but they sure fucked off quick. I went upstairs to the toilets, to unsuccessfully rid myself of the beer smell. At least my hands weren’t beer-sticky.

After we left there, we went to some hideous place called The Palms. If you’re into Campy Bottoms who love all music prior to 1900 1987, this is the place to go. Unfortunately I do not. I lasted a total of 7 songs in there, during which I sat at a table. The music wasn’t danceworthy. As he went past, some old queen barguy (this place can’t even get decent barboys) told me to get up and dance and get off my best asset (arse), and probably received a scorning look in return.

Then we headed upto Shift. I got asked for ID, so I think the bouncer was bored, rather than me looking a youthful twinkish 17. As much as the locals pay Shift out as being dodgy, it’s funny how they still come along. I really can’t see how it’s that bad. If all they had was the Peel, Market and Exchange - then they can whinge. Loudly.

Apart from the ’straight’ asian club down the road, there’s no other club in Oxford St which can boast a large populous of asian bodies in one place. (I use the word ’straight’ coz i’ve heard rumours of some of those boys nicking down to the gay sauna while their girlfriends continue dancing inside… heh.)

Of course anywhere you have a club full of asians, you also have old men (as well as the occasional asian admirer. :D). It’s like Salt and Pepper - very rarely you see one without the other. But for the most part they’re reasonably behaved, and the ones that aren’t soon get told where to go. Of course i’m talking pre-4am here. Post 4am is another story - the freaks just seem to come out of the woodwork. So if your hunger hasn’t taken you to The Rocks for pancakes by 4am, (or you haven’t picked up and left already), you may as well just call it a night. Unless you’re into freaks. :D

Sunday was spent sleeping until early afternoon, at which time I got up and went in search of food. I met up with a friend and we had Thai for (late) lunch, which was pretty good. We wandered around everywhere until our feet started getting sore, then we settled into a Starbucks sofa to drink their mediocre beverages and talk crap for awhile.

Dinner was at a place called “Mamak” near chinatown. I’d been past a few times and noticed a queue out the door, so I wanted to see if it was any good. In short, it was. Although missing the signature Rendang Curry, they still had good Rotis and other Malaysian staples like Chicken Curry, Teh Tarik and Cendol on the menu.

After we waddled out of there, we walked around a bit more, then to the bus stop. The bus took ages to come along, but finally it did. I guess tardy public transport isn’t just a Melbourne thing.

Last night was washing night. Coin operated machines in the basement, at $4 a load. Powder was $2, so instead I went to a nearby Coles and got some decent liquid. On the way back I got a McFeast Deluxe meal for dinner, simply because there’s not much else around me - hence why I walk down to Chinatown most nights for dinner.

While the machine was rumbling I surfed with my dial-up internet (GAH!) and ate my burger. Clothes finished. Hung them up to dry - screw paying $4 for the dryer as well.

Now i’m not drawing any conclusions in that I was served by Indians at the Maccas, but I started getting a bit of indigestion. That kept up all night, as well as my voice getting croaky. Which was weird, it’s like an onset of the flu except I didn’t have the headcold. Food poisoning? Who knows. I’ve been chowing down on vitamin C today, and my voice has gone from Barry White back to normal me.. almost. No more maccas. Nuh uh.

Tonight my co workers are taking me to Ichiban Boshi, a place i’ve reviewed on Candid Cuisine previously.

Should be fun.

16.Sep.08 Food, Holiday, Random, Work Comments (0) 

Happy Drunk

No, not right now. I’m at work.

But the other day I found that at the moment Dan Murphys’ have Moscato, my favourite drop, in CleanSkins.

I normally buy the Brown Bros Moscato, but these look like they’re the exact same stuff, sans the label.

$7.50 vs $12.00, so a damn good bargain. (And you can pay $16.00 elsewhere for the BB one!)

Glug glug.

18.Jul.08 Food Comments (0) 

Singapore Again (Part 9)

Last night, it rained. Today I woke up, and it was still raining. The sky was overcast, and it looked like it’d rain all day. Maybe.

On my way to Suntec on the bus the other day, I noticed a shopping centre I hadn’t explored. Plaza Singapura. Just near Dhoby Ghaut MRT. Today, I decided to see what they had inside.

Armed with my umbrella and headphones, I left the flat. By the time I got to the bus stop, my pants were pretty much saturated from the knees down. My bag was also a bit wet, but luckily it’s waterproof so my camera was safe.

I waited awhile for the bus to arrive, and then hopped on when it did. I sat up the front on the second level (double decker!) so I got a few interesting photos on the way;

This is at the intersection on Tanglin Road. As you can see, it’s been pouring, and everything is thoroughly soaked. Unlike when it rains back in Melbourne, which is barely enough to cover the ground.

Here’s one of the new shopping centres that is going up in Orchard Rd. They seem to have put up a lot more structural stuff in 2 1/2 months since I was last here, though it’s not yet taking shape. Maybe next visit.

The Homo Gym. Otherwise known as California Fitness. Not cheap. I think Gage’s friend, Chad, mentioned that he pays about $1000 for 6 months or something. I could be wrong tho.

Here’s another shopping centre that’s going up. This one is taking shape, from what I can see, anyway.

A short time later I alighted at Plaza Singapura. *Tap* with my tap card. I wonder if Melbourne’s Myki cards will be this easy when/if ever we get them?

There were quite a few levels to explore, but first stop was lunch! I headed downstairs, as that’s where I figured the food court would be.

I was tempted to try Burger King, but explored further. Then I saw a Carl’s Jr burger chain, and thought they might be decent.

I saw the big ad for the Jalapeno Chicken Burger Meal, and decided that would be lunch.

I ordered, and was given a cup and a number. I filled my cup with their own ‘Iced Lemon Tea’, which, when I tasted it, was like normal tea gone cold. Not cold, not sweet. Bleah. I hoped the rest of the meal would be better.

The burger and fries arrived, and surprisingly, the fries were half cold. I held out hope that the burger would be ok. It was the size of a whopper, but it didn’t look anything like the picture on the billboard. It tasted pretty crap, so if all the Carl’s Jr chain stores taste this bad, I don’t know how they survive. I want my money back. I couldn’t finish the burger and the fries. And it’s not just coz they tasted crap, my stomach was reminding me it was smaller now. Good tum tum. :)

Good old Americans. At least if they don’t have big penises, they still have their big burgers. And big trucks. And big egos. [Penis Envy?]

After that rather disappointing and slightly unsettling lunch, I began my shopping adventures.

I found a funky canvas belt in one of the department stores, as well as some ankle socks. I only wanted the socks because I was short 1 pair, so this way I didn’t have to do washing again until I got back to Oz! :P

I also scored two really cheap powerplug converters in Best, which is like our RetraVision or Good Guys stores. $1.50 each. Even in Sim Lim they were trying to sell them for $4.50. Ripoff!

Then I wandered into Carrefour. Similar to our Coles stores because it sells groceries, but that’s about where the similarities end. Apart from some of the meat being grossly overpriced (it all is, everywhere - Australian Beef? $33+ per kg, depending on the cut..) most things were relatively cheap. Either that or it was just really fresh, or huge range.

For example, look at these tongs. They’re normal size tongs. Now look at the King Prawns. SAME SIZE! Our King Prawns back in Footscray are nowhere near that size. That’s just too good. I want Thai prawn curry. Now.

I wandered around the store, either giggling or gaping at the prices and selection on offer. One thing Singapore lacks though, is decent Salt & Vinegar chips. That’s why G1 asked me to bring a couple of packs over with me. Here, if there’s such a thing as artificial vinegar, they use that. Not the real (good) stuff.

After I headed to the checkout with a few things from Carrefour, I continued browsing through the rest of the shopping centre, and found a furniture store having a sale. They had some quite nice stuff, but no way would it fit in my luggage. I needed a Mokona to swallow it. (If you don’t watch xxxHolic, don’t worry about that comment)

After I finished there, I walked across the road. Furniture stores. Very expensive ones. But they had nice stuff. Then I walked back along Orchard Rd, and called into a Camera shop. I got the guy to fit a new screen protector to my camera, as the old one had started peeling off. $15. Not bad.

While I was in the camera shop, I got a call from Aaron. He had an hour to kill before heading back to work for a meeting, so we decided to catch up for a coffee. I walked back to Dhoby Ghaut and caught the MRT back to City Hall, and then we met up at Coffee Club.

I ordered an iced coffee, and Aaron got a Chicken Pie, and chatted until it was time for him to head back to work.

I accompanied him as far as Bugis on the MRT, then did a bit of window shopping for an hour or so. Then I headed back to Orchard Rd, and dropped in to say hi to Gage. After that I wandered around Centrepoint, and found a pair of work pants at Domanchi for $39. Bargain!

It took awhile to get a pair in my size that I liked, as the stupid sales girl couldn’t get through her thick head that when I said I wanted 32, I wanted 32. Not any other size. Did I mention it’s hard to find good help these days? :P

I met up with G2, and we had dinner at the foodcourt nextdoor. Yummy Pad Thai. G1 joined us, and then we took a taxi home.

I surfed the net for awhile, looking up some prices on Sim Lim’s website. I found that hard drives were a lot cheaper here than back in Oz, even though I can get them at wholesale price. Hmm…

With that thought, I got ready for bed, and slept. :)

14.May.08 Food, Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

Singapore Again (Part 8)

Since I got to bed earlier last night, I woke up earlier! 10.30 to be exact. G1 had gone already, and G2 was all dressed ready to go.

I quickly ran through the shower and got dressed, and we caught the train to Bugis, then walked to Sim Lim.

The first stop was to get my Synology Cube Server. I forgot my post-it note so I didn’t know the shop number, but I knew it was on the 4th floor. We walked around, and around and around and around. I couldn’t find it! Then we walked around the 3rd and 5th floors, just incase I was mistaken. Still couldn’t find it. Then I wasted about $15 of GPRS internet trying to find their website and pricing pdf’s, just to get their address.

In the end, it turned out that THEY WEREN’T FUCKING OPEN. How slack is that? Rolladoors were still down, which is why I kept walking past it.

We went upto level 6, and got Gerard’s server case, some cables, a cable tidy, and some mounting screws. Then we paid for it all, and lugged it downstairs. The server case was DAMN heavy, but i managed. We stopped by the 4th floor while I ran to have a look to see if my store had opened, and ABOUT TIME.. they had just rolled up the doors. Evidently they had some meeting that went longer than supposed to, so they didn’t open the shop until now. I told them they were slack, and it wasn’t good enough. They should have discounted me $15 for all the GPRS net I wasted trying to find them.

So I bought my Raid Cube, and went back to Gerard at the lift. We lugged everything downstairs, then to the GST Claim counter. Filled out all the forms, and got about $42 back. Yay! Then we lugged everything out to the taxi rank and loaded it into a cab (at least those old Toyota Crowns’ have a big boot!) and Gerard set off to work with it all. I remembered we’d forgotten to get a wireless access point, so I went back to get it. I was going to have a wander around Bugis again for awhile, then head over to G2’s workplace later.

I found a Linksys WAP54G at one shop for $105, then at a different shop for $88. You seriously have to know your pricing, and never buy the first one you see.

Afterward, I headed back to Bugis Junction and had lunch in the food court. I saw a sign for a rather yummy looking fried rice, so I ordered that. Unfortunately what I was served barely resembled the picture, and there was more rice than anything else. Next time i’ll stick to what I know. I didn’t finish all the fried rice (and not just because it was crap), I think today was the first time i’d noticed my stomach had shrunk. From all the smaller meals i’d been having, I was now used to eating less. Which combined with all the walking (not to mention the sauna-like heat), was hopefully doing me the world of good.

I walked around a bit more, and bought a $6 topup for my phone. After this morning’s little effort, I only had 25c left of credit. Also, as I was on a prepaid card, if your credit falls below $5, it will give you a pre-recorded message before EVERY call you make, until you top up again. I guess it’s useful in a way, but it’s also fucking annoying. That’s on top of it telling you what your balance is the first time you use it every day. Did I also mention that I get charged for incoming calls? Yeah, that’s another feature of prepaid here (with StarHub anyway). But on the upside, I kept getting free sms’s. I’d send 5, and then i’d get 10 free to use that day. Evens out in the end, I guess.

I got bored about 4pm, and I also wanted to beat peak hour, so I headed off to catch a bus to G2’s work. After getting directions on which bus to catch, I was on my way.

It took quite awhile to get there, as the buses seem to double-back on themselves just to cover the whole area. I guess if you want to get somewhere in a hurry, you could take a cab (or the MRT, if it goes where you want to go).

Eventually, I got there. G2 met me where the bus stopped, then we went to the shopping centre again. He grabbed some Subway for one of his coworkers, and while he was doing that, I got a couple of donuts. Then we went back to the office. I tried one of the donuts, and it was fucking disgusting. It tasted like it was about 3 days old, and the chocolate icing tasted bad as well. Granted, it was from a different donut chain, but nothing compared to the one I had at IMM in Jurong.

G2’s co-workers were working until about 9pm, so I couldn’t switch off the server or unplug the patch cables until then. In the meantime, I compiled a list of sites (msn servers and web messenger sites) we were going to block on each of the office computers using the ‘hosts file’ method, and ‘fixed’ the ones that weren’t being used. Then I unwrapped the server case and configured the wireless access point, and rearranged some stuff in the server rack that could be moved without unplugging.

Then the co-workers all left, and it was funtime. Time to gut the server, rebuild it, and pray it’d still work. So off I went. I pulled it all to bits on the table, then used most of the pieces to rebuild it in the rack case. Then I went to mount it in the rack, and realised that mounting rails weren’t included. D’oh!

While I was doing that, Gerard went around to the leftover computers, and put the hosts file on them.

So I used an existing shelf and just lowered it a bit, then put the rackmount case on the shelf. And then put the monitor / keyboard on that. Voila, it worked first go! I thought that was pretty good.

After that win, I pulled out all the cables and repatched them into the switch, neatly. That took awhile, as they were long cables and they were going everywhere.

We looked at the time: 1am. Not too bad for the amount of work I did. One thing left to do.. the bill! Oh wait, it was a love job. :D

We locked up, and just as we reached the road, a taxi came along. We hailed it, and headed home. Showered, then hit the hay. Zzzzzz..

13.May.08 Food, Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

Singapore Again (Part 7)

I woke up late again today, probably around 12. Bathed, got dressed, headed to the bus stop.

Took bus alll the way to Suntec, and had BBQ Pork Buns and Siu Mai for lunch.

I noticed this sign while I was there.. How exactly were these prawns fortunate? They got caught and made into dumplings! That’s not fortunate!

Then instead of catching the MRT, I decided to walk to Bugis Junction. I figured it wasn’t so far, as I thought I passed nearby on the bus on my way here. So I walked back the way the bus came. And walked and walked and walked, then turned right and walked some more… and as I walked past a white building, I saw a sign on the side. Sim Lim Square! This is where you come in Singapore to buy tech stuff.

I went inside and wandered around all the shops, one level after another. At about level 4 the call of nature came upon me, so I went to visit the loo. There were two stalls, one western and one squat. And luckily I checked if there was toilet paper, because there wasn’t. You had to take what you needed from the big roll near the sink.

While I was getting the paper, someone came in and went straight into the stall. Hmph! But at least he went in without any toilet paper, so serves himself right. I took the stairs to level 5, and used the toilet there. It smelt like it was backed up.. ie SHIT. Then the cleaner came in and sprayed, so it smelt like ’summer breeze’ for all of 2 minutes, then shit again.

I’m glad I missed these ones in my toilet review that I did last time, because these would have to be the worst (apart from the roadside toilet) toilets i’ve come across in Singapore, and Malaysia. Now that’s pretty poor.

Back to looking at nerdy stuff. I wandered into one shop which was selling NAS (Network Attached Storage), and noticed they were selling a model of NAS that I was toying with the idea of getting back in Oz. My jaw almost hit the floor when he told me the price.. $360 cheaper than buying it back home. And that was a wholesale price I was comparing this to as well!

I pretty much made up my mind that I was going to buy it, I just had to figure out how to transport it back home. I told him i’d be back tomorrow, as I didn’t have my passport (for GST refund) nor my Credit Card.

I continued on, and found the server shop which had rackmount stuff - the stuff Gerard needed to put his desktop server into the Rack Cabinet at work. Most of the enclosures were expensive, but they had one which was surprisingly cheap ($280) - ‘barebones’, but not nasty. Theoretically I could just gut the desktop, put all the contents into the rack case, and mount it in the rack. Simple!

I got the guy to print a specs sheet, and put it in my bag to show Gerard later on.

I walked out the front of Sim Lim, and opposite I recognised the OG store Gage had showed me through the other day. I was kind of getting my bearings now, but still had no idea where Bugis was hiding.

I took out my iPhone, and loaded up Maps. I pushed the “Locate Me” button, and voila! I was… A BLOODY BLOCK AWAY from Bugis. Damnit, so close and I totally missed it.

I walked back in the direction of Bugis, and took a turn which would lead me to it.

I noticed these apartments down an alleyway, and each one had a stairwell painted a different colour. That’d be good if you lived there and came home drunk! :P

Then I entered the Bugis Marketplace, with all its stalls and semi-permanent shops. I looked in one called Spades, and saw a really fleecy hoodie that I liked. I tried it on (really quickly, 30 degree heat is not hoody-trying-on weather!) and it fitted well. The sales guy gave me a discount, though i’m sure they mark things up specifically so they can give every customer a ‘discount’.

As I came to the main road, there was another donut shop strategically placed near the bus stop, to entice people to buy while they’re waiting. Lots of different flavours, but strangely enough with my sweet tooth, I wasn’t even tempted. If that thin chic keeps buying up on the donuts though, she won’t be thin for long.

I crossed the road, then took a couple of photos again. I didn’t know Bugis Market was the largest in Singapore, but I guess it would be, because all the other places are classed as Shopping Malls.

I thought the name of this eatery was a bit unfortunate, I don’t know what it means in Cantonese/Mandarin, but in English, Yu-kee (yucky!) isn’t a good association to have with a restaurant.

Into Bugis Junction I went.

Singaporeans also have a dear love for their acronyms.

HDB, MRT, SMRT, NTUC, NS, SBS, LRT, ICE, PR, PIE, CBD, ATM, AYE, GST, AJ (Ok ok, that one’s rhyming slang), and a whole lot more, so it’s amusing to actually find a sign that’s stuffed them up. Shall we take a trip on the ATM today?

I wandered around all the levels of BJ (haha, see!), browsing in various stores, but didn’t really find anything I liked. Bossini still had a crap range, and Samuel & Kevin seem to have moved over from Gay to Grungy.

I looked at my watch, and it was almost time to meet another friend of mine, Aaron, for dinner. I asked the security guard how to get to the MRT, as I didn’t quite trust the ATM sign to be truthful. Then I followed his directions, and I was soon on the train. One stop and 10 minutes later, I was right on time. I stood near the steps at City Hall, and waited.

Then I got an SMS. He was going to be at least an hour late… what to do, what to do. To kill some time, I walked along the entire length of CityLink Mall a couple of times, then finally settled down in Gelare, with an (expensive) ice cream. Quite creamy, and tasty too, but still overpriced.

Finally it was time to meet Aaron, so I headed back to City Hall. After waiting some more, he arrived. He’s quitting his work (already given notice) but still seems to be working very hard. Back in Australia, once you give notice, it’s pretty much slack-off month, because what are they going to do, sack you? But here in Singapore, evidently the employer can pull some nasty shit on you, and withhold your entitlements unless you work hard until quitting day.

Aaron had to do one last thing, so we walked to some office where he had to choose some invitation designs. That over, then we were free to have dinner. We dropped past a bus stop where his bf was waiting, so I got to meet him - even though he had stuff to do, so could not join us for dinner.

We ended up at Thai Express in Raffles City for dinner. There was a bit of a queue, so they were getting everyone to order while still waiting for a table.

I had a quick flick through the menu, and settled on something that sounded quite decent - “Yellow Ginger Chicken”. Sounded exotic, but yummy. Aaron ordered his ‘usual’, I can’t quite remember the name of it.

Then we were shown to our seats, and we waited.

Not too long later our meals arrived, and mine was… covered… in chilli. I thought “This is going to be interesting..”. I tried it. Zinggg! It was spicy, but good. I could handle it. A few mouthfuls later, I started going for the water. Halfway through, I asked for another glass of water, at which time the waitress told me that i’d ordered the hottest thing on their menu. Thanks for the warning! Bah. Another glass of water, and I managed to get through it. Really tasty, but damn hot. I’d order it again though. :D

Aaron also ordered a dessert (which took ages to arrive), but I was happy sipping my Lime Juice that i’d ordered to put out the fire.

I wondered how long it’d be until I was running for the nearest toilet, but surprisingly we walked around for ages afterward, and I never needed to go. I figured if I could handle that and not have any ill effects, I think i’m ready for a trip to Thailand.

During the flow of conversation over dinner, I told Aaron about my clubbing experiences. Surprisingly, he said I should have invited him out on Saturday night. I didn’t ask because I knew he wasn’t a clubber, so.. *slap*. Haha.

At about 10.00, it was time for him to head home, so I did the same. Watched some TV with G1 & G2, and also told G2 about the server stuff. He decided to do it, so we’d scoot off to Sim Lim first thing in the morning.

I headed off to bed, and talked to Louis on MSN for awhile before I fell asleep.

12.May.08 Food, Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

Singapore Again (Part 6)

The overnight rain/storm had subsided by the time I woke up, which today, was about 12pm. I know I know, lazy huh? :P

The Gerards’ were about to head out to look at another apartment, in the block next to the last one. We arranged to go out somewhere for Duck Rice when they got back, then take a trip to VivoCity. Sounded like a plan.

I busied myself with getting up, showered and dressed, checked email and surfed the net a bit.

They arrived back with smiles, and announced they’d sealed the deal on their new apartment. And this one even had Air Conditioning! The only drawback was the… squat toilet. :o

Well i’m not planning to visit again any time soon (ie, I haven’t booked yet!) so it won’t worry me. And if I visit while they’re in that place, I might just make sure i’m out at a shopping centre when I need to go. Heheheheh..

We took a taxi to the Duck Rice place, which was just a coffee shop amongst a small cluster of shops in some residential area. An expensive residential area, full of mansions. (But supposedly cheap mansions, in the grand scheme of things. Cheap compared to what, I wondered..)

Plastic chairs and plastic tables. I almost felt like I was eating in Malaysia again, or in the kids playground at Ikea, except these chairs probably weren’t that expensive. I let G2 order seeing as I didn’t even know what they served, let alone what was good to order.

G2 ordered us each a rice and a Lime Juice drink (loaded with plenty of sugar), and a main of the duck pieces drizzled with some sauce. I watched the guy carving up the duck, and was amazed at the speed he was chopping considering how close his hand was. If it was me, i’d be Captain Hook by now. The Duck tasted quite nice, but most duck does unless they really fuck it up. I think the sauce had a lot of Kekap Manis (thick sweet soy sauce) mixed with some other stuff, which went well with the duck.

G2 also ordered a Sambal Belacan, but it wasn’t great - it hadn’t been washed properly, and was a bit gritty.

Despite the budget plastic seats, tables, utensils and bowls, there was nothing budget about the cost. I think it cost around $40 for the 3 of us, which considering average food court meals are around $5 - $6 each, this was quite a step up.

Some of the diners wouldn’t have cared though, they had their BMW 7 series’ and Audis’ parked outside. You have to be seriously loaded to have a 7 series BMW in Singapore AND a family.

Anyway, after we finished up we walked down the road to the bus stop.

5 minutes seemed like half an hour, as it was really humid standing there for some reason. Must have been some water nearby or something..

The bus arrived, and we clambered aboard. *Tap* went my tap card. Didn’t even take it out of my wallet. No stupid Met Cards here.

I saw some interesting things on our way to VivoCity. There was this building site, and all these blocks stacked up like a pyramid. Evidently this was to check the soil for stability, or something. Interesting the different building methods they use, and how everything seems to get built way quicker.

We arrived at Vivo, and walked inside. Near the entrance, one of those massage brands was showcasing their entire range. People were trying out various pieces of the equipment.

This Indian family had jumped on what I could see was a communal vibrator. Basically you stand on it, and it vibrates the platform beneath your feet (and in turn, vibrates the fat off you?). The photo would have been more amusing if it’d caught the motion blur, but oh well.

G2 asked me if i’d ever heard of Daiso. I hadn’t, so he told me it was a Japanese store, where EVERYTHING in the whole store was $2. Slightly different to our $2 stores, where you can sometimes find multiples of things for $2. E.g. 3 bags of chips for $2. But the best part was that unlike our $2 stores, Daiso isn’t filled with crap. Well ok, in any $2 store there’s bound to be some crap, but its was still better quality. And I think I found the place where Singaporean Aunties go when they leave home. It was almost as packed as a nightclub, except with Aunties. All getting their $2 bargains.

I bought a few things - a pill container for dad, some small containers for me, some junky thing for my aunt, and some brown poo shaped gel blobs. They’re funny, and they stick to walls. But yeah, useless, really.

You could also go nuts with all the stickers and stationery they had, but remember… each item at $2 really adds up. The person in front of me at the register clocked up $132, and that was only a bag full of stuff.

Also while I was queued up, they have things near the register to tempt you into buying more. I saw a few types of hair gel. The first one was called Pretty Hard, and next to it was Really Hard. $4 was too much to waste just for amusement, so go look yourselves. :P

If they opened up a store in Malaysia where the same stuff was $2 Ringgit, that’d be pretty cool.

After we came out of Daiso, we wandered around some of the other shops, until we came to Giant. It’s a big grocery store, hence the name.

G1 & G2 did their normal grocery shopping, so I wandered around with them, occasionally gasping at prices. I did find the hair gel Louis like to use 80c cheaper than at Guardian though, so i’ll know for next time.

We went to get some meat from the deli, and while we were standing there, I noticed a group of people hovering around the “Thailand Longan” box, EATING THEM. They’re only 42c per 100g but people are STEALING by eating. When the whole family crowds around and chows down, that’s not sampling, you cheapasses!

After G1 & G2 finished grocery shopping, they caught a taxi back home with all the stuff. I continued browsing around Vivo.

I just happened to walk past a Converse shop, and Fuck me! I found the exact same style/colour of shoe as what I bought at Lee Cooper, for $39.95. If Gage had’ve been with me he would have laughed at me, as he’s a fan of the ‘original’ Converse, and wouldn’t buy a clone/replica/copy. In my defense, I did ask him how much Cons were, and he said they’d be more expensive than my Lee Coopers.. so not my fault :P

I also found a New Urban Male store had opened up, and although I didn’t find any tshirts I liked in there, they actually finally had a sales boy working there that i’d consider cute. But that was still only 1 out of about 6… but it’s a start. Their sales might even go up. :P

I wandered around a while longer, then went to catch the bus back home. I must have just missed the last one, coz I had to sit there for aaaaages. Still, it’s interesting watching the people around me. (No not perving, nothing to perve at. Just watching people.)

Finally the bus arrived, and I was on my way home. I had a short nap before dinner, so I wouldn’t be falling asleep later at St James. After dinner I tried to nap again, but ended up just laying there, unable to sleep. At about 10.30 I showered and got changed, then headed out to the bus stop. I caught the bus back to VivoCity, then walked around to where St James was. By now it was about 11.30, but there weren’t that many people yet.

The queue was short, so I was soon inside. I grabbed myself my free drink, which I selected as a pot of Tiger. (They’re not nice enough to give away any of the good stuff, you can only choose a wine, beer, or soft drink). I sat at one of the tables for awhile, drinking my beer. About midnight people finally started filling the place up.

I ordered myself a Bacardi Breezer, which took a good 10 minutes to order, pay for, then get back the change. I went and sat near the dancefloor, where only a few people were dancing so far.

I drank slowly, and watched as a few more people started dancing. By the time I finished, it was full enough yet still plenty of room, so I got up and started dancing as well.

The music was decent, and i’d heard most of the songs. As time went on, the dancefloor started getting more packed. A group of three tanned chinese guys were dancing near me. The closest one was about 5′5″, and pleasant on the eye (Reasonably cute, ok?).

Dancing away, just smiling in general. Occasionally caught his eye, just smiled a bit more. All friendly like. As the dancefloor became more packed, we ended up closer still, and then somehow, we were basically dancing together.

Then a good song came on, but the DJ started putting these 5 second pauses in it, where everyone would basically stop dancing until the music came back. After the 3rd time he did that, I leaned over to the guy dancing with me and asked, “Does the DJ do a lot of this to the songs?” He leaned close to my ear, and said “No English“.. I smiled, and nodded. I also thought, ‘Oh-kay then…’

Digressing for a moment, from the TalkingCock Coxford Dictionary, comes this term:

CHEENA PIANG / CHEENA POK
A derogatory term used by Singaporeans who are more well-versed and comfortable in English to describe (insult) those who are more well versed in Chinese and who cannot speak English [properly].
1. “Wah lau! He’s super cheenapiang, man. Hear the way he speaks English!”
2. “Ah Lians and Ah Bengs are all cheenapoks!”

So i’ll continue referring to him now, as Cheena.

I was just out to have a good night. Making a couple of friends to dance with would just make it more fun and enjoyable.

I continued dancing, and he continued dancing close to me. I assumed from what he’d said, that he couldn’t speak English. I also assumed he’d know I couldn’t speak Chinese, considering I would have started conversing in Mandarin/Cantonese if I could, before.

Dancing. His hand brushed against my crotch. Accidental, maybe, I thought. Continued dancing. Smiled.

Now, i’ll define a couple of terms:
Grope: This is fairly deliberate. A flat hand brushes against you, feeling any bumps and curves along the way.
Grab: This is more deliberate than a Grope. This is where someone actually (momentarily) grabs [a part of] you with their hand.

Dancing some more, Cheena GRABBED me. Where? Well use your imagination, it wasn’t my arm.

I knew he knew the word NO, as he’d said to me earlier, ‘NO English’. I mouthed the words NO, and shook my head, as well as holding my hands up like I was doing the Bus Stop.

Danced a bit more, and he made for another GRAB. Again, I said NO.

This went on a few more times, until he took my arm and led me off the dancefloor. We headed toward the entrance where it was a bit quieter, and I thought he was going to attempt to talk to me.

We stopped, and he faced me. I thought he was going to talk, but instead he GRABBED me again. I said NO.

Then he took my hand, and squeezed it against his groin. (Forced grab?) He was obviously very happy to see me, so to speak. Once again I shook my head and said No.

Then he turned around, and rubbed his butt against my groin. If we were having a game of charades, this guy would be very good at making himself understood. But alas, this was not charades.

I shook my head and said NO, again. He pointed to the door, I assume meaning to go home with him. NO, again. I pointed toward the dancefloor, and danced a bit. I pointed to his groin, and shook my head.

I was at a loss on how else to tell someone that I was just dancing, and wasn’t out to pick up.

But he finally seemed to get the message, because we headed back to the dancefloor. We danced some more. But then he tried it again.. GRAB.

I got out my phone and sms’d Gage, “Can you SMS me back in chinese characters saying ‘I have a boyfriend, i’m just dancing’ please?”, then waited. In the meantime, he tried another grab, which met the same result. Then suddenly, he wandered off. He’d disappeared to find his friends a few times before, but this time, he didn’t come back. And just then, I got a reply from Gage, with the message I needed. Just incase he did come back.

So there I was, dancing by myself again. Which was cool. Then along came some thin, shirtless, camp Indian guy. Now if you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know I have a low tolerance for Indians. Very low. But proving how nice and friendly I was trying to be, I didn’t immediately tell him to take a hike.

He asked if he could dance with me, so I said yes. Dancing was.. fine. So we danced. He started mouthing the words to the song, but in doing so made all these weird facial espressions. I assume he thought he was being funny, but it just wasn’t. I continued dancing, looking all around, everywhere but at him.

There were two asian guys dancing nearby, which I assumed was a couple, but one of the guys had looked me over a number of times. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but there are a few options;

a) Ugh, Ang Moh.
b) He’s kinda cute..
c) What the hell, dancing with an Indian?
d) I wonder if he needs help to get away from that Indian?

Now if he was thinking anything from b) to d), that would have been flattering. But I couldn’t quite catch his eye as to convey my “Help! Do anything to get me away from this guy!” so I endured it. Until the Indian tried to kiss me. I leaned back, avoiding his pass. I told him I was just dancing. These people mustn’t understand English, because he tried to do it again. I told him I was going to get a drink. He asked if I wanted him to join me, and I just waved him off, which meant NO.

I queued for my drink, another good 10 minutes. Whilst waiting for my change, someone came up behind me and grabbed me. Now at least this grab was around my waist, rather than any lower. He’d had enough excitement for one night, already.

I whirled around, with a look of ‘Whoever did that is going to die!’ on my face. It was the Indian. The look had the desired effect though, as I didn’t need to say a word - he shrank back into the crowd, and I didn’t see him again.

Oh well, I tried to be nice for most of the night, that’s probably some kind of record for me.

I went back to dancing after finishing my drink. Dancing dancing.

Then some late 30’s black-as-your-boot Indian grabbed my hand on the dancefloor, and started shouting, “Hey, I have champagne, you want some champagne!?” I said no. Then he asked again. I snapped my arm out of his grasp, and told him in no uncertain terms to fuck off.

So if anyone else had their eye on me from that point on, I think I sufficiently discouraged them from making a move, because I didn’t get approached again.

It was only about another half hour anyway, until the DJ started playing weird kind of music. I call it Eccy music, because only someone who’d popped a few E’s would be able to appreciate it.

It’s normally what DJ’s play to drive out the clientele, so they can wind down for the night. It was 2.45, so I took the hint and left.

The taxi rank was full of Toyota Crowns’ again, so I just grabbed the first one available. The driver was nice enough, and was surprised when I told him to keep the 30c change out of the $13 I gave him for the fare ($12.70). If he saw how much coinage i’d accumulated since I arrived, he would have understood. (If it wasn’t so much hastle to carry the coinage around, I probably could have paid my entire fare with it.)

I collapsed into bed, knowing i’d be sleeping in late tomorrow as well. The joy of holidays.. :)

12.May.08 Food, Fun, Holiday Comments (0) 

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