Sunday, October 01, 2006
Day 8: Part II: Dinner @ Scotts Picnic
After our lunch, we went down to Bugis, where I consulted my image advisor with some bags I had seen just yesterday. Rebirth @ Bugis EDGE was a shop I frequent; I got my comfortable furry brown stripped jeans from there. They brought in some new bags not long ago, & the pattern was strikingly different. The texture is somewhat suede/furry kind (my favourite feel), & the pattern resembles a tribal feel. It's in a really nice brown colour. It looked like a winner, & I tried it on, & it looked so awkward on me. So it's out. Then we saw another nice bag from PureMILK. No decision was made.
Then we went on to Far East Plaza, & paid homage to a certain legendary shop which spends a third of its shop space on the entrance, & another third on a "gallery". The entrance is a gap between two black forbidding walls, much like you're entering a cinema, or a high-class club. Then you have to turn left & walk in a little, before reaching a gallery with some pictures on the wall. All the walls are pitch black with some mood lighting. then you finally emerge into the "shop", where you see the clothes & some bags on display. Local collectors of Head Porter bags would make a regular customer of this shop. There was certainly some air of exclusivity & high-end-ness in this shop. The price of the bags in the display windows is marked with those individual lettering pieces, much like the kind you see in DFS, or in upmarket boutiques. Overall, however, the black walls had the obvious look of partition walls, & the setting is not as polished or well-kept. 2 medium Head Porter handbags were on display, $180 & $220 each. Wow. A sling bag would definitely hit the range of above 400. So unknowingly have I fallen into the chase for branded fashion. How can this range of products even be mentioned in the same thread, or even in the same forum, as Zinc bags? In a forum thread I read for bag recommendations, someone actually dissed the suggestion of Zinc bags & instead offered this. To dismiss those common bags using this upmarket name? Some people are so obvious in trying to show off their self-perceived taste & blindness in chasing fashion.
Ok, so it's strongly decided & agreed upon, that considerations for such upmarket goods shall never be mentioned upon ever again. I have also lived with this little lie that I like to tell myself: branded goods are expensive because they are made of durable & better material. Deuter & Crumpler bags are certainly made of non-compromising materials & offer some limited lifetime warranty, but what if I told you something similar could be bought for at a much less price? I guess the same goes for Nike; its innovative technologies may not be anymore comfortable & performance-enhancing than what they have made you believe in.
Without seeing anything interesting, we went to the adjacent Scotts Picnic Food Court for our dinner. The reputation of the beef noodles stall has spread mainly by word of mouth, & it is a regular favourite among many, although I have yet to see it front the pages of food guides or newspaper reviews.
Beef Noodles & Beef Meatball Soup.
Beef Noodles in thick gravy.
The soup is tasty, the thick rice noodles in gravy is tasty, the beef dipped in their Chilli sauce is tasty. I need to say no more than to ask you to try it for yourself, as usual.
It is of course with great disappointment that I have received news of the closure of Scotts Shopping Centre, along with Singapore's 1st Food Court, the Picnic @ Scotts. It is famous for its overwhelming number of customers during peak dining hours, as the basement is often packed full, with as much people standing around waiting for seats as the people eating. The food court now boasts common franchise offerings like Pastamania, exotic fare like Korean cuisine, & restaurants like Crystal Jade & Ajisen Noodles. It is my favourite haunt in Orchard Road where cheap food is scarce & food courts kept closing down (until someone finally had the guts to open Food Culture). I can understand how on Singapore's most expensive land, no sane property management would want to throw his precious commercial retail space into food courts.
So here is farewell to Picnic @ Scotts, another victim of the never-ending property war in Orchard. It will remain open until after Christmas, though. The beef noodle stall owner has yet to find an alternative location, but when she does, they will most probably put out a notice in the papers.
We will always remember you.
Then we went on to Far East Plaza, & paid homage to a certain legendary shop which spends a third of its shop space on the entrance, & another third on a "gallery". The entrance is a gap between two black forbidding walls, much like you're entering a cinema, or a high-class club. Then you have to turn left & walk in a little, before reaching a gallery with some pictures on the wall. All the walls are pitch black with some mood lighting. then you finally emerge into the "shop", where you see the clothes & some bags on display. Local collectors of Head Porter bags would make a regular customer of this shop. There was certainly some air of exclusivity & high-end-ness in this shop. The price of the bags in the display windows is marked with those individual lettering pieces, much like the kind you see in DFS, or in upmarket boutiques. Overall, however, the black walls had the obvious look of partition walls, & the setting is not as polished or well-kept. 2 medium Head Porter handbags were on display, $180 & $220 each. Wow. A sling bag would definitely hit the range of above 400. So unknowingly have I fallen into the chase for branded fashion. How can this range of products even be mentioned in the same thread, or even in the same forum, as Zinc bags? In a forum thread I read for bag recommendations, someone actually dissed the suggestion of Zinc bags & instead offered this. To dismiss those common bags using this upmarket name? Some people are so obvious in trying to show off their self-perceived taste & blindness in chasing fashion.
Ok, so it's strongly decided & agreed upon, that considerations for such upmarket goods shall never be mentioned upon ever again. I have also lived with this little lie that I like to tell myself: branded goods are expensive because they are made of durable & better material. Deuter & Crumpler bags are certainly made of non-compromising materials & offer some limited lifetime warranty, but what if I told you something similar could be bought for at a much less price? I guess the same goes for Nike; its innovative technologies may not be anymore comfortable & performance-enhancing than what they have made you believe in.
Without seeing anything interesting, we went to the adjacent Scotts Picnic Food Court for our dinner. The reputation of the beef noodles stall has spread mainly by word of mouth, & it is a regular favourite among many, although I have yet to see it front the pages of food guides or newspaper reviews.
Beef Noodles & Beef Meatball Soup.Beef Noodles in thick gravy.The soup is tasty, the thick rice noodles in gravy is tasty, the beef dipped in their Chilli sauce is tasty. I need to say no more than to ask you to try it for yourself, as usual.
It is of course with great disappointment that I have received news of the closure of Scotts Shopping Centre, along with Singapore's 1st Food Court, the Picnic @ Scotts. It is famous for its overwhelming number of customers during peak dining hours, as the basement is often packed full, with as much people standing around waiting for seats as the people eating. The food court now boasts common franchise offerings like Pastamania, exotic fare like Korean cuisine, & restaurants like Crystal Jade & Ajisen Noodles. It is my favourite haunt in Orchard Road where cheap food is scarce & food courts kept closing down (until someone finally had the guts to open Food Culture). I can understand how on Singapore's most expensive land, no sane property management would want to throw his precious commercial retail space into food courts.
So here is farewell to Picnic @ Scotts, another victim of the never-ending property war in Orchard. It will remain open until after Christmas, though. The beef noodle stall owner has yet to find an alternative location, but when she does, they will most probably put out a notice in the papers.
We will always remember you.Day 8: Part I: Lunch @ E.Blackboard
Okay! Today is a wonderful day, it has been overcast AND the sky is filled with so much soot ash it is topping PSI charts anytime, what perfect conditions for a day out! Then it rained & I could see the difference between Bus 229 & Bus 225 from a distance, but they sky is still threatening to fall anytime again soon. We took a short ride on Bus 38 from Bedok Interchange, & if you've been in on the latest food craze, you would have known we are headed for a certain Block 18 @ Bedok South Road. Located just across TJC (you lucky students!), this stall grills food that i can smell even in the West. There are two coffee shops located under the same block (just like our Botak Jones encounter @ Clementi; there were 2 coffee shops under one block), & you have to walk further in to the one that's beside the park & the playground. Singaporeans are eating out so much that having 2 coffeeshops under the same roof, & with a whole Food Centre of about 40 stalls just opposite, doesn't seem to be a surprising fact anymore. I would be thinking how they can make profits with such close competition, but this tiny stall just proved my point wrong, as they could attract even a Western-er like me to take the train 21 stops across Singapore to try their specialties. I wonder how big this niche market of "makan connoisseurs" has grown to. People with a car & a lazy weekend, who drive around to taste the best & the latest around the island every week.
E.Blackboard, you can't miss its signage as it is in black. Run by two guys, they have a nice menu of Cajun Chicken, Fish & Chips, Ribeye Steak, & other new items such as Grilled Fish & other stuff. Their NZ Ribeye Steak comes in 300gm & 200gm. Cooking time seems just a bit too long as I finished more than half a glass of my barley drink, but it is to be expected because of the steak. Was it good, for the price & setting of a coffeeshop. Finally we see the very real sign of the rise in our quality of living; we are eating nice thick steak in coffeeshops. Wow.
Tasty 200gm NZ Ribeye Steak.
Tasty Fish & Chips.
The steak sauce had mushroom & tomato cubes in it. It was tasty & delicious. The meat (mine was medium rare) was soft & juicy. The fish & chips tasted really good too, but a bit too good. The fish topped with tartar sauce tasted too sweet to my liking, although it was really delicious on 1st bite. It could have been due to the swap in flavour; I was eating the steak halfway before I exchanged for the Fish & Chips Lips was eating.
If one look wasn't tempting enough:
E.Blackboard, you can't miss its signage as it is in black. Run by two guys, they have a nice menu of Cajun Chicken, Fish & Chips, Ribeye Steak, & other new items such as Grilled Fish & other stuff. Their NZ Ribeye Steak comes in 300gm & 200gm. Cooking time seems just a bit too long as I finished more than half a glass of my barley drink, but it is to be expected because of the steak. Was it good, for the price & setting of a coffeeshop. Finally we see the very real sign of the rise in our quality of living; we are eating nice thick steak in coffeeshops. Wow.
Tasty 200gm NZ Ribeye Steak.Tasty Fish & Chips.The steak sauce had mushroom & tomato cubes in it. It was tasty & delicious. The meat (mine was medium rare) was soft & juicy. The fish & chips tasted really good too, but a bit too good. The fish topped with tartar sauce tasted too sweet to my liking, although it was really delicious on 1st bite. It could have been due to the swap in flavour; I was eating the steak halfway before I exchanged for the Fish & Chips Lips was eating.
If one look wasn't tempting enough:
Day 7: Musical Chairs
Today is my break time! We met up at Bugis @ 11:00am, & on this fortunate occasion I was the 1st one to arrive! Yeah! This finally broke my continuous record of being late all the time. We ate at my usual haunt: Parklane Fried Wan Ton Mee. Then it was time for work as we head towards the National Library.
I've always admired the National Library. From a humble 2-storey red brick building, it has now risen to a 16-floor building of certain architectural pride. We take for granted, most of the time, when the Government puts down huge sums of money on public services. That's what the Government is for, right? & more often than not we would proclaim that it is our/my dad's money; the taxpayers' money. My friend couldn't stop exclaiming at the National Library building; with the escalators & floors, the layout, it looked more like a shopping complex. The tall ceilings certainly add to the "wow" effect too. "Singapore Government is rich." I wondered about that because in the neighbouring country where she came from, I know of shopping centres with roller coaster rides built indoors. & they have the world's tallest twins too. I guess it's just that no one would have thought we would put so much money down on a library. So I'm glad we actually have this big comfortable library to study in, although it serves no economic nor commercial purpose, the Government did not hold back on its development.
So we came to the library, hopefully to make some progress on our project by making use of its resources. Upon migrating a few floors up & down, & finally settling down in its Central Lending section, we set up our laptops & got to work. I decided to go source for some books, so we went around while my 2 friends continued to work on the Internet. We were up at the Reference Library on Level 7 when I received an SMS & an urgent phone call. We rushed back to B1 (the lifts were very fast), & arrived to see 2 librarians, a guy & my friends. That's the scene of an argument. The guy wanted a seat, & he had talked in a rude manner to my friend, took offensive action & removed the chair, & complained to the librarian. Wow was my friend angry. I would be if I had talked to the guy, but he was all quiet after that.
The guy sure declared his "rights" to own the chair in the library, if, by his uncivilised actions, he should even be allowed in in the first place. Would he have been better off insisting to sit here at the table, or just find some other place elsewhere? Would a trip to the toilet or making a round in the library searching for materials be considered as "chair hogging"? His actions of making a din had far outweighed & overshadowed the little etiquette mistakes we committted, if even any. Why are there always such hard-headed people who assume rights to everything in the public, & in their belief that they have a rightful share to claim these things, turn into selfish ugly creatures that grab & argue?
& so that was the game of "Musical Chairs" that the guy entertained us to. Most of the time I just keep away & surrender to trouble, but this has taught me that there are some people we should never give way to.
So our project did progress in the end, & we had done some preliminary research. After a discussion @ MOS Burger, it was finally the start of my break time. We walked around Bugis, saw interesting bags that I liked but didn't quite fit me, & ended with a cup of Iced Mocha & a short walk down Victoria Rd to City Hall.
No pictures for this post, we were supposed to be doing work ^.^
I've always admired the National Library. From a humble 2-storey red brick building, it has now risen to a 16-floor building of certain architectural pride. We take for granted, most of the time, when the Government puts down huge sums of money on public services. That's what the Government is for, right? & more often than not we would proclaim that it is our/my dad's money; the taxpayers' money. My friend couldn't stop exclaiming at the National Library building; with the escalators & floors, the layout, it looked more like a shopping complex. The tall ceilings certainly add to the "wow" effect too. "Singapore Government is rich." I wondered about that because in the neighbouring country where she came from, I know of shopping centres with roller coaster rides built indoors. & they have the world's tallest twins too. I guess it's just that no one would have thought we would put so much money down on a library. So I'm glad we actually have this big comfortable library to study in, although it serves no economic nor commercial purpose, the Government did not hold back on its development.
So we came to the library, hopefully to make some progress on our project by making use of its resources. Upon migrating a few floors up & down, & finally settling down in its Central Lending section, we set up our laptops & got to work. I decided to go source for some books, so we went around while my 2 friends continued to work on the Internet. We were up at the Reference Library on Level 7 when I received an SMS & an urgent phone call. We rushed back to B1 (the lifts were very fast), & arrived to see 2 librarians, a guy & my friends. That's the scene of an argument. The guy wanted a seat, & he had talked in a rude manner to my friend, took offensive action & removed the chair, & complained to the librarian. Wow was my friend angry. I would be if I had talked to the guy, but he was all quiet after that.
The guy sure declared his "rights" to own the chair in the library, if, by his uncivilised actions, he should even be allowed in in the first place. Would he have been better off insisting to sit here at the table, or just find some other place elsewhere? Would a trip to the toilet or making a round in the library searching for materials be considered as "chair hogging"? His actions of making a din had far outweighed & overshadowed the little etiquette mistakes we committted, if even any. Why are there always such hard-headed people who assume rights to everything in the public, & in their belief that they have a rightful share to claim these things, turn into selfish ugly creatures that grab & argue?
& so that was the game of "Musical Chairs" that the guy entertained us to. Most of the time I just keep away & surrender to trouble, but this has taught me that there are some people we should never give way to.
So our project did progress in the end, & we had done some preliminary research. After a discussion @ MOS Burger, it was finally the start of my break time. We walked around Bugis, saw interesting bags that I liked but didn't quite fit me, & ended with a cup of Iced Mocha & a short walk down Victoria Rd to City Hall.
No pictures for this post, we were supposed to be doing work ^.^
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