Korea + Jeju (June 2008)

The trip started off on a less-than-perfect note. My tour group (comprising quite a big portion of Uncles n Aunties) seemed a kan cheong bunch. They ungentlemanly rushed to be first in line, and one horrible Auntie blatantly stepped in front of me at the luggage-check in counter. What’s ur hurry? Cant wait to get reincarnated? I only have 2 pieces of luggage to check-in while she + her group had 6-8 pieces, which meant I ended up waiting longer becos she beat me by one millisecond.

This horrible Auntie was later on nicknamed “Fake Fendi Bitch” by me as she carried this big fake fendi travel bag. I was not the only one to give her nickname though. Seems like her proud boastful vain actions were noted and disliked by tour members (except her own group) and I could hear other people gossiping about her as well.

We took Aseana Airline which was part of the Star Alliance Group. The seats had individual inflight entertainment screens. But it was cramp and narrow. Not a very comfy ride. When finally the airstewardess served us food, she said “We have beef and we have Korean rice. *Pause*. We have no more beef, and we only have Korean rice”. Ok we’ll just take Korean rice (like we have any choice).

The weather was not on our side, it rained quite a bit the first few days of our trip. We had to juggle umbrella, bags, wind , rain, camera as the itinerary was mainly outdoor sightseeing then. I remembered climbing 30mins of stairs to see a volcano crater but it was too foggy at the top to be able to see anything. Quite a waste of effort.




Totally misty up there

Gripes aside, here’s my ranking list of this trip:
Best sightseeing activity – Everland (Theme park of cos! Better than Hong Kong’s Ocean Park). If shopping can be counted as ‘sightseeing activity’, then it’s a tie.



The most fun ride I had. Something like river raft



One of the many kiddy rides I took








If only I had more time..




Best Hotel stay – most of the hotels were good, international 5 star standard.





Marriot Hotel, Seoul

Best meal – the big pan of cabbage, chicken and rice cake cooked in korean chilli sauce. The rice crust and slightly charred rice cake were heavenly..






Best Buy – hmm.. l liked all the stuff (bags, earrings, foodstuff, skincare) I bought. Its hard to make a choice.


Hubby's stuff

Left: Buys fm Dootah Complex (All Made in Korea). Right: Apron and cup fm Teddy bear museum


Left: Skin Food Right: Beauty Credit (all items in small pkts are free samples)


Left: FaceShop Right: Ginseng



Pics do not include a box of foodstuff we bought on the last day and a box of kimchi






Most exciting thing that happened – was watching Nanta Show (a performance with audience interactive segments). I think I happened to lean forward at one point becos I couldn’t see clearly, and next thing I know, I was invited on stage. There was a dumpling making competition going on and a few of the audience were selected on stage to help the crew make dumplings. It was totally stressful as the lead actor beside me kept urging me to HURRY UP (and wrap the dumpling quickly). Then he disappeared halfway, and I am left wondering if I should continue to wrap dumplings as quickly as possible or just go off? Thankfully I stayed on and continued, and our team won. (I got a souvenir Nanta Show keychain for participation).







Greatest craving satisfied – Hubby had been to Korea before for a short business trip years ago. He tried the bbq meat eaten with leaves and said its very nice. However, the bbq meats that we ate in Singapore and even in Korea were accompanied by veg, not leaf-like veg. One night we went out on our own to get supper (after a lackluster chinese food dinner). We found a place that served bbq beef and eaten with leaves. Very yummy, very interesting. Ok price. 40,000 won (~$53sgd) for 2 person portion of beef.


We picked this restaurant as it seems to have a history of 45 years



Leaf and thinly sliced radish? to go with the meat



Beef with marbled fats seasoned with salt together with cube of beef fat and onion




The cutest thing – Teddy Bear Museum





Most expensive bear by LV




Most favourite korean drama related sight – Teddy Bears of Princess Hour








Most sacred – Pillar that houses some of the remains of Siddartha Buddha






Most beautiful moment – No girl looks ugly wearing the korean traditional costume








Worst sightseeing activity – Submarine Tour
The water was super choppy. A lot of tour members vomited. I endured very hard, and barely manage to hold it in. Though going into a submarine is a rare experience, the ocean floor was nothing much to shout about (not like we are in a very scenic dive site). I would rather skip that horrible seasickness.




Me trying to hold my guts in by keeping my eyes closed. Hubby was one of the lucky few with little seasickness







Most ‘suay’ thing that happened – Phototaking at Film Site of The Legend (太王四神记). I balanced the camera on top of a post and set it to timer mode. Just one second before the pic was taken, a strong gust of wind appeared and the camera smashed onto the ground. Hubby managed to fix it and thankfully we could still take pics (that’s only the 3rd day of the trip). This camera had been with me for less than a year! The lens protective case was broken and there was a slash on the camera screen. In the end, instead of reparing the camera at a cost $180, I traded it in for a newer model.


The place where my camera fell. This film site is more scenic than the Daejanggeum (大长今) one.

And thus, concludes my 8D Korea + Jeju trip. Pics have been loaded onto webshots.


Did I enjoy myself on the trip? I did. Did I like the place? I did. But somehow, when people ask me, I couldnt muster much enthusiasm in my response. I think the greatest influence comes from the weather and the company. I remember my trip to Sydney was totally wonderful becos the temperature was cool and it felt like outdoor aircon. Macau was highly enjoyable becos good fren Jess was on the trip. And the last factor, I think I still prefer F&E trips despite the convenience of tour packages. Maybe deep down, I’m a control-freak. I gotta steer my own course of destiny.

PeraMakan - a good dining experience

My family likes peranakan food and by chance, I found out abt PeraMakan as recommended by http://ieatishootipost.sg/. Located in Keppel Club, its definitely convenient for me. We ordered alot, and everything was good. No complaints.





Beef rendang*, curry chicken*, cincalok omelette




Babi Buah Keluak*



Sambal Kangkong



Nyonya Chap Chye and Prawns



Fish maw soup* and meatball soup*


Desserts - chendol*, black glutinous rice, durian pengat*, apom berkuah* (pancake with banana sauce)


the pancake smothered in warm sauce


Items with * means I will order again the next time I go back.



The happy diners (except baby who can only watch):

Euro Cup Fever

Not much of a soccer fan. But still went along with hubby to Singapore Pools at Paradiz centre to catch abit of the action on Friday. The place was filled with people and big screen tvs. First match was Italy vs Romania. The enthusiastic crowd jumped and shout at every goal attempt. Unfortunately, there were so many failed attempts that it felt like 'cry wolf' to me. Only stayed for half an hour to catch the first half. Now I know soccer is a game that should be watched with a crowd. More enjoyable indeed.

A nice joke

This joke gets me smiling every time I recall it:

Char Siew Pau and Mantou both went to watch a movie but only Char Siew Pau cried. Why?



Ans: Because Char Siew Pau got feeling (filling).

Char Siew Pau and Da Pau both went to watch a movie, and Da Pau cried more than Char Siew Pau. Why?



Ans: Because Da Pau got more feeling (filling). – This one is easy rite?

Char Siew Pau and Lian Rong Pau both went to watch a movie, Char Siew Pau cried while Lian Rong Pau laughed. Why?



Ans: Because they got different feeling (filling).


Char Siew Pau and Tau Sa Pau both went to watch a movie, but only Tau Sa Pau cried. Why?

Because they got different feeling (filling)? Nope…




Ans: Because Char Siew Pau has watched the movie four times…
(Dun bish me!)

In Search of Nice Carbo

Jess and I haven had nice briyiani for a long time. We used to go to Iniavan at Little India. They had really good Dum Briyiani and fantastic teh tarik / teh halia. But we heard that the place has been taken over my new management (and food standard has changed?) Hence we decided to go somewhere more accessible to satisfy our Dum Briyiani craving on a Tuesday evening. We tried our luck at North Bridge road knowing that there’s a stretch of eateries there selling muslim / Indian food. Finally ended up at New Victory.

For a weekday evening with not much of a crowd, they took quite long to serve us. I supposed it was within the 15mins guideline, but hey, u dun need 15 mins to dish out food that was pre-cooked.







We ordered mutton Dum Briyiani (mutton was tough, briyiani was cold). And Squid Masala (Nice). Chicken curry sauce and cucumber provided.

Teh halia was too sweet and milky, and had not much of ginger /tea taste.

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A Walk on the Bridge

Last Sunday’s weather was perfect. Cloudy, not hot, not rainy, not sunny. Took the opportunity to walk the Southern Ridges with mum. It turned out to be more than just bridges.. there were forest trails, walks etc along the journey to sidetrack.

Our first stop was Hortpark. A pretty interesting and scenic place.

Mum wanted to 'step on grass'.. esp such high class carpet grass..

From there, we started the bridge walk at Alexandra Arch

We walked from Alexandra Arch to Henderson Waves.


Abit of Seaview nearer to Henderson Waves



The road to my place

Straits Cafe at Hotel Rendezvous

Went for the buy 2 get 1 free buffet dinner on Thur evening. $38++ per person before discount.


The setting



The gals – Ah Zhen, Siew and Me. One more kaki needed to make it S&City!



Food was ok only. Salmon sashimi was fresh and good. Oysters (not fat enough), but still passably fresh. Laksa not bad, prata was good. Compared to the Furama Hotel Tiffany cafe buffet , this one has fewer varieties.

(+) denotes worth second round
(-) means dun bother
(?) means forgettable


chilled mussel (?), chilled prawn (+), crab (-), smoked salmon (+), fried fish (+)



Laksa (+)



Salmon sashimi (+), oyster (+)



Sambal prawn (?), Ham (?), prata (+), Pork rib (-)



DIY rojak - cuttlefish (+), Tau pok (?), You tiao (-)


Desserts - the jelly and caramel custard were good.. rest were passable.


Did not try a lot of their cooked food items like pizza, pasta, fried rice, duck curry, sauteed prawns.. and dessert wise.. fondue, ice-cream (2 flavours), tau suan went untouched. Cheng tng was diluted, herbal jelly with sea coconut was normal.

Compared to my first visit in 2004, prices have gone up and food quality + variety have gone down. Back then, there was a good oyster fry and roast beef carving.

Still, it was good to catch-up with my gfs. Dun forget our rendezvous in year 2011? Celebrating our 20 years of friendship!

Raj Restaurant@Biopolis - What's with their billing?

Tues evening we went to Raj Restaurant @ Biopolis to satisfy our Indian food craving. Had heard that their food was good, so I was glad to have the chance to try it out. We ordered alot.. everything tasted great. Prices were alright for the main dishes (but not $3+ for small glasses of drinks).

The customers:

Dishes we ordered (description taken from their online menu at http://www.rajrestaurant.com.sg/)

Daal Pakora


Vegetable Sheekh Kebab
(Garden fresh vegetables, precooked withspices, set on a skewer and grilled in the tandoor. Served with slivers of carrots and onions, along with coriander sauce).



Kachumber Salad
Diced tomatoes, onion, cucumber, coriander Leaves marinated in vinegar, salad oil, Honey, salt and pepper



Kadhai Paneer
Fresh cottage cheese cooked in thick gravy with capsicums, onions and Indian spices



Bhindi Masala
Ladies fingers fried and cooked in a thick tomato masala gravy



Kashmiri Roti
Whole wheat flour mixed with ajwain and curd, Cooked in the tandoor




Everything was great, except the Basmati Biryani Rice (no pic, as it’s just a plate of white rice). The description given was “Basmati rice cooked with tasty biryani spices”. We were served plain Basmati rice! What cooked with tasty biryani spices?! And that costs us $5! ok, we din make a fuss, just felt disappointed.


When it was time to settle the bill, things went downhill.

I noted the bill amt ($47+), and gave my credit card to the waiter. However the female cashier went to charge it to NETS instead. After knowing her error, she showed a face.

When the credit card charge slip was presented (without the supporting bill), the amt ($54+) was higher than the original bill. We had to signal the cashier to come over. She explained that they forgot to charge one item. Fine, bring me the bill to show me ! As simple as that. Think I stupid isit? That I will accept your explanation without checking? Besides, her attitude in answering my bill discrepancy was rather rude (kind of impatient).



She brought the new bill over, pointed out the dish she missed in the earlier bill. Ok, noted. BUT... as I looked through the whole bill, I saw a new item added in and it was not something we ordered. Suay suay, we had to check with her again. So she realised that ok, we din order that item. And she goes back to the cashier counter, bring back $5.50 in cash (the price of the added item) to me, and ask me to sign the inflated credit card charge slip as it is.


Huh? $5.50 is the price of the item we din order, but there's 10% Service Charge and 7% GST added to it. She stupid, cannot assume we are stupid right? We pointed it out to her. She tried to explain that only drinks are charged taxes. I'm sorry, we are not fooled. Then flipping through the menu, she notes her error. She goes back to cashier counter. This time, the manager comes over with another $1 cash and apologise nicely, and request I sign the inflated charge slip. Gosh, what's with them?! Jess told me to tell them to just void the charge slip and do a correct one. But i guess i was slightly intimidated by the rude + fierce cashier. So i signed it in the end. But still, i felt really pissed. !@#$* Throughout the whole incident, the female cashier was rude and abrupt, never properly apologise and acknowledge for her mistake and basically spoil our good impression of the restaurant. Based on her attitude, I can guess that she's not a pleasant co-worker to work with. Probably one of those bossy type who 'bullies' junior / new staff.

Moral of the story: Look at the bill!

To Do List

Ah Zhen dropped by mid-week and we baked wild berry muffins again. So simple to do, and each one comes out perfectly shaped and golden brown. This time, we added oatmeal and baked 2 batches of muffin.




Attended a relative's birthday celebration. After more than 3 years, I finally saw my hubby's relatives for the first time.
Blackforest cake from Prima Deli (note: there's cake inside that giant peach too).


There’s been a lot of new developments around my place. Now that they are more or less completed, its time I put on my walking shoes and explore.

On my to do list:


Complete tour of Southern Ridges, and explore Hort Park.



Followed by nice meal at Keppel Island.