23-May-2010 - ThaiPan (Changi Village)‎

Address: 2 Netheravon Road, Civil Service Club Changi Clubhouse

Contact Number: 6542 0957‎

Category: Chinese Restaurant

I found this restaurant online and decided to try it during my weekend getaway stay at Changi Village Hotel. Thaipan's food quality is impressive and this time, i went back for the second time. Thaipan serve Chinese Cze Char food at great value in a comfortable air-conditioned restaurant. The interior of this place is not exactly classy, but elegant and pleasant.

Generally, their soup, meat and veggie selection, starts from S$8.00 to S$10.00 and their rice and noodle selection from S$4.80 to $6.80. There are also 8-course set menus available for 4, 6, 8 and 10 pax at affordable price with per person not exceeding S$35.00 per head.

You may also find dishes like prawn, scallop, crab and even lobster on the menu. These stuff are slightly pricier, however it is a common sight that a plate of crab is found on most of the diner's table.

If you are on budget like me, you can just order 3 dishes and a soup and my total damage is only S$38.95 for two persons with the following items:

Jing Du Pork Chop (Small) - S$10.00 (Must try!)

Thaipan Jade Tofu with Chicked Floss (Small) - S$8.00

Thaipan Fried Rice (Small) - S$4.80

Fish Maw Soup with Fresh Crab Meat (Small) - S$10.00

Free Flow Chinese Tea - S$2.00

02 x Wet Towel - S$0.60

The food quality is fantastic at such a price. The must-try is the Jing Du Pork Chop. Even for my girlfriend, a non-meat lover, she finds this dish irresistible. The food serving is big enough for my liking and the service is good, with dishes served in a satisfactory time.

I think i will recommend this place to friends who are looking for a good Cze Char place. Instead of eating Cze Char at coffee shops, top up a little bit more and treat yourself a good meal at Thaipan!

09-May-2010 - 佛牙寺

I knew of this temple a few years ago, however it totally did not interest me. However for this time, i have some time to spare, with the A300 in my hand, i decided to explore it for the first time and see what surprise or photo opportunity it can provide me. With much curiosity, i started to explore this temple.

Main Entrance

The main door is guarded by two stone guardian statues and though the main gate, there is only one incense burner at the courtyard. At a corner of the courtyard, there is this interesting signage which states that ladies with mini skirt and shorts are not allow to enter the temple unless you wrap yourself with a sarong like cloth. After offering incense at the court yard, i took my first step into the main hall.

Hundreds Dragon Hall - Maitreya Hall

The main hall is totally cool and grand, with hundreds of golded buddha statues placed and arranged neatly on both sides of walls and on top of those statues, there are borders decorated with pairs of dragons stretching from one end to the other. Right at the end of the hall, it lies 3 giant buddha statues which overlook the main hall.

Apart from burning incense, there are various options to pay respect to the buddhas and wishing that your prayers are answered at the same time. Ranging from S$5.00 to S$20.00, you can write your wishes on a piece of red paper and secure it to a oil lamp and this lamp is to be placed at various offerings tables until the oil lamp burns out. Another interesting sight is at certain time of the day, devotees and a few monks, with a copy of sutra, gathered and started chanting at the main hall and this chanting goes on for a few hours.

Universal Wisdom Hall - Avalokitesvara Hall

At two sides of the hall, there are passageways that leads to the second hall, Universal Wisdom Hall - Avalokitesvara Hall. A handcrafted Bohdisattva Avalokitesvara sits upon an elaborate lotus throne and along the sides are the 12 Zodiac Protectors. From the way i see it, it seems that devotees who donate a certain sum of money can "adopt" a buddha statue to be placed alongside your Zodiac Protectors for blessing for yourself and your family. Just when i was about to leave, i noticed that there are actually 4 more levels to explore.

Roof Level - Vairocana Buddha Prayer Wheel

There are four stairways and a lift which lead up to all levels. The fifth level (roof level), is a garden with a Pagoda situated in the middle. Within the pagoda is the Vairocana Buddha Prayer Wheel. This buddha praying wheel is constantly revolving and devotee may hold onto the wheel's handrail and walk in circles as the wheel revovle. Every turn of the wheel represents a single recital of the scripture and mantra. This pagoda also house ten thousands smaller buddha statues.

Level 4 - Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic Chamber

This is the only level that disallow photo-taking. Before stepping into this hall, all visitors are to remove their footwear. The mood is totally different from other levels as it is filled with solemn and serenity. The Buddha Tooth Relic is the center of focus in the hall, however there are other activities like meditation and blessing ritual performed by monks.

Level 3 - Samantabha Hall - Nagapuspa Buddist Culture Museum

As the name suggest, it is a showcase of various buddist exhibits, relics and Sariras. On this level, you can see a range of impressive artifacts on display and you can even "bath the buddha" to commemorate the birth of Buddha Sakyamuni, like what devotees do on Vesak Day. There is also a showcase on Sariras, which are formed due to the cultivation of faithful believers.

Level 2 - Manjushri Hall - Aranya Gallery

This place seems to a place selling sourvenir, with a large collection of scriptures, mantra cds, artifacts and lucky charms. I notice that there is this statue which is going for price of S$105.00 and plants going for S$28.00. As the prices of these items are too steep for me, i only took a few photos and i took my leave.

Conclusion

Actually during my visit to this temple, there are unexplainable instances that i had tears in my eyes. It is either due to the solemn atmosphere with mantra echoing thought those halls, or i can really feel the relieve and the calmness within the temple and it seems like something has took away part of my trouble and worries. For the first time, i actually kneel down in front of one of the buddha statue in one of the hall at level 3. If you are feeling troubled, you might want to make a trip down to this temple to find comfort and calmness.

05-May-2010 - Helix Bridge

The Helix Bridge, previously known as the Double Helix Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge linking Marina Centre with Marina South in the Marina Bay area in Singapore. It was officially opened on April 24, 2010 at 9 pm. The bridge complements other major development projects planned in the area, including the highly-anticipated Integrated Resort Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Flyer, Gardens by the Bay and the 438,000 m² business and financial centre which will be ready by 2012.
Canopies (made of fritted-glass and perforated steel mesh) are incorporated along parts of the inner spiral to provide shade for pedestrians. The bridge has five viewing platforms sited at strategic locations which provide stunning views of the Singapore skyline and events taking place within Marina Bay. At night, the bridge will be illuminated by a series of lights that highlight the double-helix structure, thereby creating a special visual experience for the visitors.
With the newly launched circle line, visitor can easliy reach Helix bridge by alighting at Promenade station. Upon reaching the area, i notice that constructions are still going on and can see tower cranes and heavy vehicles from far. Surprisingly, the Marina Bay Sands hotel's outlook from far is not that impressive compared to hotels like Raffles Hotel, Fullerton or Goodwoodpark. However with Helix bridge in the picture, I will look forward to the completion of the rest of the Marina Bay Sands premise and is confident that it will be another iconic view which Singapore can offer.
Helix bridge is situated beside the marina floating platform. I wonder will this bridge be open to public during national day because this place is definitely the best place to capture the perfect shot of fireworks during the celebration. I think the bridge is constructed with only metal and no concrete is involve? This is because the whole bridge shook, twice, when two lady runners were doing their casual jog on the bridge. This causes some of my photos to be blurred. -_-"

I was actually hoping that the illuminating lights can switch to some other colors other than orange or red because they are not my favourites. I definitely remember seeing blue, green or purple in some photos. However that did not happen. I wonder was it due to a weekday. Maybe it is a Tuesday and it only flashes red and orange. Oh well, maybe i will try my luck during one of the weekends.

The thing i felt lacking from the bridge are - seats, which i can find none. The place is windy, spacious, sheltered and offers great view of our CBD area. However the last thing i hope to see are people sitting on the ground of the viewing platform and occupying it as their own private area.

Here are some facts on Helix Bridge:

1. The bridge uses a special duplex stainless steel, commonly used in the chemical industry to transport highly corrosive materials. It was picked because of its ability to provide high structural strength and minimise maintenance.

2.If all the steel tubes forming the major and minor helix are laid end to end, they will measure 2,250 metres long, almost the length of the 2.4 kilometre fitness run.

3. The bridge weighs about 1,700 tonnes, equivalent to about 1,130 saloon cars.

4. The structure of the bridge is designed to support up to 16,000 persons at any one time.

5. Recreational pleasure boats can cruise through Marina Bay and Marina Channel as the bridge is built with a height clearance of 8.8 metres above water.

6. The major and minor helix, which spiral in opposite directions, have an overall diameter of 10.8 metres and 9.4 metres respectively, or about three-storeys high.

Happy Birthday Desmond 2010

02-May-2010 - Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

Address: 241 Holland Avenue Holland Village

Operating Hours: Mon–Fri (7am–3am) Sat–Sun

(7am–4am)

Price: S$19.80++ per head

This is my first visit to Holland Village's Crystal Jade for my friend's birthday celebration on a Saturday night. The utmost reason why we choose this place is - they offer free flow Xiao Long Bao for their steamboat buffet. There are 10 of us and we are given a round table with 1 hot pot in the middle. We are provided with pencil and a list of their available dishes. Other than the normal steamboat dishes, free-flow of drinks like Coke, Barley and Soya Milk are available. To me, the menu is quite ordinary, with stuff like golden mushroom, hotdogs, cuttlefish ball, fishball, tau pok, sliced pork. You can't find prawns and crabs in the free-flow menu. By the way, prawn is only given as a one-time dish and additional serving will be charged. The only factor that's worth the visit is the free-flow of Xiao Long Bao and for 10 of us, we order 20 servings (5 pcs per serving) of the Xiao Long Bao. The service is rather ok, INTIALLY, with dishes served within reasonable time. Although we did need to ask for our drinks to be refilled, they will refill your drinks with little delay.

HOWEVER, the shocker of the day came. At about 9.45pm (We booked seats at 8.15 pm), we were told to place our last order. We ordered desserts and thinking that it might be served after we finish our steamboat, the dessert came almost immediately and we were told that they will not serve the desserts later. As it is the birthday of my friends, we bought cakes and left it with the staff. The staff were so occupied and even with multiple request for them to serve the cakes, the cake did not arrive. Shortly after our last order came, the bill followed eventually and we were asked to settle the bill. Shortly after the bill was settled, we were told to give up the seats as there is a next reservation at 10.30! I don't remember that there is a time limit for this steamboat buffet? The ridiculous part is our cakes were not even served. After realizing that it is their fault for totally forgetting about our cakes, they took it our from their fridge. Guess what? They did not even bother to take out the cakes and serve it. They just return us the cakes, in the box together with the plastic bags. I do understand that we have settled the bill, however i think that this should not be the way to treat customers. If we know that there is time limit for their so-call eat-all-you-want buffet, i do not think that we will even go to this place. As they are really rushing for time, our two birthday boys had to bring along their cakes and consume it outside the restaurant.

I would say that i will not be returning to this restaurant the next time. The ordinary menu and food is one thing but the service plays a big part too. I will only recommend this place to those who are Xiao Long Bao hungry, like me, initially.