Hog's Breath Cafe... Not to my liking at all. But nice outing

Last Sat, we went to meet up with Gladys' USYD classmates at Vivocity. Had dinner at Hog's Breath Cafe, and what a disappointment it was.

Although we ordered medium rare steak, the first time it came, it was well-done. Of course, we rejected it and asked for it to be changed. The second time it came, it was medium-done to well-done still. Finally, the third time it came, it was still OK (medium rare to almost medium-done, but we felt that if we rejected it again, we'll never get our food). By that time, the rest of the group were almost done eating!

And honestly, the steak wasn't nice. Definitely not worth the price that we paid for it. Mind you, Hog's Breath does not charge cheaply.

And then there's the bill. I paid with my AMEX card and so was supposed to enjoy a 10% discount. When the bill came, I decided to check my bill properly. On the bill, it came up to about 190+ (after discount), but on my AMEX bill slip, they charged me 200+! I was quite pissed by then. After the waitress brought the bill back, I went over to the counter and asked for the manager. The guy at the counter just raised up his hand like saying he's the manager (very unprofessional way). So I complained about the food and the bill, and all he could say was "I'm so sorry" in a rather insincere manner. So I complained further saying that they charge us service charge, and yet give us this. I don't know what I'm paying the service charge for. Again, all he did was to say "I'm so sorry" in an insincere tone again. Finally Gladys also couldn't take it when he presented the bill to me again, and also commented that "Wah. Service charge of $16+, so much." Finally he mentioned that what he can do for us if we want is to take off the service charge. So of course I told him, yes, please do that.

No more Hog's Breath Cafe at Vivocity for me anymore. Bad experience...

What was good though, was the gathering. And we took so many photos!

As usual, the photographer is missing from most of the photos. :)



Strong wind... from the ventilator.






Rather random shot of a kid playing.

Ermm.... What are they doing?!?!

Just a sample of the many photos we took that day. I conclude that photo taking is the number one activity whenever this bunch of girls meet. Haha.

Small sized, but big

Just now on MSN, one of the HK MAs, Vera, told me something that made me really happy and touched: "although u are small in size. but u are big to me =))"

In such a short sentence, it contained a lot. Thanks Vera.

End of DBS MAP Campus Programme

Yesterday marked the end of the DBS Management Associates Programme (MAP) 2008 Campus Training. We had a graduation dinner at Hyatt Hotel, for which another female colleague, Ting Yun, and I were in charge of organising for.

Being the chairpersons, the HR actually placed Ting Yun and me at the same table with our CEO, Richard Stanley. At first the two of us were quite scared about it, but Richard turned out to a really nice guy who was very willing to talk to us casually. He didn't put on any "air" at all.

Two months came and went so fast. The whole graduation dinner was full of memories, laughter, and tears. We had various awards presented, performances, and photographs showing. I was involved in the dance performance, and it turned out quite well despite have little practice. Although I fell during a flip and injured my thumb, I still felt happy about having all the Management Associates (MAs) coming up to dance. And the MAs from Hong Kong put up a nice skit with modified songs. I actually won an official award presented by HR, and an unofficial award which the MAs came up with.

For the official award, there were three: Outstanding Team Player, based on the collected score on the Teamwork section of peer feedback forms from the MAs; Best Academic, based on the test scores; and Most Respected and Admired, based on everything combined. I won the Outstanding Team Player award, and my fellow chairperson won the other two awards, which I must say she really deserved it. She's a great person to work with. For the unofficial ones, we had the Most Entertaining MA, Most Generous MA, Most Energetic MA, and Mr and Miss Congeniality. I got the Mr Congeniality award! I'm really happy and surprised at both awards, as both are voted by the MAs. That really meant a lot to me.

Today was another teary session when we sent them off at the airport. Tears were flowing like opened taps. Mixed feelings filled everyone. We were seeing them off, meaning goodbye for a long long time. After the two months of bonding and friendship, it was really not easy. Even though they were returning home to reunite with their family and loved ones, they were leaving us, new friends. And Monday would mark a new beginning for many of us who would really start work for the first time.

Well... On the other hand, it also meant that my dear is coming back in 60 days. Finally will be able to see her soon!

And the years just past me by...

I recently added a few long lost friends onto my facebook. When I looked at their facebook profiles, it just suddenly hit me how much has changed over the past 8 years. Some have grown fatter, some thinner, some got married, some relocated overseas... and everyone just look so much older, myself included.

Looking back, I've already known David for over 8 years. 8 years ago, in 2000, somewhere around Valentines' Day, I told David tt I really liked him, but he flatly rejected me. 8 years later, we've been through so much ups and downs together, and just celebrated our 5th anniversary as a couple. It's amazing how much life has changed everything and everyone. I just didn't really realise it until now. 8 years past me by like it was just yesterday. I'm feeling a bit emo right now...

Jasmine's (F)art Work

After seeing my beautiful drawing, Jasmine was inspired and decided to try her hand at it too. So here's showcasing her (f)art work... *thumbs down*

Title: Can't wait to bite into tt
Done by: Jasmine Tea

Happy Birthday to Me! =)

Just a few weeks before my birthday, I was wondering if I'll be spending it alone this year, cos I'm away from my family and David, but thankfully NOT! Charlene, Clara, Xinhui, Harry, Martin, Charmaine, Geneieve, Mong Ling and Jasmine celebrated my birthday for me! Thanks guys! *MUACKZ*

They gave me a treat at Hanabi, which is a Jap & Korean restaurant along Pitt Street.

@ Hanabi

We had a spicy sausages hotpot,

Spicy prawn, squid and octopus hotpot,

Teppanyaki beef,

And Korean sausages, which turned out to be GLASS NOODLES sausages! WTH! Lol.

After the wonderful dinner, Martin and Harry went home, and the girls brought me to Mickey Cafe at Newtown for cakes! Jasmine even brought birthday candles! How thoughtful! =)

We told the waiter that it's my birthday and he served our cakes with a sparkler!


Clockwise from left: Tiramisu, Strawberry Cheesecake, Mortal Sin

Blowing out the candles

Babes group photo! =)

Last photo, just for kicks. Haha.

For more of my birthday photos, CLICK HERE!

Bondi Beach!

We FINALLY went to Bondi beach today! Phew! With the erratic weather, I thought we'd never get a chance to go. We initially thought of going the Bondi about 1 week ago, but the weather suddenly turned very very cold with thunderstorms, so the plans were dropped. In fact, yesterday night was a really stormy night too, so we already had backup plans. Fortunately, the weather turned out really great today! =)

P.S. Sorry for the poor quality pictures. I didn't wanna risk ruining my camera with the sand and sea water, so I only managed to get photos with my handphone VGA camera! The photos r totally not doing justice to how lovely Bondi beach is.

Hello Bondi~!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Went to the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras today! It was really really crowded and really really cold... Was underdressed cos I got tricked by the weather forecast. Brrr.... We arrived early to get a good spot at 5pm. The actual parade only started at 7.30pm, so in the end, I left early cos it simply got too cold! Managed to take lotsa photos tho. =P

Sydney is so much more open about homosexuality compared to Singapore. In fact, I think Singapore simply tries to pretend that homosexuals don't exist. In Sydney, Mardi Gras is a day for the gays and lesbians to celebrate their homosexuality, as well as campaign for public acceptance. I think Singapore is too homophobic to get to tt stage though. Oh well... On to the pictures:

The bowling pin guy

Lesbian couple in the motorbike parade (yes, the topless one is a female)

One of the floats during the actual parade

I'm having problems uploading my photos, so for more, click here!

Photo Updates on Koreans Visit - 1st Day

As promised, I'm gonna post some of the photos that I took when Myung Sun and her Korean AMSC friends came over to Singapore 2 weeks ago.

It was really an exciting time for Mervyn and me. We were really looking forward to seeing Myung Sun again. It's been 2 years since we last saw her in Canada. I must say that we were quite stumped over how to bring 14 people around. Luckily, they decided to break up into small groups in the end, so we just took a small group around. Anyway, after a hour's wait and straining our necks looking out for Myung Sun, we finally saw her at around 4pm. The funny thing was we watched her come out of the gate, but she did not notice us until we were right at her face. :) Of course, the first photo was of the 3 of us in the airport:

We took the train down to Bugis to go to their hostel in Little India:

After a long walk from the train station, we finally arrived at their hostel, The InnCrowd:

I must say that I was quite surprised at the prices of the backpackers' inn in Singapore. For just SGD20 a night, you can get a bed in an air-conditioned room, with free Internet and free breakfast! Considering how expensive it is to live in Singapore, it's quite cheap.

They didn't have meals on the plane ride from Thailand to Singapore since they took AirAsia, so they were really hungry by the time they settled down for dinner. I think it was about 8pm before we reached Outram Park temporary market. We separated into two tables, with two ladies joining me and Mervyn. Well... Of course, since they sat with us, we had to treat them to a good spread of local food, which included malay kangkong, Bedok chui kuey the famous claypot rice of that market, sugarcane juice and glass jelly which they did not have in Korea. I hope they enjoyed the meal:

The Koreans were really into the tropical fruits, having came from a temperate country. And furthermore, fruits are really expensive there. When Myung Sun told us that even an apple costs around USD3 to USD4 in Korea, Mervyn and I were really shocked and not surprised at how the Koreans were so fascinated with the fruits here. How lucky are we Singaporeans to be able to get nice fruits at such cheap prices!

We brought them down to the Chinatown area, and then walked all the way down to Clarke Quay. Two of the Koreans were daring enough to try the G-Max Swing:

Honestly, I got scared just looking at them taking the ride. I think the older I get, the more cowardly I get. And perhaps, it's not just me, but a lot of people as well.

Of course, since they're all medical students, how could I not show them The Clinic? For those of you who don't know what's The Clinic, it's a hospital-theme pub, where they have wheelchairs and hospital beds for seats. They even serve drinks in IV bags, but those drinks cost SGD50 per bag, so I never tried them.

Leaving them at Clarke Quay to enjoy themselves, Mervyn and I caught the last train back home.

Of course, those are not all the pictures I took. For all the pictures I took on the first day, follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/clldavid/2008_01_14AMSCKoreanStudentsVisitDay1

Song Fa Bak Ku Teh

Today we went to a famous Bak Ku Teh stall opposite The Central called Song Fa Bak Ku Teh to meet some friends (Deyuan a.k.a. Terry, Skee, Ruby, Desmond, and Xiaofen) for dinner. I've always wanted to try it since it opened since there were quite a few newspaper articles and awards about it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointment. Not to say that it was bad, but it wasn't especially nice either. We felt that it was just normal. And it's not cheap.

If anyone of you ever go there, please don't be cheated by the waitress if she says that the small portion is enough for two people. Honestly, the small portion is quite small, and not enough for two people.

But oh well... The whole point was to meet up with friends over a meal.