Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic drawn together in the Champions League

Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be back at their old clubs as Inter and Barcelona were drawn together in the Champions League, along with Dynamo Kiev and Rubin Kazan.

The other big draw is Real Madrid, many people’s favourites for the title, against AC Milan - where Kaka will return - and fellow big spenders Marseille, who could cause an upset in Group C.

Manchester Utd face tough trips to CSKA Moscow, Besiktas and Wolfsburg in the English clubs’ hardest draw, with Liverpool also given a tough test in Lyon, Fiorentina and Hungarian side Debreceni.

Chelsea will be happy with their draw as it’s Jose Mourinho’s old club FC Porto, Atletico Madrid and Cypriot side APOEL; while Arsenal are also sitting pretty as they face Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Belgian side Standard Liege.

Group A

Bayern Munich
Juventus
Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa

Group B

Manchester United
CSKA Moscow
Besiktas
VfL Wolfsburg

Group C

AC Milan
Real Madrid
Marseille
FC Zurich

Group D

Chelsea
FC Porto
Atletico Madrid
APOEL

Group E

Liverpool
Lyon
Fiorentina
Debreceni

Group F

Barcelona
Inter Milan
Dynamo Kiev
FC Rubin Kazan

Group G

FC Sevilla
Rangers
VfB Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni

Group H

Arsenal
AZ Alkmaar
Olympiakos
Standard Liege

An Army Wife’s Guide 3 – Be “US”

Are you an understanding person? Do you support your spouse wholeheartedly?

Please be and please do.

You wouldn’t be able to imagine how relieved your soldier will feel when he knows that his wife is totally supportive of him whenever he’s on a mission. He’ll also appreciate your understanding that he can’t be with you on special occasions, unlike your girlfriends who have their partners by their sides.

Speaking of being understanding and supportive, I am reminded of the army’s deep involvement in bringing Singapore out of the SARS crisis.

I’m not sure if all the army wives had been supportive of their husbands when they were deployed to fight that battle against such a strong and infectious virus. What I’m pretty certain is, if they hadn’t been supportive, the morale of our army would be affected, and this, wouldn’t be good news as far as a nation is concerned.

That was such a harrowing experience for everyone. The anxiety and worries practically put the whole of Singapore on her toes. Rules and regulations to contain the spread of the virus were laid out swiftly and executed almost flawlessly. There was no time for any hesitation, and our army delivered with precision and efficiency.

The speed at which Singapore pulled through that episode was to me, very impressive and laudable.

But, as with any operation, success doesn’t come from one end only. It has to be a concerted effort. Every citizen has a role to play in nation-wide crises. While the army provides the infrastructure to overcome the crisis, the families form the support pillar for them – morally and mentally. 

I believe with the unwavering support of their wives, parents and children (if they’re old enough), these army guys would be able to fully focus on the rescue work and not feel guilty that there weren’t with their loved ones. Indeed, support from family can’t be any more emphasised. 

Facing with crises like the SARS episode and going overseas to provide aid for disaster-struck countries like the Sichuan earthquake, the army is treading on paths filled with lots of unknown. Nobody would know what would happen, but our soldiers couldn’t reject the deployment just because there was danger involved, could they?

Being away from their families, and away from you, is not something the army guys are happy about. Missing their kids’ first steps and first words don’t make them proud too. Coming home from a long absence and having to let the children get used to a stranger-like daddy make them miss you and the family even more.

Therefore, to let them have a peaceful mind when abroad, please be Understanding. Please be Supportive too, safe or not regardless. We know this is probably the hardest, and that’s why the army and their families deserve our utmost respect to be honoured.

Zhou’s Kitchen Jurong Point

I have to confess, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Chinese buffet. Sure, I’ve been to the occasional Chinese restaurant (as you can see from the last post) and I’ve been to several kinds of buffets (Japanese, international, even ice cream) but never a combination of the two.

Still, I have heard nothing but good things about Zhou’s Kitchen, a Chinese buffet restaurant, and I headed down with my friend to the Jurong Point outlet for their tea-time buffet (which runs from 2.45pm to 5pm).

Alas, either this outlet failed to live up to the name or, as in the case of most Jurong Point outlets of restaurant franchises I’ve eaten at, a certain discount in quality has to be given for a suburban mall version.

Firstly, the selection is terrible. Of course, one wouldn’t expect their tea-time buffet to have the whole gamut of dishes like the a la carte dinner buffet (which boasts an impressive menu including Beijing roast duck and chilli crab), but their tea-time menu was lacklustre and certainly didn’t offer as much as the menu online indicates.

Admittedly, their food quality wasn’t bad. The salad bar (which seems an oddly Western concept in execution) had an interesting selection of veges for choice and the dimsum (most especially the open-topped roast pork bun, which is my favourite) was decent. Those looking for a more filling staple meal, however, were out of luck.

Other than serving up some fried noodles and rice (a la any economic bee hoon stall at any coffeeshop), the restaurant didn’t offer anything much in terms of solid meals. True, the timing of this buffet might not be for heavy gorge-out meals but there are people who would eat late lunches or early dinners and it certainly would be a waste if one pays almost $20 and ends up eating $2 noodles.

Like I said, while the food was decent, the actual variety was so dismal that I have effectively tried everything I wanted in two rounds (and those were small rounds, as you can see in the photos, where my plate was barely more than 80% filled). The desserts, too, while pretty, were only a mere handful and, while good, seemed a bit cheap for a full-fledged Chinese restaurant like this.

One dessert to try, however, is their little egg puffs to be drenched in honey. It’s unbelievably tasty and was just about the best part of the meal (other than the roast pork bun).

Once I get to try out the lunch or dinner buffets (with the full selection), I’ll post again with a full review then but, for now, only go for the tea-time buffet if you’re really craving for an unlimited supply of normal everyday Chinese fare.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Zhou’s Kitchen (there’re outlets at Far East Square, Anchorpoint and Square 2 but the one featured in this review is the Jurong Point one and might not be indicative of the rest)
63 Jurong West Central
#03-28 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Singapore 648331

Tel: +65 6363 1123
Fax: +65 6790 1607

Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11:30AM – 2:30PM
Hi-Tea: 2:45PM - 5:00PM
Dinner: 6:00PM - 10:30PM

An Army Wife’s Guide 2 – Ask, and You Shall Receive

In this second post of this series, I’d like to talk about this very useful tactic that women can use to get what they want, when they’re willing to use it. 

Ask, and you shall receive.

Is it that easy? Yes it is.

The trick comes when women find it hard to ask.

Women love that their men can dive into their minds and know what they want. This makes them feel special. As a woman, I certainly know how that feels. Hence, we like to refrain from asking our men for things and resort to drop hints here and there, subtly.

When subtle hints fail, we make it more obvious. When that fails too, we give blatant hints. Only when blatant ones fail too then we have no choice but to either give up what we desire, or ask. At this stage, even when we do get what we are after, the gift has lost its special appeal because we had asked for it, instead of our partners knowing that we like it and got it for us on his own accord. For this unique reason, women don’t really enjoy asking their partners for something they want.

Yes, women can be such troublesome creatures.

However, if you are an army wife, then I’m afraid this is a skill that you have to start using more and more. 

Why?

Because you are married to a man who doesn’t have the luxury of time like others who might. As such, by letting them guess what your heart desires not only make them miserable, it doesn’t bring you joy either. Lose-lose situation. Not nice.

On the other hand, by being open and specific about what you would like to have and learning to enjoy the pleasure of receiving it from your spouse makes both of you happy as can be. It relieves him the added stress of having to guess what is in your mind, and it provides you a chance to be loved and pampered in exactly the way you wish. Win-win situation. Nice!

Isn’t it also lovely to know you can ask for anything? For example, it can be 30 minutes of his time, uninterrupted, a body massage, a phone call from him daily, a special gift on your coming wedding anniversary, mopping the floor when he’s at home etc.

How to ask then? You can start by asking like this: “Honey, I feel that I haven’t got the chance to chit chat with you without any interruptions, and you know I really miss those times when we did. Would you give me 30 minutes of your time this week, totally uninterrupted? I would appreciate that very much.” See, it’s easy!

Remember your tonality when asking: It is a request, not a demand. Hence, make it gentle yet firm.

I do this with my hubby very often too, because although he isn’t in the army, his career takes up almost all of his waking time.

Ladies, tell yourself that it isn’t that your husband can’t read your mind. It’s just that they really might be too tired to do so. If you are newly wed, asking directly actually helps to shorten the time for you and your spouse to know each other’s likes and dislikes. In no time, you’d have developed the kind of chemistry as if you’ve been married for 10 years or more. 

And shouldn’t you rejoice at the fact that you’re such a confident woman who dares to ask for what you want without feeling like you’re needy?

Last but not least, please ask for things that you know your husband has the ability to provide. Don’t ask for the moon and think you’d at least get the stars – both are impossible. Requests have to be reasonable, remember. 

If you still insist that you’ll only feel special when he can guess your mind accurately, then think about it this way: don’t you feel loved when your husband bothers to do something to please you, when he could have used that time to do other things for himself?

Help him to help you and your marriage. It’s worth it. Test it out! 

A Sleepy Post

It is happening again. As I lay there, my eyes feeling sleepy and heavy, my mind is full of activities. I turn and look at my hubby deep in sleep. His face is one of contentment and enjoyment. I wish I can see how I look like now – when insomnia has hit me again.

Well, not really insomnia; maybe just facing a bit of difficulty going to sleep.

You see, my mind has a habitual pattern, a bad one really. When it comes to bed time (as dictated by the heaviness of my eyelids), my brain suddenly becomes very active. Phrases, words, tunes, images – you name it, I have it all in my mind. It’s always at this awkward time that I can think of stories to write. Why???

I did a quick Google on “chronic sleeping problems” and viola! All the problems associated with having an innocent, undisturbed 6 hours of sleep pop up on my screen eagerly. I read through some of them and became – depressed.

I think I’m supposed to be, right? After all, most of the problems are associated with some psychiatric issues. I decided to zoom into the area where it hurts me most – insomnia.

Viola! Another list of mental health disorders stare at me blankly. Let me name some: anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries so on and so forth.

What? Am I suffering from depression? Wait! I’m still drooling over the simplest dish in this world (my mum’s fried egg), enjoying my moments with my family and friends, and doing a job that I’m loving every minute!

Or maybe it’s anxiety. Yes, I guess that’s right. I’m anxious to sleep when I want to, and not getting.

Or maybe bipolar. Well, my mood does swing from being nonchalant to slightly excited to slightly more enthused than slightly excited.

So, what’s the problem with me?

I wish I knew.

Aha! It must be my hubby – he falls into sleep too fast! Therefore, in contrast, the rate at which I drift into dreamland becomes slow, in fact, snail-crawling s.l.o.w.

Now that I’ve found my problem, I need to get a solution. Since my brain is only active during bedtime, I’ll leave it till then to fix it.

Aha! There it is – the crux of my issue has surfaced!

But, in the words of this Chinese doctor I’ve been seeing lately, none of these reasons are the real one. “It’s your health!” he’d say. “So, take these powders home and stop thinking so much. I’ll take care of your sleep.”

Now, that kinda eases my anxiety a bit, doesn’t it? 

Thanks for reading this sleepy post, if it makes you so.

May you have deep and a restful sleep every night. 

The Longest Journey 1.0 - One year walk/beard grow time lapse

The Longest Way 1.0 - one year walk/beard grow time lapse from Christoph Rehage on Vimeo.

Are you brave enough to embark a physical long journey that will last at least an entire year? Many of us can’t even fulfill the sheer few New Year resolutions that we set at the beginning of each year, some of which do not even need a whole year of hard work to achieve.

Christoph Rehage decided to embark on a project from Beijing, a project that he documented down with photographs and videos. The project which started in November 2007 was to travel by feet from China back to Germany, over a distance of at least 4,500 miles. He took daily photographs of him in the journey at different locations along the route and in the process of it; his beard and hair grew a great deal.

Christoph stated in the opening of his video, “The initial plan was to walk from Beijing to Germany. I started in the fall of 2007. After one year of mountains and blazing hot deserts I realized… I had grown a mighty long beard.”

After the year long of walking and walking, Christoph finally reached Berlin, Germany, and he created a short video entitled “The Longest Way 1.0” that features many photographs and videos of him during the journey.

Kudos to Christoph, someone who had the courage to embark a journey like this. I’m sure this is not the longest walk by a human being, but it was definitely an inspirational one. In the journey, he met new friends and watch them part along the way.

This is what Christoph had written along with the video that he uploaded online to share with the rest of the world:

- I never finished my original goal of walking to Germany. Instead, I walked for a year and roughly 4500km, passed the desert of Gobi, and then decided to stop walking for now.

- All of the distance from Beijing to Ürümqi has been completed solely on foot, straight good old walking. There are instances where you can see me in the video sitting on a plane or riding a boat, but those are during breaks I had to take from walking, either to sort out bureaucracy issues or to take care of some personal things.

- I had been planning this trip for over a year before I even started, and getting as far as I got was an experience for which I am very grateful.

- Obtaining the necessary visa for a trip like this was not very easy, hence I had to go back to Beijing a few times to resolve some issues.

- The songs I used in the video are 1) Zhu Fengbo - “Olive Tree” and 2) The Kingpins - “L’aventurier” - visit the Kingpins website if you want to know more, they are very cool I think.

- This is not a strict “1 pic a day” video, because I wanted to make it a bit more alive by adding some additional movement. Sometimes during the film you would follow me turn around, or something would happen in the background. I tried to capture these moments to make the video more interesting.

- The core of this project is in fact my website “www.thelongestway.com” where I have posted my extensive travel diary, starting from day 1 (Nov 9th 2007) and describing every single day until the end one year later.

Experience and the past

Do you ever wish you could go back in time, and change some facet of your life? Or perhaps, just go back in time, and perpetually stay in a period of reminiscence and nostalgia?

I do. Caught up in a whirlwind of thoughts, I sometimes wonder what would happen, if I had done things differently. I could have simply put my foot down in secondary school. Joined a different CCA. Sat down and grappled with Chemistry and Biology, and maybe get a better L1R5. Talked more with my juniors, and junior’s juniors.

But I think again. Hey, I did enjoy my JC life. I would want to spend all my time in a small ‘golden age’, of halcyon J2 days, with my classmates, CCA mates, and juniors. Again - juniors. Almost everyone would like to say: “I had wonderful juniors, they put in so much effort, and are remarkable.” And they are, really. Yes, I would like to reside in these days.

Draw down the shades of memory, lift up the blinds, and the scene changes to the SAF. Could I have done things differently? Of course. With foresight, you’ll know what to do. Like say, waking up on a particular day, or not taking off on a call back. These kind of things, why not?

And then, I look back on my first year at University. It is sorely on the forefront of my mind. I have gone through it. And compared to previous experiences, there are so much I wish I had done. To have said “yes” when I said “no”, and vice versa. To be more assertive in some ways, to take risks, to take gambles. To believe in oneself when everything seems down, because logic says so. Not to shy back because you are afraid. I could have done more. But I didn’t.

Do I want to change certain parts of my life, or relive them? Yes. Should I? No. It is experience, experience which tells us what to do, and what not to do. If I could change my life, and do everything right the first time until now, then I wouldn’t have any experience. And everything that would happen from now onwards would not necessarily have a positive outcome.

To give an analogy, supposed I placed my fingers in a fire when I was young, and I realized: “Ow, it BURNS.” I won’t touch it anymore. But I changed my life, and didn’t put myself in that situation. Two days from now, I see a bonfire, and I think: “Oh what a pretty glowing thing, let’s step in it.” Experience doesn’t kick in.

I do look back at my life, and I do wish I could have done better, maybe change some parts. But I can’t do anything. I can only accept that what has happened, has happened. The future however, is up to me to decide.

An Army Wife’s Guide 1 – Independence Days

In my previous post, I wrote about the challenges to be married to an army guy. Over the next few posts, I’ll give some tips on how to be a “good” wife so that you can have a lasting and happy marriage amidst the challenging environment of your man’s career.

This series of articles is meant for the eyes of these army wives. If you are an army personnel reading this, you may like to email her a copy or print it out and read it with her together!

To begin, the first trait that I’m going to talk about is what will make you, the army wife, a superwoman.

Independence days

Being the wife to a very busy man, I know how it is like to live mostly alone in a marriage. Understandably, an army’s wife probably carries a heavier burden on her shoulders.

When the little ones arrive, while she has more company, she too has to meet the increased demands of the family on her.

Nothing short of an independent woman can perform this role well. 

So, what if you’re not an independent person? How can you learn this crucial life-surviving skill?

I suggest to take it in stages, though I know at times, life doesn’t give us the luxury of time. Nevertheless, learning how to prioritise your time is the first step to being independent. 

Then, learn how to be organised. With these two life skills, it is more than half the battle won. There are many resources like books or courses that teach people how to be organised and efficient. 

The reason why having to do everything (or most things) ourselves appears to be very overwhelming is because we don’t know how to make the best and full use of time. 

But, when we are organised and we know how to prioritise the tasks, we are in control – the key secret to being independent. 

Recognise and acknowledge that you are someone with the ability to do a lot of things, even though you may not be aware at the current stage yet. But, place complete trust in yourself that when the time arises, you will be able to function very well.

You may be having some grave doubts about this tip. Of course, merely believing that you are capable of being independent doesn’t mean you will be overnight. However, just imagine if you don’t believe that you can be, or worse, believe that you’ll never be independent no matter how hard you learn to be. Do you think you’ll ever learn to be independent? The answer is - no. 

Beliefs programme our unconscious mind.  Hence, by installing a positive and empowering belief like “I am capable of being independent”, you are telling your subconscious mind to prepare to release your potential to be so.

Compare this to the belief “I will never be independent no matter how hard I try!” or “I just can’t!” Can you feel the immediate difference to your state of mind?

I believe that all of us can be independent, and the fact that some of us aren’t is because we lack the opportunity to be. I remember my friends and family getting very worried when they knew I would be flying to Hong Kong to work. How could I ever survive away from home, alone?

I didn’t know I could too, but I could. I survived very well in fact. Granted I had to learn many things which I didn’t have to do previously (thanks to dearest mummy!), I appreciate having the excellent chance for me to realise I can be independent, if I choose to!

Oh by the way, being independent doesn’t mean you have to do everything in the family yourself. It only means you have the capability to do it, but you need not have to be the do-it-all. Sharing responsibilities with your husband is still a must, because you are not alone in the marriage.

Being independent doesn’t mean being alone – you are not.

Watch out for the next post where I’ll talk about being understanding. 

Sleep deprivation — not for everybody

When you’re wringing your hands in frustrated agony over your unfinished project, and above you hangs a very helpful clock that’s ticking purposefully down to the deadline, many people decide to burn the midnight oil in order to finish their work.

What I’m here to tell you is: don’t try it. Unless you’re used to this lifestyle, that occasional over-nighter is going to end up biting you back.

You see, I’m generally one of those seemingly rare group of people who need their full 8 hours, or else they’ll get really cranky the next day. It’s unfortunate that we seem to be so much rarer than all the night owls out there, because a study has shown that people who need less than 8 hours of sleep actually have slightly mutated genes! Us normal beings are being overtaken by the mutants!

However, the ever-increasing pace of life in this world can only mean that people who can stay awake longer, and thus have more opportunity to finish more work would have an advantage over us normal beings. I’m jealous.

Totally, especially when I found myself camped at a friend’s house overnight to rush our final year project. The presentation was next morning at 10am, and we hadn’t finished the application yet. To make matters worse, I had actually finished my portion of the project, but didn’t have the opportunity to debug my codes because my team mates’ parts were not ready to integrate with my portion of the project.

So I sat twiddling my thumbs in anguished worry until a bug is discovered, at which point I would then dig into my codes to fix the problem. As the night wore on, my code lines started to look alien to me, and I took progressively longer and longer time to fix my bugs. It ended up with me having a lot of trouble concentrating enough to finish the latest problems that popped up at 7am, barely 3 hours before the presentation.

There was no choice at this point; we had to wrap up, and then head to school for the presentation.

There was very little preparation for the actual presentation, and when it was my turn to speak, my mind went almost blank. I would glance at my notes, get an idea about what I wanted to say, start saying the first 3 words, and then forget the rest of my line. I must have looked stone drunk at that point… erm… <long pause> erm… yeah. Something like that.

You might not even be able to begin imagining the jaws dropping in the presentation room. Not only was it my worst presentation ever in front of an audience, it was also the WORST possible time to do that. The client representatives were sitting right in the front row, and their cocked heads made my heart skip. When the client’s eyebrows are furrowed in confusion, I don’t think it bodes well for your final year project grades.

Oh, and did I mention that the presentation day was also my birthday? And that I had to skip taking my IPPT just to do a flopped presentation? There’s a chinese idiom that goes well with this: 赔了夫人又折兵. You let go a bird in hand in order to keep the second bird in hand; only to lose that second bird too. A bad start to a birthday, really.

Lescott finally has a price tag: £30 million

The ball is now in Mark Hughes court. Is he prepared to draw a line in the sand with Joleon Lescott? What gets overlooked in all this is a manager’s ability to assess the true value of a player. Having loads of money can skew that.

Lescott is certainly not worth £30m. Nemanja Vidic is £30m or more. At most Lescott is worth £20m. Hughes might not want to go for him at that price as he seemed pretty satisfied with how the defence handled his former club. If he does, and many stranger things have happened, then Moyes is not just getting rid of a player who is souring the club with his attitude but also enriching his club beyond measure.

But this is a test for Lescott too. If City walks away from the deal, Moyes can take the player down a peg or two. It is an Adebayor sort of situation where it will ultimately be his performance and his interaction with fans that will decide his future at Everton.

At this point those who disparage Moyes should remember this was the manager who put together an Everton squad at little cost but managed to challenge the Big Four every year. They have got off to a bad start but if there is a manager who can make this hangover disappear it is Moyes. If Lescott goes, Moyes can target less pricey players, possibly Matthew Upson or Steven Taylor.

Be safe and happy when travelling abroad

Police commandos searching for an armed man in the western German town of Amern near Viersen on August 18, 2009. The man shot and killed at least one person earlier in the nearby town Schwalmtal, according to a police spokesman.

An earthmover clears debris at Hsinkai in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung county on August 18, 2009. Thirty-two people were buried alive when the area was engulfed by a massive mudslide when Typhoon Morakot hit the island on August 8.

On March 19, 2009, an undersea volcanic eruption spews ashes in the uninbabited islet of Hunga Ha’apai, 63km north-west of the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa. The eruption was part of a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 that rocked the main island of Tongatapu.—AFP Photos

Summer is a great time to trek around Europe, especially Germany with its friendly people (even if the only German character you know is Dr Faust). The country is generally considered dull and safe, but as the news reports (above) indicate, some nasty fellow may take a pot shot at you!

Another favourite destination for Singaporeans is Taiwan where the only apparent danger is getting sore knees from climbing up and down the tour coach as it stops at many scenic spots. But this month, a sudden typhoon killed more than 500 people!

Even in the idyllic south Pacific where the sea is lucent blue and the girls are sultry, a massive earthquake and a volcanic eruption early in March disrupted the island state of Tonga.

Be prepared for emergency

Before you leave Singapore, a sensible precaution is to register your particulars online at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal, so that in an emergency, MFA officials on the ground can contact you to offer help and advice.

eRegister now! Click here to register your particulars, contact details and travel movement.

It only takes a few minutes to eRegister your contact details and travel plans.

Remember too to provide full details to your family members, office co-workers or friends in Singapore, regarding your travel movement, the hotels you will be staying and contact details.

Also, buy a comprehensive travel insurance which includes medical evacuation in case you encounter any unexpected emergencies.

Finally, when you e-register, an e-mail or SMS acknowledgement (depending on the option you picked) will be sent to you with details of the nearest Embassy or Consulate at your destination of travel.

All such details are at http://www.mfa.gov.sg

Din Tai Fung Jurong Point

I have fond memories of eating at the Din Tai Fung outlet at Paragon. Although I’m not an expert or even a great fan of Chinese cuisine (the usual extent of my Chinese dining being at one of the billions of Crystal Jade outlets islandwide), I loved the fragrant egg fried rice and flavour-packed xiao long baos I had then.

Last week, I paid a visit to the Jurong Point outlet (which opened with the mall’s huge new extension a few months back) and, while the food was decent, it was a pale shadow of what I had eaten then.

While the open-air (well, open within the mall) concept of the restaurant made for an interesting people-gawking environment, the decoration of the outlet as well as the lacklustre presentation of the food (as opposed to the deliciously inviting fare of Crystal Jade) was a bit of a letdown.

The food, despite a bland, slightly uncooked look, turned out to be pretty decent, although nothing much to write home about.

While my friends had mushroom and minced meat noodles, I went for the ham and egg fried rice. I’ll acknowledge that there isn’t much room for creativity with these ingredients and that, given the fact that it was a restaurant and all, the dish was pretty decent and worth the $8 it cost me but any adept housewife could probably have whipped it up at home.

We also tried out their special offer, spicy crab xiao long baos which turned out to be pretty good. The xiao long baos were packed with flavour and the spiciness was bearable even for a spice-phobe like me. Definitely one of the highlights of the meal.

For dessert, we went for the red bean xiao long baos which, true to expectations and despite their dumpling-styled skins, tasted very similar to the Singaporean favourite red bean bao.

Overall, whilst there’s nothing wrong per se with the Din Tai Fung at Jurong Point and it does satisfy those desperate for a Chinese food fix, one could probably get better at the Crystal Jade outlet in the mall.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Din Tai Fung Jurong Point
1 Jurong West Central 2
#B1-70/71 Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Tel: 6861 1811
Operating Hours: 10am-10pm daily

Local Music @ the Esplanade - The Lard Brothers

It has been quite a while since I last stepped into esplanade to catch a gig. I used to get all excited for gigs and music performances, especially annual music festivals like Baybeats. I enjoyed the process of discovering new local bands and their original music. It was like digging in mine and finding gold when I come across one or two really good independent bands that played the music I love.

So, last Thursday, I went to esplanade to catch a local band called “The Lard Brothers”. They play Electronica / Lounge / Hip Hop kind of music and did quite a lot of mixes and versions of music from other local bands/artistes. I sat on the cosy couch at the Esplanade concourse and enjoyed the covers and a couple of originals by The Lard Brothers. They invited a guest vocalist, Biddy Low, to join them for that set of performance. Biddy’s voice was tailored for jazzy, lounge music. Her vocal was lulling, soothing and hypnotizing.

They did a nice rendition of local punk rock band, Plainsunset’s Plainsunset. But, it sounded so unrecognizable, it didn’t sound like a cover. it’s like taking the lyrics of someone’s song and putting them into a totally new music. I prefer the other cover that they did. It was originally sang by another local indie band, Humpback Oak’s Circling Square.

Humpback Oak Cover by The Lard Brothers + Biddy Low @ Esplanade Concourse 13/8/09

Plainsunset Cover by The Lard Brothers + Biddy Low @ Esplanade Concourse 13/8/09

-videos taken by me live!

Fabulous Fabregas… Match Video Highlights

Barcelona are definitely looking for a gem now. Cesc Fagregas, who was inspirational in Spain’s recent European Championship Glory did it again for his club Arsenal. The Gunners started the season with a perfect score, thrashing Champions League hopeful Everton 6-1 in the opening day of the English Premier League. There was nothing David Moyes could have done as Arsenal were just too good! Every shot led to a goal, every pass fell onto a red jersey. It was surely Arsenal’s day!

Cesc Fabregas had a monster game with 2 goals and 2 assists. Denilson got the ball rolling and Thomas Vermaelen, William Gallas, and Eduardo Da Silva also added to the tally. The scoring explosion came despite Arshavin, Robin Van Persie, and Nicklas Bendtner failing to get on the scoresheet.

Louis Saha prevented a complete Everton shutout by scoring an injury time goal.

The Gunners dominated ball control with 56% possession and were dealdy accurate with 9 shots on goal for a 67% conversion rate.

Alexander Song had a solid performance in the center of midfield which to me was one of the most encouraging signs. Thomas Vermaelen was a rock in central defense denying Leon Osman twice. Eduardo looked nippy and opportunistic in his appearance of the bench belying any injury concerns.

Adebayor who?

Walkthroughs

So you bought a new game, and so you want to be a hero. But at the first sign of adversity, you give up. You go to http://www.gamefaqs.com.

Search: Quest For Glory 1 - walkthroughs

Ahh, so you need to buy the undead unguent to enter the graveyard successfully. Well, who would have thought that? But the walkthrough intrigues you, and without a second thought, you follow it, and complete the game in the next hour.

Your friend gives you Discworld - The Trouble with Dragons as a birthday present. It has great reviews, for the game has an intriguing storyline, and has tongue in cheek humour. Too used to gamefaqs.com, you get the walkthrough, and complete the game within two hours.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah, it has a good storyline, but surely there could be more to the game?”

There is.

The thing about walkthroughs is that they cut out all the unnecessary stuff that needs to be done. They tell you how to achieve your goal. It’s very simple. But you miss all the fun easter eggs, the side quests, the mini games, all the weird things, just because you wanted to “win”. But you haven’t really. You just didn’t lose.

The appeal of a game is in trying everything, testing its limits, seeing if funny things could happen. But with a walkthrough, you ignore all of these - you go for what works. You reach the endpoint, without any effort, and you wonder: “Why did the reviews say that it was a great game?”

This is the same in life. There are walkthroughs everywhere for what we seek. Perhaps the TYS for exams, “The Game” for girl problems (hah), or “50 ways to CK” for the SAF. We can follow them, reach the end point. But what will we have learnt? Nothing.

It is far more important to learn, rather than to know, seeking and testing what works, and what doesn’t, than just follow a guide. Even if one fails, the effort put into learning always helps.

I was working on a guide for my course for future Singaporeans. I planned to distill everything - the EOY exams, how to study smart, spot questions, what to mug, and what to understand. After working on it for a few days, I abandoned it. Why?

I wanted to write this guide because I didn’t want my juniors to do what I did. To painstakingly go through the course material, understanding everything, but only realize that hey, actually, what we need is THIS and THAT. And my juniors would just read the guide, remember THIS and THAT, score first class for their year, but don’t understand anything at all. Congratulations - I have almost created a breed of juniors that know, but don’t understand. 

No. Far better to put in effort, and barely pass, rather than memorize something, do well, but know nothing in the end.

And I shall go on like this. Forget about reading guides. Come to think of it, why even bother with “The Game”? It was introduced by guys in the army, but I’ve never actually read the book nor understood its purpose. It might work, but I rather work on this in my own time, perhaps failing at intervals, but I will know, whatever I achieve will be of my own accomplishment, and not by following others.

The Women Who Wash The Uniforms

Typhoon Morakot has taken many lives, and many more are still waiting to be saved. Disasters of such magnitude mean rescue missions ought to be at least of the same size, or preferably, even bigger. That means – a large number of people and material supplies are needed.

Where do these people come from? Who are they?

They are from the military – the army, the navy and the air force.

These local heroes brave the danger and head off to wherever they are needed. They protect our country and defend it from being invaded by ill-intentioned outsiders. They are always prepared to lay their lives for the country in the event of an attack. 

And, they are like you and me – with a family.

Marriages that involve military personnel are challenging for all parties. Husbands who are away most of the time miss their wives and children. Wives who are left alone most of the time need to be exceptionally independent. They have to be fully supportive of their men who are carrying a larger burden on their shoulders than any ordinary man on the street.

Many a time, their husbands might not be there during their pregnancy. Their birthdays, anniversaries could be spent without their partners. They have to constantly answer their children’s questions like “Why is Daddy always not around? Where did Daddy go? I want my Daddy!”

They have to be on their toes all the time, for they never know when their men have to be deployed to a faraway place again.

The role an army’s wife plays is as critical as the role an army guy plays. Managing and making sure the family functions well helps to ease the soldier’s anxiety and allows him to truly focus on his job. She is like the line holding up a necklace of pearls – without her, he might have difficulty blending into the family each time he’s away for a long while, especially when the baby is growing up rapidly into a toddler and find their father’s face suddenly strange to them.

Whenever my hubby travels for work, I’d pray for his safety and health. Nothing matters to me than to have him back home, safe and sound. And he’s only gone for days, at times, weeks. 

Therefore, I can imagine how much more anxious these wives are when their military husbands get deployed overseas for an extended period. 

It’s tough being an army’s wife, and I wonder if our society even knows of this group of women sacrificing themselves for the sake of our nation.

Behind every successful man is a woman. I think, behind every soldier is a great, loving wife. 

But, we all know that things aren’t rosy all the time and for all couples. Those who can’t withstand the stress find themselves running into problems as conflicts expand, made worse by a lack of communication. 

In the next few posts, I’ll touch on some ways that’ll hopefully lighten up the atmosphere and bring the wife and the guy in the uniform closer in their marriage. 

Ryan McGinley Photography

Ryan McGinley is a reknown photographer from New York. His works are extraordinary, some of which looked more like paintings than photographs. His art of photography mostly connects nature with abstract nudity. He has carved an unique personality to his works which is very recognizable as his identity. Ryan worked with many celebrities and super models. He also had his works displayed as public arts, blending his photography to the buildings and structures in the city.

His playful imaginations are exhibited in some of his quirky themes of photography projects. His photography bares nudity without looking scandalous. While many could appreciate his artistic works, others felt extreme opposite opinions of them.

“It really irks me how successful he is - his photography has no artistic merit whatsoever” -quoted from a forum that discusses over rated artists.

Photography of super model Kate Moss:

Ryan McGinley, Coley (Injured), 2007.From the exhibition “I Know Where the Summer Goes”:

Taken in 2005:

Fireworks Hysteric, 2007-08. From the exhibition “I Know Where the Summer Goes”:

Public Arts:

http://www.ryanmcginley.com

The Uncle Sam’s Claypot

As a national serviceman during the last two years and now as a student, I’m always on the lookout for cheap, good food and just a few days ago, I was wandering around the newly opened CityVibe (a small mall located near Clementi Station, which alas had nothing much of note inside) when I found an eating place that offered such food.

Located in an innocuous corner on the second floor of the building, The Uncle Sam’s Claypot, gramatically-odd sounding name aside, serves up decent food at economical prices.

While the decor is minimal, the outlet is clean and the service is good. The service personnel were all attentive and friendly and the food came at record time (although admittedly there weren’t very many customers when I visited the outlet at lunchtime on a weekday afternoon).

Both my friend and I ordered their house recommendation, a chicken claypot dish that, while not the best claypot I’ve taken, was nonetheless pretty good. The chicken was chewy but not overly so, the spices used were flavorful but not overwhelming, the vege was adequately leafy and the rice was soft and had the requisite hard bits stuck to the pot.

While the dishes here are affordably priced for most of the usual work crowd, with dishes going for around $5 to $6 each and desserts going for less than $3, the real bargain here is for students.

For less than $7 (and that’s inclusive of GST and service charge), students get a lunchtime combo meal consisting of the claypot I mentioned above, a fruit punch as well as an ice kachang dessert.

The ice kachang, while again not the best I’ve tasted, was sweet and refreshing (not to mention rather large in serving size) and, despite an odd-tasting salty corn ingredient, the rest of the dessert was bite-inviting and provided a fine end to the meal.

The food at The Uncle Sam’s Claypot may not be for the true claypot connoiseurs but for those who are looking for good food at cheap prices, look no further than this shop.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

The Uncle Sam’s Claypots
02-11/12 CityVibe, 3151 Commonwealth Avenue West
Tel: 6778-3088
Open: 11am to 10pm daily

The Blind Leading The Blind

It was a bright, warm and sunny day. I alighted from the bus and scanned my surroundings, looking for my destination.

It was a warm, and as such, probably sunny day and hence bright. He alighted from the bus and felt his surroundings, searching for his destination.

Our paths wouldn’t have crossed if I didn’t turn my head to look at him. He was still feeling his way, but apparently, he had came to a standstill. Moving his cane in a left right direction, he was “stuck” between two stretches of metallic seats.

Stopping for a while, I made a quick decision in my mind – to help or not to help. Help, was the swift answer. Immediately, I walked towards him and asked, “Uncle, where do you want to go?”

“Coffeeshop, at Blk 732.”

“Ok, come let me bring you there.” I put my arm on his and gently led the way.

He followed.

“I’m going there to eat chicken rice,” he told me.

“Oh, is it very nice?” I asked.

“Yah, it’s my favourite. I like the chicken rice there.”

We strolled towards the direction of the coffee shop, and he said, “From here, it’s about twenty to thirty steps.”

I stopped breathing for a second, and this thought jumped into my mind instantly: “Oh, that’s how the blind look for their way!”

After I brought him to the coffee shop, I asked if he wanted me to place the order for him. He shook his head, and a guy walked to us and asked him what he wanted to eat. “Chicken rice,” he replied. This guy, who looked like he worked in one of the stalls there, told me he’d bring him to his seat.

The blind man turned towards me and said: “It’s okay now. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I smiled. He would have felt it, even if he couldn’t see my smile, wouldn’t he?

Few days after, I saw the interview of Kelvin Tan (Chen Wei Lian) on Channel U. This blind singer who shot to stardom after winning the first Project Superstar contest actually loves travelling! And he had been to Genting several times, always placing himself in front his favourite “hobby” – jackpot.

From him, I found out that they would count the number of doors after turning from the lift to get to their hotel room. But he didn’t get to explain how do they play the jackpot when they can’t see? Aren’t they worried that they’ll be cheated? Or do they just play for fun’s sake? According to him, most of the time he lost money. And I think I know why. 

That short encounter with the blind man gave me quite a shock and a good lesson learnt.

A blind is considered as visually handicapped. Yet, that handicap didn’t deter them from doing things they like – taking a bus to a certain coffeeshop away from home just to have a plate of chicken rice; leaving the familiarity and safety of home just to have a feel of the air and atmosphere out of Singapore.

They can achieve what I can achieve, though they can’t see what I can see. Yet, they do it nonetheless.

How many of us are worried of failure, of losing the way, of being cheated, of losing face that we daren’t even step out of our comfort zone and venture into the foreign world?

How many of us pay attention to other people’s needs by observing them using our eyes when we could?

Thinking of this, I can’t help but feel that I, on certain occasions, could be considered as blind too.

I thank that blind man for giving me such a sweet lesson on life. After I sent him to the coffee shop, I had to ask for directions twice to get to where I wanted to go. Simply because, I had alighted at the wrong stop.

I think, if life wants to give us a lesson, it will. Even if it means you alight at the wrong stop the second round - meaning to say, you make the same mistake twice. 

Singapore – Then and Now

TODAY held a very meaningful contest, I thought.

In celebration of Singapore’s 44th birthday, the newspaper had a photo contest that best showcased Singapore then, and now.

As I reminisced my own childhood looking at others’ from the photos submitted by our fellow Singaporeans, I had this thought: “How wonderful to be born in the 70s.”

Indeed, those who were born in the 70s have, in my opinion, the best of both worlds. We journeyed through Singapore’s progress and changes. Many of us had that luxury (now we call it luxury!) to live in a kampong, before we had a taste of how it was like to squeeze the whole family in a small pigeon-hole like flat.

When pagers came, we were old enough to use the technology, and at the ripe age to be hip about it. We were in school.

Shortly, those big brick-like mobile phones emerged when we’re either finishing school or just started working – which means, we could afford it! Now, we’re all holding phones smaller than our palm. Then, mobile phone usage was rather expensive. Hence, many of us used it only to return phone calls when our pagers beeped. Mobiles were mostly in the off-mode. Once in a blue moon when we actually got through someone’s mobile, it was a cause for excitement!

We witnessed the cleaning up of the Singapore River, and when Boat Quay became a happening place to hang around, our wallets happened to have enough cash to afford having long dinners by the sparkling riverside.

In short, we weren’t born into a world where technology was blooming. We walked through it as it was developing. We awed when TV was still in black and white, and our eyes popped out when special effects started to appear in the square screen that accompanied the whole family most of the evenings through the night. There wasn’t any other form of entertainment available then.

By the time computers were invented, we were in our primary school, ready to take one more step ahead into our bright future. Now we have laptops. 

As these thoughts flowed through my mind, I began to wonder: What will the kids of today have to compare and reminisce? What’s the world going to be like in another 40 years’ time?

Will they find what we have now old-fashioned? I’m sure they would, at the same time, I doubt these old fashions will have a tinge of yellow - the kind of yellow that only real black and white photos (not a camera setting!) can bring.

I’m really glad to be born in that generation.

And I’m really thankful for all that Singapore has given me.

Happy birthday Singapore!

Aquilani to Liverpool, Huntelaar to Milan

Couple of fast switches here.

Alberto Aquilani moves to the Reds on a 20m transfer. He will come with a reputation as an exciting playmaker, a long range threat, and an excellent deadball expert. Rafa on Aquilani:

“He can play a little bit higher than Javier Mascherano - maybe between him and Steven Gerrard.

“He has good passing - the final ball is good - and he also works. If he can settle down properly in England he can be a very good addition.”

Carving out a name in a Roma team full of creative midfielders is not easy but Aquilani has done it. He also brings valuable international experience. The only weak link is an ankle injury which needed surgical intervention this May. He has not played since March and has been restricted to 14 appearances. Usually rehabilitation of ankle injuries take up to a year. Match fitness will be an issue.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar finally finds a home away from Real. This time it is the Rossoneri who will try and resuscitate the Ajax centerforward’s wayward career. Stuttgart and Tottenham missed out. Huntelaar was an afterthought in Real’s attack and frankly a criminal waste.

It also leads to a corollary, if you are a Dutchman with talent do not ever take up a Real opportunity. They will dump you. Real’s indiscriminate Dutch policy which should be the target of a criminal investigation has seen Huntelaar, RVN, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael Van Der Vaart, and Royston Drenthe languish on the bench. They are good enough for the Dutch national team but not good enough for the club side.

Facebook

Founded by Mark Zuckerberg, in early 2004, Facebook has grown to be one of the biggest social networking sites today. There is quite a pretty impressive list of statistics here.

Facebook has ubiquitously crept into our daily lives and speech in the past few months.

“Eh, facebook me the details lah”.

“She looked very friendly on her Facebook profile picture, so I added her lor”

These, and many other phrases, can be heard in Singapore each day, all containing the magical word - “Facebook”

But what is Facebook to us?

The answer is clear on Wikipedia. It is a social networking site. However, what is the answer we come out with? Is Facebook merely another benign phenomenon that has entered our lives, and will exit gracefully in a few years, or is there a more malevolent shadow behind it?

To me, as a University student, I find that I spend quite a bit of time on Facebook each day, because it fulfills several criteria. Yet these criteria can have a nasty phantom lurking in the background.

Various quizzes, applications, and games

Yes, they are, to emphasize it, Timewasters. When you could be doing work productively in the office, you end up playing Mousehunt, or perhaps when cramming for a math final, end up doing a quiz: “How good are you in Math?”, and then later commenting “I wasted 30 seconds of my life on this.”

However, I see it as a nice distraction, a five minute break after studying for an hour straight. There’s nothing wrong with it, provided you know your limits. And to be honest, it is much easier to play Facebook games for five minutes, and then return to studies, compared to say, playing WOW or FFXI.

The trouble comes when you you get too engrossed in getting high scores, perhaps trying to beat your S1 or the Director of U/G studies in Facebook games, instead of revising for your next Differential Equations exam.

Good alternative to Email

Perhaps this could be just me. But I miss the email system in the SAF, when if I wanted to say, contact 3SG Lim Ah Beng, I could immediately find his name in the massive list, and send him an email.

Not so in real life. Unless you have a very anal memory and can remember everyone’s email address, (and mind you, sometimes an msn email address isn’t the main email address), or have an email address written down on paper, but is difficult to type out (like the____most__irritatingpoooooooooot@hotmail.com), you need something more efficient. So you send an email via Facebook, where you only need the person’s name.

When about 80-90% of the people you wish to contact are on Facebook, it is much easier to just Facebook all of them, and then contact the rest via more traditional means, like smses or plain email.

Meet ups / Making new friends

A debatable issue. While I suppose most guys would like it if say, they saw an attractive girl in the pub, and added her (with relative ease) on Facebook the next day, the girls may not. Especially if they refuse to add the guys back and then get emails from them asking why.

Though, for us normal people, why not? You go to school with your classmates, and you wonder if they have Facebook. You add them, and chances are, you’ll begin talking, exchanging email addresses, and you’ll make a new friend.

Organizing gatherings is also quite easy on Facebook. Create an event, open up the “Facebook wall”, and see people discuss what to do, or when is the most suitable date for all. Much easier than sending emails left, right, centre, and having to read through all the backlog before choosing an appropriate venue and date.

Currently, I am looking at the new batch of freshers entering Warwick. It looks like cliques are starting to be formed, and everyone is included in activities. Thanks to Facebook. But what about these few people who don’t have Facebook, who don’t have the contacts of everyone else, who are the only ones in their JC / Poly so they don’t even know such activities are being organized? The year 2s can’t exactly step in and ask the year 1s to include XYZ in an informal gathering, even if such informal gatherings were created on the basis of “let’s invite all the year 1s on Facebook”, can they?

But maybe I am thinking too much, and trying to meddle with the year 1s. After all, it is so easy to become a stalker with Facebook, knowing all these details which one really shouldn’t. And who is to say that no one will harvest all these information? Even an indiscreet photo here, or a post there can easily ruin one’s social life.

I feel that Facebook will continue and evolve with us, at least in the next few years, and if Facebooking is kept in moderation, Facebook will just be an enjoyable pastime, and useful to keep in contact with people. Otherwise, it can easily turn into something much more sinister.

At last, a clear explanation of the current financial meltdown

Some of you may have read this on the Web: How the Indians explained the current economic downturn and financial meltdown, using an ancient parable. Anyway, I’m reproducing it for the benefit of bankers, loans officers, financial planners and investment advisers who are still in denial.

Once upon a time in a village in India , a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10. The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought many monkeys at $10 each, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts. The man then announced further that he would now buy each monkey at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch one!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant quietly told the villagers: “Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has bought from you. I will sell them to you at $35 each, and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.”

The villagers eagerly squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys in the cage.

Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere!

Can you spot the monkeys?

David Beckham proves a point… Video

While everybody in LA, almost everybody.. hates David Beckham, it was the former England National Captain that made European Champions League winner Barcelona a run for their tour money!

He did his famous free kick that pull LA Galaxy back on level terms just before half time, after Barcelona took the lead on the 12 minute of the game. Moreover, it was his “enemy” Landon Donovan that got fouled to gain the free kick that Beckham famously took. Check out the video below! It was sensational… reliving the good memories of Beckham when he was playing for Man Utd and England!

Arirang Korean Restaurant

Ever since the demise of the popularity of the Seoul Garden franchise (although it apparently still has five outlets now, at its peak it was the ubiquitous food hangout for Singaporeans of all ages), Korean buffet-style BBQ restaurants haven’t had much success locally.

While I generally much prefer Japanese cuisine, the surprising quality of the Shilawon Restaurant that I blogged about a while back had softened my palate to Korean food in general and thus, when my friend suggested we try out another Korean BBQ, I readily agreed.

Located amongst the sea of eating outlets at Liang Seah Street, Arirang Korean Restaurant is a nondescript little restaurant that had little customers on the Saturday afternoon when we visited (when Bugis has what seems to be a billion people walking around in it).

It was a pity, though, because Arirang actually has pretty decent food at equally decent prices (a lunch buffet on a weekend only set us back about S$20 each).

Decorated minimally, the restaurant has a homely feel to it and the dishes, while I can’t say I’ve actually eaten fare from Korea cooked by Koreans, certainly tasted more traditional and authentic than the decidedly local selection at Seoul Garden.

The banchan (or set of small dishes) that opened the meal was simple but definitely got our tastebuds going. The omelette and long bean dishes, in particular, were excellent.

The buffet menu has a selection of both raw ingredients for our own cooking as well as some cooked dishes. The cooked dishes were all pretty good, with the ginseng soup delectable (and with just the right amount of herbal taste for me), the pancakes a tasty (if greasy) alternative to rice as a staple and the bibimbap (a rice bowl with mixed ingredients) was tops.

Take care, though, not to go for their “Japanese” part of the menu (which is a paltry four to five dishes anyway and is quite misleading with its inclusion in the shopfront menu). The sushi we sampled were cold and flat, with nary any oomph in both texture and taste.

Of course, at such a buffet, the meat of the matter (excuse the pun) is in the raw ingredients and here the restaurant doesn’t disappoint neither. The meats we ordered (chicken and beef, mostly) were thinly sliced and tasty and were easily condimented with the whole range of sauces we were provided.

The meal is topped off with the restaurant’s sourplum tea which has a decidedly herbal aftertaste. While I found it a bit harsh on my tastebuds and stopped after half a cup, my friend couldn’t stop lapping it up and asked for repeated refills.

While Arirang Korean restaurant might not be the be-all-end-all of Korean cuisine on our sunny island, it definitely is worth a shot.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Arirang Korean Restaurant is located at 1, Liang Seah Street #01-08/09. For more information or to place reservations, call 6333-0025.