Nyonya memories by Ivins @ Thomson Plaza

If you like to try Nyonya dishes and if you preferred heavy in taste, this is one of the places you will need to try. The flavour of the main dishes were very heavy in taste. Both the Lontong and Mee siam definitely worth every penny you paid for. Ingredients were very generous as well for the price paid for. Nyonya Mee Siam cost $6.90, Nyonya Lontong cost $6.90, Pulot Hitam cost $2.50 and the Nyonya Chendol cost $3. Overall damage is $20.65. The shop is also cosy and service was quick. They still had plenty of other Nyonya dishes worth trying for. My next visit will be trying the meat dishes with rice :)

Starbucks Newly and Tested Vacation-Themed Summer Beverages @ Woodlands MRT Station

So when Starbuck takes the effort to release new drinks, I will always be there to test it 😈 So I find my self a seat and start placing my order via the Mobile App. I ordered the "Mango on the Beach Frappuccino" and "Seaside Macadamia White Chocolate Frappuccino". According to Starbucks, the "Mango on the Beach Frappuccino" is made by blending fresh mango sauce blended with milk and ice. On the top of the drink, there is mango jelly chunks. Not that bad and the combination is indeed refreshing. As for the "Seaside Macadamia White Chocolate Frappuccino", it contains white chocolate macadamia slush, poured over a colourful swirl of blueberry syrup. I think the crushed graham crackers complete the drink and made it enjoyable. It creates the texture as if there is sea salt in it. Best of all, when I ordered the drink, it includes the free vacation-theme reusable straw.

Eggciting | Affordable Korean-Style Toast With Pork Shabu And Lu Rou Fan @ Canberra

This is my second visit after a while and ordered the Premium Korean Toast and one Basic Korean Toast after a short morning run. Address of this place is at 115 Canberra Walk, #01-03, Singapore 750115, which is very close to where i live. It is operating at a kopitiam. This is quite ok for those who are craving for morning toast, this is certainly a good choice and better than those traditional bread and egg breakfast. So for the Basic Korean Toast, my wife ordered the Tuna, while i ordered the Bacon from the Premium Korean Toast. Tuna is all right, though it take a bit of effort to find the tuna. To be frank, the bacon tasted like using those cheaper option ones in the local supermarket. I wished it would be more salter. Similarly for the eggs, since there is no salt and pepper around, the egg is rather bland and does not have much favor. As for the price, the premium toast do felt abit steep and the basic korean toast is just about right. Hopefully they can improve the next time i visit again 

McCafe Cappuccino from Mcdonald

I felt that McCafe Barista can also train on their latte art for every order of the hot drink. But this is more of using the chocolate to draw out the shape. So I had this random morning for a quick meal. I got this design which I think is just a sophisticated $ sign. But I was wrong. My wife told me that this is a brand. Upon research, it is YSL, also known as Saint Laurent, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner. So I am thinking probably the Barista is currently obsessed with this bag brand till it landed on the customer's drink. 😅

Kaspersky Internet Security - To change or renew?

Having used Kaspersky Internet Security for 2 x 2 years license (Total: 4 years) of usage. It had not been giving me much issues on software conflict or incompatibility problems for the browser. Before using this,  I was using Norton and AVG. There were some performance issues in the past, but i supposed could be due to hardware issue too. Currently my Kaspersky Internet Security license is ending in 2 months time. Hence it is time for me to plan on something else. As most people know that Kaspersky is a Russia company, not sure whether my service might be affected or not. Might consider for Norton AntiVirus Plus or Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security next. Meanwhile got to find out more of the pro and cons of it.

Koufu in JEM Suddenly Closing Down by End of April 2022, Surprising Many Stallholders.

Han Kook Kitchen which is located in Koufu Food Court at JEM will soon be relocated to Junction 8 Food Court as AmateurCraft went to ask the korean owner of Han Kook Kitchen. In terms of BBQ Pork, they had been one of the best Authentic Korean Cuisine. I had went over to try for the last time before they relocate to Junction 8 Bishan. Some might or might not like it, but their meat are marinated very well. Each piece of meat is heavy in taste and definitely goes well with the steamed rice. Other dishes like the Kim Chi Soup is also recommended. Do support them !

Sold off one of my favourite Nintendo 3DS XL Pikachu Edition Console

Just sold off my good old Nintendo 3DS XL Pikachu Edition before the value goes to less than $50. Nintendo had already announced that both online storefronts will cease operation in March 2023. Meaning that the online eShop will be closed for all Nintendo 3DS XL consoles. After March 2023, all 3DS gamers will not be able to purchase or download any online eshop app or games. The only thing that 3DS can do is play the existing downloaded games or physcial disc games. I still have one more New Nintendo 3DS XL to play 3DS games. But I guess will be selling off as well, if not will keep it. Before Nintendo Switch was released, Nintendo 3DS XL was very popular. The current Nintendo Switch that i had from the first Gen and bought it from Day 1 is already 5 years old. Time really flies and it also proved that both Nintendo 3DS XL and Nintendo Switch hardware were quite good and lasting.

Lao Jiang Superior Soup 老江一品汤 @ JCUBE

As we got attracted by the packet of chicken essence, we thought that the soup will be rich of goodness and taste. We are also in the area of Jurong East for some errands. Saw Lao Jiang Superior Soup 老江一品汤 at Oasis Terrace and opposite Beauty World a couple of times and we really want to try it one day. So over at JCUBE, we finally had the chance to dine in. In terms of customer service, the staff were not so helpful, but who cares. So we ordered Chicken Soup + Essence of Chicken with Rice ($15.80), Signature Superior Soup with Dry You Mian ($11.80) and one dessert Collagen Peach Gum ($5). Total damage was $32.60. Unfortunately both of the main dishes were quite disappointing. The taste were not that flavorful and it is quite bland. Signature Superior Soup with Dry You Mian, the Dry You Mian is of equal standard as those in the coffee shop, while the bulk of the money went into the ingredients, but the soup was not that good. Well, I am not sure whether if it is because we went there right in the late morning where we are the first customer when they are open or it is rather a branch quality issue. Guess another way to confirm is to visit the other branches to confirm this. Sigh 😑

Damasara Chilli Pan Mee at Malaysia Boleh Jurong Point

Damasara Chilli Pan Mee from Malaysia Boleh is certainly one of my favourite choice for a simple lunch or dinner. They are using Malaysian ban mian which is often served dry unlike the soupy ones. The noodles goes well with the mix of ingredients (minced pork, stewed Chinese mushrooms, spinach, ikan bilis, and a runny poached egg). I also added an additional Fried Tau Kee in the bowl. Certainly must try !

Mos Burger - Teriyaki Burger with Chicken MOS Set

To be frank, we are really fortunate to have a Japanese Fast Food Chain, MOS Burger in Singapore. I remembered having MOS Burger at their Tokyo Chain, the food were really well prepared, but slightly more expensive. However as compared to the good old days, MOS Burger in Singapore had also underwent some changes and had since increased most of their prices as well. However, my order is still the same. Teriyaki Chicken Burger with MOS Chicken Set. Drink is definitely Iced Milk Tea and specially requested for more milk. Although the Teriyaki Chicken Burger is about the same size as the Mcdonald's McChicken Burger, but the overall favor of the Teriyaki Burger is very satisfying. Being a fan of mayonnaise, MOS Burger's mayonnaise is so much better than other fast food chain. I also loved the Fried Chicken which 95% of the time, tender and juicy. Don't need to worry about the portion as it is very standardized. Iced Milk Tea somehow is one of the best Iced Milk Tea i ever drank. Possibly the number 1 Iced Milk Tea in my list. 

BlackBall Express @ AMK Hub

Just realized that BlackBall and BlackBall Express have different menu. While trying to "Tabao" something from the main menu as requested by my wife. As the BlackBall Express doesn't have the Taro Iced, therefore have to "tabao" something from their Express menu. We had here the BlackBall Signature - Grass Jelly Shaved Iced and Wintermelon Shaved Ice. Just nice that there is a promotion where I could get 2 for SGD$9.90. Initially I do not have high hope on this as I don't really order much from BlackBall, but my wife love it. Upon trying the Grass Jelly Shaved Iced, its pretty good, especially after adding the milk to it. Think the only difference for BlackBall Express is the menu and there is no place to eat on-site.

Renoma Set to Coach Set - Does it make a difference?

Just a random post where I change my Renoma Set to Coach Set, because my Renoma Card Case had fallen after just one year of usage. When I tell the salesperson that even when previously I used the braun buffel wallet and coin case, it broke down after 2 years of usage. The salesperson just said that this is wear and tear and is expected. Previously when I went to those repair wallet and shoe services centre, they also said is beyond repair and cannot fix. So from then, I felt that it is a waste of money.. I downgrade to Renoma and it lasted for a year. Wallet is ok, but not the card case. Let's see long Coach Set will last me. This post as the proof ! 😏

Most Second-Hand devices going to get this Watermark if you are running Windows 11

Source

Starting from Windows 11, looks like most old PCs are going to encountered this watermark while running Windows 11. As controversial hardware requirements goes, Windows 11 were only officially supports Intel 8th Gen Coffee Lake or Zen+ and Zen 2 CPUs and above, leaving millions of PCs behind. Anyone that has used the workaround will now start to see this warning in Windows 11. It will suck badly when certain hardware is unable to work on Windows 11. With this, it shows that my planned procurement of second hand gen 6 i7-6700 HP EliteDesk G2 is off. My plan was to set up a legit Ubuntu Desktop Lab station instead of relying on VMWare. I guess I got to start building one DIY Intel Gen 12 i5-12400 build now so as to carry out my Ubuntu and Windows 11 Training soon. 

Newly Built Budget Desktop for Lab Work & Research

Main reason of building myself is the flexibility to troubleshoot and add-ON to additional parts. I had scrimp and cut as much cost for certain components to come up with such specs. Not going to list down the individual components which I get separately from multiple retailers as well as using from its original stock parts as possible. I had tired of using VMWare to run my Ubuntu and Windows 11 Pro. So building one and installing the actual OS makes a whole world of difference. The specs are as follows: 

MotherBoard: Gigabyte B550M DS3H

Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600 G-Series Desktop Processors with Radeon™ Graphics

RAM: Klevv 16GB DDR4 3200mhz Gaming Kit - (2 X 8GB)

Storage: Lexar NM620 NVMe M.2 SSD 512GB X 1 - For Ubuntu | Lexar NM620 NVMe M.2 SSD 512GB X 1 - For Windows 11 Professional

Power Supply: iCute 500W Dual Fan ATX PSU Power Supply Unit

Entire Case: Tecware Forge M Omni included 4 Fans in the case.

Initially was considering Dell Inspiron Compact Desktop. Considering the corporate discount with my company with Dell still could not beat the price I negotiate with Dell Sales directly. Best they could go down with the latest specs is SGD$850. However, the issue was they are not able to add additional NVMe SSD to the CPU. So it is quite pointless as I am planning to dual boot Windows 11 Pro and Ubuntu directly.

Burger King SunDae & Hershey's Pie @ Sembawang Shopping Center

Had a mini dessert at Burger King while waiting for my shuttle bus to bring me back to my home. Personally, I had been a long fan of Burger King's Sundae and Hershey's Pie. Just that I do not eat them that often. The Sundae both Chocolate and Strawberry were brilliant, although i still preferred the Strawberry one. As for the Hershey's Pie, i think there is a discount for 2 at $4 and I would gladly recommend to all to try. It is really good and sometimes better than those dessert store in some cafes.

Yeah on a side note, today had surpassed 200 subscribers on Youtube ☺☺

Nine Fresh Chrysanthemum Ai-Yu Set A Dessert

I really enjoyed the Chrysanthemum Ai-Yu (Set 𝐀), which comes with honey popping jelly, grape pearl jelly, and taro balls. Of course, whenever I am buying something at Nine Fresh, I will always get the Earl Grey Milk Tea as well. Look out for my previous Nine Fresh Drink. 😋 Unfortunately, the Chrysanthemum Ai-Yu is not a permanent menu and will occasionally appears at different seasons. But I personally will recommend anyone to try the Chrysanthemum Ai-Yu (Set 𝐀) as it is simply one of the best selections in Nine Fresh !

Pizza Hut $0.99 Regular Pizza Deal

Tried to order the additional pizza for $0.99 and the deal is real ! However, you will need to spend $15 minimum in order to enjoy this deal. So I ordered a Sharing Box at $16.50 and added my Stuff Crust addition on the pizza. Overall damage + $4.50 Delivery charge because I am lazy is $28.49. Pizza Hut Stuff Crust is still my favourite, while my wife preferred thin crust.

Source

So i think it worth it. The $0.99 is regular pizza and not the pan sized. Personally, i think Pizza Hut's pizza still maintained a proper standard. So from this deal, it covered two meals for both of us.

Newly Opened Ramen King [Second Outlet] @ Canberra Plaza

 

Visited the newly opened Ramen King on 10 March 2022 at Canberra Plaza. This is their second outlet and it is the first day of business at the Canberra Plaza branch. My wife ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen Regular with special request to make it with Miso Soup with addon of Corn. I ordered the Char-Siu Spicy Miso Ramen Large. We also ordered additional Gyoza (Dumplings) 5 pcs. Overall damage is $25. They don't charge GST and Service Charge on the receipt. I think all the large portion will have 5 pieces of char-siu slice. All right, honest comment is both bowls are decent, but i hope they can make it more heavy in taste. That would certainly bring up the standard. Abit lighter than usual. Gyoza was ok only. So in terms of rating in overall taste, price and quantity, I will give it a 5.5/10.

Lau Wang Claypot Delights at Tampines One Mall

This is a unique stall where I don't really see it in the North. So i chanced upon while visiting Tampines One Mall and saw a very large queue for this. As I am also finding a place for dinner, I joined the queue. Apparently after checking it out, they have 4 stores islandwide namely, Tampines One Mall, Singpost Central, 263 Serangoon Central and Oasis Terrace. I ordered a big portion Sesame Chicken, Small portion Sambal Kang Kong, Steamed Egg and 2 bowls of rice. They do not include service charge and only have GST. Overall damage is $20. The portion is really BIG. Both of us are struggling to finish this. Sesame Chicken and Steamed Egg are very good. Although they list it as steamed Egg, actually I think is chawanmushi because there are extra ingredients in it. The sambal Kang Kong is so-so. But overall, it is really valued for money and I now know why so many people queue to eat here.

APOL Behemoth Ergonomic Chair [King-Sized]

From my past consideration of all gaming chairs, I had finally decided APOL Behemoth Ergonomic Chair. It is still too early to give my review on this chair. My first impression of using it for a few days is that this is a very comfortable chair and it had cleared my doubt. Initially I am worried that this is a very big chair considering that it the APOL biggest chair which is comparable with SecretLab's Titan series. It is really ergonomic as it really help alot to straighten my back and help me to adopt good sitting posture. It certainly fit my whole body well and so far have not given me any problems.  The chair is also able to fit in both of my IKEA Bunk Bed Table and my Extra Large OMNIDESK KENSHI. As I also indicated in my previous post 8 days ago, i got this chair at a very good promotional price. These are my initial thoughts, I will probably review it again after a year's time from now.

[Michelin-Star in HK] Kam’s Roast at Changi Airport Jewel

We ordered the Roasted Duck and Roasted Pork Rice, Char Siew Noodles and a soup of the day. I tried the Char Siew, was ok. Roasted Pork and Roasted Duck was ok as well. The special mention is the Mustard Sauce which goes well and enhance the taste of the meat. Soup was ok. My overall damage was $30+ for two pax. Was an slightly above average when compared to the local Roasted meat store in coffeeshop or food court. Tried it for yourself. I don't think there is a WOW factor, but still got decent quality, but personally don't felt that worth the price.

Flash Coffee @ Orchard Gateway

Just about to head home from Orchard Gateway. Might as well give it a try. I downloaded Flash Coffee from Apple App Store for my iPhone 13 Pro Max, created a new account where they will give new customers a "Buy 1 Free 1" deal. I redeem and made my order for a Iced Flat White [Large - $5.80] and I ordered another Nutella Hot Chocolate [Regular - $5.80] for my wife. From the app, it shows order now and expect to wait 10 minutes as indicated in the app. Managed to get my order within 8 minutes and packed into the bag. Quickly rushed back home. For me, the coffee is not bad especially for its portion. As for Non-Coffee, my wife said is not bad, but kinda sweet due to the Nutella. Think is called Flash Coffee as they will try to prepare fast while retaining its quality. 

Shami Banana Leaf Delights @ Causeway Point

Had dinner at Shami Banana Leaf Delights with my wife. We both ordered Chicken Nasi Briyani, but chose different vegetables. Had a late dinner, so most of the ingredients are gone and have not much selections. The rice portion looks alot, but surprisingly, with the gravy and the Chicken sauce, i guess anyone is able to finish up everything. The secret formula comes from the sauce and chicken. The chicken is very tender and well marinated which goes very well with the rice. Needless to say, the Papadam is also one of the best. Definitely a good plate of Nasi Briyani in my opinion.

Good-Bye to my old 5 years old Unbranded Gaming Chair !

Just sold my unbranded chair that accompanied me for the past 5 years last evening ! Intend to throw it away, but tried my luck to sell it on Carousell. Managed to get some "Rag and Bone" money for it. Asked the person why did he want to buy it. He said it is for his Boss to sit on in the construction site. Wow at least my old chair still live a dignified way. Indeed it is the right time for my new replacement to deliver and assembled on-site today. Reason being why I am on leave today !

Also the same day where I hit 100 Youtube Subscribers ! Thanks to all the viewers and I will continued to be committed to post more contents both here and Youtube. Thanks

Microsoft’s Long-Awaited "Windows Movie Maker"

Source from Fossbytes & Microsoft

Back when I was in the Police Force, I was tasked to prepare event montage to showcase achievements and operations media. The only tool I had back in 2006 is Windows Movie Maker. Adobe Premiere then was also a license software so I didn't get hold of it. Windows Movie Maker was not that bad to make a simple video. 

Fast Forward to 2022. Here comes Windows 11's very own video editor called "Clipchamp". Of course this is target at regular users and not professional users just like me 16 years ago. Microsoft acquired the company that produced this last year. I mean, it is always useful that Microsoft should provide useful tools to be included in the Operating System. As a Adobe Premiere Pro user, the paid video editor is definitely top notch in creating powerful videos. Let's hope Clipchamp will be successful for Microsoft Windows 11.

AmateurCraft x C&C Red Alert Remastered Content

Red Alert 1 Remastered was released on 5th June 2020 which remastered the original Red Alert 1 in 1996. As i preordered my first copy of Red Alert 1 Remastered on the launch day, I had been playing skirmish battles in the Red Alert 1 Remastered. Now I will be spending my time playing and fulfill all the main story mission of both Allied and Soviet team. I will be posting Red Alert Remastered Video contents on my Youtube Channel, so do feel free to view it from AmateurCraft Youtube Channel. The very first video is launched late last night. Basically will be focusing on the main story missions. If you had not gotten this game, do get it and I definitely recommend it.

Hup Lee Fried Bee Hoon @ Chong Pang City

Certainly one of the best economical bee hoon and fried noodles store, Hup Lee Fried Bee hoon. Usually I will head to Chong Pang on sunday as there is a direct and special bus service from my home to this place in the morning. Judging from my appetite at whacking economical cai fan like my MBS Cai Fan experience, i tend to order a bigger portion from our stores. So even at Hup Lee Fried Bee hoon, i ordered Taiwan Sausage, Chicken Drumstick, Luncheon Meat and Egg at SGD$7.10 and my local Kopi O Kosong. The bee hoon or fried mee often had many beansprout in it. They are able to exclude Tau Gey (Beansprout) for you. The food there is good. The bad point is the long queue. 😠

Finalized my long-term Ergonomic Chair !

Seems that my decision had changed 360 degrees to this piece of furniture. Had shortlisted my decision apart from my previous decision. 😎 Decided to go with this as it is the most Ergonomic and had the most valued sense to go with this. I just need a chair that could last me for the next 6 to 8 years time before I dispose it. $428 falls to $398. $398 deducted with Atome form of payment to reduce $25 to $373. Take an average lifespan of 7 years, $373 / 84 months = $4.44 per month seems to be a good deal. Hoping to improve my sitting position to prevent less pain or damage to my lower back, upper back and my neck. Definitely will post the review for some time in a few months time.

[010-160] Aiming to get 010-160 certified by End November 2022

As the title goes, I am currently preparing materials and notes for 010-160. Had done a few exam papers with no experiences and is hovering around 37% to 59% scoring. Exam mode is 40 questions with 60 minutes. My target is to get around 70% to 85% correctly in the exam practice papers. Currently the exam fee in my country is USD$120 per attempt. After evaluating for quite some time and find that this course is another key to multiple doors. One shitty fact is in Singapore, the price is higher than most other countries. 😑 Nothing to say. Well, just have to pass it the first time. 

What i like about this course is that there is really good and free learning material. I printed this 434 pages + my purchased Jason Dion's course materials about 40 pages to combine and bind it. With AWS from Amazon and Azure Cloud from Microsoft, there is also no escape from Linux as well. Although this is not the first time i touched Linux, I actually played around Red Hat Linux since 2005, Raspbian in 2017 to 2018 and Ubuntu from 2019 till now. Its time to get one second hand desktop soon for my lab work in May 2022. Meanwhile I am working on the theory part. Still pushing myself to the limit. Well you can see that I purposely siam to post this on 2nd April 2022 instead of 01 April 2022 or else people will say I do April Fool joke 😩

Happy April's Fool Day !

We are fools the entire year, so let's celebrate this foolish day. Happy April Fool's Day to all ! Don't let a fool "fool" you today, because that will make you a fool. Its also TGIF today so try to fool as much fools as possible 🤡. Thanks for reading. Remember to click on the AmateurCraft Magic 4D Number on the 5th click and buy the 4D number. Wish you all the luck ! But don't blame me if never tio hor !