Singapore Bao @ Bendemeer Food Centre

After reading how great this Singapore Bao stall open and usually sold out before 10am or even before 9am, I felt that I had to make my trip down very early at 6.45am. They opened from 7am to 10am or sold out. Located at Bendemeer Food Centre, they only have two items on their menu, namely Siew Mai and Glutinous Rice (Lo Mai Gai). Not sure why their stall is called Singapore Bao, i was expecting some Bao to be available 😆When I reached there at 6.50am, the queue had already formed and it is long about 12 to 15 people in front of me. So after trying, I felt that their Siew Mai is definitely better than most of the standard kopitiam settings where they have their Siew Mai steamed inside their steamer for X amount of hours. For the Glutinous Rice, I got to give special mention for the mushroom inside. Not sure why, the mushroom is in fact the best mushroom i ever eaten 😅, rest of the Lo Mai Gai is quite normal. But of course it is decent and worth having it for breakfast ! Do try it as the aunty operated as a One Man Show.

Ah Ma Chi Mian 阿嬤吃麵 @ Waterway Point

Apparently I was in the area of Punggol Waterway Point while dealing with some business matter in the area. I am finding a Food Court in the mall and noticed that the queue was quite long at Ah Ma Chi Mian 阿嬤吃麵. So i decided to give it a try and joined the long queue as well. As i saw the customer in front me order similar to this, but the noodle is little. So I ordered the MeatBall Noodles and added additional portion of noodle as shown above. As i preferred Mee Kia, so I got this. Price of the soup with noodles ranges from $5 - $7. The noodles were ok. The soup is not bad, but the meatballs were handmade well ! Not sure whether it is handmade, but it seems handmade to me and the meatballs were flavorful. So it really deserved for anyone to try their dishes !

Mi Box S Review

I bought this Mi Box S on February 2020. For the past two years, i didn't managed to get this box working for the casting from phone to this box. Anyway, I used this Mi Box S heavily when Singapore underwent Circuit Breaker Lockdown during April 2020. What I found it useful which is also very general was the Youtube and USB media playback. Over those months, I had been downloading Korean Dramas and watching them over my USB stick for over 8 hours each day for almost 3 months non-stop. Till Date, this box is still working very well and had not given much problems. There are many other features like Google Playstore, Netflix and other generic application in the box. At this point of writing, this box is still selling well in the local eStores. However, i don't really use much lately and in fact most of the things it can do, a typical PC or laptop can do it. Hence I sold it off. So this is just to set your expectation if you ever want to consider buying this box. It had been in the market for quite some time and many carousell buyers still contact me when I am selling it.

Nestle Kit Kat Ice Cream

Bought this from my local supermarket for $10.20. Each box contain 4 sticks of ice cream. Size is decent and not like those mini type. So average a stick costs around $2.55. So cheaper than Magnum, but of course Magnum is one of the best though 😅 So coming back to this KitKat Ice Cream, I would say for the Kit Kat lovers, this is one notch better than eating KitKat. The combination of the KitKat with Ice Cream is incredible. Not forgetting the crunchy part is more from the original KitKat biscuit within to give like a similar Almond crunch texture. So i think the price of this KitKat Ice cream is certainly worth it.

New Balance Running Shoes

OK lar, not exactly new series as I used my National Service e-mart funds to purchase a couple of shoes and kept in my store. So it is time to shine for this new pair of shoes. Appreciate such service from serving National Service in Singapore. I still have a few shoes in my store like the other New Balance Shoes and Adidas Running Shoes. Its time for me to restock newer models as I saw our Defence Minister recently wore the latest running shoes and available in our eMart stores. 

So I went to order and collected it from Khatib HomeTeam Clubhouse and got the latest New Balance Gen2 from my first gen series. I also got the latest two pairs of Asic (Black Colour), the colour sure looks great. Adidas one is from previous stock from reserves. Time to run more during my OFF-Days since I have secondary quest to fulfil this year.

NTUC FairPrice Chicken Flavoured Crackers

If i am not wrong, this FairPrice snack costs only $1. This snack is similar to another snack which I couldn't remember. However, what i want to say is for this $1. FairPrice Chicken Flavoured Crackers really have good portion and taste. When i opened up, i was shocked at the portion. The next thing that shocked me was that I did not expect this to be quite good. The taste and amount of salt is there. Not bad, worth buying.

Airpod Pro Review after a year

Again, the real Nintendo Switch is just for aesthetic purposes. What I want to talk about is how I felt after using Apple Airpod Pro for over a year. For the enclosure or cover or skin, whichever terms some of you uses, I bought this from Shopee, Its good, but i don't like that it always drop off easily while placing it inside my backpack. Ok now onto the main topic. At this point of writing, my Airpod Pro is still retailing at $379. Initially, I am not a fan of its earphone. But what made me bought it is because i wanted to use it together with my iPhone 12 previously. Its only after I bought it and use it, I was so amazed at how good the quality of the music is and the selling point of this was the Active Noise Cancellation. The Active Noise Cancellation was so good that once you play a music, you totally couldn't listen any sounds in the environment. Battery life however is not that lasting in my opinion, probably because of the long MRT and Bus ride. Or maybe because I am truly enjoying it till I forgotten that time passes so fast while commuting. However, while reaching my destination and doing my stuffs, the airpods was technically charging in its case. So on my way home, it is able to last me for a long while. Its enough for using 2 days non-stop usage and I'll have to plug it onto my PC. $379 is a little steep, but i felt that it worth it if we uses it frequently for many years.

Thunder Tree 擂茶树 @ Chinatown Centre

Some blogger had recommended this Thunder Tree at Chinatown centre. My wife went to ordered thunder tea with some side dishes. As I am reserving my stomach for something else, we both tried this and was quite disappointed with the quality. Doesn't really taste as good as what the blogger said. End up, I became the rubbish bin to help swallow up in order not to waste food. 😒

Takagi Ramen - Drop By to get a drink only :D

Ok I am not here to eat, just drop by early in the morning for some matters. As most bubble tea shop not opened yet. I chanced upon Takagi Ramen which is a 24 hours chain located at Chong Pang. So i definitely will revisit one day at Takagi Ramen and probably coming for supper around 1am. Need to plan haha.

So we got the Taro Milk and Shio Collagen Milk both at around $7.80. Not the best, but it is decent. As their strength is probably from the Ramen and food, having these drink choices are not bad. Will be back one day to review its Ramen soon.

New Washing Machine replacement before the CNY 2022

Throwback to my new washing machine that we managed to replace before CNY as our old washing machine had broken down here.

Decided to get a smaller and cheaper model since it is going to last till we moved to a new house based on my Housing MasterPlan which is work in progress on the right column under AmateurCraft exclusive contents. 

As we were using the top loader previously, we are going to try front loader this time round. So as to compare which provides a better experience as we intend to get a new one when we moved over to the new place. So far, the overall experience had been a pleasant one and only time can tell if it is going to last. Front loader saves more water than Top loader, but probably also because my previous washing machine is 16KG as compared to the current 7KG one.

百年酿豆腐 ( Bai Nian Yong Tau Foo)

I had eaten this Bai Nian Yong Tau Foo so many years now. Earlier years when I was still working at Chai Chee during 2017 to 2018, I always eat this for lunch. As of now, there were so many outlets across Singapore. So I think it is time I start to write something about it. As above, I ate this at a local kopitiam at Bishan near to the MRT or to be exact, it is located across Bishan Public Library. They had a fixed amount of ingredients in this bowl where you can also add more ingredient at a cost. The only thing is free and you can add is the bee hoon and the soup. The uncle kept telling me extra bee hoon no cost, so i say ok just add more 😆, then he also said to come back for the soup refill which I didn't as it is more than enough as they typically fill your bowl to the brim. Currently it is priced at $5.90 a bowl. I also live the different and quite standard yong tau foo ingredients. So far, the quantity and quality met my expectation and I think many older folks can be seen ordering their food here.

[Nintendo Switch] Better way to save and get your Nintendo Switch Online Membership

Source

Regardless of whether you getting the Nintendo Switch Online standalone or with the Expansion Pack, the concept is the same. Typically, if you are getting the Nintendo Switch Online Individual membership for yourself at USD$19.99 for a year, it is going to cost you SGD$30. 

For the Nintendo Switch Online Family membership, it is USD$34.99 for a year and SGD$52.50 a year for singapore gamers. One Nintendo Switch Online Family Membership can shared up to 8 players. Hence, if all players were to shared with each other, each player will only have to folk out SGD$6.60 or USD$4.40 per year. Definitely this is a much cost effective way.

Of course the next question is, who is going to share the cost with you? In fact, you can do it yourself by posting online or using Carousel to search for other players that are willing to share with you. There are risk though, but so far I had been doing this method for the past two years and save lots of money while being able to stay online gaming on Nintendo Online platform. If you do not want to be the host, you can simply find someone who is sharing his family slot, at a higher price but still relatively cheaper than the Individual membership at a whopping SGD$30.

Shine Muscat Grapes

Shine Muscat grapes are a variety of seedless green grapes first developed in Japan, boasting high sugar content. They are more expensive than conventional grapes. As demand for the grapes is soaring, their cultivation is also increasing.

It is expensive, but this is definitely a lot more better in taste than the normal grapes in local supermarket. The grapes here is still among the cheapest grade of the premium Shine Muscat grapes. The highest grade of Shine Muscat grapes can goes up to be USD$60 per bunch of grape. The one I am trying is still available in our local supermarket. You definitely won't regret eating it.

New KFC Golden Cheesy Crunch & KFC Chicken Skin

Mmm 😞 Tried their new KFC Golden Cheesy Crunch, unfortunately it is way too cheesy. Okay lar, cannot fault KFC, maybe there is really true blue cheese lover who will love this. Certainly not to my liking and I still preferred their Original and Crispy Chicken.

On the other hand, I love their chicken skins ! Its even more addictive than eating french fries or chicken meat. Just have to combine these with Mayo or Chilli Sauce and I think i can eat a couple boxes of them. Hope KFC can make this as a permanent menu ! 

Starbucks Toffee Nut Latte [Limited Edition]

Tried this Toffee Nut Latte as it is limited edition apart from the permanent boxes. I usually goes with Americano for a quick caffeine boost if I am rushing for work. Otherwise, i will be using another machine to grind my coffee beans and brew it from my expresso machine. So for using the above machine, I really save lots of time to enjoy "fastfood" type of quality coffee. However back to this Toffee Nut Latte, yeah I did taste abit of toffee nut, but somehow the overall taste is quite mild. So if you want to try, suggest just get one box and not stock up so much of this.

COLLIN'S Western Food @ Northpoint

Tried this Western Food Chain twice on dining and another two times on GrabFood Delivery. Personally I think Collin's is very popular especially during last year christmas and new year eve, or rather during the holidays. The closest that I can compare this is with Jack's Place, Swensen and Astons. Typically, they are the mid-range western in terms of price. But most of the time, they often have offers or discounts for their menu.

So we ordered a set each and was served with Mushroom Soup, selected choices of drink and our main course. We had the Chicken Cutlet and Seafood, i think squid and fish. I love how much sauces and fries they served together with the main and the standard is better than the three other places than i mentioned above. Its better to dine there than ordering takeaways or delivery as fried food is best to be consumed when they are hot.

How to drink your 3 in 1 Coffee in a correct way !

 

Extracted from CNA Insider - Source.

Definitely a good learning point of how you can make your proper coffee with just 3 in 1 Coffee in your cup anywhere ;D Some learning points on Specialty Coffee vs 3 in 1 Coffee. 

Xin Yuan Ji - 新源记鱼头炉 @ 31 Tan Quee Lan Street

 
After a late night work at Bugis, had a craving for fish soup and went to Xin Yuan Ji - 新源记鱼头炉 for their Fish Soup. I ordered the Mixed Fish Soup with thick bee hoon ($9.80) and my wife ordered the Fried Fish Soup with thick bee hoon ($6.80) and also got the prawn fish cake ($7.80) i think should be this amount which is from a separate menu.

Let me start with the not so good part. The Prawn fish cake is ok. Normal taste that goes ok with the Chilli. The Fish soup were the main highlights. My wife's Fried Fish Soup was good. My mixed Fish Soup was very good. Normally when you ordered mixed fish soup, they probably reduced and give you equal number of fishes. But for this mixed soup which is $9.80, they did not shortchange you and actually gave you more fishes as it is a bigger bowl as compared with the normal $6.80 ones. Hence definitely recommend anyone to try the dishes here. One more point to add, the queue is always long and we actually queued for about 35 minutes to get into the restaurant.

Tsui Wah @ The Heeren

I first went to Tsui Wah first outlet at Clarke Quay back in 2018.  Tried their Milk Tea and didn't like it before. 4 years later in 2022, I am finally back for another try at their "The Heeren" outlet for afternoon Tea. 

So far their Milk Tea had improved since then, but would still preferred to be better as compared to the Milk Tea I drank during my vacation at Hong Kong. For the french toast bites which is served with Vanilla Ice-Cream, it is not bad. They also given you a small saucer with Condensed Milk for you to dip the French Toast in. 

Lastly, my wife tried the Red Bean and Green Ice-Cream Float. It was ok. But i tried the ice-cream, fortunately it was not bad. Overall damage is $22.95 for these items.

Sushi Express Take-Out @ Woodlands

Got this at Sushi Express Take-Out or I think they name it as Sushi Take-Out. So it is basically a Sushi Express Outlet that offers take out only. I think this is probably the best valued and OK quality of Salmon Duo Bento. For 10 pieces of Salmon Sushi at $5, it is around 50 cents a piece of Salmon Sushi. I recalled when dining in at Sushi Express, two pieces a plate is priced at $1.50 without GST and service charge. For the takeaway, I think it is much cheaper without paying extra GST (probably they absorbed into the cost) and service charge. Quality wise, it goes very well with the given wasabi and soy sauce. A great choice as my dinner for the day.

King’s Cart Coffee @ Bishan Public Library

The newly opened King's Cart Coffee is located in Bishan Public Library. They had an outlet at Joo Chiat. They focus on coffee-centric food, bakes and desserts. I personally ordered and tried their Coconut Latte [Hot] which have espresso, Gula Melaka, Coconut Cream, Milk and toasted coconut flakes. Not sure whether the cup was already filled with Espresso, but were given a shot of it. The Latte Art was well done and it is a good cup of Coconut Latte. However it is abit pricey. Do give it a try there.

HEYTEA Natural Coconut Mango & Golden Osmanthus Oolong Cheezo

Not sure whats the hype for HeyTea as we noticed that there is always long queue here at Orchard Central whenever we were in the area. Decided to drop by to try two different drinks - Natural Coconut Mango and Golden Osmanthus Oolong Cheezo. Drinks was ok. Perhaps I set the standard too low. 😅 In fact it is all right, not too great but it meets the bubble tea norm standard. Natural Coconut Mango have a more creamy texture with clunks of real mango and Golden Osmanthus Oolong Cheezo is actually not bad as a thirst-quenching drink. Abit too pricey and highly due to the materials used for the cup and maybe their own branding packaging.

Original Jalan Kayu Roti Prata

 Not very crowded when I came here in the late afternoon. Location is a bit out of the way where there is a long row of shophouses of shops and eateries. However they are famous for its long history of Roti Prata or one of the best supper places to visit.

So I ordered the Cheese Prata, Egg Prata and two plain Prata. So far the prata dough gave a nostalgic taste that I believed they preserved the same formula used which I am familiar during the 90s. Fish Curry is not too bad as well. Won't say it is fantastic, but is a decent prata to have for anytime.

Blizzard confirmed Warcraft is coming to mobile device in 2022.

Source from HWZ

Seriously speaking, I think I had already registered interest for Diablo Immortal in my old mobile phone to the new mobile phone and the game is still not released yet. In fact, it had been years 😆 Waited till neck also long and pain. So finally Blizzard had confirmed not the confirmed date but Mid 2022. In addition, they also wanted to release a mobile World of Warcraft game as well this year. If it is true and they actually committed to what they said, this is definitely great news for the gamers. For me, I am definitely looking forward to it and nowadays, majority or in fact everyone had a "Powerful" mobile device.

Chef Kin HK Wanton Noodle @ 632 Yishun Street 61 [Part Two]

Welcome back to my Part two of trying Chef Kin HK Wanton Noodles at the same place. However, this time i managed to get a table. If you missed out my Part one of this review, you can click here.

As you can see, I ordered the dry and soup version of the Wanton Noodles. There is no good or better version, really depends on your personal preferences. But I do like both versions of dry and soup wanton noodles. The soup is just so rich and made me thought of having this dish every supper. For $5 a bowl, both the quantity and quality were there. Difficult for me to describe every bit of every ingredient put into this bowl, but certainly is good till you would want to come back for more.

On the side dish, $4 for 5 Fried Wantons. Mmm I felt a little steep, but similarly, the quality of the wanton is there. It is operating in a coffeeshop, but totally different levels from the coffeeshop dim sum section side of fried wantons. Do try it out yourself there and the stall is expanding fast at this point of writing. Suggest to Eat there as the experience is different from the tabao version too.

Robert Kiyosaki Book - FAKE MONEY FAKE TEACHERS FAKE ASSETS

In the beginning of this year, I got my first Rich Dad Poor Dad book.

Today I got his second book to better manage my finances. If you are living by your paycheck till retirement age or even can't retire till death, it just mean that you are not doing enough. Always depend on multiple source of income ! Good basic book for those who did not have any financial background. 

Still very relevant for today's context. Hear what other people says about this.

CNY Day 15: Chap Goh Mei 2022

This also marked as the last day of CNY celebrations and my CNY series. Typically Chap Goh Mei is also known as Yuan Xiao Jie 元宵节, and some would also referred as Lantern Festival. Some of the things we do on this day are as follows:
1) Chinese Valentines' Day (In modern terms, it is like tinder, but without the internet.) Get to know people.
2) Eat Tang Yuan also known as glutinous rice ball filled with red bean, sesame, or peanut.
3) Reunion Dinner where family gathers together for dinner.
4) Go to the temple to pray for a good year ahead.

It is my first year to visit Sembawang God of Wealth Temple to pray for great wealth and safety. 

Also visited Loyang Tua Pek Kong to pray for safety and wealth. To live a honest life doing what I can for this year ! Happy 元宵节 to all ! As it mark the end of CNY celebration, this is the last post on my 15 days CNY series :)

CNY Day 14: Happy Valentine's Day 2022 !

Happy Valentine's Day to all who celebrate this day. Basically I think regardless of singles, attached or married. There are always reasons or opportunity there to celebrate with your potential love or loved ones. For those singles, wish you take this opportunity to broaden up your circles of friends (in fact this is the toughest step). For the attached and married couples, always do something loving on this special day. 

For myself, it became a tradition where I always buy flowers for my then girlfriend to now my current wife every year. Then have a nice meal together or have a small walk is great !

CNY Day 13: Cafe Bakeaholic @ 25 Springside Green

At the point of this writing, Cafe Bakeaholic have two outlets in Singapore, the latest addition at Wheelock Place at Orchard Rd and another one is the first outlet at Springside Green which I am trying at.

Take note that the cafe don't accept credit cards, but accept many other payments. No GST (which they absorbed) and no service charge (but you need to collect the items yourself). The No Bake Cheesecake (Strawberry) was the best when I tried it. Well done. The Bolo Bao, my wife said was not bad, but for me is quite normal. My wife goes for the Iced Hojicha Latte where I think is just ok. Iced Long Black was quite heavy which was a good thing to goes well with my cheesecake. 

Breakdown for my afternoon tea:

Iced Hojicha Latte - $7
Iced Long Black - $7
Bolo Bao (Plain) - $3.80
No Bake Cheesecake (Strawberry) - $9.50
Overall damage: $27.30

CNY Day 12: Throwback to my Reunion Dinner on 31 January 2022

Was indeed a tiring last day of Lunar New Year of Ox. Bought the Tiger Bun from Breadtalk to consume my "Lunch" at around 4.45pm. Prepared one can of abalone, Pineapple Tart from Gin Thye, and two red packets for my parents. One screwed up part was I forgotten about the Oranges due to the rush. Well can't blame anyone but myself anyways. 

This Year, my parents got the Whole Roasted Pig from this place. Well i have the picture for the real thing, but kinda felt sorry for it also. Kinda pitiful. 😖 But these are expensive stuff when ordering it from the local restaurants. So buying from here is much cheaper.

My brother brought the Lou Hei Yu Sheng from the local Don Don Donki. The salmon and the rest of the ingredients were great ! My dad had cooked many CNY dishes as usual. This somehow sums up the Reunion Dinner. Its more of eating and meeting up with Families.

CNY Day 11: Huat AH ! Biggest Draw of this year 2022 Toto

Image Credit from Singapore Pools

All right, it is indeed the biggest draw of the year 2022 with rewards up to $12 Million. As I always said, this is one of the opportunity where anyone have the chance to become a Millionaire overnight. At the point of posting, today is the last day to get a ticket chance to Financial Freedom*. Today is the last day to get your tickets. 

For sure, my feeling if I get the $12 Million myself. I will donate some amount to charity, share with family, quit my job, place my money in safe investments and open a business as well as expand AmateurCraft. I hope my dream can come true this 2022. 🙏🙏🙏 

* If you really have the discipline of constant investing in safe investment and living with the wealth interest.

As the previous banner was taken before 08 Feb 2022, Hong Bao Draw had just upgraded to $16 Million after the draw from 07 Feb 2022, nobody won the 1st group, hence snowballed. :O Holy Cow ! Gotta spent a little more this time. HUAT AHH !!

As of 12pm, whats even more powerful this time round. Boss gave us a red packet at the right time. Tonight how can $16million not be mine?

LOL ! As of 8.41PM, Singapore Pool Account crashed and unable to place bets now :/

As of 12AM, FUCK ! Got nothing out of this. Back to the conventional way of making money now :/

CNY Day 10: Keong Saik Bakery

Keong Saik Bakery is best known for its Burnt Cheesecake. If you are a cheesecake lovers, do visit and try their well known Burnt Cheesecake. There were many takeaways and deliveries when we visited this place. Besides Burnt Cheesecakes, they have many different pastries and even an all-day breakfast menu. But do take note that during weekends, they does not really allow people to dine there and only serves takeways.

I got myself a Sausage Muffin with Egg. My wife got the Bak Kwa Bun. I also got their English Muffin to prepare for SPAM Burger at home for the next day. They do heat it up for you to eat it straightaway. The quality is there, except it is a little pricey though.