SpringLeaf Prata Place at SpringLeaf

Yeah, had been to SpringLeaf Prata Place at SpringLeaf itself and Ulu Pandan area for a couple of times. So just a review for 2025 at SpringLeaf nearby my place in the morning. They were awarded Michelin for their prata. Their prata is different from the normal heartland prata shops. They are a lot more crispy and the various curry sauces, you can take it yourself and refill as many times as you can eat. Prata is a little more pricier, but it is still affordable. They do have unique award winning dishes on their menu and does indicate the winning year for specific dish. I headed there at opening hours to avoid the crowd. But overall i do like their egg prata and fish curry, which is my standard choices. My wife don't really like it and preferred the Casuarina Curry one.

Fullerton SGD Liquidity Fund

Had started to allocate some spare funds to Fullerton SGD Liquidity Fund in this time of unexpected crazy trade wars. As I am residing in Singapore, it is best to invest in Class A fundings as it is safe to do so and to be able to liquid out the cash flow if required for other better investment vehicles. Typically this is recommended for individuals who is looking for low-risk investment to park their excess cash with flexibility of quick access. Of course, I also invested in many other Money Market funds as it is one of low-risk investment with a little bit more interest compared to Risk-Free Bank Fixed Deposits which are giving out very low interest nowadays.

Twenty-Six Gusto House Western at Bukit Canberra Hawker Center

This new western stall at Bukit Canberra Hawker Center offers decent portion western cuisine. What I want to highlight that I am able to utilize my Blue Chas Card as one of the lowest household income tier to enjoy special discounts on local food. Especially in Bukit Canberra, many stores does provide Blue Chas Card holder extra 10% OFF their selected items. Yeah not all items are eligible with the discount, only selected items, so better ask the store first before paying. The chicken cutlet looks big, but in fact is very thin, quite a lot of flour though, but still is good.

Migrating Main Line From Starhub to M1 MAXX

Yeah yeah i know what most people is saying. I had already pilot test with M1 MAXX, Circles.Life, TPG, Simba, Singtel on my second line. So i know what are the pros and cons. I also hate slow connections. But the flexiblity of M1 Maxx had top my purpose as both Singapore and Malaysia is decent, while the attraction is the cost. With the most recent 1 year of usage of M1 Maxx so far, i enjoy my use in both countries. Furthermore now they have international roaming as well to other faraway countries. As a user of Starhub for the past 20+ years, i finally decided to move away from Starhub as they did not really provided me with much benefit. I admit the 5G is solid but only can be used in Singapore and its quite costly. So i will be starting to move my main line to M1 Maxx with only $12 per month and provided really lot of written specifications. Of course the real test i am aware and had to lower my expectation. Soon my Fiber Broadband is also due for recontract with Starhub, i am also currently looking around.

SeikoXRolex Datejust 40mm Black Diamond

Haha that is why in 2025, Seiko Mod owns the Luxury market ! The quality of the materials resembles the Rolex housing but only exception is the well rounded Seiko movement. In this Rolex Datejust Black Diamond 40mm mod, is using the Seiko NH35 movement which provides accurate and good power reserve. With the current Rolex Datejust Black Diamond 31mm version is costing SGD$17,900. Mine is 40mm version with transparent case back to see the original movement. It brings the exact same aura while wearing it with no worries of carelessness. But this allow you to experience whether getting the Rolex Datejust or not. After wearing for a month, i think it worth every penny.

Hai Di Lao Experience in JB

Not the first time having Hai Di Lao in Malaysia and Singapore, but i felt that Hai Di Lao in JB is so much more affordable. Came here to eat while doing some important work. Also to celebrate Mother's Day for my wife. There are many food choices, but it my first time placing my daughter in the Hai Di Lao nursery where actual preschool teacher were employed there to take care for diner's kids. 😄 Well service is really top notch here as compared to Singapore which i will rate as 8/10, but the personal staff assigned to my table is kinda careless. She even dropped the phone stand into our soup, which shr apologised countless times and offered to replace the soup but we didn't mind lah. But the little hai di lao apron looks pretty, which she given a few to us since we like it. As my wife got the membership with them as well, i think we might increase the frequency to come here.

Fuiyoh! It's Uncle Roger at Mid Valley JB

Finally got a chance to try Uncle Roger's Fried Rice after they opened a branch near to Singapore. There were many mixed reviews when people actually tried at KL. So i came to try like 1 or 2 weeks after their grand opening here at Mid Valley JB. First of all, the restaurant isn't really big. He actually put "Best Fried Rice in Town" labelling at the cup. I tried the iced white coffee which simply like ice cold 3 in 1 white coffee. Then the "Uncle Roger's Favourite" is actually some known brand's ice lemon tea. 😅 So comes the Egg Fried Rice and Fried Noodles which we can add extra ingredients. I added the salmon and chicken sausage. Its really normal, or rather the whole fried rice is normal. But is hot, not like some feedback in the past. The fried noodle isn't cut out and went like 3/10. So fried rice, i gave a 5/10. Total damage is RM100. 😅

Kimdo BBQ at City Square

Wow, i am surprised that after eating Kimdo BBQ located at City Square Mall for so many years since 2015. So its 10 years now and they are able to survive through the Covid19 crisis. Quality wise, still the same taste and consistency. Price did went up abit, but still acceptable. Really enjoy the green chilli sauce so much together with their chicken wings. Hope to be able to enjoy for a longer time to come. Beside it, Chun Yang is relatively new and we always able to meet the weekday and within the correct timeframe to tabao our buy 2 get 1 free deal worth of chinese tea based Milk Tea + several other options. SGD10 for three cups of premium tea is well worth it. 😃

Mala Xiang Guo at Food Paradise Canberra Crescent

Had this for the second time downstairs my block and chose the cheaper option with 1 bowl of rice. I think it costs $20.60. There's another option with seabass but more costly. They also have many other dishes which is quite nice as well. Fish meat is good portion for 2 and it remains hot throughout even after we finished the fish. What i am not happy this time is the damn can of Oolong Tea. $2 is seriously last warning for a residental estate and not even in City Center ! Won't be getting any drinks from them in future.

New NTUC Finest at my usual hangout, Sembawang Shopping Center

Came to Sembawang Shopping Center again since the new NTUC Finest is opened and they have a rather bigger than usual Food Court with a good number of stores. I went through the groceries' section and got to say that it is rather small, but serve good enough of groceries. But the main highlight was the store running at full capacity with a grocer bar, Steamboat store, several food court stalls, sushi and raw meat and seafood section. The part is i can use my FairPrice+ App to reduce all food court's price further. Will increase the frequency to visit here more often as it is a 20 mins walk from my place.

Collecting back my JDM Seiko watch from Overhaul Servicing

Collected my JDM Seiko Diver watch from Tiong Sia, Singapore Seiko Service Center. Some of the parts were changed according to the overhaul servicing report and paid $109, for the entire servicing. My watch had been with them for 1 month+. The moment i wear them, the feeling is so strange. Strange that it became very loose and i had tried to remove all the removable links to max. So since i'm still with tiong sia, got them to remove the unremovable links and now it is perfect size. But the original strap made me felt like a toy watch. Asked them whether did they change the strap, they said didn't which is expected because i saw the original and familiar worn off strap. Hence it is not that it is changed, the problem is with me. After wearing my Omega Seamaster 300 and Rolex Datejust Black Diamond 41mm almost 1.5 months, the weight of the watch had deeply rooted to my wrist and brain. I still love my Seiko JDM watch as it went through sweat and blood with me for so many years and attained it from Hokkaido, Japan. It felt really light till i felt that there is nothing on my wrist. 1 year warranty with Tiong Sia and see how many more decades to go !

Netflix raise subscription again for Singapore Subscribers

Thats the thing i am trying to say. When i am talking about cost of living going up, this is one example that companies tends to increase price time to time again. I'm personally not a Netflix subscriber nor fan, but i felt sad people actually is paying more and more. Of course this is not bread and butter item, but i am certainly not very against the GST increase as i am seeing some returns, but food and butter items are certainly able to increase price that is separate from the GST increase. This is the worrying part.

Townsville Primary School Part 2

I am really so happy for this piece of news. Let's make Sembawang Central - East Canberra the North side one of the best side ! Many schools are getting older and still trying to keep up with modern times. I do hope that the new Townsville Primary school will become a model school for many years to come. My MP OYK had said it, i do hope no more changes and the school can take in its first batch of Primary 1 students in 2029. This will remain good memories for her living well in this new Canberra township ! With this, i hope it will enhance better businesses, especially my closest kopitiam !

Townsville Primary School Part 1

After Canberra Crescent MasterPlan to plan for a school in 2013 while i am actually still balloting for a new flat here, finally Townsville Primary School is confirmed to be located in front of my flat. School will be starting Primary 1 at 2029 and enrolment for Primary 1 will begin in 2028. Just in time for my daughter to enrol for her first primary 1 school. Everything is new for her and i will say, first 6 years of primary school education is extremely important !

Pumping all my loose $1 change to generate more interest !

While GE2025 had came to an end, one must adjust the strategy to generate more interest. So i digged out all my $1 coin to deposit and started some interest rate earnings. Of course these are not much, but i managed to get 630 coins to deposit and it somehow rejected about 85 coins which i tried to deposit time and time again. Hence I managed to get $630 dollars worth of $1 coins to add up to my overall SGD strategy. With the current government in charge, it is better to hold on to the SGD. Today's Coin deposit machine do not charge a fee anymore and this is a very good move that I started to deposit now instead of the past few years. Still keeping the rest of the older $1 coins so that SG100, it will be worth more than 5 times of the face value. However, i still felt the hassle of depositing coins, but finally got it done. 

New Octronz Designed and Assembled in Singapore Bikes

Spent about $422+ for one kid's bike, one flagship mountain bike for myself attached with the child's seat and kid helmet last week. So i get to visit their warehouse sale on the last day, but at their opening hours and got 3rd and 4th customer as part of the first 10 customer's purchase promotion. Delivery is free since i exceed $120. From this posting, it should be delivered to my place soon. Actually the warehouse is very close to my place, but because the items were bulky. As this brand is assembled and designed in Singapore, suspect the parts were sourced from China. But when i tested the bicycles, the quality was good. I think its a pretty good deal for its price. Back in 2009, i used to buy the Giant Yukon Disc at $550. Now this flagship mountain bike costing $239 is using lightweight aluminium 21 speed Shimano equipped. The specs is comparable with other branded competitors but at a good price. So hope it can last for a long time.

Rubber B Strap Review

First time buying Rubber B strap OEM to test it on my decade old Rolex Deepsea. Since i'm buying my own Rubber B strap, i had to remove my stainless steel Rolex strap and replace myself. The links somehow is difficult to put into the Rubber B strap, but somehow able to. While my daughter seeing me somehow annoyed placing it in, she also want to join in the fun to do it too. Let her play awhile, but i take a breather. 😅 Then able to finally do it, but i felt that the link is kinda not that steady. Maybe shall enjoy it with care for weeks or months to come. But the high quality rubber is really comfortable to the touch, got to cut a little to fit perfectly into my wrist. Hopefully it will last long.

Power of Shopee Deals + Revolut

Shopee occasionally will release deals or rather the lunch deal between 12pm to 2pm for cheap food deals. I specially like "I Love Taimei", but buying at full price is just not me. So i usually always buy and keep the vouchers for 30days, so within this time, i can redeem if i want to eat. As a Revolut user, i also combined the virtual card to purchase from Shopee platform and the best part is, additional 2% cashback instantly of whatever i purchase from Shopee with no minimum cap. Thats the power to reduce cost further !

[Clash Of Clan] Maximum MultiTasking !

This is probably the most resources spent on speed building during the first few days after my Town Hall 16 had been completed. Spent 360 in-game Gems on the 7th Goblin builder to build additional building. Currently also upgrading critical building that cost a lot. And start spending my League Points on Builder Potions to speed up further on all 7 construction. This is necessary so that i can start another batch of 7 constructions again and then to play the game normally before all my Max Heroes and Spell Buffs is gone which lasted for 5 days after new Town Hall is completed. After these 5 days, my heroes and spell will be at the lowest level of Town Hall 16 and i will have to upgrade normally then. As for now, just push on and rush through as much upgrades as possible.

Korean FastFood Lotteria coming to Singapore !!!

Wow ! Last tried this fast food chain when i'm at Seoul, South Korea in 2015. Its been 10 years and finally they are opening their first Lotteria Outlet in Singapore by July 2025. Looking forward to support this, but to be frank, its not very good when i tried while in Seoul, but its always fresh to give them a chance in our local shore. 

[Clash of Clan] Finally TownHall 16 upgrade completed !

Finally complete upgrading my townhall from Level 15 to Level 16 ! Thanks to the speedup builder, i am able to complete all my building upgrades for Level 15 in 11 months ahead of the 2 years schedule. At the moment, i had utilized all my builders for the expensive and essential upgrades and using all resources to speed up as much as possible because of the 5 days max bonus which make it easier for me to attack bases and gather resources. To be frank, it is a lifelong dedication to progressively upgrade each and every buildings, walls and units. With the speed up builder, newer players will not understand what we experienced back in the olden days, practically had to grind resources just to upgrade one item at a slower pace. Now you don't have to train or rest heroes and can practically attack every time. The game had made it so much easier now. But my journey will still press on and probably give myself 1.5 years to complete all the relevant upgrades to go on to Town Hall 17 which is the final Town Hall as of this posting.

Last COC TownHall upgrade: https://www.amateurcraft.com/2024/06/clash-of-clan-commercing-upgrade-to.html?m=1

The "Best Variant" of durian in front of Paradigm Mall

Ordered one of their best Black Thorn Musang King here. Priced at RM68 per KG and they took one weighing at 2KG. So paid around RM 138 together with one coconut. My wife kept emphasize to them whether it is the best quality one. They simply said yes. So they opened abit for us to see. My wife said like not riped yet leh. The durian guy said that it is good and ripe already. I just went on and accept it. True enough, its not really ripe and the flesh is abit hard on the surface, but the inner flesh is ok. Even my daughter who likes durian, also rejecting it. Oh well. Boycott this store in future !

KKV | China Famous KKV in Paradigm Mall

Its a type of lifestyle store that sell almost a wide range of stuffs. From cheap plushies, stationary and to cheap china snacks and cup noodles. I can see most things were quite cheap and there are also expensive items as well. But spending ringgit here still not that guilty. KKV also coming to Singapore this month at Tiong Bahru Plaza as their first oulet in Singapore. Think still might be cheaper to get it from JB and i got to say that their shop here is big and have lots of interesting things to explore and buy.

Ta si xi Hong Kong Dim Sum Restaurant (大四喜香港点心楼)

Wah didn't expect this 大四喜香港点心楼 dim sum really not bad ! For its price, its ok as we order quite a lot for 2 adults and 1 child. They also have both outdoor and indoor dining and its quite crowded even when we went there quite early. They have no push cart, but they kept carrying large trays of different dim sum to your table and let you choose what you want to eat. As of this posting, Google ratings is at 4.0 / 5.0, hence its quite popular and I also will personally recommend anyone who love dim sum to try at this place. But better to eat indoor as outdoor have lots of flys and its very hot while having your hot and freshly done dim sum.

Address: 11, Jalan Camar 1/3, Taman Perling, 81200 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Malaysia

Hock Kee Kopi at City Square JB

This is another Malaysia Local Style Kopitiam branding. To date, there are many other similar style of cafes serving the same local delights. Hence what we can really try is its local stuffs. As we reaches very early upon their opening hours, there were much on the menu that is wasn't ready for ordering such as the mee hoon kuay, etc. So we ordered what is available and we ordered the Roti Canai with curry chicken set, Mee Siam set and Kaya Toast. The Roti Canai set actually also includes the 2 Half Boiled Eggs. Coffee and Ho Kar Sai as usual for the drinks. Despite the extremely long queues we observed for months, we decided to reserve this as our breakfast spot. However, the drinks and eggs were ok, the rest of the stuffs were not surprisingly good. So its pretty normal and i think not a place i will purposely come back for. So wondering why so many people came, or they just wanted to eat something that is value for money, thats all. 😒

New Samsung UI 7 and Android 15 upgrade

Well, i had also just done both One UI 7 and Android 15 upgrade from One UI 6 and Android 14 respectively from my Samsung Fold 5 and Samsung S24 Ultra. I got to say that this upgrade does show quite a number of changes quite clear especially all the android 15 icons and size of the icons. So far, i'm on my day 4 from this update, but i'm actually experiencing worsen battery life more for my Samsung Fold 5 than my Samsung S24 Ultra. At this moment, i am still trying to get used to the usable interface. But overall, i felt refreshing like having a new phone experience. Guess only time can tell whether it is better or worst.

[General Election 2025] Outcome after General Elections 2025

For where i'm staying in as part of Sembawang GRC and Ong Ye Kung is my direct MP for Sembawang Central in Canberra Crescent, i am glad that my vote had encompassed PAP to win 2/3 of the overall results. As a resident, i know who is working hard in my place. NSP is probably the worst where i didn't even see them before and during the GE. SDA doesn't really provide a good plan in Sembawang GRC, but at least i saw them once during the GE. In order for my child to benefit in this neighbourhood, i supported OYK and hope he can make Sembawang GRC an even better place than the rest of Singapore. This place is unique and is very close to Malaysia borders. With the new infrastructure coming, it is even easier to travel across the border. According to my prediction in the last few posts, i was 97% correct, except that West Coast-Jurong West GRC is kind of unexpected. I wished WP could win Jalan Kayu SMC, Tampines GRC and Punggol GRC, but expected it as well, since there are many new citizens at these areas. Well, time to push forward Plan A.

New Kinokuniya at Raffles City

I love to visit Kinokuniya and used to had 3 years membership to buy my usual IT Textbooks. However, today they started to shrink down their main store and closed down some of their stores to date. But now, they are opening another store over at Raffles City Shopping Mall and i look forward to it. Before it open, i also visited Tsutaya Book Store at Aeon Tebrau which opened November 2024 not long ago. They also carried lots of Japanese products and books with a mix of international and local books as well. So it is eye opening over at Tsutaya Bookstore as they also sell unique japanese products and i was surprised that they even sell the dismantled set of the first Nintendo Handheld, GameBoy ! I think it is a good place to visit and take a look around.

[General Election 2025] Actual Voting Day

As a Singaporean, a true blue one who completed more than 10 years of National Service, i will need to do my best to vote in the right person to work for Singaporeans. Remember to bring your NRIC and poll card along. Make sure you cross the party that you voted for.  Let's vote for the right party and enjoy the process. 😊

[Michelin] Kwan Kee Store

Its cooling day for Singapore General Election today, so will not talk about GE2025. Ran across this interesting Michelin awarded store at Aeon Tebrau. Actually they are located at many places in Malaysia. However, they did not get the award in 2025 though. Tried their signature rice bowl cake and sticky rice, it is well made. But i think this kind of traditional snack cater more to the older generation. Hence i think it does not really preferred with the younger folks. I'm kinda in the middle, so i find it still ok.

[General Election 2025] My Personal Prediction !

First of all, happy labour day to all fellow Singaporeans ! This is probably my last post on the general election since tomorrow will be the cooling day before the voting process to take place. Hence my personal prediction as follows:

PAP - Ang Mo Kio, East Coast, Jurong East-Bukit Batok, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, Nee Soon, Sembawang, Tampines, Tanjong Pagar, Bukit Gombak, Bukit Panjang, Jalan Kayu, Jurong Central, Kebun Baru, Marymount, Mountbatten, Pioneer, Potong Pasir, Bishan-Toa Payoh, Choa Chu Kang, Holland-Bukit Timah, Jalan Besar, Marsiling-Yew Tee, Pasir Ris-Changi, Punggol, Queenstown, Radin Mas, Sembawang West, Tampines Changkat, Yio Chu Kang

WP - Aljunied, Hougang, SengKang

PSP - West Coast-Jurong West

Of course, this is not what i wanted, but have to base on the reality, news and statistics, so above is my predictions for General Elections 2025. Happy voting 😁

[General Election 2025] Real Wages grew by 5.8% at the 20th percentile?!

This type of article and Manpower Minister which is angry for us to see. As a Blue Chas Card holder, i am in the low income group and i certainly do not see increment as high as 5.68% at all. I don't dare whether it is the average or median, but this is certainly not good progress at all seeing that cost of living is a real issue and its rising even higher at a faster rate. As a singaporean who sacrifice 2 decades of my life for NS, only to get low salary even when we undergo training and upgrade. These certifications and degrees doesn't guranteed anything. Hence we really need the true people who fight for Singaporeans to go into parliament.

[General Election 2025] Sembawang GRC

Staying under Sembawang Central which is also called the new Canberra Neighbourhood, this zone had been taken care directly under Ong Ye Kung's ward. As i am the first batch of residents who moved into the new town during 2016, Ong Ye Kung had been working to improve Canberra New Town. Bus services, free shuttle service as well as MRT had been created from scratch which i had witnessed the overall transformation. Hence nobody else who stayed outside of Sembawang Central will understand what he has done for the community. During this period of staying here, he also underwent three different ministries, Education, Transport and now Health Minister. So over each portfolio, he also help enhance in each of its way to the community. As a health minister, he ensured Canberra had a polyclinic and activeSG gyms and facilities, there is in Bukit Canberra. As a transport minister, he now also oversee the RTS link between Singapore to JB in Sembawang GRC. As education minister, he created many preschool and even planned for schools behind my block. Hence quite obvious who i will vote for. 😄

[General Election 2025] Let's hope for WP to win Punggol GRC !

As the title goes, i hope that Workers' Party to win Punggol GRC ! During our conversation, they do asked where do we stay at. Although i stay in Sembawang GRC, but i wished them success for getting into parliament ! It is really the best combination of next gen leaders to help true blue Singaporeans ! He also mentioned to me that daughter is special to me and also talk about his 3 sons and 1 daughter. Harpreet Singh is definitely one of my role model. Read more here.

Nestle Omega Plus Adult Milk Powder

Regardless of Special Discount in Singapore or not, groceries in Malaysia remains a fact that it is still much affordable there as compared to Singapore. Of course, the perspective here is still thanks to the strong SGD, hence we can purchase cheaper groceries in Malaysia for consumption. But imagine Malaysians who taking regular salary in Malaysia, buying the milk powder is still expensive. As i still stayed in Singapore, i am certainly saving a lot buying in Malaysia than in Singapore. Although the content packaging in quantity of 1.1KG and 1.2KG respectively, it is relatively cheaper in the unit price.

Snipping Tool Upgrade !! | Text Extractor

Probably one of the "most used" function in Windows 10 and Windows 11 in my life. Before Windows 10, i used to hit CTRL Print and get the screenshot from MS Paint. But fast forward to Windows 10 onwards, Snipping Tool was probably one of the best tool to get quick and targetted screenshot to go into your Office applications or as an image. Although there are many AI tools to extract text from images, but thats 3rd Party to use in Windows. I'm still very much comfortable to use Microsoft Products in Microsoft Windows which is built in for their operating system. Hence the snipping tool finally going to get an upgrade with Text Extractor tool. This is going to be very useful when extracting important text from image for your report or documentation.

Accumulating SGD-RMB at its peak during trade war

As of current, SGD is able to change higher RMB or probably the highest point as of the past 5 years historical charts at SGD$1 to RMB5.6yuan. Judging from the current trade war, i think it might go up further, hence to exchange more in the coming weeks. Of course this is to prepare for my first upcoming China trip in the last quarter of 2025. Yeah i know China are mainly using Cashless transaction, but it is still safer to set aside some cash alongside a couple of my TNG, Youtrip, Alipay and wechat account. The more important thing is to have a solid data plan so that transactions can be dealt with smoothly.

YouTrip officially launch Malaysia Ringgit Wallet !

As an existing youtrip user, i still store more than 55k Japanese yen exchanged at a higher rate years ago. With Malaysia Ringgit Wallet effective today, this is another great alternative to store ringgit for fast rate exchange and usage. But i don't really benefit much since i am already holding several Malaysia based bank cards and TNG Visa Cards which also serve the same purpose. Now what i'm truly waiting is for YouTrip to launch its China RMB Wallet and that will be the perfect outcome ! But with this move, it does attract many Singaporeans who can consider this as one of the option to hold cash for Ringgit.

Chicken Cutlet Chilli Ban Mian [Malaysia Boleh @ AMK Hub]

Wah get the Chicken Cutlet Chilli Ban Mian Dry Version at Malaysia Boleh at AMK Hub for my dinner. It was not bad as ingredients are adequate, but for SGD$8 can be quite expensive actually. Unfortunately, this is quite the norms nowadays. Imagine having breakfast at $6, lunch at $7 and dinner at $8. Just on daily meal will cost $21 !!! Wonder how to survive, sigh...

Different McDonald in SG have different prices 🫨

I rarely goes to CBD or even Labrador area. So just happened to come here for some demo and went to the nearest Mcdonald at Alexandra Retail Centre to have some coffee. I was always sensitive to the price when Mcdonald actually raised their food prices. As compared to Canberra Plaza or Bugis which i always visit, the price at ARC is crazy ! One typical sausage wrap meal costs SGD$7.40 where i always ordered like on the lower $6 range for the same food item. Then google AI told me that yes, different locations will have different food prices depending on the rental and utilities. So just ate the McSaver meals which is still fixed at $5. Hence, i think working and eating at the right place is important. Well, for the same item, i don't mind paying more if there is a quality difference, but sadly in this case, there is none. 🫥

Bus Service 858 From Woodlands Bus Interchange to Changi Airport

As i am heading to work somewhere in the extreme east from north, i took this chance to time how long it will take to reach from Woodlands Bus Interchange taking Bus Service 858 all the way to the extreme east of Changi Airport Terminal 3. It is a straight bus service from Woodlands moving from woodlands to Yishun and highway towards Changi Airport. What i realised is, from Woodlands to Yishun, it actually took 1 hour already. 😑 Then from Yishun towards Changi Airport will be the faster ride. So i did a mistake going to Woodlands to take this bus to the airport. Its better to take from Yishun and straight to the airport to save time. So time taken from Woodlands Bus Interchange to Changi Aiport Terminal 3 is exactly 1 hour 30 minutes on the dot. 😆 So in a way, i am late. 🫥

"Made in America" iPhone or Apple Products?

Haha, its possible, but good luck to those who is deep into Apple Ecosystem. Its seriously possible, but sales will not be very good. In today's standard, even as iPhone is made in China, India or Vietnam, costs of iPhone today is still quite expensive which most people will still buy them. But when factories start to move into america, costs are going to be more expensive and take for iPhone, its going to cost a lot. But one thing they can do is to make the iPhone even more exceptional which no other technologies can come close to iPhone ecosystem and even more advanced. People will still buy. But nowadays, china tech had been very capable and able to perform and provide better capabilities in their phone system as well with a marginable less cost or on par with the current iPhone. Good luck to USA if they really want to overcome this, then they will have to make a breakthrough.

Insta360 X4 Replacement

So after i brought it to Insta360 Service Center in Singapore to check the issue of not being able to read the microsd card, they confirmed that it might be due to a manufacturing fault. In the end, they provided me a brand new replacement as my warranty is ending in mid April 2025. However for the new camera, there will be no warranty. They offered me an option for 1 year accidental warranty for SGD$45. I think its well worth it and went to take it to protect till end of March 2026. Let's hope the camera doesn't give me any more problems as i intend to use for a longer time this time for my upcoming trips.

Casio G-Shock GD-X6900 Repair

This is another timepiece which i will keep, because it is my first birthday present from my wife bought back during our first KL trip in 2013. So it had been 12 years and finally the light is gone as the battery lasted more than 10 years. By right, 10 years is the lifecycle, but it actually exceeded the 10 years mark. Went to a local store to replace the battery after a failed attempt on the battery replacement. So costs $12 for the battery replacement + service. But as per the store staff, the water proofing will be gone for now. I actually just sold one of my other G-Shock watch. Even when i see the current Rangeman in the G Shock store, i don't see the value in it except that it is mainly used as a tool watch, thats all.

Shine Muscat | Product of Korea

Shine Muscat is a very popular type of seedless grape originated in Japan. It is extremely delicious. It is also popular in Singapore and several countries were harvesting this type of grapes and exporting to other countries. China Shine Muscat had the most budget friendly option and taste ok. Japan Shine Muscat is sweeter and tasted the best, but its expensive. So i tried something in the middle about SGD$8.95 Shine Muscat which is imported into our local supermarket from South Korea. The packaging, looks of the Shine Muscat were good. After trying it, the taste is great, but not that high in sugar content. I will recommend this. Shine Muscat Rating: 7.5/10.

Dian Xiao Er 店小二 Part 2 of 2025

Think will be going to Dian Xiao Er quite often from now on since our meal had $10 OFF. Furthermore we just purchased the membership which provided us some goodies with legit cost saving vouchers. We are happy that they actually gave us two of their rubber duckies while dining there. Still love their caramelized Char Siew which is top notch and their herbal duck which is also top notch ! This time for the herbal duck, i opt for the dang gui herb which is so much better and goes very well with the rice. The new item that we tried this time is the thunder tea rice which the portion is a lot, but think there are better thunder tea outside, hence its just 6/10 for me for the thunder tea rice.

FujiFlim Flim Camera Review

Well, Flim Camera is indeed Flim camera. Unless you want to produce a natural flim camera quality, then can go for this. Otherwise your phone camera more than good enough. Tested this Simple Ace disposable camera, pictures are not bad for a flim quality and gives the retro outcome. But its kinda expensive to replicate such softcopy. Without considering print out with additional cost which goes the same as mobile camera. The pain point is the cost of this disposable camera at about SGD$28 + developing the negative and process out the softcopy with additional cost of SGD$17+. Waiting time can take up to 1 month. Its fun, but i find it not so affordable in today's standard. So might not consider Flim anytime soon again.

Overpriced Chicken Rice with lousy quality

Its one of the worst chicken rice + roasted pork combo i ate in 2025 ! What makes it worst is the price. $10.10 for such portion and poor quality at a food court is very bad. Happened to be at Koufu Cookhouse located at Novena Square. To rate the breakdown of this chicken rice, steamed chicken is at 5/10, white at 3/10, roasted pork at 3/10 and the soup is 2/10. Guess i have to blame it myself to even order without scanning the store enough and make the judgement not to eat it, but lesson learnt. 

Overhaul Watch Servicing [Thong Sia - Seiko]

Had decided to go down and do a check. It turns out that the staff mentioned that my Seiko V157-OBTO [JDM] which i had bought from Hokkaido, Japan 6 years ago need to undergo an overhaul full servicing. This will include cleaning and replacement of movement parts and battery as well as fixing whatever water proofing issues in my watch. Costs me SGD$109 and had to be in their office or japan for the next two months. Well, what i can say is this piece of watch accompanied and provided me a lot of joy for many years. Hence i proceed to do the full servicing. In a way, i felt that this 2025 is like a year of maintenance... 🫥 But realised that i have a habit and i am always sticking to the same design for the past decade !

Touch N Go Visa Card

Finally got my TouchnGo Visa Card from the mail. Although from the ewallet option mentioned got Singapore, but seems that we are not able to have it mailed to a Singapore Address. From google, it says that there is additional cost to be sent to Singapore, but there's isn't really that option to make it sent to SG at all. So no choice have to let them sent to a Malaysia Address and we went over to collect it. But damn it is really useful and convienent to use it in Malaysia. I will probably make use of this in my next China trip too.