Sakura International Buffet @ Clementi Woods

sakura sakura 

no-yama mo sato mo 

The famous song on Japan's cherry blossoms, this well known restaurant with the same name has in fact no direct connection (whatsoever) with sakura. A distant connection is likely the japanese cuisine they served as part of an international buffet.

Buffet eating is in any Singaporeans' blood, so i heard!!! And for me, three buffets in the past month after a long hiatus!

Burp........

I HATE buffets.

True that they provide a lot of variety but that can be a disadvantage since the more the varieties, the higher the chance to mess up your taste buds! And age works in a very strange way past 25 years old; lowering appetite but a growing waistline.

That's life for you, kids!!

(you know who you are)

Without explaining too much, here's a pictorial treat (some only hor) for all of you!

Cheese-Baked Oyster; cold, a sure way to fail this item.

Mayo mussels and prawns, which were good!

Roast chicken. Not too bad if it's deboned.

Mixed Plate! I tried the teriyaki chicken and the crab shell thingy.

Fresh scallops!

Fried items!

BBQ items!!

BBQ scallops. Leave this! Save your stomach for something more palatable!

Kueh Pie Ti; okay lah

Eggs tarts, char siew pastries and some dim sum to the right. Didn't have the stomach to try these.

Teppanyak menu!!
Finally tried shishamo! Still feel guilty about it... How can i eat pregnant fishes!?!?

Soup Stuff. Ignore these when you are eating buffet!

BBQ Squid: Good!

Various Sushi; pretty trashy. Give me authentic Japanese sushi please!

Another plate of assorted sushi.

Satay!! Cooked really well with the distinctive smoky flavour. Best eaten when it's hot!

Durian Paste! Yum Yum Yum! A bit too fluid though.

Various desserts! I love the black sesame mochi!

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For roughly S$25 per pax on a weekday dinner for quite an expansive menu, it's quite worth it. Of course, you can always double that price for something better at other buffet restaurants. 

Location

Clementi Woods Park, 93A Clementi Road, Singapore 129781. For reservation, please call 6474-8197

Additional Information
Ample parking available!

For food items that require some cooking time, please use the clips available at the stations. The food will be delivered to you once it's ready.

Priceless - Change of LCD Screen for Digital Camera (Panasonic Lumix TZ15)

Let me begin with the situation a few weeks back.

"A hundred and ninety seven dollars?!?!?
I can bloody well get a new camera!!"

The above was my truthful exclaimation to the poor technician from Panasonic who called me on the status (aka repair costs) of my sick camera.

My first official camera, the Panasonic Lumix TZ15 was bought 18 months ago in the IT show. Hm... Or was it Comex or PC Show? Whatever, one of those filled with people shows either in Suntec City or Expo.

I did some over-the-surface research then and liked this model for its 10X optical zoom, its vibrant colors, its don't-need-to-think-too-much-nor-too-deep settings (via Intelligence-Auto mode), its relatively large LCD screen and the fabulous anti-shake function (i have early symptoms of Parkinson disease).

So what has happened, with the baby only 18 months old!?

= I am a really extensive user. Multiple shots were required due to my amateur photography skills. And i love taking pictures of anything (and that includes a lot of naked useless pictures)

= I don't take care of my electronic gadgets! Covers are necessary for all of them as a result of my numerous accidents and if i happen to lose the cover, too bad; it will take ages for me to buy a new one.

= The real, technical reason? The LCD screen died on me. It was initially showing shades of green, red, brown and eventually, it was the ominous screen of death.

Bottomline
I have a spoilt camera!

Available Options:

1) Repair the camera at the official yet exorbitantly priced Panasonic Service Centre

2) Sell the camera to the karang guni man Cash Converters and get some cash in return

3) DIY; buy the LCD online and change the screen myself!


My most sincere appreciation to the best search engine in the world, i managed to find a webpage that focused specifically on the repair of LCD screen for Panasonic Lumix TZ15!!!

Wahahahahahahaha.

But before i can do a miraculous revival of the camera, the affected spare part must be sourced and purchased! Another google search brought me to ownta.com.

The product was delivered to my house yesterday and with much anticipation, i embarked on a micro-surgery to let my camera rise from the deathbed!

Following precisely the steps kindly uploaded by Edmond, i am pleased to inform all of you...

My Camera Has Fully Recovered!!!

Cost of LCD Screen : US$43.52

Cost of Shipping: US$5.53

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Cost of Repairing: Priceless

Things to Note

The really minute screws were a pain in the ass!!! And don't bother buying the installation kit in ownta.com. Useless! Wasted more than twenty minutes on that!

Khansama @ Science Park

A breather from my recent postings, with something edible instead! Thanks to Ruby (differs from Rubee, my beloved dog) and Shahrena, i finally tried this Khansama branch in Science Park!

My first visit to Khansama was its branch in Little India (shown above).

Impressive was my analysis of its food quality, the presentation and ambience (at least for the second floor). 

Deep in my heart, i would really want to try the food again but just could not afford the time. Plus, there are too many good food around that area!!

Coming back to Science Park's branch, i was not disappointed with its Indian museum style decor; there were quite a few mannequins showcasing Indian culture and lifestyle!

Ala-carte menu was available but with an irresistible price of S$9.90 for its buffet....... it's quite obvious which option poor Cavin will choose.

Always remember, never miss a good deal for the first time!

To keep it short, they have normal basmatic rice, fried vegetarian rice, vegetable soup (one type), chicken curry, mutton curry, vegetarian curry, crackers, manchurian mushrooms, salad, naan, a sweet dessert and a few others items that i cannot remember with the super difficult to memorise titles!

Not exactly a wide variety but with such an economical pricing, i am not complaining.  

A few notable dishes were the manchurian mushrooms, the chicken curry and the sweet dessert.

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Location

87 Science Park Drive,

#02-01 The Science Hub,

Science Park 1,

Singapore-118260

Additional Information

The place is almost inaccessible unless you have a car or take a cab!

Compared to Little India, the one here is more cafe like; most likely a niche that segregate its different branches. Science Park's branch is Khansama Tandoori Village whereas the one in Little India is Khansama Tandoori Restaurant.

Cold water can be requested for free although the service staff who took our order kept asking us (like three or four times) if we would like to have juices!

That's plain irritating!

Charming Xiangxi Show @ Zhangjiajie (张家界), Hunan, China

One of the optional itineraries available for any China tour package, i was almost 100% sure my payment for 900 RMB (roughly S$180 for three of us) was a goner when i stepped into the cheesy-red theatre and saw an auction for Chinese paintings as the first event.

It felt just like the pasar malam (night market) bidding we have.

*shakes head*

Beautiful and huge paintings though.

 Disregarding the auction, the three hours show consisted of the following:

(1)

Interesting tribal songs from the Miao (this girl in the picture above was so pretty) and Tujia minorities,

 (2)

Cultural dances (on magic and customs like the legendary corpses jumping),

(3)

An oriental suprano from the minority tribe, who was fantastic (apparently better than the country-famous ah bao). I cannot imagine how can a guy sing with such high pitch? Gosh!

(4)

Twin sisters from the Bai tribe who were amazingly captivating with their sparkling attire and their dexterity in performing those bones breaking stunts!

(5)

Balancing act by this young chap. Similar to what we saw on television but i was really worried for the performer!!

(6)

Sword swallowing stunt! A freaky dangerous stunt and i know i will never ever try it! I need to eat!! It's my life remember? Haha.

This guy brought this skill to a higher level by using a curved sword and allowing a spectator to pull it out for him. Euwwwwwww!

(7)

Dress like the local, which left most of us in stitches!

Judging from the activites above, it was similar to what we watched on television for the numerous charity shows we have in Singapore.

No doubt, my heart continued feeling pained!
(my HARD EARNED money!)

Now the great outdoors!  

Yes, one indoor, one outdoor.

At least something more unique!  
*more segments = more worth the money*

Unfortunately, we have to move from the comfy seats to the hard cement steps outside the warm theatre, in a temperature of at most 12 degrees celcius.

(1)

First is a qigong event. Yawns........ how different can THAT be? One piece of flat stone on a guy and a hammer will be used to smash the stone. Boring!!!

This group of three men stacked themselves on top of each other [the first man rest on a carpet of broken glass pieces, the second man rest on top of the first man (separated by a plank of wood), the third man laid of the second man (separated by a wooden bed of standing needles)] and topped with a heavy looking boulder! 

That was incredible!

*the boulder was smashed with a hammer, as usual*

Thought it's over?

Not yet!! Another guy was put to rest (he is alive then) beneath three long high density cement strips (said to be 4000 Jin, 2,000 kilograms, heavy). 

Not challenging enough? 

The emcee invited five men and a lady from the audience to stand on the cement strips, with a specific condition; they must at least weigh 180 Jin, around 90 kilograms.

The guy was still alive after being subject to such excruciating torture for a few minutes!

(2)

Last event was a fire stepping ritual, similar to the type we had for thaipusam in Singapore. The one in Singapore wins....... hands-down.

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300 RMB per pax for a mostly acrobatic performance.

Was it worth it??

You decide.

Splurge!

I am broke*, officially!

Though i am single and according to Singapore's custom for Chinese New Year, the unmarried will continue getting ang bao (red packets with $$$$), it's not enough to accomodate this spending cycle of mine!!

So what brought me to such a pitiful state?

Passport

My passport is expiring in October 2010 and many countries demand at least a 6 months validity. Region (ASEAN hor, not Japan or even my favourite China) travel is a must no matter what happen!

Cost aside, the waiting time for collection was so long at 3-4 hours (according to the SMS service provided), i managed to get my new phone, have my lunch and do some shopping! When i am back, i still had to wait for another hour.

Kudos to the patient and friendly service personnel because it was so crowded and there were many pissed off, impatient faces!

Originally S$70 for 5 years, you can save S$10 if you apply/renew online!

Cost: S$60

Phone

My longest serving phone, the Sony Ericsson K800i has accompanied me well for almost 3 years.

Alas, technology has increased vastly over a mere 3 years and i need a more comprehensive, multi-tasking phone.

Finally, an iPhone for me (strikeout one item from wishlist)!

Cost: S$368

IT Show 2010

This is a love-hate relationship.

The many brands with massive discounts amassing at one place are too enticing... *slurps* but i will usually buy something even if i have no absolute need for it (yes, it's a want!).

Happening four times a year under different events management, the technological sale this time round managed to eat a big chunk of my money!!

Spurred by a comment from a Coffee Bean director, DSLR has been on my wish list for a long time! My initial intention was to get a basic Nikon D5000 at S$1,200 but the salesman was too persuasive!!

How can i?!!?!? I studied marketing in polytechnic and should know better than to be psychologically affected by his sales antics!!!!

Anyway, another buy is the printer+scanner machine. Be prepared for some postings on current affairs and my childhood (with pictures of course).

It will be nice to re-cap my childhood in the old nee soon kampong (village).

Cost: S$1469 for DSLR

Cost: S$99 for printer+scanner

Others

All the nitty gritty items (food, bills, e-shopping etc etc).... My current credit bill stands at S$2,000 and no, the expenses for iPhone and DSLR are not reflected yet.

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On a optimistic note, i managed to clear three items of my wish list.

(toothy smile)

*does not take into account my pathetic savings.

Xin Heng Kee Chicken Rice (新兴记鸡鸭饭) @ Pek Kio Market and Food Centre

Awwwww, you are right!!

Another chicken rice review!

My first visit to Xin Heng Kee was coincidental.

I was supposed to try a bowl of a president-favourite (Singapore one lah) prawn noodle but was too late when i reached at 2pm; everything edible was cleaned out.

It didn't help my hunger (nor temper) that the lady boss was super insolent! Looking around the hawker centre with only a few stalls operating, i noticed the only stall with a queue.

The first visit was good but did not leave a very deep impression. With luck, i was invited to a Chinese New Year gathering very near to this hawker centre.

It's noon and my friend is no chef.

Second visit was met initially with a slow-moving queue (not surprisingly) though the face to face service by the lady boss was a stark contrast with the one next door (e president-favourite one lor).

Ordering half a chicken (mixed between roasted and steamed) for the three of us at a really cheap price (forgive me, age is catching up; i forgot the price i paid), the serving was way too much for us!!!!

Price aside, the most important factor is still the taste. Personally, i find the steamed chicken too fatty and would have preferred the roasted chicken. The roasted version looked really delicious but still lacked the infusion of a unique flavour that will make it stand out amongst its many competitors.

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Location

41A, Cambridge Road.

Pek Kio Market and Food Centre

Stall #01-14

Additional Information

There is a fruit stall directly opposite Xin Heng Kee that serves a pretty fierce Avocado Milk Shake!! 

Lavender Drops (Sweets) @ Nippon-Ya Japanese Food Boutique (ION Orchard)

In my last posting on Nippon-Ya HERE, I swore to try the other flavours for this particular range of cute bronze tins.

Yes, they were THAT good!!

Convinced by Mr Kon (who enjoyed the lavender flavour i gave him for X'mas) and faced with multiple workload recently (the lavender's strength will help in de-stressing my mental self), i bought the tin dotted with pictures of lavender flowers.

First Suck!

An immediate outburst of lavender essence so strong, i thought i had accidentally downed a full bottle of essential oil.

Second Suck!

Getting use to the taste and enjoying it to a certain extent. Deep in my heart though, i suspected the manufacturer had indeed been using real lavender oil for these drops!!

Third Suck!

Feeling little bumps scrapping against my tongue, i spat out the drop. Specks of blackish stuff (like ants) dotted my half sucked sweet.

REAL LAVENDER FLOWERS OK?!?!

Last Suck!

The encased lavender flowers were slowly melted by my heavy flow of saliva and before long, i was biting and sucking the full natural flavour of the flowers.

It was disgusting.

YUCKS!!!