Paradise Hotpot (品樂鍋) - Individual Hong Kong Style Steamboat @ Sengkang Compass One (the former Compass Point) [Singapore]

Beauty in the Pot had gained a strong following since its inception and i am surprised to hear that the Paradise Group didn't bank on its popularity and instead launched another steamboat concept known as Paradise Hotpot at Singapore's newest shopping mall; Compass One!

Not knowing what to expect since this was suggested as a venue to celebrate my mom's birthday, i stepped into the restaurant in with an open mind.

The shimmering display of many golden metal pots on the table caught my attention; although opulent looking, i wasn't keen in having individual pots as our family's definition of steamboat was to eat "together".

14 different soup bases might be a draw for those who prefer variety but even then, i still prefer a big singular pot divided into sections to accommodate a few types of soup. Just the tagline of "hong kong style" will also evoke interest since most Chinese are aware that the Cantonese boils the best soup!

Ordering was done via the tablet and the interface was quite similar to Hai Di Lao; hence, i find it quite easy to use. The only problem was that we had the tendency to over-order!

Now on the 14 soup bases (appended above) - they are teochew style, spicy szechuan, chicken with wild mushrooms, authentic pork bone, century egg with coriander, potato curry, tomato with sweet corn, ginseng chicken, cordyceps flower with mushrooms, satay, thick beef bone, korean kimchi, tomyum and kelp and bonito flakes.

Once ordering was completed, it's time to check out the condiment corner! The usual from what i can see including sesame sauce, garlic oil, sesame oil, Thai chilli sauce, fried garlic, garlic, chilli padi, spring onion, coriander etc. Are Guilin chilli sauce, red fermented beancurd and sha cha sauce considered as special?

I wouldn't know since i will stick to my usual; sesame sauce with coriander and a teaspoon of sugar. It would be perfect however if peanut sauce were included.

Our orders, delivered in one trolley!

Before then, it's necessary to light up the metal pots which posed another challenge; you can't adjust the heat at all! Nevertheless, the above arrangement was required as our family didn't like the selfish concept (despite being more hygienic) of having our own hotpot.

Furthermore, it's not required to have one hotpot for each person (we had six adults and two kids) and honestly, you can save quite a bit instead of having individual pots. Anyway, the soup bases we had were tomato with sweet corn, ginseng chicken, teochew style and satay.

Freshly sliced meat for shabu shabu!

More ingredients as above; fish paste, meat and spinach, dumplings, beancurd and meat, fried fish skin and fried beancurd skin. The latter tasted extremely marvellous once you soaked it in the soup. Note that the one at Hai Di Lao was much though.

Balls platter and cuttlefish paste! Frankly, i can walllop a lot of cuttlefish balls, fish balls, dace fish balls and mushroom balls; the only criterion was that they cannot be frozen which wasn't the case at Paradise Hotpot. Yum yum!

A filled table with a few others still placed on the trolley!

Now on the soup bases; normal with the exception of the rich ginseng chicken! Do keep in mind that the complimentary refill wasn't the original soup base; you have only the option of either 清汤 (light broth) or 高汤 (thick stock). Of course, you can also top up for a new serving of soup base.

Meat and ingredient wise, i had no complaint and was totally enjoying the many fresh "liao" dipped in the simmering ginseng chicken soup! My family's major grouch was on the soup refill but i did explain that the pricing was between S$3.50 and S$6.80 per pot, which would be considered cheap for restaurant standard!

A mango pudding for each of us to conclude the meal; normal tasting but i am not complaining as it came as a complimentary dessert by the restaurant!

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Location

1, Sengkang Square,

Compass One, #03-05,

Singapore 545078

Map

As above

Reservation

Call +6563864838

Operating Hours

Mondays to Fridays - 11.15am to 10.00pm 

Saturdays, Sundays & PH - 10.30am to 10.00pm 

Website

https://www.paradisegroup.com.sg/our-concept-13/?mn=ph

Pricing

As above, subject to GST and Service Charge

Vintage Cars Galore @ 泰 Fantastic Thai Market [Old Tanjong Pagar Railway Station]

The term "busy bee" would be most appropriate to describe my working life these few weeks and yes, contrary to what some of you thought, i do hold a decent job and have in fact been working at the same place for more than three years! 

Hence, it has taken me this long to publish a post on an event i attended close to two weeks ago! To humiliate myself further, i am ashamed to say it's not even a full post on 泰 Fantastic Thai Market that was held at the old tanjong pagar railway station...

To put it bluntly (and shortly since it is already bedtime), my eyes went wide-open with the amazing display of vintage cars; some of which existed when my parents were kids! 

Never had i seen so many of them concentrated at one place and it's normal to say i am not the only one who was blown away! Frankly, i don't appreciate old cars per se as their air-conditioning can be a pain in the ass, if they have any although there's one element that i really like; the provision of a manual gear box! 

Automatic-gear cars just didn't elicit that much of a kick but it could be a matter of sore grapes as manual cars are often cheaper than automatic cars and i simply didn't have that financial bandwidth when i purchased my Toyota Vios more than ten years ago.

Numerous old-school Mercedes and one that we often can see in old wedding photographs! Back then, this kind of brand / make was the preferred symbol of status! By the way, you notice the "kombi rocks rides" label over the license plates?

Kombi Rocks is actually a company that has a cafe even though the rides referred to another business; that of a rescue entity for old vehicles and restore them for other uses! Check out their website here! 

Ferrari from 1983 - i prefer their contemporary design.....

Aside from cars, there were also vintage vans that were used by commercial entities to market their products / services! 

Just by walking through the carpark of the old railway station, i found myself going back to an era when there's no mobile phone! Pity that there wasn't a dress code for everyone to be decked out in retro attire! That would have been epic! 

Roller & Venetian Blinds For My 3-Room Flat - Renovation Part 5!

<<< Part 4

In my last post on the house renovation, there was indication that despite moving in officially, i continued to have some ideas on how to make my house more appealing and after procrastinating for quite a while, i finally decided to do away with the curtains and replace them with blinds.

With strong recommendation from a friend, i contacted Kenny from Sunscreen (Singapore) Private Limited; a bubbly gal who didn't hesitate to meet up with me to have a better idea of what i wanted even though the project value wasn't much.

As usual, my mind went bonkers with the differences of roller blinds and venetian blinds; both of which have their advantages (aesthetic) and disadvantages (maintenance). But a decision has to be made and my selection as follows: roller blinds for the bedroom and Venetian blinds for the living room! 

The torture continued with colour selection and in the case of roller blinds (known as rollscreens), the density of blackout! When given a lot of options, i usually opted for the safest and in this case, black for everything and total blackout for the roller blinds; they were totally aligned with the black-white theme of my house anyway. 

Quotation was submitted and accepted; appointment was made on a Saturday and before i knew it, the experienced workers had completed the installations! Shall unveil the final product shortly. 

Too bright a picture although you should be able to see that it was a lot more neater with the blinds as compared to the mass produced curtains which were too long and fluttered whenever i switched on the fan; offering peeks of my grotesque body for those unfortunate neighbours who happened to walk past. 

Overall, i was pleased with the Venetian blinds although i guess i would be complaining about the dust in time to come. The curtain rods shall remain as i might have other uses for it; presently, it is proving its worth as place for me to hang up clothes i have just ironed. 

Key advantage of Venetian blinds is definitely the aesthetic as it exudes a certain level of classiness. Pity i didn't have sufficient space for a cosy corner where i can drink a cup of tea while reading a novel by the window. 

Now on the bedroom with the rollite rollscreen (otherwise known as roller blind) which was charged at a much higher price because of the plates needed to conceal and provide support to the blind.

Realised i didn't take a photo immediately after the installation and the above was just taken earlier this evening! Frankly, i am really glad to have listened to Kenny's advice for the concealment even though the black curtain rod was an eyesore, at least for the moment. Maybe i can add in air plants or something.

With the blinds down; in the past, the curtain will still allow some residual light to seep into the room but with this blackout blind drawn, i am under the false impression that it is still night even at 10am! Aside from being super happy about the fact that i can sleep in better, there's a somewhat minimalist feel to the bedroom once you remove my adorable piggies! Damn, i think i should do something about that purplish white study table! 

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Contractor for Blinds

As above. You may also contact Kenny at 9782-8425.

Website for Sunscreen

http://www.sunscreen.com.sg/

Pricing
Total S$717.99 for two sets of Venetian blinds and one set of roller blind. Do email me (click "contact me") if you require the quotation. 

Jerald's Birthday 2016

It's a high concentration of birthday celebrations in September for my family and given the last failed birthday cake, i didn't want to risk spoiling Jerald's birthday as my baking is still inconsistent! 

Thankfully, he requested to have just one slice of cake from Coffee Bean! Good news for the rest of us as cakes are seriously fattening and we can definitely make do with less rather than more. 

Birthday boy soliciting a kiss from the sister. 

Let's the singing begin! As we were in a rather crowded outlet at the new Compass One shopping mall, we huddled up to keep our volume low. Contrary to popular belief, we are one shy family. 

This was the time when both kids knew that the birthday song was nearing its end and eyeing the lighted candle. It's never about the cake.

Jerald, being older, is now sensible enough not to blow the candles if he is not the birthday boy but in this case, he is and i wondered if he would throw a tantrum if he were to lose the "match".

Heng ah, he was faster! 

Happy Birthday, Jerald!