Wednesday, March 03, 2021

Topiary Walk in Canopy Park @ Jewel Changi Airport [Singapore] #jewelchangiairport

I am not strong in English; while I was vaguely aware of the word "topiary", its actual definition of "the art or practice of clipping shrubs or trees into ornamental shapes" was totally foreign to me! Hence, it was not to be unexpected that I didn't know what were the key things to look out for at Topiary Walk in Canopy Park of
Jewel Changi Airport!

Entry requirements, safety and health advisory, important points to note and etiquette; god knows how many visitors actually stand to read the entire stuff! All I need was the topmost portion and the one thing I gathered was that this walk appeared to be good for photo-taking. 

It didn't disappoint although the life-sized yet fake orang utans didn't quite meet the definition of what topiary is. Nevertheless, quite a nice spot for photos!

Brightly coloured animals and birds dotted the rest of the walk. Well, to paste unreal flowers onto existing animal structure wouldn't be topiary right?  Can't deny that they did provide a pretty contrast to the surrounding greenery.

The flower crocodile failed to scare the lights out of me. 

Elephant fountain was the cutest even though the shades of purple and red did make it appear sick from afar! p.s. I actually didn't attempt to verify if the 'flowers' were fake but it's quite obvious from some of the photographs.

The friend whom Alex and I accompanied, to Jewel Changi Airport, was a better photographer than Alex; the pictures he took of me were decent and way better than the asshole. Now you all know why I seldom post photos of myself when I am overseas with Alex. 

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Address 
78 Airport Blvd., 
Singapore 819666

Map of Canopy Park
As above.

Website

Pricing Menu
As above; second photo is for annual pass. 

Tuesday, March 02, 2021

Tolido's Espresso Nook Cafe @ Crawford Lane (Near Lavender MRT Station) [Singapore]

The first picture I uploaded for my blog review on Eat 3 Bowls showed a long queue; which I initially thought was for the Taiwanese eatery but turned out to be for its neighbour, Tolido's Espresso Nook Cafe. 

I went back to Eat 3 Bowls a few weeks later and it was the same scene again with way more people lining outside the cafe. It left such a deep impression on me that I decided to check out Tolido's Espresso Nook on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, right after the busy lunch peak. Thankfully, no queue at all.  

Due to safe distancing measures, the number of tables both indoors and outdoors was limited and that could have explained the queue on weekends. However, waiting time appeared to be long and impatient persons like me would have look around for alternatives (plenty in that area) unless the food were amazing. 

View the menu online via the QR code pasted on the table. I think this should be the way to go; you save paper and ink, diners wouldn't have to fumble through dog-eared menu and most importantly for this pandemic, operators wouldn't have to disinfect the menu every single time you hand it to another customer!

Alex and his Sea Salt Caramel Latte - I forgot to ask him for his verdict on this but the cafe was said to be renowned for its coffee which isn't much to me as I very much prefer our local kopi.

Whatever the case, I had to drink something and decided on the Sea Salt Caramel Mocha (Iced); honestly, not much of a sweetness and as expected, I didn't think it's fascinating even though it's listed under signature drinks.

Starting with dessert - a slice of their signature Homemade Fudgy Brownie. There are actually a few textures when it comes to brownies and while this was fudgy as the name suggested and tasted pretty nice when served warm; my brownie preference is more for those with a crisp crust and crunchy pieces of walnuts hidden within. 

Rosti with Cheesy Sausage - my general dislike for potatoes is known among my peers and my last rosti was likely at Marche, which I remember was pretty decent. Fried to a crisp and only lightly seasoned, this was actually good! 

I have no idea what's that white, creamy butter-like stuff in the blue saucer although its cheesy flavour goes perfectly well with the rosti! The cheesy sausage didn't disappoint as well, despite its conventional appearance. 

The Ultimate Combo - I love all day breakfast and faced with such a bombastic sounding name on the menu; I knew this dish comprising of "fluffy pancakes, pork bacon, cheesy sausage and sunny eggs" will be my order. 

What are the two ingredients I die die must have for pancakes? 
Maple syrup and butter! Both of which were provided. 

Same sausage as the one for the rosti; juicy! Bacon was okay; frankly, I usually don't enjoy bacon that much as they are often too salty for my liking and I prefer it to be a tad sweeter like the irresistible gourmet bak kwa from Bee Cheng Hiang

Pancakes were fluffy alright and tasted great with the maple syrup and butter; sadly, they were too heavy for me and I didn't manage to clean them up! If there's no queue the next time I drop by, I would likely return for the rosti instead of this ultimate combo though.

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Address
462 Crawford Lane, 
#01-63, Singapore 190462
(Next to Eat 3 Bowls)

Map
As above.

Website

Reservation (Weekdays Only)
Call 6648-0178

Pricing
Sea Salt Caramel Latte - S$6.50
Sea Salt Caramel Mocha (Iced) - S$7.50 
Homemade Fudgy Brownie - S$7.00
Rosti with Cheesy Sausage - S$17.00
The Ultimate Combo - S$16.00
(Inclusive of GST, No Service Charge)

Sunday, February 28, 2021

Photos of Dad at Chinatown Street Light Up!

I should have posted the following set of photographs here but I carelessly thought all of them were taken using the DSLR and forgot about the ones stored in my phone! Whatever the case, this is a personal blog and all content here would serve as nice memories to reminisce when I am older. 
 
To be honest, I am extremely grateful for the invention of digital cameras as it made it so easy (cheaper and faster) for us to capture the moments in life; like pictures of our ageing parents.

Now that I am living on my own, I do try to ask them out occasionally to "accompany" me. For mom, it would be food generally as she dislikes the sun and the heat. Dad, is more adventurous, but he is more an early bird and I find it so hard to wake up early on weekends when he isn't working.

Well, sometimes is better than never! And since the lunar new year is expected to be a muted affair, I guess it would be nice to bring him to Chinatown to look at the decorations for the annual street light up. Thank god it wasn't cancelled due to the pandemic.

Given that the area was quite crowded, we figured it would be better for him to remain masked up! Wouldn't want to risk getting a fine. Nice lantern of a kettle but my dad's eyes were closed! Shall make a mental note to recheck the photograph after taking it, in the future.

Dad with the numerous decorative lanterns along South Bridge Road, Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road, including the 10-meter tall centrepiece of a charging bull! 

Brought him to my favourite spot too but he seemed to find it quite boring. Guess he doesn't enjoy taking photographs with a bird's eye view. 

Mural artwork appeared to be quite common in Singapore nowadays and Dad is a pretty good model; which means I could always plan for mural-hunting in the future with him and hopefully before all the tourists start streaming back into Singapore! 

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Period for the Street Light-Up 
Until 12 March 2021

Light Up Timing
From 7.00 pm till Midnight