Chilli & Black Pepper Crabs [珍宝辣椒与胡椒螃蟹] @ Jumbo Seafood Waterfront (Singapore Indoor Stadium)

A big decision is looming on my radar and money has to be saved in order to prepare for the rainy days that would come shortly after the decision-making.

In this case, you might ask why am i eating crabs at Jumbo, one of the seafood restaurants popular with tourists and many assume that prices are usually higher than average.

Answer: a S$50 voucher that can be used for a minimum spending of S$100! It should not take you long to realise that this is a direct 50% discount! And i had two such vouchers! 

Herbal Drunken Prawns

Two pre-requisites to enjoy these drunk prawns; cooler weather (would love to put cold but we all know it is close to impossible in Singapore) and live, kicking prawns! 

Shiok! The liquor could only be described as subtle (personally, i like it this way) while the herbal-ness of the soup coupled with the sweetness of Chinese wolf berries literally warmed the heart. A tad too sweet though, if i may add.

Homemade Beancurd (Tofu)

Our original choice was a recommended deep fried special tofu, which was unfortunately out of stock at an early 1pm! So we had to make do with the above dish that looked more appetizing on the menu.

The green stuff topping the beancurd was some sort of vegetable mix but it provided a unique twist to the silky soft tofu that made it really delicious! The first thing that came to mind as i slowly chewed to savour the flavour; strong tasting beancurd skin!

Supreme Fried Rice with Seafood

Both mom and i thought this was pretty well done with ingredients (i counted prawns, scallops etc) that you know were caught fresh from the tank!

However, Alex had a different opinion (Remember? He is a fried rice specialist; not that we are convinced he is one) which we finally agreed on; it was nice but not as flavourful (note: salty is the right word)! 

Chilli Crab

I had said how much i love the chilli crab from Jumbo (East Coast branch). The same could not be said of the chilli crabs here; i could not help but feel that something was lacking! It's like a nagging thought that remains irritating and disappointing to this day!

Black Pepper Crab

Eng Seng black pepper crabs are unforgettably good even though some diners have complained the gooey thick black pepper sauce covering the crabs was way too sweet. 

In this case, consider the black pepper crabs in Jumbo that are as true as their name goes; hot, spicy, peppery. Not my cup of tea frankly.

Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts

Do you like your or-nee with a heavy mixture of pumpkin, corn bits and gingko nuts? If you do, sit beside me and enjoy this bowl of yam paste in Jumbo.

If you do not, please order another dessert!  

=====

Location

2 Stadium Walk,

#01-05 Kallang Indoor Stadium

Map

As above

Opening Hours

Lunch: 12noon - 3pm (last order at 2.15pm)

Dinner: 6pm - 12am (last order at 11.15pm)

Reservation

Call 64403435

Price

Herbal Drunken Prawns - S$26.00 (by grams)

Homemade Beancurd (Tofu) - S$14.00

Supreme Fried Rice with Seafood - S$18.00 

Chilli Crab - S$49.40 (S$52 per kilo)

Black Pepper Crab - S$52.00 (S$52 per kilo)

Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts - S$4.50 per bowl

[Subject to GST and Service Charge]

Magic Wingdom - An Innovative, Addictive Game for iPhone

Some things that are free may actually come with a price. 

For example, this Magic Wingdom i downloaded for free using the App Store resulted in me spending endless hours on the trains and on my bed; the price of time! 

The game play is really simple; use your finger to connect moving eggs of the same colour. Points (which would help you to level up) would be generated and the eggs will be cleared off the screen. 

A power-up or golden coin (the blue diamond is equivalent to three coins) is given as a reward for a successful link of at least three same-coloured eggs. 

These power-ups (there are three types and my favourite is the fire ball!) would help you immensely in clearing the chaotic arena filled with many rolling eggs while the accumulation of coins is used for another purpose off the main game. 

One boost point is given for every experience leveling and this would allow you to purchase essential boosts for extra life, more coins, double score and increase the power of the power-ups! 

The game officially ends when two eggs of a different colour hit one another in their endless yet desperate crusade to roll all over the place. 

Playing this would have been an easy feat if not for the irritating eggs that continue to roll out in greater quantities and faster speed as you advance to the next level!!

Coming to the coins - they are used to buy items to build up your wingdom (known otherwise as the badly named show yards) and complete mini-quests for bonuses on the main arenas.

These show yards (there are four of them) do not fulfill much of what i call a game but they do have star ratings (a maximum of three stars) that compel the competitive streak in me to do my best to max them out!

On a related note; my top score for Arena 3 is 316,683! 

Try to beat that!! 

=====

Download from App Store

It should be chargeable by now! 

XXL Family Pizza @ Peperoni Pizzeria [Binjai Park, Off Dunearn Road]

I had the intention to mention that Peperoni Pizzeria was part of the Les Amis Group (a one Michelin star restaurant) and blah blah blah but given that i don't really give a hoot about it, i decided to scrap most of it and give you just the bare fact! 

This was a treat by the Great Kon [kam-sa-ham-ni-da] who is forever on the lookout for delicious fare. In fact, Kon contributed the most whenever it comes to food suggestions and recommendations for the Gang of Four outings! 

Calamari Fritti

One look and you would probably guess that this would be different from the deep fried squid rings sold in many other places! 

The thin, buttery yet crispy batter was a perfect shell for the tender and meaty calamari hiding inside. I could not stop soaking them in the special red dip, which would have passed off as a tomato sauce if not for the slightly tingeing sensation on your lips a few seconds later. 

Mozzarella Fasciata Con Prosciutto 

As a meat lover, i could not wait to sink my teeth into what appeared to be a sinfully thick chunk of ham sausage! Alas, it turned out to contain a humongous amount of mozzarella cheese! 

The taste was, to be honest, better than expectation (this coming from a non-cheese lover) even though the dish might have performed better if the cheese were served melting hot.

XXL Pizza [Frutti Di Mare and Pancetta

At 21 inches, this was easily one of the biggest pizzas i have seen in Singapore! As a point of comparison, the largest pizza in PizzaHut is only 13 inches! 

For this family sized pizza, you can select up to two different types [we chose Frutti Di Mare (prawns, clams, scallops, squid rings and fish) and Pancetta (egg, tomatoes and bacon)].

Honestly, i found the pizza to be generally too salty and after taking into consideration my review for Pizzeria Mozza, i reached the sad conclusion that supposedly authentic pizzas are just not my cup of tea! 

Furthermore, i totally detest burnt crust!

=====

Location

7 Binjai Park

[Opposite Maplewoods Condominium]

Map

As above.

Reservation

Strongly recommended!!

Call 6463-7800

Opening Hours

Monday - Saturday : 12noon to 10.30pm

Sunday : 11am to 10.30pm

[Closed on certain public holidays]

Price

Calamari Fritti - S$14

Mozzarella Fasciata - S$18

XXL Pizza - S$50

[Nett - No Service Charge!]

Additional Information

Outdoor seating available!

Outcome for Appeal of Driving Offence - Driving without An Off Peak Car (OPC) e-Day License Coupon

Guess many of you could not wait to know the outcome of the appeal; which was filed by Mr Alex, the driver of my OPC on that fateful day of 18 July 2012.

Would he be fined the maximum of S$20,000 or, as informed by some of my friends, a first-time penalty of between S$1,000 and S$5,000? 

Submitting an appeal to Land Transport Authority (LTA) is actually not as daunting a task as many envisioned it to be. It's merely a five-minute process (there's even an e-guide to help you) and could be done comfortably in front of your computer.

Here's the content of his appeal:

====

Dear Sir/Mdm,

[Appeal] With Regard to Notice Number 3124062675

For six years since we have the car (XXXXXX), we have always been very conscious of the purchases of e-day licence as we understand this is a heavily subsidised scheme by LTA to enable middle income families the opportunity to own a car. Back when the day licence was in hard copy, we will queue up in the early morning just to buy the coupons from Singapore Post and when the decision was made to go online, we were simply put; ecstatic! 

Therefore, it came as a big shock to receive a mail informing us that there was an offence for "driving an off-peak car without a supplementary licence" on 18 July 2012. I frantically checked out the e-day licence transactions we made via onemotoring.com in July and realised, with great horror, that although i did make the purchase of e-day licence for 18 July, the amount of S$20 was re-deposited back to my bank account (attached)!   

I accept full responsibility for what happened but genuinely hope that you can consider my appeal in waiving the penalty, given this unforgivable yet honest mistake. 

Thank you so much for your time and consideration in this matter.

Yours Sincerely,

Alex 

====

You didn't misread. 

It was reflected on the online banking statement (appended below) that S$20 was debited from the account and then credited back! Therefore, an attempt was in fact made to pay for the supplementary licence, the transaction was successful but due to unknown factors, rejected back to the bank.

With this highly important 'black and white' evidence, Alex was finally informed last week that he needed to pay LTA a visit this morning. 

He came back with the above.

A payment of S$20 for the usage of OPC on 18 July 2012.

[HENG AH]! 

Film & Wayang - Singapore Living Galleries @ Singapore National Museum

Over the Hari Raya Puasa public holiday last week, i brought my dad to Singapore National Museum! It was a promise that i should have delivered long ago!

The wait to enter the main Singapore History Gallery was a whooping 45-60 minutes and we thought it to be more time efficient to check out the equally interesting Singapore living galleries. 

Let's begin with the gallery on Film and Wayang.

As i entered via the heavy red curtain at the entrance, i could feel that nostalgic feeling of being brought back to the old cinema days when comfortable and plushy cushion chairs were not an option!

One screen was screening a Malay horror movie that was likely Sumpah Orang Minyak (The Curse of the Oily Man) while the other was showing a classic Chinese love film shot in Singapore. 

I guessed the plot must be really good as they were stuck in that area for very long! 

Leaflets (known as handbills) promoting the movies were displayed and Dad was sharing with me information on the celebrities; specifically whether they are still alive or not. 

My mom would have loved to relive those memories when going for a movie was a very exciting activity! Now, there are too many activities that i can count as exciting - playing Diablo3 is one example! 

The second section of this gallery concentrates on the traditional Chinese Wayang. On display are actual opera costumes and accessories! Do you know that there is a designated costume / accessory for every role? I guessed correctly only for the emperor and the general's costumes! 

To show you a real Chinese opera set would incur too huge an expense and we understand that there is also a space constraint within the museum's compound; therefore, be thankful for the puppet stage! Compare this to the modern puppet stage i posted recently (click here)! 

With so many dialects congregating in one little red dot, the Chinese opera in Singapore has developed into a class of its own. However, as i mentioned before, the future looks bleak for it. 

=====

Location

93 Stamford Road

Nearest MRT Station

Bras Basah [Circle Line]

Website

Visit http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/ for information like ticketing charges.

Additional Information

Free admission for Film and Wayang Living Gallery from 6pm-8pm daily!