The Impressive Terminal 4 of Changi International Airport - Automated Process, Heritage Zone @ Singapore #changiterminal4

I have always been proud of our Changi International Airport and i think its newest addition, Terminal 4, was impressive even though it didn't have a SkyTrain connection to other terminals!

It has been opened since October 2017 and despite having an open house before its actual operation, i had never stepped foot on Terminal 4's grounds until my trip to Langkawi via AirAsia.

Refreshing would be the accurate mind that came to mind when i strolled into the air-conditioned terminal; ridiculously spacious (given the scarce land we have), bright and not as crowded as the airport's other terminals.

Checking the panel to confirm the check-in row for our flight. As you can probably deduce from the panel, most of the flights came from AirAsia.

Retail and dining outlets that were open to the general public; frankly, if you are not at the airport to take a flight, Terminal 3 has much better commercial offerings.

Taken from second level of the public-accessible area; notice anything amiss? Instead of rows of check-in counters manned by humans, there were just many machines that looked straight out from a science fiction movie!

Under a concept known as "Fast And Seamless Travel at Changi" (FAST@Changi), most of the processes are automated; from check-in, bag deposit and immigration clearance!

Even the printing of luggage tags!

You have to secure the tags yourself too! With continual manpower shortage (no thanks to a low birth rate that's partly contributed by me), automation is key to the development of the country even though at the same time, it also resulted in job redundancy.

Automated bag drop - now, i have yet to reach middle age but i think the older folks would not find it easy to use the machines. However, please do not get too stressed. If you don't know how to proceed, there are friendly helpers who would guide you!

Loving the weighing scale! It's always good to ensure you keep within the limit. Should you breach the allowable weight; do what i did in Taiwan.

Alex trying out the automated bag drop; it was quite a frustration as the luggage tag had to be placed on top so that the machine can successfully identify and scan it.

Photo-taking for the bag drop; not sure why this is required but i am guessing it's more for disputes when baggage got mixed up or lost baggage.

The automated immigration; this wouldn't be a problem for most Singaporeans as this was already in place for quite a few years, ever since we had bio-metric passports.

Cleared the immigration and inspection!

Time to check out the departure area; i usually make a beeline for the duty free liquor retailer as i am curious to see if Absolut Vodka has come out with any new design! It's a pity we couldn't buy any duty free liquor if we were to return from Malaysia.

Copper Dog - said to be "fruity with a hint of honey and spice", i would have take a sip of two if there's a promoter on site at the booth.

Flower-petal lights on the ceiling.

Shimmering with golden opulence, the TWG store was a sight to behold and should have been included as show set for the Crazy Rich Asians movie!

Many comfortable and attractive-looking sofa chairs said to be extremely durable (can withstand up to 100,000 rubs), with plenty of power sockets and USB ports; basic and essential things i don't get to see in most airports.

Statues (The Travelling Family) for photo-taking!

In line with its flower concept, you can also find a mystifying art installation called Petalclouds in Terminal 4; the choreography for the kinetic sculptures had that strange, hypnotizing effect on people!

View this post on Instagram

The hypnotising moving sculpture ( #petalclouds )at #changiairportterminal4. #lovingtimelapse!

A post shared by Cavin (@cavinteo) on Jul 11, 2018 at 7:19pm PDT

Time-lapse as shared on my Instagram for your viewing pleasure.

Light breakfast at Paris Baguette cafe! 

Steel in Bloom - live plants, koi pond, hanging terrariums and a 6-meter tall metal centrepiece. Such themed gardens are available in other terminals and reflect Singapore's status as a garden city.

Checking out the upper floor. 

Aside from a convenience stall, a food court and airport lounges, my objective was the 150-square meter Peranakan Gallery; a collaboration between Changi Airport Group and National Heritage Board! Click here to read more. 

Steel in Bloom from the upper floor - thought it wasn't visually pleasing and professional to have the bars of LED lights on top and over the plants. 

Panorama from my iPhone.

The above is the most photographed place in the entire Terminal 4 and i can imagine why; a row of life-sized Peranakan shophouses ahead of us and all the retailers were traditional Singapore brands like Bee Cheng Hiang, Bengawan Solo, Eu Yan Sang etc! 

Do you know that the facade designs span over four time periods from 1880 to 1950? The baroque (1880-1900), rococo (1910-1920), peranakan (1920-1936) and modern deco (1936-1950). To think that i always collectively placed them as simply peranakan! 

Some of the windows open up to furnishing and fittings common in the past; if you have time, wait for the six-minute "Peranakan Love Story' that would be played out across a 10-meter by 6-meter LED screen that cuts across the shophouses. 

Had a badly needed kopi-gao at Heavenly Wang! 

Traditional biscuits (e.g. jewel biscuits) which would be good souvenirs for foreigners! However, it might be good to offer sampling so that those who have not tried before would know how good they are! 

Loving the dogs and chick chairs dotted all over the area in front of the heritage shophouse replicas as they add a layer of fun and quirkiness.

As you can see, plenty of photo opportunities and those into Instagram postings should factor in extra time to find the right angle and compose the picture for that instagram-worthy shot. 

Got a kilogram of Bee Cheng Hiang bak kwa for Alex's auntie whom we would be visiting in Alor Setar on day two of our trip! I knew her for more than ten years but have not seen her for a long time; it's only right i bought her a small gift.

Sampling for pandan chiffon cake - seriously soft and not very sweet! 

Peranakan-themed toilet! Changi Airport should have more of such toilets in other terminals too even though the disadvantage is that many people would also be taking photographs inside the toilet and this could result in privacy issues. 

Boarding gates are alongside the retail outlets and you don't really have to walk very far from one end to another, unlike other terminals where the boarding gates branched off from the commercial zone located in the middle.

Trees were real trees! 

Smoking room where second hand smoke were inhaled by the culprits themselves. With Singapore getting stricter with outdoor smoking, this kind of room would likely be the norm in the future.

Need to charge my mobile! 

AK733 to Langkawi at Gate G7; another half an hour to go before boarding. Remember FAST@Changi? The boarding gates are automated too! It's frankly an eye-opener as we have been so accustomed to having a human touch from start to end! 

Last two photos! 

=====

Click here for our 5 days itinerary in Langkawi.

Armpit Char Siew Wanton Noodle (忠于原味云吞面) - Worth The Hype? @ Tiong Bahru Market [Singapore]

What do you actually look out for in wanton mee? The noodles or the often pathetically-small wantons? For me, i consider the char siew to be of the highest priority. Hence, when i watched a television show a few years ago and heard of this 不见天叉烧, i know it's a matter of time before i paid it a visit. 

Although indicated in English as premium cha shao, the direct translation is in fact never-see-the-sky as this particular part of the pig doesn't normally face the blue sky; the armpit! Sounds a bit disgusting if you compare it to the human's version but it was said to taste heavenly! 

With about 50 minutes to go before my lunch appointment somewhere near Tiong Bahru Market, i couldn't resist joining the queue even though there were almost 20 persons in front of me.

About halfway through - i honestly didn't think too much about the prices as i figured it would be around S$5.00 a plate; similar to the price i would have forked out for for Kay Lee Char Siew. Turned out the premium cha shao wanton noodle was priced at a minimal of S$6! 

I am so not going to waste my 15 minutes of queuing; especially when i saw the ladle of sauce that was poured over the noodles as it reminded me of the famous Kok Kee Wanton Noodle at the now-demolished Lavender Food Square.

After 30 minutes of wait, i finally got my plate of premium cha shao wanton noodle! Okay, i prefer to call it armpit char siew wanton mee! Now, did you feel that something is off? While featuring a good ratio of fat and meat, the outer later appeared to be of a lighter colour and less caramelized. 

Taste wise, it wasn't as tasty as i expected it to be since it lacked the honeyed, charred flavour that i often find alluring in restaurants like Kay Lee and You Kee. Those not into fatty char siew would likely enjoy it as i personally felt it was more a cross between a fatty and lean type of char siew.  

Sadly, the sauce also didn't manage to impress and while it was still a good (note, not fantastic) plate of wanton noodle, i would likely go for the normal S$4 char siew wanton noodle next time. 

=====

Location

30 Seng Poh Rd, 

#02-30, Tiong Bahru Market

Singapore 168898

Operating Hours

8.00 am to 1.30 pm

(Closed on Mondays and Fridays)

Pricing

Premium (Armpit) Char Shao Wanton Noodle - S$7.00 a plate

Additional Information

Pregnant ladies, those with infants and those who are physically disabled need not queue! And i think you can also pre-order (limited to higher value wanton mee) by SMS / Whatsapp; for the number, kindly approach the store. 

Sakon Thai Food - Pretty Good Halal Thai Cuisine @ Northpoint City Shopping Centre in Yishun [Singapore] #sakonthai

Within the expanded Northpoint City, you can find no less than three restaurants serving Thai cuisine and while i didn't particularly enjoy my meal at Gu Thai Noodle Cafe; that didn't stop me from checking out Sakon Thai on the ground level! 

My many Muslim friends would be pleased to note that the eatery is Halal-certified (note the label at the fridge) and judging from the queue at mealtimes; i guess the food must be pretty good. Without further ado, let me share with you my review for the stuff we ordered.

Green Tea - why did i specifically target this since it's just a teabag? Because it was priced at S$2.90 for a sachet of OSK brand green tea that would have otherwise cost me about S$7.00 in NTUC for a box with 50 teabags. Hot water must be expensive. 

Thai Iced Tea - this was given free after i like the facebook page of Sakon Thai. Knowing very well the extent of sweetness for Thai iced tea, we requested for "less sweet". It hit the right note for a balanced sweetness that came with that unique nice, aromatic flavour. 

Pineapple Fried Rice - i was almost afraid to break apart the perfectly molded pineapple rice although on the same length, it didn't entice me with its unexciting appearance.

Took a bite and i am eating my own words; the exterior may look dry and bland yet the inside was where the treasures lie! You can find eggs, prawns and tiny chunks of pineapple meat which flavoured the rice that make you long for another mouthful. 

Thai Basil Chicken - you need plain rice as the taste of the minced chicken (layered with a little bit of gravy) was a tad too strong and spicy to eat on its own. 

Stir-Fried Kailan - overly salty in my opinion and as with the Thai basil chicken above, having a bowl of plain white rice would help to balance out the saltiness. 

Seafood Salad with Glass Noodles - an appetising dish to whet your appetite, this came with a lot of seafood (prawns, squids etc) that were gone before i can take a proper bite! 

I was grateful that my family left some glass noodles for me and, i think i didn't miss much as the spiciness was too much for me to bear!

Prawn Omelette - I honestly think the Thais make extremely good omelettes as most turned out to be delicious and fluffy, albeit a bit too oily. The omelette here was as good even though the small prawns were negligible and i would have made do with a plain omelette that would have cost cheaper.

Green Curry Chicken - the one dish i have been ordering every time i visited a Thai restaurant. Tom yum soup was nothing compared to green curry chicken, in my opinion! 

Chicken was tender; curry was rich and flavourful; my only bane was the Thai brinjal which tasted overly bitter in my opinion. And it's sad that this was the last dish placed on our table and my rice was almost all gone. It's a necessity to have green curry chicken with rice! 

Special Thai Deep Fried Fish - my mom was rather disappointed with the portion as the ones we have at Ah Loy Thai in Bugis and even Taste of Thailand were much larger. In addition, it's a rather unconventional way of display.

This looked better; why did i put this as the last? Reason being i was darn impressed with the fish; it was actually quite meaty and tasted nice without being fishy. Best of all, it's fried to a crisp and i had a great time picking out the crispy parts and eating them with the accompanied zesty, mildly spicy Thai sauce! 

=====

Location

1 Northpoint Drive,

#01-129, Northpoint City,

Singapore, 768019

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/lovesakonthai/

Set Menu

As above.

Order List

As above.

Pricing

Green Tea - S$2.90

Pineapple Fried Rice - S$8.50

Thai Basil Chicken - S$7.90

Stir-Fried Kailan - S$6.90

Seafood Salad with Glass Noodles - S$10.50

Prawn Omelette - S$7.90

Green Curry Chicken - S$9.50

Special Thai Deep Fried Fish - S$18.90 

(Subject to Service Charge, No GST)

Lazada 9.9 Sale - Sneak Preview of the Surprise Box!

I have always been intrigued by mystery bags and surprise boxes as the curiosity of not knowing what to expect can be so exciting! Hence, i was actually rather depressed when the Singapore government decided to declare those mystery box vending machines as "a form of public lottery" and stop their operations. :( 

All's not lost yet; as part of the 9.9 promotion by Lazada, you can still enjoy the thrill of a surprise box sent to your house and 99 boxes, consisting of items valued at S$100 or more, would soon be up for grab at either S$29 or S$49 each! 

As part of the sale, some items are also discounted at up to 90% off and you may get up to S$99 worth of vouchers! Darn, hope i don't breech the S$2,000 self-imposed limit on my credit card this month! 

Thanks to Lazada, i had the privilege to be given a box and it was freshly delivered this evening! I had indicated interest for another category but the personnel from Lazada kindly called to ask if i am agreeable to another one by Universal Traveller.

For someone who loves travelling, i didn't hesitate to express my approval although i think i might not have heard his exact words carefully; the words i missed out were apparently "Winter Travel Accessories"!

Now, people who know me would be aware i don't travel in winter as i am dead afraid of the cold that chills the bones! Granted the value of just this pair of winter socks was already priced at about half the value of the surprise box; i simply have no use for them in hot and wet Singapore! 

You know what's the funniest thing? I was given a pair of pink gloves! This reminded me of my few affiliations with pink stuff; from the Pink Ferris Wheel in Sapporo to the pink room i was allocated at Taiwan Cingjing Misty Villa. 

Am i surprised by the box? I definitely am but i am afraid they (including the two other items which i am not allowed to share in this blog to "retain an element of surprise") are really not of much use to me . 

Coincidentally, my younger sister is going to Australia and i passed the entire box to her. p.s. bet she is going to love the pink gloves. 

Lazada 9.9 Sale is starting in a few more days! Bookmark the page and check it periodically for good deals; i think the sale of the surprise boxes would start earlier from 06 September and at the moment, there are already "crazy flash sales"!