Deli Moroccan @ Bussorah / Arab Street

Singapore has a great variety of food, including those from our foreign friends who decided to set up shops here. There is this nice Moroccan foodstall located near Arab Street / Beach Road that has garnered quite a number of reviews. Early this year, I was introduced to their mint tea and chicken kebab, and I've been there a couple of times since then.

The actual location of the food place is at 30 Bussorah Street, very near the Masjid Sultan Mosque. The place is actually more well known for its tajine dishes. We ordered the tajine chicken with potatoes. The succulent chicken is well seasoned, and the sauce of the dish is very flavourful. We used the stew sauce as dip for the pitta bread. The size of the dish can be deceiving (i.e. appears small), because the actual amount of food is quite substantial.

Other than tajine chicken, we also ordered a chickpea and chicken stew type of dish (I forgot the name). This dish tastes normal, i.e. nothing that particularly special. I guess I would rather order their kebab instead (sorry no picture of kebab). However, the dish is quite filling, so for those who are hungry, it can be quite satisfying. I heard they offer cous cous as well, but I have yet to try it.

Their pitta bread is well... pitta bread. Lolz. Nonetheless, it is not that easy to find pitta bread in an affordable food places, and since I like bread in general, their pitta bread taste good! Dip it with the tajine sauces would be a good combination.

Another attractive offering by the place is their mint tea. Against the somewhat peaceful and cool atmosphere, sipping a pot of hot mint tea is an unique experience. The open-air dinning with a backdrop of mosque gives one a feeling that the dinning is not done in Singapore, i.e. an almost touristy feel to the whole dinning experience. I think I'll go back quite often. :)

Singapore is not a good place for retirement

Reading the news this few days, I've come to the conclusion that the current Singapore is not a nice place to stay when one gets old. Firstly, this article asked retirees to consider China as a place for retirement because one can survive well based on a limited sum of savings. I think the article is in response to a Straits Time article that commented that 2/3 of Singaporeans want to retire abroad, and "the desire to retire abroad was highest among Singaporeans aged 21 to 34, three-quarters of whom have entertained the idea."

Then there is this article that talks about half of Singapore residents above the age of 50 are still working, in part due to Government's policies. "About half of the number of Singaporean residents who are aged 50 and older are still working, ... because as people live longer, they need to have enough savings for their retirement years. The number of older workers - 47.8 per cent of residents in this age group - is a new record that improves on the 46 per cent a year earlier and is a sharp rise on 35.9 per cent in 1991, ..."

So we have observation part (a) where many people, i.e. 2/3 of Singaporeans want to retire abroad, and that more than half of those above age 50 are still working. That is just 'desire' to retire abroad, but let's look at the reality currently. I've obtained this set of figures from the Parliament related news: CNCCs are issued to Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and foreigners above the age of 16 and who have resided in Singapore for more than 6 months.

They are requested for a variety of reasons, including applying for permanent residency rights in other countries (68% of applications), further studies and employment overseas (21% of applications) and ... The table below provides the number of CNCCs applied for and issued for the past 10 years:

Year	Total No. of CNCC Applications (A)	Total No. of CNCC Issued (B)
1998	4996	5037
1999	6477	6382
2000	9000	8756
2001	9629	9327
2002	10908	10670
2003	10138	9899
2004	12250	11940
2005	11337	11289
2006	10548	10576
2007	12707	12249

There is also this article which talked about the 150,000 overseas Singaporeans who can get to vote at the next election, "some 150,000 Singaporeans abroad could potentially be eligible to vote in the next General Election, under changes to the law passed on Monday."

So here comes observation part (b) that many Singaporeans are no longer physically in Singapore, and based on the trend of increase in the request for CNCCs, many more Singaporeans would not be in Singapore in the years to come.

If I combine both observations, put it simply, people are leaving the countries because the life here has become too stressful such that people are worried that when they grow old they would not have enough for themselves. This trend is likely to continue, especially when there are little communities of Singaporeans abroad who would help to anchor other Singaporeans who join them.

So if the life here continues to be stressful, people will leave for a slower pace of life elsewhere, not necessarily for the welfare systems of other countries, but just for a slower pace. Changing Singapore into a working, fast-paced city will be just that, a fast-paced city. It is not a country, and it will not have an identity that the people ('workers") can believe in. This will be dangerous, for in times of crisis, the workers will just leave, and may lead to an accelerated collapse of the country, e.g. war, recession, diseases out break... etc.

If the current 'belief' to achieve economic progress at all costs continues, then we truly may not have a Singapore in 50-60 years. Sad... and where would I be in 50 years time?

Short Tour of One Degree 15 Marina Club @ Sentosa Cove

Due to some corporate events, I've had a chance to visit the famed ONEº15 Marina Club, situated at Sentosa Cove. The place is beautiful! At the reception, there are nicely decorated sitting area, facing the sea with view of parked yachts. I understand that many of the would be residents will be able to park their own yachts. Imagine that, your yacht within the walking distance of your bedroom!

There are some arty decos which look weird to me, but I guess I'm not the arty sort of person. At the distance, there are still some construction being done.

The view is simply fantastic, but the only drawback is the heat. During the afternoon the place can be very hot. Moving in and out of the air conditioned place may be bad for those with poorer health. Oh well, if you are dressed casually, with nice cool drinks in your hand I guess the weather would be alright.

There are many function rooms, and here's the Nova Room, a large area that could house quite a number of guests, with dining facilities and a large lounge like area for conversations.

Even the toilet is nicely decorated. Lolz. I guess it is only expected, so that the overall ambience fits together.

At night the view remains great. Reaching this place is easy by taxi, but getting out could be a bit hard, since the concierge needs to call for taxi. Not all taxi is willing to travel all the way in to fetch passengers. Oh well, that is not a problem for the residents I guess, since they will definitely have cars.

Malaysian PM unhappy with their rail service

Sometimes I do think that competition brings out the best in men... whether in sports, business, or even politics!

For example, now that Malaysia's politics contains high elements of competition, even their PM would take rides on their rail lines. From this article in The Star Online, it was quoted that their PM said these after his rides:

“I just saw the plight of people using the trains to get to work every morning. They were jostling to get on board every time a train arrived. There appeared to be no system.

“I’m not happy with this because the people are not getting satisfaction from riding the trains. This, we must fix,” he said.

“I found the trains really packed with so many passengers. Some had waited for three trains and yet could not board. “There’s no queue. People push their way in, women with children and old people are pushed aside,” he added.

He spent an hour traveling on the trains. I sometimes wish our politicians would also spend sometime on our MRT system, during peak hours, and without the usual VVVIP fanfare to specially clear a section of the train for them. Perhaps then they would understand why some people feel this little island is way overcrowded.

Sigh, if they (our politicians) want an end target goal of 5.5 to 6.5 million people, they should put in place sufficient infrastructure like transport system, leisure areas, schools, health facilities, hostels... etc etc. Sigh, telling people things are being built while everyone suffers this overcrowded situation is clearly not a good option (for the people suffering that is).

Looking at statistics from the comfort of big cool office is not realistic; they should have a go at the system to try it out, MRT, buses... etc.

Hestan Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - 2005

We had a bottle of Hestan Vineyards's 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and the wine is great! While I know it is a great bottle, my taste buds are not so sensitive enough to tell the difference between this S$180 bottle versus other S$100plus bottles. This bottle is retailing over the Internet at US$100 (before any tax). The wine is full-bodied, with a bit of smoky and intense taste, good for those who like full bodied red.

Lolz, a bit wasted some would say, but at least now I know the upper limit for my taste buds (in dollar sense) is about S$100 bottle. Anything more expensive and it would be quite wasted on me. In case you are wondering, nope I didn't buy this bottle; it was a treat from one of the bosses for many nights of over-time work.

We had a few cakes from Bakerzin to go with the wine. About 10 of us shared this bottle, and so each got less than a standard glass of wine. Guess it is more for tasting. :)

Red Cliff Movie - 2 versions?

We watched Red Cliff during an early weekday evening at Filmgarde (cos I took off that day) and found it a good show. I guess the film has been out for quite some time, and so there weren't many people in the theatre. We were among the 10 odd people in the theatre. For those with some knowledge of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the film will be more enjoyable.

There are a lot of movie reviews about this show, so I'll skip that. Just suffice to say that it is a money / time worth to watch it :).

I read later on the Wiki that there are two versions of the film, one for Asians and the other for rest of the world. Seems like the Asians' version has a combined total length of over 4 hours, while the shortened version for rest of world is about 2 hours plus. Wonder what are the parts which were cut? Maybe the part about Zhou Yu and Zhu Geliang's playing of zither, which I felt is a bit long.

Coffee: Ya Kun, San Francisco, McCafe, & Nescafe

There are many types of coffee available in Singapore. We have the

• traditional kopitiam (not the food court) type of kopi, e.g. Ya Kun,
  
• western style barista coffee, e.g. San Francisco,
• fast food with barista type of coffee, e.g. McCafe, and
  
• of course the instant coffee, e.g. Nescafe
  

I drink all of them during different times of the day.

Ya Kun kopi (kopi = hokkien for coffee) is the best 1st coffee of the day, as it is thick and filled with sugar / milk that gives you a sufficiently good kick to start the day. If you can have toast along with it, the feeling is wonderful. We had a few demonstrations of bread toasting with Ya Kun kopi when we hosted an international event.

San Francisco type of coffee is to be had, when you have the time to savour the complex and rich flavour of well prepared coffee. For this category of coffee, I think San Francisco is among the best. I used to buy San Francisco coffee as my 'first cup of the day', but realised that it is a waste to gulp down such coffee so fast in the morning.

Fast Food style coffee is ideal for a group of people setting, since others could order non-caffeine drinks (e.g. orange juice) or a different version of the caffeine 'poison' (e.g. coke) if they so desire. McCafe coffee is actually quite value for money.

The last but not least is the instant coffee, and we have the Nescafe! Nescafe, mixed with those 'expresso' from office coffee machines, would give a sufficiently rich and complex flavour that is quite acceptable. Otherwise having just Nescafe is not as great. Of course, we could add condensed milk and it would taste....alright. Lolz, there are different grades of Nescafe coffee, and some are pretty acceptable. Heh, all coffees are great, since they have anti-oxidants! We should all drink more coffee!

Related Posts:
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- Coffee Barista Course @ Highlander Part 2
- Coffee Protects You Against Many Things

Hey Hey Hotpot @ Paradiz Centre

Tired of the usual 2/3/4 soups combi buffet steamboat along Beach Road? You could try the Hey Hey Hotpot @ Paradiz Centre. I did a search online and realised that the review is only so-so, but my personal experience at that place has been great! Been there once last year, and brought my family along recently again for lunch at this hotpot. A good point about the restaurant is that it is not too crowded, so it is good place for chit chat over meals.

Originally we wanted to try the sharkbone soup, but they ran out of it (we arrived pretty late for lunch). So we tried the winter melon soup. I could taste the real ingredients used in boiling the soup. The ingredients were later scoped out and placed into bowls. The fact that it is a ceramic pot instead of typical aluminum one is a plus point. Ceramic pot has a more even heat distribution lolz.

Here's a closer look at the ingredients. After scoping out the soup, they would cut the melon into pieces which (if you want to) could be put back into the soup for subsequent boiling.

Since we ordered buffet, we decided to try out the many other available food stuff. The fish pieces were very fresh, prawns so-so, pig liver was fresh, and the seafood is very fresh too. I like the way they prepared their cockles, in the sense that they washed off the mud bits and blood. So each cockle tasted good, with no 'gritty' feeling or the bloodiness as you bit them. Somehow, I ate a lot of the fresh vege that day. Vege cooked in flavourful soup taste a lot better than those msg versions.

They offered dim sum style food, which you could order as you wait for the food to cook. Since the soup is typically consumed at a faster pace, they placed a container of soup by the table. The food serving is also good. I guess after those earlier review that the service is not great, the management has improved the service. When we placed subsequent orders, the food came quite fast.

Overall the price tag is alright, about $99 for 4 pax, or nearly $25 per pax. Considering that they throw in a free pot of chinese tea, and mango sago dessert for all, this price tag is acceptable.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Just watched the Mommy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Well, it's just another show with a lot of special effects. The plot is pretty standard, and you can read it at this Wiki. Actually China tombs don't have Egypt style mummy (got mummified burials, but still different style lah), and the 'special abilities' used by the mummy in this show seems a bit weird. They explained it by saying that the Emperor has mastered the five elements. A bit lame actually.

The effects are nicely done, and the 'merging' of the flying dragon or the terracotta warrior to Jet Li is quite seamless. I'm also impressed with the mechanical setups, especially the part of the automatic bow and arrows at the beginning of the show. They also did some research on how the Great Wall was built. The only part which is not as perfect is the rendering of the terracotta Jet Li when the emperor first awaken.

Other than special effects, the other not so great part is the funny mandarin used in the show. Luke Ford who acted as Alex in the movie really cannot speak mandarin, so they could have put some effort in his pronunciation. I wonder if the western audience can appreciate the mandarin used in the movie, even for those who know some basic chinese, because Jet Li was speaking in more 'chim' version (i.e. ancient grammar). Ok I understand the need to cater to the Chinese market, especially when the Olympics is so near.

Overall, an okay show to watch, but if you have other better shows like Batman or Red Cliff, watch them instead.

Ministry of Food (MOF) @ Marina

We were at the Ministry of Food (MOF) @ Marina for dinner, and the food is good! We ordered the Seafood Toji set ($19.80) which comes with rice and soup, as well as very delicious fried chicken. The sauce is egg based, not too salty, and goes well with the rice. I think the chicken has traces of ginger and other spices in it. I didn't use the dip for the fried chicken, but squash a bit of lemon juice on it.

We also ordered Tempura Udon ($11.80) which is normal bah for a good quality jap restaurant. The highlight of the dinner was the Macha Imo, which cost only $3.30 since we had ordered a dinner set. This is a must try! Picture of it is below, right after the udon photo. The hot fried sweet potato (according to MOF) is naturally sweet, and it is really sweet! Lolz. Mixed with the creamy soft serve, and red beans, the contrast of taste (and perhaps due to the different temperature) is just... great!

Overall dinning experience is good, and with a combination of MOF card plus credit card, we had two discounts of total 15%. The cost of dinner after discount is $38.58, and they throw in a free complimentary coffee (for the set meal). Nice saucer plate.

Singapore River Taxi Cruise & Bridges

Due to some corporate events, I've had a chance to experience the Singapore River Cruise! The River Taxi ride is a great experience, especially for us locals who never exactly bother to use such 'touristy' facility. There are plenty of bridges (which I didn't exactly realise before) and the view from the river taxi ride is picturesque.

I started the ride from the Merlion Park, next to Fullerton One. The view of the merlion from the river taxi made me understand why the tourists like the place so much. You could also see the Singapore Flyer, the Marina area, and the colourful platforms used for our National Parade while on the cruise.

The ride was accompanied by re-recorded explanations of the different buildings and a brief history of the quay. The ride is actually quite cheap, ranging from $3 to $6, cheaper than the land taxi :p

There are a lot of bridges in Singapore, and you get to see many of them along the rivers. Seems like there are 11 bridges to explore along the river taxi cruise, but I've only captured some of them. Actually some of us have often seen the map of the Singapore river and its bridges, but we may not have realised it. We see the map at the Clarke Quay MRT, because the map forms the floor pattern at the MRT platform! Heh I took a picture of the floor pattern as proof. So next time while you are at the platform waiting for the MRT, you could 'trace' the Singapore river and see the names of the bridges!

Ok, here's the pictures of the Andersonbridge & Cavenaugh Bridge (below):

Coleman Bridge & Elgin Bridge (below):

Here's the Read Bridge, and a link to its history:

花开堪折直须折 莫待无花空折枝

There is this Tang Dynasty poem which is quite popularly used by people to advise others to treasure and make full use of opportunity / time. I think the message is still applicable despite many hundreds of years have passed. Loosely translated, it means "Advising the youth not to hanker after beautiful clothes, i.e. waste time in entertainments, but to treasure the time given. Pluck the branches of flowers while they are blooming, or risk wasting the effort of plucking a flowerless branch." Well... my translation is not great, but I guess the meaning is more or less there. :) The poem in Chinese is shown below. So yah ... must treasure all opportunities and make full use of time!

（唐）金缕衣 - 杜秋娘 　　

劝君莫惜金缕衣，劝君惜取少年时。

花开堪折直须折， 莫待无花空折枝。 

 金缕衣：原指金线刺绣的华美衣服。

《金缕衣》中的“花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝”脍炙人口，是历来传颂的名句。

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