Saveur at Purvis...

Just across the National Library (at Purvis Steet), there is a restaurant that serves "affordable French food." The name is Saveur.

I've heard about the place several months ago, and I've been meaning to try it. However, PG Boy and I would always find a long queue whenever we would go. Hehe!

Last Saturday, thanks to his friend who knew the pastry chef, we were able to get a table and I finally got to try out the food at this restau.

The business must be doing very well because the place now occupies the space next door. That and I read that they will be opening another branch somewhere.

Not bad for place that started as a food stall in a kopitiam along East Coast Road, right?

One of the most popular dishes, if not the most popular, is the angel hair pasta with minced pork and dried shrimps. I was very hungry that night so I ordered one for myself. Hehe. For my mains, I ordered the chicken roulade.

Other dishes we ordered were two types of foie gras, a duck salad, and several desserts (panna cotta, creme brulee, chocolate mousse, strawberries and cream).

Just a warning though, the portions are quite small so you end up ordering for more. Hehe. Still, the place offers wallet-friendly and decent French food. And the place obviously continues to be a favorite given the queue.

Saveur 5 Purvis Street Singapore 188584 6333 3121 Operating Hours: Mondays to Sundays, 12.00pm till 2.30pm and 6.00pm till 9.30pm

Oh well...

I was hoping for a much more awesome start of the week.

But, as Tipz said, perhaps there are other plans intended. Hehe.

Oh well, the sun still rose in the East. And it was a good travel from the East to the West for work. So it's still a good day to be happy and grateful.

Have a great week ahead!

Two sides of Orchard...

Last night's Fridate was all about queuing and trying a new food place again. Hehe!

After work, I headed to Lucky Plaza for my monthly date with the staff of one of the remittance centers. Hehe! The exchange rate was 32.90 to SGD1. I dunno how this whole forex things work, but I was quite happy to see the rate like this. It's been awhile. When I moved to SG two years ago, there was even a time that the forex reahed 34.80 to SGD1. Happy days, happy days. Hehe!

From LP, I headed to Tangs to wait for PG Boy. The newly renovated Tangs is really looking great, I must say. Also, I think they brought in new brands. I guess they had to do it - both renov and bringing in new brands - to keep up with the competition. Geez, even LP underwent a renov and it now it looks waaay better. Good job.

Once PG Boy arrived, the first thing we talked about was always the first thing we would talk about when we meet up. "Where to eat, ah?" Hehe!

Of course, I already had a suggestion in mind. Hehe! Must always be prepared, you know. Anyway, I suggested to him that we try the Thai food place Richie and Coly have been raving about at Orchard Tower. Also, I told him we should explore the other side of Orchard since we usually always stick around the area between Wheelock and 313 Somerset.

So we headed to Orchard Towers to look for the Thai food place. It was my first time there, and it kinda brought back memories of Mabini/Harrison decades ago... except that all the drinking establishments were inside a building. Haha!

PG Boy and I found the place - Jane Thai Food - at the fourth level. It was right next to a girly bar (?) called Crazy Horse. The Thai place seems quite popular because after we got a table, people started arriving. We ordered seafood fried rice, pad thai, kangkong with sambal paste and chicken pandan. It was quite okay. For the four dishes, we paid about $30.

After dinner, I told PG Boy we should probably head back to the better half of Orchard. Hehe! So we started walking towards Ion to look for a dessert place.

We ended up queuing at Laduree at Ngee Ann. The first thing I saw when we entered Ngee Ann was a long queue at Chanel. Crazy! PG Boy teased saying that there was probably a 1-for-1 ongoing. Hehe! We saw the Laduree counter with a short queue, so I took a place... until this guy told us the end of the queue is further back, right next to Hugo Boss. Wahlau, eh! Haha!

PG Boy asked if we were seriously going to queue. I told him, "Of course. We're going Singaporean tonight." Hehe! If you didn't know, there's this notion that Singaporeans like to queue. And if there's a queue, then it must be worth it.

So PG Boy and I got in line and decided what to order. I got the salted caramel. He got the rose petal. Each piece is $3.80!!! Seriously, that could get you 2 plates of chicken already at your neighbourhood hawker centre. It's crazy. Still, we had to try it at least once. The macarons were good, I must say. They can get away with what they're charging for each piece. Haha! But it's not something I would be craving for. I dunno. I think I can get a lot of other better sweet things for the same price.

From Laduree, we headed to Kinokuniya. I was thinking of messaging Tipz to check if he was still in the area. However, it was already close to 9PM and I just assumed he would already have left.

PG Boy and I capped our Fridate with coffee at Coffee Club. We then walked to the bus stop opposite Meritus Mandarin to wait for our bus.

Nice Fridate night. :)

Duibuqi, wo de zhongwen bu hao...

So far, my fave among the three songs our laoshi has showed us.

Hehe!

Keisuke Tonkotsu King and Group Therapy...

A stone's throw away from the Tanjong Pagar MRT is a ramen shop that always has a long queue.

The ramen place, Keisuke Tonkotsu King, located at Orchid Hotel is one of the places I've always wanted to try. There was never a time I passed by the shop and not see a queue outside the small shop. The fact that the queue is always quite long made me really curious to find out just how good the ramen at this place is.

Last Friday, PG Boy and I finally got to experience the ramen. The shop can only sit about twenty people. This is not the place to go to if you want to hang out and chitchat with friends over dinner. This is a place where you just eat your ramen and go.

Before you are given a table, there is a piece of paper where you can already indicate the ramen that you want. You have the following choices - Tonkotsu Ramen ($10.80), Black Spicy ($11.80) or Red Spicy ($11.80). You can also select your choice of toppings (seaweed, egg, char siew), how you want your soup (light, strong normal), the amount of chicken oil to be used (less oil, etc.) and the type of noodles (soft, hard, etc.)

I went for Tonkotsu Ramen Special All Toppings ($14.80) just so I can try everything. Hehe!

The ramen was quite delicious. Some may say that the soup may be too salty. Coming from a country that has dishes that are rich in flavour all the time, I found the soup to be quite good.

Overall, I would say that the ramen is oishii and enjoyable. However, I don't think I'd be queueing for thirty minutes just to satisfy my ramen craving. I could go to the other ramen shop just around the corner - Menya Sanji - and still enjoy my bowl of ramen.

After the very quick dinner, PG Boy and I headed to Duxton for dessert. I felt like dinner was too rushed. Hehe! It was a nice Friday night and it would be such a waste if we just headed back immediately after dinner.

So we decided to head Group Therapy - the cafe just above Etna Italian Restau along Duxton for some coffee and dessert.

I enjoyed it more because it wasn't that crowded, and we were able to take our time in having dessert and drinking coffee while talking. Hehe!

Good Friday night.

Keisuke Tonkotsu King
1 Tras Link, #01-19 Orchid Hotel, Singapore
Tel: 6636 0855

Group Therapy Coffee
9 Duxton Rd 089513
6222 2554

Well done, NZ...

New Zealand just legalised same-sex marriage.

The gallery spectators and parliament breaks into song.

The crowd sings "Pokarekare Ana," a traditional love song in Maori language.

First gallery presentation for the NMS training...

Last Saturday, I had my first gallery presentation at the National Museum as a docent.

This was part of the two-month intensive museum guide volunteer training.

The presentation was only for five minutes. There are two more to be done. The next one will be a 10-minute presentation, while the last and the finale will be a full one-hour tour. I'm going to be positive and say that it is very exciting instead of saying it was nerve-wracking. Hehe!

At the end of my presentation last Saturday, it did feel quite exciting and enjoyable. To be a museum docent was something I've always been wanting to experience. It's just amusing that I had the opportunity in another country. Hehe!

Initially, I thought that I would only be presenting to my two group mentors. However, it turned out that each one had to present to the mentors as well as the entire team. That made it more exciting. Hehe!

It was very good practice though. After my talk, I received good feedback from my mentors. As for points for improvement, I needed to work on my "hook" to catch the museum guests' interest.

The topic assigned to me was the Singapore Stone (pictured above). It's one of the national treasures of Singapore. It is one of the oldest relics of the country that gives insights to Singapore's pre-colonial times.

If you want to know more about it, meet me at the Singapore History Gallery of the National Museum. Hehe! Kidding.

Aside from the gallery presentations, the afternoon was a continuation of the weekly lectures on Singapore history. The one-hour lecture is immediately followed by a one-hour walkthrough at the section of the gallery that was the topic for the afternoon. The two curators who have so far given the lecture/walkthrough have been very inspiring and have given trainees ideas on how things should be done. (On a side note, they're both still very young!!! I'm so impressed. Hehe!)

So far, the past three weeks have been very interesting. The whole training is a crash course on Singapore history. For the past few weeks, I've been reading a book entitled Singapore: A Biography which summarizes the country's history from pre-colonial times up to the recent decades.

As an international museum guide, I feel that one good thing about it is that I am able to somehow compare and contrast the things I learn about Singapore history to Philippine history as well as current events in Singapore and around the region.

(Previously, I was very nervous about not having any background on Singapore history compared to my fellow docent trainees. After three sessions and a lot of reading, I feel like I am somehow catching up. Also, I am starting to realise that being a good docent doesn't necessarily mean memorising all the dates and events. All the facts and figures are available in different formats (Google, books at the National Lib, talking to resource persons, doing own research) -- what matters is how you present the story. Somehow, realising that minimised my insecurity about not knowing much about SG history. Hehe!)

There are a number of other trainees from other countries as well, including a fellow Filipino. It's great that everyone in the group has been very friendly and helpful. In my own group, there's one more guy and four women. We're quite an interesting mix, I think.

Looking forward to the next training sessions. :-)

About my landlord and his mom...

I dun remember if I've written about it before, but I have the best landlord in the entire city-state. Hehe!

Last night was one of those very rare occasions when we saw each other at home. As hard as it may be to believe, I hardly see my landlord. Most of the time, by the time I get home he would already be in his room or vice-versa. My other housemate, who occupies the other room, in our three-room flat is the one I see the least. Maybe because he travels a lot for work. Hehe.

After I threw my stuff into the washing machine, I headed back to my room to do other stuff. A few minutes later, there was a knock on my door. It was my landlord and he gave me a facial product, which he got from a friend's overseas trip. I may have mentioned that this is not the first time I've received random presents from landlord. Hehe! He would always bring me something when he goes on trips overseas. I would do the same thing though. I would always but presents for him and Auntie whenever I go overseas.

I thanked him for the present and went back to watching my series. A short while, and then I got a WhatsApp message from my landlord saying the things above. Can't believe it's been almost two years. It feels longer than that sometimes. And yeah, I've become sooo comfortable with my room and my home.

When I was still looking for a place to stay in, one advice given to me was to choose carefully. The main criteria - the place should be something you look forward to going back to after a long day. I can say that about my current place.

Even if I have the option to move somewhere closer to the city or find a roommate to cut down on rent costs, I've become so used to my place in the heartlands. Hehe. It's become my home away from home, so to speak.

I told the last sentence to my landlord. I told him that I feel lucky to have found a home away from home. I told him that I am grateful for his kindness and Auntie's kindness. (Thus, the second reply above.)

Ironically, the one I see the most is someone who doesn't live with us - my Mom's landlord aka Auntie. Seriously, I see her more than I see my two other housemates.

Auntie is a petite, elderly woman who has so much energy. I say this because she doesn't run out of things to do... ever.

When I reach home, Auntie would already be there either cleaning the house, folding laundry, talking on the phone, or praying fervently in front of the family altar.

Too bad we have a language barrier. Otherwise, I'm sure we'd always have major chikahan. Hehe. Our "communication" would mostly be sign language punctuated with simple English and the few Chinese phrases I know. Haha!

Auntie would always, always, always offer me Magnum ice cream bars whenever she'd see me at the kitchen or at the laundry area. Hehe! I would happily say yes and thank her. Lately, I've been trying to decline because I fear that I am putting on weight again. Hehe! So the last time she offered, I said, "Bu yao, Auntie." (I dun want, Auntie.) She then smiled and pointed to her tummy and said, "Okay, too sweet. Laki!" And we both just laughed.

Aww, I really feel blessed to have found this home. Who knows how long I'll be staying with them given the current situation about foreign workers?

But nevertheless, if and when the time comes that I do have to leave the country, I will be bringing with me good memories of my home away from home...

Must be a sign...

Image from here

I think I may have just been given the sign.

These past few weeks, there is this one thing that has been constantly in my head. While there is really no need to think about it now, I cannot help but spend a few minutes thinking about it every now and then.

When I head to Mass in the morning, I would always ask Him to give me even a small sign that would help me get to a decision on this thing I'm thinking about.

The sign may have finally arrived yesterday. I was reading something on my way to class, and it just occurred to me, "This may be the sign I'm waiting for." Hehe!

I don't know if it is worth believing in signs. I believe we are the masters of our own destiny (most of the time... lol). Or maybe I should say that I believe we're co-pilots with the Big Guy up there.

So every now and then, prayer does help and a little sign may also help push one to finally make a certain decision. Hehe!

Happy birthday, Tey!

Today is the birthday of one of the people I love, love, love the most - Tey.

Our friendship began in 1996 when we were both freshies of the BA OrCom program of UP Manila. But our friendship really grew after uni when we were both in the real world, so to speak.

We've seen each other through so many things - group presentations, finishing uni, starting relationships, ending relationships, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining weight again (hehe!), losing loved ones, discovering new places and so on.

When your friendship with someone is now seventeen years (and still counting), you know that it's definitely it's a friendship for life.

I feel blessed to have that kind of friendship.

Happy, happy birthday, Tey! :D Thank you for being there all the time. Love you very, very much!

Team Jake...

With The Walking Dead on a break and The Vampire Diaries about to go on a break (?), I have no idea what series to watch.

Thankfully, I still have tons of series waiting to be watched thanks to Ian. Some weeks ago, I started watching Grey's Anatomy again. I'm now somewhere on the third season. I stopped watching a bit because I'm starting to get annoyed with the characters. Hehe.

Last night, I started watching Awkward. I remember friends Mon and Victor were talking about it ages ago. I just never started watching it because at that time, I was on TWD and TVD.

So far, I've been enjoying the series. It's your typical shallow, teenage drama but I'm kinda liking the series because I don't have to think. It kinda reminds you of the awkward time that was high school.

Almost done with season 1 and I've started to DL season 2. My landlord recently just switched to fibre broadband and so far, the connection's been awesome.

If you've been watching the series, you will know what I mean when I say I'm Team Jake.

You're. welcome.

Friday nights at OT...

When I was still in my previous job, some of my colleagues, including my best friend Tey, would usually stay back at the office on a Friday night.

One, Manila + Friday night is a recipe for horrible traffic. Two, there is more work to be done. Hehe!

The good thing is that our office was smack in the middle of the business district. That meant having easy access to the malls, drinking places, etc.

On certain nights where we didn't feel like heading to Greenbelt or we just wanted something very laidback, very casual, we would go to this place along De la Costa called OT.

It was a stone's throw away from the office and on many nights, it served as our version of the bar that Ally Mcbeal and her colleagues would hit.

There ws nothing fantab about OT. People were allowed to smoke. Food was your regular stuff. When you leave, you bring with you the combined smell of cigarette smoke, smoked food and so on. LOL!

But we love the place for two things - cheapo buckets of San Mig Lights and cheapo karaoke. Haha! We're talking about five peso per song here.

If I remember correctly, karaoke starts at 10PM. By then, there would be quite a few tables occupied with fellow yuppies who wanted to relax but nothing too formal and chichi (chichi talaga?!). Most of them were colleagues from other departments - Engineering, IT, Customer Service, and us Public Affairs.

Because we'd always see each other

A catalogue of the songs would be passed around and we would take note of the number code for the songs we wanted to sing. We'd give the piece of paper to the waiter who would then key in the numbers to the karaoke machine. Haha!

And for the next two hours, we would have our own karaoke night. No one cared how you sung the song. When you had the mic, you owned the place. LOL. No fights erupted. No broken bottles or noses. Just pure, unapologetic singing. Haha!

Good times, good times, indeed!

Q1 of 2013 was all about trips...

Partly inspired by Tipz's recent post. Hehe!

The difference is that my realization came before the actual trips. Hehe! :D

The first quarter of 2013 saw me heading out of the island every month.

In January, I went to Bali with a few friends I've known for more than a decade now. Towards the end of the month, I did my first trip back to the Philippines ever since I got here.

In February, I'm not yet sure if this will be THE major trip of the year. This much I can say though, the very short trip to Kathmandu surely left a lifetime of memories.

In March, PG Boy and I joined the mass exodus from the island because of the a long weekend. We headed to Malacca. What can I say? I def want to go back. It was too short a trip.

I am really grateful to have been able to do these trips. I don't think I've been traveling this much when I was back in the Phils. Hehe. Or I was, but mostly for work and mostly to places around the Philippines. Hehe!

With the current situation for foreign workers here in Singapore, my goal this year is to really save. It's a critical year because no one knows what will happen come March 2013. Yaiks. However, I am praying, I am hopeful, I am claiming it, that I will still be in Singapore in 2014. Hehe!

Docent training begins...

Last Saturday was the first session for the Museum Guide/Docent Training Course at the National Museum of Singapore.

A day before the course, the organizers emailed readings - yes, readings - to all docent trainees I suppose.

On the way home last Friday and over breakkie last Saturday, I was reading on the pre-colonial history of Singapore.

It's very interesting. When I think about Singapore, what usually comes to mind are the skyscrapers, great shopping, chicken rice. It was good learning about the time before the island was occupied by the British in 1819.

The first session of the course was both fun and intense. The senior guides gave a lively and enjoyable talk on guiding skills for museum volunteers.

Afterwards, we were given a lecture on the Temasek history. Singapore was once known as Temasek. In Malay, it means sea town. That afternoon, I met Wang Dayuan, Sang Nila Utama, Raja Culan, Iskandar Shah, among others.

Following this was our first gallery walkthrough. I've been to the History Gallery a couple of times, but this is the first time that the artefacts and relics are having more meaning to me.

The session ended with an assignment. (It really does feel like going back to school!) I had to prepare a talk about a particular topic. Come the third session, I will be doing my presentation. Exciting and it's also making me nervous. Hehe! :D I'm really impressed with how organized the training course is. It was also great seeing how passionate the senior guides are in what they do.

We were given a schedule of the entire training schedule that will run until end of May. The senior guides are right. Our Saturdays will never be the same again. Hehe!

Looking forward to the next sessions.

Juan Pablo II, te quiero por el mundo...

I recently watched this two-hour CNN documentary on the last days of John Paul II.

Partly inspired by the recent trip of MkSurf8 and RKGreg to the Vatican and Rome during Holy Week. Hehe!

JPII, without doubt, was one of the most well-loved leaders of the Catholic Church. I still remember his trip to the Philippines for World Youth Day decades ago. My Mom and my second brother trooped to the Apostolic Nunciature at Quirino Ave. to get a glimpse of the Holy Father. That was definitely an experience.

Check out the docu when you have the time. It features beautiful interviews on the last few days of the Holy Father before he returned to our Creator.

What I liked about the Malacca trip...part 2

3.) The Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. To get a glimpse of how the houses along Tun Tan Cheng Lock look inside, visit the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. The house belonged to a Chinese merchant named Chan Cheng Siew and his family. The descendants have turned the grand home into a private museum showcasing the distinct Peranakan lifestyle. Centuries-old Chinese needlework, intricately carved wood furniture inlaid with mother of pearl, elegant china dinnerware from England, traditional clothes are but some of the few things on display at the private museum. There is a minimal fee to be paid. The museum opens daily at 10AM. The first guided tour is at 10AM. The Baba and Nyonya Heritage House was definitely one of my favorites. Sadly, no photography/videography allowed.

A bit of trivia: Peranakans (literally meaning "born here" in Malay) are the descendants of early Chinese settlers who inter-married and adopted the local Malay customs. The marriage of cultures resulted in a unique Baba-Nyonya culture. Baba is the term used for the Peranakan male while Nyonya refers to a Peranakan female.

4.) Nyonya cuisine. Philippine cuisine has strong Spanish and Chinese influences. The same can be said of Peranakan cuisine. The intermarriage of Chinese and Malays led to a unique Nyonya (or Peranakan) cuisine. Do try Cafe 1511 just beside the Baba and Nyonya Heritage Museum. On the way to the museum, we met an uncle who was very proud of his Peranakan heritage. He told us to order the pai tee (tophats), nyonya popiah (which came with a strict order, "Nyonya popiah, okay! Not the Chinese popiah!" Hehe!) and the curry fish head.

5.) The tomb of St. Francis Xavier. At the ruins of St. Paul's church, there is an open tomb. What most people probably do not know is that the remains of St. Francis Xavier was briefly interred there before it was transferred to India. There was no marker to inform people that the tomb is actually a sacred one (to Catholics, at least). As a somewhat practicing Catholic, I was really glad to be able to visit the grave of a saint. A bit more trivia: Quite a number of miracles attributed to St. Francis Xavier took place in Malacca.

An overnight trip turned out to be not enough to explore the city. There was still so much to see - museums, more ancestral houses, dining places we didn't get to try.

Would definitely be back.

Two years Singapura...

Today marks my second year in Singapore and with Wiley. :)

The dream to work here started in 2008 when I visited friends Richie, Mon, Jean and Joi. It took three years before the dream became a reality (hehe!), but I'm really happy to have been given this blessing.

Really grateful to all the people who have inspired/encouraged/supported me in making this happen. Among them MkSurf8, Chris, Ian...

The story of how the dream became a reality is here.

Lately though, things have been quite uncertain for foreign workers. Measures to tighten the inflow of foreign workers keep on being introduced. Work pass applications, both new and renewals, are being rejected. Anti-foreigner sentiments abound online.

Still, I'm grateful to have experienced the last two years and to start a third year. One day at a time, I suppose...

It's just a bit stressful because it's difficult to make long-term plans because of the uncertainty here. Add to that the fact that I worry about what will happen to me and PG Boy if ever... Knock on wood a million times. Haha!

Sabi nga ni Bien, "Mygash, ...years in the making ang pagkakaroon ko ng jowa, tapos wawasakin lang ng MOM? No no no." Hahaha! True that!

Anyway, this is a post about being grateful. My sentiments on being a foreign worker in a country I really love is reserved for another time. Hehe!"

Thank you ulit sa lahat lahat ng kaibigan!

What I liked about the Malacca trip...part 1

If I had to choose my favorite parts of the trip, it would be these:

1.) Wah Aik Shoemaker House. Along the bustling Jalan Tokong, one will find most probably one of the world's last makers of shoes for women with bound feet (also known as lotus feet shoes). We met Raymond Yeo, the grandson of the shop founder, who was kind enough to tell us a bit about his grandfather and the shoes they make. The business is family-owned for the past three generations. Aside from the lotus feet shoes (which are now mainly sold as a souvenir), the shop also sells beaded sandals and leather shoes.

2.) Ancestral houses. Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock, formerly called Heeren St, was also known as the Millionaires' Row of Malacca. One must take time to walk along the street to appreciate the houses that belonged to the wealthy merchants. It is easy to think that it's just another row of usual houses. Two things: One the beauty of the facade is in the elaborate details. Look for the decorative tiles the front of the house. Look for the details around the windows of the house’s second storey. Two, though the houses may look small, these open up to huge spaces. The reason for narrow width? At one time, taxes were collected based on the width of the house. The front may be narrow but the length of these houses can extend to more than 100 metres in length.

Of the many houses, house no. 117 seems to be the grandest of them all. This is the Chee Ancestral House, which once belonged to one of the wealthiest families in colonial Malacca. (Or I think it still does because the house still has residents and is not open to the public). The house reminds me of some of the ancestral houses in Iloilo.

To be continued...

Malacca getaway...

The recent long weekend was an opportunity to head out of the island for a short holiday in the neighboring country.

Destination: Malacca.

I've missed the chance to visit the historical state of Malaysia twice. Missing a trip to the UNESCO World Heritage City a third time was not going to happen. Hehe!

Grand ancestral houses. Memories of a colonial past. Cuisine that reflect the local culture and heritage.

The old town was a treat for the eyes and the palate. Walking along the streets of the old part of town, one's eyes are drawn to . And at the end of a long walk, reward yourself with a feast of Nyonya cuisine and traditional desserts such as candol.

An overnight trip turned out to be not enough to explore the city. There was still so much to see.

Would definitely be back.

Highlights from the trip in the next few posts...

...

There has to something good to come out of all of these... There has to be...