Kia Ora!
Many years ago, maybe about 13/14 years ago, I had the opportunity to work with with John Dam from New Zealand. We had a very good working relationship moving groups to New Zealand.
Though I had left the travel ('trouble') industry for quite a number of years, we have continued to keep in touch.
Yesterday, John flew in from Bangkok after business trip to Vietnam and Bangkok, on the way back to Auckland.
Met up with Sheryn and Doreen as well. Went for dinner at the food court next to the former Allson Hotel and desserts at Fruit Paradise.
It was really great catching up with him!
-------------- Sawbear Travel --------------
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Great Evening Out
Started off as a suggestion to meet up for dinner during one of the meet-up at Mac's. Decided to meet up on Thursday (15 July) at Jang Shou Korean BBQ at Katong Village. Was supposed to meet up with Derrick at Suntec but learned that Wong was at Chinatown and could give me a lift. Ended up picking me up from office, picking up Raymond near his office and Derick from Suntec before heading off to the restaurant.
Gerald and Jay were already at the restaurant. Other than Derrick, Raymond and myself,. the rest was new to the restaurant. Soon, the BBQ started with lots of meats on one 'pit' while ours was mainly vege! We had potatoes, mushroom and garlic!
This restaurant serves a general spread of meats in various marinates. The honey pork and the pork marinates with olive oil were delicious. The beef strips in special marinates were simply yummy!
By the time we finished, we must have slaughtered few pigs, and maybe half a cow! hahahahaha!
Next, we moved on to the ice cream place with delicious waffles. The shop was near to the Katong steamboat and we had lavender, rum n raisin, mango, kaya toast, wild strawberries, and sea salt vanilla, etc... we could still eat after the heavy BBQ dinner!
The night ended well, good meal and great company!
------------------- Sawbear Travel ----------------
Gerald and Jay were already at the restaurant. Other than Derrick, Raymond and myself,. the rest was new to the restaurant. Soon, the BBQ started with lots of meats on one 'pit' while ours was mainly vege! We had potatoes, mushroom and garlic!
This restaurant serves a general spread of meats in various marinates. The honey pork and the pork marinates with olive oil were delicious. The beef strips in special marinates were simply yummy!
By the time we finished, we must have slaughtered few pigs, and maybe half a cow! hahahahaha!Next, we moved on to the ice cream place with delicious waffles. The shop was near to the Katong steamboat and we had lavender, rum n raisin, mango, kaya toast, wild strawberries, and sea salt vanilla, etc... we could still eat after the heavy BBQ dinner!
The night ended well, good meal and great company!
------------------- Sawbear Travel ----------------
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Tiring but Enjoyable Saturday
Another Saturday out to JB.
Usually we would meet around 11am at Kranj MRT and I must say that the few recent trips, there's lot of people travelling into JB. Long queue (really long) waiting for Bus 170. Even for the yellow bus, there was a queue.
After clearing the Singapore immigration, the bus queue (to JB) was amazing long. We used to wait a short while but nowadays, the queue was like 3 times the usual and we have to wait much longer to get on to the bus, simply because the frequency was bad. I remember once we waited for 15 mins and still no bus!
The weekly congestion into JB started on the bridge and then slowly onto the F1 track and finally into the JB immigration/custom. Immigration was fast as there were not many people (surprisingly).
First stop was lunch and as usual, 顺发肉骨茶was the choice. Managed to get table and soon the food was on the table. This time, we told ourselves to take our time to eat and enjoy the food. Every time the food came, we gobbled it down in no time! We talked about the lunch and we reckoned that this is the best we had so far (in JB)!
Massage was next and we managed to have the masseurs that we wanted. Me having foot and Raymond having body. By the time we finished, it started to pour. Went over to Sakura for dessert n drink while waiting for the rain to subside.
One more stop at Leisure mall before dinner. Went into Giant but did not manage to find the stuff I wanted.
Decided to have dinner at that Modern Revelation Restaurant (Jap rest), recommended by Derrick. The restaurant serves Ala - carte and set meals. We ordered steamboat with Tom Yam and chicken bone stocks. The meal was average and the ala-carte order was not cheap. We had 7 slices of luncheon meat for M$7! The drink (fruit tea) was rather delicious, though. Verdict - not going back again! Hahahaha!
Back to City Square to buy bread/bun at Lavender before heading back to Singapore. The coming back traffic was very smooth except had to wait for Raymond to clear immigration.
Was to meet up with Derrick for dinner (again!) at Chinatown. By the way we got there (almost 9pm), Wong and Tony were there too! Couple of nights ago, Gerald and I had dinner with Derrick and Raymond at Chinatown. We decided to have dessert at Mac and Derrick mentioned that he recently bumped into Wong and Tony often. Having said that, we actually met them at Mac!
We went over to 兰州拉面 shop in Chinatown and ordered the 招牌炸酱拉面 and some other dishes. The portions were not huge but the food was delicious. Then, we went over to the dessert stall along the food street for cold desserts before calling it a night.
By the night I got back, it was coming 11pm.... a tiring day..... but enjoyable!
--------------- Sawbear Travel -----------------
Usually we would meet around 11am at Kranj MRT and I must say that the few recent trips, there's lot of people travelling into JB. Long queue (really long) waiting for Bus 170. Even for the yellow bus, there was a queue.
After clearing the Singapore immigration, the bus queue (to JB) was amazing long. We used to wait a short while but nowadays, the queue was like 3 times the usual and we have to wait much longer to get on to the bus, simply because the frequency was bad. I remember once we waited for 15 mins and still no bus!
The weekly congestion into JB started on the bridge and then slowly onto the F1 track and finally into the JB immigration/custom. Immigration was fast as there were not many people (surprisingly).
First stop was lunch and as usual, 顺发肉骨茶was the choice. Managed to get table and soon the food was on the table. This time, we told ourselves to take our time to eat and enjoy the food. Every time the food came, we gobbled it down in no time! We talked about the lunch and we reckoned that this is the best we had so far (in JB)!
Massage was next and we managed to have the masseurs that we wanted. Me having foot and Raymond having body. By the time we finished, it started to pour. Went over to Sakura for dessert n drink while waiting for the rain to subside.
One more stop at Leisure mall before dinner. Went into Giant but did not manage to find the stuff I wanted.
Decided to have dinner at that Modern Revelation Restaurant (Jap rest), recommended by Derrick. The restaurant serves Ala - carte and set meals. We ordered steamboat with Tom Yam and chicken bone stocks. The meal was average and the ala-carte order was not cheap. We had 7 slices of luncheon meat for M$7! The drink (fruit tea) was rather delicious, though. Verdict - not going back again! Hahahaha!
Back to City Square to buy bread/bun at Lavender before heading back to Singapore. The coming back traffic was very smooth except had to wait for Raymond to clear immigration.
Was to meet up with Derrick for dinner (again!) at Chinatown. By the way we got there (almost 9pm), Wong and Tony were there too! Couple of nights ago, Gerald and I had dinner with Derrick and Raymond at Chinatown. We decided to have dessert at Mac and Derrick mentioned that he recently bumped into Wong and Tony often. Having said that, we actually met them at Mac!
We went over to 兰州拉面 shop in Chinatown and ordered the 招牌炸酱拉面 and some other dishes. The portions were not huge but the food was delicious. Then, we went over to the dessert stall along the food street for cold desserts before calling it a night.
By the night I got back, it was coming 11pm.... a tiring day..... but enjoyable!
--------------- Sawbear Travel -----------------
Sunday, 4 July 2010
Hong Kong 02 - 04 July (Part 2)
03 July
A relax day ...... started with Dim Sum breakfast near Prudential Hotel - 金御海鲜酒家. I ordered 鲜虾烧卖皇，金御鲜虾饺， 香芋蒸肉排， 瑶柱蒸萝卜糕 and 蜜汁叉烧肠. The dishes were delicious! Yum, yum!
Then we went for a stroll along Nathan road, and ended at a supermarket! We walked a lot that morning....went over to the SOGO at Tsimshatsui and then to Star Ferry Terminal and wanted to catch a movie but timing was not good. We decided to have a quick bite before heading back to the hotel. Simply too hot to be walking along the street!
We stopped at Toast Box and ordered 2 sets that came with 2 half boiled eggs. The eggs looked good but not hot enough and instead of dark/light soy sauce, they served thick sauce instead. Did not go well with the eggs....
Managed to buy my high blood tablets at a medical shops (after been to a few the day before). Cheaper to buy in HKG than back home!
Rested in the hotel while Stephen caught up with his preparation for his exam in Aug. Then, Stephen went for a birthday dinner while I went to walk the night markets at Mong Kok and Jordan. It was a pleasant walk from Mong Kok down to Tsimshatsui and I ended up at a dessert shop for dessert! Also stopped at a pub for a drink before catching up with Stephen. We went over to a Japanese restaurant for a quick bite of sushi and ramen before heading back to hotel.
04 July
Checked out of the hotel and went for dim sum again at the same restaurant before heading out to Kowloon station to check in my luggage. Took the airport express and within 25 mins, arrived at the airport. Immigration clearance was very fast for me because I HAVE THE HKG FREQUENT VISITOR CARD! This card is amazing! I could see a long queue of passengers waiting to clear the immigration but I did not have to join the queue! I cleared through very fast!
The flight was rather comfortable with good movies on board...better than the flight I took to Hong Kong!
The trip was pretty short and I really did not do much. The weather was a killer! The purpose of the trip was to spend time with him....be there for him.....
I thank God for making all these possible.
--------------- Sawbear Travel -----------------
A relax day ...... started with Dim Sum breakfast near Prudential Hotel - 金御海鲜酒家. I ordered 鲜虾烧卖皇，金御鲜虾饺， 香芋蒸肉排， 瑶柱蒸萝卜糕 and 蜜汁叉烧肠. The dishes were delicious! Yum, yum!
Then we went for a stroll along Nathan road, and ended at a supermarket! We walked a lot that morning....went over to the SOGO at Tsimshatsui and then to Star Ferry Terminal and wanted to catch a movie but timing was not good. We decided to have a quick bite before heading back to the hotel. Simply too hot to be walking along the street!
We stopped at Toast Box and ordered 2 sets that came with 2 half boiled eggs. The eggs looked good but not hot enough and instead of dark/light soy sauce, they served thick sauce instead. Did not go well with the eggs....
Managed to buy my high blood tablets at a medical shops (after been to a few the day before). Cheaper to buy in HKG than back home!
Rested in the hotel while Stephen caught up with his preparation for his exam in Aug. Then, Stephen went for a birthday dinner while I went to walk the night markets at Mong Kok and Jordan. It was a pleasant walk from Mong Kok down to Tsimshatsui and I ended up at a dessert shop for dessert! Also stopped at a pub for a drink before catching up with Stephen. We went over to a Japanese restaurant for a quick bite of sushi and ramen before heading back to hotel.
04 July
Checked out of the hotel and went for dim sum again at the same restaurant before heading out to Kowloon station to check in my luggage. Took the airport express and within 25 mins, arrived at the airport. Immigration clearance was very fast for me because I HAVE THE HKG FREQUENT VISITOR CARD! This card is amazing! I could see a long queue of passengers waiting to clear the immigration but I did not have to join the queue! I cleared through very fast!
The flight was rather comfortable with good movies on board...better than the flight I took to Hong Kong!
The trip was pretty short and I really did not do much. The weather was a killer! The purpose of the trip was to spend time with him....be there for him.....
I thank God for making all these possible.
--------------- Sawbear Travel -----------------
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Hong Kong 02 - 04 Jul (Part 1)
02 Jul
Ladies & gentlemen, soon we will arrive at HK International Airport. Kindly return to your allocated seats, have your seat upright, seat belt fastened and your tray table stowed away.
Dinner was at The Spaghetti House.The food was just average but they seemed to enjoy eating at this restaurant. We had black pepper wings (tasted below average), pizza, different types of spaghetti and salad! I found out that one did not like chicken, another one cannot take cheese and one did not like salad dressings and the last one, vegetarian.
Ladies & gentlemen, soon we will arrive at HK International Airport. Kindly return to your allocated seats, have your seat upright, seat belt fastened and your tray table stowed away.
As usual, there were lots of passengers and the immigration looked packed! This time, I am not worried. I walked up to the officer, he scanned my card and I went straight to the immigration for clearance! I was holding the HKG Frequent Visitor Card! There was a counter for the Card holder! So much easier and less hassle!
Stephen was already waiting for me at the arrival hall. Went to top up the octopus card and then proceeded to town. The train to town and the shuttle bus to hotel.
After checking in, went over to my favourite shop for a bite - 龙记招牌云吞面。Usually I would go to the shop at TsimshaTsui but had it near Jordan MTR instead. The 干捞 noodle was great and the 云吞were huge! Then, bought some toiletries before back to the hotel to rest. The weather in HKG was very hot, hotter than Singapore!
In the evening, went over to Mong kok to buy movie ticket for late movie at 11:10pm. The areas was very crowded with people! We went over to The Olympian City to meet up with the others for dinner. The public toilet was interesting. The flushing was by sensor. Place your hand slight above the button and it will flush on its own! Interesting!
Dinner was at The Spaghetti House.The food was just average but they seemed to enjoy eating at this restaurant. We had black pepper wings (tasted below average), pizza, different types of spaghetti and salad! I found out that one did not like chicken, another one cannot take cheese and one did not like salad dressings and the last one, vegetarian.
As it was WORLD CUP season, the mall was packed with people waiting to watch the soccer. Some of malls open for customers to watch. I found out some cinemas also converted to screen soccer matches! Its very big event here, in HKG!
The cinema was in a small screen on the 10th floor! Getting up and down was a hassle. But,we had no choice... The movie - IpMan The Legend was not too bad!
Stopped at the American Embassy (Mac's) before heading back to hotel for the night.
Had to get used of not having plastic bag provided at shops and 7-11. Over in HKG, you either bring your own bag or pay for it. Most people who carry......... something that is so diffierent back home.
-------------------- Sawbear Travel ----------------
Friday, 2 July 2010
At The Airport
It 's 9am in the morning and I have been here since 8!
Yes, I am flying off! Hooray!
Where? For some of you.....the answer is obvious! For the other, pls wait for my updates! Hahahahaha!
------------ Sawbear Travel ---------------
Yes, I am flying off! Hooray!
Where? For some of you.....the answer is obvious! For the other, pls wait for my updates! Hahahahaha!
------------ Sawbear Travel ---------------
An Evening Out
30 Jun
Met up with Derrick, Raymond & small Ben at Chinatown Point and could not decide where to go for dinner! Since Derrick was driving, we decided to go somewhere out of town. Between steamboat and Nasi Lemak, the option was steamboat..but we ended up with Korean BBQ!
Don't have to ask Raymond what he prefers.....anything will do!
Jang Shou Korean BBQ at Katong Village. The car parking system was a pain. We had to wait quite a while before we could get in and when we got in, there were plenty of empty lots!
The BBQ restaurant was rather empty when we got there before 8pm....it was still rather empty when we left! Hahahahaha! Very simple setup.....buffet style.......with some cooked food. The meat spread was rather good ..lots of variety.
We read reviews that the food was not bad but service was terrible. I have to say that the service was rather good that night! Well, there were more staff than customers! Perhaps, on weekday night, you get better service.
Soon, we were tucking in to the spread..... bbqing away! These people could really eat! We got to try the different marinates and also the BBQ potatoes slices that seemed to be Derrick's favourite!
It was quite a good meal and everyone enjoyed the food!
Then, it' s dessert time! We went to a new ice cream outlet (recommended by Derrick) for its ice cream and waffles. The ice cream flavours were average but the waffles were delicious! We had passion fruit which was good; peach that tasted very artificial and lavender that tasted like eating flowers!
It was a great evening, as usual, with this group of fun loving friends!
-------------- Sawbear Travel -------------
Met up with Derrick, Raymond & small Ben at Chinatown Point and could not decide where to go for dinner! Since Derrick was driving, we decided to go somewhere out of town. Between steamboat and Nasi Lemak, the option was steamboat..but we ended up with Korean BBQ!
Don't have to ask Raymond what he prefers.....anything will do!
Jang Shou Korean BBQ at Katong Village. The car parking system was a pain. We had to wait quite a while before we could get in and when we got in, there were plenty of empty lots!
The BBQ restaurant was rather empty when we got there before 8pm....it was still rather empty when we left! Hahahahaha! Very simple setup.....buffet style.......with some cooked food. The meat spread was rather good ..lots of variety.
We read reviews that the food was not bad but service was terrible. I have to say that the service was rather good that night! Well, there were more staff than customers! Perhaps, on weekday night, you get better service.
Soon, we were tucking in to the spread..... bbqing away! These people could really eat! We got to try the different marinates and also the BBQ potatoes slices that seemed to be Derrick's favourite!
It was quite a good meal and everyone enjoyed the food!
Then, it' s dessert time! We went to a new ice cream outlet (recommended by Derrick) for its ice cream and waffles. The ice cream flavours were average but the waffles were delicious! We had passion fruit which was good; peach that tasted very artificial and lavender that tasted like eating flowers!
It was a great evening, as usual, with this group of fun loving friends!
-------------- Sawbear Travel -------------
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