Darrenkane

Old houses along Tiong Bahru Road Went there about 2 week ago, from a recommendation of a friend, after rekindling my interest to look for good artisan coffee places. A little bit difficult to find the place, especially there for the first time but the walk through the estate, felt like a walk back in time. Chalet like backyard, to maintain the Kampong Spirit Front of forty h4nds I do not recommend going there on weekends, as it is extremely crowded and the 'sit back and relax' atmosphere as just missing. None the less, we still went in and sat at the corner near, in between the passage to the toilet and the stairs down to the outdoor seating area. The toilet was clean and so unpleasant smell. Not much of a service going on, they would quickly clean your table and maybe open the door for you if they were standing there, which they did for me. Water was self-service too. The counter of forty h4nds We had a large latte ($7), a single Macchiato ($4) and a Jama

If your a fan of cold Udon, this is the place to go. I was walking around on a Saturday afternoon, trying to find a nice place to have lunch. As usual J8, like almost every other heartland mall, was packed. However I managed to fine this place Kazokutei, located on the second floor just above Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The place was small but could sit about 50 people, a bit cramp though. Simple decor, like that of most Japanese restaurants in Singapore. Cold Udon & Soba We ordered 2 sets, I had the Cold Udon and Soba Set, served with a side of Tempura (above) and my girlfriend had the Udon in clear broth with a Salmon Don on the side (below). The food came fast and was served hot for those that were suppose to be hot.  Udon in clear hot broth I thoroughly enjoyed the cold Udon to the Soba. The Soba broke apart too easily, as if it was over cooked. The Udon on the other hand, was much better with the bounce texture still present when you dip it into the sauce an

A much anticipated trip to Cambodia, to take a break from working in Singapore so as to work abroad, was a nice feeling. Along with me on this trip was my travel partner, Daniel Tay, Project CORE Chair. Our trip would last for 5 days, 14th to 18th of June 2011, taking us 1573 km by plane (transiting at Siem Reap) and 371 km my taxi on bumpy roads. After a 'cheap' lunch at the staff canteen, we proceeded to belt 3 in Terminal 1 and immediately proceeded into transit; for there was no one to stay goodbye too. In doing so, we were extremely early, so early that our plane was not even at the airport. The earlier Jetstar plane which was at our belt. Our plane coming in on the left and the earlier plane leaving on the right. Since we were so early we had a long debate, tempted by the rows upon rows of duty free shops, whether to buy a gift for the Brothers. Finally we decided to be good visitor, and bought a small gift to metaphorically and physically lighten the

I was thinking of what to name this post and wanted to focus on the mission each one of us have in life. This question once again 'poped' into my head not because I was at a retreat or doing a reflection but because I spent 3 days living with the Marist Brothers in Pailin, Cambodia. Wonderful host, (from left) Marist Brothers, Bro. Bryan and Bro. Francis. Although it was a very short time in terms of a lifetime of a religious, it was a nice and pleasant break from the fast-paced Singapore, even if leaving the country to do work counts. The Brothers were so welcoming that it feel as if I knew them for months or even years. This is not my first time living with religious and some sort of a familiar feeling for me. However, it was different this time as the Brothers were quite new in Pailin and were still in their infancy stage of setting up a school, so everything even the infrastructure was very simple. Their main focus is to provide education for the rural poor, the poorest of

With a blink of a eye, I'm back to old Hall 5. Coming back was a chore as usual, taking the long train ride from end to end, eating away 1 and a half hours of my life. But with that said I should be thankful I have a place in Hall, if not I'll be doing it everyday. Coming back yesterday on Sunday, was a little wired after enjoying the comforts of home. Hall 5 was especially dark as they only switched on alternate corridor lights, in an attempt to save energy and $$ I guess. Hall doesn't have to save money, but the people living in it has to. Lights and especially fans are left on when no one is in the room, laptops and other electronic devices are turned on almost 24/7. But the weird factor was that Hall was dead, Hall was is usually quiet but the fact that NIE starts 2 weeks earlier than NTU, makes it worst. Almost 2/3 of the rooms were vacant and the feeling of living in Pulau NTU became real. It had even more greater effect, when my NIE roomies were not in, so leaving me

Place: Verandah Cafe, ACM Went there with my CJC Legion friends, who come find the time to make it. Decided on the place after reading a few good reviews, but they were very limited. I guess what boils down to it was my call to enquire if the place was open and price for a main course. So 7 of us went into the cafe, and found it to be baren, paling in comparsion with Timbre just opposite. We were the only customers in the entire cafe, that can sit about 20 indoors and 10 more outdoors. When I find a place empty, questions pop into my head, such as is the food bad or are we going to get ripped off? But to mu surprise it was not bad. Although we were the only customers, the kicthen was ill equiped to handle too many orders at once. I would suit perfectly in Hoi An, Vietnam, where you find many cafes and people just sit for hours reading a book while enjoying a cup of coffee or chai. The last main course to arrive was a pizza, about 25 minutes from the time of ordering. I ordered the burg