Singapore Adventure: My New (Pink) Toy

Drum roll, please!!! :D

Singapore Adventure: My First Adobo

After a sudden downpour last weekend, the cookout at Eric, Marq, and Abel's flat was called off. And so, I am stuck with 20 pieces of chicken drummettes and 3 big chunks of pork belly.

What to do...???

The chicken, we had for lunch and dinner that same weekend. That's me with Hazel, Fred, and Jet at their flat. The first 10, I marinated in small lime juice, chili, garlic and fish sauce mixture. That's instant fried chili garlic chicken drummettes. The other 10, I marinated in my special barbecue mixture, which I fried also. No grilling today.

So the chicken's done. But the pork belly must somehow find its way to our tummies, too.

Ah... Adobo!!! :D

I asked my sister for my Mama's recipe, and with all the confidence I can gather, I went for it.

Tuesday, September 25, I served Hazel, Fred, and (birthday boy) Jet, my first pork adobo (with hard boiled eggs). Fortunately, it was a hit! Yay! :D

Congratulations to Hazel also for the wonderful Sweet and Sour Pork dinner last night. :D

Singapore Adventure: Three Big Stores

I started my day fairly early considering it is a weekend. I am meeting Fred to go store hopping in the Tampines vicinity.

So, I greeted the Saturday sunshine with a big smile and all geared up for the expensive day which I already anticipated.

A little snapshot of the view at our flat building's fascade. The train just passed me but it didn't escape my phone camera.


I am actually having a moment at the time I shot this photo. I believe this is the first time I was out of the house before 10:00 am on a weekend in my over 4 months of being here in SG.

I took the train from Ranggung (the stop to our flat) to Rumbia (the stop to Fred, Jet and Hazel's condo). Only a handful of people on the train so I was able to find myself a seat for the short ride.

After getting off at Rumbia LRT station, I had to walk a little to get to the condo building. More or less 5-7 minutes of walking.

I left the house with no breakfast because Fred promised he'd serve his (experimental) home-made skinless longganisa. And so to get my mind off my rumbling tummy, I took a photo of my shadow while walking to their place.

Am I that fat already or is it just my shadow?? >:(

The breakfast with Fred and Hazel went very well. And I declare that Fred's (experimental) home-made skinless longganisa is a true success. Congratulations! So far, no upset tummy. Hehehe.... >:)

And so, with happy tummies, we were off to start with the shopping. We walked for around 15 minutes from the condo building to Compassvale where the bus stop is for Bus 27.


Bus 27 is the direct service that will drop ups off at the Ikea, Courts, and Giant shopping complex.

First stop was Ikea. I had to buy a glass to replace the one I accidentally broke. And I had to get scented candles. I usually eat my meals in front of the laptop in my room, and so I need the candle to get rid of the smell of food. And just as we were leaving, the Swedish food stall in front of the Cashiers row dragged us towards it and we left each with a canister of Black Forest candy treats.

Next stop was Courts. We looked around for Fred's dream convection oven. I had my eye on the clothes stand and a book case that can double as a TV stand. Hopefully we will still have extra hands to come back for them after getting some groceries from Giant just right across.


We bought several stuff from Giant for the tomorrow's cooking expedition at Eric, Abel, and Marq's flat at Compassvale. And unfortunately, no more extra hands to get the things we want from Courts. So this calls for a shopping sequel next weekend. Hehehe...


And, yeah, we took a cab home.

Singapore Adventure: Crazy Over Popiah

I have always loved lumpia (spring rolls). Lumpiang Shanghai, Lumpiang Sariwa, Lumpiang Ubod, Lumpiang Gulay. All kinds. And after discovering Popiah in one of the food stalls at Kopitiam in Plaza Singapura, the love is renewed. :)

I can down two of these popiah in one sitting. There was a week around a month ago that I also get one as a side dish for lunch. It usually sells at 2.00 SGD at Hawker stalls.

It's just like the Chinese Lumpia my Papa and I used to buy along Ongpin Street back home. Max's also have their version of these which they call Oriental Lumpia. It's good. GOOD!!! :)

I got my Cookie to try them and he did enjoy the treat. Which surprised me, really, since he is not that fond of veggies. ;)

Aaarrggh!!! Now, I am drooling...

Singapore Adventure: An F&W Cookie Weekend

Fantastic and Wonderful (F&W), indeed! It was only a quick 5-day visit, but it was togethere-time well spent. Malling, visiting friends, watching TV together, pigging out. The simple joy of each other's company.

DAY ONE: The Cookies in Vivo City. A little strolling and sightseeing atop Vivo City. A late lunch of DELICIOUS Chili Crab at No Signboard Seafood. Malling and a little shopping.

DAY TWO: The Cookies with Friends at the Rivervale Crest Condo. A filling home-cooked all-Filipino lunch of Sinigang na Hipon, Lechon Kawali (with my special vinegar dip), and Pinakbet. Yummy! A nice game of Wii, the first time for my Prince Cookie.

DAY THREE: Too bad, I had to attend training. And so, time after office hours was just spent malling. But it was fruitful. I got the round corner puncher from Made With Love at Plaza Singapura.

DAY FOUR: Second day at training, but since I took the next day off from work, we decided to take a little adventure at Marina Square. Had early dinner at the Marina Squar Food Loft. And sat outside at the Esplanade by the bay. It was SWEET!!!

DAY FIVE: Last day for Cookie bonding. I took the day off and spent the entire day on a date with my Prince Cookie. A stroll along Orchard Road eating ice cream, chatting, just being together.

And the happy days were gone once again. Sigh. I miss you terribly, my Prince Cookie. :'(

Singapore Adventure: The TV is ALIVE!!!

Finally, I got it to work. Hurrah!!! Thanks to Capt. Jet for going with me to Best during lunch break today to have the S-Video to S-Video cable replaced with the VGA to VGA one.

And so, the picture you see on your left is House Season 1 Episode 18 - Babies and Bathwater running in Windows Media Player 11.

Nice. Hehehe...

And the next one is a snapshot of myself sitting in front of the TV screen. The image on the left edge of the photo is of my laptop with the attached webcam that transmits the image to the TV set which is now my second monitor. Cool, huh?

I can't wait to try this setup out while Skype-ing with my Prince Cookie.

Hello to long hours in front of the TV set. Yey! :)

Singapore Adventure: Cable Misadventure

In my excitement to see my new 26" Widescreen Samsung LCD TV in action, I went by the Best store at Plaza Singapura to purchase the cable that will allow my laptop to output video on the TV screen.

Prior to attempting this, I have sought the wise advise of my more techy buddies Capt. Jet and Fred. And they said, it is the VGA to VGA cable that I needed.

With this information in mind, I braved myself to go on for the purchase. And I saw this thingy hanging from one of the shelves with other cables at Best.

I took it and had a look. Hmm... S-Video. I think I saw this label on one of the ports on my laptop. I wasn't sure if this is the exact one I needed. So, I flagged down one of the staff at Best to ask if this is the cable I should get that will connect my laptop to an LCD TV. And he said yes. Magic word.


I went to the cashier to pay for it. And somehow, my conscience just wouldn't be pacified. I was supposed to get a VGA to VGA cable. Hmmm... Maybe I should ask another staff. So I did. And they said, I should ask the person at the cable shelves. I said, I already did, and he said this is the cable I needed. Then this person I asked said that if it is what the other staff has said, then this is definitely it, because supposedly he is the cable-go-to-guy at this Best branch.

I went home carrying the cable. Excited to try it out. And it was a sad and utter failure. Sniff. The S-Video output from my laptop is okay. But the PC input on the TV screen is a female VGA port. And in retrospect, I didn't bother to check for this.

One big sigh. Look at how much it costed me. I really have to return it and have it exchanged for the one I needed. The VGA to VGA cable. And this time, it is this only. Eye on the goal. :D While I'm at it, I think I should also get the audio cable to fully appreciate the viewing experience. Yeah. Hehe...

Singapore Adventure: My New Acquisition

I got up early on a Saturday morning on this specific weekend. Why? Of course, it is Comex weekend. Time for some gadgets and electronics shopping. Hehehe.

I went with Capt. Jet and his sister to the Suntec Convention Center where this annual IT event is hosted. The exhibition lasts only four days (30 August to 2 September), and so definitely, the place will be packed.

The picture on your left is my latest acquisition. Katas ng Comex! Hehehe...

It is a 26" Widescreen Samsung LCD TV. Costed me 888 SGD for this unit. I got it cheap but without any freebies. The salesperson says, he could throw in the DVD player for an extra 111 SGD. But I don't think I needed it, so I didn't bother.

At the moment it is already sitting at a nice spot in my room. But since the unit only came with the power cable, the connection cables for the cable point and computer has yet to be purchased.

My Cookie will help me sort it out when he comes over (which is by the end of this week already!) And from then, I can start enjoying my videos on a larger screen. Hehehe...

I can't wait to test it out to be my computer monitor. I just hope it won't make me blind so soon. Hahaha... :D

Singapore Adventure: A Birthday Celebration

Last night, ex-job teammate Eric (but now SG colleague), held his nth birthday celebration at the No Signboard Seafood Restaurant in Vivo City in Harbourfront.

And indeed, a filling dinner awaited his guests - Chili King Crabs, an exotic Bull Frog dish, Chicken in Dry Red Chili, Deep-fried Spicy Baby Squid, Yang-Chow Fried Rice, and Mee Goreng. It was a feast!!! Yum!

Inside the restaurant, the ambiance is very oriental. Specially with the golden dragon sculpture around one of the concrete posts. Truly captivating. I would have loved for my picture to be taken beside it. But I guess, the place is not that touristy to tolerate such kinds of photo-taking. Or that's just me hating to be put on the spot. Hahaha...

But still, this event is just so "first-time" for me that I can't stand knowing I let a wonderful photo opportunity pass. And so, here is me beside the chinese characters for "No Signboard" at the facade of the restaurant. :)

I hope I can take my Cookie and my family to dine here when they come over to pay me a visit.

Thanks, Eric, for the great birthday bash. Next year uli? Hehehe...