Archive for June 2014

Magnum Pleasure Store Singapore

I had noticed that a mysteriously store had ‘popped-up’ alongside Marina Bay at Custom House.  I was intrigued to find out the reason, and it seems that it is just a Magnum’s marketing campaign – to celebrate their 25 year anniversary.

I thought it was going to be an store serving nothing but ice cream, but instead this store actually was an eatery in addition to servicing desserts that involved Magnum’s ice cream – intriguing indeed.

The view overlooking MBS and Marina Bay was very nice, especially on a nice day in the Singapore sunshine, and the store looked very nice indeed. Looking over the bay did make you feel that it was floating, so you coudl very easily feel nauseous if you stayed too much outside.

The service was very good, and the meal was average in quality and taste – they served a couple of dishes, including pasta, which was okay…wouldn’t rave too much about it. However, the desserts were simply lush – served in perfection, and tasted like most Magnum products – delicious and refreshing. It wasn’t the cheapest of places, but I am glad we paid a visit before this pop-up store closes for good. You could actually make your own dessert ice cream, with a pick and mix selection of toppings on top of the classic magnum stick.

Magnum Pleasure Store Singapore
Customs House Terrace
70 Collyer Quay
Singapore 049323
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MagnumSingapore
URL: http://www.mymagnum.com.sg

Beerfest Asia 2014 in Singapore

Beer Fest Asia 2014

Beer Fest Asia 2014

Well it is traditional annual event in Singapore, and I have managed to skip it for the past 2 years I was in town, so this year I decided to go and pay it a visit. This year it was scheduled for 12-15 June, so it is a short event to enjoy the sights and sounds of some delightful beers.

It’s located near to the F1 circuit, in the Marina Promenade, just behind the Singapore Flyer, and the entry fee was $30 for a day entry – you get a complimentary beer, and then you have the buy beer credits to ‘buy’ the beers on show. It was a great location, and a great venue for this event, and I am still amazed on the amount of beers, flavours and alcoholic beverages that are available – you have such a choice.

We got a few beers – one Crabbies (still like that), and then we went for a Banana Beer and a Double Chocolate stout – which was quite ‘interesting’ to say the least.

Anyway, it is certainly worth to pay a visit, although just need to quick yourself hydrated as it gets very hot in the mid-day sun!

Beerfest Asia
1 Old Parliament Lane #02-01
Singapore 179429
Tel: +65 6338 8277
URL: http://www.beerfestasia.com
E-mail: info@beerfestasia.com

Singapore Gun Club – Shot-Gun Shooting (15th June)

After an episode in the US, where I held a rifle too close, and ended up getting a bit bruised on my forehead, I was a bit weary of guns…I am not a gun person by norm.  So when a group of friends scheduled a Clay Pigeon shooting session at the Singapore Gun Club, they kindly invited me along!  I didn’t even know that a Gun Club was actually allowed in Singapore, yet alone that one existed, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was one.

I knew it was going to be a great experience, but I was also a bit concerned that I was going to be pretty crap at hitting the target.  The location of the place was a bit far to the west at Choa Chu Kang…in fact any further west I would be in Malaysia…I recognised the name, but couldn’t recall why, only to realise that it had its own MRT station on the North-South line, the one I use to get to work, so I knew I had seen the name somewhere before!  Haha!

Anyway, I knew it was still quite west of the MRT station, so I decided to go by taxi…I jumped it and then told the driver where I wanted to go, I could tell he was pretty annoyed, as it was soooo to the West, it almost out in the sticks…he agreed to go (unlike other taxi drivers) and we went on our way.  As we approached the area, I noticed that there was a lot of defense and military and similar installations around, and the driver told me that this is where all of the Singapore defense offices are largely based…now makes sense why there is an official national gun club just along here.  There was also a lot of cemeteries too, the driver made a poignant comment that they were intending to move the graves because they needed to build on the land – which I still find very distasteful – but alas, that’s the issue when you are in a Country / island with limited land around!

To the sport in hand, when we arrived, I registered which was a temporary 3 month membership for $82, which allowed you to visit for this period of time. We were then led to the Clay Pigeon shooting range and provided the gun handling and safety awareness course instructions (health and safety briefing) on what to do, and how to hold the shot-gun etc. After this, we went for the Trap Shooting, which means that we stay at one position along the line, with various severity of aim, and the clay then came out of a central location. We had 25 clays in total each, and as we were still novices, the guide went down the line to ensure that only one person was firing at any one time, so it took about 2 hours all in all to finish the session. It was actually very tiring, and you could feel your arms and shoulders aching, but it sure was great fun – I ended up hitting the target about 70% of the time, so hit around 17-18 clays, not bad for a beginner! I would certainly do it again, at some point, just need to rest my brain and arms a bit! Haha!

Singapore Gun Club
Gun Club 990 National Shooting Centre
Singapore 689810
Tel: +65 6466 1575
E-mail: info@singaporegunclub.com
URL: http://www.singaporegunclub.com/

Comedy Night at Grand Park City Hall (13th June)

Comedy Night - Line-Up

Comedy Night – Line-Up

I am always game for some laughs, so when the Comedy Club Asia website featured another comedy night set, I decided to go for it.  I arranged a group of friends to visit on Friday, 13th June event – locate at the Grand Park City Hall, so we could go straight after work…well okay, after a few drinks first.

The line-up looked okay, although I had not heard of the cast before, and I know there are always 2 good ones, and 1 mediocre ones in the line-up in most type of sessions, so I was expecting a mix bag reaction.  Unfortunately, the place itself wasn’t that packed, so we were ushered to the front row (always a mistake on a comedy event), and the jokes just kept on coming.

Getting ready for the laughs!

Getting ready for the laughs!

I actually felt bad for another member of the audience who was poked on throughout the night, as soon as you give a comedian a little of bit of fun info, they truly take advantage of us…so luckily for us, our involvement was ‘limited’ in comparison to that poor fella!

Overall, a fun end of the night, and we certainly laughed a lot!  Comedy events are such a great way to chill, relax and drink a bit – although it does help when the comedians are a bunch of funny arses too!

Comedy Club Asia – Singapore
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheComedyClubAsia
Email: info@thecomedyclub.asia

Cook and Brew, Level 33, Westin Hotel

Well after a hard week at work, what better way to enjoy the sights and sounds of Singapore from up above.  A group of us went to the Cook and Brew bar at the nearby Westin Hotel (Tower 2 of Asia Square) – another one that is located on Level 33.

Panoramic View

Panoramic View

It actually was quite a nice place, and it certainly was a great view.  It is amazing to think that over the next few years, all of the green land around this area will have skyscrapers…and more amazing to think that all of this was water before…so I guess it is good to enjoy the greenery and scenic views, whilst it lasts…!!

Cook and Brew
Westin Singapore Hotel
12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2
Singapore 018961
Tel: +65 6922 6948
E-mail: cookandbrew.singapore@westin.com

Cycling Trip at ECP (8th June)

Another weekend, another cycling opportunity with a colleague.

We decided to really push for Changi Park, so we met-up at 3pm, and cycled hard, to go east along East Coast Park, and reach the edge of East Coast Park, just before the Changi Airport stretch at around 4pm, not that bad going.

We rested for a few minutes and observed a group of students perform some Stand-up Paddle Boarding, looked amazing, but looked very difficult. We then continued on and pushed ourselves along the Changi Airport Perimeter road (or the coastal path along the ride), before we reached the north end of the cycling path. We arrived at Changi Beach Park – wow – what a result!

Look at the ride report at Runkeeper.

Drumming at Raffles Town Club

We had our annual team meeting, which involving joining our Marketing team at a seasonal off-site team build, this time located at the prestigious Raffles Town Club – a members only club near Tanglin and juts down from the Botantic Gardens.

It was a nice venue, very intimate, and looked very relaxing indeed. It was also good to mingle with the team from the various locations in Singapore again…always a pleasure!

Anyway, we performed some nice drumming – from Drum Cafe, an events company based in Singapore. It was a great idea, to bring the harmony of everyone together. We did a similar thing in the Las Vegas global town hall where we had all of division playing instruments together – and that was fun indeed…it certainly did come together!

We played 4 type of drums (or originally from Africa) – each one with a set melody to play, which seemed pretty boring on its own…you then bring the other groups together and it sounded like a fantastic sound coming out of the room. As they say, the sound of an orchestral playing in harmony is truly inspirational and beautiful!

I definitely would recommend something similar, if you are looking for team build ideas…a great experience, and a great laugh – definitely a great way to get to know your colleagues better.

In fact, the Drum Cafe website, the benefits of drumming has the following 4 benefits:

  • Break down barriers to create a more open organization.
  • Align to a common goal, mission or vision.
  • Improve Communications through accurate feedback.
  • Accelerate Productivity by motivating staff and getting them to listen to each other.

I certainly do agree on all four-fronts!  Great fun indeed!

We finished with a team dinner at Sentosa – Jumbo Seafood Restaurant – for Black Bean and Chili Crab – and a steamed fish. What a yummy way to end the busy afternoon!

Drum Cafe
05-01 Kingly Building
46 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058679
Tel: +65 6438 8949
Email: info@drumcafe.sg
URL: http://www.drumcafe.sg 

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