Archive for August 2014

New Bike Purchase – Yay Baby

AutoInc - Fine Cars!!

AutoInc – Fine Cars!!

After much toing and froing, I decided to get a new bike, so we decided to pay a visit to Rodalink in Commonwealth…a short walk from the MRT. Before we arrived, we noticed a car dealership with a difference – this one had Ferrari’s, Lambo’s, and Aston Martin’s on display – now THAT’s a garage that I would totally love to have!!

We looked at a few options and I decided to go with a road-bike – the pros is that it works well for the road and pavements, and parkway connector, but the cons are that it only works on the road, pavements and parkway connectors 🙂 e.g. it doesn’t work off-road or on dirt tracks…as I am not a pros or avid cyclist, I thought the pavement/road option was better. That said, I don’t actually intend to go on the ‘road-road’ cause that would just be insane in Singapore – rather cycle on the Park Connectors Network (PCN) – which go around Singapore connecting the various parks and parkways.

Lets hope I stay committed to cycling and getting FIT again! It cost just over S$850, but we had to add a cycle helmet, lock, bell, and air-pump – yikes…didn’t realise any form of exercise was this expensive. Just need going on the bike…and improve my cycling. Anyway, I intend to claim about S$400 of the above as part of my flexi-allowance, which is linked to my work’s ‘healthy living’ programme…so that’s quite a discount 🙂

ROWAS 2014 Event (29th Aug)

ROWAS 2014

ROWAS 2014

Well another year, another Reach Out With A Smile (ROWAS) event – where we intend to visit as many merchants as possible, and refresh the POP and Decals and give the opportunity to re-enforce our Value Prop, obtain any merchant feedback and identify any new merchant leads or issues with merchant suppression.

This year, we meat at the Mapletree Business Centre, and then we registered – mine was at the Marina Square complex, so by 1pm, I made my way there with 2 other peoples, and we blasted the mall with decals, POPs and materials etc.

After finishing, I met up with a colleague and the g/f at the Black Swan – and we enjoyed the Friday evening at this quite pleasant establishment.

Another week finished…and now onto September 🙂

Jumbo Restaurant – Chilli Crab (27th Aug)

I was taken to a dinner at Jumbo Restaurant in Riverwalk, near to Clarke Quay – and the main thing to eat here is the infamous Chilli Crab and Black Pepper Crab – yom yom, so we ordered both.  I always like coming to Jumbo, but not too often to get fed up with the food … haha!

It was a great delight (as always), and great when its with several people, then you can order more, and ergh eat more.

Jumbo Seafood
20 Upper Circular Road, #B1-48
The Riverwalk
Singapore 058416
Tel +65 6534 3435
URL: http://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/outlet-riverwalk.html

Vasanti Seminyak Resort in Bali – My Review

We stayed at Vasanti for a long weekend in August (17th-20th) – as we wanted to relax and chill in a nice location close to Seminyak beach.

Vasanti was a refreshing stay – the rooms were very modern and clean, although some of the backgrounds face a wall, which makes the natural light limited, and limits the view somewhat!

The hotel service staff (front desk, bell boy, room, restaurant/bar, towel etc) were very attentive and provided service with a smile. We felt very welcome – almost felt like it was a home away from home. They even offered to drop us off to the local currency exchange down the road using their golf buggy – that’s fantastic service.

The pool is really nice and very clean, with a nice selection of sun loungers surrounding the pool and bean bags (on the grass) – they do need to add a few more sun loungers, as they do get taken up very quickly in the mornings – but if you are lucky to spend a few more dollars and get a pool-side room, you have your own private loungers available to use.

The restaurant was perfect – a nice selection of fresh food, and fruits, meats etc.  Nothing special, but pleasant enough for the few days we were there.

There is a room-top bar where this was life music – the views are quite nice, especially at sunset – and there was a nice display of kites – as there was a kite festival on – which made it a joy to watch as we sipped our drinks. The bar doesn’t get that busy though, but it is very relaxing and quaint, and actually quite romantic if you are keen for a quiet evening in.  If you are looking for more ‘action’, I would suggest you go into Seminyak town for the other more lively bar establishments etc.

We did not have any issues with mosquitoes or insects during the stay, however, as you walk in front of the hotel (on the road leading to the hotel), just be aware that there are standard water in the open drains, so you need to spray up if venturing outside.

The location of the hotel was adequate, it was a short walk to the beach, although it involves following a windy path – but just ask for directions, and there are a few signs giving you direction. Unfortunately, there are no street lights, so you have to be careful at night…and there are no pavements on the small road leading to the hotel – so you have to give space for the odd taxi and vehicles that may drive by.

All in all – a very pleasant stay, and I certainly would recommend this modern, clean and very pleasant hotel – hats off to the great staff throughout the hotel 🙂 I just hope they can keep the cleanliness and service levels up!!

Vasanti Seminyak Resort in Bali
Jalan Petitenget Gang Cendrawasih No.99
Seminyak, Badang, Bali 80361
Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 8466966
E-mail: info@vasantiseminyakresort.com
URL: http://www.vasantiseminyakresort.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VasantiSeminyakResort

Bali Holiday – What a Fab Break! (August 2014)

My girlfriend and I intended to go for a nice holiday break away from Singapore for a few days, and we decided to spend a long weekend in Bali.  I haven’t been to Bali for ages – in fact almost 10 years (if not more), so I jumped at the chance to spend it with her in the fabulous place.

The flight was pretty reasonable (generally, it’s not too expensive to go to Bali), and we decided to go to Seminyak – a place I’ve heard about, but had never been before (well I don’t recall I’ve been there) – and we decided to stay at Vasanti Resort – which is a luxury resort within a short walk to the beach (well that’s what they said on their website – haha!).

The hotel was pretty nice – very new and modern – only opened since November 2013 – and it met our needs perfectly.  I’ve compiled a separate review specifically for the hotel here and on tripadvisor…I would recommend it, but only if you like the quietness of the location, as it is a short walk to the ‘action’ of Seminyak – but it is great for a relaxing and refreshing stay 🙂

On the first day, we went for a stroll to look for a place to eat, and we went down the road from the hotel along Jalan Cendrawasih , we turned right at the junction down Jalan Petitenget, and then saw an interesting place, relatively small in size on the road-side.  The place was called Warung Eny’s (at Jalan Petitenget No. 97, Seminyak) – so we had a quick look at the menu, and decided to give it a go – it did look like a local place, run by a family, so we hoped it would be nice.  The experience was absolutely amazing, the service was fabulous, the open kitchen allowed us to enjoy the view of the staff cooking along – it looks very interesting.  Service was very fast and attentive, and the food was absolutely amazing – the food was delicious and looked fab – as the open BBQ on the road-side was a nice treat.  Definitely recommend this place, if you are keen on enjoy local home-cooked food and ingredients, served in a great setting!  and it was sooo reasonable.

The next day, we decided to go for a stroll along the beach, we ventured along the road and eventually found our way to the beach (it is down the road from the hotel, but the path it is a bit of windy and hidden, but we managed to get our bearings in the end – haha).  We reached the beach, with the nice classic black sand of Seminyak beach.  We went by the ‘W’ hotel, and went by the infamous “Potato Head“, we decided against the hustle and bustle of Potato Head and found a nice location in the “W-Bali“, which was actually pleasantly enjoyable – very relaxing, and although it was quiet in the early morning – it was perfect for our needs, as we enjoyed each other’s company.  

After a few drinks (okay they were a bit pricey here), we went on for a late afternoon snack / meal, in the town.  We found a place called “The Deck“, which seemed quite nice – with a bit more of a life to it…it looked like a local ‘Western’ bar, but we a nice soup and Beef Radang pizza – a nice twist to the classic Indonesian dish.  We then went inside and enjoyed a couple of games of pool, followed by more Bintang beers – had to be done 🙂  and yeah, unfortunately, I did win both games – whoops!

It was getting dark, so we went back to our hotel, and relaxed a bit before venturing out for dinner.  We were after “Naughty Nuri” infamous ribs – having been recommended this by a few people.  We passed a “Crab Bar” as went down the road towards Naughty Nuri, the menu looked delightful, so we decided to maybe come back again to try it out – but we had ribs in our mind for dinner 🙂  so we continued on by to find Naughty Nuri.  When we arrived, we saw people were waiting already, so we asked how long the wait was.  The waitress said we were lucky as there was a table of two available, – perfect, so we went straight in to the shared team in the middle section.  It was one of the best ribs I have ever tasted – fantastic marinade, and we enjoyed it with a nice salad and chips.  We then saw another couple eat a dessert – which looked intriguing, looked like deep-friend bananas with ice cream (Goreng Pisang) – so we decided to order one too – and it was DELICIOUS!  Haha!  Certainly would recommend a visit here!  A MUST DO!

The next day, we decided to enjoy the relaxing setting of the hotel resort, and relaxed at the pool after breakfast.  We then took the resort’s shuttle bus to “Ku De Ta” – we actually enjoyed this setting more than Potato Head – it was far more relaxing, even though there was still lots of people around.  We found our spot and enjoyed a pizza and a few drinks, as we continued to enjoy the fun company of each other – and the people watching excitement of the crowd…haha.  

After a couple of hours, we decided to go for a stroll, and found an interesting wine store, bar and lounge – called VIN+ – the placed looked very modern, but the nice part was the fact that the entrance area was made of Bamboo – which gave it character.  We found a place for dinner and then rested for the night.

The next day, we decided to try out Potato Head, so took a stroll back to the beach.  We managed to find a place at the bar (although it was still a mass of people).  We had a couple of cocktails and chose the crab cakes – which was really tasty.  

After lunch, we took a stroll through the town, and went back to the resort for an evening drink at the roof-top bar, although it wasn’t that busy, it was a nice setting and we enjoyed the live music that was playing.  

After a happy hour drink, we decided to try out the other ‘rib’ place – and took a taxi from the resort to “Wahaha” down Jalan Sunset Road.  This was an okay place, not as good as Naughty Nuri – but the ribs were still very enjoyable!  

We managed to get a taxi back to the hotel – although the area is a main-road, so this place is a bit of a weird setting – probably why it wasn’t that busy (seemed to be a place with lots of industrial shops etc).  When we went back, we went along the main shopping road – and we noticed a lot of hotels/resorts, restaurants and Western-branded shops – next time we come to Seminyak, we suggested that we book along this road, as this seemed to the road with all of the night life in Seminyak. We had booked a massage at the hotel, but when we returned back, we had then realised that we had missed our 9pm booking slot – we had totally mis-judged the time-zone…Bali was the same time as Singapore, whilst Jakarta was one-hour earlier, so when we arrived, we were actually a whole hour late.  Luckily, our honest faces were accepted, and they didn’t charge us the missed appointment fee – phew.  This also made us realised that the one we cancelled earlier in the day (at an outside location) at 11am was actually the time of the appointment, we thought we had phoned at 10am – whoops!  Now we know why the hotel receptionist who called reacted a little weird to our cancellation request…maybe the spa was a bit annoyed that we cancelled at the last minute 🙁  whoops!

The next day, we had booked a lunch at “Merah Putih” – we had tried to come here the previous evening – but it was fully booked – but in a way, I am glad we came at lunch.  It wasn’t that busy, so it was quite relaxing, and we still were able to enjoy the great atmosphere in the bar and restaurant.  We went for the Babi Guling (Balinese Suckling Pig) as a set lunch – it was certainly delicious dish, and we had a really enjoyable lunch.

We then booked for a nice massage the following morning, just before we had to leave to go back to Singapore – it was a nice spa and massage treatment, and we really felt so relaxed.  It cost us 250k rp each – but it sure was worth every penny.  After the relaxing massage, we went back to the hotel, chceked-out, and took a taxi back to the Denpasar airport – ready for a return back to Singapore, and back to work tomorrow – eek!

All in all, a delightful holiday, and I certainly got to like Seminyak a lot!


 

Restaurant Ember – Rozelle’s Leaving Lunch (11 August)

Well a good ol’ colleague decided to leave and return to her Australia to spend time with her family and start the next chapter of her life, and we thought it would be great to have a leaving lunch at a nice restaurant, somewhere nice in town – with the team.

The restaurant chosen was Restaurant Ember, within Hotel 1929 – it was a nice setting in Keong Saik Road – easy to get too, and an very pleasant meal chatting away and chilling with the team. The food was delicious and I am glad we had a great opportunity to send her off with a fond farewell.

I wish her well on her future endeavors and hopefully our paths cross again in the future…the world is a very small place as you know 🙂 haha…

Restaurant Ember
Hotel 1929
50 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089154
Tel: +65 6347 1928
URL: http://www.hotel1929.com/dining/ 
URL: http://restaurantember.com.sg/
E-mail: info@restaurantember.com.sg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/restaurantember

Alkaff Mansion Summer Black Truffle Prosecco Brunch (3rd Aug)

A friend of us noticed that there was a special Black Truffle brunch at Alkaff Mansion, so we decided to book and give it a go – it sounds soooooooo delightful, so we just hoped it was going to be a great setting and selection of food.

The place is located at Telok Blangah Green and it was easy to get too. Once we arrived, we were slightly early, so we ventured around the delightful house and it’s grounds, very relaxing indeed, away from the hustle and bustle of Singapore life. We met-up with the other guests and we were then led up to our table.

The selection of appetizers, main course, salads, desserts, and cheese was just scrumptious – not bad for S$108++.

We ate, we ate and we ate – and of course this was all topped up with considerable amounts of Prosecco.

The meal, the service and of course the company – was just fabulous. I would recommend a visit to Alkaff for their usual Prosecco Brunch (at S$88++) because their food selection is very good, and I would definitely recommend a visit, if you are lucky enough to visit when they have the Black Truffles – do give it a go 🙂

Alkaff Mansion Ristorante
10 Telok Blangah Green
Singapore 109178
Tel: +65 6510 3068
URL: http://www.alkaff.com.sg
E-mail: enquiry@alkaff.com.sg
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AlkaffMansion

Birthday Drinks at Wine Connection Rob Quay (2nd Aug)

A great group of people always make for a great birthday celebration, so we went to the Wine Connection in Robertson Quay, to have a few wines and bevvies and food – to celebrate a fab mate’s birthday…what a young man he is 🙂

After a few drinks, some grub and a birthday cake, we decided to continue the night (the night was still young!), and ended up at Fern and Kiwi – which is actually one of the nicer of the bars in Clarke Quay. The night continued with drinking and dancing, and more drinking, followed by more dancing.

I decided to leave around 1.30am, as I was getting sooo sleepy … seems I do struggle doing these type of sessions now…maybe it is the lack of practice 🙂 But it sure was a great night!

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