Signature Park CNY Family Carnival

Date: Saturday, 16 February 2008.
Location: Signature Park, Singapore.

Today, we attended a Chinese New Year Family Carnival at our apartment's complex. My wife also participated in the bazaar, getting a table to sell her specialties: food and accessories, together with jeng Epha. Some of their friends (some with their husbands and kids) were also coming to support them.

There are lion dance performance and magic show, and the kids were also participating in some of the games. Inka got herself a tiny little fish on one of the games, and Inka and her team won second prize for costume design competition, which Inka was the model.

On a pleasant surprise, we also got ourselves the second winner of the door prize! :) :)

Al-Ameen Restaurant

Date: Thursday, 14 February 2008.
Location: Al-Ameen 24-hour Restaurant, Cheong Chin Nam Road, off Upper Bukit Timah Road, opposite Beauty World Centre, Singapore.

Last night, we went to Al-Ameen restaurant, one of our favourite 24-hour halal restaurants which is located not far from our residence.

Inka ordered cheese egg prata while Irza ordered the pyramid-shaped tissue prata. I and my wife ordered tulang merah and tom yum soup (not in the picture) to be shared together, while I also ordered my favourite Indian-style mee goreng with telur mata lembu.

For the drinks, both the kids chose their favourite milo dinosaurs, while my wife ordered ice tea cino and I ordered my favourite air lychee.

Singapore River Hongbao Festival 2008

Date: Friday, 8 February 2008.
Location: Esplanade Park, Singapore.

After visiting the Istana, we parked our car at the Raffles City shopping centre and walked to the Esplanade Park to visit the Singapore River Hongbao 2008 festival.

It was very crowded there, but nevertheless Inka and Irza were having a great time at the Uncle Ringo makeshift amusement park there, despite only taking two rides since the rides are sooo damn expensive. We also managed to catch the fireworks display before going back home, tired and sleepy.

Istana Open House

Date: Friday, 8 February 2008.
Location: The Istana, next to Plaza Singapura, Orchard Road, Singapore.

Last Friday (8/2) evening, we went to the Istana Open House, which was open to the public in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

We parked our car at Plaza Singapura carpark next door, and then walk to the Istana's main gate on Orchard Road. Since we are Singapore permanent residents (PR), we can enter the Istana grounds for free. Non Singaporeans and non-PRs would need to pay $1 entrance fee per person.

Except for the very big green fields for kids to run and play, and a fountain, there's really nothing much to see and do there. We can enter the staterooms inside the Istana building with additional entrance fee of $2 per person, but again, there's nothing really much to see and do there, and furthermore, photography is not allowed inside the building.

Sentosa Flowers 2008

Original article can be found here.

Another part of our CNY holiday itineraries in Singapore, on the first day of Chinese New Year, we went to Sentosa to visit the Sentosa Flowers 2008 event in the morning, prior to our visit to Aa Duddy and Teh Ellen's place in Tampines for a reunion lunch. Sentosa Flowers 2008 is an annual flower festival held at Sentosa, spanned from Imbiah Lookout to the Beach station.

Having visited the earlier Sentosa Flowers 2007 last year, I found that this year's festival is a bit disappointing. The "blooming" quality of the flowers is not as good as last year's event. I feel that last year's event is more blooming with more variety of beautiful flowers throughout the Imbiah hill. Nevertheless, for the first-timers, this event is quite worth for a visit.

It opens between 9am and 10pm, until 17 February 2008. The admission to the event itself is free, although of course you would still need to pay for the entrance fee into Sentosa ($2) and the transport ($1 using Sentosa Express or Sentosa bus). I would suggest you start your journey from the entrance near Imbiah station. From there, you can explore the flowers park around Imbiah Lookout before heading to the Merlion, and passing through the Merlion Walk all the way to the Beach station.

I agree with Mbak Susan that the best time to visit the event is early in the morning, not only to avoid the hot baking sun, but also to avoid the crowd as well. Different from last year, now they open until 10pm every day, so it might be a good idea to come in the evening.

More pictures can be found on my wife's Multiply site here.

Related links:

• Sentosa Flowers 2008
• Lunar New Year - 7 Feb 2008
• Sentosa Flowers 2008
• Sentosa Flowers 2008
  

J.Co Donuts & Coffee

Date: Friday, 8 February 2007
Location: *open for guessing* :) :)

Can you guess where did I take these pictures? :)

If your answer is a shopping mall somewhere in Indonesia, you are wrong. These pictures were taken earlier today, and we never left Singapore today. These pictures were taken in a shopping mall here in Singapore.

I also didn't know, until today, that J.Co has opened an outlet here in Singapore. This means that we no longer have to go to Jakarta (or Batam) to get J.Co donuts.

Anyone can guess which shopping mall in Singapore this J.Co outlet is located? :) :)

Update on 9 February 2008, 10:30pm SGT: The location has been correctly guessed by Devi, it's located on the basement floor of Raffles City shopping center, which is located just above the City Hall MRT station.

Another update from jeng Epha, the J.Co outlet has just opened today (9 February 2008) only. And another update from Devi responding to Bonnie's question, J.Co has also opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, specifically in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur at Bukit Bintang, and Sunway Pyramid near Sunway Lagoon.

So, next time if we want to visit Uni Bonnie, Uda Ical, Teta and Zia in KL, we can ask them to bring us to one of the shopping malls. :) :) Iya kan, Uni? :) :)

"Reunion Lunch" at Tampines

Date: Thursday, 7 February 2007.
Location: Duddy and Ellen's residence at Tampines, Singapore.

Still part of our CNY holiday itinerary in Singapore, on the first day of Chinese New Year, after going to Sentosa to visit the Sentosa Flowers 2008 in the morning (foto-foto menyusul), we went to Aa Duddy and Teh Ellen's residence in Tampines, to attend a reunion lunch invitation, as well as syukuran event for Iffah's recovery after she was admitted to hospital due to fever.

Being Sundanese (Cirebonese, to be exact) doesn't prevent Teh Ellen from preparing a very nice authentic Minang food. Dendeng balado and rendang ayam were the two signature dishes.

Inka and Irza were also very happy playing with their friends. Other than Iffah the host, some of their friends they met include Rifa, Hanan and Haifa, Annisa and Nadia, Fresha, Aidan, Kinara, Izan and Ika.

Related links:

The Cure :-)
Uda Duddy
Reunion Lunch
Suatu Siang Makan Siang Di....