Exactly how cheap is cheap?

When I saw this travel cushion on Q0010 website, called "Total Pilllow", I quite like its versatility and many ways to use it. It costs about $9.90. Was thinking of it until I saw the exact product at my neighbourhood hardware shop, selling at $3.50. Makes you wonder how much things are being marked up, even on 'special deals' websites. Counterfeits?

As advertised on Qoo10 website

On sale in a local hardware shop

Break loose, Breadtalk

Breadtalk Shanghai

A former classmate of mine is based in Shanghai. Being Singaporean, she buys bread from Breadtalk, a Singaporean bakery with a branch in Shanghai almost everyday. Currently Breadtalk has 123 shops in China. 

My friend related her experience in Facebook recently.... 

She was number 2 in the queue waiting to pay. As usual, there were a lot of people cutting queue. 

When it was her turn, this was her conversation with the cashier: 

Friend: 请问，不需要排队付钱吧？ Excuse me, don't we need to queue? 

Cashier: 要的！ YES! 

Friend: 那你们为什么一直服务插队的人？Why do you service those who cut queue first?

Cashier: 她们要插队我能怎样？There is nothing I can do! 

Friend: 你应该维持次序! You can help with maintaining order! 

Cashier: 来我们这里买东西的就是素质差！Those who buy from us are uncivilized people!

My friend was utterly pissed and disgusted especially since Breadtalk is a Singaporean brand name. She asked since she purchases from Breadtalk almost every other day, if she was also considered one of those "uncivilised people" which the Breadtalk staff has rudely classify its customers as. 

By the way, my friend is going to boycott Breadtalk China from now on. I hope Mr George Quek, the big boss of Breadtalk, will look into this matter.  

Oh, G.O.D.

Oh God, there's a new shop in town, in The Central at Clarke Quay to be exact. And I mean the shop name is Goods of Desire, in short.... G.O.D.  They have plenty of vintage and quirky stuff. However the prices are also on the high side. This is NOT a paid advertisement by the way. 

  

As written in their website: "Goods of Desire is quintessentially Hong Kong. Our name also means "to live better" in our local dialect because it phonetically resembles the characters, “G.O.D.” Our designs are inspired by the vibrant culture of this energetic city where east meets west, and age-old traditions meet cutting-edge technology. With humour and creativity, we turn everyday subjects into truly extraordinary objects."

I like anything with 喜喜 (double happiness in Chinese), which is normally used during Chinese weddings. Very auspicious.  

See what I mean? From rubber 喜喜 cup cover, to 喜喜 boxes, greeting cards, bags, baskets, incense burners, lamp shades and cushions. 

Because of their official opening on 7 July 2012, there were some exhibits on display downstairs. There were many old school vintage items on display; from old cupboards with netting, to Kickapoo green bottles, to gunny sacks, Good Morning towels to charcoal burner.

Check out old bird cages, benches, the chinese tiger soft toys all reminiscences of the 1960s-70s Singapore and Hong Kong.

Also there were old school weighing machines, radio, vintage fans and sewing machines as part of the decor. On sale were many household items and pieces. Even vintage Iphone covers with Chairman Mao's designs (each plastic cover costing $51 is a little too much, right?).

Everyone remember the classic Cream Crackers box design which has been made into tissue boxes, chairs, etc.  There is also an adorable Panda bear collection of stuff, as well as vintage Tshirts and items emblazoned with chinese characters. 

There were some quirky items as well, which made me laugh.  From the "at your service" boxers, to naked body apron, to butt groping magnets and tattoo sleeves!! LOL! 

Awesome changing room for the unintiated - with bold designs and furry flooring.

Check out the Goods of Desire shop @ the Central if you are looking for a gift or something for the house.  A real interesting concept, if you ask me.

The transformer bag

My sis got me this bag for my birthday. It's a transformer bag, meaning it can be transformed into 3 different designs and shapes, as and when I like it.  It's called the 3-Way Transformer, a multi-tasking bag which can easily transforms from a document bag to a Boston bag, and then to a shopping tote with a couple of folds and the clicks of a few buttons.  Ingenious invention!  

Quite suitable for me because I am quite fickle with bags. Most of the time, I need a Boston bag, small and petite. Other times, when I have some A4 files to carry along with me, it can become a flatter document bag. I can even squeeze in a laptop or iPad. If I buy some stuff, it can convert into a shopping tote bag. As it comes in a longer strap, I can also wear it as a medium-sized reporter bag.  And it is a colour which I like. 

Thanks, sis! 

Grilled Chicken using Happy Call Pan

I seldom cook western dishes at home since my parents prefer mostly traditional Chinese dishes. Once in a while I want a change, so I will fry patties for burgers and salad, or grill chicken or fish with soup, or sausage with mashed potatoes etc.. One thing about frying patties or fries, it gets all oily everywhere. Even grilling in the oven will make the kitchen a little smokey and smells, and needs a lot of cleaning up afterwards. It spoils the fun of cooking.

This was what I cooked for dinner - Grilled Chicken with Salad and Potatoes - all prepared under an hour. For once, none of the ingredients used were overcooked, too dry, burnt, or tasted weird. And my kitchen was not greasy and smelly.

All because I used this marvelous Korean invention of a magic pan called Happy Call Pan.  Thanks to sis who bought it, we finally joined this Happy Call Pan craze. A few months ago, although I have heard raving reviews about this product from food bloggers and the delicious looking dishes they prepared using Happy Call Pan, I was skeptical and never really bothered to find out more. I thought the original sweetness of the ingredients would be lost and the dish would taste 'different', compared to traditional wok frying and cooking.

Happy Call Pan's benefits are very attractive though....

- using patented heat retention technology, it cooks food faster

- coated with titanium and ceramic, it is non-stick and easy to wash

- there is no smoke or odour 

- heathier cooking as it uses no or minimum oil.
- food retains its original sweetness

First I grilled the baby potatoes and cherry tomatoes. I added half a teaspoon of olive oil to the pan and seasoned the potatoes and tomatoes with a little salt, seasoning powder and black pepper. I closed the lid and let them cook, flipping the pan on and off. The tomatoes were ready and taken out in 5 minutes. The potatoes took longer time to cook, about 20 -30 minutes (depending on size), with constant checking and poking. 

Next I put the chicken pieces in, together with slices of onions.  I sprinkled the pre-marinated chicken with Cajun powder and black pepper. The potatoes which were still not cooked continued grilling. No oil was added. After about 5 minutes the oil from the chicken appeared. I took out the potatoes and onion slices and let the chicken meat continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes.  

Here was dinner, looking pretty, appetising, juicy and delicious. I prepared the salad sprinkled with sesame seed roasted sauce as the dressing. The cooked onion slices were garnished on the grilled chicken. Since the chicken was not too dry, I need not prepare additional sauce to go with it. Everything was so yummy and delicious. So this was our very first happy experience with Happy Call Pan. More to come.... sweatless cooking minus the smell of grease on my hair. 

You can take a look at what dishes my fellow friendly blogger, Ellena of Cuisine Paradise, has cooked with her Happy Call Pan. She even made Bak Kwa (BBQ pork) and Muah Chee! You can also bake cakes with this wonderful pan too! 

A quaint looking Egg3 Cafe

Oh my goodness, this post is way overdue, and it has been lying as draft mode for almost a year!  I was just too lazy to pen down any words.  This is a very out-of-the-place but cosy cafe, called Egg3 Cafe, in Mountbatten.  It is the only eating place located in the school compound of the former Haig Boys' School, which has already been made over and transformed into corporate offices and schools as its tenants. If you are looking for a quiet place for time alone or chit chat and chilling out with friends, this cafe would be ideal. 

I was with my family so we ordered a few different dishes to share and to try. Frankly they do not have that many items on the menu to choose from, but the cosy environment more than made up for the lack of variety in the menu.

I'll let the photos do the talking...

Hand-written signboard leading to the entrance

Some items on the black board at the kitchen

Nice touches on the dining tables 

Pork Cheese Sausage Burger with green salad and fries, my favourite savoury dish

I like sausages and their sausages were juicy, robust, and served a sweet sour Thai sauce 

Chicken Cheese Sausages served with fries and green salad and dip.

Appetising Green Salad 

Pan-seared Chicken with Mushroom Sauce

Very delicious Bacon & Mushroom Spaghetti

Nephew with his Spaghetti, a regular favourite

The Platter Mix which comprises of Fried Chicken Wings, Fried Carrot Cake, 5-Spice Rolls.

This was the Carrot Cake, and we almost wanted to reject it as it looked burnt but was told that their carrot cake IS like this.  Taste-wise, I would think it is nothing to rave about.

Yummy dense New York Cheese Cake

Decadent Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream, my favourite

Carrot & Raisin Cake was nice but a little dry

Homemade Hot Lemongrass & Ginger Drink in a hip Marilyn Monroe mug

Everything here, even the furniture and decor items are for sale

Mix of idyllic and eclectic decor

Cutleries and everything for sale

Love the old fashioned typewriter on the refurbished coffee table

Miniature sewing machine

A whole rustic cupboard full of interesting finds

The parents on the signature huge armchair 

Kids cosy up on this rest & relac corner

Egg3 Cafe

Block D Mountbatten Centre #01-06/07

231 Mountbatten Rd (enter by Guillemard Crescent). 

Tel: +65 6241 3823

http://www.eggthreecafe.com/

The sprawling rambling IKEA

IKEA is probably very close to our daily lives, not just with its reasonably-priced ready-to-assemble furniture, but also the food and shopping experience in its huge store in Tampines, Singapore. When I was there in the Swedish store a couple of months ago, I snapped most of the setups just to have some decorating ideas of the latest furniture designs available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, now the food. On and off, many of us have cravings for Ikea food. We had rushed down for its famed meatballs, done-to-perfection fried chicken wings, its Daim cake , cheese cake etc..  Here are a few blurred-out shots using an app from Iphone. As I do not take beef, so no meatball photo here...

Pasta with Salmon

Daim Cake

$1.00 Hot Dog !

S$ 1.00 Ice Cream Cone!