Inez – Page 2

Changi Experience Studio@Jewel: Be immersed in Singapore’s aviation history

January 18, 2021January 18, 2021by InezLeave a Comment

Fun fact! Singapore’s first airport was located in Kallang – near our port. As time evolved and Singapore saw the need to increase the passenger airport’s capacity, the government explored other options, including the Seletar and Paya Lebar areas. However, due to residential considerations and the further possibility of expansion in the future, Changi was selected, and that was how Singapore Changi Airport came into existence.

I learnt about the fun fact above when I visited the Changi Experience Studio located at Jewel recently, and I would recommend anyone interested in the aviation industry or if you’re interested in learning about how Singapore Changi Airport came to be.

At the entrance, we were presented with our own personal journey maps with RFID tags on it. With it, we could quickly go to different sections in the studio and opening the map activated content of that section to be projected onto it (something like a Le Petit Chef video experience).

As we walked through the different exhibits, each exhibit had a story to tell. The first exhibit was a simple introduction to how the journey map worked, and the second exhibit was where things got interesting. We travelled back in time to learn about how the idea of Singapore Changi Airport came to be, view clips of famous people visiting the airport, learn more about Terminals 1, 2, 3, and the budget terminal. It was fascinating to know how far Singapore Changi Airport has evolved from a single terminal in 1981 to the four terminals and Jewel.

The third exhibit had many stations within it, which told short stories about Singapore Changi Airport. From fun facts about the three runways to learning about the extensive baggage system that runs across the airport, and the Singapore Changi Airport’s distinct scent, this exhibit showed behind-the-scenes on how the airport is run, and ultimately how the airport experience is built.

Following, there were many other experiential exhibits that include a race down a runway on stationary bikes, simple games on identifying dangerous objects from bags through x-ray machines, and even a booth that ‘rated’ your smile. A photo booth was also present, and you can take a photo and get it tagged to your journey map. You’ll be able to purchase the picture at the counter when you exit.

The Changi Experience Studio is very impressive –the technology it utilised throughout the museum helped tell the Changi Experience story.

If you’re looking for an attraction in the east, or if you have some SingapoRediscovers vouchers to utilise, hit this place up – you will not regret it.

Changi Experience Studio
Level 4, Jewel Changi Airport (closest to Lobby C)
Monday-Sunday: 11:00-20:00
Last admission: 19:00

Food, Singapore

Fancy Ban-mian!

January 7, 2021January 7, 2021by InezLeave a Comment

It’s well-known that the Chinatown area has a ton of good food. Today, I managed to try out this particular noodle stall, 麵莊Mian Zhuang, at Hong Lim Food Centre that serves ban-mian (板面 also known as flat noodles) but with a twist. I first chanced upon this stall in an “Our Grandfather Story” video and was intrigued that the stall owners dared to venture out to start this hawker noodle stall despite having stable jobs previously.

A conventional noodle stall usually serves ban-mian with minced pork, an egg, some vegetables, and ikan bilis (anchovies). Occasionally, the stall will also serve it with sliced fish, but not many do.

However, this stall serves ban-mian with minced pork balls, ikan bilis, and something very different – fish maw! I had this combination and have to say that I enjoyed this combination. The soup was light and flavourful, the minced pork balls were fresh and gave more texture (as compared to just minced pork), the ikan bilis added the salty and crispy texture, and the fish maw was a delectable ‘sponge’ that absorbed the soup well.

The chili that was served on the side was spicy and had a slight tangy flavour which paired very well with the bowl of ban-mian. The texture of the noodles was nice and chewy, and it was evident that it wasn’t factory-made – quite rare in recent times.

At S$4.50, I would definitely recommend this modestly fancy bowl of noodles to others.

Other combinations are also available including ban-mian with abalone clams (S$4.50/S$6.50), abalone (S$13.50) and prawns (S$4.50/S$6.50). The homemade chili can also be bought at S$5.50/bottle.

Do check Mian Zhuang out if you’re in the vicinity! It is located at Hong Lim Food Centre #01-51 and opened from 9am to 3pm (Monday-Saturday). Do note that it seems to run out of items later in the day so do head there early!

Verdict

Taste (especially with the chili): 👍👍👍👍👍

Value: 👍👍👍👍👍

COVID-19, Taiwan, Travel

Flying (again) during the pandemic

December 29, 2020by InezLeave a Comment

Having flown to Taipei earlier in August on China Airlines, here’s a short update on my flight back to Singapore on Scoot just last week.

The journey back on Scoot was a fairly smooth one. I booked the flight a month before my date of travel and was delighted to find out that Scoot resumed flights between Taipei and Singapore (previously, only China Airlines, EVA, Singapore Airlines, and Jetstar provided flights). The addition of Scoot flights gave me the option to fly back to Singapore on a Monday while the rest of the airlines flew later in the week.

Online check-in was as per usual, with me filling in my personal information and declaring if I had check-in baggage. However, I was also informed by the airline to fill in the Singapore Arrival Card, a travel requirement where all travelers to Singapore had to submit our arrival details to the ICA for immigration clearance within three days before our arrival.

Besides, Scoot also had their health declaration form which had to be submitted 24 hours before the flight.

Counter check-in at Taoyuan International Airport was also very smooth, and I was informed that there were around 20 passengers on the same flight as me from Taipei to Singapore. As we waited to board the plane at the gate, the ground staff constantly reminded passengers to keep their masks on at all times via the PA system.

On-board the flight, our seats had a ‘care-pack’ consisting of a bottle of hand sanitizer, a mask, and alcohol wipes which we could use during our flight. It was very thoughtful, considering that it’s a budget airline. Compared to China Airlines, I’ve to admit that Scoot’s care pack was a better one.

The return flight to Singapore was an uneventful one, with most passengers choosing to stay in their seats and barely anyone used the washroom or moved around during the flight.

Upon landing, all the passengers had to proceed to the immigration area where we took our COVID-19 test before clearing immigration. I pre-paid for my COVID-19 test earlier and only had to wait a short while before the test was administered (I got my test results back within eight hours!).

Immigration clearance and luggage clearance were also a breeze, which I was thankful for!

All in all, the flight back was an uneventful one. It is indeed sad to see airports so empty but I could get used to the empty seats around me on the plane!

If you’re flying in/out/through Singapore Changi International Airport, I highly suggest checking the Changi Airport website for the latest updates – it really helped me as I planned my journey back.

Uncategorized

Shenkeng Old Street – a gem on the outskirts of Taipei

November 12, 2020November 12, 2020by InezLeave a Comment

A short bus ride from the Taipei Zoo Station lies Shenkeng Old Street – an old street famous for its stinky tofu (a local delicacy that you either love or hate — it’s the latter for me). I’ve always wanted to visit this place but its location makes it pretty inaccessible – it’s not within walking distance from the nearest train station (unlike Shilin Night Market, or even Danshui Old Street) so you’ve got to take a bus. However, since I happened to be on an adventurous mode and near the Taipei Zoo Station, I decided to give it a shot.

I was originally skeptical about the place because an online site described the old street as a short one. However, this is what I really like about it. Nestled in an old district with car repair shops nearby, this street is a gem. Once a bustling port between the tea plantations in the Wenshan and New Taipei City areas and Yilan, this place slowly saw less footfall when trains to Yilan took over.

Shops selling old-school toys and snacks are aplenty along Shenkeng Old Street

The red brick shophouses that line the old street exude a retro vibe but are very well maintained. From local delicacies to old-school toys, this old street is filled with shops with a blast to the past. My friend and I had fun reminiscing our childhood snacks and toys in these shops.

While there were many eateries along the old street, I was more inclined to eating street food and the glutinous rice (油飯) caught my eye. The NTD40 (~SGD$2) bowl of rice came piping hot with a drizzle of sweet sauce all over it. It was delicious – the rice was soft and you could taste every grain of it (it wasn’t like conventional sticky rice!). There were sufficient ingredients – dried shrimp and meat included! I would go back for another bowl of this glutinous rice because it was savoury, light in taste and yet filling.

Unique drain covers along the streets of Shenkeng

On a weekday afternoon, there was a small crowd as a local tourists (namely the elderly) were bussed to the old street for an afternoon. It was encouraging to see this place bustling with many elderly enjoying a nice afternoon walk and shopping spree. Though the crowd is nothing like the past, due to the fall in tourism during this period, I’m glad to still have had a chance to experience this old street. May Shenkeng Old Street continue to retain its charm.

Food, Taiwan

Finding comfort food in a foreign land

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020by InezLeave a Comment

What is your comfort food? For me, it’s chicken rice, especially when I’m far from home.

I recently visited BoboChacha, a Malaysian eatery near National Chengchi University, that supposedly serves decent Malaysian food. Considering the number of Asean students in the school, it wasn’t surprising to find a Malaysian eatery in the vicinity.

This humble-looking eatery has a pretty extensive menu which can be found here. Out of the long list, however, one dish caught my eye – Hainanese Chicken Rice. Singapore is known for its wonderful chicken rice, and boy, was I excited to try it out.

Upon the arrival of the dish, I realised a few things –

The chicken rice chili looked very similar to what can be found back home and it tasted really similar too. It wasn’t very spicy but had a good mix of ginger and chili to which I enjoyed.
The chicken rice served was not white rice and was indeed chicken rice! It’s not common to find chicken rice here, and white rice is usually served with chicken rice in Taiwan so I was surprised that the rice had the signature chicken rice aroma (think chicken oil and pandan leaves)
The portion of the chicken was pretty (very) small. While this photo shows a full chicken drumstick, let’s just say that it was a very small drumstick with a good amount of bones in it. The chicken skin wasn’t chewy and was instead too soft. It tasted nothing like the usual chicken you’d get with your chicken rice but instead more like a chicken drumstick boiled in water. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t taste anything like Hainanese-style chicken. For 95 NTD (around S$4.50), it just didn’t feel worth it.
The side dishes served were common Taiwanese side dishes – nothing like what’s served back home or even in Malaysia. I won’t comment too much on this because it seems like this is a common value-added service to keep up with the practice here. In Taiwan, it is common for eateries to provide two to three side dishes when a rice dish is served. I would have loved to see ikan bilis or sambal vegetables though!

I was pretty underwhelmed by this meal because this chicken rice didn’t taste like the chicken rice back home but I guess I’ve got to make do with it because I’m far from home – at least the chili was decent. It wasn’t a bad meal, but it just didn’t taste anything close to chicken rice back in Singapore. Will I come here for the chicken rice again? I certainly won’t. But I won’t mind trying out their other dishes!

Verdict

Taste: 👍
Value: 👍👍
Overall: 👍

Accessories, Technology

This little (Thunlit) light of mine!

October 9, 2020October 9, 2020by Inez1 Comment

I recently needed a light for my room – a light bright enough to be used as a side table lamp yet dim enough to not disrupt me as I prepare for bed.

My parents chanced upon the Thulit LED Eye Protection Lamp on Shopee earlier last month and after reading through the reviews, they decided to purchase it for me. They shipped it over to where I’m at right now and boy, am I enjoying it!

The whole lamp is covered in white PU leather and has a very clean feel to it. The base of the lamp also has a small groove that allows one to rest your phone there. Weighing a mere 480g, this light-weight lamp is sturdy and can be tilted at different angles for optimal brightness. The fact that it can be shifted to any angle makes it very flexible and suitable for small rooms.

With three colour temperatures, this lamp provides white light, warm light and a seemingly other white colour (supposedly different but I can’t tell the difference). My go-to colour is the warm light as it makes the place look very warm and homely at night.

This light illuminates the room pretty well. The touch button function also makes it easy to turn on-and-off. One downside to this model is that the touch function is slightly below the printed ‘on-off’ button on the base of the lamp. We actually thought that we had received a malfunctioned one when we first got it.

The model I have is the USB-plugged in version without an in-built battery. However, it suits my needs as I have a power socket near my bedside. I do believe there is a model that has an in-built battery though!

If you’re looking for a flexible, small bedside lamp, you may want to give this a shot. It is pretty inexpensive, is aesthetically-pleasing and brings light to the room (literally).

The Thunlit lamp can be folded for easy storage too!

Verdict

Price 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Performance 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

You can check it out on Shopee here.

Food, Taiwan

Still one of the best ramens out there – Ichiran Ramen

September 9, 2020by InezLeave a Comment

Fancy a bowl of piping hot soup filled with delicious ramen noodles, slices of chashu (sliced pork), and lots of chili? (I’m leaving out the green onions because that’s just pure decoration to me).

When my family and I first tasted a bowl of this delicious goodness, we were obsessed with it. Out of five nights of our stay in Osaka, Japan back in 2017, we saw ourselves heading back to this Japanese chain thrice. That’s two more times from our intended ‘one ramen meal’.

With it being so special, I’d always try to visit an outlet if it’s available in the city – and they happen to have it in Taipei City!

Let’s break down the contents of this ramen –

The broth is thick and tastes pure – there is little residue stuck in your mouth after you slurp it. This pork-based soup has clearly been boiled for an extensive amount of time and leaves close to no aftertaste boiled soup usually has. Unlike other ramen shops, Ichiran allows you to customise how much seasoning stock and how rich you’d like the soup to be. They have their ‘suggested’ serving but give customers the option of making the soup richer and thicker. I love how I had the option to leave out garlic from my broth as well.
The noodles were nice and firm. It can’t be seen in my order sheet above, but I selected ‘firm’ under my choice of how cooked I wanted my ramen to be. Just think, al dente pasta’s firmness – firm, yet still soft to chew, and gives a better bite.
The chili in the broth was what sealed the deal for me. The chili was not overly salty, and it added a great ‘kick’ to the broth. It neutralised the slightly salted broth and ensured that there was no ‘porky’ taste. For my order, I asked for 4 times the spice level. You can choose up to 10 times the chili level at no additional cost!
The chashu, in my opinion, was just an additional topping which did not add much value to the meal – that’s how great the broth and noodles were for me! The chashu had a slight chew and was well-seasoned. I felt that the slices could have been thicker, but I guess you can just order more chashu if you feel like having more protein in your meal!

All in all, this bowl of ramen cost me around SG$13 and in my opinion, was definitely worth the almost two-hour wait I had on a weekend lunch in Taipei.

Taste: 👍👍👍👍👍

Value: 👍👍👍👍

COVID-19, Travel

How flying has been made harder due to COVID-19

August 25, 2020August 26, 2020by InezLeave a Comment

COVID-19 has thrown the aviation industry into chaos and travelling during this period has changed a lot. Here’s my personal experience on just how hard flying is during this pandemic.

A very quiet Changi International Airport

Purchasing airplane tickets is a lot more difficult. A usual search on Skyscanner and Google Flights (prior to the pandemic) always showed many results – from direct flights or multi-stop flights with many options to choose from. However, for my flight to Taipei, only a single direct flight was available from Singapore on my specified date. This was never the case prior to COVID-19 – and even after the purchase, there was a chance that my flight could be cancelled at the last minute as well (I’ve seen many cases of cancelled flights during this period!)

Stricter border restrictions have also made flying a lot harder – especially if you’re going to a location where you are not a citizen. For me, I had obtained a special visa to enter Taiwan, and this visa had a validity of three months from the date of issue. In addition, separate entry documentation was also required at the check-in counter. I was surprised when the check-in staff told me that they were not able to proceed with the check-in till they received a confirmation from their Taiwan counterparts that my name was under the “approved-for-entry” list.

Quarantine, stay-home notice, increased health-screening at airports and more… if you’re travelling internationally, you are highly likely to face some of these measures. Before I could clear immigration in Taipei, I had to purchase a local SIM card and register my arrival online before proceeding further.

To date (on my fifth day of quarantine), I have had to record my temperature on LINE (messaging app) daily as well as respond to the SMS they send periodically – if you fail to respond to it, they will call you up to check on you!

All these health safety measures, while helpful in ensuring that COVID-19 cases are well-detected, are a huge deterrent for travellers. Fourteen days in quarantine is tough as it is both time-consuming and can be very costly, besides being claustrophobic.

Travelling is indeed challenging during this period, but if there’s one thing I enjoy, it is the amount of space each traveller has on flights now. With fewer travellers, coupled with the fact that safe-distancing measures have to be implemented within flights, there is really a lot of space an individual has during the flight. The nearest passenger to me was two rows in front of me, with the majority of rows of seats behind me left empty.

Each airline has its health safety policy. The airline I took, China Airlines, limited the number of passengers within each zone. It also gave each of us a disposable mask with a case upon boarding (I thought that was a very nice gesture!). All food served were in dedicated trays, and there was only one option they had for every passenger.

Travel will not be the same any time soon, but till then, let’s travel only if absolutely necessary. Let’s stay home, stay safe and stay healthy together!

Accessories, Entertainment, Technology

Xiaomi MiJia Youth Projector: An incredible device

August 13, 2020August 14, 2020by Inez1 Comment

My family purchased the Xiaomi MiJia Youth projector during Phase 1 of Singapore’s circuit breaker as a form of entertainment in our living room.

After a solid three months of using it, here are some of the things I like about this projector and some minor complaints.

What thrilled me

The projector is only slightly bigger than my hand. With a height of just 15cm, the projector weighs only 1.3 kg. That’s a projector and a speaker packed into one compact and mighty device.
The throw is really good. Powered by a 500 ANSI lumens light source, it trumps the average 300 lumens projectors — it can fill my 100-inch projector screen nicely and looks bright and crisp at night (the colour’s a tad faint in the daytime due to the sunlight but that’s honestly acceptable). It supports 1080p resolution and in a small living room, the resolution is superb!
The auto focusing is accurate. If the projector is shifted, the feature is triggered to re-focus the screen. Alternatively, you can also easily call the function from the remote control to deal with focus issues should you want to readjust it.
The speaker is loud. While it doesn’t give a strong bass, it is loud and can fill the entire living room without an external speaker. One can also easily use the projector as a speaker.
My MacBook Pro and iPad connects well with the in-built AirPlay. Hooked on the same WiFi network, my Apple devices connect fast and well with the Xiaomi MiJia Youth projector without any lag.

What could be better

Remote-control with AI Voice Search Function Available

We got the China edition, which unlike the international version, does not provide Netflix or Chromecast-related features. The in-built MIUI TV does not run in Singapore and almost all content inside is paid content which cannot be accessed. All content is in Chinese too, and while switching it to English provides some English headers, the bulk of the content is still in Chinese.
To get the throw you want, you’ve got to shift the projector manually. Unlike some other projectors on the market which allow one to shift the scale of the throw on the screen on the projector itself, the Xiaomi MiJia Youth projector needs to be manually shifted to get the exact throw you want. It works but is inconvenient.
The fact that the version I got was the China edition also rendered a lot of the remote-control features useless for us. Apart from turning the projector on, changing the input source, volume, and dealing with the auto-focus, we do not get to make use of the AI-driven audio search function that’s available on the remote control. This doesn’t affect the overall use of the projector but would have been much better if we had been able to use it.

The Xiaomi MiJia Youth projector is an incredible projector. It costs less than a TV, is highly portable and can be connected to the Internet and a plethora of devices – Nintendo Switch, AirPlay, XiaoMi devices, and basically anything with a HDMI cable (even Google Chromecast). For the convenience and its price, getting this projector is hands-down a win for my family!

Rating: 5/5

You can find the product on Lazada or Shopee. Alternatively, you can head to XiaoMi’s flagship store in Funan (that’s where we first set our eyes on it!).

Food, Singapore

Missing Taiwan? Have the next best thing – A Taiwanese breakfast at Fong Sheng Hao

July 30, 2020by InezLeave a Comment

Joined the party a little late in discovering a (not-a-new-kid-on-the-block) Feng Sheng Hao – a Taiwanese Sandwich (Toast) joint located at Paya Lebar Quarters.

What started off as a sandwich stall in the famous Shihlin Night Market back in 2013 has evolved to a popular joint here in Singapore, where customers can indulge in Taiwanese-styled sandwiches.

Similar to Ah Seng (Hai Nam) Coffee Stall which prides itself in serving charcoal-grilled toasts, Fong Sheng Hao also goes ‘back-to-basics’ in creating the perfect (albeit rather pricey) sandwich which comprises of fillings that go beyond spreads.

Among the four of us, we ordered three types of sandwiches – Taiwan Special Pork Patty Sandwich, Spicy Pork, Egg and Cheese Sandwich as well as the Pork Floss Egg and Cheese Sandwich. Seen below are half the sandwiches of the Spicy Pork, Egg and Cheese Sandwichand the Pork Floss Egg and Cheese Sandwich.

The Taiwan Special Pork Patty Sandwich consists of a pork patty, cheese and egg. Compared to the Spicy Pork, Egg and Cheese Sandwich which boasts similar ingredients, the Taiwan Special Pork Patty Sandwich, the store’s signature item has a sweeter taste that’s a mix between a Chinese sausage and a Taiwanese sausage.

The Spicy Pork, Egg and Cheese Sandwich had a spicy sauce which had a rather good ‘kick’ – ain’t too spicy, yet it made the sandwich more flavourful. The patty was also on the saltier side. I’d say that this suits a typical Singaporean’s palette.

The Pork Floss Egg and Cheese Sandwich was the most memorable of the lot for me as I it brought back memories of when I had my first solid pork-floss with egg sandwich in Taiwan almost 12 years ago! Stuffed with pork floss, this sandwich has both the sweet and savoury elements to it. This sandwich doesn’t give the same bite as the previous two as it is more ‘airy’ and ‘springy’, which makes it exceptionally nice.

In all honesty, the toasted bread was not too much of a highlight for me, but it was pretty good!

Aside to the sandwiches, we also got the milk tea and a regular coffee. Taiwan’s food chains do serve milk tea on their regular breakfast menus. The breakfast milk tea, however, tastes pretty different to what we’re used to – customized bubble tea. Instead, it’s has a stronger creamer taste and tends to be on the sweeter side. The milk tea from Fong Sheng Hao definitely falls into the ‘breakfast chain-type of milk tea. The coffee was a typical Singapore-style coffee – not fancy, but decent!

Conclusion

This is definitely a nice place to hang out and to savour some Taiwanese toasts. With the limitations of air travel during this period, Fong Sheng Hao really gives the holiday vibes as you eat the Taiwanese breakfast! It is a bit on the pricey side, but I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys savoury breakfasts.

I’d give it a solid 4/5 for its sandwich.

Fun fact: Fong Sheng Hao has been listed Top 10 outstanding Singapore Food Masters in the East Zone by SPH.