Singapore Flyer

Singapore Flyer, the World's largest Giant Observation Wheel, is one of Singapore newest tourist attraction and it is official opened on 15 April 2008 by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Singapore Flyer stands at 165m with 28 air-conditioned capsules, offers a 360-degree view of sights around the Marina Bay area and parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Each capsule measuring 7m long by 4m wide by 4m high can accommodate up to 28 guests and each ride is approximately 30-minute.

The views on-board the Flyer will start with eastern Singapore, overlooking places like Chinatown, Kampong Glam and Little India. On the descending part, you can enjoy the first-ever Formula One™ night race track, the Marina Barrage (Singapore's biggest reservoir) and the upcoming Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.

The Flyer also offers portable in-flight audio guide to all Singapore Flyer ticket holders. The audio guide brings you through a journey of the past, present and future of the Lion's City – from where Sang Nila Utama first arrived, to interesting feng shui trivia of Suntec City and the future Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort.

A friendly tip for you to note. Please visit the toilets before taking the ride, as no toilet is available once you are on it.

For the ticketing details and available packages, please visit the Flyer's website www.singaporeflyer.com.

If you have some time to spare after the ride, you can visit the tropical rainforest which is in the centre of the atrium. You can have a relaxing walk and photo taking on the cascading water displays, streams and rocky outcrops.

If you are hungry after the ride, no worries, there are food & beverage outlets available in the main Terminal Building. I was so happy to see Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits here. In the past, their outlets can only be found in Changi Airport.

Teochew Porridge Buffet @ Windsor

My posting on 20 March 08 introduced you to a good value Taiwan Porridge Buffet. There is another place I found also serving good value Teochew Porridge Buffet Dinner.

Cafe Windsor located in Hotel Windsor serve Teochew Porridge Bufffet Dinner daily at $10.80++ (subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST) from 5.00pm to 11.00pm.

For the porridge, you can choose either plain porridge or porridge with sweet potatoes added. I always go for the sweet potatoes porridge. They also serve rice and fried noodles (either bee hoon, kway teow or mee tai mak). I like their fried bee hoon very much.

For the dishes to go with the porridge, they have more than 10 varieties for you to choose from. The photo on the left show some of the dishes I had during one of my visit. For the main dishes, I like their fried fish, steam sotong and braised duck. See if you get to eat them during your visit. I had been there a couples of times, there are always some new dishes served. So you may not get to eat the same dishes at each visit.

The buffet also include free flow of ice-cream, fruits, orange juice and chinese tea. The ice-cream station is always packed with kids and adults.

To find out more on the buffet and location, you may like to visit the hotel website at www.hotelwindsor.com.sg.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

In 1986, a group of avid birdwatchers from then the Malayan Nature Society (Singapore Branch) came to Sungei Buloh and discovered the beauty of this wetland. They wrote a proposal to the government for the conservation of this ecological jewel. In 1989, the 87 hectares wetland site was designated as a nature park.

On 1 Jan 2002, Sungei Buloh was officially gazetted as a nature reserve and renamed as Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. It was also recognized as a site of international importance for migratory birds.

Today, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve set in 130 hectares of secondary forest, ponds, mangroves and mudflats. It is a rare oasis of natural wonders and home to unique animals and plants. It is also a wintering ground for migratory birds. The wetland reserve is well visited by nature lovers, bird watchers and photographers.

These links will bring you to the map & opening hours of the wetland reserve respectively, http://www.sbwr.org.sg/visitorinfo/gettingaround/ & http://www.sbwr.org.sg/visitorinfo/openinghoursandadmission/. Please note that admission is free except Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays and Singapore School Holidays.

If you take your time to walk through the wetland reserve, you may get to see the mangroves, mangrove wildlife like mudskippers, crabs, shellfish, water snakes, birds, spiders, moths, monitor lizard. Resident birds like herons, bitterns, sunbirds, coucals, kingfishers, etc.

If you intend to watch migratory shorebirds/waders such as plovers and sandpipers, then you have to come between September to March.

There are Bird Observation Hides and Screens provided for the bird-watchers to view the birds resting by the ponds, so that the wild birds will not be disturbed or scare off.

Photographers are often found on weekends with their cameras waiting patiently for the birds behind the observation screens. If you are in luck, some of the photographers will show you the photos they had taken. I came across one of them who waited patiently for hours, just to capture the moment when the flock of birds start to fly off.

There are free guided tours provided on Saturday at 9.30am & 3.30pm, for you to understand the wetland better. For details, visit this link http://www.sbwr.org.sg/events/guidedtours/

Below are some friendly tips for you to note, when you visit the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve:

1. Bring a good pair of binoculars.
2. Wear a hat in non-bright colour.
3. Dress in comfortable clothes in neutral colour.
4. Put on comfortable walking shoes.
5. Bring insect repellent.
6. Be as quiet as possible. Do not frighten the birds.
7. Keep to walking routes.
8. During thunderstorm, stay in Observation Hides.
9. Bring drinking water and snacks. (Note: The cafeteria is only at the entrance of the wetland reserve, no sale of drink and food inside the reserve)

Want to know how to get there, check out this link http://www.sbwr.org.sg/visitorinfo/gettingthere/takingpublictransport/.

Minori Dining & Sake Bar @ UE Square

Other than Korean cuisine, Japanese cuisine is also my favourite. All it takes is fresh Sashimi with some hot sake, that will satisfy my taste bud. :)

Minori Dining & Sake Bar at UE Square serve Ala-Carte Japanese Buffet for both lunch and dinner. This is the place where I will think of when I crave for sashimi. Altough it cost S$33++ for dinner buffet, which I think its a bit expensive. But considering I could have unlimited flow of sashimi, I think its ok to pamper myself once in while. Hahaha.

The restaurant is furnished with chestnut brown furniture with warm lighting, so it quite cozy. But it could be a bit noisy when the restaurant is crowded with the patrons talking.

The buffet here offered more than 100 dishes for selection which can be categorise into Sashimi, Sushi, Temaki (hand roll), Maki, Itamemono (Pan-fried Dish), Agemono (Deep-fried Dish), Yakimono (Grilled Dish), Nimono (Simmered Dish), Teppanyaki (Hot Griddle Dish) & etc. You can check out their website www.minori.com.sg for the buffet menu.

Below are some photos taken on the food that I ordered during my visit. Among them, the thickly-sliced sashimi is my most favourite, which consist of salmon, tuna, yellow tail, snapper, black king fish, octopus and cutttlefish. If you are the adventurous type, try the chicken heart, chicken liver and chicken gizzard on skewer, they do taste nice.

Just this month, they have opened a new branch in Tanjong Katong. I have not visited this branch, so can't comment on it. Maybe you try it out and let me know. Hehe.

Chang Korean Restaurant

I have great love for Korean food. Be it, kimchi soup, Korean BBQ or Ginseng Chicken soup, they are all my favourite. A couple of years ago, I went to Korea for holiday, the great taste of the Ginseng Chicken soup I had it there, till now still remain in my mind. I could never find another similar taste in Singapore Korean Restaurant. If anyone know of any good Ginseng Chicken soup, please let me know. Hehehe.

Chang Restaurant located at Dempsey Hill is one of my favourite spot for my Korean BBQ. The quality of the meat was so far the best I had tried. But if they could further enhance the taste of the bean paste for the BBQ wrap, then it will be prefection. Maybe to suit Singaporean taste, the bean paste is a bit too mild and not saltish. Please note, the price is also a bit steep and they only serve ala-carte.

One thing I learnt, pork taste better in Korean BBQ than beef, and it is also cheaper. So, remember to order mixed pork set. One thing good about having BBQ at Chang, the staff there will BBQ the meat for you and serve you when it is ready. So you need not worry if the meat is over or under cooked. The exhaust for the BBQ is also very well ventilated, so you won't have that BBQ smell on your body after your meal.

Like most of the Korean restaurant, Chang also served a wide variety of kimchi. I could say, the kimchi were alternate to suit local taste.

Sun Japanese Dining @ Chijmes

Once in while, it is good to pamper yourself for some nice food in a restaurant with great environment. You can sit down with your family and friends for a nice get-together. But that also mean the price of the food will be higher as well, hehehe.

Sun Japanese Dining is having Hokkaido promotion and we thought to give it a try. This was my first time here. I like the setting here, modern Zen. Maybe because it was a Friday afternoon, the place was not very crowded and it was rather quiet. I like it quiet as we need not raise our voice while talking.

Most of the lunch set meal here ranges around S$20 to S$30. We had ordered 4 lunch sets. Among the lunch sets, this one below is the most expensive. It is more than S$30/set. There were a lot of small little dishes which you could taste a great variety of food like, fishes, meat and vegetables. Good choice if you don't mind the price.

Below were some other sets that we ordered. They all taste good. The set on the top left was sashimi with eel rice set which was the best among them. The set on the top right was grilled beef with Japanese fried rice. The set on the bottom left was grilled saba fish set.

Since It was Hokkaido promotion, we ordered this crab as shown below. But it didn't turn out to be as tasty as we expected.