ThreeEggs~LiVe tO eAt

Beautiful ambiance but awful service is what I would describe ‘Secret Garden’. Months ago, I went there with a group of my friends. It was such an embarrassing event, and I don’t think I would ever want to step into the place anymore.

The gals and the guys made our way to the place separately. Hence, the gals arrived slightly later that the guys. When we made our way to the table, the waiter passed a rude remark saying that they were waiting for us for a long time. Does this concern him in the first place???!!!

Next, he didn’t waited us to settle down, and came rushing us fr our orders. After placing our orders, he came and demanded one of my friend not to consume his own drink in their premises. I think the "No outside food & drinks" sign had been used unfairly not only in the cafe, but also many places.Let’s say if we were to place only 1 order but the rest of us are having our own food, then it would be fair to highlight to us the importance of no outside food & drinks. But in this case, there were about 10 of us ordering something from the cafe, but they couldn’t even bear to see a can of coke there?!!! Oh you of little tolerance…

Not only that, we were told that we would not be served ice water as we did not order main course. Whereas the next table order some desserts, and had a totally different class of service served to them. They were being offered ice water but here we are, having a few cakes & Brownies with ice cream made us unqualified to have a glass of ice water? What a total discrimination!

After that lousy service, I emailed the management telling them about the unhappy event, till today, I had not heard a word from them. Looking through their homepage, there were comments like they had excellent service, etc etc etc. Try to enter there in slippers, and singlet, I think you will get a totally different kinda service.

What a disgusting and horrible place to go to. So what if they have a good ambiance?

Sunday - 26/02/06

After a short service today, the CG & I went to Rocky Master & had their lunch. Waiting time was long, but we had a great time chatting & laughing together while waiting for the delicious food to arrive.

Being in a "female" CG means that there is lotsa time wasted in waiting, toilet break, strolling, etc. So in the end, we landed at Settler’s Cafe at around 3pm. Thanks Gloria for the introduction, we had the chance to play many different kind of games.

The cafe was filled with our shouts & laughters when we played a card game which requires us to trade among each other, like heart attack’. But what was different is we have to go around calling out the no. of cards you wanna trade. The winner will be the one with 9 similar cards, and he/she gotta ring the bell. Hahaha… what a stressful game. We were all so drained after that game. Nearly lost my voice too…

I personally like the place very much. Its is $2/hr per pax. And you can chose not to order any drinks. The staff ere are very friendly & polite. They will give a clear explanation each time you try a new game. I think next time I’ll be bringing my gal friends there to chill out…

Friday - 24/02/06

I arrived Expo at 6:45pm. Was suppose to meet Tiff, but she was unable to make it in time. Went to Foyer & look for a space to eat my burger, and bumped into Ann & XL having BS. I ate silently beside them, while waiting for Tiff.

By the end I finished my burger, the Q was nearly reaching the pedestrian crossing area. Thankfully, their BS ended in time, and I hurried to join the Q. Ann came along, and we chatted while we made our way in.

Before the service, I felt very heavy in my heart. During praise & worship, I was near to tears. I dunnoe what God is wanting to tell me this time. I waited, and tried hard to concentrate the preaching.

BANG! The word "TIME & SEASON" hit me right in my heart. Immediately, 2 nations came to my mind. One of them had been with me since the time I was in Steven’s CG. This time, God gave me another nation, how can I do it???

The preaching was much shorter then I anticipated. But the impact was great, and I felt my heart crushed just like an olive fruit pressed, and oil started to ooze out from it. I felt the Holy Spirit surrounded me, and my spirit grieved greatly. Tears began to streamed down my cheeks. And I could only feel myself in the Palm of God. Wind passes my ears, and a sweet, gently voice whisper into my ears. I can hardly hear the words clearly. But I know this April, I will be transformed as I made my way to Surabaya.

God, prepare me… so you send forth your disciple.

Thursday - 23/02/06

Its the regular time for the gals to meet up again. Min, Karen, Yao and I will meet up at least once a month for dinner together.

This time its Min’s turn to decide on the location. And the venue was at Woodlands, Causeway Point so that she could stay longer, as she had to return back to JB. Min, Yao & I had not seen Karen for 2 months, as she was absent for the last meet up.

Thinking back, we had already graduated from NYP for nearly 2 years. And the 4 of us, had also been working since then. Karen & Min had been working in the same company since graduation. Both Yao & I had changed company a year after our 1st employer. The 4 of us had been sticking together since graduation, and I was glad to have them around till now.

We will always talk about our work, bosses, partners, colleagues, etc whenever we meet. And of course, we will always be noisily laughing, and gossiping away. I felt very relaxed being around with the gals, especially I’m trapped in a highly political office half of the day for about 80% of the week.

This time we had our dinner @ Pizzahut. We ordered a salad, drumlets, and a big Hawaiian Pizza. The staff forgotten about our pizza, and we waiting for a long time. However, they complemented a free load of garlic bread, which did not please us much, as we were more interested in free drumlets or a pitcher of soft drinks. Ha…

Though the service was not supreme, we were still happy with the feast. I guess the joy of being around with the gals overtook the bad service. The night completed my disappointed in the earlier part of the day.

Thank God for them.

Mucks!!!

Thursday - 23/02/06

My anticipation of going to aerospace turned out to be a disappointment. Not that show was bad, but I gotten the wrong partner along.

The show was starting at 11:30am, and I was certainly looking forward to it since a week ago. However, we were able to leave our office at only 11:30am. I was withholding whatever disappointment, and hoping to reach there in time to catch the rest of the show.

What made matter worse was, the waiting time for the train was around 7 mins. So we went to the nearby ATM machines to get some cash between this 7mins. It was raining… and I was feeling even worse. What a day!!!???

Took the shuttle bus, and arrived there around 12noon. We still managed to catch part of the show, but as I do not have any sunglasses, I could hardly hold my eyes into the sunny sky. We were feeling a bit hot, and sticky, with crowded standing near each under under the humid weather. I must said my disappointment was overwhelming, and I only could watch the show for less than 15mins. I should have gotten a more enthusiast partner around to share the excitement with me.

We went into he exhibition booth, and it was an eye-opener for me. I never came this close to all the aircraft parts, and MINDEF thingy. There were unloaded guns, aircraft models, engines,and whatever which I dunnoe what to call them.

I watched one of the impressive presentation a operation communication. It was quite near to real life scenario I guess? So often Chris suggest I should join the army, since I’m so interested. Well, I don’t think I can make it down there. But I must say guys are so strong… they could go through all these tough trainings. And as for me, I’m more interested in maintaining my manicured nails, coloured hair, facial products, and colourful make up.

Next year, Asian Aerospace will not be held in Singapore anymore. If only I could turn back time…

Wednesday - 22/02/06

On Tue, Da Xiong MSNed me to go out for coffee. Initially I wanted to go but had to finish off my ‘homework’. That was about 8:30pm. So, I made an appointment with him on the following day.

Thinking of giant DX, I was afraid I might not be able to helped him up & down the stairs if he needed to. Oh yeah, he just had an operation, and is currently having walking difficulty. I asked KuraKat- YingJie to accompany. Of course, this dear brother would gladly agreed… Hahaha… Thanks Bro…

We had a great time fellowshipping, and laughing at all the childhood stories we ‘created’. I hardly told to them this much when we were in the same CG. Now that I’m transferred to a younger CG, I looked forward to more ‘adult talk’ with my ex-CG mates.

As usual, I was talking the most. Oh gosh… I hate it, wanting to change but so often I’m experiencing a verbal diarrhea. Yucks!!! However, I do learned a great deal about the 2 brothers. which I had failed to do so for the past 2-3 years when we were in the same CG. Reflecting the past, I must say that KuraKat had changed much much much better. He talked more, and shared more nowadays. I began to understand him better, and enjoy his company.

As for DX, he’s so much more humbled now. I remember the times when he tried to lecture me for whatsoever kinda attitude he felt I shouldn’t be having. Oh man, I was like talking to an ‘old’ young man. And his logic doesn’t seems to convince me. Don’t challenge me, ok! LOL… I’m glad to see him recovering speedily after his operation. And his determination to wanna walk more, and move more. 

Not that I don’t like my present CG. Its just that I’m more challenged when I told to my ex-CG mates. They’re more experienced, knowledgeable, mature than I am. I learnt lotsa thing from them. I know I’m stretched more when I’m with them.

What’s your usual steamboat hideout place??? I guess most of you will tell me "MARINA SOUTH".

I had went there a few occasions & had never fail to end up having stomach upset after the sinful visitation. Though the place is cheap, i rather go to my old neighborhood & enjoy a less stressful meal in Tiong Bahru. You can have 2 choices of soup base outta their 4 varieties- Ma La, Satay, Scallop, and Fish. There are 2 sets of Menu B & C which you can chose from. The steamboat is ala-carte buffet style, which mean you can order whatever you want, numerous times. And you won’t end up getting a diarrhea after eating the over-exposed meat/seafood. The chili is yummy. Price is reasonable-$16/pax. The quality is close to Coca Resturant as quoted by a friend of Chris.

Location: 71 Eng Watt Street (Old location of the Tiong Bahru wet market cum hawker)

By car: Take CTE, exit by Outram Road. Turn right toward Tiong Bahru Road, and look out for a left sign "Tiong Poh Road" after you see the 1st traffic light.
Go straight along Tiong Poh Road, turn right at the cross road junction near Blk 82 & 65. Its near the POSB atm machine.

By bus: Alight an Outrm Park MRT station. Cross the road, go to the bus stop near SGH. Take any bus, and stop at the following bus stop.

Walk straight, turn right, look out for a 7-11. Keep walking, passing the UOB ATM machine, turn left.

To Serve 4-5 Pax

Minced Pork - 250g
Minced Chicken - 250g
Marinate with light soya sauce & pepper about half an hour before cooking

1 cloves Garlic - Finely chopped
4 medium sized onions - finely chopped
2 Bottles of Del Monto Tomato Sauce
Corn Flour + Tap water (To thicken the sauce)
Salt & sugar to taste
Classic Herb for spaghetti (Can be found at many supermarket)

1 Pack of Spaghetti Noodles

The Sauce:
(1) Heat pan
(2) Pour a tbsp of olive oil to heat
(3) Add in chopped garlic, fry till fragrance
(4) Add in chopped onion
(5) Keep stirring till onion appear transparent
(6) Add in minced pork & chicken, and keep stirring, to ensure that the minced meat are not curded together.
(7) Add in tomato sauce when the minced meat are cooked.
(8) Add half a bottle of water to 1 bottle of tomato sauce. Keep stirring till boiled. Add herb as desired.
(9) Add salt & sugar to taste.
(10) Finally, add the cornflour + water to thicken the sauce.

———————————————————————————–

The Noodles:
(1) Boil water, add salt & a little olive oil
(2) Boil for about 7 minutes.
(3) Drain off, run under tap water. Drain off the water. Add a little olive oil.
(4) Put desired amount of noodles into bowl & pour in the sauce & ready to feast!!!

Sunday 19/2/06
As we went having a church-wide Prayer Meeting after service on Sun, I decided to get my fellow CG mates & I to prepare spaghetti for the rest of the members for "refreshment" (after service). I activated my nearby-neighbors-James & Ha to assist me on that.

Task: James - Assist to carry the heavy tub of spaghetti sauce to church
Ha - Prepare the spaghetti noodles.

After service, we had a great time fellowshipping & enjoying the food with much envy from the sight of other church members. I felt that though it was inconvenient for the 3 of us to prepare the food & bringing them was nothing compared to see the real bonding during this short half an hour.

I learned that even when the intention may be good, thing gotta be done with good planning & effective communication. I was inexperienced in handling the situation and had resulted in the avoidable misunderstanding between us. I felt bad after that, and really I gotta learn to be more understanding & sensitive towards other people’s concern, rather than just having that ‘hit & run’ kinda attitude. Very often, I’m selfish towards my own goals and failed to put myself in others shoes. I hope this did not stumble my new CG mate- Ann, as she was also innocently dragged into it because of my inconsideration.

A few days before V Day, I made a reservation at White Tangerine Cafe @ Kovan with much anticipation. I got to know about this place through i-Magazine. The magazine showed the picture of the bright orange cafe, and their recommended "Must Try" dishes.

The size of the cafe could only sit about 30 people. Due to space constraint, we were seated close to a couple who could clearly hear our conversation. Privacy there is zero. We ordered a potato salad, honey chicken wings, baked rice, and chocolate fondue.

Potato salad was cube of potato in mayo mixed with bacon bits. Nothing really special…The chicken wings were not well cooked. We had a few which were cold on the inside, though it was not raw at least. Waiting time was long. The staff even though they had yet to served us our salad, and informed us that there was not enough potato and pasta, hence need us to replace our order. Thankfully we had ordered baked rice not not pasta, and had already had our potato salad served. However, something was amiss when I noticed the staff served our customers their food even though we placed ours first. I made a trip to the counter to check out the status of our order, and was told that the staff had missed our baked rice. We waited nearly 2 hours for our baked rice, which turned out to taste and look like claypot rice. The rice was too dry, and was no suitable for making baked rice. It was plainly mixing and blending the rice with tomato sauce, and tossed with cheese, meatball, and placed into oven. Total horror… I wonder how people can sell something like this…

Dessert was simply the best. Price was reasonable, it was only $6.90 for Chocolate Fondue for 2 pax. It was served with strawberries, marshmallow, brownies, and banana. The brownies were very tasty, and chocolaty. The texture was like bitting into a cube of butter which is not hard nor too soft. It was not too sweet but has a sweet bitter taste that linger on your tongue. Besides that, they served a small plate of almond for us to coat the chocolate. This further enhance the texture of the fruits & brownies after dipping them in the warm chocolate.

One thing Chris mentioned was the place or rather the management was too new & inexperienced. They were unable to cope with the number of diner with only 1 oven, 1 medium size toaster, and a few untrained staff. Many thing should be improved like increasing or upsizing their fridge, oven, microwaves, having a set of SOP for staff to follow. Training of the staff is important, and letting them know their individual duties will help to eliminate errors, and lessen repeated duties.

Taste (main course): 4/10
Taste (dessert): 6.5/10
Service: 5/10 (The staff apologized profusely to us about the delay of the baked rice, and compensated us with 2 pieces of yummy brownies)
Price: 5/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Privacy: 0/10

Overall: Satisfactory

Hope to see them improve within 12 months.
They’re just "you xing wu li"- helplessness

Indulging…