Archive for December 2015

Home Archive for December 2015

Back for its second year, Christmas Wonderland is a yuletide fair which is held over at Gardens by the Bay. I did not know of such event last year, I suppose the marketing partners do a better job this year at promoting the event. Christmas Wonderland yuletide fair is held until 3 January 2016 and the good news is, admission is free. Woot!

Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay, Singapore

Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay shows a wonderful Luminarie light sculptures all around the main square near the Supertrees. The yuletide fair is best experienced at night when all the illuminating light sculptures are lit. We came to Gardens by the Bay around 9PM on a weekday because the crowd on the weekends is really crazy.

Luminarie Sculptures at Christmas Wonderland Gardens by the Bay

Inside one of the Luminarie sculptures lies a stage used for some Christmas performances like choirs or snow show. The adults and kids love them so much, especially the bubbles-like-snow.

Inside the luminarie sculpture at Gardens by the Bay Singapore

At the other section of Gardens by the Bay, you will stumble upon the Ice Palace. I wish this is the castle belongs to Princess Elsa in Frozen but it turns up to be an ice skating rink. Since the ice skating rink at Marina Bay Sands is closed for Christmas displays, visitors can ice skate here instead.

Ice Palace Ice Skating Rink at Gardens by the Bay Singapore

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For those of you who love to dine, there is a set up restaurant in the middle of the yuletide fair. We came with a full stomach so we did not tr the restaurant called Idolize. The concept from outside looks pretty interesting though so you may want to give it a try.

Idolize Restaurant at Christmas Wonderland in Gardens by the Bay

If you prefer street food, there is a Christmas market in the middle of the yuletide fair too. Do come earlier if you want to try a lot of food though. By the time we were passing by the Christmas market, some of the hot-selling-items like churros were already out. O_O.

Christmas market at Gardens by the Bay Singapore

There are a lot of game stalls being set up too near the Ice Palace (the ice skating rink). Do come with your kids because well, kids love games, don't they? The games kinda remind me of night market in Taipei. Hahaha.

Game stalls at Gardens by the Bay Singapore

How to get to Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay:

The cheapest way to get here is by taking the train via Circle Line or Downtown Line to Bayfront MRT Station. Take exit B and follow the underground linkway. Exit and cross the Dragonfly Bridge or Meadow Bridge into Gardens by the Bay.

Keelung is one of the port cities in Taiwan. It was historically famous as a commerce and trade centre in the 19th century. Now, a lot of people visits Keelung to have a culinary journey at Keelung Miaokou Night Market. And those people includes us, a few hungry monsters.

Keelung Miaokou Night Market is located adjacent to Keelung Harbour and forms the downtown area of the city. The entrance to the night market is located at the intersection of Aisan and Rensan Roads (愛三仁三路口). You should come to Keelung Miaokou Night Market on a empty stomach.

There are a lot of delicious seafood being offered in Keelung Night Market. And oh boy, look at the size of these seafood. The seafood are very fresh because they are brought straight from the nearby harbour.

How about some crayfishes?

Crayfishes at night market in Keelung Taiwan

Or...holy-moly, look at all these crabs. We decided to buy whatever we can get while we are walking around. The seafood are enough to make our eyes drool. XD

Fresh seafood at Keelung Night Market Taiwan

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We finally found a place to seat in a restaurant which sells fried noodle. The restaurant owner is cool enough to allow us to eat the fried noodles together with all the seafood which we bought earlier on.

Fried Noodle Restaurant at Keelung Night Market Taiwan

We also ordered some alcohols to wash our stomach. The noodle is not bad, but the highlight of the meal had to be the seafood.

Fried Noodle at Keelung Night Market Taiwan

If you think we were too full to eat anything else, you were absolutely mistaken. We still managed to buy a few seafood buns to accompany us on our way back to Taipei. The shrimp and oyster buns sold at Keelung Night Market are fantastic. And cheap too. ^^

Shrimp and oyster buns at Keelung Night Market Taiwan

If you are planning to visit Keelung Night Market, you may want to visit Keelung at the end of a day touring Taiwan's North Coast and places like Jiufen or Yehliu. The night market will make a perfect ending to a long day. You can go back to Taipei from Keelung by taking one of the frequent local trains from the train station adjacent to the harbour back to Taipei Main Station.

I love December so much because the town is decked in Christmas decorations from head to toes. In particular, I like how the shopping malls in Singapore decorate their Christmas trees because they try to be different from one another. I guess this has turned into some kind of competition between the shopping malls in Singapore. I wonder if the mall who has the most beautiful Christmas tree will get the higher sales for the month? Hahaha. Okay, enough joking, let's check out how the Christmas trees in Singapore for the year 2015 fare.

1. Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands decks its Christmas tree with pink as its theme. The Christmas tree is set up on the gift box which also has pink color. Matchy matchy I see. I find them so-so this year so let's check out other malls then.

2. The Star Vista

The Star Vista is probably more like neighborhood mall instead of major shopping mall. It is located in Buona Vista (which is not really central) but I include the Christmas tree from the Star Vista in anyway because...it's white. If you want to see White Christmas in Singapore version, you can probably visit the Star Vista. They also set up a carousel here so you don't have to go to Garden by the Bay to ride one.

The white Christmas tree is located pretty high up though so I don't think anyone can take picture with the white Christmas tree. Too bad. =(

White Christmas tree at the Star Buona Vista

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3. Somerset 313

You cannot leave out any Christmas tree displayed in Orchard whenever you want to compare Christmas trees in Singapore. I have not got the time to check out the Christmas tree in Takashimaya though. So for this round, I will only include the blue Christmas tree at Somerset 313. The theme of the Christmas tree is pretty unique because I think it adopts "under-the-sea" theme. The problem is, once the night falls and the light is lit on, you cannot really see the "under-the-sea" details on the Christmas tree.

4. Vivo City

If you visit Vivo City in December, make sure to make time to pop by to level 3 and go outside to the rooftop area. The Christmas tree set up there is always the highlight of the mall every December. The Christmas tree itself is pretty big but if you can, you should come at night. This is because the power of the Christmas tree in Vivo City lies in its lights. LOL. During the day, the Christmas tree looks mild. =P

Which Christmas tree is your favourite so far? Or you don't mind any Christmas tree as long as there are gifts under the tree? Hehe.

Sometimes when we are in Orchard, we really don't know what we are supposed to eat. I guess we are spoilt by choices but the choices...are kinda common because in Singapore, a lot of restaurants have branches at the other malls. So yeah, in summary, we are pretty bored by the choices available. And that's the reason why when a new restaurant opens, a snaking queue is always spotted at its entrance. #spoilt #firstworldproblem

Okay, let's go back to our adventure. When we were checking out the latest addition to Ngee Ann City (which is those area which is used to be owned by Kinokuniya), we spotted a new restaurant called Patties & Wiches. I initially mistook the word "Wiches" for "Witches" and was expecting some kind of Harry Potter's theme kind of food here. Hahaha.

Turns out Patties & Wiches offers burgers and sandwiches. Ah, I guess that's where the name came from. The casual restaurant is helmed by Japanese chefs. I am not really into sandwiches because I always thought that is the food that you can create yourself at home. So, I quickly move on to the burgers menu and ordered for myself a P&W Cheese Burger.

The P&W Cheese Burger comes out pretty simple. A mini portion of fries, tomato and cabbages at the side (they should increase the portion of the sides). The P&W Cheese Burger uses wagyu beef in the patties and hence, the exorbitant price of a burger at SGD 22. It tastes pretty good thankfully.

P&W Cheese Burger at Patties & Wiches Ngee Ann City

Patties & Wiches also serves cakes which are created by the famous Chef Yamashita. I have heard so many good reviews about the slice cakes from Chef Yamashita but never have the time to visit his patisserie at Tanjong Pagar Plaza. We wanted to try Mt Fuji which is a Mont Blanc cake but to our surprise, that particular cake has been sold out that day. So we had to settle with Ichigo, the Japanese version of Strawberry Shortcake.

Strawberry Short Cake from Chef Yamashita at Ngee Ann City

Just like any other Japanese cakes, Ichigo has lighter texture (like sponge). The cream and strawberry taste sweet but not too sweet. I guess the main thing that I like about Japanese cakes are the lighter texture which I hope will reduce my calorie intake when eating a cake. True? False? XD

Ichigo Short Cake by Chef Yamashita at Patties & Wiches

You can find Patties & Wiches at level 3 of Ngee Ann City. I don't think a reservation is required because so far I managed to walk in twice into this restaurant without reservation.

I seriously having a question about my faith and in a dire condition of losing heart. But I guess in time like this, you have more reasons to go to church. To hear the God's words.

The sermon kinda made me realise not to believe in my current changing moods and circumstances and instead put my hope on Jesus alone. I suppose changing moods and circumstances are similar to the view from the window bus. It's keep changing and yet, we keep moving forward. I hope what I'm wishing for will come true soon.

Meanwhile, there's no point in mopping while waiting. We may as well be merry and jolly and bring our friends out to have a good meal. How about a good meal at one of the cafe(s) in Holland Village?

1. Breko Cafe

Breko Cafe sells mostly Western food (like the mains, the burgers, and the pastas) and desserts (cakes! yum!). It is located in the main area of Holland Village called Lorong Mambong. It serves a yummy chargrilled salmon with sides. The pasta salad taste good too as a side dish.

2. MU Parlour

MU Parlour is another cafe located at Lorong Mambong where you can have a nice burger. We also had a chance to try their cakes. The chocolate cake does not disappoint although it is nearly impossible to dislike a chocolate cake.

Chocolate cake at MU Parlour in Holland Village

3. The Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe

If you feel like enjoying dessert only while talking to your friends, you can go to the Daily Scoop Ice Cream Cafe and pick your ice cream flavor. The cafe is so popular we barely got a seat here. It may be a tad challenging if you come in a big group. If you don't mind waiting, the ice cream sold at the Daily Scoop is really enjoyable. They have so many different kind of flavors, I have spent quite a long time in front of the ice cream display to ponder upon my choice. My choice of ice cream flavor finally fell on the Rum and Raisin. Yummy!