Right when I clicked the shutter, a raindrop hit the lens dead center!!
The “Staff Canteen” sounds so offputting
One of the “secret” amenities of Singapore Changi Airport are the Hawker Centres hidden away in each terminal; in the basement of Terminal 1 and on a secret mezzanine level between 3 and 4 in Terminal 2. Went to Terminal 1’s today.
Except it’s not a “hawker centre” but rather a “staff canteen”. Doesn’t sound as cool, does it? I guess it’s not a true “hawker centre” because they’re open only to 2100 on the weekends and 2000 on weeknights so it won’t become a hangout? It’s impeccably clean AND has great air-con.
Did I mention that’s it really big AND they sell magazines and convenience items too?
I found an outpost of my favourite beehoon beef noodle place that I found at Harbourfront Food Centre on my last visit, so I had to have a bowl!
All “beefed” up and halal too!
The pictures don’t adequately show how big this place is. There are two walls full of food stalls and there’s patio seating outside too. It’s not listed on the Changi Airport website but if you ask any of the staff, they can point you in the right direction. Or you can take the lift and get off where it says “Food Center Level 1”. Apparently, I was told that Terminal 2 has better food! Will find out on Monday next week…
Here’s the view from my seat
Terminal 1 Staff Canteen
First Floor
Singapore Changi Airport
Cheesie Meme
I got hit with a meme from Cheesie!
Fun to see that she’s actually been here to this dusty corner of the internet. Kanna comply with meme tho because she quotes here specifically:
Guys not excluded. I dun care! Make do with whatever you have! Unless you’re bald, you die die also have to do it Link
Well, I am excused cuz I AM Bald! Just like Bruce and Jean-Luc! WAHAHAHAHAH
However, I will be in KL this Wed and Thurs in case you’d like to share some cheese and verify my “follically-challenged” status…
Aiyah, a public service announcement…
UPDATE: Click here. Guess the producer no longer has a job. Or his freedom.
Street food is one of the staples of traveling. In a nutshell, street food is a reflection of the tastes and priorities of the society you’re visiting. What does this say about mainland China?
Chopped cardboard, softened with an industrial chemical and flavored with fatty pork and powdered seasoning, is a main ingredient in batches of steamed buns sold in one Beijing neighborhood, state television said. Link.
Original CCTV report
Now keep in mind that this isn’t a a “western propaganda outlet” muckraking to make the motherland look bad, this report was from CCTV, the state propaganda arm! Kudos to whoever approved this story (assuming he still has a job there) and had the guts to see it through…
Really makes you think about where and what you eat and whether or not “cheap food” is such a good deal. I think it depends on where you are. I’ve usually no qualms about eating from a hawker stand in Singapore or in piss alley in Shinjuku or even one of the remaining Dai Pai Dongs in Hong Kong. Those countries make an effort to regulate food stalls and there are laws and fines that are enforced for violations. Even here in San Francisco there are regulations as such.
But obviously not mainland China. They’ve got a LOT of work ahead of them…
Here’s a Japanese story on the CCTV report…
My Ixus went out for a walk…
and dragged me along on a nocturnal stroll. In South Beach, that means more deco!
Just past Lincoln walking up Collins Ave, there’s a strip of some very nice swish-y apartments and hotels.
I got thirsty, so I ducked in here for the world’s best mojito (cuz it was US$15!!).
More from here later!
It’s 0300 now and It’s time for bed!!
Doing time in South Florida
It’s waaay too hot outside to trudge around so I shall blog in air-con comfort! WAHAHAHAH
Look at the picture below and tell me what’s odd about it. Clue: Read the receipt.
WTF??
sooo I’m expected to tip in ADDITION to the “mandatory gratuity” that’s already tacked on?? That explains why there were only 7 people in Jerry’s Famous Deli for brekkie and it took 15 minutes for someone to take my order! *fumes*
I’m in South Beach, part of the city of Miami Beach now. It’s hella hot and sticky and it just finished pouring rain for 25 minutes. Feels like BKK.
Of cors, when you think of South Beach, you don’t think necessarily of rip-off restaurant policies or the fact that it feels like the “sixth borough” due to the fact that there are so many old New York transplants here. Instead, you think of deco and beach, two things that this place has in quantity.
Some shots from Ocean Avenue, behind my hotel on Collins Ave.
The bar at The Clevelander. The hotel is under renovation and closed but the bar is still open!
View from the balcony
My first full day in Florida. It’s really humid and it rains in the afternoon. Sounds like a recurring theme for this month…
The view from my room. WAH!
NEVER AGAIN!
OK, this is a rant against US Airways AKA US SCAREWAYS. If you like this airline, best skip reading this entry!
I believe in the three strikes rule and US Airways has got em’. The first strike was about a month back when my connecting flight from JFK-LAS was delayed for three hours (because of non-existent “weather”), thus making me miss my connection back home. I was thus forced to get a hotel room out of my own pocket (cuz “weather” delays are not the airline’s fault) to the tune of US$80 and then wound up flying home the next day. I was so tired and the flight I was put on to get back to SFO was early enough that there would be no time for Vegas type fun.
So that’s strike one. Strikes two and three happened today. I was booked on a UA itinerary, SFO-PHL on the redeye and a connecting flight from PHL-FLL. The connecting flight was, you guessed it, a US Airways codeshare!!!!
When I landed in PHL from my sleep-deprived flight, I was told that my original flight’s plane was “still in the hangar”. Mechanical issues. I was booked on another group of connecting flights, PHL-CLT then to FLL. I was also told that once my bag arrived that they could be sent to my hotel.
Yeah, right. According to the baggage people here, if the bags wind up on the original flight they were tagged for, they will NOT send the bags out and if I want to leave for my hotel (instead of waiting over an hour in the airport for my bags) I could:
A: Take a cab to the hotel and come back and get my bag and go back to the hotel.
B: Have the bag delivered COD.
Both options are unacceptable! Why should I have to pay money for US Airway’s problems or misinformation???
Each time I’ve flown this airline, it’s been nothing but delays. I’ve been in transit for over 12 hours now. By the time I get to the hotel, It will be close to 15 hours in transit. Just to keep things in perspective, I can fly SFO-HKG in 14 hours.
NEVER AGAIN!!!
now that’s a tasty burger!
In Pulp Fiction, one of my favourite movies of all time, there’s an extended scene with the devil’s helpers, a mysterious case, lots of guns (but no shotguns) and a miracle. There’s also a burger from Big Kahuna Burger, “that haw-aii-aan burger joint”. All of those other things aside, Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) was very impressed with the tastiness of the Big Kahuna Burger.
Now that’s a tasty burger!
Of course, there are others who like tasty burgers too! Like certain hotel empire heiresses (yum!)…
There’s a video that goes with this pic. Click here.
But an aside…we’re not here to talk about heiress socialites and their cutting edge adverts/PR stunts. You DID notice they were advertising a burger in that last video, right? Let’s look at Goodburger, a restaurant I literally found waiting for me after I left the MOMA around lunchtime.
I like to think Jules (or even Paris) would approve.
Goodburger
636 Lexington Ave (54th & Lex)
New York NY 10022
212-838-6000
www.goodburgerny.com
iPhone Tech
One of my friends drank the kool-aid and picked an iPhone up.
Lucky!
I helped him set it up to sync between two computers; the Mac (yeay!) for music, videos, photos and the pee cee (groan) for email, scheduling and contacts. I also configured the email client on iPhone so it could send and receive using EDGE.
That’s my 838 Pro (AKA HTC Hermes) on the right and the iPhone on the left. Look how slim lah!
I repeat, look how slim!
iTunes on both Mac and pee cee controls the sync functions with the iPhone, much like ActiveSync does on the pee cee side. The main difference is that iTunes is a LOT easier to set up, simpler to understand and gives you more control over the process.
And after playing with it for several hours, I can’t convey how impressive this piece of hardware is. Cannot. You should go to an Apple Store and playwiddit for yourself!
If it were only unlocked….!