My favourite French fries

My favourite fries is the cheezy fries from Bugger King. No other fries can be as good as this one. The bugger is so so.

HDB resale 4-roomed flat in Pasir Ris

My friend bought this 25 year old HDB flat at Paris Ris for $450,000 recently. He paid another $150,000 to fully renovated the flat. The renovation came with the kitchen,living room and bedroom appliances. Although known as a 4-roomed flat,it actaully has 3 bedrooms. There is an elevator on every floor of the 10 storey building. Unlike most HDB flat,this place has only 2 units on every floor. The total area is about 1,100 sq ft.

2 contrasting classmates from rich background

Both were from rich families. We went to the same primary school. The story isn't about me because I was of a different league. Most of us were from humble background. The period I am talking about was from 1954 to 1959. Singapore was a British colony. It was before Lee Kuan Yew's era. Unlike today, Singapore consisted of slums and poor people. The rich were very rich and the poor were extremely poor living in squatters without proper sanitation or drinking water.
The story is about David and Mike. They were chauffeured in big Cadillacs to school while most of us either cycled or walked to school.Their fathers were filthy rich. David's dad was a footwear manufacturer and exporter while Mike's dad was in the real estate business. These two boys were pampered and each had a majie or servant accompanying them to school.
As they grew up, David dropped out of school and became a thug while Mike did well in his studies and inherited his dad's real estate business.

I met both of them when we were in our forties. David wanted to borrow money from me. He was a gambler and lost his share of his dad's inheritance. On the other hand, when I met Mike ( David,Mike and I had not met each other since we were kids), he invited me to his luxurious house in East Coast.

The last time I heard of David was that he was in prison for cheating. Later, he died of a heart attack (after his release). David'd father would have turned in his grave if he knew what had happened to his favourite son.

As for Mike, he has sold off his business and is now enjoying his retirement.

Durian and fruits party for residents

I was invited to the above durian carnival yesterday. This is the first time durian,the most expensive fruit is given free of charge to the residents by our MP and the sponsors. The durians and the durian puffs were excellent. We would to thank our resident committee for doing all the hardwork so we could enjoy the "King" of the fruits.
Our PM also attended the function. I managed to catch a glimpse of him with my phone camera. It was nice of him to join us last night.

Free beverages from McCafe

Had a large cup of Mochachino at McCafe for free because I presented the card issued by McDonald's with 5 stamps or chops on it. Each time you buy a drink from McCafe you should ask the staff to stamp the card. By the time you have 5 stamps on it you are entitled to a drink of any size cup worth $5 and above. The above card is a sample so there is no stamp on it.

Boxing Day lunch and spent the afternoon @ Marina Bay

My breakfast on Boxing Day and weather in SG

After the feasting on Christmas Eve, I semi-fasted on Christmas Day. Then today on Boxing Day, I had the above for breakfast. The top picture is that of psyllium husk coffee jelly. It's supposed to clean the digestive system and prevent constipation. My wife made the stuff.
The bottom picture was that of roast beef and ham sandwiches. The meat were the leftovers of the Christmas Eve dinner, given to me. We bought a loaf of white bread and made sandwiches out of them.

Weather on this Boxing Day is cloudy with some bright sunshine. Rain is expected in the northern and western part of Singapore. Temperature ranges from 29C at 10:30 am to 33C in the afternoon. PSI is 30 which is in the "Good" range.

Christmas Eve dinner@ relatives' house

NTWU canteens in Singapore

NTWU  or National Transport Workers' Union canteens are located in 34 bus interchanges and depots in Singapore. These are canteens for the bus captains where the food sold are cheap and healthy. They are also opened for members of the public although the bus captains have priorities over us in the queue for food and drinks. The pictures were taken at the Yishun bus interchange.
Last week, I bought myself a cup of kopi O at the Serangoon NTWU canteen. It was aromatic and nice and was cheap too (80 cts) as compared to a cup of average taste kopi O at JEM's Food Republic which cost me $1.70 cts.
I have not eaten the food there but I will one of these days.

Eating laksa at home

Skin allergy aside, I am going to indulge in my one of my favourites...Laksa! Also tonight I've been invited to a X'mas Eve dinner at one of relatives' home. Will post more photos here.

Appointment for skin allergy test

After travelling 30 minutes and another 20 minutes wait for my turn to see the skin specialist, I was told, to my dismay that they have made the wrong appointment for me at KTP Hospital.
The staff who made the appointment by mistake apologised profusely and offered to reimburse my taxi fare. I declined the offer and in the true Christmas spirit (since it's Christmas eve) I forgave them and told them not to worry. They did not expect my reaction and kept thanking me especially the foreign staff.
I have some kind of skin allergy and would like to find out whether it was the food that I eat or environment or something else that is causing the rashes. Alas, I could only find out next year when my new appointment will be scheduled.

Karaokeing with my classmates

This was the karaoke session we had recently. Yes, all the old folks. They were my classmates. We also have our regular monthly lunch get-together since about 10 years ago.
I love the karaoke session but it usually finished off late or rather in the wee hours of the morning. After that I will be having sleeping problem. I seldom sleep late. Bedtime is usually around 11pm. These days, I do not join them for the karaoke sessions.
At least twice a year, we will charter a mini bus and spend the day in JB. We like having the seafood at Kong Kong, Masai  and the dinner in Peking Restaurant. During the durian season, we would tar-pow some durian back to Singapore for our friends and families.

On the subject of karaoke, I found it to be more expensive if one does it in the SIA Sports Club even if one is a member of the club.
A karaoke room at SIA SC is let out for $20 an hour (min 2 hrs) and a drink cost $7.
I made a search on the internet and found that karaoke-ing do not have to be that expensive. Example: For a small room (max 4 people) at Teo Heng KTV the rental is $8 and a drink is $1 (soft drink only).  However from Monday to Thursday between 12pm and  7pm (happy hour) a 3 hour package cost only $18.  See below:

For details click here

Shall we go to Teo Heng?

Crabtree & Evelyn biscuits/ Home cooked lunch

The Crabtree cookies was a gift from a relative who visited UK recently. Lunch was prepared at home today.