The Sibelius Symphonies: Nos 4 & 5 (24 Feb 2012)

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Conductor: Okko Kamu

Pianist: Benjamin Grosvenor

Programme:

Jean Sibelius - Symphony No.4 in A minor, Op. 63

Robert Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54

Jean Sibelius - Symphony No.5 in E-flat major, Op. 82

I have never developed a liking for Sibelius' pieces, so in this entry I shall just comment on Schumann's Piano Concerto.

This Piano Concerto, compared to other piano concertos, can be considered to be simpler and less technique-demanding. Rather than being a 'volatile' piece that is full of flashy and powerful cadenzas that is so common for the classical era, it is a calm piece that rotates around a hymn-like melody.

Grosvenor, a young and budding British pianist (only 19 years old this year), played it quite well in terms of technique - the running scales were clear and crisp, and the jumping octaves were also powerful and yet neat. However, his age - and the consequential lack of experience in musical interpretation - stands out. Although the piece was executed quite perfectly in terms of technique, Grosvenor failed to bring out the inner emotions of the piano concerto. Similarly, for the third movement - Allegro Vivace - a movement full of energy and virtuosity - was played accurately with almost no mistakes, but the mood was not brought out. Grosvenor was simply playing the notes and not the piece itself.

Maybe I will listen to him again in three to five more years. By that time, his musical understanding should have improved.

Bangkok (Feb 2012)

Travelled to Bangkok for a vacation with my gf and two other friends. Booked our flight via Jetstar, which cost us S$239.90 per pax, while the accommodation at Budacco Hotel cost around S$95 per pax. This came up to a total of around S$335 for flight and accommodation, which was still quite reasonable. But if I were to add my expenses there as well, I think I spent around S$1,200. Most of it came from the tailored clothes.

Day 1

Our flight was really early, at 7am, so I had to wake up at 430am to reach the airport at around 515am. Food wasn't served on the flight (it's a budget airline after all) so we had a quick breakfast at the airport first before departing.

Thailand is one hour behind Singapore, so we reached Suvarnabhumi Airport at around 835am (935am Singapore time). The Airport Rail Link was conveniently located at the basement of the airport, so we took it instead of a cab to avoid the jam. The train station looked brand new and sparse, devoid of any advertisements or notices etc.

This doesn't look like a train station at all.

It took around 45 minutes to reach Budacco Hotel, and we were relieved that they allowed us to check in early as it was not even 10am. The rooms there had several colour schemes (green, yellow, pink), and we were slightly turned off when we were allocated a pink room. But the room was still quite all right. Most importantly, it was clean.

Deluxe room at Budacco Hotel

The main door had to be locked by a traditional key, unlike the auto-lock doors with keycards at other hotels. So when we left, I just closed the door and assumed it would be locked. It was only ten minutes later that I suddenly remembered that I haven't locked the door, so I had to rush back to lock it. Fortunately we were still located within walking distance from the hotel!

Lunch was at an A&W outlet at Pantip Plaza, which was around 7 minutes' walk from the hotel. 

A&W Curly Fries. It's really different from McDonald's Twister Fries.

Love their root beer mug (and the root beer, of course)

Pantip Plaza is actually quite similar to our Simlim Square - well, more than ten years ago. It sells a lot of pirated software and DVDs. 

Pantip Plaza, our Simlim Square from more than a decade ago

After this, we took a cab to a tailor that one of my relatives recommended. However, we couldn't find the place, so a local directed us to another tailor instead, called The Oriental Galleria. While the shop looked much bigger, decent and professional compared to the other run-down tailor shops that I saw, I felt a bit uneasy as the original prices they quoted me were way too high, at THB1,400 (S$57.28) per shirt and THB2,000 (S$81.83) per trousers. This was a huge contrast from what my relative told me for the original tailor he recommended - THB900 (S$36.82) for one shirt, and THB600 (S$24.55) if you make 4 pieces or more. So I bargained rather hard, and all the while he insisted that theirs were of the 'best quality' and much better than the other tailors. In the end I managed to get it down to THB9,000 (S$368.25) for six shirts and two pairs of trousers.

Not as cheap as I hoped, but at least it was still significantly cheaper than Singapore. And after trying to find our way for around an hour under the hot sun, I just wanted to settle it as soon as possible. I was told to visit them again tomorrow for a fitting, and then they will deliver the clothes on the third day.

Proceeded to MBK Centre after that. It was a big and well-known shopping mall, though we didn't really buy anything - mainly because we intended to buy most of our clothes from Platinum Mall and Chatuchak Market.

We also tried a fish spa for the first time. It cost us THB150 (S$6.14) for 15 minutes.

It wasn't as ticklish as I thought it would be.

Once I immersed my feet into the water, my feet were surrounded by dozens of fishes in a matter of seconds, nibbling away. I felt like a buffet spread for the fishes. Contrary to what others tell me, it wasn't really ticklish. It was an interesting experience, though in hindsight, they should have asked customers to wash their feet first before using the fish spa, for hygiene reasons.

Had dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant named Sukishi Charcoal Grill, located at the top floor of MBK Centre, which was recommended by one of my colleagues.

One of their BBQ sets

The food was not bad, though I think the main reason was because of the charcoal stove.

Charcoal stoves beat electric stoves hands down

Day 2

Budacco Hotel's breakfast cafe was a bit small, and the chairs were obviously too bulky. But at least the food, albeit simple, was quite all right. We were going to lunch at a Japanese buffet restaurant later, so I told everyone just to have a light breakfast.

After breakfast, I went back to the tailor for a fitting. The shirt and trousers I tried were just nice - they had followed my instructions quite well - so I had no complaints. Took a cab to Swissotel Le Concorde Hotel - that's where the Japanese buffet restaurant was - and was very surprised that all the cab drivers we flagged down did not know where it was, despite showing them the address. It was only until our fifth attempt that we got a cab - and this was because a nearby local helped to give directions to the cab driver. Sheesh.

I had made reservations at this restaurant, called Takumi, via email when I was still in Singapore. Reviews were very good, and they were well known for serving good and fresh Japanese food at a cheap price (for Singaporeans, that is). They serve their food via an a-la-carte buffet, which I actually prefer to a standard buffet.

Our private room at Takumi

Their private room was quite comfortable, and didn't cost anything extra too. No footwear allowed, though.

Mixed sashimi

Their sashimi was really good, especially the tuna, octopus, and squid. While I usually prefer salmon over tuna, this tuna was really outstanding and I ended up eating more tuna than usual.

Most of the food we ordered were quite good, except for their chicken, which was not fresh and had a slight 'defrosted' taste. This was evident in all their dishes with chicken, including the small chicken cubes in their chawanmushi. Their teppanyaki was not bad too (except the chicken, of course), and I especially liked their beef teppanyaki (partly because of the fats that came with it).

The lunch cost us around THB700 (S$28.64) per pax. I think this meal would easily cost more than S$60 back in Singapore. Definitely recommended!


Restaurant name: Takumi Japanese Restaurant
Address: 204 Ratchadapisek Road
Tel: +66 02-6942222

Bookings should be made preferably two weeks in advance (especially for weekend dinners) because they are usually fully booked. I made my reservation on their website.

On the way here, we passed by a big shopping mall called Central Plaza. Since it was just around 5 minutes away, we decided to visit it after lunch. Central Plaza was extremely new - so far, in fact, that the top floor was still incomplete. But the lower floors were already full of retail outlets.

There was a Krispy Kreme cafe here. I am not really a fan of donuts (the high calorie content doesn't help) - but I know quite a few friends who are crazy over it. So this time, I decided to try an original glazed donut.

Krispy Kreme original glazed donut

Oh my. It was delicious - a huge difference from the other donuts I have eaten before. The bread was soft, and had a wonderfully light consistency. It was sweet, but not too sweet. And the glaze gave it a melt-in-your-mouth feeling. After this, I vowed to eat at least one donut if I am overseas and pass by a Krispy Kreme outlet!

And here's the signboard for the restrooms at Central Plaza.

If you are feeling this way, please proceed that way

There was also a Uniqlo outlet here, but I didn't buy anything as the prices for their anime t-shirts were rather close to Singapore's. I did get a cardigan and jacket from Basic House, and it was a pretty good deal as they were nice and going at half-price. Spent THB2,490 (S$101.88) here after the discount. Now that I think about it... it's still pretty expensive after the discount!

What I found most interesting for this mall were the vintage cars on display just outside the building. One in particular caught my attention - a lime green car.

Lime green vintage car of unknown brand...

Look at the seats, steering wheel and gear!

Omg, it's a Toyota! (look above the left brake light)

Next stop - Platinum Mall, the supposedly "air-con version" of Chatuchak Market. The clothes there were already quite cheap, though some of their service was really atrocious. One stall stood out from the rest - the staff didn't bother to give us eye contact when we asked about the pricing. When we asked if she could give a discount, we got an immediate and curt no. And when my gf decided to try one of the tops by just wearing it over her clothes, we were berated with a sharp "Cannot try!". Naturally, we decided to bring our money elsewhere.

I bought quite a few t-shirts here (only to find out, after I returned to Singapore, that some shrank after washing, while others were too narrow at the waist area). Think I will just give some of them away to someone who is of smaller build (which shouldn't be too difficult).

Dinner was at Once upon a time, a restaurant near our hotel that serves local cuisine. It was recommended by our hotel, and it was indeed good (and cheap too)! There were too many mosquitoes though, despite choosing the indoor seats.

Some of the food we ordered at Once upon a time

Day 3

The main highlight of the day was Chatuchak Market, and we went there early in order to avoid the crowd and the afternoon heat. At 945am, only a third or half of the stalls were opened, however.

Chatuchak Market

The place was huge. There are thousands of booths there selling anything from clothes and food to pets and paintings.

The map of Chatuchak Market. If you look closely enough, each tiny square is actually one booth, so there are thousands of booths here.

The weather wasn't too hot, but it was the ventilation and the crowd that made it unbearable. So it was a big relief when we reached the pets section - a few of the shops selling pet accessories were fully air-conditioned, and we spent a disproportionate amount of time there just to get some respite from the heat. I did buy a few shirts for my dog, though. There were also puppies for sale, and they were all so cute!

Puppies for sale

Other than dog t-shirts, I also bought some shirts, belts, and ties. The stuff here were even cheaper than Platinum Mall. Chanced upon a stall selling really nice ties - they were more expensive than other stalls, but their ties were much nicer and of better quality. I ended up buying more than ten ties from this stall alone. The stall name is Sawasdee Neck Tie, and it is located at Section 24, Soi 3. It is to the left of the clock tower if you approach it from the main entrance. I can't remember how much they cost, but I think bargained it down to around THB125 (S$5.11) per tie. It's relatively expensive considering that the other stalls were selling their ties for only THB80 (S$3.27) each before bargaining.

After two to three hours there, I couldn't take the heat and stuffiness anymore and we decided to leave. I don't understand how some of my friends could spend two days here, with up to six hours each day!

Our next venue was Chinatown.

A dazzling display of colours at Chinatown

We had a quick and light bite at a dim sum restaurant. The food was just ordinary, but it was very cheap. Fortunately we reserved some space in our stomachs for what Bangkok is well known for - shark's fin soup and bird nest, which we had at a restaurant called Chinatown Scala Restaurant.

Fish maw soup

The shark's fin soup and fish maw soup were really good and cheap, going at just THB300 (S$12.27) per bowl, which was big enough for one to two persons. And for this price, they didn't scrimp on the ingredients too, unlike some hotel restaurants in Singapore. We also ordered crab fried rice, which was also pretty good and came in a huge portion for just THB200 (S$8.18).

After the meal, we walked around Chinatown looking for somewhere to visit, but after half an hour of futile wandering, we decided to return to the hotel for a short break before going for massage and dinner.

The hotel staff suggested that we visit the massage parlours near Baiyoke Sky Hotel, which suited our plans perfectly since we intended to have dinner at the 81st floor of that hotel. The massage was quite value for money - I chose a food massage; it lasted for an hour and only cost THB200 (S$8.18). After that, we went for dinner - mainly for the scenery, rather than the food.

It took a while before we could even sit down, despite making a reservation the day before. We still had to queue at a counter to get tickets, and after that, queue to get into the lift. By the time we were ushered to our table, I think it was already a good half an hour gone.

We got a balcony seat, which they termed as a 'private room'. The view was fantastic. (Pictures taken by one of my travelling companions)

Night view from Baiyoke Sky Hotel, 81st floor

Night view from Baiyoke Sky Hotel, 81st floor

The buffet spread was huge - but almost none of the food was really good. I suppose the dinner (THB890 - S$36.41) was more for the view than the food. There was practically nothing worth mentioning, and I never took any second helpings for a particular dish.

The way out wasn't much better than the way in. The lifts were always packed when they arrived, and they only came once every five to seven minutes. After a while, we figured that in order to get out, we had to take the lift up and then down. There was chaos, as people tried to squeeze into the lift without letting others out first. Some ang mohs even lost their temper. It was only twenty five minutes later that we finally managed to escape from Baiyoke Sky Hotel.


Day 4

Decided to take it easy today, so we woke up rather late. Paid Platinum Mall a second visit to buy some snacks to bring home, then back to hotel to pack our stuff and travel to the airport. My luggage was practically bursting at the seams - I think it weighed more than 20kg, and since we were travelling on a budget airline, I was quite worried that they would charge us extra. But fortunately, they didn't even weigh our luggage and urged us to board the plane as soon as possible, because there will be a long queue later.

So far, this trip has been quite enjoyable, especially with easy-going traveling companions. The walkie-talkie was the most important thing that I brought - it was so convenient for contacting each other when we split up at shopping malls! And I bet it saved us at least tens of dollars of phone bills. 

Wedding @ Fullerton Hotel

I attended a friend's wedding at The Fullerton Hotel today. It was held during lunch, and everything pretty much went perfectly. 

Well, everything except the food. 

I have never eaten such yucky food in a wedding before. Seriously. One of my friends left after three dishes because she couldn't take it anymore. It was really a pity, because the ballroom setting was nice, the bride and groom decided to do things differently like performing for the guests etc (I am honestly very sick of weddings that follow the same template), and even the door gifts, which I usually don't bother to take, are good (Molton Brown body wash and body lotion). But the food... urgh. 

The cold platter consisted of sauteed chicken thigh, baby octopus, taro, and fried spring roll. All were decent at best. The shark's fin was not homogeneous and still had globs of starch inside. The scallops and asparagus were still okay, but the steamed sea bass was stale. The crispy roasted chicken was totally cold and not crispy at all, while the fried rice tasted too bland.

After the wedding, I felt that the fishball noodles I had for breakfast were way better than what Fullerton Hotel served. And now I know why another friend told me before that after she attended a wedding there, she and her friends went for McDonald's immediately after. Because even McDonald's tastes better.

An Alpine Symphony (10 Feb 2012)

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Conductor: Lan Shui

Cellist: Qin Li-Wei

Programme:

Antonín Dvořák - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104

Antonín Dvořák - Silent Woods

Richard Strauss - An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64

It has been a long time since I enjoyed a concert tremendously, and this was thanks to Qin Li-Wei's performance of Dvořák's cello concerto. Qin was totally immersed in the music, and drew me in with his virtuosity and interpretation of the concerto. If I were to compare him to Stephen Hough (in an earlier post) - Qin was lost in the music; Hough was just lost in himself. 

The level of respect that Qin accorded the conductor and the orchestra could be both seen and felt, and it was two-ways. There were times when Qin sped up slightly, especially during his cadenzas, but this was almost immediately held in check as he quickly slowed down to match the orchestra. Occasionally, he would even turn to his right and give the concertmaster Alexander Souptel eye contact, and it was clear that they were both enjoying making music, rather than just performing. The difficult solo portions were played with ease and precision, and Qin displayed a rich emotional musicality which was obviously appreciated by the audience; when the concert ended, they showered him with thunderous applause and cries of 'bravo!'. 

The sound that he coaxed out of the 1780 Joseph Guadagnini cello was both beautiful and soothing, and this was felt in Dvořák's Silent Woods as well. I have not heard this piece before, and it was a very short piece, around only 5 minutes long. Quite a drastic change compared to the powerful cello concerto previously, and this was a rather slow and soft piece, as suggested from its name.

Richard Strauss' An Alpine Symphony was a colossal symphony that demanded an orchestra of over 130 musicians. It took place after the intermission, so during the intermission I was rather surprised to see so many musicians coming into the concert hall.

This was exclusive(!) of the backstage continent. 

To be precise, the orchestra (excluding the string sections) was composed of:

4 x flutes

2 x piccolos

3 x oboes

1 x English horn

1 x bass oboe

1 x E-flat clarinet

2 x B-flat clarinets

1 x C clarinet

1 x bass clarinet

3 x bassoons

1 x contrabassoon

8 x horns

4 x Wagner tubas

4 x trumpets

4 x trombones

2 x bass tubas

2 x harps

1 x organ

1 x wind machine

1 x thunder machine

1 x glockenspiel

1 x cymbals

1 x bass drum

1 x snare drum

1 x triangle

1 x cowbells

1 x tam-tam

1 x celesta

1 x timpani

If this is not all, there is still a backstage contingent of 12 horns, 2 trumpets and 2 trombones used in the third section of the symphony. Such a combination made this performance an eye-opener for any audience, myself included.

This symphony was written to depict nature in sound, and covers the ascent and descent of an Alpine peak over twenty four hours. There were twenty-two episodes in this symphony, namely:

1) Night

2) Sunrise

3) The ascent

4) Entry into the wood

5) Wandering by the side of the brook

6) At the waterfall

7) Apparition

8) On flowering meadows

9) On the Alpine pasture

10) Lost in the thickets and undergrowth

11) On the glacier

12) Dangerous moments

13) On the summit

14) Vision

15) Mists rise

16) The sun gradually becomes obscured

17) Elegy

18) Calm before the storm

19) Thunder and tempest; descent

20) Sunset

21) Waning tones

22) Night

It was a considerate move to set up a small screen above the stage to inform the audience which episode they were listening to currently. While I am not really a fan of Richard Strauss' music, I must say that this is the best (and most interesting) that I have heard so far. 

Sushi Express @ Citylink Mall

I had a concert to catch at Esplanade this evening, and being a bit tired of My Humble House at Esplanade, my friends and I decided to try Sushi Express, which serves conveyor belt sushi. I was on leave so I reached just before 630pm, and got one of the last table seats for the 3 of us. A few minutes later, there was a long queue outside, so I guess I arrived at just the right time. Prior to this, I had no idea how popular this place was. 

The pricing is very simple - everything is $1.50, and there is a free flow of hot tea. Being priced so low (even lower than Sakae Sushi, and I already think Sakae Sushi's quality is at unacceptable levels) I had my reservations, but it turned out quite all right - if you know what to order. 

There's no point evaluating dish by dish, especially since the three of us had twenty nine plates of sushi together, but what I can do is to list down what to order and what not to order.

This was less than half of what we ordered

Should order:

- Salmon sashimi (choose carefully though, some are not fresh)

- Seared salmon belly (this was very good!)

Don't order:

- Uni sushi (the uni is too small and not fresh)

- Cheesecake (no taste of cheesecake at all)

- Mango pudding (low quality)

The rest were arguably decent, but for $1.50 per plate, you can't really complain.

Portfolio update

It has been a while since I blogged about my portfolios. Recently, markets have rallied quite a bit and my portfolios have finally made money! I am glad I topped up a bit when markets were down. 

Previously, I combined all my unit trusts into one portfolio regardless of whether they were bought using CPF or cash. But now I have decided to separate them as CPF monies could not be used in a cash portfolio and vice versa - this has rather big implications for rebalancing. Also, the list of unit trusts that one can access via CPF is rather limited. 

So here goes. 

CPFIS-OA

My CPFIS-OA portfolio is very heavily skewed towards equity. Okay, it's actually all in equity. This was because I just purchased a property recently, and I liquidated the fixed income funds I had for the downpayment. Also, since I will not be using my CPFIS-OA money in the near future, I can afford to invest all in equities due to the long time horizon.

Fund	Sector/Region	Asset Class	% of portfolio
Aberdeen Global Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	Equity	16.43%
Fidelity America USD	US	Equity	22.55%
First State Dividend Advantage	Asia Pacific ex Japan	Equity	11.76%
First State Global Resources	Global Resources	Equity	7.52%
First State Regional China	Greater China	Equity	10.43%
Henderson Global Technology	Global Technology	Equity	11.07%
LionGlobal Japan Growth Fund	Japan	Equity	7.11%
PRU Pan European Fund	Europe	Equity	13.13%

Asset allocation: 100% equities

The worst performing fund in this portfolio is First State Global Resources, which is currently still down by 16.75%. This was because I bought it at a bad timing - March 2011. Right after that, the Japan earthquake happened, and it dropped. Then came the stock market plunge during August 2011, and it went down even more.


CPFIS-SA

CPFIS-SA portfolios are almost always boring. Because the restrictions under CPFIS-SA is much more stringent than CPFIS-OA, so there are very little choices. In fact, you don't even get to choose any equity funds; the highest risk you can get are balanced funds. And of course, the CPFIS-SA cap is currently S$40,000, which means that you can only invest anything in excess of this amount. Which also means that most people wouldn't have much CPFIS-SA to use to invest.

Fund	Sector/Region	Asset Class	% of portfolio
First State Bridge	Asia Pacific ex Japan	Balanced	72.50%
DWS Premier Select Trust	Global	Balanced	27.50%

Asset allocation: 100% balanced


While DWS Premier Select Trust is categorised as a global balanced fund, the majority of it is invested in Singapore (around 67%) and Luxembourg (around 27%).


Cash

Cash portfolios are obviously more exciting, because you get to invest in any unit trust you want. I chose to diversify more into fixed income as there's no telling when I may need to use the money here, and also to reduce my portfolio volatility.

Fund	Sector/Region	Asset Class	% of portfolio
Aberdeen Global Opportunities	Global	Equity	1.00%
Aberdeen Pacific Equity	Asia Pacific ex Japan	Equity	27.38%
Aviva Inv Glb HY Bd Axh SGD	High Yield	Fixed income	9.50%
BNPPL1 Eq Russia EUR	Russia	Equity	2.98%
DWS SGP small/midCap A SGD	Singapore	Equity	23.03%
FTIF-Templeton Glb bond A(mdis) SGD-H1	Global	Fixed income	5.24%
Fidelity Taiwan USD	Taiwan	Equity	8.66%
LionGlobal Spore Fixed Inc-A	Singapore	Fixed income	11.39%
United Asian Bond Fund	Asia ex Japan	Fixed income	5.89%
United Emerging Markets Bond Fund	Emerging Markets	Fixed income	4.92%

Asset allocation: 63% equities, 37% fixed income


Fidelity Taiwan USD was the biggest culprit for my losses here, as I bought it on March 2008 - just before the Global Financial Crisis. It has been almost 4 years and I am still nowhere near breakeven, at -29.63%. Another bad move was BNPPL1 Eq Russia EUR - right after I bought it on May 2011, oil prices fell and Russia was badly hit. Currently it is still down by 13.40%, but fortunately I only bought a small amount of it.

Having fingered the culprit for my losses, I should mention that the biggest contributors to my gains are Aberdeen Pacific Equity and DWS SGP small/midCap A SGD, which are up by 20.88% and 20.44% respectively. The returns could actually be higher, but I just rebalanced my portfolio recently when markets went up by selling a portion of these two funds and buying into fixed income.

Interestingly, both are RSP (regular savings plan) contributions which I have been adhering to religiously since 2007, and in hindsight, it was a good move. To put things into perspective, my first RSP contribution into Aberdeen Pacific Equity was at a purchase price of S$4.3388 on 9th Nov 2007. Now, after the crisis and the recent rally, the price is at S$4.3143. Which means that if I had invested lump sum then, I would still be sitting on a paper loss right now.

The same goes for DWS SGP small/midCap A SGD - I entered at a price of S$1.7534 on 9th Nov 2007 too, and the price now is S$1.4503. This difference is even more stark compared to Aberdeen Pacific Equity.

FTIF-Templeton Glb Bond A(mdis) SGD-H1 was another good investment choice. After it was hammered in August 2011, dropping by 8.6% in around 2 months (which was a huge drop considering that is a global bond fund), I went in at December 2011. Now, in barely two months, it has gone up by 6.48%.

Aberdeen Global Opportunities only makes up 1% of my cash portfolio currently, because it was a RSP which I only started in January this year.