Prego @ Fairmont Hotel

More on Prego, accumulated across two visits. One of the visits was a family dinner, which explains the number of dishes in this post.

Dinner Set Menu - $55

Cream of mushroom soup

After having the deliciously (or is it ridiculously?) rich mushroom soup from The Tastings Room, I thought that this would fall short of my expectations, since I prefer strong flavours in general. True enough, this was lighter, but it was also smoother and went down easily. Very good for a 'light' mushroom soup.

Pappardelle Primavera

Wiggly pappardelle with tomato sauce and assorted vegetables, mainly capsicum and tomatoes. A very simple dish, but I totally didn't like this. Maybe it's because it consisted totally of vegetables and also done with practically no salt. But my mother said it's all right, and took over the whole plate (to my relief).

Sustainable Codfish with Cherry Tomatoes, Broccolini and Lemon Capers Sauce

I seldom order non-pasta dishes at Prego, but this time I am glad I tried this. The cod fish was pan fried just nicely and was still very juicy. Nice!

Tiramisu

Nothing special about the tiramisu. They should have added more alcohol too. 

Rock Salt Menu (April 2012) - $62

My father ordered this. He chose the Pinot Noir salt cured scallop carpaccio and the braised pork belly bone for the appetizer and main course respectively, but was told that both were sold out. This turned out to be a good thing actually, because as a form of apology, the manager gave us a free main course for sharing.

Home Cured Ocean Trout with Pink Himalayan Salt

The trout came with some rocket salad and horseradish cream. The salt was not really spread uniformly, but at areas where you could taste the salt, it was quite good.

Grilled Salted Mackerel with Risotto

The mackerel was supposed to be the main attraction of the dish, but it was too tough and dry. The rock salt was also not spread uniformly, so there were parts which were quite tasteless. On the other hand, the risotto was much better.

Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding

I can't really give an accurate opinion on this, as I don't really like toffee puddings. Posted this picture just for completeness.

Others

Seafood Pizza, $34

Thin crusted pizza with shrimp, squid, mussels, crab, basil pesto and sundried tomatoes. With such a pizza, the freshness of the ingredients would be unsurprisingly the biggest factor, and this didn't fail to satisfy.

This was the free main course given to us. The manager described it as roasted suckling pig, but the texture felt as if it was minced meat. It was above average, but not exactly fantastic.

Mudpie

To me, mudpies generally all taste quite good, and this was no exception. But I still find Coffee Club's better.

Spaghetti Vongole, $34

Comes with clams, garlic, parsley, and white wine. I have eaten this before, and today's was definitely not up to standard. It was too dry, and the whatever little gravy did not have the sweet taste of clams. 

Squid Ink Tagliolini, $34

Comes with tiger prawns and fresh tomato sauce. The tiger prawns were big and came in generous portions, and they were quite fresh as well. I have tried this many times before, but during this visit, it was way too salty. 

Penne Carbonara, $34

Comes with pancetta, eggs, and parmesan cheese. It seems that they have made some slight changes to this dish. Penne is now used instead of spaghetti, and the dish isn't as creamy as before. I still liked it, though.

Past visit:
30th March 2012

"I should have..."

One of my clients recently came to me to complain about his portfolio. To make it clear, I did not manage his portfolio; he was transferred to me from another adviser that was moving out of Singapore. So basically, he was unhappy about this adviser. 

"Even though I had invested with him for one year, my portfolio is still down by almost $600! You know, this is really ridiculous. I should have just left everything in cash. Pfft!" (yes, he really made that sound) 

I listened to him rattle on. It is always easy to blame everything on the adviser in such cases, and this is why having a financial adviser is sometimes termed as having a psychological call option. If your portfolio makes money, you let the option remain as it is. But if you incur losses, you can exercise that option and blame your adviser for it.

Before I answered him, I looked at his portfolio. My first thought was, being down by $600 shouldn't really be a big deal, unless his portfolio was only worth a few thousand dollars. As it turned out, his portfolio was worth almost S$70,000 when he invested with the adviser, so the loss of $600 was basically less than 1%. And he had only invested for less than one year - nine months, to be exact. Another look at his trade history showed that he had sold quite a few funds from his portfolio against his adviser's advice. He said that once these funds showed a positive return, he sold them in a hurry. Which was actually a silly thing to do.

My observations are listed below.

1) Investing is not a short-term game

Investing, especially in unit trusts, is at least a medium-term game of three to five years. In the short term, markets can be very volatile, and even very low-risk unit trusts can drop in value. When you invest, you must be committed. You must be prepared to lose a portion of this in the short run. If you are going to flee or make noise once your investment goes down, you are better off not investing. If you are going to need your money in just a few months' time, you are better off investing in money market funds or short duration bond funds. Or simply leaving it in the bank.

Besides, losing 1% of your money is really considered nothing, especially when you take into account my second point below. 

2) Fees are highest in the first year

Advisers need to be remunerated too. You can't expect them to construct a portfolio for you for free. Thus, there is always an upfront fee, or establishment charge, in getting the portfolio started and going. This of course means that all else equal, the first year's performance will be the poorest. Upfront fees have been on a downward trend due to increasing competition. It used to be 5% in the past; now it is usually 2% to 3%, or sometimes even 1%. In this client's case, he was charged 2%, which was still quite reasonable. So despite his investments being down by 1%, he had actually earned back almost half his fees paid.

3) Selling off your investments without discipline

By selling off whatever investments that had a positive return, he had screwed up his portfolio's strategic allocation. For example, he sold off his Asia Pacific ex Japan equities, Asian bonds, global equities, and global emerging market equities. What remained was a portfolio that was not well diversified anymore.

4) Risk profiling

It is typical for the adviser to do a risk profiling for the client to determine suitability. And it is the client's responsibility to answer truthfully. A glance through his risk profile done by the adviser showed that the client had stated that he was all right with taking a bit of risk, and that he understood that his portfolio may drop by up to 10% in the short term. Now, however, how he was behaving was entirely the opposite. 

I explained some of the points above to him, and told him that judging from what he had said, his risk profile was actually conservative - very conservative, as a matter of fact. So I proposed that he invest in some low-risk bonds instead, and due to the ease of monitoring a portfolio of lower-risk bonds, I offered him huge discounts (87%!) in my advisory fee and even waived all upfront fees. However, he replied:

"If I move the money across to the low-risk bonds, I will be worse off as the supposed returns are much less, and I am already down over 4%. To make up the shortfall and to cover the cost of fees will take a long time, perhaps years. 

Sorry for being cynical, but after all the fees are taken into account, it seems that everyone else makes a larger cut (advisers, fund houses) than the person at the end of the chain (the client)."

(To clarify, his current portfolio was around $27,000 after selling off the funds I mentioned earlier. So his current losses as a percentage of his capital invested is less than 1%; but as a percentage of his current portfolio, it is over 4%.)

I must admit that I felt a bit incensed over his reply. It seemed that he wanted high returns and low risk, and to gain back his capital in a very short period of time. This was unreasonable and impossible. And it's not as if his adviser was charging him exorbitant rates.

He continued his lamentations.

"After hearing the same stories from others who have invested, I think having cash and property is still the safest and most valuable way of investing. So far, it would have been better to have left my money in the bank than to lose money outright. You know, if I had left my money in cash and property (in Australia), I would have earned much more!" 

I explained to him that it wasn't really apt to say that, because in hindsight, everyone is right. In hindsight, I should have invested in Thailand equities in the first quarter of 2012! I would have made around 16% in just one quarter! In hindsight, I should have sold off my Asian equities last month! It would have been at the peak! It is all too easy to say that "I should have..." or "I should not have...". 

Cash also underperforms almost every other asset class on a medium to long term basis, because it only gives the minimum risk-free rate. As for property, the danger is that it comes with huge minimum investments, which tends to distort an investor's portfolio. Property is also not a sure-win investment as he thought it was - property market crashes are very real and have happened before. Real estate is also vulnerable to government interventions; just look at the cooling measures implemented in China and Singapore recently.

I also told him honestly that a drop of 4% is almost nothing compared to many other portfolios out there, especially when you take the short time frame into account.

He still wasn't convinced, but I have done my part. I have also defended his adviser in terms of the fees charged and the portfolio constructed, and corrected his many misconceptions about investing. Ironically, such people that give financial advisers such a headache are exactly the ones that need an adviser the most.

Infinity Blade II

Infinity Blade II

I bought Infinity Blade II on the iPad several days ago, as it was on offer - US$4.99 instead of US$6.99. Having played the prequel, I expected this to be a basic extension of the same formula, with not much significant changes.

I was wrong. Infinity Blade II was so good that its prequel pales in comparison. One could not miss seeing the amount of effort put into the design and development of the game. More environmental and character details were added into the graphics, and the game opens into an obviously Japanese garden, with flower petals drifting in the air and a pond with koi. These were obviously meant to showcase the game's superior graphics engine, and it does not disappoint. Transition scenes are now filled with more gold bags to keep your attention, and enemies now use a variety of weapons (I personally hate them using quarterstaffs), which obviously changes their fighting techniques. 

Plot-wise, the game continues from its prequel, though there is a slight discrepancy as they transit from bloodlines to rebirths. Still, it was a good attempt, and it gives Infinity Blade II much more replay value. 

Most importantly, the gameplay has been enhanced. From using just a sword and a shield in the prequel, Infinity Blade II opens up two more fighting methods - dual weapons and double-handed weapons. Each fighting style varies in attach and defend techniques. For example, defense-wise, with a sword and a shield, you can only dodge left/right and block with your shield. With dual-weapons, you can't block (obviously) but can dodge left/right and duck. If you are using a double-handed weapon, you can't dodge anymore - you can only block using your weapon, but in three directions this time - left, right, and centre. Parrying is still possible for all three fighting styles, though it is now 'rated' into 'normal', 'great', and 'perfect', just like shield-blocking.

When it comes to offense, the standard sword-shield combo is retained, but dual-weapons utilise a different kind of combo. Combos are impossible for double-weapons; instead, the game opens up chances to chain a more powerful slash as you are slicing up your enemy.

A new element was also introduced - gems. Generally, gems act as boosters that grant special bonuses to you, like increasing your magic power, giving you health when you block or parry, or dealing additional damage. 

Infinity Blade II is so good that Chair could - and should - charge more. Even if the price is doubled to US$13.99, it is still worth it. So far, it is definitely one of the best games I have ever played on the iPad. 

The Tastings Room @ Marina Square

Being one of the nearest places on the Palate program from my office, my next choice was The Tastings Room, at Marina Square. I had actually screened through their menu before my visit, so once we arrived, I already knew what to order.

Pan seared foie gras, $19.90

Finally, a piece of foie gras that wasn't overcooked! It was served with orange cranberry chutney, and placed on top of a piece of ginger-scented toast. The pairing of fruits with foie gras is quite common, as the fruit helps to neutralise the oiliness of the foie gras somewhat. But the chutney here was not sweet enough. The foie gras, though nicely cooked, wasn't as delicious as the ones I have tried elsewhere. Still, I was quite satisfied with this dish as a whole.

White truffles salted house fries, $10.90

Once the fries came, the scent of truffle was overpowering. Which wasn't surprising, considering that the fries were tossed with white truffle salt and summer truffle oil, and served with truffle mayonnaise. Can you get even more truffled that this?

The fries were too hot when they came, so they didn't taste good on my first bite. The insides were too soft, so we waited for it to cool down a bit before eating. And they tasted all right after that. 

Truffle mushroom puree soup, $8.90

Puree of button and shitake mushroom, with a touch of truffle oil and truffle foam. One sip and we knew that we have finally found a good mushroom soup. It was deliciously rich and well infused with the taste of mushrooms, much better than the one we had at Arbite. Although we enjoyed a 50% off, I think this soup is well worth the money even without the discount.

Squid ink with fresh calamari risotto, $24.90

Unappetising. Swamp liquid. Black mask. These were the first few words that flashed through my mind when this dish was served. Who could eat stuff that was so glossy black? The risotto was actually still bubbling slightly when it arrived, and my next image was a witch's cauldron filled with some disgusting liquid. I actually hesitated before trying the dish as I felt a little apprehensive.

This risotto was extremely creamy. It was prepared by infusing risotto with squid ink (unlike ready-made squid ink pasta), cooking it to a creamy finish, served with fresh calamari, and finished with parmesan cheese. Naturally, this dish was very filling, and after a few bites, I already felt quite full (partially because of the starter, soup, and fries we had before this!). The taste was quite unique, but as I mentioned, I found it too creamy and rich. Definitely not recommended for most people as even I, who can generally take very creamy stuff, still found it too much.

Truffle cream linguine with wild mushrooms, $22.90

The linguine was done just nice, and it was tossed in a truffle infused sauce with mushrooms. The taste of mushrooms was evident in the sauce, so every mouth of pasta felt as if it came with some cream of mushroom soup. That was how rich the sauce tasted of mushrooms. Along with the mushroom puree soup, this is a must-try for mushroom lovers!

So far, The Tastings Room is the best restaurant that I have found on the Palate program. Will definitely pay a few more visits here, including on weekends for brunch.

Haato & Co @ Thomson Plaza

Haato & Co is definitely more well known for their ice cream rather than for their breakfast, but I have visited here three times and I think it is worth mentioning. 

Located on the second floor of Thomson Plaza, just outside NTUC Fairprice Finest, it is hardly a place to consider for breakfast, especially with Wang Cafe just beside it. However, in terms of value for money, this place stands out.

I ordered their breakfast set, which comes with two eggs (fried or scrambled), choice of sausages or ham, two pieces of toast, and salad. It also comes with a cup of coffee. Can you guess how much it costs? When I asked some of my friends, they all gave the same answer range - more than $10. But the truth is...

Breakfast set

...it costs just $5.50. Yes, $5.50, with no service charge or GST! Compare this to McDonald's - I think it costs around the same as a breakfast meal. But for this quality, it is definitely worth much more. And they serve rather good black coffee too, not the cheap and lousy coffee from McDonald's. The sausages were quite good too, while the eggs and toast were also quite nicely done. Fried eggs and toast don't really vary much anyway, do they?

In fact, I find this meal so value-for-money that I wouldn't be surprised if they increased prices soon. In Singapore's context, I can almost say that it is 'too cheap'.

I had better enjoy it while I can.

Mixed tuna salad

Mixed tuna salad (serves 4)

Mixed tuna salad

Ingredients:

200g of romaine lettuce

200g of butterhead lettuce

1 can of tuna in olive oil

1 whole red capsicum

1 whole yellow capsicum

3 tablespoons of sesame oil

4 tablespoons of Japanese soya sauce

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) Tear the romaine and butterhead lettuce into bite-sized pieces, and put in a big mixing bowl.

2) Cut the capsicums into bite-sized pieces, and add them into the mixing bowl as well.

3) For the can of tuna, drain away roughly one third of the olive oil, mash the tuna into smaller pieces, then pour everything into the mixing bowl.

4) Add the sesame oil and soya sauce in, and mix well.

5) Season with black pepper, and serve.

Riders Cafe @ Bukit Timah Saddle Club

Finally had the chance to visit Riders Cafe, a favourite brunch area for many people. It is always full, so I only managed to get a table because I had made an online reservation 1.5 weeks in advance.

Located at Bukit Timah Saddle Club, you definitely need a car to access this area, or add two cab fares to the total bill. The place had a colonial feel to it, and when we arrived at around 830am, every table had a 'Reserved' tag on it. The waiter claimed that the balcony seats were the most popular, but we didn't pick them as they were under direct sunlight.

Every table is reserved

The view from the balcony

Freshly brewed coffee, $3

$3 for a cup of black coffee at such a place is quite reasonable. Hummerstons charged $5.50 for a cup, which was almost twice the price. Which was why I ordered two cups here.

Smoked Salmon and Creamed Eggs, $14

While I don't usually order scrambled eggs, I must say this was quite well done. The scrambled eggs were quite smooth and moist, with some unknown yellow sauce on top (refer to picture). My guess is that they drizzled a bit of uncooked scrambled eggs on top of it? The smoked salmon was also different from the usual smoked salmon - it felt a bit more meaty and chewy, and was lighter in colour as well. There was a layer of avacado hiding below the eggs, which was an interesting addition.

Blackstone Benedict, $15

One of their well-known dishes, which comes with bacon, tomatoes, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce on sourdough bread. I read very good reviews on this, so I had rather high expectations for it. But it disappointed me. The poached eggs were a little too cooked, and the egg whites tasted too much of vinegar. And maybe it was just me, but I thought that the tomatoes didn't really go well with the dish. 

The verdict? Riders Cafe is a bit overrated. The food was definitely not as fantastic as I expected, though I must say the ambience was pretty good, especially when your eyes are treated to a splash of greenery outside and horses walking leisurely, and your nose to some really fresh air (and a bit of horse manure). But as a place to chill, it is a victim of its own popularity, as many people would find it hard to just sit there for a long time with a long line of people queuing outside. Nevertheless, it warrants a second visit. And next time, I will order "The Usual" - eggs, back bacon, breakfast banger, mushrooms, tomato, and sourdough. For $16, I think it's pretty worth it. 

Solve this with creativity?

I saw this problem recently, and the website claimed that it could be solved by pre-school children in five to ten minutes, and by adults in much longer.

8809 = 3

7111 = 0

2172 = 0

6666 = 4

1111 = 0

3213 = 0

7662 = 2

9313 = 1

0000 = 4

2222 = 0

3333 = 0

5555 = 0

8193 = 3

8096 = 5

1012 = 1

7777 = 0

9999 = 4

7756 = 1

6855 = 3

9881 = 5

5531 = 0

2581 = ???

The article claimed that children can solve it easier because they are more creative. But somehow, I don't really agree with the author's viewpoint. His view is that to solve this question, one needs to be creative - something which kids have but adults generally don't. However, this is simply because kids have almost no knowledge of math, or rather, extremely simple and limited knowledge of math.

When we encounter a problem, the first thing we generally do is to browse through our 'database' for any similar problems, and look for past solutions. As we grow older, our database gets bigger and bigger, because we accumulate more experience. Let's call this database 'the box', which makes sense because for us to be creative, we need to 'think out of the box'. And as we age, this box expands (in general), and it gets harder to think out of the box.

I must admit that when I first saw the problem, I started to think of how to solve it mathematically. And being more familiar and savvy in mathematics, I found myself trying to solve it in increasingly abstract methods until I remembered again - pre-school children could solve it faster than adults. Something is wrong.

I immediately thought of a Chinese novel by 金庸 － 侠客行. In this story, the protagonist manages to decipher an ancient martial art manual inscribed on a cave wall which has stumped world-class pugilists for decades. The protagonist is an adult, and the reason why he could decipher it was because he couldn't read. The writings were just a distraction - to decode it, one just has to look at the shape of the writings as if they were pictures. Being illiterate, he could only interpret them as pictures, and ironically managed to solve one of the biggest mysteries in the world.

After that, I looked at the puzzle again and lo and behold - I have solved it. (This is already a big hint, so scroll down only when you really can't solve it) But I admit that if the article did not state that pre-school children can solve it faster than adults, I may not be able to solve this at all.

So back to why I don't agree totally with the author's point; children do not really find this problem easier because they are more creative. Rather, it's because they have almost no knowledge of math. So it is inevitable that they interpret the numbers less as numbers, but rather, more as pictures or shapes. It is less of being creative and more of exploring other options because of their limited knowledge.

(Highlight the white text below for the answer)

The answer for each set of numbers is simply the number of circles present. For example, the numbers 0, 6, and 9 have one circle each, while the number 8 has two. So for 2581, the answer is two.

Happycall Pan

Standard Happycall Pan, $62 on Gmarket

With the recent craze over the Happycall Pan, I decided to get one for my mother. It claims to make cooking so much easier, and has helped many people to start cooking. "It's so easy to use!" they exclaim and swear by it. Some of the alleged benefits:

- Less oil splashing when pan frying

- No smoke and odour

- Easy to clean

- Shorter cooking time

- Less oil required

- Easy to use, even for a newbie

After using it, I came to the conclusion that this is more of a marketing thing than a functional benefit. It does benefit, but not as much as it seems. The biggest benefit is that it helps people overcome the invisible barrier of cooking - people start to think that they can now try cooking with this new invention, because "it is so easy - just put the food in, flip it, and you are done!". But the truth is that cooking is extremely easy; while it may take years to be an excellent cook, it just takes a short while to at least be a decent one. I will cover this point below.

So back to its benefits, and I shall go through the list above one by one.

1) Less oil splashing

True enough, when using it to pan fry food, there is very little oil splattered outside, but inevitably some will still splash out when you open the pan to check on its contents.

2) No smoke and odour

Similar to the first point, once you open the pan, there will still be some smoke and odour, though it's definitely less than the conventional pan.

3) Easy to clean

Okay, this is true. It is extremely non-stick, so how I clean is that I just use a piece of kitchen towel to wipe it, put some detergent on a sponge and clean it, then use another piece of kitchen towel to wipe it again. It is actually advisable to clean it while it is hot, so you could put on rubber gloves and clean it with a kitchen towel or cloth.

4) Shorter cooking time

This is obviously true, since the food is kept in an enclosed area with the heat trapped inside (there is a hole to release the pressure, of course). I used it to pan fry some steaks today, and a nicely medium rare steak came out after 1.5 minutes on each side plus leaving it inside for a while after the fire was turned off.

5) Less oil required

As a matter of fact, when I used it to pan fry steaks or chicken thighs, I didn't use any oil at all.

6) Easy to use, even for a newbie

This is the biggest marketed benefit. True, it makes cooking easier, but I think the biggest benefit is that it makes cooking more convenient. The basics of cooking - preparing and cutting the ingredients, seasoning or marinating them, etc - are still the same. The only difference is the next step, which is the cooking part (and the step after this, of course - cleaning up!), and it makes this part easier because you don't need to stir fry so much or flip your food. But is it really that difficult to do all that? 

That is why I think the main benefit is convenience, basically, points 1 to 5 as mentioned above. It makes people want to try and cook. And once you reach that step, half the battle is already won in learning how to cook.

Portfolio update

Markets went down quite a bit last night, especially in Europe, so I took the opportunity to top up into Europe for my cash portfolio. Ever since my last post, I have made quite a few changes to my portfolio, so here's an update.

CPFIS-OA

Fund	Sector/Region	Asset Class	% of portfolio
Aberdeen Global Emerging Markets	Global Emerging Markets	Equity	16.50%
Eastspring Inv UT Pan European	Europe	Equity	14.76%
Fidelity America USD	US	Equity	22.95%
First State Dividend Advantage	Asia Pacific ex Japan	Equity	13.55%
First State Global Resources	Global Resources	Equity	6.70%
First State Regional China	Greater China	Equity	10.43%
Henderson Global Technology	Global Technology	Equity	7.96%
LionGlobal Japan Growth Fund	Japan	Equity	7.15%

Asset allocation: 100% equities

Changes:

PRU Pan European Fund was renamed as Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts Pan European
Sold off a bit of Henderson Global Technology for profit taking

Topped up into Eastspring Investments Unit Trusts Pan European
Topped up into First State Dividend Advantage

CPFIS-SA

Fund	Sector/Region	Asset Class	% of portfolio
DWS Premier Select Trust	Global	Balanced	27.29%
First State Bridge	Asia Pacific ex Japan	Balanced	72.71%

Asset allocation: 100% balanced

No changes were made since, but I am actually contemplating selling all my holdings and putting them back into my CPF-SA account for the guaranteed 4% p.a. This is because 4% p.a. for a risk free rate is pretty good, and it is hard to beat this over the medium term because of the CPFIS-SA investment limitations. 

Cash

Fund	Sector/Region	Asset Class	% of portfolio
Aberdeen European Opportunities	Europe incl UK	Equity	4.29%
Aberdeen Pacific Equity	Asia Pacific ex Japan	Equity	25.26%
Aviva Inv Glb HY Bd Axh SGD	High Yield	Fixed income	8.20%
BNPPL1 Eq Russia EUR	Russia	Equity	2.59%
DWS SGP small/midCap A SGD	Singapore	Equity	21.47%
FTIF-Templeton Glb Total Ret A(mdis) SGD-H1	Global	Fixed income	8.11%
Fidelity America USD	US	Equity	4.70%
Fidelity Glb Fin Serv EUR	Global Finance	Equity	4.22%
First State Regional China	Greater China	Equity	7.23%
LionGlobal Spore Fixed Inc-A	Singapore	Fixed income	4.32%
United Asian Bond Fund	Asia ex Japan	Fixed income	5.20%
United Emerging Markets Bond Fund	Emerging Markets	Fixed income	4.40%

Asset allocation: 70% equities, 30% fixed income

Changes:
Bought Aberdeen European Opportunities
Bought Fidelity Global Financial Services EUR
Bought First State Regional China
Bought Fidelity America USD
Bought FTIF-Templeton Global Total Return A(mdis) SGD-H1
Sold Fidelity Taiwan USD
Sold Aberdeen Global Opportunities
Sold FTIF-Templeton Global Bond A(mdis) SGD-H1
Sold (partial) LionGlobal Spore Fixed Inc-A


I also made some amendments to my RSP. Previously it was in Aberdeen Global Opportunities, Aberdeen Pacific Equity, and DWS SGP small/midCap A SGD. I have since expanded it into five funds, namely:

Aberdeen Pacific Equity
Aberdeen European Opportunities
LionGlobal Spore Fixed Inc-A
Fidelity Latin America USD
United SGD Fund Cl A

It will only take into effect next month.

Lost & Found

When I reached home after work today, I found a mynah on the ground of the lobby. Judging from its size, it wasn't a baby, but wasn't an adult yet either. Its feathers were not fully developed yet, and it obviously hasn't learnt how to fly. Above me, I could hear the mother bird calling anxiously, no doubt worried over its child.

I looked upwards. The place wasn't well lit, and I couldn't see any nest. It was also way too high for me to climb to get a closer look. I wasn't going to leave the bird alone to be eaten by predators or be kidnapped by some cruel sadistic human, so I picked it up carefully and brought it to my place.

At first, I was desperately looking for a container high enough to hold the bird, but couldn't find one. I even resorted to using an empty instant noodles cup (after washing, of course) but the bird still managed to half-jump and half-fly out. In the end, I put it into a small wastepaper basket and put a rag at the bottom to keep it warm.

Next was food and water. I tried to give it rice, but it refused to eat. So I thought I would just find a small dish or container to put some water just in case it was thirsty. After some searching, I realised that a sake cup seemed to be the perfect choice.

Fresh mynah with sake? Just kidding.

Now that I have got it settled down, I started to think of how to take care of it. I obviously have no idea on how to take care of a bird, so I tried calling SPCA and was really relieved when someone picked up the phone. The operator said that they were open twenty four hours a day, and asked if I could bring it to their office. SPCA was actually less than a ten-minute drive from my place, so I agreed without hesitation. The operator was extremely thankful that I was willing to send an injured animal to their premises directly and thanked me profusely.

And while I was driving home after that, I was suddenly grateful for the SMRT North-South line delay this evening, because I probably only managed to chance upon the bird due to it. 

Miharu Sapporo Ramen @ Gallery Hotel

Ever since my friend introduced me to Miharu Sapporo Ramen, I have been a die-hard fan of it. Till now, it still remains the top of my ramen list. When we passed by Gallery Hotel after our brunch at Hummerstons, I couldn't resist it and ordered one bowl to share. This time, I tried something different.

Rich Miso Pork Flavoured Ramen with Fried Garlic Oil, $13

To me, the essence of the ramen lies in the soup. If the soup tastes fantastic, I can (almost) forgive everything else. As usual, the soup did not disappoint. Thick and rich with miso flavour, every mouthful was an enjoyment. The pork, however, was a let-down - it was too tough. The egg was okay, but still loses out to Tonkotsu King's. Sesame oil and garlic oil was added to the soup. While it may sound too oily, just the right amount was added such that there was a good balance between the enhanced taste and the soup not being too oily.

Hummerstons @ Robertson Walk

Hummerstons is located on the second level of Robertson Walk, and is delightfully quiet on a Sunday morning at 10am. Once I stepped in, I thought to myself that if the food is okay, I would love to visit here again for brunch and chill out with my iPad.

They were supposedly well known for their pancakes, but I didn't order any as I am not a fan of pancakes. So instead, I ordered the Hummerstons Breakfast while my gf ordered their Eggs Gloria.

The Hummerstons Breakfast, $24

This came with a choice of egg (scrambled, sunny, fried, or poached), bacon, smoked pork & garlic sausage, mushroom, roasted tomato, toast and potatoes. I guess such 'American breakfasts' are easily the favourite in most brunch places. Back bacon was given instead of streaky bacon, and the smoked pork and garlic sausage was a nice touch and welcome change compared to the usual sausages out there, though it was a little too tough. The eggs were also fried with a bit too much oil, and I actually had to use a piece of tissue paper to absorb the excess puddles of oil on it. Still, it was a good and hearty way to start the day!

Eggs Gloria, $20

This was baked homemade bread and egg, with house tomato sauce, goats chevre, spinach, and mushrooms. It was my first time trying Eggs Gloria, so I couldn't compare it to other versions, but by itself I thought this was pretty good. It was certainly refreshing when I tried their house tomato sauce - it was so different from bottled tomato sauce and was so... fresh!

When we walked past Epicurious after this, we saw that it was full and there was a queue outside. Looking at this, ambience-wise, I would definitely choose Hummerstons as it was much more tranquil, quiet and peaceful. You can still chill out after eating without feeling guilty or pressurised to leave due to any queue outside. Still, I would definitely want to try Epicurious one day.

Tong Le Private Dining @ OUE Towers

Tong Le Private Dining is undoubtedly the highest end of their chain of restaurants. Located at OUE Towers, a revolving platform offers diners a panoramic tour of the Marina Bay area in around two hours. Their premises were shared with Shinji, a private 8-seater sushi counter. Diners were free to order from it as well. This place was obviously way out of my budget, so I only had the fortune of trying it because a relative treated me.

Mixed sashimi - sweet shrimp, otoro, and yellowtail

This was from Shinji. All were extremely fresh, and the otoro (fatty tuna belly) left a buttery sensation in the mouth, with the tuna flesh melting as I ate it. As for the yellowtail, it was only today that I realised how vast the difference is between this and what I normally eat at buffet restaurants. It was smooth and even slightly buttery, and with a tinge of sweetness. It was definitely the best that I have ever had.

御用三小品 - The Imperial Three Combination Platter

The silver bait (left) was fried using salted egg yolk batter. The distinction between this and other dishes fried using salted egg yolk was clear - just the right amount of egg yolk and batter was used, and it was less oily too. The middle item consisted of black fungus and lily petals. I have only tried dried lily petals before (usually used in desserts) but this was my first experience with the fresh version. It was actually slightly crunchy, somewhat similar to onions, and the tinge of natural sweetness was unmatchable. The last item was beef brisket, and this was well infused with the seasoning used to braise it. 

冬茸烩官燕 - Superior's Bird Nest Soup with Winter Melon Puree

When this came, I almost thought it was shark's fin soup. This was exquisite and much better than the bird's nest soup I had at Bangkok (of course, this cost several times more as well). 

乾坤是日野生海鱼 - Seasonal Wild Sea Fish Prepared in Two Ways

One of my relatives remarked that this was an interesting way of preparing fish, but I failed to see the creativity behind it, actually. It just consisted of a piece of deep fried fish placed on top of another piece of steamed fish. Having said that, the fish was so fresh that I thought it was a waste to deep fry it. The steamed portion was much nicer than the fried portion, though I must say that the latter was fried very well.

特制冰凉索贝 - Chef's Homemade Sorbet

This came in the middle of the dinner, supposedly to clear our palates. I didn't really like this because it tasted very strongly of plums, which isn't exactly on my list of favourite foods.

陈酒东坡肉 - 48 hours "Dong-Po" Pork with Vintage Hua-Tiao Wine

Ah, one of my favourite dishes, though some of my friends who were hardcore pork belly fans always berate me for not finishing all the fat. As the description goes, the pork was marinated and left in the braised gravy for forty eight hours. What you get is a piece of pork belly that has been totally infused with the braised gravy, and it practically melts in your mouth. It comes with two mini bun wraps and beancurd skin, and were meant to be eaten together. I cut the pork into three slices though - two to go with the buns and one just by itself.

And yes, this time I ate all the fats.

A closer look at the pork

浓汤灼澳龙虾, 东瀛未线 - Poached Australian Lobster with Rice
Vermicelli in Seafood Broth

While the lobster was fresh and the vermicelli silky smooth, this dish was a bit too bland and tasteless - especially after the heavily seasoned pork belly. It will be good if they can make it a little saltier.

杨枝甘露 － Chilled Mango accompanied with Homemade Mango Sorbet,
Blood Oranges, Pomelo and Sago

This was quite normal, in my opinion. While it was good, it was not fantastic.