Ho Chi Minh 2015, Day 1

Yes finally it is time for a beyond Singapore post!

My family visited Ho Chi Minh City recently, and our 4D3N trip was planned entirely by yours truly. Let's get started :D

Day 1

Hello Saigon! One of the first things we did after landing was to get our own sim cards that has a data plan. We got one for each of us to use in case of emergencies. It's like a security blanket for in case we lose each other. The data plan was helpful too since I had to rely on google maps quite a bit.

This row of shops are the only shops you'll see after passing through the first set of screen doors. You can't miss it. But once you're out into the open waiting area, you can't go back in here!! 

We went straight to Vinaphone, although there were other brands like Viettel and Mobiphone. The staff there was very helpful and spoke good english. Getting the cards fixed into the phone was a breeze.

We had an early dinner at Quan An Ngon, located along 160 Pasteur Street, District 1. It is super easy to locate and I would compare it to like a Marche? Where all types of vietnamese food are served and you can easily pick what you would like to eat from the extensive (which has english!)

Here's what we ordered... though we honestly cannot remember all the names.

This was one of my most satisfying meals in HCM. All the food was really nice, properly prepared and I could try a large variety! Everything you see above cost us a total of only 482,000 VND, which is about SGD 30 only!

Take a walk around the place okay. You can even see how your food is prepared.

We then went to Vincom Shopping Centre which was.... a disappointment at first. We thought the mall was so small because all the floors at and above ground level had very little shops! Then we went to the basements and were like WOAH ._. haha I would compare it to Ion Orchard Singapore, where the top levels are smaller than the extensive basement levels. Still.... I didn't find the shopping there interesting.

To end off the night, we went to Temple Leaf Spa and Sauna. This massage place was the best among the 3 that we visited. It is located at 32 Thai Van Lung, District 1. I found out about this place through trip advisor, as the top 3 spots for best massage were all taken by this particular massage parlour!

We did the 90 minute massage. It was really not bad, I appreciate the procedure of filling up a form to choose 2 areas which I would like to be focused on during the massage. ;D

But right.... the use of hot stones kinda shocked me. Ouch. Really quite hot ok! ><

I strongly recommend this massage place. It has a much better ambiance and the massage was shiok. The ones I will talk about in the upcoming posts were really a disappointment.

Food Review: Eng's Wanton Noodles

Hi all! Just a quick update from me.

This is my FAVOURITE WANTON NOODLES IN SINGAPORE and is in my opinion the NUMBER 1.

Eng's Wanton Noodles is found along Tanjong Katong Road and is a little far from the city.

To get here, you need to take the MRT to Paya Lebar Station, and then head to the bus stop near Paya Lebar Square. Board bus 43, 76 or 135 and then alight 4 stops later near the Esso Service Station. 

Walk along the road in the same direction as the vehicles and head into the row of shophouses. Eng's Wanton Noodles is quite prominent!

For those driving here, there is actually a carpark just behind the shophouses. Entrance is near the Esso Station. Carpark space is ample and functions using the usual paper coupons. 

~

I personally really like the dry version of the wan ton noodles. Texture of noodles is chewy but not soggy. Char Siew meat tastes yummy. Wanton is delicious. Green Chilli and Pork Lard are the extras you must add to your dish! I do not enjoy having the chilli as I am not a fan of spicy food, but my parents have told me it tastes really good and is very very spicy!!

However, there are different opinions as to how good these noodles are because there are various types of sauces that can be used to accompany the dry noodles. My mum does not like it, but both my dad and I do! 

Some other variations include more oil, darker sauces, etc :D

Definitely a must-try if you are in the area!

Poodle Cafe at Serangoon

This poodle cafe is located at the heartlands of Serangoon. I got here by car~

Address: 1G Yio Chu Kang Road S545513

Website: https://www.facebook.com/thepoodlecafe

I decided to come to this place one weekend just for fun. Brought my parents along also!
Bookings are recommended as there are not many tables here.
Tel: 62820809

Honestly the environment is cosy but I didn't make a booking, so I was made to go upstairs when all the dogs were downstairs :< So I kept abandoning my stuff and walked down to try and interact with the doggies.

As you can see, the interior is a pink princess theme haha :]

This little boy always ran back into the counter area to hide!

This was the cutest pic! The poodle in clothes actually belonged to another customer who brought him along. That big fluffy guy is a chow chow and poodle mix! So cute :DD

The drinks here were okay. I saw some people eating food and it looked... okay too!
Spent only about 40 minutes here as my dad wanted to go and was bored, but I really liked all the poodles here haha! :D

Maybe I'll see them again~

Overall, this cafe has a cosy environment with cute poodles. While the princess theme was cute, the food and drinks were so-so. Would visit again, just to see the dogs again haha :D

Cat Cafe Singapore: Neko no Niwa

I have always longed for the opportunity to visit a cat cafe ~ and there's one by the Singapore river haha :)

To get to this place, you have to take the MRT to Raffles City and head to exit G

After getting out of this exit, head right towards the river. Stop near the river, turn left and walk straight, pass a building until you start to see shop houses on your left.

Look out for this sign

And then walk up the stairs!

You'll then see the shop entrance :)

Their official website is http://www.catcafe.com.sg/

The address is 54A Boat Quay

I highly recommend making a booking once you arrive in Singapore, as the cafe can get quite crowded and they will refuse customers if there are too many people in the cafe! Call them t (65) 6536 5319

This is how the interior looks like! If you want more pictures, check out their instagram page @nekononiwa :D

My friend and I stayed here for just an hour, which cost us $12 each.

The fees are time based
1st hour : $12
Next 0.5 hour: $5
3 Hour special: $24
Whole Day Special: $32

I personally found the 1 hour passed by quite quickly.
The best time to come is either in the morning or late evening after 6pm.
I came from 4.50pm to 5.50pm and majority of the cats were busy having a cat nap ><

Although... there was one cat who took a keen interest in sitting in my bag xD

I give this place two thumbs up! Service crew are friendly and will chat with you about the cats, whom I can tell they also love a lot. There are quite a number of cats and they have the most beautiful fur :D

I guess what I appreciate most about all these cats is the fact that they are all adopted! Now some of them fat fat so cute hahaha

Will definitely hope to visit this place again soon~

Train Breakdowns in Singapore. What to do and what NOT to do

Read all about today's breakdown here and here.

I was caught in the midst of it sadly.
And... it is really bad that both of the most heavily utilised lines were affected. The Red North South Line and the Green East West line..




Which means, NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST ALL AFFECTED LIKE WOW
If you're familiar with Singapore news... yes this happens once in a while. How often? It really depends but yes it has happened quite a number of times.

This is the first time I was badly affected and in the thick of the action
So this post is dedicated for such train breakdowns, and I will recap how I got through the breakdown today

[Breakdown at City Area]
I am at Raffles City, City Hall mrt area. Both red and green lines are down. City hall mrt is now uselesss! What should I do?!

Check and understand the current situation! 

1. Check @ltasg on twitter to know exactly why is going on. Check SMRT's facebook page where they will update if services has resume.
2. If you can't access these, ask a friendly local for help, wherever you are
3. If you are already at the mrt, there are volunteers with pamplets and suggestions on alternative routes

Know your options, and change your plans if necessary!

1. I strongly recommend going to the next available line that is working fine.
   
   This was what I did. I walked a long distance from City Hall to Dhoby Ghaut Mrt, which had both the Purple North East line and the Yellow Circle line that were still working. Ask locals for directions! (but pls, if the local appears not to have a good sense of direction... just say thanks then move on and ask someone else!!!)


2. I then recommend taking the train service again if it resumes


3. Last option... take a bus to your destinations
   
   The free shuttle bus services that run along the mrt lines tend to be crowded, filled to the brim and very slow. I don't recommend taking the free shuttle bus at all to be honest.
   
   For myself, who tried to take a normal bus, this was a very bad first decision. Buses were at a standstill in the city area. In 10 minutes, I covered about 600-800m by foot. However, the bus I saw at Raffles City was still stuck at the exact same position while I have already traveled to a bus stop further down.
   
   The problem with the city is that each bus stop has many buses, up to 13 even. Imagine all 13 buses need to now alight the numerous passengers who can no longer use the mrt and are queuing up in a single row to enter the bus stop. Add all the cars who have been summoned to the city to fetch people home in order to avoid the mrt. Now add in all the taxis that are being used up to send people where they need to go.
   
   you get one massive traffic jam.
   
   In fact, it was so bad that after 30 minutes of staring at buses that could not move, I then gave up my original plan of taking a direct bus home and walked to Dhoby Ghaut mrt station. I took the train and then SOS my dad to pick me nearer to home.


4. Not even an option... taking a cab
   If you are stuck in the traffic jam I mentioned above.... be prepare for your money to fly. Every minute your vehicle is stationary, the meter in the cab would continue running. So you are MUCH BETTER OFF taking the public transport (and the inconvenience).
   
   Remember the bus I left 800m behind? There were also about 9 cabs trying to turn right into the cross junction but to no avail as traffic was absolutely at a standstill. 

I really hope this post might help you in the event the train breaks down again. I refused to take pictures of the crowds and standstills as I wanted to save my phone battery. Click the two news reports at the top of this post to see all the details if you want!

Food Courts at the City Series #3: Isetan Basement

Recently the food court here was renovated and now there is so much awesome food!
There is everything from local cuisines to international cuisines.

This foodcourt is located at the basement of Isetan, and is accessible from Orchard MRT station.
Look for the signs that leads you towards tangs (once you see Citibank and Rubi, then a corridor with shops on both sides, you're heading in the right direction). Take the exit that leads you to Isetan/Scotts Road.

You'll then see this scene, escalators on the left and a slope on the right. Go to the right!

Walk up the slope and tadah! You'll be at Food Junction :D

My personal favourite is the thai food and the hotpot!

 The best part about the hotpot is that you can put as much ingredients (mushrooms, veggies etc) as you want onto the empty white dish, and then cook your own hot pot. Mine was very mushroom-y as I filled half my dish with mushrooms haha. I personally always go for the spicy miso, as it tastes very good. But! I visited this place recently (4th July) and they no longer offer free 1st bowl of refills, soup is now more bland and prices are going up! I am indeed disappointed. Shall try other food next time

Food here is reasonably priced and very tasty! The only thing I find rather expensive is the drinks sold here. Be prepared to pay $1.80 for a single canned drink. There is a lot of variety in terms of the types of food, and there is a lot of space to sit even on a saturday evening.

Here are some of the stores

Do come here and have your meal if you're shopping at Isetan, or just want to have a quick meal :D