Thinking of buying some basic stationary, fancy notebooks or table-top stuffs? In fashion-haven Orchard Road, you won’t be able to find many good bookstores that carries a good range of stationary, basic table-top stuffs and a good variety of books, novels and other reading materials. Yes you may find some basic pens and pencils in cold-storage or 7/11, some other shops selling leather bound notebooks, or check out the counters in the departmental stores for a Parker Pen, but never all under one roof from a basic ball point Stabilo pen to a Cross Fountain Pen then in Prologue. Located next to Urban Write, this outlet at Orchard Central is something uncommon among the fashion streets of Orchard Road and is a great hideaway amidst the congestion with your family and children. I was doing my leisure weekend shopping at Somerset and as I was browsing all the beautiful clothes, shoes, and oh that shiny red patent leather bag, I suddenly remembered the correction tape I needed. Remembering the many scratched away scribbles on my already messy and torn notebook and having caught one client peeping at my notebook for the longest time ever (I think he cannot figure out what I was writing), I seriously needed the long overdue correction tape. After looking high and low for a stationary shop, I finally ended up on level 5 of Orchard Central.. Boy!!! was I glad to find such a huge, bright and neatly designed store with shiny flooring, this super well organized outlet has everything from File Folders to basic stationary, paint brushes, notebooks and I was super excited to also find some World Globe slanted with a stand. I was always fascinated with novels and the reading materials were aplenty. You can find exciting novels, a good range of magazines in various topics and general reading stuffs with various genres available. Stacked in shelves of browsing height and easily reachable with ample moving space, I enjoyed browsing the books at the shelves before I bought them. Service I should say is pretty prompt. I was there on a Saturday and with any Saturdays, this place has always a crowd and yet most enquiries at the customers service were responded promptly. Cashiers move fast and most importantly, you could use your popular card for a 10% discount or other popular related discounts. Price wise, some items are slightly more expensive than the regular neighborhood bookstores but some of the items you can never find in a regular popular bookstore. Magazines and some general books are pretty much standard priced. Just to let you know. I left with a bagful of pvc leather bound notebooks as there was a 70% sale for this item and notebooks are things that you don’t mind having a few more to give away or one for every genre of notes especially those beautifully designed ones with intricate patterns on each page and also another bagful of children activity books for my nieces and my nephews as they make great entertainment to spend time with and to occupy their time in a more profitable manner. If you are nearby, be sure to pop by and see what they have. They do have some really good sales and discounts… I means whats more nourishing then investing in our brains. Start reading today! or at least make it look like you are reading!!!
I was on the hunt for this famous crispy baguette kaya toast and I FOUND IT.... Right under the old overhead bridge that links marina square to the citylink mall towards the MRT.. or the old route that links to the CITY HALL Train Station.
Its not really a coffee and toast kinda place but they do serve that as part of their breakfast menu. A small and humble cafe with indoor and outdoor dining. This local cafe serves the traditional square bread and their famous crispy baguette kaya toast, dim sum as well as simple hawker fare like soup noodles and rice topped with dishes in a porcelain bowl . Come afternoon, they also have dishes and rice for our Singaporean styled MIXED RICE culture....
The crispy baguette kaya toast is one of the best toast i ever had. Baguette grilled to its perfection, crispy yet still soft on the inside, kaya jam spread generously, complete with thick slices of creamy "cold storage" butter that taste simply like melting cheese.
When I am there at the cafe, i tend to be overly confident to order more than I can eat as i find the selections are all great and the prices reasonable like food court prices, sometimes i consider it cheaper then the newly renovated marina square food court. The dim sum though looked like mini portions but can be pretty filling. I love the century egg porridge as its smooth, tasty and has lots of big pieces of century egg. The carrot cake and other fried stuffs tasted cold and dried up rather the steamed items such as shui mei and haw kao tasted rather normal but the sticky rice wrapped with Lotus Leave is nice. The rice is fragrant, soft and bursting with flavor unlike many lotus rice i've eaten, this one is not overly seasoned and could still maintain the moist factor which is particularly important for the Yummy Factor. I believe Dim Sum should be eaten piping hot and getting your tongue burnt is just part of the culture. Gurgle some boiling hot tea, that should numb the burnt tip of your tongue :)
The place is pretty clean and to me its like a local singaporean styled cafe aka kopitiam but in a much smaller scale. The great thing about this is that you if you go early enough, you might still get to illegal park at the road side and seat next to your car having a quick yummy breakfast. Not that we encourage illegal parking, one should ALWAYS use the parking and the marina square parking entrance is just right behind this cafe. However, I truly miss the good old times that we could park, eat yummy food, admire the new fiber-glass skirting on our cars, chit-chat with our friends and then drive off...
Great place to laze in the morning if you are in town and you must try that crispy baguette kaya toast.. its really super good!!!
I was looking for an economical waxing service provider somewhere in the west side of Singapore and after browsing many other search results, i decided on cecilia. I decide when i see these words: Cheapest, Fast, Good and used to be situated in Palais Renaissance whom I vaguely recall is where CYC the Custom shop is situated. So i made an appointment on the same day i decided and good thing.. they have a slot available for me.
Locating the place is not difficult with the many detailed information given on the website and not forgetting the trusty travel advises given to me by the lady who made my reservation which i believe is Cecilia herself. It was a very interesting location! I walked pass the void decks of some HDB flats, a multi-storey carpark and a coffee-shop with resident uncles talking about their pet birds.. (i know this sounds funny), chomping about the latest gossips and sipping their KOPI-O. There in the midst of the Local HDB casual lifestyle setting is a really posh clean white shop front with a sleek glass door and Cecilia Westberry Beauty Spa labeled in italics. The contrast is just simply AMAZING.
As i entered, i noticed everything is clean cool white, the sofa, the shiny white table, the curtains, all the other decos, even the stair-case. I was greeted by a warm smile behind the counter and I volunteered my appointment information, filled up a simple form and was showed up to a room upstairs for my treatment.
The place is not exactly big but looking at their menu, they do have alot going on here. They have a good array of economic and specialized facial treatments, body treatments, slimming programs, waxing, manicure/pedicure and some very exclusive treatments. It warm and cosy and the staffs seemed to know their customers well. Its very much like family.
Now for my treatment, I was very much surprised that the lady actually asked me to keep all my clothes on. Its really a first time experience for me and I was excited. It was really really fast and throughout the whole session i did not have time to really chat as strip wax was used and though fast, it could really remove very fine hairs but its more painful then using hard wax. The result was not exactly near to perfection and its not as clean as I was told. However, the experience was a pleasant one mainly due to the service attitude of all the staffs there.
While waiting to make payment, I overheard a conversation between 2 customers and the staff.. It was a positively pleasant conversation and the customer seemed really happy and satisfied with whatever service is offered. While making payment, there was no hard selling or pushy sales talk. I was also given a copy of their price list of all the services available which if i'm not mistaken is also available on their website.
The most hilarious part was when i exited the shop, that is where i get the stares from the kopitiam uncles, they must really be wondering why these women go in and out of this clinic looking shop, matter of fact.. it must definitely be controversial if they know what we do inside there...
For everything else I would give a good 4 star, except for waxing as I noticed too many strays for my liking and strip wax is still painful though speed do help in enduring the process. I will visit again for their services... Keep up the good service...
An old school place for those who crave for great oriental cuisine in a nostalgia setting of the earlier times. Set in the Tiong Bahru old time great food location where the most delicious gourmet used to reside and some like Por Kee Eating House 1996 still manage to retain their location.
I was glad to see the many tables and chair stacked up outside the restaurant as many of these chairs and tables will mean that the restaurant can be really very packed and have many good supporters. I walked in with great expectations... Its not a huge restaurant, pretty small I should say, perhaps 5 huge tables that can seat up to 10pax and few small ones for couples and small groups of 3-4pax. As there is only 3 of us, we had to share a huge table with another small group of 2pax.
The menu was this really interesting RED COLOURED BOOK, (a real old school) with a few rather simple and regular dishes. Besides ordering the few regular popular dishes such as the Pork Rib Soup with Peanuts, Sambal Potato Leaves, Fried Rice, Crab Beehoon in a claypot and not forgetting the all time speciality PORK RIBS steaks...
They do still have this little cabinate by the pillar that house all the eating utensils, cutlery, chilli and other condiments as well as the hot water refill which brings back many memories of the old chinese restaurants my mum and dad used to bring me. The nice smiling aunty quickly brought us our utensils, set our table and served us a cold dish which is pickled cucumber with pineapples as well as many other stuffs.
The food came in a jiffy. I simply love the soup, the natural sweetness of the pork ribs and the peanuts simmered into a light and rich broth. Usually I do not like the meat cooked in soup as it would be hard and rather tasteless but its not so for the ribs. The pork ribs in the soup is soft and melts in your mouth, with the richness of the soup infused into the meat. The potato leaves in sambal was just of the right spiciness and the crab beehoon was flavorful and meaty but nothing is as fantastic as the Speciality Pork Ribs Steak...
Steamed, Roasted and Carmalized with a plentiful portion of grade A seasoning, this Pork Rib Steak is the best ever pork ribs i've ever eaten in Singapore. Served in a good portion that can easily feed 2pax. Why I call it pork ribs steak is because... it is served in an individual plate with one bouquet of bok choy with knife and fork for you to slice through the thick and succulent porky steak. The meat is seriously tender and the skin glazed with a generous topping of honey and aromatic spices. Its abit like a very well made char siew but less sweetness and more glaze, the taste is pretty balance and leaves a sweet roasted aftertaste. One whole slice of solid steak with little tendons and fats, simply too good for one especially if you wash it down with a nice pot of chinese Kok Poh Tea... It sure leaves me satisfied and extremely happy yet somehow I don't feel struck by guilt because I feel that its calories well spent.
The perfect main course for an oriental meal! If you are coming to Por Kee.... please come with an empty stomach as the food is very reasonably priced and portion is always more than what I expected. Do make reservation if you are coming and big groups are great... Support these antiquated restaurants as they are the reminiscences of whats left of our Singaporean Culture.
There I was crossing the road at the famous bugis junction (Made famous by the Ferrari) and there right smack infront of KFC Entrance, on the right pillar hoisting the roof of Bugis Village is a Popeye's Advertisement, enticing pedestrians (ME) while i cross over. So, though guilt rages, I have to check out the Popeye's outlet which is just round the other corner along the main road.
As I walk past the farmiliar scenes of shopping stalls, Bak Guar Stalls and the busstop along bugis village, a small glass door greeted me. There were not many seats available but the smell of the chicken is one that I recognize and motivated me. I noticed a huge sign stating free WIFI and I can find many wall power sockets around the small restaurant. I thought its pretty good and user friendly to have a space for charging of the various electronic gadgets one hurl around everyday. Charging is a common scene and much sought after as we now depend on our intelligent gadgets a great deal for everyday to function normally.
The prices are not cheaper, however the quality of food is much better. You still get to choose the regular or the spicy chicken however, I find the chicken pieces bigger and juicer. Opt for a combo meal and you can upsize to a large drinks. They don't charge extra for changing your drink to Ice-Milo however nacho cheese on your cajun fries cost an additional 80cents.
I love the chicken, the size is just right and the sides are great. They have the regular sides to choose from however the portion is very sufficient. Staff are friendly and efficient. I say its a great place for great fast food all fried with a touch of western deco. However, outlet is too small thus its not a great place to hang out with your friends or to study or even for long discussions.
So this is what I paid: $11.40 for a upsize combo meal (3pc) Chix and (1pcs) biscuit inclusive of Large Cajun Fries and Large Ice Milo. Plus i get a free MILO Headphone plug toy which looks like a milo box.... sooo cute! $0.80 for Cheese
1=SGD 0.0587
I was doing my leisure weekend shopping at Somerset and as I was browsing all the beautiful clothes, shoes, and oh that shiny red patent leather bag, I suddenly remembered the correction tape I needed. Remembering the many scratched away scribbles on my already messy and torn notebook and having caught one client peeping at my notebook for the longest time ever (I think he cannot figure out what I was writing), I seriously needed the long overdue correction tape. After looking high and low for a stationary shop, I finally ended up on level 5 of Orchard Central.. Boy!!! was I glad to find such a huge, bright and neatly designed store with shiny flooring, this super well organized outlet has everything from File Folders to basic stationary, paint brushes, notebooks and I was super excited to also find some World Globe slanted with a stand.
I was always fascinated with novels and the reading materials were aplenty. You can find exciting novels, a good range of magazines in various topics and general reading stuffs with various genres available. Stacked in shelves of browsing height and easily reachable with ample moving space, I enjoyed browsing the books at the shelves before I bought them. Service I should say is pretty prompt. I was there on a Saturday and with any Saturdays, this place has always a crowd and yet most enquiries at the customers service were responded promptly. Cashiers move fast and most importantly, you could use your popular card for a 10% discount or other popular related discounts. Price wise, some items are slightly more expensive than the regular neighborhood bookstores but some of the items you can never find in a regular popular bookstore. Magazines and some general books are pretty much standard priced.
Just to let you know. I left with a bagful of pvc leather bound notebooks as there was a 70% sale for this item and notebooks are things that you don’t mind having a few more to give away or one for every genre of notes especially those beautifully designed ones with intricate patterns on each page and also another bagful of children activity books for my nieces and my nephews as they make great entertainment to spend time with and to occupy their time in a more profitable manner. If you are nearby, be sure to pop by and see what they have. They do have some really good sales and discounts… I means whats more nourishing then investing in our brains.
Start reading today! or at least make it look like you are reading!!!
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Its not really a coffee and toast kinda place but they do serve that as part of their breakfast menu. A small and humble cafe with indoor and outdoor dining. This local cafe serves the traditional square bread and their famous crispy baguette kaya toast, dim sum as well as simple hawker fare like soup noodles and rice topped with dishes in a porcelain bowl . Come afternoon, they also have dishes and rice for our Singaporean styled MIXED RICE culture....
The crispy baguette kaya toast is one of the best toast i ever had. Baguette grilled to its perfection, crispy yet still soft on the inside, kaya jam spread generously, complete with thick slices of creamy "cold storage" butter that taste simply like melting cheese.
When I am there at the cafe, i tend to be overly confident to order more than I can eat as i find the selections are all great and the prices reasonable like food court prices, sometimes i consider it cheaper then the newly renovated marina square food court. The dim sum though looked like mini portions but can be pretty filling. I love the century egg porridge as its smooth, tasty and has lots of big pieces of century egg.
The carrot cake and other fried stuffs tasted cold and dried up rather the steamed items such as shui mei and haw kao tasted rather normal but the sticky rice wrapped with Lotus Leave is nice. The rice is fragrant, soft and bursting with flavor unlike many lotus rice i've eaten, this one is not overly seasoned and could still maintain the moist factor which is particularly important for the Yummy Factor. I believe Dim Sum should be eaten piping hot and getting your tongue burnt is just part of the culture. Gurgle some boiling hot tea, that should numb the burnt tip of your tongue :)
The place is pretty clean and to me its like a local singaporean styled cafe aka kopitiam but in a much smaller scale. The great thing about this is that you if you go early enough, you might still get to illegal park at the road side and seat next to your car having a quick yummy breakfast. Not that we encourage illegal parking, one should ALWAYS use the parking and the marina square parking entrance is just right behind this cafe. However, I truly miss the good old times that we could park, eat yummy food, admire the new fiber-glass skirting on our cars, chit-chat with our friends and then drive off...
Great place to laze in the morning if you are in town and you must try that crispy baguette kaya toast.. its really super good!!!
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Locating the place is not difficult with the many detailed information given on the website and not forgetting the trusty travel advises given to me by the lady who made my reservation which i believe is Cecilia herself. It was a very interesting location! I walked pass the void decks of some HDB flats, a multi-storey carpark and a coffee-shop with resident uncles talking about their pet birds.. (i know this sounds funny), chomping about the latest gossips and sipping their KOPI-O. There in the midst of the Local HDB casual lifestyle setting is a really posh clean white shop front with a sleek glass door and Cecilia Westberry Beauty Spa labeled in italics. The contrast is just simply AMAZING.
As i entered, i noticed everything is clean cool white, the sofa, the shiny white table, the curtains, all the other decos, even the stair-case. I was greeted by a warm smile behind the counter and I volunteered my appointment information, filled up a simple form and was showed up to a room upstairs for my treatment.
The place is not exactly big but looking at their menu, they do have alot going on here. They have a good array of economic and specialized facial treatments, body treatments, slimming programs, waxing, manicure/pedicure and some very exclusive treatments. It warm and cosy and the staffs seemed to know their customers well. Its very much like family.
Now for my treatment, I was very much surprised that the lady actually asked me to keep all my clothes on. Its really a first time experience for me and I was excited. It was really really fast and throughout the whole session i did not have time to really chat as strip wax was used and though fast, it could really remove very fine hairs but its more painful then using hard wax. The result was not exactly near to perfection and its not as clean as I was told. However, the experience was a pleasant one mainly due to the service attitude of all the staffs there.
While waiting to make payment, I overheard a conversation between 2 customers and the staff.. It was a positively pleasant conversation and the customer seemed really happy and satisfied with whatever service is offered. While making payment, there was no hard selling or pushy sales talk. I was also given a copy of their price list of all the services available which if i'm not mistaken is also available on their website.
The most hilarious part was when i exited the shop, that is where i get the stares from the kopitiam uncles, they must really be wondering why these women go in and out of this clinic looking shop, matter of fact.. it must definitely be controversial if they know what we do inside there...
For everything else I would give a good 4 star, except for waxing as I noticed too many strays for my liking and strip wax is still painful though speed do help in enduring the process. I will visit again for their services... Keep up the good service...
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
I was glad to see the many tables and chair stacked up outside the restaurant as many of these chairs and tables will mean that the restaurant can be really very packed and have many good supporters. I walked in with great expectations... Its not a huge restaurant, pretty small I should say, perhaps 5 huge tables that can seat up to 10pax and few small ones for couples and small groups of 3-4pax. As there is only 3 of us, we had to share a huge table with another small group of 2pax.
The menu was this really interesting RED COLOURED BOOK, (a real old school) with a few rather simple and regular dishes. Besides ordering the few regular popular dishes such as the Pork Rib Soup with Peanuts, Sambal Potato Leaves, Fried Rice, Crab Beehoon in a claypot and not forgetting the all time speciality PORK RIBS steaks...
They do still have this little cabinate by the pillar that house all the eating utensils, cutlery, chilli and other condiments as well as the hot water refill which brings back many memories of the old chinese restaurants my mum and dad used to bring me. The nice smiling aunty quickly brought us our utensils, set our table and served us a cold dish which is pickled cucumber with pineapples as well as many other stuffs.
The food came in a jiffy. I simply love the soup, the natural sweetness of the pork ribs and the peanuts simmered into a light and rich broth. Usually I do not like the meat cooked in soup as it would be hard and rather tasteless but its not so for the ribs. The pork ribs in the soup is soft and melts in your mouth, with the richness of the soup infused into the meat. The potato leaves in sambal was just of the right spiciness and the crab beehoon was flavorful and meaty but nothing is as fantastic as the Speciality Pork Ribs Steak...
Steamed, Roasted and Carmalized with a plentiful portion of grade A seasoning, this Pork Rib Steak is the best ever pork ribs i've ever eaten in Singapore. Served in a good portion that can easily feed 2pax. Why I call it pork ribs steak is because... it is served in an individual plate with one bouquet of bok choy with knife and fork for you to slice through the thick and succulent porky steak. The meat is seriously tender and the skin glazed with a generous topping of honey and aromatic spices. Its abit like a very well made char siew but less sweetness and more glaze, the taste is pretty balance and leaves a sweet roasted aftertaste. One whole slice of solid steak with little tendons and fats, simply too good for one especially if you wash it down with a nice pot of chinese Kok Poh Tea... It sure leaves me satisfied and extremely happy yet somehow I don't feel struck by guilt because I feel that its calories well spent.
The perfect main course for an oriental meal! If you are coming to Por Kee.... please come with an empty stomach as the food is very reasonably priced and portion is always more than what I expected. Do make reservation if you are coming and big groups are great... Support these antiquated restaurants as they are the reminiscences of whats left of our Singaporean Culture.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
As I walk past the farmiliar scenes of shopping stalls, Bak Guar Stalls and the busstop along bugis village, a small glass door greeted me. There were not many seats available but the smell of the chicken is one that I recognize and motivated me. I noticed a huge sign stating free WIFI and I can find many wall power sockets around the small restaurant. I thought its pretty good and user friendly to have a space for charging of the various electronic gadgets one hurl around everyday. Charging is a common scene and much sought after as we now depend on our intelligent gadgets a great deal for everyday to function normally.
The prices are not cheaper, however the quality of food is much better. You still get to choose the regular or the spicy chicken however, I find the chicken pieces bigger and juicer. Opt for a combo meal and you can upsize to a large drinks. They don't charge extra for changing your drink to Ice-Milo however nacho cheese on your cajun fries cost an additional 80cents.
I love the chicken, the size is just right and the sides are great. They have the regular sides to choose from however the portion is very sufficient. Staff are friendly and efficient. I say its a great place for great fast food all fried with a touch of western deco. However, outlet is too small thus its not a great place to hang out with your friends or to study or even for long discussions.
So this is what I paid:
$11.40 for a upsize combo meal (3pc) Chix and (1pcs) biscuit inclusive of Large Cajun Fries and Large Ice Milo. Plus i get a free MILO Headphone plug toy which looks like a milo box.... sooo cute!
$0.80 for Cheese
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!