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I recently was given a laptop by my ISP(that’s Starhub) for signing a 30 month contract for their Internet broadband service (Cable). Yes, that’s a 30 month contract I am stuck with. But anyhow, I got a laptop in return which I can bring around whenever I need to. Well, the laptop is not really a good piece of hardware, the keyboard is the worst I have ever seen with it’s keys falling all over the place. Very cheap and flimsy construction.

Ok, so armed with this laptop, I went around Singapore to test out the Singapore’s free wireless service. The three service providers are Singtel, Qmax and IcellNetworks. First I tried Toa Payoh Central’s McDonalds. The signal strength was excellent but somehow I faced a numer of disconnections. I had to login once every one hour or so. But the speeds I experienced was acceptable. I used both QMax and Icellnetworks. I don’t have the Singtel userid and password. You need to sign up with the three service provider first before you can login. It seemed to me that QMax is more stable than ICell. But I am nitpicking here. I stayed there for about 3 hours doing some work (which involved the Internet). Later, I tried Yishun. I went to the Starbucks at Northpoint. Again the connection there was great but I didn’t stay for long to test everything – coffee was too expensive.

A few days later, I went to Tampines Point and ate at McDonalds. As usual, I tried the Wireless service there too. No problems. The signal was excellent and I stayed connected for several hours. However, I discovered that the speeds were intermittent. Sometimes it would be fast and sometimes it will slow to a crawl. But at least I stayed connected. I believed that I stayed for 3 hours before going to Long John Silvers. Yes, no problem with the connection there either. I am quite impressed with this free Wireless service.

This should work out very well if they maintain the same service. Do note that this free service is for three years and will end somewhere in 2009. Why? I don’t know, perhaps the Singapore government think that nobody will be using Wireless anymore in 2009. They predicted we will all be using a whooping “high-speed” 28.8Kbps fax modem by then. Anyway, I can say that if you are planning to do some work while you are outside the office, you can quite safely depend on this service.

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I am not a fan of Durians. Sure I do eat them once in a while, usually when I go out with my friends or family. But I am not exactly keen on durians. Most of the time, these smelly spiky fruit (supposedly King of Fruits) does not come to me as very tasty at all. Yes, the fruit itself is creamy but it just doesn’t taste right to me. Sometimes it is sweet and others it taste bitter. And the smell. For a lot of people, the smell is gross but to me, it’s just a strong aroma, nothing else. Just that the smell is very strong. Anyway, I have to introduce to you a small outfit selling Durians. They call themselves 717 Trading! Why do they have such a weird name? I don’t know, but I guess in Singapore, we see a lot of such weird names. Or perhaps their previous location is at some 717 street or something.

Anyhow, the reason why I am introducing you this shop is that it sells mainly Durians. I believe that they have good contacts in Malaysia (where the Durians came from) and they get the best pick. Their Durians are perhaps the best in Singapore. Well, they are the best I have ever tasted. One of my friends told me that they constantly provide good quality and tasty Durians so it was not just my luck that day. They also don’t keep their Durians for long. Stocks are driven directly from the source and sold by the next day. Another reason why their Durians should be fresher. There were cases where Durians were unloaded and immediately sold at their shop.

They have tables (along with mineral water and little boxes of tissue) for you to enjoy your Durians if you don’t want to bring them back to stink up your place and piss off your neighbours. You can stink up their little shop instead. And surprisingly, the people serving the Durians are pretty polite. The boss himself is a very friendly guy. He do go around and chat with his customers once in a while. I kind of enjoyed my little meal there. That’s something considering I am not really a fan of Durians. You don’t really see people in Singapore selling such creamy and great tasting Durians in Singapore anymore.

Oh, I nearly forgot about the price. Not cheap, but not expensive either. I think we should take into consideration the quality of the Durians sold and for it’s price, it’s quite fair in my opinion. They don’t cost a hand or a leg. But don’t expect 3 for S$10 though. If you are going on the weekend, be prepared to wait for your Durians. It can be crowded like hell sometimes. And since the shop is outdoors, you should only visit it in the evening if you are planning to eat there, unless you enjoy eating and sweating in the sun. Oh, they do sell other pastries as well like Durian cakes and Durian Puffs.

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Are you guys sick of KFC? I have said in my previous blog post that the standard of KFC has dropped quite a bit and now, I seldom visit KFC anymore. Heck, not even my nephew likes KFC. Okay, he is more of a McDonalds kind of Toddler, so we will leave it at that. Anyway, if you are tired of crappy tasteless chicken from KFC, you should look at Arnold’s Fried Chicken.

But the sad thing about Arnold’s is that there is only 1 store. They have an express outlet at Pasir Ris, but I would not recommend eating there. The food is delivered and well, I don’t think it taste as good as if you get it fresh direct from the kitchen. You should go to the main store at City Plaza. Nothing beats eating a piping hot and juicy fried chicken right?

I had known about Arnold’s after one of my friends took me there for lunch. Wow, the chicken they served is great. Tender and juicy chicken, but you need to know that the chicken is fried, not baked like KFC, so if you are an health freak, this may scare you. Anyway, if you are a health freak, this kind of fast food should not be your thing. 

They are famous for their spring chicken and I would certainly recommend it. I had not tasted such great tasting and delicious chicken for years now. They don’t make them like they used to. Their close competitor is a store specializing in Fried Spring Chicken, but I will reserve that for another post. They also have a variety of side-orders (like Onion Rings, Potato Wedges, Criss-cut fries) and desserts you can try out. Arnold’s market itself as a fast food joint and you should expect huge crowds (and kids running around) at Weekends. Perhaps their service isn’t that great but I don’t really believe KFC’s service is any better either. Well, comparing their prices to KFC, they are not exactly cheap. But you get what you pay for, a little more for some great fried chicken, why not? Oh, they deliver too. So if you are planning a little party in your office, Arnold’s is a good choice, but their delivery areas are limited.

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Do you like chocolate? Do you like cake? If you have said yes to both, then you will certainly like chocolate cake. I am sure most of us have eaten chocolate cake before. And I must say, I enjoy chocolate cake myself. But just last week, I thought that I knew what a chocolate cake tastes like but after eating a certain chocolate cake, I was so shocked that it taste so great. All the other chocolate cake pales (literally) compare to it.

So now, I introduce to you Awfully Chocolate! If you are living in Singapore, Shanghai, Jakarta, Taipei or Hong Kong, you are in luck. They have branches in all these cities. In Singapore, they can be found in 4 locations. Katong Mall, Republic Plaza, Cluny Court and Sembawang Hills. Awfully Chocolate only sells one type of cake – Chocolate Cake. That’s their speciality. Wuhahaha! That’s dark chocolate cake  in between layers of real great tasting and rich dark chocolate!  They have 3 favours of dark chocolate cake – All Chocolate (my favourite), Banana Chocolate and Chocolate Rum & Berry. Although you will need to purhcase the entire cake instead of getting slices. Not sure why they don’t sell in slices, not everyone can finish an entire cake themselves. I mean, considering the cake is very rich and Singaporeans are not famous for their love of chocolates, I think they would get better response if they sell in small slices, especially to Singaporean women.

Oh, they sell ice-cream too. Yes, you guess it – Dark Chocolate Ice Cream. I haven’t tried it yet, but if it taste as good as their cake (which is very likely), I am sure it will get popular very soon. And thank god they sell it scopes, instead of having to buy the entire tub or something. Great for those warm sweaty afternoons. A single scope cost S$3.10.

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Yes, indeed. How many of you have visited Singapore before? And if you did, I am pretty sure you will agree with me, that Singapore is one of the best place where you can find great food. Sure, it’s not the best, but the food here is at the very least edible and if I might add, very tasty with a huge variety for everyone. And if you know where to look, the prices of these fine foodfares can be reasonable as well. Furthermore, you will find different favours of food.

If you are looking for Japanese food, you can find a plenty here like Sushi, Sashimi, Donburi, Japanese Curry, Ramen…..superb. How about Italian or French? Yes, we have it here as well. You can even find them at Hawker centers! How about Korean? Yes, the currently Korean craze has resulted in a lot of new Korean restaurants popping up everywhere on the island. Fine Indian dining you say? Yes, sir. It’s here alright. Naan, Tandoori Chicken, Biryani….wonderful, just wonderful. Chinese food? You will be amazed at the number of different restaurants/bistros we have here, serving Chinese cuisine – Hokkien, Teochew among them. How about local fares? Hahaha, you will discover that that’s what Singapore has plenty of and you should try them.

Whether you are looking for expensive and high class restaurants or just a family restaurant, or even a local cafe or bistro, Singapore has it all. If you are feeling adventurous, you can try out Singapore’s hawker centres. You will be amazed at what these humble hawkers can cook up for you to satisfy your appetite.

Eat and eat and eat. That’s what Singaporeans and Singapore visitors are doing. I mean, basically Singapore has nothing much to offer other than shopping, sunshine and food (well, in the future there will be gambling and vice). It’s no surprise that there are a lot of fat and obese people in Singapore, all with heart problems and will properly die young. But please, don’t let that stop you from trying out Singapore’s great dining pleasures.

So if you are visiting Singapore, please try out Singapore’s numerous restaurants. I have complied a list of Singapore Restaurants you can check out. It is not arranged in any order. I have also complied a list of Singapore Bistros/Cafes.

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It’s the latest craze in Singapore now, Yoga. Everyone is taking up courses on Yoga and Yoga centres/clinics are hiring Yoga Masters and Experts from India and Greenland to teach these people. So I have created a list of Singapore Yoga Centres for anyone wishing to join in this craze and get some exercise. It’s a small list currently, but don’t worry, I will add more in time. It is also interesting that as this kind of exercise gets more popular in Singapore, the techniques get more exotic. We now have Hot Yoga (whatever that means) and other kinds of yoga available to the public. I just wonder, if anyone finds ordinary yoga so easy that they need to take the next step and look for more exotic kinds of yoga? Must really be a flexible person.

Anyone know that I am actually a Yoga Expert myself? No, I am not kidding. I once was so at peace with myself that I woke up like 100 miles away from my home. Some people say I was drunk, but that’s not possible, I don’t drink alcohol. Especially not the hogwash we call beer here in Singapore. And just last week, I was so joined with the my divine spirit that I ramped my 50 dollar bicycle into a tree that was in my path to enlightenment. Nothing stops me from the achieving enlightenment, wood. Again, there are some people who say that it is my cycling skill that suck big time, but who really listens to them anyway. A true Yoga master only listens to his inner self.

I think I will start a Yoga Studio myself. I will then charge Singaporeans (or anyone stupid enough to come to Singapore) heaps of money for me to help them feel at ease, especially about their financial problems. They will feel great after coming to my sessions, I guarantee. Pay first, feel good later.

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As I mentioned before, I am surprised that there are quite a number of men who like going to Health Spas. In Singapore, it seemed to be a fad among the rich men now, especially now that the economy is doing well and people have more money to spend. Apparently these men would take like half a day off from work and get their face moisturized, nails manicured, legs waxed or just relax at these health spas like those spolit women we see everyday in the office. Yes, that’s right, no hanky panky! And more surprising is that these men boast about going to health spas in the local newspapers!

Now that’s what Singapore need, more males with their super smooth face, nice painted nails and long silky seductive hairless legs walking about in Singapore. Let’s not judge them. If they want to look beautiful and make the females jealous, who are we to comment? Maybe the women in Singapore will feel the competition and buck up by making themselves at least presentable for a change. Good for me. Good for Singapore.

Anyway, I have some links for those interested in such “divine” pleasures: Singapore Beauty Spas Listings, Singapore Skincare Salons, Singapore Slimming Centres and Singapore Cosmetics/Makeup Services.

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I recently meet someone online and found out that she was very interested in Yoga. Ok, she is a staff of a Yoga Centre right here in Singapore. So, being a shrewd entrepreneur that I am, I decided to ask her to write an article on Yoga. And she did. Thanks to her, all you blokes will be able to read and understand what is Yoga and how will Yoga benefit you. And if you are living in Singapore, you should head down to International Yoga Centre and join up.

I don’t know about you guys, but Yoga looks rather painful to me. I see all those exercises and stretches, it kind of scares me off. Sure sure, call me a sissy but I know for a fact that it is tough. Very tough. And no, I am not very flexible either. I think I will stick with conventional exercises like sleeping and drinking.

If you want to have a healthy body and mind, you can read the article here: What is Yoga and it’s benefits?

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