birthday celebration

* back dated entry*

happy bday to myself =) for the first time on my birthday, i had an ice cream cake!!! yeah!!!! i told hubby before that I havent tasted an ice cream birthday cake before & to my surprise, he gotten one for my birthday!!!! he was being quite secretive about it & i totally didnt expect it till he showed up in lab with the cake =)

bunny cake!!!

interior of the ice cream cake

he gotten the cake from baskin robbins..... & it's even in the shape of a bunny!!! yeah!!! (fyi: cause i love bunny =p) actually aside from the pink colouring and longer ears, i felt the cake had more of a bear face.... but who cares, is a lovely cake gotten by hubby =) i apologize for the gross dissection of the cake but basically is a chocolate ice cream cake with pink cream..... quite nice i would say =)

then for dinner, hubby made a reservation at jamie italian.... we tried that restaurant before but we would like to try the pasta since italian food = PASTA!!! & its one of jamie's specialty..... 

chive & garlic fries

mushroom risotto & some tomato based penne

as usual, the fries quantity was quite pathetic... i think the amount of fries equal to Mcdonald's small fries but it charged like $7++.... for main course, hubby gotten mushroom risotto & i gotten some tomato base penne..... pasta was quite nice but I love to have more mozzarella on top.... for risotto, the smell is pretty good, taste also quite fragrant BUT TOO SALTY!!!! we believed the extra salty taste came from the olive oil..... on the whole, the food there was not bad but choices abit too limited for us so i dont think we will frequent the place anytime soon.....

again... lets end off the post with the lovely roses from hubby =)

review: Hotel rendezvous wedding banquet (dinner)

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went to hubby's friend wedding dinner at hotel rendezvous today... i was actually quite excited since we considered holding our wedding there but couldnt get hold of the banquet staff so had to forgo it....

Location: pretty convenient i guess since is located in dhoby ghaut, about 10-15 min walk from mrt (depending the exit)... but since there isnt no shelter along the way, getting there on a rainy day will be quite tough...

Ambience: i would say is average... the hotel doesnt look very grand from outside but the interior is still quite ok... the ballroom is situated on second floor but the reception area is pretty tight... will be quite a squeeze if you have too many guests mingling there....

ballroom

the ballroom itself looks quite nice but sadly there is a pillar in front so view will be slightly compromised.... for that size, i dont think you should have more than 20 tables.... the couple had 20-21 tables if i didnt remember wrongly and the space in between each table was quite tight......

Food: some of the dishes were not too bad

menu

i think the choice of food was pretty standard.... for those who love to eat shark's fin, i guess this is one of the hotel choice for you since not many hotels still serve shark fin nowadays...

Service: ok lo, you can tell most of them were students doing part time job so they are still green....

Price: $1257++ per table for sun dinner... i think for the quality, this price is too expensive

Conclusion: the overall experience was ok but if you are really paying so much for the dinner, i would say not worth it.... unless you gotten a much cheaper deal, i dont think this should be your hotel choice, at least not top choice for me....

lightings @ balestier road

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one of the things that you will need to buy in bulk will be lighting.... for a new flats, you will need about 10 lights of varying sizes depending on the unit size..... my mama actually went around almost the whole of SG to scout for lights last year when she renovated the home & her conclusion is that Balestier road has the most number of lighting stores.... she recommends 2 stores based on the variety of lights available & reasonable prices = chan huat & lighting centre

1. chan huat
343/343A Balestier road, S(329775)
Tel: 6256 1141

bus stop at - after pegu road

 
we took bus 145 from bugis mrt station & drop off at the stop - after pegu road.... the bus stop is at this 333 bak kut teh shop.... once you get off the bus, turn right & walk in front, cross the small road, walk another 20m or so & you will reach the shop

chan huat store at level 1

lighting at second floor

this store has 2 levels, ground floor it sells accessories like bulbs, led panels & etc.... the lighting is on second floor.... since i cant take photo inside the store, i cant post photos here.... I would say the store really has quite a large variety of lights... i go for simple lighting so average price will be $100/piece (including LED panel) which i think is quite a reasonable price.... the store also does free delivery for purchase above $600

2. lighting centre
400 Balestier Road, #01-28/38 Balestier Plaza, S(329802)
Tel: 6560 5300

another big lighting store in the area which is actually located opposite of chan huat....

lighting centre, view from chan huat

pioneer bak kut teh

after you came out from chan huat, in front of you will be the pioneer bak kut teh store... there is a bridge just outside the store, cross over & you will reach lighting centre

entrance to lighting centre

lighting centre also has a wide variety of lights but personally i prefer chan huat designs.... after looking through the whole store, i only like one of the lights.... but this store sell swaroski lights so if you want fancy lighting, this is the place for you...


of cause there are many lighting stores along balestier road, do check out several stores before you make your decision.... my personally observation is that for those stores located on level one, they tend to sell lighting at a higher price, probably due to higher rental.... so do visit stores on higher levels & you may be pleasantly surprise =)

checking for defects

*back dated entry*

I am sure most people will not be foreign with the word "defects" due to the large amount of new flats in the market... so today just want to share some of things we need to take note when inspecting defects for your new units....

1. check the tiles/flooring
i believed this is the most important things to take note of ..... for tiles, you really have to check through every single piece by knocking on all sides with an heavy object... for me, i used the handle of a screwdriver.... i know it sounds crazy to check through every tiles but believe me, is worth the effort... I am sure you guys had seen videos of cracking & crumbling tiles for some BTO flats, so do your due diligence..... for DBSS, the bedrooms will be covered with laminate flooring.... in this case, you dont need to knock on the individual pieces.... BUT check for any uneven layering or damaged laminate....

2. doors + handles
all flats will come with main door which is fire proof = you cant change the door even if you dont like the colour/design/whatever... but do check for cracks or dents ....as for handles check if there are any rusts & the locks are working properly

3. windows
most of the time, windows should be fine since they are installed by HDB but do your own checks

4.drainage
 this include all your sinks, toilets & drainage system..... for sinks & toilets, check if there are any cracks or leakage.... to check the drainage system, you need to pour down a pail of water(at one go) & monitor if the water will be drain off quickly or the water will regurgitate back.... sometimes the workers may just pour down remaining sands or rubbish down the drain, resulting in clog... same goes for toilet....

i guess these are the 4 important things which you need to check once you gotten the house keys... do rectify all the defects before you start your own renovation or else the service center people push the responsibility & claim that your own contractor damaged the items.....

my new flat!!!!

tada!!! FINALLY i received my house key last week!!!! after waiting for like 3months plus... lots of frustrating things happened during these 3 months but i shall elaborate on that in another post.... today i shall share some pictures of the unit..... so yup, i gotten the trivelis 4 room unit.... i know i mentioned in earlier post that i gave up the idea on trivelis but due to the limited supply of resales in my preferred area, we decided to go ahead with the best option at that moment..... prior to making the deposits, me & mama went down to survey the area several times & we even knocked on other residents doors, hoping to get some idea about the place & possibility of viewing their units... thankfully we managed to find several kind souls who let us into their flats & even shared their experience..... from what we gathered, the trivelis units are not as bad as what as publicized by the media... of cause the size issue is true, all the units (3, 4 & 5 rooms) are smaller than the usual BTO size and i would say this is the major downside about this estate.... the other issue about water pipes in service yard is also true, those bloody pipes are really obstructing the place... but based on feedback, other than these 2 issues, most residents are happy with their units.... hence, after much consideration, we decided to go ahead & get one of the remaining 4 room units..... without further ado, lets share the photos...

living/dining area

kitchen

service yard & the notorious sewage pipes

water heater

balcony

view from balcony

view from another side

hallway towards bedrooms

bomb shelter

bedroom 1

bedroom 2

master bedroom

common toilet

master bedroom toilet

yup, this is the current conditions of the unit.... the place looks bigger on picture but in actual fact, the unit is really small.... 80sqm for a 4 room flat... my god.... it really makes me wonder if the developer based  their designs on HK units.... super tiny..... the aircon ledge is even bigger than your kitchen, like what kind of logic is this!?!?!?!? service yard is like size of a table?!?!!??! so yes, the size issue is a real problem.... but there are only 2 of us at the moment, so the place is still big enough for us.... as for workmanship, i would say most of the things were acceptable except for wardrobes.... there are no division or boards inside, it uses this pole system... really an eye opener.... i shall post the picture next time & i bet all of you will be amazed...... depressing things aside, we finally gotten our own home!!!! next step will be doing some simple renovation before shifting in.... so i hope to share some renovation tips along the way =)

tart blanc & tim ho wan

went out over the last weekend to try out 2 new places = tart blanc & tim ho wan... i believed tim ho wan is no strange name to many people but it was my first time trying out that place in SG last weekend..... but first let me share about tart blanc...

my friend bought some high tea voucher from tart blanc some time ago & we only had the time to try it last week.... the shop is located in millennia walk, is next to mos burger if i didnt remember wrongly.... the shop is quite small & it doesnt really stand out so we actually walked pass it without noticing....

tart blanc

different types of tarts

our high tea set

so for our voucher, we can redeem 2 tarts & 2 drinks.... there are some restrictions to the type of drinks which you can order, i believed mocha is one of them..... so for us, we chose the 2 most popular/famous tarts = peach with salted egg yolk & raspberry praline....

the salted egg yolk is a warm tart meaning the staff will heat it up..... i would say it tasted like the dim sum custard bun... the custard really flow out when you cut the tart open, not too bad... as for the raspberry tart, the cream filling is pretty good... so me & my friend actually prefer the raspberry tart over salted egg yolk... i guess we prefer the traditional sweet pastries...  my friend also gotten additional macaron ($2.50)... i think it was some rose flavour.... pretty nice filling but i am not a fan of macaron...... i would say the pastries in tart blanc are of pretty high standard but the price is too steep... a tart (about 6cm diameter) costs $7.50 & average of $5 for the beverages..... i think is quite expensive... but if you gotten those groupon vouchers, you can try them at half price then i think is more worthwhile....

next is tim ho wan.... went to have lunch with my mama there on sun...... i have yet to try out SG outlet cause there is always a long queue but we decided to give it a go last weekend.... we went to westgate outlet since is the nearest to our home..... i was surprised that the shop actually opens at 9am on weekends!!!! we reached about 1130am & we managed to enter the place with about 10min wait...

menu

our lunch

we ordered like 10 dishes.... honestly, i think the food quality is not too bad but not good enough for me to queue for like hours..... i would say the good thing for SG outlet compared to HK is the table size.... here you have a standard table size whereby you can put the food comfortably unless you order crazy amount of food.... but in HK, the tables are so small that it could barely fit 3 dishes!!!! for those who love dim sum, i think tim ho wan is still a good choice to satisfy your appetite but do choose your dinning time wisely or else you can spend a long time queuing...... =)

housing loan from banks

For those who have read my posts before would know that I have been searching for a flat for more than a year but due to the limited supply of flats in the estates which i like & our rotten luck with BTO ballots, there is a high chance that we will need to buy a flat which requires us to get bank loan instead of HDB loan. Hence, I have been doing some little research about the housing loans offered  by different banks & want to share the information which I have gathered so far.....

Before I share some of the plans which i gathered from the banks, let me explain 4 most important terms which the banks used for the loans.... First = SIBOR. When i spoke to the first mortgage banker, i was like what the hell is SIBOR? It actually stands for Singapore Interbank Offer Rate, in short, is the interest rate in which banks lend each other $ & this rate always fluctuate. Second = fixed rate. I think most of us are familiar with this term. As the word implies, fixed rate means the interest rate will be fixed for certain number of years. Third = floating rate. This is somewhat in between fixed & SIBOR, meaning the interest rates will vary throughout out the years but not as drastic as SIBOR.... Lastly = lock in period. This means the number of years you must commit the loan to. IF let say the package has 2 year lock-in period, it means only 3rd year onward will you be able to make any changes. In the event you want to make any amendments within the lock-in period, i believed penalty will apply..... Now let me share the different packages that the banks offered me... all the information are corrected as of June 2015....

1. DBS/POSB

3month SIBOR

 3month SIBOR would means that you interest rate will be reviewed every 3 months... so the total interest rate for that month will be the rate for 3M SIBOR & the + whatever %. Example, the current 3M SIBOR is 0.4%, your total interest for year 1 will be 0.4 + 0.85% = 1.25%

FHR floating rate

 FHR is something exclusive to DBS banks. It is actually calculated by the average of 12month fixed & 24month fixed deposit interest rate, at the moment FHR is at 0.4%... FHR seem to be quite attractive but do take note that this term was only created in 2012 (if I didnt remember wrongly). So if the banker showed you like FHR values for the passed 10years, that's like total rubbish.... BUT the rate has not changed since the day it was implemented so is still quite safe to trust this value since we all know how pathetic our fixed deposit interest rates are....

fixed FHR

 similar to the previous package, the rate is also based on FHR but varying interest rate is so call fixed. According to the banker, this is like the most popular choice since it offered stability as the rate will be capped at CPF rate....

fixed rate

 fixed package, easy to understand but do take note, the rate isnt fixed forever. The rate is only fixed for 3years but subsequent years will be subjected to FHR......


2. UOB

UOB packages

The UOB staff offered me 12month SIBOR which is somewhat more stable since it doesnt fluctuate that much....

3. citibank

citibank package

I am not very sure about the effective interest rate but I would guess it's the total interest rate???? so for citibank, they provide more variety to the types of SIBOR....

4. standard chartered

standard chartered package

standard chartered offer the most interesting package in which they link it to some credit card & current account..... personally I dont understand fully about the package but according to the staff, you get some rebates of the interest rate if you put in a sum of $ in the bank....

I only went down to enquire from these 4 major banks but as you can see, they offer more or less offer similar stuff.... I would say the most important thing is to decide what do you want in the packages, is it stability? or slightly lower interest rate? fixed interest rate will be the most stable but the interest rate will not be so attractive since the banks have to bear the risk of increasing rates... & nowadays, there isnt any fixed deposit which will NEVER change throughout the term so personally I think fixed rate isnt the best option at the moment....

based on what I read online & understand from the bankers, most people go for SIBOR because of the low rates..... BUT this only apply during time of low interest rate..... my parents told me that when they gotten their first flat in HK, the interest then (like 30yr+ ago) was like 18%!!!! when the global interest rate is so high, SIBOR will definitely increase... so during those time, you WONT want SIBOR cause your interest rate will always vary & it will just keep getting higher & higher..... I am not good with the economic stuff but news have been saying that US will increase its interest rate by end of the year so SIBOR may seem too risky & exciting for me....  I would say SIBOR would be a good choice IF you can finish paying off your loan in a short period of time.... personally out of the 3 options, I feel floating/semi-fixed rates is the safest bet right now since it offers some sort of stability.....but that's my personal preference, so do make your choice wisely...

Despite saying all those things, i would strongly suggest people to take up hdb loan... of cause the interest rate may not be so attractive as the banks BUT it really save you alot of troubles.... i guess most people would have known that bank loan is only up to 80% of the property price while HDB allow up to 90% loan.... i think the additional 10% loan is very crucial for first timer unless you have lots of saving in your accounts/CPF.... another thing is that you dont have to find external lawyer to handle your paperwork!!! cause once you get a bank loan, you cant request for HDB lawyers to process your documents which would mean additional cost.... external lawyers (~$2500) cost about 2x of what you have to pay for HDB lawyers.... i find it dealing with all these property stuff is already troublesome, to involve additional people will only mean more chaos so if possible, by all means get the HDB loan!!!