Books, Tea and a Nice Comfy Armchair

It has been quite some months since I last blogged and I would have totally forgotten about this little café which I visited sometime in May had it not been for the convenience of digital photography.

I couldn't recall how I come to know of this café nor can I remember its name. It is situated along one of those small alleys snaking throughout Tanjong Pagar.

The café has its wall lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling. Some books are free for customers to read while others are wrapped in "sell-only" condition. For those who are not in the reading mood, there is also a variety of good old board games to choose from or even play a game of pool in the courtyard.

They do not have a wide selection of cakes but the serving is definitely generous!

For those who knows the name or address of the café, please do leave a comment here with the details. I do hope to visit the place again some day.

Psuedo Coconut @ Sands Sky Park

If you would like to feast your eyes on a panoramic view of the Singapore skyline, forget about the Singapore Flyer! Instead, hop on to the 200m elevator ride to the Sands Sky Park!

Priced at only $20 per adult with an unlimited and better panoramic view of the skyline, I wonder why tourists still bother going to the Singapore Flyer where the admission is pricier (SGD$29.50) for a limited 30 minutes ride and the highest viewing point reached is only at 165m. Furthermore, if for some unknown reasons that the Singapore Flyer decides to breakdown again, everyone would be pretty much trapped in the capsules! Just imagine being trapped in mid-air for 5 hours with a full bladder! * Glup* I seriously think they should stock up on some adult diapers in each capsule...just in case.

So going back to the Sands Sky Park, with each admission, the visitors have access to the observation deck, the roof top lounge and a limited view of the awesome outdoor swimming pool which only the hotel guests have access to.

The roof top lounge is truly an ideal place to hang out after work or to simply laze around during the weekends. Offering such a beautiful view, one can be certain that the drinks are charged at an outstanding price as well.

However, this is definitely no seaside café judging from the coconut juice that was served to me! Nevertheless, kudos to the packaging team! :)

Bled @ Slovenia

My first visit to Bled was in the Summer of 2004. The memories were vivid with the warm sun beaming down on makeshift stalls setup all around the calm lake. Colourful wild flowers were blooming on the grass plain with bees humming near pots of golden honey on sale.


Almost six years later, I decided to make a return trip to try to relive the wonderful memories I always have for the place.

The trip took us no more than 45 minutes and since Slovenia is part of the European Union, no passport check is required at the border.

The weather report promised a sunny Saturday afternoon but when we arrived in the morning, the sun was still hidden behind the clouds accompanied by the occasional gusts of wind. Nevertheless, with the beginning of Spring, wedding bells were ringing in the air, cafés were opened for business around the lake, strollers were busy licking away at their huge ice-cream cones and the ducks and swans were out begging for treats of bread crumbs or lazily napping away.
For me, I chose to take in the grand view of the lake with a nice warm cup of hot chocolate in hand. And just when I thought that hot chocolates tastes the same, I was in for quite a shock when I had mine served. It was rather thick and the first sip revealed a bitter sweet after-taste with a slight tinge of herbal flavor to it. My guess would be that melted chocolate was used instead of chocolate powder. But still, the herbal taste remains very much a mystery to me.

The town of Bled is rather small with most of the main shops lined along one main street. Besides the lake, the other not-to-be-missed 'attraction' in Bled - *drum roll* - would have to be Casino Bled. I find this to be a rather amusing name for a casino because for a casino to bleed would mean for the gamblers to win! But then again, it might take on the alternative meaning of bleeding the gamblers dry instead.
It was a pity that we came a week too early because on the following weekend, there is to be a rowing competition held in Bled. Nevertheless, we could see the laying down of the race routes with flotations on the lake and some teams were already training hard for the big day.
I only realised on this trip that cream cake is a speciality of Bled and Hotel Park was where the cake originated from.
Quoting the introductory poster outside the hotel:

"...kneaded butter-based pastry dough which he folded seven times and left to rest until the next morning when he baked it and let it to cool. Next, he mixed up the best natural ingredients into a fine egg-based cream and left it to simmer for exactly seven minutes, stirring occasionally. Then he added firmly whipped egg whites to the hot cream and poured the yolks onto a thin layer of baked dough. Once the cream was completely cool he garnished it with a layer of whipped cream and covered it with another layer of the butter-based dough. He finished the dessert off with a generous layer of icing sugar and cut the cake into 60 pieces, each 7 x 7 cm..."

So the secret recipe lies in the number SEVEN....ohhhhh....now we know... :)

I only purchased one slice for takeaway because I honestly thought that it would simply be a cake laddled with thick, fattening cream. It was only when I brought it out from the refrigerator the very same evening and had my teeth sink into the first bite that I knew instantly I was very much mistaken! The cream was so light and not as sweet as I thought it would be. Perhaps due to the refrigeration, the cream tasted a little like ice-cream too! So now you know this is a must-try in Bled!

We ended the trip with lunch was at a traditional Slovenian restaurant, recommended by the local tourist information centre. It was just a short drive from the lake and we were the first customer of the day. We ordered a simple mix salad to share and a main dish each comprising of the traditional Slovenian-style grilled fish and cream chicken breast with safron rice.

This is the second time I ordered fish in Europe with both the head and tail served complete. It was cheaper (cost less than €10) and tasted much better than the one I had in Klagenfurt. At least they removed all the scales on the fish so I was able to enjoy the crispy fish skin. :)

The safron rice was quite a disappointment as the rice was a little on the soft side. But I guess this might be the way the locals like it done as compared to the asians's preference.

The most astounding of all would be the simple looking bowl of mix salad. The combination of vegetables with the right seasoning gave it a very refreshing bite! I could easily woof down the entire serving with no help rendered!
All in all, this was a nice trip down memory lane - with new memories created but never replacing or recreating the old ones.

Genottenhöhe @ Villach

Overlooking the small town of Villach is Genottenhöhe, a traditional Austrian restaurant located on top of a hill. The walk up to the restaurant took us just 30 minutes from our apartment and it was a good form of exercise on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

The month of April is known to the locals as a moody month. It can be sunny one moment, windy the next and even raining or snowing on the very same day! On this particular Saturday, the sky was in a perpetual state of indecisiveness - to be a sunny or a cloudy windy day?

Hence we started the walk thinking that it'll be a sunny afternoon, only to return to the apartment shortly afterwards for a change of windproof tops. The walk uphill was rather gradual and enjoyable if not for the ocassional strong gusts of wind. Along the way, we found a hen wandering underneath some bushes and only realised that it must have gotten lost from its brood at a farm just a stone's throw away.

The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seatings with a lush green field for children to ran about. If not for the windy conditions, we would have chosen to admire the view of the town from the outside with a nice brew of light Austrian coffee. Nevertheless, in the cosy interior, the view through the window was equally splendid.

Quest For Immortality - The World of Ancient Egypt

I am always curious about mummies and all the graphic details of mummification. Hence, I was pleased to learn that the National Museum of Singapore was putting up some exhibits on the world of ancient egypt (in cooperation with the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna) from late December last year till early April this year.


The exhibition was fairly priced at $15/adult and a further 50% discount when one pays with Mastercard.
The exhibition was also fairly sized. There were lots of relics on display varying from jewelleries to statues to fragment from architectural sites as well as from The Book Of The Dead.

canopic containers for storing the organs

Nevertheless, what interests me the most would be the mummies. Disappointingly, there were only a few mummies on display with almost half enclosed in the sarcophaguses. The mummification processes were mainly described in texts which alternatively could be better illustrated via re-enactment in a video show.
Furthermore, there were only two x-ray photographs from two sets of mummies and not even a single photograph of how a mummy looks like beneath the thick layers of linens and canvases.

I guess I would have to visit other museums with a larger collection of mummy exhibits or better yet, to pay Egypt a visit. :)

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum is a relatively new temple in Singapore having only been founded in 2002. As such, the temple with its full fledged air-conditioned facilities was quite an enjoyment to pay a visit to even for the locals who were dying to get out of the sweltering heat.

The interior of the temple was very richly decorated with plenty of gold in the grand hall and especially so on the fourth storey where the sacred Buddha tooth was kept. Here, the floor was even tiled in gold!

The Grand Hall

For visitors who would like to have a summary of the life of Buddha and an introduction to the other Buddhas, it would be a wise choice to visit the Nagapuspa Buddhist Culture Museum located on the third storey. Here, the story of Buddha is recounted in Buddha's view such that it is in the first man's account. This seems rather strange to me as I feel that it is more appropriate to recount the story in the third man's view instead.

On the second storey, there's even a teahouse where visitors can enjoy a nice cup of tea with soft Buddhist music playing in the background and the option of browsing the Buddhist books on sale.

All in all, it was a rather nice experience, seeing the temple in a modern light and definitely lots of photography opportunities for the tourists!

Chinatown (牛车水)

Chinatown is always bustling with activities and my guess is that its quietest moment would have to be on the first two days of Chinese New Year. Most of the shops and even the hawker stalls in the nearby market operate almost everyday throughout the week and it is only on Chinese New Year that they decide to give themselves a well deserved break to start off the New Lunar Year.
On the 3rd day of Chinese New Year, I happened to pass by a coffee shop located along South Bridge Road between Temple Street and Sago Street. The shop is painted in red with posters advertising a Singapore Coffee Museum within the shop. It was hardly a museum but rather a small room with a tiny corner displaying a table, chairs, cups, saucers and typical coffeewares used in the olden days.
More interesting for me would have to be a framed up poster listing the local terms for the different types of coffee.

note: there is a typo error in the poster - Kopi Poh refers to coffee thin or thin coffee.

Winter along River Drau

It took a week or so for the snow to finally melt only to have the town dusted white again after a day and night of snowing.

The snow accumulated along River Drau and atop barren trees are so white and fine that it looks just like a winter scene off a Hollywood romance movie.

duck asleep with it's head folded in it's wing

Winter in Wien

This is my second trip to the capital of Austria, the first being in summer and this time round, in winter.

The cold temperature would have been bearable if not for the harsh wind throughout the day with its relentless assault on our faces no matter where we turn.

Surface of Donau Canal frozen

Fortunately, the inner city (innere stadt) is lined with rows upon rows of shops, restaurants, cafés and historical landmarks where we were able to hop in from time to time and warm our pink-frosted cheeks and noses.

We managed to visit a couple of museums within a day but it was just a pity that photography was not allowed in all of them. Nevertheless, at the Kunst Haus Wien - Hundertwasser Museum, we managed to take some 'legal' photographs as well as to sneak a few discrete clicks here and there. This is a building designed by a famous Austrian artist - Friedensreich Hundertwasser - who has a somewhat unique style of utilising strong colours and contrasts. Straight lines are a definite big No-No to him! The norms are no longer the norms once you enter the building: floorings are uneven, stair steps are curved and trees grow out of windows! How nice would it be if he were to design schools where the creativities of children are allowed to flourish instead of being bounded by the so-called norms.

There was even a detailed plan to transform a big plot of land into what looked like TeleTubbies Land to me! Unfortunately, it was never realised and what remained today is a mini-scale version of the original plan.

Even on the streets, there are no lack of historical statues and landmarks everywhere.

A delightful sight in the midst of the busy pedestrain street would be the Maroni stands.

"Heisse maroni anyone!?!"

Inevitably, food is naturally at the top of my priority list. With the recommendation from Lonely Planet, we made our way through a small alley in search of La Crêperie - a restaurant that sells both sweet and savoury crêpes. Only when we were standing outside the restaurant, did we realised that it's a Georgian-themed restaurant. It used to be part of the former Soviet Union and to be honest, I never even thought that I'll get the chance to eat Georgian food until this chance encounter. So how cool is that! :)

Vegetarian savoury crêpe

Savoury crêpe with minced meat - taste alot like lasagne, only better and less cheesy

When in Wien, it is almost a sin if one doesn't patronize at least one of the numerous cafés for their famous Sacher Torte. Amongst these cafés, only two claimed to hold the original recipe for the Austrian speciality cake - Hotel Sacher and Demel.

Having had tasted the version from Hotel Sacher previously and not being "wowed" at all, we proceeded to taste the other version from Demel.

The cake tasted drier with no apricot jam in-between the chocolate sponge cake layer and the dark chocolate icing over the cake was less sweet too (which suits me perfectly fine). Similarly, I wasn't blown off by the cake and it doesn't taste that special either. Nevertheless, my vote would have to go to the Demel version should I have to choose one. However, after considering the prices charged at Demel, I guess I wouldn't mind going to just any café if ever the Sacher Torte craving kicks in.

Demel Sacher Torte

Dark chocolate cake with liquor @ Demel - tastes much better than the Demel Sacher Torte

Interesting for me would be the see-through baking kitchen which offers a view as to how the cakes were made. The other highlight for me would be the Demel shop where there are lots of chocolates as well as cakes on sale. However, for the exorbitant prices charged, I guess I'm equally happy to take off with just a few clicks of my camera where the images are permanently preserved for my viewing pleasure rather than temporary stored in my stomach.