A lunch pit stop at Garuda Restaurant for Indonesia Padang cuisine at VivoCity brought us to the National Geographic Store for the second time since I first visited it in Dec 2009. People say you never forget the first time and my first time walking into the store was one of the most amazing and unforgettable “multi-sensory adventure”.
A collection of photographs since National Geographic team began their adventure in 1888.Our guide Toon Hee and blogger Jonel fascinated by a photograph that caught their attention.NG Store is a great place to meet old friends or make new ones with like-minded people who are curious about the world and care for our planet.
People from all over the world come to the NG Store to catch up with old friends. Besides the cafe, a great place to get together is the gallery where visitors share their passion for photography, travel, culture etc.
After a long, exhausting day at Resorts World Sentosa, I was ready to sit down to rest my aching feet and shoulders, I’m also greatly motivated by thirst and anticipation of simple yet delectable local Singapore dishes. In our then state-of-mind, neither one of us non-Singaporeans would have handled massive crowds like the kind you find at Singapore Food Trail well.
Baits, offers an all-encompassing menu that focuses on serving Singapore-style seafood and a myriad of local favourites to satisfy any craving. Showcasing a sumptuous line-up of meat and poultry fare such as a delectable Baits Singapore Style Chicken Rice as well as fiery Mala dishes – which both Singaporeans and tourists have come to love.
Staff at Resorts World Sentosa on their dinner break enjoying a take-out right outside BAITS restaurant, in in full view of this gigantic Michelin Star Din Tai Fung poster and oblivious of my presence.BAITS has more than one of such mannequins inside its establishment but their origin and symbolism I hadn’t a chance to enquire. If you have info about this please fill me in.A post I recently did about the increasing popularity of open kitchen concepts (see The Glass House post) more restaurants should follow their footsteps to allow diners watch chefs work their magic.BAITS hard cover menu reveals a catalogue of sumptuous offering from the resort’s first local seafood restaurant offering dishes such as chicken rice, barbecue sambal stingray and of course, the popular chill crab—along with herbal drunken prawns, fish assam style and stir fried lady’s fingers with garlic.Our guide (left), Toon Hee, recommends Jonel to try the sumptuous Baits Singapore Style Chicken Rice.Those who follow me on Twitter already know how big a fan I am of Hainanese Chicken Rice. As a food photographer, Baits’ Singapore Style Chicken Rice isn’t the best when it comes to presentation but don’t let fool you. I cleaned out the plate and I was most impressed by the heavenly double-boiled chicken soup.
If this is the first time you’re looking at this and wondering what the heck these little things are, well, you have noooo idea what you’ve missed. They’re called Xiaolong bao or soup dumplings, a Shanghainese cuisine and a signature dish of Baits (see photo of poster above).As much as these are super delicious, too much of a good thing can leave you disgusted. Melo, Jonel and I were supposed to have two each but it wasn’t something Jonel took a great liking to having tried one so I was the lucky beneficiary of an extra serving. You know what they say, one man’s xiaolongbao is another man’s poison!After a long hot day touring Resorts World Sentosa, BAITS was our much needed stop before catching Voyage de la Vie musical. With no affinity to alcoholic beverages I opted for a substitute I cannot recall.A toast to good health, great food, happy times (and a secret wish to be invited back for Singapore F1!)
I have a small inventory of Crumpler camera neck straps and bags that were given to me as gifts over the years and the latest addition to my growing collection is a black Canon CPS neck strap courtesy of Canon Singapore and my favourite Brunei Canon distributor. Had a great time catching up over my Italian cuisine at Fratini Restaurant in Seria. They say a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach — they are not wrong!
While we’re on the subject of neck straps, I want to give this highly elusive and super wide Canon strap a mention. I don’t know if it’s a limited production item but judging from the number of enquiries I have received about this particular item over the years, I take it that its availability and source still remain a mystery. Like the Crumpler Canon CPS strap, this gorgeous red strap is also a gift which I greatly appreciate and treasure.
The elusive 5cm wide non-rubberised Canon neck strap
SHIMWORLD 