Thai Dinner Buffet @ Ritz Carlton Greenhouse

This was the last buffet for the month of July. Ritz Carlton had a visiting Thai chef, so the buffet line-up at Greenhouse was Thai themed. Fresh oysters were so yummy. A bit of Thai salad which was ok. The scallops, clam and mussel were equally fresh and nice. There were no sashimi or sushi at all. Most of the dishes were Thai dishes, including the desserts.

One of the soups - chicken in coconut milk curry. It was creamy and felt a bit too salty after a few spoonfuls.

Thai pie tie and shrimp otah which needed to be shared as it was very rich. The 3 types of rolls - yam, shrimp and veggie. They were not bad though a bit too much for me to finish all. I loved the grilled meat though. Very tender and robust beef and chicken. So tasty.

The curries and others. I only like the green curry chicken with its flavorful gravy. The beef red curry was average. The stewed pork belly thing was also average and the red fish thing was strange. I had no idea what it was meant to be. The gravy was thin and plain.

I had white rice to go with the green curry chicken. The pad thai was a disappointment as I could taste ketchup in it. The last time I tasted ketchup in pad thai was at the awful Thai restaurant in Vancouver and apparently that was the way pad thai was served in Hong Kong. The kang kong was super spicy that I did not finish it. The scallops were good and spicy too, but not overkill. The pandan chicken and fish were not great at all. So I left them virtually untouched.

Another soup - seaweed with meat balls and tofu. Not too bad as it was clear and cleared the palate a bit.

Decided to try my luck with the other dishes. The pineapple rice was too mushy and sweet for my liking. Again the scallops which I liked. The grilled prawns were nice. I didn't care for the stuffed crab or lemongrass chicken and fishcake. The mushrooms were good.

After the not so nice mains which were more duds than raves for me, it was time for desserts. Unfortunately half the desserts were Thai desserts which did not interest me at all. There were only 2 plates of Western types of desserts at all times, which were changed once they were finished. I had the lemon tart first, then found out the tiramisu and creme brulee would be coming out soon. So I literally hung around the dessert table to wait. But before I found out, I also took the strawberries and some chocolate pieces.

The creme brulee was nice and the tiramisu was good. The tart was very sour and the strawberries were super sour too, like super lemon. In the end I only had the chocolate almond cluster.

The ice cream which I took before the creme brulee and tiramisu came out. The maple walnut ice cream was to die for and the chocolate chip ice cream was always good.

Overall, I was very disappointed with the Thai dishes being served at the dinner buffet. I like Thai food but those which were available were not that fantastic. So I think I would prefer their regular selection with the butter chicken, crabs (there were crabs but cooked Thai style and did not look appetizing to me so I did not bother taking any), sashimi, sushi and the fresh seafood, bread and mushroom soup and the mouth-watering desserts.

Sin Heng Kee

The only up side from going to the awful Prestige Warehouse Sale was meeting Celest for lunch at the super yummy looking Sin Heng Kee chicken rice stall which was at Hoy Fatt Road, across from the sale.

A plate for two of us. We had roasted chicken meat (so flavorful and delicious, not dry and hard. it was tender and juicy too), stewed hardboiled egg, beancurd, char siew (bbq pork), roasted pork belly, with a coleslaw like veggies and tomato and cucumber.

The char siew was soft and quite nice. The roasted pork belly had very crispy skin that I just could not resist eating it. And I am still not really a pork eater. Lol. The rice had the chicken rice aroma which made it so easy to just gobble it down. The chili was quite spicy so a saucer was more than enough.

It came with a huge bowl of soup filled with generous servings of cabbages and carrots. All these for only $8. Amazing cheap and good meal. $4 each.

The drinks stall could be better though. The iced milo was so diluted it seemed to be just sugar and water. Apparently the coffee and tea were equally bad.

Location

Sin Heng Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice

28 Hoy Fatt Road #01-4940

GapBody EDT - Coconut Tuberose

I picked this up at the recent Prestige Warehouse Sale, which is by far the worst sale I have ever been to. Not that I am a connoisseur of private/warehouse sales, but I have been to those held by The Body Shop, Molton Brown, L'Oreal Luxury Brands, regular L'Oreal drugstore brands, Shiseido, Luxasia and the mother of all private sales - Estee Lauder (EL) Private Sale.

This was my first visit to the Prestige Warehouse Sale as I was always busy during the other sale times and it was so far away at Jalan Bukit Merah area. I got there around 11am (it started at 10am) and it was not that crowded but the system...oh my goodness.

As you can see from the floor plan (yes, I am too free to even bother creating a floor plan), it was mostly fragrances on sale. 3 rows of tables containing perfumes from brands which I have never really heard of. Obviously I don't remember those brands now, except these which I do recognize or know - Guess, Morgan, Ferrari, Versace, Mango, Givenchy and GapBody.

Most people attended the Prestige Warehouse Sale for Givenchy and Paul & Joe. Based on other people's accounts of previous sales, there were more items being sold. Such as loose powder, gwps items and Loewe fragrance. This sale was thus a disappointment, plus the prices were higher than previous sales too.

So how was this sale bad? As seen from the floor plan (not drawn to scale), Givenchy and Paul & Joe were at opposite end of the table. When I got there at 11am, there were lines forming (e.g. the arrow icons). Apparently when it started at 10am, people were just crowding around and so they decided to have queues to make it orderly. Sound idea, except it took so darn long to wait in line, especially if you could not even scan to see what was available.

Plus if you were there during your 1 hour lunch break, you would definitely not make it back in time. I only queued at Paul & Joe. It took me about 20mins to get there, with only about 10 persons in front of me. People just took too long to try the samples. Since I was helping others to buy, I just asked the person there for the items. All out of stock even though the samples were there. The eye shadows were at $15 each, not really a bargain at all, compared to other sales, so I did not bother. Plus the colors were hard to swatch.

So yes, I decided to just grab the GapBody EDT since I tried that while waiting in line. It was $14, down from $56 or something. At 100ml, it is quite a good deal. I checked online, it is going for US$20 (sale price at US$12.99). Coconut Tuberose has a faint rosy and a light coconut scent. It reminded me of beaches and tanning lotion. A beach holiday.

Anyway, so I went to the payment section. I was directed to Cashier B which was the CASH ONLY line. Halfway while waiting (only about 5-6 people ahead of me), it became a CASH + VISA payment line as the NETS machine over at Cashier A (to be a cash, NETS and credit cards line) broke down. Despite only 5-6 people in front of me, it still took me about 20 minutes to complete my transcation.

Most of this was due to their system of bagging the items customers ordered from Givenchy or Paul & Joe. The items you wanted would be placed in a ziplock bag with a number attached, the matching number will be given to you. Give that number to the guy standing outside the room where all the bags were stored, and he would search for that bag so that you could make payment.

Unfortunately theory always sounded better than in practice. In real life, they could not find the matching bag. Or if they did, the bag did not contain what the person requested for. The staff tried to solve this discrepancy by saying if it is not inside the bag, it means it is out of stock. However, most customers would have been watching what the people put inside the bag when they ordered.

So the other option is for them to go back to the counter and ask for the items. Most times though, the item would be out of stock by then. So it is very frustrating to the customer when that happened.

This is the only sale where I have been to where such a system exists. Already they put your handbags into a plastic bag and tied it so people could not really steal. It is just time wasting to have to queue to see the items at Givenchy and Paul & Joe, and then queue again for payment and to discover your items were not what you requested.

Until the management at Prestige learn from other organizers, I doubt I would make a trip down again just for the sale. The bagging problem happened at last year's sale. The only change they made was instead of writing your name on the bag, they gave out the matching number. So I guess the management is really so worried about letting customers put the items into their basket and make payment.

SLII Muffins

I saw the muffin man and just could not resist buying them. There were many flavors which also included durian muffin. I decided to go for the basic and bought 3 banana and 3 chocolate chips. There was a promotion then, buy 5 and get another one free. So I paid $6 for half a dozen. Not too bad.

The banana muffin was quite sweet. Then again, banana cake, muffin or anything is always sweet. It was very nice. The chocolate chip muffin was still warm when I bought it. I loved how the top was crispy hard, especially at the edges. The body was soft and a bit fluffy, not dry at all. I wished they used better quality chocolate chips though. You could taste the sugar in the chocolate chips. Then again, I am quite a chocolate snob :p

It reminded me of the muffins I always had in Canada from Mmmarvellous Mmmuffins. Those were so so so good! My breakfast or tea break. I miss the banana nut, butterscotch pecan and chocolate chip muffins. My favorites!

There are 3 locations. Marina Square Food Loft, Golden Mile and Tampines. Sometimes they have kiosks in other malls. I bought mine from Heartland Mall. Apparently they operate there for 2 weeks every month till September 2009.

Chili Burn - What to do

I cooked today and used 6 chili padi in my dish. Washing and slicing them were no problem, but about 50 minutes later, there was a slow and then fiery burning sensation on my hands. I got some on my upper lip area when I rubbed the area and it was BURNING. Washed with water, didn't help much and I figured it would die down soon.

I mean, I hardly get chili burn from cooking so I did not know the extreme discomfort it can cause. The burn on the upper lip area subsided after 10-15 minutes but the hand was still in pain. I tried lime juice over the hand but it did not work.

No yoghurt in the house so I soaked my hand into a bowl of milk (low fat skim milk) and the coldness of the milk relieved the burning sensation but once I took my hand out, it was even worse. I think the chili oil was also left in the milk because I decided to soak my other hand which was quite ok into it and that hand started burning up instead!!!

So it was on to other remedies - washing with hot soapy water. Soaking hands in warm vinegared water. Soaking in warm soapy vinegared water. Rubbing with olive oil and vegetable oil. Coated with toothpaste. Back to alternating soaking hand in warm vinegared water and cold milk. The extreme temperatures helped some. Putting on ice.

All these did not really help in making the pain disappeared but at least now the burning sensation has reduced somewhat and is more bearable.

Got the above tips from googling and asking friends. But this website is a gem, especially the comments left by others.

This would be good to remember if you get burned by the chili. Rachelle from Australia has this to share.

THE SOLUTION: The capsaicin in the chilli is NOT water soluble and it BINDS to nerve RECEPTORS in your skin and membranes.

STEP 1: You need to bind it up with either OIL, FULL CREAM MILK or RUBBING ALCOHOL. Then wash your skin with cool soapy water to remove any extra bits of left over capsaicin. You can't get it off with just water and soap. You must bind it first to OIL, FULL CREAM MILK OR RUBBING ALCOHOL.

STEP 2: Next, neutralising it once extra capsaicin washed off.
SALT helps to neutralize it as does LEMON JUICE, and or VINEGAR.

STEP 3 : Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

STEP 4: Make up a thick paste of bi-carb soda (baking soda) and cover eg, hands in it, cheeks, nose. Leave on over night. Wash off in morning.

Follow these guide lines and stay calm. If it gets in your eyes, nasal passages, groin, try oil or full cream milk to bind it and then rinse away with salty water. Repeat an if it persists, gets worse, ring a poison information centre, then a hospital.

Of course to prevent the chili burn is to wear gloves (though some still get burned despite wearing gloves) or rubbing hands with oil first, before touching the chilies.

Great Singapore Sale Ended

The campaign for Great Singapore Sale 2009 was pretty clever with the tongue in cheek tagline "This item is not on sale, but just about everything else is."

All along Orchard Road, you could see this sign on just about everything.

The banners along Orchard Road also carried the same theme on other iconic or historical figures or buildings.

Maybe the current economic crisis was a factor, but the sale did certainly quite good, especially for those who still had the power to spend. Deep discounts plus the usual additional discounts given by credit cards or to VIP customers. I would say this has been going on since last year and the GSS just compounded it.

The best deal which happened during this period (to me) was when Takashimaya gave its cardmembers an additional 10% off on top of the sale items, and it coincided with Bottega Veneta starting its 2nd cut of 50% off.

Otherwise I would say it was the usual 30% to 50% off at most retail outlets, before they dropped to 70% off towards the end. Another good deal was from G2000 which gave its VIP members an additional 25% off on top of sale items of up to 70% off then. Currently the promotion is now an additional 15% off in the store.

The GSS might have ended on 26 July, but some stores are still having sales on last season's items. This might end this weekend. But then it would be National Day weekend and there would be more promotions again.

Singapore retail scene is getting too predictable that there seemed to be discounts for every major holidays here, besides the usual end of season sales.

My current shopping philosophy

If you can wait till sale/promotion period, then wait cos it will definitely happen. Otherwise pay full retail (unless you have vip discount cards) for things which will either go out of stock fast or are in limited quantity or is needed urgently.

The Queen and Mangosteen Revisited at Night

We met up for dinner at The Queen and Mangosteen over in VivoCity a few weeks back. This was my first visit during the night and it was packed. Night gave a more romantic feel to the place with the twinkling lights in the distance from Sentosa and the cable cars.
Since there were 3 of us, we decided to just share some dishes from the light bites/appetizers/bar food section instead of from the mains. We had the beer battered onion rings which were huge. Warm and crispy, fresh from the fryer. Unfortunately I didn't really taste any beer in there. I found that the beer flavored dishes from most places did not taste of beer at all. Maybe they just added a smidgen of beer into the batter and just called it beer battered.

The chicken wings which were pretty nice. Not the typical hot wings but with an Asian twist. It was brushed with Hoisin sauce, if I remembered correctly.

Something healthy to make us feel less guilty. Caesar salad with the dollop of cream in the middle. It was crisp and fresh, very nice. No soggy leaves in there.

The mini burgers and fries were as good as ever. I think the appies were really meant to be shared by 3 persons. Everything seemed to come in trios. Like dim sum :p

We also ordered 2 jugs of pimms and lemonade. Utterly welcoming to quench our thirst in the hot weather. Too bad the pimms and lemonade was not under the Happy Hours promotion.

I would love to go there again for the pimms and lemonade and other bar snacks. Maybe I should bring a book during the day and just go there to chill.

Things So Singaporean

I read about this in the papers and went to google for the video. It is catchy and does speak of Things So Singaporean.

It is funny and poignant, especially when you see pictures of all races going about their everyday lives. This is certainly something we tend to take for granted. The harmony we do have here in Singapore. Having friends who are Indians, Chinese, Malays, Arabs, English, Eurasians, etc.

Enjoy the video.

Lyrics by Judith d'Silva
Composed, Arranged, Sung by Ann Hussein

Shape Run 2009 Results

Gun Time: 55:57
Net Time: 51:35
Rank: 3536
Distance: 5KM
Total runners: 8000

Not too bad after all. 39% of the particpants were in the 10KM category with 61% running 5KM.

Cafe Swiss Dinner Buffet

There seemed to be lots of good deals on food right now. Cafe Swiss over at Swissotel the Stamford is also doing a 1 for 1 buffet till the end of the Great Singapore Sale. Who knows if it will be extended. I used to like this place before it changed to being Cafe Swiss. Right now I just could not recall the old name where they served pretty good Thai/Vietnamese noodles soup and other stuff. Right now, Cafe Swiss specializes in Swiss and Asian food for the dinner buffet.

There were plenty of salads to choose from and the appetizers were distinctly more European. Being Swiss, there were lots of cheese too. I liked the pastry puff thing which contained some sort of pate. It might be liver but it sure did not taste like it. So yummy.

There was cheese fondue with bread. That was not too bad and the cheese was very strong. Now I remembered why I was never a huge fan of fondues (cheese or otherwise). The sashimi was average, not super fresh like at Greenhouse over at Ritz Carlton.

My only plate from the mains section and I did not finish it as I was so full by then. There were rosti, bangers, onion tart, black pepper beef and others. A nice mix of Asian and Swiss dishes.

There was raclette! I simply loved raclette, ever since I tried it in Banff long time ago. The raclette cheese was scraped off after being heated up and it melted. It was so good. Sprinkled with paprika and had it with the gerkins and pickled onion pearls and baby potatoes. Sweet! The roast beef was equally good too.

Some of the desserts were also Swiss. I only liked the chocolate mousse which was rich and dark.

My coffee which was pretty strong. I did not care much for the square of cinnamon sweet.

The sparkly light above. The place is pretty nice. Spacious and simple.

Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance Policy High Impact Eye Shadow Collection

I was at ION Orchard the other day and wandered into Sephora. It was so much bigger than the outlet over at Takashimaya. Unfortunately it was still not very exciting as there were not many brands over there. While there I saw this palette from Too Faced. The Eye Shadow Insurance Policy High Impact Eye Shadow Collection which includes 6 eye shadow colors and a primer.

I love the colors, especially the green and blue. But they look like what I already have. So similar to Urban Decay and TheBalm and even MAC. I guess I will always be drawn to these colors which are surprisingly very pigmented and have a huge color pay-off. They are soft and blendable. Very nice. So much better than the other palettes I have from Too Faced.

It is going for SGD 68 which is not too bad, even though it is USD 35 online. But when you factor in the sales tax (since it does not ship internationally) and exchange rate and shipping cost, the difference is negligible.

The Canteen - Prawn Noodles Soup

The Canteen over at Shaw House or is it Shaw Centre (at Isetan Scotts area) is currently having discount during lunch so it made it quite ok to dine there.

I wanted something soupy and so decided on the prawn noodles soup which seemed quite good when a gf ordered it previously. I requested for a mix of vermicelli which they did not have. Instead I had a mix of yellow noodles and rice noodles in a broth which was pretty tasty.

It came with prawns, pork ribs (a bit too porky for my taste) and sliced fishcakes. Simple and good.

Hua Li Xuan @ Illuma, Bugis

Another new mall which opened earlier this year in Singapore - Illuma over at Bugis. It also has the dancing lights which has invaded Orchard Road. Most of the shopping centers in Orchard has installed bright lights which flickered and dazzled people - all because STB or whichever government agency in Singapore has suggested, recommended or stipulated (or whatever the correct term is, I forgot what I read in the document :p) that there should be bright lights in Orchard Road to attract more visitors and make it a shopping destination a la those in other cosmopolitan cities.

So like the herd mentality, almost all the malls installed that and made it a driving nightmare at night along Orchard Road. Maybe they should come with warning that the dancing lights may cause epilectic seizeures for those prone to it like what they do in the States/Canada every time an advertisement containing spinning/fast blinking images will be shown.

The first time I saw the flickering lights on Illuma in the office, I thought what had happened. Why there were flashes of light in the office. And it did create headaches and dizziness so we had taken to lowering the blinds when that happened.

Anyway, despite working so close to Illuma, I never really bother to explore it or even want to check it out. It did not seem that interesting or exciting to me. So we were there a couple of weeks ago because there was no where else I wanted to go and gf suggested it.

Not all the shops were opened yet and the few we saw were ok. Lots of clothing stores with clothes that came from China, Korea and Hong Kong. Some were not too bad but just not my style at all. There was a cineplex on the upper level and the restaurants were also there, just a level down.
We decided to try Hua Li Xuan which I recalled reading about in the papers about its mini Asian burgers. Also we did not want to be in Illuma and try the usual restaurants which you can find in other places.

The mini burgers sampler set. Quite affordable as this was less than $5. You could choose any 3 burgers from the selection available. We decided on sweet and sour pork, chicken teriyaki and black pepper beef.

The teriyaki chicken which was average. It did not give a wow effect. We also chose steamed buns.

Sweet and sour pork which was not too bad.

The best of the lot was the black pepper beef which tickled the senses and packed a punch.

My main - dan dan mian. I was told to order the dry version as apparently the soup version was not great. It looked boring but it sure looked deceiving. The sauce underneath was flavorful and you could taste the seasame in it. It also felt healthy with the generous serving of cucumbers and carrots.

Another bestseller was the chili crayfish noodles which gf ordered. It sure was spicy.

Shape Run 2009 Runners' Kit + Nike Finisher Bracelet

The route for Shape Run 2009. See the many turns for this year.

The booths and various points around the Millenia Walk area. So confusing.

I finally got around to taking a picture of the goodies inside the Runners' Kit, the things which everyone told me made Shape Run so popular. Since Shape Run is the only "Run" I have participated in, I don't really know what are the usual items given out at other runs or marathons.

All I know is that the registration fee for Shape Run has gone up steadily. Maybe that is to cover the goodies (but, they are all sponsored!) or the manpower or for the baggage deposit counter. Did you know that you have to pay to deposit your bags at the Great Eastern Run? Yes, you have to pay and reserve in advance since there are only 2000 slots for that.

So what is inside the Runners' Kit? Lots of samples which I hardly use.

- Complete multi-purpose solution

- LYNK pain and itch cream

- Osteocare calcium magnesium tablets

- Vicks vapodrops

- Madara face moisturizer

- MotorImage phone dangler

- Ligo raisins

- H2O isotonic drink (the only thing I drank on that day itself)

- O.B. tampons

- Kellogg's Special K cereals

- Nature Valley oats and honey bar

- Natural sunflower and canola oil

- Counterpain

- Nescafe 3-in-1 high calcium and collagen sachets

- Dr. Jointpain cream

- Equal sweetener

- Ginvera spa shower series sachets (Apricot, Lavender and collagen/ginger)

- Sunplay sunscreen lotions

- Numerous spa or fitness centers vouchers for either free trials or special rates from Fitness First, Amore, True Fitness, Fitness Werkz, focuspilates, Body Contours, Royal Secrets, Ahava, Parkway Health, Madara, Rustic Nirvana)

There are definitely more food items than last year and more vouchers too. I think I should start planning my schedule to try the various places :p

And this is the item which quite upset several runners who did not get it. The Finisher Bracelet from Nike.

I like the quote printed on the box. That is very inspiring indeed.

"What's amazing isn't that YOU finished. What's amazing is that YOU had the courage to start."

Often the stumbling block is getting to the starting line. To start anything at all.

A bit blurry, the other side of the charm - Shape Run 09 Finisher. A very nice momento to remember the race.

What got the runners upset was that not everyone managed to get the bracelet as some people took more than they should. So the 8,800 pieces prepared by Nike could not meet the demand.

What was funny was that I did not even notice that the bracelets were given out by "Hunks" which was the USP for Nike media angle. They looked like boys or teenagers to me, not hunks at all. Apparently they were dressed in tuxs too but I just could not remember anything at all. Lol. Too tired after running to notice much.

I did not even know there will be a finisher bracelet to be given out until the race itself when my gf told me about it. Even then I was only vaguely aware that Nike would be giving out something. So I managed to get a box after I completed the race because I saw it was Nike. Otherwise I would have missed out on it too.

Another gf then told me it was mentioned in My Paper which since I did not read, I would not know about it.

Hope the results will be out by this weekend. I would like to know the actual net time I did.

Bangers & Mash @ Taka Food Hall

I was in Takashimaya a few weeks ago and decided to just try one of those tiny food stalls near the escalator. Wandering around, deciding between fish and chips or the Japanese fried food when I decided to try the bangers and mash. I was sold by the mashed potatoes as I was craving a good nice mashed potatoes which would be creamy and rich and smooth.

Unfortunately the mashed potatoes from this place was anything but that. It seemed to come from an instant mix. Bleah. The sausages were garlic herb chicken which were not too bad. Then again, how badly could you mess up sausages?

Sigh, I need to go buy potatoes so that I can make my own mashed potatoes. Buttery rich, creamy with milk and sprinkled with freshly grind black pepper. A pinch of taste for taste and mashed it all up and you will be good to go.

Shape Run 2009

Yes, I believe in torturing myself. I signed up for Shape Run 2009 on the 2nd day of registration and managed to get one of the coveted slots. It set a new record for itself as all 8000 spots were taken up within 48 hours after registration was opened.

At least this year the tee was fuchsia, much nicer than last year which was lime green. Not that it mattered much as I only wore the top for the run, so it would be a one-time affair.

We got there bright and early. Well, not so bright as it was still in the wee hours of 640am or so when we walked to the Shape Run 2009 area. The baggage deposit area with neat rows indicating the participants' race numbers. It was quite orderly and it took me less than 5 minutes to claim my bag after the run.

My running buddy and I. Though she usually left me after the start point since she ran and I brisk-walked or ran/jogged a little throughout the 5km.

The crowd waiting for the race to start. It was late this year and we could hardly hear anything at all. It was a strange location to have the event over at the Millenia Walk area where all the booths were scattered around the place.

The place for the 5km participants. We were quite behind this year and it proved to be a factor in the timing. Last year we were just behind the 10km participants and so finished faster.

Still waiting though the 10km participants had been flagged off. We moved up towards the front.

We were stuck at the traffic light for a while and now finally started walking again towards the start point. Finally we got to see the sign.

Still walking, you saw how people were just walking towards the start point. I realized it was because there was no point to start running before that as the energy would be wasted. The timing would only be counted on when you hit the start point and later after you hit the Finish line.

The organizers have decided to do a "net time" which would give runners their real timing. Time they hit the start line and time they finished. That would be printed on the certificate. So that means, my timing would be slightly better than the time I saw on the clock when I finished. This year it was worse as I completed in 55:55. The route seemed longer than last year when we ran around the Marina IR area and through Shenton Way.

There were so many U-turns in the run round the Kallang Basin and towards Golden Mile Complex and then to Concourse area before turning back and passed the Singapore Flyer. It was quite boring - just the road and concrete and trees. No historical buildings or sculptures to look at.

Plus there were so many "loopholes" that I saw 3 runners who did not did the entire run. 2 "aunties" or in their 50s or so just cut across to the other side before the halfway mark when they saw runners coming back from the 1st U-turn (still a distance away). They did it so blatantly and the 3 marshals on the other side never noticed at all since they were looking at the returning runners and not in our direction. The 2 aunties just joined the returning runners as if they have ran.

The 2nd incident was just before the water station. A runner in her 20s suddenly turned around and looked as if she was looking for someone or something and then just hopped over to the other lane where the returning runners were.

It was quite disgusting actually to know such participants existed, especially if they were competitive runners and managed to earn a top 3 spots. To me, participating in such runs, was to challenge myself. To push myself to my physical limit. I know I cannot run, but I can walk. It is a mass workout.

Anyway, at the end of the Run, it was madness. As usual, there was no proper signage or queue. You saw people lining up but you had no idea what they were queuing for. Luckily HZ had a colleagues who were running too, and they helped us to collect the Runner Kits.

This year I did not hang around to check out the booths - Kelloggs, Biore, Marigold yogurt and other more. So the only free things I got was the Runner Kit and the water and H2O plus a Finisher Bracelet from Nike.

I was hungry 10 minutes before I completed the run. Hahahaha. I did not have any breakfast or much drink before the event started. So after getting the kit, we went to Food Republic at Suntec as I totally forgot where Ya Kun was in the area. But there was ToastBox inside FR. So I got the badly needed iced coffee (so good it woke me up) and Boluo Yao.

I was still hungry and bought this fried beehoon set which included a chicken wing and egg, I added some ikan bilis/peanuts. Not too bad.

I guess having the run in the Marina area meant the malls in the surroundings would benefit from the 8000 runners plus their supporters in the morning sales.