Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sentosa Flowers (圣淘沙春节花会) 2012

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Sentosa Flowers (圣淘沙春节花会), the most celebrated flower festival during the Lunar New Year is back from 22 to 29 January 2012. The annual floral festival returns for the eighth time to usher in the Year of the Dragon transforming Sentosa into an enchanting floral extravaganza.

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The event started with bang with a dragon dance performance to usher in the year of the dragon and to reveal the first Sand Sculpture in the event's history.

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Dance of the Dragon.
The Sand Sculpture named "Dance of the Dragon" (祥龙欢舞), spans six meters in length, three meters in width and three meters in height. The majestic sand sculpture of a dancing dragon is specially sculpted and brought to life at the hand of international acclaimed sand sculptor JOOheng Tan for the event.

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This year Sentosa Flowers is themed as "Enchanted Spring" (绮域之旅), and unfolds the story of three playful kids as they venture out to discover the beauty of spring.

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Dragon Gate.
The fish is always a symbol of joy, fortune and prosperity (年年有余) and what an excellent idea to combine the tale of the carps leaping over the Dragon Gate (鯉躍龍門) as one of the floral displays.

The tale has it that the carps leap over the dragon gate to transform into dragons reminds us of the determination needed to overcome hurdles, and achieve success. The carp is a tough fish that could resist the strong currents of the China's Yellow River, showing perseverance and determination in its endeavours. .

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Floral Zodiac Dragon.
After the dragon gate, the friendly three meter tall Floral Zodiac Dragon greets you with good luck, longevity and wisdom.

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Awakening.
This is an interactive giant painting of the dragon. Take the big brush and give the painting a finishing touch. You never know, the dragon may comes to live just like the legend of the famous painter named Zhang.

Legend has it that there was a famous painter named Zhang, whose painting were true to life. The animals he drew would come of the pictures as soon as he gave the finishing touches. One day in front of a crowd, Zhang painted a dragon without eyes. They insisted that he add the eyes and so he did. In the twinkling of an eye, it started to moved and flown into the sky.

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Spring Melodies.
Celebrate the beauty of life and be enchanted in the natural sounds of moving water, humming birds and rustling leaves. A lively season that brings hope, joy, beauty, and the carefree spirit of springtime.

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Tea Journey.
How is tea associated with the year of Dragon? In China , there is a famous green tea with more than a those years of recorded history known as Xi Xu Long Jung Green Tea (West Lake Dragon Well Tea). Prized for its aroma, flavour and health benefits, it has even granted the status of Imperial Tea during the Qing Dynasty by the Chinese emperor. The majestic nature of this tea goes to the next level with the creation of the Tea Journey at the Enchanted Spring.

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Sweet Love
Thinking of pledging your love or renewing your vows to your loved one? Take a stroll with your loved ones through the tunnel of love and soak in the romantic scents from the beautiful blossoms.

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Dinoland
Kids will love this, the extinct dinosaurs were spotted at Sentosa! Is Sentosa going to be ruled by the dinosaurs and becomes another Jurassic Park?

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Dragonflies
Oh no! Even gigantic dragonflies are migrating to Sentosa

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Flower Fairies
Worry not, we have the flower fairies looking after the flowers, keeping them strong and healthy.

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Seaworld
Unknown to most, Sentosa's waters are host to an incredible array of marine life and home to almost 200 species of corals, turtles, crabs and more.

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There are many other colourful and interactive photo points such as the Tress of Life and Lost Garden at the Enchanted Spring Sentosa Flowers. Come down to Sentosa Flowers, amidst a magical floral wonderland that is cloaked in the sweet scents and brilliant hues of spring.

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Dragon Gate Inn.
This year Mount Faber also debut in the Sentosa Flower floral festival. Guests can complete the Sentosa Flowers experience by taking an idyllic ride on the Singapore Cable Car and visit the Dragon Gate Inn (龙门客栈) at The Jewel Box. Guests can take photos with a large dragon-shaped kite or enjoy a cup of Jasmine tea and light refreshments.


Event details
Date: 22 - 29 January 2012
Time: 10am - 10pm
Venue: Merlion Plaza, Imbiah Lookout, Beach Plaza, Resorts World Sentosa and The Jewel Box (Mount Faber)
Event admission: Free entry (usual island admission charges apply)
Website: http://flowers.sentosa.com.sg



Monday, January 16, 2012

Johor Bahru (JB) Day Trip Dec 2011

Last month my partner and I went to Johor Bahru for a day trip just to revel in shopping and the local food. We took the train to Kranji MRT station and then transfer to SBS bus 170 that took us to the Singapore immigration checkpoint at the causeway. After clearing the immigration and custom at Singapore side, you need to queue again for the bus to bring you to Johor Bahru. Some people may get confuse with the queue but taking either SBS bus 160 or 170 from this stage onwards is the same. Just hop on to whichever comes first and it will bring you to Malaysia, Johor Bahru immigration checkpoint.

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Curry Chicken Noodle

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Chicken Redang with Rice

We have a quick lunch at JB Sentral Mall which is conveniently connected to the JB immigration checkpoint. We had Curry Chicken Noodle and Chicken Redang at one of the basement cafes. After lunch, we walked back to the bus interchange at the JB immigration checkpoint to take bus S1 to the new KLS City Mall. We paid $1.50 ringgit per pax and the bus alight us at the entrance of the mall. Same fee and place to take the bus back to the JB immigration checkpoint.

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After shopping and doing pedicure at KLS City Mall, we took a taxi from KLS City Mall to 大马巴杀 to have Zi Char at 文记野味海鲜 (Restoran Mun). Taxi fee is about $8 Ringgit. If you are familiar with JB, actually it is within walking distance from KLS City Mall to 大马巴杀.

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Can you guess what are these? You will see it at most of the stalls there. They are called Beggar Chicken.

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Beggar Chicken

If you order the Beggar Chicken, the server will crack out the clay with a hammer and chisel. Not sure why the Malaysian called it the Beggar Chicken but it tasted similar to the Herbal Chicken in Singapore.

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Black Hokkien Mee

Black Hokkien Mee is probably one of the signature noodle Malaysian dish that every Singaporean would order whenever they visit Malaysia as we hardly find it in Singapore. The Black Hokkien Mee here is pretty sinful as it was fried in a plate full of pork lards.

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Sambal Tapioca Leaves

A simple vegetable dish but the Sambal Tapioca Leaves was well done with a good balance of spiciness.

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Ceral Crayfish

We just got to order the Creal Crayfish as almost every table was having it. If you have a chance to visit the place, this is a best order dish.