Spot Color / Spot Colour

Spot Color / Spot Colour is a printing and photo development company in Singapore, operating in conjection with Kodak Express Digital Solutions. Unlike a normal Kodak Express Digital Solutions store, a Spot Color / Spot Colour store will also offer specialised personalised printing such as printing mini t-shirts, printing pillow cases or printing mugs.









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Touch & Print

Touch & Print is a popular printing company in Singapore, located in the Bencoolen area, specialising in various printing services. I personally engaged Touch & Print for printing of printing t-shirts, printing mini t-shirts, printing pillow cases, printing tote bags, printing banners, printing brochures, printing newsletters, printing posters or printing mugs.








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Personalized gift creations for 2012.











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Gift A Name - Closed

Gift A Name was among the first retail outlets in Singapore that offered a personalised service for keychains and bracelets. While Gift A Name has sinced ceased operations in Singapore, it's legacy lives on in many other brands that now offer personalisation or customization services for gifts. I personally engaged them for designing personalized name keychains or personalized name handphone straps.









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Cheap And Good Korean Food

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 9
Service: 9
Value for Money: 9
Spent about SGD $7 per person.





I never go out of my way to eat at a foodcourt stall, but I'll make an exception for Kim Dae Mun. Located in the basement of Concorde Hotel, in between Plaza Singapura and Centrepoint, Kim Dae Mun has been serving up tasty and affordable Korean food for years.

Ambience around Kim Dae Mun is a typical food court, clean and brightly lit, but with a slight smell due to the encolsed area. Concorde Hotel is rather old, and the place, while spacious, does show signs of age.

Kim Dae Mun practises self-service, place your order, wait, then collect it. Food is prepared very quickly, non-peak periods only have a waiting time of 1 - 2 minutes! Even during peak periods, the queue is rarely longer than 10 minutes of waiting time.

The dishes are Kim Dae Mun are consistently tasty, and rather authentic, judging by the Korean customers they attract. Prices are very affordable, costing an average of SGD $6 - $8 per meal. Freshness is key at Kim Dae Mun, the food you're served is sourced daily. Kim Dae Mun is easily the most economical Korean food in Orchard, and may even beat other Korean franchises in terms of taste!

Kim Dae Mun Signage

Every meal comes with 1 side dish, and there are only 3 sides dishes to choose from, Kimchi Cabbage, Kimchi Cucumber and Anchovies. These are decent at best.

Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage

Kimchi Oi Sobaegi / Kimchi Pickled Cucumber

Myeolchi Bokkeum / Fried Anchovies

The Hot Plate Pork (SGD $7.50) has a generous portion of nicely marinated and grilled pork, really tasty!

Daeji-Bulgogi / Marinated Pork Hot Plate

The Spicy Tofu And Seafood Soup (SGD $7) has a lot of soft tofu and egg floating in a savoury, slightly spicy soup. I liked that the prawns and squid rings, while small, are very fresh and tasty. The same can't be said of the small clams inside, which were frozen, and not so fresh.

Sundubu-Jjigae / Spicy Tofu And Seafood Soup

Their award winning Fried Saba Fish (SGD $6.50) features a whole deboned fish, perfectly seasoned, perfectly grilled, and sitting on a mound of fresh vegetables. Absolutely a delight to eat, really affordable, highly recommended!

Godeungeo-Gui / Fried Saba Fish

The Hot Plate Beef (SGD $8), while well marinated and seasoned, is on the dry side. The sweet sauce does help to lift it slightly, but I still wouldn't go for this.

Bulgogi / Marinated Beef Hot Plate

Cafe Etc
203 Upper Thomson Road

http://www.cafeetc.com.sg


Nice Chilling Place, Good Bar Food

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $27 per person.


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With the former operations manager of Jones The Grocer and the culinary skill of the former Culina chef, you know you're in for a good meal at Cafe Etc. Situated along the strech of Upper Thomson Road, the 3 month old Cafe Etc is the latest in a long line of cafes trying their luck in this high turnover area.

Offering both indoor and outdoor dining, Cafe Etc wins points for their comfortable furniture. It's a great place for chilling at night, especially if you seat outdoors, watching the traffic go by, and taking advantage of their happy hour specials! The interior is rather dimly lit, but spacious and well laid out. The bar draws the eye, though I wish the bar counter displayed the various alcohol available front and center, instead of behind in the shelf!

Service at Cafe Etc is friendly and welcoming, with staff dressed casually. They do converse with you if it isn't crowded, and I find them to be knowledgable on the menu. I also liked that they checked for feedback on the dining experience!

Food at Cafe Etc is western with an Italian twist. Thumbs up for their made in-house pizza dough, and their variety of drinks available! Portions are generous, but prices are on the higher end for a cafe, costing about SGD $25 per person. Would still recommend Cafe Etc, especially if you're in the area.


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The rather dimly lit interior is spacious and comfortable. Drinks are displayed along the back shelf of the bar.

Cafe Etc Interior

Cafe Etc Chairs

Beer Hoegaarden

Mac's Black Mac Dark Ale has hints of caramel and chocolate, a deep robust flavour, and slight balance of bitterness and sweet. Lovely, deep, and smooth.

Mac's Black Mac Dark Ale 01

Mac's Black Mac Dark Ale 02

The best thing about the Wild Mushroom Soup is the crisp and fragrant garlic bread that comes with it. Although the soup has solid mushroom taste, I didn't like the gloopy texture of it.

Wild Mushroom Soup

All day breakfast! The Eggs On Toast With Overeasy Eggs, Sourdough Bread, Blueberry Jam, Butter, the eggs were done perfectly, still semi-runny inside, and the sweetness of the blueberry jam complements the crisp bread. I loved the sourdough bread, but unfortunately, it isn't made in-house. The great tasting bread makes me suspect their sandwiches will be good as well...

Eggs On Toast With Overeasy Eggs, Sourdough Bread, Blueberry Jam, Butter

The Bruschetta Mozzarella is rather filling, due to to thick, gooey mozzarella cheese spread over hot garlic bread. The bread is crisp and tasty, and the garlic spread is fresh without being too overpowering.

Bruschetta Mozzarella

Loved the moist and well cooked Buffalo Chicken Wings, with a hint of spicyness. Great bar snack, goes really well with beer!

Buffalo Chicken Wings

The Sausage Platter With Pomme Puree And Mesclun Salad features a trio of chicken, beef and spiced lamb sausage. While the chicken sausage and beef sausage were well grilled and tasty, the spiced lamb sausage was slightly strong, the taste of the spices overwhelming the taste of the lamb. Might take some getting used to. The pomme puree or mashed potato was smooth, with a creamy texture. Excellent!

Sausage Platter With Pomme Puree And Mesclun Salad

As an Italian cafe, their Lasagna Beef is pretty good. Though the layers are short, there is sufficient minced beef amongst the pasta noodles, such that even taking a small mouthful means you get a good bite of both meat, noodle, and sauce. The tomato sauce used is fresh and made in-house, which causes the taste to pop in the mouth. Good!

Lasagna Beef

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Citibank / Citibank Singapore

Citibank, also known as Citibank Singapore, is among the largest banks in Singapore. Part of the Citigroup conglomerate, it was the first foreign bank to establish a subsidiary in Singapore.

It is a pioneer in the offshore banking business, and entices people with a cash back feature.

Citibank Logo

Rewards Card

Dividend Card

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OCBC / OCBC Bank / Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation

OCBC Bank, or OCBC, also known as the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, is among the largest banks in Singapore.

With a diverse range of services, it is also recognised internationally as among the strongest and most stable financial institutions.

OCBC Logo

Yes! Card

FRANK Card - Simply FRANK

FRANK Card - Le-Go-Go

FRANK Card - Dollar Man

FRANK Card - Colour My World

FRANK Card - In Case Of Emergency

FRANK Card - Broadcasting Now

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POSB / POSBank / Post Office Savings Bank

POSBank, or POSB, formerly known as the Post Office Savings Bank, was the former state bank of Singapore.

Acquired by DBS Bank, formerly known as The Development Bank of Singapore, in 1998.

It offers low-cost banking services, in particular, savings accounts for students and children.

POSB Logo

Multitude Card

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Pretty Japanese Fruit Tarts

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 7
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 6
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $14 per person.





Fruit Paradise is a Japanese Patisserie specialising in fruit tarts made with light, sweetened Japanese cream topped with fresh fruits. Free of addictives and preservatives, Fruit Paradise also wins points because their fruit tarts are just so camera friendly. However, while their fruit tarts certainly look healthy, they aren't... packed with a lot of cream within.

Ambience at Fruit Paradise is casual, with functional furniture and white wooden colours. Most people opt for takeaway though. If dining in, ask to sit near the kitchen, which is viewable through the open glass. You can watch the chefs carefully stacking the fruit tarts!

Service at Fruit Paradise is as casual as the ambience, which is decent for takeaway, but not so good for dining in. Most Fruit Paradise have staff take your order, and serve it to the table, but payment is at the counter. Don't expect much from the service here.

While Fruit Paradise mainly deals in desserts, they do have a small selection of Japanese curry rice dishes. The main dishes aren't that great, stick to their beautiful fruit tarts instead! While I certainly understand using cream as a technique to hold the fruits together, I do wish they had more fruits instead of cream!





The signature Mixed Fruits tart consists of a crumbly biscuit base and light custard mousse topped with 9 varieties of fresh fruits, including red apple, green apple, mango, orange, grapefruit, kiwi, strawberry, blueberry and banana. The taste is a refreshing burst of sour citrus and sweet sugar.

Mixed Fruits 01

Mixed Fruits 02

The Seasonal Fruits tart offers a crumbly biscuit base and hand made vanilla mousse topped with a variety of seasonal fruits. It varies from day to day, and may include fruits such as red grapes, green grapes, grapefruit, lime, lemon, longan, mango, pineapple, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, peach, kiwi, rock melon and honeydew melon.

Seasonal Fruits 01

Seasonal Fruits 02

The Mixed Berries Chocolate tart has a crumbly biscuit base and rich chocolate mousse topped with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and chocolate. It is infused with some alcohol.

Mixed Berries Chocolate

The Nutty Caramel tart has a crumbly biscuit base and salted caramel mousse topped with caramelised macadamia nuts, bananas, strawberry, whipped cream and chocolate. I like how the caramelised nuts add a crunchy, sweet texture to the softness of the salted caramel mousse and bananas.

Nutty Caramel

The Chocolate Banana tart has a crumbly biscuit base and chocolate mousse topped with crushed almonds, bananas, chocolate and whipped cream. Rather decent fruit tart.

Chocolate Banana

The Milk Pudding Puff contains light vanilla mousse topped with a small slice of strawberry, blueberry, kiwi and orange. The pastry is light, and holds up well when eaten.

Milk Pudding Puff