Jinan China April 2019

Standing in front of the pine trees in an open field 

Last month, in April I visited the industrial city of Jinan, in Shandong Province. I was pleasantly surprised to find it very modern, with many shops and night cafes dotting the main city square. 

The city is right in between the metropolises of Beijing in the north and Shanghai in the south. So the people classify themselves as "Dong Bei" or North Eastern people. Some 300 km to the east, and you will find yourself at Qingdao Island - famous for its Tsingdao beer.


Jinan's seafood is really inexpensive and very fresh. This basket of shellfish, cockles and other stuff costs only RMB 75 or S$ 15 (US$ 11) steamed fresh.

A local legend or urban myth has it that some German and British people went to China to trade in the early 20th century and discovered that the country had no beer at that time, so they decided to set up the first brewery in China in Qingdao using the crystal clear water from the nearby famous mountain and called their beer, what else, Tsingdao Beer.

True or not ? 

Kamoshita Izakaya 3rd Visit

Hong Ji Chicken Rice Chinatown Keong Saik Street

Situated next to the Tong Chian Frog Porridge stall at the corner coffeer shop at Keong Saik street is this chicken rice stall. It serves pretty good chicken rice, for $3.50 and for $1.00 more, you can get additional roast pork.

Last Saturday I ordered the roast chicken and pork with rice and was pleasantly surprised that the rice was individually grained, the chicken was flavourful and the soup accompaniment was tasty. The standard black sauce and chilli paste were up to expectations.

The roast pork had a crunchy skin, which is very difficult to find, the centre fat portion (I normally separate it out before eating), then comes the lean meat. The roast pork was well roasted and tasty too. 

All in all, I would rate this more favourably than to the Tiong Bahru stall in terms of quality, the quaintness of eating in the local coffee shop and the lack of any queue forming on a Saturday morning. You will definitely find that there is a queue at the Tiong Bahru stall at any time of day when they are open, all because of the Bib Gourmand by Michelin which in my humble opinion, highly overrated. 

So do try this chicken rice stall at the corner coffee shop at Keong Saik Street, just at the turning junction with North South Bridge Road (diagonally opposite People's Park Center) and just opposite the road from C.K Department Store.

You will be pleasantly surprised. 

Great Song by the late David Bowie. You will long be remembered !

Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice

Coming up the escalator turn to your right, the stall is there 

White Chicken, with some cucumber and some pickle 

This chicken rice made it to the Micheline Bib Gourmand list so I thought I'd give it a try one of the lunches when I was dining alone.

There was a short queue of about 5 people, so after 5 minutes I got to try the chicken rice. To be honest as a Singaporean, this chicken rice was rather average. The rice did not have the chicken stock smell, although the rice grains were individually apart, it tasted rather dry.

The chicken was tasty, though for $3.50, I guess it would rate as a 6 upon 10.

Would I bother to make the effort to go there and eat its chicken rice ? No.

There are literally hundreds of stalls dotted all over Singapore, not to mention restaurants and Member Clubs, serving Hainanese Chicken Rice

The offering of this dish is so competitive, that even a Bib Gourmand (Tiong Bahru stall) would in my book not rate at the top 10 of the Chicken Rice places to dine

  

Visit to Siheung City Korea 26 - 29 th Nov 2018

With our customers from Singapore and our host, Paul Lee of ETSP Korea

Last year's visit to S Korea was the first in almost 7 years, the last being in 2012 if I recall correctly. This time around, we came with 2 customers from Singapore for a technical buy-off at the factory site and were taken out by our hosts for a sumptuous dinner comprising of Korean barbecue.

Korea is a land mass which is connected to China. My impressions of Korean people are that they are warm, honest and brutally frank people. I like their sense of camaderie and once you win their trust they are with you all the way. Hence Paul and myself we go back since QRA started business relations with them way back in 2012. 

Standing beside a Pine Tree on my Birthday (27th November 2018) in Siheung City S Korea ! 

I have been to S Korea a total of 5 times in the past and each time, the place is very cold. It is best to bring winter wear once October approaches and when we were there in November,  the weather was below 10 deg C in the daytime and in the nighttime, it fell to close to 0 deg C. The economy of S Korea has been sluggish of late, and many Koreans have departed to look for better opportunities in business and work in other parts of Asia. There are quite a number of Korean people living and working in Singapore in retail, telcos, F & B and in the fashion accessories industry.

Since my company has always been in the equipment technology industry, we have been impressed by Paul's company , in particular his technical brilliance, his and his staff's work ethic as well as their openness to our business opportunities and risk management. 

Trying out the street food at -3 deg C ; an event to remember ! 

It is my fervent wish that if globaliszation is to be given a chance, then we can develop more business revenue and profits with his company as well as other Korean companies in the coming months and years. 

As a Small and Medium Enterprise taking its opportunities overseas, I can only hope for more cooperation with companies near and far and to make leverage on each of other's strengths - they provide the latest technological equipment at competitive prices ) and we provide market access - in this way both small companies can continue to grow and prosper together with a common goal of furthering our business advantages and uniquenesses.

Rudy standing 10 stories above ground at the Observation Tower. 

The Best Time for a Hard Run is a Rainy Morning or Evening 6th June 2019

Pensive after a hard 7 km run ; 6.50 pm  

Like the famous country singer, Eddy Rabbit, " I love a rainy night", I love a drizzly evening. Last Thursday, 2 evening's ago, it rained for the most of the afternoon, and I took the time to get off early from work and cap 2 rounds at the West Coast Park starting at 5.44 pm and finishing roughly at 6.30 pm for about 7 km.

The park is quite deserted, what with the slight drizzle which has cooled the roads which have soaked up all the heat of the day. Only a few people are in the park, kindred spirits like myself and I was in my element coming back from a short bout of 'flu just 1 week ago.

It felt really good to be back running and leaving a sweat trail, soaked to the bone in sweat and rain. 

Now, I have a 100 plus in hand, and cool down by the empty tennis court.

What a great feeling.