Venue by Sebastien - Mother's Day Dinner 11th May 2024 Post 1 of 2

 

Located at Downtown Gallery behind the CPF Building is this gem of a restaurant called Venue by Sebastian. Sebastian Ng is a highly decorated chef  with global experience in London, Tokyo, Melbourne and Turin and started his restaurant in 2017. He has plenty of regular clients and his fare is European with an Asian twist.

We started with the duck confit with lentil and lettuce. The duck was really flavourful with the crispy skin and tender meat. I enjoyed every single bite of this signature dish.

Priced at low $30s this is a must try dish.  

Pork Collar dish was equally superb as it was grilled just nicely with some pink flesh inside. The sauce of mayonnaise was a perfect foil to the heaty meat. However, I would recommend this dish who love tender pork grilled to perfection with some fat.

Priced at high $20s again this dish is truly value for money.

Seating ambience.

The seating is much like a canteen and not like fine dining, which is perfect for Singaporeans who are happy eating in simple settings so that the prices of the meals can be affordable. 

Would I go back again ? Yes. Surely. 

What dishes would I try again ?

Duck Confit. 

Very Good Dry Pork Noodles (Bak Chor Mee) at Evans Road Food Centre

There is a small food centre (Sprouts Food Place) by the side of Botanic Gardens and the Swimming Pool, off Evans road and just before Cluny Road.  Why I know it is there is because, I frequent the place after my morning runs along Dalvey Estate Road, and White House Lane.

The food court is entirely air conditioned, and you can park your car at the open air car park lots beside. Around 8 am - 10 am there are numerous people who will adjourn there after their walk at the Botanic Gardens nearby. 

There is a drinks stall, a noodles, stall, a zhi char stall (Meiben Food Stall) and a Malay food stall (Botak Jones).

I am the only exception, as I am the only runner who runs around the weekend at that time and finishes at the front of the food court, more or less.

The Dry Pork Noodles is the best I have tasted in a long while, to be honest. I normally order the Mee Kia Eu Mee (its also called) or thin yellow noodles (you can also choose from Mee Pok, Sit Mee, Mee Kia and possibly Mee Sua - thick white noodles).

There are 2 prices available, $ 5 for small bowl and $ 6 for a large bowl. I recently tried the large bowl and was bowled over by the numerous ingredients put in it.  Let me try to describe the experience :

The noodles are springy in texture, the ingredients are plentiful There are :

a) 3 large pork balls

b) at least 4 - 6 slices of pork loin

c) generous minced pork portions

d) mushrooms

e) spring onions chopped

f) pork lard (you can request these to be8 omitted).

Do try to drop by one day and see for yourself if indeed the Bak Chor Mee is one of the best or just another run of the mill ?

The closest MRT is Botanic Gardens and you will need to walk about 5 minutes along Evans Road stretch.

There are plentiful signs informing passing cars of the presence of Sprouts Food Place.

Do give it a drop by.

You will not regret it. 

Biomedical Manufacturers ; Your Products must be Accelerated Aged Tested for ASTM F 1980 - 21

 

The video above shows the Lab (No. 1) in Singapore running 10 test chambers 24 hours 7 days a week for key biomdeical customers from Singapore, USA and Thailand. Accelerated aging is a process in which finished biomedical products are aged in test cabinets called chambers for months for simulate the actual shelf life of the product in their client's storage facility.

If after the aging tests (for every one year of aging test represents 8 years of shelf life in the storage area of hospitals or clinics) defects show it, it is infinitely better to rectify the products in factory rather than endanger the client's patients in the field.

Think of the damage to the brand's reputation if this batch of new (for example) contact lenses causes a major eye defect once the product is sold and distributed globally !

Screening = Accelerated Aging 

The calculation is simple. According to ASTM F 1980 -21 

Storage Temp                    End of Life                             Aging Duration (set at 55 C)    rH

25 C                                    36 months                                    4.5 months                        50%

25 C                                    60 months                                    7.5 months                        50%

QRA performs BOTH Accelerated Aging and Shelf Life Testing 

Lab No. 1 and Lab No. 2

Shelf Life Testing 

Storage                 RH                                Duration

25 C                      60%                                5 Years

5 C                        No.                                 5  Years

Talk to the Professionals : We have over 15 Years Experience Globally in Accelerated Aging Tests (since 2009) 

Email : mark@qra.com.sg

             evalyn@qra.com.sg

Website : www.qra.com.sg

Association of friends gets stronger as we age.

 

Sat 4th May dinner at Zhi Char stall 

I had the privilege of meeting up with old friends from school and junior college Saturday 4th.The food was from this stall called Hoong Cheng Seafood (cooked food) stall at Block 107 Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. 

Many of us had never met since the last day of school and junior college, so time indeed has flown by. We have a pilot, a chief steward, a couple of entrepreneurs, and some retired friends who have done their industry proud.

I am thankful to Peter Tan, a mate 2 years my senior, based in Perth Australia for organizing this 'do'.

As our children grow up and find their path and partners, our work and health will call time (many of us are with health issues, from high blood pressure, gout, joint issues, eye issues and so on and so forth) so its time for us to realise that our time is now to step back and enjoy whatever remaining healthy years of our lives we still have.

During the dinner, I was shocked to learn that several of our JC mates of the 80s had passed away (cancer and heart attack) - life is indeed short. 

I'm giving back my time each week in the form of helping out my karate dojo at Tanglin CC and I intend to do more volunteer work by next year,

As we enter into the 3rd Age, I have firm belief that the 'old boys' network will be stronger than before.

Here's to more meetups in the future !

CARPE DIEM !

ILLIJITIMI NON CARBORENDUM !

Voltaire on Knowledge

 

In many ways, this quote is so true. The fact of the matter is that with more 'learning' and knowledge we acquire, and since knowledge is an accumulation of facts and hypotheses, the issue then lies for, facts to be facts, many a times, the fact may in actuality is an 'assumption' which has not proven wrong until someone challenges it - like Darwin's theory of evolution, till today it is not universally accepted and that is why it is still postulated as a 'theory' !

So, the more you learn, the more you realise that there is so much that you do not know and hence, in the overall universe of things, you actually know next to nothing with the exception of your area of specialization.

That area of specialization can and will be obsolete the moment you do not practice it and you retire into the wilderness of passive brain function.

Thoughts on a sweltering May Day 2024 (1st May)

 

In the Car after a daunting 6 Km run at Dalvey Estate Road 

Today is May 1st, it is a public holiday in many countries including Singapore. I used the opportunity to sleep in till about close to 9am and then I took to the roads for a 6 km run at Dalvey Estate Road.

I am in my early 60s and I am blessed tremendously with good health, both mentally and physically. Here are some advice I can give to people who are turning 55 and older.

a) Go for a full physical blood tests, stool tests and urine tests  every year. I have been doing so for over 25 years already. I have no regrets. Early detection of serious illness saves and prevents a lot of pain and discomfort later. 

b) Get covered with comprehensive medical insurance upon turning 50 or latest 55. The incidence of diseases such as :

- diabetes

- arterosclerosis 

- stroke

- migraine

- cancer (breast , colon and prostate) 

jumps after you turn 50. So it is prudent to get covered if you want to live with some dignity your 'golden' years.

c) Get colon cancer screening every 5 years or in my case, every 3 years. I have had 4 so far.

d) Eat healthily and cut back on alcohol drinking (1  - 2 glass of wine is OK)

e) Exercise as much as 5 times a week  

f) Sleep 8 hours

g) Laugh at yourself.

i) Keep a circle of friends and keep the circle growing and not shrinking - people pass on with each passing year, so our mental health needs to stay relevant and healthy with positive social connections.

j) Try to meet with young people either at work or through social networks ; the 21st century presents itself with tremendous challenges for the young elderly like myself so I need people to assist me with the latest social media tools and apps to function effectively. Apps like AI ChatGpt are a must for us young elderly if we want to remain relevant and connected with the Gen Z in our midst. We, the Baby Boomers will be the shrinking class and they will be the mainstream class in less than 10 years time. 

k) Save as much as I can - for me that means putting up as much into my Retirement account so that I can slowly draw down from it X years in the future.

l) Live below my means. - If I want to live comfortably for as long as possible. I should not blow money on meaningless ego busting ventures which impact me the most, and impress the most useless people on the planet, for people do not care if I lose money.

They all want to enjoy the ride at my expense, success or failure.  

m) Save the pennies, and reinvest the profits in your business or assets in other assets. 

Lunch with my financial mentor 

Dempsey Cookhouse 27 April 2024

 

Caramel Ice Cream with Popcorn (11/10)

Our once weekly dinner with the family last week landed us at the famous Dempsey Cookhouse at Block 17D Dempsey Road. We had the following dishes, some of which we pretty good and a couple were just, mediocre.

Starter 

Kale lettuce and broccoli salad

Crispy Calamari with Yuzu Sauce

Mains

Fried Crispy Chicken

Veal Milanese

Mushroom Encrusted Sea Trout

Dessert

Pannacotta (on the House)  (Excellent !) 

Warm Chocolate Cake

Caramel Ice Cream (3) with Popcorn (Star of the Show !)

While we were halfway dining, it poured very heavily. And as we sat outside, the roof started to drip and we made a request to change tables and this was speedily done.Kudos to the service team !

Kale and Broccoli Lettuce with Half Boiled Egg 

(8 /10)

The starter of kale lettuce and fried calamari were quite good and flavouful. The calamari was chewy and tasty while the kale lettuce and broccoli with the semi boiled egg was outstanding.

Crispy Calamari wit Yuzu Dipping Sauce 

(7 /10)

Panacotta was really outstanding with fig, strawberry, kiwi fruits garnishing adding to the flavour

9.5 / 10 

Mushroom Crusted Sea Trout with Lemon Emulsion Herbs

From the looks of it, it looks divine but I did not eat so I cant comment on the dish above. 

Veal Milanese with Tomato and Argula Salad Red Wine 

(4 / 10)

This dish tasted rather bland and there was no veal aroma. In fact it tasted like chicken.

Rather disappointing I must say. The $ 38 price tag while not cheap we may try the steak (at $65) the next time we dine there.

Crispy Fried Chicken with Herbs 

(9.5 / 10)

The Crispy Fried Chicken was outstanding amongst the main courses. The Sea Trout my wife ordered I didn't eat as I was three quarters full and the Veal Milanese tasted more like chicken. 

The skin was really crispy and the meat inside was tender and super flavourful. The price of $36 is not cheap for a white meat dish but it is worth it as a mains.

The Dempsey Cookhouse and Bar

17 D Dempsey Road

Singapore 249 676

Please make bookings prior to coming to avoid disappointment.