Sunday, April 7, 2024

QRA's Athletic Chambers selling well internationally - University of Canberra - 2018

 


                            UCRISE HEAT CHAMBER - ALSO CALLED ATHLETIC CHAMBER

A very proud moment for us ; our team of skilled and experienced engineers sold, installed and commissioned a chamber room with Hypoxic Function (up to 4000 m)  and with other climate parameters such as temperature and humidity control to the University of Canberra in Bruce, Canberra. 

The project was completed in 2018 and we have been serving the customer with full service contracts till end 2026

Temperature : 15 - 50 C

Relative Humidity : 20 - 95%

O2 Control (provided by other vendor) : 0 - 4000 m.

Purpose of these equipment : for Heat Studies and Performance Enhancement of Elite Athletes 

If you have any enquiries or need more information ; please address your enquiries to 

Email : mark@qra.com.sg

            qrasales@qra.com.sg

Website : www.qra.com.sg

and let our friendly specialists guide you to better understand what you need for your athletes, or research.


Make Better Great 


Seta Milan Mandarin Oriental 2 Michelin Star Dinner Post 2 of 2

 


                                                         Happy Belated Birthday Dinner 

Seta is a 10 year old 2 Michelin starred restaurant situated on the ground floor of Marina Mandarin Milan. Address is Via Andegari, 9 20121 Milan Italy. This is our second time we have dined here the first being about 6 years ago in 2017. 

My wife and I celebrated my belated birthday several days prior by having a wonderful meal with some of the dishes highlighted in this and the earlier post. Helmed by Antonio Guida, this restaurant seats only 30 diners, so it is imperative to make your dinner bookings way in advance. In our case, it was 2 months before we arrived in Italy,  

The dress code is obviously smart casual and in my humble opinion, there seemed to be more serving staff than there were diners. Perhaps it was my imagination, but the service was par excellante. 



* Risotta with Tartufo Truffle Mushroom  Flakes *

The highlight of our meal, was her special off menu dish above which we can ask the chef to whip up, Omakase style. This is the famed Truffle or Tartufo Risotta. The Maitre D' actually brought a huge truffle mushroom - I had never seen on before in my life ! and casually sliced off pieces onto the Risotta.

The most expensive mushroom in the world and put onto an ordinary porridge style dish.
The aroma of the Tartufo is AMAZING and unique that I could smell the whiff from 4 tables away at the end of the restaurant when it was served to another guest. 




                       Roasted Blue Lobster with Loozzolo zabaglione leek and Matcha Tea

I had Roasted Blue Lobster above as a starter and the flavours were really exquisite. Even though I am penning this post nearly 4 months on, the memory of this dish still stands out. The freshness, the texture and flavour of the lobster and the nuanced colours of it made this a really standout dish.

It being a rather drizzly night in Milan, the meal was a real treat and must do whenever we travel to this beautiful and classy city.





                                                            Array of Sweets x 1  

The assortment of sweets at the end of the meal was just overwhelming. We each had close to 10 small bites of chocolate, mousse, gels, and all things nice to end the evening. The sous chef must be complimented fully. 



                                                          Array of Sweets x 2


Seta Milan (part of Mandarin Oriental Milan) 

Via Monte di Pieta. 18

20121 Milano, MI

Italy.

Ratings 

Service     : 4.9  / 5  (pacing, friendliness of servers,attention) 

Food         : 4.9 / 5

Ambience : 4.7 / 5

Price        : $$$$   (be prepared to fork out EUR 250 per person)

 

Seta Mandarin Oriental Milan 2 Star Michelin Dinner 1st Dec 2023 Post 1 of 2






Seta Restaurant in Milan Marina Mandarin 

Via Monte di Pieta 18
20121 Milan Itlay

Head Chef :  Antonio Guida 

Awards : 2 Michelin Stars 

Dining : Fine Dining




Suckling Pig with Chickpea cream, savoy cabbage and scallop 

We had arrived in Milan from Singapore on the 1st of December morning, and judging that we would have been jet lagged and requiring an early night I managed to change the date for the dinner to the 2nd of December - much to my wife's delight.

In the post above, I had put the piece de la resistance the Tartufo pasta which was heavenly.
The other dish which was exceptional was the grilled blue lobster with leek and matcha tea. Testament to the fusion creativity of the chef Antonio.

The above dish was also done 9 out of 10 ;  Suckling pig wrapped with savoy cabbage, and scallop slices beneath and topped with small garlic (?). 



 

Al dente pasta Fusillero with turnips and mackerel 

This pasta above is one which my wife likes, al dente which has a certain 'bite' or chewiness to it. Altogether superb dish and a feast for the senses. I recall eating all my dishes with interest and soaking up the superb ambience inside the restaurant on that rather drab and drizzly evening. 






                                                               Crown of Cockerel 

This dish I can never appreciate. It is the crown combs of the cockerel and I believe there is loads of collagen in this soup !


 

Saturday, April 6, 2024

Peschiera del Garda ; lovely town once occupied first by the Romans then Austrians in the 17th century


Restaurant : Raffilu at C House 

Peschiera del Garda town


Piazza Ferdinando di Savoia 5
37019 Pescheira del Garda
VR Italy 

                 Fabulous Dinner only the 2 of us at the waterside ; Surreal feeling 

5 * dining 

One of the serendipitous experiences of our Italian trip in Dec 2023 was visiting the small town of Peschiera del Garda which literally means Peschiera by Garda lake. It is a pretty 10,000 inhabitant Garda lakeside town which can be accessible off the main train lines between Como and Verona, about 1.5 hours from Venice.



15 minutes by train due West from Verona and about 1 hour due East from lake Como


It is along the same latitude as Lake Como and since it is not so well known, the prices of everything ranging from food, tour guide services and accomodation are easily 30% or more cheaper than what one would pay for a major tourist destination such as Milan or Venice.

We stayed at the service apartments called C Rooms Lake House along the pier.The scenery is picture postcard perfect. Antonella, our tour guide gave us a good overview over 2.5 hours walking tour of the town and the history goes a bit like this :

Peschiera is a small town which was originally run by prominent Italian family - like most towns and cities. Romans then occupied it followed by the Venetiens in the late 16th -17th century. There was a period when the Austrians ruled the town and created a moat around it to protect it from invaders.The French led by the indominatble Napoleon Bonaparte conquered it around mid 1840s. 

The French were overthrown when the Italian Repulblic was formed in 1861.  

We walked through the barracks, as well as the armoury and the small museum, and ended up at the tourist information in the centre of the town. There are cruise ships plying Lake Garda most times from late Spring till Autumn each year and they are moored at the big port at the top end of the town. 

    



By the waterside at night 



                                        View of the small pier from our room 

Raffilu at C House 

The dinner we had (see video at top) was splendid. For a fraction of the price we paid for the 2 star dinner (about EUR 550) at  Seta Milan, we had for EUR 90 the time of our lives.The dishes we had till our hearts content :

- Seafood platter for sharing (pastrami done with some fish)


- Al dente Bigoli (larger form of spaghetti) 

- Octopus and cream. 


- a glass of Sauvignon Blanc 

There was a portrait of President Obama, who apparently made a visit here way back in 2017.

A lovely gem of a town, so full of beauty and warm people. 


Thursday, April 4, 2024

Accelerated Aging ; Why it is So Important for Quality Enhancement of your Biomedical Product - QRA's 2 Labs are Solely Focussed for the Industry

      QRA Lab 1 is equipped to run 24 hours 7 days a week for months and even years 

             22 Years Providing Top Quality Equipment and Services Internationally 

         Contact Us for your Accelerated Aging Needs and Develop World Class  

                                          Products  for your Brand Today !

Every medical device is required by law to be labelled with an expiration date. The key question to every consumer is this. What exactly is an "expiration date" ? Is the performance of the device guaranteed  to be the same up until that magical date and then falls off dramatically after that ?

How do the manufacturers 'know; that the devices or products can really last that long ?

Thats where the decades long studies and the international standards have been put forth out in the market by top standards bodies such as ASTM (ASTM F 1980 - 21) and ISO (ISO 11607-1) for the US and European markets - the 2 largest consumer markets in the world for such products.

Testing your products and accelerating the aging of your products lends you credibility when you have the product rubber stamped on the box.

The test strategy for any biomedical or pharmaceutical company wanting to attain permission from  the FDA or the European market is to perform these aging tests by either : 

a) procuring accelerated aging chambers 

b) outsourcing these aging tests 

and conducting these tests.

For many biomedical devices that are manufactured from metals and robust plastics, the evaluation time for a product's shelf life  can be significantly shortened by aging the materials at elevated temperatures (as high as 70 C can be set).

Other products, such as biologic materials or products made of thermally sensitive materials, require a more thorough aging study design with environmental chambers relevant to more unique product requirements. 

Choose QRA International - the only Lab in Asia DEDICATED to 

ASTM F 1980 - 21   (for application for FDA approval to sell in USA market)

and ISO 11607 - 1   (for application to sell in the EU market) 

1. Establish product shelf life under both accelerated and real time conditions.QRA offers both test conditions at our 2 State of the Art Laboratories in Singapore and we are exploring setting up new Labs in Australia and USA. 

      An example : 

     Accelerated Aging in Chamber                              Real Life Test in Chamber

    55 C 50%    -  4.5 months         Equivalent to :          25 C 50% - 36 months (3 years)

2. Meet regulatory requirements following the ISO 11607 - 1 and ASTM F 1980 or any custom testing protocol needed to establish your products expiration date.

3. Start, Monthly, Weekly and End Test Reports backed by ISO 9001 : 15 traceability sent to you by email.

4. Additionally, QRA International provides comprehensive post tests, such as Peel and Bubble Tests to determine Sterile Barrier Hermiticity and package integrity

QRA also sells these shelf life testing chambers under our QRA brand. 

For more information, contact :

Tel :(65) 6795 1486

www.qra.com.sg

Email : 1. qrasales@qra.com.sg

            2. mark@qra.com.sg

There is never a better time to improve your products branding. 

Talk to the experts today. 

QRA International 

Make Better Great


Solar Chamber for Human Testing in Ultimate Weather Conditions. QRA's Sunlight Simulation Chamber for Peak Performance

 


Human Performance Chamber for 4 athletes with Solar Lamps - First in Asia

QRA International is the first company in Asia to provide for the largest Human Performance Chambers for athletes, soldiers and elite gym goers.

With its experience of over 21 years in the industry, QRA International has some 200 installations in Asia, Australia and Middle East. We are glad to provide top quality chambers to customers ranging for hospitals, military research institutions, universities and sports institutions.

The chamber in the picture is designed for simulating the hot and humid environment of the tropical jungles. The research done is for the prevention of heatstroke so the full solar spectrum is provided by the solar lamps (4) directly above the treadmills.

The environmental controlled conditions for the chamber are :

Temp       : - 20 C to + 50 C
Humidity :  10 to 95% rH
Wind        :  0 to 15 m/s wind speed%
Solar        : Full solar spectrum according to Arizona Sunlight standards
CO2         :  within 2000 ppm for 1 hour of extensive use by 4 persons inside chamber


The chamber provided by QRA International was installed and commissioned in 2015, so it is working perfectly well for close to 10 years.

QRA provides the full service package to all clients in a timely manner. We are ISO 9001 : 2015 certified and will be aiming to achieve the ISO 17025 certification within a year.


         O2 Control to 9000 m altitude Temperature Humidity and Wind Speed Control 
    
   
    QRA International Pte Ltd provides the following for you :

1. Complete Consultation, Quotation, Installation 4 Months (min) upon PO and up to 5        years warranty on equipment a6nd labour. 
2. Full technical consultancy with advice to latest standards and compliance.
3. Testing Services  - ASTM F 1980 - 21 ISO 11607 and D 4169
4. Rental of Equipment - from 1 month and longer
5. Preventive Maintenance and Calibration of your equipment
6. Upgrade and Repair of your equipment.


   




    Interested ?  Speak with the experts  Now !

   Call : (65) 6795 1486

   Email :     mark@qra.com.sg

   Website : www.qra.com.sg 

   We will be most happy to provide consultation to your technical people at the time         
   convenient to you.


Sunday, March 31, 2024

Cousin Jacintha's Solo Performance - 29th March 2024 - Inter Continental Singaopore

 


With cousins Dr Rose, her hubby Prof Satku, Ms. Noor Quek, yours truly and Jacintha

29th March 2024.It was a very special evening of Jazz. The lobby lounge of the InterContinental was booked from 8 till 10.30 pm for a virtuoso performance by my cousin Jacintha. The place was packed and there were about 50 people in attendance.

She has a super smooth vocal range and her music, backed by an excellent 3 piece band, was in top form.

She sang favourites from her album Here's to Ben and Autumn Leaves. I had my request for Summertime which was done superbly and it really made my day.

Ja, you are one awesome and super talented lady and I feel so privileged to watch you perform in person.

The audience was awe struck by the perfection of the songs sung by you and the ambience was truly exceptional.  

A wonderful memorable evening. 

Carpe Diem 






Dinner at Sebastien Mother's Day Dinner Post 2 of 2

The entrance of Venue by Sebastian  Situated on the ground floor of the Downtown Gallery (opposite the old Singapore Conference Hall), the V...