Singapore Arts, Beauty and Inspirations Male Blogger

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Pier-2 Art Center - Webpage

It has been almost a month since I came back from my trip from Taiwan, Kaoh Siung 高雄. I spent about a week in Kaoh Siung 高雄, mainly sight seeing in the urban cityscape and night market hopping as the friend I went with was a maniac in architectural and food photography. As for me? I definitely needed to visit places of relaxation or inspiration since I enjoy blogging about such stuff.

You probably won't find a week's worth of Kaoh Siung 高雄 itinerary since I only intend to share about Fennel Hot Spring Resort 茴香戀戀溫泉會館, Pier-2 Art Center and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts. Of course I had spammed enough pictures on my instagram as well as my migme account by now. 

The journey from Kaoh Siung 高雄 was long as it took about 2 hours (without traffic jam) by bus to reach 車城站. From 車城站, it was another 10 mins car ride or 45 mins walking distance to reach Fennel Hot Spring Resort 茴香戀戀溫泉會館.    

''Sichong river Hot Spring Area is located at Checheng Township in Pingtung County. The water here is Sodium Bicarbonate spring, excellent quality mineral water. The Sihjhongsi Hot Spring is considered one of the four major hot-spring areas among Taiwan, along with Yangmingshan, Beitou, and Guanziling.''

There were 2 spring options to pick from:

1) The semi outdoor naked spa 半露天景觀裸湯 which was more private and does not require you to wear swim suit and swimming cap. It comprises of Cold Spring Pool, Hot Spring Pool and Medium Hot Pool, costing NT$200 per person.

2) Health Spa Love Sea Water Therapy Spa 愛情海水療SPA which required me to purchase a swim suit and swimming cap since I did not bring mine. It comprises of  Hot Spring Spa, Spa For Children, Floral Hot Spring, Herb Hot Spring, Garra Rufa Obtuse, Cold Spring Pool, Hot Spring Pool, Medium Hot Pool and Steam Room. It cost NT$300 per person.

Garra Rufa Obtuse 溫泉親親魚池 is basically a tiny fish pond where you dip your feet in and these little fishes would start nibbling the dead skin off your feet. I even ''stole'' other people's fishes once my feet landed in LOL. 

Lockers available at a cost of NT$10 to place your belongings and their toilets have soap and shampoo as well. Many random photos below.

Garra Rufa Obtuse 溫泉親親魚池

Overall it was a relaxing experience since the day before, I spent half the entire day cycling to the end (cargo area) of Cijin. The distance sure was crazy....definitely CRAZY in a foreign land. Not forgetting walking over 30km each day...

There were many cute little kids playing around, more like a family orientated Hot Spring Resort and the place was not exactly well maintained since there were faulty activation buttons. I should not be complaining since I paid only NT$300 for unlimited time and I probably spend about 3-4 hours in there. Hmmm maybe more hotspring and spa posts in future?

You may want to check out their web page for more information here: http://www.fennel.com.tw

Having heard about Singapore Contemporary Art Show (2nd edition) which opens on 19 January, 2017 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, I decided to make my way down with a friend on the very last day despite the gloomy weather that persuaded me to think twice.

The event falls strategically during Singapore Art Week which was from January 11 - 22 Jan,

2017. It hosted over 90 exhibitors, featuring a wide collection of paintings, sculptures as well as photography works. Most of these artists were also present, probably during the opening as I visited 2 hours before the event finale. Yup, I missed all the exciting talks, workshops and other sessions that were available to the public. 

My intention to visit was mainly to admire these art works, get inspirations as well as to snap photos of art that captured my attention and liking. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one capturing photos since I spotted many other art enthusiasts or collectors doing the same thing. Gone with the awkward ''am I the only one taking photos?'' feeling. Besides the countless photos which I had taken but only posted a couple of my favourites, I also uploaded 2 brief videos of what it was like in Singapore Contemporary. Not much of a crowd actually, perfect to tour around comfortably while I often looked up to see which country each exhibitors were from. I felt that a country's culture would definitely influence the artists' style of art.

Anyway, feel free to check out Singapore Contemporary's web page link below for more information:

http://www.singaporecontemporary.com/information/en/

Marina Bay Sands is known to be one of the more difficult places in Singapore when it comes to finding an affordable meal (at least to many of us, besides the 'high-end' food court).

With the opening of Kuro-Obi Take-Away Bar by Ippudo, those working around the vicinity or frequent Marina Bay Sands visitors / Pokemon trainers would rejoice as each bowl of ramen only cost $8 to $12!

Like many ramen outlets out there, customers would be given a form where they could customise the hardness of noodles, intensity of the soup as well as the amount of oil. I love my ramen to have extra garlic but with no onions! I usually enjoy strong broth but 'light flavor' would be my preferred option here since the soup base was kind of overwhelming.

Be prepared to be full since each bowl contains 140g of thick noodles instead of the usual 100g standard of Ippudo.

I had the KURO-OBI ($12) (top right bowl form the above image) and the ingredients were done perfectly to my liking. Molten yolk egg, tender chicken chashu and soft vegetables that still retained a bite.

The other ramens available were SHIRO-OBI ($8), AKA-OBI ($10) and CHA-OBI ($9).

If you would prefer to sit in, relax and enjoy your meal, Ippudo (located beside Kuro-Obi Take-Away Bar) would probably be your option instead.

The Goboten Salad with Collagen Tonkatsu Dressing would be your average salad with the addition of goboten. A quick google search told me that goboten is a root type vegetable, which is actually very rich in dietary fibres.

Our Hakata Bite Size Gyoza ($9 for 5 pieces ; $16 for 10 pieces) came a little darker than usual but not burnt. Yup, I could finish one in a bite.

The Pork Belly Bun ($5) came in cute dim sum baskets. They make decent bites for those who would want a less filling non-ramen meal.

Samurai Rib ($7 per piece ; $13 for 2) was a new dish of a refreshing twist to me. It looks partially fried, giving it a slightly crisp exterior. The meat inside was delicious yet tender.   

Corn Balls (decided to call them that since I forgot the actual name) were actual corns, clustered and deep fried, finished with paprika! It was so addictive and one would never be enough.

Looking like a mini bowl of ramen, the Almond Jelly Noodle ($6) was an interesting twist to how desserts should look like. Equipped with a pair of chopsticks, I started slurping down the silky smooth agar noodle, gulping down the remaining bowl of almond soy milk (if I am not wrong). 

My friend even mistaken that piece of goji berry to be chili padi!

The urge to bite into a crisp yet not oily batter that unveiled contents with their juices sealed within is definitely irresistible to many. That includes myself who usually put aside the thought of 'deep fried' to indulge once a while. 

It was my pleasure to accompany my friend to witness the official opening of Saboten's third outlet, level 3 of 100 AM Mall last month. As Saboten has over 500 branches across the world, 4 being in Singapore and the newest outlet has opened at Raffles City Shopping Centre. 

The highlights that day would probably be the Mangalitsa Katsu and it was no surprise since Saboten is acclaimed as the biggest Tonkatsu chain in the world. Mangalitsa Katsu sounds rather alien to many since its meat was from a rare pig known as ''woolly pig''. Aside from the kawaii name, its flesh contained much more fats, but still healthier due to its low saturated fat content.

Apart from the fried ebi dish which I am allergic to, it was my first time having fried Chilean abalones as well as scallops croquette. The abalone wasn't rubbery as I expected it to be while I definitely love the chunks of juicy fresh scallops embedded in the crispy batter.

I ended off the meal with a glass of low alcohol content orange flavoured sake and a scoop of refreshing yuzu ice cream.