Arrival of our new car - VW Golf Sports 1.4TSI

After two weeks, we finally welcomed the arrival of our new car - a Tornado Red Volkswagen Golf Sports. Powered by a supercharger and turbocharger, the 1400cc engine produces 160bhp sending the car to 100km/h in 8 seconds.

We were quite surprised by the good pace and equipment level of the Golf which far surpasses our previous Mercedes CLC180K which may account for why the Golf was voted World Car of the year in 2009.It's also as safe a car as you can get with 5 star NCAP rating for crash survivability and equipped with 11 airbags with the first knee airbag in production. The car comes with factory fitted touch screen multimedia entertainment, featuring AUX for your Mp3 player and an outlet for SD card if you store your MP3 in it. Other equipment include paddle shifters for F1 wannabe racers, self dimming rearview mirror, tilt reverse mirror, automatic aircon with air filter and dual zone airconditioning, rear aircon vent, cooler in glove compartment, leather sports seats, multi-function leather steering, sports suspension,illuminated sunvisor mirrors, ISOFIX for 2 child seats,tyre pressure loss monitoring, vehicle information display,hill hold control, chromed fittings on dash panels and the list goes on.

After delivery of the car, it was off to Poh Heng Tyres in AMK to trade in the tyres for 18 inch ones with the Audi like LS replica Rims and then to CoolnLite to install the 99% anti-UV window film. We opted for cash discounts instead of the usual freebies and here we really have to thank our sales executive from Volkswagen Centre Singapore - Jessie Chia who work tirelessly to secure the car at a good price, and to get the car delivered to us speedily. It is really important to be able to feel at ease and reassured in the process of buying something expensive like a car and we do recommend her if there is any of our readers out in the market for a VW car. She can be contacted at 91461678 for those who are keen.

So far, we have clocked about 300km plus during this running-in period and the car is especially smooth and on the expressway, it easily zips at 100km/h at just slightly below 2000 on the rev counter,all thanks to the 7 speed DSG gear. With the petrol gauge at 3/4 tank full, i had already travelled 250km from full tank. The car at idle is so quiet sometimes I wonder is the engine on. The only drawback is road noise which is slightly louder than other continental car but this could be also due to my 18 inch wheels and the brakes take some getting used to as you have to just tap a little to bring the car to a halt so at the start, you may be a little jerky in your braking style. However, the car is really modern and comfortable and corners really well without losing speed or traction.

Birthday dinner at Khmer Delight Cambodian Restaurant

Over the weekend, we went to have a celebratory birthday dinner for dad at Khmer Delight Cambodian Restaurant which has been featured recently by 8 Days and the Sunday Times. Located at Siglap along 922 East Coast Rd, this 6 month old restaurant claims to be the only full-fledged Cabodian restaurant in the country.

We tried some of the recommended signature dishes such as the fish amok(below) which is their version of otak-otak with the real fish meat covered by curried mousse which provides for a fragrant retake on the local version.It is served with crispy prawn crackers which is a unique combo as you enjoy the crisp of the crackers while savouring the soft otak.


Following this dish was the green mango salad which is similar to the thai version and provides a crunchy accompaniment.


Another dish tried was the Khmer curry chicken(below) which is flavorfuland addictive like satay gravy but without the spice. In fact, the food served here is good for people with a taste for thai-like food without the accompanying spiciness and tongue burning sensation.





For soup, we had the Mekong Lobster soup(above) which is like a non-spicy Thai tom yum and cooked with a lobster that looks more like a gigantic prawn. The soup is very much drinkable if you find Thai Tom Yum to be too spicy. While purists will say the soup has no kick, the flavorful broth will get addictive over time since it doesnt burn yr tongue or stomach.

The next dish was the Khmer spring roll(below) which is like a mini version of our local deep fried spring roll filled with taro and minced pork. Taken with the sweet sauce, this was easily finished.



The vegetable dish comprising of eggplant with minced pork(above) wasn't as good as the Peranakan version that we favor and looked abit dry without any gravy or sauce. Minced pork was added as a garnish but was again quite sparse.


We also had the braised pork ribs(above) which was really tender and was accompanied by a sweet sauce. What may stand in the way of more diners coming here would be the very tiny portions and the pricing at $30 per person for a satisfying meal which is pricey for fare that is similar to thai food.


After the meal, we treated ourselves to dad's birthday chocolate cake from 'Awfully Chocolate'(below) and fresh strawberries(above) for a satisfying end to a nice meal.

Saying goodbye to our merc clc

With the recent increase in the cost of car COEs and the increase in price of resale car, we found ourselves in the rare and unique position of seeing our year old merc car price appreciate in price more than our purchase price with the new car price of our merc increasing from our purchase price of 103k to 155k. So taking into account the practicality of having a 4 door car and tapping this rare opportunity to sell our car at a profit, we decided to sell our current car and buy a new one. The profit would be enough to offset the recent price increase in cars.

We shop around and bought the VW Golf 1.4TSI Sports as it was the most value for money proposition currently with a good promotional discount and offered surprisingly more technology and pace than our merc sports coupe.Besides we would also be saving $$ with the lower road tax and more efficient petrol consumption too. We had not expected to sell our car so soon after a year but sometimes,realise that one needs to be a little less sentimental when it comes to dollars and cents. We bade farewell together with our doggy Shayna to our dear car with some parting shots and await for our new car to arrive.

Lunch at Bistro Petit Salut

Over the weekend, we went for lunch at Bistro Petit Salut at Chip Bee Gardens on Holland area which serves simple authentic and good tasting French fare. If you ever wanted to try French food but without the intimidating menu or prices, do head down for their set lunch and dinners. About 28++ for 3 course lunch sets and $38++ for 3 course dinner sets - quite value for money and most importantly, tasty good food that fills your stomach and is really comfort food.
For starters, we recommend the Burgundy escargots(see below) which is really soft and filled with garlic and spiced flavor. We couldn't get enough of it and wished there were more than the 5 escargots per serving.





For the main course, we had the following :


(Above) Seafood Canneloni ( Soft baked pie with seafood stuffings in it )


(Above)Braised pork knuckles french style


(Above) Catch of the day - tender and fresh fish fillet

For dessert with the complimentary tea or coffee, we had the following:


(Above and Below) Strawberry Sorbet



(Above) Sweet and rich Choux puff


(Above)Brio Che Perdue - Bread and Butter Pudding

We like the quiet relaxed atmosphere experienced there during lunch but dinner may be a little more crowded.You can find out more at their website at : http://www.aupetitsalut.com/bps/aboutus.html

Good Food !

Food galore - We have been indulging in good food these days especially during the past long weekend. That's motivation for our weekly exercise together at East Coast Parkway to shed all the kilos gained!
First stop, we celebrated mother's day at Ah Yat Seafood Restaurant at Beach Road. Sumptous


You can pick and choose a wide range of live seafood at Ah Yat from Alaskan crabs to lobsters to sea slugs to a variety of fish.


First was the lobster cold dish which was a refreshing start served with slabs of lobster meat and fresh cut fruit cubes.


Traditional longevity bao with sweet paste filling inside


Standard course of shark fin soup. Absolutely delicious!


The real deal here! real shark fin found!


An ordinary dish though - the standard chicken dish


Steam soon hock - soft, fresh and piping hot. Really good.


Scallop pieces were sweet and brocolli soft to the bite


Very rich and sinful! crab with roe! can be abit gelak after some mouthful! stil prefer the chilli/pepper versions.


Mushroom was gigantic but soft to the bite! Abalone well textured !


Noodles - quite full by the time we got to this to really appreciate it


Dessert was ok, nothing to rave about.



Next food point for the weekend was at Blk 85 Redhill Close Hawker centre where we found a stall selling very good quality and tasty chinese dumplings such as xiaolongbao, guo tie etc. They open at 11.15am onwards and be prepared for a queue!


The xiaolongbao here is the best we have tried, tasty, juicy filling of meat and with a soft yet firm textured skin.


When you bite into the xiaolongbao, beware, the gravy soup from the meat is gonna spill out. Watch that shirt or blouse of yours!


Delicious bite shows the generous filling inside.

Another stop was the Hakata ramen at Yoshimaru Ramen Bar at Holland Village.








We also had an accompaying side dish of shabu shabu beef salad.