Wedding Anniversary Lunch and Dinner

(Above)Gayle enjoying her meal at Serenity We celebrated our Wedding Anniversary with a nice French lunch at Bistro Au Petit Salut at Holland Road and a flavourful Spanish dinner at Serenity at Vivocity. Bistro Au Petit Salut offers value for money authetic French set lunch with starter, main course and dessert with free coffee/tea at about $33 per pax after taxes.

(Above)Half dozen baked Burgundy snails with tomato fondue and garlic butter as starters, soft tender wth no after taste.

(Above) Main course of “Minute” of onglet beef with French mustard jus and mashed potatoes if you ould like a meaty meal.

(Above)“Gateau Au Fromage Blanc” or Homemade cheesecake with Madagascar vanilla beans

(Above) Choux buns with vanilla ice cream,warm chocolate sauce and sliced almonds Sereity is more expensive at about $50 to $70 per pax but you get to taste wonderful Spanish food which just sits very well with your taste buds. For starters, we had a rich and really invirogating soup known as Sopa Catalunya or Spanish clear soup with pork, beef, chicken and butter beans. The meat boiled for long periods to give the soup it's rich and addictive taste just falls apart in your mouth.

(Above)Sopa Catalunya

(Above) Closeup of the ingredients in Sopa Catalunya After this hearty soup which we never fail to miss when we dine at Serenity,we continued with crispy but yet soft and moist inside deep fried Spanish prawn cakes called Bunuelos de Gambas

(Above)Bunuelos de Gambas

(Above) Soft and moist sweet insides of the Bunuelos de Gambas Next on our order was sinfully rich Paté Con Cebolla Caramelizada or Foie Gras with caramel onion which melts in your mouth wth the sweetness of the caramelized onion.

(Above)Paté Con Cebolla Caramelizada This was followed by the main course of Paella de Marisco (Seafood Paella)with hearty servings of herb infused fragrant Bomaba rice cooked slowly over the stove for 45 minutes with servings of tiger prawns, squid, half shell mussels, dory fish, capsium.

(Above) Paella de Marisco (Seafood Paella)

Reverse Camera retrofitted to BMW116i

(Above) Reverse camera module and camera unit and audio, video wiring. For greater safety awareness when reversing and to watch for any obstruction that are at the blind corners of the 4 rear sensor fan shaped proximity range, we decided to install a reverse camera tha is retrofitted to display on the OEM i-drive display in the F20 BMW 116i. We went to Soundwerkz, a car audio workshop located at Sin Ming that is familiar with BMWs. This was very important as the rewiring works for the reverse camera requires a seasoned installer who is experienced with BMW electronics to ensure less possibility of electrical faults.

(Above) Not for the faint hearted. Diassembly of console to do rewiring and installation of the video module for the reverse camera. An experienced BMW installer is a must as it is important to take out everything carefully and install back everything to original condition.Kelvin, the boss of Soundwerkz, came down to explain to me personally the type of reverse cameras available and the featues. We decided to go with the latest model recommendedby Kelvin which displays both the camera image view and the oem park distance control optical display simultaneously on the i-drive display. This camera and video controller unit are made in Taiwan and feature high definition image, especially important for night parking or where the carpark is very dimmed. The new camera unit also features reverse guide lines and trajectory guide lines that move in relation with your steering inputs.

(Above) Reverse camera operational with parking guide lines in broken red, yellow and green lines and the trajectory steering lines in yellow and red lines moving in tandem with steering inputs. To the right of the camera image is the parking distance control icon with proximity imaging. The installation started at 9.30am and ended at about 2.30pm after completion of wiring, instalation and testing. As the reverse camera is a new product, there were some inherent hang issues with the camera and on a second trip to the workshop which Kelvin and his guys diagnosed as a faulty camera unit and replaced with another new camera and so far, the reverse camera has been working smoothly. Good service from the guys at Soundwerkz. The Soundwerkz team takes care during installation and recovery phase to protect your car from unneccessary blemishes or scratches by wrapping your car interior extensively as protection against accidental scratches and knocks.

(Above) Foil wrapped interior of our car prior to installation. Kelvin although he was busy also took time to activate source code at my request to enable the digital speedometer to be displayed on the multifunction driver's display. This is usually done at a price but it was compliementary, courtesy of Soundwerkz.

(Above) Digital Speedo display

(Above)Soundwerkz guys testing reverse camera after installation of camera unit and video module. The camera unit cost $1100 without GST which Kelvin said was a launch price since mine was supposedly the first local BMW 116i to be retrofitted with it. This is a fraction of the OEM BMW reverse camera which costs $4800.00 and pops out of the rear hatch handle whereas our Taiwan made cheaper alternative is mounted above the license plate but no less effective and much cheaper.

(Above)Camera lens unit mounted just above the rear license plate.

More mickey minnie stuff for us

After admiring the disney products at Franc Franc at Vivocity for some time, we were glad to see a 20% discount on all the disney products and took the opportunity to buy mickey and minnie table placemat for our room dining table and cups to replace our current ones. Continuing our lookout for more good buys for mickey and minnie stuff for our home.

BMW 116i/118i Group meetup to assemble AC Schnitzer Sport Pedals

Over the weekend, we met up with fellow forumers of the BMW F20 116i/118i to collect and self assemble AC Schnitzer Sports Pedals that the group had bought in a group buy. Thanks to the fellow forumers espcially Les and Forestgum who taught us how to fit the sports pedals and help us with drilling instructions and show how. For the accelerator pedal, you will need to pull out the protective seal of the locking screw at the bottom of the accelerator pedal and use a Bar screwdriver to unscrew the pedal assembly from the floor mount. Then lift the accelerator pedal assembly off and unplug the electronic processor socket. Then you will need to stick some masking tape to secure the spots pedal on teh accelerator pedal and make a marking on the 4 scew holes on the tape. After, that power drill through. Then screw in the 4 screws in the front and with washer and bolt nut securing from the back of the pedal. Then assemble the pedal to the floor mount.Use Allen key to tighten from front. For the Foot rest, just align the entire footrest pedal on the original floor rest and drill it in. Use allen key to tighten. For the brake pedal, remove the rubber grip and expose the metal surface of the pedal. Masking tape over pedal to make a marking on holes to screw using the sports brake pedal as guide. Then drill through the pedal and mount the screws in, securing tightly with washer and bolt nuts. Pedals were bought off ebay for around $85 inclusive of shipping costs. After that we had a group photo at the top level of the carpark where we met for this sports pedal assembly session.

(Above) The AC Schnitzer Sports Pedals installed - Footrest, brake Pedal and accelerator pedal.

Applying cutomised decals to our Bimmer 1

(Above)James applying finishing touches to the sunstrip on the front windscreen To add a sporty and individual flair to our 116i, we approached James from JJ Decal who is well known in the local car scene as the go to person for making and application of customised decals for cars. The design concept was to use the BWM M colours of white, grey and black. Eugin came up with the initial design for the decal and James proposed the combination of matt black background and gloss letters for the sunstrip. The sunstrip helps to provide both aesthetics and acts as a sunshade.We also did the matt black sideskirt strip to provide illusion of a sideskirt line. On the side mirror cap,we had the cap resprayed to pearl white and a grey decal stripe applied for the border of the mirror cap. At the rear hatch, we asked James to apply the gloss white strips of M Sports design. Our Bimmer 1 now looks more sporty and customised.Those interested can contact James from JJ Decals at +65 91895083.

(Above)Sideskirt decal based on M Sports design.

(Above)James applying decal transfer of the white M Stripes on the rear hatch.

(Above)Our cutomised M design Sunstrip.

(Above) Front of car with the sunstrip

(Above)Car rear hatch with the M Sports Stripes

(Above) Side mirror cap resprayed gloss pearl white with the grey decal sticker depicting the M colours of white, grey and black.

Rare BMW M Sports 116i spotted at Performance Motors

Over the weekend, we saw a rare blue M Sports 116i with M bodykit. Really would have chosen this colour if it had been available but it is only available for the M Sports kitted 116i of which one or two are available in Singapore. Not sure who is the lucky owner who owns this rare vehicle.

New Car - BMW 1 series

Although the current market sentiment in the car market is that COEs are way too expensive, occasionally there are good buys to be found. In a high COE environment like now resulting in higher used car prices, if your current car can fetch a good deal at a profit and the offset cost between what you get for your current car and the new car is quite close, then it stands to be a reasonable option to change your car after a reasonable period.

(Above) Us with our 2 cars - outgoing VW Golf Sports and incoming BMW 116i It was in this good situation that we were able to trade in our current VW Golf Sports at a much higher return. We calculated based on the depreciation and if COE was at moderate levels of 20 plus k for Cat A, the returns after loan settlement would have been a low 4 figure sum but now the returns was in the vicinity of close to 40k since the purchase price of a new Golf Sports has risen to 143k. While car purchase is never a prudent financial move if one is talking only about dollars and cents but sometimes life is more than just dollars and cents and if you done your calculations and is financially viable and would be getting a good buy, then why not? We test droved the Mercedes C180K 5 speed supercharged model and the BMW 1 series 116i twin scroll turbocharged with 8 speed gearbox. Both cars impressed us with their high level of comfort although the insulation, on board equipment and smoother engine and gearbox of the 116i piped the C180K which is a older model despite the facelift with a older less fuel efficient 5 speed gearbox. What made the final deal was the pricing -157k versus 180k and the generous trade in and discounts given by Performance Motors Limited - the agent for the BMW 116i. For more information on review of the 116i, go to the following link - http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/review.php?AID=475 We did consider the 118i but for the same engine with a faster 0-100 speed of 1.6 seconds faster and full leather interior ( 116i has half leather half fabric design) , the price difference of 20k was not really cost effective since other than the above, both 116 and 118 share the same equipment level such as full auto wipers, xenon with carona DRL, comfort keyless access, i-drive. It was also our good fortune to meet a Sales Executive from PML - Low Wai Yee whom we could have a comfortable discussion and talk through of the financial details and information about the car. Her easy going persona made the buying process a friendly, comfortable experience and she was willing and able to go the extra mile to at least try to meet almost all of our conditions for the sale to go through such as getting a very good trade in price for our current Golf Sports. She was also very efficient and helpful in her responses to our sales queries. Her dependability and willingness to be around to assist even after the car purchase also gace us peace of mind given thatwe have someone to assist us for future dealings on the car. She also helped speed up delivery of the car for us by a week. If you are keen on getting a BMW or need more information on a BMW model, do feel free to contact her at 9878 3233. We had a good car collection experience with Wai Yee really spending over an hour plus going through with us the car functions and assuring us that we could sms her ifwe had forgotten anything. The drive of the car has been very comfortable. We are now letting the engine run in and evaluating fuel efficiency with a full tank of petrol over the week.

(Above) In the car delivery room at Performance Motors.

(Above) The 8 speed electronic gear knob takes some getting used to as it is akin to a computer joystick.

(Above) Front of the car

(Above) Side profile

(Above)View of the car from the rear.

(Above)Highly finished interior similar to the new 3 and 5 series with i-drive display.

(Above) Rear interior with rear aircon vents and reasonable leg room.

(Above) Multi function sports steering wheel.

(Above) We changed the tyres to 18 inch Michelin Pilot Super Sports at Top93 for better grip and breaking distance and speed stability. Tyres are the only thing that keeps the car planted so don't skimp on a good tyre. A set of black replica rims adds to the aesthetics of the car. We have also installed a Finevue HD car camera to film car movement so that video of incidents can be captured and used as evidence in cases of dispute especially in motor insurance claims. We asked the installer at Pin Liang to help us conceal the iring and connect it to a 12 volt socket in the car and manage to find one under the glove box hidden from view(below) so that aesthetics remains.

(Above) Without sideskirt decal

(Above) With sideskirt decal Sideskirt decal added to provide a dummy sideskirt inlet and add subtle contrast to bodywork. A white one who have stood out but maintenance wise, would be difficult as it would be prone to mud splashes and dirt. Did the decal at JJ Decals. As the original exhaust silver tip looks very basic, we decided to go to Jeep Chee to replace it with a slightly bigger chrome. The staff at Jeep Chee were very helpful and showed us the various tips they have and as we did not want any modification or cutting of exhaust pipe to maintain our car's warranty, they help us just take out the original tip and weld the new tip. The new tip had to be modfied to fit onto original exhaust pipe. The cost varies from $60 to $90 depending on the size of the tip. The whole thing took about 15 minutes which is fast and efficient service.

(Above) Original silver tip which looks basic

(Above) Exposed exhaust pipe after oem tip removed.

(Above) Original tip taken out. The with mounting clips seen

(Above) Car jacked up with Jeep Chee technician adjusting tip for alignment before welding the tip.

(Above) Close up of new tip. Bigger and shiny.

(Above) Car looks more muscular with bigger tip