Casino Jobs are Hot at Career Fair! - WW

job seekers crowding an IR booth

At the recent 4-day Career and Education Fair 2009 held at Suntec Convention Centre, the 2 integrated resorts (IR) drew the largest crowds. Massive crowds thronged both IRs booths from the moment the fair opened its doors.

Applicants were made up of Singaporeans and foreigners, young and old, and even those who are employed. Many foreign job applicants have flown in specially for this fair.

Despite the economic downturn, the tourism sector in Singapore is still hiring. 25,000 jobs will be created in this sector over the next few years with major developments like the 2 IRS.

Cooking demo by a Thai chef of a culinary school

A mind-boggling 20,000 job seekers applied for the 800 job openings offered by Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS).

‘Despite the current economic climate, Resorts World at Sentosa will deliver its commitment of 10,000 jobs when it opens early next year. The Resort is committed to hire Singaporeans,’ said an RWS statement after the fair ended.

Gaming courses are popular at the fair

Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort, which plans to open by end of year 2009, is hiring staff in areas such as Table Games, Slots, Casino Finance, Player Development and Surveillance later this month. Up to six months will be set aside to prepare staff for the work at the resorts.

The resorts expect to attract thousands of punters when their doors open.

Trying their luck at the gambling table first.

Wordless Wednesday

First Commenter - Mariuca

Horse Watching at Riders Cafe - WW

Ready for a ride

Magnificent manes flying in the wind, the horses look a picture of grace when they gallop. These pictures were taken in Singapore.

After reading my Horse Grass post, a friend invited me to his club. He owns 2 horses. *faints* It costs much more to own a horse in Singapore than a car!

For overseas readers who are used to seeing horses in your own country, it is rare to see a real horse in Singapore. And to own one, the owner needs to have quite a bit of dough. :P

Walk a horse

We arranged to meet early one Sunday morning. Bukit Timah Saddle Club off Eng Neo Avenue provides such therapeutic charm. I felt I was in another country.

A kid learning how to ride a pony

I bet many Singaporeans don't know this place. It was my first time. I watched my friend exercise his horses. I did not ask for a ride. Maybe another time.

After their rides, the girls gave their ponies a good wash.

He brought us for breakfast at an idyllic cafe in a colonial clubhouse. It was relaxing to watch the horses trotting past while you bask in fine weather and good food.

Fluffy homemade pancakes

I was recommended the famous fluffy home-made pancakes with berries compote and maple syrup. Chris was offered Norwegian Benedict with generous slices of smoked salmon. The breakfast was very good!

Norwegian Benedict - heavenly breakfast!

You need to make a reservation. It was full-house at all hours and many people who did not have reservations were turned away.

I was told the cafe has a house dessert special called Death by Chocolate Cake, but I had no more room for dessert then. But I'll be back .......

Bukit Timah Saddle Club
51 Fairways Drive
Tel: 6466 9819
Tue - Sun: 8.30am – 10.30pm
Closed on Mondays

Rider's Lodge
108 Turf Club Road
Tel: 64654828

First Commenter - Sue

Vanishing Singaporean Hand-made Sausages - RT

Delicious sliced pork sausage, deep-fried tofu and meat roll with chilli and sweet gooey dip

A prominent businessman brought me to this hawker stall for an afternoon snack after a conference. This stall is famous for its hand-made Hokkien ngoh hiang (5-spice meat roll), liver rolls, egg lard cakes and my favourite pork sausage.

This pork sausage is one traditional Chinese food that is hard to find in urban Singapore. It is too tedious to make. Using lean pork marinated using their secret family recipe, the pork sausage here is tender and super delicious. They even have the special sweet and not so pink gooey dip!

Hip Mr Teo Ho Soon and his uberlicious pork sausage! :D

Owner Mr Teo Ho Soon (age 52) is the 3rd generation in this family business. His wife and son help out at the stall. They have been selling ngoh hiang using his family recipe, which had been passed down from his grandfather, for almost a century.

Hup Kee Wu Xiang Guan Chang

Mr Teo starts preparation at 4 am daily. As the snacks are hand-made the traditional way and cooked from generations-old recipes, they require too much work and time to make. As a result, no one is interested in continuing the business. It could disappear one day. What a pity.


These are the variety of snacks sold at Mr Teo's stall. Ingredients are fresh. Prices are reasonable. Expect to wait as he has many orders. :)

Do remember to try their fried chicken wings too. :)

Hup Kee Wu Xiang Guan Chang
Maxwell Road #01-97
Opens: 11am - 8pm; closed on Mondays

First Commenter - Lina

Fengshui Ice-cream - WS

Talk : How the 5-elements affect our lives

I was invited by multi-talented Director, Ko Kho to his private preview of a 13-part Symphony for Dance Drama, 'Set Sail' (启航) which is about the struggles of the Vietnamese boat people. Many of his guests were from the Arts circle. I have no idea how I ended on the invited list. :P

The event also featured a specially concocted 5-Element Fengshui Ice cream by Ms Sein Chan of Seventh Heaven for this launch. Hopefully the invited guests would receive loads of good luck during this difficult time. :D

One's birth date displays a certain weakness of the person. We were served ice-cream cocktail, followed by their main course. The dishes are concocted in accordance with the 5-Element (五行) philosophy.

Water Element - Sea Salt Black Forest Ice-cream Cocktail

I was recommended the Sea Salt Black Forest Ice-cream. It's the first time I taste a savoury ice-cream. The ice-cream is smooth and saltish. It's unique. I fell in love with their yummy crispy breadsticks dipped in its equally delicious anchovies in virgin olive oil.

Fire - Wild Berries and Hazelnut Ice-cream Cocktail

There were another two more ice-cream but I was too busy tasting the ice-cream and chatting with new-found friends. I forgot to take photos. haha..... *embarrassed*


The main course was a hot Chocolate Lava cake paired with Apricot Liquor Ice-cream. Surprisingly, the milk-based Apricot Village Liquor known as fen jiu (汾酒) and chocolate cake complements the elements of Metal and Water for businessmen in Asia. These are auspicious representations. It will be too long if I explain this fengshui report in this post. :)

Chocolate Lava Cake and Apricot Liquor ice-cream 雪中送炭 温馨(杏)人间

The liquor is too strong if taken on its own. Even though I was sipping it, I was overwhelmed by the strong liquor taste. But when I pour the liquor over the ice-cream, the combination is a fragrant and enjoyable dessert!

Made from Italian Amedei chocolate, the centre of the hot Lava cake is molten chocolate that melts your earthly desires. I was in Seventh Heaven. :)

Seventh Heaven is the first Singapore gourmet retail and events ice-cream company to offer customisation services. Their artisan, gourmet ice-cream is created from scratch by hand. The ice-cream is natural, no flavouring agents or chemicals are added.

Seventh Heaven
10, Raeburn Park #01-24

Mon-Thu 11am-8pm
Fri 11am-11pm
Sat 1pm-11pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays

What is your dominant element?

To all ladies :

Happy International Women's Day

weekend-snapshot

First commenter - Laane

Horse Grass, Eat like a Horse!? - WW

Horse Grass 马草

Literally translated from Mandarin, this plant is called Horse Grass. It is fed not only to horses but sheep and goats. hehehe..... I don't know what its actual name is. :P

A search for a traditional cure for a diabetic friend led me to this farm located within D'Kranji Farm Resort in a far corner of Singapore.

The owner Mr Goh (60s), together with his wife and a partner, started planting this forage brought from Taiwan 4 months ago.

According to him, this horse grass has higher nutritional values, 5 times more than the common organic vegetables. It contains antioxidants believe to cut the risk of heart disease and cancer. Besides proteins and vitamins, higher levels of other beneficial minerals such as potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese and zinc are found. Believed to be good for detoxifying the body of harmful radicals.

Two glasses of this drink daily could control the levels of diabetic and high blood pressure. People with frequent headaches or constipation could try this tea.

Mr Goh preparing the plant for brewing herbal tea

The harvested plants are washed and cut. Water is added to brew it for two and a half hours using firewood. Rock sugar is added to give some taste. For diabetic patients, do not add sugar.

Brewing the herbal tea using firewood

Mrs Goh was busy brewing the tea but attended to us and answered all our queries. I was offered the tea. It tasted like sugar cane.
The farm comes with a tiny shop in front and a kitchen. Mr Goh has turned part of it into a relaxing outdoor corner for friends and family.

Buy a chilled ready-brew bottle of the drink (S$2) or get a convenient pack (S$4.80) and brew it yourself at home.

You can email me for Mrs Goh's contact number if you want to make orders for their products.

Update :
For Malaysians, there is a farm selling Horse Grass in Ipoh. I don't know where, probably you can ask the residents of Ipoh.

Wordless Wednesday

Dough Figure Sculpturing - WS

I was strolling along Waterloo Street, waiting for my Malaysian relatives who were praying at a nearby temple. Seeing a huge crowd ahead, I inched my way to the middle.

A young man was sculpturing a dough figurine of a tourist. Using several simple tools and different coloured dough, he began shaping the figure with deft fingers. Fascinated, I decided to watch.

I'm amazed by the young man's eye for details. Even the logo on his client's T-shirt didn't escape his eye. He focused on his subject and 20 minutes later, the product was completed.

Dough figurine is a traditional Chinese folk art with a history of more than one thousand years. Colored dough is made of flour, sticky rice flour, honey and preservatives, then steamed and kneaded with different colors.

His simple tools and coloured balls of soft dough.

A display of his completed work.

The happy couple who paid S$20 each for their dough figurines.

Dough figurines of the handsome couple.

These dough figurine remains colourfast and intact without getting decayed for decades.

weekend-snapshot

Pain!? What Pain? - WW

He walked bare-footed for 4km (more than 2 hours) carrying a heavy metal kavadi. His body pierced with sharp metal spikes. At the end of his journey, summoning every ounce of his energy, he danced with abandonment for a couple of minutes before his God.

Metal spikes pierced into his flesh were dismantled

The diameter of the metal spear is around 0.8cm.

Several twists, and to loud prayers, the spear was pulled out.

No blood was found on the spear. Quietly he mashed a pot of bananas ....

which was distributed to each member of his entourage.

An amazing feat by a thankful and courageous man.

Wordless Wednesday