Mother’s Day 2011 falls on 8 May. In Singapore it is common to take Mum out for dinner and we will also buy her Mother’s Day flowers and gifts.

And so we have been seeing florists, restaurants and hotels getting ever more creative with their Mother Day’s promotion to make you spend more money to spoil Mum on her special day.

Mother’s Day Credit Card Promotion

If you do own credit cards, you probably are aware of the banks’ Mother’s Day promotion. Citibank, HSBC and UOB offer generous discount when you use their credit cards to pay for the Mother’s Day dinner, flowers and spa packages.

Mother’s Day Gift Ideas: Cartier, Gucci and SKII

Over the recent years, husbands are splurging on Mother’s Day! We are talking about the husband pampering his wife with spa packages, SK2 skincare products, expensive designer handbags and Cartier watches.

So which Mother’s Day promotion are you getting for your Mum and wife?

The numbers are out. Bakkwa wins over iPhone in bringing more visitors to this blog. Before yesterday, more people come to this blog searching for iPhone. Now, I get more people looking for bakkwa. It’s confirmed that Singaporeans love the sweet barbecued pork more than their gadgets!

Lim Chee Guan and Kim Hock Guan win. Apple loses.

I was quite surprised that people, the non-geek and the non-techies included, are actually searching online for their favorite Chinese New Year food.

Shouldn’t they already known what and where to buy their favorite bakkwa?!

Here’s some of the more popular search phrases used by Bakkwa lovers:

• bak kwa singapore
• best bak kwa in singapore
• duck bak kua

Yes, people are searching for the new Duck Bak Kwa.

Who’s selling this novelty bak kwa?

Fragrance Bak Kwa used to sell them but I am not sure. If you know, write in the comment box below.

I still prefer Lim Chee Guan Bak Kwa & Kim Hock Guan Bak Kwa.

My last holiday travel to Japan was more than 2 years ago on a Hokkaido Self Drive Tour and I regretted not planning a side trip to Tokyo.

I have not visited Tokyo for more than 10 years.

In the 1990s, I used to travel to Japan frequently when I was working with Sokkia Singapore, a Japanese land surveying equipment manufacturer. However, these business trips usually took place between early Spring to late Summer. So, I have never experienced Japan during the Autumn season. With the cheap flight to Tokyo offered by Malaysia Airlines, I decided to make a trip this November to see the Tokyo autumn leaves.

Tokyo Trip Plan

Here’s my “Must-see, Must-buy, Must-eat” Tokyo trip itinerary.

Autumn Leaves

• Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden [小石川後楽園]
• Rikugien Garden [六義園]

I want to spend at least half a day visiting each of these gardens and at least one full day relaxing with Autumn leaves.

Shopping

• Shibuya – Clothing and Fashion
• Shinjuku – Cameras and Electronics
• Akihabara – Cameras and Electronic
• Asakusa – Souvernirs

After a full-day recharging the body and mind, it’ll be time for a day or 2 to shop-till-you-drop adventure!

Food

• Tsukiji Fish Market
• Ramen at roadside stall – Yatai Ramen

It won’t be a holiday without indulging in my favorite Japanese food… sashimi and ramen.

If you have any recommendation for me, please leave your comment below.

ありがとうございます

I actually like the place for dinner and visited the marmalade pantry at Hitachi Tower several times. I enjoyed the Crab Caesar Salad and the Ribeye Steak Sandwich. But, I was totally disappointed today.

I did not make a reservation because I was there at 11.45am to meet my wife and a friend for early lunch. We placed our order by 12 noon and were served our food very promptly. We ordered spaghetti with kurobuta pork, ribeye steak sandwich and the crab caesar salad.

By 12.30pm the place was already very crowded and noisy.

Then…

At about 1pm, when we finished our food and started talking, we were told to leave. The restaurant staff tried to explain that the table has been reserved and we have to pay up and go.

Why are they chasing away people who paid $22 for a plate of salad, $24 for a sandwich and $5.70 for a coffee?

Running an Expensive Restaurant like a Food Court

We chose the place because we wanted to enjoy our lunch and talk over a cup of coffee. Apparently, the management of the restaurant is running the place like a food court.

Even MacDonald’s and Burger King would have left us alone if I’ve ordered only a hamburger.

I declare to blacklist and boycott the Marmalade Pantry.

I like Singtel’s inSing.com and I think it’s a winner. As an internet directory, it is easy to use and as a food, shopping, entertainment portal I couldn’t stop clicking further into the portal. There are so much to explore in inSing.com…

The local internet directory, classifieds and search space is already crowded by

• eguide.com.sg
• yellowpages.com.sg
• hotfrog.sg
• rednano.sg
• mocca.com
• st701.com
• sg.88db.com
• streetdirectory.com

and many other smaller players. Many of these portals are useless and boring if not downright spammy.

inSing.com Launch Party

I think inSing.com really stands out among the crowd and is a breath of fresh air for Singapore internet users.

I will definitely try to use it to search for local food and shopping. Well done, Singtel!

inSing.com Criticism

I am sure there are critics out there who may not agree with me. So, what do you think?

Send me what you think at the “Leave a Comment” box below.

Time to look for the best Bak Kua for the Chinese New Year – just 6 weeks from now. Bak Kua is a must-have delicacy to CNY celebration. That’s why people queue for hours at popular Bak Kwa outlet such as Lim Chee Guan Bak Kwa – 林志源肉干.

Bak Kua (aka Bak Kwa and Bakkwa), literally translated, means dried meat is made from marinated pork barbecued over charcoal fire.

Here’s a list of some of the Best bak kua in Singapore.

Lim Chee Guan Bak Kwa – 林志源肉干

203 New Bridge Road
Tel: 6227 8302

Lim Chee Guan Bak Kwa is founded in 1938. However, I wonder if it has been selling bak kua all along for the past 70 years in Singapore. You may want to go get it now to avoid the long queue 2 weeks before the Chinese New Year. The shop is situated at Chinatown (牛车水).

Kim Hock Guan Bak Kwa – 金福源肉干

150 South Bridge Road
#01-02 Fook Hai Building
Tel: 6535 2536

Here’s another one of my favorite bak kua, Kim Hock Guan Bak Kwa at Fook Hai Building.

Other Kim Hock Guan outlets:

• 180 Bencoolen St #01-25 The Bencoolen (facing Bencoolen St)
• 107 East Coast Rd (opp Katong Mall)

Bee Cheng Hiang Bak Kwa – 美珍香肉干

189 New Bridge Road
Tel: 6223 7059

When it comes to bak kwa, it will be incomplete without the mention of 美珍香. According to their official website, www.bch.com.sg Bee Cheng Hiang was founded in 1933, even older than the Lim Chee Guan brand.

The main shop of Bee Cheng Hiang Bak Kwa is located at Chinatown.

So what’s your favorite bak kwa and which do you think is the best?

Singapore’s famous blogger Mr Miyagi said Rednano.sg “is a superfluous search engine” in his article, Rednano’s shepherd’s pie vs Google’s shepherd’s pie” and listed anecdoctal evidence to prove his view.

Rednano.sg is #1 Superfluous Search Engine

Google search results on superfluous search engine

Personally, I think Rednano.sg is just another decent search engine. It is still far from what SPH Search want to achieve as a local search engine for Singapore. And I think the way SPH Search is marketing Rednano.sg is really very naive.

1. Does SPH Search really understand how people use search engines?
2. Why did they think Singaporeans would want to search for PIE or chicken rice at Rednano.sg?
3. What is the real purpose of SPH building a search engine and directory?

Just Another Site for SPH to Sell Ad Space

Rednano.sg is destined to be a superfluous search engine as long as the developer’s number one priority is not to provide the best user experience but to sell more ad space.