Ethan and I were both invited to a food tasting session at Tim Ho Wan yesterday and we had such a feast! Supposed to head there for tasting a few weeks back but I had to give it a miss last minute and I was pretty bummed.

I actually tried their famous BBQ pork buns when I was in Hong Kong with my girlfriends two months ago and we queued for almost an hour for them. We didn't even manage to get seats because the restaurant was extremely packed and the queue was a total madness. But we were yearning to taste those buns so much that we did a takeaway and ate them immediately outside the restaurant. We only managed to consume one each and it was SO good!

I did a takeaway of a dozen buns right before I left Hong Kong so as to bring them back for my family to try but in my personal opinion, these buns are best to be consumed when they are piping hot. ;)

We had so much food on the table and if I were to pick, I really loved the Spring Rolls with smashed egg white (not a big fan of yolk but I love eggs and can't do without the whites!), the Chee Cheong Fan with pig liver, the prawn dumplings and of course, the BBQ buns!

       

 
   

My favourite ;)

Behind the scenes of how bloggers work!

And the highlight of the night!

    

Tim Ho Wan's famous dessert – chilled jelly with osmanthus flowers and goji berries. Pretty sweet and definitely a healthy pick!

  

Some of the new friends I met ;)

Wore my new electra mirror dress from Lace&Buttons. Surprised that it fitted comfortably despite all that feasting!

Friendly peeps I met last night ;)

Anyway, a big thank you to these kind ladies from Brand Cellar for hosting both Ethan and I, we had a really enjoyable dinner there! ;)

Tim Ho Wan 
68 Orchard Road 
#01-29A Plaza Singapura 
Tel: 62512000
Operating hours – Daily: 10:00 – 22:00

Both Ethan and I are fans of steaks. The best steak I'd so far was the one at Mortons but it's a place that I'll most likely visit during occasions instead of frequent casual meals.

We used to satisfy our beef cravings at Astons as Ethan thought that they served pretty good and value for money steaks but a few months ago, he mentioned that the standard dropped and we were back on a hunt for good and affordable steaks again. Then Selene introduced me this place called I-steak, which has a similar concept as Astons except for the fact that they specialize in beef steak more than anything else.

We tried it for the first time a couple months back and have been going back ever since! I'm sure there are many more places in Singapore with good quality steaks but those places that I know of are usually restaurants which you probably have to dress up a lil during your visits. I-steak is not located in a restaurant nor at a fanciful place but it's located in a coffeeshop at Serangoon Gardens (one of my favourite hang out places!). Somehow we are happy to find it and because of its casual setting, we can satisfy our meat cravings almost immediately each time. They serve pretty good quality meat and very affordable too. Definitely one of my recommended places for steaks!

So once again, we were back there just yesterday for a meal ;)

 
      
Wearing my new bohemian top from Apparelize! Wore it previously to a shoot (hence, the bare face & luggage) and another time for dinner last night. These pictures do not really do justice to the top but are the best amongst the few as I was rushing off and didn't manage to snap more shots. Always prefer to take outfit shots in the morning but it's so hard to get someone to help snap them during the day. Ethan usually helps me to snap them but by the time I meet him, it's after work and it'll be nightfall which can be really challenging to get a good shot of the outfit details. Boohoo, challenges of my 'job'. ;(

Anyway, I have a thing for white, cream tops and this top from Apparelize has lining attached and material is really comfortable too. Goes well with just a denim shorts for summer!

Pardon my tired looking face! Was feeling extremely tired recently with all that has been going on.

 
My all time favourite sides – Mac & Cheese and paprika sprinkled fries. Ethan thought that the cheese had an artificial taste but I guess I'm too huge a cheese fan to mind it.

Love their mushroom soup and garlic bread too ;)

I-STEAK
56 Serangoon Garden Way 
Tel: 62858839

***

On a side note, I'm heading to Singapore Social Concert this Saturday!

So excited about it because many famous international stars will be in town. Stars like PSY, Ceelo Green, Carly Rae Jepsen, Aerosmith etc and they will be performing! There will be different concerts on different days, starting from 23rd May Thursday and I'm going for the 25th May concert instead as Aerosmith will be taking on the stage!

Great thanks to Starcount & Nuffnang for the tickets for Ethan and I! Both of us are looking forward to the concert and I'm sure it will be a really awesome night.

Don't miss it if you hope to catch those stars too! You can click HERE to take a look at the concert details as well as tickets. ;)

I was completely spent during the weekend as I was out filming on both days for almost 17 hours each day! This has got to be one of the longest and most tiring shoots I've ever had. No complains for sure because there were approximately 10 people involved in the production and I'm sure the crew spent longer hours on shoot set than I am.

We did a filming for 12 short webisodes, introducing the lastest range of beauty products by Panasonic and the videos will showcase some tips/tricks that will definitely be helpful for you guys. Furthermore, a lot of effort was taken to set up the gorgeous princess room which I strongly urge you to watch at least one of the upcoming videos to take a look at how amazing the room is! Heh. The entire room – painted walls, bed frame, shelves etc, were put together from scratch specially for this shoot and I'm sure you'll be impressed with the work of the crew!

Can't wait to share the videos and here are some behind-the-scenes shots. ;)
 

Say hello to my huge zit! My first time having 'special effects' done on my face, was so intrigued by it!

So much work in the production and really thankful again to have a patient team with great people to work with again!

Two full days of about 35 hours of makeup was no joke and usually after shoots, I'll do a scrub, mask to prevent clogged pores that will then lead to breakouts and dirty, hagged skin.

I personally don't really have any favourite mask to introduce as my usual masks were the very affordable ones from Beauty Diary, mass brands from Korea etc and I thought they were not too bad but not exactly impressive after using. Pardon me for being quite a noobcake (learnt this word from my NUS mate, minyi. Love how hilarious it sounds when you read it out loud.) but I had that impression that masks were moisturizing but not as moisturizing as compared to our skin care products such as moisturizer which we'll use on a daily basis. Besides that, I also thought that the masks from good/luxury brands will probably just be slightly better. But the makeup artist I met on shoot set urged me to put one at night after the first day of shoot and also emphasized that a good mask makes a huge difference.

Not getting paid for this, but Lancome sent me a complete set of skin care products previously with no obligations of us to blog, publicize on them and for that, I thought they were really, really generous. From the bag of products, it came with this set of Lancome Genifique Masks that contained just 3 x Mask sheets which psychologically, made the pack precious and the masks seemed like miracle pieces though I was still a tad skeptical.

It was funny how I told the make up artist, Fion, that I've a pack of Lancome masks which I've been keeping them aside, waiting for an appropriate moment to use and she went like "When is an appropriate time to use? Just use it!". True true. One thing about me is I always don't bear to buy/open new things (except for clothes & accessories teehee) until I've really used up my old ones but the fact is, I'll forget that I've them or where did I place them and by the time I realised/found them, they have already expired. Boohoo.

So anyway, I was overly sweaty, oily by the time I reached home, so I decided to heed Fion's advice, pampered myself and opened this pack of Lancome Genefique masks to use one. Oh boy, luxury brands are indeed luxury for a reason. The mask was awesome!! Starting from the texture of the mask (you'll love it!) till the end-result, I swear I've never felt so impressed by a mask before. I can't really explain but for some reasons, I felt that my skin was revitalized, hydrated instantly and it felt almost 5 times more moisturized as compared to the usual masks I've been using. Oh dear, what have I been missing out!

And oh, by the way….. I used a second piece right after my second day of shoot.
So much for keeping them for an appropriate time. Geez!

 

I'm back to share on my second trip to Singapore Police Force (SPF) and this time it wasn't the usual locations but somewhere exciting.

You probably have guessed it right as seen from the title, the somewhere exciting that we went was none other than the Special Operations Command (SOC)! When I was presented with the program outline initially, it took me by surprise to know that we had a SOC trip planned out for us. You might be wondering what's the difference between SOC and the Land Divisions and prior to the trip, I had a mere rough idea on what's SOC about but never fully understood until the trip there. SOC to me, is as impressive as our Land Divisions’ officers (eg. neighbourhood police officers, patrolling officers etc) and the differences from my understanding, are the role, purpose and training. The Land Divisions’ mission is to ensure safety 24/7 in Singapore against all kinds of crime whereas SOC's mission is pretty similar, just that it is more focused  – To uphold the law, maintain order and keep the peace in the Republic of Singapore in times of  riots, terrorist attacks and disasters.

In a nutshell, SOC:
- Consists of Police Tactical Unit (PTU), Police K-9 Unit and lastly, Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR: elite SWAT equivalent unit).
- Trains to defuse potentially life-threatening situations
- Responsible for police tactical operations, maintenance of public order and security, weapon doctrines and other related matters.

I was pretty curious at the start about what they do on a daily basis given that they are mainly fully activated when substantial country issues arise. It was exciting that the three of us had a taste of the trainings/activities and by the time you finish reading this entry, I'm sure you'll as impressed as I am with the Force and equally proud to know how dedicated and spirited our officers in the Singapore Police Force are!

Here's a video to kick start the entry and take a look at our visit to SOC!

Bloggers' visit to SOC from reelitytv on Vimeo.

Thank you SPF for the warm welcome! :)

The various uniforms of the respective units.

This was the ACTUAL bus used back then during riots. Loud hailers were used for warning purpose and they would rely on the lights/colours on the numbers to inform the team to move.
P.S: The guy on the extreme left was wearing an actual uniform and I had a lil jump when I saw him moving because I thought he was one of the statues!

The bus they used for Crisis Negotiation.

And here was one of my favourite units – the SOC K-9 Unit.

Love the fact that the dogs are tied to the officers for the whole term that the dogs serve in the K-9 unit). These are the people who you see at woodlands checkpoint and sometimes with their trained dogs.

We witnessed how a trained dog worked its magic on sniffing drugs. These boxes were unfilled with drugs at the start and the dog was literally running in circles sniffing the boxes until it was called back.

Then the drug was placed in one of the boxes while the dog was away.

And this lil one sniffed it out within seconds and aww, he just stay-put beside the box and kept wagging his tail for us to acknowledge it before running off!

Playing the usual tug-of-war game that doggies love!

And the team brought out the other police-trained friends ;)

Say hello to our HUGE friend, the German Shepard.

Us looking all gawky with the dogs beside and trying to take a proper picture. This was the best out of those in my camera! heh

And here, a better shot. No doubt, professionals are professionals. Trained means trained. The owners/officers all looking smart with the doggies!

Next up, we had a lil experience with the SOC vehicles!

These will be used to put out fires that broke out during riots ) or to disperse swarming crowds.

Another of my favourite segments for the day – The AST exercise! Anti-Swarming Team exercise. We had a taste of the training and this is what the officers will train on a daily basis to ensure they are equipped with the skills and that they are prepared to be activated at any point of time.

And how exciting, we get to be part of the training!

All dressed up with proper gear.

Guess who?

I thought this shot of us is pretty cool, we do look like official trainees here. heh

A big thank you to the Recruitment team and the various officers who have been with us throughout the tour and trainings. Thank you for being so patient guiding, answering to our countless questions and ensuring that we are well protected and bringing home an absolutely great, memorable once in a lifetime experience. It's amazing to know what these guys do and how they serve the country, and if you are one such who has interest and thoughts on trying out a career as meaningful/noble as this yet do not know where to begin, please feel free to drop me or SPF a comment! I'll definitely try my best to answer you ;)

For other information, you can find out more about SPF here:
1. BeExtraodinary.spf.sg
- To find out more on entry requirements, opportunities for further education for Police Officer and Senior Police Officer etc]xx link to SPF Recruitment FB page
2. http://www.facebook.com/SingaporePoliceForceRecruitment?fref=ts
- ‘Like’ the FB page to post queries or receive regular updates on career-related matters. Do participate in the Facebook Contest after reading this post and you stand a chance to receive a gift!

 

Today's entry is something really exciting and I can't wait to share about it! I never thought we would get a chance to work on assignments with the government and the last thing I would expect is an assignment with our national security force, in other words, the Singapore Police Force (SPF). So just imagine how thrilled I was when I was first briefed/told that we will be paying a visit to the various units such as the Special Operations Command (SOC), Central Police Division as well as the Police Training Command (TRACOM) which I'll be sharing later. ;)

Until this trip to the SPF, I never knew what exactly does the Force do, or what does a Police officer do on a daily basis/ in general – Guess I'm a classic example of a complacent Singaporean who knows that i'm living in a safe country with tight security but never bother finding out about the contributions of the state. And after this first full day-trip to TRACOM & Central Police Division, I actually felt a little guilty for not playing my part to know/understand about the contributions and commitments of our Police Officers. Definitely seeing the SPF in a whole new different light now, and if I were to use three words to describe SPF after the experience I'd, they would be - Impressive, Admiring & Inspiring. Read on and I believe you would feel the same too ;)

Besides not knowing about the job scopes of a Police Officer, I had zero clue on what they go through before they are officially appointed as one. Together with Yina & Rachell, we had this privileged chance to understand/see the trainings and even experienced some of them!

TIME CHECK:9AM
LOCATION: TRACOM

With the ladies & us waiting for our tees. We got to don on a 'Trainee Tee' for the day's trip.

As we had to cover a huge area in a short period of time, we were very honoured to have a buggy prepared by the team for us to move around the compound!

Had a Welcome and Introduction by a Senior Police Officer,, Mdm Superintendent Lilian Tan, a Superintendent who has been in the force for 18 years and still counting.

The introduction was rounded up with a brief on the various areas of the place.

TIME CHECK:9.30AM

We were provided with the Ops Utility belts that Police Officers put on when they patrol around the neighbourhood. Yes, the belt where they will place their weapons! Amazed by how they can carry it the whole day and I thought it was pretty heavy when ours didn't have any weapons still. Was told that it will be about 7KG in total when all weapons/tools are slotted in and was surprised that it didn't feel uncomfortable nor did it hinder movement throughout the day despite its weight.

We do look like trainees, don't we? ;D

This Obstacle Course area consists of obstacle stations and each station showcases a similar obstacle an officer will encounter in public. These stations are to be completed at one go within a certain time frame (5minutes 30 seconds for males, 6 minutes 30 seconds for females), now I'm impressed by the fitness level of our officers!

Besides that, the obstacles and challenges we encountered were unexpectedly, pretty manageable even for ladies like us with no prior training nor are we exactly the tallest females around. With more trainings, I believe most of us can definitely pass the obstacle course as long as we have the determination! ! Especially to those who feel that you aren't of a decent build to be a police officer yet having the passion to be in the Force, don't doubt yourself and I strongly do encourage you passionate ones to give it a try :)

We had demonstrations by officers along the way.

And we got to try out some of the easier stations. Phew ;)

One of the stations – creates the experience of chasing a criminal up to the roof top of our HDB blocks.

TIME CHECK: 10AM

Another amazing experience because we learnt some defence tactics as well as we got to test out weapons/tools that officers use – T baton & Handcuffs! We even had real life demonstrations and people for us to practise on.

Warm-up exercise before the practice began.

A useful tactic we learnt and took home for that day. ;)

Showcase a demostration of defence tactics (The entire module consist of 67 moves and techniques!) that a Police Officer will learn//be equipped of and they were indeed, indeed impressive.  Am looking at them with full admiration, SALUTE!

TIME CHECK: 11AM

One of the most exciting programmes for the day – Combat Shooting! We got to do a dry practice with the real life revolvers at the shooting range after the briefing.

This is how the shooting range looks like. So thrilled that we got to hold a real weapon and it's not as easy firing the shots as I've imagined it to be. I do think that all officers who are part of the force are really remarkably-trained for fitness and discipline. It was rather nerve-wrecking to be holding a real pistol but the officers were very understanding, and guided us systematically on how to handle one. Awe-inspiring ;)

TIME CHECK: 11.45AM

Do you know that they have a fake 'real shopping mall' built in the compound? I was in awe when we were brought there and this is how 'real' the trainings are! There were shops just like a neighbourhood, escalators, ATMs situated around the area too.

Excited us ;)

We witnessed an exercise done by the trainees, and learnt about their usual trainings.

TIME CHECK: 12.15PM

We paid a trip to the dormitory, to view their rooms and facilities.

I thought the dormitory was very clean, airy and spacious.

Every dormitory is located with a gym for trainees to train.

TIME CHECK: 12.45PM

We got the chance to dine in with the officers and trainees!

Practising good hygiene, just look at how smiley we were to be back-to-primary-school days ;)

I thought this was an amusing shot of us. All (except the officer) looking like big lil kids queuing for our food ;)

What they eat. A generous serving I must say and I thought the food was pretty good!

Ended our first half of the day at TRACOM and a big thank you to Mdm Lilian Tan for taking time out to guide us around the compound. Got to learn and understand a lot about the SPF from her and Mdm Tan is definitely a very inspiring-individual to look up to. Singapore is safe and fortunate to have officers like her. :)

TIME CHECK: 2.30PM
LOCATION: CENTRAL POLICE DIVISON
 

  We sat in for an introduction, learning/understanding about the Police Officers' roles on a day to day basis.

We got to explore some of the equipments that are frequently use.

Last activity of the day was to patrol around with the police officers. Was really exciting for us in particular because we got to sit in a police van/car (I mean, what are the chances?! Unless one performs crimes or either, an officer). Thrilled!

Witnessed how the Community Policing officers (CPOs) perform their day-to-day tasks and by the way, they are all in bermudas instead of long pants due to ease. Don't be surprise to see them walking around the neighbourhood!

And a big thank you to our patrolling officer, it was definitely an eye-opening experience!

***

Thankful to be witnessing/experiencing one of the most important and inspiring arms of Singapore's governance. Not denying the fact that the trainings might be pretty intensive, but after gaining a bit more understanding about the force and their day-to-day trainings, career progression and contribution, I do think every single Police Officer (as well as those who are training to be one) is truly an admirable figure. I am in awe with the commitment and discipline level of each individual and they are definitely the people we Singaporeans are grateful to have because they are the ones who keep the neighbourhood/nation well-protected every single day. Feel a lil ashamed of how lil I know of the Force and was truly impressed with what we learnt/know of after. The experience made me feel that being part of the Force is indeed one of the most meaningful careers one could have.

Trainings are intensive (especially for me who hasn't been working out for a while), but I actually felt that they were pretty manageable for one who has no experience (not even in CCAs related such as NPCC etc when i was younger).  We also had a lot of guidance along the way by different Officers and they were very understanding, patient and knew exactly what were the problems we each will usually face/feel. If I being not so competent in sports and all can complete these trainings, i believe you can definitely do so much more ;)

Besides that, we got to know about the standard benefits of being a Police Officer and I bet you are interested to know them too. It's definitely one of the better paying government jobs around, meaningful, challenging and fulfilling. Do you know a Police Officer is entitled to:
1. Annual leave of 28-35 days (most jobs are 14 days, and the most I know – eg.banks, are 21 days)
2. Annual medical leave of 14 days or 60 days with hospitalization
3. Course Sponsorship (subject to approval) 
4. Annual Study leave of 12 days (subject to approval)
5. Retention payments
6. Retention and Retirement Plans
7. Class 3 driving license sponsored  
8. Use of local/overseas holiday chalets and bungalows
9. Marriage and baby benefits

Other benefits that one will get too:
1. SIGN-ON BONUS – New direct-entry officers with Full ‘A’ Level Certificates, International Baccalaureate (IB) / NUS High School Diplomas , Llocal polytechnic diplomas/NAFA/Lasalle qualifications will receive a sign-on bonus of $10,000. They will also be required to serve a 2-year Bond with SPF.
2. RETENTION BONUS PAYOUT – New officers will also look forward to $30,000 to $60,000 bonus payouts over the first 13 years of service
3. SPONSORED OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUTURE EDUCATION – I bumped into a few University friends during my visit too and realised they were under the SPF Scholarship back then!

You might want to know:
1.  BASIC SALARY – For Polytechnic Diploma holders, Pay Scale is from $1920 to $2370 for a start and entry rank is a Sergeant
* Starting salary will vary accordingly to assessment of academic qualification, work experiences and completion of Full-time National Service
2. FOR MALES WHO HAVE YET TO SERVE NS – Under the Minimum Term of Engagement (MTE) scheme, pre-Enlistees are allowed to join SPF as a regular officers and receive FULL pay and benefits, while serving NS with SPF. 

I believe some of you might have questions to ask, you can just post your questions directly on SPF's Facebook Page. Alternatively, feel free to drop me a comment and I'll answer you to my best of knowledge or I can try to help by asking the Force on your behalf ;) For a start, you might wish to support SPF's Recruitment Facebook Page and take part in their contest to win movie tickets home! ;) 

To find out more about Careers in SPF, click HERE.

I'll be back with my experience Part II because we will be exploring the Special Operations Command  (SOC) on another day. Am sure it will be another awe-inspiring experience so stay tuned ;)