Okay I admit. I got scammed by a spa package before. None other than the infamous True Spa. Fortunately, I only bought a $1500 package then, and already used a substantial amount of it. Phew. However, massages and foot reflexology are some of the few simple luxuries available for the stressed out Singaporean. And of course, being a stressed out Singaporean, I need to find alternatives ASAP! Fortunately, I hold a couple of credit cards. Credit cards typically have massage promotions available in the monthly brochures. But because I had a package previously, I did not really pay attention to the promotions available. Most of the time, the promotions are only for first time customer. However, there are quite a number of them which state that if you have not visited them in the last 6 months, you’re eligible for the promotion too. Times must be bad! The promotions are typically $20-40 for a 60 minute massage. Besides the hassle of the sales pitch that you have to sit through, why should a person sign up for a package that charges $50-80 for a massage if there are limitless first time trials that a person can go to? You have to note, this was before the days when the deal websites like groupon got popular. Prior to discovering Refresh Day Spa, I was actually going to the Refresh Bodyworks near my house for their foot reflexology. One of the things I liked about it is the consistency of service at a fairly decent price. Even for non-members, it’s ~$30 for 40 minutes of foot reflexology. If I’m not wrong, this is cheaper than some of the other foot reflexology places around Singapore. So then, I found out they are expanding into the day spa concept. And just so nicely too, since their day spa at Far East Plaza is very very near my workplace! I dropped them a visit, did a $28 for 60 minute massage trial, and then I decided to sign up a...
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With regards to Singapore Exchange’s public consultation on continuous all-day trading, I have a few personal reservations about it. Below is my open letter. I believe continuous all-day trading is not necessary in the Singapore market, or most other Asian stock markets in general as the benefits are not necessarily more than the disadvantages that come with it. Unlike in US, brokerage firms play a key role in the eco-system here. In US, unless you pay top money for a full service broker, you would probably end up using a discount broker, which do not have a trading representative tied to the account. The reason why this can happen is because risk management can be calculated and computerised. This is largely due to the difference in evolution of equities trading and trading account management. In Singapore, contra trading is common. Deposits by clients, if any, tend to be around 20% to 50% of the trading limit, as opposed to 100% in most US brokers. Thus, trading representatives play a very important role as risk managers as they are usually the ones who underwrite the credit risk of the clients. Business in general tends to be conducted very differently in Asia as compared to the Western countries. In Asia, people tend to cultivate a more informal relationship while pursuing a business relationship. It is because of that you hear the common phrase ‘guan xi’. This is no different in Singapore. While trading and execution is a significant part of the job, trading representatives spend a large amount of time meeting up with clients over meals and having casual chats. Besides meeting clients, trading representatives also have to juggle with attending analyst briefings, luncheon presentations, or simply just catching up with the latest news. For a trading representative who is committed to providing quality service, one would be reluctant to leave his trading desk during market hours. As such, most of such activities happen when the market is closed, such as before market, during lunch hour, or after market. For established brokers, some of them would hire trading assistants, so that they can devote more time...
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Being Singaporeans, most people started out having a POSB bank account as their first ever bank account. From then, they move on to DBS, and then having DBS credit cards etc.. Not me. My first ever bank account was a UOB Funsavers account. This was one of those fun savings accounts for young kids that come with a bank book and all those stuff. Then, I graduated to the TX account, which is basically a low minimum balance account for teens, with a cool looking ATM card to flash around your friends. When we all got older, I moved up to the Campus account, which comes with a nice debit card that allows you to act cool in front of your peers by doing the ‘grown up swiping card for payment’. It also comes with nice cheque books that make you SO business-man like! One of the sights that always amazes me is the queue in front of a DBS/POSB atm. In a typical shopping center, whenever you see a hub of atms, there will usually be 2-3 DBS/POSB atms, 1 UOB atm, 1 OCBC atm, 1 Citibank atm (because citibank is almost like the 4th local bank of Singapore. *heh heh*), and occasionally a ANZ/Maybank/StanChart/etc atm. What I would typically do, is walk to the UOB atm, which has no queue at all, withdraw my money in 1 minute flat (with the quick customised menu thing), and do a quiet snigger at the bunch of DBS/POSB customers queuing 10-20 minutes to withdraw their money. Hur Hur! For some reason, there will usually be around 10-15 people queuing 2-3 dbs atms, but there will be at most 1 person, or usually nobody waiting for the uob/ocbc atms. Why, I would never understand. There hasn’t been any inherent benefit in having a dbs/posb savings account ever since they instated the $500 minimum deposit for a normal savings account, which brings in on par with the other local banks. So why not just open a UOB or OCBC...
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Finally managed to try Kiseki!. I probably heard of this buffet joint 2 months back when it first opened. Basically, I understand it’s opened by the same group of owners as Shokudo Japanese Bazaar (at Raffles City). The main difference is that for Shokudo, you walk around with your card to charge it to your card. Whereas for Kiseki, it’s buffet style! I went for the weekday dinner one, which is pretty decent at $29. The weekend dinner is slightly more expensive at $35. And I figure if I had to pay $35, I would much rather go to the higher end joints like Hanabi, which would be fairly similar in pricing anyway. One thing I really like about the place is the seating arrangement. It’s fairly similar to Shokudo and marche, where food stalls are scattered everywhere, and the tables are located closer to the sides. Somehow, the place don’t look as crowded this way. Perhaps it’s because it was a weekday night. Food wise, not exactly the most fantastic quality, but definitely not lousy food. Initially, I had fairly low expectations, after reading the various reviews at HungryGoWhere.. But after our first round of food servings, the quality was actually quite decent! Fairly decent variety of food. Some of the foods are probably cheap fillers, but there were enough ‘core’ food to make the buffet worthwhile. The desserts are average. Not too much on the cakes and pastries selection. I quite like the waffles and ice cream though. Overall, I think I would definitely give them another visit! If you guys are free, weekdays lunch seem to be a good bargain at...
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Chinese culture has always been one full of glamour, colour and vividness. Just take a look at Lunar New Year celebrations, Mid Autumn festival, Hungry Ghost month, and even simple things like Wedding banquets. There’s always lots of colours, bright lights, massive crowds, and tons of noise. In all, a sense of bustling joyous activity. Being the hungry ghost month currently, there are actually 5-10 ‘getais’ happening daily around Singapore. You would probably need to buy the chinese newspapers to get the schedule and location though. These ‘getais’ or literally, song stage, are a form of free performances done for the ‘brothers and sisters’ who are released from the spirit realm during the hungry ghost month. But that said, it is always packed with people too! Recently I have a sudden craving for these performances. The friendly banter among the emcees, the dances and hokkien songs, the bright lights and the large bustling crowds somehow create a kind of atmosphere that’s different from say a music festival organised for the young adult crowd. Don’t understand? Just watch...
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