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ReindeerF posted:Also, if at all possible, fly Singapore Airlines. It really is worth the money. In fact it's easily the best thing about Singapore, heh. We don't take too kindly to your type around here. *faint sound of Dueling Banjos*
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Feb 7, 2010 14:09
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ReindeerF posted:I do this from Houston, so I have better options but a similar predicament. Your most affordable option is going to be catching Southwest to LAX and finding a flight from LAX to Singapore. There are tons of carriers doing that trip, so it shouldn't be a problem. That being said, fares are not cheap right now so don't get your hopes up. My cheapest flight option from Bangkok to Houston is around $1,160 and that's several hundred dollars more than I paid when I first came a few years ago. Bangkok is usually about the same price as Singapore in flight terms. Thanks. I'll probably just opt not to go - recently found out the wife is with child!
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Feb 7, 2010 14:29
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Congratulations!
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Feb 7, 2010 16:00
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walkenator posted:We don't take too kindly to your type around here. Congratulations, SirPablo 
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Feb 7, 2010 21:05
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China Airlines both do LAX to SIN for under $US1300, and China Eastern for LAX to HKG for just over $900 - jump on board a cheap Tiger or Jetstar flight from Hong Kong to Singapore. Shouldn't be more than $150 return.
Finch! fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Feb 8, 2010 |
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Feb 8, 2010 00:42
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Spent my first 17 years here, then went to the US for 10 years and I've been back here for the past year. There's been some pretty good advice in this thread so far. As far as food goes, if you want local and you're not eating at hawker centres, you're doing it wrong. Also, don't go to Newton Hawker Centre because that place is now a tourist trap that will overcharge you for the same food you would get for much cheaper elsewhere. Places like Clarke Quay, Orchard Rd, Holland Village and the like are not really representative of a local's lifestyle. Those have largely become expat-dominated sanitized tourist traps. If you want a peek into how a majority of Singaporeans (and myself and my parents) live, venture out into the heartland HDB estates and walk through the variety of markets and shops. I'd say a trip to a genuine HDB wet market is also an eye-opener for most foreigners.
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Feb 11, 2010 06:06
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Yeah I went to Holland Village for the first time a few weeks ago. Some funny things one more white people than other races. I don't really care if I am the only white guy or if there's a lot of us but this was pretty staggering. Also a pizza costs $20 which is about 8-10x more expensive than most other meals. Second there were a lot of police around, so we joked our Singaporean friend was risking her life eating with us because it was such a probable tourist target. I spent a good 2-3 weeks reading expat messageboards before coming and they filled my head with nonsense. Also I am a self hating white man for the most part when I go out anywhere around CQ. It's pretty weird. Kwagga what brought you back from the US to Singapore? Edit Also it's pretty funny how the "educated" singaporean's around my shared office will treat any hired help like peons. According to a co-worker the other people feel that they are much too important to bother with cleaning up after themselves. Also if you do grab fast food (McDonalds/KFC/Burgerking) and you clear your own tray which is totally normal where I'm from, people will stare at you like you're a Martian. Also pretty l o l to see so many people with nanny's raising their children. Ret fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Feb 11, 2010 |
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Feb 11, 2010 07:33
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Ret posted:Kwagga what brought you back from the US to Singapore? I had a job in the US but I got laid off last year and my work visa got canceled as a result. I'm back to chill and stay with my parents for a bit until I start an MBA program in a few months. As for your observation about people not cleaning up after themselves, the "entitled" attitude that people seem to have adopted about it is somewhat new to me too. It wasn't like this here when I was growing up. We used to pack up our own trays back then and clear them away. I still do it now though I don't get looks about it. As for people with maids raising their kids, it's kind of unfortunate that it's part of the lifestyle now but Singapore has become so expensive that raising kids in a single-income household is becoming infeasible so with both parents working, it somehow became the norm to have a live-in maid who cooks, cleans and raises your kids for you. I knew a few kids back during my school days who had those kinds of upbringings but nowadays it's a dime a dozen. I've noticed that a lot of things have changed here since I was a kid and not necessarily for the better. The lower and middle classes are slowly being squeezed out of being able to afford good housing while the rich are just getting richer. My friends from school who are now getting married and looking for their own houses are getting locked into 30 year loans to pay off tiny S$800K places on the outskirts of the island. A lot of expats are unaware of how lovely the housing situation is for a lot of people because they arrive here on expat packages with high salaries which usually include a housing allowance or even use of a company-rented condo. I don't mean to sound like I'm hating on expats but I have browsed some of the expat boards about Singapore as well and there is a certain level of ignorance on those boards about how life is over here and I'm guessing it's because of a lack of effort to integrate and mingle and see it from the other side of the glass.
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Feb 11, 2010 14:36
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haha wow i just re-read my post, i've become such a jaded gently caress
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Feb 11, 2010 14:39
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I lived there for eight years and I'll admit I was spoiled with a nice house+best school in the world (SAS). We had a maid to cook/clean but she didn't "take care of us" more than that. My dad was a VP at the Seagate factory and worked a lot and my mom didn't work so she was there to take us to school things, appointments, shopping and what have you. I cleaned up after myself at my house or if I ate at McDonalds (seriously how hard is it to dump out your tray and put ontop the trashcan people?) because it's how I was raised. The only thing I miss about having a maid was that she cooked amazing meals and would let me cook with her so I learned some stuff. On the topic of all these tourist traps and stuff, how bad is it now? I lived there from '95-'03 and I don't really remember ever getting ripped off or people trying to rip me off. Then again, we travelled to Bali, Phuket, Bangkok and Malaysia a lot so bartering was something I picked up at a young age. Has it always been bad or have I just never noticed it since I was young. And I had a Singapore dream the other day...very weird. I dreamed that I was finally able to visit Singapore again and it was for something important, a job or something. All I can remember is saying screw the job, I want prata! I woke up before I got to eat it though 
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Feb 11, 2010 23:06
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Yeah I did not get any expat package i'm on a normal local package. No end date just working like a regular guy. I looked at super sketchy apartments in Geylang $500-600 for a tiny room with single bed but it was 2 PAX so my girlfriend could also join me there. WHAT A DEAL! I definitely feel for any person and or family that is trying to get by on < $2K SGD a month. Talked to lots of dudes who are in that situation. Also co-worker who's a local used to work at seagate and was making serious cash. But it sounded dangerous with vacuum tubes etc and some other supervisor lost a thumb before. You peoples porn habits cost a man his thumb. Most of the expats are really amazing to study in the wild. They are super boring, think their banking/finance/whatever job is sooo important. Most of the Men are in their early thirties, slightly balding and look stressed out. Also most of them all hang out together in the clubs and backwardly try to pickup babes :P This is actually more or less a generalization from the people I see roaming around the business district at lunch time. There's lots of cool rear end expats too but yeah people having their home, cars and getting $8-10K SGD a month with a set exit date are often wankers.
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Feb 12, 2010 07:52
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Whiteboy posted:On the topic of all these tourist traps and stuff, how bad is it now? I lived there from '95-'03 and I don't really remember ever getting ripped off or people trying to rip me off. Then again, we travelled to Bali, Phuket, Bangkok and Malaysia a lot so bartering was something I picked up at a young age. Has it always been bad or have I just never noticed it since I was young. It's still reputable on the whole, it's just that now there are a lot of mainland Chinese and Indian tourists visiting Singapore so - especially once the casinos open - places everywhere are absolutely rammed, as someone said Singaporeans are being squeezed to the outlying areas. Things have gotten progressively tackier, and now there are malls literally taking up every available space on Orchard. There's this new grotesquely huge one called Ion, devoted to top of the line brands and I guess frequented solely by rich Indonesians (it always seems to be almost deserted when I wander through). The only places where you'd get ripped off would be random electronics stores and Newton Circus. Ret posted:Most of the expats are really amazing to study in the wild. They are super boring, think their banking/finance/whatever job is sooo important. Most of the Men are in their early thirties, slightly balding and look stressed out. Also most of them all hang out together in the clubs and backwardly try to pickup babes :P This is actually one of the main reasons I'm looking forward to leaving in a few days and hopefully not returning to live in Singapore until I'm well past 40. These assholes have multiplied exponentially despite Nick Leeson and the recession. Edit - if you don't know about this and you're in SG, you should. The bar at Morton's in the Oriental does a deal every weekday from 5-7 where you get $10 martinis, bigger than any other place I've been to, and you get free steak sandwiches as they make them. Wear pants/proper shoes. Jim Bont fucked around with this message at 08:53 on Feb 12, 2010 |
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Feb 12, 2010 08:48
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walkenator posted:There's this new grotesquely huge one called Ion, devoted to top of the line brands and I guess frequented solely by rich Indonesians (it always seems to be almost deserted when I wander through). The only places where you'd get ripped off would be random electronics stores and Newton Circus. Ion is horrible and an eyesore. The basement floors are crowded usually because those are stores that people can actually afford to shop in. Everything ground floor and up is specifically meant for tourists that have more money than sense and as such, it always seems relatively empty. And I am writing down that tip about Morton's because that sounds loving good.
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Feb 12, 2010 09:31
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Man you guys are really making me want to fly to Singapore to check out how much it's changed And did you say they are getting a casino..?
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Feb 12, 2010 19:33
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Yeah, they're building a big rear end casino/theme park on Sentosa, just near where the bridge from the mainland joins it.
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Feb 12, 2010 21:18
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2 casinos. There's the one on Sentosa and there's one on Marina Bay. The Marina Bay one in particular has really changed the skyline.
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Feb 13, 2010 01:27
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I'd imagine the casinos are always completely packed. Man they never had anything interesting like this when I lived there Then again I wouldn't of been old enough to gamble anyways 
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Feb 13, 2010 01:43
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http://www.marinabaysands.com/en/index.html I'm looking forward to checking out the Lion King here. The garden above the three towers looks like it should be really amazing. http://www.rwsentosa.com/ <-- This already has a soft opening of universal and they have their Casino license. It is funny how they want to charge locals $100 to go in, under the pretense of helping keep out problem gamblers har har har, but they might give you $100 worth of chips. That and how will they check if EP holders or PR's are in fact PR's and not just a tourist. I guess they could look it up but seems like a huge hassle. Also thank you for the Martini advice!
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Feb 13, 2010 02:24
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Ret posted:That and how will they check if EP holders or PR's are in fact PR's and not just a tourist. I guess they could look it up but seems like a huge hassle. PRs have blue identity cards. If you can't flash that or a pink one to show you're a citizen, then you're not local.
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Feb 13, 2010 02:45
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Ret posted:Also it's pretty funny how the "educated" singaporean's around my shared office will treat any hired help like peons. According to a co-worker the other people feel that they are much too important to bother with cleaning up after themselves. Also if you do grab fast food (McDonalds/KFC/Burgerking) and you clear your own tray which is totally normal where I'm from, people will stare at you like you're a Martian. Also pretty l o l to see so many people with nanny's raising their children. Kwagga posted:I've noticed that a lot of things have changed here since I was a kid and not necessarily for the better. No, I completely agree. Singaporeans have gotten even further into the nouveau riche mindset and too many of us are entitled fucks. I love my country, but every time I go back for a visit I die a little inside.
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Feb 14, 2010 09:34
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navydocquad0 posted:By the way, adding lah and mixing in some malay to your everyday speech is stupid Singapore. Stop doing it. That's the equivalent of the local "dialect". Why is it stupid?
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Feb 15, 2010 11:30
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Hey guys, I just arrived in Singapore about two weeks back. I'm going to be here indefinitely for business, and I left all my friends back home. Hoping to meet some fellow goons to maybe grab a beer, shoot the poo poo, and see what there is to do in this country.
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Feb 15, 2010 12:12
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Kwagga posted:That's the equivalent of the local "dialect". Why is it stupid? And it's always a loving hoot when a foreigner can speak fluent Singlish. You will gain laughs and many friends. Keevon - I hope you like food, because this is a country devoted to stuffing its face on the cheap. Look up some prata - the real loving stuff, not the watered-down bullshit they advertise over at Jalan Kayu. People will tell you to go to Jalan Kayu for prata. This is absolute bullshit. Take it from a native - go down to Thompson and look up the Roti Prata House. You'll thank me later.
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Feb 15, 2010 18:56
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Haha I used to be pretty good at speaking with the locals in Singlish and it grew on me enough that I moved to Maui and spoke it for a bit until I picked up the Maui accent. How can you call Singlish stupid when it's so fun to speak 
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Feb 16, 2010 03:10
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Keevon posted:Hey guys, I just arrived in Singapore about two weeks back. I'm going to be here indefinitely for business, and I left all my friends back home. Hoping to meet some fellow goons to maybe grab a beer, shoot the poo poo, and see what there is to do in this country. I'm assuming that having the same regdate as you is some kind of sign. I'd be happy to meet up somewhere and show you around a little maybe. PM me.
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Feb 16, 2010 09:47
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Please include me in any goonery PM me for HP! (If you don't know what HP is you haven't been here long enough or maybe everyone for Oz uses that too what the hell do I know?)
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Feb 16, 2010 11:14
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Kessel posted:Keevon - I hope you like food, because this is a country devoted to stuffing its face on the cheap. Look up some prata - the real loving stuff, not the watered-down bullshit they advertise over at Jalan Kayu. People will tell you to go to Jalan Kayu for prata. This is absolute bullshit. I definitely love food. I've tried some Roti Prata from someplace, I'm not sure where it was, but I think around Chinatown? It was somewhat near the financial district, in a really small shop. It was delicious, I think I'll take your advice and check out the place in Thompson. Also PMs sent. I'm not sure what HP is though. I'm hoping it's something delicious like Hot Pancakes or Halibut Pasta.
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Feb 16, 2010 12:48
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I'm just going to throw the idea out in here since I don't want to go back and forth with both you guys on PMs but there's a good Chinese restaurant called Rong Guang Seafood on Ulu Pandan Road. It's going to be cheaper than any tourist trap place and the food is good local fare. I was thinking Thursday night or so. I can pick you guys up from an MRT station (Clementi is probably easiest for me) or you can grab a cab. Kwagga fucked around with this message at 13:07 on Feb 16, 2010 |
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Feb 16, 2010 13:05
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Also, these sites are your friends: http://www.hungrygowhere.com/ http://www.gothere.sg/maps
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Feb 16, 2010 13:10
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Clementi works for me. What time are you thinking?
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Feb 16, 2010 13:15
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whatever time, I'm unemployed so it's not like that matters but if we can get there before 7, it'd be best since i've seen it get packed. that would mean you should get to clementi by 6:30 or so depends on when you and ret can make it there but like i said, the earlier the better
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Feb 16, 2010 13:22
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Alright I think I can manage that, we'll see what Ret can manage.
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Feb 16, 2010 13:23
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Kwagga posted:Spent my first 17 years here, then went to the US for 10 years and I've been back here for the past year. And if you want the real heartlander experience, insult a policeman (or the SM/MM/PM), get locked in a freezing room naked and beaten with rubber hoses. Or join the SDP and then seek gainful employment. Thanks for the post, OP. It's interesting to see pictures of the place. It's basically been leveled and rebuilt (unless you own a flat in Potong Pasir, I assume - j/k) since I was growing up there in the 70s and 80s. Sad to see really - all the interesting stuff is basically gone. For goons who are traveling in the region, I'd generally recommend peninsular Malaysia, which is not only cheaper (especially out in the boonies), but is a lot less crowded than Thailand or Singapore and still has the odd pocket which has escaped shopping malls, McDonalds/KFC, muti-room airconditioning, etc. And has some lovely scenery (well, the bits that aren't palm oil plantations). One thing I wouldn't recommend, contra the OP, is goons going around trying to buy drugs. Regardless of whether or not I approve, consider that at last report we still execute people, Texas style (by which I mean with reasonable rapidity) for trafficking. This includes mandatory death sentences for certain quantities, at which point being white or white-ish and whining a lot will not help you. While you will not be hung for trying to buy a small amount of marijuana (and especially not if you're white), it's best not to get involved in case you find yourself in more trouble than you anticipated.
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Feb 16, 2010 15:36
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Yeah 6:30 sounds fine at Clementi MRT, Thurday, being tomorrow night... PMing you my HP~! Hahah about drugs I haven't touched any here but just saying it definitely still happens. I don't like to do drugs in foreign countries who's legal systems and often language I don't understand. They don't mess around but you definitely still hear and read about drug addicts and there's still lots of counter culture peoples out there. And yea I don't know how one would go about trying to buy drugs here but I'd wish them the best of luck. Also scope out Astroninja http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTy_Ofs5Ak4 lead singer is bad rear end, and music sounds easy enough on my ears. Ret fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Feb 17, 2010 |
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Feb 17, 2010 01:18
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How sure are you guys about getting to Clementi by 6:30? It's not the best place for me to wait around in the car so if you think I should build in some slack in the time that I show up there, let me know.
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Feb 17, 2010 02:54
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Keevon posted:Also PMs sent. I'm not sure what HP is though. I'm hoping it's something delicious like Hot Pancakes or Halibut Pasta. Handphone! Basically mobile. I might be back for a bit in the summer. If there are still enough of you around let's meet up for food and a beer! As a native I can take you to the loving awesome hidden gems of Singapore's food scene 
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Feb 17, 2010 03:16
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Kwagga posted:How sure are you guys about getting to Clementi by 6:30? It's not the best place for me to wait around in the car so if you think I should build in some slack in the time that I show up there, let me know. I should be able to get there right around 6:30. Also I expect to still be around in the summer, so that sounds like a plan to me!
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Feb 17, 2010 03:32
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Yeah I'll be there at 6:30 Also you locals ever eaten at Annalakshmi? http://annalakshmi.com.sg/ quote:Polished, private and yet utterly unpretentious, its success is the result of its underlying philosophy - serve, love, give. It is a philosophy based on the ancient adage - "athithi dhevo bhava" meaning “the guest is God” manifested through the service of largely voluntary staff - housewives who know what it takes to prepare a wholesome meal and a miscellaneous team of doctors, teachers, technicians, clerks and accountants providing polite, unobtrusive service. With ingredients prepared specially, each item on the elaborate menu reflects the ancient culinary art of India.
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Feb 17, 2010 03:54
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That looks amazing I'm going to have to try that out sometime.
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Feb 17, 2010 04:08
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Alright there's a pickup point at the bus stop that's ACROSS the street from (as opposed to the bus stop on the same side of) the big construction project going on outside Clementi MRT. I'll show up there just after 6:35 or so. Will PM you my number and the car to look out for.
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Feb 17, 2010 05:29
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