#cake shop singapore

[sallyyty]

A Guide to Ordering Gourmet Cakes Online

Cakes are typically the centrepiece of any event. And, as we continuously move to a more convenient way of life, purchasing cake has also transitioned from traditional buying from a physical bakery cake shop to ordering in an online platform.

Explore a guide on the online gourmet cake-ordering process, ensuring you have access to delectable, high-quality cakes from the comfort of your own home.

Why Order Gourmet Cakes Online?

Convenience and Accessibility

Ordering gourmet cakes online offers unparalleled convenience. You can browse a wide selection of cakes, compare prices, and read customer reviews without leaving home. This convenience is particularly beneficial for busy individuals or those with limited mobility.

Wide Variety of Options

Online platforms often provide a more extensive range of cakes compared to physical stores. Whether you’re looking for classic flavours or unique creations, there’s surely something for you in the vast online realm.

Customisation and Personalisation

Many cake shops in Singapore offer customisation options for online orders. You can choose your cake’s size, flavour, and design, and even add personalised messages. This level of customisation ensures that your cake perfectly matches your celebration or event.

Steps to Ordering Gourmet Cakes Online

1. Choose a Reputable Cake Shop

Start by selecting a reputable cake shop or patisserie. Look for online reviews, ratings, and recommendations to ensure you pick a trusted provider. Websites and social media platforms often provide customer feedback that can help guide your decision.

2. Browse the Selection

Once you’ve chosen a cake shop, browse their online catalogue. Pay attention to the various gourmet cakes offered, including their flavours, designs, and sizes. Many online shops categorise their cakes by occasion, making it easier to find the perfect cake for birthdays, weddings, or corporate events.

3. Read the Details

Each cake listing should include detailed information about the ingredients, size, and serving recommendations. Make sure to read these details carefully to avoid any surprises. You can also check for vegan, gluten-free, or sugar-free cake options if you have dietary restrictions or preferences.

4. Customise Your Cake

Most online cake shops offer customisation options. You can usually choose the flavour, filling, frosting, and decoration. Some shops also allow you to upload images or provide specific instructions for personalised designs. Ensure you provide clear and concise instructions to avoid any misunderstandings.

5. Place Your Order

Once you’ve made your selections, proceed to place your gourmet cake online order. Ensure to double-check all the details, including the delivery date and address. Many online cake shops offer multiple payment options, including credit cards, PayPal, and bank transfers. Choose the method that is most convenient for you.

6. Track Your Order

After placing your order, you should receive a confirmation email with the details and an estimated delivery time. Some cake shops provide tracking options so you can monitor the progress of your delivery. Make sure to be available to receive the cake or arrange for someone to be present at the delivery address.

Tips for a Smooth Online Cake Ordering Experience

Plan Ahead

Place your order way before your event to avoid any last-minute stress. This approach allows the bakery sufficient time to prepare and deliver your cake, especially if you require customisation.

Check Delivery Policies

Different cake shops have different delivery policies. Some may offer same-day delivery, while others require a notice period of several days. Check the delivery policies and ensure they align with your schedule.

Communicate Clearly

If you have specific requests or instructions, communicate them clearly when placing your order. This approach ensures the bakery understands your requirements and can deliver a cake that meets your expectations.

Review the Cake Upon Delivery

When the cake arrives, inspect it to ensure it matches your order. Check for any damages or discrepancies, and contact the patisserie immediately if there are any issues. Reputable shops often have a customer service team ready to assist with concerns.

Store the Cake Properly

After receiving your cake, store it according to the bakery’s recommendations to maintain its freshness and taste. Most cakes should be kept refrigerated and taken out shortly before serving.

Conclusion

Ordering gourmet cakes online is a convenient and efficient way to ensure you have a delicious centrepiece for your celebrations. You can enjoy a smooth and satisfying online cake-ordering experience by following these steps and tips. Remember, the perfect cake is just a few clicks away, whether you’re looking for a classic cake from a cake shop or a unique creation from a patisserie in Singapore. Contact J Petite Patisserie, and treat yourself to perfection today.

[melvadossg]

Cake Shops Singapore

Melvados is a popular cake shop in Singapore offering a wide range of Halal-certified cakes and desserts. Their collection includes unique flavors like Ondeh Ondeh Cake, Strawberry Crunch Cake, and more classic treats like Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake and Durian Mousse Cake.

[buffetlicious]

The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节), a Chinese celebratory season observed by many East and Southeast Asians, has begun. Held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which is in the middle of autumn, the festival marks the end of the season’s harvest and is a time to appreciate the moon at its fullest and brightest. Besides feasting eyes on the moon and lanterns of different shapes and sizes, Mooncakes (月饼), a rich pastry with all sorts of fillings, are undoubtedly the main highlight of the festival and are traditionally shared among family and friends.

The Cantonese Mooncake (广式月饼) is the most commonly found traditional mooncake in Singapore. Its fillings consist of lotus seed or red bean paste and usually include one, two or four salted duck egg yolks. Many would also be familiar with the snow skin variant that was created in Hong Kong in the 1960s as a healthier alternative to traditional baked mooncakes. The fillings and a ball of dough are traditionally pressed into a wooden mould, which embosses intricate wordings of the pastry shop’s name or stuffing on top of the pastry.

A mooncake with various flavours such as rich, savoury-sweet and peppery, the Hainanese Mooncake (海南月饼), also known as Su Yan Bing (酥盐饼) is traditionally filled with ingredients such as fried shallots, lard, salt, white pepper, rose-flavoured white sugar, sesame seeds, melon seeds and dried wild tangerine skin peel. The filling is encased in a thin crust made with flour, salt and lard.

The Hakka Mooncake (客家月饼) is also called Yu Gao (月糕) and is a flat, snow-white disc that is typically made with cooked glutinous rice flour and sugar, giving it a crumbly and powdery texture. It is usually embellished with more intricate designs, often with animals and flowers. Although it doesn’t usually contain any fillings, some come with candied winter melon, desiccated coconut and sesame seeds mixed with glutinous rice flour, sugar, margarine and water.

Easily distinguishable by the red stamp of Chinese characters on the top of the crust and its white disc-shaped pastry which resembles a bright moon, the Hokkien Mooncake (福建月饼) consists of a dry and sweet filling that is made of candied winter melon, tangerine peel, melon seeds, sugar, and cooked with lard or peanut oil. A less common type is a savoury version with minced meat filling. Once known as Scholar Cakes (状元糕), they were given to those who took part in the Imperial examinations. Today, it is given as a symbol of good luck to those who are about to sit for their exams.

Many would be familiar with the Teochew Mooncakes (潮州月饼). It has a crispy, spiral-layered crust that crumbles easily. It originated from the Chaoshan (潮汕) area in Guangdong Province and typically consists of yam paste and a salted duck egg yolk. Other traditional versions of the Teochew mooncake are still made by old school bakeries in Singapore. For example, La Bia (朥饼 or lard biscuit), where ‘La’ refers to pork oil, has a thinner, flaky crust with a thick mung bean or red bean filling. There are also alternative fillings including red bean, mung bean or lotus seed paste. There is also a steamed version of the typically baked Teochew mooncake, called La Gao (朥糕). It can either be served plain or with a mung bean filling.

A Snow Skin Mooncake (冰皮月饼) variant was created in Hong Kong in the 1960s as a healthier alternative to traditional baked mooncakes. Similar to mochi, its crust is made of glutinous rice flour and varies in colour, based on the flavours used. And unlike traditional mooncakes, these are best served cold!

Mooncake information and drawings courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth.

[mrs-lockley]

Reach for the Moon | II. The Falling

PAIRINGS: (Slow Burn, Romantic) Jake Lockley x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader, (Platonic) Steven Grant x Southeast Asian!Fem Reader, (Unrequited) Marc Spector x Southeast Asian Fem!Reader, no use of Y/N, no physical description of the reader but coded to be very feminine

WARNINGS: Unrequited love (Reader is in love with Marc, Marc is oblivious but means well), mentions and discussions of food (cooking and baking), italics in dialogue indicates Reader and her parents speaking a foreign language (unspecified), brief mention of middle school and high school, so much yearning and fluff that you might get a toothache

WORD COUNT: 7.3k

Inspired by the 1954 film & 1995 remake of Sabrina, No Moon Knight AU. 

SERIES MASTERLIST | PART I. THE BREAKING

CHAPTER SUMMARY: The wall begins to crumble, revealing the White Knight waiting on the other side. You soon learn there is more to the man beneath the armor, and see the heart that lies within. 

TAGLIST: @soft-girl-musings, @venting402, @musing-magpie, @writefightandflightclub, @kezibear, @silverklaus, @badbishsblog, @marc-spectorr, @myhohastuff, @grumpyahjumma, @h4untedsp3ctor, @harv3sting

See end for author's notes

THE FALLING

The next couple of weeks were quiet, but eventful as the days grew shorter into the start of autumn. As the leaves changed from green to red and the air grew colder, you found solace in the change of seasons. A new season brought new beginnings, and life had a way of bringing you into unexpected places. 

Since the success of your cousin’s bakery (the Mochi Flower Bakery and Café, as you and your cousin affectionately named it) in Singapore, your family considered expanding the business to New York. You exchanged ideas and recipes over video calls with your cousin, aunt, and uncle as your parents researched possible places to open up shop. It was all new and exciting, and in hindsight, distracted you from the heartache of being left at the market that summer night. There was no better distraction than trying to perfect the recipe for the most delicious lemon ricotta cake. 

Marc texted you a few days later with an apology. He left you a voicemail as well (you were running errands when he called), and as you listened to his apology, you still could not find it in yourself to be upset with him for leaving you. How could you be angry with him when you still harbored an unrequited crush on him almost three years later? 

When he offered to meet with you to make amends, you politely declined with an excuse that you were visiting an old college friend from out of town, but in reality, you did not know if you could face him again. 

After that night, you carefully discarded the daffodils he had given you when he picked you up from the airport. Your heart was numb as you stared at the dried petals in the wastebasket, your eyes puffy and swollen for the next few nights. Could you truly mourn a loss if he was never yours?

You never told your parents or Steven the truth of the date, and you wondered if they knew. If they did, your parents never said anything, but your best friend —ever the perceptive man— seemed to know the truth, even when you tried to hide it from him. 

It was a Sunday night when Steven was with you in the kitchen. While your parents were watching a drama in the living room, you and Steven wore matching aprons as he helped you bake a vegan blueberry cake.

“In the middle of my tour, I was talking about the Egyptian mummification process when one of the girls interrupted me and asked if I knew what it was like to be rejected from the Field of Reeds,” Steven told you as you frosted the cake. “Honestly, middle school girls can be vicious, especially when some of her friends laughed with her.”

You looked over at him, your eyes soft as you placed a gentle hand over his. “Kids can be brutal, but they’re just kids. I was a middle school girl once, and we aren’t all bad. People change.”

Steven smiled softly with a sigh as you finished frosting the cake. You wanted to replicate a vintage cake with different shades of blue and ivory cream, and you hoped that you were not putting too much buttercream. As pretty as vintage cakes looked, you did not like wasting the cream when you knew most people do not eat all of it. You were more accustomed to your desserts being on the lighter side of the sweetness scale, and ever since your return from Singapore, you had a hard time stomaching American pastries.

“You’re right about that love,” Steven agreed. Once you set the piping bag aside, he moved to start decorating the top with blueberries. “They’re just kids, but they’ll change and grow. But I admit, I was feeling a little sassy too.”

You lowered your hands and looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” You narrowed your eyes at him, lightly swatting his hand as he sneakily tried to eat a few blueberries. “I just told her that the souls in the duat would try to claim anyone who fell in the sand, and that she better hope that if I was rejected, I wouldn’t be the first one to eat her.”

“Steven Grant!”

Your best friend chuckled as you scolded him, narrowly dodging your wooden spoon. “She was being rather nasty throughout the tour, so I had to give her a reality check.”

You let out a dejected sigh as he grabbed another handful of blueberries from the basket. You did not have the heart to tell him to stop since you already finished decorating the cake.

For as long as you have known Steven, he was quite a character. Smart and quick-witted, he always fired back in the most eloquent manner.

“Okay, maybe she deserved it,” you told him, trying not to roll your eyes as he grinned mischievously beside you. “But I’m not condoning it.”

You moved over to the stove to pour yourself, Steven, and your parents a cup of tea. Throughout your life, your parents always liked a cup of tea with their dessert, and through the years, you got Steven into that habit as well. 

Your best friend hummed quietly as he helped set the cups on the counter, his fingers lightly tracing the small teacup. It was one of your favorite sets, white with a dark blue floral design painted across the ceramic with a matching saucer and golden teaspoon. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen this set before,” Steven mused as you placed the kettle back onto the stove. “When did you get this?”

Heat licked at your cheeks, your heart pounding as you looked down at the cup. The warmth of the tea burned your fingers slightly as you held the teacup in your hands, and if you pulled away, you wondered if the flowers burned onto your skin like a brand that would never heal.

“Marc got it for me for my birthday before I went to Singapore,” you answered quietly, your voice low. “I don’t remember where he got it, but he said he knew someone who knew where to find tea sets.”

A dull ache grew in the depths of your chest as you remembered your last birthday before you left for Singapore. Your parents took you out of town to celebrate the Friday before your birthday, and that weekend, your mother cooked your favorite noodles (“for long life,” she would always say) and your father commissioned one of his coworkers to bake a special cake for you. You celebrated one day with your family, and another with your old childhood and college friends. It was a wonderful sendoff before your departure, but you could not help but feel nostalgic at the memory. 

One day, you lamented to Marc how much you wanted a matching tea set. A few times you traveled with your parents as a teenager to the Lion City where you admired your aunt’s tea sets that she displayed in their china cabinet. You remembered how much your mother pestered your father to buy any matching dinnerware whenever there was a sale at her favorite department store, especially when there were tea sets. While your family did not have much when they immigrated to the United States, your mother would tell you that her parents collected china and other sets as family heirlooms. She wished she could have taken it with her to New York, and you wanted to help her create a collection here. 

A few days before your birthday, Marc dropped by your place with a gift box wrapped beautifully with a navy blue bow on top. Your parents were in the kitchen eavesdropping as you opened the gift on the living room floor with Marc at your side. 

“Marc, it’s beautiful,” you told him. You held the ceramic delicately in your hands, sighing in awe as you turned it over. The dark blue floral design was nostalgic and intricate. “They look just like the ones that my aunt and uncle have back home.”

He smiled gently at you, his arms warm as you hugged him. “I’m glad you liked it. Happy birthday, kid.”

You placed your teacup down on the saucer and sighed. Out of all the tea sets you owned, you rarely used the blue one that Marc had given you. It was your favorite, and as much as your mother wanted to take it down from the china cabinet to use, you always told her that you wanted to save it for special occasions. 

But since that night, you brought it down from the cabinet. Your mother didn’t say anything when she watched you wash the set in the sink, and you wondered if she knew the real reason you brought it down.

He was quiet as he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “Did Marc hurt you?”

You felt his eyes on you as you rolled the golden teaspoon between your fingers. You did not know if you had the courage to look at him.

Instead of answering, you shook your head. Steven sighed beside you, and you knew he did not believe you.

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

Tears pricked your eyes, and you quickly brushed them away with the back of your hand. 

“There’s nothing to talk about. He still loves her, and I have to move on,” you answered as you turned to him with a weak smile. “I have to grow up and be a big girl now.”

His brown eyes softened, but full of worry as he looked at you. 

“Don’t blame yourself, love,” he comforted you. “He still cares about you.”

You knew that Marc still cared for you as a friend, but deep down, you knew he would never love you the way you loved him. 

“I know,” you whispered. You wiped at your eyes again and sighed, trying to get your mind off it. “Let’s cut the cake and bring the tea in the living room for my parents. They’re too engrossed in their drama to get off the couch.”

He chuckled softly, and you were grateful he did not bring it up again for the rest of the night. For the rest of the evening, you and Steven sat with your parents in the living room drinking tea and eating cake as they explained the romantic drama they were watching. It was a show that you remembered watching with your cousin in Singapore, and you could not help but smile as you saw how engrossed Steve became with the plot and characters. 

At the end of the night, you packed a few slices of the cake (with extra blueberries, per Steven’s request) for Steven to take home for Marc and Jake. As you walked him to the bus stop at the end of your street, he turned to you and pulled you into his arms, his voice soft and gentle. 

“I am always here for you, love,” he whispered, “whenever you need me.”

Your heart ached as he comforted you, and you pulled him tighter into your embrace. 

“Thank you.”

You sit in the kitchen with ink stained on your fingers as you look over the drawings of cakes, cupcakes, and different pastries in your sketchbook. Jake texted you earlier that afternoon if you wanted to join him in surprising his neighbor for her birthday. Taweret lived alone with the rest of her family back in Cairo, and she only had a couple friends with her in New York. There were a few times you encountered her whenever you visited his apartment (mainly to cook and exchange recipes with Steven), you became acquainted with the elderly lady. Whenever she saw you, she always requested to try whatever baked goods that you brought with you. Because of her, you always packed extra sweets, knowing how much she adored you and you, her.

Your parents were not too familiar with Jake, but they knew enough that he was quite old-fashioned and polite (and ��reminiscent of the gentlemen of my youth,” your mother remarked to your father’s chagrin). You wondered if they were relieved that it was not Marc at the door when Jake dropped you off after your “date.” 

True to his word, he was around much more than before and met with you often. In the times that you two met, they were casual outings where you would grab a bite to eat or a drink at the local coffee shop. Other times, you asked him to tag along with you as you ran a few errands around town. It was during those times he offered to drive you, especially when you were grocery shopping for ingredients to try new recipes to add to a possible menu. He never accepted gas money from you (despite all the sneaky ways you tried to bribe him), but you compromised and treated him —and Steven and Marc— to any baked goods you created. 

Once you are satisfied with your revisions, you tuck your journal into your bag and take a seat at the kitchen island, your eyes locked on the oven window. While you are in charge of the cake, Jake is in charge of dinner, explaining he was going to try to make a traditional Egyptian dish. As he was already at the supermarket to pick up some groceries, he told you that he would pick you up since he would pass by your place on the way back. 

Different ingredients scatter the counter between the two of you as you organize your supplies. While you have your powdered sugar and tray on one side, Jake has his supplies and containers on the other, including a tupperware of cooked elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, and a bag of store-bought fried onions.

Jake stands at the stove with his back turned to you. Even on a casual Thursday night, he is dressed in his usual white button-down dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing his warm tan skin. The only difference between his house clothes and outside clothes was the lack of his flat cap and tie, and his dress pants swapped with jeans and a plain apron to cover himself. 

Curiously, you stand beside him and watch as he stirs the lentils and rice together in a pot. The smell of coriander and pepper welcomes you, and your tummy grumbles at the smell and sight.

“What are you making?” 

“Koshari, I remember Taweret mentioning how much she misses eating it from back home. I watched a few tutorials and researched the recipe, and I hope I got it down,” he answers with a small smile. 

Then, he leans over to the side and pulls out a spoon from the drawer to hand to you. 

“Give it a try and let me know how it is, or if I’m missing anything. Once this is done, I just need to combine everything together.”

You grin as you dip the spoon into the pot. The tangy and spicy flavor fills your mouth in heat, but not too much that it would burn your tongue. It was enough spice to give the kick it needed. 

“It’s a little spicy, but not too spicy. It’s delicious,” you tell him with an encouraging smile. “I’ve always been curious to try your cooking. Steven says you’re the best cook between the three of you.”

He pauses slightly as he turns to you. His face is slightly flushed, his brown eyes wide in surprise at your words. “He said that?”

You smile with a nod of your head. “He did. When I visited him at the Smithsonian last week for lunch, he told me you made vegan shakshuka for him and he loved it. He said it was better than the shakshuka he normally makes.”

You remember sitting on the steps outside of the museum last week when you stopped by to see him during his lunch break. It was a beautiful autumn day where the museum was not too busy on a Tuesday afternoon, and his boss was kind enough to give him an extended break after doing several grade school tours that week. 

“I experimented and made some bagels last night, and I made a couple vegan ones for you,” you told him as you unwrapped the bagels on your lap. Your best friend smiled and thanked you as you handed it over to him. “I hope you like it, it’s my first time making bagels.”

“I know it’ll be great. Jake made a batch of vegan shakshuka for me and I think this would be a good match.” Steven opened his lunch and dipped the bread in his tupperware, even offering you a piece as you followed his instructions to dip your piece into the stew. “I don’t know how he did it, but he mastered it. I’ve been trying to make a decent version for months, and his version tastes better than all of my previous attempts. He’s the best cook out of all of us.”

As you look over at Jake, you are stunned to see his surprise. While you met Steven first and became friends with Marc second, it seemed that there were more layers to Jake than you realize. You knew that he was a private person who kept to himself, and you once believed he was an aloof individual who often kept people at arm’s length in the backseat of his car to keep his privacy. In the past, you only conversed with him from time to time, but over the past few months, you see that he is more sentimental than he appears to be. 

A knowing smile kisses your lips as he tries to hide his smile from you. You give him the privacy to cherish the moment as you turn back to the oven to watch the cake slowly rise.

“Can I say something?” You ask.

He hums slightly and nods as he turns off the stove. 

Wanting to help him, you reach for the bowl of chickpeas and heat them in the microwave. “You remind me of a tiramisu.”

He pauses for a moment with a soft chuckle, amused. “A tiramisu?”

You nod with a small smile. “Yes, a tiramisu. Before I got to know you, I used to think you were a bit detached with how private you are. I didn’t know much about you except from what Steven and Marc told me, and we only met a few times before I left for Singapore.”

At the beep of the microwave, Jake hands you the oven mitts to take the chickpeas out. You move closer to him as the two of you prepare to mix the lentils, rice, tomato sauce, pasta, and chickpeas together. 

“What changed your mind?” He asks quietly.

You think about his words as you plate the rice and lentils. “Spending time with you,” you answer. “The more time I spend with you, whether it’s you taking me to the bodega or the Asian supermarket, or even moments like these, you’ve shown me there’s more to you than people think. You’re private, but you’re also very kind.”

Jake steps closer to you to place the pasta and chickpeas on top. You could not read his expression. Did he find you weird and strange? Was he upset or offended?

As you move to hand him the tomato sauce, his hands reach for yours, helping you and quietly telling you to be careful since the bowl was still warm from when he cooked it earlier. 

His brown eyes flicker with amusement and curiosity as he glances up at you. 

“I still do not see how this pertains to me reminding you of tiramisu, conejita.”

You laugh softly as you look down at the koshari on the plate. 

“Tiramisu is like this dish,” you explain as he mixes everything together. “You may look a bit off-putting at first with how reserved and quiet you are, but that’s not a bad thing. The closer you look, there are different layers. They seem strange when they are all separated, but once you dig through the layers, you are very sweet like a tiramisu.”

Your eyes glance over at him, and you notice how his movements seem to slow as he waits for your next words.

“You made Steven shakshuka and you cooked Taweret’s favorite dish to surprise her for her birthday so she won’t be alone. You take care of people in a quiet way,” your voice grows softer as you speak, your heart aching slightly at the memories. “Twice, you found me crying and alone, and you were the one to bring me back home.”

His gaze softens as he looks at you, and for a moment, you are brought back to that summer evening when Marc left you at the night market. You still remembered the heartbroken look on his face, the pain in his eyes, and the fear in his voice when he left. He was in so much pain, and even with your heart breaking in front of him, you wished you could take his pain away from him. 

Since that night, Marc left you a voicemail with his apology and wished to meet with you again, and as much as it hurt you, you kept your distance. It pained you how quick you were able to think of another reason why you could not see him. Perhaps with each text, you could finally cut those heartstrings, be a big girl, and move on.

Yet, the ache remained. It splintered deep inside of you like a tree taking deep roots in your chest, leaving a scar that you feared would never heal. 

“How is he doing, by the way?” You ask quietly as your lips begin to quiver. “Is he alright?”

He does not say anything for a moment as his gaze washes over you, and you wonder if he knew about your feelings for Marc. If he did, he never showed it.

His voice is gentle as he speaks, his eyes soft. 

“Marc is doing just fine,” he answers. ��Steven and I are looking after him.”

You want to believe him, but a part of you hesitates. While you did not know the relationship between the three men, you did know one thing. Marc was perceptive, and he would worry. The last thing you wanted him to think was that he hurt you— you knew he would never forgive himself if he believed it. 

To your surprise, Jake leans forward and moves closer to you, his breath tickling the shell of your ear. You blink in surprise and take a step back at his sudden movement.

“You have flour on your face,” he whispers. “Hold on.”

Suddenly, you feel the world stop around you as his hand softly caresses your face. You hold still, your heart beating rapidly in your chest as his thumb brushes the flour off your cheek. His touch is gentle and light, and he holds you as if you are a delicate thing. This was the first time Jake touched you like this and for a reason you could not explain, it was electrifying. It is as if he lit a flame and you are melting like candle wax under his touch.

Your head is still spinning when he pulls away. Your throat constricts as he looks at you, and for a moment, you forget how to breathe. 

You do not know what has come over you. As his gaze meets yours, the two of you are quiet with the only sound of your flustered breath filling the silence. While he shared the same face as Marc and Steven, it is the first time you see him up close. 

His eyes are just as brown, but there is a different softness to them in the kitchen light. A certain warmth fills his gaze—although intense—there is a sense of safety and familiarity as the corners of his eyes crinkle into a whisper of a comforting smile. A dark stray curl rests on his forehead, and if you look close enough, you catch slivers of starlight dusting at his temples. 

You always believed Jake to be a handsome man, and in the past couple of months that you have gotten to know him, you see him differently. He is the kind of handsome that you read in your romance novels, the quiet gentleman who was always by the heroine’s side, and in that moment, you understand why people have always gravitated towards him.

You have looked at him many times before, but your heart begins to ache in your chest. He wiped away your tears before and has comforted you in your most heartbroken and vulnerable moments, so why would brushing flour away cause you to feel like you are sixteen again?

The sound of the timer interrupts your thoughts. You gasp softly and quickly turn away to grab the oven mitts, welcoming the distraction from your heated cheeks and your beating heart. 

As you pull the cake out of the oven, you hear Jake pull away from you and the sound of a utensil scraping against the bottom of the pan. You set the cake onto the counter and are grateful for this moment—you are not sure if you had the courage to look at him yet.

With a deep breath, you glance down at the cake. The cake baked into a beautiful summer yellow with the edges a golden brown. It was perfect and exactly how you envisioned it. 

His voice breaks your thoughts, and it takes everything in you to not look at him. 

“What kind of cake did you make?”

“Lemon ricotta,” you answer softly. Your hands tremble slightly as you reach for the strainer and powdered sugar from across the counter. You feel his eyes on you, and as much as you try to hide it, you still feel nervous in front of him. “I made a lemon ricotta cake once a few months ago and Taweret said she loved it, so I wanted to make it for her again.”

Taking a deep breath, you ignore the way your hands tremble and begin to sift the flour and powder the cake with a light dusting of sugar for decoration. The two of you quietly work on completing your dishes with only the sound of a soft ballad playing from his vinyl record player in the living room. 

Once you are finished, you set your tools aside and look down at the cake. Lemon ricotta was not your specialty as you only baked it a couple times, and you worried about how it looked. Would she even like the cake with how simple and plain it looked?

“I want it to be perfect for her,” you whisper softly. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

His footsteps echo behind you. As he stands beside you, your head begins to spin. The warmth of his body radiates off him, and even as he stands a few inches beside you, the heat of his touch lingers on your skin. 

“That woman loves everything about you and adores you,” Jake assures you. “She’ll love it. I know she will.”

Warmth kisses your cheeks at his encouraging words. You never doubted your skills as a pastry chef, but hearing such praise from Jake strikes a chord in you. There were no words to describe your feelings at the moment. A foreign feeling tugged at your heart, reminiscent of butterflies that once fluttered in your tummy. 

“Go ahead and set the table,” he instructs as he gathers your supplies. “I’ll clean up. I already texted Taweret and she’ll be here in a few minutes.”

He smiles encouragingly at you, and you move to set the table. As you arrange the plates and utensils, you spare another look at Jake and watch him set the pots and pans in the dishwasher. You have spent countless days and afternoons in the kitchen with Steven and Marc in the past, but this is your first time to be in the kitchen with Jake. 

A few months ago when you returned from Singapore, you never would have thought that you would be baking by his side in the kitchen where you shared so many memories with his brothers. It was strange since you were not used to seeing Jake in such a domestic way, but it brings an odd comfort and warmth to you as he whistles in the kitchen. 

You smile to yourself as you look down at the golden cake sitting at the edge of the table. In the past, you baked mochi for your family, lemon ricotta cake for Taweret, blueberry cake for Steven, and rocky road for Marc. There were so many layers to who he is, and you hope one day, you could bake Jake a sweet tiramisu.

The moon was high in the sky by the time Jake opened the passenger door for you to take you home. Not a single cloud was in sight, and the stars twinkled like pearls of light above you. 

It truly was a beautiful evening. When Taweret arrived, her face lit up like the rising dawn. Without a second thought, she pulled you and Jake into her embrace. Your eyes began to mist when you felt a few drops of her tears fall onto your blouse, but you smiled warmly at her as Jake kissed her forehead and told her how much he loved her. You have only known Taweret for a short amount of time, but you were already fond of her and looked up to her as a mother figure.

Smiles, laughter, and memories were shared over dinner. As the three of you finished his koshari, Taweret spoke about her favorite childhood memories. You listened intently as she recalled not only her childhood, but her “wild youth” from running around with her girlfriends in Cairo and arguing with the university boys and rival sorority sisters. The three of you laughed until your ribs ached, your cheeks sore from smiling, and your tummy full from the warmth and love poured into the food that was shared. 

And to your surprise, Taweret loved the lemon ricotta birthday cake. She patted your cheek affectionately as you served her the first slice with a gentle and warm smile on her face. 

“Thank you, darling,” she beamed, “you always make the sweetest cakes.”

As you are about to thank her, Jake leaned in beside her, a knowing smile and wink as he sung the highest praises for you. 

“She baked everything with love,” he told her, and your cheeks instantly heated at his kind words. “That’s her secret ingredient.”

Jake only smiled at you as you looked down at the yellow cake on your plate, hoping to find some solace on the finely dusted sugar sitting on top of your masterpiece. You barely heard them speak over the sound of your heartbeat ringing in your ears and the warmth kissing at your soft cheeks. This was not the first time Jake complimented your strengths, so why are you suddenly shy and bashful like a schoolgirl?

You vaguely recalled the last time you felt like this. Before you left for Singapore, you remembered sitting at a picnic bench with Marc as his way of bidding you bon voyage. He carried the picnic basket over to the bench and helped you arrange the pieces on the table. 

“Since I’m also helping out with their social media and marketing, I might as well start practicing how to take the best pictures and videos for advertising,” you remarked as you finished taking pictures of the set-up. You had a blanket draped over the table with minimal cutlery and accessories. “Don’t you think?”

Marc chuckled beside you as you put your phone in your bag. You would edit the photos when you get home and send them to your cousin later for her to critique. “I thought your generation was tech savvy and grew up on the internet?”

“I’m on the cusp and was fortunate that the internet was still starting out. It wasn’t as crazy as it is now. Besides, I don’t have many social media handles for a reason,” you answered, “I don’t want people from high school finding me.” 

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow at you. “Why not?”

“I closed that chapter in my life. When I go to my high school reunion years from now, I want everyone to be surprised to see how much I’ve matured and grown up,” you sighed wistfully, imagining a romantic moment in your future reunion. “If they have any difficulty in recognizing their classmate, then I shall be the most sophisticated woman in the high school gymnasium.”

Your high school days were not the worst, but they were not the greatest, either. Your teenage days were not that far behind you, but you still had so much to look forward to in the years to come. 

An amused smile shined on your friend’s face as he leaned forward and patted a piece of your hair. 

“You are already a beautiful, intelligent, and sophisticated young woman,” he complimented you with a playful tap on your nose. “You will be the belle of the ball.”

But the days and nights you spent with Marc were long gone. Deep down, you grieved the chapter of your life where you were by his side. You convinced yourself into thinking the two of you were fated to be together for the rest of your lives, but life had its own way of cutting that invisible string you deluded yourself was tied between your fingers. The dried daffodils in your wastebasket was the evidence to the end of your fantasies.

Yet, the universe had a strange way of bringing things full circle. As you bury the thoughts of Marc aside, a sense of déjà vu washes over you with your heart feeling as hopeful as that night when Jake first found you on the steps outside of his apartment. It was odd to think that in the two years you spent away from home, Jake rarely passed your mind. 

Now, your thoughts gravitated towards him. The ghost of his touch lingered from when he brushed away the flour on your cheek, and his praise echoed in your ears like a distant lullaby. It was as if your heart would burst from your chest with each moment you replayed in your mind and you wondered if you could trust yourself to open up again. 

Before you could entertain that thought, the sound of his voice breaks the silence. 

“Thank you for coming tonight,” Jake glances over at you with a small smile, one gloved hand on the steering wheel, the other adjusting the rear view mirror. “I know it was a short notice.”

You smile reassuringly at him from the passenger side. “It was no problem, thank you for inviting me. I’m happy that we were able to celebrate her special day.”

You do not see Taweret often, but after tonight, you promise yourself that you would reach out to her more. She was such a character, and you make a note to give her extra delicacies you create in the future, especially if it involves lemon ricotta.

Jake grins at you as he stops at the stoplight, his voice light and airy. 

“She adores you and talks about you like you hung the moon.” He spares you a glance with a gentle smile. “And she loved every bit of your cake.”

“Oh—” your cheeks grow warm at his words. The thought of Taweret talking about you so sweetly made your heart swell, especially when you were so worried that her birthday cake was plain. 

He chuckles softly. “If it’s okay to ask, when did you start baking?”

You think for a moment as the two of you watch a few college students cross the street. “I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but growing up, I did not like American candy as much. It was always too sweet, and sometimes I felt like throwing up when I had cake. Nothing tasted like the snacks and sweets I would get from the Asian supermarket.”

You smile fondly as you remember your childhood. Growing up, there was not an Asian supermarket near your neighborhood. Most weekends, you dragged behind your parents as they bought their groceries at big retailers, and the only times you grew excited were when they either brought you to the local bodegas so you could pet the owner’s guard dogs (who were surprisingly gentle with children), or the Asian markets that were out of town. It was only until high school when they established one a few blocks away and within walking distance, and you were finally able to grab your favorite Meiji snacks. 

“I often had too much time on my hands during the summer breaks, so I experimented in the kitchen. My mom never liked baking, but I saved up to buy some supplies, watched tutorials on YouTube, and even chatted with my cousin for ideas,” you laugh lightly. “It started when I was in middle school when we had a bake sale for fundraising, and I fell in love with it since.”

The light turns green, and Jake nods as he follows along.

“What would you say is your favorite to bake? Or, what would you say is your specialty?”

Your heart flutters in your chest at his question. It is not often someone asks about your favorites, let alone your specialty. You are so used to taking requests and baking for others based on their favorites, but rarely did someone ask about yours. 

“Strawberry cake,” you answer, thinking about the colorful pink hue of the cakes you made in the past. “Especially with buttercream.”

“Like strawberry shortcake?”

“No,” you shake your head. “It’s easy to confuse the two based on their names, but strawberry shortcake is different since that’s shortbread with strawberries on top. Strawberry cake—”

“I know,” he laughs with a slight shake of his head. “I meant the character.”

Oh. Oh!

Heat envelopes your face at the thought. You adored Strawberry Shortcake as a little girl and collected the books, plushies, stickers, almost anything with your favorite freckled heroine. Even though she is in the arms of another child, you remember your Strawberry Shortcake doll  that you used to carry with you everywhere with her apron smelling just like freshly cut strawberries. 

When you did not respond, Jake immediately tried to correct himself. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you—”

“No, not at all,” you laugh. “She was one of my favorites as a child. Being compared to her makes me happy, so thank you.”

From the corner of your eye, you notice him smile in relief. You look down at the plastic bag full of tupperwares on your lap. As you cleaned the dinner table, you did not realize that Jake prepared extra koshari for you to take home to your family in extra tupperwares. 

“And thank you for the food, too. I’ll have this for lunch tomorrow.”

He smiles at you, his voice soft. “You’re welcome.”

Life had a strange way of bringing things full circle. Filled with warmth, a sense of déjà vu washes over you with your heart feeling as light as that night when he first found you on the steps outside of his apartment. Not once, but twice he found you heartbroken, but since you returned to New York, your nights were spent with him where you would watch him from the passenger side. The wall that separated you two had begun to crumble, revealing the man dressed in white knight armor. 

The fluttering of your heart confuses you when he parks in the driveway. Your pulse echoes in your ears as he opens your door with a gloved hand outstretched towards you, and your legs begin to shake with each step you take towards your front door. Why does the warmth of his glove burn your skin? Why does he suddenly make you skittish like a frightened deer?

It must be because he touched my face, you reason with yourself when you step inside. Your parents greet him with friendly smiles, and for unknown reasons, you feel a tug on your heartstrings when he lifts his hat at you. 

As he walks away, you are left standing in the kitchen with a cold tupperware of koshari in your hands. Your parents kiss your cheek before walking up the stairs, and with each kiss, you imagine what it would feel like if Jake’s lips kissed your cheeks goodnight.

The early afternoon sunlight streams through your curtains when you wake that morning. Downstairs, you hear your father playing his favorite old songs on his speaker, the foreign language bringing you comfort and a sense of nostalgia. It was finally the weekend.

With a yawn, you force yourself out of bed and walk down the stairs. The love ballads grow louder, and you find your mother seated at the kitchen table with breakfast leftovers covered with a napkin. 

“Good morning, baby,” she greets you as you smile sleepily at her. “Did you sleep well?”

You nod and rub your eyes while taking a seat in front of her. Last night, you spent a few hours on Messenger talking to your cousin about the newest addition they added to the Mochi Flower Bakery and Cafe. While the Mochi Flower was best known for matcha mochi cake, your cousin wanted to expand the menu to keep up with their local competitors. She shared with you the different designs that were shared with the class that included floral prints and a few beloved childhood characters like Hello Kitty. A couple months ago, she took a class from a masterclass baker on how to add such delicate designs to a sponge cake, and she’s been in love with it ever since. 

Before you realized it, you were on Messenger for almost three hours. It was nearly three in the morning when you ended the call, your mind reeling from the designs she showed you. Both of your families considered opening a sister bakery in New York, and with each call you had with her over the spotty internet, the idea no longer felt like a dream, but a possibility. 

“I did,” you answer, looking at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. You did not realize it was past noon. “I haven’t slept in like this since my last semester of college.”

Your mother laughs, and you laugh along with her. The twelve hour time difference was tough, and you were honestly surprised her internet lasted that long with minimal interruptions. 

At that moment, your father walks in and greets you good morning with a soft kiss to the top of your head as he places a bowl of cut strawberries in front of you. 

Your eyes widen slightly at the vibrant hue. “Papa, did you go to the grocery store this morning? When did we have strawberries?”

Your father shakes his head. “I didn’t buy them. Your driver friend dropped them off this morning.”

Driver friend? You wonder, knowing your father often forgets the names of your friends. Did he mean Jake? You have not talked to him in a couple weeks, not since Taweret’s birthday.

“The gentleman with the hat,” your mother clarifies. “He came by this morning and dropped off a box of strawberries that he got at the farmer’s market. He said it was for you.” 

Your heart skips a beat as she hands you a yellow post-it note. Across the page, you memorize the straight lines of Jake’s handwriting, softly tilted in black ink.

For your strawberry cake - J

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Thank you so much for your support! The idea of Conejita and White Knight!Jake has been floating around in my head for about a year, and with time, they finally came to fruition. Special thanks to @soft-girl-musings for listening to my ideas and late night texts on Discord. My laptop has been out of commission as of late, so I was unfortunately unable to post this sooner, but it's finally here!

To be honest, this series started when I was quarantined with COVID (part 1 was written when I had it the first time, part 2 the second time I had COVID, go figure lol). It makes me so happy to see that you have grown fond of conejita as well. I am a slow writer, and I want to thank everyone of you for your patience and support.

Originally it was going to be a trilogy, but since I am notorious for writing long fics, this series will most likely be four parts instead! I have a couple more characters I want to introduce. If you want to continue being on the taglist, please let me know. Stay tuned for updates and any future fics! I have a few more I want to put out this summer 🤍

Love, Celeste

[indigo-a-creeping]

Starbucks in Singapore has an impressive selection.

And then another cake shop, because it was pretty.

[thebirdandhersong]

grocery store happy things (or: shopping with my brother: "Mom's not home, we could buy and eat this.... Mom would be so ashamed. Dad would be so proud"):

kaya (which is SO GOOD on toast you guys it is SO GOOD) (it is a Big Thing in Southeast Asia for good reason…. in Thailand we call it sangkhaya! It is basically a sweet spread made from coconut milk, eggs, palm sugar, and is infused with pandan leaf. In Singapore and Malaysia, kaya toast is a pretty popular breakfast item. It involves toast, cold butter, and kaya, which you dip into a mixture of jammy eggs, white pepper, and soy sauce) YOU KNOW WHAT I'M HAVING FOR BREAKFAST TOMORROW :D

Korean staples (kimchi, gochujang/chili paste, tteok/rice cakes)

Chinese sausage (!!!) for making fried rice

Spam (this is doesn't seem like a big deal but we never buy it in our house because Mother has a horror of processed meats) for spam musubi >:))

soybean curd and tofu (good sources of protein! Will be used for soups and stir fries this week)

[alexracheltravel]

Ho Ho Ho! Ho Chi Minh City!

At 5:00 am, it was time to leave Hanoi. We left early for a flight heading down the country to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Our flight was easy. And we had a car pickup ready to take us into Vietnam's largest city.

We weren't sure what to expect. Would it be dirty and run down? Old-style like part of Hanoi? Or modern like Tokyo? We discovered it was somewhere in the middle. We rode alongside some gorgeous parks, long roads, craned necks high at skyscrapers.

We stayed at an upscale neighborhood called Dong Khoi beside the Saigon River. The Myst Hotel was fancy! It had a restaurant, rooftop infinity pool, and beautiful decour, merging modern and classic styles. Our room wasn't quite ready when we arrived, so we walked around the corner for a bowl of pho. That makes at least one bowl per day on this trip! Pho is the best, and this one has great noodles, and a more flavorful broth than other days.

But since we had such an early flight, we were exhausted and our settling in turned into a power nap, and before we knew it, it was lunchtime. There was a banh mi spot not far from the hotel, so we went right there.

When the line for food stretches out onto the street, you know it's gonna be good. Luckily, it moved fast. The shop has been open for over thirty years and sold one type of banh mi, layered with pork, cooked in multiple ways. You layer the chili and pickled veggies on yourself. We split one, but others were ordering as many as they could carry.

We hit the Ben Tranh Market - where we were accosted to buy one of everything. Haggling is hard and we likely overpaid for some Nike Dunks that were probably fake as well as ordering a professor-style suit. We were successful at getting a three for two deal on some shirts, however, so maybe we're getting better.

We went back to the hotel because every day there's a complimentary "high tea" buffet. In addition to tea or coffee, we also munched on snacks: bao, cakes, and more.

Still exhausted and sore from yesterday, we soaked in the jacuzzi in our hotel room. What do bath salts do? We put some in and felt no different.

Dinner was Quan Bui - a change of pace. It wasa sit-down restaurant with an enormous menu and a wide variety of Vietnamese dishes. While we usually have been going to restaurants with one dish, this one had multiple. We ordered flavorful lemongrass and chili chicken, and pork in a caramel fish sauce.

Afterwards we grabbed drinks at Heart of Darkness - an expat bar that indulged in the xenophobic fantasies that poor readers assume of Joseph Conrad and the film Apocalypse Now. These weren't heroes meant to idolize. Although the beer did taste good.

Off to bed. Early rising has been sort of our thing. We're off on yet another excursion to a little place called Ben Tre.

Total distance walked: six miles.

Rachel: Alex, how was your first day in honchi minh city?

Alex: Really good, I can understand why people travel to this city and never go home. The only reason my college friend went home was the pandemic. It's a real international city, you see people from everywhere.

Rachel: and cuisine from around the world too! We've seen a ton of restaurants from Japan, Singapore, China, France, Korea, we even saw gelato! This city to me feels a bit like Tokyo in that sense.

Alex: as we drove into the city, the wide roads, wind alongside parks and gave me California vibes.

Rachel: the moral of the story is this city feels very familiar and excitingly new all at once.

Alex: I agree! And we probably had the best meals so far while we were here. Bahn mi is the number one thing we've eaten so far!

Rachel: I totally agree, tell the people about this bahn mi!

Alex: Alright, imagine, a pig that was crushed by one of those hydrologic presses, remove the skeleton, and of course cook it, so you have a mixture of different parks of the pig: butt, belly, skin and shredded, chopper, and pate. Loaded on top are veggies, pickles, and all on a soft baguette.

Rachel: And don't forget that mayo! I think there is a very real possibility that may was made with pork fat.

Alex: all for the low price of 60,000 vnd. $3!

Rachel: Less than $3!

Alex: Less than $3.

Rachel: not to mention you and I split that sandwich and were very full afterwards.

Alex: you know what restaurant gave me similar vibes than that place? La Taq in SF. You stick your head in and watch the magic happen.

Rachel: It was also great to just walk around a little. My legs are still sore from the last few days. But it felt great to have the last few days a mix of exploring and relaxing.

Alex: So, you ready to explore tomorrow?

Rachel: Yeah! Sad to leave the city so soon after we arrived, but excited to go down into the Mekong Delta.

Alex: I hope you like coconuts. That's foreshadowing.

Rachel: But we cannot finish this day without talking about our hotel.

Alex: It's a mix of elegance and hipster chic.

Rachel: With a throwback to Saigon past.

Alex: I love how the concierge explained that to us. The halls and rooms were modeled after Saigon alleys and with old wooden decour. I mean the amenities are great, the price is reasonable, but it's the style and ambiance that really feels like it reflects our wants for this trip.

Rachel: I already posted some pictures. Go ahead check it out. Although even the pictures don't do it justice.

[whattheabcxyz]

2024-11-14

Singapore

Parliament votes in favour of amended motion on PSP's call for hawker reforms

Law amended to increase parental leave & mandatory paternity leave

Jaywalking woman on phone hit by taxi at Orchard Road - no sympathy from me

Fugitive lawyer Charles Yeo arrested in the UK - extradition hearing pending

ERP rates at 5 locations to fall by $1 during December school holidays

Some Bukit Panjang residents unaware of early LRT closure

Scam syndicates sending foreigners here to cheat retailers like Apple Store & Best Denki - they use stolen credit card details obtained thru phishing & other scams

Jail for Egyptian national who molested 5 women, targeting 4 of them while out on bail - DEPORT HIM ALREADY FFS

Science

Alternate timelines can't help you, quantum physicists say - we're essentially stuck in our own reality

Gossip

Whoopi Goldberg tries to stir up the hornet's nest by suggesting that bakery refused to sell her cake due to her political leanings - way to go at stoking even more hate & suspicion in America!!! 👎🏻

Internet

A whole bunch of useful tools

Society

^ The truth - the so-called academic elites need a reality check!!!

Shopping

Amazon debuts discount store with everything under $20 to take on Temu & Shein - Amazon's never been different from those bottom-of-the barrel China merchants, & this just proves it

[40sandfabulousaf]

大家好! While the genocide in Gaza continues, Palestinians are telling the world their stories of resilience. I'm sharing some of them so that more voices can be heard. Meals are basic in the area - flat bread and food relief they receive from humanitarian aid agencies. Many of them are very skinny because they don't have enough to eat. These people are making the most of what little they have during a period of intense hardship and yet their eyes are full of kindness, their smiles full of warmth. It's no wonder that humanitarian aid volunteers and workers are so amazed by their strength and courage.

Deepavali was a public holiday. Pa and I visited a popular Japanese grill for the first time. They do serve meat, but we were most interested in their fish. We shared okra and brinjal skewers, gindara shioyaki (grilled cod seasoned with salt) and unagi shirayaki (grilled eel seasoned with sea salt). By opting for shioyaki and shirayaki, both dishes were less salty than the versions that come with sauces. There was plenty of food and it was so yummy, both of us polished off everything, including our rice. I was happy to see Pa enjoy our nutritious, moderately healthy meal. After that, we had a chat over fragrant local coffee.

MI told SC and me about a new fish soup stall which opened at a coffee shop near the office, so we went to try their food. Besides standard batang (mackerel), they serve hong ban (red garoupa and chang yu (pomfret). The last is my favourite fish and I ordered it with thick bee hoon (vermicelli). Those large, thick chunks of fish were so fresh and tender! There was also a lot of bee hoon, a slice of savoury fish cake with veggie bits, lots of sliced ginger and vegetables at the bottom of the bowl. The broth was clear, light and not too salty. This was SO delicious, I'm definitely returning to have it again as well as try the other fish!

MS and I caught up on a rainy afternoon. We wanted red meat to keep warm, so we visited a Hokkien restaurant which specialises in hearty comfort food. We ordered pig's stomach and fish maw soup, oyster and Iberico pork omette, bittergourd with Iberico pork and steamed egg custard and a bowl of rice each. Large chunks of springy fish maw and pig's stomach added tons of flavour to the peppery broth, which was milky thanks to lots of collagen. There were generous portions of plump juicy oysters in the fragrant omelette. As for the bittergourd, OH MY WORD, this was DIVINE to the max! The pork was tender, the egg smooth and the gravy heavenly with rice. The meal was so delicious, I immediately texted LL, my expat friend from China, about this restaurant. We'll come here when we catch up again.

Heartwrenching scenes and anguished cries of grief coming out of Gaza have many of us teary. Israel and US politicians may gloat at so much Palestinian suffering. Elsewhere in the world, we do not; our hearts go out to them instead. Everyone can relate to the pain of losing a loved one; we can only imagine how magnified this pain is when the loss is due to Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza. Over 43,000 Palestinians have died and over 102,000 wounded, many of them innocent civilians. I'm so glad my country will deliver our fifth tranche of aid to Gaza. I've not seen this level of devastation and suffering, ever. And it really tugs at my heartstrings. 下次见!

[buffetlicious]

During the heyday about six or seven years ago, the market for Castella Cake or Taiwanese traditional cake (古早味蛋糕) in Singapore is saturated with brands trying to dominate the sales. Fast forward, many had closed shop or switched to selling other food products. It is now much harder to buy this sponge cake with surviving brands maintaining minimum retail shop spaces. Sis bought this fluffy soft Original Castella Cake from Baker Talent (パン達人) for our snack.

[aloflowers]

Bánh sinh nhật 30/4 Bánh sinh nhật 30/4 alo.flowers luôn có sẵn những mẫu bánh xinh xắn, đa dạng kích cỡ với thiết kế từ tinh tế, sang trọng cho đến đáng yêu, dễ thương phù hợp với nhiều phân khúc khách hàng khác nhau. Ngoài bánh kem, còn làm bánh bông lan trứng muối sinh nhật cho những bạn thích sự mới mẻ CHÀO MỪNG 30/4 VÀ... - Bánh Sinh Nhật Singapore An Giang Shop hoa tươi Châu Thành Đồng Tháp Đây là một trong những ngày nghỉ được trông đợi trong năm, hãy cùng Bánh Sinh Nhật Singapore trải nghiệm ngày nghỉ lễ cùng gia đình và bạn bè bạn nhé! Nhân dịp lễ 30/4... - Panna Cotta - Tiệm Bánh Handmade Shop hoa tươi Mỹ Tho Tiền Giang CÁC LOẠI BÁNH SINH NHẬT/ SỰ KIỆN | 1. COFFEE ALMOND CAKE - BÁNH KEM TƯƠI CAFE HẠNH NHÂN 190k/ size 14cm 260k/ size 18cm 300k/size 20cm 340k/size 24cm Minh Diệp Bakery - Đường 30 Tháng 4 Minh Diệp Bakery - Đường 30 Tháng 4 - Tiệm bánh Bánh sinh nhật khổng lồ - Tuổi Trẻ Online Một chiếc bánh sinh nhật khổng lồ được làm để tặng các công dân sinh ngày 30-4-1975 có lẽ cũng là một sự kiện đáng chú ý trong các ... Thu Hiền Bakery - Số 45 Đường 30/4, Dương Đông, Phú Quốc Thu Hiền Bakery là tiệm bánh handmade với thông điệp "vệ sinh và chất lượng luôn ... từ khâu nguyên liệu sẽ mang đến cho bạn những chiếc bánh hoàn hảo nhất. Tổng hợp những mẫu bánh sinh nhật đẹp tháng 11 ( phần 4) BẤM VÀO ĐÂY Queen's Bakery & café nhận Đặt bánh kem , Bánh kem sinh nhật , Bánh kem sự kiện , Bánh kem tiệc cưới , Bánh kem theo yêu cầu , Bánh kem handmade, Tổng hợp ... Cuộc hội ngộ của 1.000 người sinh ngày 30-4-1975 Bánh sinh nhật cỏ 4 lá Chiếc bánh sinh nhật 30 tầng, cao 6 mét, nặng 5,5 tấn, trị giá 300 triệu đồng do Công ty Kinh Đô thiết kế và thực hiện, sẽ xuất hiện vào ... 101+ mẫu bánh sinh nhật 12 con giáp đẹp nhất cho từng năm ... Cùng tham khảo những mẫu bánh sinh nhật 12 con giáp đẹp nhất chia sẻ dưới đây để dành tặng người mà bạn yêu quý nhé! 2. Tổng hợp ... 30-4 (Tun&Box) Mừng sinh nhật con trai Box yêu quý! Em Box ngoan có ngày sinh nhật thật đặc biệt đấy nhé! ... chức anh của em Nghé. Chúc Box có một sinh nhật thật vui nè, bánh gato thật đẹp nữa chứ! BÁNH KEM TƯỜNG VÂN Nếu bánh kem sinh nhật quá nhiều chất béo và làm bạn thấy ngán, bạn muốn thay đổi một hương vị mới lạ khác bạn hãy... Bánh sinh nhật tặng người thân ... Bánh kem 040 Bánh sinh nhật tháng 4 Bánh kem Tường Vân,BakeryTường Vân Top 12 tiệm bánh kem ngon và chất lượng nhất tại TP Vũng Tàu Bấm vào đây bánh sinh nhật 30/4 Ngày nay, xã hội phát triển cùng với đó là nhu cầu của con người. Bánh sinh nhật là một thứ như linh hồn không thể thiếu trong mỗi buổi tiệc ... Top 7 tiệm bánh sinh nhật ngon và chất lượng tại Phú Quốc Bánh ở đây rất ngon, cốt bánh mềm thơm mà nhân cũng đầy đặn vô cùng. Tại đây các dòng bánh sinh nhật được yêu thích và đặt nhiều nhất đó là: ... Mừng sinh nhật tập thể cho người sinh ngày 30/4/1975 Dự kiến, sẽ có bánh kem khổng lồ đủ cho 5.000 thực khách, ... Những "ông chủ" của lễ sinh nhật có thể vui chơi cùng người thân trong không ... Bánh kem Cần Thơ, Bánh Sinh Nhật ngon nhất Cần Thơ ... Bánh kem độc đáo tại cần thơ gồm bánh kem sinh nhật phô mai ( Tiramisu), bánh kem bắp tốt cho sức khỏe các loại bánh kem rau câu 3D, rau câu 4D, ... giao hàng bánh kem quận 12, giao bánh kem quận 12, dịch ... Quy định phạm vi giao hàng. Bánh sinh nhật rau câu Gelli phục vụ giao hàng cho Khách hàng tại các khu vực sau (*): Tỉnh/ ... Định Vị Top 10+ Tiệm Bánh Sinh Nhật Ngon Đà Nẵng Thương Hiệu Bánh Sinh Nhật Nổi Tiếng Ở Đà Nẵng · 2. Buz Coffee To Go – Tiệm Bánh Sinh Nhật Ngon Đà Nẵng · 3. Vinh's Milk Tea & Bakery – Tiệm Bánh ... Top 10 Tiệm bánh sinh nhật ngon và chất lượng nhất TP. Biên ... WHITE Bakery · Đài Nam Bakery · Tiệm Bánh Linh Đa · Hanh Phuc Bakery · Ngoc Long Bakery · Tây Lai Bakery · Moon Bakery · Bánh kem Siu Siu. Ưu Đãi Đặc Biệt Ngày Lễ 30/4 -1/5 tại Mỹ Hảo Bakery

Bên cạnh đó, tiệm bánh sẽ hoạt động xuyên suốt phục. ... Chào mừng 45 năm Ngày giải phóng miền Nam, thống nhất đất nước (30-4-1975 ...

[nandneeeeeee]

Discover Arab Street in Singapore: The Ultimate Guide for Travelers and Locals

Arab Street in Singapore is a vibrant enclave brimming with rich history, culture, and an eclectic mix of shops and eateries. Whether you're a traveler seeking unique experiences or a local looking to explore, Arab Street in Singapore offers something for everyone. This guide will walk you through the best places to visit, things to buy, places to eat, the best time to visit, and how to reach Arab Street, making it one of the top places to visit in Singapore that everyone should explore!

History and Significance

Arab Street is part of the larger Kampong Glam area, which has been a center of Muslim life in Singapore since the early 19th century. The neighborhood was originally allocated to the Malay and Muslim communities by Sir Stamford Raffles. Today, it retains its cultural significance while also embracing a modern, cosmopolitan vibe.

Places to Visit

Sultan Mosque: Begin your exploration with a visit to the majestic Sultan Mosque, one of the most iconic landmarks in Singapore. The mosque's stunning golden dome and impressive architecture are a testament to the area's rich heritage.

Haji Lane: Just around the corner from Arab Street, Haji Lane is famous for its narrow alleys filled with colorful murals, quirky boutiques, and trendy cafes. It's a haven for photographers and street art enthusiasts.

Malay Heritage Centre: Learn about the history and culture of the Malay community at the Malay Heritage Centre. The museum offers fascinating exhibits and interactive displays that provide insight into the heritage of Kampong Glam.

Bussorah Street: A pedestrianized street lined with palm trees, Bussorah Street is home to numerous shops and restaurants. It's a great place to wander, shop for souvenirs, and enjoy a meal with a view of the Sultan Mosque.

Things to Buy

Arab Street is a shopper's paradise with a diverse range of items that reflect both traditional and modern influences.

Textiles and Fabrics: Arab Street is renowned for its beautiful textiles and fabrics. You'll find shops selling everything from colorful batiks to luxurious silks and intricate lace.

Carpets and Rugs: Explore the numerous carpet and rug shops offering exquisite Persian and Turkish designs. These high-quality items make for perfect home decor pieces.

Perfumes and Oils: The street is dotted with stores selling exotic perfumes and essential oils. These fragrant treasures are often made from traditional recipes and are a unique find.

Handicrafts and Souvenirs: From handmade jewelry and traditional Malay crafts to contemporary accessories, Arab Street offers a wide variety of souvenirs to take home.

Places to Eat

Arab Street is a culinary hotspot with a diverse array of dining options to suit all tastes.

Beirut Grill: Savor the flavors of the Middle East at Beirut Grill, which offers a delectable menu of Lebanese and Mediterranean dishes. The ambiance is warm and inviting, making it a great spot for a meal with friends or family.

Alaturka: Enjoy authentic Turkish cuisine at Alaturka, where you can indulge in dishes like kebabs, mezze, and baklava. The restaurant's charming decor adds to the dining experience.

I Am... Cafe: For a fusion dining experience, head to I Am... Cafe. This halal eatery serves a mix of Western and Asian dishes, including their famous rainbow cake and hearty burgers.

Zam Zam: A local favorite, Zam Zam is known for its delicious murtabak (stuffed pancake) and nasi biryani. It's a must-visit for anyone wanting to try authentic Singaporean Muslim food.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Arab Street is in the late afternoon to evening when the weather is cooler and the street comes alive with lights and activity. Weekends are particularly vibrant, with more street performances and events. Avoid visiting during the midday heat if possible, as the narrow streets can become quite warm.

How to Reach

Arab Street is conveniently located in the Kampong Glam area and is easily accessible by public transport.

By MRT: The nearest MRT stations are Bugis (East-West Line) and Nicoll Highway (Circle Line). From either station, it's a short walk to Arab Street.

By Bus: Several bus routes pass through the Kampong Glam area. You can take buses that stop at the nearby Sultan Mosque or Beach Road.

By Taxi or Grab: Taxis and Grab (ride-hailing service) are widely available in Singapore and can drop you off directly at Arab Street.

Conclusion

Arab Street in Singapore is a cultural and sensory delight, offering a unique blend of history, shopping, dining, and vibrant street life. Whether you're interested in exploring its rich heritage, indulging in delicious cuisine, or simply soaking in the colorful atmosphere, Arab Street is undoubtedly one of the top places to visit in Singapore. Make sure to include this vibrant destination in your travel itinerary for an unforgettable experience.

[singapore-travel]

Best Budget Friendly Places for Shopping in Singapore

Shopping in Singapore is truly exceptional and is famous for its sophisticated shopping malls and cute little shops. Simply looking at the range of commodities from luxury products to locally produced souvenirs or cheap products. From the street markets of Chinatown, Little India to the modernity of the shopping malls of Orchard Road the city has an endless variety of stores, which makes every shopping maniac – a fan of fashion or a hunter for a cheap gem – feel happy. Now let us look at some of the most recommended areas to shop in Singapore.

Markets for best shopping experience

Singapore has a diverse market and you can have a good experience in the market. Some of the best places for shopping in Singapore are:

Orchard Road:  It can easily be described as Singapore’s Fifth Avenue, the same way that the Champs Élysées is to Paris. The 2-kilometer length is particularly a shopping paradise for luxury sentiments. Luxury apparel, technologically advanced electronics exotic food outlets, and all attractions are under one roof for all those who are fond of shopping. Every mall has its attraction, starting from the unique architectural appearance of ION Orchard and moving to the Japanese emphasis of Ngee Ann City.

Chinatown: For the view of the more cultural and significant walking and shopping trip you should definitely visit Chinatown. The now narrow streets are crammed full of stalls selling all manner of Chinese products, from tea sets to antiques and handmade products. Chinatown Street Market throughout Trengganu Street Pagoda Street and Sago Lane retail items include Chinese silk robes and calligraphy sets. It is also a food heaven for tourists to try out local specialties such as bak kwa (barbecued meat) and local cakes.

Haji Lane: It is a small street in Kampong Glam which might be recognized for indie stores and murals. Most of the stores are specialized in retro clothes or accessories. The fusion of Middle Eastern influence and Malay culture in the area creates interest, so it remains one of the favorite destinations for stylish buyers who seek exclusivity.

Budget friendly shopping places in Singapore

Discover the best places to find unique deals at several budget shopping places in Singapore:

Bugis Street Market: It is one of the biggest and cheapest markets for shopping. Having over 800 stores it has a great variety of clothing and accessories for low prices as well as souvenirs. Due to the wide variety of available choices of food and enjoyment throughout the sale’s location, the market is considered cheap and entertaining to shop on.

IMM Outlet Mall:  In Jurong East is Singapore’s largest outlet mall consisting of more than 90 outlet stores. There are special offers on different brands that include; Adidas, Coach, and Timberland. The mall also provides meals and services to its visitors and buyers making it easier for clients to search for cheap products.

Orchard Road: It is famous for its fashions and reasonable prices aimed at young people. This mall targets youths and visitors who wish to shop for items from triangular-shaped baguettes to t-shirts, accessories, and souvenirs. From apparel and bags to hair and body treatments and to gadgets and novelties, Far East Plaza is a shopping mall for everyone with wallet-watching.

Night markets in Singapore

Experience the lively night experience from some of the best night markets in Singapore:

Geylang Serai Ramadan Bazaar: Held during the Ramadan month, the Geylang Serai Bazaar is a large covered market with seven hundred shops including meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, dozens of clothing shops, and a multitude of other food, textiles, and household goods shops. Due to its pleasant and dynamic environment coupled with lots of varieties, the center is ideal to visit during the festivities.

Chinatown: In the evenings, especially during the Lunar New Year celebration, Chinatown turns into a vibrant night market. Market stalls occupy most of the space which includes Chinese New Year household accessories and food. With lights and decorations during the festive season, it creates a vibrant atmosphere and a perfect place to shop for souvenirs that contain Singapore’s cultural aspects.

Clarke Quay: This place is known for its lively market mainly during the weekends. There are ample bars and restaurants along with stalls selling a variety of unique and beautiful items as well. It is an ideal shopping area especially at night because of the riverside and lively environment at night.

Lau Pa Sat: It is one of the oldest markets in Singapore. It dates back to the 1800s and now the vendors generally serve food in this market. It is located at the center of the city and it is an exceptional place to experience the culture of the country.

Conclusion

Singapore is rich with numerous exotic shopping centers that are able to suit every buyer’s pocket. Shoppers can find everything from designer-high end brands in malls along Orchard Road to tourist souvenirs and electronic gadgets in Chinatown’s markets and funky clothes in the Haji Lane. If you are interested in designer wear, Singaporean arts and crafts, or inexpensive products, it is for you. Therefore, be it a habitual consumer or just a tourist in the shopping center, Singapore holds a lot of surprises for seekers of shopping.

[nyrafanboi]

OWNDAYS - The Pitfalls to Dodge When Selecting Contact Lenses in Singapore

In the bustling realm of optical solutions, picking the right contact lenses is akin to navigating a labyrinth without a map. Singapore, with its myriad optical shops dotting the landscape, presents a plethora of choices that can leave even the most discerning eyes feeling a tad overwhelmed. To ensure your optical odyssey concludes with crystal-clear vision, here's a no-nonsense guide on what to avoid when stepping into the world of contact lenses at any optical shop near you.

Neglecting Professional Advice:

When it comes to choosing contact lenses, the first pitfall to dodge is sidestepping professional advice. Optical shops are staffed with experts who can guide you through the maze of options. Failing to consult them is akin to navigating the streets of Singapore without Google Maps – a recipe for confusion and potential mishaps.

Ignoring Your Lifestyle:

Selecting contact lenses that don't align with your lifestyle is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Opticals in Singapore offer a diverse range, so consider your daily routine. If you're more of a fast-paced city slicker than a laid-back beach bum, opt for lenses that match your lifestyle to avoid discomfort and irritation.

Overlooking Lens Material:

The material of your lenses is crucial. In the world of contact lens Singapore options, opt for materials that suit your eyes. Ignoring this aspect is like buying a car without checking if it runs on petrol or electricity – it might look sleek, but it won't get you far.

Discounts Over Quality:

Tempting discounts may beckon like sirens, but sacrificing lens quality for a lower price tag is a shortcut to optical calamity. Remember, your eyes deserve top-notch care, not a budget-friendly compromise that might come back to haunt you.

Forgetting the Essentials:

Opticals are not amusement parks; there's no room for forgetfulness. Remembering the essentials, such as lens solutions, cases, and regular check-ups, is paramount. Skipping these steps is like trying to bake a cake without flour – your vision will crumble sooner or later.

Disregarding Comfort:

Comfort is non-negotiable in the contact lens realm. Choosing lenses solely for aesthetic appeal is like buying a stunning pair of shoes two sizes too small – you may look good, but you'll be hobbling in pain. Prioritise comfort to ensure a seamless visual experience.

Ignoring Cleaning Habits:

Just as Singapore thrives on cleanliness, so should your contact lenses. Neglecting proper cleaning habits is akin to strolling through the city without an umbrella during monsoon season – expect a murky outlook. Cleanliness is not just next to godliness; it's next to clear vision.

Falling for Trends:

Trends may come and go, but your vision is timeless. Choosing lenses solely based on trends is like buying a phone for its trendy case – the real value lies in what's inside. Opt for timeless, functional lenses that withstand the test of time and shifting fashion tides.

Skipping Regular Check-ups:

The optical landscape is ever-evolving, and your eyes are no exception. Skipping regular check-ups is like driving without a pit stop – you may think you're fine, but a breakdown is imminent. Keep your vision roadworthy with timely check-ups.

Neglecting UV Protection:

Singapore's sunny climate calls for lenses with UV protection. Ignoring this crucial feature is like sunbathing without sunscreen – it might feel good now, but the long-term consequences can be harsh. Shield your eyes from harmful rays with lenses that offer UV protection.

Selecting contact lenses demands a pragmatic approach. With optical shops abound in Singapore, navigate the maze wisely. Prioritise professional advice, consider your lifestyle, and don't compromise on quality for discounts. Remember, your eyes are the windows to the cityscape of life – make sure the view is always crystal clear.

For quality contact lenses and eyeglasses in Singapore, OWNDAYS is your choice! Your vision deserves the best – reach out to OWNDAYS for expert guidance and a seamless optical experience. Visit our website today.

[fresver]

The Psychology of Sweetness: Online Cake Shopping in Singapore!

Picture this: You're cosily sitting at home, scrolling through an array of delectable cake options. With just a few clicks, a mouthwatering birthday cake can be yours, delivered straight to your doorstep in Singapore. The joy and convenience of online cake shopping are undeniable, but have you ever wondered why the experience matters as much as the cake itself? Let's set forth on a delightful adventure through the magical world of virtual cake stores, uncovering the enchanting reasons behind our irresistible urge to click that charming "Buy Now" button.

The Temptation of Choice: A Flavorful Wonderland

When you order a birthday cake online in Singapore, you unlock a delightful world of options. From classic flavors like rich chocolate and velvety red velvet to exotic tastes like matcha green tea or fragrant pandan, the choices seem endless. This multitude of choices dances with our minds, sparking joyous centers that amplify the delight of the experience.

According to Dr. Sarah Johnson, a psychologist specialising in consumer behavior, having a wide selection of cakes triggers a sense of exploration and excitement. "It's like going on a flavor adventure," she says. "variety creates anticipation, making the experience more enjoyable."

Personalisation: A Cake as Unique as You

One of the fantastic perks of online cake shopping in Singapore is the ability to personalise your cake. Let's forge an artful opus, expertly crafted to whisper sweetly to your soul! This level of personalisation transforms the cake from a dessert into a reflection of the person being celebrated.

Dr. Emily Tan, a consumer psychologist, explains that personalisation enhances the emotional connection with the cake. "When a cake aligns with the recipient's preferences, it fosters a deeper sense of appreciation and happiness," she says. "It communicates thoughtfulness and care."

The Joy of Surprise: Gifting Made Extra Special

Imagine the delight on your loved one's face when a beautifully crafted birthday cake arrives unexpectedly. Online cake shopping in Singapore allows you to surprise your friends and family with a sweet treat, no matter the distance. According to Dr. Mark Lee, a psychologist specialising in gift-giving behavior, surprise plays a crucial role in enhancing the joy of the occasion.

"Surprises trigger a surge of positive emotions," Dr. Lee explains. "Receiving an unexpected gift, especially one as delightful as a birthday cake, releases dopamine in the brain, creating a sense of happiness and appreciation."

Ease and Convenience: Say Goodbye to Decision Fatigue

Traditional cake shopping involves visiting multiple bakeries, comparing prices, and enduring long queues. Online cake shopping in Singapore eliminates these hassles, offering a seamless and convenient experience. With just a few taps on your phone or clicks on your computer, you can explore various cakes, place an order, and have it delivered at your chosen time and location.

Dr. Jane Chen, a consumer behavior expert, emphasises convenience's role in our decision-making process. "Reducing decision fatigue is vital," she says. "When presented with a simple and efficient way to order a cake, it makes the whole process more enjoyable and satisfying."

Anticipation and Excitement: The Countdown to Cake Day

Ordering a cake online in Singapore: the prequel to the sweetest day, where anticipation swirls, excitement bakes, and deliciousness awaits. Anticipating the imminent arrival of the cake, fully aware that a scrumptious delight is en route, infuses our celebration with an extra dose of pure, unadulterated joy!

According to Dr. Alex Lim, a psychologist specialising in emotional experiences, "The anticipation of a pleasant event releases positive emotions even before the event occurs.” Like a warm sunbeam on a spring morning, it nurtures hopeful anticipation and adds to the general cheer of the event.

So, the next time you order a birthday cake online in Singapore, remember that the experience matters just as much as the sweet treat itself. Contact Fieldnotes today!

[whattheabcxyz]

2024-10-23

Singapore

33-year-old man arrested for allegedly running online prostitution ring

Former national striker Quah Kim Song to marry Workers' Party chair Sylvia Lim in January

Jail for man found loitering around NUS sports centre with 6 penknives on him - lots of mentally unhinged people here on our tiny isle

Yet another workplace death occurs, less than a week after the previous

New Sembawang North & Woodlands North housing areas to yield 14K homes - For who, one has to wonder?! Singaporeans aren't birthing!!!

Nearly 4K people caught with vapes, of whom ~20% are students

Girl who lived at Circuit Road market stall now attending special education school & learning to speak

Robots that paint & plaster walls to be rolled out at half of BTO construction sites from next year on

River Valley High School teen who killed schoolmate with axe loses appeal against 16 years’ jail - this monster should never ever be let out for the safety of everyone in society, & since he said last time that he wanted to die, why not just hang him so we don't waste taxpayers' money keeping him in jail!!! 👿

Health

Woman gets toxic shock syndrome after wearing tampon for 8 hours

Politics

The Axis Of Evil grows ever bigger as North Korea sends troops to Russia to likely join Ukraine war

Transport

Singapore: Bukit Panjang LRT service resumes after urgent repairs overnight

Food

Singapore: So if it isn't the food that kills you here, it's the rats!!! - 🤢🤢🤢

Business

Intuit begs journalists to delete part of interview with its CEO - turns out Intuit's a scumbag company that's trying to "kneecap government efforts to let Americans easily file taxes online for free", because Intuit sells tax-filing products which will no longer be needed if that happens!

Singapore: Cloud kitchens closing en masse as demand drops among consumers & merchants

Singapore: Eng Wah’s 80-year legacy ends as historic cinema operator exits industry

Architecture

^ How ancient Roman bridges can still withstand the weight of modern cars & trucks

Shopping

Local bakery selling $389 Labubu cake with blind box inside - this is just nicely-disguised gambling