Fareast Flora, too far for us

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Have you ever asked yourself how reliable your flora are? What if they screw up your orders on your big day? 

Background of case

Many concerned/thoughtful boyfriends, husbands, guys who wanna woo their dream girl were left helpless when the roses that they had pre-ordered did not arrive at the designated timing.

Angry customers demanding their rightful refunds

Just take a look at the FarEast Flora Facebook page and you would see plenty of unhappy customers posting their unhappiness on the Facebook wall. 

Customer A

How can you do this to me?!!!!!!! It is 6.05 pm now and the flowers ordered by my husband on 5 Feb is not here!!!!! Why did you not listen to your customers' feedback. Mr Jeremy Huang told you 3 weeks ago that you screwed up his surprise for his wife's birthday by sending the flowers past 6 pm and you did it again and some more on Valentine's Day. Who is going to wait around for your flowers to arrive? You better have a service recovery program in place. To think we have been your customer for over 20 years!

If you cannot accept so many order don't book in the business.
You will lose all your customers for over-promising and under-delivering. Cardinal sin for service industry.

Seriously, Far East should close down their FACEBOOK before you get FLAMED further. Hide your face. How can you expect the recipient to be waiting for her valentine flowers and still waiting? no cow sense doing business this way. what a shame

Any good nurtured person would have been tested to the limit with this kind of service.

My husband emailed them 15 mins ago and they say they will check and get back. no further update! Annoying. If accepted payment, must honored delivery. Gosh! you not only ruin the day you ruin the valentine's dinner too!

Goodness me! I just got a call from delivery lady. She said she part timer. When she reported for work, she saw a order slip to send flowers to my office between 9 am to 5 pm& wonder why flowers still sitting in the office! 

If my flowers which were ordered on 5 Feb had such great difficulty reaching me on 14 Feb why did Far East close booking only yesterday? If orders placed between 5-13 Feb were delivered on time, Far East florist owe me a BIG explanation!

Less than 3 hours left of Valentine's Day & my flowers are still not here! Unbelievable ! Is Far East into flowers business ? Is this the way to delight the customers? Please go back to basics to learn how to deliver flowers on time!

Obviously Far East Florist DO NOT communicate with their delivery team! my hubby emailed Far East close to 8 pm to route flowers to our home instead. Only then they replied AND promised to reach by 9 pm! Hello! What time now? Right hand don't know what left hand is doing & they want to run a business. Worst of all, they are not apologetic at all. Message is loud & clear - Don't call me. I'll call you AND at my time!

My flowers finally arrived at 11 pm. It was added to the list of evening delivery items. Delivery lady told me she was shocked when she saw stated Delivery time was from 9 am - 5 pm but flowers still sitting at nursery. Cut story short. The petals of the pink roses look burnt, baby breath feel like dried flowers & the water in the vase had turned yellow. Wonder what can I do to revive a $245 floral arrangement. I want compensation ! Obviously they lost control of the supply chain.

Customer B

MY FLOWERS NOT RECEIVED TOO!!! THIS IS A TERRIBLE COMPANY WHO DOES NOT EVEN PICK UP THEIR CALLS.

Made a trip down to FullofSh*flora to demand a refund and gave a peace of mind to the manager. Seriously doubt they were doing much to remedy situation as everything looks so slow paced there even though manager was apologetic.Seems like upper management was nowhere to be seen. Duno if unaware of situation or JUST nonchalant about it.

Customer C

From all the comments I've read here, I definitely won't be ordering flowers from Far East Flora anymore. I left my office at 615pm today, and the flowers my boyfriend had ordered were still not delivered. It seems like either customers' orders weren't delivered within the slated timing of 9am-6pm or one would receive flowers in a bad condition. The company also lacks the basic courtesy of informing customers that they are unable to deliver the flowers and instead choses to let their customers wait endlessly. Phonecalls to your hotline were not answered and ignored- not the smartest move to appease your angry customers. I just hope you can be prompt in following up with the refunds and live up to your reputation as one of the best floral company in Singapore. But one thing for sure, you've lost several customers today because of your company's lack of efficiency and after-sales service.

Customer D

It is 715pm now and you have still not delivered my flowers. Delivery time 9am-6pm??? It is no where near the time frame. My wife have already left the office. Hotline can't call through also. This will surely be brought up to CASE.

If you guys can't handle the mass flower orders then you should have closed the orders earlier or hire more delivery staff. I could have bought the flowers from other florist shop.

Thank you for spoiling this special day. You have lost another customer. Please refund me the money and give compensation for this lousy customer service. (Order:W410309)

Customer E

the day is ruined.. order still not delivered till now. If you should see a guy crying over flowers... that's me. I was just so pissed i started crying. seriously. horrible experience.

Customer F

Thanks for SCREWING UP my valentine day with CRUSHED FLOWERS at 5.45pm! More people should read about this so their important moments won't be destroyed by FAR EAST FLORA!

Customer G

This is it, the time now, 601pm. No flowers received. Today is Valentine's day, i hope you understand. Fareast flora used to be so efficient that it exceeded my expectations and this is why i had been a loyal fan.

1) Seen many friends receiving their flowers, ok no issue, the flowers will eventually arrive before 6.

2) The time was 4pm and the status still shows DO Generated, so decided to call. The 1st call asked me to wait, so i waited, the next moment i know, only good bye was said from you guys.

3) Tried calling back, no answer, cant even get through.

4) 5pm, getting worried, pm this FB page to no avail. So sent an email but in vain.

5) Now its past 6. Where are the flowers?

If you guys cannot deliver, have the courtesy to call your customers and inform them, so they know whats happening. If you guys cannot take so many orders, then stop at whatever amount you can deliver! Now, the flowers didn't arrive, my wife will not be able to hold a bouquet of flowers when she dine with me.

Well done FareastFlora. You jolly well make the full refund to me and everyone else or else we will go to CASE. And we will win. Your reputation will go down the drain and this will be it.

Customer H

Seriously ? whats up with the service here? IF you cant handle the delivery don't freaking accept orders and let us down at the end of the day. Advertise so much but fail utterly.

Customer I

Hi. My boyfriend ordered a bouquet of flowers for me. It was delivered during lunch time. The condition of the flowers? The "bottle" which you had arranged the flower in before you wrap it had a leak. MY OFFICE DESK WAS WET. And there was no card. My boyfriend told me that he had put a special message in the card, WHICH I HAD NOT RECEIVED. Called your Customer Service. I chose to hold on..but next thing I know, you had auto hang up on me. GOOD ONE.

Customer J

 HEY FAR EAST WHERE IS MY FLOWER ON VALENTINE DAY? MY OFFICE ALREADY CLOSED & NO ONE BOTHER TO CALL AT ALL? WHAT KIND OF SERVICE IS THIS???????   

Customer K

I am furious at the lack of responsibility of your business. No delivery...no call and your hotline was engaged.

Customer L

 Absolute screwed up! I helped my brother reserved a bouquet for his wife. No delivery, no call back, called and called the hotline which was most of the time engaged and when finally got through, was promised call back TWICE but none fulfilled.

Customer M

 This is really really bad service. No news at all. It's almost akin to a scam whereby money is collected, but no goods delivered and no news heard. Maybe we can all consider taking a class action or even a police report given the vast majority of failed delivery. Far East Flora better figure out how to resolve this amicably.

Verdict

FarEast Flora had indeed disappointed their loyal fans/customers. This is a very serious matter, can you imagine someone's big day might not have a bouqet of flowers? Let's say you are getting married, you ordered a bouquet from them, gave them special instruction to deliver, they never arrived. Would you even trust them?

Next, their customer service is non-existence. If they do not know what is customer service, i would recommend either they close shop or attend a course. A flora exist for what purpose? Sell flowers. This is the minimum requirement. If your company had a good history of doing that, the public will see that you have a good system running. So they will trust you with their money while they do their own things. All they wanted to see is a smile on their partner's face. The surprise they would get is amazing, not this kind of surprises. Like a friend of mine said, incidence like this only happens on APRIL's FOOL DAY, not Valentine's day.

Can they imagine the state that the poor consumer might have suffered? If they wishes to close down their hard work business, let us know. Let the whole world knows, FarEast Flora is no longer doing this as a business. Consumer will gladly choose their rivals over them.

So, they can't deliver what they promised. No one on this planet want to know is this person's fault that person's fault. You open a business, you jolly well know how to handle your customers if something crops up suddenly. My guess for them not contacting their customers as below: 

1)Lack of manpower. They do not have enough phones to call out to their customers for a start, i guess none of the staff wants to use their own phones to call for something not caused by them, unless they get a full sponsor. 

2) Lack of communication. They might think they might still be in time for most delivery but they are so wrong. You do not communicate with your supply chain, you lose everything. 

3) Can't be bothered as there are too many to call. 

Whatever reason it is, they had failed badly in their job. They deserved to get the rod. Full refunds are just the minimum compensation they can offer. For the trauma and anger caused with no explanation or service recovery, they need to add in some other things to please their angry customers.

If this is the way their management is heading, they are going down. Or maybe they had relocated to the Far Far Eastern side of Asia, that's why the flowers won't reach their customers on time.

Read More

M1 Downtime again

A word of advice to M1. If you dont have such a big head, dont wear such a big hat.

Same for your business concept, if you cannot provide a good service to your customers, stop telling people you are sorry or you are the most Vibrant and dynamic communications company, providing mobile and fixed services to over 2 million customers.

You know what? You guys should just close down. The main purpose of your existance is to provide at least the basic calling and messaging services. And you guys can't do it?

If this is the 1st time, ok we take it with a benefit of doubt. But this is a repeated mistake. The last thing we want to see is M1 becoming like SMRT. Down-time becoming a norm.

When Singtel's MioTv experienced down-time, everyone of their customers received 1 month of waiver for their subscription. This is call Service recovery. The last time M1 was down, the so called service recovery is free talk time for a few hours. What a whole load of nonsense is that.

Some of us rely on our hp for business. People who wants our business call us, if they cant get through, they go to our rivals.

Worst still, if you are trapped in a lift, you thought you have a lifeline, your mobile phone and it's not working, well done. If you see a crime and you want to call 999 or a fire you want to call 995, you cant. What would happened??

Somebody better give the nation a good answer.

Read More

Uncles fighting on the MRT

Post by SGAG.

Read More

Heads up on the EPL (Part 3) - After 20 games

Previously, we had discussed on the top 10 teams in the EPL. Whether we are happy or not, there will be a tough fight at the top this season. As many as 8 teams can be in for the title chase this season. Today, i will be sharing my views on the bottom 10 of the EPL, in an continuation from the previous post.

Hull City 

Hull had done pretty well after 20 games, being a stronghold at home, their away form is letting them down. If they can pick up a couple more wins, they can surely be 1 of the top 10 teams. Coached by former Manchester United legend, Steve Bruce, This Hull City had been transformed from a relegation battle team to a mid-table team. 1 player stood out for them, Tom Huddlestone. The former Spurs midfielder had done pretty well for them. He reminded us of Scott Parker when he is of course now playing for Fulham.



They had recorded a big win against Fulham last week at home, something even the most faithful Tigerine fan would never dream of happening in the EPL. But that's a good win for them, however they fell away from home once again, losing to a injury-hit Liverpool. Consistently seemed to be lacking in Bruce's team, if they wants to break into the top half, they got to play as if every game is their relegation battle.

Stoke City 

No Tony Pullis, no problem. Mark Hughes ensures Stoke is not struggling in the bottom 3 by New Year's day. The stand-out players are Charlie Adam, Crouch and Assaidi. They certainly look familiar to the Liverpool fans once again. Assaidi, on loan from the Reds, is scoring important goals for Stoke and ensuring they maintain their mid-table form. Former players Adam and Crouch are showing they still got the finishing. Oh wait, don't forget the solid defense of Huth and Shawcross, together with their Amazing goal-scoring keeper Begovic.



Rough tackling are often known for this Stoke side,direct long balls up front are also part of their routine. However, it seems that the goals didn't came from long ball but from a winger who dribbled and got his chance. We all known what happened to QPR when Hughes were in-charged, however during the 1st season Hughes will normally do enough to save his job. It's always in the 2nd or 3rd season where Hughes will lose it. So how long can he withstand this time round?

Swansea 

With Michu out, Swansea had found it hard to break down their opponent's defense. Up step Bony, the stand-in striker who had been above average. Scored 6 goals and assisted 1, he might be over-shadowed by their new Signing Jonjo Shelvey. Scored 3 provided 3, he is doing a good job at the Liberty Stadium. I tip him to shine even more and he might have a place in England in the future.



Will Swansea move up or down in the remaining fixtures? Well, with Michu back, they have a good chance. Laudrup is a good manager. Most importantly, their passing football is nice to watch.

West Brom 

West Brom had always been a team performance rather than individual. They have got some under-rated players in their team. with the sacking of Steve Clark, not sure if it was a correct decision though. 1 player seemed to stood out for me, his name is Chris Brunt. Who? If you are not a baggies fan, you might not know him. But he had assisted 5 goals this season. With a team of such quality, one might ask if they are in a correct position? They should remain this spot if they continue their form.


Norwich 

Time is running out for the former Newcastle Manager Chris Hughton. He needs to act fast or he will be the next one out. Norwich seemed to be flirting with Relegation this season. After being defeated and destroyed by Luis Suarez these few seasons, Ruddy might thought earning a call-up to England might not be a good choice. With Uruguay drawn with England in the group stage.



The stand-out players for the Cannaries will be Gary Hooper and Nathan Redmond. When they are not playing, we know what happened to Norwich. This January transfer, Norwich might not have enough money to get a key signing and that might even cost them a place in the EPL come May. Although currently 15th place, they are definitely a candidate for relegation if they continue their poor form.

Fulham 

King Berbatov's Fulham had seen their long-suffering manager Martin Jol was finally sacked. In came former Manchester Utd coach René Meulensteen. His experience with Man Utd might proved to be essential as Fulham seemed to be on the right track? No. They were humiliated by Hull City 6-0. Fulham just dont have the hunger to win games, with their team on the decline due to their aging squad. They had been in and out of the relegation zone this season and they could be 1 of the hot favorite for the drop if they lose Berbatov in this transfer window.



However, their coach and staffing section had been great. With former QPR coach Ray Wilkins appointed as the Assistant Coach and former Charlton manager Curbishley appointed as technical director. They should avoid the drop if the coaching staff can impart some skills to the players.

Cardiff

Cardiff had been making the headlines recently, starting with Malky Mackay saying if the Board refuses to make money available come Jan 14, they will have to consider investing only when they reach Championship next season. This outraged the club owner, Vincent Tan, a Malaysian tycoon. He instructed Mackay it's either he resign or he will face the sack. Mackay rebutted back saying he will never walk out of Cardiff on his own accord. The Cardiff fans sang their hearts out showing their support for Mackay but he was eventually replaced by the rumoured new manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.



On pitch, Jordon Mutch had made great headlines with his fantastic match winners. However, it seems Cardiff is like another QPR in the EPL. Will they eventually finish to avoid the drop? It's still too early but they are also a candidate for the drop.

Crystal Palace 

Palace waited a long time before regaining their place in the EPL. Will they make an U-turn back to the championship immediately? Marouane Chamakh the forgotten former Arsenal man seemed to be up for a fight to make them Palace stay at the top league. But do Palace have the quality to maintain their top flight status? I don't think so. Looking at their form, they don't seemed convincing. Looking at their squad, i am not convinced too. It will take a massive effort to bring them to former glory once again. With a start at the championship most certain.



West Ham United 

Oh dear, what is West Ham doing at number 19th? They should be in the mid-table for their quality. Maybe they are missing Andy Carroll, their big money signing who is still out injured. Maybe they don't have a back-up striker. Maybe their Captain Nolan got sent off too often. Too many maybes in their team and no wonder they are 19th.



Big Sam Allayce will need to look into the piggy bank and see if there are any money left to get a few players to propel them forward. If they can't get out of the relegation zone by Mid Feb, it will certainly cost Big Sam his job. I am still certain the Hammers can bail themselves out of trouble come May.

Sunderland

Gus Poyet side had suprised many by winning games in recent days. He is facing a uphill task. Out went the win-less Di Canio.

Poyet had transformed this team into a never say die team. Quality wise, Adam Johnson and Steven Fletcher is still their leading men. 1 quick the other unpredictable.

However, Sunderland had proven in history that they can finish the league with minimum points, finish last and be relegated. Will this year be any different? Certainly a drop candidate, but their luck seemed to be changing. It will take a massive effort to save themselves.

Read More

Breaking news - Riot at Singapore's Little India

We had just received the news about the outbreak of riot at the Little India road.

The below footage was captured by a resident near the little india vicinity.

The exact reason why the riot broke forth was possibly due to a bus driver hit 1 of the jay walkers at Little India road. Witcast understand Jaywalking at the Little India road is not something new. In fact, it's a norm. We have not seen any traffic policeman or any Cisco officers etc coming to summon the Jaywalkers.

Hence when someone finally got knocked down, the foreign workers showed the police who is the boss. Kind of sad news for us. In the above footage, we can see the workers even flipped over the Police Cars.
In this instance, where were the Riot Police? They had been well trained all these while, but they were no where in sight. Moreover, they will have no idea who on earth destroyed their vehicles.

In the below video, there were even fire that broke forth.
.

We hope Singapore can be a safe environment for citizens and foreigners. By demonstrating such big scaled riot, it is indeed a sad news for everyone.

We understand the Riot Police was called in later and had showed them whose the real boss.


God bless Singapore.

Read More

Heads up on the EPL (Part 2) - After 15 games

Hi Everyone

In our previous post on the start of this season's EPL actions, we had introduced the transfers done by all the EPL teams. Today, i will be giving you an update on the top 10 teams after 15 games and whether their KPI had been met or not. This article will also feature some of my personal views on the teams.

Lets begin with

1) Arsenal

Prior to the game against Everton tonight, Arsenal sits on top of the EPL table with 34 points with 14 games played. After their 1st game of the season which resulted in a defeat against Aston Villa, they had gone to the next 9 games undefeated, collecting 25 out of the possible 27 points. Amazing feat. After their defeat against Man U, they had gone on to collect 3 out of 3 victories.

So, they had an exodus in their squad at the start of season, this had indeed made them even tighter as an unit together. Even when their bid for Liverpool's Ace man didn't materialised. They have Giroud, Ozil, Ramsey etc etc etc... so many talents.

Come January, they should add 1 or 2 strong players to their team and they will probably secure a top 4 finish at the very least. As for their title bid, its been a very long while since they added anything to their trophies cabinet. Will this finally be their year? 1 thing for sure, they had exceeded everyone's expectation for them. Well done Gunners.

2) Liverpool

Liverpool had been a sleeping giant all these years. This season we had seen some of the best football from them. Last season after 15 games they have only collected 19 points and stayed at 11th of the table. This term, they are staying at the 2nd of the table. Definitely impressed many of the Anfield faithfuls.

So will they poise as a major threat to the other big teams as title contender? The Christmas fixtures may well determine their fate.

However it will all depends on this man, Luis Suarez. Amazing 14 goals in 10 games, amazing strike rate that many EPL teams add their total goals together cant be compared to. Came back from his biting suspension, Suarez had once terrorised many of the EPL defenders and Keepers. Together with his striking partner, Daniel Sturridge; they had combined 23 league goals!

Lets take a look at their signings, Mignolet (aka Mi No Let) had been outstanding. The goals that were conceded wasnt really his fault. He had even saved a penalty on his debut. He made many fans forgotten that Reina was even on loan. Kolo Toure on the other hand had his ups and downs, but overall he needs to speak lesser and perform better. Sakho is a great addition, but his tackles can be quite dangerous. Aspas and Alberto had not been the best signings for LFC, neither could loan signings Moses nor Cissoko claim a regular starting place.

Overall, their target is always the top 4 finish, which this season should just be their season. If not, Mr Suarez will definitely leave. Any better than that(top 4) will be a good bonus to Liverpool.

3) Chelsea

This looks like a Chelsea season when we learnt that Mourinho had returned as Chelsea's manager.
They had their ups and downs this season. On par with Liverpool on goal difference, addition to some on pitch controversies involving Chelsea players.

Generally, this seemed to be a slow start to the London Blues. The problem with Chelsea seemed to be inconsistency that they dearly hope to put a stop to.

Their strikers : Torres, Ba, Schurrie and Eto'o can't seem to hit the back of the net often enough. Meaning their midfield is stepping up to score on behalf. Hazard, Oscars and Lamps are the Trio who tops the scoring charts for Chelsea. If the strikers can't score on a regular basis, this will be a problem for Chelsea.

Despite Mourinho mentioned no one will leave and no 1 will come in come January, this Chelsea side don't seemed to have many options to claim games.

The leak came when they lost to Stoke. If they wishes to take the title from their rivals, they need to strengthen their strikers' strike rate or get someone in who can fit the bill. However, since they are still in the top 4 so far, their make or break will come in after their hectic Christmas and new year schedule.

4) Manchester City

At the start of the season, Man C's Chairman expects the team to win every single trophies available to them. I would agree that they have the potential to do it, but with 1 twist; if only all of their games were played at home.

They are the only team in the EPL that had won all of their home matches this season. But away from home? 2 Wins, 2 Draws and 4 Losses.

They had scored amazing 29 goals at home, conceding only 2. Their top scorer Aguero should claim some credit but Man C looks like a good team, with lots of goals flowing in from everyone.

One person that was dropped was Joe Hart. The current England number 1 finally paid the price for his constant errors in goal. Will he pick himself up and claim back his spot? I bet he is praying his understudy fails so he can be recalled. World cup is coming, if he is not playing for club, i will be sure he wont play for country. The signings had been great, namely Fernandino, Jesus Navas, Negredo and Jovetic. But i think the manager will want to bring in some more players in January to ensure a good fight to the title.

If Man C can take their home form to their away games, they will be a good team to claim the title. Too early to say if they can claim the spot their own. With many teams behind them knocking on their door.

5) Everton

Everton had always been a silent dark horse throughout. When Moyes went out, Martinez took over. I had always thought he is a good manager, so when he is given a bigger team like Everton to manage, he will ensure he does his best to lead the team to glory. He was rumored to replace King Kenny at Liverpool before LFC revealed Brenden Rodgers as their choice.

Everton had transformed into a tough nut to crack, beating teams such as Man Utd (whom also bought Fellani from Everton for 27.5m), Chelsea and Newcastle. Also to note, they had drew with Liverpool and Spurs. They are also the team that had lost the least. Only once to Man C.

If there is a team that did far better than expectations, Everton gets my vote. However, they will need to retain the service of Baines. Already sold Fellani to Man Utd, their midfield is like having a hole to be filled. If Baines were to leave, their position might really decline.

6) Tottenham Hotspur

There is no bale to bail them out this season. In-came Paulino and Soldado, with the latter quite a failure. He had only scored from the spot? It cost Spurs 30m euros. Wow, if that isn't termed a flop, i don't know what else is.

Do AVB knows who are his best team? All i can say is, Spurs are 6th because of good luck. If they goes on this way, their luck will eventually runs out and they will pay the price for it.

I don't think they will finish in the top 4 this season. Though early but they just don't have the quality. Lots of attacking but they need a better striker to convert the possessions and chances into goals.

I think you guys missed me

Come January, AVB might invest further to bring more glory to the team with the surplus from Bale sales. Until then, let's continue to watch them.

7) Newcastle United

Newcastle had gone to places and secured big results, most famously against Man Utd last night. They had exceeded much expectations for them and they seemed to be another difficult team to beat. Also to note is they had beaten Spurs and Chelsea too in their journey.

Every season they had produced some good strikers who eventually be sold off. 1st was Andy Carroll, then there were Ba and Cisse. Now Remy. Remy joined from the relegated QPR and Newcastle is happy to get him here.

The Newcastle midfield are a closely knitted group of players, covering for each other and delivering the ball for their star striker. Another contributor is Tim Krul, who had kept his team safe at the back. Keeping 5 clean sheets which is 1/3 of their season so far.

They will need to continue looking for ways to improve or else the teams below them will eventually catch them.

8) Southampton

Another surprise package up in the top half of the table. Southampton had exceeded everyone's expectations to be in top 4 at some point. So what is their secret? Look at their team, Lallana, Rickie Lambert, Jay Rodriguez and Clyne the four Englishmen were the reason.

All 4 had been in great form this season, not afraid of any of their opponent. They had stayed undefeated against Man U, Man C, Liverpool. And also picked up maximum points against the smaller clubs. Therefore they are where they are currently.

Expect them to slip up to the mid-table once fatigue sets in. But whatever the case, this had already been a successful season for them.

9) Manchester United

Sorry Man Utd fans, you need to scroll down to find your team here. We have all been through ups and downs, but i think not many Utd fans had ever seen their team suffering like this. The worst start to their season since the longest time. Very quickly you can see some of their fans turning against their club, pointing fingers at the Manager, players or even the referee.

There used to be a time when winning at Old Trafford for away teams were so difficult, it was a fortress. This season, their away form is better than their home.

Definitely the worst team we had ever seen from Man Utd. Moyes, the chosen one had tried not to rock the boat. Not getting too many new signings and didn't allow any 1st team player to leave during the summer.

This is the same team that had won the league last season. Now clearly struggling. Moyes appeared to be very different from Sir Alex.If the team loses 1 home game, Sir Alex will vent his frustration on the players, appeared to have boot thrown at Beckham at one time. So they wont want to lose the 2nd game in a row. Moyes probably didn't did what Sir Alex did. Probably sat down with the players and tell them to do a better job next round. Surely Man Utd players do not like his style of coaching, hence they lost again.

No late drama in the Newcastle or Everton's game. It seemed something is missing for Man Utd.

I expect a major acquisition from Moyes in the Jan transfer window. And if he still don't perform, bye bye to him. A center back seemed to be on top of his list. An attacking midfielder is also required. The problem will probably be the Board not willing to let him take charge till then. The stakes are too high for him to fail. No other manager will envy his current position.

10) Aston Villa

Started the season with a big bang. Winning over current leaders Arsenal, went on a few good games along the way and ends up at number 10.

It had been quite a joy watching Villa this season. They had been fighting for every ball, not giving the opponent a breather. Their pressing tactic had worked against some of the clubs. They had Christian Benteke to thank for at the beginning of the season, now it's more like a team play.

Similar to United, their away form is better than their home. They had only lost once away from home but had lost on 4 occasions at their home soil. If they can continue their fighting spirit, they will do well. But whether they can climb further up the table, it will be interesting to see who they managed to get come January.

That's all for now. In the next part of their series, i will be giving an update for teams in the 11th to 20th places. Stay tuned.

Read More

Richie's Pasta House - Squid Ink Pasta & Blue Cheese Sauce with Chicken Chop

Having trouble finding a place to have some nice western food late at night?

Richie's Pasta House might just have what you wanted.

Authentic Italian Pasta at affordable rates!

Their price ranges from about $15 to $30.

Featuring their Blue Cheese Sauce with Chicken Chop!

(You may choose their steak which taste as nice the chop)

The taste of the blue cheese sauce is not as strong as the real blue cheese.

It's creamy and a little saltish..you will never get enough of it!

The chicken is tender!

The wedges are crispy on the outside and soft in the inside!!

Yummy :)

You may request to change the sides to cream sauce or tomato pasta.

(it cost the same) 

The cream sauce pasta taste nice as well...better than average!

Another yummy-licious dish

Squid Ink Pasta

Get ready to have your tongue and lips "black-en"

It taste like as if the pasta is soaked in crab roe sauce...

With prawns, squids, clams, mussels, scallops...

Full of the fresh seafood taste!

There are order side dishes as well...

Baked Mussels 

They have other pastas that taste really nice!

Alcohols are available at their restaurant.

As they have limited seating area, it will be better to make a reservation if you are going during peak hours.

**Durian for desserts?**

Just beside them, there is 2 durian stalls that sells really creamy and delicious durian :)

They packed the durian into an air tight bag.

You can take away and bring around without fearing of the durian smell!

Address:

#01-01, Rocca Balestier

 221 Balestier Road

Singapore 3299328

Contact Number: 
6356 5656

Opening Hours:
4.00 pm to 1.00 am Daily

Read More

Tim Ho Wan, want or don't want?

Have you seen the long queue outside Tim Ho Wan, the Hong Kong cafe right at the Plaza Singapura's new extension wing?

I bet many of you shoppers must have seen it and maybe had even tried a couple of their dishes.

So is Tim Ho Wan worth the wait? We have seen plenty of media coverage of how long the diners have to wait. The longest being 1.5 hours of their time. Surely there's a better use of time huh?

Had decided to pop by and decide for ourselves if the wait is truly worth it. Tim Ho Wan actually meant increasing good fortune in Cantonese, so we hope it's for our good fortune and not just the owner's good luck :)

We arrived at Tim Ho Wan : 7:20 pm, waited around 15 mins before the waitress signaled to us that we can now enter the cafe.

Took a quick look at the "Menu". No picture, no chef recommendation, no diner's favorite. However, there was this "heavenly kings" section where they listed their so called signature dishes. So we ordered 3 out of the 4 (Char siew bun, chee cheong fun with liver and Malay sponge cake), hoping they will be nice. Besides that, we had also ordered some siew mai, congee, beancurd skin related dish and some spring rolls.

The service delivery was amazing. Once we had submitted our orders, our 1st dish was served almost immediately. 1st up, Century egg + lean meat + Salted egg Congee. By the look of it, it looks normal, nothing very different from those we always had at the hawker centers. But once you had tasted it, you might want to take a 2nd mouth and eventually finish up the whole bowl all by yourself.

The 2nd dish, Char Siew Bao. The crust and the looks of it changed my perception of Char Siew Bao. To be honest, i didn't like Char Siew Bao since young, but this bun had just made me wanna try it.

I took a bite at it and was amazed by it. It was awesome. It got me all excited, since this is mentioned as the top 4 dishes of the shop, i cant wait for the other 2!

The 3rd dish, Spring roll stuffed with egg white. Looks like a normal spring roll to me. Didn't expect much as it was not 1 of the top 4 dishes. Ate the 1st piece, didnt like it. Thought it was a little blend. Next please.

The 4th dish, Siew Mai!! I was kind of anticipating it since this is a Hong Kong Cafe, my expectation of it simply rises by 2 notches. The looks of it doesn't look very tempting. Well, took a 1st bite and thought it was very blend. So took the 2nd piece and it's the same taste. Decided to mix it with some soya sauce and it is actually pretty ok after that. But how can a siew mai be so blend? To me, this dish simply failed, big time.

Next, Beancurd skin stuffed with pork and shrimps. This dish looks rather nice. So i quickly took a piece. It's nice. But i wouldn't say it's super nice. Just much better than the previous 2 i mentioned.

Ok, 6th dish, finally the other big 4 appears. Chee Cheong Fun with pig liver. Hmmm, should i be happy? The Chee Cheong fun looks tasty but i am unsure about the liver. Took a piece of it and the verdict was out immediately. I think the prawn one would be a better choice. The Chee Cheong Fun is nice, very smooth but the ingredient within disappointed me big time.

Last dish to end our meal, Malay style sponge cake. My wife enjoyed it but felt she was a little full so didn't finish it. I took a small piece and didn't liked it. End of the reign of the big 4 dishes.

I went on to observe the service attitude of the waitresses and found that they will greet their customers only if they are dressed in formal attire or they are Caucasians. Not sure this considers as a form of culture there but i am sure service should be based on the customer's outward appearance. As i received the greeting from the staff, i was rather pleased with their service :)

So the verdict for me. 3 dishes impressed me but if you have to try 1 or maybe 2, just go for the Congee and the Char Siew Bao. You will not regret your choice. For my foreign readers, you might want to join in the queue when you are here in Singapore too (if time permits), it is located within Plaza Singapura (opposite Dhoby Ghaut MRT station)

Have a great day ahead!!

Read More

La Petite Cuisine - French Cuisine

Want to try some different cuisine?

How about French cuisine?

Authentic french cuisine at affordable rates are just what you can find in La Petite Cuisine!

Foie Gras with Marmalade Sauce - $18 

Never tried before Foie Gras?

It's goose liver that taste real nice Pan-Fried!

It's crispy on the outside, melting in the inside!

A little similar like fried pork lard, but this is nicer!!

This is the best that I have ever tasted!

AND

It consider real affordable and cheap given the portion that they give...

Duck Confit with Fries

The fries are made by themselves and its so yummy with the flavourful potato taste!

Escargot 

Prawn Pasta

Dory Fish with Butter Rice

Desserts

When their chefs are free, they will walk around and ask for feedback.
The restaurant is quite small and cosy, so its better for you to make a reservation to ensure that you get a seat! :)

Address: (There are 2 Outlets)

10 Jalan Serene
#01-05 Serene centre
Tel: 6314 3173

227 Upper Thomson Road
Thomson Ridge
Singapore 574359
Tel: 6459 0553

Closed on Mon
Tue to Sun: 11.30am - 2.30pm and 5.30pm - 9.30pm

Read More