Formula 1 World's First Night Race Winner

.... is Fernando Alonso, the spainard from Renault Team! Bravo! It was a really dramatic race with spills and thrills tonight that allowed Alonso to get his advantage and up his position from 15th to finish and win! Definitely a well deserved win for the two time World Champion!

Formula 1 World's First Night Race in Singapore

We are going to be part of history tonight, at this moment 7:56pm! Formula 1 (F1) World's First Night Race is going to start at 8pm at Singapore Marina Bay. I need to reach back TV to catch the flag off soon.

Just to report that the pole position is held by Ferrari Racer, Felipe Massa. Lewis Hamilton / McLaren Mercedes from Britain is in the 2nd position and another Ferrari racer, Kimi Raikkonen is in 3rd position. Its going to be tough race tonight, given that the circuit allows for almost zero opportunity for overtaking. Fernando Alonso of Renault is in 15th position having encountered engine problems in the Qualifying Round last night.

I got to run back to TV now. It has started!~

Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice-Cream

Its dessert time! If you love ice-creams, you will love this Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice-Cream! We tried their ice-creams and fell in love instantly with its milky soft creamy ice-cream.

Azabu Sabo uses dairy milk from Japan, Hokkaido so we should have no worries about it being tainted like those produced from China these days. Hokkaido is famous for milk and of course, for its milk ice-creams too! So we knew we had to try this one at The Central. The ice-cream comes served in single or double cones. Seeing the many flavours, we could not help but to order the double cones. Our choice was the Green Tea and Sesame (known as “Goma” in Japanese) flavour ice-cream! It was heavenly!! I especially like the Sesame flavour. These 2 flavours complement very well and it’s definitely a good choice to order both.

If you have a sweet tooth or crave for nice soft milky ice-cream, you've got to get your hands on the ice-cream at Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice-Cream! This outlet is a quick fix for customers to buy and go. They also have a restaurant (known as Azabu Sabo Japanese Sweets, Eats & Tea) at The Central which serves Japanese desserts and cuisines if you prefer to have a seat but do expect queues. Azabu Sabo Hokkaido Ice-Cream is at 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #01-46 The Central, Singapore 059817 Tel: 6534 7178.

Swing KPE !

Went for a 5km fun walk and run at the SWING KPE - an event to mark the completion of the Kallang Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) yesterday on 14 September 2008, Sunday.

It has been almost a year that I attended the last charity walk to mark the completion of the first 3km of the KPE! Now, its the full completion of another 9km. This expressway stretches from the East Coast Parkway (ECP) to the Tampines Expressway (TPE). Fully constructed, this 12km expressway will boost of being the longest (9km) underground vehicular tunnel in Southeast Asia. The project supposedly costs a whooping SGD $1.7 billion!

The KPE will be officially opened to motorists from 20 September 2008 and I was one of the eager participants waiting to step and make my mark on the newly completed expressway before any vehicles start moving on it yet ... ha cheap thrill! but that part of me was so excited to join the action and participate in the fun!

Lo and behold, so the event on Sunday, 14 September 2008 saw almost 15,000 people involved! Dressed in yellow, orange, green and black sports shirts, the participants don the bright colours of the event walking in the tunnel after the Transport Minister, Ms Lim Hwee Hwa together with Minister Admiral Teo Chee Hian flagged off the event. There was a 5km fun walk and run, a 10km competitive run and also activities like car rally that day.

Briskly the walkers walk, the joggers ran and altogether suddenly the pack squeezed into the tunnel after the Ministers flagged off. The walk was pretty enjoyable and the most interesting part was after 1-2 km into the tunnel where all the lights in the tunnel were turned off, music was thundering and you see neon lights displaying messages of "Switch On Vehicle Headlights" to bring across the message to motorists to remember to turn on the headlights when driving in this part of the expressway. Well done, Land Transport Authority (LTA)!

While walking through this part of the tunnel, participants had to switch on their red light battery-operated lanterns to join in "The Guiness Book of Records for the Largest Lantern Parade"! Coincidentally, the 14 September 2008 also happens to be the 15th day of the 8th lunar month on the Chinese Lunar Calendar this year, which is also known as the "Mooncake Festival". Supposedly this day in the Chinese tradition is to indulge oneself with a piece of mooncake while sipping a cup of tea and to admire the bright full moonlight, carrying a lantern. Hence we were moonlighting in the tunnel carrying our little lanterns at the walk.

The walk was interesting but got a little hot in the tunnel at the end. Exhausted we completed the walk together with the many people... perspiring and hot! It was an enjoyable walk in the morning and for a good cause as the proceeds collected towards this event went towards the President's Challenge 2008!! Thanks to LTA!

Kranji Countryside - Hay Dairies Pte Ltd & Bollywood Veggies Pte Ltd

Signage of Hay Dairies Pte Ltd

Away to the Kranji countryside in Singapore we went this time! Until we explored to Kranji area, little did we know that in tiny Singapore, there are also our own farms aplenty. We were really surprised to find goat, frog, fish and many vegetable farms in the area!

People queueing to buy Goat's Milk at Hay Dairies Pte Ltd

Just to let you have a glimpse of the delights we found there. There's the Hay Dairies Pte Ltd – a dairy and meat goat farm and there are fresh goat milk available for sale. FRESH ! Deliveries can also be arranged to homes in Singapore with a minimum order. The fun part was that we could walk about the farm and even buy some Alfafa Hay sold in packets of S$2 to feed the goats there. There were many types of goats on the farm and we have a lot of fun feeding the different goats.

Goats at Hay Dairies Pte Ltd farm

We also visited the Bollywood Veggies Pte Ltd – an organic vegetable farm. We had our lunch at the Poison Ivy Bistro munching away the vegetables they grew there. It was a simple meal but it touched our hearts to know that what we are having are the fresh and organic vegetables grown there. We were also treated to the dining area outside the aircon restaurant, to dine at the open porch area overlooking the garden, a view of the herbs and its plantation.

Simple meal at Bollywood Veggies Pte Ltd

Supposedly the Indian curry was the recommended dish at the restaurant but we gave it miss this time as the weather was simply too hot to have the spicy one! We chose the simple dishes like the soya sauce chicken, tapioca leaves and steamed tofu instead. Prices were reasonable and it was not too bad. A meal like homemade fare ! We were also treated to a plate of roti prata while we waited for the rice to be cooked that day ! See above.

This trip has definitely brought us back to the nature and to appreciate our environment and mother nature better. Back to the basics is still the best! Well, if you need some fresh air to breathe or to escape from the hustle and bustle of the town, a trip to the countryside is sure well worth the time !

Hay Dairies Pte Ltd is No. 3 Lim Chu Kang Agrotech Park Lane 4, Singapore 718859 Tel: 6792 0931.

Bollywood Veggies Pte Ltd is at 100 Neo Tiew Road, Singapore 719026 Tel: 6898 5001.