Joo Bar - Makgeolli and All Things Korean

Joo, which opened in the Bugis area late last year. Is conveniently located within a stones throw from the Bugis MRT exit of the Downtown Line. Aside from being the ONLY bar in Singapore that brews its own Makgeolli*, it also offers a full menu of food that is a mix of Korean and Western cooking styles.

* Makgeolli is a popular alcoholic beverage in Korea made from fermented grain - usually rice or wheat.

We arrived at Joo on a Friday evening at around 645PM. To our amazement, the dining seats were fully booked and we had to settle for a seat at the counters.

The interior was decorated mainly in black, white with wooden furnishing. Although some parts of the bar looked raw and edgy, there was certainly some artistic flair in its design. Bag hooks were conveniently located underneath each bench for the ladies - this is a nice touch for those seated at the counters. With remixed K-Pop beats playing in the background, you can be forgiven for wondering if you have just entered a swanky pub in Gangnam Seoul.

Banchan Appetiser

A trio of fried anchovies, Macaroni & Cheese, and pickled radish.

Organic Home Brewed Makgeolli (Small) ($10*) 

*(Daily Happy Hour Special) from 5:30 - 7:30PM.

Joo, prides itself with its home brewed Makgeolli. Our order of Makgeolli had a hint of sweetness and tasted mildly tart. It was lightly chilled and refreshing to the palette - especially when paired with the heavier tasting stew and pork belly.

We only wished they provided a stirrer to mix the drink, as after a while, the mixture start to settle. This could be overcome by the improvised use of the chopsticks.  

Home Brewed!

Truffle Fries ($14)

We weren't blown away by the Truffle Fries. Although it was nicely salted with a generous amount of Parmesan shavings, it lacked the oomph - We were expecting a little more of the Truffle infusion.

Our recommendation is to skip these for the Korean dishes!.

A Whole Lot of Fries

Beef Bean Paste Stew ($20) 

Bean Paste Stews are one of my favourite Korean dishes ! Perfectly salted, with a generous amount of Spring Onions, Zucchini and Radish, Joo Bar's rendition is one of the best comfort food after a long day's work.

Soya Bean Paste Stew

Slow Roasted Mangalitsa Pork Belly ($32)

Aside from their Makgeolli, the Mangalitsa (Hungarian) Pork is another one of their highly recommended items. These slow roasted slices of heaven, garnished with sides of spring onions and Dijon Mustard are simply irresistible. As a result of the slow roasting, the meat is succulent and the fat from each slice readily melts in your mouth! 

I would gladly put my diet plans on hold again - just for this dish.

The Highlight!

Due to the low light environment, the pictures i took with my iPhone simply does not do this place justice ! If you enjoy a nice chill-out place with excellent food, great ambience and authentic korean Makgeolli, Joo Bar is indeed the place to go.

Our recommendations are to skip the regular cafe (E.g: Fries) dishes and go straight for the fusion korean dishes. You wont be disappointed !

Do make a reservation to avoid disappointments, especially on the Weekends (Fri-Sat).

Update:

I was surprised to learn that owners were the same people behind Sticky and E!ght Korean BBQ. It has to be something special about these entrepreneurs that make seem to make everything they touch turn to gold!

Joo Bar

5 Tan Quee Lan Street 188094

+65 8138 1628

Nearest MRT (Bugis - Downtown Line)

POSB 1.88% CNY Promotion

POSB has come up with an extremely attractive, albeit creative, plan to attract new deposits. The 1.88% Chinese New Year Savings/Current Account deposit promotion, behaves like a fixed deposit but works for all savings and current account holders. Essentially, one would have to register for this promotion and transfer the funds into the said account. After the funds have been ear-marked, they will be unavailable for withdrawal and will qualify for the 1.88% "cash gift"(interest) at the end of the promotion on 31-JAN-2016.

1.88% 

The Promotion

All you need to do to qualify for this promotion:

1) Register your interest (via the POSB Link)

Upon successful registration, you will be prompted with the following message.

2) Transfer the fresh funds *

*Fresh Funds Deposit means funds transferred from non-DBS/POSB accounts, through cheque(s), cashier’s order(s), demand draft(s), cash deposits (CDM Counts here), FAST credit (Fresh Funds Deposit that is more than SGD 10,000 via FAST, more than one (1) FAST credit is allowed) and MEPS receipt. These exclude any funds from any DBS/POSB account and funds deposited via any DBS/POSB cheque(s), DBS/POSB cashier’s order(s), or DBS/POSB demand draft(s).

3) Do not touch the funds (It will be ear-marked* anyway) for the full period (From Deposit to 31JAN16)

As of this post, the additional 88$ Cash Gift has been fully redeemed by the first 10,000 customers. 

Illustration (Provided by POSB):

Customer A registers via online through DBS website during the Promotion Period and successfully top-up a lump-sum of SGD 1,000,000 to a CASA* Account by 28 February 2015. 

Cash Gift earned by Customer A under the Promotion as follow: SGD 1,000,000 * 1.88%p.a. * 365/365 days = SGD 18,800.00 

Note: 12 months period is from 1 February 2015 to 31 January 2016 = 365 days 

* CASA := Current Account / Savings Account

The earmarking by DBS will start between 1 February 2015 and 31 March 2015, and the Fresh Funds Deposit will be earmarked by DBS for the period ending on 31 January 2016 (“the Earmarked Period”). The Fresh Funds Deposit will not be available for withdrawal during the Earmarked Period.

Terms and Conditions

http://www.posb.com.sg/personal/promotion/savings-promo

FAQ

1) What does fresh fund mean ?
- Any form of funds that are not already in a POSB or DBS account. These can be in the form of FAST Transfers, Cheque/Cash Deposits, Demand Draft, etc.

2) If i transfer from another Bank using FAST over 5 times for 50,000$. Does it constitute as 1 lump sum and qualify for the promotion ?
- Yes it does. As long as all the transfers reach POSB before the 28-FEB. They will constitute as a lump sum.

3) What happens to my Ear Marked funds?
- When your funds are ear marked, they will not be available for withdrawal. However, should there be a need to withdraw, you can proceed with the following steps: 

1. You may contact the Bank to request for lifting of the Earmark.
2. It will take up to 3 working days to release the funds.
3. No additional penalties. However, you will forfeit the full interest (To be paid on 31-JAN-16).

4) When will my funds be ear marked ?  *Updated 03-MAR
- POSB will proceed to ear mark funds from 01-FEB to 31-MAR. I have no clue regarding the selection of accounts for ear marking (whether it is done on a first-come-first-serve basis, etc), but i assume that as long as you have successfully registered and transferred the amount into your account (meeting the criteria mentioned above), you will be eligible for this promotion.

Summary

In essence, this promotion is akin to a fixed deposit without the penalty for early withdrawal. It is also designed to reduce the additional trouble involved in creating a fixed deposit account, yet appeal to the group of people who are interested in similar yielding products. 

If you have spare cash sitting around in other bank accounts, there is absolutely no harm utilizing this promotion. Aside from the 1 year ear marked period, the 1.88% beats the regular eSaver and UOB Uniplus promotional rates.


If a 1 year 'lock-in' period is too long, you can read more about my article on Maximizing your savings


PS: I have no affiliation with POSB.

Creamier

Sitting right below a HDB estate block, Creamier is indeed true to its reputation as one of the most popular waffles and ice cream parlour in Singapore. Even on a lazy Wednesday afternoon, the tightly packed tables were filled and we had to settle for the bench area facing the window. They must have done something right to be attracting such a huge crowd !

Ice Cream Counter

Sitting Area

Single Scoop 3.30$

Thai Milk Tea

Being a major ice cream lover, one scoop just wasn't enough. My partner decided to order another single scoop of ice cream. This time, she choose the "Premium" Thai Milk Tea flavour. I must say that the Thai Milk Tea flavour is not my cup of tea - pun intended. It was creamy, light and flavourful, she loved it but i thought it was just alright. Call me traditional, but somehow the taste just did not sit well with me.

Thai Milk Tea Ice Cream.. Anyone ?.

Waffles with Single Scoop 8.80$

We ordered the signature Waffles with a single scoop of Sea Salt Gula Melaka ice cream. The waffle was delicately sweetened, fluffy on the inside yet crispy on the edges. Eat bite was enticing and before i know it, i was hooked!.

Moving on to the sea salt Gula Melaka ice cream, the flavour was pretty unique. We thought that the addition of the sea salt greatly balances the sweetness of the gula melaka. The slight tinge of coconut from the gula melaka together with the creaminess of the ice cream is indeed intriguing and delightful. This combination of waffles and gula melaka ice cream is definitely a good starting point for the uninitiated. I would definitely come back just for the waffles !

Heavenly Waffles with Gula Melaka Ice Cream

Coffee - Flat White 5$

Being a ice cream and waffles parlour, we were not too picky with the quality of the coffee. Yet, we were pleasantly surprised by the aromatic cup of flat white that was served. A pity that it was lukewarm when we received it, which was kind of an anti-climax from the delicious waffles and ice cream we had earlier.

Flat White

We truly enjoyed the ice cream and waffles here at Creamier. Although the seating capacity looks pretty decent for an average cafe, it can hardly handle Creamier's rising popularity. Be prepared to wait for a seat, especially if you decide to go during the weekends !  

Do note that this place is really popular ! My advice would be to make a visit during the weekdays, around 3-5PM to be able to truly enjoy a pleasant dining experience.

Creamier

128 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, 310128

Nearest MRT Toa Payoh (Take 141 From Bus Interchange)

6250 1476

TaoBao - A 65Daigou Ship-For-Me Guide

In my third installment of reviews on independent Taobao freight forwarders, i will be reviewing the 65Daigou Ship-For-You sea freight service. According to their website, 65Daigou is one of the pioneer companies in Singapore providing specialized purchasing, logistics and international shipping services.

Note: 65Daigou is now known as Ezbuy.

They Buy The World For You... You Pay Of Course!

1) Register a 65Daigou Account

The first step is to create a 65Daigou account. Simply click "Register" and proceed to fill up the email address, password and user id field.

2) Add Your Unique PRC Address to Taobao

When you create your 65Daigou account, you will be given a PRC address. This address is unique to your account. It will also be the address that you need to setup in Taobao. Do note that you will be given a Guangzhou and Shanghai address. These are two different warehouses that belongs to 65Daigou, choose either one and make sure you send your Taobao purchases to the correct warehouse.

For my purchases, i choose to use the Guangzhou warehouse. This is because alot of the Taobao sellers i buy from are based in Guangzhou as well. 

* Please refer to this link to setup the address in Taobao

Your Shanghai and Guangzhou Address

3) Proceed to Purchase

Proceed to buy from Taobao. When checking out, remember to select the "New" address that you had created in Step 1. This is important as it will instruct the seller to send your purchases to the selected 65Daigou warehouse in either Shanghai or Guangzhou.

4) Submit an Order

Once your orders have been placed, sit back and wait for the seller(s) to post. When you have been notified that an item has been sent, login to 65Daigou, click on "Ship-For-Me" -> "Forwarding Orders" -> "Submit New Order". 

Here, you can specify the warehouse that should be expecting your goods. Additionally, you can add courier company and tracking number. This information will be used by 65Daigou to facilitate a smooth receipt of your packages.

Submit an Order

5) Declare the Value 

When all purchases have arrived at the designated warehouse, make a declaration of the value of each package. This is for the purpose of GST* and insurance calculations. 

Based on my experience, there was a slight delay between arrival of goods at warehouse and updates on the website. My purchased had been received on a Saturday morning. However, it was only updated on the 65Daigou on a monday.

*Do note that if the total value of your package(s) is more than $400 SGD, you will be required by law to pay 7% GST.

6) Self Collect or Arrange Delivery 

65Daigou gives you the option to select self-collection or home delivery. The self-collection can be made at any one the following self-collection points in Singapore. 

For the purpose of my review, i have selected the Home Delivery option. This will incurr an additional charge - in my case, it costs me S$8.00.

Delivery Rates:
Flat rate S$5 - for parcels with a total weight less than 8KG

Flat rate S$8 - for parcels with a total weight equal to or more than 8KG

Deliver or Self-Collect

- Insurance (Optional): The charge is 3% of the declared value of the goods and international shipping fee. If the parcel is lost, you will be 100% compensated, capped at S$2000.

7) Pay for Shipment to Singapore 

The Rates for the Ship-For-You service is as follows:

$1.70 per 500g (For first 0-30KG). That comes up to $3.40 per 1KG.

So a rough estimate of a 10KG* consolidated package would cost $34. 

*Do note that the quoted rates are rounded up to the nearest 500g. i.e, 10.2 KG would be rounded up to 10.5 KG and you would be charged $35.7.

Rates (As at 05-FEB-15)

There are several options for payment:

• Bank Transfer or ATM Transfer
• Credit Card
• Pay Pal (This method is no longer accepted)

For Bank and ATM Transfers, do remember to put the "65daigou XXX" (Whereby XXX is your account name). This will facilitate their the payment processing.

For Credit Card top-ups, there will be an additional 3% charge incurred. 

Once you have paid using any of the methods above, the amount will go into the "My Prepay Available Amount" as available credit. Simply select your entry in the "Unpaid Payment" section and click "Pay".

After selecting the shipment for payment, there will be a generated bill available for downloading. 65Daigou will also proceed to pack and ship your order to Singapore !.

8) Delivery

When your packages finally arrive in Singapore, 65Daigou will have them delivered to your home address. (This is also the address that was specified during check-out in point 6).

Hope you enjoyed the review and guide! Happy Shopping! :)

Pros: 
- Easy to use web interface
- Occasional discounts on Shipping (15% - In my case)
- GST (7%) costs is only applicable for total value of goods more than $400SG.
- No Agent fees related to the "Ship-For-Me" service

Cons:
- Freight Rates are not very much cheaper than other freight forwarders
- Slight delay between arrival of goods at warehouse and updates on the website

- No checking or re-packing of goods

*Edited: Agent fees are only charged on the "Buy-For-Me" service of 65Daigou.

Sunday Market

Tucked away at the end of a row of shops at Lim Tua Tow Road, one might be forgiven for thinking that Sunday Market was yet another one of the many antique furniture shops that littered the row. 

Yet, the quirky red store front and welcoming glass facade was indeed inviting for any curious passerby. Inside, we were greeted by the most friendly service staff, neatly dressed in their Tiffany colored striped T-Shirts. The furnishings seemed uniquely irregular yet perfectly suited to the overall theme of the cafe.

We were excited, famished and ready to try the food!

Quirky Interior

Ride!

Dessert Counter

Tender loving care ($15.90)

Sunday Market's version of the English Breakfast. Scrambled eggs, Buttery Brioche, Ham, Hash Brown, Chicken Sausages and a side of Mesclun Salad. Aside from the relatively decent price, the dish was nothing to shout about - the ham and sausages were dry. Overall, it was a tad too oily (as you can see from the picture).

TLC

Chicken Little ($11.90)

Uniquely combining savory and sweet, this dish marries fried chicken and waffles, two of my favourite food!. Unfortunately, because both the waffles and fried chicken were relatively dry, it become quite difficult to finish.

Chicken Little

Coffee - Flat White ($5.00)

No meal is complete with a nice cup of coffee! The flat white we ordered was alright. In fact, there was a slight tartness to the coffee. It pretty much summed up our brunch. We could give it an A for effort, but somehow the food and drinks did not really live up to expectations.

Flat White

We were left slightly disappointed as the food is hit-and-miss. Although we really wanted to try the famed "Thai Milk Tea Ice Cream" and "Bangkok Toast", the main courses were more than enough for our stomachs. Perhaps if given another opportunity, we would make our way down just for desserts.

Sunday Market

Located At:

22 Lim Tua Tow Road

Nearest MRT Station: Serangoon