J’s bowling update - October 2019

In the nearly 2 months we've started 2-handed bowling with J, we have seen a remarkable improvement in his game. Below were the scores from the 2 competition he took part in recently:

Event	Gm1	Gm2	Gm3	Gm4	Gm5	Gm6	TTL	Avg
Novice Challenge  18th Aug 2019	84	98	97	80	103	123	585	98
Ah Poh’s Funbowl 6th Oct 2019	116	123	114	107	128	131	719	120

In the 2 years he's been bowling, I've felt that his performances and scores were stagnant in recent months. And with the 2-handed curriculum, I thought it was going to be frustrating for everyone as well. But on and off we bowl with him on his one-handed bowling and we see better performance, more confidence and higher scores~


Learning to bowl with 2 hands have definitely helped him with his performance.

• Playing with 2 hands gave him a better feel of the ball 
• His strength has improved since he started 2-handed bowling
• It's so difficult for him that he appreciate the simplicity of 1-handed bowling now

I think it's the same for me. I've been playing around with 2-handed bowling but when he started his 2-handed curriculum, I took note of the coaching and tried to follow the steps as much as possible. Now I feel that both my 1-handed and 2-handed games have improved~ 

I'm looking forward to his progress in the coming months and really hoping he can hit the target of 140 average by next year!

Neon Pigeon - Food Review

It was a regular Friday evening and the missus wanted to try something new. So I brought her to Neon Pigeon. It was new to her but not new to me! \(^O^)/

Located at 1 Keong Saik Road, the restaurant is on the 1st floor of a pre-war shophouse. The interior design is modern and classy, but due to the low ceiling and loud music, it can get really irritating after 7pm when the crowd starts pouring in~

The main reason why I go back to Neon Pigeon is not so much the atmosphere but more of the food~ I like their twist on various dishes which offers me a taste I've never had before. And their offer small or large size servings for most of their dishes so its great if you want to try a bit of everything!

Tokyo Hummus - $9/$16 (Small and Large size)

Sakoshi Bay Oyster - $16/$30

Miso Roasted Eggplant - $12/$22

Fried Octopus - $22/$42

Roasted Bone Marrow - $19/$36

Charcoal fired Rump - $25/$48

Verdict?
Atmosphere at Neon Pigeon was cosy and intimate... until 7pm... Once the crowd starts coming in, combined with the louder-than-required background music, and you get a surrounding thats good for a rowdy night out with the boys but not so nice date night~

Food was good. The twist on the various dishes and the option of small or large serving gave me more reason to try many different dishes.

Price was a bit on the high side considering the small portions are roughly around $20 on average. But I guess the quality and variation of the food means that I will continue to pay the inflated prices once every 6-12 months...

Kenroku - Food Review

We had a dinner to celebrate our friend's promotion recently and my wife found a Japanese place on the internet called Kenroku けんろく(https://www.kenroku.sg). Personally I had alot of good memories of 兼六園 in Kanazawa.

Situated at Holiday Inn @ Orchard, it's just a few steps from the reception of the hotel. The main Japanese Counter can seat 10 while another private dining room probably another 8-10 pax. There's also a small bar counter for 4-6 pax.

On the day we went, they sort of messed up our reservations on Chope. However they managed to sort everything out and we were led into the main dining area.

The view from our counter seat~

They had an 8-course set menu which was priced at $150, down from $180.

Japanese Menu

English Menu

It was great that they had both English and Japanese menu as my friend couldn't read Japanese. Looking at the menu it is quite obvious that they see themselves promoting alot of products from Ishikawa and Kaga.

First up was the appetizer which consisted of 5 small dishes:

The appetizers

Cold Corn Soup, Soy Tofu with Dashi (and gold flakes) and the Sea Eel Sushi

Deep-fried Fish

Seasoned Plum Compote

The 1st dish basically sets the mood for the rest of the evening. The gold flakes on the tofu really reminded me of Kanazawa~

Japanese Whiting Soup

The sashimi ingredients right in front of the our eyes while the chef sliced and plated them~

Oh that uni!

I liked the pace of the dinner. We were given enough time to slowly savor each dish before they clear it. And because the counter was right in front of us, they work on our appetite as the dishes are prepared or just plated right in front of our eyes. Its like a little striptease with food~

The Ayu~ the summer fish loved by many Japanese, grilled in salt, can be eaten from head to tail~ I've never been a fan of fish with many bones but I can appreciate the taste of the Ayu flesh and organs, which has been flown thousands of miles to this dining table, and into my tummy~

Winter Melon, Fried Japanese Eggplant, Sea Bream with Sudarefu (A Japanese gluten cake)

Sardine seasoned in Vinegar with Kinjiso (A Kaga vegetable) and Japanese Ginger Flower

Cold Soba

Japanese Melon

The rest of the dishes continued to showcase the produces from prefectures closer to the Sea of Japan than the Pacific Ocean. Throughout the night we had little tidbits of information from the manager who showed us the origins of the ingredients using a tablet.

Verdict?
Atmosphere at Kenroku was cosy and intimate. Seated at the bar counter meant we could see some of the dishes being prepared right in front of us. We also had a good time chatting with the chef and the manager in Japanese. Our only complaint that night was the aircon wasn't cold enough.

Food was good. Ingredients were mostly imported from Ishikawa prefecture. Though not expensive ingredients, they were fresh and delicious. The preparation and plating of the dishes were also excellent.

Price was really affordable but that was also partly because they messed up our reservation a bit. Normally an 8-course meal would cost upwards of $150/pax, but I don't remember us paying more than S$450 for the 3 of us, and that's including drinks! Basically they gave us free drinks and a 10% off~ Well, I'm going back again!

Baba Chews - Food Review

We had a few friends from Hong Kong on a Tuesday evening so the missus suggested Baba Chews at Katong Square.

The restaurant/bar serves Asian food with a western twist to it. I was skeptical about the place at first but went along since I’m always game for trying something new~

We ordered 6 dishes to share and all of them tasted pretty good while at the same time made me relook at dishes I’ve known so well!

Ayam Curry Kapitan $20

Foie Gras Tau Kwa Pau $22

The Foie Gras and the Tau Kwa Pau~

Chilli Crab Tagliatelle $20

Chicken Rendang Lasagne $18

Black Pepper Crayfish Horfun $24

Verdict?
Atmosphere at Baba Chews was pretty cool. I would say its modern Peranakan with enough natural lighting from the windows on side facing the main road. The crowd were mostly foreigners doing their work or having a drink. I think we were the only 2 local patrons that evening...

Food was above average. I liked the fact that every dish was different, yet the taste was decent/great~

Price is really affordable. All in all we paid around S$150 for 4 person (2 alcoholic + 2 non-alcoholic drinks).

J’s 2-handed bowling

And so J’s 2-handed bowling journey is officially a go~ 3 weeks ago he got a sort of introduction to 2-handed bowling.

It was a frustrating day for him... crying, tears, anguish... it wasn’t easy to switch from 1-handed to 2-handed... 

What I did since then was to show him videos of Jason Belmonte and Anthony Simonsen. The game of bowling is changing, Singapore Bowling Federation is also putting an emphasis on 2-handed bowling these days...

Today we worked on his finishing and we saw a massive improvement in his timing and balance. It wasn’t an easy 90-minute session and there were a few tears of anguish along the way but I’m happy we could see massive improvements. Let’s see how it goes from here!

J’s bowling journey Part 2

It has been 2 years since we started J's bowling journey. I am very happy with how far he's come since he's started. Along the way we gave away the 6lb ball and gotten him a new 8lb Columbia 300 White Dot ball from Columbia~

Columbia 300 White Dot

COTTON CANDY

And in this year we've been getting him prepared for the Novice Primary Bowling Challenge!

And so the serious work of getting him ready for the competition started from the beginning of the year...

KOMA Singapore - Food Review

We made our way over to KOMA Singapore on a Friday evening so see what the hype is all about. Located right next to Marquee, it can be easily identified by a row of Torii (Japanese Gate) at its entrance... Walking through the Torii is like going through a teleportation device and once you get through to the other side the first thing you will see is the bar... and the giant bell hanging behind it!

On both sides of the bar will be the pathway leading into the main dining area. I can't help but feel that it was recreated from a scene in Big Trouble in Little China. (If you don't know that show, go watch it!). The lily-pad panels and lanterns lining the tall ceiling gives you an idea how much thought has been put into the design of the restaurant.

J’s bowling journey

Its approximately 4 months ago that we decided to sign J up for bowling. We are not those parents that send their kids to all sorts of classes. We just felt that he needed to get out of the house more than just watching TV or nonsense videos on his Youtube/iPad!

i approached one of my friends who I met in Singapore Bowling Federation’s bowling course and he agreed to take on J. A good thing about him is the fact that he watched J grow up. We used to bring J to bowling alleys all over Singapore and put him in a pram while we enjoyed our games.

The video above roughly gave an idea of his level prior to any proper coaching... it was really just fun and games for him and not too much discipline. While I held a level 1 coach qualifications (and failed level 2...), I disqualified myself from teaching him bowling least I lose my temper and throw him down the lanes! Lol~

So is the tedious and important process of putting him at the foul-line, going through drills and focusing on his finishing. Sometime after 1 month his coach decided to see whether he was ready for the introduction of 4-step finishing into his training...

I would say he wasn’t that bad, but I think it’s important that he get that finishing timing become so natural to him it will be easy to extend to 4/5-step approaches in the future. And so we went back to a couple of throws at the foul-line, and then extended periods working on his slide.

This after 2 months

After 3 months...

After 4 months...

I would say I’m very happy with his improvements. He’s only 6 and he’s only had 4 months of proper coaching for 1hour/week. And then today his coach told me he got a 2nd-hand 6lb ball from one of his other students!

A day at the Singapore Zoo and River Safari!

Coming to the end of the September school holidays, we decided to bring J to the Singapore Zoological Gardens for a day.

One of the good things of working for my present is the access to the Corporate Friends of the Zoo card. I have no idea when they changed it o the Premium card, but I'm not complaining~ It meant we got to enjoy not just the Singapore Zoo, but also the River Safari attraction!

Now instead of me writing a long blog post about how the day went, I will let my kid J show you what the Singapore Zoo is all about~

The Singapore Zoo

The River Safari

New Bowling Alley - Superbowl Tampines @ Tampines Safra - Singapore

Finally made our way to Superbowl Tampines, which is having a $3/game for the month of September 2017. We need no further invitation to play a few games this afternoon.

It occupies the exact area where Orchid Bowl Tampines used to occupy. The only change is that half the area has been converted to a karaoke called 7th Heaven KTV and cafe.... Maybe a time when one cannot get a lane that's going to be a good plan B...

The lanes looked no different but the lighting felt a bit dim to me. Seems like a signature of superbowl lanes whereby the approach area always have a dimmer feel?

In any case, it was time to test my new Hammer shoes. I couldn't get a good slide with the 8S but it was too slippery with the 10S. Eventually I decided to use the 8S with a bit of powder. I guess it will take a while before it gets seasoned and I get accustomed to the new shoes...

I'm happy the lanes are opened... its only a 5-10 minutes' drive from my place. Distance from carpark to lift is 10 metres and from carpark to lanes another 10 metres. It's perfect if I have a need a game at 9pm~ I'm so happy!

And here is my kid getting his time on the lanes. 2 months into his lessons, he's starting to get the basis. I'm not in a rush... he's not in a rush... He's only 6~