Lunch @ Riccotti Pizza Pasta & Deli

It was a beautiful Sunday, albeit a little hot. The initial plan was to have brunch at Bar Bar Black Sheep at Robertson Quay. But when I called on Friday, I was told that they do not take reservations for group less than 6 pax and they suggested that we could "try walk in". So, we decided to visit Riccotti at Riverwalk instead. We love Italian food!!!!

Our order!

 Bruschetta with al fungi, smoked salmon and tomatoes, drenched in olive oil! I like!

Penne with crabmeat. It's as good as Menotti's (which has long closed down)

Parma ham pizza

Soffiato - which is highly recommended but we were too full to finish this

Emily also had a glass of house pour Pinot Grigio but I forgot to ask her if it is nice. All the photos were taken with EF50mm f1.8 prime lens plus polariser.

After a satisfying lunch, we strolled over to Asian Civilisation Museum for the Terracotta Warriors - The First Emperor & His Legacy! The exhibition started on 24 Jun and will end on 16 Oct 2011. We were slightly disappointed as it was quite a small exhibition and we were expecting more. Nevertheless I enjoyed the exhibits very much and thought the S$4 per pax ticket was very well worth it.

I shall end this post with a photo of Sir Stamford Raffles. (I still have photos from Barcelona trip, more KTM photos and Terracotta Warriors photos to upload. Soon!!)

Schmap: London Photo

About three weeks ago, I received this email from Ms Emma. And I replied "Yes". I mean, why not? I am glad to share my photos with everyone. But after clicking on the below link, I realised it is actually a guide for London ; not a guide about Singapore published in London. LOL. My photo was taken in Singapore at Silk Road Restaurant, Amara Hotel.

http://london.schmap.com/restaurants/silk_road_restaurant

From:	Emma J. Williams Emma Williams
Subject:	Schmap: London Photo Short-list
	Hi Technical Tango, I am writing to let you know that one of your photos has been short-listed for inclusion in the sixteenth edition of our Schmap London Guide, to be published late July 2011. www.schmap.com/shortlist/p=47266196N07/c=SQ1001887 Clicking this link will take you to a page where you can: i) See which of your photos has been short-listed. ii) Submit or withdraw your photo from our final selection phase. iii) Learn how we credit photos in our Schmap Guides. While we offer no payment for publication, many photographers are pleased to submit their photos, as Schmap Guides give their work recognition and wide exposure, and are free of charge to readers. Photos are published at a maximum width of 240 pixels, are clearly attributed, and link to high-resolution originals at Flickr. Our submission deadline is Friday, July 8. If you happen to be reading this message after this date, please still click on the link above (our Schmap Guides are updated frequently - photos submitted after this deadline will be considered for later releases). Best regards, Emma J. Williams Managing Editor, Schmap Guides

Barcelona (1) - Operayflamenco!

IMG_2393, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.

It was on a Sunday night. I was feeling slightly jet lag and tired due to the 6 hours time difference but I enjoyed the show very much. Kudos to my China colleague for getting the tickets. I will recommend this show to friends who are visiting Barcelona.

Memories of Bukit Timah Railway Station

IMG_2595, originally uploaded by Technical Tango.


The History

The Bukit Timah Railway Station was opened in 1915 as part of the Singapore-Kranji Railway, also known as the Singapore Government Railway. Constructed between 1900 and 1902, the line ran from the terminal at Tank Road towards Woodlands via Cuppage Road, Newton Circus, Cluny Road (where Adam Flyover is today) and finally to Bukit Timah, before proceeding to Kranji and Woodlands where it continued to Malaysia via the former Federated Malay States Railway. In 1918, the government of the Federated Malay States purchased all the properties and lands of Singapore Railway for $4,136,000 and was renamed as the Federated Malay States Railway. Today the Malayan Railway is known as Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad, a Malaysian corporation wholly-owned by the Malaysian Government.

In 1932, the new Tanjong Pagar terminal station was completed and the original line from Tank Road to Bukit Timah was dismantled around seven years later due to dwindling passenger flow. Due to changes in immigration policies in 1993 when the immigration checkpoint at Tanjong Pagar was moved to Woodlands, the Bukit Timah station is now only used for crossings and there are no longer boarding of passengers or collection of cargo at this station. However, there is an interesting daily routine here where the exchanges of key tokens take place. The exchange of tokens serves as proof of authority for the train to proceed further from Bukit Timah. A worker on the train would throw the key packed in a bag to a staff on the platform. The station master would then return a new key token in a bag to another worker on the train. These tokens would later be sent to the relevant authorities for immigration purposes. The presence of the station today is often indicated by the classic cast iron bridge spanning above Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road.

Everyone wants a piece of KTM

It was an impromptu decision to drop by Bukit Timah Railway Station on a warm Sunday afternoon. For those who are planning to drive, there are spaces for parking on the left side after you drive into the narrow lane. It was very crowded! I guess everyone is scrambling to take a last look of the railway station before they dismantle the tracks.