Busy doing nothing

J had a rather nasty bout of migraine yesterday morning, so I sent her to the clinic at Bedok for a check. As she's so intense when doing stuff, she often overworks herself and ends up at the doctor's fairly frequently. It's a good thing that the medical fees are paid for by her employer.

While waiting for J's medicine to be ready, I went outside to walk and hopefully find some photo opportunities...


Healthy transit


Sun-baked

As I got into work, D called, saying that someone was trying to 'phish' information from our users with a look-alike email that employed some sneaky javascripting to mask the scam site's URL. Tracked that down and forwarded it to the customer care specialist to follow up on.

Our team went to buy a card for Sam's newborn baby girl, then headed down to our favourite bak par bng (lit. "pork chop rice") stall at Beo Crescent for lunch. Fried thin pork slices, fried eggs, fried prawns, cabbage, and rice soaked with curry. I know it doesn't sound too appetizing, but it sure is delicious! (Let me know if you want directions. Closed on Wednesdays.)


Kopi, teh, or milo?

Went down to SGH to visit Sam and wife, and of course, the baby! So cuuute.. :)


I was born yesterday!

The meeting that we'd put off due to the day's travels got underway shortly after we returned to the office, and ate up the rest of the day. Though I did manage to clear some work before having to rush off for dinner (totally forgetting that I'd agreed to buy pink guava juice from MOS for J.. d'oh).

Evening meal - Flutes at the Fort
Dinner with my folks, at this relatively new restaurant called Flutes at the Fort, one of three featured dining "sensations" in a Business Times article on June 19. Since AsiaOne has this habit of invalidating its online articles after a short time frame, let me quote bits from the piece:

... Flutes at the Fort is actually a charming new restaurant in a restored colonial house. Flanked by the Philatelic Museum on one side and the Hill Street Fire Station on another, the house, originally built in 1908 as a residence for the fire chief, is now an excellent example of how a sensitive restoration can bring a new lease of life to a once-forgotten, near-derelict building.

... Since Flutes opened earlier this month, positive word of mouth - for both the food and the venue - has resulted in an encouraging start to the business. When BT visited the restaurant, a decent Thursday night crowd was occupying most of the available dining space, consisting of an impressive verandah, two air-conditioned dining rooms and a lovely private dining space for up to 12 people - all characterised by wooden floors, high ceilings and a whitewashed interior.

The building, accessible by an outdoor staircase and surrounded by mature fruit trees, is in close proximity to Fort Canning Park, which makes it a casually elegant country cousin to Au Jardin Les Amis - the landmark French restaurant in the Botanical Gardens and the undisputed king of refined dining in a garden setting.

... Apart from a minor issue with the room acoustics in the indoor dining area - which enable unsuspecting diners to eavesdrop on multiple conversations simultaneously - Flutes at the Fort is a nicely-conceived and pleasantly original addition to the local dining scene.


Gourmet gate

As we ascended the stairs to the restaurant, J commented, "not wheelchair-friendly". Mercifully, the climb was a short one, and we reached the patio without breaking a sweat.

I discovered first-hand what the writer had meant by "a minor issue with the room acoustics" - voices from adjacent tables were crystal-clear. Service was erratic. Instances of really good service interspersed with moments of pure silliness, like the waiter forgetting to ask how cooked I wanted my lamb done, menus with different pricings for the same items (we insisted on the cheaper!) and the unavailability of the beverage menu because it was being revised - duh? Food quality overall was decent, but not fantastic for the price. I've definitely had better modern Australian food elsewhere (like, um, Sydney).

Verdict? I was not greatly impressed, although some other customers seemed to be enjoying their meals. Execution needs tweaking, the rough edges show and need more polish.