Excerpt from the CNET report (emphasis mine):

The songs will be with Windows Media DRM and this isn’t a surprise to Claudio Checchia, research manger for Consumer Markets at IDC Asia Pacific.

Checchia told CNET Asia in an email interview: “Although music labels have started to warm up to the idea of testing the waters selling DRM-free music, at least on a limited basis in many US- or European-based online music stores, DRM is still deemed a necessary evil in APEJ.

“Bottom line, there was no way the record labels would have agreed to the launch of Nokia’s music store without DRM.”

Each track will cost S$2 and users can sync the songs via Windows Media Player 11 from their desktop to their mobile device for an unlimited number of times. Burning songs to CD, however, is restricted to 10 copies, depending on the agreement regarding fair use policies with the labels involved.

Thank you for assuming that your customers, who are willing to pay good music for their music, will act like thieves. So you sell your music crippled with these ridiculous restrictions.

Thank you, I’m flattered.

And despite the slap in the face, I tried to access the store only to be greeted with this friendly message.

The credit card went right back. Thanks Nokia, you just saved me from a hefty bill.

A legacy of our colonial heritage, the railroad tracks have always been a familiar sight for me growing up. Both my primary school and junior college (before it moved) were located just beside the tracks along Holland Road.

While letting the pinhole camera do it’s thing (cloudy day = long exposure), I took a couple of shots with my digital camera (talk about contrast between the old and new). I could have walked a little further to the small Bukit Timah station but dinner was waiting at home. Typical of my luck, I heard a familiar rumble as I started walking home. The evening KTM train roared past just as I turned to look over my shoulder…

Maybe next time, Old Dame.

Small photo set here.

I photowalked a little in the area, stumbling upon the Church of Saints Peter and Paul (official site), a Roman Catholic church built in 1870 along Waterloo Street. The church, which serves the primarily the Chinese Catholic community, has been gazetted a national monument.

Small photo set can be found here.

Chinatown has alot to offer for photography enthusiasts and we saw many fellow camera-totting photographers on the streets. I didn’t cover as much ground as I hoped but that just means I will have more to shoot the next time I visit Chinatown.

Full Flick set here.

Before heading out, I did a little research to locate the good photo spots in Chinatown and mapped them in Google Maps with some additional information. I’m putting it online for my own reference and for anyone who may be interested. Check it out here.

We both ordered our favourite beef bibimap and when our orders arrived, I cannot tell you how disappointed we were. Instead of the generous serving of sliced beef that we were used to, the bibimap came with an utterly miserly portion of minced beef. I reckoned there wasn’t any more than a heaping tablespoon of beef mince in it.

After stirring it up, you could barely see or taste any of the beef mince. It was awful and no amount of gochujang could save it. I couldn’t eat more than a few mouthfuls, because it felt like I was eating rice mush with vegetables. My friend tried to drop a subtle hint to the lady owner by asking if chef was changed and then pointing out that the beef portion was much smaller than before. She merely smiled and replied that perhaps the kitchen crew was in a rush. Nothing else was said and done, and I pushed my bowl away after a few more weak attempts at eating it.

I rarely write if I didn’t have anything good to say, but my original Togi review is one of the most popular posts on this blog and I felt duty-bound to report on my latest experience. I have sworn off going back to Togi after this dismal experience, so consider yourself forewarned.

We swung by about 7pm and the helpful waitress directed us to the restaurant’s air-conditioned shop unit. I would have preferred to sit at the counter but because my sister was still adjusting to the weather, we decided to take the air-conditioned seats.

There was a small selection of ramen and and some side dishes. My sister and I decided to play it safe and ordered the Tamago Ramen (Stewed Egg Ramen, $12), Cha Shiu Ramen (Sliced Pork Ramen, $12) and the Fried Gyoza (Fried Dumplings, $5).

In addition to the egg and sliced pork, the noodles were topped with small portions of crunchy seasoned bamboo shoots, scallions, spinach, and a piece of nori (seaweed). The noodles was nicely done and springy. The ramen broth was great, very hearty and flavourful (my sister found it a tad salty though). According to the menu, the soup base was boiled for 8 hours and no MSG was used. Even though I couldn’t finish the noodles, I drank up all the soup.

I was a little disappointed to find that the sliced pork was not quite as tender as I hoped. My sister’s stewed egg was a little overdone by Japanese standards; whites were past the “just cooked” stage and the yolk was not runny.

The gyoza was fine if you like your gyoza skins paper-thin and not too meaty. I prefer mine a little more substantial though, and at $1 each they were not quite the best value for money.

I might have caught the restaurant on an “off” day but the ramen soup base was good enough for me to give it a try again another day. Did I mention that I left my bowl dry?

Prices stated above are exclusive of the 10% service charge. Address and operating hours taken from AromaCookery.

Noodle House Ken
150 Orchard Road
#01-17/18 Orchard Plaza
Singapore
Tel: (65) 6235 5540

Operating hours:
Weekdays: 12 noon to 2 pm, 6 pm to 2 am
Sunday: 12 noon to 10 pm
Closed: 3rd Sunday every month

Noodle House Ken

Dim sum is still served off push-cart trolleys and goes for S$3-3.50 for a plate of 3 servings (there are larger servings available). The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, and is always packed during weekends and public holidays. Although the queue can get rather long, table turnover is generally quick. That said, I do recommend going early on the weekend if you do not like to wait.

The freshness and quality of the ingredients is Red Star’s biggest draw. The quality is best seen in the seafood-based dim sum dishes like har kau (shrimp dumpling) and the deep fried seafood roll. These folks don’t skim on their ingredients and you can tell the moment you take your first bite.

Other than the seafood dim sum, I recommend the steamed spare ribs. The ribs are cooked until tender and sit in a very umami sauce (my sister slurped it all up).

If you decide to visit Red Star, you must give the egg tarts a try. They are always a hit with my sister and I, especially when freshly baked from the kitchen. My sister once wolfed down 4 in a row in about 15 minutes when we managed to get some right off the baking tray. The egg tarts have an amazingly light and crumbly crust and the egg custard is not too sweet. A great way to round up the meal.

The only problem I had with going on a weekday is that there is generally less variety when compared to the weekend. On weekends and public holidays, the kitchen serves up “specials” which are usually interesting spins on the traditional dim sum dishes. As a personal preference, I find the atmosphere on the weekend better. Food seems tastier when the restaurant is packed on a Sunday morning and you’re surrounded with families, young and old, all enjoying their food together — scenes that warm the cockles of your heart.

Go check out this venerable institution in local culinary history, you won’t be disappointed. Great food, good service, and surrounded by heartwarming scenes — what’s not to like?

Red Star Restaurant
Blk 54 Chin Swee Road
# 07-23
Singapore 160054
Tel: 6532-5266

Red Star is located in the same building as the HDB Chin Swee office.

Red Star

Check out the rest of the photos here.

You can find 斗天宫庙 (Dou Tian Gong Temple) near the junction of Jalan Bahar and Jurong West Avenue 4.

斗天宫庙

Check out the rest of the photos here.

The restaurant serves a small complimentary serving of appetisers while you wait for your orders. The appetisers are always interesting and the chef makes an effort to come up with new ones. I’ve been served the same appetiser twice only a handful of times in all of my visits.

The set meals are good value for money and the large set (the name of which escapes me) can be shared between two if you have small appetites; add one of the sushi sets or some à la carte sushi to your order if you are feeling hungry. I also enjoy the seasonal menu items that the restaurant promotes every now and then. It’s a wonderful way to be introduced to the various types of sashimi, knowing that you’re consuming seafood at it’s seasonal peak.

The cooked foods on the menu, on the other hand, while not bad, are average. On the rare occasion when I don’t feel like having sushi, I order the Buri Daikon which is great when paired simply with a bowl of rice.

The restaurant was featured in the papers early last year, and for a few months the place was filled to capacity every night. There was a long wait for tables if you didn’t have a reservation and service standards slipped a little. Thankfully things have settled down now, but it’s still advisable to call ahead during the weekends.

The restaurant offers a loyalty card to customers and every $20 spent gets you a single stamp. If memory serves me right (I misplaced my last card), 25 stamps earns you a $50 voucher.

[Update 2007.03.12] Thanks to a tip from Keropokman that Ginza Plaza is closed for renovations, it looks like Sakuraya has moved out from the address below. According to the announcement on their website, they are moving to Anchorpoint but no word yet on the new address or whether renovations for the new restaurant have been completed.

[Update 2007.03.13] I called up the restaurant and managed to get their new address which is updated below. It looks like that they are back in business.

Sakuraya Sashimi House
154 West Coast Road
#01-04/05 Ginza Plaza
Singapore 127371
Tel: 68720216, 67748216 / Fax: 67748423
370 Alexandra Road
#01-32 Anchorpoint
Tel: 68720216

[Anchorpoint]

Sakuraya Fish Mart
3 South Buona Vista Road #02-01/02
The Village Centre Singapore 118136
Tel 67736973, 68725350 / Fax 67731254

80 Marine Parade Road #B1-83D
Parkway Parade (S) 449269
Tel 63454714 / Fax 63465924

Sakuraya also does home delivery which is great for home parties.