Is anybody still getting married?

Despite the recession, I hear stories of people who just got engaged, but not when they have to do their wedding stationery. Why is that so? Is everyone cutting back on their wedding budget and not wanting to do up nice wedding invitations for this once in a lifetime event?

When I was doing up my own wedding invitation a few years ago, I also fretted spending some hundreds of dollars getting stylish chic invitations done. I tried to ring in some favours with my suppliers, but to no avail, I still had to pay for their materials and labour. However, my cards turned out superbly gorgeous and friends were highly impressed.

I hope to give my couples the same "woo-wah" effect with their invitations but they'd have to take that first step in trusting me with this small but essential part of their big day.

www.card-blanche.com/blanche.html

I do have a promotion going on with free upgrades on paper stock, contact me if you are interested. :)

Achievements and Plans of World Domination

Last night at dinner with two very dear friends of mine, we were discussing the different paths our secondary school classmates had taken in the last 15 years. Whilst it seemed increasingly common to have many of them becoming academics and attaining their PHD, there were also many who have settled early into a cosy family life with kids in tow.

The friends who studied for further degrees and in high powered jobs, I admire them for their drive and tenacity. And the friends who are happily tuned to a routine family life, I guess they do have found the meaning to their life.

I was never one to have highly ambitious goals, to rise through the ranks and achieve "world domination" so to speak, but I also don't seem very skewed to a laid back family life with screaming kids on a Sunday morning. I do wish to have children of my own, and while it so far hasn't materialised, I wonder if I would be ready if it does happen.

But until things change in my life, I will be spending much of my time and effort keeping my company afloat until the recession turns for the better. Business has been slow and the customers more penny-pinching. *sigh* I hope things will get better, and then I can get my life back on track.

Popeye's vs KFC

We went to the airport yesterday to see my mom off on her holiday. Since it was dinner time, we decided to get Popeye's famed fried chicken. It was crowded so we got a takeaway. On the way home on the highway, I decided that we should get KFC chicken too and do a taste test. So both packs of chicken arrived back home slightly cold and soggy with the exception of KFC being fresher by 10mins.

I'd grade the test according to cost, value, sides and taste (of the chicken).

Cost
Popeye's is more expensive at $7.40 for a 2pc set. It comes with 2pc of chicken of which you cannot choose but adhere to their combinations, 1 drink, 1 regular side (mash, fries or coleslaw) and 1 scone. KFC is cheaper at $6.50 for the 2pc set with 1 drink, 1 regular mashed potatoes and 1 regular coleslaw.


Value
Popeye's chicken is much smaller than KFC's (genetically enhanced?) chicken parts. We had thigh meat for both, and you can see the difference in size from the photos. The side of mash however is bigger. With KFC you get coleslaw too but Popeye's gives a "biscuit" which looks like a scone and is not fantastic in taste.


Sides
Popeye's has a great mash. KFC's mash tastes like some rubbish made from a powder mix, unlike Popeye's creamy mash with little bits of garlic and bacon. Yums. They win hands down on this. As for coleslaw, KFC's still passes. Popeye's is creamier and richer but has a faint fruit taste...maybe it was raisins, but I wasn't very used to the taste so it took some adjusting. We had the Popeye's fries too. It's supposed to be cajun fries but all I see was a nice orangey colour, taste-wise, it wasn't as mind-blowing as Mac's haha...

Taste (of the chicken)
Finally the big one. Popeye's chicken was juicy, tender and absolutely delicious. The fried exterior actually did not have any taste at all, I would probably suggest they should add pepper or spices to their batter. KFC's hot and crispy exterior is of course absolutely spicy and shiok. However, the meat underneath was a tad bit salty. It was juicy and tender as well but after the Popeye's more wholesome tasting meat, KFC made me feel sick and I gave up halfway.

From the masses I see at both fast food joints, I gather that Singaporeans love their fried chicken no matter what, so there's plenty of competition for both Popeye's and KFC for many years to come. :)

Dining out in recession times

Kimmy's been forced to take leave from today till the week after, it's his company's bid to save costs in these bad times. As a result, he'd have a drop in his salary this month and he announced to me determinedly that it was time for us to cut cost and save money...no restaurant meals.

Alas, it's Sunday night and there was no food at home for dinner. We decided to try Hotpot Culture at Marina Square. We had passed a promotional poster which advertised $7.80 steamboat sets, and it was a cold rainy day, perfect for some tummy-warming broth.

I forgot to take photos but here's one, courtesy of careryeeee from hungrygowhere.com.


There were 5 choices for the soup stock and we chose hot & sour, and chicken herbal. Both were your usual flavoured saltwater type soup, but with all the steamboat ingredients added in, it made for a tasty and hearty meal. Hotpot Culture was a great "recession times restaurant" for us. At $7.80++ a set, with aircon, service, sufficient soup and meat, and lots and lots of vegetables, it was worth every penny. Drinks are a tad expensive at $2.00 for lemon tea or barley, and more for coke or fruit juices, but rice was a decent 70cents. Overall we spent $27 for 2 sets, 2 drinks, 2 bowls of rice and a side dish of fish dumplings ($2.50, a bit expensive) and had a fairly great time. We'd definitely be back for more, the food's better than the food court, and environment more tolerable than at the hawker. It also beats Sakae Sushi 10 to 1, a joint we once favoured when we were scrimping and saving back in the day.

6 Raffles Boulevard
#02-138D Marina Square

Operating Hours
Sun - Thur: 11:30am - 10:00pm
Last order @ 9:15pm

Fri, Sat, Eves of & On PH: 11:30am - 11:00pm
Last order @ 9:45pm