Dunman Duck Rice

Dunman Food Centre, the best duck rice & kwek chap in town. You wouldn't wanna miss this good food. Thumb up, fully recommended !! 2 persons duck rice or kwek chap only $7.00.

Happy Birthday

Fruit Cake from Q Bread. Wife bought this, actually she the one who like to eat fruit cake. The fruit too raw to my liking.....

Haig Road flats up to $100,000 less

Mon, Feb 01, 2010
The New Paper

HER block of flats is sandwiched between clusters of condominiums and landed property.

A brisk 10 minutes' walk can take her to the Geylang Serai market, while East Coast Park is just a few minutes away by bus. Her home is also just a 10 to 15-minute walk from Paya Lebar MRT station.

It is no wonder that after living in the Haig Road estate for more than 30 years, Madam S Salimah's 78-year-old mother is reluctant to sell her flat.

But she is getting frail, so she is moving in with Madam Salimah, 58, a retiree who lives with her husband in a three-room flat in Ang Mo Kio.

Madam Salimah's family had first rented a home in the estate before her mother bought the three-room second storey flat for $27,000 in 1982. Their 635sqft flat was recently valued at about $233,000.

A reasonable price if you compare it with flats in Marine Parade, a premium beachfront neighbourhood nearby. A similar-sized three-room flat in Marine Parade was sold for $280,000 around August last year, according to information on HDB's website.

In other words, the Marine Parade flat cost about $50,000 more, and is seven years older.

Madam Salimah said: "Given the choice, we wouldn't sell. Even President S R Nathan lives nearby, on Ceylon Road."

The community centre is just across the road from their home, there is a kindergarten at their void deck, and several good schools in the area.

With easy access to malls like City Plaza and Tanjong Katong Shopping Centre, she rarely needs to travel to town. If she wants to get to the city, there are several direct buses and it takes only half an hour, said Madam Salimah.

The beach is also just a short bus ride away, and Madam Salimah goes there with her family twice a month.

Mr Azhar Johar, a PropNex agent who is helping Madam Salimah to sell her home, said that flats in Haig Road are a good, and cheaper, alternative to those in Marine Parade.

The price difference between a five-room flat in Haig Road and a similar one in Marine Parade can be as much as $100,000.

He said: "The Haig Road flats are just a few roads away from Marine Parade. Yet, people are paying such high prices for flats there. It's crazy."

The estate is undergoing upgrading. And he believes that the flat prices there will appreciate once the upgrading is completed in about two years.

Mr Johar said: "The estate here is really exclusive. The environment is also good, since this area is a rich man's estate. There are landed houses and condominiums everywhere you look."

CEO of ECG Property Eric Cheng said: "Buyers will get better value for a flat in Haig road. The estate is just 2km from Marine Parade.

"What's more, flats in Haig Road are nearer to the MRT than those in Marine Parade."

Price vs Place

Price comparisons were done for flats of similar size, age and floor.

3-ROOM FLAT
HAIG ROAD: $233,000
MARINE PARADE: $280,000

4-ROOM FLAT
HAIG ROAD: $372,000
MARINE PARADE: $433,000

5-ROOM FLAT
HAIG ROAD: $540,000
MARINE PARADE: $645,000

11 CCL stations open 17 April 2010

THE next leg of the MRT Circle Line, which connects the suburbs to the downtown area, will open on April 17.

Transport Minister Raymond Lim made the announcement on Tuesday morning at a visit to the line's Stadium and Paya Lebar stations. The 11km stretch from Tai Seng in Paya Lebar to Dhoby Ghaut via the Suntec area consists of 11 stations. They join a 5km, five-station leg linking Marymount to Bartley which opened last year.

Minister Lim said with this half of the Circle Lim opened, commuters will enjoy significant time-savings. The latest stretch of the orbital line offers train commuters a new interchange: Paya Lebar, which links the Circle Line to the East-West Line.

This allows residents living in the north, north-east and east to head to the city and back without having to pass the busy City Hall and Raffles interchanges. Likewise, commuters travelling between satellite towns can bypass the two hubs, opting to change trains at either Dhoby Ghaut or Paya Lebar. Other operational interchanges on the Circle Line the Serangoon and Bishan stations.

Mr Lim said the rest of the 33km Circle Line will open next year. This final stretch links the northern and western parts of Singapore, with stops at notable places such as Botanic Gardens, Holland Village, and HarbourFront.

The Land Transport Authority expects Circle Line ridership to soar from April 17: from an average 30,000 rides per day today to 200,000.




Time-savings for commuters

For instance, a Serangoon resident travelling to SingPost's Eunos office currently goes by bus, which takes around 25 minutes. From April 17, the same trip by train will take 12 minutes (excluding walking time to station).

And someone living in Ang Mo Kio heading for the Old Airport Road hawker centre currently go on a 40-minute bus ride. With the Circle Line, the commute will take 25 minutes - including transfer at Bishan station.




Paya Lebar Station

* The Paya Lebar station is an interchange station that connects the circle line to the East-West Line.

* It is the first interchange station integrating above-ground and underground lines.

* Commuters can gain access to the station from three new entrances located along Paya Lebar Road.

* Connectivity is a key consideration for the station's design. It is seamlessly bridged to the East-West line station via two passageways designed to move high volume of human traffic safely and efficiently.

* The station is designed inhouse by LTA.

Stadium Station

* The station is designed to accommodate surge crowds from nearby facilities with its open-air concourse and plaza with entrances at both ends.

* The concourse and plaza are naturally ventilated, and facilitate air flow.

* A central skylight creates an attractive, day-lit platform. Openings above ground allow views down to the platform from the ground level plaza.

* The station won the International Architecture 2008 Award conferred by the Australian Institute of Architects for its functionality and aesthetics.


Striats Times 26 Jan 2010

Chinese New Year @ Joo Chiat Complex

Chinese New Year @ Marine Parade

Tanjong Katong Sign Board / Parkway CNY Decor.

Chinese New Year @ Geylang Seri 2010

I always thought that this is a "Malay" territory, never do I thought they will decorate @ this "Malay" kampong but it proved me wrong.