BURP......

I'm back from my dinner with Cre at Chinatown. We did a little shopping, a little walking around.

And i've decided to leave some feedback on the place =)

1. OG shopping Centre
You can get most stuff here (from adidas to OP, shoes to perfumes, lingerie to toys, formal to casual attire, bags to skincare) all at reasonable prices here. Best if you can get the OG card (application opens in sept i think) where they offer either special prices or rebates off your next purchase.

I wanted to buy a white bag but Cre advised against it (or rather, she commented it was downright ugly). Wahaha.. i trust her. The bag would have just decorated my cupboard.

2. Peoples'Park Hawker Center
I had the fish soup with rice ($4 + $o.30) and Otah ($1) - at the shop near Mr Bean.

The fish meat was quite fresh, and they used bittergourd for veg. The soup tasted ok. The rice was horrid. You know how anal i can get regarding my rice. This was bitterly disappointing.

The otah looked big. Sales gimmick. Inside the fish was again average. Quite thin but given the price, it was reasonable. Heavily spiced, but do not expect much meaty chunks of fish. The otah at Holland V is much better.

On the whole - average. A good alternative if you want something soupy and relatively lighter hawker fare. Remember to chuck the rice. It was horrid. Real horrid.

I also tried Mr Bean's Soya Ice cream ($1.20 on cone) with an additional topping of chocolate rice ($0.30). A light snack. It was like eating frozen soyabean milk. The sugar cone's the type sold in supermarkets - the type i eat by the dozen. Haha..

On the whole - above average. This is something i would eat again.

3. Peoples' Park Shopping Complex
A variety of shops, pedaling mainly fashionwear and toiletries. A few gems =)

Like the shop formerly known as Min Min on the corner of the 3rd floor. You can get selected branded skincare (ie. Biotherm, SKII, L'oreal, TiGi, perfume) at discounted prices here. This shop stocks a decent variety and is one of the cheapest around. I normally get my conditioner here (my L'oreal Professional Intense Repair conditioner costs $34 here. If you buy it direct from salon, you'll have to bleed about $50). I wanted to switch to Keratase products, but money isn't printed on trees. So i'll have to wait til Fara makes big bucks (in geylang again lor!)- i know she'll spoil me. Hehehehe..

Another shop, called Ocean, even stocks Sebastians' products which are raved by Hollywood celebrities. And they carry a wider array of stocks. So pop by these places for cheap pads and toiletries. A hefty savings of $1-over $20 off per item. Your wallet will thank you.

Cre bought a pearly white sling bag from a shop also on the 3rd floor. The owner said he imports these korean made bags in only a limited number for each design "for more class" (direct quote). The bags were quite nice. Trendy designs, but they weren't all that cheap. Cre's cost $31, after a 20% discount. His sales service was marvellous though. No pressure to buy, lots of care tips and very eager to please.

Sad to say, some shops are only for the brave. They stock clothes from tsunami stricken locations made by handicapped people - i presumed that based on the design and overall outlook of the piece. Frilly here, tattered there, with the usual splatter of indecipherable words trying to pass of as an english sentence. Buy only if proceeds go direct to helping the unfortunate.

The second floor will get budding designers and DIY folk excited. Lots of different kinds of buttons, thread, and what-have-yous there. I personally love the array of oriental handmade buttons sold at nearly every corner =)

Thus ends todays Chinatown review. Who says Chinatown's just for aunties? I think it's filled with GEMs ...... or maybe i'm a fucking aunty to? CB, that's just jealous talk!