PeiShi’s Visit to Tampines Library - Part 3

My last post about the library is the beauty that can be found inside. They have really decorated it to look chic and a work of beauty. Books are always romantic in nature, cause it is intimate between the writer and the reader, and brings you to a place you can never physically actually experience. It's like a secret magic trip! So here to share are some of the beautiful spots found here. Above, a Reading Box where all the books are arrange in boxes. It looks better than a bookstore! And it's the adding of spacious that really brings out the beauty of book. 

Here'a an artistic shot, which I titled "Balance" because of the figure in the book on the left. Also the contrast of light on the left, and black on the right. It just feels right. 

Chinese books, or Japanese books are always lovely to look at, cause Chinese literature or Japanese literature is always so romantic, so classical, so refine. Above is a shot of the Chinese book section. I love the bicycle figure, and the Japanese wordings, and the monochrome like look of the whole photo. It's so neat and peaceful. 

Above is my representation of the kids' section. The cat is so damn cute! Needless to say, the kids' section is always a disaster, especially during weekend and during school holidays. But some of the books and the kids there are just too adorable.

Lastly, I'll leave you now with a picture of a book about a books, in a place of books. Happy reading!

PeiShi’s Visit to Tampines Library - Part 2

So besides books, what else can you find in the library? Well, while we were there, there was an exhibition about Tampines titled "Our Tampines Gallery". Actually I'm not sure if this is a permanent feature or temporary. The library is always changing that I can't keep up!

There is a customised Program Board where you can see what activities are being scheduled at the library. Love it that it is using coloured chalks. It's so old school! And librarian these days are probably trained in decorating these boards as well.

As Chinese New Year was coming up, there was also an exhibition on Chinese culture. So on top, probably all the typical food consume by Chinese?

And more explanation on the food an sauce etc. It was interesting for the parents and kids to see all these rotating exhibit. Each visit is something new for them! For me it is, cause I visit the library like once every 6 weeks. That's because after borrowing the items, I would go home and renew everything so that I can extend my borrowing period to 6 weeks instead of the normal 3 weeks :P

Lastly, the future librarian is here! Above is a librarian robot. And what it does is walk around collecting books. It's like a mobile backdrop. You can just feed it with books you don't want, and it will bring it back to be sorted and returned to it's place. Fancy that!

PeiShi’s Visit to Tampines Library - Part 1

One of the places you should visit when you come to Singapore is the libraries. I know this may sound strange, but it's definitely not so if you are a bookworm or that you love book. And if you come from Malaysia, or Penang, you know how bad the libraries are back home. I have visited the Shah Alam library before and was impress with it when I was younger, but now, no more. Let me spend three entries showing you what a 'neighbourhood' library is like in Singapore. Yes, neighbourhood, not even national level. But actually, the Tampines Library is at a class of it's own. Come, let me show you the facilities first. Above is the top floor of the 5 storey library. Don't you just love the furnishing? NLB has excellent taste in furnishing. Actually so does Changi Airport recently, but that's off topic....

The new modern library now comes with a "Culinary Studio". Apparently learning to cook is very popular. I guess that was deduced from the insane about of cookbooks you can get from the library. If you live in Singapore, you don't have to even purchase any cookbook. You don't use them much anyway! Just go to the library and get all you want! They have all the best types too! I once borrowed all 8 books of just Japanese Cuisine. 

The studio looks kinda interactive, with space for participant to have a hands-on as well. I saw some session in session before, and lots of kids with their mum were gather inside making cookies or baking or something....

There is also a separate non-interactive  cooking demo room. If only my home kitchen look this cool! This spacious! This bright!

For other normal classes, they also have seminar rooms. This is on top of some smaller hobby rooms and smaller interest group. Tampines library has its own kind of electronic board room as well. Insane!

There are also a few gardens in the library. This reminds me of the Beitou Library I visited in Taiwan.  And here we have some swings in the garden as well. Oh, forgot to mention that these are high rise garden, and not ground level garden. High rise open garden are now a thing in Singapore's high rise building design, from libraries, to condo, to offices and hotels. It's an "in" thing now. 

Don't forgot high ceiling with floor to ceiling glass window! Always a win. You can just sit in these comfy chairs and sun tan away! Who says reading is unhealthy for you! Load up n Vitamin D while you read!

There is also a theater layout with projector screens and sittings. They started having these in libraries now, mainly for talks and screening. Have I posted on Orchard Gateway library before? If not, I'll try to remember to post about that soon....

In case you are keen to know more, here are the floor directory to the Tampines Library. You can spend the whole day there! Two more post coming up on what you can find in the library, and how they make the library a place of art now... Stay tune!

PeiShi's Visit to Nine Fresh

Our last stop was at Nine Fresh, a Taiwan JiuFen store, selling JiuFen dessert. I stumbled upon this store by accident one day with my husband. I thought it was the same Taiwan store that my friend was always talking about and asking me to try. Nope, she was talking about PlayMade (which I will write about in my next few post...).

Nice Fresh doesn't just sell bubble tea, they sell all sorts of desserts as well, like flavoured dessert balls, jelly, cooling stuff etc. Above is an explanation go the store found on the wall.

You order at the counter, and as you can see here, the price is really reasonable! For SGD2+, you get one whole bowl that is actually quite filling! Compare that to bubble tea, I would pick this anytime!

  

So above is what I usually order, some ball ball (Yam, Matcha, Pumpkin flavour), fruit drops (fruity flavoured droplets), and Aiyu (a kind of Taiwan jelly that is cooling for you. And for some reason, they gave you a small dose of milk/cream with it. So I just pour it in, and it is really taste! And now I feel like going there as well for a fix. All these blogging on food is really making me hungry!

On the wall, they also shown other type of dessert they sell. They even have localised flavour with Durian! 

An assortment of flavoured tea is available. When you live in Asia, drinking soft drink is just too boring when you have so much more drinks to pick from!

And lastly of course, bubble tea! Bubble tea always makes me happy! In fact just as I am writing this blog, I have a cup of bubble tea sitting in my fridge. A new Bubble Tea just opened below my office call HeyLong Tea. And for opening special, each tea was sold at SGD2 instead of the original price of SGD4.80. Somehow the bubble tea craze is back, but at a higher price with better ingredient. Guess all the bubble tea kid has all grown up and earning their own hard cash now! Take that Starbucks!

PeiShi's Visit to Hawkerman

For dinner, I dragged my friend to Payar Lebar Post Centre. I wanted to try Hawkerman which I have tried going to, but was always full with a long queue outside. Weekdays off are the best! We managed to get in!

It's a modern restaurant/fast food selling fusion hawker fare. You have to sit down, and go to the counter to order and pay. They give you a buzzer like shown below, and when it's buzz, you go collect your food.

Since we were both quite food, we ordered Hokkien Prawn noodles to share, and popiah with salted egg sauce and fried chicken wings. I guess I was expecting a lot judging from all the great review of the place. Sadly I was left disappointed. The food just wasn't tasty enough for my palate. The salty egg sauce didn't delivery and kick at all, and the fried chicken wing was not intense enough. The chicken skin in my pasar malam in Penang taste better than these! The only tasty thing here was the chilli padi in the popiah, lol. The Hokkien Noodle always wasn't something to rave about. It was missing some good old spicy sambal lah! Will I go back? Probably to try their other dishes. Probably for snacks. That's about it. Don't really recommend it. 

I just snapped the above photo for fun. It's Mr Teh Tarik opposite Hawkerman. I love the design. Since when did a Teh Tarik shop logo look so darn cool?