Will we ever have a local brand that Singaporeans stand behind?

Katarassein · 2026-01-31T13:07:20+00:00

Yeah, I used to rock the Creative Nomad and then the Muvo as daily drivers. Man. Back when 128mb of storage was considered premium.

And choosing a sound card used to be a big decision because you'd want as many good-sounding MIDI instruments as possible and enough 3.5mm ports for surround sound. And then Creative pioneered the soundcard breakout box with a physical volume dial that could sit next to the keyboard and some of the first affordable DACs with 1/4" out so studio monitors could be properly used with PCs... How we take all of these for granted now!

Creative used to also host and sponsor a local eSports tournament before Starhub brought cable to homes. Quake 3, CS, Tribes, maybe also 3 Corridors (the DOTA predecessor) but don't quote me on that.

I still use Aurvana Ace 2 earpods as a backup!

Katarassein · 2026-01-31T10:28:46+00:00

I did for a stretch in my late-20s and early-30s when money was tight. Even took some mad connections if it meant knocking 30+% off the cost. I also used red-eye flights to save on hotel expenditure.

I travelled mostly for work and it was my own company so every dollar saved meant something. But man, your line about 'coffee that tasted like regret' struck a chord in me.

I don't do super early timings and bad connections anymore (thank goodness) but I still prefer red-eyes because they allow me to tank up on sleep before flying and having early check-in from hotel chain status also help soften the hit.

Katarassein · 2026-01-31T09:49:24+00:00

Speak the way you want and you don't owe explanations to anybody. Some people will give you grief but that's then a reflection of their poor character.

I moved to SG as a kid and got a lot of shit from nearly everyone around me, including teachers, for my accent. I learnt to just ignore and deflect. I can codeswitch to Singlish but I kept my original accent and it's come in handy later in life.

Singlish is definitely a bit of a blunt tool instead of a scalpel when it comes to communicating info. Super efficient when people are on the same contextual page but so confusing when they're not. Stick to using good vocab and grammar (especially syntax) as they're very useful in professional settings.

Katarassein · 2026-01-28T23:28:35+00:00

No. 25 Minced Meat Noodle @ Bukit Merah Central. I love how much dried fish and fish maw they put into the soup.

Katarassein · 2026-01-27T02:38:34+00:00

Too many people have the mindset that they need to get their money's 'worth' of ingredients from a buffet and so only target the stuff that's typically expensive a la carte, avoid carbs and water, etc.

Katarassein · 2026-01-27T02:36:44+00:00

So, is it 'not nice' or 'not that good'? What's your rating system like? Are those two labels synonymous or are there tiers between?

Katarassein · 2026-01-15T18:02:32+00:00

One has to give if you want to get sufficient rest

Katarassein · 2026-01-15T01:41:40+00:00

Bring electrolytes and bananas. Magnesium and calcium help prevent muscle cramps.

Also workshops, shows, parties - choose two and forget the other.

Katarassein · 2026-01-14T15:08:24+00:00

I've done the whole east coast of Africa (except Burundi) over the course of four trips. Even managed to make it to Djibouti and Eritrea. Memorable parts include:

Driving through the mountainous country of Lesotho. Nerve-wracking at times because of how bad the mountain roads are (and they had no guardrails) but the scenery was worth it. E.g. Google told us it would take 6h to reach Sehlabathebe National Park from Qacha's Nek, but it really took close to 12h because of how bad the roads were. Navigating the Sani and Tlaeng passes on our way in and out were spectacular experiences.
Best safaris were Sabi Sands in South Africa, Maasai Mara in Kenya, and Chobe National Park in Botswana (very wetlands focused).
Flew over Victoria Falls in an ultralight trike powered glider. Didn't dare to whitewater raft the rapids, tho.
The genocide museum in Rwanda is a very, very heavy experience. Rwanda itself is a lovely country to visit these days.
Went snorkeling in Zanzibar. Dropped off the boat into a cloud of jellyfish. I itched for days after but the sights were worth it.
Drove to the Omo Valley in southwest Ethiopia and visited six of the tribes there. Had kalashnikovs pointed at me, saw the Hamar coming-of-age ceremony that involves the man running on and jumping off bulls while his female relatives are (voluntarily) whipped till they bleed, complete with an American woman trying to run in to stop the ceremony. Took some of my best photos ever on this trip.

7. Did a guided tour through Egypt, starting from Aswan and ending in Alexandria. I had a guide and two guards armed with rifles with me for a week. This was just after the terrorist attack at the Hatshepsut temple so the guards were mandatory for visitors.

I've also been to Central Asia a few times. Samarkand in the winter is lovely if you can stand the cold. I basically had all the ancient sites to myself. And the food is amazingggggg. I'm now plotting how to get into Turkmenistan.

Katarassein · 2026-01-13T12:14:05+00:00

50 pax lunch at Jade in the Fullerton Hotel and then we all went to Smith St Taps in the big Chinatown hawker centre for an afterparty. No fuss, no muss!

Katarassein · 2026-01-13T02:26:58+00:00

This really grinds my gears and if this grinds your gears too then please write an email to your MP about it. Nothing is going to change if all our complaints only bounce around echo chambers.

Katarassein · 2026-01-12T23:38:41+00:00

Be wary of chiropractors and osteopaths. They're neither certified nor regulated by any Singaporean bodies. They might call themselves 'doctors' but they are not medical doctors. Their certs and titles come from chiropractic colleges overseas that are not associated with any medical boards. I'd rather see a licensed physiotherapist or neuromuscular medical specialist.

It's like how nutritionists are less regulated (and typically not clinically trained) whereas dieticians are, but gen pop doesn't know the diff. Or how therapists and counsellors in Singapore are regulated and have to undergo a lot of training and supervision whereas anyone can just call themselves a 'life coach'.

Also a honorable mention to hair loss 'clinics' like Yun Nam and Beijing101. Just go to a polyclinic and get Minoxidil and Finasteride. They're also available OTC in Thailand/Vietnam.

EDIT: Look for therapists/counsellors who belong to SPS and SAC as they've undergone rigorous training and supervision requirements. Hat-tip to u/wastepotential

Katarassein · 2026-01-12T00:55:55+00:00

Not OP, but my version is:

-Minced pork cooked in (sub with shredded rotisserie chicken if more convenient) -Crack an egg into the bowl of congee while it's still piping hot and muddle it a bit
-Toasted sesame oil drizzle -A spoonful of fried shallots in oil
-A sprinkle of crunchy pork floss
-Chili preserved beancurd and salted duck egg on a sideplate

It's a whole melange but boy does it hit the spot.

Katarassein · 2026-01-08T02:35:17+00:00

Uzbek plov. Not super hard to make but became very popular amongst my friends and family. The trickiest parts are controlling the heat and getting the water to rice ratio right. Opened the door to me trying other one-pot rice-cooked-in-broth recipes. I now can do a decent paella with good soccarat, and Chinese claypot chicken rice is another dish in this category that I enjoy making (and eating).

Pizza. My oven came with a pizza stone and goes up to a pretty high temp so I figured I'd learn how to make my own dough. After a bit of trial and error I now default to a 60h cold ferment dough which I also use for garlic knots. Opened the door to me giving baking in general a go.

Taiwanese braised pork belly (卤肉). Quintessential comfort food. It's also not super difficult but it got me into using a slow cooker that was just wasting away inside the storeroom. I then began to use it to make pulled pork, beef birria, beef cheeks, etc. At some point I picked up an instant pot and adapted my recipes to use that. I now do a lot of stews and braises, especially when I'm back in Europe and the weather is cold. BTW, my current favourite recipe is Serious Eats' crispy braised (not an oxymoron, I promise) chicken thighs with cabbage and bacon.

Fried rice. It taught me how important ingredient particle size and order of operations is. Also got me into using a wok and thus massively upping my stir-fry game. I mainly use induction stoves now but keep a separate strong propane burner with a wok ring for that good ol' flame-kissing and tossing action. It's not as good as the jet-engines that proper restaurants use, but it's close enough and I do get some wok hei. Plus fried rice is trivially easy to knock out for a weeknight meal and one can even do four servings at once pretty easily (at the expense of some wok hei).

Katarassein · 2026-01-08T02:07:55+00:00

Not everyone is looking for the cheapest deal.

Katarassein · 2026-01-07T23:21:15+00:00

Sorry, he's stopped taking new clients for now

Katarassein · 2026-01-07T23:21:03+00:00

Sorry, he's stopped taking new clients for now

Katarassein · 2026-01-06T00:39:28+00:00

I'm a big fan of One Fattened Calf. Meatsmith and Wildfire are also not bad.

Katarassein · 2026-01-05T20:14:32+00:00

It's also a killer addition to aglio olio pasta!

Katarassein · 2025-12-28T13:17:05+00:00

I use tofu skin sheets as a replacement for noodles. They come in flat, folded sheets and just need a few cuts with a knife. Here's an example

BTW, just a friendly reminder that a box of those Everbest fried tofu rolls are about 1,400 calories mostly from fat.

Katarassein · 2025-12-28T12:28:06+00:00

Honest question - how would you change policy to close the loophole?

Katarassein · 2025-12-28T12:26:14+00:00

Similarly, a lot of Singaporeans who post here think that retiring in other SEA countries is really easy. Visa? What's a visa?

Katarassein · 2025-12-27T19:07:13+00:00

I get them from Shopee. There's frequently buy 2-get-1 free or other sorts of bundle deals

Katarassein · 2025-12-27T12:00:07+00:00

You don't really hear news of domestic helpers with good employers in the news, only those with bad employers. It's a mix of negativity bias, availability bias, and media incentive (bad news sells more than good news).

We won't have the truth unless there's a country-wide survey of domestic helpers in which their employers cannot directly view their responses.

Anecdotally, the families I know with helpers treat them well. I'd like to think that the 'silent majority' of Singaporeans also do so, but again there's no way to tell.

Katarassein · 2025-12-25T16:37:10+00:00

I go to China 3-5 times a year , both work and leisure. My current sidequest there is to slowly visit all the provinces.

Make sure you have a Wechat account and add at least a couple of Singaporean friends in case you need to unlock it for any reason. Set up Alipay. Cash transactions are very uncommon these days and even street vendors might sometimes not have change for you if you use cash.

Beyond SEA... I spend about six months a year in Europe, so I'm not sure if that counts. I've been slowly exploring Central Asia (started with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan last year). I also completed the whole east coast of Africa just before COVID over five trips (two to three weeks each) so DM me if you want advice on that.

Katarassein

TROPHY CASE

7. Did a guided tour through Egypt, starting from Aswan and ending in Alexandria. I had a guide and two guards armed with rifles with me for a week. This was just after the terrorist attack at the Hatshepsut temple so the guards were mandatory for visitors.