Food Review: Carousel, Royal Plaza on Scotts

Hi All, 

It's time for a food review. Introducing award winning Carousel at Royal Plaza!
Carousel is a Muis Certified Halal local and international buffet with wide selection. 

I went there with my girlfriends to celebrate Yenn Rong's birthday so decided to do a review on it. We were there for their High Tea Buffet and was pleasantly surprised by their wide spread of choices. Below are the list of the goods and the not-so-goods. 

The Goods:

1) Wide Variety 

The food choices were splendid. There were so much that we did not manage to have a taste of every single one of them.  

The food range includes:

Seafood (crab, oyster, etc), 

Japanese spread (sushi and sashimi), 

Chinese style (stir fried noodles, Dim Sum, etc),

Asian food (Nasi lemak, PoPiah, Laksa, Noodle station, etc)

Western (sandwiches, salad, etc), Indian food and

Last but not least, hell lots of dessert choices (fondue, creme brulee, cakes, ice cream, waffle..) 

2) Efficient service

They were very prompt in clearing the plates. Every time, after getting a new serving and returned to our seats, we can be assured that the dirty plates on the table were cleared. 

The Not-so-Good:

1) Ambience

I personally do not like the ambience. The lighting is dim and the seating area is pretty packed. 

Kind of spoils the high tea experience.

2) Slightly below expectation

It may be due to the many good reviews I have read before heading to Carousel, so I had a certain level of expectation. I came to know from one of the reviews that they would serve cupcakes and sing birthday songs during birthday celebrations. When we reached the place, we had informed the staff of the birthday girl. Later, a few them came to check with us on who was the birthday girl. However, when the cupcake was finally served, the staff served to me instead of my friend. This was quite disappointing. 

Also, their staff has took a photo of us and said they will email the photo to us and has requested for my email. But till date, I have only received email to feedback on their service and have yet to receive the photo.  Overall, my experience was good but definitely there is room for improvement. 


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29/07/2014
After submitting this blog post on Sunday,
I have received an email reply from Carousel on the next working day.
Appreciate that Carousel's Customer Relations Manager has replied to my blog post and sent me the photo!

*I have checked my junk mailbox before writing this blog post

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Location:

It is situated at Royal Plaza Scotts

25 Scotts Road, Singapore 228220

Tel: 6589 7799

Price list:

Ciao,

Evelyn

Repost: 从容品尝人生的滋味

Repost. I have read this article "从容品尝人生的滋味" and find it really meaningful. 

 

从容品尝人生的滋味

酸甜苦辣是人生的常态，得失是人生的必然，你选择用什么样的方式来面对你将会收获什么。

　　从容，是因为内心镇静而沉着地面对人生，哲人说，从容，是一种聪明的糊涂。万事万物都有自己的存在状态，不必问其究竟。雨有雨的润泽，雪有雪的悠然，冰有冰的晶莹，春有春的生机，夏有夏的炽热，秋有秋的丰实，冬有冬的冷峻。

　　面对宇宙的浩瀚，星空的无限，纷杂的万物，芸芸众生，我们真的不必要事事弄清楚，凡事问个究竟。其实，苦累与哀怨都是自我寻找的烦恼，在能力范围内的努力是积极的，而超乎能力的只是一种臆想和渴望。因此，我们只有以平和的心态面对世界，才能摆脱纷纷扰扰所谓的“烦心事”，善待自己，善待人生！

　　从容是一种稳健的进取。我们难得糊涂，但不能因此借口而一味束缚自己的想象空间和创造潜力，应该以平常的心用理性思维明辨是非，克服局限完善自我抛弃痛苦，乐观面对人生。

　　从容是个性发挥的最好表现，我们应该在保留个性的同时学会适应环境，以适应环境的状态保护个性。这是获得从容的基本条件，也是保证自我进取得成功的重要的助推力，其实，现实生活中的人们，不妨把许多事情换一种思维方式来思考，这样可以给自己打开一扇窗或一扇门，这也许就足大家常说的另一种境界。

　　从容不是故作姿态的镇定，不是矫情刻意的悠然，不是为表现而表现。真正的从容是疾管里飘逸出的袅袅低吟，是处惊不变临危不乱的自如应变，是青山绿水间信然踱步时流溢的生命柔情。

　　人们或许认为从容过于自在与无为，缺乏动感的能量。其实真正的从容无不蕴涵长河激浪的力度与大漠落日的气概。从容是一种“度”的把握，是人性的收敛与张扬合理平衡。

　　从容看似处事中的简单情态，其实是人的深度和厚度自然流露。没有文化的积累情操和熏陶，修养的升华就没有一个自然的你优雅的你，张弛有度的你，从容也就无法谈起。

　　从容并不意味着对速度的放弃和对激情的违悖。追求一种对急遽局势的从容处理，追求一种对焦灼的心态的从容间离，获得的往往是更有效的速度与更合理的心态。从容反映出你对进与退，拥有与放弃的理想与把握。

　　从容结缘的是理性，理性是从容的基石。一个从容的人不会没有困难，但他不会困窘，一个从容的人不会没有危急，但他不会急躁。学会用从容的步履走漫漫人生路总有春风拂面总会一身轻松。从容是一种成熟从容就是人生舒缓而美丽的心境。

　　从容的确是一种超然的境界。它可以把一切苦与悲看成顺其自然的常态，因为“悲欢离合”，才有了“天长地久”；因为“落残雨寒”，才有了“人间温暖”；因为“酸甜苦辣”，才有了“丰富人生”。所以，从容是筛选善恶的漏斗。

　　讥讽、指责、嫉妒、恭维、冷漠、虚伪；关心、微笑、帮助，我们都应以良好的心态全部面对，安静地感受从容地接纳和筛选，这样我们才会在“列车”的旅途中真正拥有一份独具宁静的心灵和真正享受恬淡舒适的人生！

With love,

Evelyn 

Saving Tips: 4 Essential Money Skills

It has been some time since my last update.

Today is the 14th day without physical companion of my hubby "tear". My hubby has been posted overseas to work for 3 months. Though it has been only 14 days, I am starting to miss him. Since the day we started dating (more than 6 years), we have not been separated for more than one month.  Currently, we are trying to keep in contact through FaceTime, WhatsApp and Viber calls. While he is away, I have more time alone and this give me time to reflect on many things in life. I shall blog more about this the next time.  

Today, I’ll like to share with you some saving tips!

I was from a family where I used to fear daily whether there is food on the table and had less than 10 dollars in my bank account. I experienced power outage one day before my A level examination because we did not pay our electricity bill. It was a life with in which I was uncertain about my future and money had always been a concern. 

I used to do many part time jobs during my school time to help out in our family finances, to pay for my JC school fees and my own daily expenses. Hence since young, my family situation has trained me to be self-dependent. Being the finance controller in my family, I have learnt to manage my own finances and have cultivated some good money sense. , I derive skills of saving and making good use of every single cent.

Here I am sharing some of my essential skills. There are 4 essential skills when it comes to money: value it, control it, save it, invest it. 

1. Value it

For people who have not been through hard times where money is a daily concern, you may not value money as much.

"Money is like women, the more you value it, the more it will stay with you. Else, you may lose it."

In order to accumulate money, first you have to value it. Before you easily let loose of each dollar, think of how this one dollar may be a key to a person’s survival in Africa. 

2. Control it

There are always people who earn high annual salaries but still complain about having not enough money. This is because these people lack control over their finances and would just let money flow out of their hands. The fact is you do not need to have a lot to gain financial stability.

A critical step in attaining personal financial stability is to have intrinsic control over your money and it means knowing the inflow and outflow of your money at your fingertips. I personally suggest doing personal accounting, a simple balance sheet of your assets and liabilities.

You may choose to compute your balance sheet at the month’s end to keep track of your asset’s growth. For a more detailed analysis, you may choose to do a profit and loss statement to monitor and find out the reasons for any increase or decrease in expenses. So the next time when you complain about having no money, you will know exactly what the cause is and choose to resolve it if need be. 

3. Save it

Without elaboration, I guessed everyone knows the importance of saving.

Wealth can never be accumulated if you don’t save. It is critical to first start saving a reserve fund for rainy days – usually about 6 months of your monthly income.

After which, you may set up different accounts to save for different purposes. 

You may refer to my previous post: Saving Tips: Top 3 Saving / Current Account in Singapore

• Insurance fund
• Deposit for purpose of 1^st property
• Renovation fund
• Investment fund
• Operating fund for daily usage

Many people like to save whatever that is left after spending. However, the better way to do it is to save first and spend the rest. 

4. Invest it 

Like I have mentioned in point 3, it is good to set an investment fund account, to set aside a proportion of your savings for investment.

With yearly inflation, the value of your money depreciates over time. Hence, it is important to make good investments to fight inflation. The minimum return of your investment should be 2-5% to fight inflation.

Frankly, I am still learning how to be a good investor. Hopefully, I will be able to share some good investment tips in the future when I see my returns.

So let’s value, control, save & invest!

Ciao,

Evelyn