I am advised by Adsense that approval for my account is forthcoming but only in a week therefore this site will have to remain as it is for a while yet. The different shades of green and yellow should be exciting enough for you to keep on reading.

Nope ! Nothing on Lucky Plaza yet but a little episode which happened at Changi Airport this morning fits the bill.

I was flying back to good old Brunei Darussalam and after checking in and had gone through Immigration I was suddenly attacked by hunger pangs. It was not surprising as I had got up at 5.00 a.m. showered, brushed teeth, sat on throne, dressed, hailed a taxi and rushed to the airport without breakfast. Unlike the Opera singer in Korea I remembered to put on my pants despite the rush. Now, almost shivering with a hypo-glycemic condition I debated where to eat. Harry's is a Bar Franchise I frequent for Erdinger's Beer in town. They have a branch at the departure lounge in Changi and someone told me they served great Hash Browns with Sausages, Bacon and Eggs for breakfast. I was tempted but decided against it because Harry's at Changi happened to be THE designated smoking area at the Airport. That's what I like about Singapore. Nobody's forgotten, even those whose life purpose is to destroy their Lungs. After you enter the glass door you'd have to have a GPS to navigate your way to the bar or table. The smoke from the cigars and cigarettes is that thick. Somebody could make a fortune selling Gas Masks at the entrance. Then I thought of Subway Sandwiches but was drawn away by the sight of a delicious array of Nonya Kueh at Bengawan Solo. Just as I was taking a seat at a table I developed a yearning for Dim Sum and recalled what a friend had told me about this place at Changi which served awesome Dim Sum. They were so good that Premier Lee and his family eats there as well as celebrities like Jet Li and Martin Yan, the Chef . So I headed to the lift to get to the 3rd Level where this establishment, is situated.

Upon arrival I was greeted by a lone waitress who, I found out later, was actually the Cashier. The place was empty. I looked behind the Cashier's counter and sure enough, displayed on the wall were photographs of Premier Lee Hsiang Loong and his family, Jet Li with the Manager of the place and Martin Yan of Yan can Cook TV fame. I took my seat at a table and was handed the menu. Dim Sum in Singapore pales in comparison with Dim Sum in Hongkong but I found Dim Sum at Ah Yat's Restaurant in town to be almost as good and most important of all had VFM. What's that ? That is what people like me always look for...Value For Money ! I wonder if Jet Li also looks for VFM. At Ah Yat's a "loong" or bamboo container of Siew Mai or Har Kao costs SGD1.80 and there are three pieces. A saucer of Pai Kuat also costs SGD1.80. With this kind of value all precautions relating to Cholesterol, Hypertension, Hyperglycemia and any other Hypers can be thrown into the wind. At this establishment at Changi Airport the prices for all the items in the menu could cause you to "die standing"...a favourite expression of Singaporeans. I almost did..but sitting.

Then a little, pretentious, not so young anymore, waitress came and almost yelled "Yes, can I take your order ? You like the special fried rice with scallop or the specialty of the house, noodles with abalone, or you like Dim Sum, what kind of Chinese tea?" She rattled on and read me the whole menu giving me no chance to tell her that she was raining spittle all over. When she finally finished, almost exhausted, I said "Give me one Siew Mai"! Suddenly I heard heavy breathing, like a Bull snorting, getting ready to deliver to the Matador what he truely deserves, horns in the butt. I looked at the waitress and thought she had gone into Cardiac Arrest. She swallowed once and the veins on her neck under her jaws looked ready to burst and she said "We dont sell one siew mai. Three in a ba..ba..basket!" Not wishing to incur further wrath and spittle I said "O.K. gimme one basket!" She said "Only one ah ?" Before I could reply she screamed "What about Tea, what Tea ?" I said "Tea Tea lah, what do you mean what Tea?" I was getting annoyed at her demeanour and wanted to give her back some of her own medicine, minus the spittle. She gave a gasp of exasperation and said "Oolong, Jasmine, Chrysanthemum or Kokpoh ? "ooooh!" I said. "how much is the Tea ?" "You can see in the menu" "I dont want to see in the menu, why dont you tell me?" "Different Tea different cost, some ten dollar, some 20 dollar, some even 50 dollar, want or not?" "Not! And cancel my Siew Mai!"

I picked up my Duffel Bag and stormed out of the place quickly before the she-devil could come after me with a Cleaver and her spittle. I ended up at the Yakun Kaya Toast place on Level 2 where I had the Set..Kopi O, 2 Softboiled Eggs and a Kaya Toast Sandwich. As I sat eating and contemplating murder for that friend who recommended the Dim Sum place, I wondered whether Premier Lee, Jet Li and Martin Yan had encountered the Waitress from Hell and if they did whether they had ever come back a second time.

Through the Dim Sum ordeal I had caught a glimps of a placard placed on the table which called out "Beat the Recession!" and I now thought to myself "with exhorbitant prices like that they had better come up with another slogan".