Dear Diary | June 2024 Edition

Hello, June! ❤

Can't believe time flies so quickly that we are crossing the mid-year mark. June has been a beautiful early summer for me. And I couldn't thank myself more for taking a brave step to do what I truly want to do this month. 

Shanghai | Spring 2024. ❤❤

Finally my Shanghai blog post is up! Overall, it is a pretty interesting 5-day trip being my first time stepping into the land of China again after 20+ years. Find out more about my 5D4N Shanghai City + Water Town itinerary here. 

And my day trip to the Venice of Shanghai - Zhujiajiao Ancient Town - is up on the blog too!

Feel free to check it out. ❤❤

Shanghai | I miss the food and the experiences here. ❤❤

Teambuilding Event - Summer Fest 2024

31.05.2024 | Hello, Summer! Here's our long-awaited trip @ Sentosa Island after our Bangkok vacation in May 2023. Enjoyin' the fun and happy times with the team :)

Chye Seng Huat Hardware @ Tyrwhitt Rd

01.06.2024 | Satur-date. Exploring a new café this round makes me feel more appreciative of little things in life. Simply because carefree moments like this are getting rare...

Krapow @ Far East Plaza

01.06.2024 | Satur-date night. Weekend calls for some adventurous food hunt, and here we are for some authentic taste of Thai. It truly does not disappoint at all! I would definitely revisit for its crispy pork crackling pad thai.

Amazing Omakase experience at Sushi Kyuu ❤

02.06.2024 | Sushi Kyuu. The month of June comes with a lovely surprise Omakase experience at Sushi Kyuu, which I personally think is by far the best experience across all the F&B brands under Shunsui Group. Thanks for the invite once again!

Osaka-Kyoto-Nara ❤❤❤

07.06.2024 - 15.06.2024 | Early summer in Japan. Third trip of the year brings me back to my homeland, my happy place. ❤ A place which I can truly live at my own pace and feel at peace. 

P/S: Decided not to share this on social media at all, because #privatelifehappylife. If you happen to read this, please remember - I don't need you to judge my life. I can live happily on my own. 

Folk Yard @ Potong Pasir

16.06.2024 | An interesting find near home. Been staying in this area for almost 2 years now yet this is my first time trying out this café.  I like their open-faced parma ham sandwich - reminded me of those happy days in Phuket. 

Discovery Tour @ Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS)

16.06.2024 | Meet the all-electric, self-driving IONIQ 5 robotaxi! We are here at HMGICS, the first global open innovation center of Hyundai Motor Group, for a journey of discovery and exploration of sustainability and innovation. 

The most interesting part of the tour is probably the thrilling Skytrack ride, as well as the factory VR tour where we get to experience how the highly modular and automated production looks like.

HMGICS also has a Smart Farm in the house, where the optimised farming is achieved via automation. We even get to have a taste of the freshly harvested greens and bring them home. 

Happy Retirement Party ❤

21.06.2024 | TGIF x work party. Spending the Friday evening with the folks at work was fun. Looking forward to more occasions like this!

Apollo Coffee Bar | Ah Chew Desserts

22.06.2024 | Weekend food hunting time. Lovin' casual dates like this which are getting rare nowadays with so many things happening in our everyday life. 

Hello new hair, and goodbye braces! ❤❤

30.06.2024 | Homebound for a long overdue hair cut and... Finally, it's time to remove my braces after 1 year and 8 months! Happy to announce that it is another milestone completed in 2024.

❤❤❤

Thank you for the monthly dose of sweetness!

Looking forward to the second half of the year of 2024~ 

❤❤❤

xoxo,

FiSh

30.06.2024

[TRAVEL] Day Trip to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town 朱家角 - "Venice of Shanghai"

Zhujiajiao | One day trip ❤

The highlight of our 5D4N Shanghai trip is definitely the ancient Zhujiajiao water town (朱家角水乡). Although it is not listed as one of the “top 10 water towns in China”, it is remarkably beautiful and definitely worth a visit if this is your first time visiting a water town.

Our initial plan was to tour around Hangzhou and Suzhou for the scenic view, but since we did not have much time to spare in Shanghai, we opted for the closest water town, Zhujiajiao for a nature-centric and cultural-rich experience.

What to expect in Zhujiajiao:

Established since 1,700 years ago, Zhujiajiao was a trading port to ferry the goods in little boats and barges along the canals. According to the locals, Zhujiajiao was once labelled to be part of Hangzhou before the city reorganisation in which the area then becomes part of Shanghai.

Today, it is the most well-preserved ancient water town in the south of the Yangtze River in Shanghai. With the numerous rivers lining Zhujiajiao, there are still many ancient buildings lining the riverbanks until today.

It is good to spend half a day here exploring the shops and restaurants, as most of the shops close by 4pm.

Getting here from the city:

It is an hour train ride from the city. Take the train on Line 2 to the terminal station, East Xujing then switch to Line 17 to Zhujiajiao.

Going by car (49km on the road) does not really save us a lot of travelling time given the traffic condition, hence we relied on the public transportation instead.

Entering into the water town:

There are multiple ways to enter the water town:

❤ 1. By river cruise (RMB 40 one way)

❤ 2. Hop on a trishaw which is located at the opposite side of the station (RMB 20 one way)

❤ 3. By cab (easiest and fastest but less scenic - also around RMB 40 one way)

❤ 4. Walk for approximately 1+ km

We opted for the trishaw in which the rider was a friendly old man. But be mindful that the rider might push for his day tour service (RMB 100 for one full day) where he would chauffeur you wherever you want to go in the water town and recommend some photo spots throughout the tour as well. We wanted to have a more relaxing stroll on our own, hence we turned down the offer.

Bought some ultra sweet strawberries from the roadside vendor before hopping onto the trishaw. Sweet!

大清邮局 Qing Dynasty Post Office

Operating hours: 09:00 – 17:00 daily

Our first stop was the renowned Qing Dynasty Post Office (大清邮局) tucked along one of the many narrow alleys in the water town. It is the only ancient post office that still stands boldly in the East China, so well-preserved since the Qing Dynasty era until today. Interestingly, the interior has now transformed into an art & craft shop cum café.

Look at the postbox! I managed to send a postcard home at only RMB 5!

阿婆茶楼 Ah Ma Tea House

Operating hours: 09:00 – 17:00 daily

Our lunch / tea destination was a very beautiful tea house by the river, overseeing the picturesque water town scenery. However, it is usually a full house, hence prior reservation is highly recommended. 

During our weekday visit, we were lucky as the crowd was so thin, and we managed to secure a table at the al fresco area which was floating on the river and overlooking the magnificent City God Temple amidst the breezy wind. 

The cooling and relaxing ambiance made it a perfect setting to sip on the traditional selections of Chinese tea set which came with a refillable platter of light bites. 

It really felt like being in a Chinese movie scene here. And we easily spent an hour or two in this little tea house just admiring the beauty of the ancient water town. 

The interior of the tea house was pretty cool too.

城隍廟 City God Temple 

Operating hours: 08:30 – 16:30 daily

Fellow worshippers can also visit the City God Temple (城隍廟) and its surrounding area (课植园 / 圆津禅院), but we only took a relaxing boat ride which toured around these historical landmarks.

放生桥 Fangsheng Bridge

Dubbed as the largest bridge in the water town, Fangsheng Bridge is a great spot for sunset viewing. Unfortunately, luck was not on our side during our visit - we could only see the gloomy sky after a heavy downpour. Nevertheless, it was a peaceful scene for us to enjoy afar from the tea house.

 

It is also the home to the boat terminal station which transports people to and fro the train station. It is highly recommended to take a boat ride to the train station from here (when leaving the water town) and enjoy the river view! 

小杨生煎 Yang's Dumpling

Operating hours: 07:00 – 20:30 daily

The next pitstop before leaving the water town was the famous dumplings shop in Shanghai. There are plenty of Yang’s Dumpling outlets spreaded over the whole of Shanghai, but since we came across one without any queue outside, we decided to take a short break here and tuck into the piping hot and juicy meat dumplings. 

We had the recommended traditional and chives dumplings (荠菜小杨双拼 @ RMB 12) and they were filled with juicy goodness.

   

For a complete experience, don't forget to stroll along the local market / food street area and check out the local offerings such as the gigantic glutinous rice (priced roughly around RMB 6 each), tea leaves, etc. Personally, I find that it was a great way to immerse ourselves into the rich, preserved culture and tradition.

All in all, it was a short but fun trip to the water town. I particularly love the architectural aspect of this town - where the traditional brick houses were very well-preserved and they added colors to the tranquil flowing river. 

While I don't usually enjoy rainy weather during my travels, the rain here somehow made my experience here even more peaceful and memorable.

 

Can’t wait to share with you my travel diary in other parts of Shanghai city.

Stay tuned for the next update!

❤ ❤ ❤

- FiSh | Shanghai | Spring 2024 -

10 Tips for Getting Great Candid Shots at Weddings

Capturing natural, unposed moments is key to telling the full story of a wedding day. While formal portraits are important, candid shots bring out the emotions and intimate interactions that make the celebration so special. Here are 10 tips to help you get fantastic candid wedding photos.

Blend in Seamlessly

Dress professionally but avoid overly flashy clothes or large camera bags that will draw attention. Move discretely, stay on the perimeter, and find angles where you can capture candid moments without being in the centre of the action. Blending in is key to getting authentic unposed shots.

Study the Event Schedule

Know the wedding day's timeline and be prepared for key events like the processional, first dance, toasts, cake cutting, send-off, etc. Position yourself where you can capture candid reactions as these big moments unfold. Understanding the flow of the event will allow you to anticipate peak moments for natural interactions.

Watch for Powerful Details

Notice small things like giggling flower girls, ring bearers goofing off, stoles blowing in the wind, etc. These playful moments tell the story of the wedding day. Keep your eyes open for both large and subtle details that add context.

Use Wide Angle Lenses

Shoot with a wide angle lens to include environmental and setting details. The venue often adds to the mood and ambience of candid shots. Wide angles allow you to take in more of the scene.

Focus on Emotional Moments

Make it a goal to capture tears of joy, beaming smiles, intimate gazes, belly laughs, enthusiastic dances, and quiet stolen glances. Emotion is what makes candid wedding photos special. Hone in on the moving interactions that reveal the feelings of the day.

Work the Entire Reception

As guests relax and party, fun candid moments abound. Capture the packed dance floor, singing at tables, silly speeches, kids playing, and more. The reception is ripe with opportunity for great candid shots.

Exercise Patience

Put yourself in the right places, and watch and wait for authentic moments to emerge. Don't force shots or interrupt natural interactions. Patience allows you to fade into the background while waiting for real, unscripted moments.

Try Front/Back Shooting

For intimate moments like first dances and parent-child exchanges, position yourself so you can photograph over one subject's shoulder at the other's expression. Creative angles like shooting from behind can add intimacy to your candids.

Include Black & White Sets

Switching to black and white can create an artistic, timeless look for your best candid images from the wedding. B&W adds mood and emphasis to your most striking reception candids.

Enhance Selectively

Use editing sparingly to subtly enhance your favourite reception candids. A bit of brightness/contrast adjustment and slight vignette can give them a polished look. Avoid overprocessing and let the moments speak for themselves.

Work with a Wedding Photographer

Hiring a pro wedding photographer or documentary wedding photographer like Photography by Michael is worth the investment. Their artistic eye, technical skills, and experience capturing fast- paced events ensures you'll get stunning, creative, and emotionally-rich photos.

Getting great candid wedding shots is about awareness, anticipation, and always being ready. Follow the action while exercising patience and moving discretely. Use wide angles to establish context while focusing up close on emotional interactions and reactions. By doing so, you can capture a wedding day's most meaningful and memorable moments.

What Do Customers Expect from Your Business

Market research and understanding your target audience are two fundamental pillars of business, so it might feel like you already know exactly what your customers want. However, this perception might not always take into account changes occurring elsewhere that inform their expectations. For example, if other businesses in other industries have taken on a certain approach that has proven to be dramatically successful, that could impact how you are perceived – fairly or not.

There is also the debate of whether you should wait for customers to indicate what they want or whether you should carve the path ahead and illustrate to them something they didn’t know they wanted until they saw it.

A Brand Worth Following

The benefit of taking that proactive approach is the confidence that comes with it. Customers can develop a sense of trust that you know what you’re doing, which might lead to a greater degree of faith in your latest ideas and developments.

This isn’t to say that you should never ask your customers for their opinions – gaining customer feedback can be an incredibly valuable way to make improvements. That being said, it’s important that your approach is a healthy mix of understanding the specifics of what your audiences want and forging your own path – avoiding a situation where you’re simply representative of what your audiences demand of you. Innovative new ideas tempered by a commitment to customer-friendliness might help you strike a balance.

The Basics

That being said, there might also be several baseline expectations that prove ultimately essential for your business. This might be by way of competition – all of your competitors are offering this, which might make you stand out by comparison.

A robust delivery service might be an example of this. Of course, this will depend on the industry you find yourself in. If this does apply to you, it’s something that you’re likely going to be enthusiastic about establishing as early as possible. However, while you have your own resource concerns to deal with, you don’t want the credibility of your own brand to be impacted by your choice of delivery company. You need your customer experience to be consistently robust, and that means that you want your deliveries to reflect the qualities of your brand, arriving effectively and in a timely manner – something that might lead you to research options like shiply.com.

Outside of Your Operations?

In this regard, it’s easy to put all of your focus on what you’re directly offering your customers. However, it’s just as important to think about what surrounds that. As mentioned previously, your customer experience encompasses delivery, which means that it also includes things like customer service – something you must consistently make as effective as possible.

That still might sound straightforward enough, but then you also have to consider the general perception of your brand – how your audiences might want you to react in response to social issues or how you plan on taking action on issues like climate change. It’s easy to see yourself as separate from the world around you, but customers might see things differently.

[TRAVEL] 5D4N Shanghai Itinerary - Exploring the City & Water Town!

Hello from Shanghai, China! ❤ It is my first time spending a week in China, after hearing so many good things about this country in terms of the cutting-edge technology and enormous architecture that wows the world.

If you plan to visit China for the first time, I think Shanghai would be a perfect start. Having only a short visit to Shenzhen when I was 9, I barely have any memories about China in general. I have always been wanting to visit Shanghai and I am glad that I finally made this trip because the city is way more impressive than I thought.

Being the most populous city (a whopping 29 million people live here!) of the country, the city is so vibrant, futuristic (being modern alone is an understatement) and full of excitements. Personally, I’d think a 8D7N trip covering Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou would be ideal. But due to time constraint, I can only do a 5D4N trip focusing on Shanghai alone.

But hey the 5D4N spent in Shanghai is nothing short of fun and adventure. Here’s the itinerary for 5D4N (not including Shanghai Disneyland – please allocate an additional day if you plan to visit the Disneyland).

❤ ❤ ❤

5D4N Shanghai Itinerary

Day 0

- Flight - SIN-PVG via China Eastern airline

- Hotel check-in @ 上海人民广场全季酒店 

- Supper @ 半酌烧烤小酒馆 

Day 1

1. 南京路步行街 Nanjing Pedestrian Street

- Breakfast @ 萊萊小籠

- 邵萬生 

- 沈大成 糕点  

- Lunch @ 上揚府 (淮揚菜) 

- 上海第一食品商店

- 新世界大丸百货

2. 豫園 Yuyuan Garden

- 豫園商城 / 豫園老街 

- 城隍廟

- 哈茶福

3. 外灘觀景步道 The Bund

- Dinner @ 鮮得來 @ 云南南路百年美食一條街

Day 2

1. 朱家角水乡 Zhujiajiao Water Town

- Breakfast @ Drunk Baker

- 大清邮局 Qing Dynasty Post Office

- 阿婆茶楼

- 放生桥

- 课植园

- 圆津禅院

- Lunch @ 小杨生煎

2. 靜安寺 Jingan Temple area

- 靜安寺

- 百丘 Pain Chaud

- Dinner @ 人和馆  

Day 3

1. 陸家嘴 Lujiazhui City Walk

- Breakfast @ 老上海双档

- Ferry ride to cross 橫渡黃浦江

- 陸家嘴 三件套City Walk

- 上海环球金融中心（Shanghai World Financial Center)

- 上海金茂大厦（Jinmao Tower)

- 上海中心大厦（Shanghai Tower)"

- 方塊咖啡 Coffee Cube x Merakicoffee  

- 迪士尼旗艦店 

- Lunch @ 桂满陇 

- 52樓朵雲書院

2. 濱江大道 North Bund Riverside

- Dinner @ 蟹江南•蟹黄面 

Day 4

1. 武康路 Wukang Area

- Breakfast @ 小桃园

- 武康大樓 

- 酷矿手作霜淇淋 Corner Cone Gelato   

- 宋庆龄故居 Soong Ching Ling's Former Residence

- Birdie Cup Coffee @ 武康路

- Fontaine

2. 思南路 Sinan Area

- Lunch @ 阿娘面馆

- 思南公館

- Sinan Books Poetry Store 

- 思南露天博物馆 Sinan Open Air Museum

- Dinner @ 紐約貝果博物館 New York Bagelous Museum

- 安福路

- 新天地

3. 人民广场 People's Square Area

- Dinner @ 裕興記

- Cocktail @ 1989 Bar (人民广场店)

Day 5

- Breakfast @ 星巴克臻选 上海烘焙工坊

- Lunch @ 新白鹿 (南京东路店)

- Hotel check-out @ 上海人民广场全季酒店

- Flight - PVG-SIN via China Eastern airline

 

❤ ❤ ❤

Flight (both ways)

中国东方航空 China Eastern Airline

I have a few options on hand – Singapore Airlines, China Air and China Eastern – but I go for the latter after comparing the prices. It is a pretty comfortable 5.5-hour flight from Singapore to Pudong International Airport, fully equipped with entertainment, blanket, decent meal and the local Tsingtao beer. The flight experience definitely exceeds my expectation for the price paid for.

The only downside of the flight is probably the arrival time, which is 10+ pm where the Shanghai Maglev and train services are no longer available. So I hop onto a cab and head straight to the hotel (the journey is approximately 1 hour).

Accommodation / Hotel

上海人民广场全季酒店 Ji Hotel Shanghai People's Square

上海市黄浦区西藏中路500号思源商厦2-9楼（靠近凤阳路）

(Hotel check in at Level 9)

Accommodation options are aplenty in Shanghai, widely ranging from an affordable $80 to various luxurious options that can go up to thousands. 

Ji Hotel is a very popular hotel chain in town – there is a Ji Hotel tucked along every other row of shop in the city centre – and the price is incredible for a comfortable 172sqft room. I opt for Ji Hotel People’s Square (上海人民广场全季酒店) which is just a stone throw away from the famous Nanjing Pedestrian shopping street. 

The location is amazing, cleanliness is great, service is impeccable – I have no complaints at all. Highly recommended for those who are on budget but want to stay comfortably in a private space.

半酌烧烤小酒馆

(上海人民广场全季酒店店）

Interestingly, there is a late night drinking spot right at the ground floor of the hotel where I have a really great time tucking into the China’s famous grilled skewers and beer. The vibes here are super on point – funky decors fill up the space, full-house crowd during weekends. 

Travelling in China is made smoother by having these apps installed into your device - e-sim (I use Nomad), Gaode Map (高德地图), DianPing (大众点评) and TaoBao (淘宝). 

As Google Maps does not work well in China without VPN, GaoDe Map comes in handy for navigation. The taxi booking function works seamlessly in this app too - all you need is a local Chinese mobile number, and you can go anywhere without hassle. DianPing, on the other hand, is great to search for recommendations / reviews of restaurants and tourist attractions. 

TaoBao, on the other hand, is my favourite shopping platform while in China. Just place your orders using your hotel address, inform the hotel receptionist and you'll receive your shopping haul swiftly. 

 

Can’t wait to share with you my travel diary for the following days.

Stay tuned for the next update!

❤ ❤ ❤

- FiSh | Shanghai | Spring 2024 -