EmTech Asia - Conversations With NASA

The fourth edition of EmTech Asia opened today with a series of exciting sessions on enterprise technology, cybersecurity, new materials, virtual reality and augmented life. 

For the first time in Singapore, EmTech Asia also hosted its very first Conversations panel at the ArtScience Museum with Dr Dava Newman, Deputy Administrator, NASA and Dr David Oh, Project Systems Engineer & Former Lead Flight Director, Curiosity Mars Rover, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). They shared insights on NASA’s mission to Mars and how the scientific explorations of the JPL missions have changed our understanding of the solar system. Dr Newman and Dr Oh also discussed the impact of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAMd) education and NASA’s newest Discovery Mission: Psyche, Journey to a Metal World will reach new frontiers.

The talk sparked a lot of interesting questions from many students who attended the talk with their schools. Among some of the curious questions asked were, "Is it possible to send a spacecraft to another galaxy?" and "When can we travel to Venus?".

EmTech Asia is held in Marina Bay Sands, Singapore on 14-15 February 2017. For more details, visit the website at EmTechAsia.com. 

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Kiss The Tiramisu - Soft Serve At Premium Prices

In a nondescript corner of Orchard Central by the prominent taxi stand, sits a small dessert shop that only the adventurous would find and try.

Here's the Original...

Matcha...

Banana...

Of the 3, Merlion Wayfarer and her group finds the Original most tasty with its chocolate powder atop the ice cream. The Matcha latched the bitter fragrance of matcha powder, while the Banana was way too sweet and artificially-scented for our liking.

Unlike its Korean originator, the Singapore outlet does not serve its signature Tiramisu cake and instead relies on the ice cream to pull in sales. Each sundae comes in a dainty tall plastic cup and is priced at $6.90. The flavours to choose from include Original, Banana, Strawberry, Chocolate, and Matcha. Just one short of its Korean counterpart, which includes the Berry flavour.

From its shop name, Kiss The Tiramisu promises to serve "tiramisu". But instead of real tiramisu cake, it was instead chocolate-laced tiramisu softserve ice-cream. It was a real disappointment to be taking syrup, chocolate powder and softserve ice-cream, not even real ice-cream. The female staff seemed to be really bored, and served us with a grumpy look. It was difficult to think well of the sundae when one sees the mess made on the white counter after preparing each sundae.

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Kanshoku Ramen - Fragrant Truffle Ramen With No Cloy

It's known - Merlion Wayfarer is no fan of ramen, but she's game to try anything different. So when her friend wanted to try out a ramen stall in town, she acquiesced. 

Kanshoku Ramen is located in Orchard Central, steps away from Somerset MRT Station on the North-South (Red) line. 

At first sight, the Truffle Ramen (S$17.90) was no different from any other ramen. The toppings included black fungus, an over-generous heaping of cabbage, mushroom and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. For $2 more, you can get a Ramen Egg (egg with some ramen marinade).

However, a closer look revealed the little black heap of black truffle. Instead of synthetic truffle oil at many other outlets, Kanshoku uses authentic black truffle. And that makes all the difference.

Even though the price is higher than a typical ramen, the amount of noodles is more than a typical serving. The soup base is rich with the well-boiled flavour of pork broth, yet without the cloying aftertaste of excessive MSG. The richness is just about right, leaving no strong porcine taste. The truffle adds the needed touch of fragrance yet does not overwhelm the tactile authenticity of ramen. Definitely worth a visit for ramen and truffle fans.

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d'Good Cafe - Quiet Ambience With Good Coffee

d'Good Cafe

Ngee Ann City

Orchard

It was a chillax afternoon after a bout of shopping. There was not much choice around the area as  the nearby cafes were either the run-of-the-mill mass chains or gourmet cafe-bakery outlets full of hotdesking yuppies. It was time to try out some lesser known cafe.

Stepping into d'Good felt like a visit to Terminal 21 in Bangkok. The interior of the cafe had huge London Tube stations signs with a Singapore flavour.The cafe staff were youngish, most looked like students on vacation, and were really hip with trendy tattoos, purple hair and studs.

Flat Whites and Cafe Lattes were priced similarly at an affordable S$5. Unlike the usual Cafe Latte, the Cafe Latte here was served in a coffee cup instead of a glass. The latte art was one of the most beautiful swans Merlion Wayfarer had ever seen. With an artistic "2" for the head and neck, the swan was adorned by delicate swirls for its wings and bold elaborate swishes for its spread of lavish tail feathers.

The coffee was thick and aromatic with low acidity and a mild nutty chocolate aftertaste. The milk used was creamy with the tinge of sweetness heightened by the light foam atop. Added together, it created a smooth finish that's easy on the palate.

A minor brickbat about the misleading pricing - Even though the big print of the cashier screen showed the price of the coffee at S$5, the prices were totalled up with GST and service charge only in the printed receipt.

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