A taste of FIV五 Square outlet food and experience their self-ordering kiosk (Video)

I remember when I was working as an IT professional years ago in a supermarket chain, we were considering self-service payment kiosks in the supermarket. Today, we have these kiosks in the various supermarkets chain. Such self-service kiosks helped to improve the speed of payment, cut down on manpower and streamline processes. As technology improved, businesses benefited with lowering of labour costs and better customer services. 

My recent trip to Japan, Hokkaido, opened my eyes on their self-help kiosks in many areas of applications. Most commonly seen is their food dispenser machines which are much more sophisticated intelligent machines than the ones in Singapore. 

I have the chance to experience this self-ordering kiosk recently at the Five Bar Group new flagship outlet, Five Square restaurant at Pickering Street. If you are familiar with AXS payment kiosk and ATM machines, you should have no problem operating these kiosks. Going through the step by step menu is a breeze. You will need to enter your mobile number for notification. Choices of food are displayed in pictures for your selection. Payment can be made by cash, credit card and Nets which are the most common form of payments in Singapore. The system will send you an SMS to notify you that food is ready for collection. 

The process is straight-forward, fast and efficient. No more queuing and overcrowding at the various food stall outlets making it difficult for those who are walking past the stalls. It helps to cut down on manpower cost for the stall or restaurant operators which may pass the benefits back to the customers in term of cheaper food prices. 

After all, in today business strategy, quality of food, experiences, pricing and customer service satisfaction are important factors in the success of businesses. Technology not only help to improve the workflow and processes in various businesses but also help to save time. The accuracy of using Technology is zero mistakes after a proper and complete test of the system. 

Singapore's first Tachinomi Izakaya inspired bar! FIV五 is Singapore's answer to the ever-popular Izakayas in Japan. Modelled after the 300-Yen bars which offer $5 specials all-day-everyday.

Beside the new outlet, FIV五Square,  FIV五 Bar Group also has a few other outlets in Singapore. FIV五Square is located at the Pickering Street. It is a relatively huge food establishment in term of floor area of 13,000 sq ft. 

There are basically two sections. The Gourmet Food Hall where the food stalls and self-ordering kiosks are located. The other section is the live band and bar. Depending on your preferences, you can order and bring your food to the live band area to enjoy your food and listen to music or simply enjoy your food at the spacious brightly lighted Gourmet Food Hall area. 

Let us start our food tasting session. At the Gourmet Food Hall, a total of 5 stalls with food varieties ranging from Western, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. It would have covered most of the famous gourmet food of various nations. 

Cin.qo Tapas - Truffle Fries ($10 ). That was the first dish we ate very quickly. Maybe we were hunger. Somehow it tastes nicer than any other known fries in the fast food restaurants. Love it !

Omnivore SALADS & GRILLS - Carnivore Sampling Platter ($24.80). For those meat lovers, this dish is definitely a must for them. 

Cin.qo Tapas - Teriyaki Pizza ($15). I remember taking two slices of this delicious pizza ( one slice more than others ). Somehow, the seaweed toppings make it taste really good and my favourite sauce is Teriyaki. Well, you should know my verdict for this dish. Yes, it is my favourite dish. 

Gogibox - Beef Tacos ($6.80) Besides offering beef, they also have chicken, spicy chicken and spicy pork. 

Teppei Syokudo - Kaisendon ($16). Somehow my taste buds does not fancy raw salmon fish. For those raw fish or Sashimi eaters, they will enjoy this dish. 

Cin.qo Tapas - Seafood Paella ($9.50/$12). Mixed seafood in saffron infused European rice. 

Gogibox - GogiPlate ($8.50) Kimchi Fried Rice,Spicy Chicken and Salads. A choice of 1 Korean fried rice  and 1 choice of meats plus salads.  Gogibox is is the first quick-serve Korean food concept in Singapore and serves tasty, wholesome Korean meal. 

Grub Beef Noodle ($8.90)

Grub Pork Collar Noodle ( $9.90)

What better way to chill out with old and new friends at this interesting food outlet with a touch of technology to spice up our appetite. If you have not visited Five Square, do popped over with friends for an evening of nice food and company. 

Video

Thanks Soon Koon, Rachel, Christine and Ling Ling for the invite. 

More information on FIV五 Square:

Operating Hours

Mon-Sat 10am to 12am
Sun and Public Holidays - Closed

Location

 FIVE Square @ Pickering Street

1 Pickering Street #01-03, Singapore 048659

Great Eastern Building

A 5-minute walk from NEL Chinatown & Clarke Quay MRT Stations
A 7-minute walk from Raffles Place MRT Station

Parking available @ Great Eastern Building at the rate of $1.65 per hour

Website :

 http://fivebar.sg/ 

If you require an event photographer, wedding photographer or any other professional photography services, do email me ( Derrick See ) at see323@yahoo.com.sg . You can also message me at my  FACEBOOK account. To view my photos, click My Flicker Photos 

Ten Years in the making, the doors of the National Gallery Singapore finally opened on 24 Nov 2015

The doors of the National Gallery Singapore finally open to the public. It consists of two buildings, joined together, the Supreme Court and the City Hall. 

From 24 November to 6 December, there were Art Carnival on the Padang, live performances and the Share the Hope Façade, Stunning display of light, sound and visuals, set against the backdrop of the newly transformed National Gallery Singapore and inspired by the art within its walls.

Free general admission for Singaporeans and PRs. 
For more information, please visit the National Gallery Singapore website. 
Enjoy the photos that I have taken on the last day ( 6 Dec 2015 ) of the two weeks opening celebration period. 

If you require an event photographer, wedding photographer or any other professional photography services, do email me ( Derrick See ) at see323@yahoo.com.sg . You can also message me at my  FACEBOOK account. To view my photos, click My Flicker Photos 

Introducing PRIV, BlackBerry's First Powered By Android, Secure Smartphone in Singapore

I have never touch a BlackBerry smartphone before. My impression of the BlackBerry is targeted at corporate and business users. With it's trademark sliding keyboard, it looked impressive and security is greatest strength in any BlackBerry smartphone.

BlackBerry introduces PRIV. The first BlackBerry smartphone powered by android. But with Android, the question is whether it is still as secure as her BlackBerry 10 operating system. The answer is yes. PRIV also has a hidden sliding keyboard. You would not notice it as the phone is so slim. I wonder how they incorporate the sliding keyboard. A piece of cool design, functionality and a class by itself. 

PRIV was designed with security at its core, building on BlackBerry's legacy of security and keeping private its customer' data. Security highlights include :

Advanced Privacy Controls : The exclusive DTEK by BlackBerry app for Android monitors and reports on application access to the microphone, camera, location and personal information, enabling users to be confident that their personal data is being kept private. Users are able to know at a glance when their privacy could be at risk so that they can take action to improve it.

 Secure Hardware : Blackberry's hardware has a unique manufacturing process by injecting cryptographic keys into the device hardware, providing a secure foundation for the entire platform.

Verified Boot and Secure Bootchain : Keys have been embedded to verify every layer of the device from hardware to OS to applications in order to make sure they have not been tampered with. In addition, thousands of modifications were make to harden the Linux Kernel with numerous patches and configuration changes to improve security.

Fully supported on BlackBerry's EMM Solutions : PRIV can be integrated with the leading EMM solution, BES 12, which offers cross-platform management of PRIV and other devices; providing a full end to end security solution and secure collaboration applications for business users like Secusuite for secure voice and WatchDox for secure file sharing.

PRIV also bring a new standard for Slider Form Factor. With the cross-platform strategy, it provide a greater choice of secure solutions to customers. A seamless merging of key BlackBerry 10 productivity features such as the BlackBerry Hub and Calendar into PRIV. Other key features include.

1. Full Android App and Ecosystem Experience

2. Best of Both Keyboards

3. Tough and Beautiful Screen

4. Full-day Battery Life

5. State-of-the-Art Camera

6. Powerful Performance and Expandable Storage

7. BlackBerry Natural Sound

8. Android for Work.

For more information on PRIV, click here

My Opinion

If security and privacy are important considerations for your smartphone selection, BlackBerry PRIV should be the best smartphone for you, whether it is going to be for business or for personal use. 

Availability and Pricing

PRIV will be available from mid-December at an RRP of SGD 1,098 inclusive of GST. Interested customers will be able to purchase PRIV from M1, Singtel, StarHub and through other BlackBerry authorised partners.

If you require an event photographer, wedding photographer or any other professional photography services, do email me ( Derrick See ) at see323@yahoo.com.sg . You can also message me at my  FACEBOOK account. To view my photos, click My Flicker Photos 

Top tips for setting up your home for sound!

The above photo is only for illustration. 

Have you always wondered what you can do to bring the best out of the audio equipment that you already have, to experience the most wonderful entertainment at home? Whether it’s your TV, subwoofer or sound bar. Below are some tips.

Where to sit

This is an important factor to maximise audio in your living room. First, you shouldn’t sit too far or too close to the TV screen. The ideal set up for your TV versus couch should be calculated as – Diagonal length of HDTV x 2 = Distance from TV (in feet) – to get the best of surround sound. Second, your main seating location couch should be placed at least one foot away from the rear wall so that bass don’t sound too distorted. Third, the sound bar should be placed directly below the TV, while speakers should be turned 22-30 degrees towards the left and right from where you sit. Lastly, make sure nothing comes between the device and your ears as it’ll block the audio goodness.

Evaluate your room

If echo is strong in your room, try adding sound absorption materials or hard staggered objects such as curtains, books, photo frames and rugs around the area to disperse sound into all directions. Everything in the room impacts how sound travels, so there should be a balance to combat unwanted sound reflection or absorption.

Sound bars beat TV speakers

Full surround sound system is pricey and takes up large space. If you have a cozy little living room, a sound bar is the way to go. It not only enhances audio from the movies and videos you’re watching, it also lets you play music and tunes when you’re entertaining guests.

Subwoofer

Subwoofers give that extra oomph to sound effects and audio tunes. Place a subwoofer at different locations around the room to find out where the bass is most deep and sounds the best.

Hopefully these tips will be helpful for you to re-evaluate how you set up your living room! 

You may also want to watch the video below for a better explanations on the tips. 

Mr. UnBelievable Special Preview and Movie Review

This is truly the most amazing Singaporean movie ever made. Singapore most popular dialect Hokkien also came into the movie as one of active ingredients. It also happened in the year when Singapore celebrated 50th years of nation building ( SG50 2015). The passing of Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, our Singapore founding father, all become successful ingredients for a good and delicious movie. 

As Singaporean, we understood our multi culture and languages well and because of the rojak (mixed-up languages), we have a  laughable common language deeply embedded into our DNA. The movie addresses all these together with good actings from the various actors. Remembering the past and putting the retro into play, also help to bring back good old memories of the past Singapore. Indeed, it helps to connect the older generations of Singaporeans including me to feel for the movie. At the same time, let the younger generations understand the old Singapore.

The movie does give hope to those who are still struggling in the Singapore society but bring joys to those who are watching the movie. That feel good feelings simply fill our needs for wanting more from this movie. 

With all the laughters we heard from the audience, especially the one sitting next to my wife, that laughter was a genuine and happy one ( you know who you are ). Amidst the laughters, then came the tears at the end when our founding father photo, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew appeared and words on the SG50 song touched our hearts as we remember Singaporeans including myself queued quietly without any complains (we usually complain a lot) to pay our last respect for our founding father. 

Mr. UnBelievable SG50 Song

At the end of special preview of the movie, a surprise was installed for the audience. The director and three actors came down from the back to greet the audience. I happened to be the official photographer for this special preview. Here are the photos of our beloved actors. 

The director, Ong Kuo Sin (王国燊) and lead actor Chan Tian Wen (陈天文) have performed well in their roles and interestingly, Mr. Unbelievable started much earlier as a viral video in Youtube which garnered a huge followings. This may well be the best marketing strategy to turn a video clip into a successful full fledged movie. We shall never forget about this movie. Hopefully, there will be a part 2 coming soon. 

I shall rated this movie 4.2 / 5.  Currently showing in the cinema near you. Oh before I forget, expect some twists at the end of the movie. Remember to watch it on the big screen to appreciate. 

Once again, thanks to Clover Films SG and Kevin for the invite. 

Introducing the Stars

What others thinks of the movie

Trailer

Mr. UnBelievable Lesson on Hokkien 

If you require an event photographer, wedding photographer or any other professional photography services, do email me ( Derrick See ) at see323@yahoo.com.sg . You can also message me at my  FACEBOOK account. To view my photos, click My Flicker Photos