SINGAPORE BIENNALE 2008 (PART 01)

Looking for any cool spots to bring your girl to this October? Check out the Singapore Biennale... an international contemporary visual arts exhibition organised by the National Arts Council, Singapore. And both of us (Charmaine & I) being art lovers, just couldn't miss this chance to view the artworks, & date at the same time. =P

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We met up after her training, & coincidentally bumped into Anli & Melissa @ City Link. We bought some Subway cookies & headed over to one of the exhibition sites @ City Hall (the other @ South Beach Development). On our way walking to City Hall, we saw one of the public artworks located outside Raffles City. It appears that various public artworks were also scattered around Raffles City, Esplanade Bridge, Suntec City, Clifford Pier, Central Promontory Site & Singapore Flyer. We saw another piece of such artwork the night before, located under the Esplanade Bridge, where I met up with Charmaine & sent her home, on my way back home from NTU.

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The public artwork we saw under the bridge was "Lightlines" by Hans Peter Kuhn. There were six 50m long rods of light, each looking like an enormous neon strip under the moonlight. In my opinion, it wasn't as impressive as it sounded to me. Alright but not fantastic. Take a look yourself.

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The other public artwork I mentioned outside Raffles City, named "Fantasmas" (Phantoms), was by Issac Montoya. The image is a rainbow-coloured portrait of a young woman, hair seemingly in dread locks, with her mouth open. But looking through two coloured screen booths nearby (one red, the other blue), the image completely changes. See for yourself.

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Arriving @ City Hall, we bumped into JunXiong & his girlfriend, walking alongside City Hall. We exchanged a few words & a few glances as he saw Charmaine with me. Before we continued into the building, it occurred to me that the exterior of the City Hall looked really nice with the huge stairs in front of the building, the tall majestic pillars, all that 18th century British colonial architecture & stuffs. Anyway I bought my ticket at the counter for only $5 (student price), while Charmaine just flashed her complementary ticket without paying anything. We also each received a Biennale guidebook which showed every artwork exhibited throughout the island.

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The first artwork we saw is "Maggots" by Ngoc Duong Pham, which I thought was kinda cute but disgusting at the same time. However the next piece was more interesting, and it had an very interesting concept which got everybody involved. It's called "Singapore" by Wit Pimkanchanapong. He has recreated a Google Earth image-map of Singapore covering the whole floor of the Chamber room in City Hall. Stickers or tags were provided, whereby visitors may tag their messages onto the map. Much like tagging information or messages on virtual maps, except this is done in the real, physical world, with the interaction between real people as they witness themselves performing the tagging.

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Just take a look at the floor - so many tags on the map!
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Look! Somebody tagged a message to my dragonboat coach Ah Hee too, "I LOVE AH HEE". The picture in the center is where we trained for dragonboat at Kallang. And lastly that's me trying to find where both Charmaine & I are staying.

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We finally found where we stayed. The first picture reveals where Charmaine lives, but I'm gonna keep it a secret =P. That's Serangoon Garden & Chomp Chomp in the center picture. And that's my home in Potong Pasir in the last picture, but some bugger already stuck a tag over my place so you can't see it.

And then there's even the map of Pulau Tekong, BMTC. I was totally escalated when I saw it on the map, cuz it brought back so many memories when I was in BMTC as a recruit & then, as a officer (instructor). I wanted to show Charmaine the location of Jaguar Coy, the company where I held my instructor role but once again, some bugger already pasted a tag over it & we can't see it anymore. This was the artwork that we spent the most time on, before moving on to others.

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Next we went upstairs where more artworks are located. At the staircase, there was a painting "Raw Canvas" by Jane Lee, on the wall. The Singaporean artist used thick swathes of paint to create an impression of woven fabric. Fabric covers & reveals; it shapes us. It can tell stories about the person, or hide them at the same time. Lee's 3D painting appears to drip with its grooves & folds making every obsessive wrinkle available for our inspection. It is like a cloth that speaks or keeps its secret.

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That's all for now... I shall leave the rest of the Biennale Tour @ City Hall to another post, cuz there's simply too many pictures/artworks to cover in one entry. Till then... Stay healthy & cheers, people! =]

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Exhibition Dates:
- 11 September to 16 November 2008

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Exhibition Hours:
- Tuesdays to Sundays, from 11am to 8pm
- Closed on Mondays

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Admission:
- Single Entry Pass: $10
- Each entry pass includes a one-time entry to City Hall & South Beach Development
- Entry to all other venues is complementary except the Singapore Flyer
- 30% discount for all PAssion Card holders
- 50% discount for Senior Citizens (60 & above) & students with valid ID

TOUGH TIMES DON'T LAST, TOUGH MEN DO:

See this picture? That was like my nose all through Tuesday night and Wednesday... Just visualize it with a loose tap, a lot more flow, and a whole lot less gracefulness. Well, maybe also a lot more mess, judging from the mountain of tissue papers piling up in the rubbish bin and a whole lot of disturbing noises (like when you blow into a tissue).

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My whole point is that it was hell going through all these AGAIN (yeah, it happened once before, crap~), while studying for another major 4AU quiz on Thursday. Going through all the online lectures (I counted - 15 of them)... It's like a movie marathon or something, minus the 'fun' part. And it's harder to concentrate on them especially when you're not feeling well. I got only in-between naps, & not 7-8 hours sleep during these tough times. I think it's getting far too damaging for me (at this age). =P Late nights, insufficient rest, pushing your body to its limit...

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The quiz is finally over, I can't say I fared well for it, I dunno. I just dunno... But at least now, it's over and I can really get some good rest now. I'm feeling all exhausted & drained now, from the stomach flu, to the cold & sore throat all in a short span of 5 days (Sunday till Thursday). My friends analyzed it for me, they say it's due to my late nights that my stomach produces more acid - which led to the stomach flu & cramps, after extended period of times. And that lowered my immune system. Coupled with the stress of one more quiz, lack of healthy food when you're staying in hall & even more lack of rest/sleep, the cold & sore throat decided to kick in & join in the fun.
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I used to do this all the time. But now, my body doesn't seem to be coping quite well with my usual way of doing things. So now, I've decided to lead a Healthy Lifestyle~! Well, at least try to... Sufficient rest, exercise, essential nutrition from my diet, more studies & less crap. Haha...
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Oh yeah, regarding the driving after my quiz on Thursday, it went pretty well. The lesson whereby I made the least mistakes, & had my smoothest drive. Initially I thought I'll be too darn tired to concentrate on the wheels, but that was totally opposite to my case. The footwork was fine. The changing of gears was fine. The control of the steering was fine. The picking up & slowing down of speed was fine too. Of course, there are still some minor hiccups... but that's all fine. It went well. Guess when you're not so tensed over something, you might even perform better. =]
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Things coming up:
10th Oct - HW310 Presentation
13th Oct - MS4525 Materials & Energy Quiz 2
28th Oct - MS4523 Polymer Synthesis Quiz 2

30th Oct - MS4520 Polymer Technology Quiz 2
07th Nov - Driving Test
Ongoing - FYP
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Gentlemen, the tough times are now. They're not over yet. Focus, focus, focus~!!!

LYRICS:
She likes me for me
Not because...
...
...
She's the one for me
And I just can't live without her
My arms belong around her
And I'm so glad I found her once again
And I'm so glad I found her once again
Yeah, I'm so glad I found her once again.
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We managed to find this 'old song' that we both found familiar.

Even though, I gave her all the wrong words to the lyrics... ={
We got something telepathic going on, I must say... =P
Now I'm addicted to this song.
As long as we are together, I believe there's nothing we can't do...
I believe my arms belong around her ♥...
Even seeing her face online on web cam lightens up my weakened spirits. =]
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Word of Advice:
Always find someone who loves you for who you are
And love someone for who he/she is.
Never try to change someone, & don't try to be someone different.
You will soon realise that it's far too taxing to hold up that facade. You won't be happy.
It never works out, & the repercussion can be damagingly deadly.
When that happens, things are gonna fall apart anyway... sooner or later.
Having said that, to love someone for who he/she is, & for that someone to love you for who you are.
You need to get to know that someone well enough, & let that someone know you well too.
And that takes time & effort on both your part.

(I'm glad I found that someone, who I can be comfortable with)
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Rule of the thumb: "Rome wasn't built in one day".
Let things flow...

Missing you once again~
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Sunday was practically spent on mugging...
Plenty of online lectures, coupled with insufficient rest resulted in a sick Leslie on the day of quiz itself (Monday).
Vomited on the morning itself, after that it was just plain discomfort & pain that attacked my stomach.
Couldn't really study much after that... just kept tossing & turning on the bed, in between attempts to go through the tutorials.
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Fortunately, the quiz itself wasn't that difficult (just don't know whether the questions were answered to the point, that's all).
Thank goodness, my performance at the quiz wasn't that far off...
If not I would have been really emo about the amount of time spent studying versus the results from the quiz.
After the quiz, roomie and I went to 7-eleven to get some medication
I then realised that there's actually medicine for every & any sickness - cold, cough, headache, indigestion, gastric pains, fever.
You name it, I'm sure they have it... In any case, I got mine.
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Went back to hall, pop some pills & went straight to bed.
Woke up at 12:30pm & went for Lab Training till 3:30pm.
Too shagged for anything, struggled back to hall & headed straight for the bed again.
The next time I woke up was... get this - 12 midnight~!
I just slept throughout the day without lunch & dinner, but I really had no appetite to start eating anything, anyway.
Instead, I made myself a nice hot cup of Horlicks, ate some crackers & started mugging for the upcoming MS4003 quiz this Thursday!
The work just never ends~!
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Finally, you're back from training camp! Can't wait to meet up... dunno when =P
"You know I can't smile without you"...

DAY TWO WITHOUT YOU
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Dragonboat training in the morning: mine @ Bedok reservoir, yours @ Kallang ("so near yet so far")
Recovered my handphone from JinHan. Saw your messages... (Sorry to make you worried =P)
Went for lunch with some guys @ Bedok interchange. Had KFC...
Thanks to Melvin's Popular card which helped all of us saved $1-off our 2 piece chicken meals. KUDOS to Melvin~!
Training supposedly ended at 12pm, but I only reached home at around 4:17pm... which means I wasted 4 hours of NOT studying.
Damnit, stressed!... And the 854 bus ride was totally unpleasant - squeezy & stuffy.
A Quick shower & got to studying, with no time to waste...
Finished one more online lecture before my eyes finally shut @ 5:49pm.
Woke up @ 9:37pm. Had dinner & continued to study again.
Time now: 5:38am & still studying. OMG~
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I got the formula to memorise your handphone number by heart.
I'm never gonna forget it again now.
This 8 numbers will become one of the most important numbers in my life~ =P
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Day two has passed without you by my side. Torturous, I say!
But I know~ Absence makes the heart grow fonder!
And like you said, "It's like falling in love all over again♥."
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Loving you today, tomorrow, and forever too... =]

Blades of Glory (NTU version): It's the Recess Week for us in NTU... so I thought maybe a good old batch outing amongst all the trainings, would be fun! And it was, although not everyone could make it! And seeing JingXian performing all his "dance moves/stunts" on his blades for us, that was very entertaining! Way to go, ex-captain~!

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The day didn't started off that well as it poured heavily in the morning. However our spirits were not dampened by that, although I did received some SMS'es asking me whether the blading will proceed as per normal... hahaha

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All throughout the week, we had clear & sunny weather, & the one day we plan to have a blading session @ East Coast Park, it RAINS~! Diaoz~ Tough luck... But nonetheless, since our objectives were clear - to blade @ ECP, thus we continued to blade in the drizzling rain. We managed to wait out & the sun came out, the temperature rose, and the puddles of water on the road were gone in no time at all. But by that time, most of us were already exhausted to continue anyway. Haha~ And I think at the end of the day, most of us have become quite proficient in blading as well. =)

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"Some pictures of us on the road, learning how to blade..."
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So we returned the blades we rented. Anyway, the service at the "Skateline" rental station was fabulous. They provide free socks & protection gears. And their attitudes were friendly... They even helped to air blow Jinhan & my personal blades, with their pressurized air spray. Oh yeah, most importantly, the rate of renting the blades is $10 for 3 hours! So cheap!

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"That's us at "Skateline", removing our gear at the end of the session..."
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After that, we went to the Lagoon for lunch. The food there is expensive, but all I could think of was getting myself a cup of ice-cooling sugarcane juice to quench my thrist! I ordered Roxy Laska, the same as I used to ordered when I was younger. A pity the standard of the Roxy Laska was not as fantastic as when I used to have them in the past.

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After lunch, good o'JinHan (one of my top 5 friends) gave most of us a lift to Eunos & Hougang MRT stations, despite being exhausted himself. KUDOS to our 龍舟小王子 (Little Dragonboat Prince)~!!! 4:30pm - I finally reached home, I immediately took a cold shower, made myself comfortable & took a nap, which lasted me all the way till 9:30pm. I woke up & immediately went for my books, all the way till 4+am.

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That's basically what I did on this Friday. The only bad thing was that while I was dozing off in JinHan's car, I accidentally left my handphone behind in his car. Just when I needed my handphone the most, as Charmaine was away on her 4D3N Ngee Ann Dragonboat Training Camp - the handphone is my only means of communication with her~! Now I can't call or even SMS her. I never knew how 8 numbers can be so important to me until now... =(

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<=More Group Photos=>
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"I wonder how you are doing now? I've been missing you like crazy this whole time~ And I hope everything goes smoothly for you during your training camp. Watch out for your knee! and come back to me safely~" =]

Today's Message: TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR LIFE.

There are lots of things we desire to own in this life, aren't there? Many of them are fine & dandy, as the saying goes. But there is one most important thing we own that many people never think about owning, & that is their life!

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They spend a lot of time thinking about the next set of golf clubs, a vacation home, or a new piece of jewelery, but they never really think about ownership of their life. Whenever it comes time to be responsible, they end up placing the blame somewhere else, rather than realizing that they are the owner & so they are responsible.

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You only own one person - YOU. You don't own your spouse. You don't own your boss. You don't own your parents. You don't own your kids (with kids, you are in charge of them, given the tremendous responsibility of teaching them to own their own lives, but you most certainly do not own them). No, there is only one person you own, & that person is You. Now, that is great news, isn't it? You don't have to worry about running anyone else's life! This is a temptation for us all, isn't it? We just know how everyone else should do it, & with many of them we try to take ownership & run their lives! Well, hands off! Take care of yourself first. Take control of your own life since it is the only one you own. You don't try to drive someone's car from the supermarket parking lot, so don't try to drive their lives either! You own only you - so stick to you!

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You get to choose what to do with only one person - you. Once you have come to realise that you own you, instead of choosing what other people should do, you get to focus on choosing what you get to do. You get to begin to shape and mold your life.

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Your ownership means you can do what you want with yourself. Your life is a blank sheet of paper. You can choose whatever you want to do. You can have whatever profession you want. You can earn as much money as you desire. You can marry whoever you fancy, as long as you suit their fancy too, by the way. Stop wishing and start choosing! You can choose whatever you want and take whatever actions you choose to rectify any situation you are in! Life is about making choices; you move on & you don't look back...

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Your ultimate destination in life is set by you, not anyone else. Where you will end up? Wherever you choose to end up. You will do well to get it in your mind that some day you will be seventy years old & you will be at a certain place, & the only thing that got you there were the choices you made all along the way... along these seventy years... Imagine that, when you were thirty, you have forty years - FORTY YEARS - of choices that can put put you right where you want to be at the end of your life! Then you reach fifty-five, who cares? You probably have at least twenty years left! You still have TWENTY YEARS to get yourself to whatever destination you choose. Do you know what a person can do in twenty years? ALMOST ANYTHING THEY SET THEIR HEART ON!

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The responsibility for your life, & what you accomplish, is found in one person - YOU. You will accomplish what you choose to accomplish. You will make & save as much money as you choose to. You will write as many books as you choose to. You will take as many vacations as you choose to. You will have the kind of relationship you choose to. What you accomplish is entirely up to you! Take that seriously!

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Focus on your values & live them out, regardless of what other people do. This is important. We do not live our lives in a vacuum. We need to be thoughtful about we believe in, about what our values are, & what our moralities are. These are the things that will all shape how we go about exerting ownership of our lives. But once we have come to understand these things for ourselves, the power to live our lives increases tremendously. Now it doesn't matter what anyone else does. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are. We live out of our moralities, values & beliefs. These are the principles that transcend everything else & enable us to set our course!

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This seems like a lot of responsibility, but consider it a freedom & privilege! We only get one life to live & we get to shape it however we want. This is one job we should really take seriously & not mess up! With diligence, hard work, & a lot of right decisions, I hope we all get to the end of our lives deeply fulfilled.

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take ownership of your life; be responsible; be true to others & yourself; it's as simple as that.

Monday, 22 September, 2008... Yay! After much await, the decision finally came through that there won't be any training on Monday evening. My, do you have any idea how hard it is to fix a date for a Lin Clan Outing amongst 1) schools quizzes, 2) Caryn's busy schedule for outings with secondary school classmates, poly classmates, university classmates etc, 3) Anli's weekend family days, and 4) my driving lessons & dragon boat trainings? No? We have to book each other two weeks prior. Even so, Eugenia still couldn't make it... It is THAT HARD to gather all the members of the Lin Clan. But all's well ends well...

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The agenda for today's outing is to try out the famous cheesecakes @ Cheesecake Cafe. We met up at Kembangan Station in the evening... where we all squeezed into Anli's picanto, & set off for dinner @ Different Taste, Frankel Avenue. First off, KUDOS to Anli for recommending the place to us. The decor n setting isn't all that splendid but that was beside the point, the restaurant was more of a "family dinner" place during the weekends kind of setting.

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We ordered several dishes like 1) Assam Curry Fishhead which was mouthwatering, 2) Assorted Vegetables with Tofu, 3) Prawn paste Chicken which was also delicious!, 4) Prawn omelette, and a plate of 5) Penang Hor Fun which was tasty too. From the sound of things, you can tell that it was really appetizing, especially the Curry Fishhead. Charmaine & me each had two servings of rice (and were still hungry after that). Basically the food is good! & the price is reasonable. Each of us only had to pay like $13 bucks for a really satisfying meal. Definitely a must-come-back for me in the future. =)

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After the fulfilling dinner, we proceeded onto the course on the menu: DESSERTS~! Unfortunately, due to Caryn's wrong info, we went to the Cheesecake Cafe on one of the two days in the week (Monday & Tuesday) when they are closed for business... What are the odds? Two out of seven... and we went on that exact day after much planning & forward-looking. Haha~

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Check out their Website if you're interested. Tells you everything you need to know~!
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So instead, we went to Ice Cream Chefs. Don't worry, the milk they use is Meiji, which I think is from Japan, not from China. =p So it's okay, especially during this China Milk saga... Anyway, the ice creams they sell are quite interesting, they have homemade flavors like Kaya Lotee, Milo Peng, Durian Decadence, Honeydews and Chocolates & Hersheys. Other more common flavors are Strawberries & Vanilla Beanies. So you can choose 1 flavor, 2 flavors or 3. Then after that, you can choose your "mix-in's" (up to 3) which are basically little tibits you can add in with your ice creams. They include things like Kinder Bueno, Maltese chocolate, Famous Amos cookies, Oreo cookie, almond, nuts etc.

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My creation was Strawberries + Kaya Lotee + Famous Amos, which equals to Mind blowing! haha... The girl at the counter had her doubts, when she asked me whether I wanted to mix the two flavors together. But the outcome was YUMMY-licious~ We hung out around the shop for quite some time, talking nonsense, snapping pictures & occupying the seats. The shop is very small, I think it can only house like 10 customers inside, but you can also set up tables & sit outside. They even have a "Hall of fame" wall where customers can pin up their group photos. Some of the pictures are very interesting. And the staffs are friendly too. Anyways, a definitely must-try on your list of dessert places to try out! =) KUDOS to whoever suggested that place...

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