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♥♥♥ Differences in Idaho and Singapore~! ♥♥♥

♥♥♥Hello Everyone~!

Today I would like to talk about the Differences between living here in Idaho and in Singapore.

1. Service ♥♥♥♥♥
Service here is SO GOOD~!!!! Everyone is so friendly and you will not feel pressurized to buy anything at all, even if you walk into a Coach shop. No salesperson would be standing there watching your every move like how some shops in SG such as Sasa. Although I understand that they fear we may steal the cosmetics and etc.

Even if you do not buy anything, they still make you feel like a superstar. That's right! They would greet you when you walk in, and greet you again when you walk out. Departmental stores or bigger shops like F21 will not do that. People here are ever so friendly!

2. FOOOOOD ♥♥♥♥.5
THEY ARE SO GENEROUS WITH THE PORTION SIZE. In SG, when you takeaway something, if they fill up to a little more than 3/4 you should be happy but over here, THEY FILL AS MUCH AS THEY CAN!!! There is once where someone ate a Thai fried rice served in a pineapple. The rice was filled to the brim, all stuffed up. She also brought out a smaller bowl of the fried rice rice saying that these could not fit into the pineapple. This would never happen in SG or at least I have not been to any place that would do that. I mean SG just does not seem to be so generous sometimes.

I ate at Tucanos and i ordered a mojito i think. In the picture, a small, short glass was shown but what came out was a full big glass! A pity I did not take picture of the drinks though,,, Tucanos is a buffet where there is this cylinder wood where it has the colours of a traffic light. When the green is at the top, servers will come to your table with different kind of meats mainly, roasted pineapples which are delicious!. Shall take pictures the next time I eat there. When you feel like you have too much food or want to eat more food from the food bar you just turn it upside down where the red is pointing upwards and they will stop coming to your table.

The food portion is generally BIG since they are also generous. You can order 'Lunch Size" during lunch timings and the portion will be smaller and its is also cheaper than the usual portions, called "Dinner Size". You can get HUGE cake slices at USD 7.95 at The CheesecakeFactory.

If you eat at Asian Restaurants, even Western Restaurants, more often than not, you will have to say "Less Oil, Less Salt" for Chinese Food and "Less Salt" for Western soups. First time we cam here and tried Chiense food we got a RUDE SHOCK!! the Wonton soup we ordered was SOOOOO SALTY!!!!!!!! From then onwards we always say "Less Salt and Less Oil" and the taste was just right. If you are used to eating foods that are saltier etc, then you should be fine. Desserts and Drinks can be SUPER SWEET TOO!!!!!!!! :X ughhh.... most of the time drinks are pre-mixed already :(

There is a Vietnamese Restaurant, Pho Bac famous for its Beef Noodle Soup whereby you can choose if you want your to be MSG free or not! If there is no MSG there will be small amounts of oil in the soup to bring out the tastes and there is no oil at all in the soup with MSG. The FLAVOURS ARE SO FAR APART!!!

When I went to eat at City Buffet and China Grand Buffet and I was quite surprised too. In SG, usually people will avoid the carbohydrates: Noodles, Fried Rice, etc and eat more of the side dishes like crabs, lobsters, sashimi, etc. but the first thing than you can see mexican take is a plate filled with noodles/beehoon fried rice! I learned from a Taiwanese friend that Mexicans love Chinese food. and one more specail thing that probably would NEVER happen in SG: YOU CAN DO TAKEAWAYS!!!!!!!! They would give you a box and you can choose a dish you want and fill it up. There are different prices though, depending on how many veg or meat dishes you take. They may weigh them too. And the boxes here are BIG SQUARE styrofoam boxes which has some depth on the top and bottom, filling more food. The staffs in City Buffet are mainly from China so FINALLY! a place that speaks Chinese! :D Both both Buffet places only sell sashimi sushi, no sashimi slices.

If you go to food courts, Chinese mixed rice can be USD6 plus when you order 3 sides. and its is SALTY and OILY. SG's worst hawker centers' food probably win some of the Chinese eating places. You can also find Japanese, Korean, Indian, Thai food here~!

2a. Sauces ♥♥♥
Sauces here can be very different compared to SG. They do not have Chilli sauce. If they have, their Chilli sauce taste so different as their is SO SOUR as they are mainly made from peppers. The more spicy it is, it can be more sour. Their BBQ Wings is actually heavily flavoured brown BBQ sauces, which is very different when you order "BBQ Chicken WIngs" in SG. Sriracha Hot Sauce is also commonly found here. US citizens cant seem to take spicy food.

3. Alcohol ♥♥♥♥♥
Alcohol is SOOOO CHEAP HERE!!! A 750ml bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label Whisky is USD30plus! But the legal drinking age is 21. When you enter those shops selling cigarettes and beer (they seem to come hand in hand always) the shopkeeper will check your ID. The legal age for smoking is 18.

Wherever restaurant/ eating places you go, when you order an alcoholic drink, the server will ask you to show your ID before she walks off to process your order. As long as you look younger than 40, you'll have to show your ID each time you order alcoholic beverages and if you buy cigarettes. Cigarettes are very cheap here too. A pack of 20's is probably USD 3?

4. Toilets ♥♥
FEMALE TOILET CUBICLES have gaps between the door and the door frame so big that you can look out and people , if queuing outside can look into your cubicle and see what you are doing. -.-""" I am not sure for male toilets,,,

5. Furniture ♥♥♥
Furniture here are VERY EXPENSIVE!! A simple 3-seater sofa set can cost USG799. A simple chair can cost USD30++. So it is not advisable to buy furnitures here.

6. Electronics ♥♥♥♥♥
LAPTOPS ARE CHEAPPPPP~!!!! you can find BRAND NEW LAPTOPS STARTING FROM USD198~!!! I do not remember seeing any laptop below USD100 though. In SG it is so hard to find laptops that costs 3-digits. Most of the laptops start from probably $999 when there is a sale to a few thousand. I was so amazed when I saw the laptops. Television are cheap too! We bought a 55" Samsung Smart TV at USD700 plus! During Black Friday SAle Electronic products are also SO MUCH CHEAPER~!! I bought my iPad Mini at USD100~!!! the following Monday is a Cyber Monday so more electronics ON SALE~!!!

7. Branded Goods ♥♥♥♥♥
So far I have yet to buy any branded bags but there are departmental stores here that sell branded products from bags, shoes, clothings, perfumes, jewelleries, watches, etc at VERY LOW PRICES as you can see on the price tag, it will say "Compare at...". There was once I saw these boots and it says
"
$99.90
Compare at $260.00

"
Of course for the bags usually they are all probably last season's but if you are not in a rush you can save more and wait as you really can save a lot of money. Some places give out coupons and eveb accept them long after they have expired!!! So nice! :D

8. Clothings ♥♥♥♥♥
Female's clothings have NICER DESIGNS than in SG. H&M, Forever 21, etc all their designs are very different from SG. Clothes are cheap here too. Especially evening dresses, gowns, etc. A good quality working dress in SG would probably cost $39.90 and above, but you can get it below USD30 here. Elegant dresses for dinners and parties or other special occasions can be found as low as USD40.

GUY's clothings however, have little design varieties. The clothes are mainly Plain Hoodies, Checked Shirts. Thats all.

9. Jewelries~!!! ♥♥♥♥♥
Jewelries here are mainly of Silver and 10k Gold in lower end departmental stores. Diamonds are CHEAPPPP compared to SG. Of course there are the expensive ones too. Cubic Zirconia, man-made opal and other gems are commonly found too. Diamond rings here have designs that can be very complicated. The designs are mainly 'Loud" rather than simple and elegant. Man-made Opal looks very unique and pretty. Here is how it looks like. (taken from ebay and www.sandwichauction.com)

Watches here are cheap too!!! A G-Shock watch can cost around USD100 over rather than around $300 and over in SG.

10. Tipping! ♥♥♥♥♥
It is important to NEVER forget to give tips. During lunch, its about 10-15%, and 15-20% during dinner and you would usually need to give slightly more if you all came in bigger groups. Maybe it is probably why their service is awesome here almost no matter where you go as I have not been everywhere :) .

You must also give tips to service providers like when you cut your hair, paint nails, groom your pet, shape your eyebrows, etc. You do not need to provide tips for major fast-food restaurants. In some fast-food or small food or coffee places there will be a jar that say "Tips" or something like that.

11. Drinks! ♥♥♥♥♥
If you are trying a drink for the first time or if they recommend to blend a drink for you, they always say "If you do not like it, you can tell me and I'll make something else for you." There was once I asked "Which beer would you recommend for me?" and she ask if I like fruity tastes and after I chose one, she said "Since it's your first time trying this it's on me. Tell me if you don't like it okay and I'll change something else for you." With a WIDE SMILE~!!

12. Asian Markets ♥♥♥♥
Thankfully there are Asian and Orient Markets where I can find CHINESE, JAPANESE, KOREAN, THAI, VIETNAMESE FOOD~!!! SO happy! I have seen products made in Singapore and Malaysia!!! Weehee~! I can find almost everything that can be found back home here! Even Pandan Leaf! But some Chinese New Year goodies that are comonly found in SG cannot be found here.

13. Groceries ♥♥♥♥♥
Fruits and Vegetables are SOOOOOOOOO FRESH and CHEAP HERE~!!! But the fruits and vegetables here are seasonal. You may not get to eat the same type of fruits and vegetables all year round. -

Häagen-Dazs would also have limited edition flavours based on different seasons!

Fishes and Seafood have less variety here though. Crabs are all cooked, no live crabs. FDA recommeds "Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury." in a week and fishes here are mainly deep sea fishes and some fishes are warned to avoid eating at all. There are also places where it is like a wholesale center and the products are cheaper although they come in bigger bulk and packaging size. Prawns sold here are headless :) Its is very rare to see prawns with head!

There is a LARGE VARIETY OF FROZEN FOOD!!! You can easily find a complete dinner with a steak, mashed potatoes and beans in a frozen food box! Breakfasts, Entrees, Pizzas, Desserts, you name it! There are also ready-to-eat meals in boxes and you can just store it at room temperature. These are super cheap!! You can get like 2 meals for less than USD2! Although it is not nutritious...

Ever since I started to live here, I have been reading every food labels before I buy them. I became more health conscious! Sometimes I'll have to close one eye because I crave for that food and there is MSG in there.... I rarely put salt or other seasonings in my cooking but ♥♥♥Hubby♥♥♥ need to eat strong flavored food. For me, natural taste is the best. I do not need to add any dressing in salads, or eat my steak with the sauce provided, etc. One thing I must add is Cheese in my Pizza or western food!! You can easily buy a variety of cheese here though. Goat Cheese, Blue Cheese, etc.

14. Weather ♥♥♥♥♥
Of course it is WINTER now~!!! Hahaha It really is a snowy wonderland when it snows. Love to play in the snow!!! Am worried how to cope when I get back to Singapore as 26 Degrees Celcius is the heater temperature that I set my house to.

The air is very dry here and when it is snowing it is very cold with the wind blowing, air REALLY HURTS YOUR FACE. If you are using any oil control product, never use it here as your face will rarely be secreting oil and you should use products for dry skin and for moisturizers, find as oily as you can! My face got really dry here. What would have given my face the sticky oily feeling in SG feels like a thin layer of moisturizer here. You never have to worry about potato chips or uncooked pasta spoiling when you did not seal them back. Chewing gums: The longer you keep it after opening, the more CRISPY it becomes. That's right! It breaks so easily like a thin biscuit!

Although the weather is cold, all you need is a good jacket. For me, I do not like ot sweat hence I do not wear a thermal shirt beacuse as long as you are going anywhere indoors, it will be WARM because of the heater. Hence, the thermal shirt will make you sweat. I sometimes wear a thermal pants with my jeans though. You can always see BIG DOGS at the back of those pick up truck, exposed to the cold weather as their owners leave them there as they go indoors for a short shopping.

Although there are SOOOOOO MANY DOG-OWNERS here, there are a lot of places that do not allow you to bring your dog unless its a service dog. People are not shy to express themselves here. WHen they see Cookie, they would just exclaim out loud "IT'S SOOOO CUTE~!!! IS THAT A PUPPY?" and more. If you sneeze, people from afar can shout across "Bless You" hahaha~!!!

15. Driving
It's LEFT HAND DRIVE~!! And cars are SOOOOOO CHEAP! You can always see classic sports cars around from the 90's and 80's and they can still race and in good shiny condition! American and European cars are made to last 20 years or more but Japanese and Korean made cars are meant to last probably maximum is 10-15 years. There are many traffic lights where you can turn right on red light provided that there are no oncoming cars. It it compulsory to come to a FULL STOP at "Stop" signs, not come to a almost stop and roll slowly. If the traffic light changes to yellow, you need to attempt to slow down unless it is not safe for you to come to a full stop. If you speed up and pass the line at yellow light, you can still be fined for speeding because you did not make an attempt to slow down.

Speed limits are in mph(miles per hour) so on the Interstate highways the speed limit is 75mph, or 120km/h but there are cars who go faster than that. on a normal road/smaller highways there are always gradual posted speed limits, increasing as you go further away from the town area and decreasing as you approach the town area. Once you pass the speed limit sign, your speed must be the posted one or slightly lower. You can only be 10mph slower than the posted speed limit.

Children below the age of 7 MUST be in a CAR SEAT that fits them! and the car seats have an expiry date so you cannot just pass them around. Usually you can go back to certain stores for trade-ins.

Drivers are very patients here. There is only 1 or 2 that is impatient. They will not rush to cut lanes. Instead, if they are making a turn across traffic, they will wait until there is no cars or if you are really far. They will turn in such away that there is only enough time for them to make that turn. If you want to turn to shops on the other side of the road, you nee to go into a filter lane in the middle, which some calls "the suicide lane" because cars from both directions can be in there at the same time!

PEDESTRIANS ALWAYS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY~!!! Pedestrians are the biggest here. Cars will need to give way for them.

If you are on a 2 way street, and a school bus stops in front. cars going from both directions MUST STOP! You cannot overtake the school bus.

NO NEED TO BUY PARKING TICKETS~!! Unless you go downtown in Boise then you will need to pay for parking. Downtown have so many one-way street it is frustrating if you missed your destination. You will have to go in BIG ROUNDS! Petrol is MUCH CHEAPER HERE TOOOO~!! You must use your card to pay at the kiosk. If you want to use cash, you need to go to the cashier in the mart and pay, after that you will then be pumped automatically the amount you paid.

16. Shopping ♥♥♥♥♥
You should always always wait for Clearance sale if possible although there is a risk of not being able to find your size. Something that costs USD 30 over can become less than USD10! Something that is USD260 can become USD89! So if possible, always WAIT for sales!!! especially Clearance SALESSSS~!!! And the cheapest it can get at certain stores is : Buy 3 get 3 FREEEEE~!!! Some Departmental stores have a Holiday season section where the whole aisle is filled with products of the upcoming occasions like Valentine's Day, Easter, Christmas, etc.

17. Festivities~! ♥♥♥♥.5
There are ALOT oof Public HOlidays that fall on a Monday or Friday! So there will be a lot of longgg weekends! Thanksgiving and Christmas is a BIG THINGS here!! They even countdown to Christmas~! Black Friday sale after Thanksgiving is a BIG DEAL here! Thats when I saw the "ugly" side of the people here. once the time is up, people just TORE AWAY THE CLING WRAP and START SNATCHING~!!!! They would SQUEEZEEE, PUSHHHHH, CLAW, ELBOW so it is a really really UGLY SCENE,,, :( ♥♥♥Hubby♥♥♥ got scratched too and his cart was pushed far far away~! People here can be quite kiasu too as the sale starts at 5pm, they started standing around the products that they want and use their carts to form a barricade before 4pm and had to stand there for more than an hourrrrrrrrrrr.... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...................

18. People ♥♥♥♥♥
People here are Super Friendly and Helpful! ♥♥♥Hubby's♥♥♥ car broke down once and we stopped in front of a church at night. A few cars turned in and asked if we need any help! :D They are so ever-ready to help you if they see that you are in need.

♥♥♥Conclusion♥♥♥
In Conclusion, there are also things I miss in Singapore like Chinese New Year goodies, malay food, fish curry, Peking duck, and MANY MOREEE~!!!! But I am really having thoughts of living here for good :P Would like to bring my parents over too~! SHall observe how the other seasons turn out :D Summer can be even hotter than SG. >_<

Labels: Alcohol, Asian Market, Dogs, Driving, Electronics, Festivities, Food, Generous, Groceries, Holidays, Idaho, Jewelries, New Life, Service, Shopping, Singapore, Tips, USA, Very Friendly People, Weather

❤ "♥♥♥ Differences in Idaho and Singapore~! ♥♥♥" was Posted On: Monday, 10 February 2014 @2/10/2014 08:44:00 pm | 0 lovely comments ✿

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