Negative Feedback: VITAGEN DRINKS THAT TASTE.... NASTY. JUST NASTY.

Since young, I have always been a fan of Vitagen drinks.

My dad used to replenish them in the fridge whenever they ran out - and I would look forward to drinking one bottle each day (I was told not to have more than one bottle per day, boo!) There's just something about those drinks that made me feel delightful.

I mean, it's not often that you come across drinks that are tasty and YET a healthy one at the same time, right?

I'm not sure why my dad stopped replenishing them one day - I guess they are not really cheap.

It was not until recently my mum started to purchase them from our nearest NTUC again, and I was back to my Vitagen routine.

Honestly, it has been YEARS since I last had one - and I was thrilled. I drank them almost on a daily basis. Ah, the good ol' taste.

You know, I really wish I didn't have to type this because I've started off this entry on such a beautiful note. You might have thought this is just another advertorial about Vitagen and how much of a fan I am... Right???

Unfortunately, this isn't going to be a positive blog entry - and I am not complaining for the sake of complaining. In fact, it took me quite long to finally put this up - for the sake of anyone who might have experienced similar issues as me and this could mean potential health hazard.

Most of my Facebook friends might have seen this post I made on 26 October 2015; in which I immediately put up after taking a huge gulp of the Grape-flavored Vitagen drink that I thought would taste oh-so-heavenly.

To be honest, this was not my FIRST time tasting something weird from Vitagen drinks. The very first time I did, I decided not to kick a big fuss as I thought, "Well, probably just my imagination". I never knew Vitagen can taste bad anyway.

It was not until I opened my 2nd bottle and took such a huge gulp that soon became a huge regret. 

I did not feel anything strange when it was in my mouth as I swallowed too fast (Too bad, I'm born with a huge mouth) - but more of the AFTERTASTE that followed thereafter.

IF ONLY you readers can taste it from just looking at the picture. IF ONLY. Not that I am trying to be evil, but you just have to TASTE it to BELIEVE.

WAH - Can you imagine the bitterness (I can't even begin to explain it.. Shall I use bitter gourd as a comparison?) that overwhelmed my taste buds. There was no tinge of Grape at all, but more of a melted plastic chemical-ish taste. Any sane person will tell you that this is NOT how a Vitagen drink tastes like. I can bet my 500 bucks on it. 

It was as though someone has replaced the original drink with something pure evil in the bottle - and I was that unlucky fellow to take that huge gulp. 

By the time I was aware of the bad taste, I knew it was too late. I was completely helpless as I felt the cold sensation from the drink trickling down the walls of my throat.

Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.

The thought of throwing up crossed my mind. I was fearful of any harmful effect it would do to my body.

I did not do it eventually, but drank lots of water in hopes of flushing down instead. 

I ran to my mum, and told her to take a whiff.

AND GUESS WHAT SHE SAID even before she realized it?

"WAH VERY SMELLY AH!!! TAKE IT AWAY"

Can you imagine... imagine... that "smelly" smell was the one that entered my mouth?!

After the water flush, I wish things would turn for the better at this point - but NOPE. They just got uglier.

My tongue felt numb (it was similar to the kind of numbness you get when you scald your tongue after drinking hot soup), and it just wouldn't go away until the 2nd day.

Worst of all, I developed slight ITCHY red rashes on my body that night. Fortunately, they did not escalate to a point in which medical help was needed. The rashes faded the next morning.

AND MIND YOU, THE VITAGEN DRINK HAD NOT EXPIRED YET. 

(I wouldn't be posting this if it was as that would have been my bad, then. Lol)

There was still a week's life to it. (Noted that I posted that Facebook post on 26 October 2015 while the expiry date show on my Vitagen bottle was supposed to be in November 2015)

I still have a full packet of Vitagen drinks left that I did not dare to try after the experience. BUT seeing that it would be wasteful, I placed my faith in another bottle again.

Let me tell you - that bottle tasted bad as well. Just that it was not as bad as the former.

It was considered drinkable, but the aftertaste I got was disturbing. I expected it was my mind playing tricks, but I had my dad to taste it and he told me he could taste plastic from it as well.

"I don't remember Vitagen drinks to taste like this," he said. He put down the bottle and told me he dared not continue to drink it further as the taste was just not right.

Seriously, I have developed a Vitagen-phobia now (if there's ever such a phobia).

I did a research online to see if anyone had the same experience as me -and found a blog entry from Year 2012 that described the drink as being bitter as well. Apparently, I am not the only one.

Here's the entry, if you are interested to read it.

After posting it on Facebook, I have had friends commenting that they have not encountered such issues as they purchased their supplies from door-to-door Vitagen salesperson.

I'm happy for them that their impression of Vitagen has not tarnished like me. Mine was purchased from a different source, so I have no idea if that would be a contributing factor.

I just hope that Vitagen can maintain quality drinks as before. For now, I am most definitely not trying another bottle again. 

Really. I'm afraid. Very afraid.

If anyone has similar experiences as me, please do share.

[Complaint] One of the WORST dining experiences ever - Marché Mövenpick

I am posting this blog entry not because I want to soil the restaurant's reputation, but to share with everyone the negative first-hand experience I had - and hopefully they will improve their services in future.

When it comes to Marche, the first thing I could think of is their famous thick, delicious mushroom soup, and the crispy Rosti that has been highly raved.

Personally, I have patronised both of their different outlets at Vivocity and Orchard Somerset 313 - and I have to say that I do love the food variety there!

Call it a honest mistake, I actually thought the outlet at JEM, Jurong East, would be the same. I was not aware that the restaurant I stepped into was "Marche Mövenpick".

It was only after a research that I realized this new restaurant is indeed under Marche, but serves different types of food. In fact, it has a different concept altogether as it mainly serves Salad, pasta, pizzas.... Well, you get the drift.

I seldom patronize restaurants; so the main reason why I was there was due to a BFF's birthday celebration. (It was just a simple 3 person dinner)

I shall not begin to talk about the long waiting time (since I have MORE to complain about as you read on), but I'll cut to the chase and share with you what happened while we were in there.

When we were served the menu, we were kinda surprised by the limited food choices (Naïve us, we still thought there would be at least a bowl of soup but surprisingly, their restaurant does not appear to serve ANY-I repeat- ANY soup at all).

Disappointed by the food choices, we had no choice but to choose something since we have already settled down after a long waiting time for the seats.

Since we were at it, one of their staff came over and handed us our utensils - by DIRECTLY placing them on the table with NO serviette and NO plate.

(I had to "steal" serviette from other tables eventually)

How clean can your table be, may I ask??

Judging by the looks of the restaurant, it appears to be quite high-class (at least to me), but I guess their knowledge of hygiene is worst than any other coffee shops. *breathes in and out*

I shall try not to be too mindful about it.

Moving on next.

Since the restaurant does not serve any soup, we would need some water in one way or another, right?

We tried to look for decent drinks on their menu, but came to discover that most of them consisted of alcoholic drinks.

Being the 3 girls who do NOT drink at all, we thought we could just order one glass to share amongst ourselves.

I was quite concerned about the size of the drink though.

I began to ask the staff, "May I know what is the size of the drink?"

"I don't know," came the reply. "I'll check and let you know."

I was expecting that she would at least check and kindly tell me the size since I have asked, but sadly enough, she didn't.

Eh, you think I asked for fun izzit?

We ordered it anyway.

When our food finally arrived, I guess I wasn't too excited about it. I remembered taking the first mouthful and I was like "Damn... Am I going to survive the rest of my dinner hour to finish it?"

With a food that came with quite a hefty price tag, I knew I couldn't afford to be a chooser.

I can't complain much about the food since it's subjective (To be fair, the food may taste awful to me but delicious to others), but I have to be honest about my opinions.

The pasta tasted kinda' bland and tasteless. Probably it's meant to be healthy? I just knew I added a lot of vinegar, chilli flakes and even sugar just to have that bit of enhancement and finish it off.

As if it wasn't unenjoyable enough already, one incident happened that MADE ME SO INFURIATED. So much that I thought I just HAVE to blog about this.

As it was a birthday dinner, both another friend and I had prepared a small strawberry cake in advance, in which we had planned to reveal it nearer to the end of dinner.

My friend lit the candle quietly below the table and broke into a birthday song for her.

At this point of time, everything seemed well... Until...

 One of the staff walked over and told us with a no-smile face.

"Sorry, you can't bring in outside cake here."

"You can blow the candle, but keep it after that."

SAY WHAT?!


 Can't you at least give us that bit of face since it's obvious that we were doing it for a birthday occasion? (And mind you, it was not as though we were throwing a loud party in your restaurant. It was just a mere 3 -person dinner amongst ourselves)

And in case you are not aware, we did NOT even consume the cake at the restaurant. The candle was ours, and the cake was ours.
 We just wanted to hand the cake to her. Simple as that.

WHAT'S WRONG?

We have celebrated birthday dinners at plenty of other restaurants before, and mind you, MOST of them even helped us to keep our cake beforehand and served to us.

We did not even ask for such request from this ridiculous restaurant and yet the treatment we received was worst beyond our expectations.

I don't think it is very nice to tell your customers off just because they take out a cake at your restaurant.
So..In case any of you are planning a birthday surprise.. You can forget about this restaurant.
They will end up spoiling your plan and I am sure you don't want that.
You've been warned.



When Virtual meets Reality

As ironic as it may sound, I do have my dislikes for social media at times.

The impact of social media can be huge. 

Every single word that you post after pressing that "Enter" key on your seemingly harmless keyboard can be seen by the kazillions of people online (and that includes your family members, spouse, relatives, etc).

You'll have no idea who are the ones reading it, just like how I am clueless who is reading my current blog entry, too.

As much as I love social media (which explains why I became a blogger to begin with), I have had my fair share of negative experiences that changed my perspective towards the impact it can cause in real life.

I was someone who did not give second thoughts about ranting online, and did it one day when I was upset with a classmate. 

Everything happened a long way back.

While I did not name names, she happened to read what I wrote (which I had no idea she read my blog as I was not really high profile back then). Things somehow got out of control and we engaged in a "keyboard" war. 

Our friendship took a bad turn as we eventually brought it to real life by giving each other the cold shoulder since then.

Things were never, ever the same again after the incident.

And it all started only with just a blog post.

See how powerful social media can be?

It may be a spur of the moment, but there is no turning back once the damage is done.

That is one of the reasons why too much Facebook-ing can be bad as well. With Facebook, one is able to post his/her thoughts online instantly within seconds, and it is not helping that many are using it as a platform to express their emotions and thoughts. albeit the negative way.

(Yes, I am not afraid to admit that I am guilty of being one of these people)

Don't get me wrong -I love Facebook. I use it as a social platform to interact with my friends (and it has helped me to re-connect with long-lost ex-classmates too, which I am thankful for), share my blog posts to a larger group of audience, promote my blog, etc. Not to mention that I enjoy reading the random posts shared by friends on there as well.

It's just that most people have underestimated the power of Facebook and its influences.

There were times when I was aware certain people were posting about me (without naming my name) as those posts were simply too obvious.

Of course, feigning ignorance is my forte.

多一事不如少一事.

Always remember, think twice before you post. 

Unless you are mentally prepared to sacrifice the relationship or friendship, that is.

Complaint: Sentosa Spooktacular 2013

Well, I can't even fathom how infuriated I am right now at the time of typing this entry; but I just hope to voice out my opinions after attending the event.

(Credits to my boyfriend for helping me to carry my bags and taking the photos while I was in costume. Most of the below featured photographs were taken by him.)

In fact, it is heart-wrenching for me to be posting this as I am just an ordinary Halloween fanatic just like anyone else who deserves to have a well-spent one with loved ones ; and I had been looking forward to writing how much fun I've had.

Unfortunately, reality is just not the case but a far cry from my expected version of Halloween. Don't get me wrong - I am not a tough customer, but just one who simply wants to enjoy the event for the price I paid.

Just as some of you are aware, I was so, so looking forward to what was supposed to be one of the grand Halloween events in Singapore - Sentosa Spooktacular. 

After hearing about how highly raved it was from previous years, I decided to purchase the tickets for my boyfriend and myself despite feeling the pinch of how much I've paid. (Fancy that - It was NOT cheap at all even though I got them through a deal website for $66.60 with a few perks.)

In fact, I had been wanting to go for Spooktacular since it was held during previous years; but the price ALWAYS never failed to stop me in my tracks - and it took me a great deal of hesitation before I finally decided to go for it this year.

Of course, with that amount of hefty price paid - I was really expecting an awesome and one of the most memorable Halloween ever spent. I pinned my hopes way too high.

However, it was one of the worst turnouts for me - beyond ridiculous waiting time, illogical time frame of walking the haunted trails and the treatment of having to be classified as "low class" just because the tickets I purchased were just NORMAL passes instead of EXPRESS ones. (People who can afford the express passes will be given priority)

It was so apparent that money is still the bottom-line above all. 

Simply put; if one cannot afford the express passes (which will require a top up of around $26?) ; then one shall suffer the fate of having to go through the long waiting time just for a trail that lasted less than 15 or 20 minutes; whereas those with express passes will be able to smile happily and complete the 5 haunted trails.

The main reason WHY I am so infuriated was because we were only able to complete ONE freaking trail out of the FIVE that we were supposed to enjoy for the price that were paid. It's not even justifiable as we were not even late when we got there; but somehow wasted majority of our time on queuing up.

In other words, we spent money to QUEUE and waste our time - Just because OUR tickets were NORMAL passes.

Don't get me wrong - I am fine with queuing; but the waiting time can make even the most tolerant person flare up.

 Let me recount how I spent my Halloween at Sentosa Spooktacular:

- We reached Beach Station at 7pm. (Spooktacular was supposed to start at 7pm and end at 11pm)

-We had to wait for the tram that would be sending us straight to the venue at Fort Siloso (We had no other option as it was our first time there and thought it was good that there was transport to the destination). However, the tram queuing part was quite bad as well; and we had to spend quite some time waiting for it.

-I believe it was nearly 8pm when the tram dropped us off where Spooktacular was held - BUT alas; there was still a long walking distance away from the ACTUAL destination. So we had to spend more than 10 minutes walking through the pathways that led us there, etc.

- We were made to wait again and watched scary videos on a large screen at the entrance before the curtains were opened for us. (Note: Time was wasted on the waiting part before the video was shown)

-When we FINALLY got in, there were wandering scare actors; which I thought was kinda cool as I loved the atmosphere. We took some photographs together before proceeding to the queue for the haunted trails. As there were 5 trails available, we had to choose one randomly (since we thought we would be going for the rest eventually anyway). However, we were completely appalled when it was stated that the queue was around 60 minutes long PER trail. In reality, it took MORE than that. (And can you imagine they only allow small batches to enter at one time? This added on to the insanity of queuing as we felt as though the queue was taking forever. Is this right that we should feel like this for the amount of price we paid?)

-After so much impatience and helplessness, we finally got our turn (like FINALLY!!). Right, the haunted trail was quite good and the scare actors were very professional - there is no denial about that. The whole trail lasted for around 15-20 minutes.

And... That was it. 

Yes.. Just like that.

There was no chance for us to queue up for any other trail anymore. The queues for the rest of the trails were INSANELY long - so ridiculous that I felt it was impossible for us to complete even the slightest 2nd trail. I believe the event staff were busy filtering between those with express passes and normal ones ; as those with express ones would be given priority to enter. We were asked what type of passes we had - and could only helplessly reply they were the normal ones. The staff took a look at the queue, and gave us an embarrassed smile. It was apparent that it was impossible for us anymore should we want to catch the last train back home.

Can you imagine how sucky I felt at that very point of time? For the $66.60 paid PER person, I actually felt cheated. In fact, I can safely say that I spent $66.60 just to take photographs with the scare actors; queuing up for ONE of the FIVE haunted trails.... and that was it.

Let me breakdown the time frame and you will understand why I mentioned it's illogical:

Sentosa Spooktacular event: 7pm to 11pm (4 hours)

There are 5 haunted trails in total. 1 trail requires around 1+ hour of waiting time for normal passes. (There were people who experienced up to 90 mins of waiting time!)

5 haunted trails = 5 x 1 hr+ = Approx. 6 hours

And the approx 6 hours are SOLELY the time spent on waiting and EXCLUSIVE of the amount of time spent on walking the haunted trails.

So how..? Technically speaking, one will need around 7- 8 hours to complete everything; whereas the event is only 4 hours. Even with extended hours, I doubt they are enough!

So can I safely assume that this event is only catered for people who can afford express passes?

Normal passes were treated as the lowest class of the lot; and I believe it is one of their gimmicks to get people to "upgrade" to express ones so they could earn more. Well, Sentosa Spooktacular - If this is one of your ways to scare off those with normal passes using the "wasting-time" method, then I shall tell you that you have succeeded.

You have successfully scared my friends and I, YOUR first-time customers into not returning anymore. I know that you could make do with not earning our money since there are still so many people out there who were willing to PAY for express passes and get to enjoy what they wanted; but I just hope to voice out my displeasure and opinions on what I think of the event as a normal pass holder.

To cut the long story short, if YOU do not have the capability and ability to cater to the amount of people, then there is no point in pushing your ticket sales because there are bound to be very unhappy customers like me who felt underprivileged to go through this undeserving experience.

It beats me why there were even express and normal passes in the first place; it's just like encouraging people to invest in the express ones for the ultimate experience and normal ones are just for people who couldn't afford it and yet trying their luck to get the most out of it.

Even if this is not their intention; but this is exactly what and how I feel like as a customer.

I thought that it would be better if Sentosa Spooktacular only charges for what we go for. In other words, to charge per entry to one haunted trail instead of making customers pay full price and yet had us give up the rest of the trails due to the insanely-long queue which we have no control of. I understand that we are at the losing end no matter what- but still; it's just a simple welfare and spare of thought for people like me. At least, I will be contented with only paying what I go for.

Nonetheless, I shall post the few photographs that were taken at the event - Now the only thing we can do is to make ourselves look like we are soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying the event when we are apparently not...

With my love:

Ending this entry with a bear I bought at the event; the only thing that I thought was cute:

I am not posting this with any means of "spoiling" Sentosa Spooktacular's reputation or anything for that matter; but I am just expressing how unjustifiable I felt the whole event was for me. So much for a Halloween!

Complaint: Thai Express

I have recently been a fan of Thai Express ever since I tasted one of their set lunch menus - Tom Yam set.

However, I am so OMG(*#&$(# infuriated with their services. 

It seemed that a long waiting time (approximately half an hour or even MORE!) is always essential when it comes to the food being served.

In fact, it always came to a point when I thought they had forgotten about my order.

Hello, waiting half an hour is somehow ridiculous - especially when we are famished!
Furthermore, we - the working people - have a time limit to our lunchtime. Can you imagine how rushed we were - by having to gulp down those food when it did finally arrive? (Of course, it was partly due to the factor that we were already VERY hungry to begin with.)
It wasn't enjoyable at all - to consume everything at such a fast pace.
 Food are meant to be enjoyed - slowly and peacefully. Isn't that so?

It's so infuriating - having to eat like hungry ghosts when we were served.

If not for the fact that I fell in love with your tom yam set, I wouldn't have bothered to patronize!
Such waiting time is only for people who have too much time in their hands.

#*$()#*)$

P/S: The outlet I visited was the one at Vivocity. And we never failed to wait a damn long time EVERY single time we go there. Goodness!