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.

Groupon Review: Oriental Spa Chamber [PERSONAL EXPERIENCE!]

You may not know, but I am a total fanatic of massages!

In fact, I have been to quite a few that I kinda' regretted not blogging about them - reason being that I always purchase them through Groupon deals, and I am sure many of you out there would be googling for some reviews before clicking that "Buy Now" button.

Right, right... Right??!!

As such, I have decided to be *kind* and start blogging down my experiences for each Groupon deal that I purchase for the benefit of anyone who may be considering about it.

Be rest assured that I am not PAID in any way to blog about their services, hence these reviews are definitely not any form of advertisement. If they are good, then they simply are.

 If they are not, then I hope they are now regretting how badly they treated me (Note: Never offend a blogger! *glares*)

I have always believed in the importance of REVIEWS. They form a huge part of the company's reputation, no?

OK, so here's one that I purchased and tried yesterday with my Shreky:

The Oriental Spa Chamber

I actually came across this place randomly once and was amused by its name. The chinese words "Huang Ah Ma" literally mean "Emperor Dad" (not sure if I translated correctly) back in the olden Dynasty times. I was tempted to visit the place; and my wish was somehow granted when I spotted it on Groupon coincidentally on another day.

 Ok, it is not really THAT cheap - I got the one that was on promotion for 2 pax and we paid $42.50 each for 90 mins of session with them. It's usual prices for ala carte are WAY, WAY more expensive than the deal price!

(The session includes 60 minutes FULL body massage + 15 mins foot soak + 15 mins Sauna)

What appealed me was its ORIENTAL interior design of the place based on the photos that were advertised on its website. (Not to mention that I am a huge fan of oriental style).

So you can imagine my excitement when I managed to secure an appointment with them after I purchased the deal.

However, the booking of appointment wasn't really a smooth-sailing one as I was unreasonably told that they do not offer massage services AFTER April (I had wanted to book for a slot in June). I was appalled as it was supposed to be valid till AUGUST as stated on the Groupon website! The person who picked up my call did not provide me any reason despite me asking; and just simply insisted that they do not offer the services after April.

Well then, I gave in and went for a slot in March.

And so we went - Fortunately, the place was easily located as it was within a short walking distance from Chinatown MRT (Purple Line) - Exit E.

Gosh, I love, LOVE this painting on the wall. Talk about oriental!

Kudos to whoever painted the wall. Haha~

The Oriental Spa Chamber actually resides INSIDE a hotel, so its unmistakable!

We actually spent some time admiring the exterior and taking some random photographs before heading in for our registration.

Gosh, I believe this is one of the rarer times I'm posting a non-makeup photo of myself - but heck. I am not gonna care what you think. Ugly then ugly, lor.

(I don't know why, but I am not into makeup nowadays unless there are really important events. Getting lazy, I guess? But whatever)

When we finally got our asses into the place, we were led to a small cozy room and Ginger tea was served! We were told to wait for our turn as it was a busy Sunday for them. Since their waiting area was VERY comfortable (it somehow reminded me of those small study room in an ancient palace)

Pictures unclear due to the dim lighting and we were using our front camera - my sincere apologies!

Here's a pic taken from my better camera:

Palace, palace!

When it was our turn, we were called in to a small room that consisted of 2 comfy massage-alike chairs:

We were told to soak our feet in the bucket of sea salt water.

(It was #(*$##*$ scalding hot and it took us awhile to adapt to the temperature before we could fully soak our feet in)

Here's a pic of me getting all panicky at the feel of the hot water~

That's my Shreky:

(Note that she did not insert her feet entirely into the water too HAHAHA!)

Ok, now that the water is not that hot...

(We were allowed to bring in our Ginger tea to drink & enjoy the feet soak at the same time)

Shreky's Crayon-Shin Chan manicure design that she did in Malaysia! CUTE to the max!

Look at this door that I love so much:

When our 15 mins feet soak was up, we were led to hall of different compartments where we could finally lie down and relax for our 60 mins full body massage. I was SO hyped up at the thought that  I couldn't wait to pounce on the massage bed so badly. Speaking about being desperate. HAHA.

We were given time to change and wrap ourselves with towels while awaiting our masseurs. (Don't worry, they are all female masseurs!)

Sorry- as much as we had wanted to take photos of us during the massage session, we couldn't as we did not have a photographer with us. (Not to mention that we were given lockers to lock our bags outside)

Both Shreky and I were lucky that we were in the same compartment (We actually bought the 2 pax meant for couples); hence we were able to communicate with each other more freely!

So... You might be wondering how well the body massage went, right?

To be fair, I have to say that it was OK-OK. The initial part started out being painful as the masseur seemed to have powerful hands (I did tell her that it was quite painful and she used lesser force. In fact, it is always important to let your masseur know the level of pain you are experiencing during the massage!) . Thankfully, it became slightly more comfortable soon-after and I almost did fall asleep.

I would give the massage services a 7/10. 

It is definitely not the "VERY SHIOK" kind of massage; but its still okay for the experience. I mean, if you are not able to take the pain... Just voice it out and the masseur will definitely respect you. :)

The masseurs were friendly people, and despite the fact that we came in using Groupon vouchers, they still gave us good service (There are some places that will totally offer you a not-here-or-there service if they see that you purchase their services using vouchers).

Fortunately, the service at Oriental Spa Chamber was great.

We were being taken into a small room for our 15 min Sauna (In fact, it was my VERY first Sauna experience!) I didn't like it at the beginning, but slowly adapted to the heat and I was amazed by the amount of sweat that came out from all parts of my body - including my face!Honestly, I felt like I was a pig being roasted in a hot oven - but the "after-effect" was awesome.

The moment when we stepped out of the Sauna room, I FELT LIKE I WAS REBORN AGAIN. HAHAHA.

Our masseurs came over and gave us our towels to wipe our bodies before proceeding back into our compartment to change.

The best part of all about the Groupon deal?

THERE WAS TOTALLY NO HARD-SELLING OF ANYTHING.

 No hard-selling of packages or products, etc. I was most impressed.

So if you were to ask me whether this is something that is worth purchasing, I would say.. 

GO FOR IT! :)

Even if its not for the massage experience, you may be interested in the oriental style of its interior.

So I guess that shall end my review here... Do bookmark my blog for more future reviews on the different deals I'm gonna try out! :)

[Complaint] Atrocious attitude of bus drivers

Is it me, or the customer service of bus drivers are degrading rapidly?

(Picture for illustration only. From Google images)

Just our luck to have bumped into yet another horrid driver whom I feel is a disgrace to SBS!!

Don't get me wrong - my argument is definitely valid. 

Imagine the long wait for your bus number... and feeling the sense of relief when it finally arrived.

You stand up and start to wave at the bus.

The bus driver takes a glance over at you, turns his head and drives away - pretending that you never existed - while leaving you helplessly watching him drive the bus away before you.

How does that feel, huh?

Good? No? 

I was completely baffled.

Can you imagine the frustration I felt when that scene played out in front of my eyes? It was so APPARENT that the bus driver had done that on purpose to avoid wasting time.

(Worst still, I did not have the chance to take a closer look at the car plate number as the place was too dark.)

And I have NO FREAKING CLUE why he did that. Isn't driving a bus and stopping the vehicle for passengers to board his job scope and responsibility?! 

I'm beginning to question the standards of SBS now - Do they even provide the basic training on COURTESY for their drivers?!

Truth to be told, this isn't the first time such incidents happened to me.

The first time it did, I lodged a complaint against the driver (with car plate number included). That was actually a worse case-as I remembered running for the bus.

When I finally reached the bus doors, the bus driver looked away and SHUT the door on me - leaving me in an appalled mode as he drove away.

*flips table*

I can guarantee plus chop that this was not an accidental act - unless I was as invisible as Casper the Ghost.

Is such attitude even justifiable?

Like everyone else, I PAY the same amount of bus fares - and all I wanted was a safe bus ride home.

SBS kept increasing its fare over the years - BUT WHY IN THE WORLD I DON'T SEE ANY IMPROVEMENT IN CUSTOMER SERVICE?!

I don't expect alot from their bus drivers; but I just hope they understand what is basic responsibility and courtesy when it comes to dealing with passengers. 

For goodness sake, if you are a bus driver - BEHAVE LIKE ONE. 

Shutting your doors and pretending you have never seen anyone is not the right way to go about your job. Period.

Complaint: Starbucks!

Here's another complaint again. - Yes. I am so going to complain STARBUCKS.

Congratulations on getting yourself featured on my blog!

Well, don't get me wrong. I am NOT a Starbucks regular. In fact, it was my first time drinking a full Starbucks cup yesterday (I've won 2 Starbucks cards from my company's event).

According to what was stated on the card, I was encouraged to register them online for additional benefits and privileges.  

And so I did.

How delighted I was when I was shown a page that stated about a complimentary drink I would be getting (ANY SIZE).

So I happily went to claim that COMPLIMENTARY drink - only to be told that there was NONE.

The Starbucks staff told me that I wasn't granted any complimentary drinks when he scanned my cards.

Like... What the heck?!

That's a total cheat of my feelings + total embarrassment ! 

Well, since those cards were prizes anyway, I didn't pursue it further since I would be receiving free drinks nonetheless.

Shall blog about happier recent events!

Yeah, so it was my BFF's (Pei Wen) birthday on 13th March 2013.

And she was in for two different parts of surprises on two different days!

Our Part 1 celebration:

Thanks to Miao for her hard work and effort, the celebration was considered a success! We managed to reserve a table at EspresSoup at Jurong Point.

(Yeah.. We got her a Tiramisu cake from Polar, in which Miao had arranged with the staff to hide it)

When the cake was finally served to our table, both Miao and I sang a super, duper loud birthday song for our dearest birthday girl.

(Yes, it was so loud that we were actually criticized by random shoppers.. But who cares, right?! They were just jealous!)

We gave our Part 1 presents to her, while leaving the major one to Part 2.

And here is Part 2 of our celebration - on a bright and sunny Saturday.

Miao came out with an excellent idea - To have the Starbucks staff write "Happy Birthday" on the cup of latte (was it latte??! I don't know!)

We were really anxious to get the job done, and I was glad somehow it was a success?

Yep, we had Crystal Jade at night - with Dessie joining us as well. 

Thanks, Dessie!!

Yeah, the Part 2 present was a Kapibara - Halloween version. :)

It brings back memories, especially those times when we used to work at Universal Studios as a scare actor for their Halloween Horrors Night. 

We simply love Halloween!!

(Yes, it is only March and we are already talking about Halloween excitedly.)

And I am already thinking of what I want to be for this year's Halloween!

Maybe Lady Gaga or a werewolf.. *grins

To my dear readers, do stay tuned for more upcoming entries! I know I have been pretty inactive socially these days (and it is totally NOT healthy as I am so used to being an avid blogger).. But I will be back soon!

I'm looking forward to recording more singing videos and fill up this blog with more of my events and such.

So....Keep a lookout! ;)