The Royal Selangor Pewter Center at Clarke Quay Singapore

We started off our morning at the Royal Selangor Pewter Center, the world's largest pewter company. It's situated right beside the river in Clarke Quay. 

Royal Selangor has a Pewter Gallery and Tour that showcases the heritage and craftmanship of Pewter since the founding of the Royal Selangor company in 1885.

Pewter is a very malleable alloy that dates back from the middle ages. It is made from a mix of tin, copper and antimony. Singapore Pewter that is.

In the old days, Pewter had parts culled from lead. And guys like Shakespeare probably drank from Pewter cups everyday. 

Pewter can easily be crafted into a number of useful things like dinner wares, plates, pitchers, candlesticks, tiles, weaponry, decorative pieces and tools.

Interestingly in the Pewtersmithing demonstration you will get to meet a very old pewter artisan who creates ornate patterns on pewter casings with his wooden and metal tools. He will also demonstrate his techniques as you take pictures up close. The tour guides will also show you raw pewter shavings, liquid pewter heated at its melting point then poured into molds.

The Retail floor offers silverware and award winning designs of
intricate and handcrafted pewter wares

They also have jewelry pieces made from pewter. You may choose pendants like the quaint money tree leaf design and other pewter charms as souvenirs for loved ones.

 

You may also just chill and relax at the Coffee and snack bar in the Gallery's premises.

Outside the Royal Selangor Gallery are the malls, the river and the rest of Clarke Quay.

But what I enjoyed most about my visit to Royal Selangor was my apprenticeship at the School of Hard Knocks!

More Razzmatazz from the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards

Bloggers and bloggerettes came dressed to the nines at the recent Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards.

The night begins with the arrival of 400 bloggers and internet celebs. Twelve awards were presented, one for each category.

There's a magic show, a performance by Singaporean rock band Electrico and a video on Nuffnang history while we enjoyed our lavish dinner of Rosemary Marinated Chicken and a delectable treat of Praline Hazelnut Gateau with that flavourful raspberry jelly. Yum.

It felt like going to the prom haha.

But the night also felt a wee bit awkward for me, I guess because I was dead tired and most of us just met on the plane a few hours ago, so I wasn't in the mood to be all chatty with random strangers who either abhorred the idea of problogging while some couldn't stop themselves short talking about SEO the whole night. Strange as it sounds, it was a mixed lot of bloggers.

I thought I would be in the company of geeks arguing about the finer points of WP vs Blogger, but I was dead wrong, 'Scuse me? But no one told me bloggers were this fab in real life :) 

That they have other pressing concerns more current, and that they lead exciting lives beyond tapping that keyboard.

Anyway, I was just glad I was seated at table 35. I was in good company that lovely evening in Singapore.

And when it ended, everyone had a blast.

The blogging presscorps

The Winners! 

The Link Hotel Singapore

We spent 3 days and 2 comfy nights at a boutique style hotel called the Link Hotel in Tiong Bahru Road, Singapore.

There was a busload of us checking in, so it took awhile to get all the bloggers settled into the rooms.

A block away from the Link Hotel is an open market with food stalls and a hawker center.

A convenience store called Cheers is only 2 doors away from the hotel's entrance and a 711 which serves large slushies is across the street.

Our room was situated at the 2nd floor. It was clean, modern and minimalist. Well-suited for two people on a budget travel adventure.

I slept like a baby on my first night since I was really strung out from the day's events and luckily, the bed was just right for me. Not too soft, just firm enough like an orthopedic bed. Definitely good for my back. 

The bathroom's clean and the toiletries come with a handy dandy sewing kit for those little emergencies. There's no built-in hairdryer, but there's an electric water boiler for coffee and instant noodle cravings. The only thing I didn't like was the sink drain in the bathroom that would give off odd smells at certain hours. Otherwise, my room's perfect.

Mylene my room mate (Miss Ascertain Bliss) relaxing her legs.

Getting unpacked. I felt very tired from the flight, I hadn't slept the night before.
View from our window. Apartments with spiral staircases.

The concierge and staff were helpful and even on check out they allowed me to charge my camera batteries at their front desk.

It's easy to get into Orchard road and Chinatown from here and the cabs are accessible in front of the hotel, you don't have to wait too long for one to arrive. You can also walk a few blocks to a MRT station or take a bus to Orchard road. 

Overall, the hotel is comfortable and decent for family and business travelers.

Link Hotel Singapore
50 Tiong Bahru Road Singapore 168733
Tel: (65) 6622 8585 | Fax: (65) 6622 8558
Email: info@linkhotel.com.sg

Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards: The Winners!

Here are the 12 winners of the recently concluded Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards held last October 23 at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Singapore. The event was attended by over 400 bloggers in Asia and the Philippine contingent alone had 30 bloggers. And we even brought home a top prize! En Route won the award as the Best Travel Blog for Ironwulf.net!

BonitoChico
Me & Miss Between Bites definitely agree that these ladies from BonitoChico (2 sisters & a BFF) are truly fab! We soooo love their dresses that night. 

ieatishootipost.sg
This has to be my fave blog winner! Great concept BTW! IeatIshootIpost doesn't just leave you hungry over his mouthwatering food porn, he also shows how to make some of the dishes. A How-to-guide comes with his posts, a treat for his readers who want to experience and taste the same kind of meal. And boy, his Mama is a chef!

The very stylish and fierce Lady Melbourne

Childhood 101
Mrs. Burnett is both a mum and a teacher. In just 4 months, she has created an amazing, noteworthy blog on parenting and early childhood learning. Truly inspiring!

The lone wolf from the Philippines and our winner for best travel blog is Mr. Ironwulf (Ferdz Decena) of En Route! yay! You got our whole table cheering :) He looks very dashing in his dark suit.

Kenny Sia

More hipster looking than geeky - Mr. Gadget from Australia

dedoodleblog is a Malaysian blogger who prefers to doodle her thoughts. She has great blogging tips as well (like getting rid of that annoying blog music). Her Photo was taken by Mr. Gadget

Joanne Peh is an actress from Singapore. Her Photo was taken by Mr. Gadget

Xiaxue bagged 3 awards then cried her eyes out. She's blonde, quirky and engaging much like in her blog.