[Recommend] Cheaper Alternatives to 2XU / Skins Compression Wear for Sports

Affordable Compression Wear


Compression wear is supposed to help improve muscle performance by compressing your flesh by way of a tight fit. It also has that dri fit properties to draw sweat away from the body.

If you have seen 2XU or Skins compression wear in the department stores, you probably would have baulked at the prices.

But if you are not too particular about brand, there is alternatives available that is at a fraction of the price.

Useful for winter innerwear


I wear these not for sports but during winter, in lieu of long johns. It is equally comfy and keeps me warm too.

Cheap price


This brand here cost about S$15 onwards which is almost 10% of the price of a branded competitor.
While it may not be as good as the real thing, it is definitely worth a try at this price. Who knows, the more expensive branded compression wear is all hype to make you pay more for essentially the same thing?




WTS Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II A14

Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di II A14 (Canon Mount)


Just to alert fellow Canon DSLR owners, the Tamron 18-200mm lens is on offer at SGD268 right now.

At 18-200mm, this lens covers a wide range and if you only want to carry one lens with you for your tour, this versatile lens offers you from a wide 18mm angle to a 200mm telezoom range. Price and versatility cannot be beaten here. 
This is a budget lens, it would be unfair and unreasonable to expect image quality equivalent to much imore expensive lens. Note that there is no Vibration Compensation for this model (image stabilizer in other words).
Based on Amazon.com reviews, this lens is rated pretty decent at 4/5 stars. Tamron is also a reputable 3rd party lens manufacturer.

This is a time limited offer, click the link below to buy.

At time of writing, the price is Singapore Dollars $268. Hope the price is the same when you read this post.

*This is purely a price alert to inform you of the availability of this lens at a low price, this blog shall not be responsible for the transaction between buyer and seller. This blog is not related to the seller in any way other than the affliate link provided below. In short, buy at your own risk*

[RECOMMEND] Hello Kitty 1TB External Harddisk

Hello Kitty Design 1TB Harddisk

This is a good deal considering present market price for 1 TB external harddisk.
There is little premium over most other models for that Hello Kitty design.
If you are a Hello Kitty fan or buying a christmas present for Hello Kitty fan, this could be the ideal gift!

Rilakkuma design also available.




[Share] In My Place (Acoustic) - Coldplay

Coldplay - In My Place


Came across this version while searching for this song on Youtube.

Ended up liking this version more than the original! Seems to be a rare version as I couldn't find it elsewhere.

So, here's sharing it with you.

Black Friday Deals - Free Shipping Promo Code

Free Promo Code for Free 1st Kg of Shipping and Upgrade to Express Delivery from Hopshopgo!


Hopshopgo.com is having a shipping promotion from now on till 31 December 2012!
Just in time for this coming Black Friday sales!

Enjoy 1st kg off

your international shipping charges
and an express delivery upgrade
when you key in this promo code during shipping arrangement checkout

PPLNOV10

To enjoy this deal if you are not a Hopshopgo member yet, you must sign up at this page here. You will then get your own USA Shipping Address to direct your purchases to. Read my earlier post to see how it works.


Black Friday Deals on Furby, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Monster Beats

 

Black Friday Deals Ad 


Further to my earlier post, Black Friday Ads are slowly but surely trickling out from the merchants.
Here are some snippets of what has been released so far.

Target

Walmart

Many others


*Note : These above ads are for the sale at the physical stores. Some of the deals featured may not be available online. That said, it is likely that the similar deals / same items will be offered online at special prices.

For eg. those below as they were spotted at a few different merchants.

Black Friday Deals on Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Monster Beats Dr. Dre Beats Solo HD Over-Ear Headphones

Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Holiday Bundle w/Kinect Adventures & Disneyland $199.99 - Good buy but be warned that next reincarnation of Xbox 360 is in the works and could be released as early as next year.

Xbox 360 4GB Kinect Holiday Bundle w/Kinect Adventures & Disneyland

Beats By Dr. Dre Beats Solo HD Over-Ear Headphones (Assorted Colors) $179.99 - Good buy. Definitely much cheaper than in Singapore (I am referring to the originals, not the imitation Monster Beats)

Beats By Dr. Dre Beats Solo HD Over-Ear Headphones (Assorted Colors)
 

Playstation 3 250GB Game System Bundle w/Uncharted Dual Pack Game, inFamous Game, PS3 Console $199.99 - This is a pretty good deal considering it is the newly released Slim model

Furby Doll $45 - Hottest toy of the season, best to buy a pair

 
 
 

Black Friday Deals

Black Friday Deals


Black Friday and Cyber Monday are 2 days of the calendar that all true online shopaholics must remember.

Dates to remember

This year, Black Friday is on 23rd November 2012 (US Time) and Cyber Monday is on 26th November 2012.

Why so important

Why so important? You might ask. These are the dates when the US online retailers slash their prices altogether. Prices will fall like a wall street stock market crash, though this is a much happier event for shopaholics.

Just an example, last year, Xbox 360 were going for US$199. That's about S$260 when Singapore prices were at $469. Even after shipping, you can still save at least S$50 easily.

Strategy

It is imperative that you keep yourself updated to the deals to be released by the retailers, way before Black Friday itself so that you know what to buy or rather, to allocate your spending budget wisely and who to buy from. Online retailers will release online brochures to give a glimpse of what they will be offering and sometimes from there, you can roughly know what to aim for. Some will also start to offer Countdown deals, just to "warm you up".

You also need to keep yourself tuned in to spot the possible special offers. I am talking about drastic reduction type of offers. This is because some of the best deals are Lightning Deals, i.e. time and quantity limited. Once its sold out, its gone. Therefore, you must park yourself right in front of a computer and be fastest fingers first, no time for currency conversion, just click and go! Losers are the ones who hesitate. Therefore, knowing where and when to park yourself requires some homework.

So how to keep yourself abreast of the news? Subscribe to this site. Blackfriday.com collates all the release from the retailers in one place. Much like VRZone and Hardwarezone always do whenever there is an IT show here.

It also pays to pre register yourself with the major retailers, set up an account first. For eg. Amazon, Target, etc.

So, I have bought, how to ship over to Singapore?

Some sites provide direct shipping to Singapore but it may not be as economical as the other third party providers I am referring to below.

There are a few shipping options available. It pays to register an account with them ahead before the sale so you don't waste time.

These providers also allow you to consolidate your orders from various US merchants before sending them over to your address in Singapore. However, a time line applies. Check the terms with the respective providers.

Take note that you may need to pay the shipping charges within US if the site you purchase from has no free shipping within US, i.e. you might still need to pay from your retailer warehouse to your mailing address in US.

I am going to list a few here which I have tried personally.

Tarazz.com

The easiest and straight forward way if you are buying from Amazon. The price and shipping is calculated for you once you add them to your shopping cart. The conversion rate is prefixed so it might be worse than the market rate. However, this is the easiest way to buy as you don't need to remember your mailing address in US via other options.
The other drawback of this site other than the poor currency rate offered is that you can only purchase from selected sites only. Go to the website to find out which ones.
Their customer response is also quite slow.

Hopshopgo.com


If you are a paypal user, you can use your paypal account to pay for your purchases if you sign up with Hopshopgo.com.
A US mailbox address will be given to you when you sign up. This address will be your so-called Shipping Address in US. This mailbox address is YOUR very own mailbox so it is important that you fill up this address correctly at whichever website you purchase from.

Some US websites do not allow foreign credit cards as payment method. If that is the case, you may use the personal shopping service of hop.shop.go. Basically you just browse in a window under the main site and whatever item you desire, just add it to the site window which is still under hop.shop.go. Once done, check out using the hop.shop.go. interface. Try it first to familiarise yourself. Bestbuy.com is one of the retailers with this problem.

On off, there will also be credit card tie-ups with OCBC or DBS, etc to offer some discounts off shipping rates.

Borderlinx.com

Borderlinx operates similarly to hop.shop.go but is for Citibank cardholders. Sometimes there are promotions off the shipping rate, so check out the website regularly for discount offers. They also offer you an UK shipping address as well.

Vpost is another service by Singpost. But as I have not tried it myself, I cannot comment much on it.
On off, there will also be credit card tie-ups with OCBC or DBS, etc to offer some discounts off shipping rates.

Basically there are 3 simple steps.
1) Sign up with one of the provider and get a personalised US mailing address (usually a PO Box).
2) Start shopping with US merchants and key in your personalised US mailing address as shipping address, pay for your item including any US domestic shipping charges, if any. You can order from various merchants using the same US mailing address given to you.
3) Upon receipt of items to your PO Box, your provider will email you asking for instructions. You can either instruct it to send it to your local address immediately or wait out till all your purchases from other merchants arrive to your PO Box before instructing them to send all together to you (might save some money as they charge by the entire weight. Shipping rate per kg is cheaper the heavier it goes, so consolidating is usually cheaper on an average per kg basis.)

How to create an online store FREE

How to create an online store FREE


If you have always harboured hopes of becoming an online entrepreneur one day but held back your ambitions because of your lack of computer programming language, etc., why not I help you to kick start your new business now? I am going to share how to create an online store free without having to know any coding language!



xiaobazaar.com is a Singapore startup which currently offers everything you need to set up your online store and its for FREE! It is free for the first 50 items you post right now, so hurry before they end their promotion.

So, what is included in this free service :-


Web hosting, including images of your merchandise

Your personalized website at "name.xiaobazaar.com"

Easy to customize templates for online store. Few for you to choose from.


Share your products easily on Facebook with Facebook integration. Just click and share on your facebook network and wait for the traffic to flow in to your site!

 
Inventory management system to keep track of your remaining stocks, so that you don't oversell. Even allows the option of your own SKU numbering system to track your merchandise!
 



Various payment configurations available, so you can choose your preferred payment modes for your site



Reports, reports, reports! All the information you need to assess the performance of your web store is at your fingertips! Check unpaid items and unshipped orders. Track how near you are to earning your first million!



Allows English and Mandarin interface on your webstore, so now you can sell to the fastest developing nation in the world!


Mobile friendly version of your online store too!
 


Conclusion

Sign up is very easy. Interface to manage your online store is also easy to navigate. Be amazed by your online store after it is completed. The only thing you need to do now is to think of what to sell!


[Recipe] Steamed Toman Fillet with Miso Paste

Steamed Toman Fillet with Miso Paste

http://flickrshare.blogspot.com/2012/11/recipe-steamed-toman-fillet-with-miso.html

Toman fish is easily available here in local supermarkets like Fairprice. Toman has less of a fishy smell compared to Cod fish and is also less expensive than Cod fish.

Another thing about it is that it comes readily in fillet form like cod fish or salmon. That said, if you have a large family to feed, you can also buy the entire fish which can be about half a metre long.  However, for simple home cooking chefs like myself, convenience is key. Hence, I like to buy ready-cut fillet.

Miso paste on the other hand, is to the Japanese form what fermented soy bean is to the Teochews. They both taste quite similar when used in steaming fish. You will find them in Japanese supermarkets like Meidi-Ya and in some local supermarkets too. It comes in a tub form and can be used in many dishes or soup. If you are unsure about which brand, just get the cheapest brand! Make sure you get those in paste form.

Just choose the cheapest if you are unsure which brand to buy
Miso paste in a tub

Ingredients

Toman fish fillet (or any other fish that rocks your boat) - enough to feed your dinner party
Miso paste
Ginger slices (use more if you would like to mask that fishy smell)
A dash of sesame oil
A dash of Shao Xing Hua Tiao Jiu (绍兴花彫酒)
Cherry tomatos optional



Method

Rub salt on fish fillet and leave it on for about 10-20 minutes, meanwhile, slice the ginger
Wash salt away from fish fillet and pat dry with paper towels
If the fish fillet is rather thick, make deep cuts on the thicker portions to ensure even steaming
Arrange the washed fillet on a plate to be used for steaming
Fill a wok with enough water and boil it. Make sure that the stand used to support the plate is not submerged in water.
Apply miso paste on the fish fillet (both sides if desired)
Place ginger slices and cherry tomatos on top of fish
When water in wok is boiling (bubbly), place the plate of fish in and cover it
Steam for 7 to 8 minutes starting from the time you place the fish in
Turn off the fire and wait 1-2 minutes before opening the lid of the wok
Ready to serve



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