Scams going around lately so here's a few PSAs about them!
Uber Scam
A friend of mine alerted that there's an Uber scam going around. Their bank account has been wiped out entirely from the debit card that was linked to their Uber app.
Transactions were charged and deducted for rides taken in Hong Kong, Australia and Canada. All were dated on the exact same date. They were physically in Singapore on that day.
Is it even possible to fly to all three within a single day?
So guys, if you have Uber, please check and stay alert!
Investing stocks scam
Received an email today claiming to share a stock tip with me.
I was naturally sceptical – which stranger would give me such a good tip to make money?
Did a quick search on QSMG and concluded that it was a stock scam guys.
Yes, the price has risen 6+% this week but it is mostly driven by the naive people who are believing the scam emails.
PUMP AND DUMP schemes in investing.
Go research about it if you're interested to learn more, but here's a super short analogy to help those who are clueless understand:
Folks (scammers or people with a vested interest) release fake news / tips to drive the price up ("pump"). These people are already invested in the stock.
Once the price has risen high enough for them, they dump all of their shares at huge profits.
The market and investors then realise they've been fooled, and start selling desperately.
Price then returns to norm after the market realises there was no real increase in the company's value to justify the sudden rise in stock price.
I'm not going to say "I told you so" because whatever losses you made, that's your own decision and prerogative.
Which brings me to my next question:
Who do you blame when you lose money?
If your insurance agent sells you an ill-suited policy because he genuinely believed it was good for you (such as a whole life policy, or an ILP), and you lose money later when you terminate it after realising it is a bad fit…who is to blame for your losses?
I lost thousands when I terminated my ILP which I bought at a friend's advice after I had just started work.
My savvy finance blogger peer recently terminated his whole life policy and lost thousands as well.
Who's to blame? The insurance agents who advised us and made the sale, or us, who signed on the papers and made the decision to purchase?
The company who sold and approved our policy?
Some have asked me to name the agent and the company who sold me my ILP a few years ago. Blacklist them! Warn your readers!
I don't see the need to, because ultimately I can only blame myself for being stupid in signing on the dotted line.
Nobody forced me.
If your buddy introduces an "investment lobang" that he genuinely believes will make money, and it later turns out to be a scam, who is to blame?
Your buddy? For introducing it to you? Even if he didn't earn a single cent from this?
Or the con man who ran away with your money?
So in this case for example, should Edmund Chen blame just Miss H, or does he also blame himself for being naive enough to believe her words and even give her an advance in payments out of pity?
QSMG scam again. This is the second email I've gotten in two days! Guess the shareholders must be really desperate to sell their shares huh?
Malacca
Part 2 of our honeymoon (and also to recover from Italy jet lag) is a foodie tour in Malacca! Husband voted for this place because he craved Asian food so much after all that pastas and pizzas in Italy lol.
Headed to these painted walls for our first food destination nearby! This place looks pretty Instagram worthy? Haha but I'm terrible at such #influencer photos so we didnt bother taking any.
All prices below in ringgit!
Pin Pin Hiong ๐
Pin Pin Hiong was highly recommended by many Singaporean food bloggers, including Seth Lui and Miss Tam Chiak, for their "seriously good" mee sua and oyster omelette. You'll recognise it as across the street from that colourful alley by the river, and it is the small stall tucked also in between these 2 impossible-to-miss shops.
We ordered based on the recommendations of the food bloggers, and had to wait for 40 minutes for our food. These two dishes cost $9 and $7 from left to right.
๐: "never mind lah it should be worth it since everyone is recommending it!"
๐ (after taking a bite and a sip of the broth that Seth Lui said he "couldn't get enough of") : "huh. This was so not worth the wait. Like that also can famous?!"
Seriously! Singapore does much better versions of these two dishes.
Jonker88 ๐
Next stop, Jonker88 for its Asam Laksa and Durian Chendol with Gula Melaka!
It was located right next to this "park" with Mister Bodybuilder. On the right side of this is Jonker88, and the left side is One Bite Durian Puff!
Lots of people at this shop! We had to wait about 15 minutes to get a shared table.
$10 each! Pretty affordable, and husband says the Asam Laksa is the best he has ever eaten.
One Bite Durian ๐
No photos cos we ate it before I remembered, but when they say eat in one puff, do it! I took two bites of mine cos I felt it would be too big for my mouth in one shot, and the durian custard filling spilled out onto my fingers and it was super messy >.<
This was $2.50 per puff, totally worth it!
Went to The Daily Fix cafe for differ but it was so crowded, so we decided to go somewhere else! The atmosphere was pretty though.
Sin Sing Coffee ๐
Chanced upon this half-a-century old coffee shop so husband decided he wanted to try out their coffee.
A pretty robust cup of coffee! For those of you who like your coffee more dark and intense, I think you'll like this as much as he did!
S Sihat Cafe / Blind Reflexology ๐ : BEST MASSAGE!
Husband getting his reflexology done by the blind, whose sense of touch is believed to be better than the sighted. This reflexology isn't quite a foot massage, but more of pressing the different nerve points to clear blockages and more for medicinal wellness. $58 ringgit for an hour foot reflexology and he loved it!
We chanced by this shop while looking for a nail salon and were quite impressed with the sincerity of the shop owner here, so we decided to give it a try!
Here's the shop we went to! They've got a really pretty wooden swing on the outside and are located near the end of Jonker Street, so you won't miss it.
Apparently we missed the RM 10 value lunch set ๐
Trying their Pasumpal (means fresh cow milk) Brue Coffee recommended by the boss. There's no water added!
Having their vadai to accompany the coffee.
Tried a few of their other Indian dishes too (seems more like teatime snacks to me but I could be wrong) and my favourite were the vadai, kasteri and fried bittergourd! And I HATE bittergourd with a vengeance cos I can't stand the aftertaste but there none in theirs! ๐The stuff they gave us to mix with were really good too๐
This is their outdoor swing, super Insta worthy and impossible to miss!
Hubby was so happy with their services, especially the reflexology (which he proclaims is "the BEST one I've ever had") that he asked to take a photo with the boss!
He couldn't stop talking about how good it was and wants to go back tonight again for another round?!? Siao ah!
Also insisted that it was so mindblowingly awesome that I needed to do it too, but I scared leh. I quit on my foot massages all the time because it is too painful / ticklish / sensitive for me.
The food here is surprisingly affordable?!? We've decided to come here for lunch tomorrow before we leave!
RM10 for a set is seriously a good deal!!
Famousa Chicken Rice Balls ๐
Nope. I feel that our chicken rice back in Singapore is way more fragrant and flavourful?!?
Also, we didn't get to try the famous chicken rice ball shop at the entrance of Jonker Street because the queue was sooooooo long at noon and they were closed by 5pm once we had walked back.
Cinderella Ondeh Ondeh ๐
We ate from a few ondeh ondeh stalls and none of them was as good as this. Seriously!
This one had a crisp gula melaka centre that burst into the yummy sweet liquid when you bite into it. Very shiok! 5 pieces for $2.
Excitedly ate 2 before I remembered to take photo lol. We're going back tomorrow for another helping because the other stalls after this were so dreadfully disappointing in contrast!
The sunset today wasn't as pretty, but here's the magnificent ship.
I loved the quote on the board, something along the lines of this serves as a reminder that no matter what riches you or the country accumulates, all is lost when politics loses (referring to the invasion of Melaka).
Lots of night trishaws around! It takes you to the sights in Malacca and are surprisingly affordable – $25 to see 5 sights (the short route) or $40 for 12 sights. You'll also get to stop for photos. We decided to take it tomorrow instead so we can get good photos with the sunlight!
Hello Jonker Street Night Market! It is so lively here today compared to last night when it was a dead town. So don't come here on any nights unless it is a Friday or Saturday night folks.
We walked to the nearby mall (about 15 min away) to get my bridal gelish nails removed (so sad cos they were so pretty to look at!), paint a new coat of normal nail polish, and trim hubby's eyebrows.
All for $55. Worth it!
Coconut balls / drinks! It was fun watching the street hawkers carving out these from the actual coconuts in front of us. Another hawker was happily throwing and catching them in the air to get attention from passerbys lol.
$9 for the ice cream (5 scoops!!!! ๐ฑ really #dayrefatties omg) and $6 for the coconut ball!
Tried this ondeh ondeh which was freshly made too, but it was a disappointment. Maybe cos I can't get over the crisp version at the Cinderella stall!!
Hubby bought these Birkenstock inspired shoes too! Which my friend says is even better than the real thing. $84.90 ringgit.
We ate a ton of other street food which I didn't bother taking photos of, including a lamb Ramy burger (husband says it was only soso), a $3 "Taiwan Burger" (just pancake with filling aka Mr Bean style), a $12 fried squid and $6 durian pancake. Mostly average by street food standard lah – I still think our pasar malams and Taiwan street markets are better.
We also bumped into my university best buddy here on the streets at the night market?!? So coincidental, and super happy to see him! He was like, "eh aren't you guys in Italy for your honeymoon" and I went "ya and this is part two" HAHA!
Cos hubby still likes Asia best lah, so make him happy a bit. Plus the food here is cheap and good!
