Review of Alcove's Sambal Fried Rice in NUS

Although Alcove serves great food with reasonable pricing(~$5, NUS students get 10% discount), this Asian food RESTAURANT is unknown to many even to NUS students. This may be because it is situated at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music(YSTCM), where few frequent since it is toward the end of the whole school premise.

Ever since I discovered it I have been eating there at least once a week almost every week because of the one dish: SAMBAL FRIED RICE. I have had many(~5) of my friends ask me where I get it from, just because it SMELLS so good. Also, all of my friends who I have recommended it to have nothing but good reviews of it and now they are addicted to it as well. None of them said stuff like 'oh but I don't really like blah blah' which I often hear for other food places because everyone have different preferences right? Especially for FOOD.

Taste: 10/10, ask for 'sambal chili' to accompany it, it isn't really sambal chili but some sour-ish chili that really complements the rice.

Price: ~S$5, relatively cheap for a restaurant

Location: 9/10, slightly off central but I would say more central than places like the Business School, PGP or UTown. Also, it is about 5 mins' walk from the 'Museum' bus stop, where NUS free bus services B,C (from Kent Ridge Bus Terminal) and A2, D2(from Kent Ridge MRT Station) goes.

Who should go: Non-muslims, for I don't think the restaurant serves halal food

What is there other than Sambal Fried Rice: A variety of Asian food like wet/dry/soup noodles, different other fried rice, bee hoon, hor fun, kway teow, porridge, mui fun, crispy noodle.

Hospitality: 9/10, it is overall good but there are only a few workers(which is okay since it is usually relatively empty), but it sucks if its crowded during lunch or if you are taking away your food. There is also water available but you have to get it yourselves at the counter and the cups a really small. Workers' attitudes are pleasant and friendly.

Opening Hours: I don't know what time it opens (suspect 10am) but it closes relatively late when other food places are closed, at 10pm, although last order would be around 9:30pm?

GEK2030 Introduction to Continental Philosophy (NUS)

Taken in YR 1 SEM 1 (2014)

I took this mod partly because this was one of the few mods still available for bidding in round 3, I was getting desperate. Also, I was interested and still am in philosophy. But I did not have any prior exposure nor experience in studying philosophy. It was really crazy, there was only a few other freshies in the whole class. By whole class I mean around 20+ students only? The rest of the class consisted of year 3/4 seniors who seemed like they studies philosophy before like it was their major/minor?

I had NO idea what was going on in the lectures. Whatever that came out of my prof's(Saranindranath Tagore) mouth seemed like gibberish/ nonsensical. And he talked really fast so I just tried to take down as much notes that I could and went home hoping I would understand them. Well, after maybe half the sem, I got the hang of it and started understanding and even enjoying the lectures as well as content. The prof was extremely entertaining and animated, making lectures really fun. Well, in the end I scored only a B- which I felt really contented with because I thought I didn't understand anything and kept the B-, although in retrospect I should have SUed it. This is my most fulfilling module in NUS so far because I started from 0 and actually enjoyed and passed it in the end, PLUS I didn't have any friends who took it with me, I mostly studied it alone.

GEK1002 Introduction to Japanese Studies (NUS)

Taken in YR 1 SEM 1 (2014)

Very interesting module, and the final examinations are MCQ. Lectures were very interesting, and speakers were brought in as well as performances put up, to help us understand Japanese culture more. The module was very enjoyable, but there was really a lot of content to memorise, since it was not an open-book examination. Some MCQ questions also required us to roughly memorise the map of Japan. It is very important to know your stuff because the bell curve is really steep, and it was only after I took the module that I learnt from seniors that it had a bad rep because of the bell curve. You really have to be damn 'siao on' and passionate about the Japanese culture. That does not only mean anime or the language nor Jdramas, that is only a small portion of everything. This mod is largely on Japan's history aka the Meiji era the shoguns, samurai era and stuff. I scored a C in the end, and S/Ued it, I was so lucky I took it in my first sem when I had 5 'free' SUs.

LSM1301 General Biology Review (NUS)

Taken in YR 1 SEM 1(2014)

I took H1 Biology in JC, so I thought this would be a breeze for me since this is a mod that students from other faculties are often taking as a UE. This mod is attractive since the final examination is open book as well as MCQ. The final exam is done through the computer through a software we had to download. So our notes can be on paper or just saved in your computer. However, there is no internet connection. In the end, I only scored a B, because I was too complacent and did not put in all the effort that I could have. The bell curve was quite steep, and the content should be at your fingertips, do not count on the fact that finals is open-book. You would not have enough time to refer.