Happy New Year

Just as I thought that I will be spending the new year's eve at home, an impromptu call-up gathered the friends over beers and KFC to welcome the new year. Thank you to all my friends and let's be positive in the coming year.

Movie: Wreck it Ralph

Plot:
Tired of being the unappreciated bad guy, Ralph of Fix it, Felix arcade game decided to earn a medal and a place for himself. In his reckless pursuit, he unleashed a cy-bug into Sugar Rush where Vanellope was trying to seek acknowledgement from her fellow racers. Together, they will uncover the truth of their existence.

Review:
An amazing combination of old-school charms and sugary plot created an immense pleasure of watching familiar icons used in innovative manners.

Rating:
4/5

@ Antoinette

Antoinette near Lavender MRT

Selection of pretty desserts

Signature Antoinette

Oozing raspberry sauce

Happened to be at Lavender and decided to check out Antoinette which my friends were raving about. It seemed rather out of place for a dainty restaurant such as Antoinette to housed in the neighbourhood district but that's the charm of a hidden gem. Upon stepping in, the sight of pretty desserts greeted. It's a pity that I couldn't stay but I bought their signature Antoinette ($9) back. In the cake Antoinette, the combination of earl grey, chocolate and raspberry was a rather unique one. Slightly bitter, sweet and tangy. Keeps you wanting for more.

A hot Xmas

Xmas presents!

Xmas feasting

It's my first Xmas after being in London for four years and it's a hot and crowded one (just look at the crowd in Orchard). Lots of gifts and lots of indulgent eating... Gosh, I want to return to a white Xmas with the amazing Xmas markets.

@ Canopy Restaurant

Egg Royale

Egg Benedict

Smoked salmon and toast

Lobster Pomodoro

A gathering with the cousins brought us to Canopy in Bishan Park II. A rather relaxing location with indoor and outdoor dining options proved favourable to local residents. After looking at reviews from other blog sites, we ordered Egg Royale ($13), Egg Benedict ($12), Smoked salmon and toast and Lobster Pomodoro. For the eggs, the hollandaise sauce was key to the harmonious blend of flavours. Other than the occasional bugs, Canopy is a great place for a weekend brunch.

@ Menya Musashi

Celebrated WY's birthday at Star Vista's Menya Musashi. The queue was horrendously long but the waitress was good enough to offer drinks while we wait. With three different soup base (white for pork-based, black for burnt garlic pork-based and red for spicy), I ordered the black char siu tsukemen or dipping noodles. On the whole, it's quite good but if you get the ala carte tsukemen, you can get up to five times noodle refill.

@ Tian Wai Tian

Waited 20 min for this... Was it worth it? Probably. The soup was delicious and the ingredients abundant. Well, my parents certainly enjoyed it.

@ Old Airport Road Hawker Centre

Char Kway Teow

Tao Huay

It's tea break for me and JH at the old airport road hawker centre. Didn't eat much for lunch so that I have space to try out some of the delicacies. I was quite surprised that it wasn't as crowded on weekends but that's good as we could easily get seats. Ordered the char kway teow (the queue was about 15 min) and some chong fun and ended our session with Lao Ban. The kway teow was good but the chong fun could be better. It's my first time having Lao Ban and I thought it's just above average.

Happy?

I thought by doing my best, everyone will be happy.
But it turns out, people just want more and more

@ Ootoya

Sumitoridon Set

Met up with E and G and was wandering around Orchard Central for lunch and ended up at Ootoya. I ordered the sumitoridon set which consisted of a rice bowl with grilled chicken, salad, pumpkin and miso soup. The miso soup was unique in the sense that it had lots of ingredients and wasn't too salty. Furthermore, the rice and soup are refillable.

A bowl of pasta

Sometimes, you just want to escape all the reality with a bowl of pasta on the comfy sofa

Mushroom Pasta

Had some mushroom pate that was going to expire and decided to use it as a pesto-like sauce for my pasta. Simple and awesome!

Movie: Skyfall

Plot:
Skyfall returns to the basics of Bond and his emotional journey.

Review:
It was particularly exciting for me to catch Skyfall as I could relate much of the London sights. A pity that there is a cut down in the action scenes and the number of gadgets.

Rating:
4/5

@ Hwa Nam Restaurant

Always love their claypot fish head for its abundant ingredients fit for a family meal.

Movie: The Looper

Plot:
In the future, time travelling has been invented and criminals are sent back to the past to be sentenced. The loopers take on the job of executing their death to 'close the loop'. Unbeknownst to them, the rainmaker is ordering all the loops to be closed in an attempt to avenge for his mother.

Review:
Too much adult content in my opinion, not that I am complaining. Nonetheless, I dig these sci-fi shows and this plot was more or less solid. Definitely the casts played the most important role with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. For a while, I thought I was watching a futuristic Die Hard. Also, the little kid was really amazing. I'm a little scared by his abilities.

Rating:
4/5

@ Lao Huo Tang

Established in Singapore for a substantial period but I didn't have an opportunity to try them until then. Ordered the Lao Huang Gua soup and it was really delicious (a tad smelly from the squid). Tasted just like homecooked food.

@ Soup Spoon

Yummy soup for a rainy day.

Busy friends

When your current friends are too busy for you, is it time for new ones?

An oasis

How surrealistic to be surrounded in a sea of soulless humans and calmed by the serenity of the individual mind.

MAF 2012

With each passing MAF and with each passing age, the excitement of the festival seemed less captivating. As usual, the festival centred around grandma's birthday (it's her 88th) and the whole family gathered at her place. Somehow I will be one of the first few to arrive at her place and have to wait for the other cousins to come (which is usually a few hours later). Tons of food aside, we used to carry our lanterns (we are given lantern money) around the park. Yet, as we grow older, the 'baton' is passed to the younger generations. Not that I am complaining but it seemed that beyond a certain age, some things are more enjoyable in the past.

Chilling about

Had a really great time chatting with A and made me realised that I missed my friends. Argh, the insanity from a mundane lifestyle.

Regret

Will I regret it?

Chilling with colleagues

We were supposed to have OT but it was cancelled at the last moment. Thus presented a great chance for us to chill the night away at Wala wala. Nice for everyone to loosen up after a long day of work.

Pho Hoa

Pho

Even though there were many positive reviews, this bowl of beef noodles didn't impress me. The noodles were harder than what I expect and the soup wasn't as fragrant. Sure, it was filling but I doubt I will be back.

Omurice

Tried cooking some omurice after watching Rooftop prince. A+ for effort but probably a B for taste. LOL...

Mum's bday

Celebrated mum's bday with dinner at Watami and a strawberry shortcake from Four leaves.

Food for thought

Huge portion of spiced chicken cutlet

Red velvet (supposedly good)

Some chocholate-y stuff

And a bday cake out of apple crumble

Still a slice left

Lucky me, there was still a slice left in the fridge.

Sweet

Bday present from R.

Dinner at Marche

Had dinner with the gang at Marche. First time eating it in Singapore (had it in Zurich) and was quite amazed by the crowd. We ordered rosti, salad and our mains of crepes and my grilled chicken breast. The food was good and fresh (cooked on the spot) but slightly pricey. Great ambience though.

Cooking and happy

With the abundance of food in Singapore, it is a surprise that people will opt to cook at home. Somehow, I was getting sick of the food from hawker centres and decided to cook for myself. Even though it is time-consuming and less tasty, I felt much happier.

Bday celebration

Dinner!

Cookies made by sis

Cake made by sis :)

Carrot cake

It's been a long time since I had this carrot cake from AMK and the quality remained good. Needless to say, there was a queue for good food.

Dinner at IKEA

Still awesome

Yum

Met R for dinner at IKEA. It's been really some time since I ate in IKEA and the standards are still as good.

Domino

This was during a training session and could be learnt within 10 mins. What's more important were the lessons of persistence, teamwork and learning from mistakes.

Cousin's gathering

Another gathering at Ssikek bbq buffet. Really sinful and it's something I must cut out. Nonetheless, it's fun meeting up with my cousins.

Movie: Brave

Plot:
Set in mystical Ireland, Brave tells the story of a girl who wanted to change her fate but fate has other things installed for her.

Review:
It's hard to find faults with Pixar's offerings and that is true for Brave. Emotional tale in an amazing setting with extremely cute characters. I was sold. The only misgiving I had was the quick ending. Nothing damaging but could be better.

Rating:
4/5

Movie: The Bourne Legacy

Plot:
Jason Bourne was only a part of the whole picture. In Bourne Legacy, we are introduced to Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) as he survives the extermination of the program.

Review:
While I have no qualms of another character kicking off a new storyline, it is difficult to establish a solid character development. This might be the reason for the initial drag. Sure enough, the story picked up with all the chases. I wished there were more excitement though but nope. Even at the ending, there were too many threads hanging.

Rating:
3/5

First week of work

Can't believe that it was already a week since I started work. I suppose that is life, zooming past. Work had been pretty okay but I am trying hard not to fall asleep. Colleagues were friendly but I have yet to meet all of them. The current aims are to brush up on my skills (I don't want to be a liability) and to get used to a working life.

Happy Bday Singapore

It's been a really long time since I watched a live NDP parade and I have to admit the experience was totally different. So, thank you J for the ticket. This year's performance was short but nothing short of spectacular. Sure enough, fireworks were abundant and spirits were high.

A weekend in Batam

Just got back from Sydney and leaving for Batam with E, J and S.

Our awesome hotel at BCC

Ayam penyet

Bakso

Felt peck-ish at midnight and ordered room service

Breakfast spread

Shopping for snacks (insane!)

Open air kopitiam with good food

Ate so much! We ordered satay (chicken, pork, croc), chicken wings, oyster omelette, claypot rice, cereal prawns, gong gong, veg, salted egg crab and steamed fish. OMG! And it was only about SGD20 per person. So cheap!

Post dinner activity at arcade (so cheap)

Reminisce at A&W

Movie: The dark knight rises

Plot:
It's eight years since the death of Harvey Dent and the disappearance of batman. Gotham city is enjoying a period of peace until Bane. After losing his spirit and his inheritance, batman struggles to save the city once again.

Review:
I love batman. I seriously do. Of course, the casts did an amazing job. Go catwoman! While the plot has little flaws, they are nicely covered up. It's been a while since a movie impressed me and got me at the edge of the seat.

Rating:
4.5/5

Movie: Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

Plot:
Global warming hits the prehistoric time and the melting ice caps separated the gang from their families. With sea pirates after their tails, will our favourite gang return safely.

Review:
Family friendly and nothing complex. Lots of laughter and adventure but I felt that the sea sirens were a little creepy. Nevertheless, the film was enjoyable.

Rating:
3.5/5

False alarm

Went for a doctor check up over a fear that I had for the past year. While the results turned out to be ok, I guessed a change in diet is in line.

Shawn and Serene's wedding

Happy bride

Ah, guess it's about time to start receiving all the wedding invitations from your friends. The first to tie the knot was S and S, my friends from Imperial. Coincidentally, they met in Imperial as well and will be pursuing their PhD in Cambridge. Really glad for them and especially so since S is a good friend, but had not kept in touch for the recent years. Marriage is sacred and as an audience, made me thinking.

Signed

In a few weeks' time, I will be starting work. Woohoo! Time to earn some moolahs and be financially stable. It's a mixed feeling but I can't wait to start work, albeit the declining freedom and politics.

Results are out!

Back in another post (somehow I could not find it), I predicted the grades that I would be getting for my final year. Now that the results are out, I guessed that I have 'under-estimated' (doubt so) my abilities. However, the important thing is that I got what I wanted and somehow, dreams do come true.

Day 3: Around Darling Harbour and USYD

The third day was really a day of eating. We ventured to the Darling harbour vicinity but there weren't anything much, unless you count the restaurants available. At least food won't be a problem. Perhaps the important landmark was the fish market (we were really like aunties).

Seafood lunch

Decided not to go to the fish market at 5am to watch the action. In the end, we settled for a seafood lunch. It's scary watching other people (mostly chinese) eat. There were mountains of food. It's as if they have not eaten seafood before. Furthermore, it was not as if the food were extremely delicious or cheap. The salmon sashimi was good though.

Happy lemon

After lunch, we headed to University of Sydney for some photo shoot. Along the way, we ended up buying happy lemon. In my opinion, all bubble tea tastes similar.

USYD

Tons of time were spent at USYD. The architecture looked similar to Cambridge or Oxford, which was good for taking grad photo.

Dinner at Nando's

Dinner at Nando's was disappointing in my opinion. Still prefer London's chicken and the sides. Well, a good thing is that they have student discounts.

Emperor's cream puff

It's only in the third day that we discovered chinatown. Woohoo to chinese food. We saw a long queue and being the typical Singaporean, we joined in the queue as well. Turned out that they were buying cream puffs. Reasonably priced and not bad at all...