Electronic Arts iPad app sale

Just bought quite a few apps on my iPad, as Electronic Arts was having a sale this weekend on some of their apps. 

Bought the following apps at USD$0.99 each:

- Monopoly for iPad

- Risk: The Official Game for iPad

- Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit for iPad

I don't really see myself playing these games for a long time, but if it happens that there is a group of us, Monopoly and Risk should prove quite entertaining. Anyway, they are so cheap! 

Two days ago I also purchased Dungeon Hunter 2 HD (by Gameloft) at USD$0.99 too. Dungeon Hunter 1 was pretty easy and brainless but still had some entertainment value and good graphics, so I expect Dungeon Hunter 2 to be an extension of the same formula.

Dian Xiao Er @ Nex

Dian Xiao Er (店小二) has been rather well-known for its herbal roasted duck. I love roast duck and herbal stuff, so this combination seems like a perfect match for me. It was a half-hour wait for the food  (after 15 minutes of queueing too), because they only roast the duck when it is ordered. 

Roast duck with Ten Wonder Herbs, $43 for one whole duck

They had three kinds of roast duck, but this was the most popular. The duck is marinated with their ten wonder herbs and some wine first before roasting. I am not sure what the ten herbs are, but a quick check on their website showed at least astragalue, codonopsis root, and dried longan.

Judging from how deep the taste had seeped into the duck, it was probably marinated for a decent amount of time. The skin was also nicely crisp, so I was really quite satisfied with this dish as a whole.

Penang Road Cafe @ Novena

I am a fan of prawn mee. But I have always been disappointed with most prawn noodles, because the most important thing to me - the soup - is usually a let-down. The soup must be rich and flavourful, with the real taste of prawns, which is usually the result of brewing a lot of prawns (especially the prawn heads) over time. It is quite easy to distinguish between a rich soup and a bland (and sometimes artificial-tasting) soup, just by appearances alone. 

So when I heard that there was a good place for prawn mee at Novena, I went to give it a try. The name of the cafe is Penang Road Cafe, and it is located at Novena Ville, which is diagonally opposite Novena Medical Centre.

The prawn mee is done Penang style, so it is a bit different from the usual Singaporean prawn mee. 

Prawn mee with pork ribs, prawns and pork strips - $8.90

Once the bowl came, I knew that this would be good, judging from the soup colour alone. The soup was rich and full of the sweet flavour of prawn heads. The taste of the fried onions blended in perfectly, and even though bee hoon (which tends to dilute soup flavour) was added in, the soup was still robust enough to stand on its own. The soup was also quite spicy, which was a plus for me, but it may be a tad too spicy for others. 

My only gripes were in the other ingredients. The pork ribs had a slight tinge of the 'defrosted' taste, so I suspect that it was either frozen for a long time or not defrosted properly before cooking. The prawns were rather tasteless (maybe everything is already in the soup), and the pork strips suffered from the same issue as the pork ribs. Of course, this is not going to prevent me from coming back again because I just want the soup. The next time, I shall just order the standard prawn mee (with prawns and pork strips), which costs $6. Adding pork ribs jacks up the price by almost 50% (to $8.90), and they don't taste fantastic either.

I still prefer my old favourite prawn mee haunt at Hoe Nam Prawn Noodles (Tai Thong Crescent, Potong Pasir) but this is more than good enough for revisits.

Google Calendar

Recently, my iPhone refused to synchronise with my Microsoft Outlook calendar (or is it the other way round?) and it certainly caused much inconvenience, as I couldn't check my schedule without my laptop.  A quick search on Google showed that this was a common problem without any concrete solutions. After trying countless measures in vain - restarting my laptop, restarting my iPhone, repairing iTunes, reinstalling iTunes, changing Outlook settings, changing iTunes settings - I decided to try using Google Calendars. And it worked perfectly - even better than before. Previously I could only sync my phone by plugging it manually to my laptop. But now, it could be done wirelessly and automatically. Additionally, I could now send calendar invites and view event invitees, which was impossible before.

Here is what I did. 

Step 1: Sign up for a Google account and get a Google Calendar. 

Step 2: Install the Google Calendar Sync program on the computer (with Microsoft Outlook).

Step 3: Once Google Calendar Sync is installed, a Google Calendar Sync settings window will appear. Enter your Gmail and password, select the 2-way sync option (if you want to sync both your Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook events with each other), select a time interval for syncing (I used 10 minutes), then click on 'Save'. Google Calendar will start syncing with your Outlook calendar, and this process may take several minutes.

Step 4: Now that Outlook is in sync with Google Calendar, it is time to sync the iPhone with Google Calendar. On the iPhone, go to Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars --> Add Account --> Microsoft Exchange. 

Step 5: Key in your Gmail, user name and password, then press 'Next'. You will be prompted to enter a server name. Key in m.google.com and proceed.

Step 6: I disabled the Mail and Contacts option because I didn't need them. Then press 'Sync'. Your iPhone calendar will then be populated with all your calendar events in a short while. 

Step 7: Make sure that under Settings --> Mail, Contacts, Calendars --> Fetch New Data --> Push should be on so that changes will be synced to your phone faster. And it's done. 

So what happens when you update your calendar on...

......your Outlook? Google Calendar Sync will sync (depending on your time interval syncing settings) with Outlook, and this will then get pushed immediately to your iPhone.

......your Google Calendar? This will get pushed immediately to your iPhone. Outlook will only sync after Google Calendar Sync runs. 

......your iPhone? This will be synced with Google Calendar immediately. Outlook will only sync after Google Calendar Sync runs.

Hmm... it's interesting that this process involves all the 3 IT heavyweight companies - Microsoft, Apple, and Google.

Fitting 175 minutes of effort into 135

In today's Straits Times, someone wrote in to the ST Forum (online version) to complain about Starhub.

"I attempted seven calls to StarHub's 1633 technical hotline on Sept 3 from 11.45am to 2pm. 

During each try, I was put on hold for more than 25 minutes and ultimately none of the calls got attended to.

This is the not the first time I have encountered this situation. I have given feedback to StarHub on several occasions about it .There has not only been no improvement, but the service has also worsened."

Nicholas Kea Fong

Hmm. Seven calls, 25 minutes each. That's a total of 175 minutes, which is almost 3 hours. But the writer claimed to have attempted from 11.45am to 2pm, which is only 2 hours 15 minutes?

Unless, of course, he meant that 2pm was his last attempt. But that doesn't seem like the usual way to put your point across.

Chaos Rings

Chaos Rings - Escher and Musiea at each other's throats, literally.
Source: App Chronicles

Finally, a good mobile RPG. And by good, I refer to the gameplay and plot. I have played several mobile RPGs that were decent in gameplay, but the plot was always thin, mediocre, and without substance. Chaos Rings is none of that, and it offers an epic storyline and great gameplay.

You can choose to play as one out of four available couples, and the replay value is great as you can play as the other couples, understanding things from their perspective and revealing more of the plot. The story is dark, and offers some interesting and surprising twists which kept me hooked till the end. The music was excellent too. Graphics were all right, but since it was more for an iPhone game (I installed it on my iPad) I suppose it would look clearer and sharper on my iPhone instead. I should have gotten the HD version on iPad, damn it...

The app is well-tested and stable. It has never crashed on me before, not even once, and if you shut down the app without saving, the game will let you continue from where you left off, or let you revert to a previously saved game. Then again, maybe it's because I only purchased this from the App Store four months ago - the game was actually released on April 2010 - and Square Enix had plenty of time to fix all the bugs (if any). A recent update actually introduced voice acting into the game, which was really a nice touch. The only downside is that the update increased the app size from 273MB to 698MB.

The game is expensive, at US$12.99, but I got it when it was on sale (only US$3.99), so it was really worth it. Chaos Rings Omega HD is now available on the App Store at US$14.99, but I will probably wait for the price to drop first before purchasing it. Yes, this time I am definitely getting the HD version instead.

Update as of 24th Sep 2011: 
Just completed the game with all four couples, all at maximum level 100, with 108% achievements. :)

Stupid MRT designs

Serangoon MRT

Serangoon MRT, transit area

This picture is taken at the transit area between the Northeast Line and Circle Line. What's the point of building two narrow travellators when the corridor is so huge? Why not just build wider travellators which can allow three people to walk abreast? So much space is wasted in the middle, and one person can easily hog up the whole travellator. 

Lorong Chuan MRT

Lorong Chuan MRT

Another flawed design. The station has two exits. People coming in from exit A (left of the picture) are forced to use the lift to reach the platform. If not, they would have to go one big round, almost reaching exit B (far end of the picture), in order to take the escalator. Why not just build an escalator or a staircase for people accessing from exit A? A staircase should make more economical sense too (assuming no architectural issues).

Now on the lift. There are two gantries there (refer to picture), and both are two-directional. This means that when the lift arrives and you fail to reach the gantry before the people coming out of the lift, you will have to wait outside while everyone exits using both gantries. And of course, while waiting, chances are that someone else presses the lift downstairs, so the lift goes down without carrying anyone. And what comes naturally is that the train would come while you are fuming and waiting for the lift to come up again (I know I do). 

The solution is simple. Since people who exit the lift do not have to rush to catch the next train, why not just set one gantry to one-direction only for people who are entering? In this way, people entering the gantry can catch the lift while it is still there. This saves time for commuters and electricity - the lift does not have to make a wasted trip down carrying no one.

Alternatively, just add one more gantry there instead of two, so two gantries can be one-directional (in opposite directions) while the wider gantry for disabled passengers can remain two-directional. 

Tio Toto! .... not

Today is the first time I bought Toto, because I bumped into a colleague and she suggested buying it together. Previously there were times when I shared with others, especially when there was an exceptionally grand prize, but I knew almost nothing about how to play Toto or 4D. And I have never stepped into a Singapore Pools outlet before prior to this. I just know that statistically, the odds are so small that it isn't worth it. And most people know that as well.

So when the Toto results came out, I went online eagerly to see if I had the winning combination. I ended up just striking one number out of eight. Nice. 

To rub it in, the Group 1 prize came from the very same outlet I bought my ticket from this morning.

Nantsuttei @ Millenia Walk

One of my favourite ramen haunts, Nantsuttei. It is located at #03-02 Millenia Walk, at the 3rd floor of Parco.

Nantsuttei standard ramen, $12

The menu was very limited in choices, but I was satisfied with just their standard ramen. The soup was made from tonkotsu (pork bones) and was extremely rich. What separates it from other ramen is that the soup is rather black in colour, as seen in the picture. The cause is actually roast garlic oil (I don't know why it is so black though!) and according to the shop, it was created by frying garlic over seven phases and mixed into a blend. 

The soup is very rich and will be too salty for quite a few people. But for those who like their ramen soup rich (like me), they will find this bowl extremely satisfying.

The price is reasonable too - $12, and it comes with one slice of char siew. I would love to order their Negi Ramen, which comes with white shredded negi (green onions) and bannou negi (chopped thin green onions), but at $3 more just for green onions (that's 25% of the standard ramen bowl!) I thought it was a little too steep. 

Garlic fries - failed!

Tried to make garlic fries today, but it failed. The fries came out a bit burnt (the skin) and a bit soggy (the potato), and with absolutely no garlic taste at all (despite putting heaps of garlic powder while seasoning).

The end product looked so bad that I didn't even bother to take a picture of it. 

I wasn't sure what the exact cause was though. Was it the baking time? Was it the temperature? Was it because my tray wasn't big enough for the fries to be spread in a single layer?

Then again, maybe I should just settle for fries from McDonald's instead...

Spaghetti with grilled portobello mushrooms and cheese

Spaghetti with grilled portobello mushrooms and cheese (Serves 2)

Spaghetti with grilled portobello mushrooms and cheese

Ingredients:

3 to 4 mini portobello mushrooms, or 2 large portobello mushrooms
160g of spaghetti
0.5 cup of grated pecorino or parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of marjoram
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
Parsley

Instructions:

1) Place the mushrooms upside down, and season them with a bit of salt and pepper.
2) Grill the mushrooms in a toaster oven for around 8 minutes.
3) Take out the mushrooms and let them cool slightly, then cut them into small pieces. There should be a lot of juices from the mushrooms; remember to keep them in a small bowl.
4) Boil a pot of well-salted water. When it boils, put the spaghetti in and let it boil according to the instructions on the pasta packet.
5) When the pasta is cooked, drain it.
6) Mix the pasta with the mushrooms, grated cheese, marjoram, olive oil, and mushroom juices.
7) Add some salt and pepper to taste, and serve with a bit of parsley on top.

Penne rigate with mixed vegetables and bacon

So far, this is the most troublesome dish I have ever prepared. Perfect as a main dish if you don't feel like making a salad, because it has all the vegetables you need.

Penne rigate with mixed vegetables and bacon (Serves 3)

Penne rigate with mixed vegetables and bacon

Ingredients:

240g of penne rigate or fettuccine

100g of steaky bacon, chopped into fine bits

250g of asparagus, cut into diagonal 1-inch pieces

1 cup of green peas

1 bunch of spring onions, chopped, with the light green portions separated from the dark green portions

2 garlic cloves, chopped into very fine bits

0.75 cup of finely grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

0.25 cup of sour cream or whipped cream

Extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon of finely grated lemon peel

Salt

Black pepper

Parsley

Instructions:

1) Boil a big pot of water and add some salt in.

2) When the water boils, add the pasta and let it boil according to the instructions on the pasta packet. 

3) After it is cooked, drain the pasta, leaving around 0.25 cup of the pasta cooking water. Put the pasta into a large mixing bowl.

4) Fry the bacon bits in a skillet until they become crispy. Put the bacon onto a plate with paper towels to drain the oil.

5) There should be quite a bit of bacon oil on the skillet. Pour them away, leaving enough for the next step.

6) Add the asparagus and stir-fry for roughly 3 minutes. 

7) Add the spring onion (light green portions only), peas, and garlic in and continue to stir-fry for roughly 2 more minutes. 

8) Add the mixed vegetables, pasta cooking water, spring onions (dark green portions), grated cheese, cream, lemon juice, lemon peel, bacon bits, and parsley in. Mix them well while adding olive oil. 

9) Add some salt and pepper and mix again. Taste it to make sure that it is enough.

10) Include some extra grated cheese in a side bowl for serving.

Honey roasted whole chicken

Another easy recipe but again, you need to marinate it in advance.

Honey roasted whole chicken

Honey roasted whole chicken

(Hmm... I think I should have removed more of the chicken's neck!)

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (1.4kg to 1.6kg)

2 teaspoons of salt

Black pepper

7 teaspoons of honey

Instructions:

1) Add the salt, pepper and honey into a small bowl and mix well.

2) Rub the mixture around the whole chicken, including its interior.

3) Leave it in the fridge for preferably 4 hours or more.

4) Preheat the oven at 190 degrees in 'bake' mode. After 10 minutes, put the chicken in with its back facing up.

5) After 25 minutes, turn the chicken.

6) After another 15 minutes, change the oven mode to 'fan' mode. Monitor it closely.

7) Chicken is ready after another 5 minutes.

Update as of 9th Oct 2011:
I tried making this again, this time with a bigger chicken (1.6kg to 2.0kg). Although I baked it slightly longer, the skin came out burnt (to the point of being a bit bitter), but the meat was only just cooked. The recipe above is mainly applicable for medium-sized chickens, so I will need to tweak it a bit for bigger chickens, namely - more salt, and perhaps to bake it at a lower temperature but for a longer time.

Update as of 15th Oct 2011:
Used a smaller chicken this time (1.1kg to 1.3kg). The chicken came out just nice after I tweaked the recipe as such:
1) 6 teaspoons of honey instead
2) Preheating the oven at 200 degrees instead
3) After putting the chicken in for ten minutes, I decreased the temperature to 190 degrees for five minutes, then decreased it further to 180 degrees. The rest of the steps remained the same.

Update as of 1st Jan 2013:
Made some adjustments to the recipe and timings in a more recent entry here.

Oven roasted chicken thighs with lime

This recipe is easy, but you need to marinate it in advance for the chicken to absorb more flavour.

Oven roasted chicken thighs with lime

Oven roasted chicken thighs with lime

Ingredients:

2 chicken thighs, with excess fat removed

3 to 4 tablespoons of light soya sauce

1.5 limes

Black pepper

Parsley

Instructions:

1) Put the chicken thighs into a mixing bowl and squeeze the lime juice onto the chicken. Add the soya sauce and some black pepper in, and mix it thoroughly. Put the bowl into the fridge for preferably 3 hours or more.

2) Preheat the oven to 220 degrees. Use the 'bake' mode. After around 10 minutes, put the chicken thighs in (with any residual sauce) and leave it for 35 minutes.

3) Switch the oven to 'grill' mode. Monitor it carefully as although it makes the skin more golden brown and crispy, it could also get burnt more easily. Leave it for around 5 minutes or if the chicken skin starts to turn dark brown.
4) Transfer the chicken onto a plate, along with any residual sauce. Do not pour the sauce onto the skin as it will reduce the crispiness of the skin, especially if you are not going to eat it immediately.

5) Sprinkle some parsley on top, and serve.

Penne rigate with broccoli and cheese

Penne rigate with broccoli and cheese (serves 4 to 5)

Penne Rigate with Broccoli and Cheese

Ingredients:

450g of broccoli

400g of penne rigate

Extra virgin olive oil

0.75 to 1 cup of finely grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) Wash the broccoli, then remove the stems. Cut it into bite-size pieces, and remove the smaller stems as well.

2) Boil a big pot of water, and add quite a bit of salt inside (maybe around 0.25 cup). 

3) When the water boils, add the broccoli. 

4) When the water (with the broccoli) boils again, add the pasta and let it boil according to the instructions on the pasta packet.

5) After it is cooked, drain the pasta and broccoli, then pour them into a large bowl. 

6) Add the olive oil and mix the pasta and broccoli throughly. Make sure you add enough olive oil such that the pasta glistens slightly and the bits of broccoli stick to it. If there's residue olive oil at the bottom of the bowl, that means you poured too much.

7) Add the grated cheese and some black pepper in and mix well again.

8) Include some extra grated cheese in a side bowl for serving.

Note: Step 8 is important - it really makes the pasta taste better even though most of the cheese has already been mixed in with the pasta.