Chikuwa Tei @ Mohammed Sultan

A close friend has been recommending Chikuwa Tei for the past two years, and was visibly miffed when she found out that I still haven't tried it yet. So this time, I paid it a visit with her for a weekend dinner.

I had called the place to make reservations, and was told that they only had two seatings - 6pm and 830pm. We took the 830pm slot, since I usually can't leave office on time.

Chirashi Sushi, $25

This was obviously their trademark dish. It consists of four different types of sashimi - salmon, mekajiki (swordfish), maguro (tuna), and tai (sea bream), and they all looked delightfully thick and generous. The sashimi were all fresh too, and the sea bream was definitely one of the best I have ever tasted. With the fish roe topping, this dish is a good way to have it all in one bowl.

Uni sashimi, $18

As it was a special occasion, I ordered some uni (sea urchin) sashimi to try. But I must admit that my standards for sea urchin are very high, after I first ordered it in Taiwan - which was so fresh and good, and yet so cheap. This one was still below Taiwan's by a few notches, but I guess I can't expect too much from Singapore.

I am definitely coming back here again. Reservations are a must, and it's a pity that it is not located near any MRT station, so you would either need to drive or be prepared to walk a longer distance. But it is definitely worth the time and trouble.

Plaza Brasserie @ ParkRoyal on Beach Road

Description directly from ParkRoyal's website:

"From 5 June to 31 August 2013, tuck into the ever-popular Black Pepper and Chilli Crab, alongside a variety of local noodle dishes, such as curry noodles, laksa and mee pok served with soft shell crab. We will also be serving chef's specialties: Nonya Curry Crab, XO Sauce Crab, Stir-fried Crab with Salted Egg Yolk and Steamed Crab with Dang Gui."

I love to eat crabs, and don't get to eat them often, so my gf and I decided to give this a try before the promotion ends. It costs $55++ per pax for a weekday buffet dinner.

We came out rather disappointed. There were so many types of crabs, but none were satisfactory. 

Baked crab

Dry and quite tasteless.

Black pepper crab

The black pepper sauce overpowered everything else. But then again, considering the low quality of their crabs, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Butter crab

Compared to the baked crab, a bit less dry and a bit more taste. But no buttery taste at all.

Chilli crab

The sauce was a bit watery and tasted a bit weird. It wasn't spicy at all too.

Crab with salted egg yolk

They seemed to use a different kind of salted egg yolk, and it tasted very different from other salted egg yolk crabs we have tried, or even other food seasoned with salted eggs. I love salted egg but this dish definitely failed to satisfy us.

Nonya crab

I fail to see where the 'Nonya' in this dish is.

Steamed crab with dang gui

The herbal soup tasted very diluted. Not surprisingly, the crab didn't taste very good either.

The underlying reason was because the quality of their crabs were not good. They don't taste very fresh, and the distinct flavour of crab meat was definitely lacking.

Since crab was the main draw of the buffet, the other dishes were fewer in variety. There were some normal local food which were average, but at least the sashimi - salmon belly, to be exact - was quite good.

We probably won't come here again.

A promise is a promise

Around five years ago, when we had just shifted to our new place, I decided to invite some of my cousins over for a barbeque downstairs. It then became a split two-generation event - the younger generation (yes, my generation) would barbeque downstairs, while my parents and other relatives would be having dinner upstairs. 

Before they came, I was busy preparing the food. Garfield, as usual, was walking around and poking his nose into everyone's business. I squatted down and told him that later we would be having guests over, and I would bring him downstairs too to join in the fun.

After they came, I got so busy running up and down that I decided to leave Garfield upstairs with the relatives. Being such a busybody dog, he should be sufficiently entertained with the big group upstairs, I thought. 

An hour or so into the barbeque, my mother called me. 

"Are you downstairs? Why didn't you bring Garfield? Did you know that he was so down and upset that even though everyone was around, he is now sulking alone in your room?"

I was taken aback. Garfield never fails to be around when we have guests, because he was just so... kaypoh. In fact, if we isolate him away from the guests, he would even get angry. But more importantly, did he really understand my promise to him? 

So I rushed upstairs to bring him down. True enough, I found him alone in my room, with the lights off. He was lying on his bed but he wasn't sleeping. Gosh, he was really upset and sulking!

I called out to him, and I could literally see his eyes brighten up. He rushed over in delight, and once he was downstairs, he was his usual self again, walking and sniffing around, but always near our group.

I felt quite guilty over the whole incident. I know I made a promise to Garfield, but for a dog to understand it so well... 

Jobs

Source: jobsmovie2013.com

Some disclaimers first - prior to watching the movie, I didn't read any movie reviews. And I have already read the autobiography on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

Now on the movie. For one thing, I do think that Ashton Kutcher did a pretty good impersonation of Steve Jobs, especially his hunched posture and bouncy walk. And behaviours aside, his appearance does look like Steve Jobs, perhaps around 80%? The hairstyle, facial hair, clothes - all of them helped to make Kutcher look very much like the real Jobs.

If you have read the book, you would probably agree that we can sum Steve Jobs up in three aspects - the entrepreneur, the boss, and the human. The movie glossed over the first one, focused on the second one, and almost entirely skipped the third one. It thus shows a very incomplete side of the man, whom to understand better, you would need to look at the whole package.

The first part of the movie consists of fleeting scenes with little connections to each other; the average viewer would probably be a bit lost, especially if he hasn't read the autobiography. As the movie progressed, it also started to come apart - there were so many important events and conversations that were crucial to the movie, and yet were missing. Just to name a few omissions - Wozniak gave some employees his own stock before Apple's IPO to reward them for their early help (Jobs refused to acknowledge them), Jobs getting married to Laurene Powell and having three kids, how he came to terms with his illegitimate daughter Lisa, how he led Pixar to success, and so on.

Let's sum this up. To understand the movie, you would probably need to read the book first. But after reading it, you don't have to watch the movie anymore. It's a good thing the movie was only released after Steve Jobs' death. I think he would have gotten into a fit if he saw this shit and sent it back to the producer again.

Let's Go to The Movies

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Conductor: Jason Lai

Violinist: Alexander Souptel

Clarinetist: Ma Yue

Programme:

Main Title from Star Wars

Theme from Jurassic Park

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Suite for Orchestra

     - Hedwig's Theme

     - Nimbus 2000

     - Harry's Wondrous World

Flying Theme from E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

"Hymn to the Fallen" from Saving Private Ryan

Theme from Schindler's List (for solo violin & orchestra)

"Raiders March" from Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme) from Star Wars

"Viktor's Tale" from The Terminal (for solo clarinet & orchestra)

The Shark Theme from Jaws

Superman March from Superman

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Suite for Orchestra

     - Fawkes the Phoenix

     - Dobby the House Elf

     - The Chamber of Secrets

Tango (Por Una Cabeza) (arranged for solo violin & orchestra by John Williams)

"Throne Room" & End Title from Star Wars

One of the few "non-classical" music concerts that I have attended recently. But a concert featuring John Williams' works was simply irresistible. If you were born in the 70s or 80s, it is practically impossible for you not to be familiar with the music from Star Wars, Superman, and Indiana Jones.

The movies covered during this concert spanned across multiple genres - comedy, science-fiction, horror, and war. And this made John Williams even more amazing, with his versatile ability to compose such thematic music. His talent is apparent with the number of nominations he has received - 48 Academy Award nominations. And he has won 5 Academy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, 7 British Academy Film Awards, and 21 Grammy Awards.

To be honest, I don't think the pieces were really difficult. A good composition does not necessarily have to be difficult, so this concert was more of a populist one - easy to perform but yet could generate much excitement and enjoyment. But the orchestra still executed the pieces well, and the solo pieces - Theme from Schindler's List and "Viktor's Tale" - were performed very well. I was quite amused when the clarinetist dressed up as Viktor, in his hat and suit - particularly because before that, I was half-expecting the conductor to dress up as Darth Vader and conduct the first piece after the intermission (The Imperial March) with a lightsabre.  

The audience had fun tonight. In fact, there was so much applause and cries for encores that the conductor had to shoo everyone home.

Hurry up

Chanced upon this article today.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-macy-stafford/the-day-i-stopped-saying-hurry-up_b_3624798.html

It struck a note with me, because of so many eerie similarities between me and the author. (I don't have a kid, though!) Some quotes that can be applied fully to me currently:

"When you are living a distracted life, every minute must be accounted for. You feel like you must be checking something off the list, staring at a screen, or rushing off to the next destination. And no matter how many ways you divide your time and attention, no matter how many duties you try and multi-task, there's never enough time in a day to ever catch up."

"When you live life distracted, you have tunnel vision -- only looking ahead to what's next on the agenda. And anything that cannot be checked off the list is a waste of time."

Maybe I should learn to take a break and enjoy life more. I could totally imagine myself rushing my kid (if I have one) every day, several times a day. "Hurry up and <fill in task here>".

Or maybe I should just not have a kid. That's even easier.

Unexpected Discovery

While doing my weekly stair climbing, on the 23rd floor, I chanced upon something very unexpected. It was the skin of a snake.

Snake skin

It was a pity that the skin was broken when I found it. I found the skin extremely beautiful, actually. The snake was probably only a metre long.

Look at the skin of the head - and more importantly, over the snake's eyes

It was a marvel to look at, especially the eye portion. If you look carefully, you will notice that the skin also covers the snake's eyes! What an interesting discovery.

Which led me to think next:

1) Did the snake climb all the way to the 23rd storey?

2) If so, after shedding its skin, where did it go? Could it have entered the corridor of one floor or even someone's house by accident?

3) If it didn't climb here by itself, did someone discard the skin here? (But why would someone discard the skin here and not just down the rubbish chute?)

I couldn't bear to discard it, so I put it in a ziploc bag and kept it in my room. :)

Hong Kong (Aug 2013)

Day 1

Another trip to Hong Kong for toy-shopping. I took Jetstar, just like last time, but I booked the ticket rather late and it cost almost S$360, which was quite expensive for a budget airline flight to Hong Kong. But fortunately I had free accommodation, because I was staying with a colleague who was there for work. The Mira was located around 4 minutes' walk from Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, so it was quite convenient (though I still prefer The Cityview, which was not as luxurious but so much closer to the toy haunts!) 

First time I saw a safe packed in a drawer, facing upwards

Free smartphone usage!

This was a really nice touch. A smartphone was provided for the room, and usage is free - even for overseas calls! And of course, most importantly, data was free too, so we used its tethering function to enable our own phones to surf the net.

I reached the hotel at around noon, so I grabbed a quick lunch, took a short nap, then set off to shop for toys before meeting my friend for dinner.

Dinner was at one of those 大排档s recommended by a Hong Konger, called 强记小厨. The food was pretty cheap and good, and one dish was worth a special mention here.

金稻穗香牛柳粒, HKD88 (S$14.43)

It consisted of beef cubes that were stir fried just nice such that the insides were still a bit rare, and mixed with eggplant, mushroom cubes (I think!), spring onion, and bits of crispy rice. It was damn good! 

The place is quite popular and can get packed even on weekday nights, so it is recommended to make a reservation.

Location: 旺角甘霖街31-33号地铺
Nearest MTR: Mong Kok, around 5 to 7 minutes' walk
Tel: 2899-0820


Day 2

My colleague went to office in the morning, and I went to McDonald's for breakfast. It was quite enjoyable to have breakfast in solitude, only with the company of my Kindle. Their sausage muffin patties were made of pork, so they tasted better than Singapore's. I sat there sipping my coffee and read... until the person from the next table let out a loud fart. I then decided it was time to go.

Went to Jenny Bakery, a place that sells cookies. Our HK colleagues had brought some over to Singapore several times before, and the cookies were definitely the best I have ever had, without a doubt. It tasted homemade and the "freshly-baked" taste - something which was sorely lacking in those Danish cookies you can get in supermarkets. 

Jenny Bakery had two outlets, one at Tsim Sha Tsui and the other at Sheung Wan, so I went to the former, which was just several minutes' walk from my hotel. 

Jenny Bakery, Tsim Sha Tsui outlet

I have heard stories about the long queues there, so I thought I was quite early, being there at around 1030am (it opens at 10am). I saw a queue of about ten people in front and thought "that's not too bad" - and proceeded to join the queue. Someone came out from the shop and started spewing Cantonese harshly (I don't understand Cantonese), with gestures towards another direction. I then realised that this was just part of the queue - the rest was outside the building. And there were definitely more than 60 people in front of me.

So I queued for a total of 1 hour and 11 minutes (yes I was measuring the time taken) under the rain. Thank goodness for my Kindle, which kept me entertained throughout!

When it was finally my turn, the lady asked me brusquely what I wanted while rummaging through some receipts and order lists on the table. When I said I wanted eight, she stopped her work and stared at me. "Where are you from?" she asked in a slightly unfriendly and suspicious manner. I told her I was from Singapore. She paused for a while, then nodded and collected my money. 

My friend told me later that they are quite wary of people buying their cookies in big quantities, because there have been quite a few incidents of people re-selling the cookies. People from the mainland supposedly made up most of the culprits, so once I said I was from Singapore, they didn't pursue further.

The cookies were not cheap - a large box of 4-mix cookies cost HKD120 (S$19.67), so eight of them cost close to S$160. More importantly, they weighed more than 6kg in total!

Location: 54-64 Nathan Road, Mirador Mansion, Shop 24 Ground Floor

Nearest MTR: Tsim Sha Tsui (Exit D2), around 3 minutes' walk

Tel: 2813-8568

Opening hours: 10am to 8pm

I went back to the hotel room to offload the cookies and hit the gym before walking to Australian Dairy Co. for lunch. Since it wasn't breakfast timing and I was alone, I went in almost without having to queue. This is really a must-visit place for me, the scrambled eggs are really the best ever.

Following that, I went down the streets of Mong Kok for the usual toy shopping, starting from In's Point to Sino Centre and finally Richmond Centre. My spoils listed below:

Richmond Centre:

- Chogokin Archer from Fate Zero, HKD588 (S$96.39)

- G.E.M Souko Okita from Gintama, HKD520 (S$85.25)

- Revoltech Fraulein 020 Makinami Mari Illustrious old-type plugsuit version, HKD190 (S$31.15)

- Figma 079 Makinami Mari Illustrious, HKD230 (S$37.70)

In's Point:

- Figma 032 Haruhi Suzumiya, HKD255 (S$41.80)

- Figma 033 Mikuru, HKD255 (S$41.80)

- Figma 100 Mitsune Haku, HKD425 (S$69.67)

- Figma 117 Index, HKD255 (S$41.80)

Day 3

It was a Saturday, so my friend could finally join me. We went to the Tim Ho Wan outlet at their CBD area, hoping to avoid the crowd as much as possible. The place opened at 9am and we arrived at around 845am, and managed to get in once they opened.

Short queue outside Tim Ho Wan 15 minutes before it opening

煎腊味罗白糕, HKD14 (S$2.30)

This was pretty good - I could taste the fresh turnip inside. The taste wasn't as strong compared to the normal ones I tried before in Singapore, but this actually allowed the turnip flavour to have more emphasis.

美味鲍汁凤爪, HKD26 (S$4.26)

This was significantly different from the ones I am used to. The flesh was much firmer, for one thing - and the chicken feet were also much bigger. I actually find this better as there is more bite and chew to it, and the seasoning was also good.

酥皮焗叉烧包, HKD18 (S$2.95)

Tim Ho Wan's trademark dish. This was superb. The crust was warm and slightly crispy, and once you sink your teeth in, the taste of the delicious char siew fills up your mouth immediately. Definitely a must-order here.

The inside of the bun

黄沙猪润肠, HKD20 (S$3.28)

This looked nice - the skin was shimmering and seemed to promise an even better filling inside. Unfortunately, it failed to satisfy. The skin was too thick, and I felt that the pig liver filling didn't seem to go well with it.

鲜虾鸭胸金刚, HKD24 (S$3.93)

 I couldn't taste the duck inside at all. Don't order this.

鼓汁蒸排骨, HKD26 (S$4.26)

 Nothing special, and it had too much fat too.

鲜虾烧卖皇, HKD24 (S$3.93)

This was honestly quite lousy. I think it wouldn't be difficult to find better versions in Singapore. It was dry and didn't have the taste of fresh prawn inside.

晶莹鲜虾饺, HKD24 (S$3.93)

 Similar to the dish above, this was quite disappointing.

香滑马拉糕, HKD14 (S$2.30)

This was quite highly recommended, so I ordered it despite not fancying such cakes. I was quite impressed; the cake was extremely light, fluffy, and went down very smoothly. 

Location: Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central

Nearest MTR: Hong Kong, around 10 minutes' walk

Opening hours: 9am to 9pm

After Tim Ho Wan, we went to Wan Chai to check out a toy shop which we saw from a toy magazine. The shops in that area turned out to be more expensive than those in Mong Kok, so we didn't spend much time there. We then proceeded to 长洲 to visit a colleague. 

长洲 (an island) was located around half an hour from Central via ferry. The weather was scorching hot, and the colleague's home was located on top of mountain. By the time we reached his place, which was around ten minutes, we were both hot and sweaty.

The island reminded me very strongly of 淡水 in Taiwan. The buildings were old, and the most modern-looking thing there was a McDonald's outlet.

View from my colleague's home, on top of a mountain

It was toy shopping again at the usual place after this.

Richmond Centre:

- Figma SP002 Lelouch + Figma SP003 Suzaku, HKD$980 (S$160.66)

- Figma SP034 Takanashi Yomi, HKD168 (S$27.54)

- Super Robot Chogokin God Reideen, HKD280 (S$45.90)

Figma Lelouch and Suzaku (from Code Geass) were both quite difficult to find, so I had to fork out quite a bit to buy them. The Katsura and Elizabeth from Gintama that I saw yesterday were gone today, damn it! Oh well, they were really expensive (HKD$1,500 - around S$245.90 for both) so maybe it's not such a bad thing after all...

In's Point:

- Super Robot Chogokin Gold Solar Aquarion, HKD480 (S$78.69)

- Revoltech 134 EVA Unit 08,  HKD280 (S$45.90)

My spoils from Hong Kong

Day 4

The initial plan for today was to have roast goose for an early lunch, but only at the last moment did I realise that I had mixed up my flight timing. So I had to forgo the roast goose lunch (sigh), buy some 老婆饼 from 恒香 (requested from my mother to give some relatives and friends), and back to the hotel to pack. 

Packing was challenging, as I had 14 boxes of toys, 8 boxes of cookies, and 5 boxes of wife biscuits. It took me almost an hour to pack everything, and in the end I had one backpack, two check-in luggage, and two hand-carry bags. The total weight wasn't too heavy, but the sheer bulkiness of everything made it very difficult to carry. I intended to take the Airport Express to the airport, but after carrying my stuff from my hotel room to the lift - I decided to take a cab instead. It cost me HKD235.50 (S$38.61) but I knew there was totally no way I could manage all these by myself! 

Five bags

Lessons learnt from this trip:

1) Bring more cash to Hong Kong next time. I brought around HKD5,000 and it was totally insufficient - I had to borrow quite a bit from my friend.

2) I really need to bring a bigger luggage bag next time. 

What the hell is a 'hot dog test'?

On the Straits Times today:

Mr Philip Yeo recounts an occasion when he and Mr Lim Swee Say - then working with him at the Economic Development Board - were queueing up for their boarding passes at an airline transit counter in Chicago. 

As there would be no food on the plane, he asked the young officer accompanying the to get three hot dogs from the nearest food stand.

"Swee Say and I got our boarding passes in less than 15 minutes, then we went looking for our missing officer," said Mr Yeo.

"We found him at the hot dog stand - patiently putting ketchup, onions, condiments, etc etc onto the three hot dogs! I expected him to bring the three 'naked' hot dogs to us. The officer failed the hot dog test. No more future trips with us."

So what the hell is this 'hot dog test'? Is there anything wrong with a subordinate doing this for his superiors? I pity for the guy for being condemned on Mr Yeo's whim, probably having absolutely no idea why he was not selected for future trips.

Three months without Garfield

Today is the third month of Garfield's death anniversary.

It has only been three months since you left us, but these three months seem so long, so empty, so wrong. Home will never be the same without you. Sometimes, I still expect you to be there when I come home from work, waiting for me at by the front door. Or when I switch on my room lights, I half expect to see you curled up on your bed, your lovespace. 

I dreamt of you several days ago. In the dream, which probably only lasted a few seconds, I recall telling someone - I don't know who - that you were not that skinny anymore. Hopefully it was a sign that you are doing well in the other world. I hope that you are able to run freely there, with no pain, no worries, and no unhappiness.

Sauteed mushrooms

Sauteed mushrooms (serves 1 to 2)

I did this randomly and it turned out quite good.

Ingredients:

1 box of white mushrooms, around 300g, sliced
2 stalks of spring onion, chopped into fine bits, leaving around 5cm unchopped from the bottom
0.5 cup of white wine
3 cloves of garlic, chopped into fine bits
2 teaspoons of butter
Salt

Instructions:

1) Melt the butter in a skillet, then put the garlic.
2) When the garlic starts to turn brown, add the mushrooms and stir.
3) Once the mushrooms become tender, pour the white wine in.
4) Add the spring onion in and stir it for a short while more, then serve.

Chinese Slow-Cooked Chicken

Chinese slow-cooked chicken

Another recipe passed down from my mother. It can be prepared in advance, easy to do, and requires little ingredients. 

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

10 slices of ginger

5 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine

Salt

3 stalks of spring onion

3 tablespoons of sesame oil

Instructions:

1) Place the stalks of spring onion at the bottom of the slow-cooker, then put the chicken on top of it.

2) Throw the ginger slices in.

3) Mix the Chinese wine and 2 teaspoons of salt, then pour the mixture in.

4) Add the sesame oil in, followed by one cup of water.

5) Turn on the slow-cooker on high. After around 1.5 hours, add half more cup of water.

6) Chicken is ready after another 2 hours or so.

Simon Trpceski Plays Chopin (28 Jun 2013)

Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall

Conductor: Lan Shui

Pianist: Simon Trpceski

Programme: 

Sergei Rachmaninov - Introduction to Aleko

Sergei Rachmaninov - Men's Dance from Aleko

Sergei Rachmaninov - Prince Rostislav, Symphonic Poem for Orchestra

Frederic Chopin - Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11

The highlight of the concert was Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, performed by Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski (Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe). 

The concerto did not start off well. The heavy and bleak starting notes was not accentuated sufficiently by the orchestra, and the tempo was also a bit too fast; not enough emphasis was placed and the orchestra just seemed to rush through it. Fortunately, Trpceski's playing saved the day. He was obviously an experienced pianist from the way he carried himself - he was entirely at ease and enjoying himself. He placed more emphasis on the dynamics of the concerto, and he expressed this through his body too. One amusing thing I noticed was that after every cadenza, Trpceski would turn around to look at the orchestra, as if asking them, "Did you hear that?" and "Is everything fine?"

His body movements were most apparent in the third movement of the concerto, Rondo (Vivace). Based on a traditional Polish dance, a Krakowiak, Trpceski looked, at times, almost like he was dancing as well, clearly delighted in the exuberance of the piece. (The Krakowiak was supposed to mimic the movement of horses.)

Overall, the concerto was quite enjoyable despite being dampened somewhat by the orchestra, whose accompaniment did not match up to Trpceski's playing.

Man of Steel

Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel. Source: forbes.com 

Having watched quite a few Superman movies [ Superman (1978), Superman II (1981), Superman III (1983), Superman IV (1987), Superman Returns (2006) ], I had my reservations in watching this, since the last few were rather disappointing. (I even survived ten seasons of Smallville, by the way.)

My gut reaction to Henry Cavill donning Superman's cape was one of doubt. He just doesn't look like  Superman. Of course, Christopher Reeve was the best there could ever be, but at least Brandon Routh in Superman Returns still looked as if he fit the role well... never mind the plot, of course.

Brandon Routh in Superman Returns. Source: www.g4tv.com

Henry Cavill's costume has undergone a significant change from his predecessors. While everyone has been talking about the removal of his trademark red briefs, I think the bigger change is on the colours. Cavill's costume is now much darker, an indication of how the character and movie will turn out. Superman here is much more troubled and brooding than the previous Supermen, and being conflicted by his desire to help others and the need to keep his powers secret, he sets out on a journey to discover his true heritage.

The opening scene was perhaps a bit long, but nevertheless necessary to give the movie some backing (and perhaps to explain to people who are unfamiliar with Superman's background). We are then brought to some scenes of his childhood, where the movie explains how he got his powers of X-ray vision, super hearing, and heat vision. And of course, on how his parents have managed to instil a rock-solid sense of morality and ethics into their adopted son. Lois Lane then comes into the picture, and accidentally leads General Zod to Earth.

That's around half the movie gone. The other half revolves just around mindless action. The battles between the aliens with super strength involved punches which sent each other hurtling kilometres away and smashing through several buildings in succession, which reminded me very strongly of Dragonball. But despite taking so many hits, Superman didn't look the slightest bit injured. And one amusing observation was that although their battles took place in the sky (and everywhere else), they were always in firm sight of Lois Lane and the rest. The final scene was also coincidentally where Lois Lane could reach in just a few minutes... hmm.

I am not sure if there will be a sequel. But the charming relationship between Clark and Lois - that of a bumbling and clumsy Clark having a crush on the aggressive and confident Lois, who loves Superman while not knowing that Clark is actually Superman - is definitely impossible now, since the whole world seems to know who Superman is. And come on, his disguise is pathetic. Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh are able to pull off the stunt of putting on a pair of big plastic spectacles and transforming into Clark Kent, but Henry Cavill in spectacles just looked like, well, Superman in spectacles.

Man of Steel was a good effort at rebooting the Superman franchise. But to me, Christopher Reeve will always be the true Superman.

Cream of leek and potato soup

Cream of leek and potato soup (serves 6 to 8)

This is not too difficult and can be prepared in advance.

Cream of leek and potato soup

Ingredients:

2 large leeks (preferably Australian), around 400g
450g baby potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1.5 litres chicken stock
150ml sour cream
Salt
Black pepper
Spring onion for garnishing


Instructions:

1) Make a slit along each leek, length-wise. Rinse well, then slice thinly.
2) Pour the chicken stock into a pot, then add the potatoes in. Boil it, then let it simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
3) Add in the leeks, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and let it simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.
4) Let the mixture cool a bit, then blend it.
5) Heat up the mixture again. Add the cream in and stir it.
6) Serve with some spring onion and a bit of sour cream.

GRUB @ Bishan Park

GRUB opened its doors only recently, and I have heard how long the queues are during mealtimes. My gf and I visited GRUB for breakfast only because my Canopy discount card was missing (forgot who I lent it to). We reached there shortly after 9am and still managed to get a seat indoors.

Truffled egg cocotte, $7

Two soft boiled eggs, with bacon bits, spring onion, and some truffle oil. And focaccia bread for dipping. The eggs were done quite well, and the saltiness of the bacon means that no dark soy sauce is required. 

While this didn't cost much in absolute terms, when it comes to soft boiled eggs, I would still prefer our local version with dark soy sauce and pepper. And the small portion means that this is almost certainly not enough for most people. Which was why we ended up ordering another cheeseburger to share.

GRUB Breakfast Set, $15

Their "big breakfast" set, which comes with tomato chutney, garlic pork sausage (can also opt for beef), mushroom, salad, scrambled eggs, and focaccia bread. I found the scrambled eggs unsatisfactory; it was dry and not fluffy at all. In fact, I think the tomato chutney was the best in this plate.

GRUB Cheeseburger, $11

The fries impressed me more than the burger, whose beef patty was a bit tough and lacking of beef flavour. 

To sum up, I like GRUB's design and ambience more than its food. There is something about it being a lone building located amongst the greenery of Bishan Park. Average-only food, reasonable prices, but portions on the small side. They welcome dogs too, so this is another place for dog owners.

Hippopotamus @ Marina Square

I have passed by Hippopotamus several times and made a note to myself to visit it some day, and the day came when I saw it on the Palate program. Visited here for dinner on a weekday.

French onion soup, $8.90

Normal french onion soup. Nothing special, but nothing really wrong with it either.

Fried calamari, $3

This was a promotional item. At $3, it would appear to be a real steal. But don't order it. The calamari was not fresh and tasted a bit fishy and odd.

Classic ribeye, 220g, $24.90

Their menus had two different categories of steaks - the premium and the normal ones. I ordered the normal one. It is probably NZ beef, which is cheaper (and less tasty). I found the beef lacking in beef flavour. And I asked for it to be done medium rare... but it came out closer to rare.

This isn't medium rare.

Hippo Bacon Burger, $17.90

We decided to "diversify" our orders and not focus on steaks only. So we chose one of their burgers. This was so-so only too. But the sides that we selected were quite a let-down. The potato gratin was practically tasteless and we discarded more than half of it, while the ratatouille was also too bland.

After I asked for the bill, I noticed that the shop name written on the bill was "Swensen's". So they are both under the same holding company, ABR Holdings Limited! Interesting.

Tonkotsu King Four Seasons @ Bugis Village

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King Four Seasons (what a mouthful!) is the newest ramen outlet opened by Keisuke Takeda, on top of the existing Tonkotsu King, Tori King, and Ramen Keisuke Dining. Each one features a unique theme, and as the name suggests, the theme of this outlet is the four seasons. Even the interior of the restaurant had been designed to fit the theme; my friend and I passed through all four seasons as we walked through. In order, it was spring, summer, autumn, and finally winter. We sat at the winter section.

Winter section

It was certainly comforting to see the usual free-flow bean sprouts and hard boiled eggs on the table! Being a big fan of bean sprouts, I never had to worry about not having enough food at any of the Keisuke outlets. Because whatever empty space in my stomach could always be filled with bean sprouts.

As I came here with only one friend, we only managed to try two seasons - autumn and summer.

Autumn ramen with egg, $14.90

Autumn ramen comes with a mixture of three different types of mushrooms - eringi, shimeiji, and shiitake - and these were stir-fried before blending into a fine paste along with some bonito. I took a sip of the soup first before mixing the paste in. It was quite thick and rich, but a little on the salty side. I actually thought it tasted like chicken broth, but the menu said the soup was tonkotsu... hmm. But I learned later that it was a mixture of chicken and pork bones.

After mixing, the resultant broth was one that was just right, as the mushrooms helped to neutralise a bit of the salty taste. This was delicious! And the soup wasn't too oily, maybe due to the presence of chicken broth in it. Compared to Menya Musashi's, I think this should be considerably less oily, also because I wrote "no oil" on my order sheet. 

The char siew was also excellent, much better than their other outlets. It was tender and juicy, and yet not too fat. I am not sure which part of the pig they used - I suspect it was the cheeks. I hope they still use this during my next visit.

Summer ramen with egg, $15.90

My friend ordered this, their Summer ramen. Although I love spicy food, I tend to avoid spicy ramen, as I think the spice spoils the natural flavour of the soup. The soup base is the same, except that they added a special powdered mixture that consists of cayenne pepper, Szechuan pepper, and ground pork. I think there was some miso too, but I wasn't too sure. It wasn't as spicy as it looks though. I still prefer the Autumn bowl over this.

Other than Autumn and Summer, they still have Spring (with basil and parmesan cheese), Winter (plain tonkotsu broth), and King (topped with ginger stir-fried pork). I wonder what I will try next?

Where's my car emblem

My mother and I had just parked our car at Serene Centre this morning when I noticed something odd about our car emblem. My first thought was, "is there a sticker over the car emblem?"

Then I took a closer look and started cursing. Some fucker had ripped it off.

We had no idea when or where the incident happened. It could be yesterday, when my younger brother parked at the Pasir Ris jetty car park meant for army personnel. Or the day before, when my mother parked at a public car park in Bishan. 

The irony is that today the Straits Times reported that "Two charged with tearing emblems from cars". It mentioned that the two were each charged with 15 counts of mischief after they allegedly removed the car emblems from a condo and hotel carpark. Their targets were BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Fiat.

Maybe it's time I install a video camera in the car. Or better still, run an electric current over the replacement emblem so that anyone touching it will get a nasty electric shock. 

Clearing emails

After neglecting to archive and arrange my office mail box for around three years, I decided that I had better do so before it gets even worse. This was also partially triggered by some additional job responsibilities I got this week, which I really need to be very organised in. So I brought my laptop back over the weekend, something which I haven't done in the past few months. 

Number of emails on my mailbox = 11,785. I spent two hours last night on it and only cleared around 1,300. And these are the straightforward ones - mostly deleted instead of archiving.

I am so screwed. 10,456 more to go.

Update as of 2nd June 2013, 1129pm:

After spending practically the whole weekend (from Friday night till Sunday night), I am finally down to 2,189. I swear that I will tidy up my emails regularly from now on.