Huh?

While looking for places for brunch, I chanced across Epicurious' website.

"Our full breakfast menu is available at on Saturdays and Sundays at The Quayside from 9am until we run out, and at The Rail Mall from 9am to 4pm.


During the week, a limited All-Day-Breakfast is available during lunch."

Uhh so what does this mean? Isn't all-day-breakfast supposed to be available all day? Why is it available only during lunch?

Would it be better if they just change the sentence to "During the week, our breakfast menu is also available during lunch until it is sold out."?

Lessons from Angry Birds

Angry Birds actually gives pretty good lessons and insights on life. Here are some I thought of:

1) Don't give up

Just can't kill off the last pig? Just can't get enough points to get 3 stars? Don't give up. It is definitely possible. While you may try different approaches, the most important fact is to keep trying and not give up. 

2) Don't stick to the same method time and time again

There are many ways to clear a stage. Don't rely on the same formula and expect it to work every time! Explore and experiment. For example, firing the boomerang bird in the opposite direction (towards the left) has actually helped me a couple of times.

3) Everyone is good at something (usually)

This is more for managers managing a team. Each bird is good at something specifically - the tiny blue birds smash through glass as if they were paper, the yellow birds have the longest range and are good for aiming, the black birds are great for shattering stone and explosions, the huge red birds for their weight, the white birds for their vertical egg bombs and subsequent parabolic flight, etc.

Though I say that everyone is good at something, I can't imagine what the normal red bird is good at... In work, most teams have someone who doesn't stand out at all, but hey, it's better than not having the bird there at all...

My presidential-unhopeful, Tan Kin Lian #1

Today, the Sunday Times had an article on Tan Kin Lian, He hopes to instil honesty & fairness. 

TKL has an issue with the Government on the impact of national service on Singaporean men. He claims that because men start their careers a couple of years later than women, they are disadvantaged in many ways.

"What does it mean? They marry later. What does it mean? No babies. There are many consequences," he says.

I think one does not even need much of a brain to know that national service is not the cause of our low birth rate. National service has been around since 1967. Did our birth rate fall right after it was introduced?

Maybe I should write to the Elections Department to ask if I can use my vote to offset one vote for TKL.

Buy emerging markets!

Markets are still extremely volatile, but they actually present some very excellent buying opportunities. Today, I topped up into emerging markets, because huge outflows from emerging market equities since 2008 have pointed to a possible indication to buy emerging market equities at their lowest valuations in 2.5 years. Valuations are now 30% below the 20 year average, as shown by data compiled by Morgan Stanley and Bloomberg.

In the past decade, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index went up by an average of 17% in six months after outflows of this magnitude. Out of 12 occasions, 11 gained, according to EPFR Global and Bloomberg.

The current market problems actually stem from the developed countries. Emerging markets do not share the same problems. Growth is still quite strong, and demographics, a very important point for investing in emerging markets, will continue to be a significant driver of growth.

Lame excuse

For being caught on TV while using her mobile phone during the national anthem at the NDP, MP Penny Low gave a really lame excuse.

"I was so caught up in the wonderful NDP 2011 and felt so proud of being a Singaporean that I wanted to capture that moment of pride at the very tail end of the anthem, to share on Facebook with my residents."

"If in my enthusiasm I offended anyone, please accept my apologies. NDP is a time to unite, not divide. Majulah Singapura!"

Instead of giving a proper apology, she attributed her mistake to her overwhelming patriotism and loyalty to Singapore. Ending it with a "Majulah Singapura" was really the last straw. I know my hairs stood when I read this.

Update as of 12th August 2011:
It was discovered that MP Penny Low did not even post any picture at the time the national anthem was sung. According to CNA, the national anthem was sung at 810pm, but the 'nearest' picture posted by Penny Low was at 8pm. Subsequent pictures were posted at 954pm and 955pm.

http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/08/12/pap-malaysian-mp-penny-low-did-not-post-any-photos-on-her-facebook-when-national-anthem-was-sung/

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Credits: www.gamespot.com

Two weeks ago, I bought Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3) as it was on sale ($39.90). Reviews for it were also great (9.0 on Gamespot) so I got it without much hesitation. It's actually quite an old game, being released in 2009.

I am only at 13% of the game, but I am already sucked into its plot and gameplay. Combat is simple but not too easy, and I love the way they make his fighting more fluid as he moves from punching one thug in the face to countering a kick from behind, and then to jumping across the hall to grapple another thug to the floor. Stealth tactics make the fun a lot more fun, and these are usually a necessity if the opponents are armed with handguns (Batman is afraid of bullets, unlike Superman). Being able to use the environment to your advantage only serves to make the game more interesting. There are countless ways to takedown an enemy - direct combat, silently from behind, silently from above (where Batman grabs his enemies when they pass beneath him and leave them hanging in the air in ropes), detonating a wall when someone walks past... the list goes on. 

Batman also comes with an arsenal of gadgets, like the Batarang, Bataclaw, and explosive gel, and as he pummels more thugs and gets more experience points, he can unlock new moves and upgrade his armour and weapons. This gives the player an incentive to string combos together to gain more experience points. The game is also peppered with optional awards and riddles (thanks to the Riddler), and whenever Batman solves one, he gets more experience points.  

Last but not least, the voice acting is superb, especially the Joker's. He is voiced by Mark Hamill, who is actually most well known for his role as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.

Update as of 7th Oct 2011: 
Finally completed the game, unlocking all the riddles (with the help of the internet, of course). This is especially apt since the Riddler actually accused Batman of using the internet after I unlocked around 80% of his riddles.

More tips on cooking steaks

Just watched a video in ieatishootipost.sg on cooking steaks. 

Key takeaways on top of my previous entry on steaks:

1) Before cooking the steak, let the steak approach room temperature. (Doesn't this allow bacteria to grow? hmm... I think I will let the meat rest for a while after taking it out from the fridge, but not till room temperature)

2) Season it with olive oil first, then add sea salt, pepper, and some lemon juice.

3) When the sides start to get cooked, it's time to turn the steak.

4) After it is cooked, wrap the steak in aluminum foil and let it rest for a while again. This will let the steak get cooked evenly such that the insides will become uniformly pink, instead of pink and red.

Market bloodbath - time to go in?

After the market crashed yesterday, I went to take a look at my portfolio again. As expected, my US fund has plummeted; it is now down by 16%. My Europe fund was not much better at 13% in the red. China is down by around 11%, while Taiwan (which was already the worst performing in my portfolio) is now down 25%! Ouch. Thank goodness for my fixed income funds, which provided some measure of defence in my portfolio.

Core portfolio - 75.68%

Asia ex Japan Equity - 11.12%

Asia ex Japan Balanced - 5.10%

Emerging Markets - 9.20%

Europe Equity - 7.05%

Global Bonds - 7.19%

High Yield - 3.96%

Japan - 2.01%

Singapore Equity - 11.98%

Short Duration - 11.22%

US Equity - 6.85%

Supplementary portfolio - 24.32%

Global Resources - 4.51%

Taiwan Equity- 3.77%

Global Technology - 5.69%

China Equity - 9.01%

Russia Equity - 1.34%

By asset class, this would be 72.54% equity, 5.10% balanced, and 22.37% fixed income.

I have been doing some thinking these two months and have decided to move towards a smaller supplementary portfolio. Previously I categorised High Yield under my supplementary portfolio, but now I have moved it into my core portfolio. Will be trying to use new monies to rebalance my portfolio.

After US stocks crashed and S&P downgraded US debt from AAA to AA+, I decided to top up my US fund slightly. Why? I think markets have over-reacted. US companies are still making profits, with 71% of US companies outperforming expectations in Q2. Valuations are now extremely attractive, and markets have priced in the significant amount of bad news out there. 

I must admit that I was a bit nervous about topping up in US when everyone is fleeing from it. But I took one step back and asked myself - if a client came to me today and asked me for my opinions, what would I recommend? I would recommend topping up into US now, or start a RSP to take advantage of the market's volatility. Even if US drops further, it is undeniable that you would be getting a good deal in the medium term. After this, I felt more reassured and put in the trade. 

I also topped up into Japan slightly (more to increase my portfolio allocation in Japan than to exploit opportunities) and more into Short Duration funds for safety. 

Captain America - The First Avenger

Source: http://www.hdwallpapers.in

I must say, I found the plot full of holes. Some examples:

1) Fighting is not just about brute strength. How did Steve Rogers learn how to fight so well without any unarmed combat or martial arts training?

2) And where the hell did he learn how to pilot a plane?

3) Why was Hydra's technology in the 1940s even more advanced than what we are using now? They have laser beams that obliterate humans totally (nothing left, not even a speck of dust), turbo cars, aircrafts...

4) It's amazing that Steve Rogers could infiltrate a heavily guarded military base easily despite not having any stealth training, and also despite carrying a frigging bright red and blue shield on his black which simply yells "SHOOT ME".

5) Despite saying that he does not like to kill people, Steve Rogers seems to show no hesitation (and no qualms) in throwing his enemies off a plane in mid air.

By the way, Chris Evans (the main actor) also played Human Torch/Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four, which is also in the Marvel universe. Does this mean that future Marvel movies cannot involve both Captain America and the Human Torch together (unless he is in his flame mode)?

I am also very curious on how they managed to make Chris Evans look so skinny and scrawny. It's probably due to CGI - I am guessing that they used a puny actor for his pre-Super-Soldier-serum role and matched Chris Evans' head in. But it's really impressive and realistic!

As of 31st July 2011, Rotten Tomatoes gave it a certified-fresh rating of 77%. I think the most I can give it is 6/10. And this score because I am a Marvel fan.

Stickies

Last week, I was looking for an iMac app that would allow me to paste Post-its on my desktop background. Searched through the Mac app store and could not find any free apps, so I resorted to purchasing one 'Desktop Notes' app at USD1.99. 

A week later, I learnt that the iMac already comes with a similar app called 'Stickies'. And it's almost exactly the same! Grr.

Finally...

After 5 years of contemplating and indecision, I finally went ahead to get a cello.

Synwin SVC445001 cello, $1,926

For a cello, it's not really expensive, but then I am not really good enough to justify a good and expensive cello anyway. 

The last time I touched a cello was 12 years ago. It's time to scrub the rust off my cello skills... 

Picking up cello again... should I?

I used to play the cello a long time ago. Picked it up (involuntarily) in secondary school when I joined the String Orchestra. At that time, I wanted to learn the violin, but due to my larger physical frame I was told to learn the cello instead. (I still remember the teacher saying very bluntly "你比较胖，所以应该学大提琴" What the hell.) But I had no regrets.

The last time I touched a cello was 12 years ago, so my skills are definitely rusty now. But throughout these years, I have still been listening to cello music, and somehow, the timbre of the cello makes my heart stir. It could be because the cello range is closest to the human voice, which explains why it resonates more easily with us? 

I have been considering picking up cello again for the past 5 years. Factors against it were lack of time, cost, space, focusing on my piano, finding a good teacher, and other matters (like studies). 

But maybe now it's time to take it up again...

Majestic Restaurant (大华) @ New Majestic Hotel

I had a family dinner at Majestic Restaurant yesterday, at New Majestic Hotel. While the restaurant claims to serve Cantonese cuisine, some research showed that the chef Yong Bing Ngen infuses a lot of his Hakka background and other regional influences into his cooking in order to be more flexible and creative.

Left to right: Peking duck skin, pan-fried foie gras, and wasabi prawn. $18 per pax

This was really a pleasant surprise, since I didn't expect it to be foie gras (my uncle did all the ordering) and it's my favourite delicacy. The foie gras simply melted in the mouth and tasted superb. The peking duck skin was not bad, but the wasabi prawn was just average.

Majestic shark's fin with crab meat. $30 per bowl

This was definitely the highlight of the night. I have never tasted such delicious and rich shark's fin before. I don't know exactly what soup base they used (other than chicken soup), but it was certainly something which was brewed for a long time, or the rich flavour would not have been possible. Damn, I am craving for this as I am writing this!

Lamb cutlet with carrot cake

This was one of those examples where the accompaniment trumped the main dish. The carrot cake was excellent, but the lamb cutlet was disappointing. While it was tender, there was little lamb flavour and the sauce was simply too overpowering. I ate it after scraping most of the sauce away.

Ironically, what stood out from this dish was the vegetables! While the sliced fish was fresh and delicious, it was the vegetables - something so common and simple - that was done so well. The deep fried fish bones were also crispy and succulent.

Fried noodles with lobster, $88 for 7 such servings

While the noodle texture was smooth and silky, that wasn't its main attraction - it was the way the noodles absorbed the flavour of the lobster that won me over. 

Verdict - The chef, Yong Bing Ngen, is an award-winning chef who has won many awards since 2004, and his creations were really impressive. However, the menu is rather pricey - I think our group of 7 spent more than $800 in total. It's definitely out of reach for most people (including me).

Canopy @ Bishan Park

I visit Canopy quite frequently for breakfast, and have ordered their Eggs Benedict several times before. This time was definitely their best attempt ever.

Eggs Benedict, $12

The picture says it all. The poached egg was done perfectly such that the egg yolk was still runny. There was a very slight tinge of vinegar, which actually made it taste even better. For those who are unfamiliar,  adding vinegar to the water used to poach eggs helps to keep the egg whites together and prevents it from dispersing.

Deceptive Advertising #1

Had breakfast at Burger King, and I ordered their Egg Benny. The advertised picture of their BK SHOTS - Egg Benny set can be seen below:

Advertised picture of BK SHOTS - Egg Benny

But when I ordered it, I was flabbergasted to see how far it was from the truth.

Actual picture of BK SHOTS - Egg Benny. The truth hurts.

They either blew up their burger, or shrank their coffee. No prizes for guessing which is more likely.

It's Steve Jobs' fault

A few days ago, I posted an entry about someone blaming the Government for insufficient childcare services in Singapore.

Today, she posted a new status on her FB:

"Nowadays more and more iPad reading stories to children! What happen to the bonding when a parent read to the kids?

Can iPad replace that entirely?

How the hell do u bond when iPad speaks for you?

I can't accept the dynamic swift of this fundamental upbringing process thanks to Steve Job!!!"

(Again, this was quoted verbatim with all the grammar and spelling mistakes)

This is hilarious. Firstly, just because an iPad can read stories to your children, it does not mean you can't read stories to your children anymore. It's your choice. The iPad can be your last-resort-substitute if you are held up with something and cannot entertain your children. 

Secondly, Steve Jobs may have created the concept of the App Store, but he is not responsible for each individual app. In fact, the App Store has opened up a new world of creativity and possibilities thanks to Steve Jobs. This person seems to be blaming Steve Jobs for this particular app - and also disregarding all the other benefits provided by all the other apps out there.

So far, this person has blamed the Government and Steve Jobs for petty things. What will she complain about and who will she blame next?

Paradise Dynasty @ ION

Visited Paradise Dynasty yesterday, the Chinese restaurant with perpetually long queues.

Food was not bad, but not so good that it justified the long queue. 

Chilled assorted eggs loaf in Yang Zhou style, $6. This was pretty good and was surprisingly filling

La mian with sliced pork in signature pork bone soup, $9.80. I love the bowl design!

Foie Gras Xiao Long Bao, $19.80. The foie gras blended in rather well with the pork, and just
 the right amount was used such that I could taste it and yet not overwhelming.

My major gripes came when it was time to settle the bill. I didn't like the way they charged $1.20 based on 'Misc'. When I enquired about it, I was told that it included stuff like tea. (They didn't serve snacks like peanuts or achar, by the way) I said I didn't order any tea, and got a dismissive and impatient reply (with no eye contact) of "Ya, water is also included." 

I wasn't informed about this beforehand, and the reason why I didn't order tea was because I didn't want to pay for it. If it was lumped inside and I had to pay this 'Misc' fee no matter what, I would have went ahead and ordered tea.

Next, I had used a Groupon voucher which I had already paid $7.90 for. It could be redeemed for 10 Xiao Long Bao worth up to $19.80. The bill, however, included this $7.90 in. They only subtracted it from the final bill, but by then they had already earned a 10% service charge and 7% GST on this amount. The total bill for 2 pax came up to $32, and $4.22 consisted of unreasonable charges, in my opinion. (Misc fee of $2.40 x 1.10 x 1.07 and the fictitious amount of $1.40 on the Xiao Long Bao) That's 13.2% of the total bill! 

Verdict - I am not going to visit here again. Food was not bad but queues were ridiculous, service was not satisfactory and billing was unreasonable.

War on Buffets

I used to love buffets when I was younger. (And I used to be obese too.) But now, as I grow older, I find myself growing out of buffets.

When I was a perpetually-hungry-teenager, buffets were paradises to me, especially since normal food portions could never satisfy me. The freedom to eat whatever you want and how much you want was simply intoxicating. It made buffets very worth it even if they are pricey. (And I avoid the filling foods like rice, noodles and bread)

Now, I shun buffets... well, sort of. Despite my appetite being much smaller than in the past, and my avoidance of getting too full, I still end up eating too much even though I only wanted to try a bit of everything. Of course, this applies only to good buffet restaurants with a good spread of food. 

On a different angle, buffet restaurants (probably) waste an extreme amount of food. With time and experience, they may be able to better estimate their inventories and amount to cook daily, but this is only one side of the story. Wastage would probably come mostly from consumers, as some people take too much, eat a bit, and throw the rest away.

It also encourages over-eating. In Economics, we learnt that under normal circumstances, we would eat until our marginal utility equals our marginal cost. As there are no marginal costs for buffets, people are inclined to eat until their marginal utility equals zero, which usually translates to over-eating.

Having said that, the buffet restaurants I like most are Carousel (Royal Plaza by the Scotts), Triple 3 (Meritus Mandarin Hotel), Aquamarine (Marina Mandarin), Straits Kitchen (Grand Hyatt Hotel), and Princess Terrace (Copthorne King's Hotel). The last two serve hawker fare, so some may question whether it is worth your money, but the amount of business they get proves it. I just went to Carousel two weeks ago, and I was really astonished by the huge spread of food, especially seafood. Their lobsters, oysters and mussels were really fresh, and for sashimi, they also serve mekajiki (sword fish), which was my favourite sashimi. For the hot food, their prawn mee soup was excellent, though still one step below Princess Terrace's. The buffet is obviously not cheap, going at $62+++ for weekday dinners and $75+++ for weekend dinners, but regardless of the price tag, it was almost fully occupied when I visited on a Wednesday night.

Update as of 28th July 2011:
I visited Triple 3 for dinner and was actually quite disappointed. Their sashimi was still excellent, and they served salmon, salmon belly, swordfish, tuna, octopus. It was easily one of the best sashimi I have ever eaten at a buffet restaurant. But other than that, everything else failed to impress. At a hefty price tag of $89.90++ per pax (on a weekday night!), I would rather go to Carousel, which had quite a number of great dishes, wider variety, better seafood, and at a lower price. Fortunately Triple 3 had the OCBC 1-for-1 offer, but even then I still found it too expensive (total bill came up to around $115 for 2 pax).


Triple 3 is officially out of my recommended buffet restaurants now.

Apocalypse Jr. Burger

After watching a Youtube video on the "Apocalypse Burger", I decided to create my own version of it (with fewer and cheaper ingredients) and invited a few of my close friends over to try.

The original Apocalypse Burger consisted of the following ingredients (from bottom to top): bun, pork belly, beef patty, cheese slices x 2, beef patty, cheese slices x 2, beef patty, cheese slices x 2, beef patty, cheese slices x 2, bacon ends, foie gras, bun. This artery-clogging burger is obviously too much for normal humans to handle, so I scaled it down rather significantly. 

Anyway, here's the full menu, designed by the gf:

An American diner menu design. 

The wild mushroom soup was just Campbell soup, but I added extra mushrooms for a richer mushroom flavour. Ice cream was obviously from King's, while I got the Vanilla Coke from the ABC Bargain Centre at Potong Pasir. It didn't taste like the original Vanilla Coke though, and on closer inspection, I realised that it was from China. 

For the main course, I termed it "Apocalypse Jr. Burger", because it only had two beef patties instead of four. Its big brother also had 4 more slices of cheese, foie gras (substituted by duck liver pate), but no sunny side up. 

The end product:

Apocalypse Jr. Burger. Somehow, the egg yolk reminds me of a Cyclops' eye. From bottom to top: Bun, pork belly, beef patty, cheese slices x 2, beef patty, cheese slices x 2, bacon, sunny side up, liver pate, bun

 Before taking the picture, I should have opened up the baked potato a bit more, because it just looked like a dark lump. Oh well.

The process wasn't too difficult or too expensive. I bought most of the ingredients from NTUC Fairprice Finest. In total, they cost around $80, out of which $36 was contributed by the ten beef patties. The liver pate was also pretty expensive - one can of it cost me $8.50, and it was already the cheapest alternative out there.

Lessons learnt from this session:

1) The beef patties were already seasoned. I didn't know it and seasoned it with sea salt, so it turned out too salty.

2) The microwave works wonders when it comes to getting crispy bacon. It is cleaner, faster, and you get bacon that is crispier than if you had pan fried it.

3) Bacon shrinks by almost 50% after putting it in the microwave! I should have bought much more.

4) I should have smeared a thicker layer of pate on the bread and toasted it in the oven, instead of pan-frying the bread and applying the pate.

5) Final lesson: Even the Apocalypse Jr. Burger was too much for most of us. I should have just used one beef patty!

It's the Government's fault

Someone I know just posted this via a Facebook note:

"The whole of NorthEast Child Care under My First Skool are fully booked and no vaccancy at this moment! Holy Crap!

Has the government done enough research of the statistic of babies vs child care services available? 

Why must it always be in the demand more than supply basis in every part of our life in Singapore?

why must it be this ways way?

why cant life be easier when ppl are not fighting for seats, for delivery suites, for child care faclitiies?!?!!"

(Note that I left the grammar and spelling mistakes uncorrected)

Now even the Government is being blamed for lack of childcare centres? I thought only industries like utilities, transport and defence should be under the Government, so is this person suggesting that the Government take over childcare too? Duh.