Featured at the Pitstop

Haven't been to Pitstop Cafe for quite a while liao. Managed to drop by some time 2 weeks ago and try out one of the new games, Cleopatra. It was quite an interesting game really. The way that we are getting the resources for building stuff in the game is very similar to another game that I've played before.

And our pic managed to appear on their blog entry (wahahaha...)... Now I know what they were referring to when they were taking our picture at that time... :D

Super Sinful Day

Ate a lot of sinful stuff today. It all started with lunch at BK in Pennisular Plaza. Then in the afternoon at the monthly birthday celebration, instead of the usual fruits and cakes, we bought ice creams and brownies (from Mrs Fields). And there were also some cheese cakes, which were baked by Linda. There were some 14 people whose birthdays falls on this month, which was the most for the year (I think). And at least 3 pairs (that I know of) were born on the same day (may be more).

At first we thought we had bought too much ice cream (about 8.8 litres), how wrong we were. By the end of it, there was less than a tub of ice cream left. I had at least 4 ~ 5 pieces of brownies, 2 ~ 3 slices of the cheese cake and a lot of ice cream.

To cap it all, I had Long John Silver for dinner... :P

Bak Kut Teh

Was on a Bak Kut Teh spree last week.... Oops, actually only had it two times last week at 2 different stalls... The first one is at Tiong Bahru, just opposite of Tiong Bahru Market.

Initially wanted to go another stall nearby, but that one only opened until afternoon. I had tried the other stall once before during lunch quite some time back. This bak kut teh stall is teochew-style, i.e. the soup is pepper based. At least this was the style that I liked, rather than the herb based ones, so I find it ok. The bak kut didn't taste too bad as well.

Then later in the week went to another stall at Balestier.

Notice the difference in the signboards.... :D

Coincidentally, this stall is also selling teochew style bak kut teh. The soup has a rather special taste, although some might find the pepper taste a bit too much. But I still quite like it, and felt it was better than the earlier stall. Not surprisingly, this stall is more crowded during dinner time, and there were also people queuing. Luckily we went there pretty early, and we need not queue.

A lot of celebrities had patronize this shop, looking at the photos taken with the boss, who was sleeping in the shop while we were there. All in all, I think this stall is worth trying.

A Crabby Meal

Went to Mellben Seafood for dinner after watching "Where The Queue Starts" on Channel 8 last week (not that I didn't know the place before watching the programme). According to the show, one gotta wait about 1 ~ 2 hours for the crabs, which was the signature dish here. Not unexpectedly, there was already a long queue when I arrived at about 520pm. And I thought I was early...

I placed my orders at about 550pm and got a seat just past 6. It seems like the whole coffeeshop were eating from the same stall. And that almost all the seats were reserved by them as well. I was thinking:"the food better be good...". And I was not disappointed.

The other food were served 1st before the crabs as it needed more time to be prepared.

And from this...

They turned into this...

The butter crab and the claypot crab bee hoon really live up to its name. Just one word to describe it, bagus... :D. When the crabs were served everyone just stopped talking, as we were busy 'dismantling' the crab. This is certainly worth waiting for, and I wouldn't bet against myself coming back for another meal in the near future.

Arsenal 1 Aston Villa 1

The 1st competitive match hosted at the new Emirates Stadium, witness by a crowd of 60023, did not have a perfect ending for the Gunners. The home side got the lion share of the possession but that did not translate into goals. Their passing still entertains the crowds but everyone is so shy in front of goal and don't seems to wanna take a shot at goal to the fans' frustration. Another howler from Lehmann to concede a lame goal from set-piece (heck, are we missing Campbell already?!). The equalizer came from an unlikely source of Gilberto Silva, who rifles in a good half-volley from six yards out after Olof Mellberg threatened to wrench the Gunners' house warming party by scoring the opening goal.

Some of the players seem tired from their extended world cup excursion during the summer, notably Henry, who looked a bit out of sorts. His first touch lets him down a couple of time and his shooting went wayward. Cesc Fabregas was rather lively in the middle of the park though, spraying the passes around and dictating the play. Of course the moment came when Theo Walcott finally made his EPL debut after coming on for Ljungberg in the 73rd minute. And his running caused the Villains all sorts of problem. And he was the one providing the assist for Gilberto's equalizer. Hope we can see much more of him as the season goes.

Its still early days yet but certainly this is not what the fans are expecting.

Dinner @ Vilage

SK is back in Singapore and he arranged a dinner at Vilage at The Heeren on Friday. The turnout was better than the last one. Although HW did not come at the last minute as he was still working. JG arrived the earliest and asked if we needed to go in to get a table. So when me and SK came, we decided to go in. DL, D and XH arrived one after another a while later.

The place was pretty much the same as before when Marche was its occupant, from the decors to the food stalls. We ordered a variety of food to share, from pizza, pastas, grilled chicken, calamaries to pork knuckle (all the food didn't sound very healthy... :P).

But my favourite gotta be the desserts, a waffle ice-cream with banana toppings and caramel.

We dine for around 2 hour plus before leaving. Probably will catch up with SK again before he leaves Singapore in about 2 weeks time.

China 1 Singapore 0

So unlucky for Singapore to go down to an injury time penalty by Shao Jiayi in the Asian Cup 2007 Qualifying Group E match. They now lies 2nd in their group playing a game more than Iraq and Palestine.

Click here for the match report.

Dinner @ Azabu Sabo

Finally got a chance to dine at Azabu Sabo. Had always wanted to do so since it was opened together with the newly renovated Marina Square. At that time, the restaurant weren't that crowded. But there was a long queue when I went this time round. Only able to get a seat after waiting for 30 minutes or so.

The main course was nothing to shout about, much to my disappointment. The choice of set meal was quite limited. However, the dessert was pretty interesting. And the ice cream got good review as well.

I ordered a "Soft & Green Tea Ice Cream & Red Bean Paste with Fruits & Kanten-jelly" with additional Dumplings. The name sounds very long isn't it. The dessert contains all the stuff as described. Very nice combination IMO.

Won't mind coming back to try the desserts again.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

This show was on for quite some time, but was only able to catch it now. Didn't get to watch the first episode at the movies or on TV. Think would be better if I had catch the first one, as at the beginning of this show I was a bit confused, especially how Captain Jack Sparrow appeared onto the scene (though it was explained later on). But some parts were still a bit blur, like how come the people (or monster) on the "Flying Dutchman" never dies and how this Davy Jones came about.

The plot besides, Johnny Depp was pretty funny in his role as Captain Jack though and Keira Knightley was gorgeous. But another 3 year wait for the sequel would be a bit too long.

At the end of the show, some audience (me included as always :P) were still waiting til the end to see if there was some unseen footage. In the end though, nothing much came out (only one simple flash of scene).

Click

How I wish I can have such a remote control, although there is a down side to it, it remembers your choices be it you like it or not. This film should be classified as a comedy as with other films by Adam Sandler. The remote control allows him to fast forward, rewind and pauses his own life. And you could even eavedrop on what others were saying, and change the language as well! Simply amazing.

However there was certainly something to think about after watching the show. Like sometimes we shouldn't take things for granted and that there should be a balance between work and family.

All in all, a good show to watch.

Bus Transfers and Cap Fare

Have been taking quite a lot of bus rides recently. I knew there was a cap on the fare for a bus journey but not sure when it could be applied. It prompted me to find out more on that and I found this info on the SBS Transit website:

1. SBS Transit will cap the maximum fare for a journey at $1.90, regardless of the number of bus transfers a commuter makes on our basic Bus Services which excludes Nite Owl services and Express services.
2. Transfers to each basic bus service must be made within 45mins.
3. If the time to complete a journey is more than 2 hours and takes more than 4 transfers, commuters can claim their reimbursement at any TransitLink Ticket Offices.

There were times when there were no rebates, and I was charged on a new ride after a certain time or number of transfer. So based on the above, does that mean that the I can claim any reinbursement as in point 3 as long as point 1 and 2 is satisfied.

This is Huge

Don't be fool by its sian sian look. This doggie is very big. It stands taller than me on two feet and probably can weigh twice as much as I am (though can't really tell from the pic).