Thank you God for the awesome thing you done in 2012!

Many new challenges ahead, may it be a better one! (:

Happy New Year!

My 2012 in Review.

Bacon and Mushroom gratin

Grape Mallow Tea & Rose Apple Tea

Summer Peach Tea & Tropical Grapefruit Tea

Prawn Roll with Pork Floss

Grilled Seasonal Mushroom

Cream of Pumpkin

Cream of Mushroom

Tao's Signature BBQ Pork Ribs

Creme Brule

Brownie with Ice-cream

Sirloin Steak with brown mushroom sauce

Had dinner with my dear secondary mates - G.K.N.I @ Tao's restaurant. This place was recommended by the media and friends. Thus, decided to head there and try the food! The place was nice and had good ambiance. The 7 course meal did not disappoint me. It tasted good as what I expected. 

The BBQ pork ribs meat is tender and juicy with quite a big portion for one. The grilled seasonal mushroom tasted good with the seasoning sauce which blended perfectly well with the mushroom. The taste wasn't that strong so you will not feel "jerlat" and want to have more. 

Prawn roll with pork floss tasted good! I pretty much like it. However, the portion is small! I think it should be served with 2 rolls instead of 1? 

The 4 different tea that ordered have their own unique taste which is good. After trying 4 of it, I like the rose apple tea most!

Each of us paid $42 for a 7 course meal. Pretty expensive but the food tasted good with each dish served rapidly to your table. 

Ratings:

Ambiance: 3.6/5

Service: 3.25/5

Price: 3.4/5

Food: 3.8/5

Tao's Restaurant

1 Selegie Road, PoMo 

(Formerly known as Paradiz Centre), 

#B1-19, Singapore 188306

Tel: 6339 8858

Menchi Katsu Set

Tried Menchi Katsu Set @ Hifumi. This dish here tasted good. The pork patty is thick and tasted quite juicy. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Think the sauce is too strong for my taste. It is rather interesting to grind your own sesame seeds before having your meal.

Every set comes with a free flow of appetizers which includes: potato salad, tofu gratin, pumpkin salad, cheese fondue, rice cracker, fried fish, and chawanmushi. You can also choose to pay an additional $1.99 to enjoy free flow drinks. The chawanmushi tasted good! I like it. (:

The place is rather spacious with good ambiance. I guess most are attracted to the free flow appetizers. A good value meal to satisfy your stomach. 

Ratings:

Ambiance: 2.8/5

Service: 3/5

Price: 3.4/5

Menchi Katsu Set: 3/5

Hifumi Japanese Restaurant 

68 Orchard Road 

#04-68 Plaza Singapura 

Tel: 6338-4712 

Open daily 11.30 am to 10 pm 

Watched Jack Reacher with Danny. A crime investigation film which injected humor to lighten the show. The story flows well though I thought certain scenes are draggy. It also keep viewers in suspense with unexpected twist towards the end. This film here reminded me of cold war but I think the latter is slightly better.

If you are looking for and focusing more on action-pack in this show, this might disappoint you a little in that aspect.

Ratings: 3.25/5

Gao Feng Abalone Minced Pork Mee

This dish not only look appealing but tasted good! The appropriate amount of vinegar is added to this dish and it goes with well the dumpling, minced meat and abalone. Not to forget the chilli which blends well with the vinegar. However, I think the chilli might be slightly spicy for those who rarely take spicy stuff. Without the vinegar or chilli, I guess this might be just a ordinary noodle you can find elsewhere. 

Ratings: 3.4/5

Tried Raisin Cream Cheese & Choz Banana  from Barcook Bakery. The texture of the bread is soft and the amount of filling stuffed in it is just nice. Not too much or less. Nice! 

Raisin Cream Cheese

Raisin Cream Cheese - The bread is soft with few raisin added. The cheese is not too heavy thus it did not get "jerlat" after the few bites I had. Great taste which blend well together with raisins and bread. I think it could be better if the cheese was spread-ed evenly.

Choz Banana

Choz Banana - The bread is soft and fluffy. A good combination of banana and chocolate because this will never go wrong. The sweetness of the chocolate and banana was acceptable to my taste bud. It is a good choice to have it for tea-breaks. 

Find out more here:

http://barcookbakery.com/

Pictures credit to: Barcook Bakery

Two Chefs Pork Ribs

Went two chefs with mum for dinner recently. Decided to drop-by the one at Bishan since we are around the vicinity. Ordered butter pork ribs because it was highly recommended by friends. 

Surprisingly, it did not taste to my expectation. I thought that it was rather dry for me.The meat is tender which is commendable. It was interesting that milk powder was added to this dish. It blended well with the butter pork ribs. It tasted good but I thought it can be a little oily.

It is not oily thus I ponder if this is a healthier choice of butter pork ribs to have?

Ratings:

Ambiance: 2.7/5

Service: 3.2/5

Price: 3/5

Butter Pork Ribs: 3.2/5

Two Chefs

Blk 116 Commonwealth Crescent, #01-129
Singapore 140116

Blk 409 Sin Ming Ave, #02-01
Singapore 570409

Swis Ling Pork Ribs 

image courtesy from rubbisheatrubbishgrow

As compared to two chefs, I think this suits my taste bud slightly better. This is more towards the authentic butter pork ribs I guess. However, this meat is not as tender as compared to the pork ribs from two chefs. If you prefer more buttery taste, I would recommend this to you. 

This dish was recommended by my boss few years ago and was situated at outram park. After my first time there, I have been patronizing the area and recommended it to my loved ones. However, it closed down and I think they have shifted elsewhere.

Then, I went to do research, looking for their new place, I think I found it. They are situated near lavender now. Would drop-by to see if they are there! 

Ratings:

Ambiance: 2.6/5

Service: 3.2/5

Price: 3.4/5

Butter Pork Ribs: 3.6/5

White Cha Shu Ramen

Had dinner with LG @ Menya Musashi! A place recommended by Joe. The place look decent with nice ambiance. The menu consists of 3 different flavours of broth - White, Black and Red. Had white cha shu ramen, I feel that the portion is just nice for 1 person, not too much or little. The soup base is rich and thick though a little oily. The cha shu is well-marinated though I thought it could be more tender. The noodle and egg is nicely done, not over-cooked. 

There is also this signature dish - Tsukemen, where you can decide on your ideal serving size. You can upsize your noodle x 5! GF ordered x 3 of that dish and the serving of the noodle is pretty big! 

Ratings:

Ambiance: 3.4/5

Service: 3.25/5

Price: 3.15/5

White Cha Shu Ramen: 3.4/5

Menya Musashi

Raffles City Shopping Centre  

252 North Bridge Road, #01-16, Singapore 179103

Tel: 6336 6500 

Opening Hours: Mon–Sun: 11.30am – 9.30pm

Story

Former legendary assassin Kenshin Himura (Takeru Sato) has now become a wandering samurai. During this time Kenshin Himura comes across and aides Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei). Her father opened the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, a kendo school located in Tokyo and Kaoru is now an instructor there. Kaoru then invites Kenshin to stay at her dojo. Their relationship develops further, but Kenshin is still haunted by his violent past. - AsianWiki

Watched Rurouni Kenshin with Danny! This is a show about the character of Rurouni Kenshin. I feel that the story flows well with good plot. Initially, it was rather draggy however as the story goes on, it gets better. If you never read the manga or watch the anime, you may not understand certain scenes. It will be revealed later on in the show. 

The introduction of his character was short. I think viewers who catch this for the first time would feel that way. Anyway, fantastic fighting scenes & ending pose which I felt was amazing. Certain humour was injected which brighten up the show too.  

It ended well, not abruptly which I thought was commendable. Overall, it is one good legendary film!

Ratings: 3.4/5

Was invited to Popeyes event @ IMM yesterday evening! It is their 12th outlet in Singapore! It was opened on the 6th December and many crowds were seen on its opening day!

Popeyes was founded in 1972 in New Oeleans. As of December 26, 2010 Popeyes had 1977 restaurants in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Cayman, and foreign countries.

Various food was served to us. This 90-seater outlet has nice ambiance which is a good chill-out place with loved ones. The food was served warm and tasted reasonably good. I would like to recommend Calamari, Fish Bites, Bonafide Chicken, Mashed Potato, Coleslaw, Cajun Cheese Fries. Nice! The mashed potato and coleslaw have their taste of its own! Taste the uniqueness here in Popeyes!

5 good reasons why Popeye's is the MOST flavourful Chicken in town?

1) It uses only fresh chicken

2) Marinated with Louisiana seasoning and spices from 7 nations

3) Its marinated for at least 12 hours

4) Its Bonafide chicken is hand-battered

5) Each batch of chicken is made fresh, and not allowed to stand more than 30mins

Popeyes do have FREE delivery to various areas! Check the details below!

New Delivery Areas: 

- Clementi

- Pandan Loop

- Bukit Gombak

- Jurong East

- Toh Tuck

- Teban Garden

- Penjuru 

- Jurong West

- Hill View

Nice time mingling with the people and get to learn more about Popeyes. Thank you for the invites Popeyes! 

Do remember to drop-by the new outlet at Popeyes @ IMM (#01-31/32)

Website: http://www.popeyes.com.sg/

Facebook: http//www.facebook.com/PopeyesSGP 

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/singaporepopeyes/videos 

Sermon was great yesterday. Thank you God for Tim that through you, He was able to preach humbly with sincerity that touched me. 

It is a good reminder for me to continue this race with God. Be it good or bad times, I have to put my trust and faith in him. In whatever circumstances, God has a plan ahead. He will take charge of it and wonderful things will happen. 

A good reminder to myself that, we love because he first loved us. Pray that I will draw closer to Him and be more and more like him.

1 peter 4:16

¹⁶ However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

Sweet Potato Latte

Chill out with Church mates @ Cups N Canvas recently. The place is cosy and has nice ambiance. The concept is refreshing and its a good chill out place. 

Ordered sweet potato latte which I felt was something rare and unique. This beverage here is non-caffeinated. With the first sip, I thought it tasted like a fresh brewed milk. After more sip of this beverage, I got to taste the sweetness of the potato. There were mashed purple sweet potato in it which blended well with milk. I kinda like it. It is good for tea-break or during rainy day.

And yup, reasonable price too! Besides that, they do sell other stuff such as sandwiches, desserts and set meals!

Ratings:

Ambiance: 3/5

Service: 3.4/5

Price: 3.2/5

Sweet Potato Latte: 3.6/5

Cups N Canvas

139 Selegie Road
Singapore, Singapore 188309

Opening Hours: Tues to Thurs: 10.30am-10pm

                              Fri to Sat: 10.30am-11pm

                              Sun: 10am-6pm
                              Monday: Cafe Closed

Went for SMTown Live in Tokyo premiere screening with Danny on Wednesday! The concert was great with a mixture of talented singer on stage. Was impressed by their dance performance. I must say that they could dance well! 

Wonderful performance put up by SMTown especially to SNSD, SJ, Shinee & TVXQ. They have nice and sharp features. In my opinion, I think Yoona & Dong Hae has the x-factor quality.

It seems that most songs are lipsync by the singers. It will be better if it was sang live, maybe not the fast tempo song but slow ones. Nevertheless, great stage presence. 

oh ya, if you are a fan of Boa & Kangta, I guess no point watching it because Boa appeared only twice. Kangta is nowhere to be seen.

Thank you Golden Village!

Ratings: 3.38/5

Mozzarella Grilled Cheese

Had dinner with Hong Yao @ Ministry Of Food (MOF) recently. After browsing through the menu, I decided to have this dish - Mozzarella Grilled Cheese! 

It tasted good with the mozzarella topping, italian cheese. The meat is tender and it blends well with the topping. I chose criss-cross fries as my side dish. It is served warm and crispy! Nice! And yup, not to forget dipping it with melted cheese. 

The ambiance is good with dim lightings. It is a good chill-out place with loved ones! 

Ratings:

Ambiance: 3.4/5

Service: 3/5

Price: 2.7/5 
Mozzarella Grilled Cheese: 3.5/5

In search of a film titled King Game, I came across similar genre of show - Death Game Park. The description states that it reminiscent Battle Royale. Thus, was rather excited because I like this kinda genre film! Then, I started watching it. 

The story started out quite good. As usual, there are stages for each person to complete before moving on. In total, there are 13 prisoners. In order to move on, each have to successfully complete it. Failure to do so, result in a death penalty. Other survivors will move to next round.

I feel that the story is direct and fast. Certain scenes could have been done better, educating the viewers more. The story goes on well. Till the end, I guess it confused me terribly with unexpected twist. There are many question mark which made me ponder about. Quite mind-blowing with the usage of past images scenes.

I guess it will be how you interpret the ending. I have my own interpretation on this show thus I guess it will be good for you to catch it and interpret it yourself. 

Ratings: 2.9/5

Ousama Game

Watched Ousama Game recently. This film revolves with 32 students in a high school. One fine day, the students received a strange text message that welcomes them to Ousama Game. In this game, students are given a specific tasks to carry out in a 24 hour period. When fail doing so, they will vanish.

Initially, the task given are trivial things which they do not take it seriously. However, it gets difficult where was beyond what the students are able to do. 

The story plot is good which keep me in suspense and ponder who exactly the King is. This is yet another show about trusting and working together as one. Towards the end, it revealed who the King was, however the history of the King is still a mystery. The story carries on with this curse which was left unknown. I guess more will be revealed if there is a sequel. 

Ratings: 2.8/5