Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Running News

After running over so many marathons, I think I should give some recognition to some of the sites I been to look for races! Hence, when I came across this post from Running Society (on their Facebook), I decided to add it to my blog. For me, and for all other runners who may came upon my blog, it is placed at the right column of the blog.

Here are the list of events I went in 2o13 =) :

24th Feb - U Run (10Km)
31st March - 2XU Compression Run (10Km)
31st May - Sundown Marathon 2013 (21Km)
16th Jun - Pocari Sweat (10Km)
25th Aug - ST Run in the Park (10Km)
8th Sept - POSB PAssion Run for Kids 2013 (10Km)
3rd Nov - We Run SG 10K (Nike)
1st Dec - Standard Chartered Ekiden Marathon (42Km - Relay)
7th Dec - Ilumi Run 2013

To view my Running Diary (pics), visit here.


Tuesday, November 12, 2013

3 Peas In A Pod (他她他) : Review


Synopsis

"3 Peas In A Pod" is a story about friendship and love. Three university students studying in Australia (Penny from Singapore, Perry from Taiwan and Peter from Korea) are good friends whose lives are intertwined with one another's. 

Just before they graduate and go back to their respective countries to embark on their working lives, the three friends decide to go on a road trip in the country they've been studying in for the last 4 years. 

Little do they know, this farewell holiday is a trip that would change their lives forever.

Source: Left Profile

What I Think

"3 Peas In A Pod" is Michelle Chong's second movie and somehow I have quite an expectation from her, especially since the first movie, "Already Famous" (一泡而红), was a very moving one. *Thumbs up* The only disappointment prior to watching the movie is that Michelle will not be acting in the show. She will only have a cameo appearance in one of the scene. Boo!

Photo Courtesy of Left Profile

After watching the trailer, we can roughly know how the movie is going to be like. 3 university besties (BFFs) going on a graduation road trip in South Australia before going back to their respective countries and move on with their working life. As expected, they have fun, some quarrels and then make up during the trip, knowing more about each other. To be honest, I do find the movie predictable and a little draggy in the beginning of the show. It is until the last 30 minutes or so, we see the twist to the storyline. I can guess some of the plots, but my friends are totally clueless even at the end of the movie. It took me a while to explain what actually happened till they realised the twist is so great! Now, they are impressed. You need to be totally 'feel' or 'into' the movie till the very end to understand the whole story. Else, you may want to watch the movie TWICE! =)


Calvin Chen (辰亦儒) is Perry, the Taiwanese scholar among the 3 peas. A very mysterious character, even Penny is unable to explain how did he ended up joining the 3 peas. No one know his likes or dislikes, but one thing for sure, he is very thoughtful and observant. He know exactly what the other two peas like. In one of my favorite scenes, when they are in a pub:
Perry: "There's lot of things you don't know about me"
Penny: "You never tell us."
Perry: "Well, you never ask"
3 simple lines, yet it meant so much to the movie and Perry.

Frankly speaking, I do not really like Calvin when he is in Fahrenheit. He is neither the most handsome of the boyband, nor did his vocal really stand out. But my views on Calvin changed after performance as Perry. He must thank Michelle in giving him this opportunity! He did very well indeed. I love his voice (and that accent!) and the way he deliver his lines. He sang the Chinese version of the theme song, "我與你", very well. I pre-ordered the album on iTunes due to this. I wonder why the movie doesn't make him look good in that pub scene where he is singing with teary eyes. But I guess, as a good artiste, you should not care about your image in the movie. To me, he did awesome.



Prior to the movie, I don't know who Alexander Lee Eusebio (亞歷山大) is. He is formerly a U-Kiss member. His character, Peter is the rich Korean heartthrob of the movie that Penny (and other girls in the University) attracted to. His life is often manipulated by his dad. He is supposed to return to South Korea for his arranged marriage after his university life. Despite all he has in life, no one understand what he really wanted, not even his BFFs. To his BFFs, he appeared to be the emotional one who can get moody all of a sudden. There is many scene where Alexander cannot be too exaggerating for his character and he did very well. His character became stronger after the twist at the end. Good Job! In case you still don't know, he is singing the Korean version of the theme song, "You and I".



Penny, the last pea in the pod, is the lucky lady caught in the middle of the two guys. Penny love Peter right from the beginning and is always by his side. She is the first and one seeing Peter cries (before Perry join them) and she always help Peter to copy the lecture notes. She slowly falling in love with Perry during the trip. Soon, she is caught in the situation of choosing between them. Jae Liew (柳勝美) was the lucky 'Penny' girl selected by Michelle Chong and her panel of judges, out of more than 800 hopefuls who came to auditioned for the role. As a newcomer, she did pretty well. Her acting, like the guys, is natural. The only scene I do not really like is when she is shouting at Peter, which I find it a little bit over the top. Go watch the movie if you wanted to know why she shouted at someone she loves so much.



To keep everyone in suspense, I shall not reveal the twist of the storyline. On overall, I love the plot and twist, something we don't normally see in movies. Technically, there are some areas that the movie can improve on though. Some of the scenes is doesn't really fit the twist, though I must applause to Michelle's ability to make a 360 degrees change to the story, simply by adding some scenes at the end. It is really amazing.

The movie portrays a very beautiful South Australia. Oh, I so wanted to do a road trip now! haha. The aerial shoot could be better though, the quality of the image seems a little blur/'noisy'.  Otherwise, it will be a great show.

The movie will be officially screened on 14th November 2013 in Singapore's cinemas.

Photo Courtesy of Left Profile

Follow 3 Peas In A Pod on Facebook, Twitter (or #3peasinapod) and Instagram!

Movie Trailer 1:


Movie Trailer 2:

Behind The Scene:

Sunday, November 03, 2013

开心食验室 Food Laboratory: Lemon Cornflake Cheesecake

This has to be the most unclear recipe ever! Since I misplaced my recipe (*cry*) I decided to go online to see if I can get any easy non-bake lemon cheesecake recipe. I found this but it contain a few unclear amount of ingredients. Therefore, I have to try and error, and amend the recipe a little by reading the comment. Outcome? Not sure but not confident. Let's wait a little.


Non-bake Lemon Cornflake Cheesecake

For the base
200 grams digestive biscuits
100 grams butter (soft)

For the filling

250g cream cheese (a standard packet)
200ml whipping cream
200g icing sugar (sifted)
1 box of cornflakes (1 small box)
1/2 tbsp gelatin
5 tbsp water
1 lemon (juice)

Method

  1. Prepare the biscuits into crumbs. Melt the butter.
  2. Butter a tin and press the base mixture down hard into the bottom of the tin, put in the fridge to set.
  3. Soak the gelatin in hot water.  
  4. Beat the cream until it is thickened enough to nearly hold it's shape but not quite.
  5. Beat in the packet of cream cheese until the mixture is smooth.
  6. Add the sifted icing sugar and lemon juice and beat again until you achieve a smooth thick consistency.
  7. Add in the gelatin slowly while mixing (or beating) the mixture.
  8. Add in crushed cornflakes into the mixture and mix well.
  9. Pour topping onto the base and spread, put the tin back into the fridge until the topping has set. Enjoy!
Source: www.nigella.com

Friday, November 01, 2013

50 Things to Eat Before You Die

A friend of mine shared a link from the IS magazine on Facebook, "50 Things to Eat Before You Die". These items are found in Singapore! I wanted to open a dessert shop/cafe, hence the desserts sort of appealed to me more. Hence, I identified 15 dishes from the 50 listed (though the first one is not a dessert =x). I will definitely go and try if I have a chance and review it in my foodblog! Oh, to those who are not staying in Singapore, these are NOT the MUST-EAT dishes in Singapore! Definitely not local delights.


Here are the list: (not in any particular order)
Cookies & Cream Cheesecake Espuma
  1. Bak Kwa Mac & Cheese ($20 from Pidgin Kitchen)
  2. French Toast with Rum Saboyan ($15 from Fordham & Grand)
  3. Vodka Lime Coconut Pie ($7.50 from Windowsill Pies)
  4. Orange Croissant ($3.20 from Tiong Bahru Bakery)
  5. Rice Pudding ($12 from Ola Cocina Del Mar)
  6. Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Espuma ($8 from A for Arbite)
  7. Mousse Chocolat ($12 from L’Entrecote)
  8. Banana Bread ($4.50 from Revolution Coffee)
  9. Chocolate Cake (From $4 from Matt’s the Chocolate Shop)
  10. Monet (From $9.80 from Audacious Cakery)
  11. Buah keluak ice-cream ($14 from Candlenut)
  12. Mille crepes ($7 from Lady M)
  13. Crodos ($4 from Da Paolo Gastronomia)
  14. Mango Curry ($22 from Tandoor)
  15. Apple Pie ($12 from Bar-Roque Grill)
Original Article: 50 Things to Eat Before You Die
Vodka Lime Coconut Pie
Bak Kwa Mac & Cheese