Critic's Critics

I must say that I am not a hardworking food bloggers. I have many backlog (drafts) in my blog and not yet publish. It doesn't help when my laptop is down and I am trying to find ways to get and organise my photos for the blog (Critic's Critics). But I still have something to offer - an alternative view.

There are many foodies out there full-time or even did a great extend to research, talk to the owners, chef and understand their background. Some paid, some not (yet). I am aiming to produce a most objective or independent view on the food I had, be it hawker food or snacks, and not get sway by temptation. Like means like, dislike means dislike. There is no point of hiding it.

Service and ambience is just as important as the food. Of course, the food need to be of a certain standard to keep customer from coming, but do you know that the service and ambience are now very important in the modern world? Who will want to have something good and get served rudely? I won't!

Anyway, I finally uploaded some photos and completed the following reviews. Do check them out! =)

1. Just Want Coffee (Everton Park)
2. Hummerstons (Robertson Quay)
3. Mr Bean (One North)
4. Grub Singapore (Bishan Park)
5. Pho Street (Jurong East)

Reviews underway: D'Good cafe, Lady M, Spathe Public Bath, Ootaya and RakuZen.

Article: "20 Common Grammar Mistakes"

Yesterday, I saw an article shared by my friend via Facebook. Titled "20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes", this is a column by Jon Gingerich back in Jan 31, 2012. Quite an interesting article, especially for those who wanted to improve their English language. Even if you are good with the language, there is no harm taking a look and see if you agree with the article.

From the list, how many common mistakes have you been committing without realising? =)

1. Who and Whom
2. Which and That
3. Lay and Lie
4. Moot
5. Continual and Continuous
6. Envy and Jealousy
7. Nor
8. May and Might
9. Whether and If 
10. Fewer and Less
11. Farther and Further
12. Since and Because
13. Disinterested and Uninterested
14. Anxious
15. Different Than and Different From
16. Bring and Take
17. Impactful
18. Affect and Effect
19. Irony and Coincidence
20. Nauseous

Article: 20 Singaporean Slangs

Even though I always try to perfect my pronunciation of my Chinese language and improving my English, never will I detest our proud Singaporean-style English, Singlish. I definitely feel more at ease when I hear people speaking them (but not shouting them!). Born, breed, grow locally, I definitely am a Singaporean, despite being mistaken many times by strangers over the years.

Reading the article (below) definitely put a smile on me, and I must thank some friend who introduce #13 to me via some meme app (or something like that) haha!

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20 Slangs Only A True Blue Singaporean Will Know by Joshua Goh

1. Bo Jio
2. Whatever / Anything Lor
3. Guai Lan
4. Wah Lau Eh
5. 几点了 (What Time Already)
6. Pai Seh
7. Kao Pei Kao Bu (KPKB)
8. CB (Chio Bu) - But if you see CCB, trust me... it meant differently!
9. Last Warning
10. Eee-yer
11. GG
12. Siao
13. Come I Clap For You
14. No link
15. Pang Seh
16. Jialat
17. Sian
18. Steady
19. Liddat
20. Simi

Wanna know the meaning of these Singlish? Read the article here

Forget about resolution

It is quite interesting to see which of my photos are the more popular ones.
Take a look at my Instagram Top 5 for 2013 (Thanks to Statigr.am)

Not too bad huh? Do help me 'Like' by clicking here

Saw an article recently on doing away resolution. I actually kind of agree with it. It also mention about a To-Do List instead.

Instead of doing a yearly To-Do list, maybe I should do a monthly one too.

January will be my exercise month, planning to reduce my meet-up and focus more on exercising...

January:
- Lose 5kg before Lunar New Year.
- Run at least 3 times a week
- Visit gym at least twice a week
- Complete the Photo editing for Nat & Ber
- Complete my 7 owls for my Photonics friend
- Complete the sewing gift I still owe XY
- Complete 2 chapters of "Networking: A Beginner Guide" book
- Write a To-Do List for February =)

2o14:
- To complete my Ukelele class (end in Mar 1) and able to play it smoothly!
- To start my Ukelele level 2 class.
- To weigh 67kg by the end if the year.
- To pen lyrics to one melody (even if the lyrics sucks!)
- To start planning on my cafe (a little vague, I know!)

Ahh... can't think much for 2o14. That's all for now... ciaoz~!

Celebrating December

December is a month of celebrations and gatherings.

Most of my annual gatherings are in the month of December, except for one which was postponed till 2014. T.T

I must thank all my friends for turning up for gatherings and those who are willing to spend some time with me, celebrating my birthday! I feel so good to have these people around! hahaha...

This year, I got many 'surprise' birthday presents~!

First birthday present of the year~! Volkswagen Kombi car models! Met Diana, Choon & Derek on 1st Dec (after my exhausting run...) and Diana gave me this set as a present! <3 I find them cute when I saw them in airport back in July when I go for my Phuket trip! Shuyi said it will be cheaper in BKK and Diana bought it for me when she went in Nov (I think) ! Thanks Diana, Love you much much! =D

Cute Socks =D

I met Gwen, Shirley, Boon Chay & WJ on 5th Dec for gathering and received 3 X*mas presents! Sorry guys for not bringing any! =x But thanks for the presents! One of the present is a hand-made socks with choc stuffed inside (see above)! haha... Nice! 

Happy Birthday to.... Me!

On 18th Dec, I met up with a bunch of friends! Ok, I should name them! haha... They are Joey, WJ, Jx, Dz, Terry and two Vietnamese sisters, Truc and Ngoc (as on FB, haha). Elaine was not able to turn up due to illness, but it is ok as she made it up by treating me to Antoinette desserts on Saturday. Nevertheless, we had a great time having dinner at Mushroom Pot & counting down to my Birthday at Changi T3. The sisters got me a Tee. I have yet to try on... haha... no confidence since it is erm... M size! hahaha...

I was wondering what these people got me... Too bad not the RV residences that was on the newspaper wrapper! But to my pleasant surprise, they gave me what I am looking for a while! 

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles LEGO set!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles LEGO set! OMG! Nice right?! I know!!! Too bad there are two missing turtles in this set! This means I need to buy the other two turtles (Michelangelo and Donatello). I was looking for the 4 ninja turtles characters and was planning to get them. So I am like so surprised to receive this! =D I heard that the original characters were not sold separately. Those in the market are most likely MIC (made-in-China). Will have to decide if I want to get another set or just get the not-so-originals! Have to think of where to set up and put this display set too! *Headache* haha!

On the actual date of my birthday, I met JH, Xin & Bel for KTV! Ok, don't ask me when was the last time we went together... 'cos none of us remember! But had a short but fun time together! JH & Bel got me a Waffle Maker~! haha... I wonder why did they decide on this present! haha! Since I am expecting an kitchen appliance from another group of friend, I felt like I am having a house warming, rather than Birthday~! hahaa!

On the other hand, Xin got me a very ATAS trendy bag. It must have cost a lot! I must make myself look good to be able to look stylish using the bag~! haha... Thanks Xin! Like the loud colour, hope I am able to use it soon! haha. She also made a Christmas tree using beads that got Nat & I fighting over it! She gave it to us on 20th when we met for another of my mini-celebration brunch at Spathe. I decided not to post the pics of our X*mas presents (else this blog post will never end!) Anyway, Nat got confused with what I wanted and told Ber to get me a electric whisk/beater! haha! Thanks Ber for changing it for me. Hence, I must wait for another few days before I officially got the correct one.

Yes! This is the shocking expression I got when I saw the present! (I looked more shocking then!) Imagine me carrying this HUGE present home! I wonder how Ber managed to bring it from work through the Orchard crowd. We went TCC at Peranakan Place for our X*mas celebration with Angelina, Jingda and Natalia. But unfortunately, Jingda was sick and unable to attend. I, myself, was sick too but managed to survive that night. I was almost bed-ridden on X*mas day! Anyway, this is what they got for me....

8in1 Food Processor

8in1! No wonder the box is so big... 8 in 1! There is grater, blender, mixer, chopper etc... I also cannot remember the 8 functions off hand! The brand is rather unknown to us though. Hopefully, it will work perfectly! They are asking me to make fries! haha... Now I must get myself more hardworking in the kitchen for 2014!

My last gathering for the year is with my Photonics friends~! 7 friends turned up and we got a X*mas gift exchange after our lunch at Tim Ho Wan (Toa Payoh). Most of us have never been to Tim Ho Wan before, which is why we decided to go there. The food is pretty good! Unfortunately, I don't really like the staff. Boo!

Like the past few years (forget when exactly), I received the most expensive gift there, which is over the budget set! Thanks HC for the Jean Perry towel, L'occitane shampoo and conditioner! May use them when I am on trip since they are less than 100ml per bottle! haha

2013 has been an eventful year so must really really thank all those that helped me and took care of me over the year... =D Let's hope for a better 2014~!

A Running Start

I started the month of celebration and gathering with a run - Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (Ekiden). It always been fun running as a team and when all gather after the finishing line. Unfortunately, this year's event did not end on a happy note, for me.

Getting ready for the race at 4am!

Thanks to the weather, even for runner #5 or #6, no one need to run under the scorching heat if your team took 5-6 hours to complete the run.

Runners at the starting point

Unlike last year, this year's event seems to be a little disorganised and lack of sponsors. Firstly, the race pack is pathetic for a run that is consider expensive. Unlike last year, first few Ekiden runners are not offered any 'goodies' after their run.

At some of the Ekiden Point, the helpers/volunteers did not shout out the numbers way before the runners reached the changing pen. Last year, there are two helpers, one stand at a further end, while the other will repeat the numbers being called out. This will ensure the next runner will have time to get ready. This year, some of the points do not even have anyone shouting out. Boo!

Ekiden Point 2

During team briefing, we were asked to sign out after running our leg of the event. This is not the case. If they decided to call off the signing out procedure, they should have let us know much earlier, even if it is not affecting our performance much. Many runners simply ran to the booth (for drinks) to look for someone that let them sign.

I have not even touch on the time discrepancy that marred the event over the last few days on newspaper. To be honest, my team is considering if we should participate in next year's event. 

After reaching Ekiden Point 2

I am also disappointed that the team spirit and responsibility (for my team) is not there. Unlike last year, one of the runners did not inform the other waiting that she has completed. I doubt I will have her in my running team again. Another went home due to weather condition. (No, I can't fault her.)

Despite the disappointment, I am happy to complete the race in such a good timing (for me) and I could even complete 2 legs (#1 & #6) of the race! *claps*

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.

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:

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.

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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

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.

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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