Monthly Archive for June, 2009

At the spice rack..

Published on June 29, 2009 in Mac and Me, Other Bloggers, This I like and Usual Ramblings. 2 Comments Tags: saffron strands, tanglin mall, vanilla pod.

To be honest, my only relation to food is just eating and talking about it. I can’t cook to save my life and all the hours spent watching the Asian Food Channel with Lyn (my boo) does absolutely nothing to inspire me to don an apron, pick up that pan and whip up something bold and spicy. But if you have spent enough time in the supermarket while your other half takes eons analysing the ingredients of just about everything within the line of sight while picking on how unhealthy they are, and given that your only comfort is that pair of shoes you’re wearing (not comfortably on a bed or a chair like at home), you are bound to notice something.

Lyn and I popped over to the Market Place at Tanglin Mall a couple of months ago to pick up some groceries after a wonderful lunch at Yantra. The drill is just about the same. I push the cart around staring into blank spaces while she does the selection. At the spice rack, a place where Lyn spent most of our time that day, I can’t help but notice two unique spice packaging.

Left: Pure Vanilla Pods in a cigar (look alike) case | Right: Any empty bottle of Saffron Strands?

Nope, just a small packet in a big bottle. I can never understand why they did that.

My supermarket adventure continues…

Coolest cab ever!

Published on June 26, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 6 Comments Tags: cab, eee top.

Check this out! The coolest cab ever in my view. I was heading back home from the Marina Barrage a couple of weeks back and hopped into a cab that’s equipped with an Asus Eee Top loaded with a huge selection of music, videos and my favourite…Internet access. And to top it off, you don’t need to pay a cent for usage…nothing, nadda!! Nevermind that the driver and I share the same name and the first four mobile numbers (yes I really needed to bring it up), this dude is really serious about providing the best service to his customers and I’m loving it. He sure has my vote for coolest cab ever..and oh great service .

Really, I wasn’t lying..

Your Singapore River Festival itinerary

Published on June 24, 2009 in This I like and Usual Ramblings. 0 Comments Tags: boat quay, central, clarke quay, empress place, robertson quay, singapore river, singapore river festival.

So you are bored of those usual hang around places and are looking for one that is not only different but filled with a tonne of exciting activities and performances. That area is the Singapore River! Beginning last Friday (yes, once again a late entry), the Singapore River Festival returned for the second year promising 24-hours worth of entertainment from magic shows to Bacardi Mojito parties.

Left and Right: Scenes of the Singapore River Festival launch

After visiting their site, I feel that the number of activities stretching from Empress Place all the way to Robertson Quay is like visiting a buffet laden with so much delicacies leaving me wondering where the heck I should start. I’m not kidding, there are loads. So with that, allow me to draw a simple itinerary starting tonight that you can consider. Oh by the way, information on the specific events were extracted from their website. Of course you can view the entire calendar here.

Wednesday - Start off at Robertson Quay with the River Romance: Bumboat Parade at 7:30pm followed by the The Bacardi Mojito Party at eM by the River that ends till late.

A RIVER ROMANCE: BUMBOAT PARADE

Date: 19-27 June
Time: 7.30pm-8.30pm
Venue: Robertson Quay, Clarke Quay and Boat Quay

Experience a spectacular water and land boat parade in celebration of Singapore River’s historic trading port and the people who lived and worked along the River. The bumboat parade will feature kampung boys, traders, coolies, samsui women, rickshaw pullers, Chinese opera singers, street hawkers and vanishing traders—all on water. There will also be 2 giant floats berthed at Boat Quay depicting a fishing village

THE BACARDI MOJITO PARTY AT eM BY THE RIVER

Date: 24 June
Time: 7pm till late
Venue: eM by the River, 1 Nanson Road #01-05 Gallery Hotel

A unique party, probably first of its kind, this will be a session that will tease both the palette and the ears. Bartenders from the Emerald Hill Group will feature different flavoured themed Bacardi ingredients explained the consumers. Each setting will be accompanied with an appropriate tune and music purposely styled to match the nature of the Mojito served. As part of the Mojito Fiesta, each Bacardi Mojito served will be attractively priced for the occasion.

Thursday – Begin with the Milestones: Music Festival and Flea Market at Empress Place from 6pm followed by the Read Bridge Spectacular (a must watch) at Clarke Quay.

MILESTONES: MUSIC FESTIVAL AND FLEA MARKET

Date: 23 to 26 June, 27 June (Double Bill Concert)
Time: 6pm (Flea Market)
8pm (Music Festival)

Rock on to the rolling good Groove to the sounds of Singapore’s yesteryear as Milestones brings Singapore’s top bands and music from the ‘70s- October Cherries, 80s- Robert Fernando and 90s – Concave Screamm, Force Vomit, West Grand Boulevard and Goodfellas reunite for this Festival. Don’t miss the Milestones Market where you may also discover great vintage finds as well as the Vintage Flea Market.The Double Bill Concert on 27th June features talented Cuban pianist Nachito Herrera whose classical pieces are heavily inspired by Cuban beats that would not fail to excite you. The concert will also feature opening act Lorraine Ayensu from the UK who possesses a soothing sound accustomed in delivering a seamless medley of genres ranging from ballads to Latin-influenced tunes to urban jazz.

READ BRIDGE SPECTACULAR

Date: 21-27 June
Time: 8.30pm to 9pm and 10pm to 10.30pm
Venue: Read Bridge

For the first time, the iconic Read Bridge will be the stage for spectacular performances like aerial acrobatics, water ballet and more plus an amazing performance on the water on this iconic bridge.

Friday – Have a nice dinner at Boat Quay and head over to UOB Promenade to catch A River Romance: The Dance Musical. After that, cross the Cavenagh Bridge to Empress Place for Jazz by the River: An evening of Cuban Jazz (with the original Bacardi Mojito Fiesta.

A RIVER ROMANCE: THE DANCE MUSICAL

Date: 19-21 & 26–27 June
Time: 8.30pm-9.30pm
Venue: UOB Promenade, Boat Quay

Soak in the sights of the river. Don’t miss this specially-commissioned romantic dance musical that combines movement dance, music, and acrobatics and stunts. A River Romance is a grand visual spectacle not to be missed.

JAZZ BY THE RIVER: AN EVENING OF CUBAN JAZZ (WITH THE ORIGINAL BACARDI MOJITO FIESTA)

Date: 19 and 26 June
Time: 930pm to 1130pm
Venue: Outdoors at Asian Civilisations Museum

“Luxuriate under the stars as Latino Jazz singer Fabiolo Zuniga enthralls you with her sexy, soulful vocals on 19 June. The Martin Reyes Latin band takes to the stage on 26 June with their brand of infectious latino jazz music which will definitely get your head nodding and feet moving. Bring your picnic baskets, sip on refreshing Mojitos and chill out outdoors at the Asian Civilisations Musuem by the river.

Saturday – Pack the last day of the Singapore River Festival with a hearty dinner at Clarke Quay followed by a 30-minute Hippo River Show (boarding at Clarke Quay). Next, hop on down to Central to witness history in the making as Singapore’s illusionists J C Sum and ‘Magic Babe’ Ning attempt to set a world record by performing a record-breaking number of mega illusions in just 5 minutes. Finally, top off your night with a party at Robertson Quay with DJ Audio Misdemeanour.

HIPPO RIVER SHOW

Date: 19-21 June and 26-27 June
Time: 8pm to 11pm (15 minute intervals)
Venue: Boarding at Clarke Quay

Cruising down the Singapore River takes a new twist with musical performances on board the Hippo River Cruise. Enjoy a 30 minute cruise down the ever while listening to the soothing sounds of a string quartet or the guzheng.

THE IMPOSSIBLE RECORD: 2 ILLUSIONISTS, 5 MINUTES, 1 WORLD RECORD

Date: 27 June
Time: 9.30pm to 10.30pm
Venue: Central Promenade

Be awed by renowned illusionists. Catch this never-to-be-repeated performance as Singapore’s illusionists J C Sum and ‘Magic Babe’ Ning as they attempt to set a world record by performing a record-breaking number of mega illusions in just 5 minutes.

SINGAPORE RIVER CIRCUS POP SERIES, FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL

Time: 9pm onwards (Circus Party)
Venue: In front of Brussel Sprouts

The circus travels to Robertson Quay on 27 June as it kicks off with a food and wine carnival by the river featuring outlets like Epicurious, Queens Tandoor, Brussel Sprouts, Red House and Harry’s followed by more revelry and great music as the party moves outside Brussel Sprouts by Singapore River featuring DJ Audio Misdemeanour one of the hottest rising talents in the Australian house music scene. An absolute circus mayhem is guranteed with roving circus acts, great music and fantastic promotions.

Video Games Live in three days

Published on June 16, 2009 in This I like. 2 Comments Tags: final fantasy, halo, metal gear solid, orchestra, singapore indoor stadium, video games live.

Here’s an interesting concoction for you. Take a popular symphonic orchestra, draw music scores from ledgendary video games you could ever think of such as Halo, Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy, throw in special state-of-the-art lighting accompanied by interactive videos of the games, add in the excitement of a rock concert attended by the most hardcore gamers you ever know, who does pretty much nothing but live, breathe and eat in the world video games and what do you get? An electrifying night of multi-sensory experience (I’m talking about level 10 goose bumps here baby!!) any gamer could ever wish for. Yes, the popular and mostly (if not always) sold out Video Games Live is in Singapore.

For one night only, the biggest and most popular game concert in the world will debut in Singapore’s Indoor Stadium. Packed with pre-show festivals such as Guitar Hero Competition, Arcade Legacy and Console Challenge that begins at 6pm, this is one event any true and genuine gamer can’t miss. Its one of those, “if you miss then you really know you ain’t really a gamer and can finally stop calling yourself one” kind of thing. Yeah its that serious. I wish I could go on but honestly, as a Playstation 3 owner with only just two games (Guitar Hero World Tour and NBA 09 The Inside), I know I’m not worthy. So to gamers in Singapore who have yet to get their tickets, well you have just three days ~plays errie music and fades with evil laughter~. Tickets are still available at Sistic.

You can read more about the event at Nic’s CNET blog, its filled with more comprehensive details and yes…I think its safe to say that he’s a real gamer . Here’s a trailer of Video Games Live:

Omu lost and found

Published on June 9, 2009 in Things that suck and This I like. 10 Comments

Last weekend was pretty dramatic for Lyn (my boo) and I as our puppy Omu (well not exactly puppy) went missing after a family member ‘accidentally’ left the door opened. Not knowing that she wandered out of the door, the door was closed and her disappearance was only discovered about six hours later. Bad parenting aside, Lyn and I kicked into full search mode spending most of our late Saturday night looking, calling and whistling for her but to no avail. Although in our devastated state, both of us pretty much knew what to do. Yes this is not the first time Omu pulled off one of her Harry Houdini stunts on us, but we were thankful that we managed to find her.

With Saturday night gone bearing no fruits, Lyn and I printed out posters and a cover letter and faxed them to over 30 vets in Singapore. The next morning, we headed to her estate of about 26 blocks with our loving and very helpful couple Justin and Junn and pasted a number of missing posters at vantage points including lift landings and stairwells ensuring all bases are covered. This is all thanks to the police post and town council who gave us their temporary (about one week) blessings. To be honest, I think Moove Media would be proud of our advertising placements. Finally, we made a call to SPCA reporting our loss and detailing every single physical characteristics (or rather problems) Omu has. The next step was to play the waiting game.

But before you go all how calm and collected we were, I assure you we weren’t. There was much frustration, angst and regret between the both of us but we managed to pull through. With no phone calls on Sunday, we were pretty much resigned to fate thinking that Omu has lucked out this time. That was until we got a call from SPCA the next morning. Apparently, the police from the Cantonment Complex picked her up and sent her to the SPCA on Sunday night. The folks from SPCA did a cross check with our report and made the call. Thankfully, we took a day off work on Monday to finalise some details in our big project and rushed there immediately. Nevermind that Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers went into overtime and I was on my feet cheering for whoever, Omu was more important. Thank you SPCA and erm, the police… .

Left: One of the many posters we put up | Right: Omu on her way back home

GSS Shopping Challenge

Published on June 2, 2009 in Usual Ramblings. 6 Comments Tags: great singapore sale, shopping.

Last Saturday, my colleagues and I volunteered our services for the opening of one of our favourite signature events, the Great Singapore Sale (GSS). Filled with a tonne of the not so usual compelling deals and best bargains (and alot more), the two-month GSS was highlighted by the annual shopping challenge with more than twenty (or more) teams of two from about ten countries participating. The teams were invited by our regional offices making up of an international cast of celebrities, media and consumers. Countries include Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, China, UK and loads more. Their task – a three-hour shopping spree with a budget of $950 and the team that returns with the most savings within the allocated time wins. Not a bad deal I must add.

This year’s winning team goes to the ladies from the United Kingdom who not only spent two-thirds of their money (about $600) but returned with savings of an amazing $25,500. I have absolutely no idea how they did it but I’m extremely impressed, these ladies really know how to shop. To add to their already wonderful experience, they returned home with a prize money of a whopping $10,000 cash!! The second team was from Australia ($5,000) and the third from Vietnam ($3,000). The rest of the teams were not in anyway losers as they went home with all their shopping. Yes you read right, they get to keep all their shopping. Sweeeet!!

Here are some of the photos I managed to squeeze out:

Left: Some of us volunteers | Right: The UK ladies are in sunglasses (extreme right)