Cavalock and The Possible, Maybe, Not Maybe Lifestyle Change

You know you are really getting old when you spend your birthday morning sweating it out at the gym. I was told that I needed more protein in my diet and that I am sorely lacking in skeletal mass while putting a wee bit more percentage body fat than I should. Nah, me hitting the gym has got nothing to do with the government's present health agenda. It's more like accounts of guys younger and seemingly healthier than me dropping dead for no apparent reason.

I have been grabbing my meals at places like Daily Cut and Real Food now. I mean I used to but a little more frequent now since my gym gets me a 10% discount at Daily Cut and Real Food's South Beach joint is pretty near my apartment. Sometimes if I finished my gym and it's too early for dinner, I would just grab two soft-boiled eggs from the nearest kopi tiam. That's supposed to be good right?

But if you think I'm on an all-healthy diet, HAH! Guess again! Here's Saturday's lunch at The Bird over at Marina Bay Sands. Been pretty eager to check out the place since I heard bout it couple weeks ago even though I wasn't exactly in the mood for fried chicken. Had the smoked beef brisket sandwich which was good but it could certainly do with bit more beef between the ciabatta bread. The potato and grits just reminded me so much of our local Malay bergedil patty which isn't a bad thing ... just that it does remind me of it. Friends who had the fried chicken said it was all right and that it reminded them of the Colonel's original recipe chicken.

What else do old folks do on their birthdays? Build Lego sets of cos. Got my hands on the long-awaited Old Fishing Shop. An absolute delight to build, I'm taking my time with this one. I'll be posting random shots of it on my Lego Instagram account, ultron8.

Cavalock and The Holiday Balls

Another popular stall that's just a hop and a skip away from my tiny apartment that I only recently made into a regular haunt is the aptly named Beef House, along Syed Alwi Road. Just go for the beef tendon balls, they are great balls. Nice and chewy balls. Delicious balls, not unlike these equally delicious famous balls on YouTube. Ah come on, it's the holiday season and you can't go wrong with a classic! Just watch, you'll thank me later.

So earlier this year, I opened my first and only Instagram account ultron8 as a kinda therapeutic exercise where I try to come up with original Lego vignettes by putting together various Lego pieces. Strangely enough, I'm kinda proud of it as I certainly didn't expect to have that many followers so soon. Back when I was in the creative industry, we were expected to come with creative ideas like a dozen a day, it was mentally exhausting. Right now when I do creative stuff on my "own time and target", it's a lot easier and much more rewarding.

Cavalock and The Global Snack Sighting

These caught my eye when I was at Meidi-Ya last week. Handy little snack packs with a global flavour and from of all places, Northern Ireland but the S$9 plus price tag kinda scared me away. Then I headed to booze section and oh gosh, I remember this, Suntory Whiskey! And they got a gift pack now. Good times in Tokyo last year where a pint of Suntory whisky with lemon accompanied almost every dinner.

Oh, looks like the cat is out of the bag that Creamier will be opening their 3rd outlet later this month at Gillman Barracks. My friend who's the genius cooking and baking up a storm at the place told me bout it last year but I figured it's probably all hush-hush till now. Looking forward to it.

Yah, I'm in one of my Lego moods. Good way to de-stress. I call this the 'Day After The Aliens Won' or 'Food Cart of The Future." Take yer pick.

Cavalock and The Hungry Panda Takeover

Friday night at some hip joint? Geez, it has been ages since I did that but that's where I was when I got to drop by Bird Bird for dinner at Ann Siang Road a couple weeks ago. There's already a buncha articles written about this place bout how so we decided to try it out. Couple of items really stood out.  Alright, not exactly the best pix but the Unami Corn is really good. Nicely grilled with sriracha, mayo and shrimp floss. A little spicy but very addictive. Then there's the deconstructed Big Mac that's simply a Big Mac burger, complete with cheese on top and pickles inside, taken apart and with rice instead of buns, and wagyu beef too. Not bad and very filling, was absolutely stuffed.

Another thing I liked about that night was how they, as in the authorities closed Ann Siang Road. Cool vibe to it although it could do with more locals if you know what I mean. <^;^>

So remember this from my last post? Well, the baker-at-home had an idea and changed it to this. 

Cavalock and The Childhood Mystic Book

Busy last couple of weeks with all them writing to do, taking care of my Dad and with what little spare time I got, I was putting together Lego blocks to de-stress. Here's something for Chinese New Year.

It has been awhile since I posted an update bout the stuff I been unearthing in the old family home so here's an old made-in-China ukulele from the 1960s (I think). Made a ruckus almost everyday with it. And I thought it was gone since the last time I saw it was when I was in primary school just before I moved out of the old family home. Then late last year, I was clearing up more trash and I found this wrapped in old newspaper on top of a cupboard.

Here's something more surreal. A Thai fortune-telling book passed down from generations, torn pages held together with scotch-tape. I recall having made to pick numbers every birthday morning when I was just a little kid. Oh yah, there were always a ton of mystical relics in the old family home, I just never posted any here till now. <^;^>

Cavalock and The Christmas Day Morning Post

Merry Christmas Everybody!!!

Spotted these new Pringles at Meidi-Ya and it got me thinking bout my family and going up in the old family home. Yah, we had the original plain Pringles back when I was a kid and it was one of the rare snacks that I actually took a liking to. We celebrated Christmas back then but it was more for my benefit than a religious thing. We had a small Christmas tree too and I remembered my Dad brought me to one them kids' Christmas party at Mandarin Hotel. My aunts and uncles are all gone now and it will be a very quiet Christmas again. Been awhile since I exchanged gifts at an office party or dropped by any holiday gatherings. After a couple of years, you tell yourself you'll get used to it but what they say bout the holiday blues is sorta true I guess. Kids, be grateful for all the folks around you this Christmas!

Another reason why it's always an eye-opener to visit Liang Court. Nope, I didn't bring a sample home with me. <^;^>

No room for any Christmas tree in my tiny apartment but I did receive a free little Lego tree Christmas tree ornament when I purchased my Doctor Who Lego set.

Cavalock and The Offal Offering

Gosh, it's almost Christmas. Been quite busy with a buncha things like delivering our annual home-baked rum-soaked fruitcakes as well as catching up with ex-colleagues. Well, that's not exactly why I haven't been updating lately. I realised that when I'm having a meal lately, whether it's a good one or not, I'm rather reluctant to take out the iPhone and start snapping away. So while I am still stuffing my face at new and old eating joints, I just ain't so fast on the trigger anymore I guess. But I do have to at least give a shout-out to a pretty good Christmas buffet lunch spread at the Singapore Marriott. Can't go wrong when someone offers you all the beef tongues and lungs you can eat! I don't know of any other hotel buffet that has them on their menu so if you are into offal, this is a terrific deal.

Now while everyone is talking about that other famous sci-fi franchise, here's something I picked up recently bout a little old British sci-fi series that caught my imagination back when I was a kid, around the same time as Star Wars. When Lego announced that they were doing a special Doctor Who set, I knew I had to pick it up.

Cavalock and The Fluttershy Experiment

The baker-in-the-house was pretty busy over the last couple of weeks turning out cupcake and cookie orders. Now I ain't a My Little Pony fan at all but I thought these really looks good. After we got the request for a little girl's birthday party, the baker-in-the-house headed immediately online to research the colors and design of the character, Fluttershy. She especially wanted to get the eyes right.

As always, every Fluttershy butter cookie piece was painstakingly hand-painted. Lots of attention to detail cos that's what she does best. Hope we got the right shade of pink and yellow too. *whew*

And now this. Hey, the baker-in-the-house ain't the only creative person around here! ;) Presenting my prize-winning Lego early 20th-century seance scene! Submitted it to an online Lego creation contest last month and won me a small limited edition Lego winter box set.

Cavalock and The Coffee Jelly Enthrallment

Coffee Jelly!!! A simple yet highly addictive dessert that I just can't get enough of whenever I'm done with a heavy Japanese meal. It's usually a toss-up between this or some matcha concoction. Coffee jelly is exactly what it is. A popular Japanese dessert created back during the Taisho period in the 1910s, it's a glob of jello made from sweetened coffee and served with cream or condensed milk.

While in Tokyo, it was my second choice for best takeaway dessert after the city's amazing Haagen-Dazs selection. We even bought a box from Gateau Festa Harada while getting our usual bread snack fix there. Comes with little creamer packs too and with the DIY part, it's really convenient to enjoy it anytime back home.

Another dessert snack I had was the popular cheese tart by Bake. It's a Sapporo brand of cheese tarts and they have a shop not far from our hotel in Shinjuku. It's apparently baked from three different cheeses and they taste so light and fluffy! To savour the cheese tart at its finest, you must eat it while it's still hot and fresh out of the oven.

And now this. You know you got a serious hard-on for Lego when you spend almost S$50 on an official Lego iPhone 6 Plus case in Tokyo, even though you don't even own an iPhone 6 Plus.