Cavalock and The Phase Two Deux: The Sequel

Whew! Just got back from a lockdown toilet paper run! Nah, just kidding. But it is time again for a (semi)-lockdown as we return to Phase Two. This time we all kinda got a little practice on what to do and expect as we hunker down for another 3 weeks. Well for starters, my gym will be closed so I reckon that'll free up some of my mornings. Three times a week at the gym, that's the minimum the doc recommended after my last medical. Plus I always try to grab a 'healthy' lunch at either Daily Cut or Kepos at Raffles Place after a session. I guess it's back to char kway teow! Hah! 

I guess one thing to look forward out at Phase 2 Deux is more home-cooked meals. The Baker-at-Home has perfected these amazing potato and beef croquettes. They are kinda like the ones that we had in Japan. And she also made some soba to go with it. The fresh leafy veggies that our friend gifted us are from a local farm. They are from Backyard Fresh and they came hand-delivered in a nice big box, like one them cake boxes.

Now if you are gonna be stuck and don't what to do, I strongly recommend the TV series Resident Alien. I believe it's on the Syfy channel or if you are ...er... resourceful enough, you could find it online. There are only ten episodes in the first season and the second season has already been given the green light, so you know it's good! About a less-than-friendly alien who crash-landed on Earth and has to disguise as a small town doctor. It's suspense, comedy and murder mystery all rolled into one, starring the talented Alan Tudyk who is no stranger to sci-fi roles. Remember this song when you watch the season finale, that scene is hilarious! 

Cavalock and The Orange Pudding Surprise

 Happy New Year of the Ox!

Back when I was a little kid, I kinda looked forward to Lunar New Year for a reason not most people would normally associate the NewYear with. It's me Mom going me a one day Get-of-Jail -Free card as she used to say that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, she wouldn't nag or scold me, just for that day. Hah! 

Still reeling from the lack of travel last year and this, I finally succumbed to lonesome me missing Tokyo and bought this fruity Japanese dessert from Don Don. I guess it kinda reminded me of something I would see in a Tokyo convenience store like Lawsons. I was pleasantly surprised by how packed the jelly/pudding was with orange slices. Really juicy ones too!

Pretty uneventful first day of the new year, I did watch the latest 6th episode of WandaVision. If you read the comics, especially the House of M storyline, then most of last six episodes of the show would appear rather familiar. I was gonna wait till we get Disney + later in February to binge watch it but all the guys are already watching and talking bout it. They are bugging me to catch up it so I had to otherwise they were gonna start with the spoilers.

Cavalock and Those Rich, Refreshing and Profound Beer Glasses

This has to be the best damn piece of advertising copy I have read all year. I remember how we used to come up with crap like this to 'entice' or convince folks to buy our clients' products but this guy or gal has almost taken it to the next level! Seriously, I have no idea how true these points are or what kinda science they got to back it up but you gotta appreciate work like this. Hah! 

Late to the party but I'm finally catching up on Lovecraft Country on HBO Max. Between this series and Perry Mason, as far as I'm concerned HBO Max is hitting it out of the park. Only a couple episodes in and I am liking it so far. Never read the book but I have read all of the source material from H.P. Lovecraft's novels to appreciate how they weaved elements of the mythos into a story set in segregated 1950s United States. Fingers crossed for a satisfying conclusion.

And speaking of Lovecraft, picked up the beautifully illustrated manga version of Lovecraft's At The Mountains of Madness, with art by Gou Tanabe. Read the original short story ages ago and I believe Guillermo del Toro was supposed to do a movie version of it.   

Cavalock and The Return of The Courtroom Drama

After ordering their omakase meals via delivery more than a couple times during Lockdown (three actually), we finally made it down to Mustard Seed the restaurant for dinner recently. Their dishes are all top notch and when we had them at home, they naturally arrived together. So there isn't much of an omakase feel to it, know what I mean? Well, we managed to grab some seats earlier this month at their little restaurant for a delightful culinary experience. It really warms my heart to know that there are such talented local chefs. 

Been way too long since we had a good decent courtroom drama TV series, it's almost criminal. Well, that drought is over with the release of Perry Mason, an 8-part mini-series on HBO Max. I just finished binge-watching it and its got pretty much all you would expect from a classic noir detective, murder mystery. If the name Perry Mason sounds familiar to you, it's because this is a reboot of the 1950s TV series based on the novels by Erle Stanley Gardner. 

I really enjoyed it. We need more of these big budget detective shows. I was a little apprehensive about it cos crime mystery shows like these, sometimes the big reveal can be kinda disappointing. * cough cough True Detective cough *. Looking back now, I don't think I got any major complaints about the show. Set in the 1930s, a baby is kidnapped and then found murdered, the subsequent court case grips Lost Angeles as it slowly reveals the dark underbelly of the city. This first season also showcases the origin story of how Perry Mason went from being a gumshoe (private detective) to a defence attorney. Yes, the show was huge ratings hit and there will be a second season, likely next year.

And now a random otter eating an early lunch just cos my 86-year-old Dad managed to take these pix.

Cavalock and The TV Finale Checklist

No, that ain't a burger from Jewel's Shake Shack or A&W. That's an honest to goodness wagyu burger with chili and cheese from MOS Burger, me first burger in over a month since the operation. Taste so good. Still don't get the fuss over the Jewel burger joints. Had them Shake Shack burgers in Tokyo and New York, it's good but not that good till you wanna queue over an hour for them. Know what ah mean?

And Japanese strawberries from Medi-Ya! Could never say 'no' to them. So Star Trek Discovery Season 2 is over and like I suspected, it's another confusing time travel story. A ton of things don't make sense. Spoilers ahead, if Micheal is now the Red Angel, what happened to her mother, the first Red Angel? Since Michelle Yeoh killed the baddie, why did they still need to escape to the future? If the al the data has been transferred from the ship to the Red Angel's suit, why must Discovery still make the jump to the future? Not the best season ender. On the other hand, True Detective Season 3 was a winner. Great suspense and acting. A murder mystery that actually makes sense despite the many plot twists.

Friend dropped by for games this week. Sometimes I think I forgot how to talk to folks since I been cooped up at home alone. Friends dropped by and games played while stuck at home for the month of April include Warhammer: Underworlds, 7 Wonders Duel, Keyforge and Magic: The Gathering. 

Cavalock and The Annual Kickstarter Delivery

Only one Kickstarter project at a time, that's how I limit myself. I try not to be Kickstarting two projects at a time is what I mean. Once I got the delivery for that then it's ok for me to start eyeing other Kickstarter projects again. And at any one time there's at least a half dozen tempting new boardgames on Kickstarter. Anyway this came in the mail yesterday. Not something I would normally buy but it was $28 for two and I got a buddy to offload the second one. It sticks to the bottom of your laptop so I can ditch this laptop stand that I been using.

No food posts for now. There ain't much a guy who has been bedridden for almost a month can write about but I heard it's therapeutic so has anyone seen season 3 of True Detective yet? I'm picking this over the final season of Game of Thrones which I'll still watch once I'm done with True Detective.

So with almost everyone heading off to the latest attraction that is known as the Jewel at the airport and forming long queues at A&W restaurant, it got me thinking bout how my Dad would drive us to the ol' drive-in joint over at Bukit Timah decades ago. Good times. Kids today don't get to do stuff like that no more. Eating outta old-fashioned drive-in, I mean. I guess I'm more emotionally invested in it but really feel no need to be there (even if I could walk) just for a bite of nostalgia.

Well, speaking of me Dad, he's been pretty busy. Thousands of shots over the last few weeks. These were taken just last week. 

Cavalock and The Japanese Netflix Peek

Continuing our discovery of great Italian food in Japan, the Baker-at-Home and I finally made our way to the famous pizza joint Savoy in Roppongi, Tokyo. There have been numerous articles written about how authentic the Neapolitan pizzas are and top chefs from around the world have all raved about it. And it's cheap too! Only a mere 1.000 yen for an entire pizza meal. We got there bout 15 mins before they opened and stood in the blazing sun, first in line. I believe it's in a kinda swanky neighbourhood on account of all them embassies nearby including ours.

There are only two kinds of Neopolitan pizza to choose from, margarita or marinara, and about a dozen seats in this small and quaint pizzeria. Little counter seats surround a wood-fired oven and you get a front-row view of your pizza being made. We had one of each and they were absolutely hot and delicious. For that price, we will definitely drop by the next time we are ever in Tokyo.

One of the cool things about Netflix is that subscribers can watch the exclusive content of whatever country they are in. That is, if that country has Netflix to begin with. So while in Tokyo earlier this month, we saw a buncha Japanese Netflix programmes. No subtitles obviously and if you thinking of downloading them and then watch them back home, forget it cos while you may be able to download them, they won't work or play outside Japan.

Cavalock and The Squid Ink Disclosure

We read the hype and followed it to Beach Road where Fatty Thai was. Been ages since we had some Thai wanton mee and were kinda looking forward to it. And also since it's a just ten-minute walk from our tiny apartment, why not?

It was pretty decent lunch for S$4. The fried wantons I liked the most. The Baker-at-Home and I were in a rather ravenous mood that afternoon and unfortunately the wanton noodles weren't gonna satisfy us, so we tucked into some duck meat conveniently located at the same kopi tiam. Yah, there was quite a delicious duck rice stall there too and that helped turned a decent lunch experience into a much better one.

I swear the days have gotten shorter ever since we got Netflix (legally). We have been watching the heck outta it. And now they got the entire Star Trek TV shows library in there too! How is a guy supposed to eat, sleep and game now?!? Reading is now bedside reading, mornings are over at the gym, painting miniatures is whenever I'm free and I suppose I could watch Netflix or then again, that may not be a good idea cos I am after all, painting. I mean, you can't exactly take your eyes off your miniatures when you are painting them!

Now if you ever wondered where to get squid ink for making them squid ink pasta etc., you can get a pack from Meidi-Ya supermarket. The squid ink's from Spain and comes in little packs. One pack per serving I think? Another one them things you won't see at your neighbourhood NTUC FairPrice I guess.

Cavalock and The Total Catch Up Post

This last couple weeks is all about catching up as I finally got to watch my very first (and second) IMAX movie! Yah, I know I'm probably the last person on this damn planet to step into an IMAX theatre but there you go. Enjoyed the experience immensely and am glad that the first two IMAX movies I watched were both Marvel and DC comic book movies. Fingers crossed, Last Jedi will be next on the list.

Speaking of being-late-for-the-party, the Baker at Home and I also finally made our way to Gorgon Ramsey's Bread Street Kitchen restaurant at MBS for dinner. As expected the fish and chips came up tops and maybe next time we'll go for the English breakfast.

And for ze coup de maitre, just last week we became an official Netflix household! Done with Stranger Things 2 (I have that copy of D&D Monster Manual on my shelf right now!) and now on a binge watching streak with Brooklyn Nine-Nine (middle of season 2 as I'm typing this!). One serious question, does anyone know if the shows we get here are censored by the authorities? I know the ones on cable are heavily sniped so I'm wondering if the ones on Netflix are too.

* Gorgons are real!

Cavalock and The Overdue Post New Year Lunch

Always glad to know that there's somewhere for me to chow down on a plate on good and cheap wanton mee. Dropped by the ever popular Foong Kee along Keong Saik Road couple weekends ago and had one of the best wanton mee I had in a long time. Totally enjoyed the char siew and springy noodles. But I reckon the joint is usually too damn crowded on weekdays so I'll probably be back on another weekend.

I have always loved the Simpsons TV series since they first appeared on the Tracy Ullman Show but I'm sure most fans would agree, the last couple of seasons haven't been all that good at all but we soldiered on and I'm to say that last week's episode "Pork and Burns" featuring the return of Spider-Pig from the Simpsons movie was the best in years. Yes, there's a pig involved so it might not be politically correct for all audiences but it's absolutely hilarious. So many spoofs involving Grey's Anatomy and even Whitney Houston. It's so funny I'm still re-watching that last scene again and again on my iPad. And it's driving the baker-at-home crazy.

I'm also finally catching up on the Preacher mini-series, great show and (almost) as violent as the comic book series. But plot-wise it's quite a departure from the comic. Got the chance to watch the infamous lady Ghostbusters too and it wasn't as bad as the reviews made it out to be but the villain was probably the lamest antagonist in movie history ever. Sure glad I didn't have to pay to watch it. It wasn't terrible but not bloody worth the admission ticket IMHO. Oh, and I have yet to watch the last season of American Horror.

Cavalock and The New Year Cake Crave

Cake. It was a bizarre almost insatiable craving for cake, sweet moist cake that nearly drove me nuts over the New Year holiday weekend. I can't explain it or know how it started, well, I suppose looking at online pix of cakes from around the world might have played a role in it. Had some fruits and even a cream puff but they were no substitute for cake.

Well, I finally got my cake on the fourth day of 2017. A nice big slice of Japanese matcha white chocolate cake from Sunday Folks. Well worth the wait. Man, the joint was crazy packed on a workday afternoon. Is school out or something?

Spotted this opening just down the road from the old family home. Looking forward to checking it out. So what was good in 2016? The TV series that surprised me ... in a good way was The Exorcist. Only ten episodes long and although it started off pretty slow, the plot twist midway elevated the show into one of the best horror series out there right now. Especially if you enjoyed the original movie, this is definitely worth taking a look.

Cavalock and The Time Lord Regeneration

This is actually an overdue post bout me having one of the best home-cooked dinners ever. I was extremely fortunate to be invited to a backyard steak dinner last month. The oh-so beautiful and cooked-to-perfection steaks were all done in this here smoker.

Unfortunately once the food started showing up at the dinner table, I pretty much forgot about snapping any more pix. All I can say is it was great food, even greater company and definitely a Saturday nite to remember.

 
A little geek speak time as I look forward to a new season of Doctor Who starting later this year and you catch the trailer right here.

You know it's kinda weird and mildly amusing to see geeks everywhere these days swooning over a 50-year-old British sci-fi series like Doctor Who. I recall reading the novels when I was in primary school decades ago. The books were primarily novelised adaptations of the TV episodes. Yup, that's how I fell in luv with the series, it was through the books cos I have never watched a single episode back then. I remember rather vividly reading about Terror of the Autons, who were alien beings who started animating innocent plastic objects or possessing fashion mannequins, then going on some killing spree. That certainly freaked me out as a kid.

I can't remember what exactly drew me to the books. Maybe it was the dramatic covers with the Doctor and all those alien creatures, cos that was the only time and place that I got any graphic representation of the stories. I believe I have my overactive imagination to thank for as I began to conjure up my own images of the Doctor's adventures. No Internet, no TV shows and certainly no Doctor Who comics either, just words on paper to turn me into, I like to believe, the first few real Doctor Who fans in this tiny country. Current reprints can now be found at local book stores like Kinokuniya, with the original covers too.

It wasn't until I, still in primary school, found the above book at now-defunct book store chain MPH, the Making of Doctor Who, that I really went nuts. It had everything I ever wanted to know about the BBC TV series in there. Bios of all the actors and characters (humans and aliens), behind-the-scenes notes and my favorite, synopsis of every episode till The Hand of Fear where the fourth Doctor finally parted ways with Sarah. Now again this was before Wiki and the Internet, so this little sci-fi encyclopedia never left my grubby little hands for at least a year. After reading each synopsis I would daydream about how the episode would look like on TV. Almost every story was left to my imagination!

But as the years went by, I had all kinds of other geeky stuff to occupy my time so Doctor Who and his companions took a back seat and I mean, waaaaay back seat. Fast forward to 2005 when news of a relaunch series shocked old geeks like me, not unlike a shot from a reactivated Dalek.

So there I was, caught up with the new or relaunched Doctor Who series with other new hipsters. I actually managed to pick up a bootleg DVD of the ninth Doctor series while in Hong Kong several years ago. And when I was in London, I picked up a more than a couple of official Doctor Who goodies. Today, I'm grateful to able to talk (mostly online) to other fans, something I could never do as little kid growing up.

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Cavalock and The Surf n' Turf Experiment

I finally found the opportunity to try out my surf and turf dish, as well as a chance for pork chop redemption. And I did it! My surf and turf was pretty awesome if I do say so myself. :P

The pork chop was way more flavorful than before. I tenderized the meat then marinated it in soy sauce, sake (yes, the same bottle again! It's almost empty now!) and pepper. And when I grilled it, I used butter instead of olive oil. The only thing I felt was missing was some kinda sauce, tasted good but it was a little too dry. So my project is to come up with new sauce, no?

As for the shrimps, I just tossed in some garlic and shallots and sauteed them all in the same pan as the pork chops. Well, I think the overall result was decent enough to at least get me through to another week if I was a contestant on Top Chef or any other cooking reality show.

Yah, so is anyone else out there watching/downloading Top Chef All-Stars? This week is the finals. Am also watching/downloading the other reality food show, America's Next Great Restaurant. That's not bad. Only four episodes out so far.

So last weekend was Earth Hour and we were supposed to go green and save the Earth. It got me thinking, just who am saving the Earth for? Someone said 'the future generation' but everywhere I look, all I see are a bunch of spoilt, rude and ignorant kids. Really, am I going to deny myself things or food that I like, put myself at some inconvenience just so these loudmouthed young punks can enjoy 'something' in the near future? I don't think so.

Ok, enough ranting, back to work. <^;^>

Cavalock and The Food Cable Dilemma

Its been almost a month since we got the Food Network (Asia version) channel on cable here and after watching the shows, all I can say is ...meh... I'll still go for the Asia Food channel if I wanna learn how to cook something or be entertained by the celebrity chefs. Right now there are only two shows on the Food Network that I like and even then I don't make it a point to watch every episode of it, the shows are 'Unwrapped' and 'Food Network Challenge'.

'Unwrapped' is a half hour show that looks at popular American processed snacks like It's It, Ben & Jerry's mini cups and cocktail franks. I kinda like it cos it's all just sinful snacks that I don't usually eat a lot of here in Singapore, yah, I know it sounds weird.

'Food Network Challenge' is cool cos sometimes you get to see professional chefs in action, competing against each other, other times you get some small town cook-offs with a bunch of housewives, the latter I avoid. Favorite so far is the sandwich aka super hero challenge. Four chefs, four timed rounds. Cold, Hot, Panini and Signature sandwich. Really had me dying for a lobster roll sandwich plus me wanting to get a Panini machine so badly.

So I finally made my return to Tom's Palatte this week. That's salted caramel cheesecake there. Had my heart set on my fav blueberry cheesecake but no such luck that night. Was alright but did I ask for two flavors? Nope, although I was tempted by the apple pie, I'm a one flavor kinda guy which is probably why I'll never be destined for a threesome. :P

Oh yah, as you can see, I did a little revamp here. Feel free to click on those little buttons you see at the bottom of each post! <^;^>

Cavalock Needs A New Cable TV Box

So as I'm typing this, I'm rushing though a cable TV marathon as I zip though as many recorded cable shows as possible before I reset my cable box hard drive. Cos it can't record any shows, I mean the recent recordings have no audio and then finally last nite, no video either. Game over, dudes.

Right now Sunday morning, I'm watching some recorded History Channel documentaries like the 2-hour God vs Satan. Then I got a dozen CSI: New York episodes later. Fortunately I had one of these earlier.

Well anyway, yesterday Saturday was pretty good in the food department. Started the morning with a decent enough salmon scrambled eggs at Coffee Bean.

Dinner was definitely a winner. Was recommended Canton-i at the Ion and that's where Saturday's dinner was. Their signature wan ton noodle was good, springy tasty noodles after a day of shopping is always good. Not a very big portion but that meant room for the rest of the stuff on the menu.

Didn't really had much of their XO carrot cake but I heard it was good. Another dish that was equally delectable was the roast pork, just enough fats and crispy skin.

They ran out of their daily soup special so we ordered this instead. Pork knuckle, winter melon with scallops soup. Like how they slipped the porky rib in the little winter melon hole. Hah!

Always luved a glass of lemongrass drink whenever or wherever I find one. No complaints that nite. <^;^>

Oh, and since we are on the topic of the Ion shopping mall, I just wanna say that PROLOGUE book shop is a major rip-off joint!!! The books (and I bet just about everything else) there are waaaaaay over-priced. Bought something there last week and found it like almost 10 bucks cheaper at Kinokuniya. Never ever again will I step in there. STAY AWAY FROM THAT PLACE!!! PROLOGUE SUCKS!!!