Cavalock and The Reservoir Birds

Been awhile since I posted some wildlife photos by my 80-year-old Dad. Well, the recent haze, heat wave and drought definitely didn't stop him from wandering all over the island alone. And people wonder why I'm constantly fraught with worry. Here are some he took at the reservoir a couple weeks ago. The first pix below got a pretty good score a little over 90 on his 500px page.

I'm calling these guys the Reservoir Birds cos them birds are in different colours kinda like the cast in that Tarantino movie. Geddit? Come on people! Work with me here!

Now here's something you don't see everyday! Spotted and filmed by my Dad at the Chinese Garden. A kaiju lizard that came up looking for food after the ponds have all dried up during the draught. Check out how the kaiju lizard does its version of 'ayam penyet' but with a giant frog, smashing its bloated body against the tree. Now I tried posting the videos of it swallowing the frog here but that doesn't seem to be happening, pop-up says I can't upload but doesn't say why.

Cavalock and The (Only?) Unbiased Savour Files

It's that time of the year again when the Savour food fest sets up their tents and fancy food stalls for the masses. This is the third year in a row that I have been to the fest, actually it's a new venue this year at the Marina Bay District. So I looked at a bunch of local food blogs that covered the event and every single one of them loved it! After reading them, I realised they all got in with their complimentary tickets. Now that may have or may not have influenced their write-ups but I assure you that I paid my own hard-earned S$170 worth of Savour dollars and am unbiased in this here post! Yessiree! I'm no sell-out! I'm like the CM Punk of food blogs! I say what's on my mind!

If you have been to their last two events, you'll definitely notice how the chef stalls or booths are now all packed side-by-side to each other in a smaller, almost claustrophobic area. Well, the good part of this is you get to eat through all of them in half the time but I miss the spacious layout and relaxed atmosphere. And what's up with the dimly lit supermarket? I came in to escape the haze and "gloomy" ain't the exactly the most appetising vibe to get out of a gourmet supermarket.

As expected there were some hits and misses with the menu. What really worked for me was Mikuni's Chef Moon's entire repertoire below, Kanpachi Truffle Soya, 72-hour Miso Braised Short Rib and Hokkaido Botan Ebi in Tenshin Sauce. My favs for the night.

More than a few other dishes didn't work for me but what really stood out in the worst way was this Banana Cake with Coconut Jelly of Dark Sugar and Salt dish below. Now I don't really expect a dish to look exactly like its publicity styled photo but come on, this is really a stretch for the imagination! Just how difficult is it to get your hands on one of those little melon scopes anyway?

Yummy picture

WTF?!?

Although I didn't get a chance to attend the HBOAsia event, I heard that they were promoting the next Game of Thrones season (again!). As much as I luv the series (read the first novel over a decade ago) I think they really dropped the ball with this one and they should have promoted the HBO mini-series that everyone is talking about and that is of cos, True Detective. And I call BS if they say that no one has heard of the show yet. When you perform the same trick twice you are just telling folks that's the only good show in your line-up.

Trust me when I say your target audience has heard or even downloaded episodes already. The hype before the first screening was already almost deafening. I have been in the media industry long enough to know a missed opportunity when I see one. It would had been so easy and cool to come up with a Yellow King menu but if they thought that was too much of a spoiler, then a good ol' Southern recipe menu would have been perfect.

Since the show is set in Louisiana, there's already so much exciting food to choose from like cajun or modern creole cuisine. Anyway I thought maybe something else like this might work. Naturally the chef working on the menu would give his unique spin to the dishes.

You start with some venison fillets or a venison carpaccio cos in the first episode that's how the serial killer's victim was found, naked and wearing a pair of antlers.

Then for the main course, you could have some smoked pulled pork. If you have watched the show, you'll remember that Matthew McConaughey's character is a chronic chain smoker so what better entree than some smoked meat? I have never had a pulled pork sandwich here that I liked so it's a personal dream that'll I'll finally have one here.

For dessert, I thought maybe a classic Southern banana pudding for that little 'yellow' nod to the Yellow King.

If you know me, you'll know that I'm extremely passionate about pop culture. I'm a huge fan of movies, TV shows, books, comics, games, toys, all things sci-fi, fantasy, well, I think you get the idea. It just pains me to see something like this when I know it could have been done sooooo much better.

Cavalock and The Whale Cake Hookup

I may not have time to dine at any new joints recently but February has been a very busy month for baking. Here's the latest eye-catching order to leave the tiny apartment kitchen. The birthday kid or rather his folks wanted an ocean-themed party with 'a whale of a cake'. Besides the vanilla buttercream cake, there were also cupcakes with a little sea-faring twist to them. And we just got word that adults and kids at the party all loved the cakes!

It's time to check out the these six fake ...er... 'customised' Lego superhero minifigures I got a couple months ago at a special super low price for only S$1.80 each. There's even the limited edition Shazam! minifigure which is a Comic-Con exclusive giveaway and the Martian Manhunter in his original costume that is yet to be released. Word on the street is there's another shipment with new minifigures coming in next week and hopefully there'll be the rumored ...er... 'customised' Lord of the Rings minifigures.

Cavalock and The Penang White Curry Noodle Quest

What you have here is the extremely rare and elusive MyKuali Penang White Curry Noodles from Malaysia. Apparently it's currently the most sought after instant noodles in Asia and as far as I know, it's almost impossible to find it here. That is until Wednesday night when I stumbled upon a little provision shop in Changi selling it for S$4.20 for a pack of four. Needless to say I immediately bought it. The feeling is not unlike discovering a rare drop item if one is familiar with playing MMO games online but I digress. I read that it's sold out in Australia and was going for A$4. Unfortunately it was only after I got home that I remembered one important thing. I don't do spicy food! This pack is after all in the Top Ten Spiciest Instant Noodles of All Time list. :P

So I did the only thing I could and that's to pass it to an instant noodle expert! And here's a summery of the verdict after having a pack for lunch.

* There's a little pack of powered creamer in there and I believe that's what turns it into a white curry meal. The expert recommends substituting that with evaporated milk instead for a creamier texture.

* The slab of instant noodles is pretty small compared to other instant noodle packs.

* The star attraction is the curry paste, the piece de resistance! It's gives the essential spicy kick that sets this apart from the rest and yes, it's that spicy.

Well, it's been awhile since I shared some of the retro stuff in the old family house. Here's an old SIA foldable luggage. It's probably from the 1970s I think. Like some of the some other vintage stuff I found, this was still neatly wrapped up and never been used.

The inside is a little beat up but the exterior just needs a little dusting to look as new as can be. The zippers still work and it feels rather sturdy. Not bad. I wonder if the airline still gives out stuff like this.

Cavalock Assembles The Avengers Cookies

There was a whole lot of themed cookies that left our tiny apartment kitchen over the last year including Batman, Iron Man, Halloween and the Minions, now it's time to assemble the Avengers! Received an order last week to bake some cookies for a little boy's birthday party and he's a huge Avengers fan so here are what we came up with. Left to right top row, that's Wolverine, Captain America and Iron Man, followed by Hulk and Spider-Man below. And in case all you noon-geeks are wondering, yes, Wolverine and Spidey are both card-carrying members of the Avengers.

The gift tags we used are all old Marvel VS trading cards. Not bad, eh? I thought they look great and the other side's blank so the kid can write his 'thank you' or something. So who's your favourite cookie Avenger? 

Every bad guy in the Marvel Universe wants to piece of the Avengers!

Hulk smash Hulk cookie!

Cavalock and The Batman Cookie Caper

Remember the Iron Man cookies we made a couple years ago? Well, its been awhile since we had another order for super-hero themed cookies that is until last week when we got one for a kid's birthday party. Sure we made lotsa other kinds of cookies and cakes like the recent Minions but as a comic book geek I always look forward to the comic book ones.

Over 40 handmade Batman butter cookies left our little kitchen but not before I managed to snap a few shots. And yes, I do own a lot of Batman action figures, a whole lot more than what you see here.  Leave a tick in one them boxes below if you like. :)

Cavalock and The Real Rum and Raisins Recipe

The best kinda dessert you can have is usually the kind you can whip up yourself. Here we got some fruits soaking in a big ol' jar full of premium Bacardi rum. It's an extra boozy jar after settling all our orders of our popular Christmas fruitcakes last year so you know these fruits have been soaking for at least 4 months now.

All you need is a tub of premium vanilla ice-cream and you got yourself some homemade rum and raisins ice-cream. It's that easy, just soak a bag of fruit mix in a jar of rum for a couple months at least then pour spoonfuls of them generously over a scoop or two of rich creamy ice-cream. I think the main ingredient is patience as it's gonna take at least two months to see or taste the fruits of your labours. I brought some over to a boardgame party recently and everyone loved it.

Everyone's talking about it and all my friends have seen it and loved every minute of it, it's the new Lego Movie. I'm so glad the filmmakers went with stop-motion animation instead of the typical boring animation we see so much in today's cartoons. It really looked and felt like you were playing with the plastic blocks which actually made sense if you have already watched the movie (minor spoiler alert). There's so much visual gags and Easter eggs in there, most you would get only if you are a hardcore Lego fan or a true geek. Unfortunately, that also kinda explains why most of my friends' spouses and girlfriends didn't really "get" the show, well, guess there just aren't that many female geeks out there after all.

Name that movie!

Cavalock and The Double Breakfast Treat

The last time the gang was in Kuala Lumpur, we enjoyed a simple yet incredibly satisfying kolo mee or wan ton mee breakfast in a little corner kopi tiam, and of cos we had to do it all again this trip, not once but two mornings in a row. On the first day we were there, the uncle ran out of wan tons or dumplings but we told him we'll be back the next morning and he actually saved some for us! You got some tasty shredded chicken as well as delicious char siew and mushrooms just blanketing all them dark noodles, and you can click here if you want to know what we washed it all down with. What a way to start off the day.

Remember now, we were in Kuala Lumpur to EAT so naturally right after our 10am wan ton mee breakfast, we went looking for more food! The plan was to have some chee cheong fun but the roadside stall we went to wasn't open. Crossing the road, we found the next best thing, a bak kuk teh joint!

So we found this rather famous bak kut teh restaurant Sun Fong Bak Kut Teh, we know it's famous cos of all them celebrity photos on the walls giving the thumbs up (again) including Ian Wright, just like when we were in Wong Ah Wah. Needless to say, we over ordered once more. Three large servings of their darker herbal bak kut teh, tender pig trotters and dry bak kut teh which is basically stir-fried pork ribs with lots of herbs and spices, but it's the first time I'm having it and I dare say it's my new favourite dish from KL.

The huge bowl of dry bak kut teh below was almost bare when I finally remembered to take a pix. Opps! Here's hoping to find a similar dish back home.

Now ff you have even been to the Bukit Bintang area of Kuala Lumpur, you would notice that the layout of the buildings are rather interesting, to say the least. For instance, you'll see a sparkling luxury mall here and right next to it is a derelict building surrounded by pimps and the homeless, then just across the road you got another new modern shopping mall. Like my friend said, whoever the city building planner dude is, he sure as hell ain't ever played Sim City before. Now don't me started on the crazy traffic they got there. If you ain't dodging oncoming speeding vehicles then you're probably gonna be standing on the sidewalk for the rest of the day. I suppose coming from a sterilised city like Singapore, a little bit of lawlessness or debauchery goes a long way. It might not be a city that's up everybody's alley but I really enjoyed myself immensely that weekend. Really needed the break.

Cavalock and The 3 Layer Tea Addiction

Drumroll please, as I introduce our favourite drink in Kuala Lumpur, and that's the 3 Layer Tea or 3 Layer Milk Tea as it's also known. Real men don't drink coffee in the morning, we chug the sweeeeeetest drink known to mankind for breakfast, two days in a row! You can find this popular drink in almost every kopi tiam across Kuala Lumpur and it's just tea, evaporated milk and 50 metric tons of palm sugar or Gula Melaka in a cold tall glass. Yes, it's that sweet! A couple of us had it twice on Saturday and ended up in an epic sugar rush fit.

According to the recipe I found, it's 1/5 Gula Melaka, 1/5 evaporated milk and 3/5 red tea although I swear to gawd, it tasted like all one-third equal parts. Pour the Gula Melaka in a tall iced glass. wait awhile before pouring in the milk slowly over the ice and then top it all up with that final layer of tea. I really don't understand why doesn't anyone do this drink here. I know Toastbox and at least one Chinese restaurant here do a similar drink but I tried the former and it doesn't come anywhere near the real deal. I just find it weird that it's so readily available just a short plane ride away but we can't get a decent one here.

Time for the geeky part of the post. Like I mentioned in my previous post, we were all in Kuala Lumpur for to play Magic: The Gathering and like most of their Grand Prix events, there are always guest fantasy artists. This year we saw two artists, Winona Nelson and Anthony Palumbo doing the honours. I didn't have a chance to meet Winona cos of the extra long queue and almost everyone wanted her to do one of her amazing sketches. Since none of my friends were interested in the artists and didn't wanna spend over an hour queuing, I could only get Anthony's signatures.