Weekend Home Alone

So what do you do when you are a guy living alone on a typical weekend? Well, you might want to start with an hour-long vacuuming workout followed by non-stop mopping like me, on a Friday nite right after work. It doesn’t help when the radio station removed their Friday nite retro party hit program and replaced it with sucky love songs. WTF? I need me loud, rock music when I’m mopping!! Mop = Mircophone stand, geddit?

A home alone weekend means walking around unshaven (for two whole days!) and being glad that it’s a rainy Saturday afternoon, cos you now have an excuse for staying indoors and playing World of Warcraft online. Awww come on, it’s not as bad as it sounds. I did leave the apartment to have dinner at me folks’ place on Saturday nite.

Sunday morning is laundry morning. Hang them high! And hang them dry! That’s what I say…er, metaphorically speaking of cos…hmmm, no, I don’t normally talk out loud to my laundry either…

Weekend home alone also means whipping u p a cool dessert like this, anytime of the day! Vanilla ice-cream with new mint choc Bailey’s.

Hong Kong Foody

Well, finally found the time to post me Hong Kong food pix. Forgive me but I can't remember most if not all of the names of the places. I think it's a guy thing. Ever since the primitive hunter days, primate man would just remember the field where he hunted his dinner. Sure, he'll remember how to get there, climb which valley or cross that river. But name the place? Nahhhh. I don't think so. But I digress.

Some breakfast pix I managed to snap. Starting with macaroni and ham soup, a very thin ham omelet and of cos, me favourite milk tea - done Hong Kong style. But I got to say, I really enjoyed all the food there, all my meals. They were great!

Yes, they really loooove their macaroni here. Here, McDonald's muscles in on the lucrative macaroni market too!

Lunch was a little too hit-n-run for me to snap anything. So here's a couple of dinner pix instead. Something porky with pieces of bread to wrap them in.

A very, very nice (medium) steak at Suzuki cafe. Yes, that's mayo. Really.

Oh wait, I do have a lunch pix. Was the lunch I had near me hotel, just before heading to the airport. Wan Ton Mee with mango pudding dessert. Apparently the restaurant is pretty famous. Was there a previous nite for dinner and was told that the guy sitting behind my table was some TV actor. A minor supporting role kinda guy although I have no idea who he is or was or whatever.

A Shopping Spree

Instead of the food pix (next post!), I thought I'll post some of the...er...stuff I got in Hong Kong. Managed to grab some time off for some shopping, after finishing what I was supposed to be doing in Hong Kong. Since it wasn't the Sale season, I didn't do much heavy duty buying. Hit the Esprit factory outlet that's around the corner from my hotel. It's the kinda store where it's almost impossible to find any L outfits, every guy's outfit is either S or XXL.

Geek that I am, I finally found me Battlestar Galactica ship at Toys R Us at the Festival Walk mall. Happy, happy, joy, joy! Plus a ...er...'friendly version' of the new Doctor Who season one DVD in Mong Kok.

Speaking of Festival Walk, here's a pair of really comfortable shoes I got. Don't ask me how much they cost cos I don't wanna remind myself!

OK, now at the time when I saw these sirens, I thought it was a really cool idea to buy them!

Finally Meeting The Doctor

Am back from Hong Kong. Allow me to geek out a little first. Probably one of the most memorable things getting there was the inflight TV show on SQ. After almost 20 years, i finally got to watch a new sci-fi episode of Doctor Who. It's from the latest season, single episode called "The Lady in the Fireplace". Great story, brilliant twist ending. Always been a fan, remember reading a whole ton of Doctor Who paperbacks when I was a kid. Anyway, if anyone is flying SQ this month, be sure to catch it. Gawd, sounds like I'm working again.

And here's the view from me 4th floor hotel window in Tsim Sha Tsui. Man, you guys should see that United Colors neon sign light up every nite! Right smack in me face! I kid you not.

Anyway, coming back to Hong Kong after all years, I did noticed a few things that have or haven't changed.

1. There are no fat or overweight people in Hong Kong. Despite all the good food everywhere, it's hard to see anyone who's out of shape. Amazing but true. More on the good food in me next post.

2. There sure are a lot African touts at almost every street corner. Just like in Japan, there seems to be influx of them.

3. My Cantonese still sucks!

Return To Hong Kong

I'll be heading to Hong Kong later in the week. Its gonna be me first time back since like, before the handover to China. The last time I was there was a couple of months before the handover. It was when I was really young and pretty pissed off with some stuff back home here. Was sometime I always wanted to do back then, visit Hong Kong just before the British left. So I decided to pack me bag, bought me ticket for one and hopped on a plane almost immediately. No planning involved. Absolutely none. Only told me folks bout it. It was perhaps one of the most spontaneous things I have ever done. Sometimes I still can't believe me folks let me get away with it. Oh yah, best part of it, I couldn't speak a word of Cantonese!

Should I write bout what happened there? I dunno. Maybe one day I will.

Anyway, was wondering if anyone out there could fill me in on ...well... anything that you think I should keep an eye out while in Hong Kong. Thanks in advance!

Comfort Food Part II

Discovered a soon kueh stall at the opposite end of the hawker centre where I have my ‘occasional’ comfort breakfast. Silly me, never knew it was there all along. They were stuffed with the usual tasty turnip, mushroom fillings. Didn’t notice anything else special but it was all good. It’s served slightly ‘fried’ from a huge pan filled with other Chinese breakfast goodies like rice kueh. I had three soon kueh topped with the must-have dark sweet sauce plus my usual cup of tea. Not a bad deal for 80 cents each.


Ah…but the highlight of the day was the return of the old gang, thanks to the new WOW TCG. Went to Paradigm Infinitum that night and almost everyone was there. Some I haven’t seen in ages. Most were familiar faces from the days of LOTR and VS. It was pretty cool, looks like the old fellowship is coming back. But that’s gonna mean spending more money again as well as the neverending quest for more storage space. Sigh.

Royal Treasure Discovery

If you have seen an earlier Tokyo post of mine, you'll know that I love Royal Milk Tea. Now, here in Singapore, it's almost impossible to find the drink in almost any form. Imagine my surprise when I stepped out of the subway into Plaza Singapura shopping mall and found this (in a basement corner next to Carl's Jr). A Pokka drinks vending machine ... with Royal Milk Tea in it! That's not all. In Japan, the Royal Milk Tea from their vending machines are served cold but from this machine in Singapore, it's frickin' HOT! Check out the middle row with the red bar below it. Those are the hot can drinks. Far as I know, this is the first time I ever had a hot can of drink pop out of a vending machine here. Anyone else seen this before?

Weekend Dallies

What I'm watching on DVD:
Battlestar Galactica Season 1

What I'm playing on my Nintendo DS:
Clubhouse Games

What I'm listening to (and watching over and over again):
Take from 2003 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Gawd, it just doesn't get any cooler than this. Well, this one is pretty good too. The Boss and Chuck Berry. Aw hell, you can't talk about the Boss' best team-ups without this. Well, since we got on the topic of Roy Orbison, here's another of me favourite team-ups.

What I'm reading:
Bats goes hardcore this week in Justice #8.

Another Lazy Sunday

So here we are again on Sunday. Only this time there were 7 1/2 of us for breakfast. It wasn't as crowded as the last time but that's probably cos of the haze that has blanketed the entire island for last couple of weeks. Anyway, service was a lot better than the last time. No wrong orders and the food came real fast too. This time, I had the omelet with sausage, tomato, onions and of cos, mushrooms. So can anyone tell me the difference between a flat white and a latte? Everyone pretty much enjoyed themselves (including the mosquitoes again) and we hung around till about noon.

In a totally unrelated bit of news ... Gen Con is coming to Brisbane in 2008!

For those who don’t know what Gen Con is, it’s THE gaming convention event for the gaming industry. It’s been around for about 40 years and every year, there are two in the US as well as recently Europe. And knowing me and games, well, it's a given I'll try ne best to be there.

It’s the closest Gen Con has ever been to this region and after speaking to some friends, we are pretty hyped up about it even though it’s two years away. A couple of me friends were lucky enough to make to Gen Con in the US a few years ago and it’s definitely an experience.

Meat On A Stick

Trust me, this cheese sausage resting in that little heap of mashed potatos and gravy is a lot better than it looks. Although famous for their beer-battered fish and chips, their sausage on a stick is pretty damn good too.

After dinner, caught the Miami Vice movie on DVD. Well, that's almost two hours of my life I'll never get back.

What Gong Li said, "I am a business woman."

What we heard, "I am a piece of woman."

It's All About The Game

Woot! Finally hit Level 60 with me WOW (World of Warcraft) Horde character last nite. Took me longer than usual cos I was on a PVP server which means I spent a lot of time ganking, corpse-camping and causing Alliance players tons of grief instead of leveling up my character. Ah...good times.

Far as I can remember, I have always been into games. Playing them board games and pen-and-paper role-playing games way before I had a computer. These days I have a bunch of friends who get together once in a while (used to be real often before WOW) for board games (Citadels) and collectible card games (VS).

Besides WOW, here's a little rundown of some of me gaming ...er...'artifacts' around the apartment.

Here's where I used to plant meself every day in front of the Xbox. Believe it or not, I haven't sat in there for months, ever since I started playing WOW. It's a real comfy bean bag! I might move it to another room.

A very different kind of game but one of my all-time favourites. Fencing. Here's me trophy for foil from some years back. Man, I could go on and on bout what a cool sport fencing is. I think it's probably one of the very few contact sports around where it doesn't matter what your sex is or how old or big you are. I remember I laid the smackdown on a giant German while I had my candy ass handled to me by a little girl half my size. It's all bout speed, agility and reflexes. Oh yah, tattoos are cool too!


Now these are the little ones currently keeping me occupied...for now at least.

Comfort Food Pt 1

It's been another crazy week at the office so I figured it's time for some comfort food. Usually if it gets really busy, I'll try to grab some breakfast outside before heading to work, instead of making me own sandwiches like I always do.

Here's what I treat meself for me comfort food, roti prata for breakfast. That's kinda like an Indian flatbread. I used to have 3 of those but now it's just one plain and one with egg. Of cos, you gotta have teh tarik or "pulled" tea to go with it. Here's how Anthony Bourdain describes it, "This Indian tea is brewed from leaves, dosed with condensed milk and then pulled, meaning poured back and forth between pitchers from increasing heights until it is frothy."

When Heroes Turn Bad

Something I saw outside an Astroboy shop. Now I always thought that was a rather rude gesture, from Europe I think...kinda like an 'up yours' or 'F**k you' with elbow and raised fist...what do you think?

To A Crisp

I seem to have this strange habit of coming across bikes in various states of ...er...'despair' on me way to work recently. Man, do I live in a mean neighbourhood or what?

Thought I'll just toss in this other little more colourful or vibrant pix as a contrast to the one above. Well, I just thought it's a pretty neat shot.

Haven't been updating much actually, late nights at the office and all that. When I'm back home, I just wanna hit WOW or catch up on some reading. Good news is I haven't placed a single soccer bet since ...er....my last entry? At least since me birthday, I think. Speaking of me birthday, am still trying to figure out how to convert videos for me PSP. Having some problems trying to watch them.

Public Service Warning

A close friend of mine got the new Nokia 5500 Sport and believe me when I say it’s probably the worst phone we have ever seen and used.

Stay away from this phone at all costs! For starters, the rubberized keypad is almost impossible to use, keying in SMS has become a chore. The screen is small compared to most other phones out there. It’s supposed to be packed with features that count your heartbeat, play music, etc. as you work out BUT seeing how heavy this thing is, who would be dumb enough to lug it about while excising? There are better, smaller, lighter and cooler devices to carry with you while working out!

Now here comes the worst of it. The rubber seal at the base of the phone pretty much fell apart not long after he bought it. Now the connections at the base are exposed with the rubber thing flapping about. Poor material? Shoddy workmanship? His bad luck? I dunno. And it ain’t cheap either!

If there’s anyone out there reading this. Just warn all your family and friends to stay away from this piece of monkey crap. The Nokia 5500 Sport SUCKS! For the kind of price you are paying, there are better Nokia and non-Nokia phones to choose from.

We Need More Hookers!

After all the tight security crap and strong arm tactics the Government here is dishing out for IMF meeting and along comes this beautiful headline in the state-controlled press.

I love it! I can forgive the Government for all that brown shirt crap after reading this article. It states in no uncertain terms that “We need more hookers!” for the thousands of IMF delegates. Seriously. That’s the crystal clear message. Check out that quote "New recruits know what the escort industry is all about so they are aware of their duties."

It’s so serious, it’s freakin’ hilarious! It’s written in such a straight-faced, matter-of-fact manner, complete with interviews with escort agencies (aka pimps), their rates ($1,000 for an overnight) etc. If you lived here, you would know that this is not the kind of article you normally see in your daily papers.

Remember boys and girls, prostitution is LEGAL in sunny Singapore, it's only soliciting that's illegal.

Just Another Day

Ah...finally got the day off on Friday yesterday. Was me birthday. Went back for a great home cooked meal at me mom's place. She still makes the best steak (and pork chops and spaghetti)around. Then it was back home to catch Slither on DVD. Not a bad horror/comedy, kinda like Tremors. Someone once said, you know you are old when you look at your CD collection and realized that all the bands have either disbanded or the members are all dead.

Dinner was at Checkers at The Hilton. It was a seafood buffet. I think it's seafood every friday nites and Japanese every saturday nite. The best part was freeflow of wine! Woo-hoo! We actually thought of heading to The Line at Shangri-la but decided to try somewhere new for a change. What's more, The Line doesn't have free booze and it's more expensive but they do have a wider selection of food. Anyway, it was a pretty good dinner. They had oysters from four different countries, I only had the ones from France. I was told the cheesecake was pretty famous. Me being the wise-ass that I am, I did ask if they were going to play the Paris Hilton CD over the PA system. Heh.

Today was a little more interesting. Camper shoes at Takashimaya was having a 50% off everything but there weren't that much good guy shoes left. Lots of women shoes still around. Oh yah, reunited a lost 5-year-old girl with her mother and finally treated meself to this.

Sunday Breakfast For Two

So we got to 4 Rochester Park at 9.20am and realized that we were the restaurant’s first two breakfast diners. Our reservations were at 9.30am. We chose the outdoor table instead (I made indoor reservations just in case it rained) and placed our orders about 20 mins later.

Now I read some pretty mixed reviews about the place. Mostly it all came down to great food, good ambience but bad service. And I have to say from my Sunday experience, it’s kinda true.

We didn’t have to wait that long for our food but about half hour later, after we finished our meal, I noticed that most of the other patrons that showed up not long after we did, they were still waiting for their food.

It all just seemed like a very long wait to me. Although I must admit, the staff all looked very, very busy. It’s not like anyone was lazing around. Anyway, the omelet we ordered was supposed to come with mushrooms, bacon, sausage and potatoes as per our choices. They forgot the mushrooms.


Fortunately there was a generous serving of mushrooms in my Cast Iron Pan breakfast, so I passed some over.


Oh yah, we fed breakfast to a couple of mosquitoes too.

Hot Summer Nights

Ever had one of those hot summer nights when you had one too many beers and all your old childhood ceral box friends suddenly started showing up? Dammit! What did you guys do to Captain Crunch?!?

Hot In The CIty

Hey, I'm back! Is it just me or is the weather really, really hot these last couple of days ... just out of the shower and I'm already sweating. Geez, I don't know about you guys but I say we could really use some of these, just like in Japan.