Cavalock and The Corny And Cheesy Xmas Snacks

Been reading quite a bit bout this new sushi joint that just opened in the basement of Liang Court and I finally had a chance to check Ryoshi Sushi Ikeikemaru out earlier this week. Despite it being a conveyer belt sushi joint, this is the real deal as in you got Japanese sushi chefs behind the counter and a price tag that's more than a couple bucks more than Sushi Tei.

I had five of the second most expensive colored plates (golden brown) and with each at almost S$6, that's like close to S$30 right there. Plus the avocado and tuna salad (meh) as well as couple other cheaper colored plates, it's a diner bill that's about S$50 based on just what I had (no booze!). Yah, I know that's a little pricy for a conveyer belt sushi but it's good sushi. Big and fresh slices of fish and you can bet they won't fall off the rice unlike some local conveyer belt places.

So would I return here for my sushi fix? Maybe, but for that price tag, I think I might be able to satisfy my sushi cravings in a more personal setting like over a small counter, make friends with the sole chef, be a regular, then like after your 4th or 5th visit you get some free green tea ice-cream or something. :D

Now a visit to Liang Court wouldn't be complete without dropping by Meidi-Ya and seeing what's new! First up is a Xmas version of that Halloween staple Candy Corn. Now we got Reindeer Corn! No idea how that tastes like and I don't think I want to either.

Black sesame spread for your sandwich? Again, I can't imagine how this is going to taste like. But having enjoyed some black sesame ice-cream in the past, I would pick this over the Corn That Was Meant To Feed A Reindeer.

OK, I think we can all imagine how these snacks are going to taste like. Yogurt and your favorite choc snacks. Come on, instead of paying a bundle, we can all mix-and-make this on our own at home, am I right?

Back to the No-Idea-How-This-Tastes-Like category...;)

Cavalock and The Raiders of The Lost Jewelry Box

Was clearing the old family home a couple weeks ago and I found this jewelry box in the back of my aunt's cupboard. It's quite a sturdy box, about one and a half times the size of a regular shoe box and I'm guessing it's at least over 50 years old. It's really a weird feeling whenever I unearth something like this (for awhile, it was on a pretty regular basis too!), you feel a tinge of sadness yet you are excited.

Check out the intricate cravings on the lid, it's gorgeous. The old-fashioned lock is rather interesting too. Unfortunately it's empty inside and it definitely needs a good dusting inside and out. I think the outside just needs a good polish and it'll be fine. Geez, I got some much stuff I'm thinking of starting a vintage sale one of these days, maybe before Xmas. But really, would anyone want something like that?

Time for a quick supermart run! Spotted these at the cold section of NTUC Finest. I think they are new, never seen them before anywhere else. They are all from the US and they actually do look rather tempting. You can slide the cheesecake box out and look at the individual slices too.

Oh wow, just remembered exactly a year ago, I was on my way to Italy. Awwww man, now I'm really bummed since I can't travel anymore.... :(

Cavalock and The Winning Monkey Shot

Saturday buffet dinners again? Met up with the usual suspects last weekend and off we went to this new buffet joint at Pan Pacific hotel called Edge. I think they only opened last month. Anyway, for starters, it's a pretty big place. And it passed my first buffet criteria which is having a wide and I mean, W-I-D-E spread. You got seven big food stations with lotsa local and international choices.

Although I did make at least half a dozen trips to the various food stations, I wasn't as trigger happy as I wanted to be. Only managed to snap these seafood goodies like curry crayfish (not crab as I first thought) and black pepper crab. They ain't the best black pepper crab on the island but the fact that you can have as much as you want, well, I guess that's a plus in their favor.

But really, if you ask me, I would rather head back to Basilico than Edge. Although both places did satisfy me on a Saturday nite, I guess I'm partial to Italian food. At Basilico, I'm looking at a spread that I don't see all the time. At international buffets, you usually get a couple stations that serve local hawker food and I tend to avoid them cos, hell, I already spent the last five weekdays having them at S$4 a plate, if you know what I mean.

Hey, check this out! My 78-year-old Dad got a Certificate of Acceptance from the 59th Singapore International Photography Award 2012! I actually only managed to submit his photos on the closing day, took a bus down during lunch to pay the entry fees. Whew! Out of the four pix I submitted, I actually thought this eagle shot was better than the monkey one. Hey, no complaints, at least one of them got something. ;)

Cavalock and The Lego iPhone Fixation

If anyone ever asks me when I'm gonna get the new iPhone 5, I can honestly say "never" cos until I find me a Lego iPhone 5 case, I ain't ever gonna change my phone. I am just having too much fun (and attention) strapping various Lego figures to my iPhone. Check out the latest one that my friend gave me! Just in time for Halloween?

Like I said, I prefer the ones that come without any accessories so when I carry my iPhone around, there's no chance of any small bits dropping off. Yup, that's a Moleskin Lego notebook, with a brick attached to it so you can stick your favorite figure to it.

Speaking of Apple stuff, I decided to get the iPad mini for my Dad so he can view his wildlife pix. Ordered it online from the Apple store and strange thing is, they delivered the cover like, 2 weeks before they are gonna send me the iPad mini itself. Hmmmm ... I'm already thinking of weird things to do with cover ...

Anyway, my Dad showed up and figured I'll just post a couple of his new shots. Click one of the tabs below if you find them interesting!

Cavalock and The Bizarre Pizza Phenomenon

After a sushi drought that lasted more than a couple months, I finally had my fix at a little joint in International Building last week. So I discovered Sushi Kanazawa tucked away on the second floor right after I had my haircut in the same building.

Saw they had an Express Lunch which promises a 10-piece sushi deal for only S$18. As you can see from the above pix, it's a pretty good meal and they even served a little edamame appetizer. Only thing that didn't really go down that well was the S$23 bill. Kinda forgot how much tax, service charge and "misc" can add up to. Gawd, I hope this ain't the first step of me turning into a cheapskate.

Alright, been awhile since I stalked the local supermarts for some unusual groceries. Saw this jar of cold and flu remedy at Isetan, have no idea whether it works or not but I bet it tastes way better than your regular cold meds.

Also spotted at Isetan, third party Nespresso capsules? Sure looks like it and they are couple bucks cheaper than the real deal.

Cold Storage also had its own share of bizarre food stuff. No way in hell will I ever touch these pizzas! Ikan bilis is actually anchovy so I guess that's possible but otah pizza? Really? No. 1 in Singapore?!? As in it beat all the other kinds of frozen pizzas? Or was it the only one in the Mackerel Fillet Otah category? And can a fillet be fish paste otah at the same time???

Also from Cold Storage, yah, I know Halloween was just over but I couldn't resist posting this. It's made-in-Italy and it actually reminded me of the 'joke' pasta I saw in Italy exactly a year ago. 'Joke' as in the funny-shaped pasta pieces. The penis-shaped ones at the tourist shops are always the funniest. <^;^>

Cavalock and The Star Wars Sprite Surprise

When I was a teenager, me late mom would heat up one them frozen chicken pies from the supermarket and I would have that for tea. I guess you could say that was my little version of frozen comfort food. So having heard bout this new joint that has got chicken pot pie on its menu, I naturally had to go try it out. Plus it being just a 10-minute walk from my apartment made it a no-brainer.

So was the chicken pot pie at Suprette along Jalan Besar Road any good? Well, it wasn't bad nor did it blow me away with chicken pie awesomeness. Although it was pretty wide (notice I said 'wide' and not 'big') pie, it wasn't very deep. I would guess the pot or pan was bout 6 inches across ... I'm thinking 6 inches cos that's bout the height of my action figures. :P

The inside was tasty enough but a little too watery for my liking. And the S$14 price tag was I thought a little more than what I would pay for a chicken pie. Still, the rest of the menu looked rather tempting and I would probably drop by again.

After all those classic vintage stuff, it's time for some retro geek! Here's something from my own stash instead of the family 'treasures'. Back in 1980, (new) Sprite ran a promo with a little sci-fi film called The Empire Strikes Back and guess which kid drank lots of Sprite that year. Inside each bottle cap, on the rubber liner was a pix from the movie. So here's my Empire Strikes Back Sprite bottle cap collection.

For all you Star Wars geeks out there, there's a rather glaring mistake in one of the caps, can you spot it? ;)

And now the moment you all have been waiting for! All two of you who gave a shot at guessing which tea set was from where. It's the answer to my last post's question!  Well, the one on the left is from China which makes the one on the right from the UK!

Cavalock and The Iron Man Cookie Factory

Came home one nite after a boardgame session with the guys and look what I found! Iron Man cookies! Unfortunately they weren't for me. All 30 iced cookies will be on their way to a kid's birthday party by the time I post this. But I did managed to snap more than a few shots of them.

The cookies may be from my kitchen but I had nothing to do with them. As you can see below, each cookie is individually hand-painted. Pretty neat, eh?

Check this out! The cookies come with an armored escort during delivery too! I luv my action figures! For all you non-comic book fans, those are just some of various Iron Man armor that Stark has worn over the years.

Hey, I'm really digging my Home Vintage stuff so I thought I'll do another one! As a kid, growing up in my family meant taking afternoon tea breaks on an almost regular basis. I didn't really drink a lot of tea back then but it was basically a time when my late mom or aunt would yell at me to stop whenever I was doing in the afternoon (usually reading or watching TV), and grab a biscuit or chicken drumstick. Yes, really, a chicken drumstick but that's another story for another day.

Needless to say, my family kept quite an interesting collection of British tea sets. Digging through the family homes, I found more than a couple of teacups. Here's one that I posted earlier. The above one is a complete set with a pitcher, teapot etc. I actually don't remember using them at all.

Here's something fun. One of the above teacup and saucer set is made in China while the other is fine bone china that's made in the UK, can you guess which is which? :)