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.

My Addiction?

How should I start this...one of me earlier posts was bout this four main vices of me younger days. Well, of those four, one of them is still haunting me to this day. It's the one on gambling and do I have a gambling problem? I dunno. Maybe I do and maybe I don't.

The reason I'm writing this now is cos this weekend is the the start of the new british soccer EPL season. And that's what I used to bet on. I have always loved playing games, almost all kinds of games and puzzles, and to me, betting on soccer was a kind of game, a kind of mental challenge. You study the facts, analyse the tables, look at the stats etc. And you try to make your guess. And when you win, the feeling is great, simply exhilarating. You tell yourself you are smarter than the system and you outwitted it. Of cos, when you lose, the feeling is really sucky.

I started out with little five dollar bets and that became hundreds later, er...much later. I used to bet hundreds every weekend. I have won lots and have lost lots too. Fortunately, things never got to the point where I had to borrow money or anything like that. I still paid all my bills on time, bought the things I wanted, ate and drank well, gave my folks money etc. Nothing much changed in terms of living expenses. So why did I stopped? Or at least am trying (and succeeding so far!) ....cos I know if I didn't it's only going to get a lot worse.

I used to spend hours searching the betting forums online. Not the online gambling sites but a particular Asian forum where people exchanged tips. I think almost every local soccer gambler knows this site. Hehe. I have seen guys surfing the site in public on their laptops numerous times! I stopped visiting the site months ago. Looking back, I do have some pretty funny gambling stories to tell.

I'm just writing this to remind myself to not gamble or place any soccer bets this season. It's gonna be a long season so wish me luck.

Hmmmm....maybe next time I'll talk bout me other three vices. Definitely not as somber as this one.

More Geek-ing Out At Home

One of the cool things about having your own place is the chance to do it up however you like. Don’t think most of you remember me very first post. Anyway, here’s the wine rack part of it. See that guy behind it, guarding the wine rack? That’s my X-Men Sentinel action figure. One of the best-looking and detailed action figure ever. Simply amazing sculpt! It was released last year and become one of the most sought-after, best-reviewed Marvel comic book figures around.

In the comic books, the Sentinels are giant mutant-hunting robots that fought the X-Men on a regular basis. If you watched the last X-Men movie, you might remember the opening scene with the X-Men fighting in the Danger Room. They were under attack by some huge thing and Wolverine leapt (aka Fastball Special) at it. Then this big purple metal head dropped outta the sky and crashed to the ground. That’s a Sentinel head. I guess the movie budget wasn’t big enough to put those guys in.

Anyway my point is if I was still living with me folks, I sure doubt if I could get away with incorporating me action figures with the rest of the furniture! Hah. I just thought it would be neat to have him looming above the wine rack. What you think of the wine rack? I kinda like that too, got it on offer at Takashimaya last year too or was it the year before? Its got a nice leathery feel and I thought it looks kinda classy as well.

Geek-ing Out At Home

It's Tuesday nite and you know what that means to a World of Warcraft player. Server maintenance nite! Figured I'll just update here a little while waiting for CSI: NY to start. So here’s how I spent part of me Saturday.

Decided to get a second bedside table at IKEA on Wednesday and was putting it together on Saturday. Didn’t have much trouble with it except the hinges were kinda wonky.

A Hydrangea By Any Other Name

Here’s one of favorite non-food pix from my last trip to Japan. It’s the beautiful Hydrangea flower or Ajisai in Japanese. Snapped this in Kyoto at the famous Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

My aunt actually grows the flower here in Singapore too, funny thing is when I first heard the name ‘Hydrangea’, and I heard it as ‘Night Ranger’. I remember thinking to myself ‘that has got to be the coolest name for a flower ever!’

And here’s how it looks with a snail munching on it! I'm trying to make this a food blog so I had to show someone or something eating!

Singapore In Pole Position

Tomorrow's our National Day and I guess nothing says it or more local-like than this.

That's right, it's still out there! I can’t help it, I took this latest pix yesterday. Every time I walk pass the wash pole flag, I feel like saluting to a pair of freshly rinsed undies or washed sheets. Over three weeks and counting! I gotta admit, I’m surprised it’s still out there for everyone to see.

Can anyone come up with a better title?

Ah Crap!...I Mean...Crab

Guess what we had for dinner? S$11.50 for about 850g. Cooked it at about noon and served it cold for dinner later. Not as much meat as I expected even though it was one of the bigger crabs in the tank. Forgot to snap a pix of it being served...heh...it wasn't bad. Maybe next time, will try doing some white pepper crabs which is one of me favorites.

Bet you thought I forgot but it's now five down and one to go! Haven't been eating much ice cream at home cos of all the Japanese snacks I brought back.