Documentary: Planet Earth

Did any of you watch the documentary Planet Earth? Apparently, it’s the most expensive documentary in the world! Expensive it may be, I must say it is definitely an excellent documentary. Kudos to the production team!

The reason why I gave the documentary a special mention in my blog is because I really learnt a lot, as well as saw how beautiful the nature is. It is a sight many of us will not see or totally have no idea of. I’m simply amazed by God’s awesome creations ;)

Beautiful sights aside, there are many other valuable lessons I learnt from the series. Just the last episode, it showed how an ant died from a fungus’s poison, and fellow ants had to ensure that they removed the dead one. Otherwise, the fungus was capable of destroying the entire colony. The next scene showed how the fungus fed on and grew out of the ant’s head..

Don’t miss the next few episodes. Catch it on Arts Central on Wednesdays @ 10pm. As we Chinese say, "没有知识也要有常识, 没有常识就要经常看电视。"

Movie: Spider-Man 3

I had originally wanted to only have a 'Food & Travel' blog. But now, I've decided to expand beyond that to add a new category - 'Entertainment'.

I just came back from watching Spider-Man 3. Caught it just in time before its last screening tomorrow. I've heard comments like "so-so" and "not bad".. well, looks like the movie didn't impress many people, but heck, having followed through the first 2 episodes, I decided to give it a go cos I do like the way Peter Parker swings from building to building and best of all, one of his Spidy squatting pose haha!! Aiyah.. couldn't find a good picture of the squatting pose I like... ;(

Tobey Mcguire is not exactly the handsome, hunky type (he's 1.73m), but I like his boyish, sheepishly shy smile and his cute apple chin!! Ok, this is about it for the boy-next-door "Friendly Neighbourhood", cos my focus and attention has shifted to his buddy, James Franco, who played Harry Osborn in the movie.

My hubby had commented that James Franco was quite good looking in the previous 2 episodes, but I didn't notice much about him, until Spidy 3. Oooooh myyyy goodness!! I think he exudes the same charm as Jerry Yan!!!! Arrrggghhhhh!!! My favourite handsome man!!! Haha!! So, Harry's wicked role has masked his real charm in Spidy 2! Then, in Spidy 3, when he displayed that big innocent smile during when he had amnesia, I was totally mesmerised by his charisma!!! Aiyoh!! So excited!!! Haha!!

Ok, enough... back to reality.. ;(

Romantic Europe

I got an email from a friend who informed that her beau has proposed! Right on the bridge at Seine River in Paris!!! Soooooooo romantic!!

I can feel her joy in her email! Of course, we are all happy for her that she's finally settling down with someone she's soooooo in love with ;) Actually, I always tease her on how she has already long regarded herself as Mrs xx haha!! It's her wish come true!! So, I'm absolutely sure she said her "yes" in the split second when Mr xx popped the question! Haha!! NO NEED TO HESITATE AT ALL!! Haha!! *evil me*

*sigh* Her proposal reminded me of how much my hubby and I miss our Europe trip we made 3 years ago... It was a good one month backpacking trip that I really really cannot forget ;) Yes, we took a month off from work! I wonder if there's such opportunity again cos now I have a different boss and a different work place ;p

There's just too much about our trip in Europe that I can't possibly put in the blog. We visited 15 big & small cities in France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Germany. Averagely, we spent 2 nights in most cities except for Barcelona and Paris where we stayed about 5 nights each.

If you are interested to visit Europe, I'll be more than happy to share with you in more details ;)

For now... I'll just look forward to our next holiday this year.. both short and long.. hehe... ;)))))

da Mario Pizzeria @ The Quayside (11 May)

After feeling dissatisfied and disappointed with the Miharu ramen, we decided to pop over next door to this Italian restaurant, which was recently featured in TODAY papers. You can find them at No. 60 Robertson Quay #01-10 The Quayside (Tel: 65-6235 7623) or check out its website http://www.damariopizzeria.com/. The Quayside is right opposite the main entrance of the Gallery Hotel.

We read the review which gave praises to its desserts and so we only wanted to do just that. Apparently, the chef took 50 years to “cultivate” a fantastic tiramisu. So, all the more we should have it!! The wait was rather long (45min) as the place is really small. Reservations are allowed and so we had to wait.

When we’ve settled down, we ordered 2 of their signature dishes – Tiramisu (S$7.00) and Panna Cotta (S$6.00). Let me begin with tiramisu. The portion of the tiramisu is not small, so that makes $7.00 quite worth it. PLUS it was really really very smooth!! Every mouthful of it just melt in your mouth - safe for babies ;p!! *SLURP*! The taste of alcohol was quite minimal, which I like! But if you prefer a stronger alcohol flavour, you may think otherwise. Also, what was missing was the taste of the mascarpone cheese ;(. While the texture of the tiramisu was really fantastic, the coco/ chocolate taste has masked its cheese, which is an equally important ingredient in a tiramisu. Perhaps this will be great for people who do not like cheese haha!! Ok, do I sound like I’m defending the dessert even though I’ve pointed out certain “flaws”?? Hahah!! Obviously, I’ve been bought over by the sheer enjoyment of its texture! Oh, did I mention that the sweetness was just nice too???!!

Now, the Panna Cotta. According to the menu, it is vanilla cream molded into traditional shape topped with strawberry sauce. This tasted equally great too!! Think the chef really did a good job in making it a near perfect gel-like texture which wasn’t mashed at all! We’re not sure what additional flavour was added onto the strawberry sauce but I thought it had a little cinnamon taste in it. Whatever it was, the combination was wonderful! Similar to the tiramisu, it was not too sweet!!

Verdict: Highly recommended! I’m sure we will go back again, so we can also try its main course. If you are thinking of going, please call to make reservations. And when you’ve tried it, tell me what you think. Note it's closed on Mondays ;)

Miharu Sapporo Ramen @ Gallery Hotel (11 May)

I've long heard about this particular ramen restaurant. Or perhaps it was when the Gallery Hotel was first set-up. It's a very small set-up, with limited seatings within the restaurant as well as outside, non-aircon area. There are not many variety on their menu, and I believe the pork is their signature dish cos you see the pork piece in every of their noodle dishes haha!!

For this dish with 4 slices of (slightly chilled) pork (sprinkled with sesame seed) on top of bean sprout, you pay S$7.00. The pork tasted quite ok – tender with a small portion of fat. Oops! Darn! That little bit of fat will be transferred onto my body!! Hahah!!

For their bowl of ramen (miso soup base), it will cost you S$12.50. Think it's a bit over-priced for a simple bowl of ramen and just one slice of pork. But I must warn you – the… soup… was… just…too…salty!!!! Hmm.. ok, if you have read my previous posts, you'd realise that I seemed to comment how all the food I've had were salty haha!! Ok, I am not a "bland" person. Even my hubby, who likes to take salty food, finds the soup base extremely salty! So, my comments cannot be that biased right? Hahaha!! Actually, we've also watched some programmes on TV which revealed that Sapporo's miso soup base is generally more salty. Anyhow, while we were paying up, we asked the waitress if this was true. YES, she replied. BUT she also added that customers can request for clear soup to mix the miso soup. ARRRGGHHH!! We asked about it too late!! *sigh…*

Verdict: We think it’s over-hyped. Personally, even if the soup base wasn’t that salty, I didn’t think it tasted that great either ;p. So, the likelihood of a repeat visit is very low, if not none. In fact, Gallery Hotel is quite inaccessible if one do not drive. Anyway, if you wanna give it a go, do REMEMBER to ask for the clear soup hoh!!! Oh, one more note – it’s closed on Wednesdays ;)

Waraku Restaurant @ Cuppage Centre (10 May)

I had a dinner gathering with poly classmates at Waraku, a mid-range japanese restaurant, which I've also heard about from my colleague, D.Gan. He said the food is not too bad.

Feeling very hungry, all of us ordered set meal, with the highest at S$19.80. See the picture with an empty bowl? That was mine! Haha!! I chose the miso soup base with beef. The soup base was too salty for my liking.. and the beef.. err.. I find it too springy lah.. haha!! The beef just didn't disintegrate no matter how much I chewed!!

The other dish my friend ordered was soba in creamy sauce. Imagine japanese noodle in white pasta sauce - and in a BIG BIG bowl!! Just by looking at the size of the bowl already can make you feel full, what more the creamy sauce.

We only ordered one side dish - grilled cuttlefish, which was not too bad. I like (*big grin*)! Can't remember how much it costs but not too cheap either. Its free flow of green tea is S$1 per person. Browsing through the menu, we realised the sashimi isn't cheap. I hope they are good! Hmm.. somehow, I don't have much inspiration to write about Waraku. Perhaps the catching up was more enjoyable than the food ;p

Verdict: I may return, to try other dishes. But, no hurry.. not terribly excited about it ;p

Belle's wedding @ Four Seasons Hotel (5 May)

The bride, Isabelle, is my long-time friend. We were classmates since Primary 3, so it's been more than 20 years since we knew each other ;)

Belle works in Sydney. She has already held her matrimony in Tasmania on 31 Mar 2007. So, the dinner in Singapore was just a simple wedding reception for her friends, ex-colleagues and relatives.

Being her good friend, and with a vested interest in wedding planning, I volunteered to help her with the entire wedding reception in Singapore, from sourcing for hotels to invite cards and ensuring things go smoothly that evening. It was quite a breeze especially working with Mr Ho, the Director of Catering & Banquet. He said I twisted his arm real hard haha! Yes, I bargained hard for Belle's wedding ;p. Mr Ho granted a special arrangement for the couple (as we didn't hit the minimum requirement).

Thank God everything went smoothly. The food was good! The service was great too! Under the bride's instruction to serve the dishes swiftly, we managed to complete the 8-course dinner by 10pm (we started only at about 8.30pm)! So, it was the first wedding dinner I've attended that ended so early!!

Here's wishing the couple, Andrew & Isabelle, a wonderfully blessed marriage!!

p/s: Anyone wants to hire me as the wedding planner? Charges apply ;)

Crystal Jade Macau Cafe Restaurant (4 May)

It was our first time to this restaurant, at the basement of Bugis Junction. We ordered a plate of fried spagetti (S$9.80), sauteed lettuce in bean sauce (S$10.80) and half roasted chicken with herbs (S$11.80). And, of course, not forgetting the desserts, Chilled Red Bean in Coconut Milk and Pomelo with Creamy Mango (S$3.50), one of my favourite desserts *Yum*!

Generally the food was not too bad, though we think the lettuce is a bit over-priced. The spagetti seems expensive too but it's about the price at all Crystal Jade outlets.. so can't complain ;p. One of their specialty items, the roast chicken, was the best of the 3 dishes. The sauce that accompany the chicken exudes great herbs flavour, along with fragrant "buttery-milky" taste *slurp*!

Well, we are not sure if these dishes are really authentic Macau dishes but we enjoyed every bit of it.. perhaps we were hungry ;p

Verdict: Worth repeat visits, which we will definitely ;)

家香Kuching Kolo Mee (30 Apr)

Talk about Kolo Mee in my hometown, the Kuching one certainly is different. New kid on the block, this Kuching Kolo Mee shop has opened 2 outlets (so far); one at Vivocity and another at Marina Square. (Added on 4 May: Oops.. my colleague said they have 4 outlets actually.. paiseh.. haha ;p)

Hubby and I ate from the one at Marina Square. We ordered 2 bowls of the normal Kolo Mee (S$5.90 each), a bowl of fish soup (S$7.90) and a plate of vegetable with abalone slices (S$6.90).

For a simple bowl of mee that comes with a portion of minced meat, prawn and char siew, and a small bowl of soup with dumpling & prawn, $5.90 seems a bit on the high.. But, generally, the ingredients were rather fresh, whether prawns or fish slices. As for the vege, we think the abalone slices are top shell rather ;p

Anyway, the food is tasty (read: doesn't mean delicious, at least according to my standard hehe..). It's too salty for me. "Unfortunately", both of us felt really thirsty soon after. Arrr huh!! Ajinamoto did the trick, perhaps?!! ;p

Verdict: We're unlikely to try it a 2nd time. I prefer my Segamat Kolo Mee ;)