Singapore Adventure: Friday Movie Date - Contagion.

Yesterday, Hubby Cookie and I went to see the new movie Contagion at the Jurong Point Shopping Centre a bus ride away from our Lakeside home.

The movie was star-studded, which is the main reason why we went to see it.  You don't often see so many big star names in one movie, so it must be good. 

Well, it was not a total disappointment.  But somehow it had a feel of a documentary.  Think in the lines of H1N1 and SARS. There is a story, and whoever wrote it did a fine job.  It was not dragging or boring, it was actually gripping and very much incited interest among the audience.  There was some humor injected in the dialogues every now and then.  I think that also helped keep the audience interested.

Overall, it is a so-so movie.  Something you can just wait to watch on DVD.

Ah, before going the theatre, we manged a quick trip to the stationery shop and I found this cute little thing. You should see it in my next LO project. :)

Singapore Adventure: A Taste of Octopus

The Cookies had a long weekend.  We were able to catch 2 movies at the theatres and dined at 2 buffets.  Nice!

The Movies

We went to see the new JJ Abrams and Steven Spielberg flick Super 8.  It was a bit too juvenile for me.  But my movie date enjoyed it very much!  I find the story bland, and the storytelling dragging.  On a positive note, I have no complaints on the graphics and visual effects.  As most JJ Abrams should know, his "signature" should be found at the clip during the closing credits.  Post a comment if you know what it is. ;)

We were also able to catch Kung Fu Panda 2.  Jack Black is just soooo funny!  We also went to see his last movie Gulliver's Travel and it was tons of fun.  In Kung Fu Panda 2, the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five take on a new nemesis.  This time a peacock!  The story is engaging.  The humor is clean.  The graphics is awesome!  I specially like the scenes when the characters are soaked in water.  Did I say that the graphics is awesome??? :D

There are a few more interesting movies to catch this month of June. The third Transformer movie is coming up. As well as the Green Lantern movie which also hits the Singapore theatres this month.

We have seen posters of Captain America, Cars 2, and Smurf displayed at the theatre and also the movie trailer for Happy Feet 2.  Need to start saving up for movie ticket allowance!

The Buffets

A few weeks back, I have purchased a 1-for-1 buffet lunch voucher at the Window On The Park Cafe Restaurant from the Deal.com.sg website.  Last Friday, we were finally able to use it. 

To say the least, the spread was not very impressive.  Though it has a "make your own rojak and laksa" station concept, it was not enough to say you have gotten your dollars' worth.  In spite of this, I had a few breakthroughs during this visit.  It was my first time to try Octopus Nigiri Sushi.

I have never tried Octopus Nigiri Sushi before.  At the sushi station, we'd watch out for California Maki and Tamago Nigiri Sushi.  The one's with raw fish we would always avoid.  I just raw fish is an acquired taste, and we have not acquired it yet! Hahaha...

So there, somehow I was able to convince myself to try out the octopus that day.  I took a piece, dipped it in wasabi soy sauce and tuck it into my mouth.  The octopus meat is quite chewy.  It's not something you could  chew a few times and down with a glass of water.  You'll definitely choke.  Or at least I believe I would.  So I chewed it, gnawed it, until I can finally swallow.  It had the taste of the see.  I don't really know what to expect of the taste as it was my first time to try it.  But as far as I know, fresh seafood is supposed to smell of the sea.  But to taste of it?? I don't really know.

Another first for me to try during this lunch buffet was Laksa.  I have seen it being served at many Hawker stalls, and other local delights buffet restaurants but I have not really tried it.  I know there's coconut milk, and it's supposed to be very spicy.  So again, I convinced myself to give it a try.  To my surprise, it actually works for me.  I did enjoy the broth.  Now, I am curious to try Laksa the next time we see it on the menu.

(Here's a full review of our lunch buffet meal at Window On The Park published on the Follow the Cookie Crumbs website.)

Another buffet visit we did is at Kuishin Bo Japanese Buffet Restaurant, the one at Jurong Point.  Kuishin Bo is one of our favorite buffet places.  The price is quite reasonable and they have a great spread of Japanese dishes from sushi, to salads, to steamboats, to grilled stuff, teriyaki, hot dishes, and dessert, too.  We  always have a good time at this food place. 

That was how our Cookie weekend went.  We're married 9 months now, and it still always feels like Day One. :)

Singapore Adventure: Simple Christmas Feast

It's my first Christmas away from my family. Last year, though I was already based here in SG, I came home for Christmas to spend the festive season with my family and friends. This year, I spent a wet Christmas in SG. But the best part of it is I get to spend the entire day with my Cookie. ^_^

We started Christmas Day late. Skipped breakfast but I made up for it by serving a nice seafood dish for lunch. My (almost perfected) Buttered Garlic Shrimps.

My Cookie is not as big a fan of seafood as I am. But since it's Christmas and he loves me too much, so he pretends he is a fan every now and again. Well, with a little blackmailing strategy which involves him not getting any dessert, he did down a few pieces of shrimp that I shelled for him. :P

And being a good boy that he is, finishing the lovely shrimp dish I've prepared for him, he deserved the Lechen Flan reward I had for him. :))

When lunch was done, we spent some time in front of the tube. After we've gone tired of all other shows available on cable, we decided to give in to the urge of seeing a "free copy" of Twilight. We've been meaning to catch it in the theatres but never really got to it. And most likely by the time we don find the time, it would most likely not be showing anymore.

Read the book, seen the movie. Well, I am a fan of the book, but not so much of the movie. The movie was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. The way the story was told in book was very fluid, spontaneous, and the way the words were put together and told through the dialogues in the book sounds deliciously as you read them. But the movie, it gave me a feeling of skipping a few chapters or randomly flipping through the pages of the book. The acting was not as convincing making the dialogues sound flat, almost losing its flavour. Sorry if I am being too critical, I just really am not a buff of screen adaptations of books. Well, I did enjoy A Walk to Remember and Stardust, but still something is lost when the book is translated to the silver screen.

So, after almost 3 hours of Twilight, half the time spent blurting out side comments, it's time to prepare Christmas Dinner. This time, nothing fancy, just some Grilled Pork Loin Chops and a sidedish of Buttered Baby Carrots and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes.




The Cookies had a great Christmas. ^_^

Singapore Adventure: Coraline

It is one of those days at work when you know you have tons of things to do but just could find the will within yourself to getting it done. That is what today is for me. I am having "that day" today.

And so, in between struggling to get my day's work done and the darker side of wandering aimlessly in the WWW, I've stumbled upon Neil Gaiman's website, which I used to frequent before but has recently been less loyal. There I saw that they are making Coraline into a film! And I was all bright-eyed and just held myself back from leaping with joy.

From Neil's site, he links to this wikipedia page which gives the details of the Theatrical Adaptation of Coraline which features the voice of Dakota Fanning as Coraline.

Based on the Wiki Article it is set to be released on Febuary 2009. It is just a short wait but I am not keeping my hopes up. It might still take sometime after that before it hits the Singapore Theaters. But nonetheless, it is worth the anticipation.

- o0o -

I have had the chance to meet Neil Gaiman in person when he went to the Philippines for The Anansi Boys book tour. I got my Coraline book signed by him and a quick snap.

Photo was taken at the Rockwell Tent in July 2005. Plenty of pounds ago. Hehehe...

Philippine Adventure: Day 2 & 3 - Food Tripping

In the last two days, I've managed to pay my favorite places a visit.

The food places include TGi Friday's and North Park in Glorietta and Krocodile Grille in Greenbelt. I have also been to Timezone also in Glorietta and the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas.

Sunday evening, the Cookies hooked up with my Prince Cookie's high school buds for dinner at TGi Friday's. The boys had a lot of fun catching up and reminiscing their high school adventures. It was fun listening to their stories.

At TGi Friday's, there was a display of something very familiar to me and especially to my Prince Cookie... Here it is! Hehehe...

(Esso is my Cookie's employer in Singapore. ^_^)

After dinner, we had a go at the hoop and driving games, as well as other ticket-generating games at Timezone. Here is a photo of my Cookie driving an 18-Wheeler. :)) Honk! Honk!

The following day, I went with my Mum and sibs to the DFA to file for their Passport application. Well, they've revised the procedure, making it more cumbersome and painful for the applicants. Oh, let's just not talk about it. To cut the long story short, we have to make another trip to DFA tomorrow, hopefully our last.

After the quick DFA visit, we grabbed a late lunch at North Park. Then we hit Greenbelt 3 to see a movie - For The First Time. The very controversial movie by KC Concepcion and Richard Gutierrez.

I must say it was a total disappointment on my part. All the hype around it plus the television network feud and the endless word wars, I've realized, were just there to create noise for the movie. When in truth, aside from the beautiful stars and the wonderful cinematography (the movie was partly shot in Santorini, Greece), there really wasn't much of a storyline to brag about. Even the acting by the lead female is not so impressive. Considering her theater background, the acoustics is good, but the visual is not quite at par. Come to think of it, paying 180 PHP for the movie is just too expensive.

My Cookie joined us after the movie. We have set a date with his ex-colleagues for dinner at the Krocodile Grille also at Greenbelt 3.

During the same dinner, a rendezvous with soon-to-be-married Pia and George also gave us some time to catch up prior to the big day (on Saturday, 6 September 2008) where my Cookie is the Best man. Congratulations and Best Wishes to George and Pia! :)

So, that's how the last 2 days was spent. Today will just be spent at home for some well-deserved rest. The following days will surely be hectic again.

Singapore Adventure: Food and Movie Trip

The Cookies were off for an early start. First stop, a buffet lunch at the Straits Kitchen of the Grand Hyatt Singapore at Scotts Road.

We got there a little early, so during the wait, some snaps. The background is a bit blur, but it's supposed to be a collage of photos depicting food preparation, ingredients, people cooking, cooking utensils, condiments, etc. The photos are in black and white and indeed very nostalgic.

When the restaurant opened, the guests were invited in and there were a lot! We first stopped by the reception desk to inquire of our table number. Lesson learned when craving to dine at Straits Kitchen is to place a reservation the day before. The restaurant never fails to fill up specially on weekends.

What does Straits Kitchen offer? Plenty! Hehehe... Well, technically the food served are from Chinese, Malaysian, and Indian Cuisines.

The Cookie favorites included! Chicken Rice with its matching soya sauce and chili. Roasted Duck is my Cookie's pick, but I am still for the Hainanese Chicken. Popiah. Roti Prata, my Cookie's recent fave. Satay - Mutton, Chicken, and Beef with warm peanut sauce and onion and cucumber chunks, plus the rice cooked in bamboo (dunno what it's called) . *Drool* And there are a lot others we still haven't sampled. Reason why we just need to come back again! :)

After a filling lunch, we took the train to Harbourfront where we have booked a movie at Golden Village in Vivo City. After last week's Wanted, this week's offering is Hancock, the new Will Smith-Charlize Theron flick.

It has an interesting plot with all the heavily beefed up effects in the action sequences, but the storyline didn't really step up compared to the time-tested comicbook superheroes formula. There's a protagonist, a love interest, a (somewhat) secret identity, but no worthy antagonist like a Lex Luthor or Green Goblin.

Spoiler up ahead...

The story is fairly predictable. I already had an inkling that Hancock (Will Smith) and Mary (Charlize Theron) had a connection. And they have actually. Also, there was this scene where Mary finally revealed herself as having the same "powers" as Hancock, and they went to the streets of L.A. to fight it out in the middle of a busy intersection. This scene just reminded me of the Uma Thurman-Luke Wilson flick My Super Ex-Girlfriend. I don't know, it just hit me that I have seen the scene somewhere.

The ending isn't as promising also. Though the director must have tried to send across a message that Hancock actually turned out to be the hero that he was trying to be and it ended with a "happily ever after" note, it just didn't work for me. And the ending was a bit cheesy also, with that "All Heart" engraving on the surface of the moon. WTF?? And please don't tell me Hancock gave up on girls after Mary and just settled for that eagle at the last scene? Hahaha...

Oh, well, it's not worthy of the 20SGD the Cookie's spent, but it is a good enough means of relieving oneself of stress after a hard week of work.

Singapore Adventure: June Movie Adventures

Since I have arrived in Singapore, I seldom go to the movies anymore. I've been here for a year, but I think I've only been to the theaters not more than 5 times.

But this month of June, the Cookies have gone movie crazy. Hehe.. We've seen several movies this month - 4 already - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Kung Fu Panda, The Happening and, just yesterday, Get Smart.

Kung Fu Panda. It's definitely one of the movies that will get you out of your house to see in the theaters. The trailer they ran here in SG really did the trick for me and my Cookie. The storyline is engaging. The animation is flawless. You'll really feel for Po Panda and his personal challenges. The other animal characters also had a hand in building up the interest in the story. Funny. Touching. And action-packed. Hehehe... Will definitely get it when it comes out on video. :)

Get Smart. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway didn't really click as a "love team", but their comic timing may save the movie from crashing to the ground. It is hilarious and doesn't require much brain power to watch. And so, it is a good topping to a stressful and long work week. Dwayne Johnson has surely transitioned to be typecasted as "the good guy turned bad guy". Hiro Nakamura a.k.a. Masi Oka of the Heroes TV Series debuts in this film, as far as the Cookies know. Hehe... The action in this movie is engaging, the humor and casting is reminiscent of Rowan Atkinson's Johnny English. Not one of my personal favorites but it would always be a nice laugh to watch again.

Singapore Adventure: Hurray for Tilda Swinton

Where did I first see Tilda Swinton? In Constantine where she played the role of the Archangel Gabriel. And I totally fell in love with her performance.

After that, I saw her in The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, where she convincingly played the role of the evil snow queen/witch Jada.

And now she's named winner of the 2008 Oscars Best Supporting Actress title. Wow! I think I must find a way to see her performance in that Michael Clayton movie.

I also learned that the Sweeney Todd movie also bagged an award for Best Art Direction. Too bad, Johnny Depp has still yet to win one of those statuettes in the Best Actor in a Leading Role race.

It's a dark, dark movie. But what do you expect with a Tim Burton-Johnny Depp collaboration? It is very interesting, though. With the singing, dancing, and bloody neck slashing. Bwahahaha!!!

Better luck next time, J.D.! I will always root for you!

Congratulations to the winners!

Tonight, I hope to catch the Oscars Night rerun on MediaCorp 5.

Singapore Adventure: Saturday Movie Date, etc.

The Cookies went out to run some errands. And afterwards we were off to a whole day of fun out on a date.


First stop was Lucky Plaza along Orchard Road. SGD to PHP exchange rate still has not picked up. It was only at 28.25 PHP to a dollar. After doing that errand at iRemit, we went to the food court at the Lucky Plaza basement to grab some lunch. I missed Chicken Rice and so I had the White Chicken Set. My Cookie had his favorite Mixed Rice combo. Yum! ^_^


After a filling lunch, we had a little stroll along Orchard Road, and found ourselves at the facade of Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. It's about time for a movie date. It's something the Cookies haven't done for a while. Last movie we saw at the theaters was Enchanted.



We spent some 30 minutes at the cinema lobby while waiting for the movie. We shot some photos with my phone camera to pass the time.

Isn't my Cookie just the cutest? Hihihi.. ^_^
While waiting for the movie, we also munched on some snacks - salted popcorn, Coke Light for my Cookie, and Qoo White Grape Juice Drink for me!

I was first introduced to Qoo at the Kopitiam drinks stall at Plaza Singapura. Since then, I have been fond of it. I look for it at the groceries each time but to no avail. And so, seeing that Cathay was having a snack promotion for a Qoo combo, I went for it!

Aside from Qoo, the candy shoppe close by the cinema entrance also had some interesting stuff. I bought a pack of Strawberry flavoured sour candy tape.

The movie for that afternoon was Cloverfield. Hmm... It didn't quite win me over. But my Cookie loved it. The movie just gave me "Blairwitch" déjà vu. But this time, it's an unidentified creature from somewhere that tried to destroy Manhattan. Well, I hate to spoil it for you, so just try to go and see if you share my opinion. :P

Okay, enough of the rants. After the movie, we went for another stroll and made it to Wheelock Place where there is a stall from Crumpler. We shelled out a few hundred dollars for new packs. I got an orange The Westerna Lawn, and my Cookie got a red The King Single. ^_^

After bag shopping, we had dinner at Modesto's. Calamari Fritti for starters. Four Cheese Pizza and Spaghetti Alfredo for the main event. And then we called it a night.

It was a great day! :)

Singapore Adventure: Cineaste Anywhere

June 16, 2007

The Cathay, Orchard Road

A movie addict is a movie addict anywhere in the world. And so, I confess. In my only almost 2 month stint here in Singapore, I have been to three movies already. Hehehe... Pirates of the Carribean At World's End on May 26. Ocean's 13 on June 11. Fantastic 4 The Rise of the Silver Surfer on June 16. Going to the movies is a very expensive hobby here in Singapore. A movie tickets costs around 9 dollars. But in fairness, all of my movie experiences here have been pleasant so far. :)

We saw Fantastic 4 at The Cathay along Orchard Road. After the movie, we chit-chatted a bit at the theater lobby. And then a familiar figure caught my eye. I shrieked and left my group to run towards that all-too-familiar silhouette of yellow skin and bald head. Homer!!!

The Simpsons Movie will be running soon. If I am not mistaken, this July already. I can't wait. I just hope my Cookie is here to see the movie with me. I just love the Simpsons every since I was a kid. Hehe... Can't wait to see them on the big screen!