Staying positive and happy! Do it!

Sometimes life gets us down. But we must always fight back! I have a habit of collecting good quotes or nice pictures on positivity to spur myself on. And I wanna share some.

Here's one for being thankful. Often one might feel life is unfair. It's like some ppl seem to be having such a good life effortlessly. They may be born with a silver spoon, blessed with unbelievably good looks or the god of mother *ucker luck seem to shine on them forever. Well, life is just like that - never fair. The good thing is you can try to change things around or make the best of what you have. I say: Comparison is probably the mother of all misery. Contentment is the simplest way to happiness. When we compare and compete with others, we are constantly under stress to win. So what for? Why not be self contented? Of course it is easier said than done lah. But if you constantly remind yourself that there is no point in comparing as there will always be someone ahead of you in some areas, then perhaps you will be a much happier person. 

In the same pic, it says, "Don't let anyone steal your joy". I think this is very important, especially if you place too much emphasis on what others say about you and it gets into ur brain. I think there will always be haters around, some people who dislike others in doing well (or simply do better than them lah) etc. You can't stop these people from EXISTING. So I say the best bet is to ignore them. And if they irritate you too much with their snide remarks or "under table actions", you can always choose to retaliate indirectly by doing even better and then GLOAT blatantly at how happy you are. Lol! 

So remember to stay happy. Surround yourself with stuff that makes you happy or do stuff that make you happy. How about this cute DIY frog I sewn? I think froggy stuff always look so happy. I dunno why. Lol.

Or surround yourself with friends and loved ones who don't judge you and love you the way you are!

Or at the very least, stay away from negative people. There is no need for more negativity in your life lah.

Stay happy and positive. If you have tips on how you do this, do share with me. ;-)

CoCoICHIBANYA Curry House Singapore, The Star Vista ~ Review

Today's recommendation is on my favorite curry house CoCoICHIBANYA that originated from Japan. My first encounter of the brand was actually in Thailand. I remembered the somewhat cute logo:

I can't find any local website except for it's Facebook page. So far I know there are branches at 313, Bugis+ and The Star Vista, all fairly new. 

Why is it my favorite Japanese Curry House? Actually the restaurants are small to mid-size outfits that are not spectacular at sight. The pricing is not super cheap as well. But what it lacked in restaurant settings and pricing, it has made up in taste. Especially for those who love spicy food. A snap shot of The Star Vista branch beautified with my app filter:

(By the way I love the architecture of The Star Vista with its go green concept with no air conditioning in common areas and its tall ceiling for each floor.)

CoCoICHIBANYA has a special offering allowing eaters to select the level of hotness of the curry. If I recalled correctly, it has 5 levels. From hot, very hot, extra hot, super hot to crazy hot! LOL! Ok, all the curry are supposedly hot, but if you know Japanese Curry, the standard ones are not known to be a challenge to the average Singaporean. If you cannot tolerate spicy at all, I think there is a particular offering that is supposed to be for kids. 

The restaurant also allows one to choose the amount of (Japanese pearl) rice that goes with your curry. If you choose to reduce your rice quantity by 1 tier (low carb eaters and small eaters...), you get a $1 discount from listed price, and you top up $1 for 1 tier above standard quantity etc. Not bad right? At least it gives you options! 

My favorite preference for my curry rice is extra hot level and standard portion of rice. See picture on my delicious Pork katsu curry ($12 excl tax and service charge) at The Star Vista outlet. The hotness level is just nice for me. It numbs my lips and gives my tummy a fiery time (I love hot stuff so the descriptions are all good.). The quantity of rice is just nice for a hungry me as well and the texture of rice is just nice and not too dry or too moist. 

I think the pricing of the menu items is fair too. Curry katsu at other Japanese restaurants can cost up to $20 excluding tax etc, although of course the type and quality of meat selection may differ. I know of a certain restaurant that offers selection of which section of the piggy you would like as your katsu. But the price tag is more than double that of CoCoICHIBANYA. There are cheaper curry katsu sold at food courts too. But so far I have yet to encounter one with very good curry.

By the way, CoCoICHIBANYA does offer other meat choices like chicken, beef, vegetables, fish, etc to go with your curry. It's just that I prefer the most conventional pork katsu most of the time. Oh ya, before I forget, CoCoICHIBANYA also graciously offer eaters unlimited seasoned sweet pickles. Trust me. It's super nice to go with the spicy curry! There is a plastic container of these pickles at every table. I swear I can finish half tub of the pickles with my rice. Two persons can easily finish a whole tub (Oops)! I would say this highlight is a plus plus plus point of the restaurant! 

I love my curry at CoCoICHIBANYA!! I hope they will retain the tradition of free pickles forever!!! Lol. Lovely rating: 9/10. 

Despicable Me: Minion Rush by Gameloft ~ Review

Do you like the minions in the Despicable Me animation movies? Yes? Yes? I'm sure you do! 

Minions! The ultimate companion, BFF, pet and servant all rolled into one. They are the scene stealers in the 3D animation movie series by Illumination Entertainment. If you haven't watch the movies, you should! Minions are depicted as yellow banana/capsule/potato like servant/helpers of the evil mastermind "Gru". Anyway, they talk in jibberish terms that sounded like a mix of French, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, whatever. Nobody really knows what they are but they are absolutely cute to the max.

Gameloft released a FREE game app by the name of Despicable Me: Minion Rush that's super fun. You should download this! It's free and available for both Apple and Android markets.

You play as a minion (possibly Dave?) and has to run an endless course of obstacles collecting minion's fav: bananas! There are 3 different course at the moment: Gru lab, Residential area and the latest update of El Macho Lair from Despicable Me2. You bump your fellow minions off the course ( also known as "Despicable acts") to score despicable bonus that increases your score. 

Random power up icons such as the Freeze Ray (freeze & blast obstacles) , Banana Splitter (double your bananas collected), Banana Vacuum (sucks all bananas near you), Mega Minion (expands your size so you can thrash mini minions to get dispicable bonus), etc.

 You can also connect to Facebook to challenge your friends in the game! Anyway, just wanna say this game is good fun. My current score? 153,739 ;-D 

Check out RWS S.E.A. Aquarium! ~ Review

Have you been to the S.E.A. Aquarium at RWS Sentosa yet? I'm a fan of aquatic systems and creatures so I'm impressed that we finally have a decent aquarium on our shores (The original Underwater World @ Sentosa is quite pale in comparison to aquariums elsewhere in the world.). In fact, I'm so impressed that I'd gotten myself an annual pass at S.E.A. Aquarium @ RWS Sentosa so I can revisit the place unlimited times, and priority entry at selected timings (It costs $80, but I heard annual pass is already sold out. Not sure if they would release more slots.). Hope this review may be useful to new visitors!

The aquarium is huge, in fact it is the world largest aquarium according to Guinness World Records. (I'm not so sure how it was measured though, by tank size? I thought I'd been to bigger aquariums by floor size.) Anyway, it's not puny size like Underwater World. And they have successfully imported dolphins in recent months for those who like dolphins. For the avid activists against captive dolphins, I'm pretty sure these dolphins will be well taken care of instead of abused. I know that will not stop you from cussing at local authority on the approved permits. But, it has already been approved and that's that. (Please don't hurl abuse at me for the review.)

Here are some lucky shots of the dolphins having fun:

They were so beautiful to look at and admire. And for the absolute dolphin fans with a deep pocket, there is a restaurant with a full view of the dolphin tank. Heck there is even a hotel at RWS that has a full view of the aquarium tank (not sure if it's dolphin or general tank)  in the bedroom. Interested ones should visit RWS webby for more info:

 (http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Homepage/ThingsToDo/MarineLifePark/SEAAquarium)

The attractions tries to awe visitors with a wide variety of aquatic species including sharks, dolphins, giant crabs, jelly fish, octopus and more. Some interesting snapshots: 

Giant Japanese Crabs (Yum)

Manta ray zooming past:

Coral lookalike dragon fish:

Jelly fish (There are many varieties):

Camo warriors mud skippers:

Shark eggs (Yes, really!):

Giant lobster:

The attraction also tries to amuse visitors with interesting snippets of facts and figures placed all over. Here's an interesting fact about deep sea anglerfish - apparently it is so difficult to see in the deep sea that male anglers will simply hook on to a female and glue themselves to their soul mate once they found the female. They will fuse together overtime until only the testes of the male is left outside... ( Wtf right?? Lol. I think the designer of this wall piece have a wicked sense of humour.)

Anyway, the most awesome place in the aquarium is this large hall space with a gigantic tank that looks like its 3 storeys height from ceiling to floor. You can sit there all day and admire all sort of fishes whisking by.

I will be returning for more awe and wonders. Rating 9/10 ( Would be awesome if there is slightly less crowd).

 (I took pictures with my iPhone so pardon me if the pictures are not as sharp and awesome as they should be to showcase the magnificent aqua creatures)

REVIEW: The Addams Family musical in Singapore, Resorts World Sentosa!

I'm not usually overly excited about concerts and performance but when I learned that there's an Addams Family musical in town, I was quite eager to watch it. Strange? I'm not sure if the younger generation even heard of The Addams Family! 

I remember I used to watch the tv series after school. I can't even remember whether it was primary school or just nursery! But I recalled it was in black and white. Even though when I was a kid I don't really understand the english conversations being played (and the dark humour), I clearly recall that all the characters were wacky as hell. Yeah, I grew up with Addams Family, Sesame Streets, Beetle Juice, Pink Panther and..... Stephen Chow? That explains my weird sense of humour! 

So, I managed to get le bf to watch the musical with me at RWS. It was great! I give it 10/10. Maybe because I was totally biased since I grew up with those characters at the back of my head and I do miss them very much! How I wish I could rewatch the tv series now I have full comprehension of English! The musical was wacky. It's about the dark family's daughter "Wednesday" falling in love with a normal boy and having a meet the parents session to announce their intended marriage. I guess it's hard to explain the wackiness if you have never watched the tv series and understood the characters. Here's a summary.

Gomez Addams - the father. An extremely rich and eccentric man of supposedly Spanish (or sometimes Italian) descendance, with a long crazy  family history. A man who loves fencing and is hopelessly in love with his wife, the only woman ever attempted to poison him. He has supposedly inherited a lot of money and has a great interest in collecting morbid antique torture devices.

Morticia Addams - the mother. The fairest of them all, extremely well endowed and with long flowy dark hair. Gave up her dream to travel the world, visiting the sewers of Paris and all, to marry Gomez. Demands nothing but full honesty fr her hubby. A perfect mother in the house and perfect wife in the bedroom. A bit vampire-ish.

Pugsley Addams - the younger son. A weird boy with a penchant to blow things up, loves monsters under his bed and loves his sister dearly for all the torturous acts she experiments on him.

Wednesday Addams - the elder daughter , also known as princess of darkness. Loves nothing more than having her brother dead and loves everything grim. Has an interest in rearing giant spiders. Weirdly, the musical is about her falling in love.

Grandma - only known as grandma, both  Gomez and Morticia are unsure who's side she's from. Moved into the family attic one day and had been living there since. Is able to concoct various funny potion that makes em do silly things. 102 years old and very much alive. Known to be able to fly on a broom like a witch.

Uncle Fester - brother of Gomez, although looks nothing alike. Most commonly known as the fat bald guy in a black gown in the series. A very weird likeable character and loves doing weird thing. Supposed to be some kinda mechanical genius. Has some kinda electrical current in him and able to light up light bulb using his mouth. Had fell in love with the moon as he believes distance is the most important ingredient to love.

Lurch - the family servant. Behaved and looked a little like Frankenstein. Devoted to the family in every aspect.

Some other less well known characters:

Thing - a severed hand. Believed to be Gomez childhood friend. Often seen around the house. Able to teleport from one box to another.

Cousin Itt - a giant mop like hairy character with no facial feature sometimes seen to visit the family. It is unsure if anything is beneath the hair and it talks in a super high pitch that's not audible to common beings except the Addams.

Pets - Spiders, bats, piranha, alligators, lion (cat) and man eating plant.

It is not exactly known if the family is human. All of them exhibits inhuman characters of some sort. And they live in a supposedly haunted mansion. 

I strongly encourage all to watch the musical for amusement at Resorts World Sentosa. The experience was exhilarating!! ;-D

Here's a quick pricing reference. You can book through sistic at http://www.sistic.com.sg 

 *Check online for possible discounts.

Xin Wang (新旺) HongKong Cafe Review - Sambal seafood fried rice

I think most Singaporeans know about Xin Wang Cafe, probably one of the pioneers in bringing into Singapore the "HK cafe" craze quite a few years ago, that has since fizzled a bit. They have quite a few branches around Singapore and they open till late like 2am with free wifi. Perfect for night owls like me.

HK cafes in Hong Kong are actually a bit different from those in Singapore. In HK, they focus on serving a wide variety of local cum western fusion food, fast food speed. A.K.A ordering food over the counter and being served instantly, or having a fast ordering system where food is served quickly. Singapore's HK cafes seem to cater to the local preference of being served by a waiter. However, we too have a very wide selection of local/fusion food on the menu.

Anyway, enuf of the comparison. Today's focus is on a new dish I tried. New as in my first time trying, not that it's new on the menu. This is my sambal seafood fried rice ($9.90 excl tax) at the Plaza Singapura outlet.

My verdict: 4/10 (Am I too mean in my critic? Too bad.) It's too dry and not spicy enough, although still edible. The serving is quite large so I didn't finish mine. For around half the price, I think I can maybe get the same thing at the food court next door? The redeeming factor was being served by an extremely friendly auntie waitress. (She's the most memorable waitress among all the outlets I'd tried.)

Extras: The consistency of food served at different outlets seem to varies quite a lot these days. And the service standard varies too. The prices have been increasing quite a bit in the last few years as well. And they just removed the membership system without informing me as a member. Wtf. I think the management should sit up and do their job before losing more business.

McDonald's Happymeal giveaway: Despicable Me2 minions!

Haha! Just a random blog on these Despicable Me2 minions my colleagues are collecting from McDonald's HappyMeal! If you are not aware what are these toys, that's probably because you are not living in Singapore! 

McDonald is releasing 3 minions every week. Here are some creative snapshots to tickle your bones! 

1)Battle of the minions:

2) Evil minion's bad hair day:

3)Minion's studio shoot:

4)Minion hair styling guide:

And behold the next one -

5) Minions' pageant:

HAHAHAHA! Hope you like the snaps. And if you are interested in a minion ringtone, you can go to www.zedge.net for some. ;-)

Sogurt @ The Star Vista - Review

Time to review another yogurt brand! I said I love yogurt right!? Ha! If you like yogurt, you might wish to note the brand "Sogurt". I'm not sure but I think the owner might had the intent to make the brand sounds like "so good". Here's a pic of my dessert today. 

Haha. Isn't the design of the cup cute? The store looks cute too. I went to the branch at The Star Vista. I think there are some branches elsewhere although the brand is still not as well known as some established names. Customers are basically given a cup and they can self serve and mix whichever flavors they like before weighing and paying for the amount. The flavors available may change. The flavors I saw were original, lychee, strawberry, grapes, Nutella and Red Velvet (yeah you read correctly. Nutella as in the chocolate and red velvet as in the cake flavor). Awesome right? The store even gives 15% discount for Watsons card holders at the moment. My yogurt costs $4.95 after discount.

That's not all. I saw a sign at the store asking patrons to hashtag them on Instagram for a surprise. See what I got:

It's a small handmade card. The content says I can get $1 off the next purchase. Haha! So cute. In term of the taste, cost and overall experience, I rate this 8.5/10 amongst other brands. It's not exactly cheap if there's no discount. But it sure tastes good! ;-)

#Sogurt

Back-dated review: Hatched cafe @ Evans Lodge outlet

This is a back-dated review on Hatched Cafe I visited on Sunday! Well, many people who like western style breakfast, especially yuppies, might have heard of this cafe named Hatched. They have a branch at Holland Village and a newly reopened branch at Evans Lodge. http://www.hatched.sg/

As their name suggests, you can expect a lot of eggs in their menu. In fact, I'm super amazed by the number of types of eggs and toasts there can be out there! I spied on other tables' orders and I'm pleasantly surprised that everyone seem to have a different order. And the dishes all look really "pretty". Here are ours: 

My scrambled egg with salmon is $16 before tax and service charge. It tastes mild (no strong flavor, mainly egg taste and gotta add chili sauce), and halfway through I have this egg overdosed feeling. The serving is huge!!! It feels like 4-5 eggs seriously. Omg. 

Le bf ordered omelette with onions and beef at $15. It tasted better than mine due to the onions. ;-( But again, egg overdose for a single person.

The cafe ambience ( I went to Evans Lodge branch) is quite nice. The branch is located on the first floor of an old school style hostel building. We reached at abt 930-10am when the tables are still fairly empty. Somehow the cafe became full house within an hour.

Anyway we also ordered a normal coffee and a mocha, which tasted average and not worth mentioning. 

Overall I think I will rate it 7/10 at most. The two dishes and the two coffee work out to abt $48 which I think is too expensive for eggs and toasts, don't you think? It's good for occasional indulgence. 

Berrylite yogurt - strawberry flavor ~ review

Okay a second food post for lunch today is for the redemption of Berrylite yogurt I bought on Time Sale on Qoo10.com.sg.

I tot it was such a steal at $1.39, which is even cheaper than the already cheap deal price at $1.80. In fact I was so cheapo I bought 2 lah. Pardon my kiasu-ness.

So I was all enthu to redeem this steal of mine for after lunch dessert... Except to find it wasn't such a steal. Although I read reviews on Qoo10 that some buyers  had the original flavor, the cashier didnt allow me to choose that. Strange, usually  special flavors are more expensive. Yet I'm not allowed to choose the cheaper option. Anyway, I was giving a choice of vanilla or strawberry. I chose the latter. This is how it looks. 

To be frank, I didn't want the free topping. I thought the sweet crushed oreo powder wouldn't go quite well with sour yogurt. But I wasn't given the choice as the cashier simply scoop em on without asking.... ;-(

In addition to the above boo boo, I have to say.... The yogurt was a total disappointment. I tried very hard to search for a single tinge of sour taste but there was none. It tasted like normal ice cream, with no sour taste and no strawberry taste. Instead of feeling healthy for consuming yogurt, I feel like I'm committing the sin of ingesting calories with no health benefits. I'm not sure if the machine at Bugis+ was spoilt or what but... Yucks. Rating 2/10 (2 points if you just want a cheap ice cream in an air conditioned place). I dumped my remaining half cup. 

Kungfu Paradise - Dry chicken chop noodles review

Passed by Kungfu Paradise and saw a sign that they had decided to absorb GST and service charge! WOW! I remembered the last time I was at Bugis+ branch was months ago. I remember the ice kungfu coffee was great and it still is!!! $2.90. Dropped in for a quick lunch.

If you are familiar with the Paradise Group (Www.paradisegroup.com.sg), you will know they have many brand name eateries under them catered to different categories of customers. I will review the rest when there is opportunity! 

Kungfu paradise should be the subsidiary catered to the general mass with simpler HK cafe style dishes and friendly price tag. I tried this chicken chop noodles at $8.90. Verdict: Not too awesome. The taste is a bit - bland. Rating:6/10.

I hope the other dishes are better! I had tried food at other subsidiaries and they were good! 

Anyway, the coffee here is the redeeming factor! I will come in again to try other stuff. By the way, I signed up for their membership card. $30 for about $42 worth of credits. Check out their website for more details! 

Transtar VIP Solitaire coach ride from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur - Review

Gonna blog abt my first time experience via a mega 14 seaters VIP coach by Transtar from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.

The one-way ticket is $52. There is an additional 3% admin charge which works out to $53.53. I am not sure what is the normal coach price though. The VIP coach ride is meant to sell an experience, as if you are on a business or first class flight. I guess the coach style travel between Malaysia and Singapore is gradually losing out to all the budget airlines that are selling promo seat as low as $30 for one way, hence the attempt by coach companies to retain market share through the innovations and frills of VIP coaches.  

Anyway, the 14 seaters comes with all the extra cool stuff like a fully reclining seat with in-coach entertainment like on-demand video and games. The ride also included a meal and drink served by a female coach attendant similar to a flight attendant. I will try to assess the overall experience in detail.

1) Punctuality and timing - my coach is scheduled at 7am at Golden Mile Complex and to leave at 730am. I arrived too early at abt 6:50 am and checked in without any waiting at the Trans Star counter at level 1. The coach didn't arrived until  around 7:15am. By that time I was already across the street having a milo at a coffee shop, being tired of standing around waiting. Received a call at about 7:25am  when I was on the way to the bus - the bus is ready to leave. The bus left on the dot at 7:30am! A major plus point as I had half expected coaches to dilly dally for another 15 mins. There is a 10 mins toilet break at 10:30am.

2) Cleanliness - the coach is reasonably clean and smells fresh, not musty. The only icky stuff is the cushion on the seat which I suspect they do not wash the cover. I'm also not touching the blanket given as I'm quite particular abt common goods being sanitized before the next user. 

3) Service - on top of the friendly call at 7:25am to check my whereabouts and the right on time departure, I am satisfied with coach personnel's services on the coach. Good English spoken, unlike the alien language spoke by some airline's attendants. The coach attendant asked us on the preference of drinks ( coffee or tea ) at about 8:40am after we parted the Malaysia custom, and the food and drink were served at 8:45am ( Ya, I actually noted down the timing so I can blog about it lah.) She came around to collect the trays after about 20-25 mins so that we can go back to our reclined mode. Lol.

4) Food and drinks - a bottle of mineral water is placed in a side compartment of the chair. That's a good gesture if you ask me. A long ride without water can be hell. The breakfast was a pre-packed bento (No option given). If you look at the picture, nothing fancy about it. Edible. I find the bee hoon quite nice. But then again I was really hungry by 8:45am lah. The side dishes of fried hotdog, dumplings and dunno what's that, are dismissible. The coffee was ok. Taste like 3-in-1. There is another round of drink service after the first toilet break at 10:30am.

5) Seat - The best thing about traveling via the VIP coach must be the seat lah! The whole bus had only 14 seats, of course it's gonna be good! 14 seaters also minimize the chances of you being stuck in a long journey with big families (with children and babies) yakking non stop. The seat comes with some awesome functions. A remote control on the side of the seat lets you control exactly the angle you wanna rest in. You can recline backward with a button, lift a leg rest segment to support your calves with another button,  and lift a foot rest segment with yet another button. The chair also comes with massaging function (weird to me, but some people might like it.).

6) Entertainment - Enjoyed 2 free movies on the ride! Not bad. Pretty wide selection!

P/S: The return ride from KL to Singapore was somehow cheaper at $36 excluding admin fees.

Overall verdict: 7.5/10 - I mean it's pretty good, but the journey is longer than flight (abt 4.5-5 hrs) and u gotta control ur bladder. There is only one rest stop for ten mins and those toilets are extremely dirty... :-(. Otherwise the coach experience was pretty good.

Skinny Pizza Review!

Have you tried Skinny Pizza's skinny pizza (No pun intended)? If you haven't, maybe you can give it a try.

I was first recommended the restaurant by a friend. Apparently the squid ink skinny pizza ($25) is quite good. Here's how it looks: 

Yup it's quite big, like around 30cm? . The difference between this pizza and normal thin crust pizza is the crust - it's really skinny! Thin like crispy crackers style thin. So if you are like me who don't like the excessive carbs that comes with normal pizza, you might like this. In addition, the cheese is sprinkled on top instead of the whole pizza being coated. Good for lactose intolerance eaters and weight watchers. The draw back is that the squid ink will make u looks like a character from Pirates of the Caribbean after eating. So remember a teeth check, ladies!  

Next recommendation on the menu is their king prawn black pepper linguine ($25): 

 

Check out the omg size of the prawns! I really like the spicy pasta! But the portion is really big. I recommend sharing. 

Ice water is free. The total cost for the two items work out to $58.85 which is not exactly recommended for day to day munch. My overall rating is 7.5/10, with the main draw backs being the huge portion which means you must definitely share to enjoy a variety, the price tagged to each dish and the  mainstream deco style (nothing memorable) of the restaurant. Good for occasional indulgence!