Le Printemps

2014-02-06T00:43:00.001+00:00

沧桑 is when listening to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.

沧桑 is also sniffing whilst reading old blog posts.

Hello 2014

2014-02-06T00:07:00.003+00:00

This blog has been so idle that I was nearly on the verge of deleting it. But on scrolling back, it contains simply too much memories that I have almost forgotten about so it has now redeemed itself.

note to myself

2011-07-31T01:08:00.001+01:00

please buy some andy tuohy and m. sasek when you are rich.....

Film Night

2011-03-18T02:46:00.001+00:00

BBC iplayer

The Edge of Love by Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley

Film Night

2011-03-16T02:00:00.002+00:00

On BBC iplayer

The Killing Fields (set in Cambodia during Khmer Rouge period)

Recollection

2011-03-10T01:18:00.000+00:00

Reading my old posts has led me to realise a couple of important points.

1. I have indeed aged and probably suffering from some benign memory loss. I could not even recall some of those incidences that I have blogged about from the past few years.

2. Chemistry is killing my writing skills. I don't think I can write like I did in the past any longer. In fact, scientific report writings often require one to construct concise and simple sentences starting with "It was.....", "The......", "Therefore, ...........", "Next, ..........". I even get bored at reading my own chemistry reports. I need to take some creative writing courses soon.

3. Blogging is a good way to document, ANYTHING! Like addresses that I have forgotten, restaurant addresses, goals set, goals achieved, travel dates, music , films watched. I'm so glad I have done all of that until 2007, but clearly regret the fluctuation and/or blank between 2007 and 2011. I need to start again and hope it continues.

I will be way glad once I get this PhD out of the way, but won't be looking forward to an unknown immediate future....

Film Night

2011-03-10T00:53:00.000+00:00

8/3: On Film4, Lolita.

Film Weekend

2011-03-06T23:21:00.000+00:00

1. City of Sadness (Taiwan)
2. Dust in the Wind (Taiwan)
3. Animal Kingdom (Australia)

Film Night

2011-03-04T01:16:00.000+00:00

2nd half of Little Miss Sunshine.
The Super Freak song is awesome!

Film Night

2011-03-03T01:36:00.000+00:00

2/3/11: 半生缘 - set in 30s Shanghai

Movie Marathon

2011-03-02T02:04:00.000+00:00

Better keep a checklist for my films in 2011.

Been busy and in the film-mood.

At the cinema / on KrisWorld:
The King's Speech
Never Let Me Go
Going the Distance
Hanamizuki

At home:
Cool Runnings
The Prestige
Somewhere
Blue Valentine - well-deserved nomination for Michelle Williams
The Chef of South Polar (Japanese)
Gran Torino
Poppoya (Japanese) - so good that I bought the dvd on ebay immediately...
Match Point
Brokeback Mountain (tv)
Blades of Glory (tv)
The Butterfly Effect (tv)

Wanna-see-these-at-some-point:
Norwegian Wood
True Grit
Biutiful
Black Swan

Mini Update

2010-05-14T00:21:00.000+01:00

It's spring!!!

Well into spring, maybe almost summer. But why is it still 9 degC outside???!??!?!

Brrr.....

Tim, look here please!!

2009-07-16T22:09:00.003+01:00

Once again, the annual Wimbledon trip. This time I instigated some members of the DC group to take the day off with me and we went to queue for the tickets at 5 am!!

We met Tim Henman early in the morning at 9 am as he was the spokesman for Robinsons' Juices and they had a little tent/court near the queues.

We were based at Court 18 for the first match of the day and got good seats!

Anyway, pretty pleased that Federer won in the end although it was a good comeback by Roddick.....

Gastro-Italy

2009-06-18T00:34:00.005+01:00

Overwhelming requests to update.....
Ok ok.....

Blogging adds more stress to the already-so-busy-phd-student's-life. As if I don't have enough to do. I have not watch today's daily dose of youtube yet, have not written up my quarterly report which was due last fri for submission, have not checked email, have not eaten supper.... grrr....

Anyway for those that didn't know, I escaped the so-busy life for 5 days in May. Booked on the Lufthansa promo air tix to Milan for 49 pounds return from Heathrow. Beat that! Obviously I didn't want to go to Milan. I didn't have a good impression of that drab and dull and rude city when I visited Lynn few years back. So I went onto google map and checked what's around Milan. Just south-east was Parma. Ok Parma ham: tick. Slightly more SE of Parma is Modena. Ok balsamic vinegar: tick. On the same straight line is Bologna: WAAAA bolognese sauce and lasagna. Set. Let's go on a gastronomic hunt!

Yingru opening the trip with a double-scoop gelato in Milan

Excellent trattoria in Bologna. On my plate, the very traditional handmade tortellini in broth (tortellini brodo). Just let the flavour of the parma ham fillings immersed in the broth do the talking. YUM. Yingru's having asparagus risotto instead.

Another much-recommended trattoria in Parma called Sorelle Picchi that is actually a salumeria. Booking necessary! Yingru and porcini gnocchi (yummiest gnocchi i've ever tried) and me with culatello (most prized cut of the parma ham made from the pork loin) and porcini homemade tagliatelle. Can't resist the ham!!!!!

Our beautiful Nh Hotel in Bologna....

Our mad gelato diet.... > 3 scoops everyday....

What is Italy without coffee?!?!?!

The local produce. Freshness guaranteed.

As if still not enough of Italy, like a Singaporean, we must always visit supermarkets and then da bao more home....

Oh not to mention, I even managed to bring home almost 1/2 kilo of superior parma ham, 1/2 kilo of parmigiano reggiano cheese (parmasan) and some fresh homemade tortellini which I immediately cooked the next day, in broth of course! Only missing out on the tomatoes which I thought was silly to bring home since London Whole Foods has like 100 variants of tomatoes already....

Top 5 Cities I Want to Live in

2009-04-17T23:45:00.007+01:00

Having some random thoughts during shower. If I have to leave London, which places do I want to move on to? Unexpectedly, they are all big cities; ok I admit that the thought of wanting to move back to the village Biberach did appear and I had to quickly force myself to erase the idea of returning there to live. Ok, I think I can survive there another 6 months maximum, of course with internet this time.

(in no order of preference)

1. Berlin

One of the coolest cities in Europe. If London is #1, Berlin is definitely #2. This city is ever-changing. It has the richest history of the WW2, then endured the cold war and segregated into Russian, American and etc territories, isolated from the world by a wall and then this new youthful city has taken a turn from its past to spring into the future with some exciting developments. Can't stop marvelling about the S/U-bahn system, the modern Hauptbahnhof, the checkpoint with the fake guards posing for photos, the old Nazi HQ and many more. I will definitely be back there since I have regrettably left out the Pergamon Museum on my past 3 visits.

2. New York

I know I know, I'm not a fan of the US, but New York has been such a pleasant surprise when I visited last spring. Central Park, MoMA, Metropolitan Museum, Fifth Ave, Times Square, Chinatown, Nolita.... Food is good (not to mention the gigantic portions), shopping is cheap, museums aplenty, Broadway has its share of the theatres, plenty to see and do every week and it's the city that never sleeps. I think it's the London of America, except the streets are in grid. If there is one place in the US that I must choose, I know it's NY even though I have not had the opportunity to explore the other parts of US yet.

3. Munich

Surprising contestant here but I have always been impressed with the German lifestyle. Everything is so systematic and efficient. Coming from Singapore, the German lifestyle makes me feel most at home. Outside Germany, everything is rubbish including UK especially London. Munich is the heart of the Bavarian culture, the countryside not too far away and on a good day, you can have a glimpse of the Alps if you are in a building tall enough. I actually like Viktualienmarkt a lot and during my last visit there with my family, we actually wondered into some really interesting streets and hidden shops in which I have never discovered in all those times when I was visiting from Biberach. Totally different from Berlin. Munich has a richer and glorious past. Berlin feels like it's leaping into the unknown future ahead.

4. Tokyo, then Kyoto

Tokyo is full of gimmicks, the city is restless and has no distiction between day and night, young and old. The ultra kawaii culture not overshadowing traditional cultural heritages. I have to admit, the Japanese are strange people. Living in Tokyo can be fun and convenient, but after one year, I'm bound to be burnt out. Hence Kyoto is my next choice. The peaceful retreat where everywhere in Kyoto looks like remnants of the samurai-era. Everytime I turn into a little street, I'ld expect to meet Kenshin my idol. Kyoto is stylish rustic charm + the efficiecy and convenience of the Japanese lifestyle.

5. London

How can I not stop repeating myself that I still like to live in London and that I'm not sick of it yet. Vibrant music and arts scene, the museums are constantly bringing new stuff and it is never-ending, food is still good especially the dim sums. Although I love London this much, there is an equal amount of reasons that I hate it for. Maybe I will save it for next time.....

Ski lifts in Singapore??!!?

2009-01-27T23:33:00.001+00:00

This new Luge thing in Sentosa is actually quite fun! On a good day,
the skyride up is actually very scenic, overlooking mainland Singapore
and the Sentosa beach. Feels like you are flying through a rainforest.
On the picture, near the bottom right, if you can spot, that is the
luge ride where you accelerate using G-force down the luge track. A
pity the luge down lasts only 5 minutes at most if you are speeding
like me. Next time, be clever, go down slowly to maximise time on the
luge and hence making your money worth....

When I say M, You say Flo

2008-11-30T00:50:00.003+00:00

M-flo is amaaaaaazing! Check part of their concert out, it's a shame I couldn't be there as there were so many guests invited. I particularly liked Monkey Majik, Bonnie Pink and BoA's performances - great synchronisation! They are much better live than in my mp3s...... M-flo's versatile performance was clearly demonstrated in the concert by the display of the various productions they were involved in. Amazing duo.

M-Flo loves BoA @ Yokohama Arena 2007.

M-Flo loves Bonnie Pink @ Yokohama Arena 2007. Can't believe she's 35 this year!!

M-Flo loves Monkey Majik - this video is out of synchronisation, the crunchyroll edition is much better but I can't put the embedded player here....

Ah Yat is number yat!

2008-11-15T12:18:00.000+00:00

Now I must rave about this Ah Yat set lunch (only in the Ah Yat branch in Allson Hotel near bugis) which is only $20!!
Included in the menu:
Roast pork and white sliced meat with garlic sauce
Sharks fin and abalone dumpling in soup
Deep fried garoupa with spring onion and ginger puree
Abalone mushroom and baby pak choy drizzled with stock sauce
Braised E-fu noodles with king prawns
Sweet Dessert of the day

(arghh it's so difficult to translate chinese food names in english, they are not the true names in the menu.)

Each dish is simple but the quality of each of them were truly exceptional - it was enough to get me back to the same place for the same menu 3 times! Dim sum was great as well, and I also complimented my set menu with another portion of Braised Sharks Fin soup (environmentalists, dont kill me but shark's fins are really yummy food that I can't give up).

I have green fingers!

2008-11-15T11:56:00.002+00:00

All herbs freshly grown at home.
My popo is a herb gardener.... @ home in Singapore 2008.

You are my Father

2008-11-11T00:05:00.002+00:00

Never seen such breath-taking scenery before, better still, a fantastic day in Innsbruck even my sister ascended the mountains in t-shirt during a late October day.

At the top of Hafelekar, Innsbruck, at 2256 m. We did a little trek up the top bit which set everyone panting (see how unhealthy we are!).

River surrounding the old town, with the Tirol Alps in the background.

Singapore Food Special - 1

2008-11-10T23:33:00.004+00:00

Super overdued post, I have created this picture collage long long ago when in SG for summer hol but just never got on to put a blog up.

Anyway, new food discovery in Singapore - my favourite japanese haunt is now The Central (just above Clarke Quay MRT). It has the highest number density of japanese restaurants per sq feet, and mind you, many of them are actually quite decent.

Featured in this post - Ma Maison @ Central. #03-96, Singapore 059817.

It's the very typical japanese western food of two categories - Omu-rice (omelette rice) and demi-glace sauce based dishes like hayashi rice, japanese-style hamburger, hayashi omu, steak in demiglace etc etc.

Went for the lunch special a couple of times consecutively in one week since Aunt Jas loved that place and not to mention it was only $12.50 for a SET lunch. Well to be honest, we did enjoy the food there a lot and the ambience was good. They have custom-made matching chinas for serving and they looked so pretty on the flowery Cath Kidston inspired tablecloths. Not to mention that there is also a little lamp on each table. The staff were very helpful and especially this young part time guy who was overly enthusiastic with his very local singlish explanation of the menu - not a bad thing at all since he was very efficient!

To sum up, the clam chowder soup was the best I have tasted in Singapore, if you are a fan of eggs and if you crave omu-rice in beef stew, you should not skip this one. To top it off, the brownies are buy one get one free with DBS/POSB card promotion. Not to be missed are also the daily-changing hamburger menus, I had mine on a hotplate (as in picture) and it was absolutely fantastic as well!

*drooooooling* we need some of these japanese western food in London.....

Studio Apartment Defected?

2008-08-08T23:51:00.003+01:00

DJ Tan and I went for Defected in the House in MOS last weekend because we thought the legendary Studio Apartment from Japan was going to be here, so we just bought the tickets for this event without thinking. I was even looking for their CD from my cupboard so as to get them autographed. However, only upon entry that we spotted a small A4 paper stuck at the door that led the main hall saying that Studio Apartment wouldn't be able to perform that night. I was really really disappointed. However the music from the main hall sounded like that of Studio's, so we hung around the main hall. Impressed by the music, we decided to check the box but didn't see any cool DJ spinning, except for a small black man that Tan initially mistaken for a security guard. However, Vinny da Vinci has been a surprising find. His style could easily be mistaken as Japanese house, which I think he'ld prefer to call it Afrikan house, was clearly refreshing so we ended up having a good substitute in place of SA after all.

Then another chinese DJ took over for the next slot, can't remember his name, but he was from Australia apparently. Had more style, but music was so-so, except he played a remixed Fantastic Plastic Machine's song which Tan and I picked up immediately.

In the lounge, a young Japanese DJ called Tamura Tomoki took the honour of spinning the whole night by himself. Power stamina! Good music from there too, except too loud in the small room.

Film of the month

2008-07-27T19:19:00.002+01:00

Hidden (Cache)

Initially I thought it was the usual hollywood thriller plot, but the film was incredibly slow-moving, yet I was drawn deeper and deeper into wanting to know who the "sender" was.

**Spoiler ahead**

It's a film discussing the effect of guilt on social and domestic lives. The real hint lies at the end of the film, watch closely during the last 5 minute.

No conclusive ending in the end, "Hidden" means not only the secret hidden camera, but that the truth is always hidden. That's why a lot of the scenes are left to viewers' intrepretation.

Paris Take 4

2008-07-25T23:46:00.002+01:00

My fourth time in Paris last month, nonetheless still not impressed.

Was terribly disappointed with food this time, except that we ventured out to Chinatown this time and realised how it can be a gem of Paris. Unaffected by the over-influx of tourists, that arrondissement (don't know which number, but south-east) still retains the idyllic charm of chinese locals feeding birds and meeting up to catch up.

But I was particularly impressed with the selection of chinese and vietnamese restaurants around that area, yes, vietnamese!

We walked past this small vietnamese restaurant in a corner that was flooded by vietnamese parisians themselves so we were really intrigued and decided to give it a try:

Le Bambou
70 Rue Bandricourt
75013 Paris

Turned out to be the best viet food we have had so far! We had the typical summer rolls and beef pho. But a pity no photos taken.

If there is a Paris Take 5, it'll be entirely because the taste of the pho broth is still lingering in my mouth.....

Free Oyster Day

2008-07-13T01:31:00.003+01:00

Not oyster as in the seafood, but oyster travel (EZlink equivalent in SG). Somehow all the buses had piece of paper saying "Free Travel Today" stuck over the oyster card reader so I just happily popped in and out of buses everywhere in London today. Felt so happy because of the free travel (for unknown reasons, but I think the oyster card readers are temporarily down nationwide) so I went all the way to Waitrose in Putney, got a large box of Ariel non-biological washing powder which is difficult to find around my area and took the bus home again. Usually, I can't carry that big box of washing powder home unless someone gives me a ride home. Ahhh...... I feel so Ah Sum now. I must continue to brag about the colour catcher thingy that you throw in with your laundry to wash your clothes well. Tips exchanged with Wing Yee....