I was very fortunate to win a pair of tickets to "The House of Bernada Alba" staged by W!ld Rice. So, I brought my mum to watch it along with me.

2 Peranakan ladies watch a Singaporean Peranakan adaptation of a Spanish novel. Apt, don't you think? Thanks to SMRT, we got seats in the 2nd row from the front. One of the few times that I get to see the actors on stage in HD. LOL.

"The House of Bernada Alba" tells the tale of a matriarch who declares 8 years of mourning after the death of her husband and this decision shows the tension, stress and dysfunction within the Alba family of 5 daughters and Bernada Alba herself. The original novel is a classic drama by Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca.

W!ld Rice pulled no stops with this production, starting with the stellar cast of Margaret Chan, Claire Wong, Neo Swee Lin, Jo Kukathas, Glory Ngim, Noorlinah Mohamed, Karen Tan, Serene Chen and Sharon Lim. Celebrated director Glen Goei was at the helm and I was surprised to find out that my Uni friend Marcia is the Asst. Director for this production. Of course, a lot of credit has to go to the playwright Chay Yew who did an excellent job of updating a script that was full of witty comebacks, easy to understand to the lay person but yet retained a lot of the layers/ themes such as the Role of Women and Repression of oneself. Also, the decision to make it a Peranakan setting was brilliant because it could then be easily understood by the local audience who would think that the play was 'fake' if the cast were dressed like Spanish in the 1800s.

At the end of the 2 hour of non-stop tension, it ends on a melancholic note and you can't help but be blown away by the fantastic acting that was just presented. Margaret Chan had a lot of fun playing a lunatic grandmother who, ironically, has the most insight and has the most freedom of speech. However, I felt that Neo Swee Lin's character was too small for her and that it didn't allow her to really stretch and show off her depth of acting. Maybe it's because I'm so used to seeing her play bigger roles but then, I didn't feel the same way when I saw her in "Anna & I".  

All in all, I highly recommend any theatre-fan to go watch "The House of Bernada Alba". The play is ongoing till 29 Mar 2014! For more details about the play and on how to purchase them, click here.

Chowchow won 2 pairs of tickets to the above Comedy Night held at the Hollandse Club but he wasn't able to attend it so I was given both pairs. Went there with Joe and his 2 other friends. Was really looking forward to an evening of laughter, especially after the past 2 stressful months.

Was seated towards the back so unfortunately, I couldn't take any nice photos of the 3 comedians so I didn't bother. I love stand up comedy and all respect for these guys because it is really not easy to make people laugh.

I really had a lot of fun laughing my head off, especially when Daniel Kinno kept making fun of the audience members seated in the front row. I think that was the really fun part because it wasn't a rehearsed set and only showed how witty and quick he is.

As expected, the 3 comedians repeated their jokes from other festivals so...if you want to know how my evening went, here are the jokes that they said:


Dave Callan did the WHOLE "Single Ladies" song minus 2 backup dancers and he's really really good.


Daniel Kinno really did do this whole set but after this, he was full-on mocking the audience, which was HILARIOUS!

Couldn't find a video with Colum McDonnell's set...so I guess he was lucky that nobody recorded that set! Haha. But I find it hilarious as to how he refers to himself as the last living Hobbit in Ireland. :)

Destressed? Most definitely. Especially when I had 2 bottles of Tiger Radler that evening - the only Tiger beer you'll ever see me drink.

If you want something that it distinctly Japanese without much fanfare, a good place for set meals would be Yayoiken. Visited their branch at 313 Somerset and ordered their Tekka don and On Udon set (S$17.90++) for lunch.

Firstly, I'm all for the use of new technology and I quite like ordering food via iPads and computers so that it's efficient. However, I really would appreciate it if these business folks realise that people do like to 'customise' their food a little. They completely wasted their wasabi and spring onions on me.

Secondly, if you're using new technology, the great thing about it is that you can give real-time updates on the items if something is sold out or unavailable by putting a label. What does Yayoiken do? It just removes it from the iPad menu. One would go "but...it's in your printed menu!"

That said, the service staff was fast and responsive. So kudos to them for that.

The Tekka don was quite good in that the rice was hot but the tuna was cold and the combi was just yum! But the rice was slightly disappointing because it wasn't vinegared. The udon was cooked perfectly and the soup was quite tasty.

You can't really fault the food but it does leave you a little wanting. For that price, I can't quite complain I guess.

Yayoiken
313 Orchard Road
313@somerset #B3-33/34 Singapore 238895

Tel：+65 6884 7550
Website: www.yayoiken.sg
Opening Hours :Sun to Thurs from 11:00～21:30 (Last Order)
                           Fri, Sat and eve of Public Holiday from 11:00～22:00 (Last Order)

Reservation: Mon～Fri only, not available on Sat, Sun, Eve of Public Holiday and Public Holiday

I admit, I was enticed by Paradise Dynasty's floor to ceiling advertisement of their 8 International Flavoured Xiao Long Bao (S$14.80++) at Vivo City (proof that marketing does work). It has everything that I love wrapped in tiny parcels that are delightfully colour coded. So...off I went to try ALL flavours (much to the shock of Moon).

There is a certain order to eat these Xiao Long Baos (XLB):

1. Original (white)
2. Ginseng (green)
3. Foie Gras (brown)
4. Black Truffle (black)
5. Cheese (yellow)
6. Crab (orange)
7. Garlic (grey)
8. Szechuan (pink)

The original was ok.
The Ginseng had that distinct ginseng flavour which is good.
The Foie Gras XLB was absolutely delightful as the creamy taste of foie gras exploded into my mouth.
When you're riding the high of the foie gras, pop in the Black Truffle XLB and you'll get that perfect harmony. You'll feel sorry that you've got to eat another flavour soon after. Almost.
The Cheese XLB had the cheese flavour but after the Foie Gras and Black Truffle, you'll be a little disappointed that the party didn't continue in your mouth.
Crab XLB was how it should taste and is quite comparable to the Crab XLB that Din Tai Fung offers although Din Tai Fung wins for reasons that I will explain later.
The Garlic XLB was good! I liked how it was garlicky without being overpowering. I was quite apprehensive about that.
I was the most curious about the Szechuan XLB. I knew that it was going to be spicy, which is why its recommended that you eat this last. Besides being spicy, I found that it was not simply chilli inside. It was ma la (麻辣) spice - chilli hot and numbing. Good news is that it's not overpowering. Really happy with the last XLB.

Now, the only disappointing part of the whole XLB experience was the skin of the XLB. It broke the minute I picked it up and it didn't break at where my chopsticks were but at the bottom, which is the strangest thing. Also, the tips of the XLB were not as moist as it should be. Paradise Dynasty needs to take some lessons from Din Tai Fung on this I have yet to find a restaurant to beat those XLB with 16 distinct folds (yet another well marketed fact by Din Tai Fung).

Nonetheless, these 8 charming parcels of pork with yummy flavours are worth every dollar. I'll go to Paradise Dynasty for them anytime over Crystal Jade. Oops.

I know that this post is focused only on the XLB but we also ordered dessert:

Egg white souffle with red bean and banana (S$5.90++). Delicious!!! I could eat the whole plate by myself. I seriously need to learn how to make these. This is an all-time favourite with me. Light fluffy meringue that is more marshmallow-like in texture is wrapped around red bean paste and banana slices before fried and sprinkled with icing sugar. Love.

Paradise Dynasty
1 Harbourfront Walk, #03-08A,
Singapore 098585
Tel: 6376 8103
Fax: 6376 9267
(Reservations are accepted)

Business Hours:
Mon – Fri
11.00am – 10.00pm (Last order 9.30pm)
Sat, Sun & PH
10.30am – 10.00pm (last order 9.30pm)

Website: www.paradisegroup.com.sg 

I was lucky enough to win a pair of tickets to watch "Vampire Academy" which is based on the series of books of the same title by Richelle Mead.

I had previously watched the trailers and already thought that it looked like a fun movie to watch, especially when you watch it with your girlfriends. As such, I asked Moon to watch this with me.

"Vampire Academy" tells the story of Rose Hathaway, a Dhampir, whose sole purpose is to protect the life of her Moroi (aka vampire) best friend, Princess Vasalisa "Lissa" Dragomir. In this first movie, it starts off with how Rose and Lissa have ran away from the Vampire Academy after surviving a car crash that took the lives of Lissa's parents and brother. It was after this crash that Rose and Lissa have bonded in such a way that Rose is able to see and feel what Lissa is going through.

After 2 years away from Vampire Academy, Lissa and Rose are found by the guardians and brought back to the Academy where they have to face the threat that caused them to run away to begin with and find out who is the main mastermind.

This first movie is sort of a bit of a coming of age story for both Rose and Lissa who, after running away from it all, begin to grow stronger physically as well as emotionally. Nonetheless, it is not your run-of-the-mill cheesy teenage drama as the script is full of witty lines, quick dialogue, action scenes and of course, teenage romance.

Kudos to the director who paced the movie in a delightful manner and yet was able to flesh out each character enough for you to feel for the protagonists while leaving you with enough intrigue for the next movie. It really is a fun and entertaining movie to watch! I don't understand why there aren't that many showtimes for this movie in Singapore. C'mon...this is waay better than "Ah Boys to Men"!!

Despite the heat, throngs of people were making their way to The Promontory @ Marina Bay and I couldn't help but get excited when approaching the entrance and the waft of food smells greeted me. What were we all here for? Savour 2014 - a 4-day event which celebrates Michelin starred Chefs and panders to all gourmands' taste-buds. In other words, lots of good food and drinks.

Chowchow won tickets for all 4 of us and so we managed to save on the entrance fee. Nonetheless, we each forked out $25 for Savour dollars to be spent on the food inside.

Walking in, we were greeted by the sight of a roasting veal. Unfortunately for us, we were there during lunch and the veal was only ready for the dinner crowd. So that's probably what I was sniffing when walking to the entrance. We quickly made our way through the Jasons Gourmet Market and headed to where the 'restaurants' were.

Started off with Mikuni's Hokkaido Botan Ebi in Tenshin Sauce with Caviar (S$18). I really liked the detail of gold flakes and this was the only real cold dish that I had. Was served by none other than head chef Moon Kyung Soo! About this dish...can't really fault it but to sum it up, it tasted like prawns in lobster bisque.

This is a really fun dish by Chef Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation, Hong Kong. It's Lap Mei Fan (S$14) which is a molecular gastronomical version of foie gras, rose wine and topped with crispy rice. Creamy without being too rich, this is happy food!

Needing some staples, we ordered Cajun Garlic Fries by Spathes Public House (S$8) which is really quite nice as I tend to prefer chunky fries instead of shoe string fries. The sauce is creamy but not cloyingly so like how some aioli sauces tend to be. Apparently, this is cheaper (S$6) if you went to the actual Spathes Public House at Mohd Sultan. Hmm....

The above dish, I really wished that I ate on the spot when it was served hot. This is the 5 Cheese Tortellini with Saffron Cream Sauce, Slow Cooked Kurobuta Pork Cheeks, Beetroot Puree and Autumn Truffle (S$14) by Chef Kentaro Torri of Forlino. I saw Chef Torri in the kitchen so again, I'm impressed that the food's QC was done BY the executive chef! Ok...onto the taste. The walk from the stall to my table was 'long' enough to cool this dish down despite the hot afternoon sun. So, it wasn't as amazing as I thought it should be although everything on it was good. The pork cheek could've been more amazing, I think.

Speaking of amazing pork cheeks...

This is the half eaten Braised Pork Cheeks, Miso Daikon on Mousseline Potatoes by Chef Daniel Sia of The Disgruntled Chef. Just found out today that Chowchow is friends with Chef Sia. This dish was really good. It's a bit like comfort food but then again, it is served with miso daikon and potatoes that wake you up from home comfort and back to fine dining.

Above is a very interesting dish. It's called Eclair D'escargots. Yup...it's a savoury eclair filled with escargots, tomato, garlic and persil. This dish is the brainchild of Chef Christophe Paucod of Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnais, Japan. I like how it changes your mindset of how escargots can only be eaten with garlic and butter. It's light, it's yummy and I want more.

Chef Daniel Chavez of OLA, Singapore has elevated the humble octopus in this Spanish Octopus "A La Plancha" with peas and tomatoes (S$16). The octopus was tender but had a crispy grilled taste. I was amazed.

We went back into the Gourmet Market where Chowchow ordered Pork Chops (S$16). Tender and grilled to perfection, this dish shows that sometimes, you do not need a Michelin-starred chef to cook you good food. Sometimes, it's the quality of your ingredient that matters more.

Note to Jasons: please do not put your cashier in the middle of the walkway that separates 2 sections of the Gourmet Market. Cue the bottleneck of human traffic there. 

I had a work hazard moment - I started guessing how much the event cost and what sort of returns the organiser and partners received from this event. *Shakes head* That's what you do when you organise too many events.

Overall, we had fun and we would've spent more if we were less conscious about it. There were a lot more food that we didn't try and there were Master Classes happening but we gave them all a miss. If I were feeling rich, I'd gone for the oysters which were going at S$18/half dozen or the Oyster Shooters (S$22 for 4 alcoholic flavours).

I'm looking forward to Savour 2015 but in the near future, there's the World Gourmet Summit!!

Inspired by +cutepolish as well as another manicurist, I decided to do the above design and might I add that this is the first design in which I drew all the flowers with a brush!

Base (for all fingers except the ring finger):
I used white followed by OPI whitish creamish glitter so as it give it a slightly more realistic newspaper colour. You can use watered down brown/olive to achieve a similar effect. Then, following the tutorial by +cutepolish I dipped strips of newspapers into alcohol (I used Gin) before pressing them onto the semi-dry nails. It's advisable to use the day's newspaper instead of old ones so that the print comes off easily.

Once the print is on the nails, I use that same translucent glitter nail polish to seal in the letters. Wait for this layer to dry before painting on the flowers.

Accent Finger:
While waiting for the previous layer to dry, I painted by ring finger with a light shade of green before adding gold large glitter polish.

Water colour tulips:
First, draw on the green stalks with your brush or striper brush. You'll now need a piece of plastic or aluminium foil as your palette. On the plastic/foil, drop blobs of white, light pink and a dark pink. Helps to drop them close to each other so that you can mix them a bit.

Mix half of the white with the light pink to give you an opaque pink base. Dip one-third of your brush in the white polish, one-third in the mix and one third in the light pink. Using the top of the stalk as your starting point, paint on the flower, with the darkest shade of pink on the tip of the stalk. Remember to wiggle your brush a little. Finish the flower off with a fine tip brush dipped into the dark pink.

Finish it off with top coat.

Time to complete: 30 minutes.