Ninja Assassin

Synopsis: Raizo (Rain) is one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. Haunted by the execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them and prepares to exact his revenge. In Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) has stumbled upon a money trail linking several political murders to an underground network of untraceable assassins from the Far East. Mika digs into top-secret agency files to learn the truth behind the murders. Her investigation makes her a target, and the Ozunu Clan sends a team of killers, led by the lethal Takeshi (Rick Yune) to silence her forever. Raizo saves Mika from her attackers and must now trust each other to survive and bring down the elusive Ozunu Clan.[Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]
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What does it reminds you when you see blood spilling like water, human body parts flying all over in slow motion and human head being blown in halves? A scene from Kill Bill? Perhaps, that's the "Hollywood" version of martial arts, but it sure does not goes well with me. I find the whole show extremely meaningless, lacking in plot, which the director hopes to make it up by filming the most sadistic way that a human can die under a ninja weapon. Enough said, please give this show a skip if you can, unless you want to be there to look at Rain extremely toned body muscles. =p
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Rate: 3.5/10

The Seafood International Market & Restaurant

Year end is always a time for holidays and feasting. First it was Sakura (colleague treating), then it was Sakura again (company event), and now, it is time to try out something for a change. Welcome to the Seafood International Market & Restaurant located just next to Big Splash in the East Coast. This is most probably the best deal of the buffets that I have ever had in Singapore. Only available for lunch and cost at most $30 per person, you get to enjoy steaming hot dishes cooked by chefs personally and wait for them to serve to your table! The dishes available are not those normal type that you can get anywhere else. Think about abalone and shark fins (for real)! You get my drift, sounds unbelievable right!
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The entrance to the shop and the food reviews below:

Braised mini Whole Abalone with Oyster Sauce

Where in Singapore can you eat an abalone in a buffet? The abalone was chewy, definitely fresh and mix it together with the sauce on your dish...Heavenly!
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Braised Shark Fin Soup with Crab Meat

This shark fin soup quality is as good as those that you get in the wedding banquet. The thickness of the soup was just nice, and with the additional vinegar and pepper that you add to your discretion, you will definitely finish the whole bowl in a flash! Not to mention that the serving that you get here is about twice the serving you get in those wedding banquet... =)
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Steamed Tilapia with Nonya Sauce
This is a new dish on their menu and I must say that I don't quite really like the sauce. I have no issue with the tilapia, they were steamed perfectly, with their meat retaining most of the fish essence, soft and chewy, but with the sour and spicy (well it is not as hot as it seems) Nonya sauce, it did not quite go down well with me.
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Drunken Prawn with Herbal soup
This dish is definitely a must try! Firstly, the prawn is as big as what you are seeing in the picture above. After peeling off their shell, make sure you get a scoop of their solid herbal soup, dump your prawn in your spoon and send it all into your mouth! Extremely Solid dish!
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Fried Sakura Chicken with Tri-Sauce in Stone Pot
Though this dish looks nice and is a chef recommendation on the menu, but at my recommendation, you can give this a skip. Most of the chicken that they use here are chicken breast meat and I think that they have over-cooked it in the stone pot. The chicken meat that I managed to dish out were quite hard in nature with the exception of perhaps the chicken drumstick. Further more, after downing a few pieces of chicken, you can get quite sick of their tri-sauce. Not a good choice to try.
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Prawn with Green Salad

If you are looking for something light (or appetizer), you can give this dish a try. Steamed prawn with assorted fruits and salad sauce, the combination actually can give your tongue quite a tingle and open your appetite for more delicious dishes later on in the meal.

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Overall, though some of their dishes are not as good, but at the rate which I have paid for this meal, I will give this restaurant buffet a high recommendation any other time. Sadly, the cost of the drink that you order are on a separate bill. For their dessert bar, you can give it a skip as well as normally, there will be throngs of people swarming at the counter to get their desserts. Typical Singaporean.

New Shopping Outlet coming to Johor

Hohoho, this news just excites me!

Tampines kakis

Singapore is really a small world. What are the odds that you find 2 friends working in the same area, end work around the same time and live in the same area? Not really that high right? I was quite surprised when I chance upon Patryce and Perry while waiting at the interchange for 168 about 1 month back. After that, it was regular coordination to go home together, though somebody somehow or rather will be late...hmm. =p

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Last Friday, at Patryce suggestion, we went to the Thai Express in Tampines 1 to have our dinner before catching 2012. Don't really know why she likes the green curry there so much, but I must say that they are really spicy (It basically just numbs your whole tongue and makes your stomach extremely hot after eating).

Poor Perry still waiting for his dinner to arrive...

Kaeng Khiew Wan Talay (seafood Green Curry)
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Apart from its extreme spiciness, I find that there was nothing great about this dish. Why do I say that? Well, after the curry succeeded in numbing my whole tongue, basically, I cannot taste anything else at all. So, what kind of food was entering my mouth? I do not know. What I can only think of was to finish the meal and get me some ice cold water to drink to dissipate the heat! For the ingredients wise, the eggplant that they use was hard and tasted uncook to me. The fish slices that they put into the curry was of the low quality type as they were full of fishy smell. Where are the prawns and sotong? I certainly did not find any of these in my "seafood" green curry. Maybe there is a reason why the curry is so spicy in the first place! To stop customer from finding fault by diverting their attention to "operation saving tongue" =p Certainly, the dish was not worth the price to pay for the meal. But.... I must still thank Patryce for treating me, in exchange for the movie ticket of course.

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Rate: 3/10
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Synopsis: Over the decades, many have prophesised that the world will end when the ancient Mayan calendar ceases on 21 December 2012. But before that occurs, the human race is bound to face natural disasters such as massive volcano eruptions, typhoons and other natural calamities. An academic researcher opens a portal into a parallel universe and makes contact with his double in order to prevent an apocalypse predicted by the ancient Mayans. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]

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Extremely great computer graphic effects, though they can be too overwhelming at times. The previous statement basically summaries the whole 157mins of the movie. The plot is the typical Hollywood type, where the main character braves all odds and survives the disaster to end with a happy ending. Apart from this, the movie gives you an insight of what Earth will be like when the end of its life is near (some great volcano fireworks, large pieces of land masses sinking into the sea, the continents torn apart...etc). So politicians, if you wants to avoid the scenario depicted here, you all better come up with something in the Copenhagen Summit next month!

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Rate: 7/10

Raging Phoenix

Synopsis: Deu (JeeJa Yanin), a girl with equally high degree of recklessness and beauty has never experienced 'true love'. One day her life changes completely when some gangsters try to kidnap her and she narrowly escapes with the help of Sanim, a sad looking stranger with a painful past. Waking up in an abandoned factory, she joins his gang of merry do-gooders who practice a form of drunken Thai break-dancing martial arts that they dub Meyraiyuth. Sanim and his friends, having had loved ones abducted, have joined together to break the gang of kidnappers. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]
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For those Ong Bak lovers or those who like seeing raw intense fighting, this might just be the movie for you! Simply awe at how far the limits of human body can go. The plot at the start can get pretty confusing, but the audience will be able to catch on as the movie runs its course. The fighting choreography (generally speaking) is quite good but at certain parts of the movie scene, I still find the fights laggy. For the overall storyline, I would say that the director is quite creative. All the kidnaps done were not held for ransom, but instead, they are linked to a perfume making process! Don't find the link? Well, you will know when you watch the movie!
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Rate: 3/5
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To live and eat like a king! A fruitful day spent with *mds*=)

The Blue Mansion

Synopsis: The Blue Mansion is a quirky murder mystery about a wealthy Asian tycoon who dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. He returns as a ghost to try to uncover the secret of his death with the help of his family and the police. [Source: Yahoo! Singapore Movies]
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Finally, some great movie from the local movie industry and not the usual sarcastic comedy dominated by the Liang family. Despite the un-catching movie title, its plot and the supporting casts more than make up for this little disadvantage. As the movie slowly unwraps itself, the audience are treated to several darkest secrets that each member in the family hold behind the wealthy facade. How did the tycoon die? The movie presents to the audience several options which are all highly possible, and the answer (a surprise) will be revealed at the very end. Through suspense intermix with a few span of comedy, I must say the director has done a very good job. If only the local industry can produce more movies that are of this quality.

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Rate: 3.75/5
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Yay! *mds* had a happy day! All the hard work is worth it~ =)

Prince Taiwan Porridge

Just how different can the food from Taiwan be, when compared to Singapore? I admit that after tasting the dishes from this restaurant, I left with good memories of the former. There are several unique choices available on the shop menu that you probably have never seen before in Singapore, some of which includes Fried Taman Fish with Sesame Seed, Steamed Minced Pork with Egg Yolk, Braised Chicken with Rice Wine, etc. For the other choices left, they are mostly localized dishes that you can find in most of the "zi cha" stalls all over Singapore. First impression of the shop when I arrived is that it is very traditional, plain and simple, which, unlike some of the other shops nearby, are decorated with bright lights enticing eaters to patronize their shop. Once you are comfortably settled in, food menu are promptly served and they await you (and gives recommendations of course) to take your orders. There is one thing that amaze me though in this restaurant is the speed at which they served their food. Either their chef is too skillful, or their food is already pre-cooked, but serving all the dishes we ordered in less than 10 minutes seems really an unattainable feat to me. Now for the reviews:
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Fried Taman Fish with Sesame Seed
Deep fried to a crispy state, mixed with special in-house sweet sauce, this dish is a must try. Feel the smoked fish flavor as you chomp it between your teeth, suck the fish juice dry and finally ending with a gulp down your throat. Simply fantastic!

Steam Minced Pork with Egg Yolk
When the dish is first served, the outlook of it looks pretty sinful as the whole ball of minced pork is sitting right in the middle of a pool of oil and seasoning! Throwing away all thoughts of the extra calories and kilos that you are probably going to get, I personally feel that the minced pork is a bit on the salty side, but nonetheless a good dish if you eat it together with the rice served as they form a pretty good combination.

Fried Kang Kong with Sambal
This dish should be familiar to everyone here in Singapore. A pity that the one served in this restaurant are still not that Sambal to me, lacking a bit in the hotness, salt, and the shrimp flavor. You can give this a skip first to try other better dish on their menu.
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Chinese Dough with Cuttlefish Paste
Freshly fried to a crispy exterior with a soft and munchy interior, this dish is a must try! Mixed it together with the sauce served (while the dough are still piping hot) can really send you rocketing sky high as you savour the tasteful cuttlefish dough.

Though not all the dishes served here are of excellent grade, but the restaurant is still a good one for a cozy group gathering. Prices wise are reasonable as they range from $6-$8 a dish. There is no service charge imposed on the bill, but one thing to note: Better bring your own drinks here as the one served in this restaurant are pretty expensive (Around $2 for a bottle of water chestnut/barley). For me, I think I can settle with my own plain water in my bottle. =p