40 Singapore foods we can’t live without

In this current age and time where there are so many food blogs around the web ranging from the totally absurb ones who review Macdonalds (oh, the Big Mac tastes like…Big Mac) to those who provide respectable reviews, the current generation often fancy themselves as food connoisseurs. Personally, I am not terribly fussy about my food (due in part to the consumption of horrible army cookhouse food during my National Service days which kinda numbed my taste buds), and there are practically only 2 categories in my food dictionary: Nice food and Not-so-Nice food.

Came across this article in CNNGo and it was a nostalgic trip down memory lane on all the food in Singapore that has come to define us in one way or another. For this article, I would believe that the author is not claiming that these food belong uniquely to Singapore, but more for them being part of our culture here and the local food that we are so accustomed to (for which we also took for granted). Quite interesting to see comments flaming the author for using the term Singapore foods which I felt was uncalled for.

Anyway, sit back and have a look at the article (and salivate in the process). 

40 Singapore foods we can't live without...

You can continue the 40 foods of other countries below if you still have enough saliva left…

40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without...

40 Tokyo foods we can't live without...

Bandai BB Gundam Senshi Sengokuden – Takeda Shingen

My brother and I used to do plastic models when we were young and our collections included mainly Tamiya German soldiers and military vehicles. We used to spend countless hours painting and assembling the models, but due to our mediocre skills, our models could never look proper and they were quite hideous if you actually look closely at them. Needless to say, we soon gave up on this patience-related hobby (to the delight of my parents who have been complaining incessantly on the horrible paint-tinted scent around the house and the equally ugly models on display in our living room).

However, my brief fling with atrocious plastic modelling was re-ignited (much to the dismay of my wife now) when I visited the Metro Gundam Fair held at Sengkang’s Compass Point last year. It was at this fair that I saw this BB Gundam figure.

Takeda Shingen Gundam!

Kubrick Green Hornet & Kato Box Set

The Green Hornet is a fictional masked crime fighter, created by George W Trendle and Fran Striker for an American radio program in the 1930s (info from Wikipedia here). The radio series subsequently evolved into films and TV series, and The Green Hornet TV series was shown on the ABC US television network from 1966-67 starring Van Williams as the Green Hornet/Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as his similarly masked Asian man-servant Kato. According to popular belief, it was Bruce Lee’s protrayal of Kato that made martial arts popular in the US in the 1960s.

This film was made way before I was even conceived and born and I have to admit that I have never watched a single episode of the said series. Personally, the only reason why I would want to watch this series would only be because of the presence of Bruce Lee. I still recalled the time when I was an impressionable young boy introduced to Bruce Lee’s intoxicating kung fu moves from his movies. This resulted in the formation of a neighbourhood Bruce Lee Kung Fu Club where young aspiring kung fu fanatical kids could trade self-trained kung fu moves with each other. Needless to say, endless injuries and squabbles about who should be the kung fu king ensured that the club was disbanded almost as soon as it was formed. In the end, none of the neighbourhood protagonists kids became kung fu masters and we all moved on to other “better” things in life.

That said, the influence of Bruce Lee on our childhood lifes cannot be discounted. While I was re-watching some Bruce Lee’s movies recently, I have to admit that while I am still awed by his fantastic kung fu moves, his acting skills (which involves of various screams, shouts and grunts) is really a bit lacking. Hell, but who cares about his acting when he can kick serious ass right? 😛

Sorry for the digress. Back to the main topic of the Kubrick Green Hornet & Kato Box set. Hiyak!!!

The Green Hornet & Kato!

Kubrick Marvel Super Heroes Series 1 – Storm

One of the news hogging the limelight recently is with regards to the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland which resulted in large concentration of ashes and dust (volcanic cloud) being shot into the skys near Northern and Central Europe, paralysing air travel. Due to the cancellations of flights to and from Europe around the world, a large number of unfortunate passengers are left stranded in airports at the mercy of this natural disaster.

Smoke and ash from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano make their way across a field near Nupur.

It is in times like this that you marvel at the wonders of mother nature and admit that despite what humans seek to achieve, we will forever be at the mercy of nature in one way or another. It also points out the fact that humans must strive to learn to co-exist with nature instead of trying to rule over her. We should treasure our Earth’s resources and find ways to try and preserve what we have for our future generations by doing our part (i.e. recycling, cutting down on waste etc).

Ok. Enough philosophical crap from me in case some of you think I have been abducted and brainwashed by aliens to mumble something incoherent like this. This natural disaster brings to mind a Kubrick figure which I had for quite some time….

Give me rain! No. Wait! Storm! No! Sun! No! Clouds! No!

World’s Greatest City: 50 reasons why Singapore is No. 1

Came across this article in CNNGo. Funny Crap. Who says Singaporeans have no sense of humour yeah? Go go read ok (click on pic below)!

Click below to read more about the other cities!

Kubrick X-Men 2 – Wolverine (DVD Version)

Was sorting through my CD racks the other day and came across the DVD for the movie X-men 2 which I had bought previously, but didn’t have the chance to get down to watch. Being the impatient man that I am, I just sometimes don’t have the patience to sit down to watch a show for a few hours (ok, don’t ask me why I have the patience to type this crap blog or why I even bought the DVD. That’s besides the point). 😛

Anyway, looking at the DVD brings to mind the Kubrick Wolverine figure which I had bought previously from a shop in Peninsular Shopping Centre (which has since closed down) some time back.

Helloo baby. Anyone home?

The Adventures of Xiao Huang – Macau 2010 (小黄澳门历险记)

After a few days fling with Hong Kong, Xiao Huang was ready to move on to the next leg of the journey, which is a ferry trip from Hong Kong to Macau. Time for Doggie to contribute to the Macau’s economy by donating some money to the Casino!

Time for me to fill in the immigration card on the ferry.

The Adventures of Xiao Huang – Toy Shopping in Hong Kong 2010 (小黄香港买玩具)

This post is basically a short list of the locations where doggie shopped at for toys during my Mar 2010 Hong Kong trip. Due to doggie’s sore paws from walking long distances, doggie was unable to take photos of the locations (actually, doggie was just too lazy and needed an excuse). 😛

Here's Xiao Huang getting his haversack ready for toy shopping in Hong Kong

Click on the link below for the full list of toy shopping locations patronised by doggie.

The Adventures of Xiao Huang – Hong Kong 2010 (小黄香港历险记)

Woof! I am Xiao Huang (小黄), the shu tiao (french fries) loving dog. For those who don’t know me (yes, basically that’s everyone), I am a young doggie born and brought up in Singapore.    

Here's me riding my state-of-the-art horse. 100% manual!

 Being a well-traveled baby doggie, I feel that it’s necessary for me to share my worldly adventures with everyone of you readers out there (even though none of you have expressed any interest in this, but well, it’s my post anyway). 😛   

Recently in Mar 2010, I made a trip to Hong Kong and Macau and my not-terribly exciting adventures and toy shopping trip are chronicled in this blog. Due to its photo-intensive nature, you can read more about it by clicking on the link below.  

Kubrick Marvel Super Heroes Series 2 – Gambit

Since I am on the topic of Marvel characters, I feel that it’s apt that I also share on another Kubrick Marvel figure which I got at the same time as the Kubrick Punisher mentioned in my earlier post. Yes, I present to you…

Gambit!

According to the Marvel comics, Gambit, whose real name is Remy Etienne  LeBeau, is a mutant who possesses the ability to manipulate kinetic energy, as well as hypnotic charm. His choice of weapons include throwing cards and his telescopic bo staff.

For this Kubrick Gambit figure, the sculpt is actually quite detailed and the cloak looks pretty cool. The figure also comes along with his bo staff and playing cards, which, in my opinion are the essential items that should complement the figure. The sculpt and the items here will actually make the Kubrick Punisher figure pale in comparison.

Look at my cool items and cloak!

Get a load of my side profile...

And my sexy a**.

However, despite the good reviews for this figure, there are some issues with the face paint in that there is some slop with the black paint on his face. Again, I am not sure whether its just my figure that is struck by the regular drunkard painter or an inherent issue with the batch. Another issue is that this figure suffers the same crap accessory fate as the Punisher figure in that his card accessory cannot really fit properly into his hands. DOH!

Some slop on the face black paint.