JamesTan's Xanga

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 12:53:35 GMT

Alvin and Joanne's Wedding 26 November 2006

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 13:50:35 GMT

Timeline of events that day!

715am: Fell out of bed...

8am: Arrived at Alvin's place in one piece with the wedding car!

830am: We were off to our RV point... Thomson Plaza for the lineup, awaiting the backup cars.

845am: Began our journey to retreive the bride from the defence of the bridesmaids!

900am: So it was a short journey, but we made sure we were on TIME! haha... But I wasn't sure how long the games lasted, to pass the door, the first task was drinking this horrible drink made out of maggi sauce with A1 sauce and chilli combined. The second task was for Alvin to sing a love song, ahem, loud enough for his bride to hear it. Finally, the ang bao... (we got off lucky I think, I heard of much worst cases...)

Somewhere the clock strikes 12, we headed our way back triumphantly with the bride and her entourage to the groom's place whereby the solominzation took place and tea ceremony for the groom's side.

To be continued... await pictures!

Back pain! alas!

Wed, 22 Nov 2006 11:23:06 GMT

Suffered a really bad back pain today, visited an orthepedatic surgeon at Mt E. And for the 6th time this year, I had to go for another xray... thanks to the nurse, she had to redo 2 shots! So that made up 9 xrays I have done so far this year... *ponders... moving on*

Anyways, the good doc said xrays were fine... but could see that I had a fused L4 and L5, which is prone to slip disc and thats causing my back pain. He gave me 3 days mc and a shot to the butt. I could actually tell my boss that I'm actually working on steriods! haha...

I gotta post up my xrays, doc said I could keep them!

Till the next time...

New profile pic!~

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 14:54:15 GMT

Taken at glamour shots...

I had this photo taken at my previous place... must have been a year ago...

A year older...

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 14:56:36 GMT

Welcome to Osaka! Oct06!

Sun, 22 Oct 2006 14:06:27 GMT

Enter the land of the fish!!!

Quite a famous design by Frank Gehry in Kobe.

Okay, you wouldn't find the body because its in our stomach... we were HUNGRY! Our 3hr venture along Osaka city area brought us to this quaint jap restaurant where one of the chefs was able to speak chinese to us (by the time, we reached it was 9pm and we just arrived at 3pm)! =P

Okay, Breakfast anyone? This was one of our breakfast sets at Arima Grand Onsen!

We just had to take this shot of the Uni (sea urchin)!

Uni in the jelly on the bottom right of the pic, was quite unique!

Ika (salmon roe) anyone?

When in Kobe, you gotta eat... Kobe beef, of course!

Here's a closer look! Hey, just shines like marble...

Pretty flowers!

Attention to detail! Gotta give to the Japs for that!

Presentation makes up 50% of their ratings! A grasshopper welcomes your dish, sitting on top of a cage!

A 5 day trip to Osaka>Kobe>Arima Onsen (October 2006)

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:58:10 GMT

Just recovering from my recent trip to Italy in less than 2 weeks, it was off to for a 5 day trip to Osaka! In fact, prior to my Italy trip, I think its almost been a year since I took leave! So I was clearing parts of my leave to start at a new place, so I decided to wait till I have moved to blog about it.

I shall have pics to show for it! So alas… its TBC… To Be Continued…

A whirlwind trip to Rome>Naples>Capri>Milan in 6 days!!! (September 2006)

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 12:45:21 GMT

The 12hr plane ride from Singapore to Rome, passed by in a zippy (thanks to the 3 movies that I managed to catch on the plane, managed to re-catch 'Devil's wears Prada' - a must see!). What made the flight more spectacular was in the fashion we landed into Rome. Just upon a few hundred feet from landing in Rome International Airport, I could hear the SQ pilot reveeing the 777 engines to full gear. Brief moments later and all too familiar, the pilot had to avoid the landing due to poor visibility. After circling Rome a few times, the pilot took another shot, closer inching to the ground through the misty haze, then almost as if the plane hadn't left the ground, we touched ground zero! There was this eerie silence for a second and a standing ovation from 3/4 of the plane! It's one of those rare moments where human kind come together to rejoice the safe landing amidst all the hustle and bustle of daily rumblings.

As they say all roads lead to Rome, upon faithful instructions from my dad, who said, 'just take the taxi to the hotel'. I hopped onto the italian volvo and I was off to Rome to meet my parents and sis who arrived a week earlier to see Tuscany! Fast forward>>>

After seeing the coliseum and the pantheon, we scurried off in a rented car to take a 2 hour drive to Naples. Guess what, no speed limit, just like the auto bahn in Germany! Whoosh! Fast forward>>> (Okay, it seems like writing a novel here, so I have to fast forward)

We had a night’s stay at Naples, following which we attended my dad’s clients dinner event and the next day a trip to pompei (an ancient village back in roman times when the biggest eruption covered the city in volcanic ash). Close dusk, we took a ferry across to Capri.

Over at Capri, it was a picturesque tiny island filled with tiny walking paths and two way carriage road that fitted on the size of single lane carriage way in the US! The buses and cars were outfitted to be either half the size and each time a bus passed each other, it was by the inches of touching each other! The pathways were littered with shops on the side, selling your branded goods from Prada to Gucci… you had to say to yourself, this ain’t your typical island, its your rich and famous travel tours. Fast forward>>>

The next day, we were off to Milan! I claim it the ultimate shoppers’ paradise for branded goods, you named it, they had it and for sometimes half the price you pay back in Asia due impart to the 16% tax rebates. Overall the food in Italy, was to die for! Its simply their tomatoes, which are so red and ripe, its like 10x better than Ragu sauce and hands down beats your grocery store spaghetti!

Crab Shack

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 03:13:11 GMT

Crab Shack

I found this interesting writeup about Crab Shack from http://hungrypijjie.blogspot.com/2006/06/come-support-crab-shack.html seems like a great joint to try!!! Seems like i gotta try it myself this weekend with good company!

Elger, has possibly found a niche with his Crab Shack, which has recently opened its doors in a kopi-tiam along Upper Thomson Road.

This is the 3 Pc Value Meal , which comes with three pieces of steamed flower crabs and one side - a choice of fries, corn or baked beans. The crabs were fresh and the meat was really sweet; best of all, you won't have to burn a hole in your pocket just to savour the taste of our crabby friends because the entire set only costs $7.95. The crabs also come with a fantastic chilli sauce, prepared using a secret recipe. Part Thai, part Vietnam, all delicious; I couldn't resist eating the chilli sauce on its own! Of course, as with all flower crabs, you won't get as much meat as with those mega Sri-Lankan ones; but the meat is much more tender, juicy and tasty. There's always the 8 Pc Value Meal anyway =p

This is definitely a must-try - Crab Croquette. Think tako pachi, but fried; and when you bite into the crispy nuggets, expect to be assaulted by the rich taste of crabmeat and a creamy centre. I really have no idea what's at the heart of this tasty snack. But trust me, it's good. And it only costs $2.95!

No doubts about what the die-die-must-try dish at the Crab Shack is. The Crab Baked Rice is definitely one of the best which I've ever eaten. The rice is delicious enough to eat on its own, all thanks to the crabmeat and the wonderful sauce which it is cooked with. Add to that the strong taste and texture of cheese, and what you get is possibly the best baked rice in Singapore. No kidding. Truly baked to perfection, as the rice is soft and moist, while the cheese is chewy but not hard. How much? Just $6.50 - yummy and cheap.

There's only one dessert on the menu, and it is personally homemade by Chef Elger - Chocolate Brownie. Do not miss out on this decadent treat if you're a chocolate fan. Elger's brownie is probably the most fudgy version which I've ever eaten, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on your preferences. I loved it. The chewy and chocolaty taste of warm brownie went perfectly with the cold ice cream, sending me into a state of chocolate euphoria as I devoured every single bit of the dessert. This is MUCH better than all the other brownie-wannabes which you find in almost every bakery or cafe nowadays. And cheaper too =p

I've tried to be as candid as possible in reviewing the Crab Shack, as I do not want to be seen as being biased in my judgement, simply because of my friend. I also had a taste of Elger's Crab Spaghetti, which I didn't like. The pasta wasn't al dente enough, and the combination of tomato and garlic didn't impress me. But everything else is really good. Perhaps my friend best sums it up when he says that the Crab Shack is "..Crab & Co., but at kopi-tiam prices". True enough, the food is delicious, and the prices very reasonable. The Crab Shack is located in a kopi-tiam, so don't expect too much in the way of decor and ambience. But when was it ever possible to eat crabs in a glam manner? Just dig in and enjoy! =)

The Crab Shack is located in a kopi-tiam at 227, Upper Thomson Road. Possible landmarks to look out for are: a Shell petrol station, Liquid Kitchen, The Prata House (opposite), and to a further extent, Thomson Plaza. Opening hours are from 5.30pm - 12 midnight, daily.

Source: Taken from http://hungrypijjie.blogspot.com/2006/06/come-support-crab-shack.html

Pretty cool site - Supercities

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 01:31:35 GMT

http://superfuture.com/city/city/cities.cfm

The site has reviews of shops, clubs, restaurants, and other establishments in more than 25 cities and one of the best independent non-cheesy urban guide for global shopping experts!

Here's xin tian di in Shanghai...