Sheng Yi Fa Lor Mee @ Blk 443 Clementi Avenue 3

When I learn about this popular lor mee at Clementi Central, I knew I had to go check it out at Food Loft, a coffeeshop situated along Clementi Avenue 3 near Clementi Town Secondary School.

I ordered the default $3 bowl and when it is served to my table, it came together with the vinegar bottle.

When having this dish, I tend to go over the top with the condiments like garlic and black vinegar because that is how I perceive this dish is to be best enjoyed.

However, there are times when the hawkers' face turned as black as the vinegar when I requested for more.

I am overjoyed that I could add as much vinegar as I wanted here without having the hawker rolling eyes at me!

Have A Cup Of Cruelty: The Truth Behind Kopi Luwak

Kopi Luwak, or Civet Coffee, refers to a kind of brewed coffee that is made from coffee berries which have been eaten, digested and excreted by the Civet Cat.

The enzymes from the digestive tract breaks down the bitterness of the coffee berries and coffee brewed from such berries are said to have a very distinctive flavor.

These cat-like creatures from Indonesia feeds mainly on fruits and berries; including the coffee berries. Their excrement would fall onto the forest floor and farmers will harvest these fermented berries to further process them for human consumption.

Well, there is nothing wrong with drinking Kopi Luwak because in the beginning, the excreted berries were collected from free-roaming civet cats in the wild who not only selects the best berries to eat but have a varied diet as well.

However, due to its increasing popularity and limited availability, the traditional way of collecting these pooped berries can no longer meet the demands of coffee connoisseur around the world.

The farmers now need to produce alot of these coffee berries in the shortest time possible and this give rise to battery farming methods where captured civet cats are forced into tiny cages specifically for this purpose.

电影：《总铺师：移动大厨》

影 片 名：《总铺师：移动大厨》
英 文 名：Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast
类别 ：喜剧/励志/爱情/亲情
导 演：陈玉勋
主要演员：林美秀 杨佑宁 夏于乔
上映日期：2013年10月17日
本地发行商：华纳兄弟

几个星期前，我在东森新闻偶然看到了这则新闻觉得那首《三八阿花吹喇叭》很有趣。于是，我上youtube搜寻了一下就找到了这个。

那诙谐的表情再加上容易让人想歪的歌词，简直让人笑翻了！这首歌让我对《总铺师》感到好奇因此就开始搜寻更多有关此片的资料。

看了预告片后，我想完了因为这部片几乎都是台语对白的；新加坡铁定不会上映的啦！

正当我纳闷应该是没啥缘分观赏到《总铺师》时，今早就在推特看到这个消息：

最新台湾电影 <<总铺师：移动大厨>> 将在10月17日于本地隆重上映。 http://t.co/VZj69ugdFg
— 优1周 UW (@uweeklysg) September 11, 2013

The Mother Of All Mahjong Tables!

Fans of Mahjong rejoice!

Here comes an automated Mahjong table that reshuffles and stack the tiles for you - automatically!

This Mahjong table would require two sets of Mahjong tiles so while you are playing with one set, the table is reshuffling the tiles from the previous game for you.

永远的经典电影：《僵尸小子》

记得在我还小的那段时间非常盛行港产的僵尸片。

尤其是由林正英所主演的一系列僵尸片更是叫好又卖座。

当时，年幼的我看僵尸片都是从手指缝隙间偷看的。

小朋友都是很胆小的嘛！我想人就是这样 - 越怕就越要看！

如果没记错的话，《僵尸小子》可是台湾的首部僵尸片呢。

多啦A梦剧场版：《大雄的新魔界大冒险》之《七个魔法师》

不管是功课或打棒球都不精的大雄使用了哆啦A梦的道具“如果电话亭”将原本的世界变成了魔法世界！

他一心认为，只要有了魔法，什么事都可以变得很便利应为只需一个咒语就能搞定一切。怎料，在魔法的世界里，不会使用魔法的就只有大雄一人。

这跟现实生活中的他并没什么两样！

这一天，静香与哆啦A梦在院子里帮助大雄复习魔法，却发现天空突然出现了一道奇怪的光芒。

当三人前去树林探个究竟时，竟目睹了胖虎与小夫急速地从天上往地面坠…

Shocking Letter Tells Parents To 'Euthanize' Son With Autism

A close family friend has an autistic boy and this was an anonymous letter slipped under her door. This is real. pic.twitter.com/VyRb2oqPrG
— Lennon and Maisy (@lennonandmaisy) August 19, 2013

The content of the letter is extremely vile, referring to Max as a "nuisance" and a "wild animal" before suggesting the Begley family to move or "euthanize" the teenager.

I understand it is hard for autistic children to communicate with others and convey their thoughts thus it could be very frustrating for them which may explain their sudden outbursts in public at times.

It is heartbreaking enough to have a child with special needs and I think all this hatred towards the Begley family is uncalled for.

The New Meatless Burger McAloo Tikki From McDonald's

Say "aloo" to the all new McAloo Tikki!

The Allo Tikki (sounds like Hello Kitty!) is a popular street food in Northen India made with potatoes and various spices.

"Aloo" means potato, and the word "tikki" means a small cutlet or croquette.

Sandwiched between two fluffy buns, a delicious patty made with potatoes and peas is fried to crispy perfection then topped with onions, fresh tomatoes and sweet tomato mayo.

This is McDonald's first *meatless burger and it cost just $2 ala carte!

Shoon Huat Bak Kut Teh 顺发肉骨茶 @ Taman Sentosa, Johor Bahru

A few weeks ago, my family and I crossed the causeway to Johor Bahru and we decided to go to Shoon Huat Bak Kut Teh at Taman Sentosa for brunch.

It was our second visit to Shoon Huat and just like our previous visit, we had to brace ourselves to walk through an invisible wall of smoke and heat into the shop.

This was due to the cooking being done right at the entrance and the columns of smoke from the charcoal fire has engulfed the interior of the shop. Instead of dispelling the heat, the couple of ceiling fans seemed to make matters worst by distributing the heat all around.

In a nutshell, the place was anything but comfortable to dine at.

Creepy Tales From A Bangkok Hotel

Inspired by foongpc's post about his ghostly experience with Penang Hotel, I thought I would share what I had personally encountered in Bangkok.

This happened many years back, when the twelve of us (including four lecturers) from the retail course that I was attending, flew to Bangkok for a field trip.

Upon arrival, the first thing we did was to check into our hotel but due to some miscommunication, the rooms which we had booked earlier were not available.

Fortunately, the frontdesk managed to upgrade us to a suite on a higher floor which provided a splendid bird's eye view of Bangkok's landscape.

Basically, the structure of the hotel was built in a circular shape as shown in the 'cross-section' illustration below.

Ghost Files Singapore

Are you a fan of the paranormal and nothing thrills you more than venturing into the unknown?

Ghost Files Singapore (GFS) is a brand new paranormal web television series starring Noel Boyd and his team of paranormal investigators - Joel Liew and Jocelyn Teo. Do watch out for guest investigators such as celebrity musicians Jack and Rai along with social media personality Billy Chong in subsequent episodes!

Each week, join the investigators as they bring viewers to a haunted site to document the paranormal activities at the said location using state of the art equipments. In the first episode, the team headed to two locations on Pulau Ubin - the German Girl Shrine and Jelutong Bridge.

Hold your breath as the investigators conduct EVP sessions while trying to pick up any signals from the unseen.

Does ghosts really exist or is it just a fragment of our imagination? Join the team on their quest as they uncover the truth.

The first episode of GFS premieres this coming Friday (August 9) at 10pm so be sure to bookmark this link to their site http://www.ghostfiles.tv/index.html. What better time to launch this show than during the first week of the Hungry Ghost Festival!

GFS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/GhostFilesSingapore

GFS Twitter: https://twitter.com/GhostFilesSG

Nick Pitera: Kiss The Girl (Acapella)

Nick Pitera - the Youtube sensation has recorded an amazing one-man acapella of the song "Kiss The Girl" from the Disney movie, The Little Mermaid.

This talented young man needs no further introduction if you have been a regular reader of this blog for I had blogged about him here and here before.

If you like him as much as I do, do add him on Twitter, Facebook and subscribe to his Youtube Channel.

McDonald's "Deferred Fulfilment" Website Is Up!

After what seems like eternity, McDonald's "deferred fulfilment" website for the Despicable Me 2 Happy Meal Minion toys is finally up and running.

For fans who have missed out on certain designs from the last two weeks, now is your chance to complete your collection!

DIY: How To Make Your Own Lightbox For Product Photography

All the materials needed for your DIY lightbox

Gone are the days of posting crappy product photos with distracting backgrounds on your blog.

You can achieve that professional "studio shot" with just a sturdy box, a cutter, a ruler, some mahjong paper and a roll of tape. 

All you have to do is to make your own lightbox with materials which you probably already have lying around the house!

What Lesson The Recent McDonald's Hello Kitty And Despicable Me 2 Promotion Has Taught Me

Happened in Penang, Malaysia [via]

Can't they just lift up the shutters? [via]

All it takes is just ONE McDonald's promotion to bring out the worst in humanity.

Remember the wedding series of Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel some 13 years ago in Singapore? It attracted so much attention that CISCO guards were hired to maintain order when ugly human dramas such as fights, quarrels, and queue-jumping became the subject of media coverage.

Seven people were even injured when a glass door at the Boon Keng outlet shattered due to the jostling.

Fast forward back to the recent Fairy Tales Hello Kitty and Despicable Me 2 promotion this year where customers purchase the toys in bulk - causing stocks to be sold-out island-wide within hours. I have no qualms if they had bought it for their own collection but the point is, these people are reselling for profits.

Not only do they deny others from getting the toy, such deplorable and selfish acts only disgraced the reputation of all Singaporeans.

McDonald's Singapore Donates 1000 Happy Meals To Charity

[via]

From today till 31 July 2013, customers purchasing Happy Meals in the Despicable Me 2 promotion has the option to donate their meals to the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS).

This move came after a series of complaints that fans who bought the meals solely for the free Minion toys had thrown away their food which drew a backlash from the online community.

Apparently, this was already happening during the previous Hello Kitty Fairy Tales promotion where customers were seen dumping the food into the bins after getting their toys. There were many pleas on McDonald's facebook page to allow customers who had only wanted the toys but not the food to donate their meals.

Video: When Elephants Goes Amok! *GRAPHIC*

The Elephant is the largest land mammal and also the most regal-looking.

These highly-endangered giants should be revered and left in the wild but the biggest threat they faced are the loss of habitat when people cleared large areas of land, forcing them to stray out of the forest into settled areas where they sometimes destroy property, trample crops, and even kill people.

What you are going to see are some videos of elephants going on a rampage.

Viewer Discretion Is Advised

Free Despicable Me 2 Minion Toys With McDonald's Happy Meal

McDonald's Singapore will be launching a set of 9 Minion collectible toys from the animation, Despicable Me 2 this coming Thursday, 11 July 2013 at 11am.

The Minions are:
1. Tim Giggling
2. Tom Googly Eyes Grabber
3. Dave Gadget Grabber
4. Evil Minion Chomper
5. Stuart Light Up Grabber
6. Evil Minion Noisemaker
7. Tim Giggle Grabber
8. Stuart Babbler Grabber
9. Jerry Breakdancing

The toys will come free with every purchase of a kid's Happy Meal.

Singapore Zoo Celebrates Its 40th Birthday!

Officially opened on 27 June 1973, the Singapore Zoo is undisputedly one of the finest zoo around the region.

A distinct feature of the zoo is its open-concept where animals roam freely in the open. Take the Orangutans for example, visitors could observe them in close proximity among the trees via the elevated boardwalk which offers a spectacular 360° aerial view of the surroundings.

Unlike some zoos that keep their animals in concrete cells, the animals' quarters here are landscaped as closely to their natural habitat as possible so they are simulated to put on their natural behaviour as they would in the wild and with some luck, they might just start breeding!

One of the Singapore Zoo's greatest achievement is its successful breeding program for some of their endangered animals. To date, they have bred 40 Orangutans, 13 White Rhinos, 3 Sun Bears, and even a Polar Bear. It is heartening to know that the zoo's efforts towards conservation and preserving wildlife is taking off!

Something Devastating To Share; Golden Retriever And Samoyed Ended Up As Delicacy During Yuling Dog Meat Festival

A animal activist kneeling in front of the butchered dogs asking
for forgiveness while dog meat traders watched in amusement

First of all, I am a dog person so don't come argue with me about the plight of chicken and pigs. Call me a hypocrite if you will. I know, pigs are intelligent creatures too but that is not the point of this post so let's just keep it at that.

What I am going to share here is a video of a China program that features about this annual dog meat festival at Yulin, Guangxi. I am appalled to learn that there is actually a festival dedicated to men's best friend although it's for the wrong reason!

Apparently, the locals organised this festival to mark the summer solstice in the southern Guangxi province, where they feasted on dog meat with lychee wine.