CC Gang Gathering: HM's Belated Birthday Celebration

--Lunch @ Togi--
Met up with the girls at Chinatown. Initial plan was to have lunch at 2D1N Soju Bang, but the restaurant only serves dinner. Walked to another Korean restaurant but it was fully booked. So, we decided to walk to Mosque St. to try at our luck at Togi.

The yummy side dishes....

Grape juice has become my fav alongside with citron tea.

I ate the same thing again! Yeah...Their squid rice really worth my money.

맛있어요!

Our Kimchi Pancake. Looks red but it's not spicy at all!
--KB0X @ Lucky Chinatown--
GC & HM left while KH, SC and I went to sing K. Haven't been to Kbox for a long time, and some of their songs were not "functioning" well. Think I will stick to Party World for the price and quality of the equipments.

Family Gathering

Had buffet lunch at Mandarin Oriental Hotel's Melt The World Cafe. The food was not too bad, and there was a range of Asian & Western food.

Liked the hotel's architecture. Sleek yet simple.

Crabs, Mussels, Salmons, Prawns!

My first round...

Mum's sandwich, salad & fries.

My second round.
I also had some biscuits & cheese, ice cream, cakes & desserts.

TV Drama Review #300 - BOSS 2

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Fuji TV
Cast:
Amami Yuki ~ Osawa Eriko
Takenouchi Yutaka ~ Nodate Shinjiro
Tamayama Tetsuji ~ Katagiri Takuma
Hasegawa Kyoko ~ Tadokoro Sachiko
Mizobata Junpei ~ Hanagata Ippei
Narumi Riko ~ Kurohara Rika
Toda Erika ~ Kimoto Mami
Notable Cameos:
Shaku Yumiko ~ Numata Yoshimi (ep1-2)
2PM ~ 2PM (ep6)
Tanihara Shosuke ~ Ishikawa Futoshi (ep8)
Kimura Ryo ~ Kawamura Makoto (ep6)
Sakaguchi Kenji ~ Masaki Shogo (ep9)
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama Weblog)
Two years ago, the Special Crimes Unit which Osawa Eriko headed, was embroiled in corruption and disbanded. Eriko had taken responsibility and went to America. When she was at the airport and about to set off, she had received a call from Nodate Shinjiro, the founder of the Special Crimes Unit who is both her contemporary and superior. He says Black Moon, the anti-government organisation, has claimed that the head of the police organisation, Chairman Kurohara Kenzo of the National Public Safety Commission, will be the next target of a sniper attack. Furthermore, there is a high possibility that he will be targeted at an event. Nodate orders Eriko to rush over because he has made the members of the unit head to the venue, and she agrees. At the same moment, Takakura Ryuhei, one of the leaders of Black Moon whom the Special Crimes Unit had arrested, escapes while under escort. Meanwhile, Kimoto Mami discovers a time bomb at a building behind the venue and starts to dispose of it. Katagiri Takuma, Yamamura Keisuke, Hanagata Ippei and Iwai Zenji split up to get the people to safety and search for suspicious individuals. While this is going on, Mami reports to Eriko that she has finished dismantling the bomb. However, when she takes a closer look at it, she realises that it is a fake bomb. Then, at that moment, Eriko detects the reflection of a gun’s scope. She stretches over Kurohara, but he is shot in the back. Katagiri receives Eriko’s report and rushes over to the place where the gun was fired. After that, a seriously injured Kurohara is forced to resign. The Special Crimes Unit is disbanded once again to assume responsibility for the shooting and Eriko goes to America. It has been two years since then.
Nodate, who has risen to become the counsellor as a result of the performance of Eriko and the unit, accepts an important case with the intention of securing another promotion. And, he revives the Special Crimes Unit ...
Slacker's review:
The most obvious change was the addition of 2 new ladies, Hasegawa and Narumi. Besides that, the plot was about the same, a bit more "cheesy", and there were some twists in some characters as well. To be honest, I was bored with the drama, so I did not watch seriously. Though some of the cases were interesting while some I just skipped through. Looks like I gotta take a break from such dramas.
Amami and Takenouchi's chemistry was good, but nothing new from them. Hasegawa's character was quite a surprise...towards the end. Narumi's acting still cld not convince me that she can act. Toda was great, but she only had a few scenes. What a pity~
There were a lot of cameos in Season 2, and the 2PM scenes were really funny. It just goes to show that the Koreans have dominate the Japanese mkt somehow.
I liked the cases with Sakaguchi, and Shaku Yumiko as they were more interesting, and it was great to see them back on small screens.

Visit PY

Met up with the gals to visit py at Gleneagles. Gal is doing fine, but still feeling the pain.

PY's family was there as well and I was surprised that her mum still rmbs me. Hoho!

Looking at my friend lying on bed...reminds me that I shld have a health check up someday.

posted from Bloggeroid

Travelog Updated!

Hello all!
In case some of you do not know that I've started another blog for my overseas trip, here's the url:
http://daslackertravelog.blogspot.com/

I've updated on my Silk road trip.
Sorry I cld only update slowly.

Enjoy!

Lunch

Had a delicious lunch with family at Banana Leaf Apolo. We had curry fish head, chilli prawn masala and sotong.

posted from Bloggeroid

TV Drama Review #299 - Shiawase ni Narou yo 一定要幸福

No.of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Fuji TV
Cast:
Katori Shingo ~ Takakura Junpei
Kuroki Meisa ~ Yanagisawa Haruna
Fujiki Naohito ~ Yashiro Hidehiko
Naka Riisa ~ Sakuragi Marika
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama weblog)
Takakura Junpei is an adviser at the marriage agency, B-ring. He is a go-between whose conviction is that “true romance has to blossom between two people even if they meet at a marriage agency”, and prides himself on a zero divorce rate. One day, Yanagisawa Haruna, an exquisitely beautiful lady who works at a prestigious company, comes to B-ring. When Junpei attends to Haruna, she specifies a reasonable condition that any person who can provide her with a comfortable life is fine. He immediately asks her to leave. This is how their encounter starts out. It comes at a time when he has just been hit hard by the marriage of a girlfriend he used to date to a friend of his. However, the next day, Haruna visits the B-ring to return a borrowed pen to Junpei and gets officially registered with the agency. Junpei promptly introduces Haruna to a member who is right for her. However, the man is intimidated by her beauty and flees. Anxious for Haruna, Junpei reluctantly invites her on a simulated date in order to rehearse for a “correct date”, but realises that he had truly enjoyed the moment. A man named Yashiro Hidehiko comes to B-ring. His wedding ceremony has just ended and his wife is pregnant. Marika, who is suspicious of Haruna’s background, begins to check up on her personal history, while Junpei developes feelings for Haruna...
Slacker's review:
Spring "Mon 9" was quite monotonous somehow, but it's still not too bad. "Shiawase" is a nice romance drama which got a somewhat mysterious element embedded in it. That's because Haruna and Yashiro's r/s was not clear cut to viewers in the beginning. Actually the storyline is ok, but the pace was a little slow to me, and the whole atmosphere of the drama was sort of dull. The cast was nt too bad (I like the guys), but our main lead Kuroki was stiff and expressionless. I wished they cld have picked another actress.
Shingo is one of the better actors in SMAP. I dare to say he's on par with Kimura, just that there might be restriction of characters for him. His performance was great here, but can't surpass his previous drama "Bara no nai Hanaya". (His character in Bara was really good!) Shingo was probably the main reason why I kept watching "Shiawase". Junpei is not those guys who tried to deny his own feelings. I liked how he enjoyed accompanying Haruna and stayed by her side when she was feeling down. Junpei was the typical Mr Nice man, and Shingo's acting was convincing. However, chemistry with Kuroki was ....alright only. I think the problem lies with our Ms. Model. She just can't act. I do not understand why she can lead dramas.
So, Kuroki's acting was really mediocre. She had no chemistry with both Shingo and Fujiki. She needs to learn what's acting ne.
Fujiki returns with a support role, and his character was neither good not bad. Yashiro was "unfaithful" to his wife, but I believed he nv loved his wife. He married her for his career. So, I cld tell he truly loved Haruna, just that they were nt meant to be. The best twist in the drama was Yashiro and his wife's plot. It turned out to be something unexpected.
Naka Riisa is getting popular, but she's still not getting solid roles. Nice to see Marika as she's quite a nice character. Sort of b*****y, but she's fun.
There was a cameo by "Boss 2" cast as well.
Theme song is "not alone ~Shiawase ni narou yo~" by SMAP.

CC Gang Gathering: KTM Railway Track + Harry Potter 3D

--KTM Railway Tracks @ Bukit Timah--
Woke up early for today's activity. Well, we bid goodbye to the Malaysian trains and today is the last opening day for the public to access the tracks from Tanjong Pagar to Woodlands. From tmr onwards, only the stretch from Rail Mall to Rifle Range Rd wld be opened till 31st July.
Initial plan was to trek from Rail Mall to Holland Rd, but in the end, we only covered the tracks till Rifle Range Rd. I bet this stretch is the most popular as it's easily accessible by public transport or by car, and there are 2 overhead railway bridges. One is at Rail mall, while the other is beside King Albert Park.
The 1st overhead railway bridge opp Rail Mall. Lots of ppl!
On the bridge.

Heading towards Rifle Range Rd direction. It's about 3km.


I am glad that I managed to snap dragonflies as we walked along the railway tracks! There are so many of them in different colours. I am thankful that they did not fly away as we busily snapped pics. Do enlarge the photos for the best view. It's not easy to take macro shots of insects, but after my Silk Rd trip, I think my interest to snap them has increased.

"Blue" dragonfly!
This dragonfly is half black half red :D (what a description!)
My best macro shot of the day. The pic is damn sharp! I can see the wings so clearly! (Gotta praise my little camera)
Another "red" dragonfly with transparent wings.
A clear side view of the "red" dragonfly.

Actually the crowd was near the bridge area. I believed many ppl drove, so they cld not walk too far. Great to snap the railway track with...nobody!

Don't know the name of this bird...but it's a gd shot.
Traffic light.


Finally, we reached the overhead railway bridge at Rifle Range Rd. My 4 years of travelling to SIM memories...haha!

--Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 @ GV Tiong Bahru--
Finally, Harry Potter has come to an end. I am never a H.P fan, but I'm glad that I had watched the final part of the series. My first 3D experience was alright...I think I won't spend 14 bucks for another movie anytime soon. (The effects are just not obvious...maybe cartoon effects are better?) Part 2 was definitely better than Part 1, but I nearly fell asleep at the front part of the movie. It's not the movie's fault. I am just kind of tired after my morning trek. Haha!
The showdown b/w HP and Lord Voldemort was interesting, but I thought we had misunderstood Snape all these while. The "19 yrs later" was a fan service? We had a good laugh when we saw the kiddos became mama and papas. Haha! It's pretty redundant to me...

Sunset

@ 7.07pm
@ 7.13pm

TV Drama Review #298 - Lie To Me 对我说谎

No.of Eps: 16
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/SBS
Cast:
Yoon Eun Hye ~ Gong Ah Jung
Kang Ji Hwan ~ Hyun Ki Joon
Sung Joon ~ Hyun Sang Hee
Jo Yoon Hee ~ Oh Yoon Joo
Hong Soo Hyun ~ Yoo So Ran
Ryu Seung Soo ~ Chun Jae Bum
Synopsis:
Gong Ah Jung gets entangled in a web of lies when she mistakenly lies that she’s married to Hyun Ki Joon, an elite CEO from an affluent family. Their relationship is further complicated when Ki Joon’s ex-fiancée and a close friend of his brother’s, Oh Yoon Joo, reappears in his life.
Slacker's review:
I was disappointed with LTM. The scriptwriters ruined the show. Pitied YEH and KJH. They were awesome actors, but the drama cld not save them. So, what's the problem with LTM? Why can't YEH & KJH save the drama from poor ratings?
Personally, the drama's pace was alright, but the plot development was really bad. Half of the time, there was hardly any plot movement. We were stuck on the same issues e.g. Ki Joon denying his feelings for Ah Jung; Ah Jung keeping herself away from Ki Joon; Yoon Joo still did not want to accept the truth etc. I thought one big lie is enough, but the subsequent lies became a burden. I was bored, but stayed on for the 2 actors.
Kang Ji Hwan is a charismatic actor, and maybe due to his stage background, his acting is somehow different from the norm. Sometimes his actions or expressions appeared to be too dramatic, but still, I liked his style. Ki Joon is a serious and thoughtful guy, but towards the end of the drama, we cld see a 180 change in him. He's more cheerful, playful...totally different from the guy we used to know. The transition was a little unnatural for me, but I don't mind seeing a happier Ki Joon. I did not like how he handled his r/s with Yoon Joo, but he did not want to hurt her anymore. Ki Joon finally knew what he wanted and worked against all odds to be with Ah Jung. Ki Joon is definitely nt KJH's best role, but thanks to him, the drama was bearable to watch.
Critics are always harsh on Yoon Eun Hye after her perf in "Coffee Prince". I guessed it just happened that the dramas later on did not have good plots. It's a pity that she was arrowed again in LTM. I thought she handled her role pretty well, just that Ah Jung cried too many times. I don't like weak characters. Actually YEH has matured a lot through these yrs, but her acting still needs to get polish up. (She needs a good role, with a good plot ok?) One thing great abt YEH is her chemistry with her male leads. Her scenes with KJH were sizzling hot...especially the kissing scenes. Hoho! Too bad the lovely scenes still can't pull up the ratings.
Sung Joon is a very young guy! However, his acting is still quite green. I think the scriptwriter did not do justice to his character. Sang Hee seemed to MIA towards the end of the drama. Plot developments for the dude was unclear too. What a waste!
Gd to see Jo Yoon Hee again, but her character simply sux. I disliked such characters....why can't they just face the reality and wake up. Why make your suffer? Such a silly girl!
My impression of Hong Soo Hyun was good in "Angel's Temptation", but the actress seemed to age a lot in LTM. So Ran is quite a b****y character, but she can be quite funny when she dealt with her cmi husband (played by Ryu Seung Soo). Luckily, Ah Jung and So Ran did not stayed in bad r/s throughout the show....or else I wld really give up on LTM. (There are just too many negative stuffs gg on in the drama).
OST was ok...I only liked the theme song sang by Ga Yoon of 4minute.

Olympus vs Panasonic

E-PL3 vs E-P3 vs GF3

Ah Ching is going to buy a new camera this Sept.
It's the war b/w Olympus and Panasonic.
I've never bought any cams from these 2 brands, so have to rely heavily on reviews.
Hopefully their prices will come out soon, as $$ will be one of the determining factors for my next purchase.

p.s: I still hope Fujifilm's X100 will drop in price. Perhaps, in my dreams....

TV Drama Review #297 - JIN 2 仁医-完结篇

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TBS
Cast:
Osawa Takao ~ Minakata Jin
Ayase Haruka ~ Tachibana Saki
Uchino Masaaki ~ Sakamoto Ryoma
Nakatani Miki ~ Tomonaga Miki / Nokaze
Koide Keisuke ~ Tachibana Kyotaro
Synopsis: (from Jdrama weblog)
It has been two years since Minakata Jin went back in time to the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. One day, Sakamoto Ryoma arrives from Kyoto to seek Jin’s help. Ryoma says Katsu Kaishu’s mentor, Sakuma Shozan, has been attacked by a group of samurai warriors, called the Shinsengumi, and is near death. However, Sakuma survives because of Jin’s fervent treatment. As a troubled Jin worries that his treatments may change the course of history, Sakuma tells him, “Save people without hesitation!” After that, Jin, who has been treating the injuries of the people, is taken away by the Shinsengumi and asked to give Saigo Kichinosuke (later known as Saigo Takamori) medical attention, but...
Slacker's review:
JIN returns with the final sequel. I was pretty bored with Jdramas these days. Thankfully, there is still some up to mark productions. JIN 2 did not disappoint me. Plot was solid and cast was great as usual. We finally got to know the mystery behind the bandaged man which Minakata saw in present times. I liked how they developed Saki's character as well. She's one courageous woman! There are sad moments too, like the departure of Ryoma, and toucing scenes of Nokaze giving birth to her child. Lots of classic moments here....terrific!
Osawa's Minakata was not as cheerful as compared to the 1st series. Perhaps he was worried about Ryoma's safety. Minakata was rather serious throughout the drama, and that's understandable as the mood of the drama was rather solemn as well. Osawa's performance was one of the best I've seen this yr in Jdrama. Solid and expressive acting!
Ayase's performance was great as well. Saki was such a lovable girl. As much as I loved Ayase's performance in "Hotaru", I thought her acting in JIN was much more matured and polished.
Nakatani was awesome. I always liked the classy Nokaze, and thank goodness they did not kill her off in the drama!
Uchino was a veteran and awesome performance from him as well. Ryoma was the most impt character in the drama, and I liked the chemistry b/w Osawa and Uchino. Brothers indeed!
Koide's character was a little "darkish" here, but I cld understand his position. Loved the scene whereby he carried the injured Saki back to the hospital. The siblings scenes were really great.
For those who have watched JIN, you must not miss JIN 2!

Panorama of Singapore River

This is a panorama of Singapore River (Boat Quay) taken with my mobile phone.
Enjoy~!

Terracotta Warriors - The First Emperor & His Legacy-

--Asian Civilisations Museum--
I'm back at ACM for the Terracotta Warriors exhibition. You might wonder why I chose to take a look at the exhibits as I had just went to Xi'an and saw the real stuff. I think that does not matter as this is the first Terracotta warrior exhibition in SG!
We had a good walk from Clarke Quay MRT to ACM. Walked along Boat Quay and here is the Singapore River, with Fullerton Hotel, Esplanade, and the hotels @ Marina area in the background.
Boat Quay.
There are 2 accompanying exhibitions. One is "Providing for the Afterlife: Han Funerary Art". I did not post the pics here as the glass reflections were very obvious.

This is a jigsaw Terracotta warrior! Cool!

The 2nd accompanying exhibition is "Life After Death: An Installation by Justin Lee". I saw lots of cool stuff here! Check out the Terracotta warriors wearing headphones. So cute~
Qin ladies carrying handbags?
and she used the laptop!!!
The exhibition is rather small, but there are some highlights.
Owl-shaped pendant, eagle-headed archer's thumb ring, Finial and Bird-shaped finial.
Washer and Kettle with a phoenix-shaped spout.
Chu-styled vessel and steamer.
Ritual jade objects: bi and cong.
A breaker.
Horse chariot (replica).
Two horse headstalls.
Dagger with golden hilt.
Incense burner with phoenix finial.
Bronze Bell of Duke Wu of Qin.
Warrior's armour.
Money of the seven states.
A seal under magnifying glass.
Chariot ornaments.
A crane.
The REAL Terracotta warriors. All the human expressions were created according to the real person at that time.




Kneeling archer.
Acrobats. It's difficult to take photos of these artefacts.
Incense burner and covered box.

Soldiers with shields and on horse backs.
Wine warmer, incense burner and Goose-foot lamp.

Tomb brick.
Figurines of soldiers, women, horsemen and eunuch.
Kneeling female figurine.
--Lunch @ Domani--
No need to introduce my fav spagh again. Had a delicious lunch @ Domani, but E.W found a hair in her drink...staff svc was not good. I hope KH enjoyed her spagh too.
--Shopping @ Orchard--
GSS is ending, and luckily we all bought something for ourselves, except for E.W. Ha! Spent quite a bit today, but it's well spent.
--Dinner @ Men-Ya Kaiko Hokkaido Ramen--
This is my spicy white miso ramen set. The soup was actually not spicy, and I liked the white miso soup.