Sunday, July 25, 2010

Fried Rice that doesn't look fried...

Fried Rice
Learned of this recipe from Mdm. Agaration.

Ingredients (serves 3 and based on agaration):
- 3 cups of cooked but cooled white rice
- 2 eggs
- A bit of soy sauce
- Half of canned luncheon meat cut into small pieces
- Pinch of salt
- 1 onion cut into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon of Olive oil

Directions:
1) Beat the eggs and add the soy sauce.
2) Heat the oil and fry the eggs over high heat.
3) Throw in onion pieces followed by luncheon meat.
4) Throw in the white rice and salt and stir away.

Experience:

The good thing about fried rice is that one can prepare it using the common ingredients that one can find in the house. In fact, the origins of fried rice is about using leftover bits and pieces of ingredients. So Mr. Robotic's version looked like a fake version of fried rice or rather white rice mixed with luncheon meat and eggs but it tasted better than its looks. Haha. Till the next attempt!

Stylish house...

Whenever Mr. Robotic is at a bookstore, he will take the opportunity to flip through the home interior design books for Mr. Robotic likes to admire the different design concepts and pictures (or daydreams) how his future house will be like.

Therefore, when Mr. Robotic was invited for a house visit to Mr. Bummy's recently renovated place, Mr. Robotic was most eager to find out the kind of design concept which Mr. Bummy had chosen.

It was apparent from the very point that Mr. Robotic stepped into the house that the design concept was "Minimalist". The big plus on a minimalist design is how it makes the house looks clean and uncluttered thereby making the place more spacious than it is. It is definitely a style which Mr. Robotic likes as it is easier to maintain without all the hidden nooks that comes with the other designs. The little downside however would be the "stripped down" effect makes the place a little less homely and cosy so the choice of colours are important.

The following points are what Mr. Robotic adores about Mr. Bummy's house in no particular order:

1) See through to the kitchen from the living room concept. Mr. Bummy had the separation wall knocked down in favor of transparent glass doors and the kitchen was flushed to the same level of the living room. It created a much roomier feel to the place.

2) The bedrooms were cleverly hidden behind the feature wall and Mr. Bummy enjoys deceiving his guests that he has no bedrooms.

3) Optimal use of designer lights to decorate the room which is an important part of the minimalist design.

4) Choice of the induction stoves instead of the traditional gas stoves. While it runs on electricity and is expensive for frequent cooks, it just look so neat, sleek and easy to clean.

5) 4 pieces of full length mirrors for the wardrobe doors. What better way to check one's attire before going out to party? Mr. Robotic would be contented with just 2 pieces. Haha...

6) A shoe cupboard which is at the right height for one to sit on while wearing their shoes. The dual functionality is good. Mr. Robotic wants something similar for his future house and will include a cushion seat to add to the cosiness.

7) Designing sink and tap which one finds in the hotels. Adds a modern touch but a bit too costly for Mr. Robotic.

Besides the renovation which totally transformed the place (Mr. Bummy showed Mr. Robotic pictures of how run down the place was when he first bought it), Mr. Robotic also likes the location of the flat which is at a quiet corner by itself without any one walking by it and there are no nearby tall buildings to obstruct one's view which are key factors to select a house.

All in all, Mr. Robotic is inspired by the visit because it helps to reinforce the mental image of his own dream house and motivates he to work harder for it (saving up for the house and $45k for the renovation).

So what will your dream house be like?

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Fun packed weekend... on a car...

Mr. Robotic knows that it is quite impossible to own a car in his life time due to the high costs involved with maintaining the car that will surely slow down his plans for retirement. And it does not help that his dream car is the mini cooper. With that in mind, Mr. Robotic is in no rush to to get a driving licence or rather he may not attempt at all.

Having said that, Mr Robotic is really thankful for his friends who drives, especially Ms. Sexy. This is because without friends like her, Mr. Robotic would have missed out exploring and appreciating the less travelled parts of Singapore. For instance, Mr. Robotic had a fun packed weekend which would not have be as convenient without her assistance...

Friday Night:
Mr. Robotic was invited to a chalet at Downtown East organised by Ms. Organiser. No chalet is complete without a BBQ and Mr. Robotic was glad that Ms. Organiser did the BBQ because Mr. Robotic got to enjoy quite a delightful spread.

It could be the first time that Mr. Robotic had stingray at a BBQ event and was the stingray with sambal sauce amazing!! Kudos to Ms. Organiser and her friends for spending the afternoon to marinate the stingray and all the other food preparations. If Mr. Robotic didn't remember wrongly, the brand used for the stingrays was Sin Long Sambal sauce. It was the right level of spiciness. The time taken to grill the stingrays was also perfect as the stingrays came out tender and juicy. The standards of the stingray really put a lot of the hawkers out there to shame.

Friday Midnight:
The group went off to catch the movie "Inception" at Tampines. It was a long show but the concept, storyline and matrix like effects of the movie was interesting enough to keep Mr. Robotic awake throughout the whole movie. In particular, Mr. Robotic was in awe over the zero gravity fighting scenes and enjoyed the witty banter between the various characters. The only downside was the "draw your own conclusion" ending which left people leaving the cinema in suspense.

Mr. Trust Me was so into the movie that he went in and out of slumber in the duration of the movie in order to better understand the movie's concept of dreams within a dream... Brilliant ain't he?

Wee Hours of Saturday:
After the movie, the trio had an early breakfast at a McDonalds' in Mr. Robotic's neighbourhood. Though the place is near to Mr. Robotic's house, he had never been to it at such hours. Hence, it counted as a whole new experience for him. If Mr. Robotic ever needs a place to chit chat with his friends in the wee hours, that would be it because there were barely any customers at Mr. Robotic's visit.

Saturday Night:
Mr. Trust Me always like to challenge Mr. Robotic to be spontaneous in going out by giving him short notice to prepare (half an hour to one hour). Luckily, Mr. Robotic was well trained on his working days to get ready quickly so that he could sleep on his comfy bed till as much as possible.

The trio went to IKEA Tampines to shop around which surprisingly was still pretty crowded near its closing hours. Mr. Robotic always like to admire the different concepts for the showrooms at IKEA and wishes his house would one day be as stylish.

Saturday Midnight:
The trio settled for supper at Changi Village and no the trio did not have the famous Nasi Lemak which had a long queue at their visit. Instead, Mr. Trust Me had cravings for Chili Crab (yeah many would have concluded that Mr. Trust Me was pregnant with all his food cravings). After circling the areas for halal food, the trio settled on a stall tucked quietly at one corner and ordered the Spicy Chili Crab, BBQ Squid and Steamed Gong Gong (shell snail like thingy).

The verdict of the food?

Mr. Trust Me raved about the goodness of the crab (which Mr. Robotic agreed given the pricing) throughout the meal and mentally bookmarked the place for future repeated visits. The BBQ Squid was normal fare. The Steamed Gong Gong was a bit disappointing though as it tasted bland and rubbery even when Mr. Robotic had lowered his expectations for the shell snail like thingy.

Overall, though Mr. Robotic was tired from all the late nights and need to recharge by snoozing all the way till 1 to 2pm in the afternoon, he welcomed the change in routine for his weekend. It's been a while since Mr. Robotic felt "happening" compared to his usual stay home YouTube junkie weekends.

:)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Something fishy... swimming your way...

From the same people who brought you Fish & Co., they have come up with a new restaurant concept under the branding F.I.S.H which is now available at Somerset 313 and Tampines One. The good news is... it is Halal-certified!

So what's different?

There is now a salad bar which is the main highlight where one can opt for the salad bar buffet at $12.90 (price before GST). One can also choose among the value meals where the main course includes the salad bar buffet. Otherwise, one can top up at $5.90 with any of the other main courses to enjoy the salad bar buffet. F.I.S.H also attempts to differentiate from Fish & Co. with a different menu selection.

At Mr. Robotic's visit, the waitress was very welcoming and took time to explain the restaurant's concept. Kudos for the customer service!
Mr. Robotic had the baked codfish that comes with tomatoes and baby potatoes. The sauce is a little bit on the spicy side with the little chili padis and come across as the sauce for an Asian cuisine. Not really to Mr. Robotic's liking cause Mr. Robotic has high expectations for dishes using codfish.

The salad bar while being the main draw has limited offering compared to other other establishments that have the same concept like Sizzler or Earle Swensen's. But there are salad items that are available in F.I.S.H which are not available at the other two so that is a plus. The big jug freezes which is essentially a drink for two found at Fish & Co. can be found at F.I.S.H too.

Overall, since this restaurant just started out, Mr. Robotic would say that it is a concept in a right direction. However, it would need to fine tune its selection to know the customers' taste buds so as to have repeated visits beyond just the novelty concept.

Peachy...

The best perk about Mr. Worry Too Much's current job has got to be that his boss is an owner of an orchard of peach trees in the United States. Because every year, after a good harvest of the peaches, his boss would share the imported peaches with his staff.

Mr. Robotic gets a free fruit per week from his employer too. The fruits include apples, bananas, oranges etc. But Mr. Robotic seldom drop by to collect the free fruit cause the fruits given are like what one would find in a supermarket. Nothing too out of the ordinary.


The peaches from Mr. Worry Too Much's boss is however of a different league altogether. They are super delicious since they are soft, sweet and importantly juicy! The juice from the peach is like spurting out whenever Mr. Robotic bites into one. It was a grand sight when the 16 peaches lined up together on one level of the fridge compartment.

Till next year, peaches...

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Maroon 5 is coming back with Misery!

One of Mr. Robotic's favorite bands, Maroon 5, is coming back with their new album titled "Hands All Over" in September 2010.

Mr. Robotic is in anticipation for the new album as the last two albums by the band are fantastic!! The songs in the last two albums were on Mr. Robotic's playlist for a very very long time.

Lucky for the fans, Maroon 5 had released their first single called "Misery" to help "miserable" fans bear with the wait.

Judging by the strong first single, the coming album should be pretty darn good! Guess this single is going to be on Mr. Robotic's playlist till September 2010. Mr. Robotic can never get tired of the unique voice of the lead singer.

Now this is one piece of Misery that one don't mind sharing with his or her friends. Enjoy the Misery!

Batman meets Mr. Bean...

Mr. Robotic is pretty pleased with the whole new look that he had fixed up for the blog. It is now in a sleek black color scheme! Black is classic and forever yeah?

Together with the new color scheme, Mr. Robotic had to recolor his banner into black and orange. That took a whole afternoon because Mr. Robotic did not have proper software and had to rely on Microsoft Words and the default Paint software. A bit pathetic but its all worth it!

Strangely when Mr. Robotic sees the new colors for the banner, he is reminded of Batman even though Batman is in black and yellow. Also, the little white circle resembles the spotlight that shines on Mr. Bean. So the title for Mr. Robotic's updated banner is Batman meets Mr. Bean! Haha...

Mr. Robotic hopes the readers like the new layout!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

World Cup Fever

Mr. Robotic is not a fan of football but it is hard not to pay attention to the ongoing World Cup Fever since people around him are raving about it.

Even for Friday night outs, the invitations were mainly to support the teams at bars that shows the World Cup live. The group comprising of Ms. Limelight, Ms. Hysterical, Mr. Hidden Rockstar, Mr. Trust Me and Mr. Robotic decided to go to boat quay to bask in the World Cup Fever.

The group started the night with Eski Bar which Mr. Hidden Rockstar recommended. Mr. Trust Me is crazy about chocolate milk and has been questioning the group if the bar serves chocolate milk... Hey, a bar serving chocolate milk?!? Maybe at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Bar?

To put Mr. Trust Me's insatiable need for chocolate milk to a rest, Mr. Hidden Rockstar asked on his behalf which the waitress laughed and replied no. Lucky Mr. Trust Me did not ask instead cause there is a twinkle in his eye when he asks for chocolate milk that may come across as perverted for some. Haha...

Eski Bar has an interesting concept with the entrance of the bar which is way freezing and one can put on the neon blue and pink jackets available for a different experience. Imagine Eskimos shaking their booties? Some super sized foreigners were really enjoying themselves and partying it out in the deep freeze section. Mr. Robotic felt like Frodo walking past them. The music in the bar is pretty good too though a bit loud so it is not really a place for conversation. Pity the bar has no screening of the World Cup so the group had to leave after 1 drink.

The group seek a second location for the night and settled at a seafood restaurant. It's pretty quiet at the restaurant and thus makes it a good place for funny banter. Ms. Limelight also shared her travel experience Uzbekistan. According to her, Indians with sharp ventures are wildly popular in Uzbekistan akin to Bollywood celebrities.

And the match between Brazil and Holland started (the crowd also start pouring in to the restaurant). The game started with lightning attacks by the Brazilians which resulted in a early goal for Brazil (Ms. Hysterical and Ms. Limelight cheered for their team while Mr. Hidden Rockstar knows in his blood that Holland will eventually win) and that set the pace for the viewers that it was going to be an exciting match. Even at the sidelines, the angst and fiery expressions by the Brazil coach is pure entertainment in itself.

Is Holland going to hand over the entry ticket to the next match to Brazil?

No way! The Dutch came back in the second half of the game much stronger and kept biting at Brazil's defence. While Mr. Robotic has no preference on the team advancing to the next match, Mr. Robotic did liked the fighting spirit of the Underdog and the Dutch embodied that, coming in the match against the hot favorites and going against the odds of a goal behind. The hard work paid off for the Dutch as they scored a key goal from the free kick area (technically the Brazilian headed in the own goal while trying to defend against the free kick). Mr. Robotic swore that he thought Ms. Hysterical's heart stopped momentarily for 5 seconds due to the conceited goal.

It is really a cliche on the expression on how the ball is round and that anything can happen but indeed that was what happened for the Brazil and Holland match after the Dutch scored their second goal and snatched the win from the Brazilians much to the dismay of many fans.

To sum it up, the adrenaline rush rooting for the teams, the frustrations about the missed opportunities, the unison shouting for GOAL and watching the crazy antics when the players scores do make it compelling to fall in love with the World Cup! Mr. Robotic did enjoyed the night much.

Mr. Robotic always wonders don't the knees hurt with this slide? Haha...

Who is your pick to win it all for World Cup?

PS: If you recalled the Malaysia episode, Mr. Trust Me has been banned from leading the way. Yet Mr. Trust Me still inconspicuously walks to the front of the pack and tries to lead people into random places. For instance, on the way home, Mr. Trust Me asked the group to cross the road and yet turn back and asked the group where they are after crossing the road. Where did Mr. Trust Me get his confidence? Mr. Robotic has no idea...