Monday, March 31, 2014

You know Bornga is good when...

This..


Becomes this..


Bornga is now at Vivo city, Singapore, and City Square, JB. Tried both places and equally good. Still my best place for korean bbq and food. Excellenté.

*all meals paid for in totality without preferential treatment by thewriteperson unless otherwise specified*

Monday, March 24, 2014

Day out with my niece - Amped Trampoline Park

Took half day off work to fulfill my promise to bring my niece to Amped. Booked online the day before for the one at Yo: Ha and filed waiver at the same time. Payment through Paypal. Booking was easily settled. It was really fun too! =)

Sunday, March 23, 2014

[ADV] Wrapping up the bad times and unwrap good times with KFC!

I would like to wrap up...

While I like to travel, one thing that is so hard to break away from is the good food that I had overseas. Taste of delicious food is so easily forgotten and 'overwritten' by new gastronomic encounters. However, even though air travel is so convenient nowadays, one innate fear that I have that is brought along by this food adventurer in me is the inability to taste the exact food again! 

It is so scary. But as a matter of fact, good food can be tasted only once. Any better or worse, it's still not the same!

Ho Chi Minh City's roadside seafood stall!
Liverpool's International Food Festival 2012!
Wimpy fast food in Nairobi, Kenya!
Qatar Airway's business class menu SIN-DPS oct 2013!

KL dim sum breakfast!
So much good times turned bad in this gastronomic adventure through out the years! All I wish is that I can wrap all these up, and apparently I can now!

The sweetness of fresh veggies, crunchy outside moist juicy inside chicken befitting of KFC's long standing reputation, mayo and a sting of spiciness to balance the taste, all wrapped up!

KFC's Bandito Pockett wraps up all the good things, times, and you can just.. gulp gulp. Keep it safe in your tummy! 

Unwrap good times with KFC Bandito Pockett!



KFC Bandito Pockett packed with so many tasty ingredients, 100% chicken fillet marinated in signature hot & crispy flavor, served on a bed of fresh lettuce, with salsa and mayonnaise, all wrapped in a toasted tortilla. It is every KFC fan’s favourite wrap! Try it now to enjoy a good time!

My Top 3 Overseas Fruit Beer/Cider

1. Haake Beck Alster (middle bottle) - Bremen, Germany

Walked into a small beer store in Bremen one night and had a nice conversation with the owner. One of the rare rare instances that I met someone fluent in English in Bremen. He recommended three bottles for the night, and you guessed it. All Beck's. Beck's has a brewery in Bremen, and the Haake Beck line was exclusive to Bremen due to inability to provide larger supply. There were Haake Beck Pils, Haake Beck 12, Haake Beck Alster and another one which I've forgotten. I tried Haake Beck Alster and boy, the owner's recommendation was a spot on for my palette!

It was crisp and light, optimally aerated. You know how some beers are overly 'gassy' right? This was smooth and malty, but with a fruity, citrus after taste which rounded up the experience perfectly. It also went absolutely well with my pork knuckles. This beer was one of the highlights of my weekend trip to Bremen oh my god. 

If you're wondering about the bottle next to it, Beck's ice lime & mint beer didn't manage to leave an impression in me. It was probably not too bad, but obviously Haake Beck Alster took the cake.



2. Bud Light Lime - USA

Bought a sixer while in USA and I would announce it as second best on my list. Hmmm... I would say it's like, good beer in a light version infused with lime. Light and easy to drink.


Photo credit: Yahoo Images

3. Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime cider - UK & Singapore

Yes, finally something good that we can find here! My first experience of it was when I was studying in Liverpool, and fruit ciders were popular for summer. Unlike Singapore, they have a whole rack at Tesco filled with various brands and flavours of ciders. After tasting a few, Kopparberg Strawberry & Lime cider became a regular in my fridge. I suspect it had lured over the heart of my flatmates as well as I often saw Kopparberg that were not mine, in the fridge too. 

I usually grab mine locally in Cold Storage after coming back from UK, but have since cut down on my supplies as it's a little too heavy on sugar intake based on regular consumption. 

Photo credit: Yahoo Images

It is always good to have a toast, but please be reminded to do so in moderation. Stay healthy my readers!

Sunday, March 16, 2014

[Exclusive preview] McDonald's National Breakfast Day 2014!

Breakfast is important.

Into its second year running, Singapore's Biggest Breakfast Movement is set to be bigger and better than before!

One of the highlights of this year's National Breakfast Day is also McD's attempt to set the national record for "Largest Number of Muffins Given Away". The National Breakfast Day tomorrow (March 17) will see McDonald's giving away over 120,000 free Egg McMuffins in its 122 participating restaurants islandwide! Each participating restaurant will be handing out 1,000 free Egg McMuffins to all customers on a first come first serve basis. 

Love and share. McDonald's will be partnering with Tampines North Grassroots Organisation to provide 1,000 free Egg McMuffins for needy families within the Tampines North Constituency in the form of vouchers.

Love and share, again! The non-discriminatory stand of the National Breakfast Day allows you to take multiple free Egg McMuffins eventhough you are only entitled once per transaction. So, if you have the time and heart, why not queue once more for that extra Egg McMuffin to share with your colleague, your loved ones, or even, the tissue paper auntie! 

Pssst... The McD at Changi City Point didn't seem to have a long queue from last year's experience! To all who's working at Changi Business Park, you know where to go =)

While I'm looking forward to my free Egg McMuffin tomorrow, I definitely love all my regular breakfast items too! Top of my list includes the Chicken McMuffin, McGriddles and Hotcakes. Here are just some of the things I'll do with my breakfast items.. Are you like me?

Do you like to do this?


Or this?


Or this?


Coca-Cola with breakfast? Oh no, thewriteperson you are so weird? Weird? No. What if I told you I had the Coca-Cola with Hotcakes & Sausage at 5pm? That is not so weird anymore isn't it? Good news for sure... You will be delighted to know that tomorrow on National Breakfast Day 2014, McDonald's Singapore will be serving regular breakfast items from breakfast hours, right through lunch till 6pm! All-day breakfast!!

I would personally recommend a Strawberry and Banana smoothie to go along with the All-Day Breakfast too! 


We all understand the torment of McD's breakfast dilemma. I love and want to eat McD's breakfast so often, but do not want to wake up early enough for it. Extending the breakfast hours to 6pm is something that McD 'should have done it long ago' indeed! But, I still need a wake up call. Sometimes I set 5 alarms in the morning to wake me up to no avail!

McDonald's Singapore truly understands me/us.

Last friday, some bloggers were invited for a sneak preview of the new McDonald's Surprise Alarm App, which is a free alarm application for iOS and Andriod users! Unlike my usual alarm function which always fail to wake me up in time, this time, it's different! It gives me an incentive to wake up on time, and wake up happy!

Enthusiastic app developer, Evan, introducing the McDonald's Surprise Alarm App!

Who doesn't love surprises in the morning? Getting good news right from the first second definitely sets off my day in the right direction. You heard it first here! Exclusive sneak peek into the graphics and functions of the app!


Specially developed for Singapore, the McDonald's Surprise Alarm App runs a truly Singaporean theme, featuring some of Singapore's best tourist attractions' graphics in the background. MBS, Singapore Flyer, and my favourite McDonald's logo! The background colour also changes in tune to the time of the day in the the alarm destination time is set! To save the hassle, you can also set the alarm on repeat by clicking the 'Daily' button featured below. You can also utilise the app to locate your nearest McDonald's Singapore restaurant! 

Transition of background colour from day to night theme
I am seriously stoked at the idea of getting free items from the app! By signing up and logging into your account in the app, you are entitled to morning surprises daily! The free items come in once a day regardless of the amount of alarms you set. Free items include food items, food vouchers, inspirational quotes, music and videos! The free music is a tie-up with Sony Music and we all know that Sony Music signs some very good artistes! All the free items gained will be stored in a digital wallet, so you do not have to worry about losing them even if you are not redeeming it immediately!


Just imagine... How nice would it be to wake up on time, and getting a free coffee to jump start the day. All by just using McDonald's Surprise Alarm App!

Good things are for here to stay. This app works beyond the National Breakfast Day 2014, with intentions to run more exciting promotions! So to ensure that you do not lose out on any of these surprises, it is important to make sure you are connected to the internet, and remember to log in!

The McDonald's Surprise Alarm free app is available for download on Apple iTunes and Google Play right at the stroke of midnight on March 17, 2014. 

Tip: Download the app after 12am tonight and set your very first surprise alarm. Wake up to a nice surprise, then use the app to locate the nearest McDonald's Singapore restaurant to you. Smile and walk to your nearest McDonald's to grab your free Egg McMuffin! Remember to greet your friendly McD staff a Happy National Breakfast Day!


*This exclusive preview is made possible by omy blog club and McDonald's Singapore.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Review: Sony Action Cam HDR AS30V's PlayMemories Mobile App

Currently top of the line model for Sony's Action Cam, the HDR AS30V offers two purchase options. With, or without the Live View Remote, which allows you fingertip controls with the wrist lcd monitor. That would set you back a $100 more when purchased together with the nifty gadget. 

I figured I wouldn't need the Live View Remote as I could utilise Sony's PlayMemories Mobile App for live view. So I purchased the standard package as revealed in previous post. 

The PlayMemories Mobile App is available in both itunes and google play, free of charge. Downloading was simple. Setting up my action cam was simple too. 

As the live view is enabled through wi-fi connection, the most important thing is to turn on wi-fi on my action cam. Go to 'set up' > 'wi-fi' > 'on'.

After which, to set up the connection with your phone, turn on your phone's wi-fi and connect it to the action cam's ssid with the given password. The password sticker can be found on your instructions manual. Password is unique to device, so it's alright to share mine here. In case you lost the sticker, you can set up a usb connection from the action cam to your computer to retrieve the information from the device itself.


Once the connection is secured, open PlayMemories Mobile and wait a few seconds for it to search and connect to device. Tried a few times, connection was stable and load time was minimal for me. App was stable.


After which, you will be brought into an interface which resembles that of your camera's. Three modes are available for shooting: Photo, Video and interval recording.


There's also the settings button on the user interface located on the bottom left corner. It offers you simple but useful options to transfer existing data on the action to your phone, save options, and as well as the timing of image review.


The save option is on by default thus all the videos and photos captured during the said usage is automatically added to my phone's library. It saves me the time to re-import later on. I also like it that I can choose a few certain files and transfer seamlessly to my phone from the action cam. 


One notable takeaway from Sony's PlayMemories Mobile is that although the live view and instructions are built upon the wi-fi connection, however, there is no noticeable lag in the transmission, which I experienced on my colleague's GoPro the other time. Video recording at its max capacity was not jumpy as well. 


Low light performance for the AS30V exceeded my expectations though photos could be noisy at times. My photos are set at 170 degrees for wider coverage, that is why both ends look warped or concaved.  


Last of all, just turn off your action cam and it will be automatically disconnected with your phone due to broken wi-fi connection. 

This feature is easy to use thus rendering my action cam, so far so good.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

[30 Minutes Lunch Rant] Pray, Not Prey on MH370.

My international readers, all of you would have got news of the 'mysterious' disappearance of Malaysia Airline's MH370 bound for Beijing from KL last saturday. My heart sunk.

Splashed all over the media.. 'Greatest mystery in aviation history', 'mysterious', 'missing', 'lost contact'. 

Yes, you need the eyeballs, but in times like this, sensationalising like a well oiled opportunist is not right. This is not a mysterious disappearance ala alien abduction. This is very matter of fact, a tragic incident. In fact, the most tragic aviation incident in recent years, with details yet to be made known.

239 lives on the line. There is nothing we can do for them. But we can be here for their families.

So everyone, stop all the speculations. Stop setting tongues wagging. You are not running for a pageant, you don't need the tongues. I wonder, what satisfaction one reaps in spreading unreal/unverified news in times of fire. This is a perverse behaviour. At this conjunction where it is literally a nervous wreck for everyone, it is only ethical and sensitive to only report and spread the truth. Because speculations and false hopes are too hurtful.

I'm an avid air passenger. In fact, Malaysia Airlines is in my favourite Qatar Airways' oneworld alliance. I could go on and on about aviation, but not today. There is a time and place for everything. Not now.

Opportunists, stop your criticisms.  It does not matter that Malaysia Airlines is seeing red in profits, or that the subject is 'Malaysia'. This could happen to anyone, anywhere. I am sure all parties are doing their best and really, for your 'support'... No thanks.

The only support we can offer now is positive thoughts and prayers for them.

Pray. Not prey on MH370.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Vlog #7 - 100 Doraemon Expo in KL

Vlog #7 is slightly different from its predecessor in not having a single word/speech.

 The expo started off in 2012 when it was 100 years to the birth of Doraemon in 2112. 100 Doraemon statues involved, and 100 days of exhibition at every city. So far they've been to HK, TW and finally nearer to shore in Malaysia.

Not sure if they will visit Singapore one day. Let pictures do the talking. I love Doraemon.


Thursday, March 6, 2014

Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King (Orchid Hotel)

My penchant for japanese ramen. So, tuesday night I went to the much raved about Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King. Apparently it had won some champion in Japan few years ago.

Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station, head out via Exit A, turn right and you will see Orchid Hotel's entrace right opposite the road on Tras Link. The ramen shop is not exactly in the hotel itself but shares the building, occupying the corner left unit leading to a row of Japanese eateries.

So, don't go into the hotel lobby. It is not there. Go to the side of the hotel and you will see some Tonkotsu King's flags outside... And a queue.

Don't worry about the queue. There were about ten people before me when I joined in. I was immediately given an order slip and pen. While waiting, there is iced barley in front for free consumption. Very thoughtful. The queue.. It is actually so fast moving, the couple behind me got in before me.

For ordering, there is only one thing on the menu. Ramen. Cha shu ramen. But you can choose from original broth, spicy broth or black pepper broth. It comes in different intensity too. Light Normal Heavy. And then you could choose how much chicken oil you want, Less Normal More; and the firmness of the noodles. Soft Normal Hard. It was indicated on the order slip that Normal is the authentic Japanese experience.

Oh and the toppings! I'll recommend 'all toppings'. Can never go wrong with that.

Drinks you could order from cola, sprite, oolong tea, beer or.... Their very own Green Tea Cola!

Service was swift. I haven't had the time to touch the beansprouts on the table before my ramen was served. However, i tried it later on and WOW! It was slightly spicy from the chilli oil, but majorly fragrant with sesame oil. So good, so crunchy and appetising! They were so good!


Alright, off to my Heavy original broth, Normal chicken oil, Normal noodles bowl of ramen. A pestle and mortar was given to me to grind the black and white sesame. Definitely a midas touch to the broth.

The broth was shiok, but actually could do heavier... The cha shu was good. Two slices of moist pork that was cut just nice in thickness, flavourful too. Big piece of seaweed. I love it. But the egg yolk was not runny. disappointed.

I didn't quite like my noodles Normal, and I was hungry still. I ordered a serving of Kaedama (add noodles)! This time in Firm. It proved much to my liking.


The green tea cola? It tasted like cola and not a hint of green tea. I double checked the ingredients to make sure it contained green tea. It felt like it was a lighter, less carbonated version of Coca Cola. 

And the bowl of hard boiled eggs? Yes. Free flow :)

Overall, a busy ramen place that exudes Japanese charm. Ramen was good but not the best. I need my runny egg yolk. 

Damage for the night: less than $20


Orchid Hotel
1 Tras Link, #01-19 
Singapore


(Note: all meals featured on thewriteperson are fully paid for by the author with no preferential treatment)