Thursday, 26 March 2009

My Neighbour, Totoro となりのトトロ

arrangement by Joe Hisaishi, Film and Art by Hayao Miyazaki. Both geniuses in their own rights. this is one of his most touching and beautiful compositions. when i listened to it i teared a little, maybe because when i looked back on my childhood, how i wished i could be as carefree and happy as the main characters in the film.


Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Spring!!




Spring has finally descended here in Tokyo! enjoy the crisp, fragrant sakura air with these guys!!



yes, they are ALL guys...

Monday, 23 March 2009

The story so far...

for the past few days that i have been posting these videos instead of the usual banter, here's what happened in chonological order...

11 March
Went for the Prudential Sales Academy (PSA) at Tripleone Somerset Building. the name of the building used to be Singapore Power Building. then it was dropped, leaving only the address behind, which is 111 Somerset Rd. So, out of fresh ideas, they name the building Tripleone (pronounced try-plea-own) pretend to be chic sounding lah... kanasai...

12 March
PSA day two... its killing me!!!!!!!!

13 March
PSA day three!!!!!

16 March
PSA day four.... made friends with a really cute girl. Joanne from the Tanjong Pagar Prudential office. really funny and very "touchy"... can't she tell ???

17 March
Oh my god... last day of this damnation!! so happy!!

20 March
went for my Health Insurance exams at Singapore College for Insurance. and i passed in the first sitting!! i was totally over the moon!!! so happy!!! haha!!

23 March
my first day in office. the people in Grace's agency were all really cool! there's Debbie, Clift, Harvey (a really lively one) and another lady, also a nice lady. but i forgot her name (Sooooooowwwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!)

so that's that, chronicling (is there such a word? chronicle-ling?) my life for the past few days.

really sorry i did not blog during the anime posting... just didn't want to interrupt the flow of the anime videos. anyway, hope you enjoyed Antique Bakery! i'd love to buy the manga (its $25 from Kinokuniya >< )

hope everyone supports me in this new industry that i am venturing into!

see you around!!

(^o^)'')
(( ) This is Ou-Spo, the Ouran bear!!

Antique Bakery Recipe 12

this is the last installment of the Antique Bakery anime. hope you've enjoyed it as much as i do.


Watch Antique Bakery - 12 in Anime  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Thursday, 12 March 2009

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

Antique Bakery Recipe 1

watched the anime online. i loved it so much that i'm posting all of their episodes, or recipes, here! this is the first one, so enjoy!


Watch Antique Bakery - 01  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

i love the art and the background work. the effects makes it look like we're watching a real drama serial, not anime.

oh, and did you know, there is a Korean movie based on this? its called Antique cake shop, or something.

So, Goyukuri Dozo!

Tuesday, 10 March 2009

Lockon visiting the cemetery


Lockon Stratos, looking forlorn at his family cemetery. both his parents were killed when a terrorist group from Azadistan, fomerly known as Israel, bombed the town, sparring only Lockon and his brother.


Parkview Square




one of my most favourite buildings in singapore, it is the Parkview Square.





completed in 2002, at a building cost of a whopping S$87.93 millions, it is the most expensive office space for lease. the building also houses the embassies of mongolia, the UAE and austria.

the bar in the lobby has a unique three storey high wine chiller.

the building also uses widespread use motifs, sculptures and ornamentations. the building is "guarded" by eight gigantic fibreglass statues of men holding a lightball in their hands, four of them standing on each broadside of the building's crown. gargoyles are also used to decorate the buildings' exterior, each said to be hand crafted. in the quadrangle of the building, bronze statues of the most famous figures in world history decorate the lush garden.
the lobby features a 15m high ceiling with handcrafted details.

Sunday, 8 March 2009

Daniel Vosovic


he's the talented one from Project unway season 2. LOVE LOVE LOVE him!!! his designs are gorgeous. so is his personality! he is such a DOLL!!

Friday, 6 March 2009

となりのトトロ

a promo for My Neighbor Totoro. a true classic, love the story... very cute!!



this movie was out in 1988 by the way.

崖の上のポニョ予告

Ponyo by the Cliff on the Sea

another masterpiece from Studio Ghibli, the same people who did Totoro and Princess Mononoke.




Please note; this entire anime is HAND DRAWN... no computer effects at all!!

AIMS!!

yay! i passed my three AIMS test, all in a single trial! i am so happy! first time i pass an insurance test in just one sitting!

(well, maybe its because its an open book test lah....)

Wednesday, 4 March 2009

Pearl Bank Apartments



an iconic 70s apartment block in Singapore, at Outram. Known as Pearl Bank Apartments, it was completed in the 70s. then, it was the tallest building in Singapore. standing at 113 metres, it was meant to house 1,500 occupants.
the view from the apartment. simply BREATHTAKING...







The garden within the hollow circular compound.












Dunno what this is... an ammo base???

Sunday, 1 March 2009

Create your own Roux

Traditional Recipe calls for :

a knob of butter, softened
plain flour, sifted

In a bowl, mix the softened butter with flour till there is JUST ENOUGH flour. the mixture should be thick and not runny. Transfer this to a pan and heat it up. If the roux turns runny, add more flour till it re-thickens. The roux is now ready for use.

Lazy Bugger Recipe calls for :

some olive oil
plain flour, sifting not necessary

in a pan, heat the oil up. continue adding the flour till a smooth paste is formed. usually, its 2tbs oil to 6tbs flour. The roux is now ready for use.

Substitute for Delicious caramelised onions

you will need...

3 large onions
1 tsp sugar
3 tbs oil

in a pot, heat up the oil. once its nice and hot, lower the intensity of the fire to a steady low and add in the onions. stir it around to coat them evenly with oil. add in the sugar and stir again. MAKE SURE THE FIRE IS LOW AT ALL TIMES. once the onions are nice and browned, remove from heat and it is ready for use.

Disclaimer's note: BROWNED is nicely cooked and exudes a beautiful and delicious fragrance. BURNT is over cooked and is too toxic to be used for cooking.

Carrots and Potatoes Creamy Stew

was feeling peckish and there was nothing to eat for lunch. so i decided to fix something for myself. this turned out well, so maybe i'd like to share this recipe with you guys!

3 medium carrots, cut up diagonally (don't remember the proper term for this)
1 large potato, cubed
3 tbs caramelised onions
(if you do not have this, follow the one i'm gonna put up in the next post)
1 clove garlic, chopped up finely
2 tbs roux
1tsp dried bay leaves, crushed
1tsp coarse black pepper
1tsp dried basil, crushed
some bacon, cubed
salt to taste
500ml chicken stock
3 slivers of dried small anchovies (ikan bilis)
teeny bit of oil

Method for Carrots and Potatoes Creamy Stew

In a pot, heat up some oil and fry up the bacon pieces and caramelised onions. Once fragrant, add garlic and stir it around for 5 minutes. Once that's done, add in stock followed by the rest of the ingredients, except roux. All this while, the heat should be on medium.

Once the soup starts to bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, remove the scum floating on the surface. this scummy, foamy thing is all the impurities from the root vegetables.

Using a fork, whisk in the roux.

Let it simmer for a further 15 minutes.

Before serving, discard the anchovies. THI IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT!! DO NOT EXPOSE IT TO YOUR GUESTS!!

the stew should have a smooth, creamy consistency.