Gastronomic Adventure

Singapore Food Expo is here once again!

Heehee, being a food-lover, how could I miss such a great event?!

Needless to say, yours truly headed to the Food Expo event in tow with my two lovely cousins on 26 May, ready to launch an all-out attack on all the delicious, finger-licking and lip-smacking food! In order not to miss out, we were at expo hall 5 right at 11am (opening time) and found ourselves surrounded by hordes of glorious food and free sampling. Headed straight to the middle where there were lots of tables and chairs, that were quickly being filled up by the streams of people coming in.

Once we finally managed to grab a seat, my little cousin was in charge of 'chopping' the seats for us while we went to seize some food. There were so many things to choose from, that we were really spolit for choice. Shark's fin soup, cheese sausages, curry chicken, otah, macau fried noodles, pineapple rice, chicken wings, seafood soup, laksa, chendol, pastries, kueh-kueh etc.

My goodness! One would be full just by looking at the abundance of food and sniffing the fragrant aroma. Everywhere you turn, you just see groups of people chomping down all sorts of goodies, ranging from fingerfood to all kinds of drinks; the mouths just didn't stop moving!

There were so many stalls and it was so squeezy as everyone was just going after the foodstuff.

One major highlight of this much raved-about event is definitely the free sampling! It was really great to bring my two cousins along because they were super fast in grabbing all the food and drink samples, heehee :P

So, for all you food-lovers out there, be sure to bask in this delectable and gratifying food event of the year!

4 Gals & A Guy.....@ Tong Shui HK Cafe

Here goes the story of 4 girls and a guy.....
One lazy Sunday afternoon at Tong Shui HK Cafe along Liang Seah Street.....
Buzzing with excitement and mouths drooling with the thoughts of teatime snacks, the group of 5 stepped into this nostalgic and brightly-coloured cafe.
Teatime favourites such as peanut butter thick toast, iced lemon tea and milk tea were consumed with great relish, alongside fun and laughter!

Verdict:
Price - The owner seems to have a preoccupation with the number 8 as prices were often quoted in the form of $1.88-$12.88. Seems like the owner's a firm believer in the auspicious nature accorded to this number by the Chinese.
Place - The brightly-coloured walls in green, pink and yellow with neonish effect offered a refreshing contrast and serves to transport the audience into a different world, away from the modern and contemporary feel of most cafes. Picture frames featuring postcards and magazines covers are neatly positioned all across the walls of the cafe, offering an interesting montage of colours and pictures. The wooden feel of the tables and chairs with oriental engravings reminds one of Chinese root of the cafe.
Provision - Food was generally ok, enough to satisfy hunger pangs but not particularly memorable. The serving of the peanut butter on the toast was generous though and its rich, sticky texture would satisfy any peanut butter lover.

Fun At Miss Clarity Cafe

Soft Drinks = Soft Bones

DRINKING THIS COULD LEAD TO.....

THIS!

Extract from "Keep A Lid On Fizz" in Today Newspaper, dated May 8 2007.

Researchers at Boston’s Tufts University found that drinking more than three cola soft drinks a day was related to having lower bone mineral density in the hip.
Dr Katherine L Tucker, a researcher involved in the study, said that the association found was a strong one: “It persisted even when we controlled for everything that we could think of that might influence risk, including calcium and Vitamin D intake, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity.”
Low bone density leads to other ailments such as osteoporosis, later in life.
Defined as soft drinks that are coloured with caramel and that contain caffeine and sugar, cola beverages are best consumed in moderation as they also contain phosphoric acid.

Ms Lim Su Lin, chief dietician at the Dietetics Department of the National University Hospital, explained: “The ratio of calcium to phosphorous is important to maintain a good mineral balance in the bone. Regular exposure to phosphoric acid without exposure to calcium and other beneficial nutrients may affect the bone remodelling process and cause bone loss over time.”

According to Ms Lim, phosphoric acid latches onto dietary calcium in the gut, blocking calcium absorption in the process and a diet high in phosphorous may also result in calcium being pulled from the bones. The caffeine that is found in cola drinks further contributes to the problem because it acts as a diuretic that can cause calcium to be lost through one’s urine.

And not only does drinking too much cola beverages affect bone density, it impinges on one’s appetite as well. Ms Lim said: “Excessive consumption of cola drinks does disturb one’s appetite. The carbonated water causes the stomach to feel bloated with gas and the sugar fills a person up with empty calories. This may cause the body to compromise by eating less of the wholesome foods during mealtime and lead to dietary imbalance, inadequate nutrition and, in time, obesity.”
Cola drinks also contain as much as seven teaspoons of sugar, which could lead to hyperactivity in children, said Ms Lim: “The high amount of sugar coupled with caffeine in cola drinks, can cause restlessness, irritability and sleeplessness, especially in children.”

Another consequence of an over-consumption of cola drinks is that it might lead to weight gain, which increases one’s risk of contracting diabetes. Studies show that one extra can of soft drink a day gives a child as much as a 60 per cent greater chance of becoming obese.
Good alternatives include freshly squeezed fruit juice (high in vitamins), milk (good source of calcium) or Chinese green tea (rich in polyphenols).

According to Ms Lim, these should not replace the consumption of plain water, which should make up at least two-thirds of one’s liquid consumption.
Ms Lim advised: “It’s best to keep cola drinks to an occasional treat. Keep it to a minimum if possible. In my opinion, if you are drinking more than a can of cola drinks a day, it is considered too much, bearing in mind the empty calories you are taking in, the additives and the effect on your bones.

Drama Makeup Photos...Eww!

Only managed to get some pictures, so...here they are...seriously disgusting!!!

Yup, this was how I looked during the Easter drama...kinda enjoyed the makeup process :P

Spider-Man 3 The Movie

The long-awaited movie event of the year, especially for Spider-Man fans!
As usual, Spider-Man 3 the movie entertained and wowed audience with its special effects, interesting plot developments and great acting.

Noteworthy was the special effects of venom, this alien black gooey substance that will attach itself to a host for survival and eventually bind itself to the host, in turn magnifying certain properties of the host, especially that of aggression. This probably explains why Spidey became more violent after venom fused itself into the costume, even though his supernatural abilities were enhanced. The gooey stuff really freaked me out, because it was so gross! Its movements kind of reminds me of a spider, the way it moves with all its black tentacles reaching out and sticking itself onto the host, eww!

Then, there's also the Sandman, how he is able to morph into a sandstorm and get bigger and bigger, cool! The action scenes are great as well, being fast-paced and fanciful, leaving you grasping for air at the end of each fighting sequence.

For me, I totally enjoyed the movie, even though it was rather long, having a duration of 2 hours and 20 minutes. However, for my friend (who's a Spider-man fan, by the way), the action was good but just not enough and the characterisation of the villains was sorely lacking in terms of character development as there seems to be too many villains and too little time to properly develop the storyline of each character.

Oh well...enough said. Catch the movie and decide for yourself :)